Chapter 8 chapter eight
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez was the first to feel the void of war.As the military and political chief of Macondo, he exchanged telegrams with Colonel Aureliano Buendía twice a week.At first, this call determined the course of a bloody war, and the clear situation allowed them to confirm their position at any moment and foresee the future direction.Although Colonel Aureliano Buendía never confided in anyone, not even with his closest friends, he always maintained a tone of familiarity that would be recognizable to those on the other end of the line.Many times he prolongs the conversation beyond his expectations, diverts the topic and brings up routine.However, as the war intensified and the war continued, his image gradually dimmed, disappearing into an unreal world.The dots representing his voice became more and more distant and blurred, and the words formed by converging and combining gradually lost their meaning.Colonel Gerineldo Márquez just listened, but he was confused and felt as if he was connected to a stranger in another world.
"Understood, Aureliano," he always concluded, pressing the send button, "long live the Liberal Party!"
He eventually lost all connection to the war.Once upon a time, a real experience, an irresistible passion of youth, has now become a distant footnote for him: nothingness.He found his only solace in Amaranta's sewing room.He visits her every afternoon.He liked to watch her hands pleat the linen while Remedios the Beauty turned the crank of the sewing machine.They spend hours in silence just like that, enjoying each other's company.But while Amaranta rejoiced secretly at his unwavering affection, he could not fathom her elusive secret thoughts.As soon as she heard the news of his return, Amaranta felt extremely anxious.But to see him enter among the guards of Colonel Aureliano Buendía, to see him disfigured by the rigors of exile, aged by years and forgetfulness, by sweat and dust And filthy, ugly with a bandage dangling from his left arm, and even smelt of livestock from him, she almost fainted from disillusionment. "My God," she thought, "this is not the man I was expecting." But when he came in the next day, he was already bathed, his mustache smelled of lavender, and the bloody bandage on his arm was gone. .He brought her a hardbound prayer book that shone with pearls.
"It's a strange thing for a man," she said, because she couldn't think of anything else, "to fight all his life against the priest and end up giving away prayer books."
Since then, even in the height of the fighting, he has visited her every afternoon.Many times, when Remedios the Beauty was away, he would turn the crank of the sewing machine.Amaranta was overwhelmed by the perseverance, loyalty and meekness shown by this man who, despite his power, always left all his weapons in the living room and went into the sewing room unarmed.He wooed him many times during the four years, and she could always find a way to refuse without hurting him, because although she no longer loved him, she couldn't leave him either.The beautiful Remedios, who seemed indifferent to everything and was considered mentally retarded, was moved by this infatuation and volunteered to speak for Colonel Gerineldo Márquez.Amaranta suddenly found that the little girl she had raised with her own hands had just entered the flowering season and was already the most beautiful woman that Macondo had ever seen.She felt the old hatred for Rebecca revived in her heart, and she prayed to God not to drive herself to the extreme of wishing her dead, and to drive her out of the sewing room.It was around this time that Colonel Gerineldo Márquez became weary of the war.He persuaded Amaranta in every possible way, showing deep and reserved infinite tenderness, and even sacrificed the glory he had bought in his golden years for her, but he failed to convince her.One afternoon in August, after completely rejecting this resolute suitor, Amaranta could no longer bear the pressure of her stubborn temperament, locked herself in her room and wept bitterly for her fate of being alone to death.
"You and I forget about each other," she said to him, "we're too old to talk about things like this."
That afternoon Colonel Gerineldo Márquez received a telegram from Colonel Aureliano Buendía.It was a routine conversation that did not lead to any breakthrough in a stalemate.Towards the end of the conversation, Colonel Gerineldo Márquez looked at the deserted streets, the condensation on the almond trees, and felt lost in solitude.
"Aureliano," he pressed the button sadly, "it is raining in Macondo."
There was a long silence on the line.Suddenly, Colonel Aureliano Buendia's indifferent code jumped out of the machine.
"Don't be a fool, Gerinelledo," said the code, "it's normal to have rain in August."
The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Colonel Gerineldo Márquez was at a loss when he suddenly received such a rude answer.When Colonel Aureliano Buendía returned to Macondo two months later, this daze gave way to consternation.Even Úrsula was amazed at his transformation.He came back quietly and without a guard, wrapped in a cloak in spite of the heat, living in the same room with three lovers, and spending most of the time in a hammock.He hardly read the telegrams reporting the general status of the battle.On one occasion, Colonel Gerineldo Márquez asked him how to evacuate from a point on the border to avoid international disputes.
"Don't bother me with such trifles," he ordered, "ask God."
That was perhaps the most tense time of the war.Liberal landowners who initially supported the revolution had signed secret agreements with conservative landowners to thwart property censorship.Politicians exploiting the war in exile had denounced Colonel Aureliano Buendía's radicalism publicly, but even this outcry did not faze him.The five volumes of poetry he wrote were never read again and were forgotten at the bottom of the box.At night or nap time, he would hammock one of his women, take pleasure in her, and then fall asleep without the slightest hint of worry.At this time, only he himself knew that his bewildered mind had lost its peace forever.At first he reveled in the glory of his triumphs, his inconceivable victories, and his verge on the abyss of great fame.He placed at his right the Duke of Marlborough, his tutor in the art of war, who revered adults and frightened children in his finery of tiger's skin and claws.It was then that he made the decision that no one, including Úrsula, should come within three meters of him.Wherever he went, he stayed in the center of the circle that his lieutenants had chalked out into which only he could enter, and from there issued short but unquestionable orders that determined the fate of the world.On his first visit to Manaure after the execution of General Moncada, he did not delay for a moment to fulfill the last wish of his victim.The general's widow took glasses, badges, pocket watches and rings, but did not allow him to enter the door.
"Please don't come in, Colonel," she said to him. "In your war you are in charge, but in my house I am in charge."
Colonel Aureliano Buendía showed no signs of displeasure, but his peace of mind returned after the private guards razed the widow's house to the ground and reduced it to ashes. "Watch your heart, Aureliano," Colonel Gerineldo Márquez told him, "you are rotting alive." At that time he called a second meeting of the main generals of the rebel army .All kinds of people gathered at the meeting, including idealists, careerists, adventurers, cynics, and ordinary criminals.There was even a former Conservative Party official among them, who embezzled public funds and entrusted himself to the rebel army to escape justice.Many of them don't even know what they are fighting for.There are huge differences between them, which almost lead to internal strife, and in this jumble of fish and dragons, a powerful figure with ulterior motives stands out-General Teofilo Vargas.He is a pure Indian, born in the mountains, illiterate, but has hidden evil intentions. At the same time, he has a savior-like charisma, which attracts his followers to follow him fanatically.Colonel Aureliano Buendía called the meeting to unify the command of the rebel army and resist the manipulation of politicians.But General Teofilo Vargas was ahead of him: within a few hours an alliance of the best generals had collapsed and he had assumed command. "This is a cunning beast that needs to be guarded against," Colonel Aureliano Buendía said to his officers. "He is more dangerous to us than the Minister of Defense." The usually shy young captain cautiously raised his index finger.
