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diff --git a/23144.txt b/23144.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b565e89 --- /dev/null +++ b/23144.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18277 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The War Trail, by Mayne Reid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The War Trail + The Hunt of the Wild Horse + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: October 21, 2007 [EBook #23144] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The War Trail, The Hunt of the Wild Horse, by Captain Mayne Reid. + +________________________________________________________________________ +This book, along with several other of this author's, occupies an +important position in the history of English literature, for it was one +of the first to deal with the Wild West. The events take place shortly +after the Mexican War of the late 1840s. The Mexicans themselves have +been conquered, but now it is necessary to protect them from a further +enemy, one who would war with both Americans and Mexicans--the Comanche +Indians. The troop of rangers consists of many kinds of men, of Scots, +Irish, English, German, Swiss, Polish descent, and many others. Some of +these take major roles in this story, and their words are reported just +as they would have been said. + +Numerous extremely difficult situations are encountered, and it is often +the woodcraft and ingenuity of these men that gets them out of them, +sometimes in extremely (for you and me) unexpected ways. This results +in a series of tense incidents, and, though the literary style is a bit +unusual, they are very gripping. + +Many books by this author were published in the second half of the +nineteenth century, and some of them were printed with rather damaged +type. The copy of this book that we worked from was one of these, so +there may well be a very few typos left, for which we apologise. + +________________________________________________________________________ +THE WAR TRAIL, THE HUNT OF THE WILD HORSE, BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +SOUVENIRS. + +Land of the nopal and maguey--home of Moctezuma and Malinche!--I cannot +wring thy memories from my heart! Years may roll on, hand wax weak, and +heart grow old, but never till both are cold can I forget thee! I +_would_ not; for thee would I remember. Not for all the world would I +bathe my soul in the waters of Lethe. Blessed be memory for thy sake! + +Bright land of Anahuac! my spirit mounts upon the aerial wings of Fancy, +and once more I stand upon thy shores! Over thy broad savannahs I spur +my noble steed, whose joyous neigh tells that he too is inspired by the +scene. I rest under the shade of the _corozo_ palm, and quaff the wine +of the _acrocomia_. I climb thy mountains of amygdaloid and porphyry-- +thy crags of quartz, that yield the white silver and the yellow gold. I +cross thy fields of lava, rugged in outline, and yet more rugged with +their coverture of strange vegetable forms--acacias and cactus, yuccas +and zamias. I traverse thy table-plains through bristling rows of giant +aloes, whose sparkling juice cheers me on my path. I stand upon the +limits of eternal snow, crushing the Alpine lichen under my heel; while +down in the deep barranca, far down below, I behold the feathery fronds +of the palm, the wax-like foliage of the orange, the broad shining +leaves of the pothos, of arums, and bananas! O that I could again look +with living eye on these bright pictures, that even thus palely outlined +upon the retina of memory, impart pleasure to my soul! + +Land of Moctezuma! I have other souvenirs of thee, more deeply graven +on my memory than these pictures of peace. Thou recallest scenes of +war. I traversed thy fields a foeman--sword in hand--and now, after +years gone by, many a wild scene of soldier-life springs up before me +with all the vividness of reality. + +_The Bivouac_!--I sit by the night camp-fire; around are warlike forms +and bearded faces. The blazing log reflects the sheen of arms and +accoutrements--saddles, rifles, pistols, canteens, strewing the ground, +or hanging from the branches of adjacent trees. Picketed steeds loom +large in the darkness, their forms dimly outlined against the sombre +background of the forest. A solitary palm stands near, its curving +fronds looking hoary under the fire-light. The same light gleams upon +the fluted columns of the great organ-cactus, upon agaves and bromelias, +upon the silvery _tillandsia_, that drapes the tall trees as with a +toga. + +The wild tale is told--the song is sung--the jest goes round--the hoarse +peal echoes through the aisles of the forest, frighting the parrot on +its perch, and the wolf upon his prowl. Little reck they who sing, and +jest, and laugh--little reck they of the morrow. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +_The Skirmish_!--Morning breaks. The fragrant forest is silent, and the +white blue light is just tinging the treetops. A shot rings upon the +air: it is the warning-gun of the picket-sentinel, who comes galloping +in upon the guard. The enemy approaches! `To horse!' the bugle thrills +in clear loud notes. The slumberers spring to their feet--they seize +their rifles, pistols, and sabres, and dash through the smouldering +fires till ashes cloud the air. The steeds snort and neigh; in a trice +they are saddled, bridled, and mounted; and away sweeps the troop along +the forest road. + +The enemy is in sight--a band of _guerilleros_, in all their +picturesqueness of _manga_ and _serape_--of scarlet, purple, and gold. +Lances, with shining points and streaming pennons, o'ertop the trees. + +The bugle sounds the charge; its notes are drowned by the charging +cheer. We meet our swarthy foemen face to face; spear-thrusts are +answered by pistol-shots; our sabres cross and clink, but our snorting +steeds rear back, and will not let us kill each other. We wheel and +meet again, with deadlier aim, and more determined arm; we strike +without remorse--we strike for freedom! + +_The Battle-field_!--The serried columns and the bristling guns--the +roar of cannon and the roll of drums--the bugle's wildest notes, the +cheer, the charge--the struggle hand to hand--the falling foeman and his +dying groan--the rout, retreat, the hoarse huzza for victory! I well +remember, but I cannot paint them. + +Land of Anahuac! thou recallest other scenes, far different from these-- +scenes of tender love or stormy passion. The strife is o'er--the +war-drum has ceased to beat, and the bugle to bray; the steed stands +chafing in his stall, and the conqueror dallies in the halls of the +conquered. Love is now the victor, and the stern soldier, himself +subdued, is transformed into a suing lover. In gilded hall or garden +bower, behold him on bended knee, whispering his soft tale in the ear of +some dark-eyed _dongella_, Andalusian or Aztec! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Lovely land! In truth have I sweet memories of thee; for who could +traverse thy fields without beholding some fair flower, ever after to be +borne upon his bosom! And yet, not all my souvenirs are glad. Pleasant +and painful, sweet and sad, they thrill my heart with alternate throes. +But the sad emotions have been tempered by time, and the glad ones, at +each returning tide, seem tinged with brighter glow. In thy bowers, as +elsewhere, roses must be plucked from thorns; but in memory's mellowed +light I see not the thorns--I behold only the bright and beautiful +roses. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +A MEXICAN FRONTIER VILLAGE. + +A Mexican _pueblita_ on the banks of the Rio Bravo del Norte--a mere +_rancheria_, or hamlet. The quaint old church of Morisco-Italian style, +with its cupola of motley japan, the residence of the _cura_, and the +house of the _alcalde_, are the only stone structures in the place. +These constitute three sides of the piazza, a somewhat spacious square. +The remaining side is taken up with shops or dwellings of the common +people. They are built of large unburnt bricks (_adobes_), some of them +washed with lime, others gaudily coloured like the proscenium of a +theatre, but most of them uniform in their muddy and forbidding brown. +All have heavy jail-like doors, and windows without glass or sash. The +_reja_ of iron bars, set vertically, opposes the burglar, not the +weather. + +From the four corners of the piazza, narrow, unpaved, dusty lanes lead +off to the country, for some distance bordered on both sides by the +adobe houses. Still farther out, on the skirts of the village, and +sparsely placed, are dwellings of frailer build, but more picturesque +appearance; they are _ridge-roofed_ structures, of the split trunks of +that gigantic lily, the arborescent yucca. Its branches form the +rafters, its tough fibrous leaves the thatch. In these _ranchitos_ +dwell the poor peons, the descendants of the conquered race. + +The stone dwellings, and those of mud likewise, are _flat-roofed_, tiled +or cemented--sometimes tastefully japanned--with a parapet breast-high +running round the edge. This flat roof is the _azotea_, characteristic +of Mexican architecture. + +When the sun is low and the evening cool, the azotea is a pleasant +lounging-place, especially when the proprietor of the house has a taste +for flowers; then it is converted into an aerial garden, and displays +the rich flora for which the picture-land of Mexico is justly +celebrated. It is just the place to enjoy a cigar, a glass of _pinole_, +or, if you prefer it, _Catalan_. The smoke is wafted away, and the open +air gives a relish to the beverage. Besides, your eye is feasted; you +enjoy the privacy of a drawing-room, while you command what is passing +in the street. The slight parapet gives security, while hindering a too +free view from below; you see, without being seen. The world moves on, +busied with earthly affairs, and does not think of looking up. + +I stand upon such an azotea: it is that over the house of the alcalde; +and his being the tallest roof in the village, I command a view of all +the others. I can see beyond them all, and note the prominent features +of the surrounding country. My eye wanders with delight over the deep +rich verdure of its tropic vegetation; I can even distinguish its more +characteristic forms--the cactus, the yucca, and the agave. I observe +that the village is girdled by a belt of open ground--cultivated +fields--where the maize waves its silken tassels in the breeze, +contrasting with the darker leaves of the capsicums and bean-plants +(frijoles). This open ground is of limited extent. The _chapparal_, +with its thorny thicket of acacias, mimosae, ingas, and robinias--a +perfect maze of leguminous trees--hems it in; and so near is the verge +of this jungle, that I can distinguish its undergrowth of stemless +_sabal_ palms and bromelias--the sun-scorched and scarlet leaves of the +_pita_ plant shining in the distance like lists of fire. + +This propinquity of the forest to the little pueblita bespeaks the +indolence of the inhabitants; perhaps not. It must be remembered that +these people are not agriculturists, but _vaqueros_ (herdsmen); and that +the glades and openings of that thick chapparal are speckled with herds +of fierce Spanish cattle, and droves of small sharp-eared Andalusian +horses, of the race of the Barb. The fact of so little cultivation does +not abnegate the existence of industry on the part of the villagers. +Grazing is their occupation, not farming; only a little of the latter to +give them maize for their _tortillas_, chile to season it with, and +black beans to complete the repast. These three, with the half-wild +beef of their wide pastures, constitute the staple of food throughout +all Mexico. For drink, the denizen of the high table-land find his +favourite beverage--the rival of champagne--in the core of the gigantic +aloe; while he of the tropic coast-land refreshes himself from the juice +of another native endogen, the acrocomia palm. + +Favoured land! Ceres loves thee, and Bacchus too. To thy fields both +the god and the goddess have been freely bounteous. Food and drink may +be had from them on easy terms. Alas! as in all other lands--one only +excepted--Nature's divine views have been thwarted, her aim set aside, +by the malignity of man. As over the broad world the blight of the +despot is upon thy beauty. + +Why are these people crowded together--hived, as it were, in towns and +villages? Herdsmen--one would expect to find them scattered by reason +of their occupation. Besides, a sky continually bright, a genial clime, +a picturesqueness of scene--all seem to invite to rural life; and yet I +have ridden for hours, a succession of lovely landscapes rising before +my eyes, all of them wild, wanting in that one feature which makes the +rural picture perfect--the house, the dwelling of man! Towns there are; +and at long intervals the huge _hacienda_ of the landed lord, walled in +like a fortress; but where are the _ranchos_, the homes of the common +people? True, I have noticed the ruins of many, and that explains the +puzzle. I remember, now that I am on the _frontier_: that for years +past the banks of the Rio Bravo, from its source to the sea, have been +hostile ground--a war-border of fifteen hundred miles in length! Many a +red conflict has occurred--is still occurring--between those Arabs of +the American desert--the _Horse_ Indians--and the pale-faced descendants +of the Spaniard. That is why the ranchos exist only in ruins--that is +why the haciendas are loopholed, and the populace pent up within walls. +The condition of feudal Europe exists in free America, on the banks of +the Rio Bravo del Norte! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Nearly a mile off, looking westward, I perceive the sheen of water: it +is a reach of the great river that glances under the setting sun. The +river curves at that point; and the summit of a gentle hill, half +girdled by the stream, is crowned by the low white walls of a hacienda. +Though only one story high, this hacienda appears, from its extent, and +the style of its architecture, to be a noble mansion. Like all of its +class, it is flat-roofed; but the parapet is crenated, and small +ornamental turrets over the angles and the great gateway relieve the +monotony of its outlines. A larger tower, the belfry of a chapel, +appears in the background, the Mexican hacienda is usually provided with +its little _capilla_, for the convenient worship of the peon retainers. +The emblems of religion, such as it is, are thick over the land. The +glimmer of glass behind the iron rejas relieves to some extent the +prison-like aspect, so characteristic of Mexican country-houses. This +is further modified by the appearance over the parapet of green foliage. +Forms of tropic vegetation show above the wall; among others, the +graceful curving fronds of a palm. This must be an exotic, for although +the lower half of the Rio Bravo is within the zone of the palms, the +species that grow so far north are fan-palms (_chamaerops_ and _sabal_). +This one is of far different form, with plume-shaped pinnate fronds, of +the character of _cocos_, _phoenix_, or _euterpe_. I note the fact, not +from any botanical curiosity with which it inspires me, but rather +because the presence of this exotic palm has a significance. It +illustrates a point in the character of him--it may be _her_--who is the +presiding spirit of the place. No doubt there is a fair garden upon the +azotea--perhaps a fair being among its flowers! Pleasant thoughts +spring up--anticipations. I long to climb that sloping hill, to enter +that splendid mansion, and, longing still, I gaze. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The ring of a bugle startles me from this pleasant reverie. 'Tis only a +stable-call; but it has driven sweet reflections out of my mind, and my +eyes are turned away from the bright mansion, and rest upon the piazza +of the pueblita. There, a far different scene greets their glance. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE RANGERS ON PICKET. + +The centre of the piazza presents a salient point in the picture. There +the well (_el poso_), with its gigantic wheel, its huge leathern belt +and buckets, its trough of cemented stone-work, offers an Oriental +aspect. Verily, it is the Persian wheel! 'Tis odd to a northern eye to +find such a structure in this Western land; but the explanation is easy. +The Persian wheel has travelled from Egypt along the southern shores of +the Mediterranean. With the Moors it crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, +and the Spaniard has carried it over the Atlantic. The reader of the +sacred volume will find many a familiar passage illustrated in the +customs of Mexico. The genius of the Arab has shaped many a thought for +the brain of the Aztec! + +My eye rests not long upon the well, but turns to gaze on the scene of +active life that is passing near and around it. Forms, and varied ones, +I trow, are moving there. + +Gliding with silent step and dubious look--his wide _calzoneros_ +flapping around his ankles, his arms and shoulders shrouded in the +mottled serape, his black broad-brimmed hat darkening still more his +swarth face--goes the _poblano_, the denizen of the adobe hut. He shuns +the centre of the piazza, keeping around the walls; but at intervals his +eyes are turned towards the well with a look of mingled fierceness and +fear. He reaches a doorway--it is silently opened by a hand within--he +enters quickly, and seems glad to get out of sight. A little +afterwards, I can catch a glimpse of his sombre face dimly visible +behind the bars of the reja. + +At distant corners, I descry small groups of his class, all similarly +costumed in calzoneros, striped blankets, and glaze hats; all, like him, +wearing uneasy looks. They gesticulate little, contrary to their usual +habit, and converse only in whispers or low mutterings. Unusual +circumstances surround them. + +Most of the women are within doors; a few of the poorer class--of pure +Indian race--are seated in the piazza. They are hucksters, and their +wares are spread before them on a thin palm-leaf mat (_petate_), while +another similar one, supported umbrella-like on a stem, screens them and +their merchandise from the sun. Their dyed woollen garments, their bare +heads, their coarse black hair, adorned with twists of scarlet worsted, +impart to them somewhat of a gipsy look. They appear as free of care as +the zingali themselves: they laugh, and chatter, and show their white +teeth all day long, asking each new-comer to purchase their fruits and +vegetables, their _pinole_, _atole_, and _agua dulce_. Their not +unmusical voices ring pleasantly upon the ear. + +Now and then a young girl, with red _olla_ poised upon her crown, trips +lightly across the piazza in the direction of the well. Perhaps she is +a _poblana_--one of the belles of the village--in short-skirted, +bright-coloured petticoat, embroidered but sleeveless chemisette, with +small satin slippers upon her feet; head, shoulders, and bosom, shrouded +in the blue-grey _reboso_; arms and ankles bare. Several of these may +be seen passing to and fro. They appear less uneasy than the men; they +even smile at intervals, and reply to the rude badinage uttered in an +unknown tongue by the odd-looking strangers around the well. The +Mexican women are courageous as they are amiable. As a race, their +beauty is undeniable. + +But who are these strangers? They do not belong to the place, that is +evident; and equally so that they are objects of terror to those who do. +At present they are masters here. Their numbers, their proud confident +swagger, and the bold loud tone of their conversation, attest that they +are masters of the ground. Who are they? + +Odd-looking, I have styled them; and the phrase is to be taken in its +full significance. A more odd-looking set of fellows never mustered in +a Mexican piazza, nor elsewhere. There are fourscore of them; and but +that each carries a yager rifle in his hand, a knife in his belt, and a +Colt's pistol on his thigh, you could not discover the slightest point +of resemblance between any two of them. Their arms are the only things +about them denoting _uniformity_, and some sort of organisation; for the +rest, they are as unlike one another as the various shapes and hues of +coarse broadcloth, woollen jeans, cottonades, coloured blankets, and +buckskin, can make them. They wear caps of 'coon-skin, and cat's-skin, +and squirrel; hats of beaver, and felt, and glaze, of wool and palmetto, +of every imaginable shape and slouch. Even of the modern monster--the +silken "tile"--samples might be seen, _badly crushed_. There are coats +of broadcloth, few in number, and well worn; but many are the garments +of "Kentucky jeans" of bluish-grey, of copper-coloured nigger cloth, and +sky-coloured cottonade. Some wear coats made of green blankets, others +of blue ones, and some of a scarlet red. There are hunting-shirts of +dressed deerskin, with plaited skirt, and cape, fringed and jauntily +adorned with beads and embroidery--the favourite style of the backwoods +hunter, but others there are of true Indian cut--open only at the +throat, and hanging loose, or fastened around the waist with a belt--the +same that secures the knife and pistol. There are cloth jackets too, +such as are worn by sailors, and others of sky-blue cottonade--the +costume of the Creole of Louisiana; some of red-brown leather--the +_jaqueta_ of the Spano-American; and still another fashion, the +close-fitting embroidered "spencer" of the Mexican ranchero. Some +shoulders are covered by serapes, and some by the more graceful and +toga-like manga. Look lower down: examine the limbs of the men of this +motley band: the covering of these is not less varied than their upper +garments. You see wrappers of coarse cloth, of flannel, and of baize: +they are blue, and scarlet, and green. You see leggings of raw hide and +of buckskin; boots of horse-leather reaching to the thighs; "nigger +boots" of still coarser fabric, with the pantaloons tucked under +_brogans_ of unstained calf-skin, and moccasins of varied cut, +betokening the fashion of more than one Indian tribe. You may see limbs +encased in calzoneros, and others in the heavy stamped leather _botas_ +of the Mexican horseman, resembling the greaves of warriors of the olden +time. + +The heels of all are armed, though their armature is as varied as the +costumes. There are spurs of silver and steel, some plated, and some +with the plating worn off; some strapped, and others screwed into the +heel of the boot; some light, with small rowels and tiny teeth, while +others are seen (the heavy spur of Mexico) of several pounds' weight, +with rowels five inches in diameter, and teeth that might be dashed +through the ribs of a horse!--cruel weapons of the Mexican _cavallero_. + +But these spurs in the piazza, these botas and calzoneros, these mangas +and serapes, are not worn by _Mexicans_. Their present wearers are men +of a different race. Most of those tall stalwart bodies are the product +of the maize-plant of Kentucky and Tennessee, or the buckwheat and +"hog-meat" of the fertile flats of Ohio, Indiana, and the Illinois. +They are the squatters and hunters of the backwoods, the farmers of the +great western slopes of the Alleghanies, the boatmen of the Mississippi, +the pioneers of Arkansas and Missouri, the trappers of prairie-land, the +_voyageurs_ of the lake-country, the young planters of the lower states, +the French Creoles of Louisiana, the adventurous settlers of Texas, with +here and there a gay city spark from the larger towns of the "great +west." Yes, and from other sources are individuals of that mixed band. +I recognise the Teutonic type--the fair hair and whitish-yellow +moustache of the German, the florid Englishman, the staid Scot, and his +contrast the noisy Hibernian; both equally brave. I behold the adroit +and nimble Frenchman, full of laugh and chatter, the stanch soldierly +Swiss, and the moustached exile of Poland, dark, sombre, and silent. +What a study for an ethnologist is that band of odd-looking men! Who +are they? + +You have thrice asked the question. I answer it. They are a corps of +"Rangers"--_the guerilla of the American army_. + +And who am I? I am their captain--their chief. + +Yes, I am the leader of that queer crew; and, despite their rough motley +aspect, I dare affirm, that not in Europe, not in America elsewhere, not +upon the great globe's surface, can be found a band, of like numbers, to +equal them in strength, daring, and warlike intelligence. Many of them +have spent half a life in the sharpening practice of border warfare-- +Indian or Mexican--and from these the others have learnt. Some have +been gentlemen upon whom fortune has frowned; a few have been +desperadoes within the pale of civilised life; and a smaller few, +perhaps, _outlaws_ beyond it--bad materials wherewith to _colonise_; not +so bad, if you go but to _conquer_. + +Rude as is the _coup d'oeil_ of the corps, I am proud to say that a high +sentiment of honour pervades it--higher than will be found in the picked +_corps de garde_ of an emperor. True, they appear rough and reckless-- +terrible, I might say; for most of them--with their long beards and +hair, dust-begrimed faces, slouched hats, and odd habiliments, belted as +they are with knife, pistol, powder-horn, and pouch--present such an +aspect. + +But you would wrong them to take them as they look. Few among them are +the pure bandits whose aim is plunder. Many a noble heart beats beneath +a rude exterior--many a one truly humane. There are hearts in that band +that throb under the influence of patriotism; some are guided by a still +nobler impulse, a desire to extend the area of freedom: others, it is +true, yearn but for revenge. These last are chiefly Texans, who mourn a +friend or brother slain by Mexican treachery. They have not forgotten +the cowardly assassination of Goliad; they remember the red butchery of +the Alamo. + +Perhaps I alone, of all the band, have no motive for being here; if one, +'tis slight--scarce so noble as vengeance. Mere chance, the love of +excitement and adventure, perhaps some weak fondness for power and fame, +are all the excuses I can urge for taking a hand in this affair. A poor +adventurer--without friends, without home, without country, for my +native land is no more a nation--my heart is not cheered by a single +throb of patriotism. I have no private wrong to redress, no public +cause, no country for which to combat. + +During intervals of inaction, these thoughts recur to me, and give me +pain. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The men have picketed their horses in the church enclosure; some are +tied to trees, and others to the reja-bars of the windows: like their +riders, a motley group, various in size, colour, and race. The strong +high-mettled steed of Kentucky and Tennessee, the light "pacer" of +Louisiana, the cob, the barb, his descendant the "mustang," that but a +few weeks ago was running wild upon the prairies, may all be seen in the +troop. Mules, also, of two distinct races--the large gaunt mule of +North America, and the smaller and more sprightly variety, native of the +soil. + +My own black steed, with his pretty fern-coloured muzzle, stands near +the fountain in the centre of the piazza. My eye wanders with a sort of +habitual delight over the oval outlines of his body. How proudly he +curves his swan like neck, and with mock anger paws up the dust! He +knows that my eyes are upon him. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +We have been scarcely an hour in the rancheria; we are perfect strangers +to it: we are the first American troop its people have yet seen-- +although the war has been going on for some months farther down the +river. We have been despatched upon scouting duty, with orders to scour +the surrounding country as far as it is safe. The object in sending us +hither is not so much to guard against a surprise from our Mexican foe, +who is not upon this side, but to guard _them_, the Mexicans, from +another enemy--an enemy of _both of us_--the Comanche! These Indian +Ishmaelites, report says, are upon the "_war-trail_" and have quite an +army in the field. It is said they are foraging higher up the river, +where they have it all to themselves, and have just pillaged a +settlement in that direction--butchered the men, as is their wont, and +carried off the women, children, and chattels. We came hither to +conquer the Mexicans, but we must _protect_ while _conquering_ them! +_Cosas de Mexico_! + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +MAKING A CAPTIVE. + +I was musing upon the singular character of this _triangular_ war, when +my reverie was disturbed by the hoof strokes of a horse. The sounds +came from a distance, outside the village; the strokes were those of a +horse at full gallop. + +I stepped hastily across the azotea, and looked over the parapet, in +hopes of obtaining a view of this rapid rider. I was not disappointed-- +as I neared the wall, the road and the rider came full under my eyes. + +In the latter, I beheld a picturesque object. He appeared to be a very +young man--a mere youth, without beard or moustache, but of singularly +handsome features. The complexion was dark, almost brown; but even at +the distance of two hundred yards, I could perceive the flash of a noble +eye, and note a damask redness upon his cheeks. His shoulders were +covered with a scarlet manga, that draped backward over the hips of his +horse; and upon his head he wore a light sombrero, laced, banded, and +tasselled with bullion of gold. The horse was a small but finely +proportioned mustang--spotted like a jaguar upon a ground colour of +cream--a true Andalusian. + +The horseman was advancing at a gallop, without fear of the ground +before him: by chance, his eyes were raised to the level of the azotea, +on which I stood; my uniform, and the sparkle of my accoutrements, +caught his glance; and quick as thought, as if by an involuntary +movement, he reined up his mustang, until its ample tail lay clustered +upon the dust of the road. It was then that I noted the singular +appearance of both horse and rider. + +Just at that moment, the ranger, who held picket on that side of the +village, sprang forth from his hiding-place, and challenged the horseman +to halt. The challenge was unheeded. Another jerk of the rein spun the +mustang round, as upon a pivot; and the next instant, impelled by the +spur, the animal resumed his gallop. He did not return by the road, but +shot off in a new direction, nearly at right angles to his former +course. A rifle-bullet would have followed, and most likely have +stopped the career of either horse or rider, had not I, just in the +"nick" of time, shouted to the sentry to hold his fire. + +A reflection had occurred to me; the game was too noble, too beautiful, +to be butchered by a bullet; it was worth a chase and a capture. + +My horse was by the water-trough. I had noticed that he was not yet +unsaddled, and the bridle was still on. He had been warmed by the +morning's scout; and I had ordered my negro groom to walk him round for +an hour or so before letting him at the water. + +I did not wait to descend by the _escalera_; I sprang upon the parapet, +and from that into the piazza. The groom, perceiving my intention, met +me half-way with the horse. + +I seized the reins, and bounded into the saddle. Several of the +readiest of the rangers followed my example; and as I galloped down the +lane that led out of the rancheria, I could tell by the clattering of +hoofs that half-a-dozen of them were at my heels. I cared not much for +that, for surely I was a match for the stripling we meant to chase. I +knew, moreover, that speed at the moment was of more importance than +strength; and that if the spotted horse possessed as much "bottom" as he +evidently did "heels," his rider and I would have it to ourselves in the +end. I knew that all the horses of my troop were less swift than my +own; and from the half-dozen springs I had witnessed on the part of the +mustang, I felt satisfied that it remained only for me to overhaul him. + +My springing down from the roof and up into the saddle had occupied +scarcely two minutes' time; and in two more, I had cleared the houses, +and was scouring across the fields after the scarlet horseman. He was +evidently making to get round the village, and continue the journey our +presence had so suddenly interrupted. + +The chase led through a field of _milpas_. My horse sank deeply in the +loose earth, while the lighter mustang bounded over it like a hare. He +was distancing me, and I began to fear I should lose him, when all at +once I saw that his course was intercepted by a list of magueys, running +transversely right and left. The plants were of luxuriant growth, eight +or ten feet high, and placed alternately, so that their huge +hooked blades interlocked with each other, forming a natural +_chevaux-de-frise_. + +This barrier at first glance seemed impassable for either man or horse. +It brought the Mexican to a halt. He was turning to skirt it, when he +perceived that I had leaned into the diagonal line, and could not fail +to head him. With a quick wrench upon the rein, he once more wheeled +round, set his horse against the magueys, plied the spur, and dashed +right into their midst. In a moment, both horse and rider were out of +sight; but as I spurred up to the spot, I could hear the thick blades +crackle under the hoofs of the mustang. + +There was no time for reflection. I must either follow, or abandon the +pursuit. The alternative was not thought of. I was on my honour, my +steed upon his mettle; and without halt we went plunging through the +magueys. + +Torn and bleeding, we came out on the opposite side; and I perceived, to +my satisfaction, that I had made better time than the red rider before +me; his halt had lessened the distance between us. + +But another field of milpas had to be passed, and he was again gaining +upon me, as we galloped over the heavy ground. + +When nearly through the field, I perceived something glancing before us: +it was water--a wide drain or ditch, a _zequia_ for irrigating the +field. Like the magueys, it ran transversely to our course. + +"That will stop him," thought I; "he must take to the right or left, and +then--" + +My thoughts were interrupted. Instead of turning either to right or +left, the Mexican headed his horse at the zequia, and the noble creature +rushing forward, rose like a bird upon the wing, and cleared the canal! + +I had no time to expend in admiring the feat; I hastened to imitate it, +and galloping forward, I set myself for the leap. My brave steed needed +neither whip nor spur; he had seen the other leap the zequia, and he +knew what was expected of him. With a bound he went over, clearing the +drain by several feet; and then, as if resolved upon bringing the affair +to an end, he laid his head forward, and stretched himself at +race-course speed. + +A broad grassy plain--a savannah--lay before us, and the hoofs of both +horses, pursuer and pursued, now rang upon hard firm turf. The rest of +the chase would have been a simple trial of speed, and I made sure of +overhauling the mustang before he could reach the opposite side, when a +new obstacle presented itself. A vast herd of cattle and horses studded +the savannah throughout its whole extent; these, startled by our wild +gallop, tossed their heads, and ran affrighted in every direction, but +frequently as otherwise, directly in our way. More than once I was +forced to rein in, to save my neck or my horse's from being broken over +a fierce bull or a long-horned lumbering ox; and more than once I was +compelled to swerve from my course. + +What vexed me most, was that in this zigzag race, the mustang, from +practice perhaps, had the advantage; and while it continued, he +increased his distance. + +We cleared the drove at length; but to my chagrin I perceived that we +were nearly across the plain. As I glanced ahead, I saw the chapparal +near, with taller trees rising over it; beyond, I saw the swell of a +hill, with white walls upon its summit. It was the hacienda already +mentioned: we were riding directly towards it. + +I was growing anxious about the result. Should the horseman reach the +thicket, I would be almost certain to lose him. _I dared not let him +escape_. What would my men say, if I went back without him? I had +hindered the sentry from firing, and permitted to escape, perhaps a spy, +perhaps some important personage. His desperate efforts to get off +favoured the supposition that he was one or the other. _He must be +taken_! + +Under fresh impulse, derived from these reflections, I lanced the flanks +of my horse more deeply than ever. Moro seemed to divine my thoughts, +and stretched himself to his utmost. There were no more cattle, not an +obstacle, and his superior speed soon lessened the distance between +himself and the mustang. Ten seconds more would do it. + +The ten seconds flew by. I felt myself within shooting distance; I drew +my pistol from its holster. + +"_Alto! o yo tiro_" (Halt! or I fire), I cried aloud. + +There was no reply: the mustang kept on! + +"Halt!" I cried again, unwilling to take the life of a +fellow-creature--"halt! or you are a dead man!" + +No reply again! + +There were not six yards between myself and the Mexican horseman. +Riding straight behind him, I could have sent a bullet into his back. +Some secret instinct restrained me; it was partly, though not +altogether, a feeling of admiration: there was an indefinable idea in my +mind at the moment. My finger rested on the trigger, and I could not +draw it. + +"He must not escape! He is nearing the trees! He must not be allowed +to enter the thicket; I must cripple the horse." + +I looked for a place to aim at--his hips were towards me--should I hit +him there he might still get off. Where should I aim? + +At this moment the animal wheeled, as if guided by his own impulse-- +perhaps by the knees of his rider--and shot off in a new direction. The +object of this manoeuvre was to throw me out of the track. So far it +was successful; but it gave me just the opportunity to aim as I wanted; +as it brought the mustang's side towards me; and levelling my pistol, I +sent a bullet through his kidneys. A single plunge forward was his +last, and both horse and rider came to the ground. + +In an instant the latter had disengaged himself from his struggling +steed, and stood upon his feet. Fearing that he might still endeavour +to escape to the cover of the thicket, I spurred forward, pistol in +hand, and pointed the weapon at his head. But he made no attempt either +at further flight or resistance. On the contrary, he stood with folded +arms, fronting the levelled tube, and, looking me full in the face, said +with an air of perfect coolness-- + +"_No matame, amigo! Soy muger_!" (Do not kill me, friend! I am a +woman!) + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +MY CAPTIVE. + +"_Do not kill me, friend! I am a woman_!" + +This declaration scarcely astonished me; I was half prepared for it. +During our wild gallop, I had noticed one or two circumstances which led +me to suspect that the spy I pursued was a female. As the mustang +sprung over the zequia, the flowing skirt of the manga was puffed +upward, and hung for some moments spread out in the air. A velvet +bodice beneath, a tunic-like skirt, the _tournure_ of the form, all +impressed me as singular for a cavallero, however rich and young. The +limbs I could not see, as the goat-skin _armas-de-agua_ were drawn over +them; but I caught a glimpse of a gold spur, and a heel of a tiny red +boot to which it was attached. The clubbed hair, too, loosened by the +violent motion, had fallen backward, and in two thick plaits, slightly +dishevelled, rested upon the croup of the horse. A young Indian's might +have been equally as long, but _his_ tresses would have been jet-black +and coarse-grained, whereas those under my eyes were soft, silky, and +nut-brown. Neither the style of riding--_a la Duchesse de Berri_--nor +the manlike costume of manga and hat, were averse to the idea that the +rider was a woman. Both the style and costume are common to the +_rancheras_ of Mexico. Moreover, as the mustang made his last double, I +had caught a near view of the side face of the rider. The features of +no man--not of the Trojan shepherd, not of Adonis or Endymion--were so +exquisitely chiselled as they. Certainly a woman! Her declaration at +once put an end to my conjectures, but, as I have said, did not astonish +me. + +I _was_ astonished, however, by its tone and manner. Instead of being +uttered in accents of alarm, it was pronounced as coolly as if the whole +thing had been a jest! Sadness, not supplication, was the prevailing +tone, which was further carried out as she knelt to the ground, pressed +her lips to the muzzle of the still breathing mustang, and exclaimed-- + +"_Ay-de-mi! pobre yegua! muerte! muerte_!" (Alas me! poor mare! dead! +dead!) + +"A woman?" said I, feigning astonishment. My interrogatory was +unheeded; she did not even look up. + +"_Ay-de-mi! pobre yegua! Lola, Lolita_!" she repeated, as coolly as if +the dead mustang was the only object of her thoughts, and I, the armed +assassin, fifty miles from the spot! "A woman?" I again ejaculated--in +my embarrassment scarcely knowing what to say. + +"_Si, senor; nada mas_--_que quiere V.?_" (Yes, sir nothing more--what +do you want?) + +As she made this reply, she rose to her feet, and stood confronting me +without the slightest semblance of fear. So unexpected was the answer, +both in tone and sentiment, that for the life of me I could not help +breaking into a laugh. + +"You are merry, sir. You have made _me_ sad; you have killed my +favourite!" + +I shall not easily forget the look that accompanied these words--sorrow, +anger, contempt, defiance, were expressed in one and the same glance. +My laughter was suddenly checked; I felt humiliated in that proud +presence. + +"Senorita," I replied, "I deeply regret the necessity I have been under: +it might have been worse--" + +"And how, pray?--how worse?" demanded she, interrupting me. + +"My pistol might have been aimed at _yourself_, but for a suspicion--" + +"_Carrambo_!" cried she, again interrupting me, "it could not have been +worse! I loved that creature dearly--dearly as I do my life--_as I love +my father_--_pobre yegua_--_yeguita_--_ita_--_ita_!" + +And as she thus wildly expressed herself, she bent down, passed her arms +around the neck of the mustang, and once more pressed her lips to its +velvet muzzle. Then gently closing its eyelids, she rose to an erect +attitude, and stood with folded arms, regarding the lifeless form with a +sad and bitter expression of countenance. + +I scarcely knew what to do. I was in a dilemma with my fair captive. I +would have given a month of my "payroll" to have restored the spotted +mustang to life; but as that was out of the question, I bethought me of +some means of making restitution to its owner. An offer of money would +not be delicate. What then? + +A thought occurred to me, that promised to relieve me from my +embarrassment. The eagerness of the rich Mexicans to obtain our large +American horses--_frisones_, as they term them--was well known +throughout the army. Fabulous prices were often paid for them by these +_ricos_, who wanted them for display upon the _Paseo_. We had many good +half-bred bloods in the troop; one of these, thought I, might be +acceptable even to a lady who had lost her pet. + +I made the offer as delicately as I could. It was rejected with scorn! + +"What, senor!" cried she, striking the ground with her foot till the +rowels rang--"what? A horse to me?--_Mira_!" she continued, pointing to +the plain: "look there, sir! There are a thousand horses; they are +mine. Now, know the value of your offer. Do I stand in need of a +horse?" + +"But, senorita," stammered I apologisingly, "these are horses of native +race. The one I propose to--" + +"Bah!" she exclaimed, interrupting me, and pointing to the mustang; "I +would not have exchanged _that native_ for all the frisones in your +troop. Not one of them was its equal!" + +A personal slight would not have called forth a contradiction; yet this +defiance had that effect. She had touched the chord of my vanity--I +might almost say, of my affection. With some pique I replied-- + +"_One_, senorita?" + +I looked towards Moro as I spoke. Her eyes followed mine, and she stood +for some moments gazing at him in silence. I watched the expression of +her eye; I saw it kindle into admiration as it swept over the gracefully +curving outlines of my noble steed. He looked at the moment superb; the +short skurry had drawn the foam from his lips, and flakes of it clung +against his neck and counter, contrasting finely with the shining black +of his skin; his sides heaved and fell in regular undulations, and the +smoke issued from his blood-red nostrils; his eye was still on fire, and +his neck proudly arched, as though conscious of his late triumph, and +the interest he was now exciting. + +For a long while she stood gazing upon him, and though she spoke not a +word, I saw that she recognised his fine points. + +"You are right, cavallero," she said at length, and thoughtfully; "he +_is_." + +Just then a series of reflections were passing through my mind, that +rendered me extremely uncomfortable; and I felt regret that I had so +pointedly drawn her attention to the horse. Would she demand _him_? +That was the thought that troubled me. I had not promised her _any_ +horse in my troop, and Moro I would not have given for her herd of a +thousand; but on the strength of the offer I had made, what if she +should fancy _him_? The circumstances were awkward for a refusal; +indeed, under any circumstances refusal would have been painful. I +began to feel that I could deny her nothing. This proud beautiful woman +already _divided my interest with Moro_! + +My position was a delicate one; fortunately, I was relieved from it by +an incident that carried our thoughts into a new current: the troopers +who had followed me at that moment rode up. + +She seemed uneasy at their presence; that could not be wondered at, +considering their wild garb and fierce looks. I ordered them back to +their quarters. They stared for a moment at the fallen mustang with its +rich blood-stained trappings, at its late rider, and her picturesque +garments; and then, muttering a few words to one another, obeyed the +order. I was once more alone with my captive. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +ISOLINA DE VARGAS. + +As soon as the men were out of hearing, she said interrogatively, +"_Tejanos_?" + +"Some of them are Texans--not all." + +"You are their chief?" + +"I am." + +"Capitan, I presume?" + +"That is my rank." + +"And now, Senor Capitan, am I your captive?" + +The question took me by surprise, and, for the moment, I did not know +what answer to make. The excitement of the chase, the encounter, and +its curious developments--perhaps above all other things, the bewitching +beauty of my captive--had driven out of my mind the whole purpose of the +pursuit; and for some minutes I had not been thinking of any result. +The interrogatory reminded me that I had a delicate duty to perform. +Was this lady a _spy_? + +Such a supposition was by no means improbable, as my old campaigner can +testify. "Fair ladies--though never one so fair as she--have, ere now, +served their country in this fashion. She may be the bearer of some +important dispatch for the enemy. If so, and I permit her to go free, +the consequences may be serious--unpleasant even to myself." So ran my +reflections. + +On the other hand, I disliked the duty of taking her back a prisoner. I +feared to execute it; I dreaded _her_ displeasure. _I wished to be +friends with her_. I felt the influence of that mysterious power which +transcends all strength--the power of beauty. I had been but ten +minutes in the company of this brown-skinned maiden, and already she +controlled my heart as though she had been its mistress for life! + +I knew not how to reply. She saw that I hesitated, and again put the +question-- + +"Am I your captive?" + +"I fear, senorita, I am _yours_." + +I was prompted to this declaration, partly to escape from a direct +answer, and partly giving way to the passion already fast gathering in +my bosom. It was no coquetry on my part, no desire to make a pretty +passage of words. Though I spoke only from impulse, I was serious; and +with no little anxiety did I watch the effect of my speech. + +Her large lustrous eyes rested upon me, at first with a puzzled +expression; this gradually changed to one of more significance--one that +pleased me better. She seemed for a moment to throw aside her +indifference, and regard me with more attention. I fancied, from the +glance she gave, that she was contented with what I had said. For all +that, the slight curl upon her pretty lip had a provoking air of triumph +in it; and she resumed her proud _hauteur_ as she replied-- + +"Come, cavallero; this is idle compliment. Am I free to go?" + +I wavered betwixt duty and over-politeness: a compromise offered itself. + +"Lady," said I, approaching her, and looking as seriously as I could +into her beautiful eyes, "if you give me your word that you are _not a +spy_, you are free to go: your word--I ask nothing more." + +I prescribed these conditions rather in a tone of entreaty than command. +I affected sternness, but my countenance must have mocked me. + +My captive broke into unrestrained laughter, crying out at intervals-- + +"I a spy!--a spy! Ha, ha, ha! Senor Capitan, you are jesting?" + +"I hope, senorita, _you_ are in earnest. You are no spy, then?--you +bear no dispatch for our enemy?" + +"Nothing of the sort, mio capitan;" and she continued her light +laughter. + +"Why, then, did you try to make away from us?" + +"Ah, cavallero! are you not Tejanos? Do not be offended when I tell you +that your people bear but an indifferent reputation among us Mexicans." + +"But your attempt to escape was, to say the least, rash and imprudent: +you risked life by it." + +"_Carrambo_, yes! I perceive I did;" and she looked significantly at +the mustang, while a bitter smile played upon her lips. "I perceive it +now; I did not then. I did not think there was a horseman in all your +troop could come up with me. _Merced_! there was _one_. _You_ have +overtaken me: _you alone_ could have done it." + +As she uttered these words, her large brown eyes were once more turned +upon me--not in a fixed gaze, but wandering. She scanned me from the +forage-cap on my crown to the spur upon my heel. I watched her eye with +eager interest: I fancied that its scornful expression was giving way; I +fancied there was a ray of tenderness in the glance, I would have given +the world to have divined her thoughts at that moment. + +Our eyes met, and parted in mutual embarrassment--at least I fancied so; +for on turning again, I saw that her head drooped, and her gaze was +directed downward, as if some new thought occupied her. + +For some moments, both were silent. We might have remained longer thus, +but it occurred to me that I was acting rudely. The lady was still my +captive. I had not yet given her permission to depart: I hastened to +tender it. + +"Spy or no spy, senorita, I shall not detain you. I shall bear the +risk: you are free to go." + +"_Gracias I cavallero_! And now, since you have behaved so handsomely, +I shall set your mind at rest about the _risk_. Read!" + +She handed me a folded paper; at a glance, I recognised the _safe-guard_ +of the commander-in-chief, enjoining upon all to respect its bearer--the +_Dona Isolina de Vargas_. + +"You perceive, mio capita I was not your captive after all? Ha! ha! +ha!" + +"Lady, you are too general not to pardon the rudeness to which you have +been subjected?" + +"Freely, capitan--freely." + +"I shudder at thought of the risk you have run. Why did you act with +such imprudence? Your sudden flight at sight of our picket caused +suspicion, and of course it was our duty to follow and capture you. +With the safeguard, you had no cause for flight." + +"Ha! it was that very safe-guard that caused me to fly." + +"The safe-guard, senorita? Pray, explain!" + +"Can I trust _your_ prudence, capitan?" + +"I promise--" + +"Know, then, that I was not certain you were _Americanos_; for aught I +could see, you might have been a guerilla of my _countrymen_. How would +it be if this paper, and sundry others I carry, were to fall into the +hands of Caiales? You perceive, capitan, we fear our _friends_ more +than our _enemies_." + +I now fully comprehended the motive of her flight. + +"You speak Spanish too well, mio capitan," continued she. "Had you +cried `Halt!' in your native tongue, I should at once have pulled up, +and perhaps saved my pet. Ah, me!--_pobre yegua! pobre Zola_!" + +As she uttered the last exclamation, her feelings once more overcame +her; and sinking down upon her knees, she passed her arms around the +neck of the mustang, now stiff and cold. Her face was buried in the +long thick mane, and I could perceive the tears sparkling like dew-drops +over the tossed hair. + +"_Pobre Lolita_!" she continued, "I have good cause to grieve; I had +reason to love you well. More than once you saved me from the fierce +Lipan and the brutal Comanche. What am I to do now? I dread the Indian +foray; I shall tremble at every sign of the savage. I dare no more +venture upon the prairie; I dare not go abroad; I must tamely stay at +home. _Mia querida_! you were my wings: they are clipped--I fly no +more." + +All this was uttered in a tone of extreme bitterness; and I--I who so +loved my own brave steed--could appreciate her feelings. With the hope +of imparting even a little consolation, I repeated my offer. + +"Senorita," I said, "I have swift horses in my troop--some of noble +race--" + +"You have no horse in your troop I value." + +"You have not seen them all?" + +"All--every one of them--to-day, as you filed out of the city." + +"Indeed?" + +"Indeed, yes, noble capitan. I saw you as you carried yourself so +cavalierly at the head of your troop of _filibusteros_--Ha, ha, ha!" + +"Senorita, I saw not you." + +"_Carrambo_! it was not for the want of using your eyes. There was not +a _balcon_ or _reja_ into which you did not glance--not a smile in the +whole street you did not seem anxious to reciprocate--Ha, ha, ha! I +fear, Senor Capitan, you are the Don Juan de Tenorio of the north." + +"Lady, it is not my character." + +"Nonsense! you are proud of it. I never saw man who was not. But come! +a truce to badinage. About the horse--you have none in your troop I +value, save _one_." + +I trembled as she spoke. + +"It is _he_," she continued, pointing to Moro. + +I felt as if I should sink into the earth. My embarrassment prevented +me for some time from replying. She noticed my hesitation, but remained +silent, awaiting my answer. + +"Senorita," I stammered out at length, "that steed is a great +favourite--an old and tried friend. _If_ you desire--to possess him, he +is--he is at your service." + +In emphasising the "if," I was appealing to her generosity. It was to +no purpose. + +"Thank you," she replied coolly; "he shall be well cared for. No doubt +he will serve my purpose. _How is his mouth_?" + +I was choking with vexation, and could not reply. I began to hate her. + +"Let me try him," continued she. "Ah! you have a curb bit--that will +do; but it is not equal to ours. I use a mameluke. Help me to that +lazo." + +She pointed to a lazo of white horsehair, beautifully plaited, that was +coiled upon the saddle of the mustang. + +I unloosed the rope--mechanically I did--and in the same way adjusted it +to the horn of my saddle. I noticed that the noose-ring was of silver! +I shortened the leathers to the proper length. + +"Now, capitan!" cried she, gathering the reins in her small gloved +hand--"now I shall see how he performs." + +At the word, she bounded into the saddle, her small foot scarcely +touching the stirrup. She had thrown off her manga, and her woman's +form was now displayed in all its undulating outlines. The silken skirt +draped down to her ankles, and underneath appeared the tiny red boot, +the glancing spur, and the lace ruffle of her snow-white _calzoncillas_. +A scarlet sash encircled her waist, with its fringed ends drooping to +the saddle; and the tight bodice, lashed with lace, displayed the full +rounding of her bosom, as it rose and fell in quiet regular breathing-- +for she seemed in no way excited or nervous. Her full round eye +expressed only calmness and courage. + +I stood transfixed with admiration. I thought of the Amazons: were they +beautiful like her? With a troop of such warriors one might _conquer a +world_! + +A fierce-looking bull, moved by curiosity or otherwise, had separated +from the herd, and was seen approaching the spot where we were. This +was just what the fair rider wanted. At a touch of the spur, the horse +sprang forward, and galloped directly for the bull. The latter, cowed +at the sudden onset, turned and ran; but his swift pursuer soon came +within lazo distance. The noose circled in the air, and, launched +forward, was seen to settle around the horns of the animal. The horse +was now wheeled round, and headed in an opposite direction. The rope +tightened with a sudden pluck, and the bull was thrown with violence to +the plain, where he lay stunned and apparently lifeless. Before he had +time to recover himself, the rider turned her horse, trotted up to the +prostrate animal, bent over in the saddle, unfastened the noose, and, +after coiling the rope under her arm, came galloping back. + +"Superb!--magnificent!" she exclaimed, leaping from the saddle and +gazing at the steed. "Beautiful!--most beautiful! Ah, Lola, poor Lola! +I fear I shall soon forget thee!" + +The last words were addressed to the mustang. Then turning to me, she +added-- + +"And this horse is mine?" + +"Yes, lady, if you will it," I replied somewhat cheerlessly, for I felt +as if my best friend was about to be taken from me. + +"But I do _not_ will it," said she, with an air of determination; and +then breaking into a laugh, she cried out, "Ha! capitan, I know your +thoughts. Think you I cannot appreciate the sacrifice you would make? +Keep your favourite. Enough that one of us should suffer;" and she +pointed to the mustang. "Keep the brave black; you well know how to +ride him. Were he mine, no mortal could influence me to part with him." + +"There is _but one_ who could influence _me_." + +As I said this, I looked anxiously for the answer. It was not in words +I expected it, but in the glance. Assuredly there was no frown; I even +fancied I could detect a smile--a blending of triumph and satisfaction. +It was short-lived, and my heart fell again under her light laugh. + +"Ha! ha! ha! That one is of course your lady-love. Well, noble +capitan, if you are as true to her as to you brave steed, she will have +no cause to doubt your fealty. I must leave you. Adios!" + +"Shall I not be permitted to accompany you to your home?" + +"_Gracias_! no, senor. I am at home. _Mira_! my father's house!" She +pointed to the hacienda. "Here is one who will look to the remains of +poor Lola;" and she signalled to a vaquero at that moment coming from +the herd. "Remember, capitan, you are an enemy; I must not accept your +politeness; neither may I offer you hospitality. Ah! you know not us-- +you know not the tyrant Santa Anna. Perhaps even at this moment his +spies are--" She glanced suspiciously around as she spoke. "O Heavens!" +she exclaimed with a start, as her eyes fell upon the form of a man +advancing down the hill. "_Santissima Virgen_! it is Ijurra!" + +"Ijurra?" + +"Only my cousin; but--" She hesitated, and then suddenly changing to an +expression of entreaty, she continued: "O leave me, senor! _Por amor +Dios_! leave me. Adieu, adieu!" + +Though I longed to have a nearer view of "Ijurra," the hurried +earnestness of her manner overcame me; and without making other reply +than a simple "Adios," I vaulted into the saddle, and rode off. + +On reaching the border of the woods, curiosity--a stronger feeling +perhaps--mastered my politeness; and, under the pretence of adjusting my +stirrup, I turned in the saddle, and glanced back. + +Ijurra had arrived upon the ground. + +I beheld a tall dark man, dressed in the usual costume of the ricos of +Mexico: dark cloth polka-jacket, blue military trousers, with scarlet +sash around his waist, and low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat upon his head. +He appeared about thirty years of age, whiskered, moustached, and, +after a fashion, handsome. It was not his age, nor his personal +appearance, nor yet his costume, that had my attention at the moment. I +watched only his actions. He stood confronting his cousin, or rather he +stood _over_ her, for she appeared before him in an attitude of fear! +He held a paper in one hand, and I saw he was pointing to it as he +spoke. There was a fierce vulture-like expression upon his face; and +even in the distance I could tell, from the tones of his voice, that he +was talking angrily! + +Why should she fear _him_? Why submit to such rude rebuke? He must +have a strange power over that spirit who could force it thus tamely to +listen to reproach? + +These were my reflections. My impulse was to drive the spurs into the +sides of my horse, and gallop back upon the ground. I might have done +so had the scene lasted much longer; but I saw the lady suddenly leave +the spot, and walk rapidly in the direction of the hacienda. + +I wheeled round again, and plunging under the shadows of the forest, +soon fell into a road leading to the rancheria. With my thoughts full +of the incident that had just transpired, I rode unconsciously, leaving +my horse to his own guidance. + +My reverie was interrupted by the challenge of one of my own sentries, +which admonished me that I had arrived at the entrance of the village. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +AN ORDER TO FORAGE. + +My adventure did not end with the day; it was continued into the night, +and repeated in my dreams. I rode the chase over again; I dashed +through the magueys, I leaped the _zequia_, and galloped through the +affrighted herd; I beheld the spotted mustang stretched lifeless upon +the plain, its rider bending and weeping over it. That face of rare +beauty, that form of exquisite proportion, that eye rotund and noble, +that tongue so free, and heart so bold--all were again encountered in +dreamland. A dark face was in the vision, and at intervals crossed the +picture like a cloud. It was the face of Ijurra. + +I think it was that awoke me, but the _reveille_ of the bugle was +ringing in my ears as I leaped from my couch. + +For some moments I was under the impression that the adventure had been +a dream: an object that hung on the opposite wall came under my eyes, +and recalled the reality--it was my saddle, over the holsters of which +lay a coil of white horsehair rope, with a silver ring at the end. I +remembered the lazo. + +When fairly awake, I reviewed my yesterday's adventure from first to +last. I tried to think calmly upon it; I tried to get it out of my +thoughts, and return seriously to my duties. A vain attempt! The more +I reflected upon the incident, the more I became conscious of the +powerful interest its heroine had excited within me. Interest, indeed! +Say rather _passion_--a passion that in one single hour had grown as +large as my heart! + +It was not _the first_ love of my life. I was nigh thirty years of age. +I had been enamoured before--more than once, it may be--and I +understood what the feeling was. I needed no Cupid to tell me I was in +love again--to the very ends of my fingers. + +To paint the object of my passion is a task I shall not attempt. Beauty +like hers must be left to the imagination. Think of the woman you +_yourself_ love or have loved; fancy her in her fairest moments, in +bower or boudoir--perchance a blushing bride--and you may form some +idea--No, no, no! you could never have looked upon woman so lovely as +Isolina de Vargas. + +Oh! that I could fix that fleeting phantom of beauty--that I could paint +that likeness for the world to admire! It cannot be. The most puissant +pen is powerless, the brightest colour too cold. Though deeply graven +upon the tablet of my heart, I cannot multiply the impression. + +It is idle to talk of wavy hair, profuse and glossed--of almond eyes +with long dark fringes--of pearl-white teeth, and cheeks tinted with +damascene. All these had she, but they are not peculiar +characteristics. Other women are thus gifted. The traits of _her_ +beauty lay in the intellectual as much as the physical--in a happy +combination of both. The soul, the spirit, had its share in producing +this incomparable picture. It was to behold the play of those noble +features, to watch the changing cheek, the varying smile, the falling +lash, the flashing eye, the glance now tender, now sublime--it was to +look on all this, and be impressed with an idea of the divinest +loveliness. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +As I ate my frugal breakfast, such a vision was passing before me. I +contemplated the future with pleasant hopes, but not without feelings of +uneasiness. I had not forgotten the abrupt parting--no invitation to +renew the acquaintance, no hope, no prospect that I should ever behold +that beautiful woman again, unless blind chance should prove my friend. + +I am not a fatalist, and I therefore resolved not to rely upon mere +destiny, but, if possible, to help it a little in its evolution. + +Before I had finished my coffee, a dozen schemes had passed through my +mind, all tending towards one object--the renewal of my acquaintance +with Isolina de Vargas. Unless favoured by some lucky accident, or, +what was more desirable, _by the lady herself_, I knew we might never +meet again. In such times, it was not likely she would be much +"out-of-doors;" and in a few days, hours perhaps, I might be ordered _en +route_ never more to return to that interesting outpost. + +As the district was, of course, under martial law, and I was _de facto_ +dictator, you will imagine that I might easily have procured the right +of entry anywhere. Not so. Whatever be the licence of the mere soldier +as regards the common people of a conquered country, the position of the +officer with its higher class is essentially different. If a gentleman, +he naturally feels a delicacy in making any advances towards an +acquaintance; and his honour restrains him from the freer forms of +introduction. To take advantage of his position of power would be a +positive meanness, of which a true gentleman cannot be guilty. Besides, +there may be rancour on the part of the conquered--there usually is--but +even when no such feeling exists, another barrier stands in the way of +free association between the officer and "society." The latter feels +that the position of affairs will not be permanent; the enemy will in +time evacuate, and then the vengeance of mob-patriotism is to be +dreaded. Never did the ricos of Mexico feel more secure than while +under the protection of the American army: many of them were disposed to +be friendly; but the phantom of the future, with its mob _emeutes_, +stared them in the face, and under this dread they were forced to adopt +a hypocritical exclusiveness. Epaulettes must not be seen glancing +through the windows of their drawing-rooms! + +Under such circumstances, my situation was difficult enough. I might +gaze upon the outside walls of that handsome hacienda till my heart +ached, but how was I to effect an entrance? + +To charge a fort, a battery, an intrenched camp--to storm a castle, or +break a solid square--one or all would have been child's play compared +with the difficulty of crossing that glacial line of etiquette that +separated me from my beautiful enemy. + +To effect this purpose, a dozen schemes were passed through my mind, and +rejected, till my eyes at length rested upon the most interesting object +in the apartment--the little white rope that hung from my saddlebow. In +the lazo, I recognised my "forlorn-hope." That pretty implement must be +returned to its owner. _I myself should take it home_! So far +_destiny_ should be guided by _me_; beyond, I should have to put my +trust in destiny. + +I think best under the influence of a cigar; and lighting one, I +ascended to the azotea, to complete my little scheme. + +I had scarcely made two turns of the roof, when a horseman galloped into +the piazza. He was in dragoon uniform, and I soon perceived he was an +orderly from headquarters, inquiring for the commandant of the outpost. +One of the men pointed to me; and the orderly trotting forward, drew up +in front of the alcalde's house, and announced that he was the bearer of +a dispatch from the general-in-chief, at the same time showing a folded +paper. I directed him to pass it up on the point of his sabre, which he +did; and then saluting me, he turned his horse and galloped back as he +had come. + +I opened the dispatch, and read:-- + +"_Head-quarters, Army of Occupation_,-- + +"_July --th_, 1846. + +"Sir,--You will take a sufficient number of your men, and proceed to the +hacienda of Don Ramon de Yargas, in the neighbourhood of your station. +You will there find five thousand head of beeves, which you will cause +to be driven to the camp of the American army, and delivered to the +commissary-general. You will find the necessary drivers upon the +ground, and a portion of your troop will form the escort. The enclosed +_note_ will enable you to understand the nature of your duty. + +"A.A. Adjutant-general. + +"Captain Warfield." + +"Surely," thought I, as I finished reading--"surely there is a +`Providence that shapes our ends.' Just as I was cudgelling my brains +for some scheme of introduction to Don Ramon de Vargas, here comes one +ready fashioned to my hand." + +I thought no more about the lazo: the rope was no longer an object of +prime interest. Trimmed and embellished with the graceful excuse of +"duty," I should now ride boldly up to the hacienda, and enter its gates +with the confident air of a welcome guest. Welcome, indeed! A contract +for five thousand beeves, and at war-prices! A good stroke of business +on the part of the old Don. Of course, I shall see him--"embrace him"-- +hobnob with him over a glass of Canario or Xeres--get upon the most +intimate terms, and so be "asked back." I am usually popular with old +gentlemen, and I trusted to my bright star to place me _en rapport_ with +Don Ramon de Vargas. The coralling of the cattle would occupy some +time--a brace of hours at the least. That would be outside work, and I +could intrust it to my lieutenant or a sergeant. For myself, I was +determined to stay by the walls. The Don must go out to look after his +vaqueros. It would be rude to leave me alone. He would introduce me to +his daughter--he could not do less--a customer on so large a scale! We +should be left to ourselves, and then--Ha! Ijurra! I had forgotten +_him_. Would _he_ be there? + +The recollection of this man fell like a shadow over the bright fancies +I had conjured up. + +A dispatch from head-quarters calls for prompt attention and my +reflections were cut short by the necessity of carrying the order into +execution. Without loss of time, I issued the command for about fifty +of the rangers to "boot and saddle." + +I was about to pay more than ordinary attention to my toilet, when it +occurred to me I might as well first peruse the "note" referred to in +the dispatch. I opened the paper; to my surprise the document was in +Spanish. This did not puzzle me, and I read:-- + +"The five thousand beeves are ready for you, according to the contract, +but _I_ cannot take upon me to deliver them. _They must be taken from +me_ with a _show of force_; and even a _little rudeness_, on the part of +those you send, would not be out of place. My vaqueros are at your +service, but _I_ must not command them. You may _press_ them. + +"Ramon de Vargas." + +This note was addressed to the commissary-general of the American army. +Its meaning, though to the uninitiated a little obscure, was to me as +clear as noonday; and, although, it gave me a high opinion of the +administrative talents of Don Ramon de Vargas, it was by no means a +welcome document. It rendered null every act of the fine programme I +had sketched out. By its directions, there was to be no "embracing," no +hobnobbing over wine, no friendly chat with the Don, no _tete-a-tete_ +with his beautiful daughter--no; but, on the contrary, I was to ride up +with a swagger, bang the doors, threaten the trembling porter, kick the +peons, and demand from their master five thousand head of beef-cattle-- +all in true freebooting style! + +A nice figure I shall cut, thought I, in the eyes of Isolina. + +A little reflection, however, convinced me that that intelligent +creature would be in the secret. Yes, she will understand my motives. +I can act with as much mildness as circumstances will permit. My Texan +lieutenant will do the kicking of the peons, and that without much +pressing. If she be not cloistered, I will have a glimpse at her; so +here goes. "_To horse_!" + +The bugle gave the signal; fifty rangers--with Lieutenants Holingsworth +and Wheatley--leaped into their saddles, and next moment were filing by +twos from the piazza, myself at their head. + +A twenty minutes' trot brought us to the front gate of the hacienda, +where we halted. The great door, massive and jail-like, was closed, +locked, and barred; the shutters of the windows as well. Not a soul was +to be seen outside, not even the apparition of a frightened peon. I had +given my Texan lieutenant his cue; he knew enough of Spanish for the +purpose. + +Flinging himself out of the saddle, he approached the gate, and +commenced hammering upon it with the butt of his pistol. + +"_Ambre la puerta_!" (Open the door!) cried he. + +No answer. + +"_La puerta_--_la puerta_!" he repeated in a louder tone. + +Still no answer. + +"_Ambre la puerta_!" once more vociferated the lieutenant, at the same +time thundering on the woodwork with his weapon. + +When the noise ceased, a faint "_Quien es_?" (Who is it?) was heard +from within. + +"_Yo_!" bawled Wheatley, "_ambre! ambre_!" + +"_Si, senor_," answered the voice in a somewhat tremulous key. + +"_Anda! anda! Somos hombres de bien_!" (Quick then! We are honest +men.) + +A rattling of chains and shooting of bolts now commenced, and lasted for +at least a couple of minutes, at the end of which time the great +folding-doors opened inward, displaying to view the swarthy leather-clad +_portero_, the brick-paved _saguan_, and a portion of the _patio_, or +courtyard within. + +As soon as the door was fairly open, Wheatley made a rush at the +trembling porter, caught him by the jerkin, boxed both his ears, and +then commanded him in a loud voice to summon the _dueno_! + +This conduct, somewhat unexpected on the part of the rangers, seemed to +be just to their taste; and I could hear behind me the whole troop +chuckling in half-suppressed laughter. _Guerilleros_ as they were, they +had never been allowed much licence in their dealings with the +inhabitants--the non-combatants--of the country, and much less had they +witnessed such conduct on the part of their officers. Indeed, it was +cause of complaint in the ranks of the American army, and with many +officers too, that even hostile Mexicans were treated with a lenient +consideration denied to themselves. Wheatley's behaviour, therefore, +touched a chord in the hearts of our following, that vibrated pleasantly +enough; they began to believe that the campaign was about to become a +little more jolly. + +"_Senor_," stammered the porter, "the du--du--dueno has given or-- +orders--he wi--wi--will not s-see any one." + +"_Will_ not?" echoed Wheatley; "go, tell him he _must_!" + +"Yes, _amigo_," I said soothingly; for I began to fear the man would be +too badly frightened to deliver his message. "Go, say to your master +that an American officer has business with him, and _must_ see him +immediately." + +The man went off, after a little more persuasion from the free hand of +Wheatley, of course leaving the gates open behind him. + +We did not wait for his return. The patio looked inviting; and, +directing Holingsworth to remain outside with the men, and the Texan +lieutenant to follow me, I headed my horse for the great archway, and +rode in. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +DON RAMON. + +On entering the courtyard, a somewhat novel scene presented itself--a +Spanish picture, with some transatlantic touches. The _patio_ of a +Mexican house is its proper front. Here you no longer look upon +jail-like door and windows, but facades gaily frescoed, curtained +verandahs, and glazed sashes that reach to the ground. The patio of Don +Ramon's mansion was paved with brick. A fountain, with its tank of +japanned mason-work, stood in the centre; orange-trees stretched their +fronds over the water: their golden globes and white wax-like flowers +perfumed the atmosphere, which, cooled by the constant evaporation of +the _jet_, felt fresh and fragrant. Around three sides of the court +extended a verandah, its floor of painted tiles rising but a few inches +above the level of the pavement. A row of _portales_ supported the roof +of this verandah, and the whole corridor was railed in, and curtained. +The curtains were close-drawn, and except at one point--the entrance +between two of the portales--the corridor was completely screened from +our view, and consequently all the windows of the house, that opened +into the verandah. No human face greeted our searching glances. In +looking to the rear--into the great _corral_, or cattle-yard--we could +see numerous peons in their brown leathern dresses, with naked legs and +sandalled feet; vaqueros in all their grandeur of velveteens, +bell-buttons, and gold or silver lace; with a number of women and young +girls in coloured _naguas_ and rebosos. A busy scene was presented in +that quarter. It was the great cattle enclosure, for the estate of Don +Ramon de Vargas was a _hacienda de ganados_, or grand grazing-farm--a +title which in no way detracts from the presumed respectability of its +owner, many of the noble hidalgoes of Mexico being _graziers_ on a large +scale. + +On entering the patio, I only glanced back at the corral; my eyes were +busy with the curtained verandah, and, failing there were carried up to +the azotea, in hopes of discovering the object of my thoughts. The +house, as I have elsewhere stated, was but a single story in height, and +from the saddle I could almost look into the azotea. I could see that +it was a sanctuary of rare plants, and the broad leaves and bright +corollas of some of the taller ones appeared over the edge of the +parapet. Abundance of fair flowers I could perceive, but not that one +for which I was looking. No face yet showed, no voice greeted us with a +welcome. The shouts of the vaqueros, the music of singing-birds caged +along the corridor, and the murmur of the fountain, were the only +sounds. The two former suddenly became hushed, as the hoofs of our +horses rang upon the stone pavement, and the heedless water alone +continued to utter its soft monotone. + +Once more my eyes swept the curtain, gazing intently into the few +apertures left by a careless drawing; once more they sought the azotea, +and glanced along the parapet: my scrutiny still remained unrewarded. + +Without exchanging a word, Wheatley and I sat silent in our saddles, +awaiting the return of the portero. Already the peons, vaqueros, and +wenches, had poured in through the back gateway, and stood staring with +astonishment at the unexpected guests. + +After a considerable pause, the tread of feet was heard upon the +corridor, and presently the messenger appeared, and announced that the +_dueno_ was coming. + +In a minute after, one of the curtains was drawn back, and an old +gentleman made his appearance behind the railing. He was a person of +large frame, and although slightly stooping with age, his step was firm, +and his whole aspect bespoke a wonderful energy and resolution. His +eyes were large and brilliant, shadowed by heavy brows, upon which the +hair still retained its dark colour, although that of his head was white +as snow. He was simply habited--in a jacket of nankeen cloth, and wide +trousers of like material. He wore neither waistcoat nor cravat. A +full white shirt of finest linen covered his breast, and a sash of dull +blue colour was twisted around his waist. On his head was a costly hat +of the "Guayaquil grass," and in his fingers a husk cigarrito smoking at +the end. + +Altogether, the aspect of Don Ramon--for it was he--despite its assumed +sternness, was pleasing and intelligent; and I should have relished a +friendly chat with him, even upon his own account. + +This, however, was out of the question. I must abide by the spirit of +my orders: the farce must be played out; so, touching the flanks of my +horse, I rode forward to the edge of the verandah, and placed myself +_vis-a-vis_ with the Don. + +"Are you Don Ramon de Vargas?" + +"Si, senor," was the reply, in a tone of angry astonishment. + +"I am an officer of the American army"--I spoke loud, and in Spanish, of +course, for the benefit of the peons and vaqueros. "I am sent to offer +you a contract to supply the army with beeves. I have here an order +from the general-in-chief--" + +"I have no beeves for sale," interrupted Don Ramon, in a loud, indignant +voice; "I shall have nothing to do with the American army." + +"Then, sir," retorted I, "I must take your beeves without your consent. +You shall be paid for them, but take them I must; my orders require that +I should do so. Moreover, your vaqueros must accompany us, and drive +the cattle to the American camp." + +As I said this, I signalled to Holingsworth, who rode in with his +following; and then the whole troop, filing through the back gateway, +began to collect the frightened vaqueros, and set them about their work. + +"I protest against this robbery!" shouted Don Ramon. "It is infamous-- +contrary to the laws of civilised warfare. I shall appeal to my +government--to yours--I shall have redress." + +"You shall have payment, Don Ramon," said I, apparently trying to pacify +him. + +"Payment, _carrambo_!--payment from robbers, _filibusteros_--" + +"Come, come, old gentleman!" cried Wheatley, who was only half behind +the scenes, and who spoke rather in earnest, "keep a good tongue in your +head, or you may lose something of more value to you than your cattle. +Remember whom you are talking to." + +"_Tejanos! ladrones_!" hissed Don Ramon, with an earnest application of +the latter phrase that would certainly have brought Wheatley's revolver +from his belt, had I not, at the moment, whispered a word in the +lieutenant's ear. + +"Hang the old rascal!" muttered he in reply to me. "I thought he _was_ +in earnest. Look here, old fellow!" he continued, addressing himself to +Don Ramon, "don't you be scared about the dollars. Uncle Sam's a +liberal trader and a good paymaster. I wish your beef was mine, and I +had _his_ promise to pay for it. So take things a little easier, if you +please; and don't be so free of your `filibusteros' and `ladrones': +free-born Texans ain't used to such talk." + +Don Ramon suddenly cut short the colloquy by angrily closing the +curtains, and hiding himself from our sight. + +During the whole scene I had great difficulty in controlling my +countenance. I could perceive that the Mexican laboured under a similar +difficulty. There was a laughing devil in the corner of his keen eye +that required restraint; and I thought once or twice either he or I +should lose our equanimity. _I_ certainly should have done so, but that +my heart and eyes were most of the time in other quarters. As for the +Don, he was playing an important part; and a suspicion of his hypocrisy, +on the minds of some of the leather-clad _greasers_ who listened to the +dialogue, might have afterwards brought him to grief. Most of them were +his own domestics and retainers, but not all. There were free +_rancheros_ among them--some who belonged to the pueblita itself--some, +perchance, who had figured in _pronunciamentos_--who voted at elections, +and styled themselves _citizens_. The Don, therefore, had good reasons +for assuming a character; and well did the old gentleman sustain it. + +As he drew the curtain, his half-whispered "Adios capitan!" heard only +by myself, sounded full of sweetness and _promise_; and I felt rather +contented as I straightened myself in the saddle, and issued the order +for _rieving_ his cattle. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +"UN PAPELCITO." + +Wheatley now rode after the troop, with which Holingworth had already +entered the corral. A band of drivers was speedily pressed into +service; and with these the two lieutenants proceeded to the great plain +at the foot of the hill, where most of Don Ramon's cattle were at +pasture. By this arrangement I was left alone, if I except the company +of half-a-dozen slippered wenches--the deities of the _cocina_--who, +clustered in the corner of the patio, eyed me with mingled looks of +curiosity and fear. + +The verandah curtains remained hermetically closed, and though I glanced +at every aperture that offered a chance to an observing eye, no one +appeared to be stirring behind them. + +"Too high-bred--perhaps indifferent?" thought I. The latter supposition +was by no means gratifying to my vanity. "After all, now that the +others are gone out of the way, Don Ramon _might_ ask me to step inside. +Ah! no--these mestizo women would tell tales: I perceive it would never +do. I may as well give it up. I shall ride out, and join the troop." + +As I turned my horse to put this design into execution, the fountain +came under my eyes. Its water reminded me that I was thirsty, for it +was a July day, and a hot one. A gourd cup lay on the edge of the tank. +Without dismounting, I was able to lay hold of the vessel, and filling +it with the cool sparkling liquid, I drained it off. It was very good +water, but not Canario or Xeres. + +Sweeping the curtain once more, I turned with a disappointed glance, and +jagging my horse, rode doggedly out through the back gateway. + +Once in the rear of the buildings, I had a full view of the great meadow +already known to me; and pulling up, I sat in the saddle, and watched +the animated scene that was there being enacted. Bulls, half wild, +rushing to and fro in mad fury, vaqueros mounted on their light +mustangs, with streaming sash and winding lazo; rangers upon their +heavier steeds, offering but a clumsy aid to the more adroit and +practised herdsmen; others driving off large groups that had been +already collected and brought into subjection: and all this amidst the +fierce bellowing of the bulls, the shouts and laughter of the delighted +troopers, the shriller cries of the vaqueros and peons: the whole +forming a picture that, under other circumstances, I should have +contemplated with interest. Just then my spirits were not attuned to +its enjoyment, and although I remained for some minutes with my eyes +fixed upon the plain, my thoughts were wandering elsewhere. + +I confess to a strong faith in woman's curiosity. That such a scene +could be passing under the windows of the most aristocratic mansion, +without its most aristocratic inmate deigning to take a peep at it, I +could not believe. Besides, Isolina was the very reverse. + +"Ha! Despite that jealous curtain, those beautiful eyes are glancing +through some aperture--window or loophole, I doubt not;" and with this +reflection I once more turned my face to the buildings. + +Just then it occurred to me that I had not sufficiently reconnoitred the +_front_ of the dwelling. As we approached it, we had observed that the +shutters of the windows were closed; but these opened inward, and since +that time one or other of them might have been set a little ajar. From +my knowledge of Mexican interiors, I knew that the front windows are +those of the principal apartments--of the _sola_ and grand _cuarto_, or +drawing-room--precisely those where the inmates of that hour should be +found. + +"Fool!" thought I, "to have remained so long in the patio. Had I gone +round to the front of the house, I might have--'Tis not too late-- +there's a chance yet." + +Under the impulse of this new hope, I rode back through the corral, and +re-entered the patio. The brown-skinned mestizas were still there, +chattering and flurried as ever, and the curtain had not been stirred. +A glance at it was all I gave; and without stopping I walked my horse +across the paved court, and entered under the arched _saguan_. The +massive gate stood open, as we had left it; and on looking into the +little box of the portero, I perceived that it was empty. The man had +hid himself, in dread of a second interview with the Texan lieutenant! + +In another moment I had emerged from the gateway, and was about turning +my horse to inspect the windows, when I heard the word "Capitan," +pronounced in a voice, that sounded soft as a silver bell, and thrilled +to my heart like a strain of music. + +I looked towards the windows. It came not thence; they were close shut +as ever. Whence-- + +Before I had time to ask myself the question, the "Capitan" was repeated +in a somewhat louder key, and I now perceived that the voice proceeded +from above--from the azotea. + +I wrenched my horse round, at the same time turning my eyes upward. I +could see no one; but just at that moment an arm, that might have been +attached to the bust of Venus, was protruded through a notch in the +parapet. In the small hand, wickedly sparkling with jewels, was +something white, which I could not distinguish until I saw it projected +on the grass--at the same moment that the phrase "Un papelcito" reached +my ears. + +Without hesitation I dismounted--made myself master of the _papelcito_; +and then leaping once more into the saddle, looked upward. I had +purposely drawn my horse some distance from the walls, so that I might +command a better view. I was not disappointed--Isolina! + +The face, that lovely face, was just distinguishable through the slender +embrasure, the large brown eyes gazing upon me with that half-earnest, +half-mocking glance I had already noticed, and which produced within me +both pleasure and pain! + +I was about to speak to her, when I saw the expression suddenly change: +a hurried glance was thrown backwards, as if the approach of some one +disturbed her; a finger rested momentarily on her lips, and then her +face disappeared behind the screening wall of the parapet. + +I understood the universal sign, and remained silent. + +For some moments I was undecided whether to go or stay. She had +evidently withdrawn from the front of the building, though she was still +upon the azotea. Some one had joined her; and I could hear voices in +conversation; her own contrasting with the harsher tones of a man. +Perhaps her father--perhaps--that other _relative_--less agreeable +supposition! + +I was about to ride off, when it occurred to me that I had better first +master the contents of the "papelcito." Perhaps it might throw some +light on the situation, and enable me to adopt the more pleasant +alternative of remaining a while longer upon the premises. + +I had thrust the _billet_ into the breast of my frock; and now looked +around for some place where I might draw it forth and peruse it +unobserved. The great arched gateway, shadowy and tenantless, offered +the desired accommodation; and heading my horse to it, I once more rode +inside the saguan. + +Facing around so as to hide my front from the _cocineras_, I drew forth +the strip of folded paper, and spread it open before me. Though written +in pencil, and evidently in a hurried impromptu, I had no difficulty in +deciphering it. My heart throbbed exultingly as I read:-- + + "Capitan! I know you will pardon our dry hospitality? A cup of cold + water--ha! ha! ha! Remember what I told you yesterday: we fear our + _friends_ more than our _foes_, and we have a _guest in the house my + father dreads more than you and your terrible filibusteros_. I am not + angry with you for my pet, but you have carried off my lazo as well. + Ah, capitan! would you rob me of _everything_?--Adios! + + "Isolina." + +Thrusting the paper back into my bosom, I sat for some time pondering +upon its contents. Part was clear enough--the remaining part full of +mystery. + +"We fear our _friends_ more than _our foes_." I was behind the scenes +sufficiently to comprehend what was intended by that cunningly worded +phrase. It simply meant that Don Ramon de Vargas was _Ayankieado_--in +other words, a friend to the American cause, or, as some loud demagogues +would have pronounced him, a "traitor to his country." It did not +follow, however, that he was anything of the kind. He might have wished +success to the American arms, and still remained a true friend to his +country--not one of those blind bigots whose standard displays the +brigand motto, "Our country right or wrong;" but an enlightened patriot, +who desired more to see Mexico enjoy peace and happiness under foreign +domination, than that it should continue in anarchy under the iron rule +of native despots. What is there in the empty title of _independence_, +without peace, without liberty? After all, patriotism in its ordinary +sense is but a doubtful virtue--perhaps nearer to a crime! It will one +day appear so; one day in the far future it will be supplanted by a +virtue of higher order--the patriotism that knows no boundaries of +nations, but whose _country_ is the whole earth. That, however, would +_not_ be "patriotism!" + +Was Don Ramon de Vargas a patriot in this sense--a man of progress, who +cared not that the _name_ of "Mexico" should be blotted from the map, so +long as peace and prosperity should be given to his country under +another name? Was Don Ramon one of these? It might be. There were +many such in Mexico at that time, and these principally of the class to +which Senor de Vargas belonged--the _ricos_, or proprietors. It is easy +enough to explain why the Ayankieados were of the class of ricos. + +Perhaps the affection of Don Ramon for the American cause had less lofty +motives; perhaps the five thousand beeves may have had something to do +with it? Whether or no, I could not tell; nor did I stay to consider. +I only reflected upon the matter at all as offering an explanation to +the ambiguous phrase now twice used by his fair daughter--"We fear our +_friends_ more than our _foes_." On either supposition, the meaning was +clear. + +What followed was far from being equally perspicuous. _A guest in the +house dreaded by her father_? Here was mystery indeed. Who could that +guest be?--who but _Ijurra_? + +But Ijurra was her cousin--she had said so. If a cousin, why should he +be dreaded? Was there still another guest in the house? That might be: +I had not been inside to see. The mansion was large enough to +accommodate another--half a score of others. For all that, my thoughts +constantly turned upon Ijurra, why I know not, but I could not resist +the belief that he was the person pointed at--the guest that was +"dreaded!" + +The behaviour which I had noticed on the day before--the first and only +time I had ever seen the man--his angry speech and looks addressed to +Isolina--her apparent fear of him: these it was, no doubt, that guided +my instincts; and I at length came to the conviction that he was the +fiend dreaded by Don Ramon. And she too feared him! "God grant she do +not also _love_ him!" + +Such was my mental ejaculation, as I passed on to consider the closing +sentences of the hastily written note. In these I also encountered +ambiguity of expression; whether I construed it aright, time would tell. +Perhaps my wish was too much parent to my thoughts: but it was with an +exulting heart I read the closing sentence and rode forth from the +gateway. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +AN OLD ENMITY. + +I rode slowly, and but a few paces before reining up my horse. Although +I was under the impression that it would be useless remaining, and that +an interview with Isolina was impossible--for that day at least--I could +not divest myself of the desire to linger a little longer near the spot. +Perhaps she might appear again upon the azotea; if but for a moment; if +but to wave her hand, and waft me an adieu; if but-- + +When a short distance separated me from the walls, I drew up; and +turning in the saddle, glanced back to the parapet. A face was there, +where hers had been; but, oh, the contrast between her lovely features +and those that now met my gaze! Hyperion to the Satyr! Not that the +face now before me was ugly or ill-featured. There are some, and women +too, who would have termed it handsome; to my eyes it was hideous! Let +me confess that this hideousness, or more properly its cause, rested in +the moral, rather than the physical expression; perhaps, too, little of +it might have been found in my own heart. Under other circumstances, I +might not have criticised that face so harshly. All the world did not +agree with me about the face of Rafael Ijurra--for it was he who was +gazing over the parapet. + +Our eyes met; and that first glance stamped the relationship between +us--hostility for life! Not a word passed, and yet the looks of each +told the other, in the plainest language, "_I am your foe_." Had we +sworn it in wild oaths, in all the bitter hyperbole of insult, neither +of us would have felt it more profound and keen. + +I shall not stay to analyse this feeling of sudden and unexpressed +hostility, though the philosophy of it is simple enough. You too have +experienced it--perhaps more than once in your life, without being +exactly able to explain it. I am not in that dilemma: I could explain +it easily enough; but it scarcely merits an explanation. Suffice to +say, that while gazing upon the face of that man, I entertained it in +all its strength. + +I have called it an _unexpressed_ hostility. Therein I have spoken +without thought: it was fully expressed by both of us, though not in +words. Words are but weak symbols of a passion, compared with the +passion itself, exhibited in the clenched hand, the lip compressed, the +flashing eye, the clouded cheek, the quick play of the muscles--weak +symbols are words compared with signs like these. No words passed +between Ijurra and myself; none were needed. Each read in the other a +rival--a rival in love, a competitor for the heart of a lovely woman, +the _loveliest_ in Mexico! It is needless to say that, under such an +aspect, each hated the other at sight. + +In the face of Ijurra I read more. I saw before me a man of bad heart +and brutal nature. His large, and to speak the truth, beautiful eyes, +had in them an animal expression. They were not without intelligence, +but so much the worse, for that intelligence expressed ferocity and bad +faith. His beauty was the beauty of the jaguar. He had the air of an +accomplished man, accustomed to conquest in the field of love-- +heartless, reckless, false. O mystery of our nature, there are those +who love such men! + +In Ijurra's face I read more: _he knew my secret_! The significant +glance of his eye told me so. He knew why I was lingering there. The +satiric smile upon his lip attested it. He saw my efforts to obtain an +interview, and confident in his own position, held my failure but +lightly--a something only to amuse him. I could tell all this by the +sardonic sneer that sat upon his features. + +As we continued to gaze, neither moving his eyes from the other, this +sneer became too oppressive to be silently borne. I could no longer +stand such a satirical reading of my thoughts. The insult was as marked +as words could have made it; and I was about to have recourse to words +to reply, when the clatter of a horse's hoofs caused me to turn my eyes +in an opposite direction. A horseman was coming up the hill, in a +direct line from the pastures. I saw it was one of the lieutenants-- +Holingsworth. + +A few more stretches of his horse brought the lieutenant upon the +ground, where he pulled up directly in front of me. + +"Captain Warfield!" said he, speaking in an official tone, "the cattle +are collected; shall we proceed--" + +He proceeded no further with that sentence; his eye, chance directed, +was carried up to the azotea, and rested upon the face of Ijurra. He +started in his saddle, as if a serpent had stung him; his hollow eyes +shot prominently out, glaring wildly from their sockets, while the +muscles of his throat and jaws twitched in convulsive action! + +For a moment, the desperate passion seemed to stifle his breathing, and +while thus silent, the expression of his eyes puzzled me. It was of +frantic joy, and ill became that face where I had never observed a +smile. But the strange look was soon explained--it was not of +friendship, but the joy of anticipated vengeance! + +Breaking into a wild laugh, he shrieked out-- + +"Rafael Ijurra, by the eternal God!" + +This awful and emphatic recognition produced its effect. I saw that +Ijurra knew the man who addressed him. His dark countenance turned +suddenly pale, and then became mottled with livid spots, while his eyes +scintillated, and rolled about in the unsteady glances of terror. He +made no reply beyond the ejaculation "Demonio!" which seemed +involuntarily to escape him. He appeared unable to reply; surprise and +fright held him spell-bound and speechless! + +"Traitor! villain! murderer!" shrieked Holingsworth, "we've met at last; +now for a squaring of our accounts!" and in the next instant the muzzle +of his rifle was pointing to the notch in the parapet--pointing to the +face of Ijurra! + +"Hold, Holingsworth!--hold!" cried I, pressing my heel deeply into my +horse's flanks, and dashing forward. + +Though my steed sprang instantly to the spur, and as quickly I caught +the lieutenant's arm, I was too late to arrest the shot. I spoiled his +aim, however; and the bullet, instead of passing through the brain of +Rafael Ijurra, as it would certainly have done, glanced upon the mortar +of the parapet, sending a cloud of lime-dust into his face. + +Up to that moment the Mexican had made no attempt to escape beyond the +aim of his antagonist. Terror must have glued him to the spot. It was +only when the report of the rifle, and the blinding mortar broke the +spell, that he was able to turn and fly. When the dust cleared away, +his head was no longer above the wall. + +I turned to my companion, and addressed him in some warmth-- + +"Lieutenant Holingsworth! I command--" + +"Captain Warfield," interrupted he, in a tone of cool determination, +"you may command me in all matters of duty, and I shall obey you. This +is a private affair; and, by the Eternal, the General himself--Bah! I +lose time; the villain will escape!" and before I could seize either +himself or his bridle-rein, Holingsworth had shot his horse past me, and +entered the gateway at a gallop. + +I followed as quickly as I could, and reached the patio almost as soon +as he; but too late to hinder him from his purpose. + +I grasped him by the arm, but with determined strength he wrenched +himself free--at the same instant gliding out of the saddle. + +Pistol in hand, he rushed up the _escalera_, his trailing scabbard +clanking upon the stone steps as he went. He was soon out of my sight, +behind the parapet of the azotea. + +Flinging myself from the saddle, I followed as fast as my legs would +carry me. + +While on the stairway, I heard loud words and oaths above, the crash of +falling objects, and then two shots following quick and fast upon each +other. I heard screaming in a woman's voice, and then a groan--the last +uttered by a man. + +One of them is dead or dying, thought I. + +On reaching the azotea--which I did in a few seconds of time--I found +perfect silence there. I saw no one, male or female, living or dead! +True, the place was like a garden, with plants, shrubs, and even trees +growing in gigantic pots. I could not view it all at once. They might +still be there behind the screen of leaves? + +I ran to and fro over the whole roof; I saw flower-pots freshly broken. +It was the crash of them I had heard while coming up. I saw no man, +neither Holingsworth nor Ijurra! They could not be standing up, or I +should have seen them. "Perhaps they are down among the pots--both. +There were two shots. Perhaps both are down--dead." + +But where was she who screamed? Was it Isolina? + +Half distracted, I rushed to another part of the roof. I saw a small +escalera--a private stair--that led into the interior of the house. Ha! +they must have gone down by it? she who screamed must have gone that +way? + +For a moment I hesitated to follow; but it was no time to stand upon +etiquette; and I was preparing to plunge down the stairway, when I heard +shouting outside the walls, and then another shot from a pistol. + +I turned, and stepped hastily across the azotea in the direction of the +sounds. I looked over the parapet. Down the slope of the hill two men +were running at the top of their speed, one after the other. The +hindmost held in his hand a drawn sabre. It was Holingsworth still in +pursuit of Ijurra! + +The latter appeared to be gaining upon his vengeful pursuer, who, +burdened with his accoutrements, ran heavily. The Mexican was evidently +making for the woods that grew at the bottom of the hill; and in a few +seconds more he had entered the timber, and passed out of sight. Like a +hound upon the trail, Holingsworth followed, and disappeared from my +view at the same spot. + +Hoping I might still be able to prevent the shedding of blood, I +descended hastily from the azotea, mounted my horse, and galloped down +the hill. + +I reached the edge of the woods where the two had gone in, and followed +some distance upon their trail; but I lost it at length, and came to a +halt. + +I remained for some minutes listening for voices, or, what I more +expected to hear, the report of a pistol. Neither sound reached me. I +heard only the shouts of the vaqueros on the other side of the hill; and +this reminding me of my duty, I turned my horse, and rode back to the +hacienda. + +There, everything was silent: not a face was to be seen. The inmates of +the house had hidden themselves in rooms barred up and dark; even the +damsels of the kitchen had disappeared--thinking, no doubt, that an +attack would be made upon the premises, and that spoliation and plunder +were intended. + +I was puzzled how to act. Holingsworth's strange conduct had +disarranged my ideas. I should have demanded admission, and explained +the occurrence to Don Ramon; but I had no explanation to give; I rather +needed one for myself; and under a painful feeling of suspense as to the +result, I rode off from the place. + +Half-a-dozen rangers were left upon the ground with orders to await the +return of Holingsworth, and then gallop after us; while the remainder of +the troop, with Wheatley and myself in advance of the vast drove, took +the route for the American camp. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +RAFAEL IJURRA. + +In ill-humour I journeyed along. The hot sun and the dusty road did not +improve my temper, ruffled as it was by the unpleasant incident. I was +far from satisfied with my first lieutenant, whose conduct was still a +mystery. Wheatley could not explain it. Some old enmity, no doubt-- +both of us believed--some story of wrong and revenge. + +No everyday man was Holingsworth, but one altogether of peculiar +character and temperament--as unlike him who rode by my side as acid to +alkali. The latter was a dashing, cheerful fellow, dressed in +half-Mexican costume, who could ride a wild horse and throw the lazo +with any vaquero in the crowd. He was a true Texan, almost by birth; +had shared the fortunes of the young republic since the days of Austin: +and was never more happy than while engaged in the border warfare, that, +with slight intervals, had been carried on against either Mexican or +Indian foeman, ever since the lone-star had spread its banner to the +breeze. No raw recruit was Wheatley; though young, he was what Texans +term an "old Indian fighter"--a real "Texas ranker." + +Holingsworth was not a Texan, but a Tennessean, though Texas had been +for some years his adopted home. It was not the first time he had +crossed the Rio Grande. He had been one of the unfortunate Mier +expedition--a survivor of that decimated band--afterwards carried in +chains to Mexico, and there compelled to work breast-deep in the mud of +the great _zancas_ that traverse the streets. Such experience might +account for the serious, somewhat stern expression that habitually +rested upon his countenance, and gave him the character of a "dark +saturnine man." I have said incidentally that I never saw him smile-- +never. He spoke seldom, and, as a general thing, only upon matters of +duty; but at times, when he fancied himself alone, I have heard him +mutter threats, while a convulsive twitching of the muscles and a +mechanical clenching of the fingers accompanied his words, as though he +stood in the presence of some deadly foe! I had more than once observed +these frenzied outbursts, without knowing aught of their cause. Harding +Holingsworth--such was his full name--was a man with whom no one would +have cared to take the liberty of asking an explanation of his conduct. +His courage and war-prowess were well known among the Texans; but it is +idle to add this, since otherwise he could not have stood among them in +the capacity of a leader. Men like them, who have the election of their +own officers, do not trust their lives to the guidance of either +stripling or coward. + +Wheatley and I were talking the matter over as we rode along, and +endeavouring to account for the strange behaviour of Holingsworth. We +had both concluded that the affair had arisen from some old enmity-- +perhaps connected with the Mier expedition--when accidentally I +mentioned the Mexican's name. Up to this moment the Texan lieutenant +had not seen Ijurra--having been busy with the cattle upon the other +side of the hill--nor had the name been pronounced in his hearing. + +"Ijurra?" he exclaimed with a start, reining up, and turning upon me an +inquiring look. + +"Ijurra." + +"_Rafael_ Ijurra, do you think?" + +"Yes, Rafael--that is the name." + +"A tall dark fellow, moustached and whiskered?