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diff --git a/35214.txt b/35214.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2aba2d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/35214.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10848 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Guerilla Chief, by Mayne Reid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Guerilla Chief + And other Tales + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: February 8, 2011 [EBook #35214] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUERILLA CHIEF *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The Guerilla Chief +And other Tales +By Mayne Reid +Published by George Routledge and Sons Ltd. London. +This edition dated 1884. + +The Guerilla Chief, by Mayne Reid. + +________________________________________________________________________ + +________________________________________________________________________ +THE GUERILLA CHIEF, BY MAYNE REID. + +Story 1, Chapter I. + +CERRO GORDO. + +"_Agua! por amor Dios, agua--aguita_!" (Water! for the love of God, a +little water!) + +I heard these words, as I lay in my tent, on the field of Cerro Gordo. + +It was the night after the battle bearing this name--fought between the +American and Mexican armies in the month of April, 1847. + +The routed regiments of Santa Anna--saving some four thousand men +captured upon the ground--had sought safety in flight, the greater body +taking the main road to Jalapa, pursued by our victorious troops; while +a large number, having sprawled down the almost perpendicular cliff that +overhangs the "Rio del Plan" escaped, unperceived and unpursued, into +the wild chapparals that cover the _piedmont_ of Perote. + +Among these last was the _lame_ tyrant himself, or rather should I say, +_at their head leading the retreat_. This has always been his favourite +position at the close of a battle that has gone against him; and a score +of such defeats can be recorded. + +I could have captured him on that day but for the cowardice of a colonel +who had command over me and mine. I alone, of all the American army, +saw Santa Anna making his escape from the field, and in such a direction +that I could without difficulty have intercepted his retreat. With the +strength of a corporal's guard, I could have taken both him and his +glittering staff; but even this number of men was denied me, and _nolens +volens_ was I constrained to forego the pleasure of taking prisoner this +truculent tyrant, and hanging him to the nearest tree, which, as God is +my judge, I should most certainly have done. Through the imbecility of +my superior officer, I lost the chance of a triumph calculated to have +given me considerable fame; while Mexico missed finding an avenger. + +Strictly speaking, I was not _in_ the engagement of Cerro Gordo. My +orders on that day--or rather those of the spruce colonel who commanded +me--were to guard a battery of mountain howitzers, that had been dragged +to the top of the cliff overlooking El plan--not that already mentioned +as the field of battle, and which was occupied by the enemy, but the +equally precipitous height on the opposite side of the river. + +From early daylight until the Mexicans gave way, we kept firing at them +across the stupendous chasm that lay between us, doing them no great +damage, unless they were frightened by the whizz of an occasional +rocket, which our artillerist, Ripley--now a second-rate Secesh +general--succeeded in sending into their midst. + +As to ourselves and the battery, there was no more danger of either +being assaulted by the enemy than there was of our being whisked over +the cliff by the tail of a comet. There was not a Mexican soldier on +our side of the _barranca_; and as to any of them crossing over to us, +they could only have performed the feat in a balloon, or by making a +circuitous march of nearly a dozen miles. + +For all this security, our stick-to-the-text colonel held close to the +little battery of howitzers; and would not have moved ten paces from it +to have accomplished the capture of the whole Mexican army. + +Perfectly satisfied, from the "lights with which we had been furnished," +that there was no danger to our battery, and chafing at the ill-luck +that had placed me so far away from the ground where laurels were +growing, and where others were in the act of reaping them, I lost all +interest in Ripley and his popguns; and straying along the summit of the +cliff, I sat me down upon its edge. + +A yucca stood stiffly out from the brow of the precipice. It was the +tree-yucca, and a huge bole of bayonet-shaped leaves crowning its +corrugated trunk shaded a spot of grass-covered turf, on the very edge +of the escarpment. + +Had I not scaled the Andes, I might have hesitated to trust myself under +the shadow of that tree. But a cliff, however sheer and stupendous, +could no longer cause a whirl in my brain; and to escape from the rays +of a tropical sun, at that moment in mid-heaven, I crept forward, caught +hold of the stem of the yucca, lowered my extremities, all booted and +spurred as they were, over the angle of the porphrytic rock, took a +Havana out of my case, drew a fusee across the steel-filings, and, +hanging ignited the cigar, I commenced watching the deadly strife then +raging in full fury on the opposite side of the ravine. + +The prudent _nawab_, who preferred looking at a tiger-hunt out of a +two-storey window, or the spectator of a bull-fight in the upper tier of +a "plaza de toros," could not have been safer than I, since, without +running the slightest risk, I had a "bird's-eye view" of the battle. + +I could see the steady advance of Worth's division of regulars, +supported by the fiery squadrons of Harney's Horse; the brigade of +Twiggs--that hoary-headed sexagenarian _bavard_, since distinguished as +the "traitor of Texas;" the close-lined and magnificently-mounted troop +of dragoons with horses of light grey, led by Phil Kearney--Kearney, the +accomplished gentleman--the best cavalry officer America ever produced; +the dashing, daring Phil Kearney, who, under my own eyes, lost his right +arm in the _garita_ of San Antonio de Abad; the lamented Phil. Kearney, +since become a victim to the accursed Secesh rebellion, or rather to the +mismanagement of that wooden-headed pretender whose stolid "strategy" +ignorance still continues to mistake for genius--McClellan. + +I saw them, one and all, regulars and volunteers, horse and foot, move +at the "forward." I saw them advance towards the hill "El Telegrafo." +I saw them mending their pace to the double-quick, and break into a run +at the "charge!" + +I could hear the charging signal and the cheer that succeeded it. I +could see the base of the hill suddenly empurpled with smoke--a belt of +conglomerate puffs rapidly merging into one another. I could perceive +the opposing puffs upon the summit, growing thinner and thinner, as the +blue mantle below _caped_ gradually up towards the shoulder of the +"cerro." + +Then the smoke upon the summit became dissolved into translucent vapour; +the tricoloured Mexican flag flickered for a moment longer through its +film, until, as if by some invisible hand, it was dragged down the +staff; while at the same instant the banner of the stars and stripes +swept out upon the breeze, announcing the termination of the battle of +Cerro Gordo. + +Story 1, Chapter II. + +THE ESCAPE OF EL COJO. + +Despite the chagrin I felt at being literally _hors de combat_, I could +not at this moment avoid surrendering myself to a feeling of exultation. + +Both my chagrin and exultation were suddenly checked. A spectacle was +before my eyes that inspired me with a vivid hope--a dream of glory. + +Like a string of white ants descending the side of one of their steepest +"hills," I perceived a long line moving down the face of the opposite +cliff. In the distance--a mile or more--they looked no larger than +_termites_. Like them, too, they were of whitish colour. For all that, +I knew they were men--soldiers in the cheap cotton uniforms of the +Mexican infantry. + +Without any strain upon my powers of ratiocination, I divined that they +were fugitives from the field above, who, in their panic, had retreated +over the precipice--anywhere that promised to separate them from their +victorious foemen. + +The moving line was not straight up and down the cliff, but zigzagged +along its face. I could tell there was a path. + +At its lower end, and already down near the "plan" of the river (Plan +del Rio), I perceived a group of men, dressed in dark uniforms. There +were points on the more sombre background of their vestments that kept +constantly scintillating in the sun. These were gold or gilt buttons, +epaulettes, steel scabbards of sabres, or bands of lace. + +It was easy to tell that the individuals thus adorned were officers, +notwithstanding the fact that, as officers, they were at the _wrong_ end +of the retreating line. + +I carried a lorgnette, which I had already taken out of its case. I +directed it towards the opposite side of the ravine, upon the dark head +of that huge caterpillar sinuously descending the cliff. + +I could distinguish the individuals of this group. One was receiving +attentions from the rest--even assistance. The Mexican Caesar was +easily recognised. His halting gait, as he descended the sloping path, +or swung himself from, ledge to ledge, betrayed the cork leg of _El +Cojo_. + +A mule stood ready saddled at the bottom of the precipice. I saw Santa +Anna descend and approach it. I saw him, aided by others, mount in the +saddle. I saw him ride off, followed by a disordered crowd of +frightened fugitives, who, on reaching the chapparal, took to their +heels with the instinct of _sauve qui peut_. + +I looked up the valley of the river. It was enclosed by precipitous +"bluffs," as far as the eye could reach; but on that side where we had +planted our battery--scarce a mile above our position--a line of black +heavy timber told me there was a lateral ravine leading outwards in the +direction of Orizava. The retreating troops of Santa Anna must either +find exit by this ravine, keep on up the stream, or risk running back +into the teeth of their pursuers on the opposite side of the river. + +I hurried back to the battery, and reported what I had seen. I could +have made my colonel a general--a hero--had he been of the right stuff. + +"'Tis an easy game, colonel; we have only to intercept them at the head +of yonder dark line of timber. We can be there before them!" + +"Nonsense, captain! We have orders to guard this battery. We must not +leave it." + +"May I take my own men?" + +"No! not a man must be taken away from the guns." + +"Give me fifty!" + +"I cannot spare them." + +"Give me twenty; I shall bring Santa Anna back here in less than an +hour." + +"Impossible! There are thousands with him. We shall be lucky if they +don't turn this way. There are only three hundred of us, and there must +be over a thousand of them." + +"You refuse to give me twenty men?" + +"I can't spare a man. We may need them all, and more." + +"I shall go alone." + +I was half mad. The glory that might have been so easily won was placed +beyond my reach by this overcautious imbecile. + +I was almost foolish enough to have flung myself over the cliff, or +rushed alone into the midst of the retreating foes. + +I left the battery and walked slowly away out of sight of my superior. +I continued along the counterscarp of the cliff, until I had reached the +edge of the lateral ravine leading out from the river valley. I +crouched behind the thick tussocks of the zamias. I saw the retreating +tyrant, mounted on his mule, ride past, almost within range of my rifle +bullet! I saw a thousand men crowding closely after, so utterly routed +and demoralised that nothing could have induced them to stand another +shot. I was convinced that my original idea was in perfect +correspondence with the truth, and that with the help of a score of +determined men I could have made prisoners of the whole "ruck." + +Instead of this triumph, my only achievement in the battle of Cerro +Gordo was to call my colonel a coward, for which I was afterwards +confined to close quarters, and only recovered the right to range abroad +on the eve of a subsequent battle, when it was thought that my sword +might be of more service than my condemnation by court-martial. + +Of such a nature were my thoughts as I lay under canvas on the field of +Cerro Gordo on the night succeeding the battle. + +"_Agua! por amor Dios, agua--aguita_!" + +These words reaching my ear, and now a second time pronounced, broke in +upon the train of my reflections. + +They were not the only sounds disturbing the tranquillity of that calm +tropic night. From other parts of the field, though in a different +direction and more distant, I could hear many voices speaking in a +similar strain, in tones of agonised appeal, low mutterings, mingled +with moanings, where some mutilated foeman was struggling in the throes +of death, and vainly calling for help that came not. + +On that night, from the field of Cerro Gordo, many a soul soared upward +to eternity--many a brave man went to sleep with unclosed eyes, a sleep +from which he was never more to awaken. + +In what remained of twilight after my arrival on the ground, I had +visited all the wounded within the immediate vicinity of my post--all +that I could find--for the field of battle was in reality a wood, or +rather a thicket; and no doubt there were many who escaped my +observation. + +I had done what little was in the power of myself and a score of +companions--soldiers of my corps--to alleviate the distress of the +sufferers: for, although they were our enemies, we had not the slightest +feeling of hostility towards them. There had been such in the morning, +but it was gone ere the going down of the sun, leaving only compassion +in its place. + +Yielding simply to the instincts of humanity, I had done my best in +binding up wounds, many of them that I knew to be mortal; and only when +worn out by fatigue, absolutely "done up," had I sought a tent, under +the shelter of which it was necessary I should pass the night. + +It was after a long spell of sleep, extending into the mid-hours of the +night, that I was awakened from my slumbers, and gave way to the +reflections above detailed. It was then that I heard that earnest call +for water; it was then I heard the more distant voices, and mingled with +them the howling bark of the coyote, and the far more terrible baying of +the large Mexican wolf. In concert with such choristers, no wonder the +human voices were uttered in tones especially earnest and lugubrious. + +"_Agua! par amor Dios, agua, aguita_!" + +For the third time I listened to this piteous appeal. It surprised me a +little. I thought I had placed a vessel of water within the reach of +every one of the wounded wretches who lay near my tent. Had this +individual been overlooked? + +Perhaps he had drunk what had been left him, and thirsted for more! In +any case, the earnest accents in which the solicitation was repeated, +told me that he was thirsting with a thirst that tortured him. + +I waited for another, the fourth repetition of the melancholy cry. Once +more I heard it. + +This time I had listened with more attention. I could perceive in the +pronunciation a certain provincialism, which proclaimed the speaker a +peasant, but one of a special class. The _por amor Dios_, instead of +being drawled out in the whine of the regular alms-asker, was short and +slurred. It fell upon the ear as if the _a_ in _amor_ was omitted, and +also the initial letter in _aguita_. The phrase ran:--"_Agua! por 'mor +Dios, 'gua, aguita_!" + +I recognised in those abbreviations the _patois_ of a peculiar people, +the denizens of the coast of Vera Cruz, and the _tierra caliente_--the +_Jarochos_. + +The sufferer did not appear to be at any great distance from my tent-- +perhaps a hundred paces, or two hundred at most. I could no longer lend +a deaf ear to his outcries. + +I started up from my _catre_--a camp-bedstead, which my tent contained-- +groped, and found my canteen, not forgetting the brandy-flask, and, +sallying forth into the night, commenced making my way towards the spot +where I might expect to find the utterer of the earnest appeal. + +Story 1, Chapter III. + +THE MENACE OF A MONSTER. + +The tent I was leaving stood in the centre of a circumscribed clearing. +Ten paces from its front commenced the _chapparal_--a thicket of thorny +shrubs, consisting of acacia, cactus, the agave, yuccas, and copaiva +trees, mingled and linked together by lianas and vines of smilax, +sarsaparilla, jalap, and the climbing bromelias. There was no path save +that made by wild animals--the timid Mexican mazame and its pursuer, the +cunning coyote. + +One of these paths I followed. + +Its windings soon led me astray. Though the moon was shining in a +cloudless sky, I was soon in such a maze that I could neither tell the +direction of the tent I had left behind, nor that of the sufferer I had +sallied out in search of. + +In sight there was no object to guide me. I paused in my steps, and +listened for a sound. + +For some seconds there was a profound silence, unbroken even by the +groans of the wounded, some of whose voices were, perhaps, now silent in +death. The wolves, too, had suspended their hideous howlings, as though +their quest for prey had ended, and they were busily banqueting on the +dead. + +The stillness produced a painful effect, even more than the melancholy +sounds that had preceded it I almost longed for their renewal. + +A short while only did this irksome silence continue. It was terminated +by the voice I had before heard, this time in the utterance of a +different speech. + +"_Soy moriendo! Lola--Lolita! a ver te nunca mas en este mundo_!" (I +am dying, Dolores--dear Dolores! never more shall I see you in this +world!) + +"_Nunca mas en este mundo_!" came the words rapidly re-pronounced, but +in a voice of such different intonation as to preclude the possibility +of mistaking it either for an echo or repetition by the same speaker. + +"No, never!" continued the second voice, in the same tone, and in a +similar _patois_. "Never again shall you look upon Lola--you, Calros +Vergara, who have kept me from becoming her husband; who have poisoned +her mind against me--" + +"Ah! it is you, Rayas! What has brought you hither? Is it to torture a +dying man?" + +"_Carajo_! I didn't come to do anything of the kind. I came to assure +myself that you _were_ dying--that's all. Vicente Vilagos, who has +escaped from this ugly affair, has just told me you'd got a bit of lead +through your body. I've sought you here to make sure that your wound +was fatal--as he said it was." + +"_Santissima_! O Ramon Rayas! that is your errand?" + +"You mistake--I have another: else I shouldn't have risked falling into +the hands of those damnable _Americanos_, who might take a fancy to send +one of their infernal bullets through my own carcass." + +"What other errand? What want you with me? I am sore wounded--I +believe I am dying." + +"First, as I've told you--to make sure that you _are_ dying; and +secondly, if that be the case, to learn before you _do_ die, what you +have done with Lola." + +"Never. Dead or living, you shall not know from me. Go, go! _por amor +Dios_! do not torment a poor wretch in his last moments." + +"Bah! Calros Vergara, listen to reason. Remember, we were boys +together--scourged in the same school. Your time's up; you can't +protect Lola any more. Why hinder me--I who love her as my own life? +I'm not so bad as people say, though I am accused of an inclination for +the _road_. That's the fault of the bad government we've got. Come! +don't leave the world like a fool; and Lola without a protector. Tell +me where you've hidden her--tell me that, and the n--" + +"No! no! Leave me, Rayas! leave me! If I am to die, let me die in +peace." + +"You won't tell me?" + +"No--no--" + +"Never mind, then; I'll find out in time, and no thanks to you. So, go +to the devil, and carry your secret along with you. If Lola be anywhere +within the four corners of Mexico, I'll track her up. She don't escape +from Rayas the _salteadur_!" + +I could hear a rustling among the hushes: as if the last speaker, having +delivered his _ultimatum_, was taking his departure from the spot. + +Suddenly the sound ceased; and the voice once more echoed in my ear-- + +"Carrambo!" exclaimed the man now known to me as Ramon Rayas, "I was +going away without having accomplished the best half of my errand! +Didn't I come to make certain that your wound was mortal? Let's see if +that _picaro_ Vilagos has been telling me the truth. Through what part +of the body are you perforated?" + +There was no reply; but from certain indications I could tell that the +_salteador_ had approached the prostrate man, and was stooping down to +examine his wounds. + +I made a movement forward in the direction in which I had heard the +strange dialogue; but checked myself on again hearing the voice of +Rayas. + +"_Carajo_!" ejaculated he, in a tone that betokened some discovery, at +the same time one causing disappointment. "That wound of yours is not +mortal--not a bit of it! You may recover from it, if--" + +"You think I have a chance to recover?" eagerly interrogated the wounded +man--willing to clutch at hope, even when offered by an enemy. + +"_Think_ you have a chance to recover? I'm _sure_ of it. The bullet +has passed through your thigh--what of that? It's only a flesh wound. +The great artery is not touched. That I'm sure about, or you'd have +bled to death long ago. The bone is not broken: else you could no more +lift your foot in that fashion, than you could kick yonder _cofre_ from +the top of Perote. _Carrambo_! you'd be sure to get over it, if--" + +There was an interval of silence, as though the speaker hesitated to +pronounce the condition implied by that "if." The peculiar emphasis, +placed on the monosyllabic word, told me that he was making pause for a +purpose. + +"If what, Capitan Rayas?" + +The interrogatory came from the wounded man, in a tone trembling between +hope and doubt. + +"If," answered the other, and with emphatic pronunciation,--"_if you +tell me where you have hidden Dolores_." + +There was a groan; and then in a quivering voice came the rejoinder. + +"How could that affect my recovery? If I am to die, it could not save +me. If it be my fate to survive this sad day--" + +"It is _not_," interrupted the _salteador_, in a firm, loud voice. "No! +This day you must die--this hour--this moment, unless you reveal to me +that secret you have so carefully kept. Where is Dolores?" + +"Never! Rather shall I die than that she should fall into the power of +such a remorseless villain. After that threat, O God!--" + +"Die, then! and go to the God you are calling upon. Die, Calros +Vergara--!" + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +During the latter part of this singular dialogue, I had been worming +myself through the devious alleys of the thicket, and gradually drawing +nearer to the speakers. Just as the "Die, then!" reached my ears, I +caught sight of the man who had pronounced the terrible menace--as well +as of him to whom it was addressed. + +Both were upon the other side of the little opening into which I had +entered, the latter lying prostrate upon the grass; the former bending +over him, with right arm upraised, and a long blade glittering in his +grasp. + +At the sight my sword leaped from its sheath, and I was about to rush +forward; when, on calculating the distance across the glade, I perceived +I should be too late. + +Quick as the thought I changed my weapon, dropping the sword at my feet, +and drawing my revolver from its holster in my belt. + +To cock the pistol, take aim, and pull the trigger, were three actions +in one, the result being a crack, a flash, a cloud of smoke, a cry of +commingled rage and pain; and succeeding to these sounds, a loud +breaking among the bushes on the opposite side of the opening, as if +some individual was making his way through the thicket, without staying +to seek for a path, and with no other thought than to put space between +himself and the form still recumbent upon the sward! + +The latter I knew to be Carlos, or Calros, in the patois of his +_con-paisano_. The fugitive was the _salteador_ so lately threatening +his life. + +Had the murderer succeeded in his design? I saw his blade brandished +aloft, as I drew my pistol from its holster. I had not seen the +downward thrust; but, for all that, it might have been made. + +With a heart brimful of anxiety, I ran across the glade. I say brimful +of anxiety: for something, I could not tell what, had excited my +sympathy for Calros Vergara. + +Partly may it have been from hearing that speech off sombre but +significant import,--"_Soy moriendo! Lola!--Lolita! a ver te nunca mas +en este mundo_!" and partly from admiration for a noble nature, that +preferred even death to the disclosing of some secret, which might +compromise the welfare of his beloved Dolores. + +I thought no more of the robber, or his efforts to escape. My whole +attention became devoted to the man whom he had marked out for his +victim; and I made all haste to ascertain whether I had been successful +in hindering his fell intent. + +In a score of seconds I was standing by the side of the prostrate +Jarocho, bending over his body. I held the pistol in my hand, my finger +still pressing upon the trigger, just as after firing the shot that had +disembarrassed him of his enemy. + +"Are you safe?" I inquired, in the best Mexican-Spanish I could +command. "He has not succeeded in--?" + +"Strike, villain! through my heart, if you will. Ah! Dolores! Better +my death, and yours--better far be in your grave than in the embrace of +Ramon Rayas! _O Santissima Madre_!--I die--I die! Mother of God +protect--_Lola!--Lolita! quer-i-da herm_..." + +The last phrase was pronounced in a whisper, gradually growing so +indistinct that I could not make certain of the final words, though with +my ear close to the lips of the speaker. + +His voice was no longer heard even in whispers. + +I raised my head, and looked down upon the face of Calros Vergara. His +lips moved no more. His eyes still open, and glistening under the light +of the moon, seemed no longer to see, no more to mistake me for his +enemy. He appeared to be dead. + +Story 1, Chapter IV. + +AN ANGEL VOICE. + +For some seconds I hung over what I supposed to be an inanimate form; it +was that of a mere youth, and fair to behold, as was also the face, +which was conspicuously upturned to the light of the moon. +Notwithstanding its deathly pallor, it exhibited a fine type of manly +beauty. The features were regular, the complexion brown, the cheek soft +and smooth, the upper lip darkly bedecked with the young growth of +virility, the eye rotund and of noble expression, the forehead framed in +a garland of glossy black hair, whose luxuriant curls drooped down upon +each side of the full rounded throat--all these I saw at a single +glance. I saw also a faultless figure, habited in the costume of a +peasant rather than of a soldier, but a peasant of a peculiar people, +the _Jarochos_. In the words lately proceeding from the lips of the +unfortunate youth, I had recognised the _patois_ of this people, and was +not surprised at seeing a richly-embroidered shirt of the finest linen, +neatly fitting over the young man's breast, a sash of China crape around +the waist, calzoneros of velveteen, with rows of bell-buttons, and boots +with spurs attached, apparently of silver. + +Striking and rich as was the costume, it was still only that of the +Mexican peasant. A few peculiarities, such at; the hat of palm-sinnet, +and the checked kerchief, that had covered the back part of the head, +both lying near, denoted their _ci-devant_ wearer to be a denizen of the +coast lands--in short, a "Jarocho." + +These observations did not detain me, or only for a second of time, as I +bent down over the prostrate form. My whole design was to examine the +wound which I supposed to have been given by the robber, and which I +really believed to have caused the Jarocho's death. + +To my astonishment, I could discover no wound, at least none that was +fresh. There was a blotch of coagulated blood on the left thigh, darker +in the centre as seen through the torn calzoneros; but this was from the +wound received in battle. + +Where was that just given by the sword of the Salteador? Certainly I +saw stains of blood recently spilt. There were several spots upon the +white linen shirt, besprinkling the plaits upon the bosom, and others +upon the sleeves; also the cheeks of the youth showed a drop or two on +their pallid ground. + +Whence had these blood-drops proceeded? + +I could not guess. I could discover no recent stab on the Jarocho's +body, not a scratch to account for them! + +Had the robber, after all, failed in his fatal thrust? Had the death of +his intended victim been caused by the shot-wound in the thigh, hastened +by the terror of that horrid threat? + +While thus conjecturing, my eye fell upon an object glancing through the +grass. I stooped down and took it up. It was a _machete_--half sword, +half hunting-knife--to be met with in every Mexican house, or seen +hanging on the hip of every Mexican _cavallero_. + +Was it the weapon of the wounded man, or that I had lately seen in the +hand of his enemy? + +I took it up to examine it. The blade was bright: not a speck appeared +on its polished surface! + +Between my fingers, as they grasped the hilt of riveted horn, I felt +something _wet_. Was it dew from the grass? + +No. The moonlight fell upon something darker than dew. Both the haft +of the weapon and my fingers encircling it were red as rubies. It was +blood, and fresh from the veins of a human being! + +As it could not be the blood of Calros, I concluded it must be that of +Ramon Rayas. My bullet must have been true to its aim. + +While thus occupied with conjectures, a new voice fell upon my ear, as +different from either of those lately listened to as music from the +rudest noise. + +"Calros! dear Calros!" called the voice, "was it you I heard? Speak, +Calros! _valga me Dios_! That shot! Surely it was not for him? No-- +no--I heard him speaking after it. Calros! Answer me, if you are near. +It is I who call--I, your own Lola!" + +Had it been the voice of an angel coming out of the chapparal, or from +the sky above it could not have sounded sweeter, nor thrilled me with a +stranger impulse. + +For some seconds I remained irresolute as to what answer should be made +to the pathetic appeal. I hesitated to apprise the speaker of the +presence of Calros. Only his body was present; his spirit was not +there! + +What a sad spectacle for the eye of the loved Dolores--the _loving_ +Dolores--how could I doubt it? Looking upon the handsome Jarocho-- +graceful even in the attitude of death--I could not wonder at the +earnestness of that feminine voice, pronouncing him her "_querido +Calros_." + +Once more it fell upon my ear, continuing the passionate appeal. + +"Calros! O Calros! Why do you not answer me? It is Lola--your own +Lola!" + +"Lola!" I responded, yielding to an irresistible emotion, "this way; +come this way! Calros is here." + +An exclamatory phrase, expressing gratitude to the "Mother of God," was +heard in response; and quickly following the words, a female form, fair +as the mother of men, parting the hushes that bordered the glade, +stepped cut into the opening. + +Story 1, Chapter V. + +AN UNPLEASANT MISUNDERSTANDING. + +Yes, fair as the mother of men--it is no exaggeration to say it--was she +who, answering my summons, had emerged from the shadowy chapparal, and +now stood exposed to my view under the full light of the moon. It was a +full moon--a Mexican moon, that delights to shine upon lovely woman; and +no lovelier could its beams have ever embraced than she who now stood +before me. + +It was beauty of a type peculiar to the land in which I viewed it-- +peculiar even to a single province--the _tierra caliente_, or +coast-region, of Vera Cruz. + +The image of Lola is still upon the tablets of my memory, permanently +impressed as I saw her at that moment; perhaps more deeply graven upon +my heart as I beheld her afterwards. + +The picture presented to my eye, and viewed under the moon's mellow +light, was that of a girl just approaching the completeness of +womanhood--or rather having completed it, for there seemed nothing +wanting to make the perfect woman. + +A figure of medium height, neither sylphlike nor slender, but of full +physical outline, in points even imposing. + +I do not deny that there is something sensual in this type, and I know +there are those who incline more to the intellectual. For my part, I +doubt the honesty of such ethereal admirers; and must still cling to the +belief that bold elliptical outline is the true ideal of beauty in the +feminine form. + +That of Lola, seen against the verdant background of the chapparal, +exhibited this curve in all its luxuriant windings. It was displayed in +the tournure of the head, the cheeks, the throat, and shoulders; it +embraced bosom, waist, and limbs; it ran over her whole figure--a +living, moving curve, like the undulations of some beautiful serpent, +always tapering to an end, but never terminating. + +It was the curve discovered by Hogarth, though but poorly expressed in +his pictures. It was perfectly presented in the outlines of the lovely +apparition that came before my eyes in that moonlit glade, on the field +of Cerro Gordo. + +Her dress did not destroy the voluptuous line. It could not, even had +it been one of those monstrous contrivances of fashion for concealing +the too-often distorted form. But it was not thus designed. The +sleeveless chemise of snow-white cambric, and the translucent skirt of +thin muslin, like the gown of Nora Creina, left-- + + "Every beauty free + To sink or swell as heaven pleases." + +The slight scarf of bluish grey cotton (_rebozo_) drawn over the crown +of the head, and falling loosely down in front, scarcely interfered with +the symmetrical outlines of the bosom; while behind, two thick plaits of +hair, escaping from under it, hung down to the level of its fringed +ends, terminating in a tie of bright red ribbons. + +At first sight, I thought the girl was barefoot. The skirt and +petticoat (_enagua_) permitted to be seen beneath them a pair of +statuesque ankles, nude to mid-knee. But although thus stockingless, I +soon perceived that her feet were in _satin slippers_, hidden behind the +herbage. Neither the naked ankles, nor the slight but costly +_chaussure_, gave me any surprise, however inappropriate either might be +deemed to a walk through the thorny chapparal. I knew that both were in +the fashion of the country. + +At the moment, I was not thinking of either circumstance, nor of the +incongruity of bare feet in satin slippers. My eyes and thoughts were +turned higher, gazing on a face of peculiar loveliness. + +It was a beauty I remember well, but can ill describe. + +To say that the complexion was a golden brown, with crimson in the +cheeks; that the lips were like a pair of rose-leaves convexly curving +against each other, and when parted, displaying a row of pearly teeth; +that both eyebrows and lashes were crescent-shaped and black as ebony; +that the eyes were of the same hue, but sparkling with liquid light; +that the nose was slightly aquiline; the throat full and boldly rounded +upward--to say all this, would only be to state a series of physical +facts, which can give no idea of the loveliness of that face. It was +the combination of these features--their mutual adaptation, their play, +that produced the charm which I have called _peculiar_. + +And it was so. Even with a heart at that time not wholly free, it +enchained me--and I stood admiring. The face was near, and the moon +full enough upon it to enable me to view it with distinctness. I could +trace every feature, every shade of expression, even to the quick +changing of the colour upon her cheek. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I stood in silence gazing on this apparition so unexpected, so lovely. +Surprise, along with admiration, restrained my speech. + +For a time the girl was equally silent, though her silence had a +different cause. Her eyes were fixed, not upon me but upon the form at +my feet. She had only glanced at me, and then quickly transferred her +gaze to the prostrate figure. + +It was a look of eager inquiry, lasting not long. In a second it +changed to one of recognition, and the instant afterwards her eyes +filled with an expression of intense agony. She saw Calros--her beloved +Calros--prostrate, his face besprinkled with blood. It was Calros, +silent, but not asleep; speechless and motionless; perhaps dead? + +"Dead! Mother of God, dead!" were the words that, in accents of +anguish, came pealing from the lips of Lola. + +Her eyes flashed upward. In an instant the expression changed--grief +giving place to indignation--something still more dire. + +I saw that I was myself its object. With astonishment did I perceive +this. It had not occurred to me to reflect on my compromising position. +I was still standing over the body of the Jarocho, blood-besprinkled as +it was. Less than five minutes before, Calros's voice had been heard, +along with that of another man, mingling in excited dialogue. + +A shot had been fired. I held a pistol in my hand, from the muzzle of +which a slight film of sulphureous smoke could be seen stringing +outward. Calros appeared to be dead. Who but I could have been his +slayer? + +I heard the word _asesino_ ringing in my ears, with other epithets of +like fearful signification, as the girl rushed up to the spot where I +stood. There was no weapon in her hand, or I might have fancied she was +about to strike me. Even with her clenched fist, I was for a while +uncertain whether this was not her intention; and to avoid her, I +stepped back. + +She stood for some seconds looking me straight in the face. Behind the +parting of her tightly compressed lips was displayed a double row of +teeth, that, despite their pearly whiteness, gleamed fiercely in the +moonlight; while her eyes, as they flashed, seemed to send forth jets of +living fire! + +"I am innocent!" I called out. "It is not my act; it was not I who--" + +"_Asesino! monstre_! Whoever thou art; false fiend, to deny a deed of +which--_madre de Dios_!