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intense curiosity. Some of the bank employees wore skirts and high-heeled shoes. Paolo noticed that Luis was also looking at the women, that he was watching them with great attention.
    They entered the line facing the withdrawal counter. After so much time spent in the desolate house, and after three days on the road, being in a bank was strange. You couldn't hear the rain or wind, only the sound of voices, theclatter of machines, and the ringing of phones. Behind the tinted windows, the outside world seemed unreal. Paolo had never walked on a carpeted floor before, and he wanted to remove his shoes to feel the softness under his feet. Compared to his world of rocks, dirt, and wind, the bank was like a calm, padded, civilized universe. It was as if he had crossed time and space and arrived on another planet. Yet he was not afraid. Luis's presence reassured him: Luis, at least, knew city ways and could be trusted.
    When they reached the counter, Paolo went on tiptoe to see what was behind it. A gray-haired woman smiled kindly at him, then asked Luis what he wanted. Luis opened his bag and took out his wallet. He showed his identity card to the woman. She turned to her computer, smiled again, and asked Luis to fill out a form. Meanwhile, Paolo admired the potted plants, the clock on the wall, the filing cabinets from which employees removed papers they distributed to clients. Here, no one was chasing snakes, no knife was to be seen, and no chicken was being plucked. There was even a water fountain with plastic cups. Paolo observed people as they said “hello” or “goodbye” or “how are you” to one another. Everything seemed so simple and pleasant.
    Then the teller handed a bundle of brand-new bills to Luis over the counter.
    “Would your son like a sweet?” she asked.
    “Do you want one, Paolo?” said Luis.
    Paolo nodded. He did not know what a sweet was butwas ready to take anything this nice lady wanted to give him. She held out a basket. He looked at the different-colored wrappers and chose a yellow one.
    The lady smiled again. “I prefer the yellow ones too!” she said, giving Paolo a warm and tender grandmotherly look.
    It was time to go. Reluctantly Paolo buttoned his coat and pulled his head down into his shoulders. On his way out, he squeezed the sweet—now his talisman—determined to keep it all his life. The yellow paper, like a small piece of sun fallen from the sky, could only bring him luck.

CHAPTER TEN
    THE CATTLE FAIR was to be held the day after next. Luis's money would be enough to cover lodging and eating expenses until then. There would even be enough left to buy some sheep, as well as a cow.
    Luis was told of an inn that would accommodate their mounts, and where two rooms with sinks could be had at a reasonable price. They went there at sunset, under the rain. Angel was still upset with Luis about the bank and kept silent, making sure to guide his horse into every rut and pothole on the road. With each jolt, Luis moaned in pain.
    The inn looked like a cutthroat place. Its pitched roof came down to meet small and dirty windows, which werenever opened and which were rotting inside because of the condensation. A smell of wet dog and human sweat greeted Angel and Luis as they walked in, a smell strong enough to wipe out their appetite. Maybe that was just as well, considering the quality of the food. The innkeeper, a small and skinny man with a yellowing beard, chewed on an old pipe as he showed them the rooms. Meanwhile, Paolo had taken the horse and donkey to the back of the inn, where a canopy functioned as a stable. A mixture of mud and dung stuck to the soles of his shoes. As he waded through the filth, he thought about the bank and the sweet, and won-dered why anyone had to live in a place like the inn when there were lots of heated houses with carpeting.
    In the dining hall, the innkeeper's wife served them a mutton stew that was too salty and a pitcher of wine that had been diluted with