CHAPTER VIITHE PREFECT MOVESTim's adventure caused Mr. O'Hagan to change his mind about dismissing Romaña. To do so might be a new cause of offence to the sensitive patriots."You have already proved a very dear son," he said, with a humorous twinkle that disguised his real feeling."Durand says that his pater gives old Mollendo a regular subscription to keep him quiet," said Tim."Blackmail! He will soon get tired of that.""I don't suppose what he has paid comes to £250.""Ah! but he hasn't given his boy a motor-cycle! Young Durand came over to-day to play cricket, and seemed vastly tickled when I told him where you were.""I could have boxed his ears," said Mrs. O'Hagan indignantly. "It was no laughing matter to me.""Will I challenge him, Mother?" said Tim quizzingly. "I am going to ride over to-morrow to tell him all about it, and if you like----""Don't tease your mother," Mr. O'Hagan interposed. "She insisted on my sending the money at once, or I declare I would have been inclined to let you have a week of it."The kidnapping of the young Inglés created much indignation and resentment among the people of San Rosario. The majority of them, having little to lose, were staunch supporters of the Prefect, and when next day they saw a dozen gendarmes ride into the town, they supposed them to be only the advanced guard of a force sent from the capital to begin the long-expected operations against the brigands. Some, however, viewed the soldiers with alarm. To the substantial citizens, a visit of the Prefect's gendarmes usually spelt trouble. Every man whose secret sympathies were with the Mollendists trembled in his shoes; even those who were conscious of innocence shivered if their worldly substance was large enough to be worth the attention of the Prefect and his harpies. Many, among them the gobernador, were greatly relieved when the gendarmes, instead of dismounting, halted only to refresh themselves in the saddle at one of the albergos, then rode through the town and along the track leading to Mr. O'Hagan's house.Arriving there, the leader sprang from his horse, and strode with clanking spurs to the door, which stood open. The others formed up in line along the front of the house. To the servant who came in answer to the officer's summons, he explained that he wished to see the señor haciendado. Mr. O'Hagan left the office, where he had been alone, and invited his visitor into the patio."I regret, señor," said the officer, declining to be seated, "that I have come on a very disagreeable errand." He took a paper from his pocket. "You see here a warrant, signed by his excellency the Prefect, and sealed with the provincial seal, authorising the arrest of yourself and your son.""On what charge, señor?" asked Mr. O'Hagan quietly."On the charge of furthering and abetting the treasonable designs of one Carlos Mollendo, who is stirring up sedition. It is useless to resist, señor; I have a sufficient body of troopers outside. I demand that you surrender yourself and your son to justice.""I will come with you," said Mr. O'Hagan, "under protest. You will please to note that I am a British citizen. My son is not at home.""Where is he?""That I must leave you to find out."The officer at once called in a man to search the house, himself keeping guard over Mr. O'Hagan in the patio. The gendarme found Mrs. O'Hagan coming from the servants' quarters. He bowed respectfully, and asked her to go to the drawing-room and remain there."I am going to the patio, to my husband," replied the lady stoutly. "Stand out of my way, please."The man tugged his moustache, stood aside, and then went on to complete his search. The half-minute's delay had allowed Romaña, whom his mistress had just quitted, to slip out of the house and into a shrubbery, whence he made his way swiftly in the direction of Señor Durand's estate.He met Tim returning, half-way between Durand's house and the cross-roads."Stop, señorito," he called; "I have a message from the gracious lady.""What is it?" asked Tim, jumping off his machine."The señora bids you come with me," said Romaña. "Gendarmes have ridden to arrest the señor and you, and the mistress sent me to take you to a place of safety.""I won't go. I will join Father," said Tim at once, preparing to ride off. Romaña detained him."I beg you to do as the señora wishes," he said. "What is the use of your going to prison, too? There is more chance for every one if you are free. You will do better to remain in hiding until we see what is intended towards the señor. I have friends in San Rosario and the capital; we Mollendists have our spies, like the Prefect. The señor will no doubt be taken to San Juan. Nothing will be done immediately. The Prefect is always very careful to cloak his misdeeds under the forms of law.""I'll go back to Señor Durand's, then.""That is unwise, señorito. The gendarmes may come there to look for you, and then Señor Durand himself will be in danger. I know a better place, and if you will come with me----""Very well, then; but I don't like it. What is to become of Mother?""The señora will be quite safe: the Prefect is always very polite to the ladies," said Romaña.Romaña mounted behind Tim, and they rode back to the cross-roads, then turned to the right into a track that was fairly level for some distance, then ascended gradually. Nearly nine miles from the cross-roads it wound round a steep cliff. On one side a sheer wall of rock rose to a great height; on the other a wooded precipice fell away to an equal depth. A small waterfall plunged from the heights above, forming a stream across the path, and flowing as a second waterfall over the edge of the precipice. At this point the hill-side was covered with scrub, amid which one large tree formed a conspicuous object. Stepping-stones were laid across the stream, and a few large slabs were let into the steep bank above the path on the farther side.Here they dismounted and made their way along the bed of the stream towards the waterfall. Then they turned to the right, and proceeded over more large flat slabs leading into the scrub, Romaña remarking that their footsteps would leave no traces on the stones. On reaching the large tree before mentioned, they found themselves at the mouth of a cavern concealed by the foliage and the scrub. A projection of the cliff on the right hid the entrance of the cavern from observation by any one on the upper portion of the path.It had been a task of no little difficulty to haul the cycle up the stream, and both were very hot and tired when they reached the cave. Drawing aside the screen of foliage, Romaña whispered the word Libertad. There was no answer. He led Tim inside."That is our password," he said with a smile. "If I had failed to give it I might have been shot. But there is no one here now. Only three men know of this place. Here you will be quite safe. You are now a Mollendist," he added, chuckling."Have you set a trap for me, Romaña?" said Tim indignantly."No, no; all that I mean is that now the señor your father is a prisoner he must be a Mollendist. All the Prefect's enemies are."While speaking he had lit a lamp, by whose light Tim saw an earthen roof, walls, and floor; two or three stools; a three-legged table; a large cupboard in which were kept, as Romaña told him, food that would not spoil, and a few mugs; a large can for holding water, and two long boxes containing rugs which might serve on occasion as beds."Is there no other entrance?" Tim asked."Come and see."Romaña led him for some distance into the cave, which bent away to the left. The air was very damp and mouldy, and Tim felt that he would not care to make too long a stay in so fusty a place. Presently he heard a gurgle and splash of water, and the light of the lamp which Romaña carried fell on an oblong slab of stone standing upright before them, about three feet in height. Romaña took hold of the upper part of it, and lowered the stone to the ground. Then Tim saw the waterfall within two or three feet of them. They were slightly above the bottom of it; about twelve feet of the cliff face separated them from the spot where the waterfall became a stream. Romaña explained that the other entrance of the cavern was some forty yards away."Now, señorito, you will remain here until I discover what is to be done. You are not afraid?""What is there to be afraid of? Only the damp, so far as I can see. It may give me lumbago!""That is better than duck-shot," said Romaña, smiling. "I shall not have time to explain to my comrades, but if any one comes, he will give the password, and you will answer Salvatore. You may trust any follower of Señor Mollendo. The path is open to you; none uses it except our own people; but do not stray far in case you are seen by an enemy. I will return as soon as may be.""Can't your people make a raid and rescue my father?" asked Tim. "They ought to do something for the money they have got out of him.""I fear we are not strong enough at the present time," answered Romaña. "But be assured that Señor Mollendo will do anything that is possible. He holds the señor in high respect."Tim grunted. He did not think much of a respect that bled a man to the extent of £250.CHAPTER VIIISUSPENSERomaña did not return to Mr. O'Hagan's house. He guessed that every member of the household would be under suspicion; and though his part with the Mollendists was not known, Pardo, if he came on the scene, would not hesitate to trump up a charge against him. So he hung about until nightfall, and then slipped into the town and took shelter with Pedro Galdos, the agent who had dogged Pardo's messenger to San Juan.Galdos was a strange illustration of the irony of circumstances in Spanish America. At one time, under another name, he had been sub-prefect of a provincial town; but he lost his office with a change of government, and drifted into poverty. He now earned a scanty livelihood by selling lottery tickets and doing any odd jobs that came his way. No one in San Rosario had known him in his official career; none would have suspected that the thin, shabby, down-at-heel old man who haunted the street-corners, pestering folks to buy his grimy lottery tickets, had formerly held a post of authority. As agent and spy of the Mollendists he was quite trustworthy. Since his dismissal he was always against the government; and his services were