The extreme care of Don Pedro and his daughter soon restored Don Estevan to perfect health.
His first care was to reveal to the hacendero, in accordance with his threat to Don Torribio, the name of the man who had originated the dastardly attack on Don Fernando, and into whose hands he had fallen.
After that communication, Don Torribio was a lost man in the estimation of Don Pedro and his daughter.
Having accomplished this piece of revenge, themayor domoundertook the duty of discovering tidings of his friend. Chance favoured him by throwing El Zapote in his way. The worthy and conscientiousvaquerowas just then in the best humour for giving all the information required, in consequence of having that very morning, by a ruinous run of ill luck which fastened upon him been utterly cleaned out atmonte, and left without anochavo(a farthing). By the help of a few ounces of gold, themayor domocontrived to learn, in the minutest detail, all that had passed, and the place where Don Fernando was concealed.
As soon as he had learned all he wanted, Don Estevan left thevaquero, and hastened his return to the hacienda.
Doña Hermosa was no ordinary woman. She was gifted with much energy, and, moreover, loved Don Fernando. She resolved to set him free; but held her tongue, in the fear of making Don Pedro uneasy. She merely expressed a wish to spend a day or two at the hacienda of Las Norias; to which Don Pedro consented, on condition of her taking with her a strong escort of resolute and well-armedpeones.
Instead of going to the hacienda, the girl went to thepresidio, into which she managed to find her way unnoticed by the Indians.
Once in thepresidio, she revealed her project to Don Estevan.
Themayor domowas astounded at her coolness as she detailed the plan she had conceived—a plan in which not only herself, but also Don Estevan's mother, was to act a part.
All his efforts to make her renounce her project were futile; willing or unwilling, he was forced to obey.
When they could no longer see the boat with Don Fernando, her foster brother turned to Doña Hermosa.
"Now, señorita, what are you going to do next?"
She answered succinctly:
"I am going to visit the camp of the Apaches and see Don Torribio."
Themayor domoshuddered.
"Dishonour and death await you there," said he in a hoarse, low voice.
"No," she replied firmly; "only revenge."
"You wish for revenge?"
"I demand it."
"Very well," he replied; "I will obey you. Go and get ready; I myself will escort you to the camp of the redskins."
The three returned to Don Pedro's house without exchanging a syllable.
Night had now fairly set in. The streets were deserted: a deathlike silence pervaded the town, which for two days the Indians had been sacking; and their diabolical figures could be perceived, as they passed and repassed among the still flaming ruins.
When they arrived at the house, Don Estevan stopped short in the court.
"Ponder well what you are about to do, señorita," said he. "Why must you avenge yourself? Have you not secured the safety of him you love?"
"Yes; but he has barely escaped death. The first atrocious attempt has failed; the second may succeed. Don Torribio has wounded me in my most cherished affections. My resolve is taken; he shall feel a woman's vengeance."
"Can nothing change your resolve?"
"Nothing," said she, coldly.
"Then make your preparations, señorita; I will wait for you here."
The two women entered the house together, while Don Estevan seated himself on one of the steps of the porch.
His watching was not long: in ten minutes they returned.
Both were clothed in the Apache dress; the paint smeared upon their faces completed the illusion, and secured them from recognition. The transformation was so perfect, that Don Estevan could not repress his admiration.
"Nothing could be better," he exclaimed; "you are Indian women indeed."
"Do you think," said Doña Hermosa bitterly, "that Don Torribio has the sole right of deception and assuming any character at his pleasure?"
"Who can strive against a woman?" said themayor domo, with a shrug. "And now, what are your orders?"
"Very simple; your escort as far as the first Indian lines."
"And after that?"
"The rest of the affair is our work."
"But are you really dreaming of remaining alone in the midst of these pagans?"
"It is no dream; it is my immovable resolve to stay there."
"And you, mother?" said her son sadly; "Are you, too, determined to throw yourself into the hands of the savages?"
"Be comforted, my son," replied the dame; "I run no danger."
"And yet—"
"Estevan," said Doña Hermosa, interrupting him, "I will answer for your mother's safety."
Themayor domowas thoroughly discouraged.
"Then," said he, "I can only commend you to Heaven."
"Let us go," said Doña Hermosa, wrapping the folds of her cloak around her.
Don Estevan led the way.
The night was dark. Here and there the dying watch fires in thepresidio, round which the besieged were sleeping, threw a pale and uncertain glimmer over the surrounding objects, without affording sufficient light to guide them through the increasing obscurity.
A mournful silence brooded over the town, interrupted at intervals by the hoarse cries of the vultures,urubus, and prairie wolves, quarrelling over the corpses of the slain, and dragging hither and thither morsels of bleeding flesh.
The three pushed resolutely forward amidst the ruins, stumbling over fragments of fallen walls, striding over dead bodies, and disturbing the horrid feast of the birds of prey, that flew off uttering screams of anger.
Thus they traversed the whole length of the town, and arrived at last, with desperate difficulty, and after making many circuits, at one of the barriers opposite the camp of the redskins, from which numberless fires were glancing, and shouts and songs were heard.
The sentries, after exchanging a few words with their guide, allowed the three to pass, a few paces farther on, Don Estevan halted, and stopped his companions.
"Look, Doña Hermosa," said he in a whisper; "there is the camp of the redskins before you. If I went farther with you, my escort would prove fatal. I must stop here: only a few steps separate you from your object."
"Thanks!" said the girl, stretching out her hand. Don Estevan retained it between his own.
"Señorita, one word more."
"Speak, dear friend."
"I conjure you, in the name of all you hold dear in the world, to renounce your project. Trust to my experience while it is yet time: return to the Hacienda del Cormillo; you know not the danger to which you expose yourself."
