another woman broke in. 'A boy can't fall out of the world just like that.'
The men said nothing. Most of them left us to go back to other groups where they wanted to take up their interrupted discussions.
The Garcia frowned as if she had great difficulty thinking. Holding both her hands against her abdomen, she looked at the two boys without speaking.
The boys were getting slightly irritated under this piercing stare and they tried to run away. The Garcia, however, grasped one of the boys by his arm and so the other boy remained also. 'You say he rode to Tlalcozautitlan?'
'Yes, senora, he really and truly has.'
'On what did he ride to Tlalcozautitlan? '
'On a horse, senora.'
'On whose horse? On whose horse can he have ridden away?' The Garcia questioned the boys with a deadly calm, almost frightening voice. A woman condemned to death, with only one hour to live, might question in this calm, direct way a newly discovered, very important witness on whose testimony the governor's decision for a stay depended.
'Whose horse was it?' She repeated her question, since neither of the boys had answered yet.
Now the elder said: 'A boy bigger than me was coming this way, and he was riding on a beautiful white horse.'
'Yes, that's right, senora,' the younger one said, 'he was sitting on a beautiful white horse and Carlos was standing right here by my side and the big boy on the white horse said -'
'- and the boy on the white horse said,' the elder boy took up the tale again, 'he said: "Won't you come with me, Carlos? I am riding very fast."'
'And what did Carlos answer?'
'"Are you riding to Tlalcozautitlan?" Carlos asked. To this the boy on the white horse said nothing and only nodded his head. Then Carlos said: "That's fine, because then I might ride with you to Tlalcozautitlan and buy myself lots of candy; you see, I have twenty centavitos given me by my big brother who has come today for a visit from the far Texas land." So then the boy on the white horse said: "All right, let's go, my horse is a very fast one, awfully fast, we will be there in no time." And saying so, he helped little Carlos up on his horse, and the very moment he had done so, the horse was away like nothing and we couldn't see it any more.'
Whenever one of the boys telling the story stopped or hesitated, the other one took up the tale and went on with it. From all appearances the story seemed to be true. Two boys of their age are not able to tell a false story the way these two boys were narrating it.
The Garcia searched the boys' faces. The boys looked into her eyes with frankness. Then the Garcia looked at the faces of the people standing by, glancing from one to another although their faces could not be seen clearly.
Manuel arrived at our group. A few boys had gone after him and told him there was news at the pump-master's.
The Garcia woman looked at him. Then she turned violently round to the two boys and said, almost yelling: 'I don't believe it!' Again she shouted: 'I don't believe it. Carlos does not ride away from home, not when Manuel is here and when he knows that Manuel has to leave early Monday morning. He will not miss a minute to be with Manuel. And if he really wanted to go to Tlalcozautitlan he would have come first to Manuel and told him so and made him go with him.'
'But it is true, senora, he rode away with that big boy,' the elder boy insisted.
'Who was that boy?' the Garcia asked suddenly.
'We don't know.'
'Is that so? You don't know him, you don't even know that boy?'
'No, we don't know him, senora,' the elder boy repeated. And the younger answered: 'I saw him once pass by here with a loaded burro, but he didn't stop here, not even for a drink of water did he stop, as all the travellers coming this way do.'
The pump-master came close and asked: 'What did the boy on the horse look like?'
Up to now the two boys had been very clear about everything they had been describing. But in trying to answer this new question they
The men said nothing. Most of them left us to go back to other groups where they wanted to take up their interrupted discussions.
The Garcia frowned as if she had great difficulty thinking. Holding both her hands against her abdomen, she looked at the two boys without speaking.
The boys were getting slightly irritated under this piercing stare and they tried to run away. The Garcia, however, grasped one of the boys by his arm and so the other boy remained also. 'You say he rode to Tlalcozautitlan?'
'Yes, senora, he really and truly has.'
'On what did he ride to Tlalcozautitlan? '
'On a horse, senora.'
'On whose horse? On whose horse can he have ridden away?' The Garcia questioned the boys with a deadly calm, almost frightening voice. A woman condemned to death, with only one hour to live, might question in this calm, direct way a newly discovered, very important witness on whose testimony the governor's decision for a stay depended.
'Whose horse was it?' She repeated her question, since neither of the boys had answered yet.
Now the elder said: 'A boy bigger than me was coming this way, and he was riding on a beautiful white horse.'
'Yes, that's right, senora,' the younger one said, 'he was sitting on a beautiful white horse and Carlos was standing right here by my side and the big boy on the white horse said -'
'- and the boy on the white horse said,' the elder boy took up the tale again, 'he said: "Won't you come with me, Carlos? I am riding very fast."'
'And what did Carlos answer?'
'"Are you riding to Tlalcozautitlan?" Carlos asked. To this the boy on the white horse said nothing and only nodded his head. Then Carlos said: "That's fine, because then I might ride with you to Tlalcozautitlan and buy myself lots of candy; you see, I have twenty centavitos given me by my big brother who has come today for a visit from the far Texas land." So then the boy on the white horse said: "All right, let's go, my horse is a very fast one, awfully fast, we will be there in no time." And saying so, he helped little Carlos up on his horse, and the very moment he had done so, the horse was away like nothing and we couldn't see it any more.'
Whenever one of the boys telling the story stopped or hesitated, the other one took up the tale and went on with it. From all appearances the story seemed to be true. Two boys of their age are not able to tell a false story the way these two boys were narrating it.
The Garcia searched the boys' faces. The boys looked into her eyes with frankness. Then the Garcia looked at the faces of the people standing by, glancing from one to another although their faces could not be seen clearly.
Manuel arrived at our group. A few boys had gone after him and told him there was news at the pump-master's.
The Garcia woman looked at him. Then she turned violently round to the two boys and said, almost yelling: 'I don't believe it!' Again she shouted: 'I don't believe it. Carlos does not ride away from home, not when Manuel is here and when he knows that Manuel has to leave early Monday morning. He will not miss a minute to be with Manuel. And if he really wanted to go to Tlalcozautitlan he would have come first to Manuel and told him so and made him go with him.'
'But it is true, senora, he rode away with that big boy,' the elder boy insisted.
'Who was that boy?' the Garcia asked suddenly.
'We don't know.'
'Is that so? You don't know him, you don't even know that boy?'
'No, we don't know him, senora,' the elder boy repeated. And the younger answered: 'I saw him once pass by here with a loaded burro, but he didn't stop here, not even for a drink of water did he stop, as all the travellers coming this way do.'
The pump-master came close and asked: 'What did the boy on the horse look like?'
Up to now the two boys had been very clear about everything they had been describing. But in trying to answer this new question they
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