When the redskins and the hunters had recaptured the camp of the Mexicans, the pirates, according to the orders of their leader, had spread about in all directions, in order the more easily to escape the researches of their enemies.
The captain and the four men who carried off the general and his Negro, both bound and gagged, had descended the declivity of the rocks, at the risk of being dashed to pieces a thousand times by falling down the precipices which gaped at their feet.
On arriving at a certain distance, reassured by the silence which reigned around them, and still more by the extraordinary difficulties they had surmounted in reaching the place where they found themselves, they stopped to take breath.
A profound darkness enveloped them; over their heads, at an immense height, they perceived, twinkling like little stars, the torches borne by the hunters who pursued them, but who took care not to venture in the dangerous path they had followed.
"This is lucky," said the captain; "now, my boys, let us rest for a few minutes, we have nothing at the present time to fear: place your prisoners here, and go, two of you, and reconnoitre."
His orders were executed; a few minutes later the two bandits returned, announcing that they had discovered an excavation, which, might temporarily offer them shelter and safety.
"The devil!" cried the captain, "let us go to it."
And setting the example he started off in the direction pointed out by the scouts.
They soon arrived at a hollow nook which appeared tolerably spacious, and which was situated a few fathoms lower down than the place they had stopped at.
When they were concealed in this hiding place, the captain's first care was to close the entrance hermetically, which was not difficult, for that entrance was very narrow, the bandits having been obliged to stoop to penetrate into it.
"There," said the captain, "now we are snug; in this fashion we need not be afraid of impertinent visitors."
Drawing a steel from his pocket, he lit a torch of candlewood, with which, with that foresight that never abandons persons of his stamp even in the most critical circumstances, he had taken care to provide himself.
As soon as they could distinguish objects, the bandits uttered a cry of joy. What in the darkness they had taken for a simple excavation proved to be one of those natural grottos of which so many are found in these countries.
"Eh! eh!" said the captain, laughing, "let us see what sort of quarters we have got into; remain here, my men, and keep strict watch over your prisoners; I will go and reconnoitre our new domain."
After lighting a second torch, he explored the grotto.
It dipped deep under the mountain by a gentle descent; the walls were everywhere lofty, and sometimes they were widened into large compartments.
The cavern must have received external air by imperceptible fissures, for the light burned freely and the captain breathed without difficulty.
The farther the pirate advanced, the more perceptible the air became, which led him to conclude he was approaching an entrance of some kind.
He had been walking nearly twenty minutes, when a puff of wind came sharply in his nice and made the flame of his torch flicker.
"Hum!" he muttered, "here is a place of exit—let us be prudent and put out our lights, we know not whom we may meet with outside."
He crushed the light of his torch beneath his feet, and remained a few instants motionless, to allow his eyes to become accustomed to the darkness.
He was a prudent man, and thoroughly acquainted with his trade of a bandit, was this captain. If the plan he had formed for the attack of the camp had failed, it had required for that a concurrence of fortuitous circumstances impossible to have been foreseen by anybody.
Therefore, after the first moment of ill-humour caused by the check he had received, he had bravely taken his part; resolving,in petto, to take his revenge as soon as an opportunity should present itself.
Besides, it seemed as if Fortune was willing to smile on him afresh, by offering him, just at the moment when he had the greatest want of it, a refuge not likely to be discovered.
It was therefore with an almost unspeakable joy and hope that he waited till his eyes should be accustomed to the darkness, to permit him to distinguish objects and know if he were really going to find a place of exit, which would render him master of an almost impregnable position.
His expectations were not disappointed.
As soon as the dazzling effect of the blaze of the torch was got rid of, he perceived, at a considerable distance before him, a feeble light.
He walked resolutely forward, and at the end of a few minutes came to the so much desired outlet.
Decidedly fortune was once more propitious to him!
The outlet of the grotto opened upon the banks of a little river, the water of which came murmuring close to the mouth of the cavern, so that the bandits might, by swimming or constructing a raft, go in and out without leaving any traces, and thus defeat all researches.
The captain was too well acquainted with the prairies of the West, in which he had for nearly ten years exercised his honourable and lucrative profession, not to be able to know at once where he was on looking around him.
He perceived that this river flowed at some distance from the camp of the Mexicans, from which its numberless meanderings tended still more to remove it. He breathed a sigh of satisfaction when he had well examined the environs, no longer fearing discovery and thenceforward at ease regarding his position. He lit his torch again, and retraced his steps.
His companions, with the exception of one who watched the prisoners, were fast asleep.
The captain aroused them.
"Come, be alive! be alive!" he said; "this is not the time for sleeping; we have something else to do."
The bandits arose with a very ill grace, rubbing their eyes, and yawning enough to dislocate their jaws.
The captain made them, in the first place, securely close up the hole by which they had entered, then he ordered them to follow him with the prisoners, whose legs they unbound, in order that they might walk.
They stopped in one of the numerous halls, if we may so term them, which the captain had discovered on his route; one man was appointed to guard the prisoners, who were left in this place, and the captain, with the three other bandits continued their way to the outlet.
"You see," he said to them, pointing to the outlet, "that sometimes misfortune has its good, since chance has allowed us to discover a place of refuge where no one will come to seek us. You, Frank, set off directly for the rendez-vous I have appointed with your comrades, and bring them hither, as well as all the rest of our men who did not form part of the expedition. As for you, Antonio, you must procure us some provisions. Go, both of you. It is needless to tell you that I shall await your return with impatience."
