he cabin. He was
feverish, and complained of acute pain in the spot where he had been
bitten; an awful chill ran through his whole body, making his teeth
chatter and veiling his eyes with a yellowish opacity. Don Jose, the
oldest doctor in the _huerta_, came on his ancient mare, with his
eternal recipe of purgatives for every class of illness, and bandages
soaked in salt water for wounds. Upon examining the sick man he made a
wry face. Bad! Bad! This was a more serious matter; they would have to
go to the solemn doctors in Valencia, who knew more than he. _Caldera's_
wife saw her husband harness the cart and compel Pascualet to get into
it. The boy, relieved of his pain, smiled assent, saying that now he
felt nothing more than a slight twinge. When they returned to the cabin
the father seemed to be more at ease. A doctor from the city had pricked
Pascualet's sore. He was a very serious gentleman, who gave Pascualet
courage with his kind words, looking intently at him all the while, and
expressing regret that he had waited so long before coming to him. For a
week the two men made a daily trip to Valencia, but one morning the boy
was unable to move. That crisis which made the poor mother groan with
fear had returned with greater intensity than before. The boy's teeth
knocked together, and he uttered a wail that stained the corners of his
mouth with froth; his eyes seemed to swell, becoming yellow and
protruding like huge grape seeds; he tried to pull himself together,
writhing from the internal torture, and his mother hung upon his neck,
shrieking with terror; meanwhile _Caldera_, grimly silent, seized his
son's arms with tranquil strength, struggling to prevent his violent
convulsions.

"My son! My son!" cried the mother. Ah, her son! Scarcely could she
recognize him as she saw him in this condition. He seemed like another,
as if only his former exterior had remained,--as if an infernal monster
had lodged within and was martyrizing this flesh that had come out of
her own womb, appearing at his eyes with livid flashes.

Afterwards came calm stupor, and all the women of the district gathered
in the kitchen and deliberated upon the lot of the sick youth, cursing
the city doctor and his diabolical incisions. It was his fault that the
boy now lay thus; before the boy had submitted to the cure he had felt
much better. The bandit! And the government never punished these wicked
souls!... There were no other remedies than the ol