A man possessed by the devil is telling an adventure

Now that I am fortunate enough to continue my story, you may easily conclude that the so-called poison I drank did not kill me at all. I just blacked out. I don't know how long I was unconscious. All I know is that I awoke under the gallows in the Valley of my Brothers; but this time I awoke with a certain joy, for at least I was alive, and I was content with that. And this time I was not lying between two bodies, but on their left side, with another man on the right. At first I thought he was a hanging zombie, too, because he looked lifeless and had a rope around his neck. But then I saw that he was only asleep, and I woke him up.

The stranger laughed at the sight of his surroundings, and then said, "It must be admitted that the study of such mysteries as Kabbalah is not without the occasional nasty blunder. Evil spirits take all sorts of forms, and I sometimes don't know whether they are men or ghosts."

"But," he continued, "why do I have a rope round my neck? I thought it was a braid."

Then he saw me and said, "Ah! You are too young to be a Kabbalah sorcerer. You have a rope around your neck, too."

Yes, I have a rope around my neck. I recalled that Amina had tied a braid of her and her sister's hair around my neck, and for a moment I didn't know how to feel.

The Caballero looked at me for a moment and then said to me, "No, you are not with us. Your name is Alfonso, your mother is a Gomeles, and you yourself are a captain of the Wallon Guard. You are brave, but a little simple. Well, never mind that, let's get out of here, and then we'll see what we do."

The gallows door was open. We walked out of the gallows, and then I saw the damned Valley of Brothers. The Cabaret asked me where I was going, and I replied that I was going by the road to Madrid.

'All right,' he said to me. 'I'll go in that direction too. But let's eat something first."

He drew from his pocket a gilded silver cup, a small jar full of some laudanum, and a small crystal flask containing a yellowish liquid. He took a spoonful of laudanum and poured it into a cup, then added a few drops of the yellowish liquid, and told me to drink it. I drank it without waiting for him to say more, for I was already very hungry and thirsty. This cocktail really does work wonders. When I finished, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated, and without hesitation, I strode off, having stumbled and struggled to sustain myself.

The sun was high in the sky when I saw the ominous Camada shop again.

The Master stopped and said to me, "Last night, someone in this inn made a terrible fool of me. But we still have to go in. I've left some food at the inn, and we can enjoy it."

So we went into the inn-house, and in the kitchen we found a table laid out with a cloth and cutlery, and on it a large partridge pie, and two bottles of wine. The Mystic seemed to have a very good appetite, and the way he gulped down his food set me off. Otherwise, I don't know if I could force myself to swallow anything. After all, what I had witnessed these past few days had disturbed my mind. I had no idea what I was doing, no idea if someone was pulling the strings, and I even began to doubt my own existence.

After lunch, we began to look through the rooms. We went to the room where I had slept the night I left Anduhar. I remembered the ill-fated bed, so I sat on it and thought about all I had experienced these days, especially what had happened in the cave. In retrospect, Amina had told me not to believe anyone who slandered her in front of me.

While I was absorbed in my thoughts, the Sorcerer reminded me that there was something shiny between the cracks in the wooden floor, which had not been put together properly. I went up and took a closer look. It was a relic that the sisters had taken from my neck. I saw them throw the relic into a crack in the rock of the cave wall, and I found it in a crack in the floor of the inn. I was beginning to think that I had probably never really left the ill-fated inn. The monks, the judges of the Inquisition, Zotto's brothers, they were ghosts, ghosts that I saw when I was bewitched. Anyway, I picked up the relic with my sword and put it around my neck again.

The Sorcerer laughed and said to me, "It seems to be yours, Knight. Since you have slept here, I am not at all surprised that you should wake up under the gallows. That being said, we must move on. We should be able to reach the Crypt's quarters by tonight."

We set off again. Before we were halfway there, however, we met the monk, who was walking with great difficulty. He saw us from a distance and cried out, "Ah! I am looking for you, my dear young friend. Go to my room at once. You must reclaim your soul from Satan's clutches. Give me a hand. I have suffered a great deal for you."

We continued our journey after a short rest. The old man, now supported by this, now by that, managed to keep up with us. At last we came to his hut.

Upon entering the room, the first thing I saw was Pacheco, who was lying in the middle of the room. It looked as if he was about to die, or at least the signs of dying were already showing themselves in him. He was panting hoarsely, and his breath seemed ready to burst his chest. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't recognize me.

The monk took holy water and, as he sprinkled it on the demon-possessed man, said to him, "Pacheco, Pacheco, in the name of your redeemer, I command you to tell me what happened last night."

