One Hundred Years of Solitude

those exchanges would
determine the course of a
flesh-and-blood war, the
perfectly defined outlines of
which told them at any
moment the exact spot -where
it was and the prediction of
its future direction. Although
he never let himself be pulled
into the area of confidences,
not even by his closest
friends, Colonel Aureliano
Buendía still had at that time
the familiar tone that made it