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The elder, Ariston, entertained him and frightened him out of his wits with lugubrious tales of cemeteries and ghosts; the little Aristas continued his gymnastic exercises; he had constructed a springboard by placing a plank upon a heap of sand and there he practised his death-defying leaps. One day Alonso, Tabuenca's aid, appeared in the Corralon accompanied by a woman and a little girl.

Rebolledo, father and son, wasted more ingenuity in living wretchedly than is employed by a couple of dozen comic authors, journalists and state ministers dwelling in luxury. Among the friends of Perico Rebolledo were the Aristas, who became intimate with Manuel. The Aristas, two brothers, sons of an ironing-woman, were apprentices in a foundry of the near-by Ronda.

It was really curious to see the former circus-player give his orders; he went through them with august seriousness. "One, two, three.... Hop-la!... Once more, now. At position. The knees near the head ... nails down ... One, two ... one, two.... Hop-la!" Don Alonso was not at all displeased with little Aristas' showing, but he emphasized the unavoidable necessity of continual hard practise.

It was already the beginning of autumn; Leandro, on the advice of Senor Ignacio, was living with his aunt on Aguila street; Milagros continued keeping company with Lechuguino. Manuel gave up going with Vidal and Bizco on their skirmishes and joined the company of Rebolledo and the two Aristas.

Aristas, Rebolledo and Manuel applauded the old circus man's stories, and the apprentice gymnast felt more determined than ever to continue practicing upon the trapeze and the springboard, so that some day he might behold those distant lands of which Don Alonso spoke. A few weeks later there occurred one of the events that left upon Manuel the deepest impression of his entire career.

One day the woman and child disappeared together with their pretty poodle; they left nothing in their quarters except a worn-out, broken tambourine. Don Alonso got into the habit of visiting the Corralon; he would exchange a few words with Rebolledo, he of the modernist barber-shop who chattered away, and would witness the gymnastic prowess of Aristas.

"And just as they were about to catch him, he killed himself," one of them was saying. Out of curiosity Manuel hastened his step, and approached a group that was discussing the event at the entrance to the Corralon. "Where did this fellow come from that killed himself?" asked Manuel of Aristas. "Why! It was Leandro!" "Leandro!" "Yes, Leandro, who killed Milagros and then killed himself."