The Plaza was partially cleared--the open space guarded by lines of soldiers. The crowds, closely packed, stood along the sides of the houses, or filled the balconies and azoteas. The officers, alcalde, magistrates, and principal men of the town, were grouped near the centre of the Plaza. Most of these wore official costumes, and, under other circumstances, the eyes of the crowd would have been upon _them_. Not so now. There was a group more attractive than they--a group upon which every eye was gazing with intense interest. This group occupied a corner of the Plaza in front of the Calabozo, directly in front of the window from which Carlos looked out. It was the first thing upon which his eyes rested. He saw no more--he saw not the crowd, nor the line of soldiers that penned it back--he saw not the gaudy gentry in the square; he saw only that group of beings before him. That was enough to keep his eyes from wandering. The group was thus composed. There were two asses--small shaggy brown animals,--caparisoned in a covering of coarse black serge, that hung nearly to their feet. Each had a coarse hair halter held in the hand of a lepero driver, also fantastically dressed in the same black stuff. Behind each stood a lepero similarly attired, and carrying "cuartos" of buffalo-skin. By the side of each ass was one of the padres of the mission, and each of these held in his hand the implements of his trade--book, rosary, and crucifix. The priests wore an official look. They were in the act of officiating. At what? Listen! The asses were mounted. On the back of each was a form--a human form. These sat not freely, but in constrained attitudes. The feet were drawn underneath by cords passed around the ankles; and to a sort of wooden yoke around the necks of the animals the hands of the riders were tied-- so as to bring their backs into a slanting position. In this way their heads hung down, and their faces, turned to the wall, could not yet be seen by the crowd. Both were nude to the waist, and below it. The eye needed but one glance at those forms to tell they were women! The long loose hair--in the one grey, in the other golden--shrouding their cheeks, and hanging over the necks of the animals, was further proof of this. For one it was not needed. The outlines were those of a Venus. A sculptor's eye could not have detected a fault. In the form of the other, age had traced its marks. It was furrowed, angled, lean, and harsh to the eye of the observer. Oh, God! what a sight for the eye of Carlos the cibolero! Those involuntary riders _were his mother and sister_!