"Estevan," replied the girl firmly, "whatever be the danger, I will brave it: nothing can change my resolve. Farewell! I shall soon see you again."
"Farewell!" repeated themayor domo.
Doña Hermosa turned away in the direction of the Indian camp. Ña Manuela hesitated a moment, and then threw herself into the arms of her son.
"Alas!" cried he, excited by the emotions terrible to witness in such a man; "Stay with me, mother, I implore you!"
"What!" said the noble woman, pointing to Doña Hermosa, "Shall I leave her to sacrifice herself alone?"
Don Estevan was unable to reply.
Manuela embraced him once more, then tore herself with a violent effort from the arms of her son, who vainly strove to restrain her, and hurried to join Hermosa.
Themayor domofollowed them with his eyes as long as he could distinguish them in the obscurity; than, uttering a heart-felt sigh, he retraced his steps, muttering as he went:
"If I can only get there in time—if it has only not yet reached Don José de Kalbris!"
Just as Don Estevan arrived at the fort, the governor was leaving it, in company with Don Torribio Quiroga. But the Mexican, absorbed in the ideas which were harassing his brain, did not notice them, although they passed so close to him that he might have touched them.
This fatal accident was the cause of irreparable misfortune.
Having left Don Estevan, the two women wandered about at a venture, directing their steps towards the fires in front of them.
On getting within a certain distance, they, stopped to recruit their spirits, and to calm the throbbing of their hearts, which beat almost to bursting.
They were now within a few paces of the Indiantoldos(huts); the rash and hazardous nature of their undertaking presented itself in all its force, and the poor women felt their courage gradually oozing away, in spite of the resolution which had animated them. Their hearts turned to stone at the thought of the horrible drama in which they were going to act the principal characters.
Strange to say, it was Manuela who restored her companion to the firmness which was abandoning her.
"Señorita," she said to her, "it is now my turn to act as guide; if you will only consent to follow my council, I hope to be able to avoid all the danger with which we are threatened."
"Speak, nurse; let me hear what you propose."
"We must first drop these cloaks, which hide our dress, and betray that we are whites."
In saying this she threw off her mantle, and cast it away. Doña Hermosa followed her example.
"Now walk by my side; show no fear, whatever may happen; and, above all, do not utter a single word, unless we are hopelessly lost."
"I obey you," said Hermosa.
"We are to be two Indian women," continued Manuela, "who have made a vow to Wacondah for the recovery of their wounded father; and once again, no words from your mouth."
"Let us go on. May God protect us!"
"Amen!" said Manuela, devoutly crossing herself.
They continued their journey, and, five minutes afterwards, entered the camp of the redskins.
The Indians, intoxicated with the easy triumph they had gained over the Mexicans, were giving vent to their joy. There were nothing but singing and dancing everywhere. Some casks ofaguardiente, discovered in the oldpresidioand in the pillagedhaciendas, had been dragged into camp, and staved.
On this account, unexampled disorder and a nameless hubbub prevailed among the Indians, whom drunkenness makes raving mad, and excites to the most hideous excesses.
The power of thesachemswas disowned: moreover, the greater number of them were in the same state as the warriors; and there can be no doubt that, if the inhabitants of San Lucar had been in sufficient force to attempt a surprise, they might have made a frightful massacre of the savages, brutalised as they were by strong liquors, and incapable of defending themselves.
Profiting by the disorder, the two women climbed over the ramparts of the camp without being observed. Then, their hearts palpitating with terror, and with shivering limbs, they glided like serpents between the knots of Indians, passing unnoticed through the midst of the drinkers; seeking at haphazard, and trusting to Providence or their good angel to find among the scatteredtoldosthe hovel which served as a habitation to the great paleface.
They had already been some time roaming about in this manner, without lighting on any unpleasant adventure. Emboldened by success, their fears nearly dissipated, they were exchanging looks of encouragement, when suddenly an Indian of athletic stature seized Doña Hermosa round the waist, and, lifting her from the ground, gave her a boisterous kiss on the neck.
At this unexpected insult, she uttered a shriek of terror, and making a superhuman effort, freed herself from his arms, pushing him from her with all her strength. The savage staggered backwards, and, too drunk to keep his legs, dropped to the ground, giving vent to a cry of rage; but, springing up in an instant, he rushed like a jaguar on Hermosa.
Ña Manuela threw herself hastily before her.
"Back!" said she, resolutely placing her hand on the Indian's chest; "This girl is my sister."
"El Zopilote is a brave who never puts up with an insult," replied the savage, frowning, and unsheathing his knife.
"Will you kill her?" exclaimed Manuela in terror.
"Yes, I will kill her, unless she consents to follow me to mytoldo. She shall be the wife of a chief."
"You are mad," said Manuela. "Yourtoldois full, and there is no room for another fire."
"There is room for two," replied the Indian, grinning. "Since you are her sister, you shall go with her."
The noise collected a crowd of Indians round the two women, who were thus the centre of a circle it would have been impossible to break through.
Manuela instantly comprehended the danger of their situation; she saw they were all but lost.
"Well," continued El Zopilote, seizing in his left hand Hermosa's hair, and twisting it round his wrist, at the same time brandishing his scalp knife, "will you and your sister follow me to mytoldo?"
The poor girl cowered down; half recumbent upon the ground, she awaited the mortal blow.
Manuela drew herself up to her full height; her eyes flashed fire; she arrested the arm of El Zopilote, and addressed him thus:
"Since thou wilt have it so, dog, let thy destiny be fulfilled! Behold, the Wacondah allows not his servants to be insulted with impunity."
Hitherto Manuela had contrived to keep herself in such a position that her face was shaded as much as possible, and no one had remarked her features; now she turned her head towards the full light of the fires. On seeing the fantastic lines of paint, the Indians gave utterance to a cry of surprise, and recoiled in terror.
