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81: They Want to Kill an Alderman Because of the Request He Made of Them
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j 177 C H A P T E R E I G H T Y- O N E They Want to Kill an Alderman Because of the Request He Made of Them Well, with everything in the state of affairs I’ve described, one Pedro de Molina, a native of Guadix and an alderman of that city, was observing all the destruction, rioting, and commotion going on. Out of service to Your Majesty, he determined to enter the stockade where Domingo de Irala and all the officials were staying. In the presence of these people, he doffed his cap and said to Martín de Ure, the notary who was present, that he should read to the officials Molina’s demand that all the evildoing and killing and rampaging then abroad in the land due to the jailing of the Governor must cease. “Set the Governor free,” he said to these people, “because by doing so all this uproar will stop. And if you don’t wish to free the Governor, you must allow him to choose someone to govern the province peacefully and with justice in the name of His Majesty.” He gave this demand to the notary, who with all eyes watching him refused to accept it. De Ure finally did take it and then turned to Pedro de Molina and said, “If you want me to read it out loud, you’ll have to pay me my fees.” At this Molina pulled his sword out of his buckler and gave it to de Ure. But the scribe didn’t want it, saying he never took swords for security. So Molina took off his hooded riding cape and gave it to him, saying, “Read it, as I have nothing else to offer you as security.” So this confounded Martín de Ure took the cape and the written demand and dumped them both on the ground at his feet. “I have no wish to impart anything at all to these gentlemen,” he said. At this the deputy treasurer, Garci-Vanegas, leapt up and said a lot of insulting and shameful words to Pedro de Molina, threatening to beat him to death with truncheons. “That’s just what you deserve, Molina,” he said, “for what you’ve had the nerve to say.” Well, with that Pedro de Molina left, once again taking off his cap to them (and it wasn’t an easy thing to take your leave of that lot without them doing you a great deal of harm). 178 j C H A P T E R E I G H T Y - O N E ...