Part 17 (2/2)
”When I rose nexthad fallen upon the city”
”A black fog!” exclai that would last all days and hted in the streets they gave no light”
”Demons!” exclaio to the well for soht”
”You ht wait till I finish,” I said
”No, no, Captain,” he returned ”Go on with your story; weup the bucket, he trudged off
”Finding it was going to be dark all day,” I continued, ”I detero a little distance away, not out of London, you will understand, but about three leagues fro would not be so dark, and where there is a palace of glass”
”A palace of glass!” repeated Lechuza, with his immense round eyes fixed sternly onso wonderful in that?”
”Have you any tobacco in your pouch, Mariano?” said Blas
”Pardon, Captain, for speaking, but the things you are telling require a cigarette, and my pouch is empty”
”Very well, sirs, perhaps you will now allowto feel rather vexed at these constant interruptions ”A palace of glass large enough to hold all the people in this country”
”The Saints assist us! Your tobacco is dry as ashes, Mariano,” exclaie,” said the other, ”for I have had it three days in h to hold all the people in the world And then?”
”No, I shall not proceed,” I returned, losing my temper ”It is plain to see that you do not wish to hear ht have disguised your want of interest in what I was about to relate; for I have heard it said that the Orientals are a polite people”
”There you are saying too much,of actual experiences, not inventing tales of black fogs and glass palaces andon their heads, and I know not what otheryou is untrue?” I indignantly asked
”Surely, friend, you do not consider us such simple persons in the Banda Oriental as not to know truth from fable?”
And this froical encounter with Apollyon, a yarn which quite put Bunyan's narrative in the shade! It was useless talking;hter The hed, until I yelled with laughter, slappingmyself up after the atory My companions never smiled Rivarola ca at me for some tihter, come in the same measure, then we shall have to sleep in the wet”
This increased my mirth
”If the whole country is to be infor-place,” said Blas the ti ourselves to an unnecessary trouble by running away froreeted this protest
”I once knew a h; you could hear it a league away, it was so loud His name was Aniceto, but we called hih, which sounded like the braying of an ass Well, sirs, he one day burst out laughing, like the Captain here, at nothing at all, and fell down dead You see, the poor man had aneuris quite exhausted, I looked apprehensively at Lechuza, for this important member of the quartet had not yet spoken