For many generations, the Guilos had been fishermen, and Pierre, like his ancestors, had struggled to make a living from the product of his fishing.

He was an honest man in all senses of the word, and, good comrade, bold sailor, always ready to come to the aid of the unfortunate in danger on the great treacherous water, - he was loved by his relatives and esteemed by all those who knew him.

Twenty-five years earlier, he had married Catherine, an orphan, the eldest of seven children, who had brought her only her youth and courage as a dowry.

Together, they lived, if not wealthy, at least happy, and the expected birth of a child at the beginning of their union seemed to crown their happiness,

However, when Catherine gave birth to two pretty, sturdy and well-built little boys on the same day, great consternation reigned in the house.

It was a well-established opinion in the family and even in Saint-Géran that we had never seen two brothers living together under the roof of a Guilo.