Don Quixote Volume 1, Chapter 44

His yells awake Maritornes who scrambles out of bed to free him before anyone becomes wise of their prank. The men are there to look for the boy, Don Luis, whose father is worried sick about him. They find him but he refuses to go home. Dorotea explains Clara and Don Luis's situation to Cardenio. The judge recognizes Don Luis and they talk about the situation. Meanwhile the innkeeper is being beaten up by some guests whom he caught leaving the inn without paying. Maritornes asks Don Quijote to help the innkeeper, but he says he must first ask permission from the princess since he has promised her not to engage in any adventures till he has regained her kingdom for her. Maritornes says that the innkeeper might very well be dead by then, and Don Quijote tells her not to worry because he'll either bring him back to life or revenge his death. He receives permission from Dorotea, but when he sees that they are commoners he tells her to get Sancho since a knight errant can only fight against other knights.

Somehow, Don Quijote manages to talk the guests into paying their bill instead of beating up the innkeeper. The next guest to arrive at this inn is none other than the barber; the original owner of the golden basin or helmet of Mambrino and the decorative harness and saddlebag (that Sancho had swapped and swiped) who had unluckily met the dynamic duo earlier in our story. He sees Sancho with the hot goods and tells him to give him back his belongings; Sancho instead gives the barber a bloody face with his fist. The barber grabs the harness and calls loudly for the police and "Justice" and says if they will but place the harness on his donkey, they will see if fits perfectly.

Don Quijote is mightily impressed with his squire and plans to dub him a knight. Sancho and Don Quijote maintain they won these items fairly, and Sancho fetches the helmet.

Topic Tracking: Helmet Imagery 12