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Page 9
They crawled to take new positions. The soldiers, con-
gratulating themselves on their successes, ceased firing
when another volley roused them.
"More coming!" they shouted.
Some, panic-stricken, turned their horses back; others,
abandoning their mounts, began to climb up the moun-
tain and seek shelter behind the rocks. The officers had
to shoot at them to enforce discipline.
"Down there, down there!" said Demetrio as he leveled
his rifle at the translucent thread of the river.
A soldier fell into the water; at each shot, invariably
a soldier bit the dust. Only Demetrio was shooting in that
direction; for every soldier killed, ten or twenty of them,
intact, climbed afresh on the other side.
"Get those coming up from under! Los de Abajo!
Get the underdogs!" he screamed.
Now his fellows were exchanging rifles, laughing and
making wagers on their marksmanship.
"My leather belt if I miss that head there, on the black
horse!"
"Lend me your rifle, Meco."
"Twenty Mauser cartridges and a half yard of sausage
if you let me spill that lad riding the bay mare. All right!
Watch me.... There! See him jump! Like a bloody deer."
"Don't run, you half-breeds. Come along with you!
Come and meet Father Demetrio!"
Now it was Demetrio's men who screamed insults.
Manteca, his smooth face swollen in exertion, yelled his
lungs out. Pancracio roared, the veins and muscles in his
neck dilated, his murderous eyes narrowed to two evil
slits.
Demetrio fired shot after shot, constantly warning his
men of impending danger, but they took no heed until
they felt the bullets spattering them from one side.
"Goddamn their souls, they've branded me!" Demetrio
cried, his teeth flashing.
Then, very swiftly, he slid down a gully and was lost....
IV
Two men were missing, Serapio the candymaker, and
Antonio, who played the cymbals in the Juchipila band.
"Maybe they'll join us further on," said Demetrio.
The return journey proved moody. Anastasio Montanez
alone preserved his equanimity, a kindly expression play-
ing in his sleepy eyes and on his bearded face. Pancracio's
harsh, gorillalike profile retained its repulsive immuta-
bility.
The soldiers had retreated; Demetrio began the search
for the soldiers' horses which had been hidden in the
sierra.
Suddenly Quail, who had been walking ahead, shrieked.
He had caught sight of his companions swinging from
the branches of a mesquite. There could be no doubt of
their identity; Serapio and Antonio they certainly were.
Anastasio Montanez prayed brokenly.
"Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come..."
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