“They are coming up the street now.”
Uncle Chinaman and Cæsar went to the other end of the café, and waited for them to pass.
The younger of the two friars had an air of mock humility, and was weakly-looking, with a straggling yellowish beard and a crafty expression; Father Martin, on the contrary, looked like a pasha parading through his dominions. He was tall, stout, of an imposing aspect, with a grizzly blond beard, blue eyes, and a straight, well-shaped nose.
The two friars came up the narrow, steep street, stopping to talk to the women that were sewing and embroidering in the arcades.
Cæsar and the Chinaman followed them with their eyes until the two friars turned a corner. Then Cæsar left the café and walked back to Castro Duro.
VII. A TRYING SCENE
Don Platón Peribáñez’s reply was delayed longer than he had promised. No one knew whether the Duke of Castro Duro would get married or not get married, whether he would come out of prison or stay in.
Cæsar had nothing for it but to wait, although he was already fed up with his stay. Alzugaray had a good time; he visited the surrounding towns in the company of Amparito and her father. Cæsar, on the other hand, began to be bored. Accustomed to live with the independence of a savage, the social train of a town like Castro irritated him.
His good opinion of people was in direct ratio to the indifference they felt for him. Amparito’s father was one of those who showed most antipathy. Sometimes he invited him to go motoring, but only for politeness. Cæsar used to reply to these invitations with a courteous refusal.