"You appear to know me much better than I know you," replied he coolly; "but if half the things I have heard reported about you be true, I can only expect, on your part, treatment similar to that which all unhappy persons encounter who fall into your hands."
The Tigercat smiled sarcastically.
"And do you not dread this treatment?" he asked.
"For myself, personally, no!" answered Don Pedro disdainfully.
"But," continued the freebooter, with a glance towards the wounded lady, "for the young girl?"
Thehacenderotrembled; a livid pallor overspread his features.
"You cannot mean what you are saying," was his answer; "for the honour of humanity, I will not think so. The Apaches themselves, fierce as they are, feel their rage vanish before the feebleness of woman."
"Have I not among the dwellers in cities the reputation of being fiercer than the fierce Apaches,—even than the very beasts?"
"Let us end this," replied Don Pedro haughtily; "since I have been fool enough, in spite of repeated warnings, to place myself in your hands, dispose of me as you think fit; but deliver me from the torture I undergo in conversing with you."
The Tigercat frowned; he struck the ground forcibly with the butt of his rifle, muttering some unintelligible words; but, by an extreme effort of his will, his features instantaneously resumed their habitual imperturbability, every trace of emotion vanished from his voice, and he answered, in the calmest tone:
"In beginning the conversation, about which you seem to care so little,caballero, I said to you, 'What do you know about it?'"
"Well?" said thehacendero, surprised and overcome, in spite of his efforts, by the strange change in the dreaded speaker.
"Well," replied the latter, "I repeat the phrase, not, as you may suppose, in mockery, but simply to elicit your frank opinion of me."
"That opinion can be of little value to you, I presume."
"More than you may imagine. But why these words? Answer me!"
Thehacenderoremained mute for a time. The Tigercat, his eyes fixed steadily upon him, watched him attentively.
As to the hunter who had been almost forced to consent to serve Don Pedro de Luna as guide, his astonishment was extreme. Believing himself to be thoroughly acquainted with the character of the freebooter, he could not understand the scene at all, and inwardly asked himself what this feigned courtesy of the Tigercat would end in.
Don Pedro himself argued quite differently on the bandit's sentiments; right or wrong, he fancied he had perceived an accent of sad sincerity in the tone in which the last words had been addressed to him.
"Since you absolutely desire it," said he, "I will reply frankly: I believe your heart to be not so cruel as you would have it supposed; and I imagine that this conviction, which you inwardly possess, makes you extremely unhappy; for, notwithstanding the barbarous acts with which they reproach you, other crimes have entered your thoughts, before the execution of which you have recoiled, in spite of the pitiless ferocity they attribute to you."
The Tigercat seemed about to speak.
"Do not interrupt me," continued thehacenderohastily; "I know that I am treading upon a volcano; but you have my promise to speak frankly, and, willing or not willing, you must hear me to the end. Most of mankind are the architects of their own fortunes in this world; you have not escaped the common lot. Gifted with an energetic character, with vivid passions, you have not sought to overcome these passions; you have suffered yourself to be overcome by them, and thus, fall after fall, you have reached that depth in which you are now lost; and yet all good feeling is not utterly dead in you."
A smile of contempt flickered over the lips of the old man.
"Do not smile at me," thehacenderowent on; "the very question you have put proves my assertion. Leading in the wilderness the life of the plundering savage, hating society, which has cast you off, you still hanker after the opinion the world forms of you. And why? Because that sentiment of justice, which God has planted in the hearts of all, revolts in you at the universal reprobation heaped upon your name. It has roused your shame. The man who can still be ashamed of himself, criminal as he may be, is very close to repentance; for the voice that cries aloud in his heart is the voice of awakening remorse."
Although Don Pedro had ceased speaking for some time, the Tigercat still seemed to be listening to his words; but suddenly lifting his head proudly, he cast a mocking glance around him, and burst into a laugh, dry and hard as that which Goethe ascribes to Mephistopheles.
This laugh cut thehacenderoto the heart. He comprehended that the evil instincts of the freebooter had resumed their sway over the better thoughts which, for a moment, had seemed to assert their mastery.
After this bout of laughter, the countenance of the Tigercat resumed its usual rigid immobility.
"Good!" cried he in a tone of apparent glee, which did by no means deceive Don Pedro; "I expected a sermon, and find I was not mistaken. Well, at the risk of sinking in your estimation,—or, to speak more truly, in order to flatter your self-esteem by leaving you in the belief that you judge my feelings correctly,—I decree that you and your followers return to your Hacienda de las Norias de San Antonio, not only without the loss of a hair, but even as partakers of my hospitality. Does not this decision astonish you? You were far from expecting it."
"Not so; it is exactly what I anticipated."
"Indeed!" said he, with astonishment; "Then if I offer you the hospitality of mycalli, you will accept it?"
"And why not, if the offer is made in good faith?"
"Then come without fear; I pledge you my word that you nor yours need fear any injury on my part."
"I follow you," said Don Pedro.
But the unknown had watched with increasing anxiety the erratic course of this conversation, and advancing abruptly in front of, and extending his arms towards, thehacendero—
"Stop, as you value your life!" he cried in a voice trembling with secret emotion. "Stop! Do not let yourself be deceived by the assumed benevolence of this man; he is spreading a snare for you; his offer conceals a treason."
The Tigercat drew himself up to his full height, stared disdainfully at the speaker, and replied, in an accent of supreme majesty:
"Your senses wander, boy; this man runs no risk in confiding in me. Granted that there are many things I do not respect in this world, still there is at least one which I have always respected, and have suffered no one to doubt,—my word,—my word, which I have given to thiscaballero. Come! Let us pass; the young woman whom you have succoured so opportunely is not yet out of danger; her state demands attentions which are beyond your power to afford."
The unknown trembled; his dark-blue eyes flashed, his lips parted as if to answer; but he remained silent, and retired a few paces, knitting his brow in concentrated passion.
"Moreover," imperturbably continued the freebooter, "whatever force may lie at your disposal in other parts of the wilderness, you know that here I am all-powerful, and that here my will is law. Leave me to act as I please. Do not force me to measures I should abhor; for if I raised but a finger I could tame your fool's pride."
"I know," said the young man, "that I am powerless; but beware how you treat these strangers, who placed themselves under my protection; for I shall know how to take my revenge."
"Yes, yes," said the Tigercat drearily; "I know you would not hesitate to revenge yourself even on me, if you fancied you had a cause. But I care not; I am master here."
"I shall follow you even into your haunt; think not I intend to desert these strangers now they are in your hands."
"As you please; I do not forbid you to accompany them; on the contrary, I should regret your leaving them."
The unknown held his peace, smiling disdainfully.
"Come," resumed the Tigercat, turning to thehacendero.
The troop began again to ascend the hillock, following in the footsteps of the old freebooter, close to whom rode their former guide.
