The sailor bent down, as if to see the compass more clearly, and tugged
sharply at Miss Nevil's fur cloak. It was quite evident his lament could
not be sung before Lieutenant Orso.

"What were you singing, Paolo France?" said Orso. "Was it a _ballata_
or a _vocero_? Mademoiselle understands you, and would like to hear the
end."

"I have forgotten it, Ors' Anton'," said the sailor.

And instantly he began a hymn to the Virgin, at the top of his voice.

Miss Lydia listened absent-mindedly to the hymn, and did not press the
singer any further--though she was quite resolved, in her own mind, to
find out the meaning of the riddle later. But her maid, who, being a
Florentine, could not understand the Corsican dialect any better than
her mistress, was as eager as Miss Lydia for information, and, turning
to Orso, before the English lady could warn her by a nudge, she said:
"Captain what does _giving the rimbecco_ mean?"

"The rimbecco!" said Orso. "Why, it's the most deadly insult that can be
offered to a Corsican. It means reproaching him with not having avenged
his wrong. Who mentioned the rimbecco to you?"

"Yesterday, at Marseilles," replied Miss Lydia hurriedly, "the captain
of the schooner used the word."

"And whom was he talking about?" inquired Orso eagerly.