not express his opinion aloud to hismaster, nor could he venture to do so by signs; for he felt a moralconviction, that they were still glaring on him through some opening inthe drapery, an idea which, as may be supposed, made him feel anythingbut at his ease. He determined, however, to keep a narrow watch on theinmate of the recess, and on the movements of several otherdoubtful-looking personages whom he had seen about the inn; yet he waspuzzled how to prevent them from guessing that his suspicions werearoused; for he knew that every word he uttered in the room would beoverheard; and, if he whispered to his master, it would make the matterstill worse; therefore, like a prudent statesman, he determined to waitthe course of events.
By the time he had arrived at this determination, Rosa returned, andbegan to clear away the dishes, when he observed that she no longer worethe ring on her finger; yet he forebore to make any further observationon the subject. He waited till he was preparing his master's couch forthe night, when he seized the opportunity to make him comprehend hissuspicions, by pointing significantly towards the recess, in which thesick friar lay, then, putting his head on the pillow, and shaking it,and drawing his finger across his throat, and again shaking his head; bywhich signs, Don Luis understood him to say, "If you do go to sleep, youwill have your throat cut;" no very pleasing prospect for a person soovercome by weariness, that he could scarcely keep his eyes open.Pedro, however, merely meant to advise him not to go to sleep till hisreturn; and he then hurried out to hint his doubts, if possible, to therest of the party, and to desire them to come up stairs immediately,where they could roll themselves up in their cloaks, in the corners ofthe room, begging them on no account to separate.
Don Luis, having also his suspicions aroused, observed, as he lookedround the room, that his luggage, with his holsters, had been piled upclose to the recess in which the friar slept. It might, certainly, havebeen placed there by accident; but, for caution's sake, as he walkedabout the room, he very quietly removed his weapons, and hung them upclose to his bed, carefully examining the primings of his pistols.Pedro soon returned with the rest of the party, and, having assisted inundressing his master, who threw himself on the bed, he rolled himselfup on the ground close to him, while the other men followed his examplein another corner, from whence, in a few minutes, loud snoresproceeding, gave notice of their being wrapt in sleep. A small lamp,burning in the centre of the room, gave a dim and uncertain light,throwing long shadows from the tables and chairs, and exhibiting a troopof mice, like tiny phantoms, playing on the floor, and picking up thecrumbs from the evening repast. Having gazed at these objects for sometime, till they grew still more confused, Don Luis could no longerresist the inclination he felt to close his eyes, persuading himselfthat, after all, there was no cause for fear.
Two or three hours passed quietly away, when, on a sudden, he was awokeby an exclamation from Pedro; and, starting up, he beheld him graspingtightly the legs of a man, whom he recognised as the invalid friar; who,with uplifted arm, was on the point of plunging a long knife into poorPedro, having already possessed himself of the holsters, when Don Luissprang up, and seized him firmly.
"Spare my life, senhor," he said with the greatest coolness; "I was notgoing to take yours; but merely to carry your weapons out of harm's way;for I do not like to see such murderous things in the hands of youths."
While he was speaking, Pedro had contrived to rise and seize his otherarm.
"How dare you tell me so abominable a falsehood?" exclaimed DonLuis.--"Wretch! you are in my power, and deserve to die."
"I am in your power at this moment, I very well know," answered theFriar; "but, if you were to kill me, you would not benefit yourselves.I should therefore advise you to allow me to return quietly to bed, andI shall be grateful; if not, a cry from me would bring a whole party ofmen, who have sworn to avenge themselves on you, and who would makesmall ceremony in cutting all your throats, and burying you beforemorning."
"I grant you your life, then, in trust that you will show yourgratitude," said Don Luis.
"Was a Capuchin friar ever ungrateful?" exclaimed their prisoner."Well, then, I should advise you to barricade the door, load your arms,call your servants, and declare, if any body tries to enter, you willshoot me. Now, having given you my advice, let me go quietly to bedagain, for I really am ill, and undertook only to withdraw your pistols,lest you should hurt anybody with them."