"It's very simple, Colonel," he suggested, "he must be killed."
What surprised Colonel Aureliano Buendía was not the ruthlessness of the proposal but the fact that someone had been able to express his thoughts for a split second.
"Don't expect me to give that order," he said.
He didn't give an order, and he didn't.But fifteen days later General Teofilo Vargas was ambushed and chopped into a meat paste under the knife, and the power fell into the hands of Colonel Aureliano Buendia.On the night when his authority was recognized by all the rebel generals, he woke up suddenly, screaming for a blanket.A kind of inner cold went straight to the bone marrow, even under the scorching sun, he suffered unbearably, and it was difficult to sleep for several months, and finally became a habit.The intoxication brought by power disappears in waves of trouble.Trying to find a way to ward off the chill, he ordered the shooting of the young captain who proposed the assassination of General Teofilo Vargas.His orders were always carried out before they were given, long before he even thought, and always more than he had dared to imagine.He dominates power but gets lost in loneliness and begins to lose direction.The cheers of the people in the captured towns bored him, for they had shouted the same cheers to his enemies.Everywhere he went, he could always see those teenagers looking at him with exactly the same eyes as him, talking to him with the same voice as him, and the vigilant look when they greeted him was the same as when he responded, and claiming to be his son.He felt divided, repeated, alone like never before.He was convinced that his officers were lying to him.He also developed hostility towards the Duke of Marlborough. "The best friends," he used to say back then, "are the ones who just died." The older you get, the more decayed you become, the less you know why to fight, how to fight, and when to fight.There were always people outside the chalk circle, people in dire straits, people whose sons had whooping cough, people who were trying to sleep because they couldn't stand the smell of war in their mouths like feces, but still mustered the last of their strength to report: "Everything is fine, My Colonel." Normality is precisely the scariest thing about this endless war: Nothing ever happens.Deep in his solitude, no longer aware of the omens, he returns to Macondo to escape the chill that will surely accompany him throughout his life, seeking his last consolation in the oldest memories.He was so lazy that when he heard that the party organization had sent a delegation to discuss how to break the stalemate in the war, he just rolled over in the hammock and didn't even fully wake up.
"Take them to a brothel," he said.
Here came six lawyers in frock coats and top hats, enduring the scorching heat with great stoicism in the scorching November sun.Úrsula put them at home.They spent most of the day confining themselves in their bedrooms and plotting, and at night they entertained the guards and the accordion band at Catalino's shop at their own expense. "Leave them alone," Colonel Aureliano Buendía ordered, "in short, I know what they want." At the beginning of December, the long-awaited talks began, which many expected to be extremely long, It was actually over in less than an hour.
Colonel Aureliano Buendía was sitting at the piano in the sweltering living room, covered with a white sheet like a shroud, and this time there were no adjutants chalking around him. circles.Surrounded by his political advisers, he sat in a chair, wrapped in a woolen blanket, and listened quietly to the emissaries' brief proposals.They first asked to give up reviewing real estate in order to regain the support of liberal landlords, secondly asked to give up fighting against church forces to gain the support of believers, and finally asked to give up fighting for equal rights between illegitimate and legitimate children in order to maintain family integrity.
"You mean," said Colonel Aureliano Buendía, smiling, "that we are only fighting for power."
"This is just a temporary adjustment." A representative replied, "At the moment, the most important thing is to expand the mass base of the war, and then it depends on the situation."
One of Colonel Aureliano Buendía's political advisers eagerly interjected into the conversation.
"It's paradoxical," he said. "If these adjustments are correct, it means that the Conservative government is correct. If these adjustments can expand the mass base of the war, as you say, then It is equivalent to saying that the government has a broad mass base. All in all, it means that we have been fighting against the people of the whole country for the past two decades."
He wanted to continue, but Colonel Aureliano Buendía interrupted him with a gesture. "Don't waste time, doctor," he said. "The important thing is that from now on we only fight for power." Still smiling, he took the papers handed over by the delegates for signature.
"Since this is the case," he concluded, "there is nothing we cannot accept."
His hands looked at each other, bewildered.
"Sorry, Colonel," Colonel Gerineldo Márquez said softly, "this is a betrayal."
Colonel Aureliano Buendía stopped his ink-soaked pen in midair and put all the authority on him.
"Surrender your weapons," he ordered.
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez stood up and put the weapon on the table.
"Report to the barracks," ordered Colonel Aureliano Buendía, "and wait for the Revolutionary Court Martial."
Immediately he signed the statement, handed it to the messenger, and said:
"Gentlemen, keep your papers. Make good use of them."
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez was sentenced to death for treason two days later.Colonel Aureliano Buendía, lying in his hammock, ignored all pleadings.On the eve of his execution, Úrsula went to see him in his bedroom, in spite of the order not to disturb him.Dressed in black and with a rare solemn expression, she remained standing during the three minutes of the meeting. "I know you are going to shoot Gerinelledo," she declared solemnly, "and I will do nothing to stop you. But I tell you: I swear on the bones of my father and my mother, and on the bones of José Arcadio In the name of Buendia, I swear before God that as soon as I see his body, no matter where you are, I will immediately pull you out and kill you with my own hands." Before he could answer, she turned her head and left, and finally Another sentence:
"Just like if you were born with a pig's tail."
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez recalled those lost afternoons in Amaranta's sewing room during those endless nights, Colonel Aureliano Buendía And he struggled for hours, trying to crack his solitary shell.Since that distant afternoon when his father took him to see ice cubes, his only happy time was when he was making little goldfish in the gold and silverware workshop.Forced to wage thirty-two wars, to break all pacts with death, and to wallow like a pig in the pigsty of honor, he delayed for nearly forty years before discovering the value of innocence.
At dawn, an hour before his execution, he came to his cell, exhausted from the torment of a sleepless night. "The farce is over, man," he said to Colonel Gerineldo Márquez, "let's get out of here, or the mosquitoes will shoot you first." contempt for this attitude.
"No, Aureliano," he replied, "I would rather die than see you turned into a butcher."
"No," said Colonel Aureliano Buendía. "Put on your shoes and help me end this shit war."
When he said this, he didn't think that ending a war would be much harder than starting it.It took him nearly a year to bloodily force the government to agree to peace terms favorable to the rebels, and another year to persuade his own party to accept them.He even did not hesitate to use unimaginable iron fists to suppress the rebellion of his officers who refused to sell the fruits of victory, and finally used the strength of the enemy to make them succumb.
He has never been so brave and good at fighting.The conviction that he could finally fight for his own freedom, not for abstract concepts, for politicians' whimsical, captivating slogans, filled him with passion and morale.Colonel Gerineldo Márquez was as steadfast and loyal as ever, fighting for defeat as he fought for victory.He had accused Colonel Aureliano Buendía of senseless recklessness. "Don't worry," replied the colonel, smiling. "Death is much harder than you think." As far as he was concerned, it was.His firm belief that his doom is already doomed, this belief endows him with a magical immunity and a certain period of immortality, makes him unscathed in the rain of bullets, and finally wins a defeat that is harder, bloodier and more expensive than victory .
