"It is quite evident that Señor Robinson has found time to cultivate his fine voice," remarked one of the crowd.
"There will soon be a baritone beneath the balconies," added Medina. "Beware, all you who have wives and daughters!"
Señor Zuloaga handed the guitar back to me. "Pray accept this little gift from a friend, Don Juan," he said. "The señoritas of Chihuahua will be deprived of a great pleasure if you lack the means to serenade them."
"Señor," I replied, accepting the guitar, "it would be most ungallant to refuse a gift presented in such terms. Though I lack the skill and voice of Lieutenant Medina, I will do my best. May I ask if His Excellency, the Governor-General, is the father of one of your charming señoritas?"
A sudden hush fell upon the company at the mere mention of their master. The silence was broken by Pike.
"Better sheer off from that shore, John. Should your ditties fail to please His Excellency, you are apt to land in the calabozo."
"And the other fathers are apt to drop tiles upon my head," I sighed.
"Not they," reassured Zuloaga. "Keep in the shadow, and it will not be known but that you are the suitor favored by the parents."
"Yet what if I am discovered to be a stranger?" I inquired, with feigned concern.
A dozen voices hastened to reassure me that a serenade from one of the gallant Americanos would be taken in good part by the most hard-hearted of parents.