at the disposal of any opponent of the present prefect, whether Mollendo or another.He lived alone in a little two-roomed mud cottage at the east end of the town. Here Romaña sought a temporary lodging. Galdos already had some news for him. Mr. O'Hagan had not been taken to the capital, but was imprisoned in the town jail."I will tell you why, señor," said the old man. "The Prefect wishes to manage things quietly. There is too much sunlight in San Juan! The Señor Inglés has many friends and a few compatriots there, and they would agitate if the thing were known. The Prefect's own party would be uneasy, for it is no light matter to oppress an Inglés; the British Government would say hard things at Lima, and the Prefect might find himself in hot water. He is a hotheaded, reckless imbecile; but some of his supporters are more prudent, and they would hesitate to provoke the anger of the government. But here, in this out-of-the-way town, many things can be done without making a noise. The Prefect has many creatures who will do just as he bids them. He needs much money; his troops are clamouring for arrears of pay, and he lacks arms and ammunition for the campaign he is meditating against our party. The Señor Inglés is known to be wealthy; that is his crime.""What will the Prefect do with him?" asked Romaña."Who knows?" replied Galdos with a shrug. "We shall see. There was trouble at the hacienda to-day. When the Japanese workers heard that the caballero was arrested, they marched to the house and threatened mischief to the gendarmes. It was only the intervention of the señora that prevented a fight. She pled with the people to go back to their work for the señor's sake. The Inglésa is a clever woman. Where is the boy?""He is in a safe place, where he will remain until we know what is to be done. If the worst happens he must take refuge with Señor Mollendo until we can convey him and his mother to Lima. I shall go back to him to-morrow."Meanwhile Tim had eaten his supper--a tin of beans which he found in the cupboard--and made himself as snug as possible among the rugs in one of the box beds. He was not frightened, but he would not have denied that he felt miserable. For a long time he lay wakeful, wondering how far the Prefect's tyranny might go, and taking a good deal of unnecessary blame to himself for having wished for a motor-bicycle. The machine, of course, was no more the cause of recent events than a ball of worsted is the cause of a kitten's playfulness. Just as a kitten's native energy makes the ball the occasion of leaps and gambols; so the Prefect had seized on Tim's adventure with the gobernador as a pretext for squeezing the gobernador himself, and for venting his spite on the man who would not be squeezed.Romaña came back on the following afternoon. The news he brought was not calculated to lighten Tim's heaviness. Mr. O'Hagan was closely confined; gendarmes were flocking into the town, to overawe any who might be disaffected, Romaña supposed. He left again at dusk, begging Tim to be patient.Next day his information was even more serious. The Prefect had arrived, accompanied by a number of officers, and it was rumoured that the prisoner was to be tried by court-martial. The ordinary process of law was evidently too slow for the dictator; it left, perhaps, too many loopholes for escape. With a court composed of his own particular tools he might depend on the proceedings being short and swift."But it is utterly illegal to try a civilian by court-martial in time of peace," Tim protested."The Prefect makes his own law," said Romaña. "He has proclaimed martial law in the town.""He means Father to be condemned; what will the sentence be? A big fine?""Probably, with a term of imprisonment also," replied Romaña. In his heart of hearts he expected a much more terrible punishment. The Prefect would not be satisfied with a fine, however large; nor with a term of imprisonment, however long. Nor would he even stop at confiscating Mr. O'Hagan's property, and let him go. There is only one safe way in which tyranny can walk, and that is a road stained with blood. But Romaña did not impart his anticipations to Tim; there was no need to wring his young heart before the time.He durst not go into the town next day, but waited in the wood for Galdos to bring him news of the trial. It confirmed his gloomiest forebodings. Pardo was the principal witness against his master. He repeated authentic fragments of Mr. O'Hagan's talk, which, harmless enough in themselves, might be construed as treasonable by prejudiced minds. He swore, falsely, that he had heard his master declare that he would not pay the taxes, which were mere extortion. He declared that the £250 which Mr. O'Hagan had sent to Mollendo was not a ransom, but a contribution to the brigands' funds. Similar testimony was given by two former servants of the prisoner. Mr. O'Hagan's denials were scouted. He was not allowed to employ counsel, and in two hours the sorry farce was over. He was found guilty, condemned to forfeit his estate and to be shot in the plaza, three days later.Romaña shrank from conveying this heavy tidings to the boy awaiting his return in the cavern. But there was no help for it. He walked back slowly, and broke the news as gently as he could.Tim was at first utterly overwhelmed. In his most despondent moments he had never looked for anything so bad as this. When his stupor passed, he cried out that he must go to his mother; that he would himself seek the Prefect, and plead with him to annul the sentence; that he must and would do something, he knew not what."It would be useless, señorito," said Romaña sadly. "You would yourself be arrested; you might suffer the same fate; then the gracious lady would be doubly bereaved, left without a protector, and that would embitter your father's last moments.""But I can't sit still and do nothing," cried Tim, walking up and down in his misery. "Suppose it were your father! Won't your Mollendists do something? There's a lot of them; wouldn't Señor Mollendo lead them to the town if I begged and prayed him?""He is not strong enough," answered Romaña. "The town is full of gendarmes. I don't know the caballero's plans, but he cannot alter them for a foreigner.""He will only send his men to pounce on solitary travellers like the gobernador," said Tim bitterly."Remember, señorito, that he is himself outlawed, in hiding. The men you saw in his camp are not numerous enough; they are ill-armed. There are a crowd of gendarmes and several troops of mercenaries already in the town, and another thousand men can be summoned from San Juan, and would arrive within a few hours.""But I could get our Japs to join. They would fight like demons for my father.""What arms have they?" said Romaña patiently. "It is useless, señorito. But there are three days. Perhaps the Prefect will think better of it. No doubt he is uneasy at not having captured you; he will never feel safe while you are at large; and he may delay the extreme step. We must hope for the best."As he became calmer Tim recognised the force of all that Romaña had said, and his own helplessness. He could but wait and hope.Very early next morning they were standing near the mouth of the cavern. Romaña was about to go again into the wood a few miles nearer the town, to receive any further information that Galdos might have for him."Ask him to go to my mother, and bring word how she is," Tim was saying."Look, señorito; what is that?" said Romaña suddenly, pointing down the track in the direction of the town. A mounted party of four was approaching, too far off for the individuals of which it was composed to be distinguished.[image]HORSEMEN ON THE TRACK"They are after me!" said Tim at once."Back, señorito!" cried Romaña, drawing him behind the screen of foliage, through which they peered anxiously at the advancing party."There is a lady!" said Romaña presently. "They are riding very fast.""Is it Mother?" said Tim. "I believe it is! And, Romaña, look; I believe it's Father too! Isn't it? Isn't it?""For Dios, señorito!" exclaimed Romaña, "you are right! It is the señor himself. He has escaped! Praise to our Lady and Sant Iago! Come! Let us meet them."CHAPTER IXFLIGHT TO THE HILLSTim could hardly contain himself. He raced along the bed of the stream, leapt across the stepping-stones, and bounded down the rocky track with small concern for his limbs. When he came in sight of the party he snatched off his hat and waved it wildly in the air. Romaña followed less swiftly and with more circumspection. He was smiling at his thoughts."First the son, then the father--both Mollendists!"That was the happy consummation to which he flattered himself events were leading."Ah, Tim!" said Mr. O'Hagan as they met. "We were one too many for the Prefect, you see. Your mother was the one, bless her! But she must tell you all about it herself by and by. The first thing is to secure ourselves. Many thanks, Romaña. Now, are we going right for that camp of yours?""Straight on, señor," said Romaña. "You will presently come to the river. The path runs alongside it for several miles; then it diverges to the right, and meets the path that goes past Señor Durand's hacienda. The two paths become one. Keep straight on. The señor capitan will welcome you.""But aren't you coming too, to make the introductions?""The señorito and I will follow. We must fetch the machine.""I can't leave Tim," said Mrs. O'Hagan."What's the path like?" cried Tim. "Can I ride, Romaña?""For some distance, yes. There are steep places after the paths join.""There are indeed," said Tim. "That's where the brigands--your friends, I mean--had to haul the cycle. A very stiff job too. Mother, ride on with Father. I'll catch you in no time. I'll mount Romaña behind me: he's lighter than the gobernador!""You're quite sure you'll catch us?" said Mrs. O'Hagan anxiously."Quite, so don't worry. Oh! you don't know how jolly glad I am to see you."The other two members of the party, Andrea and another house servant, rode on with their master and mistress, while Tim and Romaña returned to the cave for the cycle. They had a good deal of difficulty in hoisting it up from the bed of the stream on to the path, but when they were once there, they soon made up on the riders, and went on all together at a rapid pace."Shall we run ahead and warn