--I have been almost a witness. There--there-- +the weapon still in your hands--his blood freshly spilt!" + +"It is not _his_ blood," I replied, hastily interrupting her. + +But she heard not the rejoinder! for suddenly turning from me, she flung +herself upon the prostrate form, drowning my voice with her wild +exclamations. + +"Dead! Calros! dear Calros! Are you dead? Speak to me one word--a +whisper, to say you still live! _Ay de mi_! it is too true. No +answer--no breath! Where is the wound that has robbed you of life, and +me of my only friend? Where?--where?" + +And as she continued to give voice to these detached exclamations, she +proceeded, as if mechanically, to examine the wounds of the unconscious +Jarocho. + +Story 1, Chapter VI. + +A DEVOTED WOMAN. + +I felt the awkwardness of the situation. Appearances were against me. +Some explanation must be given. + +Stepping nearer, I bent down by the side of the young girl; and as soon +as her silence gave me an opportunity of being heard, repeated my +asseveration. + +"It is not _his_ blood," I said, "but that of another. Your friend has +received no wound--at least none lately given, and least of all by _me_. +His death--if he be dead--has been caused by this." + +I pointed to the dark spot on his thigh. + +"It is a bullet wound received in the battle." + +"The blood upon his bosom--his cheeks--you see--'tis fresh?" + +"I repeat it is not _his_. I speak truly." + +My earnest utterance seemed to make an impression upon her. + +"Whose then? whose blood?" she cried out. + +"That of a man who was in the act of killing Calros, when my pistol +frustrated his intent. I fear after all he may have been successful, +though not exactly according to his design. He intended to have stabbed +the wounded man with his _machete_." + +I took the mongrel sword, and held it up to the light. + +"There's blood on its blade, as you see; but it is that of him who would +have been the true assassin, had not my bullet disabled his arm. Have +you ever seen this weapon before?" + +"O nor; I could not tell. 'Tis a _machete_. They're all alike." + +"Have you ever heard the name of Ramon Rayas?" + +The answer was an exclamation--almost a shriek! + +"You know him, then?" + +"Ramon Rayas! oh, the fiend--he--it was he. He vowed to kill Calros. +Calros! O Calros! Has he fulfilled his vow?" + +Once more the girl bent over the body of the Jarocho; and leaning low, +recklessly placed her lips in contact with his blood-stained cheek. At +the same time her arms fondly flung around, seemed to enfold the corpse +in a loving embrace. Had he been alive and conscious, with the +certainty of recovering, I could have envied him that sweet entwining. + +My impulse was of a holier nature. If I could not restore the dead, I +might give comfort to the living. But was he dead? It was not till +that moment I had doubted it. + +As I stooped over the body, I heard a sound that resembled a sigh. It +could not be the sobbing of the bereaved Lola--though this also was +audible. + +The girl had again raised her head, and was holding it a little to one +side, while the sound that had attracted my attention seemed to proceed +from a different direction--in fact from the lips of the man supposed to +be dead. + +I lowered my ear to his face, and listened for a repetition of the +sound. It came in a moment as I had before heard it--a sort of sigh +half suppressed, like the breath struggling from a bosom over-weighted. + +"Lola," I whispered, "your Calros is not dead. He still breathes." + +I needed not to communicate this intelligence. The ear of affection had +been bent, keenly as my own. By the sudden brightening of her +countenance, I could perceive that Lola had heard that same sound, and +was listening to catch it again, as if her life depended on its +repetition. + +She had mechanically pushed me aside, so that her ear might be closer to +the mute lips of Calros. + +"One moment," I said, gently raising her from her recumbent position; +"perhaps he has only fainted I have a remedy here; a stimulant that may +serve to restore him. Permit me to administer it." + +I drew forth the flask which providentially I had brought from the tent. +It contained "Catalan brandy," one of the most potent of spirits. + +Silently but readily she glided out of the way, watching my movements +like some affectionate sister who assists the physician by the couch of +an invalid brother. + +I felt the pulse of the wounded man. My medical skill was not +extensive; but I could perceive that its beating, though feeble, was not +irregular--not flickering, like a lamp that was destined soon to become +extinguished. + +Lola read hope in my looks: her own became brighter. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I pulled out the stopper. I applied the flask to the lips of the +unconscious Calros, pouring into his mouth a portion of the Catalonian +spirit. + +The effect was almost instantaneous. His bosom began to heave, his +breath issued forth more freely, his glazed eyes showed signs of +reanimation. + +The girl could scarcely be restrained from repeating her fond embraces. + +Presently the eyes of the invalid seemed to see--almost to recognise. +His lips moved, as though he was endeavouring to speak, but as yet there +came forth no sound. + +Once more I applied the flask, pouring into his throat nearly a +wine-glassful of the Catalan. + +In less than a score of seconds the dose produced its effect--made known +by a movement throughout the frame of the Jarocho, and a muttered +whisper proceeding from his lips. + +Again the girl would have strangled him with her passionate caresses. +Judging from the joy with which she witnessed his resuscitation, her +affection for him must have been boundless. + +"Keep away from him!" I said, adding to the verbal caution a slight +exertion of physical force. "There is scarcely an ounce of blood in his +body, that is why he has fainted; that and the shock caused by the +threat of--" + +I did not choose to disquiet her by repeating what appeared to be a +dreaded name. "Excitement of any kind may prove fatal. _If you love +him_ stay out of his sight; at least for a while, till he recover +strength sufficient to bear your presence." + +How idle in me to have made use of these words, "if you love him!" The +appearance of the handsome Jarocho, handsome even with death's pallor on +his brow, forbade any other belief; while the beautiful Jarocha, +beautiful through all the changes of anger and hate, despair and hope, +showed by her every action that Calros Vergara was the loved one of her +life. + +"Keep out of sight," I again requested: "pray do not go near him till I +return. The night air is unfavourable to his recovery. I must seek +assistance, and have him carried into my tent. I entreat you, Senorita, +do not make yourself known to him now, or the shock may be fatal." + +The look given by the girl, in answer to my solicitations, produced upon +me an impression at once vivid and peculiar. It was a mingling of +pleasure and pain, just in proportion as my fancy whispered me, that in +those glances there was something more than gratitude. + +Alas! it is true. Even in that melancholy hour, I felt pleasure in the +thought that, whether he might recover or die, I should one day supplant +Calros Vergara in the affections of his beloved Lola! + +Story 1, Chapter VII. + +DESPOILING THE DEAD. + +I aroused half-a-dozen of my men from their midnight slumbers. Among +them was one who had some skill in surgery, derived from a long +experience as hospital assistant. + +There was a _catre_, or leathern bedstead, in the tent--a common article +of camp furniture among the officers of the Mexican army. By splicing a +pair of tent-poles along its sides, it could be converted into a +"stretcher" of a superior kind. + +The transformation was soon made; and, returning to the chapparal, we +placed the wounded man upon the _catre_, with as much tenderness as if, +instead of an enemy, he had been one of our own comrades. + +He had by this time so far recovered as to be sensible of what was +passing; but it was not until he had been carried within the tent, and +his wound carefully dressed by the ex-hospital assistant, that I +consented to an interview between him and his "querida Lola." + +Mistrusting the effect of any sudden excitement--even though caused by +joy--I had entreated the girl to remain out of sight; and though +suffering from a painful impatience to speak to her beloved Calros, she +had obeyed me. + +Being assured by the improvised surgeon that there was no real danger; +that the wound was not likely to prove fatal; and that the syncope of +the wounded man had been caused by weakness from loss of blood, I +withdrew the restriction. + +In an instant after, the beautiful Lola flew into the arms of her lover. + +It was an affecting scene, and touched even my rude companions, who +stood around the _catre_. To me it was not pleasant--I might almost say +it was painful--to listen to that interchange of endearing epithets. I +coveted the caresses that were being lavished upon the handsome Jarocho. + +Soon the soldiers withdrew, to resume their interrupted repose, the +hospital assistant going with the rest. I was left in the tent with +Calros and Lola. + +I could not help envying the invalid. For the sake of being tended by +such a nurse, I would willingly have changed situations with him! + +Lola had heard the assurance given by the hospital assistant, and +communicated it to the wounded man. There was no longer the dread of +death to hinder them from indulging in a free interchange of thought. + +Perhaps they had something to say to each other which should not be +overheard by any one? Under the idea that my presence might be a +restraint, I withdrew; I shall not say without reluctance. + +Throwing my cloak over my shoulders, I walked out of the tent, leaving +them alone. + +The night was still; the silence more solemn than ever. Not a sound +disturbed it. Even the moanings of the disabled men, who lay here and +there over the field of battle, which at an earlier hour had been well +nigh continuous, seemed now to have ceased. + +I was astonished by this circumstance, and mentally endeavoured to +account for it. Perhaps the report of my pistol had awed them into +silence, under the belief that the "strippers" were abroad, and that it +was better to endure their agonies in silence than to guide those +vultures in their villainous search! This was the only explanation I +could think of. + +I strolled off into the chapparal; but I soon found my way back into the +neighbourhood of the tent. Under that piece of spread canvas, rendered +luminous by the lamp burning inside, there was an attraction that drew +me nearer and nearer. It was irresistible; and involuntarily yielding +to it, I at length found myself in front of the arcade-like entrance, +gazing inward. + +The flap was thrown back; and I could see the occupants inside, the +invalid stretched upon the _catre_, lying on his back as we had left +him, the girl bending over him, her eyes fixed steadily upon his face. +I could see that he was asleep; but not the less affectionately were +those beautiful eyes bent upon his slumbering features. + +The tableau should have gratified;--it tortured me! + +I turned away to escape from an emotion--evil, as it was unpleasant. + +I walked over the ground, lately the arena of the enemy's camp, among +other tents that stood near. There were not many of them. Arbours +formed by the interlacing of branches, and thatched with reeds and +grass, had constituted the chief shelter of Santa Anna's soldiers. + +His superior officers only had been provided with tents, of which not +more than a dozen were now standing. + +Several of them I entered. They were not all empty, though their living +occupants had deserted them. Three or four I found tenanted by the +dead. Stretched upon _catres_, or lying upon the floor, were the bodies +of men whose uniforms showed them to have been officers of high rank. + +One lay so near to the entrance of a tent, that the moonbeams, slanting +inward through the opening of the canvas, fell full upon his face. He +was a man of magnificent form, with a countenance that even in death +might be termed handsome. His complexion was a dark olive, his features +perfectly regular, with a coal-black moustache and chin-beard. His +dress was half civilian, half military, with insignia embroidered upon +the shoulder-straps, proclaiming him a general of division. His name I +learnt afterwards, Vasquez, one of the bravest of our foes, who had +gallantly held his position on the hill of El Telegrafo till the last +moment for retreating. A bullet through the groin terminated what might +otherwise have been a brilliant career; and he had been carried to his +tent only to die. + +No attempt had been made to dress his wound. It was perhaps looked upon +as hopeless; and in the panic of retreat even an officer of rank is oft +neglected. Over the groin his trousers had been torn open, as if done +to examine the wound, and the sky-blue cloth, of which the garment was +composed, was saturated with blood, now dark and dry. Its salt odour +pervaded the atmosphere, and I was about returning outward; for, +attracted by the distinguished appearance of the dead body, I had +stepped inside the tent to examine it; when a singular, I might say a +startling, observation, caused me to remain where I was. + +The corpse lay upon its back, the head about midway upon the floor of +the tent, with the feet protruding beyond the canvas on the outside, a +little to one side of the entrance. It was the feet, in fact, first +seen, that had drawn my attention; and the peculiar _chaussure_ which +they displayed caused me to stoop down and examine them. They were +encased in elegant russet boots--such as were worn in the time of the +second Charles, and now only seen upon the stage. A pair of bright +spurs buckled over them, sparkled in the moonlight. + +Had I not looked inside at the body, to which this singular _chaussure_ +belonged, I might have fancied a cavalier of the olden time asleep +within the tent; but the very oddness of the foot-gear influenced me to +examine the individual to whom it appertained. + +Stepping up to the entrance, my eyes had fallen upon the handsome face; +but as my own shadow hindered me from thoroughly examining it, I had +gone inside to obtain a better view. + +It was after I had completed the observations above detailed that I +became witness of the spectacle that startled me. + +As I have said, I was on the point of returning out of the tent. To do +so it would be necessary for me to pass close to the corpse, in fact, to +step over it, as I had done on going inside. As I raised my foot to +effect this purpose, I fancied that the body moved! + +In surprise I drew back my foot, and stood watching, not without a +feeling of fear. + +The feeling was not diminished, but increased almost to the degree of +horror, when I became convinced that what I saw was no fancy--no optical +illusion. _The body had actually moved, and was still in motion_! + +Had I not observed the motion, the change of posture would have +convinced me it was taking place: for the head, originally lying in the +middle of the tent, was now nearer its edge, and gradually, but surely, +approaching the circle of canvas! + +All doubt would have been removed--had any existed--when I saw the +corpse give, or rather receive, a sudden jerk, which brought the head +close in to the canvas. + +I could stay no longer inside that tent; and with a single bound I +carried myself clear of the entrance. + +No sooner did I get outside, than I was relieved from the influence of +the supernatural. A perfectly natural--perhaps I should say unnatural-- +cause divested the phenomenon of its mystery. A man was in the act of +stripping General Vasquez of his boots! + +With shame I recognised the uniform of an American rifleman. + +In justice to that uniform be it told, that the man was not an American, +but a worthless mongrel, half Jew, half German; who on more than one +occasion had received chastisement for strange crimes, and who +afterwards, in a future battle--as I have good reason to know--fired his +traitorous bullet at my own back. + +"Laundrich! ruffian!" I cried. "Despoiling the dead!" + +"Ach! tish only a Mexican--our enemish, captan." + +"Scoundrel! desist from your unhallowed work, or I shall devote you to a +worse fate than his whose noble remains you are defiling. Off to your +quarters! Off, I say!" + +The human wolf skulked away, unwillingly, and with an air of savage +chagrin. + +I never came nearer slaying a fellow creature--not to accomplish the +act. + +Better, perhaps, had I completed it on that occasion. It would have +spared me a severe shot-wound, afterwards received, with certain other +disagreeable _contretemps_, of which Johanna Laundrich was prime agent +and promoter. + +Story 1, Chapter VIII. + +A PLEASANT EXPLANATION. + +The peculiar spectacle thus witnessed for a while distracted my thoughts +from the marquee and its occupants. + +Only for a short while. Soon again the lovely face of Lola rose up +before the eye of my imagination; and the longing to look upon it became +stronger than ever. + +Yielding to this fascination--for which I could scarcely account--I +strolled back to the _ci-devant_ head-quarters of the Mexican +commander-in-chief. + +On arriving in front of the entrance I paused. + +Had the invalid been still asleep, I might have hesitated about +disturbing him. But his voice warned me that he was awake, and in +conversation with some one--who, of course, could be no other than Lola. + +Even then I hesitated about going in; but while thus meditating, I could +not help overhearing a portion of the dialogue that was passing between +them. A name already known was on the lips of Calros, from which I +could easily divine the subject of their conversation. It was the name +of Ramon Rayas. + +"Yes, dearest Lola," said the invalid, as if replying to some +interrogatory, "it was that villain. Not content with persecuting you +with his infamous proposals, he has followed me, even to the field of +battle? He would have killed me outright. _Carrambo_! I thought he +had done so. I saw him standing over me with his _machete_ pointed at +my breast. I was too weak to make resistance. I could not raise a hand +to parry his thrust. He did not strike. I know not why. There was a +shot; and then I saw him standing over me again, with a pistol, its +muzzle held close to my body. _Valga me Dios_! I saw no more. I +became unconscious." + +"Dear Calros! it was not Rayas who held the pistol." + +"Not him!--not Ramon Rayas. It _was_, Lola. I saw him. I heard and +talked to him. I listened to his threats. He wanted me to tell him-- +Oh! too surely was it he--he, and no other." + +"Yes, he who threatened you with the _machete_. That's true enough; but +the man who held the pistol--that was not Don Ramon; not an enemy +either, though I also thought him one." + +"And who was it?" asked the invalid, with a puzzled look upon his +countenance. + +"The _Americano_--he who has had you carried here into the tent." + +"Which of them? There were several around me. Was it the _medico_ who +dressed my wound? He must be a doctor to have done it so skilfully." + +"No, it was not he." + +"Which, then, Lola?" + +"You saw an officer among them, did you not?--a handsome young officer?" + +My heart then thrilled with a pleasant emotion. I bent my eyes with +keen scrutiny upon the face of the invalid. I expected to see there an +expression denoting jealousy. I thought it strange that no such thought +could be detected on the features of Calros Vergara. + +"He must be brave, too," continued the girl, "to have conquered the +Capitan Rayas." + +"Conquered Rayas! How? What mean you, Lola?" + +"You see those spots of blood on your shirt-bosom? There were others on +your face, but I have washed them off. I thought it was yours, Calros." + +"And is it not?" + +"No. This is fresh blood, as you may tell by looking at it. It is not +yet quite dried. Thanks to the holy Virgin, it is not yours; to lose +more would have killed you, Calros; the _medico_ said so." + +"_Carrambo_! whose is it then?" + +"Don Ramon's." + +"How? Tell me, Lola!" + +"You say he was threatening to run you through with his _machete_. You +heard a shot? It was not Ramon, but the young officer, who fired it; +and the bullet was aimed at Rayas himself, and not at you. It must have +hit him, for his _machete_ was found beside you, the hilt stained with +blood; and these drops must have come from the wound he received. Ah! +_dear brother Calros_! but for this brave Americano you would now have +been in another world, and I left in this, alone, and without a +protector." + +_Brother_ Calros! + +A load seemed lifted from my heart; the arrow, so lately entering it, +and already beginning to rankle, appeared to be suddenly plucked from it +without causing pain. + +_Brother_ Calros! + +No longer did I wonder at the stoical indifference with which the +Jarocho had listened to that flattering eulogy bestowed upon myself. + +"No, Lola Vergara"--for that should be her name--"No! Never in this +world, so long as _I_ live, shall you, beautiful Jarocha, be without a +protector!" + +That was my thought, my mental resolution. I could scarcely restrain +myself from rushing into the tent, and proclaiming it aloud! + +Story 1, Chapter IX. + +EVIL IMAGININGS. + +My discovery of the real relationship existing between Calros and Lola +at once cured me of an incipient jealousy, which, though slight, had +promised to become sufficiently painful. + +Its very existence, however, would have proved to me that I was already +in love, had such proof been required to convince me. + +But I needed not to reason on that head. I knew that I was enamoured +with Lola Vergara--had fallen in love with her at first sight--at that +very moment when her accusing eyes flashed fiercely upon me, and through +her dazzling teeth was hissed forth that angry epithet, proclaiming me a +_murderer_! In the full tide of anger, with frowning face and furious +look, had she appeared lovely--scarcely less lovely than now in her +smiles! + +I had since beheld these. She smiled on learning that Calros was in no +danger of death. She smiled on me as the preserver of his life, +gratefully--I fancied _graciously_. On that fancy I had founded a hope; +and hence the jealousy that had so quickly and causelessly arisen. + +The hope became strengthened on hearing that fraternal apostrophe, +"_Hermanita Calros_!" pronounced in a language unequalled in the +phraseology of affectionate endearment. + +The words bespoke a relationship far different from that I had supposed +to exist between them--leaving her bosom free for another affection--a +passion compatible, if not kindred. + +Was it my destiny to inspire this passion? Was that grand triumph to be +mine? + +Her singular speeches, not very honestly overheard, filled me with hope. + +I hesitated about entering the tent. I no longer desired to interrupt a +dialogue that had caused me such supreme pleasure; and yet I yearned to +proffer my devotion--to stand once more face to face, and eye to eye, +with the beautiful Jarocha. + +In any case I could not continue to play the part of an eavesdropper. I +could now perceive the indelicacy of the act--especially as my satisfied +heart no longer needed soothing. + +I must either enter, or withdraw. I decided upon entering. + +But not till I had set my forage-cap more coquettishly upon my head, +drawn my fingers through my hair, and given to my moustache its most +captivating curl. + +I confess to all this weakness. I was at that time full of conceit in +my personal appearance. I had heard the phrase, "handsome young +officer," applied to me by one from whose lips dropped the words like +the honey of Hymettus; and, inspired by the flattering epithet, I left +nothing undone to deserve it. + +Nevertheless I felt embarrassed, as I presented myself once more before +the lovely Lola--an embarrassment heightened by the presence of her +brother. + +Wonder at this, if you will. It is too easily explained. I entered the +tent with the consciousness of a design that was not honourable. I +stood before them both--the sister and brother--with a conscience not +clear. At that moment--I confess it to my shame--I had no other thought +than that of trifling with the affections of the beautiful Jarocha. + +She was but a peasant--one of a race, it is true, to whom the +appellation is somewhat inappropriate--a people, though poor, elegant in +person, graceful in deportment, highly gifted with the _savoir faire_, +as it relates to the ordinary intercourse of life--at the same time a +people in whose pantheon the divinity, Virtue, finds but an +inconspicuous niche. + +Neither the first nor the last of these reflections may be deemed an +excuse for my conduct. I do not offer them as such, though both serving +at the time to satisfy my conscience. + +Its scruples were not difficult to subdue. Its still small voice was +unheard, or rather unheeded, under the promptings of a powerful, but +unholy passion, of which Lola Vergara was then the object, and as I +hoped, afterwards to become the victim. + +She was but a peasant, a pretty _poblana_--perhaps already inducted into +the mysteries of Cupid's court: for it would be rare for one of her race +to have reached woman's age without loving. The sister of a common +soldier--for such was the rank of Calros--what harm could be done? What +wrong could I be dreaming about? + +I did not need all this sophistry to satisfy the whisperings of my +conscience. At that time of my life the task was easy of +accomplishment--too easy; and with such a lure as Lola Vergara it was +less than a task. + +I made no effort to resist the temptation. On the contrary, I devoted +myself to the winning of her heart with all the ardour of an important +enterprise. + +It was her _heart_ I wished to win, and that only. _I wished it because +she had won mine_. I deny that I had any design beyond--any thought +more dishonourable. That of itself may be deemed sufficiently so, since +I had no intention of offering her my hand. + +Her love alone did I care for; though I will not conceal my belief, +that, in the event of conquering her _heart_, any other conquest would +be facile and without resistance. + +This was my faith at the time--a faith founded on sad experience. I +applied it to Lola Vergara, as I should have done to any other girl +under the like circumstances. + +The future would prove whether my creed was erroneous as it was +dishonourable. + +I entered the tent. She, whose affections I intended trifling with, +rose from her seat, saluting me, as I stepped forward, with an air of +modesty that might have shamed my secret thoughts. Her glance was full +of gratitude. How ill did I deserve it! + +"Senor," said she, after answering my inquiries as to the condition of +the invalid, "I hope you will forgive me for the rude manner in which I +addressed you. _Volga me Dios_! To have made such a mistake! I +thought you had killed my brother, not knowing when I saw you standing +over him. O senor! you will forgive me?" + +"There is nothing to forgive, fair Lola. Considering the situation, you +could scarcely have thought otherwise. Fortunately, no one has +succeeded in killing your brother; not even the American rifleman who +sent his bullet through him. I am glad to hear that the wound is not +dangerous." + +"Ah, senor," interposed Calros himself, "but for you--Lola has just been +telling me--but for you I should have had a wound, not only dangerous, +but deadly. That _cortante_ (the Jarocho pointed to the blood-stained +weapon lying on the floor of the tent) would have pierced my flesh--my +heart. I know it; I am sure of it. He meant to have killed me! _El +demonio_!" + +"You are speaking of Ramon Rayas?" + +"Of him!--pardon, senor Americano. You cannot know anything of him? +How learnt you his name?" + +"From your own lips, Calros Vergara; and your name from his. From both +of you a name prettier than either." + +I glanced towards Lola, who returned my look with a gracious smile. + +Calros looked puzzled; as if not very clearly comprehending me. + +"You forget," I said, "that in the conversation which occurred between +you and this Ramon Rayas, you repeatedly addressed each other by name; +and also mentioned a third individual, whose acquaintance I have since +had the pleasure of making--your sister, is she not?" + +"_Si, nor capitan_. Na Lola is my sister." + +"She is worthy to be your sister, senor Calros. She who follows a +brother to the field of battle--seeks for him among the slain--risking +life to alleviate the pain of his wounds--ah! that is a sister for a +soldier. Would that I had such an one!" + +While speaking I regarded the countenance of the girl. I regarded it +with a tender gaze. I fancied that she returned my thought, but so +slightly as to have been perceptible only to the keen scrutiny of love. +It was only a single glance she gave me; and then the long lashes fell +over her eyes, hiding their sweet scintillation. + +When I had finished speaking, she turned towards me, but without raising +her eyes. Then pronouncing the formal phrase, "_Mil gracius senor_" she +stepped silently towards the entrance of the tent. + +Before passing out, she paused a moment to state apologetically the +object of her departure--some trifling errand relating to the invalid. + +But for this I might have fancied that my flattery had offended, or +perhaps the glance of gallantry with which I had regarded her. Even had +it been so, I could not then have apologised: for in another instant she +was gone. + +Story 1, Chapter X. + +AN IMPLACABLE PURSUER. + +I was in the midst of circumstances still unexplained. A wounded man +found lying upon the field of battle--a mere youth; in no respect, +either in costume, accoutrements, or personal appearance, resembling the +thing called a "common soldier," and yet bearing no insignia to show +that he was aught else. + +Found with an enemy standing over him, not a national foe, but a +countryman--and, as it appeared, an old school-fellow, _machete_ in +hand, threatening to accomplish what the foeman had left incomplete-- +threatening his life, and only hindered from taking it by the merest +accidental intervention! + +Near at hand, soon after to appear by his side, a woman--not one of +those hideous hags sometimes seen on the morrow of a bloody battle, +skulking among the slain, and stooping, vulture-like, over the mangled +corpse--but a young girl of sweet voice and lovely aspect; so +contrasting with the rude objects around her, so apparently out of place +amid such scenes, that instead of a human being, a form of flesh and +blood, one might have believed her to be an angel of mercy, that had +descended from the sky to soothe the sufferings which men in their +frantic fury had caused one another! + +And this angel-like creature to prove the _sister_--and not the +_sweetheart_--of him whose cries had called me from my couch! + +Even in this circumstance there was something to cause me surprise. It +would not have been the first time I had met the soldier's sweetheart on +the field of battle; but never before had I encountered his sister. + +I might have been more surprised at this peculiar encounter, but that on +the afternoon of that very day I had been spectator of a scene +calculated to explain it. In a field adjoining the hamlet-village of El +Plan I had gazed upon four thousand soldiers of Santa Anna's army made +prisoners during the action; and circling among them--not as spectators, +but real actors in the affairs of the camp--were at least half this +number of women! + +Though most stood in a different relationship, I learned that many of +these devoted creatures were the sisters--some of them the mothers--of +the men who had mingled in the fight! + +I could not help contrasting this bi-sexual crowd with the invading army +to which I myself appertained; in which some half-dozen hags, under the +appellation of sutler's assistants; a like number performing the +_metier_ of the laundress; and one or two virgins of still more +questionable calling, formed the whole female camp-following. + +After such a scene as that witnessed by the _rancheria_ of El Plan, it +could not much astonish me to find the sister of Cairo? Vergara on the +field of battle. My astonishment only arose from seeing _such a +sister_! + +On being left alone with the Jarocho, I could no longer repress my +desire to obtain an explanation of the series of mysteries, that had so +suddenly and unexpectedly surrounded me. + +My interference in his behalf had furnished me with a sort of right to +make the request--even to demand it. + +"Ramon Rayas," I said, as soon as the girl was gone out of +hearing--"This Ramon Rayas appears to be no friend of yours?" + +"Ah, senor! my bitterest enemy." + +"He is not the enemy of your sister, though! He professes to be her +very best friend--at least her lover, which should be the same thing? +Is _she_ of that opinion?" + +"My sister hates him." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Nor capitan, you are a stranger to me; but the service you've this +night performed makes me feel as if I were talking to an old friend. +Excuse the freedom I take. I am only a poor Jarocho--owning nothing but +my _rancho_, a few varas of garden-ground, my horse, my saddle, and my +_machete_. I was going to say my liberty, but that's not true: else why +am I dragged from my home to fight battles in which I have no interest? +You may say what our military oppressors say--it is to fight for my +country. Bah! what use in spilling one's blood for a country that's not +free? It isn't for that I've been brought to Cerro Gordo, and shot down +like a dog. It was to fight for a tyrant, not for a country--for El +Cojo, and nobody else!" + +"You have not been in the battle by your own will, then?" + +"_Carrambo_! nothing of the sort, _nor deconocio_! I am here by +conscription; and I've been shot down by conscription. No matter now. +_We_ have no liberty left in Mexico--at least I have none. Still, nor +capitan, there's one treasure left to me which I prize above everything +else before riches, or even liberty. It was left me by my parents--who +have long ago gone to a better world." + +"What treasure?" I inquired, seeing that the speaker hesitated to +declare it. + +"_Na Lola--mia hermanita_." (Lola, my dear sister.) + +"I hope there is no danger of your losing her?" + +"There is. This very night you must have heard something to tell you +that there is." + +"'Tis true I heard something that sounded like a threat; but what need +you fear from a man who can have no control over you or your sister? +You say she scorns his suit. If that be so, I cannot understand how she +is in danger." + +"Ah! _nor deconocio_! you know not our country, else you might +understand. The man you speak of has power; that is, if he be still +alive." + +The speaker glanced significantly towards the blood-stained cutlass. + +"Power! How?" + +"He is my captain. I am one of a band of _guerilleros_, raised in our +village and neighbourhood. This man, Don Ramon Rayas, is our chief. He +had his appointment from the dictator himself, Don Antonio Lopez de +Santa Anna. It's a puzzle to me--and to others as well--how he obtained +it: for it's well known that before the beginning of this war with the +Americanos, Rayas was a _salteador_." + +"A highway robber!" + +"Neither more nor less, nor capitan." + +"I heard you apply that unenviable appellation to him. But what can be +his motive for attempting to take your life?" + +"Only to get rid of me; and then Lola--my poor sister would be more +easily--_carrai_! you know what I mean!" + +I needed not a more ample explanation, though Calros proceeded to give +it. + +"Nor deconocio," said he, speaking in a low voice, so as not to be heard +outside the tent, "I shall tell you all about it. You've seen my +sister. Well, perhaps to you, whose countrywomen I have heard say are +very fair-skinned, Lola may not appear much--" + +I did not interrupt Calros to tell him _how much_. + +"Here, among us Jarochos, though I, her brother, say it, Lolita is +thought _muy linda_." + +"She would be thought so anywhere, I should say." + +"Well," proceeded the conscript, apparently pleased at my remark, "good +looks in a girl are sometimes only a misfortune to her--more especially +if she be poor, and that is just what Lola is." + +"A misfortune! How?" + +I put the question with a keener interest than the invalid suspected. + +Had Lola been already the victim of a misfortune? + +"You see, sir stranger," rejoined Calros, "among those who have set +their eyes upon na Lola is this Ramon Rayas." + +"An old school-fellow of yours, is he not?" + +"True--such schooling as we had. That is long ago. Since then we have +never seen him till lately. He left our village, and went to live in +the great city of Puebla--a wicked place, though it be called the _City +of the angels_. We didn't hear of him for a long time; and then we were +told that he had taken to the _camino real_--had become, as I've said, a +_salteador_." + +"And now he is an officer in the Mexican army?" + +"That's the strangest of all. But no. It's not so strange to us down +here, who are well acquainted with Don Antonio. Ramon Rayas isn't the +only _picaro_ in his employ. As I've told you, we'd seen nothing of +Ramon since he was a boy at school. Then one day he reappeared among us +with a commission to recruit--no, not that, but rather to take us young +fellows by force, and make soldiers of us. I was compelled to go with +the rest. We were formed into a _guerilla_, with Rayas as our captain. +It was at that time his eyes fell upon Lola." + +"But did your sister accompany you in the campaign?" + +"She did. There were many other women with us--the wives and sisters of +my comrades. They came to work for us, and make us comfortable in camp. +It is our custom, nor Americano. 