Get up and follow me; it is
you I want.
Myself. - By what authority do you thus presume to interfere with
me?
Figure. - By the authority of the justicia of Finisterra. Follow me
peaceably, Calros, or it will be the worse for you.
"Calros," said I, "what does the person mean?" I thought it,
however, most prudent to obey his command, and followed him down
the staircase. The shop and the portal were now thronged with the
inhabitants of Finisterra, men, women, and children; the latter for
the most part in a state of nudity, and with bodies wet and
dripping, having been probably summoned in haste from their gambols
in the brine. Through this crowd the figure whom I have attempted
to describe pushed his way with an air of authority.
On arriving in the street, he laid his heavy hand upon my arm, not
roughly however. "It is Calros! it is Calros!" said a hundred
voices; "he has come to Finisterra at last, and the justicia have
now got hold of him." Wondering what all this could mean, I
attended my strange conductor down the street. As we proceeded,
the crowd increased every moment, following and vociferating. Even
the sick were brought to the door to obtain a view of what was
going forward and a glance at the redoubtable Calros. I was
particularly struck by the eagerness displayed by one man, a
cripple, who, in spite of the entreaties of his wife, mixed with
the crowd, and having lost his crutch, hopped forward on one leg,
exclaiming, - "Carracho! tambien voy yo!"
We at last reached a house of rather larger size than the rest; my
guide having led me into a long low room, placed me in the middle
of the floor, and then hurrying to the door, he endeavoured to
repulse the crowd who strove to enter with us. This he effected,
though not without considerable difficulty, being once or twice
compelled to have recourse to the butt of his musket, to drive back
unauthorized intruders. I now looked round the room. It was
rather scantily furnished: I could see nothing but some tubs and
barrels, the mast of a boat, and a sail or two. Seated upon the
tubs were three or four men coarsely dressed, like fishermen or
shipwrights. The principal personage was a surly ill-tempered-
looking fellow of about thirty-five, whom eventually I discovered
to be the alcalde of Finisterra, and lord of the house in which we
now were. In a corner I caught a glimpse of my guide, who was
evidently in durance, two stout fishermen standing before him, one
with a musket and the other with a boat-hook. After I had looked
about me for a minute, the alcalde, giving his whiskers a twist,
thus addressed me:-
"Who are you, where is your passport, and what brings you to
Finisterra?"
Myself.
