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With a graceful gesture, as though he were in his own house, he invited the warrant officer and the corporal to enter the carriage that waited at the door. "To the Civil Government!" he ordered the cochero. Now that Basilio had again regained his composure, he told Makaraig the object of his visit. The rich student did not wait for him to finish, but seized his hand.
Such people employed a cochero and drove, quite in the European style, when business or pleasure drew them from their homes. There was an almost continuous stream of peones on the bridge in the mornings and evenings: silent, furtive people, watched closely by the customs guard, whose duties required him on occasion to examine a suspicious-appearing Mexican with decidedly indelicate thoroughness.
To recapture the bag and my clean linen I would have to take an instrument of torture known as a carromatta and drive across the Bridge of Spain. I could cross the river in a small boat with a Filipino pirate, and go on a hunt for a conveyance on the other side; but thought it better to risk being shaken to death than drowned in the dirty Pasig, so I hailed a cochero.
"I hope we find a cochero soon," muttered Noll, looking up at the dark sky. "I don't fancy the idea of walking all the way out to Malate in a downpour." They were not quite over the bridge when the storm broke in all its force. Tropical thunder crashed with a fury that made artillery fire seem trifling. Great sheets of lightning flashed on all sides.
We had often to haul up to allow them to pass, and when our cochero received the order "ander" it was coupled with the caution "despacho" that he might drive carefully for fear of injuring some of them.
Then, without answering Hal's remark, the Filipino clutched at the white man's arm, shoving him out into the rain. The native followed. Just then a cochero with an empty quilez drove up. With instant presence of mind Vicente Tomba, as the dandy had called himself, held up his hand. It was all done in an instant, and native and white friend were driving away through the gusts of rain.
At one place, we were obliged to dismount and walk, on account of the sharp descent, and found ourselves upon an ugly piece of limestone or sandstone rock, which soon, to our surprise, we found replaced by a solid mass of obsidian. The cochero, says that the place is known as itzlis the obsidians, the knives.
Had a sentimental friend with me, upon whom it operated powerfully. He remarked, "What a treat it would be to have by your side, in such a scene, one whom you loved, and who could love you!" Finding the fit strong upon him, made the cochero drive off the Prado directly, and take us to the "Circo Olympico" its opening night. Paid six reals each for admission and had our money's worth.
The cochero must have been greatly preoccupied with the sights of the procession, for when it had passed and Basilio ordered him to go on, he did not notice that the lamp on his carromata had gone out.
He was just pondering over this when an energetic "Halt!" resounded. They were passing in front of the barracks and one of the guards had noticed the extinguished lamp of the carromata, which could not go on without it. A hail of insults fell about the poor cochero, who vainly excused himself with the length of the procession.
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