'Tis not so with you, I am told." + +"No, we don't trouble ourselves with such company." + +"Ah, nor capitan, it has indeed proved a trouble to me. It has required +all to protect my poor little sister." + +"Protect her! Against whom?" + +"Our captain--Don Ramon. His importunities--cruelties I should call +them--were of daily, hourly occurrence. They were growing worse, +when--" + +"You sent her out of his reach?" + +"I did. I found a friend who offered me a home for her. My friend +promised to keep her concealed, until this war should be over, and I +could return home to protect her as a freeborn citizen of the republic." + +"How came she to be here to-night?" + +"Devotion," proudly replied the youth; "devotion, nor capitan. She +heard from some fugitives that I was shot down and left on the field. +She came to find me--if dead to weep over my body--if living, to take +care of me. Thanks to you, nor deconocio, she has found me alive." + +After a short interval of silence, in which the invalid appeared to +reflect, he resumed speech. + +"_Madre de Dios_!" he said, "if Rayas had succeeded in killing me! But +for you, nor, he must have succeeded. Lola was near at hand, calling my +name. He would have heard her. She would have come up, and then the +wolf and the lamb would have met in the middle of the chapparal. _Madre +de Dios! Thanks that she is saved_!" + +As the more than probable consequence of such a meeting became pictured +in the imagination of the Jarocho, he raised himself, half erect, upon +the camp-bedstead, and emphatically repeated the thanksgiving. + +The words had scarcely passed from his lips, when, for the third time, +the mother of God was invoked. + +On this occasion, however, a different cause had called forth the +invocation--a cry heard outside the tent in the silvery intonation of a +woman's voice. + +It was easy to recognise the utterance of Dolores. On hearing it the +invalid sprang clear out of the _catre_; and stood for some moments +balancing himself upon the floor. + +Yielding to his weakness, he fell back upon the couch, just as the girl +rushed inside the tent--proclaiming by her presence that no harm had +befallen her. + +"What is it, _dear_ Lola?" cried her brother, almost word for word +repeating my own interrogatory. + +"He! Don Ramon! He is there--outside the tent!" + +"If he will only stay till I come out, I promise you, fair Lola, you +shall never more be troubled by his presence." + +I drew my sword from its sheath, and was rushing for the opening in the +canvas. + +"Nor, nor! _por amor Dios_! Go not alone! Don Ramon is wicked; but he +is _brave_--he is dangerous!" + +It was _Dolores_ who interrupted me with these strange speeches. + +"Brave!" I said, turning to her with angry astonishment. "Brave! a +villain such as he, brave!" + +I spoke with a bitter emphasis. The thought had shot across my brain, +that the scorn of which Calros spoke, might have been only a fraternal +fancy! + +"I hope he will have courage enough to wait my coming. We shall see!" +and with this valorous declaration, I emerged from the marquee, and ran +over the ground in search of Don Ramon. + +Half a score of my comrades, who had started from their couches on +hearing the scream, were soon around me; but although we quartered the +chapparal for a good stretch on every side of the encampment, we could +find no trace of the robber. + +Having doubled the number of the sentries, and taken other precautions +against the return of this terrible intruder, I re-entered the tent +which gave shelter to the Jarocho and his sister. + +Restoring the invalid to such repose as was possible, I made +preparations to leave them for the night. The girl was to sleep upon +the floor of the marquee, under cover of a _serape_, which I had +procured for her accommodation. + +"Have no fear, _Linda Lola_!" I whispered, as reluctantly I bade good +night. "He who would harm thee must first pass over my body. _I shall +sleep outside--before the entrance of the tent. Adios! Posa V. buena +noche! Hasta la manana_!" + +"_Hasta la manana_!" was the reply--simply my own words repeated, and +with an innocent unconcern, that should have nipped in the bud any +unhallowed hopes. + +Story 1, Chapter XI. + +A MEXICAN MEDICO. + +In front of the tent--as I had whispered to her--I lay upon the ground, +enfolded in my cloak. It was not the cold that kept me from sleeping, +but the proximity--I might almost say the _presence_ of that fair +creature, since only a sheet of thin canvas was between us. + +I will not confess my thoughts; they are unworthy of being recorded. +Even my dreams--for I had short intervals of sleep, during which I +dreamt--all tended to one theme:--the enjoyment of the beautiful +Jarocha. + +I listened long, with my ear keenly bent to catch the slightest sound. +I felt no interest in the noises without. The night was now hastening +towards day, and the sufferers who had been making it hideous seemed to +have become wearied with wailing, for their voices were no longer heard. + +Alone echoed upon the air the mocking strains of the _czentzontle_, +perched upon the summit of an acacia, and answering a friend, perhaps an +enemy, far off on the opposite side of the _barranca_. + +The bird music fell unheeded on my ear, as did all other sounds +proceeding from without. Even the firing of a gun would scarcely have +distracted my attention from listening for any murmur that might reach +me from the interior of the tent. + +I could hear the heavy breathing of the invalid; nothing more. + +Once he coughed, and became restless upon his couch. Then I heard a +sweet silvery voice speaking in accents of affectionate inquiry, and +ending in the pronunciation of some soothing words. + +From other sounds I could tell that his nurse had arisen, and was +ministering to the invalid. + +By the silence, soon restored, I could perceive that she had completed +her task, and had returned to her recumbent position. + +She appeared to have no thoughts of him who was keeping guard without;-- +not as her guardian angel, but rather demon, who would not have +hesitated to destroy that innocence which enabled her to sleep! + +Just in proportion as the time passed, so increased my respect for Lola +Vergara, and my contempt for myself. + +The lovelight I had observed in her eyes was but her natural look--the +simple expression of her wondrous beauty. It had no signification--at +least none that was evil--and in mistaking it for the glance of a guilty +passion I had erred--deeply wronging her. + +Soothed by this more honourable reflection, I at length fell asleep, +just as the grey light of dawn was beginning to steal over the _spray_ +of the chapparal. + +I could not have been very long unconscious, for the beams of the sun +had scarcely attained their full brilliancy, when I was again awakened-- +this time, not by the conflict of passion within, but by the voices of +men without. The challenge of a sentry had first struck upon my ear,-- +quickly followed by a parley with some one who had approached the tent. + +In the scarcely intelligible dialogue that ensued, I could tell that the +man challenged was a Mexican, who, in broken English, was endeavouring +to satisfy the demands of the sentry. + +The dialogue ran thus:-- + +"Who goes there?" + +"_Amigos_! friends!" was the response. + +"'Dvance, and gie the countersign!" + +"_Senor centinela_! we are _medicos_--surgeon, you call--of the +ejercito--armee Mejicano." + +"Ye're Mexicans, are ye? Take care what ye're about then. What d'ye +want hyar?" + +"We are medicos--doctor--_entiende usted_?" + +"Doctors, ye say. Humph! if that's what ye be, ye mout be o' some use +hyar, I reckon. There's a good wheen o' yer sodgers gone under for want +o' docturin. F'r all that I can't let you pass 'ithout the countersign; +leastwise till I've called the corporal o' the guard." + +The group, who stood in front of the faithful sentinel awaiting +permission to pass, was full under my eyes, as I turned my face towards +it. The persons comprising it numbered about a score of men, only one +of whom was in uniform. This individual wore a frock-coat of blue +broadcloth, very long in the skirt, with gilt buttons over the breast, +crimson edging, and a cord trimming of gold lace. His pantaloons were +of similar colour to the coat--in fact, of the same kind of cloth. +Instead of a military cap or shako he wore a black glaze hat, with broad +brim; while several minor articles of dress and equipment proclaimed a +costume half military, half civilian--such a style as might be seen in +any army during a campaign, but more especially in that of Mexico. + +The other personages of the party were variously clad--some in half +military costumes, but most of them in plain clothes,--if any garments +worn in Mexico can be so qualified. Several of them, two-and-two, bore +stretchers between them; while others carried surgical instruments, +lint, and labelled phials--insignia that declared their calling. They +were the hospital staff, the _assistentes_ of the young officer who +preceded them, and who was evidently a surgeon belonging to the Mexican +army. + +It was he who had accosted the sentry. + +The appearance of this party on the field of battle needed no +explanation. No more did there need to be any ceremony as to their +introduction. + +On seeing them, I shouted to the sentry to let them pass without waiting +for the arrival of that important functionary--the "corporal of the +guard." + +As I arose to my feet, I was confronted by the Mexican _medico_, to +whose indifferent English I had been for some time listening. + +"Senor Capitan," he said, after saluting me with a polite wave of the +hand, "I have been told that I may address you in my own language. In +it, and in the name of humanity, let me thank you for the kindness you +have shown to our wounded soldiers. In you, sir, we no longer recognise +an enemy." + +"The trifling assistance I have rendered is scarcely deserving of +thanks. I fear that to some of the poor fellows who were its recipients +it has been of no avail. More than one of them must have succumbed +during the night." + +"That reminds me, Senor Capitan, that I should not lose time. I carry, +as you perceive, a _safeguard_ from the American Commander-in-chief." + +While speaking, he held out the document referred to, in order that I +might examine it. + +"It is not necessary," I said; "you are of the medical staff; your +errand is your passport." + +"Enough, Senor Capitan. I shall proceed to the accomplishment of my +duty. In the name of humanity and Mexico, once more I thank you!" + +Saying this, he walked off with his followers towards that portion of +the field, where most of his wounded countrymen had miserably passed the +night. + +In the style and personal appearance of this Mexican there was a +gracefulness peculiarly impressive. He was a man of not less than fifty +years of age, of dark complexion under snow-white hair, and with +features so finely outlined as to appear almost feminine. A pair of +large, liquid eyes, a voice soft and musical, small delicate hands, and +a graceful modesty of demeanour, bespoke him a person of refinement--in +short, a gentleman. + +The fact of his speaking English, though not very fluently, being an +accomplishment rare among his countrymen, betokened intellectual +culture, perhaps foreign travel--an idea strengthened by his general +manner and bearing. There was something in his looks, moreover, that +led me to think he must be clever in his calling. + +I bethought me of the invalid inside the tent. Calros might stand in +need of his skill. + +I was about to summon him back, when the young girl, hurrying out, +anticipated my intention. She had overheard the dialogue between the +new-comer and myself, and, thinking only of her brother, had rushed +forth to claim the services of the _surgeon_. + +"Oh, Senor," she cried, making the appeal to myself, "will you call him +back to--to see Calros?" + +"I was about to do so," I replied. "He is coming!" + +I had not even the merit of summoning the medics. On hearing her voice +he had stopped and turned round, his attendants imitating his example. +The eyes of all were concentrated on the Jarocha. + +"Senorita," said the surgeon, stepping towards the tent and modestly +raising his sombrero as he spoke, "so fair a flower is not often found +growing upon the ensanguined field of battle. If I have overheard you +aright, it is your wish I should see some one who is wounded--some one +dear to you, no doubt?" + +"My brother, sir." + +"Ah! your brother," said the Mexican, regarding the girl with a look +that betokened a degree of surprise. "Where may I find him?" + +"In the tent, senor. Calros, dear Calros! there is a medico, a real +surgeon, coming to see you." + +And as the girl gave utterance to the words she stepped quickly inside +the marquee, followed by the surgeon himself. + +Story 1, Chapter XII. + +A SIDE CONVERSATION. + +I was about to enter after them, when some words spoken by one of the +attendants, who had drawn nearer to the tent, arrested my steps, causing +me to remain outside. + +"It's Lola Vergara," said the speaker; "that's who it is. Any one who +has had the good fortune to see that _muchacha_ once, won't be likely to +forget _her_ face, and won't object to look at it a second time." + +"You're right in what you say, Anton Chico. I know one who, instead of +disliking to look at her beautiful countenance, would give an _onza_ for +a single glance at it. _Carrambo_! that he would." + +"Who--who is he?" asked several of the party. + +"That big captain of _guerilleros_--Rayas, his name. I know he'd like +to see her." + +"Why, her brother belonged to his _cuadrilla_; and the girl was with him +in the camp. I saw her myself, not three days ago, down by Puente +National." + +"That's quite true!" assented the speaker who had endorsed the +declaration of Anton Chico. + +"She was with the army for some days, along with the other women that +followed Rayas's troop. But then all at once she was missed, and nobody +knew where she went to. Capitan Rayas didn't, I know; or why should he +have offered an onza to any one who would tell him?" + +"He made that offer?" + +"_Ver dad_! I heard him." + +"To whom?" + +"To that ugly _zambo_ you've seen skulking about the camp--who belongs +to nobody. It was at the Puente National, as I have said. I was +standing under the bridge--the dry arch at the further end. It was just +after dark; when, who should come there but Capitan Rayas, and the zambo +following him. They were talking about this very _nina_: and I heard +her name more than once. I did not hear much, for I had to keep a good +distance off, so that they might not see me. But I heard that." + +"What?" + +"What I've said about the offer of the onza. `Find out, Santucho,' said +Rayas--Santucho is the zambo's name--`find out where he has hid her.'" + +"Who has hid her?" + +"_Carrambo_! that's what I couldn't make out; but who, if it wasn't her +own brother?--Calros, they call him." + +"There's something ugly in all that," remarked one of the men. + +"It isn't the nina, that's certain," jocularly rejoined Anton Chico. + +"The zambo, then! he's ugly enough. What say you, camarados?" + +"The patron, who wanted to employ him, is no great beauty himself," said +one who had not before spoken. "Notwithstanding his fine trappings, he +has got some black marks against him. Look here, _hombres_," continued +the speaker, drawing nearer to the others, and adopting a more +confidential tone. "I'm a blind man, if I haven't seen his phiz before; +ay, and _tapado_ at that." + +"Tapado?" echoed several. + +"With black crape! It was only on my last trip but one up the country. +I went with the _recua_ of Jose Villares. He carried goods for that +English house--you know--in the Calle do Mercaderos. Well, we were +stopped at the Pinal, between Perote and Puebla; every mule stripped of +its _carga_; and every man of us, with Jose himself obliged to lie with +our mouths to the grass, till the rascals had rifled the _recua_. They +took only what was most valuable and easiest carried; but, _carrambo_! +it well nigh ruined poor Jose; he has never been the same _aniero_ +since." + +"What of all that, hombre?" inquired one, who seemed to be still +unsatisfied. "What has that to do with the Capitan Rayas?" + +"Ah! I forgot," said the accuser; "it was of the Capitan Rayas we were +speaking. Well, it has this to do with him. The _salteadores_ were all +tapado, with black crape over their faces, their captain like the rest; +but while he was engaged examining some papers he took from Jose, I +caught a glance of his ugly countenance--just enough to know it again. +If it wasn't the same I saw the other day when I met this Rayas in the +camp, then I don't know _chingarito_ from holy water. I'll answer for +it from the chin up to the eyes. Above that I didn't see it, for the +tapado was over it." + +"Bah!" exclaimed one of the men, who appeared to be of easy conscience +himself; "what if the Capitan Rayas has done a little business on the +road? There are officers in our army of higher rank than he who've +cried out, `_Boca abajo_!'--ay, some that are now generals!" + +"Hush, camarade!" interrupted one who stood nearest the speaker. "See, +the medico's coming out. _Guardate, guardate_! it's treason you're +talking!" + +The interest with which I had listened to this singular palaver, had +hindered me from entering the tent. The men had spoken loud enough for +me to overhear every word--no doubt under the supposition that I did not +understand their language--and to keep them in this belief, I had made +pretence of being engaged in a whispering conversation with one of my +own troopers who stood near. + +As the return of the medico put an end to the talking of his attendants, +I advanced to meet him, and inquired the condition of his patient. + +"Thanks to your care, cavallero, he is out of danger from his wound. +But from what he has confided to me--and to you also, I believe--he will +be in danger of another kind by remaining in this place." + +I could tell from this speech that Calros had communicated to the +surgeon the incidents of the preceding night. + +"How long do you keep guard here?" inquired the Mexican, with an +abstracted air. + +"I am under orders to strike tents and march--exactly at noon." + +"To Jalapa, I presume?" + +"To Jalapa." + +"In that case this young fellow must be carried back to the village of +El Plan. A body of your troops will likely remain there for some time?" + +"I believe that is the intention of our commander-in-chief." + +"Then the invalid would be safer there. It will do him no harm, if +taken upon a stretcher. I must lend him half-a-dozen of my assistants, +or pick up some stragglers to perform this service." + +"He would be safer in Jalapa?" I suggested, interrogatively. "Besides, +the climate of Jalapa is much more favourable to the healing of wounds-- +is it not?" + +"That is true," answered the man of science; "but Jalapa is distant. We +have not a single ambulance in our army. Who is to carry him there--a +poor soldier?" + +"A fine young fellow, notwithstanding. My men would not mind the +trouble of taking him, if you think--" + +I looked round, in hopes that the proposal might be heard and approved +by another. + +The Jarocha was standing in the entrance of the tent, her face beaming +with gratitude. No doubt it was due to the assurance which the surgeon +had given her of her brother's speedy recovery; but I fancied I could +perceive, in the sparkle of her beautiful eyes, a smile indicative of +consent to what I had proposed. + +The surgeon comprehended not the cause of my friendly interest in the +welfare of the wounded Jarocho. + +Did Lola comprehend it? Did she suspect it? Endowed with the keen, +delicate instincts of her race, it was probable she did; at least, I +fancied so, from the kindly look with which she had listened to my +suggestion. + +After all, it might have been gratitude for my friendly intentions, and +nothing more. + +"I see no objection to his going up the road," said the surgeon, after +having spent some little time in considering, "It is very kind on your +part, cavallero," added he--"a stranger and an enemy." Here the medico +smiled. "It is only a continuation of your humane exertions during the +past night." + +A smile, almost imperceptible, accompanied this last observation, +together with the slightest raising of his eyes towards the Jarocha. + +"Suppose," said he, continuing his speech, and relieving me from some +little embarrassment, "suppose we consult the wishes of the invalid +himself. What say you, senorita?" + +"_Gracias, nores_," replied the girl. "I shall ask brother Calros." + +"Calros!" she called out, turning her face towards the tent. "The young +officer who has been so kind to you proposes to have you carried up the +road to Jalapa. Would you like to go there? The medico says the air of +Jalapa will be better for you than this place." + +With a fast-beating pulse I listened for the response of the invalid. + +It was delayed. Calros appeared to be considering. + +"Why?" I asked myself. + +"_Ay de mi_!" broke in the voice of his sister, in a tone of ingenuous +reflection. "It is very hot at El Plan." + +"Thanks, sweet Lola!" I mentally exclaimed, and listened for the +decision of Calros, as a criminal waiting for his verdict. + +Story 1, Chapter XIII. + +A GROUP OF JAROCHOS. + +Had the wounded man been left free to choose, he would in all +probability have decided in favour of being taken to Jalapa--that +sanatorium for invalids of the _tierra caliente_. + +I know not whether he had resolved the matter in his mind, but if so, +the resolution rose not to his lips; for, as I stood over his couch, +venturing to add my solicitations to that _naive_ insinuation of his +sister, I heard voices outside the tent--voices of men who had just come +up--inquiring for "Calros Vergara." + +"Hola!" cried the Jarocho, recognising the voices, "those are our +friends, sister--people from Lagarto. Run out, nina, and tell them I am +here!" + +Lola glided towards the entrance of the tent. + +"'Tis true, Calros," she cried, as soon as she had looked out. "I see +Vicente Vilagos, Ignacio Valdez, Rosario Tres Villas, and the little +Pablito!" + +"Gracias a Dios!" exclaimed the invalid, raising himself on the _catre_. +"I should not wonder if they've come to carry me home." + +"That's just what we've come for," responded a tall, stalwart specimen +of a Jarocho, who at that moment stepped inside the tent, and who was +hailed by the invalid as "Vicente Vilagos." "Just that, Calros; and +we're glad to learn that the Yankee bullet has not quite stopped your +breath. You're all right, hombre! So the medico outside has been +telling us; and you'll be able, he says, to make the journey to Lagarto, +where we'll carry you as gingerly as a game cock; ay, and the nina, too, +if she will only sit astride of my shoulders. Ha! ha! ha!" + +By this time the other Jarochos, to the number of six or seven, had +crowded inside the tent, and surrounded the _catre_ in which lay their +countryman--each grasping him by the hand on arriving within reach; and +all saluting Lola with an air of _chevalresque_ gracefulness worthy of +the days of the Cid! + +I stood aside--watching with curious interest this interchange of +friendly feeling; which partook also of a _national_ character: for it +was evident that the visitors of Calros were all of the Jarocho race. + +I had another motive for observing their movements, far stronger than +that of mere curiosity. I looked to discover if among the new-comers I +could recognise a rival! + +I watched the countenance of Lola more than theirs, scrutinising it as +each saluted her. I felt happy in having observed nothing--at least +nothing that appeared like a glance of mutual intelligence. They were +all thin, sinewy fellows, dark-skinned and dark-haired, having faces +such as Salvator Rosa would have delighted to commit to canvas, and +pointed chin-beards, like those painted by Vandyke. + +None of them appeared to be over thirty years of age. Not one of them +was ill-looking; and yet there was not one who inspired me with that +unpleasant feeling too often the concomitant of love. + +From all that I had yet seen, the rivalry of Rayas, Calros's enemy, was +more to be dreaded than that of any of his friends. + +Vicente Vilagos was the oldest of the party, and evidently their leader +_pro tem_. + +It was no longer a question of carrying Calros to Jalapa. That, to his +friends, would have appeared absurd--perhaps not the less so were Lola +to urge it. + +She said nothing, but stood apart. I fancied she was not too content at +their coming, and the fancy was pleasant to me! + +Surrounded by her enthusiastic friends, for a time I could not find an +opportunity of speaking with her. I endeavoured to convey intelligence +with my eyes. + +The Jarochos are sharp fellows; skilled in courtesy, and thorough adepts +in the art of love. I had reason to be careful. My peculiar position +was against me, as it marked me out for their observation. + +Their glances, however, were friendly. They had gathered some +particulars of what had passed between their compatriot and myself. + +"Come!" said Vilagos, after some minutes spent in arranging their plans. +"'Tis time for us to take the road. 'Twill be sundown before we can +rest under the palm-trees of Lagarto." + +The poetical phraseology did not surprise me: I knew it was _Jarocho_. + +Calros had been placed upon a stretcher; and his bearers had already +carried him outside the tent. Some broad leaves of the banana had been +fixed over him as an awning, to shelter him from the rays of the sun. + +"_Nor deconocio_," said Vilagos, coming up to me, and frankly extending +his hand. "You've been kind to our _con-paisano_, though you be for the +time our enemy. That, we hope, will soon pass; but whether it be in +peace or in war, if you should ever stray to our little _rancheria_ of +Lagarto, you will find that a Jarocho can boast of two humble +virtues--_gratitud y hospitalidad! Adios_!" + +Each of the companions of Vilagos parted from me with an almost similar +salutation. + +I would have bidden a very different sort of adieu to Dolores, but was +hindered by the presence of her friends, who clustered around. + +I could find opportunity for only four words: + +"_Lola! I love you_!" + +There was no reply; not a word, not a whisper that reached me; but her +large dark orbs, like the eyes of the _mazame_, flashed forth a liquid +light that entered my soul, like fire from Cupid's torch. + +I was half delirious as I uttered the "_adios_." I did not add the +customary "_Va con Dios_!" nor yet the "_hasta luego_"--the "au revoir" +of the Spanish, for which our boorish Saxon vocabulary has no synonym. + +Notwithstanding the omission, I registered a mental vow--_to see Lola +Vergara again_. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The beautiful Jarocha was gone from my sight! + +"Shall I ever see her again?" + +This was the interrogatory that came uppermost in my thoughts--not the +less painful from my having perceived that she had lingered to look +back. + +Would she have preferred the road to Jalapa? + +Whether or not, I had the vanity to think so. + +Gone, without leaving me either promise or souvenir--only the +remembrance of her voluptuous beauty--destined long to dwell within the +shrine of my heart. + +"Shall I ever see her again?" + +Once--twice--thrice--involuntarily did I repeat the self-interrogation. + +"Perhaps never!" was each time the equally involuntary reply. + +In truth, the chances of my again meeting with her were very slight. To +this conclusion came I, after a calm survey of the circumstances +surrounding me. True, I had obtained the name of her native village--El +Lagarto--and had registered a mental resolve to visit it. + +What of that? A long campaign was before me, loading me in the opposite +direction. The chances of being killed, and surviving it, were almost +equally balanced in the scale. With such a prospect, when might I stray +towards Lagarto? + +There was but one answer to this question within my cognisance: +_whenever I should find the opportunity_. With this thought I was +forced to console myself. + +I stood with my eyes fixed upon the turning of the road, where the +overhanging branches of the acacias, with cruel abruptness, shrouded her +departing figure from my sight. I watched the _grecque_ bordering upon +her petticoat, as the skirt swelled and sank, gradually narrowing +towards the trees. I looked higher, and saw the fringed end of the +reboso flirted suddenly outward, as if a hand, rather than the breeze, +had caused the motion. I looked still higher. The face was hidden +under the scarf. I could not see that, but the attitude told me that +her head must be turned, and her eyes, "_mirando atras_!" + +Kissing my hand, in answer to this final recognition, was an action +instinctive and mechanical. + +"I've been a fool to permit this parting--perhaps never to see her +again!" + +This was the reflection that followed. I entered the tent, and flung +myself upon the _catre_ lately occupied by the invalid. + +A sleepless night, caused by excited passions, succeeding another passed +equally without sleep, in which I had toiled, taking those useless +howitzers up the steep slopes of El Plan--had rendered me somnolent to +an extreme degree; and spite the chagrin of that unsatisfactory +separation, I at length gave way to a god resistless as Cupid himself. + +Story 1, Chapter XIV. + +AN INFAMOUS EPISTLE. + +There is an interest--will any man deny it?--in awaking from one's +slumber, and finding that the postman has _been_; the fact made manifest +by the presence of an epistle tying proximate to your pillow, and within +reach of your hand. + +It is an interest of a peculiarly pleasant nature, if the epistle be +perfumed, the envelope of limited dimensions, crested, cream-laid, and +endorsed by a chirography of the "angular" type. + +The effect, though sometimes as startling, is not quite so pleasant, +when the "cover" is of a bluish tint, the superscription "clerkly," and, +instead of a crest enstamped upon the seal, you read the cabalistic +words, "Debt, Dunn, and Co." + +As I awoke from my matutinal slumber--under canvas that had sheltered +his Excellency Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna--my eyes looked upon a +letter, or something that resembled one. + +The sight inspired me neither with the thought which would have been +suggested by a _billet-doux_ nor a _dun_, but yet with an interest not +much yielding to either; for in the superscription placed fair before my +eyes I read the full cognomen and titles of the Mexican tyrant:-- + +"_Al excellentissimo Senor, Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, General en +gefe del Ejercito Mexicano_." + +The presence of the epistle was easily explained, for I was lying on the +camp-bedstead upon which, the night before, had reclined the despot of +Anahuac--perhaps after sleeping less tranquilly than I. Protruding from +under the leathern _catre_ was the letter, where it had, in all +probability, been deposited after perusal. + +On perceiving it, my feeling was one of curiosity--perhaps something +more. I was, of course, curious to peruse the correspondence of an +individual, in my way of thinking, more notorious than distinguished. +At the same time a vague hope had entered my mind, that the envelope +enclosed some private despatch, the knowledge of which might be of +service to the Commander-in-chief of the American army. + +I had no scruples about reading the epistle--not the slightest. There +was no seal to be broken; and if there had been, I should have broken it +without a moment's hesitation. + +The letter was addressed--in no very fair hand--to an enemy, not only of +my nation, but, as I deemed him, an enemy of mankind. + +I drew the sheet from its cover--a piece of coarse foolscap, folded note +fashion. The writing was in pencil, and just legible. + +"_Excellentissimo Senor!--La nina se huye del campamento. Es cierto que +la ha mandado el hermano. Ha recibido la putita las propuestas de V.E. +con muchas senales de civilidad. No tenga V. cuidad. Yo soy alerte. +En buen tiempo, dormira ella en la tienda y los brazos de V.E. o no esta +mia nombre_. + +"Ramon Ratas." + +Literal translation:-- + +"_Most Excellent Sire!--The young girl has disappeared from the camp-- +assuredly by the command of her brother. The `putita' (a word not to be +translated) listened to the proposal of your Excellency with much show +of complaisance. Don't have any disquietude about the result. I am on +the alert. In good time she shall sleep in the tent and arms of your +Excellency, or my name isn't_. + +"Ramon Ratas." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Whatever of sleep was left in my body or brain, was at once dispelled by +the reading of this disgusting epistle. I had not the slightest doubt +as to whom it referred. "La nina" could be no other than Dolores +Vergara. + +There might be other ninas following the Mexican army who had brothers, +but the communication of Rayas pointed to one who had lately disappeared +from the camp--a circumstance identifying her with the sister of Calros. + +Besides, what other was likely to have tempted the cupidity of the +tyrant--his lust (for it was clearly such a passion), which his pander +had promised to gratify? + +I was less surprised by the contents of the epistle than by the +circumstances under which I had found it, and the peculiar coincidences +that rendered its contents so easy of interpretation. + +The character of Santa Anna--well known to me as to others--was in exact +keeping with what might be inferred from the communication of his +correspondent. Lascivious to an extreme degree, his amatory intrigues +have been as numerous as his political machinations. At least half the +leisure of his life has been devoted to dallying with the Delilahs of +his land, of whom there is no scarcity. + +Even the loss of his leg--shot off at the siege of Vera Cruz by +Joinville--failed to cure him of his erotic propensities. At the time +of which I speak--nearly ten years after having parted with his limb--he +was still the same gay wooer of women; though now, in his mature age, +occasionally standing in need of the _alcohuete_, as well as the +exercise of other vile influences. + +Among these last, the bestowal of military commissions was well known to +be one of his most common means of corruption; and many a young +_alferes_ owed his _inglorious epaulette_--many a captain his command-- +to the questionable merit of possessing a pretty sister. + +Such was Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Dictator of Mexico, and +"generalissimo" of her armies. + +With this knowledge of his character, I felt but little surprised at the +contents of that "confidential" epistle. Nor was my contempt for him to +whom it was directed so strong as it might have been, had my conscience +been clear. In the impurity of my own thoughts, I was neither qualified +to judge, nor privileged to condemn, the iniquities of another. + +I could scarcely conceive how any one could look upon Lola Vergara +without being inspired with a wish to become either her husband or her +lover; and as _El Cojo_--already _wived_--could not be the former, it +was but natural for such a man, placed in his all-commanding position, +to indulge in the hopeful anticipation of being accepted as the latter. + +With shame I confess it, I felt but little surprise at the discovery of +this intrigue; and if I felt contempt, it was less for the sin itself, +than for the way in which it was intended to be committed. With this +sort of despite I was sufficiently inspired, extending equally to the +patron and the panderer. + +"Cowardly wretches!" I involuntarily exclaimed, crushing the piece of +paper between my fingers; "both villains alike! And the brute Rayas! +who talked of loving--of becoming _himself_ her husband! Ha! No doubt +would he do so: to obtain a better price for his precious commodity. +Double dastard! It is difficult to believe in such infamy!" + +For some time I strode backward and forward across the floor of the +tent, muttering such speeches, and giving way to such thoughts. + +Mingling with my disgust for the tyrant and his pimp, there was another +feeling that caused me acute pain. Had the wretch any right to apply +that vile epithet "putita?" Was there any truth in his statement that +she had listened _with complaisance_ to the proposals of V.E.