courageous men!

"I don't know," he would reply to his mother. "Perhaps he's gone to bed
with seven kerchiefs on his head."

When Don Pedro returned, the house recovered its normality of a quiet
and well-regulated clock. Dona Cinta, after many consultations, had
come to believe his collaboration indispensable. The professor mildly
supplemented the authority of the traveling husband, and took it upon
himself to represent the head of the family in all outside matters....
Many times Ferragut's wife would be awaiting him with impatience in
order to ask his mature counsel, and he would emit his opinion in a
slow voice after long reflection.

Esteban found it intolerable that this gentleman, who was no more than
a distant relative of his grandmother, should meddle in the affairs of
the house, pretending to oversee him as though he were his father. But
it irritated him still more to see him in a good humor and trying to be
funny. It made him furious to hear his mother called "Penelope" and
himself "the young Telemachus."... "Stupid, tedious old bore!"

The young Telemachus was not slow to wrath nor vengeance. From babyhood
he had interrupted his play in order to "work" in the reception room
near to the hatrack by the door. And the poor professor on his
departure would find his hat crown dented in or its nap roughened up,
or he would sally home innocently carrying spitballs on the skirts of
his overcoat.

Now the boy contented himself with simply ignoring the existence of the
family friend, passing in front of him without recognizing him and only
greeting him when his mother ordered him to do so.

The day in which he brought the news of the return of the ship without
its captain, Don Pedro made a longer visit than usual. Cinto shed two
tears upon the lace, but had to stop weeping, vanquished by the good
sense of her counselor.

"Why weep and get your mind overwrought with so many suppositions
without foundation?... What you ought to do, my daughter, is to call in
this Toni who is mate of the vessel; he must know all about it....
Perhaps he may tell you the truth."

Esteban was told to hunt him up the following day, and he quickly
noticed Toni's extreme disquietude upon learning that Dona Cinta wished
to talk with him. The mate left the boat in lugubrious silence as
though he were being taken away to mortal torment: then he began to hum
loudly, an indication that he was in deep thought.

The young Telemachus was not