Señor Mollendo?" asked Tim presently."No: stay with us," said Mrs. O'Hagan. "I don't want to lose sight of you.""Better not, señorito," added Romaña. "We must be careful as we approach the place where the paths join. If the escape has been discovered, and they are pursuing, they will come by the other path: it is shorter. Why did you choose this one, señor?""It was recommended to us by that ragged old man who sells lottery tickets. Is he a friend of yours?""He is a caballero, señor," replied Romaña with dignity. "Señor Galdos was once a sub-prefect.""Was he indeed? He has been a very good friend to us, and I hope we may be able to reward him some day. How much farther is it? The path is becoming very rough.""It is several miles, señor; but if all is well when we come to the junction of paths, there will be no need to hurry for the rest of the way."Soon after this the path diverged from the stream, which wound away to the westward. Romaña now recommended that the party should ride slowly, while he himself scouted ahead on foot. The track here was too rough for the motor-cycle to gain anything in point of speed."When you come to a large stone, señor, which I will place in the middle of the track," said Romaña, "then halt. It will be no more than a mile from the forked path, and you will do better to go no farther until I return to you, lest the clatter of hoofs should be heard."He went on and disappeared. About two miles farther on the riders came to the arranged signal. They halted, the men dismounted, and Tim, leaning against the flank of his mother's horse, and clasping her hand, begged her to tell him how the escape had been contrived."You had heard the result of the trial?" she asked.Tim nodded."Were you there, Mother?""I was not. I thought it best for your father's sake to keep out of the town. Yesterday afternoon that wretch Pardo came and took possession of our house. He showed me a document authorising him to work the estate on behalf of the government----""Which means the Prefect, of course," Mr. O'Hagan put in."Then the wretched creature politely turned me out. I told him that he was in rather too much of a hurry; he might at least have had the decency to wait until all was over. But of course I didn't squabble with the worthless fellow. I packed up a few things, got my horse--he allowed me that!--and rode with Andrea and Juan into the town. Dr. Pereira was brave enough to take me in. No doubt the Prefect will make him pay for it.""Was the Prefect still in the town?" asked Tim."He had gone back to San Juan, leaving Captain Pierola to carry out the sentence. I had made up my mind to see your father for the last time, and when it was dark Señora Pereira lent me a dress and a mantilla, and the doctor escorted me to the gobernador's house. Of course, his permission had to be got. He was very much distressed, poor man; he is terribly afraid of the Prefect: but he promised to admit me to the prison for a quarter of an hour to-morrow night. I asked him whether he couldn't let my husband escape, but he went nearly frantic at the idea."I was very much upset, as you may imagine. On the way back Dr. Pereira noticed a man following us. At first he paid no attention, but by and by got angry, and turned round upon the man, and asked him what he meant by it. 'Go on, señor doctor,' said the man. 'Do not notice me, but let me quietly into your house presently.' We went on, and I had only just taken off my borrowed things when the doctor brought the man to my room. It was the little old man who sells lottery tickets. He told me that if I would give him £200 he would set your father free. 'How?' I said. 'It will be better to ask no questions,' he said. I had no money----""The gendarmes stripped the safe when they arrested me," said Mr. O'Hagan."But I had brought my jewel-case," his wife went on. "I suppose I showed my doubts in my face, for the old man said, 'The señora can trust me,' and, looking at him, I felt that I could. I put my jewel-case in his hands and told him to take what was necessary, quite expecting that he would take everything. But he examined the things as if he knew something about them, and selected my pearl necklace and two bracelets. 'The señora will not like parting with them,' he said, 'but there is no other way.' I told him he might have everything if he would save my husband, and he seemed quite hurt. Then he told me that I must not go to bed, but be ready to leave the house at any moment. He kissed my hand in the most courtly way and was gone."About two o'clock he came again. 'All is ready,' he said: 'come with me.' You may imagine what a state I was in. I followed him through the dark streets until we came out into the country, and there I found your father and the two men waiting for me with a spare horse. The old man told us the way to come, and here we are. I love that dear old man.""He bribed the jailers, I suppose--jolly old soul!" said Tim."The Prefect's own methods," said Mr. O'Hagan. "I'm afraid the gobernador will have a bad time of it. He was responsible for me.""And won't the jailers suffer, too?" asked Tim."They decamped at once, you may be sure," replied his father. "But here's Romaña back again. He's in a hurry."Romaña was running down the path."We cannot go on, señor," he said. "I crept as close as I dared to the fork, and caught sight of some men among the trees beyond. I don't know who they are, but it is not safe to proceed.""What are we to do, then?""We must go back until we come to the river. The water is very low, and we can walk up along the sand at the edge. Presently we shall come to a stream that flows down the hill-side from near Señor Mollendo's camp. We can climb up there. It is very steep and rocky, but it is the only way.""Very well: lead on."On reaching the river, the party scrambled down the bank to the bottom. In times of rain the torrent had deposited large quantities of sand in the bed, which the shrinking of the channel in the summer had left bare and dry. On this firm floor, level as a billiard table, but ascending in a gentle plane, progress was easy; but when they reached the stream of which Romaña had spoken, and had to strike up the hill-side, they found themselves in difficulties. They had to dismount and lead the horses over great ledges of quartz, polished to a dangerous slipperiness by the action of sand and water, and round huge boulders, that offered, at first sight, insuperable obstacles. Difficult as the way was for the horses, it was doubly so for the motorcycle, which had to be carried for many yards at a time, and hauled up and over sharp-edged rocks that threatened damage to its tyres. Many times they had to stop and rest. It was now midday, and very hot, and Mr. O'Hagan's party, having had no food since the night before, were hungry as well as tired."Plucky little woman!" said Mr. O'Hagan at one of these halts, to his wife who sat beside him on a ledge of rock."Just think of Tim spending nights by himself in a cave!" said Mrs. O'Hagan. "How horrid for him!""Boys like that sort of thing," returned her husband with a smile. "Don't they, Tim?""If there's another fellow with them," said Tim. "There's no fun in camping-out alone. I wish I'd thought to bring some grub. Mother must be famished!""I confess I hope Señor Mollendo will havesomethingfor us," said Mrs. O'Hagan. "Going long without food is bad for a growing boy.""I can eat anything," said Tim, "but I'm afraid you won't like their grub.""My dear boy, I would rather eat parched peas with Señor Mollendo than sit down to a banquet with the Prefect.... Hark! What's that?"She clutched her husband's arm at the sound of rifle-shots far to the east."We had better get on, I think," said Mr. O'Hagan, rising. "Where's Romaña?""He has gone ahead to warn Señor Mollendo of our coming," said Andrea. "He will come back to help with the machine."An hour later the whole party, hot, exhausted, and hungry, entered the enclosure which Tim had described to his parents. The assembled Mollendists greeted them with loud vivas, and Señor Mollendo's face beamed as he came forward, hat in hand, to meet them."Welcome to my little castle, señor, señora," he said, with the air of a potentate. "I rejoice in the circumstances which have given me the honour of entertaining such distinguished guests.""I don't," said Mr. O'Hagan bluntly, "though I thank you for your hospitality, señor. Do you know what is the dearest wish of my heart at the present moment?""If it is anything I can do----""A glass of wine for my wife, and then dinner, señor. Your guests, I should think, never reach you without an appetite."CHAPTER XCINCINNATUS O'HAGAN"I have an apology to make to you, señor," said Mollendo, as they sat at dinner in his own little four-square apartment. "I perceive that I was under a misapprehension when I ordered the arrest of your son. I can never sufficiently lament my indiscretion, and beg that you will accept the expression of my profound regret.""I quite understand, señor," said Mr. O'Hagan, reflecting that the indiscretion had cost him £250. "You party men find it difficult to understand that an action may be dictated by other than party considerations. My son helped Señor Fagasta because he's a man, not because he's gobernador.""His action does honour to his humanity as well as his courage," said the courtly host. "In these circumstances I feel that it is inconsistent with the honour of a caballero to take advantage of a mistake, and I beg therefore that you will accept restitution of the sum of money which I demanded of you, but to which I had no just claim.""Your suggestion is only what I should have expected from a caballero of your reputation, señor," said Mr. O'Hagan, politely adopting Mollendo's formality of speech. Mollendo bowed. "But in the circumstances I cannot do better than leave the money in your hands. And let me say that I thoroughly approve of the use to which you will put it.""My dear!" ejaculated Mrs. O'Hagan in English."I am going the whole hog now," replied her husband quietly.She pressed her lips together, and listened nervously as the conversation was resumed."I have made up my mind definitely to take sides with you," continued Mr. O'Hagan. "Hitherto I have held aloof, as you know; but I have always sympathised with your aims. You stand for political honesty and good government. That