During his nearly twenty years in the battlefield, Colonel Aureliano Buendía returned home many times, but because he was always in a state of emergency, surrounded by his military entourage, and always surrounded by a halo of legend— — a light that even Úrsula could not ignore — and at last he became a stranger.The last time he was back in Macondo, he lived alone with his three mistresses, and he only appeared at home two or three times, when he came back for lunch.Remedios the Beauty and the wartime twins hardly knew him.Amaranta also couldn't connect the elder brother who made small goldfish in his youth with this legendary soldier who separated himself from other people with a three-meter dividing line.However, when the day of the armistice approached, the family thought that he would return to the family as a normal person, and the long-sleeping family relationship was revived with unprecedented vigor.
"At last," said Úrsula, "we have a man again."
Amaranta was the first to suspect that his family had lost him forever.A week before the armistice, he did not bring a guard, but only let two barefoot orderlies walk in front. After entering the house, he unloaded the saddle on the mule and the box for collecting poems in the corridor. saved part.When she saw him pass by the door of the sewing room, she called out.For a moment Colonel Aureliano Buendía seemed unable to remember who she was.
"I am Amaranta," she said happily, delighted at his return, and raised her black-veiled hand to him again. "Look."
Colonel Aureliano Buendía smiled as he did that distant morning when he returned to Macondo after being sentenced to death and saw her wrapped in black veil for the first time.
"It's terrible," he said, "how time flies!"
Government troops had to secure the house.He was reviled on the way back, accused of intensifying the fighting just to get a better price.He had a fever and chills, trembling all over, and his armpits were full of boils again.Six months ago, when Ursula heard the news of the armistice, she opened his wedding room, cleaned it up, and lit incense in every corner, thinking that he would be in Remedios when he came back this time. Rest assured in the moldy doll room.However, in the past two years, he has exhausted all his nostalgia for life, and even An's old age has no chance with him.He passed by the door of the gold and silver workshop that Úrsula had taken care of without even noticing that the key was in the keyhole.He was oblivious to the small, heartbreaking scars that time had eroded in his home, and the return from such a long absence as his should have been shocking to anyone with a vivid memory.The peeling plaster on the walls, the dirty cobwebs in the corners, the dusty begonias, the termite scars on the beams, and the moss behind the door, but the exquisite trap of nostalgia was in vain, all of which failed to arouse his curiosity. Reminiscing about the past.He sat down on the porch, wrapped in a blanket, without changing his boots, as if he just wanted to wait for the rain to stop.All afternoon he watched the rain fall on the begonias.Only then did Úrsula realize that it was impossible for him to stay long at home. "If it wasn't the war," she thought, "it would be death that took him." The surmise was so clear and convincing that she took it as an omen.
During the dinner that day, the child who should be Aureliano Buendia Segundo broke bread with his right hand and drank soup with his left hand, while his twin brother, who should be José Arcadio Segundo, used Break the bread with the left hand and drink the soup with the right hand.They moved in unison, not like two brothers sitting face to face, more like a game of looking in the mirror.The twin brothers have invented the game since they realized their resemblance, and this time they played it out specially to catch him.But Colonel Aureliano Buendía was unaware.He was so absent-minded that he didn't even notice that Remedios the Beauty was walking naked to the bedroom.Only Úrsula dared to interrupt his trance.
"If you're destined to go," she said in the middle of dinner, "at least remember how we were tonight."
It was then that Colonel Aureliano Buendía realized - and it was no surprise - that Úrsula was the only one who could see through his misfortune.For the first time in years, he found the courage to look her face in the face.Her skin was chapped, her mouth was full of decayed teeth, her hair was withered and white, and her eyes were frightened.He recalled the oldest memory in his heart, the afternoon when he had a premonition that the hot soup pot would fall from the table, and she was completely different from that time.In an instant, he realized that more than half a century of care had left her with all kinds of wounds and scars, and it also proved that these sufferings could not arouse the slightest pity in his heart.So he made a last-ditch effort to find in his heart the place where his emotions had rotted away, but he couldn't find it.There had been times when he had smelled Úrsula's body odor on his skin and felt at least vaguely ashamed, and more than once he had felt her disturbing his thoughts.However, all this has been erased by the war.Even Remedios, his wife, was at this moment only a vague image of someone who might have been his daughter.The countless women he met in the desert of love spread his blood throughout the coastal areas, but they never left any trace in his emotions.Most of them entered the room in the dark and left before dawn, leaving him with only a little physical weariness the next day.The only thing that had stood the test of time and war was his childhood affection for his brother José Arcadio, but that was not based on friendship but on complicity.
"I'm sorry," he excused Úrsula's plea, "this war has ruined everything."
In the following days, he was busy destroying all traces left in the world.He cleaned out the gold and silver workshops, leaving only the utensils without any personal marks; he gave his clothes to the orderlies; he felt the same penitence that his father had when he buried the spear that killed Prudencio Aguilar , buried the weapon in the yard.All he left behind was a pistol and one bullet.Úrsula did not interfere with him.She only stepped forward to dissuade him when he wanted to destroy Remedios' daguerreotype.The photograph was kept in the living room, illuminated by an ever-burning lamp. "This photo is no longer yours," she said. "It is a relic of the family." By the eve of the armistice, there was nothing left of his family.He went to the bakery with the box of poems and met Santa Sofia de la Pieda who was about to light the oven.
"Use this to light the fire," he said to her, passing the first roll of yellowed paper, "it burns better, it's all old stuff."
Santa Sofia de la Pieda, who had always been taciturn and docile and had never disobeyed even her own son, felt that she could not obey orders.
"It's a very important document," she said.
"Where," said the colonel, "it's something I wrote for myself."
"Then," she said, "burn it yourself, Colonel."
Not only did he do this, but he also split the box with the hatchet and threw the splinters into the fire.Pilar Ternera had come to see him a few hours earlier.After not seeing her for many years, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was amazed at how old she was, how fat she was, and at the same time how good she was at fortune-telling. "Watch your mouth," she told him.He couldn't help thinking to himself, she also said the same thing when his reputation was in full swing, could it be that it was a foresight of his fate, but it was just amazingly advanced?Soon, while his personal physician was removing a boil, he casually asked about the exact location of his heart.After listening with the stethoscope, the doctor drew a circle on his chest with a cotton swab dipped in iodine.
