LGG: "Un lazo"

This story feels as if it completes a cycle of sorts with the first story as we once again see the Dragones Infernales, a seasoned, elite group of montoneros. Among them is a gaucho who is something of a horse whisperer and a wiz with the lasso. Meanwhile, the royalist forces appear to be on the defensive, risking their lives to guard some pasture land to keep their animals alive.

The gaucho's lasso skill comes in handy when the montonera finally attacks the royalists and their grazing animals. The battle, violent in itself, has a pretty gruesome end. Like "Despedida," the combination of sudden, gory violence amidst Lugones' somewhat verbose style can make for a shock. I'd be willing to call it a dramatic cheat or a celebration of nationalist violence, except that it really does fit in with the sort of hardscrabble existence painted in even those stories that lack much in the way of violence.