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Isaiditwasunusuallyfarnorthtofindoneofhiscompatriots；
atwhichheshruggedhisshoulders，andrepliedthatamanwouldgoanywheretofindwork。WhatworkhecouldhopetofindatGradenWester，Iwastotallyunabletoconceive；andtheincidentstrucksounpleasantlyuponmymind，thatIaskedthelandlord，whilehewascountingmesomechange，whetherhehadeverbeforeseenanItalianinthevillage。HesaidhehadonceseensomeNorwegians，whohadbeenshipwreckedontheothersideofGradenNessandrescuedbythelifeboatfromCauldhaven。
“No！“saidI；“butanItalian，likethemanwhohasjusthadbreadandcheese。“
“What？“criedhe，“yonblack-avisedfellowwi’theteeth？WasheanI-talian？Weel，yon’sthefirstthateverIsaw，an’Idaresayhe’sliketobethelast。“
Evenashewasspeaking，Iraisedmyeyes，and，castingaglanceintothestreet，beheldthreemeninearnestconversationtogether，andnotthirtyyardsaway。Oneofthemwasmyrecentcompanioninthetavernparlor；theothertwo，bytheirhandsomesallowfeaturesandsofthats，shouldevidentlybelongtothesamerace。Acrowdofvillagechildrenstoodaroundthem，gesticulatingandtalkinggibberishinimitation。Thetriolookedsingularlyforeigntothebleakdirtystreetinwhichtheywerestandingandthedarkgrayheaventhatoverspreadthem；andIconfessmyincredulityreceivedatthatmomentashockfromwhichitneverrecovered。ImightreasonwithmyselfasIpleased，butIcouldnotarguedowntheeffectofwhatIhadseen，andIbegantoshareintheItalianterror。
ItwasalreadydrawingtowardthecloseofthedaybeforeIhadreturnedthenewspaperstothemanse，andgotwellforwardontothelinksonmywayhome。Ishallneverforgetthatwalk。Itgrewverycoldandboisterous；thewindsungintheshortgrassaboutmyfeet；thinrainshowerscamerunningonthegusts；andanimmensemountainrangeofcloudsbegantoariseoutofthebosomofthesea。Itwouldbehardtoimagineamoredismalevening；andwhetheritwasfromtheseexternalinfluences，orbecausemynerveswerealreadyaffectedbywhatIhadheardandseen，mythoughtswereasgloomyastheweather。
TheupperwindowsofthepavilioncommandedaconsiderablespreadoflinksinthedirectionofGradenWester。Toavoidobservation，itwasnecessarytohugthebeachuntilIhadgainedcoverfromthehighersandhillsonthelittleheadland，whenImightstrikeacross，throughthehollows，forthemarginofthewood。Thesunwasaboutsetting；thetidewaslow，andallthequicksandsuncovered；andIwasmovingalong，lostinunpleasantthought，whenIwassuddenlythunderstrucktoperceivetheprintsofhumanfeet。
Theyranparalleltomyowncourse，butlowdownuponthebeach，insteadofalongtheborderoftheturf；and，whenIexaminedthem，Isawatonce，bythesizeandcoarsenessoftheimpression，thatitwasastrangertomeandtothoseofthepavilionwhohadrecentlypassedthatway。Notonlyso；butfromtherecklessnessofthecoursewhichhehadfollowed，steeringneartothemostformidableportionsofthesand，hewasevidentlyastrangertothecountryandtotheill-reputeofGradenbeach。
StepbystepIfollowedtheprints；until，aquarterofamilefarther，IbeheldthemdieawayintothesoutheasternboundaryofGradenFloe。There，whoeverhewas，themiserablemanhadperished。Oneortwogulls，whohad，perhaps，seenhimdisappear，wheeledoverhissepulcherwiththeirusualmelancholypiping。Thesunhadbrokenthroughthecloudsbyalasteffort，andcoloredthewidelevelofquicksandswithaduskypurple。Istoodforsometimegazingatthespot，chilledanddisheartenedbymyownreflections，andwithastrongandcommandingconsciousnessofdeath。Irememberwonderinghowlongthetragedyhadtaken，andwhetherhisscreamshadbeenaudibleatthepavilion。Andthen，makingastrongresolution，Iwasabouttotearmyselfaway，whenagustfiercerthanusualfelluponthisquarterofthebeach，andI
saw，nowwhirlinghighinair，nowskimminglightlyacrossthesurfaceofthesands，asoft，black，felthat，somewhatconicalinshape，suchasIhadremarkedalreadyontheheadsoftheItalians。
Ibelieve，butIamnotsure，thatIutteredacry。Thewindwasdrivingthehatshoreward，andIranroundtheborderofthefloetobereadyagainstitsarrival。Thegustfell，droppingthehatforawhil
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