After some turnings and windings in the path, of more or less abruptness, some of which caused the Mexicans no little difficulty, the Tigercat turned towards thehacendero, and addressed him in a voice perfectly free from embarrassment:
"I beg you to excuse my guiding you over such villainous roads; unfortunately they are the only ones leading to my dwelling. It is at hand; in a few minutes we shall be there."
"But I see no traces of habitation," replied Don Pedro, vainly, scanning the country in all directions.
"True," said the Tigercat, with a smile; "nevertheless, we are hardly an hundred paces from the end of our journey; and I can assure you the abode to which I am leading you would harbour a hundred times our present numbers."
"I have not much idea where this dwelling is to be found, unless it be subterranean, as I begin to suspect."
"You have almost guessed it. The place I inhabit, if not subterranean in the strict sense of the word, is at least a dwelling covered by the ground. Few have entered it to leave it again safe and sound, as you shall."
"So much the worse," retorted roundly thehacendero;"so much the worse for them—and for you."
The Tigercat frowned, but immediately replied, in the light and careless tone he had affected for the last few minutes:
"Look you, I will clear up this mystery. Listen; the story is interesting enough. When the Aztecs quitted Azlin, which signifies 'the country of herons,' to conquer Anahuac, or 'the country between the waters,' their peregrinations were long, extending over several centuries. Disheartened at times by long travel, they halted, founded cities, in which they installed themselves as if they never intended to abandon the place they had chosen; and, perhaps with the object of leaving behind them ineffaceable traces of their passage through the wild countries they traversed, they constructed pyramids. Hence the numerous ruins littering the soil of Mexico, and theteocalisone meets with occasionally,—last and mournful vestiges of a people that has disappeared. Theseteocalisbuilt on a system of incredible solidity far from crumbling under the strenuous embrace of time, have ended in becoming a part of the ground which supported them, and so completely, that there is often difficulty in recognising them. I can give you no better proof of my assertion than what you have now before you. The elevation you are now ascending is not, as you might suppose, a hill caused by some perturbation of the earth,—it is an Aztecteocali."
"Ateocali!" exclaimed Don Pedro, in astonishment.
"It is, indeed," continued the freebooter; "but so many centuries have elapsed since the day it was built, that, thanks to the vegetable matter incessantly conveyed by the winds, nature has apparently resumed her rights, and the Aztec watchtower has become a green hill. You are doubtless aware that theteocalisare hollow?"
"I am aware of it," answered thehacendero.
"It is in the interior of this one I have fixed my dwelling. See, we have reached it. Allow me to show you the way into it."
In fact, the travellers had arrived at a kind of coarse portal—a Cyclopean construction—which gave admittance to a subterranean building, in which a profound obscurity prevailed, forbidding any estimate of its dimensions.
The Tigercat stopped, and gave a peculiar whistle. Immediately a dazzling light broke forth from the interior, and illuminated it in all its vastness.
"Let us enter," said the freebooter, preceding his companions.
Without hesitation Don Pedro prepared to follow, after making a sign to his attendants, warning them to conceal their rising fears.
For a moment the unknown found himself, so to speak, alone with thehacendero, and bending swiftly down, whispered softly in his ear, "Be prudent; you are entering the tiger's den."
Saying this, he rapidly left them, as he feared the freebooter might perceive that he was giving a last word of warning to the stranger.
But, good or bad, the advice came too late: hesitation would have been folly, for flight was impossible.
On all sides, on every jutting rock, appeared as by enchantment, the dark shadows of a host of persons, who had started up around the strangers without their understanding whence they came, so stealthy had been their approach.
The Mexicans entered, then, although not without feelings of dread, into the terrible cavern, whose mouth opened yawning before them. The building was vast, the walls were lofty.
After proceeding for about ten minutes, the Mexicans found themselves in a species of rotunda, in the centre of which a huge brazier was flaming; four long corridors crossed the rotunda at right angles. The Tigercat, still followed by the travellers, entered one of these. He stopped on reaching a door formed of a reed hurdle.
"Make yourselves at home," said he; "your lodgings consists of two chambers, which have no communication with the rest of the cave. By my orders you will be supplied with food, with wood to make a fire, and torches of ocote to give you light."
"I thank you for these attentions," replied Don Pedro. "I had little reason to expect them."
"And why not? Do you think that I do not know how to practise Mexican hospitality, in its fullest extent, whenever it suits me?"
"Sir!" said thehacendero, with a gesture of deprecation.
"Silence!" said the bandit, interrupting him; "You are my guests for the night. Sleep in peace; nothing shall disturb your rest. In an hour I will send you a potion for the lady to drink. We shall meet again tomorrow." And, bowing with an ease and courtesy little expected by Don Pedro from such a man, the Tigercat took his leave and quitted the chamber.
For a few seconds the step resounded under the dark vault of the corridor; then it was silenced. The travellers were alone, and thehacenderodetermined to investigate the chambers prepared for them.
Thehaciendasof Spanish America were never feudal tenures, whatever certain badly informed authors may assert, but simply large agricultural holdings, as their name clearly indicates.
Thesehaciendas, scattered over Mexico at great distances from each other, and surrounded by vast stretches of country, for the greater part uninhabited, are generally situated on the top of abruptly rising hills, in positions easy of defence.
As thehacienda, properly so called,—i.e.the habitation of the proprietor of the estate,—forms the nucleus of the colony, and, in addition to the barns and stables, contains also the out houses, the lodgings of thepeones, and, above all, the chapel, its walls are high, massive, and surrounded by a ditch, so as to put it out of danger from acoup-de-main.
These numeroushaciendasfrequently maintain from six to seven hundred individuals of all trades, the lands belonging to a farm of this description being often of greater extent than a whole province in France.
They are the wholesale breeding places of the wild horses and cattle that graze at freedom in the prairies, watched over at a distance bypeones vaquerosas untamed as themselves.
The Hacienda de las Norias de San Antonio—i.e.St. Anthony's Wells—rose gracefully from the summit of a hill covered with thick groves of mahogany, Peru trees andmesquites, forming a belt of evergreen foliage, the palish green of which contrasted agreeably with the dead white of the lofty walls, crowned withalmenas, a kind of battlement intended to announce the nobility of the proprietor of the holding.
In fact, Don Pedro de Luna was what is called acristiano viejo(old Christian), and descended in a direct line from the first Spanish conquerors, without a single drop of Indian blood having been infused into the veins of his ancestors. So, although after the Declaration of Independence the ancient customs began to fall into disuse, Don Pedro de Luna was proud of his nobility, and clung to thealmenasas marks of distinction which only noblemen were allowed to adopt in the time of the Spanish rule.