The two bandits plunged into the river without reply, and disappeared.
"As to you, Gonzalez," he said, "employ yourself in gathering wood together for firing, and dry leaves for bedding; come, to work! to work!"
An hour later, a clear fire sparkled in the grotto, and upon soft beds of dry leaves the bandits slept soundly.
At sunrise the rest of the troop arrived.
There were still thirty of them!
The worthy leader felt his heart dilate with joy at the sight of the rich collection of scoundrels he had still at his disposal. With them he did not despair of re-establishing his affairs, and of soon taking a signal revenge.
After an abundant breakfast, composed of venison, copiously washed down with mezcal, the captain at length turned his attention to his prisoners. He repaired to the hall which served for their dungeon.
Since he had fallen into the hands of the bandits, the general had remained silent, apparently insensible to the ill-treatment to which he had been exposed.
The wounds he had received, being neglected, had festered, and gave him terrible pain; but he did not utter a complaint.
A deep grief took possession of his mind from the moment of his capture; he saw all his hopes overthrown of being able to resume the execution of the project that had brought him into the prairies.
All his companions were dead, and he knew not what fate awaited himself.
The only thing that brought a slight consolation to his pains was the certainty that his niece had succeeded in escaping.
But what was to become of her in this desert, where nothing was to be met with but wild beasts, and still more ferocious Indians? How could a young girl, accustomed to all the comforts of life, support the hazards of this existence of privations?
This idea redoubled his sufferings.
The captain was terrified at the state in which he found him.
"Come, general," he said, "courage! What the devil! luck often changes; I know something of that!Caray!never despair; nobody can tell what tomorrow will bring about. Give me your parole not to endeavour to escape, and I will immediately restore you the freedom of your limbs."
"I cannot give you that parole," the general replied with firmness; "I should take a false oath if I did. On the contrary, I swear to endeavour to fly by all possible means."
"Bravo! well answered!" said the pirate, laughing; "in your place, I should have replied just the same; only, at the present moment, I believe, with the best will in the world, it would be impossible for you to go a step. In spite, therefore, of all you have said to me, I will restore both you and your servant to liberty, and you may make what use you like of it, but it is freedom of your limbs, please to recollect, that is all."
With a stroke of his machete he cut the cords which bound the arms of the general, and then performed the same service for the Negro, Jupiter.
The latter, as soon as he was free in his movements, began jumping and laughing, exhibiting two rows of formidable teeth of dazzling whiteness.
"Come, be prudent, blacky," said the pirate; "be quiet here, if you do not want to have a bullet through your head."
"I will not go without my master," Jupiter replied, rolling his great wild-looking eyes.
"That is right!" the pirate remarked with a sneer; "that is agreed upon; such devotedness does you honour, blacky."
Turning next to the general, the captain bathed his wounds with cold water, and dressed them carefully; then, after placing provisions before the prisoners, to which the Negro alone did honour, the pirate retired.
Towards the middle of the day, the captain called together the principal men of his band.
"Caballeros," he said, "we cannot deny that we have lost the first game; the prisoners we have made are far from reimbursing our expenses; we cannot remain quiet under the effects of a check, which dishonours us, and renders us ridiculous. I am going to play a second game; this time if I do not win I shall be unlucky indeed. During my absence, watch well over the prisoners. Pay attention to the last orders I give you: if tomorrow, at midnight, I have not returned, safe and sound among you, at a quarter past midnight, I say, you will shoot the two prisoners without remission; you perfectly understand what I say, do you not?—without remission."
"Be at your ease, captain," Frank replied, in the name of his companions; "you may go as soon as you please; your orders shall be executed."
"I know they will; but be sure not to shoot them a minute too soon, or a minute too late."
"Exactly at the time named."
"That is understood. Adieu, then; do not be too impatient for my return."
Upon this the captain left the grotto, to throw himself in the way of Loyal Heart.
We have seen what the bandit wanted with the trapper.
After his strange proposal to the hunters, the leader of the pirates retook, at his best speed, the road to his den.
But he was too much accustomed to the life of the prairies not to suspect that several of his enemies would follow his track at a distance. Therefore, he had put in practice, to mislead them, all the tricks which his inventive mind could furnish with him, makingdétourswithout number, retracing incessantly his steps, or, as it is vulgarly said, going back ten yards to advance one.
These numerous precautions had excessively retarded his journey.
When he arrived on the banks of the river whose waters bathed the entrance to the cavern, he cast a last look around him, to make certain that no busy eye was watching his movements.
Everything was calm, nothing suspicious appeared, and he was about to launch into the stream the raft concealed beneath the leaves, when a slight noise in the bushes attracted his attention.
The pirate started; promptly drawing a pistol from his belt, he cocked it, and advanced boldly towards the spot whence this alarming noise proceeded.
A man bent towards the ground, was busy digging up herbs and plants with a small spade.
The pirate smiled, and replaced his pistol in his belt.
He had recognized the doctor, who was as much absorbed in his favourite passion as usual; so much so, indeed, that he had not perceived him.
After surveying him for an instant with disdain, the pirate was turning his back upon him, when an idea occurred to him, which made him, on the contrary,—advance towards thesavant, upon whose shoulder he somewhat roughly laid his hand.
At this rude salutation, the poor doctor drew himself up in a fright, letting fall both plants and spade.
