He was very tall and noble-looking, dressed in rich garments of velvet
adorned by a gold chain that hung about his neck, and as I judged about
forty years of age. But it was his face which chiefly caught my eye, for
at that moment there was something terrible about it. It was long,
thin, and deeply carved; the eyes were large, and gleamed like gold in
sunlight; the mouth was small and well shaped, but it wore a devilish
and cruel sneer; the forehead lofty, indicating a man of mind, and
marked with a slight scar. For the rest the cavalier was dark and
southern-looking, his curling hair, like my own, was black, and he wore
a peaked chestnut-coloured beard.
By the time that I had finished these observations my feet had brought
me almost to the stranger's side, and for the first time he caught sight
of me. Instantly his face changed, the sneer left it, and it became
kindly and pleasant looking. Lifting his bonnet with much courtesy he
stammered something in broken English, of which all that I could catch
was the word Yarmouth; then perceiving that I did not understand him, he
cursed the English tongue and all those who spoke it, aloud and in good
Castilian.
'If the senor will graciously express his wish in Spanish,' I said,
speaking in that language, 'it may be in my power to help him.'
'What! you speak Spanish, young sir,' he said, starting, 'and yet you
are not a Spaniard, though by your face you well might be.
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