The early morning on Armistice Day Tuesday was mild with a drizzle of rain.Colonel Aureliano Buendía would come into the kitchen before five o'clock and drink his usual coffee without sugar. "You were born in this weather," Úrsula told him, "everyone is frightened by the opening of your eyes." The sound of trumpets and orders breaking the silence of the dawn.Even though he had seen this all too often after years of military service, this time he still felt his knees go weak and his whole body tremble as he did when he was young when he faced a woman's carcass.In the end, he still fell into the net of nostalgia, vaguely thinking that if he married her, he might stay away from war and glory and become an unknown craftsman and a happy animal.This belated tremor was not what he expected, and it added a bit of bitterness to the breakfast.At seven o'clock in the morning Colonel Gerineldo Márquez came to him with a group of rebel officers and found him more silent, lonely, and gloomy.Úrsula wanted to throw a new blanket over his shoulders. "What would the government think," she told him, "that you surrendered because you didn't even have the money to buy the blanket." But he didn't take the blanket.It was not until he reached the door and saw that it was still raining that he agreed to put on an old felt hat that José Arcadio Buendía had owned.
"Aureliano," Úrsula said to him at this moment, "promise me that if you get into trouble there, you will think of your mother."
He gave her a faint smile, stretched out his five fingers and raised his hands, and walked out the door without a word, facing the shouting, cursing and cursing all the way to the exit of the town.Úrsula fastened the bolt and decided not to take it off as long as she lived. "Let's rot at home," she thought, "and turn to ashes in this house where there are no men. This shameful town must not see us weep." She searched the most secret corners all morning, but failed. Find anything that reminds you of your son.
The ceremony took place twenty kilometers from Macondo in the shade of a huge ceiba tree around which the town of Nilandia would later be built.A group of chirping novices dressed in white were in charge of receiving representatives of the government and the two parties, as well as the delegation of the rebels who disarmed. They looked like frightened pigeons circling in the wind and rain.Colonel Aureliano Buendía arrived on a muddy mule.He didn't shave.Now that the end of all hope had been reached, all glory and nostalgia for it had been lost, and it was the boils that troubled him more than the annihilation of his dreams.According to his request, there was no music, no firecrackers, no celebration bells, no cheers and applause, and no procedures that might spoil the sad atmosphere of the armistice.A traveling photographer took the only photograph of him that might have survived, but was forced to destroy the plate before it could be developed.
The ceremony lasted only as long as needed to sign the documents.Representatives from all sides sat at a crude table in the middle of the heavily patched circus tent, surrounded by officers who had followed Colonel Aureliano Buendía faithfully to the end.Before the signing, the envoy of the President of the Republic prepared to read the instrument of surrender aloud, but Colonel Aureliano Buendía objected. "Let's not waste time on formalities," he said, signing the document without looking at it.Then one of his officers broke the sleepy silence of the tent.
"Colonel," he said, "please don't be the first to sign."
Colonel Aureliano Buendía agreed.There was silence at the scene, as if the name whose name was signed could be heard from the clearly discernible sound of the tip of the pen falling off the paper.The document was turned around on the table, and the frontmost position was still empty.Colonel Aureliano Buendía was ready to fill the void.
"Colonel," said another of his officers, "it's too late to salvage."
Unmoved, Colonel Aureliano Buendía signed the first document.Before the last one was signed, a colonel of the rebel army appeared at the door of the tent leading a mule with two boxes on its back.The visitor was very young, but he showed a mature and dignified appearance.He is the custodian of the Treasury of the Revolutionary Army in the Macondo area.He dragged his hungry mule for six days and finally arrived in time for the signing of the Armistice Agreement.With great care he unloaded the box, opened it, and took out seventy-two gold bricks one by one, and placed them on the table.Nobody remembers this fortune existing.In the chaos of the last year, the central command fell apart and the revolution was reduced to a bloody melee between the various chiefs, without any accountability.The gold of the Revolutionary Army was melted into ingots and later coated with clay, but left unattended.Colonel Aureliano Buendía included the seventy-two gold bricks in the surrender list and ended the ceremony without further ado.The thin young man was still standing in front of him, a pair of syrup-colored eyes staring into his eyes solemnly.
"Anything else?" asked Colonel Aureliano Buendía.The young colonel squeezed two words between his teeth.
"Receipt," he replied.
Colonel Aureliano Buendía had written him a receipt in his own hand.Then he drank a glass of lemonade distributed by the novice nuns, ate a biscuit, and retreated to the field tent that had been prepared for him to rest in advance.He took off his shirt, sat on the edge of the cot, and at 3:15 p.m., he picked up a pistol and fired a shot at the circle of his chest where the private doctor painted.At the same time in Macondo, Úrsula saw that the milk pot on the stove would not boil for a long time, so she lifted the lid and found that it was full of maggots.
"They killed Aureliano!" she cried.
She looked out into the courtyard out of the habit she had developed in solitude and saw José Arcadio Buendía, drenched in the rain, looking sad and much older than when he died. "They killed him perfidiously," Úrsula was sure of it, "and no one would be so kind as to close his eyes." In the evening, through her tears, she saw the luminous orange discs fly by like lightning The sky believed that this was a sign of death.While she was still weeping on her husband's lap under the chestnut tree, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was sent home, wrapped in a blanket stiffened with blood, yelling angrily. Keep your eyes open.
His life is not in danger.The trajectory of the bullet was perfect, and the doctor was able to push a ribbon soaked in iodine through his chest and out of his back. "This is the masterpiece of my life." The doctor said to him proudly, "This point is the only place where a bullet can pass through without hurting vital organs." Colonel Aureliano Buendia discovered Surrounded by merciful novices, desperately chanting hymns for the rest of his soul.So he deeply regretted not shooting in the jaw as originally planned just to mock Pilar Ternera's prophecy.
"If I were in power now," he told the doctor, "I would shoot you without trial. Not because you saved my life, but because you made me a laughingstock."