"Holla! my good fellow," said the captain, in a jeering tone, "what madness possesses you to be herbalizing thus at all hours of the day and night?"
"How!" the doctor replied, "what do you mean by that?"
"Zounds! it's plain enough! Don't you know it is not far from midnight?"
"That is true," thesavantremarked ingenuously; "but there is such a fine moon."
"Which you, I suppose, have taken for the sun," said the pirate, with a loud laugh; "but," he added, becoming all at once serious, "that is of no consequence now; although half a madman, I have been told that you are a pretty good doctor."
"I have passed my examinations," the doctor replied, offended by the epithet applied to him.
"Very well! you are just the man I want, then."
Thesavantbowed with a very ill grace; it was evident he was not much flattered by the attention.
"What do you require of me?" he asked; "are you ill?"
"Not I, thank God! but one of your friends, who is at this moment my prisoner, is; so please to follow me."
"But——" the doctor would fain have objected.
"I admit of no excuses; follow me, or I will blow your brains out. Besides, don't be afraid, you run no risk; my men will pay you all the respect science is entitled to."
As resistance was impossible, the worthy man did as he was bidden with a good grace—with so good a grace, even, that for a second he allowed a smile to stray across his lips, which would have aroused the suspicions of the pirate if he had perceived it.
The captain commanded thesavantto walk on before him, and both thus reached the river.
At the instant they quitted the place where this conversation, had taken place, the branches of a bush parted slowly, and a head, shaved with the exception of a long tuft of hair at the top, on which was stuck an eagle's feather, appeared, then a body, and then an entire man, who bounded like a jaguar in pursuit of them.
This man was Eagle Head.
He was a silent spectator of the embarkation of the two whites, saw them enter the grotto, and then, in his turn, disappeared in the shade of the woods, after muttering to himself in a low voice the word—
"Och!" (good) the highest expression of joy in the language of the Comanches.
The doctor had plainly only served as a bait to attract the pirate, and cause him to fall into the snare laid by the Indian chief.
Now, had the worthysavantany secret intelligence with Eagle Head? That is what we shall soon know.
On the morrow, at daybreak, the pirate ordered a close battue to be made in the environs of the grotto; but no track existed.
The captain rubbed his hands with joy; his expedition had doubly succeeded, since he had managed to return to his cavern without being followed.
Certain of having nothing to dread, he was unwilling to keep about him so many men in a state of inactivity; placing, therefore, his troop provisionally under the command of Frank, a veteran bandit, in whom he had perfect confidence, he only retained ten chosen men with him, and sent away the rest.
Although the affair he was now engaged in was interesting, and his success appeared certain, he was not, on that account, willing to neglect his other occupations, and maintain a score of bandits in idleness, who might, at any moment, from merely having nothing else to do, play him an ugly turn.
It is evident that the captain was not only a prudent man, but was thoroughly acquainted with his honourable associates.
When the pirates had left the grotto, the captain made a sign to the doctor to follow him, and conducted him to the general.
After having introduced them to each other with that ironical politeness in which he was such a master, the bandit retired, leaving them together.
Only before he departed, the captain drew a pistol from his belt, and clapping it to the breast of thesavant—
"Although you may be half a madman," he said, "as you may, nevertheless, have some desire to betray me, observe this well, my dear sir; at the least equivocal proceeding that I see you attempt, I will blow your brains out; you are warned, so now act as you think proper."
And replacing his pistol in his belt, he retired with one of his eloquent sneers on his lips.
The doctor listened to this admonition with a very demure countenance, but with a sly smile, which, in spite of himself, glided over his lips, but which, fortunately, was not perceived by the captain.
The general and his Negro, Jupiter, were confined in a compartment of the grotto at some distance from the outlet.
They were alone, for the captain had deemed it useless to keep guards constantly with them.
Both seated upon a heap of leaves, with heads cast down and crossed arms, they were reflecting seriously, if not profoundly.
At sight of thesavant, the dismal countenance of the general was lighted up by a fugitive smile of hope.
"Ah, doctor, is that you?" he said, holding out to him a hand which the other pressed warmly hut silently, "have I reason to rejoice or to be still sad at your presence?"
"Are we alone?" the doctor asked, without answering the general's question.
"I believe so," he replied, in a tone of surprise; "at all events, it is easy to satisfy yourself."
The doctor groped all round the place, carefully examined every corner; he then went back to the prisoners.
"We can talk," he said.
Thesavantwas habitually so absorbed by his scientific calculations, and was naturally so absent, that the prisoners had but little confidence in him.
"And my niece?" the general asked, anxiously.
"Be at ease on her account; she is in safety with a hunter named Loyal Heart, who has a great respect for her."
The general breathed a sigh of relief; this good news had restored him all his courage.
"Oh!" he said, "of what consequence is my being a prisoner? Now I know my niece is safe, I can suffer anything."
"No, no," said the doctor, warmly, "on the contrary, you must escape from this place tomorrow, by some means."
"Why?"
"Answer me in the first place."
"I ask no better than to do so."
"Your wounds appear slight; are they progressing towards cure?"
"I think so."
"Do you feel yourself able to walk?
"Oh, yes!"
"But let us understand each other. I mean, are you able to walk a distance?"
"I believe so, if it be absolutely necessary."
"Eh! eh!" said the Negro, who, up to this moment had remained silent, "am I not able to carry my master when he can walk no longer?"