--proposals +of the nature of which there could be no misconception? + +Notwithstanding the source from which the insinuation came, I will not +deny that, at the moment it caused me suspicions, and something more-- +something very like _chagrin_. + +It was less the knowledge of Lola's character--of which I could know but +little--than that of her countrywomen, that inspired me with this +suspicion. Moreover, it was difficult to conceive how one so lovely and +loveable could have lived to her age under the burning skies of the +_tierra caliente_, without having loved. + +That she _had been loved_, there could be little doubt. As little, that +her lovers were legion. Could it be doubted that of some one of them +she had reciprocated the passion? After the age of twelve the heart of +a Jarocha rarely remains unimpressed. Lola appeared to be sixteen. + +The disquietude of my thoughts admonished me that I too loved this +Mexican maiden. The very pain of my suspicions told me I could not help +loving her, _even if assured that they were true_! + +My passion, if impure, was also powerful. The imputation cast upon its +object in the letter of the _alcohuete_, instead of stifling, served +only to fan it to a fiercer flame; and under the impression that the +slanderer might have spoken the truth, I only blamed myself for having +behaved towards the beautiful Jarocha with a respect that might, after +all, in her eyes have seemed superfluous. + +I was not so wicked as to give way to these gross ideas for any +continued length of time; and as my memory dwelt upon her fair face; on +her eyes of angelic expression; on the modest gracefulness of demeanour +that marked her every movement; above all, on the devoted fondness of +which her brother was the object, I could not think that Lola Vergara +was otherwise than what she seemed--an angel of innocence; and that her +brutal asperser was exactly what _he_ seemed--a demon of the darkest +dye. + +Under the influence of these less degrading reflections, my spirits +became calmer; and I could ponder with less bitterness upon the contents +of that infamous epistle. + +Infamy it revealed of the deepest character, on the part of both writer +and recipient, but nothing to compromise the character of the Jarocha: +for the insinuation of Rayas might have been made either to flatter the +vanity, or soothe the impatience, of his patron; and in all likelihood +one or the other--perhaps both--was its true purpose. + +One fact, made evident by the communication, gave me disquietude of +another kind. Whether the heart of Lola Vergara was still safe, certain +it was that her _honour_ was in danger. The brutal ruffian who would +have murdered her brother, his old school-mate, on the field of battle, +was not likely to stick at trifles of any kind, as I knew neither would +he who was to reward him for the procuration. The assassin in intent, +if not in reality, was not likely to be deterred by an abduction. + +I could not help feeling serious apprehension for the safety of the +girl, having only her invalid brother, a mere youth, to protect her. +With the robber at large, and the patron still retaining a certain +degree of power, the life of the brother was scarcely more secure than +the chastity of the sister. + +It was true that the arch-contriver, now a fugitive from the field, was +likely for some time to have his hands full of other and very different +work, than that of effecting the ruin of a peasant girl. But the +subordinate would still be upon the spot; and even without the cheering +presence of his employer, or the prospect of speedy reward, he might +have views of his own, equally affecting the welfare of Lola Vergara. + +I was so much disquieted by these apprehensions, that I had ordered my +horse, with the design of galloping down the road, if possible +overtaking the cortege which accompanied the invalid, and making known +both to him and to his sister the scheme I had so unexpectedly +discovered! + +They had been gone some four or five hours; but, from the slow progress +a stretcher must make, they would not likely have been more than as many +miles beyond the bridge of El Plan. There could be no difficulty in +overtaking them. + +After all, what good could come of it? I might put them on their guard; +but surely they had received warning already--sufficient to stimulate +them to the utmost caution? + +Moreover, the Jarocho would be in his own village, surrounded by his +friends--I saw he had friends. What danger, then, either to himself or +to his sister? + +My apprehensions were unreasonable; and perhaps my horse had been +saddled as much from another motive which I need not declare. + +_She_ might comprehend it, and to my prejudice--perhaps deem me +importunate? She must have known all that I could tell her--perhaps +more! Ah! true. She might not thank me for my interference. + +As I stood hesitating between these two conflicting emotions, I was +admonished that the hour was nigh, at which we had been ordered to +strike tents, and march to join the head-quarters of the American army, +by this time established in the town of Jalapa. + +My troopers were forming on the field, preparatory to taking the route; +and this among other motives decided my course of action. + +Just as the sun had reached his meridian height, the bugler sounded the +"_forward_!" and riding at the head of my little troop, I bade adieu to +Cerro Gordo, now sacred to the god of war, but in my mind to remain +hallowed as the spot upon which I had worshipped a far more agreeable +divinity. + +Story 1, Chapter XV. + +TWO OLD ACQUAINTANCES. + +Up the road from Cerro Gordo we travelled upon the track of a routed +army. + +All had not made good their retreat, as was evidenced by many a sad +spectacle that came under our eyes as we went onward. + +Here lay the dead horse, sunblown to enormous dimensions, with one lag-- +a hind one--stiffly projecting into the air. + +Not far off might be seen the corpse of his quondam rider, in like +manner swollen--bloated to the very tips of the fingers--so that the +latter scarcely protruded from the palms, that more resembled +boxing-gloves than the hands of a human being! + +Though only thirty hours had elapsed from the time that life had left +them, this curious transformation had become complete. It was owing to +the tropical sun, which for the whole of the previous day had been +fiercely glaring upon the bodies. + +I noted, as we passed, that our slain enemies had not been unheeded. +All appeared, since death, to have been visited, and attended to--not +for the purpose of interment, but of plunder. + +Everything of value found upon the corpses had been stripped off; in the +case of some, even to their vestments. + +A few were stark naked--their swollen shining skins displaying the +gore-encircled _embouchure_ of sabre or shot-wound; and it was only +those whose torn uniforms were saturated with black blood, who had been +permitted to retain the rags that enveloped them--now stretched to such +a tight fit, that it would have been an impossibility to have completed +the process of stripping. + +To the credit of the pursuing army be it told, that this ruthless +spoliation was not the work of the American soldier. A part of it may +have been performed by the stragglers of that army--in nine cases out of +ten a European hireling--French, Irish, or German. Myself an Irishman, +I can scarcely be charged with partiality in this statement. Alas! for +the land of my nativity--whose moral sense has too long suffered from +the baneful taint of monarchical tyranny! I but set forth the facts as +I saw them. + +It was no great consolation to know, that much of that spoilation had +been done by Mexicans themselves--the patrolled prisoners, who had gone +up the road before us. + +The same deteriorating influence had been at work upon _their_ moral +principles for a like period of time; and the intermittent glimpses they +had got of a republic, had been too evanescent to have left behind much +trace of its civilising power. + +As we rode onward among the unburied dead, I was impressed by a singular +circumstance. The corpse of no Mexican appeared to have suffered +mutilation; while that of an American soldier, who had fallen by some +stray shot, was stripped of its flesh--almost to the making a skeleton +of it! + +It was the work of wolves--we had no doubt about that. We several times +saw the coyotes skulking under the edge of the chapparal, and at a +greater distance the gaunt form of the large Mexican wolf. We saw great +holes eaten in the hips of horses and mules; but not a scratch upon the +corpse of a Mexican soldier! + +"Why is it?" I asked of a singular personage who was riding immediately +behind me, unattached to my troop, and whose experience over Texan and +New Mexican battlefields I presumed would help me to an explanation. +"Why is it that the wolves have left _their_ bodies untouched?" + +"Wagh!" exclaimed the individual thus interrogated, with an expression +of scornful _disgust_ suddenly overspreading his features. "Wolves eat +'em! No--nor coyot's neyther. A coyot won't eat skunk; an' I reck'n +thur karkidges aint less bitterer than the meat o' a skunk." + +"You think there's something in their flesh that the wolves don't +relish--something different from that of other people?" + +"Think! I'm sartin sure o't. I've see'd 'em die whar we killed 'em-- +when the Texans made their durned foolish expedishun northart to Santa +Fe. I've seed 'em lyin' out in the open paraira, for hul weeks at a +time, till they had got dry as punk--jest like them things they bring +from somewhar way out t'other side of the world. Durn it, I +dis-remember the name o' the place, an' the things themselves. You know +what I'm trackin' up, Bill Garey? We seed 'em last time we wur at Sant +Looey--in that ere queery place, whur they'd got Ingun things, an' +stuffed bufflers, an' the like." + +"Mummeries?" replied the person thus appealed to, another unattached +member of the corps of _rifle-rangers_. "Are that what you're arter, +old Rube?" + +"Preezackly, Bill Mum'ries; ay, the name war that--I reccolex it. They +gits the critters out o' large stone buildin's, shaped same as the +rockly islands we seed, when we were trappin' that lake out t'ords +California." + +"Pyramids!" exclaimed the old trapper's companion, in a tone indicative +of a more enlightened mind. "Pyramids o' Eegip! That's where they get +'em--so the feller sayed, as showed 'em to us." + +"Wal, wherever they gets 'em. I don't care a durn whur; but as I wur +tellin' the capten, I've seed dead Mexikins as like them mum'ries as one +buffler air to another. I've seed 'em lie out thur on the dry paraira, +an' neer a coyot, nor a wolf, nor even a turkey-buzzart go near 'em, let +alone eat o' thur meat. That's what I've seed, and so've you, Bill +Garey." + +"Ye're right, old hoss; I've seed what you says." + +"Wagh! what, then?" interrogated the first speaker, "what do ye konklude +from thet?" + +"Wal," drawlingly responded his younger compeer; "I shed say by that +thet thar meat warn't eatable, nohow." + +"Ah! there you'd be right, Bill Garey. There ain't a critter on all the +paraira as will stick a tooth into the meat o' a reg'lar Mexikin. Coyot +won't touch it; painter won't go near it; or buzzart, that'll eat the +durndest gurbage as ever wur throwed out o' a tent,--even to the flesh +o' a Injun--won't dig its bill into the karkidge o' a yeller-belly. +I've seed it, an' I knows it." + +"Well," I said, yielding to a belief in this curious theory--not +propounded to me for the first time--"how do you account for this +predilection, or rather _degout_, on the part of the predatory animals?" + +"Digou!" replied the old trapper; "if ye mean by that 'ere a hanger agin +'em, 'taint nothin' o' the sort. It be the pure stink o' the anymal as +keeps 'em off. How ked they be other'ise, eatin' nothin' but them red +peppers, an' thur garlic, an' thur half-rotten jirk-meat? 'Taint a bit +strange, I reckin, that neyther wolf nor buzzarts'll have anythin' to do +wi' their karkidges. Is it, Billee?" + +"No," replied the individual thus appealed to; "not a bit, though some +other sort o' anymal 'haint been so pertikler. If their skins hain't +been touched, somebody's been tolerable close to 'em, an' taken thar +shirts. I calclate it's been some o' thar own people as have jest gone +up the road." + +"An' maybe some o' ourn as well," rejoined the old trapper, with a +significant leer upon his wrinkled features. "Some o' them don't appear +to be much better than the Mexikins 'emselves. Look'ee there, Cap'n!" + +The speaker gave a slight inclination of his head, accompanied by an +equally slight wave of the hand. + +I looked in the direction indicated by this double gesture; and at once +comprehended the purport of his insinuation. + +Story 1, Chapter XVI. + +A BRACE OF BAD FELLOWS. + +I was at the moment riding in the rear of my troop--having fallen back +to hold conversation with my two unattached followers, thus incidentally +introduced. The last trooper in the rank--except the corporal, who rode +alongside of him--was a man of large body, somewhat slouched and +unshapen; as were also his arms, limbs, and the forage-cap on his head. +Altogether, he was a slovenly specimen for a cavalry soldier--to look at +from behind; and his aspect from the front did not alter the impression. + +A long cadaverous countenance, bedecked with a pair of hollow-glass-like +eyes; a beard long as the face, hanging down over his breast, defiled +with fragments of food and the "ambeer" of tobacco; behind which +appeared a row of very large white teeth, set between lips of an +unnaturally red colour; above these a long nose, broken near the middle, +and obliquing outward to the sinister angle of his mouth;--such was the +portrait presented by the individual in question. + +I did not see his face, for I was behind him; but it did not need that +to enable me to identify the man. By his back, or any part of his body, +I could have told that the trooper before me was Johann Laundrich, the +Jew-German. + +"What of _him_?" I inquired, in an undertone, seeing that he was the +individual referred to in the speech of the old trapper. + +"Don't 'ee see, Cap'n! them theer boots! I heern ye stopped 'im from +takin' 'em last night. He's got 'em along wi' him for all that. Thar +they be!" + +Rube's gesture was this time more definite; and pointed to the cloak of +the trooper, rolled and strapped to the cantle of his saddle. + +Between the folds of the cloth, ill-adjusted as they were, I saw, +protruding a few inches outward, something of a buff colour, that +evidently did not belong to the garment. + +A slight scrutiny satisfied me that it was a boot; and, guided by what +the trapper had said, I saw that it could be no other than one of the +pair I had prevented Laundrich from pilfering from the corpse of the +Mexican officer. + +I had only hindered him for the time. He had evidently returned to the +tent, and made a finish of his filthy work. + +A loud angry "halt!" brought the troop to a stand. + +I ordered Laundrich to ride out of the ranks; unstrap his cloak from the +saddle; and spread it out. On his doing so, the buff boots fell to the +ground--where they were permitted to lie. + +I could not contain my temper at the double disobedience of orders; and +riding alongside the ruffian, I struck him over the crown with the flat +of my sabre. + +He made no movement to avoid the blow, nor did he stir on receiving it-- +further than to show his white teeth, like a savage dog suffering +chastisement. + +With Laundrich once more in the saddle, we were about to move on; when +the corporal, touching his cap, came up to me. + +"Captain!" said he, "there's even worse than him among the men. There's +one o' them got in his havresack a thing I think you ought to see. It's +a scandal to the corps." + +"Which one--who?" + +"Bully, the Englishman." + +"Order Bully to ride this way." + +The trooper thus designated, on being summoned by the corporal, drew his +horse out of the rank, and rode up--though evidently with an awkward +reluctance. + +He was quite as ill-favoured as the delinquent just punished. His evil +aspect was of a type altogether different. He was bullet-headed and +bull-faced, with a thick fleshy neck, and jowls entirely destitute of +beard; while, instead of being of dark complexion, like the Jew-German, +his face was of the hue of dirty shining tallow, not _adorned_ by a +close crop of hay-coloured hair that came far down upon a low square +forehead. His nose was retrousse, with nostrils widely spread, like +those of a pure-bred bull dog; and his eyes were not very unlike the +optics of the fierce Molossian. + +The man was known by the name above given to him; though whether he +answered to this appellation at roll-call, or whether it was only a +sobriquet bestowed upon him by his comrades, I really do not now +remember. + +His appearance was simply stupid and brutal, while that of Laundrich was +cunning and savage. + +They were the two worst men in the troop; and I had reason to believe +that both had been convicts in their respective countries; but this was +not much in the ranks of a campaigning army. + +"Bully!" I demanded, as he drew near; "let us see what you've got in +your havresack!" + +A hideous grin overspread the fellow's features, as he proceeded to draw +out the contents of the bag. + +"What is it?" I inquired of the corporal, impatient to learn what could +be carried in a cavalry havresack, calculated to set a stigma upon a +whole troop. + +"A piece o' a man," was the reply. + +By this time Bully had produced the identical article. Knowing what was +wanted of him, he saw there would be no use in attempting to "dodge" the +demand; and, without troubling the other impedimenta, which the sack +contained, he drew out only the article requiring inspection. + +It was the finger of a man, encircled by a heavy gold ring, deeply +embedded in the swollen flesh! It had been cut off at the posterior +joint, close to the hand; and a portion of the muscle of the two +adjacent fingers was still attached to it. All this had been done to +secure the ring which could not, without breaking it, have been detached +from the finger. + +The sight, taken in connection with the history deduced from its being +in possession of the trooper, was sufficiently horrible. + +I did not allow my eyes to dwell upon it; and the shower of blows which +I administered to the inhuman scoundrel were not the less heavily dealt +on my being told that the finger had belonged to the same corpse which +Laundrich had despoiled of its boots! + +Ordering the fragment of humanity to be brought along--with the design +of some day sending the ring to the friends of the mutilated man--I +resumed the route; painfully impressed with the disagreeable +circumstances, which had thus disturbed the tranquillity of my temper. + +Story 1, Chapter XVII. + +A RIDERLESS HORSE. + +We halted about midway on the road to Jalapa, at a place called _Corral +Falso_, which, literally translated, signifies "The False Enclosure." + +I know not why the name; but certain it is, that a large enclosure of +mason work, with a portion of it in ruins, occupied the summit of the +slight eminence where the village stands. + +This enclosure may have been a "corral" or penn for cattle, or perhaps a +"paraje" for pack mules; though it seemed to be no longer used for any +purpose--as it exhibited the appearance of a ruin overgrown with bushes +and rank weeds. + +The village itself may also have seen more prosperous days--in the times +of vice-regal rule--but Corral Falso, on the occasion of my making halt +in it, was nothing more than a very small collection of huts, +constructed out of tree poles--"Jacales"--and constituting that +grouping, known in Mexico as a _rancheria_--a collection of "ranchos." + +The vanquished army, in its retreat, as well as the victors in their +pursuit having passed through the place, had temporarily deprived Corral +Falso of its inhabitants. They had taken to the wild chapparal which +grew close to their village; and there had they hidden themselves. + +But since then a whole day had intervened; and hunger had forced them +back to their despoiled homes--at the same time inspiring them with +courage to stay there, or at all events with a repugnance to return to +the starving shelter of the chapparal. + +We found the Corral Falsenians at home--of both sexes and of all ages-- +all alike trembling at our approach, and evidently gratified to find +that we did not eat them up! + +I have given this prominence to the pretty _paraje_ Corral Falso, not +out of any consideration for the place itself but on account of an +incident that transpired there, which resulted in my losing two of my +men; and--which was of far more importance to me--was very nearly ending +in the loss of myself! + +We had halted to "bait" our animals--from their own nosebags of course: +for there was not as much corn in Corral Falso as would have filled the +crop of a chicken. + +While thus occupied, it was reported to me--that one of the horses would +not eat; but on the contrary, was more likely to die. + +He had been stricken by the sun, or had got the staggers from some other +unexplained cause; which ended by his tumbling over upon the road, and +stretching out his limbs in their last tremulous struggle. + +The horse belonged to the lieutenant of my troop; who was now, of +course, _demonte_. + +Slight as the _contretemps_ may appear, or might have been under other +circumstances, it placed us at the time in somewhat of a dilemma. One +of the men would have to be dismounted, in order that the officer might +ride; but how was the man to be taken along? I had been ordered to +report speedily at head-quarters in Jalapa; and to have marched at such +a pace as would allow one on foot to keep up with the troop, was +entirely out of the question. + +It is true that the dismounted trooper might be carried on the croup of +one of his comrades' horses; but all of these were greatly fatigued by a +long-continued spell of duty; and it was just doubtful enough whether +there was a horse in the _cavallada_ capable of "carrying double." + +While my lieutenant and I were debating this question between us, fate +or fortune seemed to have determined on deciding it in our favour. + +I have said that the _chapparal_ stretched in to the very confines of +the rancheria--holding the little village, as it were, in its thorny +embrace. + +But the country around was not all of this character. The thicket was +far from being continuous. On the contrary, the eye rested upon broad +tracts of open pasture-ground, covered with a growth of tufted grass, +here and there matted, with clumps of cactus, and plants of the wild +agave bristling under their tall flower-stalks, and cymes of +strong-scented blossoms. + +It was not these curious forms of the botanical world that attracted our +attention--we had seen and admired them before--but the hoof-strokes of +a galloping horse, ringing, not upon the road that bisected the village, +but upon the hard turf, that covered the surface of the soil in the open +spaces extending between the copses of the chapparal. + +We had scarcely bent our ears to listen to the sounds, when we saw the +animal that was causing them--a horse--galloping down the slope of a +hill in the direction of the rancheria. + +He was saddled; but without bridle, and without a rider! + +The animal appeared to be a splendid _musteno_, of a steel-grey colour; +and the gleam of silver upon the mountings of the saddle bespoke him as +belonging, or having belonged, to an owner of some consideration-- +perhaps an officer of rank. + +The sight of a saddled but riderless steed, thus scampering across +country, was by no means strange--at least to us _then_ and _there_. +More than one had we observed upon our march enjoying a like liberty-- +whose riders were perhaps, at that moment, coldly asleep upon the field +of battle, never more to remount them. + +We should scarcely have taken notice of the circumstance, but for the +want which just then was making itself so unpleasantly felt. We wanted +a horse to remount the lieutenant. Here was one about to offer himself +ready saddled, and as if saying, "Come and bestride me!" + +It was not so certain, however, that the mustang was thus generously +disposed; and it became still less so, when the animal, after +approaching within twenty paces of the troop, suddenly stopped, threw +his nostrils into a horizontal position; loudly inhaled the air; and +then with a terrific neigh turned in his tracks and galloped back up the +acclivity of the hill. + +In the _cavallada_ of tall, scraggy steeds that stood in the street of +the village with their noses buried eye-deep in canvas bags--he seemed +not to have recognised his own species; or, if so, it was only to +identify them as enemies. + +The horses of the troop had taken no heed of the shy stranger. They +were not in the humour for a "stampede." They did not even think it +necessary to neigh, but remained tranquilly crunching their corn, as if +aware that they were making only a temporary halt, and that their time +was too precious to be spent in any other occupation. + +On reaching the summit of the hill, the mustang came to a stand, and, +with head high in air, screamed back a series of wild "whighers," as if +uttered in mockery or defiance. + +There was but one horse on the ground capable of capturing that mustang; +and perhaps only one rider who could have conducted him to the capture. + +Though laying myself open to the accusation of an inordinate vanity, I +must specify the horse and the rider thus alluded to. The first was my +brave steed _Moro_--the second was Captain Edward Warfield, in command +of a "free corps of rangers." + +An early practice of hare and fox hunting in my native land--continued +by the chase of the stag over the forest-clad slopes of the +Alleghanies--had given me a seat in the saddle firm as its "tree," and +close as the skin that covered it; while a still later experience on the +great western prairies, had rendered me habile in the handling of that +wonderful weapon of prairie and pampa--the _lazo_. + +Habit had accustomed me to deem it almost as essential as my bridle; +never to go abroad without it; and ever, while riding at the head of my +troop of half guerilleros, half-regular cavalry--a coil of thin shining +rope composed of twisted hair from the tails of horses, might have been +seen hanging from the horn of my saddle. + +I esteemed it an arm of equal service with my pistols, whose butts +glistened in the holsters beneath. It could be seen in _Corral Falso_ +hanging over the withers of my steed, as he stood among the others +quietly munching his maize. + +My dismounted lieutenant had noticed it, and turned towards me with an +appealing look, impossible to be misunderstood. + +He liked the appearance of the steel-grey mustang; and had become +inspired with an insatiable longing to bestride it. + +That longing could only be gratified by its capture; and this could only +be effected by myself and Moro. + +I understood the lieutenant's look. Perhaps my comprehension was +quickened by the pride or vanity that fluttered up within my bosom at +the moment--a desire for even that trifling triumph of distinguishing +myself in the eyes of my own men. + +I perceived that their eyes were upon me; and, ordering my horse to be +bridled, I leaped into the saddle, and started off in pursuit of the +_escapado_. + +Story 1, Chapter XVIII. + +A HORSE-HUNT. + +My steed deemed to comprehend the object for which I had mounted him. +Without any guidance, either of voice or rein, he headed for the hill, +upon the summit of which stood the neighing mustang. + +I rode cautiously up the slope, keeping as well as I could under cover +of the cactus plants, in hopes that I might get near enough to fling my +lazo without fraying the animal I wished to capture. + +There was but slight chance of my being able to accomplish this without +a gallop. + +The riderless horse was roused, and could not be approached unless by a +ruse, or after being run down. + +I could think of no trick beyond that of stealing upon the mustang +through some trees near which he had stopped, and I rode towards them. + +It was to no purpose. The animal having the advantage in position, +could see me as I advanced up the acclivity. Before I had got half way +to the trees, it turned tail towards me; and, uttering a shrill scream, +disappeared over the crest of the ridge. + +Giving Moro a touch of the spur, I hastened on to the spot lately +occupied by the escapado. + +On reaching the summit I saw the mustang once more, but at a rather +discouraging distance. It had made good use of the short time it had +been out of sight--being now nearly half a mile off, and still going +down the slope, which declined in the direction of the Rio del Plan. + +I hesitated to follow. The pursuit might carry me far into the heart of +the country, and away from the main road. My time was precious. I had +orders to report at head-quarters at an early hour of the evening. +Cavalry were at that time scarce in the American army; and even my +"irregulars" might be required for some duty. I had not much +discretionary control as to my movements; and, with these reflections +crossing my mind, I determined to return to my troop. + +Rather should I say, I was about determining to do so, when a +circumstance occurred that decided me to go on. + +As I sat in my saddle, watching the fugitive mustang--expecting it soon +to disappear into the woods at the bottom of the hill, all of a sudden +the animal came to a halt, and, turning around and tossing its head high +in the air, once more gave utterance to a shrill "whigher." + +There was something in the neighing of the creature, as well as the +movement that accompanied it, that seemed to say, "Come after me if you +dare!" + +At all events, I interpreted it as a challenge of this kind, and, in the +excitement of the moment, I determined to accept it. + +I was influenced, also, by the presence of my comrades, who were +watching me from below. + +Duty should have determined me to ride back to them, and resume our +interrupted march; but the chagrin which I should have felt in so easily +abandoning a project I had taken up with such a show of determination, +outweighed my sense of duty; and, without further delay, I launched +myself down the slope in pursuit of the fugitive horse. + +As I drew near, the animal started off again; but, instead of taking to +the timber--as I expected it would have done--it kept along the edge of +the wood, in a south-easterly direction. + +This was just what I wanted. I believed that on open ground--in a fair +tail-on-end chase--I could overtake either it or any other mustang in +Mexico; and my hope was that it might give me a fair chance without +taking to cover. + +Although I had hunted its wild congeners on the prairies of Texas, it +proved the swiftest thing in mustang shape I had ever followed, and I +soon began to doubt my capacity to overtake it. + +After I had ridden more than a mile along the edge of the forest timber, +the creature seemed as far ahead of me as ever! I was fast losing faith +in the fleetness of Moro; for I knew that he had been going at top speed +all the time, while the mustang appeared to have preserved the distance +with which it had started. + +"It has heels equal to yours, Moro," I said mutteringly to my own horse. +"It will be a question of _bottom_ between you." + +Was Moro stung by my reproach? He seemed so. Perhaps my thoughts were +his? At all events I could feel him perceptibly mending his pace; and +perceived, moreover, that he was at last gaining ground upon the +fugitive. + +There was a natural reason for this, though I did not think of it at the +moment. The first mile of the chase had been _down_ hill--so much the +worse for Moro. He was a true Arab; his ancestors had been denizens of +the great plains of the Sahara--a race of steeds famed for fleetness on +the level course. The mustang, on the contrary, was by birth and habits +a _mountaineer_; and either _up-hill_ or _down hill_ would have been the +track of his selection. + +Going down the slope, he had maintained his distance, or nearly so; but +now that the chase led along a level tract of country, he was losing it +length by length--so perceptibly, that I began to grope around the +pommel of my saddle, to assure myself of the _readiness_ of my lazo. + +Perhaps another mile was passed over in the chase, without any change +taking place; except that I saw myself constantly closing in towards the +heels of the riderless horse. Then a change did occur, and one +altogether unexpected: the mustang suddenly disappeared from my sight! + +Story 1, Chapter XIX. + +THE CAPTOR CAPTURED. + +There was nothing mysterious in the disappearance of the fugitive. It +had simply made a turn to the right, and plunged, as I thought, into the +forest, along the edge of which I had been hitherto pursuing it. + +I declined taking the diagonal direction. By doing so I might have +headed the mustang; but I feared that the timber might mislead me, and I +should lose the animal altogether. + +I kept on, therefore, to the point where it had entered the wood. + +On reaching this point, I perceived that I had been mistaken. The +mustang had not entered the timber at all, but had turned into a sort of +alley, or opening, among the trees--along which it was still going in +full gallop, as when last seen. + +I hesitated not to follow. I was by this time too much excited to think +of consequences. Moro's spirit was, like my own, roused to a pitch +closely bordering upon the reckless; and on we went through the forest +aisle--that appeared to grow gloomier the farther we penetrated under +its shadows. + +It was a forest of silk-cotton trees--as I could tell by the flossy down +that lay scattered along the ground; but while noting this, I saw +something else of far greater significance--something, in fact, that +seemed to whisper to me, "You are riding fast, but you may be riding too +far." + +The thing that suggested this thought was an observation I made at the +moment. Though going at full gallop along what appeared to be a natural +avenue between the trees, I could not help perceiving that the ground +under my horse's feet was thickly imprinted with tracks. They were the +hoof-prints of horses that, not long before, must have passed over it, +going in the same direction as myself I might have taken them for a wild +herd--the _cavallada_ belonging to some grazing hacienda--of which there +were more than one among the half-prairie chapparals that surrounded me; +but this conjecture was nipped in the bud, on my perceiving among the +tracks more than one set made by horses, that had been handled by the +_herradero_. + +I knew that shod horses were rarely or never found in the grazing +_cavallada_; and therefore the large troop that had preceded me through +the forest opening, must have had saddles upon their backs, and men +bestriding them. + +I had gone a good way into the timber before arriving at this +conclusion. + +I need not say that it affected my further advance. The horsemen who +had trodden the track before me must be enemies; they could not be +friends. I was now full three miles from the main road--leading from +Vera Cruz to Jalapa--and I knew that no troop of our cavalry had left +it. + +Besides, the shod-tracks I saw were those of mustangs, or Mexican +horses--so much smaller in their circumference than those of the +American horse, that I could note the difference, even in the glance +allowed by the rapidity of my onward gallop. + +Mexican cavalry must have passed over the ground, perhaps in retreat +from the field of Cerro Gordo; but even so, they might not have +proceeded far, since they could have but little fear of our following +them in that crosscountry direction. + +I was beginning to repent of my recklessness. Already my bridle-rein +was, by a half-mechanical effort on my part, perceptibly becoming +tighter along the neck of my steed, when the chase that had lured me so +far, presented an aspect to seduce me still further. + +I had been observing for some time that the mustang, although without a +bridle in its mouth, carried one upon the pommel of its saddle. The +reins were hanging in a loose coil over the "horn." + +This half explained to me why the animal had been going across country +without a rider. Had it been bridled, I should have concluded that it +had left its owner upon the field of Cerro Gordo, or parted with him in +the hot pursuit succeeding that action. + +But a bridle suspended from the saddle-bow--with bit, curb, and +head-piece attached--forbade the conjecture; at the same time suggesting +another: that the mustang must have made its escape from some temporary +halting-place, where, like our own horses at Corral Falso, it had been +unbridled to "bait." + +It was not this conjecture that influenced me to continue the chase; but +the fact that the bridle-reins, suspended over the saddle-horn, had +begun to trail among the animal's feet, and promised, ere long, to prove +an impediment to its flight. It was my observation of this that lured +me on. + +Chance, not prowess, was likely to give me the victory. But what +mattered it, so long as there would be no one to witness the event? + +My comrades would not know how I had effected the capture; and, instead +of returning to them empty-handed--crest-fallen with chagrin--I should +ride back in triumph; and so should Moro, the steel-grey mustang +following at his heels. + +Inspired by this pleasant anticipation, I once more struck the spur into +the flank of my brave steed, which needed not such prompting. It was +merely mechanical. Perhaps Moro knew as much, and forgave me for the +unnecessary infliction. + +Quite unnecessary, as it proved; for, at the very instant I was causing +it, the riderless mustang, just as I had been wishing and expecting, +became entangled in its trailing bridle, and rolled headlong upon the +grass. + +Before it could recover its legs, Moro was snorting by its side; and +Moro's rider, having forsaken his own steed, had looped the lazo around +its neck, and secured it as a captive. + +I was not left much time to congratulate myself on my good luck; for, in +truth, it was luck, and only that, to which I had been indebted for the +capture of the mustang. + +Having secured the animal, as I supposed to a certainty, I was +proceeding to re-insert its own bit between its teeth, in order the more +easily to