Page:Madrid shaver's adventures in the Spanish Inquisition (3).pdf/13

 with doubloons, he bade him begone about his business, and not see his face again till he had executed his demands.

Nicolas bolted out of the porch without taking leave of the altar, and never checked his speed till he found himself fairly housed under shelter of his own beloved brass basin.—Alia! quoth Nicolas, my lord Inquisitor, I see the king is not likely to gain a subject more by your intrigues, and a pretty job you have set me about; and so, when I have put the poor lady to rest with your damned sedative, my tongue must be stopt next to prevent its blabbing: but I’ll shew you I was not born in Andalusia for nothing. Nicolas now opened a secret drawer, and took out a few pieces of money, which, in fact was his whole stock of cash in the world; he loaded and primed his pistols, and carefully lodged them in the houlsters of his saddle! he buckled to his side his trusty spada,and hastened to caparison his mule. Ah, thou imp of the old one, quoth he, as he entered the stable, art not ashamed to look me in the face? But come, hussy, thou owest me a good turn, methinks; stand by me this once, and be friends for ever! thou art in good case, and if thou wilt put thy best foot foremost, like a faithful beast, thou shalt not want for barley on the way. The bargain was soon struck between Nicolas and his mule, he mounted her in the happy moment, and pointing his course toward the bridge of Toledo, which proudly strides with half a dozen lofty arches over a stream scarce three feet wide, he found himself as completely in a desert in half a mile’s riding, as if he