Long ago he had known a cowardice akin to this, in Sicily. Then he had been afraid, not for himself but for another. To-day again the protective instinct was alive in him. It was that instinct which made him afraid, but it was also that instinct which kept him to his first intention, which pushed him on to Mergellina. No safety can be in ignorance for a strong man. He must know. Then he can act.
When Artois reached Mergellina he looked about for Ruffo, but he could not see the boy. He had never inquired Ruffo's second name. He might make a guess at it. Should he? He looked at a group of fishermen who were talking loudly on the sand just beyond the low wall. One of them had a handsome face bronzed by the sun, frank hazel eyes, a mouth oddly sensitive for one of his class. His woolen shirt, wide open, showed a medal resting on his broad chest, one of those amulets that are said to protect the fishermen from the dangers of the sea. Artois resolved to ask this man the question he wished, yet feared to put to some one. Afterwards he wondered why he had picked out this man. Perhaps it was because he looked happy.
With a quick movement the fellow was beside him on the other side of the wall.
"I'll take your boat--perhaps this evening."
"We'll see. But first perhaps you can tell me something."
"Do you know any one called--called Buonavista?"
The eyes of Artois were fixed on the man's face.
"Ma si, Signore," said the man, looking at Artois with a sudden flash of surprise. "The family Buonavista, I have known it all my life."
"The family? Oh, then there are many of them?"
"Enrico Buonavista has made many children, and is proud of it, I can tell you. He has ten--his father before him--"
"Neapolitans! No, Signore. They are from Mergellina."
Artois smiled. The tension which had surprised the sailor left his face.
"I understand. But there is no Sicilian here called Buonavista?"
"A Sicilian, Signore? I never heard of one. Are there Buonavistas in Sicily?"
"I have met with the name there once. But perhaps you can tell me of a boy, one of the fishermen, called Ruffo?"
"Ruffo Scarla? You mean Ruffo Scarla, who fishes with Giuseppe--Mandano Giuseppe, Signore?"
"It may be. A young fellow, a Sicilian by birth, I believe."