"Now, your worship," said the guide who had accompanied us from Ferrol, "I have brought you as far as I bargained, and a hard journey it has been; I therefore hope you will suffer Perico and myself to remain here to-night at your expense, and to-morrow we will go back; at present we are both sorely tired.""I never mounted a better pony than Perico," said I, "and never met with a worse guide than yourself.You appear to be perfectly ignorant of the country, and have done nothing but bring us into difficulties.You may, however, stay here for the night, as you say you are tired, and to-morrow you may return to Ferrol, where I counsel you to adopt some other trade." This was said at the door of the posada of Rivadeo.
"Shall I lead the horses to a stable?" said the fellow.
"As you please," said I.
Antonio looked after him for a moment, as he was leading the animals away, and then shaking his head followed slowly after.In about a quarter of an hour he returned, laden with the furniture of our own horse, and with a smile upon his countenance: "Mon maitre," said he, "I have throughout the journey had a bad opinion of this fellow, and now I have detected him: his motive in requesting permission to stay, was a desire to purloin something from us.He was very officious in the stable about our horse, and I now miss the new leathern girth which secured the saddle, and which I observed him looking at frequently on the road.He has by this time doubtless hid it somewhere; we are quite secure of him, however, for he has not yet received the hire for the pony, nor the gratuity for himself."The guide returned just as he had concluded speaking.
Dishonesty is always suspicious.The fellow cast a glance upon us, and probably beholding in our countenances something which he did not like, he suddenly said, "Give me the horse-hire and my own propina, for Perico and I wish to be off instantly.""How is this?" said I; "I thought you and Perico were both fatigued, and wished to rest here for the night; you have soon recovered from your weariness.""I have thought over the matter," said the fellow, "and my master will be angry if I loiter here: pay us, therefore, and let us go.""Certainly," said I, "if you wish it.Is the horse furniture all right?""Quite so," said he; "I delivered it all to your servant.""It is all here," said Antonio, "with the exception of the leathern girth.""I have not got it," said the guide.
"Of course not," said I."Let us proceed to the stable, we shall perhaps find it there."To the stable we went, which we searched through: no girth, however, was forthcoming."He has got it buckled round his middle beneath his pantaloons, mon maitre," said Antonio, whose eyes were moving about like those of a lynx; "I saw the protuberance as he stooped down.However, let us take no notice: he is here surrounded by his countrymen, who, if we were to seize him, might perhaps take his part.As I said before, he is in our power, as we have not paid him."The fellow now began to talk in Gallegan to the by-standers (several persons having collected), wishing the Denho to take him if he knew anything of the missing property.
Nobody, however, seemed inclined to take his part; and those who listened, only shrugged their shoulders.We returned to the portal of the posada, the fellow following us, clamouring for the horse-hire and propina.We made him no answer, and at length he went away, threatening to apply to the justicia; in about ten minutes, however, he came running back with the girth in his hand: "I have just found it," said he, "in the street:
your servant dropped it."
I took the leather and proceeded very deliberately to count out the sum to which the horse-hire amounted, and having delivered it to him in the presence of witnesses, I said, "During the whole journey you have been of no service to us whatever; nevertheless, you have fared like ourselves, and have had all you could desire to eat and drink.I intended, on your leaving us, to present you, moreover, with a propina of two dollars; but since, notwithstanding our kind treatment, you endeavoured to pillage us, I will not give you a cuarto: go, therefore, about your business."All the audience expressed their satisfaction at this sentence, and told him that he had been rightly served, and that he was a disgrace to Galicia.Two or three women crossed themselves, and asked him if he was not afraid that the Denho, whom he had invoked, would take him away.At last, a respectable-looking man said to him: "Are you not ashamed to have attempted to rob two innocent strangers?""Strangers!" roared the fellow, who was by this time foaming with rage; "Innocent strangers, carracho! they know more of Spain and Galicia too than the whole of us.Oh, Denho, that servant is no man but a wizard, a nuveiro.- Where is Perico?"He mounted Perico, and proceeded forthwith to another posada.The tale, however, of his dishonesty had gone before him, and no person would house him; whereupon he returned on his steps, and seeing me looking out of the window of the house, he gave a savage shout, and shaking his fist at me, galloped out of the town, the people pursuing him with hootings and revilings.