"But tell me,my friend, what information have you collected lately?" added theMinister, speaking quickly.
"I have seen much, and guessed more, please your Excellency," answeredAntonio. "In the first place, the duke returned suddenly to Lisbon, andhas since then renewed his acquaintance with various families with whomhe was formerly at enmity. Now, a man does not do so unless he is aboutto repent of his sins, or, far more probably, unless he is about somemischief. Then, Senhor Policarpio has been running about in alldirections, like his master, making friends with those whom he neverbefore deigned to address; though he is insolent enough to many overwhom he dares to tyrannise. The duke also constantly receives visitsfrom that mad Jesuit Malagrida, a professed enemy of your Excellency,and from many others openly disaffected to your government; but I havebrought here a list of all those who have visited the duke; and here isanother, containing the names of those with whom he has hadcommunication at other places, as far as I can learn." Saying which, hehanded two papers to the Minister, adding, "With these your Excellencywill be able to form a better opinion than I can venture to offer."
"Ah!" exclaimed the Minister, taking the papers eagerly, and running hiseye over their contents. "Beware, my lord duke, or you will soon,methinks, be in my power; and we shall then see if you dare to scorn thelowly commoner. I see his aims," he continued, half speaking tohimself. "He hopes to gain our sovereign's ear, and then, with an armyof parasites, to hurl me to destruction; but I am prepared for hismachinations, and ere long he shall feel so. I must break the pride ofthese arrogant fidalgos, or they will lord it over the king himself,--base wretches, whose whole being is composed of avarice and the mostsordid selfishness, without valour, honour, or patriotism,--who care notfor the fate of their country, so that they can undisturbedly enjoytheir own luxuries. Ah, miscreants! I will overwhelm you when youlittle expect it!" Suddenly stopping in his soliloquy, he seemed torecollect that another person was present, and turning to Antonio, heagain addressed him. "The information you bring me is valuable, myfriend; but there is much yet to be learned. Continue constant to yourpurpose, and you shall be rewarded highly: in the meantime, take thispurse. You have earned it well."
Antonio stretched not out his hand to clutch the gold, as many wouldhave done; but, unconsciously drawing himself up, he replied, "No,senhor; pardon me, I seek not such reward. Freely, and of my ownaccord, I have served you, and no gold would repay me for the days ofwatching and drudgery I have for this purpose undergone. Because theblood of Abraham flows in my veins, think not that I must needs beavaricious. When I was in want of money, you gave it me; if I requiremore, I will ask it; but such is not the recompense I seek. When thetime comes, I will demand my reward, and it will be such alone as you injustice will be bound to grant."
Carvalho gazed at the speaker earnestly. "You have a soul above yourclass, and deserve a higher destiny," he said.
"I may not be what I appear to the world, nor seek I a higher destinythan is my lot," returned Antonio. "If I have your Excellency'spermission, I will depart."
"You are at liberty; I will detain you no longer," said Carvalho."Adeos, my friend."
Antonio bowed low to the Minister, who retired to his inner chamber;while, as he found his way, unquestioned into the street, he whisperedto himself, "He will serve my purpose."
Volume 2, Chapter II.
We find ourselves so constantly recurring to Don Luis d'Almeida, that webegin to fear our readers, particularly the fairer portion of them, willsoon get heartily tired of hearing so much about him; and, therefore, toplease them, we would, were we composing a mere story from our ownbrain, effectually get rid of him, by carrying him into a dark forest atmidnight, amid a storm of thunder and lightning, when a hundred brigandsshould rush upon him from their lurking places, and plunge their daggersinto his bosom; but that, by so doing, we should infringe the plan onwhich we have determined, to adhere strictly to the truth of history.We do not, however, feel ourselves called upon to describe minutely theevents of each day, and we will, therefore, pass over rather more than aweek, which he had spent in his father's society, when, towards theevening, he was seated, in a listless humour, with a book in his hand,on a stone terrace, overlooking a garden, stretched out below it. Buthis eyes seemed to glance much less frequently at the pages before him,than at the pure blue sky, or the bright parterres of flowers, thesparkling fountains, the primly cut box trees, and the long straightwalks; though, even then, it seemed that his eye was less occupied thanhis mental vision. But we need not inquire what were his thoughts;perhaps, they were of the scenes he had witnessed in his travels;perhaps of Theresa's falsehood; and there is a possibility of theirhaving been of the fair portrait he had so quickly taken of DonnaClara.--A servant suddenly recalled him to the present moment, byinforming him that a holy friar, waiting at the gate, begged earnestlyto see him on some matter of importance.
