The Resources Of Quinola Part 19

Quinola Stupid! They want me bodily. Fortunately, I have two or three suits of old clothes which may serve to deliver Quinola from the clutches of the keenest sleuths, until I can make payment.

Monipodio Payment? That is folly.

Quinola Yes, I have kept a little nest-egg against our thirst. Put on that ragbag of the begging friar and go to Lothundiaz and have a talk with the duenna.

Monipodio Alas! Lopez has returned from Algeria so often that our dear duenna begins to suspect us.

Quinola I merely wish her to carry this letter to Senorita Marie Lothundiaz (handing a letter). It is a masterpiece of eloquence, inspired by that which inspires all masterpieces. See! We have been living for ten days on bread and water.

Monipodio And what could we look for? To eat ortolans? If our men had expected fine fare they would have struck long ago.

Quinola If love would only cash my note of hand, we might still get out of this hole.

(Exit Monipodio.)

SCENE THIRD

Quinola and Fontanares.

Quinola (rubbing an onion into his bread) This is the way we are told the Egyptian pyramid-builders were fed, but they must also have had the sauce which gives us an appet.i.te, and that is faith. (Drinks water.) You don't appear to be hungry, senor?

Take care that the machine in your head doesn't go wrong!

Fontanares I am nearing the final solution--

Quinola (whose sleeve splits up as he puts back the crock) And I have found one in the continuity of my sleeve. In this trade my clothes are becoming as uncertain as an unknown quant.i.ty in algebra.

Fontanares You are a fine fellow! Always merry, even in the depths of misfortune.

Quinola And why not, gadzooks! Fortune loves the merry almost as much as the merry love her.

SCENE FOURTH

The same persons and Mathieu Magis.

Quinola Ah! Here comes our dear Lombard; he looks at all these pieces of machinery as if they were already his lawful property.

Mathieu Magis I am your most humble servant, my dear Senor Fontanares.

Quinola This is he, polished, dry, cold as marble.

Fontanares Good-day, Senor Magis. (Cuts himself a piece of bread.)

Mathieu Magis You are a sublime hero, and as far as I am concerned, I wish you all sorts of good luck.

Fontanares And is this the reason why you try to bring upon me all sorts of bad luck?

Mathieu Magis You snap me up very sharply; you do wrong, you forget that in me there are two men.

Fontanares I have never seen the other.

Mathieu Magis I have a heart, away from my business.

Fontanares But you are never away from your business.

Mathieu Magis I am always filled with admiration at the sight of your struggle.

Fontanares Admiration is the pa.s.sion which is the most easily exhausted.

Moreover, you never make any loans on sentiment.

Mathieu Magis There are sentiments which bring profit, while others cause ruin. You are animated by faith; that is very fine, but it is ruinous. We made six months ago certain little agreements; you asked of me three thousand ducats for your experiments--

Quinola On the condition, that you were to receive five thousand in return.

Fontanares Well?

Mathieu Magis The payment was due two months ago.

Fontanares You demanded it by legal process two months ago, the very next day after it was due.

Mathieu Magis I did it without thought of annoying you, merely as a formality.

Fontanares And what do you want now?

Mathieu Magis You are to-day my debtor.

Fontanares Eight months gone already? It has pa.s.sed like a dream! And I was proposing to myself this evening the solution of the problem how to introduce cold water, so as to dissolve the steam! Magis, my dear friend, a.s.sist me in this matter, be my protector, and give me a few days more?

Mathieu Magis As many as you desire.

Quinola Do you mean it? This is the first appearance of the other man. (To Fontanares) Senor, I shall make the gentleman my friend. (To Magis) I appeal to the two Magises and ask if they will give us the sight of a few doubloons!

Fontanares Ah! I begin to breathe freely.

Mathieu Magis That can easily be managed. I am to-day not merely your money-lender, I am money-lender and co-proprietor, and I wish to draw out my share in the property.

Quinola Double man, and triple dog!

Mathieu Magis Capital has nothing to do with faith--

Quinola Or with hope and charity; crowns are not Catholics.

Mathieu Magis When a man comes and asks us to discount a bill, we cannot say: "Wait a bit; we have a man of genius at work trying to find a gold mine in a garret or a stable!" No, indeed! Why in six months I could have doubled those ducats over again. Besides, senor, I have a small family.

Fontanares (to Quinola) That creature has a wife!