Manuela smiled at her triumph: she resolved to complete it.
"The power of the Wacondah is boundless," she cried; "woe to him who would oppose his schemes: he it is who sends me. Back, all!"
Grasping the arm of Doña Hermosa, who had scarcely recovered from her terrible emotion, she advanced to the edge of the circle. The Indians hesitated. Manuela extended her arm in an attitude of supreme command; the outwitted savages opened to right and left, and gave them passage.
"I shall die," faintly whispered Doña Hermosa.
"Courage!" replied Manuela, "We are saved."
"Wagh!" said a jeering voice; "What is passing here?"
And a man placed himself before the two women.
"Theamantzin!" muttered the Indians; and taking fresh courage, they again crowded round their prisoners.
Manuela shuddered, overcome with despair at seeing her hopes annihilated; still the resolute woman determined to make one more effort.
"The Wacondah loves the Indians," she said; "it is he who sends me theamantzinof the Apache braves."
"Indeed!" said the sorcerer, with a sneer; "And what does he want with me?"
"None but yourself may hear."
"Wagh!" said theamantzin, placing his hand on her shoulder, and looking at her attentively; "What proof can you give me of the mission with which the all-powerful Spirit has charged you?"
"Will you save me?" said Manuela, whispering rapidly in his ear.
"That depends on her," answered the sorcerer, fixing his glittering eyes on the girl.
"See!" said Manuela, presenting to him the rich bracelets of gold and pearls she took from her arms.
"Wagh!" replied the sorcerer, hiding them in his bosom; "They are beautiful! What does my mother require?"
"First of all, to be freed from these men."
"And afterwards?"
"Deliver us first."
"It shall be as you will."
The Indians had remained motionless, impassive spectators of the scene. They had heard nothing of this short conversation. Theamantzinturned towards them, exhibiting a countenance distorted with fear.
"Fly!" said he in terrible accents; "This woman brings misfortune! The Wacondah is angry! Fly, all; fly!"
The Indians, who had only been restored to confidence by the advent of their sorcerer, seeing him a prey to a terror they could not comprehend, first crowded together, and then dispersed, without asking further questions.
As soon as they had disappeared behind thetoldos, the sorcerer turned to the two women.
"Am I able to protect you?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Manuela; "and I thank my father, who is as powerful as he is wise."
A smile of gratified pride just formed itself on the lips of the cautious Indian.
"I am powerful to avenge myself on those who deceive me," said he.
"Therefore I shall not attempt to deceive my father."
"Whence comes my white daughter," he asked.
"From the ark of the first man," replied Manuela, looking him steadily in the face.
Theamantzinblushed.
"My daughter has the forked tongue of thecongouar," he said. "Does she take me for a lizard, that one can entrap like an old woman?"
"Here is a necklace," she replied, offering a rich string of pearls to the Indian; "the Wacondah gave it me for the wise man of the Apaches."
"Wagh!" said theamantzin;"My mother cannot lie; she is wise. What more can I do for her?" And he slipped the necklace into the same receptacle with the bracelets.
"My father must lead me to thetoldoof the great white chief who fights in the ranks of the Apache warriors."
"My daughter would speak to the white chief?"
"I would."
"The white chief is a wise man; will he admit women?"
"Let not that trouble my father; tonight I must speak with the white chief."
"Good; my mother shall speak to him. But this woman?" And he pointed to Doña Hermosa.
"That woman," answered Manuela, "is a friend of the Tigercat. She too is charged with a mission to thesachem."
The sorcerer shook his head.
"The warriors must spin the vicuña wool," said he, "since women make war, and sit at the council fire."
"My father errs; thesachemloves my sister."
"No," replied the Indian.
"Let us see if my father will refuse to lead me to thetoldoof the great chief," said Manuela, impatient at the tergiversations of theamantzin, and dreading the return of her persecutors. "Let him beware, the great chief expects us."
The sorcerer cast a piercing look at her, which Manuela bore without casting down her eyes.
"Good," said he; "my mother does not lie. Follow me."
Grasping each of the women by a wrist, he placed himself between them, and began to guide them through the labyrinthine confusion of the camp.
The Indians they met on their road avoided them with unequivocal signs of terror.
Theamantzinwas by no means displeased with what had happened: he was radiant with joy; for, besides the profit derived from meeting the women, the incident which occurred in consequence had tended to confirm his power in the eyes of the credulous and superstitious Indians, who believed him to be really inspired by the Wacondah.
A quarter of an hour's difficult walking brought them to thetoldo, in front of which the totem (standard) of the assembled tribes was planted, surrounded by lances fringed with scarlet, and guarded by four warriors.
"This is the place," said the sorcerer to Manuela.
"Good; let my father give orders that we enter alone."
"Am I to leave you?"
"Yes; my father can wait for us outside,"
"I will wait," briefly replied he, casting a suspicious look on them.
At a sign from theamantzin, the sentries placed before thetoldomade way for the women. They entered with trepidation: the dwelling was unoccupied.
They were unable to repress a sigh of satisfaction. The absence of Don Torribio gave them time to prepare for the interview Doña Hermosa so greatly desired.
Theamantzinremained standing at the entrance to thetoldo. This man, lately raised to the dignity through the influence of the Tigercat, was his tool, and acted as his spy.
Don Torribio Quiroga and Don José Kalbris urged on their horses, in order to get beyond the defences of thepresidioas soon as possible.
The governor was rejoicing at the reinforcement the general commanding in the province had sent him. He knew it would be an easy task to compel the Indians to raise the siege of thepresidiowhen once the troops marching up had joined him. Indeed, he counted upon profiting by the opportunity to give the Apaches—those untiring ravagers of the Mexican frontiers—such a rude lesson, that it would be long before they again attempted an inroad into the territory of the Confederation.
