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Although the nights retained their cold winter chill, the days were beginning
to lengthen and this gave the gypsies more time to complete their preparations.
A day finally arrived when the harvest had been fully reaped. With dignity and
dressed in their finest, the Elders made their way into Ubeda to meet the
Patrono’s and receive payment for their labours. This meeting was always a
tense affair, and tempers on both sides needed curtailing.
The farmers would naturally try to see the Gypsies short, now that their
labours were no longer required. The money they had received from their olives
nestled comfortably in their purses, and they were reluctant to remove it.
Fortunately, besides the early incident with Habby and Herrera, (or maybe
because of it) this year had seen very few encounters between the valley
inhabitants and the nomads. This combined with a good harvest and the olives
fetching a good price had put the farmers in a better mood. They still tried to
cheat the Gypsies, but when they saw it would get them nowhere, they paid up
with less complaint than usual.
There was one exception, however. Herrera stood at the meeting his eyes
radiating hate and derision towards the Gypsies; his broken wrist tightly
strapped to his chest reminding the Elders of his encounter. Eventually, after
a heated and acrimonious exchange with the elders, even he had pay what was
promised.
As was customary, the elders only accepted only gold in payment. When the gold had
been weighed and loaded into one of the wagons, the two groups said gruff
farewells and prepared to depart.
Herreria’s voice suddenly cut through the silence that had followed the
farewells. “Tell that bastard Habby he is no longer welcome in this valley,” he
stated in a tone cold and full of menace. “If he is seen in this valley again he
will die. I will see to it.”
The Elders nodded in understanding. They would relay the message. The
Gypsies and farmers would need each other again, keeping Habby away from the
valley and harm was a small price to pay.
After the Elders had returned to a busy camp, they divided the gold amongst
themselves, hiding it safely in various wagons to await distribution whenever it
became necessary.
That evening, the Gypsies held another celebration to mark the end of their
labours and herald their return to the road.
The following morning, despite the previous evenings' celebrations, the camp
roused early with anticipation and excitement for the coming day. As the
morning sun spread her light, the noise of the Gypsies preparing to leave
floated over the still air. Horses whinnied, riders shouted, dogs barked and
the consistent rumble of hooves and wagon wheels echoed across the valley.
First to leave were the Caballeros’. They would be heading west, following
the river to Seville. There they hoped to sell the remaining horses and bring
in more money for their clan. Over the last ten weeks during the harvest, the
Caballeros’ had broken in and trained the wild horses that had arrived with
them. They had already sold or traded over sixty horses to the people of the
valley, but the herd still numbered over a hundred beasts. Of this total,
eighty would accompany the riders to the horse fair at Seville with the
remainder staying with the main convoy for later trade.
It was normal for this journey to take between five to six days of steady
riding, but this time they were hoping to complete it in four or less. The
extra days that had been worked on the harvest now needed to be recovered if the
Gypsies were to arrive at their next destination in time.
The main group would not be leaving until at least midday, as there will still
a few minor details to finalise. This would still allow them sufficient time to
be out of the valley and beyond by nightfall
Manana along with most of the Gypsies watched and waved at the departing
riders. When they left the valley, they would be meeting her father, who would
accompany them to Seville and act as chief negotiator in the trading. She
missed him sorely and wished desperately that he had been around these last few
weeks. Putting aside this sudden feeling of despondence, she made her way back
towards her own wagon and the chores still waiting her.
As she busied
herself with the chores, it was not long before she returned to her usual
cheerful self, full of bubbling eagerness to be away and out of the valley. Her
thoughts turned as they always did towards Aguila. The eagle had been growing
larger and stronger every day and she felt that he too ssensed
change and he was impatient for it. (to be continued)
Thank you for reading
this far, I am currently working on more of the story, and I shall publish it
online ASAP.
Ray Baker© 2006
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