We set out on the road again; but it proves difficult, now that I have a lame horse and my sister is wounded. The bandit’s corpse is lying where we left it, decapitated. “Don’t look now,” says Pearl, “but here come the Feds.” And, sure enough, heading directly toward us is a large group of agents from the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation: a national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities). We try to run, but these agents all have firearms; so, when bullets begin to graze us, we freeze in our tracks. “Put your hands up,” they shout; “make a move and you die.” I whisper a prayer to our Virgin Mother, and Pearl starts to weep. The agents now push us against the wall and begin to examine the evidence. They wouldn’t even let us try to explain the situation. However, as soon as they see the severed head on the post, they smile and offer us cigarettes; then they unroll a wanted poster and explain that this is the subject they have been searching for. They give us a handful of pesos and tell us that there’s a big reward offered for this man’s corpse. Then they hold up his head and say “Case closed.”
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