The Witch's Door by Ricardo Martinez

Author:Ricardo Martinez [Martinez, Ricardo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781796010008
Publisher: Xlibris US
Published: 2019-01-18T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

We slowly rode on our horses back to Espanola. Don Francisco had us repeat our experience with Dolores to him. He was especially interested in Maria de la Luz. We got back to Espanola around four in the morning. It was still dark. We were all exhausted and went to bed immediately.

That same day, we were up at sunrise. Don Josefate and his son, Cesar, were already looking at the wagon. The pounding of their hammers woke us. We walked over to meet the blacksmith. I could hear him talking to his father about the wheel.

“Buenos dias. Como estan todos?” Don Josefate greeted us. “I hope you and your sons had a good night’s sleep.”

Don Francisco yawned and answered, “Well … Juan and Luis and I were up most of the night, but we will be all right. How is the wagon repair going?”

“I am sorry to hear that you had a bad night sleeping,” Don Josefate said. “I heard you ride back here at four early this morning. I wondered where you had been so late at night. But it is none of my business. Don Francisco, this is my son, Cesar Gonzales. He is the one who can fix your broken wagon wheel. He got back home late last night too.”

Don Francisco did not say anything, but he pointed toward the hills to the east.

Don Josefate said, “I hope you did not go into those hills. The Indians call that area, El Valle de la Sombra Oscura. They say it is cursed and that there are evil spirits there. Some of the Indians claim they sometimes hear these spirits crying. They say that old ancient ghosts are there holding back the lost spirits. Only certain shaman from San Juan Pueblo can go there to calm these spirits. We never go there.”

Don Francisco did not respond, but he gave Luis and me a long hard look. He then shook Cesar’s hand and said, “These are my sons, Berto and Emilio, and these are our friends, Luis Salgado and Juan Aguilar.”

Cesar replied in a friendly manner: “Nice to meet you. I was looking at the wheel on the wagon, and I think we can use the same broken hub part on the wheel. We will just heat it up, melt it, and mix more metal ore…. If I need to, I will pound it and bend the hub part back to its original shape. It is no different than a horseshoe. That should fix your wheel.”

Berto, Emilio, Luis, and I stood around watching Cesar as he worked. We were all amazed, watching him heat and pound the metal.

Berto asked Cesar, “Where did you learn to do that?”

Cesar replied, “My grandfather was a blacksmith for the Spanish army. He used to work with a group of experienced blacksmiths who built shields, spears, swords, and other metal parts for wagons and horses. My grandfather made sure I could work on metal. He taught me well, and I became the town’s blacksmith. I am glad my grandfather taught me this trade before passing away.

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