is a motive that appeals to me as a citizen. Personally, I have a strong inducement to support you; the Prefect has stripped me of my estate. If you succeed, I shall retrieve my fortunes; and in assisting you I shall not only consult my own interests, but do something, I believe, for the good of the country in which I have lived for so many years.""A thousand thanks, señor," said Mollendo, his eyes beaming as he clasped Mr. O'Hagan's hand. "I rejoice in your generosity, and hail the approaching triumph of our cause. I remember how, in the brave days of old, the Roman Cincinnatus was called from his farm to assume command of the national forces; and how, within the space of sixteen days, he put the enemy to utter rout and confusion. You, señor, shall be our Cincinnatus. Caballeros," he cried, rising and addressing the motley throng in the courtyard, "the Señor Inglés is one of us. He espouses the cause of liberty; he will strike with us against the tyrant. I call upon you to acclaim our honoured guest with hearty vivas, and to drain your copitas to the caballero who will lead us to success."Thundering cheers broke from the men, and they were only too eager to fill their cups and drink the health of the Señor Inglés and confusion to the dictator. Romaña smiled as he sat with Andrea and Juan at a little distance from his master. What he had hoped had come to pass; the señor was now a Mollendist. Tim also smiled, for a different reason."How do you like Cincinnatus O'Hagan?" he whispered slily in his mother's ear.But Mrs. O'Hagan's sense of humour was at the present moment clouded by anxiety and misgiving."'Tis perfectly horrid," she said.Mollendo had, in fact, jumped eagerly at the chance of securing Mr. O'Hagan as an active associate. He was himself well advanced in years; and though very popular with his followers, on whom he exercised a magnetic influence by his personal courage and his oratorical gifts, he had no military qualities or experience, and was conscious of his own defects as a leader. Mr. O'Hagan, on the other hand, as he well knew, had won a great repute as a soldier in the stormy days of the Chilian war. His advice in matters of strategy and tactics would be invaluable. He would bring to the cause just those factors of success in which hitherto it had been lacking, and for the first time Mollendo saw the gleam of coming triumph. Mrs. O'Hagan suffered many pangs as the conversation proceeded. The two men were settling the basis of their alliance. Mollendo was to retain the nominal command; the practical control of the movements of his little force was to be in the hands of Mr. O'Hagan. The good lady saw that her husband was back in the days of his youth. He always threw himself heart and soul into whatsoever he took up, and he discussed matters now with all the fire and eager enthusiasm of a boy. His wife was troubled; and when she noticed with what rapt attention Tim followed the talk, she made up her mind to drop a word of caution later.In the midst of the conversation a man came hurriedly into the courtyard, and walking straight up to his leader saluted and said:"Señor, I have news.""What is it, Cristobal?""We were watching on the hills, señor, when we saw two parties drawing near, the larger on the eastern track, the smaller on the western. We hastened down to the fork, intending to give battle to them both; but suddenly we saw the smaller party halt; from it a man came forward, but presently hastened back again, and all his company retreated and disappeared. At the fork we met the others, and gave them so warm a reception that they withdrew towards the town. We followed them, but they did not halt, so we returned to the fork, and there our people are still posted.""That is well, my son. The smaller party consisted of the Señor Inglés and his family whom you see here. They are now supporters of our cause. Carry that news to our men; it will encourage them. The señor was a great captain in the army of Peru years ago.... Will the señora excuse us for a few moments?" he asked, when the man had gone."You want to talk secrets, I suppose," said Mrs. O'Hagan; "but unless my husband objects, I should prefer to know all your arrangements. Tim," she added in English, "I am not to be kept in the dark. I do not like your turning yourself into a brigand, but I see your mind is made up. Only don't do anything without telling me.""Señor, my wife and I have no secrets," said Mr. O'Hagan. "You may speak quite freely.""What I had to say concerns the señora herself," said Mollendo. "This is no place for a lady; nor should she be subjected to the fatigues and dangers that we shall have to encounter. My wife lives peacefully in a remote corner of the country some fifty miles from here in the hills, and if the señora will deign to accept her hospitality----""Not at all, señor; I remain with my husband and son," said Mrs. O'Hagan firmly."Perhaps the señor will command otherwise," suggested Mollendo, who was not accustomed to domestic opposition.From that moment Mrs. O'Hagan was his determined enemy. Mr. O'Hagan hurriedly explained that he would discuss the matter with his wife in private. He found an opportunity of doing so later in the day, when a corner of the ruins had been prepared for their accommodation. He pointed out that she would be unable to make the long and rapid marches which irregular warfare entailed. Her presence, and the necessity of protecting her, would be a source of weakness, possibly of disaster. Mrs. O'Hagan recognised this, and after a time reluctantly agreed to accept Señora Mollendo's hospitality."But I must take Tim with me," she said.Mr. O'Hagan stroked his chin."The boy won't like that," he remarked."It will be for his good," she replied. "Surely you admit that fighting with these desperadoes is not fit work for a boy of his age.""As to that, there are many here no older. Age doesn't count in these matters. He is perfectly healthy; he may be very useful to me, and the experience will be invaluable to him.""Am I to lose both of you?" cried the lady, much troubled. "If it were for our own country I might endure it, like many another poor woman; but to think of you throwing away your lives for this miserable country--oh! it is too much."Mr. O'Hagan was inclined to yield the point; but while he was still hesitating, his wife, dashing the tears from her eyes, suddenly forestalled him."I am an idiot," she said. "Of course the boy would eat his heart out away from you. I mustn't look on the black side. But do take care of him, won't you, Tim?"And so it was settled that young Tim should remain with his father.Next day Señor Mollendo provided an escort of half a dozen men, with whom Mrs. O'Hagan set off for the long ride into the hills. Mr. O'Hagan and Tim on horseback, each having a carbine, accompanied the party, having decided to go half the way. They left the camp at its northern side, and followed the track downward for several miles until it crossed the river by a narrow stone bridge. Then their course led to the north-west, the path rising steadily as it approached the spurs of the Andes. Progress was very slow; the day was already far advanced when they reached a little hut on the hill-side, about halfway to their destination, where Señor Mollendo was accustomed to break his journey when going to and fro between the camp and his home. Here they passed the night. In the morning Mrs. O'Hagan took leave of her husband and son, who watched her party until it disappeared along the winding track, then silently sprang to their saddles and rode in the opposite direction.They had come within a few miles of the stone bridge over the river when they caught sight simultaneously of a number of horsemen strung out along the path far ahead, and riding towards them. Mr. O'Hagan felt the lack of one of the prime necessities of a soldier--a field-glass."We must hide up until we see who they are," he said to Tim. "They don't know how to order a march, at any rate."The hill-side provided many convenient nooks for hiding and taking a look-out. But only a few minutes had passed when Tim, from behind his rock, called:"It's old Mollendo, Father.""Take care you don't call him that in the hearing of his men. It would be a deadly insult. Better call him 'excellency.' I wonder what has happened."They returned to the track, and trotted downhill to meet the horsemen. There was about them an air of depression which did not escape Mr. O'Hagan. The explanation confirmed his foreboding."Good-day, señor," said Mollendo, with a graceful salutation as they met. "I grieve to say that you behold me a fugitive.""What, excellency! Has the usurper taken the field at last?""It seems so, señor general." (Tim grinned as these complimentary titles passed.) "We were surprised at dawn by large numbers of the enemy who had advanced along the route by which you came to my camp. My sentries were, I fear, overcome by somnolence. The attack was so sudden that I had no time to form my ranks; but in the half light some of us were able to make our escape--some on horseback, others on foot. We are scattered to the four winds; all our stores are lost; it is a sad inauguration of our new alliance.""Courage, excellency!" said Mr. O'Hagan. "We must consider how to retrieve this mishap. Are you pursued?""Not for the last five miles, señor.""Then we will halt here, and wait for our men to rejoin us. No doubt some of them will come dropping in by and by. Let us ride forward, excellency, and choose a position."Meanwhile Tim, seeing Romaña among the score of men who accompanied Mollendo, rode up to him with an eager question."Where is my cycle?""There was not time to bring it, señorito; but I managed to hide it under a heap of brushwood collected for the fires.""They'll find it!" said Tim, his face falling."Perhaps we shall recapture the camp first. It was all I could do."Tim thanked him, but felt that the chance of recovering his cycle was small indeed.
CHAPTER VII
THE PREFECT MOVES
Tim's adventure caused Mr. O'Hagan to change his mind about dismissing Romaña. To do so might be a new cause of offence to the sensitive patriots.
"You have already proved a very dear son," he said, with a humorous twinkle that disguised his real feeling.
"Durand says that his pater gives old Mollendo a regular subscription to keep him quiet," said Tim.
