The Mistery of Belicena Villca
– Don ' t tell him anything , but my little brothers and I always try to steal him jars of candy ; – the chango was drooling – there is no one who makes them more delicious in Santa María . Hee , hee , hee . He laughed like a sparrow and was , celebrating on his mischief , finally a child . Uncle Kurt is a " candy maker " --I thought with wonder . I felt like it at the time that I would be a fool for not having foreseen it but that idea did not make sense and it was discarded . The chango had finished his work and I had the information enough to locate Uncle Kurt . I paid him generously and he walked away to other tables to offer his services . A wall clock , hung under a small picture with a collection of arrows tips , marked 9:00 p . m . I paid the cost of the dinner and went out . The night was cool but the sky was covered with clouds and there was not a breath of wind . I removed the car and left following the instructions of the shoeshiner .
As I approached Esquiú street , the houses were spreading and diminishing in quality , until at last I found myself in a miserable-looking suburb , where not only the pavement ended but also the street lights were almost non-existent .
I turned down Esquiú street to where instinct told me the river should be and I looked in vain for a sign , a point of reference that allowed me to calculate the numbering .
Cursing inside the idea of visiting Uncle Kurt at night , I rapidly realized that I was circulating through a neighborhood made up of small farms of four or five hectares each .
In Northwest Argentina , the farms all obey the same pattern of construction : a correctly wired rectangle of land and a Sala ( house of the owner or caretaker ) built at a short distance from the entrance gate . There may be variations or additions , but this is the general " type ", that I knew well because our own farm in Cerrillos adapted to the same scheme . I knew then of the uselessness of calling from the entrance , since the home is usually far from it and I unconsciously accepted the fact that I would have to go into one of the farms to announce my arrival .
The car had been running down the gloomy Esquiú street for about five minutes that now gave the unmistakable sensation of a steep slope . The river must have been close but although the powerful high light of four quartz perforated the darkness , I could not distinguish anything beyond twenty meters . I stopped the car and put the parking brake on it ; it would be better to perform an exploration on foot .
I took from the glove compartment a pen-type flashlight , whose meager light is usually useful at times , and I got out taking the precaution of locking the car in case I wandered away from the site . A moment later I realized the appropriateness of the decision to stop the car because , fifty meters later , the street narrowed abruptly and fell into a steep ravine above the Santa María River running below , at a distance of one hundred or one hundred and fifty meters . To have kept moving forward with the car , I would have found it difficult to turn and go back . I was , finally , at the origin of Esquiú street , not far from the home of Uncle Kurt . This presumption gave me new courage to try to orient myself ; something which , I was seeing , was quite difficult .
Esquiú Street had lost its sidewalks several blocks back and , where I was now , it was just an alley of thick rubble that stretched from one to another wiring , both limits of unknown properties . To the East was the river so , if this was the last block , presumed abode of Uncle Kurt , the address I was looking for should be on one of either sides of the street , a few steps from there .
I explored the Northern hand which consisted of a row of three threads of wire , up to a height of one meter fifty , but flanked in all its spread by very dense privet bushes and perfectly pruned in pillar shape . I walked about a hundred and fifty meters without finding any door or gate so I deduced that I was at the end of a farm .
Trying to calm the annoyance I felt for such an unusual situation , I crossed to the South hand and resumed the search . This farm was better limited for I soon discovered a thick mesh of rhombic wires , which gave a glimpse of the tangle of the well-known privet .
The night was becoming impenetrable , reducing the help of the little flashlight , and that is why my step was clumsy and hesitant , as I checked inch by inch that dark stretch of Esquiú street . When I despaired of finding an entrance in that wall , the miracle took place : a huge gate of reed and wire mesh emerged from the darkness almost at the end of the street , about ten meters from the ravine . I directed the beam of the flashlight inward but , as I supposed , I did not see any construction but a path , formed by two parallel trails , which was lost in the dark . On the left there was a neat planting of vines , small and loaded with bunches ; to the right infinity of seedlings from a well-stocked orchard .
I went back to check the door , but found no bell or knocker ; instead I discovered two steel rings , one on the door and one on the frame of concrete , strung by a heavy iron padlock .
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