complete-guide

and War Paint plunged their hands into a mass of post
cards, photographs, pictures and papers, scattering them
all over the rug. Finding nothing he wanted, Pancracio
gave vent to his anger by kicking a framed photograph
into the air with the toe of his shoe. It smashed on the
candelabra in the center of the room.
They pulled their empty hands out of the heap of paper,
cursing. But War Paint was of sterner stuff; tirelessly she
continued to unlock drawer after drawer without failing
to investigate a single spot. In their absorption, they did
not notice a small gray velvet-covered box which rolled
silently across the floor, coming to a stop at Luis Cervantes'
feet.
Demetrio, lying on the rug, seemed to be asleep; Cervantes,
who had watched everything with profound indifference,
pulled the box closer to him with his foot, and
stooping to scratch his ankle, swiftly picked it up. Something
gleamed up at him, dazzling. It was two pure-water
diamonds mounted in filigreed platinum. Hastily he thrust
them inside his coat pocket.
When Demetrio awoke, Cervantes said:
"General, look at the mess these boys have made
here. Don't you think it would be advisable to forbid this
sort of thing"
"No. It's about their only pleasure after putting their
bellies up as targets for the enemy's bullets."
"Yes, of course, General, but they could do it somewhere
else. You see, this sort of thing hurts our prestige,
and worse, our cause!"
Demetrio leveled his eagle eyes at Cervantes. He
drummed with his fingernails against his teeth, absentmindedly.
Then:
"Come along, now, don't blush," he said. "You can
talk like that to someone else. We know what's mine is
mine, what's yours is yours. You picked the box, all
right; I picked my gold watch; all right too!"
His words dispelled any pretense. Both of them, in