Shortly after this, another, not knowing what had happened （forthe carrier still lay senseless）， came with the same object ofgiving water to his mules, and was proceeding to remove the armourin order to clear the trough, when Don Quixote, without uttering aword or imploring aid from anyone, once more dropped his buckler andonce more lifted his lance, and without actually breaking the secondcarrier's head into pieces, made more than three of it, for he laid itopen in four. At the noise all the people of the inn ran to thespot, and among them the landlord. Seeing this, Don Quixote braced hisbuckler on his arm, and with his hand on his sword exclaimed, "OLady of Beauty, strength and support of my faint heart, it is time forthee to turn the eyes of thy greatness on this thy captive knight onthe brink of so mighty an adventure." By this he felt himself soinspired that he would not have flinched if all the carriers in theworld had assailed him. The comrades of the wounded perceiving theplight they were in began from a distance to shower stones on DonQuixote, who screened himself as best he could with his buckler, notdaring to quit the trough and leave his armour unprotected. Thelandlord shouted to them to leave him alone, for he had already toldthem that he was mad, and as a madman he would not be accountable evenif he killed them all. Still louder shouted Don Quixote, callingthem knaves and traitors, and the lord of the castle, who allowedknights-errant to be treated in this fashion, a villain and a low-bornknight whom, had he received the order of knighthood, he would call toaccount for his treachery. "But of you," he cried, "base and vilerabble, I make no account; fling, strike, come on, do all ye canagainst me, ye shall see what the reward of your folly and insolencewill be." This he uttered with so much spirit and boldness that hefilled his assailants with a terrible fear, and as much for thisreason as at the persuasion of the landlord they left off stoning him,and he allowed them to carry off the wounded, and with the samecalmness and composure as before resumed the watch over his armour.
But these freaks of his guest were not much to the liking of thelandlord, so he determined to cut matters short and confer upon him atonce the unlucky order of knighthood before any further misadventurecould occur; so, going up to him, he apologised for the rudenesswhich, without his knowledge, had been offered to him by these lowpeople, who, however, had been well punished for their audacity. As hehad already told him, he said, there was no chapel in the castle,nor was it needed for what remained to be done, for, as heunderstood the ceremonial of the order, the whole point of beingdubbed a knight lay in the accolade and in the slap on the shoulder,and that could be administered in the middle of a field; and that hehad now done all that was needful as to watching the armour, for allrequirements were satisfied by a watch of two hours only, while he hadbeen more than four about it. Don Quixote believed it all, and toldhim he stood there ready to obey him, and to make an end of it with asmuch despatch as possible; for, if he were again attacked, and felthimself to be dubbed knight, he would not, he thought, leave a soulalive in the castle, except such as out of respect he might spare athis bidding.
Thus warned and menaced, the castellan forthwith brought out abook in which he used to enter the straw and barley he served out tothe carriers, and, with a lad carrying a candle-end, and the twodamsels already mentioned, he returned to where Don Quixote stood, andbade him kneel down. Then, reading from his account-book as if he wererepeating some devout prayer, in the middle of his delivery heraised his hand and gave him a sturdy blow on the neck, and then, withhis own sword, a smart slap on the shoulder, all the while mutteringbetween his teeth as if he was saying his prayers. Having done this,he directed one of the ladies to gird on his sword, which she did withgreat self-possession and gravity, and not a little was required toprevent a burst of laughter at each stage of the ceremony; but whatthey had already seen of the novice knight's prowess kept theirlaughter within bounds. On girding him with the sword the worthylady said to him, "May God make your worship a very fortunateknight, and grant you success in battle." Don Quixote asked her namein order that he might from that time forward know to whom he wasbeholden for the favour he had received, as he meant to confer uponher some portion of the honour he acquired by the might of his arm.She answered with great humility that she was called La Tolosa, andthat she was the daughter of a cobbler of Toledo who lived in thestalls of Sanchobienaya, and that wherever she might be she wouldserve and esteem him as her lord. Don Quixote said in reply that shewould do him a favour if thenceforward she assumed the "Don" andcalled herself Dona Tolosa. She promised she would, and then the otherbuckled on his spur, and with her followed almost the sameconversation as with the lady of the sword. He asked her name, and shesaid it was La Molinera, and that she was the daughter of arespectable miller of Antequera; and of her likewise Don Quixoterequested that she would adopt the "Don" and call herself DonaMolinera, making offers to her further services and favours.
