“My son!??rsula shouted in the midst of the uproar, and she slapped the soldier who tried to hold her back. The officer’s horse reared. Then Colonel Aureliano Buendía stopped, tremulous, avoided the arms of his mother, and fixed a stern look on her eyes.
“Go home, Mama,?he said. “Get permission from the authorities to come see me in jail.?
He looked at Amaranta, who stood indecisively two steps behind ?rsula, and he smiled as he asked her, “What happened to your hand??Amaranta raised the hand with the black bandage. “A burn,?she said, and took ?rsula away so that the horses would not run her down. The troop took off. A special guard surrounded the prisoners and took them to the jail at a trot.
At dusk ?rsula visited Colonel Aureliano Buendía in jail. She had tried to get permission through Don Apolinar Moscote, but he had lost all authority in the face of the military omnipotence. Father Nicanor was in bed with hepatic fever. The parents of Colonel Gerineldo Márquez, who had not been condemned to death, had tried to see him and were driven off with rifle butts. Facing the impossibility of finding anyone to intervene, convinced that her son would be shot at dawn, ?rsula wrapped up the things she wanted to bring him and went to the jail alone.
“I am the mother of Colonel Aureliano Buendía,?she announced.
The sentries blocked her way. “I’m going in in any case,??rsula warned them. “So if you have orders to shoot, start right in.?She pushed one of them aside and went into the former classroom, where a group of half-dressed soldiers were oiling their weapons. An officer in a field uniform, ruddy-faced, with very thick glasses and ceremonious manners, signaled to the sentries to withdraw.
“I am the mother of Colonel Aureliano Buendía,??rsula repeated.