f houses in Tepatitlan nestling against the hillside.

They entered joyously. From every window rosy cheeks, dark luminous
eyes observed them. The schools were quickly converted into barracks;
Demetrio found lodging in the chapel of an abandoned church.

The soldiers scattered about as usual pretending to seek arms and
horses, but in reality for the sole purpose of looting.

In the afternoon some of Demetrio's men lay stretched out on the church
steps, scratching their bellies. Venancio, his chest and shoulders
bare, was gravely occupied in killing the fleas in his shirt. A man
drew near the wall and sought permission to speak to the commander. The
soldiers raised their heads; but no one answered.

"I'm a widower, gentlemen. I've got nine children and I barely make a
living with the sweat of my brow. Don't be hard on a poor widower!"

"Don't you worry about women, Uncle," said Meco, who was rubbing his
feet with tallow, "we've got War Paint here with us; you can have her
for nothing."

The man smiled bitterly.

"She's only got one fault," Pancracio observed, stretched out on the
ground, staring at the blue sky, "she goes mad over any man she sees."

They laughed loudly; but Venancio with utmost gravity pointed to the
chapel door. The stranger entered timidly and confided his troubles to
Demetrio. The soldiers had cleaned him out; they had not left a single
grain of corn.

"Why did you let them?" Demetrio asked indolently.

The man persisted, lamenting and weeping. Luis Cervantes was about to
throw him out with an insult. But Camilla intervened.

"Come on, Demetrio, don't be harsh, give him an order to get his corn
back."

Luis Cervantes was obliged to obey; he scrawled a few lines to which
Demetrio appended an illegible scratch.

"May God repay you, my child! God will lead you to heaven that you may
enjoy his glory. Ten bushels of corn are barely enough for this year's
food!" the man cried, weeping for gratitude. Then he took the paper,
kissed everybody's hand, and withdrew.

XII

They had almost reached Cuquio, when Anastasio Montanez rode up to
Demetrio: "Listen, Compadre, I almost forgot to tell you.... You ought
to have seen the wonderful joke that man Blondie played. You know what
he did with the old man who came to complain about the corn we'd taken
away for horses? Well, the old man took the paper and went to the
barracks. 'Right you are, brother, come in,' said Blondie, 'come in,
come in h