I rather guessed that that was the trouble.
The carriage drove back again, and General Zorilla went in it, little José went as well, sitting up with the driver and looking very important.
Gerald told me that he'd appointed old Zorilla Commandant of the city, and that he'd sent him in to get together as many regular troops as he could find to guard the streets and keep order. Funnily enough, it never even occurred to me that old Zorilla could not be trusted; nobody who'd seen the old man could possibly doubt his honour.
'D'you know what the troops will be doing for the next half-hour?' Gerald smiled.
'No! what?'
'Twisting round the yellow and green badges in their hats till the stripes are horizontal, and blacking out the "yellow" part.'
'What's José gone for?' I asked him.
'He says that I left a clean pair of riding breeches and a new helmet at the Club, and he's going to see if they are still there.'
I must say that old Gerald wanted them badly; we both looked pretty disreputable. Just then the bells in the cathedral began ringing, and the great cracked bell banged out with its jarring clang. Bells began ringing, from one end of the city to the other, till the whole place seemed nothing but bells, and in half an hour a big black and green flag was hanging down over the old tower.
'If they don't send food out pretty soon for my chaps, there'll be no holding them,' Gerald said presently, and looked worried again; but old Zorilla must have hurried up the townspeople considerably, because very soon carts came out with bread and fruit and rice cakes, and the fierce little fellows were soon filling their stomachs.