cuentos de barro - DSpace Universidad Don Bosco

tragaban la bala, chasqueando, sin
mascarla. Dos jlores de fuego brotaron
al cruce de la garganta, rajando con
su estrépito el vidrio de la montaña.
Los ecos fueron arrimerando las
detonaciones con jactancia, como
monedas de plata.
A una seña del sargento, todos se
echaron de panza, al desperdigo,
escogiendo al azar la mampuesta. Fue
aquella barranca como una guari da
de rayos en brama, despedazándose
unos a otros a mordidas por la hembra,
aquella raya oscura trazada firme en la
montaña por el puñal de los siglos.
* * *
Saliendo a la orla295 del embudo de
aquella tremenda barranca del Berrido
que una hora antes hiciera honor
al nombre, cuatro hombres en fila,
jadeantes y ensangrentados, pararon al
pie de los pinos. Traiban las manos a la
espalda y los dedos gordos bien socados
con pita. Sosteniendo al último, que
apenas caminaba, el sargento Vanegas,
calibre en bandole ra, los pastoriaba
delgado y sereno, echado atrás el
quepis y un puro entre los dientes.
—Arrepónganse tantito, desgraciados.
152
the bullets, clicking, without chewing
them. Two flowers of fire sprouted
when passing through the throat of
the rifle, shattering the glass of the
mountain with its racket. The arrogant
detonations built up echoes like
clanking silver coins.
At the sergeant’s signal, they all threw
themselves on the ground, dispersed,
choosing their positions at random
behind a row of bricks. The ravine was
like the lair of lightning in heat, like two
lions tearing each other apart over a
female. The lioness was the dark cleft
etched firmly in the mountain by the
dagger of the centuries.
* * *
Four men, panting and covered in
blood, came out towards the rim of the
funnel of that tremendous ravine called
the Bellow. It had paid homage to its
name an hour ago. The men stopped
at the botton of the pine trees, their
hands behind their backs and their
thumbs tied tight with twine. Grabbing
onto the last one who could barely
walk, sergeant Vanegas shepherded
them, guiding them with his rifle on
his bandoleer. He was thin and calm.
With his kepi 296 turned backwards
and with a cigar between his teeth he
commanded:
“Hold on, you bastards.”
295. Adorno que va a la orilla de las cosas.
296. Wikipedia explains: “The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor (American English) or peak
(British English). The word came into the English language from French.”