The author intercedes here, explaining that the history of the famed knight of La Mancha has been vexedly cut off at this point where the two combatants are about to deliver each other a mortal blow. In his Moorish travels, however, the author has discovered an old manuscript written in Arabic by a historian named Cid Hamet Benegali. By mere coincidence it happens to be the history of Don Quixote, and the second book of the manuscript begins with the fight between the knight and the Biscainer, which he sets down exactly as Cid Hamet has written it.
By fortunate mistakes, the Don wins the duel, stunning his adversary with a tremendous blow. He spares the Biscainer's life, though only after he promises to present himself to the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso, who shall dispose of him as she desires.
