Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/99

Rh time to avoid his aim, he set a mark upon me which I shall carry to my grave. His triumph, nevertheless, was of short duration; for in the next close he fell undermost, and I plunged my cuchillo with all the force I could muster into his bosom;—so vehement was the thrust, that the hilt, as well as the blade, penetrated his body, and defied all my efforts to withdraw it.

" 'When the capitaz regained his feet, I told him my whole history, and his indignation was almost as great as my own. He bound up the wound upon my shoulder, which was bleeding copiously; and then we proceeded to bury the corpse. We had only to pierce the thin crust of earth to a slight depth, and the water was shining beneath us. We tied some stones to the head and feet of the body of my old foe, and let it fall through the hole; where I have no doubt it soon became food for fishes.

" 'My narrative now, Señor,' he said, 'is soon concluded. I could not return to the scenes of my past life: I could not bear to see the faces of my old comrades, the léperos, nor to think of dwelling in the city where my innocent wife and babes had been destroyed: