Now that his belongings had
been examined three times that day, the next step would probably
be another search of his person. Unless in the mean time he could
definitely establish his innocence of purpose, which was unlikely,
it behooved him to rid himself of the weapon without delay. This,
however, was a problem. He could not bring himself to throw the
thing away, and his bare bedroom offered no place of concealment.
Late that evening he called Mr. Carbajal and asked him if it were
possible to take a bath.
Mr. Carbajal assured him that it was. El Gran Hotel Europea was
first class in every respect; no expense had been spared in its
equipment. Senor O'Rail-ye had indeed done well in patronizing it,
for it boasted the best cuarto de bano in the whole city--a room,
moreover, which was devoted exclusively to the purposes of
bathing. And it was a large room--large enough to accommodate a
dozen guests at once. To be sure, it would require, say, half an
hour to make it ready, for it was stored with hay for the horses
which drew the 'bus to and from the depot, but if the senor would
have patience it could soon be restored to its original purpose.
Mr. Carbajal himself would see that there was a river of hot
water.
O'Reilly thanked him. An hour later he paraded, bare-foot, down
the hall, wrapped in a blanket.
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