lead it along with me on the return journey to Corral Falso. + +I was even full of self-gratulation--chuckling over the conquest I had +accomplished--anticipating one of those pleasant little triumphs one +feels on having performed a feat, however trifling, under the eyes of +one's everyday associates. + +I believed I should have nothing more to do than attach the captured +mustang to the ring of my saddle-tree, remount my own steed, and ride +back to the "false enclosure." + +The "cup" was at my lips; I had forgotten the "slip." + +Literally may I say the "slip," though the word may need explanation. + +I was returning towards my own steed, with the intention of once more +regaining my saddle, and riding back in the direction I had come, when a +swishing noise fell upon my ear, that caused the blood to curdle within +my veins, as if the sound so heard had been the summons of the last +trumpet. + +The wild cry that succeeded this sound added little to its terrors; for +I knew that one was but the prelude to the other. + +The first was to me a noise well known and easily identified. It was +the whistling of lazos projected through the air. The second was but +the triumphant cheer that accompanied their projection. + +I looked up in dismay, which instantly became despair. It was not +causeless. The air above me was a network of ropes, each with a running +noose at its end. + +I might not have observed their intricate coiling, nor perhaps did I at +the moment. I was not allowed much time for minute observation. Almost +in the same instant that the "swishing" sounded in my ears, I felt my +body encircled by closing cords; and the next moment I was jerked from +my feet, and flung with violence upon my back. + +Story 1, Chapter XX. + +A CUADRILLA OF SALTEADORES. + +Sudden as it was, and unexpected, there was no mystery in my capture. I +had fallen into the hands of Mexicans, and, of course, enemies. + +It was a party of horsemen, about forty in number--irregularly armed, +but all armed one way or another. They must have seen me as I advanced +up the long opening among the trees, though I had no idea that I had +been observed by human eye. + +Perhaps they had not seen me, but only received warning of my approach +by hearing the hoof-strokes of my horse; or they might have seen the +steed I was in pursuit of, before mine had made its appearance in the +avenue. + +At all events, they had been made aware of my coming in some way, and +had thrown themselves into an ambush on both sides of the path. + +Improbable as it might appear, I could not help fancying that the grey +mustang had been sent forth as a "stool pigeon," so well had the +creature succeeded in decoying me into their midst. + +I scrambled over the ground, and at length managed to recover my legs. +On looking up, I saw that I was surrounded; and felt, moreover, that, +although permitted to regain my feet, I was still tightly held in the +loops of numerous lazos, which encircled my neck, arms, waist, and +limbs. + +Any attempt to get away from such multifarious fastenings would have +been worse than idle, and could only result in my being plucked off my +feet again, and perhaps treated with greater rudeness than before. + +Knowing this, I surrendered without making the least movement or +resistance. + +It was a motley group in whose midst I stood: in this respect equalling +a party of Guy Fawkes mimers. No two were dressed exactly alike, though +there was a general similitude of costume among them, especially in the +particular articles of broad-brimmed hats, and wide-legged trowsers of +velveteen. + +Some of them had _serapes_ hanging scarf-like over their shoulders; but +all were armed with long knives (_machetes_), and lances; I could also +see short guns (_escopetas_) strapped along the sides of their saddles. + +"A _guerilla_," I muttered to myself, thinking I had fallen among a hand +of guerilleros. + +I was soon undeceived, and found I had not been so fortunate. The +ruffian countenances of my captors--as soon as I had time to scrutinise +them more closely--the coarse jests and ribald language passing between +them, along with some other professional peculiarities--told me that, +instead of a band of partisans, I was in the clutches of a _cuadrilla_ +of _salteadores_--true robbers of the road! + +My observation of the fact was not calculated to tranquillise my +spirits, but the contrary. As a general rule, the bandits of Mexico are +not bloodthirsty. If the purse be freely delivered up to them, they +have no object in ill-treating the person of their captives. It is only +when the latter show ill-humour, or attempt resistance, that their lives +are in danger. + +At that time, however, with the country in a state of active war--with a +hated enemy marching victorious along its roads--some of the outlawed +chiefs had become inspired with a sort of sham patriotism--in most +instances for the purpose of being left free to plunder, or else with +the design of obtaining pardon for past offences. Though occasionally +acting as guerilleros, and attacking the wagon trains of the American +army, their patriotism was of a very ambiguous order; and not +unfrequently were their own countrymen the victims of their despoiling +propensities. + +In one respect only did this patriotism display itself with partiality, +and that was in the ferocity with which they treated such American +prisoners as had the misfortune to fall into their hands. Horrible +mutilations were common--with all the vindictive modes of punishment +known to the _lex talionis_. + +I could easily believe, while regarding the ferocious faces around me, +that I was in great danger of some fearful fate: perhaps to be drawn and +quartered; perhaps burnt alive; perhaps--I knew not what--I could only +conjecture something terrible. + +After I had been pulled about for some minutes, and rudely abused by +several of the band, a man made his appearance in their midst, who +seemed to exert over the others some species of authority. The word +"capitan," pronounced by several as he came forward, told me that he was +the chief of the robbers; and his appearance entitled him to the +distinction. + +He was a man of large frame, and swarthy complexion--heavily bearded and +moustached. His dress was splendid in the extreme--being a full suit of +_ranchero_ costume, with all its ornamental trimming of gold lace, +bell-buttons, and needlework embroidery. + +The countenance of this man might have been handsome, but for an +expression of ferocity that pervaded it; and this was so marked as at +once to impress the beholder with the belief that it was the face of a +fiend rather than of a human being. + +A row of white teeth glistened under his coal-black moustache; and +these, as he came near the spot where I was held captive, were +displayed, in what was intended for a smile of gratification, but which +had all the characteristics of a grin. + +I supposed at first that this gratification simply proceeded from his +having made prisoner one of the enemies of his country. I had no idea +that it could by any possibility have especial reference to myself. + +One thing, however, struck me as peculiar. When the brigand spoke-- +addressing some words of direction to his subordinates--I fancied I had +heard his voice before! + +It fell on my ears without producing an agreeable impression. Rather +the contrary; but where I could have heard it, or why it should jar upon +my ear, were questions I could not answer. + +I had been a good deal among Mexicans of all classes--not only since the +capture of Vera Cruz, but long before the commencement of the campaign. +My knowledge of their language had naturally inducted me into a more +extensive acquaintance with our enemies than was the lot of most of my +comrades. For this reason it did not follow that the sound of a +familiar voice should lead to the instant recognition of the man who +uttered it--more especially as he from whom it proceeded was before my +eyes in _propria persona_--the chief of a band of salteadores. + +I scanned the robber's face with as much minuteness as circumstances +would permit. I could not perceive in it a single feature that I +remembered ever to have seen before. + +Perhaps I was mistaken about the voice? + +I listened to hear it again. Not long was I kept waiting. Once more it +was raised; not, as before, in words addressed to the _salteadores_ who +surrounded me, but to myself. + +"Ho, _cavallero_!" cried the robber chief, coming up to the spot where I +stood, and speaking in a tone of triumphant exultation; "you are welcome +among us--the more especially as I owe you a _revanche_ for the little +bit of service you did me last night. If I am not mistaken, it is to +your bullet I am indebted for this." + +As the brigand spoke, he threw back upon his shoulders the closed folds +of his _manga_, exposing his right arm to my view. I saw that it was +carried in a sling, and that the hand, protruding beyond the scarf that +supported it, was wrapped in cotton rags, that were stained with +blotches of dry blood! + +My memory needed no further refreshing. No wonder that the bandit's +voice had fallen upon my ears with a familiar sound. It was the same I +had heard only the night before, giving utterance to that hideous threat +of which I had hindered the fulfilment--the same that had cried, "Die, +Calros Vergara!" + +No additional explanation was required. I stood in the presence of +Ramon Rayas! + +"How feel you now?" continued the robber, in a taunting tone, not +unmingled with fierce bitterness. "Don Quixote of the modern time! +You, the protector of female innocence! Ha! ha! ha!" + +"Ah," cried he, turning round, and fixing his eyes upon my beautiful +horse--held captive, like myself, by half a score of lazos. "_Por +Dios_! You have the advantage of La Mancha's knight in your mount. A +steed fit for a salteador! He will suit me, as if he had been foaled on +purpose. + +"Ho there, Santucho!" he cried out to one of his band, who was holding +Moro by the bridle-rein. "Off with that stupid saddle, and replace it +with my own. I just wanted such a horse. Thank you, _Senor Americano_! +You can have mine in exchange; and you will be the more welcome to him +since you have only one more ride to make before making that great leap +that will launch you into the gulf of eternity! Ha! ha! ha!" + +To this series of taunting speeches I offered no reply. Words of mine +would have been idle as the murmurings of the wind. I knew it; and +withheld them. + +"Into your saddles, _leperos_!" cried the brigand, thus familiarly +addressing himself to his subordinates. "Bring your prisoner along with +you. Strap him tightly to the horse. Have a care he don't escape! If +he do you shall dearly rue your negligence, besides losing the pleasure +of a spectacle which I shall provide for you after we arrive at the +_Rinconada_." + +Rayas leaped upon the back of my own brave steed, which chafed, +discontented, under the clumsy caparison of the Mexican saddle; but more +so when mounted by one whom he seemed to recognise as the enemy of his +master. + +For myself I was roughly pitched upon the back of the brigand's horse; +and, after being securely tied, hands behind, and legs to the +stirrup-leathers, I was conducted from the ground, a brace of brigands +riding, one on either side, and guarding me with a vigilance that +forbade me to indulge in the slightest hope of escape. + +Story 1, Chapter XXI. + +ROBBERS EN ROUTE. + +At a short distance from the spot where I had been lazoed, the road +taken by the robbers debouched from the forest, and entered the +_chapparal_. + +No longer under the gloomy shadow of the great trees, I had a better +view of the band, and could see that they were genuine _salteadores_. + +Indeed, I had not doubted it from the first--at least, not after +discovering who was their leader. The wounded Jarocho had told me that +most of the guerillos commanded by Rayas, were no better than brigands; +and that such honest fellows as himself, who had been forced to join it, +would all return to their homes, after the breaking up of the Mexican +army by the defeat of Cerro Gordo. + +What I now saw was no longer Rayas' _guerillas_, but a remnant of it--or +rather the individuals of that organisation, who had been his bandit +associates before the breaking out of the war. + +There were in all between twenty and thirty of these patriotic brigands; +and from the opportunity I now had of scanning the faces of such as were +near me, I can justly affirm that a more ferocious set of ruffians I +never beheld--to the full as picturesque, and evidently as pitiless, as +their Italian brethren of the Abruzzi. + +On their march they observed a sort of rude order--riding two and two-- +though this formation was forced upon them by the necessity of the +narrow path, rather than from any control of their leader. + +Where the road at intervals ran through openings, the ranks were broken +at will; and the troop would get clumped together, to string out again +on re-entering the chapparal path. + +For myself, I was guarded by a brace of morose wretches, as I have said, +one riding on each side of me; and both armed with long naked blades; +which, had I shown the slightest sign of attempting to escape, would +have been thrust into me without either reluctance or remorse. + +But there was no chance even to make the attempt. I was strapped to the +stirrups, with my hands firmly bound behind my back; and lest the steed, +on which they had mounted me, should stray from the track, the lazo of +one of my keepers was passed through the bitt-ring of the bridle, and +then attached to the tree of the robber's own saddle. + +In this manner was our march conducted--the route being towards Orizava. +There was no mistaking the direction: for the snow-capped summit of the +great "Citlapetel" was right before our faces--piercing up into a sky of +cloudless azure. + +From the top of a ridge which we crossed, shortly after coming out of +the timber, I discovered that we were yet at no great distance from +Cerro Gordo itself; so near, that on glancing back--for we were now +riding away from it--I could see the American flag upon "El Telegrafo," +and could even distinguish the stars and stripes! + +My chase after the riderless horse had carried me several miles from +Corral Falso; but I had been all the while riding back in the direction +of the battle-field--in a line nearly parallel to the main road, over +which my troop had been travelling. It was only on re-entering the +timber that the chase had conducted me in a different direction-- +southward, towards Orizava. + +I could now understand how I had fallen into the hands of Rayas and his +robbers. + +After the battle, these worthies had lingered in the neighbourhood of +the field--for what purpose I knew not then--plunder, I supposed--and +this was, no doubt, the explanation, so far as most of them were +concerned. Their chief, however, had a different object; one which, ere +long, I was enabled to comprehend. + +The character of the country around Cerro Gordo--a labyrinth of _canons_ +and _barrancos_--covered with a thick growth of tangled chapparal, +rendered their remaining near the field of their defeat an easy matter-- +unattended with danger. They knew the pursuit had passed up the main +road to Jalapa; and there was not the remotest chance of their being +followed across country. + +They had accomplished whatever purpose had kept them near the field; and +they were now _en route_ for some more distant scene of action. + +I had been actually _riding after them_--on that headlong chase which +carried me into the midst of their improvised ambuscade! + +As a prisoner, my position lay in the rear--only one or two files of the +cuadrilla riding behind me. + +I could see Rayas in front, at the head of his band. + +I wondered he did not hang back for the purpose of taunting me with his +triumphant speeches. I could only account for his not doing so, by the +supposition that he was a man of patience, and that my hour of torture +had not arrived. + +That I should have to suffer some fearful indignity, in all likelihood, +and the loss of my life, I felt certain. What had occurred between +myself and the brigand chief, had established a relationship that must +end in the ruin of one or the other; and it was clear that I was to be +the victim. It needed not that hideous grin with which he had regarded +me, on becoming his prisoner--nor the jovial style in which he talked of +a _revanche_,--to assure me that for this mild term I might substitute +the phrase--"Deadly revenge!" + +He had promised his associates a spectacle on their arrival at La +Rinconada. I had no doubt, that in that spectacle I was myself to be +the prominent figure; or at all events the chief _sufferer_. + +I had been riding for some time, absorbed in meditations, that I need +not pronounce painful. Circumstanced as I was, they could not be +pleasant. It was only in an occasional and involuntary glance, that my +eyes had rested upon Rayas, at the head of his cuadrilla. + +I had not noticed a peculiar personage riding by his side. This arose +from the fact, that the individual in question was of shorter stature +than the other _salteadores_, by nearly the head, and therefore hidden +from my view by the bodies of the brigands habitually interposed between +us. + +After cresting the ridge above mentioned, and commencing the descent on +its opposite side, I could command a better view of those in front; and +then it was that the individual, riding alongside of Rayas, attracted my +attention. Not only attracted it, but fixed it, to the exclusion of +every other thought--even the reflections I had been hitherto indulging +in, upon my own unfortunate situation. + +At the first glance I had mistaken the companion of the robber chief for +a man, or a boy closely approximating to manhood. There was a man's hat +upon the head--the usual low-crowned, broad-brimmed _sombrero_. +Moreover, the style of equitation was that of a man--a leg on each side +of the saddle. + +It was only at the second glance that my gaze became fixed--only after +perceiving, by the long plaits of hair hanging down to the croup of the +saddle--along with some peculiarities of shape and costume--that the +companion of the robber chief was a _woman_! + +There was nothing in the discovery to cause me surprise. Both the hat +on the head, and the mode--_a la Duchesse de Berri_--in which the woman +was mounted, were sights that could be seen any day upon the roads of +Mexico, or in the streets of its cities. Both were but the common +fashions of the country. + +What fixed my attention was the fact, that I fancied I knew the woman-- +or rather girl, as she appeared to be--that I had seen her before! + +It was only the back of the head and shoulders I was yet permitted to +see; but there was sufficient idiosyncracy about these, to beget within +me a vague idea of identification. + +I had hardly time to enter into the field of conjecture, when a slight +turn in the path brought the faces of the leading riders _en profile_ to +my view; among others, that of the girl. + +A shot through the heart could not have been more painful, or caused me +to start more abruptly, than the sight of that face. + +"Lola Vergara!" + +Story 1, Chapter XXII. + +DARK SUSPICIONS. + +I cannot describe the painful impression produced upon me, at seeing the +Jarocha in such strange companionship. + +At first I was inclined to disbelieve the evidence of my eyes, and to +think that I was being cheated by a resemblance. + +But as the path turned into a second zigzag, more abrupt than the first, +the profile became a quarter-face portrait; and there was no chance for +me to avoid the conviction that Lola Vergara was riding alongside Ramon +Rayas! + +A countenance like hers was not common. It was too beautiful to have +had a counterpart, even in that land of lovely graces. + +Besides, I now recognised the dress, the same worn by the Jarocha when I +had last seen her, some six hours before, with only the addition of the +sombrero, which had been donned, no doubt, as a protection against the +hot beams of a tropical sun. + +I had just time to assure myself of the identity of the girl; when the +road, having reached the bottom of the hill, turned straight again; and +from that time till the cuadrilla came to a halt, I could only catch +occasional glimpses, either of the robber captain, or of the fair +equestrian moving onward by his side. + +Though no longer privileged with a fair view either of Ramon Rayas or +Lola Vergara, the painful impression produced by their juxtaposition +continued to harrass my soul; and during the half hour that intervened +before arriving at the halting-place of the brigands, I gave myself up +to reflections and conjectures imbued with the extreme of bitterness. + +My first thought, put in the shape of a mental interrogatory, was, +whether the Jarocha was a consenting party to the companionship in which +I now saw her? + +The position, such as it was, looked more than suspicious. Her dread of +Rayas, loudly expressed on the preceding night, might, after all, have +been nothing more than hypocrisy; nay, it might have been real, and yet +it might have resulted in the association now before my eyes! + +I had seen enough of women to convince me, that terror is too often the +true weapon by which their affections may be assailed and conquered; and +that the possession of absolute power may turn their hate, if not into +love, at least into a feeling near akin to it. + +I remembered some expressions in reference to Rayas, that, on the night +before, had fallen from the lips of Lola Vergara. To me they had been +unintelligible at the time, though producing a vague sense of doubt, +about the honesty as to her declared antipathy to the man. + +These were now recalled, with, as I fancied, a clearer comprehension of +their import. + +In fine, why should she be there, riding by his side, voluntarily: for +there was no appearance of compulsion; but rather of _complaisance_. + +No! I should not say that. The glimpse I had had of her face did not +give me that idea. On the contrary, I saw, or fancied that I saw a pale +cheek, a downcast glance, and a sorrowful expression of countenance. + +I was not certain of this; I would have given much to have been assured +of it; and my intent gaze was directed to this end, when the +straightening of the road, and the interposition of the salteadores, cut +short my investigation. + +The fancy that she looked sad--in keeping with her name of Dolores--was +some consolation; which enabled me, with a certain tranquillity of mind, +to sustain that forced traverse through the chapparal in the +companionship of the salteadores. + +There was one circumstance that surprised while it pained me as well. +Why did Lola not look round? + +During all the time my eyes had been on her, she had not turned hers +towards the rear, nor even to one side or the other. This I thought +strange, whether her presence among the robbers was forced or voluntary. + +Was she aware of the capture which they had made--an officer of the +American army? Or could she be acquainted with the more particular +fact, as to who was the individual made prisoner? + +I could not think that she was cognisant of either circumstance; and yet +she had not looked back. If no other feeling, that of natural +curiosity, proverbially strong in her sex, would have prompted her to +turn her head. + +She had not done so. Surely, after what had passed between us on the +preceding night, she could not be indifferent to my forlorn condition-- +scarcely even to the uniform that distinguished me from my captors? + +Such conduct was not compatible with the character of woman, whether +Mexican or American. Lola Vergara could not have known of the capture +which the robbers had accomplished; she could not be aware of my +presence in the rear of the cuadrilla. + +There was consolation in my thinking so, slight as it may be deemed. It +would have been a grievous reflection to have believed her to be a +sharer in the fortunes of my captors;--to have known that she was a +participator of all that had transpired;--to imagine that she had even a +suspicion of who it was who was riding, fast bound to a horse, behind +her. + +I did not wrong her by the belief I felt convinced she was unconscious +of all--at least of the last circumstance. + +I was confirmed in this conviction by something that had occurred, as we +parted from the spot where I had been captured. A short halt had been +made by the robbers, during which they had been joined by a party that +had not been present at their ambuscade. In all likelihood, the Jarocha +had been one of this party, and might have been ignorant of what had +passed. + +This was probable enough; though for myself I had been at the time too +much engrossed with my misfortune to take heed to what was transpiring +around me. + +The explanation satisfied, at the same time that it pleased me. I could +give credence to no other. After what had passed on the preceding +night--my protection extended to her brother--my sympathy for herself-- +my profession of something more--her own apparent reciprocation of that +something--surely Lola Vergara could not be my enemy? + +In all I saw there was a mystery that needed elucidation. + +Ere long I obtained it. The cuadrilla came to a halt at a rancheria or +collection of huts, all of which appeared to be uninhabited--their +owners no doubt having fled at the approach of the robber band. + +It was the Rinconada alluded to by the robber chief. In the piazza of +the village the order was broken up; and the files in the rear closed in +upon the heads of the "column." + +By this change of position I was brought close to the side of the +Jarocha. + +Words can but ill express the pleasure I felt on perceiving that she was +strapped to her saddle--like myself, a prisoner; and the scream that +escaped her, as she recognised me, was, to my ears, sweeter than any +note that ever issued from the lips of Grisi or the "Swedish +Nightingale." + +We were not allowed any interchange of words--scarcely even that of a +glance. Before I could speak to her, the Jarocha was handed from her +horse, and conducted inside one of the _Jacales_--the one which appeared +to be the principal "hut" of the _rancheria_. + +Story 1, Chapter XXIII. + +A FIENDISH DESIGN. + +I was left but little time for reflection; but, short as it was, it +enabled me to comprehend the scheme of my captors--or rather that of +their chief. + +From the Piazza of La Rinconada, Citlapetel was in full view, with its +quick acclivity guiding the eye of the observer up to the azure canopy +of heaven. + +That line of pure virgin snow should have been suggestive of spotless +innocence. Alas! to me, at that moment, it was but the suggester of +thoughts of a far different character. + +On the slope of that majestic mountain, stood the town of Orizava, the +capital of the surrounding country. I knew--a knowledge all my own, and +not shared by my comrades in the American army--that the lame tyrant of +Mexico had fled towards Orizava, and was at that moment safe beyond +pursuit in this city of the mountains. + +It was not likely I should so soon have forgotten the contents of that +infamous epistle found on the _catre_ so lately occupied by the Mexican +commander-in-chief, nor the vile conditions therein promised. "_En buen +tiempo dormira ella en la tienda, y los brazos de vuestra Excellenza_." +Too truly did I remember them. + +Now, certainly, did I perceive the scheme that the salteador was in the +act of executing. Santa Anna should, by that time, be somewhere in the +neighbourhood of Orizava, if not in the town itself. Orizava was the +destination of Rayas and his robbers! + +It needed no further consideration, had there been time for such, either +to explain the past or forecast the future. The girl had been taken +prisoner on the road between Cerro Gordo and the village of El Plan-- +captured, perhaps, but a few moments after that parting I had fondly +deemed reluctant; ah! perhaps even through the delay caused by myself, +and which had separated her from her escort of Jarochos? It might be in +the midst of that escort, dismayed and scattered by the onslaught of the +salteadores. It might be that the unfortunate Calros--her brother-- + +My conjectures were cut short. The robber chief stood before me. His +air of savage exultation was easily interpreted. He had come to prepare +me for the spectacle which he had promised to his companions! + +I knew not what was to be its nature; nor do I know to this hour. It +was like one of those promised performances of the theatre--conspicuous +in the programme, but omitted in the action. It never came to pass. + +The brigand directed me to be unbound, and separated from the horse, an +order that was instantly executed by his brace of subordinates who had +been more especially guarding me. + +As soon as my feet were set free from the stirrup-leathers, I was +dragged out of the saddle, my limbs were fast lashed together, both at +the knees and ankles, and I was rudely cast upon the ground--where I +lay, helpless as a bale of merchandise. + +During all the time that this action was going forward, the robber chief +stood near me, grinning gleefully at my forlorn position, taunting me +with my impuissance, and applying to me every ugly epithet to be found +in the vocabulary of the Spano-Mexican tongue. + +His most favourite allusions were to the "putita" inside the hut, to +which he kept pointing, ironically entreating me to protect her; at the +same time telling me in plain and most disgusting terms, the fate that +was in store for her. + +He could not have devised a more excruciating mode of torment. No ill +he could have inflicted on my person could have been more painful than +this torturing of my soul. I loved the girl whose dishonour was thus +freely foreshadowed; and knowing the character of her captor, I could +have no doubt about the fulfilment of his atrocious promise. + +All the more was I pained, now that I had learnt how involuntary was the +Jarocha's presence among the brutal rabble that surrounded her; all the +more, that I fancied in that cry--which escaped her lips on recognising +me as her fellow-prisoner--an accent of interest not to be mistaken. + +The look with which she had regarded me was eloquent of the same +interest; its muteness only showing the intensity of her sorrowful +surprise. + +I could not help framing conjectures as to what was to be the spectacle, +of which I was to form the conspicuous figure. Its _denouement_ I could +only guess--death in some shape or other. Lola's fate I knew; and my +own--all but the mode of its accomplishment. Death in some dire +fashion, by some of those horrid devices so well known to the ruffians +who surrounded me, under the sanction of the _lex talionis_, at the time +in full practice throughout the land. + +Rayas had for the moment left me, and had gone inside the hut, where the +Jarocha was kept. + +The brace of bandits still stood over me. There was a peculiar grin +upon their faces--an expression that bespoke demoniac delight, as if +anticipating some scene that combined the comic with the cruel. + +I noted a similar expression upon the faces of their comrades, who had +gathered in groups in front of the jacale within which their chief had +for the moment disappeared. + +Not altogether disappeared. Through the interstices between the bamboos +which formed the walls, I could see as through the wicker of a cage. +Four figures could be counted inside. Three of them were moving about; +the fourth was stationary and seated. One of the moving figures was +Rayas himself, the other two were a brace of his subordinates, who had +conducted, or rather carried, the girl inside. It was her figure I saw +in the sitting position, or rather crouched and cowering as in fear. + +What did it mean? There was something to come off--something of which +the brigands had been already apprised--as I could tell by the infernal +glee with which they were congratulating one another. + +Evidently some fiendish spectacle was at hand; and it soon became +equally evident to me, that it was not I, but my fellow-captive, who was +to be its principal figure. + +Yes: clear as could be, the girl was destined to some atrocious +treatment--some infamous exhibition! + +I was painfully pondering in my mind what it was to be--shaping hideous +conjectures--when I saw Rayas wave his arm in the direction of the +motionless figure. + +It seemed a signal to his subordinates; who, in obedience to it, glided +up to the Jarocha, both at the same instant laying hands upon the girl. + +She sprang to her feet, and commenced what appeared to be a struggle of +resistance. Her cries at the same time came forth freely from the hut, +piercing my heart to its very core; while from the unfeeling wretches +outside, they only elicited peals of brutal laughter! + +As I could but faintly distinguish the movements of the men inside, I +was still uncertain as to the nature of the struggle going on between +them and the girl. They appeared to be disrobing her, or rather tearing +the clothes from her back! + +This was in reality their purpose, effected in a few minutes: for in +less time than I have taken to tell it, she was dragged outside the +door; and I saw that the only covering which concealed her person from +the lewd eyes that were gazing upon her, was a slight chemise of thin +cotton stuff, scarcely reaching to her knees. + +At the same instant a sort of truck bedstead, made of bamboos, was +brought forth from the hut by another brace of the brigands, who placed +it conspicuously in front of where I lay. + +Towards this the girl was now conducted. + +Merciful heavens! what could it mean? + +I could only divine the intention by the circumstances that preceded it. +These made it too clear for me not to comprehend the dread drama for +which the stage was being set. + +Rayas himself was to be the perpetrator. I saw him preparing for the +grave deed! + +I averted my eyes in disgust. I could not look either at the villain or +his victim. The sight of the latter might have melted a heart of +stone--any other than that of a brutal brigand. Her cries were of +themselves sufficient to fill my heart with the acme of extreme +bitterness. + +I lay upon my back, gazing upwards to heaven. Was there no help to come +from God? Had a thunderbolt from the sky struck me dead at that moment, +I should have deemed it mercy. I prayed for death! + +The faces of the two men who stood over me were lit up with smiles of +fiendish delight. They saw my agony, and began to mock me with ribald +words. + +They were the last that either of them lived to utter. The one most +forward in reviling, suddenly stopped in his speech, as if rebuked by +something that had struck him in the face. + +A stifled cry escaped from his lips; he tottered a moment on his legs, +and then fell heavily by my side! + +He had scarcely settled upon the ground before his _confrere_, dropping +in like fashion, fell doubled over his body. + +There was blood gushing out from the faces of both. I saw that both +were corpses! + +Story 1, Chapter XXIV. + +A SCATTERING OF SALTEADORES. + +I was less astonished than delighted by a phenomenon that might have +appeared mysterious. + +But there was no mystery about the matter. The explanation had already +reached me in the "crack, crack," quickly following each other, easily +distinguished as the detonation of a brace of rifles, whose reports I +had often heard before. + +I raised my head, and looked in the direction whence the shots had +proceeded. I could see no one; but the cloud of blue smoke fast +scattering upon the edge of the chapparal, scarcely twenty paces from +the spot, was sufficiently significant. I knew who had created that +sulphureous vapour. + +A wild cry arose among the terror-stricken brigands, who stood +transfixed to the spot, as if uncertain how to act. + +It was not until the "crack-crack" had been repeated, and two more of +them went sprawling upon the grass, that the whole of the band put +themselves fairly in motion, each running towards the horse that stood +nearest him. + +Their consternation was scarcely greater, when a loud "hurrah" was heard +outside the skirts of the _rancheria_; and the heavy hoof-strokes of a +troop of cavalry could be distinguished, approaching at full gallop +along the road. + +Their chief was the only one among the robbers who did not seem to have +lost all presence of mind. + +Alas! no. It was now displayed with fiendish effect. + +On perceiving the surprise, so little expected by him in such a place, +he had glided straight towards the Jarocha. Flinging his arms around +the girl, he lifted her from the ground, and commenced carrying her +towards his horse. + +He was not even assisted by his subordinates--for each individual, +yielding to the true instinct of _sauve qui peut_, was seeking his own +safety. + +I saw that Rayas employed both his arms in this effort--having +disengaged the wounded one from its sling, before the surprise had taken +place. It was only his hand that was wounded, and the arm was still +sufficiently sound for his purpose. + +Despite the screams and resistance of the Jarocha, he succeeded in +placing her on the pommel of his saddle, and in springing behind her +into the seat. + +In another instant he was going at full gallop, his left hand directing +the reins, both arms encircling the semi-nude body of the Jarocha, whose +struggles to free herself were still further defeated, by the teeth of +her captor fast clutching the long tresses of her hair. + +It was a fearful crisis--the most painful I had yet experienced. + +The "rangers" were already entering the outskirts of the _rancheria_, on +its opposite side--their rifles were repeatedly ringing; and here and +there I could see a fugitive salteador dropping dead from