The ñaltaMartayMaríDe Ciudads were missing. Don Mariano and the quarantine doctor were in consternation at the mention of this name, which was such a guaranty of respectability. Before they had recovered from their consternation, there appeared at the end of one of the streets leading to the quay the six señoritas accompanied by their papa, their mamma, their engineer Suárez, and two small brothers. It was impossible to accommodate so many people in the two falúas; they had to hunt up another, and man it with the first sailors they could find, and thus precious time was lost. But at last, as everything in this world can be managed except death, the De Ciudads and their friends were well bestowed in a fishing-boat, and the captain of the quarantine gave the signal for the start. The twelve oars of the falúas began to strike the water in time with a gentle splash, like the arms of one stretching.
The level of the river was smooth, motionless, and bright as a mirror; the sun cast upon it wide, silvery spots towards the centre, and darker ones near the edges. The sky was covered by a delicate veil of clouds, making a splendid rival for the ladies' hats and parasols. Only a gentle breeze laden with the keen odor of pines on the shore came timidly kissing the soft back of the waters, and the no less soft and fresh necks of the ladies. It was not as yet a legitimate sea-breeze, but a hybrid kind[44] with the characteristics both of sea and land. The oars now put out all their agility, and with their blades lifted the crystal of the waters, causing fleeting, foamy whirlpools; all faces showed the healthful joy which is always caused by motion and the ever new and beautiful spectacle of nature. The girls, bending over the gunwale of the boat, delighted in taking off their rings and plunging their hands into the water, letting it pour with a murmur through their white fingers: they talked, they screamed, they laughed, and they exchanged greetings from one boat to the other. The young fellows spattered their faces with their canes or suddenly leaned to one side to scare them, taking great pleasure in their cries of desperation. All was noise and hubbub in the little squadron. As they came near El Moral, the marine characteristics of the breeze began to get the upper hand of the inland ones; it grew stronger, sometimes even blowing violently, as when the falúas passed by some glen made through the hills or sloping banks which shut in the river valley. The ribbons on the hats, the pennants on the mast-heads, handkerchiefs and neckties began to flutter violently. The voyagers felt the sweet deafness caused by the keen, salt-nurtured wind of the sea. A few aquatic birds of little account flew out from one shore and went flapping above the falúas, which was sufficient cause for Don Serapio, in a fit of enthusiasm for the sea, to get upon deck and, leaning over the flagstaff like one possessed, to sing the song which begins:--