or of a man ready
with his tongue and equally ready with his knife.

With the younger Perico's coming, the venta _El Corral_ had promptly
become the Cafe de Madrid, while the prices of all liquors rose to mark
the change, even as in a like proportion their quality speedily
diminished. Customers would doubtless have left at this juncture but for
the fact that Esteban was his uncle's nephew, and that Perico the Elder
sat at the receipt of custom.

So at this newly named Cafe de Madrid our travellers alighted, and the
silent Gallegan, gathering the reins in his hands, disappeared into the
stables, whose roofs rose over the low front of the venta like a
cathedral behind its cloisters.

"Good evening to you, young cavaliers!" cried the gallant Gaspar, who
commonly did the honours even in the presence of his nephew, the nominal
host of the venta. The younger man had followed the Gallegan to the
stables with a declared intent of seeing that the horses were properly
provided for.

"You have come far to-day?" inquired Gaspar courteously.

"From the Abbey of----" (here Rollo kicked Etienne suddenly) "I mean we
passed the Abbey of Montblanch, leaving behind us gladly such a nest of
Carlist thieves! From the true nationalist city of Zaragoza we come,"
said the Count de Saint Pierre in a breath.

"You are all good men and true here, I observe," said Rollo, who had
seen Cristino colours on the official coat of Gaspar Perico.

"Good men and good nationals!" cried Gaspar. "Indeed, I believe you! I
should like to see any other show his face in Sarria. There never was
one since Ramon Garcia became an outlaw, and he fled the village rather
than face me, the champion of the province. Ah, he knew better than to
encounter this noble and well-tried weapon!"

And as he spoke he tapped the brown stock of his blunderbuss, and took a
wholly superfluous squint down the stock to be certain that the sights
were properly adjusted, or perhaps to show the excellent terms he was on
with his weapon.

At this very moment, Esteban the bully, Esteban the unconquered valiant,
came running from the stables of the venta, holding his hands to his
face, and behind him, towering up suddenly and filling the entire
doorway, appeared the huge figure of the Gallegan. What had occurred
between them no man could say. But the Gallegan with great coolness
proceeded to cast out upon the rubbish heap before the door, armful
after armful of chopped and partly ro