his saddle. +But Rayas, with his victim, was still continuing his flight. No one +appeared to fire at _him_--for fear of injuring the girl--and this the +wretch seemed to know, as he rode exultingly away. + +Mounted as he was upon my own noble steed, I knew there would be no +chance of any of my comrades overtaking him; and this it was that was +driving me to distraction. + +"Fire at the horse!" cried several of the "rangers," who seemed to be +influenced by the thought, "Bring him down, and then--" + +There was a moment of silence. I listened for the shots. They came +not: the rifles of all had been discharged, and were empty. It was the +earnest action of re-loading them that had caused that momentary +interval of silence. + +Fortunately it was so, else, in recovering my sweetheart, I should have +lost the finest steed that ever carried rider. As it was, both were +restored to me. + +The silence gave me the opportunity I wanted, though only then did the +thought occur to me. + +With a wrench I raised my body half erect; and, concentrating all my +energies into the effort, I gave utterance to a cry that, if heard, I +knew that my steed would understand. + +He both heard and understood it: for before its echoes had ceased to +reverberate through the _rancheria_, the horse was seen to wheel +suddenly round, and come galloping back! + +In vain did Rayas strive to turn him to the track. He only succeeded in +checking him, when a struggle commenced--my voice against the spurs of +the robber. + +During the strife Rayas found full occupation in the management of Moro, +without thinking of the Jarocha. Even his teeth became disengaged from +the plaits of her hair; and, seeing a chance for safety, the young girl +made a desperate effort, and succeeded in getting clear of that +unwelcome embrace. + +In another instant she had reached the ground, and was seen running back +towards the rancheria. + +The robber cast a glance after her, that spoke unutterable +disappointment; but seeing that his own liberty was in danger, and +despairing of a conquest over the horse, he dropped the reins, sprang +out of the saddle, and shot like an arrow into the chapparal--at that +place an almost impervious thicket. + +Several shots were fired after him, and the thicket was entered in +search; but strange to say, no traces of the fugitive could be found. + +In all likelihood he had made his escape by capturing some of the horses +of his comrades--several of which were at the time straying riderless +through the chapparal. + +The rescue needed but slight explanation. On perceiving that I had +failed to return in due time to the halting-place at Corral Falso, my +men mounted their horses and rode forth in search of me. Guided by the +two trappers, Rube and Garey, they had no difficulty in following my +trail. + +On entering the forest-road, the numerous hoof-prints of the robbers' +horses had filled them with fears for my safety; and having reached the +place where I had been "lazoed," the experienced trappers easily +interpreted the "sign." + +From that point they had ridden at an increased rate of speed; and as +the robbers had no suspicion of being pursued, their slow march, with +the halt that succeeded it, had favoured the rangers in overtaking them. + +Rube and Garey, acting as scouts, had kept in the advance. + +On coming within sight of the rancheria, they had left their horses +behind, and had crept forward under cover of the thicket. + +It was the double detonation of their rifles that had first given the +surprise to the salteadores--at the same time, as had been preconcerted, +it acted as a signal to the rangers to charge forward into the place. + +The Jarocha's presence among the bandits has been already explained. My +conjecture was correct. On the way between Cerro Gordo and the village +of Rio del Plan, she had lingered behind the _cortege_ that accompanied +her wounded brother. At a turn on the road, some half-dozen of the +ruffians of Rayas' band had rushed out of an ambuscade and seized hold +of her. By stifling her cries, they had succeeded in conveying her off, +even without alarming the escort of Jarochos. + +All this chapter of strange incidents occurred within the short space of +twenty-four hours: for before a second sun had set, I was once more at +the head of my troop, _en route_ for Jalapa; while the beautiful +Jarocha, with her honour still intact, but her heart, as I hoped, +sweetly affected towards her preserver, was on her way, this time with a +safer escort, to her native _rancheria_. + +We did not part without a mutual promise to meet again. Need I say, +that the promise was kept. + +END OF THE GUERILLA CHIEF. + +Story 2, Chapter I. + +DESPARD, THE SPORTSMAN. + +A CITY OF DUELLISTS. + +Among the cities of America, New Orleans enjoys a special reputation. +The important position it holds as the key to the great valley of the +Mississippi, of whose commerce it is the natural _entrepot_ as well as +_decharge_--its late rapid growth and aggrandisement--all combine to +render the "Crescent City" one of the most interesting places in the +world, and by far the most interesting in the United States. + +A variety of other circumstances have contributed to invest New Orleans +with a peculiar character in the eyes of the American people. The +romantic history of its early settlement--the sub-tropical stamp of its +vegetation, and the truly tropical character of its climate--the +repeated changing of its early owners; the influx and commingling of the +most varied and opposite nationalities; and the _bizarrerie_ of manners +and customs resulting therefrom, could not otherwise than produce a +community of a peculiar kind. + +And such has been the result. Go where you will throughout the Atlantic +states, or even through the states of the West, you will find a certain +sentiment of interest attached to the name of the "Crescent City;" and +no one talks of it with indifference. The young Kentuckian, who has not +yet been "down the river," looks forward with pleasant anticipation to +the hour, when he may indulge in a visit to that place of infinite +luxury and pleasure--the Mecca of the Western world. + +The growth of New Orleans has been rapid, almost beyond parallel--that +is, dating from the day it became a republican city. Up to that time +its history is scarcely worth recording. + +Sixty years have witnessed its increase from a village of 10,000--of +little trade and less importance--to a grand commercial city, numbering +a population of 200,000 souls. And this in the teeth of a pestilential +epidemic, that annually robs it of its thousands of inhabitants. + +But for the drawback of climate, New Orleans would, ere this, have +rivalled New York; but it looks forward to a still grander future. Its +people believe it destined to become the metropolis of the world; and in +view of its peculiar position, there is no great presumption in the +prophecy. + +New Orleans is not looked upon as a provincial city--it never was one. +It is a true metropolis, and ever has been, from the time when it was +the head-quarters and commercial depot of the gulf pirates, to the +present hour. + +Its manners and customs are its own; its fashions are original, or, if +borrowed, it is from the Boulevards, not from Broadway. The latest +_coiffure_ of a Parisian belle, the cut of a coat, or the shape of a +hat, will make its appearance upon the streets of New Orleans, earlier +than on those of New York--notwithstanding the advantage which the +latter has in Atlantic steamers: and, what is more, the coat and hat of +the New Orleanois will be of better fabric, and costlier materials, than +that of the New Yorker. The Creole cares little for expense: he clothes +himself in the best--the finest linen that loom can produce; the finest +cloth that can be fabricated. Hats are worn costing twenty-five dollars +apiece; and the bills of a tailor of the Rue Royale would astonish even +a customer of Stultz. I have myself some recollection of a twelve +guinea coat, made me by one of these Transatlantic artists; but I +remember also that _it was a coat_. + +New Orleans, then, may fairly claim to be considered a metropolis; and, +among its many titles there is one which it enjoys _par excellence_, +that is, in being the head-quarters of the _duello_. In no other part +of America, nor haply in the world either, are there so many personal +encounters--nowhere is the sword so often drawn, or the pistol aimed, in +single combat, as among the fiery spirits of the "Crescent City." +Scarcely a week passes without an "affair;" and too often, through the +sombre forest of Pontchartrain, borne upon the still morning air, may be +heard the quick responsive detonations that betoken a hostile meeting-- +perhaps the last moments of some noble but misguided youth. + +I have said that nearly every week witnesses such a scene--I am writing +of the present. Were I to speak of the past, I should have to make a +slight alteration in my phraseology. Were I to use the phrase, "nearly +every day," it would not invalidate the truth of my assertion; and that +of a period not yet twenty years gone by. + +At that time a duel, or a street fight--one or the other--was a diurnal +occurrence: and the notoriety of either ended almost with the hour in +which it came off. + +It was difficult for a man of spirit to keep his hand clear of these +embroglios; and even elderly respectable men--men, married and with +grown-up families--were not exempted from duelling, but were expected to +turn out and fight, if but the slightest insult were offered them. + +Of course a stranger, ignorant of the customs of the place, and used to +a society where a little liberal "larking" was allowed, would there soon +be cured of his propensity for practical jokes. + +But even a sober-minded individual could not always steer himself so as +to escape an adventure. For myself, without being at all of a +pugnacious disposition, I came very nigh tumbling into an "affair" +within twenty-four hours after my first landing in New Orleans; and a +friend, who was my companion, actually _did_ take the field. + +The circumstance is scarcely worth relating--and, perhaps, it would be +better, both for my friend and myself if it were left untold. + +But there is a dramatic necessity in the revelation. The incident +introduced me to the principal characters of the little drama I have +essayed to set forth; and the circumstances of this introduction--odd +though they were--are required to elucidate the "situation." + +I love the sea, but hate sea-travelling. I never "go down to it in +ships" but with great reluctance, and from sheer necessity. My +fellow-voyager felt exactly as I did--both of us were alike weary of the +sea. What was our joy, then, when, after a voyage ranging nearly from +pole to equator--after being "cabined, cribbed, and confined" for a +period of three months--buffeted by billows, and broiled amid +long-continued calms--we beheld the promised land around the mouths of +the mighty Mississippi! + +The dove that escaped from the Ark was not more eager to set its claws +upon a branch, than we to plant our feet upon _terra firma_. + +The treeless waste did not terrify us. Swamp as it was, and is, we +should have preferred landing in its midst to staying longer aboard, had +a boat been at our service. + +As there was none, we were compelled to endure the tedious up-stream +navigation of one hundred miles, before our eyes finally rested upon the +shining cupola of the Saint Charles. + +Then we could endure the ship no longer; and our importunities having +produced their effects upon the kindly old skipper, two stout tars were +ordered into the gig, and myself and companion were rapidly "shot" upon +the bank. + +It is not easy to describe the pleasurable sensations one has at such a +moment; but if you can fancy how a bird might feel on escaping from its +cage, you may have a very good idea of how we felt on getting clear of +our ship. + +We were still several miles below New Orleans; but a wide road wended in +the direction of the city, running along the crest of a great +embankment, known as the "Levee," and taking this road for our guide, we +started forward towards the town. + +Story 2, Chapter II. + +SCENE IN A DRINKING SALOON. + +We passed plantations of sugar-cane, and admired the houses in which +their owners dwelt--handsome villas, embowered amid orange groves, and +shaded with Persian lilacs and magnolias. + +We might have entertained the desire to enter one or other of these +luxuriant retreats, but, under the circumstances, there was neither hope +nor prospect, and we continued on. + +As we advanced up the road, other houses were encountered--some of a +less inhospitable character. These were _cabarets_ and _cafes_, that, +with their coloured bottles and sparkling glasses, their open fronts and +cool shaded corridors, were too tempting to be passed. + +There was a sweetness about these novel potations of "claret sangarees" +and "juleps," fragrant with the smell of mint and pines--an attractive +aroma--that could not be repelled, especially by one escaping from the +stench of raw rum and ship's bilge water. + +Neither my companion nor I had the strength to resist their seductive +influence; and, giving way to it, we called at more than one _cabaret_, +and tasted of more than one strange mixture. In fine, we became merry. + +The sun was already low when we landed; and before we had entered the +suburbs of the city, his disc had disappeared behind the dark belt of +cypress forest that bounds the western horizon. + +The street lamps were alight, glimmering but dimly, and at long +intervals from each other; but a little afterwards a light glistened in +our eyes more brilliant and attractive. + +Through a large open folding-door was disclosed the interior of one of +those magnificent drinking "saloons," for which the "Crescent City" is +so celebrated. The sheen of a thousand sparkling objects--of glasses, +bottles, and mirrors ranged around the walls--produced an effect +gorgeous and dazzling. To our eyes it appeared the interior of an +enchanted palace--a cave of Aladdin. + +We were just in the mood to explore it; and, without further ado, we +stepped across the threshold; and approaching the "bar," over a +snow-white sanded floor, we demanded a brace of fresh juleps. + +What followed I do not pretend to detail, with any degree of exactness. +I have a confused remembrance of drinking in the midst of a crowd of +men--most of them bearded, and of foreign aspect. The language was that +of Babel, in which French predominated; and the varied costumes +betokened a miscellaneous convention of different trades and +professions. Numbers of them had the "cut" and air of sea-faring men-- +skippers of merchant vessels--while others were landsmen, traders, or +small planters; and not a few were richly and fashionably dressed as +gentlemen--real or counterfeit, I could not tell which. + +My companion--a jolly young Hibernian--like myself, just escaped from +the cloisters of _Alma Mater_, soon got _en rapport_ with these +strangers. Hospitable fellows they appeared; and in the twinkling of an +eye we were drinking and clinking glasses, as if we had fallen among a +batch of old friends or playmates! + +There was one individual who attracted my notice. This may have arisen +partly from the fact that he was more assiduous in his attentions to us +than any of the rest; but there was also something distinctive in the +style of the man. + +He was a young man, apparently about twenty years of age, but with all +the _ton_ and air of a person of thirty--a precocity to be attributed +partly to clime, and partly to the habitudes of New Orleans life. He +was of medium size; with regular features, well and sharply outlined; +his complexion was brunette, with an olive tinge; and his hair black, +luxuriant, and wavy. His moustaches were dark and well defined, +slightly curling at the tips. He was handsome, until you met the glance +of his eye. In that there was something repellent; though why, it would +be difficult to say. The expression was cold and animal. A slight scar +along the prominence of his cheek was noticeable; and might have been +received in an encounter with rapiers, or from the blade of a knife. + +This young man was elegantly attired. His dress consisted of a +claret-coloured dress-coat, of finest cloth, with gilt buttons, and +satin-lined skirts--a vest of spotless _Marseilles_--black +inexpressibles--white linen _bootees_--and a Paris hat. A shirt ruffled +with finest cambric, both at the bosom and sleeves, completed his +costume. + +To-day, and in the streets of London, this would appear the costume of a +snob. Not so there and then. The dress described, with slight +variations as to cut and colour, was the usual morning habit of a New +Orleans gentleman--that is, his winter habit. In summer, white linen, +or "nankeen" upon his body, and the costly "Panama" on his head. + +I have been particular in describing this young fellow, as I afterwards +ascertained that he was the type of a class which at that time abounded +in New Orleans--most of them of French or Spanish origin--the +descendants of the ruined planters of Haiti; or a later importation--the +sons of the refugees whom revolution had expelled from Mexico and South +America. + +Of these the "Crescent City" contained a legion--most of them being +without visible means--too lazy to work, too proud to beg--dashing +adventurers, who, in elegant attire, appeared around the tables of +"Craps" and "Kino;" in the grand hotels and exchanges; at the public +balls; and not unfrequently in the best private company--for, at this +time, the "society" of the "Crescent City" was far from being scrupulous +or exacting. So long as a gentleman's cloth and cambric were _en +regle_, no one speculated as to whether his tailor was contented, or his +_blanchisseuse_ had given him a discharge for her little account. + +The New Orleanois pride themselves on minding their own affairs; and +indeed there is some justice in their claim. Moreover, the role of the +meddler is not without danger among these people; and even the +half-proscribed adventurers of whom I have spoken, though not disdaining +to live by _cards_, were ever ready to exchange one with the man who +would cast the slightest slur upon their respectability. + +Of just such a "kidney" was the individual we had met; though, of +course, at that first interview, I was not aware of it. I was then +little skilled in reading character from the physiognomy, and yet I +remember that the glance of this young fellow, notwithstanding his +polite attentions, produced an unpleasant impression upon me; and some +instinct whispered to me that, despite his elegant attire and fine +bearing, our new acquaintance _was not exactly a gentleman_. + +My companion seemed more pleased with him than I was. I confess, +however, that he had drunk deeper, and was far less capable of forming a +judgment. As I turned away to converse with another of the strangers, I +noticed the two--the Hibernian and the Frenchman--standing close +together, champagne glasses in hand, and _hobnobbing_ in the most +fraternal manner. + +Ten minutes might have elapsed before I faced round again. When I did +so, it was in consequence of some loud words that were uttered behind +me, and in which I recognised the voice of my friend, speaking in an +angry and excited tone. The words were:-- + +"Yes, sir! it's gone--and, by Jaysus, _you_ took it!" + +"Pardon, Monsieur!" + +"Pardon, indeed!--you've got my watch--you've _stolen it_, sir!" + +Almost simultaneously with this unexpected accusation, I heard a loud, +fierce "_sacr-r-re_" from the Frenchman, followed instantly by a sharp +metallic click, as of a pistol being cocked; and as soon as I could get +my eyes fairly upon the disputing parties, I beheld a somewhat frightful +_tableau_. + +My friend was standing close to the bar, pointing with one hand to the +broken guard of his watch, which dangled loosely over the lapels of his +waistcoat. His face was towards me, and from his gestures, as well as +from the words he had uttered, I could see that some one had made free +with his chronometer, and that he believed the thief to be the _elegant_ +already described. + +The latter was between me and the Hibernian, and, as he stood facing his +accuser, I could as yet see only his back. + +But the suspicious "click" I had heard, caused me to step hastily to one +side; and this brought me in sight of the ugly weapon poised in the +fellow's hand, with its muzzle pointed directly at the head of my +fellow-voyager, who, seemingly taken by surprise, was making no effort +to get out of the way! + +All this had passed within a second of time. + +Impelled by a sort of instinct, I sprang forward and clutched the pistol +around the lock. + +Whether I saved the life of my friend by so doing, I cannot say; but the +shot was not delivered; and in the subsequent struggle between myself +and the stranger, for possession of the pistol, the cap was wrenched +off, and the weapon remained in my hands. + +Seeing it was harmless, I returned it to its owner, with a word of +caution to him not to be so ready in drawing such dangerous weapons in +the middle of a crowd. + +"_Sacre_!" shouted he, addressing himself more particularly to my +fellow-voyager; "you shall repent this insult--_sacr-r-re_!" + +"Insult, indeed!" stammered out the Hibernian--whom, as he would not +desire his real name to be known, I shall call Casey. "I repeat it, +then, my fine fellow! My watch is gone--it was taken from my fob here: +you see _this_, gentlemen?" and Casey exhibited to the crowd the +wrenched swivel. "It was he who did it: I repeat that he is the thief!" + +The Frenchman fairly foamed with rage at this fresh accusation; while, +by his gestures, he appeared as if desirous of recapping the pistol. + +I watched him closely, however, to prevent such a movement, as I knew +that Casey was in no condition to defend himself. + +At the same time I endeavoured, along with several others, to bring the +affair to an explanation, and, if possible, to a pacific termination. + +Story 2, Chapter III. + +A GENERAL SEARCH ALL ROUND. + +My first belief was that Casey was labouring under an erroneous +impression. That some one had robbed him of his watch was clear enough; +but there were several persons around him--some of them far more +suspicious-looking characters than the accused. + +Moreover, the elegant style of the man, and the indignant warmth he had +displayed, seemed, to some extent, to attest his innocence. + +My belief, then, was that Casey had pitched upon the wrong man; and I +appealed to him to withdraw the charge, and acknowledge his error. + +To my surprise he would do neither the one nor the other; and, +notwithstanding the half-maudlin state he was in, there was an +earnestness in his manner, and an unwavering pertinacity in his +accusation, that led me to think he was not acting upon mere suspicion, +but had _seen something_. + +The noise and confusion, however, for the time prevented any explanation +from being heard upon either side. + +A voice arose above the din, calling out for the doors to be closed. + +This was followed by a proposal that every one present should submit to +be searched. + +"Let there be a general search all round!" demanded several voices. + +I recognised the man who was foremost in this demand--it was the mate of +our own ship, who had dropped in along with several old sea-wolves like +himself--for the vessel had been warped up, and was now lying at an +adjacent wharf. + +"Yes," responded several voices; "a search, a search! let us see who is +the thief!" + +No one objected--no one could--for each person present had a personal +interest in the result; and, as no one was likely now to go out, the +shutting of the doors was ruled as unnecessary. + +Two men were immediately chosen as "searchers"--one of whom was our mate +himself--the other the keeper of the saloon; and, without loss of time, +the search proceeded. + +It was altogether an odd spectacle, to see the two inquisitors pass from +individual to individual--stopping before each one in turn, handling him +about the breast and back, and stripping him down the arms, legs, and +thighs, as if they were a brace of electro-biologists, putting the whole +company into a mesmeric slumber. + +There was a good deal of merriment, and now and then loud bursts of +laughter, as some character well known to the company interrupted the +silence with a _jeu d'esprit_. For all this, there was a certain +solemnity about the proceeding--a sort of painful anticipation that some +one would prove the criminal. + +During all this time the accused maintained a moody silence--addressing +only a short phrase or two to some of his own friends, who had clustered +around him. His look betokened confidence; and but for a side-whisper +which I had heard from Casey, I should certainly have continued under +the impression that the gentleman was innocent. This whisper, however, +staggered my faith: for it was a simple and earnest declaration that he, +Casey, had seen the watch in the fellow's hand. + +"Surely you must be mistaken--it might have been some other hand?" + +"Not a bit of it!--I noticed the ruffles as the watch disappeared under +them." + +"Remember, Casey, you're not very clear-sighted at this moment: think +what you've been taking--" + +"Bah! I'm not blind for all that; and I tell you, the loss of my twenty +guinea repeater has made me as sober as a judge, my boy. I hope, +however, it is not gone yet--we'll soon see." + +"You'll never see your watch again," said I. "The fellow hasn't got +it--I can tell by his looks." + +My conjecture proved correct. The young Frenchman was searched in +common with the others. He made no objection--he could make none--and, +to do the old sea-wolf justice, he performed his duty with elaborate +exactness. He was no lover of Creole dandyism; and I verily believe he +would have chuckled with delight, to have found the stolen property on +the person of the exquisite. + +It was not so to be, however: the watch was not there, and the Frenchman +smiled triumphantly at the termination of the search. + +Others were now examined, until all had had their turn. No watch! + +All present were declared innocent men--the watch was not in the room! + +This result had been prophesied long before, and I expected it myself. +It was easily explained. Beyond doubt Casey had lost his watch, by a +thief, and inside the saloon; but several persons had been observed to +go out about the time he discovered his loss, or rather at the moment +when he declared the accusation. One of these must have been the +thief--that was the verdict of the company. More likely one of them had +been the _receiver_. + +Casey was a little crest-fallen, and the regards of the company were not +favourable to him. This, however, only referred to the Creoles and +Frenchmen. The honest sea-faring fellows rather sympathised with him. +They saw he had sustained a loss; and they were well enough acquainted +with New Orleans life, to know that the man who did the deed was +probably still in the room. + +Casey obstinately clung to his original statement; but of course no +longer urged it publicly--only _sotto voce_ to our mate, and one or two +others, who, with myself, were counselling him to apologise. + +Our whispering conversation was interrupted by the approach of the young +Frenchman. There was a certain resolve in his look, that bespoke some +determination--evidently the affair was not over. + +As he drew near, way was made for him, and he stood confronting Casey. + +"Now, Monsieur, do you apologise?" + +Several cried "Yes," by way of urging Casey to an affirmative. + +"No," said he, firmly and emphatically--"never! I stand to what I said. +You took my watch--you _stole_ it." + +"Liar!" cried the once more infuriated Frenchman, and both at the same +instant sprang towards each other. + +Fortunately, neither was armed--except with the weapons which nature had +provided--and a short game of "fisticuffs"--in which Casey had decidedly +the advantage--served as a 'scape valve for the ebullition of their +anger. + +I might have dreaded the re-drawing of the pistol; but, during the whole +interval, the mate and I, to whom I had given a hint, had kept our eyes +upon the owner of it, and hindered him from rendering it available. + +The combatants were soon separated; and after that commenced the more +formal ceremony of the exchange of "cards." + +Casey gave his address, "Saint Charles Hotel"--whither we were bound, +and towards which we had been steering when "brought to" by the gleaming +lights of the _cafe_. + +The Frenchman's card was taken in return; and, after a parting glass +with the honest mate, and his two or three confreres, we sallied forth +from the saloon; traversed the long narrow streets of the First +Municipality, and a little before midnight we arrived at that +magnificent _caravanserai_ known as the Saint Charles Hotel. + +Story 2, Chapter IV. + +THE EXCHANGE OF CARDS. + + Monsieur Jacques Despard, + 9, _Rue Dauphin_. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Such was the little memento that met my eyes as I entered Casey's +sleeping apartment, at an early hour in the morning. It lay upon his +dressing-table--a sorry substitute for the "twenty guinea repeater" that +should have been found there. + +My friend was still in the land of dreams. I was loth to awake him to +the unpleasant reality which that tiny piece of pasteboard would +naturally suggest; for, besides being in itself a symbol of grave +import, it would be certain to recall to poor Casey the remembrance of +his loss, to whom, being no Croesus, it was a serious one. + +In reality he so regarded it; and, when awakened at length, and +conscious of what had transpired on the preceding night, he expressed +far more concern about the loss he had sustained, than about the +expected encounter. The latter he treated as a ridiculous joke-- +laughing at it as he pitched the card upon the floor. + +"Stay!" said he, picking it up, and carefully placing it in his +pocket-book. "It _might_ be the fellow's real name and address. If so, +it will enable me to find him again; and, by Jaysus, I'll have that +watch, or take the worth of it out of his hide. Hang it, man!--it's a +family piece--got our crest on it--has been in the family ever since +repeaters came into fashion. Yes, I'll take the worth of it out of his +hide! But that's not possible--the whole of his yellow skin isn't worth +that watch!" + +And so talked Casey, while he performed his toilet as coolly as if he +were dressing for a dinner party, instead of preparing himself for what +might prove a deadly encounter. + +Pistols we had decided it should be. Casey, expecting to be the +challenged party, would, of course, be entitled to the choice of +weapons. Had it been otherwise, my friend would have been in a bit of a +dilemma; for, as he assured me, he had never taken a fencing lesson in +his life; and it is notorious that the Creoles of New Orleans are +skilled in the use of the small-sword. Some friendly strangers, after +the exchange of cards on the preceding night, had made us aware of this +fact, at the same time warning us that Casey's intended antagonist, whom +they knew, was a noted swordsman. Swords, then, were not to be thought +of. + +Of course, as the party to be challenged, our duty was to stay at home +(at the Hotel) until we should hear from the challenger. For my part, I +did not anticipate there would be much delay; and I gave orders for a +hurried breakfast. + +"Faith! you may take your time about it," said Casey to the retiring +waiter. "There's no need to spoil the meal. Never fear--we'll eat our +breakfast without being interrupted." + +"Nonsense! the friend of Monsieur Despard will be here in ten minutes." + +"No--nor in ten hours nayther. You'll ate your dinner without seeing +either Misther Despard or his friend." + +"Why do you think so?" + +"Bah.--Is it a thief send a challenge to a gentleman? All blarney and +brag! I tell you the fellow's a thief--he has got my watch, bad luck to +him!--and he thinks the givin' of the card a ready way to get out of the +scrape: that's the maning of it. We'll never set eyes on him again, +barrin' we go after him." + +I was at first disposed to ridicule this logic; but, as time passed, I +began to think there was some truth in it. We waited for breakfast +being prepared, and then ate it in the most leisurely manner. As Casey +had predicted, no one interrupted us at the meal; no visitor was +announced--no card came in. I had already given rigorous orders to the +clerk of the Hotel to forward any application on the instant. + +The hour of ten arrived, but no communication from "Monsieur Jacques +Despard." + +"Perhaps he is hunting up a friend?" I suggested. "We must give him +time." + +Eleven o'clock. + +"Let's have a sherry cobbler!" proposed Casey; "we'll have plenty of +time to drink it." + +A couple of those magnificent "sherry cobblers," for which the Saint +Charles is world renowned, were immediately ordered up; and we passed +the better half of an hour with the straw between our lips. + +Twelve o'clock. Still no Despard--no friend--no challenge! + +"I told you so," said Casey, not triumphantly, but rather in a tone of +despondence. "This card's good for nothing," he continued, taking the +piece of pasteboard from his pocket, and holding it up before his eyes; +"a regular sham, I suspect, like the fellow himself--a false name and +address--you see it's in pencil? Ah, mother o' Moses! I'll never see +that watch again! Sure enough," continued he, after a pause, "the +name's in print--he's gone to the expense of having that engraved, or +somebody has for him, which is more likely.--No!