Tierra del Oro                          Bitter Victory      While Serafina and Pablo settled into their comfortable life in Monterrey.  Ramón and men of Sonora joined the revolution. They got off the train in a godforsaken spot somewhere north of Magdalena.        Far across the Mexican highlands,                                                Anita prayed daily,  "Dios divino, deliver us."     ........................ When Madero said the war was over, Ramón believed it. It was time to claim his inheritance.                                     But the murder of Madero sparked fires  that would burn in hearts and villages for ten years. One night Pablo kissed his family and went out on an errand.    He didn't return to the rock house on the corner of Calle de Las Flores y Matamoros. General Huerta now ruled with an iron hand.    And men of Los Pobres gathered once  more.                                                              Whatever perils might lie over the mountains, Serafina had to find Ramón.        In Santa Rosa, the legendary Mexican Colt found its way into Ramón's holster.   The rail lines met in Hermosillo.    Serafina could see over the crowd, and men riding on the flatcars saw her, for several turned for a better look. One of them was Ramón.         It was after midnight when he returned.   In Luis's bed, the children huddled like somnolent puppies on a pile of blankets. Teo was fair, clearly Pablo's child. Domingo was twelve, and darkly handsome.   "Dios mio,"  Ramón whispered, the candle slipping from his grasp.   Serafina heard the sporadic shooting,                                      and could endure waiting no longer.                                                                                                                                   "There is a woman coming out from town." Ramón looked where the soldier was pointing.  "Good God.  That is Serafina." "The gunner has our range,"   Joaquin cried. Ramón turned and walked back to La Puerta del Sol. Trouble and Serafina were together at last. The Stories   |    Forty Grains of Black Powder   |   Legend of the Sierra Madre   |   Los Pobres   |   La Puerta del Sol   |   A Lion Against the Wind   |   Bitter Victory   |   Tierra Y Libertad   |   The Horse Tamers   |   Tesoro  |   home