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diff --git a/40219-0.txt b/40219-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4aa760c --- /dev/null +++ b/40219-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11348 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40219 *** + +THE BORDER RIFLES. + +A Tale of the Texan War + +by + +GUSTAVE AIMARD, + +Author of "Trapper's Daughter," "Indian Scout," etc. + + + + + + + +London: +Ward and Lock, +158, Fleet Street. +MDCCCLXI. + + + + +PREFACE + + +In the series commencing with the present volume GUSTAVE AIMARD has +entirely changed the character of his stories. He has selected a +magnificent episode of American history, the liberation of Texas from +the intolerable yoke of the Mexicans, and describes scenes _quorum pars +magna fuit_. At the present moment, when all are watching with bated +breath the results of the internecine war commencing between North and +South, I believe that the volumes our author devotes to this subject +will be read with special interest, for they impart much valuable +information about the character of the combatants who will, to a great +extent, form the nucleus of the confederated army. The North looks down +on them with contempt, and calls them "Border ruffians;" but when the +moment arrives, I entertain no doubt but that they will command respect +by the brilliancy of their deeds. + +Surprising though the events may be which are narrated in the present +volume, they are surpassed by those that continue the series. The next +volume, shortly to appear under the title of "The Freebooters," +describes the progress of the insurrection till it attained the +proportions of a revolution, while the third and last volume will be +devoted to the establishment of order in that magnificent State of +Texas, which has cast in its lot with the Secessionists, and will +indubitably hold out to the very last, confident in the prowess of its +sons, whose fathers Aimard has so admirably depicted in the present and +the succeeding volumes of the new series. + +L.W. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + I. THE RUNAWAY XVI. A POLITICAL SKETCH + II. QUONIAM XVII. THE PANTHER-KILLER + III. BLACK AND WHITE XVIII. LANZI + IV. THE MANADA XIX. THE CHASE + V. BLACK-DEER XX. THE CONFESSION + VI. THE CLAIM XXI. THE JAGUAR + VII. MONKEY-FACE XXII. BLUE-FOX +VIII. THE DECLARATION OF WAR XXIII. THE WHITE SCALPER + IX. THE SNAKE PAWNEES XXIV. AFTER THE FIGHT + X. THE BATTLE XXV. AN EXPLANATION + XI. THE VENTA DEL POTRERO XXVI. THE EXPRESS + XII. LOVE AND JEALOUSY XXVII. THE GUIDE +XIII. CARMELA XXVIII. JOHN DAVIS + XIV. THE CONDUCTA DE PLATA XXIX. THE BARGAIN + XV. THE HALT XXX. THE AMBUSCADE + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE RUNAWAY. + + +The immense virgin forests which once covered the soil of North America +are more and more disappearing before the busy axes of the squatters and +pioneers, whose insatiable activity removes the desert frontier further +and further to the west. + +Flourishing towns, well tilled and carefully-sown fields, now occupy +regions where, scarce ten years ago, rose impenetrable forests, whose +dense foliage hardly allowed the sunbeams to penetrate, and whose +unexplored depths sheltered animals of every description, and served as +a retreat for hordes of nomadic Indians, who, in their martial ardour, +frequently caused these majestic domes of verdure to re-echo with their +war-yell. + +Now that the forests have fallen, their gloomy denizens, gradually +repulsed by the civilization that incessantly pursues them, have fled +step by step before it, and have sought far away other and safer +retreats, to which they have borne the bones of their fathers with them, +lest they might be dug up and desecrated by the inexorable ploughshare +of the white men, as it traces its long and productive furrow over their +old hunting-grounds. + +Is this constant disafforesting and clearing of the American continent a +misfortune? Certainly not: on the contrary, the progress which marches +with a giant's step, and tends, before a century, to transform the soil +of the New World, possesses all our sympathy; still we cannot refrain +from a feeling of pained commiseration for that unfortunate race which +is brutally placed beyond the pale of the law, and pitilessly tracked in +all directions; which is daily diminishing, and is fatally condemned +soon to disappear from that earth whose immense territory it covered +less than four centuries ago with innumerable tribes. + +Perhaps if the people chosen by God to effect the changes to which we +allude had understood their mission, they might have converted a work of +blood and carnage into one of peace and paternity, and arming themselves +with the divine precepts of the Gospel, instead of seizing rifles, +torches, and scalping-knives, they might, in a given time, have produced +a fusion of the white and red races, and have attained a result more +profitable to progress, civilization, and before all, to that great +fraternity of nations which no one is permitted to despise, and for +which those who forget its divine and sacred precepts will have a +terrible account some day to render. + +Men cannot become with impunity the murderers of an entire race, and +constantly wade in blood; for that blood must at some time cry for +vengeance, and the day of justice break, when the sword will be cast in +the balance between conquerors and conquered. + +At the period when our narrative commences, that is to say, about the +close of 1812, the emigration had not yet assumed that immense extension +which it was soon to acquire, for it was only beginning, as it were, and +the immense forests that stretched out and covered an enormous space +between the borders of the United States and Mexico, were only traversed +by the furtive footsteps of traders and wood-rangers, or by the silent +moccasins of the Redskins. + +It is in the centre of one of the immense forests to which we have +alluded that our story begins, at about three in the afternoon of +October 27th, 1812. + +The heat had been stifling under the covert, but at this moment the +sunbeams growing more and more oblique, lengthened the tall shadows of +the trees, and the evening breeze that was beginning to rise refreshed +the atmosphere, and carried far away the clouds of mosquitoes which +during the whole mid-day had buzzed over the marshes in the clearings. + +We find ourselves on the bank of an unknown affluent of the Arkansas; +the slightly inclined trees on either side the stream formed a thick +canopy of verdure over the waters, which were scarce rippled by the +inconstant breath of the breeze; here and there pink flamingos and white +herons, perched on their tall legs, were fishing for their dinner, with +that careless ease which generally characterizes the race of great +aquatic birds; but suddenly they stopped, stretched out their necks as +if listening to some unusual sound, then ran hurriedly along to catch +the wind, and flew away with cries of alarm. + +All at once the sound of a musket-shot was re-echoed through the forest, +and two flamingos fell. At the same instant a light canoe doubled a +little cape formed by some mangrove-trees jutting out into the bed of +the stream, and darted in pursuit of the flamingos which had fallen in +the water. One of them had been killed on the spot, and was drifting +with the current; but the other, apparently but slightly wounded, was +flying with extreme rapidity, and swimming vigorously. + +The boat was an Indian canoe, made of birch bark removed from the tree +by the aid of hot water, and there was only one man in it; his rifle +lying in the bows and still smoking, shewed that it was he who had just +fired. We will draw the portrait of this person, who is destined to play +an important part in our narrative. + +As far as could be judged from his position in the canoe, he was a man +of great height; his small head was attached by a powerful neck to +shoulders of more than ordinary breadth; muscles, hard as cords, stood +out on his arms at each of his movements; in a word, the whole +appearance of this individual denoted a vigour beyond the average. + +His face, illumined by large blue eyes, sparkling with sense, had an +expression of frankness and honesty which pleased at the first glance, +and completed the _ensemble_ of his regular features, and wide mouth, +round which an unceasing smile of good humour played. He might be +twenty-three, or twenty-four at the most, although his complexion, +bronzed by the inclemency of the weather, and the dense light brown +beard that covered the lower part of his face, made him appear older. + +This man was dressed in the garb of a wood-ranger: a beaver-skin cap, +whose tail fell down between his shoulders, hardly restrained the thick +curls of his golden hair, which hung in disorder down his back; a +hunting shirt of blue calico, fastened round his hips by a deerskin +belt, fell a little below his muscular knees; _mitasses_, or a species +of tight drawers, covered his legs, and his feet were protected against +brambles and the stings of reptiles by Indian moccasins. + +His game-bag, of tanned leather, hung over his shoulder, and, like all +the bold pioneers of the virgin forest, his weapons consisted of a good +Kentucky rifle, a straight-bladed knife, ten inches long and two wide, +and a tomahawk that glistened like a mirror. These weapons, of course +with the exception of the rifle, were passed through his belt, which +also supported two buffalo horns filled with powder and bullets. + +The appearance of the man thus equipped, and standing in the canoe amid +the imposing scenery that surrounded him, had something grand about it +which created an involuntary respect. + +The wood-ranger, properly so termed, is one of those numerous types of +the New World which must soon entirely disappear before the incessant +progress of civilization. + +The wood-rangers, those bold explorers of the deserts, in which their +whole existence was spent, were men who, impelled by a spirit of +independence and an unbridled desire for liberty, shook off all the +trammels of society, and who, with no other object than that of living +and dying unrestrained by any other will save their own, and in no way +impelled by the hope of any sort of lucre, which they despised, +abandoned the towns, and boldly buried themselves in the virgin forests, +where they lived from day to day indifferent about the present, careless +as to the future, convinced that God would not desert them in the hour +of need, and thus placed themselves outside of that common law they +misunderstood, on the extreme limit that separates barbarism from +civilization. + +Most of the celebrated wood-rangers were French Canadians; in truth, +there is in the Norman character something daring and adventurous, which +is well adapted to this mode of life, so full as it is of strange +interludes and delicious sensations, whose intoxicating charms only +those who have led it can understand. + +The Canadians have never admitted in principle the change of nationality +which the English tried to impose on them; they still regard themselves +as Frenchmen, and their eyes are constantly fixed on that ungrateful +mother-country which has abandoned them with such cruel indifference. + +Even at the present day, after so many years, the Canadians have still +remained French; their fusion with the Anglo-Saxon race is only +apparent, and the slightest pretext would suffice to produce a +definitive rupture between them and the English. The British government +is well, aware of this fact, and hence displays toward the Canadian +colonies a marked kindliness and deference. + +At the earlier period of the conquest this repulsion (not to call it +hatred) was so prominent between the two races, that the Canadians +emigrated in a mass, sooner than endure the humiliating yoke which was +attempted to be placed on them. Those of them who, too poor to leave +their country definitively, were compelled to remain in a country +henceforth sullied by a foreign occupation, chose the rude trade of +wood-rangers, and preferred such an existence of misery and danger to +the disgrace of enduring the laws of a detested conqueror. Shaking the +dust over their shoes on the paternal roof, they threw their rifles over +their shoulders, and stifling a sigh of regret, went away not to return, +burying themselves in the impenetrable forests of Canada, and laying +unconsciously the foundation of that generation of intrepid pioneers, to +one of the finest specimens of whom we introduced the reader at the +beginning of this chapter. + +The hunter went on paddling vigorously; he soon reached the first +flamingo, which he threw into the bottom of his canoe. But the second +gave him more trouble. It was for a while a struggle of speed between +the wounded bird and the hunter: still the former gradually lost its +strength; its movements became uncertain, and it beat the water +convulsively. A blow from the Canadian's paddle at length put an end to +its agony, and it joined its mate in the bottom of the canoe. + +So soon as he had secured his game, the hunter shipped his paddles, and +prepared to reload his rifle, with the care which all devote to the +operation who know that their life depends on a charge of powder. When +his gun was in order again, the Canadian took an inquiring glance +around. + +"Why," he presently said, talking to himself, a habit which men who live +in solitude very frequently acquire, "hang me! if I have not reached the +meeting-place without suspecting it. I cannot be mistaken: over there +are the two oaks fallen across each other, and that rock, which stands +out over the water. But what's that?" he exclaimed, as he stooped, and +cocked his rifle. + +The furious barking of several dogs became suddenly audible in the +centre of the forest; the bushes were parted eagerly, and a Negro +appeared on the top of the rock, at which the Canadian was at this +moment looking. This man, on reaching the extremity of the rock, stopped +for an instant, and seemed to listen attentively, while displaying signs +of the most extreme agitation. But this halt was short, for he had +hardly rested there for a few seconds, ere, raising his eyes to heaven +in despair, he leaped into the river, and swam vigorously to the +opposite bank. + +The sound of the Negro's fall into the water had hardly died away, when +several dogs dashed on to the platform, and began a concert of horrible +barking. These dogs were powerful animals; their tongues were pendant, +their eyes infested with blood, and their hair standing on end, as if +they had come a long distance. + +The hunter shook his head several times while giving a glance of pity at +the hapless Negro, who was swimming with that energy of despair which +doubles the strength--and seizing his paddles, he turned the canoe +toward him, with the evident intention of rendering him assistance. At +this moment a hoarse voice was heard on the river-bank. + +"Hilloh, there! silence, you demons incarnate! silence, I tell you!" + +The dogs gave vent to a few whines of pain, and were suddenly silent. +The individual who had reproved the animals then said, in a louder key-- + +"Hilloh, you fellow in the canoe there!--hilloh!" + +The Canadian had just pulled to the opposite bank; he ran his canoe on +the sand, and then carelessly turned to the person who addressed him. + +This was a man of middle height, muscular, and dressed like the majority +of rich farmers. His face was brutal, crafty, and four persons, +apparently servants, stood by his side; it is needless to say that all +were armed with guns. + +The stream at this spot was rather wide, being about fifty yards, which, +temporarily, at any rate, established a respectable barrier between the +Negro and his pursuers. The Canadian leaned against a tree. + +"Are you by chance speaking to me?" he asked, in a somewhat contemptuous +tone. + +"Who else do you suppose?" the first speaker continued, angrily: "so try +and answer my questions!" + +"And why should I answer them? Will you be good enough to tell me?" the +Canadian continued, with a laugh. + +"Because I order you to do so, you scoundrel!" the other said, brutally. + +The hunter shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. + +"Good-bye," he said, and made a movement as if to retire. + +"Stop where you are!" the American shouted, "or so truly as my name is +John Davis I will put a bullet through your skull!" + +While uttering the threat he levelled his gun. + +"Ah! ah!" the Canadian went on, with a laugh, "then you're John Davis, +the famous slave-dealer?" + +"Yes, I am," the other said, harshly. + +"Pardon me; but I had hitherto only known you by reputation. By Jove! I +am delighted to have seen you." + +"Well, and now that you know me, are you disposed to answer my +questions?" + +"I must know their nature first, so you had better ask them." + +"What has become of my slave?" + +"Do you mean the man who leaped off the platform just before you reached +it?" + +"Yes. Where is he?" + +"Here, by my side." + +In fact, the Negro, his strength and courage quite exhausted from the +desperate efforts he had made during the obstinate pursuit of which he +had been the object, had dragged himself to the spot where the Canadian +stood, and now lay in a half fainting condition at his feet. + +On hearing the hunter reveal his presence so clearly, he clasped his +hands with an effort, and raised toward him a face bathed in tears. + +"Oh! master, master!" he cried, with an expression of agony impossible +to render, "Save me! Save me!" + +"Ah, ah!" John Davis shouted, with a grin, "I fancy we can come to an +understanding, my fine fellow, and that you will not be sorry to gain +the reward." + +"In truth I should not be sorry to hear the price set on human flesh in +what is called your free country. Is the reward large?" + +"Twenty dollars for a runaway nigger." + +"Pooh!" the Canadian said, thrusting out his lower lip in disgust, "that +is a trifle!" + +"Do you think so?" + +"Indeed I do." + +"Still, I only ask you to do a very simple matter in order to earn +them." + +"What is it?" + +"Tie that nigger, put him in your canoe, and bring him to me." + +"Very good. It is not difficult, I allow; and when he is in your power, +supposing I do what you wish, what do you intend doing with him?" + +"That is not your business." + +"Granted: hence I only asked you for information." + +"Come! Make up your mind; I have no time to waste in chattering. What is +your decision?" + +"This is what I have to say to you, Mr. John Davis, who hunt men with +dogs less ferocious than yourself, which in obeying you only yield to +their instincts--you are a villain! And if you only reckon on my help in +regaining your Negro, you may consider him lost." + +"Ah, that is it!" the American shouted, as he gnashed his teeth +furiously, and turned to his servants; "fire at him! Fire! Fire!" + +And joining example to precept, he quickly shouldered his gun and fired. +His servants imitated him, and four shots were confounded in a single +explosion, which the echoes of the forest mournfully repeated. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +QUONIAM. + + +The Canadian did not lose one of his adversaries' movements while he was +speaking with them; hence, when the shots ordered by John Davis were +fired, they proved ineffectual; he had rapidly hidden himself behind a +tree, and the bullets whistled harmlessly past his ears. + +The slave-dealer was furious at being thus foiled by the hunter; he gave +him the most fearful threats, blasphemed, and stamped his foot in rage. + +But threats and imprecations availed but little; unless they swam the +river, which was impracticable, in the face of a man so resolute as the +hunter seemed to be, there were no means of taking any vengeance on +him, or recapturing the slave he had so deliberately taken under his +protection. + +While the American racked his brains in vain to find an expedient that +would enable him to gain the advantage, a bullet dashed the rifle he +held in his hand to pieces. + +"Accursed dog!" he yelled in his fury, "do you wish to assassinate me?" + +"I should have a right to do so," the Canadian replied, "for I am only +defending myself fairly, after your attempt to kill me; but I prefer +dealing amicably with you, although I feel convinced I should be doing a +great service to humanity by lodging a couple of slugs in your brain." + +And a second bullet at this moment smashed the rifle one of the servants +was reloading. + +"Come, enough of this," the American shouted, greatly exasperated; "what +do you want?" + +"I told you--treat amicably with you." + +"But on what conditions? Tell me them at least." + +"In a moment." + +The rifle of the second servant was broken like that of the first: of +the five men, three were now disarmed. + +"Curses," the slave-dealer howled; "have you resolved to make a target +of us in turn?" + +"No, I only wish to equalise chances." + +"But--" + +"It is done now." + +The fourth rifle was broken. + +"And now," the Canadian said, as he showed himself "suppose we have a +talk." + +And, leaving his shelter, he walked to the river bank. + +"Yes, talk, demon," the American shouted. + +With a movement swift as thought, he seized the last rifle, and +shouldered it; but, ere he could pull the trigger, he rolled on the +platform, uttering a cry of pain. + +The hunter's bullet had broken his arm. + +"Wait for me, I am coming," the Canadian continued with perfect +calmness. + +He reloaded his rifle, leaped into the canoe, and with a few strokes of +his paddle, found himself on the other side of the river. + +"There," he said as he landed and walked up to the American, who was +writhing like a serpent on the platform, howling and blaspheming; "I +warned you: I only wished to equalise the chances, and you have no right +to complain of what has happened to you, my dear sir: the fault rests +entirely with yourself." + +"Seize him! kill him!" the wretch shouted, a prey to indescribable fury. + +"Come, come, calm yourself. Good gracious, you have only a broken arm, +after all; remember, I could have easily killed you, had I pleased. Hang +it, you are not reasonable." + +"Oh! I will kill him," he yelled, as he gnashed his teeth. + +"I hardly think so, at least not for the present; I will say nothing +about by and by. But let that be: I will examine your wound, and dress +it while we talk." + +"Do not touch me! Do not come near me, or I know not to what extremities +I may proceed." + +The Canadian shrugged his shoulders. + +"You must be mad," he said. + +Incapable of enduring longer the state of exasperation in which he was, +the dealer, who was also weakened by the loss of blood, made a vain +effort to rise and rush on his foe; bat he fell back and fainted while +muttering a final curse. + +The servants stood startled, as much by the unparalleled skill of this +strange man, as by the boldness with which, after disarming them all in +turn, he had crossed the river, in order, as it were, to deliver himself +into their hands; for, if they had no longer their rifles, their knives +and pistols were left them. + +"Come, gentlemen," the Canadian said with a frown, "have the goodness to +shake out the priming of your pistols, or, by Heaven! We shall have a +row." + +The servants did not at all desire to begin a fight with him; moreover, +the sympathy they felt for their master was not great, while, on the +other hand, the Canadian, owing to the expeditious way in which he had +acted, inspired them with a superstitious fear: hence they obeyed his +orders with a species of eagerness, and even wished to hand him their +knives. + +"It is not necessary," he said; "now, let us see about dressing this +worthy gentleman's wound: it would be a pity to deprive society of so +estimable a person, who is one of its brightest ornaments." + +He set to work at once, aided by the servants, who executed his orders +with extraordinary rapidity and zeal, for they felt so thoroughly +mastered by him. + +Compelled by the mode of life they pass to do without any strange +assistance, the wood-rangers all possess, to a certain extent, +elementary notions of medicine, and especially of surgery, and can, in +case of need, treat a fracture or wound of any nature as well as a +professional man; and that, too, by simple means usually employed with +the greatest success by the Indians. + +The hunter proved by the skill and dexterity which he dressed the +slave-dealer's wound, that, if he knew how to inflict wounds, he was +equally clever in curing them. + +The servants regarded with heightening admiration this extraordinary +man, who seemed suddenly metamorphosed, and proceeded with a certainty +of glance and lightness of hand which many a surgeon might have envied +him. During the bandaging, the wounded man returned to consciousness, +and opened his eyes, but remained silent; his fury had been calmed, and +his brutal nature subdued by the energetic resistance the Canadian +opposed to him. The first and piercing pain of the wound had been +succeeded, as always happens when the bandaging is properly done, by an +extraordinary feeling of relief: hence, recognising, in spite of +himself, the comfort he had experienced, he had felt his hatred melting +away in a feeling for which he could not yet account, but which now made +him regard his enemy almost with a friendly air. + +To render John Davis the justice due to him, we will say that he was +neither better nor worse than any of his fellows who trafficked in human +flesh. Accustomed to the sufferings of slaves, who to him were nothing +but beings deprived of reason, or merchandize in a word, his heart had +gradually grown callous to softer emotions: he only saw in a Negro the +money he had expended, and what he expected to gain by him, and like a +true tradesman, he was very fond of money: a runaway Negro seemed to him +a wretched thing, against whom any means were permissible in order to +prevent a loss. + +Still, this man was not insensible to every good feeling; apart from his +trade, he even enjoyed a certain reputation for kindness, and passed for +a gentleman. + +"There, that is all right," the Canadian said, as he gave a satisfied +glance at the bandages; "in three weeks there will be nothing to be +seen, if you take care of yourself; for, through a remarkable piece of +good luck, the bone has not been touched, and the ball has only passed +through the fleshy part of the arm. Now, my good friend, if you like to +talk, I am ready." + +"I have nothing to say, except to ask you to return the scoundrel who is +the cause of the whole mishap." + +"Hum! If we go on in that way, I am afraid we shall not come to an +understanding. You know perfectly that the whole quarrel arose about the +surrender of the scoundrel, as you term him." + +"Still, I cannot lose my money." + +"What money do you mean?" + +"Well, my slave, if you prefer it; he represents a sum I do not at all +care to lose; the less so, because things have been going very queerly +with me lately, and I have suffered some heavy losses." + +"That is annoying, and I pity you sincerely; still, I should like to +settle the affair amicably as I began," the Canadian continued. + +The American made a grimace. + +"It is a deuced amicable way you have of settling matters," he said. + +"It is your fault, my friend; if we did not come to an immediate +arrangement, it was because you were a little too quick, as you will +allow." + +"Well, we will not say any more about that, for what's done cannot be +undone." + +"You are right, so let us return to business. Unluckily, I am poor; were +not so, I would give you a few hundred dollars, and all would be +settled." + +The dealer scratched his head. + +"Listen," he said. "I do not know why, but, in spite of all that has +passed between us, perhaps in consequence of it, I should not like for +us to separate on bad terms; the more so, because, to tell you the +truth, I care very little for Quoniam." + +"Who's Quoniam?" + +"The nigger." + +"Oh, very good, that's a funny name you have given him; however, no +matter, you say you care very little for him?" + +"Indeed I do." + +"Then why did you begin the obstinate hunt with dogs and guns?" + +"Through pride." + +"Oh!" the Canadian said, with a start of dissatisfaction. + +"Listen to me, I am a slave dealer." + +"A very ugly trade, by the way," the hunter observed. + +"Perhaps so, but I shall not discuss that point. + +"About a month ago, a large sale was announced at Baton Rouge, of slaves +of both sexes, belonging to a rich gentleman who had died suddenly, and +I proceeded there. Among the slaves exposed for sale was Quoniam. The +rascal is young, active, and vigorous; he has a bold and intelligent +look; so he naturally pleased me at the first glance, and I felt +desirous to buy him. I went up and questioned him; and the scamp +answered me word for word as follows, which put me out of countenance +for a moment, I confess. + +"'Master, I do not advise you to buy me, for I have sworn to be free or +die; whatever you may do to prevent me, I warn you that I shall escape. +Now you can do as you please.' + +"This clear and peremptory declaration piqued me, 'We shall see,' I said +to him, and then went to find the auctioneer. The latter, who was a +friend of mine, dissuaded me from buying Quoniam, giving me reasons, +each better than the other, against doing so. But my mind was made up, +and I stuck to it. Quoniam was knocked down to me for ninety dollars, an +absurd price for a Negro of his age, and built as he is; but no one +would have him at any price. I put irons on him, and took him away, not +to my house, but to the prison, so that I might feel sure he would not +escape. The next day, when I returned to the prison, Quoniam was gone; +he had kept his word. + +"At the end of two days he was caught again; the same evening he was off +once more, and it was impossible for me to discover how he had foiled +the plans I had formed to restrain him. This has been going on for a +month; a week ago he escaped again, and since then I have been in search +of him; despairing of being able to keep him, I got into a passion, and +started after him, this time with my blood-hounds, resolved to finish, +once for all, with this accursed Negro, who constantly slips through my +fingers like a lizard." + +"That is to say," the Canadian remarked, who had listened with interest +to the dealer's story, "you would not have hesitated to kill him." + +"That I should, for the confounded scamp is so crafty; he has so +constantly taken me in, that I have grown to hate him." + +"Listen in your turn, Mr. John Davis; I am not rich, but a long way from +it. What do I need gold or silver, as a man of the desert to whom +Heaven supplies daily food so liberally? This Quoniam, who is so eager +for liberty and the open air, inspires me with a lively interest, and I +wish to try and give him that freedom to which he so persistently +aspires. This is what I propose; I have in my canoe three jaguar skins +and twelve beaver skins, which, if sold at any town of the Union, will +be worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars; take them, +and let all be finished." + +The dealer looked at him with a surprise mingled with a certain degree +of kindliness. + +"You are wrong," he said, presently; "the bargain you offer is too +advantageous for me, and too little so for you. That is not the way to +do business." + +"How does that concern you? I have got it in my head that this man shall +be free." + +"You do not know the ungrateful nature of niggers," the other persisted; +"this one will be in no way grateful to you for what you do for him; on +the contrary, on the first opportunity he will probably give you cause +to repent your good action." + +"That is possible, but it is his business, for I do not ask gratitude of +him; if he shows it, all the better for him; if not, the Lord's will be +done! I act in accordance with my heart, and my reward is in my +conscience." + +"By the Lord, you are a fine fellow, I tell you," the dealer exclaimed, +incapable of restraining himself longer. "It would be all the better if +a fellow could meet with more of your sort. Well, I intend to prove to +you that I am not so bad as you have a right to suppose, after what has +passed between us. I will sign the assignment of Quoniam to you, and I +will only accept in return one tiger skin in remembrance of our +meeting, although," he added, with a grimace, as he pointed to his arm, +"you have already given me another." + +"Done," the Canadian exclaimed, eagerly; "but you must take two skins +instead of one, as I intend to ask of you a rifle, an axe, and a knife, +so that the poor devil we now set at liberty (for you are now halves in +my good deed) may provide for his support." + +"Be it so," the dealer said, good humouredly; "as the scoundrel insists +on being at liberty, let him be, and he can go to the deuce." + +At a sign from his master, one of the servants produced from his game +bag ink, pens, and paper, and drew up on the spot, not a deed of sale, +but a regular ticket of freedom, to which the dealer put his signature, +and which the servants afterwards witnessed. + +"On my word," John Davis exclaimed, "it is possible that from a business +point of view I have done a foolish thing, but, you may believe me or +not, as you like, I never yet felt so satisfied with myself." + +"That is," the Canadian answered, seriously, "because you have to-day +followed the impulses of your heart." + +The Canadian then quitted the platform to go and fetch the skins. A +moment after, he returned with two magnificent jaguar hides, perfectly +intact, which he handed to the dealer. The latter, as was arranged, then +delivered the weapons to him; but a scruple suddenly assailed the +hunter. + +"One moment," he said; "if you give me these weapons, how will you +manage to return to town?" + +"That need not trouble you," John Davis replied; "I left my horse and +people scarce three leagues from here. Besides, we have our pistols, +which we could use if necessary." + +"That is true," the Canadian remarked, "you have therefore nothing to +fear; still, as your wound will not allow you to go so far a-foot, I +will help your servants to prepare you a litter." + +And with that skill, of which he had already supplied so many proofs, +the Canadian manufactured, with branches of trees he cut down with his +hatchet, a litter, on which the two tiger skins were laid. + +"And now," he said, "good bye; perhaps we shall never meet again. We +part, I trust, on better terms than we came together: remember, there is +no trade, however shameful, which an honest man cannot carry on +honourably; when your heart inspires you to do a good action, do not be +deaf to it, but do it without regret, for God will have spoken to you." + +"Thanks," the dealer said, with considerable emotion, "but grant me one +word before we part." + +"Say on." + +"Tell me your name, so that if any day accident brought us together +again, I might appeal to your recollections, as you could to mine." + +"That is true, my name is Tranquil; the wood-rangers, my companions, +have surnamed me the Panther killer." + +And, ere the slave dealer had recovered from the astonishment caused by +this sudden revelation of the name of a man whose renown was universal +on the border, the hunter, after giving him a parting wave of the hand, +bounded from the platform, unfastened his canoe, and paddled vigorously +to the other bank. + +"Tranquil, the Panther-killer," John Davis muttered when he was alone; +"it was truly my good genius which inspired me to make a friend of that +man." + +He lay down on the litter which two of his men raised, and after giving +a parting glance at the Canadian, who at this moment was landing on the +opposite bank, he said:-- + +"Forward!" + +The platform was soon deserted again, the dealer and his men had +disappeared under the covert, and nothing was audible but the gradually +departing growls of the bloodhounds, as they ran on ahead of the little +party. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +BLACK AND WHITE. + + +In the meanwhile, as we have said, the Canadian hunter, whose name we at +length know, had reached the bank of the river where he left the Negro +concealed in the shrubs. + +During the long absence of his defender, the slave could easily have +fled, and that with the more reason, because he had almost the certainty +of not being pursued before a lapse of time, which would have given him +a considerable start on those who were so obstinately bent on capturing +him. + +He had not done so, however, either because the idea of flight did not +appear to him realizable, or because he was too wearied, he had not +stirred from the spot where he sought a refuge at the first moment, and +had remained with his eyes obstinately fixed on the platform, following +with anxious glance the movements of the persons collected on it. + +John Davis had not at all flattered him in the portrait he had drawn of +him to the hunter. Quoniam was really one of the most magnificent +specimens of the African race: twenty-two years of age at the most, he +was tall, well-proportioned and powerfully built; he had wide shoulders, +powerfully developed chest, and well-hung limbs; it was plain that he +combined unequalled strength with far from ordinary speed and lightness; +his features were fine and expressive, his countenance breathed +frankness, his widely opened eyes were intelligent--in short, although +his skin was of the deepest black, and unfortunately, in America, the +land of liberty, that colour is an indelible stigma of servitude, this +man did not seem at all to have been created for slavery, for everything +about him aspired to liberty and that free-will which God has given to +his creatures, and men have tried in vain to tear from them. + +When the Canadian re-entered the canoe, and the American quitted the +platform, a sigh of satisfaction expanded the Negro's chest, for, +without knowing positively what had passed between the hunter and his +old master, as he was too far off to hear what was said, he understood +that, temporarily at least, he had nothing to fear from the latter, and +he awaited with feverish impatience the return of his generous defender, +that he might learn from him what he had henceforth to hope or fear. + +So soon as he reached land, the Canadian pulled his canoe on to the +sand, and walked with a firm and deliberate step toward the spot where +he expected to find the Negro. + +He soon noticed him in a sitting posture, almost at the same spot where +he had left him. + +The hunter could not repress a smile of satisfaction. + +"Ah, ah," he said to him, "there you are, then, friend Quoniam." + +"Yes, master. Did John Davis tell you my name?" + +"As you see; but what are you doing there? Why did you not escape during +my absence?" + +"Quoniam is no coward," he replied, "to escape while another is risking +his life for him. I was waiting ready to surrender myself if the white +hunter's life had been threatened."[1] + +This was said with a simplicity full of grandeur, proving that such was +really the Negro's intention. + +"Good!" the hunter replied, kindly, "I thank you, for your intention was +good; fortunately, your interference was unneeded; but, at any rate, you +acted more wisely by remaining here." + +"Whatever may happen to me, master, be assured that I shall feel ever +grateful to you." + +"All the better for you, Quoniam, for that will prove to me that you are +not ungrateful, which is one of the worst vices humanity is afflicted +by; but be good enough not to call me master again, for it grieves me; +the word implies a degrading inferiority, and besides, I am not your +master, but merely your companion." + +"What other name can a poor slave give you?" + +"My own, hang it. Call me Tranquil, as I call you Quoniam. Tranquil is +not a difficult name to remember, I should think." + +"Oh, not at all," the Negro said with a laugh. + +[Footnote 1: Nothing appears to us so ridiculous as that conventional +jargon Which is placed in the mouth of Negroes; a jargon which, in the +first place, impedes the story, and is moreover false; a double reason +which urges us not to employ it here--all the worse for the local +colouring.--G.A.] + +"Good! That is settled, then; now, let us go to something else, and, in +the first place, take this." + +The hunter drew a paper from his belt, which he handed to the Black. + +"What is this?" the latter asked with a timid glance, for his ignorance +prevented him deciphering it. + +"That?" the hunter said with a smile; "it is a precious talisman, which +makes of you a man like all the rest of us, and removes you from the +animals among which you have been counted up to this day; in a word, it +is a deed by which John Davis, native of South Carolina, slave dealer, +from this day restores to Quoniam his full and entire liberty, to enjoy +it as he thinks proper--or, if you prefer it, it is your deed of +liberation written by your former master, and signed by competent +witnesses, who will stand by you if necessary." + +On hearing these words the Negro turned pale after the fashion of men of +his colour; that is to say, his face assumed a tinge of dirty gray, his +eyes were unnaturally dilated, and for a few seconds he remained +motionless, crushed, incapable of uttering a word or making a movement. + +At length he burst into a loud laugh, leaped up twice or thrice with the +suppleness of a wild beast, and then broke suddenly into tears. + +The hunter attentively watched the Negro's movement, feeling interested +to the highest degree in what he saw, and evidencing each moment a +greater sympathy with this man. + +"Then," the Black at length said, "I am free--truly free?" + +"As free as a man can be," Tranquil replied, with a smile. + +"Now I can come, go, sleep, work, or rest, and no one can prevent me, +and I need not fear the lash?" + +"Quite so." + +"I belong to myself, myself alone? I can act and think like other men? I +am no longer a beast of burthen, which is loaded and harnessed? I am as +good as any other man, white, yellow, or red?" + +"Quite so," the hunter answered, amused and interested at the same time +by these simple questions. + +"Oh!" the Negro said, as he took his head in his hands, "I am free +then--free at last!" + +He uttered these words with a strange accent, which made the hunter +quiver. + +All at once he fell on his knees, clasped his hands, and raised his eyes +to Heaven. + +"My God!" he exclaimed, with an accent of ineffable happiness. "Thou who +canst do all, thou to whom all men are equal, and who dost not regard +their colour to protect and defend them. Thou, whose goodness is +unbounded like thy power; thanks! Thanks! My God, for having drawn me +from slavery, and restored my liberty!" + +After giving vent to this prayer, which was the expression of the +feelings that boiled in his heart, the Negro fell on the ground, and for +some minutes remained plunged in earnest thought. The hunter respected +his silence. + +At length the Negro raised his head again. + +"Listen, hunter," he said. "I have returned thanks to God for my +deliverance, as was my duty; for it was He who inspired you with the +thought of defending me. Now that I am beginning to grow a little +calmer, and feel accustomed to my new condition, be good enough to tell +me what passed between you and my master, that I may know the extent of +the debt I owe you, and that I may regulate my future conduct by it. +Speak, I am listening." + +"What need to tell you a story which can interest you so slightly? You +are free, that ought to be sufficient for you." + +"No, that is not sufficient; I am free, that is true, but how have I +become so? That is what I do not know, and I have the right to ask of +you." + +"The story, I say again, has nothing that can interest you at all; +still, as it may cause you to form a better opinion of the man to whom +you belonged, I will not longer refuse to tell it to you; so listen." + +Tranquil, after this opening, told in all their details the events that +happened between himself and the slave dealer, and when he had finished, +added-- + +"Well, are you satisfied now?" + +"Yes," the Negro replied, who had listened to him with the most +sustained attention. "I know that, next to God, I owe everything to you, +and I will remember it; never will you have to remind me of the debt, +under whatever circumstances we may meet." + +"You owe me nothing, now that you are free; it is your duty to employ +that liberty in the way a man of upright and honest heart should do." + +"I will try not to prove myself unworthy of what God and you have done +for me; I also thank John Davis sincerely for the good feeling that +urged him to listen to your remonstrances; perhaps I may be able to +requite him some day; and, if the opportunity offers, I shall not +neglect it." + +"Good! I like to hear you speak so, for it proves to me that I was not +mistaken about you; and now what do you intend to do?" + +"What advice do you give me?" + +"The question you ask me is a serious one, and I hardly know how to +answer it; the choice of a profession is always a difficult affair, and +must be reflected upon ripely before a decision is formed; in spite of +my desire to be of service to you, I should not like to give you advice, +which you would doubtless follow for my sake, and which might presently +cause you regret. Besides, I am a man whose life since the age of seven +has always been spent in the woods, and I am, consequently, far too +unacquainted with what is called the world to venture to lead you on a +path which I do not know myself." + +"That reasoning seems to me perfectly correct. Still, I cannot remain +here, and must make up my mind to something or other." + +"Do one thing." + +"What is it?" + +"Here are a knife, gun, powder, and bullets; the desert is open before +you, so go and try for a few days the free life of the great solitudes; +during your long hours of hunting you will have leisure to reflect on +the vocation you are desirous to embrace; you will weigh in your mind +the advantages you expect to derive from it, and then, when your mind is +quite made up, you can turn your back on the desert, go back to the +towns, and, as you are an active, honest, and intelligent man, I am +certain you will succeed in whatever calling you may choose." + +The Negro nodded his head several times. + +"Yes," he said, "in what you propose to me there is both good and bad; +that is not exactly what I should wish." + +"Explain yourself clearly, Quoniam; I can see you have something at the +end of your tongue which you do not like to say." + +"That is true; I have not been frank with you, Tranquil, and I was +wrong, as I now see clearly. Instead of asking you hypocritically for +advice, which I did not at all intend to follow, I ought to have told +you honestly my way of thinking, and that would have been altogether +better." + +"Come," the hunter said, laughingly, "speak." + +"Well, really I do not see why I should not tell you what I have on my +heart. If there be a man in the world who takes an interest in me it is +certainly you; and hence, the sooner I know what I have to depend on, +the better: the only life that suits me is that of a wood-ranger. My +instincts and feelings impel me to it; all my attempts at flight, when I +was a slave, tended to that object. I am only a poor Negro, whom his +narrow mind and intelligence would not guide properly in towns, where +man is not valued for what he is worth, but for what he appears. What +use would that liberty, of which I am so proud, appear to me, in a town +where I should have to dispose of it to the first comer, in order to +procure the food and clothing I need? I should only have regained my +liberty to render myself a slave. Hence it is in the desert alone I can +profit by the kindness I owe to you, without fear of ever being impelled +by wretchedness to actions unworthy of a man conscious of his own worth. +Hence it is in the desert I desire henceforth to live, only visiting the +towns to exchange the skins of animals I have killed for powder, +bullets, and clothing. I am young and strong, and the God who has +hitherto protected me will not desert me." + +"You are perhaps right, and I cannot blame you for wishing to follow my +example, when the life I lead seems to me preferable to all others. +Well, now that is all settled, my good Quoniam, we can part, and I wish +you luck; perhaps we shall meet again, sometimes, on the Indian +territory." + +The Negro began laughing, and showed two rows of teeth white as snow, +but made no reply. + +Tranquil threw his rifle on his shoulder, gave him a last friendly sign +of parting, and turned to go back to his canoe. + +Quoniam seized the rifle the hunter had left him, passed the knife +through his girdle, to which he also fastened the horns of powder and +bullets, and then, after a final glance to see he had forgotten nothing, +he followed the hunter, who had already gained a considerable start on +him. + +He caught Tranquil up at the moment he reached his canoe, and was about +to thrust it into the water; at the sound of footsteps, the hunter +turned round. + +"Halloh," he said, "is that you again, Quoniam?" + +"Yes," he answered. + +"What brings you here?" + +"Why," the Negro said, as he buried his fingers in his woolly hair, and +scratched his head furiously, "you forgot something." + +"What was it?" + +"To take me with you." + +"That is true," the hunter said, as he offered him his hand; "forgive +me, brother." + +"Then you consent?" he asked, with ill-restrained joy. + +"Yes." + +"We shall not part again?" + +"It will depend on your will." + +"Oh, then," he exclaimed, with a joyous outburst of laughter, "we shall +be together a long time." + +"Well, be it so," the Canadian went on. "Come; two men, when they have +faith in each other, are very strong in the desert. Heaven, doubtless, +willed that we should meet. Henceforth we shall be brothers." + +Quoniam leaped into the canoe, and gaily caught up the paddles. + +The poor slave had never been so happy; never had the air seemed to him +purer, or nature more lovely--everything smiled on him, and made holiday +for him, for that moment he was about to begin really living the life of +other men, without any bitter afterthought; the past was no more than a +dream. He had found in his defender what so many men seek in vain, +throughout a lengthened existence--a friend, a brother, to whom he could +trust entirely, and from whom he would have no secrets. + +In a few minutes they reached the spot which the Canadian had noticed on +his arrival; this spot, clearly indicated by the two oaks which had +fallen in a cross, formed a species of small sandy promontory, +favourable to the establishment of a night bivouac; for thence not only +could the river be surveyed a long distance up and down, but it was also +easy to watch both banks, and prevent a surprise. + +"We will pass the night here," Tranquil said; "let us carry up the +canoe, so as to shelter our fire." + +Quoniam seized the light skiff, raised it, and placing it on his +muscular shoulders, carried it to the spot his comrade had pointed out. + +In the meanwhile, a considerable period had elapsed since the Canadian +and the Negro met so miraculously. The sun, which had been low when the +hunter doubled the promontory and chased the herons, was now on the +point of disappearing; night was falling rapidly, and the background of +the landscape was beginning to be confused in the shades of night, which +grew momentarily denser. + +The desert was awakening, the hoarse roar of the wild beasts was heard +at intervals, mingled with the miawling of the carcajou, and the sharp +snapping bark of the prairie wolves. + +The hunter chose the driest wood he could find to kindle the fire, in +order that there might be no smoke, and the flame might light up the +vicinity, so as to reveal at once the approach of the dangerous +neighbours whose cries they could hear, and whom thirst would not fail +soon to bring toward them. + +The roasted birds and a few handfuls of pemmican composed the rangers' +supper; a very sober meal, only washed down with water from the river, +but which they ate with good appetite, like men who knew how to +appreciate the value of any food Providence places at their disposal. + +When the last mouthful was swallowed, the Canadian paternally shared his +stock of tobacco with his new comrade, and lit his Indian pipe, in which +he was scrupulously imitated by Quoniam. + +"Now," said Tranquil, "it is as well you should know that an old friend +of mine gave me the meeting at this spot about three months ago; he will +arrive at daybreak to-morrow. He is an Indian Chief, and, although +still very young, enjoys a great reputation in his tribe. I love him as +a brother, and we were, I may say, brought up together. I shall be glad +to see you gain his favour, for he is a wise and experienced man, for +whom desert life possesses no secrets. The friendship of an Indian Chief +is a precious thing to a wood-ranger; remember that. However, I feel +certain you will be good friends at once." + +"I will do all that is required for that. It is sufficient that the +Chief is your friend, for me to desire that he should become mine. Up to +the present, though I have wandered about the woods a long time as a +runaway slave, I have never seen an independent Indian; hence it is +possible that I may commit some awkwardness without my knowledge. But be +assured that it will not happen through any fault of mine." + +"I am convinced of it, so be easy on that head. I will warn the Chief, +who, I fancy, will be as surprised as yourself, for I expect you will be +the first person of your colour he has ever met. But night has now quite +set in; you must be fatigued by the obstinate pursuit you experienced +the whole day, and the powerful emotion you endured: sleep, while I +watch for both, especially as I expect we shall make a long march +to-morrow, and you must be prepared for it." + +The Negro understood the correctness of his friend's remarks, the more +so as he was literally exhausted with fatigue; he had been hunted so +closely by his ex-master's blood-hounds, that for four days he had not +closed his eyes. Hence, laying aside any false shame, he stretched out +his feet to the fire, and slept almost immediately. + +Tranquil remained seated on the canoe with his rifle between his legs, +to be prepared for the slightest alarm, and plunged into deep thought, +while attentively watching the neighbourhood, and pricking his ear at +the slightest noise. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MANADA. + + +The night was splendid, the dark blue sky was studded with millions of +stars which shed a gentle and mysterious light. + +The silence of the desert was traversed by thousands of melodious and +animated whispers; gleams, flashing through the shadows, ran over the +grass like will-o'-the-wisps. On the opposite bank of the river the old +moss-clad oaks stood out like phantoms, and waved in the breeze their +long branches covered with lichens and lianas; vague sounds ran through +the air, nameless cries emerged from the forest lairs, the gentle +sighing of the wind in the foliage was heard, and the murmur of the +water on the pebbles, and last that inexplicable and unexplained sound +of buzzing life which comes from God, and which the majestic solitude of +the American savannahs renders more imposing. + +The hunter yielded involuntarily to all the puissant influences of the +primitive nature that surrounded him. He felt strengthened and cheered +by it; his being was identified with the sublime scene he surveyed; a +gentle and pensive melancholy fell upon him; so far from men and their +stunted civilization, he felt himself nearer to God, and his simple +faith was heightened by the admiration aroused in him by these secrets +of nature, which were partly unveiled in his presence. + +The soul is expanded, thought enlarged, by contact with this nomadic +life, in which each minute that passes produces new and unexpected +incidents; where at each step man sees the finger of God imprinted in an +indelible manner on the abrupt and grand scenery that surrounds him. + +Hence this existence of danger and privation possesses, for those who +have once essayed it, a nameless charm and intoxication, +incomprehensible joys, which cause it ever to be regretted; for it is +only in the desert man feels that he lives, takes the measure of his +strength, and the secret of his power is revealed to him. + +The hours passed thus rapidly with the hunter, though slumber did not +once close his eyelids. Already the cold morning breeze was curling the +tops of the trees, and rippling the surface of the stream, whose silvery +waters reflected the shadows of its irregular banks; on the horizon +broad pink stripes revealed the speedy dawn of day. The owl, hidden +beneath the foliage, had twice saluted the return of light, with its +melancholy toowhit--it was about three o'clock in the morning. + +Tranquil left the rustic seat on which he had hitherto remained, shook +off the stiffening feeling which had seized on him, and walked a few +paces up and down the sand to restore the circulation in his limbs. + +When a man, we will not say awakes--for the worthy Canadian had not +closed his eyes once during the whole of this long watch--but shakes off +the torpor into which the silence, darkness, and, above all, the +piercing cold of night have plunged him, he requires a few minutes to +regain possession of his faculties, and restore perfect lucidity of +mind. This was what happened to the hunter; still, long habituated as he +had been to desert life, the time was shorter to him than to another, +and he was soon as acute and watchful as he had been on the previous +evening; he therefore prepared to arouse his comrade, who was still +enjoying that good and refreshing sleep which is only shared here below +by children and men whose conscience is void of any evil thought--when +he suddenly stopped, and began listening anxiously. + +From the remote depths of the forest, which formed a thick curtain +behind his camping-place, the Canadian had heard an inexplicable rumour +rise, which increased with every moment, and soon assumed the +proportions of hoarsely-rolling thunder. + +This noise approached nearer; it seemed like sharp and hurried stamping +of hoofs, rustling of trees and branches, hoarse bellowing, which had +nothing human about it; in short, it was a frightful, inexplicable +sound, momentarily growing louder and louder, and yet more confused. + +Quoniam, startled by the strange noise, was standing, rifle in hand, +with his eye fixed on the hunter, ready to act at the first sign, though +unable to account for what was occurring, a prey to that instinctive +terror which assails the bravest man when he feels himself menaced by a +terrible and unknown danger. + +Several minutes passed thus. + +"What is to be done?" Tranquil murmured, hesitatingly, as he tried in +vain to explore the depths of the forest, and account for what was +occurring. + +All at once a shrill whistle was audible a short distance off. + +"Ah," Tranquil exclaimed, with a start of joy as he threw up his head, +"now I shall know what I have to depend on." + +And, placing his fingers in his mouth, he imitated the cry of the heron; +at the same moment a man bounded from the forest, and with two +tiger-like leaps was by the hunter's side. + +"Wah!" he exclaimed, "What is my brother doing here?" + +It was Black-deer, the Indian Chief. + +"I am awaiting you, Chief," the Canadian answered. + +The Redskin was a man of twenty-six to twenty-seven years of age, of +middle height, but admirably proportioned. He wore the great war-garb of +his nation, and was painted and armed as if on the war-trail; his face +was handsome, his features intelligent, and his whole countenance +indicated bravery and kindness. + +At this moment he seemed suffering from an agitation, the more +extraordinary because the Redskins make it a point of honour never to +appear affected by any event, however terrible in its nature; his eyes +flashed fire, his words were quick and harsh, and his voice had a +metallic accent. + +"Quick," he said, "we have lost too much time already." + +"What is the matter?" Tranquil asked. + +"The buffaloes!" said the Chief. + +"Oh! oh!" Tranquil exclaimed, in alarm. + +He understood all; the noise he had heard for some time past was +occasioned by a _manada_ of buffaloes, coming from the east, and +probably proceeding to the higher western prairies. + +What the hunter so quickly comprehended requires to be briefly explained +to the reader, in order that he may understand to what a terrible +danger our characters were suddenly exposed. + +Manada is the name given in the old Spanish possessions to an assemblage +of several thousand wild animals. Buffaloes, in their periodical +migrations during the pairing season, collect at times in manadas of +fifteen and twenty thousand animals, forming a compact herd; and +travelling together, they go straight onwards, closely packed together, +leaping over everything, and overthrowing every obstacle that opposes +their passage. Woe to the rash man who would attempt to check or change +the direction of their mad course, for he would be trampled like a wisp +of straw beneath the feet of these stupid animals, which would pass over +him without even noticing him. + +The position of the three hunters was consequently extremely critical, +for hazard had placed them exactly in front of a manada, which was +coming towards them at lightning speed. + +Flight was impossible, and could not be thought of, while resistance was +more impossible still. + +The noise approached with fearful rapidity; already the savage bellowing +of the buffaloes could be distinctly heard, mingled with the barking of +the prairie wolves; and the shrill miauls of the jaguars which dashed +along on the flanks of the manada, chasing the laggards or those that +imprudently turned to the right or left. + +Within a quarter of an hour all would be over; the hideous avalanche +already appeared, sweeping away all in its passage with that +irresistible brute force which nothing can overcome. + +We repeat it, the position was critical. + +Black-deer was proceeding to the meeting place; he had himself +indicated to the Canadian hunter, and was not more than three or four +leagues from the spot where he expected to find him, when his practised +ear caught the sound of the mad chase of the buffaloes. Five minutes had +sufficed for him to recognize the imminence of the danger his friend +incurred; with that rapidity of decision which characterizes Redskins in +extreme cases, he had resolved to warn his friend, and to save or perish +with him. He had then rushed forward, leaping with headlong speed over +the space that separated him from the place of meeting, having only one +thought, that of distancing the manada, so that the hunter might escape. +Unhappily, however quickly he went--and the Indians are remarkable for +their fabulous agility--he had not been able to arrive soon enough to +save his friend. + +"When the Chief, after warning the hunter, recognized the futility of +his efforts, a sudden change took place in him. His features reassumed +their old stoicism; a sad smile played round his mocking lips, and he +sank to the ground, muttering, in a hollow voice-- + +"The Wacondah would not permit it." + +But Tranquil did not accept the position with the same resignation and +fatalism, for he belonged to that race of energetic men whose powerful +character causes them to struggle to their dying breath. + +When he saw that the Redskin, with the fatalism peculiar to his race, +gave up the contest for life, he resolved to make a supreme effort, and +attempt impossibilities. + +About twenty yards in front of the spot where the hunter had established +his bivouac, were several trees lying on the ground, dead, and, as it +were, piled on each other; then, behind this species of breastwork a +clump of five or six oaks grew, isolated from all the rest, and formed a +sort of oasis in the midst of the sand on the river bank. + +"Quick!" the hunter shouted. "Quoniam, pick up as much dead wood as you +can find, and come here. Chief, do the same." + +The two men obeyed without comprehending, but reassured by their +comrade's coolness. + +In a few minutes a considerable pile of dead wood was piled over the +fallen oaks. + +"Good!" the hunter exclaimed; "By Heaven! All is not lost yet--take +courage!" + +Then, carrying to this improvised bonfire the remains of the fire he had +lit at his bivouac, to defeat the night cold, he enlarged the flames +with resinous matters, and in less than five minutes a large column rose +whirling to the clouds, and soon formed a dense curtain more than ten +yards in width. + +"Back! back!" the hunter then shouted,--"follow me." + +Black-deer and Quoniam dashed after him. + +The Canadian did not go far; on reaching the clump of trees we have +alluded to, he clambered up the largest with unparalleled skill and +agility, and soon he and his comrades found themselves perched a height +of fifty feet in the air, comfortably lodged on strong branches, and +completely concealed by the foliage. + +"There," the Canadian said, with the utmost coolness, "this is our last +resource; so soon as the column appears, fire at the leaders; if the +flash startles the buffaloes, we are saved; if not, we shall only have +death to await. But, at any rate, we shall have done all that was +humanly possible to save our lives." + +The fire kindled by the hunter had assumed gigantic proportions; it had +extended from tree to tree, lighting up the grass and shrubs, and though +too remote from the forest to kindle it, it soon formed a curtain of +flames nearly a quarter of a mile in length, whose reddish gleam tinged +the sky for a long distance, and gave the landscape a character of +striking and savage grandeur. + +From the spots where the hunters had sought shelter they commanded this +ocean of flame, which could not reach them, and completely hovered over +its furnace. + +All at once a terrible crash was heard, and the vanguard of the manada +appeared on the skirt of the forest. + +"Look out!" the hunter shouted, as he shouldered his rifle. + +The buffaloes, startled by the sight of this wall of flame that rose +suddenly before them, dazzled by the glare, and at the same time burned +by its extreme heat, hesitated for an instant, as if consulting, but +then rushed forward with blind fury, and uttering snorts of fury. + +Three shots were fired. + +The three leading buffaloes fell and rolled in the agonies of death. + +"We are lost!" Tranquil said, coldly. + +The buffaloes still advanced. + +But soon the heat became insupportable; the smoke, driven in the +direction of the manada by the wind, blinded the animals; then a +reaction was effected; there was a delay, soon followed by a recoil. + +The hunters, with panting breasts, followed anxiously the strange +interludes of this terrible scene. A question of life or death for them +was being decided at this moment, and their existence only hung on a +thread. + +In the meanwhile the mass still pushed onward. The animals that led the +manada could not resist the pressure of those that followed them; they +were thrown down and trampled underfoot by the rear, but the latter, +assailed in their turn by the heat, also tried to turn back. At this +moment some of the buffaloes diverged to the right and left; this was +enough, the others followed them: two currents were established on +either side the fire, and the manada cut in two, overflowed like a +torrent that has burst its dykes, rejoining on the bank, and crossing +the stream in close column. + +Terrible was the spectacle presented by this manada flying in horror, +pursued by wild beasts, and enclosing, amid its ranks, the fire kindled +by the hunter, and which seemed like a gloomy lighthouse intended to +indicate the track. + +They soon plunged into the stream, which they crossed in a straight +line, and their long serried columns glided up the other bank, where the +head of the manada speedily disappeared. + +The hunters were saved by the coolness and presence of mind of the +Canadian; still, for nearly two hours longer, they remained Concealed +among the branches that sheltered them. + +The buffaloes continued to pass on their right and left. The fire had +gone out through lack of nourishment, but the direction had been given, +and, on reaching the fire, which was now but a pile of ashes, the column +separated of its own accord into two parts. + +At length, the rearguard made its appearance, harassed by the jaguars +that leaped on their back and flank, and then all was over. The desert, +whose silence had been temporarily disturbed, fell back into its usual +calmness, and merely a wide track made through the heart of the forest, +and covered with fallen trees, testified to the furious passage of this +disorderly herd. + +The hunters breathed again; now they could without danger leave their +airy fortress, and go back again to earth. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BLACK-DEER. + + +So soon as the three rangers descended, they collected the scattered +logs, in order to rekindle the fire over which they would cook their +breakfast. + +As there was no lack of provisions, they had no occasion to draw on +their own private resources; several buffaloes that lay lifeless on the +ground offered them the most succulent meal known in the desert. + +While Tranquil was engaged in getting a buffalo hump ready, the Black +and Redskin examined each other with a curiosity revealed in +exclamations of surprise from both sides. + +The Negro laughed like a maniac on remarking the strange appearance of +the Indian warrior, whose face was painted of four different colours, +and who wore a costume so strange in the eyes of Quoniam; for that +worthy, as he himself said, had never before come in contact with +Indians. + +The other manifested his astonishment in a different way: after standing +for a long time motionless, and watching the Negro, he walked up to him, +and not uttering a word, seized Quoniam's arm, and began rubbing it with +all his strength with the skirt of his buffalo robe. + +The Negro, who at the outset readily indulged the Indian's whims, soon +began to grow impatient; he tried at first to liberate himself, but was +unable to succeed, for the Chief held him firmly, and conscientiously +went on with his singular operation. In the meanwhile, the Negro, whom +this continued rubbing was beginning not merely to annoy, but cause +terrible suffering, began uttering frequent yells, while making the most +tremendous efforts to escape from his pitiless torturer. + +Tranquil's attention was aroused by Quoniam's cries; he threw up his +head smartly, and ran up at full speed to deliver the Negro, who was +rolling his eyes in terror, leaping from one side to the other, and +yelling like a condemned man. + +"Why does my brother torture that man so?" the Canadian asked as he +interposed. + +"I?" the Chief asked in surprise, "I am not torturing him; his disguise +is not necessary, so I am removing it." + +"What! My disguise?" Quoniam shouted. + +Tranquil made him a sign to be silent. + +"This man is not disguised," he continued. + +"Why, then, has he painted all his body in this way?" the Chief asked +obstinately, "Warriors only paint their face." + +The hunter could not repress a burst of laughter. + +"My brother is mistaken," he said, so soon as he recovered his +seriousness; "this man belongs to a separate race; the Wacondah has +given him a black skin, in the same way as he made my brother's red, and +mine white; all the brothers of this man are of his colour; the great +Spirit has willed it so, in order that they may not be confused with the +Redskin nations and the Palefaces; if my brother look at his buffalo +robe, he will see that not the least bit of black has come off on it." + +"Wah!" the Indian said, letting his head sink, like a man placed before +an insoluble problem; "the Wacondah can do everything!" + +And he mechanically obeyed the hunter by taking a peep at the tail of +his robe, which he had not yet thought of letting go. + +"Now," Tranquil went on, "be kind enough to regard this man as a friend, +and do for him what you would do, if wanted, for me, and I shall feel +under the greatest obligations to you." + +The Chief bowed gracefully, and held out his hand to the Negro. + +"The words of my brother the hunter warble in my ears with the sweetness +of the song of the _centzontle,"_ he said. "Black-deer is a Sachem of +his nation, his tongue is not forked, and the words his chest breathes +are clear, for they come from his heart; Black-face will have his place +at the Council fire of the Pawnees, for from this moment he is the +friend of a Chief." + +Quoniam bowed to the Indian, and warmly returned the pressure of his +hand. + +"I am only a poor black," he said, "but my heart is pure, and the blood +is as red in my veins as if I were Indian or white; both of you have a +right to ask my life of me, and I will give it you joyfully." + +After this mutual exchange of assurances of friendship, the three men +sat down on the ground, and began their breakfast. + +Owing to the excitement of the morning, the three adventurers had a +ferocious appetite; they did honour to the buffalo hump, which +disappeared almost entirely before their repeated attacks, and which +they washed down with a few horns of water mixed with rum, of which +liquor Tranquil had a small stock in a gourd, hanging from his waist +belt. + +When the meal was ended, pipes were lighted, and each began smoking, +silently, with the gravity peculiar to men who live in the woods. + +When the Chief's pipe was ended, he shook out the ashes on his left +thumbnail, passed the stem through his belt, and turned to Tranquil, + +"Will my brothers hold a council?" he asked. + +"Yes," the Canadian answered: "when I left you on the Upper Missouri, at +the end of the Moon of the burned fruit (July), you gave me the meeting +at the creek of the dead oaks of the Elk River, on the tenth day of the +Moon of the falling leaves (September), two hours before sunrise: both +of us were punctual, and I am now waiting till it please you to explain +to me, Chief, why you gave me this meeting." + +"My brother is correct, Black-deer will speak." + +After uttering these words, the Indian's face seemed to grow dark, and +he fell into a profound reverie, which his comrades respected by +patiently waiting till he spoke again. + +At length, after about a quarter of an hour, the Indian Chief passed his +hand over his brow several times, raised his head, took a searching +glance around, and made up his mind to speak, though in a low and +restrained voice, as if, even on the desert, he feared lest his words +might fall on hostile ears. + +"My brother the hunter has known me since child-hood," he said, "for he +was brought up by the Sachems of my nation: hence I will say nothing of +myself. The great Paleface hunter has an Indian heart in his breast; +Black-deer will speak to him as a brother to a brother. Three moons ago, +the Chief was following with his friend the elks and the deer on the +prairies of the Missouri, when a Pawnee warrior arrived at full speed, +took the Chief aside, and spoke with him privately for long hours; does +my brother remember this?" + +"Perfectly, Chief; I remember that after the conversation Blue Fox, for +that was the name of the Chief, set off as rapidly as he had come, and +my brother, who till then had been gay and cheerful, became suddenly +sad. In spite of the questions I addressed to my brother he could not +tell me the cause of this sudden grief, and on the morrow, at sunrise, +he left me, giving me the meeting here for this day." + +"Yes," the Indian said, "that is exact. Things happened so; but what I +could not then tell, I will now impart to my brother." + +"My ears are open," the hunter replied, with a bow. "I fear that, +unfortunately, my brother has only bad news to tell me." + +"My brother shall judge," he said. "This is what Blue Fox came to tell +me. One day a Paleface of the Long Knives of the West arrived on the +banks of Elk River, where stood the village of the Snake Pawnees, +followed by some thirty warriors of the Palefaces, several women, and +large medicine lodges, drawn by buffaloes without humps or manes. This +Paleface halted two arrow shots' lengths from the village of my nation, +on the opposite bank, lit his fires, and camped. My father, as my +brother knows, was the first sachem of the tribe. He mounted his horse +and, followed by several warriors, crossed the river and presented +himself to the stranger, in order to bid him welcome on the hunting +grounds of our nation, and offer him the refreshments he might have need +of. + +"This Paleface was a man of lofty stature, with harsh and marked +features. The snow of several winters had whitened his scalp. He began +laughing at my father's words, and replied to him--'Are you the chief of +the Redskins of this village?' 'Yes,' said my father. Then the Paleface +took from his clothes a great necklace, on which strange figures were +drawn, and showing it to my father, said, 'Your Pale Grandfather of the +United States has given me the property in all the land stretching from +Antelope's Fall to Buffalo Lake. This,' he added, as he struck the +necklace with the back of his hand, 'proves my title.' + +"My father and the warriors who accompanied him burst into a laugh. + +"'Our Pale Grandfather,' he answered, 'cannot give what does not belong +to him. The land of which you speak has been the hunting ground of my +nation ever since the great tortoise came out of the sea to support the +world on its shell.' + +"'I do not understand what you say to me,' the Paleface continued. 'I +only know that this land has been given to me; and that, if you do not +consent to withdraw and leave me to the full enjoyment of it, I possess +the means to compel you.'" + +"Yes," Tranquil interrupted, "such is the system of those men--murder +and rapine." + +"My father retired," the Indian continued, "under the blow of this +threat. The warriors immediately took up arms, the women were hidden in +a cave, and the tribe prepared for resistance. The next morning, at +daybreak, the Palefaces crossed the river and attacked the village. The +fight was long and obstinate. It lasted the whole period contained +between two suns. But what could poor Indians do against Palefaces armed +with rifles? They were conquered and forced to take to flight. Two hours +later, their village was reduced to ashes, and the bones of their +ancestors cast to the four winds. My father was killed in the battle." + +"Oh!" the Canadian exclaimed, sadly. + +"That is not all," the Chief went on. "The Palefaces discovered the cave +where the women of my tribe were sheltered; and nearly all--for about a +dozen contrived to escape with their papooses--were coldly massacred, +with all the refinements of the most horrible barbarity." + +After uttering these words, the Chief hid his head on his buffalo robe, +and his comrades heard the sobs he tried in vain to stifle. + +"Such," he went on a moment later, "was the news Blue Fox communicated +to me. 'My father died in his arms, leaving his vengeance as my +inheritance. My brothers, pursued like wild beasts by their ferocious +enemies, and compelled to hide themselves in the most impenetrable +forests, had elected me as Chief. I accepted, making the warriors of my +nation swear to avenge themselves on the Palefaces, who had seized our +village and massacred our brothers. Since our parting, I have not lost a +moment in collecting all the means of revenge. To-day all is ready. The +Palefaces have gone to sleep in a deceitful security, and their +awakening shall be terrible. Will my brother follow me?'" + +"Yes, by Heaven! I will follow you, Chief, and help you with all my +ability," Tranquil answered, resolutely, "for your cause is just; but +on one condition." + +"My brother can speak." + +"The law of the desert says, 'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth,' it is +true; but you can avenge yourself without dishonouring your victory by +useless barbarity. Do not follow the example given you, but be humane, +Chief; and the Great Spirit will smile on your efforts and be favourable +to you." + +"Black-deer is not cruel," the Chief answered. "He leaves that to the +Palefaces. He only wishes to be just." + +"What you say is noble, Chief; and I am happy to hear you speak thus; +but are your measures well taken? Is your force large enough to ensure +success? You know that the Palefaces are numerous, and never allow one +aggressor to pass unpunished. Whatever may happen, you have to expect +terrible reprisals." + +The Indian smiled disdainfully. "The Long Knives of the West are +cowardly dogs and rabbits. The squaws of the Pawnees will make them +petticoats," he answered. "Black-deer will go with his tribe to settle +on the great prairies of the Comanches, who will receive them as +brothers, and the Palefaces of the West will not know where to find +them." + +"That is a good idea, Chief; but, since you have been driven from your +village, have you not kept spies round the Americans, in order to be +informed of their actions? that was important for the success of your +further plans." + +Black-deer smiled, but made no other answer, whence the Canadian +concluded that the Redskin had, with the sagacity and prudence which +characterize his race, taken all the necessary precautions to insure +the success of the blow he was about to deal at the new clearing. + +Tranquil, owing to his semi-Indian education, and the hereditary hatred +which, as a true Canadian, he bore to the Anglo-Saxon race, was +perfectly well inclined to help the Pawnee Chief in taking an exemplary +vengeance on the Americans for the insults he had received at their +hands; but with that correctness of judgment which formed the basis of +his character, he did not wish to let the Indians indulge in those +atrocious cruelties, to which they only too often yield in the first +intoxication of victory. Hence the determination he formed had a double +object--in the first place, to insure as far as he could the success of +his friends, and, secondly, to employ all the influence he possessed +over them, to restrain them after the battle, and prevent them satiating +their vengeance on the conquered, and, above all, on the women and +children. + +As we have seen, he did not attempt to conceal his object from +Black-deer, and laid down as the first condition of his co-operation, +which the Indians would be delighted to receive, that no unnecessary +cruelty should be committed. + +Quoniam, for his part, did not make any stipulation; a natural enemy of +the Whites, and specially of the North Americans, he eagerly seized the +occasion of dealing them as much injury as possible, and avenging +himself for the ill treatment he had experienced, without taking the +trouble to reflect that the people he was about to fight were innocent +in the matter of his wrong; these individuals were North Americans, and +that reason was more than sufficient to justify, in the sight of the +vindictive Negro, the conduct he proposed to carry out when the moment +arrived. + +After a few minutes the Canadian spoke again. + +"Where are your warriors?" he asked the Chief. + +"I left them three suns' march from the spot where we now are; if my +brother has nothing to keep him longer here, we will set out +immediately, in order to join them as soon as possible, for my return is +impatiently expected by the warriors." + +"Let us go," the Canadian said; "the day is not yet far advanced, and it +is needless for us to waste our time in chattering like curious old +women." + +The three men rose, drew on their belts, walked hastily along the path +formed by the manada through the forest, and soon disappeared under its +covert. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE CLAIM. + + +We will now leave our three travellers for a while, and employing our +privilege of narrator, transfer the scene of our story a few hundred +miles away, to a rich and verdant valley of the Upper Missouri, that +majestic river, with its bright and limpid waters, on the banks of which +now stand so many flourishing towns and villages, and which magnificent +steamboats furrow in every direction, but which, at the period when our +story opens, was almost unknown, and only reflected in the mirror of its +waters the lofty and thick frondage of the gloomy and mysterious virgin +forests that covered its banks. + +At the extremity of a fork, formed by two rather large affluents of the +Missouri, stretches out a vast valley, bordered on one side by abrupt +mountains, and on the other by a long line of wooded hills. + +This valley, almost entirely covered with thick forests, full of game of +every description, was a favourite gathering-place of the Pawnee +Indians, a numerous tribe of whom, the Snakes, had established their +abode in the angle of the fork, in order to be nearer their +hunting-grounds. The Indian village was rather large, for it counted +nearly three hundred and fifty fires, which is enormous for Redskins, +who usually do not like to collect in any considerable number, through +fear of suffering from famine. But the position of the village was so +well chosen, that in this instance the Indians had gone out of their +usual course; in fact, on one side the forest supplied them with more +game than they could consume; on the other, the river abounded with +deliciously tasted fish of every description; while the surrounding +prairies were covered throughout the year with a tall close grass, that +supplied excellent pasturage for their horses. + +For several centuries the Snake Pawnees had been settled in this happy +valley, which, owing to its sheltered position on all sides, enjoyed a +soft climate, exempt from those great atmospheric perturbations which so +frequently disturb the high American latitudes. The Indians lived there +quiet and unknown, occupying themselves with hunting and fishing, and +sending annually small bodies of their young men to follow the +war-trail, under the most renowned chiefs of the nation. + +All at once this peaceful existence was hopelessly disturbed; murder and +arson spread like a sinister winding-sheet over the valley; the village +was utterly destroyed, and the inhabitants were pitilessly massacred. + +The North Americans had at length gained knowledge of this unknown Eden, +and, in their usual way announced their presence on this remote nook of +earth, and their taking possession of it by theft, rapine, and +assassination. + +We will not repeat here the story Black-deer told the Canadian, but +confine ourselves to the assertion that it was in every point true, and +that the Chief, in telling it, far from rendering it more gloomy by +emphatic exaggeration, had, on the contrary, toned it down with uncommon +justice and impartiality. + +We will enter this valley three months after the arrival of the +Americans which proved so fatal to the Redskins, and describe, in a few +words, the way in which they formerly had established themselves on the +territory from which they so cruelly expelled the legitimate owners. + +Hardly had they become uncontested owners of the soil, than they +commenced what is called a clearing. + +The government of the United States had, about forty years ago, and +probably still has, a habit of requiting the services of old officers, +by making them concessions of land on those frontiers of the Republic +most threatened by the Indians. This custom had the double advantage of +gradually extending the limits of the American territory by driving back +the Indians into the desert, and of not abandoning in their old days +soldiers who during the greater portion of their life had shed their +blood nobly for their country. + +Captain James Watt was the son of an officer who distinguished himself +in the war of Independence. Colonel Lionel Watt, aide-de-camp to +Washington, had fought by the side of that celebrated founder of the +Republic in all the battles against the English. Seriously wounded at +the siege of Boston, he had been, to his great regret, compelled to +retire into private life; but, faithful to his principles, so soon as +his son James reached his twentieth year, he made him take his place +under the flag. + +At the period when we bring him on the scene, James Watt was a man of +about five-and-forty, although he appeared at least ten years older, +owing to the incessant fatigue of the exacting profession in which his +youth had been passed. + +He was a man of five feet eight, powerfully built, with broad shoulders, +dry, muscular, and endowed with an iron health; his face, whose lines +were extremely rigid, was imprinted with that expression of energetic +will, blended with carelessness, which is peculiar to those men whose +existence has been only one continual succession of dangers surmounted. +His short grey hair, his bronzed complexion, black and piercing eyes, +his well-chiselled mouth, gave his face an expression of inflexible +severity, which was not deficient in grandeur. + +Captain Watt, who had been married for two years past to a charming +young lady he adored, was father of two children, a son and daughter. + +His wife, Fanny by name, was a distant relation of his. She was a +brunette, with exquisite blue eyes, and was most gentle and modest. +Although much younger than her husband, for she was not yet +two-and-twenty, Fanny felt for him the deepest and sincerest affection. + +When the old soldier found himself a father, and began to experience the +intimate joys of a family life, a revolution was effected in him; he +suddenly took a disgust to his profession, and only desired the tranquil +joys of home. + +James Watt was one of those men with whom it is only one step from the +conception to the execution of a plan. Hence, no sooner had the idea of +retiring from the service occurred to him than he at once carried it +out, resisting all the objections and remonstrances his friends raised. + +Still, although the Captain was inclined to retire into private life, he +did not mean to put off military harness and assume a citizen's coat. +The monotonous life of Union towns had nothing very seductive for an old +soldier, for whom excitement and movement had been the normal condition +almost from his birth. + +Consequently, after ripe reflection, he stopped half way, which, in his +opinion, would remedy the excessive simplicity and peace a citizen life +might have for him. + +This was to be effected by asking for a claim on the Indian border, +clearing it with the help of his servants, and living there happy and +busy, like a mediæval lord among his vassals. + +This idea pleased the Captain the more, because he fancied that in this +way he should still be serving his country, as he would lay the +foundation of future prosperity, and develop the first traces of +civilization in a district still given up to all the horrors of +barbarity. + +The Captain had long been engaged with his company in defending the +frontier of the Union against the incessant depredations of the +Redskins, and preventing their incursions; hence he had a +knowledge--superficial it is true, but sufficient--of Indian manners, +and the means he must employ not to be disturbed by these restless +neighbours. + +During the course of the numerous expeditions which the service had +compelled him to make, the Captain had visited many fertile valleys, +and many territories, the appearance of which had pleased him; but there +was one above all, the memory of which had been obstinately engraved on +his mind--a delicious valley he had seen one day as in a dream, after a +hunting expedition, made in company of a wood-ranger--an excursion which +lasted three weeks, and had insensibly taken him further into the desert +than ever civilized man had gone before. + +Though he had not seen this valley again for more than twenty years, he +remembered it as if he had seen it but yesterday--recalling it, as it +were, in its minutest details. And this obstinacy of his memory in +constantly bringing before him this nook of earth, had ended by +affecting the Captain's imagination to such a degree, that when he +resolved to leave the service and ask for a claim, it was to this place +and no other that he was determined to go. + +James Watt had numerous friends in the offices of the Presidency; +besides, the services of his father and himself spoke loudly in his +favour: hence he experienced no difficulty in obtaining the claim he +requested. + +Several plans were shewn him, drawn up by order of government, and he +was invited to select the territory that suited him best. + +But the Captain had chosen the one he wanted long before; he rejected +the plans shewn him, produced from his pocket a wide slip of tanned elk +hide, unrolled it, and shewed it to the Commissioner of Claims, telling +him he wanted this, and no other. + +The Commissioner was a friend of the Captain, and could not refrain from +a start of terror on hearing his request. + +This claim was situated in the heart of the Indian territory, more than +four hundred miles from the American border. The Captain wished to +commit an act of madness, of suicide; it would be impossible for him to +hold his ground among the warlike tribes that would surround him on all +sides; a month would not elapse ere he would be piteously massacred, as +must be his family and those servants who were mad enough to follow him. + +To all these objections, which his friend piled up one atop of the +other, in order to make him change his opinion, the Captain only replied +by a shake of the head, accompanied by a smile, which proved that his +mind was irrevocably made up. + +At length, the Commissioner being driven into his last intrenchments, +told him point-blank that it was impossible to grant him this claim, as +the territory belonged to the Indians, and, moreover, a tribe had built +its village there since time immemorial. + +The Commissioner had kept this argument to the last, feeling convinced +that the Captain could find no answer, and would be compelled to change, +or, at least, modify his plans. + +He was mistaken; the worthy Commissioner was not so well acquainted with +his friend's character as he might fancy. + +The latter, not at all affected by the triumphant gesture with which the +Commissioner concluded his speech, coolly drew from another pocket a +second slip of tanned deer-hide, which he handed his friend, without +saying a word. + +The latter took it with an inquiring glance, but the Captain merely +nodded to him to look at it. + +The Commissioner unrolled it with marked hesitation; from the old +soldier's behaviour he suspected that this document contained a +peremptory answer. + +In fact, he had scarce looked at it, ere he threw it on the table with a +violent movement of ill humour. + +This slip of deer-skin contained the sale of the valley and the +surrounding territory made by Itsichaichè or Monkey-face, one of the +principal sachems of the Snake Pawnees, in his name and that of the +other chiefs of the nation, in exchange for fifty muskets, fourteen +dozen scalping-knives, sixty pounds of gunpowder, sixty pounds of +bullets, two barrels of whisky, and twenty-three complete militia +uniforms. + +Each of the chiefs had placed his hieroglyphic at the foot of the deed, +beneath that of Monkey-face. + +We will say at once that this deed was false, and the Captain in the +affair was the perfect dupe of Monkey-face. + +This chief, who had been expelled from the tribe of Snake Pawnees for +various causes, as we shall reveal at the proper moment, had forged the +deed, first to rob the Captain, and next to avenge himself on his +countrymen; for he knew perfectly well that if the Captain received +authority from his government he would seize the valley, whatever the +consequences of this spoliation might be. The only condition the Captain +made was, that the Redskin should act as his guide, which he consented +to do without any hesitation. + +When the deed of sale was laid before him, the Commissioner was forced +to confess himself beaten, and _nolens volens_ grant the authority so +obstinately solicited by the Captain. + +When all the documents were duly registered, signed, and sealed, the +Captain began his preparations for departure without further delay. + +Mrs. Watts loved her husband too well to offer any objections to the +execution of his plans. Brought up herself on a clearing at no great +distance from the Indian border, she had become familiarized with the +savages, whom the habit of constantly seeing caused her no longer to +fear them; besides, she cared little where she lived, so long as she had +her husband by her side. + +Quite calm as regarded his wife, the Captain therefore set to work with +all that feverish activity which distinguished him. + +America is a land of prodigies; it is, perhaps, the only country in the +world where it is possible to find between to-day and the morrow the men +and things indispensable for carrying out the maddest and most eccentric +projects. + +The Captain did not deceive himself in the slightest as to the probable +consequences of the resolution he had formed; hence he wished, as far as +was possible, to guard against any eventualities, and ensure the +security of the persons who would accompany him to his claim, the first +among these being his wife and children. + +His selection, however, did not take him long: among his old comrades +many wished for nothing better than to follow him, at the head of them +being an old sergeant of the name of Walter Bothrel, who had served +under him for more than fifteen years, and who, at the first news of his +Chief's retirement, went to him and said that as his Captain was leaving +the service, he did not care to remain in it, and the only favour he +asked was leave to accompany him wherever he went. + +Bothrel's offer was gladly accepted by the Captain, for he knew the +value of the sergeant, who was a sort of bull-dog for fidelity, a man +of tried courage, and one on whom he could entirely count. + +To the sergeant Captain Watt entrusted the duty of enrolling the +detachment of hunters he intended to take with him, in order to defend +the new colony, if the Redskins took it into their head to attack it. + +Bothrel carried out his instructions with the intelligent consciousness +he displayed in all matters, and he soon found in the Captain's own +company thirty resolute and devoted men, only too glad to follow the +fortunes of their ex-Chief, and attach themselves to him. + +On his side, the Captain had engaged some fifteen workmen of every +description, blacksmiths, carpenters, &c., who signed an undertaking to +serve him five years, after which they would become tenants at a small +rental of farms the Captain would give them, and which would become +their own property on the expiration of a further term of years. + +All the preparations being at length terminated, the colonists, +amounting to fifty men, and about a dozen females, at length set out for +the claim in the middle of May, taking with them a long pile of waggons +loaded with stores of every description, and a large herd of cattle, +intended to provision the colony, as well as for breeding purposes. + +Monkey-face acted as guide, as had been arranged. To do the Indian the +justice due to him, we will say that he conscientiously performed the +duty he undertook; and that during a journey of nearly three months +across a desert infested by wild beasts and traversed in every direction +by Indian hordes, he managed to save those he led from the majority of +the dangers that menaced them at each step. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +MONKEY-FACE. + + +We have seen in what summary manner the Captain seized on the territory +conceded to him. We will now explain how he established himself there, +and the precautions he took not to be disturbed by the Indians he had so +brutally dispossessed, and who, he judged from his knowledge of their +vindictive character, would probably not yet consider themselves beaten, +but might begin at any moment the attempt to take a sanguinary and +terrible vengeance for the insults put upon them. + +The fight with the Indians had been rude and obstinate, but, thanks to +Monkey-face, who revealed to the Captain the weakest points of the +village, and especially the superiority of the American fire-arms, the +Indians were at length compelled to take to flight, and abandon all they +possessed to the conquerors. + +It was a wretched booty, consisting only of animal skins, and a few +vessels made of coarse clay. + +The Captain, no sooner master of the place, began his work, and laid the +foundation stone of the new colony; for he understood the necessity of +protecting himself as quickly as possible against a _coup-de-main_. + +The site of the village was completely freed from the ruins that +encumbered it; the labourers then began levelling the ground, and +digging a ditch six yards wide, and four deep, which was connected on +one side by means of a drain with the affluent of the Missouri, on the +other with the river itself; behind this ditch, and on the wall formed +of the earth dug out of it, a line of stakes was planted, twelve feet +high, and fastened together by iron bands, almost invisible interstices +being left, through which a rifle barrel could be thrust and discharged +under covert. In this entrenchment a gate was made large enough for a +waggon to pass, and which communicated with the exterior by a +drawbridge, which was pulled up at sunset. + +These preliminary precautions taken, an extent of about four thousand +square yards was thus surrounded by water, and defended by palisades on +all sides, excepting on the face turned to the Missouri, for the width +and depth of that river offered a sufficient guarantee of security. + +It was in the free space to which we have just alluded, that the Captain +began building the houses and offices for the colony. + +At the outset these buildings were to be made of wood, as is usually the +case in all clearings, that is to say, of trees with the bark left on +them; and there was no lack of wood, for the forest was scarce a hundred +yards from the colony. + +The works were pushed on with such activity, that two months after the +Captain's arrival at the spot all the buildings were finished, and the +interior arrangements almost completed. + +In the centre of the colony, on an elevation made for the purpose, a +species of octagonal tower, about seventy feet in height, was erected, +of which the roof was flat, and which was divided into three storeys. At +the bottom were the kitchen and offices, while the upper rooms were +allotted to the members of the family, that is to say, the Captain and +his lady, the two nursemaids, young and hearty Kentuckians, with rosy +and plump cheeks, called Betsy and Emma; Mistress Margaret, the cook, a +respectable matron entering on her ninth lustre, though she only +confessed to five-and-thirty, and still had some pretence to beauty, +and, lastly, to Sergeant Bothrel. This tower was closed with a stout +iron-lined door, and in the centre was a wicket to reconnoitre visitors. + +About ten yards from the tower, and communicating with it by a +subterraneous passage, were the log huts of the hunters, the workmen, +the neatherds, and labourers. + +After these, again came the stables and cow houses. + +In addition, scattered here and there, were large barns and granaries +intended to receive the produce of the colony. + +But all these different buildings were arranged so as to be isolated, +and so far from each other, that in the event of fire, the loss of one +building need not absolutely entail that of the rest; several wells were +also dug at regular distances, so as to have abundance of water, without +the necessity of fetching it from the river. + +In a word, we may say that the Captain, as an old experienced soldier, +accustomed to all the tricks of border warfare, had taken the minutest +precautions to avoid not merely an attack, but a surprise. + +Three months had elapsed since the settlement of the Americans; this +valley, hitherto uncultivated, and covered with forests, was now in +great part ploughed up; clearings effected on a large scale had removed +the forest more than a mile from the colony; all offered the image of +prosperity and comfort at a spot where, so shortly before, the +carelessness of the Redskins allowed nature to produce at liberty the +small stock of fodder needed for their beasts. + +Inside the colony, all offered the most lively and busy sight; while +outside, the cattle pastured under the care of mounted and well-armed +herds, and the trees fell beneath the blows of the axemen; inside, all +the workshops were in full activity, long columns of smoke rose from the +forges, the noise of hammers was mingled with the whirring of the saw; +on the river bank, enormous piles of planks stood near others composed +of fire-wood; several boats were tied up, and from time to time the +shots of the hunters could be heard, who were carrying out a battue in +the woods in order to stock the colony with deer-meat. + +It was about four in the afternoon, and the Captain, mounted on a +magnificent black horse, with four white stockings, was ambling across a +freshly-cleared prairie. + +A smile of quiet satisfaction played over the old soldier's stern face +at the sight of the prodigious change his will and feverish activity had +effected in so short a time on this unknown corner of earth, which must, +however, in no remote future, acquire a great commercial importance, +owing to its position; he was approaching the colony, when a man, +hitherto hidden behind a pile of roots and bushes heaped up to dry, +suddenly appeared at his side. + +The Captain repressed a start of anger on perceiving this man, in whom +he recognised Monkey-face. + +We will say here a few words about this man, who is destined to play a +rather important part in the course of our narrative. + +Itsichaichè was a man of forty, tall, and well proportioned; he had a +crafty face, lit up by two little gimlet eyes; his vulture-beaked nose, +his wide mouth, with its thin and retiring lips, gave him a cunning and +ugly look, which, in spite of the cautious and cat-like obsequiousness +of his manner, and the calculated gentleness of his voice, inspired +those whom accident brought in contact with him with an impulsive +repugnance which nothing could overcome. + +Contrary to the usual state of things, the habit of seeing him, instead +of diminishing, and causing this unpleasant feeling to disappear, only +increased it. + +He had conscientiously and honestly performed his contract in leading +the Americans, without any obstacle, to the spot they wished to reach; +but, since that period, he had remained with them, and had, so to speak, +foisted himself on the colony, when he came and went as he pleased, and +no one paid any attention to his actions. + +At times, without saying anything, he would disappear for several days, +then suddenly return, and it was impossible to obtain any information +from him as to where he had been and what he had been doing during his +absence. + +Still, there was one person to whom the Indian's gloomy face constantly +caused a vague terror, and who had been unable to overcome the repulsion +with which he inspired her, although she could give no explanation of +the feeling: this person was Mrs. Watt. Maternal love produces +clearsightedness: the young lady adored her children, and when at times +the Redskin by chance let a careless glance fall on the innocent +creatures, the poor mother shivered in all her limbs, and she hastily +withdrew from the sight of the man the two beings who were all in all to +her. + +At times she tried to make her husband share her fears, but to all her +remarks the Captain merely replied by a significant shrug of his +shoulders, supposing that with time this feeling would wear off and +disappear. Still, as Mrs. Watt constantly returned to the charge with +the obstinacy and perseverance of a person whose ideas are positively +formed and cannot change, the Captain, who had no cause or plausible +reason to defend against the wife he loved and respected, a man for whom +he did not profess the slightest esteem, at length promised to get rid +of him. As, moreover, the Indian had been absent from the colony for +several days, he determined immediately on his return to ask for an +explanation of his mysterious conduct, and if the other did not reply in +a plain and satisfactory manner, to tell him that he would not have him +any longer about the settlement, and the sooner he took himself off the +better for all parties. + +Such was the state of the Captain's feelings toward Monkey-face, when +accident brought him across his path at the moment he least expected +him. + +On seeing the Indian, the Captain checked his horse. + +"Is my father visiting the valley?" the Pawnee asked. + +"Yes," was the answer. + +"Oh!" the Indian went on as he looked around him, "All has greatly +changed since the beasts of the Long Knives of the West have been +grazing peacefully on the territories of which they dispossessed the +Snake Pawnees." + +The Indian uttered these words in a sad and melancholy voice, which +caused the Captain some mental anxiety. + +"Is that a regret you are giving vent to, Chief?" he asked him. "If so, +it seems to me very unsuitable from your lips, since it was you who sold +me the territory I occupy." + +"That is true," the Indian said with a shake of his head. "Monkey-face +has no right to complain, for it was he who sold to the Palefaces of the +West the ground where his fathers repose, and where he and his brothers +so often hunted the elk and the jaguar." + +"Hum, Chief, I find you very sad to-day; what is the matter with you? +Did you, on waking this morning find yourself lying on your left side?" +he said, alluding to one of the most accredited superstitions among the +Indians. + +"No," he continued, "the sleep of Monkey-face was exempt from evil +omens, nothing arrived to alter the calmness of his mind." + +"I congratulate you, Chief." + +"My father will give tobacco to his son, in order that he may smoke the +calumet of friendship on his return." + +"Perhaps so, but first I have a question to ask of you." + +"My father can speak, his son's ears are open." + +"It is now a long time, Chief," the Captain continued, "since we have +been established here." + +"Yes, the fourth moon is beginning." + +"Since our arrival, you have left us a great many times without warning +us." + +"Why should I do so? Air and space do not belong to the Palefaces, I +suppose; the Pawnee warrior is at liberty to go where he thinks proper; +he was a renowned Chief in his tribe." + +"All that may be true, Chief, and I do not care about it; but what I do +care about is the safety of my family and the men who accompanied me +here." + +"Well," the Redskin said, "in what way can Monkey-face injure that +safety?' + +"I will tell you, Chief; listen to me attentively, for what you have to +hear is serious." + +"Monkey-face is only a poor Indian," the Redskin answered, ironically; +"the Great Spirit has not given him the clear and subtle mind of the +Palefaces, still he will try to understand my father." + +"You are not so simple as you choose to appear at this moment, Chief; I +am certain you will perfectly understand me, if you only take the +trouble." + +"The Chief will try." + +The Captain repressed a movement of impatience. + +"We are not here in one of the great cities of the American Union, where +the law protects the citizens and guarantees their safety; we are, on +the contrary, on the Redskin territory, far from any other protection +than our own; we have no help to expect from anyone, and are surrounded +by vigilant enemies watching a favourable moment to attack us and +massacre us if they can; it is therefore our duty to watch over our own +safety with the utmost vigilance, for the slightest imprudence would +gravely compromise us. Do you understand me, Chief?" + +"Yes, my father has spoken well; his head is grey; his wisdom is great." + +"I must therefore carefully watch," the Captain continued, "the +movements of all the persons who belong nearly or remotely to the +colony; and when their movements appear to me suspicious, to ask those +explanations which they have no right to refuse me. Now, I am compelled +to confess to you, Chief, with extreme regret, that the life you have +been leading for some time past seems to me more than suspicious. It +has, therefore, attracted my attention, and I expect a satisfactory +answer from you." + +The Redskin had stood unmoved; not a muscle of his face moved; and the +Captain, who watched him closely, could not notice the slightest trace +of emotion on his features. The Indian had expected the question asked +him, and was prepared to answer it. + +"Monkey-face led my father and his children from the great stone +villages of the Long-knives of the West to the spot. Has my father had +any cause to reproach the Chief?" + +"None, I am bound to allow," the Captain answered, frankly; "you did +your duty honestly." + +"Why, then, does a skin now cover my father's heart? and why has +suspicion crept into his mind about a man against whom, as he says +himself, he has not the slightest reproach to bring? Is that the justice +of the Palefaces?" + +"Let us not drift from the question, Chief, or change it, if you please. +I could not follow you through all your Indian circumlocution; I will, +therefore, confine myself to saying that, unless you consent to tell me +frankly the cause of your repeated absences, and give me assured proof +of your innocence, I will have you turned out of the colony, and you +shall never set foot again on the territory I occupy." + +A gleam of hatred flashed from the Redskin's eye; but, immediately +recalling it, he replied, in his softest voice-- + +"Monkey-face is a poor Indian; his brothers have rejected him on account +of his friendship with the Palefaces. He hoped to find among the +Long-knives of the west, in the absence of friendship, gratitude for +service rendered. He is mistaken." + +"That is not the question," the Captain continued impatiently; "will you +answer Yes or No?" + +The Indian drew himself in, and walked up to the speaker close enough to +touch him. + +"And if I refuse?" he said, as he gave him a glance of defiance and +fury. + +"If you refuse, scoundrel! I forbid you ever appearing again before me; +and if you disobey me, I will chastise you with my dog-whip!" + +The Captain had hardly uttered these insulting words ere he repented of +them. He was alone, and unarmed, with a man whom he had mortally +insulted; hence he tried to arrange matters. + +"But Monkey-face," he went on, "is a chief; he is wise; he will answer +me--for he knows that I love him." + +"You lie, dog of the Palefaces!" the Indian yelled, as he ground his +teeth in fury; "you hate me almost as much as I hate you!" + +The Captain, in his exasperation, raised the switch he carried in his +hand; but, at the same moment, the Indian, with a panther-leap, bounded +on to his horse's croup, dragged the Captain out of his stirrups, and +rudely hurled him to the ground. + +"The Palefaces are cowardly old women," he said; "the Pawnee warriors +despise them, and will send them petticoats." + +After uttering these words with a sarcastic accent impossible to +describe, the Indian bent over the horse's neck, let loose the rein, +uttered a fierce yell, and started at full speed, not troubling himself +further about the Captain, whom he left severely bruised by his fall. + +James Watt was not the man to endure such treatment without trying to +revenge himself; he got up as quickly as he could, and shouted, in order +to get together the hunters and wood-cutters scattered over the plain. + +Some of them had seen what had happened, and started at full speed to +help their Captain; but before they reached him, and he could give them +his orders to pursue the fugitive, the latter had disappeared in the +heart of the forest, toward which he had directed his rapid course. + +The hunters, however, at the head of them being Sergeant Bothrel, rushed +in pursuit of the Indian, swearing they would bring him in either dead +or alive. + +The Captain looked after them till he saw them disappear one after the +other in the forest, and then returned slowly to the colony, reflecting +on what had taken place between himself and the Redskin, and his heart +contracted by a gloomy presentiment. + +Something whispered to him that, for Monkey-face, generally so prudent +and circumspect, to have acted as he had done, he must have fancied +himself very strong, and quite certain of impunity. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE DECLARATION OF WAR. + + +There is an incomprehensible fact, which we were many times in a +position to appreciate, during the adventurous course of our lengthened +wanderings in America--that a man will at times feel the approach of a +misfortune, though unable to account for the feeling he suffers from; he +knows that he is menaced, though unable to tell when the peril will +come, or in what way it will arrive; the day seems to grow more gloomy, +the sunbeams lose their brilliancy, external objects assume a mournful +appearance; there are strange murmurs in the air; all, in a word, seems +to feel the impression of a vague and undefined restlessness. + +Though nothing occurred to justify the Captain's fears after his +altercation with the Pawnee, not only he, but the whole population of +the colony felt under the weight of dull terror on the evening of this +day. + +At six o'clock, as usual, the bell was rung to recall the wood-cutters +and herds; all had returned, the beasts were shut up in their respective +stalls, and, apparently, at any rate nothing out of the common troubled +the calm existence of the colonists. + +Sergeant Bothrel and his comrades, who had pursued Monkey-face for +several hours, had only found the horse the Indian so audaciously +carried off, and which he probably abandoned, in order to hide his trail +more effectually. + +Although no Indian sign was visible in the vicinity of the colony, the +Captain, more anxious than he wished to appear, had doubled the sentries +intended to watch over the common safety, and ordered the Sergeant to +patrol round the entrenchments every two hours. + +When all these precautions had been taken, the family and servants +assembled on the ground floor of the tower to spend the evening, as had +been their wont ever since the beginning of the settlement. + +The Captain, sitting in an easy chair by the fire, for the nights were +beginning to become fresh, was reading an old work on Military Tactics, +while Mrs. Watt, with the servants, was engaged in mending the household +linen. + +This evening, however, the Captain, instead of reading, seemed to be +thinking profoundly, with his arms crossed on his chest, and his eyes +fixed on the fire. + +At last he raised his head, and turned to his wife-- + +"Do you not hear the children crying?" he said. + +"I really do not know what is the matter with them to-day," she +answered, "for we cannot quiet them; Betsy has been with them for more +than an hour, and has not been able to get them to sleep." + +"You should go yourself, my dear, that would be more proper than leaving +these things to the care of a servant." + +Mrs. Watt went out without answering, and her voice could soon be heard +on the upper floor, where was the children's room. + +"So, Sergeant," the Captain went on, addressing the old soldier, who was +busy in a corner mending a yoke, "you found it impossible to catch up +that accursed heathen, who threw me so roughly this morning?" + +"We could not even see him, Captain," the Sergeant replied: "these +Indians are like lizards, they slip through anywhere. Luckily I found +Boston again; the poor brute seemed delighted at seeing me again." + +"Yes, yes. Boston is a noble brute, I should have been vexed to lose +him. The heathen has not wounded him, I hope, for you know that these +demons are accustomed to treat horses badly." + +"There is nothing the matter with him as far as I can see; the Indian +was probably compelled to leap off his back in a hurry upon finding us +so close at his heels." + +"It must be so, Sergeant. Have you examined the neighbourhood +carefully?" + +"With the greatest attention, Captain, but I noticed nothing suspicious. +The Redskins will look twice before attacking us: we gave them too rude +a shaking for them to forget it." + +"I am not of your opinion, Sergeant; the pagans are vindictive; I am +convinced that they would like to avenge themselves on us, and that +some day, before long perhaps, we shall hear them utter their war-yell +in the valley." + +"I do not desire it, it is true; but I believe, if they attempted it, +they would sing small." + +"I think so too; but they would give us a sorrowful surprise, especially +now that, through our labours and our care, we are on the point of +receiving the price of our fatigues, and beginning to see the end of our +troubles." + +"That is true, it would be vexatious, for the losses an attack from +these bandits would entail on us are incalculable." + +"Unluckily, we can only keep on our guard, and it will be impossible for +us to foil the plans which these Red demons are doubtless ruminating +against us. Have you placed the sentinels as I recommended, Sergeant?" + +"Yes, Captain, and I ordered them to display the utmost watchfulness; I +do not believe that the Pawnees can surprise us, however clever they may +be." + +"We cannot take our oath of anything, Sergeant," the Captain answered, +as he shook his head with a doubtful air. + +At this moment, and as if accident wished to confirm his views, the bell +hung outside, and which was used to tell the colonists someone desired +to come in, was rung violently. + +"What does that mean?" the Captain exclaimed, as he looked at a clock on +the wall in front of him; "it is nearly eight o'clock, who can come so +late? Have not all our men returned?" + +"All, Captain, there is no one outside the palisades." James Watt rose, +seized his rifle, and making the Sergeant a sign to follow him, prepared +to go out. + +"Where are you going, my love?" a gentle, anxious voice asked him. + +The Captain turned; his wife had re-entered the keeping room unnoticed +by him. + +"Did you not hear the bell?" he asked her; "someone wishes to come in." + +"Yes, I heard it, dear," she replied; "but do you intend to open the +gate at this hour?" + +"I am the head of this colony, madam," the Captain answered, coldly but +firmly; "and at such an hour as this it is my duty to open the gate, for +there may be danger in doing it, and I must give to all an example of +courage and accomplishment of duty." + +At this moment the bell pealed a second time. + +"Let us go," the Captain added, turning to the Sergeant. + +His wife made no reply. She fell into a chair, pale and trembling with +anxiety. + +In the meanwhile the Captain had gone out, followed by Bothrel and four +hunters, all armed with rifles. + +The night was dark. There was not a star in the heavens, which were +black as ink. Two paces ahead it was impossible to distinguish objects, +and a cold breeze whistled fitfully. Bothrel had taken down a lanthorn +to guide him through the room. + +"How is it," the Captain said, "that the sentry at the drawbridge has +not challenged?" + +"Perhaps he is afraid of giving an alarm, knowing, as he did, that we +should hear the bell from the tower." + +"Hum!" the Captain muttered between his teeth. + +They walked onward. Presently they heard a sound of voices, to which +they listened. It was the sentry speaking. + +"Patience!" he said. "Someone is coming. I see a lanthorn shining. You +will only have a few moments longer to wait, though for your own sake I +recommend you not to stir, or I shall put a bullet into you." + +"Hang it!" a sarcastic voice replied outside, "you have a curious idea +of hospitality in there. No matter, I will wait; so you can raise your +barrel, for I have no idea of carrying your works by myself." + +The Captain reached the intrenchments at this moment. + +"What is it, Bob?" he asked the sentry. + +"I really don't know, Captain," he answered. "There is a man on the edge +of the ditch who insists on coming in." + +"Who are you? What do you want?" the Captain shouted. + +"And pray who may you be?" the stranger replied. + +"I am Captain James Watt, and I warn you that unknown vagabonds are not +allowed to enter here at such an hour. Return at sunrise, and then I may +possibly allow you to come in." + +"Take care what you are about," the stranger said. "Your obstinacy in +causing me to shiver on the brink of this ditch may cost you dearly." + +"Take care yourself," the Captain answered, impatiently. "I am not in +the mood to listen to threats." + +"I do not threaten: I warn you. You have already committed a grave fault +to-day. Do not commit a grave one to-night, by obstinately refusing to +let me come in." + +This answer struck the Captain, and made him reflect. + +"Supposing," he said presently, "I allow you to enter, who guarantees +that you will not betray me? The night is dark, and you may have a large +band with you, which I am unable to see." + +"I have only one companion with me, for whom I answer with my head." + +"Hum!" the Captain remarked, more undecided than ever, "and who will +answer for you?" + +"Myself." + +"Who are you, as you speak our language with such correctness that you +might almost be taken for one of our countrymen?" + +"Well, I am nearly one; for I am a Canadian, and my name is Tranquil." + +"Tranquil!" the Captain exclaimed. "Are you, then, the celebrated +wood-ranger, surnamed the Panther-killer?" + +"I do not know whether I am celebrated, Captain. All I am certain of is, +that I am the man you refer to." + +"If you are really Tranquil, I will allow you to enter; but who is the +man that accompanies you, and for whom you answer?" + +"Black-deer, the first Sachem of the Snake Pawnees." + +"Oh! Oh!" the Captain muttered, "What does he want here?" + +"Let us in, and you will know," + +"Well, be it so," the Captain shouted; "but I warn you that, at the +slightest appearance of treachery, you and your comrade will be +mercilessly killed." + +"And you will be justified in doing it, if I break my word." + +The Captain, after recommending his hunters to hold themselves in +readiness for any event, ordered the drawbridge to be lowered. + +Tranquil and Black-deer entered. + +Both were unarmed, or, at any rate, seemed so. In the presence of such a +proof of confidence, the Captain felt ashamed of his suspicions; and +after the bridge had been raised again, he dismissed his escort, and +only kept Bothrel with him. + +"Follow me," he said to the strangers. + +The latter bowed without further reply, and walked at his side. + +They reached the tower without exchanging a syllable. + +The Captain introduced them into the keeper's room, where Mrs. Watt was +alone, a prey to the most lively anxiety. + +By a sign her husband ordered her to retire. She gave him a suppliant +glance, which he understood, for he did not insist, and she remained +silent in her chair. + +Tranquil had the same calm and open countenance as of yore. Nothing in +his manner seemed to evidence that he had any hostile intentions towards +the colonists. + +Black-deer, on the contrary, was gloomy and stern. The Captain offered +his guests seats by the fire. + +"Be seated, gentlemen," he said. "You must feel the need of warmth. Have +you come to me as friends or foes?" + +"It is more easy to ask that question than answer it," the hunter said, +honestly; "up to the present our intentions are kindly; you will decide +yourself, Captain, as to the terms on which we shall leave you." + +"In any case, you will not refuse some slight refreshment?" + +"For the present, I must ask you to excuse us," Tranquil replied, who +appeared to be spokesman for himself and friend; "it is better, I think, +to settle at once the point that brings us here." + +"Hum!" the Captain muttered, annoyed in his heart at this refusal, which +foreboded nothing good; "in that case speak, and an amicable interview +will not depend on me." + +"I, wish it with all my heart, Captain; the more so, because if I am +here it is with the object of avoiding the consequences either of a +mistake or a moment of passion." + +The Captain bowed his thanks, and the Canadian went on. + +"You are an old soldier, sir," he said, "and the shorter the speech the +better you will like it; in two words, then, this is what brings us: the +Snake Pawnees accuse you of having seized their village by treachery, +and massacred the greater part of their relations and friends. Is that +true?" + +"It is true that I seized their village, but I had the right to do so, +since the Redskins refused to surrender it to me; but I deny that I +acted treacherously: on the contrary, the Pawnees behaved in that way to +me." + +"Oh!" Black-deer exclaimed, as he rose quickly, "the Paleface has a +lying tongue in his mouth." + +"Peace!" Tranquil cried, as he forced him to take his seat again, "leave +me to disentangle this skein, which seems to me very troublesome. +Forgive me for insisting," he went on, addressing the Captain, "but the +question is a grave one, and the truth must out. Were you not received, +on your arrival, by the Chiefs of the tribe, in the light of a friend?" + +"Yes; our first relations were amicable." + +"Why, then, did they become hostile?" + +"I have told you; because, contrary to sworn faith and pledged word, +they refused to give up the land." + +"What do you say?" + +"Certainly, because they had sold me the territory they occupied." + +"Oh, oh, Captain! This requires an explanation." + +"It is very easy to give, and to prove my good faith in the matter, I +will show you the deed of sale." + +The hunter and the Chief exchanged a glance of surprise. + +"I am quite out of my reckoning," said Tranquil. + +"Wait a moment," the Captain went on, "I will fetch the deed and show it +to you." + +And he went out. + +"Oh, sir!" the young lady exclaimed, as she clasped her hands +entreatingly, "try to prevent a quarrel." + +"Alas, madam!" the hunter said sadly, "that will be very difficult, +after the turn matters have taken." + +"Here, look," the Captain said, as he came in and showed them the deed. + +The two men required but a glance to detect the trick. + +"That deed is false," said Tranquil. + +"False! That is impossible!" the Captain went on in stupor; "If it be, I +am odiously deceived." + +"Unfortunately that has happened." + +"What is to be done?" the Captain muttered, mechanically. + +Black-deer rose. + +"Let the Palefaces listen," he said, majestically; "a Sachem is about to +speak." + +The Canadian tried to interpose, but the Chief sternly imposed silence +on him. + +"My father has been deceived; he is a just warrior, his head is grey; +the Wacondah has given him wisdom; the Snake Pawnees are also just; they +wish to live in peace with my father, because he is innocent of the +fault with which he is reproached, and for which another must be +rendered responsible." + +The commencement of this speech greatly surprised the Chief's hearers; +the young mother especially, on hearing the words, felt her anxiety +disappear, and joy well up in her heart again. + +"The Snake Pawnees," the Sachem continued, "will restore to my father +all the merchandize he extorted from him; he, for his part, will pledge +himself to abandon the hunting-grounds of the Pawnees, and retire with +the Palefaces who came with him; the Pawnees will give up the vengeance +they wished to take for the murder of their brothers, and the war +hatchet will be buried between the Redskins and the Palefaces of the +West. I have spoken." + +After these words there was a silence. + +His hearers were struck with stupor: if the conditions were +unacceptable, war became inevitable. + +"What does my father answer?" the Chief asked presently. + +"Unhappily, Chief," the Captain answered sadly, "I cannot consent to +such conditions, that is impossible; all I can do is to double the price +I paid previously." + +The Chief shrugged his shoulders in contempt. + +"Black-deer was mistaken," he said, with a crushing smile of sarcasm; +"the Palefaces have really a forked tongue." + +It was impossible to make the Sachem understand the real state of the +case; with that blind obstinacy characteristic of his race, he would +listen to nothing; the more they tried to prove to him that he was +wrong, the more convinced he felt he was right. + +At a late hour of the night the Canadian and Black-deer withdrew, +accompanied, as far as the entrenchments, by the Captain. + +So soon as they had gone, James Watt returned thoughtfully to the tower; +on the threshold he stumbled against a rather large object, and stooped +down to see what it was. + +"Oh!" he exclaimed as he rose again, "then they really mean fighting! By +Heaven! They shall have it to their heart's content!" + +The object against which the Captain had stumbled was a bundle of arrows +fastened by a serpent skin; the two ends of this skin and the points of +the arrows were blood stained. + +Black-deer, on retiring, had let the declaration of war fall behind him. + +All hope of peace had vanished, and preparation for fighting must be +made. + +After the first moment of stupor the Captain regained his coolness; and +although day had not yet broken, he aroused the colonists and assembled +them in front of the town, to hold a council and consult as to the means +for neutralizing the peril that menaced them. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE SNAKE PAWNEES. + + +We will now clear up a few points in this story which may appear obscure +to the reader. + +The Redskins, however great their other faults may be, have a fanatic +love for the country where they are born, and nothing can take its +place. + +Monkey-face did not speak falsely when he told Captain Watt that he was +one of the principal Chiefs of his tribe; but he had been careful not to +reveal for what reason he had been expelled from his tribe. + +This reason the time has now arrived for us to make known. + +Monkey-face was not only a man of unbridled ambition, but also, an +extraordinary thing for an Indian, he had no religious faith, and was +completely exempt from those weaknesses and that superstitious credulity +to which his fellows are so amenable: in addition, he was faithless, +dishonourable, and of more than depraved manners. + +Having been taken, when young, to the towns of the American Union, he +had been in a position to see closely the eccentric civilization of the +United States. Unable to comprehend the good and bad sides of this +civilization, and steer between them, he had, as generally happens in +such cases, been seduced by that which most flattered his tastes and +instincts, and had only taken from the customs of the whites whatever +completed and furnished his precocious depravity. + +Hence, when he returned to his tribe, his language and manners were so +discordant with what was done and said around him, that he speedily +excited the contempt and hatred of his countrymen. + +His most violent enemies were naturally the priests, or, at least, the +sorcerers, whom he had tried several times to turn into ridicule. + +So soon as Monkey-face had put on his back the omnipotent party of the +sorcerers, it was all over with his ambitious plans: all his manoeuvres +failed, a dull opposition constantly overthrew his schemes at the very +moment when he expected to see them succeed. + +For a long time, the Chief, not knowing how to act, kept prudently on +the defensive, while actively watching the movements of his enemies; +awaiting, with that feline patience which formed the basis of his +character, for chance to reveal to him the name of the man on whom his +vengeance should fall. As all his measures were taken, he soon +discovered that the man to whom he owed his continual checks was no +other than the principal sorcerer of the tribe. + +This was an aged man, respected and beloved by all on account of his +wisdom and goodness. Monkey-face hid his hatred for a season; but one +day, in full council, after a lively discussion, he allowed his rage to +carry him away, and, rushing on the unhappy old man, he stabbed him in +the sight of all the elders of the tribe, before those present could +prevent the execution of his design. + +The murder of the sorcerer put the climax on the horror this villain +inspired. On the spot, the Chief drove him from the territory of the +nation, refusing him fire and water, and threatening him with the +heaviest punishment if he dared to appear before them again. + +Monkey-face, too weak to resist the execution of this sentence, retired +with rage in his heart, and uttering the most horrible threats. + +We have seen in what way he revenged himself by selling the territory of +his tribe to the Americans, and thus causing the ruin of those who +banished him. But he had scarce obtained the vengeance he had so long +pursued, when a strange revolution took place in this man's heart. The +sight of the land where he was born, and where the ashes of his father +reposed, aroused in him with extreme force that love of his country +which he thought dead, but was only asleep in his heart. + +The shame at the odious action he had committed by surrendering to the +enemies of his race the hunting grounds which he had himself so long +freely traversed, the obstinacy with which the Americans set to work +changing the face of the country, and destroying their aged trees, whose +shadows had so long protected the councils of his nation--all these +causes combined had caused him to reflect, and, rendered desperate by +the sacrilege which hatred impelled him to commit, he tried to rejoin +his comrades, in order to assist them in recovering what they had lost +through his fault. + +That is to say, he resolved to betray his new friends to the profit of +his old friends. + +This man was unhappily engaged in a fatal path where each step he took +must be marked for a crime. + +It was easier than he at first supposed for him to rejoin his +countrymen, for they were scattered and wandering in despair through the +forests round the colony. + +Monkey-face presented himself boldly to them, and was very careful not +to tell them that he alone was the cause of the misfortunes that +overwhelmed them. On the other hand, he made a secret of his return, +telling them that the news of the calamities which had suddenly fallen +on them was the sole cause of his coming; that, had they continued to be +happy, they would never have seen him again; but that, in the presence +of such a frightful catastrophe as that which had crushed them, every +feeling of hatred must disappear before the common vengeance to be taken +on the Pale-faces, those eternal and implacable enemies of the Red race. + +In a word, he displayed such noble sentiments, and put the step he was +taking in such a brilliant light, that he completely succeeded in +deceiving the Indians, and persuading them of the purity of his +intentions, and his good faith. + +After this, with the diabolical intelligence he possessed, he formed a +vast plot against the Americans, a plot into which he had the cleverness +to draw the other Indian people allied to his tribe; and, while +ostensibly remaining the friend of the colonists, he silently prepared +and organized their utter ruin. + +The influence he succeeded in obtaining over his tribe within a short +time was immense: three men alone entertained an instinctive distrust of +him, and carefully watched his movements; they were Tranquil, the +Canadian hunter, Black-deer, and Blue-fox. + +Tranquil could not understand the conduct of the Chief; it seemed to him +extraordinary that this man had thus become a friend of the Americans. +Several times he asked him explanations on this head, but Monkey-face +had always answered in an ambiguous way, or evaded his questions. + +Tranquil, whose suspicions daily grew, and who was determined to know +positively what opinion to have of a man whose manoeuvres appeared to +him daily more suspicious, succeeded in getting himself chosen with +Black-deer, by the Great Council of the Nation, to bear the declaration +of war to Captain Watt. + +Monkey-face was vexed at the choice of the envoys whom he knew to be +secretly his enemies; but he concealed his resentment; the more so, +because matters were too far advanced to withdraw, and everything was in +readiness for the expedition. + +Tranquil and Black-deer consequently set out with orders to declare war +on the Palefaces. + +"If I am not greatly mistaken," the Canadian said to his friend as they +rode along, "we are going to hear something about Monkey-face." + +"Do you think so?" + +"I would wager it. I am convinced the scamp is playing a double game, +and cheats us all to his own profit." + +"I have no great confidence in him, still I cannot believe that he could +carry his effrontery so far." + +"We shall soon see what we have to depend on; at any rate, though, +promise me one thing." + +"What is it?" + +"That I be the first to speak. I know better than you how to deal with +the Palefaces of the West." + +"Be it so," Black-deer replied, "act as you think proper." + +Five minutes after, they reached the colony. We related in the previous +chapter how they were received, and what passed between them and Captain +Watt. + +This custom of the Indians of declaring war against their enemies may +appear extraordinary to Europeans, who are accustomed to regard them as +stupid savages, but we must make no mistake; the Redskins have an +eminently chivalrous character, and never, except in the case of a horse +robbery or such matter, will they attack an enemy before warning him +that he may be on his guard. + +In fact, it is by cleverly working on this chivalrous character, of +which the North Americans, we regret to say, do not possess a particle, +that the Whites have gained the majority of their victories over the +Redskins. + +When a few yards from the colony, the two men found again their horses +which they had hobbled; they mounted, and went off at a rapid rate. + +"Well," Tranquil asked the Chief, "what do you think of all this?" + +"My brother was right, Monkey-face has constantly cheated us; it is +evident that this deed emanates from him alone." + +"What do you intend doing?" + +"I do not know yet; perhaps it would be dangerous to unmask him at this +moment." + +"I am not of your opinion, Chief; the presence of this traitor among us +can only injure our cause." + +"Let us have a look at him first." + +"Be it so! But permit me a remark." + +"I am listening, my brother.' + +"How is it that after recognizing the falseness of that deed of sale, +you insisted on declaring war against this Long knife of the West, since +he has proved to you that he was deceived by Monkey-face?" + +The Chief smiled cunningly. "The Paleface was only deceived," he said, +"because it suited him to be so." + +"I do not understand you, Chief." + +"I will explain myself. Does my brother know how a sale of land is +effected?" + +"No, I do not; and I confess to you, that, never having got to buy or +sell, I have not troubled myself about it." + +"Wah! In that case I will tell my brother." + +"You will cause me pleasure, for I always like to gain information, and +this may be useful to me at some time," the Canadian said with a grin. + +"When a Paleface wishes to buy the hunting-ground of a tribe he goes to +the principal Sachems of the nation, and after smoking the calumet of +peace in council, he explains his meaning; the conditions are discussed; +if the two contracting parties agree, a plan of the territory is drawn +up by the principal sorcerer, the Paleface gives his goods, all the +Chiefs place their sign manual at the foot of the plan, the trees are +blazed with a tomahawk, the borders marked, and the purchaser takes +immediate possession." + +"Hum," Tranquil remarked, "that seems simple enough." + +"In what council has the grey-head Chief smoked the calumet? Where are +the sachems who have treated with him? Let him show me the trees that +were marked." + +"In truth, I fancy he would find that difficult." + +"The Grey-head," the Chief continued, "knew that Monkey-face was +cheating him; but the territory suited him, and he calculated on the +strength of his arms to hold his own." + +"That is probable." + +"Conquered by evidence, and recognizing too late that he acted +inconsiderately, he fancied he could recover all difficulties by +offering us a few more bales of merchandize. Whenever did the Palefaces +have a straight and honest tongue?" + +"Thank you," the hunter said, laughingly. + +"I do not speak of my brother's nation; I never had to complain of them, +and I only refer to the Long knives of the West. Does my brother still +think that I was wrong in throwing down the bloody arrows?" + +"Perhaps, in that circumstance, Chief, you were a little too quick, and +allowed your passion to carry you away, but you have so many reasons for +hating the Americans that I dare not blame you." + +"Then, I can still count on my brother's assistance?" + +"Why should I refuse it to you, Chief? Your cause is still as it was, +that is to say, just; it is my duty to help you, and I will do so, +whatever may happen." + +"Och! I thank my brother; his rifle will be useful to us." + +"Here we are; it is time to form a determination with reference to +Monkey-face." + +"It is formed," the Chief answered, laconically. + +At this moment, they entered a vast clearing, in the centre of which +several fires were burning. + +Five hundred Indian warriors, painted and armed for war, were lying +about in the grass, while their horses, all harnessed, and ready for +mounting, were hobbled, and eating their provender of climbing peas. + +Round the principal fire several Chiefs were crouching and smoking +silently. + +The newcomers dismounted, and proceeded rapidly toward this fire, before +which Monkey-face was walking up and down in considerable agitation. + +The two men took their places by the side of the other Chiefs, and lit +their calumets; although every one expected their arrival impatiently, +no one addressed a word to them, Indian etiquette prohibiting a Chief +from speaking, before the calumet was completely smoked out. + +When Black-deer had finished his calumet, he shook out the ashes, passed +it through his belt, and said:-- + +"The orders of the Sachems are accomplished; the bloody arrows have been +delivered to the Palefaces." + +The Chiefs bowed their heads in sign of satisfaction at these news. + +Monkey-face walked up. + +"Has my brother Black-deer seen Grey-head?" he asked. + +"Yes," the Chief answered, drily. + +"What does my brother think?" Monkey-face pressed him. + +Black-deer gave him an equivocal glance. + +"What matters the thought of a Chief at this moment," he answered, +"since the Council of the Sachems has resolved on war?" + +"The nights are long," Blue-fox then said, "will my brothers remain here +smoking?" + +Tranquil remarked in his turn-- + +"The Long knives are on their guard, they are watching at this moment, +my brothers will remount their horses, and withdraw, for the hour is not +propitious." + +The Chiefs gave a sign of assent. + +"I will go on the discovery," Monkey-face said. + +"Good," Black-deer answered, with a stern smile; "my brother is skilful, +he sees many things, he will inform us." + +Monkey-face prepared to leap on a horse which a warrior led him up, but +suddenly Black-deer rose, rushed toward him, and laying his hand roughly +on his shoulder, compelled him to fall on his knees. + +The warriors, surprised at this sudden aggression, the motive of which +they did not divine, exchanged glances of surprise, though they did not +make the slightest movement to interpose between the two Chiefs. + +Monkey-face quickly raised his head. + +"Does the Spirit of evil trouble my brother's brain?" he said, as he +tried to free himself from the iron grip that nailed him to the ground. + +Black-deer gave a sarcastic smile, and drew his scalping knife. + +"Monkey-face is a traitor," he said in a sullen voice "he has sold his +brothers to the Palefaces; he is about to die." + +Black-deer was not only a renowned warrior, but his wisdom and honour +were held in just repute by the tribe; hence no one protested against +the accusation he had made, the more so, because, unfortunately for him, +Monkey-face had been long known. + +Black-deer raised his knife, whose bluish blade flashed in the +fire-light, but by a supreme effort Monkey-face succeeded in freeing +himself, bounded like a wild beast, and disappeared in the bushes with a +hoarse laugh. + +The knife had slipped, and only cut the flesh, without inflicting a +serious wound on the clever Indian. + +There was a moment of stupor, but then all rose simultaneously to rush +in pursuit of the fugitive. + +"Stay," Tranquil shouted in a loud voice, "it is now too late. Make +haste to attack the Palefaces before that villain has warned them, for +he is doubtless meditating fresh treachery." + +The Chiefs recognized the justice of this, advice, and the Indians +prepared for the combat. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE BATTLE. + + +In the meanwhile, as is stated a little while ago, Captain Watt had +assembled all the members of the colony in front of the town. + +The number of combatants amounted to sixty-two, including the females. + +European ladies may think it singular that we count the females among +the combatants: in truth, in the old world the days of Bradamante and +Joan d'Arc have happily passed away for ever, and the fair sex, owing to +the constant progress of civilization, is no longer reduced to the +necessity of fighting side by side with men. + +In North America, at the period of which we write, and even at the +present day, on the prairies and the clearings, it is not so; when the +war-yell of the Indians suddenly echoes on the ears of the pioneers, the +women are constrained to give up the labour of their sex, to take a +rifle in their delicate hands, and fight boldly in defence of the +community. + +We could, if necessary, cite several of these heroines with soft eyes +and angelic countenances who, on occasion, have valiantly done their +duty as soldiers and fought like perfect demons against the Indians. + +Mrs. Watt was anything rather than a heroine, but she was the daughter +and the wife of a soldier; she was born and brought up on the Indian +borders; she had already smelt powder several times and seen blood flow, +but, before all, she was a mother. As her children had to be defended, +all her feminine timidity had disappeared and made way for a cold and +energetic resolution. + +Her example electrified all the other women of the colony, and all had +armed, resolved to fight by the side of their husbands and fathers. + +We repeat here that, what with men and women, the Captain had sixty-two +combatants around him. + +He tried to dissuade his wife from taking part in the fight, but the +gentle creature whom he had seen hitherto so timid and obedient, plainly +refused to give up her project, and the Captain was compelled to let her +do as she pleased. + +He therefore made his arrangements for defence. Twenty-four men were +placed in the entrenchments under the orders of Bothrel. The Captain +himself took the command of a second party of twenty-four hunters, +intended to act anywhere and everywhere. The females, under the orders +of Mrs. Watt, were left in charge of the tower, in which the children +and the invalids were shut up, and the arrival of the Indians was then +awaited. + +It was about one in the morning when the Canadian hunter and the Pawnee +Chief left the colony; by about half-past two all was ready for the +defence. + +The Captain made a last round of the entrenchment in order to ensure +himself that all was in order, then, after ordering all the fires to be +extinguished, he secretly left the colony by a concealed door in the +palisades, of whose existence only himself and Sergeant Bothrel were +cognizant. + +A plank was placed across the ditch, and the Captain crossed, only +followed by Bothrel and a Kentuckian of the name of Bob, a daring and +broad-shouldered fellow, to whom we have already had occasion to refer. + +The plank was carefully hidden so as to serve for their return, and the +three men glided through the darkness like phantoms. + +When they had gone about one hundred yards from the colony, the Captain +halted. + +"Gentlemen," he then said in a voice so faint that they were obliged to +stoop down to hear him; "I have chosen you because the expedition we are +about to attempt is dangerous, and I wanted resolute men with me." + +"What is to be done?" Bothrel asked. + +"The night is so dark that those accursed Pagans could if they liked +reach the very edge of the ditch, and it would be impossible for us to +notice them; I have, therefore, resolved to set fire to the piles of +planks and roots. A man must know how to make sacrifices when needed; +these fires which will burn a long while will spread a brilliant light, +enabling us to see our enemies for a long distance and fire at them with +certainty." + +"The idea is excellent," Bothrel answered. + +"Yes," the Captain continued, "still, we must not hide from ourselves +that it is extremely perilous; it is plain that Indian scouts are +already scattered over the prairies, perhaps very close to us, and when +two or three fires have been lighted, if we see them, they will not fail +to see us too. Each of us will take the necessary objects, and we will +try by the rapidity of our movements to foil the tricks of these demons; +remember that we shall act separately, and each of us will have four or +five fires to light, so we cannot count on one another. To work!" + +The combustibles and inflammable matters were shared between the three +men and they separated. + +Five minutes later a spark glistened, then a second, then a third; at +the end of a quarter of an hour ten tires were lighted. + +Weak at first, they seemed to hesitate for a while, but gradually the +flame increased, gained consistency, and soon the whole plain was lit up +by the blood-red glare of these immense torches. + +The Captain and his comrades had been more fortunate than they +anticipated in their expedition, for they had succeeded in lighting the +piles of wood scattered over the valley, without attracting the +attention of the Indians; and they hurried back to the entrenchments at +full speed. It was high time, for suddenly a terrible war-yell burst +forth behind them, and a large band of Indian warriors appeared on the +skirt of the forest, galloping at full speed, and brandishing their +weapons like a legend of demons. + +But they came up too late to catch the Whites, who had crossed the ditch +and were sheltered from their missiles. + +A discharge of musketry greeted the arrival of the Indians, several fell +from their horses, and the others turned and fled with great +precipitation. + +The fight had commenced, but the Captain cared little about that; thanks +to his lucky expedient, a surprise was impossible, and they could see as +well as in the daylight. + +There was a moment's respite, by which the Americans profited to reload +their rifles. + +The colonists had felt anxious on seeing the immense fires lit up one +after the other on the prairie; they believed in an Indian device, but +were soon disabused, by the Captain's return, and congratulated +themselves, on the contrary, upon this happy expedient, which enabled +them to fire almost with certainty. + +The Pawnees, however, had not given up their project of attack; in all +probability they had only retired in order to deliberate. + +The Captain, with his shoulder leant against the palisade, was +attentively examining the deserted plain, when he fancied he perceived +an unusual motion in a rather large field of Indian corn, about two +rifle shots from the colony. + +"Look out!" he said, "the enemy is approaching." + +Every one put his finger on his trigger. All at once a great noise was +heard, and the furthest pile of wood fell in, emitting myriads of +sparks. + +"By heaven!" the Captain shouted, "There is some Indian devilry behind +that, for it is impossible for that enormous pile to be consumed." + +At the same instant another fell in, followed immediately by a third, +and then by a fourth. + +There could no longer be a doubt as to the cause of these successive +falls. The Indians, whose movements were neutralized by the light these +monster beacons shed, had taken the very simple method of extinguishing +them, which they were enabled to do in perfect safety, for they were out +of rifle range. + +No sooner was the wood down than it was scattered in every direction, +and easily put out. + +This expedient enabled the Indians to get very near to the palisades +unnoticed. + +Still, all the piles were not overthrown, and those that remained were +near enough to the fort to be defended by its fire. + +For all that, the Pawnees attempted to put them out. But the firing +then recommenced, and the bullets fell in a hailstorm on the besiegers, +who, after holding out for some minutes, were at last compelled to take +to flight, for we cannot give the name of a retreat to the precipitation +with which they withdrew. + +The Americans began laughing and hooting at the fugitives. + +"I think," Bothrel said facetiously, "that those fine fellows find our +soup too hot, and regret having put their fingers in it." + +"In truth," the Captain remarked, "they do not appear inclined to return +this time." + +He was mistaken; for, at the same instant, the Indians came back at a +gallop. + +Nothing could check them, and, in spite of the fusillade, to which they +disdained to reply, they reached the very brink of the ditch. + +It is true, that once there, they turned back, and retired as rapidly as +they had come, though not without leaving on the way a great number of +their comrades, whom the American bullets pitilessly laid low. + +But the plan of the Pawnees had been successful, and the Whites soon +perceived, to their great disappointment, that they had been too hasty +in congratulating themselves on their facile victory. + +Each Pawnee horseman carried on his croup a warrior, who, on reaching +the ditch, dismounted, and profiting by the disorder and smoke, which +prevented their being seen, sheltered themselves behind the trunks of +trees and elevations of the soil so cleverly, that when the Americans +leaned over the palisade to discover the results of the evening's +charge, they were in their turn greeted by a discharge of bullets and +long barbed arrows, which stretched fifteen on the ground. + +There was a movement of blind terror among the Whites after this attack +made by invisible enemies. + +Fifteen men at one round was a fearful loss for the colonists; the +combat was assuming serious proportions, which threatened to degenerate +into a defeat; for the Indians had never before displayed so much energy +and obstinacy in an attack. + +No hesitation was possible; the daring force must be dislodged at any +cost from the post where they had so rashly ambushed themselves. + +The Captain formed his resolve. + +Collecting some twenty resolute men, while the others guarded the +palisades, he had the drawbridge lowered, and rushed out. + +The enemies then met face to face. + +The medley became terrible; the White men and Redskins intertwined like +serpents, drunk with rage and blinded by hatred, only thought of killing +each other. + +All at once an immense glare illumined the scene of carnage, and cries +of terror rose from the colony. + +The Captain turned his head, and uttered a shriek of despair at the +horrible sight that met his terror-stricken gaze. + +The tower and principal buildings were on fire; in the light of the +flames the Indians could be seen bounding like demons in pursuit of the +defenders of the colony, who, grouped here and there, were attempting a +resistance which had now become impossible. + +This is what had occurred:-- + +While Black-deer, Blue-fox, and the other principal Pawnee Chiefs +attempted an attack on the front of the colony, Tranquil, followed by +Quoniam, and fifty warriors, on whom he could depend, had got into the +buffalo-hide canoes, silently descended the river, and landed in the +colony itself, before the alarm was given, for the very simple reason +that the Americans did not at all apprehend an attack from the side of +the Missouri. + +Still, we must do the Captain the justice of saying that he had not left +this side undefended; sentries had been posted there; but, +unfortunately, in the disorder occasioned by the Indians' last charge, +the sentries, thinking nothing was to be feared from the river, deserted +their post to go whither they imagined the danger greatest, and help +their comrades in repulsing the Indians. + +This unpardonable fault ruined the defenders of the colony. + +Tranquil disembarked his party without firing a shot. + +The Pawnees, when they had once entered the fort, threw incendiary +torches on the wooden buildings, and, uttering their war-yell, rushed on +the Americans, whom they placed between two fires. + +Tranquil, Quoniam, and some warriors who did not leave them, hurried up +to the town. + +Mrs. Watt, although taken by surprise, prepared, however, to defend the +post confided to her. + +The Canadian approached with hands upraised in sign of peace. + +"Surrender, in Heaven's name!" he cried, "or you are lost; the colony is +captured!" + +"No!" she answered, boldly, "I will never surrender to a coward, who +betrays his brothers to take the part of the Pagans!" + +"You are unjust to me," the hunter answered, sadly-- "I have come to +save you." + +"I will not be saved by you!" + +"Unhappy woman! if not for your own sake, surrender on behalf of your +children. See, the tower is on fire!" + +The lady raised her eyes, uttered a thrilling shriek, and rushed wildly +into the interior of the building. + +The other females, trusting in the hunter's words, attempted no +resistance, but laid down their arms. + +Tranquil entrusted the guard of these poor women to Quoniam, with whom +he left a few warriors, and then hurried off to put a stop to the +carnage which was going on in all parts of the colony. + +Quoniam entered the tower when he found Mrs. Watt half stifled and +holding her children pressed to her heart with extraordinary strength. +The worthy Negro threw the young lady across his shoulder, carried her +out, and collecting all the females and children, led them to the banks +of the Missouri to get them out of range of the fire, and await the end +of the fight, without exposing the prisoners to the fury of the victors. + +It was now no longer a combat but a butchery, rendered more atrocious +still by the barbarous refinements of the Indians, who attacked their +unhappy enemies with indescribable fury. + +The Captain, Bothrel, Bob, and some twenty Americans, the only colonists +still alive, were collected in the centre of the esplanade defending +themselves with the energy of despair against a cloud of Indians, and +resolved to die sooner than fall into the hands of their ferocious +enemies. + +Tranquil, however, succeeded, by repeated entreaties and braving a +thousand perils, in inducing them to lay down their arms and thus put an +end to the carnage. + +All at once cries, groans, and entreaties were heard from the riverside. + +The hunter dashed off; agitated by a gloomy presentiment. + +Black-deer and his warriors followed him. When they reached the spot +where Quoniam had collected the women, a fearful sight presented itself +to them. + +Mrs. Watt and three other females lay motionless on the ground in a pool +of blood, Quoniam lay extended in front of them with two wounds, one on +his head, the other in his chest. + +It was impossible to obtain any information from the other females as to +what had occurred, for they were half mad with terror. + +The Captain's children had disappeared. + + +End of Prologue. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE VENTA DEL POTRERO. + + +Using now our privilege as romancer, we will transfer the scene of our +narrative to Texas, and resume our story about sixteen years after the +events recorded in the prologue. + +Dawn was beginning to tinge the clouds with its opaline rays, the stars +went out one after the other in the gloomy depths of the sky, and on the +extreme blue line of the horizon a bright red reflection, precursor of +sunrise, showed that day would ere long appear. Thousands of invisible +birds, hidden beneath the foliage, suddenly woke up, and melodiously +began their morning concert, while the yells of the wild beasts quitting +the watering places, and returning slowly to their unexplored lairs, +became gradually more dull and indistinct. + +At this moment the breeze rose, burst into the dense cloud of steam +which at sunrise exhales from the earth in these intertropical regions, +whirled it round for an instant, then rent it asunder, and scattered it +in space; thus displaying, without any apparent transition, the most +delicious landscape the dreaming mind of poet or painter could imagine. + +It is, before all, in America that Providence appears to have taken a +pleasure in lavishing the most striking landscape effects, and in +infinitely varying the contrasts and harmonies of that puissant nature +which can only be found there. + +Through the centre of an immense plain, circled on all sides by the tall +foliage of a virgin forest, there ran in capricious windings a sandy +road, whose golden colour contrasted harmoniously with the deep green of +the grass and the silvery whiteness of a narrow stream which the first +beams of the sun caused to sparkle like a casket of jewels. Not far from +the stream, and at about the middle of the plain, rose a white house +with a verandah running round it, and a roof of red tiles. This house, +prettily covered with creepers that almost hid its walls, was a _Venta_, +or hostelry, built on the top of a small mount. It was reached by an +imperceptible ascent, and, owing to its position, commanded the immense +and grand landscape. + +Before the door of the venta several dragoons, picturesquely grouped, +and about twenty in number, were saddling their horses while the +arrieros were actively engaged in loading seven or eight mules. + +Along the road and some paces from the venta, several horsemen, +resembling black dots, could be seen just entering the forest to which +we alluded, a forest which rose gradually, and was commanded by a girdle +of lofty mountains, whose rugged and bare crests were almost confounded +with the azure of the sky. + +The door of the venta opened, and a young officer came out singing, +accompanied by a stout and jolly-looking monk; after them, a charming +maiden of eighteen or nineteen, fair-haired and fragile, with blue eyes +and golden hair, appeared on the threshold. + +"Come, come," the Captain said, for the young officer wore the marks of +that grade, "we have lost too much time already, so to horse." + +"Hum!" the monk growled, "we have had hardly time to breakfast; why the +deuce are you in such a hurry, Captain?" + +"Holy man," the officer went on with a laugh, "if you prefer remaining, +you are at liberty to do so." + +"No, no, I will go with you," the monk exclaimed, with a look of terror; +"_caspita!_ I want to take advantage of your escort." + +"Then make haste, for I shall give orders to start within five minutes." + +The officer, after looking round the plain, gave his _asistente_ orders +to bring up his horse, and mounted with that grace peculiar to Mexican +riders. The monk stifled a sigh of regret, probably thinking of the +savoury hospitality he was leaving, to run the risk of a long journey, +and, aided by the arrieros, he contrived to lift himself on to a mule, +whose loins gave way beneath the enormous load. + +"Ouf!" he muttered, "Here I am." + +"To horse!" the officer commanded. + +The dragoons obeyed at once, and for a few seconds the clash of steel +could be heard. + +The maiden, to whom we have alluded, had hitherto stood silent and +motionless in the doorway, apparently suffering from some secret +agitation, and looking now and then anxiously at two or three +Campesinos, who, leaning negligently against the wall of the venta, +listlessly followed the movements of the party; but at the moment when +the Captain was about to give the order to start, she resolutely went up +to him and offered him a mechero. + +"Your cigarette is not lighted, sir," she said, in a soft and melodious +voice. + +"On my honour, 'tis true," he replied, and bending gallantly down to +her, he returned her the mechero, saying, "thanks, my pretty child." + +The girl profited by this movement, which brought his face close to +hers, to whisper hurriedly-- + +"Take care!" + +"What?" he said, as he looked fixedly at her. Without replying, she laid +her finger on her rosy lips, and turning quickly away, ran back into the +venta. + +The Captain drew himself up, frowned savagely, and bent a threatening +glance on the two or three fellows leaning against the wall, but he soon +shook his head. + +"Bah!" he muttered, disdainfully, "they would not dare." + +He then drew his sabre, whose blade glistened dazzlingly in the +sunbeams, and placed himself at the head of the troop. + +"Forward!" he shouted. + +They started at once. + +The mules followed the bell of the Néna, and the dragoons collected +round the _recua_ enclosed it in their midst. + +For a few minutes the Campesinos, who had been watching the departure of +the troop, looked after it along the winding road, then re-entered the +venta one by one. + +The girl was seated alone on an _equipal_, apparently busily engaged in +sewing; still, through the almost imperceptible tremor that agitated her +body, the flush on her brow, and the timid look she shot through her +long eyelashes on the entrance of the Campesinos, it was easy to read +that the calmness she affected was far from her heart, and that, on the +contrary, a secret fear tormented her. + +These Campesinos were three in number; they were men in the full vigour +of life, with harshly marked features, firm glances, and brusque and +brutal manners. They wore the Mexican border costume, and were well +armed. + +They sat down on a bench placed before a clumsily planed table, and one +of them striking it sharply with his fist, turned to the girl and said +roughly-- + +"Drink here." + +She started, and raised her head quickly. + +"What do you wish for, Caballeros?" she said. + +"Mezcal." + +She rose and hastened to serve them; the man who had spoken caught her +by the dress at the moment she passed. + +"An instant, Carmela," he said. + +"Let go my dress, Ruperto," she replied, with a slight pout of +ill-humour, "you will tear it for me." + +"Nonsense!" he replied, with a coarse laugh, "you must fancy me very +awkward." + +"No, but your manner does not please me." + +"Oh! oh! you are not always so wild, my charming bird." + +"What do you mean?" she continued, with a blush. + +"No matter, I understand it; but that is not the question just at +present." + +"What is it, then?" she asked with feigned surprise; "Have I not brought +you the mezcal you ordered?" + +"Yes, yes; but I have something to say to you." + +"Well, say it quickly, and let me go." + +"You are in a great hurry to escape from me; are you afraid lest your +lover may surprise you in conversation with me?" + +Ruperto's comrades began laughing, and the maiden stood quite abashed. + +"I have no lover, Ruperto, and you know it very well," she answered with +tears in her eyes; "it is cruel of you to insult a defenceless girl." + +"Nonsense! I am not insulting you, Carmela; what harm is there in a +pretty girl like you having a lover, if not two?" + +"Let me go," she cried, as she made an angry movement to free herself. + +"Not before you have answered my question." + +"Ask it then, and let us have an end of this." + +"Well, my wild little maid, be good enough to repeat to me what you +whispered just now to that springald of a captain." + +"I?" she replied in embarrassment; "what do you suppose I said to him?" + +"That is the very point. Niña, I do not suppose what you said to him, I +merely wish you to tell me what it was." + +"Leave me alone, Ruperto, you only take a delight in tormenting me." + +The Mexican looked at her searchingly. + +"Do not turn the conversation, my beauty," he said drily, "for the +question I ask you is serious." + +"That is possible; but I have no answer to give you." + +"Because you know you have done wrong." + +"I do not understand you." + +"Of course not! Well, I will explain myself; at the moment the officer +was about to start, you said to him, 'Take care,' Would you venture to +deny it?" + +The girl turned pale. + +"Since you heard me," she said, attempting to jest, "why do you ask me?" + +The Campesinos had frowned on hearing Ruperto's accusation; the position +was growing serious. + +"Oh, oh!" one of them said, as he looked up; "Did she really say that?" + +"Apparently, since I heard it," Ruperto retorted brutally. + +The girl took a timid glance around, as if imploring an absent +protector. + +"He is not there," Ruperto remarked cruelly, "so it is of no use looking +for him." + +"Who?" she asked, hesitating between the shame of the supposition and +the terror of her dangerous position. + +"He," he answered with a grin. "Listen, Carmela; several times already +you have learned more of our business than we liked; I repeat to you +the remark you made a minute ago to the Captain, and try to profit by +it; take care." + +"Yes," the second speaker said brutally; "for we might forget that you +are only a child, and make you pay dearly for your treachery." + +"Nonsense," the third said, who had hitherto contented himself with +drinking, and taking no part in the conversation; "the law must be equal +for all; if Carmela has betrayed us, she must be punished." + +"Well said, Bernardo," Ruperto exclaimed, as he smote the table; "there +are just enough of us to pronounce the sentence." + +"Good Heavens!" she screamed, as she freed herself by a sudden effort +from the grasp of the arm which had hitherto held her; "Let me go, let +me go!" + +"Stay!" Ruperto shouted as he rose; "If you do not, some misfortune will +happen." + +The three men rushed on the maiden, and the latter, half wild with +terror, sought in vain the door of the venta by which to escape. + +But, at the moment when the three men laid their rough and horny hands +on her white and delicate shoulders, the door, whose hasp she had been +unable to lift in her terror, was thrown wide open, and a man appeared +on the threshold. + +"What is the matter here?" he asked in a harsh voice, as he crossed his +hands on his chest; and he stood motionless, looking round at the +company. + +There was such menace in the voice of the new-comer, such a flash shot +from his eyes, that the three terrified men fell back mechanically +against the opposing wall, muttering--"The Jaguar! The Jaguar!" + +"Save me! Save me!" the maiden shrieked, as she rushed wildly toward +him. + +"Yes," he said in a deep voice; "yes, I will save you, Carmela; woe to +the man who causes a hair of your head to fall." + +And softly raising her in his powerful arms, he laid her gently on a +butacca, where she reclined in a half-fainting condition. + +The man who appeared so suddenly was still very young; his beardless +face would have seemed that of a child, if his regular features, with +their almost feminine beauty, had not been relieved by two large black +eyes, which possessed a brilliancy and magnetic power that few men felt +themselves capable of enduring. + +He was tall, but graceful and elegant, and his chest was wide; his long +hair, black as the raven's wing, fell in clusters beneath his vicuna +hat, which was ornamented with a deep gold toquilla. + +He wore the brilliant and luxurious Mexican costume; his calzoneras of +violet velvet, open above the knee, and decorated with a profusion of +carved gold buttons, displayed his shapely leg, elegantly imprisoned in +plaid silk stockings; his manga, thrown over, his shoulder, was bordered +with a wide gold galoon, a girdle of white China crape confined his +hips, and bore a pair of pistols and a sheathless machete, with a broad +and glittering blade, passed through a ring of bronzed steel: an +American rifle, studded with silver ornaments, was slung over his +shoulder. + +There was in the person of this man, still so young, an attraction so +powerful, a dominating fire so strange, that it was impossible to see +him without loving or hating him--so profound was the impression he +unconsciously produced on all those, without exception, with whom +chance brought him into relation. + +No one knew who he was, or whence he came; his very name was unknown; +and people had consequently been compelled to give him a sobriquet, with +which, however, he did not appear at all offended. + +As for his character, the following scenes will make it sufficiently +well known for us to dispense for the present with entering into any +lengthened details. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +LOVE AND JEALOUSY. + + +The first feeling of terror which had caused the three men to recoil at +the appearance of the Jaguar, had gradually worn off; their effrontery, +if not their courage, had returned on seeing the inoffensive manner of +the man they had long been accustomed to fear. + +Ruperto, the biggest scoundrel of the three, was the first to regain his +coolness, and, reflecting that the man who caused them such terror was +alone, and therefore could not have the force on his side, he walked +resolutely toward him. + +"Rayo de Dios!" he said in a brutal voice, "Let that girl alone, for she +deserves not only what has happened to her, but also the chastisement we +are about to inflict on her at once." + +The young man started as if a snake had stung him, and darted over his +shoulder a glance full of menace at the man who had addressed him. + +"Are you speaking to me in that way?" he asked. + +"To whom else?" the other answered, resolutely, although in his heart +he felt alarmed at the way in which his question had been taken up. + +"Ah!" was all the Jaguar said; and without adding another word, he +walked slowly toward Ruperto, whom he held motionless beneath his +fascinating glance, and who watched him come up with a terror that +momentarily increased. + +On arriving about a yard from the Mexican the young man stopped. + +This scene, apparently so simple, must, however, have possessed a +terrible significance for the witnesses, for all bosoms were heaving, +every brow was pallid. + +The Jaguar, with livid face, crisped features, eyes inflamed with blood, +and brows frowning, thrust forth his arm to seize Ruperto, who, overcome +by terror, did not make a single movement to escape from this clutch, +which he knew, however, would be mortal. + +Suddenly Carmela bounded like a startled fawn, and cast herself between +the two men. + +"Oh!" she shrieked, as she clasped her hands; "have pity on him; do not +kill him, in Heaven's name!" + +The young man's face suddenly changed, and assumed an expression of +ineffable gentleness. + +"Be it so!" he said; "Since such is your wish, he shall not die; but he +insulted you, Carmela, and must be punished. On your knees, villain!" he +continued, as he turned to Ruperto and pressed his hand heavily on his +shoulder; "On your knees, and ask pardon of this angel." + +Ruperto sunk together beneath the weight of this iron hand, and fell at +the maiden's feet, murmuring in a timid voice-- + +"Pardon, pardon!" + +"Enough," the Jaguar then said, with a terrible accent; "rise, and thank +your God for having escaped this time again from my vengeance. Open the +door, Carmela." + +The maiden obeyed. + +"To horse!" the Jaguar continued; "Go and wait for me at the Rio Seco, +and mind that not one stirs before my arrival, under penalty of death. +Begone!" + +The three men bowed their heads, and went out without reply; an instant +later the gallop of their horses could be heard echoing on the sandy +road. + +The two young people remained alone in the venta. + +The Jaguar sat down at the table where the men had been drinking a +moment previously, buried his face in his hands, and seemed plunged in +serious thought. + +Carmela looked at him with a mixture of timidity and fear, not daring to +address him. + +At length, after a considerable period had elapsed, the young man raised +his head, and looked around him, as if suddenly aroused from deep sleep. + +"What, you remained here?" he said to her. + +"Yes," she answered, softly. + +"Thanks, Carmela--you are kind! You alone love me, when all else hates +me." + +"Have I not reason to do so?" + +The Jaguar smiled mournfully, but answered this question by asking +another, the usual tactics of persons who do not wish to let their +thoughts be read. + +"Now, tell me frankly what happened between you and those scoundrels." + +The maiden seemed to hesitate for a moment, but made up her mind and +confessed the warning she gave the Captain of Dragoons. + +"You were wrong," the Jaguar said sternly to her; "your imprudence may +produce serious complications. Yet I dare not blame you; you are a +woman, and consequently ignorant of many things. Are you alone here?" + +"Quite alone." + +"What imprudence! How can Tranquil leave you thus?" + +"His duties keep him at present at the Larch-tree hacienda, where there +is going to be a grand hunt in a few days." + +"Hum! At any rate, Quoniam ought to have remained with you." + +"He could not, for Tranquil required his help." + +"The devil is in the business, as it seems," he said, in an ill-humoured +voice; "he must be mad thus to abandon a girl alone in a venta situated +alone in the midst of such a desolate country, during whole weeks." + +"I was not alone, for Lanzi was left with me." + +"Ah! And what has become of him?" + +"A little before sunrise I sent him to kill a little game." + +"A capital reason; and you have been left exposed to the coarse language +and ill-treatment of the first scoundrel who thought proper to insult +you." + +"I did not think there was any danger." + +"Now, I trust you are undeceived." + +"Oh!" she cried, with a start of terror, "That shall never happen again, +I swear to you." + +"Good! But I think I hear Lanzi's footsteps." + +She looked out. + +"Yes," she replied, "here he is." + +The man shortly after entered. He was of about forty years of age, with +an intelligent and bold face; he had on his shoulders a magnificent +deer, fastened much in the way Swiss hunters carry a chamois, and in his +right hand he held a gun. + +He gave a look of annoyance on perceiving the young man; still, he bowed +slightly to him as he placed the venison on the table. + +"Oh, oh," the Jaguar said, in a good-humoured tone, "you have had a good +hunt it seems, Lanzi; are the deer plentiful on the plain?" + +"I have known the time when they were more numerous," he replied, +gruffly; "but now," he added, shaking his head sorrowfully, "it is a +hard matter for a poor man to kill one or two in a day." + +The young man smiled. + +"They will return," he said. + +"No, no," Lanzi replied, "when the deer have been once startled, they do +not return to the parts they have left, however much it might be to +their benefit to do so." + +"You must put up with it then, master, and take things as they are." + +"Well, what else do I?" he growled, as he angrily turned his back on the +speaker. + +And, after this sally, he reloaded the game on his shoulders, and +entered the other room. + +"Lanzi is not amiable to-day," the Jaguar observed, when he found +himself alone with Carmela. + +"He is annoyed at meeting you here." + +The young man frowned. + +"Why so?" he asked. + +Carmela blushed and looked down without answering. + +The Jaguar looked at her searchingly for a moment. + +"I understand," he said at last; "my presence in this hostelry +displeases somebody--him, perhaps." + +"Why should it displease him? He is not the master, I suppose." + +"That is true; then it displeases your father--is that it?" + +The maiden gave a nod of assent. + +The Jaguar sprung up violently, and walked up and down the room, with +his head down, and his arms behind his back; after a few minutes of this +behaviour, which Carmela followed with an anxious eye, he stopped +suddenly before her, raised his head, and looked at her fixedly. + +"And does my presence here, Carmela, displease you also?" + +The girl remained silent. + +"Reply," he went on. + +"I did not say so," she murmured, with hesitation. + +"No," he said, with a bitter smile, "but you think so, Carmela, though +you have not the courage to confess it to my face." + +She drew herself up proudly. + +"You are unjust to me," she replied, with peevish excitement, "unjust +and unkind. Why should I--_I,_ desire your absence? You never did me any +harm; on the contrary, I have ever found you ready to defend me; this +very day you did not hesitate to protect me from the ill-treatment of +the wretches who insulted me." + +"Ah! You allow it?" + +"Why should I not allow it, since it is true? Do you consider me +ungrateful, then?" + +"No, Carmela, you are only a woman," he replied, bitterly. + +"I do not understand your meaning, and do not wish to do so; I alone +here defend you, when my father, or Quoniam, or anyone else accuses you. +Is it my fault, if, owing to your character, and the mysterious life you +lead, you are placed beyond the pale of ordinary existence? Am I +responsible for the silence you insist on maintaining on all that +concerns you personally? You know my father; you know how kind, frank, +and worthy he is; many times he has tried, by circuitous ways, to lead +you to an honourable explanation--but you have always repulsed his +advances. You must, therefore, only blame yourself for the general +isolation in which you are left, and the solitude formed around you; and +do not address reproaches to the only person who, up to the present, has +dared to support you against all." + +"It is true," he answered, bitterly; "I am a madman. I acknowledge my +wrongs towards you, Carmela, for you say truly; in all this world, you +alone have been constantly kind and compassionate for the reprobate--for +the man whom the general hatred pursues." + +"Hatred as foolish as it is unjust." + +"And which you do not share in--is it not?" he exclaimed, sharply. + +"No, I do not share it; still, I suffer from your obstinacy; for, in +spite of all that is said of you, I believe you to be honourable." + +"Thank you, Carmela; I wish I had it in my power to prove immediately +that you are right, and give a denial to those who insult me like +cowards behind my back, and tremble when I stand before them. +Unfortunately, that is impossible for the present; but the day will +come, I hope, when it will be permitted me to make myself known as what +I really am, and throw off the mask that stifles me; and then--" + +"Then?" she repeated, seeing that he hesitated. + +Again he hesitated. + +"Then," he said, in a choking voice, "I shall have a question to ask +you, and a request to make." + +The maiden blushed, but recovered herself directly. + +"You will find me ready to answer both," she murmured, in a low and +inarticulate voice. + +"Do you mean it?" he asked, joyfully. + +"I swear it to you." + +A flash of happiness lit up the young man's face like a sunbeam. + +"My good Carmela," he said, in a deep voice, "when the moment arrives, I +shall remind you of your promise." + +She bowed her head in dumb assent. + +There was a moment of silence. The maiden attended to her household +duties with that bird-like lissomness and activity peculiar to women; +the Jaguar walked up and down the room with a preoccupied air; after a +few moments he went to the door and looked out. + +"I must be gone," he said. + +She gave him a scrutinizing glance. + +"Ah," she said. + +"Yes; then be kind enough to order Lanzi to prepare Santiago. Perhaps if +I told him so myself he would feel disinclined to do it. I fancy I can +see I am no longer in his good graces." + +"I will go," she answered him with a smile. + +The young man watched her depart with a stifled sigh. + +"What is this I feel?" he muttered, as he pressed his hand powerfully +against his heart, as if he suddenly felt a sudden pain: "Can it be what +people call love? I am mad!" he went on, directly after; "How can I, the +Jaguar, love? Can a reprobate be beloved?" + +A bitter smile contracted his lips; he frowned and muttered, in a hollow +voice-- + +"Every man has his task in this world, and I shall know how to +accomplish mine." + +Carmela came in again. + +"Santiago will be ready in a moment. Here are your vaquera boots, which +Lanzi begged me to give you." + +"Thank you," he said. + +And he began fastening on his legs those two pieces of stamped leather +which in Mexico play the part of gaiters, and serve to protect the rider +from the horse. + +While the young man fastened on his botas, with one foot on the bench, +and his body bent forward, Carmela examined him attentively, with an +expression of timid hesitation. + +The Jaguar noticed it. + +"What do you want?" he asked her. + +"Nothing," she said, stammering. + +"You are deceiving me, Carmela. Come--time presses--tell me the truth." + +"Well," she replied, with a hesitation more and more marked, "I have a +prayer to make to you." + +"Speak quickly, Niña, for you know that, whatever it may be, I grant it +to you beforehand." + +"You swear it?" + +"I do." + +"Well, whatever may happen, I desire that if you meet the Captain of +Dragoons who was here this morning, you will grant him your protection." + +The young man sprung up, as if stung by a viper. + +"Ah, then," he shrieked, "what I was told was true, then?" + +"I do not know what you are alluding to, but I repeat my request." + +"I do not know the man, since I did not arrive until after his +departure." + +"Yes, you know him," she continued, boldly. "Why seek a subterfuge, if +you wish to break the promise you made me? It would be better to be +frank." + +"It is well," he replied, in a gloomy voice and a tone of biting irony; +"reassure yourself Carmela, I will defend your lover." + +And he rushed madly from the venta. + +"Oh!" the maiden exclaimed, as she fell on a bench, and melted into +tears; "Oh! That demon is properly christened the Jaguar! He has a +tiger's heart in his bosom." + +She buried her face in her hands, and broke out into sobs. + +At the same moment the rapid gallop of a retreating horse was heard. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +CARMELA. + + +Before we continue our story, it is indispensable for us to give our +readers certain important and indispensable details about facts that +have to come. + +Among the provinces of the vast territory of New Spain, there is one, +the most eastern of all, whose real value the Government of the Viceroys +has constantly ignored. This ignorance was kept up by the Mexican +Republic, which, at the period of the proclamation of Independence, did +not think it worthy of being formed into a separate state, and, without +dreaming of what might happen at a later date, negligently allowed it to +be colonized by the North Americans, who even at that period seemed +infected by that fever of encroachment and aggrandizement which has now +become a species of endemic mania among these worthy citizens--we refer +to Texas. + +This magnificent country is one of the most fortunately situated in +Mexico; territorially regarded, it is immense, no country is better +watered, for considerable rivers pour into the sea, their waters swollen +by countless streams which fertilize this country, as they traverse it +in every direction; and these currents and rivers being deeply imbedded, +never form those wide expanses of water by their overflow, which in +other countries are transformed into fetid marshes. + +The climate of Texas is healthy, and exempt from those frightful +diseases which have given such a sinister celebrity to certain countries +of the New World. + +The natural borders of Texas are the Sabina on the East, Red River on +the north, to the west a chain of lofty mountains, which enters vast +prairies, and the Rio Bravo del Norte, and lastly, from the mouth of the +latter river to that of the Sabina, the Gulf of Mexico. + +We have said that the Spaniards were almost ignorant of the real value +of Texas, although they had been acquainted with it for a very long +time, for it is almost certain that in 1536, Cabeça de Vaca traversed it +when he proceeded from Florida to the northern provinces of Mexico. + +Still the honour of the first settlement attempted in this fine country +belongs incontestably to France. + +In fact, the unfortunate and celebrated Robert de la Salle, ordered by +the Marquis de Siegnelay to discover the mouth of the Mississippi in +1684, made a mistake, and entered the Rio de Colorado, which he +descended with countless difficulties, till he reached the San Bernardo +lagoon, where he built a fort between Velasco and Matagorda, and took +possession of the country. We will enter into no further details about +this bold explorer, who twice attempted to reach the unknown lands to +the east of Mexico, and was traitorously assassinated in 1687, by +villains who belonged to his band. + +A later reminiscence attaches France to Texas, for it was there that +General Lallemand attempted in 1817 to found, under the name of _Champ +d'Asyle_, a colony of French refugees, the unhappy relics of the +invincible armies of the first empire. This colony, situated about ten +leagues from Galveston, was utterly destroyed by the orders of the +Viceroy Apodaca, by virtue of the despotic system, constantly followed +by the Spaniards of the New World, of not allowing strangers, under any +pretext, to establish themselves on any point of their territory. + +We shall be forgiven these prosy details when our readers reflect that +this country, scarce twenty years free, with a superficies of one +hundred thousand acres and more, and inhabited by two hundred thousand +persons at the most, has, however, entered on an era of prosperity and +progress, which must inevitably arouse the attention of European +Governments, and the sympathies of intelligent men of all nations. + +At the period when the events occurred which we have undertaken to +narrate, that is to say in the later half of 1829, Texas still belonged +to Mexico, but its glorious revolution had begun, it was struggling +valiantly to escape from the disgraceful yoke of the central government, +and proclaim its independence. + +Before, however, we continue our story, we must explain how it was that +Tranquil, the Canadian hunter, and Quoniam, the Negro, who was indebted +to him for liberty, whom we left on the Upper Missouri leading the free +life of wood-rangers, found themselves established, as it were, in +Texas, and how the hunter had a daughter, or, at any rate, called his +daughter, the lovely fair-haired girl we have presented to the reader +under the name of Carmela. + +About twelve years before the day we visit the Venta del Potrero, +Tranquil arrived at the same hostelry, accompanied by two comrades, and +a child of five to six years of age, with blue eyes, ruddy lips, and +golden hair, who was no other than Carmela; as for his comrades, one was +Quoniam, the other an Indian half-breed, who answered to the name of +Lanzi. + +The sun was just about setting when the little party halted in front of +the venta. + +The host, but little accustomed in this desolate country, close to the +Indian border, to see travellers, and especially at so late an hour, had +already closed and barred his house, and was himself getting ready for +bed, when the unexpected arrival of our friends forced him to alter his +arrangements for the night. + +It was, however, only with marked repugnance, and on the repeated +assurances the travellers made him that he had nought to fear from them, +that he at length decided to open his door, and admit them to his house. + +Once that he had resolved to receive them, the host was as he should be +to his guests, that is to say, polite and attentive, as far as that can +enter into the character of a Mexican landlord, a race, be it noted in a +parenthesis, the least hospitable in existence. + +He was a short, stout man, with cat-like manners, and crafty looks, +already of a certain age, but still quick and active. + +When the travellers had placed their horses in the corral, before a good +stock of alfalfa, and had themselves supped with the appetite of men who +have made a long journey, the ice was broken between them and the host, +thanks to a few tragos of Catalonian refino, liberally offered by the +Canadian, and the conversation went on upon a footing of the truest +cordiality, while the little girl, carefully wrapped up in the hunter's +warm zarapé, was sleeping with that calm and simple carelessness +peculiar to that happy age when the present is all in all, and the +future does not exist. + +"Well, gossip," Tranquil said gaily, as he poured out a glass of refino +for the host; "I fancy you must lead a jolly life of it here." + +"I?" + +"Hang it, yes; you go to bed with the bees, and I feel certain you are +in no hurry to get up in the morning." + +"What else can I do in this accursed desert, where I have buried myself +for my sins?" + +"Are travellers so rare, then?" + +"Yes and no; it depends on the meaning you give the word." + +"Confound it! there are not two meanings, I should fancy." + +"Yes, two very distinct meanings." + +"Nonsense! I am curious to know them." + +"That is easy enough: there is no lack of vagabonds of every colour in +the country, and if I liked, they would fill my house the whole blessed +day; but they would not shew me the colour of their money." + +"Ah, very good; but these estimable Caballeros do not constitute the +whole of your customers, I presume?" + +"No; there are also the Indios Bravos, Comanches, Apaches, and Pawnees, +and Heaven alone knows who else, who prowl about the neighbourhood from +time to time." + +"Hum! those are awkward neighbours, and if you have only such customers, +I am beginning to be of your opinion; still, you must now and then +receive pleasanter visits." + +"Yes, from time to time, straggling travellers like yourself, of course; +but the profits, in any case, are far from covering the expenses." + +"That is true, here's your health." + +"The same to you." + +"In that case, though, allow me a remark which may appear to you +indiscreet." + +"Speak, speak, Caballeros, we are talking as friends, so have no chance +of offence." + +"You are right. If you are so uncomfortable here, why the deuce do you +remain?" + +"Why, where would you have me go?" + +"Well, I do not know, but you would be better off anywhere than here." + +"Ah! if it only depended on me," he said, with a sigh. + +"Have you anybody with you here?" + +"No, I am alone." + +"Well, what prevents you going then?" + +"Eh, Caramba, the money! All I possessed, and that was not much, was +spent in building this house, and installing myself, and I could not +have managed it had it not been for the peons." + +"Is there a hacienda here?" + +"Yes, the Larch tree hacienda, about four leagues off, so that, you +understand, if I go, I must give up my all." + +"Ah, ah," Tranquil said thoughtfully, "very good, go on. Why not sell +it?" + +"Where are the buyers? Do you fancy it so easy to find about here a man +with four or five hundred piastres in his pocket; and, moreover, ready +to commit an act of folly?" + +"Well, I can't say, but I fancy by seeking he could be found." + +"Nonsense, gossip, you are jesting!" + +"On my word I am not," Tranquil said, suddenly changing his tone, "and I +will prove it to you." + +"Good." + +"You say you will sell your house for four hundred piastres?" + +"Did I say four hundred?" + +"Don't finesse, you did." + +"Very good, then; I admit it: what next?" + +"Well, I will buy it, if you like." + +"You?" + +"Why not?" + +"I will think about it." + +"That is done; say yes or no, take it, or leave it; perhaps I may have +altered my mind in five minutes, so decide." + +The landlord gave the Canadian a searching glance. "I accept," he said. + +"Good: but I will not give you four hundred piastres." + +"How much?" the other said, crying off. + +"I will give you six hundred." + +The landlord looked at him in amazement. + +"I am quite agreeable," he said. + +"But on one condition." + +"What is it?" + +"That to-morrow, so soon as the sale is completed, you will mount your +horse--you have one, I suppose?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, you will mount, start, and never show yourself here again." + +"Oh! You may be quite certain on that point." + +"It's settled then?" + +"Perfectly." + +"Then let your witnesses be ready at day-break." + +"They shall be." + +The conversation ended here. The travellers wrapped themselves in their +fressadas and zarapés, lay down on the lumpy floor of the room, and fell +asleep; the host followed their example. + +As was arranged between them, the landlord, a little before daybreak, +saddled his horse, and went to fetch the witnesses necessary for the +validity of the transaction; for this purpose he galloped to the +Larch-tree hacienda and returned by sunrise, accompanied by the +major-domo and seven or eight peons. + +The major-domo, the only one who could read and write, drew up the deed +of sale, and after collecting all the persons, read it aloud. + +Tranquil then took thirty-seven and a half gold onzas from his girdle, +and spread them out on the table. + +"Be witnesses, Caballeros," the major-domo said, addressing his +audience, "that the Señor Tranquilo has paid the six hundred piastres +agreed on for the purchase of the Venta del Potrero." + +"We are witness," they replied. + +Then all present, the major-domo at their head, passed into the corral +behind the house. + +On reaching it, Tranquil pulled up a tuft of grass which he cast over +his shoulder; then picking up a stone, he hurled it over the opposite +wall: according to the terms of Mexican law, he was now the owner. + +"Be witness, Señores," the major-domo again spoke, "that Señor +Tranquilo, here present, has legally taken possession of this estate. +_Dios y libertad!_" + +"_Dios y libertad_!" the others shouted; "Long life to the new +huesped!" + +All the formalities being performed, they now returned to the house, +when Tranquil poured out bumpers for his witnesses, whom this unexpected +liberality filled with delight. + +The ex-landlord, faithful to his agreement, pressed the buyer's hand, +mounted his horse, and went off, wishing him good luck. From that day +they never heard of him again. + +This was the manner in which the hunter arrived in Texas, and became a +landed proprietor. + +He left Lanzi and Quoniam at the venta with Carmela. As for himself, +thanks to the patronage of the major-domo, who recommended him to his +master, Don Hilario de Vaureal, he entered the Larch-tree hacienda in +the capacity of tigrero or tiger-killer. + +Although the country selected by the hunter to establish himself was on +the confines of the Mexican border, and, for that reason, almost +deserted, the vaqueros and peons cudgelled their brains for some time in +trying to discover the reason which bad compelled so clever and brave a +hunter as the Canadian to retire there. But all the efforts made to +discover this reason, all the questions asked, remained without result; +the hunter's comrades and himself remained dumb; as for the little girl, +she knew nothing. + +At length the disappointed people gave up trying to find the explanation +of this enigma, trusting to time, that great clearer up of mysteries, to +tell them at length the truth which was so carefully concealed. + +But weeks, months, years elapsed, and nothing raised even a corner of +the hunter's secret. + +Carmela had grown an exquisite maiden, and the venta had increased the +number of its customers. This border, hitherto so quiet, owing to its +remoteness from the towns and pueblos, felt the movement which the +revolutionary ideas imparted to the centre of the country; travellers +became more frequent, and the hunter, who had up to this time appeared +rather careless as to the future, trusting for his safety to the +isolation of his abode, began to grow anxious, not for himself, but for +Carmela, who was exposed almost definitively to the bold attempts not +only of lovers, whom her beauty attracted, as honey does flies, but also +to those of the ruffians whom the troublous times had drawn out of their +lairs, and who wandered about all the roads like coyotes seeking prey to +devour. + +The hunter, wishful no longer to leave the maiden in the dangerous +position into which circumstances had thrown her, was actively employed +in warding off the misfortunes he foresaw; for, although it is +impossible, for the present, to know what ties attached him to the girl +who called him father, we will state here that he felt a really paternal +affection and absolute devotion for her, in which, indeed, Quoniam and +Lanzi imitated him. Carmela to these three men was neither girl nor +woman; she was an idol they adored on their bended knees, and for whom +they would have readily sacrificed their lives at the slightest sign it +might please her to make them. + +A smile from Carmela rendered them happy; the slightest frown from her +made them sorrowful. + +We must add, that although she was aware of the full extent of her +power, Carmela did not abuse it, and it was her greatest joy to see +herself surrounded by these three hearts which were so entirely devoted +to her. + +Now that we have given these details, doubtless very imperfect, but the +only ones possible, we will resume our story at the point where we left +it in the penultimate chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE CONDUCTA DE PLATA. + + +We will now return to the caravan, which we saw leave the Potrero at +sunrise, and in the Chief of which Carmela seemed so greatly interested. + +This Chief was a young man of about five-and-twenty, with delicate, +dashing, and distinguished features; he wore, with supreme elegance, the +brilliant uniform of a Captain of Dragoons. + +Although he belonged to one of the oldest and noblest families in +Mexico, Don Juan Melendez de Gongora would only owe his promotion to +himself; an extraordinary desire in a country where military honour is +regarded almost as nothing, and where only the superior grades give +those who hold them a degree of consideration which is rather the result +of fear than of sympathy, on the part of the people. + +Still Don Juan had persevered in his eccentric idea, and each step he +won was not the result of a pronunciamento successfully carried out by +any ambitious General, but that of a brilliant action. Don Juan belonged +to that class of real Mexicans who honestly love their country, and who, +jealous of its honour, dream for it a restoration, very difficult, if +not impossible, to obtain. + +The force of virtue is so great, even on the most depraved natures, that +Captain Don Juan Melendez de Gongora was respected by all the men who +approached him, even by those who loved him the least. + +However, the Captain's virtue had nothing austere or exaggerated about +it; he was a thorough soldier, gay, obliging, brave as his sword, and +ever ready to help, either with his arm or purse, all those, friends or +foes, who had recourse to him. Such, physically and morally, was the man +who commanded the caravan, and granted his protection to the monk who +rode by his side. + +This worthy Frayle, about whom we have had already occasion to say a few +words, deserves a detailed description. + +Physically, he was a man of about fifty, almost as tall as he was wide, +bearing a striking likeness to a barrel set on legs, and yet gifted with +far from common strength and activity; his violet nose, his huge lips, +and ruddy face, gave him a jovial appearance, which two little grey +sunken eyes, full of fire and resolution, rendered ironical and mocking. + +Morally, he was in no way distinguished from the majority of Mexican +monks--that is to say, he was ignorant as a carp, prone to drinking, a +passionate lover of the fair sex, and superstitious in the highest +degree; but for all that, the best companion in the world, at home in +all society, and always able to raise a laugh. + +What singular accident could have brought him so far on the border? This +no one knew or cared for, as everyone was aware of the vagabond humour +of Mexican monks, whose life is constantly passed in roaming from one +place to the other, without object, and generally without interest, but +simply at the dictates of caprice. + +At this period, Texas, joined to another province, formed a state called +Texas and Cohahuila. + +The party commanded by Don Juan de Melendez left Nacogdoches eight days +previously, bound for Mexico; but the Captain, in accordance with the +instructions he received, left the ordinary road, inundated at that +moment with bands of brigands of every description, and made a long +circuit to avoid certain ill-famed gorges of the Sierra de San Saba. He +would still have to cross that range; but on the side of the great +prairies, that is to say, at the spot where the plateaux, gradually +descending, do not offer those variations of landscape which are so +dangerous to travellers. + +The ten mules the Captain escorted must be loaded with very precious +merchandise, for the Federal Government--seeing the small number of +troops it had in the State--to have resolved on having it convoyed by +forty dragoons under an officer of Don Juan's reputation, whose +presence, under existing circumstances, would have been highly +necessary, not to say indispensable, in the interior of the State, in +order to suppress revolutionary attempts, and keep the inhabitants in +the path of duty. + +In fact, the merchandise was very valuable; these ten mules transported +three millions of piastres, which would assuredly be a grand windfall +for the insurgents, if they fell into their hands. + +The time was left far behind, when, under the rule of the Viceroys, the +Spanish flag borne at the head of a train of fifty or sixty mules laden +with gold, was sufficient to protect a conducta de plata effectually, +and enable it to traverse, without the slightest risk, the whole width +of Mexico, so great was the terror inspired by the mere name of Spain. + +Now, it was not one hundred, or sixty mules; but ten, which forty +resolute men seemed hardly sufficient to protect. + +The government considered it advisable to employ the greatest prudence +in sending off this conducta, which had long been expected at Mexico. +The greatest silence was maintained as to the hour and day of departure, +and the road it would follow. + +The bales were made so as to conceal, as far as possible, the nature of +the merchandise carried; the mules sent off one by one, in open day, +only under the protection of the arriero, joined, fifteen leagues from +the town, the escort which had been encamped for more than a month, +under some plausible excuse, in an ancient presidio. + +All had, therefore, been foreseen and calculated with the greatest care +and intelligence to get this precious merchandise in safety to its +destination; the arrieros, the only persons who knew the value of their +load, would be careful not to speak about it, for the little they +possessed was made responsible for the safety of their freight, and they +ran the risk of being utterly ruined if their mules were robbed on the +road. + +The conducta advanced in the most excellent order, to the sound of the +Néna's bells; the arrieros sang gaily their mules, urging them on by +this eternal "arrea, Mula! Arrea, Linda!" + +The pennons fastened to the long lances of the dragoons fluttered in the +morning breeze, and the Captain listened idly to the monk's chatter, +while at intervals taking a searching glance over the deserted plain. + +"Come, come, Fray Antonio," he said to his stout companion, "you can no +longer regret having set out at so early an hour, for the morning is +magnificent, and everything forebodes a pleasant day." + +"Yes, yes," the other replied with a laugh; "thanks to Nuestra Señora de +la Soledad, honourable Captain, we are in the best possible state for +travelling." + +"Well, I am glad to find you in such good spirits, for I feared lest the +rather sudden waking this morning might have stirred up your bile." + +"I, good gracious, honourable Captain!" he replied, with feigned +humility; "we unworthy members of the church must submit without +murmuring to all the tribulations which it pleases the Lord to send us; +and besides, life is so short, that it is better only to look at the +bright side, not to lose in vain regret the few moments of joy to which +we can lay claim." + +"Bravo! That is the sort of philosophy I like; you are a good companion, +Padre--I hope we shall travel together for a long while." + +"That depends a little on you, Señor Captain." + +"On me? how so?" + +"Well, on the direction you propose following." + +"Hum!" Don Juan said; "and pray where may you be going, Señor Padre?" + +This old-fashioned tactic of answering one question by another, is +excellent, and nearly always succeeds. This time the monk was caught; +but, in accordance with the habit of his brethren, his answer was as it +was meant to be, evasive. + +"Oh, I," he said with affected carelessness; "all roads are pretty +nearly the same to me; my gown assures me, wherever chance bends my +steps, pleasant faces and hearty reception." + +"That is true; hence I am surprised at the question you asked me an +instant back." + +"Oh, it is not worth troubling yourself about, honourable Captain. I +should feel agonised at having annoyed you, hence I humbly beg you to +pardon me." + +"You have in no way annoyed me, Señor Padre. I have no reason for +concealing the road I purpose following; this recua of mules I am +escorting does not affect me in any way, and I propose leaving it +to-morrow or the day after." + +The monk could not restrain a start of surprise. + +"Ah!" he said, as he looked searchingly at the speaker. + +"Oh yes," the Captain continued, in an easy tone, "these worthy men +begged me to accompany them for a few days, through fear of the gavillas +that infest the roads; they have, it appears, valuable merchandize with +them, and would not like to be plundered." + +"I understand; it would not be at all pleasant for them." + +"Would it? hence I did not like to refuse them the slight service which +took me only a little way out of my road; but so soon as they consider +themselves in safety, I shall leave them and enter the prairie, in +accordance with the instructions I have received, for you know that the +Indios Bravos are stirring." + +"No, I was not aware of it." + +"Well, in that case, I tell it you; there is a magnificent opportunity +that presents itself to you, Padre Antonio, and you must not neglect +it." + +"A magnificent opportunity for me?" the monk repeated, in amazement; +"What opportunity, honourable Captain?" + +"For preaching to the Infidels, and teaching them the dogmas of our Holy +Faith," he replied, with imperturbable coolness. + +At this abrupt proposal the monk made a frightful face. + +"Deuce take the opportunity!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers; "I +will leave that to other asses! I feel no inclination for martyrdom." + +"As you please, Padre; still you are wrong." + +"That is possible, honourable Captain, but hang me if I accompany you +near those pagans; in two days I shall leave you." + +"So soon as that?" + +"Why, I suppose, that since you are going on to the prairie, you will +leave the recua of mules you are escorting at the Rancho of San Jacinto, +which is the extreme point of the Mexican possessions on the desert +border." + +"It is probable." + +"Well, I will go on with the muleteers; as all the dangerous passes will +then have been left behind, I shall have nothing to fear, and shall +continue my journey in the most agreeable way possible." + +"Ah," the Captain said to him, with a piercing glance; but he was unable +to continue this conversation, which seemed highly interesting to him, +for a horseman galloped up at full speed from the front, stopped before +him, and stooping to his ear, whispered a few words. + +The Captain looked scrutinizingly round him, drew himself up in the +saddle, and addressed the soldier-- + +"Very good. How many are they?" + +"Two, Captain." + +"Watch them, but do not let them suspect they are prisoners; on arriving +at the halting ground I will cross-question them. Rejoin your comrades." + +The soldier bowed respectfully without reply, and went off at the same +speed he had come up. + +Captain Melendez had for a long time accustomed his subordinates not to +discuss his orders, but obey them unhesitatingly. + +We mention this fact because it is excessively rare in Mexico, where +military discipline is almost a nullity, and subordination unknown. + +Don Juan closed up the ranks of the escort, and ordered them to hurry +on. + +The monk had seen with secret alarm the conference between the officer +and the soldier, of which he was unable to catch a word. When the +Captain, after attentively watching the execution of his orders, +returned to his place by his side, Father Antonio tried to jest about +what had happened, and the cloud of gravity that had suddenly darkened +the officer's face. + +"Oh, oh," he said to him, with a loud laugh, "how gloomy you are, +Captain! did you see three owls flying on your right? The pagans assert +that such is an evil omen." + +"Perhaps so," the Captain drily replied. + +The tone in which the remark was uttered had nothing friendly or +inviting about it. The monk understood that any conversation at this +moment was impossible; he took the hint, bit his lips, and continued to +ride silently by his companion's side. + +An hour later they reached the bivouac; neither the monk nor the officer +had said a word; but the nearer they came to the spot selected for the +halt, the more anxious each seemed to grow. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE HALT. + + +The sun had almost entirely disappeared on the horizon at the moment +when the caravans reached the halting ground. + +This spot, situated on the top of a rather scarped hill, had been +selected with that sagacity which distinguishes Texan or Mexican +arrieros; any surprise was impossible, and the aged trees that grew on +the crest of the hill would, in the event of an attack, offer a secure +protection against bullets. + +The mules were unloaded, but, contrary to the usual custom, the bales, +instead of being employed as a breastwork for the camp, were piled up +and placed out of reach of the marauders whom chance or cupidity might +attract to this quarter when the darkness had set in. + +Seven or eight large fires were lit in a circle, in order to keep off +wild beasts; the mules received their ration of Indian corn on _mantas_ +or horsecloths laid on the ground; then, so soon as sentinels were +posted round the camp, the troopers and arrieros were busily engaged in +preparing the poor supper, which the day's fatigues rendered necessary. + +Captain Don Juan and the monk, who had gone a little aside to a fire lit +expressly for them, were beginning to smoke their husk cigarettes, while +the officer's servant was hastily preparing his master's meal--a meal, +we are bound to say, as simple as that of the other members of the +caravan, but which hunger had the privilege of rendering not only +appetising, but almost succulent, although it was only composed of a few +_varas_ of tocino, or meat dried in the sun, and four or five biscuits. + +The Captain soon finished his supper. He then rose, and, as night had +completely fallen, went to visit the sentries, and see that all was in +order. When he resumed his place by the fire, Father Antonio, with his +feet turned to the flame, and wrapped in a thick zarapé, was sleeping, +or pretending to sleep, soundly. + +Don Juan examined him for a moment with an expression of hatred and +contempt, impossible to describe, shook his head twice or thrice +thoughtfully, and then told his assistants, who were standing a few +paces off in expectation of his orders, to have the two prisoners +brought up. + +These prisoners had hitherto been kept apart; though treated with +respect, it was, however, easy for them to see that they were guarded +with the greatest care; still, either through carelessness or some other +reason, they did not appear to notice the fact, for their weapons had +been left them, and, judging from their muscular force and energetic +features, though both had reached middle life, there was fair ground for +supposing when the moment arrived for them to insist on their liberty, +they would be the men to try and regain it by force. + +Without any remark they followed the Captain's servant, and soon found +themselves before that officer. + +Though the night was gloomy, the flames of the fire spread sufficient +light around to illumine the faces of the new comers. + +On seeing them Don Juan gave a start of surprise, but one of the +prisoners laid his finger on his lip to recommend prudence to him, and +at the same time glanced significantly at the monk lying near them. + +The Captain understood this dumb warning, to which he replied by a light +nod of the head, and then affected the utmost carelessness. + +"Who are you?" he asked, as he idly rolled a cigarette between his +fingers. + +"Hunters," one of the prisoners answered, without hesitation. + +"You were found a few hours back halting on the bank of a stream." + +"Quite correct." + +"What were you doing there?" + +The prisoner bent a scrutinizing glance around, and then looked again +boldly at the speaker. + +"Before giving any further answer to your questions," he said, "I should +like to ask you one in my turn." + +"What is it?" + +"Your right to cross-question me?" + +"Look round you," the Captain lightly replied. + +"Yes, I understand you, the right of force. Unluckily I do not recognize +that right. I am a free hunter, acknowledging no other law but my will, +no other master but myself." + +"Oh, oh! your language is bold, comrade." + +"It is that of a man not accustomed to yield to any arbitrary power; to +take me you have abused--I do not say your strength, for your soldiers +would have killed me, before compelling me to follow them, had not such +been my intention--but the facility with which I confided in you: I +therefore protest against it, and demand my immediate freedom." + +"Your haughty language has no effect on me, and were it my good +pleasure to force you to speak, I could compel you by certain +irresistible arguments I possess." + +"Yes," the prisoner said, bitterly, "the Mexicans remember the Spaniards +their ancestors, and appeal to torture when necessary; well, try it, +Captain--who prevents you? I trust that my gray hairs will not grow weak +before your young moustache." + +"Enough of this," the Captain said, angrily. "If I give you your +liberty, should I deliver a friend or a foe?" + +"Neither." + +"Hum! what do you mean?" + +"My answer is clear enough, surely." + +"Still, I do not understand it." + +"I will explain in two words." + +"Speak." + +"Both of us being placed in diametrically opposite positions, chance has +thought proper to bring us together to-day: if we now part, we shall +take with us no feeling of hatred through our meeting, because neither +you nor I have had cause to complain of each other, and probably we +shall never see each other again." + +"Still, it is plain that when my soldiers found you, you were expecting +somebody on this road." + +"What makes you suppose that?" + +"Hang it! you told me you were hunters; I do not see any game you could +hunt along this road." + +The prisoner began laughing. + +"Who knows?" he replied, with a stress on his words, "Perhaps it was +more precious game than you may fancy, and of which you would like to +have your share." + +The monk gave a slight start, and opened his eyes as awaking. + +"What?" he said, addressing the Captain, and stifling a yawn. "You are +not asleep, Don Juan?" + +"Not yet," the latter answered. "I am questioning the two men my +vanguard arrested some hours ago." + +"Ah!" the monk remarked with a disdainful glance at the strangers, +"these poor devils do not appear to me very alarming." + +"You think so?" + +"I do not know what you can have to fear from these men." + +"Perhaps they are spies?" + +Fray Antonio assumed a paternal air. + +"Spies?" he said; "Do you fear an ambuscade?" + +"Under the circumstances in which we now are, that supposition is not so +improbable, I fancy." + +"Nonsense! in a country like this, and with the escort you have at your +service, that would be extraordinary; moreover, these two men let +themselves be captured without resistance, as I heard, when they might +easily have escaped." + +"That is true." + +"It is evident, then, that they had no bad intentions. If I were you, I +would quietly let them go where they pleased." + +"Is that your advice?" + +"Indeed it is." + +"You seem to take a great interest in these two strangers." + +"I? Not the least in the world. I only tell you what is right, that's +all: now you can act as you please. I wash my hands of it." + +"You may be right, still I will not set these persons at liberty till +they have told me the name of the person they were expecting." + +"Were they expecting anybody?" + +"They say so, at any rate." + +"It is true, Captain," said the person who had hitherto spoken; "but +though we knew you were coming, it was not you we were waiting for." + +"Who was it, then?" + +"Do you insist on knowing?" + +"Certainly." + +"Then answer, Fray Antonio," the prisoner said with a grin; "for you +alone can reveal the name the Captain asks of us." + +"I?" the monk said with a start of passion, and turning pale as a +corpse. + +"Ah, ah!" the Captain said, as he turned to him, "this is beginning to +grow interesting." + +It was a singular scene presented by the four men standing round the +fire, whose flame fantastically lit up their faces. + +The Captain carelessly smoked his cigarette, while looking sarcastically +at the monk, on whose face impudence and fear were fighting a battle, +every incident in which was easy to read; the two hunters, with their +hands crossed over the muzzles of their long rifles, smiled cunningly, +and seemed to be quietly enjoying the embarrassment of the man whom they +had placed in this terrible dilemma. + +"Don't pretend to look so surprised, Padre Antonio," the prisoner then +at length said; "you know very well we were expecting you." + +"Me?" the monk said in a choking voice; "the scoundrel is mad, on my +soul." + +"I am not mad, Padre, and I will trouble you not to employ such language +toward me," the prisoner replied drily. + +"Come, give in," the other, who had hitherto been silent, cried +coarsely; "I do not care to dance at the end of a rope for your good +pleasure." + +"Which will inevitably happen," the Captain remarked quietly, "if you do +not decide, Caballeros, on giving me a clear and explicit explanation of +your conduct." + +"There you see, Señor Frayle," the prisoner continued, "our position is +growing delicate; come, behave like a man." + +"Oh!" the monk exclaimed furiously, "I have fallen into a horrible +trap." + +"Enough," the Captain said in a thundering voice; "this farce has lasted +only too long, Padre Antonio. It is not you who have fallen into a trap, +but you tried to draw me into one. I have known you for a long time, and +possess the most circumstantial details about the plans you were +devising. It is a dangerous game you have been playing for a long time; +a man cannot serve GOD and the devil simultaneously, without all being +discovered at last; still, I wished to confront you with these worthy +men, in order to confound you, and make the mask fall from your +hypocritical face." + +At this rude apostrophe the Monk was for a moment stunned, crushed as he +was beneath the weight of the charges brought against him; at length he +raised his head and turned to the Captain. + +"Of what am I accused?" he asked haughtily. + +Don Juan smiled contemptuously. + +"You are accused," he replied, "of having wished to lead the conducta I +command into an ambush formed by you, and where at this moment your +worthy acolytes are waiting to massacre and rob us. What will you reply +to that?" + +"Nothing," he answered, drily. + +"You are right, for your denials would not be accepted. Still, now that +you are convicted by your own confession, you will not escape without an +eternal recollection of our meeting." + +"Take care of what you are about to do, Señor Captain: I belong to the +church, and this gown renders me inviolable." + +A mocking smile contracted the Captain's lips. + +"No matter for that," he replied, "it shall be stripped off you." + +Most of the troopers and arrieros, aroused by the loud voices of the +monk and the officer, had gradually drawn nearer, and attentively +followed the conversation. + +The Captain pointed to the monk, and addressed the soldiers. + +"Strip off the gown that covers that man," he said; "fasten him to a +catalpa, and give him two hundred lashes with a _chicote_." + +"Villains!" the monk exclaimed, nearly out of his mind; "Any man of you +who dares to lay hands on me I curse; he will be eternally condemned for +having insulted a minister of the altar." + +The soldiers stopped in terror before this anathema, which their +ignorance and stupid superstition robbed them of the courage to brave. + +The monk folded his arms, and addressed the officer triumphantly-- + +"Wretched madman," he said, "I could punish you for your audacity, but I +pardon you. Heaven will undertake to avenge me, and you will be punished +when your last hour arrives. Farewell! Make room for me to pass, +fellows!" + +The dragoons, confused and timid, fell back slowly and hesitatingly +before him; the Captain, forced to confess his impotence, clenched his +fists, as he looked passionately around him. + +The monk had all but passed through the ranks of the soldiers, when he +suddenly felt his arm clutched; he turned with the evident intention of +severely reprimanding the man who was so audacious as to touch him, but +the expression of his face suddenly changed on seeing who it was that +stopped him, and looked at him craftily, for it was no other than the +strange prisoner, the first cause of the insult offered him. + +"One moment, Señor Padre," the hunter said. "I can understand that these +worthy fellows, who are Catholics, should fear your curse, and dare not +lay a hand on you through their dread of eternal flames, but with me it +is different. I am a heretic, as you know, hence I run no risk in taking +off your gown, and, with your permission, I will do you that slight +service." + +"Oh!" the monk replied, as he ground his teeth; "I will kill you, John, +I will kill you, villain!" + +"Nonsense, threatened people live a long while," John replied, as he +forced him to take off his monk's gown. + +"There," he continued, "now, my fine fellows, you can carry out your +Captain's orders in perfect safety; this man is no more to you than the +first comer." + +The hunter's bold action suddenly broke the spell that enchained the +soldiers. So soon as the much-feared gown no longer covered the monk's +shoulders, listening to neither prayers nor threats, they seized the +culprit, fastened him, in spite of his cries, securely to a catalpa, and +conscientiously administered the two hundred lashes decreed by the +Captain, while the hunters played their part by counting the blows and +laughing loudly at the contortions of the wretched man, whom pain caused +to writhe like a serpent. + +At the one hundred and twenty-eighth lash the monk became silent: his +nervous system being completely overthrown, rendered him insensible; +still, he did not faint, his teeth were clenched, a white foam escaped +from his crisped lips, he looked fixedly before him without seeing +anything, and giving no other signs of existence than the heavy sighs +which at intervals upheld his muscular chest. + +When the punishment was ended, and he was unfastened, he fell to the +ground like a log, and lay there motionless. + +His robe was handed back to him, and he was left to lie there, no one +troubling himself further about him. + +The two hunters then went off, after talking to the Captain for some +minutes in a low voice. + +The rest of the night passed away without incident. + +A few minutes before sunrise, the soldiers and arrieros prepared to load +the mules, and prepare everything for the start. + +"Stay," the Captain suddenly exclaimed, "where is the monk? We cannot +abandon him thus; lay him on a mule, and we will leave him at the first +rancho we come to." + +The soldiers hastened to obey, and look for Padre Antonio, but all their +search was in vain; he had disappeared, and left no trace of his flight. + +Don Juan frowned at the news, but, after a moment's reflection, he shook +his head carelessly. + +"All the better," he said, "he would have been in our way." + +The conducta herewith started again. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A POLITICAL SKETCH. + + +Before proceeding further, we will say in a few words what was the +political situation of Texas at the moment when the story we have +undertaken to tell took place. + +During the Spanish domination, the Texans claimed their liberty, arms in +hand; but after various successes, they were definitively crushed at the +battle of Medina, on August 13th, 1815, a fatal date, by Colonel +Arredondo, commanding the regiment of Estremadura, who was joined by the +Militia of the State of Cohahuila. From that period up to the second +Mexican Revolution, Texas remained bowed beneath the intolerable yoke of +the military regime, and left defenceless to the incessant attacks of +the Comanche Indians. + +The United States had on many occasions raised claims to that country, +declaring that the natural frontiers of Mexico and the Confederation +were the Rio Bravo; but compelled in 1819 to allow ostensibly that +their claims were not founded, they employed roundabout means to seize +on this rich territory, and incorporate it in their borders. + +It was at that time they displayed that astute and patiently +Machiavellian policy, which finally led to their triumph. + +In 1821, the first American emigrants made their appearance, timidly, +and almost incognito, on the brazos, clearing the land, colonizing +secretly, and becoming in a few years so powerful, that in 1824 they had +made sufficient progress to form a compact mass of nearly 50,000 +individuals. The Mexicans, incessantly occupied in struggling one +against the other in their interminable civil wars, did not understand +the purport of the American immigration, which they encouraged at the +outset. + +Hardly eight years had elapsed since the arrival of the first Americans +in Texas, when they formed nearly the entire population. + +The Washington Cabinet no longer concealed its intentions, and spoke +openly of buying from the Mexicans the territory of Texas, in which the +Spanish element had almost entirely disappeared, to make room for the +daring and mercantile spirit of the Anglo-Saxons. + +The Mexican Government, at last aroused from its long lethargy, +understood the danger that threatened it from the double invasion of the +inhabitants of Missouri and Texas into the State of Santa Fé. It tried +to arrest the American emigration, but it was too late; the law passed +by the Mexican Congress was powerless, and the colonization was not +arrested, in spite of the Mexican military posts scattered along the +border, with orders to turn the immigrants back. + +General Bustamante, President of the Republic, seeing that he would +soon have to fight with the Americans, silently prepared for the +conflict, and sent under different pretexts to Red River and the Sabina +various bodies of troops, which presently attained to the number of 1200 +men. + +Still, everything remained quiet apparently; and nothing evidenced the +period when the struggle would commence, which a perfidy on the part of +the Governor of the Eastern provinces caused to break out at the moment +when least expected. + +The facts were as follow:-- + +The Commandant of Anahuac arrested and put in prison several American +colonists, without any plausible grounds. + +The Texans had hitherto patiently endured the innumerable vexations +which the Mexican officers made them undergo, but at this last abuse of +force they rose as if by one accord, and went under arms to the +Commandant, demanding with threats and angry shouts the immediate +liberation of their fellow-citizens. + +The Commandant, too weak to resist openly, feigned to grant what was +asked of him, but represented that he required two days to fulfil +certain formalities, and cover his own responsibility. + +The insurgents granted this delay, by which the Commandant profited to +send in all haste to the Nacogdoches garrison to help him. + +This garrison arrived at the moment when the insurgents, confiding on +the Governor's promise, were with-drawing. + +Furious at having been so perfidiously deceived, the latter returned and +made such an energetic demonstration that the Mexican officer considered +himself fortunate in escaping a fight by surrendering his prisoners. + +At this period, a _pronunciamento_ in favour of Santa Anna hurled +General Bustamante from power to the cry of "Long live the Federation!" + +Texas was extremely afraid of the system of centralization, from which +it would never have obtained the recognition of its independence as a +separate State, and hence the people were unanimous for Federalism. + +The colonists rose, and joining the insurgents of Anahuac who were still +under arms, marched resolutely on Fort Velasco, to which they laid +siege. + +The rallying cry was still "Long live the Federation!" But this time it +concealed the cry of Independence, which the Texans were as yet too weak +to raise. + +Fort Velasco was defended by a small Mexican garrison, commanded by a +brave officer of the name of Ugartechea. + +During this extraordinary siege, in which the assailants only replied to +the cannon with rifle bullets, both Texans and Mexicans performed +prodigies of valour and displayed extraordinary obstinacy. + +The colonists, skilful marksmen, hidden behind enormous barricades, +fired as at a mark, and killed the Mexican gunners whenever they showed +themselves to load their guns. Matters reached such a point that the +Commandant, seeing his bravest soldiers fall round him, devoted himself +and set to work as artilleryman. Struck by this heroic courage, the +Texans, who could have killed the brave Commandant twenty times, ceased +their fire, and Ugartechea at length surrendered, giving up a defence +which was henceforth impossible. + +The success filled the colonists with joy, but Santa Anna was not +deceived as to the object of the Texan insurrection; he understood that +federalism concealed a well-devised revolutionary movement, and far +from trusting to the apparent devotion of the colonists, so soon as his +power was sufficiently strengthened to allow him to act energetically +against them, he sent off Colonel Mexia with four hundred men, to +reestablish in Texas the greatly shaken Mexican authority. + +After many hesitations and diplomatic dodges, which had no possible +result with parties, both of which employed perfidy as their chief +weapon, the war at length broke out furiously; a committee of public +safety was organized at San Felipe, and the people were called upon to +take part in the struggle. + +The civil war, however, had not yet officially broken out, when the man +at length appeared who was destined to decide the fate of Texas, and for +whom the glory of liberating it was reserved--we allude to Samuel +Houston. + +From this moment the timid and purposeless insurrection of Texas became +a revolution. Still the Mexican government remained apparently the +legitimate master of the colony, and the colonists were naturally +denominated insurgents, and treated as such, when they fell into the +hands of their enemies; that is to say, they were without trial hung, +drowned, or shot, according as the spot where they were captured suited +one of these three modes of death. + +At the period when our story opens, the exasperation against the +Mexicans and the enthusiasm for the noble cause of Independence had +reached their acme. + +About three weeks previously, a serious engagement had taken place +between the garrison of Bejar and a detachment of Texan volunteers, +commanded by Austin, one of the most renowned Chiefs of the insurgents; +in spite of their inferiority in numbers and ignorance of military +tactics, the colonists fought so bravely, and worked their solitary gun +so skilfully, that the Mexican troops, after undergoing serious losses, +were compelled to retreat precipitately on Bejar. + +This action was the first on the west of Texas after the capture of Fort +Velasco; it decided the revolutionary movement which ran through the +country like a train of gunpowder. + +On all sides the towns raised troops to join the army of liberation; +resistance was organized on a grand scale and bold Guerilla Chiefs began +traversing the country in every direction, making war on their own +account, and serving after their fashion the cause they embraced and +which they were supposed to be defending. + +Captain Don Juan Melendez, surrounded by enemies the more dangerous +because it was impossible for him to know their numbers or guess their +movements; entrusted with an extreme delicate mission; having at each +step a prescience of treachery incessantly menacing, though ignorant +where, when, or how it would burst on him; was compelled to employ +extreme precautions and a merciless severity, if he wished to get safe +home the precious charge confided to him; hence he had not hesitated +before the necessity of instituting an example by roughly punishing +Padre Antonio. + +For a long time past, grave suspicions had been gathering over the monk; +his ambiguous conduct had aroused distrust, and caused presumptions in +no way favourable to his honesty. + +Don Juan had determined to clear up his doubts at the first opportunity +that offered; we have stated in what way he had succeeded by springing a +countermine, that is to say, by having the spy watched by others more +skilful than himself, and catching him almost red-handed. + +Still, we must do the worthy monk the justice of declaring that his +conduct had not the slightest political motive; his thoughts were not so +elevated as that; knowing that the Captain was entrusted with the charge +of a conducta de plata, he had only tried to draw him into a trap, for +the sake of having a share in the plunder, and making his fortune at a +stroke, in order that he might enjoy those indulgences he had hitherto +gone without; his ideas did not extend further, the worthy man was +simply a highway robber, but there was nothing of the politician about +him. + +We will leave him for the present to follow the two hunters to whom he +was indebted for the rude chastisement he received, and who quitted the +camp immediately after the execution of the sentence. + +These two men went off at a great speed, and, after descending the hill, +buried themselves in a thick wood, where two magnificent prairie horses, +half-tamed Mustangs, with flashing eye and delicate limbs, were quietly +browsing, while waiting for their riders; they were saddled in readiness +for mounting. + +After unfastening the hobbles, the hunters put the bits in their mouths, +mounted, and digging in their spurs, started at a sharp gallop. + +They rode for a long distance, bent over their horses' necks, following +no regular path, but going straight on, caring little for the obstacles +they met on their passage, and which they cleared with infinite skill; +about an hour before sunrise they at length stopped. + +They had reached the entrance of a narrow gorge, flanked on both sides +by lofty wooded hills, the spurs of the mountains, whose denuded crests +seemed from their proximity to hang over the landscape. The hunters +dismounted before entering the gorge, and after hobbling their horses, +which they hid in a clump of floripondios, they began exploring the +neighbourhood with the care and sagacity of Indian warriors seeking +booty on the war-trail. + +Their researches remained for a long time sterile, which could easily be +perceived from the exclamations of disappointment they every now and +then vented in a low voice: at length, after two hours, the first beams +of the sun dissipated the darkness, and they perceived some almost +imperceptible traces which made them start with joy. + +Probably feeling now liberated from the anxiety that tormented them, +they returned to their horses, lay down on the ground, and after +fumbling in their alforjas, drew from them the materials for a modest +breakfast, to which they did honour with the formidable appetite of men +who have spent the whole night in the saddle, riding over mountains and +valleys. + +Since their departure from the Mexican camp the hunters had not +exchanged a syllable, apparently acting under the influence of a dark +preoccupation, which rendered any conversation unnecessary. + +In fact, the silence of men accustomed to desert life is peculiar; they +pass whole days without uttering a word, only speaking when necessity +obliges them, and generally substituting for oral language that language +of signs which, in the first place, has the incontestable advantage of +not betraying the presence of those who employ it to the ears of +invisible enemies constantly on the watch, and ready to leap, like birds +of prey, on the imprudent persons who allow themselves to be surprised. + +When the hunters' appetite was appeased, the one whom the Captain called +John lit his short pipe, placed it in the corner of his month, and, +handed the tobacco-pouch to his comrade. + +"Well, Sam," he said in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard, "I +fancy we have succeeded, eh?" + +"I think so too, John," Sam replied with a nod of affirmation; "you are +deucedly clever, my boy." + +"Nonsense," the other said disdainfully; "there is no merit in deceiving +those brutes of Spaniards; they are stupid as bustards." + +"No matter, the Captain fell into the hole in a glorious way." + +"Hum! it was not he I was afraid of; for he and I have been good friends +for a long time; but it was the confounded monk." + +"Eh, eh, if he had not arrived just in time, he would probably have +spoiled our fun; what is your opinion, John?" + +"I think you are right, Sam. By Jabers, I laughed at seeing him writhe +under the chicote." + +"It was certainly a glorious sight; but are you not afraid that he may +avenge himself? these monks are devilishly spiteful." + +"Bah! what have we to fear from such vermin? He will never dare to look +us in the face." + +"No matter, we had better be on our guard. Our trade is a queer one, as +you know, and it is very possible that some day or other this accursed +animal may play us an ugly trick." + +"Don't bother about him; what we did was all fair in war. Be assured +that, under similar circumstances, the monk would not have spared us." + +"That is true; so let him go to the deuce; the more so as the prey we +covet could not be in a better situation for us. I should never pardon +myself if I let it escape." + +"Shall we remain here in ambush?" + +"That is the safest way; we shall have time to rejoin our comrades when +we see the recua enter the plain; and, besides, have we not to meet +somebody here?" + +"That is true, I forgot it." + +"And stay, when you speak of the devil--here is our man." + +The hunters rose quickly, seized their rifles, and hid themselves behind +a rock, so as to be ready for any event. + +The rapid gallop of a horse became audible, approaching nearer and +nearer; ere long a rider emerged from the gorge, and pulled up calmly +and haughtily at about two paces from the hunters. + +The latter rushed from their ambuscade, and advanced toward him, with +the right arm extended, and the palm of the hand open in sign of peace. + +The horseman, who was an Indian warrior, responded to these pacific +demonstrations by letting his buffalo robe float out; then he +dismounted, and without further ceremony, shook the hands offered him. + +"You are welcome, Chief," John said; "we were awaiting you impatiently." + +"My Pale brothers can look at the sun," the Indian answered; "Blue-fox +is punctual." + +"That is true, Chief; there is nothing to be said, for you are +remarkably punctual." + +"Time waits for no man; warriors are not women; Blue-fox would like to +hold a council with his Pale brothers." + +"Be it so," John went on: "your observation is just. Chief, so let us +deliberate; I am anxious to come to a definitive understanding with +you." + +The Indian bowed gravely to the speaker, sat down, lit his pipe, and, +began smoking with evident pleasure; the hunters took seats by his side, +and, like him, remained silent during the whole period their tobacco +lasted. + +At length, the Chief shook the ashes out of the bowl on his thumbnail, +and prepared to speak. + +At the same instant a detonation was heard, and a bullet cut away a +branch just over the Chiefs head. + +The three men leaped to their feet, and seizing their arms, prepared +bravely to repulse the enemies who attacked them so suddenly. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE PANTHER-KILLER. + + +Between the Larch-tree hacienda and the Venta del Potrero, just half way +between the two places, or at about forty miles from either, two men +were sitting on the banks of a nameless stream, and conversing, as they +supped on pemmican and a few boiled _camotes_. + +These two men were Tranquil, the Canadian, and Quoniam, the Negro. + +About fifty yards from them, in a copse of brambles and shrubs, a young +colt about two months old was fastened to the trunk of a gigantic +catalpa. The poor animal, after making vain efforts to break the cord +that held it, had at length recognised the inutility of its attempts, +and had sorrowfully lain down on the ground. + +The two men, whom we left young at the end of our prologue, had now +reached the second half of life. Although age had got but a slight +grasp on their iron bodies, a few grey hairs were beginning to silver +the hunter's scalp, and wrinkles furrowed his face, which was bronzed by +the changes of the seasons. + +Still, with the exception of these slight marks, which serve as a seal +to ripened age, nothing denoted any weakening in the Canadian; on the +contrary, his eye was still bright, his body equally straight, and his +limbs just as muscular. + +As for the Negro, no apparent change had taken place in him, and he +seemed as young as ever; he had merely grown lustier, but had lost none +of his unparalleled activity. + +The spot where the two wood rangers had camped was certainly one of the +most picturesque on the prairie. + +The midnight breeze had swept the sky, whose dark blue vault seemed +studded with innumerable spangles of diamonds, in the midst of which the +southern cross shone; the moon poured forth its white rays, which +imparted to objects a fantastic appearance; the night had that velvety +transparence peculiar to twilight; at each gust of wind the trees shook +their damp heads, and rained a shower, which pattered on the shrubs. + +The river flowed on calmly between its wooded banks, looking in the +distance like a silver riband, and reflecting in its peaceful mirror the +trembling rays of the moon, which had proceeded about two-thirds of its +course. + +So great was the silence of the desert, that the fall of a withered +leaf, or the rustling of a branch agitated by the passage of a reptile, +could be heard. + +The two men were conversing in a low voice; but, singularly enough with +men so habituated to desert life, their night encampment, instead of +being, according to the invariable rules of the prairie, situated on +the top of a hillock, was placed on the slope that descended gently to +the river, and in the mud of which numerous footprints of more than a +suspicious nature were encrusted, the majority belonging to the family +of the great Carnivora. + +In spite of the sharp cold of night, and the icy dew which made them +tremble, the hunters had lit no fire; still they would assuredly have +derived great comfort from warming their limbs over the genial flames; +the Negro especially, who was lightly attired in drawers that left his +legs uncovered, and a fragment of a zarapé, full of holes, was trembling +all over. + +Tranquil, who was more warmly attired in the garb of Mexican Campesinos, +did not appear to notice the cold at all; with his rifle between his +legs, he gazed out into the darkness, or listened to any sound +perceptible to him alone, while he talked to the Negro, disdaining to +notice either his grimaces or the chattering of his teeth. + +"So," he said, "you did not see the little one to-day Quoniam?" + +"No, no, I have not seen her for two days," the Negro answered. + +The Canadian sighed. + +"I ought to have gone myself," he went on; "the girl is very solitary +there, especially now that war has let loose on this side all the +adventurers and border-ruffians." + +"Nonsense! Carmela has beak and nails; she would not hesitate to defend +herself if insulted." + +"Confusion!" the Canadian exclaimed, as he clutched his rifle, "If one +of those Malvados dared to say a word--" + +"Do not trouble yourself thus, Tranquil; you know very well that if any +one ventured to insult the Querida Niña, she would not want for +defenders. Besides, Lanzi never leaves her for a moment, and you are +aware how faithful he is." + +"Yes," the hunter muttered, "but Lanzi is only a man after all." + +"You drive me to desperation with the ideas which so unreasonably get +into your head." + +"I love the girl, Quoniam." + +"Hang it, and I love her too, the little darling! Well, if you like, +after we have killed the jaguar, we will go to the Potrero--does that +suit you?" + +"It is a long way from here." + +"Nonsense! three hours' ride at the most. By the bye, Tranquil, do you +know that it is cold? And I am getting literally frozen; cursed animal! +I wonder what it is doing at this moment; I daresay it is amusing itself +with wandering about instead of coming straight here." + +"To be killed, eh?" Tranquil said, with a smile. "Hang it all! Perhaps +it suspects what we have in store for it." + +"That is possible, for those confounded animals are so cunning. Hilloah! +the colt is quivering--it has certainly scented something." + +The Canadian turned his head. + +"No, not yet," he said. + +"We shall have a night of it," the Negro muttered, with an ill-tempered +look. + +"You will ever be the same, Quoniam--impatient and headstrong. Whatever +I may tell you, you obstinately refuse to understand me; how many times +have I repeated to you that the jaguar is one of the most cunning +animals in existence? Although we are to windward, I feel convinced it +has scented us. It is prowling cunningly around us, and afraid to come +too near us; as you say, it is wandering about without any apparent +object." + +"Hum! Do you think it will carry on that game much longer?" + +"No, because it must be beginning to grow thirsty; three feelings are +struggling in it at this moment--hunger, thirst, and fear; fear will +prove the weakest, you may be assured; and it is only a question of +time." + +"I can see it; for nearly four hours we have been on the watch." + +"Patience; the worst is over, and we shall soon have some news, I feel +assured." + +"May Heaven hear you, for I am dying of cold; is it a large animal?" + +"Yes, its prints are wide, but, if I am not greatly mistaken, it has +paired." + +"Do you think so?" + +"I could almost bet it, it is impossible for a single jaguar to do so +much mischief in less than a week; from what Don Hilario told me, it +seems that ten head of the Ganada have disappeared." + +"In that case," Quoniam said, rubbing his hands gleefully, "we shall +have a fine hunt." + +"That is what I suppose; and it must have whelps to come so near the +hacienda." + +At this moment a hoarse bellowing, bearing some slight resemblance to +the miauling of a cat, troubled the profound silence of the desert. + +"There is its first cry," said Quoniam. + +"It is still a long way off." + +"Oh, it will soon come nearer." + +"Not yet; it is not after us at this moment." + +"Who else, then?" + +"Listen." + +A similar cry to the first, but coming from the opposite side, burst +forth at this moment. + +"Did I not tell you," the Canadian continued, quietly, "that it had +paired?" + +"I did not doubt it. If you do not know the habits of tigers, who +should?" + +The poor colt had risen; it was trembling all over, half dead with +terror, and with its head buried between its front legs, it was standing +up and uttering little plaintive cries. + +"Hum!" Quoniam said, "poor innocent brute, it understands that it is +lost." + +"I hope not." + +"The jaguar will strangle it." + +"Yes, if we do not kill the brute first." + +"By Jabus!" the Negro said, "I confess I should not be sorry if that +wretched colt escaped." + +"It will do so," the hunter answered; "I have chosen it for Carmela." + +"Nonsense! Then why did you bring it here?" + +"To make it used to the tiger." + +"Well, that is an idea! Then I need not look any longer over there?" + +"No, only think of the jaguar which will come on your right, while I +take charge of the other." + +"That's agreed." + +Two other louder roars burst forth almost simultaneously. + +"The beast is thirsty," Tranquil remarked; "its anger is aroused, and it +is coming nearer." + +"Good! shall we get ready?" + +"Wait a while, our enemies are hesitating; they have not yet reached +that paroxysm of rage which makes them forget all prudence." + +The Negro, who had risen, sat down again philosophically. + +A few minutes passed thus. At intervals the night breeze, laden with +uncertain rumour, passed over the hunters' heads, and was lost in the +distance like a sigh. + +They were calm and motionless, with the eye fixed on space, the ear open +to the mysterious noises of the desert, the finger on the rifle-trigger, +ready at the first signal to face the still invisible foe, whose +approach and imminent attack they, however, instinctively divined. + +All at once the Canadian started, and stooped down to the ground. + +"Oh!" he said, as he rose with marks of terrible anxiety, "What is +taking place in the forest?" + +The roar of the tiger burst forth like a clap of thunder. + +A horrible shriek responded to it, and the wild gallop of a horse was +heard, approaching at headlong speed. + +"Quick! Quick!" Tranquil shouted, "Someone is in danger of death--the +tiger is on his trail." + +The two hunters rushed intrepidly in the direction of the roars. + +The whole forest seemed quivering; nameless sounds issued from the +hidden lairs, resembling at one moment mocking laughter, at another +cries of agony. + +The hoarse miauling of the jaguars went on uninterruptedly. The gallop +of the horses which the hunters heard at first seemed multiplied and +issuing from opposite points. + +The panting hunters still ran on in a straight line, bounding over +ravines and morasses with wonderful speed; the terror they felt for the +strangers whom they wished to help gave them wings. + +Suddenly a shriek of agony, louder and more despairing than the former, +was heard a short distance off. + +"Oh!" Tranquil shouted, in a paroxysm of madness, "It is she! It is +Carmela!" + +And, bounding like a wild beast, he rushed forward, followed by Quoniam, +who, during the whole wild race, had never left him a hair's breadth. + +Suddenly a deadly silence fell over the desert--every noise, every +rumour, ceased as if by enchantment, and nothing could be heard save the +panting of the hunters, who still ran on. + +A furious roar uttered by the tigers burst forth; a crashing of branches +agitated an adjoining thicket, and an enormous mass, bounding from the +top of the tree, passed over the Canadian's head and disappeared; at the +same instant a flash burst through the gloom and a shot was heard, +answered almost immediately by a roar of agony and a shriek of horror. + +"Courage, Niña, courage!" a masculine voice exclaimed, a short distance +off, "You are saved!" + +The hunters, by a supreme effort of their will, increased their speed, +which was already incredible, and at length entered the scene of action. + +A strange and terrible sight then offered itself to their +horror-stricken gaze. + +In a small clearing a fainting woman was stretched out on the ground, +by the side of a ripped-up horse, which was struggling in the final +convulsions. + +This female was motionless, and appeared to be dead. + +Two young tigers, crouching like cats, fixed their ardent eyes upon her, +and were preparing to attack her; a few paces further on a wounded tiger +was writhing on the ground with horrid roars, and trying to leap on a +man, who, with one knee on the ground, with his left arm enveloped in +the numerous folds of a zarapé, and the right armed with a long machete, +was resolutely awaiting its attack. + +Behind the man, a horse, with outstretched neck, smoking nostrils and +laid-back ears, was quivering with terror, while a second tiger, posted +on the largest branch of a larch tree, fixed its burning glances on the +dismounted rider, while lashing the air with its tail, and uttering +hoarse miauls. + +What we have taken so long to describe, the hunters saw at a glance; +quick as lightning the bold adventurers selected their parts, with a +look of sublime simplicity. + +While Quoniam leaped on the tiger cubs, and seizing them by the scurf, +dashed their brains out against a rock, Tranquil shouldered his rifle, +and killed the tigress at the moment when she was leaping on the +horseman. Then turning with marvellous speed he killed the second tiger +with the butt of his rifle, and laid it stiff at his feet. + +"Ah!" the hunter said, with a feeling of pride, as he rested his rifle +on the ground, and wiped his forehead, which was bathed in a cold +perspiration. + +"She lives!" Quoniam shouted, who understood what agony his friend's +exclamation contained; "Fear alone made her faint, but she is otherwise +unhurt." + +The hunter slowly took off his cap, and raised his eyes to heaven. + +"Thanks, O God!" he murmured, with an accent of gratitude impossible to +render. + +In the meanwhile, the horseman, so miraculously saved by Tranquil, had +walked up to him. + +"I will do the same for you, some day," he said, as he held out his +hand. + +"It is I who am your debtor," the hunter answered, frankly; "had it not +been for your sublime devotion, I should have arrived too late." + +"I have done no more than another in my place." + +"Perhaps so. Your name, brother?" + +"Loyal Heart. Yours?" + +"Tranquil. We are friends for life and death." + +"I accept, brother. And now let us attend to this poor girl." + +The two men shook hands for a second time, and went up to Carmela, on +whom Quoniam was lavishing every imaginable attention, though unable to +recall her from the profound faint into which she had fallen. + +While Tranquil and Loyal Heart took the Negro´s place, the latter +hastily collected a few dried branches and lit a fire. + +After a few minutes, however, Carmela faintly opened her eyes, and was +soon sufficiently recovered to explain the cause of her presence in the +forest, instead of being quietly asleep in the Venta del Potrero. + +This story, which, in consequence of the maiden's weakness, and the +poignant emotions she had endured, it took her several hours to +complete, we will tell the reader in a few words in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +LANZI. + + +Carmela watched for a long time the Jaguar's irregular ride across +country, and when he at length disappeared in the distance, in a clump +of pine trees, she sadly bowed her head and re-entered the venta slowly +and pensively. + +"He hates him," she murmured, in a low, agitated voice; "he hates him. +Will he be willing to save him?" + +She fell into an equipal, and for some minutes remained plunged in a +deep reverie. + +At last she raised her head; a feverish flush covered her face, and her +soft eyes seemed to emit flashes. + +"I will save him!" she exclaimed, with supreme resolution. + +After this exclamation she rose, and walking hurriedly across the room, +opened the door leading into the corral. + +"Lanzi?" she cried. + +"Niña?" the half-breed replied, who was engaged at this moment in giving +their alfalfa to two valuable horses belonging to the young lady, which +were under his special charge. + +"Come here." + +"I will be with you in a moment." + +Five minutes later at the most he appeared in the doorway. + +"What do you want, señorita?" he said, with that calm obsequiousness +habitual to servants who are spoiled by their masters; "I am very busy +at this moment." + +"That is possible, my good Lanzi," she answered softly; "but what I have +to say to you admits of no delay." + +"Oh, oh," he said, in a slightly suppressed tone, "what is the matter, +then?" + +"Nothing very extraordinary, my good man; everything in the venta is +regular as usual. But I have a service to ask of you." + +"Speak, señorita; you know that I am devoted to you." + +"It is growing late, and it is probable that no traveller will arrive at +the venta to-day." + +The half-breed raised his head, and mentally calculated the position of +the sun. + +"I do not believe that any travellers will arrive to-day," he at length +said, "for it is nearly four o'clock; still, they might come for all +that." + +"Nothing leads to the supposition." + +"Nothing, indeed, señorita." + +"Well, I wish you to shut up the venta." + +"Shut up the venta! What for?" + +"I will tell you." + +"Is it really very important?" + +"Very." + +"Speak, then, Niña, I am all ears." + +The maiden gave the half-breed, who was standing in front of her, a long +and searching glance, leant her elbow gracefully on the table, and said, +quietly-- + +"I am anxious, Lanzi." + +"Anxious? What about?" + +"At my father's long absence." + +"Why, he was here hardly four days back." + +"He never left me alone so long before." + +"Still," the half-breed remarked, scratching his head with an +embarrassed air-- + +"In a word," she interrupted him, resolutely, "I am anxious about my +father, and wish to see him. You will close the venta, saddle the +horses, and we will go to the Larch-tree hacienda; it is not far, and we +shall be back in four or five hours." + +"That will make it very late." + +"The greater reason to start at once." + +"Still--" + +"No remarks; do as I order you--I insist on it." + +The half-breed bowed without replying, for he knew that when his young +mistress spoke thus he must obey. + +The maiden walked forward a step, laid her white and delicate hand on +the half-breed's shoulder, and putting her lovely face close to his, she +added, with a gentle smile which made the poor fellow start with joy-- + +"Do not be vexed at my whim, my kind Lanzi, but I am suffering." + +"Be vexed with you, Niña!" the half-breed answered with a significant +shrug of his shoulders; "Why, do you not know that I would go into the +fire for you? Much more, then, would I satisfy your slightest wish." + +He then began carefully barricading the doors and windows of the venta, +after which he proceeded to the corral to saddle the horses, while +Carmela, suffering from nervous impatience, changed her attire for other +clothes more convenient for the journey she designed, for she had +deceived the old servant. It was not Tranquil she wished to find. + +But Heaven had decreed that the plan she revolved in her pretty head +should not succeed. + +At the moment when she re-entered the sitting-room, fully dressed and +ready to start, Lanzi appeared in the doorway of the corral with extreme +agitation displayed in his face. + +Carmela ran up to him eagerly, fancying that he had hurt himself. + +"What is the matter with you?" she asked him, kindly. + +"We are lost!" he replied, in a hollow voice, as he looked about him in +terror. + +"Lost!" she exclaimed, turning pallid as a corpse; "What do you mean?" + +The half-breed laid a finger on his lip to command silence, made her a +sign to follow him, and glided noiselessly into the corral. + +Carmela followed him. + +The corral was enclosed with a plank wall about six feet high; Lanzi +went up to a spot where a wide cleft allowed a prospect of the plain. + +"Look," he said to his mistress. + +The girl obeyed, and laid her face against the plank. + +Night was beginning to fall, and a denser shadow was each moment +invading the plain. Still, the obscurity was not great enough to prevent +Carmela distinguishing, about two hundred yards away, a numerous party +of horsemen coming at full speed in the direction of the venta. + +A glance sufficed the maiden to perceive that these horsemen were Indios +Bravos. + +The warriors, more than fifty in number, were in their full war paint; +and as they bent over the necks of their horses, which were as untamable +as themselves, they brandished their long lances over their heads with +an air of defiance. + +"These are Apaches," Carmela exclaimed, as she recoiled in terror. "How +comes it that they have reached this place before we are warned of their +arrival?" + +The half-breed shook his head sadly. + +"In a few minutes they will be here," he said; "what is to be done?" + +"Defend ourselves!" the maiden replied, bravely; "They do not appear to +have fire-arms. Behind the walls of our house we could easily hold out +against them till daybreak." + +"And then?" the half-breed asked, doubtfully. + +"Then," she answered with exaltation, "Heaven will come to our aid." + +"Amen!" the half-breed answered, less convinced than ever of the +possibility of such a miracle. + +"Make haste and bring down into the inn-room all the fire-arms we have; +perhaps the heathens will fall back if they find themselves hotly +received: and, after all, who knows whether they will attack us?" + +"Hum! the demons are crafty, and know perfectly well how many persons +dwell in this house. Do not expect that they will withdraw till they +have carried it by storm." + +"Well," she exclaimed, resolutely, "let us trust to Heaven; we shall die +bravely fighting, instead of letting ourselves be captured like cowards, +and becoming the slaves of those heartless and merciless villains." + +"Be it so, then," the half-breed answered, electrified by his mistress's +enthusiastic words, "we will fight. You know, señorita, that a combat +does not terrify me. The pagans had better look out, for unless they +take care, I may play them a trick they will remember for a long time." + +This conversation broke off here for the present, owing to the necessity +the speakers were under of preparing their means of defence, which they +did with a speed and intelligence which proved that this was not the +first time they found themselves in so critical a position. + +The reader must not feel surprised at the virile heroism Carmela +displayed under the present circumstances. On the border, where persons +are incessantly exposed to the incursions of Indians and marauders of +every description, the women fight by the side of the men, and +forgetting the weakness of their sex, they can, on occasion, prove +themselves as brave as their husbands and brothers. + +Carmela was not mistaken, it was really a band of Indian Bravos coming +up at a gallop, who soon reached the house, and completely surrounded +it. + +Usually the Indians in their expeditions proceed with extreme prudence, +never showing themselves openly, and only advancing with great +circumspection. This time it was easy to see that they believed +themselves certain of success, and were perfectly well aware that the +venta was stripped of its defenders. + +On coming within twenty yards of the venta they stopped, dismounted, and +seemed to be consulting for a moment. + +Lanzi had profited by these few moments of respite to pile on the table +all the weapons in the house, consisting of about a dozen rifles. + +Although the doors and windows were barred, it was easy to follow the +movements of the enemy through loopholes made at regular distances. + +Carmela, armed with a rifle, had intrepidly stationed herself before the +door, while the half-breed walked up and down anxiously, going out and +coming in again, and apparently giving the last touch to an important +and mysterious job. + +"There," he said, a moment later, "that is all right; lay that rifle on +the table again, señorita; we can only conquer those demons by +stratagem, not by force, so leave me to act." + +"What is your plan?" + +"You will see. I have sawn two planks out of the enclosure of the +corral; so soon as you hear me open the door, set off at full speed." + +"But you?" + +"Do not trouble yourself about me, but give your horse the spurs." + +"I will not abandon you." + +"Nonsense! No folly of that sort; I am old, my life only hangs by a +thread, but yours is precious and must be saved; let me alone, I tell +you." + +"No, unless you tell me." + +"I will tell you nothing. You will find Tranquil at the ford of the +Venado; not a word more." + +"Ah, that is it," she exclaimed; "well, I swear that I will not stir +from your side, whatever may happen." + +"You are mad; have I not told you I wished to play the Indians a famous +trick?" + +"Indeed!" + +"Well, you will see. As, however, I fear some imprudence on your part, I +wish to see you start before me, that is all." + +"Are you speaking the truth?" + +"Of course I am. In five minutes I shall have joined you again." + +"Do you promise me, then?" + +"Do you fancy I should find any fun in remaining here?" + +"What do you intend doing?" + +"Here are the Indians; begone, and do not forget to start at full gallop +so soon as I open the door of the venta, and ride in the direction of +the Venado ford." + +"But I expect--" + +"Begone, begone," he interrupted her quickly, as he pushed her toward +the corral, "it is all settled." + +The maiden unwillingly obeyed: but at this moment loud blows against the +shutters were audible, and the half-breed profited by this demonstration +of the Indians to close the door leading into the corral. + +"I swore to Tranquil to protect her, whatever might happen," he +muttered, "and I can only save her by desires for her. Well, I will die: +but, Capa de Dios, I will have a fine funeral." + +Fresh blows were dealt at the shutters, but with such violence that it +was easy to see that they would be soon broken in. + +"Who's there?" the half-breed asked quietly. + +"Gente de paz," was the reply from without. + +"Hum!" Lanzi said, "for peaceful people you have a singular way of +announcing your presence." + +"Open, open!" the voice outside repeated. + +"I am very ready to do so, but what proves to me that you do not mean +harm?" + +"Open, or we will break down the door." + +And the blows were renewed. + +"Oh, oh," the half-breed said, "you are strong in the arms; do not +trouble yourself further, I am going to open." + +The blows ceased. + +The half-breed unbarred the door, and opened it. + +The Indians rushed into the interior with yells and howls of joy. + +Lanzi slipped on one side to let them pass; he gave a start of joy on +hearing a horse set out at full gallop. + +The Indians paid no attention to this incident. + +"Drink!" they shouted. + +"What would you like to have?" the half-breed asked, seeking to gain +time. + +"Fire-water!" they yelled. + +Lanzi hastened to serve them, and the orgy began. + +Knowing they had nothing to fear from the inhabitants of the venta, the +Redskins had rushed in so soon as the door was opened, without taking +the precaution to post sentries; this negligence, on which Lanzi +calculated, gave Carmela the opportunity of escaping unseen and +undisturbed. + +The Indians, and especially the Apaches, have a frenzied passion for +strong liquors; the Comanches alone are teetotallers. Hitherto, they +have succeeded in refraining from that mournful tendency to +intoxication, which decimates and brutalizes their brothers. + +Lanzi followed with a cunning look the evolutions of the Redskins, who +crowded round the tables, drank deeply, and emptied the botas placed +before them; their eyes were beginning to sparkle, their features were +animated; they spoke loudly all at once, no longer knowing what they +said, and only thinking about becoming intoxicated. + +Suddenly the half-breed felt a hand laid on his shoulder. + +He turned. + +An Indian was standing with folded arms in front of him. + +"What do you want?" he asked him. + +"Blue-fox is a Chief," the Indian answered, "and has to speak with the +Paleface." + +"Is not Blue-fox satisfied with the way in which I have received him and +his companions?" + +"It is not that; the warriors are drinking, and the Chief wants +something else." + +"Ah," the half-breed said, "I am vexed, for I have given you all I had." + +"No," the Indian replied drily. + +"How so?" + +"Where is the golden-haired girl?" + +"I do not understand you, Chief," the half-breed said; on the contrary, +understanding perfectly well. + +The Indian smiled. + +"The Paleface will look at Blue-fox," he said, "and will then see that +he is a Chief, and not a child who can be put off with falsehoods. What +has become of the girl with the golden hair, who lives here with my +brother?" + +"The person of whom you speak, if you mean the young lady to whom this +house belongs--" + +"Yes." + +"Well! she is not here." + +The Chief gave him a searching glance. + +"The Paleface lies," he said. + +"Look for her." + +"She was here an hour ago." + +"That is possible." + +"Where is she?" + +"Look." + +"The Paleface is a dog whose scalp I will raise." + +"Much good may it do you," the half-breed answered with a grin. + +Unfortunately, while uttering these words, Lanzi gave a triumphant +glance in the direction of the corral; the Chief caught it, rushed to +the door, and uttered a yell of disappointment on seeing the hole in the +palisade; the truth flashed upon him. + +"Dog!" he yelled, and drawing his scalping knife, he hurled it furiously +at his enemy. + +But the latter, who was watching him, dodged the missile, which struck +into the wall a few inches from his head. + +Lanzi leaped over the bar, and rushed at Blue-fox. + +The Indians rose tumultuously, and seizing their arms, bounded like wild +beasts in pursuit of the half-breed. + +The latter, on reaching the door of the corral, turned, fired his +pistols among the crowd, leapt on his horse, and burying his spurs in +its flanks, forced it to leap through the breach. + +At the same moment a horrible noise was heard behind him, the earth +trembled, and a confused mass of stones, beams, and fragments of every +description fell around the rider and his horse, which was maddened with +terror. + +The Venta del Potrero was blown into the air, burying beneath its ruins +the Apaches who had invaded it. + +Such was the trick Lanzi had promised himself to play on the Indians. + +We can now understand why he had insisted on Carmela setting off at full +speed. + +By a singular piece of good fortune, neither the half-breed nor his +horse was wounded; the mustang, with foaming nostrils, flew over the +prairie as if winged, incessantly urged on by its rider, who excited it +with spur and force, for he fancied he could hear behind him the gallop +of another horse in pursuit. + +Unluckily the night was too dark for him to assure himself whether he +were mistaken. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE CHASE. + + +The reader will probably consider that the means employed by Lanzi to +get rid of the Indians were somewhat violent, and that he should not +have had recourse to them save in the utmost extremity. + +The justification of the half-breed is as simple as it is easy to give; +the Indian braves, when they cross the Mexican border, indulge +mercilessly in every possible riot, displaying the greatest cruelty +toward the unhappy white men who fall into their hands, and for whom +they testify a hatred which nothing can assuage. + +Lanzi's position, alone, without help to expect from anyone, in an +isolated spot, in the power of some fifty demons without faith or law, +was most critical; the more so, as the Apaches, once they had been +excited by strong liquors, the abuse of which causes them a species of +raving madness, would no longer have recognized any restraint; their +sanguinary character would have regained the upper hand, and they would +have indulged in the most unjustifiable cruelty, for the mere pleasure +of making an enemy of their race suffer. + +The half-breed had, besides, peremptory reasons for behaving thus; he +must, at all risks, ensure Carmela's safety, whom he had solemnly sworn +to Tranquil to defend, even at the peril of his own life. + +In the present case, he knew that his life or death depended solely on +the caprice of the Indians, and hence he was quite reckless. + +Lanzi was a cold, positive, and methodical man, who never acted till he +had previously fully weighed the chances of success or failure. Under +present circumstances, the half-breed ran no risk, for he knew that he +was condemned by the Indians beforehand; if his plan succeeded, he might +possibly escape; if not, he could die, but as a brave borderer should +do, taking with him into the tomb a considerable number of his +implacable foes. + +His resolution once formed, it was carried out with the coolness we have +described, and, thanks to his presence of mind, he had found time to +leap on his horse and fly. + +Still, all was not finished yet, and the galloping the half-breed heard +behind him disturbed him greatly, by proving to him that his plan had +not succeeded so well as he hoped, and that one of his enemies, at any +rate, had escaped, and was on his track. + +The half-breed redoubled his speed; he made his horse swerve from the +straight line incessantly, in order to throw out his obstinate pursuer; +but everything was of no avail, and still he heard him galloping behind +him. + +However brave a man may be, however great the energy is with which +heaven has endowed him, nothing affects his courage so much as to feel +himself menaced in the darkness by an invisible and unassailable foe; +the obscurity of night, the silence that broods over the desert, the +trees which in his mad race defile on his right and left like a legion +of gloomy and threatening phantoms--all this combines to heighten the +terrors of the hapless man who dashes along under the impression of a +nightmare which is the more horrible, because he is conscious of danger, +and knows not how to exorcise it. + +Lanzi, with frowning brow, quivering lips, and forehead bathed with cold +perspiration, rode thus for several hours across country, bowed over his +horse's neck, following no settled course, but constantly pursued by the +dry, sharp sound of the horse galloping after him. + +Strangely enough, since he first heard this gallop, it had not appeared +to draw any nearer; it might be thought that the strange horseman, +satisfied with following the trail of the man he pursued, was not +desirous of catching him up. + +By degrees the half-breed's excitement calmed: the cold night air +restored a little order to his ideas, his coolness returned, and with it +the necessary clearness to judge of his position soundly. + +Lanzi was ashamed of this puerile terror, so unworthy of a man like +himself, which had for so long, through a selfish feeling, caused him to +forget the sacred duty he had taken on himself, of protecting and +defending at the peril of his life his friend's daughter. + +At this thought, which struck him like a thunder-bolt, a burning blush +flushed his face, a flash darted from his eyes, and he stopped his horse +short, resolved on finishing once for all with his pursuer. + +The horse, suddenly arrested in its stride, uttered a snort of pain, and +remained motionless, at the same instant the galloping of the invisible +steed ceased to be heard. + +"Hilloah!" the half-breed muttered, "This is beginning to look ugly." + +And drawing a pistol from his belt, he set the hammer. He immediately +heard, like a funeral echo, the sharp sound of another hammer being set +by his adversary. + +Still, this sound, instead of increasing the half-breed's apprehensions, +seemed, on the contrary, to calm them. + +"What is the meaning of that?" he asked himself, mentally, as he shook +his head, "Can I be mistaken? have I not to deal with an Apache?" + +After this aside, during which Lanzi sought in vain to distinguish his +unknown foe, he shouted in a loud voice:-- + +"Hilloah, who are you?" + +"Who are you?" a masculine voice replied, emerging from the darkness, in +a tone quite as resolute as that of the half-breed. + +"That's a singular answer," Lanzi went on. + +"Not more singular than the question." + +These words were exchanged in excellent Spanish. The half-breed, now +certain that he had to deal with a white man, banished all fear, and +uncocking his pistol returned it to his girdle, as he said +good-humouredly:-- + +"You must feel like myself, Caballero, inclined to draw breath after so +long a ride; shall we rest together?" + +"I wish for nothing better," the other answered. + +"Why," a voice exclaimed, which the half-breed at once recognised, "it +is Lanzi." + +"Certainly," the latter shouted, joyfully, "_Voto à brios_, Doña +Carmela, I did not hope to meet you here." + +The three persons joined, and the explanations were short. + +Fear does not calculate or reflect. Doña Carmela on one side, Lanzi on +the other, filled with a vague terror, fled without attempting to +account for the feeling that impelled them, exerted only by the instinct +of self-preservation, that supreme weapon given by God to man with which +to escape danger in extremities. + +The only difference was, that the half-breed believed himself pursued by +the Apaches, while Doña Carmela supposed them a-head of her. + +When the young lady, on Lanzi's recommendation, left the venta, she rode +blindly along the first path that presented itself. + +Heaven willed it for her happiness that at the moment the house blew up +with a terrible crash, Doña Carmela, half dead with fear and thrown from +her horse, was found by a white hunter, who, moved with pity at the +recital of the dangers that menaced her, generously offered to escort +her to the Larch-tree hacienda, where she desired to proceed, in order +to place herself under Tranquil's immediate protection. + +Doña Carmela, after taking a scrutinizing glance at the hunter, whose +honest look and open face were proofs of his loyalty, gratefully +accepted his offer, fearing, as she did, that she might fall, in the +darkness, among the Indian bands which were doubtless infesting the +roads, and to which her ignorance of localities would have inevitably +made her a prey. + +The maiden and her guide set out therefore at once for the hacienda, but +affected by numberless apprehensions, the gallop of the half-breed's +horse made them believe a party of the enemy a-head of them, hence they +had kept far enough behind to be able to turn and fly at the slightest +suspicious movement on the part of their supposed enemies. + +This explanation did away with all alarm, and Carmela and Lanzi were +delighted at having met again thus providentially. + +While the half-breed was telling his young mistress in what way he had +disposed of the Apaches, the hunter, like a prudent man, had taken the +horses by the bridle and led them into a thick coppice, where he +carefully hid them. He then returned to his new friends, who had seated +themselves on the ground, to enjoy a few moments of welcome rest. + +At this moment, when the hunter returned, Lanzi was saying to his +mistress-- + +"Why, señorita, should you fatigue yourself further this night? Our new +friend and I will build you with a few axe strokes a jacal under which +you will be famously sheltered; you will sleep till sunrise, and then we +can start again for the hacienda. For the present you have no danger to +fear, as you are protected by two men who will not hesitate to sacrifice +their lives for you, if necessary." + +"I thank you, my good Lanzi," the young lady answered; "your devotion is +known to me, and I could not hesitate to trust to you if I were at this +moment affected by fear of the Apaches. Believe me, that the thought of +the perils I may have to incur from those pagans goes for nothing in my +determination to start again immediately." + +"What more important consideration can compel you, then, señorita?" the +half-breed asked, in surprise. + +"That, my friend, is an affair between my father and myself; it is +sufficient for you to know that I must see and speak to him this very +night." + +"Be it so, as you wish it, señorita, I consent," the half-breed said, +with a shake of his head; "still, you must allow that it is a very +strange caprice on your part." + +"No, my good Lanzi," she answered, sadly, "it is not a caprice; when you +know the reasons that cause me, to act, I am convinced you will applaud +me." + +"That is possible; but if that is the case, why not tell me them, at +once?" + +"Because that is impossible." + +"Silence!" the hunter interfered, quickly; "any discussion is +unnecessary, for we must start as soon as we can." + +"What do you mean?" they exclaimed, with a start of terror. + +"The Apaches have found our trail; they are coming up quickly, and will +be here within twenty minutes. This time there is no mistake, they are +the men." + +There was a lengthened silence. + +Doña Carmela and Lanzi listened attentively. + +"I hear nothing," the half-breed said, presently. + +"Nor I," the maiden whispered. + +The hunter smiled softly. + +"You can hear nothing yet," he said, "for your ears are not accustomed, +like mine, to catch the slightest sounds from the desert. Put faith in +my words, trust to an experience which was never mistaken: your enemies +are approaching." + +"What is to be done?" Doña Carmela murmured. + +"Fly," the half-breed exclaimed. + +"Listen," the hunter said, quietly; "the Apaches are numerous, they are +cunning, but we can only conquer them by cunning. If we try to resist we +are lost; if we fly all three together, sooner or later we shall fall +into their hands. While I remain here you will fly with señorita, but be +careful to muffle your horses' hoofs so as to dull the sound." + +"But you?" the maiden exclaimed quickly. + +"Have I not told you? I shall remain here." + +"Oh, in that case you will fall into the hands of the pagans, and be +inevitably massacred." + +"Perhaps so," he replied with an indescribable expression of sadness; +"but at any rate my death will be of some service, as it will save you." + +"Very well," said Lanzi; "I thank you for your offer, Caballero; +unhappily, I cannot, and will not, accept it, for matters must not turn +thus. I began the affair, and insist on ending it in my own way. Go away +with the señorita, deliver her into her father's hands, and if you do +not see me again, and he asks what has happened to me, tell him simply +that I kept my promise, and laid down my life for her." + +"I will never consent," Doña Carmela exclaimed energetically. + +"Silence!" the half-breed hastily interrupted her, "Be off, you have not +a moment to lose." + +In spite of the young lady's resistance, he raised her in his muscular +arms, and ran off with her into the thicket. + +Carmela understood that nothing could change the half-breed's +resolution, so she yielded to him. + +The hunter accepted Lanzi's devotion as simply as he had offered his +own, for the half-breed's conduct appeared to him perfectly natural; he +therefore made not the slightest objection, but busied himself with +getting the horses ready. + +"Now begone," the half-breed said, so soon as the hunter and the maiden +had mounted; "go, and may heaven be merciful to you!" + +"And you, my friend?" Doña Carmela remarked sadly. + +"I?" he answered with a careless toss of his head; "The red devils have +not got me yet. Come, be off." + +To cut short the conversation, the half-breed roughly lashed the horses +with his chicote; the noble animals started at a gallop, and soon +disappeared from his sight. + +So soon as he was alone, the poor fellow gave vent to a sigh. + +"Hum!" he muttered sadly; "This time I am very much afraid that it is +all up with me; no matter, Canarios, I will fight to the last, and if +the pagans catch me, it shall cost them dearly." + +After forming this heroic resolution, which seemed to restore all his +courage, the worthy man mounted his horse and prepared for action. + +The Apaches dashed up with a noise resembling thunder. + +The black outlines could already be distinguished through the darkness. + +Lanzi took the bridle between his teeth, seized a pistol in either hand, +and when he judged the moment propitious, he dug his spurs into his +horse, dashed out in front of the Redskins, and crossed their front +diagonally. + +When within range, he fired his pistols into the group, gave a yell of +defiance, and continued his flight with redoubled speed. + +What the half-breed expected, really happened. His shots had told, and +two Apaches fell with their chests pierced through and through. The +Indians, furious at this audacious attack, which they were far from +expecting from a single man, uttered a cry of fury, and dashed after +him. + +This was exactly what Lanzi wanted. + +"There," he said on seeing the success of his scheme; "they are +altogether now, and there is no fear of their scattering; the others are +saved. As for me--bah, who knows?" + +Doña Carmela and the hunter only escaped from the Apaches to fall in +with the jaguars. We have seen how they were saved, thanks to Tranquil. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE CONFESSION. + + +Tranquil attentively listened to the girl's story with drooping head and +frowning brows; when she had finished, he looked at her for a moment +enquiringly. + +"Is that all?" he asked her. + +"All," she answered timidly. + +"And Lanzi, my poor Lanzi, have you no news of him?" + +"None. We heard two shots, the furious galloping of several horses, the +war-cry of the Apaches, and then all became silent again." + +"What can have become of him?" the tigrero muttered sadly. + +"He is resolute, and seems to me conversant with desert life," Loyal +Heart said. + +"Yes," Tranquil replied, "but he is alone." + +"That is true," said the hunter; "alone against fifty, perhaps." + +"Oh, I would give ten years of my life," the Canadian exclaimed, "to +have some news of him." + +"Caray, gossip," a merry voice replied; "I have brought you some all +fresh, and shall charge you nothing for them." + +The hearers started involuntarily at the sound of this voice, and turned +quickly to the side where they heard it. + +The branches parted, and a man appeared. + +It was Lanzi. + +The half-breed seemed as calm and composed as if nothing extraordinary +had happened to him; but his face, usually so cold, now had an +indescribable expression of cunning joy, his eyes sparkled, and a +mocking smile played about his lips. + +"By Jove! Our friend," Tranquil said as he offered him a hand; "you are +a thousand times welcome, for our anxiety about you was great." + +"Thank you, gossip; but, luckily for me, the danger was not so imminent +as might be supposed, and I very easily succeeded in getting rid of +those demons of Apaches." + +"All the better; no matter how you contrived to escape, here you are +safe and sound, so all is for the best; now that we have met again, they +may come if their heart tells them to do so, and they will find somebody +to talk to them." + +"They will not do it; besides, they have something else on hand at this +moment." + +"Do you think so?" + +"I am sure of it; they perceived the bivouac of Mexican soldiers +escorting a conducta de plata, and are naturally trying to get hold of +it; it was partly to that fortuitous circumstance I owe my safety." + +"On my word! All the worse for the Mexicans," the Canadian said +carelessly; "every man for himself: let them settle matters as they +think proper, their affairs do not interest us." + +"That is my opinion too." + +"We have still three hours of night; let us profit by them to rest, in +order to be ready to start for the hacienda at sunrise." + +"The advice is good, and should be followed," said Lanzi, who +immediately lay down with his feet to the fire, wrapped himself in his +zarapé, and closed his eyes. + +Loyal Heart, who doubtless shared his opinion, followed his example. + +As for Quoniam, after conscientiously flaying the tigers and their cubs, +he lay down in front of the fire, and for the last two hours had been +sleeping with that careless indifference so characteristic of the Black +race. + +Tranquil then turned to Carmela. The maiden was seated a few paces from +him; she was gazing into the fire pensively, and tears stood in her +eyes. + +"Well, daughter mine," the Canadian said to her softly, "what are you +doing there? You must be exhausted with fatigue, so why not try to get a +few minutes' rest?" + +"For what good?" she asked sorrowfully. + +"What do you mean?" the tigrero asked sharply, though the girl's accent +made him start; "Why, to regain your strength of course." + +"Let me remain awake, father; I could not sleep, however tired I might +feel; sleep will fly my eyelids." + +The Canadian examined her for a moment with the greatest attention. + +"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, shaking his head meditatively. + +"Nothing, father," she replied, as she tried to force a smile. + +"Girl, girl," he muttered, "all this is not quite clear; I am only a +poor hunter, very ignorant of matters of the world, and my mind is +simple; but I love you, child, and my heart tells me you are suffering." + +"I?" she exclaimed in denial; but all at once she burst into tears, and +falling on the hunter's manly chest, she hid her face in his bosom, and +murmured in a choking voice-- + +"Oh, father, father, I am so wretched." + +Tranquil, at this exclamation, torn from her by the force of pain, +started as if a serpent had stung him; his eye sparkled, he gave the +girl a look full of paternal love, and compelled her with gentle +constraint to look him in the face. + +"Wretched? you, Carmela?" he exclaimed anxiously. "Great Heaven, what +has happened then?" + +By a supreme effort, the maiden succeeded in calming herself; her +features reassumed their ordinary tranquillity, she wiped away her +tears, and smiled at the hunter, who anxiously watched her. + +"Pardon me, father," she said in an insinuating voice, "I am mad." + +"No, no," he replied, shaking his head twice or thrice; "you are not +mad, my child, but are concealing something from me." + +"Father!" she said with a blush, and looked down in confusion. + +"Be frank with me, child, for am I not your best friend?" + +"That is true," she stammered. + +"Have I ever refused to satisfy the slightest of your wishes?" + +"Oh, never!" + +"Have you ever found me severe to you?" + +"Oh, no!" + +"Well, then, why not confess to me frankly what is troubling you?" + +"Because--" she murmured, in hesitation. + +"What?" he answered, affectionately. + +"I dare not." + +"It must be very difficult to say, then?" + +"Yes." + +"Nonsense! Go on, girl, where will you find a confessor so indulgent as +I am?" + +"Nowhere, I know." + +"Speak, then." + +"I am afraid of vexing you." + +"You will vex me a great deal more by obstinately remaining silent." + +"But--" + +"Listen, Carmela; while telling us a little while back what happened +to-day at the venta, you confessed yourself that you wished to find me, +no matter where I was, this very night; is that so?" + +"Yes, father." + +"Well, here I am, I am listening to you; besides, if what you have to +say to me is so important as you led me to suppose, you will do well to +make haste." + +The maiden started; she gave a glance at the sky, where the gloom was +beginning to be intersected by white stripes; all the hesitation +disappeared from her face. + +"You are right, father," she said, in a firm voice; "I hate to speak +with you about an affair of the greatest importance, and perhaps I have +deferred it too long, for it is a question of life and death." + +"You startle me." + +"Listen to me." + +"Speak, child, speak, without fear, and reckon on my affection for you." + +"I do so, my kind father, so you shall know all." + +"It is well." + +Doña Carmela seemed to collect herself for a moment, then, letting her +dainty hand fall into her father's rough and large hand, while her long +silken lashes drooped timidly, to serve as a veil to her eyes, she began +in a weak voice at first, which, however, soon became more firm and +distinct. + +"Lanzi told you that meeting with a conducta de plata encamped a short +distance from here, helped him to escape from the pursuit of the pagans. +Father, this conducta spent last night at the venta, and the Captain who +commands the escort is one of the most distinguished officers in the +Mexican army; you have heard him spoken of before now in terms of +praise, and I even think you are personally acquainted with him; his +name is Don Juan Melendez de Gongora." + +"Ah!" said Tranquil. + +The maiden stopped, all palpitating. + +"Go on," the Canadian said, gently. + +Carmela gave him a side glance; as the tigrero was smiling, she resolved +to continue. + +"Already accident has brought the Captain several times to the venta; +he is a true Caballero--gentle, polite, honourable, and we have never +had the slightest ground of complaint against him, as Lanzi will tell +you." + +"I am convinced of it, my child, for Captain Melendez is exactly what +you describe him." + +"Is he not?" she quickly asked. + +"Yes, he is a true Caballero; unfortunately, there are not many officers +like him in the Mexican army." + +"This morning, the conducta set out, escorted by the Captain; two or +three ill-looking fellows, who remained at the venta, watched the +soldiers depart with a cunning smile, then sat down, began drinking and +saying to me things a girl ought not to hear, until at last they even +threatened me." + +"Ah!" Tranquil interrupted her, with a frown, "Do you know the +scoundrels?" + +"No, father, they are border ruffians, like those of whom there are too +many about here; but, though I have seen them several times, I do not +know their names." + +"No matter, I will discover them, you may feel assured. + +"Oh, father, you would do wrong to trouble yourself about that." + +"Very well, that is my business." + +"Fortunately for me, while this was occurring, a horseman arrived, whose +presence was sufficient to impose silence on these men, and force them +to become what they should always have been, that is to say, polite and +respectful to me." + +"Of course," the Canadian remarked, laughingly, "this caballero, who +arrived so fortunately, was a friend of yours?" + +"Only an acquaintance, father," she said, with a slight blush. + +"Ah! very good." + +"But he is a great friend of yours--at least, I suppose so." + +"Hum! And pray do you know _his_ name, my child?" + +"Of course," she replied, quickly. + +"And what is it, may I ask, if you have no objection to tell me?" + +"None at all; he is called the Jaguar." + +"Oh, oh!" the hunter continued, with a frown, "What could he have to do +at the venta?" + +"I do not know, father; but he said a few words in a low voice to the +men of whom I have told you, who immediately left the talk, mounted +their horses, and started at a gallop without making the slightest +remark." + +"That is strange," the Canadian muttered. + +There was a rather lengthened silence; Tranquil was deep in thought, and +was evidently seeking the solution of a problem, which appeared to him +very difficult to solve. + +At length he raised his head. + +"Is that all you have to tell me?" he asked the girl; "up to the present +I see nothing very extraordinary in all you have told me." + +"Wait a while," she said. + +"Then you have not finished yet?" + +"Not yet." + +"Very good--go on." + +"Although the Jaguar spoke in a low voice with these men, through some +words I overheard, without wishing to do so, I assure you, father--" + +"I am fully persuaded of that. What did you guess from these few words?" + +"I mean, I fancied I understood--" + +"It is the same thing; go on." + +"I fancied I understood, I say, that they were speaking of the +conducta." + +"And very naturally of Captain Melendez, eh?" + +"I am certain that they mentioned his name." + +"That is it. Then you supposed that the Jaguar intended to attack the +conducta, and possibly kill the Captain, eh?" + +"I do not say that," the maiden stammered, in extreme embarrassment. + +"No, but you fear it." + +"Good Heavens, father!" she went on, in a tone of vexation, "Is it not +natural that I should take an interest in a brave officer who--" + +"It is most natural, my child, and I do not blame you; even more, I +fancy that your suppositions are very near the truth." + +"Do you think so, father?" she exclaimed, as she clasped her hands in +terror. + +"It is probable," the Canadian quietly answered; "but reassure yourself, +my child," he added, kindly; "although you have perhaps delayed too long +in speaking to me, I may yet manage to avert the danger which is now +suspended over the head of the man in whom you take such interest." + +"Oh do so, father, I implore you." + +"I will try, at any rate, my child, that is all I can promise you for +the present; but what do you purpose doing?" + +"I?" + +"Yes, while my comrades and I are trying to save the Captain?" + +"I will follow you, father, if you will let me." + +"I think that is the most prudent course; but you must feel a great +affection for the Captain, that you so ardently desire to save him?" + +"I, father?" she replied with the most perfect frankness, "Not the +least; it only seems to me terrible that so brave an officer should be +killed, when there is a chance of saving him." + +"Then you hate the Jaguar of course?" + +"Not at all, father; in spite of his violent character, he seems to me a +noble-hearted man--the more so, because he possesses your esteem, which +is the most powerful reason with me; still it grieves me to see two men +opposed who, I feel convinced, if they knew each other, would become +fast friends, and I do not wish blood to be shed between them." + +These words were uttered by the maiden with such simple frankness, that +for some moments the Canadian remained completely stunned; the slight +gleam of light he fancied he had found suddenly deserted him again, +though it was impossible for him to say in what manner it had +disappeared; he neither understood Doña Carmela's behaviour, nor the +motives on which she acted--the more so, because he had no reason to +doubt the good faith in all she had told him. + +After looking attentively at the maiden for some minutes, he shook his +head twice or thrice like a man completely at sea, and without adding a +word, proceeded to arouse his comrades. + +Tranquil was one of the most experienced wood-rangers in North America; +all the secrets of the desert were known to him, but he was ignorant of +the first word of that mystery which is called a woman's heart. A +mystery the more difficult to fathom, because women themselves are +nearly always ignorant of it; for they only act under the impression of +the moment, under the influence of passion, and without premeditation. + +In a few words the Canadian explained his plans to his comrades: the +latter, as he anticipated, did not offer the slightest objection, but +prepared to follow him. + +Ten minutes later they mounted and left their bivouac under the guidance +of Lanzi. + +At the moment when they disappeared in the forest, the owl uttered its +matutinal cry, the precursor of sunrise. + +"Oh, Heavens!" the maiden murmured in agony; "Shall we arrive in time?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE JAGUAR. + + +The Jaguar, when he left the Venta del Potrero, was suffering from +extreme agitation, the maiden's words buzzed in his ears, with a mocking +and ironical accent; the last look she had given him pursued him like a +remorse. The young man was angry with himself for having so hastily +broken off the interview with Doña Carmela, and dissatisfied with the +way in which he had responded to her entreaties; in short, he was in the +best possible temper to commit one of those acts of cruelty into which +the violence of his character only too often led him, which had +inflicted a disgraceful stigma on his reputation, and which he always +bitterly regretted having committed, when it was too late. + +He rode at full speed across the prairie, lacerating the sides of his +horse, which reared in pain, uttering stifled maledictions, and casting +around the ferocious glances of a wild beast in search of prey. + +For a moment he entertained the idea of returning to the venta, throwing +himself at the maiden's feet, and repairing the fault which his growing +jealousy had forced him to commit, by abjuring all his hopes, and +placing himself at Doña Carmela's service, to do whatever she might +please to order. + +But, like most good resolutions, this one lasted no longer than a +lightning flash. The Jaguar reflected, and with reflection doubt and +jealousy returned. The natural consequences of which was fresh fury, +wilder and more insane than the first. + +The young man galloped on thus for a long time, apparently following no +settled direction; still at long intervals he stopped, rose in his +stirrups, explored the plain with an eagle-glance, and then started +again at full speed. + +At about three in the afternoon he passed the conducta de Plata, but as +he perceived it a long way off, it was easy for him to avoid it by +swerving slightly to the right, and entering a thick wood of pine trees, +which rendered him invisible long enough for him not to fear discovery +from the scouts sent on ahead. + +About an hour before sunset, the young man, who had perhaps stopped a +hundred times to explore the neighbourhood, uttered a suppressed cry of +joy; he had at length come up to the persons he was so anxious to join. + +Not five hundred yards from the spot where the Jaguar had halted, a band +of thirty to five and thirty horsemen was following the track +complimented with the name of road, that led across the prairie. + +This band, entirely composed of white men, as could be easily seen from +their costume, appeared to assume something of a military air, and all +were fully equipped with arms of every description. + +At the beginning of this story we mentioned some horsemen just +disappearing on the horizon; these were the men the Jaguar had just +perceived. + +The young man placed his open hands to his mouth in the shape of a +speaking trumpet, and twice gave a sharp, shrill, and prolonged cry. + +Although the troop was some distance off at the moment, still at this +signal the riders stopped as if the feet of their horses had suddenly +become embedded in the ground. + +The Jaguar then bent over his saddle, leaped his horse over the bushes, +and in a few minutes joined the men who had stopped for him. + +The Jaguar was hailed with shouts of joy, and all pressed round him with +marks of the deepest interest. + +"Thanks, my friends," he said, "thanks for the proofs of sympathy you +give me; but I must ask you to give me a moment's attention, for time +presses." + +Silence was re-established, as if by enchantment, but the flashing +glances fixed on the young man said clearly that sympathy, though dumb, +was not the less vivid. + +"You were not mistaken, Master John," the Jaguar said, addressing one +of the persons nearest to him; "the conducta is just behind us; we are +not more than three or four hours' march ahead of it; as you warned me, +it is escorted, and in proof that great importance is attached to its +safety, the escort is commanded by Captain Melendez." + +His audience gave a start of disappointment at these news. + +"Patience," the Jaguar went on, with a sarcastic smile; "when force is +not sufficient, stratagem remains; Captain Melendez is brave and +experienced, I grant you, but are we not also brave men? Is not the +cause we defend grand enough to excite us to carry out our enterprise at +all hazards?" + +"Yes, yes, hurrah, hurrah!" all the hearers shouted, as they brandished +their weapons enthusiastically. + +"Master John, you have already entered into relations with the Captain; +he knows you, so you will remain here with another of our friends. Allow +yourselves to be arrested. I entrust to you the duty of removing the +suspicions that may exist in the Captain's mind." + +"I will do it, you may be certain." + +"Very good, but play close with him; for you have a strong opponent." + +"Do you think so?" + +"Yes. Do you know who accompanies him?" + +"On my word, no." + +"El Padre Antonio." + +"What's that you say? by Jove, you did right to warn me." + +"I thought so." + +"Oh, oh! Does that accursed monk wish to poach on our manor?" + +"I fear it. This man, as you know, is affiliated with all the scamps, no +matter of what colour, who prowl about the desert: he is even reported +to be one of their Chiefs; the idea of seizing the conducta may easily +have occurred to him." + +"By Heaven, I will watch him; trust to me, I know him too thoroughly and +too long for him to care to oppose me; if he dared to attempt it, I +could reduce him to impotence." + +"That is all right. When you have obtained all the information we +require to act, lose not a moment in informing us, for we shall count +the minutes while waiting for you." + +"That is settled. I suppose we meet at the Barranca del Gigante." + +"Yes." + +"One word more." + +"Make haste." + +"What about Blue-fox?" + +"Hang it! I forgot all about him." + +"Shall I wait for him?" + +"Certainly." + +"Shall I treat with him? You know but little reliance is to be placed in +the word of an Apache." + +"That is true," the young man answered, thoughtfully; "still, our +position is at this moment most difficult. We are left to our own +resources; our friends hesitate, and dare not yet decide in our favour; +while, on the other hand, our enemies are raising their heads, regaining +courage, and preparing to attack us vigorously. Although my heart heaves +against such an alliance, it is still evident to me, that if the Apaches +consent frankly to help us, their assistance will be very useful to +us." + +"You are right. In our present situation, outlawed by society, and +tracked like wild beasts, it would, perhaps, be imprudent to reject the +alliance of the Redskins." + +"Well, my friend, I give you full liberty, and events must guide you. I +trust entirely to your intelligence and devotion." + +"I shall not deceive your expectations." + +"Let us part now; and luck be with you." + +"Goodbye, till we meet again." + +"Goodbye, till to-morrow." + +The Jaguar gave a parting nod to his friend or accomplice, whichever the +reader pleases to call him, placed himself at the head of the band, and +started at a gallop. + +This John was no other than John Davis, the slave-dealer, whom the +reader probably remembers to have come across in the earlier chapters of +this story. How it is we find him again in Texas, forming part of a band +of outlaws, and become the pursued instead of the pursuer, would be too +long to explain at this moment. Let us purpose eventually to give the +reader full satisfaction on the point. + +John and his comrades let themselves be apprehended by Captain +Melendez's scouts, without offering the slightest opposition. We have +already described how they behaved in the Mexican camp; so we will +follow the Jaguar at present. + +The young man seemed to be, and really was, the chief of the horsemen at +whose head he rode. + +These individuals all belonged to the Anglo-Saxon race, and to a man +were North Americans. + +What trade were they carrying on? Surely a very simple one. + +For the moment they were insurgents; most of them came to Texas at the +period when the Mexican government authorized American immigration. They +had settled in the country, colonized it, and cleared it; in a word, +they ended by regarding it as a new country. + +When the Mexican government inaugurated that system of vexations, which +it never gave up again, these worthy fellows laid down the pick and the +spade to take up the Kentucky rifle, mounted their horses, and broke out +in overt insurrection against an oppressor who wished to ruin and +dispossess them. + +Several bands of insurgents were thus hastily formed on various points +of the Texan territory, fighting bravely against the Mexicans wherever +they met with them. Unfortunately for them, however, these bands were +isolated; no tie existed among them to form a compact and dangerous +whole; they obeyed chiefs, independent one of the other, who all wished +to command, without bowing their own will to a supreme and single will, +which would have been the only way of obtaining tangible results, and +conquering that independence, which, owing to this hapless dissension, +was still regarded as a Utopia by the most enlightened men in the +country. + +The horsemen we have brought on the stage were placed under the orders +of the Jaguar, whose reputation for courage, skill, and prudence was too +firmly established in the country for his name not to inspire terror in +the enemies whom chance might bring him across. + +The sequel will prove that, in choosing their chiefs, the colonists had +made no mistake about him. + +The Jaguar was just the chief these men required. He was young, +handsome, and gifted with that fascination which improvises kingdoms; he +spoke little, but each of his words left a reminiscence. + +He understood what his comrades expected of him, and had achieved +prodigies; for, as ever happens with a man born for great things, who +rises proportionately and ever remains on a level with events, his +position, by extending, had, as it were, enlarged his intellect; his +glance had become infallible, his will of iron; he identified himself so +thoroughly with his new position, that he no longer allowed himself to +be mastered by any human feeling. His face seemed of marble, both in joy +and sorrow. The enthusiasm of his comrades could produce neither flame +nor smile on his countenance. + +The Jaguar was not an ordinary ambitious man; he was grieved by the +disagreement among the insurgents; he most heartily desired a fusion, +which had become indispensable, and laboured with all his might to +effect it; in a word, the young man had faith; he believed; for, in +spite of the innumerable faults committed since the beginning of the +insurrection by the Texans, he found such vitality in the work of +liberty hitherto so badly managed, that he learned at length that in +every human question there is something more powerful than force, than +courage, even than genius, and that this something is the idea whose +time has come, whose hour has struck by the clock of Deity. Hence he +forgot all his annoyances in hoping for a certain future. + +In order to neutralize, as far as possible, the isolation in which his +band was left, the Jaguar had inaugurated certain tactics which had +hitherto proved successful. What he wanted was to gain time, and +perpetuate the war, even though waging an unequal contest. For this +purpose he was obliged to envelop his weakness in mystery, show himself +everywhere, stop nowhere, enclose the foe in a network of invisible +adversaries, force him to stand constantly on guard, with his eyes +vainly fixed on all points of the horizon, and incessantly harassed, +though never really and seriously attacked by respectable forces. Such +was the plan the Jaguar inaugurated against the Mexicans, whom he +enervated thus by this fever of expectation and the unknown, the most +terrible of all maladies for the strong. + +Hence the Jaguar and the fifty or sixty horsemen he commanded were more +feared by the Mexican government than all the other insurgents put +together. + +An extraordinary prestige attached to the terrible chief of these +unsiegeable men; a superstitious fear preceded them, and their mere +approach produced disorder among the troops sent to fight them. + +The Jaguar cleverly profited by his advantages to attempt the most +hazardous enterprises and the most daring strokes. The one he meditated +at this moment was one of the boldest he had hitherto conceived, for it +was nothing less than to carry off the conducta de plata and make a +prisoner of Captain Melendez, an officer whom he justly considered one +of his most dangerous adversaries, and with whom he, for that very +reason, longed to measure himself, for he foresaw the light such a +victory would shed over the insurrection, and the partisans it would +immediately attract to him. + +After leaving John Davis behind him, the Jaguar rapidly advanced toward +a thick forest, whose dark outline stood out on the horizon, and in +which he prepared to bivouac for the night, as he could not reach the +Barranca del Gigante till late the following day. Moreover, he wished +to remain near the two men he had detached as scouts, in order the +sooner to learn the result of their operations. + +A little after sunset, the insurgents reached the forest, and +instantaneously disappeared under covert. + +On reaching the top of a small hill which commanded the landscape, the +Jaguar halted, and ordered his men to dismount and prepare to camp. + +A bivouac is soon organized in the desert. + +A sufficient space is cleared with axes, fires are lighted at regular +distances to keep off wild beasts; the horses are picketed, and sentries +placed to watch over the common safety, and then everybody lies down +before the fire, rolls himself in his blanket, and that is all. These +rough men, accustomed to brave the fury of the seasons, sleep as +profoundly under the canopy of the sky, as the denizens of towns in +their sumptuous mansions. + +The young man, when everybody had lain down to rest, went the rounds to +assure himself that all was in order, and then returned to the fire, +when he fell into earnest thought. + +The whole night passed and he did not make the slightest movement; but +he did not sleep, his eyes were open and fixed on the slowly expiring +embers. + +What were the thoughts that contracted his forehead and made his +eyebrows meet? + +It would be impossible to say. + +Perhaps he was travelling in the country of fancy, dreaming wide awake +one of those glorious dreams we have at the age of twenty, which are so +intoxicating and so deceitful! + +Suddenly he started and sprung up as if worked by a spring. + +At this moment the sun appeared in the horizon, and began slowly +dispersing the gloom. + +The young man bent forward and listened. + +The sharp snap of a gun being cocked was heard a short distance off, and +a sentry concealed in the shrubs shouted in a harsh, sharp voice:-- + +"Who goes there?" + +"A friend," was the reply from the bushes. The Jaguar started. + +"Tranquil here!" he muttered to himself; "For what reason can he seek +me?" + +And he rushed in the direction where he expected to find the +Panther-killer. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +BLUE-FOX. + + +We will now return to Blue-fox and his two comrades, whom, in a previous +chapter, we left at the moment when, after hearing bullets "ping" past +their ears, they instinctively entrenched themselves behind rocks and +trunks of trees. + +So soon as they had taken this indispensable precaution against the +invisible assailants, the three men carefully inspected their weapons to +be ready to reply; and then waited with finger on trigger, and looking +searchingly in all directions. + +They remained thus for a rather lengthened period, though nothing again +disturbed the silence of the prairie, or the slightest sign revealed to +them that the attack made upon them would be renewed. + +Suffering from the deepest anxiety, not knowing to what they should +attribute this attack, or what enemies they had to fear, the three men +knew not what to do, or how to escape with honour from the embarrassing +position into which chance had thrown them. At length Blue-fox resolved +to go reconnoitring. + +Still, as the Chief was justly afraid of falling into an ambuscade, +carefully prepared to capture him and his comrades, without striking a +blow, he thought it prudent, ere he started, to take the most minute +precautions. + +The Indians are justly renowned for their cleverness; forced, through +the life they lead from their birth, to employ continually the physical +qualities with which Providence has given them, in them hearing, smell, +and, above all, sight have attained such a development, that they can +fairly contend with wild beasts, of whom, after all, they are only +plagiarists; but, as they have at their disposal one advantage over +animals in the intelligence which permits them to combine their actions +and see their probable consequences, they have acquired a cat-like +success, if we may be allowed to employ the expression, which enables +them to accomplish surprising things, of which only those who have seen +them at work can form a correct idea, so greatly does their skill go +beyond the range of possibility. + +It is before all when they have to follow a trail, that the cleverness +of the Indians, and the knowledge they possess of the laws of nature, +acquire extraordinary proportions. Whatever care their enemy may have +taken, whatever precautions he may have employed to hide his trail and +render it invisible, they always succeed in discovering it in the end; +from them the desert has retained no secrets, for them this virgin and +majestic nature is a book, every page of which is known to them, and in +which they read fluently, without the slightest--we will not say +mistake, but merely--hesitation. + +Blue-fox, though still very young, had already gained a well-deserved +reputation for cleverness and astuteness; hence under the present +circumstances, surrounded in all probability by invisible enemies, whose +eyes, constantly fixed on the spot that served as his refuge, watched +his every movement, he prepared with redoubled prudence to foil their +machinations and countermine their plans. + +After arranging with his comrades a signal in the probable event of +their help being required, he took off his buffalo robe, whose wide +folds might have impeded his movements, removed all the ornaments with +which his head, neck, and chest were loaded, and only retained his +_mitasses_, a species of drawers made in two pieces, fastened from +distance to distance with hair, bound round the loins with a strip of +untanned deer-hide, and descending to his ankles. + +Thus clothed, he rolled himself several times in the sand, for his body +to assume an earthy colour. Then he passed through his belt his tomahawk +and scalping knife, weapons an Indian never lays aside, seized his rifle +in his right hand, and, after giving a parting nod to his comrades who +attentively watched his different preparations, he lay down on the +ground, and began crawling like a serpent through the tall grass and +detritus of every description. + +Although the sun had risen for some time, and was pouring its dazzling +beams over the prairie, Blue-fox's departure was managed with such +circumspection that he was far out on the plain, while his comrades +fancied him close to them; not a blade of grass had been agitated in his +passage, or a pebble slipped under his feet. + +From time to time Blue-fox stopped, took a peering glance around, and +then, when he felt assured that all was quiet, and nothing had revealed +his position, he began crawling again on his hands and knees in the +direction of the forest covert, from which he was now but a short +distance. + +He then reached a spot entirely devoid of trees, where the grass, +lightly trodden down at various spots, led him to suppose he was +reaching the place where the men who fired must have been ambushed. + +The Indian stopped, in order to investigate more closely the trail he +had discovered. + +It apparently belonged to only one man; it was clumsy, wide, and made +without caution, and rather the footsteps of a white man ignorant of the +customs of the prairie, than of a hunter or Indian. + +The bushes were broken as if the person who passed through them had done +so by force, running along without taking the trouble to part the +brambles; while at several spots the trampled earth was soaked with +blood. + +Blue-fox could not at all understand this strange trail, which in no way +resembled those he was accustomed to follow. + +Was it a feint employed by his enemies to deceive him more easily by +letting him see a clumsy trail intended to conceal the real one? Or was +it, on the other hand, the trail of a white man wandering about the +desert, of whose habits he was ignorant? + +The Indian knew not what opinion to adhere to, and his perplexity was +great. To him it was evident that from this spot the shot was fired +which saluted him at the moment when he was about to begin his speech; +but for what object had the man, whoever he was, that had chosen this +ambush, left such manifest traces of his passage? He must surely have +supposed that his aggression would not remain unpunished, and that the +persons he selected as a target would immediately start in pursuit of +him. + +At length, after trying for a long time to solve this problem, and +racking his brains in vain to arrive at a probable conclusion, Blue-fox +adhered to his first one, that this trail was fictitious, and merely +intended to conceal the true one. + +The great fault of cunning persons is to suppose that all men are like +themselves, and only employ cunning; hence they frequently deceive +themselves, and the frankness of the means employed by their opponent +completely defeats them, and makes them lose a game which they had every +chance of winning. + +Blue-fox soon perceived that his supposition was false, that he had +given his enemy credit for much greater skill and sagacity than he +really possessed, and that what he had regarded as an extremely +complicated scheme intended to deceive him, was, in fact, what he had at +first thought it, namely, the passing of a man. + +After hesitating and turning back several times, the Indian at length +resolved on pushing forward, and following what he believed to be a +false trail, under the conviction that he would speedily find the real +one; but, as he was persuaded that he had to do with extremely crafty +fellows, he redoubled his prudence and precautions, only advancing step +by step, carefully exploring the bushes and the chaparral, and not going +on till he was certain he had no cause to apprehend a surprise. + +His manoeuvres occupied a long time; he had left his comrades for more +than two hours, when he found himself all at once at the entrance of a +rather large clearing, from which he was only separated by a curtain of +foliage. + +The Indian stopped, drew himself up gently, parted the branches, and +looked into the clearing. + +The forests of America are full of these clearings, produced either by +the fall of trees crumbling with old age, or of those which have been +struck by lightning, and laid low by the terrible hurricanes which +frequently utterly uproot the forests of the New World. The clearing to +which we allude here was rather large; a wide stream ran through it, and +in the mud of its banks might be seen the deeply-imprinted footprints of +the wild beasts that came here to drink. + +A magnificent mahogany tree, whose luxuriant branches overshadowed the +whole clearing, stood nearly in the centre. At the foot of this gigantic +denizen of the forest, two men were visible. + +The first, dressed in a monk's gown, was lying on the ground with closed +eyes, and face covered with a deadly pallor; the second, kneeling by his +side, seemed to be paying him the most anxious attention. + +Owing to the position occupied by the Redskin, he was enabled to +distinguish the features of this second person, whose face was turned +toward him. + +He was a man of lofty stature, but excessively thin; his face, owing to +the changes of weather to which it must have been long exposed, was of a +brick colour, and furrowed by deep wrinkles; a snow-white beard fell on +his chest, mingled with the long curls of his equally white hair, which +fell in disorder on his shoulders. He wore the garb of the American +rangers combined with the Mexican costume; thus a vicuña-skin hat, +ornamented with a gold _golilla_, covered his head; a zarapé served as +his cloak, and his cotton velvet violet trousers were thrust into long +deer-skin gaiters, that came up to his knees. + +It was impossible to guess this man's age; although his harsh and marked +features, and his wild eyes, which burned with a concentrated fire and +had a wandering expression, revealed that he had attained old age, still +no trace of decrepitude was visible in any part of his person; his +stature seemed not to have lost an inch of its height, so straight was +he still; his knotted limbs, full of muscles hard as ropes, seemed +endowed with extraordinary strength and suppleness; in a word, he had +all the appearance of a dangerous wood-ranger, whose eye must be as +sure, and arm as ready, as if he were only forty years of age. + +In his girdle he carried a pair of long pistols, and a sword with a +straight and wide blade, called a machete, passed through an iron ring +instead of a sheath, hung on his left side. Two rifles, one of which +doubtless belonged to him, were leant against the trunk of the tree, and +a magnificent mustang, picketed a few yards off, was nibbling the young +tree shoots. + +What it has taken us so long to describe, the Indian saw at a glance; +but it appeared as if this scene, which he was so far from anticipating, +was not very cheering to him, for he frowned portentously, and could +hardly restrain an exclamation of surprise and disappointment on seeing +the two persons. + +By an instinctive movement of prudence he cocked his rifle, and after he +had done this, he went on watching what was doing in the clearing. + +At length the man dressed in the monk's gown made a slight movement as +if to rise, and partly opened his eyes; but too weak yet, probably, to +endure the brilliancy of the sunbeams, though they were filtered through +the dense foliage, he closed them again; still, the individual who was +nursing him, saw that he had regained his senses, by the movement of his +lips, which quivered as if he were murmuring a prayer in a low voice. + +Considering, therefore, that, for the present at least, his attentions +were no longer needed by his patient, the stranger rose, took his rifle, +leant his crossed hands on the muzzle, and awaited stoically, after +giving a look round the clearing, whose gloomy and hateful expression +caused the Indian Chief to give a start of terror in his leafy hiding +place. + +Several minutes elapsed, during which no sound was audible, save the +rustling of the stream over its bed, and the mysterious murmur of the +insects of all descriptions hidden beneath the grass. + +At length the man lying on the ground made a second movement, stronger +than the first, and opened his eyes. + +After looking wildly around him, his eyes were fastened with a species +of strange fascination on the tall old man, still standing motionless by +his side, and who gazed on him in return with a mingled feeling of +ironical compassion and sombre melancholy. + +"Thanks," he at last murmured, in a weak voice. + +"Thanks for what?" the stranger asked, harshly. + +"Thanks for having saved my life, brother," the sufferer answered. + +"I am not your brother, monk," the stranger said, mockingly; "I am a +heretic, a gringo, as you are pleased to call us; look at me, you have +not examined me yet with sufficient attention; have I not horns and +goat's feet?" + +These words were uttered with such a sarcastic accent, that the monk was +momentarily confounded. + +"Who are you, then?" he at length asked, with secret apprehension. + +"What does that concern you?" the other said, with an ill-omened laugh; +"The demon, mayhap." + +The monk made a sudden effort to rise, and crossed himself repeatedly. + +"May Heaven save me from falling into the hands of the Evil Spirit!" he +added. + +"Well, you ass," the other said, as he shrugged his shoulders +contemptuously, "reassure yourself, I am not the demon, but a man like +yourself, perhaps not quite so hypocritical, though, that's the only +difference." + +"Do you speak truly? Are you really one of my fellow men, disposed to +serve me?" + +"Who can answer for the future?" the stranger replied, with an +enigmatical smile; "Up to the present, at any rate, you have had no +cause of complaint against me. + +"No, oh no, I do not think so, although since my fainting fit my ideas +have been quite confused, and I can remember nothing." + +"What do I care? That does not concern me, for I ask nothing of you; I +have enough business of my own not to trouble myself with that of +others. Come, do you feel better? Have you recovered sufficiently to +continue your journey?" + +"What! continue my journey?" the monk asked timidly; "Do you intend to +abandon me then?" + +"Why not? I have already wasted too much time with you, and must attend +to my own affairs." + +"What?" the monk objected, "After the interest you have so benevolently +taken in me, you would have the courage to abandon me thus when almost +dead, and not caring what may happen to me after your departure?" + +"Why not? I do not know you, and have no occasion to help you. +Accidentally crossing this clearing, I noticed you lying breathless and +pale as a corpse. I gave you that ease which is refused to no one in the +desert; now that you have returned to life, I can no longer be of +service to you, so I am off; what can be more simple or logical? +Goodbye, and may the demon, for whom you took me just now, grant you his +protection!" + +After uttering these words in a tone of sarcasm and bitter irony, the +stranger threw his rifle over his shoulder, and walked a few paces +toward his horse. + +"Stay, in Heaven's name!" the monk exclaimed, as he rose with greater +haste than with his weakness seemed possible, but fear produced the +strength; "What will become of me alone in this desert?" + +"That does not concern me," the stranger answered, as he coolly loosed +the arm of his zarapé, which the monk had seized; "is not the maxim of +the desert, each for himself?" + +"Listen," the monk said eagerly; "my name is Fray Antonio, and I am +wealthy: if you protect me, I will reward you handsomely." + +The stranger smiled contemptuously. + +"What have you to fear? you are young, stout, and well armed; are you +not capable of protecting yourself?" + +"No, because I am pursued by implacable enemies. Last night they +inflicted on me horrible and degrading torture, and I only managed with +great difficulty to escape from their clutches. This morning accident +brought me across two of these men. On seeing them a species of raging +madness possessed me; the idea of avenging myself occurred to me; I +aimed at them, and fired, and then fled, not knowing whither I was +going, mad with rage and terror; on reaching this spot I fell, crushed +and exhausted, as much through the sufferings I endured this night, as +through the fatigues caused by a long and headlong race along abominable +roads. These men are doubtless pursuing me; if they find me--and they +will do so, for they are wood-rangers, perfectly acquainted with the +desert--they will kill me without pity; my only hope is in you, so in +the name of what you hold dearest on earth, save me! Save me, and my +gratitude will be unbounded." + +The stranger had listened to this long and pathetic pleading without +moving a muscle of his face. When the monk ceased, with breath and +argument equally exhausted, he rested the butt of his rifle on the +ground. + +"All that you say may be true," he answered drily, "but I care as little +for it as I do for a flash in the pan; get out of the affair as you +think proper, for your entreaties are useless; if you knew who I am, you +would very soon give up tormenting my ears with your jabbering." + +The monk fixed a terrified look on the strange man, not knowing what to +say to him, or the means he should employ to reach his heart. + +"Who are you then?" he asked him, rather for the sake of saying +something than in the hope of an answer. + +"Who I am?" he said, with an ironical smile, "You would like to know. +Very good, listen in your turn; I have only a few words to say, but they +will ice the blood in your veins with terror; I am the man called the +White Scalper, the Pitiless one!" + +The monk tottered back a few paces, and clasped his hands with an +effort. + +"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed, frenziedly; "I am lost!" + +At this moment the hoot of an owl was heard a short distance off. The +hunter started. + +"Some one was listening to us!" he exclaimed, and rushed rapidly to the +side whence the signal came, while the monk, half dead with terror, fell +on his knees, and addressed a fervent prayer to Heaven. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE WHITE SCALPER. + + +We must now stop our story for a little while, in order to give the +reader certain details about the strange man whom we introduced in our +previous chapter, details doubtless very incomplete, but still +indispensable to the proper comprehension of facts that have to follow. + +If, instead of telling a true story, we were inventing a romance, we +should certainly guard ourselves against introducing into our narrative +persons like the one we have to deal with now; unhappily, we are +constrained to follow the line ready traced before us, and depict our +characters as they are, as they existed, and as the majority still +exist. + +A few years before the period at which the first part of our story +begins, a rumour, at first dull, but which soon attained a certain +degree of consistency and a great notoriety in the vast deserts of +Texas, arose almost suddenly, icing with fear the Indios Bravos, and the +adventurers of every description who continually wander about these vast +solitudes. + +It was stated that a man, apparently white, had been for some time on +the desert, pursuing the Redskins, against whom he seemed to have +declared an obstinate war. Acts of horrible cruelty and extraordinary +boldness were narrated about this man, who was said to be always alone; +wherever he met Indians, no matter their number, he attacked them; those +who fell into his power were scalped, and their hearts torn out, and in +order that it might be known that they had fallen under his blows, he +made on their stomach a wide incision, in the shape of a cross. At times +this implacable enemy of the red race glided into their villages, fired +them during the night, when all were asleep, and then he made a +frightful butchery, killing all who came in his way; women, children, +and old men, he made no exception. + +This gloomy redresser of wrongs, however, did not merely pursue Indians +with his implacable hatred--half-breeds, smugglers, pirates, in a word, +all the bold border ruffians accustomed to live at the expense of +society had a rude account to settle with him; but the latter he did not +scalp, but merely contented himself with fastening them securely to +trees, where he condemned them to die of hunger, and become the prey of +wild beasts. + +During the first years, the adventurers and Redskins, drawn together by +the feeling of a common danger, had several times banded to put an end +to this ferocious enemy, bind him, and inflict the law of retaliation on +him; but this man seemed to be protected by a charm, which enabled him +to escape all the snares laid for him, and circumvent all the ambuscades +formed on his road, It was impossible to catch him; his movements were +so rapid and unexpected, that he often appeared at considerable +distances from the spot where he was awaited, and where he had been seen +shortly before. According to the Indians and adventurers, he was +invulnerable; bullets and arrows rebounded from his chest; and soon, +through the continual good fortune that accompanied all his enterprises, +this man became a subject of universal terror on the prairie; his +enemies, convinced that all they might attempt against him would prove +useless, gave up a struggle which they regarded as waged against a +superior power. The strangest legends were current about him; every one +feared him as a maleficent spirit; the Indians named him +_Kiein-Stomann_, or the White Scalper, and the Adventurers designated +him among themselves by the epithet of Pitiless. + +These two names, as we see, were justly given to this man, with whom +murder and carnage seemed the supreme enjoyment, such pleasure did he +find in feeling his victims quivering beneath his blood-red hand, and +tearing the heart out of their bosom; hence his mere name, uttered in a +whisper, filled the bravest with horror. + +But who was this man? Whence did he come? What fearful catastrophe had +cast him into the fearful mode of life he led? + +No one could answer these questions. This individual was a horrifying +enigma, which no person could solve. + +Was he one of those monstrous organizations, which, beneath the envelope +of man, contain a tiger's heart? + +Or, else, a soul ulcerated by a frightful misfortune, all whose +faculties are directed to one object, vengeance? + +Both these hypotheses were equally possible; perhaps both were true. + +Still, as every medal has its reverse, and man is not perfect in either +good or evil, this individual had at times gleams, not of pity, but +perhaps of fatigue, when blood mounted to his gorge, choked him, and +rendered him a little less cruel, a little less implacable, almost +human, in a word. But these moments were brief, these attacks, as he +called them himself, very rare; nature regained the upper hand almost at +once, and he became only the more terrible, because he had been so near +growing compassionate. + +This was all known about this individual at the moment when we brought +him on the stage in so singular a fashion. The assistance he had given +the monk was so contrary to all his habits, that he must have been +suffering at the moment from one of his best attacks, to have consented +not only to give such eager attention to one of his fellows, but also to +waste so much time in listening to his lamentations and entreaties. + +To finish the information we have to give about this person, we will add +that no one knew whether he had a permanent abode; he was not known to +have any woman to love, or any follower; he had ever been seen alone; +and during the ten years he had roamed the desert in every direction, +his countenance had undergone no change; he had ever the same appearance +of old age and strength, the same long and white beard, and the same +wrinkled face. + +As we have said, the scalper rushed into the chaparral to discover who +had given the signal that startled him; his researches were minute, but +they produced no other result than that of enabling him to discover that +he was not mistaken, and that a spy hidden in the bushes had really +seen all that took place in the clearing, and heard all that was said. + +Blue-fox, after summoning his comrades, cautiously retired, convinced +that if he fell into the hands of the Scalper, he would be lost in spite +of all his courage. + +The latter returned thoughtfully to the side of the monk, whose praying +still went on, and had assumed such proportions that it threatened to +become interminable. + +The Scalper looked for a moment at the Fray, an ironical smile playing +round his pale lips the while, and then gave him a hearty blow with the +butt of his rifle between the shoulders. + +"Get up!" he said, roughly. + +The monk fell on his hands, and remained motionless. Believing that the +other intended to kill him, he resigned himself to his fate, and awaited +the death-blow which, in his opinion, he must speedily receive. + +"Come, get up, you devil of a monk!" the Scalper went on; "Have you not +mumbled paternosters enough?" + +Fray Ambrosio gently raised his head; a gleam of hope returned to him. + +"Forgive me, Excellency," he replied; "I have finished; I am now at your +orders; what do you desire of me?" + +And he quickly sprung up, for there was something in the other's eye +which told him that disobedience would lead to unpleasant results. + +"That is well, scoundrel! You seem to me as fit to pull a trigger as to +say a prayer. Load your rifle, for the moment has arrived for you to +fight like a man, unless you wish to be killed like a dog." + +The monk took a frightened glance around. + +"Excellency," he stammered, with great hesitation, "is it necessary that +I should fight?" + +"Yes, if you wish to keep a whole skin; if you do not, why, you can +remain quiet." + +"But perhaps there is another mode?" + +"What is it?" + +"Flight, for instance," he said, insinuatingly. + +"Try it," the other replied, with a grin. + +The monk, encouraged by this semi-concession, continued, with slightly +increased boldness-- + +"You have a very fine horse." + +"Is it not?" + +"Magnificent," Fray Antonio went on, enthusiastically. + +"Yes, and you would not be vexed if I let you mount it, to fly more +rapidly, eh?" + +"Oh! do not think that," he said, with a gesture of denial. + +"Enough!" the Scalper roughly interrupted; "Think of yourself, for your +enemies are coming." + +With one bound he was in the saddle, made his horse curvet, and hid +himself behind the enormous stem of the mahogany tree. + +Fray Antonio, aroused by the approach of danger, quickly seized his +rifle, and also got behind the tree. + +At the same moment a rather loud rustling was heard in the bushes, which +then parted, and several men appeared. + +They were about fifteen in number, and Apache warriors; in the midst of +them were Blue-fox, John Davis, and his companions. + +Blue-fox, though he had never found himself face to face with the White +Scalper, had often heard him spoken of, both by Indians and hunters; +hence, when he heard him pronounce his name, an indescribable agony +contracted his heart, as he thought of all the cruelty to which his +brothers had been victims from this man; and the thought of seizing him +occurred to him. He hastened to give the signal agreed on with the +hunters, and rushing through the chaparral with the velocity +characteristic of Indians, went to the spot where his warriors were +waiting, and bade them follow him. On his return, he met the two hunters +who had heard the signal, and were hurrying to his help. + +In a few words Blue-fox explained to them what was occurring. To tell +the truth, we must confess that this confidence, far from exciting the +warriors and hunters, singularly lowered their ardour, by revealing to +them that they were about to expose themselves to a terrible danger, by +contending with a man who was the more dangerous because no weapon could +strike him; and those who had hitherto dared to assail him, had ever +fallen victims to their temerity. + +Still, it was too late to recoil, and flight was impossible; the +warriors, therefore, determined to push on, though much against the +grain. + +As for the two hunters, if they did not completely share in the blind +credulity of their comrades, and their superstitious fears, this fight +was far from pleasing them. Still, restrained by the shame of abandoning +men to whom they fancied themselves superior in intelligence, and even +in courage, they resolved to follow them. + +"Excellency!" the monk exclaimed in a lamentable voice, when he saw the +Indians appear, "Do not abandon me." + +"No, if you do not abandon yourself, scoundrel!" the Scalper answered. + +On reaching the skirt of the clearing, the Apaches, following their +usual tactics, sheltered themselves behind trees, so that this confined +clearing, in which so many men were on the point of beginning an +obstinate struggle, seemed absolutely deserted. + +There was a moment of silence and hesitation. The Scalper at length +decided on being the first to speak. + +"Halloh!" he cried, "What do you want here?" + +Blue-fox was going to answer, but John Davis prevented him. + +"Leave him to me," he said. + +Quitting the trunk of the tree behind which he was sheltered, he then +boldly walked a few paces forward, and stopped almost in the centre of +the clearing. + +"Where are you, you who are speaking?" he asked in a loud and firm +voice; "Are you afraid of letting yourself be seen?" + +"I fear nothing," the squatter replied. + +"Show yourself, then, that I may know you again," John said impudently. + +Thus challenged, the Scalper came up within two paces of the hunter. + +"Here I am," he said, "What do you want of me?" + +Davis let the horse come up without making any movement to avoid it. + +"Ah," he said, "I am not sorry to have had a look at you." + +"Is that all you have to say to me?" the other asked gruffly. + +"Hang it, you are in a tremendous hurry! Give me time to breathe, at any +rate." + +"A truce to jests, which may cost you dearly; tell me at once what your +proposals are--I have no time to lose in idle talk." + +"How the deuce do you know that I have proposals to make to you?" + +"Would you have come here without?" + +"And I presume that you are acquainted with these proposals?" + +"It is possible." + +"In that case, what answer do you give me?" + +"None." + +"What, none!" + +"I prefer attacking you." + +"Oh, oh, you have a tough job before you; there are eighteen of us, do +you know that?" + +"I do not care for your numbers. If there were a hundred of you, I would +attack you all the same." + +"By Heaven! For the rarity of the fact, I should be curious to see the +combat of one man against twenty." + +"You will do so ere long." + +And, while saying this, the Scalper pulled his horse back several paces. + +"One moment, hang it," the hunter exclaimed sharply; "let me say a word +to you." + +"Say it." + +"Will you surrender?" + +"What?" + +"I ask you if you will surrender." + +"Nonsense," the Scalper exclaimed with a grin; "you are mad. I +surrender! It is you who will have to ask mercy ere long." + +"I would not believe it, even if you killed me." + +"Come, return to your shelter," the Scalper said with a shrug of his +shoulders; "I do not wish to kill you defencelessly." + +"All the worse for you, then," the hunter said; "I have warned you +honourably, now I wash my hands of it; get out of it as you can." + +"Thanks," the Scalper answered energetically; "but I am not yet in so +bad a state as you fancy." + +John Davis contented himself with shrugging his shoulders, and returned +slowly to his shelter in the forest, whistling Yankee Doodle. + +The Scalper had not imitated him; although he was perfectly well aware +that a great number of enemies surrounded him and watched over his +movements, he remained firm and motionless in the centre of the +clearing. + +"Hola!" he shouted in a mocking voice, "You valiant Apaches, who hide +yourselves like rabbits in the shrubs, must I come and smoke you out of +your holes in order to make you show yourselves? Come on, if you do not +wish me to believe you old cowardly and frightened squaws." + +These insulting words raised to the highest pitch the exasperation of +the Apache warriors, who replied by a prolonged yell of fury. + +"Will my brothers allow themselves any longer to be mocked by a single +man?" Blue-fox exclaimed; "Our cowardice causes his strength. Let us +rush with the speed of the hurricane on this genius of evil; he cannot +resist the shock of so many renowned warriors. Forward, brothers, +forward! To us be the honour of having crushed the implacable foe of our +race." + +And uttering his war-cry, which his comrades repeated, the valiant Chief +rushed upon the Scalper, resolutely brandishing his rifle over his +head; all the warriors followed him. + +The Scalper awaited them without stirring; but so soon as he saw them +within reach, drawing in the reins, and pressing his knees, he made his +noble stud leap into the thick of the Indians. Seizing his rifle by the +barrel, and employing it like a club, he began smiting to the right and +left with a vigour and rapidity that had something supernatural about +them. + +Then a frightful medley commenced; the Indians rushed on this man, who, +being a skilful horseman, made his steed go through the most unexpected +curvets, and by the rapidity of his movements prevented the enemy +leaping on his bridle and stopping him. + +The two hunters at first remained quiet, convinced that it was +impossible for a single man even to resist for a few moments such +numerous and brave foes; but they soon perceived, to their great +amazement, that they were mistaken; several Indians were already +stretched on the ground, their skulls split by the Scalper's terrible +club, all whose blows went home. + +The hunters then began changing their opinion as to the result of the +fight, and wished to help their comrades, but their rifles were useless +to them in the continued changes of the scene of action, and their +bullets might as easily have struck friend as foe; hence they threw away +their rifles, drew their knives, and hurried to the assistance of the +Apaches, who were already beginning to give way. + +Blue-fox, dangerously wounded, was lying in a state of insensibility. +The warriors, still on their legs, were beginning to think of a retreat, +and casting anxious glances behind them. + +The Scalper still fought with the same fury, mocking and insulting his +enemies; his arm rose and fell with the regularity of a pendulum. + +"Ah, ah!" he exclaimed, on noticing the hunters; "So you want your +share. Come on, come on." + +The latter did not allow it to be repeated, but rushed wildly upon him. + +But they fared badly; John Davis, struck by the horse's chest, was +hurled twenty feet, and fell to the ground; at the same instant his +comrade's skull was broken, and he expired without a groan. + +This last incident gave the finishing stroke to the Indians, who, unable +to overcome the terror with which this extraordinary man inspired them, +began flying in all directions with yells of terror. + +The Scalper gave a glance of triumph and satisfied hatred at the +sanguinary arena, where a dozen bodies lay stretched out, and urging his +horse on, he caught up a fugitive, lifted him by the hair, and threw him +over his saddle-bow, and disappeared in the forest with a horrible grin. + +Once again the Scalper had opened a bloody passage for himself. + +As for Fray Antonio, so soon as he saw that the fight had begun, he +thought it needless to await its issue; he, therefore, took advantage of +the opportunity, and gliding gently from tree to tree, he effected a +skilful retreat and got clear off. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +AFTER THE FIGHT. + + +For more than half an hour the silence of death hovered over the +clearing, which offered a most sad and lugubrious aspect through the +fight we described in the preceding chapter. + +At length John Davis, who in reality had received no serious wound, for +his fall was merely occasioned by the shock of the Scalper's powerful +horse, opened his eyes and looked around him in amazement; the fall had +been sufficiently violent to cause him serious bruises, and throw him +into a deep fainting fit; hence, on regaining consciousness, the +American, still stunned, did not remember a single thing that had +happened, and asked himself very seriously what he had been doing to +find himself in this singular situation. + +Still, his ideas grew gradually clearer, his memory returned, and he +remembered the strange and disproportioned fight of one man against +twenty, in which the former remained the victor, after killing and +dispersing his assailants. + +"Hum!" he muttered to himself, "Whether he be man or demon, that +individual is a sturdy fellow." + +He got up with some difficulty, carefully feeling his paining limbs; and +when he was quite assured he had nothing broken, he continued with +evident satisfaction-- + +"Thank Heaven! I got off more cheaply than I had a right to suppose, +after the way in which I was upset." Then he added, as he gave a glance +of pity to his comrade, who lay dead near him; "That poor Jim was not so +lucky as I, and his fun is over. What a tremendous machete stroke he +received! Nonsense!" he then said with the egotistic philosophy of the +desert; "We are all mortal, each has his turn; to-day it's he, to-morrow +I, so goes the world." + +Leaning on his rifle, for he still experienced some difficulty in +walking, he took a few steps on the clearing in order to convince +himself by a conclusive experiment that his limbs were in a sound state. + +After a few moments of an exercise that restored circulation to his +blood and elasticity to his joints, completely reassured about himself, +the thought occurred to him of trying whether among the bodies lying +around him any still breathed. + +"They are only Indians," he muttered, "but, after all, they are men; +although they are nearly deprived of reason, humanity orders me to help +them; the more so, as my present situation has nothing very agreeable +about it, and if I succeed in saving any of them, their knowledge of the +desert will be of great service to me." + +This last consideration determined him on helping men whom probably +without it he would have abandoned to their fate, that is to say, to the +teeth of the wild beasts which, attracted by the scent of blood, would +have certainly made them their prey after dark. + +Still it is our duty to render the egotistic citizen of the United +States the justice of saying that, so soon as he had formed this +determination, he acquitted himself conscientiously and sagaciously of +his self-imposed task, which was easy to him after all; for the numerous +professions he had carried on during the course of his adventurous life +had given him a medical knowledge and experience which placed him in a +position to give sick persons that care their condition demanded. + +Unfortunately, most of the persons he inspected had received such +serious wounds that life had long fled their bodies, and help was quite +unavailing. + +"Hang it, hang it!" the American muttered at every corpse he turned +over, "These poor savages were killed by a master-hand. At any rate they +did not suffer long, for with such fearful wounds they must have +surrendered their souls to the Creator almost instantaneously." + +He thus reached the spot where lay the body of Blue-fox, with a wide +gaping wound in his chest. + +"Ah, ah! Here is the worthy Chief," he went on. "What a gash! Let us see +if he is dead too." + +He bent over the motionless body, and put the blade of his knife to the +Indian's lips. + +"He does not stir," he continued, with an air of discouragement; "I am +afraid I shall have some difficulty in bringing him round." + +In a few minutes, however, he looked at the blade of his knife and saw +that it was slightly tarnished. + +"Come, he is not dead yet; so long as the soul holds to the body, there +is hope, so I will have a try." + +After this aside, John Davis fetched some water in his hat, mixed a +small quantity of spirits with it, and began carefully laving the wound; +this duty performed, he sounded it and found it of no great depth, and +the abundant loss of blood had in all probability brought on the state +of unconsciousness. Reassured by this perfectly correct reflection, he +pounded some _oregano_ leaves between two stones, made a species of +cataplasm of them, laid it on the wound, and secured it with a strip of +bark; then unclenching the wounded man's teeth with the blade of his +knife, he thrust in the mouth of his flask, and made him drink a +quantity of spirits. + +Success almost immediately crowned the American's tentatives, for the +Chief gave vent to a deep sigh, and opened his eyes almost +instantaneously. + +"Bravo!" John exclaimed, delighted at the unhoped for result he had +achieved. "Courage, Chief, you are saved. By Jove! You may boast of +having come back a precious long distance." + +For some minutes the Indian remained stunned, looking around him +absently, without any consciousness of the situation in which he was, or +of the objects that surrounded him. + +John attentively watched him, ready to give him help again, were it +necessary; but it was not so. By degrees the Redskin appeared to grow +livelier; his eyes lost their vacant expression, he sat up and passed +his hand over his dank brow. + +"Is the fight over?" he asked. + +"Yes," John answered, "in our complete defeat; that was a splendid idea +we had of capturing such a demon." + +"Has he escaped, then?" + +"Most perfectly so, and without a single wound, after killing at least a +dozen of your warriors, and cleaving my poor Jim's skull down to the +shoulders." + +"Oh!" the Indian muttered hoarsely, "He is not a man, but the spirit of +evil." + +"Let him be what he likes," John exclaimed, energetically; "I intend to +fight it out some day, for I hope to come across this demon again." + +"May the Wacondah preserve my brother from such a meeting, for this +demon would kill him." + +"Perhaps so; as it is, if he did not do so to-day, it was no fault of +his, but let him take care; we may some day stand face to face with +equal weapons, and then--" + +"What does he care for weapons? Did you not see that they have no power +over him, and that his body is invulnerable?" + +"Hum! That is possible; but for the present let us leave the subject and +attend to matters that affect us much more closely. How do you find +yourself?" + +"Better, much better; the remedy you have applied to my wound does me +great good; I am beginning to feel quite comfortable." + +"All the better; now try to rest for two or three hours, while I watch +over your sleep; after that, we will consult as to the best way of +getting out of this scrape." + +The Redskin smiled on hearing this remark. + +"Blue-fox is no cowardly old woman whom a tooth-ache or ear-ache renders +incapable of moving." + +"I know that you are a brave warrior, Chief; but nature has limits, +which cannot be passed, and, however great your courage and will may be, +the abundant haemorrhage which your wound has caused you must have +reduced you to a state of extreme weakness." + +"I thank you, my brother; those words come from a friend; but Blue-fox +is a Sachem in his nation, death alone can render him unable to move. My +brother will judge of the Chief's weakness." + +While uttering these words, the Indian made a supreme effort; fighting +against pain, with the energy and contempt of suffering that +characterize the Red race, he succeeded in rising, and not only stood +firmly on his feet, but even walked several yards without assistance, or +the slightest trace of emotion appearing on his face. + +The American regarded him with profound admiration; he could not +imagine, though he himself justly enjoyed a reputation for braver, that +it was possible to carry so far the triumph of moral over physical +force. + +The Indian smiled proudly on reading in the American's eyes the +astonishment his performance caused him. + +"Does my brother still believe that Blue-fox is so weak?" he asked him. + +"On my word, Chief, I know not what to think; what you have just done +confounds me; I am prepared to suppose you capable of accomplishing +impossibilities." + +"The Chiefs of my nation are renowned warriors, who laugh at pain, and +for them suffering does not exist," the Redskin said, proudly. + +"I should be inclined to believe it, after your way of acting." + +"My brother is a man; he has understood me. We will inspect together the +warriors lying on the ground, and then think of ourselves." + +"As for your poor comrades, Chief, I am compelled to tell you that we +have no occasion to trouble ourselves about them, for they are all +dead." + +"Good! they fell nobly while fighting; the Wacondah will receive them +into his bosom, and permit them to hunt with him on the happy prairies." + +"So be it!" + +"Now, before all else, let us settle the affair we began this morning, +and which was so unexpectedly broken off." + +John Davis, in spite, of his acquaintance with desert life, was +confounded by the coolness of this man, who, having escaped death by a +miracle, still suffering from a terrible wound, and who had regained +possession of his intellectual faculties only a few moments before, +seemed no longer to think of what had occurred, considered the events to +which he had all but fallen a victim as the very natural accidents of +the life he led, and began again, with the greatest freedom of mind, a +conversation interrupted by a terrible fight, at the very point where he +left it. The fact was, that, despite the lengthened intercourse the +American had hitherto had with the Redskins, he had never taken the +trouble to study their character seriously, for he was persuaded, like +most of the whites indeed, that these men are beings almost devoid of +intelligence, and that the life they lead places them almost on a level +with the brute, while, on the contrary, this life of liberty and +incessant perils renders danger so familiar to them that they have grown +to despise it, and only attach a secondary importance to it. + +"Be it so," he said presently; "since you wish it, Chief, I will deliver +the message intrusted to me for you." + +"My brother will take a place by my side." + +The American sat down on the ground by the Chief, not without a certain +feeling of apprehension through his isolation on this battle-field +strewn with corpses; but the Indian appeared so calm and tranquil that +John Davis felt ashamed to let his anxiety be seen, and affecting +carelessness he was very far from feeling, he began to speak. + +"I am sent to my brother by a great warrior of the Palefaces." + +"I know him; he is called the Jaguar. His arm is strong, and his eye +flashes like that of the animal whose name, he bears." + +"Good! The Jaguar wishes to bury the hatchet between his warriors and +those of my brother, in order that peace may unite them, and that, +instead of fighting with each other, they may pursue the buffalo on the +same hunting grounds, and avenge themselves on their common enemies. +What answer shall I give the Jaguar?" + +The Indian remained silent for a long time; at length he raised his +head. + +"My brother will open his ears," he said, "a Sachem is about to speak." + +"I am listening," the American answered. + +The Chief went on-- + +"The words my bosom breathes are sincere--the Wacondah inspires me with +them; the Palefaces, since they were brought by the genius of evil in +their large medicine-canoes to the territories of my fathers, have ever +been the virulent enemies of the Red men; invading their richest and +most fertile hunting grounds, pursuing them like wild beasts whenever +they met with them, burning their callis, and dispersing the bones of +their ancestors to the four winds of Heaven. Has not such constantly +been the conduct of the Palefaces? I await my brother's answer." + +"Well," the American said, with a certain amount of embarrassment, "I +cannot deny, Chief, that there is some truth in what you say; but still, +all the men of my colour have not been unkind to the Redskins, and +several have tried to do them good." + +"Wah! two or three have done so, but that only goes to prove what I +assert. Let us come to the question we wish to discuss at present." + +"Yes, I believe that will be the best," the American replied, delighted +in his heart at not having to sustain a discussion which he knew would +not result in victory to him. + +"My nation hates the Palefaces," the Chief continued; "the condor does +not make its nest with the maukawis, or the grizzly bear pair with the +antelope. I, myself, have an instinctive hatred for the Palefaces. This +morning, then, I should have peremptorily declined the Jaguar's +proposals, for how do the wars the Palefaces wage together concern us? +When the coyotes devour each other, the deer rejoice: we are happy to +see our cruel oppressors tearing one another; but now, though my hatred +is equally vivid, I am bound to bury it in my heart. My brother has +saved my life; he helped when I was stretched out on the ground, and the +Genius of Death was hovering over my head; ingratitude is a white vice, +gratitude a red virtue. From this day the hatchet is buried between the +Jaguar and Blue-fox for five succeeding moons; for five moons the +enemies of the Jaguar will be those of Blue-fox; the two Chiefs will +fight side by side, like loving brothers: in three suns from this one, +the Sachem will join the Paleface Chief at the head of five hundred +renowned warriors, whose heels are adorned with numerous coyote tails, +and who form the pick of the nation. What will the Jaguar do for +Blue-fox and his warriors?" + +"The Jaguar is a generous Chief; if he is terrible for his enemies, his +hand is always open for his friends; each Apache warrior will receive a +rifle, one hundred charges of powder, and a scalping knife, The Sachem +will also receive in addition to these presents two vicuna skins filled +with fire-water." + +"Wah!" the Chief exclaimed, with evident satisfaction, "My brother has +said truly that the Jaguar is a generous Chief. Here is my totem as +signal of alliance, as well as my feather of command." + +While thus speaking the Chief drew from his game bag or medicine bag, +which he wore slung, a square piece of parchment, on which was clumsily +drawn the totem or animal emblematic of the tribe, handed it to the +American, who placed it in his bosom; then removing the eagle feather +fixed in his war-lock, he also gave him that. + +"I thank my brother the Sachem," John Davis then said, "for having +acceded to my proposal; he will have no cause to repent it." + +"A Chief has given his word; but see, the sun is lengthening the shadows +of the trees, the maukawis will soon strike up the evening song; the +hour has come to pay the last duties to the Chiefs who are dead, and +then separate to rejoin our common friends." + +"On foot as we are, that appears to me rather difficult," John remarked. + +The Indian smiled. + +"The warriors of Blue-fox are watching over him," he said. + +In fact, the Chief had hardly twice given a private signal, ere fifty +Apache warriors burst into the clearing, and assembled silently around +him. + +The fugitives who escaped from the Scalper's terrible arm, soon +collected again; they returned to their camp and announced the news of +their defeat to their comrades, and then a detachment was sent off under +the orders of a subaltern Chief, to look for their Sachem, But these +horsemen, seeing Blue-fox in conference with a Paleface, remained under +covert, patiently waiting till it pleased him to summon them. + +The Sachem gave orders to bury the dead. The funeral ceremony then +began, which circumstances compelled them to abbreviate. + +The bodies were carefully washed, wrapped in new buffalo robes, and then +placed in a sitting posture in trenches dug for each of them, with their +weapons, bit, and provisions by their side, in order that they might +want for nothing on their journey to the happy hunting grounds, and be +able to mount and hunt so soon as they joined the Wacondah. + +When these several rites had been performed, the hunters were filled up, +and covered with heavy stones, lest the wild beasts should grub up and +devour the bodies. + +The sun was just disappearing on the horizon, when the Apaches finished +the last duties to their brothers. Blue-fox then walked up to the +hunter, who had hitherto been a silent, if not indifferent, spectator of +the ceremony. + +"My brother wishes to return to the warriors of his nation?" he said to +him. + +"Yes," the American laconically answered. + +"The Paleface has lost his horse, so he will mount the mustang Blue-fox +offers him; within two hours he can have returned to his friends." + +John Davis gratefully accepted the present so generously made him, +mounted at once, and, after taking leave of the Apaches, set off at full +speed. + +On their side, the Indians, at a signal from their Chief, buried +themselves in the forest and clearing where such terrible events had +occurred, and fell back into silence and solitude. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +AN EXPLANATION. + + +Like all men the greater portion of whose life is spent in the desert, +the Jaguar was gifted with excessive prudence joined to extreme +circumspection. + +Though still very young, his life had been composed of such strange +incidents, he had been an actor in such extraordinary scenes, that from +an early age he had grown accustomed to shut up his emotions in his +heart, and preserve on his countenance, whatever he might see or +experience, that marble-like stoicism which characterizes the Indians, +and which the latter have converted into such a tremendous weapon +against their enemies. + +On hearing Tranquil's voice all at once so close to him, the young man +gave a start, frowned, and asked himself mentally how it was that the +hunter came to find him thus in his camp, and what reason was powerful +enough to impel him to do so; the more so, because his intimacy with the +Canadian, ever subject to intermittences, was at this moment on terms +far from amicable, if not completely hostile. + +Still the young man, in whom the feeling of honour spoke loudly, and +whom the steps taken by Tranquil flattered more than he cared to let +anyone see, concealed the apprehensions that agitated him, and walked +quickly, and with a smile on his lips, to meet the hunter. + +The latter was not alone; Loyal Heart accompanied him. + +The Canadian's manner was reserved, and his face was covered by a cloud +of sorrow. + +"You are welcome to my camp, hunter," the Jaguar said kindly, as he +offered his hand. + +"Thank you," the Canadian answered laconically, not touching the +proffered hand. + +"I am glad to see you," the young man went on, without any display of +annoyance; "what accident has brought you in this direction?" + +"My comrade and I have been hunting for a long time; fatigue is crushing +us, and the smoke of your camp attracted us." + +The Jaguar pretended to accept as gospel this clumsy evasion of a man +who justly prided himself as being the healthiest and strongest +wood-ranger of the desert. + +"Come, then, and take a seat at my camp fire, and be good enough to +regard everything here as belonging to you, and act in accordance with +it." + +The Canadian bowed, but made no answer, and with Loyal Heart followed +the hunter who preceded them, and guided them through the mazes of the +camp. + +On reaching the fire, upon which the young man threw a few handfuls of +dry wood, the hunters sat down on buffalo skulls placed there as seats, +and then, without breaking the silence, filled their pipes and began +smoking. + +The Jaguar imitated them. + +Those white men who traverse the prairie, and whose life is spent in +hunting or trapping on these vast solitudes, have unconsciously assumed +most of the habits and customs of the Redskins, with whom the exigencies +of their position bring them constantly into contact. + +A thing worthy of remark, is the tendency of civilized men to return to +savage life, and the facility with which hunters, born for the most +part in the great centres of population, forget their habits of comfort, +surrender the customs of towns, and renounce the usages by which they +were governed during the earlier part of their life, in order to adopt +the manners, and even the habits, of the Redskins. + +Many of these hunters carry this so far, that the greatest compliment +which can be paid them is to pretend to take them for Indian warriors. + +We must confess that, per contra, the Redskins are not at all jealous of +our civilization, in which they take but slight interest, and that those +whom accident or commercial reasons carry to cities, and by such we mean +cities like New York, or New Orleans;--these Indians, we say, far from +being astounded at what they see, look around them with glances of pity, +not understanding how men can voluntarily consent to shut themselves up +in the smoky cages called houses, and expend their life in ungrateful +toil, instead of living in the open air among the vast solitudes, +hunting the buffalo, bear, and jaguar, under the immediate eye of +Heaven. + +Are the savages completely wrong in thinking so? Is their reasoning +false? We do not believe it. + +Desert life possesses, for the man whose heart is still open enough to +comprehend its moving incidents, intoxicating delights which can only be +experienced there, and which the mathematically ruled customs of towns +cannot at all cause to be forgotten, if they have once been tasted. + +According to the principles of Indian etiquette on matters of +politeness, no question must be addressed to strangers who sit down at +the camp-fire, until they are pleased to begin the conversation. + +In an Indian's wigwam a guest is regarded as sent by the Great Spirit; +he is sacred to the man he visits as long as he thinks proper to remain +with him, even if he be his mortal enemy. + +The Jaguar, thoroughly conversant with Redskin customs, remained +silently by the side of his guests, smoking and thinking, and waiting +patiently till they decided on speaking. + +At length, after a considerable lapse of time, Tranquil shook the ashes +from his pipe on his thumbnail, and turned to the young man. + +"You did not expect me, I fancy?" he said. + +"I did not," the other answered; "still be assured that the visit, +though unexpected, is not less agreeable to me." + +The hunter curled his lip in a singular fashion. + +"Who knows?" he muttered, answering his own thoughts rather than the +Jaguar's remark; "perhaps yes, perhaps no; man's heart is a mysterious +and undecipherable book, in which only madmen fancy they can read." + +"It is not so with me, hunter, as you know from experience." + +The Canadian shook his head. + +"You are still young; the heart to which you refer is still unknown to +yourself; in the short period your existence has passed through, the +wind of passion has not yet blown over you and bowed you down before its +powerful impetus: wait, in order to reply with certainty, until you have +loved and suffered; when you have bravely sustained the shock, and +resisted the hurricane of youth, it will be time for you to speak." + +These words were uttered with a stern accent, but there was no +bitterness about them. + +"You are harsh to me, to-day, Tranquil," the young: man answered +sorrowfully; "how have I sunk in your esteem? What reprehensible act +have I done?" + +"None--at any rate, it pleases me to believe so; but I fear that soon--" + +He stopped and shook his head mournfully. + +"Finish the sentence," the young man quickly exclaimed. + +"For what end?" he answered; "Who am I that I should impose on you a +line of conduct which you would probably despise, and advice which would +prove unwelcome? It is better to be silent." + +"Tranquil!" the young man said, with an emotion he could not master, +"For a long time we have known each other, you are aware of the esteem +and respect I hold you in, so speak; whatever you have to say, however +rude your reproaches may be, I will listen to you, I swear it." + +"Nonsense; forget what I said to you; I was wrong to think of meddling +in your affairs; on the prairie, a man should only think about himself, +so let us say no more." + +The Jaguar gave him a long and profound glance. "Be it so," he answered; +"we will say no more about it." + +He rose and walked a few yards in agitation, then he brusquely returned +to the hunter. + +"Pardon me," he said, "for not having thought of offering you +refreshment, but breakfast time has now arrived. I trust that your +comrade and yourself will do me the honour of sharing my frugal meal." + +While speaking thus, the Jaguar bent on the Canadian a most meaning +glance. + +Tranquil hesitated for a second. + +"This morning at sunrise," he then said, "my friend and myself ate, just +before entering your camp." + +"I was sure of it," the young man burst out. "Oh, oh! Now my doubts are +cleared up; you refuse water and salt at my fire, hunter." + +"I? But you forget that--" + +"Oh!" he interrupted, passionately, "No denial, Tranquil; do not seek +for pretexts unworthy of yourself and me; you are too honest and sincere +a man not to be frank, cuerpo de Cristo! Likewise, you know the law of +the prairies; a man will not break his fast with an enemy. Now, if you +still have in your heart a single spark of that kindly feeling you +entertained toward me at another period, explain yourself clearly, and +without any beating round the bush--I insist on it." + +The Canadian seemed to reflect for a few moments, and then suddenly +exclaimed, with great resolution-- + +"Indeed, you are right, Jaguar; it is better to have an explanation like +honest hunters, than try to deceive each other like Redskins; and +besides, no man is infallible. I may be mistaken as well as another, and +Heaven is my witness that I should like it to be so." + +"I am listening to you, and on my honour, if the reproaches you make are +well founded, I will recognize it." + +"Good!" the hunter said, in a more friendly tone than he had hitherto +employed; "you speak like a man; but, perhaps," he added, pointing to +Loyal Heart, who discreetly made a move to withdraw, "you would prefer +our interview being private?" + +"On the contrary," the Jaguar answered, eagerly, "this hunter is your +friend; I hope he will soon be mine, and I do not wish to have any +secrets from him." + +"I desire ardently for my part," Loyal Heart said, with a bow, "that the +slight cloud which has arisen between you and Tranquil may be dispersed +like the vapour driven away by the morning breeze, in order that I may +become better acquainted with you; as you wish it, I will listen to your +conversation." + +"Thanks, Caballero. Now speak, Tranquil, I am ready to listen to the +charges you fancy you have to bring against me." + +"Unluckily," said Tranquil, "the strange life yon have led since your +arrival in these parts gives occasion for the most unfavourable +surmises; you have formed a band of adventurers and border-ruffians, +outlawed by society, and living completely beyond the ordinary path of +civilized peoples." + +"Are we prairie-hunters and wood-rangers obliged to obey all the paltry +exigencies of cities?" + +"Yes, up to a certain point; that is to say, we are not allowed to place +ourselves in open revolt against the institutions of men who, though we +have separated from them, are no less our brothers, and to whom we +continue to belong by our colour, religion, origin, and the family ties +which attach us to them, and which we have been unable to break. + +"Be it so, I admit to a certain extent the justice of your reasoning; +but even supposing that the men I command are really bandits, +border-ruffians as you call them, do you know from what motives they +act? Can you bring any accusation against them?" + +"Patience, I have not finished yet." + +"Go on, then." + +"Next, in addition to this band of which you are the ostensible Chief, +you have contracted alliances with the Redskins, the Apaches among +others, the most impudent plunderers on the prairie; is that so?" + +"Yes, and no, my friend; in the sense that the alliance which you charge +me with never existed until the present hour; but this morning it was +probably concluded by two of my friends with Blue-fox, one of the most +renowned Apache Chiefs." + +"Hum! that is an unlucky coincidence." + +"Why so?" + +"Are you aware what your new allies did last night?" + +"How should I? Since I do not know where they are, and have not even +received the official report of the treaty being made." + +"Well, I will tell you; they attacked the Venta del Potrero, and burned +it to the ground." + +The Jaguar's savage eye emitted a flash of fury; he bounded to his feet, +and convulsively seized his rifle. + +"By Heaven!" he shouted, loudly, "Have they done that?" + +"They did; and it is supposed at your instigation." + +The Jaguar shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. + +"For what object?" he said. "But Doña Carmela, what has become of her?" + +"She is saved, thank Heaven!" + +The young man heaved a sigh of relief. + +"And you believed in such infamy on my part?" he asked, reproachfully. + +"I do not believe it now," the hunter replied. + +"Thanks, thanks! but by Heaven! The demons shall pay dearly, I swear, +for the crime they have committed; now go on." + +"Unluckily, if you have exculpated yourself from my first accusation, I +doubt whether you will be able to do so with the second." + +"You can tell me it, at any rate." + +"A conducta de plata, commanded by Captain Melendez, is on the road for +Mexico." + +The young man gave a slight start. + +"I know it," he said, shortly. + +The hunter gave him an inquiring glance. + +"They say--" he went on, with considerable hesitation. + +"They say," the Jaguar interrupted him, "that I am following the +conducta, and when the propitious moment arrives, I mean to attack it at +the head of my bandits, and carry off the money; that is the story?" + +"Yes." + +"They are right," the young man answered, coldly; "that is really my +intention; what next?" + +Tranquil started in surprise and indignation at this cynical answer. + +"Oh!" he exclaimed, in great grief, "What is said of you is true, then? +You are really a bandit?" + +The young man smiled bitterly. + +"Perhaps I am," he said, in a hollow voice; "Tranquil, your age is +double mine; your experience is great; why do you judge rashly on +appearances?" + +"What! Appearances! Have you not confessed it yourself?" + +"Yes, I have." + +"Then you meditate a robbery?" + +"A robbery!" he exclaimed, blushing with indignation, but at once +recovering himself, he added, "It is true, you are bound to suppose +that." + +"What other name can be given to so infamous a deed?" the hunter +exclaimed, violently. + +The Jaguar raised his head quickly, as if he intended to answer, but his +lips remained dumb. + +Tranquil looked at him for a moment with mingled pity and tenderness, +and then turned to Loyal Heart. + +"Come, my friend," he said, "we have remained here only too long." + +"Stay!" the young man exclaimed, "Do not condemn me thus; I repeat to +you that you are ignorant of the motives through which I act." + +"Whatever these motives may be, they cannot be honourable; I see no +other than pillage and murder." + +"Oh!" the young man exclaimed, as he buried his face sorrowfully in his +hands. + +"Let us go," Tranquil repeated. + +Loyal Heart had watched this strange scene attentively and coldly. + +"A moment," he said; then, slipping forward, he laid his hand on the +Jaguar's shoulder. + +The latter raised his head. + +"What do you want of me?" he asked. + +"Listen to me, Caballero," Loyal Heart answered in a deep voice; "I know +not why, but a secret foreboding tells me that your conduct is not so +infamous as everything leads us to suppose, and that some day you will +be permitted to explain it, and exculpate yourself in the sight of all." + +"Oh! were it but possible for me to speak!" + +"How long do you believe that you will be compelled to remain silent?" + +"How do I know? That depends on circumstances independent of my will." + +"Then, you cannot fix a period?" + +"It is impossible; I have taken an oath, and am bound to keep it." + +"Good: then promise me only one thing." + +"What is it?" + +"To make no attempt on the life of Captain Melendez." + +The Jaguar hesitated. + +"Well?" Loyal Heart went on. + +"I will do everything to save it." + +"Thanks!" then, turning to Tranquil, who stood motionless by his side, +he said-- + +"Take your place again, brother, and breakfast with this caballero, I +answer for him body for body; if in two months from this day he does not +give you a satisfactory explanation of his conduct, I, who am bound by +no oath, will reveal to you this mystery, which appears, and really is, +inexplicable for you." + +The Jaguar started, and gave Loyal Heart a searching glance, which +produced no effect, however, on the hunter's indifferently placid face. + +The Canadian hesitated for a few moments, but at length took his place +again by the fire, muttering--. + +"In two months, be it so;" and he added in an aside, "but till then I +will watch him." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE EXPRESS. + + +Captain Melendez was anxious to pass through the dangerous defile near +which the conducta had bivouacked; he knew how great was the +responsibility he had taken on himself in accepting the command of the +escort, and did not wish, in the event of any misfortune happening, that +a charge of carelessness or negligence could be brought against him. + +The sum conveyed by the recua of mules was important. The Mexican +government, ever forced to expedients to procure money, was impatiently +expecting it; the Captain did not conceal from himself that the whole +responsibility of an attack would be mercilessly thrown on him, and that +he would have to endure all the consequences, whatever might be the +results of an encounter with the border rifles. + +Hence his anxiety and alarm increased with every moment; the evident +treachery of Fray Antonio only heightened his apprehensions, by making +him suspect a probable trap. Though it was impossible for him to guess +from what quarter the danger would come, he felt it, as it were, +approaching him inch by inch, and besetting him on all sides, and he +expected a terrible explosion at any moment. + +This secret intuition, this providential foreboding, which told him to +be on his guard, placed him in a state of excitement impossible to +describe, and threw him into an intolerable situation, from which he +resolved to escape at all hazards, preferring to run the danger and +confront it, to remaining longer with bayonets pointed at unseen foes. + +Hence he doubled his vigilance, himself inspecting the vicinity of the +camp, and watching the loading of the mules, which, fastened to each +other, would, in the event of an attack, be placed in the centre of the +most devoted and resolute men of the escort. + +Long before sunrise, the Captain, whose sleep had been an uninterrupted +series of continued starts, quitted the hard bed of skins and +horsecloths on which he had vainly sought a few hours of rest, which his +nervous condition rendered impossible, and began walking sharply up and +down the narrow space that composed the interior of the camp, +involuntarily envying the careless and calm slumbers of the troopers, +who were lying here and there on the ground, wrapped up in their +zarapés. + +In the meanwhile day gradually broke. The owl, whose matin hoot +announces the appearance of the sun, had already given its melancholy +note. The Captain kicked the arriero Chief, who was lying by the fire, +and aroused him. + +The worthy man rubbed his eyes several times, and when the last clouds +of sleep were dissipated, and order was beginning to be re-established +in his ideas, he exclaimed, while stifling a last sigh-- + +"Caray, Captain, what fly has stung you that you awake me at so early an +hour? Why, the sky has scarce turned white yet; let me sleep an hour +longer. I was enjoying a most delicious dream, and will try to catch it +up again, for sleep is a glorious thing." + +The Captain could not refrain from smiling at this singular outburst; +still, he did not consider himself justified in listening to the +arriero's complaints, for circumstances were too serious to lose time +in futile promises. + +"Up, up! Cuerpo de Cristo!" he shouted; "Remember that we have not yet +reached the Rio Seco, and that if we wish to cross this dangerous +passage before sunset, we must make haste." + +"That is true," the arriero said, who was on his legs in a moment, as +fresh and lively as if he had been awake for an hour; "forgive me, +Captain, for I have quite as much interest as yourself in making no +unpleasant encounter; according to the law, my fortune answers for the +load I am conveying, and if an accident happened, I and my family would +be reduced to beggary." + +"That is true, I did not think of that clause in your contract." + +"That does not surprise me, for it cannot at all interest you; but I +cannot get it out of my head, and I declare to you, Captain, that since +I undertook this unlucky journey, I have very often repented having +accepted the conditions imposed on me; something tells me that we shall +not arrive safe and sound on the other side of these confounded +mountains." + +"Nonsense, that is folly, no Bautista. You are in a capital condition, +and well escorted; what cause can you have for fear?" + +"None, I know, and yet I am convinced that I am not mistaken, and this +journey will be fatal to me." + +The same presentiments agitated the officer; still, he must not allow +the arriero to perceive any of his internal disquietude; on the +contrary, he must comfort him, and restore that courage which seemed on +the point of abandoning him. + +"You are mad, on my soul," he exclaimed; "to the deuce with the absurd +notions you have got in your wool-gathering noddle." + +The arriero shook his head gravely. + +"You are at liberty, Don Juan Melendez," he answered, "to laugh at these +ideas; you are an educated man, and naturally believe in nothing. But I, +Caballero, am a poor ignorant Indian, and set faith in what my fathers +believed before me; look you, Captain, we Indians, whether civilized or +savage, have hard heads, and your new ideas cannot get through our thick +skulls." + +"Come, explain yourself," the Captain continued, desirous to break off +the conversation without thwarting the arriero's prejudices; "what +reason leads you to suppose that your journey will be unlucky? You are +not the man to be frightened at your own shadow; I have been acquainted +with you for a long while, and know that you possess incontestable +bravery." + +"I thank you, Captain, for the good opinion you are pleased to have of +me; yes, I am courageous, and believe I have several times proved it, +but it was when facing dangers which my intellect understood, and not +before perils contrary to the natural laws that govern us." + +The Captain twisted his moustache impatiently at the arriero's fatiguing +prolixity: but, as he reminded him, he knew the worthy man, and was +aware by experience that attempting to cut short what he had to say was +a loss of time, and he must be allowed to do as he liked. + +There are certain men with whom, like the spur with restiff horses, any +attempt to urge them on is a sure means of making them go back. + +The young man, therefore, mastered his impatience, and coldly said:-- + +"I presume, then, you saw some evil omen at the moment of your +departure?" + +"Indeed I did, Captain; and certainly, after what I saw, I would not +have started, had I been a man easily frightened." + +"What was the omen, then?" + +"Do not laugh at me, Captain; several passages of Scripture itself prove +that GOD is often pleased to grant men salutary warnings, to which +unhappily," he added with a sigh, "they are not wise enough to give +credence." + +"That is true," the Captain muttered in the style of an interjection. + +"Well," the arriero continued, flattered by this approval from a man +like the one he was talking with; "my mules were saddled, the recua was +waiting for me in the corral, guarded by the peons, and I was on the +point of starting. Still, as I did not like separating from my wife, for +a long time probably, without saying a last good bye, I proceeded toward +the house to give her a parting kiss, when, on reaching the threshold, I +mechanically raised my eyes, and saw two owls sitting on the azotea, who +fixed their eyes on me with infernal steadiness. At this unexpected +apparition, I shuddered involuntarily and turned my eyes away. At this +very moment, a dying man, carried by two soldiers on a litter, came down +the street, escorted by a monk who was reciting the Penitential Psalms, +and preparing him to die like an honest and worthy Christian; but the +wounded man made no other answer than laughing ironically at the monk. +All at once this man half rose on the litter, his eyes grew brilliant, +he turned to me, gave me a glance full of sarcasm, and fell back, +muttering these two words evidently addressed to me:-- + +"_Hasta luego_ (we shall meet soon)." + +"Hum!" the Captain said. + +"The species of rendezvous this individual gave me, had nothing very +flattering about it, I fancy!" the arriero continued. "I was deeply +affected by the words, and I rushed toward him with the intention of +reproaching him, as I thought was proper--but he was dead." + +"Who was the man--did you learn?" + +"Yes, he was a Salteador, who had been mortally wounded in a row with +the citizens, and was being carried to the steps of the Cathedral, to +die there." + +"Is that all?" the Captain asked. + +"Yes.' + +"Well, my friend, I did well in insisting upon knowing the motives of +your present uneasiness." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, for you have interpreted the omen with which you were favoured, in +a very different way from what you should have done." + +"How so?" + +"Let me explain: this foreboding signifies, on the contrary, that with +prudence and indefatigable vigilance you will foil all treachery, and +lay beneath your feet any bandits who dare to attack you." + +"Oh!" the arriero exclaimed, joyfully; "Are you sure of what you +assert?" + +"As I am of salvation in the other world," the Captain replied, crossing +himself fervently. + +The arriero had a profound faith in the Captain's words, for he held him +in great esteem, owing to his evident superiority; he did not dream, +consequently, of doubting the assurance the latter gave him of the +mistake he had made in the interpretation of the omen which had caused +him such alarm; he instantly regained his good spirits, and snapped his +fingers mockingly. + +"Caray, if that is the case, I run no risk; hence it is useless for me +to give Nuestra Señora de la Soledad the wax taper I promised her." + +"Perfectly useless," the Captain assured him. + +Now, feeling perfectly at his ease again, the arriero hastened to +perform his ordinary duties. + +In this way, the Captain, by pretending to admit the ideas of this +ignorant Indian, had led him quietly to abandon them. + +By this time all were astir in the camp, the arrieros were rubbing down +and loading the mules, while the troopers were saddling their horses and +making all preparations for a start. + +The Captain watched all the movements with feverish energy, spurring +some on, scolding others, and assuring himself that his orders were +punctually carried out. + +When all the preparations were completed, the young officer ordered that +the morning meal should be eaten all standing, and with the bridle +passed over the arm, in order to lose no time, and then gave the signal +for departure. + +The soldiers mounted, but at the moment when the column started to leave +the camp finally, a loud noise was heard in the chaparral, the branches +were violently pulled back, and a horseman dressed in a dragoon uniform +appeared a short distance from the party, toward which he advanced at a +gallop. + +On coming in front of the Captain, he stopped short, and raised his +hand respectfully to the peak of his forage cap. + +"_Dios guarde a Vm!_" he said, "have I the honour of speaking with +Captain Don Juan Melendez?" + +"I am he," the Captain answered in great surprise; "what do you want?" + +"Nothing personally," the trooper said, "but I have to place a despatch +in your Excellency's hands." + +"A despatch--from whom?" + +"From his most Excellent General Don José-Maria Rubio, and the contents +of the despatch must be important, for the General ordered me to make +the utmost diligence, and I have ridden forty-seven leagues in nineteen +hours, in order to arrive more quickly." + +"Good!" the Captain answered; "Give it here." + +The dragoon drew from his bosom a large letter with a red seal, and +respectfully offered it to the officer. + +The latter took it and opened it, but, before reading it, he gave the +motionless and impassive soldier before him a suspicious glance, which +he endured, however, with imperturbable assurance. + +The man seemed to be about thirty years of age, tall and well built; he +wore his uniform with a certain amount of ease; his intelligent features +had an expression of craft and cunning, rendered more marked still by +his incessantly moving black eyes, which only rested with considerable +hesitation on the Captain. + +Sum total, this individual resembled all Mexican soldiers, and there was +nothing about him that could attract attention or excite suspicion. + +Still it was only with extreme repugnance that the Captain saw himself +compelled to enter into relations with him; the reason for this it would +certainly have been very difficult, if not impossible for him to say; +but there are in nature certain laws which cannot be gainsaid, and which +cause us at the mere sight of a person, and before he has even spoken, +to feel a sympathy or antipathy for him, and be attracted or repulsed by +him. Whence comes this species of secret presentiment which is never +wrong in its appreciation? That we cannot explain: we merely confine +ourselves to mentioning a fact, whose influence we have often undergone +and efficacy recognized, during the course of our chequered life. + +We are bound to assert that the Captain did not feel at all attracted +toward the man to whom we refer, but, on the contrary, was disposed to +place no confidence in him. + +"At what place did you leave the General?" he asked, as he mechanically +turned in his fingers the open despatch, at which he had not yet looked. + +"At Pozo Redondo, a little in advance of the Noria de Guadalupe, +Captain." + +"Who are you--what is your name?" + +"I am the assistente of his most excellent General; my name is Gregorio +Lopez." + +"Do you know the contents of this despatch?" + +"No; but I suppose it is important." + +The soldier replied to the Captain's questions with perfect freedom and +frankness. It was evident that he was telling the truth. + +After a final hesitation, Don Juan made up his mind to read; but he soon +began frowning, and an angry expression spread over his features. + +This is what the despatch contained:-- + +_"Pozo Redondo."_ + +"General Don José-Maria Rubio, Supreme Military +Commandant of the State of Texas, has the honour to inform Captain Don +Juan Melendez de Gongora, that fresh troubles have broken out in the +state; several parties of bandits and border-ruffians, under the orders +of different Chiefs, are going about the country pillaging and burning +haciendas, stopping convoys, and interrupting the communications. In the +presence of such grave facts, which compromise the public welfare and +the safety of the inhabitants, the government, as their duty imperiously +orders, have thought fit, in the interest of all, to take general +measures to repress these disorders, before they break out on a larger +scale. In consequence, Texas is declared under martial law--(here +followed the measures adopted by the General to suppress the rebellion, +and then the despatch went on as follows)--General Don José-Maria Rubio +having been informed by spies, on whose devotion he can trust, that one +of the principal insurgent Chiefs, to whom his comrades have given the +name of the Jaguar, is preparing to carry off the conducta de plata +confided to the escort of Captain Don Juan Melendez de Gongora, and +that, for this purpose, the said cabecilla purposes to form an ambuscade +on the Rio Seco, a spot favourable for a surprise; General Rubio orders +Captain Melendez to let himself be guided by the bearer of the present +despatch, a sure and devoted man, who will lead the conducta to the +Laguna del Venado, where this conducta will form a junction with a +detachment of cavalry sent for the purpose, whose numerical strength +will protect it from any aggression. Captain Melendez will take the +command of the troops, and join the General at head quarters with the +least possible delay." + + "_Dios y libertad._" +"_The supreme Military General commanding in the State of Texas,_ + "DON JOSE-MARIA RUBIO." + +After reading this despatch carefully, the Captain raised his head and +examined the soldier for an instant with the deepest and most earnest +attention. + +The latter, leaning on the hilt of his sword, was carelessly playing +with his knot, and apparently paying no attention to what was going on +around him. + +"The order is positive," the Captain repeated several times, "and I must +obey it, although everything tells me that this man is a traitor." + +Then he added aloud-- + +"Are you well acquainted with this part of the country?" + +"I was born here, Captain," the dragoon replied; "there is not a hidden +track I did not traverse in my youth." + +"You know that you are to serve as my guide?" + +"His Excellency the General did me the honour of telling me so, +Captain." + +"And you feel certain of guiding us safe and sound to the spot where we +are expected?" + +"At least I will do all that is necessary." + +"Good. Are you tired?" + +"My horse is more so than I. If you would grant me another, I would be +at your orders immediately, for I see that you are desirous of setting +out." + +"I am. Choose a horse." + +The soldier did not let the order be repeated. Several remounts followed +the escort, and he selected one of them, to which he transferred the +saddle. In a few minutes he was mounted again. + +"I am at your Excellency's orders," he said. + +"March," the Captain shouted, and added mentally, "I will not let this +scoundrel out of sight during the march." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE GUIDE. + + +Military law is inflexible--it has its rules, from which it never +departs, and discipline allows of neither hesitation nor tergiversation; +the oriental axiom, so much in favour at despotic courts, "to hear is to +obey," is rigorously true from a military point of view. Still, however +hard this may appear at the first blush, it must be so, for if the right +of discussion were granted inferiors with reference to the orders their +superiors gave them, all discipline would be destroyed; the soldiers +henceforth only obeying their caprices, would grow ungovernable, and the +army, instead of rendering the country the services which it has a right +to expect from it, would speedily become a scourge. + +These reflections, and many others, crossed the Captain's mind, while he +thoughtfully followed the guide whom his General's despatch had so +singularly forced on him; but the order was clear and peremptory, he was +obliged to obey, and he did obey, although he felt convinced that the +man to whom he was compelled to trust was unworthy of the confidence +placed in him, if he were not an utter traitor. + +As for the trooper, he galloped carelessly at the head of the caravan, +smoking, laughing, singing, and not seeming to suspect the doubts +entertained about him. + +It is true that the Captain carefully kept secret the ill opinion he had +formed of the guide, and ostensibly placed the utmost confidence in him: +for prudence demanded that in the critical situation in which the +conducta was placed, those who composed it should not suspect their +Chief's anxiety, lest they might be demoralized by the fear of an +impending, treachery. + +The Captain, before starting, had given the most severe orders that the +arms should be in a good state; he sent off scouts ahead, and on the +flanks of the troops, to explore the neighbourhood, and be assured that +the road was free, and no danger to be apprehended; in a word, he had +taken most scrupulously all the measures prudence dictated, in order to +guarantee the safety of the journey. + +The guide, who was an impassive witness of all these precautions, on +whose behalf they were taken with so much ostentation, appeared to +approve of them, and even drew attention to the skill the +border-ruffians have in gliding through bushes and grass without leaving +traces, and the care the scouts must devote to the accomplishment of the +mission entrusted to them. + +The further the conducta advanced in the direction of the mountains, the +more difficult and dangerous the march became; the trees, at first +scattered over a large space, became imperceptibly closer, and at last +formed a dense forest, through which, at certain spots, they were +compelled to cut their way with the axe, owing to the masses of creepers +intertwined in each other, and forming an inextricable tangle; then +again, there were rather wide streams difficult of approach, which the +horses and mules were obliged to ford in the midst of iguanas and +alligators, having frequently the water up to their girths. + +The immense dome of verdure under which the caravan painfully advanced, +utterly hid the sky, and only allowed a few sunbeams to filter through +the foliage, which was not sufficient entirely to dissipate the gloom +which prevails almost constantly in the virgin forests, even at mid-day. + +Europeans, who are only acquainted with the forests of the old world, +cannot form even a remote idea of those immense oceans of verdure which +in America are called virgin forests. + +There the trees form a compact mass, for they are so entwined in each +other, and fastened together by a network of lianas which wind round +their stems and branches, plunging in the ground to rise again like the +pipes of an immense organ, or forming capricious curves, as they rise +and descend incessantly amid tufts of the parasite called Spanish beard, +which falls from the ends of the branches of all the trees; the soil, +covered with detritus of every sort, and humus formed of trees that have +died of old age, is hidden beneath a thick grass several feet in height. +The trees, nearly all of the same species, offer so little variety, that +each of them seems only a repetition of the others. + +These forests are crossed in all directions by paths formed centuries +agone by the feet of wild beasts, and leading to their mysterious +watering-places; here and there beneath the foliage are stagnant +marshes, over which myriads of mosquitoes buzz, and from which dense +vapours rise that fill the forest with gloom; reptiles and insects of +all sorts crawl on the ground, while the cries of birds and the hoarse +calls of the wild beasts form a formidable concert which the echoes of +the lagoons repeat. + +The most hardened wood-rangers enter in tremor the virgin forests, for +it is almost impossible to find one's way with certainty, and it is far +from safe to trust to the tracks which cross and are confounded; the +hunters know by experience that once lost in one of these forests, +unless a miracle supervene, they must perish within the walls formed by +the tall grass and the curtain of lianas, without hope of being helped +or saved by any living being of their own species. + +It was a virgin forest the caravan entered at this moment. + +The guide pushed on, without the least hesitation, appearing perfectly +sure of the road he followed, contenting himself by giving at lengthened +intervals a glance to the right or left, but not once checking the pace +of his horse. + +It was nearly mid-day; the heat was growing stifling, the horses and +men, who had been on the march since four in the morning along almost +impracticable roads, were exhausted with fatigue, and imperiously +claimed a few hours' rest, which was indispensable before proceeding +further. + +The Captain resolved to let the troop camp in one of those vast +clearings, so many of which are found in these parts, and are formed by +the fall of trees overthrown by a hurricane, or dead of old age. + +The command to halt was given. The soldiers and arrieros gave a sigh of +relief, and stopped at once. + +The Captain, whose eyes were accidentally fixed at this moment on the +guide, saw a cloud of dissatisfaction on his brow; still, feeling he +was watched, the man at once recovered himself, pretended to share the +general joy, and dismounted. + +The horses and mules were unsaddled, that they might browse freely on +the young tree shoots and the grass that grew abundantly on the ground. + +The soldiers enjoyed their frugal meal, and lay down on their zarapés to +sleep. + +Ere long, the individuals composing the caravan were slumbering, with +the exception of two, the Captain and the guide. + +Probably each of them was troubled by thoughts sufficiently serious to +drive away sleep, and keep them awake, when all wanted to repose. + +A few paces from the clearing, some monstrous iguanas were lying in the +sun, wallowing in the grayish mud of a stream whose water ran with a +slight murmur through the obstacles of every description that impeded +its course. Myriads of insects filled the air with the continued buzzing +of their wings; squirrels leaped gaily from branch to branch; the birds, +hidden beneath the foliage, were singing cheerily, and here and there +above the tall grass might be seen the elegant head and startled eyes of +a deer or an ashata, which suddenly rushed beneath the covert with a low +of terror. + +But the two men were too much occupied with their thoughts to notice +what was going on around them. + +The Captain raised his head at the very moment when the guide had fixed +on him a glance of strange meaning: confused at being thus taken +unawares, he tried to deceive the officer by speaking to +him--old-fashioned tactics, however, by which the latter was not duped. + +"It is a hot day, Excellency," he said, with a nonchalant air. + +"Yes," the Captain answered, laconically. + +"Do you not feel any inclination for sleep?" + +"No." + +"For my part, I feel my eyelids extraordinarily heavy, and my eyes close +against my will; with your permission I will follow the example of our +comrades, and take a few moments of that refreshing sleep they seem to +enjoy so greatly." + +"One moment--I have something to say to you." + +"Very good," he said, with an air of the utmost indifference. + +He rose, stifling a sigh of regret, and seated himself by the Captain's +side, who withdrew to make room for him under the protecting shadow of +the large tree which stretched out above his head its giant arms, loaded +with vines and Spanish beard. + +"We are about to talk seriously," the Captain went on. + +"As you please." + +"Can you be frank?" + +"What?" the soldier said, thrown off his guard by the suddenness of the +question. + +"Or, if you prefer it, can you be honest?" + +"That depends." + +The Captain looked at him. + +"Will you answer my questions?" + +"I do not know." + +"What do you say?" + +"Listen, Excellency," the guide said, with a simple look, "my mother, +worthy woman that she was, always recommended me to distrust two sorts +of people, borrowers and questioners, for she said, with considerable +sense, the first attack your purse, the others your secrets." + +"Then you have a secret?" + +"Not the least in the world." + +"Then what do you fear?" + +"Not much, it is true. Well, question me, Excellency, and I will try to +answer you." + +The Mexican peasant, the Manzo or civilized Indian, has a good deal of +the Norman peasant about him, in so far as it is impossible to obtain +from him a positive answer to any question asked him. The Captain was +compelled to be satisfied with the guide's half promise, so he went +on:-- + +"Who are you?" + +"I?" + +"Yes, you." + +The guide began laughing. + +"You can see plainly enough," he said. + +The Captain shook his head. + +"I do not ask you what you appear to be, but what you really are." + +"Why, señor, what man can answer for himself, and know positively who he +is?" + +"Listen, scoundrel," the Captain continued, in a menacing tone, "I do +not mean to lose my time in following you through all the stories you +may think proper to invent. Answer my questions plainly, or, if not--" + +"If not?" the guide impudently interrupted him. + +"I blow out your brains like a dog's!" he replied, as he drew a pistol +from his belt, and hastily cocked it. + +The soldier's eye flashed fire, but his features remained impassive, and +not a muscle of his face stirred. + +"Oh, oh, señor Captain," he said, in a sombre voice, "you have a +singular way of questioning your friends." + +"Who assures me that you are a friend? I do not know you." + +"That is true, but you know the person who sent me to you; that person +is your Chief as he is mine. I obeyed him by coming to find you, as you +ought to obey him by following the orders he has given you." + +"Yes, but those orders were sent me through you." + +"What matter?" + +"Who guarantees that the despatch you have brought me was really handed +to you?" + +"Caramba, Captain, what you say is anything but flattering to me," the +guide replied with an offended look. + +"I know it; unhappily we live at a time when it is so difficult to +distinguish friends from foes, that I cannot take too many precautions +to avoid falling into a snare; I am entrusted by Government with a very +delicate mission, and must therefore behave with great reserve toward +persons who are strangers to me." + +"You are right, Captain; hence, in spite of the offensive nature of your +suspicions, I will not feel affronted by what you say, for exceptional +positions require exceptional measures. Still, I will strive by my +conduct to prove to you how mistaken you are." + +"I shall be glad if I am mistaken; but take care. If I perceive anything +doubtful, either in your actions or your words, I shall not hesitate to +blow out your brains. Now that you are warned, it is your place to act +in accordance." + +"Very good, Captain, I will run the risk. Whatever happens. I feel +certain that my conscience will absolve me, for I shall have acted for +the best." + +This was said with an air of frankness which, in spite of his +suspicions, had its effect on the Captain. + +"We shall see," he said; "shall we soon get out of this infernal forest +in which we now are?" + +"We have only two hours' march left; at sunset we shall join the persons +who are awaiting us." + +"May Heaven grant it!" the Captain muttered. + +"Amen!" the soldier said boldly. + +"Still, as you have not thought proper to answer any of the questions I +asked you, you must not feel offended if I do not let you out of sight +from this moment, and keep you by my side when we start again." + +"You can do as you please, Captain; you have the power, if not the +right, on your side, and I am compelled to yield to your will." + +"Very good, now you can sleep if you think proper." + +"Then you have nothing more to say to me?" + +"Nothing." + +"In that case I will avail myself of the permission you are kind enough +to grant me, and try to make up for lost time." + +The soldier then rose, stiffing a long yawn, walked a few paces off, lay +down on the ground, and seemed within a few minutes plunged in a deep +sleep. + +The Captain remained awake. The conversation he had held with his guide +only increased his anxiety, by proving to him that this man concealed +great cunning beneath an abrupt and trivial manner. In fact, he had not +answered one of the questions asked him, and after a few minutes had +succeeded in making the Captain turn from the offensive to the +defensive, by giving him speciously logical arguments to which the +officer was unable to raise any objection. + +Don Juan was, therefore at this moment in the worst temper a man of +honour can be in, who is dissatisfied with himself and others, fully +convinced that he was in the right, but compelled, to a certain extent, +to allow himself in the wrong. + +The soldiers, as generally happens in such cases, suffered from their +chief's ill temper; for the officer, afraid of adding the darkness to +the evil chances he fancied he had against him, and not at all desirous +to be surprised by night in the inextricable windings of the forest, cut +the halt short much sooner than he would have done under different +circumstances. + +At about two o'clock P.M. he ordered the boot and saddle to be sounded, +and gave the word to start. + +The greatest heat of the day had passed over, the sunbeams being more +oblique, had lost a great deal of their power, and the march was +continued under conditions comparatively better than those which +preceded it. + +As he had warned him, the Captain intimated to the guide that he was to +ride by his side, and, so far as was possible, did not let him out of +sight for a second. + +The latter did not appear at all troubled by this annoying inquisition; +he rode along quite as gaily as heretofore, smoking his husk cigarette, +and whistling fragments of jarabés between his teeth. + +The forest began gradually to grow clearer, the openings became more +numerous, and the eye embraced a wider horizon; all led to the +presumption that they would soon reach the limits of the covert. + +Still, the ground began rising slightly on both sides, and the path the +conducta followed grew more and more hollow, in proportion as it +advanced. + +"Are we already reaching the spurs of the mountains?" the Captain asked. + +"Oh, no, not yet," the guide answered. + +"Still we shall soon be between two hills?" + +"Yes, but of no height." + +"That is true; still, if I am not mistaken, we shall have to pass +through a defile." + +"Yes, but of no great length." + +"You should have warned me of it." + +"Why so?" + +"That I might have sent some scouts ahead." + +"That is true, but there is still time to do so if you like; the persons +who are waiting for us are at the end of that gorge." + +"Then we have arrived?" + +"Very nearly so." + +"Let us push on in that case." + +"I am quite ready." + +They went on; all at once the guide stopped. + +"Hilloh!" he said, "Look over there, Captain; is not that a musket +barrel glistening in the sunbeams?" + +The Captain sharply turned his eyes in the direction indicated by the +soldier. + +At the same moment a frightful discharge burst forth from either side of +the way, and a shower of bullets poured on the conducta. + +Before the Captain, ferocious at this shameful treachery, could draw a +pistol from his belt, he rolled on the ground, dragged down by his +horse, which had a ball right through its heart. + +The guide had disappeared, and it was impossible to discover how he had +escaped. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +JOHN DAVIS. + + +John Davis, the ex-slave dealer, had too powerful nerves for the scenes +he had witnessed this day, and in which he had even played a very active +and dangerous part, to leave any durable impressions on his mind. + +After quitting Blue-fox, he galloped on for some time in the direction +where he expected to find the Jaguar; but gradually he yielded to his +thoughts, and his horse, understanding with that admirable instinct +which distinguishes these noble animals, that its rider was paying no +attention to it, gradually reduced its pace, passing from the gallop to +a trot, and then to a foot-pace, walking with its head down, and +snapping at a few blades of grass as it passed. + +John Davis was considerably perplexed by the conduct of one of the +persons with whom accident had brought him in contact on this morning so +fertile in events of every description. The person who had the privilege +of arousing the American's attention to no eminent degree was the White +Scalper. + +The heroic struggle sustained by this man alone against a swarm of +obstinate enemies, his herculean strength, the skill with which he +managed his horse--all in this strange man seemed to him to border on +the marvellous. + +During bivouac watches on the prairie he had frequently heard the most +extraordinary and exaggerated stories told about this hunter by the +Indians with, a terror, the reason of which he comprehended, now that he +had seen the man; for this individual who laughed at weapons directed +against his chest, and ever emerged safe and sound from the combats he +engaged in, seemed rather a demon than a being appertaining to humanity. +John Davis felt himself shudder involuntarily at this thought, and +congratulated himself in having so miraculously escaped the danger he +had incurred in his encounter with the Scalper. + +We will mention, in passing, that no people in the world are more +superstitious than the North Americans. This is easy to understand: this +nation--a perfect harlequin's garb--is an heterogeneous composite of all +the races that people the old world; each of the representatives of +these races arrived in America, bearing in his emigrants' baggage not +only his vices and passions, but also his creed and his superstitions, +which are the wildest, most absurd, and puerile possible. This was the +more easily effected, because the mass of emigrants, who have at various +periods sought a refuge in America, was composed of people for the most +part devoid of all learning, or even of a semblance of education; from +this point of view, the North Americans, we must do them the justice of +saying, have not at all degenerated; they are at the present day at +least as ignorant and brutal as were their ancestors. + +It is easy to imagine the strange number of legends about sorcerers and +phantoms which are current in North America. These legends, preserved by +tradition, passing from mouth to mouth, and with time becoming mingled +one with the other, have necessarily been heightened in a country where +the grand aspect of nature renders the mind prone to reverie and +melancholy. + +Hence John Davis, though he flattered himself he was a strong-minded +man, did not fail, like all his countrymen, to possess a strong dose of +credulity; and this man, who would not have recoiled at the sight of +several muskets pointed at his breast, felt himself shiver with fear at +the sound of a leaf falling at night on his shoulder. + +Moreover, so soon as the idea occurred to John Davis that the White +Scalper was a demon, or, at the very least, a sorcerer, it got hold of +him, and this supposition straightway became an article of belief with +him. Naturally, he found himself at once relieved by this discovery; his +ideas returned to their usual current, and the anxiety that occupied his +mind disappeared as if by enchantment; henceforth his opinion was formed +about this man, and if accident again brought them face to face, he +would know how to behave to him. + +Happy at having at length found this solution, he gaily raised his head, +and took a long searching look around him at the landscape he was riding +through. + +He was nearly in the centre of a vast rolling prairie, covered with tall +grass, and with a few clumps of mahogany and pine trees scattered here +and there. + +Suddenly he rose in his stirrups, placed his hand as a shade over his +eyes, and looked attentively. + +About half a mile from the spot where he had halted, and a little to the +right, that is to say, exactly in the direction he intended to follow +himself, he noticed a thin column of smoke, which rose from the middle +of a thicket of aloe and larch trees. + +On the desert, smoke seen by the wayside always furnishes ample matter +for reflection. + +Smoke generally rises from a fire round which several persons are +seated. + +Now man, in this more unfortunate than the wild beasts, fears before all +else on the prairie meeting with his fellow-man, for he may wager a +hundred to one that the man he meets will prove an enemy. + +Still John Davis, after ripe consideration, resolved to push on toward +the fire; since morning he had been fasting, hunger was beginning to +prick him, and in addition he felt excessively fatigued; he therefore +inspected his weapons with the most scrupulous attention, so as to be +able to have recourse to them if necessary, and digging the spur into +his horse's flank, he went on boldly toward the smoke, while carefully +watching the neighbourhood for fear of a surprise. + +At the end of ten minutes he reached his destination; but when fifty +yards from the clump of trees, he checked the speed of his horse, and +laid his rifle across the saddle-bow; his face lost the anxious +expression which had covered it, and he advanced toward the fire with a +smile on his lips, and the most friendly air imaginable. + +In the midst of a thick clump of trees, whose protecting shade offered a +comfortable shelter to a weary traveller, a man dressed in the costume +of a Mexican dragoon was lazily seated in front of a fire, over which +his meat was cooking, while himself smoked a husk cigarette. A long +lance decorated with its guidon leaned against a larch tree close to +him, and a completely harnessed horse, from which the bit had, however, +been removed, was peaceably nibbling the tree shoots and the tender +prairie grass. + +This man seemed to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age; his +cunning features were lit up by small sharp eyes, and the copper tinge +of his skin denoted his Indian origin. + +He had for a long time seen the horseman coming toward his camp, but he +appeared to attach but slight importance to it, and quietly went on +smoking and watching the cooking of his meal, not taking any further +precaution against the unforeseen visitor than assuring himself that his +sabre came easily out of its scabbard. When he was only a few paces from +the soldier, John Davis stopped and raised his hand to his hat. + +"Ave Maria Purísima!" he said. + +"Sin pecado concebida!" the dragoon answered, imitating the American's +gesture. + +"Santas tardes!" the new comer went on. + +"Dios les da a Vm buenas!" the other immediately answered. + +These necessary formulas of every meeting exhausted, the ice was broken, +and the acquaintance made. + +"Dismount, Caballero," the dragoon said; "the heat is stifling on the +prairie; I have here a famous shade, and in this little pot cecina, with +red harico beans and pimento, which I think you will like, if you do me +the honour to share my repast." + +"I readily accept your flattering invitation, Caballero," the American +answered with a smile; "the more readily because I confess to you that I +am literally starving, and, moreover, exhausted with fatigue." + +"Caray! In that case I congratulate myself on the fortunate accident +that occasions our meeting, so pray dismount without further delay." + +"I am going to do so." + +The American at once got off his horse, removed the bit, and the noble +animal immediately joined its companion, while its master fell to the +ground by the dragoon's side, with a sigh of satisfaction. + +"You seem to have made a long ride, Caballero?" the soldier said. + +"Yes," the American answered, "I have been on horseback for ten hours, +not to mention that I spent the morning in fighting." + +"Cristo! You have had hard work of it." + +"You may say so without any risk of telling an untruth; for, on the word +of a hunter, I never had such a tough job." + +"You are a hunter?" + +"At your service." + +"A fine profession," the soldier said with a sigh; "I have been one +too." + +"And you regret it?" + +"Daily." + +"I can understand that. Once a man has tasted the joys of desert life, +he always wishes to return to it." + +"Alas, that is true." + +"Why did you give it up then, since you liked it so much?" + +"Ah, why!" the soldier said; "through love." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Yes, a child with whom I was so foolish as to fall in love, and who +persuaded me to enlist." + +"Oh, hang it!" + +"Yes, and I had scarce put on my uniform, when she told me she was +mistaken about me: that, thus dressed, I was much uglier than she could +have supposed; in short, she left me in the lurch to run after an +arriero." + +The American could not refrain from laughing at this singular story. + +"It is sad, is it not?" the soldier continued. + +"Very sad," John Davis answered, trying in vain to regain his gravity. + +"What would you have?" the soldier added gloomily; "the world is only +one huge deception. But," he added with a sudden change of his tone, "I +fancy our dinner is ready--I smell something which warns me that it is +time to take off the pot." + +As John Davis had naturally no objection to offer to this resolution of +the soldier, the latter at once carried it into effect; the pot was +taken off the fire and placed before the two guests, who began such a +vigorous attack, that it was soon empty, in spite of its decent +capacity. + +This excellent meal was washed down with a few mouthfuls of Catalonian +refino, with which the soldier appeared amply provided. + +All was terminated with the indispensable cigarette, that obligato +complement of every Hispano-American meal, and the two men, revived by +the good food with which they had lined their stomachs, were soon in an +excellent condition to open their hearts to each other. + +"You seem to me a man of caution, Caballero," the American remarked, as +he puffed out an immense mouthful of smoke, part of which came from his +mouth, and part from his nostrils. + +"It is a reminiscence of my old hunter's trade. Soldiers generally are +not nearly so careful as I am." + +"The more I observe you," John Davis went on, "the more extraordinary +does it appear to me that you should have consented to take up a +profession so badly paid as that of a soldier." + +"What would you have? It is fatality, and then the impossibility of +sending the uniform to the deuce. However, I hope to be made a _Cabo_ +before the year's out." + +"That is a fine position, as I have heard; the pay must be good." + +"It would not be bad, if we received it." + +"What do you mean?" + +"It seems that the government is not rich." + +"Then, you give it credit?" + +"We are obliged to do so." + +"Hang it! but forgive me for asking you all these questions, which must +appear to you indiscreet." + +"Not at all; we are talking as friends." + +"How do you live?" + +"Well, we have casualties." + +"What may they be?" + +"Do you not know?" + +"Indeed, I do not." + +"I will explain." + +"You will cause me pleasure." + +"Sometimes our Captain or General entrusts us with a mission." + +"Very good." + +"This mission is paid for separately; the more dangerous it is, the +larger the amount." + +"Still on credit?" + +"No, hang it; in advance." + +"That is better. And have you many of these missions?" + +"Frequently, especially during a pronunciamento." + +"Yes, but for nearly a year no General has pronounced." + +"Unluckily." + +"Then you are quite dry?" + +"Not quite." + +"You have had missions?" + +"I have one at this moment." + +"Well paid?" + +"Decently." + +"Would there be any harm in asking how much?" + +"Not at all; I have received twenty-five ounces." + +"Cristo! that is a nice sum. The mission must be a dangerous one to be +paid so highly." + +"It is not without peril." + +"Hum! In that case take care." + +"Thank you, but I run no heavy risk; I have only to deliver a letter." + +"It is true that a letter--" the American carelessly remarked. + +"Oh! this one is more important than you fancy it." + +"Nonsense!" + +"On my honour it is, for it concerns some millions of dollars." + +"What is that you say?" John Davis exclaimed with an involuntary start. + +Since his meeting with the soldier, the hunter had quietly worked to get +him to reveal the reason that brought him into these parts, for the +presence of a single dragoon on the desert seemed to him queer, and for +good reason; hence it was with great pleasure that he saw him fall into +the trap set for him. + +"Yes," the soldier continued, "General Rubio, whose asistente I am, has +sent me as an express to meet Captain Melendez, who at this moment is +escorting a conducta de plata." + +"Do you mean that really?" + +"Do I not tell you that I have the letter about me?" + +"That is true; but for what purpose does the General write to the +Captain?" + +The soldier looked for a moment cunningly at the hunter, and then +suddenly changed his tone. + +"Will you play fair?" he asked him, as he looked him full in the face. + +The hunter smiled. + +"Good," the soldier continued; "I see that we can understand one +another." + +"Why not? those are the conditions that suit Caballeros." + +"Then, we play fair?" + +"That is agreed." + +"Confess that you would like to know the contents of this letter." + +"Through simple curiosity, I swear to you." + +"Of course! I felt assured of that. Well, it only depends on yourself to +know them." + +"I will not take long then; let me hear your conditions." + +"They are simple." + +"Tell me them for all that." + +"Look at me carefully; do you not recognize me?" + +"On my honour, I do not." + +"That proves to me that I have a better memory than you." + +"It is possible." + +"I recognize you." + +"You may have seen me somewhere." + +"Very likely, but that is of little consequence; the main point is that +I should know who you are." + +"Oh, a simple hunter." + +"Yes, and an intimate friend of the Jaguar." + +"What!" the hunter exclaimed with a start of surprise. + +"Do not be frightened at such a trifle: answer me simply; is it so or +not?" + +"It is true; I do not see why I should hide the fact from you." + +"You would be wrong if you did. Where is the Jaguar at this moment?" + +"I do not know." + +"That is to say, you will not tell me." + +"You have guessed it." + +"Good. Could you tell me, if I wished you to lead me to him?" + +"I see no reason to prevent it, if the affair is worth your while." + +"Have I not told you that it related to millions?" + +"You did, but you did not prove it." + +"And you wish me to give you that proof?" + +"Nothing else." + +"That is rather difficult." + +"No, it is not." + +"How so?" + +"Hang it, I am a good fellow; I only want to cover my responsibility; +show me the letter, I ask no more." + +"And that will satisfy you?" + +"Yes, because I know the General's handwriting." + +"Oh, in that case, it is all right," and drawing a large envelope from +his breast, he said as he showed it to the American, though without +loosing his hold, "Look!" + +The latter looked at it closely for some minutes. + +"It is really the General's handwriting," the soldier continued. + +"Yes," + +"Now, do you consent to lead me to the Jaguar?" + +"Whenever you like." + +"At once then." + +"Very good." + +The two men rose by mutual agreement, put the bits in their horses' +mouths, leaped into their saddles, and left at a gallop the spot which +for several hours had afforded them such pleasant shade. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +THE BARGAIN. + + +The two adventurers rode gaily side by side, telling one another the +news of the desert, that is to say, hunting exploits, and skirmishes +with the Indians, and conversing about the political events which for +some months past had attained a certain gravity and alarming importance +for the Mexican government. + +But, while thus talking, asking each other questions, the answers to +which they did not wait to hear, their conversation had no other object +save to conceal the secret preoccupation that agitated them. + +In their previous discussion, each had tried to overreach the other, +trying to draw out secrets, the hunter manoeuvring to lead the soldier +to an act of treachery, the latter asking no better than to sell +himself, and acting in accordance with his wishes; the result of the +trial was that they had found themselves of equal force, and each had +obtained the result he wanted. + +But this was no longer the question with them; like all crafty men, +success, instead of satisfying them, had given birth in their minds to +a multitude of suspicions. John Davis asked himself what cause had led +the dragoon to betray his party so easily, without stipulating +beforehand for important advantages for himself. + +For everything is paid for in America, and infamy especially commands a +high price. + +On his side, the dragoon found that the hunter put faith in his +statements very easily, and, in spite of his comrade's affectionate +manner, the nearer he approached the camp of the border rifles, the more +his uneasiness increased; for he was beginning to fear lest he had gone +head first into a snare, and had trusted too imprudently to a man whose +reputation was far from reassuring him. + +Such was the state of mind in which the two men stood to each other, +scarce an hour after leaving the spot where they had met so +accidentally. + +Still, each carefully hid his apprehensions in his heart; nothing was +visible on the exterior; on the contrary, they redoubled their +politeness and obsequiousness toward each other, behaving rather like +brothers delighted to have met after a long separation, than as men who +two hours previously spoke together for the first time. + +The sun had set about an hour, and it was quite dark when they came +within a short distance of the Jaguar's camp, whose bivouac fires +flashed out of the gloom, reflecting themselves with fantastic effects +of light on the surrounding objects, and imprinting on the rugged +scenery of the prairie a stamp of savage majesty. + +"We have arrived," the hunter said, as he stopped his horse and turned +to his companion; "no one has perceived us; you can still turn back +without any fear of pursuit; what is your decision?" + +"Canarios! Comrade," the soldier answered, shrugging his shoulders with +a disdainful air; "I have not come so far to shiver at the entrance of +the camp, and allow me to remark, with all the respect due to you, that +your remark appears to me singular at the least." + +"I owed it to myself to make it; who knows whether you may not repent +to-morrow the hazardous step you are taking to-day?" + +"That is possible. Well, what would you have? I will run the risk; my +determination is formed, and is unchangeable. So let us push on, in +Heaven's name." + +"As you please, Caballero; within a quarter of an hour you will be in +the presence of the man you desire to see. You will have an explanation +with him, and my task will be accomplished." + +"And I shall have nothing but thanks to offer you," the soldier quickly +interrupted him; "but let us not remain any longer here: we may attract +attention, and become the mark for a bullet, which I confess to you I am +not at all desirous of." + +The hunter, without replying, let his horse feel the spur, and they +continued to advance. + +Within a few minutes they entered the circle of light cast by the fire; +almost immediately the sharp click of a rifle being cocked was heard, +and a rough voice ordered them to stop in the devil's name. + +The order, though not positively polite, was not the less peremptory, +and the two adventurers thought it advisable to obey. + +Several armed men then issued from the entrenchments; and one of them, +addressing the strangers, asked them who they were, and what they wanted +at such an unseasonable hour. + +"Who we are?" the American answered, firmly; "What we want? To come in +as quickly as we can." + +"That is all very fine," the other replied; "but, if you do not tell us +your names, you will not enter so soon, especially as one of you wears a +uniform which is not in the odour of sanctity with us." + +"All right, Ruperto," the American replied, "I am John Davis, and you +know me, I suppose; so let me pass, without delay. I answer for this +caballero, who has an important communication to make to the Chief." + +"You are welcome, Master John; do not be angry with me, for you know +that prudence is the mother of safety." + +"Yes, yes," the American said, with a laugh, "deuce take me if you +easily get into a scrape for lack of prudence, gossip." + +They then entered the camp without farther obstacle. + +The border rifles were generally sleeping round the fires, but a cordon +of vigilant sentries, placed at the openings of the camp, watched over +the common security. + +John Davis dismounted, inviting his comrade to follow his example; then, +making him a sign to follow, he walked toward a tent, through the canvas +of which a weak light could be seen flickering. + +On reaching the entrance of the tent, the hunter stopped, and tapped +twice. + +"Are you asleep, Jaguar?" he asked, in a suppressed voice. + +"Is that you, Davis, my old comrade?" was immediately asked from within. + +"Yes." + +"Come in, for I was impatiently waiting for you." + +The American raised the curtain which covered the entrance, and glided +into the tent; the soldier followed him gently, and the curtain fell +down behind them. + +The Jaguar, seated on a buffalo skull, was reading a voluminous +correspondence by the dubious light of a _candil_; and in a corner of +the tent might be seen two or three bear-skins, evidently intended to +serve as a bed. On seeing the newcomers, the young man folded up the +papers, and laid them in a small iron casket, the key of which he placed +in his bosom, then raised his head, and looked anxiously at the soldier. + +"Who's this, John?" he asked; "Have you brought prisoners?" + +"No," the other answered, "this caballero was most desirous of seeing +you, for certain reasons he will himself explain; so I thought I had +better carry out his wishes." + +"Good; we will settle with him in a moment. What have you done?" + +"What you ordered me." + +"Then you have succeeded?" + +"Completely." + +"Bravo, my friend! Tell me all about it." + +"What need of details?" the American answered, looking meaningly at the +dragoon, who stood motionless a couple of paces from him. + +The Jaguar understood him. + +"That is true," he said, "suppose we see of what sort of wood this man +is made;" and addressing the soldier, he added, "Come hither, my good +fellow." + +"Here I am, at your orders, Captain." + +"What is your name?" + +"Gregorio Felpa. I am a dragoon, as you can see by my uniform, +Excellency." + +"What is your motive for wishing to see me?" + +"An anxiety to render you an important service, Excellency." + +"I thank you, but usually services are confoundedly dear, and I am not a +rich man." + +"You will become so." + +"I hope so. But what is the great service you propose to render me?" + +"I will explain to you, in two words. In every political question there +are two sides, and that depends on the point of view from which you +regard it. I am a child of Texas, son of a North American and an Indian +woman, which means that I cordially detest the Americans." + +"Come to facts." + +"I am doing so. A soldier against my will, General Rubio has entrusted +me with a dispatch for Captain Melendez, in which he gives him a place +of meeting, so as to avoid the Rio Seco, where the report runs that you +intend to ambush, in order to carry off the conducta." + +"Ah, ah," the Jaguar said, becoming very attentive, "but how do you know +the contents of the dispatch?" + +"In a very simple way. The General places the utmost confidence in me; +and he read me the dispatch, because I am to serve as the Captain's +guide." + +"Then you are betraying your Chief?" + +"Is that the name you give my action?" + +"I am looking at it from the General's side." + +"And from yours?" + +"When we have succeeded I will tell you." + +"Good," he carelessly replied. + +"You have this dispatch?" + +"Here it is." + +The Jaguar took it, examined it attentively, turning it over and over, +and then prepared to break the seal. + +"Stop!" the soldier hurriedly exclaimed. + +"What for?" + +"Because, if you open it, I cannot deliver it to the man for whom it is +intended." + +"What do you mean?" + +"You do not understand me," the soldier said, with ill-concealed +impatience. + +"That is probable," the Captain answered. + +"I only ask you to listen to me for five minutes." + +"Speak." + +"The meeting-place appointed for the Captain and the General is the +Laguna del Venado. Before reaching the Laguna there is a very narrow and +densely-wooded gorge." + +"The Paso de Palo Muerto; I know it." + +"Good. You will hide yourself there, on the right and left, in the +bushes; and when the conducta passes, you will attack it on all sides at +once; it is impossible for it to escape you, if, as I suppose, your +arrangements are properly made." + +"Yes, the spot is most favourable for an attack. But who guarantees that +the conducta will pass through this gorge?" + +"I do." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Certainly, as I shall act as guide." + +"Hum! We no longer understand one another." + +"Excuse me, we do, perfectly. I will leave you, and go to the Captain, +to whom I will deliver the General's dispatch; he will be compelled to +take me for his guide, whether we like it or not; and I will lead him +into your hands as surely as a novillo taken to the shambles." + +The Jaguar gave the soldier a glance which seemed trying to read the +bottom of his heart. + +"You are a daring fellow," he said to him, "but I fancy you settle +events a little too much as you would like them. I do not know you; I +see you to-day for the first time, and, excuse my frankness, it is to +arrange an act of treachery. Who answers for your good faith? If I am +foolish enough to let you go quietly, what assures me that you will not +turn against me?" + +"My own interest, in the first place; if you seize the conducta by my +aid, you will give me five hundred ounces." + +"That is not too dear: still, allow me to make a further objection." + +"Do so, Excellency." + +"Nothing proves to me that you have not been promised double the amount +to trap me." + +"Oh!" he said, with a shake of the head. + +"Hang it all! Listen to me; more singular things than that have been +known, and though my head may be worth little, I confess to you that I +have the weakness of attaching remarkable value to it; hence I warn you, +that unless you have better security to offer, the affair is broken +off." + +"That would be a pity." + +"I am well aware of that, but it is your fault, not mine; you should +have taken your measures better before coming to me." + +"Then nothing can convince you of my good faith?" + +"Nothing." + +"Come, we must have an end of this!" the soldier exclaimed, impatiently. + +"I ask for nothing better." + +"It is clearly understood between us, Excellency, that you will give me +five hundred ounces?" + +"If by your aid I carry off the conducta de plata; I promise it." + +"That is enough; I know that you never break your word." + +He then unbuttoned his uniform, drew out a bag hung round his neck by a +steel chain, and offered it to the Captain. + +"Do you know what this is?" he asked him. + +"Certainly," the Jaguar replied, crossing himself fervently; "it is a +relic." + +"Blessed by the Pope! As this attestation proves." + +"It is true." + +He took it from his neck, and laid it in the young man's hand, then +crossing his right thumb over the left, he said, in a firm and marked +voice-- + +"I, Gregorio Felpa, swear on this relic to accomplish faithfully all the +clauses of the bargain I have just concluded with the noble Captain +called the Jaguar: if I break this oath, I renounce from this day and +for ever the place I hope for in Paradise, and devote myself to the +eternal flames of hell. Now," he added, "keep that precious relic; you +will restore it to me on my return." + +The Captain, without replying, immediately hung it round his own neck. + +Strange contradiction of the human heart, and inexplicable anomaly; +these Indians, for the most part pagans, in spite of the baptism they +have received, and who, while affecting to follow ostensibly the rules +of the Catholic religion, secretly practise the rites of their worship, +have a lively faith in relics and amulets; all wear them round their +necks in little bags, and these perverse and dissolute men, to whom +nothing is sacred, who laugh at the most noble feelings, whose life is +passed in inventing roguery, and preparing acts of treachery, profess so +great a respect for these relics, that there is no instance of an oath +taken on one of them having ever been broken. + +Anyone who pleases may explain this extraordinary fact; we content +ourselves with telling it. + +Before the oath taken by the soldier, the Jaguar's suspicions at once +faded away to make room for the most perfect confidence. + +The conversation lost the stiff tone it had up to the present, the +soldier sat down on a buffalo skull, and the three men, henceforth in +good harmony, quietly discussed the best means to be employed to prevent +a failure. + +The plan proposed by the soldier was so simple and easy to carry out, +that it guaranteed success; hence it was adopted entirely, and the +discussion only turned on points of detail. + +At a rather late hour of the night, the three men at length separated, +in order to take a few moments of indispensable rest between the fatigue +of the past day and that they would have to endure on the morrow. + +Gregorio slept _a pierna suelta_, to employ the Spanish phrase, that is +to say, straight off the reel. + +About two hours before sunrise, the Jaguar bent over the sleeper and +awoke him; the soldier rose at once, rubbed his eyes for an instant, and +at the end of five minutes was as fresh and ready as if he had been +asleep for eight-and-forty hours. + +"It is time to start," the Jaguar said, in a low voice; "John Davis has +himself rubbed down and saddled your horse; come." + +They left the tent; they found the American holding the soldier's +bridle, and the latter leaped into the saddle without using his +stirrups, in order to show that he was quite fresh. + +"Mind," the Jaguar observed, "that you employ the utmost prudence, watch +your words and your slightest gestures carefully, for you are about to +deal with the bravest and most skilful officer in the whole Mexican +army." + +"Trust to me, Captain. Canarios! The stake is too large for me to run +any risk of losing the game." + +"One word more." + +"I am listening." + +"Manage so as not to reach the gorge till nightfall, for darkness goes a +great way toward the success of a surprise--and now good-bye and good +luck." + +"I wish you the same." + +The Jaguar and the American escorted the dragoon to the barrier, in +order to pass him through the sentries, who, had not this precaution +been taken, would have infallibly fired at him, owing to the uniform he +wore. + +"When he had left the camp, the two men looked after him so long as they +could distinguish his dark outline gliding like a shadow through the +trees of the forest, when it speedily disappeared. + +"Hum!" said John Davis, "That is what I call a thorough scoundrel; he is +more cunning than an opossum. What a fearful villain!" + +"Well, my friend," the Jaguar answered, carelessly, "men of that stamp +are necessary, else what would become of us?" + +"That is true. They are as necessary as the plague and leprosy; but I +stick to what I said, he is the most perfect scoundrel I ever saw; and +the Lord knows the magnificent collection I have come across during the +course of my life!" + +A few minutes later, the border rifles raised their camp and mounted to +proceed to the gorge, where the rendezvous had been made with Gregorio +Felpa, the asistente of General Rubio, who placed in him a confidence of +which the soldier was in every respect so worthy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE AMBUSCADE. + + +The Jaguar's measures were so well taken, and the traitor to whom the +guidance of the conducta was entrusted had manoeuvred so cleverly, that +the Mexicans fell literally into a wasp's nest, from which it was very +difficult, if not impossible, for them to escape. + +Although demoralized for a moment by the fall of their Chief, whose +horse was killed at the beginning of the action, they still obeyed the +Captain's voice, who, by a supreme effort, rose again almost +simultaneously, and they collected round the string of mules laden with +the treasure. They boldly formed a square, and prepared to defend +courageously the precious depôt they had under their guard. + +The escort commanded by Captain Melendez, though not large, was +composed of old tried soldiers, long habituated to bush-fighting, and +for whom the critical position in which their unlucky star had brought +them, possessed nothing very extraordinary. + +The dragoons had dismounted, and throwing away their long lances, +useless in a fight like the one that was preparing, seized their +carbines, and with their eyes fixed on the bushes, calmly awaited the +order to begin firing. + +Captain Melendez studied the terrain with a hurried glance, and it was +far from being favourable. On the right and left steep slopes, crowned +by enemies; in the rear, a large party of border rifles ambushed behind +a barricade of trees, which, as if by enchantment, suddenly interrupted +the road, and prevented a retreat; lastly, in front, a precipice about +twenty yards in width, and of incalculable depth. + +All hope, therefore, of getting safe and sound out of the position in +which they were beset seemed taken from the Mexicans, not only through +the considerable number of enemies that surrounded them, but also +through the nature of the battle-field; still, after carefully examining +it, a flash burst from the Captain's eye, and a gloomy smile passed over +his face. + +The dragoons had known their commander a long time, they placed faith in +him; they perceived this fugitive smile, and their courage was +heightened. + +As the Captain had smiled, he must have hopes. + +It is true that not a man in the whole escort could have said in what +that hope consisted. + +After the first discharge, the bandits appeared on the heights, but +remained there motionless, satisfying themselves with attentively +watching the movements of the Mexicans. + +The Captain profited by this respite which the enemy so generously +offered him, to take a few defensive measures, and amend his plan of +battle. + +The mules were unloaded, and the precious boxes placed right away at the +rear, as far as possible from the enemy; then the horses and mules, led +to the front, were arranged so that their bodies should serve as a +rampart for the soldiers, who, kneeling and stooping behind this living +breastwork, found themselves comparatively sheltered from the enemy's +bullets. + +When these measures were taken, and the Captain had assured himself by a +final glance that his orders were punctually executed, he bent down to +the ear of no Bautista, the chief arriero, and whispered a few words. + +The arriero gave a quick start of surprise on hearing the Captain's +words, but recovered himself immediately, and bowed his head in assent. + +"You will obey?" Don Juan asked, as he looked at him fixedly. + +"On my honour, Captain," the arriero answered. + +"Very good," the young man said gaily; "we shall have some fun, I +promise you." + +The arriero fell back, and the Captain placed himself in front of the +soldiers. He had scarce taken up his fighting position, when a man +appeared at the top of the right hand bank; he held in his hand a long +lance, from the end of which fluttered a piece of white rag. + +"Oh, oh," the Captain murmured, "what is the meaning of this! Are they +beginning to fear lest their prey may escape them? Hilloh," he shouted, +"what do you want?" + +"To parley," the man with the flag answered laconically. + +"Parley," the Captain answered, "what good will that do? Besides, I have +the honour of being a Captain in the Mexican army, and do not treat with +bandits." + +"Take care, Captain, misplaced courage is frequently braggadocio; your +position is desperate." + +"Do you think so?" the young man said in an ironical voice. + +"You are surrounded on all sides." + +"Bar one." + +"Yes, but there is an impassable abyss there." + +"Who knows?" the Captain said, still mockingly. + +"In a word, will you listen to me?" the other said, who was beginning to +grow impatient at this conversation. + +"Well," the officer said, "let me hear your propositions, after which I +will let you know my conditions." + +"What conditions?" the bandit asked in amazement. + +"Those I intend to impose on you, by Jove." + +A Homeric laugh from the border rifles greeted these haughty words. The +Captain remained cold and impassive. + +"Who are you?" he asked. + +"The Chief of the men who hold you imprisoned." + +"Prisoners? I do not believe it; however, we shall see. Ah! you must be +the Jaguar, whose name is held in execration on this border?" + +"I am the Jaguar," the latter answered simply. + +"Very good. What do you want with me? Speak, and before all be brief," +the Captain said, as he leaned the point of his sword on the end of his +boot. + +"I wish to avoid bloodshed," the Jaguar said. + +"That is very kind of you, but I fancy it is rather late to form so +laudable a resolve," the officer said in his sarcastic voice. + +"Listen, Captain, you are a brave officer, and I should be in despair if +any misfortune happened to you; do not obstinately carry on an +impossible struggle, surrounded as you are by an imposing force; any +attempt at resistance would be an unpardonable act of madness, which +could only result in a general massacre of the men you command, while +you would not have the slightest hope of saving the conducta under your +escort. Surrender, I repeat, for you have only that way of safety left +open to you." + +"Caballero," the Captain said, and this time seriously, "I thank you for +the words you have spoken; I am a connoisseur in men, and see that you +are speaking honourably at this moment." + +"I am," said the Jaguar. + +"Unfortunately," the Captain continued, "I am forced to repeat to you +that I have the honour to be an officer, and would never consent to +deliver my sword to the leader of banditti, for whose head a price is +offered. If I have been mad and idiotic enough to let myself be drawn +into a trap, all the worse for me--I must accept the consequences." + +The two speakers had by this time come together, and were conversing +side by side. + +"I can understand, Captain, that your military honour must, under +certain circumstances, compel you to fight, even under unfavourable +conditions; but here the case is different--all the chances are against +you, and your honour will in no way suffer by a capitulation which will +save the lives of your brave soldiers." + +"And deliver to you without a blow the rich prey you covet." + +"Whatever you may do, that prey cannot escape me." + +The Captain shrugged his shoulders. + +"You are mistaken," he said; "like all men accustomed to prairie +warfare, you have been too clever, and your adroitness has carried you +past your object." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Learn to know me, Caballero; I am a cristiano viejo; I am descended +from the old Conquistadors, and the Spanish blood flows pure in my +veins. All my men are devoted to me, and at my order they will let +themselves be killed to the last without hesitation; but whatever may be +the advantages of the situation you occupy, and the number of your +companions, you will require a certain time to kill fifty men reduced to +desperation, and who are resolved not to ask quarter." + +"Yes," the Jaguar said in a hollow voice; "but in the end they are +killed." + +"Of course," the Captain replied calmly; "but while you are murdering +us, the arrieros have my positive orders to cast the money chests to the +bottom of the abyss, to the brink of which you have forced us." + +"Oh," the Jaguar said with an ill-restrained look of menace, "you will +not do that." + +"Why shall I not, if you please?" the officer said coldly. "Yes, I will +do it, I pledge you my honour." + +"Oh!" + +"What will happen, then? You will have brutally murdered fifty men, +with no other result than that of wallowing in the blood of your +countrymen." + +"Rayo de Dios! This is madness." + +"Not at all; it is simply the logical consequence of the threat you make +me; we shall be dead, but as men of honour, and have fulfilled our duty, +as the money will be saved." + +"All my efforts, then, to bring about a peaceful settlement are +sterile." + +"There is one way." + +"What is it?" + +"To let us pass, after pledging your word of honour not to molest our +retreat." + +"Never! That money is indispensable to me, and I must have it." + +"Come and take it, then," + +"That is what I am going to do." + +"Very good." + +"The blood I wished to spare will fall on your head." + +"Or on yours." + +They separated. + +The Captain turned to his soldiers, who had been near enough to follow +the discussion through all its turnings. + +"What will you do, lads?" he asked them. + +"Die!" they answered in a loud and firm voice. + +"Be it so--we will die together;" and brandishing his sabre over his +head, he shouted, "_Dios y libertad Viva México!_" + +"_Viva México_!" the dragoons repeated, enthusiastically. + +While this had been going on, the sun had disappeared below the horizon, +and darkness covered the earth, like a sombre winding-sheet. + +The Jaguar, with rage in his heart at the ill success of his tentatives, +had rejoined his comrades. + +"Well," John Davis asked him, who was anxiously watching for his return, +"what have you obtained?" + +"Nothing. That man is a fanatic." + +"As I warned you, he is a demon; fortunately he cannot escape us, +whatever he may do." + +"Then you are mistaken," the Jaguar replied, stamping his foot +passionately; "whether he live or die the money is lost to us." + +"How so?" + +The Jaguar told his confidant in a few words what had passed between him +and the Captain. + +"Confusion!" the American exclaimed; "In that case let us make haste." + +"To increase our misfortunes, it is as dark as in an oven." + +"By heavens! Let us make an illumination. Perhaps it will cause those +demons incarnate to reflect, who are croaking there like frogs calling +for rain." + +"You are right. Torches here!" + +"Better still. Let us fire the forest." + +"Ah, ah," the Jaguar said, with a laugh, "bravo! Let us smoke them out +like musk-rats." + +This diabolical idea was immediately carried out, and ere long a +brilliant belt of flame ran all around the gorge, where the Mexicans +were stoically awaiting the attack. + +They had not long to wait; a sharp fusillade began, mingled with the +cries and yells of the assailants. + +"It is time!" the Captain shouted. + +The sound of a chest falling down the precipice was immediately heard. + +Owing to the fire, it was as bright as day, and not a movement of the +Mexicans escaped their adversaries. + +The latter uttered a yell of fury on seeing the chests disappear one +after the other in the abyss. + +They rushed at the soldiers; but the latter received them at the +bayonet's point, not giving ground an inch. + +A point-blank discharge from the Mexicans, who had reserved their fire, +laid many of the enemy low, and spread disorder through the ranks of the +assailants, who began falling back involuntarily. + +"Forward!" the Jaguar howled. + +The bandits returned to the charge more eagerly than before. + +"Keep firm, we must die," the Captain said. + +"We will," the soldiers repeated unanimously. + +The fight then began, body to body, foot to foot, chest against chest; +the assailants and assailed were mixed up and fought more like wild +beasts than men. + +The arrieros, though decimated by the bullets fired at them, did not the +less eagerly continue their task; the crowbar scarce fell from the hand +of one shot down, ere another seized the heavy iron mass, and the chests +of money toppled uninterruptedly over the precipice, in spite of the +yells of fury, and gigantic efforts of the enemy, who exhausted +themselves in vain to breach the human wall that barred their passage. + +'Twas a fearfully grand sight, this obstinate struggle, this implacable +combat which these men carried on, by the brilliant light of a burning +forest. + +The cries had ceased, the butchery went on silently and terribly, and at +times the Captain could be heard sharply repeating-- + +"Close up there, close up!" + +And the ranks closed, and the men fell without a murmur, having +sacrificed their lives, and only fighting now to gain the few moments +indispensable to prevent their sacrifice being sterile. + +In vain did the border rifles, excited by the desire of gain, try to +crush this energetic resistance offered them by a handful of men; the +heroic soldiers, supporting one another, with their feet pressed against +the corpses of those who had preceded them to death, seemed to multiply +themselves in order to bar the gorge on all sides at once. + +The fight, however, could not possibly last much longer; ten men only +were left of the Captain's detachment; the others had fallen, but every +man with his face to the foe. + +All the arrieros were dead; two chests still remained on the edge of the +precipice; the Captain looked hurriedly around. + +"One more effort, lads!" he shouted, "We only want five minutes to +finish our task." + +"_Dios y libertad_!" the soldiers shouted; and, although exhausted with +fatigue, they threw themselves resolutely into the thickest part of the +crowd that surrounded them. + +For a few minutes, these men accomplished prodigies; but at length +numbers gained the mastery: they all fell! + +The Captain alone was still alive. + +He had taken advantage of the devotion of his soldiers to seize a +crowbar, and hurl one chest over the precipice; the second, raised with +great difficulty, only required a final effort to disappear in its turn, +when suddenly a terrible hurrah caused the officer to raise his head. + +The border rifles were rushing up, terrible, and panting like tigers +thirsting for carnage. + +"Ah!" Gregorio Felpa, the traitor-guide, shouted gladly, as he rushed +forward; "at any rate we shall have this one." + +"You lie, villain!" the Captain answered. + +And raising with both hands the terrible bar of iron, he cleft the skull +of the soldier, who fell like a stunned ox, not uttering a cry, or +giving vent to a sigh. + +"Whose turn is it next?" the Captain said as he raised the crowbar. + +A yell of horror burst from the crowd, which hesitated for a moment. + +The Captain quickly lowered his crowbar, and the chest hung over the +brink of the abyss. + +This movement restored the borderers all their rage and fury. + +"Down with him, down with him!" they shouted, as they rushed on the +officer. + +"Halt!" the Jaguar said as he bounded forward, and overthrew all in his +way; "Not one of you must stir; this man belongs to me." + +On hearing this well-known voice, all the men stopped. + +The Captain threw away his crowbar, for the last chest had fallen in its +turn over the precipice. + +"Surrender, Captain Melendez," the Jaguar said, as he advanced toward +the officer. + +The latter had taken up his sabre again. + +"It is not worth while now," he replied, "I prefer to die." + +"Defend yourself then." + +The two men crossed swords, and for some minutes a furious clashing of +steel could be heard. All at once, the Captain, by a sharp movement, +made his adversary's weapon fly ten paces off, and ere the latter +recovered from his surprise, the officer rushed on him and writhed round +him like a serpent. + +The two men rolled on the ground. + +Two yards behind them was the precipice. + +All the Captain's efforts were intended to drag the Jaguar to the verge +of the abyss; the latter, on the contrary, strove to free himself from +his opponent's terrible grasp, for he had doubtless guessed his +desperate resolve. + +At last, after a struggle of some minutes, the arms that held the Jaguar +round the body gradually loosed their hold, the officer's clenched hands +opened, and the young man, by the outlay of his whole strength, +succeeded in throwing off his enemy and rising. + +But he was hardly on his feet, ere the Captain, who appeared exhausted +and almost fainting, bounded like a tiger, seized his adversary round +the body, and gave him a fearful shock. + +The Jaguar, still confused by the struggle he had gone through, and not +suspecting this sudden attack, tottered, and lost his balance with a +loud cry. + +"At length!" the Captain shouted with ferocious joy. + +The borderers uttered an exclamation of horror and despair. + +The two enemies had disappeared in the abyss. + +[What became of them will be found fully recorded in the next volume of +this series, called "THE FREE-BOOTERS."] + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40219 *** |