Since the period when, in the suite of that genial adventurer, Fernando Cortez, a Lopez de Luna had first put foot in America, the fortunes of this family, very poor and much reduced at that time—for Don Lopez literally possessed nothing but his cloak and sword,—the fortunes of this family, we say, had taken an incredible flight upwards, and entered on a career of prosperity that nothing in time's course could trammel. Thus Don Pedro de Luna, the actual representative of this ancient house, was in the enjoyment of wealth, the amount of which it would certainly have puzzled him to state,—wealth which had been increased still more by the property of Don Antonio de Luna, his elder brother, who had disappeared more than twenty-five years after events to which we shall have to revert, and who it was supposed had perished miserably in the mysterious wilderness in the neighbourhood of thehacienda. It was likely that he had fallen a victim to the horrible pangs of hunger, or more probably into the hands of the Apaches, those implacable enemies of the whites, on whom they ceaselessly wage an inveterate war.
In short Don Pedro was the sole representative of his name, and his fortune was immense. No one who has not visited the interior of Mexico can figure to himself the riches buried in these almost unknown regions, where certain land owners, if they would only take the trouble to put their affairs in order, would find themselves five or six times more wealthy than the greatest capitalists of the old world.
Now, although everything seemed to smile on the opulenthacendero, and although, to the world that looks beyond the surface, he seemed to enjoy, with every appearance of reason, an unalloyed happiness, nevertheless the deep wrinkles channelled in the forehead of Don Pedro, the mournful severity of his face, and his gaze often turned to heaven with an expression of sombre despair, might give rise to the surmise that the life all thought so happy was secretly agitated by a profound sorrow, which the years, as they rolled on, augmented instead of solacing.
And what was the sorrow? What storms had troubled the course of a life so calm on the surface?
The Mexicans are the most forgetful people on earth. This certainly arises from the nature of their climate, which is incessantly distracted by the most frightful cataclysms. The Mexican, whose life is passed on a volcano, who feels the soil incessantly trembling under his feet, only cares to live for today. For him yesterday no longer exists; tomorrow he may never see the sun rise; today is his all, for today is his own.
The inhabitants of the Hacienda de las Norias, incessantly exposed to the inroads of their redoubtable neighbours the redskins, constantly occupied in defending themselves from their attacks and depredations, were still more forgetful than the rest of their countrymen of a past in which they took no interest.
The secret of Don Pedro's grief, if really such a secret existed, was, therefore, confined pretty nearly to his own breast; and as he never complained,—never made allusion to the earlier years of his life, —surmise was impossible, and the ignorance of everyone on the subject complete.
One single being had the privilege of smoothing the anxious brow of thehacendero, and of bringing a languid and fleeting smile to his lips.
It was his daughter. Doña Hermosa at sixteen was dazzlingly beautiful. The jet black arches of her brow, finely traced as with a pencil, enhanced the beauty of a forehead not too high and of a creamy white. Her large eyes, blue and pensive, contrasted harmoniously with hair of ebon hue, which curled about the delicate neck, and on which the sweet jasmines died away with pleasure.
Short, like all Spanish women of her race, her figure was slender but well knit. No smaller feet had ever pressed in the dance the greensward of Mexico; no more delicate hand ever ransacked the dahlias of a garden. Her walk, easy, like that of all Creoles, was a serpentine and undulating motion, full of grace and ofsalero, as they say in Andalusia.
This exquisite girl scattered mirth and joy over thehacienda, whose echoes from morning to night repeated lovingly the melodious modulations of her pellucid notes, the pure and fresh qualities of which made the birds die of envy as they hid themselves under the foliage of thepuerta(open court).
Don Pedro idolised his daughter; he felt for her that passionate and boundless affection the immense power of which can only be understood by those who are fathers in the true sense of the word.
Hermosa, brought up at thehacienda, had only paid a few short visits, at long intervals, to the great centers of the Mexican Confederation. Their manners were entirely strange to her. Accustomed to lead the free and untrammelled life of a bird, and to express her thoughts aloud, her frankness and innocent simplicity were extreme, while her sweetness of temper made her adored by all the inhabitants of thehacienda, over whose welfare she watched with constant care.
Nevertheless, owing to the peculiar kind of education she had received,—exposed on this distant frontier to the frequent sound of the frightful war whoop of the redskins, and to be present during horrible scenes of carnage,—she had accustomed herself from an early age to look perils in the face, if not coldly, at all events with a courage and strength of mind scarcely to be expected in so delicate a child.
In conclusion, the influence she exercised over all who approached her was incomprehensible: it was impossible to know her without loving her, or without feeling a wish to lay down one's life for her.
On several occasions, in the attacks made on thehaciendaby those ferocious plunderers of the desert the Apaches and Comanches, some wounded Indians had fallen into the hands of the Mexicans. Doña Hermosa, far from suffering these wretches to be maltreated, had ordered every care to be taken of them, and restored them to liberty as soon as their wounds were healed.
From this course of action it resulted that the redskins by degrees renounced their attacks upon thehacienda, and that the girl, attended by only one man—with whom we shall soon make the reader acquainted—unconcernedly took long rides in the wilderness, and often, carried away by the ardour of the chase, rambled off to a great distance from thehacienda;while the Indians who saw her pass not only abstained from injuring her, but laid no obstacles in her way. On the contrary, these primitive beings, having conceived a superstitious veneration for her, contrived, while remaining out of sight themselves, to remove from her path any dangers she might otherwise have encountered.
The redskins, with that natural tone of poetry which distinguishes them, had called her "the White Butterfly," so light and fragile did she seem to them as she bounded like a frightened fawn through the tall prairie grasses, which hardly bent under her weight.
One of her most favourite resting places in these excursions was arancho, (a farm) seven or eight miles from thehacienda.Therancho, built in a charming situation and surrounded by fields well looked after and carefully cultivated, was inhabited by a woman of fifty and her son, a tall and handsome man of twenty-five or twenty-six with a proud eye and a warm heart, named Estevan Diaz. Na Manuela, as they called the old woman, and Estevan had an affection for the girl which knew no bounds. Manuela had nursed Hermosa when an infant, and the foster mother almost looked upon her young mistress as her own child, so deep was the love she bore her. The woman belonged to a class of domestics, now unhappily extinct in Europe, who form, as it were a part of the family, and are looked upon by their masters more as friends than servants.
It was under Estevan's escort that Hermosa took those long rides of which we spoke above. These continualtêtes-à-têtesbetween a girl of sixteen and a man of twenty-five, which in our hypocritical and prudish world would be considered compromising, seemed very natural to the inhabitants of thehacienda.They knew the profound respect and loyal affection which bound Estevan to his mistress, whom he had dandled on his knees when a child, and whose first steps he had supported. Hermosa, who was as laughing, playful, and teasing as most girls of her age, took very great pleasure in being with Estevan, whom she could torment and plague to her heart's delight without his ever attempting to turn restive at the capricious vagaries of his young mistress. Did he not endure all her caprices with a patience beyond praise?
