The Torrent

ped on the rich l

e reddish soil of the fields grew dark under the continuous downpour; the roads, winding deep between the mudwalls and the fences of the orchards, were changed to rushing

e buttresses of the bridges. People living along the banks followed the swelling of the river wi

eople from the interior,

wered the ri

ady threatening the city that had so audacio

vacation? It was hard to disturb the placid complacency of those descendants of the Moors. Floods had been coming since the days of their fathers, their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers, and never had the town been carried off. A few houses at the worst. Why suppose the catastrophe would be due now?... The Júcar was a sort of husband to Alcira. As happens in any decent fami

ool because of the bad weather, were all on the bridges throwing branches into the water to see how swift the current was, or pl

ld slip along the streets toward the river-front; and after glancing at the flood from the scant protection of their umbrellas, would make the

riendships were being made and broken, over questions as to whether the river had risen four inches the

moment, was now licking at the ends of the low-lying streets near the bank, creeping up into the gar

h water came down from there, the flood would become serious. And experienced eyes studied the color

er sounded forebodingly in the darkness. On its black surface lights could be seen reflected like rest

garrets while the men, with their trousers rolled up to their knees, were splashing about in the liquid silt, carrying t

fear of the supernatural came over them, and with childish anxiety they sought protection of some Higher Power to avert the danger. Perhaps this freshet was the final one! Pe

pare San Bernat! Father Saint Bernard!.

is so well as the glorious patron. It was now high time to have recourse to

e big guns there, in spite of their scepticism, to

ve for the sash that is never removed from the skin of a Valencian peasant; the women, with their skirts raised over their heads for protection, sinking their tanned, skinny, over-worked legs into the slime, and all drenched from head to

Viva el pare San Bernat! F

s were added to the delirious uproar, while at every crossing recruits would come to swell the on-rushing avalanche headed for the Ayuntamiento. Muskets, ancient blunderbusses, and hor

he door of the City Hall. They had come running to the place, mars

nt?" the Mayor

the omnipotent saint to the bank of the river that he might awe it with his presence, just as their a

of protests followed this proposal. "Out with the saint! Out with San Bernat! We want the miracle! The miracle!" Those simple people were thinking of the wonders they had learned in their childhood at their moth

ual; but it would be a serious breach of etiquette not to consult "the chief." Fortunately, just as the huge, dark mass of huma

But when the river returned to its normal level, and danger was past, the peasant would remember don Ramón's "sacrifices" and call him the father of the poor. If the miraculous saint must come out, let Rafael be the one to produce him! The election

stration explained to him by the most ardent of t

e San Bernat

s for young Brull, the black avalan

forward with little pleasure to a tramp out in the rain at the head of a procession, trying to keep dry under an umbrella, with his soutane rolled up to his knees, and his shoes coming off at every step in

ir hardest to convince the curate; but his only reply

n see that makes the danger worse. It's more

ors, at home. Matters concerning saints must be treated with great discretion, take my word for that.... And, if you don't agree with me, j

the priest. The good sense of that canny churchman was powerless

e said gravely. "Let the Saint come for

hurch. The rain continued falling, and above the serried ranks of heads covered with skirts, clo

ring its waters. What could not San Bernardo do? His marvelous history, a blend of Moorish and Christian romance, flamed in all those credulous imaginations. He was a saint native to

through the Gothic arches, moved the Saracen youth to the bottom of his soul. He felt drawn to the religion of his enemies by the magic of its poetry. He received baptism, assumed the white habit of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and later returned to the kingdom of Valencia to preach Christiani

beggars, called a troop of horse and set out in pursuit of his brother and sisters. He came upon them near Alcira, hiding on the riverbank. With one slash of his sword he cut the heads off both his sisters; San Bernardo he crucified and drove a big nail through his forehead. Thus the sacred preacher perished, but all the humble continue

oes indifferently into the water. Most of them had tapers or shotguns. The women did their best to shelter little ones under the skirts they had gathered about their heads. The musicians, all barefoot,

into one great flare. Through the wide doorway the can

Many had come to scoff. What a farce it all would be! They did well, however, to wait two

ession began to move between two

ah for father San Bernardo!" a

dded, to correct the lack of gallantry displayed by the m

, not all the men and horses in the orchards put together, could lift the saint from his altar unless his sisters went first. That was one of his miracles long accredited by tradition

rch doorway, swaying on their litter

es cherm

stments, came out into that dark, tempestuous, rain-soaked atm

he brilliantly lighted doorway something shining could be seen laboriously advan

gan to cheer, and

pare San

flashes, a veritable cannonade. Those ancient arms, blunderbusses, muzzle-loaders, pistols, crammed full of powder, could roar like artillery. All the guns in the neighborhood were saluting the appearance of the Saint. And

e crowd surged against them, threatening to upset the statue. But two bare-breasted strong-arme

ost suffocated in the jam, burst into tears

rdo! Father San Berna

s of their skirts, and held them out abov

! Let him ki

heir mothers, working like automatons, dropping one child to seize another, with the regularity of machines in action. Many times the impact was too rough; the noses of the children would flatten against the folds of the metallic garb; but the