"Blackmail! He will soon get tired of that."
"I don't suppose what he has paid comes to £250."
"Ah! but he hasn't given his boy a motor-cycle! Young Durand came over to-day to play cricket, and seemed vastly tickled when I told him where you were."
"I could have boxed his ears," said Mrs. O'Hagan indignantly. "It was no laughing matter to me."
"Will I challenge him, Mother?" said Tim quizzingly. "I am going to ride over to-morrow to tell him all about it, and if you like----"
"Don't tease your mother," Mr. O'Hagan interposed. "She insisted on my sending the money at once, or I declare I would have been inclined to let you have a week of it."
The kidnapping of the young Inglés created much indignation and resentment among the people of San Rosario. The majority of them, having little to lose, were staunch supporters of the Prefect, and when next day they saw a dozen gendarmes ride into the town, they supposed them to be only the advanced guard of a force sent from the capital to begin the long-expected operations against the brigands. Some, however, viewed the soldiers with alarm. To the substantial citizens, a visit of the Prefect's gendarmes usually spelt trouble. Every man whose secret sympathies were with the Mollendists trembled in his shoes; even those who were conscious of innocence shivered if their worldly substance was large enough to be worth the attention of the Prefect and his harpies. Many, among them the gobernador, were greatly relieved when the gendarmes, instead of dismounting, halted only to refresh themselves in the saddle at one of the albergos, then rode through the town and along the track leading to Mr. O'Hagan's house.
Arriving there, the leader sprang from his horse, and strode with clanking spurs to the door, which stood open. The others formed up in line along the front of the house. To the servant who came in answer to the officer's summons, he explained that he wished to see the señor haciendado. Mr. O'Hagan left the office, where he had been alone, and invited his visitor into the patio.
"I regret, señor," said the officer, declining to be seated, "that I have come on a very disagreeable errand." He took a paper from his pocket. "You see here a warrant, signed by his excellency the Prefect, and sealed with the provincial seal, authorising the arrest of yourself and your son."
"On what charge, señor?" asked Mr. O'Hagan quietly.
"On the charge of furthering and abetting the treasonable designs of one Carlos Mollendo, who is stirring up sedition. It is useless to resist, señor; I have a sufficient body of troopers outside. I demand that you surrender yourself and your son to justice."
"I will come with you," said Mr. O'Hagan, "under protest. You will please to note that I am a British citizen. My son is not at home."
"Where is he?"
"That I must leave you to find out."
The officer at once called in a man to search the house, himself keeping guard over Mr. O'Hagan in the patio. The gendarme found Mrs. O'Hagan coming from the servants' quarters. He bowed respectfully, and asked her to go to the drawing-room and remain there.
"I am going to the patio, to my husband," replied the lady stoutly. "Stand out of my way, please."
The man tugged his moustache, stood aside, and then went on to complete his search. The half-minute's delay had allowed Romaña, whom his mistress had just quitted, to slip out of the house and into a shrubbery, whence he made his way swiftly in the direction of Señor Durand's estate.
He met Tim returning, half-way between Durand's house and the cross-roads.
"Stop, señorito," he called; "I have a message from the gracious lady."
"What is it?" asked Tim, jumping off his machine.
"The señora bids you come with me," said Romaña. "Gendarmes have ridden to arrest the señor and you, and the mistress sent me to take you to a place of safety."
"I won't go. I will join Father," said Tim at once, preparing to ride off. Romaña detained him.
"I beg you to do as the señora wishes," he said. "What is the use of your going to prison, too? There is more chance for every one if you are free. You will do better to remain in hiding until we see what is intended towards the señor. I have friends in San Rosario and the capital; we Mollendists have our spies, like the Prefect. The señor will no doubt be taken to San Juan. Nothing will be done immediately. The Prefect is always very careful to cloak his misdeeds under the forms of law."
"I'll go back to Señor Durand's, then."
"That is unwise, señorito. The gendarmes may come there to look for you, and then Señor Durand himself will be in danger. I know a better place, and if you will come with me----"
"Very well, then; but I don't like it. What is to become of Mother?"
"The señora will be quite safe: the Prefect is always very polite to the ladies," said Romaña.
Romaña mounted behind Tim, and they rode back to the cross-roads, then turned to the right into a track that was fairly level for some distance, then ascended gradually. Nearly nine miles from the cross-roads it wound round a steep cliff. On one side a sheer wall of rock rose to a great height; on the other a wooded precipice fell away to an equal depth. A small waterfall plunged from the heights above, forming a stream across the path, and flowing as a second waterfall over the edge of the precipice. At this point the hill-side was covered with scrub, amid which one large tree formed a conspicuous object. Stepping-stones were laid across the stream, and a few large slabs were let into the steep bank above the path on the farther side.
Here they dismounted and made their way along the bed of the stream towards the waterfall. Then they turned to the right, and proceeded over more large flat slabs leading into the scrub, Romaña remarking that their footsteps would leave no traces on the stones. On reaching the large tree before mentioned, they found themselves at the mouth of a cavern concealed by the foliage and the scrub. A projection of the cliff on the right hid the entrance of the cavern from observation by any one on the upper portion of the path.
It had been a task of no little difficulty to haul the cycle up the stream, and both were very hot and tired when they reached the cave. Drawing aside the screen of foliage, Romaña whispered the word Libertad. There was no answer. He led Tim inside.
"That is our password," he said with a smile. "If I had failed to give it I might have been shot. But there is no one here now. Only three men know of this place. Here you will be quite safe. You are now a Mollendist," he added, chuckling.
"Have you set a trap for me, Romaña?" said Tim indignantly.
"No, no; all that I mean is that now the señor your father is a prisoner he must be a Mollendist. All the Prefect's enemies are."
While speaking he had lit a lamp, by whose light Tim saw an earthen roof, walls, and floor; two or three stools; a three-legged table; a large cupboard in which were kept, as Romaña told him, food that would not spoil, and a few mugs; a large can for holding water, and two long boxes containing rugs which might serve on occasion as beds.
"Is there no other entrance?" Tim asked.
"Come and see."
Romaña led him for some distance into the cave, which bent away to the left. The air was very damp and mouldy, and Tim felt that he would not care to make too long a stay in so fusty a place. Presently he heard a gurgle and splash of water, and the light of the lamp which Romaña carried fell on an oblong slab of stone standing upright before them, about three feet in height. Romaña took hold of the upper part of it, and lowered the stone to the ground. Then Tim saw the waterfall within two or three feet of them. They were slightly above the bottom of it; about twelve feet of the cliff face separated them from the spot where the waterfall became a stream. Romaña explained that the other entrance of the cavern was some forty yards away.
"Now, señorito, you will remain here until I discover what is to be done. You are not afraid?"
"What is there to be afraid of? Only the damp, so far as I can see. It may give me lumbago!"
"That is better than duck-shot," said Romaña, smiling. "I shall not have time to explain to my comrades, but if any one comes, he will give the password, and you will answer Salvatore. You may trust any follower of Señor Mollendo. The path is open to you; none uses it except our own people; but do not stray far in case you are seen by an enemy. I will return as soon as may be."
"Can't your people make a raid and rescue my father?" asked Tim. "They ought to do something for the money they have got out of him."
"I fear we are not strong enough at the present time," answered Romaña. "But be assured that Señor Mollendo will do anything that is possible. He holds the señor in high respect."
Tim grunted. He did not think much of a respect that bled a man to the extent of £250.
CHAPTER VIII
SUSPENSE
Romaña did not return to Mr. O'Hagan's house. He guessed that every member of the household would be under suspicion; and though his part with the Mollendists was not known, Pardo, if he came on the scene, would not hesitate to trump up a charge against him. So he hung about until nightfall, and then slipped into the town and took shelter with Pedro Galdos, the agent who had dogged Pardo's messenger to San Juan.
Galdos was a strange illustration of the irony of circumstances in Spanish America. At one time, under another name, he had been sub-prefect of a provincial town; but he lost his office with a change of government, and drifted into poverty. He now earned a scanty livelihood by selling lottery tickets and doing any odd jobs that came his way. No one in San Rosario had known him in his official career; none would have suspected that the thin, shabby, down-at-heel old man who haunted the street-corners, pestering folks to buy his grimy lottery tickets, had formerly held a post of authority. As agent and spy of the Mollendists he was quite trustworthy. Since his dismissal he was always against the government; and his services were at the disposal of any opponent of the present prefect, whether Mollendo or another.
He lived alone in a little two-roomed mud cottage at the east end of the town. Here Romaña sought a temporary lodging. Galdos already had some news for him. Mr. O'Hagan had not been taken to the capital, but was imprisoned in the town jail.