In just a few hours, a suicide attempt restored him to his lost honor.Those who concocted the rumor that he had sold the revolution for a bedroom of gold and brick walls now hailed his suicide as a tragic act, and celebrated him as a martyr.Later, when he rejected the medal awarded by the President of the Republic, even his sworn enemies came to his house one after another, asking him to overturn the armistice agreement and start a new war.The room was filled with gifts of apology.Colonel Aureliano Buendía was touched only a little later by the widespread support of his former comrades and did not rule out the possibility of conforming to popular opinion.Not only that, but at times he seemed so eager to start another war that Colonel Gerineldo Márquez felt that he was just waiting for a suitable reason.Reasons arose: the President of the Republic stated that pensions would not be granted to veterans, liberal or conservative, until the applications had been reviewed by a special committee and Congress had approved them. "It's a violation of the agreement," Colonel Aureliano Buendía yelled. "They'll wait for the mail until they die." He got up for the first time from the rocking chair Úrsula had bought for him to recuperate,在房间里来回踱步，然后口述了一份措辞激烈的电文给共和国总统。在这份从未公开的电文中，他严词谴责这第一次罔顾尼兰迪亚协定的行径，威胁说养老抚恤金的问题如果不能在十五天内解决，他将再次发起战争，不死不休。他自觉态度磊落无私，还期望保守派的老兵支持。然而政府的唯一答复便是以保护为名加强了部署在他家门口的武装力量，并禁止一切探访。相似的措施也应用到了其他需要监视的军事首领身上。这场行动雷厉风行，及时有效，到停战两个月后奥雷里亚诺·布恩迪亚上校伤势痊愈时，当初极为坚决鼓动他起事的手下不是被杀便是被驱逐出境，或是死心塌地融入到政府机关中。
十二月，奥雷里亚诺·布恩迪亚上校出了房间，往长廊里只看了一眼便彻底打消了开战的念头。乌尔苏拉迸发出与年龄全然不符的活力，令家中焕然一新。“现在让他们瞧瞧我是什么人，”她看到自己的儿子没什么大碍便说，“这世上再也找不到比我们这个疯人院更漂亮更好客的人家。”她请人清扫和油漆房屋，更换家具，重整花园，种下新花种，大开门窗让夏日的明净阳光照进卧室。她宣布一次次累加的丧期结束，自己也脱下死气沉沉的旧衣，换上洋溢着青春气息的新衫。自动钢琴再次奏响，为家里带来欢乐。听到钢琴声，阿玛兰妲想起了皮埃特罗·克雷斯皮，想起了黄昏时分他佩戴的栀子花、他身上的薰衣草香气，她枯萎的内心深处萌生出经岁月淘洗后的纯净幽怨。一天下午整理客厅的时候，乌尔苏拉向看守住宅的士兵请求帮忙。年轻的警卫队队长批准了这一请求。渐渐地，乌尔苏拉不断委派他们新的任务。她请他们吃饭，送他们衣服和鞋子，教他们读写。当政府撤除监视时，有一个士兵还留下来，为家里服务了许多年。新年那天，年轻的警卫队队长受不了美人儿蕾梅黛丝的冷落而失去理智，天亮前在她窗前殉情而死。
多年以后，在临终的床榻上，奥雷里亚诺第二将会回想起那个阴雨绵绵的六月午后，他走进卧室去看自己的头生子。那孩子孱弱又爱哭，没有丝毫布恩迪亚家人的样子，但他未作多想便给他取好了名字。
“叫他何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥。”他说。
费尔南达·德尔·卡皮奥，他一年前娶来的美丽妻子，表示同意。但乌尔苏拉无法掩饰那隐隐的不祥预感。她从家族漫长历史上重复命名的传统中得出了在她看来无可争辩的结论：所有叫奥雷里亚诺的都性格孤僻，但头脑敏锐，富于洞察力；所有叫何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥的都性格冲动，富于事业心，但命中注定带有悲剧色彩。唯一无法归类的特例是何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二和奥雷里亚诺第二。他们在童年时如此相似又顽皮，连桑塔索菲亚·德拉·彼达也分不清。洗礼那天，阿玛兰妲给他们戴上写有各自名字的手环，穿上颜色不同并标有名字缩写的衣服。可开始上学的时候，他们决定互换衣服和手环，管自己叫对方的名字。梅尔乔·埃斯卡洛纳老师已经习惯管穿绿色衬衣的叫何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二，因此当发现后者戴着奥雷里亚诺第二的手环，而另一个虽然穿着白色衬衣戴着何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二的手环，也自称奥雷里亚诺第二的时候，不禁大为光火。从那以后，再没有人能确定无误地分辨两人。他们渐渐长大，不再彼此酷似，但乌尔苏拉仍暗自寻思，他们会不会在玩复杂换名游戏的某一时刻混淆，从此永远对换了身份。直到青春期初始，他们仍是按同一节奏生活。他们同时醒来，同时想去浴室，同样感到身体不适，甚至做同样的梦。家人一向以为他们动作划一只是为了让人混淆，直到有一天桑塔索菲亚·德拉·彼达发现了真相：她给兄弟俩中的一个一杯柠檬水，他刚尝了一口，另一个就抢先说里面没放糖。桑塔索菲亚·德拉·彼达想起来的确忘了放糖，随后把事情讲给乌尔苏拉听。“全都一个样，”她毫不惊奇，“天生的疯子。”随着时间流逝，事情都乱了套。在换名游戏中保留下奥雷里亚诺第二这名字的男孩变成和祖父一样的彪形大汉，而那个叫作何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二的却长得像上校一样瘦骨嶙峋，两人之间仅存的共同点就是家传的孤独气质。或许正是这种体魄、姓名与性格的交错，才使得乌尔苏拉怀疑他们从童年时起就互换了身份。