, paying more attention to where they stepped than to their instruments, played a rather discordant march. Guns, meanwhile, continued to blaze away. The wild cheering for San Bernardo and his sisters went on; and, framed in a red nimbus of torch-light, greeted at every street-corner by a new fusillade, the image sailed along over that sea of heads,

treaty welcomed the passing sain

r San Bernardo!

torches were mirrored in the dark edges of the stream, which was growing momentarily more terrifying and clamo

urned them to virtual ponds. The more fanatical of the devotees, lifting their tapers above thei

e-fields, and hardly able to hold the taper in his t

d affectionately. "Father San Bernardo

the old man, too. So agüelo-"grandaddy"-shivering in his dre

nder their load; and they could advance at all only with the aid of the faithful, who gathered about the litter on all sides

e shoulders of some enthusiasts who, for the greater pomp of the ceremony, were willin

ards of honor were having a time of it to keep their feet in the face of the current, but they were still willing to go on, believing that the farther the statue went into the stream, the sooner t

ly it stop

t of joy and triumph

ispute his immense power?... There was the proof! Two days of incessant downpour, a

handles of the litter, the decorations of the pedestal, the bronze body itself. The tottering structure of wood and metal bega

usted more than a dozen "horses" under him, forbade it to continue. Leave it to those peasants, and the nonsense would go

the river were coming in. Now a mill had been isolated by the waters, and the people there had taken refuge on the roof, firing their shotguns as signals of distress. Many orchards had been completely submerged. The few boats available in the city wer

sides, they referred hopefully to telegrams received by the alcalde. By dawn help would be coming in. The governor in Valencia was sending a detachment

iver, and violent disputes arose. Rafael, for his part,

s all a lie intended to discredit the patron. And a sturdy youth with flashing eyes threatened to disembowel with one stroke of his knife-li

rber-a sarcastic fellow, with curly side-whiskers and an aquiline nose, who took grea

uitar playing and love songs that kept the whole neighborhood astir. Besides, Cupido was the freak of the city, the sharp-tongued but irresponsible practical joker, who was forgiven everything in advance, and could enjoy his idiosyncrasies and speak his mind

orth while talking with. Cupido was almost an artist. In winter he would go to Valencia to hear the operas praised by the newspapers, and in one corner of his s

such a friendship with any too much favor; but he displayed a certain liking for the boy

mily; the only Brull with mo

ed there to read their party organ. The gentlemen of the Ayuntamiento feared the barber more than any ten newspapers combined, and whenever some famous Conservative minister referred in parliament to a "revolutionar

out in the country. In a few moments Cupido would put in an appearance to learn all about it, give advice to thos

ng to the day's receipts, which were divided fraternally among the three. And if the "boss" sometimes astonished the city by going out for a walk in midwinter in a suit of white duck, they, not to be out

, terrifying the stupid with his exaggerations and inventions, and announcing hair-raising news which he asserted he had just received from the Governor by telegr

procession, Cupido was on the point of coming to blows wit

informed. He had been told a poor old man had been cut off in an orchard and drowned. That was probably not the only ac

fael listened in silence, scanning his face anxiously, as if loo

nally, "that farm of do?a Pepa's where you go

and by this time the garden must be a lake; the water will surely be up to the second story. I'll bet do?a Pepa's poor niece is

if an idea that had been dancing about in his

n down there!... What

.. And how'll

appeal to a man like the barber, who at length began

ling up like a couple of Venetian gondoliers to serenade a celebrated prima don

t a josher you are! Our job is to get those wome

s romantic idea, fixed a pa

You rascal! You're smitten on her reputation for good looks ... B

spoke to yo

told me she saw you one af

say that Leonora, on mentioning Rafael's nam

which had left such a painful memory in him!... What was he doing, then, standing like a

Valencia as a present for me. Steel frame; hard wood; safe as a warship. You know the river ... I

," the barber an

elp of several men dragged Rafael's bo

ad learned of their plight, and he was starting to save them at the risk of his own skin. And a wealthy, powerful man like him, with so much to live for! Damn it, those Brulls were all men, anyhow!... And yet see how people talked against them! What a heart! And the peasants fo

fewer the better; the boat had to be light; h

Let her go!"