They now arrived at one of the barriers, guarded by a strong detachment ofvaquerosand townspeople.
"We must pass through here," said Don Torribio to the governor. "The night is dark, bands of these Indian vagabonds are prowling about all over the country, and we shall most probably have to ride a league or two before we meet our men. I think it will be scarcely prudent for us to venture forth without an escort."
"A very just remark," said Don José.
"You must recollect that you are the governor of thepresidio," continued Don Torribio, with a strange smile. "The consequences would be very serious for the town if the Indians were to attack us, and take us prisoners. I do not mention this on my own account, but on yours: I should be a prize of little value to the savages; but with you it is a very different matter. I beg you to consider this carefully, before we go any farther."
"By heaven! You are quite right colonel; it would be an unpardonable imprudence. So I think the best thing we can do is to take an escort."
"I think it would be advantageous," said Don Torribio. "How many men will you take?"
"Oh, a dozen, at the most."
"No; take a score. We cannot tell whom we may fall in with on our road at this time of night. Suppose we were to be set upon by a couple of hundred Indians! We ought to be able to show them a front."
"Let it be a score, then, if you like," answered Don José, with perfect indifference; "and be good enough to choose them yourself."
"Make your mind easy," said Torribio.
With that he rode up to the guard, who had turned out on the governor's arrival, and picked out twenty horseman, whom he ordered to form behind them.
"Now," said he to the governor, "we are ready to march."
"Then let us go," said the latter, giving his horse his head.
The escort put itself in motion, and followed Don José Kalbris and Colonel Torribio Quiroga at about twenty paces' interval.
All went well for nearly an hour, when the governor began to grow restless, in spite of Don Torribio's lively conversation. The latter kept up a constant fire of jokes and sparkling repartees, laying himself out to amuse Don José, and had never before proved so agreeable a companion.
"Excuse me, colonel," said the governor, coming to a halt; "but is it not extraordinary that we see no signs of the troops we are going to meet?"
"Not at all, señor; perhaps the officer in command is waiting for my return, before he leads his men into roads with which he is unacquainted."
"It is just possible," said the governor, after a minute's reflection.
"I think it highly probable," said Don Torribio; "and, in that case, we have nearly another league before we can meet him."
"Then we had better push on."
They resumed their march, but without renewing their conversation. Both of them seemed absorbed in meditation. At times Don Torribio raised his head, and looked carefully about him. All of a sudden they heard the distant neigh of a horse.
"What is that?" said Don Torribio.
"Most likely the troops we are looking for," replied the governor.
"Perhaps," answered the other; "but we had better be cautious."
Requesting the governor to stop where he was, he set spurs to his horse, and riding forward was soon lost in the darkness. Having ridden a short distance, he dismounted, applied his ear to the ground, and listened.
"¡Demonios!" he exclaimed, hastily rising and throwing himself into the saddle; "They are pursuing us! Can that vagabond, Don Estevan, have recognised me? There is not a moment to lose!"
"Well, what is it?" asked the governor, as Don Torribio rode back to him.
"Nothing," said Don Torribio shortly; "nothing of interest to you."
"Then—"
"Then," retorted the other, laying his hand on the governor's left arm, "Don José Kalbris, surrender; you are my prisoner."
"What do you say?" replied the astounded veteran. "Are you mad, Don Torribio?"
"Call me no longer Don Torribio: I am a nameless, homeless wretch, whom the thirst for vengeance has driven amongst the Apaches."
"Treason!" exclaimed the governor. "To the rescue, men! Defend your colonel!"
"These men will not help you, Don José; they are in my pay. Surrender, I say!"
"I will not surrender," said the governor resolutely. "Don Torribio, or whatever else you may call yourself, you are a coward!"
He gave his horse the spur, shook off Don Torribio's hold, and drew his sword. At the same time, the rapid approach of horsemen was heard in the distance.
"Aha!" said the governor, cocking a pistol; "Here comes aid!"
"Yes," replied Don Torribio; "but it comes too late."
And he ordered thevaquerosto surround Don José, and attack him. A couple of shots from the governor's pistol laid two of them in the dust; and a terrible combat began.
Don José, knowing all hope of safety to be gone, determined to sell his life dearly, and did wonders. An accomplished horseman, he parried the blows aimed at him, and struck fiercely into the men crowding upon him with savage vociferations. In the meantime, the thundering gallop of the approaching horsemen grew louder. Don Torribio saw it was time to make a finish, and shot the governor's horse through the head.
Don José came violently to the ground, but was up again in a moment, and aimed a blow at the renegade, which the latter avoided by a dexterous movement. Then the gallant old soldier put the muzzle of his pistol to his own forehead.
"A man like me," said he, "never surrenders to dogs like you; here, curs, quarrel over my body!"
With these words he blew his brains out.
Just then several shots were fired, and a troop of horsemen fell, like a whirlwind, upon thevaqueros. Don Estevan and Major Barnum led the assailants.
The conflict did not last long. Don Torribio gave a loud whistle, and thevaqueroswent to the right-about, and, scattering in all directions, were soon lost sight of.
Seven or eight remained dead on the field.
"What is to be done?" said Major Barnum.
"Nothing!" replied Don Estevan sorrowfully; "We are too late. Don José has killed himself rather than submit to be carried off by these dogs."
"He was a noble soldier!" said the major; "But how can we get at the rascals again?"
"We will let them alone, major: they are in camp by this time. Trust me, we shall soon learn to read this riddle."
Themayor domodismounted, and cut with hismachetea branch of the resinous pinewood, which grows so abundantly through all the country. He struck a light, and in a minute or two a torch was ready.