--not ill-looking?" + +"Yes; he might answer that description," I replied. + +"If it be the same Rafael Ijurra that used to live at San Antonio, +there's more than one Texan would like to raise _his_ hair. The same-- +it must be--there's no two of the name; 'taint likely--no." + +"What do you know of him?" + +"Know?--that he's about the most precious scoundrel in all Texas or +Mexico either, and that's saying a good deal. Rafael Ijurra? 'Tis he, +by thunder! It _can_ be nobody else; and Holingsworth--Ha! now I think +of it, it's just the man; and Harding Holingsworth, of all men living, +has good reasons to remember _him_." + +"How? Explain!" + +The Texan paused for a moment, as if to collect his scattered memories, +and then proceeded to detail what he knew of Rafael Ijurra. His +account, without the expletives and emphatic ejaculations which adorned +it, was substantially as follows:-- + +Rafael Ijurra was by birth a Texan of Mexican race. He had formerly +possessed a hacienda near San Antonio de Bexar, with other considerable +property, all of which he had spent at play, or otherwise dissipated, so +that he had sunk to the status of a professional gambler. Up to the +date of the Mier expedition he had passed off as a citizen of Texas, +under the new regime, and pretended much patriotic attachment to the +young republic. When the Mier adventure was about being organised, +Ijurra had influence enough to have himself elected one of its officers. +No one suspected his fidelity to the cause. He was one of those who at +the halt by Laredo urged the imprudent advance upon Mier; and his +presumed knowledge of the country--of which, he was a native--gave +weight to his counsel. It afterwards proved that his free advice was +intended for the benefit of the enemy, with whom he was in secret +correspondence. + +On the night before the battle Ijurra was missing. The Texan army was +captured after a brave defence--in which they slew more than their own +number of the enemy--and, under guard, the remnant was marched off for +the capital of Mexico. On the second or third day of their march, what +was the astonishment of the Texan prisoners to see Rafael Ijurra _in the +uniform of a Mexican officer, and forming part of their escort_! But +that their hands were bound, they would have torn him to pieces, so +enraged were they at this piece of black treason. + +"I was not in that ugly scrape," continued the lieutenant. "As luck +would have it, I was down with a fever in Brazos bottom, or I guess I +should have had to _draw my bean_ with the rest of 'em, poor fellows!" + +Wheatley's allusion to "drawing his bean" I understood well enough. All +who have ever read the account of this ill-starred adventure will +remember, that the Texans, goaded by ill-treatment, rose upon their +guard, disarmed, and conquered them; but in their subsequent attempt to +escape, ill managed and ill guided, nearly all of them were recaptured, +and _decimated_--each tenth man having been shot like a dog! + +The mode of choosing the victims was by lot, and the black and white +beans of Mexico (_frijoles_) were made use of as the expositors of the +fatal decrees of destiny. A number of the beans, corresponding to the +number of the captives, was placed within an earthen _olla_--there being +a black bean for every nine white ones. He who drew the black bean must +die! + +During the drawing of this fearful lottery, there occurred incidents +exhibiting character as heroic as has ever been recorded in story. + +Read from an eye-witness:-- + +"They all drew their beans with manly dignity and firmness. Some of +lighter temper jested over the bloody tragedy. One would say, `_Boys! +this beats raffling all to pieces_!' Another, `_Well, this is the +tallest gambling-scrape I ever was in_.' Robert Beard, who lay upon the +ground exceedingly ill, called his brother William, and said, `Brother, +if you draw a black bean, I'll take your place--I want to die!' The +brother, with overwhelming anguish, replied, `No, I will keep my own +place; _I am stronger, and better able to die than you_.' Major Cocke, +when he drew the fatal bean, held it up between his finger and thumb, +and, with a smile of contempt, said, `Boys! I told you so: I never +failed in my life to draw a prize!' He then coolly added, `They only +rob me of forty years.' Henry Whaling, one of Cameron's best fighters, +as he drew his black bean, said, in a joyous tone, `Well, they don't +make much out of me anyhow: I know I've killed twenty-five of them.' +Then demanding his dinner in a firm voice, he added, `They shall not +cheat me out of it!' Saying this, he ate heartily, smoked a cigar, and +in twenty minutes after had ceased to live! The Mexicans fired fifteen +shots at Whaling before he expired! Young Torrey, quite a youth but in +spirit a giant, said that he `was perfectly willing to meet his fate-- +for the glory of his country he had fought, and for her glory he was +willing to die.' Edward Este spoke of his death with the coolest +indifference. Cash said, `Well, they murdered my brother with Colonel +Fannin, and they are about to murder me.' J.L. Jones said to the +interpreter, `Tell the officer to look upon men who are not afraid to +die for their country.' Captain Eastland behaved with the most +patriotic dignity; he desired that his country should not particularly +avenge his death. Major Dunham said he was prepared to die for his +country. James Ogden, with his usual equanimity of temper, smiled at +his fate and said, `I am prepared to meet it.' Young Robert W. Harris +behaved in the most unflinching manner, and called upon his companions +to avenge their murder. + +"They were bound together--their eyes being bandaged--and set upon a log +near the wall with their backs towards their executioners. They all +begged the officer to shoot them in front, and at a short distance, +saying they `_were not afraid to look death in the face_.' This request +the Mexican refused; and to make his cruelty as refined as possible, +caused the fire to be delivered from a distance, and to be continued for +ten or twelve minutes, lacerating and mangling those heroes in a manner +too horrible for description." + +When you talk of Thermopylae think also of Texas! + +"But what of Holingsworth?" I asked. + +"Ah! Holingsworth!" replied the lieutenant; "_he has_ good cause to +remember Ijurra, now I think of it. I shall give the story to you as I +heard it;" and my companion proceeded with a relation, which caused the +blood to curdle in my veins, as I listened. It fully explained, if it +did not palliate, the fierce hatred of the Tennessean towards Rafael +Ijurra. + +In the Mier expedition Holingsworth had a brother, who, like himself, +was made prisoner. He was a delicate youth, and could ill endure the +hardships, much less the barbarous treatment, to which the prisoners +were exposed during that memorable march. He became reduced to a +skeleton, and worse than that, footsore, so that he could no longer +endure the pain of his feet and ankles, worn skinless, and charged with +the spines of acacias, cactus, and the numerous thorny plants in which +the dry soil of Mexico is so prolific. In agony he fell down upon the +road. + +Ijurra was in command of the guard; from him Holingsworth's brother +begged to be allowed the use of a mule. The youth had known Ijurra at +San Antonio, and had even lent him money, which was never returned. + +"To your feet and forward!" was Ijurra's answer. + +"I cannot move a step," said the youth, despairingly. + +"Cannot! _Carrai_! we shall see whether you can. Here, Pablo," +continued he, addressing himself to one of the soldiers of the guard; +"give this fellow the spur; he is restive!" + +The ruffian soldier approached with fixed bayonet, seriously intending +to use its point on the poor wayworn invalid! The latter rose with an +effort, and made a desperate attempt to keep on; but his resolution +again failed him. He could not endure the agonising pain, and after +staggering a pace or two, he fell up against a rock. + +"I cannot!" he again cried--"I cannot march farther: let me die here." + +"Forward! or you _shall_ die here," shouted Ijurra, drawing a pistol +from his belt, and cocking it, evidently with the determination to carry +out his threat. "Forward!" + +"I cannot," faintly replied the youth. + +"Forward, or I fire!" + +"Fire!" cried the young man, throwing open the flaps of his +hunting-shirt, and making one last effort to stand erect. + +"You are scarce worth a bullet," said the monster with a sneer; at the +same instant he levelled his pistol at the breast of his victim, and +fired! When the smoke was blown aside, the body of young Holingsworth +was seen lying at the base of the rock, doubled up, dead! + +A thrill of horror ran through the line of captives. Even their +habitually brutal guards were touched by such wanton barbarity. The +brother of the youth was not six yards from the spot, tightly bound, and +witness of the whole scene! Fancy his feelings at that moment! + +"No wonder," continued the Texan--"no wonder that Harding Holingsworth +don't stand upon ceremony as to where and when he may attack Rafael +Ijurra. I verily believe that the presence of the Commander-in-chief +wouldn't restrain him from taking vengeance. It ain't to be wondered +at!" + +In hopes that my companion might help me to some knowledge of the family +at the hacienda, I guided the conversation in that direction. + +"And Don Ramon de Vargas is Ijurra's uncle?" + +"Sure enough, he must be. Ha! I did not think of that. Don Ramon _is_ +the uncle. I ought to have known him this morning--that confounded +_mezcal_ I drank knocked him out of my mind altogether. I have seen the +old fellow several times. He used to come to San Antonio once a-year on +business with the merchants there. I remember, too, he once brought a +daughter with him--splendid girl that, and no mistake! Faith, she +crazed half the young fellows in San Antonio, and there was no end of +duels about her. She used to ride wild horses, and fling the lazo like +a Comanche. But what am I talking about? That mezcal _has_ got into my +brains, sure enough. It must have been _her_ you chased? Sure as +shooting it was!" + +"Probable enough," I replied, in a careless way. My companion little +knew the deep, feverish interest his remarks were exciting, or the +struggle it was costing me to conceal my emotions. + +One thing I longed to learn from him--whether any of these amorous +duellists had been favoured with the approbation of the lady. I longed +to put this question, and yet the absolute dread of the answer +restrained my tongue! I remained silent, till the opportunity had +passed. + +The hoof-strokes of half-a-dozen horses coming rapidly from the rear, +interrupted the conversation. Without surprise, I perceived that it was +Holingsworth and the rangers who had been left at the hacienda. + +"Captain Warfield!" said the Tennessean as he spurred alongside, "my +conduct no doubt surprises you. I shall be able to explain it to _your_ +satisfaction when time permits. It's a long story--a painful one to me: +you will not require it from me now. This much let me say--for good +reason, I hold Rafael Ijurra as my most deadly foe. _I came to Mexico +to kill that man_; and, by the Eternal! if I don't succeed, I care not +who kills _me_!" + +"You have _not_ then--" + +With a feeling of relief, I put the question, for I read he answer in +the look of disappointed vengeance that gleamed in the eyes of the +Tennessean. I was not permitted to finish the interrogatory; he knew +what I was going to ask, and interrupted me with the reply-- + +"No, no; the villain has escaped; but by--" + +The rest of the emphatic vow was inaudible; but the wild glance that +flashed from the speaker's eye expressed his deep purpose more plainly +than words. + +The next moment he fell back to his place in the troop, and with his +head slightly bent forward, rode on in silence. His dark taciturn +features were lit up at intervals by an ominous gleam, showing that he +still brooded over his unavenged wrong. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +THE YELLOW DOMINO. + +The next two days I passed in feverish restlessness. Holingsworth's +conduct had quite disconcerted my plans. From the concluding sentences +of Isolina's note, I had construed an invitation to revisit the hacienda +in some more quiet guise than that of a filibustero; but after what had +transpired, I could not muster courage to present myself under any +pretence. It was not likely I should be welcome--I, the associate--nay, +the commander--of the man who had attempted to take the life of a +nephew--a cousin! Don Ramon had stipulated for a "little rudeness;" he +had had the full measure of his bargain, and a good deal more. He could +not otherwise than think so. Were I to present myself at the hacienda, +I could not be else than coldly received--in short, unwelcome. + +I thought of apologies and pretexts, but to no purpose. For two days I +remained in vacillating indecision; I neither saw nor heard of her who +engrossed my thoughts. + +News from head-quarters! A "grand ball" to be given in the city! + +This bit of gossip fell upon my ear without producing the slightest +impression, for I cared little for dancing, and less for grand balls; in +early youth I had liked both; but not then. + +The thing would at once have passed from my thoughts, had it not been +for some additional information imparted at the same time, which to me +at once rendered the ball attractive. + +The information I allude to was, that the ball was got up "by +authority," and would be upon a grand scale. Its object was political; +in other words, it was to be the means of bringing about a friendly +intercourse between the conquerors and the conquered--a desirable end. +Every effort would be made to draw out the "native society," and let +them see that we Yankee officers were not such "barbarians" as they +affected to deem, and in reality pronounced us. It was known--so stated +my informant--that many families of the Ayankieados would be present; +and in order to make it pleasanter for those who feared _proscription_, +the ball was to be a masked one--_un baile de mascara_. + +"The Ayankieados are to be there! and she--" + +My heart bounded with new hope: and I resolved to make one of the +maskers--not that I intended to go in _costume_. In my slender wardrobe +was a civilian dress proper cut, and tolerably well preserved: that +would answer my purpose. The ball was to come off on the night +following that on which I had word of it. My suspense would be short. + +The time appeared long enough, but at length the he arrived, and, +mounting my good steed, I started off for the city. A brisk ride of two +hours brought me on the ground, and I found that I was late enough to be +fashionable. + +As I entered the ball-room, I saw that most of the company had arrived, +and the floor was grouped with dancers. It was evident the affair was a +"success." There were four or five hundred persons present, nearly half +of them ladies. Many were in character costumes, as Tyrolese peasants, +Andalusian _majas_, Bavarian broom-girls, Wallachian boyards, Turkish +sultanas, and bead-bedecked Indian belles. A greater number were +disguised in the ungraceful domino, while not a few appeared in regular +evening dress. Most of the ladies wore masks; some simply hid their +faces behind the coquettish _reboso topado_, while others permitted +their charms to be gazed upon. As the time passed on, and an occasional +_copita de vino_ strengthened the nerves of the company, the uncovered +faces became more numerous, and masks got lost or put away. + +As for the gentlemen, a number of them also wore masks--some were in +costume, but uniforms predominated, stamping the ball with a military +character. It was not a little singular to see a number of _Mexican_ +officers mingling in the throng! These were of course prisoners on +_parole_; and their more brilliant uniforms, of French patterns, +contrasted oddly with the plain blue dresses of their conquerors. The +presence of these prisoners, in the full glitter of their gold-lace, was +not exactly in good taste; but a moment's reflection convinced one it +was not a matter of choice with them. Poor fellows! had they abided by +the laws of etiquette, they could not have been there; and no doubt they +were as desirous of shaking their legs in the dance as the gayest of +their captors. Indeed, in this species of rivalry they far outstripped +the latter. + +I spent but little time in observing these peculiarities; but one idea +engrossed my mind, and that was to find Isolina de Vargas--no easy task +amid such a multitude of maskers. + +Among the uncovered faces she was not. I soon scanned them all, or +rather glanced at them. It needed no scanning to recognise hers. If +there, she was one of the _mascaritas_, and I addressed myself to a +close observation of the _dames en costume_ and the dominoes. Hopeless +enough appeared the prospect of recognising her, but a little hope +sustained me in the reflection, that, being myself uncovered, she might +recognise _me_. + +When a full half-hour had passed away, and my lynx-like surveillance was +still unrewarded, this hope died within me; and, what may appear +strange, I began to wish she was _not_ there. + +"If present," thought I, "she must have seen me ere this, and to have +taken no notice--" + +A little pang of chagrin accompanied this reflection. + +I flung myself upon a seat, and endeavoured to assume an air of +indifference, though I was far from feeling indifferent, and my eyes as +before kept eagerly scanning the fair masters. Now and then, the +_tournure_ of an ankle--I had seen Isolina's--or the elliptical sweep of +a fine figure, inspired me with fresh hope: but as the mascaritas who +owned them were near enough to have seen, and yet took no notice of me, +I conjectured--in fact, _hoped_--that none of them was she. Indeed, a +well-turned ankle is no distinctive mark among the fair _doncellas_ of +Mexico. + +At length, a pair of unusually neat ones, supporting a figure of such +superb outlines, that even the ungraceful domino could not conceal them, +came under my eyes, and riveted my attention. My heart beat wildly as I +gazed. I could not help the belief that the lady in the yellow domino +was Isolina de Vargas. + +She was waltzing with a young dragoon officer; and as they passed me I +rose from my seat, and approached the orbit of the dance, in order to +keep them under my eyes. + +As they passed me a second time, I fancied the lady regarded me through +her mask: I fancied I saw her start. I was almost sure it was Isolina! + +My feeling was now that of jealousy. The young officer was one of the +elegant gentlemen of the service--a professed lady killer--a fellow, +who, notwithstanding his well-known deficiency of brains, was ever +welcome among women. She seemed to press closely to him as they whirled +around, while her head rested languishingly upon his shoulder. She +appeared to be _contented_ with her partner. I could scarcely endure +the agony of my fancies. It was a relief to me when the music ceased +and the waltz ended. + +The circle broke up, and the waltzers scattered in different directions, +but my eyes followed only the dragoon officer and his partner. He +conducted her to a seat, and then placing himself by her side, the two +appeared to engage in an earnest and interesting conversation. + +With me politeness was now out of the question. I had grown as jealous +as a tiger; and I drew near enough become a listener. The lowness of +the tone in which conversed precluded the possibility of my hearing much +of what was said, but I could make out that the spark was "coaxing" his +partner to remove her mask. The voice that replied was surely +Isolina's! + +I could myself have torn the silken screen from her face through very +vexation; but I was saved that indiscretion, for the request of her +cavalier seemed to prevail, and the next instant the mask was removed by +the lady's own hand. + +Shade of Erebus! what did I see? She was black--a _negress_! Not black +as ebony, but nearly so; with thick lips, high cheek-bones, and a row of +short "kinky" curls dangling over the arch of her glistening forehead! + +My astonishment, though perhaps of a more agreeable kind, was not +greater than that of the dragoon lieutenant--who, by the way, was also a +full-blooded "Southerner." At sight of his partner's face he started, +as if a six-pound shot had winded him; and after a few half-muttered +excuses, he rose with an air of extreme _gaucherie_, and hurrying off, +hid himself behind the crowd! + +The "coloured lady," mortified--as I presumed she must be--hastily +readjusted her mask, and rising from her seat, glided away from the +scene of her humiliation. + +I gazed after her with a mingled feeling of curiosity and pity; I saw +her pass out of the door alone, evidently with the intention of leaving +the ball. + +I fancied she had departed, as her domino, conspicuous by its bright +yellow colour, was no more seen among the maskers. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THE BLUE DOMINO. + +Thus disappointed, I gave up all hope of meeting her for whose sake I +had come to the ball. She was either _not_ there, or did not wish to be +recognised, even by _me_. The latter supposition was the more bitter of +the two; and goaded by it and one or two other uncongenial thoughts, I +paid frequent visits to the "refreshment-room," where wine flowed +freely. A cup or two drove the _one idea_ out of my mind; and after a +while, I grew more companionable, and determined to enjoy myself like +others around me. I had not danced as yet, but the wine soon got to my +toes as well as into my head; and I resolved to put myself in motion +with the first partner that offered. + +I soon found one--a blue domino--that came right in my way, as if the +fates had determined we should dance together. The lady was "_not_ +engaged for the next;" she would be "most happy." + +This, by the way, was said in _French_, which would have taken me by +surprise, had I not known that there were many French people living in +C--, as in all the large cities of Mexico. They are usually jewellers, +dentists, milliners, or rather artisans of that class who drive a +lucrative trade among the luxury-loving _Mexicanos_. To know there were +French people in the place, was to be certain you would find them at the +ball; and there were they, numbers of them, pirouetting about, and +comporting themselves with the gay _insouciance_ characteristic of their +nation. I was not surprised, then, when my blue domino addressed me in +French. + +"A French _modiste_!" conjectured I, as soon as she spoke. + +Milliner or no, it mattered not to me; I wanted a dancing partner; and +after another phrase or two in the same sweet tongue, away went she and +I in the curving whirl of a waltz. + +After sailing once round the room, I had two quite new and distinct +impressions upon my mind: the first, that I had a partner _who could +waltz_, a thing not to be met with every day. My blue domino seemed to +have no feet under her, but floated around me as if borne upon the air! +For the moment, I fancied myself in Ranelagh or Mabille! + +My other impression was, that my arm encircled as pretty a waist as ever +was clasped by a lover. There was a pleasing rotundity about it, +combined with a general symmetry of form and serpentine yieldiness of +movement that rendered dancing with such a partner both easy and +delightful. My observation at the moment was, that if the face of the +modiste bore any sort of proportion to her figure, she needed not have +come so far from France to push her fortune. + +With such a partner I could not otherwise than waltz well; and never +better than upon that occasion. We were soon under the observation of +the company, and became the cynosure of a circle. This I did not +relish, and drawing my blue domino to one side, we waltzed towards a +seat, into which I handed her with the usual polite expression of +thanks. + +This seat was in a little recess or blind window, where two persons +might freely converse without fear of an eaves-dropper. I had no desire +to run away from a partner who danced so well, though she were a +modiste. There was room for two upon the bench, and I asked permission +to sit beside her. + +"Oh, certainly," was the frank reply. + +"And will you permit me to remain with you till the music recommences?" + +"If you desire it." + +"And dance with you again?" + +"With pleasure, monsieur, if it suit your convenience. But is there no +other who claims you as a partner?--no other in this assemblage you +would prefer?" + +"Not one, I assure you. You are the only one present with whom I care +to dance." + +As I said this, I thought I perceived a slight movement, that indicated +some emotion. + +"It was a gallant speech, and the modiste is pleased with the +compliment," thought I. + +Her reply:-- + +"It flatters me, sir, that you prefer my company to that of the many +splendid beauties who are in this saloon; though it may gratify me still +more _if you knew who I am_." + +The last clause was uttered with an emphasis, and followed by a sigh! + +"Poor girl!" thought I, "she fancies that I mistake her for some grand +dame--that if I knew her real position her humble avocation, I should +not longer care to dance with her. In that she is mistaken. I make no +distinction between a milliner and a marchioness, especially in a +ball-room. There, grace and beauty alone guide to preference." + +After giving way to some such reflections, I replied-- + +"It is my regret, mam'selle, not to have the happiness of knowing who +you are, and it is not possible I ever may, unless you will have the +goodness to remove your mask." + +"Ah! monsieur, what you request is impossible." + +"Impossible! and why may I ask?" + +"Because, were you to see my face, I should not have you for my partner +in the next dance; and to say the truth, I should regret that, since you +waltz so admirably." + +"Oh! refusal and flattery in the same breath! No, mam'selle, I am sure +_your_ face will never be the means of your losing a partner. Come! let +me beg of you to remove that envious counterfeit. Let us converse +freely face to face. _I_ am not masked, as you see." + +"In truth, sir, you have no reason to hide your face, which is more than +I can say for many other men in this room." + +"Quick-witted milliner," thought I. "Bravo, Ranelagh! Vive la +Mabille!" + +"Thanks, amiable masker!" I replied. "But you are too generous: you +flatter me--" + +"It is worth while," rejoined she, interrupting me; "it improves your +cheek: blushes become you, ha, ha, ha!" + +"The deuce!" I ejaculated, half aloud, "this _dame du Boulevard_ is +laughing at me!" + +"But what _are_ you?" she continued, suddenly changing her tone. "You +are not a Mexican? Are you soldier or civilian?" + +"What would you take me for?" + +"A poet, from your pale face, but more from the manner in which I have +heard you sigh." + +"I have not sighed since we sat down." + +"No--but before we sat down." + +"What! in the dance?" + +"No--before the dance." + +"Ha! then you observed me before?" + +"O yes, your plain dress rendered you conspicuous among so many +uniforms; besides your manner--" + +"What manner?" I asked, with some degree of confusion, fearing that in +my search after Isolina I had committed some stupid piece of +left-handedness. + +"Four abstraction; and, by the way, had you not little _penchant_ for a +yellow domino?" + +"A yellow domino?" repeated I, raising my hand to my head, as though it +cost me an effort to remember it--"a yellow domino?" + +"Ay, ay--a ye-ll-ow dom-in-o," rejoined my companion, with sarcastic +emphasis--"a yellow domino, who waltzed with a young officer--not +bad-looking, by the way." + +"Ah! I think I _do_ remember--" + +"Well, I think you _ought_," rejoined my tormentor, "and well, too: you +took sufficient pains to _observe_." + +"Ah--aw--yes," stammered I. + +"I thought you were conning verses to her, and as you had not the +advantage of _seeing her face_, were making them to her feet!" + +"Ha, ha!--what an idea of yours, mad'm'selle!" + +"In the end, she was not ungenerous--she let you see the face." + +"The devil!" exclaimed I, starting; "you saw the _denouement_, then?" + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed she; "of course I saw the denouement, ha, +ha!--_drole_, wasn't it?" + +"Very," replied I, not much relishing the joke, but endeavouring to join +my companion in the laugh. + +"How silly the spark looked! Ha, ha!" + +"Very silly, indeed. Ha, ha, ha!" + +"And how disappointed--" + +"Eh?" + +"How disappointed _you_ looked, monsieur!" + +"Oh--ah--I--no--I assure you--I had no interest in the affair. I was +not _disappointed_--at least not as you imagine." + +"Ah!" + +"The feeling uppermost in my mind was _pity_--pity for the poor girl." + +"And you really _did_ pity her?" + +This question was put with an earnestness that sounded somewhat strange +at the moment. + +"I really did. The creature seemed so mortified--" + +"She seemed mortified, did she?" + +"Of course. She left the room immediately after, and has not returned +since. No doubt she has gone home, poor devil!" + +"Poor devil! Is that the extent of your pity?" + +"Well, after all, it must be confessed she was a superb deception: a +finer dancer I never saw--I beg pardon, I except my present partner--a +good foot, an elegant figure, and then to turn out--" + +"What?" + +"_Una negrilla_!" + +"I fear, monsieur, you Americans are not very gallant towards the ladies +of colour. It is different here in Mexico, which you term _despotic_." + +I felt the rebuke. + +"To change the subject," continued she; "are you _not_ a poet?" + +"I do not deserve the name of poet, yet I will not deny that I have made +verses." + +"I thought as much. What an instinct I have! O that I could prevail +upon you to write some verses to me!" + +"What! without knowing either your name or having looked upon your face. +Mam'selle, I must at least set the features I am called upon to +praise." + +"Ah, monsieur, you little know: were I to unmask those features, I +should stand but a poor chance of getting the verses. My plain face +would counteract all your poetic inspirations." + +"Shade of Lucretia! this is no needlewoman, though dealing in weapons +quite as sharp. Modiste, indeed! I have been labouring under a +mistake. This is some _dame spirituelle_, some grand lady." + +I had now grown more than curious to look upon the face of my companion. +Her conversation had won me: a woman who could talk so, I fancied, +could not be ill-looking. Such an enchanting spirit could not be hidden +behind a plain face; besides, there was the gracefulness of form, the +small gloved hand, the dainty foot and ankle demonstrated in the dance, +a voice that rang like music, and the flash of a superb eye, which I +could perceive even through the mask. Beyond a doubt, she was +beautiful. + +"Lady!" I said, speaking with more earnestness than ever, "I entreat +you to unmask yourself. Were it not in a ball-room, I should beg the +favour upon my knees." + +"And were I to grant it, you could hardly rise soon enough, and +pronounce your lukewarm leave-taking. Hat monsieur! think of the yellow +domino!" + +"Mam'selle, you take pleasure in mortifying me. _Do_ you deem me +capable of such fickleness? Suppose for a moment, you are not what the +world calls beautiful, you could not, by removing your mask, also strip +yourself of the attractions of your conversation--of that voice that +thrills through my heart--of that grace exhibited in your every +movement! With such endowments how could a woman appear ill-looking? +If your face was even as black as hers of the yellow domino, I verily +believe I could not perceive its darkness." + +"Ha, ha, ha! take care what you say, monsieur. I presume you are not +more indulgent than the rest of your sex; and well know I that, with you +men, ugliness is the greatest crime of a woman." + +"I am different, I swear--" + +"Do not perjure yourself, as you will if I but remove my mask. I tell +you, sir, that in spite of all the fine qualities you imagine me to +possess, I am a vision that would horrify you to look upon." + +"Impossible!--your form, your grace, your voice. Oh, unmask! I accept +every consequence for the favour I ask." + +"Then be it as you wish; but I shall not be the means of punishing you. +Receive from your own hands the chastisement of your curiosity." + +"You permit me, then? Thanks, mam'selle, thanks! It is fastened +behind: yes, the knot is here--now I have it--so--so--" + +With trembling fingers I undid the string, and pulled off the piece of +taffety. Shade of Sheba! what did I see? + +The mask fell from my fingers, as though it had been iron at a cherry +heat. Astonishment caused me to drop it; rather say horror--horror at +beholding the face underneath--the face _of the yellow domino_! Yes, +there was the same negress with her thick lips, high cheek-bones, and +the little well-oiled kinks hanging like corkscrews over her temples! + +I knew not either what to say or do; my gallantry was clean gone; and +although I resumed my seat, I remained perfectly dumb. Had I looked in +a mirror at that moment, I should certainly have beheld the face of a +fool. + +My companion, who seemed to have made up her mind to such a result, +instead of being mortified, burst into a loud fit of laughter, at the +same time crying out in a tone of raillery-- + +"Now, Monsieur le Poete, does my face inspire you? When may I expect +the verses? To-morrow? Soon? Never? Ah! monsieur, I fear you are not +more gallant to us poor `ladies ob colour' than your countryman the +lieutenant. Ha, ha, ha!" + +I was too much ashamed of my own conduct, and too deeply wounded by her +reproach, to make reply. Fortunately her continued laughter offered me +an opportunity to mutter some broken phrases, accompanied by very clumsy +gestures, and thus take myself off. Certainly, in all my life, I never +made a more awkward adieu. + +I walked, or rather _stole_, towards the entrance, determined to leave +the ball-room, and gallop home. + +On reaching the door, my curiosity grew stronger than my shame; and I +resolved to take a parting look at this singular Ethiopian. The blue +domino, still within the niche, caught my eye at once; but on looking up +to the face--gracious Heaven! _it was Isolina's_! + +I stood as if turned into stone. My gaze was fixed upon her face, and I +could not take it off. She was looking at me; but, oh! the expression +with which those eyes regarded me! That was a glance to be remembered +for life. She no longer laughed, but her proud lip seemed to curl with +a sarcastic smile, as of scorn! + +I hesitated whether to return and apologise. But no; it was too late. +I could have fallen upon my knees, and begged forgiveness. It was too +late. I should only subject myself to further ridicule from that +capricious spirit. + +Perhaps my look of remorse had more effect than words. I thought her +expression changed; her glance became more tender, as if inviting me +back! Perhaps-- + +At this moment a man approached, and without ceremony seated himself by +her side. His face was towards me--I recognised Ijurra! + +"They converse. Is it of _me_? Is it of --? If so, he will laugh. A +world to see that man laugh, and know it is at _me_. If he do, I shall +soon cast off the load that is crushing my heart! + +"He laughs not--not even a smile is traceable on his sombre features. +She has not told him, and well for him she has not. Prudence, +perchance, restrains her tongue; she might guess the result." + +They are on their feet again; she masks. Ijurra leads her to the dance; +they front to each other; they whirl away--away: they are lost among the +maskers. + +"Some wine, mozo!" + +A deep long draught, a few seconds spent in buckling on my sword, a few +more in reaching the gate, one spring, and my saddled steed was under +me. + +I rode with desperate heart and hot head; but the cool night-air, the +motion of my horse, and his proud spirit mingling with mine, gave me +relief, and I soon felt calmer. + +On reaching the rancheria, I found my lieutenants still up, eating their +rudely cooked supper. As my appetite was roused, I joined them at their +meal; and their friendly converse restored for the time my spirit's +equanimity. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +LOVE-THOUGHTS. + +A dread feeling is jealousy, mortified vanity, or whatever you may +designate the disappointment of love. I have experienced the sting of +shame, the blight of broken fortune, the fear of death itself; yet none +of these ever wrung my heart so rudely as the pang of an unreciprocated +passion. The former are but transient trials, and their bitterness soon +has an end. Jealousy, like the tooth of the serpent, carries poison in +its sting, and long and slow is the healing of its wound. Well knew he +this, that master of the human heart: Iago's prayer was not meant for +mockery. + +To drown my mortification, I had drunk wine freely at the ball; and on +returning home, had continued my potations with the more fiery spirit of +"Catalan." By this means I gained relief and sleep, but only of short +duration. Long before day I was awake--awake to the double bitterness +of jealousy and shame--awake to both mental and physical pain, for the +fumes of the vile stuff I had drunk wrecked my brain as though they +would burst open my skull. An ounce of opium would not have set me to +sleep again, and I tossed on my couch like one labouring under delirium. + +Of course the incidents of the preceding night were uppermost in my +mind. Every scene and action that had occurred were as plainly before +me as if I was again witnessing them. Every effort to alienate my +thoughts, and fix them upon some other theme, proved vain and idle; they +ever returned to the same circle of reflections, in the centre of which +was Isolina de Vargas! I thought of all that had passed, of all she had +said. I remembered every word. How bitterly I remembered that scornful +laugh!--how bitterly that sarcastic smile, when the double mask was +removed! + +The very remembrance of her beauty pained me! It was now to me as to +Tantalus the crystal waters, never to be tasted. Before, I had formed +hopes, had indulged in prospective dreams: the masquerade adventure had +dissipated them. I no longer hoped, no longer permitted myself to dream +of pleasant times to come: I felt that I was scorned. + +This feeling produced a momentary revulsion in my thoughts. There were +moments when I hated her, and vengeful impulses careered across my soul. + +These were fleeting moments: again before me rose that lovely form, that +proud grand spirit, in the full entirety of its power, and again my soul +became absorbed in admiration, and yielded itself to its hopeless +passion. It was far from being my first love. And thus experienced, I +could reason upon it. I felt certain it was to be the strongest and +stormiest of my life. + +I know of three loves distinct in kind and power. First, when the +passion is reciprocated--when the heart of the beloved yields back +thought for thought, and throb for throb, without one reserved +pulsation. This is bliss upon earth--not always long-lived--ending +perchance in a species of sublimated friendship. To have is no longer +to desire. + +The second is love entirely unrequited--love that never knew word or +smile of encouragement, no soft whisper to fan it into flame, no ray of +hope to feed upon. Such dies of inanition--the sooner that its object +is out of the way, and absence in time will conquer it. + +The third is the love that "dotes yet doubts," that doubts but never +dies--no never. The jealousy that pains, only sustains it; it lives on, +now happy in the honeyed conviction of triumph, now smarting under real +or fancied scorn--on, on, so long as its object is accessible to sight +or hearing! No matter how worthless that object may be or become--no +matter how lost or fallen! Love regards not this; it has nought to do +with the moral part of our nature. Beauty is the shrine of its worship, +and beauty is not morality. + +In my own mind I am conscious of three elements or classes of feeling: +the _moral_, the _intellectual_, and what I may term the _passional_-- +the last as distinct from either of the other two as oil from spirits or +water. To the last belongs love, which, I repeat again, has no sympathy +with the moral feelings of our nature, but, alas! as one might almost +believe, with their opposite. Even a plain but wicked coquette will +captivate more hearts than a beautiful saint, and the brilliant +murderess ere now has made conquests at the very foot of the scaffold! + +It pains me to pronounce these convictions, derived as they are from +experience. There is as little gain as pleasure in so doing, but +popularity must be sacrificed at the shrine of truth. For the sake of +effect, I shall not play false with philosophy. + +Rough ranger as I was, I had studied psychology sufficiently to +understand these truths; and I endeavoured to analyse my passion for +this girl or woman--to discover _why_ I loved her. Her physical beauty +was of the highest order, and that no doubt was an element; but it was +not all. Had I merely looked upon this beauty under ordinary +circumstances--that is, without coming in contact with the spirit that +animated it--I might have loved her, or I might not. It was the spirit, +then, that had won me, though not alone. The same gem in a less +brilliant setting might have failed to draw my admiration. I was the +captive both of the spirit and the form. Soul and body had co-operated +in producing my passion, and this may account for its suddenness and +profundity. Why I loved her person, I knew--I was not ignorant of the +laws of beauty--but why the spirit, I knew not. Certainly not from any +idea I had formed of her high _moral_ qualities; I had no evidence of +these. Of her courage, even to daring, I had proof; of energy and +determined will; of the power of thought, quick and versatile; but these +are not _moral_ qualities, they are not even _feminine_! True, she wept +over her slain steed. Humanity? I have knows a hardened _lorette_ weep +bitter tears for her tortoise-shell cat. She refused to take from me my +horse. Generosity? She had a thousand within sight. Alas! in thus +reviewing all that had passed between myself and the beautiful Isolina, +in search of her moral qualities, I met with but little success! + +Mystery of our nature! I loved her not the less! And yet my passion +was pure, and I do not believe that my heart was wicked. Mystery of our +nature! He who reads all hearts alone can solve thee! + +I loved without reason; but I loved now without hope. Hope I had before +that night. Her glance through the turrets--her note--its contents--a +word, a look at other times, had inspired me with hopes, however faint +they were. The incident of the ball-room had crushed them. + +Ijurra's dark face kept lowering before me; even in my visions he was +always by her side. What was between the two? Perhaps a nearer +relationship than that of cousin? Perhaps they were affianced? +Married? + +The thought maddened me. + +I could rest upon my couch no longer. I rose and sought the open air; I +climbed to the azotea, and paced it to and fro, as the tiger walks his +cage. My thoughts were wild, and my movements without method. + +To add to the bitterness of my reflections, I now discovered that I had +sustained a loss--not in property, but something that annoyed me still +more. I had lost the order and its enclosure--the note of Don Ramon. I +had dropped them on the day in which they were received, and I believed +in the patio of the hacienda, where they must have been picked up at +once. If by Don Ramon himself, then all was well; but if they had +fallen into the hands of some of the leather-clad herdsmen, ill affected +to Don Ramon, it might be an awkward affair for that gentleman--indeed +for myself. Such negligence would scarcely be overlooked at +head-quarters; and I had ill forebodings about the result. It was one +of my soul's darkest hours. + +From its very darkness I might have known that light was near, for the +proverb is equally true in the moral as in the material world. Light +_was_ near. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +AN ODD EPISTLE. + +Breakfast I hardly tasted. A _taso_ of chocolate and a small sugared +cake--the _desayuna_ of every Mexican--were brought, and these served me +for breakfast. A glass of cognac and a Havanna were more to the +purpose, and helped to stay the wild trembling of my nerves. +Fortunately, there was no duty to perform, else I could ill have +attended to it. + +I remained on the azotea till near mid-day. The storm raging within +prevented me from taking note of what was passing around. The scenes in +the piazza, the rangers and their steeds, the "greasers" in their +striped blankets, the _Indias_ squatted on their _petates_, the pretty +poblanas, were all unnoticed by me. + +At intervals my eyes rested upon the walls of the distant dwelling; it +was not so distant but that a human form could have been distinguished +upon its roof, had one been there. There was none, and twenty, ay, +fifty times, did I turn away my disappointed gaze. + +About noon the Serjeant of the guard reported that a Mexican wished to +speak with me. Mechanically, I gave orders for the man to be sent up; +but it was not until he appeared before me that I thought of what I was +doing. + +The presence of the Mexican at once aroused me from my unpleasant +reverie. I recognised him as one of the vaqueros of Don Ramon de +Vargas--the same I had seen on the plain during my first interview with +Isolina. + +There was something in his manner that betokened him a messenger. A +folded note, which he drew from under his jerkin--after having glanced +around to see whether he was noticed--confirmed my observation. + +I took the note. There was no superscription, nor did I stay to look +for one. My fingers trembled as I tore open the seal. As my eye rested +on the writing and recognised it, my heart throbbed so as almost to +choke my utterance. I muttered some directions to the messenger; and to +conceal my emotion from him, I turned away and proceeded to the farthest +corner of the azotea before reading the note. I called back to the man +to go below, and wait for an answer; and, then relieved of his presence, +I read as follows:-- + +"_July_ 18--. + +"_Gallant_ capitan! allow me to bid you a _buenas dias_, for I presume +that, after the fatigues of last night, it is but morning with you yet. +Do you dream of your sable belle? `Poor devil!' Ha, ha, ha! _Gallant_ +capitan!" + +I was provoked at this mode of address, for the "gallant" was rendered +emphatic by underlining. It was a letter to taunt me for my ill +behaviour. I felt inclined to fling it down, but my eye wandering over +the paper, caught some words that induced me to read on. + +"_Gallant_ capitan! I had a favourite mare. How fond I was of that +creature you may understand, who are afflicted by a similar affection +for the noble Moro. In an evil hour, your aim, too true, alas! robbed +me of my favourite, but you offered to repay me by _robbing_ yourself, +for well know I that the black is to you _the dearest object upon +earth_. Indeed, were I the lady of your love, I should ill brook such a +divided affection! Well, mio capitan, I understood the generous +sacrifice you would have made, and forbade it; but I know you are +desirous of cancelling your debt. It is in your power to do so. +Listen!" + +Some _hard_ conditions I anticipated would follow; I recked not of that. +There was no sacrifice I was not ready to make. I would have dared any +deed, however wild, to have won that proud heart--to have inoculated it +with the pain that was wringing my own. I read on: + +"There is a horse, famed in these parts as the `white steed of the +prairies' (_el cavallo bianco de los llanos_). He is a wild-horse, of +course; snow-white in colour, beautiful in form, swift as the swallow-- +But why need I describe to you the `white steed of the prairies?' You +are a Tejano, and must have heard of him ere this? Well, mio capitan, I +have long had a desire--a frantic one, let me add--to possess this +horse. I have offered rewards to hunters--to our own vaqueros, for he +sometimes appears upon our plains--but to no purpose. Not one of them +can capture, though they have often seen and chased him. Some say that +he _cannot be taken_, that he is so fleet as to gallop, or rather +_glide_ out of sight in a glance, and that, too, on the open prairie! +There are those who assert that he is a phantom, _un demonio_! Surely +so beautiful a creature cannot be the devil? Besides, I have always +heard--and, if I recollect aright, some one said so last night--that the +devil was _black_. `Poor devil!' Ha, ha, ha!" + +I rather welcomed this allusion to my misconduct of the preceding night, +for I began to feel easier under the perception that the whole affair +was thus treated in jest, instead of the anger and scorn I had +anticipated. With pleasanter presentiments I read on:-- + +"To the point, mio capitan. There are some incredulous people who +believe the white steed of the prairies to be a myth, and deny his +existence altogether. _Carrambo_! I know that he _does_ exist, and +what is more to my present purpose, he is--or _was_, but two hours ago-- +within ten miles of where I am writing this note! One of our vaqueros +saw him near the banks of a beautiful arroyo, which I know to be his +favourite ground. For reasons known to me, the vaquero did not either +chase or molest him; but in breathless haste brought me the news. + +"Now, capitan, gallant and grand! there is but one who can capture this +famed horse, and that is your puissant self. Ah! _you have made captive +what was once at wild and free_. Yes! _you_ can do it--you and Moro! + +"Bring me the white steed of the prairies! I shall cease to grieve for +poor Lola. I shall forgive you that _contratiempo_. I shall forgive +all--even your rudeness to my double mask. Ha, ha, ha! Bring me the +white steed! the white steed! + +"Isolina." + +As I finished reading this singular epistle, a thrill of pleasure ran +through my veins. I dwelt not on the oddness of its contents, +thoroughly characteristic of the writer. Its meaning was clear enough. + +I _had_ heard of the white horse of the prairies--what hunter or +trapper, trader or traveller, throughout all the wide borders of +prairie-land, has not? Many a romantic story of him had I listened to +around the blazing campfire--many a tale of German-like _diablerie_, in +which the white horse played hero. For nearly a century has he figured +in the legends of the prairie "mariner"--a counterpart of the Flying +Dutchman--the "phantom-ship" of the forecastle. Like this, too, +ubiquitous--seen today scouring the sandy plains of the Platte, +to-morrow bounding over the broad llanos of Texas, a thousand miles to +the southward! + +That there existed a white stallion of great speed and splendid +proportions--that there were twenty, perhaps a hundred such--among the +countless herds of wild-horses that roam over the great plains, I did +not for a moment doubt. I myself had seen and chased more than one that +might have been termed "a magnificent animal," and that no ordinary +horse could overtake; but the one known as the "white steed of the +prairies" had a peculiar marking, that distinguished him from all the +rest--_his ears were black_!--only his ears, and these were of the deep +colour of ebony. The rest of his body, mane, and tail, was white as +fresh-fallen snow. + +It was to this singular and mysterious animal that the letter pointed; +it was the black-eared steed I was called upon to capture. The contents +of the note were specific and plain. + +One expression alone puzzled me-- + +"_You have made captive what was once as wild and free_." What? I +asked myself. I scarce dared to give credence to the answer that leaped +like an exulting echo from out my heart! + +There was a postscript, of course: but this contained only "business." +It gave minuter details as to when, how, and where the white horse had +been seen, and stated that the bearer of the note--the vaquero who had +seen him--would act as my guide. + +I pondered not long upon the strange request. Its fulfilment promised +to recover me the position, which, but a moment before, I had looked +upon as lost for ever. I at once resolved upon the undertaking. + +"Yes, lovely Isolina! if horse and man can do it, ere another sun sets, +you shall be mistress of the _white steed of the prairies_!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +THE MANADA. + +In half-an-hour after, with the vaquero for my guide, I rode quietly out +of the rancheria. A dozen rangers followed close behind; and, having +crossed the river at a ford nearly opposite the village, we struck off +into the _chapparal_ on the opposite side. + +The men whom I had chosen to accompany me were most of them old hunters, +fellows who could "trail" and "crease" with accurate aim. I had +confidence in their skill, and, aided by them, I had great hopes we +should find the game we were in search of. + +My hopes, however, would not have been so sanguine but for another +circumstance. It was this: Our guide had informed me, that when he saw +the white steed, the latter was in company with a large drove of mares-- +a _manada_--doubtless his harem. He would not be likely to separate +from them, and even if these had since left the ground, they could be +the more easily "trailed" in consequence of their numbers. Indeed, but +for this prospect, our wild-horse hunt would have partaken largely of +the character of a "wild-goose chase." The steed, by all accounts of +him, might have been seen upon one arroyo to-day, and by the banks of +some other stream, a hundred miles off, on the morrow. The presence of +his manada offered some guarantee, that he might still be near the +ground where the vaquero had marked him. Once found, I trusted to the +swiftness of my horse, and my own skill in the use of the lazo. + +As we rode along, I revealed to my following the purpose of the +expedition. All of them knew the white steed by fame; one or two +averred they had seen him in their prairie wanderings. The whole party +were delighted at the idea of such a "scout," and exhibited as much +excitement as if I was leading them to a skirmish with guerilleros. + +The country through which we passed was at first a dense chapparal, +consisting of the various thorny shrubs and plants for which this part +of Mexico is so celebrated. The greater proportion belonged to the +family of _leguminosae_--_robinias, gleditschias_, and the Texan acacias +of more than one species, there known as _mezquite_. Aloes, too, formed +part of the under-growth, to the no small annoyance of the traveller-- +the wild species known as the _lechuguilla_, or pita-plant, whose core +is cooked for food, whose fibrous leaves serve for the manufacture of +thread, cordage, or cloth--while its sap yields by distillation the +fiery _mezcal_. Here and there, a tree yucca grew by the way, its +fascicles of rigid leaves reminding one of the plumed heads of Indian +warriors. Some I saw with edible fruits growing in clusters, like +bunches of bananas. Several species are there of these fruit-bearing +yuccas in the region of the Rio Grande, as yet unknown to the scientific +botanist. I observed also the _palmilla_, or soap-plant, another yucca +whose roots yield an excellent substitute for soap; and various forms of +cactus--never out of sight on Mexican soil--grew thickly around, a +characteristic feature of the landscape. Plants of humbler stature +covered the surface, among which the syngenesists predominated; while +the fetid _artemisia_, and the still more disagreeably odorous creosote +plant (_Larrea Mexicana_) grew upon spots that were sandy and arid. +Pleasanter objects to the eye were the scarlet panicles of the +_Fouquiera splendens_, then undescribed by botanists, and yet to become +a favourite of the arboretums. + +I was in no mood for botanising at the time, but I well remember how I +admired this elegant species--its tall culm-like stems, surmounted by +panicles of brilliant flowers, rising high above the level of the +surrounding thicket, like banners above a host. Not that I possess the +refined taste of a lover of flowers, and much less then; but cold must +be the heart that could look upon the floral beauty of Mexico, without +remembering some portion of its charms. Even the rudest of my followers +could not otherwise than admire; and once or twice, as we journeyed +along, I could hear them give utterance to that fine epithet of the +heart's desire, "Beautiful!" + +As we advanced, the aspect changed. The surface became freer of jungle; +a succession of glade and thicket; in short, a "mezquite prairie." +Still advancing, the "openings" became larger, while the timbered +surface diminished in extent, and now and then the glades joined each +other without interruption. + +We had ridden nearly ten miles without drawing bridle, when our guide +struck upon the trail of the manada. Several of the old hunters, +without dismounting, pronounced the tracks to be those of wild _mares_, +which they easily distinguished from _horse_ tracks. Their judgment +proved correct; for following the trail but a short distance farther, we +came full in sight of the drove, which the vaquero confidently +pronounced was the manada we were in search of! + +So far our success equalled our expectations; but to get sight of a +_caballada_ of wild-horses, and to capture its swiftest steed, are two +things of very unequal difficulty. This fact my anxiously beating heart +and quickly throbbing pulse revealed to me at the moment. It would be +difficult to describe the mingled feelings of anxious doubt and joyous +hope that passed through my mind, as from afar off I gazed upon that shy +herd, still unconscious of our approach. + +The prairie upon which the mares were browsing was more then a mile in +width, and, like those we had been passing through, it was surrounded by +the low chapparal forest--although there were avenues that communicated +with other openings of a similar kind. Near its centre was the manada. +Some of the mares were quietly browsing upon the grass, while others +were frisking and playing about, now rearing up as if in combat, now +rushing in wild gallop, their tossed manes and full tails flung loosely +upon the wind. Even in the distance we could trace the full rounded +development of their bodies; and their smooth coats glistening under the +sun denoted their fair condition. They were of all colours known to the +horse, for in this the race of the Spanish horse is somewhat peculiar. +There were bays, and blacks, and whites--the last being most numerous. +There were greys, both iron and roan, and duns with white manes and +tails, and some of a mole colour, and not a few of the kind known in +Mexico as _pintados_ (piebalds)--for spotted horses are not uncommon +among the mustangs--all of course with full manes and tails, since the +mutilating shears of the jockey had never curtailed their flowing +glories. + +But where was the lord of this splendid harem?--where the steed? + +This was the thought that was uppermost in the mind of all--the question +upon every tongue. + +Our eyes wandered over the herd, now here, now there. White horses +there were, numbers of them, but it needed but a glance to tell that the +"steed of the prairies" was not there. + +We eyed each other with looks of disappointment. Even my companions +felt that; but a far more bitter feeling was growing upon me as I gazed +upon the leaderless troop. Could I have captured and carried back the +whole drove, the present would not have purchased one smile from +Isolina. The steed was not among them! + +He might still be in the neighbourhood; or had he forsaken the manada +altogether, and gone far away over the wide prairie in search of new +conquests? + +The vaquero believed he was not far off. I had faith in this man's +opinion, who, having passed his life in the observation of wild and +half-wild horses, had a perfect knowledge of their habits. There was +hope then. The steed might be near; perhaps lying down in the shade of +the thicket; perhaps with a portion of the manada or some favourite in +one of the adjacent glades. If so, our guide assured us we should soon +have him in view. He would soon bring the steed upon the ground. + +How? + +Simply by startling the mares, whose neigh of alarm would be heard from +afar. + +The plan seemed feasible enough; but it was advisable that we should +surround the manada before attempting to disturb them, else they might +gallop off in the opposite direction, before any of us could get near. + +Without delay, we proceeded to effect the "surround." + +The chapparal aided us by concealing our movements; and in half-an-hour +we had deployed around the prairie. + +The drove still browsed and played. They had no suspicion that a cordon +of hunters was being formed around them, else they would have long since +galloped away. + +Of all wild creatures, the shyest is the wild-horse; the deer, the +antelope, and buffalo, are far less fearful of the approach of man. The +mustang seems to understand the doom that awaits him in captivity. One +could almost fancy that the runaways from the settlements--occasionally +seen amongst them--had poured into their ears the tale of their +hardships and long endurance. + +I had myself ridden to the opposite side of the prairie, in order to be +certain when the circle was complete. I was now alone, having dropped +my companions at intervals along the margin of the timber. I had +brought with me the bugle, with a note or two of which I intended to +give the alarm to the mares. + +I had placed myself in a clump of mezquite trees, and was about raising +the horn to my lips, when a shrill scream from behind caused me to bring +down the instrument, and turn suddenly in my seat. For a moment, I was +in doubt as to what could have produced such a singular utterance, when +a second time it fell on my ear, and then I recognised it. It was the +neigh of the prairie stallion! + +Near me was a break in the thicket, a sort of avenue leading out into +another prairie. In this I could hear the hoof-stroke of a horse going +at a gallop. + +As fast as the underwood would allow, I pressed forward and came out +upon the edge of the open ground; but the sun, low down, flashed in my +eyes, and I could see no object distinctly. + +The tread of the hoofs and the shrill neighing still rang in my ears. + +Presently the dazzling light no longer quite blinded me: I shaded my +eyes with my hand, and could perceive the form of a noble steed +stretching in full gallop down the avenue, and coming in the direction +of the manada. + +Half-a-dozen springs brought him opposite; the beam was no longer in my +eyes; and as he galloped past, I saw before me "the white steed of the +prairies." + +There was no mistaking the marks of that splendid creature: there was +the snow-white body, the ears of jetty blackness, the blue muzzle, the +red projected nostril, the broad oval quarters, the rounded and +symmetric limbs--all the points of an incomparable steed! + +Like an arrow he shot past. He did not arrest his pace for an instant, +but galloped on in a direct line for the drove. + +The mares had answered his first signal with a responsive neigh; and +tossing up their heads, the whole manada was instantly in motion. In a +few seconds, they stood at rest again, _formed in line_--as exact as +could have been done by a troop of cavalry--and fronting their leader as +he galloped up. Indeed, standing as they were, with their heads high in +air, it was easy to fancy them mounted men in the array of battle; and +often have wild-horses been mistaken for such by the prairie traveller! + +Concealment or stratagem could no longer avail; the chase was fairly up. +Speed and the lazo must now decide the result; and, with this +conviction, I gave Moro the spur, and bounded into the open plain. + +The neighing of the steed had signalled my companions who shot almost +simultaneously out of the timber, and spurred towards the drove, yelling +as they came. + +I had no eyes for aught but the white steed, and after him I directed +myself. + +On nearing the line of mares, he halted in his wild gallop, twice reared +his body upward, as if to reconnoitre the ground; and then, uttering +another of his shrill screams, broke off in a direct line towards the +edge of the prairie. A wide avenue leading out in that direction seemed +to have guided his instincts. + +The manada followed, at first galloping in line; but this became broken, +as the swifter individuals passed ahead of the others, and the drove +were soon strung out upon the prairie. + +Through the opening now swept the chase--the pursuers keenly plying the +spur--the pursued straining every muscle to escape. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +THE HUNT OF THE WILD-HORSE. + +My gallant horse soon gave proof of his superior qualities. One after +another of my companions was passed; and as we cleared the avenue and +entered a second prairie, I found myself mixing with the hindmost of the +_wild_ mares. Pretty creatures some of them were; and upon any other +occasion, I should have been tempted to fling a lazo over one of them, +which I might easily have done. Then I only thought of getting them out +of the way, as they were hindering my onward gallop. + +Before we had quite crossed the second prairie, I had forged into the +front rank; and the mares, seeing I had headed them, broke to the right +and left, and scattered away. + +All were now behind me, all but the white steed; he alone kept the +course, at intervals uttering that same shrill neigh, as if to tantalise +and lure me on. He was yet far in advance, and apparently running _at +his ease_! + +The horse I bestrode needed neither spur nor guidance; he saw before him +the object of the chase, and he divined the will of his rider. I felt +him rising under me like a sea-wave. His hoofs struck the turf without +impinging upon it. At each fresh spring, he came up with elastic +rebound, while his flanks heaved with the conscious possession of power. + +Before the second prairie was crossed, he had gained, considerably upon +the white steed; but to my chagrin, I now saw the latter dash right into +the thicket. + +I found a path and followed. My ear served to guide me, for the +branches crackled as the wild-horse broke through. Now and then I +caught glimpses of his white body, glancing among the green leaves. + +Apprehensive of losing him, I rode recklessly after, now breasting the +thicket--now tracing its labyrinthine aisles. I heeded not the thorny +mimosas; my horse heeded them not; but large trees of the false acacia +(_robinia_) stood thickly in the way, and their horizontal branches +hindered me. Often was I obliged to bend flat to the saddle, in order +to pass under them. All this was in favour of the pursued, and against +the pursuer. + +I longed for the open prairie, and to my relief it at length appeared, +not yet quite treeless, but studded with timber "islands." Amid these +the white steed was sailing off; but in passing through the thicket, he +had gained ground, and was now a long way in advance of me. But he was +making for the open plain that lay beyond, and this showed that it was +his habit to trust to his heels for safety. Perhaps with such a +pursuer, he would have been safer to have kept the chapparal; but that +remained to be seen. + +In ten minutes' time, we had passed through the timber islands, and now +the prairie--the grand, limitless prairie--stretched bee us, far beyond +the reach of vision. + +On goes the chase over its grassy level--on till the trees are no longer +behind us, and the eye sees nought but the green savannah, and the blue +canopy arching over it--on, across the centre of that vast circle which +has for its boundary the whole horizon! + +The rangers, lost in the mazes of the chapparal, have long since fallen +off; the mustangs have gone back; on all that wide plain, but two +objects appear--the snow-white form of the flying steed, and the dark +horseman that follows! + +It is a long wild ride, a cruel gallop for my matchless Moro. Ten miles +of the prairie have we passed--more than that--and as yet I have neither +used whip nor spur. The brave steed needs no such prompting; he, too, +has his interest in the chase--the ambition not to be outrun. My motive +is different: I think only of the smiles of a woman; but such motive ere +now has led to the loss of a crown or the conquest of a world. On, +Moro! on! you must overtake him or die! + +There is no longer an obstacle. He cannot hide from us here. The +plain, with its sward of short grass, is level and smooth as the +sleeping ocean; not an object intrudes upon the sight. He cannot +conceal himself anywhere. There is still an hour of sunlight; he cannot +hide from us in the darkness: ere that comes down, he shall be our +captive. On, Moro! on! + +On we glide in silence. The steed has ceased to utter his taunting +neigh; he has lost confidence in his speed; he now runs in dread. Never +before has he been so sorely pressed. He runs in silence, and so, too, +his pursuer. Not a sound is heard but the stroke of the galloping +hoofs--an impressive silence, that betokens the earnestness of the +chase. + +Less than two hundred yards separate us; I feel certain of victory. A +touch of the spur would now bring Moro within range: it is time to put +an end to this desperate ride. Now, brave Moro, another stretch, and +you shall have rest! + +I look to my lazo; it hangs coiled over the horn of my saddle: one end +is fast to a ring and staple firmly riveted in the tree-wood. Is the +loop clear and free? It is. The coil--is it straight? Yes; all as it +should be. + +I lift the coil, and rest it lightly over my bridle arm; I separate the +noose, and hold it in my right hand. I am ready--_God of heaven! the +steed_? + +It was a wild exclamation, but it was drawn from me by no common cause. +In arranging my lazo, I had taken my eyes from the chase, only for a +moment: when I looked out again, _the horse had disappeared_! + +With a mechanical movement I drew bridle, almost wrenching my horse upon +his haunches; indeed, the animal had half halted of his own accord, and +with a low whimper seemed to express terror. What could it mean? Where +was the wild-horse? + +I wheeled round, and round again, scanning the prairie on every side-- +though a single glance might have served. The plain, as already +described, was level as a table; the horizon bounded the view: there was +neither rock nor tree, nor bush nor weed, nor even long grass. The +sward was of the kind known upon the prairies as "buffalo-grass" +(_Sesleria dactyloides_), short when full grown, but then rising +scarcely two inches above the soil. A serpent could hardly have found +concealment under it, but a horse-- + +Merciful heaven! _where was the steed_? + +An indefinable feeling of awe crept over me: I trembled; I felt my horse +trembling between my thighs. He was covered with foam and sweat; so was +I--the effects of the hard ride: but the cold perspiration of terror was +fast breaking upon me. The mystery was heavy and appalling! + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE PHANTOM-HORSE. + +I have encountered dangers--not a few--but they were the ordinary perils +of flood and field, and I understood them. I have had one limb broken, +and its fellow bored with an ounce of lead. I have swum from a sinking +ship, and have fallen upon the battle-field. I have looked at the +muzzles of a hundred muskets aimed at my person, at less than thirty +yards' distance, and felt the certainty of death though the volley was +fired, and I still live. + +Well, you will no doubt acknowledge these to be perils. Do not mistake +me; I am not boasting of having encountered them; I met them with more +or less courage--some of them with fear--but if the fears inspired by +all were combined into one emotion of terror, it would not equal in +intensity that which I experienced at the moment I pulled up my horse +upon the prairie. + +I have never been given to superstition; perhaps my religion is not +strong enough for that; but at that moment I could not help yielding to +a full belief in the supernatural. There was no _natural_ cause--I +could think of none--that would account for the mysterious disappearance +of the horse. I had often sneered at the credulous sailor and his +phantom-ship; had I lived to look upon a phenomenon equally strange yet +true--a phantom-horse? + +The hunters and trappers had indeed invested the white steed with this +character; their stories recurred to my memory at the moment. I had +used to smile at the simple credulity of the narrators. I was now +prepared to believe them. They were true! + +Or was I dreaming? Was it not all a dream? The search for the white +steed--the surround--the chase--the long, long gallop? + +For some moments I actually fancied that such _might_ be the case; but +soon my consciousness became clear again: I was in the saddle, and my +panting, smoking steed was under me. That was real and positive. I +remembered all the incidents of the chase. They, too, were real of a +certainty; the white steed had been there: he was gone. The trappers +spoke the truth. The horse was a phantom! + +Oppressed with this thought--which had almost become a conviction--I sat +in my saddle, bent and silent, my eyes turned upon the earth, but their +gaze fixed on vacuity. The lazo had dropped from my fingers, and the +bridle-reins trailed untouched over the withers of my horse. + +My belief in the supernatural was of short duration, how long I know +not, for during its continuance I remained in a state of bewilderment. + +My senses at length returned. My eyes had fallen upon a fresh +hoof-print on the turf, directly in front of me. I knew it was that +made by the white steed, and this awoke me to a process of reasoning. +Had the horse been a phantom, he could not have made a track. I had +never heard of the track of a ghost; though a _horse-ghost_ might be +different from the common kind! + +My reflections on this head ended in the determination to follow the +trail as far as it should lead; of course to the point where the steed +must have mounted into the air, or evaporated--the scene of his +apotheosis. + +With this resolve, I gathered my reins, and rode forward upon the trail, +keeping my eyes fixed upon the hoof-prints. + +The line was direct, and I had ridden nearly two hundred yards, when my +horse came to a sudden stop. I looked out forward to discover the cause +of his halting; with that glance vanished my new-born superstitions. + +At the distance of some thirty paces, a dark line was seen upon the +prairie, running transversely to the course I was following. It +appeared to be a narrow crack in the plain; but on spurring nearer, it +proved to be a fissure of considerable width--one of those formations +known throughout Spanish America as _barrancas_. The earth yawned, as +though rent by an earthquake; but water had evidently something to do +with the formation of the chasm. It was of nearly equal width at top +and bottom, and its bed was covered with a _debris_ of rocks rounded by +attrition. Its sides were perfectly vertical, and the stratification, +even to the surface-turf, exactly corresponded--thus rendering it +invisible at the distance of but a few paces from its brink. It +appeared to shallow to the right, and no doubt ended not far off in that +direction. Towards the left, on the contrary, I could see that it +became deeper and wider. At the point where I had reached it, its +bottom was nearly twenty feet from the surface of the prairie. + +Of course, the disappearance of the white steed was no longer a mystery. +He had made a fearful leap--nearly twenty feet sheer! There was the +torn turf on the brink of the chasm, and the displacement of the loose +stones, where he had bounded into its bed. He had gone to the left-- +down the barranca. The abrasion of his hoofs was visible upon the +rocks. + +I looked down the defile: he was not to be seen. The barranca turned +off by an angle at no great distance. He had already passed round the +angle, and was out of sight! + +It was clear that he had escaped; that to fellow would be of no use; +and, with this reflection, I abandoned all thoughts of carrying the +chase farther. + +After giving way to a pang or two of disappointment, I began to think of +the position in which I had placed myself. It is true I was now +relieved from the feeling of awe that, but a moment before, had +oppressed me; but my situation was far from being a pleasant one. I was +at least thirty miles from the rancheria, and I could not tell in what +direction it lay. The sun was setting, and therefore I had the points +of the compass; but I had not the slightest idea whether we had ridden +eastward or westward after leaving the settlements. I might ride back +on my own trail; _perhaps_ I might: it was a doubtful point. Neither +through the timber, nor on the open prairie, had the chase gone in a +direct line. Moreover, I noticed in many places, as we glided swiftly +along, that the turf was cut up by numerous hoof-tracks: droves of +mustangs had passed over the ground. It would be no easy matter for me +to retrace the windings of that long gallop. + +One thing was evident: it would be useless for me to make the attempt +before morning. There was not half-an-hour of sun left, and at night +the trail could not be followed. I had no alternative but to remain +where I was until another day should break. + +But how remain? I was hungry; still worse, I was choking with thirst. +Not a drop of water was near; I had seen none for twenty miles. The +long hot ride had made me thirsty to an unusual degree, and my poor +horse was in a similar condition. The knowledge that no water was near +added, as it always does, to the agony, and rendered the physical want +more difficult to be endured. + +I scanned the bottom of the barranca, and tracked it with my eye as far +as I could see: it was waterless as the lain itself. The rocks rested +upon dry sand and gravel; not a drop of the wished-for element appeared +within its bed, although it was evident that at some time a torrent must +have swept along its channel. + +After some reflection, it occurred to me that by following the barranca +_downward_, I might find water; at least, this was the most likely +direction in which to search for it. I rode forward, therefore, +directing my horse along the edge of the chasm. + +The fissure deepened as I advanced, until, at the distance of a mile +from where I first struck it, the gulf yawned full fifty feet into the +plain, the sides still preserving their vertical steepness! + +The sun had now gone down; the twilight promised to be a short one. I +dared not traverse that plain in the darkness; I might ride over the +precipitous edge of the barranca. Besides, it was not the only one: I +saw there were others--smaller ones--the beds of tributary streams in +seasons of rain. These branched off diagonally or at right angles, and +were more or less deep and steep. + +Night was fast closing over the prairie; I dared not ride farther amid +these perilous abysms. I must soon come to a halt, without finding +water. I should have to spend the long hours without relief. The +prospect of such a night was fearful. + +I was still riding slowly onward, mechanically conducting my horse, when +a bright object fell under my eyes, causing me to start in my saddle +with an exclamation of joy. It was the gleam of water. I saw it in a +westerly direction, the direction in which I was going. + +It proved to be a small lake, or--in the phraseology of the country--a +pond. It was not in the bottom of the ravine, where I had hitherto been +looking for water, but up on the high prairie. There was no timber +around it, no sedge; its shores were without vegetation of any kind, and +its surface appeared to correspond with the level of the plain itself. + +I rode towards it with joyful anticipation, yet not without some +anxiety. Was it a _mirage_? It might be--often had I been deceived by +such appearances. But no: it had not the filmy, gauze-like halo that +hangs over the mirage. Its outlines were sharply defined by the prairie +turf, and the last lingering rays of the sun glistened upon its surface. +It _was_ water! + +Fully assured of this, I rode forward at a more rapid rate. + +I had arrived within about two hundred paces of the spot--still keeping +my eyes fixed upon the glistening water--when all at once my horse +started, and drew back! I looked ahead to discover the cause. The +twilight had nearly passed, but in the obscurity I could still +distinguish the surface of the prairie. The barranca again frowned +before me, running transversely across my path. To my chagrin, I +perceived that the chasm had made a sudden turn, and that the pond was +on its _opposite side_! + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +A PRAIRIE DREAM. + +There was no hope of crossing in the darkness. The barranca was here +deeper than at any point above; so deep that I could but indistinctly +see the rocky boulders at its bottom. Perhaps with the daylight I might +be able to find a crossing-place; but from that doubtful hypothesis I +derived little consolation. + +It had now grown quite dark, and I had no choice but to pass the night +where I was, though I anticipated a night of torture. + +I dropped to the ground, and having led my horse a few rods into the +prairie--so as to keep him clear of the precipice--I relieved him of his +saddle and bridle, and left him to browse to the full length of the +lazo. + +For myself, I had but few preparations to make: there was no supper to +be cooked, but eating was a matter of secondary importance on that +occasion. I should have preferred a cup of water to a roast turkey. + +I had but few implements to dispose of in my temporary camp--only my +rifle and hunting-knife, with horn and pouch, and the double-headed +gourd, which served as water-canteen, and which, alas! had been emptied +at an early hour of the day. Fortunately, my Mexican blanket was +buckled to the croupe. This I unstrapped, and having enveloped myself +in its ample folds, and placed my head in the hollow of my saddle, I +composed myself as well as I could, in the hope of falling asleep. + +For a long time this luxury was denied me. The torture of thirst will +rob one of sleep as effectually as the stinging pain of toothache. I +turned and turned again, glaring at the moon: she was visible only at +intervals, as black clouds were coursing across the canopy; but when she +shone out, her light caused the little lake to glisten like a sheet of +silver. Oh! how that bright water mocked me with its wavy ripple! I +could comprehend the sufferings of Tantalus. I thought at the time that +the gods could not have devised a more exquisite torture for the royal +Lydian. + +After some time, the pain of thirst was less intensely felt. Perhaps +the cold damp air of night had the effect of relieving it; but it is +more likely that fatigue and long endurance had rendered the sense less +acute. Whatever may have been the cause, I suffered less, and felt +myself yielding to sleep. There was no sound to keep me awake: perfect +stillness reigned around; even the usual howling bark of the +prairie-wolf did not reach my ear. The place seemed too lonely for this +almost ubiquitous night-prowler. The only sign of life that told me I +was not alone was the occasional stroke of my steed's hoof upon the hard +turf, and the "crop crop" that told me he was busy with the short +buffalo-grass. But these were soothing sounds--as they admonished me +that my faithful companion was enjoying himself after his hard gallop-- +and strengthened my desire for repose. + +I slept, but not lightly. No; my sleep was heavy and full of troubled +dreams. I have a sort of half belief that the _role_ we play in these +dream-scenes wears the body as much as if we enacted it in reality. I +have often awaked from such visions feeble from fatigue. If such be the +fact, during that night upon the prairie I went through the toils of the +preceding day with considerable additions. + +First of all, I was in the presence of a lovely woman: she was +dark-eyed, dark-haired--a brunette--a beauty. I traced the features of +Isolina. I gazed into her eyes; I was happy in her smiles; I fancied I +was beloved. Bright objects were around me. The whole scene was +rose-colour. + +This was a short episode: it was interrupted. I heard shouts and savage +yells. I looked out: the house was surrounded by Indians! They were +already within the enclosure; and the moment after, crowds of them +entered the house. There was much struggling and confusion, battled +with such arms as I could lay hold of; several fell before me; but one-- +a tall savage, the chief, as I thought--threw his arms around my +mistress, and carried her away out of my sight. + +I remember not how I got mounted; but I was upon horseback, and +galloping over the wide prairie in pursuit of the ravisher. I could see +the savage ahead upon a snow-white steed, with Isolina in his arms. I +urged my horse with voice and spur, but, as I thought, for long, long +hours in vain. The white steed still kept far in advance; and I could +get no nearer to him. I thought the savage had changed his form. He +was no longer an Indian chief, but the fiend himself: I saw the horns +upon his head; his feet were cloven hoofs! I thought he was luring me +to the brink of some fell precipice, and I had no longer the power to +stay my horse. Ha! The demon and his phantom-horse have gone over the +cliff! They have carried her along with them! I must follow--I cannot +remain behind. I am on the brink. My steed springs over the chasm. I +am falling--falling--falling!-- + +I reach the rocks at length. I am not killed: how strange it is I have +not been crushed! But no; I still live. And yet I suffer. Thirst +chokes and tortures me: my heart and brain are aching, and my tongue is +on fire. The sound of water is in my ears: a torrent rushes by, near +me. If I could only reach it, I might drink and live: but I cannot +move; I am chained to the rocks. I grasp one after another, and +endeavour to drag myself along: I partially succeed; but oh, what +efforts I make! The labour exhausts my strength. I renew my exertions. +I am gaining ground: rock after rock is passed. I have neared the +rushing water; I feel its cold spray sprinkling me. I am saved! + +After such fashion was my dream. It was the shadow of a reality, +somewhat disorganised; but the most pleasant reality was that which +awoke me. I found myself in the act of being sprinkled, not by the +spray of a torrent, but by a plashing shower from the clouds! + +Under other circumstances, this might have been less welcome, but now I +hailed it with a shout of joy. The thunder was rolling almost +continuously; lightning blazed at short intervals; and I could hear the +roar of a torrent passing down the barranca. + +To assuage thirst was my first thought; and for this purpose, I +stretched out my concave palms, and held my mouth wide open, thus +drinking from the very fountains of the sky. + +Though the drops fell thick and heavy, the process was too slow, and a +better plan suggested itself. I knew that my _serape_ was water-proof: +it was one of the best of Parras fabric, and had cost me a hundred +silver dollars. This I spread to its full extent, pressing the central +parts into a hollow of the prairie. In five minutes' time, I had +forgotten what thirst was, and wondered how such a thing should have +caused me so much torture! + +Moro drank from the same "trough," and betook himself to the grass +again. + +The under side of the blanket was still dry, and the patch of ground +which it had sheltered. Along this I stretched myself, drew the serape +over me; and after listening a while to the loud lullaby of the thunder, +fell fast asleep. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +LOST UPON THE PRAIRIE. + +I slept sweetly and soundly. I had no dreams, or only such as were +light, and forgotten with the return of consciousness. + +It was late when I awoke. A bright sun was mounting into the blue and +cloudless sky. This orb was already many degrees above the horizon. + +Hunger was the father of my first thought. I had eaten nothing since an +early hour of the preceding day, and then only the light _desayuna_ of +sweet-cake and chocolate. To one not accustomed to long fasting, a +single day without food will give some idea of the pain of hunger; that +pain will increase upon a second day, and by the third will have reached +its maximum. Upon the fourth and fifth, the body grows weaker, and the +brain becomes deranged; the nerve, however, is less acute, and though +the suffering is still intense, hunger is never harder to endure than +upon the second or third days. + +Of course, these remarks apply only to those not habituated to long +fasts. I have known men who could endure hunger for six days, and feel +less pain than others under a fast of twenty-four hours. Indians or +prairie-hunters were those men, and fortunately for them that they are +endowed with such powers of endurance, often driven as they are into +circumstances of the most dire necessity. Truly, "the Lord tempers the +wind to the shorn lamb!" + +As I have said, my first thought was of something to eat. + +I rose to my feet, and with my eye swept the prairie in every direction: +no object living or dead, greeted my sight; beast or bird there was +none; my horse alone met my glance, quietly browsing on his trail-rope. + +I could not help envying him, as I scanned his well-filled sides. I +thought of the bounty of the Creator in thus providing for his less +intelligent creatures--giving them the power to live where man would +starve. Who does not in this recognise the hand of a Providence? + +I walked forward to the edge of the barranca, and looked over. It was a +grim abyss, over a hundred feet in depth, and about the same in width. +Its sides were less precipitous at this point. The escarpment rocks had +fallen in, and formed a sort of shelving bank, by which a man on foot +might have descended into its bed, and climbed out on the opposite side; +but it was not passable for a horse. Its cliffs were furrowed and +uneven; rocks jutted out and hung over; and in the seams grew cactus +plants, bramble, and small trees of dwarf cedar (_Juniperus prostrata_). + +I looked into its channel. I had heard the torrent rolling down in the +night. I saw traces of the water among the rocks. A large body must +have passed, and yet not a cupful could now have been lifted from its +bed! What remained was fast filtering into the sand, or rising back to +the heavens upon the heated atmosphere. + +I had brought with me my rifle, in hopes of espying some living +creature; but after walking for a considerable distance along the edge, +I abandoned the search. No trace of bird or quadruped could be found, +and I turned and went back to the place where I had slept. + +To draw the picket-pin of my horse and saddle him, was the work of a few +minutes; this done, I began to bethink me of _where I was going_. Back +to the rancheria, of course! + +That was the natural reply to such a question; but there was another far +less easily answered: How was I to find the way? + +My design of the previous night--to follow back my own trail--was no +longer practicable. _The rain had effaced the tracks_! I remembered +that I had passed over wide stretches of light dusty soil, where the +hoof scarcely impressed itself. I remembered that the rain had been of +that character known as "planet showers," with large heavy drops, that, +in such places, must have blotted out every trace of the trail. To +follow the "back-track" was no longer possible. + +I had not before thought of this difficulty; and now, that it presented +itself to my mind, it was accompanied by a new feeling of dread. I felt +that _I was lost_! + +As you sit in your easy-chair, you may fancy that this is a mere +bagatelle--a little bewilderment that one may easily escape from who has +a good horse between his thighs. It is only to strike boldly out, and +by riding on _in a straight line_, you must in time arrive _somewhere_. + +No doubt, that is your idea; but permit me to inform you that the +success of such a course depends very much upon circumstances. It would +indeed be trusting to blind chance. You might arrive "somewhere," and +that somewhere might be the very point from which you had started! + +Do you fancy you can ride ten miles in a direct line over a prairie, +without a single object to guide you? + +Be undeceived, then; you cannot! + +The best mounted men have perished under such circumstances. It may +take days to escape out of a fifty-mile prairie, and days bring death. +Hunger and thirst soon gain strength and agony--the sooner that you know +you have not the wherewith to satisfy the one, nor quench the other. +Besides, there is in your very loneliness a feeling of bewilderment, +painful to an extreme degree, and from which only the oldest prairie-men +are free. Your senses lose half their power, your energy is diminished, +and your resolves become weak and vacillating. You feel doubtful at +each step, as to whether you be following the right path, and are ready +at every moment to turn into another. Believe me, it is a fearful thing +to be alone when lost upon the prairies! + +I felt this keenly enough. I had been on the great plains before, but +it was the first time I had the misfortune to wander astray on them, and +I was the more terrified that I already hungered to no common degree. + +There was something singular, too, in the circumstances that had brought +me into my present situation. The disappearance of the white steed-- +although accounted for by perfectly natural causes--had left upon my +mind a strange impression. That he should have lured me so far, and +then eluded me in such a way! I could not help fancying design in it: +and fancying so, I could attribute such design only to a higher +intelligence--in fact, to some supernatural cause! + +I was again on the edge of superstition. My mind began to give way and +yield itself to hideous fancies. + +I struggled against such thoughts, and succeeded in rousing myself to +reflect upon some active measures for my safety. + +I saw that it was of no use to remain where I was. I knew that I could +make a straight path for a couple of hours at least--the sun was in the +sky, and that would guide me--until near the meridian hours. Then I +should have to halt, and wait a while; for in that southern latitude, +and just at that time of the year, the sun at noon is so near the zenith +that a practised astronomer could not tell north from south. + +I reflected that before noon I might reach the timber, though that would +not insure my safety. Even the naked plain is not more bewildering than +the openings of the mezquite groves and the chapparal that border it. +Among these you may travel for days without getting twenty miles from +your starting-point, and they are often as destitute of the means of +life as the desert itself! + +Such were my reflections as I had saddled and bridled my horse, and +stood scanning the plain in order to make up my mind as to the direction +I should take. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +A PRAIRIE REPAST. + +In gazing out, my eye was attracted by some objects. They were animals, +but of what species I could not tell. There are times upon the prairies +when form and size present the most illusory aspects: a wolf seems as +large as a horse; and a raven sitting upon a swell of the plain, has +been mistaken for a buffalo. A peculiar state of the atmosphere is the +magnifying cause, and it is only the experienced eye of the trapper that +can reduce the magnified proportions and distorted form to their proper +size and shape. + +The objects I had noticed were full two miles off; they were in the +direction of the lake, and of course on the other side of the barranca. +There were several forms--five I counted--moving phantom-like against +the rim of the horizon. + +Something drew my attention from them for a short while--a period of +perhaps three or four minutes' duration. + +When I looked out again they were no longer to be seen; but by the edge +of the pond, at less than five hundred yards' distance, five beautiful +creatures were standing, which I knew to be antelopes. They were so +close to the pond, that their graceful forms were shadowed in the water, +and their erect attitudes told that they had just halted after a run. +Their number corresponded with the objects I had seen but the moment +before far out upon the prairie. I was convinced they were the same. +The distance was nothing: these creatures travel with the speed of a +swallow. + +The sight of the prong-horns stimulated my hunger. My first thought was +how to get near them. Curiosity had brought them to the pond; they had +espied my horse and myself afar off; and had galloped up to reconnoitre +us. But they still appeared shy and timid, and were evidently not +inclined to approach nearer. + +The barranca lay between them and me, but I saw that if I could entice +them to its brink, they would be within range of my rifle. + +Once more staking down my horse, I tried every plan I could think of. I +laid myself along the grass, upon my back, and kicked my heels in the +air, but to no purpose: the game would not move from the water's edge. + +Remembering that my serape was of very brilliant colours, I bethought me +of another plan which, when adroitly practised, rarely fails of success. + +Taking the blanket, I lashed one edge to the ramrod of my rifle, having +first passed the latter through the upper swivel of the piece. With the +thumb of my left hand I was thus enabled to hold the rammer steady and +transverse to the barrel. I now dropped upon my knees--holding the gun +shoulder-high--and the gay-coloured serape, spread out almost to its +full extent, hung to the ground, and formed a complete cover for my +person. + +Before making these arrangements, I had crept to the very edge of the +barranca--in order to be as near as possible should the antelopes +approach upon the opposite side. + +Of course every manoeuvre was executed with all the silence and caution +I could observe. I was in no reckless humour to frighten off the game. +Hunger was my monitor. I knew that not my breakfast alone, but my life, +might be depending on the successful issue of the experiment. + +It was not long before I had the gratification of perceiving that my +decoy was likely to prove attractive. The prong-horned antelope, like +most animals of its kind, has one strongly developed propensity--that of +_curiosity_. Although to a known enemy it is the most timid of +creatures, yet in the presence of an object that is new to it, it +appears to throw aside its timidity, or rather its curiosity overcomes +its sense of fear; and, impelled by the former, it will approach very +near to any strange form, and regard it with an air of bewilderment. +The prairie-wolf--a creature that surpasses even the fox in cunning-- +well knows this weakness of the antelope, and often takes advantage of +it. The wolf is less fleet than the antelope, and his pursuit of it in +a direct manner would be vain; but with the astute creature, stratagem +makes up for the absence of speed. Should a "band" of antelopes chance +to be passing, the prairie-wolf lays himself flat upon the grass, clews +his body into a round ball, and thus rolls himself over the ground, or +goes through a series of contortions, all the while approaching nearer +to his victims, until he has them within springing distance! Usually he +is assisted in these manoeuvres by several companions--for the +prairie-wolf is social, and hunts in packs. + +The square of bright colours soon produced its effect. The five +prong-horns came trotting around the edge of the lake, halted, gazed +upon it a moment, and then dashed off again to a greater distance. +Soon, however, they turned and came running back--this time apparently +with greater confidence, and a stronger feeling of curiosity. I could +hear them uttering their quick "snorts" as they tossed up their tiny +muzzles and snuffed the air. Fortunately, the wind was in my favour, +blowing directly from the game, and towards me; otherwise, they would +have "winded" me, and discovered the cheat--for they both know and fear +the scent of the human hunter. + +The band consisted of a young buck and four females--his wives; the +nucleus, no doubt, of a much larger establishment in prospect--for the +antelope is polygamous, and some of the older males have an extensive +following. I knew the buck by his greater size and forking horns, which +the does want. He appeared to direct the actions of the others, as they +all stood in a line behind him, following and imitating his motions. + +At the second approach, they came within a hundred yards of me. My +rifle was equal to this range, and I prepared to fire. The leader was +nearest, and him I selected as the victim. + +Taking sight I pulled trigger. + +As soon as the smoke cleared off, I had the satisfaction of seeing the +buck down upon the prairie, in the act of giving his last kick. To my +surprise, none of the others had been frightened off by the report, but +stood gazing at their fallen leader, apparently bewildered! + +I bethought me of reloading; but I had incautiously risen to my feet, +and so revealed my form to the eyes of the antelopes. This produced an +effect which neither the crack of the rifle nor the fall of their +comrade had done; and the now terrified animals wheeled about and sped +away like the wind. In less than two minutes, they were beyond the +reach of vision. + +The next question that arose was, how I was to get across the barranca. +The tempting morsel lay upon the other side, and I therefore set about +examining the chasm in order to find a practicable crossing. + +This I fortunately discovered. On both sides, the cliff was somewhat +broken down, and might be scaled, though not without considerable +difficulty. + +After once more looking to the security of my horse's trail-rope, I +placed my rifle where I had slept, and set out to cross the barranca, +taking only my knife. I could have no use for the gun, and it would +hinder me in scaling the cliffs. + +I succeeded in reaching to the bottom of the ravine, and commenced +ascending on the opposite side where it was steeper; but I was assisted +by the branches of the trailing cedar that grew among the rocks. I +noticed, and with some surprise, that the path must have been used +before, either by men or animals. The soil that laid upon the ledges +was "paddled" as by feet, and the rock in some places scratched and +discoloured. + +These indications only caused me a momentary reflection. I was too +hungry to dwell upon any thought but that of eating. + +At length I reached the scarp of the cliff, and having climbed out upon +the prairie, soon stood over the carcass of the prong-horn. My knife +was out in a trice, and next moment I was playing the part of the +butcher. + +You will no doubt fancy that the next thing I did was to go in search of +something to make a fire for the purpose of cooking my breakfast. I did +nothing of the sort ate my breakfast without cooking. _I ate it raw_; +and you been in my situation, delicate as you are, you would have done +the same. + +It is true that, after I had satisfied the first cravings of appetite +with the tongue of the antelope, and a few morsels of steak, I became +more fastidious and thought a little roasting might improve the venison. + +For this purpose, I was about to return to the barranca, in order to +gather some sticks of cedar-wood, when my eyes fell upon an object that +drove all thoughts of cookery out of my head, and sent a thrill of +terror to my heart. