THE INSURGENCE
of CHAN
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CHAPTER TEN |
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A brown
and white terrier slipped into don Antonio's library
after the brothers and Rigoberto shut the door behind
him, glancing through a curtain to verify that his father was, indeed, on his
way towards the stables. He bent to affectionately scratch the little beast
behind an ear. "Noble Anibal,
good dog! He's become every bit the retriever his father was... Roberto
and I went shooting, last month, in the wetlands and no duck could escape his
nose. You'd enjoy a little shooting, but then I'll wager you've done your share
overseas."
"They
use uncommon quantities of shot, especially in
"Well,
you probably know more than I on that subject," Rigoberto
frowned, settling into his father's cavernous wooden chair with another glance
over his shoulder. He was fair where José was dark, and... while
the elder had grown fleshy about the waist and chin, José was all angles and
grooves, like chiseled flint. "Father and I have done much to settle these
matters that have necessitated your extensive studies abroad. Time and money
cure all ills... thank
"And?" José questioned.
"Well,
this dolt of a halfbreed arrested last year for
your... well, for indiscretions... he contrived to get himself killed in a
fight with knives in
"I
understand," declared José, "but I am willing."
"Good
for you!" cried Rigoberto with genuine relief.
"Los Caballeros de la Campaña welcome
the vital energies new members bring to any brotherhood. And your decision is
cause for rejoicing... I say, not only as your brother, but as a loyal
Caballero. In the face of this short-lived disgrace," he added, "it
is vital that we prove ourselves not unhorsed by the circumstance, and that the
chase proceeds according to tradition."
José
nodded. The scandal to which Rigoberto referred to
had been a severe one. In an attempt to broaden the horizons of the Men of the
The
depth of this insult may be weighed by the nature and the name of the society.
The bell of
To have
heard the next ten minutes of Rigoberto's discourse
on the obligations of chivalry and honor... drawing from sources as diverse as
Greek mythology, the knights of Arthur and the exploits of Cortez and
Cordoba... one would have come away agreeing with the judgement
of a European visitor that the youth of Merida
exemplified the virtues of a courtly tradition all but abandoned in such lands
where rudeness and lewdness had seeped into public discourse... England,
perhaps, to say nothing of the
Draining
the last of his father's brandy, Rigoberto meditated
on these things and on the words of virtuous and virile Roman and Arab
philosophers, composing an explanation he would offer to don Antonio for his
absence from the stables.
"Talk
pleasantly tonight José, if the bell permits," Rigoberto
added, ominously, "...I see that you've brought up a box, in which must be
the mask you wrote of bringing from Havana." He held one finger up. "Here's mine!"
Rigoberto turned to the window and back, now as a tonsured
monk, with the rubber mask wholly covering his fine, light brown hair.
"Droll, isn't it? Yours, now. Don't protest -
we'll have to recognize each other... I can point your way towards
Again he
scratched the door.
"If
you desire," José replied, and set a box of fine dark wood upon his
father's desk. From it he drew something so sheer it seemed to sparkle like the
scales of a wondrous fish; one of those creatures called the Men of War, whose
sting is as poisonous as its jellied flesh is clear. There was, however, a
milky opacity to the mask, and Rigoberto started as
his brother drew it over his scalp.
"That'snot
funny!" he protested as José, fresh from his education... or exile, if
such term be preferred... stood before him, masked as a skull whose dark,
hollow eyes were set off by shiny scales of fabric which could be no larger
than the grains of sugar that compose the candy skulls children in Mexico
devour on the November feasting days. A mask of subtlety...
to hide the features of an unrepentant killer.
"I
rather fancy it," José smirked. "There is no lover dearer to the
RETURN to HOMEPAGE
– “THE INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA CRUZ”
RETURN to GENERISIS HOMEPAGE