The general pressed his hand.
"That's true, so far," said the doctor; "all is well, only you must escape."
"I should be most glad to do so, but how?"
"Ah! that," said thesavant, scratching his head, "is what I do not know, for my part! But be at ease, I will find some means; at present, I don't know what."
Steps were heard approaching, and the captain appeared.
"Well!" he asked, "how are your patients going on?"
"Not too well!" the doctor replied.
"Bah! bah!" the pirate resumed; "all that will come round; besides, the general will soon be free, then he can get well at his ease. Now, doctor, come along with me; I hope I have left you and your friend long enough together to have said all you wish."
The doctor followed him without reply, after having made the general a parting sign to recommend prudence.
The day passed away without further incident.
The prisoners looked for the night with impatience; in spite of themselves, a confidence in the doctor had gained upon them—they hoped.
Towards evening the worthysavantreappeared. He walked with a deliberate step, his countenance was cheerful, he held a torch in his hand.
"What is there fresh, doctor?" the general asked; "you appear to be quite gay."
"In fact, general, I am so," he replied with a smile, "because I have found the means of securing your escape—not forgetting my own."
"And those means?"
"Are already half executed," he said, with a little dry smile, which was peculiar to him when he was satisfied.
"What do you mean by that?"
"By Galen! something very simple, but which you never would guess: all our bandits are asleep, we are masters of the grotto."
"That may be possible; but if they should wake?"
"Don't trouble yourself about that; they will wake, of that there is no doubt, but not within six hours at least."
"How the devil can you tell that?"
"Because I took upon myself to send them to sleep; that is to say, at their supper I served them with a decoction of opium, which brought them down like lumps of lead, and they have all been snoring ever since like so many forge bellows."
"Oh, that is capital!" said the general.
"Is it not?" the doctor observed, modestly. "By Galen, I was determined to repair the mischief I had done you by my negligence! I am not a soldier, I am but a poor physician; I have made use of my proper weapons; you see that in certain cases they are as good as others."
"They are a hundred times better! Doctor, you are a noble fellow!"
"Well, come, let us lose no time."
"That is true, let us be gone; but the captain, what have you done with him?"
"Oh, as to him, the devil only knows where he is. He left us after dinner without saying anything to anybody; but I have a shrewd suspicion I know where he is gone, and am much mistaken if we do not see him presently."
"All, then, is for the best; lead on."
The three men set off at once. In spite of the means employed by the doctor, the general and the Negro were not quite at ease.
They arrived at the compartment which now served as a dormitory for the bandits; they were lying about asleep in all directions.
The fugitives passed safely through them.
When they arrived at the entrance of the grotto, at the moment they were about to unfasten the raft to cross the river, they saw, by the pale rays of the moon, another raft, manned by fifteen men, who steadily directed their course towards them.
Their retreat was cut off.
How could they possibly resist such a number of adversaries?
"What a fatality!" the general murmured, despondingly.
"Oh!" said the doctor, piteously, "a plan of escape that cost me so much trouble to elaborate!"
The fugitives threw themselves into a cavity of the rocks, to avoid being seen, and there waited the landing of the newcomers, whose manoeuvres appeared more and more suspicious.
A considerable space of ground, situated in front of the grotto inhabited by Loyal Heart, had been cleared, the trees cut down, and from a hundred and fifty to two hundred huts erected.
The whole tribe of the Comanches was encamped on this spot.
Among trappers, hunters, and redskin warriors there existed the best possible understanding.
In the centre of this temporary village, where the huts of buffalo hides painted of different colours were arranged with a degree of symmetry, one much larger than the others, surmounted by scalps fixed to long poles, and in which a large fire was continually kept up, served as the council lodge.
The greatest bustle prevailed in the village.
The Indian warriors were armed and in their war paint, as if preparing to march to battle.
The hunters had dressed themselves in their best costumes, and cleaned their arms with the greatest care, as if expecting soon to make use of them.
The horses completely caparisoned, stood hobbled, and held by half a score warriors, ready to be mounted.
Hunters and redskins were coming and going in a busy, preoccupied manner.
A rare and almost unknown thing among Indians, sentinels were placed at regular distances to signal the approach of a stranger, whoever he might be.
In short, everything denoted that one of the ceremonies peculiar to the prairies was about to take place. But, strange to say, Loyal Heart, Eagle Head, and Black Elk were absent.
Belhumeur alone watched over the preparations that were being made, talking, the while, to the old Comanche chiefEshis, or the Sun.
But their countenances were stern, their brows thoughtful, they appeared a prey to an overpowering preoccupation.
It was the day fixed upon by the captain of the pirates for Doña Luz to be delivered up to him.
Would the captain venture to come? or was his proposition anything more than a rodomontade?
Those who knew the pirate, and their number was great—almost all having suffered by his depredations—inclined to the affirmative.
This man was endowed, and it was the only quality they acknowledged in him, with a ferocious courage and an iron will.
If once he had affirmed he would do a thing, he did it, without regard to anybody or any danger.
And then, what had he to dread in coming a second time amongst his enemies? Did he not hold the general in his power? the general, whose life answered for his own; all knew that he would not hesitate to sacrifice him to his safety.
It was about eight o'clock in the morning, a brilliant sun shed its dazzling rays in profusion upon the picture we have endeavoured to describe.
Doña Luz left the grotto, leaning upon the arm of the mother of Loyal Heart, and followed by Nô Eusebio.
