Don Quixote and Sancho's Second Sally begins not with a sudden escape from confinement but with a fortnight of apparent calm. Don Quixote then persuades a poor farm laborer to become his squire, promising him an island and even the possibility of a kingdom. Their departure joins the knight’s renewed crusade to Sancho’s practical hopes: while one sets out to revive knight-errantry, the other rides toward a governorship that exists only in his master’s promises.

The Quiet Interval and Renewed Resolve

Don Quixote remains at home for fifteen days, behaving quietly and showing no sign that he intends to return to his former delusions. The pause, however, does not mark a change in his convictions. He holds lively discussions with the curate and the barber, insisting that the world needs knights-errant and that he is the person destined to restore their order. The curate alternates between contradiction and agreement, a cautious strategy that allows him to keep Don Quixote within reach of reason without ending the argument outright.

This interval establishes the departure as a decision nurtured through conversation rather than an impulsive reaction to an immediate adventure. Don Quixote’s calm manner coexists with an unchanged account of his purpose. The contrast makes clear that the first journey has not dispelled his belief: the prospect of renewed knight-errantry has remained active even while he gives no outward sign of wanting to leave.

Sancho’s Recruitment and the Island Promise

Don Quixote persuades a neighboring farm laborer, described as honest but of little wit, to serve as his squire. The man is Sancho Panza. The decisive inducement is not a wage or a definite appointment, but the prospect that an adventure might win them an island and make Sancho its governor. Don Quixote presents such advancement as something that could happen almost at once, and Sancho accepts the imagined future as a reason to leave the life he already has.

Sancho’s agreement has a concrete cost: he leaves his wife and children behind. His motive is nevertheless tied to the particular reward Don Quixote offers. As they travel, Sancho reminds his master of the promised island and insists that he will be capable of governing it, however large it may be. Don Quixote answers by invoking the supposed custom of knights-errant rewarding their squires with islands or kingdoms. He says that earlier knights often waited until their squires were old and worn out before granting them lesser titles; he intends to be more generous. If both men live, he says, he may win a kingdom within six days and make Sancho king of one of its dependent realms. The promise expands as the conversation proceeds, turning a prospective island governorship into the possibility of a crown.

Equipment and the Secret Departure

Before setting out, Don Quixote gathers money by selling one possession and pawning another, making a poor bargain in each case. He borrows a buckler from a friend and repairs his battered helmet as best he can. The preparations combine material necessity with the maintenance of his knightly appearance: he raises a sum for the journey, but his equipment remains makeshift and worn.

He tells Sancho the day and hour of departure and particularly instructs him to bring saddlebags. Sancho agrees and plans to take his ass, explaining that he is not much given to walking. Don Quixote hesitates because he cannot recall an example of a knight-errant’s squire traveling on an ass. He nevertheless allows it, imagining that he can provide Sancho with a more honorable mount later by taking the horse of the first discourteous knight they encounter. The mismatch between Sancho’s ordinary conveyance and Don Quixote’s chivalric expectations is present before the road has even begun. Don Quixote also gathers shirts and other necessities, following advice previously given by the innkeeper.

Neither man takes leave of his household. Sancho departs without saying goodbye to his wife and children, and Don Quixote leaves his housekeeper and niece behind; at night they slip out of the village without anyone seeing them. They make enough progress before daylight to feel safe from discovery even if a search should follow. The clandestine departure gives the new expedition a practical secrecy that contrasts with Don Quixote’s expansive, public-minded image of knightly adventure.

The Road and the Expected Reward

Sancho rides his ass with his saddlebags and wineskin, already longing to become governor of the island his master has promised. Don Quixote chooses the same route as on his first journey: the road across Campo de Montiel. The repetition makes the second departure a resumption of an established course, not a journey into entirely new territory. Yet the conditions differ from those of the previous trip. Because they set out early, with the sun’s rays falling obliquely, the heat troubles them less, and Don Quixote travels with less discomfort.

The road immediately gives Sancho occasion to return to the reward that brought him along. Don Quixote answers not by grounding the promise in any known possession or achieved victory, but by enlarging the scale of what might be won and citing the customs of chivalric romance as assurance. The episode thus sets the terms of their partnership: Sancho carries practical provisions and rides the animal he owns, while Don Quixote supplies a vision of sudden advancement. Their second sally begins with both men moving toward the same horizon, though they understand its rewards very differently.