_Of the manner in which we escaped pretty fairly out of the hands of
Señor Don Lopez and his brigands._
Up starts Jack Dawson, catching Moll by the arm and his joint stool by
the leg, and stepping back a pace or two not to be taken in the flank,
he swings his stool ready to dash the brains out of the first that nears
him. And I do likewise, making the same show of valour with my stool,
but cutting a poor figure beside Dawson's mighty presence.
Seeing their fellow laid out for dead on the floor, with his hook nose
smashed most horridly into his face, the others had no stomach to meet
the same fate, but with their Spanish cunning began to spread out that
so they might attack us on all sides; and surely this had done our
business but that Don Lopez, flinging himself before us with his knife
raised high, cries out at the top of his voice, "Rekbah!"--a word of
their own language, I am told, taken from the Moorish, and signifying
that whosoever shall outrage the laws of hospitality under his roof
shall be his enemy to the death. And at this word every man stood still
as if by inchantment, and let fall his weapon. Then in the same high
voice he gives them an harangue, showing them that Dawson was in the
right to avenge an insult offered his daughter, and the other justly
served for his offence to us. "For his offence to me as the host of
these strangers," adds he, "Jose shall answer to me hereafter if he
live; if he be dead, his body shall be flung to the vultures of the
gorge, and his name be never uttered again beneath this roof."
"I bear no grudges, not I," says Dawson, when Don Sanchez gave him the
English of this. "If he live, let his nose be set; and if dead, let him
be buried decently in a churchyard. But hark ye, Señor, lest we fall out
again and come out worse the next bout, do pray ask his worship if we
may not be accommodated with a guide to take us on our way at once. We
have yet two hours of daylight before us, there's not a cloud in the
sky, and with such a moon as we had the night before last, we may get on
well enough."
Poor Moll, who was all of a shake with the terror of another
catastrophe, added her prayers to Dawson's, and Don Sanchez with a
profusion of civilities laid the proposal before Don Lopez, who, though
professing the utmost regret to lose us so soon, consented to gratify
our wish, adding that his mules were so well accustomed to the road that
they could make the journey as well in the dark as in broad day.
"Well, then," says Dawson, when this was told us, "let us settle the
business at once, and be off."
And now, when Don Sanchez proposed to pay for the service of our guides,
it was curious to see how every rascal at the table craned forward to
watch the upshot. Don Lopez makes a pretence of leaving the payment to
Don Sanchez's generosity; and he, not behindhand in courtesy, lugs out
his purse and begs the other to pay himself. Whereupon, with more
apologies, Don Lopez empties the money on the table and carefully counts
it, and there being but about a score of gold pieces and some silver, he
shakes his head and says a few words to Don Sanchez in a very
reproachful tone of remonstrance, to which our Don replies by turning
all the trifles out of his pocket, one after the other, to prove that he
has no money.
"I thought as much," growls Jack in my ear. "A pretty nest of hornets
we're fallen into."
The company, seeing there was no more to be got out of Don Sanchez,
began to murmur and cast their eyes at us; whereupon Dawson, seeing how
the land lay, stands up and empties his pockets on the table, and I
likewise; but betwixt us there was no more than some French pennies and
a few odds and ends of no value at all. Fetching a deep sigh, Don Lopez
takes all these possessions into a heap before him, and tells Don
Sanchez that he cannot believe persons of our quality could travel with
so little, that he feels convinced Don Sanchez must have dropped a purse
on the way, and that until it is found he can on no account allow us to
leave the neighbourhood.
"This comes of being so mighty fine!" says Dawson, when Don Sanchez had
explained matters. "Had we travelled as became our condition, this
brigand would never have ensnared us hither. And if they won't believe
your story, Señor, I can't blame 'em; for I would have sworn you had a
thousand pounds to your hand."
"Do you reproach me for my generosity?" asks the Don.