Having thus, with hot haste and speed, brought to a conclusion thesenever-till-now-seen ceremonies, Don Quixote was on thorns until he sawhimself on horseback sallying forth in quest of adventures; andsaddling Rocinante at once he mounted, and embracing his host, as hereturned thanks for his kindness in knighting him, he addressed him inlanguage so extraordinary that it is impossible to convey an idea ofit or report it. The landlord, to get him out of the inn, replied withno less rhetoric though with shorter words, and without calling uponhim to pay the reckoning let him go with a Godspeed.
CHAPTER IV
OF WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR KNIGHT WHEN HE LEFT THE INN
DAY was dawning when Don Quixote quitted the inn, so happy, sogay, so exhilarated at finding himself now dubbed a knight, that hisjoy was like to burst his horse-girths. However, recalling theadvice of his host as to the requisites he ought to carry with him,especially that referring to money and shirts, he determined to gohome and provide himself with all, and also with a squire, for hereckoned upon securing a farm-labourer, a neighbour of his, a poor manwith a family, but very well qualified for the office of squire to aknight. With this object he turned his horse's head towards hisvillage, and Rocinante, thus reminded of his old quarters, stepped outso briskly that he hardly seemed to tread the earth.
He had not gone far, when out of a thicket on his right there seemedto come feeble cries as of some one in distress, and the instant heheard them he exclaimed, "Thanks be to heaven for the favour itaccords me, that it so soon offers me an opportunity of fulfilling theobligation I have undertaken, and gathering the fruit of myambition. These cries, no doubt, come from some man or woman in wantof help, and needing my aid and protection;" and wheeling, he turnedRocinante in the direction whence the cries seemed to proceed. Hehad gone but a few paces into the wood, when he saw a mare tied toan oak, and tied to another, and stripped from the waist upwards, ayouth of about fifteen years of age, from whom the cries came. Norwere they without cause, for a lusty farmer was flogging him with abelt and following up every blow with scoldings and commands,repeating, "Your mouth shut and your eyes open!" while the youthmade answer, "I won't do it again, master mine; by God's passion Iwon't do it again, and I'll take more care of the flock another time."
Seeing what was going on, Don Quixote said in an angry voice,"Discourteous knight, it ill becomes you to assail one who cannotdefend himself; mount your steed and take your lance" （for there was alance leaning against the oak to which the mare was tied）， "and I willmake you know that you are behaving as a coward." The farmer, seeingbefore him this figure in full armour brandishing a lance over hishead, gave himself up for dead, and made answer meekly, "Sir Knight,this youth that I am chastising is my servant, employed by me to watcha flock of sheep that I have hard by, and he is so careless that Ilose one every day, and when I punish him for his carelessness andknavery he says I do it out of niggardliness, to escape paying him thewages I owe him, and before God, and on my soul, he lies."
"Lies before me, base clown!" said Don Quixote. "By the sun thatshines on us I have a mind to run you through with this lance. Pay himat once without another word; if not, by the God that rules us Iwill make an end of you, and annihilate you on the spot; release himinstantly."
The farmer hung his head, and without a word untied his servant,of whom Don Quixote asked how much his master owed him.
He replied, nine months at seven reals a month. Don Quixote added itup, found that it came to sixty-three reals, and told the farmer topay it down immediately, if he did not want to die for it.
The trembling clown replied that as he lived and by the oath hehad sworn （though he had not sworn any） it was not so much; forthere were to be taken into account and deducted three pairs ofshoes he had given him, and a real for two blood-lettings when hewas sick.
"All that is very well," said Don Quixote; "but let the shoes andthe blood-lettings stand as a setoff against the blows you havegiven him without any cause; for if he spoiled the leather of theshoes you paid for, you have damaged that of his body, and if thebarber took blood from him when he was sick, you have drawn it when hewas sound; so on that score he owes you nothing."