"Well, Senhor Frade," answered Don Luis, laughing, "you certainly are amost cool and impudent gentleman; but I will trust to you, when we havesecured the door; in the meantime, you must consent to sit quiet forawhile, with your arms tied behind you, in this chair."
"Take care what you are about, senhores. You hurt my arm, which Isprained badly the other day, or you would not have caught me soeasily," observed the Friar.
"Oh!" thought Pedro, as he saw that the friar's arm was bandaged up andbloody, "Well, well, holy Father, you must sit quiet then," he added,aloud, then called to his fellow-servant: "Come here, Bento, and takethe liberty of shooting the friar through the head, if he attempts tocall out, while I assist our master in securing the fortress. I'll beanswerable for your getting absolution."
The friar was therefore obliged to sit down, while Bento stood over him;Don Luis, and the rest of the party, with as little noise as possible,placing the tables and chairs against the door, though such a barricadewould offer but slight resistance, should any strong force be usedoutside. They then examined the room well, to see that no one else washidden there, and to discover if there were any other outlets, by whichthey might be surprised.
In the course of the search, as Pedro was looking into the cell of thefriar, he discovered a broad-brimmed hat, thrown under the foot of thebed, so he brought it out, and placed it on that reverend person's head,nodding most approvingly, as if to an old acquaintance; then threw itback to whence he had taken it.
"You may now retire to your couch, Senhor Frade," said Don Luis.--"Wewill no longer disturb the tranquillity of your slumbers; and, oncondition that you do your best to aid us, you shall not suffer."
"I promise you, on the honour of a friar, that if I can help it, no harmshall happen to you; and in return, you must promise me, on the honourof a fidalgo, that you will never mention to any human being that youhave seen me here, or allow your people to do so, whatever yoursuspicions may be; for I have repented of certain little peccadillos Ihave committed, and intend to lead a new life."
"If you adhere to the conditions, I promise not to betray you," said DonLuis.
"Very well; and now, in mercy's sake, don't keep me up in the cold anylonger," said the Friar.
"Permit me first, senhor, to deprive you of that delicate littlepenknife," said Pedro, taking the friar's dagger from his hands, "andnow, pray retire to your couch."
The friar was not long in doing as he was ordered; and, as if toconvince them of the purity of his conscience, he was soon fast asleep,as might be supposed from his loud snores.
Not long afterwards, some one was heard pressing against the door."Curses on the lazy friar," muttered a voice outside, in a low growl,yet loud enough to be heard through the crevices of the walls,--"He'ssnoring away like a hog, without thinking of his promise to us."
"Open the door, and steal softly in," said another voice. "You caneasily get possession of their arms, when we can rush in to bind them,and then it will be time enough to bind the estalajadeiro, and the restof the household, though I suspect Senhora Rosa will give us some littletrouble; however, we can let her loose the first, to release the rest,when we are far off with the booty."
"A very good plan, doubtless; but I am not going to run the chance ofbeing shot by that hot-headed youngster. What can have become of thefrade? Hark! the lazy brute is still snoring on, forgetful of ourinterests."
"Will nothing waken him?" said another voice. "Try the door again."
Another attempt was now made to open the door without noise. Don Luisand his servants stood prepared, with pistols in hand, to defendthemselves, while Pedr
o kept his eye on the snoring friar, who, the morethe people outside spoke, made the louder nasal music to drown theirvoices. After the door had been several times gently shaken, and thewooden fastening turned in several ways to no purpose--
"Carramba!" exclaimed one of the voices. "They have secured the doorinside, and, unless that houndish friar will wake up, we shall be foiledcompletely. Curses on the fool! There he snores away. This delay willnever do; we must dash open the door, and cut all their throats."
"By Saint Anthony, nothing would give me greater satisfaction," saidanother. "I long to revenge myself for the loss that youth caused usyesterday, and see, Heaven has delivered him into our hands!"