"Nay, Master, I love you for being free with your money while you have
it, but 'tis a queer kind of generosity to bring us into these parts
with no means of taking us back again. Hows'ever, we'll say no more
about that if we get out of this cursed smoke-hole; and as we are like
to come off ill if these Jack-thieves keep us here a week or so and get
nothing by it, 'twill be best to tell 'em the honest truth, and acquaint
them that we are no gentle folk, but only three poor English mountebanks
brought hither on a wild goose chase."
This was a bitter pill for Don Sanchez to swallow; however, seeing no
other cure for our ills, he gulped it down with the best face he could
put on it. But from the mockery and laughter of all who heard him, 'twas
plain to see they would not believe a word of his story.
"What would you have me do now?" asks the Don, turning to us when the
clamour had subsided, and he told us how he had tried to persuade them
we were dancers he was taking for a show to the fair at Barcelona, which
they, by our looks, would not believe, and especially that a man of such
build as Jack Dawson could foot it, even to please such heavy people as
the English.
"What!" cries Jack. "I can't dance! We will pretty soon put them to
another complexion if they do but give us space and a fair trial. You
can strum a guitar, Kit, for I've heard you. And Moll, my chick, do you
dash the tears from your cheek and pluck up courage to show these
Portugals what an English lass can do."
The brigands agreeing to this trial, the table is shoved back to give us
a space in the best light, and our judges seat themselves conveniently.
Moll brushes her eyes (to a little murmur of sympathy, as I thought),
and I, striking out the tune, Jack, with all the magnificence of a king,
takes her hand and leads her out to a French pavan; and sure no one in
the world ever stepped it more gracefully than our poor little Moll (now
put upon her mettle), nor more lightly than Dawson, so that every rascal
in our audience was won to admiration, clapping hands and shouting
"Hola!" when it was done. And this warming us, we gave 'em next an
Italian coranto, and after that, an English pillow dance; and, in good
faith, had they all been our dearest friends, these dirty fellows could
not have gone more mad with delight. And then Moll and her father
sitting down to fetch their breath, a dispute arose among the brigands
which we were at a loss to understand, until Don Sanchez explained that
a certain number would have it we were real dancers, but that another
party, with Don Lopez, maintained these were but court dances, which
only proved the more we were of high quality to be thus accomplished.
"We'll convince 'em yet, Moll, with a pox of their doubts," cries
Dawson, starting to his feet again. "Tell 'em we will give 'em a stage
dance of a nymph and a wild man, Señor, with an excuse for our having no
costume but this. Play us our pastoral, Kit. And sing you your ditty of
'Broken Heart,' Moll, in the right place, that I may get my wind for the
last caper."
Moll nods, and with ready wit takes the ribbon from her head, letting
her pretty hair tumble all about her shoulders, and then whipping up her
long skirt, tucks one end under her girdle, thereby making a very dainty
show of pink lining against the dark stuff, and also giving more play
for her feet. And so thus they dance their pastoral, Don Sanchez taking
a tambourine and tapping it lightly to the measure, up to Moll's song,
which so ravished these hardy, stony men by the pathetic sweetness of
her voice,--for they could understand nothing save by her
expression,--that they would not let the dance go on until she had sung
it through again. To conclude, Jack springs up as one enamoured to
madness and flings out his last steps with such vigour and agility as to
quite astound all.
[Illustration: "MOLL AND HER FATHER DANCE A PASTORAL."]
And now the show being ended, and not one but is a-crying of "Hola!" and
"Animo!" Moll snatches the tambourine from Don Sanchez's hand, and
stepping before Don Lopez drops him a curtsey, and offers it for her
reward. At this Don Lopez, glancing at the money on the table by his
side, and looking round for sanction to his company (which they did give
him without one voice of opposition), he takes up two of the gold pieces
and drops them on the parchment. Thus did our Moll, by one clever hit,
draw an acknowledgment from them that we were indeed no fine folks, but
mere players, which point they might have stumbled over in their cooler
moments.
