"I propose to your lordship," he replied, gravely, "to stake your horse Storm against the wages which are due me. As it is impossible for you to pay me here, and you see that I am unalterably resolved to go no farther, your lordship can not refuse to assent to my proposition. If your lordship win, we shall be quits, and I shall then have only the honor of having served you for nothing. If your lordship lose, I shall have the chestnut horse and the favor of God."
At first I was on the point of rejecting with indignation a proposition so extraordinary, but the very idea seemed so extravagant that I laughingly accepted it. We alighted. According to a habit common enough in Mexico, Cecilio never stirred abroad without being provided with a pack of cards; and master and valet sat down, face to face, beneath a clump of trees on the off side of the road. Love stretched herself panting on the sand, while Storm, impatient of delay, pawed the ground with his hoof. At sight of the noble animal, that perhaps, in a short time, would cease to belong to me, I could not help regretting my rashness for an instant, but I had gone too far to recede. Cecilio passed me the cards.
"Your lordship will honor me by dealing them," said he, with redoubled gravity.
I shuddered, and took the pack with a hand not at all steady. Not to prolong my absurd position, I determined that the game be decided in three alburs.[50] Five minutes would then settle the question. I put down two cards from the pack. Cecilio chose one, I took the other; then, after laying down half a dozen cards in succession, I won the first albur. Not a frown crossed Cecilio's face; and, for my part, I thought that fortune was going to befriend me for once in my life, but I lost the second throw. The third albur remained, which would decide the affair.
While thus engaged, we had not perceived two horsemen who were advancing toward us. I did not see them, for my part, till they were almost at my side. The sound of their voices caused me to raise my head, and at a single glance I saw in one of the new-comers a perfect specimen of the Jarocho.[51] He wore in all its purity the peculiar costume of this class of men, a straw hat with a broad brim turned up behind, a fine linen shirt with cambric frills, without any vest above it, a pair of blue cotton velvet breeches open at the knee, and falling in a point to the middle of his leg. In a belt of Chinese crape of a scarlet color hung a straight sword (machete), without guard or sheath, the sharp and glittering blade of which sparkled in the sun. His feet, which were bare, were held in the wooden stirrup only by the tips of his toes. This Jarocho, his head inclined indolently upon one shoulder, sat his horse in the attitude peculiar to people of his caste, whose easy manner and unconstrained demeanor suited him to perfection. His complexion partook equally of the darkness of the negro and the copper color of the Indian. It was a more difficult matter to define precisely what the other cavalier was, who was habited in an Indian robe, blue pantaloons, and bottines of Cordovan leather, while a rich hat of Jipijapa straw[52] sheltered him from the rays of the sun. His face, with a slight tinge of sternness in it, might have become equally well a merchant, a horse-dealer, or a highwayman, and the easy-going horse that he bestrode seemed to suit equally all three suppositions.
Two gamesters at play, wherever they may be, are always an agreeable sight for Mexicans of all classes, and, to my great annoyance, the two horsemen stopped short to look at us. I sat quite motionless with the cards in my hand, and was much confused at being surprised at an occupation so contrary to my habits. As no stake was visible, however, I flattered myself that I would be able to keep up appearances so far as to make them believe that it was only the most innocent pastime; but I had to do with men who are acute judges of human character.
"Might I ask if this beautiful horse is the stake?" asked the horseman in the Indian robe, saluting me, and accompanying his request with a piercing look.
"Exactly so," I answered.
"In that case you are playing high, señor," replied the cavalier; "and if, as I fancy, the horse is your own, I wish Fortune may be propitious to you; but would you not like any body to help you with their advice?"