The two women were sad and pale, their faces looked worn, and their red eyes showed they had been weeping.
As soon as Belhumeur perceived them, he advanced towards them, bowing respectfully.
"Has not my son returned yet?" the old lady asked, anxiously.
"Not yet," the hunter replied, "but keep up your spirits, señora, it will not be long before he is here."
"Good God! I do not know why, but it seems as if he must be detained at a distance from us by some untoward event."
"No, señora, I should know if he were so. When I left him last night, for the purpose of tranquillizing you, and executing the orders he gave me, he was in an excellent situation; therefore, believe me, be reassured, and, above all, have confidence."
"Alas!" the poor woman murmured, "I have lived for twenty years in continual agony, every night dreading not to see my son on the morrow; my God! will you not then have pity on me!"
"Have comfort, dear señora," said Doña Luz, affectionately, and with a gentle kiss: "Oh! I know that if Loyal Heart at this moment be in danger, it is to save my poor uncle; my God!" she added, fervently, "grant that he may succeed!"
"All will soon be cleared up, ladies, be assured by me, and you know I would not deceive you."
"Yes," said the old lady, "you are good, you love my son, and you would not be here if he had anything to dread."
"You judge me rightly, señora, and I thank you for it. I cannot, at the present moment, tell you anything, but I implore you to have a little patience; let it suffice for you to know that he is labouring to render the señorita happy."
"Oh! yes," said the mother, "always good, always devoted!"
"And therefore was he named Loyal Heart," the maiden murmured, with a blush.
"And never was name better merited," the hunter exclaimed proudly. "A man must have lived a long time with him, and know him as well as I know him, in order to appreciate him properly."
"Thanks, in my turn, for all you say of my son, Belhumeur," the old lady replied, pressing the callous hand of the hunter.
"I speak nothing but the truth, señora; I am only just, that is all. Oh! things would go on well in the prairies if all hunters were like him."
"Good heavens! time passes, will he never come?" she murmured, looking around with feverish impatience.
"Very soon, señora."
"I wish to be the first to see him and salute him on his arrival!"
"Unfortunately that is impossible."
"Why so?"
"Your son charged me to beg you, as well as Señora Luz, to retire into the grotto; he is anxious that you should not be present at the scene that is about to take place here."
"But," said Doña Luz, anxiously, "how shall I know if my uncle be saved or not?"
"Be assured, señorita, that you shall not remain in uncertainty long. But I beg you not to remain here. Go in, go in."
"Perhaps it will be best to do so," the old lady observed. "Let us be obedient, darling," she added, smiling on the girl; "let us go in, since my son requires it."
Doña Luz followed her without resistance, but casting furtive looks behind her, to try if she could catch a glimpse of him she loved.
"How happy are those who have mothers!" murmured Belhumeur, stifling a sigh, and looking after the two women, who disappeared in the shade of the grotto.
All at once the Indian sentinels uttered a cry, which was immediately repeated by a man placed in front of the council lodge.
At this signal the Comanche chiefs arose and left the hut in which they were assembled.
The hunters and Indian warriors seized their arms, ranged themselves on either side of the grotto, and waited.
A cloud of dust rolled towards the camp with great rapidity, but was soon dispersed, and revealed a troop of horsemen riding at full speed. These horsemen, for the most part, wore the costume of Mexican gambusinos.
At their head, upon a magnificent horse, black as night, came a man whom all immediately recognized.
This was Captain Waktehno, who came audaciously at the head of his troop, to claim the fulfilment of the odious bargain he had imposed three days before.
Generally, in the prairies, when two troops meet, or when warriors or hunters visit a village, it is the custom to execute a sort offantasia, by rushing full speed towards each other, yelling and firing off guns.
On this occasion, however, nothing of the kind took place.
The Comanches and the hunters remained motionless and silent, awaiting the arrival of the pirates.
This cold, stern reception did not astonish the captain; though his eyebrows were a little contracted, he feigned not to perceive it, and entered the village intrepidly at the head of his band.
When he arrived in front of the chiefs drawn up before the council lodge, the twenty horsemen stopped suddenly, as if they had been changed into statues of bronze.
This bold manoeuvre was executed with such dexterity that the hunters, good judges of horsemanship, with difficulty repressed a cry of admiration.
Scarcely had the pirates halted, ere the ranks of the warriors placed on the right and left of the lodge deployed like a fan, and closed behind them.
The twenty pirates found themselves by this movement, which was executed with incredible quickness, enclosed within a circle formed of more than five hundred men, well armed and equally well mounted.
The captain felt a slight tremor of uneasiness at the sight of this manoeuvre, and he almost repented having come. But surmounting this involuntary emotion, he smiled disdainfully; he believed he was certain he had nothing to fear.
He bowed slightly to the chiefs ranged before him, and addressed Belhumeur in a firm voice,—
"Where is the girl?" he demanded.
"I do not know what you mean," the hunter replied, in a bantering tone; "I do not believe that there is any young lady here upon whom you have any claim whatever."
"What does this mean? and what is going on here?" the captain muttered, casting around a look of defiance. "Has Loyal Heart forgotten the visit I paid him three days ago?"
"Loyal Heart never forgets anything," said Belhumeur, in a firm tone; "but the question is not of him now. How can you have the audacity to present yourself among us at the head of a set of brigands?"
