Don Quixote went on and asked another what his crime was, and theman answered with no less but rather much more sprightliness thanthe last one.
"I am here because I carried the joke too far with a couple ofcousins of mine, and with a couple of other cousins who were none ofmine; in short, I carried the joke so far with them all that itended in such a complicated increase of kindred that no accountantcould make it clear: it was all proved against me, I got no favour,I had no money, I was near having my neck stretched, they sentenced meto the galleys for six years, I accepted my fate, it is the punishmentof my fault; I am a young man; let life only last, and with that allwill come right. If you, sir, have anything wherewith to help thepoor, God will repay it to you in heaven, and we on earth will takecare in our petitions to him to pray for the life and health of yourworship, that they may be as long and as good as your amiableappearance deserves."
This one was in the dress of a student, and one of the guards saidhe was a great talker and a very elegant Latin scholar.
Behind all these there came a man of thirty, a very personablefellow, except that when he looked, his eyes turned in a little onetowards the other. He was bound differently from the rest, for hehad to his leg a chain so long that it was wound all round his body,and two rings on his neck, one attached to the chain, the other towhat they call a "keep-friend" or "friend's foot," from which hung twoirons reaching to his waist with two manacles fixed to them in whichhis hands were secured by a big padlock, so that he could neitherraise his hands to his mouth nor lower his head to his hands. DonQuixote asked why this man carried so many more chains than theothers. The guard replied that it was because he alone had committedmore crimes than all the rest put together, and was so daring and sucha villain, that though they marched him in that fashion they did notfeel sure of him, but were in dread of his making his escape.
"What crimes can he have committed," said Don Quixote, "if they havenot deserved a heavier punishment than being sent to the galleys?"
"He goes for ten years," replied the guard, "which is the same thingas civil death, and all that need be said is that this good fellowis the famous Gines de Pasamonte, otherwise called Ginesillo deParapilla."
"Gently, senor commissary," said the galley slave at this, "let ushave no fixing of names or surnames; my name is Gines, notGinesillo, and my family name is Pasamonte, not Parapilla as yousay; let each one mind his own business, and he will be doing enough."
"Speak with less impertinence, master thief of extra measure,"replied the commissary, "if you don't want me to make you hold yourtongue in spite of your teeth."
"It is easy to see," returned the galley slave, "that man goes asGod pleases, but some one shall know some day whether I am calledGinesillo de Parapilla or not."
"Don't they call you so, you liar?" said the guard.
"They do," returned Gines, "but I will make them give over callingme so, or I will be shaved, where, I only say behind my teeth. If you,sir, have anything to give us, give it to us at once, and God speedyou, for you are becoming tiresome with all this inquisitiveness aboutthe lives of others; if you want to know about mine, let me tell you Iam Gines de Pasamonte, whose life is written by these fingers."
"He says true," said the commissary, "for he has himself written hisstory as grand as you please, and has left the book in the prison inpawn for two hundred reals."
"And I mean to take it out of pawn," said Gines, "though it werein for two hundred ducats."
"Is it so good?" said Don Quixote.
"So good is it," replied Gines, "that a fig for 'Lazarillo deTormes,' and all of that kind that have been written, or shall bewritten compared with it: all I will say about it is that it dealswith facts, and facts so neat and diverting that no lies could matchthem."
"And how is the book entitled?" asked Don Quixote.
"The 'Life of Gines de Pasamonte,'" replied the subject of it.
"And is it finished?" asked Don Quixote.
"How can it be finished," said the other, "when my life is not yetfinished? All that is written is from my birth down to the pointwhen they sent me to the galleys this last time."
"Then you have been there before?" said Don Quixote.
"In the service of God and the king I have been there for four yearsbefore now, and I know by this time what the biscuit and courbashare like," replied Gines; "and it is no great grievance to me to goback to them, for there I shall have time to finish my book; I havestill many things left to say, and in the galleys of Spain there ismore than enough leisure; though I do not want much for what I have towrite, for I have it by heart."