两人之间的差异在战争最酣时显露无遗，那时何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二请求赫里内勒多·马尔克斯上校带他去看枪决犯人。尽管有乌尔苏拉反对，他的愿望还是得到了满足。但对奥雷里亚诺第二来说，光是去看行刑这念头就足以让他胆战心惊。他宁愿待在家里。十二岁那年，他问乌尔苏拉那个锁着的房间里有什么。“纸，”她回答，“是梅尔基亚德斯的书和他最后几年写的古怪东西。”这回答不但没令他满意，反而激起了他的好奇心。他反复恳求，并保证不破坏任何东西，最后乌尔苏拉给了他钥匙。自从梅尔基亚德斯的尸体被搬出之后，再没有人进过这个房间，门上的锁都已锈住。但当奥雷里亚诺第二打开窗子，一道光线施施然射入，仿佛是这房间的常客，天天造访从未间断，而且屋内没有丝毫灰尘或蛛网，一切整洁如经清扫，甚至比梅尔基亚德斯下葬那天还要干净几分。墨水瓶里没有干涸，金属材料上不见锈迹，连何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥·布恩迪亚烧煮水银的炉火也不曾熄灭。隔板上摆放着用一种色泽苍白、硬如纸板，仿佛鞣制人皮的材料做衬面的书籍，还有保存完好的手稿。虽然幽闭多年，房间里的空气却似乎比家中别处还要纯净。一切都如此整洁，几个星期后乌尔苏拉提着水桶拿着扫帚走进房间想要打扫的时候，竟发现无事可做。奥雷里亚诺第二沉浸在一本书里。这书缺了封面，哪儿都找不到书名，那孩子仍读得津津有味，诸如一个女人坐在桌旁用大头针专挑饭粒吃，一位渔夫向邻居借压渔网用的铅坠，后来作为报偿送的鱼腹中含有一颗钻石，此外还有能满足一切愿望的神灯的故事和飞毯的传奇。他惊奇地询问乌尔苏拉这些可都是真的，她回答说是，多年前吉卜赛人就曾给马孔多带来神灯和飞毯。
“只不过，”她叹了口气，“世界一天不如一天，那些东西也不见了。”
看完这本很多故事因为缺页没有结束的书，奥雷里亚诺第二开始破译手稿，只是这项艰巨的任务不可能完成。手稿上的字迹仿佛晾在铁丝上的衣服，比起文字来更像是音符。一个炎热的中午，他正在钻研手稿，忽然感觉自己并非单独待在房间里。背对窗口的光线，梅尔基亚德斯坐在那里，手放在膝盖上。他还不到四十岁，穿着同一件不合时宜的坎肩，戴着同一顶鸦翼状礼帽，发间的油脂因炎热而融化，沿着苍白的鬓角流淌，与奥雷里亚诺和何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥孩童时所见一模一样。奥雷里亚诺第二立时认出了他，因为这份记忆代代相传，从祖父遗传到了他这里。
“你好。”奥雷里亚诺第二说。
“你好，年轻人。”梅尔基亚德斯说。
从那以后的好几年里，他们几乎每天下午都见面。梅尔基亚德斯为他讲起世上万事，想把古老的智慧传授给他，却不肯译出手稿。“不到一百年，就不该有人知道其中的含义。”他解释道。对于这些交谈，奥雷里亚诺第二终生持守秘密。有一次，他感觉自己的世界瞬时崩塌了，因为乌尔苏拉在梅尔基亚德斯出现时进了房间。但她看不见他。
“你在和谁说话？”她问。
“没和谁。”奥雷里亚诺第二回答。
“你曾祖父也是这样，”乌尔苏拉说，“他也老自言自语。”
何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二实现了观看枪决的愿望。他毕生都将记得六个枪口同时冒出的青色焰光、回响于山间直至消失的枪声，以及死刑犯凄惨的微笑和迷茫的眼神。那人保持直立，鲜血浸透衬衫，从柱子上被解下到被塞进装满石灰的棺材一直微笑着。“他还活着，”他想，“他们要把他活埋。”这给他留下了极其深刻的印象，从此他便厌恶军事演练和战争，这倒并不是因为行刑这件事本身，而是因为活埋死刑犯的做法。没人知道他从何时起开始到钟楼上敲钟，帮助“新手”的继任者安东尼奥·伊莎贝尔神甫做弥撒，还负责喂养神甫住处院里的斗鸡。赫里内勒多·马尔克斯上校得知后，严厉批评他竟去学习这些被自由派唾弃的行径。“问题是，”他回答，“我觉得我天生是保守派。”在他看来，这是命中注定。赫里内勒多·马尔克斯上校大为光火，忙去告诉乌尔苏拉。
“这更好。”她表示赞成，“但愿他当个神甫，这样上帝就终于能进这个家门了。”
很快便听说，安东尼奥·伊莎贝尔神甫在为他准备第一次领圣体仪式。他一边为斗鸡修剪颈羽，一边跟神甫学习教理问答。在他安置母鸡抱窝的时候，神甫用简明的例子为他解释上帝如何在创世第二日想到让鸡在蛋中孕育。从那时起神甫表现出老年谵语的最初症状，数年后甚至妄言或许魔鬼已在对上帝的反叛中获胜，如今是它坐在天国的宝座上，隐藏自己的身份来引人受骗上当。经过导师的大胆锤炼，何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二在短短几个月内就掌握了足以迷惑魔鬼的神学诀窍，不亚于他在斗鸡方面的百般花招。阿玛兰妲给他做了身亚麻正装，配上硬领和领带，又给他买了一双雪白的鞋子，还用金字把他的姓名印在大蜡烛的丝带上。领圣体前两天，安东尼奥·伊莎贝尔神甫把两人关在圣器室里听他告解，手捧一本罪孽大全作为参照。那份罪孽清单那么长，神甫上了年纪，平时又习惯六点就寝，终于没等结束就在扶手椅上睡了过去。这场问讯令何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二眼界大开。神甫问他有没有和女人做坏事，他并不吃惊，当下如实回答没有，但被问到有没有和动物做过的时候，他不禁一阵惶然。五月第一个星期五，他在好奇心的煎熬中领了圣体。后来他去向佩特洛尼奥请教，这个疾病缠身的圣器保管人住在钟楼上，据说以蝙蝠为食，他这样回答：“是有些堕落的基督徒和母驴干那种事。”何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二仍很好奇，缠着问个不停，佩特洛尼奥终于失去了耐心。
“我每星期二晚上去，”他透露了秘密，“如果你保证谁也不告诉，下星期二我就带你去。”
