Meanwhile Morano drew near, and
Rodriguez went to meet him.
"Master," said Morano, all out of breath, "they had no bacon. But
I got these two bottles of wine. It is strong wine, which is a
rare deluder of the senses, which will need to be deluded if we
are to go hungry."
Rodriguez was about to cut short Morano's chatter when he thought
of a use for the wine, and was silent a moment. And as he pondered
Morano looked up and saw la Garda and at the same time perceived
the situation, for he had as quick an eye for a bad business as
any man.
"No one with the horses," was his comment; for they were tethered
a little apart. But Rodriguez' mind had already explored a surer
method than the one that Morano seemed to be contemplating. This
method he told Morano. And now, from little tugs that they were
giving to the doubled rope that hung over the branch of the oak-
tree, it was clear enough that the men of the law were returning
to their confidence in that very sufficient branch.
They looked up with questions ripe to drop from their lips when
they saw Rodriguez returning with Morano. But before one of them
spoke Morano flung to them from far off a little piece of his
wisdom: for cast a truth into an occasion and it will always
trouble the waters, usually stirring up contradiction, but always
bringing something to the surface.
"Senores," he said, "no man can enjoy a hanging with a dry
throat.
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