At about two o'clock P.M. he ordered the boot and saddle to be sounded, and gave the word to start.
The greatest heat of the day had passed over, the sunbeams being more oblique, had lost a great deal of their power, and the march was continued under conditions comparatively better than those which preceded it.
As he had warned him, the Captain intimated to the guide that he was to ride by his side, and, so far as was possible, did not let him out of sight for a second.
The latter did not appear at all troubled by this annoying inquisition; he rode along quite as gaily as heretofore, smoking his husk cigarette, and whistling fragments of jarabés between his teeth.
The forest began gradually to grow clearer, the openings became more numerous, and the eye embraced a wider horizon; all led to the presumption that they would soon reach the limits of the covert.
Still, the ground began rising slightly on both sides, and the path the conducta followed grew more and more hollow, in proportion as it advanced.
"Are we already reaching the spurs of the mountains?" the Captain asked.
"Oh, no, not yet," the guide answered.
"Still we shall soon be between two hills?"
"Yes, but of no height."
"That is true; still, if I am not mistaken, we shall have to pass through a defile."
"Yes, but of no great length."
"You should have warned me of it."
"Why so?"
"That I might have sent some scouts ahead."
"That is true, but there is still time to do so if you like; the persons who are waiting for us are at the end of that gorge."
"Then we have arrived?"
"Very nearly so."
"Let us push on in that case."
"I am quite ready."
They went on; all at once the guide stopped.
"Hilloh!" he said, "Look over there, Captain; is not that a musket barrel glistening in the sunbeams?"
The Captain sharply turned his eyes in the direction indicated by the soldier.
At the same moment a frightful discharge burst forth from either side of the way, and a shower of bullets poured on the conducta.
Before the Captain, ferocious at this shameful treachery, could draw a pistol from his belt, he rolled on the ground, dragged down by his horse, which had a ball right through its heart.
The guide had disappeared, and it was impossible to discover how he had escaped.
John Davis, the ex-slave dealer, had too powerful nerves for the scenes he had witnessed this day, and in which he had even played a very active and dangerous part, to leave any durable impressions on his mind.
After quitting Blue-fox, he galloped on for some time in the direction where he expected to find the Jaguar; but gradually he yielded to his thoughts, and his horse, understanding with that admirable instinct which distinguishes these noble animals, that its rider was paying no attention to it, gradually reduced its pace, passing from the gallop to a trot, and then to a foot-pace, walking with its head down, and snapping at a few blades of grass as it passed.
John Davis was considerably perplexed by the conduct of one of the persons with whom accident had brought him in contact on this morning so fertile in events of every description. The person who had the privilege of arousing the American's attention to no eminent degree was the White Scalper.
The heroic struggle sustained by this man alone against a swarm of obstinate enemies, his herculean strength, the skill with which he managed his horse—all in this strange man seemed to him to border on the marvellous.
During bivouac watches on the prairie he had frequently heard the most extraordinary and exaggerated stories told about this hunter by the Indians with, a terror, the reason of which he comprehended, now that he had seen the man; for this individual who laughed at weapons directed against his chest, and ever emerged safe and sound from the combats he engaged in, seemed rather a demon than a being appertaining to humanity. John Davis felt himself shudder involuntarily at this thought, and congratulated himself in having so miraculously escaped the danger he had incurred in his encounter with the Scalper.
We will mention, in passing, that no people in the world are more superstitious than the North Americans. This is easy to understand: this nation—a perfect harlequin's garb—is an heterogeneous composite of all the races that people the old world; each of the representatives of these races arrived in America, bearing in his emigrants' baggage not only his vices and passions, but also his creed and his superstitions, which are the wildest, most absurd, and puerile possible. This was the more easily effected, because the mass of emigrants, who have at various periods sought a refuge in America, was composed of people for the most part devoid of all learning, or even of a semblance of education; from this point of view, the North Americans, we must do them the justice of saying, have not at all degenerated; they are at the present day at least as ignorant and brutal as were their ancestors.
It is easy to imagine the strange number of legends about sorcerers and phantoms which are current in North America. These legends, preserved by tradition, passing from mouth to mouth, and with time becoming mingled one with the other, have necessarily been heightened in a country where the grand aspect of nature renders the mind prone to reverie and melancholy.
Hence John Davis, though he flattered himself he was a strong-minded man, did not fail, like all his countrymen, to possess a strong dose of credulity; and this man, who would not have recoiled at the sight of several muskets pointed at his breast, felt himself shiver with fear at the sound of a leaf falling at night on his shoulder.
Moreover, so soon as the idea occurred to John Davis that the White Scalper was a demon, or, at the very least, a sorcerer, it got hold of him, and this supposition straightway became an article of belief with him. Naturally, he found himself at once relieved by this discovery; his ideas returned to their usual current, and the anxiety that occupied his mind disappeared as if by enchantment; henceforth his opinion was formed about this man, and if accident again brought them face to face, he would know how to behave to him.
Happy at having at length found this solution, he gaily raised his head, and took a long searching look around him at the landscape he was riding through.
He was nearly in the centre of a vast rolling prairie, covered with tall grass, and with a few clumps of mahogany and pine trees scattered here and there.
Suddenly he rose in his stirrups, placed his hand as a shade over his eyes, and looked attentively.