"I will tell you why, señor," said the old man. "The Prefect wishes to manage things quietly. There is too much sunlight in San Juan! The Señor Inglés has many friends and a few compatriots there, and they would agitate if the thing were known. The Prefect's own party would be uneasy, for it is no light matter to oppress an Inglés; the British Government would say hard things at Lima, and the Prefect might find himself in hot water. He is a hotheaded, reckless imbecile; but some of his supporters are more prudent, and they would hesitate to provoke the anger of the government. But here, in this out-of-the-way town, many things can be done without making a noise. The Prefect has many creatures who will do just as he bids them. He needs much money; his troops are clamouring for arrears of pay, and he lacks arms and ammunition for the campaign he is meditating against our party. The Señor Inglés is known to be wealthy; that is his crime."
"What will the Prefect do with him?" asked Romaña.
"Who knows?" replied Galdos with a shrug. "We shall see. There was trouble at the hacienda to-day. When the Japanese workers heard that the caballero was arrested, they marched to the house and threatened mischief to the gendarmes. It was only the intervention of the señora that prevented a fight. She pled with the people to go back to their work for the señor's sake. The Inglésa is a clever woman. Where is the boy?"
"He is in a safe place, where he will remain until we know what is to be done. If the worst happens he must take refuge with Señor Mollendo until we can convey him and his mother to Lima. I shall go back to him to-morrow."
Meanwhile Tim had eaten his supper--a tin of beans which he found in the cupboard--and made himself as snug as possible among the rugs in one of the box beds. He was not frightened, but he would not have denied that he felt miserable. For a long time he lay wakeful, wondering how far the Prefect's tyranny might go, and taking a good deal of unnecessary blame to himself for having wished for a motor-bicycle. The machine, of course, was no more the cause of recent events than a ball of worsted is the cause of a kitten's playfulness. Just as a kitten's native energy makes the ball the occasion of leaps and gambols; so the Prefect had seized on Tim's adventure with the gobernador as a pretext for squeezing the gobernador himself, and for venting his spite on the man who would not be squeezed.
Romaña came back on the following afternoon. The news he brought was not calculated to lighten Tim's heaviness. Mr. O'Hagan was closely confined; gendarmes were flocking into the town, to overawe any who might be disaffected, Romaña supposed. He left again at dusk, begging Tim to be patient.
Next day his information was even more serious. The Prefect had arrived, accompanied by a number of officers, and it was rumoured that the prisoner was to be tried by court-martial. The ordinary process of law was evidently too slow for the dictator; it left, perhaps, too many loopholes for escape. With a court composed of his own particular tools he might depend on the proceedings being short and swift.
"But it is utterly illegal to try a civilian by court-martial in time of peace," Tim protested.
"The Prefect makes his own law," said Romaña. "He has proclaimed martial law in the town."
"He means Father to be condemned; what will the sentence be? A big fine?"
"Probably, with a term of imprisonment also," replied Romaña. In his heart of hearts he expected a much more terrible punishment. The Prefect would not be satisfied with a fine, however large; nor with a term of imprisonment, however long. Nor would he even stop at confiscating Mr. O'Hagan's property, and let him go. There is only one safe way in which tyranny can walk, and that is a road stained with blood. But Romaña did not impart his anticipations to Tim; there was no need to wring his young heart before the time.
He durst not go into the town next day, but waited in the wood for Galdos to bring him news of the trial. It confirmed his gloomiest forebodings. Pardo was the principal witness against his master. He repeated authentic fragments of Mr. O'Hagan's talk, which, harmless enough in themselves, might be construed as treasonable by prejudiced minds. He swore, falsely, that he had heard his master declare that he would not pay the taxes, which were mere extortion. He declared that the £250 which Mr. O'Hagan had sent to Mollendo was not a ransom, but a contribution to the brigands' funds. Similar testimony was given by two former servants of the prisoner. Mr. O'Hagan's denials were scouted. He was not allowed to employ counsel, and in two hours the sorry farce was over. He was found guilty, condemned to forfeit his estate and to be shot in the plaza, three days later.
Romaña shrank from conveying this heavy tidings to the boy awaiting his return in the cavern. But there was no help for it. He walked back slowly, and broke the news as gently as he could.
Tim was at first utterly overwhelmed. In his most despondent moments he had never looked for anything so bad as this. When his stupor passed, he cried out that he must go to his mother; that he would himself seek the Prefect, and plead with him to annul the sentence; that he must and would do something, he knew not what.
"It would be useless, señorito," said Romaña sadly. "You would yourself be arrested; you might suffer the same fate; then the gracious lady would be doubly bereaved, left without a protector, and that would embitter your father's last moments."
"But I can't sit still and do nothing," cried Tim, walking up and down in his misery. "Suppose it were your father! Won't your Mollendists do something? There's a lot of them; wouldn't Señor Mollendo lead them to the town if I begged and prayed him?"
"He is not strong enough," answered Romaña. "The town is full of gendarmes. I don't know the caballero's plans, but he cannot alter them for a foreigner."
"He will only send his men to pounce on solitary travellers like the gobernador," said Tim bitterly.
"Remember, señorito, that he is himself outlawed, in hiding. The men you saw in his camp are not numerous enough; they are ill-armed. There are a crowd of gendarmes and several troops of mercenaries already in the town, and another thousand men can be summoned from San Juan, and would arrive within a few hours."
"But I could get our Japs to join. They would fight like demons for my father."
"What arms have they?" said Romaña patiently. "It is useless, señorito. But there are three days. Perhaps the Prefect will think better of it. No doubt he is uneasy at not having captured you; he will never feel safe while you are at large; and he may delay the extreme step. We must hope for the best."
As he became calmer Tim recognised the force of all that Romaña had said, and his own helplessness. He could but wait and hope.
Very early next morning they were standing near the mouth of the cavern. Romaña was about to go again into the wood a few miles nearer the town, to receive any further information that Galdos might have for him.
"Ask him to go to my mother, and bring word how she is," Tim was saying.
"Look, señorito; what is that?" said Romaña suddenly, pointing down the track in the direction of the town. A mounted party of four was approaching, too far off for the individuals of which it was composed to be distinguished.
[image]HORSEMEN ON THE TRACK
[image]
[image]
HORSEMEN ON THE TRACK
"They are after me!" said Tim at once.
"Back, señorito!" cried Romaña, drawing him behind the screen of foliage, through which they peered anxiously at the advancing party.
"There is a lady!" said Romaña presently. "They are riding very fast."
"Is it Mother?" said Tim. "I believe it is! And, Romaña, look; I believe it's Father too! Isn't it? Isn't it?"
"For Dios, señorito!" exclaimed Romaña, "you are right! It is the señor himself. He has escaped! Praise to our Lady and Sant Iago! Come! Let us meet them."
CHAPTER IX
FLIGHT TO THE HILLS
Tim could hardly contain himself. He raced along the bed of the stream, leapt across the stepping-stones, and bounded down the rocky track with small concern for his limbs. When he came in sight of the party he snatched off his hat and waved it wildly in the air. Romaña followed less swiftly and with more circumspection. He was smiling at his thoughts.
"First the son, then the father--both Mollendists!"
That was the happy consummation to which he flattered himself events were leading.
"Ah, Tim!" said Mr. O'Hagan as they met. "We were one too many for the Prefect, you see. Your mother was the one, bless her! But she must tell you all about it herself by and by. The first thing is to secure ourselves. Many thanks, Romaña. Now, are we going right for that camp of yours?"
"Straight on, señor," said Romaña. "You will presently come to the river. The path runs alongside it for several miles; then it diverges to the right, and meets the path that goes past Señor Durand's hacienda. The two paths become one. Keep straight on. The señor capitan will welcome you."
"But aren't you coming too, to make the introductions?"
"The señorito and I will follow. We must fetch the machine."
"I can't leave Tim," said Mrs. O'Hagan.
"What's the path like?" cried Tim. "Can I ride, Romaña?"
"For some distance, yes. There are steep places after the paths join."
"There are indeed," said Tim. "That's where the brigands--your friends, I mean--had to haul the cycle. A very stiff job too. Mother, ride on with Father. I'll catch you in no time. I'll mount Romaña behind me: he's lighter than the gobernador!"
"You're quite sure you'll catch us?" said Mrs. O'Hagan anxiously.
"Quite, so don't worry. Oh! you don't know how jolly glad I am to see you."
The other two members of the party, Andrea and another house servant, rode on with their master and mistress, while Tim and Romaña returned to the cave for the cycle. They had a good deal of difficulty in hoisting it up from the bed of the stream on to the path, but when they were once there, they soon made up on the riders, and went on all together at a rapid pace.
"Shall we run ahead and warn Señor Mollendo?" asked Tim presently.
