CHAPTER X.A DAY OF CONUNDRUMS.
In thirty minutes the Governor and his two scientific friends disguised as physicians, stepped into a private cab propelled by air.
Julio Murillo gave directions to the motorman to take them through the streets slowly to the Mexican Annex.
The cab was circular in form and around it extended a glass window which magnified everything seen through it from the interior of the cab, while from the street nothing in the interior of the cab could be seen.
Governor Lehumada leaned back amongst the comfortable cushions, by the side of Señor Guillermo Gonzales, and engaged him in conversation, the coach gliding noiselessly through the street the while.
Julio Murillo sat upon the high observation stool in the center of the circular cab, where he saw, through the window near the top of the cab, everything in the streets through which they passed.
Occasionally he gave directions to the motorman, who was comfortably seated in the center of the top of the cab, through the speaking tube, to turn in this direction and that direction. Three-quarters of an hour had passed since they left the Governor’s mansion, and stillthey were winding in and out from one street to the other, and yet they seemed to be no nearer than they were at first to the Mexican Annex.
The two men talked unceasingly and were not in the least disturbed by not reaching their destination. They had never known Julio to do an act without being able to give a good reason for it, and now they did not question his object in taking them through various streets, back and forth, instead of directly to the hotel.
The cab came to a stop in front of a large drug store.
It being the physician’s cab belonging to the Governor’s mansion, and on account of its peculiar construction, it attracted much attention wherever it went.
The motorman descended from his conspicuous seat and entered the drug store to fulfill the orders of Julio Murillo.
“Friends,” said Julio, when their cab had come to a standstill, “do me the favor to watch closely out of the window. A curious little play is going to take place in front of this store within a few minutes.”
“With much pleasure, friend Julio,” replied the Governor, as the two men arose to look out of the window.
“The All-Wise has been kind to you, my compatriot, to give you the power to read the thoughts and know of the actions of those around you,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales.
“I am grateful, my friend, for all the progress I have made. Get in tune with Nature and her mysteries you can read. The divinity of Her force, Her influence, can be felt by all,” replied Julio seriously.
“What a strange looking man is now entering thedrug store—that big swaggerer there to the right,” said the Governor.
“Yes, to be sure,” said Señor Gonzales. “He makes me think of one of those ancient Northmen sailors, or a big, raw-boned Irishman of more recent days.”
“What a strange gait he has,” remarked the Governor; “there is something familiar about the fellow. I wonder if I have met him before.”
“Yes, your Honor, you have metherbefore,” said Julio.
“Her?” exclaimed his companions in a breath. “Her?”
“Yes, you both have met her. That person is no other than Señorita Marriet Motuble, the lovesick maiden of less than two hours ago, who claimed to have committed suicide because her great love for you was not reciprocated. Watch her closely. I will put on thesound condenser; then we can both see and hear what is going on,” said Julio.
“Who is the man, with whom she is talking?” asked the Governor.
“Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, your Honor,” quietly answered Julio.
“He also is in disguise, then. What can be the meaning of all of this, Julio?” questioned the Governor.
“Your questions can be answered more definitely when I turn the lever of the sound condenser,” said Julio. “Every five minutes one of the tubes is filled and ready, when the lever is turned, to repeat every word spoken within ten feet from the center of its radius. The five minutes is up. Watch the two while we listen,and we can more fully comprehend the meaning of their conversation.”
Julio turned the lever, and the three scientists heard the following conversation, Marriet Motuble being the first to speak.
“It is pathetic to know that one so young and so fair would take her own life. She is the young woman, I believe, who is private secretary to the well-known Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, is she not?” asked Marriet Motuble, as she puffed a cigar in regular man fashion.
“If the person is Marriet Motuble,” said Governor Lehumada, with much concern, “why does she ask such a question?”
“It is a ruse,” replied Julio, “to find out something about the young lady to whom she refers. She is exceedingly fond of Miss Hinckley, and at the same time insanely jealous of her. What is it her companion is replying?” concluded Julio.
“No doubt Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir would be glad if such were the case. He believes, I understand, that this young woman will be the means of much domestic unhappiness and outside trouble, unless that by means other than his own she can be induced to leave his employment. This blue-blooded Mexican is a royal friend of mine, and I will take it upon myself to offer one thousand dollarsin goldas my friend would say. You know he has never yet acknowledged Mexico to be a part of the States. Yes, I will pay one thousand dollars in gold to the person who will induce Miss Hinckley to leave my friend’s employment.”