By its ruddy and flickering flame, he and the major began to examine the bodies on the ground. They soon found the governor, lying on his back, with his head horribly crushed. His hand still retained the fatal weapon; and his features wore an expression of haughty disdain and indomitable courage.
"Look at him!" said Don Estevan.
The major could not repress the tear that rolled silently down his swarthy cheek.
"Yes," he said; "he has died like a soldier, with his face to the foe. But, alas! he has fallen a victim to treachery—killed by a white man. My poor old friend! Was this to be your end?"
"It was God's will," answered Don Estevan.
"It was," said the major: "may we do our duty as he has done his!"
Reverently they lifted the body, put it upon a horse, and marched back in sadness to thepresidio.
In the meanwhile, Don Torribio was greatly disconcerted. His plans had failed. He had not wished the governor to lose his life, for his death would be no benefit, but, on the contrary, prejudicial, by inspiring the Mexicans with the desire for revenge, and strengthening their determination to resist to the last, and bury themselves under the ruins of thepresidio, rather than surrender to such ferocious enemies. His intention had been to seize Don José, keep him prisoner, and to make his own terms with the Mexicans.
But the old soldier's energetic resistance, and resolve to blow out his own brains rather than surrender, had upset these plans. So he returned to the camp, cast down and discontented, while his companions looked upon the cause of his dejection as a triumphant success.
Manuela and Doña Hermosa had profited by his absence to throw off their disguise, and resume their usual dress.
As soon as Don Torribio reached histoldo, the sorcerer, who had never quitted it since he had led the two women to the spot, came forward to meet him.
"What do you want?" said Don Torribio.
"Let my father look with a favourable eye upon me," replied theamantzin;"two women have entered the camp tonight."
"And what is that to me?" said the chief impatiently.
"These females, although dressed like Indians, are white," answered the sorcerer, laying stress on the last two words.
"What then? They are most likely wives of some of thevaqueros."
"Not so," said the sorcerer; "their hands are too white, and their feet too small."
"Indeed!" replied the other, in whom the tale began to excite some interest; "Who has taken them prisoner?"
"No one; they are here alone, of their own accord."
"Alone?"
"They said they had important revelations to make to my father."
"They did?" said the chief, scanning the man narrowly; "And how does my father know that?"
"Because I rescued them, and brought them to my father'stoldo."
"Then they are in here?"
"This hour or more."
Don Torribio drew from his pocket a few ounces, and handed them to the sorcerer. "I thank my brother," said he; "he has done well."
Theamantzingrinned, and pocketed the bribe.
Don Torribio rushed to thetoldo, and raised the curtain. A cry of joy and astonishment escaped him when he recognised Doña Hermosa.
The latter smiled; while he bowed gracefully, asking himself the while what the meaning of this could be.
Doña Hermosa could not resist admiring the man. His rich uniform became him; it exhibited all his handsome proportions, and increased his attractions.
"What rank shall I give you?" she said, beckoning to him to sit down by her side.
"Give me any name you like best, señorita. If you speak to the Spaniard, call me Don Torribio; if you address yourself to the Indian, the name by which I am known among the Apaches is 'the Accursed.'"
"Why have they given you this dreadful name?" said she.
There was no answer to her question: and the two gazed at each other in silence.
Doña Hermosa was thinking of the manner in which she should tell him the object of her visit; he was pondering over the reasons which could have brought her there. He was the first to speak.
"Have you really come here inquest of me señorita?"
"Of whom else?" she replied.
"Excuse my frankness," said he; "but this seems to me so extraordinary, that although I see and hear you, I cannot believe in such great good fortune. I feel as if I were in a dream, and dread the awakening."
This piece of flattery was pronounced in the tone which Don Torribio Quiroga would have employed had he been at Don Pedro's hacienda; a tone adding to the strangeness of the scene, it was so little in accord with the circumstances and the place where it was uttered.
"Good sir," replied Doña Hermosa, in the same easy tone he had used towards her, "I will relieve your trouble, and hasten to dispel the witchery to which you would attribute my presence in yourtoldo."
"You will still remain an enchantress in my eyes," said he, smiling.
"You flatter me. If there is any enchantment at all in the matter, poor Estevan is the wizard He knew my fixed determination to see you, and told me where I should find you. So, if you are determined to raise somebody to the rank of sorcerer, let Estevan be the victim."
"I will not forget him when the opportunity occurs," said Don Torribio, his face darkly clouding over. "But let us not wander from our own two selves. I have the happiness to see you here: will it offend you if I ask why you come?"
"The reason is quite simple," replied Doña Hermosa, eyeing him steadfastly. "A girl of my age, and particularly of my rank"—and she laid great emphasis on the latter word—"does not take a step so—let us say, so singular, without a strong motive."
"I am sure of it."
"What motive could be strong enough to induce a woman to lay aside the instinctive modesty of her sex, and risk her good name? I know but one. When her heart is in question, when her love is involved? Am I speaking clearly, Don Torribio? Do you begin to understand me."
"I begin to comprehend, señorita."
"The last time we met, my father received you coldly,—you, my betrothed. Mad with jealousy, furious with him and myself, believing our marriage broken off, you rushed from us, and left the hacienda with rage and hatred boiling in your breast."
"Cousin, I swear to you?"
"I am a woman, Don Torribio; and we women possess an instinct which never deceives us. Can you think for a moment that I, on the verge of marriage with you, did not know the love you felt for me?"
Don Torribio gazed at her with an indefinable expression.
"A few days later," she continued, "Don Fernando Carril fell into an ambush, and was left for dead on the spot. Why did you do this, Don Torribio?"
"I will not attempt to deny, señorita, that I wished to avenge myself on one I considered a rival; but I swear I gave no orders to kill him."
"I know it!" she replied; "You need not attempt to exculpate yourself."
Don Torribio looked at her without understanding her words.
