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The lashes were repeated, but Tarsilo continued impassive. "Let them whip him till they cut him to pieces or till he makes a declaration," cried the alferez, exasperated. "Speak then!" said the directorcillo to him. "They will surely kill you." They led him back to the sala of the tribunal, where the other prisoner was invoking God, grating his teeth and shaking on his legs.
"You see now!" said Bruno dejectedly to his brother, "if you had listened to me we should now have a hundred pesos. You're the cause of our being penniless." Tarsilo did not answer, but gazed about him as if looking for some one. "There he is, talking to Pedro," added Bruno. "He's giving him money, lots of money!" True it was that Lucas was counting silver coins into the hand of Sisa's husband.
Sadly and silently the two brothers draw nearer to the ring until their foreheads are pressed against the railing. A man approaches them and calls into their ears, "Pare, a hundred to ten on the white!" Tarsilo stares at him in a foolish way and responds to Bruno's nudge with a grunt. The starters hold the cocks with skilful delicacy, taking care not to wound themselves.
However, the well was never closed up. At times, prisoners were condemned to go down and make it deeper, not because it was thought that the work would be useful in any way, but because the work was so difficult. If a prisoner went down in the well once, he invariably contracted a fever, from which he died. Tarsilo contemplated all the preparations of the soldiers with a firm look.
The two brothers, gloomy and silent, approached the ring and, resting their faces against the bamboo railing, watched the preparations. A man approached them and said in their ears: "Hundred to ten on the blanco!" Tarsilo looked at him stupidly. Bruno elbowed his brother, who responded with a grunt. The soltadores handle the roosters with masterly skill, taking great care not to wound them.
Our father died from being whipped to death." "You are right." Both brothers sought Lucas in the crowd. As soon as they caught sight of him, Tarsilo stopped. "No! Let us go away from here! We are going to lose," he exclaimed. "Go if you wish. I am going to accept." "Bruno!" Unfortunately, a man approached them and said: "Are you betting? I am backing the bulik." The two brothers did not reply.
Tarsilo gazed upon all the preparations of the soldiers with a fixed look. He was pale, and his lips trembled or murmured a prayer. The haughtiness of his desperation seemed to have disappeared or, at least, to have weakened. Several times he bent his stiff neck and fixed his gaze on the ground as though resigned to his sufferings.
"Take care of my sister!" the unhappy one murmured, looking at the cuaderillero, with supplication. The bamboo pole creaked again, and again the condemned man disappeared. Doña Consolacion observed that the water remained still. The alferez counted a minute. When Tarsilo came up again, his face was livid and his features contracted.
They approached the other group. There they were arming the cock, they were selecting gaffs for him, and the expert, in fitting them to the rooster's legs, was preparing a piece of red silk. He waxed it and rubbed it over his knee a number of times. Tarsilo gazed at the bird with a sombre air. It seemed that he was not looking at the cock, but at something in the future.
"I'd rather lie down on a bench as I do now than at her side as the alferez does." The Muse turned pale. "You're going to flog me to death, Señor Alferez," he went on, "but tonight your woman will revenge me by embracing you." "Gag him!" yelled the furious alferez, trembling with wrath. Tarsilo seemed to have desired the gag, for after it was put in place his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
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