Lucifer's Ear [pp. 836-840]

Lucjer's Ear. 839
an instant with its savage eyes il~at it fell to the ground with Blow4~ard,
darted fire and blood, and then gave and broke one of his legs.
a bound into the middle of the yard ~Ve will leave him with his bitter
and disappeared through a hole which cud, and go back to the gentleman,
opened in the ground to receive it. who, tired of waiting for Blow4~ard
At the gentleman's call, the three to come up, asked H ear-all what was
who had fled came back, and were going on down there in the bowels
well astonished at their master's bra- of the earth. H ear-all told him what
very. had passed, and that now he could
"Be it known to you," said the hear Blow-hard complaining of a brocavalier, who was looking, without ken leg. Then th gentleman sent
seeing bottom, down the hole the ser- Carry-much, who assured him that
pent's head had gone into, "that we he would shoulder Lucifer and bring
are going now to the fields to get him up, if he weighed more than
hemp and palm4eaves to make a line all the lead of the Sierra Almagrera.
that will reach to the floor of this But, step by step, it happened to Carwdl." They did so; and the four ry-muU~ just as it had to Blow-hard,
spent four years making rope. At except that he got an arm broken inthe end of that time they felt it touch stead of a leg.
bottom. The master then told Hear- "I will go down mysdf," said the
all to slide down it and see what was gentleman, when Hear-all related to
bdow there, and come back and let him him what had taken place.
know. But Hear-all stuck to his sup- ~Vhen he reached the palace and
ports, as upright as a palm-tree in a saw the Princess of Naples, he fell into
gully that no wind moves, and said such love with her wondefful beauthat he'd be smashed first and go down ty iliat he prepared himself for the enin pieces. counter with a double ration of valor.
Then il~e master told Blow4~ard Christians! sud~ a fight as there
to go. Blow-hard tool~ fast hold of was then between the good cavalier
the rope, and descended night and and the cursed dog of a Lucifer the -
day till he got to the bottom, where world has never seen; as, naturally, it
he found himsdf in a palace like the would not see, since LuUf~r never
famous ones you read of; and in the comes to fight above here in his own
presence of the Princess of Naples, fbrm. But il~e genfieman crossed
who was lying on a bed with her face himsdf; and, as every man must who
downward, weeping tears as big as commends his cause to God, vanchick-peas. She told him that Luci- quished the devil. He did more; for
fer had fallen in love with her, and he cut off one of his ears.
would keep her enchanted there until The state Lucifer would he in at
one willing and able to fight and seeing his ear in the hands of a Chrisvanquish hirn should present him self. tian, I leave to your consideration.
`Here is one already who is going to His yells had such an effect upon
undertake the enterprise,' said Blow- Hear-all that he repeated every jerk
hard, and he drew in a long breath, and spring. You would have said
whid~ was scarcely drawn when Lu- that he was being repeatedly stung
cifer appeared in person. The sight by a tarantula.
of him frightened Blow-hard so that "Give me my ear!" shouted Lucilie ran and din~bed to the top of a fer in the voice of a trumpet.
door. Lucifer unhinged the door "You will give me a good musom
with one thwack of his big tail, and if you get it,', answered the cavalier;