"Someone is coming."
"I thought so too."
"Halt!" Grandpa shouted. "Don't think we didn't notice!" He called, walked over to Carmelina, stuffed her ear, and proceeded to walk to Rina and gave her the same penalty. He was acting like there was nothing wrong. While the only strange or wrong thing was that someone was actually approaching them, knowing they occupied this place. Was it a random traveler from Palmo? The person was coming from that direction, so it could be plausible, but they still had to be careful.
While there, he whispered that someone was intentionally getting too close to their camp. Those who didn't hear the whisper also understood that something was about to happen. Grandpa and the others rarely intervened in the game, which meant something was wrong. As the game and skills of people playing have developed so much that referees were mostly watching the game to pass the time.