The elder pulled on the rope in silence. After a time he replied with a sigh: "What I'm afraid of is that mother will scold you when she knows about it." "Do you think so?" asked the younger with astonishment. "You will tell her that they're whipped me and I'll show the welts on my back and my torn pocket. I had only one cuarto, which was given to me last Easter, but the curate took that away from me yesterday. I never saw a prettier cuarto! No, mother won't believe it." "If the curate says so--" Crispin began to cry, murmuring between his sobs, "Then go home alone! I don't want to go. Tell mother that I'm sick. I don't want to go." "Crispin, don't cry!" pleaded the elder. "Mother won't believe it--don't cry! Old Tasio told us that a fine supper is waiting for us." "A fine supper! And I haven't eaten for a long time. They won't give me anything to eat until the two gold pieces appear. But, if mother believes it? You must tell her that the senior sacristan is a liar but that the curate believes him and that all of them are liars, that they say that we're thieves because our father is a vagabond who--" At that instant a head appeared at the top of the stairway leading down to the floor below, and that head, like Medusa's, froze the words on the child's lips. It was a long, narrow head covered with black hair, with blue glasses concealing the fact that one eye was sightless. The senior sacristan was accustomed to appear thus without noise or warning of any kind. The two brothers turned cold with fear. "On you, Basilio, I impose a fine of two reals for not ringing the bells in time," he said in a voice so hollow that his throat seemed to lack vocal chords. "You, Crispin, must stay tonight, until what you stole reappears." Crispin looked at his brother as if pleading for protection. "But we already have permission--mother expects us at eight o'clock," objected Basilio timidly. "Neither shall you go home at eight, you'll stay until ten." "But, sir, after nine o'clock no one is allowed to be out and our house is far from here." "Are you trying to give me orders?" growled the man irritably, as he caught Crispin by the arm and started to drag him away. "Oh, sir, it's been a week now since we're seen our mother," begged Basilio, catching hold of his brother as if to defend him. The senior sacristan struck his hand away and jerked at Crispin, who began to weep as he fell to the floor, crying out to his brother, "Don't leave me, they're going to kill me!" The sacristan gave no heed to this and dragged him on to the stairway. As they disappeared among the shadows below Basilio stood speechless, listening to the sounds of his brother's body striking against the steps. Then followed the sound of a blow and heartrending cries that died away in the distance.