n Quixote raised his lance and
struck him such a blow that he fell senseless on the ground and lay
there stunned. Soon after this another carrier, who did not know of
what had happened to the first one, approached with the same object;
and Don Quixote, thinking him an enemy, also struck at him and laid
his head open with two cuts from his lance in the form of a cross.

The people of the inn heard the noise of the second encounter and came
running to the spot. When they beheld what had happened and saw the
battered condition of the carriers they commenced to throw stones at
Don Quixote, not daring to approach him; and he, shielding himself as
best he could with his buckler, defied them to draw near on pain of
their lives, and returned the abuse and hard names they showered upon
him. And he shouted at them with such a terrible voice that they
became afraid and left him alone, moved not only by his threats but by
the entreaties of the landlord, who kept calling out to them that the
man was mad and would not be held accountable should he kill them all.

The freaks of Don Quixote were not to the landlord's liking, and he
desired to get rid of the strange knight with as little trouble as
possible. He approached the well and told Don Quixote that the time
for the ceremony of knighthood had now arrived, and that all the
requirements had been met with by the watch that Don Quixote had
already performed. He pulled out an account-book in which he kept the
record of the straw and grain that he sold and bade Don Quixote kneel
down before him. Then he read out the accounts in a solemn voice as
though he were repeating some devout prayer, and the stable-boy and
the two girls who worked at the inn stood by with a candle, trying to
control their laughter. When the reading was finished the landlord
took Don Quixote's sword and tapped him sharply on the shoulder,
pretending to mutter more prayers while he was doing it, and one of
the girls girded the sword about Don Quixote's waist, saying, as she
did so:

"May God make your Worship a very fortunate knight, and grant you
success in battle!"

Thus the ceremony was ended and Don Quixote was satisfied. And then it
came about as the landlord had hoped and expected. The new knight was
so eager to set out on his journey that he saddled his horse and rode
forth at once, without paying his bill for his supper; and the
landlord was so glad to see the last of him that he made no objection
to t