A Set of Rogues

by Frank Barrett

  CHAPTER IX.

  _Of the manner in which we escaped pretty fairly out of the hands ofSenor Don Lopez and his brigands._

  Up starts Jack Dawson, catching Moll by the arm and his joint stool bythe 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 nearshim. 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 nosesmashed most horridly into his face, the others had no stomach to meetthe same fate, but with their Spanish cunning began to spread out thatso they might attack us on all sides; and surely this had done ourbusiness but that Don Lopez, flinging himself before us with his kniferaised high, cries out at the top of his voice, "Rekbah!"--a word oftheir own language, I am told, taken from the Moorish, and signifyingthat whosoever shall outrage the laws of hospitality under his roofshall be his enemy to the death. And at this word every man stood stillas if by inchantment, and let fall his weapon. Then in the same highvoice he gives them an harangue, showing them that Dawson was in theright to avenge an insult offered his daughter, and the other justlyserved for his offence to us. "For his offence to me as the host ofthese strangers," adds he, "Jose shall answer to me hereafter if helive; if he be dead, his body shall be flung to the vultures of thegorge, and his name be never uttered again beneath this roof."

  "I bear no grudges, not I," says Dawson, when Don Sanchez gave him theEnglish of this. "If he live, let his nose be set; and if dead, let himbe buried decently in a churchyard. But hark ye, Senor, lest we fall outagain and come out worse the next bout, do pray ask his worship if wemay not be accommodated with a guide to take us on our way at once. Wehave yet two hours of daylight before us, there's not a cloud in thesky, and with such a moon as we had the night before last, we may get onwell enough."

  Poor Moll, who was all of a shake with the terror of anothercatastrophe, added her prayers to Dawson's, and Don Sanchez with aprofusion of civilities laid the proposal before Don Lopez, who, thoughprofessing the utmost regret to lose us so soon, consented to gratifyour wish, adding that his mules were so well accustomed to the road thatthey 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 thebusiness 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 towatch the upshot. Don Lopez makes a pretence of leaving the payment toDon Sanchez's generosity; and he, not behindhand in courtesy, lugs outhis purse and begs the other to pay himself. Whereupon, with moreapologies, Don Lopez empties the money on the table and carefully countsit, and there being but about a score of gold pieces and some silver, heshakes his head and says a few words to Don Sanchez in a veryreproachful tone of remonstrance, to which our Don replies by turningall the trifles out of his pocket, one after the other, to prove that hehas no money.

  "I thought as much," growls Jack in my ear. "A pretty nest of hornetswe'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 howthe land lay, stands up and empties his pockets on the table, and Ilikewise; but betwixt us there was no more than some French pennies anda few odds and ends of no value at all. Fetching a deep sigh, Don Lopeztakes all these possessions into a heap before him, and tells DonSanchez that he cannot believe persons of our quality could travel withso little, that he feels convinced Don Sanchez must have dropped a purseon the way, and that until it is found he can on no account allow us toleave the neighbourhood.

  "This comes of being so mighty fine!" says Dawson, when Don Sanchez hadexplained matters. "Had we travelled as became our condition, thisbrigand would never have ensnared us hither. And if they won't believeyour story, Senor, I can't blame 'em; for I would have sworn you had athousand 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 haveit, but 'tis a queer kind of generosity to bring us into these partswith no means of taking us back again. Hows'ever, we'll say no moreabout that if we get out of this cursed smoke-hole; and as we are liketo come off ill if these Jack-thieves keep us here a week or so and getnothing by it, 'twill be best to tell 'em the honest truth, and acquaintthem that we are no gentle folk, but only three poor English mountebanksbrought hither on a wild goose chase."

  This was a bitter pill for Don Sanchez to swallow; however, seeing noother cure for our ills, he gulped it down with the best face he couldput on it. But from the mockery and laughter of all who heard him, 'twasplain 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 theclamour had subsided, and he told us how he had tried to persuade themwe were dancers he was taking for a show to the fair at Barcelona, whichthey, by our looks, would not believe, and especially that a man of suchbuild as Jack Dawson could foot it, even to please such heavy people asthe English.

  "What!" cries Jack. "I can't dance! We will pretty soon put them toanother complexion if they do but give us space and a fair trial. Youcan strum a guitar, Kit, for I've heard you. And Moll, my chick, do youdash the tears from your cheek and pluck up courage to show thesePortugals what an English lass can do."

  The brigands agreeing to this trial, the table is shoved back to give usa 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 inthe world ever stepped it more gracefully than our poor little Moll (nowput upon her mettle), nor more lightly than Dawson, so that every rascalin our audience was won to admiration, clapping hands and shouting"Hola!" when it was done. And this warming us, we gave 'em next anItalian coranto, and after that, an English pillow dance; and, in goodfaith, had they all been our dearest friends, these dirty fellows couldnot have gone more mad with delight. And then Moll and her fathersitting down to fetch their breath, a dispute arose among the brigandswhich we were at a loss to understand, until Don Sanchez explained thata certain number would have it we were real dancers, but that anotherparty, with Don Lopez, maintained these were but court dances, whichonly proved the more we were of high quality to be thus accomplished.