"So do I; but the estalajadeiro declared he would have no murder, norany of the horses taken, which might be traced to give his house a badname; and that nobody should know he had a hand in it."
"That is very well; but I should like to know what we are to do then?"asked another.
"There is only one way left: dash the door off its hinges, tie the youngfidalgo and his servants to the beds, and walk off with whatever we mayfind convenient."
"Agreed, agreed!" said two or three voices. "Your plan is a good one,Rodrigo. Call the others up stairs. Remember, we all rush in together;and do not forget to give the friar a good beating, as if by mistake, topunish him for his stupidity. We would dash his brains out if he werenot useful."
The Friar snored louder than ever. Several feet were heard ascendingthe stair; then there was a sudden rush, and the ill-secured door wasdashed off its hinges with a loud noise, falling inside, when a dozen ormore dark forms were seen attempting to scramble over the tables andchairs.
Don Luis fired his pistol, unwisely, perhaps--one ought to trynegotiation before going to war--and the ball took effect on some one inthe rear; then changing his sword to the right hand, he rushed forwardto meet the first who should enter, while his servants discharged theirpistols at the aperture, now crowded with human beings.
"Murder! murder!" shouted the Friar, leaping up in his bed, as if justawoke from sleep; but Pedro kept his eye upon him.
"Carramba! fire in on them, or we shall have more holes in our ribs thanthe doctors can cure."
"Hold!" shouted the Friar: "if you do, you will kill me, you fools!"
The robbers heeded him not, throwing a volley into the room; but no onefell. At the same time, a shrill female voice was heard crying out,"Murder! murder!"
"On, comrades! We must not be baulked by this foolery!" and before thesmoke cleared away, making a desperate rush, they leaped over allobstacles into the room, the headmost attacking Don Luis with greatfury; but they were not good swordsmen, and for several passes he easilykept them at bay. Numbers, however, must soon have overpowered him,those behind again loading their muskets, when he received succour froma quarter he little expected.
"I will keep my promise, and soon clear the room of these rascals, whileyou go and aid your master," cried the Friar to Pedro. "By all that issacred, I will."
Before Pedro had time to answer, he sprang up, seizing a thick oak stickfrom the head of the bed, and rushed towards the robbers, flourishing itover his head, and exclaiming, "I will pay you for your kind intentionstowards me, my masters."
This sudden reinforcement made the parties more equal; for Pedro, seeingthat the friar really intended to aid them, was able to assist hismaster. Down came the friar's stick on the head of the foremostrobbers, and blow after blow descended with more execution than theswords of Don Luis and his party.
"The friar has turned traitor," shouted several voices. "Cut him down,cut him down!"
"Hold, hold, ye fools!" cried the Friar, in return. "Back, back, or itwill be the worse for you!"
At that instant the innkeeper seemed aroused from his slumbers; for hisvoice, also, was heard exclaiming, "Back, back, ye cursed idiots! What!would you have my house looked upon as a den of thieves for this night'swork? Back, back! or by the Holy Virgin some of you will not live torepent it!"
He seemed to be enforcing his orders by blows; for a scuffle was heardoutside, above which arose the shrill tones of a woman's voice, therobbers appearing to be giving way.
The man with whom Don Luis was chiefly engaged glared fiercely on him."You killed my brother yesterday, and I will be revenged on you," heexclaimed. "I know you, Don Luis d'Almeida: you foiled me before; butwe shall meet again ere long, when this blade shall drink your life'sblood:" saying which, with curses on his companions for their cowardice,he bounded down the stairs after them, leaving Don Luis and hisattendants masters of the room; while the innkeeper and the friar wereseen on the top of the stairs, the latter still flourishing his cudgel,and vehemently abusing the banditti in no measured terms. The voices ofthe robbers were heard outside, in high and fierce dispute, the soundsgradually dying away as they gained a greater distance from the house.