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +CHASED BY A "GRIZZLY." + +The object that inspired me with such alarm was an animal--the most +dreaded of all that inhabit the prairies--the _grizzly bear_. + +This bear was one of the largest; but it was not his size that impressed +me with fear, so much as the knowledge of his fierce nature. It was not +the first time I had encountered the grizzly bear; and I knew his habits +well. + +I was familiar with the form and aspect, and could not be mistaken as to +the species; the long shaggy pelage, the straight front, and broad +facial disk--which distinguishes this species from the _Ursus +Americanus_--the yellowish eyes, the large teeth, but half concealed by +the lips, and, above all, the long curving claws--the most prominent +marks of the grizzly bear, as they are his most formidable means of +attack--were all easily identified. + +When my eyes first rested upon the brute, he was just emerging out of +the barranca at the very spot where I had climbed up myself. It was +_his_ tracks, then, I had observed while scaling the cliff! + +On reaching the level of the prairie, he advanced a pace or two, and +then halting, reared himself erect, and stood upon his hind-legs; at the +same time he uttered a snorting sound, which resembled the "blowing" of +hogs when suddenly startled in the forest. For some moments he remained +in this upright attitude, rubbing his head with his fore-paws, and +playing his huge arms about after the manner of monkeys. In fact, as he +stood fronting me, he looked not unlike a gigantic ape; and his +yellowish-red colour favoured a resemblance to the great ourang. + +When I say that I was terrified by the presence of this unwelcome +intruder, I speak no more than truth. Had I been on horseback, I should +have regarded the creature no more than the snail that crawled upon the +grass. The grizzly bear is too slow to overtake a horse; but I was +afoot, and knew that the animal could outrun me, however swift I might +deem myself. + +To suppose that he would not attack me would have been to suppose an +improbability. I did not reckon upon such a chance; I knew too well the +disposition of the enemy that was approaching. I knew that in nine +cases out of ten the grizzly bear is the assailant--that no animal in +America will willingly risk a contest with him; and I am not certain +that the lion of Africa would wear his laurels after an encounter with +this fierce quadruped. + +Man himself shuns such an encounter, unless mounted upon the friendly +horse; and even then, where the ground is not clear and open, the +prudent trapper always gives "old Ephraim"--the prairie sobriquet of the +grizzly--a wide berth, and rides on without molesting him. The white +hunter reckons a grizzly bear equal in prowess to two Indians; while the +Indian himself accounts the destruction of one of these animals a great +feat in his life's history. Among Indian braves, a necklace of bear's +claws is a badge of honour--since these adornments can be worn only by +the man who has himself killed the animals from which they have been +taken. + +On the other hand, the grizzly bear fears no adversary; he assails the +largest animals on sight. The elk, the moose, the bison, or wild-horse, +if caught, is instantly killed. With a blow of his paw, he can lay open +the flesh, as if it had been gashed with an axe; and he can drag the +body of a full-grown buffalo to any distance. He rushes upon man, +whether mounted or on foot; and a dozen hunters have retreated before +his furious assault. A dozen bullets--ay, nearly twice that number-- +have been fired into the body of a grizzly bear without killing him; and +only a shot through the brain or the heart will prove instantaneously +mortal. + +Gifted with such tenacity of life and sanguinary fierceness of +disposition, no wonder the grizzly bear is a dreaded creature. Were he +possessed of the fleetness of the lion or tiger, he would be a more +terrible assailant than either; and it is not too much to say that his +haunts would be unapproachable by man. Compared with the horse, +however, he is slow of foot; and there is another circumstance scarcely +less favourable to those who pass through his district--he is not a +tree-climber. Indeed, he does not inhabit the forest; but there is +usually some timber in the neighbourhood of his haunts; and many a life +has been saved by his intended victim having taken refuge in a tree. + +I was well acquainted with these points in the natural history of the +grizzly bear; and you may fancy the feelings I experienced at finding +myself in the presence of one of the largest and fiercest upon the naked +plain, alone, dismounted, almost unarmed! + +There was not a bush where I could hide myself, not a tree into which I +might climb. There was no means of escape, and almost none of defence; +the knife was the only weapon I had with me; my rifle I had left upon +the other side of the barranca, and to reach it was out of the question. +Even could I have got to the path that led down the cliff, it would +have been madness to attempt crossing there; for although not a +tree-climber, the grizzly bear, by means of his great claws, could have +scaled the cliff more expeditiously than I. Had I made the attempt, I +should have been caught before I could have reached the bottom of the +ravine. + +The bear was directly in the path. It would have been literally +flinging myself "into his embrace" to have gone that way. + +These reflections occupy minutes of your time to _read_; I _thought_ +them in less than moments. A single glance around showed me the utter +helplessness of my situation; I saw there was no alternative but a +desperate conflict--a conflict with the knife! + +Despair, that for a moment had unnerved, now had the effect of bracing +me; and, fronting my fierce foe, I stood ready to receive him. + +I had heard of hunters having conquered and killed the grizzly bear with +no other weapon than a knife--but; after a terrible and protracted +struggle--after many wounds; and sore loss of blood. I had read in the +book of a naturalist, that "a man might end a struggle with a bear in a +few instants, if one hand be sufficiently at liberty to grasp the throat +of the animal with the thumb and fingers externally, _just at the root +of the tongue_, as flight degree of compression there will generally +suffice to produce a spasm of the glottis, that will soon suffocate the +bear beyond the power of offering resistance or doing injury." + +Beautiful theory! Sagacious naturalist! How wouldst thou like to make +the experiment? Hast thou ever heard of birds being caught by the +application of "salt to the tail!" The theory is as correct as thine, +and I am certain the practice of it would not be more difficult! + +But I digress among these after-thoughts. I had no time to reflect upon +"compressions of the tongue" or "spasms of the glottis." My antagonist +soon finished his reconnaissance of me, and, dropping upon all-fours and +uttering a loud scream, rushed towards me with open mouth. + +I had resolved to await his onset; but as he came nearer, and I beheld +his great gaunt form, his gleaming teeth, and his senna-coloured eyes +flashing like fire, changed my design; a new thought came suddenly into +my mind; I turned and fled. + +The thought that prompted me to adopt this course was, that just then I +remembered the antelope I had shot; the bear might be attracted by the +carcass, and pause over it--maybe long enough to give me a start, or +enable me to escape altogether. If not, my situation could be no worse +than it then was. + +Alas! my hope was short-lived. On reaching the antelope, the fierce +monster made no halt. I glanced back to see; he was already past it, +and following rapidly upon my heels. + +I am a swift runner--one of the swiftest. Many a school-day triumph can +I remember; but what was my speed against such a competitor! I was only +running myself out of breath. I should be less prepared for the +desperate conflict that must, after all, take place; better for me to +turn, and at once face the foe! + +I had half resolved--was about to turn, in fact--when an object flashed +before my eyes that dazzled them. Inadvertently I had run in the +direction of the pond; I was now upon its edge. It was the sun gleaming +from the water that had dazzled me--for the surface was calm as a +mirror. + +A new idea--a sort of half-hope--rushed into my mind. It was the straw +to the drowning man. The fierce brute was close behind me; another +instant, and we must have grappled. + +"Not yet, not yet," thought I. "I shall fight him in the water--in the +deep water: that may give me an advantage. Perhaps, then, the contest +will be more equal; perhaps I may escape by diving." + +I sprang into the pond without a moment of hesitation. + +The water was knee-deep. I plunged onward, making for the centre; the +spray rose round me; the pond deepened as I advanced; I was soon up to +the waist. + +I glanced around with anxious heart; the bear was standing upon the +shore. To my surprise and joy, I saw that he had halted, and seemed +disinclined to follow me. + +I say, to my surprise I saw this, for I knew that water has no terrors +for the grizzly bear; I knew that he could swim; I had seen many of his +kind crossing deep lakes and rapid rivers. What, then, hindered him +from following me? + +I could not guess, nor, indeed, did I try to guess, at the moment; I +thought of nothing but getting farther from the shore, and waded on till +I had arrived near the centre of the lake and stood neck-deep in the +water. I could go no farther without swimming, and therefore came to a +stand, with my face turned towards my pursuer. + +I watched his every movement. He had risen once more upon his +hind-quarters, and in this attitude stood looking after me, but still +apparently without any intention of taking to the water. + +After regarding me for some moments, he fell back upon all-fours, and +commenced running round the border of the pond, as if searching for a +place to enter. + +There were still not over two hundred paces between us, for the pond was +only twice that in diameter. He could easily have reached me, had he +felt so disposed; but for some reason or other, he seemed disinclined to +a "swim," though for nearly half-an-hour he kept running backwards and +forwards along the shore. + +Now and then he made short excursions out into the prairie; but always +returned again, and regarded me afresh, as though determined not to lose +sight of me for any length of time. I was in hopes that he might stray +round to the other side of the pond, and give me the chance of making a +rush for the ravine; but no; he continued on that side where he had +first appeared, as though he suspected my design. + +I knew not how long the siege was to last; but as I well understood the +implacable disposition of the grizzly bear, I could not hope that the +scene would be otherwise than protracted. + +It lasted a long while--more than an hour I should think. I began to +despair. I shivered. The pond must have been a spring, so chill were +its waters. I shivered, but kept my place; I dared not move out of it. +I even feared to agitate the water around me, lest by so doing I might +excite my fierce enemy, and tempt his onset. I shivered, but stood +still. + +My patience was at length rewarded. The bear, making one of his short +tours into the prairie, espied the carcass of the antelope. I saw that +he had halted over something, though I could not tell what, for my eyes +were below the level of the plain. + +Presently his head was raised again, and in his jaws were the remains of +the prong-horn. To my joy I perceived that he was dragging it towards +the barranca, and in another minute he had disappeared with it behind +the cliff. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +THE TOUGHEST STRUGGLE OF MY LIFE. + +I swam a few strokes, and then wading gently and without noise, I stood +upon the sandy shore. + +With shivering frame and dripping garments, I stood, uncertain what +course to pursue. I was upon the opposite side of the lake--I mean +opposite to where I had entered it. I had chosen that side +intentionally, lest the bear should suddenly return. He might deposit +the carcass in his lair, and come back to look after me. It is a habit +of these animals, when not pressed by immediate hunger, to bury their +food or store it in their caves. Even the devouring of the little +antelope would have been an affair of only a few minutes' time, and the +bear might still return, more ravenous that he had tasted blood. + +I was filled with irresolution. Should I run off across the plain +beyond the reach of pursuit? I should have to return again for my horse +and rifle. To take to the prairie on foot would be like going to sea +without a boat. Even had I been sure of reaching the settlements in +safety without my horse, I could not think of leaving him behind. I +loved my Moro too well for that: I would have risked life itself rather +than part with the noble creature. No; the idea of deserting him was +not entertained for a moment. + +But how was I to join him? The only path by which I could cross the +barranca had just been taken by the bear. The latter was no doubt still +upon it, in the bottom of the ravine. To attempt passing over would be +to bring myself once more under the eyes of the fierce brute; and I +should certainly become his victim. + +Another idea suggested itself--to go up the barranca, and find a +crossing, or else head the chasm altogether, and come down upon the +opposite side. That was possibly the best plan to pursue. + +I was about starting forward to execute it, when, to my dismay, I again +beheld the bear; this time, not upon the same side with myself, but upon +the opposite one, where Moro was picketed! + +He was just climbing out of the ravine when I first saw him--slowly +dragging his huge body over the escarpment of the cliff. In a moment he +stood erect upon the open plain. + +I was filled with a new consternation; I perceived too surely that he +was about to attack the horse! + +The latter had already observed the bear's approach, and seemed to be +fully aware of his danger. I had staked him at the distance of about +four hundred yards from the barranca, and upon a lazo of about twenty in +length. At sight of the bear he had run out to the end of his +trail-rope, and was snorting and plunging with affright. + +This new dilemma arrested me, and I stood with anxious feelings to watch +the result. I had no hope of being able to yield the slightest aid to +my poor horse--at least none occurred to me at the moment. + +The bear made directly towards him, and my heart throbbed wildly as I +saw the brute approach almost within clawing distance. The horse sprang +round, however, and galloped upon a circle of which the lazo was the +radius. I knew, from the hard jerks he had already given to the rope, +that there was no chance of its yielding and freeing him. No; it was a +raw-hide lazo of the toughest thong. I knew its power, and I remembered +how firmly I had driven home the picket-pin. This I now regretted. +What would I have given to have been able at that moment to draw the +blade of my knife across that rope! + +I continued to watch the struggle with a painful feeling of suspense. +The horse still kept out of the bear's reach by galloping round the +circumference of the circle, while the boar made his attacks by crossing +its chords, or running in circles of lesser diameter. The whole scene +bore a resemblance to an act at the Hippodrome, Moro being the steed, +and the bear taking the part of the ring-master! + +Once or twice, the rope circling round, and quite taut, caught upon the +legs of the bear, and, after carrying him along with it for some +distance, flung him over upon his back. This seemed to add to his rage, +since, after recovering his legs again, he ran after the horse with +redoubled fury. I could have been amused at the singular spectacle, but +that my mind was too painfully agitated about the result. + +The scene continued for some minutes without much change in the relative +position of the actors. I began to hope that the bear might be baffled +after all, and finding the horse too nimble for him, might desist from +his attacks, particularly as the horse had already administered to him +several kicks that would have discomfited any other assailant. These, +however, only rendered the brute more savage and vengeful. + +Just at this time the scene assumed a new phase, likely to bring about +the _denouement_. The rope had once more pressed against the bear; but +this time, instead of trying to avoid it, he seized it in his teeth and +paws. I thought at first he was going to cut it, and this was exactly +what I wished for; but no--to my consternation I saw that he was +crawling along it by constantly renewing his hold, and thus gradually +and surely drawing nearer to his victim! The horse now screamed with +terror! + +I could bear the sight no longer. I remembered that I had left my rifle +near the edge of the barranca, and some distance from the horse; I +remembered, too, that after shooting the antelope, I had carefully +reloaded it. + +I ran forward to the cliff, and dashed madly down its face; I climbed +the opposite steep, and clutching the gun, rushed towards the scene of +strife. + +I was still in time; the bear had not yet reached his victim, though now +within less than six feet of him. + +I advanced within ten paces, and fired. As though my shot had cut the +thong, it gave way at the moment, and the horse with a wild neigh sprang +off into the prairie! + +I had hit the bear, as I afterwards ascertained, but not in a vital +part, and my bullet had no more effect upon him than if it had been a +drop of snipe-shot. It was the strength of despair that had broken the +rope, and set free the steed. + +It was my turn now--for the bear, as soon as he perceived that the horse +had escaped him, turned and sprang upon me, uttering, as he did so, a +loud scream. + +I had no choice but fight. I had no time to reload. I struck the brute +once with my clubbed rifle, and flinging the gun away, grasped the +readier knife. With the strong keen blade--the knife was a bowie--I +struck out before me; but the next moment I felt myself grappled and +held fast. + +The sharp claws tore up my flesh; one paw was griped over my hips, +another rested on my shoulder, while the white teeth gleamed before my +eyes. My knife-arm was free: I had watched this when grappling, and +with all the energy of despair I plunged the keen blade between the ribs +of my antagonist. Again and again I plunged it, seeking for the heart +at every stab. + +We rolled together upon the ground, over and over again. The red blood +covered us both. I saw it welling from the lips of the fierce monster, +and I joyed to think that my knife reached his vitals. I was wild--I +was mad--I was burning with a fierce vengeance--with anger, such as one +might feel for a human foe! + +Over and over the ground in the fierce struggle of life and death. +Again I felt the terrible claws, the tearing teeth; again sank my blade +up to the hilt. + +Gracious heaven! how many lives has he? Will he never yield to the red +steel? See the blood!--rivers of blood--the prairie is red--we roll in +blood. I am sick--sick--I faint-- + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +OLD COMRADES. + +I fancied myself in a future world, battling with some fearful demon. +No; those forms I see around me are of the earth. I still live! + +My wounds pain me. Some one is binding them up. His hand is rude; but +the tender expression of his eye tells me that his heart is kind. Who +is he? Whence came he? + +I am still upon the wide prairie; I see that clearly enough. Where is +my terrible antagonist? I remember our fierce fight--everything that +occurred; but--_I thought he had killed me_! + +I certainly _was_ dead. But no; it cannot have been. I still live! + +I see above me the blue sky--around me the green plain. Near me are +forms--the forms of men, and yonder are horses too! + +Into whose hands have I fallen? Whoever they be they are friends; they +must have rescued me from the gripe of the monster? + +But how? No one was in sight: how could they have arrived in time? I +would ask, but have not strength. + +The men are still bending over me. I observe one with large beard and +brown bushy workers. There is another face, old and thin, and tanned to +a copper colour. My eyes wander from one to the other; some distant +recollections stir within me. Those faces-- + +Now I see them but dimly--I see them no longer I fainted, and was again +insensible. + +Once more I became conscious, and this time felt stronger: I could +better understand what was passing around me. I observed that the sun +was going down; a buffalo robe, suspended upon two upright saplings, +guarded his slanting rays from the spot where I lay. My seraph was +under me, and my head rested in my saddle, over which another robe had +been laid. I lay upon my side, and the position gave me a view of all +that was passing. A fire was burning near, by which were two persons, +one seated, the other standing. My eyes passed from one to the other, +scanning each in turn. + +The younger stood leaning on his rifle, looking into the fire. He was +the type of a "mountain man," a trapper. He was full six feet in his +moccasins, and of a build that suggested the idea of strength and Saxon +ancestry. His arms were like young oaks; and his hand grasping the +muzzle of his gun, appeared large, fleshless, and muscular. His cheek +was broad and firm, and was partially covered with a bushy whisker, that +met over the chin; while a beard of the same colour--dull brown--fringed +his lips. The eye was grey, or bluish grey, small, well-set, and rarely +wandering. The hair was light brown; and the complexion of the face, +which had evidently once been blonde, was now nearly as dark as that of +a half-breed. Sun-tan had produced this metamorphosis. The countenance +was prepossessing: it might have been once handsome. Its expression was +bold, but good-humoured, and bespoke a kind and generous nature. + +The dress of this individual was the well-known costume of his class--a +hunting-shirt of dressed deer-skin, smoked to the softness of a glove; +leggings reaching to the hips, and fringed down the seams; moccasins of +true Indian make, soled with buffalo hide (_parfleche_). The +hunting-shirt was belted around the waist, but open above, so as to +leave the throat and part of the breast uncovered; but over the breast +could be seen the under-shirt, of finer material--the dressed skin of +the young antelope, or the fawn of the fallow-deer. A short cape, part +of the hunting-shirt, hung gracefully over the shoulders, ending in a +deep fringe cut out of the buckskin itself. A similar fringe +embellished the draping of the skirt. On the head was a raccoon-cap-- +the face of the animal over the front, while the barred tail, like a +plume, fell drooping over the left shoulder. + +The accoutrements were a bullet-pouch, made from the undressed skin of a +tiger-cat, ornamented with the head of the beautiful summer-duck. This +hung under the right arm, suspended by a shoulder-strap; and attached, +in a similar manner, was a huge crescent-shaped horn, upon which was +carved many a strange souvenir. His arms consisted of a knife and +pistol--both stuck in the waist-belt--and a long rifle, so straight that +the line of the barrel seemed scarcely to deflect from that of the butt. + +But little attention had been paid to ornament in either his dress, +arms, or equipments; and yet there was a gracefulness in the hang of his +tunic-like shirt, a stylishness about the fringing and bead-embroidery, +and an air of jauntiness in the set of the 'coon-skin cap, that showed +the wearer was not altogether unmindful of his personal appearance. A +small pouch or case, ornamented with stained porcupine quills, hung down +upon his breast. This was the pipe-holder--no doubt a _gage d'amour_ +from some dark-eyed, dark-skinned damsel, like himself a denizen of the +wilderness. + +His companion was very different in appearance; unlike him, in almost +every respect, unlike anybody in the world. + +The whole appearance of this individual was odd and striking. He was +seated on the opposite side of the fire, with his face partially turned +towards me, and his head sunk down between a pair of long lank thighs. +He looked more like the stump of a tree dressed in dirt-coloured +buckskin than a human being; and had his arms not been in motion, he +might have been mistaken for such an object. Both his arms and jaws +were moving; the latter engaged in polishing a rib of meat which he had +half roasted over the coals. + +His dress--if dress it could be called--was simple as it was savage. It +consisted of what might have once been a hunting-shirt, but which now +looked more like a leathern bag with the bottom ripped open, and sleeves +sewed into the sides. It was of a dirty-brown colour, wrinkled at the +hollow of the arms, patched round the armpits, and greasy all over; it +was fairly "caked" with dirt. There was no attempt at either ornament +or fringe. There had been a cape, but this had evidently been drawn +upon from time to time for patches and other uses, until scarcely a +vestige of it remained. The leggings and moccasins were on a par with +the shirt, and seemed to have been manufactured out of the same hide. +They, too, were dirt-brown, patched, wrinkled, and greasy. They did not +meet each other, but left bare a piece of the ankle, and that also was +dirt-brown like the buckskin. There was no undershirt, waistcoat, or +other garment to be seen, with the exception of a close-fitting cap, +which had once been catskin; but the hair was all worn off, leaving a +greasy, leathery-looking surface, that corresponded well with the other +parts of the dress. Cap, shirt, leggings, and moccasins, looked as if +they had never been stripped off since the day they were first tried on, +and that might have been many a year ago. The shirt was open, +displaying the naked breast and throat; and these, as well as the face, +hands, and ankles, had been tanned by the sun and smoked by the fire to +the hue of rusty copper. The whole man, clothes and all, looked as if +he had been smoked on purpose. + +His face bespoke a man of sixty, or thereabout; his features were sharp, +and somewhat aquiline; and the small eyes were dark, quick, and +piercing. His hair was black, and cut short; his complexion had been +naturally brunette, though there was nothing of the Frenchman or +Spaniard in his physiognomy. He was more likely of the black-Saxon +breed. + +As I looked at this man, I saw that there was a strangeness about him, +independently of the oddness of his attire. There was something +peculiar about his head--something _wanting_. + +What was it that was wanting? It was his ears! + +There is something awful in a man without his ears. It suggests some +horrid drama--some terrible scene of cruel vengeance: it suggests the +idea of crime committed and punishment inflicted. + +I might have had such unpleasant imaginings, but that I chanced to know +why those ears were wanting. I remembered the man who was sitting +before me! + +It seemed a dream, or rather the re-enactment of an old scene. Years +before, I had seen that individual, and for the first time, in a +situation very similar. My eyes first rested upon him, seated as he was +now, over a fire, roasting and eating. The attitude was the same; the +_tout ensemble_ in no respect different. There was the same greasy +catskin cap, the same scant leggings, the same brown buckskin covering +over the lanky frame. Perhaps neither shirt nor leggings had been taken +off since I last saw them. They appeared no dirtier, however; that was +not possible. Nor was it possible, having once looked upon the wearer, +ever to forget him. I remembered him at a glance--Reuben Bawling, or +"Old Rube," as he was more commonly called, one of the most celebrated +of trappers. + +The younger man was "Bill Garey," another celebrity of the same +profession, and old Rube's partner and constant companion. + +My heart gladdened at the sight of these old acquaintances. I knew I +was with friends. + +I was about to call out to them, when my eye wandering beyond rested +upon the group of horses, and what I saw startled me from my recumbent +position. + +There was Rube's old, blind, bare-ribbed, high-boned, long-eared +mare-mustang. Her lank grizzled body, naked tail, and mulish look, I +remembered well. There, too, was the large powerful horse of Garey, and +there was my own steed Moro picketed beside them! This was a joyful +surprise to me, as he had galloped off after his escape from the bear, +and I had felt anxious about recovering him. + +But it was not the sight of Moro that caused me to start with +astonishment; it was at seeing another well-remembered animal--another +horse. Was I mistaken? Was it an illusion? Were my eyes or my fancy +again mocking me? + +No! It was a reality. There was the noble form, the graceful and +symmetrical outlines, the smooth coat of silver white, the flowing tail, +the upright jetty ears--all were before my eyes. It was he--_the white +steed of the prairies_! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +A QUEER CONVERSATION. + +The surprise, with the exertion I had made in raising myself, overcame +me, and I fell back in a swoon. + +It was but a momentary dizziness, and in a short while I was again +conscious. + +Meanwhile, the two men had approached, and having applied something cold +to my temples, stood near me conversing: I heard every word. + +"Durn the weemen!" (I recognised Rube's voice); "thur allers a gittin a +fellur into some scrape. Hyur's a putty pickle to be in, an all through +a gurl. Durn the weemen! sez I." + +"We-ell," drawlingly responded Garey, "pre-haps he loves the gal. They +sez she's mighty hansum. Love's a strong feelin, Rube." + +Although I had my eyes partially open, I could not see Rube, as he was +standing behind the suspended robe; but a gurgling, clucking sound-- +somewhat like that made in pouring water from a bottle--reached my ears, +and told me what effect Garey's remark had produced upon his companion. + +"Cuss me, Bill!" the latter at length rejoined--"cuss me! ef yur ain't +as durned a fool as the young fellur hisself! Love's a strong feelin! +He, he, he--ho, ho, hoo! Wal, I guess it must a be to make sich +dodrotted fools o' reezunable men. As yit, it hain't afooled this +child, I reck'n." + +"You never knewd what love war, old hoss?" + +"Thur yur off o' the trail, Bill-ee. I _did_ oncest--yis, oncest I wur +in love, plum to the toe-nails. But thet wur a gurl to git sweet on. +Ye-es, thet she wur, an no mistake!" + +This speech ended in a sigh that sounded like the blowing of a buffalo. + +"Who wur the gal?" inquired Garey after a pause. "White, or Injun?" + +"Injun!" exclaimed Rube, in a contemptuous tone. "No; I reck'n not, +boyee. I don't say thet, _for a wife_, an Injun ain't jest as good as a +white, an more convaynient she are to git shet of when yur tired o' her. +I've hed a good grist o' squaws in my time--hef-a-dozen maybe, an maybe +more--but this I _kin_ say, an no boastin neyther, thet I never sold a +squaw yet for a plug o' bacca less than I gin for her; an on most o' 'em +I made a clur profit. Thurfur, Billee, I don't object to a Injun fur a +wife: but _wives_ is one thing, an _sweethearts_ is diff'rent, when it +comes to thet. Now the gurl I'm a-talkin 'bout wur my sweetheart." + +"She wur a white gal, then?" + +"Are allyblaster white? She wur white as the bleached skull o' a +huffier; an sesh har! 'Twur as red as the brush o' a kitfox! Eyes, +too. Ah, Billee, boy, them wur eyes to squint out o'! They wur as big +as a buck's, an as soft as smoked fawn-skin. I never seed a pair o' +eyes like hern!" + +"What wur her name?" + +"Her name wur Char'ty, an as near as I kin remember, her other name wur +Holmes--Char'ty Holmes. Ye-es, thet wur the name. + +"'Twur upon Big-duck crick in the Tennessee bottom, the place whur this +child chawed his fust hoe-cake. Let me see--it ur now more'n thirty +yeer ago. I fust met the gurl at a candy-pullin; an I reccollex well we +wur put to eat taffy agin one another. We ate till our lips met; an +then the kissin--thet wur kissin, boyee. Char'ty's lips wur sweeter +than the treakle itself! + +"We met oncest agin at a corn-shuckin, an arterwards at a +blanket-trampin, an thur's whur the bisness wur done. I seed Char'ty's +ankles as she wur a-trampin out the blankets, as white an smooth as +peeled poplar. Arter thet 'twur all up wi' Reuben Rawlins. I +approached the gurl 'ithout more ado; an sez I: `Char'ty,' sez I, `I +freeze to you;' an sez she: `Reuben, I cottons to you.' So I +immeediantly made up to the ole squire--thet ur Squire Holmes--an axed +him for his darter. Durn the ole skunk! he refused to gin her to me! + +"Jest then, thur kum a pedlar from Kinneticut, all kivered wi' fine +broadcloth. He made love to Char'ty; an wud yur b'lieve it, Bill? the +gurl married him! Cuss the weemen! thur all alike. + +"I met the pedlar shortly arter, and gin _him_ sech a larrupin as laid +him up for a month; but I hed to clur out for it, an I then tuk to the +plains. + +"I never seed Char'ty arterward, but I heerd o' her oncest from a fellur +I kim acrosst on the Massoury. She wur a splendid critter; an if she ur +still livin, she must hev a good grist o' young uns by this, for the +fellur said she'd hed a kupple o' twins very shortly arter she wur +married, with _har an eyes jest like herself_! Wal, thur's no kalklatin +on weemen, any how. Jest see what this young fellur's got by tryin to +sarve 'em. Wagh!" + +Up to this moment I took no part in the conversation, nor had I +indicated to either of the trappers that I was aware of their presence. +Everything was enveloped in mystery. The presence of the white steed +had sufficiently astonished me, and not less that of my old +acquaintances, Rube and Garey. The whole scene was a puzzle. + +I was equally at a loss to account for their being acquainted with the +cause that had brought _me_ there. That they were so, was evident from +their conversation. Where could they have procured their information on +this head? Neither of them had been at the rancheria, nor in the army +anywhere; certainly not, else I should have heard of them. Indeed, +either of them would have made himself known to me, as a strong +friendship had formerly existed between us. + +But they alone could give me an explanation, and, without further +conjecture, I turned to them. + +"Rube! Garey!" I said, holding out my hand. + +"Hilloo! yur a-comin too, young fellur. Thet's right; but thur now--lay +still a bit--don't worrit yurself; y'ull be stronger by'm by." + +"Take a sup o' this," said the other, with an air of rude kindness, at +the same time holding out a small gourd, which I applied to my lips. It +was _aguardiente_ of El Paso, better known among the mountain-men as +"Pass-whisky." The immediate effect of this strong, but not bad spirit, +was to strengthen my nerves, and render me abler to converse. + +"I see you reccollects us, capt'n," said Garey, apparently pleased at +the recognition. + +"Well, old comrades--well do I remember you." + +"We ain't forgot you neyther. Rube an I often talked about ye. We many +a time wondered what hed becomed o' you. We heerd, of coorse, that you +hed gone back to the settlements, an that you hed come into gobs o' +property, an hed to change yur name to git it--" + +"Durn the name!" interrupted Rube. "I'd change mine any day for a plug +o' Jeemes River bacca; thet wud I sartint." + +"No, capt'n," continued the young trapper, without heeding Rube's +interruption, "we hedn't forgot you, neyther of us." + +"That we hedn't!" added Rube emphatically: "forgot ye--forgot the young +fellur as tuk ole Rube for a grizzly! He, he, he!--ho, ho, hoo! How +Bill hyur did larf when I gin him the account o' that bissnes in the +cave. Bill, boy, I niver seed you larf so in all my life. Ole Rube tuk +for a grizzly! He, he, he!--Ho, ho, hoo!" + +And the old trapper went off into a fit of laughing that occupied nearly +a minute. At the end of it, he continued:-- + +"Thet wur a kewrious bit o' dodgin--wa'nt it, young fellur? You saved +my ole karkidge thet time, an I ain't a-gwine to forgit it; no, this +child ain't." + +"I think you have repaid me; you have rescued me from the bear?" + +"From _one_ bar _preehaps_ we did, but from t'other grizzly you rescooed +yurself; an', young fellur, you must a fit a putty consid'able bout +afore the vamint knocked under. The way you hev gin him the bowie ur a +caution to snakes, I reck'n." + +"What! were there two bears?" + +"Look thur! thur's a kupple, ain't thur?" + +The trapper pointed in the direction of the fire. Sure enough, the +carcasses of _two_ bears lay upon the ground, both skinned, and +partially cut up! + +"I fought with only one." + +"An thet wur enuf at a time, an a leetle more, I reck'n. 'Tain't many +as lives to wag thur jaws arter a stan-up tussle wi' a grizzly. Wagh! +how you must have fit, to a rubbed out thet bar!" + +"I _killed_ the bear, then?" + +"Thet you sartintly did, young fellur. When Bill an me kim on the +groun, the bar wur as dead as pickled pork. We thort yur case wa'nt any +better. Thur you lay a-huggin the bar, an the bar a-huggin you, as ef +both on yur hed gone to sleep in a sort o' friendly way, like the +babbies in the wood, exceptin thet you wa'nt kivered wi' leaves. But +thur wur yur claret a kiverin the paraira for yurds round. Thur wa'nt +as much blood in you as wud a gin a leech his breakfist." + +"The other bear?" + +"She kum arterwards out o' the gully. Bill, he wur gone to look arter +the white hoss. I wur sittin aside you, jest hyur, when I seed the +vamint's snout pokin up. I knowd it wur the she-bar a-comin to see +where ole Eph had strayed to. So I tuk up Targuts, an plummed the +critter in the eye, an thet wur the eend o' _her_ trampin. + +"Now, lookee hyur, young fellur! I ain't no doctur, neyther's Bill, but +I knows enough about wownds to be sartint thet you must lay still, an +stop talkin. Yur mighty bad scratched, I tell ye, but yur not +dangerous, only you've got no blood in yur body, an you must wait till +it gathers agin. Take another suck out o' the gourd. Thur now, come, +Billee! leave 'im alone. Le's go an hev a fresh toothfull o' bar-meat." + +And so saying, the leathery figure moved off in the direction of the +fire, followed by his younger companion. + +Although I was anxious to have a further explanation about the other +points that puzzled me--about the steed, the trappers' own presence, +their knowledge of my wild hunt, and its antecedents--I knew it would be +useless to question Old Rube any further after what he had said; I was +compelled, therefore, to follow his advice, and remain quiet. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +VOWS OF VENGEANCE. + +I soon fell asleep again, and this time slept long and profoundly. + +It was after nightfall,--in fact, near midnight, when I awoke. The air +had grown chilly, but I found I had not been neglected; my serape was +wrapped closely around me, and with a buffalo-robe, had sufficiently +protected me from the cold while I slept. + +On awaking, I felt much better and stronger. I looked around for my +companions. The fire had gone out--no doubt intentionally extinguished, +lest its glare amid the darkness might attract the eye of some roving +Indian. The night was a clear one, though moonless; but the heaven was +spangled with its sparkling worlds, and the starlight enabled me to make +out the forms of the two trappers and the group of browsing horses. Of +the former, one only was asleep; the other sat upright, keeping guard +over the camp. He was motionless as a statue: but the small spark +gleaming like a glowworm from the bowl of his tobacco pipe, gave token +of his wakefulness. Dim as the light was, I could distinguish the +upright form to be that of the earless trapper. It was Garey who was +sleeping. + +I could have wished it otherwise. I was anxious to have some +conversation with the younger of my companions; I was longing for an +explanation, and I should have preferred addressing myself to Garey. + +My anxiety would not allow me to wait, and I turned towards Rube. He +sat near me, and I spoke in a low tone, so as not to awake the sleeper. +"How came you to find me?" + +"By follerin yur trail." + +"Oh, you followed me then! From the settlements?" + +"Not so fur. Bill an me wur camped in the chapparil, an spied you a +gallupin arter the white hoss, as ef all the devils out o' hell wur +arter you. I knowd yur at a glimp; so did Bill. Sez I: `Bill, thet +ur's the young fellur as tuk me for a grizzly up thur in the mountains,' +and the reckoleckshun o' the sark'instance sot me a larfin till my ole +ribs ached. `It ur the same,' sez Bill; an jest then, we met a Mexikin +who hed been yur guide, gallupin about in sarch o' you. He gin us a +story 'bout some gurl thet hed sent you to catch the white hoss; some +saynyora with a dodrotted long name. `Durn the weemen!' sez I to Bill. +Didn't I, Bill?" + +To this interesting interrogatory, Garey, who was but half asleep, gave +an assenting grunt. + +"Wal," continued Rube, "seem thur wur a pettycoat in the case, I sez to +Bill, sez I: `Thet young fellur ain't a-gwine to pull up till eyther he +grups the hoss, or the hoss gits clur off.' + +"Now, I know'd you wur well mounted, but I knowd you wur arter the +fastest critter on all these parairas; so I sez to Bill, sez I: `Billee, +thur boun for a long gallup.' Sez Bill: `Thet ur sartin.' + +"Wal! Bill and me tuk the idee in our heads, thet you mout git lost, +for we seed the white hoss wur a makin for the big paraira. It ain't +the biggest paraira in creashun, but it ur one of the wust to git +strayed on. Yur greenhorns wur all gone back, so Bill and me catched up +our critters, an as soon as we kud saddle 'em, put arter you. When we +kumd out in the paraira, we seed no signs o' you, 'ceptin yur trail. +Thet we follered up; but it wur night long afore we got half way hyur, +an wur obleeged to halt till sun-up. + +"Wal--in the mornin, the trail wur nurly blind, on account o' the rain; +an it tuk us a good spell afore we reached the gully. `Thur,' sez Bill, +`the hoss hes jumped in, an hyur's the trail o' the young fellur leadin +down the bank.' Wal, we wur jest turn in to go down, when we seed yur +own hoss a good ways off on the paraira, 'ithout saddle or bridle. We +rid straight for him, an when we got closter, we seed somethin on the +groun, right under the hoss's nose. Thet somethin turned out to be +yurself an the grizzly, lyin in grups, as quiet as a kupple o' sleepin +'possums. Yur hoss wur a squealin like a bag o' wild-cats, an at fust +Bill an me thort you hed gone under. But upon a closter view, we seed +you wur only a faintin, while the bar wur as dead as a buck. Of coorse +we sot about docterin you, to fotch you roun agin." + +"But the steed? the white steed?" + +"Bill hyur grupped him in the gully. A leetle further down it's stopped +up wi' big rocks. We knowd thet, for we'd been over this groun' afore. +We knowd the hoss kudn't a got over the rocks, an Bill went arter an +foun him, on a ledge whur he hed clomb out o' reech o' the flood; an +then he lazooed the critter, an fotched 'im up hyur. Now, young fellur, +you've got the hul story." + +"An the hoss," added Garey, rising from his recumbent position, "he's +yourn, capt'n. Ef you hadn't rid him down, I couldn't a roped him so +easy. He's yourn, ef yu'll accept o' him." + +"Thanks, thanks! not for the gift alone, but I may thank you for my +life. But for you, I might never have left this spot. Thanks! old +comrades, thanks!" + +Every point was now cleared up. There was mystery no longer, though, +from an expression which Garey had dropped, I still desired a word with +him in private. + +On further inquiry, I learned that the trappers were on their way to +take part in the campaign. Some barbarous treatment they had +experienced from Mexican soldiers at a frontier post, had rendered both +of them inveterate foes to Mexico; and Rube declared he would never be +contented until he had "plugged a score of the yellur-hided vamints." +The breaking out of the war gave them the opportunity they desired, and +they were now on their way, from a distant part of prairie-land, to take +a hand in it. + +The vehemence of their hostility towards the Mexicans somewhat surprised +me--as I knew it was a recent feeling with them--and I inquired more +particularly into the nature of the ill-treatment they had received. +They answered me by giving a detailed account of the affair. It had +occurred at one of the Mexican frontier towns, where, upon a slight +pretext, the trappers had been arrested and flogged, by order of the +commanding officer of the post. + +"Yes-s!" said Rube, the words hissing angrily through his teeth; "yes-s, +flogged!--a mountain-man flogged by a cussed monkey of a Mexikin! Ne'er +a mind! ne'er a mind! By the 'tarnal God!--an when I say thet, I swar +it--this niggur don't leave Mexiko till he hes rubbed out a soger for +every lash they gin him--an that's twenty!" + +"Hyur's another, old hoss!" cried Garey, with equal earnestness of +manner--"hyur's another that swars the same oath!" + +"Yes, Billee, boy! I guess we'll count some in a skrimmage. Thur's two +a'ready! lookee thur, young fellur!" + +As Rube said this, he held his rifle close to my eyes, pointing with his +finger to a particular part of the stock. I saw two small notches +freshly cut in the wood. I knew well enough what these notches meant; +they were a registry of the deaths of two Mexicans, who had fallen by +the hand or bullet of the trapper. They had not been the only victims +of that unerring and deadly weapon. On the same piece of wood-work I +could see long rows of similar _souvenirs_, apart from each other, only +differing a little in shape. I knew something of the signification of +these horrible hieroglyphics; I knew they were the history of a life +fearfully spent--a life of red realities. + +The sight was far from pleasant. I turned my eyes away, and remained +silent. + +"Mark me, young fellur!" continued Rube, who noticed that I was not +gratified by the inspection; "don't mistake Bill Garey an me for wild +beests; we ain't thet quite; we've been mighty riled, I reck'n; but f'r +all thet, we ain't a-gwine to take revenge on weemen an childer, as +Injuns do. No--weemen an childer don't count, nor men neyther, unless +thur sogers. We've no spite agin the poor slaves o' Mexiko. _They_ +never did me nor Bill harm. We've been on one skurry, along wi' the +Yutaws, down to the Del Nort settlements. Thur's whur I made them two +nicks; but neyther Bill or me laid a finger on the weemen an childer. +It wur bekase the Injuns _did_, thet we left 'em. We're jest kum from +thur. We want fair fight among Christyun whites; thet's why we're hyur. +Now, young fellur!" + +I was glad to hear Rube talk in this manner, and I so signified to him. +Indianised as the old trapper was--with all his savageness, all his +reckless indifference to ordinary emotions--I knew there was still a +touch of humanity in his breast. Indeed, on more than one occasion, I +had witnessed singular displays of fine feeling on the part of Rube. +Circumstanced as he was, he is not to be judged by the laws of civilised +life. + +"Your intention, then, is to join some corps of rangers, is it not?" I +asked after a pause. + +"I shed like it," replied Garey: "I shed like to join your company, +capt'n; but Rube hyur won't consent to it." + +"No!" exclaimed the other with emphasis; "I'll jine no kumpny. This +niggur fights on his own hook. Yur see, young fellur, I hev been all my +life a free mountaineeman, an don't understan sogerin, nohow. I mout +make some mistake, or I moutn't like some o' the reg'lashuns; thurfor I +prefers fightin arter my own fashun. Bill an me kin take care o' +ourselves, I reck'n. Kin we, Bill?--eh, boyee?" + +"I guess so, old hoss," replied Garey mildly; "but for all that, Rube, I +think it would be better to go at it in a reglar way--particlarly as the +capt'n hyur would make the sogerin part as easy as possible. Wudn't +yur, capt'n?" + +"The discipline of my corps is not very severe. We are _Rangers_, and +our duties are different from those of regular soldiers--" + +"It ur no use," interrupted Rube; "I must fight as I've allers fit, free +to kum an free to go whur I please. I won't bind myself to nuthin. I +moutn't like it, an mout desart." + +"But by binding yourself," suggested I, "you draw pay and rations; +whereas--" + +"Durn pay an rashuns!" exclaimed the old trapper, striking the butt of +his rifle upon the prairie. "Durn pay an rashuns! Young fellur, _I +fights for revenge_!" + +This was said in an energetic and conclusive manner, and I urged my +advice no further. + +"Look hyur, cap!" continued the speaker in a more subdued tone. "Though +I ain't a-gwine to jine yur fellurs, yet thur ur a favour I wud axe from +yur; an thet is, to let me an Bill keep by you, or foller whuriver you +lead. I don't want to spunge for rashuns; we'll git thet ef thur's a +head o' game in Mexiko, an ef thur ain't, why we _kin eat a Mexikin_. +Can't we, Bill?--eh, boyee?" + +Garey knew this was one of Rube's jokes, and laughingly assented; adding +at the same time, that he would prefer eating any other "sort o' a +vamint." + +"Ne'er a mind!" continued Rube: "we ain't a-gwine to starve. So, young +fellur, ef you agrees to our goin on them tarms, yu'll heve a kupple o' +rifles near you thet won't miss fire--_they_ won't." + +"Enough! You shall go and come as you please. I shall be glad to have +you near me, without binding you to any term of service." + +"Hooray!--thet's the sort for us! Kum, Billee!--gie's another suck out +o' yur gourd. Hyur's success to the Stars and Stripes! Hooray for +Texas!" + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +A "Weed"-Prairie on Fire. + +My recovery was rapid. My wounds, though deep, were not dangerous; they +were only flesh-wounds, and closed rapidly under the cauterising +influence of the _lechuguilla_. Rude as my doctors were, in the matter +of such a malady, I could not have fallen into better hands. Both, +during their lives of accident and exposure, had ample practice in the +healing art; and I would have trusted either, in the curing of a +rattle-snake's bite, or the tear of a grizzly bear's claw, in preference +to the most accomplished surgeon. Old Rube, in particular, thoroughly +understood the simple pharmacopoeia of the prairies; and his application +to my wounds of the sap of the _pita_ plant, obtained among the rocks of +the ravine, bespoke his skill. This plant, a bromelia, is of the same +genus as the _Agave Americana_, and by travellers often confounded with +the latter, though quite a distinct plant from the _maguey_ of +cultivation. It grows in most parts of Mexico and South America, +extending as far north as the latitude of 30 degrees, and even farther. +There is no spot too arid or barren to give support to it. It is a true +desert plant; and even on the naked rock, its curved and thorny blades +may be seen radiating on all sides from the tall flower-stalk, that +shoots upward like a signal-staff, to the height of twenty feet. As +already observed, its uses are manifold: the fibre of its leaves can be +manufactured into thread, cordage, and cloth; fences are constructed of +the growing plant, and thatch of the blades when cut; its sap, +distilled, furnishes the fiery but not unwholesome mezcal; and the large +egg-shaped core or stem is eaten for food. Tribes of Indians--Lipans, +Comanches, and Apaches--use it extensively as an article of diet. One +branch of the great Apache nation are distinguished--"_Mezcaleros_" +(eaters of the mezcal-plant). They bake it in ground-ovens of heated +stones, along with the flesh of the wild-horse. It is firm when cooked, +with a translucent appearance like candied fruits. I have eaten it; it +is palatable--I might say delicious. The mastication of it is +accompanied by a prinkling sensation upon the tongue, singular to one +unaccustomed to it. It is a gift of nature to the desert regions--where +it grows in greatest luxuriance, and where it serves the same purpose in +the economy of the savage natives as the _ixias, mesembryanthemums_, and +_zarnias_ (the Caffre bread), upon the arid karoos of Southern Africa. + +One of the most esteemed qualities of this bromelia is the cauterising +property of its juice--well known to the natives of the Mexican +table-land, and to the Peruvians, where several species are found of +like virtues. It will cause ordinary wounds to cicatrise in a few +hours, and even "ugly gashes" will yield to it in time. + +My companions had full knowledge of its effects; and, having extracted +the sap from its large succulent leaves, and boiled it to the +consistency of honey, they applied it to my wounds. This operation they +from time to time repeated, and the scratches were healed in a period +marvellously short. My strength, too, was soon restored. Garey with +his gun catered for the cuisine, and the ruffed grouse, the prairie +partridge, and roasted ribs of fresh venison, were dainties even to an +invalid. + +In three days I was strong enough to mount; and bidding adieu to our +camping-ground, we all three set forth, taking with us our beautiful +captive. He was still as wild as a deer; but we had adopted precautions +to prevent him from getting away from us. The trappers led him between +them, secured to the saddles of both by a lazo. + +We did not return in the direction of our old trail; my companions knew +a shorter route--at least one upon which we should sooner reach water-- +and that is the most important consideration on a prairie-journey. We +headed in a more westerly direction; by which, keeping in a straight +line, we expected to strike the Rio Grande some distance above the +rancheria. + +The sky was leaden-grey--the sun not being visible--and with no guide in +the heavens, we knew that we might easily diverge from a direct course. +To provide against this, my companions had recourse to a compass of +their own invention. + +On taking our departure from camp, a sapling was stuck into the ground, +and upon the top of this was adjusted a piece of bear's-skin, which, +with the long hair upon it, could be distinguished at the distance of a +mile or more. The direction having been determined upon, another wand, +similarly garnished with a tuft of the bear's-skin, was set up several +hundred yards distant from the first. + +Turning our backs upon these signal-posts, we rode off with perfect +confidence, glancing back at intervals to make sure we were keeping the +line. So long as they remained in sight, and _aligned_ with each other, +we could not otherwise than travel in a straight path. It was an +ingenious contrivance, but it was not the first time I had been witness +to the ingenuity of my trapper-friends, and therefore I was not +astonished. + +When the black tufts were well-nigh hidden from view, a similar pair-- +the materials for which had been brought along--were erected; and these +insured our direction for another stretch of a mile; then fresh saplings +were planted; and so on, till we had passed over six miles of the plain. + +We now came in sight of timber right ahead of us, and apparently about +five miles distant. Towards this we directed our course. + +We reached the timber about noon, and found it to consist of black-jack +and post-oak groves, with mezquite and wild china-trees interspersed, +and here and there some taller trees of the honey-locust (_Gleditschia +triacanthos_). It was not a close forest, but a succession of groves, +with openings between--avenues and grassy glades. + +There were many pleasant spots, and, faint with the ride, I would fain +have chosen one of them for a resting-place; but there was no water, and +without water we could not halt. A short distance farther, and we +should reach a stream--a small _arroyo_, an affluent of the Rio Grande. +So promised my companions, and we rode onward. + +After passing a mile or so through the timber-openings, we came out on +the edge of a prairie of considerable extent. It was full three miles +in diameter, and differed altogether from the plain we had left behind +us. It was of the kind known in hunter phraseology as a +"weed-prairie"--that is, instead of having a grassy turf, its surface +was covered in a thick growth of flowering-plants, as _helianthus, +malvas, altheas, hibiscus_, and other tall annuals standing side by +side, and frequently laced together by wild-pea vines and various +species of convolvulus. Such a flower-prairie was the one now before +us, but not a flower was in sight; they had all bloomed, faded, and +fallen--perhaps unseen by human eye--and the withered stalks, burned by +a hot sun, looked brown and forbidding. They tracked and broke at the +slightest touch, their seed-pods shelling their contents like rain upon +the loose earth. + +Instead of striking across this prairie, we skirted around its edge; and +at no great distance arrived on the banks of the arroyo. + +We had made but a short march; but my companions, fearful that a longer +ride might bring on fever, proposed to encamp there for the night, and +finish our journey on the following day. Though I felt strong enough to +have gone farther, I made no objection to the proposal; and our horses +were at once unsaddled and picketed near the banks of the arroyo. + +The stream ran through a little bottom-valley covered with a sward of +grass, and upon this we staked our steeds; but a better place offered +for our camp upon the higher ground; and we chose a spot under the shade +of a large locust-tree, upon the edge of the great wilderness of weeds. +To this place we carried our saddles, bridles, and blankets, and having +collected a quantity of dead branches, kindled our camp-fire. + +We had already quenched our thirst at the stream, but, although we were +all three hungry enough, the dried flesh of the grizzly bear proved but +a poor repast. The rivulet looked promising for fish. Garey had both +hooks and line in his "possible sack," and I proposed the angle. + +The young trapper soon baited his hooks; and he and I, repairing to the +stream, cast our lines, sat down, and waited for a nibble. + +Fishing was not to Rube's taste. For a few minutes he stood watching +us, but evidently with little interest, either in the sport, or what it +might produce. Rube was not a fish-eater. + +"Durn yur fish!" exclaimed he at length: "I'd ruther hev a hunk o' +deer-meat than all the fish in Texas. I'll jest see ef I kin scare up +somethin; the place looks likely for deer--it do." + +So saying, the old trapper shouldered his long rifle, and stalking off +up the bank, was soon out of sight. + +Garey and I continued bobbing with but indifferent success. + +We had succeeded in drawing out a couple of cat-fish, not the most +palatable of the finny tribe, when the crack of Rube's rifle sounded in +our ears. It seemed to come from the weed-prairie, and we both ran up +on the high bank to ascertain what success had attended the shot. + +Sure enough, Rube was out in the prairie, nearly half a mile distant +from the camp. His head and shoulders were just visible above the tall +stalks of the helianthus; and we could see, by his stooping at +intervals, that he was bending over some game he had killed, skinning or +cutting it up. The game we could not see, on account of the interposed +culms of the weeds. + +"A deer, I reck'n," remarked Garey. "Buffler don't often o' late years +stray so far to the southert, though I've killed some on the Grande, +higher up." + +Without other remark passing between us, we descended to the arroyo, and +recommenced our fishing. We took it for granted that Rube did not +require any aid, or he would have signalled to us. He would soon return +with his game to the camp. + +We had just discovered that silver-fish (a species of _hyodori_) were +plentiful in the stream, and this kept our attention fixed. We were +desirous of taking some of them for our dinner, knowing them to be +excellent eating, and far superior to the despised "cat." + +Having changed our bait for some small pieces of gold-lace, which my +uniform furnished, we succeeded in pulling several of these beautiful +creatures out of the water; and were congratulating one another upon the +delicious broil we should have, when our conversation was suddenly +interrupted by a crackling noise, that caused both of us to turn our +faces towards the prairie. + +The sight that met our eyes prompted us to spring simultaneously to our +feet. Our horses already reared upon their lazoes--neighing with +affright--and the wild screams of Rube's mustang-mare were loud and +continuous. There was no mystery about the cause; that was obvious at a +glance. The wind had blown some sparks among the dry flower-stalks. +The weed-prairie was on fire! + +Though startled at the first sight of the conflagration, for ourselves +we had nothing to fear. The bottom on which we stood was a sward of +short buffalo-grass; it was not likely to catch fire, and even if it +did, we could easily escape from it. There is not much danger in a +burning prairie where the grass is light and short; one can dash through +the line of flame, with no greater injury than the singeing of his hair, +or a little suffocation from the smoke; but upon a plain covered with +rank and thick vegetation, the case is very different. We therefore +felt no apprehension for ourselves, but we did for our companion; _his_ +situation filled us with alarm. + +Was he still where we had last seen him? This was the first question we +asked one another. If so, then his peril was great indeed; his escape +would be almost hopeless! + +We had observed him a full half-mile out among the weeds, and on foot +too. To have attempted a retreat towards the opposite side of the +prairie, would have been folly: it was three miles off. Even on +horseback, the flames would have overtaken him! Mounted, or on foot, he +could not have got out of the way through those tall stalks--laced as +they were by pea-vines and other trailing plants--whose tough tangle +would have hindered the progress even of the strongest horse! + +To have returned to the near side would be his only chance; but that +would be in the very face of the fire, and, unless he had started long +before the flames broke out, it was evident that his retreat in that +direction would be cut off. As already stated, the weeds were as dry as +tinder; and the flames, impelled by gusts of wind, at intervals shot out +their red tongues, licking up the withered stalks, coiling like serpents +around them, and consuming them almost instantaneously. + +Filled with forebodings, my companion and I ran in the direction of the +prairie. + +When first noticed by us, the fire had extended but a few yards on each +side of the locust-tree we had chosen for our camp. We were not +opposite this point at the moment, having gone a little way down the +arroyo; we ran, therefore, not towards the camp, but for the nearest +point of high ground, in order to discover the situation of our friend. + +On reaching the high ground, about two hundred yards from the locust, we +saw to our astonishment that the fire had already spread, and was now +burning forward to the spot where we had climbed up! + +We had only a moment to glance outward, when the conflagration, hissing +and crackling as it passed, rolled in front of us, and with its wall of +flame shut off our view of the prairie. + +But that glance had shown us all, and filled our hearts with sorrow and +dismay; it revealed the situation of the trapper--no longer a situation +of peril, but, as we supposed, of certain death! + +He was still in the place where we had last seen him; he had evidently +made no attempt to escape from it. Perhaps the knowledge that such an +attempt must have failed, and hindered him from making it. The +reflection that he might as well die where he stood, as be licked up by +the flames in the act of fleeing from them, had bound him to the spot, +wavering and undecided! + +Oh! it was a dread sight to see that old man, hardened sinner that he +was about to be snatched into eternity! + +I remember his wild look, as the red flame, roiling between us, shut him +from our sight! We saw him but for a single instant: his head and +shoulders were alone visible above the tall weeds. He made no sign +either with voice or arm; but I fancied that even at that distance I +could read his glance of despair! + +Was there no hope? Could no exertion be made to rescue him? Could he +do nothing for himself? Was there no chance of his being able to clear +a circle round him, and burn off a space before the line of fire could +come up? Such a ruse has often availed, but no--never in such a ground +as that! The weeds were too thick and tall--it could not be done--Garey +said it could not be done. + +There was no hope, then. _The old trapper was lost_! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +RUBE ROASTED ALIVE. + +Doomed beyond doubt--doomed to quick, awful, and certain death was the +earless trapper. In five minutes more he must perish. The wall of +flame, moving faster than charging cavalry, would soon envelope him, and +surer than the carbine's volley or the keen sabre-cut was the death +borne forward upon the wings of that hissing, crackling cohort of fire. + +Here and there, tall jets, shooting suddenly upward, stalked far in +advance of the main line--fiery giants, with red arms stretched forth, +as if eager to grasp their victim. Already their hot breath was upon +him; another minute, and he must perish! + +In a sort of stupor we stood, Garey and I, watching the advance of the +flames. Neither of us uttered a word: painful emotions prevented +speech. Both our hearts were beating audibly. Mine was bitterly wrung; +but I knew that the heart of my companion was enduring the very acme of +anguish. I glanced upward to his face: his eye was fixed, and looked +steadfastly in one direction--as though it would pierce the sheet of +flame that rolled farther and farther from where we stood, and nearer to +the fatal spot. The expression of Garey's eye was fearful to behold; it +was a look of concentrated agony. A single tear had escaped from it, +and was rolling down the rude weather-bronzed cheek, little used to such +bedewing. The broad chest was heaving in short quick spasms, and it was +evident the man was struggling with his breath. He was listening +through all this intensity of gaze--listening for the death-shriek of +his old comrade--his bosom-friend! + +Not long was the suspense; though there was no shriek, no cry of human +voice, to indicate the crisis. If any arose, it was not heard by us. +It could not have been; it would have been drowned amid the roar of the +flames, and the crackling of the hollow culms, whose pent-up gases, set +free by the fire, sounded like the continuous rolling of musketry. No +death-cry fell upon our ears; but, for all that, we were satisfied that +the drama had reached its _denouement_: the unfortunate trapper had been +roasted alive! + +Already the flames had passed over the spot where we had last seen him-- +far beyond--leaving the ground charred and black behind them. Though +the smoke hindered our _view_ of the plain, we knew that the climax had +passed: the hapless victim had succumbed; and it remained only to look +for his bones among the smouldering ashes. + +Up to this moment Garey had stood in a fixed attitude, silent and rigid +as a statue. It was not hope that had held him thus spell-bound; he had +entertained no such feeling from the first: it was rather a paralysis +produced by despair. + +Now that the crisis was over, and he felt certain that his comrade had +perished, his muscles, so long held in tension, suddenly relaxed--his +arms fell loosely to his sides--the tears chased each other over his +cheeks--his head reclined forward, and in a hoarse husky voice he +exclaimed: + +"O God! he's rubbed out, rubbed out! We've seed the last o' poor Old +Rube!" + +My sorrow, though perhaps not so keen as that of my companion, was +nevertheless sufficiently painful. I knew the earless trapper well--had +been his associate under strange circumstances--amid scenes of danger +that draw men's hearts more closely together than any phrases of +flattery or compliment. More than once had I seen him tried in the hour +of peril; and I knew that, notwithstanding the wildness and eccentricity +of his character--of his crimes, I might add--his heart, ill directed by +early education, ill guided by after-association, was still rife with +many virtues. Many proofs of this could I recall; and I confess that a +feeling akin to friendship had sprung up between myself and this +singular man. + +Between him and Garey the ties were still stronger. Long and +inseparable companionship--years of participation in a life of hardships +and perils--like thoughts and habitudes--though perhaps dispositions, +age, and characters a good deal unlike--all had combined to unite the +two in a firm bond of friendship. To use their own expressive phrase, +they "_froze_" to each other. No wonder then that the look, with which +the young trapper regarded that black plain, was one of indescribable +anguish. + +To his mournful speech I made no reply. What could I have said? I +could not offer consolation. I was grieving as well as he: my silence +was but an assent to his sad soliloquy. + +After a moment he continued, his voice still tremulous with sorrow-- + +"Come, commarade! It are no use our cryin like a kupple o' squaws." + +With his large finger he dashed the tears aside, as if ashamed of having +shed them. + +"It are all over now," he continued. "Let's look arter his bones--that +is, if thar's anythin left o' 'em--and gie 'em Christyun burial. Come!" + +We caught our horses, and mounting, rode off over the burnt ground. + +The hoofs of the animals tossed up the smouldering ashes as we advanced, +the hot red cinders causing them to prance. The smoke pained our eyes, +and prevented us from seeing far ahead; but we guided ourselves as well +as we could towards the point where we had last seen the trapper, and +where we expected to find his remains. + +On nearing the spot, our eyes fell upon a dark mass that lay upon the +plain: but it appeared much larger than the body of a man. We could not +make out what it was, until within a few feet of it, and even then it +was difficult to recognise it as the carcass of a buffalo--though truly +in reality it was. It was no doubt the game which the hunter had +killed. It rested as it had fallen--as these animals usually fall--upon +the breast, with legs widely spread, and humped shoulders upward. + +We could perceive that the unfortunate man had nearly finished skinning +it--for the hide, parted along the spine, had been removed from the back +and sides, and with the fleshy side turned outward, was hanging to the +ground, so as to conceal the lower half of the carcass. The whole +surface was burnt to the colour of charcoal. + +But where were the remains of the hunter? They were nowhere to be seen +near the spot. The smoke had now cleared away sufficiently to enable us +to observe the ground for several hundred yards around us. An object of +small dimensions could have been distinguished upon the now bare +surface; but none was seen. Yes! a mass lay close to the carcass, which +drew our attention for a moment; but on riding up to it we perceived +that it was the stomach and intestines of the buffalo, black and half +broiled. + +But where were the bones of Rube? Had he got away from the spot, and +perished elsewhere? + +We glanced towards the fire still raging on the distant plain. + +No: it was not probable he had moved thence. By the last look we had +obtained of him, he did not appear to be making any effort to escape, +and he could scarcely have gone a hundred yards before the flames swept +over the spot and must have enveloped him. + +How then? Were his bones entirely consumed--calcined--reduced to ashes? +The lean, withered, dried-up body of the old mountain-man favoured such +a supposition; and we began seriously to entertain it--for in no other +way could we account for the total absence of all remains! + +For some moments we sat in our saddles under the influence of strange +emotions, but without exchanging a word. We scanned the black plain +round and round. The smoke no longer hindered our view of the ground. +In the weed-prairies there is no grassy turf; and the dry herbaceous +stems of the annuals had burned out with the rapidity of blazing flax, +so that nothing was left to cause a smoke. The fire was red or dead in +an instant. We could see clear enough all the surface of the ground, +but nothing that resembled the remains of a human being! + +"No," said Garey, with a long-drawn sigh. "Poor Old Rube! The classed +thing has burned him to ashes--bones an all! Thur ain't as much o' 'im +left as 'ud fill a tabacca-pipe!" + +"The hell, thur ain't!" replied a voice that caused both of us to start +in our saddles, as if it had been Rube's ghost that addressed us--"the +hell, thur ain't!" repeated the voice, as though it came out of the +ground beneath our feet. "Thur's enough o' Ole Rube left to fill the +stummuk o' this hyur buffler; an by the jumpin Geehosophat, a tight fit +it ur! Wagh! I'm well-nigh sufflocated! Gie's yur claws, Bill, an +pull me out o' this hyur trap!" + +To our astonishment the pendent hide of the buffalo was raised by an +invisible hand; and underneath appeared, protruding through a hole in +the side of the carcass, the unmistakable physiognomy of the earless +trapper! + +There was something so ludicrous in the apparition, that the sight of +it, combined with the joyful reaction of our feelings, sent both Garey +and myself into convulsions of laughter. The young trapper lay back in +the saddle to give freer play to his lungs; and his loud cachinnations, +varied at intervals by savage yells, caused our horses to dance about as +if they anticipated an onslaught of Indians! + +At first I could detect a significant smile at the angles formed by +Rube's thin lips; but this disappeared as the laughter continued too +long for his patience. + +"Cuss yur larfin!" cried he at length. "Kum, Billee, boy! Lay holt +hyur, an gi' me a help, or I must wriggle out o' meself. The durned +hole ain't es big es twur when I krep in. Durn it, man, make haste! +I'm better'n half-baked!" + +Garey now leaped from his horse, and taking hold of his comrade by the +"claws," drew him out of his singular hiding-place. But the appearance +of the old trapper, as he stood erect--red, reeking, and greasy--was so +supremely ludicrous, that both Garey and I were driven off into a fresh +fit of laughter, which lasted for several minutes. + +Rube, once released from his uncomfortable situation, paid not the +slightest attention to our mirth; but stooping down, drew out his long +rifle--from where he had secured it under the hanging skin--and after +having examined the piece, to see that no harm had come to it, he laid +it gently across the horns of the bull. Then taking the bowie from his +belt, he quietly proceeded with the skinning of the buffalo, as if +nothing had happened to interrupt the operation! + +Meanwhile Garey and I had laughed ourselves hoarse, and, moreover, were +brimful of curiosity to know the particulars of Rube's adventure; but +for some time he fought shy of our queries, and pretended to be "miffed" +at the manner in which we had _welcomed him to life_ again. + +It was all pretence, however, as Garey well knew; and the latter, having +thrust into his comrade's hand the gourd, still containing a small drop +of _aguardiente_, soon conciliated him; and after a little more coaxing, +the old trapper condescended to give us the details of his curious +escapade. Thus ran his narration:-- + +"Ee wur both o' yur mighty green to think thet arter fightin grizzly bar +an Injun for nigh forty yeern on these hyur parairas, I wur a-gwine to +be rubbed out by a spunk o' fire like thet. Preehaps 'twur nat'ral +enough for the young fellur hyur to take me for a greenhorn--seein as he +oncest tuk me for a _grizzly_. He, he, he--ho, ho, hoo! I say it wur, +an ur nat'ral enough for him to a thort so; but _you_ mout a knowd +better--_you_, Bill Garey, seein as ee oughter knowd _me_. + +"Wal!" continued Rube, after another "suck" at the gourd, "when I seed +the weeds afire, I knowd it wa'nt no use makin tracks. Preehaps if I'd +a spied the thing when the bleeze fust broke out, I mout a run for it, +an mout a hed time; but I wur busy skinnin this hyur beest, wi' my head +clost down to the karkidge, an thurfor didn't see nuthin till I heern +the cracklin, an in coorse thur wa'nt the ghost o' a chance to git clur +then. I seed thet at the fust glimp. + +"I ain't a-gwine to say I wa'nt skeeart; I wur skeeart an bad skeeart +too. I thort for a spell, I wur boun to _go under_. + +"Jest then I sot my eyes upon the burner. I hed got the critter 'bout +half-skinned, as ee see; an the idee kim inter my head, I mout crawl +somehow under, an pull the hide over me. I tried thet plan fust; but I +kudnt git kivered to my saterfaction, an I gin it up. + +"A better idee then kim uppermost, an thet wur to clur out the anymal's +inside, an thur _cache_. I reck'n I wa'nt long in cuttin out a wheen o' +the buffer's ribs, an tarin out the guts; an I wa'nt long neyther in +squezzin my karkidge, feet fo'most, through the hole. + +"I hedn't need to a been long; it wur a close shave an a tight fit, _it_ +wur. Jest as I hed got my head 'bout half through, the bleeze kim +swizzin round, an nearly singed the _ears off me_. He, he, he--ho, ho, +hoo!" + +Garey and I joined in the laugh, at what we both knew to be one of Old +Rube's favourite jokes; but Rube himself chuckled so long, that we +became impatient to hear the end of his adventure. + +"Well!" interrupted Garey, "consarn your old skin! what next?" + +"Wagh!" continued the trapper, "the way thet bleeze did kum wur a +caution to snakes. It roared an screeched, an yowlted, an hissed, an +the weeds crackled like a million o' wagon-whups! I wur like to be +spinicated wi' the smoke; but I contruv to pull down the flap o' hide, +an thet gin me some relief--though I wur well-nigh choked afore I got +the thing fixed. So thur I lay till I heern you fellurs palaverin about +a 'bacca-pipe, and thurfor I knowd the hul thing wur over. Wagh!" + +And with this exclamation Rube ended his narration, and once more betook +himself to the butchering of the already half-roasted buffalo. + +Garey and I lent a hand; and having cut out the hump-ribs and other +titbits, we returned to the camp. What with broiled hyodons, roast +ribs, tongue, and marrow-bones, we had no reason for that night to be +dissatisfied with the hospitality of the prairies. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +THE MESA. + +After a breakfast of buffalo-flesh, seasoned with splendid appetites, +and washed down by a cup of cold water from the arroyo, we "saddled up," +and headed for a high _butte_, just visible over the plain. + +My companions knew the landmark well. It lay directly in our route. We +should pass near its base, and a ride of ten miles farther would bring +us to the end of our journey; indeed, the eminence was within sight of +the rancheria. From the roof of the alcalde's house I had frequently +noticed it outlined against the horizon, in a north-westerly direction +from the village. In clear weather only was it visible. + +Struck with the singularity of this prairie-mound, I had longed to +examine it, and had even projected a visit to it; but circumstances had +prevented me from carrying out my intention. I was at length to have +the pleasure of a nearer acquaintance with it. + +I have called it singular. Most isolated hills are conical, +dome-shaped, or ridge-like; this one differed from the usual +configuration--hence its singularity. It presented the appearance of a +huge box set upon the prairie, not unlike that rare formation, the +"cofre," which crowns the summit of the mountain Perote. Its sides in +the distance appeared perfectly vertical, and its top horizontal as the +plain on which it rested. + +As we drew nearer, I could perceive by the dark parapet-like band along +its crest that it was covered with a growth of timber. This was the +more readily observed from contrast with the perpendicular sides, which +were almost of a snowy whiteness, on account of the gypsum, chalk, or +milky quartz of which the rock was composed. + +The most peculiar feature of the mound was perhaps its apparently +regular form--a perfect parallelopipedon. But it was striking in other +respects. Its sides glistened fantastically under the rays of the sun, +as though it were studded with settings of glass. This, however, was +easily accounted for; and I knew that the sparkling effect was produced +by plates of mica or selenite that entered into the composition of the +rock. I had seen large mountains that presented a similar appearance. +More than one such exist in the great American Saara, in whose +glittering cliffs, viewed from afar, may be found the origin of that +wild chimera, the _mountain of gold_. + +Although neither a mountain of gold nor silver, the mound in question +was an object of rare interest. A very enchanted castle it did appear, +and it was difficult to assign its formation to nature alone. Human +agency, one could not help fancying, must have had something to do in +piling up a structure so regular and compact. + +But he who has travelled over much of the earth's surface will have met +with many "freaks" of nature, exhibiting like appearance of design, in +her world of inorganic matter. It was, in fact, one of those +formations, of which many are met with in the plateaux-lands of America, +known in Spanish phraseology as _mesas_. This name is given to them in +allusion to the flat table-like tops, which distinguish them from other +elevated summits. + +Sometimes one of these mesas is found hundreds of miles from any similar +eminence; more frequently a number of them stand near each other, like +truncated cones--the summits of all being on the same level, and often +covered with a vegetation differing materially from that of the +surrounding plains. + +Geologists have affirmed that these table-tops are the ancient level of +the plains themselves; and that all around, and intervening between +them, has either sunk or submitted to the degradation of water! + +It is a vague explanation, and scarcely satisfies the speculative mind. +The _mesa_ of Mexico is still a geological puzzle. + +As we approached this singular object, I could not help regarding it +with a degree of curiosity. I had seen mesa heights before--in the +"mauvaise terre," upon the Missouri, in the Navajo country west of the +Rocky Mountains, and along the edges of the "Llano Estacado," which of +itself is a vast mesa. + +The mound before us was peculiar, from its very regular form, and the +sparkling sheen of its cliffs. Its complete isolation, moreover, added +to the effect--for no other eminence appeared in sight. The low hills +that bordered the Rio Grande could barely be distinguished in the +distance. + +On getting nearer to it, its character became somewhat altered; the +square box-like form appeared less regular, and it was then perceived +that the parallelopipedon was not perfect. Slight ledges could be +traced traversing the face of its cliffs, and here and there the +rectangular lines were broken to the eye. Nature, after all, had not +been so exact in her architecture. + +Yet, with every deduction, it was a singular structure to look upon, not +the less so that its summit was inaccessible to human foot. A precipice +fifty yards sheer fronted outward on all sides. No one had ever scaled +this precipice--so alleged my companions, who were well acquainted with +the locality. + +We had approached within less than a mile of its base; our conversation +had dropped--at least so far as I was concerned; my thoughts were +occupied with the mound, and my eyes wandering over its outlines. + +I was endeavouring to make out the character of the vegetation which +seemed to flourish luxuriantly on its summit. The dark foliage was +evidently that of some species of acicular trees, perhaps the common red +cedar (_Juniperus Virginiana_), but there were others of lighter hue--in +all likelihood _pinons_, the pines with edible cones, peculiar to this +region. I noticed, also, growing upon the very edge of the cliff, +yuccas and aloes, whose radiating blades, stretching out, curved +gracefully over the white rock. Forms of cactus, too, were apparent, +and several plants of the great _pitahaya_ rose high above the cliff, +like gigantic candelabra--strange objects in such a situation. + +My companions seemed to have no eyes for these rare vegetable beauties; +I could hear them at intervals engaged in conversation; but the subject +had no reference to the scene, and I paid little attention to what they +were saying. + +All at once I was startled by the voice of Garey, giving utterance to +the emphatic announcement-- + +"Injuns, by God!" + +"Indians!--where?" + +The interrogation as it escaped my lips, was half involuntary, and +needed no reply. Garey's glance guided me; and following its direction, +I observed a string of horsemen just debouching from behind the mesa, +and spurring forward upon the plain. + +Both my companions had drawn bridle, and halted. I followed their +example; and all three of us sat in our saddles, scanning this sudden +apparition of mounted men. A dozen had now cleared themselves from +behind the mesa, and were riding towards us. + +We were yet nearly a mile from them; and at that distance it is +difficult to distinguish a white man from an Indian--I should rather say +impossible. Even at half the distance, the oldest prairie-men are +sometimes puzzled. The garments are often not very dissimilar, and +sun-bronze and dust confound the complexions. + +Although Garey, at first sight of them, had pronounced the horsemen to +be Indians--the most probable supposition under the circumstances--it +was but a random conjecture, and for some time we remained in doubt. + +"If they're Injuns," suggested Garey, "they're Comanche." + +"An if thur Kimanch," added Rube, with ominous emphasis, "we've got to +fight. If thur Kimanch, thur on the war-trail, an thur'll be mischief +in 'em. Wagh! Look to yur flints an primin!" + +Rube's counsel was instantly followed. Necessity quickened our +precautions. All of us well knew, that, should the approaching horsemen +turn out to be Comanches, we had no alternative but fight. + +This warlike nation occupies the whole western area of Texas, ranging +from the Rio Grande on the south, to the Arkansas on the north. They +are to-day, with their kindred tribes, the most powerful Indian alliance +on the continent. They affect the ownership of all prairie-land, +styling themselves its "lords," though their sovereignty towards the +north is successfully disputed by the Pawnees, Sioux, Blackfeet, and +others as warlike as they. From the earliest times, they have been the +_fiend_ of the Texan settler; and a detailed account of their forays and +pillaging expeditions would fill a score of volumes. But from these +they have not gone back unscathed. The reprisals have outnumbered the +assaults, and the rifle of the border-ranger has done its work of +vengeance. + +In Mexico they have found less puissant defenders of the hearth and +home; and into the north-eastern provinces of that unhappy country, the +Comanches have been for the last half-century in the habit of making an +annual expedition of war and plunder. In fact, plunder has become the +better part of their subsistence, as they usually return from these +rieving incursions laden with spoil, and carrying with them vast droves +of horses, mules, horned cattle, and _captive women_! + +For a short time, these dusky freebooters were at peace with the +Anglo-American colonists of Texas. It was but a temporary armistice, +brought about by Houston; but Lamar's administration, of a less pacific +character, succeeded, and the settlers were again embroiled with the +Indians. War to the knife was declared and carried on; red and white +killed each other on sight. When two men met upon the prairie, the +colour of the skin determined the relations between them! If they +differed in this, the were enemies without parley, and to kill the other +was the first thought of each. The _lex talionis_ was the custom of the +hour. + +If the rancour could possibly have been augmented, an incident had just +transpired calculated to produce that effect. A band of Comanche +warriors had offered their services to the commander-in-chief of the +American army. They held the following language:-- + +"Let us fight on your side. We have no quarrel with you. You are +warriors: we know it, and respect you. We fight against the cowardly +Mexicans, who robbed us of our country. _We fight for Moctezuma_!" + +These words, uttered along the whole northern frontier of Mexico, are +full of strange import. + +The American commander prudently declined the Comanche alliance; and the +result was the bitter _triangular_ war in which, as already noticed, we +were now engaged. + +If, then, the approaching horsemen were Indians of the Comanche tribe, +Rube's forecast was correct; we had "got to fight." + +With this understanding, we lost no time in putting ourselves in an +attitude of defence. + +Hastily dismounting, and sheltering our bodies behind those of our +horses, we awaited the approach of the band. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +GUERRILLEROS. + +The manoeuvre had occupied only a few seconds of time, and the horsemen +were yet distant. They had thrown themselves into a formation, and +_were riding_ "_by twos_!" + +This movement took us by surprise. The tactics were not Indian: +Comanches never march in double file. The horsemen could not be +Indians. Who, then? + +A sudden hope crossed my mind, that it might be a party of my own +people, out in search of me. "By twos" was our favourite and habitual +order of march. But no; the long lances and streaming pennons at once +dissipated the hope: there was not a lance in the American army. They +could not be "rangers." + +Comanches on the _war-trail_ would have been armed with the lance, but +clearly they were _not_ Comanches. + +"Wagh!" exclaimed Rube, after eyeing them intently. "Ef thur Injuns, +I'm a niggur! Ef thur Injuns, they've got beards an sombrayras, an thet +ain't Injun sign nohow. No!" he added, raising his voice, "thur a gang +o' yellur-bellied Mexikins! thet's what they ur." + +All three of us had arrived simultaneously at the same conviction. The +horsemen were Mexicans. + +It was no great source of rejoicing to know this; and the knowledge +produced no change in our defensive attitude. We well knew that a band +of Mexicans, armed as these were, could not be other than a hostile +party, and bitter too in their hostility. For several weeks past, the +_petite guerre_ had been waged with dire vengeance. The neutral ground +had been the scene of reprisals and terrible retaliations. On one side, +wagon-trains had been attacked and captured, harmless teamsters +murdered, or mutilated whilst still alive. I saw one with his arms cut +off by the elbow-joints, his heart taken out, and thrust between his +teeth! He was dead; but another whom I saw still lived, with the cross +deeply gashed upon his breast, on his brow, upon the soles of his feet, +and the palms of his hands--a horrid spectacle to behold! + +On the other side, ranchos had been ransacked and ruined, villages given +to the flames, and men on mere suspicion shot down upon the spot or +hanged upon the nearest tree. + +Such a character had the war assumed; and under these circumstances, we +knew that the approaching horsemen were our deadly foes. + +Beyond a doubt, it was either a scouting-party of Mexican lancers, a +_guerrilla_, or a band of robbers. During the war, the two last were +nearly synonymous, and the first not unfrequently partook of the +character of both. + +One thing that puzzled us--what could any of the three be doing in that +quarter? + +The neutral ground--the scene of _guerrilla_ operations--lay between the +two armies; and we were now far remote from it; in fact, altogether away +from the settlements. What could have brought lancers, guerrilleros, or +robbers out upon the plains? There was no _game_ in that quarter for +any of these gentry--neither an American force to be attacked, nor a +traveller to be plundered! My own troop was the extreme out-picket in +this direction, and it was full ten miles off. The only thing likely to +be met with near the mesa would be a war-party of Comanches, and we knew +the Mexicans well enough to be convinced that, whether soldiers or +freebooters, they were _not_ in search of that. + +Such reflections, made in double-quick time, occurred to us as we +scanned the advancing troop. + +Up to this moment, they had ridden directly towards us, and were now +nearly in a line between us and the mesa. + +On getting within about half-a-mile of our position, they turned sharply +towards the west, and rode as if to make round to our rear! + +This manoeuvre of course placed us upon their flank; and now outlined +against the sky, we could distinctly trace their forms and note their +habiliments and armour. Nearly all wore broad-brimmed sombreros, with +jacket, sash, and calzoneros. They carried lances, lazoes, and carbines +or _escopettes_. We could distinguish sabres and _machetes_--the +universal weapon of the Mexican ranchero. They could not be drilled +troops. Their costumes, as well as a certain irregularity in their +manoeuvring, forbade this supposition. Their lances, moreover, were +borne in all sorts of ways--some couched, some resting in the stirrup +and held correctly, while others were carried over the shoulder like a +firelock! No, they could not be a troop of regulars. They were either +_guerrillos_ or true _salteadores_. + +After riding nearly a half-circle round--still keeping at the same +distance--the troop suddenly made front towards as, and halted. + +We had been puzzled by their going round; we could not divine their +object in so doing. It could not be to cut off our retreat. The timber +in the back direction was miles off. Had it been near enough, we should +certainly have retreated to it long before; but we knew it was too +distant. Rube and his old mare would have been overtaken by our +well-mounted enemies long ere we could have gained the woods; we knew +this, and therefore did not think of making the attempt. On the other +side was the _mesa_, which, by their late movement, had been left open +to us. It was but a half-mile off, and perhaps, by making a dash, we +might have reached it; but not a tree grew near it--except those on its +summit--and its rocky wall apparently offered no advantage to us, any +more than the open plain. The enemy seemed to be aware of this, else +they would not have ridden round, and by so doing left the way clear. + +Until the moment of their halt, therefore, we remained ignorant of their +motive in moving to our rear. _Then_ it was explained. Their object +was evident to all of us: they had halted between us and the sun! + +It was a cunning manoeuvre--worthy of a war-party of Indians--and told +us we had no common enemy to deal with. By approaching us from that +direction, they would have a decided advantage: our aim would be spoiled +by the sun--now low down upon the horizon, and gleaming right in our +eyes. + +My companions were wroth at the trick that had been thus played so +adroitly; though we could not have hindered it even if forewarned of +their intention. + +We were allowed but little time to reflect upon the matter; we saw by +the movements of the horsemen that they were preparing to charge. One +who appeared to be the leader, mounted upon a larger horse than any of +the rest was addressing them. He rode along the line speaking in a loud +tone, and gesticulating violently; he was answered with _vivas_, which +we could plainly hear. Every moment, we looked to see them gallop +forward. + +We knew there was no alternative but fight or surrender--though not one +of us entertained an idea of the latter. For myself, I should as soon +have thought of turning my pistol to my own head. My uniform, tattered +as it was, would easily reveal my character to the enemy; and, if +captured, I knew that I should be hung, or perhaps, in the absence of +trees, shot down upon the spot. My comrades had reasons for knowing +that _their_ shrift would be equally short: neither thought for a moment +of tamely yielding. + +"No!" emphatically pronounced Rube, "this child don't guv in, till he's +rubbed out, _he_ don't! Tarnation odd too!" he added, looking toward +the troop; "twelve agin three o' us. Durn the odds! I've got clur o' +wuss scrapes than't looks yit, and so've you, Bill Garey--hain't we, +boyee? Durn the odds! let 'em kum on!" + +"Ay," responded Garey, without the slightest show of excitement, "they'd +better not come too near 'ithout telling thar bisness. I see one saddle +that I'll empy the minnit they pass yon weed." And the speaker +indicated a bunch of the _artemisia_ plant that grew some two hundred +paces off in the direction of the horsemen. + +The reckless talk of the old trapper, with the contrasted cool bearing +of his younger companion, had fixed my nerves fully. At the first sight +of so many adversaries, I was not without some misgivings--in truth, I +felt fear. Such odds against us--four to one--was fair cause for +apprehension. But it was not my first fight against large odds, both +Indian and Mexican; and on that account, I regarded it the less +seriously. + +Notwithstanding the superiority of our enemy in numbers, I knew we were +not so unequal. Unless shot down by the first volley of their carbines +and escopettes, each of our three rifles was sure of its man. I had +confidence in my own weapon, and a still more perfect reliance on those +of my comrades. They were men that never missed--men who never fired a +random shot--never drew trigger till their aim was sure. I felt +certain, therefore, that should the horsemen charge upon us, only _nine_ +of the twelve would ever get within pistol-shot of us, and for that +distance we were well prepared. I carried in my belt a six-chambered +revolver, one of Colt's best; Garey had another--a present I had made +him many years before--and Rube was armed with a pair of stout +single-barrels, likely enough to do good service. + +"Sev'nteen shots! wid our bowies to fall back upon!" cried Garey +triumphantly, as we finished a hasty survey of our arms. + +As yet the enemy did not advance. Notwithstanding their _vivas_ and +ejaculations, they appeared to hesitate about charging. Their leader, +and another--a lieutenant, perhaps--were still seen riding along their +line, as if animating them by further speech, giving them orders how to +act. + +Meanwhile, _we_ had not been idle; we had _formed square_ to receive the +charge! + +You may smile, but such was in reality the case. We had formed square-- +with our horses! There were four of them, for the wild-horse counted +one. Garey, who _rode_ like a Comanche, had broken him at our last +camp, and he was now perfectly tractable. The shake of a lazo rendered +him docile as a lamb. + +The four were tied head to head, and croup to croup, and each formed one +side of the square. They could not have broken it even under a charge +of cavalry; bridles must be untied or cut, and lazoes set loose, before +that _formation_ could be destroyed! + +Within stood we, fronting our foes--the large horse of Garey forming our +barricade towards them--our heads and feet alone visible to the enemy. + +Thus did we await their onset. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +THE PARLEY. + +Another chorus of _vivas_ announced that the guerrilla captain had +finished his oration, and that the attack was about to be made. We saw +the chief himself, with one or two others, advance in front of the line, +and head towards us, as if intending to lead the charge. + +"Now!" muttered Rube, in a sharp quick tone, "guns ready, boys! no waste +shots, d'yur hear? Lead counts hyur--_it_ do. See! By the jumpin +Geehosophat, thur a gwine to ride right down! Let 'em kum on, and be +damned! Thur's one o' 'em won't git thie fur--I mout say two--I mout +say three i'deed. Durn the glint o' thet sun! Billee!" he continued, +addressing Garey, "ee 'll shoot fust; yur gun's furrest carry. Plug the +big un on the clay-bank hoss. This child's for Number 2 on the grey +mustang. An, young fellur! ee'll jest pick off thet niggur on the roan. +I know yur wild-cat to the back-bone, but keep yur eye skinned an yur +narves steady, d'yur hear?" + +"Yes, yes!" I hurriedly answered, though at the time steadiness of +nerves was easier promised than practised. My heart was heaving in +quick pulsations at the near prospect of the terrible drama about to be +enacted. + +At this moment the "Forward" fell upon our ears, and with the wild notes +of the bugle came the words-- + +"_Andela! anda! Dios y Guadalupe_!" (On! forward! God and Guadalupe!) + +In an instant, the troop was in motion, galloping down to the charge. + +They had not made many stretches before their line became broken, +several of the swiftest or most courageous having forged ahead of the +others. + +"The three 'most!" cried Rube, in the same sharp tone--"the three +fo'most! Thet'll fotch 'em up wi' a roun turn, or this child's +mistaken. Now, boyees! mind yur eyes! Steady! Stea-dy--stea-d-y--" + +All at once, Rube's muttered cautions, slowly drawled out, were changed +to an exclamation that betokened surprise, followed by a long low +whistle of the same import! + +The cause was clear! The guerrilleros had got within three hundred +yards of us, still going at a gallop, but we could perceive that their +pace slackened as they advanced; already it was more of an amble than +the forward dash of an earnest charge. It was evident they had no +stomach for the business--now that they were near enough to see the +shining barrels and black hollow tubes of our levelled rifles. + +Garey was waiting till the foremost should pass the artemisia-bush; for +by that he had calculated the point-blank range of his rifle. Another +moment, and its crack would have been heard; but the horseman, as if +warned by instinct, seemed to divine the exact limit of danger. Before +reaching the bush, his heart failed him, and in a wavering, irresolute +manner, he drew bridle, and halted! + +The others, nothing loath, followed his example, until the whole troop +had pulled up within less than three hundred yards of the muzzles of our +guns! + +"Cowed, by God!" shouted Rube, with a derisive laugh, "Hulloo!" +continued he, raising his voice still louder, and addressing the halted +line: "what do ee want anyhow? Why the hell don't ee come on?" + +Whether Rube's comical interrogatory was understood or not, it elicited +a reply:-- + +"_Amigos! somos amigos_!" (We are friends!) shouted back the leader of +the band. + +"Friends, be damned!" exclaimed the trapper, who knew enough of Spanish +to understand the signification of _amigos_. "Nice friends, you, +i'deed! Wagh! D'yur think to bamfoozle us thet-away? Keep yur +distance now!" continued he, raising his rifle in a threatening manner, +as a movement was perceptible among the horsemen. "Keep yur distance, +or, by the 'tarnal airthquake! I'll plug the fust o' ye thet rides +within reach. Damn sich friends as you!" + +The leader now conversed in a low tone with his lieutenant, and some new +design seemed to be discussed between them. A change of tactics was +evidently devised during this pause in the action. + +After a while the chief again addressed us, speaking as before in +Spanish. + +"We are friends!" said he: "we mean you no harm. To prove it, I shall +order my men to fall back upon the prairie, while my lieutenant, +unarmed, will meet one of you on the neutral ground. Surely, you can +have no objection to that?" + +"And why such an arrangement?" inquired Garey, who spoke Spanish +fluently. "We want nothing of _you_. What do you want from _us_, with +all this infernal fuss?" + +"I have business with you," replied the Mexican; "and _you_, sir, in +particular. I have something to say to you I don't wish others to +hear." + +As he said this, the speaker turned his head, and nodded significantly +towards his own following. He was candid with them at least. + +This unexpected dialogue took all three of us by surprise. What could +the man want with Garey? The latter knew nothing of him--had never, as +he declared, "sot eyes on the niggur afore;" although at such a +distance--with the sun in his face, and the Mexican's sombrero slouched +as it was--Garey might be mistaken. It might be some one whom he had +met, though he could not recall him to mind. + +After a short consultation, we agreed that Garey should accept the +proposal. No evil could result from it--none that we could think of. +Garey could easily get back, before any attack could be made upon him, +and Rube and I should still be ready to protect him with our pieces. If +they meditated treachery, we could not perceive the advantage they were +to gain from the proceeding. + +The "parley" therefore was accepted, and the conditions arranged with +due caution on our part. + +The horsemen--with the exception of the leader and his lieutenant--were +to ride back to the distance of half-a-mile; the leader was to remain +where he was; and halfway between him and us, Garey and the lieutenant +were to meet, both of them on foot and unarmed. + +At an order from their chief, the guerrilleros fell back. The +lieutenant dismounted, laid his lance along the ground, unbuckled his +sabre, drew the pistols from his belt, and placing them beside the +lance, advanced towards the appointed spot. + +Garey had likewise disarmed himself; and leaving his weapons in charge +of Rube and myself, stepped forth to meet the Mexican. + +In another minute, the two stood face to face, and the "parley" began. + +It was of short duration. The speaking, which appeared to be +principally done by the Mexican, was carried on in a low tone; and Rube +and I saw that he pointed frequently in our direction, as if we were the +subject of his discourse! We observed that his harangue was suddenly +interrupted by Garey, who, turning round at the same instant, cried out +to us in English-- + +"Hillow, Rube! what do yer think the skunk wants?" + +"How shed I know?" replied Rube. "What do 'e want?" + +"Why, he wants"--Garey's voice rose louder with indignation--"he wants +us to give up the _ranger-captain_; an sez, if we do, you an me can go +free. Ha, ha, ha!" and the young trapper ended his announcement with a +scornful laugh. + +Simultaneous with Garey's laugh, I could hear Rube utter a low whistle, +and the words, "Thet's how the stick floats;" and then raising his +voice, he called out-- + +"An what answer hev you gin him, Billee?" + +"I hain't answered him yet," was the prompt reply: "but hyar's the +answer!" + +I saw Garey's arm raised, with his huge fist clenched; I saw it descend +like a trip-hammer upon the face of the Mexican, who under the blow fell +heavily to the earth. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +A DEAD SHOT. + +The unexpected closing of the conference elicited an angry shout from +the Mexican horsemen; and, without waiting for orders, they galloped up +to their chief. + +Halting at long-range, they fired their carbines and escopettes; but +their bullets cut the grass far in front of us, and one or two that +hurtled past were wide of the mark. + +The lieutenant, who had been only stunned, soon recovered his legs, but +not his temper. His wrath overbalanced his prudence, else the moment he +found his feet he would have made the best of his way to his horse and +comrades. + +Instead of doing so, he turned full front towards us, raised his arm in +the air, shook his clenched fist in a menacing manner, accompanying the +action with a torrent of defiant speech. + +Of what he said, we understood but the concluding phrase, and that was +the bitter and blasphemous _carajo_! that hissed through his teeth with +the energetic aspiration of rage and revenge. + +That oath was the last word he ever uttered; his parting breath scarcely +carried it from his lips ere he ceased to live. I heard the fierce +word, and almost simultaneously the crack of a rifle, fired close to my +ear. I saw the dust puff out from the embroidered spencer of the +Mexican, and directly over his heart; I saw his hand pass rapidly to the +spot, and the next moment I saw him fall forward upon his face! + +Without a groan, without a struggle, he lay as he had fallen, spread, +dead, and motionless upon the prairie! + +"Thur now, an damn yur carajo!" cried a voice at my shoulder; "ee won't +_bid_ for me agin, ye skunk--thet yur won't!" + +Though I turned involuntarily to the speaker it was not for an +explanation. Of course, it was Rube who spoke. His rifle was smoking +at the muzzle, and he was proceeding to reload it. + +"Wa-hoo--woop!" continued he, uttering his wild war-cry; "thet shortens +thur count, I reck'n. Another nick for Targuts! Gi' me _her_ for a +gun. Wagh! a long pull it wur for the ole weepun; an the glint in my +eyes too! The niggur riled me, or I wudn't a risked it. Hold yur +hosses, boys!" he continued in a more earnest tone: "don't fire till I'm +loaded--for yur lives, don't!" + +"All right, Rube!" cried Garey, who hastily passing under the belly of +his horse, had re-entered the square, and once more handled his rifle. +"All right, old boy! Ne'er a fear! we'll wait for ye." + +Somewhat to our surprise, Rube was allowed ample time to reload, and our +three barrels once more protruded over the shoulders of Garey's horse. +Our animals still held their respective positions. Three of them were +too well used to such scenes, to be startled by the detonation of a +rifle; and the fourth, fastened as he was, kept his place perforce. + +I say, to our surprise we were allowed time to get into our old +vantage-ground; for we had expected an immediate charge from the +guerrilla. + +Vengeance for the death of their comrade would give them courage enough +for that; so thought we; but we were mistaken, as their ire only vented +itself in fierce yells, violent gestures, and ejaculations. + +They had now clustered around their chief without order or formation, +though they seemed to pay but slight regard to his authority. Some +appeared to be urging him to lead them on! Others came galloping +nearer, and fired their carbines or shook their lances in a threatening +manner; but one and all were careful to keep outside that perilous +circle, whose circumference marked the range of our rifles. They +seemed, even less inclined for close quarters than ever; the fate of +their comrade had awed them. + +The dead man lay about half-way between them and us, glittering in his +picturesque habiliments. They were weaker by his loss--for not only had +he been one of their leaders, but one of their best men. They saw he +was dead, though none had dared to approach him. They knew the Texan +rifle of old--these spangled heroes; they knew, moreover, that we were +armed with revolvers, and the fame of this terrible weapon had been +already carried beyond the frontier of the Rio Grande. + +Notwithstanding all that, men of our race, under similar circumstances, +would have charged without hesitation. So, too, would men of theirs +three centuries ago. + +Perhaps in that band was an Alvarado, a Sandoval, a Diaz, or De Soto! +only in name. O Cortez! and you _conquistadores_! could you have beheld +your degenerate descendants! + +And yet not all of them were cowards; some, I dare say, were brave +enough, for there _are_ brave men among the Mexicans. A few were +evidently willing to make the attack, but they wanted combination--they +wanted a leader: he who acted as such appeared to be endowed with more +prudence than valour. + +Meanwhile we kept our eyes fixed upon them, listening to their varied +cries, and closely watching their movements. + +In perfect coolness, we regarded them--at least so much can I say for my +comrades. Though life or death rested upon the issue, both were as cool +at that moment as if they had been only observing the movements of a +gang of buffaloes! There was no sign of trepidation--hardly a symptom +of excitement visible in the countenance of either. Now and then, a +half-muttered ejaculation, a rapid exchange of thought--relating to some +fresh movement of the enemy--alone told that both were alive to the +peril of the situation. + +I cannot affirm that I shared with them this extreme and perfect _sang +froid_; though upon my nerves, less indifferent to danger, their example +had its effect, and inspired me with courage sufficient for the +occasion. Besides, I drew confidence from another source. In case of +defeat, I had a resource unshared by my companions--perhaps unthought of +by them. Trusting to the matchless speed of my horse, as a last resort, +I might possibly escape. I could have ridden off at that moment without +fear of being overtaken, but the craven thought was not entertained for +an instant. By my honour, no! I should have accepted death upon the +spot rather than desert the brave men who stood by my side. To _them_ I +was indebted for my life. 'Twas for _me_ that theirs were now in peril; +and from the first moment I had determined to stand by them to the end, +and sell my blood at its dearest. In the event of both falling before +me, it would then be time enough to think of flight. + +Even this contingency had the effect of strengthening my courage, and at +that moment I viewed the vengeful foe with a coolness and freedom from +fear that now, in the retrospect, surprises me. + +During the interval of inaction that followed, I was cool enough to +reflect upon the demand which the guerrilla leader had made--the +surrender of my person. Why was I singled out? We were all enemies +alike--all Americans or Texans--on Mexican soil, and armed for strife. +Why did they want _me_ alone? + +Was it because I was superior in rank to my companions? But how knew +they this?