"Well," said the captain jeeringly, "I see you want to answer me by an evasion. As to the menace contained in the latter part of your sentence, it is worth very little notice."
"You are wrong; for since you have committed the imprudence of throwing yourself into our hands, we shall not be simple enough, I warn you, to allow you to escape."
"Oh, oh!" said the pirate; "what game are we playing now?"
"You will soon learn."
"I can wait," the pirate replied, casting around a provoking glance.
"In these deserts, where all human laws are silent," the hunter replied, in a loud clear voice, "the law of God ought to reign in full vigour. This law says, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'"
"What follows?" said the pirate, in a dry tone.
"During ten years," Belhumeur continued impassively, "at the head of a troop of bandits, without faith and without law, you have been the terror of the prairies, pillaging and assassinating white men and red men; for you are of no country, plunder and rapine being your only rule; trappers, hunters, gambusinos, or Indians, you have respected no one, if murder could procure you a piece of gold. Not many days ago you took by assault the camp of peaceful Mexican travellers, and massacred them without pity. This career of crime must have an end, and that end has now come. We have Indians and hunters assembled here to try you, and apply to you the implacable law of the prairies."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," the assembled Indians and hunters cried, brandishing their arms.
"You deceive yourselves greatly, my masters," the pirate answered, with assurance, "If you believe I shall hold my throat out peaceably to the knife, like a calf that is being led to the shambles. I suspected what would happen, and that is why I am so well accompanied. I have with me twenty resolute men, who well know how to defend themselves. You have not got us yet."
"Look around you, and see what is left for you to do."
The pirate cast a look behind him, and saw five hundred guns levelled at his band.
A shudder passed through his limbs, a mortal pallor covered his face, the pirate understood that he was confronted by a terrible danger; but after a second of reflection, he recovered all his coolness, and addressing the hunter, he replied in a jeering voice:—
"What is the use of all these menaces, which do not frighten me? You know very well that I am screened from all your violence. You have told me that I attacked some Mexican travellers a few days ago, but you are not ignorant that the most important of those travellers has fallen into my power. Dare but to touch a single hair of my head, and the general, the uncle of the girl you would in vain ravish from my power, will immediately pay with his life for the insult you offer me. Believe me, then, my masters, you had better cease endeavouring to terrify me; give up to me with a good grace her whom I come to demand, or I swear to you, by God, that within an hour the general will be a dead man."
All at once a man broke through the crowd, and placing himself in front of the pirate, said—
"You are mistaken, the general is free!"
That man was Loyal Heart.
A hum of joy resounded from the ranks of the hunters and Indians, whilst a shudder of terror agitated the pirates.
The general and his two companions had not remained long in a state of uncertainty.
The raft, after several attempts, came to shore at last, and fifteen men, armed with guns advanced, and rushed into the grotto, uttering loud cries.
The fugitives ran towards them with joy; for they recognized at the head of them Loyal Heart, Eagle Head, and Black Elk.
This is what had happened.
As soon as the doctor had entered the grotto with the captain, Eagle Head, certain of having discovered the retreat of the pirates, had rejoined his friends, to whom he imparted the success of his stratagem, Belhumeur had been despatched to Loyal Heart, who had hastened to come. All, in concert, had resolved to attack the bandits in their cavern, whilst other detachments of hunters and redskin warriors, spread about the prairies, and concealed among the rocks should watch the approaches to the grottos and prevent the escape of the pirates.
We have seen the result of this expedition.
After having devoted the first moment entirely to joy, and the pleasure of having succeeded without a blow being struck, the general informed his liberators that half a score bandits were sleeping in the grotto, under the influence of the worthy doctor's opium.
The pirates were strongly bound and carried away; then, after calling in the various detachments, the whole band again bent their way to the camp.
Great had been the surprise of the captain at the exclamation of Loyal Heart; but that surprise was changed into terror, when he saw the general, whom he thought so safely guarded by his men, standing before him.
He saw at once that all his measures were defeated, and his tricks circumvented, and that this time he was lost without resource.
The blood mounted to his throat, his eyes darted lightning, and turning towards Loyal Heart, he said, in a hoarse loud voice—
"Well played! but all is not yet ended between us. By God's help I shall have my revenge!"
He made a gesture as if to put his horse in motion; but Loyal Heart held it resolutely by the bridle.
"We have not done yet," he remarked.
The pirate looked at him for an instant with eyes injected with blood, and then said in a voice broken by passion, whilst urging on his horse to oblige the hunter to quit his hold.
"What more do you want with me?"
Loyal Heart, thanks to a wrist of iron, still held the horse, which plunged furiously.
"You have been brought to trial," he replied, "and the law of the prairies is about to be applied to you."
The pirate uttered a terrible, sneering, maniac laugh, and tore his pistols from his belt:—
"Woe be to him who touches me!" he cried, with rage, "give me way!"
"No," the impassive hunter replied, "you are fairly taken, my master; this time you shall not escape me."
"Die then!" cried the pirate, aiming one of his pistols at Loyal Heart.
But, quick as thought, Belhumeur, who had watched his movements closely, threw himself before his friend with a swiftness increased tenfold by the seriousness of the situation.
The shot was fired. The ball struck the Canadian, who fell bathed in his blood.
"One!" cried the pirate, with a ferocious laugh.
"Two!" screamed Eagle Head, and with the bound of a panther, he leaped upon the pirate's horse behind him.
