Alerting the transient and poor charcoal burners is another way for Cosimo to demonstrate his growing kindness and generosity, and it’s another way for him to justify putting a stop to something that possibly allowed the cavalier avvocato a sense of purpose in the world. When the pirates’ guns don’t work, the battle becomes significantly more primitive and focused on using the natural world against one’s foe—which, given the logic of the novel, makes it more honorable.