--he won't come to +time." + +"We must remain at home till dinner. Perhaps they keep late hours +here." + +"Late or early, we won't see Misther Despard till we go after him; an' +by gorra!" cried Casey, striking the table in a most violent manner, +"that's what I mane to do. A man don't point a pistol at my head, +without giving me a chance to return the compliment; and I'm bound to +have another try for that watch." + +From Casey's earnest speech and manner, I saw that he was resolved; and +I knew enough of him to be aware that he was a man of strong resolution. +Whether a challenge came or not, he was determined that the affair +should not drop, till he had some kind of revenge upon Jacques Despard, +or, if no such person existed, upon the "swell" who had stolen his +repeater. + +It certainly appeared as if the card _was_ a sham: for the dinner hour +came, and no one had acknowledged it. + +We descended, and ate our dinner at the general _table d'hote_--such a +dinner as can be obtained only in the luxurious hostelrie of the Saint +Charles. + +We sat over our wine till eight o'clock; but although a few friends +joined us at the table, we heard nothing of a hostile visitor. Under +the influence of _Sillery_ and _Moet_, we for the time forgot the +unpleasant incidents of the preceding night. + +For my part, I should have been glad to have forgotten them altogether, +or at all events to have left the matter where it stood; and such was +the tenor of my counsels. But it proved of no avail: the fiery +Hibernian was determined, as he expressed it, to have his "whack" out: +he would either get back his watch or have a "pop" at the thief who +stole it. + +So resolved was he on carrying out his intention, that I saw it was idle +to oppose him. + +Certainly it was rather a singular affair; and now that a whole day had +passed without any communication from Monsieur Despard, I became more +than half convinced that Casey was right, and that the exquisite really +had committed the theft. It was his indignant repudiation of the charge +that had misled me; but Casey's constant and earnest asseveration--now +strengthened by the after circumstances of the false card, and the +failure to make an appearance--satisfied me that we had been in the +company of a sharper. + +With this conviction I retired for the night, Casey warning me that he +should be with me at an early hour in the morning, in order to devise +what measures should be taken. + +With regard to an early hour, he was too true to his promise. Before +six--long before I felt inclined to leave my comfortable bed--he was +with me. + +He apologised for disturbing me so early, on the score of his being +without a watch, and could not tell the time; but I could perceive that +the jest was a melancholy one. + +"What do you mean to do?" + +"Why, to find Master Ruffleshirt, to be sure." + +"Will you not give him an hour's grace? Perhaps he may send this +morning?" + +"No chance whatever." + +"It is possible he may have lost your card? Leave it alone till we have +had breakfast." + +"Lost my card? No. Besides, he might easily have got over that +difficulty. He knew we were on our way to this hotel. Don't all the +world come here? No; that isn't the fellow's excuse, and I shan't eat +till I know what is. So, rouse up, my boy! and come along." + +"But where are you going?" + +"Number noine, Rue Daw--daw--hang his scribble! Daw--phin, I believe." + +I arose, and dressed myself with as little delay as possible. + +Whilst making my toilette, Casey gave me a hurried sketch of how he +intended to proceed. It amounted to little more than a declaration of +his intention to make Monsieur Jacques Despard disgorge the stolen +property, or fight. In other words, Casey, believing himself to be in a +lawless land (and his experience to some extent seemed to justify the +belief), had determined upon taking the law into his own hands. + +I saw that he no longer contemplated a duel with his light-fingered +adversary. On the contrary, he talked only of "pitching into the +fellow," and "taking the worth of his watch out of him." The angry +feeling he exhibited convinced me that he meant what he said; and that +the moment he should set eyes on the Frenchman, there would be a "row." + +I saw that this would not do on any account, and for various reasons. +Monsieur Jacques Despard, if found at all, would, no doubt, be found to +have a fresh cap on the nipple of his pistol; and to be present at a +street fight, either as principal or backer, was not to my liking. I +had no ambition, either of catching a stray bullet, or of being locked +up in the New Orleans Calaboose; and by yielding to Casey's wish I +should be booked for one or the other. + +Before completing my toilet, therefore, it occurred to me to suggest a +slight change in Casey's programme--which was to the effect that he +should stay where he was, and leave it to me to call at the address upon +the card. If it should prove that Monsieur Despard lived there, there +would be no difficulty in finding him whenever we should want him. If +the contrary, my going alone would be no great waste of time; and we +could afterwards adopt such measures as were necessary to bring him to +terms. + +This advice appeared reasonable, and Casey consented to follow it, +charging me, as I left him, with the emphatic message-- + +"Tell the fellow if he don't challenge _me_, I'll challenge _him_, by +God!" + +In five minutes afterwards, I was on my way with the card between my +fingers, and walking rapidly towards the Rue Dauphin. + +Story 2, Chapter V. + +MONSIEUR LUIS DE HAUTEROCHE. + +Following the directions, which I had taken from the hotel-porter, I +kept down Saint Charles Street, and crossing the Canal, I entered the +Rue Royale into the French _quarter_ or "municipality." + +I was informed that by keeping along the Rue Royale for a half-mile or +so, I should find the Rue Dauphin leading out of it; and I had, +therefore, nothing more to do than to walk directly onward, and look out +for the names upon the corners of the streets. + +Though it was daylight, the lamps were still faintly glimmering, their +nightly allowance of oil not being quite exhausted. The shops and +warehouses were yet closed; though here and there might be seen a +cabaret or cafe, that had opened its trap-like doors to catch the early +birds--small traders on their way to the great vegetable market-- +cotton-rollers in sky-blue linen inexpressibles, with their shining +steel hooks laid jauntily along their hips; now and then a citizen-- +clerk or shopkeeper--hurrying along to his place of business. Only +those of very early habits were abroad. + +I had proceeded down the Rue Royale about a quarter of a mile, and was +beginning to look out for the lettering on the corners of the cross +streets, when my attention was drawn to an individual coming in the +opposite direction. Though he was still at a considerable distance, and +we were on different sides of the street, I fancied I recognised him. +Each moment brought us nearer to one another; and as I had kept my eyes +upon him from the first, I at length became satisfied of the identity of +Monsieur Jacques Despard. + +"A fortunate encounter," thought I. "It will save me the trouble of +searching for Number 9, Rue Dauphin." + +The dress was different: it was a blue coat instead of a claret, and the +ruffles were less conspicuously displayed; but the size, shape, and +countenance were the same--as also the hair, moustache, and complexion. +It must be my man. + +Crossing diagonally, I placed myself on the banquette to await the +gentleman's approach. My position would have hindered him from passing; +and the next moment he halted, and we stood face to face. + +"_Bon jour, Monsieur_!" I began. + +He made no answer, but stood with his eyes staring widely upon me, in +which the expression was simply that of innocent surprise. + +"Well counterfeited," thought I. + +"You are early abroad," I continued. "May I ask Monsieur, what business +has brought him into the streets at such an hour of the morning?" + +The thought had struck me that he might be on his way to the Saint +Charles, to make some inquiry; and I recalled my conjecture about his +having mislaid Casey's card. + +"What business, Monsieur, but that of my profession?" and as he made +this reply, his dark eye flashed with a kindling indignation--which, of +course, I regarded as counterfeit. + +"Oh!" said I, in a sneering tone, "it appears that you pursue your +profession at all hours. I thought the night was your favourite time. +I should have fancied that at this hour you would scarcely have found +victims." + +"Fool! Who are you? What are you talking of? What means this +rudeness?" + +"Pooh--pooh! Monsieur Despard; you are not going to get off in that +way. Your memory appears short. Perhaps this card will refresh it; or +do you repudiate that also?" + +"Card!--what card?" + +"Look there!--perhaps you will deny having given it?" + +"I know nothing of it, Monsieur; but you shall have _my card_; and for +this insult I demand yours in return." + +"It seems idle to make the exchange, after what has already passed." + +Curiosity, however, prompted me. I was desirous of ascertaining whether +his first address had been a false one, as Casey had suggested. Hastily +scratching the address of the hotel, I handed him my card, taking his in +return. To my astonishment I read:-- + + "_Luis De Hauteroche_, + _16, Rue Royale_." + +I should have been puzzled, but the solution was evident. The fellow +was no doubt well provided with cards--kept a varied "pack" of them, and +this was only another sham one. + +I was determined, however, that I should not lose sight of him till I +had fairly "treed" him. + +"Is this your _real_ address?" I inquired, with an incredulous +expression. + +"_Peste! Monsieur_, do you still continue your insults? But you shall +give me full satisfaction. It is my professional address. See for +yourself." + +And as he said this he pointed to the door of a house, only a few yards +from the spot where we were standing. + +Among other names painted upon the panel I read: + + "_Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche_, + _Avocat_." + +"I can be found here at all hours," said he, passing me and stepping +inside the doorway. "But you will not need to seek me, Monsieur. I +promise it, my friend shall call upon you without delay." + +The door closing behind him put an end to our "interview." + +For some seconds I stood in a kind of "quandary." I could not doubt but +that it was the same man whom we had met in the drinking saloon. The +dress was different--of a more sober cut, though equally elegant--but +this was nothing: it was a different hour, and that might account for +the change of garments. The _tout ensemble_ was the same--the features, +complexion, colour of hair, curl and all. + +And still I could not exactly identify the bearing of Monsieur Jacques +Despard with that of Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche. The evil expression +of eye which I had noticed formerly was not visible to-day; and +certainly the behaviour of the young man on the present occasion, had +been that of an innocent and insulted gentleman. + +Was it possible I could have made a mistake, and had, in transatlantic +phrase "waked up the wrong passenger?" + +I began to feel misgivings. There was a simple means of satisfying +myself--at least a probability of doing so. The Rue Dauphin could not +be far off, and might soon be reached. If it should prove that Monsieur +Despard lived at Number 9, the mystery would be at an end. + +I turned on my heel, and proceeded in the direction of the Rue Dauphin. + +Story 2, Chapter VI. + +MONSIEUR JACQUES DESPARD. + +A hundred yards brought me to the corner of this famous street, and +twenty more to the front of Number 9, a large crazy looking house, that +had the appearance of a common hotel, or cheap boarding-house. + +The door stood open, and I could see down a long dark hall. But there +was no knocker. A brass-handled bell appeared to be the substitute, +under which were the words--"_Tirez la sonette_." + +I climbed the ricketty steps and rang. A slatternly female--a mulatto-- +half asleep, came slippering along the hall; and, on reaching the door, +drawled out:--"_Que voulez vous, Mosheu_?" + +"Does Monsieur Despard live here?" + +"Moss'r Despard? _Oui--oui_." + +"Will you have the goodness to say that a gentleman wishes a word with +him?" + +The girl had not time to reply, before a side door was heard creaking +open, and a head and shoulders were protruded into the hall. They were +those of a man. + +Though the hair of the head was tossed and frowsy, and the shirt that +covered the shoulders looked as if it had passed through the "beggar's +mangle," I had no difficulty in recognising the wearer. It was Monsieur +Despard--Monsieur Despard _en deshabille_. + +The gentleman evidently regretted his imprudence, and would have +withdrawn himself from view. The shirt and shoulders had already +disappeared behind the screening of the lintel; but, before the head +could be backed in, I had stepped over the threshold and "nailed him" to +an interview. + +"Monsieur Despard, I believe?" was the interrogative style of my +salutation. + +"_Oui, M'sseu_. What is your business?" + +"Rather a strange question for you to put, Monsieur Despard. Perhaps +you do not remember me?" + +"Perfectly." + +"And what occurred at our first interview?" + +"Equally well--that you were accompanied by a drunken brute who +calumniated me." + +"It is not becoming to vilify a gentleman after he has given you his +card. Of course you intend to challenge him?" + +"Of course I intend nothing of the sort. _Parbleu! M'sseu_, I should +have a busy time of it, were I to notice the babble of every drunken +brawler. I can pardon the slang of sling drinkers." + +I had discovered by this time that Monsieur Despard spoke English as +fluently as he did French, and also that he was perfectly versed in the +slang epithets of our language. + +"Come, Monsieur," said I, "this grandeur will not screen you. It shall +be my duty to repeat your elegant phraseology to my friend, who I can +promise will not pardon _you_." + +"That don't signify." + +"If you are not disposed to _send_ a challenge, you will be compelled to +_receive_ one." + +"Oh! that is different. I shall be most happy to accept it." + +"It would save time if you give me the address of your second." + +"Time enough after I have received the challenge." + +"In two hours, then, I shall demand it." + +"_Tres bien, M'sseu_." + +And with a stiff bow the _caput_ of Monsieur Despard disappeared into +the dark doorway. + +Turning away, I descended the creaking steps, and walked back along the +Rue Dauphin. + +On reaching the corner of Rue Royale, I paused to reflect. I had ample +food for reflection--sufficient almost to bewilder me. Within ten +minutes I had succeeded in filling my hands with business enough to last +me for the whole of that day and a portion of the next. The object of +my halting, therefore, was that I might think over this business, and if +possible arrange it into some kind of a definite programme. + +An open cabaret close by offered an empty chair and a table. This +invited me to enter; and, seating myself inside, I called for some +claret and a cigar. These promised to lend a certain perspicuity to my +thoughts, that would enable me to set my proceedings in some order. + +My first thought was a feeling of regret at having promised Monsieur +Despard to call again. I knew that Casey would insist upon a meeting-- +all the more pertinaciously on hearing what had passed--and I was now +more than ever convinced of the absurdity of such a step. What had he +to gain by fighting with such a man? Certainly not his watch, and as +certainly there was no credit to be derived from such an encounter. +What I had just seen and heard, perfectly satisfied me that we were not +dealing with a gentleman. The appearance of Monsieur Despard in his +morning deshabille--his vulgar behaviour and language--the +_mise-en-scene_ in the midst of which I had found him--and above all the +nonchalant bravado with which he had treated Casey's serious charge +against him--convinced me that the charge was true; and that instead of +a gentleman we had to do with a _chevalier d'industrie_. + +What, then, could Casey gain in measuring weapons with a character of +this kind? Certainly nothing to his advantage. + +On the other hand he might lose in the encounter, and in all probability +he would. + +A very painful reflection entered my mind as I dwelt upon this. If the +fellow had designed it, he could not have exhibited more skill in +bringing circumstances about in his favour; and only now did it occur to +me the advantage we had given him. The positions of the parties had +become entirely reversed. His adversary now held the citadel: Casey was +to be the assailant. If the Frenchman intended to stand up--and under +the altered circumstances it was likely he would--I feared for the +result. He would have the right of choice; the rapier would +unquestionably be the weapon chosen; and from the inexorable laws of the +duello there would be no appeal. + +As these considerations ran hurriedly through my mind, I began to feel +sincerely anxious about the consequences; and blamed myself for +permitting my temper--a little frayed by the insulting language--to +betray me into, what I now regarded as, a manifest imprudence. "_Facile +decensus averni, sed revocare gradum_." + +There was no retreating from the step I had taken. Casey's antagonist +might be a gambler, a swindler, a suspected thief, but in New Orleans-- +more especially at the time of which I write--these titles would not rob +him of the right to demand the treatment of a gentleman--that is, if he +offered to fight as one. + +We had gone too far. I knew that we were so compromised that we must +carry the thing to an end. + +I had but one hope; and this was that Monsieur Despard might after all +prove a _bavard_, and show the white feather. + +I must confess, however, that this hope was a very faint one. If the +fellow had impressed me with an idea of his vulgarity, he had said or +done nothing that could lead me to question his courage. + +Up to this time, the tumult of my thoughts had hindered me from dwelling +upon my odd encounter with the young avocat. Since it had only happened +fifteen minutes before, of course, I had not forgotten it; and the +affair of my friend being, in my mind, now arranged, it became necessary +to attend to my own. + +So ludicrous was the whole _contretemps_, that I could scarcely restrain +laughter when I thought of it; but there was also a serious side to the +question, calculated to prevent any free ebullition of mirth. + +Already, perhaps, Monsieur De Hauteroche's messenger was on his way to +the Saint Charles Hotel; and, on arriving there, I might find that +besides having to play the easy _metier_ of second in a duel, I should +be called upon to enact the more serious _role_ of a "principal." + +_Might_ find! there was no _might_ in the matter. I was as certain of +it as if I already carried the challenge in my pocket. + +I could not help reflecting upon the very awkward dilemma, into which a +moment of evil indulgence had plunged both my friend and myself, and +upon the very threshold of new world life. It seemed that we were to be +initiated into its mysteries by a baptism of blood! + +I was less uneasy about my own affair. My chief source of regret was, +my having given pain and offence to a young gentleman, who appeared to +be one of delicate susceptibility. Certainly my strange behaviour must +have astonished him, as much as the after finding of his counterpart, +and the resemblance between them, astonished _me_. + +The likeness was really remarkable--though less than it would have been, +had Monsieur Despard been in full toilette, as I had first viewed him. +The scar upon his cheek, moreover, I now observed and remembered. Why +had I not thought of it before? + +With regard to my affair with Monsieur De Hauteroche, the course was +simple and clear: an unqualified apology. I only hesitated as to the +when and where to make it. + +Should I go on to the hotel and meet his second? That would be a more +ceremonious way of proceeding--the most _en regle_. + +But the apology would require an explanation--the embroglio was curious +and complicated--and the explanation could only be properly understood +by giving the details _viva voce_. + +I resolved, therefore, to waive all ceremony, and, trusting to the +generosity of my accidental enemy, to return to him _in propria +persona_. + +Quaffing off my claret; and flinging away the stump of my cigar, I +walked directly to Number 16, Rue Royale. + +To my gratification I found the young _avocat_ in his office; and I was +further satisfied by perceiving that I was in good time. No message had +yet been sent to the Saint Charles--though I had no doubt that the +military-looking gentleman whom I met in the office was upon the eve of +such an errand. My appearance must have been as little expected as that +of the "man in the moon." + +I shall not trouble the reader by detailing the apology. The +explanation is known already. Suffice it to say, that when Monsieur De +Hauteroche heard it, he not only acted in the true spirit of a +gentleman; but, from an enemy, became transformed into a friend. +Perceiving that I was a stranger, he generously invited me to renew my +visit; and, with a hearty laugh at the _outre_ style of our +introduction, we parted. + +Casey's more serious affair was still upon my mind; and I hurried home +to the hotel. + +As I expected, Casey _would_ send the challenge; and, as I almost +confidently anticipated, the other _accepted_ it. It ended in a duel, +and I need hardly add that swords were the weapons. + +I refrain from giving a description of this duel, which differed only +from about a million of others--minutely described by romance writers-- +in being one of the very shortest of combats. At the very first passage +Casey received (and I esteemed it very fortunate that he did so) his +adversary's sword through the muscles of his right arm--completely +disabling him. That was all the satisfaction he ever got for the loss +of his repeater! + +Of course this rude thrust ended the combat; and Monsieur Jacques +Despard marched off the ground without a scratch upon his person or a +blemish on his name. + +Casey, however, still asserted--though, of course, not publicly--"that +the fellow took the watch;" and I afterwards found good reason to +believe he _did_ take it. + +Story 2, Chapter VII. + +HOSPITABLE FRIENDS. + +Casey's views were commercial, and New Orleans was not the place where a +display of spirit would be likely to damage his prospects. It appeared +rather to have an opposite effect; for, before his arm was well out of +the sling, I had the gratification to learn that he had received an +appointment in one of the large cotton commission houses--a calling +sufficiently suited to his temperament. + +My own object in visiting the Western World was less definite. I was of +that age when travel is attractive--young enough to afford a few years +of _far niente_ before entering upon the more serious pursuits of life. +In short, I had no object beyond idleness and sight-seeing; and in +either way, a month or two may be passed in New Orleans without much +danger of suffering from _ennui_. + +My stay in the "Crescent City" extended to a period of full three +months. A pleasant hospitality induced me to prolong it beyond what I +had originally intended: and the dispenser of this hospitality was no +other than Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche. + +Notwithstanding the _bizarrerie_ of its beginning, our acquaintance soon +grew into friendship; for the southern heart is of free and quick +expansion, as the flowers of its clime, and its affection as rapidly +ripens. There the friendship of a single month is often as strong--ay, +and as lasting too--as that which results from years of intercourse +under the cold ceremonies of old world life. + +In a month De Hauteroche and I were bosom friends; and scarcely a day +passed that we did not see each other, scarcely three that we were not +companions in some boating or hunting excursion--some _fete champetre_ +among his Creole acquaintances, the hospitable planters of the +"coast,"--at the _bal-masque_, or in the boxes of the "Theatre +Francais." + +In the morning hours I often visited him at his place of business--for +business he did not altogether neglect--in the Rue Royale; but more +frequently in the evening at his private residence--the pretty little +"cabane," as he called it, with its glass door windows and vine-loaded +verandahs, in the adjoining street of the Rue Bourgogne. + +This charming spot had a peculiar attraction for me. Was it the company +of De Hauteroche himself or that of Adele, his fair sister, that drew me +so often thither? It must have been one or the other--for excepting the +dark-skinned domestics, the two were the only inmates of the house. I +relished much the conversation of my young Creole friend--perhaps still +more, the music which his sister understood how to produce upon her harp +and guitar. Especially did the notes of the harp vibrate pleasantly +upon my ear; and the picture of a fair maiden seated in front of that +noble stringed instrument, soon impressed itself on my spirit, whether +awake or dreaming. Adele became the vision of my dreams. + +Without designing it, I soon became acquainted with the family history +of my new friends. It was but the natural consequence of the +confidential intercourse that had sprung up between us. + +They were the orphan children of an officer of the Napoleonic army--an +_ancien-colonel_ of artillery--who, after the defeat of Waterloo, +surrendered up his sword and sought an asylum in the Far West. He was +but one of many, who, at that time, deprived of the patronage of their +great leader, became _emigres_ by a sort of voluntary exile, finding in +the French settlements of the New World--Louisiana among the rest--a +kindred and congenial home. + +In the case of Hauteroche, however, the habits of the military man had +not fitted him either for a commercial life or that of a planter. His +affairs had not prospered--and at his death, which had occurred but the +year before--he had left his children little other inheritance than that +of an excellent education and a spotless name. + +Far otherwise had it been with a comrade who accompanied him in his +exile--a brother officer of his regiment and a devoted bosom friend. +The latter preferring the cooler climate of Saint Louis, had gone up the +river and settled there. + +He was a Norman, and his young wife had accompanied him. With the +stauncher qualities of this race, he had devoted himself to commercial +pursuits; and his perseverance was rewarded by the acquirement of an +ample fortune--which, with his wife--also of Norman family--and an only +daughter, he was now enjoying in opulent retirement. + +The almost fraternal friendship of the two ex-officers was not +extinguished by their altered mode of life; but, on the contrary, it +continued as warm as ever during the period of their residence in the +New World. Annually the "crate" of oranges from the south was sent up +to Saint Louis, and as often was the barrel of apples or walnuts--the +produce of the more temperate clime--despatched in the opposite +direction--a pleasant interchange of presents effected by the medium of +the mighty Mississippi. + +A personal intercourse, too, was at intervals renewed. Every two or +three years the old colonel had indulged himself with a ramble on the +prairies which lie contiguous to the settlements of Saint Louis, while +his brother officer, at like intervals, reciprocated the visit by a trip +to the great southern metropolis, thus in a very convenient manner +combining the opportunities of business and pleasure. + +Under these circumstances it was natural that the families of De +Hauteroche and Dardonville should be affectionately attached to each +other, and such was in reality the case. I was constantly hearing of +the latter--of the goodness of Madame Dardonville--of the beauty of +Olympe. + +It was nearly three years since either De Hauteroche or his sister had +seen their Saint Louis friends. Olympe, as was alleged, was then but a +child; but the fervour with which the young avocat descanted upon her +merits, led me to suspect that in his eyes at least, she had reached a +very interesting period of her childhood. Now and then the merry +badinage of his sister on this point, bringing the colour to his cheeks, +confirmed me in the suspicion. + +My new acquaintances had admitted me as a link into the chain of their +happy circle; and for three months I enjoyed, almost without +interruption, its pleasant hospitality. + +It became a spell that was hard to break; and when the hour of +leave-taking arrived, I looked upon it as a painful necessity--though my +absence did not promise to be a prolonged one. + +The necessity was one of sufficient urgency. A July sun was glaring +from the sky, and the yellow spectre had entered the Crescent City, upon +its annual visit of devastation. + +Already had it begun its ghastly work, and here and there presented +itself in horrid mien. In those Faubourgs where dwelt the less opulent +of the population, I observed traces of its presence; that symbol of +terrible significance--the red cross upon the closed door--telling too +plainly that the destroyer had been there. + +It would have been madness for me to have remained amidst a pestilence, +from which it was so easy to escape. Twenty hours upon a fast boat, and +I should be clear of the danger: and among the up-river towns I might +make choice of an asylum. + +Four large cities--Pittsburg, Louisville, Cincinatti, and Saint Louis-- +lay beyond the latitude of the epidemic: all easy of access. In any of +these I might find a luxurious home; but I longed to look upon those +boundless fields of green, for years the idol of my youthful fancy; and +I knew that Saint Louis was the gate that guided to them. Thither, +then, was I bound. + +With regret I parted from my Creole friends. They had no need to fly or +fear the scourge. Acclimatised in the middle of that vast _marais_, its +malaria had for them neither terror nor danger. Immunity from both was +their birthright, and New Orleans was their home throughout the year: +though during the months of intolerable heat and utter stagnation of +business, it was their habit to reside in one of the numerous summer +retreats found upon the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. + +I was in hopes they would have accompanied me to Saint Louis, and I +endeavoured to induce them to do so. + +Luis seemed desirous, and yet declined! I knew not the delicate reason +that influenced him to this self-denial. + +I promised to return with the first frost; for this usually kills +"Yellow Jack." + +"Ah! you will not be here so soon?" said Adele, in a tone that pretended +to be pensive. "You will like Saint Louis too well to leave it. +Perhaps when you have seen Olympe--" + +"And what of Olympe?" + +"She is beautiful--she is rich--" + +"Those are qualities that more concern your brother; and if I should +make love to Olympe, it will only be as his proxy." + +"Ha! ha! a perilous prospect for poor Luis!" + +"Oh, no! Luis need fear no rival; but, jesting apart, I should be glad +to enter into a little covenant with him." + +"A covenant?" + +"Yes--the terms of which would be, that in Saint Louis I should use all +my interest in his favour, while he should here reciprocate, by +employing his in mine." + +"In what quarter, Monsieur?" + +"Here, _at home_." + +Adele's dark brown eyes rolled upon me a moment, as if in innocent +astonishment; and then, suddenly changing their expression, they danced +and sparkled to a peal of merry laughter, which ended in the +words:--"_Au revoir! la premiere gelee, adieu! adieu_!" Luis was +outside, waiting to accompany me to the boat; and, returning the adieu +somewhat confusedly, I hurried up the steps of the verandah, and joined +him. + +In another hour I was upon the broad bosom of the "Father of Waters," +breasting his mighty current towards its far distant source. + +Story 2, Chapter VIII. + +THE VILLA DARDONVILLE. + +Soon after my arrival in Saint Louis, I called upon the Dardonvilles, +and presented my letter of introduction. It was a sealed document, and +I knew not the nature of its contents; but from the effect produced I +must have been the bearer of strong credentials. It placed me at once +on a footing of intimacy with the friends of my friends. + +The family did not reside in town, but at the distance of a mile or so +from it. Their villa stood upon a high bluff of the river, commanding a +view of the broad noble stream, and beyond the wooded lowlands of +Illinois, stretching like a sea of bluish green to the far eastern +horizon. + +Nothing could exceed the attractions of this transatlantic home; and the +many visitors whom I met there, proved that they were appreciated. +Dardonville, now rich, had retired from mercantile life, and offered a +profuse hospitality to his friends. Need I say that he had troops of +them? + +From the character of much of the company that I met there, it was easy +to see what was the chief object of attraction. It was not the wines, +his luxurious dinners, nor the joys of the _fete champetre_, that +brought to the villa Dardonville so many of the choice youth of the +neighbourhood--the sons of rich planters and merchants--the young +officers of the near military post. There was an influence far more +powerful than these--Olympe. + +Olympe was an heiress--a beauty--a belle. + +In truth she was a lovely creature--one of those blonde, golden-haired +beings, that appear to bring earth and heaven together, uniting in soft +sweet harmony the form of a woman with the spirit of an angel. + +She was still only a girl; but the precocity of that sunny clime +promised the early development of her perfect form, already +distinguished by charms of which she alone appeared unconscious. + +It would have been no difficult matter to have fallen in love with +Olympe--a far greater feat to have kept one's heart clear; and I rather +congratulated myself that mine was already occupied. Happy might be the +man who should be honoured by the first passionate throbbings of that +young virginal bosom; but wretched he who should _vainly_ aspire to that +honour. + +Perhaps it was my indifference that made me the favourite of Madame +Dardonville; or was there something in the letter of my Creole friend +that introduced me to her confidence? I knew not; but from the hour of +my arrival this good lady admitted me to the intimacy of a confidential +friendship. + +Through this confidence I soon became acquainted with the conjugal +destiny of the lovely Olympe--so far as that could be controlled by the +will of her parents. Louis De Hauteroche needed no backer in me. +Notwithstanding his numerous and richer rivals, there was not much to +fear, with such influence in his favour. Above all, the heart of Olympe +was still free. I rejoiced on learning this; for seeing this fair young +creature beset by so many suitors--too young to receive proposals--I +trembled for the fate of my friend. Madame Dardonville, however, was a +good "duenna;" and as for the retired merchant and _ancien lieutenant_, +he had no idea of any danger. It was his design, and had been for +years, that Olympe should marry Luis de Hauteroche, the son of his old +comrade and friend--the son of his early benefactor, as he declared to +me in the warmth of his amical enthusiasm, when we were one day +conversing on the subject. + +"Yes," exclaimed he, "De Hauteroche is poor--so was his father before +him; but De Hauteroche was a gentleman of noble race, Monsieur--a true +gentleman--and Luis must be--how could it be otherwise?" + +I assured him it was my own belief; and in answer to many a question put +both by Monsieur and Madame, I found the opportunity of making some +slight return for the many kindnesses of my Creole friend. Had I made +the covenant with Adele, I could not have been more zealous in carrying +out my share of its conditions. + +Such was the position I held in the Dardonville family previous to my +starting for the prairies. + +My excursion extended to the country of the "Crows," and occupied a +period of over three months. I also had the honour of an interview with +the redoubtable "Blackfeet" and the good fortune not to leave my scalp +in the hands of these Ishmaelites of the prairies. I do not here intend +to detail to my reader the incidents of my prairie life. They have no +bearing upon our narrative. I need only remark, that during my three +months' residence in the wilderness I had no communication whatever with +the civilised world, and never heard from any of the friends I had left +behind on either side of the Atlantic. On my return to Saint Louis, +therefore, I found many items of news awaiting me--one of the most +unexpected being the death of Monsieur Dardonville! Congestive fever, +after a short illness, had carried him off--not much beyond the prime of +life, and just when he had accomplished a position of opulent +independence. This is not an uncommon fate with men who seek rest and +retirement after a life of continued activity. + +My intimacy with the family suffered no interruption from this +melancholy occurrence, though of course its character was somewhat +changed. But Madame Dardonville was as friendly as ever--even more so I +fancied--and for the few weeks that I remained at Saint Louis, she +pressed me to accept almost a constant hospitality. General society was +no longer received at the villa: only those friends whose intimacy was +of long standing. + +That I had won Madame Dardonville's confidence, must be attributed to my +relations with Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche; and to the same, no doubt, +was I indebted for a singular secret that was entrusted to me on the eve +of my departure for New Orleans. It was to the effect that her husband +had made a most curious will--by which one half of his estate was left +to his widow, the other to his daughter. There was nothing remarkable +about this partition of the property, and it appeared to me to be +equitable enough: but it was in another point that the will was oddly +conditioned. This was, that in the event of Luis De Hauteroche offering +to marry Olympe, the latter should not be free to refuse, except under +forfeiture of the legacy left her by her father; and this was to become +the property of Luis De Hauteroche himself! In other words, the +daughter of Dardonville was left by legacy to the son of his old +friend--on such conditions as were likely to lead her to their +acceptance, while young De Hauteroche was comparatively free in his +choice. This I was assured by Madame Dardonville was the fruits of a +profound gratitude for some early favour, which her husband had received +at the hands of his former comrade De Hauteroche. + +I thought it a fortunate circumstance, that the parties interested in +this strange document were not likely to offer any opposition to its +terms and conditions. It would prove only an idle instrument, and +perhaps in a few months the writing contained in it would be no longer +of any significance. My friend Luis would inherit the property of the +rich merchant, and marry his daughter to boot. That would be the end of +it. + +I was curious to know if De Hauteroche had not yet heard of the fortune +thus strangely conditioned to him, and I asked the question. The reply +was "Not yet." There were reasons why he had not been told of it. But +there was no longer any object in keeping the secret from him, and the +Madame informed me that she had just written to him, enclosing a copy of +her husband's will, and giving him a full explanation of her views upon +the subject. + +This conversation occurred upon the day before my departure from Saint +Louis. Madame Dardonville had dispatched her letter by mail. She +expressed regret at not having entrusted it to me, but she was not +apprised of my intention of leaving so soon. Indeed it was hastily +taken. _La premier gelee_--the first frost had made its appearance, and +I remembered my promise. + +As I bade my adieus at the Villa Dardonville, the Madame also extracted +a promise from me--to the effect that I should not speak of what she had +told me--even to Luis himself. She was desirous that things should take +their natural course. + +Story 2, Chapter IX. + +THE POST-OFFICE. + +On my return to New Orleans, one of my earliest solicitudes was about my +European correspondence. There letters are not delivered by a carrier, +or were not at the time of which I speak. To obtain them, you must +either send to the Post-office, or go for them yourself; and expecting +some letters of importance, I chose the latter alternative. + +I reached the office at the hour when the Atlantic steamer's mail was +being delivered. As is usual at that time, there was a crowd around the +delivery-window; but by means of the simple contrivance of a gallery, or +_coulisse_, each applicant was enabled to take his turn. I fell into +rank, and awaited mine. + +As we moved gradually forward, I could hear the different individuals +asking for their letters--each giving his name, or sometimes both name +and address. + +Rarely was any question asked, beyond the demand for the amount of +postage--the applicant paying it through the delivery-window, receiving +the letter, and passing on to make room for the impatient gentleman in +his rear. + +I had arrived within some half-dozen files of the box, when I heard +pronounced a well-known name. + +"_Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche_." + +It was not very distinctly enunciated--in fact rather in a sort of +muttered tone--but I could not be mistaken as to the name. + +There was nothing to surprise me in this. The