Demetrio. I cleared ten
bushels last harvest time. You see, if there's one thing I love, that's
riling these Government fellows and making them furious. The last
scrape I had--it'll be eight months gone now, ever since I've joined
these men--I stuck my knife into some captain. He was just a nobody, a
little Government squirt. I pinked him here, see, right under the
navel. And that's why I'm here: that and because I wanted to give my
mate Demetrio a hand." "Christ! The bloody little darling of my life!"
Manteca shouted, waxing enthusiastic over a winning hand. He placed a
twenty-cent silver coin on the jack of spades.

"If you want my opinion, I'm not much on gambling. Do you want to bet?
Well, come on then, I'm game. How do you like the sound of this leather
snake jingling, eh?"

Anastasio shook his belt; the silver coins rang as he shook them
together.

Meanwhile, Pancracio dealt the cards, the jack of spades turned up out
of the deck and a quarrel ensued. Altercation, noise, then shouts, and,
at last, insults. Pancracio brought his stony face close to Manteca,
who looked at him with snake's eyes, convulsive, foaming at the mouth.
Another moment and they would have been exchanging blows. Having
completely exhausted their stock of direct insults, they now resorted
to the most flowery and ornate insulting of each other's ancestors,
male and female, paternal or maternal. Yet nothing untoward occurred.

After their supply of words was exhausted, they gave over gambling and,
their arms about each other's shoulders, marched off in search of a
drink of alcohol.

"I don't like to fight with my tongue either, it's not decent. I'm
right, too, eh? I tell you no man living has ever breathed a word to me
against my mother. I want to be respected, see? That's why you've never
seen me fooling with anyone." There was a pause. Then, suddenly, "Look
there, Tenderfoot," Anastasio said, changing his tone and standing up
with one hand spread over his eyes. "What's that dust over there behind
the hillock. By God, what if it's those damned Federals and we sitting
here doing nothing. Come on, let's go and warn the rest of the boys."

The news met with cries of joy.

"Ah, we're going to meet them!" cried Pancracio jubilantly, first among
them to rejoice.

"Of course, we're going to meet them! We'll strip them clean of
everything they brought with them."

A few moments later, amid cries of joy and a bustle of arms, they began
saddli