He stooped to look into his face and
recognised an Englishman, the foreman of some tramp in the harbour. He
kicked the recumbent form testily as he strode over it.
"These English, what beasts they are!" he growled, "and I--I have not a
piastre for a single glass of wine."
II--CONCERNING A DEBT
Gregorio found, on entering his house, that his wife was already in bed.
He went into the tiny kitchen and saw a plate of macaroni ready for
his supper. He tried to eat some, but it stuck in his throat. He took a
bottle of cheap Cretan wine from a shelf and drank from it; but the wine
was sour, and he spat it from his mouth with a curse.
Taking up the lamp, he went into the bedroom. His wife was fast
asleep with the boy in her arms. For a moment a smile flickered round
Gregorio's mouth as he looked at them. Then he took off his boots and
his coat, blew out the lamp, and lay beside them. He was very tired
after his long tramp in the hot streets, but he could not sleep. Angrily
he tossed from side to side and closed his eyes tightly; but it was no
good, sleep would not come.
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