“Excuse me; I have forgotten an appointment. I will return to accompany you home.”
“Stay!” said Sinang. “Yeyeng is going to dance in the ‘La Calandria.’ She dances divinely.”
“I cannot, my little friend, but I will certainly return.”
The murmurs increased.
While Yeyeng, dressed in the style of the lower class of Madrid, was coming on the stage with the remark: “Da Usté su permiso?” (Do you give your permission?) and as Carvajal was replying to her “Pase usté adelante” (Pass forward), two soldiers of the Civil Guard approached Don Filipo, asking him to suspend the performance.
“And what for?” asked he, surprised at the request.
“Because the alferez and his Señora have been fighting and they cannot sleep.”
“You tell the alferez that we have permission from the Alcalde, and that no one in the town has any authority over him, not even the gobernadorcillo, who is my on-ly su-per-ior.”
“Well, you will have to suspend the performance,” repeated the soldiers.
Don Filipo turned his back to them. The guards marched off.