"Well then, tomorrow at midnight I will call again."
He did so, and the vault was completed.
"Now," said the stranger, "you must help me to bring forth the bodies that are to be buried in this vault."
The poor mason's hair rose on his head at these words; he followed the stranger with trembling steps into a retired chamber of the mansion, expecting to behold some ghastly spectacle of death, but was relieved on seeing three or four jars standing in one corner. They were full of money, and it was with great labor that he and the stranger carried them forth and consigned them to their tomb.
The vault was then closed, the pavement replaced, and all traces of the work were obliterated. The mason was again hoodwinked and led forth by a route different from that by which he had come. After they had wandered for a long time through a maze of lanes and alleys, they halted.
The stranger then put two pieces of gold into his hand. "Wait here," said he, "until you hear the cathedral bell toll. If you uncover your eyes before that time, evil will befall you." So saying, he departed. The mason waited faithfully, amusing himself by weighing the gold pieces in his hand and clinking them against each other. The moment the cathedral bell rang its peals he uncovered his eyes and found himself on the banks of the Xenil; whence he made the best of his way home and reveled with his family for a whole fortnight on the profits of his two nights' work; after which he was as poor as ever.
He continued to work a little and pray a good deal and keep saints' days and holidays from year to year, while his family grew up gaunt and ragged as a crew of gypsies. As he was seated one evening at the door of his hovel, he was accosted by a rich old curmudgeon who was noted for owning many houses and being a griping landlord. The man of money eyed him for a moment from beneath a pair of anxious, shaggy eyes.
"I am told, friend, that you are very poor."
"There is no denying the fact, Senor—it speaks for itself."
"I presume then that you will be glad of a job and will work cheap?"