Don Pedro manifested an affectionate esteem for Manuela and her son. He had great confidence in both, and for the last two years had entrusted Estevan with the important post ofmajor-domo—a post he shared, as far as the land was concerned, with Luciano Pedralva, who, however, was placed under his orders.
Thus Estevan Diaz and his mother were, next to the proprietor, the persons of greatest account at thehacienda, where they were treated with infinite respect, not only on account of the post they occupied, but also for the sake of their character, which was duly appreciated by all.
The Mexicanhacenderos, whose properties are of immense extent, have a practice at certain times of the year of making a progress through their estates, in order to cast over their holding that "eye of the master" which, according to the favourite saying in Southern America, makes the crops ripen and the cattle fatten. Don Pedro never failed to undertake these tours, on which he was anxiously expected by the inferior persons in his employ, and by thepeonesof thehaciendas, to whom the casual presence of their master brought some temporary alleviation of their miserable lives.
In Mexico slavery, abolished in principle by the Declaration of Independence, no longer exists by right; but it existsde factothrough the whole extent of the Confederation; and the following is the adroit manner in which the law is eluded by the rich owners of the soil:—Everyhaciendanecessarily employs a great number of individuals aspeones, vaqueros, tigreros,(herdsmen, hunters), &c. All these people areIndios mansos, or civilized Indians—that is to say, they have been baptised, and practise, after their own fashion, a religion they will not take the trouble to understand, and which they mix up with most absurd and ridiculous customs derived from their old creeds.
Brutalised by misery, thepeoneshire themselves, at very moderate wages, to thehacenderos, for the sake of satisfying their two chief vices,—gambling and drunkenness. But as Indians are the most thriftless beings in creation, their petty wages never suffice to feed and clothe them; and every day they are liable to die of hunger, if they cannot contrive to procure the ordinary necessaries of life from some source independent of their pay. It is when they have reached this climax that the rich proprietors trap them.
Thecapatazandmajor-domokeep in everyhacienda, by order of their master, stores filled with clothing, arms, household utensils, and so forth, which are open to thepeones, who pawn their labour for the needful articles advanced to them; the prices of the articles being always ten times their value.
It follows, from this simple combination, that the poor devils ofpeonesnot only never touch an infinitesimal fraction of the nominal wages allotted to them, but find themselves always on the debit side of thehacendero'sbalance sheet; and in a few months owe sums they could not possibly pay off in a lifetime. As the law is positive in these cases, thepeonesare compelled to remain in the service of their masters until, by their labour, this debt is liquidated. Unfortunately for them, their necessities are so imperious at all times, their position so precarious, that, after a life spent in incessant toil, thepeonesdie insolvent. They have lived as slaves, fatally,adscripti glebæ, shamelessly worked, without mercy, down to their latest sigh, by men whom their sweat and their labour have enriched tenfold.
Doña Hermosa, good natured, as girls usually are when brought up in the bosom of their families, generally accompanied her father in these annual progresses, and pleased herself by leaving bounteous marks of her welcome visit with the poorpeones.
This year, as in the preceding ones, she had attended Don Pedro de Luna, signalizing her visit to eachranchoby relieving, in some way or other, the infirm, the old, and the children.
About forty-eight hours before the day on which our story commences, Don Pedro had left a silver mine he was working some leagues off in the desert, and set off for Las Norias de San Antonio. When he had got within twenty leagues of thehacienda, he felt convinced that his escort was not needed so near his own property, and sent forward Don Estevan and the armed retainers to announce his return, keeping with him only thecapataz, Luciano Pedralva, and three or fourpeones.
Don Estevan had tried to dissuade his master from remaining in the desert almost single-handed, pointing out to him that the Indian frontiers were infested by freebooters and marauders of the vilest kind, who, skulking among the thickets, would be upon the watch for an opportunity of attacking his little band; but, by a singular fatality, Don Pedro, convinced that he had nothing to fear from these vagabonds, who had never exhibited signs of hostility towards him, had insisted on themajor-domo'sdeparture, and the latter had been forced to obey, although with reluctance.
The escort rode off; thehacenderoquietly continued his road, chatting with his daughter, and laughing at the sinister presentiments clouding the face of themajor-domowhen he took leave of his master.
The day slipped away without anything happening to confirm the misgivings of Don Estevan; no accident interrupting the monotonous regularity of the march; no suspicious sign excited the fears of the travellers. The desert was at peace; as far as the eye could reach, nothing was to be seen but some straggling herds of elks and antelopes, browsing on the tall and tufted grasses of the prairie.
At sunset Don Pedro and his companions had reached the outskirts of an immense virgin forest, part of which they would have to cross to reach thehacienda, now about a dozen leagues off.
Thehacenderoresolved to encamp for the night at the edge of the covert, hoping to reach Las Norias early on the morrow, before the great heat of the day set in.
In a short time everything was arranged; a hut of branches was put together for Doña Hermosa; fires were lit, and the horses securely tethered, to prevent their straying during the night.
The travellers supped gaily; after which everyone laid down to sleep as comfortably as he could manage.
However, thecapataz, a man trained to Indian artifices, thought it prudent not to neglect a single precaution to secure the repose of his companions. He placed a sentry, to whom he recommended the utmost vigilance, and saddled his horse, with the intention of making a reconnaissance round the camp.
Don Pedro, already half asleep, raised his head, and asked Don Luciano what he intended to do. When thecapatazhad explained, thehacenderoburst out laughing, and peremptorily ordered him to leave his horse to feed in peace, and to lay himself down by the fire, in order to be ready to resume the journey at break of day. Thecapatazshook his head, but obeyed; he could not understand the conduct of his master, who was usually so prudent and circumspect.
The truth was, that Don Pedro, impelled by one of those inexplicable fatalities which, without apparent reason, often make the most intelligent blind, was convinced that he had nothing to fear so near his home, and almost on his own territory, from the rovers and marauders of the frontiers, who would think twice before they attacked a man of his importance, having the means in his power to make them pay dearly for any attempt upon his person. Nevertheless, thecapataz, agitated by a secret uneasiness, which kept him awake in spite of his efforts to sleep, determined to keep good watch during the night, notwithstanding the injunctions of his master.
As soon as he saw Don Pedro decidedly asleep, he rose softly, took his rifle, and crept stealthily towards the forest to reconnoitre; but he had scarcely quitted the circle of light formed by the watch fire, and advanced a few paces into the covert, than he was suddenly and rudely seized by invisible hands, thrown on the ground, gagged, and bound with cords; and with such expedition, that he could neither use his arms nor utter a cry of warning to his companions.
