The President's voice rose to a scream as he added details of Aguirre's ancestry and love-life. He caught Aguirre by the lapels and shook the smaller man until the latter's teeth rattled. He slapped his face, forehand and backhand, a dozen times, then hurled the eminent jurist from him, shouting:
"Guards! Tie up this filth until I can deal with him in a more appropriate manner!"
In the prison, Aguirre stood on the trap with the rope around his neck. In one corner his wife and his mistress sobbed quietly in each other's arms. In front of him stood la Torre with fists on well-padded hips, grinning ferociously.
"Ha!" snarled the President. "So, thou thoughtst I should weaken and let thee go for old times' sake? Hast ever known me to forget an insult to my dignity?"
"No, sir," said Aguirre miserably. "If you are going to hang me, will you please get it over with?"
"I will hang thee when I am ready. I have had requests from many quarters, including the President of the United States himself, to let thee off. I threw these impertinent requests back in their faces! I told them that if I heard any more such mush, I should refuse to ratify the Constitution, and defy them! That is what I, Juan Serafin de la Torre Baroja, think of the rest of the world! Well, hangman, art thou ready?"
"Ready, chief," replied the hangman.
La Torre gave the final command. The hangman did his duty. The wife and the mistress screamed in unison with the snap of the rope, and Dr. Aguirre departed for happier climes.
While the body still swung, an officer of the Federal Police rushed in.
"Chief!" cried the newcomer. "Hold everything!"
"What?" cried la Torre. "Nonsense! As thou seest, there is nothing to hold. What is it?"
"Well, sir, you will not believe this, but—"
"But what?"
"The ambassador Mencias Mola is here with a visitor. This visitor is one of a group who arrived in Mexico a few hours ago. Senor Mencias flew this one here as fast as possible."
La Torre gaped. The Andean ambassador to Mexico appeared in the doorway and came forward, saying: "Chief, I have the honour to present a visitor. His name, as nearly as I can say it, is Vraku. Senor Vraku, I present the President de la Torre Baroja."
The visitor blinked two of its three eyes and extended a tentacle to grasp la Torre's limp hand; then pointed another tentacle towards the figure dangling from the scaffold, and raised all three eyebrows.
"The—ah—suspended one ...?" It said in weird but comprehensible Spanish.
"A martyr to his country, senor. A paragon of wisdom and loyalty. Even now I am planning a special medal for him." La Torre stepped close to the scaffold and peered up with experienced eyes. "It will, of course, be awarded posthumously," he said with marked sadness.
The End
Book information
Sprague
de Camp's
New Anthology of
SCIENCE FICTION
Edited by H. J. Campbell
Panther
Books
HAMILTON & CO. (STAFFORD) LTD.,
1 & 2, Melville Court, Goldhawk Road,
London, W.12.
(Copyright, 1953)
All characters in these stories are fictitious and imaginary and bear no relation to any living person.