And raising his head the Pensioner saw eight or ten soldiers approaching. They were officers of the battalion of Pontevedra, which, to his disgust, had recently arrived for the garrison of the town.
Mateo gnashed his teeth, and gave utterance to sounds indicative of his hatred of the armed force, and then exclaimed in an ironical tone:
"How delightful to see warriors in time of peace!"
"You are quite cracked about them, Don Cristobal. Soldiers are very useful."
"Useful!" exclaimed the Pensioner, in a rage. "What use are they I should like to know? How are they useful?"
"They keep the peace, man."
"They keep war, you mean. The Civil Guard can keep us from rogues, but they foment dissensions and cause the ruin of the country. Directly they see the enemy appear, they take care to go off in another direction, and then they get appointments, crosses, and pensions. I maintain that as long as there are soldiers, there will be no peace in Spain."
"But, Don Cristobal, supposing a foreign nation attacked us?"
The Pensioner gave an ironical smile and shook his head several times before replying.
"Get along, silly; why the only country that could attack us by land is France, and if France should ever do so, what good would these stupid little officers in uniform be to us?"