“Ca! Don’t you believe it. Men are more cowardly than they seem. Moreover, I am defended by a lot of people; first by those who rejoice over and enjoy the satires—as long as they are not directed against themselves; second, by my friends, of whom the majority are very powerful people; third and last, and this is what I place most confidence in, I am defended by these fists, and because I don’t give a fig for anybody.”
“Well, you certainly are acting without scruple or conscience.”
“Is it worth while to live otherwise? I believe not.”
“Man alive! That depends upon the way one looks at it.”
“That’s the way I look at it. The spectacle is dangerous, but amusing. Well? Are you coming to the Lodge?”
“What for?”
“You will hear several orators declaim their speeches, and I shall present you to Don Paco Sánchez Olmillo, Master Surgeon and Master Mason. If you wish I’ll make a speech in your honour on human liberty. It is a discourse which I have learned by heart, and which, with a few trifling changes, I turn loose on all occasions, making it seem different each time.”
“The plan does not tempt me.”
“Then if you don’t wish to go to the Lodge, I shall take you to the tavern in the Calle del Bodegoncillo.”
“What are you going to do there?”