--how knew they I was a "ranger-captain"? Ha! they must have +known it before; they must have come out specially in search of me! + +A light flashed suddenly into my mind--a suspicion strong almost as +certainty. But for the sun glancing in my eyes, I might have earlier +obtained an explanation of the mystery. + +I drew down the visor of my forage-cap, stretching it to its full +extent; I increased the shade with my flattened palms, and from under +them strained my eyes upon the leader of the band. Already his voice, +while in conversation with Garey, had aroused a faint recollection +within me. I had heard that voice only once, but I thought I remembered +it. Guided by my suspicion, I now scrutinised more closely the +countenance of the man. Fortunately the face was turned towards me, +and, despite the dazzling of the sunbeams, despite the slouched +sombrero, I recognised the dark features of Rafael Ijurra! In that +glance I comprehended the situation. He it was who wanted the +"ranger-captain!" + +There was doubt no longer. My suspicion was a certainty; but with the +next throb of my heart rose another, a thousand times more painful--a +suspicion of-- + +With an effort, I stifled my emotions; a movement was perceptible among +the guerrilleros; the moment of action had arrived! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +A RUNNING-SHOT. + +Though our enemies were once more in motion, we no longer anticipated a +direct attack; the time for that had passed. The fate of their comrade +had evidently checked their ardour, and too much shouting and bravado +had cooled, rather than heightened, their enthusiasm. + +We could tell by their manoeuvring that some new mode of assault had +been planned, and was about to be practised. + +"Cowardly skunks!" muttered Rube; "they hain't the pluck to charge us! +Who ever heerd o' fair fight in a Mexikin? Damn 'em, thur arter some +trick," he continued, in a more serious tone. "What do 'ee think it be, +Billee?" + +"I'm thinkin', old boy," replied Garey, whose keen grey eye had been for +some time fixed on the movements of the guerrilla--"I'm thinkin' thar +a-goin to gallup roun, an try a shot at us Injun fashion." + +"Yur right," assented Rube; "thet's thur game! Scalp me ef 'taint! +Look yanner!--thur they go!" + +The horsemen were no longer in line, nor formed in any fashion. +Irregularly grouped, they exhibited a "clump" upon the prairie, some +standing still, others in motion. + +As Rube uttered the last words, one of them was seen to shoot out from +the main body, spurring his steed into a gallop as he parted from the +crowd. + +One might have fancied he was about to ride off from the ground: but no; +that was not his intention. When he had made half-a-dozen stretches +over the plain, he guided his horse into a curve, evidently with the +design of riding around us. + +As soon as he had gained some score of yards from the troop, a second +horseman followed, repeating the manoeuvre; and then another and +another, until five of the band, thus deployed, galloped round us in +circles. The remaining six kept their ground. + +We observed that the five had left their lances behind them, and carried +only their carbines. + +We were not astonished at this: we divined the intention of our enemies. +They were about to practise an old prairie-tactic--a stratagem of the +horse-Indians--with which all three of us were familiar. + +We might have been more apprehensive about the result had it been really +Indians who were going to practise the manoeuvre--since in an attack of +this kind, the bow, with its many missiles in a minute, is far more +dangerous than either carbine or rifle. But the fact that our +assailants understood the stratagem, told us we were opposed to men who +had seen Indian fight--no doubt, the picked men of the frontier--and to +defend ourselves would require all the courage and cunning we possessed. + +It did not surprise us that only a portion of the band galloped out to +effect the surround; there was design in that, and we knew it. The five +who had been detached were to wheel round us in circles, dash at +intervals within range, fire their carbines, kill some of our horses, +keep us distracted, and if possible, _draw_ the fire of our rifles. +This purpose effected, the other six--who had already approached as near +as was safe for them--would charge forward, empty their guns, and then +use their lazoes with effect. + +Of this last _weapon_ my companions had more dread than of all the +others carried by our foes. They had reason. They knew that our rifles +once empty, the lazo could be used beyond pistol-range; and by such men, +with far surer aim than either carbine or escopette! + +We were allowed but scant time to entertain these doubts, fears, and +conjectures, or to communicate them to one another. They passed before +us like the lightning's flash: the quicker that they were old thoughts-- +things familiar from experience. We were conscious that the stratagem +of our enemy had increased the peril of our situation; but we thought +not yet of yielding to despair. + +In an instant we had altered our relative positions. The three of us no +longer fronted in one direction, but stood back to back--each to guard +the third of the circle before his face. Thus stood we, rifles in hand. + +The five horsemen were not slow in the execution of their manoeuvre. +Once or twice they galloped round us in a wide circle; and then +following a spiral curve, drew nearer and nearer. + +When within carbine-range, each fired his piece; and, retreating outward +upon the main body, hastily exchanged his empty gun for one that was +loaded, and galloped back as before. + +In the first volley, most of their bullets, discharged at random, had +passed over our heads. We heard them hissing in the air high above us. +One, however, had been better aimed, and struck Rube's mare in the hip, +causing the old mustang to squeal and kick violently. It did but little +damage, though it was an earnest of what we might expect; and it was +with increased apprehension that we saw the horsemen come back on their +circling career. + +You will wonder why we did not return their fire? Our guns carried as +far as theirs. Why did we not use them, while the horsemen were within +range? Not one of the three of us thought of drawing a trigger! You +will wonder at this? It requires explanation. + +Know, then, that the five men who galloped round us were five of the +best horsemen in the world--no doubt the picked riders of the band. Not +in Arabia, not in the hippodromes of Paris or London, could they have +found their superiors--perhaps not their equals--for these men literally +live in the saddle. Each, as he approached the dangerous circle covered +by our rifles, disappeared _behind the body of his horse_. A boot and +spur over the hollow of the deep saddle-tree, perhaps a hand grasping +the wither-lock of the horse, were all of the rider that could be seen. +Presently a face might be observed, suddenly veiled by a puff of smoke +from the carbine, and then ducked instantly out of sight. Perhaps the +barrel of the piece might be noticed glancing along the horse's counter, +while the stream of fire pouring forth, told that the rider had taken +aim under the throat of his steed, the latter all the while going at +full gallop! + +During these manoeuvres, sharp shots as my comrades were, and fair +marksman as I was myself, there was no instant when we could have hit +any one of the five horsemen. It would have been easier to have brought +down a bird upon the wing. Their horses we might have killed or +crippled, but that would not have repaid us for the risk of an empty +rifle. We dared not waste a bullet on the horses. That was our reason +for reserving our fire. + +Do not fancy from this my prolixity of explanation, that _we_ were so +slow in comprehending all these points. No, we understood our situation +well enough; we knew that to discharge our pieces--even though a horse +should fall to every shot--was just what the enemy desired. That was +the main object of their _ruse_; but we were too well used to the wiles +of Indian warfare to be beguiled by so shallow an artifice. Words of +caution passed between us, and we stood to our guns with as much +patience as we could command. + +It was tempting enough--provoking, I should rather say--thus to be fired +at, without the chance of returning it; and my companions, +notwithstanding their habitual coolness, chafed angrily under the +infliction. + +Once more the five horsemen came galloping around us, and discharged +their pieces as before; but this time with more effect. A bullet struck +Garey in the shoulder, tearing away a patch of his hunting-shirt, and +drawing the blood; while another went whizzing past the cheek of Old +Rube, creasing his catskin cap! + +"Hooray!" shouted the latter, clapping his hand over the place where the +lead had wounded him. "Clost enough thet wur! Cuss me, eft hain't +carried away one o' my ears!" + +And the old trapper accompanied the remark with a wild, reckless laugh. + +The rent of the bullet, and the blood upon Garey's shoulder, now fell +under his eye, and suddenly changing countenance, he exclaimed-- + +"By the 'tarnal! yur hit, Bill? Speak, boyee!" + +"It's nothin'," promptly replied Garey--"nothin'; only a grease. I +don't feel it." + +"Yur sure?" + +"Sartin sure." + +"By the livin catamount!" exclaimed Rube, in a serious tone, "we can't +stan this no longer. What's to be done, Billee? Think, boy!" + +"We must make a burst for it," replied Garey; "it's our only chance." + +"Tur no use," said Rube, with a doubtful shake of the head. "The young +fellur mout git clur; but for you 'n me thur's not the shaddy o' a +chance. They'd catch up wi' the ole mar in the flappin' o' a beaver's +tail, an yur hoss ain't none o' the sooplest. Tur no use." + +"I tell you it are, Rube," replied Garey impatiently. "You mount the +white hoss--he's fast enough--an let the mar slide; or you take mine, an +I'll back whitey. We mayent get clar altogether; but we'll string the +niggers out on the parairy, an take them one arter another. It's better +than stannin' hyar to be shot down like buffler in a penn. What do +_you_ think, capt'n?" added he, addressing himself to me. + +Just then an idea had occurred to me. "Why not gallop to the cliff?" I +inquired, looking toward the mesa: "they can't surround us there? With +our backs to the rock, and our horses in front of us, we may defy the +rabble. We might easily reach it by a dash--" + +"Scalp me! ef the young fellur ain't right," cried Rube, interrupting my +speech. "It's the very idee, plum centre!" + +"It are!" echoed Garey--"it are! We hain't a second to lose; they'll be +round us again in a squ'll's jump. Look yonder!" + +This conversation had occupied but a few seconds of time. It occurred +just after the five horsemen had the second time emptied their guns, and +galloped back to exchange them. + +Before they could return to deliver a third fire, our determination was +taken, and we had hastily undone the fastenings of our horses, and were +ready to mount. + +This we accomplished so quietly, that it was evident the enemy had not +perceived us, and therefore entertained no suspicion of our design; +hence the road towards the mesa was still perfectly open to us. In +another minute, however, the five riders would have been circling around +us, and that would have naturally altered our situation. + +"Hurry, Rube!" cried Garey--"hurry, man, and let's be off!" + +"Keep cool, Billee," rejoined Rube, who was adjusting the bridle of +Garey's horse. "Plenty o' time, I _tell ee_; they ain't a comin' yit. +He woo! ole gal!" he continued, addressing himself to the mare--"ho-woo! +we're a-gwine to leave you ahint a bit, but I reck'n yu'll turn up agin. +They won't eat ye, anyhow; so don't be skeeart about thet, ole gal! +Now, Billee, I'm ready." + +It was time, for the riders were again spurring forward to surround us. + +Without waiting to observe further, we all three leaped simultaneously +on horseback; and, plying the spur deeply, shot off in a direct line of +the mesa. + +A glance behind showed us the guerrilleros--the whole band coming in +full tilt after us, while their cries sounded in our ears. To our +satisfaction, we saw we had gained ground upon them--our sudden start +having taken them by surprise, and produced in their ranks a momentary +hesitation. We had no fear of being able to reach the mesa before they +could overtake us. + +For my own part, I could soon have ridden out of sight altogether; so +could Garey, mounted on the white steed, that, with only a raw-hide +halter, was behaving splendidly. It was Garey's own horse, a strong but +slow brute, that delayed us; he was ridden by Rube; and it was well the +chase was not to be a long one, else our pursuers would have easily +overhauled _him_. Garey and I kept by his side. + +"Don't be afeerd, Rube!" shouted Garey, in a tone of encouragement; "we +ain't a-goin to leave you--we'll stick thegither!" + +"Yes," added I, in the excitement of the moment, "we live or die +together!" + +"Hooray, young fellur!" cried Rube, in a burst of wild +gratitude--"hooray for you! I know yur the stuff, an won't leave me +ahint, though I gin you the slip oncest--when you mistuk me for the +grizzly. He, he, hoo! But then, you ses twur no use o' my stickin' to +you--ne'er a bit o' good. Wagh! them niggurs ur gettin' nigher!" + +We were riding directly for the middle of the mesa, whose cliff, like a +vast wall, rose up from the level plain. We headed for its central +part, as though we expected some gate to open in the rock and give us +shelter! + +Shouts of astonishment could be heard mingling with the hoof-strokes. +Some of the expressions we heard distinctly. "Whither go they?" +"_Vaya_! do they intend to ride up the cliff?" "_Carrambo! bueno! bueno! +van en la trampa_!" (Good! they are going into the trap!) + +Shouts of exultation followed, as they saw us thus voluntarily placing +ourselves in a position from which retreat appeared impossible. + +They had been apprehensive, on our first galloping off, that we might be +mounted on swift horses, and meditated escaping by speed; but on +discovering that this was not our intention, cries of joyful import were +heard; and as we approached the cliff, we saw them deploying behind us, +with the design of hemming us in. It was just the movement we had +anticipated, and the very thing we desired them to do. + +We galloped up close to the rocky wall before drawing bridle; then, +suddenly flinging ourselves to the ground, we placed our backs to the +cliff, drew our horses in front of us, and holding the bridles in our +teeth, raised our rifles towards the foe. + +Once more the three shining tubes were levelled, promising certain death +to the first who should approach within range. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +RUBE'S CHARGER. + +Our attitude of defence, thus suddenly assumed, produced a quick effect +upon our pursuers, who pulled up simultaneously on the prairie. Some +who had been foremost, and who fancied they had ridden too near, wheeled +round and galloped back. + +"Wagh!" ejaculated Rube; "jest look at 'em! they've tuk care to put +plenty o' paraira atween our guns an thur cowardly karkidges. Wagh!" + +We at once perceived the advantage of our new position. We could all +three show front wherever the enemy threatened. There was no longer any +danger of their practising the surround. The half-circle behind us was +covered by the mesa, and that could not be scaled. We had only to guard +the semicircle in front--in fact, less than a semicircle, for we now +perceived that the place was _embayed_, a sort of re-entering angle +formed by two oblique faces of the cliff. The walls that flanked it +extended three hundred yards on either side, so that no cover commanded +our position. For defence, we could not have chosen a better situation; +gallop round as they might, the guerrilleros would always find us with +our teeth towards them! We saw our advantage at a glance. + +Neither were our enemies slow to perceive it, and their exulting shouts +changed to exclamations that betokened their disappointment. + +Almost as suddenly, their tone again changed, and cries of triumph were +once more heard along their line. + +We looked forth to discover the cause. To our dismay, we perceived a +reinforcement just joining them! + +Five fresh horsemen were riding up, evidently a portion of the band. +They appeared to have come from behind the mesa--from the direction of +the rancheria--though, as we galloped forward, we had not observed them; +the mound had concealed them from our view. + +Notwithstanding this accession to their strength, their courage did not +appear to gain by it, as no charge was attempted. + +Almost on the instant that their new allies arrived upon the ground, the +troop filed off by twos, and deployed across the mouth of the little bay +in which we had taken shelter. The movement was soon completed, and six +pair of them were now ranged before us at equal distances from each +other. The remaining three men--Ijurra and two others--kept their +places directly in front of us. + +In one of the new-comers I recognised a ruffian whom I had frequently +noticed at the rancheria. He was a man of large size, and, what is rare +among Mexicans, red-haired; but I believe he was a _Vizcaino_, among +whom red-haired men are not uncommon. He was familiarly known by the +sobriquet of _El Zorro_ (the Fox), probably on account of the hue of his +hair; and I had heard from good authority--that of the _alcalde +himself_!--that the fellow was neither more nor less than a _salteador_. +Indeed, El Zorro made little secret of his calling. The brigand of +Mexico is usually well known to his countrymen. During his intervals of +leisure he appears in the populous town, walks boldly through the +streets, and freely mingles in society. Such was El Zorro, one of the +right-hand men of Ijurra. + +The design of our enemy was now manifest: they had no intention of +making an immediate attack upon us; they saw that our retreat was +impossible, and had resolved to hold us in siege, perhaps till thirst +and hunger should force us to surrender. + +Their calculation was founded on probability. If their valour was weak, +their cunning was strong and subtle. + +Rube was now greatly "out of sorts." When he saw the guerrilleros +"fixing" themselves in the manner described, he seemed to regret that we +had taken our stand there. + +"We're hyur!" he exclaimed peevishly, "an how are we to git clur agin? +Scalp me, Bill! ef we hedn't better a fit 'em on the paraira, afore we +gits weak wi' hunger. Wagh! I kud eat a griskin now, an a good chunk +o' a one. Ay, smoke away!" (some of the Mexicans had lighted their +cigars, and were coolly puffing at them)--"smoke away, durn yur! yur +yeller-skinned skunks! I'll make some o' ye smoke afore mornin, or my +name ain't Rube Rawlins. Gi's a bit o' bacca, Bill; maybe it'll take +the edge off o' my stummuk. Wagh! I feel as holler about the kidneys +as my ole mar--Geehosophat! See the mar!" + +The emphatic utterance of the last words caused Garey and myself to look +towards the speaker, and then in the direction in which he pointed. A +spectacle came before our eyes, that, spite the depression of our +spirits, caused both of us to break into loud laughter. + +The "ole mar," that for many long years had carried Rube over the +mountains and prairies, was a creature that scarce yielded to himself in +peculiarity. + +She was a lank, bare-ribbed, high-boned animal, long-eared like all of +her race--for she belonged to the race of Rosinante. The long ears +caused her to look mulish, and at a distance she might have been +mistaken for a mixed breed; but it was not so--she was a true mustang, +and, spite of her degenerate look, a pure Andalusian. She seemed to +have been, at an earlier period of her life, of that dun yellowish +colour known as "clay-bank"--a common hue among Mexican horses--but time +and scars had metamorphosed her, and grey hairs predominated, +particularly about the head and neck. These parts were covered with a +dirty grizzle of mixed colour. She was badly wind-broken, and at stated +intervals, of several minutes each, her back, from the spasmodic action +of the lungs, heaved up with a jerk, as though she was trying to kick, +and couldn't. Her body was as thin as a rail, and her head habitually +carried below the level of her shoulders; but there was something in the +twinkle of her solitary eye--for she had but one--that told you she had +no intention of giving up for a long time to come. As Rube often +alleged, "she was game to the backbone." + +Such was the "ole mar," and it was to her that our attention was now so +suddenly called. + +Having parted from her on the prairie, in the wild gallop that followed, +we had thought no more of the creature, not caring--that is, Garey and +myself--what became of her. + +Rube, however, was far from sharing our indifference as to her fate. He +would almost as soon have parted with one of his "claws" as that same +faithful companion; and we had heard him expressing his hopes that no +harm would come to her. + +Or course, we had concluded that she would either be shot or lazoed by +one of the guerrilleros. + +It appeared, however, that this was not to be her fate just then. +Resolving not to be parted from her master so easily, she had galloped +after us. Being slow, she soon fell behind, and for a while was mixed +up with the horses of the guerrilleros. Of course the men had noticed +her, but seeing that she was a worthless brute, had not deigned to make +a capture of her. + +In due time she fell into the rear of the whole troop; but even that did +not turn her from her original intention, and at the moment of Rube's +exclamation, she was just breaking through the line of deployment on her +way to join her master. From the manner in which her nose was held as +she ran, she appeared to be trailing him by the scent! + +Seeing her pass, one of the guerrilleros dashed after to capture her; +perhaps because there was an old saddle with some of Rube's traps +buckled upon it. + +Mare, saddle, and all, were scarcely worth the fling of lazo, and so the +man appeared to think; for instead of using his lazo, he rode forward +with the intention of seizing the mare by the bridle. + +The feat proved not so easy of accomplishment. As the fellow bent down +to grasp the rein, the old mare uttered one of her wild squeals, slewed +her hind-quarters about, and raising her heels high in air, delivered +them right upon the ribs of the Mexican. + +The heavy "thud" was heard by all of us; and the man swayed from his +saddle, and fell to the ground--to all appearance badly hurt, and most +probably with a pair of broken ribs. + +The squeal of the mare was echoed by a shrill laugh from the throat of +her delighted master; and not until she had galloped up to him, did he +cease to make the locks ring with his wild cachinnations. + +"Wa-hoo--woop! yur thur, ole gal!" he shouted as the animal halted +before him. "You gin 'im a sockdolloger--_you_ did. Yeeup! ole +blue-skin! yur welkum back! an ye've fotched my saddle too! Hooray! +Ain't she a beauty, Bill? She's wuth her weight in beaver-plew. Wagh! +that 'ee ur, ole beeswax! Kum hyur this away--thur now!" + +And the speaker proceeded, after some more apostrophising, to draw the +animal closer up to the cliff, placing her body as an additional +barricade in front of his own. + +Our involuntary mirth was of short duration; it was interrupted by an +object that filled our hearts with new apprehension. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +EL ZORRO. + +The new object of dread was a large gun, which had been brought upon the +ground by one of those lately arrived. In all probability, it belonged +to El Zorro, as it was in his hands we first observed it. It appeared +to be a long musket, or elephant-gun, such as the "roers" in use among +South African hunters. + +Whatever sort of weapon it was, we soon found to our annoyance that it +pitched an ounce of lead nearly twice as far as any of our rifles, and +with sufficient precision to make it probable that, before the sun had +set, El Zorro would be able to pick off our horses, and perhaps +ourselves, in detail. + +It would be half-an-hour before darkness should screen us with its +friendly shelter, and he had already commenced practice. His first shot +had been fired. The bullet struck the cliff close to my own head, +scattering the fragments of gypsum rock about my ears, and then fell, +flattened like a Spanish dollar, at my feet. + +The report was far louder than that of either carbine or escopette; and +an ejaculation from Rube, as he saw the effect of the shot, followed by +his usual ominous whistle, told that the old trapper was not disposed to +make light of this new piece of ordnance. Neither was Garey. His look +testified to what all three of us were thinking--which was, that this +mode of attack was likely to put us in a more awkward dilemma than we +had yet been placed in. El Zorro might shoot us down at his leisure. +With our rifles, we could neither answer his fire, nor silence it. Our +peril was obvious. + +The salteador had delivered his first shot "off hand," for we had seen +him level the piece. Perhaps it was fortunate for us he had not taken +aim over a "lean;" but fortune from that source was not going to favour +us any farther; for we now observed Ijurra stick two lances obliquely in +the ground, so that they crossed each other at a proper height, thus +forming as perfect a rest as marksman could have desired. + +As soon as the gun was reloaded, El Zorro knelt behind the lances, +placed his barrel in the fork, and once more took aim. + +I felt satisfied he was aiming at _me_, or my horse. Indeed, the +direction of the long dark tube would have told me so; but I saw Ijurra +directing him, and that made me sure of it. + +I had little fear for myself. I was sheltered sufficiently, but I +trembled for the brave horse that shielded me. + +I waited with anxious heart. I saw the blaze of the priming as it +puffed upward; the red flame projected from the muzzle, and +simultaneously I felt the shock of the heavy bullet striking upon my +horse. + +Splinters of wood flew about my face; they were fragments of the +saddle-tree. The ball had passed through the pommel, but my noble steed +was untouched! It was a close shot, however--too close to allow of +rejoicing, so long as others of the like were to follow. + +I was getting as "riled" as Rube himself, when, all at once, a +significant shout from the old trapper drew my attention from El Zorro +and his gun. + +Rube was on my right, and I saw that he was pointing along the bottom of +the cliff to some object in that direction I could not see what it was, +as his horses were in the way; but the next moment I observed him +hurrying them along the cliff, at the same time calling to Garey and +myself to follow. + +I lost no time in putting my horse in motion, and Garey as hastily +trotted after. + +We had not advanced many paces, before we comprehended the strange +behaviour of our companion. + +Scarcely twenty yards from where we had first halted, a large rock +rested upon the plain. It was a fragment that had fallen from the +cliff, and was now lying several feet from its base; it was of such +size, and in such a position, that, there was ample space behind it to +shelter both men and horses--room for us all! + +We were only astonished we had not observed it sooner; but this was not +to be wondered at, for its colour corresponded exactly with that of the +cliff, and it was difficult, even at twenty yards' distance, to +distinguish it from the latter. Besides, our eyes, from the moment of +our halting, had been turned in another direction. + +We did not stay to give words to our surprise; but hurrying our horses +along with us, with joyful exclamations glided behind the rock. + +It was not an echo of our joy, but a cry of disappointed rage, that +pealed along the line of the guerrilla. They saw at once that their +long gun would no longer avail them, and both Ijurra and his marksman +were now seen dancing over the ground like madmen. El Zorro's _metier_ +was at an end. + +A more perfect "harbour of refuge" could not have been found in all +prairie-land. As Garey alleged, it "beat tree-timber all hollow!" A +little fortress, in fact, in which we might defy even twice the number +of our assailants--unless, indeed, they should wax desperately brave, +and try us hand to hand. + +Our sudden disappearance had created a new sensation in their ranks. +From their shouts, we could tell that some of them regarded it with +feelings of wonder--perhaps with emotions of a still stronger kind. We +could hear the exclamations "_Carrai!" "Carrambo_!" with the phrase +"_los demonios_!" passing from mouth to mouth. Indeed, from the +position which they occupied, it must have appeared to them that we had +gone into the cliff--for the separation of the rock from the wall behind +it was not perceptible from the plain, else _we_ should have perceived +it as we rode forward. + +If our enemies knew of this outlying boulder, it was strange they had +left the way open to so safe a retreat--strange, since it did not +correspond with the cunning they had otherwise given proofs of--and yet +stranger they should be ignorant of its existence. Most of them were +natives of this frontier, and must have frequently visited the mesa, +which was one of the "lions" of the district. + +Perhaps they had never troubled their thoughts about it. There is no +people who take less interest in the rare features of their beautiful +country than the Mexicans. Nature charms them not. A Mexican dwelling +with a garden around it is a rarity--a lawn or a shrubbery is never +seen; but indeed nature has bounteously supplied them with all these. +They dwell amidst scenes of picturesque beauty; they gaze over green +savannas--down into deep barrancas--up to the snow-crowned summits of +mighty mountains--without experiencing one emotion of the sublime. A +tortured bull, a steel-galved cock, Roman candles, and the Chinese +wheel, are to them the sights of superior interest, and furnish them +with all their petty emotions. So is it with nations, as with men who +have passed the age of their strength, and reached the period of +senility and second childhood. + +But there was another, and perhaps a better, reason why none of our +adversaries should be intimate with the locality. As my companions +alleged, the spot was a favourite halting-place of the Comanches--_they_ +have an eye for the picturesque--but perhaps the existence of a spring +that was near had more to do in guiding the preference of these "lords +of the prairies." The mesa, therefore, had for years been dangerous +ground, and little trodden by the idle curious. Possibly not one of the +heroes we saw before us had for years ventured so far out upon the +plains. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +A PLAN OF ESCAPE. + +If our enemies were awed by our sudden disappearance, it was soon robbed +of its mysterious character. Our faces, and the dark barrels of our +rifles, visible around the edges of the white rock, must have dispelled +all ideas of the supernatural. Having hastily disposed of our horses, +we had placed ourselves thus--in case of a charge being made--though of +this we had no longer any great apprehension; and still less as we +watched the movements of our adversaries. + +El Zorro continued for some time to fire his big gun--the bullets of +which we could dodge as easily as if they had been turnips hurled at +us--and the leaden missiles fell harmlessly at our feet. + +Seeing this, the salteador at length ceased firing, and with another, +rode off in the direction of the settlements--no doubt sent on some +errand by Ijurra. + +One pair of eyes was sufficient to watch the movements of the besiegers. +Garey undertook this duty, leaving Rube and myself free to think over +some plan of escape. + +That we were not to be attacked was now certain. We had the choice, +then, of two alternatives--either to keep the position we were in till +thirst should force us to surrender, or attack _them_, and by a bold +_coup_ cut our way through their line. + +As to the former, we well knew that thirst would soon compel us to +yield. Hunger we dreaded not. We had our knives, and before us a +plentiful stock of that food on which the prairie wanderer often +sustains life. "Horse-beef" we had all eaten, and could do so again; +but for the sister-appetite--thirst--we had made no provision. Our +gourd-canteens were empty--had been empty for hours--we were actually +pushing for the _mesa spring_ when the enemy first came in sight. We +were then athirst; but the excitement of the skirmish, with the play of +passion incident thereto, had augmented the appetite, and already were +we a prey to its keenest pangs. We mumbled as we talked, for each of us +was chewing the leaden bullet. Thirst we dreaded even more than our +armed enemy. + +The other alternative was a desperate one--now more desperate than ever, +from the increased number of our foes. To cut our way through them had +no other signification than to fight the whole party hand to hand; and +we regretted that we had not done so when only eleven were opposed to +us. + +A little reflection, however, convinced us that we were in a yet better +position. We might make the attempt in the darkness. Night would +favour us to some extent. Could we succeed by a bold dash in breaking +through their deployed line, we might escape under the friendly cover of +the night, and the confusion consequent upon the melee. + +There was probability in this. The boldest was clearly the wisest +course we could pursue. Desperate it appeared. One or other of us +might fall, but it offered the only hope that _any_ of us might get +free, for we knew that to surrender was to be shot--perhaps +worse--_tortured_. + +We had but faint hopes of a rescue; so faint, we scarcely entertained +them. I knew that my friends, the rangers, would be in search of me. +Wheatley and Holingsworth would not give me up without making an effort +for my recovery; but then the search would be made in a different +direction--that in which I had gone, and which lay many miles from the +route by the mesa. Even had they thought of sending to the mound, the +search must have been already made, and the party returned from it. Too +long time had elapsed to make any calculation on a chance like this. +The hope was not worth holding, and we held it not. + +For some time, Rube and I thought in combination, canvassing the details +of the plan that had offered. After a while, we stood apart, and each +pursued the train of his own reflections. + +I declare that in that hour I had more painful thoughts than those that +arose from the peril of my situation; this I solemnly declare. + +I have already said, that when I first recognised the leader of the +guerrilla, I experienced an unpleasant suspicion. Since then, I had not +time to dwell upon it--self-preservation engrossing all my thoughts. + +Now that I found more leisure for reflection, the dire doubt returned in +full strength, and I bitterly pondered upon it. Need I name the subject +of my wretched reflections? Isolina de Vargas! + +Knew _she_ of this? Knew she that Ijurra was the chief of a guerrilla? +Her cousin--sharer of the same roof--she could scarcely be ignorant of +it! Who set him on our trail? Oh, bitter thought! was the hunt of the +wild horse a _ruse_--a scheme--to separate me from my command, and thus +render it an easy prey to the Mexican guerrilleros? Perhaps my +straggling followers were by this cut off? Perhaps the post had been +attacked by a large body of the enemy--captured? I was not only to lose +life, but had already lost my honour. I, the proud captain of a boasted +troop, to be thus entrapped by artifice--the artifice of a woman! + +My heart, overwhelmed with such bitter fancies, stayed not to reason. + +Presently followed a calmer interval, and I began to discuss the +probability of my suspicions. What motive could she have to plot my +destruction? Surely not from any feeling of love for her country, and +hatred towards its enemies? From all I had learned, no such sentiment +existed in her mind, but rather an opposite one--a truer patriotism. +She was a woman of sufficient aim and intellect to have a feeling one +way or the other; but had I not good grounds for believing her a friend +to our cause; a foe to the tyrants we would conquer? If otherwise, I +was the victim of profound deception and unparalleled hypocrisy! + +Perhaps, however, her feeling was personal, not national. Was _I_ alone +the object of her hatred? Had I done aught by word or deed to call +forth her antagonism--to deserve such cruel vengeance? If so, I was +sadly ignorant of the fact. If she hated me, she hated one who loved +_her_, with his whole soul absorbed in the passion. But no, I could not +think that I was an object of hatred to her. Why should she hate me? +How _could_ she? + +I could think of but one motive why she should make herself instrumental +in the accomplishment of my ruin. It was explicable only on the +presumption that she was attached to Ijurra--that Rafael Ijurra was the +lord of her heart. If so, he could easily bend it to his will--for this +is but the sequence of the other--could influence her to whatever act. + +As for Ijurra, there was motive enough for his hostility, even to the +seeking of my life. The insult put upon him at our first meeting--the +knowledge that I loved _her_--for I was certain he knew it--with the +additional fact that I was an enemy--one of the invaders of his country. +These were sufficient motives, though, doubtless, the two first far +outweighed the other: with Rafael Ijurra, revenge and jealousy were +stronger passions than patriotism. + +Then came consolation--thoughts of brighter hue. In the face of all was +the fact, that _the white steed had been found_, and captured! There +stood the beautiful creature before my eyes. There was no deception in +that--there could be none--no scheme could have contrived a contingency +so remarkable. + +Ijurra might easily have known of the expedition without _her_ agency. +Its result he would have learned from the returned vaqueros. He had +time enough then to collect his band, and set after me. Perhaps she +even knew not that he was a leader of guerrilleros? I had heard that +his movements were shrouded in mystery--that mystery which covers the +designs of the adventurer. He had served in the school of Antonio Lopez +de Santa Anna--a fit master of deception. Isolina might be innocent +even of the knowledge of his acts. + +I re-read Isolina's letter, weighing every word. Strange epistle, but +natural to the spirit that had dictated it. In its pages I could trace +no evidence of treason. No; Isolina was loyal--she was true! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +ELIJAH QUACKENBOSS. + +While these reflections were passing through my mind, I was standing, or +rather leaning, with my back against the boulder, and my face towards +the wall of the mesa. Directly in front of me was a recess or +indentation in the cliff, carried groove-like upward, and deepening as +it approached the summit. It was a slight gorge or furrow, evidently +formed by the attrition of water, and probably the conduit of the rain +that fell upon the table surface of the mound. + +Though the cliffs on each side were perfectly vertical, the gorge had a +considerable inclination; and the instant my eyes rested upon it, it +occurred to me that the precipice at this point could be scaled! + +Up to this moment, I had not thought of such a thing; for I had been +under the impression--from what my companions had told me--that the +summit of the mesa was inaccessible. + +Housing myself to more energetic observation, I scrutinised the cliff +from base to summit; and the more I regarded it, the stronger grew my +conviction that, without great difficulty, an active climber might reach +the top. There were knob-like protuberances on the rock that would +serve as foot-holds, and here and there small bushes of the trailing +cedar hung out from the seams, that would materially assist any one +making the ascent. + +While scanning these peculiarities, I was startled by observing several +abrasions on the face of the rock. These marks appeared quite fresh, +and evidently made by some other agency than that of the elements. + +After a short examination, I became convinced that they were marks made +by a human foot--the scratches of a strong-soled shoe. Beyond a doubt, +_the cliff had been scaled_! + +My first impulse was to communicate the discovery to my companions; but +I forbore for a while--in order to satisfy myself that the person who +had made this daring attempt had actually succeeded in reaching the +summit. + +Twilight was on, and I could get only an indistinct view of the gorge at +its upper part; but I saw enough to convince me that the attempt had +been successful. + +What bold fellow had ventured this? and with what object? were the +questions I naturally asked myself. + +Vague recollections were stirring within me; presently they grew more +distinct, and all at once I was able to answer both the interrogatories +I had put. I knew the man who had climbed that cliff. I only wondered +I had not thought of him before! + +Among the many odd characters in the piebald band, of which I had the +honour to be chief, not the least odd was one who answered to the +euphonious name of "Elijah Quackenboss." He was a mixture of Yankee and +German, originating somewhere in the mountains of Pennsylvania. He had +been a schoolmaster among his native hills--had picked up some little +book-learning; but what rendered him more interesting to me was the fact +that he was a botanist. Not a very scientific one, it is true; but in +whatever way obtained, he possessed a respectable knowledge of _flora_ +and _sylva_, and evinced an aptitude for the study not inferior to +Linneus himself. The more surprising was this, that such inclinations +are somewhat rare among Americans--but Quackenboss no doubt drew his +instinct from his Teutonic ancestry. + +If his intellectual disposition was odd, not less so was his physical. +His person was tall, crooked, and lanky; and none of those members that +should have been counterparts of each other seemed exactly to match. +His arms were odd ones--his limbs were unlike; and all four looked as if +they had met by accident, and could not agree upon anything. His eyes +were no better mated, and never consented to look in the same direction; +but with the right one, Elijah Quackenboss could "sight" a rifle, and +drive in a nail at a hundred yards' distance. + +From his odd habits, his companions--the rangers--regarded him as hardly +"square;" but this idea was partially derived from seeing him engaged in +his botanical researches--an occupation that to them appeared simply +absurd. They knew, however, that "Dutch Lige"--such was his sobriquet-- +could shoot "plum centre;" and notwithstanding his quiet demeanour, had +proved himself "good stuff at the bottom;" and this shielded him from +the ridicule he would otherwise have experienced at their hands. + +Than Quackenboss, a more ardent student of botany I never saw. No +labour retarded him in the pursuit. No matter how wearied with drill or +other duties, the moment the hours became his own, he would be off in +search of rare plants, wandering far from camp, and at times placing +himself in situations of extreme danger. Since his arrival on Texan +ground, he had devoted much attention to the study of the _cactaceae_; +and now having reached Mexico, the home of these singular endogens, he +might be said to have gone cactus-mad. Every day his researches +disclosed to him new forms of cactus or cereus, and it was in connexion +with one of these that he was now recalled to my memory. I remembered +his having told me--for a similarity of tastes frequently brought us +into conversation--of his having discovered, but a few days before, a +new and singular species of _mamillaria_. He had found it growing upon +a _prairie mound_--which he had climbed for the purpose of exploring his +botany--adding at the same time that he had observed the species only +upon the top of this mound, and nowhere else in the surrounding country. + +This mound was our mesa. It had been climbed by Elijah Quackenboss! + +If he, awkward animal that he was, had been able to scale the height, +why could not _we_? + +This was my reflection; and without staying to consider what advantage +we should derive from such a proceeding. I communicated the discovery +to my companions. + +Both appeared delighted; and after a short scrutiny declared the path +practicable. Garey believed he could easily go up; and Rube in his +terse way said, that his "jeints wa'nt so stiff yit;" only a month ago +he had "clomd a wuss-lukin bluff than it." + +But now the reflection occurred, to what purpose should we make the +ascent? We could not escape in that way! There was no chance of our +being able to descend upon the other side, for there the cliff was +impracticable. The behaviour of the guerrilleros had given proof of +this. Some time before, Ijurra, with another, had gone to the rear of +the mound, evidently to reconnoitre it, in hopes of being able to assail +us from behind. But they had returned and their gestures betokened +their disappointment. + +Why, then, should we ascend, if we could not also descend on the +opposite side? + +True, upon the summit we should be perfectly safe from an attack of the +guerrilla, but not from _thirst_, and this was the enemy we now dreaded. +Water would not be found on the top of the mesa. It could not better +our situation to go there; on the contrary, we should be in a worse +"fix" than ever. + +So said Garey. Where we were, we had our horses--a spare one to eat +when that became necessary, and the others to aid us in our attempt to +escape. Should we climb the cliff, these must be left behind. From the +top was less than fifty yards, and our rifles would still cover them +from the clutch of our enemies, but to what advantage? Like ourselves, +they must in time fall before thirst and hunger. + +The gleam of hope died within us, as suddenly as it had sprung up. + +It could in no wise serve us to scale the cliff: we were better in our +present position; we could hold that so long as thirst would allow us. +We could not do more within the granite walls of an impregnable +fortress. + +This was the conclusion at which Garey and I had simultaneously arrived. + +Rube had not yet expressed himself. The old man was standing with both +hands clutching his long rifle, the butt of which rested upon the +ground. He held the piece near the muzzle, partially leaning upon it, +while he appeared gazing intently into the barrel. This was one of his +"ways" when endeavouring to unravel a knotty question; and Garey and I +knowing this peculiarity on the part of the old trapper, remained +silent--leaving him to the free development of his "instincts." + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. + +RUBE'S PLAN. + +For several minutes, Rube preserved his meditative attitude, without +uttering a word or making the slightest motion. At length, a low but +cheerful whistle escaped his lips, and at the same time his body became +erect. + +"Eh? what is't, old boy?" inquired Garey, who understood the signal, and +knew that the whistle denoted some discovery. + +Rube's reply was the interrogatory, "How long's yur trail-rope, Bill?" + +"It are twenty yards--good mizyure," answered Garey. + +"An yurs, young fellur?" + +"About the same length--perhaps a yard or two more." + +"Good!" ejaculated the questioner, with a satisfied look. "We'll fool +them niggurs yit--_we_ will!" + +"Hooraw for you, old boy! you've hit on some plan, hain't you?" This +was Garey's interrogatory. + +"Sartintly, I hez." + +"Let's have it then, kummarade," said Garey, seeing that Rube had +relapsed into silence; "thar ain't much time to think o' things--" + +"Plenty o' time, Billee! Don't be so durned impatient, boy. Thur's +gobs o' time. I'll stake my ole mar agin the young fellur's black hoss, +thet we'll be out o' this scrape afore sun-up. Geehosophat! how thu 'll +cuss when they finds the trap empty. He, he, he!--ho, ho, hoo!" + +And the old sinner continued to laugh for some seconds, as coolly and +cheerfully as if no enemy was within a thousand miles of the spot. + +Garey and I were chafing with impatience, but we knew that our comrade +was in one of his queer moods, and it was no use attempting to push him +faster than he was disposed to go. + +When his chuckling fit was ended, he assumed a more serious air, and +once more appeared to busy himself with the calculation of some problem. +He spoke in soliloquy. + +"Twenty yurds o' Bill's," muttered he, "an twenty of the young fellur's, +ur forty; an myen--it ur sixteen yurds--make the hul fifty an six; +ye-es, fifty-six preezactly. Then thur's the knots to kum off o' thet, +though fornenst 'em thur's bridles. Wagh! thur's rope aplenty, an +enough over, to string up half a score o' them yeller-bellies, ef iver I +gits holt on 'em. An _won't_ I! Wagh!" + +During this arithmetical process, Rube, instead of gazing any longer +into the barrel of his rifle, had kept his eyes wandering up and down +the cliff. Before he had ceased talking, both Garey and myself had +divined his plan, but we refrained from telling him so. To have +anticipated the old trapper in his disclosure would have been a mortal +offence. + +We waited for him to make it known. + +"Now, boyees!" said he at length, "hyur's how we'll git clur. Fust an +fo'must, we'll crawl up yanner, soon's it gits dark enough to kiver us. +Seconds, we'll toat our trail-ropes along wi' us. Thuds, we'll jine the +three thegither, an ef thet ain't long enough, a kupple o' bridles 'll +help out. Fo'th, we'll tie the eend o' the rope to a saplin up thur on +top, an then slide down the bluff on t'other side, do ee see? Fift, +oncest down on the paraira, we'll put straight for the settlements. +Sixt an lastest, when we gits thur, we'll gather a wheen o' the young +fellur's rangers, take a bee-line back to the mound, an gie these hyur +niggurs sech a lambaystin as they hain't hed since the war begun. Now?" + +"Now" meant, What think you of the plan? Mentally, both Garey and I had +already approved of it, and we promptly signified our approval. + +It really promised well. Should we succeed in carrying out the details +without being detected, it was probable enough that within a few hours +we might be safe in the piazza of the rancheria, and quenching our +thirst at its crystal well. + +The anticipated pleasure filled us with fresh energy; and we instantly +set about putting everything in readiness. One watched, while the other +two worked. + +Our lazoes were knotted together, and the four horses fastened head to +head with their bridles, and secured so as to keep them behind the +boulder. This done, we awaited the falling of night. + +Would it be a dark night? + +About this we now felt anxious. It was already closing down, and gave +promise of favouring us: a layer of lead-coloured clouds covered the +sky, and we knew there could be no moon before midnight. + +Rube, who boasted he could read weather-sign like a "salt-sea sailor," +scrutinised the sky. + +"Wal, old hos!" interrogated Garey, "what do ye think o't? Will it be +dark, eh?" + +"Black as a bar!" muttered Rube in reply; and then, as if not satisfied +with the simile, he added, "Black as the inside o' a buffler bull's +belly on a burnt paraira!" + +The old trapper laughed heartily at the ludicrous conceit, and Garey and +I could not refrain from joining in the laugh. The guerrilleros must +have heard us; they must have deemed us mad! + +Rube's prognostication proved correct: the night came down dark and +lowering. The leaden layer broke up into black cumulus clouds, that +slowly careered across the canopy of the sky. A storm portended; and +already some big drops, that shot vertically downward, could be heard +plashing heavily upon our saddles. All this was to our satisfaction; +but at that moment a flash of lightning illumined the whole arch of the +heavens, lighting the prairie as with a thousand torches. It was none +of the pale lavender-coloured light, seen in northern climes, but a +brilliant blaze, that appeared to pervade all space, and almost rivalled +the brightness of day. + +Its sudden and unexpected appearance filled us with dismay: we +recognised in it an obstacle to our designs. + +"Durn the tarnal thing!" exclaimed Rube peevishly. "It ur wuss than a +moon, durn it!" + +"Is it going to be the quick-forky, or the long-blazey?" inquired Garey, +with a reference to two distinct modes in which upon these southern +prairies, the electric fluid exhibits itself. + +In the former the flashes are quick and short-lived, and the intervals +of darkness also of short duration. Bolts pierce the clouds in +straight, lance-like shafts, or forking and zig-zag, followed by thunder +in loud unequal bursts, and dashes of intermittent rain. + +The other is very distinct from this; there are no shafts or bolts, but +a steady blaze which fills the whole firmament with a white quivering +light, lasting many seconds of time, and followed by long intervals of +amorphous darkness. Such lightning is rarely accompanied by thunder, +and rain is not always its concomitant, though it was this sort we now +witnessed, and rain-drops were falling. + +"Quick-forky!" echoed Rube, in reply to his comrade's interrogatory; +"no--dod rot it! not so bad as thet. It ur the blazey. Thur's no +thunder, don't 'ee see? Wal! we must grope our way up atween the +glimps." + +I understood why Rube preferred the "blazey;" the long intervals of +darkness between the flashes might enable us to carry out our plan. + +He had scarcely finished speaking, when the lightning gleamed a second +time, and the prairie was lit up like a theatre during the grand scene +in a spectacle. We could see the guerrilleros standing by their horses, +in cordon across the plain; we could distinguish their arms and +equipments--even the buttons upon their jackets! With their faces +rendered ghastly under the glare, and their bodies magnified to gigantic +proportions, they presented to our eyes a wild and spectral appearance. + +With the flash there was no thunder--neither the close quick clap, nor +the distant rumble. There was perfect silence, which rendered the scene +more awfully impressive. + +"All right!" muttered Rube, as he saw that the besiegers still kept +their places. "We must jest grope our way up atween the glimps; but +fust let 'em see we're still hyur." + +We protruded our faces and rifles around the rock, and in this position +awaited another flash. + +It came, bright as before: the enemy could not fail to have noticed us. + +Our programme was already prepared: Garey was to ascend first, and take +up the rope. + +He only waited for the termination of another blaze. One end of the +lazo was fastened round his waist, and the rope hung down behind him. + +When the light gleamed again, he was ready; and the moment it went out, +he glided forward to the cliff, and commenced his ascent. + +Oh, for a long interval of darkness! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. + +SCALING THE CLIFF. + +Oh, for a long interval of darkness! + +Our hearts beat anxiously--at least I can answer for my own. Rube +watched the guerrilleros, permitting his head to be seen by them. My +eyes were bent upon the rocky wall, but through the thick darkness I +looked in vain for our comrade. I listened to hear how he was +progressing; I could distinguish a slight scratching against the cliff, +each moment higher and farther away; but Garey climbed with a moccasined +foot, and the noise was too faint to reach the ears of our enemies. Oh, +for a long interval of darkness! + +It appeared a long one; perhaps it was not five minutes, but it _felt_ +twice that, before the lightning again blazed forth. + +With the flash, I ran my eyes up the precipitous wall. Oh, God! Garey +was still upon its face, as yet scarce midway up. He was standing on a +ledge--his body flattened against the rock--and with his arms extended +horizontally, he presented the appearance of a man crucified upon the +cliff! + +So long as the glare lasted, he remained in this attitude, motionless as +the rock itself. + +I turned with anxious look towards the guerrilleros. I heard no voice; +I observed no movement. Thank Heaven! they saw him not! + +Near where he was resting, some bushes of the trailing cedar grew out of +the cliff; their dark foliage mottled its white face, rendering the form +of the climber less conspicuous. + +Another long spell of darkness, another blaze of light. + +I scanned the gorge: no human form was visible. I saw a dark line that, +like a crack, vertically intersected the cliff from parapet to base: it +was the rope Garey had carried up. He had reached the summit in safety! + +It was my turn next--for Rube insisted on retaining the post of danger-- +and with my rifle slung on my back, I stood ready. I had given the +parting whisper to my brave steed, and pressed his velvet muzzle to my +cheek. + +With the last flicker of the electric gleam, I seized the hanging lazo, +and drew myself upward. + +I had confidence in the rope: I knew it was fastened above, or safe in +the strong grasp of Garey. + +With its aid, the ascent was rendered easy. I experienced no difficulty +in climbing from ledge to ledge, and before the light came again, I had +reached the crest of the cliff. + +We lay flat among the bushes that grew by the very brink, scarcely +showing our faces to the front. + +I saw that the rope had been fastened round the trunk of a small tree. + +Presently we perceived by its jerking, that Rube had begun his ascent. + +Shortly after, we could hear him sprawling and scratching upward, and +then his thin dark form loomed over the edge of the cliff, and, dead +beat for breath, he staggered silently into the bushes beside us. Even +in the darkness I noticed something peculiar in his appearance: his head +looked smaller, but I had no time to question him. + +We waited only for another glance at the guerrilleros; they were still +at their posts, evidently unconscious of our movements. Rube's cat-skin +cap, cunningly adjusted upon the boulder, satisfied them that we were +still at ours; and explained, moreover, the oddness I had observed about +the upper story of the trapper. + +Rube had now recovered wind; and gathering up the rope, we stole away +over the table-summit to search for a place of descent. + +On reaching the opposite side, we at once found what we wanted--a tree +near the edge of the cliff. Many small pines grew upon the escarpment; +and selecting one, we knotted the rope securely around its trunk. + +There was yet much to be done before any of us could attempt the +descent. We knew that the cliff was more than a hundred feet in +vertical height, and to glide down a rope of that length is a trying +feat, worthy the most expert of tars. None of us might be able to +accomplish it: the first could be lowered down easily enough, and this +was our intention; so might the second; but the last would have to glide +down the rope without aid. + +We were not long delayed by the contemplation of this obstacle: my +comrades were men of quick thought; and a plan to get over the +difficulty soon suggested itself. + +Their knives were out in a trice: a sapling was procured, and cut into +short pieces; these were notched, and tied at intervals along the rope. +Our "Jacob's ladder" was ready. + +It still remained to make sure that the rope was of sufficient length. +The knots had somewhat shortened it; but this point was soon settled, +with like ingenuity. + +A small stone was tied to one end, and then dropped over the cliff. + +We listened: we heard the dull "thump" of the stone upon the prairie +turf. The rope therefore reached to the ground. + +It was again drawn up, the stone taken out, and the noose fastened +around the body of Rube, under his armpits. He was the lightest, and +for this reason had been chosen to make the first descent, as he would +least try the strength of the rope--still a doubtful point. The ascent +had not proved it--for in climbing up, but one-half of our weight had +been upon it, our feet resting either against the cliff, or upon its +ledges. On reaching the plain, Rube was to submit the rope to trial, +before either Garey or I should attempt to go down. This he was to do +by adding a large stone to his own weight--making both at least equal to +that of Garey, who was by far the heaviest of the party. + +All being arranged, the old trapper slid silently over the edge of the +cliff--Garey and I giving out the rope slowly, and with caution. + +Foot by foot, and yard by yard, it was drawn through our hands, by the +weight of the descending body--now lost to our sight over the brow of +the cliff. + +Still slowly, and with caution, we allowed the lazo to pass, taking care +that it should glide gradually, so as not to jerk, and cause the body of +our comrade to oscillate with too much violence against the rocks. + +We were both seated close together, our faces turned to the plain. More +than three-quarters of the rope had passed from us, and we were +congratulating ourselves that the trial would soon be over, when, to our +dismay, the strain ceased with a suddenness that caused both of us to +recoil upon our backs! At the same instant, we heard the "twang" of the +snapping rope, followed by a sharp cry from below! + +We sprang to our feet, and mechanically recommenced hauling upon the +rope. The weight was no longer upon it, it was light as packthread, and +returned to our hands without effort. + +Desisting, we fronted to each other, but not for an explanation. +Neither required it; neither uttered a word. The case was clear: the +rope had broken; our comrade had been hurled to the earth! + +With a simultaneous impulse, we dropped upon our knees; and, crawling +forward to the brink of the precipice, looked over and downward. We +could see nothing in the dark abysm that frowned below; and we waited +till the light should break forth again. + +We listened with ears keenly set. + +Was it a groan we heard? a cry of agony? No; its repetition told us +what it was--the howl of the prairie-wolf. No human voice reached our +ears. Alas, no! Even a cry of pain would have been welcome, since it +would have told us our comrade still lived. But no, he was silent-- +dead--perhaps broken to atoms! + +It was long ere the lightning gleamed again. Before it did we heard +voices. They came from the bottom of the cliff directly under us; but +there were two, and neither was the voice of the trapper. It is easy to +distinguish the full intonation of the Saxon from the shrill treble of +the sons of Anahuac. The voices were those of our foes. + +Presently the light discovered them to us. Two there were. They were +on horseback, moving on the plain below, and close into the cliff. We +saw them distinctly, but we saw not what we had expected--the mangled +body of our comrade! The gleam, long continued, had given us full time +to scrutinise the ground. We could have distinguished upon it any +object as large as a cat. Rube, living or dead, was certainly not +there! + +Had he fallen into the hands of the guerrilla? The two we saw carried +lances, but no prisoner. It was not likely they had captured him: +besides, we knew that Rube, unless badly crippled, would never have +surrendered without a struggle; and neither shot not shout had been +heard. + +We were soon relieved from all uneasiness on this score. The brigands +continued their conversation, and the light breeze wafted their voices +upwards, so that we could distinguish part of what was said. + +"Carrambo!" exclaimed one impatiently; "you must have been mistaken? It +was the coyote you heard." + +"Capitan! I am confident it was a man's voice." + +"Then it must have proceeded from one of the _picaros_ behind the rock. +There is no one out here? But come! let us return by the other side of +the mesa--_vamos_!" + +The hoof-strokes admonished us that they were passing onward to carry +out the design of the last speaker--who was no other than Ijurra +himself. + +It was a relief to know that our comrade had not yet fallen into their +clutches. How far he was injured, we could not have an idea. The rope +had given way close to the top, and Rube had carried most of it down +with him. In the confusion, we had not noticed how much remained, +_behind_ our hands, when he fell; and now we could only guess. + +Seeing that he had disappeared from the spot, we were in high hope that +he had sustained no serious injury. + +But whither had he gone? Had he but _crawled_ away, and was yet in the +neighbourhood of the mesa? If so, they might still light upon him. +Hiding-place there was none, either by the base of the cliff or on the +surrounding plain. + +Garey and I were anxious about the result--the more so, that the +guerrilleros had heard his cry, and were in search of him. He might +easily be found in such a naked spot. + +We hastily formed the determination to cross the table summit to the +other side, and watch the movements of the two horsemen. + +Guided by their voices, we once more knelt above them, at the rearmost +angle of the mound. They had there halted to examine the ground, and +only waited for the flash; we, too, waited above them, and _within +range_. + +"We kin fetch them out o' thar saddles?" whispered my companion. + +I hesitated to give my assent; perhaps it was prudence that restrained +me, for I had now conceived hopes of a surer deliverance. + +At that moment gleamed the lightning; the dark horsemen loomed large +under its yellow glare; they were less than fifty paces from the muzzles +of our guns: we could have sighted them with sure aim; and, bayed as we +had been, I was almost tempted to yield to the solicitations of my +companion. + +Just then, an object came under our eyes that caused both of us to draw +back our half-levelled rifles--that object was the body of our comrade +Rube. + +It was lying flat along the ground, the arms and legs stretched out to +their full extent, and the face buried deep in the grass. From the +elevation at which we viewed it, it appeared like the hide of a young +buffalo, spread out to dry, and pinned tightly to the turf. But we knew +it was not that; we knew it was the body of a man dressed in brown +buckskin--the body of the earless trapper! It was not dead neither; no +dead body could have placed itself in such an attitude, for it lay +flattened along the turf like a gigantic newt. + +The object of this attitude was evident to us, and our hearts beat with +a painful anxiety while the light flickered around. The body was +scarcely five hundred yards out; but though perfectly visible from our +position, it must have been inconspicuous to the horsemen below; for as +soon as it darkened, we heard them, to our great relief, ride back +toward the front--Ijurra reiterating his doubts as they passed away. + +Fortunate it was for both him and his companion they had not espied that +prostrate form--fortunate for Rube--for all of us! + +Garey and I kept our places, and waited for another flash. + +When it came, the brown buckskin was no longer in sight! Far off-- +nearly a mile off, we fancied we could distinguish the same form +flattened out as before; but the gloam of the prairie-grass rendered our +vision uncertain. + +Of one thing, however, we were certain--our comrade had escaped. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY. + +A REINFORCEMENT. + +For the first time, since encountering the guerrilla, I breathed freely, +and felt confident we should get free. My comrade shared my belief; and +it is needless to say that we recrossed the summit of the mesa with +lighter hearts and step more buoyant. + +Of course we no longer speculated about making the descent; with the +fragment of rope left, that was impossible. We were simply returning to +the front, to keep an eye upon the guerrilleros, and, if possible, +prevent them from approaching our horses--should they by any chance +discover that we had retreated from our position behind the rock. + +We were the more anxious about our horses, now that we had less +apprehension for ourselves; at least I can answer for myself, and the +explanation is easy. So long as I felt the probability that every +moment might be the last of my life, the fate of Moro and the white +steed was but a secondary consideration. Now that I felt certain I +should survive this perilous escapade, the future once more urged its +claims; and I was anxious not only to preserve my own steed, but the +beautiful creature that had led me into all this peril, but whose +capture still promised its rich reward. + +That all danger was past--that in a few hours we should be free--was the +full belief both of my companion and myself. Perhaps you may not +comprehend from what _data_ we drew so confident and comfortable a +conclusion, though our reasoning was simple enough. We knew that Rube +would reach the rancheria, and return with a rescue--that was all. + +'Tis true we were not without some anxiety. The rangers might no longer +be there?--the army might have marched?--perhaps the picket was +withdrawn? Rube himself might be intercepted, or slain? + +The last hypothesis gave us least concern. We had full trust in the +trapper's ability to penetrate to the American camp--to the enemy's, if +necessary. We had just been favoured with a specimen of his skill. +Whether the army had advanced or not, Rube would reach it before +morning, if he should have to steal a horse upon the way. He would soon +find the rangers; and, even without orders, Holingsworth would _lend_ +him a few--half-a-dozen of them would be enough. In the worst view of +the case, there were stragglers enough about the camp--odd birds, that +could easily be enlisted for such a duty. We had scarcely a doubt that +our comrade would come back with a rescue. + +As to the time, we were left to conjectures. It might be before +morning's light--it might not be before late in the following day, or +even the night after. But that was a consideration that now weighed +lightly. We could hold our aerial fortress for a week--a month--ay, far +longer, and against hundreds. We could not be assailed. With our +rifles to guard the cliff, no storming-party could approach--no forlorn +hope could scale our battlements! + +But what of thirst and hunger, you will ask? + +Ha! we dreaded not either. Fortune's favours had fallen upon us in +showers. Even on that lone summit, we found the means to assuage the +one and satisfy the other! + +In crossing the table-top, we stumbled upon huge _echino-cacti_, that +grew over the ground like ant-hills or gigantic bee-hives. They were +the _mamillaria_ of Quackenboss--dome-shaped, and some of them ten feet +in diameter. + +Garey's knife was out in a trice; a portion of the spinous coat of the +largest was stripped off, its top truncated, and a bowl scooped in the +soft succulent mass. In another minute we had assuaged our thirst from +this vegetable fountain of the Desert. + +With similar facility were we enabled to gratify the kindred appetite. +As I had conjectured, on viewing them from the plain, the trees of +light-green foliage were "pinons"--the "nut-pine" (_Pinus edulis_), of +which there are several species in Northern Mexico, whose cones contain +seeds edible and nutritious. A few handfuls of these we gathered, and +hungered no more. They would have been better roasted, but at that +moment we were contented to eat them raw. + +No wonder, then, that with such a supply for the present, and such hopes +for the future, we no longer dreaded the impotent fury of our foes. + +We lay down at the top of the gorge to watch their further movements, +and cover our horses from their attack. + +The flash of the lightning showed them still on guard, just as we had +left them. One of each file was mounted, while his companion, on foot, +paced to and fro in the intervals of the cordon. Their measures were +cunningly taken; they were evidently determined we should not steal past +them in the darkness! + +The lightning began to abate, and the intervals between the flashes +became longer and longer. + +During one of these intervals, we were startled by the sound of +hoof-strokes at some distance off: it was the tramp of horses upon the +hard plain. + +There is a difference between the hoof-stroke of a ridden horse and one +that is riderless, and the prairie-man is rarely puzzled to distinguish +them. My companion at once pronounced the horses to be "mounted." + +The guerrilleros, on the alert, had heard them at the same time as we, +and two of them had galloped out to reconnoitre. This we ascertained +only by _hearing_, for we could not distinguish an object six feet from +our faces--the darkness being almost palpable to the touch. + +The sounds came from a considerable distance, but as they were +continually growing more distinct we could tell that the horsemen were +advancing _toward_ the mesa. + +We drew no hope from this advent. Rube could not yet have even reached +the rancheria. The new-comers were El Zorro and his companion on their +return. + +We were not kept long in doubt: the horsemen approached, and shouts and +salutations were exchanged between them and the guerrilleros, while the +horses of both parties neighed in response, as if they knew each other. + +At this moment the lightning shone again, and to our surprise we +perceived not only El Zorro, but a reinforcement of full thirty men! +The trampling of many hoofs had half prepared us for this discovery. + +It was not without feelings of alarm that we beheld this accession to +the enemy's strength. Surely they would no longer hesitate to assail +our fortress behind the rock? At least then our horses would be +captured? Besides, Rube's rescue might be too weak for such a force? +There were now nearly fifty of the guerrilleros. + +Our anxiety as to the first two points was soon at an end. To our +astonishment, we perceived that no assault was to be made as yet. We +saw them increase the strength of their cordon of sentries, and make +other dispositions to carry on the siege. + +Evidently they regarded us as hunters do the grizzly bear, the lion, or +tiger--not to be attacked in our lair. They dreaded the havoc which +they well knew would be made by our rifles and revolvers; and they +determined to reduce us by starvation. On no other principle could we +account for the cowardly continence of their revenge. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY ONE. + +THE INDIAN SPY. + +It was past the hour of midnight. The lightning, that for some time had +appeared only at long intervals, now ceased altogether. Its fitful +glare gave place to a softer, steadier light, for the moon had arisen, +and was climbing up the eastern sky. Cumulus clouds still hung in the +heavens, slowly floating across the canopy; but their masses were +detached, and the azure firmament was visible through the spaces +between. The beautiful planet Venus, and here and there a solitary +star, twinkled in these blue voids, or gleamed through the filmy +bordering of the clouds; but the chiefs of the constellations alone were +visible. The moon's disc was clear and well defined, whiter from +contrast with the dark cumuli: and her beam frosted the prairie till the +grass looked hoar. There was neither mist nor mirage; the electric +fluid had purged the atmosphere of its gases, and the air was cool, +limpid, and bracing. Though the moon had passed the full, so brilliant +was her beam, that an object could have been distinguished far off upon +the plain, whose silvery level extended on all sides to the horizon. +The thick black clouds, however, moving silently over the sky, +occasioned long intervals of eclipse, during which the prairie, as +before, was shrouded in sombre darkness. + +Up to this time, Garey and I had remained by the head of the little +gorge, through which we had ascended. The moon was behind us, for the +guerrilla was on the western side of the mesa. The shadow of the mound +was thrown far out upon the plain, and just beyond its well-defined edge +was the line of sentinels, thickly posted. On our knees among the low +shrubbery, we were unseen by them, while we commanded a perfect view of +the whole troop, as they smoked, chattered, shouted, and sang--for they +gave such tokens of their jovial humour. + +After quietly watching them for some time, Garey left me to take a turn +round the summit, and reconnoitre the opposite or eastern side. In that +direction lay the rancheria; and if the picket was still stationed +there, we might soon expect the rescue. My rangers were not the men to +tarry, called forth on such a duty; and, under Rube's guidance, they +would be most likely to make their approach by the rear of the mound. +Garey, therefore, went in that direction to make his reconnaissance. + +He had not parted from me more than a minute, when a dark object out +upon the plain attracted my glance. I fancied it was the figure of a +man; though it was prostrate and flattened against the ground, just as +old Rube had appeared when making his escape! + +Surely it was not he? I had but an indistinct view of it, for it was +full six hundred yards from the mesa, and directly beyond the line of +the guerrilleros. Just then a cloud crossing the moon's disc, shrouded +the plain, and the dark object was no longer visible. + +I kept my eyes fixed on the spot, and waited for the returning light. + +When the cloud passed, the figure was no longer where I had first +noticed it; but nearer to the horsemen I perceived the same object, and +in the same attitude as before! + +It was now within less than two hundred yards of the Mexican line, but a +bunch of tufted grass appeared to shelter it from the eyes of the +guerrilleros--since none of them gave any sign that it was perceived by +them. + +From my elevated position, the grass did not conceal it. I had a clear +view of the figure, and was certain it was the body of a man, and, still +more, of a _naked_ man--for it glistened under the sheen of the +moonlight, as only a naked body would have done. + +Up to this time I had fancied, or rather _feared_, it might be Rube. I +say feared--for I had no wish to see Rube, upon his return, present +himself in that fashion. + +Surely he would not come back alone? And why should he be thus playing +the spy, since he already knew the exact position of our enemy? + +The apparition puzzled me, and I was for a while in doubt. + +But the _naked_ body reassured me. It could not be Rube. The skin was +of a dark hue, but so was that of the old trapper. Though born white, +the sun, dirt, gunpowder, and grease, with the smoke of many a +prairie-fire, had altered Rube's complexion to the true copper-tint; and +in point of colour, he had but little advantage over a full-blood +Indian. But Rube would not have been naked; he never doffed his +buckskins. Besides, the oily glitter of that body was not Rube's; his +"hide" would not have shone so under the moonlight. No; the prostrate +form was not his. + +Another cloud cast new shadows; and while these continued, I saw no more +of the skulking figure. + +As the moon again shone forth, I perceived that it was gone from behind +the tuft of grass. + +I scanned the ground in the immediate neighbourhood. It was not to be +seen; but on looking farther out, I could just distinguish the figure of +a man, bent forward and rapidly gliding away. + +I followed it with my eyes until it disappeared in the distance, as +though melting into the moonlight. + +While gazing over the distant plain in the direction whence the figure +had retreated, I was startled at beholding, not one, but many forms +dimly outlined upon the prairie edge. + +"It _was_ Rube," thought I; "and yonder are the rangers!" + +I strained my eyes to the utmost. They were horsemen beyond a doubt; +but, to my astonishment, instead of being close together, one followed +another in single file, until a long line was traced against the sky +like the links of a gigantic chain. + +Except in the narrow defile, or the forest-path, my rangers never rode +in that fashion. It could not be they! + +At this crisis a new thought came into my mind. More than once in my +life had I witnessed a spectacle similar to that now under my eyes--more +than once had I looked upon it with dread. That serried line was an old +acquaintance: it was a band of Indian warriors on their midnight march-- +upon the war-trail! + +The actions of the spy were explained: he was an Indian runner. The +party to whom he belonged was about to approach the mesa--perhaps with +the design of encamping there--he had been sent forward to reconnoitre +the ground. + +What effect his tale would have, I could not guess. I could see that +the horsemen were halted--perhaps awaiting the return of their +messenger. They were too distant to be seen by the Mexicans; and the +minute after, they were also invisible to my eyes upon the +darkly-shadowed prairie. + +Before communicating with Garey, I resolved to wait for another gleam of +moonlight, so that I might have a more distinct story to tell. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY TWO. + +THE CABALLADA. + +It was nearly a quarter of an hour before the cloud moved away; and +then, to my surprise, I saw a clump of horses--not _horsemen_--upon the +prairie, and scarcely half-a-mile distant from the mesa! Not one of +them was mounted, and, to all appearance, it was a drove of wild-horses +that had galloped up during the interval of darkness, and were now +standing silent and motionless. + +I strained my eyes upon the distant prairie, but the dim horsemen were +no longer to be seen. They must have ridden off beyond the range of +vision? + +I was about to seek my comrade and communicate to him what had passed, +when, on rising to my feet, I found him standing by my side. He had +been all around the summit without seeing aught, and had returned to +satisfy himself that the guerrilla were still quiet. + +"Hillow!" he exclaimed, as his eyes fell upon the _caballada_. "What +the darnation's yonder? A drove o' wild hosses? It's mighty strange +them niggers don't notice 'em! By the etarnal--" + +I know not what Garey meant to have said. His words were drowned by the +wild yell that broke simultaneously from the Mexican line; and the next +moment the whole troop were seen springing to their saddles, and putting +themselves in motion. + +We of course supposed that they had just discovered the caballada of +wild-horses, and it was that that was producing this sudden stampede. + +What was our astonishment on perceiving that we ourselves were the cause +of the alarm; for the guerrilleros, instead of fronting to the plain, +rode closer up to the cliff, and screaming wildly, fired their carbines +at _us_! Among the rest, we could distinguish the great gun of El +Zorro, and the hiss of its leaden bullet, as it passed close to our +ears! + +We were puzzled at first to know how they had discovered us. A glance +explained that the moon had risen higher in the heavens, and the shadow +cast by the mound had been gradually foreshortened. While gazing out at +the caballada, we had incautiously kept our feet; and our figures, +magnified to gigantic proportions, were thrown forward upon the plain +directly under the eyes of our enemies. They had but to look up to see +us where we stood. + +Instantly we knelt down among the bushes, clutching our rifles. + +The surprise occasioned by our appearance upon the cliff seemed to have +deprived our enemies, for the moment, of their habitual prudence, as +several of them rode boldly within range. Perhaps they were some of the +late arrivals. In the dark shadow, we could not make out their forms; +but one had the misfortune to be mounted on a white horse, and that +guided the trapper's aim. I saw him glancing along his barrel, and +heard the sharp crack. I fancied I heard a stifled groan from below, +and the next moment the white horse was seen galloping out into the +moonlight, but the rider was no longer upon his back. + +Another cloud passed over the moon, and the plain was again shrouded +from our sight. Garey was proceeding to reload, when a cry arose amidst +the darkness, that caused him to pause and listen. The cry was again +repeated, and then uttered continuously with that wild intonation which +can alone proceed from the throat of the savage. It was not the +guerrilla that was uttering that cry; it was the yell of the Indian +warrior. + +"Comanche war-hoop!" cried Garey, after listening a moment. "Comanche +war-hoop! by the etarnal! Hooraw! the Injuns are upon 'em!" + +Amidst the cries, we could hear the rapid trampling of horses, and the +ground appeared to vibrate under the quick heavy tread. + +Each moment the strokes sounded nearer. The savages were charging the +guerrilla! + +The moon shot forth from the cloud. There was no longer a doubt. The +wild-horses were mounted; each carried an Indian naked to the waist--his +painted body glaring red in the moonlight, and terrible to behold. + +By this time the Mexicans had all mounted and faced, towards the +unexpected foe, but with evident signs of irresolution in their ranks. +They would never stand the charge--no, never. So said Garey; and he was +right. + +The savages had advanced within less than a hundred paces of the Mexican +line, when they were observed to pull suddenly up. It was but a +momentary halt--just time enough to enable them to mark the formation of +their foes, and send a flight of arrows into their midst. That done, +they dashed onward, uttering their wild yells, and brandishing their +long spears. + +The guerrilleros only waited to discharge their carbines and escopettes; +they did not think of reloading. + +Most of them flung away their guns as soon as they had fired, and the +retreat began. The whole troop turned its back upon the enemy, and +spurring their horses to a gallop, came sweeping round the base of the +mesa in headlong flight. + +The Indians, uttering their demoniac yells, followed as fast. They were +rendered more furious, that their hated foe was likely to escape them. +The latter were indebted to us for having put them upon the alert. But +for that circumstance, the Indians would have charged them while +dismounted, and far different might have been their fate. Mounted and +ready for flight, most of them would probably get clear. + +The moment we saw the direction the chase was about to take, Garey and I +rushed across the summit to the other side. + +On arriving at the brow of the precipice, our view was perfect, and we +could see both parties as they passed along, its base directly below us. +Both were riding in straggling clumps, and scarcely two hundred paces +separated the rearmost of the pursued from the headmost of the pursuers. +The latter still uttered their war-cry, while the former now rode in +silence--their breath bound, and their voices hushed in the deathlike +stillness of terror. + +All at once a cry arose from the guerrilla--short, quick, and +despairing--the voice of some new consternation; at the same moment the +whole troop were seen to pull up. + +We looked for the cause of this extraordinary conduct; our eyes and ears +both guided us to the explanation. + +From the opposite direction, and scarcely three hundred yards distant, +appeared a band of horsemen coming up at a gallop. They were right in +the moon's eye, and we could see glancing arms, and hear loud voices. +The hoofs could be heard pounding the prairie, and my companion and I +recognised the heavy tread of the American horse. Still more certain +were we about that hoarse "hurrah." Neither Indian nor Mexican could +have uttered that well-known shout. + +"Hooraw!--the rangers!" cried Garey, as he echoed the cry at the full +pitch of his voice. + +The guerrilleros, stupified by surprise at sight of this new enemy, had +paused for a moment--no doubt fancying it was another party of Indians. +Their halt was of short duration; the dim light favoured them; rifles +already played upon their ranks; and, suddenly wheeling to the left, +they struck out into the open plain. + +The Indians, seeing them turn off, leaned into the diagonal line to +intercept them; but the rangers, already close, up, had just made a +similar movement, and savage and Saxon were now obliquing towards each +other! + +The moon, that for some minutes had been yielding but a faint light, +became suddenly eclipsed by a cloud, and the darkness was now greater +than ever. Garey and I saw no more of the strife; but we heard the +shock of the opposing bands; we heard the war-whoop of the savage +mingling with the ranger's vengeful shout: we heard the "crack, crack, +crack" of yager rifles, and the quick detonations of revolvers--the +clashing of sabre-blades upon spear-shafts--the ring of breaking steel-- +the neighing of steeds--the victor's cry of triumph--and the deep +anguished groan of the victim. + +With anxious hearts, and nerves excited to their utmost, we stood upon +the cliff, and listened to these sounds of dread import. + +Not long did they last. The fierce struggle was soon over. When the +moon gleamed forth again, the battle was ended. Prostrate forms, both +of man and horse, were lying upon the plain. + +Far to the south, a dark clump was seen disappearing over the prairie's +edge: it was the cowardly guerrilla. To the west, horsemen galloped +away, alone, or in straggling groups; but the cheer of triumph that +reached us from the scene of strife told us who were the masters of the +ground. The rangers had triumphed. + +"Whur ur ye, Bill?" cried a voice from the bottom of the cliff, which +both of us easily recognised. + +"Hyar I be," answered Garey. + +"Wal, we've gin them Injuns goss, I reck'n; but cuss the luck, the +yeller-bellies hev got clur off. Wagh!" + + + +CHAPTER FORTY THREE. + +A CHAPTER OF EXPLANATIONS. + +The fight could not have lasted more than ten minutes. The whole +skirmish had the semblance of a moonlight dream, interrupted by +interludes of darkness. So rapid had been the movements of the forces +engaged, that after the first fire not a gun was reloaded. As for the +guerrilleros, the Indian war-cry seemed to have shaken the pieces out of +their hands, for the ground where they had first broken off was +literally strewed with carbines, escopettes, and lances. The great gun +of El Zorro was found among the spoils. + +Notwithstanding the shortness of the affair, it proved sufficiently +tragical to both Mexicans and Indians; five of the guerrilleros had bit +the dust, and twice that number of savage warriors lay lifeless upon the +plain--their bodies glaring under the red war-paint, as if shrouded in +blood. The Mexicans lay near the foot of the mesa, having fallen under +the first fire of the rangers, delivered as they galloped up. The +Indians were farther out upon the plain, where they had dropped to the +thick rapid detonations of the revolvers, that, so long as the warriors +held their ground, played upon them with fearful effect. They may have +heard of this weapon, and perhaps have seen a revolver in the hands of +some trapper or traveller, but, to my knowledge, it was the first time +they had ever encountered a band of men armed with so terrible a power +to destroy; for the rangers were indeed the first military organisation +that carried Colt's pistol into battle--the high cost of the arm having +deterred the government from extending it to other branches of the +service. + +Nor did the rangers themselves come unscathed out of the fight; two had +dropped out of their saddles, pierced by the Comanche spear; while +nearly a dozen were more or less severely wounded by arrows. + +While Quackenboss was climbing the cliff, Garey and I found time to talk +over the strange incidents to which we had been witness. We were aided +by explanations from below, but without these we had no difficulty in +comprehending all. + +The Indians were a band of Comanches, as their war-cry had already made +known to us. Their arrival on the ground at that moment was purely +accidental, so far as we or the Mexicans were concerned: it was a +war-party, and upon the war-trail, with the intention of reiving a rich +Mexican town on the other side of the Rio Grande, some twenty leagues +from the rancheria. Their spy had discovered the horsemen by the mesa, +and made them out to be Mexicans--a foe which the lordly Comanche holds +in supreme contempt. Not so contemptible in his eyes are Mexican +horses, silver-studded saddles, speckled serapes, mangas of fine cloth, +bell-buttoned breeches, arms, and accoutrements: and it was to sweep +this paraphernalia that the attack had been made; though hereditary +hatred of the Spanish race--old as the conquest--and revenge for more +recent wrongs, were of themselves sufficient motives to have impelled +the Indians to their hostile attempt. + +All this we learned from one of their braves, who remained wounded upon +the ground, and who, upon closer examination, turned out to be a +_ci-devant_ Mexican captive, now completely Indianised! + +Fortunately for the Mexican town, the savages, thus checked, abandoned +their design, and returned to their mountain fastnesses sadly humbled. + +The rest of the affair was still of easier explanation to Garey and +myself. Rube, as we conjectured, had arrived safe at the rancheria; and +in ten minutes after his story had been told, fifty rangers, with +Holingsworth at their head, rode rapidly for the mesa. + +Rube had guided them with his usual craft. Like the Indians, they had +been moving forward during the intervals of darkness; but, coming in the +opposite direction, they had kept the mound between them and their foe, +and, trusting to this advantage, were in hopes of taking the +guerrilleros by surprise. + +They had approached almost within charging distance, when the war-whoop +of the savage sounded in their ears, and they were met by the retreating +band. + +Knowing that all who came that way must be enemies, they delivered their +fire upon the approaching horsemen, and then galloping forward, found +themselves face to face with the painted warriors of the plains. + +The mutual surprise of rangers and Indians, caused by the unexpected +rencontre, proved a happy circumstance for the cowardly guerrilla--who, +during the short halt of their double pursuers, and the confused fight +that followed, were enabled to gallop off beyond reach of pursuit. + +It was a curious conjecture what would have been the result had the +rangers not arrived on the ground. Certainly the Indians would have +rescued us from our not less savage foes. My companion and I might have +remained undiscovered, but we should have lost our precious horses. As +it was, we were soon once more upon their backs; and, free from all +thought of peril, now joyfully turned our faces towards the rancheria. + +Wheatley rode by my side. Holingsworth with a party remained upon the +ground to collect the "spoils" and bury our unfortunate comrades. As we +moved away, I turned, and for a moment gazed back on the scene of +strife. I saw Holingsworth dismounted on the plain. He was moving +among the bodies of the five guerrilleros; one after another, he turned +them over, till the moon glared upon their ghastly features. So odd +were his movements, and so earnest did he appear, that one might have +fancied him engaged in searching for a fallen friend, or more like some +prowling robber intent upon stripping the dead! + +But neither object was his--on the contrary, he was searching for a foe. + +He found him not. After scanning the features of all five, he was seen +to turn away, and the unconcerned manner in which he moved from the spot +told that he who was sought was not among the slain. + +"The news, Wheatley?" + +"News, Cap! Grand news, by thunder! It appears we have been barking up +the wrong tree--at least so thinks President Polk. They say we can't +reach Mexico on this line; so we're all going to be drawn off, and +shipped to some port farther down the gulf, Vera Cruz--I believe." + +"Ah! grand news, indeed." + +"I don't like it a bit," continued Wheatley; "the less so since it is +rumoured that old `Rough and Ready' is to be recalled, and we're to be +commanded by that book martinet Scott. It's shabby treatment of Taylor, +after what the old vet has accomplished. They're afraid of him setting +up for President next go. Hang their politics! It's a confounded +shame, by thunder!" + +I could partly understand Wheatley's reluctance to be ordered upon the +new line of operations. The gay lieutenant was never troubled with +ennui; his leisure hours he contrived to pass pleasantly enough in +company with Conchita, the plump, dark-eyed daughter of the alcalde; +more than once, I had unwittingly interrupted them in their amorous +dalliance. The rancheria with its mud huts and dusty lanes, in the eyes +of the Texan, was a city of gilded palaces, its streets paved with gold. +It was Wheatley's heaven, and Conchita was the angel who inhabited it. + +Little as either he or I had liked the post at first, neither of us +desired a change of quarters. + +As yet, no order had arrived to call the picket in, but my companion +affirmed that the camp-rumour was a substantial one, and believed that +we might expect such a command at any moment. + +"What say they of me?" I inquired. + +"Of you, Cap? Why, nothing. What do you expect them to say of you?" + +"Surely there has been some talk about my absence?" + +"Oh, that! No, not a word, at least at head-quarters, for the simple +reason, that you're not yet reported missing." + +"Ah! that is good news; but how--" + +"Why, the truth is, Holingsworth and I thought we might serve you better +by keeping the thing dark--at all events, till we should be sure you +were dead lost. We hadn't given up all hope. The greaser who guided +you out, brought back word that two trappers had gone after you. From +his description, I knew that queer old case Rube, and was satisfied that +if anything remained of you, he was the man to find it." + +"Thanks, my friend! you have acted wisely; your discreet conduct will +save me a world of mortification." + +"No other news?" I inquired after a pause. + +"No," said Wheatley, "none worth telling. Oh, yes!" he continued, +suddenly recollecting himself, "there is a bit. You remember those +hang-dog greasers that used to loaf about the village when we first +came? Well, they're gone, by thunder! every mother's son of them clean +_vamosed_ from the place, and not a grease-spot left of them. You may +walk through the whole settlement without seeing a Mexican, except the +old men and the women. I asked the alcalde where they had cleared to; +but the old chap only shook his head, and drawled out his eternal `Quien +sabe?' Of course they're off to join some band of guerrillas. By +thunder! when I think of it, I wouldn't wonder if they were among that +lot we've just scattered. Sure as shootin' they are! I saw +Holingsworth examine the five dead ones as we rode off. He'll know +them, I guess, and can tell us if any of our old acquaintances are among +them." + +Knowing more of this matter than Wheatley himself, I enlightened him as +to the guerrilleros and their leader. + +"Thought so, by thunder! Rafael Ijurra! No wonder Holingsworth was so +keen to start--in such a hurry to reach the mound, he forgot to tell me +who we were after. Deuce take it! what fools we've been to let these +fellows slide. We should have strung up every man of them when we first +reached the place--we should, by thunder!" + +For some minutes, we rode on in silence. Twenty times a question was +upon my lips but I refrained from putting it, in hopes that Wheatley +might have something more to tell me--something of more interest than +aught he had yet communicated. He remained provokingly silent. + +With the design of drawing him out, I assumed a careless air, and +inquired-- + +"Have we had no visitors at the post? Any one from the camp?" + +"Not a soul," replied he, and again relapsed into meditative silence. + +"No visitors whatever? Has no one inquired for _me_?" I asked, +determined to come boldly to the point. + +"No," was the discouraging reply.--"Oh, stay: oh, ah--yes, indeed!" he +added, correcting himself, while I could perceive that he spoke in a +peculiar tone. "Yes, you _were_ inquired for." + +"By whom?" asked I, in a careless drawl. + +"Well, that I can't tell," answered the lieutenant in an evident tone of +badinage; "but there appears to be _somebody_ mighty uneasy about you. +A slip of a Mexican boy has been backward and forward something less +than a million of times. It's plain somebody sends the boy; but he's a +close little shaver that same--he won't tell either who sends him, or +what's his business: he only inquires if you have returned, and looks +dead down in the mouth when he's told no. I have noticed that he comes +and goes on the _road that leads to the hacienda_." + +The last words were spoken with a distinct emphasis. "We might have +arrested the little fallow as a spy," continued Wheatley, in a tone of +quiet irony, "but we fancied he might have been sent by some friend of +yours." + +The speaker concluded with another marked emphasis, and under the +moonlight I could see a smile playing across his features. More than +once I had "chaffed" my lieutenant about Conchita; he was having his +revenge. + +I was not in a mood to take offence; my companion could have taken any +liberty with me at that moment--his communication had fallen like sweet +music upon my ears; and I rode forward with the proud consciousness that +I was not forgotten. Isolina was true. + +Soon after, my eyes rested upon a shining object; it was the gilded vane +of the little capilla, and beneath glistened the white vails of the +hacienda, bathed in the milky light of the moon. My heart beat with +strange emotions as I gazed upon the well-known mansion, and thought of +the lovely jewel which that bright casket contained. + +Was she asleep? Did she dream? Of what--of whom, was she dreaming? + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. + +DUTCH LIGE IN A DIFFICULTY. + +The soft blue light of morning was just perceptible along the eastern +horizon as we rode into the rancheria. I no longer felt hunger. Some +of the more provident of the rangers had brought with them well-filled +haversacks, and had made me welcome to the contents. From their +canteens I had satisfied my thirst, and Wheatley as usual carried his +free flask. + +Relieved of the protracted strain upon my nerves--of fear and vigil--I +felt deadly weary, and scarcely undressing, I flung myself upon my +leathern _catre_, and at once fell asleep. + +A few hours' repose had the desired effect, and restored both the +strength of my body and the vigour of my mind. I awoke full of health +and hope. A world of sweet anticipations was before me. The sky and +fortune were both smiling. + +I made my toilette with some care--my _desayuna_ with less--and then, +with lighted cigar, ascended to my favourite lounge on the azotea. + +The beautiful captive was in the midst of a crowd, proudly curving his +neck, as if conscious of the admiration he excited. The rangers, the +poblanas, the hucksters of the piazza, even some sulky leperos, stood +near, gazing with wondering eyes upon the wild-horse. + +"Splendid present!" thought I--"worthy the acceptance of a princess!" + +It had been my intention to make the offering in person--hence the care +bestowed upon my toilette. After more mature reflection, I abandoned +this design. + +I was influenced by a variety of considerations--one among others, being +a delicate apprehension that a persona visit from me might compromise +the family at the hacienda. The _patriotic_ sentiment was every day +growing more intense. Even the acceptance of a present was a dangerous +matter; but the steed was not to be a gift--only a return for the +favourite that had fallen by my hand--and I was not to appear in the +character of a donor. + +My sable groom, therefore, would convey the beautiful captive. Already +the white lazo, formed into a halter, was adjusted around the animal's +head, and the negro only awaited orders to lead him away. + +I confess that at that moment I felt somewhat annoyed at the publicity +of my affair. My rough rangers were men of keen intelligence. I could +tell from some whispers that had reached me, that one and all of them +knew _why_ I had gone upon the wild hunt, and I dreaded their +good-humoured satire. I would have given something at that moment to +have rendered the steed invisible--to have been able to transport him to +his destination, Venus-like, under cover of a cloud. I thought of +waiting for the friendly shelter of night. + +Just then, however, an incident occurred which gave me the very +opportunity I wanted--a scene so ludicrous, that the steed was no longer +the cynosure of admiring eyes. + +The hero of this scene was Elijah Quackenboss. + +Of all the men in my band, "Dutch Lige" was the worst clad. Not that +there was less money expended upon his outward man; but partly from his +ungainly form and loose untidy habits, and more, perhaps, from the wear +and tear caused by his botanising excursions, a suit of broadcloth did +not keep sound upon him for a week. He was habitually in tatters. + +The skirmish of the night had been profitable to Lige; it was his true +aim that had brought down one of the live guerrilleros. On his +asserting this, his comrades had laughed at it, as an idle vaunt; but +Quackenboss proved his assertion to be correct by picking his bullet out +of the man's body, and holding it up before their eyes. The peculiar +"bore" of his rifle rendered the bullet easy of identification, and all +agreed that Lige had shot his man. + +By the laws of ranger-war, the spoils of this particular individual +became the property of Quackenboss; and the result was, that he had +shaken off his tattered rags, and now appeared in the piazza in full +Mexican costume--comprising calzoneros, and calzoncillos, sash and +serape, jacket and glazed hat, botas with gigantic spurs--in short, a +complete set of ranchero habiliments! + +Never was such a pair of legs encased in Mexican velveteens--never were +two such arms thrust into the sleeves of an embroidered _jaqueta_; and +so odd was the _tout ensemble_ of the ranger thus attired, that his +appearance in the piazza was hailed by a loud burst of laughter, both +from his comrades and the natives who stood around. Even the gloomy +Indians showed their white teeth, and joined in the general chorus. + +But this was not the end. Among other spoils, Lige had made capture of +a Comanche mustang; and as his own war-horse had been for a long time on +the decline, this afforded him an excellent opportunity for a remount. +Some duty of the day had called him forth, and he now appeared in the +piazza leading the mustang, to which he had transferred his own saddle +and bridle. A fine handsome horse it appeared. More than one of his +comrades envied him this splendid prize. + +The laughter had scarcely subsided, when the order was given to mount; +and with others, Quackenboss sprang to his horse. But his hips were +hardly snug in the saddle, when the wicked Comanche "humped" his back, +and entered upon a round of kicking which seemed to exhibit every pose +and attitude of equestrian exercise. First his hind feet, then his fore +ones, then all together, could be seen glancing in the air. Now a hoof +whizzed past the ear of the affrighted rider, now a set of teeth +threatened his thighs, while every moment he appeared in danger of being +hurled with violence to the earth. The sombrero had long since parted +from his head, and the rifle from his hand; and what with the flapping +of the wide trousers, the waving of the loose serape, the dancing of the +steel scabbard, the distracted motion of the rider's arms, his lank +streaming hair, and look of terror--all combined to form a spectacle +sufficiently ludicrous; and the whole crowd was convulsed with laughter, +while the piazza rang with such shouts as "Bravo!" + +"Well done, Lige!" + +"Hooraw for you, old beeswax!" + +But what surprised his comrades was the fact that Quackenboss still kept +his seat. It was well known that he was the worst rider in the troop; +yet, despite all the doubling and flinging of the mustang, that had now +lasted for several minutes, he was still safe in the saddle. He was +winning golden opinions upon the strength of his splendid horsemanship. +The rangers were being astonished. + +All at once, however, this mystery was explained, and the cause of his +firm seat discovered. One of the bystanders, sharper than the rest, had +chanced to look under the belly of the mustang, and the next moment +shouted out-- + +"Hoy! look yonder! by Geehorum, _his spars are clinched_!" + +All eyes were lowered, and a fresh peal of laughter broke forth from the +crowd as they perceived that this was in reality the case. + +Lige, upon mounting--under the suspicion that the mustang was disposed +for a fling--had clutched firmly with his legs; and these, on account of +their extreme length, completely enveloped the body of the animal, so +that his heels met underneath. He had forgotten his new spurs, the +rowels of which, six inches in diameter, irritated the mustang, and were +no doubt the cause of such violent kicking. These, after a few turns +had got "locked," and of course held Quackenboss as firmly as if he had +been strapped to the saddle. But as the rowels were now buried in the +ribs of the mustang, the fierce brute, maddened with the pain, only grew +more furious at each fling, and it was natural enough he should do his +utmost to rid himself of so cruel a rider. + +How long he might have kept up the pitching frolic before his +involuntary tormentor could have freed himself, is a matter of +conjecture. It would have been an unfortunate "fix" to have been placed +in, alone upon the prairies. + +Lige, however, found a compassionate bystander; who, having flung his +lazo around the neck of the mustang brought the spectacle to a +termination. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. + +A LOVER ON THE TRAIL. + +Taking advantage of the distraction caused by Quackenboss and his +troubles, I despatched the black upon his interesting errand, and with +no slight anxiety awaited the result. + +From my position on the roof, I saw my messenger climb the hill, leading +the proud steed, and saw him enter the great portal of the hacienda. + +Promptly--almost directly--the groom came out again _without_ the horse. +The present had been accepted. So far well. + +I counted the moments, till heavy footsteps were heard upon the +escalera, and a shining black face rose over the roof. + +There was no letter, no message beyond "_mil gracias_." + +I felt a pang of chagrin. I had expected thanks more formal than this +mere phrase of compliment. + +My man appeared better satisfied. A gold _onza_ gleamed in his purple +palm--a handsome perquisite. + +"By whom given?" I inquired. + +"Golly, mass cap'n, a gal guv it! De handsomest quaderoom gal dis nigga +ever see." + +Beyond a doubt, Isolina herself was the donor! + +I could have broken the rascal's thick skull, but that the queenly +douceur gave proof of the satisfaction with which my offering had been +received. Even on this trivial circumstance, I built my hopes of yet +receiving a fuller meed of thanks. + +Absorbed in these hopes, I continued to pace the azotea alone. + +It was a _dia de fiesta_ in the rancheria. Bells had already commenced +their clangour, and other notes of rejoicing fell upon the ear. The +poblanas appeared in their gayest attire--the Indians in bright naguas, +with red and purple threads twisted in their black hair; the denizens of +the ranchitos were pouring into the piazza, and processions were being +formed by the church; _jararas_ were twanging their guitar-like music; +and pyrotechnic machines were set up at the corners of the streets. +Tinsel-covered saints were carried about on the shoulders of painted +maskers; and there were Pilate and the Centurion, and the Saviour--a +spectacle absurd and unnatural; and yet a spectacle that may be +witnessed every week in a Mexican village, and which, with but slight +variation, has been exhibited every week for three centuries! + +I had no eyes for this disgusting fanfarronade of a degrading +superstition. Sick of the sight, wearied with the sounds, I had given +orders for my horse to be saddled, intending to ride forth and seek +repose for my spirit amid the silent glades of the chapparal. + +While waiting for my steed, an object came under my eyes that quickened +the beatings of my pulse: my gaze had been long turned in one +direction--upon the hacienda of Don Ramon de Vargas. + +Just then, I saw emerging from its gate, and passing rapidly down the +hill, a horse with a rider upon his back. + +The snow-white colour of this horse, and the scarlet manga of the +rider--both contrasting with the green of the surrounding landscape-- +could not escape observation even at that distance, and my eyes at once +caught the bright object. + +I hesitated not to form my conclusion. It was the white steed I saw; +and the rider--I remembered the manga as when first my eyes rested upon +that fair form--the rider was Isolina. + +She was passing down the slope that stretched from the hacienda to the +river, and the minute after, the thick foliage of the platanus trees +shrouded the shining meteor from my sight. + +I noticed that she halted a moment on the edge of the woods, and fancied +that she gazed earnestly towards the village; but the road she had taken +led almost in the opposite direction. + +I chafed with impatience for my horse. My resolve, made on the impulse +of the moment, was to follow the white steed and his scarlet-clad rider. + +Once in the saddle I hurried out of the piazza, passed the ranchos of +yucca, and reaching the open country, pressed my horse into a gallop. + +My road lay up the river, through a heavily timbered bottom of gum and +cotton-woods. These were thickly beset with the curious _tillandsia_, +whose silvery festoons, stretching from branch to branch, shrouded the +sun, causing amongst the tree-trunks the obscurity of twilight. + +In the midst of one of these shadowy aisles, I met or passed some one: I +saw that it was a Mexican boy; but the sombre light, and the rapidity +with which I was riding, prevented me from noting anything more. The +lad shouted after me, uttering some words, which were drowned by the +hoof-strokes of my horse. I deemed it some expression of boyish +_esprit_, and, without heeding it, rode on. + +Not until far out of sight and hearing did it occur to me that I knew +the voice and the lad. I recollected a sort of errand-boy attached to +the hacienda, and whom I had seen more than once at the rancheria. I +now remembered the badinage of Wheatley, and would have returned to +question the youth; but I had left him too far in the rear. After a +moment's reflection, I spurred on. + +I soon arrived at the base of the hill on which stood the hacienda; and +here leaving the main road, I followed a bridle-path that skirted the +hill. + +A few hundred yards brought me to the spot where I had last observed the +object of my pursuit. + +The hoof-track of the white horse now guided me, and upon his trail I +entered the woods. + +For some distance, it followed a well-trodden path--a cattle-track--but +all at once it diverged from this, and struck off into a heavily +timbered bottom, where not the semblance of path existed. + +Keeping the trace in view, I rode after. + +As I advanced, the timber grew thicker, and the path more difficult. A +close underwood of arundinaria and sabal palms shut up the way and the +view; trailing roots obstructed progress below; while higher up, the +trelliswork of llianas, bamboo briars, sarsaparilla, and gigantic +grape-vines, rendered it necessary to bend down in the saddle in order +to pass onward. + +To my surprise I noticed all this. For what purpose could she have +chosen such a path? Was it indeed Isolina I had seen? A white horse +and a scarlet manga are not uncommon things in Mexico. It might not +be--But the hoof-print-- + +I dismounted and examined it: I knew it at a glance--it was that of the +noble steed, and the rider could be no other than Isolina de Vargas. + +No longer in doubt, though still wondering, I followed the tracks. + +For a half-mile or more, the path meandered through thick forest, here +turning around some giant trunk, there diverging to the right or left, +to avoid the impervious network of canes and llianas. + +At length it began to slope upwards; and I perceived by the ascent that +I was climbing a hill. The woods became more open as I advanced--here +and there alternating with glades--the trees were of slender growth, and +the foliage lighter and thinner. I was no longer among the heavy trunks +of platanus and liquidambar. The _leguminoseae_ were the prevailing +trees; and many beautiful forms of inga, acacia, and mimosa, grew +around. Myrtles, too, mingled their foliage with wild limes, their +branches twined with flowering parasites, as the climbing _combretum_, +with its long flame-like clusters, convolvuli, with large white +blossoms, and the beautiful twin-leaved bauhinia. + +It was a wild garden of flowers--a shrubbery of nature's own planting. +The eye, wandering through the vistas and glades, beheld almost every +form of inflorescence. There were the trumpet-shaped bignonias-- +convolvuli in pendulous bells--syngenesists disposed in spreading +umbels; and over them, closely set upon tall spikes, rose the showy +blossoms of the bromelias--aloes and _dasylyrium_. Even from the tops +of the highest trees hung gaudy catkins, wafted to and fro by the light +breeze, mingling their sheen and their perfume with the floral +_epiphytes_ and parasites that clustered around the branches. + +I could not help thinking that these flowers are gifted with life, and +enjoy, during their short and transient existence, both pleasure and +pain. The bright warm sun is their happiness, while the cold cloudy sky +is the reflection of their misery. + +As I rode onward, another reflection passed through my mind; it was +caused by my perceiving that the atmosphere was charged with pleasant +perfumes--literally loaded with fragrance. I perceived, moreover, that +the same breeze carried upon its breath the sweet music of birds, whose +notes sounded clear, soft, and harmonious. + +What closet-slanderer hath asserted that the flowers of this fair land +are devoid of fragrance--that its birds, though brightly plumed, are +songless? + +Ah, Monsieur Buffon! with all your eloquence, such presumptive assertion +will one day strip you of half your fame. You could never have +approached within two hundred paces of a _Stanhopea_, of the _epidendrum +odoratum_, of the _datura grandiflora_, with its mantle of snow-white +blossoms? You could never have passed near the pothos plant, the +serbereae, and tabernamon taneae, the callas, eugenias, ocotas, and +nictiginas?--you could never have ridden through a chapparal of acacias +and mimosas--among orchids whose presence fills whole forests with +fragrant aroma? + +And more, Monsieur! you could never have listened to the incomparable +melody of the mock-bird--the full, charming notes of the blue +song-thrush--the sweet warbling voices of the silvias, finches, and +tanagers, that not only adorn the American woods with their gorgeous +colours, but make them vocal with never-ending song? + +No, Monsieur! you could never have inhaled the perfume of these flowers, +nor listed to the melody of these sweet songsters; and sad it was of +you, and silly as sad, to have yielded to the prejudice of a slender +spirit, and denied their existence. Both exist--the singing birds and +the fragrant flowers--both exist, and thou art gone. + +On such reflections I dwelt but for a moment; they were merely the +natural impressions of surrounding objects--short-lived sensations, +almost instantaneously passing away. The soul, benighted with love, has +neither eye nor ear for aught beyond the object of its passion. From +the contemplation of that only does it derive pleasure; and even the +fairest pictures of nature may be spread before it without challenging +observation. It was only that the one through which I was passing was +of such transcendent beauty--so like to some scene of paradise--that I +could not help regarding it with momentary admiration. + +But my eyes soon returned to the earth, and once more taking up the +trace of the steed, I rode on. + +I had advanced near the summit. The tracks were quite recent; the +branches that had been touched by the flanks of the horse had not yet +ceased to vibrate; the rider could not be far in advance. I fancied I +heard the hoof-stroke. + +Silently I pressed on, expecting every moment to catch the gleam of the +scarlet manga, or the white sheen of the steed. + +A few paces farther, and both were under my eyes, glittering through the +feathery frondage of the mimosas. I had followed the true track. The +rider was Isolina. + +I saw that she had halted. She had reached the top of the hill, where +the growth of timber ceased. An opening of about an acre there was, +surrounded on all sides by the flowery woods--the very _beau-ideal_ of a +summer glade. The open summit commanded a view of the surrounding +country--for the hill was a high one--while the charming spot itself +enjoyed perfect privacy and repose. + +In this glade, she had drawn up, and was sitting silently in the saddle +as if to enjoy the warbling of birds, the hum of the bees, and the +fragrance of flowers. + +I myself drew rein, and remained for some moments in a state of +hesitancy, as to whether I should ride forward or go back. A feeling of +shame was upon me, and I believe I would have turned my horse and stolen +gently away, but just then I saw the fair rider draw forth from her +bosom something that glittered in the sun. It was a watch, and she +appeared to note the time. I observed that she looked anxiously over +the tops of the low trees, in the direction of the plain below. + +These circumstances, trivial as they might appear, produced within me a +quick sense of pain. I felt as if hot steel was passing through my +heart. I had ridden to my ruin--I had followed to be present at an +assignation. Thus only could I explain the solitary ride, and by such +difficult and devious paths; thus only could I account for the +oft-repeated anxious glance, the ear acutely bent. Beyond a doubt, she +was listening for the footsteps of a lover! + +The rein fell from my fingers. I sat irresolute--I scarcely breathed-- +my heart felt cold and feeble--the birds mocked me--the parrots +screeched his name--the _aras_ in hoarse concert cried out "_Ijurra_!" + +The name nerved me, as blood knits the sinews of the tiger. Once more +my fingers closed upon my bridle, my feet became firm in the stirrups, +and heart and arm swelled to their full strength. 'Twas but a light +rapier that hung against my thigh--no matter; he might be no better +weaponed; but even armed from head to heel, I feared him not. Three +passions--hatred, jealousy, and revenge--supplied an arm of treble +strength, and under the influence of these I felt bold and sure of +conquest. Yes, I felt at that moment, as though I could have slain my +hated rival with my naked hands. + +I was no longer troubled with scruples of etiquette. No; this monster +owed me satisfaction--life itself: he had striven to take mine; and now +his should be forfeit to my vengeance. On that spot--even in her +presence--should he die, or I myself become the victim. The two of us +should never go thence alive. "Oh, that he may reach the ground while +my blood is thus hot, and my hand ready!" + +The fierce thoughts stirring within me must have roused my horse, for at +that moment he tossed his head and neighed wildly. A response came like +an echo from the glade, and the instant after, a voice called out.-- + +"_Hola! quien va_?" + +Concealment was no longer possible. I saw that I was observed; and, +spurring my horse into the open ground, I rode up, and halted face to +face with Isolina. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SIX. + +A DECLARATION ON HORSEBACK. + +Face to face with my beautiful brunette. Her eyes flashed upon me with +an expression of surprise. I felt abashed by the glance; my conduct was +not _en regle_. + +I bethought me of an apology. What excuse could I offer for such +unceremonious intrusion? Accident? She would not believe it; the time +and the place were against such a supposition. With an intellect like +hers, it would be idle to adopt so shallow an artifice. No; I would not +dissemble; I would boldly avow the truth. Jealousy had rendered me +reckless of the result. + +"_Adios, cavallero_!" said she, interrupting my hurried reflections. +"_Carrambo_! where is your guide? How have you found this place?" + +"Easily enough, senorita; I followed the tracks of your horse." + +"But so soon--I did not expect you--" + +"No; you expected another?" + +"Certainly. I thought Cyprio would arrive before you--" + +"Cyprio!" + +"Cyprio--yes, Cyprio." + +"Senorita! if this be another name for your Protean cousin, I have to +say it will be better for him he should not arrive at all." + +"My cousin?--better not arrive? Holy Trinity, capitan! I do not +comprehend you!" + +Her large brown eyes were rolling in astonishment. I was as much +puzzled as she, but I had begun my explanation, and was determined to +carry it to the end. + +"Then, Senorita de Vargas, I shall be more explicit. If Rafael Ijurra +appear upon this ground, either he or I leave it not alive. He has +attempted my life, and I have vowed to take his, whenever and wherever I +may meet him." + +"Pray heaven you may keep your vow!" + +"Your cousin?" + +"My cousin--Rafael Ijurra--my worst foe--the direst enemy of our house!" + +"Ha! and were you not waiting him?" + +"Awaiting _him_! Ha, ha, ha! No. Little timid though I be, I should +not desire to be here alone with Rafael Ijurra." + +"Lady! you astonish me; pray explain--" + +"_Por dios_! gallant capitan, 'tis you who need explain. I sought this +interview to thank you for your noble gift. You meet me with anger in +your eye, and bitter words upon your tongue." + +"You sought this interview?--say you so, lady?" + +"Certainly I did. For reasons already known to you, I dared not invite +you to our house; so I have chosen this pretty glade for my +drawing-room. How do you like it, cavallero?" + +"In your society, senorita, the rudest spot would appear a paradise." + +"Again the poet's tongue! Ah, capitan, remember the yellow domino! No +more flattery, I pray; we are no longer _en masque_. Face to face, let +us be candid with each other." + +"With all my heart I accept the conditions. Candour is the very thing I +desire, for, to say the truth, I came prepared for a confession." + +"A confession!" + +"Precisely so; but since you are an advocate for candour, may I first +ask a question?" + +"Ho! you wish to play the confessor with me?" + +"I do, senorita." + +"Bravo, capitan! Proceed! I shall answer you in all sincerity." + +"Then, lady, what I would ask first--Who is this Cyprio whom you +expected?" + +"Cyprio! Ha, ha, ha! Who should Cyprio be but my mozo; he who carried +my message to you. Why do you put such a question?" + +"He who carried your message to me?" + +"Of course. Yonder is the _muchaco_ himself. Hola, Cyprio! you may +return to the house. _Carrambo_ capitan! both he and you must have sped +well. I did not expect you for half-an-hour; but you soldiers are soon +in the saddle. So much the better, for it is getting late, and I have a +great deal to say to you." + +A light had broken upon me. 'Twas Cyprio I had passed in the forest +shade; the boy was the bearer of a message--hence his having hailed me. +'Twas I who was expected to keep the assignation; 'twas I for whom the +timepiece had been consulted--for whom those earnest glances had been +given! + +The bitter moments were past, and my heart swelled anew with proud and +pleasant emotions. + +As yet she knew not that I had come without invitation. Cyprio, at the +word of command, had gone off without making any reply, and my prompt +appearance upon the ground was still unexplained. + +I was about to account for it, and offer some apology for my brusque +behaviour, when I was challenged to the confession I had just promised. + +Minor thoughts gave way before the important purpose I had formed, and +to which the banter now recalled me. So fair an opportunity might never +offer again. In the vicissitudes of a soldier's life, the chance of +to-day should not be disregarded--to-morrow may bring change either in +the scene or the circumstances; and I was skilled enough in love-lore to +know that an hour unimproved is often followed by an age of regrets. + +But, in truth, I do some wrong to my character; I was but little under +the influence of such cunning cognisance at that moment. I acted not by +volition, but rather under pressure of a passion that held complete +mastery over my will, and compelled me to the declaration I was about to +make. + +It was simple enough--three little words in either of the two sweet +tongues in which we understood each other. I chose the one--of all +others most attuned to the tones of the loving heart--and bending low to +that fair face, and gazing into the liquid depths of those large +inquiring eyes, I whispered the sweet, though oft-repeated phrase-- + +"_Yo te amo_." + +The words quivered upon my lips, but their tone proved the sincerity in +which I had spoken. No doubt it was further manifest by the earnestness +of my manner as I awaited her reply. + +The habitual smile had departed from her lips; the damask red deepened +and mounted higher upon her cheeks; the dark fringes drooped downward, +and half-concealed the burning orbs beneath: the face of the gay girl +had suddenly assumed the serious air of womanhood. + +At first, I was terrified by the expression, and could scarcely control +my dread; but I drew hope from the flushed cheek, the roseate neck, the +swelling panting bosom. Strong emotions were stirring in that breast. + +Oh, what emotions! will she not speak? Will she not declare them? + +There was a long interval of silence--to me, it seemed an age. + +"Senor," she said at length--'twas the first time I had heard that voice +tremble--"Senor, you promised to be candid; you have been so: are you +equally _sincere_?" + +"I have spoken from the depth of my soul." + +The long lashes were raised, and the love-light gleamed in her liquid +eyes; for a moment it burned steadily, bathing my heart as with balm. +Heaven itself could not have shed a brighter beam upon my spirit. + +All at once a smile played upon her features, in which I detected, or +fancied so, the gay _insouciance_ that springs from indifference. To me +it was another moment of pain. She continued-- + +"And pray, capitan, what would you have _me_ do?" + +I felt embarrassed, and replied not. + +"Would you have me declare that I love you?" + +"Oh! you cannot--you do not--" + +"You have not asked the question!" + +"No, lady. I too much dread the answer." + +"Ho! what a coward you have grown of late! A pity I am not masked. +Shall I draw this veil? Ha, ha, ha!" + +It was not the manner of love. Love laughs not. My heart was heavy; I +made no reply, but with eyes upon the ground, sat in my saddle, feeling +like one condemned. + +For some moments her laughter rang in my ears, as I fancied, in mockery. +Her sweet silvery voice only grated upon my heart. Oh, that I had +never listened to its siren tones! + +I heard the hoof-stroke of her horse; and, looking up, saw that she was +moving away from the spot. Was she going to leave me thus? + +She spurred towards the centre of the glade, where the ground was +higher, and there again pulled up. + +"Come hither, cavallero!" she cried, beckoning to me with her small +gloved hand. + +Mechanically, I moved forward to the spot. + +"So, gallant capitan! you who are brave enough to meet a score of foes, +have not the courage to ask a woman if she loves you!" + +A dismal smile was my only reply to this bitter badinage. + +"Ah! capitan," she continued, "I will not believe it; ere now you have +put that dreaded interrogatory--often, I fear too often." + +I looked at her with surprise. There was a touch of bitterness in the +tone. The gay smile was gone; her eyelids drooped; her look was turned +upon the ground. + +Was this real, or only a seeming? the prelude to some abrupt antithesis? +some fresh outburst of satire? + +"Senorita!" said I, "the hypothesis, whether true or false, can have but +little interest for you." + +She answered me with a smile of strange intelligence. I fancied there +was sadness in it. I fancied-- + +"We cannot recover the past," said she, interrupting my thoughts; "no, +no, no! But for the present--say again--tell me again that you love +me!" + +"Love you!--yes, lady--" + +"And I have your heart, your whole heart?" + +"Never--can I love another!" + +"Thanks! thanks!" + +"No more than thanks, Isolina?" + +For some moments she remained silent, her eyes averted from me; she +appeared struggling with some emotion. + +"Yes, more than thanks," she replied at length; "gratitude! three things +more--if they will suffice to prove my gratitude." + +"Name them!" + +"Why should prudery tie my tongue? I promised to be candid. I, too, +came here to make confession. Listen! Three things I have said. Look +around you!--north, south, east, and west--the land you see is mine; be +it yours, if you will." + +"Isolina!" + +"This, too, can I bestow,"--she held forth her little hand, which I +clasped with fervid emotion. + +"More! more! the third?" + +"The third, on second thoughts, I cannot give; 'tis yours already." + +"It is--?" + +"_Mia corazon_" (My heart). + +Those splendid steeds, like creatures of intelligence, appeared to +understand what was said; they had gradually moved closer and closer, +till their muzzles touched and their steel curbs rang together. At the +last words, they came side by side, as if yoked in a chariot. It +appeared delight to them to press their proud heaving flanks against +each other, while their riders, closing in mutual clasp, leaned over and +met their lips in that wild fervid kiss--the climax of love. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. + +STRAYED FROM THE TRACK. + +We parted upon the top of the hill. It was not prudent for us to be +seen riding together, and Isolina went away first, leaving me in the +glade. + +We had bidden adieu in that phrase of pleasant promise, "_hasta la +manana_" (until to-morrow). To-morrow we should meet again. To-morrow, +and to-morrow, we should visit that sweet spot, repeat our burning +words, renew our blissful vows. + +I remained some minutes on the ground, now hallowed and holy. Within, +the tumult of triumphant passion had passed, and was succeeded by the +calm repose of perfect contentment. My heart's longings had been +gratified; it had found all that it desired--even to the full +reciprocity of its passion. What would it more? There is no more of +mundane bliss. Life has no felicity to cope with requited love; it +alone can give us a foretaste of future joys; by it only may we form +some idea of the angel existence of heaven. + +The world without was in harmony with the spirit within. The scene +around me was rose-coloured. The flowers appeared fresher in tint, and +breathed a sweeter fragrance in the air; the hum of the homeward bee, +laden with treasures for his love-queen, fell with a dreamy pleasance +upon the ear; the voices of the birds sounded softer and more musical; +even the _aras_ and paroquets, chanting in a more subdued tone, no +longer pronounced that hated name; and the tiny Mexican doves, _las +palomitas_--scarcely so large as finches--walked with proud gait over +the ground, or side by side upon the branches of the myrtles--like types +of tender love--told their heart's tale in soft and amorous cooing. + +Long could I have lingered by that consecrated spot, even _hasta la +manana_, but duty claimed me, and its calls must not be disregarded. +Already the setting sun was flinging purple beams over the distant +prairie; and, heading my horse down the hill, I once more plunged under +the shadows of the mimosas. + +Absorbed in my supreme happiness, I took no heed of aught else; I +noticed neither track nor path. + +Had I left my horse to himself, most likely he would have taken the +right road; but in my reverie, perhaps I had mechanically dragged upon +the rein, and turned him from it. Whether or not, after a lapse of +time, I found myself in the midst of thick woods, with not the semblance +of a trail to guide me; and I knew not whether I was riding in the right +direction. I ought rather to say that I knew the contrary--else I must +long before have reached the clearings around the village. + +Without much reflection, I turned in a new direction, and rode for some +time without striking a trail. This led me once more into doubt, and I +made head back again, but still without success. I was in a +forest-plain, but I could find no path leading anywhere; and amid the +underwood of palmettoes I could not see any great distance around me. +Beyond a question, I had strayed far out of my way. + +At an early hour of the day, this would have given me little concern; +but the sun had now set, and already under the shadow of the +moss-covered trees, it was nearly dark. Night would be down in a few +minutes, and in all probability I should be obliged to spend it in the +forest--by no means an agreeable prospect, and the less so that I was +thinly clad and hungry. True, I might pass some hours in sweet +reflection upon the pleasant incident of the day--I might dream rosy +dreams--but, alas! the soul is sadly under the influence of the body; +the spiritual must ever yield to the physical, and even love itself +becomes a victim to the vulgar appetite of hunger. + +I began to fear that, after all, I should have but a sorry night of it. +I should be too hungry to think; too cold either to sleep or dream; +besides, I was likely to get wet to the shirt--as the rain had commenced +falling in large heavy drops. + +After another unsuccessful effort to strike a trail, I pulled up and sat +listening. My eyes would no longer avail me; perhaps my ears might do +better service. + +And so it chanced. The report of a rifle reached them, apparently fired +some hundred yards off in the woods. + +Considering that I was upon hostile ground, such a sound might have +caused me alarm; but I knew from the sharp whip-like crack that the +piece was a hunter's rifle, and no Mexican ever handled a gun of that +kind. Moreover, I had heard, closely following upon the shot, a dull +concussion, as of some heavy body dropped from a high elevation to the +ground. I was hunter enough to know the signification of this sound. +It was the game--bird or beast--that had fallen from a tree. + +An American must have fired that shot; but who? There were only three +or four of the rangers who carried the hunter-rifle--a very different +weapon from the "regulation" piece--old backwoodsmen who had been +indulged in their whim. It might be one of these. + +Without hesitation, I headed my horse for the spot, and rode as rapidly +as the underwood would permit me. + +I kept on for five minutes or more without halting. I certainly must +have passed the place where the shot had been fired, and yet I saw no +one; but just as I was about to pull up again, a well-known voice +reached me from behind with the words-- + +"By the jumpin Geehosophat! it ur the young fellur--the capt'n!" + +Turning, I beheld my trapper comrades just emerging from the bushes, +where they had cautiously _cached_ themselves, on hearing the +hoof-strokes of my horse, and lain hid till I had passed them. + +Rube carried upon his shoulders a large turkey gobbler--the game I had +heard drop--while upon Garey's back I observed the choice portions of a +deer. + +"You have been foraging to some advantage," I remarked as they came up. + +"Yes, capt'n," replied Garey, "_we_ won't want for rashuns. Not but +that your rangers offered us a plenty to eat; but ye see we couldn't in +honour accept o' it, for we promised to find for ourselves." + +"Ye-es, durn it!" added Rube, "we're free mountainee men--ain't a gwine +to sponge on nobody--we ain't." + +"An', capt'n," continued Garey, "thar don't appear to be any great +eatin' fixins about the place for yurself neyther: if yu'll just accept +o' the turkey, and one o' these hyar quarters o' the deer-meat, thar's +plenty left for Rube an' me; ain't thar, Rube?" + +"Gobs!" was the laconic answer. + +I was not loath to satisfy the wish of the hunters--for to say the +truth, the village larder had no such delicacies as either wild turkey +or venison--and having signified my assent, we all three moved away from +the spot. With the trappers for my guides, I should soon get into the +right road. They, too, were on their return to the post. They had been +in the woods since noon. They were both afoot, having left their horses +at the rancheria. + +After winding about half-a-mile among the trees, we came out upon a +narrow road. Here my companions, who were unacquainted with the +neighbourhood, were at fault as well as myself: and knew not which +direction to take. + +It was dark as pitch, but, as on the night before, there was lightning +at intervals. Unlike the preceding night, however, it was now raining +as if all the sluices of the sky had been set open; and by this time we +were all three of us soaking wet. The whole canopy of heaven was +shrouded in black, without a single streak of light upon it--not even a +star. Who could discover the direction in such a night? + +As the lightning flashed, I saw Rube bending down over the road; he +appeared to be examining the tracks. I noticed that there were +wheel-tracks--deep ruts--evidently made by the rude block-wheels of a +_carreta_. It was these that the trapper was scanning. + +Almost as soon as a man could have read the direction from a +finger-post, Rube raised himself erect, and crying out-- + +"All right--this-away!" set off along the road. + +I was curious to know how he had determined the point, and questioned +him. + +"Wal, yur see, young fellur, it ur the trail o' a Mexikin cart; an' +anybody as iver seed thet ur vamint, knows it hez got only two wheels. +But thur are four tracks hyur, an' thurfor the cart must a gone back an' +fo'th, for I seed they wur the same set o' wheels. Now, 'tur raizonable +to s'pose thet the back-track leads to the settlements, an' thet's +thisaway." + +"But how could you tell which was the back-track?" + +"Wagh! thet ur easy as fallin' off a log. The back track ur the fresher +by more'n a kupple o' hours." + +Pondering upon the singular "instinct" that enabled our guide to +distinguish the tracks, I rode on in silence. + +Shortly after, I again heard the voice of Rube, who was some paces in +the advance. + +"I kud a knowd the way," he said, "'ithout the wheel-tracks: they only +made things more sartint sure." + +"How?" I asked. "What other clue had you?" + +"The water," replied he; "'ee see, or 'ee mout, ef you'd a looked into +the tracks, thet it ur runnin' this-away. Do ee hear thet thur?" + +I listened. I heard distinctly the sound of running water, as of a +small stream carried down a rough rocky channel. + +"Yes--I hear it, but how should the water guide you?" + +"Wal," continued the trapper, "it ur a branch made by the rain: we're a +follerin it down; an' thurfor must kum to the river jest whur we want to +git. Oncest thur, we'll soon find our way, I reck'n. Wagh! how the +durned rain kums down! It 'ud drown a muss-rat. Wagh!" + +The result proved the trapper's reasoning correct. The road-water was +running in the direction we had taken; and shortly after, the brawling +branch shot out from among the bushes, and crossed our path, diverging +from it at an acute angle. We could see, however, as we plunged through +the now swollen streamlet, that the current, in its general direction, +was the same with our road: it would certainly guide us to the river. + +It did so. Half a mile farther on we came out upon its banks, and +struck the main road leading to the rancheria. + +A few minutes' brisk travelling carried us to the outskirts of the +village, and we expected soon to be under shelter, when we were all +three brought to a sudden halt by the sharp hail of the sentry, who +called out the usual interrogatory-- + +"Who goes there?" + +"Friends!" I replied; "'tis you, Quackenboss?" + +I had recognised the voice of the soldier-botanist, and under the +lightning saw him standing by the trunk of a tree. + +"Halt! Give the countersign!" was the response in a firm, determined +tone. + +I did not know this masonic pass-word. On riding out, I had not thought +of such a thing, and I began to anticipate some trouble. I resolved, +however, to make trial of the sentry. + +"We haven't got the countersign. 'Tis I, Quackenboss. I am--" + +I announced my name and rank. + +"Don't care for all that!" was the somewhat surly rejoinder; "can't pass +'ithout the countersign." + +"Yer durned fool! it's yur captin," cried Rube, in a peevish tone. + +"Maybe," replied the imperturbable sentry; "can't let him pass 'ithout +countersign." + +I now saw that we were in a real dilemma. + +"Send for the corporal of the guard, or either of the lieutenants," I +suggested, thinking that that might be the shortest way to get over the +difficulty. + +"Hain't got nobody to send," came the gruff voice of Quackenboss from +out the darkness. + +"I'll go!" promptly answered Garey--the big trapper thinking, in his +innocence, there could be no reason why _he_ should not carry the +message to quarters--and as he spoke, he made a step or two forward in +the direction of the sentinel. + +"Halt there!" thundered the voice of Quackenboss; "halt! another step, +and I'll plug you with a bullet." + +"What's thet? plug, he sez?" screamed Rube, leaping to the front. +"Geezus Geehosophat! yu'll plug 'im, eh? Yur durned mulehead, if 'ee +shoot this way, it 'll be the last time yu'll ever lay claw to a +trigger. Now then!" and Rube stood with his rifle half raised to the +level, and threatening to raise it still higher. + +At that moment, the lightning gleamed; I saw the sentry with _his_ piece +also at a level. + +I well knew the accuracy of his aim; I trembled for the result. + +In my loudest voice I called out-- + +"Hold, Quackenboss! hold your fire! we shall wait till some one comes;" +and as I spoke, I caught both my companions, and drew them back. + +Whether it was the commanding tone of my voice, which the ranger had +heard before, or whether in the light he had recognised my features, I +saw him, before it darkened, lower his piece, and I felt easy again. + +But he still obstinately refused to let us pass. + +Further parley was to no purpose, and only led to an exchange of rather +rough compliments between Quackenboss and my two companions; so, after +endeavouring to make peace between them, I stood still to await the +chance of some one of the guard coming within hail. + +Fortunately, at that moment, a ranger, somewhat the worse for +aguardiente, appeared in the direction of the piazza. + +Quackenboss condescended to call him up; and after a crooked palaver, he +was despatched to bring the corporal of the guard. + +The arrival of the latter ended our troubles, and we were permitted to +reach the piazza without further hindrance; but as we passed the stern +sentry, I could hear Rube mutter to him-- + +"Ee durned mulehead! ef I hed ye out upon the parairas, wudn't I! +Wagh!" + + + +CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. + +AN ADIOS. + +To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow--a demi-lune of love, whose +every hour was consecrated to its god. At earliest dawn, by the rosy +rays of Aurora; at golden noon, shadowed under sweet acacias; in the +gleam of the purple twilight; 'neath the silvery light of the moon. + +That both laid our hearts upon his altar, and willing knelt before the +shrine, witness ye bright birds and perfumed flowers!--ye green myrtles +and mimosas!--witness ye blue skies of Anahuac! Ye alone were our +witnesses. + +For you who have loved, I need not portray the pleasure of this noble +passion; for you who have not loved, I cannot. Love is a delight that +may be known only to those who have experienced it. + +Ours was a half-month of happiness without alloy. True, there were +moments of pain--the moments of daily parting--but these were brief, and +perhaps only prevented the cloyment of too much joy--if such a thing be +possible. + +Moreover, these short-lived sorrows were in part neutralised by the +knowledge we should soon meet again; we never parted without exchanging +that fair promise. In the morning, it was "_hasta la tarde_;" at night, +our last words were "_manana por la manana_" Lovers have felt, and poets +have sung, the pleasures of hope; oft the anticipation of a pleasure +rivals in piquancy its actual enjoyment. + +Let memory not be forgotten; it, too, has its joys; and oh, how sweet +the retrospect of those blissful hours! If there was monotony, it was a +monotone of which my heart could never tire. It was an intoxication I +could have endured for life. There is no surfeit of such sweets. Why +are we not permitted to enjoy them for ever? Alas! there is an ending. + +There was so. A crisis came, and we must part--not with the pretty +promise upon our lips--"until the morning", "until the evening," but for +long weeks, months, maybe years--an uncertain time--"_hasta se acabo la +guerra_" (until the war is over). + +Oh, the misery of that parting! Cruel destiny of war! Never felt I so +weary of wearing a sword. + +There was a struggle 'twixt love and duty. No, not duty: I might have +sheathed my sword, and wronged no one; I was but a cipher among +thousands, whose blade would scarcely have been missed. Nor would I +have wronged myself. I was simply, as I have already declared, an +adventurer. The country for which I fought could not claim me; I was +bound by no political conscience, no patriotic _esprit_. Perhaps, now +and then, I entertained the idea that I was aiding the designs of +"manifest destiny"--that I was doing God's work in battling against the +despotic form. Yes, I may confess that such sparks glowed within me at +intervals, and at such intervals only did I feel enthusiasm in the +cause. But it was no consideration of this kind that hindered me from +deserting my banner. Far otherwise: I was influenced by a motive purely +selfish--pride. + +I could not--an adventurer almost penniless--I _would_ not presume to +claim that richly dowried hand. Fortune I might never have to equal +hers, but fame is worthy wealth, and glory mates with beauty. I knew +that I was gifted with an apt head and bold aspiring heart; I knew that +I carried a keen blade, and hoped to hew my way to rank and fame. +Perhaps I might return with a star upon my shoulder, and a better handle +to my name, and then-- + +Ah, for all that, it was a bitter parting! It was hard to list +unheeding to those earnest entreaties, adjuring me to stay--terrible to +entwine those tender arms--terrible to utter that last _adios_! + +Our troth was plighted within that same glade that had echoed our first +vows. It had been plighted a hundred times, but never sadly as now, +amidst sobs and tears. When the bright form, screened by the frondage, +had passed out of sight, I felt as if the sun had become suddenly +eclipsed. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I lingered not long, though I could have stayed for hours upon the +hallowed spot. Again duty, that stern commander, summoned me away. It +was already close upon sunset, and by to-morrow's dawn I must be _en +route_ with my troop. + +I was about heading my horse into the track, now well known to me; +Isolina had gone down the hill on the opposite side, by a path that led +more directly to the hacienda. From precaution this had been our +habitual mode of parting; and we also met from opposite sides. In the +wild region of the _cerro_--for by this name was the hill known--we +never encountered a human being. There was no habitation near, and the +vaqueros rarely strayed that way, so that our place of meeting remained +a secret--at least we fancied so--and we acted without much +apprehension, and perhaps without sufficient caution. Each hour we had +grown more confident of security, and, blinded by love, had taken less +pains to conceal the fact of our daily assignation. It was only that +morning I had heard a whisper that our affair was known, and that they +of the rancheria were not as benighted as we supposed them. Wheatley +was my informant--Conchita, his. The lieutenant had added some friendly +advice, cautioning me against the imprudence of going so far from the +post unattended. + +Perhaps I might have treated his remonstrance with less neglect; but as +this was to be our last meeting for a long time, my heart grew heavy +under the prospect of the parting scene. I preferred going +companionless; I had no apprehension that any enemy was near. As for +Ijurra, he was no longer in the neighbourhood; he had not been seen +since the night of the battle; and we had positive information that he +had joined his band with the guerrilla of the celebrated Canales, then +operating on the road between Camargo and Monterey. Indeed, had Ijurra +been near, he could hardly have escaped the keen search of Holingsworth +and the rangers, who, night and day, had been upon the scout, in hopes +of overhauling him. + +I was about turning into the old track, when a yearning came over me--a +desire to obtain one more look at my beloved. By this time she would +have reached her home; I should pass near the house; perhaps I might see +her upon the azotea--a distant glance--a wave of the hand--haply the +sweet prayer "_va con Dios_!" wafted upon the breeze: something of the +kind I anticipated. + +My horse seemed to divine my wishes; scarcely waiting for the guidance +of the rein, he moved forward upon the path taken by the steed of +Isolina. + +I soon reached the bottom of the hill, and, entering the heavy timber, +traversed a tangled wood--similar to that on the other side of the +cerro. There was no path, but the tracks of the white steed were easily +followed, and, guiding myself by them, I rode forward. + +I had not gone five hundred yards from the hill, when I heard voices +through, the woods, directly in front of me, and apparently at no great +distance. Years of frontier-life had imbued me with an intuitive +caution that resembled instinct; and, as if by mechanical effort, I +pulled up and listened. + +A woman was speaking; and instantly I recognised the voice. There was +but one that rang with that rich metallic tone. I might well remember +it, for the sweet, sad sounds of the _va con Dios_ had not yet ceased to +vibrate in my ears. + +With whom was she in converse? Whom had she encountered in such a +place, amid the wild woods? + +She ceased speaking. + +With ears keenly set, I listened for the rejoinder. Naturally, I +expected it in the voice of a man; but not that man. Oh, heavens! it +was the voice of Rafael Ijurra! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY NINE. + +THREATS. + +Yes, the voice was Ijurra's. I knew it well. While listening to it by +the mesa, I had noted its tones sufficiently to remember them--round, +sonorous, of true Spanish accent, and not inharmonious--though at that +moment they grated harshly upon my ear. + +An indescribable feeling came over me: it was not jealousy--I was too +confident to be jealous--and yet, I shame to confess, I felt a sensation +sadly akin to it. After those earnest oaths, those tears and frenzied +kisses--so soon after! Oh, shame upon me! + +Alas! the experienced heart no more enjoys the tranquil continuity of +faith. Its belief is like a broken dream--an intermittence of light and +shade. It was my misfortune, my error, perhaps my crime, to remember +too many pairs of pretty perjured lips. + +In a word, I was once more jealous, in spite of all that had passed--of +sighs, and tears, and plighted vows--once more jealous of Ijurra! + +But the moment before, his name was on her tongue, and spoken with +scorn; in the same breath I was assured that he was no longer in the +neighbourhood, that he was far away! + +No; he was upon the spot, in close conversation with her, and scarcely +five minutes after the oath had been sworn that bound her to me for +life! Less wonder I was jealous. That the feeling lasted only for an +instant might be some palliation, but it was no merit of mine that +brought it so quickly to a termination. I cannot screen my conduct +behind an act of volition; for although the poisoned sting rankled but +for a few seconds of time, during that short period I yielded obedience +to its demoniac promptings. + +I slipped down gently from my saddle; and with the crouching gait and +silent tread of the jaguar, approached the speakers. My horse, well +trained to such tactics stayed where I had dismounted, without tie or +hopple. No fear that his hoof would betray me. + +Step by step I advanced, with my hands cautiously parting the boughs. +The fronds of a curious sabal palm befriended me. They grew vertically +on short petioles, like large green fans; and overlying one another, +formed a perfect screen, through which the keenest eye could not +perceive the approach of an intruder. + +In a few seconds, I stood behind the last row that bounded the edge of a +small opening; and peering through the serrate interstices of the +leaves, I saw my betrothed and her cousin. + +Isolina was still in the saddle. Ijurra was on foot, and standing by +her stirrup, with one hand resting upon the pommel, the other grasping +the rein. + +Up to this moment, my heart had continued its painful throbbing; but the +attitude of Ijurra, with his troubled and angry look, at once produced a +revulsion in my feelings. I saw that the encounter had been +accidental--at least on the part of Isolina; I saw that she was +_detained_. + +I could not see her face; it was turned in the opposite direction, and +towards Ijurra; but the tones of her voice reached me, and by these I +perceived that she addressed him in anger. Oh, how those accents of +indignation ravished my heart; sweeter were they to me than the softest +melody! + +As yet, I had heard nothing of what had passed between them; the loud +beating of my heart, the rustling of the leaves under my feet, of the +boughs as I pressed through them, had prevented me from distinguishing +what was said. These sounds ceased as I came to a stop; and although +still fifty paces distant from the speakers, I could catch every word of +their conversation, favoured by the loud tone in which it was carried +on. + +"So, then, you refuse?" + +It was Ijurra who put this interrogatory. + +"I have done so before, Rafael; your conduct has given me no cause to +change my mind." + +"Ha! my conduct has nothing to do with it; you have other reasons. +Isolina, do not imagine I am such a _bobo_. I know your secret: you +love this _gringo_--this Yankee captain?" + +"And suppose I do, that is my affair. Nay, more, sir, shall not even +attempt to make a secret of it. I do love him--I do--I do." + +Ijurra's eyes gleamed with malignant fire; his lips turned white, and +tightened over his teeth; he seemed endeavouring to curb the exposure of +his spleen. + +"And you would marry him?" he asked with compressed emphasis. + +"I _shall_ marry him," was the prompt reply. + +"_Por todos santos_! it shall never be." + +"And who is to hinder it?" + +"I!" + +"Ha, ha, ha! You are raving, Rafael Ijurra!" + +"You may love him to your heart's content--I care not; but marry him-- +never! s'death! never!" + +"Indeed?" + +"By the saints, I swear it. I swear--" + +"You have sworn enough; you are sufficiently perjured already." + +"_Carrai_!" furiously shouted Ijurra, as if losing patience. "Listen to +me, Isolina de Vargas! I have something to say that may not be so +pleasant--" + +"You can say nothing pleasant; but I listen." + +"First, then, here are certain documents that concern you--both you and +your father." + +I saw some folded papers in his hand, which he had taken from under his +jacket. He opened and held them before her face, as he continued:-- + +"This safeguard is one given by the American commander-in-chief to the +Dona Isolina de Vargas. Perhaps you have seen it before? And here is a +letter from Don Ramon de Vargas to the commissary-general of the +American army, enclosed within another from that functionary to your pet +filibustero--a pretty piece of treason this!" + +"Well, sir?" + +"Not so well for you, madame. You forget that General Santa Anna is now +chief of this republic. Think you he will not punish such traitorous +correspondence! _Carrambo_! if I but lay these documents before his +Excellency, I shall have an order for the arrest of both yourself and +your father as quickly as it can be spoken. No more; the estate will be +proscript and confiscated--it will become mine--mine!" + +The speaker paused, as if for an answer. + +Isolina remained silent. I could not see her face to notice the effect. +I fancied that the threat had terrified her. Ijurra continued:-- + +"Now, senorita! you better comprehend our relative positions. Give your +consent to become my wife, and these papers shall be destroyed on the +instant." + +"Never!" was the firm response that delighted my ears. + +"Never!" echoed Ijurra; "then dread the consequences. I shall obtain +orders for your arrest, and as soon as this horde of Yankee ruffians has +been driven from the country, the property shall be mine." + +"Ha, ha, ha!" came the scornful laugh in reply--"ha, ha, ha! you +mistake, Rafael Ijurra; you are not so far-sighted as you deem yourself; +you forget that my father's land lies on the _Texan_ side of the Rio +Grande; and ere that horde of Yankee ruffians, as you term them, be +driven out, they will establish this river for their boundary. Where, +then, will lie the power of confiscation? Not with you, and your +cowardly master. Ha, ha, ha!" + +The reply maddened Ijurra still further, for he saw the probability of +what had been said. His face became livid, and he seemed to lose all +control of himself. + +"Even so," he shouted with the addition of a fierce oath--"even so, +_you_ shall never inherit those lands. Listen, Isolina de Vargas! +listen to another secret I have for you: know, senorita, that you are +not the lawful daughter of Don Ramon!" + +I saw the proud girl start, as if struck with an arrow. + +"I have the proofs of what I repeat," continued Ijurra; "and even should +the United States triumph, its laws cannot make _you_ legitimate. You +are not the heiress of the hacienda de Vargas!" + +As yet not a word from Isolina. She sat silent and motionless, but I +could tell by the rising and falling of her shoulders that a terrible +storm was gathering in her bosom. + +The fiend continued:-- + +"Now, madame, you may know how disinterested it was of me to offer you +marriage: nay, more, I never loved you; if I told you so, it was a +lie--" + +He never lied in his life as he was doing at that moment. His face +bespoke the falsehood of his words. It was the utterance of purest +spleen. I read in his look the unmistakable expression of jealousy. +Coarse as the passion may have been, he loved her--oh! how could it have +been otherwise? + +"Love you, indeed! Ha, ha, ha! love you--the daughter of a poor +Indian--a _margarita_!" + +The climax had come. The heaving bosom could bear silence no longer; +the insult was unendurable. + +"Base wretch!" cried she, in a voice of compressed agony, "stand aside +from my path!" + +"Not yet," answered Ijurra, grasping the bridle more firmly. "I have +something further to communicate--" + +"Villain! release the rein!" + +"Before I do, you shall promise--you shall swear--" + +"Again! let go! or this bullet to your heart!" + +I had sprung from out the thicket, and was running forward to her +rescue. I saw her right hand raised on high, and something shining in +its grasp. It was a pistol. Its muzzle was pointed at Ijurra. + +No doubt the resolute character of her who held it was well known to +him, for the threat produced an immediate effect; the coward relaxed his +hold, the reins dropped from his fingers, and with a mingled look of +hatred and fear, he stepped back a pace. + +The moment the bridle became free, the steed, already startled by the +spur, bounded forward; and after half-a-dozen springs, both horse and +rider disappeared behind the screen of the palmettoes. + +I was too late to play the knight-errant. The "ladye faire" had not +needed my help; she neither saw nor heard me; and by the time I arrived +upon the ground, she had passed out of sight, and Ijurra was alone. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY. + +AWKWARD ODDS. + +Ijurra was alone, and I continued to advance to the spot where he was +standing. His back was towards me, for he still fronted in the +direction in which Isolina had galloped off. He had followed her with +his eyes, with a cry of disappointed rage, with a threat of malignant +vengeance. + +The sound of his own voice hindered him from hearing mine, and he was +not aware of my presence, when I paused scarcely three feet from where +he stood, and directly behind him. + +I held my sword drawn; I could have thrust him in the back, through and +through again, before he could have offered either defence or +resistance. He was completely in my power. + +Fortunate was it for him at that moment that I had been bred a +gentleman, else in another instant his lifeless body would have lain at +my feet. A plebeian blade would have made short work with the ruffian, +and I confess that my instincts of fair-play were sorely tried. I had +before me a man who had sought my life--a deadly foe--a deadly foe to +her I loved--a perjured villain--a murderer! With such titles for +himself, he had none to the laws of honour; and I confess that for one +short moment, I felt like ignoring his claim. + +'Twas but for a moment: the thought revolted me. Wicked and worthless +as he was, I could not stab him in the back. + +I leaned forward, and tapping him upon the shoulder, pronounced his +name. + +It was the first intimation he had of my presence; and starting as if +hit by a bullet, he turned face towards me. The flush of anger upon his +cheek suddenly gave place to deadly pallor, and his eyes became set in +that peculiar stare that indicates an apprehension of danger. This he +must have felt keenly, for my determined look and drawn sword--to say +nothing of the surprise by which I had come upon him--were calculated to +produce that effect. + +It was the first time we had stood face to face, and I now perceived +that he was a much larger man than myself. But I saw, too, that his eye +quailed, and his lip quivered, at the encounter. I saw that he was +cowed; felt that I was his master. + +"You are Rafael Ijurra?" I repeated, as he had not made answer to my +first interrogation. + +"_Si, senor_," he answered hesitatingly. "What want you with me?" + +"You have some documents there," (he still held the papers in his hand); +"a portion of them belongs to me. I shall trouble you to hand them +over." + +"Are you Captain Warfield?" he asked, after a pause, at the same time +pretending to examine the superscription upon the commissary's letter. +I saw that his fingers trembled. + +"I am Captain Warfield--you ought to know by this time?" + +Without noticing the insinuation, he replied-- + +"True--there is a letter here bearing that address. I found it upon the +road: you are welcome to it, senor." + +As he said this, he handed me the commissary's order, still retaining +the other documents. + +"There was an enclosure. I perceive you have it in your hand. I beg +you will make me equally welcome to that." + +"Oh! a note signed Ramon de Vargas? It was an enclosure?" + +"Precisely so; and of course goes along with the letter." + +"Oh, certainly; here it is, senor." + +"There is still another little document in your possession--a safeguard +from the American commander granted to a certain lady. It is not yours, +Senor Ijurra! I beg you will deliver it to me. I wish to return it to +the lady to whom it belongs." + +This was the bitterest pill I had yet presented to him. He glanced +hastily first to the right and then to the left, as if desirous of +making escape. He would fain have done so, but I kept him under my eye, +and he saw that my hand was ready. + +"Certainly there is a safeguard," replied he, after a pause, and with a +feigned attempt at laughter. "'Tis a worthless document to me; 'tis at +your service, sir captain;" and as he handed me the paper, he +accompanied the act with another sorry cachinnation. + +I folded the precious documents, and thrust all three under the breast +of my coat; then placing myself in fighting attitude, I cried out to my +adversary to "draw and defend" himself. + +I had already noticed that he wore a sword, and, like myself, it +appeared to be the only weapon he carried. I saw no pistols upon his +person. I had none myself--nothing save a light cut-and-thrust sword. +It was far slighter than the sabre of my antagonist, but it was a weapon +that had seen service in my hands, and I had perfect confidence in it. +I had no fear for the result against so cowardly an adversary; I was not +awed, either by his heavier blade, or the superior size of his person. + +To my astonishment, he hesitated to unsheath his sword! + +"You _must_ draw," I shouted with emphasis. "You or I have now to die. +If you do not defend yourself, I shall run you through the body. +Coward! would you have me kill you with your blade in its sheath?" + +Even the taunt did not nerve him. Never saw I complete a poltroon. His +white lips trembled, his eyes rolled wildly from side to side, seeking +an opportunity to escape. I am certain that could he have hoped to get +clear, he would at that crisis have turned and run. + +All at once, and to my surprise, the coward appeared smitten with +courage; and, grasping the hilt of his sabre, he drew the blade ringing +from its scabbard, with all the energy of a determined man! His +reluctance to fight seemed suddenly to have forsaken him. Had I +mistaken my man? or was it despair that was nerving his arm? + +His cowed look had disappeared: his eyes flashed with fury and +vengeance; his teeth gritted together; and a fierce _carajo_ hissed from +his lips. + +Our blades met--the sparks crackled along the creasing steel, and the +combat began. + +Fortunate for me, that, in avoiding the first lunge of my antagonist, I +had to turn half round: fortunately I turned so soon, else I should +never have left that glade alive. + +As I faced in the new direction, I saw two men running towards us, sword +in hand. A single glance told me they were guerrilleros. They were +already within ten paces of the spot, and must have been seen long +before by Ijurra. + +This was the key to his altered demeanour. Their approach it was that +had inspired him with courage to begin the fight--for he had calculated +the time when they should be able to get up, and assail me from behind. + +"_Hola_!" shouted he, seeing that I had discovered them--"_Hola! El +Zorro_--_Jose! anda! anda! Mueran los Yankies! at muerte con el +picaro_!" + +For the first time, I felt myself in danger. Three swords to one was +awkward odds; and the red giant, with a companion nearly as large as +himself, would no doubt prove very different antagonists from the +poltroon with whom I was engaged. + +Yes, I was conscious of danger, and might have retreated, had I deemed +such a course possible; but my horse was too far off, and the new-comers +were directly in the path I should have to take to reach him. I could +not hope to escape on foot; I well knew that these men run as lightly as +Indians, for we had often proved their capacity in that accomplishment. +They were already _too_ near. I should be overtaken, struck down, +pierced, with my back to the foe. + +I had no time to reflect--just enough to leap back a pace or two, so as +to bring all three of them in front of me, when I found my sword +clashing against their blades, and parrying their blows one after the +other. + +I can describe the unequal combat no farther. It was a confused medley +of cut and thrust, in which I both gave wounds and received them. I was +wounded in several places, and felt the warm blood running under my +clothes and over my face. + +I grew wearied to death, and every second growing weaker and fainter. + +I saw the red giant before me with his hand raised on high. His blade +had already drawn my blood, and was crimsoned at the point; it was about +to descend with a finishing stroke. I should be unable to parry it, for +I had just exhausted my strength in guarding against a blow from Ijurra. +My hopeless peril wrung from me a cry of despair. + +Was it my cry that caused the blade to drop from the hand of my +antagonist, and the uplifted arm to fall loosely by his side? Was it my +cry that created the consternation suddenly visible in the faces of my +foes? I might have fancied so, had I not heard a sharp crack from +behind, and seen that the arm of El Zorro was broken by a shot! + +It seemed like the awaking from some horrid dream. One moment I was +battling, face to face, with three desperate men; the instant after, +their backs were towards me, and all three were running as for life! + +I followed them with my eyes, but not far; for at twenty paces off they +plunged into the thicket, and disappeared. + +I turned in the opposite direction. A man was running across the open +ground with a gun in his hand. He was advancing towards the spot where +I stood. It was he who had fired the shot. I saw that he was in +Mexican costume; surely he was one of the guerrilleros--he had aimed at +me, and wounded his comrade? + +For some seconds, I fancied that such might be the case. Evidently he +was bolder than any of the three, for he continued to advance, as if +determined to attack me alone! + +I placed myself in readiness for this new antagonist--taking a fresh +grasp on my sword, and wiping the blood from my eyes, that I might the +better receive him. + +It was not until he was close to the point of my blade, that I +recognised the long ape-like arms, and crooked mateless limbs, of Elijah +Quackenboss! + +The ranger, after delivering his fire, had not waited to reload, but ran +forward with the intention of joining me in the hand-to-hand fight-- +though he carried no other weapon than his empty gun. But this would +have been an efficient arm in such hands; for, despite his unsymmetrical +build, Dutch Lige was stalwart and though, and would have been a full +match for any two of my assailants, had they stood their ground. + +But the crack of the gun had set them off like deer. They fancied, no +doubt, that a stronger force was near; perhaps they remembered the +terrible rifles of the trappers, and no doubt believed it was they who +had arrived to the rescue. Indeed, such was my own belief, until I saw +the oddly-costumed ranger bounding towards the spot. + +A glance satisfied me that I owed my preservation to Lige's love of +botanical science. A large globe-shaped cactus plant, bristling like a +hedgehog, hung dangling from the swivel of his gun--it was thus carried +to save his fingers from contact with its barbed spines--while stuck +into every loop and button-hole of his dress could be seen the leaves +and branchlets, and fruits and flowers, of a host of curious and unknown +plants! He had been herborising in the woods; and coming by chance +within earshot of the scuffle, had scrambled through the bushes just in +time to spoil the _coup-de-grace_ intended by El Zorro. + +"Thanks, Quackenboss! thanks, my brave friend! you came in good time: +you have saved me." + +"But a poor shot I've made, capten. I ought to have broken that red +divel's skull, or sent my bullet into his stomach; he's got off too +easy." + +"It was a good shot: you broke his arm, I think." + +"Ach! 'twas a poor shot; the cactus spoiled my aim. You hurt, capten?" + +"I am wounded, but not mortally, I think. I feel a little faint: 'tis +only the blood. My horse--you will find him yonder--among the trees-- +yonder. Go, Lige; bring my horse--my horse--" + +For some minutes, I was out of the world. + +When consciousness came back, I perceived that my steed had been brought +up, and stood near. The botanist was bending over me, and binding up my +wounds with strips torn from his own shirt. He had one boot on; the +other stood by, full of water, a portion of which he had already poured +down my throat, and with the rest he proceeded to bathe my temples and +wash the blood from my face. + +This done, I soon felt refreshed and strong enough to mount; and having +climbed into the saddle, I set out for the rancheria, my companion half +guiding, half leadin my horse. + +By the path which we followed, we should have to pass close to the +hacienda and within sight of it; but night had come on, and the darkness +would hinder us from being observed. It was what I now desired, though +I had left the cerro with hopes and wishes directly the reverse. With a +red gash upon my forehead--my uniform torn and blood-stained--I feared +being seen, lest my invalid appearance should create unnecessary alarm. +But we passed on without meeting any one, either by the hill or upon the +main road; and in half-an-hour after, I was safe within my _cuarto_ in +the house of the alcalde. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. + +AN OFFICIAL BLACK LIST. + +The incidents of the day preyed upon my spirits, and I was far from +feeling easy about the future. I knew that my betrothed would be true +till death; and I felt ashamed that I had doubted her, even for a +moment. About her loyalty I had no uneasiness, and I mentally vowed +never more to give way to suspicion. + +It was no thought of that that now troubled me, but an anxiety about +_her personal safety_; and this grew stronger the more I pondered upon +it, till it assumed almost the form of a fear. + +The man who had used such bitter threats, and behaved with so much +rudeness, would scarcely stop at anything. 'Tis true I had deprived him +of much of his power over her, by stripping him of the dangerous +documents; but it was not this time, nor was he the man, to stand upon +nice distinctions of legality, where jealousy and cupidity were the +incentives to action. Holding a sort of irresponsible office as the +chief of what was less a patriotic guerrilla than a band of brigands, it +was difficult to tell what such a monster might or might not attempt. +In our absence from the post the ruffian would be full master of the +neighbourhood. What deed might he not accomplish with impunity, holding +his power directly from the unprincipled dictator, whom he was +accustomed to imitate as a model, and who would indorse any act of +villainy, provided it was the act of one of his own satellites? I +shuddered as I reflected. + +The reappearance of Ijurra and his band--for I doubted not that his +followers were near--their reappearance in that vicinity, and at such a +crisis--just as we were being withdrawn--had something ominous in it. +They must have known ere this of the plan of campaign designed for the +American army. Wheatley's rumour had proved well founded. The new +commander-in-chief, Scott, had arrived upon the ground, and +three-fourths of the "army of occupation" had been draughted to form the +expedition destined to act upon Vera Cruz. As this greedy general +stripped our old favourite "Rough and Ready" of _only_ his best troops, +we had the consolation of knowing that the "rangers" were among the +"picked;" though, for all that, many of us would have preferred +remaining with the brave veteran who had already led us so often to +victory. I can answer for Wheatley and myself; I might also vouch for +Holingsworth, though far different were his motives for wishing to +remain on the Rio Grande. His sweetheart was revenge--in his breast +long cherished--to his heart faithful and true. + +I have said that our design must have been known to the enemy ere this; +indeed our army was already in movement. Troops and brigades were +marching upon Brazos Santiago, and Tampico, there to be embarked for the +south, and all that were to go had received their orders. The provinces +on the Rio Grande were not to be entirely abandoned, but the army left +there was to have its lines contracted, and would therefore cover much +less ground. Not only was our little post to be deserted, but the +neighbouring town, which had long been the head-quarters of a division, +was also to be evacuated. No force of ours would remain within fifty +miles of the rancheria; and perhaps no American troop would ever again +visit that isolated village. The reflection rendered me more than +melancholy. + +No doubt of it, then, the enemy was apprised of our movements. In our +special case--that _we_ the rangers were to march on the following +morning, was well known to the people of the neighbourhood. It had been +known to them for several days; and it had not passed unobserved by us +that the citizens of the place--those who were not Ayankieados--had +lately shown themselves more sulky and inhospitable, in proportion as +the time approached for our departure. This _brusquerie_ had led to +several street-conflicts, in which knives had been drawn and blood +spilled, and much "bad blood" begotten on both sides. + +Another circumstance was not unnoticed amongst us. Ribald pasquinades, +rudely written, and accompanied by threats of proscription, were at this +time thrust under the doors of such of the citizens as had been friendly +to us. Even the alcalde had received some documents of this character-- +perhaps emanating from a jealous _tiendero_ who had looked with bitter +eye upon the courtship of Wheatley and Conchita. It was not till +afterwards I learned that similar missives had "come to hand" in a +quarter that more concerned myself. + +Some scouted the absurdity of these acts--alleging that they sprung from +personal enmity, or originated in the mob-patriotism of the _leperos_. +It was not so, as we afterwards learned; the government of the country-- +or, at all events, several of its prominent members--countenanced the +meanness; and at their instigation, a "black list" was made out in every +town and village through which the American army had occasion to pass. +Let the minister, Senor O--, make answer to this accusation. + +I was musing on this disagreeable theme, after my return from the cerro, +and endeavouring to sketch out some plan for the safety of my betrothed +during my absence; but my thoughts proved barren. + +With a sort of faint hope that the villain Ijurra might yet fall into +our hands, I had despatched Holingsworth--nothing loath for the duty-- +with a party of rangers upon his trail, and I was impatiently awaiting +their return. + +The voice of Wheatley aroused me from my reverie. + +"Well, lieutenant, what is it?" + +"Only that precious boy," answered he, with a significant smile, at the +same time ushering "Cyprio" into the room. + +The lad carried a note, which I opened. A green sprig of juniper was +enclosed, and the simple word "_tuya_" was written in pencil. + +I knew the symbol well. The juniper is _tuya_ in that most beautiful of +tongues, and _tuya_ from a lady signifies "yours." + +"Anything more?" I asked of the messenger. + +"Nothing, Senor Capitan," answered the intelligent boy; "only to inquire +if you had arrived safe." + +She had been anxious then! + +I separated the branchlet into two equal parts: one I placed in my +bosom; the other, having fervently kissed, I enclosed in a folded sheet, +upon which I wrote the words-- + +"_Tuyo_--_tuyo_--_hasta la muerte_!" + +Cyprio bore back my parting message. + +At midnight Holingsworth and his party came in from the scout. Nothing +had been seen of the guerrilla. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. + +THE ROUTE. + +It was a struggle between Aurora and the moon which of them should rule +the sky, when our bugle rang its clear _reveille_, rousing the rangers +from their slumber, and startling their steeds at the stall. The +goddess of morning soon triumphed, and under her soft blue light, men +and horses could be seen moving about, until the bugle again sounded-- +this time to "boot and saddle"--and the rangers began to form in the +piazza, and prepare for the route. + +A single wagon with its white tilt and long team of mules, already +"hitched up," stood near the centre of the square. It constituted the +whole baggage-train of the corps, and served as an ambulance for our +invalids. Both baggage and sick had been safely stowed, and the vehicle +was ready for the road. The bugler, already in his saddle, awaited +orders to sound the "forward." + +I had climbed to my favourite "smoking-room," the azotea. Perhaps it +was the last time I should ever set foot on those painted tiles. My +eyes wandered over the piazza, though I little heeded what was passing +there. Only the salient points of the picture were noted by me--steeds +under saddle and bridle; men buckling on folded blankets, holsters, and +valises; a few already in the saddle; a few more standing by the heads +of their horses, and still another few grouped round the door of the +_pulperia_, having a last drink of _mezcal_ or _Catalan_ with their +swarthy Mexican acquaintances. + +Here and there, in front of some adobe hut, might be observed a more +tender leave-taking. The ranger fully equipped--with arms, haversack, +and canteen--leaning against the heavy bars of a window, his face turned +inward, as though he was talking to some prisoner through the grating of +a jail. But he is himself the real captive, ensnared during his short +sojourn, and still held in chains by the olive-skinned _poblana_, whose +dark liquid eyes may be seen on the other side of the reja, flashing +with love, or melting with sad tenderness at the prospect of parting. + +Others, again, are bidding their _adios_ in retired corners, under the +shadow of the church walls, or in groups of four or five more openly in +the piazza itself. Early as is the hour, the people have all arisen; +and not a few of the brown, rebosa-clad, short-skirted wenches are +already on their way, _jarro_ on crown, to the fountain. There the +pitchers are filled, and lifted on their heads--perhaps for the last +time--by the rangers, who perform the office with all the rude grace in +their power. Then follows a profusion of smiles and bows, and a +dialogue, on the ranger's part extending to the whole of his Spanish, +which consists of the phrase-- + +"Mucho bueno, muchacha!" + +The usual reply, accompanied with a display of pretty white teeth, is-- + +"Mucho bueno, cavallero! mucho bueno, Tejano!" given in like +ungrammatical phrase, in order that it may be intelligible to the person +to whom it is addressed. + +I have often been surprised at the success of my great uncouth followers +with these _petite_ dark-eyed damsels of Anahuac; but, indeed, many of +the rangers are not bad-looking men. On the contrary, there are +handsome fellows among them, if they were only put into clean shirts, +and a little more closely shaven. But woman's eye is keen-sighted in +such matters: she easily penetrates through the disguise of dust, the +bronze of sun-tan, and the shaggy mask of an ill-kept beard; and no eye +is quicker in this respect than that of the fair Mexicana. In the big, +apparently rude, individual, called a "ranger," she beholds a type of +strength and courage, a heart that can cherish, and an arm that can +protect her. These are qualities that, from all time, have won the love +of woman. + +It is evident they are not all friends whom we are leaving behind us. +Hostile faces may be observed, many of them peering from open doors or +windows. Here and there a sulky lepero swings about in his blanket, or +cowers by the corner of the street, scowling savagely from under his +broad-brimmed hat. Most of this class are absent--as long since +ascertained--with the guerrilla; but a few still remain to give shadow +to the picture. They regard the approaches towards their women with +ill-concealed anger; and would resent this politeness if they dared. +They confine the exhibition of their spite to the dastardly meanness of +ill-treating the women themselves, whenever they have an opportunity. +No later than the night before, one of them was detected in beating his +sweetheart or mistress for the crime, as was alleged, of dallying too +long in the company of a Tejano. The Tejano, in this case, took the law +into his own hands, and severely chastised the jealous _pelado_. + +Even in the hurried glance which I gave to these scenes of leave-taking, +I could not help noticing an expression on the faces of some of the +young girls that had in it a strange significance. It was something +more than sadness: it was more like the uneasy look that betokens +apprehension. + +Perhaps the state of mind I was in magnified my perceptions. At that +moment, a struggle was passing in my own breast, and a feeling of +irresolution lay heavy upon me. All night long had my mind dwelt upon +the same thought--the danger that menaced my betrothed--all night long I +had been occupied with plans to avert it; but no reasonable scheme had I +succeeded in devising. + +It is true the danger was only hypothetical and undefined; but it was +just this supposititious indefiniteness that caused the difficulty in +providing against it. Had it assumed a tangible shape, I might more +easily have adopted some means of avoiding it: but no--it remained a +shadow, and against a shadow I knew not what precautions to take. When +morning broke, I was still struggling under the same nervous indecision. + +Problematical as was the peril my fancy had formed, there were moments +when it appalled me--moments when my mind laboured under a painful +presentiment, and I could not cast the load by any act of volition. +With all my philosophy, I could not fortify myself against the belief +that "coming events cast their shadows before;" and, spite of myself, I +kept repeating in thought the weird prophetic words. Upon my soul, +certainly, there were shadows, and dark ones; if the events should have +any correspondence with them, then there was misery before me. + +I have termed the danger in which Isolina was placed indefinite: it was +not so indefinite, after a fair analysis; it was directly traceable to +the presence of Rafael Ijurra. + +True, there were other sources of apprehension; other perils surrounded +her, arising from the disturbed state of the country--but these did not +point at her in particular. That frontier province had been for years +in a distracted condition--by revolution or Indian invasion--and war was +no new thing to its people. In the midst of strife had this fair flower +grown to perfect blooming, without having been either crushed or trodden +upon. Isolina de Vargas was a woman of sufficient spirit to resist +insult and cast off intrusion. I had just had proof of this. Under +ordinary circumstances, I had no fear that she would be unequal to the +emergency; but the circumstances in which she now stood were not of that +character; they were extraordinary, and that to an extreme degree. In +addition to the light thrown upon Ijurra's designs by his own menacing +confession, I knew other particulars of him. Holingsworth had helped me +to a knowledge of this bad man, and this knowledge it was that rendered +me apprehensive. From a nature so base and brutal, it was natural I +should dread the worst. + +But what could I do? I might have thrown up my commission, and remained +upon the spot, but this would have been worse than idle. I could not +have protected myself, much less another. The rangers once gone from +the place, my life would not have been safe there for a single hour. + +Only one plan suggested itself that had the semblance of feasibility: to +seek another interview with Isolina--her father as well--and adjure them +to remove at once from the scene of danger. They might proceed to San +Antonio de Bexar, where, far removed from hostile ground, they could +live in safety till the war should be ended. + +It was only at the last moment that this happy idea came into my head, +and I reviled myself that I had not conceived it sooner. The chief +difficulty would lie in the opposition of Don Ramon. I knew that he was +aware of the _friendship_ that existed between his daughter and myself, +and, furthermore, that he had opposed no obstacle to it; but how could I +convince him of the necessity for so sudden an expatriation as the one I +was about to propose? how should I persuade him of the peril I myself +dreaded? and from such a source? + +Another difficulty I might encounter: in the proud spirit of Isolina +herself. Much did I fear she would never consent to be thus driven from +her home, and by such a poltroon as she knew her cousin to be. She had +cowed and conquered him but the day before; she feared him not; she +would not be likely to partake of my painful apprehensions. My counsel +might be disregarded, my motives misconstrued. + +The time, too, was unfavourable. We must be on the march by sunrise--so +ran our orders--and already the day was breaking. I cared not much for +this: I could easily have overtaken my troop; but it was a delicate +matter--that could only be excused by a certain knowledge of danger--to +awake a gentleman's family at such an hour, even for the purpose of +warning them. Moreover, should my advice prove fruitless, I reflected +that my visit--which could not be made in secret--might aid in bringing +about the very danger I apprehended. A circumstance so extraordinary +could not fail to be noticed by all. + +It was thus that I was held in irresolution, while my troop was forming +for the march. + +At the last moment, thanks to the thoughtful Holingsworth, a compromise +offered. He suggested that I should send my advice in writing. In that +I could be as explicit as I pleased, and bring before my proteges all +the arguments I might be able to adduce--perhaps more successfully than +if urged by a personal appeal. + +My comrade's suggestion was adopted; and in haste, but with a fervour +resulting from my fears, I penned the admonitory epistle. + +A trusty messenger was found in one of the _Ayankieados_; who promised, +as soon as the family should be stirring, to carry the letter to its +destination. + +With my heart somewhat relieved of its load, though still far from +light, I gave the order to march. + +The bugle rang clear and loud, and its cheerful notes, as I sprang into +the saddle, combined with the inspiration borrowed from my buoyant +steed, produced a soothing effect upon my spirits. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. + +CAMP GOSSIP. + +It was but a short-lived light--a passing gleam--and soon again fell the +shadow, dark as ever. Strive as I might, I could not cast the load that +weighed upon my bosom; reason as I would, I could not account for its +heaviness. + +It was natural that a parting like ours should produce pain, and +misgivings as to the future. My life was to be staked in the lottery of +war; I might fall on the field of fight; I might perish by +camp-pestilence--a foe that in the campaign kills more soldiers than +sword or shot--the many perils of flood and field were before me, and it +was natural I should regard the future with a degree of doubtfulness. + +But it was not the contemplation of all these dangers that filled me +with such a terrible foreboding. Strange to say, I had a forecast that +I should survive them. It was almost a conviction, yet it failed to +comfort me, for it comprehended not the safety of Isolina. No--but the +contrary. Along with it came the presentiment, that we should never +meet again. + +Once or twice, as this dread feeling became most acute, I reined up my +horse, half resolved to gallop back; but again the wild idea passed from +me, and I continued irresolutely on. + +Something of prudence, too, now restrained me from returning: it would +no longer have been safe to go back to the rancheria. As we issued from +the piazza, we could hear distant jeering, and cries of "_Mueran los +Tejanos_!" It was with difficulty I could restrain the rangers from +turning to take vengeance. One, the worse for mezcal, had loitered +behind--under the influence of the drink fancying himself secure. Him +the _pelados_ had "bonneted," and otherwise maltreated. They would have +murdered him outright; but that some of them, more prudent than their +fellows, had counselled the mob to let him go--alleging that the Tejanos +were yet "too near, and might come back." + +Again I had strife with my men: they would have returned and fired the +place, had I permitted them. Fortunately, he who had been ill-treated +was a good-for-nothing fellow--scarcely worth the sympathy of his +comrades--and I was well satisfied at his having received a lesson. It +might be useful, and was much needed, for "straggling" was one of the +ranger-crimes most difficult to cure. + +Along the road, we saw signs of a guerrilla. Shots were fired at us +from a hill; but a party sent to the place encountered no one. +Horse-tracks were observed, and once a brace of mounted men were seen +galloping away over a distant slope. It might be the band of Ijurra, +and doubtless it was so; but we fancied at the time that Canales himself +was near; and as an encounter with his large and well-organised force +would be a very different affair from a skirmish with the other, we felt +the necessity of advancing with caution. + +The prospect of a "fight" with this noted partisan created quite an +excitement in the ranks. To have captured Canales--the "Chapparal Fox," +as the Texans termed him--or to have made conquest of his band, would +have been esteemed a feat of grand consequence--only inferior in +importance to a pitched battle, or the taking of "Game-leg" (Santa Anna) +himself. + +I confess that to me the idea of measuring strength with the famed +guerrillero was at that moment rife with charms; and the excitement +derived from the hope of meeting him, for a while abstracted my mind +from its painful bodings. + +But we reached the town without seeing aught of the Chapparal Fox. It +was not likely that he was on our road; or if so, he took care not to +show himself. Canales fought not for glory alone, and the rangers were +not the foes he cared to encounter. Rich baggage-trains were the game +he was used to hunt; and our solitary "company-wagon," filled with +frying-pans, camp-kettles, sick soldiers, and tattered blankets--half +alive with those charming little insects of the genera _pules_ and +_pediculus_--had no attractions for the gallant guerrillero. + +On reaching the town, we were surprised to find that the division had +not yet moved. It was to have marched on that morning; but a +countermand had arrived from head-quarters, delaying the movement for +some days--perhaps a week. + +This was rare news to me; and as soon as I heard it, my mind became +occupied with projects and anticipations of a pleasant nature. I had +hoped that we should be sent back to the rancheria, but alas! no--our +orders were to remain with the division. + +As every available building was occupied by troops, the rangers, as +usual, were treated as "outsiders," and compelled to take to the grass. + +Half-a-mile from the town, a spot was shown us for our camp. It was on +the banks of a pretty rivulet; and there, having picketed our steeds, +stretched our canvas to the sun, and washed the dust from our faces, we +made ourselves at home. + +I did not remain long by the camp. As soon as the tents were fairly +pitched, I left them, and walked back into the town--partly to get more +definite information as to the future movements of the army, and partly +with the design of indulging a little in the social feeling. I had some +old comrades among the different regiments of the division; and, after +such a long spell of rustication, I was not indisposed to refresh my +spirit by the renewal of former fellowships. + +At head-quarters, I learned definitely that we should not march for a +week at the least. So far good; and after hearing this, I proceeded to +the _fonda_--the rendezvous of all the jovial spirits of the army. Here +I encountered the friends of whom I was in search; and for a short while +I found respite from the thoughts that had been harrowing me. + +I soon gathered the current "camp gossip," and learned who were the +"newspaper heroes" of the hour; over many of whose names my friends and +I could not restrain either our satire or laughter. It appeared that +the men of deeds were scarcely known beyond the limits of the army +itself, while others, who in the field of battle had actually played the +poltroon, had at home become household words in the mouths of the +people. One general, whom I myself saw hiding in a ditch daring the +rage of battle, was the theme of speech, sentiment, and song. The +newspapers were filled with praises, and the windows with pictures, of a +"gallant dragoon officer," who had somehow obtained the credit of +capturing a certain battery. My rangers cried "Bah!" when I told them +this. They themselves were the men who had first galloped over those +Mexican guns! + +"Keeping an editor in pay" was a standing sarcasm applicable to more +than one of our generals; and the "army correspondent," taking advantage +of this pruriency for fame, lived well, and swaggered in proportional +importance. + +Ah, glory! what sacrifices men make for thee upon the shrine of +conscience! For my part, I do not think I could feel happy under the +credit of a feat I had not performed. Surely the consciousness of +having done a deed is of itself a sufficient reward? He is but an +unhappy hero who is not a hero to himself! + +Pleasanter gossip I heard about the relations existing between our +troops and the people of the town. Many of the inhabitants had grown +quite friendly, in consequence of our excellent behaviour towards them. +Our conduct was compared with that which they had lately experienced at +the hands of their own army. The latter was in the habit of seizing +property at pleasure, on pretence of using it for the defence of the +state. We, on the contrary, paid for everything--round prices too--in +bright American dollars. The ricos and merchants preferred this system, +and had no objections to making it permanent. Outrages were few on the +part of our soldiery, and severely punished by the general. Our enemies +contrasted the modest bearing of the American soldier with the conceited +strut and insolent swagger of their own gold-bedizened _militarios_, who +were wont on all occasions to "take the wall" of them. It was only +outside the lines, between stragglers and leperos, that the retaliation +system was carried on so fiercely. Within the walls, everything was +order, with a mildness too rare under martial law. Private property was +strictly regarded, and private dwellings were not occupied by our +troops. Even the officers were not billeted in private houses; and many +of them had to make shift in rather uncomfortable quarters, while most +of the soldiers lived under canvas. This state of things was scarcely +satisfactory to the troops; and some grumbling was heard. There was no +complaint, however, from the Mexicans, who seemed rather astonished at +so much forbearance on the part of their conquerors. + +I doubt whether, in the whole history of war, can be found a conquest +characterised by equal mildness and humanity with the "Second Conquest +of Mexico." + +It was principally for this reason the people had grown so well affected +towards us. But there was another reason, perhaps, not less potent. +From the extensive operations we were now about to undertake, they saw +that we meant war in earnest; and the belief had become general, that a +large "annexation" was to follow; that perhaps the whole valley of the +Rio Grande would become American territory. It was but human nature in +them to do homage to the rising sun. + +The ricos were better disposed towards us than the common people; but +this enigma is easily explained. The latter were more _patriotic_--that +is, more ready to fight for native tyranny, than accept freedom from a +foreign hand. 'Tis so in all lands. In the event of a war with +England, the black slave of Carolina would range himself by the side of +his master, and prove the bitterest foe to the enemies, not of _his +freedom_, but of his _country_. + +The _familias principales_ of Mexico had good reasons for being friendly +to us. They had a stake to lose, which, under their own government, had +been ill guarded for them. No wonder they should desire to come under +the broad protecting wings of the northern eagle. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I found that another species of "annexation" had been going on during my +absence. One of our officers had become annexed to a wealthy senorita +of the place, and the marriage-ceremony had been performed with great +pomp and splendour. Another was talked of as being _fiance_; and it was +expected that the example would find numerous imitators. + +I need not say that I was much interested by these _novedades_ and I +returned with lighter heart to the ranger-camp. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. + +THE RUINED RANCHO. + +The pleasant excitement caused by the visit to my old comrades was soon +over; and having nothing to do but lounge about my tent, I became again +the victim of the same painful bodings. I could not shake them off. + +Subtle and mysterious is the spirit-world within us; certainly does it +seem to have prescience of the future. Is it an electric chain +connecting what is, with what is to be? Or is it the second-sight of +instinct? Certainly there are times when something within whispers a +warning--as, in the physical world, God's wild creatures are warned from +without of the earthquake and the storm. How often do we experience the +realisation of portentous dreams? Why should not the waking soul have +also its moments of clairvoyance? + +As I lay stretched upon my leathern _catre_, I gave way to such +reflections. I soon succeeded in reasoning myself into a full belief in +foreknowledge; and my apprehensions were proportionately strengthened. +But I had conceived a design; and the prospect of putting it in +execution somewhat relieved me from the heaviness I had hitherto felt. + +My new project was to take a score of my best men, to ride back the road +we had come, place the party in ambush near the hacienda, while I alone +should enter the house, and further urge the counsels I had committed to +writing. If I should find that these had been already followed, so much +the better--I should be assured, and return content; but I felt almost +certain that Don Ramon had rejected them. At all events, I was +determined to know the truth--determined, moreover, to gratify my +longing for one more interview with my beloved. + +I had warned the men and fixed the hour--as soon it was dark enough to +conceal our departure from the camp. + +I had two reasons for not starting earlier--first, because I did not +wish this _private scouting_ to be known at head-quarters. It is true, +that in such matters we rangers had the advantage of regular troops. +Though belonging to the division, our duty was usually detached from it, +and we were rarely "missed" when absent. There was thus a sort of +pleasant independence in my command, which I for one fully appreciated. +For all that, I did not desire the whole world to know of an expedition +like the one projected. + +My second motive for going in the night was simple prudence. I dared +not take the whole of my command along with me without permission from +head-quarters. The absence of the corps without leave would certainly +be noticed--even were it but for a few hours--and with the smaller party +I intended to take, caution would be requisite. Should we move along +the road before it was deserted, some swift messenger might carry the +tidings _en avant_, and get us into trouble. + +I designed to start at the earliest hour of darkness--so that I might +not alarm the hacienda by a midnight visit. + +An hour and a half of constant riding would bring me to its gate. + +At the last moment of twilight we leaped into our saddles; and rode +silently into the chapparal that skirted the camp. After filing for +some distance through a narrow path, we debouched upon the up-river +road--the same that conducted to the rancheria. + +The trappers, Rube and Garey, acting as scouts, went forward in the +advance. They were on foot--their horses remaining behind with the +party. + +It was a mode of march I had adopted after some experience in +bush-fighting. The scouts of a marching force should always go on foot, +whether the main body be dragoons or infantry. In this manner they can +take advantage of the ground; and by keeping under cover of the timber, +are enabled to reconnoitre the angles of the road in a much safer way +than when on horseback. The great danger to a scout--and consequently +to the party for which he is acting--lies in his being _first_ seen, and +the risk is greater when he is mounted. The horse cannot be drawn under +cover without an effort; and the sound of the hoof may be heard; whereas +in nine cases out of ten, a man on foot--that is, such a man as either +Rube Rawlings or Bill Garey--will discover the enemy before he is +himself seen, or any ambuscade can be attempted. Of course the scout +should never advance beyond the possibility of retreating upon the party +he is guiding. + +With full confidence in the men who had been sent forward, we rode on-- +timing our pace, so as not to overtake them. Now and then we caught a +glimpse of them, at the further end of a long stretch, skirting the +bushes, or stooping behind the cover, to reconnoitre the road in +advance. To our chagrin, it was clear moonlight, and we could +distinguish their forms at a great distance. We should have preferred a +darker night. + +The road we were travelling upon was entirely without habitations; most +of it ran through light chapparal forest, with neither clearing nor +homestead. One solitary rancho stood at about equal distances between +the town and the rancheria; and was known among the rangers by the +familiar sobriquet of the "half-way house." It was a poor hovel of +yucca, with a small patch around that had once grown yams, chile-pepper, +and a stock of maize for whoever had tilled it; but the occupants of the +little rancho had long since disappeared--the prowling soldier-robber +from the camp had paid it many a visit, and its household gods lay +broken upon the hearth. The _tortilla_ stone and _comal_, red earthen +ollas, calabash cups, bedsteads and benches of the _cana vaquera_, a +whirligig spindle, an old stringless _jarana_ or bandolon, with other +like effects, lay in fragments upon the floor. Mingling with these were +cheap coloured wood-prints, of saints and Saviour, that had been dragged +from the walls, and with the torn leaves of an old Spanish _misa_, +trampled in dust and dishonour. + +I paint this tableau of ruin, not that it was in any way connected with +the events of our narrative, but that it had strangely affected me. On +the day before, as we rode past, I had halted a moment by the rancho, +and contemplated the scene with a feeling of melancholy that amounted +almost to sadness. Little thought I that a still sadder spectacle +awaited me in that same spot. + +We had approached within less than half-a-mile of the ruined house, when +a strange medley of sounds reached our ears. Human voices they were; +and borne upon the light breeze we could distinguish them to be the +voices of women. Occasionally harsher tones were heard mingling in the +murmur, but most of them had the soft rich intonation that distinguishes +the female voice. + +We all drew bridle, and listened. + +The sounds continued in the same confused chorus, but there was neither +song nor joy in the accents. On the contrary, the night-wind carried +upon its wings the voices of "lamentation and wailing." + +"There are women in trouble," remarked one of my followers, in a +suggestive tone. + +The remark caused all of us simultaneously to ply the spur, and ride +forward. + +Before we had galloped a dozen lengths, a man appeared coming from the +opposite direction, and advancing rapidly up the middle of the road. We +saw it was the scout Garey; and, once more reining up, we awaited his +approach. + +I was at the head of the little troop, and as the trapper drew near, I +could see his face full under the light of the moon. Its expression was +ominous of evil tidings. + +He spoke not until he had laid his hand upon the pommel of my saddle, +and then only in a subdued and saddened tone. His words were:-- + +"Thar's ugly news, capt'n." + +Oh, that terrible foreboding! + +"News?--ill news?" I stammered out; "what, for Heaven's sake?--speak, +Garey!" + +"They've been playin' the devil at the rancherie. Them ruffins hez +behaved wuss than Injuns would a done. But ride forrard, capt'n, an see +for yurself. The weemen are clost by hyar at the shanty. Rube's a +tryin' to pacify them, poor critters." + +Oh, that terrible foreboding! + +I made no response to Garey's last speech, but rode forward as fast as +my horse could carry me. + +A brace of minutes brought me up to the rancho; and there I beheld a +spectacle that caused the blood to curdle in my veins. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. + +A CRUEL PROSCRIPTION. + +The open space in front of the hovel was occupied by a group of women-- +most of them young girls. There were six or seven; I did not count +them. There were two or three men, Mexicans, mixed up in the group. +Rube was in their midst, endeavouring in his broken Spanish to give them +consolation and assurance of safety. Poor victims! they needed both. + +The women were half-naked--some of them simply _en chemise_. Their long +black hair fell loosely over their shoulders, looking tossed, wet, and +draggly. There was blood upon it; there was blood upon their cheeks in +seams half dried, but still dropping. The same horrid red mottled their +necks and bosoms, and there was blood upon the hands that had wiped +them. A red-brown blotch appeared upon the foreheads of all. In the +moonlight, it looked as if the skin had been burnt. + +I rode closer to one, and examined it: it was a brand--the fire-stamp of +red-hot iron. The skin around was scarlet; but in the midst of this +halo of inflammation I could distinguish, from their darker hue, the +outlines of the two letters I wore upon my button--the well-known "U.S." + +She who was nearest me raised her hands, and tossing back from her +cheeks the thick clustered hair, cried out-- + +"_Miralo, senor! mira_!" + +Oh, Heaven! my flesh crept as I looked upon the source of that crimson +haemorrhage. Her ears had been cut off--they were wanting! + +I needed no further uplifting of their hair to satisfy me that the +others had been served in like manner; the red stream still trickling +adown their necks was evidence enough. + +The men, too, had been similarly abused. Two of them had suffered still +further mutilation. They held up their right arms before my face--not +their hands. _There were no hands_. I saw the hanging sleeve, and the +blood-steeped bandage on the stump. Their hands had been chopped off at +the wrists. Horrid sight! + +Both men and women gathered around me, clasping my knees, and uttering +prayers and entreaties. No doubt most of them were known to me by +sight; but their features were now unrecognisable. They had been the +friends and sweethearts of the corps, and my followers were already +addressing them by name. The lovers of one or two were present, sadly +embracing them! + +One appeared more richly costumed than the rest, and upon her my eyes +had fallen, as I first rode up. I almost dreaded to approach her, as +she stood a little apart; but no--it could not be--she was not tall +enough; besides, the ruffians would not dare-- + +"Your name, senorita?" + +"_Conchita, senor_--_la hija del alcalde_." + +The tears burst from her eyes, mingling with blood as they ran down her +cheeks. Oh, that I too could have wept! Poor Wheatley! he was not with +us. He had yet to receive the blow: it would soon fall. + +My heart was on fire; so were those of my followers. They swore and +foamed at the mouth. Some drew pistols and knives, calling out to me to +lead them on. Never saw I men in such a frenzy of rage: the most +cold-blooded among them seemed to have suddenly gone mad. + +I could scarcely restrain them, till we should hear the tale. We +guessed it already; but we needed some details to guide us in the +execution of vengeance. It was told by many mouths, interrupting or +confirming one another. + +One of the men was more coherent--Pedro, who used to sell mezcal to the +troop. To him we listened. The substance of his story was as +follows:-- + +Shortly after we had left the rancheria, it was entered by the +guerrilleros with cries of "_Viva Santa Anna! Viva Mexico_!" and +"_Death to the Yankees_!" They commenced by breaking open the +_tiendas_, and drinking mezcal and whatever they could find. They were +joined by the mob of the place--by _leperos_ and others. Pedro noticed +the _herredero_ (blacksmith) and the _matador_ (cattle-killer) taking a +conspicuous part. There were many women in the mob--the mistresses of +the guerrilleros, and others of the town. + +After drinking a while, they grew more excited. Then was heard the cry, +"_Mueran los Ayankieados_!" and the crowd scattering in different +directions, entered the houses, shouting, "_Saquenlos afuera! +matenlos_!" (Drag them out! kill them!) + +The poor girls, and all who had been friendly to the _Americanos_, were +dragged into the piazza amidst the oaths and execrations of the +guerrilla, and hissings and hootings from the mob. They were spit upon, +called by filthy names, pelted with mud and melon-rinds, and then some +of the crowd suggested that they should be _marked_, so that their +friends the _Tejanos_ should know them again. The suggestion was +adopted; the women, more fiendish than the men, exciting the latter to +the deed. Voices were heard calling to the blacksmith-- + +"_Traiga el fierro! traiga el fierro_!" (Bring the branding-iron!) + +Others cried out, "_Sacan las orejas_!" (Cut off their ears.) + +The brutal blacksmith and butcher, both half drunk obeyed the call-- +willingly, Pedro alleged. The former used the branding-iron--already +prepared--while the latter performed his bloody office with the knife of +his trade! + +Most of the guerrilleros wore masks. The leaders were all masked, and +watched the proceedings from the roof of the alcalde's house. One Pedro +knew in spite of his disguise; he knew him by his great size and red +hair: it was the _salteador_, El Zorro. Others he guessed at; but he +had no doubt it was the band of Don Rafael Ijurra--nor had we. + +Had they left the rancheria before Pedro and the others came away? + +Pedro thought not; he and the other victims, as soon as they got out of +the hands of the mob, had fled to the chapparal, and were making for the +American camp when met by our scouts. They were straggling along the +road one after the other; Rube had detained them by the rancho, till we +should come up. + +Pedro feared that they were not all who had suffered--that there were +other victims; the alcalde, he feared, had been worse than mutilated--he +had been _murdered_. + +This last information the poor fellow imparted in a whisper--at the same +time casting a sorrowful look towards Conchita. I had not the courage +to inquire further. + +The question arose whether we should send back for more men, and wait +till they arrived, or advance at once to the rancheria. + +The former was negatived with unanimous voice. We were strong enough, +and vengeance was impatient. + +I was joyed by this decision; _I_ could not have waited. + +The women were directed to continue on to the ranger-camp; Pedro, +mounted behind one of the men, should go with us. We needed him for +purposes of _identification_. + +We were about to move forward, when a figure appeared along the road in +the direction we were going to take. On coming within sight of us, the +figure was seen to skulk and hide in the bushes. + +Rube and Garey ran rapidly forward; and in a few minutes returned +bringing with them a Mexican youth--another of the victims! + +He had left the scene of his sufferings somewhat later than the rest. + +Was the guerrilla still in the place? + +No; they were gone from the village. + +"Whither?" was the anxious interrogatory. + +They had taken the up-river road, _towards the hacienda de Vargas_. +They had passed the boy as he lay concealed among some magueys; he had +heard their cries as they rushed past. + +"What cries?" + +They shouted: "_Mueran al traidor y traidora! Mueran al padre y hija! +Isolina la p-t-a_!" + +"O merciful God!" + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. + +THE BIVOUAC OF THE GUERRILLA. + +I stayed to hear no more, but drove the spur against the ribs of my +horse, till he sprang in full gallop along the road. Eager as were my +men to follow, 'twas as much as they could do to keep up. + +We no longer thought of scouts or cautious marching. The trappers had +mounted, and were galloping with the rest. We thought only of _time_. + +We rode for the hacienda de Vargas, straight up the river. Although it +was beyond the rancheria, we could reach it without passing through the +latter--which lay some distance back from the stream. We could return +to the village afterwards, but first for the hacienda. There I wished +to arrive in the shortest time possible. + +The miles flew behind us, like the dust of the road. + +Oh, should we not be in time! I feared to calculate the length of the +interval since the boy had heard that rabble rout. Was it more than an +hour? Five miles to the rancho, and he on foot. Had he travelled +rapidly? Yes, here and there; but he had made a stop: some men had +passed him, and he had hidden in the bushes till they were out of sight. +He had been more than an hour on the way--nearly two, and one would be +enough for the execution of the darkest deed. Oh, we should not arrive +in time! + +There was no delay now. We were going at top-speed, and in silence, +scarcely exchanging a word. Alone might be heard the clattering of +hoofs, the chinking of bits, or the ringing of steel scabbards. Neither +the slimy gutter nor the deep rut of _carreta_ wheels stayed our +advance; our horses leaped over, or went sweltering through them. + +In five minutes we came to the _rinconada_, where the road forked--the +left branch leading to the village. We saw no one, and kept on by the +right--the direct road to the hacienda. Another mile, and we should +reach the house; a quarter of that distance, and we should come in sight +of it; the trees alone hindered our view of its walls. On--on! + +What means that light? Is the sun rising in the west? Is the chapparal +on fire? Whence comes the yellow gleam, half intercepted by the trunks +of the trees? Is it not the moon! + +"Ho! the hacienda is in flames!" + +"No--it cannot be? A house of stone, with scarcely enough timber to +make a blaze! It cannot be that?" + +It is not that. We emerge from the forest; the hacienda is before our +eyes. Its white walls gleam under a yellow light--the light of fire, +but not of a conflagration. The house stands intact. A huge bonfire +burns in front of the portal; it was this that caused the glare through +the forest. + +We draw up and gaze upon it with surprise. We behold a huge pile--the +material supplied from the household stock of dry faggots--a vast blaze +drowning the pale moonshine. We can see the hacienda, and all around +it, as distinctly as by the light of day! + +For what purpose this holocaust of crackling acacias? + +Around the fire we behold many forms, living and moving. There are men, +women, dogs, and saddled horses. Huge joints are roasting over the red +coals, and others, roasted, are being greedily eaten. Are they savages +who surround that blazing pile? + +No--we can see their faces with full distinctness, the white skins and +black beards of the men, the cotton garments of the women; we can see +sombreros and serapes, cloth cloaks and calzoneros of velveteen, sashes +and sabres; we can distinguish their voices as they shout, sing, and +carouse; we note their lascivious movements in the national dance--the +_fandango_. No Indians they--'tis a bivouac of the guerrilleros--the +ruffians for whom we are in search! + +Oh, that I had listened to the voice of prudence, and adopted the +strategy of a surround! But my blood was boiling, and I feared to lose +even a moment of time, lest we might be too late. But one or two of my +followers counselled delay, and, as the event proved, they were the +wisest. The rest, like myself, were impatient for action. + +The word was given: and like hounds, fresh loosed from the leash, we +rushed forward with charging cheer. + +It was the madness of fools. Well knew our enemy the hoarse Texan +"hurrah!" It had been shouted to terrify them, when there was no need. +They would never have stood ground. + +The shout warned them, causing them to scatter like a herd of deer. The +steep hill proved too heavy for our horses; and before we could reach +its summit, the main body of the guerrilla had mounted and scampered off +into the darkness. Six of them fell to our shots; and as many more, +with their she-associates, remained prisoners in our hands; but as usual +that subtle coward had contrived to escape. + +Pursuit was idle; they had taken to the dark woods beyond the hill. + +I thought not of pursuit; my mind was bent on a far different purpose. + +I rode into the _patio_. The court was lit up by the glare of the fire. +It presented a picture of ruin. Rich furniture was scattered about in +the verandah and over the pavement, broken or tumbled down. I called +her name--the name of Don Ramon. Loudly and earnestly did I raise my +voice, but echo gave the only reply. + +I dismounted, and rushed into the verandah, still vociferating, and +still without receiving a response. + +I hurried from room to room--from _cuarto_ to _sala_--from _sola_ to +_saguan_--up to the azotea--everywhere--even to the _capilla_ in the +rear. The moonbeams gleamed upon the altar, but no human form was +there. The whole house was deserted; the domestics--even the women of +the _cocina_--had disappeared. My horse and I seemed the only living +things within those walls--for my followers had remained outside with +their prisoners. + +A sudden hope gleamed across my heart. Perhaps they had taken my +counsel, and gone off before the mob appeared? Heaven grant it might be +so! + +I rushed out to question the captives. They should know, both men and +women: they could certainly tell me. + +A glance showed me I was too late to receive information from the men. +A large _pecan_ tree stood at one corner of the building. The firelight +glared upon it; from its branches hung six human forms with drooping +heads, and feet far from the earth. They had just ceased to live! + +One told me that the herredero was among them, and also the cruel +matador. Pedro had identified both. The others were _pelados_ of the +town, who had borne part in the affair of the day. Their judges had +made quick work, and equally quick had been the ceremony of execution. +Lazos had been reeved over the limbs of the pecan, and with these all +six had been jerked up without shrift or prayer! + +It was not revenge for which I panted. I turned to the women; many of +these had made off, but there were still a dozen or more in the hands of +the men. They looked haggard with drink; some sullen, and some +terrified. They had reason to be afraid. + +In answer to my questions, they shook their heads, but gave me no +information. Some remained doggedly silent; others denied all knowledge +of Don Ramon or his daughter. Threats had no effect. They either knew +not, or _feared to tell_ what had befallen them. Oh heaven! could it be +the latter? + +I was turning away angered and despairing, when my eyes fell upon a +figure that seemed to skulk under the shadow of the walls. A shout of +joy escaped me as I recognised the boy Cyprio, just emerging from his +place of concealment. + +"Cyprio!" I cried. + +"_Si, senor's_" answered he, advancing rapidly to where I stood. + +"Tell me, Cyprio! where are they gone--where--where?" + +"_Carrai, senor's_! these bad men have carried the _dueno_ away; I do +not know whither." + +"The senora? the senora?" + +"Oh! _cavallero! es una cosa espantosa_!" (It is a terrible thing.) + +"Quick, tell me all! Quickly, Cyprio!" + +"Senor's, there came men with black masks, who broke into the house and +carried off the master; then they dragged out Dona Isolina into the +patio! _Ay de mi_! I cannot tell you what they did before--_pobre +senorita_! There was blood running down her neck and over her breast: +she was not dressed, and I could see it. Some went to the caballeriza, +and led out the white horse--the steed that was brought from the +_llanos_. Upon his back they bound Dona Isolina. _Valga me dios_! such +a sight!" + +"Go on!" + +"Then, senor's, they led the horse across the river, and out to the +plain beyond. All went along, to see the sport, as they said--_ay de +mi_! such sport! I did not go, for they beat and threatened to kill me; +but I saw all from the hill-top, where I had hidden myself in the +bushes. _O Santissima Maria_!" + +"Go on!" + +"Then, senor's, they stuck _cohetes_ in the hips of the horse, and set +them on fire, and pulled off the bridle, and the steed went off, with +fire-rockets after him, and Dona Isolina tied down upon his back--_pobre +senorita_! I could see the horse till he was far, far away upon the +_llano_, and then I could see him no more. _Dios de mi alma! la nina +esta perdida_!" (Alas! the young lady is lost.) + +"Some water! Rube! Garey! friends--water! water!--" + +I made an attempt to reach the fountain in the patio; but, after +staggering dizzily a pace or two, my strength failed me, and I fell +fainting to the earth. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. + +TAKING THE TRAIL. + +I had merely swooned. My nerves and frame were still weak from the +blood-letting I had received in the combat of yesterday. The shock of +the horrid news was too much for my powers of endurance. + +I was insensible only for a short while; the cold water revived me. + +When consciousness returned, I was by the fountain, my back leaning +against its parapet edge; Rube, Garey and others were around me. From +my dripping garments, I perceived that they had _douched_ me, and one +was pouring a fiery spirit down my throat. + +There were men on horseback, who had ridden into the patio--the iron +hoofs causing the court to ring. They were rangers, but not those who +had left camp in my company. Some had arrived since, and others were +still galloping up. The girls had reached the ranger camp, and told +their tale. The men had not waited for orders, or even for one another, +but rushing to their horses, took the road in twos and threes. Every +moment, a horseman, or several together, came riding forward in hot +haste, carrying their rifles, as if ready for action, and uttering loud +cries of indignation. + +Wheatley had arrived among the foremost. + +Poor fellow! his habitual buoyancy had departed; the gay smile was gone +from his lips. His eyes were on fire, and his teeth set in the stern +expression of heart-consuming vengeance. + +Amidst the hoarse shouting of the men, I heard screaming in the shriller +voices of women. It came from without. + +I rose hastily, and ran towards the spot: I saw several of the wretched +captives stripped to the waist, and men in the act of flogging them, +with mule-quirts and pieces of raw-hide rope. + +I had feared it was worse; I had feared that their captors were +inflicting upon them a _retaliation in kind_. But no--angry as were my +followers, they had not proceeded to such a fiendish extremity. + +It required all the authority of a command to put an end to the +distressing spectacle. They desisted at length; and the screeching and +affrighted wretches were permitted to take themselves away--all +disappearing rapidly beyond the light of the fire. + +At this crisis a shout was raised: "To the rancheria, to the rancheria!" +and instantly a party, with Wheatley and Holingsworth at its head, rode +off for the village. Pedro went along with them. + +I waited not for their return; I had formed a plan of action for myself, +that would admit of no delay in its execution. + +At first, stunned by the blow, and the distraction of my swooning +senses, I had not been able to _think_; as soon as the confusion passed, +and I could reflect more clearly, the course I ought to pursue was at +once apparent. Vengeance I had felt as the first impulse, and a strong +desire to follow up the fiend Ijurra--night and day to follow him-- +though the pursuit should lead me into the heart of the hostile ground. + +This was but a momentary impulse: vengeance must be stifled for the +time. A path was to be taken that widely diverged from that of the +retreating guerrilla--_the trail of the white steed_. + +Mounting Cyprio, and choosing from my band half-a-dozen of the best +_trackers_, was the work of a moment. In another, we were in the +saddle; and descending the hill, we plunged rapidly through the stream, +crossed the skirting timber, and soon rode out upon the open prairie. + +Under Cyprio's guidance, we found the spot desecrated by that cruel +display. The ground was trampled by many hoofs; fragments of paper-- +powder-blackened--broken rocket-sticks, and half-burnt fuses, strewed +the sward--the pyrotechnic _reliquiae_ of the fiendish spectacle. + +We halted not there. By the aid of our guide and the moonlight, we rode +clear of the confusion; and taking up the trail of the horse, struck off +upon it, and were soon far out upon the prairie. + +For more than a mile we advanced at a gallop. Time was everything. +Trusting to the intelligence of the Mexican boy, we scarcely scrutinised +the track, but made directly for the point where the horse had been last +seen. + +Cyprio's information did not deceive us. A _motte_ of timber had served +him as a mark: the steed had passed close to its edge. Beyond it, he +had seen him no more, and the boy was sent back. + +Beyond it, we found the tracks, easily recognisable by Rube, Garey, and +myself. There was a peculiarity by which we were prevented from +mistaking them: three of the prints were clearly cut in the turf--almost +perfect circles--the curve of the fourth--of the off fore-foot--was +interrupted by a slight indentation, where a piece had been broken from +the hoof. It had been done in that terrible leap upon the rocky bed of +the barranca. + +Taking the trail again, we kept on--now advancing at a slower pace, and +with a greater degree of caution. Late rain had moistened the +prairie-turf, and we could perceive the racks without dismounting. At +intervals, there were stretches of drier surface, where the hoof had +scarcely left its impression. In such places, one leaped from the +saddle, and led the way on foot. Rube or Garey usually performed this +office; and so rapidly did they move along the trail, that our horses +were seldom in a walk. With bodies half bent, and eyes gliding along +the ground, they pressed forward like hounds running by the scent, but, +unlike these, the trackers made no noise. Not a word was spoken by any +one. I had no list for speech; my agony was too intense for utterance. + +With Cyprio I had conversed upon the harrowing theme, and that only at +starting. From him I had gathered further details. No doubt, the +matador had performed his office. Oh, God! without ears! + +Cyprio had seen blood; it was streaming adown her neck and over her +bosom: her slight garments were stained red with it. He knew not whence +it came, or why she was bleeding. He was not present when that blood +had been drawn; it was in her chamber, he thought. She was bleeding +when the ruffians dragged her forth! + +Belike, too, the herredero had done his work? Cyprio had seen the +blacksmith, but not the _fierro_. He heard they had branded some at the +piazza, among others the daughter of the alcalde--_pobre Conchita_! He +did not see them brand the Dona Isolina. + +The ruffian deed might have been accomplished for all that; there was +plenty of time, while the boy lay hid, or before she had been dragged +from her chamber. + +How was she placed upon the horse? + +Despite my heart's bitterness, as I put these interrogatories, I could +not help thinking of the Cossack legend. The famed classic picture came +vividly before my mind. Wide was the distance between the Ukraine and +the Rio Bravo. Had the monsters who re-enacted this scene on the banks +of the Mexican river--had these ever heard of Mazeppa? Possibly their +leader had; but it was still more probable that the fiendish thought was +original. + +The fashion at least was. Cyprio had seen and described it. + +She was laid longitudinally upon the back of the steed, her head resting +upon the point of his shoulder. Her face was downward, her cheek +touching the withers. Her arms embraced the neck, and her wrists were +made fast under the animal's throat. Her body was held in this position +by means of a belt around her waist, attached to a surcingle on the +horse--both tightly buckled. In addition to this, her ankles, bound +together by a thong, were fastened to the croup, with her feet +projecting beyond the hips! + +I groaned as I listened to the details. + +The ligature was perfect--cruelly complete. There was no hope that such +fastenings would give way. Those thongs of raw-hide would not come +undone. Horse and rider could never part from that unwilling embrace-- +never, till hunger, thirst, death--no, not even death could part them! +Oh, horror! + +Not without groans could I contemplate the hideous fate of my +betrothed--of her whose love had become my life. + +I left the tracking to my comrades, and my horse to follow after. I +rode with loose rein, and head drooping forward; I scarcely gave thought +to design. My heart was well-nigh broken. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. + +THE VOYAGEUR. + +We had not gone far when some one closed up beside me, and muttered a +word of cheer; I recognised the friendly voice of the big trapper. + +"Don't be afeerd, capt'n," said he, in a tone of encouragement; "don't +be afeerd! Rube an me'll find 'em afore thar's any harm done. I don't +b'lieve the white hoss 'll gallip fur, knowin' thar's someb'dy on his +back. It war them gim-cracks that sot him off. When they burn out, +he'll come to a dead halt, an then--" + +"And then?" I inquired mechanically. + +"We'll get up, an your black'll be able to overhaul him in a jump or +two." + +I began to feel hope. It was but a momentary gleam, and died out in the +next instant. + +"If the moon 'ud only hold out," continued Garey, with an emphasis +denoting doubt. + +"Rot the moon!" said a voice interrupting him; "she's a gwine to guv +out. Wagh!" + +It was Rube who had uttered the unpleasant prognostication, in a +peevish, but positive tone. + +All eyes were turned upward. The moon, round and white, was sailing +through a cloudless sky, and almost in the zenith. How, then, was she +to "give out?" She was near the full, and could not set before morning. +What did Rube mean? The question was put to him. + +"Look ee 'ander!" said he in reply. "D'ees see thet ur black line, down +low on the paraira?" + +There appeared a dark streak along the horizon to the eastward. Yes, we +saw it. + +"Wal," continued Rube, "thur's no timber thur--ne'er a stick--nor high +groun neyther: thurfor thet ur'ss a cloud; I've seed the likes afore. +Wait a bit. Wagh! In jest ten minnits, the durned thing'll kiver up +the moon, an make thet putty blue sky look as black as the hide o' an +Afrikin niggur--_it_ will." + +"I'm afeerd he's right, capt'n," said Garey, in a desponding tone. "I +war doubtful o' it myself: the sky looked too _near_. I didn't like it +a bit: thar's always a change when things are better 'n common." + +I needed not to inquire the consequences, should Rube's prediction prove +correct; that was evident to all of us. The moon once obscured by +clouds, our progress would be arrested: even a horse could not be +tracked in the darkness. + +We were not long in suspense. Again the foresight of the old trapper +proved unerring. Cumuli rolled up the sky one after another, until +their black masses shrouded the moon. At first, they came only in +detached clouds, and there was light at intervals; but these were only +the advanced columns of a heavier body, that soon after appeared; and +without a break, spread itself pall-like over the firmament. + +The moon's disc became entirely hidden from our view; her scattered +beams died out; and the prairie lay dark as if shadowed by an eclipse. + +We could follow the trail no farther. The ground itself was not +visible, much less the hoof-prints we had been tracing; and halting +simultaneously, we drew our horses togther, and sat in our saddles to +deliberate upon what was best to be done. + +The consultation was a short one. They who formed that little party +were all men of prairie or backwoods experience, and well versed in the +ways of the wilderness. It took them but little time to decide what +course should be followed; and they were unanimous in their opinion. +Should the sky continue clouded, we must give up the pursuit till +morning, or adopt the only alternative--follow the trail by +_torchlight_. + +Of course the latter was determined upon. It was yet early in the +night; many hours must intervene before we should have the light of day. +I could not live through those long hours without action. Even though +our progress might be slow, the knowledge that we were advancing would +help to stifle the painfulness of reflection. + +"A torch! a torch!" + +Where was such a thing to be procured? We had with us no material with +which to make one; there was no timber near! We were in the middle of a +naked prairie. The universal mesquite--the _algar obia glandulosa_-- +excellent for such a purpose--grew nowhere in the neighbourhood. Who +was to find the torch? Even Rube's ingenuity could not make one out of +nothing. + +"Ecoutez, mon capitaine!" cried Le Blanc, an old voyageur--"ecoutez! vy +me no ride back, et von lanterne bring from ze ville Mexicaine?" + +True, why not? We were yet but a few miles from the rancheria. The +Canadian's idea was a good one. + +"Je connais," he continued--"know I, pe gar! ze ver spot ou--vere--sont +cachees--hid les chandelles magnifiques--von, deux, tree big candle-- +vax, vax--" + +"Wax-candles?" + +"Oui--oui, messieurs! tres grand comme un baton; ze ver chose pour +allumer la prairie." + +"You know where they are? You could find them, Le Blanc?" + +"Oui, messieurs--je connais: les chandelles sont cachees dans l'eglise-- +zey are in ze church hid." + +"Ha! in the church?" + +"Oui, messieurs; c'est un grand sacrilege, mon Dieu! ver bad; mais +n'importe cela. Eef mon capitaine permit--vill allow pour aller +Monsieur Quack'bosh, he go chez moi; nous chercherons; ve bring ze +chandelles--pe gar ve bring him!" + +From the mixed gibberish of the voyageur, I could gather his meaning +well enough. He knew of a depository of wax-candles, and the church of +the rancheria was the place in which they were kept. + +I was not in a frame of mind to care much for the sacrilege, and my +companions were still less scrupulous. The act was determined upon, and +Le Blanc and Quackenboss, without more delay, took the back-track for +the village. + +The rest of us dismounted; and, picketing our horses to the grass, lay +down to await the return of the messengers. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. + +TRAILING BY TORCH-LIGHT. + +While thus inactive, my mind yielded itself up to the contemplation of +painful probabilities. Horrid spectacles passed before my imagination. +I saw the white horse galloping over the plain, pursued by wolves, and +shadowed by black vultures. To escape these hungry pursuers, I saw him +dash into the thick chapparal, there to encounter the red panther or the +fierce prowling bear--there to encounter the sharp thorns of the +acacias, the barbed spines of the cactus, and the recurving claw-like +armature of the wild aloes. I could see the red blood streaming adown +his white flanks--not _his_ blood, but that of the helpless victim +stretched prostrate along his back. I could see the lacerated limbs-- +the ankles chafed and swollen--the garments torn to shreds--the drooping +head--the long loose hair tossed and trailing to the earth--the white +wan lips--the woe-bespeaking eyes--Oh! I could bear my reflections no +longer. I sprang to my feet, and paced the prairie with the aimless, +unsteady step of a madman. + +Again the kind-hearted trapper approached, and renewed his efforts to +console me. + +"We could follow the trail," he said, "by torch or candle light, almost +as fast as we could travel; we should be many miles along it before +morning; maybe before then we should get sight of the steed. It would +not be hard to surround and capture him; now that he was half-tamed, he +might not run from us; if he did, he could be overtaken. Once in view, +we would not lose sight of him again. The saynyora would be safe +enough; there was nothing to hurt her: the wolves would not know the +`fix' she was in, neyther the `bars' nor `painters.' We should be sure +to come up with her before the next night, an would find her first-rate; +a little tired and hungry, no doubt, but nothing to hurt. We should +relieve her, and rest would set all right again." + +Notwithstanding the rude phrase in which these consolatory remarks were +made, I appreciated their kind intention. + +Garey's speech had the effect of rendering me more hopeful; and in +calmer mood, I awaited the return of Quackenboss and the Canadian. + +These did not linger. Two hours had been allowed them to perform their +errand; but long before the expiration of that period, we heard the +double tramp of their horses as they came galloping across the plain. + +In a few minutes they rode up, and we could see in the hands of Le Blanc +three whitish objects, that in length and thickness resembled stout +walking-canes. We recognised _les chandelles magnifiques_. + +They were the property of the church--designed, no doubt, to have +illumined the altar upon the occasion of some grand _dia de fiesta_. + +"Voila! mon capitaine!" cried the Canadian, as he rode forward--"voila +les chandelles! Ah, mon Dieu! c'est von big sacrilege, et je suis bon +Chretien--buen Catolico, as do call 'im ze dam Mexicaine; bien--ze bon +Dieu me forgive--God ve pardon vill pour--for ze grand necessitie; sure +certaine he will me pardon--Lige et moi--ze brave Monsieur Quack'bosh." + +The messengers had brought news from the village. Some rough +proceedings had taken place since our departure. Men had been punished; +fresh victims had been found under the guidance of Pedro and others of +the abused. The trees in the church enclosure that night bore horrid +fruit. + +The alcalde was not dead; and Don Ramon, it was supposed, still +survived, but had been carried off a prisoner by the guerrilla! The +rangers were yet at the rancheria; many had been desirous of returning +with Le Blanc and Quackenboss, but I had sent orders to the lieutenants +to take all back to camp as soon as their affair was over. The fewer of +the troop that should be absent, the less likelihood of our being +missed, and those I had with me I deemed enough for my purpose. Whether +successful or not, we should soon return to camp. It would then be time +to devise some scheme for capturing the leader and prime actor in this +terrible tragedy. + +Hardly waiting to hear the story, we lighted the great candles, and +moved once more along the trail. + +Fortunately, the breeze was but slight, and only served to make the huge +waxen torches flare more freely. By their brilliant blaze, we were +enabled to take up the tracks, quite as rapidly as by the moonlight. At +this point, the horse had been still going at full gallop; and his +course, as it ran in a direct line, was the more easily followed. + +Dark as the night was, we soon perceived we were heading for a point +well known to all of us--the prairie mound; and, under a faint belief +that the steed might have there come to a stop, we pressed forward with +a sort of hopeful anticipation. + +After an hour's tracking, the white cliffs loomed within the circle of +our view--the shining selenite glancing back the light of our tapers, +like a wall set with diamonds. + +We approached with caution, still keeping on the trail, but also keenly +scrutinising the ground in advance of us--in hopes of perceiving the +object of our search. Neither by the cliff, nor in the gloom around, +was living form to be traced. + +Sure enough the steed had halted there, or, at all events, ceased from +his wild gallop. He had approached the mound in a walk, as the tracks +testified; but how, and in what direction, had he gone thence? His +hoof-prints no longer appeared. He had passed over the shingle, that +covered the plain to a distance of many yards from the base of the +cliff, and no track could be found beyond! + +Several times we went around the mesa, carrying our candles everywhere. +We saw skeletons of men and horses, with skulls detached, fragments of +dresses, and pieces of broken armour--souvenirs of our late skirmish. +We looked into our little fortress, and gazed upon the rock that had +sheltered us; we glanced up the gorge where we had climbed, and beheld +the rope by which we had descended still hanging in its place: all these +we saw, but no further traces of the steed! + +Round and round we went, back and forward, over the stony shingle, and +along its outer edge, but still without coming upon the tracks. Whither +could the horse have gone! + +Perhaps, with a better light, we might have found the trail; but for a +long hour we searched, without striking upon any sign of it. Perhaps we +might still have found it, even with our waxen torches, but for an +incident that not only interrupted our search, but filled us with fresh +apprehension, and almost stifled our hopes of success. + +The interruption did not come unexpected. The clouds had for some time +given ample warning. The big solitary drops that at intervals fell with +plashing noise upon the rocks, were but the _avant-couriers_ of one of +the great rainstorms of the prairie, when water descends as if from a +shower-bath. We knew from the signs that such a storm was nigh; and +while casting around to recover the trail, it came down in all its fury. + +Almost in an instant our lights were extinguished, and our bootless +search brought to a termination. + +We drew up under the rocks, and stood side by side in sullen silence. +Even the elements seemed against me. In my heart's bitterness, I cursed +them. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY. + +THE SOMBRERO. + +The horses cowered under the cold rain, all of them jaded and hungry. +The hot dusty march of the morning, and the long rough gallop of the +night, had exhausted their strength; and they stood with drooped heads +and hanging ears, dozing and motionless. + +The men, too, were wearied--some of them quite worn out. A few kept +their feet, bridle in hand, under shelter of the impending cliff; the +others, having staggered down, with their backs against the rock, had +almost instantly fallen asleep. + +For me was neither sleep nor rest; I did not even seek protection +against the storm; but standing clear of the cliff, received the +drenching shower full upon my shoulders. It was the chill rain of the +"norther;" but at that moment neither cold _norte_ nor hot sirocco could +have produced upon me an impression of pain. To physical suffering I +was insensible. I should even have welcomed it, for I well understood +the truth, proverbially expressed in that language, rich above all +others in proverbial lore--"_un clavo saca otro clavo_" and still more +fully illustrated by the poet: + + "_Tristezas me hacen triste, + Tristezas salgo a buscar, + A ver si con tristezas + Tristezas puedo olvidar_." + +Yes, under any other form, I should have welcomed physical pain as a +neutraliser of my mental anguish; but that cold norther brought no +consolation. + +Sadly the reverse. It was the harbinger of keen apprehension; for not +only had it interrupted our search, but should the heavy rain continue +only for a few hours, we might be able neither to find or further to +follow the trail. It would be _blinded_--obliterated--lost. + +Can you wonder that in my heart I execrated those black clouds, and that +driving deluge?--that with my lips I cursed the sky and the storm, the +moon and the stars, the red lightning and the rolling thunder? + +My anathema ended, I stood in sullen silence, leaning against the body +of my brave horse--whose sides shivered under the chilly rain, though I +felt not its chill. + +Absorbed in gloomy thought, I recked not what was passing around me; +and, for an unnoted period, I remained in this speechless abstraction. + +My reverie was broken. Some expressions that reached my ear told me +that at least two of my followers had not yet yielded to weariness or +despair. Two of them were in conversation; and I easily recognised the +voices of the trappers. + +Tireless, used to stern struggles--to constant warfare with the +elements--with nature herself--these true men never thought of giving +up, until the last effort of human ingenuity had failed. From their +conversation, I gathered that they had not yet lost hope of finding the +trail, but were meditating on some plan for recovering and following it. + +With renewed eagerness I faced towards them and listened. Both talked +in a low voice. Garey was speaking, as I turned to them. + +"I guess you're right, Rube. The hoss must a gone thar, an if so, we're +boun' to fetch his tracks. Thar's mud, if I remember right, all roun' +the pool. We can carry the cannel under Dutch's sombrera." + +"Ye-es," drawled Rube in reply; "an ef this niggur don't miskalk'late, +we ain't a gwine to need eyther cannel or sombrairay. Lookee yander!"-- +the speaker pointed to a break in the clouds--"I'll stake high, I kin +mizyure this hyur shower wi' the tail o' a goat. Wagh! we'll hev the +moon agin, clur as iver in the inside o' ten minnits--see ef we haint." + +"So much the better, old hoss; but hadn't we best first try for the +tracks; time's precious, Rube--" + +"In coorse it ur; git the cannel an the sombrairay, an le's be off then. +The rest o' these fellurs hed better stay hyur, an snore it out; thu'll +only bamfoozle us." + +"Lige!" called out Garey, addressing himself to Quackenboss--"Lige! gi' +us yur hat a bit." + +A loud snore was the only reply. The ranger, seated with his back +against the rock, and his head drooping over his breast, was sound +asleep. + +"Durned sleepy-head!" exclaimed Rube, in a tone of peevish impatience. +"Prod 'im wi' the point o' yur bowie, Bill! Rib-roast 'im wi' yur +wipin'-stick! Lam 'im wi' yur laryette!--gi' 'im a kick i' the guts!-- +roust 'im up, durn 'im!" + +"Lige!--he!--Dutchy!" cried Garey, approaching the sleeper, and shaking +him by the shoulder; "I want your sombrera." + +"Ho! wo! stand still! Jingo! he'll throw me. I can't get off; the +spurs are locked. He! wo! wo!" + +Rube and Garey broke into a loud cachinnation that awakened the rest of +the slumberers. Quackenboss alone remained asleep, fighting in his +dreams with the wild Indian horse. + +"Durned mulehead!" cried Rube after a pause; "let 'im go on at thet +long's he likes it. Chuck the hat off o' his head, Bill! we don't want +_him_--thet we don't." + +There was a little pique in the trapper's tone. The breach that the +ranger had made, while acting as a faithful sentinel, was not yet +healed. + +Garey made no further attempts to arouse the sleeper, but in obedience +to the order of his comrade, lifted off the hat; and, having procured +one of the great candles, he and Rube started off without saying another +word, of giving any clue to their design. + +Though joyed at what I had heard, I refrained from interrogating them. +Some of my followers who put questions received only ambiguous answers. +From the manner of the trappers, I saw that they wished to be left to +themselves; and I could well trust them to the development of whatever +design they had conceived. + +On leaving us, they walked straight out from the cliff; but how far they +continued in this direction it was impossible to tell. They had not +lighted the candle; and after going half-a-dozen steps, their forms +disappeared from our view amidst the darkness and thickly-falling rain. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. + +THE TRAIL RECOVERED. + +The rangers, after a moment of speculation as to the designs of the +trappers, resumed their attitude of repose. Fatigued as they were, even +the cold could not keep them awake. + +After a pause, the voice of Quackenboss could be heard, in proof that +that heavy sleeper was at length aroused; the rain falling upon his +half-bald skull had been more effective than the shouts and shaking of +Garey. + +"Hillo? Where's my hat?" inquired he in a mystified tone, at the same +time stirring himself, and groping about among the rocks. "Where _is_ +my hat? Boys, did any o' ye see anything o' a hat, did ye?" His shouts +again awoke the sleepers. + +"What sort of a hat, Lige?" inquired one. + +"A black hat--that Mexican sombrera." + +"Oh! a black hat; no--I saw no black hat." + +"You darned Dutchman! who do you expect could see a black hat such a +night as this, or a white one eyther? Go to sleep!" + +"Come, boys, I don't want none o' your nonsense: I want my hat. Who's +tuk my hat?" + +"Are you sure it was a black hat?" + +"Bah! the wind has carried it away." + +"Pe gar! Monsieur Quack'bosh--votre chapeau grand--you great beeg 'at-- +est-il perdu?--is loss?--c'est vrai? Pardieu! les loups--ze wolfs have +it carr'd avay--have it mange--eat? c'est vrai?" + +"None o' your gibberish, Frenchy. Have _you_ tuk my hat?" + +"Moi! votre chapeau grand! No, Monsieur Quack'bosh--vraiment je ne l'ai +pas; pe gar, no!" + +"Have _you_ got it, Stanfield?" asked the botanist, addressing himself +to a Kentucky backwoodsman of that name. + +"Dang yar hat! What shed I do wi' yar hat? I've got my own hat, and +that's hat enough for me." + +"Have _you_ my hat, Bill Black?" + +"No," was the prompt reply; "I've got neery hat but my own, and that +ain't black, I reckon, 'cept on sich a night as this." + +"I tell you what, Lige, old fellow! you lost your hat while you were a +ridin' the mustang just now: the hoss kicked it off o' your head." + +A chorus of laughter followed this sally, in the midst of which +Quackenboss could be heard apostrophising both his hat and his comrades +in no very respectful terms, while he commenced scrambling over the +ground in vain search after the lost sombrero, amidst the jokes and +laughter uttered at his expense. + +To this merriment of my followers I gave but little heed: my thoughts +were intent on other things. My eyes were fixed upon that bright spot +in the sky, that had been pointed out by Rube; and my heart gladdened, +as I perceived that it was every moment growing brighter and bigger. + +The rain still fell thick and fast; but the edge of the cloud-curtain +was slowly rising above the eastern horizon, as though drawn up by some +invisible hand. + +Should the movement continue, I felt confident that in a few minutes--as +Rube had predicted--the sky would be clear again, and the moon shining +brightly as ever. These were joyous anticipations. + +At intervals I glanced towards the prairie, and listened to catch some +sound--either the voices of the trappers, or the tread of their +returning footsteps. No such sounds could be heard. + +I was becoming impatient, when I perceived a sudden waif of light far +out upon the plain. It seemed to be again extinguished; but in the same +place, and the moment after, appeared a small, steady flame, twinkling +like a solitary star through the bluish mist of the rain. For a few +seconds it remained fixed, and then commenced moving--as if carried low +down along the surface of the ground. + +There was nothing mysterious about this lone light. To Quackenboss only +it remained an unexplained apparition; and he might have mistaken it for +the _fata morgana_. The others had been awake when Rube and Garey took +their departure, and easily recognised the lighted candle in the hands +of the trappers. + +For some time the light appeared to move backwards and forwards, turning +at short distances, as if borne in irregular circles, or in zig-zag +lines. We could perceive the sheen of water between us and the flame-- +as though there was a pond, or perhaps a portion of the prairie, flooded +by the rain. + +After a while the light became fixed, and a sharp exclamation was heard +across the plain, which all of us recognised as being in the voice of +the trapper Rube. + +Again the light was in motion--now flitting along more rapidly, and as +if carried in a straight line over the prairie. + +We followed it with eager eyes. We saw it was moving further and +further away; and my companions hazarded the conjecture that the +trappers had recovered the trail. + +This was soon verified by one of themselves--Garey--whose huge form, +looming through the mist, was seen approaching the spot; and though the +expression of his face could not be noted in the darkness, his bearing +betokened that he brought cheerful tidings. + +"Rube's struck the trail, capt'n," said he in a quiet voice as he came +up: "yonder he goes, whar you see the bleeze o' the cannel! He'll soon +be out o' sight, if we don't make haste, an follow." + +Without another word, we seized the reins, sprang once more into our +saddles, and rode off after the twinkling star, that beaconed us across +the plain. + +Rube was soon overtaken; and we perceived that despite the storm, he was +rapidly progressing along the trail, his candle sheltered from the rain +under the ample sombrero. + +In answer to numerous queries, the old trapper vouchsafed only an +occasional "Wagh!" evidently proud of this new exhibition of his skill. +With Garey, the curious succeeded better; and as we continued on, the +latter explained to them how the trail had been recovered by his +comrade--for to Rube, it appeared, was the credit due. + +Rube remembered the mesa spring. It was the water in its branch that we +had seen gleaming under the light. The thoughtful trapper conjectured, +and rightly as it proved, that the steed would stop there to drink. He +had passed along the stony shingle by the mound--simply because around +the cliff lay his nearest way to the water--and had followed a dry ridge +that led directly from the mesa to the spring-branch. Along this ridge, +going gently at the time, his hoof had left no marks--at least none that +could be distinguished by torch-light--and this was why the trail had +been for the moment lost. Rube, however, remembered that around the +spring there was a tract of soft boggy ground; and he anticipated that +in this the hoof-prints would leave a deep impression. To find them he +needed only a "kiver" for the candle, and the huge hat of Quackenboss +served the purpose well. An umbrella would scarcely have been better. + +As the trappers had conjectured, they found the tracks in the muddy +margin of the spring-branch. The steed had drunk at the pool; but +immediately after had resumed his wild flight, going westward from the +mound. + +Why had he gone off at a gallop? Had he been alarmed by aught? Or had +he taken fresh affright, at the strange rider upon his back? + +I questioned Garey. I saw that he knew why. He needed pressing for the +answer. + +He gave it at length, but with evident reluctance. These were his words +of explanation-- + +"Thar are wolf-tracks on the trail!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. + +WOLVES ON THE TRACK. + +The wolves, then, were after him! + +The trackers had made out their footprints in the mud of the arroyo. +Both kinds had been there--the large brown wolf of Texas, and the small +barking _coyote_ of the plains. A full pack there had been, as the +trappers could tell by the numerous tracks, and that they were following +the horse, the tracks also testified to these men of strange +intelligence. How knew they this? By what sign? + +To my inquiries, I obtained answer from Garey. + +Above the spring-branch extended a shelving bank; up this the steed had +bounded, after drinking at the pool. Up this, too, the wolves had +sprung after: they had left the indentation of their claws in the soft +loam. + +How knew Garey that they were in pursuit of the horse? + +The "scratches" told him they were going at their fastest, and they +would not have sprung so far had they not been pursuing some prey. +There were footmarks of no other animal except theirs, and the +hoof-prints of that steed; and that they were after him was evident to +the trapper, because _the tracks of the wolves covered those of the +horse_. + +Garey had no more doubt of the correctness of his reasoning, than a +geometrician of the truth of a theorem in Euclid. + +I groaned in spirit as I was forced to adopt his conclusion. But it was +all probable--too probable. Had the steed been alone--Unembarrassed-- +free--it was not likely the wolves would have chased him thus. The +wild-horse in his prime is rarely the object of their attack; though the +old and infirm--the gravid mare, and the feeble colt--often fall before +these hungry hunters of the plains. Both common wolf and coyote possess +all the astuteness of the fox, and know, as if by instinct, the animal +that is wounded to death. They will follow the stricken deer that has +escaped from the hunter; but if it prove to be but slightly harmed, +instinctively they abandon the chase. + +Their instinct had told them that the steed was not ridden by a free +hand; they had seen that there was _something amiss_; and in the hope of +running down both horse and rider, they had followed with hungry howl. + +Another fact lent probability to this painful conjecture; we knew that +by the mesa were many wolves. + +The spring was the constant resort of ruminant animals, deer and +antelopes; the half-wild cattle of the _ganaderos_ drank there, and the +tottering calf oft became the prey of the coyote and his more powerful +congener, the gaunt Texan wolf. There was still another reason why the +place must of late have been the favourite prowl of these hideous +brutes: the _debris_ of our skirmish had furnished them with many a +midnight banquet. They had ravened upon the blood of men and the flesh +of horses, and they hungered for more. + +That they might succeed in running down the steed, cumbered as he was, +was probable enough. Sooner or later, they would overtake him. It +might be after a long, long gallop over hill and dale, through swamp and +chapparal; but still it was probable those tough, tireless pursuers +would overtake him. They would launch themselves upon his flanks; they +would seize upon his wearied limbs--upon hers, the helpless victim on +his back--both horse and rider would be dragged to the earth--both +torn--parted in pieces--devoured! + +I groaned under the horrid apprehension. + +"Look thar!" said Garey, pointing to the ground, and holding his torch +so as to illuminate the surface; "the hoss has made a slip thar. See! +hyar's the track o' the big wolf--he hes sprung up jest hyar; I can tell +by the scratch o' his hind-claws." + +I examined the "sign." Even to my eyes it was readable, and just as +Garey had interpreted it. There were other tracks of wolves on the damp +soil, but one had certainly launched himself forward, in a long leap, as +though in an effort to fasten himself upon the flanks of some animal. +The hoof-mark plainly showed that the steed had slipped as he sprang +over the wet grass; and this had tempted the spring of the watchful +pursuer. + +We hurried on. Our excited feelings hindered us from causing longer +than a moment. Both rangers and trappers snared my eagerness, as well +as my apprehensions. Fast as the torches could be carried, we hurried +on. + +Shortly after parting from the mesa, there occurred a change in our +favour. The lights had been carried under hats to protect them from the +rain. This precaution was no longer required. The storm had passed-- +the shower ceasing as suddenly as it had come on; the clouds were fast +driving from the face of the firmament. In five minutes more, the moon +would shine forth. Already her refracted rays lightened the prairie. + +We did not stay for her full beam; time was too precious. Still +trusting to the torches, we hurried on. + +The beautiful queen of the night kept her promise. In five minutes, her +cheering orb shot out beyond the margin of the dark pall that had +hitherto shrouded it; and her white disc, as if purified by the storm, +shone with unwonted brightness. The ground became conspicuous almost as +in day; the torches were extinguished, and we followed the trail more +rapidly by the light of the moon. + +Here, still in full gallop, had passed the wild-horse, and for miles +beyond--still had he gone at utmost speed. Still close upon his heels +had followed the ravenous and untiring wolves. Here and there were the +prints of their clawed feet--the signs of their unflagging pursuit. + +The roar of water sounded in our ears: it came from the direction +towards which the trail was conducting us, a stream was not far distant. + +We soon diminished the distance. A glassy sheet glistened under the +moonlight, and towards this the trail trended in a straight line. + +It was a river--a cataract was near, down which the water, freshened by +the late rain, came tumbling, broken by the rocks into hummocks of white +foam. Under the moonlight, it appeared like an avalanche of snow. The +trappers recognised an affluent of the Rio Bravo, running from the +north--from the high steppe of the Llano Estacado. + +We hurried forward to its bank, and opposite the frothing rapids. The +trail conducted us to this point--to the very edge of the foaming water. +It led no farther. There were the hoof-marks forward to the brink, but +not back. The horse had plunged into the torrent. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY THREE. + +ACROSS THE TORRENT. + +Surely was it so. Into that seething rapid the steed had launched +himself--where the spume was whitest, and the rocks gave out their +hoarsest echoes. The four hoof-prints, close together upon the bank, +showed the point from which he had sprung; and the deeply indented turf +testified that he had made no timid leap. The pursuers had been close +upon his heels, and he had flung himself with desperate plunge upon the +water. + +Had he succeeded in crossing? It was our first thought. It appeared +improbable--impossible. Notwithstanding its foam-bedappled surface, the +current was swift, and looked as though it would sweep either man or +horse from his footing. Surely it was too deep to be forded. Though +here and there rocks were seen above the surface, they were but the +crests of large boulders, and between them the impetuous wave ran dark +and rapid. Had the horse lost footing? had he been forced to swim? If +so, he must have been carried down by the current--his body submerged-- +his withers sunk below the surface--his helpless rider-- + +The conclusion was evident to all of us. All felt the conviction +simultaneously. No--not all. There came a word of comfort from the +oldest and wisest--a word that gave cheer to my drooping spirit. + +"Wagh! the hoss hain't swum a lick--_he_ hain't." + +"Are you sure, Rube? How can you tell?" were the quick interrogatories. + +"Sure--how kin I tell--i'deed, how?" replied Rube, a little nettled at +our having questioned his judgment. "What the divul's yur eyes good +for--all o' yur? Lookee hyur! and I'll show 'ee how I tell. Do 'ee see +the colour o' thet water?--it ur as brown as a buffler in the Fall; +thurfor it's fresh kim down; and jest afore the shower, thur wan't +more'n half o' it in the channel. _Then_ the hoss mout a waded 'crosst +hyur, easy as fallin' off a log, and _then_ that hoss _did_ wade +acrosst." + +"He crossed before the rain?" + +"Sure as a shot from Targuts. Look at the tracks! Them wur made afore +a drop o' rain kim down: ef they hedn't, they'd a been a durned sight +deeper in the sod. Wagh! the hoss got safe acrosst 'ithout wettin' a +hair o' his hips. So far as drowndin' goes, don't be skeeart 'bout +thet, young fellur! the gurl's safe enough yit." + +"And the wolves? Do you think they have followed across the stream?" + +"Ne'er a wolf o' 'em--ne'er a one. The vamints hed more sense. They +knowd thur legs wan't long enough, an thet ur current wud a swep 'em a +mile afore they kud a swum half-way acrosst. The wolves, they stayed on +this side, I reck'n. Look hyur--hyur's thur tracks. Wagh! thur wur a +wheen o' the filthy beests. Geehosophat! the bank ur paddled like a +sheep-pen." + +We bent down to examine the ground. Sure enough, it was covered with +the tracks of wolves. A numerous band had crowded together on the spot; +and as the prints of their feet pointed in all directions, it was +evident they had not gone forward, but, brought to a stand by the +torrent, had given up the chase, and scattered away. + +Pray heaven it was no mere conjecture! + +With Rube it was a belief; and as I had grown to put implicit reliance +in the old trapper's wood-craft, I felt reassured. Rube's opinions, +both as to the steed having safely crossed, and the discomfiture of the +wolves, were shared by the rest of my followers--not one of whom was a +mean authority on such a subject. Garey--second only to his older +comrade in the working out of a prairie syllogism--gave Rube's statement +his emphatic confirmation. The steed was yet safe--and pray heaven, the +rider. + +With lighter heart I sprang back into the saddle. My followers imitated +the example, and with eyes scanning the stream, we rode along the bank +to seek for a crossing. + +There was no ford near the spot. Perhaps where the steed had passed +over the stream might have been waded at low-water; but now, during the +freshet, the current would have swept off horse and man like so much +cork-wood. The rocks--the black waves that rushed between them--the +boiling, frothing eddies--discouraged any attempt at crossing there; we +all saw that it was impracticable. + +Some rode up stream, others went in the opposite direction. + +Both parties met again with blank looks; neither had found a crossing. + +There was no time to search further--at least my impatience would no +longer brook delay. It was not the first time for both my horse and +myself to cross a river without ford; nor was it the first time for many +of my followers. + +Below the rapids, the current ran slow, apparently ceasing altogether. +The water was still, though wider from bank to bank--a hundred yards or +more. By the aid of the moonlight, I could tell that the bank on the +opposite side was low and shelving. It could be easily climbed by a +horse. + +I stayed to reason no further. Many a hundred yards had Moro swum with +his rider on his back--many a current had he cleft with his proud breast +far more rapid than that. + +I headed him to the bank, gave him the spur, and went plunging into the +flood. + +Plunge--plunge--plunge! I heard behind me till the last of my followers +had launched themselves on the wave, and were swimming silently over. + +One after another we reached the opposite side, and ascended the bank. + +Hurriedly I counted our number as the men rode out; one had not yet +arrived. Who was missing? + +"Rube," answered some one. + +I glanced back, but without feeling any uneasiness. I had no fear for +the trapper; Garey alleged he was "safe to turn up." Something had +detained him. Could his old mare swim? + +"Like a mink," replied Garey; "but Rube won't ride her across; he's +afeerd to sink her too deep in the water. See! yonder he comes!" + +Near the middle of the stream, two faces were observed rippling the +wave, one directly in the wake of the other. The foremost was the +grizzled front of the old mustang, the other the unmistakeable +physiognomy of her master. The moonlight shining upon both rendered +them conspicuous above the dark brown water; and the spectacle drew a +laugh from those who had reached the bank. + +Rube's mode of crossing was unique, like every action of this singular +man. Perhaps he adopted it from sheer eccentricity, or maybe in order +that his mustang might swim more freely. + +He had ridden gently into the water, and kept his saddle till the mare +was beyond her depth--then sliding backward over her hips, he took the +tail in his teeth, and partly towed like a fish upon the hook, and +partly striking to assist in the passage, he swam after. As soon as the +mare again touched bottom, he drew himself up over the croup, and in +this way regained his saddle. + +Mare and man, as they climbed out on the bank--the thin skeleton bodies +of both reduced to their slenderest dimensions by the soaking water-- +presented a spectacle so ludicrous as to elicit a fresh chorus of +laughter from his comrades. + +I stayed not till its echoes had died away; but pressing my steed along +the bank, soon arrived at the rapids, where I expected to recover the +trail. + +To my joy, hoof-marks were there, directly opposite the point where the +steed had taken to the stream. Rube was right. He had waded safely +across. + +Thank heaven! at least from that peril has she been saved! + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR. + +A LILLIPUTIAN FOREST. + +On resuming the trail, I was cheered by three considerations. The peril +of the flood was past--she was not drowned. The wolves were thrown +off--the dangerous rapid had deterred them; on the other side their +footprints were no longer found. Thirdly, the steed had slackened his +pace. After climbing the bank, he had set off in a rapid gait, but not +at a gallop. + +"He's been pacin' hyar!" remarked Garey, as soon as his eyes rested upon +the tracks. + +"Pacing!" + +I knew what was meant by this; I knew that gait peculiar to the prairie +horse, fast but smooth as the amble of a palfrey. His rider would +scarcely perceive the gentle movement; her torture would be less. + +Perhaps, too, no longer frighted by the fierce pursuers, the horse would +come to a stop. His wearied limbs would admonish him, and then-- + +Surely he could not have gone much farther? + +We, too, were wearied, one and all; but these pleasing conjectures +beguiled us from thinking of our toil, and we advanced more hopefully +along the trail. + +Alas! it was my fate to be the victim of alternate hopes and fears. My +new-sprung joy was short-lived, and fast fleeted away. + +We had gone but a few hundred paces from the river, when we encountered +an obstacle, that proved not only a serious barrier to our progress, but +almost brought our tracking to a termination. + +This obstacle was a forest of oaks, not _giant_ oaks, as these famed +trees are usually designated, but the very reverse--a forest of _dwarf_ +oaks (_Quercus nana_). Far as the eye could reach extended this +singular wood, in which no tree rose above thirty inches in height! Yet +was it no thicket--no under-growth of shrubs--but a true forest of oaks, +each tree having its separate stem, its boughs, its lobed leaves, and +its bunches of brown acorns. + +"Shin oak," cried the trappers, as we entered the verge of this +miniature forest. + +"Wagh!" exclaimed Rube, in a tone of impatience, "hyur's bother. 'Ee +may all get out o' yur saddles an rest yur critturs: we'll hev to crawl +hyur." + +And so it resulted. For long weary hours we followed the trail, going +not faster than we could have crawled upon our hands and knees. The +tracks of the steed were plain enough, and in daylight could have been +easily followed; but the little oaks grew close and regular as if +planted by the hand of man; and through their thick foliage the +moonlight scarcely penetrated. Their boughs almost touched each other, +so that the whole surface lay in dark shadow, rendering it almost +impossible to make out the hoof-prints. Here and there, a broken branch +or a bunch of tossed leaves--their under-sides shining glaucous in the +moonlight--enabled us to advance at a quicker rate; but as the horse had +passed gently over the ground, these "signs" were few and far between. + +For long fretful hours we toiled through the "shin-oak" forest, our +heads far overtopping its tallest trees! We might have fancied that we +were threading our way through some extended nursery. The trail led +directly across its central part; and ere we had reached its furthest +verge, the moon's rays were mingling with the purple light of morning. + +Soon after the "forest opened;" the little dwarfs grew further apart-- +here scattered thinly over the ground, there disposed in clumps or +miniature grove?--until at length the sward of the prairie predominated. + +The trouble of the trackers was at an end. The welcome light of the sun +was thrown upon the trail, so that they could lift it as fast as we +could ride; and, no longer hindered by brake or bush, we advanced at a +rapid rate across the prairie. + +Over this ground the steed had also passed rapidly. He had continued to +pace for some distance, after emerging from the shin-oak forest; but all +at once, as we could tell by his tracks, he had bounded off again, and +resumed his headlong gallop. + +What had started him afresh? We were at a loss to imagine; even the +prairie-men were puzzled! + +Had wolves again attacked him, or some other enemy? No; nor one nor +other. It was a green prairie over which he had gone, a smooth sward of +mezquite-grass; but there were spots where the growth was thin--patches +nearly bare--and these were softened by the rain. Even the light paw of +a wolf would have impressed itself in such places, sufficiently to be +detected by the lynx-eyed men of the plains. The horse had passed since +the rain had ceased falling. No wolf, or other animal, had been after +him. + +Perhaps he had taken a start of himself, freshly affrighted at the novel +mode in which he was ridden--still under excitement from the rough usage +he had received, and from which he had not yet cooled down--perhaps the +barbed points of the cohetes rankled in his flesh, acting like spurs; +perhaps some distant sound had led him to fancy the hooting mob, or the +howling wolves, still coming at his heels; perhaps-- + +An exclamation from the trackers, who were riding in the advance, put an +end to these conjectures. Both had pulled up, and were pointing to the +ground. No words were spoken--none needed. We all read with our eyes +an explanation of the renewed gallop. + +Directly in front of us, the sward was cut and scored by numerous +tracks. Not four, but four hundred hoof-prints were indented in the +turf--all of them fresh as the trail we were following--and amidst these +the tracks of the steed, becoming intermingled, were lost to our view. + +"A drove of wild horses," pronounced the guides at a glance. + +They were the tracks of unshod hoofs, though that would scarcely have +proved them wild. An Indian troop might have ridden past without +leaving any other sign; but these horses had not been mounted, as the +trappers confidently alleged; and among them were the hoof-marks of +foals and half-grown colts, which proved the drove to be a _caballada_ +of mustangs. + +At the point where we first struck their tracks they had been going in +full speed, and the trail of the steed converged until it closed with +theirs at an acute angle. + +"Ye-es," drawled Rube, "I see how 'tis. They've been skeeart at the +awkurd look o' the hoss, an hev put off. See! thur's his tracks on the +top o' all o' theirn: he's been runnin' arter 'em. Thur!" continued the +tracker, as we advanced--"thur he hez overtuk some o' 'em. See! thur! +the vamints hev scattered right an left! Hyur agin, they've galliped +thegither, some ahint, an some afore him. Wagh! I guess they know him +now, an ain't any more afeerd o' him. See thur! he's in the thick o' +the drove." + +Involuntarily I raised my eyes, fancying from these words that the +horses were in sight; but no; the speaker was riding forward, leaning +over in his saddle, with looks fixed upon the ground. All that he had +spoken he had been reading from the surface of the prairie--from +hieroglyphics to me unintelligible, but to him more easily interpreted +than a page of the printed book. + +I knew that what he was saying was true. The steed had galloped after a +drove of wild horses; he had overtaken them; and at the point where we +now were, had been passing along in their midst! + +Dark thoughts came crowding into my mind at this discovery--another +shadow across my heart. I perceived at once a new situation of peril +for my betrothed--new, and strange, and awful. + +I saw her in the midst of a troop of neighing wild-horses--stallions +with fiery eyes and red steaming nostrils--these perhaps angry at the +white steed, and jealous of his approach to the _manada_; in mad rage +rushing upon him with open mouth and yellow glistening teeth; rearing +around and above him, and striking down with deadly desperate hoof--Oh, +it was a horrid apprehension, a fearful fancy! + +Yet, fearful as it was, it proved to be the exact shadow of a reality. +As the mirage refracts distant objects upon the retina of the eye, so +some spiritual mirage must have thrown upon my mind the image of things +that were real. Not distant, though then unseen--not distant was the +real. + +Rapidly I ascended another swell of the prairie, and from its crest +beheld almost the counterpart of the terrible scene that my imagination +had conjured up! + +Was it a dream? was it still fancy that was cheating my eyes? No; there +was the wild-horse drove; there the rearing, screaming stallions; there +the white steed in their midst--he too rearing erect--there upon his +back-- + +"O God! look down in mercy--save her! save her!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE. + +SCATTERING THE WILD STALLIONS. + +Such rude appeal was wrung from my lips by the dread spectacle on which +my eyes rested. + +I scarcely waited the echo of my words; I waited not the counsel of my +comrades; but, plunging deeply the spur, galloped down the hill in the +direction of the drove. + +There was no method observed--no attempt to keep under cover. There was +no time either for caution or concealment. I acted under instantaneous +impulse, and with but one thought--to charge forward, scatter the +stallions, and, if yet in time, save her from those hurling heels and +fierce glittering teeth. + +_If yet in time_--ay, such provisory parenthesis was in my mind at the +moment. But I drew hope from observing that the steed kept a ring +cleared around him: his assailants only threatened at a distance. + +Had he been alone, I might have acted with more caution, and perhaps +have thought of some stratagem to capture him. As it was, stratagem was +out of the question; the circumstances required speed. + +Both trappers and rangers--acting under like impulse with myself--had +spurred their horses into a gallop, and followed close at my heels. + +The drove was yet distant. The wind blew from them--a brisk breeze. We +were half-way down the hill, and still the wild horses neither heard, +saw, nor scented us. + +I shouted at the top of my voice: I wished to startle and put them to +flight. My followers shouted in chorus; but our voices reached not the +quarrelling caballada. + +A better expedient suggested itself: I drew my pistol from its holster, +and fired several shots in the air. + +The first would have been sufficient. Its report was heard, despite the +opposing wind; and the mustangs, affrighted by the sound, suddenly +forsook the encounter. Some bounded away at once; others came wheeling +around us, snorting fiercely, and tossing their heads in the air, a few +galloped almost within range of our rifles; and then, uttering their +shrill neighing, turned and broke off in rapid flight. The steed and +his rider alone remained, where we had first observed them! + +For some moments he kept the ground, as if bewildered by the sudden +scattering of his assailants; but he too must have heard the shots, and +perhaps alone divined something of what had caused those singular +noises. In the loud concussion, he recognised the voice of his greatest +enemy; and yet he stirred not from the spot! + +Was he going to await our approach? Had he become tamed?--reconciled to +captivity? or was it that we had rescued him from his angry rivals--that +he was grateful, and no longer feared us? + +Such odd ideas rushed rapidly through my mind as I hurried forward! + +I had begun to deem it probable that he would stay our approach, and +suffer us quietly to recapture him. Alas! I was soon undeceived. I +was still a long way off--many hundred yards--when I saw him rear +upward, wheel round upon his hind-feet as on a pivot, and then bound off +in determined flight. His shrill scream pealing back upon the breeze, +fell upon my ears like the taunt of some deadly foe. It seemed the +utterance of mockery and revenge: mockery at the impotence of my +pursuit; revenge that I had once made him my captive. + +I obeyed the only impulse I could have at such a moment, and galloped +after as fast as my horse could go. I stayed for no consultation with +my companions; I had already forged far ahead of them. They were too +distant for speech. + +I needed not their wisdom to guide me. No plan required conception or +deliberation; the course was clear: by speed alone could the horse be +taken, and his rider saved from destruction--_if yet safe_. + +Oh, the fearfulness of this last reflection! the agony of the doubt! + +It was not the hour to indulge in idle anguish; I repressed the emotion, +and bent myself earnestly upon the pursuit. I spoke to my brave steed, +addressing him by name; I urged him with hands and knees; only at +intervals did I inflict the cruel steel upon his ribs. + +I soon perceived that he was flagging; I perceived it with increased +apprehension for the result. He had worn his saddle too long on the day +before, and the wet weary night had jaded him. He had been +over-wrought, and I felt his weariness, as he galloped with feebler +stroke. The prairie-steed must have been fresh in comparison. + +But life and death were upon the issue. Her life--perhaps my own. I +cared not to survive her. She must be saved. The spur must be plied +without remorse: the steed must be overtaken, even if Moro should die! + +It was a rolling prairie over which the chase led--a surface that +undulated like the billows of the ocean. We galloped transversely to +the direction of the "swells," that rose one after the other in rapid +succession. Perhaps the rapidity with which we were crossing them +brought them _nearer_ to each other. To me there appeared no level +ground between these land-billows. Up hill and down hill in quick +alternation was the manner of our progress--a severe trial upon the +girths--a hard killing gallop for my poor horse. But life and death +were upon the issue, and the spur must be plied without remorse. + +A long cruel gallop--would it never come to an end I would the steed +never tire? would he never stop? Surely in time he must become weary? +Surely Moro was his equal in strength as in speed?--superior to him in +both? + +Ah! the prairie horse possessed a double advantage--he had started +fresh--he was on his native ground. + +I kept my eyes fixed upon him; not for one moment did I withdraw my +glance. A mysterious apprehension was upon me; I feared to look around, +lest he should disappear! The souvenirs of the former chase still +haunted me; weird remembrances clung to my spirit. I was once more in +the region of the supernatural. + +I looked neither to the right nor left, but straight before me--straight +at the object of my pursuit, and the distance that lay between us. This +last I continuously scanned, now with fresh hope, and now again with +doubt. It seemed to vary with the ground. At one time, I was nearer, +as the descending slope gave me the advantage; but the moment after, the +steep declivity retarded the speed of my horse, and increased the +intervening distance. + +It was with joy I crossed the last swell of the rolling prairie, and +beheld a level plain stretching before us. It was with joy I perceived +that upon the new ground I was rapidly gaining upon the steed! + +And rapidly I continued to gain upon him, until scarcely three hundred +yards were between us. So near was I, that I could trace the outlines +of _her_ form--her prostrate limbs--still lashed to the croup--her +garments loose and torn--her ankles--her long dark hair dishevelled and +trailing to the ground--even her pallid cheek I could perceive, as at +intervals the steed tossed back his head to utter his wild taunting +neigh. O God! there was blood upon it! + +I was near enough to be heard. I shouted in my loudest voice; I called +her by name. I kept my eyes upon her, and with throbbing anxiety +listened for a response. + +I fancied that her head was raised, as though she understood and would +have answered me. I could hear no voice, but her feeble cry might have +been drowned by the clatter of the hoofs. + +Again I called aloud--again and again pronouncing her name. + +Surely I heard a cry? surely her head was raised from the withers of the +horse? It was so--I could not be mistaken. + +"Thank Heaven, she lives!" + +I had scarcely uttered the prayer, when I felt my steed yield beneath me +as though he was sinking into the bosom of the earth. I was hurled out +of the saddle, and flung head-foremost upon the plain. My horse had +broken through the burrow of the prairie marmot, and the false step had +brought him with violence to the ground. + +I was neither stunned nor entangled by the fall; and in a few seconds +had regained my feet, my bridle, and saddle. But as I headed my horse +once more toward the chase, the white steed and his rider had passed out +of sight. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY SIX. + +LOST IN A CHAPPARAL. + +I was chagrined, frantic, and despairing, but not surprised. This time +there was no mystery about the disappearance of the steed; the chapparal +explained it. Though I no longer saw him, he was yet within hearing. +His footfall on the firm ground, the occasional snapping of a dead +stick, the whisk of the recoiling branches, all reached my ears as I was +remounting. + +These sounds guided me, and without staying to follow his tracks, I +dashed forward to the edge of the chapparal--at the point nearest to +where I heard him moving. + +I did not pause to look for an opening, but, heading in the direction +whence came the sounds, I spurred forward into the thicket. + +Breasting the bushes that reached around, his neck, or bounding over +them, my brave horse pressed on; but he had not gone three lengths of +himself before I recognised the imprudence of the course I was pursuing: +I now saw I should have _followed the tracks_. + +I no longer heard the movements of the steed--neither foot-stroke, nor +snapping sticks, nor breaking branches. The noise made by my own horse, +amid the crackling acacias, drowned every other sound; and so long as I +kept in motion, I moved with uncertainty. It was only when I made stop +that I could again hear the chase struggling through the thicket; but +now the sounds were faint and far distant--growing still fainter as I +listened. + +Once more I urged forward my horse, heading him almost at random; but I +had not advanced a hundred paces, before the misery of uncertainty again +impelled me to halt. + +This time I listened and heard nothing--not even the recoil of a bough. +The steed had either stopped, and was standing silent, or, what was more +probable, had gained so so far in advance of me that his hoof-stroke was +out of hearing. + +Half-frantic, angered at myself, too much excited for cool reflection, I +lanced the sides of my horse, and galloped madly through the thicket. + +I rode several hundred yards before drawing bridle, in a sort of +desperate hope I might once more bring myself within earshot of the +chase. + +Again I halted to listen. My recklessness proved of no avail. Not a +sound reached my ear: even had there been sounds, I should scarcely have +heard them above that that was issuing from the nostrils of my panting +horse; but sound there was none. Silent was the chapparal around me-- +silent as death; not even a bird moved among its branches. + +I felt something like self-execration: my imprudence I denounced over +and over. But for my rash haste, I might yet have been upon the trail-- +perhaps within sight of the object of pursuit. Where the steed had +gone, surely I could have followed. Now he was gone I knew not +whither--lost--his trail lost--all lost! + +To recover the trace of him, I made several casts across the thicket. I +rode first in one direction, then in another, but all to no purpose. I +could find neither hoof-track nor broken branch. + +I next bethought me of returning to the open prairie, there retaking the +trail, and following it thence. This was clearly the wisest,--in fact, +the only course in which there was reason. I should easily recover the +trail, at the point where the horse had entered the chapparal, and +thence I might follow it without difficulty. + +I turned my horse round, and headed him in the direction of the +prairie--or rather in what I supposed to be the direction--for this too +had become conjecture. + +It was not till I had ridden for a half-hour--for more than a mile +through glade and bush--not till I had ridden nearly twice as far in the +opposite direction--and then to right, and then to left--that I pulled +up my broken horse, dropped the rein upon his withers, and sat bent in +my saddle under the full conviction that I too was lost. + +Lost in the chapparal--that parched and hideous jungle, where every +plant that carries a thorn seemed to have place. Around grew _acacias, +mimosas, gleditschias, robinias, algarobias_--all the thorny legumes of +the world; above towered the splendid _fouquiera_ with spinous stem; +there nourished the "tornillo" (_prosopis glandulosa_), with its twisted +beans; there the "junco" (_koeblerinia_), whose very leaves are thorns. +There saw I spear-pointed yuccas and clawed bromelias (_agave_ and +_dasylirion_); there, too, the universal cactacese (_opuntia, +mamillaria, cereus_, and _echinocactus_); even the very grass was +thorny--for it was a species of the "mezquite-grass," whose knotted +culms are armed with sharp spurs! + +Through this horrid thicket I had not passed unscathed; my garments were +already torn, my limbs were bleeding. + +_My_ limbs--and hers? + +Of hers alone was I thinking: those fair-proportioned members--those +softly-rounded arms--that smooth, delicate skin--bosom and shoulders +bare--the thorn--the scratch--the tear. Oh! it was agony to think! + +By action alone might I hope to still my emotions; and once more rousing +myself from the lethargy of painful thought, I urged my steed onward +through the bushes. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN. + +ENCOUNTER WITH JAVALL. + +I had no mark to guide me, either on the earth or in the heavens. I had +an indefinite idea that the chase had led westward, and therefore to get +back to the prairie, I ought to head towards the east. + +But how was I to distinguish east from west? In the chapparal both were +alike, and so too upon the sky. No sun was visible; the canopy of +heaven was of a uniform leaden colour; upon its face were no signs by +which the cardinal points could have been discovered. + +Had I been in the midst of a forest surrounded by a northern _sylva_, I +could have made out my course. The oak or the elm, the ash-tree or +maple, the beech or sycamore--any of them would have been compass +sufficient for me; but in that thicket of thorny shrubs I was completely +at fault. It was a subtropical flora--or rather a vegetation of the +arid desert--to which I was almost a stranger. I knew there were men +skilled in the craft of the chapparal, who, in the midst of it, could +tell north from south without compass or stars. Not I. + +I could think of no better mode than to trust to the guidance of my +horse. More than once, when lost in the thick forest or on the +boundless plain, had I reposed a similar trust in his instincts--more +than once had he borne me out of my bewilderment. + +But whither could he take me? Back to the path by which we had come? + +Probably enough, had that path led to a home; but it did not: my poor +steed, like myself, had no home. He, too, was a ranger; for years had +been flitting from place to place,--hundreds, ay, thousands of miles +from each other. Long had he forgotten his native stall. + +I surmised that if there was water near, his instinct might carry him to +that--and much needed it both horse and rider. Should we reach a +running stream, it would serve as a guide. + +I dropped the rein upon his neck, and left him to his will. + +I had already shouted in my loudest voice, in hopes of being heard by my +comrades; by none other than them, for what could human being do in such +a spot, shunned even by the brute creation? The horned lizard (_agama +cornuta_), the ground rattlesnake, the shell-covered armadillo, and the +ever-present coyote, alone inhabit these dry jungles; and now and then +the javali (_dicotyles torquatus_), feeding upon the twisted legumes of +the "tornillo," passes through their midst; but even these are rare; and +the traveller may ride for scores of miles through a Mexican chapparal +without encountering aught that lives and moves. There reigns the +stillness of death. Unless the wind be rustling among the pinnate +fronds of the acacias, or the unseen locust utters its harsh shrieking +amid the parched herbage, the weary wayfarer may ride on, cheered by no +other sound than his own voice, or the footfall of his horse. + +There was still the chance that my followers might hear me. I knew that +they would not stray from the trail. Though they must have been far +behind when I entered the chapparal, following the tracks, they would in +time be sure to come up. + +It was a question whether they would follow mine, or those of the steed. +This had not occurred to me before, and I paused to consider it. If +the former, then was I wrong in moving onward, as I should only be going +_from_ them, and leading them on a longer search. Already had I given +them a knot to unravel--my devious path forming a labyrinthine maze. + +It was more than probable they would follow _me_--in the belief that I +had some reason for deviating from the trail of the steed, perhaps for +the purpose of heading or intercepting him. + +This conjecture decided me against advancing farther--at least until +some time should elapse, enough for them to get up. + +Out of compassion for my hard-breathing horse, I dismounted. + +At intervals, I shouted aloud, and fired shots from my pistols after +each I listened; but neither shot nor shout reached me in reply. They +must have been distant indeed, not to hear the report of fire-arms; for +had they heard them, they would have been certain to make answer in a +similar manner. All of them carried rifles and pistols. + +I began to think it was full time for them to have reached me. Again I +fired several shots; but, as before, echo was the only reply. Perhaps +they had _not_ followed me? perhaps they had kept on upon the trail of +the steed, and it might be leading them far away, beyond hearing of the +reports? perhaps there was not yet time for them to have arrived? + +While thus conjecturing, my ears were assailed by the screeching of +birds at some distance off. I recognised the harsh notes of the jay, +mingling with the chatter of the red cardinal. + +From the tones, I knew that these birds were excited by the presence of +some enemy. Perhaps they were defending their nests against the black +snake or the _crotalus_. + +Or it might be my followers approaching! it might be the steed--like me, +still wandering in the chapparal? + +I sprang to my saddle to get a better view, and gazed over the tops of +the trees. Guided by the voices of the birds, I soon discovered the +scene of the commotion. + +At some distance off, I saw both jays and cardinals fluttering among the +branches, evidently busy with something on the ground beneath them. At +the same time I heard strange noises, far louder than the voices of the +birds, but could not tell what was causing them. My spirits sank, for I +knew they could not be produced either by my comrades or the steed. + +It was not far, and I determined to satisfy myself as to what was +causing such a commotion in this hitherto silent place. I rode towards +the spot, as fast as my horse could make way through the bushes. I was +soon satisfied. + +Coming out on the edge of a little glade, I became spectator to a +singular scene--a battle between the red cougar and a band of javali. + +The fierce little boars were "ringing" the panther, who was fighting +desperately in their midst. Several of them lay upon the ground, struck +senseless or dead, by the strong paws of the huge cat; but the others, +nothing daunted, had completely surrounded their enemy, and were +bounding upon him with open mouths; and wounding him with their sharp +shining tusks. + +The scene aroused my hunter instincts; and suddenly unslinging my rifle, +I set my eye to the sights. I had no hesitation about the selection of +my mark--the panther, by all means--and drawing trigger, I sent my +bullet through the creature's skull, that stretched him out in the midst +of his assailants. + +Three seconds had not elapsed, before I had reason to regret the choice +I had made of a victim. I should have let the cougar alone, and either +held my fire, or directed it upon one of his urchin-like enemies; for +the moment he was _hors de combat_, his assailants became mine-- +transferring their "surround" to my horse and myself, with all the +savage fierceness they had just exhibited towards the panther! + +I had no means of punishing the ungrateful brutes. They had not given +me time to reload my rifle before commencing their attack, and my +pistols were both empty. My horse, startled by the unexpected assault, +as well as by the strange creatures that were making it, snorted and +plunged wildly over the ground; but go where he would, a score of the +ferocious brutes followed, springing up against his thighs, and scoring +his shanks with their terrible tusks. Well for me I was able to keep +the saddle; had I been thrown from it at that moment, I should certainly +have been torn to pieces. + +I saw no hope of safety but in flight; and spurring my horse, I gave him +full rein. Alas! through that tangled thicket the javali could go as +fast as he; and after advancing a hundred yards or so, I perceived the +whole flock still around me, assailing as fiercely as ever the limbs of +my steed. + +The result might have proved awkward enough; but at that moment I heard +voices, and saw mounted men breaking through the underwood. They were +Stanfield, Quackenboss, and the rest of the rangers. + +In another instant, they were on the ground; and their revolvers, +playing rapidly, soon thinned the ranks of the javali, and caused the +survivors to retreat grunting and screaming into the thicket. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT. + +THE WOODS ON FIRE? + +The trappers were not among those who had rescued me--where were they? + +The others made answer, though I already guessed what they had to tell. +Rube and Garey had followed the tracks of the steed, leaving the rangers +to come after me. + +I was pleased with the ready intelligence of my comrades: they had acted +exactly as they should have done. I was myself found, and I no longer +entertained any apprehension that the trail would be lost. + +By this time, the trackers must be far upon it; more than an hour had +elapsed since they and the others had parted company. My zigzag path +had cost my followers many a bewildering pause. + +But they had not ridden recklessly as I, and could find their way back. +As it was impossible to tell in what direction Rube and Garey had gone, +this course was the best to be followed; and under the guidance of +Stanfield--an expert woodsman--we rode back towards the prairie. + +It was not necessary to retrace our own crooked trail. The Kentuckian +had noted the "lay" of the chapparal, and led us out of its labyrinths +by an almost direct path. + +On reaching the open ground, we made no pause; but upon the tracks of +Rube, Garey, and the steed, re-entered the chapparal. + +We had no difficulty about our course; it was plainly traced out for us; +the trappers had "blazed" it. In most places, the tracks of the three +horses were sufficient indices of the route; but there were stretches +where the ground was stony, and upon the parched arid herbage, even the +shod hoof left no visible mark. In such places, a branch of acacia +broken and pendulous, the bent flower-stem of an aloe, or the succulent +leaves of the cactus slashed with a sharp knife, were conspicuous and +unmistakeable signs; and by the guidance of these we made rapid advance. + +We must have gone much faster than the trackers themselves--for +notwithstanding the freshness of the trail, there were dry spots and +patches of cut rock over which it passed, and where it must have cost +them both time and keen perception to trace it. + +As we were travelling so much more rapidly than Rube and Garey could +have done, I looked forward to our soon overtaking them: with eager +anticipation, I looked forward. Surely they would have some news for +me, now that they had been so long in the advance? Surely by this time +they must have come in sight of the steed?--perhaps captured him? Oh, +joyous anticipation! + +Or would they return with a different tale? Was I to meet the report +that he still hurried on--on for ever? That he had swum some rapid +stream? or plunged over a precipice--into some dark abysm? + +Though hastening on after the trackers, there were moments when I feared +to overtake them--moments when I dreaded to hear their tale! + +We had worked our way about five miles through the hideous jungle, when +I began to feel a strange sensation in my eyes--a sensation of pain-- +what is usually termed a "smarting." I at first attributed it to the +want of sleep. + +My companions complained that they were affected in a similar manner. + +It was not until we had gone some distance farther, that we found the +true explanation--on perceiving that there was _smoke in the air_! +Smoke it was that was causing the bitterness in our eyes. + +The denizen of the prairie never regards such an indication with +indifference. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and where fire, +danger--at least upon the broad grassy steppes of the west. A burning +forest may be shunned. You may stand near a forest on fire, and +contemplate such a scene with safety; but a blazing prairie is a +phenomenon of a different character; and it is indeed a rare position +where you may view, without peril, this sublime spectacle. + +There are prairies that will not burn. The plains covered with the +short "buffalo-grass" (_sesleria dactyloides_), and the sward of various +species of "gramma" (_chondrosium_), rarely take fire; or if they do, +horse, man, buffalo, or antelope, can easily escape by leaping across +the blaze. 'Tis only the reptile world--snakes, lizards, the toad, and +the land-turtle (_terrapin_)--that fall victims to such a flame. + +Not so upon the "weed-prairies," or those where the tall reed-grass +rises above the withers of a horse--its culms matted and laced together +by the trailing stems of various species of bindweed, by creeping +convolvulus, cucurbitacese, and wild pea-vines. In the dry season, when +a fire lays its hold upon vegetation of this character, there is danger +indeed--where it rages, there is death. + +It was smoke that affected our eyes, causing them to wince and water. +Fire must be causing the smoke--what was on fire? + +I could detect apprehension in the looks of my followers, as we rode on. +It was but slight, for as yet the smoke was scarcely perceptible, and +the fire, wherever it was, must be distant--so fancied we. + +As we advanced, the glances of the men became more uneasy. Beyond a +doubt, the smoke was thickening around us, the sky was fast becoming +darker, and the pain in our eyes more acute. + +"The woods are on fire," said Stanfield. + +Stanfield was a backwoodsman--his thoughts ran upon "woods." + +Whether forest or prairie, a conflagration was certainly raging. It +might be far off--for the wind will carry the smoke of a prairie fire a +long distance--but I had an unpleasant suspicion that it was _not_ +distant. I noticed dropping around us the white floe of burnt leaves, +and from the intense bitterness of the smoke, I reasoned that it could +not have floated far--its gases were not yet dissipated. + +It was not the distance of the fire that so much troubled me, as its +direction. The wind blew right in our teeth, and the smoke was +travelling with the wind. The conflagration must be ahead--directly +upon the trail! + +The smoke grew thicker and thicker--ahead, the sky appeared slashed with +a lurid light; I fancied I could hear the crackling of the flames. The +air felt hot and dry: a choking sensation was produced in our throats, +and one and all were hacking and gasping for breath. + +So dark had it suddenly become--or rather so blinded were we with the +smoke--we could scarcely make out the trail. + +My followers would have stopped, but I urged them on. With voice and +example, I urged them on--myself leading the way. My heart was too full +of anxiety to make pause. + +Where in all this were Rube and Garey? We had come far and fast; we +should now be nearly up with them--they could not be much ahead. + +I halloed as we advanced. + +"Hullow!" came the response, in the rough baritone of the younger +trapper. + +We hurried forward in the direction of the voice. + +The path conducted to an opening in the chapparal--in the centre of +which, through the smoke, we could distinguish the forms of men and +horses. + +With eager eyes, I scanned the group; a glance was sufficient: there +were _only two_ of each--only the trackers. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY NINE. + +SMOKE AND THIRST. + +"Ah, Monsieur Roob!" cried the Canadian, as we hurried up, "vat make +zees diable d'une fumee--smoke? Are ze woods on fire--you tink--eh?" + +"Wuds!" exclaimed Rube, with a contemptuous glance at the speaker. +"Wagh! Thur's no wuds hyur. Thur's a paraira afire. Don't yer smell +the stink o' the grass?" + +"Pe gar, oui! vraiment--c'est la prairie? You sure, Monsieur Roob?" + +"Sure!" vociferated the trapper in a tone of indignation--"Sure!--ye +durned parley-voo-eat-a-frog-spit-a-brickbat-soup-suckin' Frenchman, +d'yur think I don't know the smell o' a burnin' paraira? Wagh!" + +"Ah, Monsieur Roob, me pardonnez. Vat I mean ask--is ze chapparal +brule--on fire--ces arbres?" + +"The chapparil ain't afire," answered Rube, somewhat mollified by the +apology: "so don't be skeeart, Frenchy yur safe enuf." + +This assurance seemed to gratify not only the timid Canadian, but +others, who, up to this moment, were apprehensive that it was the +thicket that was on fire. + +For myself, I had no such fears; I perceived that the chapparal could +not burn. Here and there, patches of dry mezquite-trees would have +caught like tinder; but in most places, a succulent endogenous +vegetation formed three parts of the jungle, and rendered it +"fire-proof." This was especially the case around the glade where the +trappers had taken their stand, and which was completely enclosed by a +wall of the great organ cactus, with aloes, opuntias, and other +juicy-leaved plants. In the opening, we were as safe from the fire as +though it was a hundred miles off; we suffered only from the smoke, that +now quite filled the atmosphere, causing a darkness that rivalled night +itself. + +I had no apprehension for _our_ safety; it was not of that I was +thinking. + +To the hasty dialogue between Rube and the Canadian I had scarcely given +heed; Garey had advanced to meet me, and I listened with anxious ear to +the tale of the tracker. + +It was soon told. Rube and he had followed the trail, until it emerged +from the chapparal, and struck out into a wide grass-prairie. The edge +of the thicket was close by; but they had gone a considerable distance +beyond it and across the plain. They were still advancing, when, to +their consternation, they perceived that the prairie was on fire +directly ahead of them! The wind was rolling both smoke and flames +before it with the rapidity of a running horse; and it was with +difficulty they had escaped from it by galloping back to the chapparal. + +And the steed--what had become of him? Had they seen nothing? + +I did not put these questions in words--only in thought did I ask them; +and in thought only were they answered. Both the trackers were silent, +and that was an answer in the negative; yes, I read an ominous negative +in their looks of gloom. + +We were compelled to halt; even the smoke rendered further progress +impossible; but we could hear the fire at no great distance--the culms +of the coarse reed-grass cracking like volleys of musketry. + +Now and then, a scared deer broke through the bushes, passing us at full +speed. A band of antelopes dashed into the glade, and halted close +beside us--the frightened creatures not knowing where to run. At their +heels came a pack of prairie-wolves, but not in pursuit of them: these +also stopped near. A black bear and a cougar arrived next; and fierce +beasts of prey and gentle ruminants stood side by side, both terrified +out of their natural habits. Birds shrieked among the branches, eagles +screamed in the air, and black vultures could be seen hovering through +the smoke, with no thought of stooping upon a quarry! + +The hunter man alone preserved his instincts. My followers were hungry. +Rifles were levelled--and the bear and one of the antelopes fell +victims to the deadly aim. + +Both were soon stripped of their skins, and butchered. A fire was +kindled in the glade, and upon sword-blades and sapling spits the choice +morsels of venison and "bear-meat" were roasted, and eaten, with many a +jest about the "smoky kitchen." + +I was myself hungered. I shared the repast, but not the merriment. At +that moment, no wit could have won from me a smile; the most luxurious +table could not have furnished me with cheer. + +A worse appetite than hunger assailed my companions, and I felt it with +the rest--it was thirst: for hours all had been suffering from it; the +long hard ride had brought it on, and now the smoke and the dry hot +atmosphere increased the appetite till it had grown agonising, almost +unendurable. No water had been passed since the stream we had crossed +before day; there was none in the chapparal; the trackers saw none so +far as they had gone: we were in a waterless desert; and the very +thought itself renders the pang of thirst keener and harder to endure. + +Some chewed their leaden bullets, or pebbles of chalcedony which they +had picked up; others obtained relief by drinking the blood of the +slaughtered animals--the bear and the antelope--but we found a better +source of assuagement in the succulent stems of the cactus and agave. + +The relief was but temporary: the juice cooled our lips and tongues, but +there is an acrid principle in some of these plants that soon acted, and +our thirst became more intense than ever. + +Some talked of returning on the trail in search of water--of going back +even to the stream--more than twenty miles distant. + +Under such circumstances, even military command loses its authority. +Nature is stronger than martial law. + +I cared not if they did return; I cared not who left me, so long as the +trappers remained true. I had no fear that they would forsake me; and +my disapprobation of it checked the cheerless proposal, and once more +all declared their willingness to go on. + +Fortunately, at that crisis the smoke began to clear away, and the +atmosphere to lighten up. The fire had burnt on to the edge of the +chapparal, where it was now opposed by the sap-bearing trees. The grass +had been all consumed--the conflagration was at an end. + +Mounting our horses, we rode out from the glade; and following the trail +a few hundred yards farther, we emerged from the thicket, and stood upon +the edge of the desolated plain. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY. + +A BURNT PRAIRIE. + +The earth offers no aspect more drear and desolate than that of a burnt +prairie. The ocean when its waves are grey--a blighted heath--a flat +fenny country under a rapid thaw--all these impress the beholder with a +feeling of chill monotony; but the water has motion, the heath, colour, +and the half-thawed flat exhibits variety in its mottling of white and +ground. + +Not so the steppe that has been fired and burned. In this, the eye +perceives neither colour, nor form, nor motion. It roams over the +limitless level in search of one or other, but in vain; and in the +absence of all three, it tires, and the heart grows cheerless and sick. +Even the sky scarcely offers relief. It, too, by refraction from the +black surface beneath, wears a dull livid aspect; or perhaps the eye, +jaundiced by the reflection of the earth, beholds not the brightness of +the heavens. + +A prairie, when green, does not always glad the eye,--not even when +enamelled with fairest flowers. I have crossed such plains, verdant or +blooming to the utmost verge of vision, and longed for _something_ to +appear _in sight_--a rock, tree, a living creature--anything to relieve +the universal sameness; just as the voyager on the ample ocean longs for +ships, for _cetaceae_, or the sight of land, and is delighted with a +nautilus, polypi, phosphorescence, or a floating weed. + +Colour alone does not satisfy the sense. What hue more charming than +the fresh verdure of the grassy plain? what more exquisite than the deep +blue of the ocean? and yet the eye grows aweary of both! Even the +"flower-prairie," with its thousands of gay corollas of every tint and +shade--with its golden helianthus, its white argemone, its purple +cleome, its pink malvaceae, its blue lupin--its poppy worts of red and +orange--even these fair tints grow tiresome to the sight, and the eye +yearns for form and motion. + +If so, what must be the prairie when divested of all these verdant and +flowery charms--when burned to black ashes? It is difficult to conceive +the aspect of dreary monotony it then presents--more difficult to +describe it. Words will not paint such a scene. + +And such presented itself to our eyes as we rode out from the chapparal. +The fire was past--even the smoke had ceased to ascend--except in spots +where the damp earth still reeked under the heat--but right and left, +and far ahead, on to the very hem of the horizon, the surface was of one +uniform hue, as if covered with a vast crape. There was nought of form +to be seen, living or lifeless; there was neither life nor motion, even +in the elements; all sounds had ceased: an awful stillness reigned above +and around--the world seemed dead and shrouded in a vast sable pall! + +Under other circumstances, I might have stayed to regard such a scene, +though not to admire it. On that interminable waste, there was nought +to be admired, not even sublimity; but no spectacle, however sublime, +however beautiful, could have won from me a thought at that moment. + +The trackers had already ridden far out, and were advancing, half +concealed by the cloud of black "stoor" flung up from the heels of their +horses. + +For some distance, they moved straight on, without looking for the +tracks of the steed. Before meeting the fire, they had traced them +beyond the edge of the chapparal, and therefore knew the direction. + +After a while, I observed them moving more slowly, with their eyes upon +the ground as if they had lost it, I had doubts of their being able +either to find or follow it now. The shallow hoof-prints would be +filled with the debris of the burnt herbage--surely they could no longer +be traced? + +By myself, they could not, nor by a common man; but it seemed that to +the eyes of those keen hunters, the trail was as conspicuous as ever. I +saw that, after searching a few seconds, they had taken it up, and were +once more moving along, guided by the tracks. + +Some slight hollows I could perceive, distributed here and there over +the ground, and scarcely distinguishable from the surrounding level. +Certainly, without having been told what they were, I should not have +known them to be the tracks of a horse. + +It proved a wide prairie, and we seemed to be crossing its central part. +The fire had spread far. + +At one place, nearly midway, where the trail was faint, and difficult to +make out, we stopped for a short while to give the trackers time. A +momentary curiosity induced me to gaze around. Awful was the scene-- +awful without sublimity. Even the thorny chapparal no longer relieved +the eye; the outline of its low shrubbery had sunk below the horizon; +and on all sides stretched the charred plain up to the rim of the leaden +canopy, black--black--illimitable. Had I been alone, I might easily +have yielded to the fancy, that the world was dead. + +Gazing over this vast opacity, I for a moment forgot my companions, and +fell into a sort of lethargic stupor. I fancied that I too was dead or +dreaming--I fancied that I was in hell--the Avernus of the ancients. In +my youth, I had the misfortune to be well schooled in classic lore--to +the neglect of studies more useful--and often in life have the poetical +absurdities of Greek and Latin mythology intruded themselves upon my +spirit--both asleep and awake. I fancied, therefore, that some +well-meaning Anchises had introduced me to the regions below; and that +the black plain before me was some landscape in the kingdom of Pluto. +Reflection--had I been capable of that--would have convinced me of my +error. No part of that monarch's dominions can be so thinly peopled. + +I was summoned to reason again by the voices of my followers. The lost +trail had been found, and they were moving on. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE. + +THE TALK OF THE TRACKERS. + +I spurred after, and soon overtook them. Regardless of the dust, I rode +close in the rear of the trackers, and listened to what they were +saying. + +These "men of the mountains"--as they prided to call themselves--were +peculiar in everything. While engaged in a duty, such as the present, +they would scarce disclose their thoughts, even to me; much less were +they communicative with the rest of my following, whom they were +accustomed to regard as "greenhorns"--their favourite appellation for +all men who have not made the tour of the grand prairies. + +Notwithstanding that Stanfield and Black were backwoodsmen and hunters +by profession, Quackenboss a splendid shot, Le Blanc a regular +_voyageur_, and the others more or less skilled in woodcraft, all were +greenhorns in the opinion of the trappers. To be otherwise a man must +have starved upon a "sage-prairie"--"run" buffalo by the Yellowstone or +Platte--fought "Injun," and shot Indian--have well-nigh lost scalp or +ears--spent a winter in Pierre's Hole upon Green River--or camped amid +the snows of the Rocky Mountains! Some one of all these feats must +needs have been performed, ere the "greenhorn" can matriculate and take +rank as a "mountain man." + +I of all my party was the only one who, in the eyes of Rube and Garey, +was _not_ a greenhorn; and even I--gentleman-amateur that I was--was +hardly up either in their confidence or their "craft." It is indeed +true--with all my classic accomplishments--with my fine words, my fine +horse, and fine clothes--so long as we were within the limits of +prairie-land, I acknowledged these men as my superiors. They were my +guides, my instructors, my masters. + +Since overtaking them on the trail, I had not asked them to give any +opinion. I dreaded a direct answer--for I had noticed something like a +despairing look in the eyes of both. + +As I followed them over the black plain, however, I thought that their +faces brightened a little, and appeared once more lit up by a faint ray +of hope. For that reason, I rode close upon their heels, and eagerly +caught up every word that was passing between them. Rube was speaking +when I first drew near. + +"Wagh! I don't b'lieve it, Bill: 'taint possyble no-howso-ever. The +paraira wur sot afire--must 'a been--thur's no other ways for it. It +cudn't 'a tuk to bleezing o' itself--eh?" + +"Sartinly not; I agree wi' you, Rube." + +"Wal--thur wur a fellur as I met oncest at Bent's Fort on the Arkinsaw-- +a odd sort o' a critter he wur, an no mistake; he us't to go pokin +about, gatherin' weeds an' all sorts o' green garbitch, an' spreadin' +'em out atween sheets o' paper--whet he called button-eyesin--jest like +thet ur Dutch doctur as wur rubbed out when we went into the Navagh +country, t'other side o' the Grand." + +"I remembers him." + +"Wal, this hyur fellur I tell 'ee about, he us't to talk mighty big o' +this, thet, an t' other; an he palavered a heap 'bout a thing thet, ef I +don't disremember, wur called _spuntainyus kumbuxshun_." + +"I've heerd o' 't; that are the name." + +"Wal, the button-eyeser, he sayed thet a paraira mout take afire o' +itself, 'ithout anybody whatsomdiver heving sot it. Now, thet ur's what +this child don't b'lieve, nohow. In coorse, I knows thet lightnin' +sometimes may sot a paraira a bleezin', but lightnin's a natral fire o' +itself; an it's only reezunible to expect thet the dry grass wud catch +from _it_ like punk; but I shed like to know how fire kud kindle 'ithout +somethin to kindle it--thet's whet I shed like to know." + +"I don't believe it can," rejoined Garey. + +"Ne'er a bit o' it. I never seed a burnin' paraira yit, thet thur +wa'n't eyther a camp-fire or a Injun at the bottom o' it--thet ur +'ceptin whur lightnin hed did the bizness." + +"And you think, Rube, thar's been Injun at the bottom o' this?" + +"Putty nigh sure; an I'll gie you my reezuns. Fust, do 'ee see thur's +been no lightnin this mornin to 'a made the fire? Seconds, it's too fur +west hyur for any settlement o' whites--in coorse I speak o' Texans-- +thur might be Mexikins; them I don't call white, nohow-nosomediver. An +then, agin, it kin scace be Mexikins neyther. It ur too fur no'th for +any o' the yellur-bellies to be a straying jest now, seein as it's _the +Mexikin moon_ wi' the kimanchees, an both them an the Leepans ur on the +war-trail. Wal, then, it's clur thur's no Mexikin 'bout hyur to hev sot +the paraira afire, an thur's been no lightnin to do it; thurfor, it must +'a been did eyther by a Injun, or thet ur dodrotted spuntainyus +kumbuxshun." + +"One or t'other." + +"Wal, being as this child don't b'lieve in the kumbuxshun nohow, +thurfore it's my opeenyun thet red Injuns did the bizness--_they_ did +sartint." + +"No doubt of it," assented Garey. + +"An ef they did," continued the old trapper, "thur about yit some whur +not fur off, an we've got to keep a sharp look-out for our har--thet's +what _we_ hev." + +"Safe, we have," assented Garey. + +"I tell 'ee, Bill," continued Rube in a new strain, "the Injuns is +mighty riled jest now. I never knowd 'em so savagerous an fighty. The +war hez gin 'em a fresh start, an thur dander's up agin us, by reezun +thet the gin'ral didn't take thur offer to help us agin the +yellur-bellies. Ef we meet wi' eyther Kimanch or Leepan on these hyur +plains, thu'll scalp us, or we'll scalp 'em--thet 'll be it. Wagh!" + +"But what for could they 'a sot the parairy on fire?" inquired Garey. + +"Thet ere," replied Rube,--"thet ere wur what puzzled me at fust. I +thort it mout 'a been done by accydent--preehaps by the scattering o' a +camp-fire--for Injuns is careless enuf 'bout thet. Now, howsowever, +I've got a different idee. Thet story thet Dutch an Frenchy hev fetched +from the rancherie, gies me a insight inter the hull bizness." + +I knew the "story" to which Rube had reference. Lige and Le Blanc, when +at the village, had heard some rumour of an Indian foray that had just +been made against one of the Mexican towns, not far from the rancheria. +It had occurred on the same day that we marched out. The Indians-- +supposed to be Lipans or Comanches--had sacked the place, and carried +off both plunder and captives. A party of them had passed near the +rancheria after we ourselves had left it. This party had "called" at +the hacienda de Vargas and completed the pillage, left unfinished by the +guerilla. This was the substance of what the messengers had heard. + +"You mean about the Injuns?" said Garey, half interrogatively. + +"In coorse," rejoined Rube. "Belike enuf, 'em Injuns ur the same +niggurs we gin sich a rib-roastin' to by the moun. Wagh! they hain't +gone back to thur mountains, as 'twur b'lieved: they dassent 'a gone +back in sich disgrace, 'ithout takin' eyther har or hosses. The squaws +ud 'a hooted 'em out o' thur wigwams." + +"Sure enough." + +"Sure, sartint. Wal, Billee, 'ee see now what I mean: thet party's been +a skulketin' 'bout hyur ever since, till they got a fust-rate chance at +the Mexikin town, an thur they've _struck a blow_." + +"It's mighty like as you say, Rube; but why have they sot fire to the +parairy?" + +"Wagh! Bill, kin ye not see why? it ur plain as Pike's Peak on a +summery day." + +"I don't see," responded Garey, in a thoughtful tone. + +"Well, this child _do_; an this ur the reezun: as I tell 'ee, the Injuns +hain't forgot the lambaystin they hed by the moun; an preehaps bein' now +a weak party, an thinkin' thet we as wolloped 'em wur still i' the +rancherie, they wur afeerd thet on hearing o' thur pilledgin', we mout +be arter 'em." + +"An they've burnt the parairy to kiver thur trail?" + +"Preezactly so." + +"By Gosh, you're right, Rube!--it's uncommon like. But whar do you +think this trail's goin? Surely the hoss hain't been caught in the +fire?" + +I bent forward in the saddle, and listened with acute eagerness. To my +great relief, the answer of the old trapper was in the negative. + +"He hain't," said he; "ne'er a bit o' it. His trail, do ee see, runs in +a bee-line, or clost on a bee-line: now, ef the fire hed 'a begun afore +he wur acrosst this paraira, he wud long since 'a doubled 'bout, an tuk +the back track; but 'ee see he hain't did so; thurfor, I conclude he's +safe through it, an the grass must 'a been sot afire ahint 'im." + +I breathed freely after listening to these words. A load seemed lifted +from my breast--for up to this moment I had been vainly endeavouring to +combat the fearful apprehension that had shaped itself in my +imagination. From the moment that we had entered the burning prairie, +my eyes constantly, and almost mechanically, had sought the ground in +front of our course, had wandered over it, with uneasy glance, in dread +of beholding forms--lifeless--burned and charred-- + +The words of the trapper gave relief--almost an assurance that the steed +and his rider were still safe--and under the inspiration of renewed +hope, I rode forward with lighter heart. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO. + +"INJUN SIGN." + +After a pause, the guides resumed their conversation, and I continued to +listen. + +I had a reason for not mingling in it. If I joined them in their +counsels, they might not express their convictions so freely, and I was +desirous of knowing what they truly thought. By keeping close behind +them, I could hear all--myself unnoticed under the cloud of dust that +ascended around us. On the soft ashes, the hoof-stroke was scarcely +audible--our horses gliding along in a sweeping silent walk. + +"By Gosh! then," said Garey, "if Injuns fired the parairy, they must 'a +done it to wind'ard, an we're travellin' right in the teeth o' the wind; +we're goin in a ugly direction, Rube; what do you think o' 't, old +hoss?" + +"Jest what you sez, boyee--a cussed ugly direckshun--durnation'd ugly." + +"It ain't many hours since the fire begun, an the redskins won't be far +from t'other side, I reckon. If the hoss-trail leads us right on them, +we'll be in a fix, old boy." + +"Ay," replied Rube, in a low but significant drawl; "ef it do, an ef +this niggur don't a miskalkerlate, it _will_ lead right on 'em, _plum +straight custrut into thur camp_." + +I started on hearing this. I could no longer remain silent; but +brushing rapidly forward to the side of the trapper, in hasty phrase +demanded his meaning. + +"Jest what 'ee've heern me say, young fellur," was his reply. + +"You think that there are Indians ahead? that the horse has gone to +their camp?" + +"No, not _gone_ thur; nor kin I say for sartint thur ur Injuns ahead; +though it looks mighty like. Thur's nuthin else to guv reezun for the +fire--nuthin as Bill or me kin think o'; an ef thur be Injuns, then I +don't think the hoss hez _gone_ to thur camp, but I do kalkerlate it's +mighty like he's been _tuk_ thur: thet's what I thinks, young fellur." + +"You mean that the Indians have captured him?" + +"Thet's preezactly what this child means." + +"But how? What reason have you for thinking so?" + +"Wal--jest because I think so." + +"Pray explain, Rube!" I said in an appealing tone. I feared that his +secretive instincts would get the better of him, and he would delay +giving his reasons, out of the pure love of mystification that was +inherent in the old fellow's nature. I was too anxious to be patient; +but my appeal proved successful. + +"Wal, 'ee see, young fellur, the hoss must 'a crosst hyur jest afore +this paraira wur sot afire; an it's mighty reezunible to s'pose thet +whosomediver did the bizness, Injun or no Injun, must 'a been to win'ard +o' hyur. It ur also likely enuf, I reckun, thet the party must 'a seed +the hoss; an it ur likely agin thet nobody wa'nt a gwine to see _thet_ +hoss, wi' the gurl stropped down 'long his hump-ribs, 'ithout bein' +kewrious enuf to take arter 'im. Injuns 'ud be safe to go arter 'im, +yellin' like blazes; an arter 'im they've gone, an roped 'im, I reckun-- +thet they've done." + +"You think they could have caught him?" + +"Sartint. The hoss by then must 'a been dead beat--thet ur, unless he's +got the divvel in 'im; an by Geehorum! I gin to surspect--Gehu-- +Gehosophat! jest as I said; lookee, thur--thur!" + +"What is it?" I inquired, seeing the speaker suddenly halt and point to +the ground, upon which his eyes also were fixed. "What is it, Rube? I +can perceive nothing strange." + +"Don't 'ee see 'em hoss-tracks?--thur!--thick as sheep-feet--hundreds o' +'em!" + +I certainly noticed some slight hollows in the surface, nearly levelled +up by the black ashes. I should not have known them to be horse-tracks. + +"They ur," said Rube, "every one o' 'em--an Injun hoss-tracks too-- +sartint they ur." + +"They may be the wild-hosses, Rube?" said one of the rangers, riding up +and surveying the sign. + +"Wild jackasses!" angrily retorted the old trapper. "Whur did _you_ +ever see a wild-hoss? Do 'ee s'pose I've turned stone-blind, do 'ee? +Stan thur, my mar!" he cried, talking to his mare, flinging his lean +carcass out of the saddle at the same time: "stan thur! 'ee knows better +than thet fellur, I kin tell by the way yur sniftin'. Keep yur ground a +minnit, ole gurl, till Rube Rawlins shew these hyur greenhorns how a +mountain man kin read sign--wild-hosses! wagh!" + +After thus delivering himself, the trapper dropped upon his knees, +placed his lips close to the ground, and commenced blowing at the black +ashes. + +The others had by this time ridden up, and sat in their saddles watching +him. We saw that he was clearing the ashes out of one of the hollows +which he had pronounced to be horse-tracks, and which now proved to be +so. + +"'Thur now, mister!" said he, turning triumphantly, and rather savagely, +upon the ranger who had questioned the truth of his conjecture: "thur's +a _shod_ track--shod wi' parflesh too. Did 'ee ever see a wild-hoss, or +a wild mule, or a wild jackass eyther, shod wi' parflesh? Ef 'ee did, +it's more'n Rube Rawlins ever seed, an thet ur trapper's been on the +hoss-plains well-nigh forty yeern. Wagh!" + +Of course, there was no reply to this interrogatory. There was the +track; and, dismounting, all examined it in turn. + +Sure enough it was the track of a shod horse--shod with _parfleche_-- +thick leather made from the hide of the buffalo bull. + +We all knew this to be a mode of shoeing practised by the horse-Indians +of the plains, and only by them. + +The evidence was conclusive: Indians had been upon the ground. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE. + +TRANSLATING THE "SIGN." + +This discovery brought us to a pause. A consultation ensued, in which +all took part; but as usual, the others listened to the opinions of the +prairie-men, and especially to that of Rube. + +The old trapper was inclined to sulk for some time, and acted as if he +meant to withhold his advice. Nothing "miffed" him more than to have +his word contradicted or his skill called in question. I have known him +to be "out of sorts" for days, from having his prairie-craft doubted by +some one whom he deemed less experienced than himself; and, indeed, +there were few of his kind whose knowledge of the wilderness was at all +comparable with his. He was not always in the right; but generally +where _his_ instincts failed, it wat, idle to try further. In the +present case, the man who had thoughtlessly doubted him was one of the +"greenest" of the party, but this only aggravated the matter in the eyes +of Old Rube. + +"Sich a fellur as you," he said, giving a last dig to the offending +ranger--"sich a fellur as you oughter keep yur head shet up: thet ur +tongue o' yourn s' allers a gwine like a bull's tail in fly-time. +Wagh!" + +As the man made no reply to this rather rough remonstrance, Rube's +"dander" soon smoothed down; and once more becoming cool, he turned his +attention to the business of the hour. + +That there had been Indians upon the ground was now an ascertained fact; +the peculiar shoeing of the horses rendered it indubitable. Mexican +horses, if shod at all, would have had a shoeing of iron--at least on +their fore-feet. Wild mustangs would have had the hoof naked; while the +tracks of Texan or American horses could have been easily told, either +from the peculiar shoeing or the superior size of their hoofs. The +horses that had galloped over that ground were neither wild, Texan, nor +Mexican: Indian they must have been. + +Although the one track first examined might have settled the point, it +was a fact of too much importance to be left under the slightest doubt. +The presence of Indians meant the presence of enemies--foes dire and +deadly--and it was with something more than feelings of mere curiosity +that my companions scrutinised the sign. + +The ashes were blown out from several others, and these carefully +studied. Additional facts were brought to light by those Champollions +of the prairie--Rube and Garey. Whoever rode the horses, had been going +in a gallop. They had not ridden long in one course; but here and there +had turned and struck off in new directions. There had been a score or +so of them. No two had been galloping together; their tracks converged +or crossed one another--now zigzagging, now running in right lines, or +sweeping in curves and circles over the plain. + +All this knowledge the trackers had obtained in less than ten minutes-- +simply by riding around and examining the tracks. Not to disturb them +in their diagnosis, the rest of us halted and awaited the result of +their scrutiny. + +In ten minutes' time both came back to us; they had read the sign to +their satisfaction, and needed no further light. + +That sign had disclosed to them one fact of more significance than all +the rest. Of course, we all knew that the Indian horsemen had gone over +the ground before the grass had been burnt; but how long before? We had +no difficulty in making out that it was upon that same day, and since +the rising of the sun--these were trifles easily ascertained; but at +_what hour_ had they passed? Late, or early? With the steed, before, +or after him? + +About this point I was most anxious, but I had not the slightest idea +that it could be decided by the "sign." + +To my astonishment, those cunning hunters returned to tell me, not only +the very hour at which the steed had passed the spot, but also that the +Indian horsemen had been riding _after him_! Clairvoyance could +scarcely have gone farther. + +The old trapper had grown expletive, more than was his wont. It was no +longer a matter of tracking the white steed. Indians were near. +Caution had become necessary, and neither the company nor counsel of the +humblest was to be scorned. We might soon stand in need of the +strength, even of the weakest in our party. + +Freely, then, the trackers communicated their discoveries, in answer to +my interrogation. + +"The white hoss," said Rube, "must 'a been hyur 'bout four hour ago-- +kalkerlatin the rate at which he wur a gwine, an kalkerlatin how fur he +hed ter kum. He hain't 'a stopped nowhur; an 'ceptin i' the thicket, he +hez gallipt the rest o' the way--thet's clur. Wal, we knows the +distance, thurfor we knows the time--thet's clur too; an four hour's +'bout the mark, I reck'n--preehaps a leetle less, an alser preehaps a +leetle more. Now, furrermore to the peint. Them niggurs hez been +eyther clost arter 'im, in view o' the critter, or follerin 'im on the +trail--the one or the t'other--an which 'taint possyble to tell wi' this +hyur sign no-how-cum-somever. But thet they _wur arter_ 'im, me an +Bill's made out clur as mud--thet we sartintly hez." + +"How have you ascertained that they were after?" + +"The tracks, young fellur--the tracks." + +"But how by them?" + +"Easy as eatin' hump-rib: them as wur made by the white hoss ur +_un'ermost_." + +The conclusion was clear indeed. The Indians must have been _after_ +him. + +We stayed no longer upon the spot, but once more sending the trackers +forward, moved on after them. + +We had advanced about half-a-mile farther, when the horse-tracks, +hitherto scattered, and tending in different directions, became merged +together, as though the Indians had been riding, not in single file--as +is their ordinary method--but in an irregular body of several abreast. + +The trackers, after proceeding along this new trail for a hundred yards +or so, deliberately drew up; and dismounting, bent down upon their hands +and knees, as if once more to examine the sign. The rest of us halted a +little behind, and watched their proceedings without offering to +interrupt them. + +Both were observed to be busy blowing aside the ashes, not now from any +particular track, but from the full breadth of the trail. + +In a few minutes, they succeeded in removing the black dust from a +stretch of several yards--so that the numerous hoof-prints could be +distinctly traced, side by side, or overlapping and half obliterating +one another. + +Rube now returned to where they had commenced; and then once more +leisurely advancing upon his knees, with eyes close to the surface, +appeared to scrutinise the print of every hoof separately. + +Before he had reached the spot where Garey was still engaged in clearing +off the dust, he rose to his feet with an air that told he was +satisfied, and turning to his companion, cried out-- + +"Don't bother furrer, Bill: it ur jest as I thort; they've roped 'im, by +Gad!" + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR. + +THE STEED LAZOED. + +It was not the emphatic tone in which this announcement was made that +produced within me conviction of its truth; I should have been convinced +without that. I was better than half prepared for the intelligence thus +rudely conveyed; for I was myself not altogether unskilled in that art +of which my trapper-companions were masters. + +I had observed the sudden convergence of the horse-tracks; I had noticed +also, that, after coming together, the animals had proceeded at a slow +pace--at a walk. I needed only to perceive the hoof of the steed among +the others, to know that he no longer ran free--that he was a captive. + +This the tracker had found; hence the decisive declaration that the +Indians had "roped" him--in other words, had caught him with their +lazoes. + +"Sartint they've tuk 'im," asserted Rube, in answer to an interrogatory: +"sartint sure; hyur's his track clur as daylight. He's been led hyur at +the eend o' a laryette; he's been nigh the middle o' the crowd--some in +front--some hev been arter 'im--thet's how they've gone past hyur. +Wagh!" continued the speaker, once more turning his eyes upon the trail, +"thur's been a good grist on 'em--twunty or more; an ef this child don't +miskalkerlate, thet ain't the hul o' the niggurs; _it_ ain't! 'Tur only +some o' 'em as galliped out to rope the hoss. I'd lay my rifle agin a +Mexican blunderbox, thur's a bigger party than this nigh at hand +somewhur hyur. By Geehosophat, thur's boun to be, sartint as sun-up!" + +The suspicion that had half formed itself in my mind was no longer +hypothetical; the sign upon the trail had settled that: it was now a +positive intelligence--a conviction. The steed had been taken; he and +his rider were captive in the hands of the Indians. + +This knowledge brought with it a crowd of new thoughts, in which +emotions of the most opposite character were mingled together. + +The first was a sensation of joy. The steed had been captured, and by +human beings. Indians at least were men, and possessed human hearts. +Though in the rider they might recognise the lineaments of their +pale-faced foes--not so strongly neither--yet a woman, and in such a +dilemma, what reason could they have for hostility to her? + +None; perhaps the very opposite passion might be excited by the +spectacle of her helpless situation. They would see before them the +victim of some cruel revenge--the act, too, of their own enemies; this +would be more likely to inspire them with sympathy and pity; they would +relieve her from her perilous position; would minister to her wants and +wounds; would tenderly nurse and cherish her: yes; of all this I felt +confident. They were human; how could they do otherwise? + +Such was the first rush of my reflections on becoming assured that the +steed had been captured by Indians--that Isolina was in their hands. I +only thought of her safety--that she was rescued from pain and peril, +perhaps from death; and the thought was a gleam of joy. + +Alas! only a gleam; and the reflections that followed were painfully +bitter. + +I could not help thinking of the character of the savages into whose +hands she had fallen. If they were the same band that had harried the +frontier town, then were they southern Indians--Comanche or Lipan. The +report said one or other; and it was but too probable. True, the +remnant of Shawanos and Delawares, with the Kickapoos and Texan +Cherokees, sometimes stray as far as the banks of the Rio Grande. But +the conduct was not theirs: these tribes, from long intercourse with +whites, have been inducted into a sort of semi-civilisation; and their +hereditary hostility for the pale-face has died out. Pillage and murder +are no longer their trade; it could not have been they who had made the +late foray. It might have been "Wild Cat" with his wicked Seminoles, +now settled on the Texan frontier; but the act was more in keeping with +the character of the mezcal-eating Apaches, who of late years had been +pushing their expeditions far down the river. Even so--it mattered +little; Apaches are but Comanches, or rather Comanches Apaches, and +whether the Indians on whose trail we were standing were one or the +other--whether Apache, Lipan, Comanche, or their allies Caygua, Waco, or +Pawnee-Pict, it mattered not; one and all were alike; one or other of +them, my reflections were bitterly the same. Well understood I the +character of these red men of the south; so far differing from their +kindred of the north--so far different from that ideal type of cold +continence, it has pleased the poet and the writer of romance to ascribe +to them. The reverse of the medal was before my mind's eye; the memory +of many a scene was in my thoughts, of many a tale I had heard, +illustrating the uxorious disposition, the wild unbridled wantonness of +these lords of the southern plains. + +Not then did I dwell long on such thoughts; for they had their influence +in urging me onward, and onward I spurred. + +There was another reason for our rapid advance: all of us were under the +extreme agony of thirst--literally gasping for water; and thus physical +suffering impelled us to ride forward as fast as our jaded horses could +carry us over the ground. + +Timber was at length before our eyes--green foliage--looking all the +fresher and brighter from contrast with the black plain which it +bounded. It was a grove of cottonwoods, skirting a prairie-stream; and +beyond this the fire had not extended. + +Wild joyous cries escaped from men and horses, as their eyes rested upon +the limpid stream. + +The men galloped over the bank, leaped out of their saddles, and without +a thought of drowning, plunged breast-deep into the water. Some lifted +the crystal liquid in their palms; others, more impatient, bent down, +and ducking their faces in the flood, drank _a la mode du cheval_. + +I noticed that the trappers behaved less recklessly than the rest; +before going down to drink, the eyes of both were directed, with +instinctive caution, along the banks, and into the timber. + +Close to where we had halted, I observed a crossing, where numerous +tracks of animals formed in the soil a deep, well-beaten path. Rube's +eyes were upon it, and I saw that they were glistening with unusual +excitement. + +"Told 'ee so!" cried he, after a short survey: "yanner's thur +trail--_war-trail_, by the Eturnal!" + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVE. + +THE "INDIOS BRAVOS." + +You may be asking, what the trapper meant by a war-trail? It has been a +phrase of frequent occurrence with us. It is a phrase of the frontier. +Even at the eleventh hour, let me offer its explanation. + +For half a century--ay, for three centuries and more--even since the +conquest itself--the northern frontier of Mexico has been in, what is +termed in old-fashioned phraseology, a "disturbed state." Though the +semi-civilised Aztecs, and the kindred races of town-dwelling Indians, +easily yielded to the sword of the Spanish conquerors, far different has +been the history of the wild tribes--the free hunters of the plains. +Upon those mighty steppes that occupy the whole central area of the +North American continent, dwell tribes of Indians--nations they might be +called--who neither know, nor ever have known, other rule than that of +their own chieftains. Even when Spain was at her strongest, she failed +to subjugate the "Indios bravos" of her frontiers, who to the present +hour have preserved their wild freedom. I speak not of the great +nations of the northern prairies--Sioux and Cheyenne--Blackfeet and +Crow--Pawnee and Arapahoe. With these the Spanish race scarcely ever +came in contact. I refer more particularly to the tribes whose range +impinges upon the frontiers of Mexico--Comanche, Lipan, Utah, Apache, +and Navajo. + +It is not in the annals of Spain to prove that any one of these tribes +ever yielded to her conquering sword; and equally a failure has been the +attempt to wheedle them into a fanatical civilisation by the +much-boasted conquest of the _mission_. Free, then, the prairie Indians +are from white man's rule, and free have they been, as though the keels +of Columbus had never ploughed the Carib Sea. + +But although they have preserved their independence for three centuries, +for three centuries have they never known peace. Between the red Indian +and the white Iberian, along the frontier of Northern Mexico, a +war-border has existed since the days of Cortez to the present hour-- +constantly shifting north or south, but ever extended from east to west, +from ocean to ocean, through wide degrees of longitude. North of this +border ranges the "Indio bravo;" south of it dwells his degenerate and +conquered kinsman, the "Indio manso"--not in the "tents," but in the +towns of his Spanish conqueror--the former, free as the prairie wind; +the latter, yoked to a condition of "peon" vassalage, with chains as +strong as those of slavery itself. The neutral belt of hostile ground +lies between--on the one side half defended by a line of garrisoned +forts (_presidios_); on the other, sheltered from attack by the wild and +waterless desert. + +I have stated that this war-border has been constantly shifting either +northward or southward. Such was its history up to the beginning of the +present cycle. Since then, a remarkable change has been going forward +in the relative position of Indian and Iberian; and the line of hostile +ground has been moving only in one direction--continually _towards the +south_! To speak in less metaphorical phrase, the red man has been +encroaching upon the territory of the white man--the so-called savage +has been gaining ground upon the domain of civilisation. Not slowly or +gradually either, but by gigantic strides--by the conquest of whole +provinces as large as England ten times told! + +I shall make the announcement of a fact, or rather a hypothesis-- +scarcely well known, though strange enough. It may interest, if not +surprise, the ethnologist. I assert, then, that had the four tribes of +North Mexican Indians--Comanche, Lipano, Apache, and Navajo--been left +to themselves, _in less than another century they would have driven the +degenerate descendants of the conquerors of Cortez from the soil of +Anahuac_! I make this assertion with a full belief and clear conviction +of its truthfulness. The hypothesis rests upon a basis of realities. +It would require but very simple logic to prove it; but a few facts may +yield illustration. + +With the fall of Spanish rule in Mexico, ended the predominance of the +Spaniard over the Indian. By revolution, the presidios became shorn of +their strength, and no longer offered a barrier even to the weakest +incursion. In fact, a neutral line no more exists; whole provinces-- +Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Cinaloa, and Leon--are no better than +neutral ground, or, to speak more definitely, form an extended territory +conquered and desolated by the Indians. Even beyond these, into the +"provincias internas," have the bold copper-coloured freebooters of late +carried their forays--even to the very gates of Durango. Two hundred +Comanche warriors, or as many Apaches, fear not to ride hundreds of +miles into the heart of civilised Mexico--hesitate not to attack a city +or a settlement--scruple not to drag from hearth and home lovely maids +and tender children--_only_ these--and carry them slave and captive to +their wild fastnesses in the desert! And this is no occasional foray, +no long gathering outburst of revenge or retaliation; but an _annual_ +expedition, forming part of the regular routine of the year, and +occurring at the season when the buffalo have migrated to the north-- +occurring in that month in the calendar of these aboriginal brigands +jocosely styled the "Mexican moon!" + +Upon whose head falls the blow thus periodically repeated? Upon the +poor and unprotected? No doubt you will fancy so. + +A single fact may serve to undeceive you. Only a few years ago, Trias, +a man of "first family" in Mexico and governor of the large state of +Chihuahua, lost one of his sons by an Indian foray. The boy was taken +prisoner by the Comanches; and it was only after years of negotiation +and payment of a large sum, that the father recovered his child. Thus +the governor of a province, with means and military at his command, was +not powerful enough to cause the surrender of his captive son: he was +forced to _buy_ him! + +It is computed that at this moment there are three thousand white +captives in the hands of the North Mexican Indians--nearly all of them +of Spanish descent. They are mostly females, and live as the +slave-wives of their captors--if such connexion may be dignified by the +name. There are white men, too, among the Indians--prisoners taken in +their youth; and strange as it may appear, few of them--either of the +men or women--evince any desire to return to their former life or homes. +Some, when ransomed, have refused the boon. Not uncommon along the +frontier has been witnessed that heart-rending scene--a father who had +recovered his child from the savages, and yet unable to reclaim its +affection, or even to arouse it to a recognition of its parentage. In a +few years--sometimes only months--the captives forget their early ties, +and become wedded to their new life--become _Indianised_! + +But a short time before, an instance had come under our own observation. +The wounded brave taken in the skirmish at the mound was a full-blooded +Mexican--had been carried off by the Comanches, some years before, from +the settlements on the Lower Rio Grande. In consideration of this, we +gave him his liberty--under the impression that he would gladly avail +himself of the opportunity to return to his kindred. + +He proved wanting in gratitude as in natural affection. The same night +on which he was set free, he took the route back to the prairies, +mounted upon one of the best horses of our troop, which he had stolen +from its unfortunate owner! + +Such are the "Cosas de Mexico"--a few of the traits of frontier-life on +the Rio Bravo del Norte. + +But what of the war-trail? That is not yet explained. + +Know, then, that from the country of the Indians to that of the Mexicans +extend many great paths, running for hundreds of miles from point to +point. They follow the courses of streams, or cross vast desert plains, +where water is found only at long intervals of distance. They are +marked by the tracks of mules, horses, and captives. Here and there, +they are whitened by bones--the bones of men, of women, of animals, that +have perished by the way. Strange paths are these! What are they, and +who have made them? Who travel by these roads that lead through the +wild and homeless desert? + +Indians: they are the paths of the Comanche and Caygua--the roads made +by their warriors during the "Mexican moon." + +It was upon one of these that the trapper was gazing when he gave out +the emphatic utterance-- + +"War-trail, by the Eturnal!" + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX. + +ON THE WAR-TRAIL. + +Scarcely staying to quench my thirst, I led my horse across the stream, +and commenced scrutinising the trail upon the opposite bank. The +faithful trackers were by my side--no fear of them lagging behind. + +I had won the hearts of both these men; and that they would have risked +life to serve me, I could no longer doubt, since over and over again +they _had_ risked it. For Garey strong, courageous, handsome in the +true sense, and noble-hearted, I felt real friendship, which the young +trapper reciprocated. For his older comrade, the feeling. I had was +like himself--indefinable, indescribable. It was strongly tinctured +with admiration, but admiration of the intellectual rather than the +moral or personal qualities of the man. + +Instead of intellectual, I should rather say instinctive--for his keen +intuitive thoughts appeared more like instincts, than the results of a +process of ratiocination. + +That the old trapper admired me--in his own phraseology, "liked me +mightily"--I was aware. He was equally zealous as the younger in my +service; but too free an exhibition of zeal was in his eyes a weakness, +and he endeavoured to conceal it. His admiration of myself was perhaps +owing to the fact that I neither attempted to thwart him in his humours +nor rival him in his peculiar knowledge--the craft of the prairie. In +this I was but his pupil, and behaved as such, generally deferring to +his judgment. + +Another impulse acted upon the trackers--sheer love of the part they +were now playing. Just as the hound loves the trail, so did they; and +hunger, thirst, weariness, one or all must be felt to an extreme degree +before they would voluntarily forsake it. + +Scarcely staying, therefore, to quench their thirst, they followed me +out of the water; and all three of us together bent our attention to the +sign. + +It was a _war-trail_--a true war-trail. There was not the track of a +dog--not the drag of a lodge-pole upon it. Had it been a moving +encampment of peaceable Indians, these signs would have been visible; +moreover, there would have been seen numerous footsteps of Indian +women--of squaws; for the slave-wife of the lordly Comanche is compelled +to traverse the prairies _a pied_, loaded like the packhorse that +follows at her heels! + +But though no foot-prints of Indian women appeared, there _were_ tracks +of women, scores of them, plainly imprinted in the soil of the +river-bank. Those slender impressions, scarcely a span in length, +smoothly moulded in the mud, were not to be mistaken for the footsteps +of an Indian squaw. There was not the wide divergence at the heels with +the toes turned inward; neither was there the moccasin-print. No: those +tiny tracks must have been made by women of that nation who possess the +smallest and prettiest feet in the world--by women of Mexico. + +"Captives!" we exclaimed, as soon as our eyes rested upon the tracks. + +"Ay, poor critters!" said Rube sympathisingly; "the cussed niggurs hev +made 'em fut it, while thur's been spare hosses a plenty. Wagh! a good +wheen o' weemen thur's been--a score on 'em at the least. Wagh! I pity +'em, poor gurls! in sech kumpny as they've got into. It ur a life +they've got to lead. Wagh!" + +Rube did not reflect how heavily his words were falling upon my heart. + +There were the tracks of more than a hundred horses, and as many mules. +Some of both were iron-shod; but for all that, we knew they had been +either ridden or driven by Indians: they, too, were captives. + +The sign helped my companions to much knowledge, that would have been +unintelligible to me. It was certainly the path of a war-party of +Indians _on the back-track_. They were laden with plunder, and driving +before them, or forcing to follow, a crowd of captives--horses, mules, +and women--children, too, for we saw the tiny foot-marks of tender age. +The trail was significant of all this--even to me. + +But my comrades saw more; they no longer doubted that the Indians were +Comanches--a moccasin had been picked up, a castaway--and the leathern +tassel attached to the heel declared the tribe to which its wearer +belonged to be the Comanche. + +The trail was quite fresh; that is, but a few hours had intervened since +the Indians passed along it. Notwithstanding the dryness of the +atmosphere, the mud on the river-edge had not yet become "skinned," as +the trappers expressed it. The Indians had forded the stream about the +time the prairie was set on fire. + +The horses, we had been following across the burnt plain, were those of +a party who had gone out in pursuit of the steed. Just at the ford, +they had overtaken the main body, who carried along the spoil and +captives. From that point, all had advanced together. + +Had they done so? This was our first object of inquiry. It was almost +too probable to admit of a doubt; but we desired to be certain about a +matter of such primary importance, and we looked for the hoof with the +piece chipped from its edge--easily to be identified by all of us. + +In the muddy margin of the stream we could not find it; but the steed +may have been led or ridden in front of the rest, and his tracks +trampled out by the thick drove that followed. + +At this moment, Stanfield came up and joined us in the examination. The +ranger had scarcely bent his eyes on the trail, when a significant +exclamation escaped him. He stood pointing downward to the track of a +shod horse. + +"My horse!" cried he; "my horse Hickory, by Gosh!" + +"Your horse?" + +"May I never see Kaintuck if it ain't." + +"Yur sure o' it, ole hoss? yur sure it's yurn?" + +"Sure as shootin'; I shod him myself. I kid tell that ere track on a +dry sand-bar. I know every nail thar; I druv 'em wi' my own hand--it's +him sartin." + +"Wheeo-o!" whistled Rube in his significant way, "thet makes things a +leetle plainer, I reck'n; an so I thort all along--an so I thort-- +ye-es--so I thort. The durned rennygade niggur!" he added with angry +emphasis, "I know'd we dud wrong to let 'im go; we oughter served 'im as +I perposed; we oughter cut his durnation throat, an scalped 'im the +minnut we tuk 'im: cuss the luck thet we didn't! Wagh!" + +Rube's words needed no interpretation. We knew whose throat he would +have cut--that of the Indianised Mexican taken at the mesa; and I +remembered that at the time of his capture such had been Rube's advice, +overruled, of course, by the more merciful of his comrades. The trapper +had assigned some reason: he knew something of the man's history. + +He now repeated his reasons: + +"He ur a true rennygade," said he; "an thur ain't on all the parairas a +wusser enemy to whites than thet ur--more partiklurly to Texan whites. +He wur at the massacree o' Wilson's family on the clur fork o' the +Brazos, an wur conspik'us in the skrimmige: a' more too--it ur thort he +toated off one o' Wilson's gurls, an made a squaw o' her, for he's +mighty given thet way I've heern. Wagh! he ur wuss than a Injun, for +the reezun thet he unerstans the ways o' the whites. I never know'd +sich a foolitch thing as ter let 'im git clur. 'Ee may thank yur luck, +Mister Stannafeel, thet he didn't take yur har at the same time when he +tuk yur hoss. Wagh! thet ye may!" + +It was Stanfield's horse that had bee a stolen by the renegade, and the +tracks now identified by the ranger were those of that animal--no doubt +with the freebooter upon his back. + +This new discovery let in a flood of light. Beyond a doubt, the +war-party was the same we had met by the mound, with perhaps a +reinforcement; the same that had just plundered the Mexican town; the +same who had paid their hurried visit to the hacienda, and this +renegade-- + +Ha! Strange remembrances were crowding into my brain. I remembered +meeting this semi-savage skulking about the road, after we had granted +him his parole; I remembered, upon one occasion, seeing him while riding +out with _her_; I remembered the rude expression with which he had +regarded my companion--the glance half-fierce, half-lustful; I +remembered that it made me angry; that I rebuked and threatened him--I +now remembered all. + +Wild thoughts came rushing into my mind--worse thoughts than ever. + +I sprang to my saddle; and, calling out some half-coherent orders, rode +rapidly along the trail. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN. + +THE WRITING ON THE MAGUEY. + +The skill of the trackers was no longer called in need; the war-trail +was as easily followed as a toll-road: a blind man could have guided +himself along such a well-trodden highway. + +Our rate of speed was now ruled by the capacity of our horses. Alas! +their power was nearly at an end. They had been two days and a night +under the saddle, with but a few hours to refresh themselves by food or +rest: they could not hold out much longer. + +One by one they began to lag, until the greater number of them followed +with tottering step hundreds of yards in the rear. + +It was in vain to contend against nature. The men were still willing, +though they too were wearied to death; but their horses were quite done +up--even whip and spur could force them no farther. Only my own +matchless steed could have continued the journey. Alone I might have +advanced, but that would have been madness. What could I have +accomplished alone? + +Night was fast coming down: it was already twilight. I saw by the +clouded sky we should have no moon. We might follow the trail with our +waxen torches--not yet burnt out--but that would no longer be safe. For +myself, I was reckless enough to have risked life in any way, but the +lives of my comrades were not mine. I could not give them--I should not +wastefully fling them away. + +Reluctantly I glided from my saddle, gave my steed to the grass, and sat +down upon the earth. + +My followers coming up, said not a word, but picketing their horses, +seated themselves around me. One by one they stretched themselves along +the sward, and in ten minutes all were asleep. + +I alone could not sleep; the fever of unrest was upon me; the demon of +thought would not let me close my eyes. Though my orbs ached with the +long protracted vigil, I thought that "not all the drowsy syrups of the +world" could have given me repose at that moment. I felt as one who +suffers under delirium, produced by the intoxicating cup, the fearful +_mania-a-potu_. I could neither sleep nor rest. + +I could not even remain seated. I rose to my feet and wandered around, +without heed of where I was going; I strode over the recumbent forms of +my sleeping companions; I went among the horses; I paced backwards and +forwards along the banks of the stream. + +There _was_ a stream--a small arroyo or rivulet. It was this that had +caused me to halt in that particular spot; for wild as were my thoughts, +I had enough of reason left to know that we could not encamp without +water. The sight of the arroyo had decided my wavering resolution, and +upon its banks, almost mechanically, I had drawn bridle and dismounted. + +I once more descended to the bed of the stream, and, raising the water +in the palms of my hands, repeatedly applied it to my lips and temples. +The cool liquid refreshed me, and seemed to soothe both my nerves and my +spirit. + +After a time, both felt calmer, and I sat down upon the bank, and +watched for a while the clear rivulet rippling past over its bed of +yellow sand and glistening pebbles of quartz. The water was perfectly +diaphanous; and, though the sun was no longer shining, I could see tiny +silver fish, of the genus _hyodon_, sporting themselves in the lowest +depths of the pool. How I envied them their innocent gambols, their +life of crystal purity and freedom! Here, in this remote prairie +stream, dwelt not the alligator, nor the ravenous garfish; here came no +dolphin or shark to chase them, no tyrant of the waters to put them in +fear. To be envied, indeed, such an _insouciant_, happy existence! + +I watched them for a long while, till I thought that my eyes were +growing heavy, and, after all, I might seep. The murmur of the arroyo +helped to increase this inclination to repose, and, perhaps, I might +have slept; but at that moment chancing to look around, my eyes rested +upon an object that again drove sleep far away, and I was soon as +wakeful as ever. + +Close to where I had seated myself grew a large plant of the Mexican +aloe (_agave Americana_). It was the wild maguey, of course, but of a +species with broad fleshy leaves of dark-green colour, somewhat +resembling the maguey of cultivation. I noticed that one of the great +blades of the plant was bruised down, and the spine, which had +terminated it, torn off. + +All this would not have drawn my attention: I was already aware that the +Indians had made a halt where we were encamped, and their sign was +plenteous around--in the tracks of their animals, and the broken +branches of trees. One of their horses or mules might have munched at +the maguey in passing; and, viewing the bruised blade from a distance, I +should have hazarded just such a conjecture. But my eyes were close to +the plant, and, to my astonishment, I observed that there _was writing +upon the leaf_! + +I turned over upon my knees, and seizing the huge blade, bent it down +before me, so as to obtain a better view of its surface. I read:-- + +"_Captured by Comanches_--_a war-party with many captives_--_women and +children_--_ay de mi! pobres ninas! north-west from this place. Saved +from death; alas! I fear_--" + +The writing ended abruptly. There was no signature, but it needed not +that. I had no doubts about who was the writer; in fact, rude as was +the chirography--from the materials used--I easily identified the hand. +It was Isolina de Vargas who had written. + +I saw that she had torn off the terminal spine, and using it as a +stylus, had graven those characters upon the epidermis of the plant. + +Sweet subtle spirit! under any guise I could have recognised its +outpourings. + +"Saved from death"--thank Heaven for that!--"alas! I fear." Oh, what +feared she? Was it worse than death? that terrible fate--too terrible +to think of? + +She had broken off, without finishing the sentence. Why had she done +so? + +The sheet was broad--would have held many more words--why had she not +written more? Did she dread to tell the cause of her fear? or had she +been interrupted by the approach of some of her tyrant captors? O +merciful Heaven! save me from thought! + +I re-read the words over and over: there was nothing more. I examined +the other leaves of the plant--on both sides, concave and convex, I +examined them--not a word more could I find. What I had read was all +she had written. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT. + +THE SOUTHERN SAVAGE. + +I need not tell how deeply I was affected by the unexpected +communication. All at once were decided a variety of doubts; all at +once was I made aware of the exact situation. + +Isolina still lived--that was no longer doubtful; and the knowledge +produced joy. More than this: she was still uninjured--able to think, +to act, to write--not only living, but well. The singular "billet" was +proof of all this. Another point--her hands must have been free--her +hands at least, else how could she have traced those lines? and with +such a pencil? It argued indulgence--perhaps kind treatment on the part +of her captors. + +Another point yet. _She knew I was in pursuit_. She _had_ seen me, +then, as I galloped after. It _was_ her cry I had heard as the steed +dashed into the chapparal. She had recognised, me, and called back. +She knew I would still be following; she knew I was following, and for +me was the writing meant. Sweet subtle spirit! + +Once more I devoured the welcome words; but my heart grew heavy as I +pondered over them. What had caused her to break off so abruptly? What +was it her intention to have said? Of what was she in fear? It was +thinking about this that caused the heaviness upon my heart and forced +me to give way to horrid imaginings. + +Naturally my thoughts reverted to her captors; naturally I reflected +upon the character of the prairie savage--so different from that of the +forest Indian, opposite as is the aspect of their homes--and perhaps +influenced by this very cause, though there are many others. Climate-- +contact with Spanish civilisation, so distinct from Saxon--the horse-- +conquest over white foes--concubinage with white and beautiful women, +the daughters of the race of Cortez: all these have combined to produce +in the southern Indian a spiritual existence that more resembles +Andalusia than England--more like Mexico than Boston or New York. + +Psychologically speaking, there is not so much difference between Paris +and the prairies--between the _habitat_ of the Bal Mabille and the +horse-Indian of the plains. No cold ascetic this--no romantic savage, +alike celebrated for silence and continence--but a true voluptuary, gay +of thought and free of tongue--amorous, salacious, immoral. In nine +cases out of ten, the young Comanche is a boastful Lothario as any +_flaneur_ that may be met upon the Boulevards; the old, a lustful +sinner--women the idol of both. Women is the constant theme of their +conversation, their motive for every act. For these they throw the +prairie dice; for these they race their swift mustangs. To win them, +they paint in hideous guise; to buy them, they steal horses; to capture +them, they go to war! + +And yet, with all their wanton love, they are true tyrants to the sex. +Wife they have none--for it would be sheer sacrilege to apply this noble +title to the "squaw" of a Comanche. Mistress is scarcely a fitter +term--rather say _slave_. Hers is a hard lot indeed; hers it is to hew +the wood and draw the water; to strike the tent and pitch it; to load +the horse and pack the dog; to grain the skin and cure the meat; to +plant the maize, the melon, squash; to hoe and reap them; to wait +obsequious on her lounging lord, anticipate his whim or wish, be true to +him, else _lose her ears or nose_--for such horrid forfeiture is, by +Comanche custom, the punishment of conjugal infidelity! + +But hard as is the lot of the native wife, harder still is that of the +white captive. 'Tis hers to endure all the ills enumerated, with still +another--the hostility of the squaw herself. The white captive is truly +the slave of a slave, the victim of a treble antipathy--of race, of +colour, of jealousy. Ofttimes is she beaten, abused, mutilated; and +rarely does the apathetic lord interfere to protect her from this +feminine but fiend-like persecution. + +These were not imaginings; they were not fancies begot in my own brain. +Would they had been so! Too well did I know they were facts--horrid +realities. + +Can you wonder that sleep was shaken from my eyelids?--that I could not +think of rest or stay, till I had delivered my loved one--my betrothed-- +from the danger of such a destiny? + +All thought of sleep was banished--even weariness forsook me. I felt +fresh as if I had slept; my nerves were strung for emprise. It was but +the excitement renewed by what I had read--the impatience of a new and +keen apprehension. + +I would have mounted and gone forward, spurning rest and sleep; +regardless of danger, would I have followed; but what could I do alone? + +Ay, and what with my few followers? + +Ha! I had not thought of this; up to that moment, I had not put this +important question, and I had need to reflect upon the answer. What if +we should overtake this band of brigands? Booty-laden as they were, and +cumbered with captives, surely we could come up with them, by night or +by day; but what then? Ay, what then? + +There were nine of us, and we were in pursuit of a war-party of at least +one hundred in number!--one hundred braves armed and equipped for +battle--the choice warriors of their tribe--flushed with late success, +and vengeful against ourselves on account of former defeat. If +conquered, we need look for no mercy at their hands; _if_ conquered--how +could it be otherwise? Nine against a hundred! How could _we_ conquer? + +Up to this moment, I say, I had not thought of the result I was borne +along by only one impulse--the idea of overtaking the steed, and +rescuing his rider from her perilous situation. It was only within the +hour that her peril had assumed a new phase; only an hour since we had +learned that she had escaped from one danger to be brought within the +influence of another. + +At first had I felt joy, but the feeling was of short existence, for I +now recognised in the new situation a greater peril than that she had +outlived. She had been rescued from death to become the victim of +dishonour! + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY NINE. + +A SUBTERRANEAN FIRE. + +In the midst of my meditations, night descended upon the earth. It +promised to be a moonless night. A robe of sable clouds formed a sombre +lining to the sky, and through this neither moon nor stars were visible. + +It grew darker apace, until in the dim light I could scarcely +distinguish the forms of my companions--neither men nor horses, though +both were near me. + +The men were still asleep, stretched along the grass in various +attitudes, like so many bodies upon a battle-field. The horses were too +hungry to sleep--the constant "crop-crop" told that they were greedily +browsing upon the sward of gramma-grass that, by good fortune, grew +luxuriantly around. This would be the best rest for them, and I was +glad to think that this splendid provender would in a few hours recruit +their strength. It was the _chondrosium foeneum_, the favourite food of +horses and cattle, and in its effects upon their condition almost equal +to the bean or the oat. I knew it would soon freshen the jaded animals, +and make them ready for the road. At least in this there was some +consolation. + +Notwithstanding the pre-occupation of my thoughts, I began to be +sensible of a physical discomfort, which, despite their low latitude, is +often experienced upon the southern prairies--cold. A chill breeze had +set in with the night, which in half-an-hour became a strong and violent +wind, increasing in coldness as in strength. + +In that half-hour the thermometer must have fallen at least fifty +Fahrenheit degrees; and such a phenomenon is not rare upon the plains of +Texas. The wind was the well-known "_norther_" which often kills both +men and animals, that chance to be exposed to its icy breath. + +I have endured the rigour of a Canadian winter--have crossed the frozen +lakes--have slept upon a snow-wreath amidst the wild wastes of Rupert's +Land; but I cannot remember cold more intensely chilling than that I +have suffered in a Texan norther. + +This extreme does not arise from the absolute depression of the +thermometer--which at least is but a poor indicator of either heat or +cold--I mean the sensation of either. It is more probably the contrast +springing from the sudden change--the exposure--the absence of proper +clothing or shelter--the state of the blood--and other like +circumstances, that cause both heat and cold to be more sensibly felt. + +I had ofttimes experienced the chill blast of the norther, but never +more acutely than upon that night. The day had been sweltering hot--the +thermometer at noon ranging about the one-hundredth Fahrenheit degree, +while in the first hour of darkness it could not have been far above the +twentieth. Had I judged by my sensations, I should have put it even +lower. Certainly it had passed the freezing-point, and sharp sleet and +hail were borne upon the wings of the wind. + +With nerves deranged from want of rest and sleep--after the hot day's +march--after the perspiration produced by long exposure upon the heated +surface of the burnt prairie--I perhaps felt the cold more acutely than +I should otherwise have done. My blood seemed to stagnate and freeze +within my veins. + +I was fain to wrap around my body a buffalo-robe, which some careless +savage had dropped upon the trail. My followers were not so well +furnished; starting as we had done, without any thought of being absent +for the night, no preparation had been made for camping out. Only a +portion of them chanced to have their blankets strapped upon the cantles +of their saddles. These were now the fortunate ones. + +The norther had roused all of them from their slumbers--had awaked them +as suddenly as a douche of cold water would have done; and one and all +were groping about in the darkness--some seeking for their blankets-- +others for such shelter as was afforded by the lee-side of the bushes. + +Fortunately there were some saddle-blankets, and these were soon dragged +from the backs of the horses. The poor brutes themselves suffered +equally with their owners; they stood cowering under the cold, with +their hips to the cutting blast, their limbs drawn close together, and +their flanks shaggy and shivering. Some of them half sheltered +themselves behind the bushes, scarce caring to touch the grass at their +feet. + +It would have been easy enough to make a fire; there was dry wood in +plenty near the spot, and of the best kind for burning--the large +species of mezquite. Some of the men were for kindling fires at once, +regardless of consequences; but this design was overruled by the more +prudent of the party. The trappers were strongly against it. Cold as +was the night, and dark, they knew that neither the norther nor the +darkness would deter Indians from being abroad. A party might be out +upon the prowl; the very buffalo-skin we had picked up might bring a +squad of them back; for it was the grand robe of some brave or chief, +whose whole life-history was delineated in hieroglyphical painting upon +its inner surface. To have made a fire, might have cost us our lives; +so alleged the trappers, Rube and Garey. It would be better to endure +the cold, than risk our scalps; so counselled they. + +But for all that, Rube had no idea of being starved to death. He could +kindle a fire, and burn it upon an open prairie, without the least fear +of its being seen; and in a few minutes' time he had succeeded in making +one, that could not have been discovered by the most sharp-sighted +Indian in creation. I had watched the operation with some interest. + +He first collected a quantity of dead leaves, dry grass, and short +sticks of the mezquite-tree--all of which he placed under his +saddle-blanket, to prevent the rain and sleet from wetting them. This +done, he drew out his bowie-knife, and with the blade "crowed" a hole +into the turf, about a foot deep, and ten inches or a foot in diameter. +In the bottom of this hole he placed the grass and leaves, having first +ignited them by means of his flint, steel, and "punk" tinder--all of +which implements formed part of the contents of Rube's pouch and +possible sack--ever present. On the top of the now blazing leaves and +grass he placed the dry sticks--first the smaller ones, and then those +of larger dimensions--until the hole was filled up to the brim--and over +all he laid the piece of sod, originally cut from the surface, and which +fitted as neatly as a lid. + +His furnace being now finished and in full blast, the old trapper +"hunkered" down close to its edge--in such a position as to embrace the +fire between his thighs, and have it nearly under him. He then drew his +old saddle-blanket over his shoulders, allowing it to droop behind until +he had secured it under the salient points of his lank angular hips. In +front he passed the blanket over his knees, until both ends, reaching +the ground, were gripped tightly between his toes. The contrivance was +complete; and there sat the earless trapper like a hand-glass over a +plant of spring rhubarb--a slight smoke oozing through the apertures of +the scant blanket, and curling up around his "ears" as though he was +hatching upon a hotbed. But no fire could be seen, though Rube shivered +no longer. + +He soon found imitators. Garey had already constructed a similar +furnace; and the others were soon warming themselves by this simple but +ingenious device. + +I did not disdain to avail myself of the extra "shaft" which the +kind-hearted Garey had sunk for my accommodation; and having placed +myself by its side, and drawn the ample robe over my shoulders, I felt +as warm as if seated in front of a sea-coal fire! + +Under other circumstances, I might have joined in the merriment produced +among my companions by the ludicrous spectacle which we presented. A +comic spectacle indeed; nine of us squatted at intervals over the +ground, the blue smoke escaping through the interstices of our robes and +blankets, and rising around our heads, as though one and all of us were +on fire! + +Wind, sleet, and darkness, continued throughout the whole night--cold +wind, sharp icy sleet, and black darkness, that seemed palpable to the +touch. Ever so eager, ever so fresh, we could not have advanced along +the trail. Grand war-trail as it was, it could not have been traced +under that amorphous obscurity, and we had no means of carrying a light, +even had it been safe to do so. We had no lantern, and the norther with +one blast would have whisked out a torch of pitch-pine. + +We thought no more of going forward, until either the day should break +or the wind come to a lull. + +At midnight we replenished our subterranean fires, and remained on the +ground. Hail, rain, wind, and darkness. + +My companions rested their heads upon their knees, or nodding slept. No +sleep for me--not even the repose of thought. Like some fevered +sufferer on his wakeful couch. I counted the hours--the minutes. The +minutes seemed hours. + +Rain, hail, sleet, and wind seemed, like darkness itself, to belong to +the night. As long as night lasted, so long continued they. When it +came to an end, all vanished together--the norther had exhausted its +strength. + +A wild turkey--killed before nightfall--with some steaks of the +peccary-pork, furnished us with an ample breakfast. + +It was hastily cooked, and hastily eaten; and as the first streak of +dawn appeared along the horizon, we were in our saddles, and advancing +upon the trail. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY. + +A RED EPISTLE. + +The trail led north-west, as written upon the maguey. No doubt Isolina +had heard her captors forespeak their plans. I knew that she herself +understood something of the Comanche language. The accomplishment may +appear strange--and not strange either, when it is known that her mother +could have spoken it well: with her it was a _native tongue_. + +But even without this knowledge she might still have learned the designs +of the savages--for these southern Comanches are accomplished linguists; +many of them can speak the beautiful language of Andalusia! There was a +time when a portion of the tribe submitted to the teaching of the +mission padres; besides, a few among them might boast--which they do +not--of Iberian blood! + +No doubt, then, that the captive in their midst had overheard them +discussing their projects. + +We had ridden about two hours, when we came upon the ground where the +Indians had made their night-camp. We approached it warily and with +stealth, for we were now travelling with great caution. We had need. +Should a single savage, straggling behind, set eyes upon us, we might as +well be seen by the whole band. If discovered upon the war-trail, our +lives would not be worth much. Some of us might escape; but even if all +of us survived our plan would be completely frustrated. + +I say plan, for I had formed one. During the long vigil of the night, +my thoughts had not been idle, and a course of action I had traced out, +though it was not yet fully developed in my mind. Circumstances might +yet alter it, or aid me in its execution. + +We approached their night-encampment, then, warily and with stealth. +The smoke of its smouldering fires pointed out the place, and warned us +from afar. + +We found it quite deserted--the gaunt wolf and coyote alone occupying +the ground, disputing with each other possession of the hide and bones +of a horse--the debris of the Indian breakfast. + +Had we not known already, the trappers could have told by the sign of +the camp to what tribe the Indians belonged. There were still standing +the poles of a tent--only one--doubtless the lodge of the head chief. +The poles were temporary ones--saplings cut from the adjacent thicket. +They were placed in a circle, and meeting at the top, were tied together +with a piece of thong--so that, when covered, the lodge would have +exhibited the form of a perfect cone. This we knew was the fashion of +the Comanche tent. + +"Ef 't hed 'a been Kickapoo," said Rube, who took the opportunity of +displaying his knowledge, "th'ud 'a bent thur poles in'ard, so's to make +a sort o' a roun top, d'ee see; an ef 't hed 'a been Wacoes or +Witcheetoes, thu'd 'a left a hole at the top, to let out thur smoke. +Delawurs an Shawnee wud 'a hed tents, jest like whites; but thet ur +ain't thur way o' makin a fire. In a Shawnee fire, the logs 'ud 'a been +laid wi' one eend turned in an the tother turned ut, jest like the star +on a Texas flag, or the spokes o' a wagon-wheel. Likeways Cherokee an +Choctaw wud 'a hed reg'lar tents, but thur fire wud 'a been alser +diff'rint. They'd 'a sot the logs puralell, side by side, an lit' em +only at one eend, an then pushed 'em up as fast as they burn'd. Thet's +thur way. 'Ee see these hyur logs is sot diff'rint--thur lit in the +middle, an thet's Kimanch for sartint--it ur." + +Rube's "clairvoyance" extended further. The savages had been astart as +early as ourselves. They had decamped about daylight, and were now +exactly two hours ahead of us on the trail. + +Why were they travelling so rapidly? Not from fear of pursuit by any +enemy. The soldiers of Mexico--had these been regarded by them--were +too busy with the Saxon foe, and _vice versa_. They could hardly be +expecting _as_ upon an expedition to rob them of their captives. +Perhaps they were driving forward to be in time for the great herds of +buffalo, that, along with the cold northers, might now be looked for in +the higher latitudes of the Comanche range. This was the explanation +given by the trappers--most probably the true one. + +Under the influence of singular emotions, I rode over the ground. There +were other signs besides those of the savage--signs of the plunder with +which they were laden--signs of civilisation. There were fragments of +broken cups and musical instruments--torn leaves of books--remnants of +dresses, silks and velvets--a small satin slipper (the peculiar +_chaussure_ of the Mexican manola) side by side with a worn-out +mud-stained moccasin--fit emblems of savage and civilised life. + +There was no time for speculating on so curious a confusion. I was +looking for signs of her--for traces of my betrothed. + +I cast around me inquiring glances. Where was it probable she had +passed the night? Where? + +Involuntarily my eyes rested upon the naked poles--the tent of the +chief. How could it be otherwise? Who among all the captives like her? +grandly beautiful to satisfy the eye even of a savage chieftain-- +grandly, magnificently beautiful, how could she escape his notice? +There, in his lodge, shrouded under the brown skins of buffaloes--under +hideous devices--in the arms of a painted, keel-bedaubed savage--his +arms brawn and greasy--embraced--oh!-- + +"Young fellur! I ain't much o' a skollur; but I'd stake a pack o' +beaver plew agin a plug o' Jeemes River, thet this hyur manurscrip wur +entended for yurself, an nob'dy else. Thur's writin' upon it--thet's +clur, an mighty kew'rous ink I reck'n thet ur. Oncest ov a time I kud +'a read write, or print eythur, as easy as fallin' off a log; for thur +wur a Yankee fellur on Duck Crik thet kep a putty consid'able school +thur, an the ole 'oman--thet ur Mrs Rawlins--hed this child put thro' a +reg'lar coorse o' Testy mint. I remembers readin' 'bout thet ur cussed +niggur as toated the possible sack--Judeas, ef I reccol'ex right, war +the durned raskul's name--ef I kud 'a laid claws on him, I'd a raised +his har in the shakin' o' a goat's tail. Wagh! thet I wild." + +Rube's indignation against the betrayer having reached its climax, +brought his speech to a termination. + +I had not waited for its finale. The object which he held between his +fingers had more interest for me, than either the history of his own +early days or the story of the betrayal. + +It was a paper--a note actually folded, and addressed "Warfield!" He +had found it upon the grass, close to where the tent had stood, where it +was held in the crotch of a split reed, the other end of which was +sticking in the ground. + +No wonder the trapper had remarked upon the ink, there was no mistaking +the character of that livid red: the writing was _in blood_! + +Hastily unfolding the paper, I read: + +"_Henri! I am still safe, but in dread of a sad fate_--_the fate of the +poor white captive among these hideous men. Last night I feared it, but +the Virgin shielded me. It has not come. Oh! I shall not submit_--_I +shall die by my own hand. A strange chance has hitherto saved me from +this horrid outrage. No! it was not chance, but Heaven that interposed. +It is thus: Two of my captors claim me_--_one, the son of the +chief_--_the other, the wretch to whom you granted life and freedom. +Would to God it had been otherwise! Of the two, he of white blood is +the viler savage_--_bad, brutal_--_a very demon. Both took part in the +capture of the steed, therefore both claim me as their property? The +claim is not yet adjusted; hence have I been spared. But, alas! I fear +my hour is nigh. A council is to be held that will decide to which of +these monsters I am to be given. If to either, it is a horrid fate; +if to neither, a doom still more horrible. Perchance, you know their +custom: I should be common property_--_the victim of all. Dios de mi +alma! Never_--_never! Death_--_welcome death_! + +"_Fear not, Henri, lord of my heart! fear not that I shall dishonour +your love. No_--_sacred in my breast, its purity shall be preserved, +even at the sacrifice of my life. I shall bathe it with my blood. Ah +me! my heart is bleeding now! They come to drag me away. Farewell! +farewell_!" + +Such were the contents of the page--the fly-leaf of a torn missal. Upon +the other side was a vignette--a picture of Dolores, the weeping saint +of Mexico! Had it been chosen, the emblem could scarcely have been more +appropriate. + +I thrust the red writing into my bosom; and, without waiting to exchange +a word with my companions, pressed forward upon the trail. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY ONE. + +MORE WRITING IN RED. + +The men followed as before. We needed no trackers to point out the way; +the path was plain as a drover's road--a thousand hoofs had made their +mark upon the ground. + +We rode at a regular pace, not rapidly. I was in no hurry to come up +with the savages; I desired to get sight of them just after nightfall, +not before, lest they might also get sight of us. + +The plan I proposed to myself for the rescue of my betrothed, could not +be accomplished in the daytime; darkness alone could avail me in +carrying it out, and for nightfall must I wait. + +We could easily have overtaken the Indians before night. They were but +two short hours in the advance of us, and would be certain--as is their +custom on the war-trail--to make a noon-halt of several hours' duration. +Even Indian horses require to be rested. + +We calculated the rate at which they were travelling--how many miles to +the hour. The prairie-men could tell to a furlong, both the gait and +the distance. + +The tracks of the poor captives were still seen along the trail. This +showed that the party could not have been going faster than a walk. + +The prairie-men alleged there were many horses without riders--led or +driven; many mules, too--the product of the foray. Why were the poor +captives not permitted to ride them? + +Was it sheer cruelty, or brutal indifference on the part of their +captors? Did the inhuman monsters gloat over the sufferings of these +unfortunates, and deny them even the alleviation of physical pain? The +affirmative answer to all these questions was probably the true one, +since hardly better--no better, indeed--is the behaviour of these +savages towards the women of their own blood and kind--their own squaws. + +Talk not to me of the noble savage--of the simplicity and gentleness of +that condition falsely termed a "state of nature." It is not nature. +God meant not man to be a wild Ishmaelite on the face of the earth. Man +was made for civilisation--for society; and only under its influence +does he assume the form and grace of true nobility. Leave him to +himself--to the play of his instincts--to the indulgence of his evil +impulses--and man becomes a brute, a beast of prey. Even worse--for +wolf and tiger gently consort with their kind, and still more gently +with their family: they feel the tenderness of the family tie. Where is +the savage upon all the earth who does not usurp dominion, and practise +the meanest tyranny, over his weaker mate? Where can you find him? Not +on the blood-stained karoos of Africa, not upon the forest-plains of the +Amazon, not by the icy shores of the Arctic Sea, certainly not upon the +prairies of North America. + +No man can be noble who would in wrath lay his finger upon weaker woman; +talk not, then, of the noble savage!--fancy of poets, myth of romancers! + +The tracks of riderless horses, the footsteps of walking women--tender +girls and children--upon that long tiresome trail, had for me a cruel +significance--those slender tiny tracks of pretty feet--_pobres ninas_! + +There was one that fixed my attention more than the rest: every now and +then my eyes were upon it; I fancied I could identify it. It was +exactly the size, I thought. The perfect symmetry and configuration, +the oval curve of the heel, the high instep, the row of small graduated +globes made by the impression of the toes, the smooth surface left by +the imprint of the delicate epidermis--all these points seemed to +characterise the footprint of a lady. + +Surely it could not be hers? Oh, surely she would not be toiling along +that weary track? Cruel as were the hearts of her captors, brutal as +were their natures, surely they would not inflict this unnecessary pain? +Beauty like hers should command kinder treatment, should inspire +compassion even in the breast of a savage! Alas! I deemed it doubtful. + +We rode slowly on, as already said, not desirous of yet overtaking the +foe: we were allowing them time to depart from their noon halting-place. +We might have stopped there a while longer, but I could not submit to +the repose of a halt. Motion, however slow, appeared progress, and in +some measure hindered me from dwelling upon thoughts that only produced +unnecessary pain. + +Notwithstanding the incumbrance of their spoils, the Indians must have +been travelling faster than we. They had no fear of foes to retard +them; nought to require either spies or caution. They were now in their +own country--in the very heart of the Comanche range--and in dread of no +enemy. They were moving freely and without fear. We, on the contrary, +had to keep our scouts in the advance; every bend of the road had to be +reconnoitred by them, every bush examined, every rise of the ground +approached with extreme care and watchfulness. These manoeuvres +occupied time, and we moved slowly enough. + +It was after mid-day when we arrived at the noon-camp of the savages. +The smoke, as before, warned us, and approaching under cover, we +perceived that they were gone. They had kindled fires and cooked flesh. +The bones, clean picked, were easily identified, and the mid-day meal +showed that there had been no change in the diet of these hippophagists: +dinner and dejeuner had been alike--drawn from the same larder. + +Again I searched the ground; but, as before, the eyes of the trapper +proved better than mine. + +"Hyur's a other billy-dux, young fellur," said he, handing me the paper. + +Another leaf from the missal! + +I seized it eagerly--eagerly I devoured its contents! This time they +were more brief: + +"_Once more I open my veins. The council meets to-night. In a few +hours it will be decided whose property I am--whose slave--whose-- +Santissima Maria! I cannot write the word. I shall attempt to escape. +They leave my hands free, but my limbs are tightly bound. I have tried +to undo my fastenings, but cannot. O, if I but had a knife! I know +where one is kept; I may contrive to seize it, but it must be in the +last moment--it will not do to fail. Henri, I am firm and resolute; I +do not yield to despair. One way or the other, I shall free myself from +the hideous embrace of--They come--the villain watches me--I must_--" + +The writing ended abruptly. Her jailers had suddenly approached. + +The paper had evidently been concealed from them in haste; it had been +crumpled up and flung upon the grass--for so was it when found. + +We remained for a while upon the spot, to rest and refresh our horses; +the poor brutes needed both. There was water at the place; and that +might not be met with again. + +The sun was far down when we resumed our march--_our last march along +the war-trail_. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY TWO. + +AN "INJUN ON THE BACK-TRACK." + +We had advanced about a mile farther, when our scouts--who, as usual, +had gone forward to reconnoitre--having ascended a swell of the prairie, +were observed crouching behind some bushes that grew upon its crest. + +We all drew bridle to await the result of their reconnoissance. The +peculiar attitude in which they had placed themselves, and the apparent +earnestness with which they glanced over the bushes, led us to believe +that some object was before their eyes of more than common interest. + +So it proved. We had scarcely halted, when they were seen to retire +suddenly from the cover, and rising erect, run at full speed back down +the hill--at the same time making signals to us to conceal ourselves in +the timber. + +Fortunately, there was timber near; and in a few seconds we had all +ridden into it, taking the horses of the trappers along with us. + +The declivity of the hill enabled the scouts to run with swiftness; and +they were among the trees almost as soon as we. + +"What is it?" inquired several in the same breath. + +"Injun on the back-track," replied the panting trappers. + +"Indians!--how many of them?" naturally asked one of the rangers. + +"Who slayed Injuns? We saved a Injun," sharply retorted Rube. "Damn +yur palaver! thur's no time for jaw-waggin'. Git yur rope ready, Bill. +'Ee durned greenhorns! keep down yur guns--shootin' won't do hyur--yu'd +hev the hul gang back in the flappin' o' a beaver's tail. You, Bill, +rope the redskin, an let the young fellur help--he knows how; an ef both +shed miss 'im, I ain't agwine. 'Ee hear me, fellurs? Don't ne'er a one +o' ye fire: ef a gun ur wanted, Targuts 'll be surfficient, I guess. +For yur lives don't a fire them ur blunderboxes o' yourn till ees see me +miss--they'd be heerd ten mile off. Ready wi' yur rope, Billee? You, +young fellur? All right; mind yur eyes both an snare the durned niggur +like a swamp-rabbit. Yanner he comes, right inter the trap, by the +jumpin Geehosophat!" + +The pithy chapter of instructions above detailed was delivered in far +less time than it takes to read it. The speaker never paused till he +had uttered the final emphatic expression, which was one of his +favourite phrases of embellishment. + +At the same instant I saw, just appearing above the crest of the ridge, +the head and shoulders of a savage. In a few seconds more, the body +rose in sight; and then the thighs and legs, with a large piebald +mustang between them. I need scarcely add that the horse was going at a +gallop; it is a rare sight when a horse-Indian rides any other gait. + +There was only one. The scouts were sure of this. Beyond the swell +stretched an open prairie, and if the Indian had had companions or +followers, they would have been seen. He was alone. + +What had brought him back on the trail? Was he upon the scout? + +No; he was riding without thought, and without precaution. A scout +would have acted otherwise. + +He might have been a messenger; but whither bound? Surely the Indians +had left no party in our rear? + +Quickly these inquiries passed among us, and quick conjectures were +offered in answer. The voyageur gave the most probable solution. + +"Pe gar! he go back for ze sheel." + +"Shield! what shield?" + +"Ah, you no see 'im. I see 'im wiz me eye; he vas cache dans les +herbes--von larzge sheel--bouclier tres gros--fabrique from ze peau of +de buffle--ze parfleche--et garnie avec les scalps--frais et sanglants-- +scalps Mexicaines. Mon Dieu!" + +The explanation was understood. Le Blanc had observed a shield among +the bushes where we had halted--like enough left behind by some of the +braves. It was garnished with scalps, fresh Mexican scalps--like +enough. The Indian had forgotten both his armour and his trophies; he +was on his way to recover them--like enough. + +There was no time either for further talk or conjecture; the red +horseman had reached the bottom of the hill; in ten seconds more, he +would be lazoed or shot! + +Garey and I placed ourselves on opposite sides of the path, both with +our lazoes coiled and ready. The trapper was an adept in the use of +this singular weapon, and I too understood something of its management. +The trees were in our way, and would have prevented the proper winding +of it; but it was our intention to spur clear of the timber--the moment +the Indian came within range--and "rope" him on the run. + +Rube crouched behind Garey, rifle in hand, and the rangers were also +ready, in case both the lazoes and Rube's rifle should miss. + +It would not do to let the Indian either go on or go back; in either +case he would _report_ us. Should he pass the spot where we were, he +would observe our tracks in a minute's time--even amidst the thousands +of others--and would be certain to return by another route. Should he +escape from us, and gallop away, still worse. He must not be permitted +either to go on or go back; he must be captured or killed! + +For my part, I desired that the former should be his destiny. I had no +feeling of revenge to gratify by taking the life of this red man; and +had his capture not been absolutely necessary to our own safety, I +should willingly have let him come and go as he listed. + +Some of my comrades were actuated by very different motives. Killing a +Comanche Indian was, by their creed, no greater crime than killing a +wolf, a panther, or a grizzly bear; and it was not from any motives of +mercy that the trapper had cautioned the others to hold their fire; +prudence alone dictated the advice--he had given his reason--the reports +of our guns might be heard. + +Through the leaves, I looked upon the horseman as he advanced. A +fine-looking fellow he was--no doubt one of the distinguished warriors +of his tribe. What his face was I could not see, for the war-paint +disfigured it with a hideous mask; but his body was large, his chest +broad and full, his limbs symmetrical, and well turned to the very toes. +He sat his horse like a centaur. + +I had no opportunity for prolonged observation. Without hesitating, the +Indian galloped up. + +I sprang my horse clear of the timber. I wound the lazo around my head, +and hurled it towards him; I saw the noose settling over his shoulders, +and falling down to his hips. + +I spurred in the opposite direction; I felt the quick jerk, and the taut +rope told me I had secured the victim. + +I turned in my saddle, and glanced back; I saw the rope of Garey around +the neck of the Indian's mustang, tightened, and holding him fast. +Horse and horseman--both were ours! + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY THREE. + +MY PLAN. + +The savage did not yield himself up without resistance. Resistance with +an Indian is instinctive, as with a wild animal. He flung himself from +his horse, and drawing his knife, with a single cut severed the thong +that bound him. + +In another instant, he would have been off among the bushes; but before +he could move from the spot, half-a-dozen strong arms were around him; +and in spite of his struggles, and the dangerous thrusts of his long +Spanish knife, he was "choked" down and held fast. + +My followers were for making short work with him. More than one had +bared their blades to finish him upon the spot, and would have done so, +had I not interfered. I was averse to spilling his blood; and by my +intercession, his life was spared. + +To prevent him from giving us further trouble, however, we tied him to a +tree in such a manner that he could not possibly free himself. + +The mode of securing him was suggested by Stanfield, the backwoodsman: +it was simple and safe. A tree was chosen, whose trunk was large enough +to fill the embrace of the Indian, so that the ends of his fingers just +met when his arms were drawn to their full stretch around it. Upon his +wrists, thongs of raw hide were firmly looped, and then knotted +together. His ankles were also bound by similar cords--the ends of +which were staked, so as to hinder him from worming around the tree, and +perchance wearing off his thongs, or chafing them, so that they might +break. + +The ligature was perfect; the most expert jail-breaker could not have +freed himself from such a fastening. + +It was our intention to leave him thus, and _perhaps_ set him free upon +our return, if we should return by that way--a doubtful hypothesis. + +I thought not at the time of the cruelty we were committing. We had +spared the Indian's life--a mercy at the moment--and I was too much +concerned about the future of others, to waste reflection on his. + +We had taken the precaution to leave him at some distance from the place +of his capture; others of his party might come after, and discover him, +soon enough to interfere with our plans. His prison had been chosen far +off in the depth of the woods; even his shouts could not have been heard +by any one passing along the trail. + +He was not to be left entirely alone: a horse was to be his companion-- +not his own--for one of the rangers had fancied an exchange. +Stanfield--not well mounted--had proposed a "swop," as he jocosely +termed it, to which the savage had no alternative but consent; and the +Kentuckian, having "hitched" his worn-out nag to a tree, led off the +skew-bald mustang in triumph, declaring that he was now "squar wi' the +Indyens." Stanfield would have liked it better had the "swop" been made +with the renegade who had robbed him. + +We were about to leave the place and move on, when a bright idea +suddenly came into my head: it occurred to me that I too might effect a +profitable exchange with our new-made captive--a swop, not of horses, +but of men--in short, an exchange of persons--of identities! In truth, +a bright idea it was, and one that promised well. + +I have said that I had already conceived a plan for the rescue of my +betrothed: I had done so during the night; and all along the route, in +my mind I had been maturing it. The incident that had just transpired +had given rise to a host of new ideas--one, above all, that promised to +aid me in facilitating the execution of my design. The capture of the +savage, which had at first given me uneasiness, I now regarded in a very +different light--as a fortunate circumstance. I could not help thinking +that I recognised in it the finger of Providence, and the thought +inspired me with hope. I felt that I was not forsaken. + +The plan I had proposed to myself was simple enough; it would require +more of courage than stratagem; but to the former I was sufficiently +nerved by the desperate circumstances in which we had become involved. +I proposed to enter the Indian camp in the night--of course, by stealth +and under cover of the darkness--to find the captive, if possible--set +her limbs free--and then trust to chance for the escape of both of us. + +If once inside the encampment, and within reach of her, a sudden _coup_ +might accomplish all this: success was not beyond possibility, nor +probability neither; and the circumstances admitted of no plan that +promised so fairly. + +To have attempted fight with my few followers against such a host--to +have attacked the Indian camp, even under the advantage of an alarm-- +would have been sheer madness. It must have resulted not only in our +immediate defeat, but would have destroyed our last chance of rescuing +the captive. The savages, once alarmed and warned, could never be +approached again. Isolina would be lost for ever. + +My followers agreed with me upon the imprudence of an attack. Folly +they termed it--and not from any motives of fear: they were willing to +risk all; and had I so ordered, would have charged with me, rifle in +hand, into the very midst of the enemy's lines. I knew they would, +every man of them. Even the voyageur--the least brave of the party-- +would not have flinched; for, in the midst of brave men, cowards cease +to be. + +But such a course would indeed have been folly--madness. We thought not +of adopting it; all approved of the plan I had formed, and which I had +already laid before them as we tarried by the noon halting-place. + +Several had volunteered to be my companions--to venture along with me +into the camp of the savage; to share with me the extreme of the danger; +but for several reasons I was determined to go alone. Should even one +of them be along with me, I saw it would double the risk of detection. +In this matter, stratagem, not strength, was needed, and speed in the +last moments would be worth both. + +Of course, I did not think to get the captive clear without being +observed and pursued--such an expectation would have been preposterous; +she would be too well watched by the savages--not only by her jailers, +but by the jealous eyes of those rival claimants of her body. + +No; on the contrary, I anticipated pursuit--close and eager. It might +be strife; but I trusted to my own swiftness of foot, and to hers--for +well knew I her bold heart and free limb: it was no helpless burden I +should have to bring away. + +I trusted to my being able to baffle their pursuit--to keep them back +while she ran forward. For that purpose, I should take with me my knife +and revolvers--I trusted to these, and much to chance, or, perhaps, I +should rather say, to God. My cause was good--my heart firm and +hopeful. + +Other precautions I intended to take: horses ready as near as they might +be brought; men also ready in their saddles, rifle in hand--ready for +fight, or flight. + +Such was the enterprise upon which I was resolved. Success or death was +staked upon the issue. If not successful, I cared not to survive it. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR. + +"PAINTING INJUN." + +Withal, I was not reckless. If not sanguine, I was far from despondent; +and as I continued to dwell upon it, the prospect seemed to brighten, +and success to appear less problematical. + +One of the chief difficulties I should have to encounter would be +_getting into_ the camp. Once inside the lines--that is, among the +camp-fires and tents, if there should be any--I should be comparatively +safe. This I knew from experience; for it would not be my first visit +to an encampment of prairie-Indians. Even in their midst, mingling with +the savages themselves, and under the light of their glaring fires, I +should be less exposed to the danger of detection than while attempting +to cross their lines. First, I should have to pass the outlying +pickets: then within these the horse-guards; and within these, again, +the horses themselves! + +You may smile when I assert that the last was to me a source of +apprehension as great as either of the others. An Indian horse is a +sentinel not to be despised. He is as much the enemy of the white man +as his master; and partly from fear, and partly from actual antipathy, +he will not permit the former to approach him. The human watcher may be +negligent--may sleep upon his post--the horse never. The scent of a +white man, or the sight of a skulking form, will cause him to snort and +neigh; so that a whole camp will either be _stampeded_ or put upon the +alert in a few minutes. Many a well-planned attack has been defeated by +the warning-snort of the sentinel mustang. + +It is not that the prairie-horse feels any peculiar attachment for the +Indian; strange if he did--since tyrant more cruel to the equine race +does not exist; no driver more severe, no rider more hard, than a +horse-Indian. + +It is simply the faithfulness which the noble animal exhibits for his +companion and master, with the instinct which tells him when that master +is menaced by danger. He will do the same service for a white as for a +red man; and often does the weary trapper take his lone rest, with full +confidence that the vigil will be faithfully kept by his horse. + +Had there been dogs in the Indian camp, my apprehensions would have been +still more acute--the danger would have been more than doubled. Within +the lines, these cunning brutes would have known me as an enemy: the +disguise of garments would not have availed me by the scent, an Indian +dog can at once tell the white from the red man; and they appear to hold +a real antipathy against the race of the Celt or Saxon. Even in time of +truce, a white man entering an Indian camp can scarcely be protected +from the wolfish pack. + +I knew there were no dogs--we saw tracks of none. The Indians had been +upon the war-trail; and when they proceed on these grand expeditions, +their dogs, like their women, are left "at home." I had reason to be +thankful that such was their custom. + +Of course it was my intention to go disguised; it would have been +madness to have gone otherwise. In the darkest night, my uniform would +have betrayed me; but necessarily, in my search for the captive, I +should be led within the light of the fires. + +It was my design, therefore, to counterfeit the Indian costume; and how +to do this had been for some time the subject of my reflections. I had +been congratulating myself on the possession of the buffalo-robe. That +would go far towards the disguise; but other articles were wanting to +complete my costume. The leggings and moccasins--the plumed head-dress +and neck ornaments--the long elfin locks--the bronze complexion of arms +and breast--the piebald face of chalk, charcoal, and vermilion--where +were all these to be obtained? There was no _costumerie_ in the desert. + +In the moment of excitement that succeeded the capture of the savage, I +had been thinking of other things. It was only when we were about to +part from him that the idea jumped into my mind--that bright idea--that +_he_ could _furnish_ me--the very man. + +I turned back to reconnoitre his person. + +Dismounting, I scanned him from head to foot. With delight my eyes +rested upon his buckskin-leggings, his bead-embroidered moccasins, his +pendent collar of javali-tusks, his eagle-plumes stained red, and the +ample robe of jaguar-skins that draped his back--all pleased me much. + +But that we were bent on an errand of peril, the last-mentioned article +would not have been left there. My followers had eyed it with avidity, +and more than one of them had been desirous of removing it; but the +prospect of proximate peril had damped the ardour for spoil; and the +splendid robe had been permitted to remain, where so gracefully it hung, +upon the shoulders of the savage. + +It soon replaced the buffalo robe upon mine; my boots were cast aside, +and my legs encased in the scalp-fringed leggings; my hips were swathed +in the leathern "breech-clout;" and my feet thrust into the foot-gear of +the Comanche, which, by good fortune, fitted to a hair. + +There was yet much required to make me an Indian. Comanches upon the +war-trail go naked from the waist upward--the tunic-shirt is only worn +by them, when hunting, or on ordinary occasions. How was I to +counterfeit the copper skin--the bronzed arms and shoulders?--the +mottled breast--the face of red, and white, and black? Paint only could +aid me; and where was paint to be procured? The black we could imitate +with gunpowder, but-- + +"Wagh!" ejaculated Rube, who was seen holding in his hands a wolf-skin, +prettily trimmed and garnished with quills and beads--the medicine-bag +of the Indian. "Wagh! I thort we'd find the mateeruls in the niggur's +possible-sack--hyur they be!" + +Rube had dived his hand to the bottom of the embroidered bag; and, while +speaking, drew it triumphantly forth. Several little leathern packets +appeared between his fingers, which, from their stained outsides, +evidently contained pigments of various colours; whilst a small shining +object in their midst proved, on closer inspection, to be a +looking-glass! + +Neither the trappers nor myself were astonished at finding these odd +"notions" in such a place; on the contrary, it was natural we should +have looked for them there. Seldom in peace, but never in time of war, +does the Indian ride abroad without his rouge and his mirror! + +The colours were of the right sort, and corresponded exactly with those +that glittered upon the skin of the captive warrior. + +Under the keen edge of a bowie, my moustaches came off in a twinkling: a +little grease was procured; the paints were mixed; and placing myself +side by side with the Indian, I stood for _his_ portrait. Rube was the +painter--a piece of soft buckskin his brush--the broad palm of Garey his +palette. + +The operation did not last a great while. In twenty minutes it was all +over; and the Indian brave and I appeared the exact counterparts of each +other. Streak by streak, and spot by spot, had the old trapper imitated +those hideous hieroglyphics--even to the red hand upon the breast, and +the cross upon the brow. In horrid aspect, the copy quite equalled the +original. + +One thing was still lacking--an important element in the metamorphosis +of disguise: I wanted the long snaky black tresses that adorned the head +of the Comanche. + +The want was soon supplied. Again the bowie blade was called upon to +serve as scissors; and with Garey to perform the tonsorial feat, the +_chevelure_ of the Indian was shorn of its flowing glories. + +The savage winced as the keen blade glistened around his brow; he had no +other thought than that he was about to be scalped alive! + +"'Tain't the way I'd raise his har, the dodrotted skunk!" muttered Rube, +as he stood watching the operation. "Fotch the hide along wi' it, Bill! +It 'll save bother--'ee'll hev to make a wig ef 'ee don't; skin 'im, +durn 'im!" + +Of course Garey did not give heed to this cruel counsel, which he knew +was not meant for earnest. + +A rude "scratch" was soon constructed, and being placed upon my head, +was attached to my own waving locks. Fortunately, these were of dark +colour, and the hue corresponded. + +I fancied I saw the Indian smile when he perceived the use we were +making of his splendid tresses. It was a grim smile, however; and from +the first moment to the last, neither word nor ejaculation escaped from +his lips. + +Even I was forced to smile; I could not restrain myself. The odd +travestie in which we were engaged--the strange commingling of the comic +and serious in the act--and above all, the ludicrous look of the captive +Indian, after they had close cropped him--was enough to make a stone +smile. My comrades could not contain themselves, but laughed outright. + +The plume-bonnet was now placed on my head. It was fortunate the brave +had one--for this magnificent head-dress is rarely worn on a +war-expedition; fortunate, for it aided materially in completing the +counterfeit. With it upon my head, the false hair could hardly have +been detected under the light of day. + +There was no more to be done. The painter, hairdresser, and costumier, +had performed their several offices--I was ready for the masquerade. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY FIVE. + +THE LAST HOURS ON THE TRAIL. + +More cautiously than ever, we now crept along the trail--advancing only +after the ground had been thoroughly "quartered" by the scouts. Time +was of the least consequence. The fresh sign of the Indians told us +they were but a short way ahead of us: we believed we could have ridden +within sight of them at any moment. + +We did not wish to set eyes on them before sunset. It could be no +advantage to us to overtake them on the march, but the contrary. Some +lagging Indian might be found in the rear of the band; we might come in +contact with him, and thus defeat all our designs. + +We hung back, therefore--allowing sufficient time for the savages to +pitch their camp, and for their stragglers to get into it. + +On the other hand, I did not desire to arrive late. The council was to +be held that night--so she had learned--and after the council would come +the _crisis_. I must be in time for both. + +At what hour would the council take place? + +It might be just after they had halted. The son of a chief, and a chief +himself--for the white renegade was a leader of red men--a question +between two such men would not remain long undecided. And a question of +so much importance--involving such consequence--property in body and +soul--possession of the most beautiful woman in the world! + +Oh! I wondered! Could these hideous, ochre-stained, grease-bedaubed +brutes appreciate that peerless beauty? Impossible, I thought. The +delicate lines of her loveliness would be lost upon their gross eyes and +coarse sensual hearts. That pearl beyond price--paste would have +satisfied them as well--they could not distinguish the diamond from +common glass. + +And yet the Comanche is not without love-craft. Coarse as might be the +passion, no doubt they loved her--both loved her--red savage and white +savage. + +For this very reason, the "trial" would not be delayed; the question +would be speedily decided--in order that the quarrel of the chiefs might +be brought to an end. For this very reason, the crisis might be +hastened, the council take place at an early hour; for this very reason, +I too must needs be early upon the spot. + +It was my aim to arrive within sight of the Indian encampment just +before night--in the twilight, if possible--that we might be able to +make reconnoissance of the ground before darkness should cover it from +our view. We were desirous of acquainting ourselves with the lay of the +surrounding country as well--so that, in the event of our escape, we +should know which was the best direction to take. + +We timed our advance by the sign upon the trail. The keen scouts could +tell, almost to a minute, when the latest tracks were made; and by this +we were guided. Both glided silently along, their eyes constantly and +earnestly turned upon the ground. + +Mine were more anxiously bent upon the sky; from that quarter I most +feared an obstacle to the execution of my purpose. What a change had +come over my desires!--how different were they from those of the two +preceding nights! The very same aspect of the heavens that had hitherto +chagrined and baffled me, would now have been welcome. In my heart, I +had lately execrated the clouds; in that same heart, I was now praying +for cloud, and storm, and darkness! + +Now could I have blessed the clouds, but there were none to bless--not a +speck appeared over the whole face of the firmament--the eye beheld only +the illimitable ether. + +In another hour, that boundless blue would be studded with millions of +bright stars; and, silvered by the light of a resplendent moon, the +night would be as day. + +I was dismayed at the prospect. I prayed for cloud and storm, and +darkness. Human heart! when blinded by its own petty passions, +unreasoning and unreasonable; my petition was opposed to the unalterable +laws of nature--it could not be heard. + +I can scarcely describe how the aspect of that bright sky troubled and +pained me. The night-bird, which joys only in deepest darkness, could +not have liked it less. Should there be moonlight, the enterprise would +be made more perilous--doubly more. Should there be moonlight--why need +I form an hypothesis? Moonlight there _would_ be to a certainty. It +was the middle of the lunar month, and the moon would be up almost as +the sun went down--full, round, and almost as bright as he--with no +cloud to cover her face, to shroud the earth from her white light. +Certainly there would be moonlight! + +Well thought of was that disguise--well spent our labour in making it so +perfect. Under the moonlight, to it only could I trust; by it only +might I expect to preserve my incognito. + +But the eye of the Indian savage is sharp, and his perception keen-- +almost as instinct itself. I could not rely much upon my borrowed +plumes, should speech be required from me. Just on account of the +cunning imitation, the perfectness of the pattern, some friends of the +original might have business with me--might approach and address me. I +knew but a few words of Comanche--how should I escape from the colloquy? + +Such thoughts were troubling me as we rode onward. + +Night was near; the sun's lower limb rested on the far horizon of the +west: the hour was an anxious one to me. + +The scouts had been for some time in the advance, without returning to +report: and we had halted in a copse to wait for them. A high hill was +before us, wooded only at the summit; over this hill the war-trail led. +We had observed the scouts go into the timber. We kept our eyes upon +the spot, waiting for their return. + +Presently one of them appeared just outside the edge of the wood--Garey, +we saw it was. He made signs to us to come on. + +We rode up the hill, and entered among the trees. After going a little +farther, we diverged from the trail. The scout guided us through the +trunks over the high summit. On the other side, the wood extended only +a little below; but we did not ride beyond it; we halted before coming +to its edge, and dismounting, tied our horses to the trees. + +We crept forward on our hands and knees till we had reached the utmost +verge of the timber; through the leaves we peered, looking down into the +plain beyond. We saw smokes and fires, and a skin-lodge in their midst; +we saw dark forms around--men moving over the ground, and horses with +their heads to the grass: we were looking upon the camp of the +Comanches. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY SIX. + +THE COMANCHE CAMP. + +We had reached our ground just at the moment I desired. It was +twilight--dark enough to render ourselves inconspicuous under the +additional shadow of the trees--yet sufficiently clear to allow a full +reconnoissance of the enemy's position. Our point of view was a good +one--under a single _coup-d'oeil_ commanding the encampment, and a vast +extent of country around it. The hill we had climbed--a sort of +isolated _butte_--was the only eminence of any considerable elevation +for miles around; and the site of the camp was upon the plain that +stretched away from its base--apparently beyond limit! + +The plain was what is termed a "pecan" prairie--that is, a prairie half +covered with groves, copses, and lists of woodland--in which the +predominating tree is the pecan--a species of hickory (_carya +olivaeformis_), bearing an oval, edible nut of commercial value. +Between the groves and _mottes_ of timber, single trees stood apart, +their heads fully developed by the free play given to their branches. +These park-looking trees, with the coppice-like groves of the pecan, +lent an air of high civilisation to the landscape; and a winding stream, +whose water, under the still lingering rays, glistened with the sheen of +silver, added to the deception. Withal, it was a wilderness--a +beautiful wilderness. Human hands had never planted those groves--human +agency had nought to do with the formation or adornment of that lovely +landscape. + +Upon the bank of the stream, and about half a mile from the base of the +hill, stood the Indian camp. A glance at the position showed how well +it had been chosen--not so much for defence, as to protect it against a +surprise. + +Assuming the lodge--there was but one--as the centre of the camp, it was +placed upon the edge of a small grove, and fronting the stream. From +the tent to the water's edge, the plain sloped gently downward, like the +glacis of a fortification. The smooth sward, that covered the space +between the trees and the water, was the ground of the camp. On this +could be seen the dusky warriors, some afoot, standing in listless +attitudes, or moving about; others reclining upon the grass, and still +others bending over the fires, as if engaged in the preparation of their +evening meal. + +A line of spears, regularly placed, marked the allotment of each. The +slender shafts, nearly five yards in length, rose tall above the turf-- +like masts of distant ships--displaying their profusion of pennons and +bannerets, of painted plumes and human hair. At the base of each could +be seen the gaudy shield, the bow and quiver, the embroidered pouch and +medicine-bag of the owner; and grouped around many of them appeared +objects of a far different character--objects that we could not +contemplate without acute emotion. They were women: enough of light +still ruled the sky to show us their faces; they were white women--the +captives. + +Strange were my sensations as I regarded those forms and faces; but they +were far off--even a lover's eye was unequal to the distance. + +Flanking the camp on right and left were the horses. They occupied a +broad belt of ground--for they were staked out to feed--and each was +allowed the length of his lazo. Their line converged to the rear, and +met behind the grove--so that the camp was embraced by an arc of +browsing animals, the river forming its chord. Across the stream, the +encampment did not extend. + +I have said that the spot was well selected to guard against a surprise. +Its peculiar adaptability consisted in the fact, that the little grove +that backed the camp was the only timber within a radius of a thousand +yards. All around, and even on the opposite side of the stream, the +plain was treeless, and free from cover of any kind. There were no +inequalities of ground, neither "brake, bush, nor scaur," to shelter the +approach of an enemy. + +Had this position been chosen, or was it accidental? In such a place +and at such a time, it was not likely they had any fear of a surprise; +but with the Indian, caution is so habitually exercised, that it becomes +almost an instinct; and doubtless under such a habit, and without any +forethought whatever, the savages had fixed upon the spot where they +were encamped. The grove gave them wood; the stream, water; the plain, +pabulum for their horses. With one of these last for their own food, +they had all the requisites of an Indian camp. + +At the first glance, I saw the strength of their position--not so much +with the eye of a soldier, as with that of a hunter and bush-fighter did +I perceive it. In a military sense, it offered no point of defence; but +it could not be approached by stratagem, and that is all the +horse-Indian ever fears. Alarm him not too suddenly--give him five +minutes' warning, and he cannot be attacked. If superior in strength, +you may chase him; but you must be better mounted than he to bring him +to close combat. Retreat, not defence, is generally the leading idea of +Comanche strategy, unless when opposed to a Mexican foe. Then he will +stand fight with the courage of a master. + +As I continued to gaze at the Indian encampment, my heart sank within +me. Except under cover of a dark night--a very dark night--it could not +be entered. The keenest spy could not have approached it: it appeared +unapproachable. + +The same thought must at that moment have occupied the minds of my +companions; I saw the gloom of disappointment on the brows of all as +they knelt beside me silent and sullen. None of them said a word; they +had not spoken since we came upon the ground. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN. + +NO COVER. + +In silence I continued to scrutinise the camp, but could discover no +mode of approaching it secretly or in safety. + +As I have said, the adjacent plain, for nearly a thousand yards' radius, +was a smooth grass-covered prairie. Even the grass was short: it would +scarcely have sheltered the smallest game--much less afford cover for +the body of a man--much less for that of a horse. + +I should willingly have crawled on hands and knees, over the half-mile +that separated us from the encampment; but that would have been of no +service; I might just as well have walked erect. Erect or prostrate, I +should be seen all the same by the occupants of the camp, or the guards +of the horses. Even if I succeeded in effecting an entrance within the +lines, what then? Even should I succeed in finding Isolina, what then? +what hope was there of our getting off? + +There was no probability of our being able to pass the lines unseen--not +the least. We should certainly be pursued, and what chance for us to +escape? It was not probable we could run for a thousand yards with the +hue and cry after us? No; we should be overtaken, recaptured, speared +or tomahawked upon the spot! + +The design I had formed was to bring my horse as close as possible to +the camp; to leave him under cover, and within such a distance as would +make it possible to reach him by a run; then mounting with my betrothed +in my arms, to gallop on to my comrades. The men, I had intended, +should be placed in ambush, as near to the camp as the nature of the +ground would permit. + +But my preconceived plan was entirely frustrated by the peculiar +situation of the Indian encampment. I had anticipated that there would +be either trees, brushwood, or broken ground in its neighbourhood, under +shelter of which we might approach it. To my chagrin, I now saw that +there was none of the three. There was no timber nearer than the grove +in which we were lying--the copse excepted--and to have reached this +would have been to enter the camp itself. + +We appeared to have advanced to the utmost limit possible that afforded +cover. A few feet farther would have carried us outside the margin of +the wood, and then we should have been as conspicuous to the denizens of +the camp, as they now were to us. Forward we dared not stir--not a step +farther. + +I was puzzled and perplexed. Once more I turned my eyes upon the sky, +but I drew not thence a ray of hope; the heavens were too bright; the +sun had gone down in the west; but in the east was rising, full, round, +and red, almost his counterpart. How I should have welcomed an eclipse! +I thought of Omnipotent power; I thought of the command of the +Israelitish captain. I should have joyed to see the shadow of the +opaque earth pass over that shining orb; and rob it of its borrowed +light, if only for a single hour! + +Eclipse or cloud there was none--no prospect of one or other--no hope +either from the earth or the sky. + +Verily, then, must I abandon my design, and adopt some other for the +rescue of my betrothed? What other? + +I could think of none: there was no other that might be termed a plan. +We might gallop forward, and openly attack the camp? Sheer desperation +alone could impel us to such a course, and the result would be ruin to +all--to her among the rest. We could not hope to rescue _her_--nine to +a hundred--for we saw and could now count our dusky foemen. They would +see us afar off; would be prepared to receive us--prepared to hurl their +masses upon us--to destroy us altogether. Sheer desperation! + +What other plan?--what-- + +Something of one occurred to me at that moment: a slight shadow of it +had crossed my mind before. It seemed practicable, though fearfully +perilous; but what of peril? It was not the time, nor was I in the +mood, to regard danger. Anything short of the prospect of certain death +had no terror for me then; and even this I should have preferred to +failure. + +We had along with us the horse of the captive Comanche. Stanfield had +brought the animal, having left his own in exchange. I thought of +mounting the Indian horse, and riding him into the camp. In this +consisted the whole of the scheme that now presented itself. + +Surely the idea was a good one--a slight alteration of my original plan. +I had already undertaken to play the _role_ of an Indian warrior, while +within the camp; it would only require me to begin the personation +outside the lines, and make my _entree_ along with my _debut_. There +would be more dramatic appropriateness, with a proportionate increase of +danger. + +But I did not jest thus; I had no thought of merriment at the time. The +travesty I had undertaken was no burlesque. + +The worst feature of this new scheme was the increased risk of being +brought in contact with the friends of the warrior of the red hand--of +being accosted by them, and of course expected to make reply. How could +I avoid meeting them--one or more of them? If interrogated, how shun +making answer? I knew a few words of the Comanche tongue, but not +enough to hold a conversation in it. Either my false accent or my voice +would betray me! True, I might answer in Spanish. Many of the +Comanches speak this language; but my using it would appear a suspicious +circumstance. + +There was another source of apprehension: I could not confide in the +Indian horse. He had endeavoured to fling Stanfield all along the way-- +kicking violently, and biting at his Saxon rider while seated upon his +back. Should he behave in a similar manner with me while entering the +camp, it would certainly attract the attention of the Indian guards. It +would lead to scrutiny and suspicion. + +Still another fear: even should I succeed in the main points--in +entering the camp, finding the captive, and wresting her from the hands +of her jailers--how after? I could never depend upon this capricious +mustang to carry us clear of the pursuit--there would be others as +swift, perhaps swifter than he, and we should only be carried back to +die. Oh! that I could have taken my own steed near to the line of +yonder guard--oh! that I could have hidden him there! + +It might not be; I saw that it could not be; and I was forced to abandon +the thoughts of it. + +I had well-nigh made up my mind to risk all the chances of my assumed +character, by mounting the Indian horse. To my comrades I imparted the +idea, and asked their counsel. + +All regarded it as fraught with danger; one or two advised me against +it. They were those who did not understand my motives--who could not +comprehend the sentiment of love--who knew not the strength and courage +which that noble passion may impart. Little understood they how its +emotions inspire to deeds of daring--how love absorbs all selfishness-- +even life becoming a secondary consideration, when weighed against the +happiness or safety of its object. These rude men had never loved as I. +I gave no ear to their too prudent counsels. + +Others acknowledged the danger, but saw not how I could act differently. +One or two had in their life's course experienced a touch of tender +feeling akin to mine. These could appreciate; and counselled me in +consonance with my half-formed resolution. I liked their counsel best. + +One had not yet spoken--one upon whose advice I placed a higher value +than upon the combined wisdom of all the others. I had not yet taken +the opinion of the earless trapper. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY EIGHT. + +RUBE CONSULTING HIS ORACLE. + +He was standing apart from the rest--leaning, I should rather say, for +his body was not erect, but diagonal. In this attitude it was propped +by his rifle, the butt of which was steadied against the stump of a +tree, whilst the muzzle appeared to rest upon the bridge of Rube's own +nose. + +As the man and the piece were about of a length, the two just placed in +juxtaposition presented the exact figure of an inverted V, and the small +close-capped skull of the trapper formed a sufficiently tapering apex to +the angle. Both his hands were clasped round the barrel, near its +muzzle, his fingers interlocking, while the thumbs lay flat--one upon +each side of his nose. + +At first glance, it was difficult to tell whether he was gazing into the +barrel of the piece, or beyond it upon the Indian camp. + +The attitude was not new to him nor to me; it was not the first time I +had observed him in a posture precisely similar. I knew it was his +favourite _pose_, when any question of unusual difficulty required all +the energy of his "instincts." He was now, as often of yore, consulting +his "divinity," presumed to dwell far down within the dark tube of +"Targuts." + +After a time, all the others ceased to speak, and stood watching him. +They knew that no step would be taken before Rube's advice had been +received; and they waited with more or less patience for him to speak. + +Full ten minutes passed, and still the old trapper neither stirred nor +spoke. Nor lip nor muscle of him was seen to move; the eyes alone could +be detected in motion, and these small orbs, scintillating in their deep +sockets, were the only signs of life which he showed. Standing rigid +and still, he appeared, not a statue, but a scarecrow, propped up by a +stick; and the long, brown, weather-washed rifle did not belie the +resemblance. + +Full ten minutes passed, and still he spoke not; his "oracle" had not +yet yielded its response. + +I have said that at the first glance it was difficult to tell whether +the old man was gazing into the barrel of his gun or beyond it. After +watching him closely, I observed that he was doing both. Now his eyes +were a little raised, as if he looked upon the plain--anon they were +lowered, and apparently peering into the tube. He was drawing the data +of his problem from facts--he was trusting to his divinity for the +solution. + +For a long time he kept up this singular process of conjuration-- +alternating his glances in equal distribution between the hollow +cylinder and the circle of vision that comprehended within its +circumference the Comanche encampment. + +The others began to grow impatient; all were interested in the result, +and not without reason. Standing upon the limits of a life-danger, it +is not strange they should feel anxiety about the issue. + +Thus far, however, none had offered to interrupt or question the queer +old man. None dared. One or two of the party had already had a taste +of his quality when fretted or interfered with, and no one desired to +draw upon himself the sharp "talk" of the earless trapper. + +Garey at length approached, but not until Rube, with a triumphant toss +of his head and a scarcely audible "wheep" from his thin lips, showed +signs that the consultation had ended, and that the "joss" who dwelt at +the bottom of his rifle-barrel had vouchsafed an answer! + +I had watched him with the rest. I liked that expressive hitch of the +head; I liked the low, but momentous sibillation that terminated the +_seance_ between him and his familiar spirit. They were signs that the +knot was unravelled--that the old trapper had devised some feasible plan +by which the Indian camp might be entered. + +Garey and I drew near, but not to question him; we understood him too +well for that. We knew that he must be left free to develop his purpose +in his own time; and we left him free--simply placing ourselves by his +side. + +"Wal, Billee!" he said, after drawing a long breath, "an yurself, young +fellur! whet do 'ee both think o' this hyur bizness: looks ugly, don't +it--eh, boyees?" + +"Tarnal ugly," was Garey's laconic answer. + +"Thort so meself at fust." + +"Thar ain't no plan o' gettin' in yander," said the young trapper, in a +desponding tone. + +"The doose thur ain't! what greenhorn put thet idee inter yur brain-pan, +Bill?" + +"Wal, thar are a plan; but 'tain't much o' a one: we've been talkin it +over hyar." + +"Le's hear it," rejoined Rube, with an exulting chuckle--"le's hev it, +boyee! an quick, Bill, fur time's dodrotted preecious 'bout now. Wal?" + +"It's jest this, Rube, neyther less nor more: the capt'n proposes to +take the Injun's hoss; and ride straight into thar camp." + +"Straight custrut in, do 'ee?" + +"Ov coorse; it 'ud be no use goin about the bush: they kin see him +a-comin' from ony side." + +"I'll be durned ef they kin--thet I'll be durned. Wagh! they cudn't 'a +see me--thet they cudn't, ef ivery niggur o' 'em hed the eyes o' an +Argoose es hed eyes all over him--thet they cudn't, Billee." + +"How?" I inquired. "Do you mean to say that it is possible for any one +to approach yonder camp without being observed? Is that what you mean, +Rube?" + +"Thet ur preezactly whet I mean, young fellur. No--not adzactly thet +eyther. One o' _you_ I didn't say: whet I sayed wur, that this hyur +trapper, Rube Rawlins o' the Rocky Mountains, kud slide inter yander +campmint jest like greased lightnin through a gooseberry-bush, 'ithout +e'er an Injun seein 'im; an thet, too, ef the red-skinned vamints hed +more eyes in thur heads than they hev lice; which, accordin' to this +child's reck'nin', 'ud guv ivery squaw's son o' the gang as many peepers +es thur ur spots in a peecock's tail, an a wheen over to breed, I +kalkerlate. No plan to git inter thur camp 'ithout bein' seed! Wagh! +yur gettin' green, Bill Garey!" + +"How can it be accomplished, Rube? Pray, explain! You know how +impatient--" + +"Don't git unpayshint, young fellur! thet ur's no use whetsomdiver. +Yu'll need payshinse, an a good grist o' thet ur, afore ye kin warm yur +shins at yander fires; but 'ee kin do it, an in the nick o' time too, ef +yu'll go preezactly accordin' to whet old Rube tells ye, an keep yur eye +well skinned and yur teeth from chatterin': I knows yu'll do all thet. +I knows yur weasel to the back o' yur neck, an kin whip yur weight in +wild cat any day i' the year. Now? D'yur agree to follur my +direekshuns!" + +"I promise faithfully to act according to your advice." + +"Thet ur sensible sayed--durnation'd sensible. Wal, then, I'll gi' ye +my device." + +As Rube said this, he moved forward to the edge of the timber, making a +sign for Garey and myself to follow. + +On reaching its outer edge--but still within cover--he dropped down upon +his knees, behind some evergreen bushes. + +I imitated his example, and knelt upon his right, while Garey crouched +down on the left. + +Our eyes were directed upon the Indian camp, of which, and the plain +around it, we had a good view--as good as could be obtained under the +light of a brilliant moon, alas! too brilliant! + +After we had surveyed the scene for some moments in silence, the old +trapper condescended to begin the conversation. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTY NINE. + +THE TRAPPER'S COUNSEL. + +"Now, Bill Garey, an you, young fellur, jest clap yur eyes on thet 'ere +'campmint, an see ef thur ain't a road leadin inter the very heart o' +it, straight as the tail o' a skeeart fox. 'Ee see it? eh?" + +"Not under kiver?" replied Garey interrogatively. + +"Unner kiver--ivery step o' the way--the best o' kiver." + +Garey and I once more scrutinised the whole circumference of the +encampment, and the ground adjacent. We could perceive no cover by +which the camp could be approached. Surely there was none. + +What could Rube mean? Were there clouds in the sky? Had he perceived +some portent of coming darkness? and had his words reference to this? + +I raised my eyes, and swept the whole canopy with inquiring glances. Up +to the zenith, around the horizon--east, west, north, and south--I +looked for clouds, but looked in vain. A few light cirrhi floated high +in the atmosphere; but these, even when crossing the moon's disk, cast +no perceptible shadow. On the contrary, they were tokens of settled +weather; and moving slowly, almost fixed upon the face of the heavens, +were evidence that no sudden change might be expected. When the trapper +talked of entering the camp under cover, he could not have meant under +cover of darkness. What then? + +"Don't see ony kiver, old hoss," rejoined Garey, after a pause; "neyther +bush nor weed." + +"Bush!" echoed Rube--"weed! who's talkin 'bout weeds an bushes? Thur's +other ways o' hidin' yur karkidge 'sides stickin' it in a bush or unner +a weed. Yur a gettin' durnation'd pumpkin-headed, Bill Garey. I gin to +think yur in the same purdicamint as the young fellur hisself. Yu've +been a humbuggin' wi' one o' them ur Mexikin moochachers." + +"No, Rube, no." + +"Durn me, ef I don't b'lieve you hev, boy. I heern ye tell one o' +'em--" + +"What?" + +"Wagh! ye know well enuf. Didn't 'ee tell one o' 'em gurls at the +rancherie that ye loved her as hard as a mule kud kick--sartintly ye +did; them wur yur preezact words, Billee." + +"I was only jokin', hoss." + +"Putty jokin' thet ur 'll be when I gits back to Bent's Fort, and tell +yur Coco squaw. He, he, he--ho, ho, hoo! Geehosophat! thur _will_ be a +rumpus bumpus!" + +"Nonsense, Rube; thar's nothin' ov it." + +"Thur must 'a be: yur brain-pan's out o' order, Bill; ye hain't hed a +clur idee for days back. Bushes! an weeds too! Wagh! who sayed thur +wur bushes? Whur's yur eyes? d'yur see a _bank_?" + +"A bank!" echoed Garey and I simultaneously. + +"Ye-es," drawled Rube--"a bank. I guess thur's bank, right afore yur +noses, ef both o' yur ain't as blind as the kittlins o' a 'possum. Now, +do 'ee see it?" + +Neither of us made reply to the final interrogatory. For the first +time, we began to comprehend Rube's meaning; and our eyes as well as +thoughts were suddenly directed upon the object indicated by his words-- +the bank of the stream--for to that he referred. + +I have stated that the little river ran close to the Indian lines, and +on one side formed the boundary of the camp. We could tell that the +current was towards us; for the stream, on reaching the hill upon which +we were, turned sharply off, and swept round its base. The Indian camp +was on the left bank--though upon its right when viewed up-stream, as we +were regarding it. Any one proceeding up the left bank must therefore +necessarily pass within the lines, and through among the horses that +were staked nearest to the water. + +It need not be supposed that under our keen scrutiny the stream had +hitherto escaped observation; I myself had long ago thought of it--as a +means of covering my approach--and time after time had my eyes dwelt +upon it, but without result: in its channel I could perceive no shelter +from observation. Its banks were low, and without either rush or bush +upon them. The green turf of the prairie stretched up to the very +brink, and scarcely twelve inches below its level was the surface of the +current water. This was especially the case along the front of the +encampment, and for some distance above and below. + +Any one endeavouring to enter the camp by stealing up the channel, must +have gone completely under the water, for a swimmer could have been +observed upon its surface; even if a man could have approached in this +way, there was no hope that a horse could be taken with him; and without +the horse, what prospect of ultimate escape? + +It had seemed to me impossible. More than once had I taken into +consideration, and as often rejected, the idea. + +Not so Rube. It was the very scheme he had conceived, and he now +proceeded to point out his practicability. + +"Now, theen--ees see a bank, do 'ee?" + +"'Tain't much o' a bank," replied Garey, rather discouragingly. + +"No: 'tain't as high as Massoora bluffs, nor the kenyons o' Snake +River--thet nob'dy durnies; but ef 'tain't as high as it mout be, it ur +ivery minnit a gettin' higherer, I reck'n." + +"Getting higher, you think?" + +"Ye-es; or whet ur putty consid'able the same thing the t'other ur a +gettin' lower." + +"The water, you mean?" + +"The water ur a fallin'--gwine down by inches at a jump; an in an hour +from this, thur'll be bluffs afront o' the camp helf a yurd high--thet's +whet thur'll be." + +"And you think I could get into the camp by creeping under them?" + +"Sure o't. Whet's to hinner ye? it ur easy as fallin' off o' a log." + +"But the horse--how could I bring him near?" + +"Jest the same way as yurself. I tell yur the bed o' thet river ur deep +enuf to hide the biggest hoss in creeashun. 'Tur now full, for the +reezun thur's been a fresh in consykwince o' last night's rain: 'ee +needn't mind thet--the hoss kin wade or swim eyther, an the bank 'll +kiver 'im from the eyes of the Injuns. You kin leave 'im in the river." + +"In the water?" + +"In coorse--yur hoss'll stan thur; an ef he don't, you kin tie his nose +to the bank. Don't be skeeart, but 'ee kin take 'im as near as 'ee +please; but don't git too far to wind'ard, else them mustangs 'll smell +'im, and then it ur all up both wi' yurself an yur hoss. About two +hundred yurds ull be yur likeliest distence. Ef ye git the gurl clur, +ye kin easy run thet, I reck'n; put straight for the hoss; an whun yur +mounted, gallip like hell! Put straight up higher for the timmer, whur +we'll be cached; an then, durn 'em! ef the red-skins don't catch goss +out o' our rifles. Wagh! thet's the way to do the thing--_it_ ur." + +Certainly, this plan appeared practicable enough. The sinking of the +water was a new element; it had escaped my observation, though Rube had +noted it. It was this that had delayed him so long in giving his +opinion; he had been watching it while leaning upon his rifle, though +none of the rest of us had thought of such a thing. He remembered the +heavy rain of the night before; he saw that it had caused a freshet in +the little river; that its subsidence had begun; and, as in most +prairie-streams, was progressing with rapidity. His keen eye had +detected a fall of several inches during the half-hour we had been upon +the ground. I could myself observe, now the thing was pointed out to +me, that the banks were _higher_ than before. + +Certainly, the idea of approaching by the stream had assumed a more +feasible aspect. If the channel should prove deep enough, I might get +the horse sufficiently near: the rest would have to be left to stratagem +and chance. + +"Yur ridin' in the Injun hoss," said Rube, "ud niver do: it mout, on the +wust pinch: an ef ee don't git in the t'other way, ee kin still try it; +but ye kud niver git acrosst through the cavayard 'ithout stampeedin' +'em: 'em mustangs ud be sure to make sich a snortin', and stompin', an +whigherin', as 'ud bring the hul campmint about ye; an some o' the +sharp-eyed niggurs 'ud be sartint to find out yur hide wur white. +T'other way es I've desized ur fur the safest--_it_ ur." + +I was not long in making up my mind. Rube's counsel decided me, and I +resolved to act accordingly. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY. + +TAKING TO THE WATER. + +I spent but little time in preparations; these had been made already. +It remained only to tighten my saddle-girths, look to the caps of my +revolvers, and place both pistols and knife in the belt behind my back-- +where the weapons would be concealed by the pendent robe of +jaguar-skins. In a few minutes I was ready. + +I still loitered a while, to wait for the falling of the water; not +long--my anxiety did not permit me to tarry long. The hour of the +council might be nigh--I might be too late for the crisis. Not long did +I loiter. + +It was not necessary. Even by the moonlight, we could distinguish the +dark line of the bank separating the grassy turf from the surface of the +water. The rippling current was shining like silver-lace, and, by +contrast, the brown earthy strip that rose vertically above it, could be +observed more distinctly. It was sensibly broader. + +I could wait no longer. I leaped into the saddle. My comrades crowded +around me to say a parting word: and with a wish or a prayer upon their +lips, one after another pressed my hand. Some doubted of their ever +seeing me again--I could tell this from the tone of their leave-taking-- +others were more confident. All vowed to revenge me if I fell. + +Rube and Garey went with me down the hill. + +At the point where the stream impinged upon the hill? there were bushes; +these continued up the declivity, and joined the timber upon the summit. +Under their cover we descended, reaching the bank just at the salient +angle of the bend. A thin skirting of similar bushes ran around the +base of the hill, and we now perceived that by following the path on +which we had come, the ambuscade might have been brought a little nearer +to the camp. But the cover was not so good as the grove upon the +summit, and in case of a retreat, it would be necessary to gallop up the +naked face of the slope, and thus expose our numbers. It was decided, +therefore, after a short consultation, to leave the men where they were. + +From the bend, where we stood, to the Indian camp? the river trended +almost in a straight line, and its long reach lay before our eyes like a +band of shining metal. Along its banks, the bush extended no farther. +A single step towards the camp would have exposed us to the view of its +occupants. + +At this point, therefore, it was necessary for me to take to the water; +and dismounting, I made ready for the immersion. + +The trappers had spoken their last words of instruction and counsel; +they had both grasped my hand, giving it a significant squeeze that +promised more than words; but to these, too, had they given utterance. + +"Don't be afeerd, capt'n!" said the younger. "Rube and I won't be far +off. If we hear your pistols, we'll make a rush to'rst you, and meet +you half-way anyhow; and if onything should happen amiss,"--here Garey +spoke with emphasis--"you may depend on't we'll take a bloody revenge." + +"Yees!" echoed Rube, "we'll do jest thet. Thur'll be many a nick in +Targuts afore next Krissmuss ef _you_ ur rubbed out, young fellur; thet +I swar to ye. But don't be skeeart! Keep yur eye sharp-skinned, an yur +claws steady, an thur's no fear but yu'll git clur. Oncest yur clur o' +the camp, 'ee may reck'n on us. Put straight for the timmer, an gallip +as ef Ole Scratch wur a-gruppin' at the tail o' yur critter." + +I waited to hear no more, but leading Moro down the bank, at a place +where it sloped, I stepped gently into the current. My well-trained +steed followed without hesitation, and in another instant we were both +breast-deep in the flood. + +The water was just the depth I desired. There was a half-yard of bank +that rose vertically above the surface; and this was sufficient to +shelter either my own head, as I stood erect, or the frontlet of my +horse. Should the channel continue of uniform depth as far as the camp, +the approach would be easy indeed: and, for certain hydrographic +reasons, I was under the belief it would. + +The plumes of the Indian bonnet rose above the level of the meadow-turf; +and as the feathers--dyed of gay colours--would have formed a +conspicuous object, I took off the gaudy head-dress, and carried it in +my hand. + +I also raised the robe of jaguar-skin over my shoulders, in order to +keep it dry; and for the same reason, temporarily carried my pistols +above the water-line. + +The making of these slight alterations occupied only a minute or so; +and, as soon as they were completed, I moved forward through the water. + +The very depth of the stream proved a circumstance in my favour. In +wading, both horse and man make less noise in deep than in shallow +water; and this was an important consideration. The night was still-- +too still for my wishes--and the plunging sound would have been heard +afar off; but fortunately there were rapids below--just where the stream +forced its way through the spur of the hill--and the hissing sough of +these, louder in the still night, was borne upon the air to the distance +of many miles. Their noise, to my own ears, almost drowned the plashing +made by Moro and myself. I had noted this _point d'avantage_ before +embarking upon the enterprise. + +At the distance of two hundred yards from the bushes, I paused to look +back. My purpose was to fix in my memory the direction of the hill, and +more especially the point where my comrades had been left in ambush: in +the event of a close pursuit, it would not do to mistake their exact +situation. + +I easily made out the place, and observed that, for several reasons, a +better could not have been chosen. The trees that timbered the crest of +the hill were of a peculiar kind--none more so upon the earth. They +were a species of arborescent yucca, then unknown to botanists. Many of +them were forty feet in height; and their thick angular branches, and +terminal fascicles of rigid leaves, outlined against the sky, formed a +singular, almost an unearthly spectacle. It was unlike any other +vegetation upon earth, more resembling a grove of cast-iron than a wood +of exogenous trees. + +Why I regarded the spot as favourable for an ambush, was chiefly this: a +party approaching it from the plain, and climbing the hill, might fancy +a host of enemies in their front; for the trees themselves, with their +heads of radiating blades, bore a striking resemblance to an array of +plumed gigantic warriors. Many of the yuccas were only six feet in +height, with tufted heads, and branchless trunks as gross as the body of +a man, and they might readily have been mistaken for human beings. + +I perceived at a glance the advantage of the position. Should the +Indians pursue me, and I could succeed in reaching the timber before +them, a volley from my comrades would check the pursuers, however +numerous. The nine rifles would be enough, with a few shots from the +revolvers. The savages would fancy nine hundred under the mystifying +shadows of that spectral-like grove. + +With confidence, strengthened by these considerations, I once more +turned my face up-stream; and breasting the current, waded on. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY ONE. + +UP-STREAM. + +My progress was far from being rapid. The water was occasionally deeper +or shallower, but generally rising above my hips--deep enough to render +my advance a task of time and difficulty. The current was of course +against me; and though not very swift, seriously impeded me. I could +have advanced more rapidly, but for the necessity of keeping my head and +that of my horse below the escarpment of the bank. At times it was a +close fit, with scarcely an inch to spare; and in several places I was +compelled to move with my neck bent, and my horse's nose held close down +to the surface of the water. + +At intervals, I paused to rest myself--for the exertion of wading +against the current wearied me, and took away my breath. This was +particularly the case when I required to go in a crouching attitude; but +I chose my resting-places where the channel was deepest, and where I +could stand erect. + +I was all the while anxious to look up and take a survey of the camp: I +wished to ascertain its distance and position; but I dared not raise my +head above the level of the bank: the sward that crowned it was smooth +as a mown meadow, and the edge-line of the turf even and unbroken. Had +I shown but my hand above it, it might have been seen in that clear +white light. I dared not show either hand or head. + +I had advanced I knew not how far, but I fancied I must be near the +lines. All the way, I had kept close under the left bank--which, as +Rube had predicted, now rose a full half-yard above the water-line. +This was a favourable circumstance; and another equally so was the fact +that the moon on that--the eastern side--was yet low in the sky, and +consequently the bank flung a broad black shadow that extended nearly +half-way across the stream. In this shadow I walked, and its friendly +darkness sheltered both myself and my horse. + +I fancied I must be near the lines, and longed to reconnoitre them, but, +for the reasons already given, dared not. + +I was equally afraid to make any farther advance--for that might be +still more perilous. I had already noted the direction of the wind: it +blew _from_ the river, and _towards_ the camp; and should I bring my +horse opposite the line of the mustangs, I would then be directly to +windward of them, and in danger from their keen nostrils. They would be +almost certain to take up the scent of my steed, and utter their warning +snorts. The breeze was light, but so much the worse. There was +sufficient to carry the smell, and not enough to drown the plunging +noise necessarily made by my horse moving through the water, with the +occasional hollow pounding of his hoofs upon the rocks at the bottom. + +If I raised my head over the bank, there was the danger of being seen; +if I advanced, the prospect was one of equal peril of being scented. + +For some moments I stood hesitating--uncertain as to whether I should +leave my horse, or lead him a little farther. I heard noises from the +camp, but they were not distinct enough to guide me. + +I looked back down the river, in the hope of being able to calculate the +distance I had come, and by that means decide where I was; but my +observation furnished no data by which I could determine my position. +With my eyes almost on a level with the surface of the water, I could +not judge satisfactorily of distance. + +I turned my face up-stream again, and scrutinised the parapet line of +the bank. + +Just then I saw an object over its edge that answered well to guide me: +it was the croup and hip-bones of a horse--one of the mustangs staked +near the bank. I saw neither the head nor shoulders of the animal; its +hind-quarters were towards the stream; its head was to the grass--it was +browsing. + +The sight gratified me. The mustang was full two hundred yards above +the point I had reached. I knew that its position marked the outer line +of the encampment. I was in the very place where I wanted to be--about +two hundred yards from the lines. Just at that distance I desired to +leave my horse. + +I had taken the precaution to bring with me my picket-pin--one of the +essentials of the prairie traveller. It was the work of a moment to +delve it into the bank. I needed not to drive it with violence: my +well-trained steed never broke fastening, however slight. With him the +stake was only required as a sign that he was not free to wander. + +In a moment, then, he was staked; and with a "whisper" I parted from +him, and kept on up-stream. + +I had not waded a dozen yards farther, when I perceived a break in the +line of the bank. It was a little _gully_ that led slantingly from the +level of the prairie down to the bed of the stream. Its counterpart I +perceived on the opposite side. The two indicated a ford or crossing +used by buffaloes, wild-horses, and other denizens of the prairie. + +At first, I viewed it with apprehension; I feared it might uncover my +body to the eyes of the enemy; but on coming opposite, my fears were +allayed: the slope was abrupt, and the high ground screened me as +before. There would be no danger in passing the place. + +As I was about moving on, an idea arrested me; and I paused to regard +the gully with a look of greater interest. I perceived an advantage in +it. + +I had been troubled about the position in which I had left my horse. +Should I succeed in getting back, of course it would be under the +pressure of a hot pursuit, and my steed was not conveniently placed; his +back was below the level of the bank. He might easily be mounted, but +how should I get him out of the channel of the stream? Only by a +desperate leap might he reach the plain above: but he might fail in the +effort--time might be lost, when time and speed would be most wanted. + +I had been troubled with this thought; it need trouble me no longer. +The "crossing" afforded easy access either to or from the bed of the +river--the very thing I wanted. + +I was not slow to profit by the discovery. I turned back, and having +released the rein, led my horse gently up to the break. + +Choosing a spot under the highest part of the bank, I fastened him as +before, and again left him. + +I now moved with more ease and confidence, but with increased caution. +I was getting too near to risk making the slightest noise in the water; +a single plash might betray me. + +It was my intention to keep within the channel, until I had passed the +point where the horses were staked; by so doing, I should avoid crossing +the line of the horse-guards, and, what was quite as important, that of +the horses themselves--for I was equally apprehensive of being +discovered by the latter. Once inside their circle, they would take no +notice of me--for doubtless there would be other Indians within sight; +and I trusted to my well-counterfeited semblance of savagery to deceive +the eyes of these equine sentinels. + +I did not wish to go far beyond their line; that would bring me in front +of the camp itself--too near its fires and its idle groups. + +I had noticed before starting that there was a broad belt between the +place occupied by the men, and that where their horses were staked. +This "neutral" ground was little used by the camp loungers, and +somewhere on the edge of it I was desirous of making my _entree_. + +I succeeded to my utmost wishes. Closely hugging the bank, I passed the +browsing mustangs--under their very noses I glided past, for I could +hear them munching the herbage right over me--but so silently did I +steal along, that neither snort nor hoof-stroke heralded my advance. + +In a few minutes, I was sufficiently beyond them for my purpose. + +I raised my head; slowly and gently I raised it, till my eyes were above +the level of the prairie slope. + +No one was near. I could see the swarth savages grouped around their +fires; but they were a hundred yards off, or more. They were capering, +and talking, and laughing; but no ear was bent, and no eye seemed turned +towards me. No one was near. + +I grasped the bank with my hands, and drew myself up. Slowly and +silently I ascended, like some demon from the dark trap-door of a stage. + +On my knees, I reached the level of the turf; and, then gently rising to +my feet, I stood erect within the limits of the Indian camp--to all +appearance as complete a savage as any upon the ground! + + + +CHAPTER NINETY TWO. + +COUP-D'OEIL OF THE CAMP. + +For some minutes I stood motionless as a statue; I stirred neither hand +nor foot, lest the movement should catch the eye either of the +horse-guards or those moving around the fires. + +I had already donned my plumed head-dress, before climbing out of the +channel: and after getting on the bank, my first thought was to replace +my pistols in the belt behind my back. + +The movement was stealthily made; and with like stealthy action, I +suffered the mantle of jaguar-skins to drop from my shoulders, and hang +to its full length. I had saved the robe from getting wet; and its +ample skirt now served me in concealing my soaked breech-cloth as well +as the upper half of my leggings. These and the moccasins were, of +course, saturated with water, but I had not much uneasiness about that. +In a prairie camp, and upon the banks of a deep stream, an Indian with +wet leggings could not be a spectacle to excite suspicion; there would +be many reasons why my counterpart might choose to immerse his +copper-coloured extremities in the river. Moreover, the buckskin-- +dressed Indian-fashion--was speedily casting the water; it would soon +drip dry; or even if wet, would scarcely be observed under such a light. + +The spot where I had "landed" chanced to be one of the least conspicuous +in the whole area of the camp. I was just between two lights--the red +glare of the campfires, and the mellower beams of the moon; and the +atmospheric confusion occasioned by the meeting of the distinct kinds of +light favoured me, by producing a species of optical delusion. It was +but slight, and I could easily be seen from the centre of the camp--but +not with sufficient distinctness for my disguise to be penetrated by any +one; therefore, it was hardly probable that any of the savages would +approach or trouble their heads about me. I might pass for one of +themselves indulging in a solitary saunter, yielding himself to a moment +of abstraction or melancholy. I was well enough acquainted with Indian +life to know that there was nothing _outre_ or unlikely in this +behaviour; such conduct was perfectly _en regle_. + +I did not remain long on that spot--only long enough to catch the +salient features of the scene. + +I saw there were many fires, and around each was grouped number of human +forms--some squatted, some standing. The night was cold enough to make +them draw near to the burning logs; and for this reason, but few were +wandering about--a fortunate circumstance for me. + +There was one fire larger than the rest; from its dimensions, it might +be termed a "bonfire," such as is made by the flattering and flunkeyish +peasantry of old-world lands, when they welcome home the squire and the +count. It was placed directly in front of the solitary tent, and not a +dozen paces from its entrance. Its blazing pile gave forth a flood of +red light that reached even to the spot where I stood, and flickered in +my face. I even fancied I could feel its glow upon my cheeks. + +Around this fire were many forms of men--all of them standing up. I +could see the faces of those who were upon its farther side, but only +the figures of these on the nearer. + +The former I could see with almost as much distinctness as if I had been +close beside them; I could trace the lineaments of their features--the +painted devices on their breasts and faces--the style of their +habiliments. + +The sight of these last somewhat astonished me. I had expected to see +red-skinned warriors in leggings, moccasins, and breech-cloth, with +heads naked or plumed, and shoulders draped under brown robes of +buffalo-skin. Some such there were, but not all of them were so +costumed; on the contrary, I beheld savages shrouded in serapes and +cloaks of broadcloth, with calzoneros on their legs, and upon their +heads huge hats of black glaze--regular Mexican sombreros! In short, I +beheld numbers of them in full Mexican costume! + +Others, again, were dressed somewhat in a military fashion, with helmets +or stiff shakos, ill-fitting uniform coats of red or blue cloth, oddly +contrasting with the brown buckskin that covered their legs and feet. + +With some astonishment, I observed these "fancy dresses;" but my +surprise passed away, when I reflected upon who were the men before me, +and whence they had lately come, where they had been, and on what +errand. It was no travesty, but a scene of actual life. The savages, +were clad in the spoils they had captured from civilisation. + +I need not have been at such pains with my toilet; under any guise, I +could scarcely have looked odd in the midst of such a motley crew: even +my own uniform might have passed muster--all except the colour of my +skin. + +Fortunately, a few of the band still preserved their native costume--a +few appeared in full paint and plumes--else I should have been _too +Indian_ for such a company. + +It cost not a minute to note these peculiarities, nor did I stay to +observe them minutely; my eyes were in search of Isolina. + +I cast inquiring glances on all sides; I scrutinised the groups around +the different fires; I saw others--women--whom I knew to be captives, +but I saw not her. + +I scanned their forms and the faces of those who were turned towards me. +A glance would have been enough; I could easily have recognised her +face under the firelight--under any light. It was not before me. + +"In the tent--in the tent: she must be there?" + +I determined to move away from the spot where I had hitherto been +standing. My eye, quickened by the necessity of action, had fallen upon +the copse that stretched along the entire background of the camp. At a +glance I detected the advantage offered by its shadowy cover. + +The tent, as already stated, was placed close to the edge of the timber; +and in front of the tent was the great fire. Plainly, this was the +gravitating point--the centre of motive and motion. If aught of +interest was to be enacted, there would lie the scene. In the lodge or +near it would she be found--certainly she would be there; and there I +resolved to seek her. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY THREE. + +A FRIENDLY ENCOUNTER. + +Just then the shrill voice of a crier pealed through the camp, and I +observed a general movement. I could not make out what the man said, +but the peculiar intonation told that he was uttering some signal or +summons. Something of importance was about to transpire. + +The Indians now commenced circling around the blazing pile, meeting and +passing each other, as if threading the mazes of some silent and solemn +dance. Others were seen hastening up from distant parts of the camp--as +if to observe the actions of those around the fire, or join with them in +the movement. + +I did not wait to watch them; their attention thus occupied, gave me an +opportunity of reaching the copse unobserved; and, without further ado, +I started towards it. + +I walked slowly, and with an assumed air of careless indifference. I +counterfeited the Comanche walk--not that bold free port--the +magnificent and inimitable stride, so characteristic of Chippewa and +Shawano, of Huron and Iroquois--but the shuffling gingery step of an +English jockey; for such in reality is the gait of the Comanche Indian +when afoot. + +I must have played my part well. A savage, crossing from the +horse-guards towards the great fire, passed near me, and hailed me by +name. + +"_Wakono_!" cried he. + +"_Que cosa_?" (Well--what matter?) I replied in Spanish, imitating as +well as I could the Indian voice and accent. It was a venture, but I +was taken at a strait, and could not well remain silent. + +The man appeared some little surprised at being addressed in the +language of Mexico; nevertheless, he understood it, and made rejoinder. + +"You hear the summons, Wakono? Why do you not come forward? The +council meets; Hissoo-royo is already there." + +I understood what was said--more from the Indian's gestures than his +speech--though the words "summons", "council," and the name +"Hissoo-royo," helped me to comprehend his meaning. I chanced to know +the Comanche epithets for the two first, and also that Hissoo-royo (the +Spanish wolf) was the Indian appellation of the Mexican renegade. + +Though I understood what was said, I was not prepared with a reply. I +dared not risk the answer in Spanish; for I knew not the extent of +Wakono's proficiency in the Andalusian tongue. + +I felt myself in a dilemma; and the importunate savage--no doubt some +friend of Wakono himself--appeared determined to stick to me. How was I +to get rid of him? + +A happy idea came to my relief. Assuming an air of extreme dignity, and +as though I did not wish to be disturbed in my meditations, I raised my +hand and waved the man a parting salute: at the same time turning my +head, I walked slowly away. + +The Indian accepted the _conge_, and moved off, but evidently with an +air of reluctance. As I glanced back over my shoulder, I could see him +parting from the spot, with a hesitating step; no doubt somewhat +astonished at the strange behaviour of his friend Wakono. + +I did not look back again until I had placed myself under the shadow of +the timber. Then I turned to reconnoitre; my friend had continued on: I +saw him just entering among the crowd that circled around the great +fire. + +Screened from observation by the shadow, I could now pause and reflect. +The trifling incident that had caused me some apprehension, had also +helped me to some useful knowledge: First, I had learned my own name; +second, that a council was about to take place; and thirdly, that the +renegade, Hissoo-royo, had something to do with the council. + +This was knowledge of importance; combined with my previous information, +everything was now made clear. This council could be no other than the +jury-trial between the renegade and the yet nameless chief; the same +that was to decide to which belonged the right of property in my +betrothed. It was about to meet; it had not assembled as yet. Then had +I arrived in time. Neither white savage nor red savage had yet come +into possession; neither had dared to lay hand on the coveted and +priceless gem. + +Isolina was still safe--thus singularly preserved from brutal contact. +These dogs in the manger--their mutual jealousy had proved her +protection! + +I was consoled by the thought--strange source of consolation! + +I was in time, but where was she? From my new position I had a still +better view of the camp, its fires, and its denizens. She was nowhere +to be seen! + +"In the lodge, then--she must certainly be there--or--" + +A new suspicion occurred to me: "She may be kept apart from the other +captives?--in the copse--she may be concealed in the copse until the +sentence be pronounced?" + +This last conjecture brought along with it hopes and resolves. I +determined to search the copse. If I should find her there, my emprise +would be easy indeed; at all events, easier than I had anticipated. +Though guarded by the savages, I should rescue her from their grasp. +The lives of six men--perhaps twice that number--were under my belt. +The odds of unarmed numbers would be nothing against the deadly bullets +from my revolvers, and I perceived too that most of the savages had laid +aside their weapons, confident in the security of their camp. + +But I might find her alone, or perhaps with but a single jailer. The +meeting of the council favoured the supposition. The men would all be +there--some to take part--others interested in the result, or merely +from curiosity to watch the proceedings. Yes, _all_ of them would have +an interest in the issue--too surely all. The barbarous customs of +these savage brutes at that moment came to my remembrance! + +I stayed no longer to reflect; but gliding into the grove, commenced my +search for the captive. + +The ground was favourable to my progress: there was not much underwood, +and the trees grew thinly; I could easily pass amongst them without the +necessity of crouching, and without making noise. The silent tread of +the moccasin was in my favour, as also the dark shadowy foliage that +stretched overhead, hiding the sky from my view. + +The chief timber of the copse was the pecan hickory--almost an +evergreen--and the trees were still in full leaf; only here and there, +where the trunks stood far apart, did the moonbeams strike through the +thick frondage. The surface of the ground was shrouded from her light; +and the narrow aisles through which I passed were as dark as if no moon +had been shining. + +There was still light enough to reveal some horrid scenes. O Heaven! my +heart bleeds at the remembrance. + +I was wrong in my conjectures. The men had not _all_ gone to the +council; the captive women were not _all_ by the camp-fires. I beheld +ruffian men beside their helpless victims--women--fair white women--with +drooping heads and listless air--dishevelled weeping! O Heaven! my +heart bleeds at the remembrance! + +It recoiled at the sight--it burned with indignation. At every turn did +it prompt me to draw knife or pistol; at every step my fingers itched to +immolate a hideous paint-besmeared brute--to slay a "noble" savage. + +I was restrained only by my own desperate situation--by my apprehensions +for the safety of Isolina, now more acute than ever. What horrid +imaginings crowded into my brain, begot by the barbarous scenes that +were being enacted around me! + +The monsters, too earnestly occupied with their captives, took no heed +of me; and I passed on without interruption. + +I threaded the pathways of the grove one after another, gliding through +as rapidly as the path would permit; I entered every aisle and glade; I +sought everywhere, even to the farthest limits of the wood. I saw more +men--more weeping women--more red ruffianism; I saw nought of her for +whom I searched. + +"In the tent then--_she must be there_." + +I turned my face towards the lodge; and, moving with stealthy step, soon +arrived among the trees that stood in the rear. + +I halted near the edge; and, separating the leaves with my hands, peered +cautiously through. I had no need to search further--Isolina was before +my eyes. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY FOUR. + +THE COUNCIL. + +Yes, there was my betrothed--within sight, within hearing, almost within +reach of my hands; and I dared not touch, I dared not speak, I scarcely +dared look upon her! + +My fingers trembled among the leaves--my heart rose and fell--I could +feel within my breast its strokes, rapid and irregular--I could hear its +sonorous vibration. + +It was not at the first glance that I saw Isolina. On looking through +the leaves, the _coup d'oeil_ was a scene that quite astonished me, and +for a while occupied my attention. Since I had last gazed upon the +great fire, the grouping around it had undergone an entire change; a new +tableau was presented, that for the moment held me under a spell of +surprise. + +The fire no longer blazed, or only slightly, and when stirred; the logs +had burned into coals, and now yielded a fainter light, but one more red +and garish. It was steady, nevertheless, and the vastness of the pile +rendered it strong enough to illumine the camp-ground to its utmost +limits. + +The fire was still encircled by savages, but no longer standing, nor +grouped irregularly, as I had before observed them; on the contrary, +they were seated, or rather squatted at equal distances from each other, +and forming a ring that girdled the huge mound of embers. + +There were about twenty of these men--I did not count them--but I +observed that all were in their native costume--leggings, and +breech-cloth to the waist--nothing above, save the armlets and +shell-ornaments of nose, ears, and neck. All were profusely painted +with chalk, ochre, and vermilion. Beyond doubt, I was looking upon the +"council." + +The other Indians--they in "fancy dresses"--were still upon the ground; +but they were standing behind, retired a pace or two from the circle, +and in groups of two, three, or four, talking in low mutterings. Others +were moving about at a still greater distance from the fire. + +My observation of all these features of the scene did not occupy ten +seconds of time--just so long as my eyes were getting accustomed to the +light. + +At the end of that interval, my glance rested upon Isolina, and there +became fixed. + +My fingers trembled among the leaves; my heart rose and fell; I could +feel within my breast its strokes, rapid and irregular; I could hear its +sonorous vibration. + +In the chain of Indians that encircled the fire, there was a break--an +interval of ten or a dozen feet. It was directly in front of the lodge, +and _above_ the fire; for the ground gently sloped from the tent towards +the stream. + +In this spot the captive was seated. Her situation was exactly between +the lodge and the fire, and a little retired behind the circle of the +council. The tent intervening between her and my position, had +prevented me from seeing her at first. + +She was half-seated, half-reclining upon a robe of wolfskins. I saw +that her arms were free; I saw that her limbs were bound. Her back was +to the tent, her face turned towards the council. I could not see it. + +To recognise my betrothed, I did not need to look upon her face; her +matchless form, outlined against the red embers, was easily identified. +The full round curve of the neck--the oval lines of the head--the +majestic sweep of the shoulders--the arms smooth and symmetrical--all +these were familiar to my eyes, for oft had they dwelt on them in +admiration. I could not be mistaken; the form before me was that graven +upon my heart--it was Isolina's. + +There was another salient point in this singular tableau, that could not +escape observation. Beyond the fire, and directly opposite to where +Isolina was placed, I saw another well-known object--the white steed! + +He was not staked there, but haltered and held in hand by one of the +Indians. He must have been lately brought upon the ground, for from +neither of my former points of observation had I noticed him. He, like +his mistress, was "on trial"--his ownership was also matter of dispute. + +There was in sight one more object that interested me--not with friendly +interest did I regard it--but with disgust and indignation. + +Not seated in the council ring, nor standing among the idle groups, but +apart from all, I beheld Hissoo-royo the renegade. Savage as were the +red warriors, fiend-like as they appeared with their paint-smeared +visages, not one looked so savage or fiend-like as he. + +The features of this man were naturally bad: but the paint--for he had +adopted this with every other vile custom of barbarian life--rendered +their expression positively ferocious. The device upon his forehead was +a death's-head and cross-bones--done in white chalk--and upon his breast +appeared the well-imitated semblance of a bleeding scalp--the +appropriate symbols of a cruel disposition. + +There was something unnatural in a white skin thus disfigured, for the +native complexion was not hidden: here and there it could be perceived +forming the ground of the motley elaboration--its pallid hue in strange +contrast with the deeper colours that daubed it! It was not the canvas +for such a picture. + +Yet there the picture was--in red and yellow, black, white, and blue; +there stood the deep-dyed villain. + +I saw not his rival; I looked for him, but saw him not. Perhaps he was +one of those who stood around?--perhaps he had not yet come up? He was +the son of the head-chief--perhaps he was inside the lodge? The last +was the most probable conjecture. + +The great calumet was brought forward and lit by the fire; it was passed +around the circle, from mouth to mouth--each savage satisfying himself +with a single draw from its tube. + +I knew that this was the inauguration of the council. The trial was +about to proceed. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY FIVE. + +MEASURING THE CHANCES. + +The situation in which I was placed by chance, could not have been +better had I deliberately chosen it. I had under my eyes the council +fire and council, the groups around--in short, the whole area of the +camp. + +What was of most importance, I could see without being seen. Along the +edge of the copse there extended a narrow belt of shadow, similar to +that which had favoured me while in the channel, and produced by a like +cause--for the stream and the selvage of the grove were parallel to each +other. The moonbeams fell obliquely upon the grove; and, under the +thick foliage of the pecans, I was well screened from her light behind-- +while the lodge covered me from the glare of the fire in front. + +I could not have been better placed for my purpose. I saw the advantage +of the position, and resolved therefore to abide in it. + +The observations and reflections thus given in detail occupied me but a +few minutes of time. Thought is quick, and at that crisis mine was more +than usually on the alert. Almost instantaneously did I perceive the +points that most interested me, or had reference to my plans; almost +instantaneously I had mastered the situation, and I next bent my mind +upon the way to take advantage of it. + +I saw there was but one way to proceed: my original scheme must be +carried cut. Under so many eyes, there was not the slightest chance +that the captive could be _stolen_ away; she must be taken openly, and +by a bold stroke. Of this was I convinced. + +The question arose, when should I make the attempt? At that moment? + +She was not ten paces from where I stood! Could I rush forward, and +with my knife set free her limbs? Might we then get off before the +savages could fling themselves upon us? + +Hopeless--impossible! She was too near them; she was too near the +renegade who claimed her as his property. + +He was standing almost over her, within distance of a single leap. In +his belt I saw the long triangular blade of a Spanish knife. He could +have cut me down ere I could have severed a cord of her fastenings. The +attempt would fail; success was hopeless--impossible. I must wait for a +better opportunity; and I waited. + +I remembered Rube's last word of counsel, not to act too hastily--and +his reasons, that if I must make a "desprit strike for it," to leave the +grand _coup_ to the last moment. The circumstances could be no more +unfavourable then than now. + +Under the influence of this idea, I checked my impatience, and waited. + +I watched Hissoo-royo; I watched the squatted forms around the fire; I +watched the straggling groups behind them. In turn, my eyes wandered +from one to the other. At intervals, too, they rested upon Isolina. + +Up to this moment I had not seen her countenance; I saw only the reverse +of that beautiful image so deeply graven upon my heart. But even then-- +under that suspense of peril--strange thoughts were passing within me. +I felt a singular longing to look upon her face; I remembered the +_herredero_. + +It pleased fortune to smile upon me. So many little incidents were +occurring in my favour, that I began to believe the fates propitious, +and my hopes of success were growing stronger apace. + +Just then the captive turned her head, and her face was towards me. +There was no mark on that fair brow; that soft cheek was without a scar; +the delicate skin was intact, smooth, and diaphanous as ever. The +herredero had been merciful! + +Perhaps something had occurred to interrupt or hinder him from his +horrid work? + +I prayed that the matador had met with a similar interruption! I could +not tell--those profuse clusters covered all--neck, bosom, and +shoulders--all were hidden under the dark dishevelment. I could not +tell, but I did not dare to hope. Cyprio had seen the blood! + +It was but a momentary glance, and her face was again turned away. + +At intervals she repeated it, and I saw that she looked in other +directions. I could note the uneasiness of her manner; I could tell why +those glances were given; I knew her design. O for one word in her +hearing--one whisper! + +It might not be; she was too closely watched. Jealous eyes were upon +her; savage hearts were gloating over her beauty. No word could have +reached her, that would not have been heard by others--by all around the +fire--for the silence was profound. The "council" had not yet essayed +to speak. + +The stillness was at length broken by the voice of a crier, who in a +shrill tone proclaimed that the "council was in session." + +There was something so ceremonious in the whole proceedings, and every +movement was made with such regularity, that but for the open air, the +fire, the wild savage costumes, and fierce painted faces, I might have +fancied myself in the presence of a civilised court, and witnessing a +trial by jury! It was in effect just such a trial, though judge there +was none. The members of the jury were themselves the judges--for in +the simplicity of such primitive litigation, each was presumed to +understand the law without an interpreter. + +Pleaders, too, were equally absent; each party--plaintiff and +defendant--was expected to plead his own case. Such is the simple +fashion in the high court of the prairies--a fashion which might +elsewhere be adopted with advantage. + +The name of "Hissoo-royo" pealed upon the air. The crier was calling +him into court--another parallel with the customs of civilisation! + +Three times the name was pronounced, at each repetition in louder voice +than before. + +The man might have spared his breath; he who was summoned was upon the +spot, and ready to answer. + +Before the echo died away, the renegade uttered a response; and, +stepping to an open space within the ring, halted, drew himself up to +his full height, folded his arms, and in this attitude stood waiting. + +At that crisis the thought occurred to me, whether I should rash +forward, and at once decide the fate of myself and my betrothed. The +seated warriors appeared to be all unarmed; and the renegade--whose hand +I most regarded--was now farther off, having gone round to the opposite +side of the fire. The situation was favourable, and for a moment I +stood straining upon the spring. + +But my eye fell upon the spectators in the background; many of them were +directly in the way I should have to take; I saw that many of them +carried weapons--either in their hands, or upon their persons--and +Hissoo-royo himself was still too near. + +I could never fight my way against such odds. I could not break such a +line--it would be madness to attempt it. Rube's counsel was again +ringing in my ears; and once more I abandoned the rash design. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY SIX. + +THE WHITE-HAIRED CHIEF. + +There was an interval of silence--a dramatic pause--that lasted for more +than a minute. + +It was ended by one of the council rising to his feet, and by a gesture +inviting Hissoo-royo to speak. + +The renegade began: + +"Red warriors of the Hietan! brothers! what I have to say before the +council will not require many words. I claim yonder Mexican girl as my +captive, and therefore as my own. Who denies my right? I claim the +white horse as mine--my prize fairly taken." + +The speaker paused as if to wait for further commands from the council. + +"Hissoo-royo has spoken his claim to the Mexican maiden and the white +steed. He has not said upon what right he rests it. Let him declare +his right in presence of the council!" + +This was said by the same Indian who had made the gesture, and who +appeared to direct the proceedings. He was not acting by any superior +authority, which he may have possessed, but merely by reason of his +being the oldest of the party. Among the Indians, age gives precedence. + +"Brothers!" continued Hissoo-royo, in obedience to the command--"my +claim is just--of that you are to be the judges; I know your true +hearts--you will not shut them against justice. I need not read to you +your own law, that he who makes a captive has the right to keep it--to +do with it as he will. This is the law of your tribe--of my tribe as +well, for yours is mine." + +Grunts of approbation caused a momentary interruption in the speech. + +"Hietans!" resumed the speaker, "my skin is white, but my heart is the +colour of your own. You did me the honour to adopt me into your nation; +you honoured me by making me first a warrior, and afterwards a +war-chief. Have I ever given you cause to regret what you have done? +Have I ever betrayed your trust?" + +A volley of exclamations indicated a response in the negative. + +"I have confidence, then, in your love of justice and truth; I have no +fear that the colour of my skin will blind your eyes, for you all know +the colour of my heart." + +Fresh signs of approbation followed this adroit stroke of eloquence. + +"Then, brothers! listen to my cause; I claim the maiden and the horse. +I need not tell where they were found, and how; your own eyes were +witnesses of their capture. There has been talk of a doubt as to who +made it, for many horsemen were in the pursuit. I deny that there is +any doubt. My lazo was first over the head of the horse--was first +tightened around his throat--first brought him to a stand. To take the +horse was to take the rider. It was my deed; both are my captives. I +claim both as my property. Who is he that disputes my claim? Let him +stand forth!" + +Having delivered this challenge with a defiant emphasis, the speaker +fell back into his former attitude; and, once more folding his arms, +remained silent and immobile. + +Another pause followed, which was again terminated by a sign from the +old warrior who had first spoken. This gesture was directed to the +crier, who the moment after, raising his shrill voice, called out: + +"_Wakono_!" + +The name caused me to start as if struck by an arrow. It was my own +appellation: I was Wakono! + +It was pronounced thrice, each time louder than the preceding: + +"Wakono! Wakono! Wakono!" + +A light flashed upon me. Wakono was the rival claimant! He whose +breech-cloth was around my hips, whose robe hung from my shoulders, +whose plumed bonnet adorned my head, whose pigments disfigured my face-- +he of the red hand upon his breast, and the cross upon his brow, was no +other than Wakono! + +I cannot describe the singular sensation I felt at this discovery. I +was in a perilous position indeed. My fingers trembled among the +leaves. I released the branchlets, and let them close up before my +face; I dared not trust myself to look forth. + +For some moments I stood still and silent, but not without trembling. I +could not steady my nerves under such a dread agitation. + +I listened, but looked not. There was an interval of breathless +silence--no one seemed to stir or speak--they were waiting the effect of +the summons. + +Once more the voice of the crier was heard pronouncing in triple +repetition: "Wakono! Wakono! Wakono!" + +Again followed an interval of silence; but I could hear low mutterings +of surprise and disappointment as soon as it was perceived that the +Indian did not answer to his name. + +I alone knew the reason of his absence; I knew that Wakono _could_ not-- +the true Wakono; that his counterfeit _would_ not come. Though I had +undertaken to personate the savage chieftain, for this act in the drama +I was not prepared. The stage must wait! + +Even at that moment I was sensible of the ludicrousness of the +situation; so extreme was it, that even at that moment of direst peril, +I felt a half inclination for laughter! + +But the feeling was easily checked; and once more parting the branches, +I ventured to look forth. + +I saw there was some confusion. Wakono had been reported "missing." +The members of the council still preserved both their seats and stoical +composure; but the younger warriors behind were uttering harsh +ejaculations, and moving about from place to place with that restless +air that betokens at once surprise and disappointment. + +At this crisis, an Indian was seen emerging from the tent. He was a man +of somewhat venerable aspect, though venerable more from age than any +positive expression of virtue. His cheeks were furrowed by time, and +his hair white as bleached flax--a rare sight among Indians. + +There was something about this individual that bespoke him a person of +authority. Wakono was the son of the chief--the chief, then, should be +an old man. This must be he? + +I had no doubt of it, and my conjecture proved to be correct. + +The white-haired Indian stepped forward to the edge of the ring, and +with a wave of his hand commanded silence. + +The command was instantly obeyed. The murmurings ceased, and all placed +themselves in fixed attitudes to listen. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY SEVEN. + +SPEECHES IN COUNCIL. + +"Hietans!" began the chief, for such in reality was the old Indian, "my +children, and brothers in council! I appeal to you to stay judgment in +this matter. I am your chief, but I claim no consideration on that +account; Wakono is my son, but for him I ask no favour; I demand only +justice and right--such as would be given to the humblest in on tribe; I +ask no more for my son Wakono. + +"Wakono is a brave warrior; who among you does not know it? His shield +is garnished with many trophies taken from the hated pale-face; his +leggings are fringed with scalps of the Utah and Cheyenne; at his heels +drag the long locks of the Pawnee and Arapaho. Who will deny that +Wakono--my son Wakono--is a brave warrior?" + +A murmur of assent was the response to this paternal appeal. + +"The Spanish wolf, too, is a warrior--a brave warrior; I deny it not. +He is stout of heart and strong of arm; he has taken many scalps from +the enemies of the Hietan; I honour him for his achievements; who among +us does not?" + +A general chorus of "ughs" and other ejaculations from both council and +spectators responded to this interrogatory. The response, both in tone +and manner, was strongly in the affirmative; and I could tell by this +that the renegade--not Wakono--was the favourite. + +The old chief also perceived that such was the prevailing sentiment: and +despite his pretensions to fair-play, he was evidently nettled at the +reply. The father of Wakono was undoubtedly no Brutus. + +After a momentary pause, he resumed speech, but in a tone entirely +altered. He was now painting the reverse side of Hissoo-royo's +portrait, and as he threw in the darker touches, it was with evident +pique and hostility. + +"I honour the Spanish wolf," he continued; "I honour him for his strong +arm and his stout heart: I have said so; but hear me, Hietans--hear me, +children and brothers! there are two of every kind--there is a night and +a day--a winter and a summer--a green prairie and a desert plain, and +like these is the tongue of Hissoo-royo. It speaks two ways that differ +as the light from the darkness--it is double--it forks like the tongue +of the rattle-serpent--it is not to be believed." + +The chief ceased speaking, and the "Spanish wolf" was permitted to make +reply. + +He did not attempt to defend himself from the charge of the double +tongue; perhaps he knew that the accusation was just enough, and he had +no reason to tremble for his popularity on that score. He must have +been a great liar, indeed, to have excelled or even equalled the most +ordinary story-teller in the Comanche nation; for the mendacity of these +Indians would have been a match for Sparta herself. + +The renegade did not even deny the aspersion: he seemed to be confident +in his case: he simply replied-- + +"If the tongue of Hissoo-royo is double, let not the council rely upon +his words! let witnesses be called! there are many who are ready to +testify to the truth of what Hissoo-royo has spoken." + +"First hear Wakono! Let Wakono be heard! Where is Wakono?" + +These demands were made by various members of the council, who spoke +simultaneously. + +Once more the crier's voice was heard calling "Wakono!" + +"Brothers!" again spoke the chief: "it is for this I would stay your +judgment. My son is not in the camp; he went back upon the trail, and +has not returned. I know not his purpose. My heart is in doubt--but +not in fear Wakono is a strong warrior, and can take care of himself. +He will not be long absent; he must soon return. For this I ask you to +delay the judgment." + +A murmur of disapprobation followed this avowal. The allies of the +renegade evidently mustered stronger than the friends of the young +chief. + +Hissoo-royo once more addressed the council. + +"What trifling would this be, warriors of the Hietan? Two suns have +gone down, and this question is not decided! I ask only justice. By +our laws, the judgment cannot stand over. The captives must belong to +some one. I claim them as mine, and I offer witnesses to prove my +right. Wakono has no claim, else why is he not here to avow it? He has +no proofs beyond his own word; he is ashamed to stand before you without +proof--that is why he is now absent from the camp!" + +"Wakono is not absent," cried a voice from among the bystanders; "he is +in the camp!" + +This announcement produced a sensation, and I could perceive that the +old chief partook equally with the others of the surprise created. + +"Who says Wakono is in the camp?" inquired he in a loud voice. + +An Indian stepped forth from the crowd of spectators. I recognised the +man, whom I had met crossing from the horse-guard. + +"Wakono is in the camp," repeated he, as he paused outside the circle. +"I saw the young chief; I spoke with him." + +"When?" + +"Only now." + +"Where?" + +The man pointed to the scene of our accidental rencontre. + +"He was going yonder," said he; "he went among the trees--I saw him not +after." + +This intelligence evidently increased the astonishment. It could not be +comprehended why Wakono should be upon the ground, and yet not come +forward to assert his claim. Had he abandoned it altogether? + +The father of the claimant appeared as much puzzled as any one; he made +no attempt to explain the absence of his son: he could not; he stood +silent, and evidently in a state of mystification. + +Several now suggested that a search be made for the absent warrior. It +was proposed to send messengers throughout the camp--_to search the +grove_. + +My blood ran cold as I listened to the proposal; my knees trembled +beneath me. I knew that if the grove was to be searched, I should have +no chance of remaining longer concealed. The dress of Wakono was +conspicuous; I saw that there was none other like it: no other wore a +robe of jaguar-skins, and this would betray me. Even the paint would +not avail: I should be led into the firelight; the counterfeit would be +detected. I should be butchered upon the spot--perhaps tortured for the +treatment we had given the true Wakono, which would soon become known. + +My apprehensions had reached the climax of acuteness, when they were +suddenly relieved by some words from the Spanish wolf. + +"Why search for Wakono?" cried he; "Wakono knows his own name; it has +been called and loud enough. Wakono has ears--surely he can hear for +himself, if he be in the camp. Call him again, if you will!" + +This proposition appeared reasonable. It was adopted, and the crier +once more summoned the young chief by name. + +The voice, as all perceived, could have been heard to the farthest +bounds of the camp, and far beyond. + +An interval was allowed, during which there reigned perfect silence, +every one bending his ears to listen. + +There came no answer--no Wakono appeared to the summons. + +"Now!" triumphantly exclaimed the renegade, "is it not as I have said? +Warriors! I demand your judgment." + +There was no immediate reply. A long pause followed, during which no +one spoke, either in the circle or among the spectators. + +At length the oldest of the council rose, re-lit the calumet, and, after +taken a whiff from the tube, handed it to the Indian seated on his left. +This one, in like manner, passed it to the next, and he to the next, +until the pipe had made the circuit of the fire, and was returned to the +old warrior who had first smoked from it. + +The latter now laid aside the pipe, and in a formal manner, but in a +voice inaudible to the spectators, proposed the question. + +The vote was taken in rotation, and was also delivered _sotto voce_. +The judgment only was pronounced aloud. + +The decision was singular, and somewhat unexpected. The jury had been +moved by a strong leaning towards equity, and an amicable adjustment +that might prove acceptable to all parties. + +The _horse_ was adjudged to Wakono--the _maiden_ was declared the +property of the Spanish wolf! + + + +CHAPTER NINETY EIGHT. + +A ROUGH COURTSHIP. + +The decision appeared to give satisfaction to all. A grim smile, upon +his face testified that the renegade himself was pleased. How could he +be otherwise? He had certainly the best of the suit--for what was a +beautiful horse to a beautiful woman, and such a woman? + +Even the white-haired chief seemed satisfied! Perhaps, of the two, the +old savage jockey preferred the horse? It might have been different had +Wakono been upon the ground. I was much mistaken if he would so tamely +have acquiesced in the decision. + +Yes, the renegade was satisfied--more than that, he was rejoiced. His +bearing bespoke his consciousness of the possession of a rare and +much-coveted thing. He was unable to conceal the gratification he felt; +and with an air of triumph and exultation, he approached the spot where +the captive sat. + +As soon as the sentence was pronounced, the Indians who had been seated +rose to their feet. The council was dismissed. + +Some of the members strolled off on their own business; others remained +by the great fire, mixing among their comrades--no longer with the +solemn gravity of councillors, but chatting, laughing, shouting, and +gesticulating as glibly and gaily as if they had been an assemblage of +French dancing-masters. + +The trial and its objects appeared to be at once forgotten; neither +plaintiff, defendant, nor cause, seemed any longer to occupy the +thoughts of any one. The horse had been delivered to a friend of +Wakono--the maiden to Hissoo-royo--and the thing was settled and over. + +Perhaps, here and there, some young brave, with a pain in his heart, may +have bent wistful glances upon the lovely captive. No doubt there were +many who looked with envious thoughts upon Hissoo-royo and his fortunes. +If so, their emotions were concealed, their glances furtive. + +After the council was over, no one interfered--no one seemingly took any +interest either in the renegade or his pale-faced squaw; they were left +to themselves. + +And to me. From that moment, my eyes and thoughts rested only on them; +I saw no one else; I thought of nothing else; I watched but the "wolf" +and his victim. + +The old chief had retired into the tent. Isolina was left alone. + +Only a moment alone. Had it been otherwise, I should have sprung +forward. My fingers had moved mechanically towards my knife; but there +was not time. In the next instant, Hissoo-royo stood beside her. + +He addressed her in Spanish; he did not desire the others to understand +what was said. Speaking in this language, there would be less fear of +them doing so. + +There was one who listened to every word. _I_ listened--not a syllable +escaped me. + +"Now!" began he, in an exulting tone--"Now, Dona Isolina de Vargas! you +have heard? I know you understand the tongue in which the council has +spoken--your _native_ tongue. Ha, ha, ha!" + +The brute was jeering her! + +"You are mine--soul and body, mine; you have heard?" + +"I have heard," was the reply, in a tone of resignation! + +"And surely you are satisfied; are you not? You should be. I am white +as yourself--I have saved you from the embrace of a red Indian. Surely +you are satisfied with the judgment?" + +"I am satisfied." + +This was uttered in the same tone of resignation. The answer somewhat +surprised me. + +"'Tis a lie!" rejoined the brutal monster; "you are playing false with +me, sweet senorita. But yesterday you spoke words of scorn--you would +scorn me still?" + +"I have no power to scorn you; I am your captive." + +"Carrambo! you speak truth. You have no power either to scorn or refuse +me. Ha, ha, ha! And as little do I care if you did; you may like me or +not at your pleasure. Perhaps you will take to me in time, as much as I +may wish it; but that will be for _your_ consideration, sweet senorita! +Meanwhile, you are mine, body and soul, you are mine--and I mean to +enjoy my prize after my own fashion." + +The coarse taunt caused my blood, already hot enough, to boil within my +veins. I grasped the haft of my knife, and like a tiger stood cowering +on the spring. My intent was, first to cut down the ruffian, and then +set free the limbs of the captive with the blood-stained blade. + +The chances were still against me. A score of savages were yet around +the fire. Even should he fall at the first blow, I could not hope to +get clear. + +But I could bear it no longer; and would have risked the chances at that +moment, had not my foot been stayed by some words that followed. + +"Come!" exclaimed the renegade, speaking to his victim, and making sign +for her to follow him--"Come, sweet senorita! This place is too public. +I would talk with you elsewhere: I know where there are softer spots +for that fair form to recline upon--pretty glades and arbours, choice +retreats within the shadow of the grove. There, dearest, shall we +retire. _Vamos_!" + +Though hideous the signification of this mock-poetic speech, I joyed at +hearing it. It arrested my hand and limb, both of which had been ready +for action. The "choice retreats within the shadow of the grove" +promised a _better opportunity_. + +With an effort, therefore, I restrained myself, and resolved to wait. + +I listened for the reply of Isolina; I watched her as well; I noted her +every movement. + +I saw that she pointed to her limbs--to the thong-fastenings around her +ankles. + +"How can I follow you?" she inquired, in a calm voice, and in a tone of +surprise. Surely that tone was feigned. Surely she meditated some +design? + +"True," said the man, turning back, and drawing the knife from his belt. +"Carrai! I had not thought of that; but we shall soon--" + +He did not finish the sentence; he stopped in the middle of it, and in +an attitude that betokened hesitation. + +In this attitude he remained awhile, gazing into the eyes of his victim: +then, as if suddenly changing his mind, he struck the knife back into +his sheath, and at the same time cried out-- + +"By the Virgin! I shall not trust you. You are too free of limb, sweet +_margarita_! you might try to give me the slip. This is a better plan. +Come! raise yourself up--a little higher--so. Now we go--now for the +grove. _Vamos_!" + +While delivering the last words, the ruffian bent himself over the +half-prostrate captive; and, placing his arm underneath, wound it around +her waist. He then raised her upward until her bosom rested upon his-- +the bosom of my betrothed in juxtaposition with the painted breast of +this worse than savage! + +I saw it, and slew him not; I saw it, and kept cool--I can scarcely tell +why, for it is not a characteristic of my nature. My nerves, from being +so much played upon during the preceding hours, had acquired the +firmness of steel; perhaps this enabled me to endure the sight--this, +combined with the almost certain prospect of an improved opportunity. + +At all events, I kept cool, and remained in my place though only for a +moment longer. + + + +CHAPTER NINETY NINE. + +THE CRISIS. + +The renegade, having raised the unresisting captive in his arms, +proceeded to carry her from the spot. He scarcely carried her; her +feet, naked and bound, trailed along the grass, both together. + +He passed the lodge, and was going towards the copse, in an oblique +direction. The savages who saw him made no attempt to interfere, +shouted some lewd phrases, and laughed! + +I waited neither to see nor hear more. + +Still keeping within the timber, I glided along its edge; with quick but +noiseless step I went, making for the same point towards which the +ruffian ravisher was tending. + +I arrived first; and, stooping under the shadow of the trees, waited, +with knife in hand, firm grasped and ready. + +His burden had delayed him; he had stopped midway to rest; and was now +scarcely ten paces from the edge of the grove, with the girl still in +his arms, and apparently leaning against him. + +There was a momentary wavering in my mind, as to whether I should not +then rush forth, and strike the _coup_. The chance seemed as good a one +as I might get. + +I was about deciding in the affirmative, when I saw that Hissoo-royo had +again taken up his warden, and was moving towards me. He was making +directly for the spot where I stood. The crisis was near! + +It was even nearer than I thought. The man had scarcely made three +steps from the point of rest, when I saw him stumble and fall to the +earth, carrying the captive along with him! + +The fall appealed accidental. I might have deemed it so, but for the +wild shout with which it was accompanied. Something more than a mere +stumble elicited that fearful cry! + +There was a short struggle upon the ground--the bodies became separated. +One was seen to spring suddenly back; I saw it was Isolina! There was +something in her hand--both moonlight and firelight gleamed upon a +crimsoned blade! + +She who grasped it bent for an instant downward--its keen edge severed +the thongs from her limbs, and the moment after, she was running in full +flight across the level sward of the camp-ground! + +Without reflection, I sprang out of the covert and rushed after. + +I passed the renegade, who had half-regained his feet, and appeared but +slightly wounded. Astonishment as much as aught else seemed to hold him +to the spot. He was shouting and swearing--calling for help, and +uttering threats of vengeance. + +I could have slain him, and was half-inclined to the act; but there was +no time to stay. I only thought of overtaking the fugitive, and aiding +her in her flight. + +The alarm was given--the camp was in commotion--fifty savages were +starting upon the chase. + +As we ran, my eyes fell upon a horse--a white horse. It was the steed; +a man was leading him by a lazo. He was taking him from the fires +towards the ground occupied by the mustangs; he was going to picket him +on the grass. + +Horse and man were directly in front of us, as we ran--in front of the +fugitive. She was making towards them; I divined her intention. + +In a few seconds he was up to the horse, and had seized the rope. + +The Indian struggled, and tried to take it away from her; the red blade +gleamed in his eyes, and he gave back. + +He still clung to the rope; but in an instant it was cut from his hands, +and, quick as thought, the heroic woman leaped upon the back of the +steed, and was seen galling away! + +The Indian was one of the horse-guards, and was therefore armed; he +carried bow and quiver. Before the horse had galloped beyond reach, he +had bent his bow, and sent an arrow from the string. + +I heard the "wheep" of the shaft, and fancied I heard it strike; but the +steed kept on! + +I had plucked up one of the long spears, as I ran across the camp. +Before the Indian could adjust another arrow to the string, I had thrust +him in the back. + +I drew out the spear, and, keeping the white horse in view, ran on. + +I was soon in the midst of the mustangs; many of them had already +stampeded, and were galloping to and fro over the ground. The guards +were dismayed, but as yet knew not the cause of the alarm. The steed +with his rider passed safely through their line. + +I followed on foot, and as fast as I could run. Fifty savages were +after me; I could hear their shouts. + +I could hear them cry "Wakono," but I was soon far in advance of all. +The horse-guards, as I passed them, were shouting "Wakono!" + +As soon as I had cleared the horse-drove, I again perceived the steed; +but he was now some distance off. To my joy he was going in the right +direction--straight for the yuccas upon the hill. My men would see and +intercept him? + +I ran along the stream with all speed. I reached the broken bank, and, +without stopping, rushed into the gully for my horse. + +What was my astonishment to find that he was gone! my noble steed gone, +and in his place the spotted mustang of the Indian! + +I looked up and down the channel; I looked along its banks--Moro was not +in sight! + +I was puzzled, perplexed, furious. I knew no explanation of the +mystery--I could think of none. Who could have done it? Who? My +followers must have done it. Rube must have done it? but why? In my +hot haste, I could find no reason for this singular behaviour. + +I had no time to reflect--not a moment. + +I drew the animal from the water, and leaping upon his back, rode out of +the channel. + +As I regained the level of the plain, I saw mounted men, a crowd of them +coming from the camp. They were the savages in pursuit; one was far +ahead of the rest, and before I could turn my horse to flee, he was +close up to me. In the moonlight I easily recognised him--it was +Hissoo-royo the renegade. + +"Slave!" shouted he, speaking in the Comanche tongue, and with furious +emphasis, "it is you who have planned this. Squaw! coward! you shall +die! The white captive is mine--mine, Wakono! and you--" + +He did not finish the sentence. I still carried the Comanche spear; my +six months' service in a lance-regiment now stood me in stead; the +mustang behaved handsomely, and carried me full tilt upon my foe. + +In another instant the renegade and his horse were parted; the former +lay levelled upon the grass, transfixed with the long spear, while the +latter was galloping riderless over the plain! + +At this crisis I perceived the crowd coming up, and close to the spot. +There were twenty or more, and I saw that I should soon be surrounded. + +A happy idea came opportunely to my relief. All along I had observed +that I was mistaken for Wakono. The Indians in the camp had cried +"Wakono;" the horse-guards shouted "Wakono" as I passed; the pursuers +were calling "Wakono" as they rode up; the renegade had fallen with the +name upon his lips: the spotted horse; the robe of jaguar-skins, the +plumed head-dress, the red hand, the white cross, all proclaimed me +Wakono! + +I urged my horse a length or two forward, and reined up in front of the +pursuers. I raised my arm, and shook it in menace before their faces; +at the same instant, I cried out in a loud voice-- + +"I am Wakono! Death to him who follows!" + +I spoke in Comanche. I was not so sure of the correctness of my words-- +either of the pronunciation or the syntax--but I had the gratification +to perceive that I was understood. Perhaps my gestures helped the +savages to comprehend me--the meaning of these was not to be mistaken. + +From whatever cause, the pursuers made no further advance; but one and +all, drawing in their horses, halted upon the spot. + +I stayed not for further parley; but, wheeling quickly round, galloped +away from them, as fast as the mustang could carry me. + + + +CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED. + +THE LAST CHASE. + +On facing towards the hill, I perceived the steed still not so distant. +His white body, gleaming under the clear moonlight, could have been +easily distinguished at a far greater distance. I had expected to see +him much farther away; but, after all, the tilt of lances, and the +menace delivered to the pursuing horsemen, had scarcely occupied a score +of seconds, and he could not in the time have gone out of sight. + +He was still running between myself and the foot of the hill--apparently +keeping along the bank of the stream. + +I put the Indian horse to his full speed. The point of my knife served +for whip and spur. I was no longer encumbered with the spear; it had +been left in the body of Hissoo-royo. + +I kept my eyes fixed upon the steed, but he was fast closing in to the +timber that skirted the base of the hill; he was nearing the bend where +I had taken to the water, and would soon be hidden from my view behind +the bushes. + +All at once I saw him swerve, and strike away to the left, across the +open plain. To my surprise I saw this, for I had conjectured that his +rider was aiming to reach the cover offered by the thicket. + +Without waiting to think of an explanation, I headed the mustang into +the diagonal line, and galloped forward. + +I was in hopes of getting nearer by the advantage thus given me; but I +was ill satisfied with the creeping pace of the Indian horse so unlike +the long, free stretch of my matchless Moro. Where was he? Why was I +not bestriding him? + +The white steed soon shot clear of the hill, and was now running upon +the plain that stretched beyond it. + +I saw that I was not gaining upon him; on the contrary, he was every +moment widening the distance between us. Where was Moro? Why had he +been taken away? + +At that instant I perceived a dark horseman making along the foot of the +ridge, as if to intercept me; he was dashing furiously through the +thicket that skirted the base of the declivity. I could hear the bushes +rattling against the flanks of his horse; he was evidently making all +the haste in his power, at the same time aiming to keep concealed from +the view of those upon the plain. + +I recognised my horse, and upon his back the thin lank form of the +earless trapper! + +We met the moment after, at the point where the thicket ended. + +Without a word passing between us, both simultaneously flung ourselves +to the ground, exchanged horses, and remounted. Thank Heaven! Moro was +at last between my knees! + +"Now, young fellur!" cried the trapper, as I parted from him, "gallip +like hell, an kitch up with her! We'll soon be arter on yur trail--all +right thur. Away!" + +I needed no prompting from Rube; his speech was not finished, before I +had sprung my horse forward, and was going like the wind. + +It was only then that I could comprehend why the horses had been +changed; a _ruse_ it was--an after-thought of the cunning trappers! + +Had I mounted my own conspicuous steed by the camp, the Indians would, +in all probability, have suspected something, and continued the pursuit; +it was the spotted mustang that had enabled me to carry out the +counterfeit! + +I had now beneath me a horse I could depend upon and with renewed vigour +I bent myself to the chase. For the third time, the black and white +stallions were to make trial of their speed--for the third time was it +to be a struggle between these noble creatures. + +Would the struggle be hard and long? Would Moro again be defeated? +Such were my reflections as I swept onward in the pursuit. + +I rode in silence; I scarcely drew breath, so keen were my apprehensions +about the result. + +A long start had the prairie-horse. My delay had thrown me far behind +him--nearly a mile. But for the friendly light, I should have lost +sight of him altogether; but the plain was open, the moon shining +brightly, and the snow-white form, like a meteor, beaconed me onward. + +I had not galloped far before I perceived that I was rapidly gaining +upon the steed. Surely he was not running at his fleetest? Surely he +was going more slowly than was his wont? + +Oh! could his rider but know who was coming after!--could she but hear +me! + +I would have called, but the distance was still too great. She could +not have heard even my shouts; how then distinguish my voice? + +I galloped on in silence. I was gaining--constantly and rapidly +gaining. Surely I was drawing nearer? or were my eyes playing false +under the light of the moon? + +I fancied that the steed was running heavily--slowly and heavily--as if +he was labouring in the race. I fancied--no, it was no fancy--I was +sure of it! Beyond a doubt, he was not going at his swiftest speed! + +What could it mean? Was he broken by fatigue? + +Still nearer and nearer I came, until scarcely three hundred yards +appeared between us. My shout might now be heard; my voice-- + +I called aloud; I called the name of my betrothed, coupling it with my +own; but no answer came back--no sign of recognition to cheer me. + +The ground that lay between us favoured a race-course speed; and I was +about putting my horse to his full stretch, when, to my astonishment, I +saw the white steed stagger forward, and fall headlong to the earth! + +It did not check my career; and in a few seconds more I was upon the +spot, and halting over horse and rider, still prostrate. + +I flung myself from the saddle just as Isolina disengaged herself, and +rose to her feet. With her right hand clasping the red knife, she stood +confronting me. + +"Savage! approach me not!" she cried in the Comanche tongue, and with a +gesture that told her determination. + +"Isolina! I am not--It is--" + +"Henri!" + +No words interrupted that wild embrace; no sound could be heard save +that made by our hearts, as they throbbed closely together. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Silently I stood upon the plain with my betrothed in my arms. Moro was +by our side, proudly curving his neck and chafing the steel between his +foaming lips. At our feet lay the prairie-horse with the barb in his +vitals, and the feathered shaft protruding from his side. His eyes were +fixed and glassy; blood still ran from his spread nostrils; but his +beautiful limbs were motionless in death! + +Horsemen were seen approaching the spot. We did not attempt to flee +from them: I recognised my followers. + +They came galloping up; and, drawing bridle, sat silent in their +saddles. + +We looked back over the plain; there was no sign of pursuit; but for all +that, we did not tarry there. We knew not how soon the Indians might be +after us; the friends of Hissoo-royo might yet come upon the trail of +Wakono! + +We scarce gave a parting look to that noble form stretched lifeless at +our feet; but plying the spur, rode rapidly away. + +It was near daybreak when we halted to rest, and then only after the +prairie had been fired behind us. + +We found shelter in a pretty grove of acacias, and a grassy turf on +which to repose. My wearied followers soon fell asleep. + +I slept not; I watched over the slumbers of my betrothed. Her beautiful +head rested upon my knees; her soft damask cheek was pillowed upon the +robe of jaguar-skins, and my eyes were upon it. The thick tresses had +fallen aside, and I saw-- + +The matador, too, had been merciful! or had gold bribed him from his +cruel intent? No matter which--he had failed in his fiendish duty. + +There in full entirety were those delicate organs--perfect, complete. I +saw but the trifling scar where the gold circlet had been rudely +plucked--the source of that red haemorrhage that had been noticed by +Cyprio! + +I was too happy to sleep. + +It was our last night upon the prairies. Before the setting of another +sun we had crossed the Rio Grande, and arrived in the camp of our army. +Under the broad protecting wings of the American eagle, my betrothed +could repose in safety, until that blissful hour when-- + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Of the Comanches we never heard more. The story of one only was +afterwards told--a fearful tale. Ill-fated Wakono! A horrid end was +his. + +An oft-told tale by the prairie camp-fire is that of the skeleton of an +Indian warrior found clasping the trunk of a tree! Wakono had horribly +perished. + +We had no design of giving him to such a fate. Without thought had we +acted; and though he may have deserved death, we had not designed for +him such terrible retribution. + +Perhaps I was the only one who had any remorseful feeling; but the +remembrance of that scalp-bedecked shield--the scenes in that Cyprian +grove--those weeping captives, wedded to a woeful lot--the remembrance +of these cruel realities evermore rose before my mind, stifling the +remorse I should otherwise have felt for the doom of the ill-starred +savage. His death, though terrible in kind, was merited by his deeds; +and was perhaps as just as punishments usually are. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Poetical justice demands the death of Ijurra, and by the hand of +Holingsworth. Truth enables me to satisfy the demand. + +On my return to the camp, I learned that the act was already +consummated--the brother's blood had been avenged! + +It was a tragic tale, and would take many chapters in the telling. I +may not give them here. Let a few particulars suffice. + +From that dread night, Holingsworth had found a willing hand to aid him +in his purpose of retribution--one who yearned for vengeance keenly as +himself. Wheatley was the man. + +The two, with a chosen party, had thrown themselves on the trail of the +guerrilla; and with Pedro as their guide, had followed it far within the +hostile lines. Like sleuth-hounds had they followed it night and day, +until they succeeded in tracking the guerrilleros to their lair. + +It was a desperate conflict--hand to hand, and knife to knife--but the +rangers at length triumphed; most of the guerrilleros were slain, and +the band nearly annihilated. + +Ijurra fell by Holingsworth's own hand; while the death of the red +ruffian El Zorro, by the bowie knife of the Texan lieutenant, was an +appropriate punishment for the cruelty inflicted upon Conchita. The +revenge of both was complete, though both still bore the sorrow within +their hearts. + +The expedition of the two lieutenants was productive of other fruits. +In the head-quarters of the guerrilla they found many prisoners, Yankees +and Ayankieados--among others, that rare diplomatist Don Ramon de +Vargas. + +Of course the old gentleman was released from captivity; and had arrived +at the American camp, just in time to welcome his fair daughter and +future son-in-law from their grand ante-hymeneal "tour upon the +prairies." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The War Trail, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 23144.txt or 23144.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/1/4/23144/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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