Pilgrims
Behind the castello, where no visitors came, a slope of canary grass ran from the outer wall down to the marsh. A brief attempt at a brick quay traced the shore, with five or six old cannons stuck in muzzle first as moors. The Grand Duke’s factor had forbidden fishing the marsh, a rule that meant nothing since no one could tell what was marsh and what was open water. Weedy passages were always opening and closing, and the river was so shallow from bank to bank that nothing but fishing scows could be expected to range it. Certainly no one was expecting the twin-sailed schooner that now appeared round the golden headlands and came dancing upriver, light as a pond skater. Men in the fields straightened for a better view and scratched their heads.
Two sails were too many for a boat
