three, all bobbing along as lightly as if they were made of feathers, instead of heavy wood.

Behind came a crowd of villagers, who kept falling in with the procession and then dropping out. The street was so narrow that for a while I even had to form part of it myself. But soon I squeezed out and circled ahead, so that I could see it pass again, as it came on up the hill. It was a long time making its appearance, for there were many stops, and by the time it reached the top, that dancing procession had turned into a very tired one, indeed. Tecum-Umán and Alvarado were barely

able to slide their feet over the cobblestones in the prescribed shuffle. One of the conquistadors, overcome by heat and aguardiente, could not keep his balance, though he tried desperately, and had to be escorted home by two friends. The saints and the marimbas lagged. Only the flames of the women's candles were still dancing by the time they reached the top, and even they seemed to have grown thin and pale. Yet that night everything was repeated about two a. m., amid hours of bell-ringing and rocket-firing that resembled the noise of a lively New Year's Eve celebration in midsummer.