Pacheco shivered, uttered a long scream, and thus began:

The adventures of Pacheco

My father, you were reciting a litany in the chapel. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door of the hut, and the sound of a sheep braying almost exactly like our white goat. I'm sure it's him. I forgot to milk him before, and now the poor beast is here to remind me. It is also very natural for me to have this idea, because the same situation happened a few days ago. I went out of your hut, and sure enough your white goat was standing outside the door, and when she saw me come out, she turned her back on me and showed me her swollen breasts. I tried to catch him and milk him as he wanted, but he broke my hand and ran out. Then he stopped to wait for me. When I tried to catch him again, he broke his hand and ran again.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, the white she-goat suddenly changed into a black he-goat. I wanted to run back to our hut, but this black Billy goat blocked my way. Then, with his back hooves on the ground and his front hooves raised, he stood upright, his fire-breathing eyes staring at me. I was so frightened that all my senses were rendered useless in an instant.

At this point, the damn sheep started goading me and pushing me towards the cliff. When I was pushed to the edge of the cliff, it stopped again and gloated at my panic. At last it thrust me over the top.

I thought I was going to be broken to pieces, but the sheep jumped down too, and fell to the bottom before I did. I landed right on its back and didn't hurt a bit.

But soon new waves of panic came upon me, and the damned sheep, feeling me on its back, took off in a strange way. From one mountain to another, for it is a leap; It traversed the canyons with ease, as if it were only crossing the shallow gully. At last he shook me and threw me out, and I don't know how, into a cave. There I saw the young knight who had stayed in our cottage the other day. He was lying in bed with two gorgeous women in Moorish garb. These two young women, after a few tender words to him, removed the relics from his neck, and from that moment on, they could no longer make me feel the slightest beauty, and I recognized them as the two hanged men of the Valley of the Brothers. However, the young knight continued to regard them as amorous beauties, and continued to respond to them with the tenderest words. At that moment, one of the hanged men took the rope from his neck and put it around the knight's neck. The knight thanked her with a new set of sweet words. Finally, they pulled the curtain over the bed. I don't know what they did after that, but I think it was some terrible crime.

I tried to shout, but nothing came out. This went on for some time. Finally, somewhere a bell struck twelve at midnight, and the next moment I saw in the door a devil with two fire-breathing horns on his head and a flaming tail behind him, which was carefully held up by some imps.

The devil had a book in one hand and a fork in the other. He threatened to kill the knight if he did not convert to Muhammad's religion. Seeing the soul of a Christian in such a dangerous state, I cried out, and this time I felt that my voice had at last spoken. But before I could shout, the two hangmen pounced on me and carried me out of the cave. I see the black goat again. The two hangmen mounted one on the sheep, the other on my neck, and then forced us over the mountains and on and on.

The man on my neck kept kicking me in the ribs and urging me to run. But my speed was never enough for him, so he took two scorpions, tied them to his feet as spurs, and began to stab me in the ribs in strange and savage ways. At last we reached the house of the monks, and they put me down and left. My father, this morning, you found me unconscious outside my cabin door. When I woke up and saw myself in your arms, I thought I was saved, but the scorpion venom had penetrated my blood. The venom is eating away at my insides, and I'm probably not going to make it.

At this point, the demon-possessed man let out a long, frightening scream, and then fell silent.

Then the priory took over and said to me, "My child, you have heard what happened to him. Would you really have a physical relationship with two demons? Come, repent, confess your SINS. God is incredibly forgiving. You ignore me? Have you become a man of stone?"

After a moment's reflection, I replied, "My father, this demon-possessed gentleman did not see what I had seen. Maybe one of us has an evil eye, or maybe neither of us is seeing the truth. But there is a gentleman Mystic who has also spent the night at Kemada's. If he could tell us all about his adventures, perhaps we might gain some new insight, and better understand what strange things have been going on with us these last few days."

"Lord Alfonso," replied the Enchanter, "a man like me who studies the mysteries cannot tell everything. I will do my best to satisfy your curiosity, but not tonight. If you please, we'd better eat and sleep quickly, and we'll be calmer tomorrow."

The Friar cooked us a simple meal, and after supper we were all ready for bed. The Caballer insisted on sleeping next to the demon-possessed man, saying there was reason behind it, and I was led into the chapel by the monk as before. The cot I had used last time was in its place, and I went to bed to lie down. The friar bade me good night, and reminded me that he would shut the door on his way out, just to be safe.

As I lay quietly in bed alone, I remembered what had happened to Pacheco. I must have seen him in the cave. And, to be sure, I did see my Cousins throw themselves upon him, and drag him out of the room; But Amina had told me not to think badly of her and her sister. Then again, the demons that controlled Pacheco must have also confused his senses, disturbed his mind, and caused him to have all sorts of hallucinations. In short, I tried to find reasons to prove that my Cousins were innocent and worthy of my love. Imperceptibly, I heard the midnight bell...

After a while, I heard a knock at the door and a noise like the braying of a sheep. I grabbed my sword and went to the door. "If you are the devil," I said in a loud voice, "try to open the door yourself. The Monk has locked it."

The sheep stopped barking... I went back to bed and slept through the night.