"I can't give you more than three pesetas for the whole business."
"No," answered Vidal. "Rather than accept that we'll take the bundle
with us."
"All right. The first guard I meet I'll inform against you and tell
him that you're carrying stolen goods on your person."
"Come across with the three pesetas," said Vidal. "Take the bundle."
Vidal took the money and the ragdealer, laughing, took the package.
"The first guard we see we'll tell that you've got stolen goods in
your sack," shouted Vidal to the ragdealer. The man with the sack got
angry and gave chase to the trio.
"Hey there! Come back! Come back!" he bellowed.
"What do you want?"
"Give me my three pesetas and take your bundle."
"Nix. Give us a duro and we won't say a word."
"Like hell."
"Give us only two pesetas more."
"Here's one, you rascal."
Vidal seized the coin that the ragdealer threw at him, and, as none
was sure of himself, they made off hurriedly. When they reached
Dolores' house in Las Cambroneras, they were bathed in perspiration,
exhausted.
They ordered a flask of wine from the tavern, "A rotten bungle we made
of it, hang it all," grumbled Vidal.
After the wine was paid for there remained ten reales; this they
divided among the three, receiving eighty centimos apiece. Vidal
summed up the day's work with the remark that this committing
robberies in out-of-the-way spots was all disadvantages and no
advantages, for besides exposing oneself to the danger of being sent
to the penitentiary almost for life and getting a beating and being
chewed up by a moral dog, a fellow ran the risk of being wretchedly
fooled.
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