Before the captain could make a movement to defend himself, the Indian seized him with his left hand, by the long hair, of which he formed a tuft, and pulled him backwards violently, with his head downwards.
"Curses on you!" cried the pirate, in vain endeavouring to free himself from his enemy.
And then took place a scene which chilled the spectators with horror.
The horse, which Loyal Heart had left his hold of, when at liberty, furious with being urged on by its master and checked by Loyal Heart, and with the double weight imposed upon it, sprang forward, mad with rage, breaking and overturning in its course every object that opposed its passage. But it still carried, clinging to its sides, the two men struggling to kill each other, and who on the back of the terrified animal writhed about like serpents.
Eagle Head had, as we have said, pulled back the head of the pirate; he placed his knee against his loins, uttered his hideous war cry, and flourished with a terrible gesture his knife around the brow of his enemy.
"Kill me, then, vile wretch!" the pirate cried, and with a rapid effort he raised his left hand, still armed with a pistol, but the bullet was lost in space.
The Comanche chief fixed his eyes upon the captain's face.
"Thou art a coward!" he said, with disgust, "and an old woman, who is afraid of death!"
At the same time he pushed the bandit forcibly with his knee, and plunged the knife into his skull.
The captain uttered a piercing cry, which arose into the air, mingled with the howl of triumph of the chief.
The horse stumbled over a root; the two enemies rolled upon the ground.
Only one rose up.
It was the Comanche chief, who brandished the bleeding scalp of the pirate.
But the latter was not dead. Almost mad with pain and fury, and blinded with the blood which trickled into his eyes, he arose and rushed upon his adversary, who had no expectation of such an attack.
Then, with limbs entwined, each endeavoured, by strength and artifice, to throw his antagonist, and plunge into his body the knife with which he was armed.
Several hunters sprang forward to separate them, but when they reached them all was over.
The captain lay upon the ground with the knife of Eagle Head buried to the hilt in his heart.
The pirates, held in awe by the white hunters and the Indian warriors who surrounded them, did not attempt a resistance, which they knew would be useless.
When he saw his captain fall, Frank, in the name of his companions, proclaimed that they surrendered. At a signal from Loyal Heart they laid down their arms and were bound.
Belhumeur, the brave Canadian, whose devotedness had saved the life of his friend, had received a serious wound, but, happily, it was not mortal. He had been instantly lifted up and carried into the grotto, where the mother of the hunter paid him every attention.
Eagle Head approached Loyal Heart, who stood pensive and silent, leaning against a tree.
"The chiefs are assembled round the fire of council," he said, "and await my brother."
"I follow, my brother," the hunter replied, laconically.
When the two men entered the hut, all the chiefs were assembled; among them were the general, Black Elk, and several other trappers.
The calumet was brought into the middle of the circle by the pipe bearer; he bowed respectfully towards the four cardinal points, and then presented the long tube to every chief in his turn.
When the calumet had made the round of the circle, the pipe bearer emptied the ashes into the fire, murmuring some mystic words, and then retired.
Then the old chief named the Sun, arose, and after saluting the members of the council, said—
"Chiefs and warriors, listen to the words which my lungs breathe and which the Master of Life has placed in my heart. What do you purpose doing with the twenty prisoners who are now in your hands? Will you release them that they may continue their life of murder and rapine? that they may carry off your wives, steal your horses, and kill your brothers? Will you conduct them to the stone villages of the great white hearts of the East? The route is long, abounding in dangers, traversed by mountains and rapid rivers; the prisoners may escape in the journey, or may surprise you in your sleep and massacre you. And then, you know, warriors, when you have arrived at the stone villages, the long knives will release them, for there exists no justice for red men. No, warriors, the Master of Life, who has, at length, delivered up these men into our power, wills that they should die. He has marked the term of their crimes. When we find a jaguar or a grizzly bear upon our path, we kill them; these men are more cruel than jaguars or grizzlies, they owe a reckoning for the blood they have shed, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Let them, then, be fastened to the stake of torture. I cast a necklace of red wampums into the council. Have I spoken well, men of power?"
After these words, the old chief sat down again. There was a moment of solemn silence. It was evident that all present approved of his advice.
Loyal Heart waited for a few minutes; he saw that nobody was preparing to reply to the speech of the Sun; then he arose:—
"Comanche chiefs and warriors, and you white trappers, my brothers," he said in a mild, sad tone, "the words pronounced by the venerable sachem are just; unfortunately, the safety of the prairies requires death of our prisoners. This extremity is terrible, but we are forced to submit to it, if we desire to enjoy the fruit of our rude labours in peace. But if we find ourselves constrained to apply the implacable law of the desert, let us not show ourselves barbarians by choice; let us punish, since it must be so, but let us punish like men of heart, and not like cruel men. Let us prove to these bandits that we are executing justice, that in killing them it is not for the purpose of avenging ourselves, but the whole of society. Besides, their chief, by far the most guilty of them, has fallen before the courage and weapons of Eagle Head. Let us be clement without ceasing to be just. Let us leave them the choice of their death. No useless torture. The Master of Life will smile upon us, he will be content with his red children, to whom he will grant abundance of game in their hunting grounds. I have spoken: have I spoken well, men of power?"
The members of the council had listened attentively to the words of the young man. The chiefs had smiled kindly at the noble sentiments he had expressed; for all, both Indians and trappers, loved and respected him.
Eagle Head arose.
