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