Hurrah! no hare ever ran so wildly or blindly; it was, literally, VENTRE A TERRE; and I had considerable difficulty in keeping him clear of rocks, against which he would have rushed in his savage fury, and dashed himself and rider to atoms.
This race brought me to the foot of the hill, where Iwaited till the Gypsy rejoined me: we left the hill, which seemed quite inaccessible, on our right, passing through a small and wretched village.The sun went down, and dark night presently came upon us; we proceeded on, however, for nearly three hours, until we heard the barking of dogs, and perceived a light or two in the distance."That is Trujillo," said Antonio, who had not spoken for a long time."I am glad of it," I replied; "I am thoroughly tired; I shall sleep soundly in Trujillo." "That is as it may be," said the Gypsy, and spurred his mule to a brisker pace.We soon entered the town, which appeared dark and gloomy enough; I followed close behind the Gypsy, who led the way I knew not whither, through dismal streets and dark places, where cats were squalling."Here is the house," said he at last, dismounting before a low mean hut;he knocked, no answer was returned; - he knocked again, but still there was no reply; he shook the door and essayed to open it, but it appeared firmly locked and bolted."Caramba!" said he, "they are out - I feared it might be so.Now what are we to do?""There can be no difficulty," said I, "with respect to what we have to do; if your friends are gone out, it is easy enough to go to a posada.""You know not what you say," replied the Gypsy, "I dare not go to the mesuna, nor enter any house in Trujillo save this, and this is shut; well, there is no remedy, we must move on, and, between ourselves, the sooner we leave this place the better; my own planoro (BROTHER) was garroted at Trujillo."He lighted a cigar, by means of a steel and yesca, sprang on his mule, and proceeded through streets and lanes equally dismal as those which we had already traversed till we again found ourselves out of the, town.
I confess I did not much like this decision of the Gypsy;I felt very slight inclination to leave the town behind and to venture into unknown places in the dark night: amidst rain and mist, for the wind had now dropped, and the rain began again to fall briskly.I was, moreover, much fatigued, and wished for nothing better than to deposit myself in some comfortable manger, where I might sink to sleep, lulled by the pleasant sound of horses and mules despatching their provender.I had, however, put myself under the direction of the Gypsy, and I was too old a traveller to quarrel with my guide under the present circumstances.I therefore followed close at his crupper; our only light being the glow emitted from the Gypsy's cigar; at last he flung it from his mouth into a puddle, and we were then in darkness.
We proceeded in this manner for a long time; the Gypsy was silent; I myself was equally so; the rain descended more and more.I sometimes thought I heard doleful noises, something like the hooting of owls."This is a strange night to be wandering abroad in," I at length said to Antonio.
"It is, brother," said he, "but I would sooner be abroad in such a night, and in such places, than in the estaripel of Trujillo."We wandered at least a league farther, and appeared now to be near a wood, for I could occasionally distinguish the trunks of immense trees.Suddenly Antonio stopped his mule;"Look, brother," said he, "to the left, and tell me if you do not see a light; your eyes are sharper than mine." I did as he commanded me.At first I could see nothing, but moving a little farther on I plainly saw a large light at some distance, seemingly amongst the trees."Yonder cannot be a lamp or candle," said I; "it is more like the blaze of a fire." "Very likely," said Antonio."There are no queres (HOUSES) in this place; it is doubtless a fire made by durotunes (SHEPHERDS);let us go and join them, for, as you say, it is doleful work wandering about at night amidst rain and mire."We dismounted and entered what I now saw was a forest, leading the animals cautiously amongst the trees and brushwood.
