I awoke to perfect consciousness (for I could scarcely be said to have
been asleep all night) just as the first faint streaks of dawn were
appearing in the sky; and hearing the voices of men, and the stamping of
horses in the court-yard, I looked out of the window to learn what was
occurring. At first my mind misgave me that the alguazil and his
myrmidons had by some means seized the Indian; but as I scrutinised the
dark forms which appeared in the cold grey light of the morning, I could
not distinguish his among them.
The men mounted one after the other apparently in good humour, for Jose
was there among the other servants with a huge flagon of wine to serve
out to them the stirrup-cup at parting, a custom observed in most
countries. It was a great relief to my mind when the gates were opened
and I saw them fairly outside the walls. As the light increased, I
watched them slowly winding along the steep path which led up the
mountain, till they disappeared in a dark gorge which opened before
them.
"You will have a long ride if you do not intend to halt till you have
caught the fugitive in that direction," said I to myself, just as Jose
entered.
"I have sent the rogues off in good humour," he observed. "Wine is a
fine thing to raise the spirits, though to my mind last night they took
enough to raise more than they expected--ha, ha, ha! They thought they
were attacked by ghosts and goblins, when in reality only a number of
bats flew out against them after the foul air had already damped their
ardour. The place swarms with the vermin. By the by, if the Senor, my
master, will give me the key of the vault, I will get up that beast of a
dog, and bury him or hang him up to feed the condors."
I thought Jose suspected something, and said this to learn the truth. I
was inclined to confide the secret to him, but I felt that I ought not
to do so without my father's permission; so I answered that my father
would give him the keys when he required them. When I met my father, he
told me that I was right in not telling Jose, both for our sake as well
as his own, though he was doubtless trustworthy.