"No: stay with us," said Mrs. O'Hagan. "I don't want to lose sight of you."
"Better not, señorito," added Romaña. "We must be careful as we approach the place where the paths join. If the escape has been discovered, and they are pursuing, they will come by the other path: it is shorter. Why did you choose this one, señor?"
"It was recommended to us by that ragged old man who sells lottery tickets. Is he a friend of yours?"
"He is a caballero, señor," replied Romaña with dignity. "Señor Galdos was once a sub-prefect."
"Was he indeed? He has been a very good friend to us, and I hope we may be able to reward him some day. How much farther is it? The path is becoming very rough."
"It is several miles, señor; but if all is well when we come to the junction of paths, there will be no need to hurry for the rest of the way."
Soon after this the path diverged from the stream, which wound away to the westward. Romaña now recommended that the party should ride slowly, while he himself scouted ahead on foot. The track here was too rough for the motor-cycle to gain anything in point of speed.
"When you come to a large stone, señor, which I will place in the middle of the track," said Romaña, "then halt. It will be no more than a mile from the forked path, and you will do better to go no farther until I return to you, lest the clatter of hoofs should be heard."
He went on and disappeared. About two miles farther on the riders came to the arranged signal. They halted, the men dismounted, and Tim, leaning against the flank of his mother's horse, and clasping her hand, begged her to tell him how the escape had been contrived.
"You had heard the result of the trial?" she asked.
Tim nodded.
"Were you there, Mother?"
"I was not. I thought it best for your father's sake to keep out of the town. Yesterday afternoon that wretch Pardo came and took possession of our house. He showed me a document authorising him to work the estate on behalf of the government----"
"Which means the Prefect, of course," Mr. O'Hagan put in.
"Then the wretched creature politely turned me out. I told him that he was in rather too much of a hurry; he might at least have had the decency to wait until all was over. But of course I didn't squabble with the worthless fellow. I packed up a few things, got my horse--he allowed me that!--and rode with Andrea and Juan into the town. Dr. Pereira was brave enough to take me in. No doubt the Prefect will make him pay for it."
"Was the Prefect still in the town?" asked Tim.
"He had gone back to San Juan, leaving Captain Pierola to carry out the sentence. I had made up my mind to see your father for the last time, and when it was dark Señora Pereira lent me a dress and a mantilla, and the doctor escorted me to the gobernador's house. Of course, his permission had to be got. He was very much distressed, poor man; he is terribly afraid of the Prefect: but he promised to admit me to the prison for a quarter of an hour to-morrow night. I asked him whether he couldn't let my husband escape, but he went nearly frantic at the idea.
"I was very much upset, as you may imagine. On the way back Dr. Pereira noticed a man following us. At first he paid no attention, but by and by got angry, and turned round upon the man, and asked him what he meant by it. 'Go on, señor doctor,' said the man. 'Do not notice me, but let me quietly into your house presently.' We went on, and I had only just taken off my borrowed things when the doctor brought the man to my room. It was the little old man who sells lottery tickets. He told me that if I would give him £200 he would set your father free. 'How?' I said. 'It will be better to ask no questions,' he said. I had no money----"
"The gendarmes stripped the safe when they arrested me," said Mr. O'Hagan.
"But I had brought my jewel-case," his wife went on. "I suppose I showed my doubts in my face, for the old man said, 'The señora can trust me,' and, looking at him, I felt that I could. I put my jewel-case in his hands and told him to take what was necessary, quite expecting that he would take everything. But he examined the things as if he knew something about them, and selected my pearl necklace and two bracelets. 'The señora will not like parting with them,' he said, 'but there is no other way.' I told him he might have everything if he would save my husband, and he seemed quite hurt. Then he told me that I must not go to bed, but be ready to leave the house at any moment. He kissed my hand in the most courtly way and was gone.
"About two o'clock he came again. 'All is ready,' he said: 'come with me.' You may imagine what a state I was in. I followed him through the dark streets until we came out into the country, and there I found your father and the two men waiting for me with a spare horse. The old man told us the way to come, and here we are. I love that dear old man."
"He bribed the jailers, I suppose--jolly old soul!" said Tim.
"The Prefect's own methods," said Mr. O'Hagan. "I'm afraid the gobernador will have a bad time of it. He was responsible for me."
"And won't the jailers suffer, too?" asked Tim.
"They decamped at once, you may be sure," replied his father. "But here's Romaña back again. He's in a hurry."
Romaña was running down the path.
"We cannot go on, señor," he said. "I crept as close as I dared to the fork, and caught sight of some men among the trees beyond. I don't know who they are, but it is not safe to proceed."
"What are we to do, then?"
"We must go back until we come to the river. The water is very low, and we can walk up along the sand at the edge. Presently we shall come to a stream that flows down the hill-side from near Señor Mollendo's camp. We can climb up there. It is very steep and rocky, but it is the only way."
"Very well: lead on."
On reaching the river, the party scrambled down the bank to the bottom. In times of rain the torrent had deposited large quantities of sand in the bed, which the shrinking of the channel in the summer had left bare and dry. On this firm floor, level as a billiard table, but ascending in a gentle plane, progress was easy; but when they reached the stream of which Romaña had spoken, and had to strike up the hill-side, they found themselves in difficulties. They had to dismount and lead the horses over great ledges of quartz, polished to a dangerous slipperiness by the action of sand and water, and round huge boulders, that offered, at first sight, insuperable obstacles. Difficult as the way was for the horses, it was doubly so for the motorcycle, which had to be carried for many yards at a time, and hauled up and over sharp-edged rocks that threatened damage to its tyres. Many times they had to stop and rest. It was now midday, and very hot, and Mr. O'Hagan's party, having had no food since the night before, were hungry as well as tired.
"Plucky little woman!" said Mr. O'Hagan at one of these halts, to his wife who sat beside him on a ledge of rock.
"Just think of Tim spending nights by himself in a cave!" said Mrs. O'Hagan. "How horrid for him!"
"Boys like that sort of thing," returned her husband with a smile. "Don't they, Tim?"
"If there's another fellow with them," said Tim. "There's no fun in camping-out alone. I wish I'd thought to bring some grub. Mother must be famished!"
"I confess I hope Señor Mollendo will havesomethingfor us," said Mrs. O'Hagan. "Going long without food is bad for a growing boy."
"I can eat anything," said Tim, "but I'm afraid you won't like their grub."
"My dear boy, I would rather eat parched peas with Señor Mollendo than sit down to a banquet with the Prefect.... Hark! What's that?"
She clutched her husband's arm at the sound of rifle-shots far to the east.
"We had better get on, I think," said Mr. O'Hagan, rising. "Where's Romaña?"
"He has gone ahead to warn Señor Mollendo of our coming," said Andrea. "He will come back to help with the machine."
An hour later the whole party, hot, exhausted, and hungry, entered the enclosure which Tim had described to his parents. The assembled Mollendists greeted them with loud vivas, and Señor Mollendo's face beamed as he came forward, hat in hand, to meet them.
"Welcome to my little castle, señor, señora," he said, with the air of a potentate. "I rejoice in the circumstances which have given me the honour of entertaining such distinguished guests."
"I don't," said Mr. O'Hagan bluntly, "though I thank you for your hospitality, señor. Do you know what is the dearest wish of my heart at the present moment?"
"If it is anything I can do----"
"A glass of wine for my wife, and then dinner, señor. Your guests, I should think, never reach you without an appetite."
CHAPTER X
CINCINNATUS O'HAGAN
"I have an apology to make to you, señor," said Mollendo, as they sat at dinner in his own little four-square apartment. "I perceive that I was under a misapprehension when I ordered the arrest of your son. I can never sufficiently lament my indiscretion, and beg that you will accept the expression of my profound regret."
"I quite understand, señor," said Mr. O'Hagan, reflecting that the indiscretion had cost him £250. "You party men find it difficult to understand that an action may be dictated by other than party considerations. My son helped Señor Fagasta because he's a man, not because he's gobernador."
"His action does honour to his humanity as well as his courage," said the courtly host. "In these circumstances I feel that it is inconsistent with the honour of a caballero to take advantage of a mistake, and I beg therefore that you will accept restitution of the sum of money which I demanded of you, but to which I had no just claim."
"Your suggestion is only what I should have expected from a caballero of your reputation, señor," said Mr. O'Hagan, politely adopting Mollendo's formality of speech. Mollendo bowed. "But in the circumstances I cannot do better than leave the money in your hands. And let me say that I thoroughly approve of the use to which you will put it."
"My dear!" ejaculated Mrs. O'Hagan in English.
"I am going the whole hog now," replied her husband quietly.
She pressed her lips together, and listened nervously as the conversation was resumed.
