He Knows The
Vulnerable Point Of Every Animal; See, For Example, How He Flies At
The Neck Of A Bullock, Tearing Open The Veins With His Grim Teeth
And Claws.
But does he attack a horse in this manner?
I trow
not."
"Not he," said the other shepherd, "he is too good a judge; but he
fastens on the haunches, and hamstrings him in a moment. O the
fear of the horse when he comes near the dwelling of the wolf. My
master was the other day riding in the despoblado, above the pass,
on his fine Andalusian steed, which had cost him five hundred
dollars; suddenly the horse stopped, and sweated and trembled like
a woman in the act of fainting; my master could not conceive the
reason, but presently he heard a squealing and growling in the
bushes, whereupon he fired off his gun and scared the wolves, who
scampered away; but he tells me, that the horse has not yet
recovered from his fright."
"Yet the mares know, occasionally, how to balk him," replied his
companion; "there is great craft and malice in mares, as there is
in all females; see them feeding in the campo with their young cria
about them; presently the alarm is given that the wolf is drawing
near; they start wildly and run about for a moment, but it is only
for a moment - amain they gather together, forming themselves into a
circle, in the centre of which they place the foals. Onward comes
the wolf, hoping to make his dinner on horse-flesh; he is mistaken,
however, the mares have balked him, and are as cunning as himself:
not a tail is to be seen - not a hinder quarter - but there stands
the whole troop, their fronts towards him ready to receive him, and
as he runs around them barking and howling, they rise successively
on their hind legs, ready to stamp him to the earth, should he
attempt to hurt their cria or themselves."
"Worse than the he-wolf," said the soldier, "is the female, for as
the senor pastor has well observed, there is more malice in women
than in males: to see one of these she-demons with a troop of the
males at her heels is truly surprising: where she turns, they
turn, and what she does that do they; for they appear bewitched,
and have no power but to imitate her actions. I was once
travelling with a comrade over the hills of Galicia, when we heard
a howl. 'Those are wolves,' said my companion, 'let us get out of
the way;' so we stepped from the path and ascended the side of the
hill a little way, to a terrace, where grew vines, after the manner
of Galicia: presently appeared a large grey she-wolf, deshonesta,
snapping and growling at a troop of demons, who followed close
behind, their tails uplifted, and their eyes like fire-brands.
What do you think the perverse brute did? Instead of keeping to
the path, she turned in the very direction in which we were; there
was now no remedy, so we stood still. I was the first upon the
terrace, and by me she passed so close that I felt her hair brush
against my legs; she, however, took no notice of me, but pushed on,
neither looking to the right nor left, and all the other wolves
trotted by me without offering the slightest injury or even so much
as looking at me. Would that I could say as much for my poor
companion, who stood farther on, and was, I believe, less in the
demon's way than I was; she had nearly passed him, when suddenly
she turned half round and snapped at him. I shall never forget
what followed: in a moment a dozen wolves were upon him, tearing
him limb from limb, with howlings like nothing in this world; in a
few moments he was devoured; nothing remained but a skull and a few
bones; and then they passed on in the same manner as they came.
Good reason had I to be grateful that my lady wolf took less notice
of me than my poor comrade."
Listening to this and similar conversation, I fell into a doze
before the fire, in which I continued for a considerable time, but
was at length aroused by a voice exclaiming in a loud tone, "All
are captured!" These were the exact words which, when spoken by
his daughter, confounded the Gypsy upon the moor. I looked around
me, the company consisted of the same individuals to whose
conversation I had been listening before I sank into slumber; but
the beggar was now the spokesman, and he was haranguing with
considerable vehemence.
"I beg your pardon, Caballero," said I, "but I did not hear the
commencement of your discourse. Who are those who have been
captured?"
"A band of accursed Gitanos, Caballero," replied the beggar,
returning the title of courtesy, which I had bestowed upon him.
"During more than a fortnight they have infested the roads on the
frontier of Castile, and many have been the gentleman travellers
like yourself whom they have robbed and murdered. It would seem
that the Gypsy canaille must needs take advantage of these
troublous times, and form themselves into a faction. It is said
that the fellows of whom I am speaking expected many more of their
brethren to join them, which is likely enough, for all Gypsies are
thieves: but praised be God, they have been put down before they
became too formidable. I saw them myself conveyed to the prison at
-. Thanks be to God. Todos estan presos."
"The mystery is now solved," said I to myself, and proceeded to
despatch my supper, which was now ready.
The next day's journey brought me to a considerable town, the name
of which I have forgotten. It is the first in New Castile, in this
direction. I passed the night as usual in the manger of the
stable, close beside the Caballeria; for, as I travelled upon a
donkey, I deemed it incumbent upon me to be satisfied with a couch
in keeping with my manner of journeying, being averse, by any
squeamish and over delicate airs, to generate a suspicion amongst
the people with whom I mingled that I was aught higher than what my
equipage and outward appearance might lead them to believe.
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