But, in strange contrariety to the tragical usages of the prairie, the persons who had so abruptly mastered thecapatazsubjected him to no ill usage, contenting themselves with binding him firmly, so as to put the possibility of the slightest resistance out of the question, and leaving him stretched upon the ground.
"My poor mistress!" sighed the worthy fellow as he fell, without indulging a thought for himself.
He remained in this position for a length of time, listening greedily to every sound in the desert, expecting every instant to hear cries of distress from Don Pedro and Doña Hermosa. But not a cry was heard: nothing disturbed the calm of the wilderness, over which the silence of death seemed brooding.
At last, after twenty or twenty-five minutes, someone threw azarapéover his face, most likely with the intention of preventing any recognition of his assailants; he was lifted from the ground with a certain degree of precaution, and two men carried him in their arms to some considerable distance.
The situation became more complicated every moment. In vain thecapatazracked his mind to divine the intentions of his captors. The latter uttered not a word, and glided over the ground with light and noiseless steps, as if they were spectres. The generality of Mexicans are fatalists. Thecapataz, recognizing the futility of a struggle, philosophically consoled himself for what had happened, and patiently awaited the result of this singular scene.
He had not long to wait for the issue. His unknown captors, having probably reached the intended spot, halted and laid thecapatazon the ground, after which everything round him grew calm and silent again.
At the end of several minutes he determined on an attempt to recover his liberty, and made a desperate effort to break his bonds. But here again a fresh surprise was reserved for him: the cords which bound him, and which were so fast a minute before, broke after a slight resistance.
Thecapataz'sfirst impulse was to lift thezarapéwhich covered his face, and free himself from the gag. He next looked about him to reconnoitre, and to find out what had become of his companions, and uttered a cry of astonishment and fright on seeing Doña Hermosa, her father, and thepeonesstretched on the ground close by, gagged as he had been, and their heads muffled inzarapés.
Thecapatazhastened to the relief of his mistress and Don Pedro, after which he severed the cords which bound thepeones.
The place to which the travellers had been transported by their invisible aggressors was completely dissimilar to the site chosen for the camp. They were in the midst of a thick forest, where at an immense height above their heads, the gigantic trees formed a green vault, almost impenetrable to the light of day. The horses and baggage of the travellers had vanished. Their position was frightful, deserted as they were in the virgin forest without provisions or horses. Every hope of safety was gone, and a terrible death, after horrible sufferings stared them in the face.
It is impossible to describe the despair of Don Pedro. He acknowledged, when it was too late, the folly of his conduct. He fixed his weeping eyes on his daughter with an expression of unspeakable tenderness and sorrow, accusing himself as the sole cause of the evil that had overwhelmed them. Doña Hermosa was the only one who did not give way to despair in these critical circumstances. After trying to raise the courage of her father by tender and consoling words, she was the first to speak of quitting the place and endeavouring to find the road they had lost.
The courage which sparkled in the eye of the daughter reanimated the energy of her father and the rest. If she did not succeed in reviving hope in their breasts, at all events she aroused in them sufficient spirit to encounter the necessary struggle before them. The final words of this young creature put a stop to all hesitation, and completed the happy reaction she had excited in their minds.
"Our friends," said she, "on finding we do not arrive, will suspect our misfortune, and devote themselves immediately to a search for us. Don Estevan, to whom all the secrets of the wilderness are known, will infallibly recover our trail. Our position, therefore, is far from desperate. Let us not abandon ourselves, if we do not wish God to abandon us. Let us go: soon I hope we shall find our way out of the forest, and see the sun once more."
So they began their march.
Unfortunately it is impossible to find the right direction in a virgin forest, unless we are well acquainted with the localities,—the forests, where all the trees are alike, where there is no visible horizon, and where the only available knowledge is the instinct of the brute, not the reason of man. Thus the travellers wandered at random the whole day long, always turning, without knowing it, in the same circle, travelling far without advancing, and vainly seeking to find a road which was not in existence.
Don Pedro endeavoured to discover a reason why the men who had stolen their horses should have abandoned them in this inextricable labyrinth; why they had been thus callously condemned to an agonising death; and who the enemy might be who had cruelly conceived a plan of such atrocious revenge. But thehacenderoracked his brains in vain for even a surmise. His mind suggested no one on whom suspicion could rest as the probable author of this unqualified crime.
All the morning the travellers continued their devious course: the sun went down, the day gave way to night, and they were still toiling on, wandering mechanically without any fixed direction, now to the right, now to the left; struggling on more in the endeavour to escape from their thoughts by physical fatigue, than in the hope of emerging from the forest—their horrible prison.
Doña Hermosa uttered no complaint. Cool and resolute, she pushed forward with a firm step, encouraging her companions by voice and gesture, and still finding spirit enough to chide and shame them for their want of perseverance.
All of a sudden she uttered a cry of pain. She had been bitten by a snake. This fresh misfortune, which should have apparently completed the travellers' despair, on the contrary, excited them to such a pitch, that they forgot all else, except how to think for and to save her whom they called their guardian angel.
But human strength has limits, beyond which it may not go. The travellers, overcome by fatigue and their poignant emotions during their wanderings, and convinced, besides, of the inutility of their efforts, were on the point of yielding to their despair, when God placed them suddenly face to face with the hunter.
After conducting his guests to the compartment of theteocaliwhich he had appointed for them, the Tigercat retraced his steps, and turned in the direction of a sufficiently ample excavation, which served for his own particular abode.
The old man walked at a slow pace, with his head raised, and his brow wrinkled under the tension of mighty thoughts. The flame of the torch he held in his right hand played capriciously over his countenance, revealing a strange expression on his features, where hate, joy, and uneasiness reflected themselves by turns.
When he arrived at hiscuarto(bedchamber),—if it is right to give the name chamber to a kind of hole ten feet square by seven feet high, which contained as furniture a few skulls of the bison dispersed here and there, with a handful of maize-straw negligently thrown into a corner, and serving, no doubt, as couch for the inhabitants of this sorry refuge,—the Tigercat fixed hisocotetorch in a bracket of iron made fast to the wall, crossed his arms on his breast, lifted his eyes with an air of defiance, and muttered the words:
"At last!"
Doubtless these words summed up in his thoughts a long series of dark and bold combinations.
After pronouncing these words, the old man cast a searching glance around him, as if he dreaded having been overheard. A mocking smile passed across his pale lips; he sat down on a bison's skull, and, burying his face in his hands, plunged into profound meditation.
A long time elapsed before he changed his position. At last, a slight noise fell on his ear: he lifted his head with a start, and turned towards the entrance to his cell.
"Come in!" he shouted. "I have waited for you with impatience."
"I think not!" replied a powerful voice; and the young hunter appeared at the threshold, where he stopped, holding his head erect, and looking proud and daring.
A shade crossed the forehead of the Tigercat.
