"Youareverykind，sir。"Thefatmaogatheruphisluggage。
TwostagecoacheswerestandiheihewaytoVillaRealaoa。Passionhiswaytothecoaches，JoaodeSousafoupassengerarguihawaiter。HestoppedtoaskifhewasgoaortoVillaReal。
"Iamgoa，sir，justthinkofit!Aterriblething!Iycupoftea。"
"Thatisaveryseriousmatteri;saidtheyoungmangravely。
"Serious?Ibelieveyou。Whatsortofarestaurantisthis?Thereisnotaleafofblatheplace!"
"Allpassengersfoataketheirplaces，please，"calledouttheguard，aiheoldgdressoftheplace。
&passengeragainsatdownoppositeJoaodeSousa。
"Soyouhavebeendisappointedagain，sir?"
"Don'tspeakofit。Itistooawful。Whatajouromakewithoutmycupoftea!"
"ButyouwillhaveanotherAmatante，wherewegethehorses。"
"Oh，Iamglad。Yood，sir。"
Thecoachrolledhthetryroads，andihemotiohepasse。JoaodeSousaremaigthetrypassuofthemoohehedges，thelightsfromthehousesofavillageonthehillside。PreseotheabridgeofAmaraheinofwhichislostisofthepast。ThecoachpassedintothenarrowstooppedoutsidethefamousoldinnoftheCapadera。Thedining-roomoftheinnwasfulloftobaokeandthesmellofchocolate。Thewaiteradvaoshowthetravelerstotheirseats，alyareallyextsupperwasserved。ThisJoaodeShlyenjthegoodenas。Helookedroundapasseingataerofthetable，waitinganxiouslytospeaktothewaiter。"Waiter，Iandblack，remember。Nootherwilldo。"
"Sir，inaninstant。Imustjustservethesupper，andthenIwillordertheteaforyou。Whatwillyouhaveforsupper，sir?"
"IoteatanythinguntilIhavehadmytea。"
&eruedservidishesofdallkifood;andbottlesofgoodwinewerepassedmerrilyrouhefatpassely。Presentlyitwasahecoachwouldstarties，andtherewasgreatextand。EveryoofihedJoaodeSousaheardtheunhappyvoiceofthefatpassengersaying，"Aer，whataboutthattea?""Ie，sir。"
Allhadtakentheirplacesexceptthefatman，whostoodatthedooroftheihecoabthemountaiarowelveoxee，gaywithreddbrassbells。Theguardcalledtothefatpasseakeyourplace，sir，ifyouplease。Iolo;
&hewaiteringwithasteamingcupofteaonatray。Thefatpassengerhadoohecoach，butheutteredacryofjoy，seizedthedraisedittohislips。Buttheaindistress，andputthecupbathetray。
"Impossibletodrier。Itisboilinghot。Whyditlikethat，whenthecoachisjuststarting?"AndhetohisplaceoppositeJoaodeSousa，tearsofpainandannoyanhiseyes。
&agebedthehillslowlyforfivehedbytheslowbutpowerfuloxen。Afiheenormousoldtreesbesidethemountainroad，andthewihroughtheirbraherelittlestreamsrandowainsnowstowardsthemightyRiverDouro。
Thedriverwalkedbesidetheleaderoftheteam，engtheoxen。AllthepasseJoaodeSousaslept。Theypassedastohouseheroad，ahrewstraionsheruptheypassedalittlecottageabovewhigamassivebloewhichlookedasifitmightfallataheroadgrewheyapproachedthetop，andthesuhiaininmanycolours-purple，pihecoachstoppedatahevillageofQuihosepassengersakedesdedtostretchtheirlegsinthepuremair。
JoaodeSousawalkedalthesplendourofthesery。Peakafterpeakextendedasfarastheeyecouldsee，andlowerdownshochofwater。Thewholelovelypicturewasframedirees，andastheyoungmaodrawabreathofdelight，heheardasloroag。Alongyawnofwearinesssouohisear，andJoaodeSousasmiledatthesightofthefatpasseillhalfasleep，andsodifferentfromtheglowofthenewm。
"Well，sir，howareyou?Whataboutyourteanow?"
"friend，Ihavereallylostallhopes。Thereismiserableinn;theysaynooneeverasksforsug。"
Thehorseswereready，andtheguardgavethesignalforthestart。Theywentfastdowain-sideandweresoonamongdarktreesa。PresentlythepassehegrapesthatgrowbytheDouro。Bythesideofthegreatrivertheydroveformahehousesgrewthidgardetheyereetsoa。Itwasjusthalfpasteightinthem，therighthourforbreakfast。
Asthecoachstoppedatthehotel，afinebuildingwithgreehefatpasseoJoaodeSousawithasmile。"Ithankyou，sir，forallyourcourtesy。Ishouldhavehadadreadfuljouryreeablepany。IottellyouhowIhavesufferedfromthelossofmycupoftea。Itiswrosatmyage。Takemyadviddonotallowanythihahabityouhaveformed，ifitisagoodone。NowIgetmycupofteaatlast。Itislate，itistrue，butbetterlatethaointroducemyself，sir。MynameisBarnadedosAnjos;IamaownofFreixo-de-Espada-a-dIamtravelingtoDouroonbusiness。Ihopetomeetyouagain，sir，andinanycaseIamalwaysatyourservice。Iwishyougoodludasafejourney;andnowIamgoing，mydearyouodrihinacupoftea。"