Orbajosa was, in fact, tranquil. The Aceros, that warlike dynasty,worthy, in the opinion of some, of figuring in the "Romancero," hadtaken possession of the neighboring province; but the insurrectionwas not spreading within the limits of the episcopal city. It might besupposed that modern culture had at last triumphed in its struggle withthe turbulent habits of the great city of disorder, and that the latterwas tasting the delights of a lasting peace. So true is this thatCaballuco himself, one of the most important figures of the historicrebellion of Orbajosa, said frankly to every one that he did not wishto quarrel with the Government nor involve himself in a business whichmight cost him dear.
Whatever may be said to the contrary, the impetuous nature of Ramos hadquieted down with years, and the fiery temper which he had received withlife from the ancestral Caballucos, the most valiant race of warriorsthat had ever desolated the earth, had grown cooler. It is also relatedthat in those days the new governor of the province held a conferencewith this important personage, and received from his lips the mostsolemn assurances that he would contribute as far as in him lay to thetranquillity of the country, and would avoid doing any thing that mightgive rise to disturbances. Reliable witnesses declare that he was to beseen in friendly companionship with the soldiers, hobnobbing withthis sergeant or the other in the tavern, and it was even said that animportant position in the town-hall of the capital of the province wasto be given him. How difficult it is for the historian who tries to beimpartial to arrive at the exact truth in regard to the sentiments andopinions of the illustrious personages who have filled the worldwith their fame! He does not know what to hold by, and the absence ofauthentic records often gives rise to lamentable mistakes. Consideringevents of such transcendent importance as that of the 18th Brumaire, thesack of Rome by Bourbon, or the destruction of Jerusalem--where is thepsychologist or the historian who would be able to determine what werethe thoughts which preceded or followed them in the minds of Bonaparte,of Charles V., and of Titus? Ours is an immense responsibility. Todischarge it in part we will report words, phrases, and even discoursesof the Orbajosan emperor himself; and in this way every one will be ableto form the opinion which may seem to him most correct.
It is beyond a doubt that Cristobal Ramos left his house just afterdark, crossed the Calle del Condestable, and, seeing three countrymenmounted on powerful mules coming toward him, asked them where theywere going, to which they answered that they were going to Senora DonaPerfecta's house to take her some of the first fruits of their gardensand a part of the rent that had fallen due. They were Senor Paso Largo,a young man named Frasquito Gonzales, and a third, a man of mediumstature and robust make, who was called Vejarruco, although his realname was Jose Esteban Romero. Caballuco turned back, tempted by theagreeable society of these persons, who were old and intimate friendsof his, and accompanied them to Dona Perfecta's house. This took place,according to the most reliable accounts, at nightfall, and two daysafter the day on which Dona Perfecta and Pinzon held the conversationwhich those who have read the preceding chapter will have seen recordedthere. The great Ramos stopped for a moment to give Librada certainmessages of trifling importance, which a neighbor had confided to hisgood memory, and when he entered the dining-room he found the threebefore-mentioned countrymen and Senor Licurgo, who by a singularcoincidence was also there, conversing about domestic matters and thecrops. The Senora was in a detestable humor; she found fault with everything, and scolded them harshly for the drought of the heavens and thebarrenness of the earth, phenomena for which they, poor men! were inno wise to blame. The Penitentiary was also present. When Caballucoentered, the good canon saluted him affectionately and motioned him to aseat beside himself.
"Here is the individual," said the mistress of the house disdainfully."It seems impossible that a man of such little account should be so muchtalked about. Tell me, Caballuco, is it true that one of the soldiersslapped you on the face this morning?"
"Me! me!" said the Centaur, rising indignantly, as if he had receivedthe grossest insult.
"That is what they say," said Dona Perfecta. "Is it not true? I believedit; for any one who thinks so little of himself--they might spit inyour face and you would think yourself honored with the saliva of thesoldiers."
"Senora!" vociferated Ramos with energy, "saving the respect which Iowe you, who are my mother, my mistress, my queen--saving the respect,I say, which I owe to the person who has given me all that Ipossess--saving the respect--"
"Well? One would think you were going to say something."