About half a mile from the spot where he had halted, and a little to the right, that is to say, exactly in the direction he intended to follow himself, he noticed a thin column of smoke, which rose from the middle of a thicket of aloe and larch trees.
On the desert, smoke seen by the wayside always furnishes ample matter for reflection.
Smoke generally rises from a fire round which several persons are seated.
Now man, in this more unfortunate than the wild beasts, fears before all else on the prairie meeting with his fellow-man, for he may wager a hundred to one that the man he meets will prove an enemy.
Still John Davis, after ripe consideration, resolved to push on toward the fire; since morning he had been fasting, hunger was beginning to prick him, and in addition he felt excessively fatigued; he therefore inspected his weapons with the most scrupulous attention, so as to be able to have recourse to them if necessary, and digging the spur into his horse's flank, he went on boldly toward the smoke, while carefully watching the neighbourhood for fear of a surprise.
At the end of ten minutes he reached his destination; but when fifty yards from the clump of trees, he checked the speed of his horse, and laid his rifle across the saddle-bow; his face lost the anxious expression which had covered it, and he advanced toward the fire with a smile on his lips, and the most friendly air imaginable.
In the midst of a thick clump of trees, whose protecting shade offered a comfortable shelter to a weary traveller, a man dressed in the costume of a Mexican dragoon was lazily seated in front of a fire, over which his meat was cooking, while himself smoked a husk cigarette. A long lance decorated with its guidon leaned against a larch tree close to him, and a completely harnessed horse, from which the bit had, however, been removed, was peaceably nibbling the tree shoots and the tender prairie grass.
This man seemed to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age; his cunning features were lit up by small sharp eyes, and the copper tinge of his skin denoted his Indian origin.
He had for a long time seen the horseman coming toward his camp, but he appeared to attach but slight importance to it, and quietly went on smoking and watching the cooking of his meal, not taking any further precaution against the unforeseen visitor than assuring himself that his sabre came easily out of its scabbard. When he was only a few paces from the soldier, John Davis stopped and raised his hand to his hat.
"Ave Maria Purísima!" he said.
"Sin pecado concebida!" the dragoon answered, imitating the American's gesture.
"Santas tardes!" the new comer went on.
"Dios les da a Vm buenas!" the other immediately answered.
These necessary formulas of every meeting exhausted, the ice was broken, and the acquaintance made.
"Dismount, Caballero," the dragoon said; "the heat is stifling on the prairie; I have here a famous shade, and in this little pot cecina, with red harico beans and pimento, which I think you will like, if you do me the honour to share my repast."
"I readily accept your flattering invitation, Caballero," the American answered with a smile; "the more readily because I confess to you that I am literally starving, and, moreover, exhausted with fatigue."
"Caray! In that case I congratulate myself on the fortunate accident that occasions our meeting, so pray dismount without further delay."
"I am going to do so."
The American at once got off his horse, removed the bit, and the noble animal immediately joined its companion, while its master fell to the ground by the dragoon's side, with a sigh of satisfaction.
"You seem to have made a long ride, Caballero?" the soldier said.
"Yes," the American answered, "I have been on horseback for ten hours, not to mention that I spent the morning in fighting."
"Cristo! You have had hard work of it."
"You may say so without any risk of telling an untruth; for, on the word of a hunter, I never had such a tough job."
"You are a hunter?"
"At your service."
"A fine profession," the soldier said with a sigh; "I have been one too."
"And you regret it?"
"Daily."
"I can understand that. Once a man has tasted the joys of desert life, he always wishes to return to it."
"Alas, that is true."
"Why did you give it up then, since you liked it so much?"
"Ah, why!" the soldier said; "through love."
"What do you mean?"
"Yes, a child with whom I was so foolish as to fall in love, and who persuaded me to enlist."
"Oh, hang it!"
"Yes, and I had scarce put on my uniform, when she told me she was mistaken about me: that, thus dressed, I was much uglier than she could have supposed; in short, she left me in the lurch to run after an arriero."
The American could not refrain from laughing at this singular story.
"It is sad, is it not?" the soldier continued.
"Very sad," John Davis answered, trying in vain to regain his gravity.
"What would you have?" the soldier added gloomily; "the world is only one huge deception. But," he added with a sudden change of his tone, "I fancy our dinner is ready—I smell something which warns me that it is time to take off the pot."
As John Davis had naturally no objection to offer to this resolution of the soldier, the latter at once carried it into effect; the pot was taken off the fire and placed before the two guests, who began such a vigorous attack, that it was soon empty, in spite of its decent capacity.
This excellent meal was washed down with a few mouthfuls of Catalonian refino, with which the soldier appeared amply provided.
All was terminated with the indispensable cigarette, that obligato complement of every Hispano-American meal, and the two men, revived by the good food with which they had lined their stomachs, were soon in an excellent condition to open their hearts to each other.
"You seem to me a man of caution, Caballero," the American remarked, as he puffed out an immense mouthful of smoke, part of which came from his mouth, and part from his nostrils.
"It is a reminiscence of my old hunter's trade. Soldiers generally are not nearly so careful as I am."
"The more I observe you," John Davis went on, "the more extraordinary does it appear to me that you should have consented to take up a profession so badly paid as that of a soldier."
"What would you have? It is fatality, and then the impossibility of sending the uniform to the deuce. However, I hope to be made aCabobefore the year's out."