"I will speak to him," he exclaimed, rising; and, throwing down hisbook, he took his way towards the gate. He there perceived a figure inthe monastic habit, walking slowly up and down, and, turning his headwith a cautious look in every direction; and, as the person approached,he was not long in distinguishing the features of the friar who hadplayed so very suspicious a part at the inn.
"Ah, my young friend," exclaimed that worthy personage, with thegreatest effrontery; "I have not, you see, forgotten either you, or yourrequests. It struck me, that you very much wished to possess the jewelsyou spoke of, so, from the strong desire I felt to serve you, I exertedmyself diligently to procure them for you. I hope that you have notforgotten your part of the contract; for, though I should myself requireno reward, yet I was obliged to pay various sums to the persons who heldthe property."
"I perfectly appreciate your feelings, reverend Father," returned DonLuis. "Nor have I forgotten my promise. Where are the jewels?"
"I have not been able to bring them with me, my son, for weightyreasons; but where are the hundred milreas? for though that sum is not aquarter of their real value, the gentlemen who had appropriated themhave a predilection for hard cash."
Don Luis had good reasons for suspecting that the friar was deceivinghim, as he answered, "The money shall be forthcoming when you show methe jewels; but, under the circumstances of the case, you can scarcelyexpect me to pay you beforehand."
"Why, I confess that you have seen me in rather suspicious company,senhor; but yet it is cruel to doubt the honesty of an humble friar. Toconvince you of my sincerity, I have brought this ring, which I believebelonged to the young lady you said had been robbed by those rascallybanditti."
Don Luis took the ring which the friar offered. "This, Senhor Frade, isbut a small portion of the trinkets I expected. It was for the recoveryof the casket I promised you the reward."
"I am aware of that, senhor; but I wish to show you that, though youdoubt me, I put every confidence in your honour; and, if you were not soimpatient, I would deliver the proposal which I came here to make. Inthe first place, I beg you will keep that ring, as an earnest of mysincerity; and, if you will trust me with the money, I will return withthe casket; but if not, the only way by which you can recover it, is tofollow my directions."
Don Luis considered a moment; but there was such a roguish glance in thetwinkle of the friar's eye, that he thought it would be folly to trusthim, and that he should probably neither see the casket nor his moneyagain, though he would willingly have risked a far larger sum for thesake of recovering the jewels. Yet he wished first to hear what thefriar had to propose.
"I see how it is," said the Friar, laughing. "You think me a rogue ingrain, so there is no use concealing the matter; but I am not offended,I assure you. Other people have thought me so too, who knew me betterthan you do, till they found out their mistake, as you will some day:however, if you had trusted me, you might have saved yourselfconsiderable trouble."
"Well, well, Father," interrupted Don Luis, getting rather impatient atall this circumlocution, "let me hear your proposition, and th
en I shallbe able to determine how to act."
"You must know, then, my young friend, that this precious casket, whichyou are so anxious to gain, is in the possession of a very holy andpious man, an aged hermit, whose food is the roots of the earth, or thenuts from the trees, and his drink the pure water from the brook," beganthe Friar, speaking very slowly, and eyeing Don Luis, with a laughingglance. "And thus it befell, that this holy man became possessed of thecasket. You know a hill, which stands about two leagues from hence, onthe summit of which is a chapel dedicated to our Lady of the Rock?"
"Yes, yes," answered Don Luis, rather impatiently, and vexed at thefriar's evident intention of putting his temper to the proof,