The river was low, and the renaioli were on a break. From dusk till dawn the men shoveled sediment from the riverbed into carts or waiting boats. Four of them were sitting smoking now. Hats tilted back, shirtsleeves rolled high. Miss Everly said the gravel had been caused by the erosion of stone buildings along the riverbank in times of flood, and would be used again in future construction. Nothing was ever wasted, she said. The Arno was like the Ganges, the source of life. Both giver and taker. Sewer and fishmonger. Miss Everly knew everything about the city.