esitating a second, s

s masses with only a few dark points visible above the surface, as though some dead man covered with mud were swimming under water. Out on that swirling current, with the slimy vapors of the river rising to his nostrils and the eddies sucking and boiling all around, Rafael thought himself the victim of a weird nightmare and began even to repent of his rashness. Cries kept coming from houses close to

e darkness of that sticky, murky, sepulchral night, had in mind only one thing-a blu

sound or a jolt of the boat w

t, however, taking his eyes from the water ahea

er, would long before have come to grief in

scalable-crested with walls, were slipping past on either hand, with an occasional palisade, the piles just emerging from

e to time a black spot would show above the muddy surface; the crest of some submerged canebrake; the top of a tree; a strange, fantastic vegetation that seemed to be writhing in the gloom. The river, free now from the gorges and shallows around the city, had ceased its roaring. It see

is very strong. We must be still in the river. Let's tu

, and it took some effort occasionally to get free. The lake was still dark and apparently shoreless, but the current was not so strong and the surface had stopped rolling. The two men knew they had reached dead water. What looked like dark, gigantic mushrooms, huge umbrellas, or lustrous domes, caught the r

ther, and could no longer say which way the river lay. Darkness and water everywhere! The submerged orange-trees, all alike, formed comp

work. The boat was moving slower and slower

rmured. "Rafael, you're facing forwar

a o

relief for a moment. When that was gone, the light

ide. The barber's strength had given out and he passed

atigue and the sense of being lost, they imagined the night would never end-that the torc

ht on his left. They were going away from it; perhaps th

f it is not the Blue House, what of it? The main thing is to find someone there. That's far better than wandering around h

al snags, orchard fences, perhaps, or submerged walls-but the light kept growing brighter. Finally it had become a la

t was the upper story of a building that had been swamped by the inundation. The lower story was under water. The flood,

we'd struck the pla

oman, vibrant, but with a deep, mel

he boat there!

o fear. It showed no

exclaimed. "The very place we were looki

augh came ou

e, auntie! Don't cry any more. Don't be afraid; and stop your praying

mocking voice, which seemed to people the da

profile of a woman among other black forms that were going to and fro

were able to reach an iron railing. The barber, from the prow, wa

up the golden helmet of her thick, luxuriant hair. She was trying to identi

u, ever and ever so much. This is one of the favors w

dy fastening the boa

ave met already, I believe. You must thank him for this visit.

shed blue and red from the rings on its fingers. "I must repeat what I said to our friend Cup

asping the iron railing in order not to fall. Cupido jumped into the house and was f

sperate aimless rowing over the winding lanes of the flooded countryside; and now, all at once, a solid floor under his feet, a roof over his head, warmth, and the socie

g after this escapade of yours. You are sopping wet, both of you.... P

ritativeness, much as a kindly woman might take her child in hand

belongings of the gardener had been brought upstairs as soon as the flood started. An old farmer, his wife-who was beside herself with fear-and several c

an armchair, the wrinkles of her features moistened with tears and her two hands clut

riend, do?a Bernarda. He came over here in a boat

looked vacantly at the new arrivals, as if they had been there all

And you came to see us in such weather! Suppose you get drowne

es of the golden sparkles that caressed him with their velvety touch every time he dared to look at them. Leonora was staring at him: studying hi

e effort of will, the old lady decided to leave her armchair for a look at th

ings we'll learn of tomorrow! This must be a punishment f

oman. Just imagine, with their clothes wet through! How tired they must be after that all night struggle! Poor fellows! It was enough just to look at them! And she

ore now.... They need to eat and drink a little, and get warm.... I'm sorry I have

veness, to take seats at the table, Leonora and her maid went into the adj

er chewed away for all he was worth, downing glass after glass of liquor, and talki

id was following her with a gre

thes in the house. But in war-time we get along as best we c

e traced in those wonderful cheeks! And what

catch pneumonia on my account, and thus deprive the city of its one br

own of blue velvet, with veritable cascade

with those side-whiskers?... How the people in Alcira would howl if they could only see him now! A

mile, "I could find only this fur cloak. Come, now,

e was all right! Nothing would happen to h

eemed to grow impatient. No one in

so silly. We'll have to

if he were a refractory baby, s

a pampered guest in a house he had for months been trying in vain to enter, and she, Leonora, was calling him "child" and treating him like a child, as if they had been friends all their lives. What sort of woman was this? Was he not lost in

