et us pay due respect
to this of yours; we are now in the first country of the world, and
without doubt the customs of the place must be in the highest degree
judicious. Wherefore your worship may be pleased to conduct us to the
place where this gentleman of whom you have spoken is to be found. I
cannot but suppose, from what you say, that he is much honoured, of
great power and influence, of very generous nature, and, above all,
highly accomplished in the profession."

"Honoured, generous, and accomplished! do you say?" replied the boy:
"aye, that he is; so much so, that during the four years that he has
held the seat of our chief and father, only four of us have suffered at
Finibusterry;[19] some thirty or so, and not more, have lost leather;
and but sixty-two have been lagged."

[19] _In finibus terrae_, that is to say, at the gallows, or garotte,
which to the thief is the end of the earth and all things.

"Truly, Sir," rejoined Rincon, "all this is Hebrew to us; we know no
more about it than we do of flying."

"Let us be jogging, then," replied the new-comer, "and on the way I will
explain to you these and other things, which it is requisite you should
know as pat as bread to mouth;" and, accordingly, he explained to them a
whole vocabulary of that thieves' Latin which they call Germanesco, or
Gerigonza, and which their guide used in the course of his lecture,--by
no means a short one, for the distance they had to traverse was of
considerable length.

On the road, Rincon said to his new acquaintance, "Does your worship
happen to be a Thief?"

"Yes," replied the lad, "I have that honour, for the service of God and
of all good people; but I cannot boast of being among the most
distinguished, since I am as yet but in the year of my novitiate."

"It is news to me," remarked Cortado, "that there are thieves for the
service of God and of good people."

"Senor," the other replied, "I don't meddle with theology; but this I
know, that every one may serve God in his vocation, the more so as daddy
Monipodio keeps such good order in that respect among all his children."

"His must needs be a holy and edifying command," rejoined Rincon, "since
it enjoins thieves to serve God."

"It is so holy and edifying," exclaimed the stranger, "that I don't
believe a better will ever be known in our trade. His orders are that we
give something by way of alms out of all we steal, to buy oil for the
lamp of a highly venerated image