"I say then, that saving the respect, that about the slap is a slander,"he ended, expressing himself with extraordinary difficulty. "My affairsare in every one's mouth--whether I come in or whether I go out, whereI am going and where I have come from--and why? All because they wantto make me a tool to raise the country. Pedro is contented in his ownhouse, ladies and gentlemen. The troops have come? Bad! but what are wegoing to do about it? The alcalde and the secretary and the judge havebeen removed from office? Very bad! I wish the very stones of Orbajosamight rise up against them; but I have given my word to the governor,and up to the present---"
He scratched his head, gathered his gloomy brows in a frown, and withever-increasing difficulty of speech continued:
"I may be brutal, disagreeable, ignorant, quarrelsome, obstinate, andevery thing else you choose, but in honor I yield to no one."
"What a pity of the Cid Campeador!" said Dona Perfecta contemptuously."Don't you agree with me, Senor Penitentiary, that there is not a singleman left in Orbajosa who has any shame in him?"
"That is a serious view to take of the case," responded the capitular,without looking at his friend, or removing from his chin the hand onwhich he rested his thoughtful face; "but I think this neighborhood hasaccepted with excessive submission the heavy yoke of militarism."
Licurgo and the three countrymen laughed boisterously.
"When the soldiers and the new authorities," said Dona Perfecta, "havetaken from us our last real, when the town has been disgraced, we willsend all the valiant men of Orbajosa in a glass case to Madrid to be putin the museum there or exhibited in the streets."
"Long life to the mistress!" cried the man called Vejarrucodemonstratively. "What she says is like gold. It won't be said on myaccount that there are no brave men here, for if I am not with theAceros it is only because I have a wife and three children, and if anything was to happen--if it wasn't for that--"
"But haven't you given your word to the governor, too?" said DonaPerfecta.
"To the governor?" cried the man named Frasquito Gonzalez. "There is notin the whole country a scoundrel who better deserves a bullet. Governorand Government, they are all of a piece. Last Sunday the priest said somany rousing things in his sermon about the heresies and the profanitiesof the people of Madrid--oh! it was worth while hearing him! Finally, heshouted out in the pulpit that religion had no longer any defenders."
"Here is the great Cristobal Ramos!" said Dona Perfecta, clapping theCentaur on the back. "He mounts his horse and rides about in the Plazaand up and down the high-road to attract the attention of the soldiers;when they see him they are terrified at the fierce appearance of thehero, and they all run away, half-dead with fright."
Dona Perfecta ended with an exaggerated laugh, which the profoundsilence of her hearers made still more irritating. Caballuco was pale.
"Senor Paso Largo," continued the lady, becoming serious, "when you gohome to-night, send me your son Bartolome to stay here. I need to havebrave people in the house; and even with that it may very well happenthat, some fine morning, my daughter and myself will be found murderedin our beds."
"Senora!" exclaimed every one.
"Senora!" cried Caballuco, rising to his feet, "is that a jest, or whatis it?"
"Senor Vejarruco, Senor Paso Largo," continued Dona Perfecta, withoutlooking at the bravo of the place, "I am not safe in my own house. Noone in Orbajosa is, and least of all, I. I live with my heart in mymouth. I cannot close my eye
s in the whole night."
"But who, who would dare----"
"Come," exclaimed Licurgo with fire, "I, old and sick as I am, would becapable of fighting the whole Spanish army if a hair of the mistress'head should be touched!"
"Senor Caballuco," said Frasquito Gonzalez, "will be enough and morethan enough."
"Oh, no," responded Dona Perfecta, with cruel sarcasm, "don't you seethat Ramos has given his word to the governor?"
Caballuco sat down again, and, crossing one leg over the other, claspedhis hands on them.
"A coward will be enough for me," continued the mistress of the houseimplacably, "provided he has not given his word to any one. Perhaps Imay come to see my house assaulted, my darling daughter torn from myarms, myself trampled under foot and insulted in the vilest manner----"
She was unable to continue. Her voice died away in her throat, and sheburst into tears.
"Senora, for Heaven's sake calm yourself! Come, there is no cause yet!"said Don Inocencio hastily, and manifesting the greatest distress in hisvoice and his countenance. "Besides, we must have a little resignationand bear patiently the calamities which God sends us."