"That is a fine position, as I have heard; the pay must be good."
"It would not be bad, if we received it."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems that the government is not rich."
"Then, you give it credit?"
"We are obliged to do so."
"Hang it! but forgive me for asking you all these questions, which must appear to you indiscreet."
"Not at all; we are talking as friends."
"How do you live?"
"Well, we have casualties."
"What may they be?"
"Do you not know?"
"Indeed, I do not."
"I will explain."
"You will cause me pleasure."
"Sometimes our Captain or General entrusts us with a mission."
"Very good."
"This mission is paid for separately; the more dangerous it is, the larger the amount."
"Still on credit?"
"No, hang it; in advance."
"That is better. And have you many of these missions?"
"Frequently, especially during a pronunciamento."
"Yes, but for nearly a year no General has pronounced."
"Unluckily."
"Then you are quite dry?"
"Not quite."
"You have had missions?"
"I have one at this moment."
"Well paid?"
"Decently."
"Would there be any harm in asking how much?"
"Not at all; I have received twenty-five ounces."
"Cristo! that is a nice sum. The mission must be a dangerous one to be paid so highly."
"It is not without peril."
"Hum! In that case take care."
"Thank you, but I run no heavy risk; I have only to deliver a letter."
"It is true that a letter—" the American carelessly remarked.
"Oh! this one is more important than you fancy it."
"Nonsense!"
"On my honour it is, for it concerns some millions of dollars."
"What is that you say?" John Davis exclaimed with an involuntary start.
Since his meeting with the soldier, the hunter had quietly worked to get him to reveal the reason that brought him into these parts, for the presence of a single dragoon on the desert seemed to him queer, and for good reason; hence it was with great pleasure that he saw him fall into the trap set for him.
"Yes," the soldier continued, "General Rubio, whose asistente I am, has sent me as an express to meet Captain Melendez, who at this moment is escorting a conducta de plata."
"Do you mean that really?"
"Do I not tell you that I have the letter about me?"
"That is true; but for what purpose does the General write to the Captain?"
The soldier looked for a moment cunningly at the hunter, and then suddenly changed his tone.
"Will you play fair?" he asked him, as he looked him full in the face.
The hunter smiled.
"Good," the soldier continued; "I see that we can understand one another."
"Why not? those are the conditions that suit Caballeros."
"Then, we play fair?"
"That is agreed."
"Confess that you would like to know the contents of this letter."
"Through simple curiosity, I swear to you."
"Of course! I felt assured of that. Well, it only depends on yourself to know them."
"I will not take long then; let me hear your conditions."
"They are simple."
"Tell me them for all that."
"Look at me carefully; do you not recognize me?"
"On my honour, I do not."
"That proves to me that I have a better memory than you."
"It is possible."
"I recognize you."
"You may have seen me somewhere."
"Very likely, but that is of little consequence; the main point is that I should know who you are."
"Oh, a simple hunter."
"Yes, and an intimate friend of the Jaguar."
"What!" the hunter exclaimed with a start of surprise.
"Do not be frightened at such a trifle: answer me simply; is it so or not?"
"It is true; I do not see why I should hide the fact from you."
"You would be wrong if you did. Where is the Jaguar at this moment?"
"I do not know."
"That is to say, you will not tell me."
"You have guessed it."
"Good. Could you tell me, if I wished you to lead me to him?"
"I see no reason to prevent it, if the affair is worth your while."
"Have I not told you that it related to millions?"
"You did, but you did not prove it."
"And you wish me to give you that proof?"
"Nothing else."
"That is rather difficult."
"No, it is not."
"How so?"
"Hang it, I am a good fellow; I only want to cover my responsibility; show me the letter, I ask no more."
"And that will satisfy you?"
"Yes, because I know the General's handwriting."
"Oh, in that case, it is all right," and drawing a large envelope from his breast, he said as he showed it to the American, though without loosing his hold, "Look!"
The latter looked at it closely for some minutes.
"It is really the General's handwriting," the soldier continued.
"Yes,"
"Now, do you consent to lead me to the Jaguar?"
"Whenever you like."
"At once then."
"Very good."
The two men rose by mutual agreement, put the bits in their horses' mouths, leaped into their saddles, and left at a gallop the spot which for several hours had afforded them such pleasant shade.
The two adventurers rode gaily side by side, telling one another the news of the desert, that is to say, hunting exploits, and skirmishes with the Indians, and conversing about the political events which for some months past had attained a certain gravity and alarming importance for the Mexican government.
But, while thus talking, asking each other questions, the answers to which they did not wait to hear, their conversation had no other object save to conceal the secret preoccupation that agitated them.
In their previous discussion, each had tried to overreach the other, trying to draw out secrets, the hunter manoeuvring to lead the soldier to an act of treachery, the latter asking no better than to sell himself, and acting in accordance with his wishes; the result of the trial was that they had found themselves of equal force, and each had obtained the result he wanted.
But this was no longer the question with them; like all crafty men, success, instead of satisfying them, had given birth in their minds to a multitude of suspicions. John Davis asked himself what cause had led the dragoon to betray his party so easily, without stipulating beforehand for important advantages for himself.
For everything is paid for in America, and infamy especially commands a high price.