"Ah, ha!" cried he, with pretended gaiety. "In truth, I was not expecting you,muchacho(boy); but never mind; you are welcome."
"Is that wish truly in your thoughts at this moment?" sneered the other.
"And why should it not be in my thoughts? Am I in the habit of disguising them?"
"It is a useful habit under particular circumstances."
"A truth I do not deny; but not in this case. Come in; sit down, and let us talk."
"I comply," answered the hunter, taking a few steps forward, "particularly as I have to demand an explanation from you."
The Tigercat frowned, and replied, with rising and ill-suppressed anger:
"Is it to me you speak thus? Have you forgotten who I am?"
"I forget nothing that I ought to remember," concisely replied the other.
"Boy! Have you forgotten that I am your father?"
"My father! Who will prove it?"
"You are over-venturesome," cried the old man in ire.
"After all," said the hunter scornfully, "it is nothing to me whether you be my father or not. What does it matter? Have you not told me a thousand times over, that bonds of relationship do not exist in nature; that they are only a factitious sentiment, invented by human egotism for the profit of the petty exigencies of debased society? Here, we are only two men, equals in strength and courage; of whom the one comes to demand from the other a clear and unvarnished explanation."
While the hunter was speaking, the old man fixed upon him a look which flashed fire from under his half-closed eyelids. When he ceased, the Tigercat smiled ironically.
"The wolf's cub feels he is cutting his teeth, and wants to bite his fosterer."
"He will devour him without hesitation, if it be needful," fiercely replied the hunter, as he let the butt end of the heavy rifle he carried in his hand fall violently on the ground.
Instead of being lashed into a fury by a menace uttered so peremptorily, the Tigercat suddenly became calm. His austere features lighted up with an expression of good nature which rarely visited them. Clapping his large hands together gaily, he exclaimed, with an air of lively satisfaction:
"Well roared, my lion's whelp!¡Vive Dios!You deserve your name, Stoneheart! The more I see of you, the more I love you. I am proud of you,muchacho;for you are my handiwork, and I congratulate myself on my success in producing so complete a monster. Go on as you have begun, my son: I prophesy, you will go far."
The tone in which these words were pronounced by the Tigercat clearly proved that they were in reality the unreserved expression of his thoughts.
Stoneheart—for at last we know the name of this man—listened to his father with a shrug of his shoulders, and an affectation of disdain. When the latter ceased, the son replied as follows:
"Will you listen to me or not?"
"Certainly, my darling child. Speak! Tell me what frets you."
"Seek not to dupe me, gray-haired demon. I know your hellish malignity, and your unmatchable knavery."
"You are complimentary,muchacho."
"Answer frankly and categorically the questions I will put to you!"
"Bah, Bah! Go on, go on. What are you afraid of?"
"Of nothing, I tell you; but my time is short: I have no leisure to follow you through all the Indian circumlocutions it may be your pleasure to invent. That is why I listen to nothing but the plain truth."
"I cannot bind myself to that until I hear the questions you wish to put."
"Take heed, father! If you deceive me, I shall find it out, and then—"
"And then?" repeated the old man mockingly.
"May the devil take my soul, if I do not plant my bowie knife between your two shoulders."
"You forget that two can play at that game."
"So much the better; it will be a strife and I prefer it."
"You are not fastidious. But proceed; speak, or may the pestilence stifle you! I am listening. I, too, have no more time to lose than you."
Stoneheart, who up to this moment had been standing erect in the middle of the cell, seated himself on a bison's skull, and rested his rifle across his knees.
"Did you not expect to see Zopilote when I burst into your cell?"
"I did expect Zopilote: you have guessed it,muchacho."
"Having finished, with his assistance, the ruffianly deeds of yesterday and today, you two are anxious to concoct the treason you meditate tomorrow."
"On my soul,muchacho, you are incomprehensible!"
"The devil I am! Then your apprehension is dull today."
"Perhaps it is: but oblige me by explaining your meaning."
"I will; however, attempt no denial: only a few minutes ago I learned the whole story through the gossiping of the very men who were with you."
"If you know all, why do you come here to question me?"
"In the first place, to ascertain if they spoke truly."
"They could not speak more truly: you see, I am frank."
"Then you really did surprise these travellers in their sleep?"
"Yes,muchacho, like a litter of prairie dogs in their earth."
"You stole their horses and baggage?"
"In good truth, I did all that."
"Afterwards, you had them carried into the thick of the forest, to die a frightful death?"
"I did have them carried to the forest; but not, as you pretend to believe, for the purpose of leaving them to starve."
"For what other purpose, then? I cannot suppose it was with the intention of effacing all traces of the robbery. You care little about such precautions, and do not stick at a knife thrust."
"Admirably reasoned,muchacho. I had no intention to do these travellers the least harm in the world."
"Then what did you want from them? I cannot understand your conduct. It is marvellous."
"Confess that it mystifies you, my son."
"It does; but will you explain?"
"That depends upon circumstances. But now promise, in your turn, to answer a single question."
"One? I will answer it. Ask; I am listening."
"What do you think of Doña Hermosa? Has she not beautiful eyes! One would think she had stolen a piece of the sky, they are so blue."
At this home-thrust Stoneheart recoiled; a sudden flush tinted his features.
"Why do you ask me?" said he hesitatingly.
"What does that matter? Answer, as you have promised."
"I have scarcely looked at her," he replied, with increasing embarrassment.
"You lie, my son: you have looked at her often enough; or young men in these days are changed from what they were in my time—which I can hardly believe." "Well, then, I have; and I care not who knows it," said Stoneheart, in a voice in which embarrassment was mingled with ill humour. "I have looked at Doña Hermosa, if that is her name, and have found her beautiful. Are you satisfied?"
"Almost. Has this charming creature had no other effect upon you?"
"I am not bound to answer you, father: that is a second question."
"You are right; nevertheless, I know what your reply would be. I can dispense with it."
Stoneheart turned away his head to escape the searching look of the Tigercat.
"But now," said he, after a momentary silence, "let us return to your explanation."
"You are an ingrate, who will not understand. Have you not already discovered that all this business has been undertaken for your sake alone?"
Stoneheart started with surprise.
"For my sake? Is there anything in common between this girl and me? You are laughing at me!"
"Not in the least; on the contrary, I am speaking seriously."
"Even if you do, I confess I am still in the dark."
"Aha! You are laughing now at my expense. Throughout the whole of this comedy I assign you a capital part to play: I make you interesting; I introduce you as the deliverer; are you still in the dark?"
"I myself assumed the character which you say you assigned me; I adopted it myself, alone, without any interference of yours."
"Do you believe that, my son?" said the bandit, with a grin.
Stoneheart, not thinking it necessary to insist on this point, answered:
"I will admit that you may have arranged all that happened; but what are your intentions towards the travellers now they are in theteocali?"
"On my honour,muchacho, I confess that it is not settled yet; it depends entirely on yourself."
"On me?" stammered the other.
"Yes; on my honour. Reflect; decide what you wish me to do: I give you my word that I will conform to your wishes."
"Will you swear so, father,—solemnly swear?"
"Oh, yes. You see, I am very accommodating."
"It is exactly this pliancy, so foreign to your character and habits, which makes me tremble."
"Folly! What more unjust suspicion! It happens one day that I remember I am man; that it is my duty to succour my fellow creatures: and you give me no credit for it!"
"¡Caspita!How could it be otherwise? Your intrigues are so dark, the means you employ are so utterly at variance with common usage in similar cases, that, in spite of my knowledge of your character, the real object of your machinations perpetually eludes me."
The visage of the Tigercat lighted up once more with a smile of triumph; but he repressed it immediately, and assumed a look of paternal benevolence.
"In spite of all you say," he answered, "my object in this case is so plain that a child might see it."
"Then I must be an idiot, for I cannot divine it; on which account, I must beg you to explain your wishes frankly."
"To make you adore the little one,¡vive Cristo!"
"Me!" exclaimed the hunter, astounded at the proposition, and purple with blushes.
"And whom else, if not you?—unless it were myself."
"No, no," said the other, shaking his head mournfully; "that is impossible: everything separates us. You have forgotten who she is; you have forgotten what I am—I, Stoneheart, the man whose name, pronounced to an inhabitant of the borders, makes him thrill with terror. No; it is the dream of a fool: a love like that would be monstrous. I repeat, it is impossible."
The Tigercat coolly shrugged his shoulders.
"My son," said he, "you have yet much to learn concerning that many-sided being, that graceful compound of angel and devil, that whimsical mixture of all good qualities and all vices, the world calls woman. Be quite sure, my son, that since the time of mother Eve, woman has never changed; there are the same treasons, the same perfidies, still the same feline nature of the tiger, mingled with the no less tortuous ways of the serpent. Woman must be quelled by the bold, or she will busy herself with the hope of quelling him; she will always despise the man for whom, in her secret heart, she feels no fear, and for whom she entertains no involuntary respect. Your chances of winning the heart of Hermosa, and installing yourself therein as master, are numberless; you are proscribed, and your name is a name of terror. Oh, my boy, love lives upon contrasts, knows no disparities, and despises the barrier raised by human vanity. The man most sure to succeed with a woman is precisely the only one whom, in the eyes of the world, she ought to repel the most."
"Enough of this theme!" cried the hunter violently; "Your horrible theories have already troubled my soul, and harrowed my heart. Let us stop this conversation, of which I am weary. Again, I ask, what are your intentions towards your prisoners?"
"I repeat, that it depends entirely upon yourself; they are in your hands."
"If that be the case, they shall not stay long in your hideous lair; tomorrow, at daybreak, they shall go."
"Just what I wish, my son."
"I myself will be their guide. You will restore everything you have taken from them—horses and baggage."
"You shall restore them yourself; you can easily invent a story for returning what belongs to them which shall not compromise me."
"Compromise you!" sneered Stoneheart.
"By our Lady," replied the Tigercat, with a hideous smile, "I stick to the only good deed of my life; I will not lose the credit of it."
"Then all is agreed between us; you will not break your word to me?"
"Rest in peace; I will not break it."
"Then, good-bye, till tomorrow. I go to make everything ready."
"Good night, my son. Do not take that trouble; I take it upon myself."
And the two men separated.
The Tigercat listened attentively to the sound of his son's footsteps as they died away in the distance. When silence was completely re-established, he shook his head more than once with a preoccupied air.
"Love makes him shrewd," he murmured in a suppressed voice. "I will not leave him leisure to divine my plans, or, at the moment it is within my reach, he would frustrate the vengeance I have been so many years in preparing."
Instead of retiring to his couch, the old man seized the torch, and went forth from his cell.
In the meanwhile, in spite of the fears naturally caused by their precarious position in the midst of people whose ferocious looks and brutal manners spoke little in their favour, the travellers had passed the night in tranquillity. No sound of evil augury had disturbed their repose; and, worn out by fatigue, and wearied with the various emotions of this day of misfortunes, after a short conversation, they settled themselves to sleep.
Doña Hermosa, on waking at daybreak, found herself perfectly free from the sufferings of the preceding day. Thanks to the remedy applied by the hunter to the wound, the place where she was bitten, now the venom was expressed, began to heal; she felt sufficient strength to resume her journey on horseback, and would be able to travel without too much fatigue. These good news dispersed the clouds which obscured the forehead of thehacendero, and he awaited, with lively impatience, the meeting with his host, which he had no doubt would not be long deferred. In fact, as soon as the Tigercat supposed that those to whom he had afforded shelter were awake, he presented himself before them to inquire how they had passed the night.
Thehacenderothanked him warmly, assured him they were quite well, and that Doña Hermosa herself felt almost restored to health.
"So much the better," replied the Tigercat, casting a glance of fire at the girl. "It were a pity so charming a creature should perish in such a miserable manner. And now, what are your intentions? Be not offended at this question; I shall be happy to keep you at my side; and the longer you remain here, the greater my pleasure."
"Thanks for your gracious offer," said Don Pedro; "unfortunately, I dare not accept it: they will be uneasy on our account at thehacienda, and I must hasten in person to put an end to their alarm."
"You are right. Then you intend to depart?"
"As soon as I can; unhappily, I have no horses for the few leagues of the journey. I must put your hospitality still further to the test, although I hardly know how to thank you for what you have done already, by requesting you to sell me the animals I require to return home; at the same time, I would also crave a guide, to lead us through the forest which had nearly proved our tomb, and to put us once more on our right road. You see,caballero, that I make great demands on your courtesy."
"You only ask of me what is your right, señor; I will exert myself to fulfil your wishes. But how did it happen that you found yourself on foot in the virgin forest, so far from any habitations?"
Thehacenderocast a furtive glance over the speaker; but the features of the latter continued immovable. Don Pedro then recounted all the details of the strange attack of which he had been the victim.
The Tigercat listened calmly, without interrupting him, saying, as soon as the recital was finished:
"All this seems very incomprehensible. I am annoyed at not having received this information yesterday evening. It is very late, now; but leave me to do what I can. Perhaps I may be able to cause your lost property to be restored to you; at all events I will furnish you with the means of reaching yourhacienda. Entertain no fears on that score. I presume you would not like to leave this place before you have broken your fast; you can begin your journey as soon after breakfast as you please. I must leave you for a short time, to give the necessary orders for your departure. Excuse me. In an hour's time you shall hear from me again."
Having said this, he retired; leaving the travellers in astonishment, and perplexed as to his true character so easily did this man vary both manner and language.
