Maurice did not answer at once. He was asking himself Gaspare's question. Why had he gone to the Sirens' Isle? Gaspare continued:
"May I say what I think, signore? You know I am Sicilian, and I know the Sicilians."
"What is it?"
"Strangers should be careful what they do in my country."
"Madonna! You call me a stranger?"
It was Maurice's turn to be angry. He spoke with sudden heat. The idea that he was a stranger—a straniero—in Sicily seemed to him ridiculous—almost offensive.
"Well, signore, you have only been here a little while. I was born here and have never been anywhere else."
"It is true. Go on then."
"The men of Sicily are not like the English or the Germans. They are jealous of their women. I have been told that in your country, on festa days, if a man likes a girl and she likes him he can take her for a walk. Is it true?"
"Quite true."