"But who, senora, who would dare to commit such outrages?" asked oneof the four countrymen. "Orbajosa would rise as one man to defend themistress."
"But who, who would do it?" they all repeated.
"There, don't trouble yourselves asking useless questions," said thePenitentiary officiously. "You may go."
"No, no, let them stay," said Dona Perfecta quickly, drying her tears."The company of my loyal servants is a great consolation to me."
"May my race be accursed!" said Uncle Licurgo, striking his knee withhis clenched hand, "if all this mess is not the work of the mistress'own nephew."
"Of Don Juan Rey's son?"
"From the moment I first set eyes on him at the station atVillahorrenda, and he spoke to me with his honeyed voice and his mincingmanners," declared Licurgo, "I thought him a great--I will not say what,through respect for the mistress. But I knew him--I put my mark upon himfrom that moment, and I make no mistakes. A thread shows what the ballis, as the saying goes; a sample tells what the cloth is, and a clawwhat the lion is."
"Let no one speak ill of that unhappy young man in my presence," saidSenora de Polentinos severely. "No matter how great his faults may be,charity forbids our speaking of them and giving them publicity."
"But charity," said Don Inocencio, with some energy, "does not forbid usprotecting ourselves against the wicked, and that is what the questionis. Since character and courage have sunk so low in unhappy Orbajosa;since our town appears disposed to hold up its face to be spat upon byhalf a dozen soldiers and a corporal, let us find protection in unionamong ourselves."
"I will protect myself in whatever way I can," said Dona Perfectaresignedly, clasping her hands. "God's will be done!"
"Such a stir about nothing! By the Lord! In this house they are allafraid of their shadows," exclaimed Caballuco, half seriously, halfjestingly. "One would think this Don Pepito was a legion of devils.Don't be frightened, senora. My little nephew Juan, who is thirteen,will guard the house, and we shall see, nephew for nephew, which is thebest man."
"We all know already what your boasting and bragging signify," repliedDona Perfecta. "Poor Ramos! You want to pretend to be very brave when wehave already had proof that you are not worth any thing."
Ramos turned slightly pale, while he fixed on Dona Perfecta a strangelook in which terror and respect were blended.
"Yes, man; don't look at me in that way. You know already that I am notafraid of bugaboos. Do you want me to speak plainly to you now? Well,you are a coward."
Ramos, moving about restlessly in his chair, like one who is troubledwith the itch, seemed greatly disturbed. His nostrils expelled and drewin the air, like those of a horse. Within that massive frame a stormof rage and fury, roaring and destroying, struggled to escape. Afterstammering a few words and muttering others under his breath, he rose tohis feet and bellowed:
"I will cut off the head of Senor Rey!"
"What folly! You are as brutal as you are cowardly," said Dona Perfecta,turning pale. "Why do you talk about killing? I want no one killed, muchless my nephew--a person whom I love, in spite of his wickedness."
"A homicide! What an atrocity!" exclaimed Don Inocencio, scandalized."The man is mad!"
"To kill! The very idea of killing a man horrifies me, Caballuco," saidDona Perfecta, closing her mild eyes. "Poor man! Ever since you havebeen wanting to show your bravery, you have been howling like a raveningwolf. Go away, Ramos; you terrify me."
"Doesn't the mistress say she is afraid? Doesn't she say that they willattack the house; that they will carry off the young lady?"
"Yes, I fear so."
"And one man is going to do that," said Ramos contemptuously, sittingdown again, "Don Pepe Poquita Cosa, with his mathematics, is going to dothat. I did wrong in saying I would slit his throat. A doll of that kindone takes by the ear and ducks in the river."
"Yes, laugh now, you fool! It is not my nephew alone who is going tocommit the outrages you have mentioned and which I fear; if it were healone I should not fear him. I would tell Librada to stand at the doorwith a broom--and that would be sufficient. It is not he alone, no!"
"Who then?"
"Pretend you don't understand! Don't you know that my nephew and thebrigadier who commands that accursed troop have been confabulating?"
"Confabulating!" repeated Caballuco, as if puzzled by the word.
"That they are bosom friends," said Licurgo. "Confabulate means to belike bosom friends. I had my suspicions already of what the mistresssays."