“Indeed,” replied Marriet Motuble. “I wish I knew the charming lady. A fellow could not easier make one thousand in gold, and perhaps get the lady as well. Say, sir, it’s settled, I’ll get her away. Have this cigar, and let’s go in and have a large glass of the old popular drink of the ancient Mexicans to celebrate the blue blood, the royal Mexican blood, of your friend Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir,” said the aggressive señorita.
“Improbable it seems to me that the person can be a woman,” said the Governor.
“Hard to believe, yet as true as fate,” replied Julio.
“Thanks,” replied Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, taking the proffered cigar; “with your permission, we will drink to the royal blood of my friend a little later.”
“As you please,” replied Marriet Motuble.
“First,” said her companion, “let me introduce myself. Jose M. Martinez—my card, please. Of Mexican extraction also, you see.”
“Ah, I see the connection—a sympathizer. Well, well, this is royal blood too, and mighty glad I am to know you, Señor Martinez. Let me present myself. Leo Leander—my card, please. I also pride myself upon my lineage. I am a lineal descendant of the Northmen. But it is not family genealogy we are here to discuss,” replied Leo Leander.
“You are right, Señor Leander; yet it fills one’s bosom with pride to be able to trace blood.” Getting very close to him, he continued: “I’m sure yoursympathies are with my friend in the uprising in which he is about to be the instigator. Can I trust you? You seem to be such a royal fellow.”
“I do not quite comprehend you, my friend; but if you or your friend are in trouble, command me. I am your most obedient servant,” said the pretender, Leo Leander.
“I am content,” said Mr. Martinez; “‘muy contento,’ as my ancestors would have expressed it. Now, friend Leander, this is the point I wish to make. Miss Hinckley must be gotten away from the house of my friend before nightfall. She knows too much about his reverence for the ancient customs of his long-lost Mexico. She must be gotten rid of—do you comprehend?”
“I grasp your meaning, I am quite sure. Leave her to me; I will put her beyond the sight of mortal eye.”
Mr. Martinez shook his hand warmly, and said: “There is one thing more, then we will drink the health of my royal-blooded friend, who, I hope, soon will be your friend also. The author of ‘Liquid from the Sun’s Rays’—that accursed fluid which they claim restores memory—and his would-be scientific associates, must be killed before morning. We are determined to have a revolution. We are determined to rend this part of the country, so long known as Mexico, from the rule of the United States of America. We are assured now of a following of ten thousand from each State that was at one time a part of Old Mexico, or the Republic of Mexico. You know the history, do you not, of that long-suffering, brave and downtrodden people? We wish to sever our relations from the people who united us to them without our consent.”
“We certainly do,” said a voluptuous man who had been standing close by, an attentive listener.
“Ah, old fellow, here you are,” exclaimed Mr. Martinez, in true democratic style. “On time to the second. Let me present you to my friend Señor Leo Leander, Don Enrique Arellano.” The two men shook hands cordially, and Don Enrique Arellano embraced him after the fashion of the nineteenth century Mexicans.
The three men in the cab turned from the scene in front of them, and gazed in astonishment at each other.
“What deception they are playing,” said Julio. “The fellow introduced as Don Enrique Arellano is none other than the priest, Father Hernandez.
“Is it possible?” cried the Governor.
“This is a strange affair,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales; “a strange affair.”
“The priest is talking,” said Julio. “We must not lose a word he says.”
The three men again turned their faces toward the street, and listened intently to what was being said:
“I caught my friend’s last remarks as I came up,” said the man introduced as Don Enrique Arellano. “We must sever the existing relations between the country known as the Republic of Mexico, long, long years ago, and the United States of America. We are determined to re-establish the Republic.”
“And how are the latest reports?” asked Mr. Martinez.
“I have been assured the support of every bishop in the states that once were a part of long-lost Mexico.”
“Our power—I mean the power of the Church, as wielded in the nineteenth-century Mexico, is only known by reading history,” said Mr. Martinez.
“I see where you are correct, my friends. The relations must be severed. The civil law must be revised. It is sad, sad, sad to see the poor, downtrodden priests, poorly fed, poorly dressed—those, I mean, who have to depend upon the church only for support. They struggle bravely on and uncomplainingly, hoping and praying, no doubt, to regain the long-lost power they had over the people during the life of Pope Leo XIII.”
“Quite true;” replied Don Enrique Arellano, wiping a tear from his eye, “quite true. Then the priests were clad in purple and fine linen; then they received fifteen dollars for every marriage ceremony they performed—now only one; then the many feast days brought them thousands ofcentavos; now they are so few that the increase in the church treasury is hardly perceptible. The people are too much enlightened in the ways of the evil world, and not enough in the ways of the church, or, I would better say, this Government does not teach them submission—there is no head. Each goes his own way; each thinks for himself; hence the priest has lost his power, and I say it must be recovered,” vigorously concluded Mr. Arellano.
“Let us drink to the health and wealth of the priests, and to the recovery of your long-lost Mexico,” said Leo Leander, evidently hoping to spring something new on them.
The three actors passed into a bar near by, out of sight of the three scientists in the cab.
“So much has transpired since we stopped in front of this drug store, it seems to me that it must be night,” said the Governor.
“On the other hand,” replied Julio, “the time is only ten minutes later than the moment we arrived here.”
“Shall we proceed to the tomb of Marriet Motuble?” asked Señor Guillermo Gonzales, with a smile.
“When the two return,” said Julio, “we will get some more information; then we will start.”
“You say we will start. Will something prevent us from reaching the place, Julio?” quietly asked the Governor.
“We will reach the tomb, but not for several hours yet,” he replied; “and now I must have the motorman return to his seat. We must be prepared to follow wherever they go.”
The exquisite notes of a bird close by, went out upon the air. People passing stopped and looked for the bird in every direction. Failing to see it they hurried on. At the first sound the motorman came out of the store carrying a large package, which he handed to Julio, and without a word climbed to his seat on the top of the cab.
“That was your secret signal, was it not, Julio, which you told me you had invented?” asked Señor Guillermo Gonzales.
“It was, my friend, and it works to perfection. I will explain the principle of it later. See! the trio are coming from the bar,” replied Julio.
Once more they were intent in their thoughts and looks upon the three strange people in disguise.
Leo Leander said, evidently continuing a sentence she had begun at the bar: “Oh, yes, I know quite well the way to the Motuble tomb. After her tragic death was noised about, I met a friend of hers to whom I expressed a desire to see the old tomb and to know its strange history. He told me the story of the Marriet Motuble who lived in a life gone by, also the pathetic tale of the child, Catalina Martinet, for whom the tomb was built. I expressed a desire to see it. He gave me this key, which was presented to him by the deceased señorita, who begged him, if it fell to her lot to pass away first, to visit the tomb often, and grant the same privilege to his friends. Curious to see the tomb, I hurried out to the city of the dead, and had just arrived, when two men clothed in black, and carrying a large, heavy metallic coffin, entered the tomb, deposited their burden and hastened away. No one was present but myself, and they evidently took me for an officer of law. For they had not gone very far when one of the miserable cowards came running back; he handed me a paper and requested me to sign it. At first I refused; but the poor devil insisted that I was the proper person to sign it, and if I refused they would be imprisoned on their return without my name. So intent were they, that I was worked up to the belief that I was the person who should sign it, and I mustered up courage and wrote the first name that came to me, other than my own.”
“And what name was it?” asked Mr. Martinez.
“Julio Murillo,” calmly replied Leo Leander.
The three men in the cab threw up their hands in astonishment, and Mr. Arellano cried: “Jesus andMarie! Jesus and Marie! You saved the poor wretches from present trouble, but should this act of yours become known, which will be sure to happen, your life will be in danger.”
“I am fearless. You cannot frighten me, friends, with the law as practiced in Chihuahua,” said Leo Leander. “If it is now your pleasure, we will visit the tomb, gentlemen,” he concluded.
“A brave fellow,” said Mr. Arellano, “a brave fellow. You will lead and thousands will follow. Ah, friend Martinez, we are to be congratulated on having this great leader on our side. Lead; we will follow to the tomb. The work we desire to have accomplished to-night is in the hands of the proper person.”
“You will please accompany me to the Mexican Annex; there we will take a cab-a physician’s cab, like that one there, if one can be secured. Come, gentlemen, we must be off, or the bloodhounds will be on our scent,” concluded Leo Leander, walking off at a brisk pace.
At the same moment the Governor’s cab started on at a rapid rate after them.
“No scientific investigation ever puzzled me more than this present affair,” said the Governor.
“Nor me, friend Miguey. These disturbers of the law must be placed under arrest before sunset,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales.
“True,” replied Julio; “they must be put under arrest, but not until we see what happens at the tomb.”
“Order ten policemen to come to the tomb at once. Say for them to come in disguise and quietly,” said the Governor.
“You do the proper thing at the proper time always, Miguey. We must get their entire story, then capture them. This bloody war they are trying to raise will be nipped in the bud,” concluded Señor Guillermo Gonzales.
“Would it not be well for us to reach the tomb before them, examine it thoroughly, and be on the eve of leaving at their arrival?” asked the Governor, of Julio.
“Our best policy, I believe, is to follow them at a slow pace, and be alighting from the cab as they enter the tomb. The law is on our side, and if we so desire, the arrest can be made inside the historic tomb,” replied Julio Murillo.
“We will not be connected outwardly with the arrest. On coming out of the tomb the police must know that the time to make the arrest has arrived,” replied the Governor.
“Here is the Mexican Annex, gentlemen,” said Julio Murillo, looking out of the window, “and our disguised friends are coming. They are more than a block away yet. We will move a block to the side to avert suspicion, from which point we can see them quite as well.”
The cab moved slowly and noiselessly away and soon disappeared amongst a hundred or more.
The great hotel was filled to overflowing, and the big crowd of fashionably-dressed people surged back and forth through the entrances.
Julio’s trained eye scanned every face, and now and then he uttered low exclamations of surprise. His two companions asked no questions, but arose from their seat and remained standing by his side, that they too might see what was going on around them.
“Ah, there is J. Ecarg, and Niksab, and Mr. and Mrs. Grange, out on a dress parade. I wonder if they are staying in the Mexican Annex now, or are they just hanging around trying to impress strangers with their importance,” said the Governor.
“Partly yes, and partly no,” said Julio. “Mrs. Grange has convinced herself by this time that she does not remember, and has met these men by appointment, which of course her husband made with them, not to arouse their suspicions. For had they known that it was Mrs. Grange who wished to see them, to interview them on ‘Memory Fluid,’ they never would have met.”
“See how she tosses her head and smiles at Mr. Niksab. She has probably heard of his good fortune and hopes to be presented with another costly frock,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales. “Strange how susceptible some men are to such women’s charms.”
“It is the town talk to-day how she enchanted the President. She does not care for peoples’ tongues, however. She is, no doubt, out on this dress parade in the hope of seeing the President again and to make a further and more lasting impression on him,” said Julio.
“Who is the short, stout man dressed in grey, coming out of the hotel now?” asked the Governor.
“I do not recognize him,” said the scientist, Gonzales.
“No, not in his present guise!” exclaimed Julio, with a laugh that shook his entire frame. “No, not in his present guise. If he were to take off the large grey beard and grey wig, the difficulty of identification would be removed.”
“Whom would we recognize?” asked the Governor.
“‘The Plunger from Kansas,’” quietly replied Julio.
“A day so full of conundrums as this has been, I hope will not fall to my lot again in this life. I am a large, strong man; the greater part of me—the objective part—is human, and I am confident I cannot hold up under another strain as severe as this one which began well on to twenty-four hours ago. The arrest of this man must be made soon, and this great farce being enacted by the terrible señorita and her two associates we have just seen, must be put to an end,” said Governor Lehumada.
“‘The Plunger from Kansas,’” quietly remarked Julio, “will accompany the trio to whom we have just been listening, to the tomb. Marriet Motuble knows who her two companions are, also the disguise of the ‘Plunger.’ There is no one’s history she will not ferret out, no matter how dark and deep the veil is surrounding them. The step she is now taking is one too far. She is taking herself and her companions into the very hands of the law.”
“Sure enough, friend Julio, here is the trio; the cab now coming up to the main entrance is the one they have employed. It is likewise similar to yours, Miguey,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales.
“If upon investigation, I find that that cab is an infringement upon the patent of mine, the manufacturer will suffer to the extent of the law,” replied the Governor, very much annoyed. The strain of the day and the previous night was telling on him.
“Something must happen to divert him or a physicalcollapse will result,” mentally commented Julio, while aloud he said: “Your Honor, ‘The Plunger from Kansas’ is being invited by the aggressive señorita to accompany them to the tomb.”
“I see,” said the Governor. “They are now entering. Do not let the cab get from our view, Julio. We must make a sure thing of it this time. We must put a stop to this disgraceful farce.”
“Trust me, your Honor. The police will be on hand when we arrive, but in hiding. And when they hear the beautiful song of my mechanical bird, they will rush forth and make the arrest.”