“Carrai, bobo! what do you mean?”
“You see if the—the pain in my back, your excellency, should overcome me, I might fall and break the bottle; which would be a pity, you know,” stammered Andrez, swaying to and fro.
“Thou speakest well, Andrez, my son. Here, take this; and now go,” returned the priest, as he handed the outlaw a huge leathern bottle.
This was not exactly what Andrez meant, but he knew too well the fierce temper of padre Gayferos when once he was aroused, and dared not hesitate longer. But before he had taken a dozen steps he fell to the ground, rolling over and over as he assayed to arise. The new member of the Jarocho band noted this, and he staggered over to the prostrate fellow, and by dint of much pulling and tugging, managed to raise him erect once more; and then he muttered, in a low tone:
“Come, compadre, I will go with you. See; lean on me and show me the way to turn. So. We will do it finely,” as under Andrez’ guidance he turned to the left, after taking down one of the rude lamps, to light their way along the rough, uneven passage.
When once out of sight of the revelers, Andrez whispered:
“Por Bacchus, ’nor Garote, the padre is cruel in sending us here, away from the wine. Suppose we drink together? The prisoner does not need this wine as much as we. Besides, it is a shame for us gentlemen to wait upon him;” he held up the bottle before him, shaking it and listening to the musical rattle of its contents.
“’Tis true, Andrez. But who is this prisoner?” eagerly asked Ventura.
“Ho, ho! that is a secret, that is known only to the holy father and me. Why, he would burn me alive if I so much as whispered that our old capitan, Don Serapo Barana, was his prisoner. No, no, ’nor Ventura, that is a secret—a secret, do you hear? And although you may be a true man, I won’t share it with you,” rambled Andrez, with a drunken leer.
“True, I was wrong, as you say,” suppressing the exultant smile that shot over his features. “But come, we will go to the cell, and then, after we have drank the wine, will throw the bottle inside, so the padre will find it there to-morrow, and then he will not suspect us.”