Carmen by Prosper Mérimée Read Free Book Online

Good-day.’
    “I asked her when I should see her again.
    “ ‘When you are less stupid,’ she replied with a laugh. Then, in a more serious tone: ‘Do you know, my son, that I believe that I love you a little bit? But it can’t last. Dog and wolf don’t live happily together for long. Perhaps, if you should swear allegiance to Egypt, I should like to be your
romi
. But this is foolish talk; it can never be. Believe me, my boy, you have come off cheap. You have met the devil, yes, the devil; he isn’t always black, and he didn’t wring your neck. I am dressed in wool, but I am no sheep. n Go and put a wax candle in front of your
majari
. o She has well earned it. Well, good-bye once more. Think no more of Carmencita, or she might be the cause of your marrying a widow with wooden legs.’ p
    “As she spoke she removed the bar that secured the door, and once in the street, she wrapped herself in her mantilla and turned her back on me.
    “She spoke truly. I should have been wise to think no more of her; but after that day on Rue de Candilejo, I could think of nothing else. I walked about all day long, hoping to meet her. I asked the old woman and the eating-house keeper for news of her. Both replied that she had gone to Laloro, q which was their way of designating Portugal. Probably they said that in accordance with Carmen’s instructions, but I very soon found out that they lied. Several weeks after my day on Rue de Candilejo, I was on duty at one of the gates of the city. A short distance from the gate there was a breach in the wall; men were at work repairing it during the day, and at night a sentinel was posted there to prevent smuggling. During the day I saw Lillas Pastia going to and fro around the guard-house, and talking with some of my comrades; all of them knew him, and they knew his fish and his fritters even better. He came to me and asked me if I had heard from Carmen.
    “ ‘No,’ said I.
    “ ‘Well, you will,
compadre
.’
    “He was not mistaken. At night I was stationed at the breach. As soon as the corporal had retired, I saw a woman coming towards me. My heart told me that it was Carmen. However, I shouted:
    “ ‘Go back! You cannot pass!’
    “ ‘Don’t be disagreeable,’ she said, showing me her face.
    “ ‘What! is it you, Carmen?’
    “ ‘Yes, my countryman. Let us talk a little and talk quick. Do you want to earn a
douro
. There are some men coming with bundles; let them alone.’
    “ ‘No,’ I replied. ‘I must prevent them from passing; those are my orders.’
    “ ‘Orders! orders! So you’ve forgotten the Rue de Candilejo?’
    “ ‘Ah!’ I exclaimed, completely overwhelmed by the barememory of that day. ‘That would be well worth the penalty of forgetting orders; but I want no smugglers’ money.’
    “ ‘Well, if you don’t want money, would you like to go again to old Dorothy’s and dine?’
    “ ‘No,’ I said, half suffocated by the effort it cost me, ‘I cannot.’
    “ ‘Very good. If you are so stiff-backed, I know whom to apply to. I will go to your officer and offer to go to Dorothy’s with him. He looks like a good fellow, and he will put some man on duty who will see no more than he ought to see. Farewell, Canary. I shall laugh with all my heart on the day when the orders are to hang you.’
    “I was weak enough to call her back, and I promised to allow all gypsydom to pass, if necessary, provided that I obtained the only reward that I desired. She instantly swore to keep her word on the next day, and hastened away to notify her friends, who were close by. There were five of them,—Pastia was one—all well laden with English goods. Carmen kept watch. She was to give warning with her castanets the instant that she saw the patrol; but she did not need to do it. The smugglers did their work in an instant.
    “The next day I went to Rue de Candilejo. Carmen kept me waiting, and when she came she was in a villainous temper.
    “ ‘I