到了星期二，佩特洛尼奥果然拎着一张此前无人知晓其用途的小木凳，下了钟楼，带何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二走进附近的一处菜园。男孩迷上了这样的夜间出游，很长一段时间后卡塔利诺的店里也出现了他的身影。他一心扑在斗鸡上。“把你的这些畜生拿到别处去，”乌尔苏拉第一次看见他带着漂亮的斗鸡回来，便下了命令，“斗鸡让这个家受的苦已经够多了，你现在还给我们往回带。”何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二没有争辩就照办了，带到他祖母庇拉尔·特尔内拉那里继续养，后者只要他肯来，愿意提供他所需的一切。很快他在斗鸡上显露出安东尼奥·伊莎贝尔神甫传授的智慧，挣的钱不仅够他扩大养殖，也可以满足他作为男人的需要。那时候乌尔苏拉拿他与他兄弟相比，难以理解童年时相似如一个人的兄弟俩最后为什么会变得如此迥异。她无须困惑太久，因为奥雷里亚诺第二也开始表现出懒散放荡的倾向。关在梅尔基亚德斯的房间里时，他是个孤僻内向的人，就像年轻时的奥雷里亚诺·布恩迪亚上校一样。但就在尼兰迪亚协定签订前不久，一桩偶然事件令他走出自己的天地，回到现实世界。他遇上一个让人买彩票赢手风琴的年轻女人，她非常亲热地和他打招呼。奥雷里亚诺第二没有感到惊讶，因为常有人将他错认作他的兄弟。那女人哭闹着想让他心软，最终把他领进了自己的房间，他却一直没有纠正这个错误。这次邂逅之后，她对他爱恋有加，甚至在彩票上做手脚让他赢得了手风琴。两个星期后，奥雷里亚诺第二意识到女人在轮换着与他们兄弟俩睡觉且满心以为是同一个人，他却没有挑明事实，反而想方设法继续下去。他再没有回到梅尔基亚德斯的房间。下午他待在院子里，凭着听来的印象自学手风琴。乌尔苏拉对此提出反对，因为当时正值丧期，何况她也鄙视手风琴，看作是好汉弗朗西斯科的徒子徒孙那路流浪汉才用的乐器。但奥雷里亚诺第二未加理会，终于成为一名手风琴高手，他直到结婚生子，跻身马孔多最受尊敬的人物之列，依然保持着这一爱好。
将近两个月的时间里，他和他兄弟共享一个女人。他监视他的行踪，打乱他的安排，一经确认他当晚不会去找他们共同的情人，就去和她睡觉。一天早晨，他发现自己得病了。两天后，他撞见他兄弟抱着浴室的柱子，浑身大汗，痛哭流涕，便立刻明白了缘故。他兄弟向他坦承，自己使那女人染上了被她称作花柳病的恶疾，被赶了出来。他还说庇拉尔·特尔内拉曾设法给他医治。奥雷里亚诺第二暗中用滚热的高锰酸洗液擦洗，服用利尿剂。暗暗忍耐三个月的折磨后，两人分别痊愈。何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二再没找过这个女人。奥雷里亚诺第二获得了她的原谅，和她一起生活到死。
她叫佩特拉·科特斯。她在战争最激烈的时期和一个卖彩票的露水情人一起来到马孔多，那男人死后她便接过这桩生意。她是个年轻整洁的黑白混血女人，一双黄色的杏眼使她的脸庞带上几分美洲豹般的凶焊，但她却有着慷慨的心灵和绝妙的情爱天赋。当乌尔苏拉终于知道何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二成了斗鸡人，而奥雷里亚诺第二则忙于为自己情人喧闹的聚会拉手风琴时，她觉得自己混乱得要发疯。这两人身上好像都集中了家族的缺点，却没有继承任何美德。于是她决定谁也不能再叫奥雷里亚诺和何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥这两个名字。但当奥雷里亚诺第二的头生子出生时，她却没敢违抗他的意愿。
“好吧，”乌尔苏拉说，“但有个条件，孩子由我来养。”
尽管她已年逾百岁，患白内障几近失明，却仍然活力不减，性格不变，头脑清醒。没有人比她更适合培养一位品德高尚的人才来重振家声，他将远离战争、斗鸡、放荡女人和疯狂举动，这四样灾难在乌尔苏拉看来正是造成家族衰落的罪魁祸首。“他将成为神甫。”她神情庄重地许诺，“如果上帝让我活得够长，我一定能看见他当上教皇。”所有人，不仅卧室里的，还有整幢房子里聚集的奥雷里亚诺第二的狐朋狗友，听了都忍俊不禁。战争成为糟糕的记忆已被人遗忘，但此时一瓶瓶香槟的瓶塞轰然迸脱，倒像是瞬间回到了枪炮隆隆的日子。
“为教皇的健康干杯。”奥雷里亚诺第二打趣道。
客人们齐声响应。随后，主人拉起手风琴，爆竹噼啪燃响，市镇上敲起欢快的鼓声。清晨，淋透香槟的客人宰掉六头牛拿到街上任人随取。没人对此大惊小怪。自从奥雷里亚诺第二主持家务以来，这类聚会成了家常便饭，尽管通常并没有庆祝一位教皇的诞生这样名正言顺的借口。短短几年间，他不靠努力，全凭运气，因所饲养牲畜的神奇繁殖力挣下了在大泽区数一数二的巨大财富。他的母马一胎生三驹，他的母鸡一天下两次蛋，他的猪飞速长膘。没人能解释这种荒唐的繁殖力，只能归结为魔法。“你现在得省着点儿，”乌尔苏拉对她那毫无长远打算的曾孙说道，“这种运气不可能一辈子跟着你。”但奥雷里亚诺第二未加理会。他越是大开香槟供朋友畅饮，他的牲畜就越发疯狂地繁衍，而他也就越发确信好运与自己的行为无关，而是来自于佩特拉·科特斯，他的情妇，她的爱具有催化自然的能力。他认定这就是财富的源头，坚信不疑，因此从未让佩特拉·科特斯远离自己的牲畜，即使结婚生子后仍征得费尔南达的同意和她生活在一起。奥雷里亚诺第二和祖辈一样身材壮硕，但却有着享乐的活力和令人无法抗拒的亲切感，这是前人身上所没有的。他几乎没时间去照管畜群。他只需带上佩特拉·科特斯去养殖场，和她一起骑马在自己的土地上绕一圈，就足以令所有带着自己标记的牲畜无可救药地染上多产症。
就像他漫长一生中所有的好事一样，这笔巨大的财富也是出于偶然。直到战争末期，佩特拉·科特斯还在靠卖彩票糊口，奥雷里亚诺第二则不时洗劫乌尔苏拉的储钱罐来过活。他们成了轻浮的一对，只知道夜夜睡在一起，即使在禁止寻欢的日子也不例外，在床上嬉闹直到天明。“这女人非毁了你不可，”乌尔苏拉看着曾孙梦游般走进家门，朝他大喊起来，“她把你变傻了，过不了两天你肚子里就会生只癞蛤蟆，疼得直不起腰。”何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二过了很久才发现他冒名顶替自己，很难理解兄弟的痴狂。在他的印象中，佩特拉·科特斯是个很平常的女人，在床上甚至有些慵懒，完全不具备勾人情愫的魅力。对乌尔苏拉的呼号和兄弟的嘲弄，奥雷里亚诺第二一概充耳不闻，他那时只想着找个营生养活佩特拉·科特斯，在某个狂欢之夜与她死在一起，死在她身上，死在她身下。当奥雷里亚诺·布恩迪亚上校终于抵不住安享晚年的诱惑，重开作坊，奥雷里亚诺第二觉得制作小金鱼是桩不错的生意。他在那间酷热的小屋里待了很久，看着上校在大彻大悟后生发出难以想象的耐心，让坚硬的金属片在手中渐渐变成金色的鱼鱗。他觉得这活计太过费力，而他又无时无刻不思念着佩特拉·科特斯，因此三个星期后便彻底从作坊消失了。正是在那段时间，佩特拉·科特斯忽然想到卖彩票抽兔子的主意。她的兔子不断繁殖生长，速度之快甚至没等彩票卖完就已发育成熟。开始的时候，这种惊人的繁衍并没有引起奥雷里亚诺第二的注意，直到后来市镇上的人都厌烦了兔子彩票，一天晚上他听到隔着院墙传来阵阵喧闹声。“别担心，”佩特拉·科特斯说，“是兔子。”两人再没睡着，被兔子的忙碌声吵了一夜。天亮时，奥雷里亚诺第二打开房门，看见院里满是兔子，在晨光中一片青蓝。佩特拉·科特斯笑弯了腰，忍不住跟他开个玩笑。
“这些都是昨晚生的。”她说。
“太可怕了！”他说，“你干吗不试试养牛？”
