"Have you seen the medal struck in their honour?"
"I do not think much of the workmanship."
"They are talking about Messina," the fat man informed his companions.
"And they laugh!" exclaimed the younger lady. "It is amazing!"
Seagulls overtook the steamer, and one of them, beating its crooked wings, seemed to hang in the air over the gunwale; the younger lady began to throw biscuits to it. The birds, in catching the pieces, disappeared below the gunwale and then, shrieking greedily, rose again in the blue void above the sea. Some coffee was brought to the Italians: they also began to feed the birds, tossing up pieces of biscuits. The lady raised her brows and said:
"Look at the monkeys."
The fat man continued to listen to the animated talk of the Italians and presently said:
"He is not a military man, he is a merchant. He talks about trading in corn with us, and about being able to buy petroleum, timber and coal from us."
"I noticed at once that he was not a military man," said the elder lady.
The red-haired man began again to speak into the ear of the man with side-whiskers. The latter screwed up his mouth sceptically as he listened to him. The young Italian, glancing sideways at the Russians, said: