But Father Corbelan, escaping to Hernandez, had the document in his
pocket, a piece of official writing turning a bandit into a general in
a memorable last official act of the Ribierist party, whose watchwords
were honesty, peace, and progress. Probably neither the priest nor the
bandit saw the irony of it. Father Corbelan must have found messengers
to send into the town, for early on the second day of the disturbances
there were rumours of Hernandez being on the road to Los Hatos ready
to receive those who would put themselves under his protection. A
strange-looking horseman, elderly and audacious, had appeared in the
town, riding slowly while his eyes examined the fronts of the houses,
as though he had never seen such high buildings before. Before the
cathedral he had dismounted, and, kneeling in the middle of the Plaza,
his bridle over his arm and his hat lying in front of him on the ground,
had bowed his head, crossing himself and beating his breast for some
little time. Remounting his horse, with a fearless but not unfriendly
look round the little gathering formed about his public devotions, he
had asked for the Casa Avellanos.
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