Come In, Brother, And We Will Eat The Heart Of
That Hog." I Scarcely Understood His Words, But, Following Him,
He
led me into a low room in which was a brasero, or small pan full of
lighted charcoal; beside
It was a rude table, spread with a coarse
linen cloth, upon which was bread and a large pipkin full of a mess
which emitted no disagreeable savour. "The heart of the balichow
is in that puchera," said Antonio; "eat, brother." We both sat
down and ate, Antonio voraciously. When we had concluded he
arose:- "Have you got your li?" he demanded. "Here it is," said I,
showing him my passport. "Good," said he, "you may want it; I want
none, my passport is the bar lachi. Now for a glass of repani, and
then for the road."
We left the room, the door of which he locked, hiding the key
beneath a loose brick in a corner of the passage. "Go into the
street, brother, whilst I fetch the caballerias from the stable."
I obeyed him. The sun had not yet risen, and the air was
piercingly cold; the grey light, however, of dawn enabled me to
distinguish objects with tolerable accuracy; I soon heard the
clattering of the animals' feet, and Antonio presently stepped
forth leading the horse by the bridle; the macho followed behind.
I looked at the horse and shrugged my shoulders: as far as I could
scan it, it appeared the most uncouth animal I had ever beheld. It
was of a spectral white, short in the body, but with remarkably
long legs. I observed that it was particularly high in the cruz or
withers. "You are looking at the grasti," said Antonio; "it is
eighteen years old, but it is the very best in the Chim del Manro;
I have long had my eye upon it; I bought it for my own use for the
affairs of Egypt. Mount, brother, mount and let us leave the
foros - the gate is about being opened."
He locked the door, and deposited the key in his faja. In less
than a quarter of an hour we had left the town behind us. "This
does not appear to be a very good horse," said I to Antonio, as we
proceeded over the plain. "It is with difficulty that I can make
him move."
"He is the swiftest horse in the Chim del Manro, brother," said
Antonio; "at the gallop and at the speedy trot there is no one to
match him; but he is eighteen years old, and his joints are stiff,
especially of a morning; but let him once become heated and the
genio del viejo (spirit of the old man) comes upon him and there is
no holding him in with bit or bridle. I bought that horse for the
affairs of Egypt, brother."
About noon we arrived at a small village in the neighbourhood of a
high lumpy hill. "There is no Calo house in this place," said
Antonio; "we will therefore go to the posada of the Busne, and
refresh ourselves, man and beast." We entered the kitchen and sat
down at the boards, calling for wine and bread.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 64 of 424
Words from 33519 to 34053
of 222596