On his side, the dragoon found that the hunter put faith in his statements very easily, and, in spite of his comrade's affectionate manner, the nearer he approached the camp of the border rifles, the more his uneasiness increased; for he was beginning to fear lest he had gone head first into a snare, and had trusted too imprudently to a man whose reputation was far from reassuring him.
Such was the state of mind in which the two men stood to each other, scarce an hour after leaving the spot where they had met so accidentally.
Still, each carefully hid his apprehensions in his heart; nothing was visible on the exterior; on the contrary, they redoubled their politeness and obsequiousness toward each other, behaving rather like brothers delighted to have met after a long separation, than as men who two hours previously spoke together for the first time.
The sun had set about an hour, and it was quite dark when they came within a short distance of the Jaguar's camp, whose bivouac fires flashed out of the gloom, reflecting themselves with fantastic effects of light on the surrounding objects, and imprinting on the rugged scenery of the prairie a stamp of savage majesty.
"We have arrived," the hunter said, as he stopped his horse and turned to his companion; "no one has perceived us; you can still turn back without any fear of pursuit; what is your decision?"
"Canarios! Comrade," the soldier answered, shrugging his shoulders with a disdainful air; "I have not come so far to shiver at the entrance of the camp, and allow me to remark, with all the respect due to you, that your remark appears to me singular at the least."
"I owed it to myself to make it; who knows whether you may not repent to-morrow the hazardous step you are taking to-day?"
"That is possible. Well, what would you have? I will run the risk; my determination is formed, and is unchangeable. So let us push on, in Heaven's name."
"As you please, Caballero; within a quarter of an hour you will be in the presence of the man you desire to see. You will have an explanation with him, and my task will be accomplished."
"And I shall have nothing but thanks to offer you," the soldier quickly interrupted him; "but let us not remain any longer here: we may attract attention, and become the mark for a bullet, which I confess to you I am not at all desirous of."
The hunter, without replying, let his horse feel the spur, and they continued to advance.
Within a few minutes they entered the circle of light cast by the fire; almost immediately the sharp click of a rifle being cocked was heard, and a rough voice ordered them to stop in the devil's name.
The order, though not positively polite, was not the less peremptory, and the two adventurers thought it advisable to obey.
Several armed men then issued from the entrenchments; and one of them, addressing the strangers, asked them who they were, and what they wanted at such an unseasonable hour.
"Who we are?" the American answered, firmly; "What we want? To come in as quickly as we can."
"That is all very fine," the other replied; "but, if you do not tell us your names, you will not enter so soon, especially as one of you wears a uniform which is not in the odour of sanctity with us."
"All right, Ruperto," the American replied, "I am John Davis, and you know me, I suppose; so let me pass, without delay. I answer for this caballero, who has an important communication to make to the Chief."
"You are welcome, Master John; do not be angry with me, for you know that prudence is the mother of safety."
"Yes, yes," the American said, with a laugh, "deuce take me if you easily get into a scrape for lack of prudence, gossip."
They then entered the camp without farther obstacle.
The border rifles were generally sleeping round the fires, but a cordon of vigilant sentries, placed at the openings of the camp, watched over the common security.
John Davis dismounted, inviting his comrade to follow his example; then, making him a sign to follow, he walked toward a tent, through the canvas of which a weak light could be seen flickering.
On reaching the entrance of the tent, the hunter stopped, and tapped twice.
"Are you asleep, Jaguar?" he asked, in a suppressed voice.
"Is that you, Davis, my old comrade?" was immediately asked from within.
"Yes."
"Come in, for I was impatiently waiting for you."
The American raised the curtain which covered the entrance, and glided into the tent; the soldier followed him gently, and the curtain fell down behind them.
The Jaguar, seated on a buffalo skull, was reading a voluminous correspondence by the dubious light of acandil; and in a corner of the tent might be seen two or three bear-skins, evidently intended to serve as a bed. On seeing the newcomers, the young man folded up the papers, and laid them in a small iron casket, the key of which he placed in his bosom, then raised his head, and looked anxiously at the soldier.
"Who's this, John?" he asked; "Have you brought prisoners?"
"No," the other answered, "this caballero was most desirous of seeing you, for certain reasons he will himself explain; so I thought I had better carry out his wishes."
"Good; we will settle with him in a moment. What have you done?"
"What you ordered me."
"Then you have succeeded?"
"Completely."
"Bravo, my friend! Tell me all about it."
"What need of details?" the American answered, looking meaningly at the dragoon, who stood motionless a couple of paces from him.
The Jaguar understood him.
"That is true," he said, "suppose we see of what sort of wood this man is made;" and addressing the soldier, he added, "Come hither, my good fellow."
"Here I am, at your orders, Captain."
"What is your name?"
"Gregorio Felpa. I am a dragoon, as you can see by my uniform, Excellency."
"What is your motive for wishing to see me?"
"An anxiety to render you an important service, Excellency."
"I thank you, but usually services are confoundedly dear, and I am not a rich man."
"You will become so."
"I hope so. But what is the great service you propose to render me?"
"I will explain to you, in two words. In every political question there are two sides, and that depends on the point of view from which you regard it. I am a child of Texas, son of a North American and an Indian woman, which means that I cordially detest the Americans."
"Come to facts."
"I am doing so. A soldier against my will, General Rubio has entrusted me with a dispatch for Captain Melendez, in which he gives him a place of meeting, so as to avoid the Rio Seco, where the report runs that you intend to ambush, in order to carry off the conducta."
"Ah, ah," the Jaguar said, becoming very attentive, "but how do you know the contents of the dispatch?"
"In a very simple way. The General places the utmost confidence in me; and he read me the dispatch, because I am to serve as the Captain's guide."
"Then you are betraying your Chief?"
"Is that the name you give my action?"
"I am looking at it from the General's side."
"And from yours?"
"When we have succeeded I will tell you."
"Good," he carelessly replied.
"You have this dispatch?"
"Here it is."
The Jaguar took it, examined it attentively, turning it over and over, and then prepared to break the seal.
"Stop!" the soldier hurriedly exclaimed.
"What for?"
"Because, if you open it, I cannot deliver it to the man for whom it is intended."
"What do you mean?"
"You do not understand me," the soldier said, with ill-concealed impatience.
"That is probable," the Captain answered.
"I only ask you to listen to me for five minutes."
"Speak."
"The meeting-place appointed for the Captain and the General is the Laguna del Venado. Before reaching the Laguna there is a very narrow and densely-wooded gorge."
"The Paso de Palo Muerto; I know it."
"Good. You will hide yourself there, on the right and left, in the bushes; and when the conducta passes, you will attack it on all sides at once; it is impossible for it to escape you, if, as I suppose, your arrangements are properly made."
"Yes, the spot is most favourable for an attack. But who guarantees that the conducta will pass through this gorge?"
"I do."
"What do you mean?"
"Certainly, as I shall act as guide."
"Hum! We no longer understand one another."
"Excuse me, we do, perfectly. I will leave you, and go to the Captain, to whom I will deliver the General's dispatch; he will be compelled to take me for his guide, whether we like it or not; and I will lead him into your hands as surely as a novillo taken to the shambles."
The Jaguar gave the soldier a glance which seemed trying to read the bottom of his heart.
"You are a daring fellow," he said to him, "but I fancy you settle events a little too much as you would like them. I do not know you; I see you to-day for the first time, and, excuse my frankness, it is to arrange an act of treachery. Who answers for your good faith? If I am foolish enough to let you go quietly, what assures me that you will not turn against me?"
"My own interest, in the first place; if you seize the conducta by my aid, you will give me five hundred ounces."
"That is not too dear: still, allow me to make a further objection."
"Do so, Excellency."
"Nothing proves to me that you have not been promised double the amount to trap me."
"Oh!" he said, with a shake of the head.
"Hang it all! Listen to me; more singular things than that have been known, and though my head may be worth little, I confess to you that I have the weakness of attaching remarkable value to it; hence I warn you, that unless you have better security to offer, the affair is broken off."
"That would be a pity."
"I am well aware of that, but it is your fault, not mine; you should have taken your measures better before coming to me."
"Then nothing can convince you of my good faith?"
"Nothing."
"Come, we must have an end of this!" the soldier exclaimed, impatiently.
"I ask for nothing better."
"It is clearly understood between us, Excellency, that you will give me five hundred ounces?"
"If by your aid I carry off the conducta de plata; I promise it."
"That is enough; I know that you never break your word."
He then unbuttoned his uniform, drew out a bag hung round his neck by a steel chain, and offered it to the Captain.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked him.
"Certainly," the Jaguar replied, crossing himself fervently; "it is a relic."
"Blessed by the Pope! As this attestation proves."
"It is true."
He took it from his neck, and laid it in the young man's hand, then crossing his right thumb over the left, he said, in a firm and marked voice—
"I, Gregorio Felpa, swear on this relic to accomplish faithfully all the clauses of the bargain I have just concluded with the noble Captain called the Jaguar: if I break this oath, I renounce from this day and for ever the place I hope for in Paradise, and devote myself to the eternal flames of hell. Now," he added, "keep that precious relic; you will restore it to me on my return."
The Captain, without replying, immediately hung it round his own neck.
Strange contradiction of the human heart, and inexplicable anomaly; these Indians, for the most part pagans, in spite of the baptism they have received, and who, while affecting to follow ostensibly the rules of the Catholic religion, secretly practise the rites of their worship, have a lively faith in relics and amulets; all wear them round their necks in little bags, and these perverse and dissolute men, to whom nothing is sacred, who laugh at the most noble feelings, whose life is passed in inventing roguery, and preparing acts of treachery, profess so great a respect for these relics, that there is no instance of an oath taken on one of them having ever been broken.
Anyone who pleases may explain this extraordinary fact; we content ourselves with telling it.
Before the oath taken by the soldier, the Jaguar's suspicions at once faded away to make room for the most perfect confidence.
The conversation lost the stiff tone it had up to the present, the soldier sat down on a buffalo skull, and the three men, henceforth in good harmony, quietly discussed the best means to be employed to prevent a failure.
The plan proposed by the soldier was so simple and easy to carry out, that it guaranteed success; hence it was adopted entirely, and the discussion only turned on points of detail.
At a rather late hour of the night, the three men at length separated, in order to take a few moments of indispensable rest between the fatigue of the past day and that they would have to endure on the morrow.
Gregorio slepta pierna suelta, to employ the Spanish phrase, that is to say, straight off the reel.
About two hours before sunrise, the Jaguar bent over the sleeper and awoke him; the soldier rose at once, rubbed his eyes for an instant, and at the end of five minutes was as fresh and ready as if he had been asleep for eight-and-forty hours.
"It is time to start," the Jaguar said, in a low voice; "John Davis has himself rubbed down and saddled your horse; come."
They left the tent; they found the American holding the soldier's bridle, and the latter leaped into the saddle without using his stirrups, in order to show that he was quite fresh.
"Mind," the Jaguar observed, "that you employ the utmost prudence, watch your words and your slightest gestures carefully, for you are about to deal with the bravest and most skilful officer in the whole Mexican army."
"Trust to me, Captain. Canarios! The stake is too large for me to run any risk of losing the game."
"One word more."
"I am listening."
"Manage so as not to reach the gorge till nightfall, for darkness goes a great way toward the success of a surprise—and now good-bye and good luck."
"I wish you the same."
The Jaguar and the American escorted the dragoon to the barrier, in order to pass him through the sentries, who, had not this precaution been taken, would have infallibly fired at him, owing to the uniform he wore.
"When he had left the camp, the two men looked after him so long as they could distinguish his dark outline gliding like a shadow through the trees of the forest, when it speedily disappeared.
"Hum!" said John Davis, "That is what I call a thorough scoundrel; he is more cunning than an opossum. What a fearful villain!"
"Well, my friend," the Jaguar answered, carelessly, "men of that stamp are necessary, else what would become of us?"
"That is true. They are as necessary as the plague and leprosy; but I stick to what I said, he is the most perfect scoundrel I ever saw; and the Lord knows the magnificent collection I have come across during the course of my life!"
A few minutes later, the border rifles raised their camp and mounted to proceed to the gorge, where the rendezvous had been made with Gregorio Felpa, the asistente of General Rubio, who placed in him a confidence of which the soldier was in every respect so worthy.
The Jaguar's measures were so well taken, and the traitor to whom the guidance of the conducta was entrusted had manoeuvred so cleverly, that the Mexicans fell literally into a wasp's nest, from which it was very difficult, if not impossible, for them to escape.
Although demoralized for a moment by the fall of their Chief, whose horse was killed at the beginning of the action, they still obeyed the Captain's voice, who, by a supreme effort, rose again almost simultaneously, and they collected round the string of mules laden with the treasure. They boldly formed a square, and prepared to defend courageously the precious depôt they had under their guard.
The escort commanded by Captain Melendez, though not large, was composed of old tried soldiers, long habituated to bush-fighting, and for whom the critical position in which their unlucky star had brought them, possessed nothing very extraordinary.
The dragoons had dismounted, and throwing away their long lances, useless in a fight like the one that was preparing, seized their carbines, and with their eyes fixed on the bushes, calmly awaited the order to begin firing.
Captain Melendez studied the terrain with a hurried glance, and it was far from being favourable. On the right and left steep slopes, crowned by enemies; in the rear, a large party of border rifles ambushed behind a barricade of trees, which, as if by enchantment, suddenly interrupted the road, and prevented a retreat; lastly, in front, a precipice about twenty yards in width, and of incalculable depth.
All hope, therefore, of getting safe and sound out of the position in which they were beset seemed taken from the Mexicans, not only through the considerable number of enemies that surrounded them, but also through the nature of the battle-field; still, after carefully examining it, a flash burst from the Captain's eye, and a gloomy smile passed over his face.
The dragoons had known their commander a long time, they placed faith in him; they perceived this fugitive smile, and their courage was heightened.
As the Captain had smiled, he must have hopes.
It is true that not a man in the whole escort could have said in what that hope consisted.
After the first discharge, the bandits appeared on the heights, but remained there motionless, satisfying themselves with attentively watching the movements of the Mexicans.
The Captain profited by this respite which the enemy so generously offered him, to take a few defensive measures, and amend his plan of battle.
The mules were unloaded, and the precious boxes placed right away at the rear, as far as possible from the enemy; then the horses and mules, led to the front, were arranged so that their bodies should serve as a rampart for the soldiers, who, kneeling and stooping behind this living breastwork, found themselves comparatively sheltered from the enemy's bullets.
When these measures were taken, and the Captain had assured himself by a final glance that his orders were punctually executed, he bent down to the ear of no Bautista, the chief arriero, and whispered a few words.
The arriero gave a quick start of surprise on hearing the Captain's words, but recovered himself immediately, and bowed his head in assent.
"You will obey?" Don Juan asked, as he looked at him fixedly.
"On my honour, Captain," the arriero answered.
"Very good," the young man said gaily; "we shall have some fun, I promise you."
The arriero fell back, and the Captain placed himself in front of the soldiers. He had scarce taken up his fighting position, when a man appeared at the top of the right hand bank; he held in his hand a long lance, from the end of which fluttered a piece of white rag.
"Oh, oh," the Captain murmured, "what is the meaning of this! Are they beginning to fear lest their prey may escape them? Hilloh," he shouted, "what do you want?"
"To parley," the man with the flag answered laconically.
"Parley," the Captain answered, "what good will that do? Besides, I have the honour of being a Captain in the Mexican army, and do not treat with bandits."
"Take care, Captain, misplaced courage is frequently braggadocio; your position is desperate."
"Do you think so?" the young man said in an ironical voice.
"You are surrounded on all sides."
"Bar one."
