Spain -- History -- Carlist War, 1833-1840 -- Fiction
"Stay where you are, Luis Fernandez," said El Sarria, sternly, as he sat
down with his pistols on either side of him. "I advise you not to move
hand or foot, if you set any value upon your life. I shall have much to
say to you before--before the morning!"
And the doomed man, recognising the accents of deadly intent in his late
friend's voice, let his head sink into his hands with a hopeless moan.
"Meantime I will put these things in order," said the Scot, in whose
military blood ran the instinct of loot, and he was beginning to throw
all the objects of value indiscriminately into the open chest when El
Sarria checked him.
"I will take only what is mine own--and hers," he said, "but meantime
abide. There is much to be said and done first!"
Then he turned his broad deeply lined brow upon Fernandez, who looked
into his eyes as the trembling criminal, hopeless of mercy, waits the
black cap and the sentence.
Rollo had settled the Tia on the floor with her head on a roll of
household stuffs which she herself had rolled up in her cloak for
transport.
La Giralda asked her friend if she felt herself as comfortable as might
be, and the Tia looked up at her with the eyes of a trapped wild-cat.
Then the Scot stood on guard by the door which led to the staircase, his
sword drawn in his hand. The picturesqueness of the scene at the table
appealed to the play-actor in him.
El Sarria held the documents in his hand which Fernandez had been about
to destroy, and waved them gently in his enemy's face as a king's
advocate might a written indictment in a speech of accusation.
"You betrayed me to the death, friend Luis, did you not? You revealed
my hiding-place. That is count the first!" he began.
And the wretched man, his lips dry and scarce obeying his will, strove
to give utterance to the words, "It was all my brother's doing. I swear
it was my brother!"
"Bah," said El Sarria, "do not trouble to lie, Luis, being so near the
Other Bar where all must speak truth. You knew. You were the trusted
friend. Your brother was not, and even if you were not upon the spot, as
I thought, the blood-hounds were set on the trail by you and by no
other."
Fernandez made no reply, but sank his head deeper between his hands as
if to shut out his judge and probable executioner from his sight.
"Pass, then," said the outlaw, "there is so much else that it matters
not whether you were at the Devil's Canyon or no. At any rate, you
decoyed my wife here, by a letter purporting to be written to Dolores
Garcia by her husband----"
"Concha Cabezos lies. She was a liar from the beginning. That also was
my brother. I swear to you!" cried the wretched man, in so pitiful an
accent that for the first time Rollo felt a little sorry for him.
But there was no gleam of pity in the eyes of Ramon. Instead, he lifted
a pistol and toyed with it a moment thoughtfully.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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