d up to him, saying "Look at the
dirty gipsy thief! I will lay a wager he will give himself airs as if he
were an honest man, and deny the robbery, though the goods have been
found in his hands. Good luck to whoever sends the whole pack of you to
the galleys. A fitter place it will be for this scoundrel, where he may
serve his Majesty, instead of going about dancing from place to place,
and thieving from venta to mountain. On the faith of a soldier, I have a
mind to lay him at my feet with a blow."

So saying, without more ado he raised his hand, and gave Andrew such a
buffet as roused him from his stupor, and made him recollect that he was
not Andrew Caballero but Don Juan and a gentleman; therefore, flinging
himself upon the soldier with sudden fury, he snatched his sword from
its sheath, buried it in his body, and laid him dead at his feet. The
people shouted and yelled; the dead man's uncle, the alcalde, was
frantic with rage; Preciosa fainted, and Andrew, regardless of his own
defence, thought only of succouring her. As ill luck would have it,
Clement was not on the spot, having gone forward with some baggage, and
Andrew was set upon, by so many, that they overpowered him, and loaded
him with heavy chains. The alcalde would gladly have hanged him on the
spot, but was obliged to send him to Murcia, as he belonged to the
jurisdiction of that city. It was not, however, till the next day that
he was removed thither, and meanwhile he was loaded with abuse and
maltreatment by the alcalde and all the people of the place. The
alcalde, moreover, arrested all the rest of the gipsies he could lay
hands on, but most of them had made their escape, among others Clement,
who was afraid of being seized and discovered. On the following morning
the alcalde, with his officers and a great many other armed men, entered
Murcia with a caravan of gipsy captives, among whom were Preciosa and
poor Andrew, who was chained on the back of a mule, and was handcuffed
and had a fork fixed under his chin. All Murcia flocked to see the
prisoners, for the news of the soldier's death had been received there;
but so great was Preciosa's beauty that no one looked upon her that day
without blessing her. The news of her loveliness reached the
corregidor's lady, who being curious to see her, prevailed on her
husband to give orders that she should not enter the prison to which all
the rest of the gipsies were committed. Andrew was thrust into a dark
narrow