  "We'll convince 'em yet, Moll, with a pox of their doubts," criesDawson, starting to his feet again. "Tell 'em we will give 'em a stagedance of a nymph and a wild man, Senor, with an excuse for our having nocostume 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 thelast caper."

  Moll nods, and with ready wit takes the ribbon from her head, lettingher pretty hair tumble all about her shoulders, and then whipping up herlong skirt, tucks one end under her girdle, thereby making a very daintyshow of pink lining against the dark stuff, and also giving more playfor her feet. And so thus they dance their pastoral, Don Sanchez takinga tambourine and tapping it lightly to the measure, up to Moll's song,which so ravished these hardy, stony men by the pathetic sweetness ofher voice,--for they could understand nothing save by herexpression,--that they would not let the dance go on until she had sungit through again. To conclude, Jack springs up as one enamoured tomadness and flings out his last steps with such vigour and agility as toquite astound all.

  "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, andstepping before Don Lopez drops him a curtsey, and offers it for herreward. At this Don Lopez, glancing at the money on the table by hisside, and looking round for sanction to his company (which they did givehim without one voice of opposition), he takes up tw
o of the gold piecesand 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, butmere players, which point they might have stumbled over in their coolermoments.

  But we were not quit yet; for on Don Sanchez's begging that we shouldnow be set upon our road to Ravellos, the other replies that though hewill do us this service with great pleasure, yet he cannot permit us toencounter the danger again of being taken for persons of quality. "Finedress," says he, "may be necessary to the Senor and his daughter fortheir court dances, and they are heartily welcome to them for thepleasure they have given us, but for you and the musician who plays butindifferent well, meaner garb is more suitable; and so you will be goodenough to step upstairs, the pair of you, and change your clothing forsuch as we can furnish from our store."

  And upstairs we were forced to go, Don Sanchez and I, and there beingstripped we were given such dirty foul rags and so grotesque, that whenwe came down, Jack Dawson and Moll fell a-laughing at us, as though theywould burst. And, in truth, we made a most ludicrous spectacle,--especially the Don, whom hitherto we had seen only in theneatest and most noble of clothes,--looking more like a couple ofscarecrows than living men.

  Don Sanchez neither smiled nor frowned at this treatment, taking thismisfortune with the resignation of a philosopher; only to quiet Dawson'smerriment he told him that in the clothes taken from him was sewed up abond for two hundred pounds, but whether this was true or not I cannottell.

  And now, to bring an end to this adventure, we were taken down theintricate passes of the mountain in the moonlight, as many of the gangas could find mules coming with us for escort, and brought at last tothe main road, where we were left with nought but what we stood in (saveMoll's two pieces), the robbers bidding us their adios with all thecourtesy imaginable. But even then, robbed of all he had even to theclothes of his back, Don Sanchez's pride was unshaken, for he bade usnote that the very thieves in Spain were gentlemen.

  As we trudged along the road toward Ravellos, we fell debating on ourcase, as what we should do next, etc., Don Sanchez promising that weshould have redress for our ill-treatment, that his name alone wouldprocure us a supply of money for our requirements, etc., to my greatcontent. But Dawson was of another mind.

  "As for seeking redress," says he, "I would as soon kick at a hive forbeing stung by a bee, and the wisest course when you've been once bit bya dog is to keep out of his way for the future. With respect of gettingmoney 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 beno better than I am, and the first suit of rags I can get will I wear inthe fashion of this country. And so shall you, Moll, my dear; so make upyour mind to lay aside your fine airs and hold up your nose no longer asif you were too good for your father."

  "Why, surely, Jack," says I, "you would not quit us and go from yourbargain."

  "Not I, and you should know me well enough, Kit, to have no doubt onthat score. But 'tis no part of our bargain that we should bustleanybody 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. Howmany tens are there in four hundred, Kit?"

  "Forty."

  "Well, we can walk ten miles a day on level ground, and so may do thisjourney 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 aguitar and a tabor out of Moll's pieces; with them we can give a showwherever we stay for the night, and if honest men do but pay us half asmuch as the thieves of this country, we may fare pretty well."

  "I confess," says Don Sanchez, "your scheme is the best, and I wouldmyself have proposed it but that I can do so little for my share."

  "Why, what odds does that make, Senor?" cries Jack. "You gave us of thebest while you had aught to give, and 'tis but fair we should do thesame now. Besides which, how could we get along without you for aspokesman, 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 onit for a sign of faith and good fellowship. Then, perceiving that wewere arrived at the outskirts of the town, we ended our discussion.