When he returned to the headquarters, they told him there was a meeting
in “Furibis’s” tavern at nine that night. Cæsar got there a little
later than the time set. The place was gloomy, and had some big earthen
jars in it. They had put a table at the back of this cave, and an
acetylene light illuminated it.
Those present formed a semicircle around the table.
Cæsar knocked at the tavern, and they opened the door to him; a workman
who was speaking delayed his peroration, and they waited until Cæsar
had reached the table and got seated. The atmosphere was suffocating.
Everything was closed so that the Civil Guards would not see the light
through the windows and suspect that there was a meeting being
held there. The workmen were, for the most part, masons, weavers,
brickmakers. There were women there with their little ones asleep in
their bosoms. The air one breathed there was horrible. It looked like
a gathering of desperate people. They had learned that their arrested
comrades had been beaten in the prison, and that San Román and Dr.
Ortigosa were in the infirmary as a result.
_EULOGY OF VIOLENCE_
The excitement among those present was terrible. “Limpy” was the most
strenuous; he was in favour of their all going out that moment and
storming the jail.
When they had all spoken, Cæsar got up and asked them to wait. If he
won the election the next day, he promised them that the prisoners
should be freed immediately; if he did not win and the prisoners
remained there...
“Then what is to be done?” said a voice.
“What is to be done? I am in favour of violence,” answered Cæsar;
“burning the jail, setting fire to the whole town; I am ready for
anything.”
At that moment he really did think he had been too lenient.
“Man’s first duty is to break the law,” he shouted, “when it is a bad
law. Everything is due to violence and war. I will go to the post of
danger this very second, whenever you wish. Shall we storm the jail?
Let’s go right now.”
This storming of the jail didn’t seem an easy thing to the others. One
might try to climb down the hill and surprise the prison guards, but it
would be difficult. According to “Furibis,” the best thing would be for
ten or twelve of them to go out into the street with guns and pistols
and shoot right and left.
At this disturbance the Civil Guard would come out, and that would be
the moment for the others to enter the jail and drag the prisoners out
into the street.
Some one else said that it seemed better to him for them to approach
the Civil Guards’ quarters cautiously, kill the sentinels, and take
possession of the rifles.
“Decide,” said Cæsar; “I am ready for anything.”
Cæsar’s attitude made the excited ones grow calmer and understand that
it was not so easy to storm the jail.
It was about eleven when the meeting at the tavern ended. They had
decided to wait and see what would happen the next day, and they left
the place one by one.
“We will escort you, Don Cæsar,” several of them said.
“No. What for?”
“Remember there are people who might attack you. ‘Driveller’ Juan is at
large in Castro.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That bully can’t do anything to me.”
* * * * *
_AT NIGHT_
Cæsar went out of the tavern, pulled down his hat, and wrapped himself
in his cape. He had not brought the motor, to avoid being recognized. It
was a cloudy night, but still and beautiful.
Before they got out of the town a small boy came up to Cæsar.
“‘The Cub-Slut’ sent me to tell you to come to her house; she wants to
speak to you.”
“I will go tomorrow.”
“No. You must come now, because what she has to say is very important,”
shouted the youngster.
“Well, I can’t go now.”
The youngster protested, and Cæsar continued on his way. “Limpy” and
“Uncle Chinaman” followed him. Cæsar was walking in the middle of the
highway, when, about half way home, a man on the run passed him. No
doubt he was going to give some signal.
“Limpy” and “Chinaman” shouted over and over:
“Don Cæsar! Don Cæsar!”
Cæsar halted, and “Chinaman” and “Limpy” ran up to him.
“What’s going on?” asked Cæsar.
“They are lying in wait for you,” said “Limpy.” “Didn’t you see a man go
past running?”
“Yes.”
“We are going to stay with you. We will sleep at your house,” said
“Chinaman,” “and if they attack us, we will defend ourselves.”
He showed a pistol which he carried in his sash.
The three walked on together, and as they passed a little grove in front
of the palace, a shadow passed by, crawling, and fled away.
“He was there,” said “Chinaman.”
They went into the house. Amparito, with the old nurse, was praying
before a lighted image.