Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/122

114 along. But we four had to double ourselves up, resting our chins on our knees; a revolver was pressed against my spine, a small bird-gun tangled up with my legs, and all the legs of our trousers crawled up above our knees, where they remained in uncomfortable wads. We finally got to sleep, however, leaving the driver whooping and yelling at the mules, just as we hove in sight of the white walls of a hacienda. Even though the position was uncomfortable, it was pleasant to reflect that the volan would be going all the time we were sleeping, and our journey of sixty miles would be so much shorter when we awoke.

It might have been three hours later that we were awakened by loud cursing and howling, and, looking out of the volan, saw Señor Acosta, our compañero, by the side of the road, thrashing the driver. Having walloped him to his heart's content, he crawled back among us and explained that, while we were indulging in a nap, the driver also had taken one; and, if we would look out, we should see the same hacienda that was in sight before we closed our eyes. This was discouraging, but we took it out of the mules and the driver, from there on, by taking watch and watch. At three in the morning we drove into the silent, deserted square of a village. All the houses were closed, of course, but the mules were taken out and given a refreshing change; that is, the inside mule was put on the outside. A long row of buildings was in front of us, and our driver commenced at one end and pounded at every door till he reached the farther end; then he began again and went down the whole row, till the last of them was opened. I inquired what was the matter, and, being told that one of the cart-wheels was twisted, supposed they were stopping for something to remedy the twist; but, after we all had been invited in and had a drink of habanero, we went on again, as before.

It was yet dark, though the road was fairly crowded with Indians going to Merida to market, some of whom had come from a distance of thirty or forty miles, staggering beneath heavy loads of grass, vegetables, and charcoal. Passing another volan, our driver raced with it, each man standing out on the shafts and encouraging the jaded mules with loud yells and