The Torrent

groves which Valencians embrace under the general and rather vague designation of La Ribe

King reigned over Carlet, another over Denia, and a third over Játiva, the election system maintained a sort of inviolable rulership in e

t there. We can

ing the district for thirty yea

then he became secretary to the municipal judge, then assistant to the city clerk, then assistant-registrar of deeds. There was not a subordinate position in those offices where the poor come in contact with the law that he did not get his hand

ed to the case. The poor orchard workers came to have as much awe for his learning as fear of his m

hich is inspired in peasant-folk by all who are on good terms with the law; but not content with playing the eternal beggar, dependent on the humbl

alencia, praising their virtues to the skies, and reselling them as thoroughbreds. And no sale on the instalment plan! Cash down! The horses did not belong to him-as he vowed with his hand pressed solemnly to his bosom-and their ow

red the cash to the same don Jaime who spoke for the owner of the horse. Result: the rustic bought an animal, without chaffering, at double its value, having in addition borrowed a lot of money at cut-throat interest. In every turn-over of this s

, each leaving a tip of several pesetas usually, not to be counted against the debt itself. Others, humbly, timidly, as if they had come to rob the grasping Shylock, would ask for loans; and the strange thing about i

ches who were "after him," holding him responsible for the short-comings of all their debtors. The burdens he thus supposedly assumed won him a reputation as a kind-hearted soul, and

if they forced him to it? It's those other fel

h virtually no expenditure of capital at all. Thus his property went on increasing, and, with his radiant smile, his spectacles on his forehead and his paunch growing fatter and fatter, he could be seen surrou

l in shaking the confidence reposed in him by that flock of rustics, who feared

s upstart, made a small place for him in their midst with the instinctive solidarity that characterizes the freemasonry of money. To gain a little more standing for his name, he became a votary of San Bernardo, contributed to the funds for c

served him as go-betweens, he set himself to the task of marrying off his son and sole heir, Ramon, an idling ne'er-do-well, wh

o compelled respect in cafes and clubs more with his fists than with the special privileges conferred in sma

ld remember the time when, as a poor clerk, he had been forced to fawn on his superiors and listen humbly, cringingly, to their reprimands. He did not want a boy of his to be shoved about hither

self had gotten power over money. Ramón must become a lawyer, the only career for a man destined to rule others. It was a passionate ambition the old pettifogger had, to see his scion enter through

he had to go to bed at dawn-the hour when the lights in the pool-rooms went out. Besides, in his quarters at the hotel he had a magnificent shotgun-a present

domineering eyes to which thick eyebrows gave a touch of harshness-had been

ing; but dupe, in turn, of the wiles he had formerly practiced on the rustics of Alcira, he was compelled to make frequent trips to Valencia, to co

th friends of the family, don Ramón's doings were spoken of as scandalous actually-a duel after a quarrel at cards; then a father and a brother-common workin

after all, one didn't have to have a degree to be a man of importance. Besides the father felt he was getting old; it was hard for him to look after

m business, and the old codger stamped in rage at the slovenliness and laziness displayed by his servants. He would marry Ramón to Bernarda-an ugly, ill-humored, yellowish, skinny creature-but

a rural skinflint, he thought no decent person could object to marr

much to say in the house, but went into high dudgeon over the slightest waste on the part of the domestics, scolding the farmhands for the merest oversight in the o

h the admiration of the idlers hanging around a billiard table, nor was he taking part in the game upstairs. He was frequenting the circles of "serious" peo

d to his daughter-in-law. "Let him alone, woman; he'll get

ction to his views he regarded as a personal insult; he would transfer debates in session out into the stre

Ramón ... He's a

rment. He "did favors," assured a living, that is, to every loafer and bully in town. He was ready to

e capital of the province itself. He got able-bodied men exempted from military service; he winked at corruption in the city councils that backed him, although the perpetrators deserved to go to prison; he saw to it that the constabulary was not too energetic in running down th

city, ruling over men where his father had gotten only money! And, in addition don Jaime lived to see the perpetuation of the Brull dynasty a

the rabble-the political opponents of the son, that is-recalled those Wednesdays long before when the flock from the orchards would come to let itself be fleeced in the old Shylock's office, all safe and sane people-peop

the cacique's power stifled all gossip; and since, moreover, affairs with such lowly women cost very little money, do?a Bernarda pretended to know nothing about them. She did not love her

c square in defense of the family money against day-laborers or middlemen, was tolerance itself tow

y town whole muttons would be set turning over the fires. Tavern wine would flow like water. Debts would be cancelled and fistfulls of pesetas would be distributed among the most recalcitrant, all at don Ramón's expense of course. And his wife, who wore a calico wrapper to

y she would get it back with interest. Already her piercing eyes were caressing the tiny, dark-complexioned, restless little creature t

sis in the desert of vulgarity and monotony in her life. Her heart wou

ogy halts at the temple door and evil fails to triumph in the

ugh the streets of Alcira in her calico wrapper and a shawl not over-clean, greeted affectionately, effusively, by the leading cit

he harvests-thousands and thousands of duros paid for oranges by the Englishmen and the French-should belong to all." But to stave off such a cataclysm, there stood don Ramón, the scourge of the wicked, the champion of "the cause" which he led to triumph, gun in hand, at election time; a

t of so much roguery were shaken empty over all the District; nor were several assaults upon the municipal treasury sufficient to bring them back to

at bronzed, muscular, massive figure, which floated a

would say to him with a smile of affectionate banter. "Why, man

l the infidel turnkeys of the Holy Father, he would grin and give a satisfied twir

acing up and down among the green boxes of plantain trees, his hands clasped behind his broad, strong,

ho, in that selfsame territory, centuries before, legislated for their subjects under the open sky. On market-days the patio would be thronged. Carts would stop in long lines on either

chin on his bosom and one hand on the head of the little Rafael at his

in the city hall could be dusted without his permission; but he preferred to remain invisible, like a god, know

do?a Bernarda called them-idiots who swallowed everything in print provided it were against the King and religion-attacked the cacique persistently, censu

e were at his command. "So-and-So said this-and-that!" Don Ramón would stop in his tracks, think a moment, and finally say, in an enigmatic oracular voice: "Very well, tell him to put this in his pipe and smoke it!" Whereupon the henchman, mouth agape, would rush back to the session like a racehorse. His compa

a new consultation. Thus the sessions would go by, to the great delight of the barber Cupido-the sharpest

e usual race of co

the energetic do?a Bernarda, who attended to the consultations, issuing s

een husband and wife. This cold woman, a complete stranger to tenderness, would flush with pleasure every time th

religion that was the faith of all the District. Where don Ramón could not go in person, don Andrés would be present for him, as the chief's alter ego. In the towns he was respected as the supreme vicar of that god whose throne was in the patio of the p

dly to be chief of staff. In the opinion of the "boss," there wasn't a cleverer, shrewder fellow in the world than don Andrés, nor one with a better memory for names and faces. Brull was the strategist who directed the campaign; don Andrés the tactician who commanded actual operations and cleaned up behind the lines when the enemy was divided and undone. Don Ramón was given to settling everything in a violent manner, and drew

aymate to the little Rafael, taking the boy on long walks through

r husband's misdeeds. Her affection for him was that of a dame of ancient chivalry for her private squire. Enthusiasm for the glory of the house united them in such intimacy that the opposition wagged its tongues, asserting that do?a Bernarda was getting even for

for Rafael, the little tot destined to bring fame to the name of Bru

rritate the hard-hearted do?a Bernarda. He was always hanging on to her skirts. Ev

in the patio," th

igned, would leave the room, as if i

the orchards, picking flowers for him, making whistles for him out of reeds. It was don And

as chargeable to his interest in books, and at the Casino,

n Rafaelito grows up. That kid

the first page of the newspapers with speeches six columns long, and a To Be Continued at the end; and they could

superior being who had condescended to come down among them for his education. A well-scribbled sheet, a lesson fluently repeated, were e

se?or de Brull. You are

a fable or get off some piece of learning characteristic of a studious child eager to bring hi

child knows!... H

oman would add

on't let him use his brain so much. It's

s, and always with a place in the first line on prize days. The Party organ dedicated an annual article to the scholastic prodigies of the

medals and his arms full of diplomas, he would stoop and kiss his father's hard, bristly hand; and that claw would caress t

ld murmur. "That's the way I like

is father meant. On certain occasions, playing in the patio, he had surprised

egan his university studies. The dream of old don Jaime, disill

he old days had imbibed don Jaime's eagerness for the university d

, she would send don Andrés frequently to the capital, and write letter after letter to her Valencian f

him in Valencia; and besides, don Ramón and his wife learned from the papers of the triumphs achieved by their son in the debating society, a nightly gathering of law students in a univer

to apply, as soon as they got out of college, for some position under the government as registrar of deeds or secretary of prefecture! But Rafael, ever sane and a congenital "moderate," was not of those fire-brands; he sat

nish the chief's glory and avoid suspicion of "inspiration," always began the

say to do?a Bernarda. "What a silver tongu

d like a fashion-plate and with mannerisms that she took for the height of distinction, the saintly

e. All the rich girls in town will be a

nose, a curly beard and a certain leisurely, undulating grace of movement that suggested one of those young Ar

time the duro had been replaced by a hundred peseta note; but the rough claw that grazed hi

e was growing thinner. His fierce eyes were sinking deeper into their sockets. There was little left to him now except his massive frame. His neck, once as sturdy as a bull's, showed the tendons an

and tears of anger with which his mo

... Lot's of use he is to us!... May the L

the conjugal drama that was secretly and s

mysterious inebriation, was tossing in a last whirlwind of tempestuous desir

his brutish assaults, his terrorism and abuse of authority, were reported back by scurrilous ton

r rage. "That man is going to ruin us! Doesn'

Ramón, exhausted by his struggle with the insatiable demon gnawing at his spirit, would be snoring painfully away, with a disgusting rattle that made

e as soon as possible! May all th

e heard her prayer, for her

. They were the only ones who dared allude to his disorderly life. "You

m, that all men should know that such ex

w. He gave the boy his shotgun-a veritable jewel, the admiration of the entire District-and a magnificent horse. And as if he had been

of the city to

came in droves to see whether the powerful don Ramón Brull, who had been able to rain upon the