"The man whom you imagined to be your rival was no favoured suitor," she continued, with a sweet smile. "You had scarcely left the hacienda, before I confessed to my father that you were my only love, and that I would never consent to marry another."
"Is it possible?" cried Don Torribio, rising in his excitement. "Oh! Had I but known it!"
"Calm yourself; the evil you have done is partly repaired. Don Fernando, rescued by my orders from the clutches of Pablito, is now at Las Norias, whence he will shortly depart for Mexico. My father, who can never refuse me anything, has given me permission to choose him I love most."
As she said this, she darted at Don Torribio a look full of unutterable affection.
He was thunderstruck. A crowd of opposing feelings jostled in his breast: he did not dare to put full credence in the girl's words; a cruel doubt would insinuate itself. Was she mocking him?
"Is it indeed true," he said, "that you could still love me?"
"Is not my presence here an answer? Why should I have come? What should induce me?"
"It is true!" said he, falling on his knees before her. "Forgive me, señorita; I am mad, and know not what I say. It is too much happiness."
A smile of triumph lighted up her face.
"If I did not love you," she said, "could I not have chosen Don Fernando, who is now at the hacienda?"
"Yes, yes; you are a thousand times right! O woman! Adorable woman! Who is able to fathom thy heart?"
Doña Hermosa smiled bitterly: she had brought the lion captive to her feet; she had vanquished man in his pride. Now she was sure of her revenge.
"What answer shall I give my father?" she said.
He drew himself up to his full height; his eyes flashed, his features grew radiant, and he answered in a low tone:
"Señorita, my happiness is immeasurable. Say to your father, that the devotion of a whole life cannot repay the bliss of this interview. As soon as thepresidioof San Lucar is taken, I shall present myself at the hacienda of Don Pedro de Luna."
Every extreme situation, as soon as it reaches its culminating point, must necessarily subside into a reaction of an opposite tendency. This was exactly what happened after the scene we described in the last chapter.
Don Torribio, beside himself with joy, could not accept Doña Hermosa's protestations of love without a certain degree of mistrust. Yet the improbability of her having taken this decided step from other motives than the one she professed, had materially aided her in the successful attempt to hoodwink her admirer.
Intelligence of a high class is often accompanied by a weakness detrimental to its possessors: they cannot bring themselves to believe, that those who fawn upon them and flatter their propensities are sufficiently acute to deceive them. And so it happened in this case. How could he fail to believe a girl, still almost a child, whose manner seemed so guileless, whose looks were fraught with love, and who avowed her affection so frankly?
What could she gain by deceiving him, now Don Fernando was alive? What object could she have in coming thus to put herself into his hands, without the possibility of escaping from him?
All this appeared absurd: and was so, in fact, up to a certain point.
It only proved that Don Torribio, preeminently a statesman, endowed with admirable talent, and whose sole aim through life had been the accomplishment of his dreams of ambition, was so entirely absorbed in farfetched political calculations, that he had no time to study that amalgam of archness, grace, and perfidy we call woman, and knew nothing about her nature.
A woman South American woman especially—never forgives an injury to her lover; he is the holy ark which none may touch.
Moreover, we must say, Doña Hermosa was the first, the only love of Don Torribio. His love was to him a creed, a faith; and all doubt vanished from before his eyes at the proof she had just given of her affection.
"And now," she said to him, "can I remain in the camp till my father comes, without risking insult?"
"You have but to command!" he replied: "All here are your slaves."
"The woman, under whose protection I was able to reach you will go back to thehaciendaof Las Norias."
Don Torribio strode to the curtain of thetoldo,and clapped his hands twice.
An Indian warrior appeared.
"Let atoldobe prepared for me; I cede this to the two paleface women," he said, in the Apache language; "a body of chosen braves, whom my brother will command, will watch incessantly over their safety. Woe to him who fails in the profoundest respect! These women are sacred; free to come and go, and to receive whomsoever they choose. Does my brother understand?"
The warrior bowed his head without reply.
"Let my brother have two horses ready."
The Indian disappeared.
"You see, señorita," he continued, turning towards her, "you are queen here."
"I thank you!" said Doña Hermosa, drawing from her bosom an open letter she had prepared for the occasion; "I felt sure of the result of my interview with you: you see, I have announced it to my father, even before I met you. Take this, Don Torribio, and read what I have written."
She held it out to him with a charming smile, but an inward misgiving.
"Señorita," he replied, motioning the letter away, "what a daughter writes to her father should be sacred; no one but himself should read it."
Doña Hermosa folded up the letter, without evincing the least emotion at the terrible risk she had just run, and gave it to Manuela.
"Mother," she said, "you will give this letter to my father, and explain to him what I have not been able to write."
"Allow me to retire," exclaimed Don Torribio; "I must not listen to the instructions you are about to give to your attendant."
"I object," she replied; "I must have no secrets from you; henceforth you must know all my inmost thoughts."
Don Torribio glowed with delight. Just then they brought the horses. Doña Hermosa profited by the opportunity afforded by his speaking to the Apache to say rapidly to Manuela: "Your son must be here in an hour, if that be possible."
Manuela made a sign of acquiescence, and Don Torribio reentered thetoldo.
"I myself will accompany Ña Manuela as far as the defences of thepresidio; this will insure her from incurring any danger."
"Thanks, once more," replied Doña Hermosa.
The two women threw themselves into each other's arms, and embraced as if they were never to meet again.
"Do not forget!" whispered Doña Hermosa.
"Trust in me," replied Manuela.
"This is now your home," said Don Torribio "no one will dare to enter without your permission."
Doña Hermosa smiled her thanks, and accompanied them to the entrance of thetoldo; Manuela and her escort mounted and departed.