"Yes, but there is an impassable abyss there."
"Who knows?" the Captain said, still mockingly.
"In a word, will you listen to me?" the other said, who was beginning to grow impatient at this conversation.
"Well," the officer said, "let me hear your propositions, after which I will let you know my conditions."
"What conditions?" the bandit asked in amazement.
"Those I intend to impose on you, by Jove."
A Homeric laugh from the border rifles greeted these haughty words. The Captain remained cold and impassive.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"The Chief of the men who hold you imprisoned."
"Prisoners? I do not believe it; however, we shall see. Ah! you must be the Jaguar, whose name is held in execration on this border?"
"I am the Jaguar," the latter answered simply.
"Very good. What do you want with me? Speak, and before all be brief," the Captain said, as he leaned the point of his sword on the end of his boot.
"I wish to avoid bloodshed," the Jaguar said.
"That is very kind of you, but I fancy it is rather late to form so laudable a resolve," the officer said in his sarcastic voice.
"Listen, Captain, you are a brave officer, and I should be in despair if any misfortune happened to you; do not obstinately carry on an impossible struggle, surrounded as you are by an imposing force; any attempt at resistance would be an unpardonable act of madness, which could only result in a general massacre of the men you command, while you would not have the slightest hope of saving the conducta under your escort. Surrender, I repeat, for you have only that way of safety left open to you."
"Caballero," the Captain said, and this time seriously, "I thank you for the words you have spoken; I am a connoisseur in men, and see that you are speaking honourably at this moment."
"I am," said the Jaguar.
"Unfortunately," the Captain continued, "I am forced to repeat to you that I have the honour to be an officer, and would never consent to deliver my sword to the leader of banditti, for whose head a price is offered. If I have been mad and idiotic enough to let myself be drawn into a trap, all the worse for me—I must accept the consequences."
The two speakers had by this time come together, and were conversing side by side.
"I can understand, Captain, that your military honour must, under certain circumstances, compel you to fight, even under unfavourable conditions; but here the case is different—all the chances are against you, and your honour will in no way suffer by a capitulation which will save the lives of your brave soldiers."
"And deliver to you without a blow the rich prey you covet."
"Whatever you may do, that prey cannot escape me."
The Captain shrugged his shoulders.
"You are mistaken," he said; "like all men accustomed to prairie warfare, you have been too clever, and your adroitness has carried you past your object."
"What do you mean?"
"Learn to know me, Caballero; I am a cristiano viejo; I am descended from the old Conquistadors, and the Spanish blood flows pure in my veins. All my men are devoted to me, and at my order they will let themselves be killed to the last without hesitation; but whatever may be the advantages of the situation you occupy, and the number of your companions, you will require a certain time to kill fifty men reduced to desperation, and who are resolved not to ask quarter."
"Yes," the Jaguar said in a hollow voice; "but in the end they are killed."
"Of course," the Captain replied calmly; "but while you are murdering us, the arrieros have my positive orders to cast the money chests to the bottom of the abyss, to the brink of which you have forced us."
"Oh," the Jaguar said with an ill-restrained look of menace, "you will not do that."
"Why shall I not, if you please?" the officer said coldly. "Yes, I will do it, I pledge you my honour."
"Oh!"
"What will happen, then? You will have brutally murdered fifty men, with no other result than that of wallowing in the blood of your countrymen."
"Rayo de Dios! This is madness."
"Not at all; it is simply the logical consequence of the threat you make me; we shall be dead, but as men of honour, and have fulfilled our duty, as the money will be saved."
"All my efforts, then, to bring about a peaceful settlement are sterile."
"There is one way."
"What is it?"
"To let us pass, after pledging your word of honour not to molest our retreat."
"Never! That money is indispensable to me, and I must have it."
"Come and take it, then,"
"That is what I am going to do."
"Very good."
"The blood I wished to spare will fall on your head."
"Or on yours."
They separated.
The Captain turned to his soldiers, who had been near enough to follow the discussion through all its turnings.
"What will you do, lads?" he asked them.
"Die!" they answered in a loud and firm voice.
"Be it so—we will die together;" and brandishing his sabre over his head, he shouted, "Dios y libertad Viva México!"
"Viva México!" the dragoons repeated, enthusiastically.
While this had been going on, the sun had disappeared below the horizon, and darkness covered the earth, like a sombre winding-sheet.
The Jaguar, with rage in his heart at the ill success of his tentatives, had rejoined his comrades.
"Well," John Davis asked him, who was anxiously watching for his return, "what have you obtained?"
"Nothing. That man is a fanatic."
"As I warned you, he is a demon; fortunately he cannot escape us, whatever he may do."
"Then you are mistaken," the Jaguar replied, stamping his foot passionately; "whether he live or die the money is lost to us."
"How so?"
The Jaguar told his confidant in a few words what had passed between him and the Captain.
"Confusion!" the American exclaimed; "In that case let us make haste."
"To increase our misfortunes, it is as dark as in an oven."
"By heavens! Let us make an illumination. Perhaps it will cause those demons incarnate to reflect, who are croaking there like frogs calling for rain."
"You are right. Torches here!"
"Better still. Let us fire the forest."
"Ah, ah," the Jaguar said, with a laugh, "bravo! Let us smoke them out like musk-rats."
This diabolical idea was immediately carried out, and ere long a brilliant belt of flame ran all around the gorge, where the Mexicans were stoically awaiting the attack.
They had not long to wait; a sharp fusillade began, mingled with the cries and yells of the assailants.
"It is time!" the Captain shouted.
The sound of a chest falling down the precipice was immediately heard.
Owing to the fire, it was as bright as day, and not a movement of the Mexicans escaped their adversaries.
The latter uttered a yell of fury on seeing the chests disappear one after the other in the abyss.
They rushed at the soldiers; but the latter received them at the bayonet's point, not giving ground an inch.
A point-blank discharge from the Mexicans, who had reserved their fire, laid many of the enemy low, and spread disorder through the ranks of the assailants, who began falling back involuntarily.
"Forward!" the Jaguar howled.
The bandits returned to the charge more eagerly than before.
"Keep firm, we must die," the Captain said.
"We will," the soldiers repeated unanimously.
The fight then began, body to body, foot to foot, chest against chest; the assailants and assailed were mixed up and fought more like wild beasts than men.
The arrieros, though decimated by the bullets fired at them, did not the less eagerly continue their task; the crowbar scarce fell from the hand of one shot down, ere another seized the heavy iron mass, and the chests of money toppled uninterruptedly over the precipice, in spite of the yells of fury, and gigantic efforts of the enemy, who exhausted themselves in vain to breach the human wall that barred their passage.
'Twas a fearfully grand sight, this obstinate struggle, this implacable combat which these men carried on, by the brilliant light of a burning forest.
The cries had ceased, the butchery went on silently and terribly, and at times the Captain could be heard sharply repeating—
"Close up there, close up!"
And the ranks closed, and the men fell without a murmur, having sacrificed their lives, and only fighting now to gain the few moments indispensable to prevent their sacrifice being sterile.
In vain did the border rifles, excited by the desire of gain, try to crush this energetic resistance offered them by a handful of men; the heroic soldiers, supporting one another, with their feet pressed against the corpses of those who had preceded them to death, seemed to multiply themselves in order to bar the gorge on all sides at once.
The fight, however, could not possibly last much longer; ten men only were left of the Captain's detachment; the others had fallen, but every man with his face to the foe.
All the arrieros were dead; two chests still remained on the edge of the precipice; the Captain looked hurriedly around.
"One more effort, lads!" he shouted, "We only want five minutes to finish our task."
"Dios y libertad!" the soldiers shouted; and, although exhausted with fatigue, they threw themselves resolutely into the thickest part of the crowd that surrounded them.
For a few minutes, these men accomplished prodigies; but at length numbers gained the mastery: they all fell!
The Captain alone was still alive.
He had taken advantage of the devotion of his soldiers to seize a crowbar, and hurl one chest over the precipice; the second, raised with great difficulty, only required a final effort to disappear in its turn, when suddenly a terrible hurrah caused the officer to raise his head.
The border rifles were rushing up, terrible, and panting like tigers thirsting for carnage.
"Ah!" Gregorio Felpa, the traitor-guide, shouted gladly, as he rushed forward; "at any rate we shall have this one."
"You lie, villain!" the Captain answered.
And raising with both hands the terrible bar of iron, he cleft the skull of the soldier, who fell like a stunned ox, not uttering a cry, or giving vent to a sigh.
"Whose turn is it next?" the Captain said as he raised the crowbar.
A yell of horror burst from the crowd, which hesitated for a moment.
The Captain quickly lowered his crowbar, and the chest hung over the brink of the abyss.
This movement restored the borderers all their rage and fury.
"Down with him, down with him!" they shouted, as they rushed on the officer.
"Halt!" the Jaguar said as he bounded forward, and overthrew all in his way; "Not one of you must stir; this man belongs to me."
On hearing this well-known voice, all the men stopped.
The Captain threw away his crowbar, for the last chest had fallen in its turn over the precipice.
"Surrender, Captain Melendez," the Jaguar said, as he advanced toward the officer.
The latter had taken up his sabre again.
"It is not worth while now," he replied, "I prefer to die."
"Defend yourself then."
The two men crossed swords, and for some minutes a furious clashing of steel could be heard. All at once, the Captain, by a sharp movement, made his adversary's weapon fly ten paces off, and ere the latter recovered from his surprise, the officer rushed on him and writhed round him like a serpent.
The two men rolled on the ground.
Two yards behind them was the precipice.
All the Captain's efforts were intended to drag the Jaguar to the verge of the abyss; the latter, on the contrary, strove to free himself from his opponent's terrible grasp, for he had doubtless guessed his desperate resolve.
At last, after a struggle of some minutes, the arms that held the Jaguar round the body gradually loosed their hold, the officer's clenched hands opened, and the young man, by the outlay of his whole strength, succeeded in throwing off his enemy and rising.
But he was hardly on his feet, ere the Captain, who appeared exhausted and almost fainting, bounded like a tiger, seized his adversary round the body, and gave him a fearful shock.
The Jaguar, still confused by the struggle he had gone through, and not suspecting this sudden attack, tottered, and lost his balance with a loud cry.
"At length!" the Captain shouted with ferocious joy.
The borderers uttered an exclamation of horror and despair.
The two enemies had disappeared in the abyss.
[What became of them will be found fully recorded in the next volume of this series, called "THE FREE-BOOTERS."]