An hour and a half passed over without Don Pedro receiving any news of his host. At the end of that time an Indian appeared, and without uttering a word, made a sign to the travellers to follow him. They obeyed without hesitation.
After following him for some minutes, they found themselves on the summit of theteocaliwhich the evening before, under the silver rays of the moon, they had taken for a hill.
From this elevation the travellers commanded an immense extent of horizon, and enjoyed a magnificent landscape, still partially veiled by the mists of morning, but illumined here and there by the dazzling sunbeams, which produced the most striking effects amongst this chaos of trees and mountains intersecting the boundless prairies.
The morning repast was prepared on a mound of turf, covered over with the large leaves of the mahogany.
The Tigercat standing by the mound, was waiting for his guests. Some redskins, few in number, and scattered here and there about the platform, all armed, and in their war paint, were walking about with seeming indifference, and taking no apparent note of the presence of the strangers.
"I have preferred to have the meal served here," said the Tigercat, "where you can enjoy the magnificent prospect."
Don Pedro thanked him; and, at his repeated invitation, sat down by the mound with his daughter and Don Luciano. Thepeonesate by themselves.
The repast was frugal. It consisted of fritters, with red pepper,tasajo(sun-dried beef), a few slices of venison, and rolls made of maize flour, the whole washed down witheau de smilaxandpulque,—a spirit prepared from a species of aloe. It was a true hunter's meal.
"Eat and drink," said the Tigercat; "you have a long journey before you."
"Will you not honour us by partaking of the repast you have gallantly offered us?" said Don Pedro, seeing that the old man continued standing.
"You must excuse me,caballero," replied the Tigercat civilly, but peremptorily. "I broke my fast long ago."
"Indeed!" said thehacendero, not content with the answer; "Then, at least, you will consent to empty this horn ofpulqueto my health."
"It grieves me to refuse you, señor; but it is impossible!" and he bowed.
These repeated refusals caused a sudden coolness between the guests and their host, in spite of the apparent graciousness of the old man's hospitality,—for the Americans of New Spain resemble the Arabs in this, that they only consent to eat and drink with those towards whom their intentions are friendly.
A vague suspicion crossed the mind of Don Pedro; and he looked inquiringly at his host, but could see nothing in the smiling face of the old man to justify his apprehension.
The repast was eaten silently. At its termination, Doña Hermosa, after thanking the Tigercat for his profuse hospitality, asked him if, before she left, she could not see the hunter who had rendered her such invaluable service the evening before.
"He is absent at present, señorita,—absent in your service; but I expect him to return immediately."
The doña was about to ask for an explanation of these words, when a sound, resembling distant thunder, arose in the forest, and grew louder and louder every minute.
"And here," continued the Tigercat, "comes the very man whom you desired to see; he will be with you directly. The noise you hear is caused by the galloping of the horses he brings with him."
In a very short time after the occurrences related in the preceding chapter, the travellers saw a tolerably numerous troop of riders emerge from the forest.
Stoneheart rode at their head, and Don Pedro discovered, with feelings of lively satisfaction, that the horses and mules so audaciously stolen from him were in the rear of the troop.
"Ha!" said he, "The robbers have been compelled to disgorge their prey."
"It would appear so," answered the old man, with a scarcely perceptible smile.
Meanwhile, the hunter had halted the troop at a little distance from theteocali.He himself had dismounted, and was now coming towards the travellers. He soon reached them.
"I perceive that you have succeeded in your enterprise," the Tigercat said to him in a tone of raillery.
"I have," answered the hunter laconically, and turning from him.
"I am rejoiced at this circumstance," resumed the old man, addressing Don Pedro; "thanks to it, you will reach your home on your own horses, and without the loss of anything belonging to you."
"How shall I ever repay all the obligations I owe you, señor?" said thehacendero, with great emotion.
"By not thanking me for them: my conduct towards you has been very simple, and solely dictated by the interest I took in your unlucky position."
Although nothing could be more evident than the Tigercat's intention to make a courteous answer, his words were uttered with such a hissing accent, his voice was so ironical, and his tone so sarcastic, that the effect produced was quite contrary to what he intended. Without exactly comprehending the reason, Don Pedro felt he had met with an insult instead of a compliment.
"Let us end this," said Stoneheart abruptly. "The sun is already high; and it is time to set out, if you would cross the forest before nightfall."
"In all sincerity," said the Tigercat, "notwithstanding the chagrin I feel at seeing you depart, it is my duty to warn you that, if nothing detains you here, you will do well to commence your journey."
Don Pedro and his companions rose, and, accompanied by the two hunters, descended into the plain.
During the words which had been exchanged on theteocali, the mounted Indians had disappeared, leaving the animals of the Mexicans at the place where they had first halted.
Thehacendero, before he mounted, turned his head several times in the direction in which the Indian's had vanished.
"What are you looking for?" asked the old man, uneasy at this repeated movement.
"You will excuse me," answered Don Pedro; "but I am afraid to enter without a guide into that pathless forest; and I do not see the one you were good enough to promise me."
"Nevertheless he stands before you, señor," said the Tigercat, pointing to the hunter.
"Yes," said the latter, looking defiantly at the old man, "it is I who am to be your guide; and I give you my sacred word, that in despite of savages, be they beasts or men, I will conduct you in safety to yourhacienda."
The Tigercat made no answer to these words, which were evidently spoken for his behoof; he contented himself by shrugging his shoulders, while an indefinable expression settled on his mocking lips.
"Oh!" said thehacendero, "We have indeed nothing to fear if you are to be our guide, señor; the generosity of your late conduct is a sure guarantee for the future."
"Let us go," said the hunter briefly, "we have already lost too much time."
The travellers mounted without replying.
"Adieu! And good luck," said the Tigercat, when he saw them ready to start.
"One word, if you please, caballero," exclaimed thehacendero, bowing slightly to his host.
"Speak, señor," said the latter; "is there any further service I can render you?"
"No," replied the Mexican; "I owe you too many favours already; only, before I leave you, perhaps forever, I wish to tell you, without desiring to pry too closely into the motives which prompted your actions towards me, your conduct has apparently been so cordial and noble, that I must try to express to you the extent of my gratitude. Whatever may happen, señor, and until evident proof to the contrary, I consider myself indebted to you; and if occasion offers, I shall know how to cancel the debt I owe you."
And before the Tigercat, stupefied by this adieu, which proved that thehacenderowas not quite his dupe, had recovered, the Mexican had given both spurs to his horse, and galloped off to rejoin his companions who had already advanced some little way.
The old man remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the travellers, until they had finally disappeared within the forest; then he regained theteocali, muttering in a low voice:
"Has he foreseen my purpose? No, it is impossible; but his suspicion is aroused, and I must have been less prudent than my wont."