or we'll have to und

his cheeks, and the touch of her delicate, agile hands

the plumes of some fantastic bird. Though Rafael passed for a tall man, its edges touched the floor. The young man realized that

hed at his e

earing a sacred veil from the respect you show that coat. It isn't worth much

incely gift, she wrapped it closer around the boy, pa

troking his side-whiskers with the other, he was writhing about like a prima donna in her big scene and singing in a falsetto soprano voice. The peasant family laughed like mad, forgetting the disaster that had overtaken their home; Beppa opened her

sweet voice, his body snug and comfortable in that elegant garment which seemed to have retained something of the warmth and

her inquiries wi

It is a chivalrous act worthy of ancient times. Lohengrin, arriving in his little boa

off-drowned!..." the youth exclaim

to me. If it were some green, transparent Swiss lake!... I want beauty even in death; I'm concerned with the 'final posture,' like the Romans, and I was afraid of perishing here like a rat in a sewer.... And nevertheless, I couldn't help laughing at my aunt and our poor servants to see t

r more interesting thing

always most impressed by t

den seriousness the vexation that his d

hem spoke; and it was Leonora

d our lives to you.... Let's see, now, frankly: why did you come?

l confession. He was on the point of uttering the great truth, baring in one great explosion all his t

t," he replied timidly. "I a

st into a n

nt," as they call it? If it weren't for that chatterbox of a Cupido, Alcira would neve

by the reply; he di

use to deceive mama with. I know why you came here. Do you imagine you haven't been seen from this ver

He shivered in abject terror, drew the fur cloak tighter around him, wi

ce we met up at the Hermitage you have been taking all your walks in this neighborh

merriment, had finally to smile, con

for me, with the life I lead, to play the hypocrite!... My poor aunt thinks I'm crazy because I say just what I feel; in my time I've been much liked and much disliked on account of the mania I have for not concealing anything.... Do yo

ook up. He felt the gaze of those green eyes upon the bac

ours a little. Why don't you say it isn't

Rafael ventured to murmur, findin

based on gratitude. We ought to know in advance exactly where we stand. We'll be friends, won't we?... You must feel quite at home here; and I'm sure I shall find you a very agreeable chum. What you've done to-night has given y

help myself?"

woman you are now seeing for the second time? These sudden passions are all inventions of you men. They're not genuine. You get them out of the novels you read, or out of the operas we sing. Nonsense that poets write and callow boys swallow like so many boob

atening him playfully wi

nduct of to-night won't count. You'll not be permitted to enter this place again. I want no ado

, without moving, her gaze lost

beautiful face was tinted with a bluish light, that seemed to surround her with a halo of romance. Morning was coming

inst Rafael. With a shake of her head she seemed to rout a troop

istant acquaintances? Do you prom

muscular hand, and felt her ring

. I'll resign myself, sinc

on't know me, but I know myself. Believe me, even should I come to love you-as I never shall-you would be the los

more for you than I've done to-night

friendly-heart.... May I be quite frank? Well, when I met you there at the Hermitage, I took you for one of these local se?oritos who have such an easy time of it in town, and so, look upon every woman they meet as their property for the asking. Afterwa

had been, and Rafael, overwhelmed by such cand

, but deeply broken in spirit anyhow. I need rest, just plain existence-a plunge into sweet nothingness, where I can forget everything; and I gratefully accept your friendship. Later on, when you least expect it, probably, I'll fly away. The very first morning when I wake up, feel quite myself again-and hear inside my head the song of the mischievous bird that has advised me to do so many foolish th

ng delayed!" said Rafa

ay here very long, we'd finish by quarreling and coming to blows.

pido was dragging along behind him with absurd antics. He wa

m the debris of the inundation was floating, sweepings of wretched poverty, uprooted trees, clumps of reeds, thatched roofs from huts, all dirty, slimy, nauseatin

irring their legs like aquatic flies around some roofs barely protruding above the immense field of water. The res

and the presence of Rafael was indispensable. Cupido himself,

ur cloak. It seemed that in taking it off he was losing the warmth of that night of sweet i

hile looked a

hope of anything more than that. If you break the pact, you'll not enter th

ael murmured with a tone of sincere

emed to glitter with spangles of gold. S

is time, and in reward for your good sense, we'll make just one exception. Let's

and kissed it over and over again, until Leonora, tearing it away with

What an abuse of confidence? Good-bye

ny, where the barber was already ho

he boat's very low," Rafael jumped into his white craft, which was now dirty an

o?a Pepa. The maid and the whole family of

dkerchief to them. He watched her for a long time, and when the crests of the submerged trees hid the balcony from view, he bowed h