The innkeeper, followed by the friar, then entered the apartment, makingmany apologies for the outrage. "I hope, senhor, you will not bringruin on an unfortunate man, by mentioning the occurrences of the night,"he said, in a supplicating tone. "You see, senhor, I am entirely in thepower of those gentlemen, and could not avoid what happened; therefore,as none of your party are hurt, and you have wounded two of thebanditti, I trust that this punishment will satisfy you."
"Oh yes, yes; I know that Don Luis will be generous, and act like a truefidalgo," interrupted the Friar. "You see that I kept my word; so infuture remember you may trust to a friar's promise: and now, by yourleave, cavalheros, I will go to bed again, for the night air does notagree with me, and my shoulder is painful." Saying which, he composedlywalked to his recess, and covered himself up with the clothes.
"I ought to make no terms with you," said Don Luis; "yet, having no wishto ruin you, I shall not complain, if you will undertake that we receiveno further annoyance."
"Oh yes, senhor, yes; on my word of honour as a gentleman, you shall beunmolested," returned the Innkeeper, putting his hand to his heart, andbowing low.
"The fidalgo will do as we beg him, I know," cried the Friar, from hisdormitory; "so go away, and leave him to finish the night in peace."
"You will not blame me, senhor, for what has occurred. Well, senhor, Iam happy again, so, if your servants will help me, I will put up thedoor, and leave you to repose."
Though Don Luis was not to be deceived by the humble demeanour of theinnkeeper, or the cool impudence of the friar, his only prudent plan wasto pretend to believe them. He therefore waited till order was restoredin the room, and the innkeeper had bowed himself away, when, loading hispistols carefully, he threw himself on his bed to wait for daylight.Pedro, however, still suspecting treachery, did not trust to a word thathad been said; but, as soon as he saw that his master was again asleep,drawing a chair to the table, he sat himself down with his pistolsbefore him, and a flask of wine, which, standing quietly in a corner,had escaped destruction. "Now, Senhor Frade," he thought, "if you playme false--and I cannot say I trust you--I will have a pop at you withone pistol, while the other shall bring down the first man who attemptsto come in at the door." The other servants, though very muchfrightened at first, dropped off, one by one, to sleep; but he,conquering his drowsiness, kept his eye on the friar, every instantexpecting to see the banditti rush into the room. He earnestly longedfor day, to quit the place; and, at length, his wishes were gratified byseeing a pale stream of light gleaming through the ill-closing shutters,when, as it grew brighter and brighter, he hurried to open them, and tolet in the fresh morning air, rousing his master and the rest of theparty.
The Friar sat up in his bed and nodded familiarly to him. "If you hadtrusted to me you might have spent a pleasanter night, Senhor Pedro,"said he: "I hope, however, you enjoyed your vigils. Good morning, DonLuis: you remember your promise."
"I do not intend to betray you," answered Don Luis; "but you must do meanother service. Some jewels were stolen from a young lady whotravelled this way yesterday, and I must insist on the
ir being given tome, that I may restore them to their owner; now, I doubt not that youare able to procure them for me. Will you undertake to do so?"
The Friar thought for a minute. "If I undertake to procure the jewels,what am I to expect in return?" he asked.
"You well know that you deserve nothing, and that I am too lenient inallowing you to escape unpunished," answered Don Luis; "but I will givean hundred milreas to the person who brings them to my father's house inthe course of a week."
"The bargain is struck," answered the Friar. "And now, senhor, adeos: Ishall always retain a high respect for you."
"I cannot exactly return the compliment," said Don Luis; "but I shallalways remember you, as the most daring, impudent scoundrel I have evermet."
"Va com Deos. Get along with you; you are joking, fidalgo," returnedthe Friar, laughing. "I am but a poor mendicant servant of heaven, andbe assured I shall not forget you in my prayers."
Don Luis did not answer him; but, followed by Pedro and his otherattendants, bearing the luggage, he repaired to the stable, where theirbeasts were saddled, and they were soon ready to depart.
The landlord made his appearance, followed by Rosa, with tears in hereyes: "You will not be cruel, senhor, and make a complaint about whathappened last night," she said; "for if you do, you
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