But we were not quit yet; for on Don Sanchez's begging that we should
now be set upon our road to Ravellos, the other replies that though he
will do us this service with great pleasure, yet he cannot permit us to
encounter the danger again of being taken for persons of quality. "Fine
dress," says he, "may be necessary to the Señor and his daughter for
their court dances, and they are heartily welcome to them for the
pleasure they have given us, but for you and the musician who plays but
indifferent well, meaner garb is more suitable; and so you will be good
enough to step upstairs, the pair of you, and change your clothing for
such as we can furnish from our store."
And upstairs we were forced to go, Don Sanchez and I, and there being
stripped we were given such dirty foul rags and so grotesque, that when
we came down, Jack Dawson and Moll fell a-laughing at us, as though they
would burst. And, in truth, we made a most ludicrous spectacle,
--especially the Don, whom hitherto we had seen only in the
neatest and most noble of clothes,--looking more like a couple of
scarecrows than living men.
Don Sanchez neither smiled nor frowned at this treatment, taking this
misfortune with the resignation of a philosopher; only to quiet Dawson's
merriment he told him that in the clothes taken from him was sewed up a
bond for two hundred pounds, but whether this was true or not I cannot
tell.
And now, to bring an end to this adventure, we were taken down the
intricate passes of the mountain in the moonlight, as many of the gang
as could find mules coming with us for escort, and brought at last to
the main road, where we were left with nought but what we stood in (save
Moll's two pieces), the robbers bidding us their adios with all the
courtesy imaginable. But even then, robbed of all he had even to the
clothes of his back, Don Sanchez's pride was unshaken, for he bade us
note that the very thieves in Spain were gentlemen.
As we trudged along the road toward Ravellos, we fell debating on our
case, as what we should do next, etc., Don Sanchez promising that we
should have redress for our ill-treatment, that his name alone would
procure us a supply of money for our requirements, etc., to my great
content. But Dawson was of another mind.
"As for seeking redress," says he, "I would as soon kick at a hive for
being stung by a bee, and the wisest course when you've been once bit by
a dog is to keep out of his way for the future. With respect of getting
money by your honour's name, you may do as you please, and so may you,
Kit, if you're so minded. But for my part, henceforth I'll pretend to be
no better than I am, and the first suit of rags I can get will I wear in
the fashion of this country. And so shall you, Moll, my dear; so make up
your mind to lay aside your fine airs and hold up your nose no longer as
if you were too good for your father."
"Why, surely, Jack," says I, "you would not quit us and go from your
bargain."
"Not I, and you should know me well enough, Kit, to have no doubt on
that score. But 'tis no part of our bargain that we should bustle
anybody but Simon the steward."
"We have four hundred miles to go ere we reach Elche," says Don Sanchez.
"Can you tell me how we are to get there without money?"
"Aye, that I can, and I warrant my plan as good as your honour's. How
many tens are there in four hundred, Kit?"
"Forty."
"Well, we can walk ten miles a day on level ground, and so may do this
journey in six weeks or thereabouts, which is no such great matter,
seeing we are not to be back in England afore next year. We can buy a
guitar and a tabor out of Moll's pieces; with them we can give a show
wherever we stay for the night, and if honest men do but pay us half as
much as the thieves of this country, we may fare pretty well."
"I confess," says Don Sanchez, "your scheme is the best, and I would
myself have proposed it but that I can do so little for my share."
"Why, what odds does that make, Señor?" cries Jack. "You gave us of the
best while you had aught to give, and 'tis but fair we should do the
same now. Besides which, how could we get along without you for a
spokesman, and I marked that you drummed to our dance very tunefully.
Come, is it a bargain, friend?"
And on Don Sanchez's consenting, Jack would have us all shake hands on
it for a sign of faith and good fellowship. Then, perceiving that we
were arrived at the outskirts of the town, we ended our discussion.