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. But he was certainly no hanging judge.
The cases at hand were finished; at a word from the clerk we went out back with the 'miscreants' - peasants, mostly - who owed fines or debts. We found ourselves lined up on a low platform, facing a group of men. Margrethe asked what this was - and was answered, 'La subasta.'
'What's that?' I asked her.
'Alec, I'm not sure. It's not a word I know.'
Settlements were made quickly on the others; I gathered that most of them had been there before. Then there was just one man left of the group off the platform, just us on the platform. The man remaining looked sleekly prosperous. He smiled and spoke to me. Margrethe answered.
'What is he saying?' I asked.
'He asked you if you can wash dishes. I told him that you do not speak Spanish.'
'Tell him that of course I can wash dishes. But that's hardly a job I want.'
Five minutes later our debt had been paid, in cash, to the clerk of the court, and we had acquired a patrуn, Sehor Jaime Valera Guzman. He paid sixty pesos a day for Margrethe, thirty for me, plus our found. Court costs were twenty-five hundred pesos, plus fees for two non-resident work permits, plus war-tax stamps. The clerk figured our total indebtedness, then divided it out for us: In only a hundred and twenty-one days - four months - our obligation to our patr6n would be discharged. Unless, of course, we spent some money during that time
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