Excerpt: ..."The Papa" replied the sailor without a smile. "She was called Papa." Ercole stared at him a moment and then laughed; and he laughed so rarely that it distorted the yellow parchment of his face as if it must crack it. The sound of his laughter was something like the creaking of a cart imitated by a ventriloquist. But Padre Francesco knit his bushy brows, for he thought the sailor was making game of him, who had been boatswain on a square-rigger. "I went to sea for thirty years," he said, "but I never heard of a ...
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Excerpt: ..."The Papa" replied the sailor without a smile. "She was called Papa." Ercole stared at him a moment and then laughed; and he laughed so rarely that it distorted the yellow parchment of his face as if it must crack it. The sound of his laughter was something like the creaking of a cart imitated by a ventriloquist. But Padre Francesco knit his bushy brows, for he thought the sailor was making game of him, who had been boatswain on a square-rigger. "I went to sea for thirty years," he said, "but I never heard of a vessel called the Papa. You have said a silly thing. I have given you water to drink, and filled your jar. It is not courtesy to jest at men older than you." "Excuse me," answered the man politely. "May it never be that I should jest at such a respectable man as you seem to be; and, moreover, you have filled the jar with your own hands. The brigantine was called as I say. And if you wish to know why, I will tell you. She was built by two rich brothers of Torre Annunziata, who wished much good to their papa when he was old and no longer went to sea. Therefore, to honour him, they called the vessel the Papa. This is the truth." Lest this should seem extravagantly unlikely to the readers of this tale, I shall interrupt the conversation to say that I knew the Papa well, that "she" was built and christened as the sailor said, and that her name still stood on the register of Italian shipping a few years ago. She was not a brigantine, however, but a larger vessel, and she was bark-rigged; and she was ultimately lost in port, during a hurricane. "We have learned something to-day," observed Ercole, when the man had finished speaking. "It is true," the man said. "And the name of the captain was Don Antonino Maresca. He was of Vico." "Where is Vico?" inquired Ercole, idly scratching his dog's back with the stock of his gun. "Near Castellamare," answered Padre Francesco, willing to show his knowledge. "One sees that you are a man of the sea," said the...
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