La Justa, who was on the point of leaving, caught sight just then of Calatrava and La Aragonesa, and Vidal in company of La Flora. She paused. Calatrava had a guitar with him.
An organ-grinder happened to be passing the restaurant. The Cripple stopped him and they danced to his tunes, Vidal with La Flora, La Justa with Manuel.
Now new couples appeared, among them a fat, flat-nosed virago dressed in ridiculous fashion and accompanied by a fellow with mutton-chop whiskers and the general appearance of a gipsy. La Justa, who was in an insolent, provocative mood, began to laugh at the fat woman. The aggrieved party replied in a depreciative, sarcastic voice, scoring each word:
“These cheap fly-by-nights....”
“The dirty whore!” muttered La Justa, and began to sing this tango in a lowered voice, turning toward the fat woman as she did so:
Eres más fea que un perro de presa,
y á presumida no hay quién te gane.
You’re uglier far than a bull-dog
And for impudence no one can beat you.
“Low-life!” grunted the virago.