几天后，为了在院子里腾出地方，佩特拉·科特斯用兔子换了一头奶牛。两个月后这奶牛就生了三胞胎。事情便是这样开始的。一夜之间，奥雷里亚诺第二拥有了土地和畜群，几乎来不及扩建拥挤的畜栏和猪圈。这种匪夷所思的兴旺令他自己都觉得好笑，他只好选择荒唐的方式来抒发大好心情。“让一让，母牛们，生命短暂啊。”他喊叫道。乌尔苏拉纳闷他究竟在搞什么鬼，想着牲畜会不会是偷来的，他是不是变成了偷牛贼。每次看到他打开香槟仅仅是为了往头上喷泡沬寻找乐趣，她都要大声斥责他挥霍浪费。他对此十分厌烦，一天清早心血来潮，拿起一箱钞票、一罐糨糊和一把刷子，哼着好汉弗朗西斯科的老歌把家中里里外外、上上下下贴满了一比索的纸币。从自动钢琴运抵时就漆成白色的老宅，现在变得像清真寺一样。家人乱作一团，乌尔苏拉大惊失色，市镇上的人都挤在街上观看这挥霍豪举，这时奥雷里亚诺第二已经从立面到厨房全部裱糊完毕，连浴室和卧室都没放过，最后把剩下的钞票拋到了院子里。
“好了，”他最后宣告，“我希望在这个家里再没有人跟我提钱的事。”
indeed so.乌尔苏拉命人把钞票揭下来，连带着还揭下大片大片的石灰墙皮，又重新把房子刷白。 “上帝啊，”她恳求道，“让我们和当初建村时一样穷吧，免得下辈子你为这样的浪费惩罚我们。”她的祈求得蒙垂听，但结果却与她期待的相反。一个揭钞票的工人不小心碰倒了一尊战争末期别人寄存在家里的圣约瑟石膏雕像，那空心雕像跌在地上摔碎了。里面满是金币。没人记得是谁送来这尊真人大小的雕像。 “是三个人带来的，”阿玛兰妲解释道，“请我们保存到雨季过去，我对他们说就放在这儿，谁也不会碰到。他们就非常小心地把它放在这儿，一直搁到现在，再也没人回来要过。”最近一段时间，乌尔苏拉在雕像前点上蜡烛，跪地膜拜，从未想过她所敬拜的不是一尊圣徒像，而是将近两百公斤的黄金。想到自己无意中犯下异教行径却迟迟不自知，她更加痛苦。她朝着壮观的金币小山啐了一口，把它们装进三个帆布袋，埋在一处秘密的地方，等待那三个陌生人早晚来讨要。很久以后，她已进入行动不便的暮年，还常常加人许多流连于家中的旅人的谈话，询问他们有没有在战争期间寄存过一尊圣约瑟石膏雕像，等雨季过后来取。
这种事情给乌尔苏拉带来巨大烦扰，在那段时间却时常发生。马孔多沉浸在一派奇迹般的繁荣景象中。泥巴和芦苇盖成的屋子已经被配有木制百叶窗和水泥地面的砖石建筑所替代，后者更有利于散去午后两点令人窒息的酷热。何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥·布恩迪亚时代的旧村庄唯一的残留，就是那些覆满灰尘的巴旦杏树，它们忍耐得了最恶劣的环境，而清澈见底的河里那些史前巨石都被何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二疯狂的长柄锤砸成了粉末，为的是清理河道开发航路。这是一个疯狂的梦想，不比当初他曾祖父的诸多狂想逊色，因为布满石块的河床和险阻重重的湍流使马孔多无法通航到海。但何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二出人预料地心血来潮，顽固地要实施这一计划。到那时为止，他还从未表现出什么想象力。除了与佩特拉·科特斯的露水情缘，他并没有别的女人。乌尔苏拉认为他是整个家族史上最没出息的子孙，觉得他一无可取，甚至在斗鸡场上也没出多少风头。就在这时候，奥雷里亚诺·布恩迪亚上校给他讲起离大海十二公里处搁浅的西班牙大帆船，上校战时曾亲眼见过它烧焦的龙骨。这一说法在很长时间里被很多人视为荒诞不经的神话，可在何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二听来却不啻一个启示。他拍卖了所有的斗鸡，然后招募人手，购买工具，展开一系列砸碎石块、挖掘河道、铲除暗礁甚至填平瀑布的宏伟工程。“这些我太熟悉了。”乌尔苏拉喊道，“时间好像倒转了，我们又回到了从前。”预计河道可以通航的时候，何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二向兄弟详细讲述了自己的计划，奥雷里亚诺第二为他提供了所缺的资金。此后，他消失了很长一段时间。当人们已经在议论他买船的计划不过是卷走兄弟钱财的骗局时，却有消息传来说一艘奇怪的船正向市镇驶来。已经淡忘了何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥·布恩迪亚当年丰功伟业的马孔多居民，争先恐后地奔向河滨，难以置信地看着第一艘也是最后一艘造访该市的船。那不过是一条树干扎成的木筏，靠着岸上的二十个男人用粗索牵引前行。何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二站立船头，眼里闪着志得意满的神色，正在指挥这项艰巨的作业。和他一起到来的是一群风情万种的女郎，她们撑起鲜艳的阳伞抵御灼热的阳光，肩上是精美的丝绸披巾，脸上是彩色的脂粉，发间插着鲜花，臂上佩着金蛇，齿间镶着钻石。这条用树干扎成的木筏是唯一能让何塞·阿尔卡蒂奥第二航行到马孔多的船只，也仅此一次，然而他却从未承认失败，反而将自己的成就当成一次意志的胜利。他将记录得一丝不苟的账目交给兄弟，很快又回到与斗鸡相伴的生活中。这场不走运的冒险的唯一遗泽，就是来自法国的女郎们带来的新潮流。她们的精湛技艺令传统的风月套路彻底改观，她们在社会福利方面的贡献将过气的卡塔利诺店远远拋在后面，使整条街变成一座市场，其间日式灯笼灯影摇曳，手摇风琴琴声忧伤。正是她们发起了那场血腥狂欢节，使马孔多陷入三日的疯狂，唯一长久的成果就是奥雷里亚诺第二获得了认识费尔南达·德尔·卡皮奥的机会。
美人儿蕾梅黛丝被选为狂欢节女王。乌尔苏拉为曾孙女惊心动魄的美貌感到恐惧，却无法阻止她当选。此前，乌尔苏拉禁止她出门，除非是和阿玛兰妲一起去望弥撒，但是也要她用一块黑色头巾蒙住脸庞。那些并不虔敬的男人，那些在卡塔利诺店里化装成神甫主持渎神弥撒的男人，都涌向教堂，只为一窥美人儿蕾梅黛丝的脸庞，哪怕看上一眼也好。她的美貌传说伴着人们惊人的狂热在整个大泽区流传。他们等了很久才如愿以偿，事实上等不到那机会才是真正的幸运，因为他们中的大多数人终生再也无法安眠。让她露出面容的男人，那个外来者，尊严尽失，陷入自轻自贱的泥潭，数年后睡在枕木上被一辆夜行列车轧死。从他身着绿色丝绒上装和绣花马甲出现在教堂的那一刻起，就没有人怀疑他必定是受美人儿蕾梅黛丝的魔力所吸引，从远方而来，或许是从域外某个遥远的城市而来。他如此英俊，如此优雅沉静，如此风度翩翩，和他比起来皮埃特罗·克雷斯皮不过是个充大人的毛头小子。不少女人笑容中含着不满，嘟囔说他才配得上黑纱蒙面。他在马孔多不曾与任何人交谈。星期天清晨他如同神话中的王子一般现身，骑着配有银马镫和天鹅绒鞍褥的骏马，弥撒结束后便离开市镇。
他的风釆如此摄人心魄，以至于第一次在教堂里看见他，所有人都认定美人儿蕾梅黛丝与他之间已然存在一桩秘密约定，一场紧张的无声对决，一次势不可免的争霸，不仅会以爱情告终，还要加上死亡方能了结。到了第六个星期天，这位绅士现身时手中拿着一枝黄玫瑰。他和往常一样站着望弥撒，弥撒结束时拦住了美人儿蕾梅黛丝的去路，献上那枝孤独的玫瑰。她再自然不过地接过去，仿佛对这一馈赠早有准备，并在一瞬间掀开头巾，嫣