"You seem a clever fellow," said Don Quixote.
"And an unfortunate one," replied Gines, "for misfortune alwayspersecutes good wit."
"It persecutes rogues," said the commissary.
"I told you already to go gently, master commissary," saidPasamonte; "their lordships yonder never gave you that staff toill-treat us wretches here, but to conduct and take us where hismajesty orders you; if not, by the life of-never mind-; it may be thatsome day the stains made in the inn will come out in the scouring; leteveryone hold his tongue and behave well and speak better; and now letus march on, for we have had quite enough of this entertainment."
The commissary lifted his staff to strike Pasamonte in return forhis threats, but Don Quixote came between them, and begged him notto ill-use him, as it was not too much to allow one who had hishands tied to have his tongue a trifle free; and turning to thewhole chain of them he said:
"From all you have told me, dear brethren, make out clearly thatthough they have punished you for your faults, the punishments you areabout to endure do not give you much pleasure, and that you go to themvery much against the grain and against your will, and that perhapsthis one's want of courage under torture, that one's want of money,the other's want of advocacy, and lastly the perverted judgment of thejudge may have been the cause of your ruin and of your failure toobtain the justice you had on your side. All which presents itself nowto my mind, urging, persuading, and even compelling me todemonstrate in your case the purpose for which Heaven sent me into theworld and caused me to make profession of the order of chivalry towhich I belong, and the vow I took therein to give aid to those inneed and under the oppression of the strong. But as I know that itis a mark of prudence not to do by foul means what may be done byfair, I will ask these gentlemen, the guards and commissary, to beso good as to release you and let you go in peace, as there will be nolack of others to serve the king under more favourablecircumstances; for it seems to me a hard case to make slaves ofthose whom God and nature have made free. Moreover, sirs of theguard," added Don Quixote, "these poor fellows have done nothing toyou; let each answer for his own sins yonder; there is a God in Heavenwho will not forget to punish the wicked or reward the good; and it isnot fitting that honest men should be the instruments of punishment toothers, they being therein no way concerned. This request I makethus gently and quietly, that, if you comply with it, I may havereason for thanking you; and, if you will not voluntarily, thislance and sword together with the might of my arm shall compel youto comply with it by force."
"Nice nonsense!" said the commissary; "a fine piece of pleasantry hehas come out with at last! He wants us to let the king's prisoners go,as if we had any authority to release them, or he to order us to doso! Go your way, sir, and good luck to you; put that basin straightthat you've got on your head, and don't go looking for three feet on acat."
'Tis you that are the cat, rat, and rascal," replied Don Quixote,and acting on the word he fell upon him so suddenly that withoutgiving him time to defend himself he brought him to the groundsorely wounded with a lance-thrust; and lucky it was for him that itwas the one that had the musket. The other guards stoodthunderstruck and amazed at this unexpected event, but recoveringpresence of mind, those on horseback seized their swords, and those onfoot their javelins, and attacked Don Quixote, who was waiting forthem with great calmness; and no doubt it would have gone badly withhim if the galley slaves, seeing the chance before them ofliberating themselves, had not effected it by contriving to breakthe chain on which they were strung. Such was the confusion, thatthe guards, now rushing at the galley slaves who were breakingloose, now to attack Don Quixote who was waiting for them, did nothingat all that was of any use. Sancho, on his part, gave a helping handto release Gines de Pasamonte, who was the first to leap forth uponthe plain free and unfettered, and who, attacking the prostratecommissary, took from him his sword and the musket, with which, aimingat one and levelling at another, he, without ever discharging it,drove every one of the guards off the field, for they took toflight, as well to escape Pasamonte's musket, as the showers of stonesthe now released galley slaves were raining upon them. Sancho wasgreatly grieved at the affair, because he anticipated that those whohad fled would report the matter to the Holy Brotherhood, who at thesummons of the alarm-bell would at once sally forth in quest of theoffenders; and he said so to his master, and entreated him to leavethe place at once, and go into hiding in the sierra that was close by.
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