"I have made up my mind definitely to take sides with you," continued Mr. O'Hagan. "Hitherto I have held aloof, as you know; but I have always sympathised with your aims. You stand for political honesty and good government. That is a motive that appeals to me as a citizen. Personally, I have a strong inducement to support you; the Prefect has stripped me of my estate. If you succeed, I shall retrieve my fortunes; and in assisting you I shall not only consult my own interests, but do something, I believe, for the good of the country in which I have lived for so many years."
"A thousand thanks, señor," said Mollendo, his eyes beaming as he clasped Mr. O'Hagan's hand. "I rejoice in your generosity, and hail the approaching triumph of our cause. I remember how, in the brave days of old, the Roman Cincinnatus was called from his farm to assume command of the national forces; and how, within the space of sixteen days, he put the enemy to utter rout and confusion. You, señor, shall be our Cincinnatus. Caballeros," he cried, rising and addressing the motley throng in the courtyard, "the Señor Inglés is one of us. He espouses the cause of liberty; he will strike with us against the tyrant. I call upon you to acclaim our honoured guest with hearty vivas, and to drain your copitas to the caballero who will lead us to success."
Thundering cheers broke from the men, and they were only too eager to fill their cups and drink the health of the Señor Inglés and confusion to the dictator. Romaña smiled as he sat with Andrea and Juan at a little distance from his master. What he had hoped had come to pass; the señor was now a Mollendist. Tim also smiled, for a different reason.
"How do you like Cincinnatus O'Hagan?" he whispered slily in his mother's ear.
But Mrs. O'Hagan's sense of humour was at the present moment clouded by anxiety and misgiving.
"'Tis perfectly horrid," she said.
Mollendo had, in fact, jumped eagerly at the chance of securing Mr. O'Hagan as an active associate. He was himself well advanced in years; and though very popular with his followers, on whom he exercised a magnetic influence by his personal courage and his oratorical gifts, he had no military qualities or experience, and was conscious of his own defects as a leader. Mr. O'Hagan, on the other hand, as he well knew, had won a great repute as a soldier in the stormy days of the Chilian war. His advice in matters of strategy and tactics would be invaluable. He would bring to the cause just those factors of success in which hitherto it had been lacking, and for the first time Mollendo saw the gleam of coming triumph. Mrs. O'Hagan suffered many pangs as the conversation proceeded. The two men were settling the basis of their alliance. Mollendo was to retain the nominal command; the practical control of the movements of his little force was to be in the hands of Mr. O'Hagan. The good lady saw that her husband was back in the days of his youth. He always threw himself heart and soul into whatsoever he took up, and he discussed matters now with all the fire and eager enthusiasm of a boy. His wife was troubled; and when she noticed with what rapt attention Tim followed the talk, she made up her mind to drop a word of caution later.
In the midst of the conversation a man came hurriedly into the courtyard, and walking straight up to his leader saluted and said:
"Señor, I have news."
"What is it, Cristobal?"
"We were watching on the hills, señor, when we saw two parties drawing near, the larger on the eastern track, the smaller on the western. We hastened down to the fork, intending to give battle to them both; but suddenly we saw the smaller party halt; from it a man came forward, but presently hastened back again, and all his company retreated and disappeared. At the fork we met the others, and gave them so warm a reception that they withdrew towards the town. We followed them, but they did not halt, so we returned to the fork, and there our people are still posted."
"That is well, my son. The smaller party consisted of the Señor Inglés and his family whom you see here. They are now supporters of our cause. Carry that news to our men; it will encourage them. The señor was a great captain in the army of Peru years ago.... Will the señora excuse us for a few moments?" he asked, when the man had gone.
"You want to talk secrets, I suppose," said Mrs. O'Hagan; "but unless my husband objects, I should prefer to know all your arrangements. Tim," she added in English, "I am not to be kept in the dark. I do not like your turning yourself into a brigand, but I see your mind is made up. Only don't do anything without telling me."
"Señor, my wife and I have no secrets," said Mr. O'Hagan. "You may speak quite freely."
"What I had to say concerns the señora herself," said Mollendo. "This is no place for a lady; nor should she be subjected to the fatigues and dangers that we shall have to encounter. My wife lives peacefully in a remote corner of the country some fifty miles from here in the hills, and if the señora will deign to accept her hospitality----"
"Not at all, señor; I remain with my husband and son," said Mrs. O'Hagan firmly.
"Perhaps the señor will command otherwise," suggested Mollendo, who was not accustomed to domestic opposition.
From that moment Mrs. O'Hagan was his determined enemy. Mr. O'Hagan hurriedly explained that he would discuss the matter with his wife in private. He found an opportunity of doing so later in the day, when a corner of the ruins had been prepared for their accommodation. He pointed out that she would be unable to make the long and rapid marches which irregular warfare entailed. Her presence, and the necessity of protecting her, would be a source of weakness, possibly of disaster. Mrs. O'Hagan recognised this, and after a time reluctantly agreed to accept Señora Mollendo's hospitality.
"But I must take Tim with me," she said.
Mr. O'Hagan stroked his chin.
"The boy won't like that," he remarked.
"It will be for his good," she replied. "Surely you admit that fighting with these desperadoes is not fit work for a boy of his age."
"As to that, there are many here no older. Age doesn't count in these matters. He is perfectly healthy; he may be very useful to me, and the experience will be invaluable to him."
"Am I to lose both of you?" cried the lady, much troubled. "If it were for our own country I might endure it, like many another poor woman; but to think of you throwing away your lives for this miserable country--oh! it is too much."
Mr. O'Hagan was inclined to yield the point; but while he was still hesitating, his wife, dashing the tears from her eyes, suddenly forestalled him.
"I am an idiot," she said. "Of course the boy would eat his heart out away from you. I mustn't look on the black side. But do take care of him, won't you, Tim?"
And so it was settled that young Tim should remain with his father.
Next day Señor Mollendo provided an escort of half a dozen men, with whom Mrs. O'Hagan set off for the long ride into the hills. Mr. O'Hagan and Tim on horseback, each having a carbine, accompanied the party, having decided to go half the way. They left the camp at its northern side, and followed the track downward for several miles until it crossed the river by a narrow stone bridge. Then their course led to the north-west, the path rising steadily as it approached the spurs of the Andes. Progress was very slow; the day was already far advanced when they reached a little hut on the hill-side, about halfway to their destination, where Señor Mollendo was accustomed to break his journey when going to and fro between the camp and his home. Here they passed the night. In the morning Mrs. O'Hagan took leave of her husband and son, who watched her party until it disappeared along the winding track, then silently sprang to their saddles and rode in the opposite direction.
They had come within a few miles of the stone bridge over the river when they caught sight simultaneously of a number of horsemen strung out along the path far ahead, and riding towards them. Mr. O'Hagan felt the lack of one of the prime necessities of a soldier--a field-glass.
"We must hide up until we see who they are," he said to Tim. "They don't know how to order a march, at any rate."
The hill-side provided many convenient nooks for hiding and taking a look-out. But only a few minutes had passed when Tim, from behind his rock, called:
"It's old Mollendo, Father."
"Take care you don't call him that in the hearing of his men. It would be a deadly insult. Better call him 'excellency.' I wonder what has happened."
They returned to the track, and trotted downhill to meet the horsemen. There was about them an air of depression which did not escape Mr. O'Hagan. The explanation confirmed his foreboding.
"Good-day, señor," said Mollendo, with a graceful salutation as they met. "I grieve to say that you behold me a fugitive."
"What, excellency! Has the usurper taken the field at last?"
"It seems so, señor general." (Tim grinned as these complimentary titles passed.) "We were surprised at dawn by large numbers of the enemy who had advanced along the route by which you came to my camp. My sentries were, I fear, overcome by somnolence. The attack was so sudden that I had no time to form my ranks; but in the half light some of us were able to make our escape--some on horseback, others on foot. We are scattered to the four winds; all our stores are lost; it is a sad inauguration of our new alliance."
"Courage, excellency!" said Mr. O'Hagan. "We must consider how to retrieve this mishap. Are you pursued?"
"Not for the last five miles, señor."
"Then we will halt here, and wait for our men to rejoin us. No doubt some of them will come dropping in by and by. Let us ride forward, excellency, and choose a position."
Meanwhile Tim, seeing Romaña among the score of men who accompanied Mollendo, rode up to him with an eager question.
"Where is my cycle?"
"There was not time to bring it, señorito; but I managed to hide it under a heap of brushwood collected for the fires."
"They'll find it!" said Tim, his face falling.
"Perhaps we shall recapture the camp first. It was all I could do."
Tim thanked him, but felt that the chance of recovering his cycle was small indeed.