"It all amounts to this--that the brigadier and the officers are handand glove with Don Jose, and what he wants those brave soldierswant; and those brave soldiers will commit all kinds of outrages andatrocities, because that is their trade."
"And we have no alcalde to protect us."
"Nor judge."
"Nor governor. That is to say that we are at the mercy of that infamousrabble."
"Yesterday," said Vejarruco, "some soldiers enticed away Uncle Julian'syoungest daughter, and the poor thing was afraid to go back home;they found her standing barefooted beside the old fountain, crying andpicking up the pieces of her broken jar."
"Poor Don Gregorio Palomeque, the notary of Naharilla Alta!" saidFrasquito. "Those rascals robbed him of all the money he had in hishouse. And all the brigadier said, when he was told about it, was it wasa lie."
"Tyrants! greater tyrants were never born," said the other. "When I saythat it is through punctilio that I am not with the Aceros!"
"And what news is there of Francisco Acero?" asked Dona Perfecta gently."I should be sorry if any mischance were to happen to him. Tell me, DonInocencio, was not Francisco Acero born in Orbajosa?"
"No; he and his brother are from Villajuan."
"I am sorry for it, for Orbajosa's sake," said Dona Perfecta. "This poorcity has fallen into misfortune. Do you know if Francisco Acero gavehis word to the governor not to trouble the poor soldiers in theirabductions, in their impious deeds, in their sacrilegious acts, in theirvillanies?"
Caballuco sprang from his chair. He felt himself now not stung, butcut to the quick by a cruel stroke, like that of a sabre. With his faceburning and his eyes flashing fire he cried:
"I gave my word to the governor because the governor told me that theyhad come for a good purpose."
"Barbarian, don't shout! Speak like other people, and we will listen toyou."
"I promised that neither I nor any of my friends would raise guerillasin the neighborhood of Orbajosa. To those who wanted to take up armsbecause they were itching to fight I said: 'Go to the Aceros, for herewe won't stir.' But I have a good many honest men, yes, senora; and truemen, yes, senora; and valiant men, yes, senora; scattered about in thehamlets and villages and in the suburbs and the mountains, each in hisown house, eh? And so soon as I say a quarter of a word to them, eh?they will be takin
g down their guns, eh? and setting out on horsebackor on foot, for whatever place I tell them. And don't keep harping onwords, for if I gave my word it was because I don't wish to fight; andif I want guerillas there will be guerillas; and if I don't there won't,for I am who I am, the same man that I always was, as every one knowsvery well. And I say again don't keep harping on words, eh? and don'tlet people say one thing to me when they mean another, eh? and if peoplewant me to fight, let them say so plainly, eh? for that is what God hasgiven us tongues for, to say this thing or that. The mistress knows verywell who I am, as I know that I owe to her the shirt on my back, and thebread I eat to-day, and the first pea I sucked after I was weaned, andthe coffin in which my father was buried when he died, and the medicinesand the doctor that cured me when I was sick; and the mistress knowsvery well that if she says to me, 'Caballuco, break your head,' I willgo there to the corner and dash it against the wall; the mistress knowsvery well that if she tells me now that it is day, although I see thatit is night, I will believe that I am mistaken, and that it is broadday; the mistress knows very well that she and her interests are for mebefore my own life, and that if a mosquito stings her in my presence, Ipardon it, because it is a mosquito; the mistress knows very well thatshe is dearer to me than all there is besides under the sun. To a manof heart like me one says, 'Caballuco, you stupid fellow, do this or dothat.' And let there be an end to sarcasms, and beating about the bush,and preaching one thing and meaning another, and a stab here and a pinchthere."
"There, man, calm yourself," said Dona Perfecta kindly. "You have workedyourself into a heat like those republican orators who came here topreach free religion, free love, and I don't know how many other freethings. Let them bring you a glass of water."
Caballuco, twisting his handkerchief into a ball, wiped with it hisbroad forehead and his neck, which were bathed in perspiration. A glassof water was brought to him and the worthy canon, with a humility thatwas in perfect keeping with his sacerdotal character, took it from theservant's hand to give it to him himself, and held the plate while hedrank. Caballuco gulped down the water noisily.
"Now bring another glass for me, Senora Librada," said Don Inocencio. "Ihave a little fire inside me too."