The young Mexican followed them with her eyes till the sound of their horses' feet was lost amid the other noises in the camp, when she returned to thetoldo, murmuring: "The first steps are taken: now to discover his intentions!"
A quarter of an hour later, Manuela and her guide arrived within a hundred yards of thepueblo. They had not exchanged a word.
"You have now no further need of me," said Don Torribio. "Keep the horse; he may be useful to you. May God preserve you!"
Without another word, he turned his horse, and rode back to the camp, leaving Manuela alone.
The latter looked about her to discover whereabouts she was, and then rode resolutely towards the town, which was looming in a dark mass before her. She had only gone a few paces, when a rude hand seized her reins, a pistol was presented at her head, and a rough voice exclaimed, in Spanish:
"Who goes there?"
"Friend," she replied, attempting to conceal her trepidation.
"Mother!" cried a joyful voice.
"Estevan, my darling child," she exclaimed, throwing herself on his breast, to which she was clasped in the most affectionate embrace.
"How did you come here, and whence?" he asked, after a time.
"From the camp of the redskins."
"Already!" said he, in astonishment.
"Yes; my mistress sends me to you."
"And who was the man with you, mother?"
"Don Torribio himself."
"Malediction!" exclaimed themayor domo; "I have let him escape, when I had covered him for five minutes with my rifle. But we will not stay here. Come with me. As soon as I have placed you in safety, you shall relate what your mistress has charged you to communicate to me."
When they got into thepresidio, Don Estevan made his mother recount the incidents of their expedition.
"Ah!" said he more than once; "Women are imps of cunning; men are but fools beside them!"
When Manuela had quite finished her tale, he said: "Mother, there is not a moment to lose: Don Pedro must get the letter this very night. The poor father must be in a state of dreadful anxiety."
"I am going to him myself," said Manuela.
"No!" he replied "you have need of rest. I have a man here who will acquit himself well of this commission."
"As you please, Estevan," said she, giving him the letter.
"Yes, I think this will be the best way. Come into this house; the good woman to whom it belongs knows me, and will take every care of you."
"Are you going to Doña Hermosa?"
"By Heavens! Do you think I intend to leave the poor girl there, in the midst of those infidels? Besides, what she has got to say to me may concern us all narrowly."
"Devoted as ever, Estevan! How like you that is?"
"What can I do, mother?" he replied, with a laugh. "Devotion seems to be my vocation."
He led his mother into the house, where he confided her to its mistress, and then went in search of his emissary to Don Pedro de Luna.
Round a bright fire burning in the centre of the street several men were lying, wrapped in their cloaks. Don Estevan roughly shook one of the sleepers.
"Wake, Tonillo!" he said; "Get up,muchacho:you must be off for the Hacienda de las Norias."
"But I only came thence a quarter of an hour ago!" replied thelepero, rubbing his eyes, and still half asleep.
"I know it; and that is the reason why I send you; you ought to know the road well. Besides, it is for Doña Hermosa's sake."
"For Doña Hermosa's sake!" cried thelepero, whom the sound of the name seemed to awaken thoroughly; "What are her orders?"
"Now you are as you should be," said themayor domo."Mount directly, and carry this letter to Don Pedro: to say it is from his daughter, is to tell you it is of importance."
"Very well; I will go this minute."
"I have no need to tell you that no one must take this paper from you."
"I can see that,canarios."
"You will let yourself be killed sooner than give it up?"
"Yes, yes; make yourself easy,mayor domo."
"And even after death they must not find it."
"I will sooner eat it;Rayo de Dios!" El Zapote was galloping towards the hacienda a quarter of an hour later.
"It is my turn now," said themayor domoto himself, as soon as he was alone; "but how am I to get to Doña Hermosa?"
It seemed as if a little consideration had enlightened him as to the means, for he banished the frown from his forehead, and gaily took the road to the fort.
After a conference with Major Barnum, who, since the death of the governor, had assumed the command of the town, Estevan disguised himself as an Indian, and went to the camp of the redskins. Shortly before sunrise he was in the town again.
"Well!" said his mother.
"All is for the best," he replied. "¡Vive Dios!I think Doña Hermosa will make that incarnate demon pay dearly for kidnapping Don Fernando."
"Am I to rejoin her?"
"No; it is not necessary."
Without entering into any details, Don Estevan who was sinking from fatigue, retired to snatch a few hours' repose.
Several days passed without the Indians attacking thepueblo. They contented themselves with investing it more closely, without attempting an assault. Their plan seemed to be to starve out the inhabitants, and force them to surrender from famine.
The blockade was kept so strictly, that it was impossible for the besieged to stir beyond their lines: all their communications were cut off, and provisions began to fail. The cattle which had been collected at the commencement of the siege had all been killed, and the Mexicans were now driven to the necessity of consuming the hides.
The plan would doubtless have succeeded; and the Mexicans, reduced to the last extremity, would soon have been obliged to surrender without striking a blow; but a project of Don Estevan's, communicated to Major Barnum, and executed without delay, suddenly defeated the Tigercat's plans, and obliged him to make the assault, in order to hinder the revolt of the tribes who followed him. The Mexicans, whom the pangs of famine were driving to despair, were eagerly longing for the assault.
Don Estevan ordered a hundred and fifty loaves to be made of wheat saturated with arsenic. These were packed on a few mules, still left in the fort, in company with twenty-four kegs of brandy mixed with vitriol. With ten trusty fellows, he escorted this formidable freight to within a short distance of the redskin intrenchments.
Everything happened as he had foreseen. The Indians, who are extravagantly fond of brandy, were allured by the sight of the kegs, and rushed upon the convoy in the hopes of capturing it.
Don Estevan lost no time. Casting loaves and kegs upon the sand, and retreating at full speed, he brought off his men and mules in thepueblo.
