Two of them stood at the door and two more were at the windows. Those at the door wished to withdraw at the sight of the mayor, but he caught hold of them.
"What is this scandal—eh?" he repeated.
The girls began to explain the cause of the commotion, but hardly had they uttered a word than Don Roque interrupted them, vociferating:
"To prison with you!"
"Señor, I—"
"To the prison—ah! To the prison, away with you all! Be off, everybody! Where is the ruffian Patina?"
Merciful heavens, what a commotion then ensued!
The girls at the windows had nothing for it but to come downstairs, and Patina came with them, for Don Roque brooked no delay. Cries and lamentations filled the air, while the strident voice of the mayor cried out incessantly:
"To the prison—ah! To the prison—ah!"
The unhappy creatures called on God and the Virgin; but the mayor, with his infuriated face and flaming eyes, raised his voice still higher as he deafened himself with his cry: