of Anastasio's house and in silence that he was with
Don Manuel.
(The runners are nearing the broken tape lying
across the dusty road.)
We walk across to them and they smile at us but
we do not smile back.
(T he runners are only concerned with this last
lap. They hold up their heads and go on.)
The mayor talks to Anastasio very hurriedly and
I stand with Don Manuel a little away from them
but we are still together.
We cannot be separated
now, and, even as to a tired runner in the last lap,
thoughts came to me in little jumps, pushed them-
selves into my mind, bounded as if by the intakes
of breath. These:
when Don Manuel's mother died in our pueblo
-puff-he
was making millions in Cuba-puff-
and he ordered a big stone-puff-
to be put On
the grave-puff-previously-puff-the
ceme-
tery had had no stones-puff-it
was too-puff-
little and it was communal-puff-it
was twelve
feet by six-puff-
feet and everybody was buried
-puff-puff-in
whatever spot was 'new'
-puff
-and then they trusted to the good earth to-
puff-make it new again soon-puff-well-puff
-this
big stone-puff-took
up a big-puff-
space and caused more concentration-puff-so
then, years later-puff-the
people wanted to in-
crease the width of-puff-it
by two feet and-
puff-they
went to Don Manuel
who-puff-
owned the land-whee-and
he was very kind-
puff-most
kind, they said-ugh-for
he sold it to
them at cost-phew-
price, he was very Catholic
-shu-even
though he had married-puff-his
niece-shu-and
conceived-phew-an
idiot son
-phew-now-puff-he
was seeking-puff-to
keep the-phew-memory
of his mother-shu-
s,acred-ugh-and-phew-
undefiled
-phew ......:-
now--now--
Anastasio kept nodding his head, even as a tired
runner, at whatever the mayor was suggesting and
when they looked up at us again the mayor was smil-
ing and very happy. He came over to me.
"Everything
is
fine, hombre, He doesn't have to
have a mass, just a priest at the grave."
"Did he say, 'Yes'?" I said.
"Yes, he did. Sure
I"
I looked over at Anastasio and we looked at each
other and now we saw the end and
(The runners see the end and look towards each
other as they go on. They have turned the last bend
in the road and now they see the crowd a,t the finish
line. They take a deep breath. It is like a sigh of
companionship and as if saying, "Every man for
24
himself now," and they bend their heads and spurt.
One runner goes a little forward.
The other comes
up, to him. They go on. Now the first one breaks
clean and goes forward as-)
Anastasio turned around with his face dead and
walked slowly up the steps and into the house and I
stood and watched him, not seeing the others, just as
(The other runner with mouth open can only fol.
low the more fleet one with his eyes because he can·
not reach him physically-)
but in my mind I saw him walking past her
and into the other rooms, walking about, because I
knew the way he walked and the place of the rooms.
I could not see him take the automatic out of the
little drawer in his wardrobe because I did not know
he had one and I could only stay with my mouth
open as he came to the door with it and then taking
only a moment to point it, working very fast, with
his face changed to a vivid color now, he shot Don
Manuel twice in the back and the mayor in the chest
as he turned around to him and then the door closed
quickly, I stood looking at it,
(as the second runner stops for a second, his
stride breaking as he sees the first runner cross the
line, and then he goes on himself)
and then I went up to the door and pushed on it.
T
t was locked and behind me I began to hear people
shouting and someone was running. They were all
(running about and congratulating the runners.
The second runner is a little dazed. He stands about
and now he smells smoke. Smoke? Oh, it's nothing
-someone
has lit a cigarette for him-but
this
smoke is very thick and white. Look down~)
it is coming out of the bottom of the door and
now through the cracks in the shuttered window of
her room. I had waited too long, I thought. I yelled,
"Anastasio," and kicked at the bottom of the door.
People were running around the house very close
now and shouting as
(the second runner ts recovenng and laughing
and)
"Anastasio!" A flame came out of her window
in a wide wipe and the smoke under the door came
thicker and whiter and I began to step back. Some·
one was holding my arm and beginning to pull me
back. "Come on, Mickey." It was Fortunato.
"Come
on.
P amos /"
(They are taking the runners away. The first run·
ner is up ahead, lost in the crowd, and a friend takes
the second runner by the arm to his car. "Come on,
kid. It's all over." "So soon?" the runner says.)
MARCH,
1936