The Indians, dragging their booty into their camp, knocked in the heads of the barrels, and an orgy commenced which lasted till bread and brandy had disappeared.
More than a thousand Indians perished through this ingenious device of themayor domo's[1]the others, smitten with terror, began to disband in all directions.
The exasperated savages, in their first moments of excitement, and in spite of the efforts of their leader, ruthlessly massacred under horrible tortures all the men, women, and children who had fallen into their power at the commencement of the war, and had been kept prisoners in the camp up to the time.
Doña Hermosa herself, notwithstanding the respect with which she had been treated, and the extreme care she took never to leave thetoldo, was in great danger of falling a victim to the fury of the Indians. Chance alone saved her.
The great chief resolved to finish the war at once. He despatched El Zopilote to order all thesachemsto assemble in histoldo. As soon as they arrived, he announced to them that at theendic'ha(daybreak) on the morrow thepresidiowould be attacked on all sides at once.
Don Torribio, in his quality of chief, was present at the council. As soon as it was over he hastened to Doña Hermosa'stoldo, and demanded an interview.
Since her arrival in the camp, although the Tigercat was perfectly aware of all that was going on between her and Don Torribio, he had purposely avoided meeting her, contenting himself with congratulating the latter on the affection the girl manifested for him. Nevertheless, an acute observer might have easily perceived that the Tigercat harboured some sinister purpose in his mind. Don Torribio, on the contrary, was too much blinded by his passion to attempt to read the countenance of the old bandit.
The intensity of his love, and the zest with which he gave himself up to it, diverted his thoughts from the shame and remorse which stung him when he thought of the infamy attached to his name by his treacherous desertion of his own people to become a member of the ferocious and sanguinary tribes of the Apaches.
Doña Hermosa, on hearing that Don Torribio wished to see her, gave orders for his instant admittance. She was talking at the time with her father. Don Pedro de Luna had hastened to join his daughter the instant he received her letter, and had already been some days in the camp.
The interior of thetoldowas greatly changed. Don Torribio had ordered it to be embellished with divers pieces of elegant furniture, stolen by the Indians from different haciendas. Partitions had been constructed, closets contrived, so that the metamorphosis was complete; and, although the exterior remained as it had been before, the inside, in consequence of the alterations, assumed the appearance of a European residence.
Manuela, Doña Hermosa's nurse, had also returned with Don Pedro—a circumstance extremely agreeable to the girl; first, on account of the great confidence she reposed in her; and again, because Manuela was indispensable for all those little services and attentions to which women of rank are accustomed. Besides, the presence of the nurse, who never left Doña Hermosa's side in her interviews with Don Torribio, prevented any exuberant outbreak of passion on his part, and confined him to the limits of a respectful decorum.
Whatever astonishment the redskins might have felt at the alterations in thetoldoundertaken by Don Torribio, the veneration and devotion they professed for the Tigercat were so great, that, with the delicacy which seems innate in their race, they pretended to see none of them, especially as the latter had taken no offence at the conduct of the paleface chief. Moreover, as, under all circumstances, the latter rendered them energetic cooperation, being always the foremost in battle and the last to retreat, they thought it right to leave him to arrange his own affairs as he judged best, without any attempt to oppose him.
"Well," said Doña Hermosa, when he entered, "has the Tigercat succeeded in subduing the exasperation of the tribes?"
"Thank Heaven! He has, señorita; but the atrocious crime committed by Major Barnum is unworthy of a man, and more the deed of a savage brute than of a civilized being."
"Perhaps the major is not the author of the crime."
"The whites are accustomed to treat the Indians thus. Have I not heard them assert a thousand times that the redskins are not human beings? All weapons that kill them are lawful, and poison is one of the surest. This crime alone is sufficient to justify me in having quitted the ranks of the monsters."
"Speak no more on this subject, I beseech you; you make me shudder. I am obliged to confess that reason is on your side. When we witness such horrors, we begin to regret that we belong to a race capable of inventing them."
"What is the decision of the council?" asked Don Pedro, in order to turn the conversation.
"Tomorrow, at daybreak, a general assault will be delivered on thepresidio."
"Tomorrow!" exclaimed Doña Hermosa, in a fright.
"Yes," he replied; "tomorrow I hope to revenge myself on those who were my brothers, and have forced me to repudiate them. Tomorrow I shall conquer or die."
"God protect the good cause!" said she ambiguously.
"Thanks, cousin," replied Don Torribio, mistaking the meaning of her exclamation.
Don Pedro with difficulty repressed a sigh.
"The action tomorrow will be severe," Don Torribio continued. "I conjure you, señorita, not to leave thetoldo. Should we meet with a reverse, no one can tell to what extremes the rage of the Apaches may carry them. I will leave twenty resolute men,vaqueroson whom I can rely, to defend you. As soon as the affair is over, I will send you word."
"Are you going already, Don Torribio?" said she, as she saw him move for the purpose.
"I must, señorita; I am one of the chiefs of the Indian army. In that quality, I have duties to fulfil, and must make preparations for the morrow. I entreat you to let me go."
"Farewell, then, if it must be so."
Bowing respectfully to her and her father, Don Torribio retired.
"All is lost," said Don Pedro; "the Mexicans will never be able to withstand the assault."
Doña Hermosa looked at him with a strange expression, and then whispered in his ear:
"Father, have you read your Bible?"
"Why do you ask, little madcap?"
"Because," said she, with a coaxing smile, "you seem to have forgotten the story of Delilah."
"What!" he exclaimed, more astonished than ever; "Do you intend to cut off his hair?"
"¿Quién sabe?" she answered, shaking her head knowingly, and with a delicious assumption of bravado; while at the same time she put one of her fingers on her rosy lips.
Don Pedro gave the shrug of a man who is utterly at a loss to understand, and who gives up an inexplicable enigma.