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d brought them off without any intermediate exasperation。 If Aureliano Segundo had something of his greatgrandfather in him and lacked something of Colonel Aureliano Buendía； it was an absolute indifference to mockery； and he gave the money to bring the railroad with the same lighthearted air with which he had given it for his brother’s absurd navigation project。 Aureliano Triste consulted the calendar and left the following Wednesday； planning to return after the rains had passed。 There was no more news of him。 Aureliano Centeno； overwhelmed by the abundance of the factory； had already begun to experiment with the production of ice with a base of fruit juices instead of water； and without knowing it or thinking about it； he conceived the essential fundamentals for the invention of sherbet。 In that way he planned to diversify the production of an enterprise he considered his own； because his brother showed no signs of returning after the rains had passed and a whole summer had gone by with no news of him。 At the start of another winter； however； a woman who was washing clothes in the river during the hottest time of the day ran screaming down the main street in an alarming state of motion。
“It’s ing；？she finally explained。 “Something frightful； like a kitchen dragging a village behind it。？
At that moment the town was shaken by a whistle with a fearful echo and a loud； panting respiration。 During the previous weeks they had seen the gangs who were laying ties and tracks and no one paid attention to them because they thought it was some new trick of the gypsies； ing back with whistles and tambourines and their ageold and discredited song and dance about the qualities of some concoction put together by journeyman geniuses of Jerusalem。 But when they recovered from the noise of the whistles and the snorting； all the inhabitants ran out into the street and saw Aureliano Triste waving from the lootive； and in a trance they saw the flowerbedecked train which was arriving for the first time eight months late。 The innocent yellow train that was to bring so many ambiguities and certainties； so many pleasant and unpleasant moments； so many changes； calamities； and feelings of nostalgia to Macondo。
Chapter 12
DAZZLED BY SO MANY and such marvelous inventions； the people of Macondo did not know where their amazement began。 They stayed up all night looking at the pale electric bulbs fed by the plant that Aureliano Triste had brought back when the train made its second trip； and it took time and effort for them to grow accustomed to its obsessive toomtoom。 They be。 came indignant over the living images that the prosperous merchant Bruno Crespi projected in the theater with the lionhead ticket windows； for the character who had died and was buried in one film and for whose misfortune tears of affliction had been shed would reappear alive and transformed into an Arab in the next one。 The audience； who paid two cents apiece to share the difficulties of the actors； would not tolerate that outlandish fraud and they broke up the seats。 The mayor； at the urging of Bruno Crespi； explained in a proclamation that the cinema was a machine of illusions that did not merit the emotional outbursts of the audience。 With that discouraging explanation many felt that they had been the victims of some new and showy gypsy business and they decided not to return to the movies； considering that they already had too many troubles of their own to weep over the actedout misfortunes of imaginary beings。 Something similar happened with the cylinder phonographs that the merry matrons from France brought with them as a substitute for the antiquated hand ans and that for a time had serious effects on the livelihood of the band of musicians。 At first curiosity increased the clientele on the forbidden street and there was even word of respectable ladies who disguised themselves as workers in order to observe the novelty of the phonograph from first hand； but from so much and such close observation they soon reached the conclusion that it was not an enchanted mill as everyone had thought and as the matrons had said； but a mechanical trick that could not be pared with something so moving； so human； and so full of everyday truth as a band of musicians。 It was such a serious disappointment that when phonographs became so popular that there was one in every house they were not considered objects for amusement for adults but as something good for children to take apart。 On the other hand； when someone from the town had the opportunity to test the crude reality of the telephone installed in the railroad station； which was thought to be a rudimentary version of the phonograph because of its crank； even the most incredulous were upset。 It was as if God had decided to put to the test every capacity for surprise and was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between excitement and disappointment； doubt and revelation； to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the limits of reality lay。 It was an intricate stew of truths and mirages that convulsed the ghost of Jos？Arcadio Buendía under the chestnut tree with impatience and made him wander all through the house even in broad daylight。 Ever since the railroad had been officially inaugurated and had begun to arrive with regularity on Wednesdays at eleven o’clock and the primitive wooden station with a desk； a telephone； and a ticket window had been built； on the streets of Macondo men and women were seen who had adopted everyday and normal customs and manners but who really looked like people out of a circus。 In a town that had chafed under the tricks of the gypsies there was no future for those ambulatory acrobats of merce who with equal effrontery offered a whistling kettle and a daily regime that would assure the salvation of the soul on the seventh day； but from those who let themselves be convinced out of fatigue and the ones who were always unwary； they reaped stupendous benefits。 Among those theatrical creatures； wearing riding breeches and leggings； a pith helmet and steelrimmed glasses； with topaz eyes and the skin of a thin rooster； there arrived in Macondo on one of so many Wednesdays the chubby and smiling Mr。 Herbert； who ate at the house。
No one had noticed him at the table until the first bunch of bananas had been eaten。 Aureliano Segundo had e across him by chance as he protested In broken Spanish because there were no rooms at the Hotel Jacob； and as he frequently did with strangers； he took him home。 He was in the captiveballoon business； which had taken him halfway around the world with excellent profits； but he had not succeeded in taking anyone up in Macondo because they considered that invention backward after having seen and tried the gypsies？flying carpets。 He was leaving； therefore； on the next train。 When they brought to the table the tigerstriped bunch of bananas that they were accustomed to hang in the dining room during lunch； he picked the first piece of fruit without great enthusiasm。 But he kept on eating as he spoke； tasting； chewing； more with the distraction of a wise man than with the delight of a good eater； and when he finished the first bunch he asked them to bring him another。 Then he took a small case with optical instruments out of the toolbox that he always carried with him。 With the auspicious attention of a diamond merchant he examined the banana meticulously； dissecting it with a special scalpel； weighing the pieces on a pharmacist’s scale； and calculating its breadth with a gunsmith’s calipers。 Then he took a series of instruments out of the chest with which he measured the temperature； the level of humidity in the atmosphere； and the intensity of the light。 It was such an intriguing ceremony that no one could eat in peace as everybody waited for Mr。 Herbert to pass a final and revealing judgment； but he did not say anything that allowed anyone to guess his intentions。
On the days that followed he was seen with a net and a small basket hunting butterflies on the outskirts of town。 On Wednesday a group of engineers； agronomists； hydrologists； topographers； and surveyors arrived who for several weeks explored the places where Mr。 Herbert ha