"My brother, Loyal Heart has spoken well," said he; "his years are few in number, but his wisdom is great. We are happy to find an opportunity of proving our friendship for him; we seize it with eagerness. We will do what he desires."
"Thank you!" Loyal Heart replied warmly; "thank you, my brothers! The Comanche nation is a great and noble nation, which I love; I am proud of having been adopted by it."
The council broke up, and the chiefs left the lodge. The prisoners, collected in a group, were strictly guarded by a detachment of warriors.
The public crier called together all the members of the tribe, and the hunters dispersed about the village.
When all were assembled, Eagle Head arose to speak, and, addressing the pirates, said—
"Dogs of palefaces, the council of the great chiefs of the powerful nation of the Comanches, whose vast hunting grounds cover a great part of the earth, has pronounced your fate. Try, after having lived like wild beasts, not to die like timid old women; be brave, and then, perhaps, the Master of Life will have pity on you, and will receive you after death into the eskennane,—that place of delights where the brave who have looked death in the face hunt during eternity."
"We are ready," replied Frank, unmoved; "fasten us to the stakes, invent the most atrocious tortures; you will not see us blench."
"Our brother, Loyal Heart," the chief continued, "has interceded for you. You will not be fastened to the stake; the chiefs leave to yourselves the choice of your death."
Then was awakened that characteristic trait in the manners of the whites, who, inhabiting the prairies for any length of time, end by forsaking the customs of their ancestors, and adopt those of the Indians.
The proposition made by Eagle Head was revolting to the pride of the pirates.
"By what right," Frank cried, "does Loyal Heart intercede for us? Does he fancy that we are not men? that tortures will be able to draw from us cries and complaints unworthy of us? No! no! lead us to punishment; whatever you can inflict upon us will not be so cruel as what we make the warriors of your nation undergo when they fall into our hands."
At these insulting words a sensation of anger pervaded the ranks of the Indians, whilst the pirates, on the contrary, uttered cries of joy and triumph.
"Dogs! rabbits!" they shouted; "Comanche warriors are old women, who ought to wear petticoats!"
Loyal Heart advanced, and silence was re-established.
"You have wrongly understood the words of the chief," he said; "in leaving you the choice of your death, it was not an insult, but a mark of respect that he paid you. Here is my dagger; you shall be unbound, let it pass from hand to hand, and be buried in all your hearts in turn. The man who is free, and without hesitation kills himself at a single blow, is braver than he who, fastened to the stake of torture, and unable to endure the pain, insults his executioner in order to receive a prompt death."
A loud acclamation welcomed these words of the hunter.
The pirates consulted among themselves for an instant with a look, then, with one spontaneous movement, they made the sign of the cross, and cried with one voice—
"We accept your offer!"
The crowd, an instant before, so tumultuous and violent, became silent and attentive, awed by the expectation of the terrible tragedy which was about to be played before them.
"Unbind the prisoners," Loyal Heart commanded.
This order was immediately executed.
"Your dagger!" said Frank.
The hunter gave it to him.
"Thank you, and farewell!" said the pirate, in a firm voice; and, opening his vestments, he deliberately, and with a smile, as if he enjoyed death, buried the dagger up to the hilt in his heart.
A livid pallor gradually invaded his countenance, his eyes rolled in their orbits, and casting round wild and aimless glances, he staggered like a drunken man, and rolled upon the ground.
He was dead.
"My turn!" cried the pirate next him, and plucking the still reeking dagger from the wound, he plunged it into his heart.
He fell upon the body of the first victim.
After him came the turn of another, then another, and so on; not one hesitated, not one displayed weakness,—all fell smiling, and thanking Loyal Heart for the death they owed to him.
The spectators were awestruck by this terrible execution; but, fascinated by the frightful spectacle,—drunk, so to say, with the odour of blood, they stood with haggard eyes and heaving breasts, without having the power to turn away their looks.
There soon remained but one pirate. This man contemplated for a moment the heap of bodies which lay before him; then, drawing the dagger from the breast of him who had preceded him, he said with a smile,—
"A fellow is lucky to die in such good company; but where the devil do we go to after death? Bah! what a fool I am! I shall soon know!"
And with a gesture quick as thought he stabbed himself.
He fell instantly quite dead.
This frightful slaughter did not last more than a quarter of an hour.[1]
Not one of the pirates had struck twice; all were killed by the first blow.
"The dagger is mine!" said Eagle Head, drawing it smoking from the still palpitating body of the last bandit. "It is a good weapon for a warrior;" and he placed it coolly in his belt, after having wiped it upon the grass.
The bodies of the pirates were scalped, and borne out of the camp.
They were abandoned to the vultures and the urubus, for whom they would furnish an ample feast, and who, attracted by the odour of blood, were already hovering over them, uttering lugubrious cries of joy.
The formidable troop of Captain Waktehno was thus annihilated. Unfortunately there were other pirates in the prairies.
After the execution, the Indians re-entered their huts carelessly; for them it had only been one of those spectacles to which they had been for a long time accustomed, and which have no effect upon their nerves.
The trappers, on the contrary, notwithstanding the rough life they lead, and the frequency with which they see blood shed—either their own or that of other people, dispersed silently and noiselessly, with hearts oppressed by the spectacle of this frightful butchery.
Loyal Heart and the general directed their steps towards the grotto.
The ladies, shut up in the interior of the cavern, were ignorant of the terrible drama that had been played, and of the sanguinary expiation which had terminated it.