Up to that moment they had lingered behind the others in the background, and had kept as much as possible in the shadow, but now they stood right in front of the Holy Family with all the candles shining directly into their brown faces—and who should they be but Pancho and Pedro come back from the war?
II
The moment she saw Pancho, Doña Teresa gave a loud scream of joy, and then she rushed right by every one—almost [p 173] stepping on the toes of the priest himself—and threw her arms around his neck, while the Twins, who got there almost as soon as she did, clasped an arm or a leg, or whatever part of their father they could get hold of.
At the same time Pedro’s wife, with her baby on her arm and Pablo beside her, made a dash for Pedro, but Pablo got there first because, you remember, his mother was fat. And Pedro was so glad to see them he tried to hug her and the baby both at once, while Pablo hung round his neck, only as he was a small man he couldn’t begin to reach round, and had to take them one at a time after all.
Everybody was so glad to see Pancho and Pedro, and so glad for the happiness that had come to their wives and children on Christmas Day that everybody shook hands with everybody else, and talked and asked questions without waiting for anybody to answer them, until it sounded almost like the animals on San Ramon’s Day.
After Pancho and Pedro had greeted
their families, and had said how Pablo and the Twins had grown, and Pedro’s wife had told him that the baby had six teeth, and the baby had bitten Pedro’s finger to prove it, he and Pancho broke away from them and went to pay their respects to Señor Fernandez and the priest, who were standing together, talking in low tones and watching the crowd round the wanderers.
[p 175]
Pancho and Pedro had reason to dread what Señor Fernandez and the priest might say to them. They thought the priest might say, “Is this obedience, my sons?” and they thought very possibly Señor Fernandez might say something like this: “Well, my men, do you think you can play fast and loose with your job like that? You’ll have to learn a hacienda can’t be run that way. There’s plenty of other help, so you may see if you can find work elsewhere.”