What were they after? It was a shame to see them like that, ragged, filthy, wandering around like madmen.

One of the Indians answered that Ladinos were no longer allowed to speak to them that way, because now they were equals. At the old man’s mocking laugh, he added the irrefutable argument: the Chamulas had their own Christ, and they had heard the promise that they would not die.

“Shall we put it to the test?” the old man asked. “I have no weapons. But if one of you will give me a gun and let me take a shot, he won’t be telling the tale afterward.”

An Indian held out a rifle and asked the old man to aim at him. The old man gave a questioning glance at those who seemed to be most respected and saw signals of approval. He raised the rifle to his face and aimed it at the Indian’s heart. The explosion and the cloud of powder made the Chamulas step back as their companion slumped to the ground. The old man reloaded the rifle.

“Anyone else want to give it a try?”

No one did. Many of them were upset by the fact that their companion had fallen and appeared to be lifeless. Others thought they should wait. Their opinion prevailed and the Indians sat around the corpse until nightfall. The old man occupied the place of honor and watched the incidents of the vigil with mild amusement. He had refused to light the gasoline lamp and only a single pine torch illuminated the house. The rifle rested on his knees.

By early dawn most of them had left. The ranch’s own laborers were all that remained for the burial.

Far from Cruz Obispo, the insurrectionaries rejoined each other. They did not want to discuss what had happened because they were incapable of understanding or interpreting it. But all of them experienced the event as an impulse to faster and more ambitious actions.

Even the most dull-witted of them realized it was no longer possible to go back, it was necessary to move ahead, even though they could not count on invulnerability. Their despair drove them to turn on populous and well-fortified towns, against which they had no advantage other than the initiative of their attack, surprise, and their numbers.

The nearest place was San Pedro Chenhalhó. They fell on it without warning, without allowing time for any resistance. The townsmen (craftsmen and campesinos, not warriors) took up positions they thought were favorable because they were concealed from their enemies’ eyes. But this also prevented them from firing with a sure aim.