And so I will go on, and you must listen.

Ruggiero is not a great signore like the Count of San Miniato, but he is a man.

And he has two arms which are good, and two fists as hard as an ox's hoofs, and he can break horse-shoes with his hands." "Can you do that ?" asked Teresina with an admiring look.
"Since you ask me--yes, I can.

But Ruggiero did it before I could, and showed me how, and no one else here can do it at all.

And moreover Ruggiero is a quiet man and does not drink nor play at the lotto, and there is no harm in a game of beggar-my-neighbour for a pipe of tobacco, on a long voyage when there is no work to be done, and--" "Yes, I know," said Teresina, interrupting him.