young lawyer was no doubt +there to receive his morning correspondence, like any other man of +business. I should not have given a thought to the circumstance, +farther than to congratulate myself on the good fortune of having +opportunely encountered my friend--since I was just on my way to call +upon him, at his office. I say, I should have given no farther thought +to the circumstance; but, just as the letter was being delivered, I +overheard the words "From Saint Louis," pronounced by the delivery +clerk. No doubt it was some matter relating to the amount of postage; +but the phrase had a singular effect on my ears, and at once called up a +train of ideas. + +"So," soliloquised I, "Monsieur Luis has received _the_ letter. The +mail must have come down by the same boat in which I travelled. Very +amusing! I should know the contents of that epistle better than he. +Ha! ha! ha! Perhaps the most important letter he ever received in his +life! The opening of that envelope will reveal to him a world of +happiness. Within, he will find the offer of a hand, a heart, and a +fortune. Lucky fellow! he is indeed to be envied!" + +I should have felt greatly inclined to have anticipated the post in its +office, and to have had the pleasure of imparting the delicious news +_viva voce_, but was restrained by remembering the injunctions of Madame +Dardonville. I was curious, however, to observe the effect which the +letter from Saint Louis would produce upon my friend; and I leaned over +to catch a glimpse of his face. It might not be he who had inquired for +the letter--some messenger from the office, perhaps,--and it now +occurred to me that it was not his voice I had heard. But I was unable +to determine the point. Three or four very stout tall fellows were in +front; and, twist myself as I might, I could not see over or around +them. "Never mind!" thought I, "I shall follow him directly to his +office, and then--" + +This reflection was interrupted by observing my friend, as I supposed, +emerge from the exit end of the slip, and pass into the street. I +thought it was he, and yet I was not quite certain. His back was +towards me; but as he walked out of the portico, he turned slightly, and +I caught a momentary glimpse of his side face. It was certainly like +him; but I was struck with a sudden impression that it was more like the +face of Monsieur Despard. This caused me to scrutinise the figure with +more eagerness; but some one stepped in front of me, and when I looked +again, he was gone out of sight. + +"It matters little," thought I, "as I am on my way to De Hauteroche's +office, where, at this hour, I shall, no doubt, find him." + +After waiting as patiently as possible for my "turn," I obtained it at +length; and, possessing myself of the expected letters, I sallied out +into the street. I did not go direct to the office of my friend, but +made a long detour--to give me time to glean the contents of my +correspondence. + +I arrived at length in the Rue Royale. As I had anticipated, De +Hauteroche was in his office, and received me with a genuine expression +of welcome. + +He was differently dressed from the man I had seen--in a coat altogether +unlike! There was hardly time to have changed it? It could not have +been he! + +"_Parbleu_! my friend, what's the matter?" he inquired, observing my +astonishment. "Do you perceive any change in me since we parted? I +hope none for the worse, eh?" + +"Answer me!" said I, without replying to his question. "How long have +you had that coat on?" + +"Ha! ha! what an eccentric question! ha! ha! ha! I fear, _mon ami_, you +have left more than your heart in Saint Louis, ha! ha! ha!" + +"Nay, please answer my question--how long?" + +"To-day, do you mean?" + +"Yes, to-day." + +"Oh! about an hour. It is my business coat. I put it on when I came +into the office, about an hour ago." + +"And you have not had it off since?" + +"No." + +"You have not been out of the office either?" + +"Not that I am aware off, _mon ami_; but pray why do you make these +inquiries?" + +"Simply because I fancied I saw you just now." + +"Where?" + +"At the Post-office." + +"Oh, no! I was not there. I never go. I always send for my letters; +it is so unpleasant, squeezing through the horrid crowd." + +"I certainly saw some one wonderfully like you; and now I am convinced +of what I had only suspected, that he whom I saw was that same +gentleman, to whom I am indebted for your acquaintance." + +"_Peste_!" exclaimed the young Creole, springing to his feet, and +assuming a serious countenance. "Likely enough it may be. _Mon Dieu_! +this is intolerable. Do you know, my friend, that I am frequently +mistaken for him, and he for me; and what is still worse, I have reason +to believe that the fellow has, on more than one occasion, personated +me. _Mere de Dieu_! it is not to be borne; and if I can only get proof +of it--I am even now about the affair--if I can only establish the +proofs, I shall effectually put a stop to it. He shall find I can +handle the small-sword a little more skilfully than your unfortunate +friend. _Mon Dieu_! it is infamous: a common _spoilsman_--a swindler-- +even worse, I have heard; and to think how my character suffers! Why no +later than yesterday, would you believe it, I was joked by one of my +oldest and most respected friends, for having figured at a low quadroon +ball in the Faubourg Treme! It is positively vexatious!" + +Of course I assented to this denunciation, and to the necessity of some +inquiry being made into the goings on of Monsieur Jacques Despard. +During my winter sojourn in New Orleans, I had more than once dropped +accidentally upon this last-mentioned personage, but never did I observe +him in any very creditable position. It did not need the declaration of +De Hauteroche, to prove to me that he was both _sportsman_ (gambler) and +swindler; but just then other matters came before my mind. I was the +bearer of a pretty little billet from Olympe to Adele; and the hour had +arrived in which it was proper for me to make my call and deliver it. +Leaving my friend, therefore, to his books and briefs, I went off upon +my errand. + +I was a little puzzled at De Hauteroche's behaviour. He must have +received the letter in time to have read it before my arrival at the +office; and yet I observed none of the effect that the reading of such +an important document would be likely to produce. On further reflection +I felt convinced that he could not have read it at all. Perhaps his +messenger, who had taken it from the post-office, had not returned. Or, +what was likely enough, it might not be _that_ letter, but some other +one of no importance, or more probable still, there might have been +none, and I had mistaken the name. Certainly, if it were the epistle I +supposed it to be, and if he had already perused it, the effect was far +from what I should have expected. Of course I did not imagine he would +appear in ecstasies in my presence, and all at once reveal to me the +secret of his happiness; but, on the other hand, I could not account for +the imperturbable coolness he had exhibited throughout our short +interview--his thoughts, indeed, only occupied by vexation at the +unfortunate resemblance he bore to the gambler. Of course, then, he +could have had no letter--at least not one that offered him a wife and a +fortune. I might have ascertained this to a certainty by simply putting +a question, and some vague suspicion floating about in my mind, half +prompted me to do so; but I remembered the caution which I had received +from the little Madame Dardonville--besides, it was a delicate point, +and I dreaded being deemed a meddler. After all, I had no doubt about +the matter. His supreme happiness was still unknown to him. The +messenger of glad tidings had not yet arrived. The next mail-boat would +bring the precious epistle, and then-- + +I had entered the vine-shadowed verandah in the Rue Bourgogne. The +green _jalousie_ opened at the sound of my steps; and those beautiful +brown eyes, smiling upon me through the fringework of the white +curtains, carried my thoughts into a new current. Luis and his affairs +were alike forgotten. I had eyes and thoughts only for Adele. + +Story 2, Chapter X. + +ANOTHER EPISTLE. + +The hospitality of my Creole friends had not cooled in my absence, and +my visits were as frequent as of yore. I had now much to tell them of. +My prairie excursion had furnished me with facts--deeds upon which I +could descant. It pleased me to fancy I had an attentive listener in +Adele. I could make Luis listen too at times--especially when I dwelt +upon the merits of Olympe. No doubt it would have flattered me to +believe that Adele was a little jealous, but I could not tell. I only +knew that she liked better to hear me discourse upon the wonders of +prairie land, than to listen to the praises of Olympe. But Adele had +much romance in her disposition, and the plumed and painted horsemen of +the plains--the chivalry of modern days--almost rival in interest the +steel-clad heroes of the mediaeval time--certainly they are quite as +brave, and perhaps not much more barbaric. + +My visits to the Rue Bourgogne were of daily recurrence. Besides the +other occupation, I could not help closely regarding the behaviour of +Luis. I was watching for some sign, but day after day passed without +his showing any. The letter had not yet come to hand. My position was +a strange one. With one word I could have made De Hauteroche supremely +happy; and yet my promise hindered me from uttering that word. It was +really tantalising to be thus restrained--for the pleasure of giving +happiness is almost equal to that of receiving it. + +A week passed, and still no word--no sign of the letter having been +received; and then the half of another week without report. Two +mail-packets I knew had come down from Saint Louis--for I had taken the +pains to ascertain this fact--but neither brought the precious epistle. + +Had Madame Dardonville not written after all? or had her letter +miscarried? + +The former I could not reconcile with probability, after what she had +said: the latter was perfectly probable, considering the character of +the American post-office, and the adventurous vagaries that sometimes +occur to an American mail bag, in its transit upon the great western +rivers. + +Still the route from Saint Louis to New Orleans was a direct one. There +was but one shipment from port to port, and where could be the risk? + +I was puzzled, therefore, at the non-arrival of the letter. In truth, I +was something more than puzzled. At times I felt a vague feeling of +uneasiness as to its fate; and this was more definite, when I reflected +on the incident that had occurred at the post-office on the morning +after my return. I could not well doubt that some one asked for a +letter for Luis De Hauteroche; for though the words were mumbled in a +low tone, they reached my ear with sufficient distinctness. At the time +I had not the shadow of a doubt about the name. + +Did De Hauteroche receive a letter that morning, and from Saint Louis? +For reasons given, I had never asked him, but I could no longer see any +harm in putting the question. If an unimportant letter, he might not +remember it; and whether or no, the question would surprise and puzzle +him. But no matter. It was important I should have an answer--yes or +no. I needed that to resolve a doubt--a dark suspicion that was shaping +itself in my mind. + +I came to the determination to call upon him: and at once put the +interrogatory--_outre_ as it might seem. + +I was preparing to sally forth from my hotel chamber, when a somewhat +impetuous knock at the door announced an impatient visitor. It was the +man I was about to seek--Luis De Hauteroche himself. + +I saw that he was strangely excited about something. "My friend," he +exclaimed on entering, "what can this mean? I have just had a letter +from Saint Louis--from Madame Dardonville--and for the life of me I +cannot comprehend it. It speaks of a will--of conditions--of Olympe--of +strange contingencies. _Mon Dieu_! I am perplexed. What is it? You +have lately seen Madame. Perhaps you can explain it? Speak, friend! +can you?" + +While giving utterance to this incoherent speech, De Hauteroche had +drawn out a letter, and thrust it into my hand. I opened and read:-- + +"_Mon cher Luis,--Since my letter, accompanying the copy of my lamented +husband's will, I find that my duties as administratrix will detain us +in Saint Louis a week longer than I had anticipated. If you have not +started, therefore, before receiving this, I wish to suggest a change in +our programme--that is, instead of coming alone, you should bring Adele +along with you, and we can all return together. Perhaps your young +English friend would be of the party; though, from the anxiety which he +exhibited at the first appearance of frost here, perhaps he thinks our +Saint Louis climate too cold for him. He shall be welcome +notwithstanding_. + +"_You could come by the `Sultana,' which I see by the New Orleans papers +is to sail on the 25th. Come by her if possible, as she is our +favourite boat, and I should wish to go back in her_. + +"_Yours sincerely_, + +"_Emilie Dardonville_." + +"_P.S.--Remember, Luis, that your choice is free, and though I shall be +proud to have you for my son-in-law, I shall put no constraint upon +Olympe. She knows the conditions of her father's will, and I have no +fear of her desiring to controvert what was with him a dying wish. I am +well assured that her heart is still her own; and since you have always +been the favourite friend of her childhood, I think I might promise you +success as a suitor. But in this, and everything else relating to the +conditions of the will, you must act, dear Luis, as your heart dictates. +I know your honourable nature, and have no fear you will act wrongly_." + +"E.D." + +By the time I had finished reading, De Hauteroche had become more +collected. + +"When did you last hear from Madame Dardonville?" I asked. + +"About a month ago--only once since the letter announcing our friend's +death." + +"And your sister--has she had a letter since?" + +"None--except the note brought by yourself from Olympe." + +"That could not be the letter referred to here. There was no copy of a +will?" + +"I never heard of such a thing. This is the first intimation I have +had, that Monsieur Dardonville had made a will; and the postscript both +surprises and perplexes me. Madame Dardonville speaks of conditions--of +Olympe being bound by some wish of her father! What conditions? What +wish? Monsieur, for heaven's sake, explain to me if you can?" + +"_I can_!" + +Story 2, Chapter XI. + +THE CHEQUE. + +De Hauteroche stood before me in an appealing attitude, and with wild +impatience in his looks. I felt that I was going to give him supreme +happiness--to fill his cup of bliss to the very brim. I had long ere +this fathomed the secret of his heart, and I knew that he loved Olympe +with a passionate ardour that he could scarcely conceal. His last visit +to Saint Louis had settled that point, and though it was doubtful +whether the young girl was, at the time, sufficiently forward to have +felt the passion of love, I had discovered some traces of a certain +tender regard she had exhibited towards him I had no doubt that she +would love him--almost at sight: for to say nothing of the direction +which had been given to her thoughts--both parents carefully guiding her +affections in the one particular channel--there were other circumstances +that would favour this result. Luis De Hauteroche was by far the +handsomest gentleman she had ever seen--handsome as well as highly +accomplished--and I knew that no pains had been spared to impress Olympe +with this idea. He was almost certain to be beloved by her. + +Concealment of what I knew, was no longer required of me. My promise to +Madame Dardonville was simply to keep silent, until the letter had +spoken for itself. It was clear, however, that the letter had +miscarried; and it therefore became a necessity that I should declare +its contents. I rather joyed at thus having it in my power to make my +friend happy; and I hastened to perform the pleasant duty. + +In brief detail I made known to him the nature of the ex-merchant's +will--that part of it relating to his daughter and to Luis himself. + +Joy overspread the young man's countenance as he listened; and my +repetition of those interesting conditions was interrupted only by +expressions of gratitude and delight. + +For the rest, I knew not the precise contents of Madame Dardonville's +letter. These could only be guessed at; but the communication just now +received was a good key to that which had been lost. + +"What matter," added I, "about the other having gone astray? It is +certainly not very agreeable that some post-office peeper should get +such an insight into one's family affairs; but after all, it's only a +_copy_ of the will that has been lost." + +"Oh! the will; I care nothing for that, Monsieur--not even if it were +the original--the will of Olympe alone concerns me." + +"And that I promise will be also in your favour." + +"_Merci_, Monsieur, what a true friend you have proved! How fortunate I +should have resembled Monsieur Despard! Ha! ha!" + +I almost echoed the reflection--for that resemblance had been the means +of introducing me to Adele. + +"But come, Monsieur De Hauteroche! the letter of Madame Dardonville +requires attention. You must answer the demand. You are expected in +Saint Louis, to bring the ladies down to New Orleans. If I mistake not +the _Sultana_ leaves here this very evening; you must go by her." + +"And you will go with me? You perceive, Monsieur, you are invited." + +"And M'amselle De Hauteroche?" + +"Oh! certainly. Adele will go too. In truth, my sister has not +travelled much of late. She has only been once to Saint Louis since +papa's death. I am sure she will enjoy the trip exceedingly. And you +will go, then?" + +"Willingly. Your sister will need time for preparation. Shall we +proceed to the Rue de Bourgogne?" + +"_Allons_! on our way we can call at the post-office. Perhaps the +missing letter is still lying there--we may yet recover it." + +"It can matter little now, I fancy; but there is no harm in trying." + +I had not much hope of success. Something whispered to me that the +document was gone from the post-office, and had fallen into other hands: +though of what use could it be to any one? Perhaps it had been detained +by some one, in the expectation that it contained an enclosure of +money--an occurrence which the loose arrangements of the American +post-office rendered by no means uncommon. + +I was now more than ever convinced of the correctness of my first +impressions. On that morning when I visited the post-office, a letter +for De Hauteroche had been asked for and taken out; and as he now +informed me that he had received no letter, nor did he remember having +sent any one to the office on that particular day--there was but one +conclusion to be drawn. Some one, unauthorised by him, had obtained the +letter--no doubt the very one in question. + +The coincidence of Despard's presence--for it must have been he whom I +had mistaken for De Hauteroche--led me to other misgivings. I had not +seen the person who made inquiry for the letter--the files of men in +front preventing me--but judging by the time at which the _spoilsman_ +passed out at the exit end of the slip, he must have been near the +delivery-window when the inquiry was made. These circumstances, taken +in connection with what I already knew of this person, naturally led me +to the conclusion that De Hauteroche's letter had fallen into his hands. +His motive for such a vile act I could only guess at. The hope of +obtaining money, perhaps--though there might appear but slight +probability of that. In truth, the affair was sufficiently +inexplicable; and neither De Hauteroche nor I could arrive at any +definite resolution of it at the time. + +On our arriving at the post-office, a gleam of light was thrown upon the +transaction. + +"Has there been any letter addressed to Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche?" + +The inquiry referred to a date of some days anterior. + +The clerk could not answer that--indeed the question was rather an idle +one. Of course, amidst the thousands of letters delivered by the +official, it would have been miraculous in him to have remembered a +particular one. He had no recollection of such a letter being +delivered; and there was none for the address lying in the office. + +"Stay--there _is_ a letter that has just come in by an extra mail, for +`Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche.'" + +My friend eagerly grasped the document--the more eagerly that he saw +upon it the stamp of the Saint Louis post-office! It was scarcely large +enough to contain the copy of a will. It could hardly be that of which +we were in search. + +It proved not to be that, but a document of a very different character. +It read thus: + +"_Monsieur,--The 1,000 dolls, cheque transmitted to you upon the +Planters' Bank of New Orleans, by a mistake of one of our clerics, was +not crossed. It has been paid by the Bank and returned. We are anxious +to know if it reached your hands safely. Please state by return mail_. + +"_Gardette and Co_, + +"_Bankers_, + +"_Saint Louis_, + +"_Mi_." + +"Mystery of mysteries, Monsieur!" exclaimed De Hauteroche, gasping for +breath, as he thrust the letter into my hands. "What can all this mean? +I know of no thousand dollars. Never received a cheque--never expected +one--know of no one in Saint Louis who should have sent it, nor for what +purpose! Ho! there must be a mistake. This is not for me." + +And the speaker once more referred to the envelope. But the address was +full and complete:-- + +"_Monsieur Luis De Hauteroche_, + +"_Avocat_, + +"_16, Rue Royale_, + +"New Orleans." + +There was no other Luis De Hauteroche--no other avocat of the name. +Undoubtedly the letter was for him--however little he understood its +contents. + +I was less puzzled than he. A gleam, or rather a flood of light, was +let in upon the mysterious transaction, which to me was no longer a +mystery. Whence had come the cheque I could not tell I could only +surmise; and my surmise pointed to the hand of the generous widow of +Dardonville. Where it had gone was unfortunately less doubtful,--for +the fingers of the _chevalier d'industrie_ were easily recognisable +here. Beyond a doubt, Monsieur Despard had got the cheque; and this +would account for his after inquiry at the post-office, that led to his +obtaining the letter with the will. He had watched the arrival of the +mails from Saint Louis, and obtained such letters as were addressed to +De Hauteroche. Why he had done this at first, it would be difficult to +say; but afterwards--after obtaining the money--his object would be to +prevent the young lawyer from knowing it, until he could get out of the +way. + +In all likelihood he was now beyond reach either of accusation or +conviction. The two letters which had just come to hand were of +themselves evidence, that in all likelihood he was no longer near. + +De Hauteroche was furious--half frantic when I imparted to him my +convictions; for, although the source whence the 1,000 dollars had come, +was still a mystery to him, yet there was the proof of its having been +sent, and the presumption of its having been stolen. + +The New Orleans police were at once put in charge of the matter; and, as +no communication could possibly reach Saint Louis sooner than by the +_Sultana_, it was resolved that we ourselves should be the bearers of +the answer, and call upon the banking-house of Gardette and Co, the +moment we arrived in that city. + +Detectives were set upon the search for Despard, but of course only as +spies--since as yet we could allege nothing stronger than suspicion +against him. The _espionage_, however, was likely to prove +unsuccessful: for up to the hour of the _Sultana's_ leaving--which +occurred just at sunset--the sportsman's whereabouts had not been +ascertained; and the detectives, in quaint phraseology, declared their +belief that the "gentleman was G.T.T." (Gone To Texas). + +Story 2, Chapter XII. + +THE MISSOURI BELLE. + +The traveller who ascends the mighty Mississippi, will see neither hill +nor mountain--nothing that can he called highland--until he has attained +a thousand miles from its mouth. Only the bold headland on which stands +the town of Natchez, and those very similar projections known as the +"Chickasaw Bluffs," one of which forms the site of the flourishing city +of Memphis. All the rest, on both sides of the river, as far as the eye +can reach, is low _alluvion_, rising only a few feet above the surface +of the stream, and often, for hundreds of miles, periodically drowned by +inundation, or covered continuously by a stagnant marsh. The forest +hides all this from the eye; and frequently the banks of the river have +the appearance of dry land, when there is not a spot of earth upon which +you may rest your foot. + +This character continues till you have passed the mouth of the Ohio, and +have entered upon the regions of Missouri and the Illinois. There the +scene changes as if by magic. The river no more appears wandering over +a flat country; but runs in the bottom of a deep gorge or valley, whose +sides are nearly precipitous--often rising to the height of hundreds of +feet above the surface of the water. + +We had been six days steaming up the river; and on the seventh at +sunset, the _Sultana_ reached the highland region, entering the +gorge-like valley, just as night was closing over it. + +It was the period of a full moon, and as yet the fair queen was low in +the heavens--so low that her light fell upon the water, only in those +reaches where the river trended in an easterly or westerly direction. + +Whenever the course was north or south--and this was the general +direction--the high bluffs completely overshadowed the stream; and then +only the glare of the fires lit up the dark water ravine through which +we were passing. + +The sudden changes from light to darkness, and from darkness back to +brilliant moonlight, had an effect that was curious and interesting. +They resembled the transformations in a theatre. One moment we were +steaming along in the most sombre shadow--the crest of the bluffy with +its crowning trees and _shot_ towers, dimly outlined above us--the next, +we would shoot out under the white fulness of the moonlight, that +rendered even minute objects along the _facade_ of the banks, almost as +visible as by day. + +This ever-shifting panorama appeared more the work of magic, than the +effect of natural causes, and I had lingered upon the hurricane-deck to +observe its changes long after my companions had gone below. + +While thus engaged, my ear caught the peculiar sound produced by the +'scape pipe of a high-pressure boat; and which is easily distinguished +from all other explosive noises. At first it seemed the echo from our +own--for I had already noticed the reverberations which the cliffs sent +back at different points on our passage. I soon became convinced that +the sounds I now heard were not echoes; but that another boat was making +its way through the dark gorges, apparently coming down stream. This +was made certain by the sudden appearance of a brilliant lamp directly +in front of us, find more conspicuous still was the red glare of the +fires burning in the furnaces--which are always placed in the forward +part of the boat. + +It was one of the darkest ravines of the river, where the two boats came +in sight of each other; but the lights of each guided the pilot of the +other, and there was neither danger nor difficulty in passing. Each +held to the larboard--as two carriages would have done upon an ordinary +road--and a wide space was left between them: for the channel, though +narrower here than elsewhere, still afforded a sufficiency of room. + +It was quick work, however, and the pilot of each boat adroitly +performed his duty. The bend was of short reach; and, from the time I +caught sight of the descending steamer, I could scarcely have counted +two hundred till she had met and was overlapping the _Sultana_. Like +two fiery meteors they brushed past one another--each bearing onward in +her own direction, without hail or the exchange of a single word I had +just time, as the stranger glided by, to make out upon her wheel-house +the name _Missouri Belle_; but, before I could have counted another +hundred, she had forged round a projection of the bluffs, and her lights +were no longer visible. + +I stood gazing after her with emotions vivid and singular. What was +there that caused me to do so! The incident of meeting a steamboat on +the Mississippi? There was nothing extraordinary in that--an occurrence +so common as scarcely to deserve being regarded an incident. Was it the +name of the boat, which I had been enabled to decipher? Some old +remembrance connected with her? + +No, nothing of the kind. The emotions that had suddenly arisen in my +mind, were springing from a very different cause; and I may at once +declare it. + +Abaft of the _Missouri Belle_, and in the little gangway that encircles +the ladies' cabin, I had caught sight of a group of three persons, +standing outside one of the state-room doors. Of the identity of these +persons I could not be mistaken--though the sight was sufficient to +stagger my belief. Of two I was sure: for the light shone more fairly +upon them. The third only remained unrecognised--the darkness hindering +my view of this individual--and, but for a horrid suspicion that flashed +into my brain at the moment, I should not have thought of even guessing +at his identity. + +The two that I had recognised were women--ladies. They were Madame +Dardonville and her daughter Olympe. The third was a man, who stood +sufficiently near them to come under the same light--the glare of the +_Sultana's_ fires--but the unexpected presence of the ladies so +astounded me, that I did not see _him_ till too late to distinguish +either his form or face. I only saw that it was a man--nothing more; +but, for all that, a painful suspicion--a presentiment of some horrid +evil--took immediate possession of my soul; and I became at once imbued +with the idea that my friends were in danger. + +Gladly would I have adopted the belief that there was some error; and +that what I had seen was a fancy--a vision of the brain. Certainly the +glimpse I had of those fair faces--especially of the beautiful +countenance of Olympe--was short and evanescent as any dream could have +been; but it was too real. I saw her face well enough to recognise it-- +well enough even to note its expression, which I fancied to be more sad +than smiling. Beyond a doubt the widow and her daughter had passed us +in the _Missouri Belle_--strange though the circumstance might and did +appear to me at the moment. + +And what, after all, was there strange in it? Could it not be easily +explained? Her affairs may have been set tied earlier than she +expected--they should have been arranged by that time--and, without +waiting for De Hauteroche, she may have formed the resolution to travel +without him. The journey from Saint Louis to New Orleans is accounted +nothing; and in all parts of the States ladies are accustomed to travel +alone, and may do so with perfect safety and convenience. + +But, then, they were _not_ alone--at least they did not appear to be. +There was the man--_the man_! + +Some friend, perhaps, of the family? Some distant relative or retainer? +Perhaps, only a domestic? + +Could I have believed this, I should have escaped that feeling of +uneasiness that was every moment growing upon me; but I could not. +Something seemed to tell me, that the man I had seen was neither +relative nor friend--but an _enemy_. Something seemed to whisper his +name--_Monsieur Jacques Despard_. + +Story 2, Chapter XIII. + +THE TWO PILOTS. + +My suspicions were only vague and ill-defined. I had the presentiment +of an evil--but what evil? Even admitting that the man who accompanied +Madame Dardonville and her daughter, was the swindler Despard--what +injury could they receive from his presence? But what reason had I to +think it was he? Not the least. Indeed, upon reflection, I could not +myself imagine what had brought this man into my mind: though that might +be accounted for--since the forgery, of which we more than suspected +him, was one of the first things to be inquired into, on our arrival in +Saint Louis--and there we should be in the morning. + +There was little reason, however, in all this, to connect him with the +presence of the ladies on board the _Missouri Belle_; and the more I +reflected on the matter, the more improbable did it appear. + +The circumstance of meeting Madame Dardonville on her way downward, was +certainly strange enough--especially when I remembered her letter. In +that she had distinctly arranged that we should come up for her; and had +stated her intention to travel back by the _Sultana_. Had she written +again, and once more altered the arrangement? It had been her original +design, as appeared by her second letter--to have gone to New Orleans at +an earlier date; but some business, connected with the administration of +her estate, had delayed her. Was this cause of detention unexpectedly +removed? and had she, in consequence, started southward, without waiting +for the _Sultana_? Perhaps she had written a third letter, which had +not reached New Orleans at the time of our leaving it? + +All these were probabilities--or rather possibilities--that passed +through my mind; but, viewing them in their most favourable aspect, they +failed to satisfy me. I could not help suspecting that there was a +mystery--that there was something wrong. + +The pilot was at his post inside his little cabin of glass, silent as is +his wont. I would have entered into conversation with him; but just at +that moment his second appeared, coming out of the pilot's cabin, and +rubbing his eyes to get them open for his work. A bell had just +announced the hour of change, and the second was about to enter on his +turn of duty. The ceremony was simple; and consisted in the old pilot +handing over the spokes to the one that relieved him, and then squeezing +himself out of the glass house. A little conversation followed before +the relieved officer retired to his "bunk." Seated within ear-shot, I +could not help overhearing it. "Durnation dark--whar are we anyhow?" + +"Jest below _Shirt-tail_ bend--thar's the bluff." + +"Durn me! if I can see a steim. I couldn't see a white hoss at the eend +of my nose this minnit. I reckon I'll be runnin' the old boat into the +bank, if it don't clear a bit." + +It certainly was a dark night. Some heavy clouds had drifted over the +moon, and she was no longer visible. + +"Oh, no fear," rejoined the other, "you ain't got the sleep out of your +eyes, you'll see clearer by-'n-bye." + +"Wal--it's to be hoped. Much dirt in the water?" + +"A few--there's a putty considerable drift comin' down. That last spell +o' wet has done it, I reckon. I han't seed many _sawyers_, but you'd +better keep a sharp look-out. Thar's bound to be some o' 'em settled in +the bend." + +"I'll watch 'em--say, what boat was that?" + +"_Massoury Belle_." + +"Oh! she's in the Ohio trade now?" + +"So I've heerd." + +"I thought they wouldn't run her to Orleans agin. She aint the style +for below." + +"No, she wa'nt big enough. Old What's-his-name has bought her, and's +goin' to run her reg'larly 'tween Saint Louis and Cinc'natti. She's +jest the thing for that trade. Good night!" + +Thus ended the dialogue; and, in a few seconds after, the retiring +officer had entered one of the little boxes adjacent to the wheel-house, +and shut himself up for the night. + +Up to a certain point I had listened to this conversation with but +little attention, and might not have noticed it at all, but for its +quaint oddity. All at once, however, it became deeply interesting to +me--at that point when it turned upon the _Missouri Belle_. + +What could the man mean by the boat no longer running to Orleans? New +Orleans, of course, he meant--for these men are perfect Lacons in +conversation, and I understood the curtailment of the name. Was it +possible the boat was not _then_ on her way to New Orleans? and was she +bound round to Cincinatti? + +If such were the case, the presence of Madame Dardonville on board of +her, would indeed be a mysterious circumstance! For what purpose could +_she_ be going to Cincinatti? and, least of all, at such a crisis--when +she should be expecting her friends from the south? + +Had I heard aright? Or had I properly interpreted what I had heard? + +Beyond doubt the pilot's words were to the effect, that the boat was no +longer to run to New Orleans, but from Saint Louis to Cincinatti, and of +course _vice versa_. Perhaps he might mean prospectively? Was it some +new arrangement of ownership, not yet completed? + +The boat might be hereafter intended for the Ohio trade, but had not yet +commenced running to Cincinatti: she might be making her final trip to +New Orleans? Only this hypothesis could explain the puzzle. + +It occurred to me that I might arrive at a more lucid understanding by +an application to the occupant of the wheel-house--at all events he +could interpret what I had just heard. I addressed myself him +accordingly. + +I had no fear of being snubbed. These Mississippi pilots are fine +fellows, sometimes a little dry with curious intruders, but never rude, +never impolite to a gentleman. + +"Did I understand you to say that the boat we have just met--the +_Missouri Belle_--is in the Ohio trade?" + +"Wal, stranger, that's what I've heerd." + +"That means that she is to run between Saint Louis and Cincinatti." + +"Course it do." + +"And do you think she is on her way to Cincinatti now?" + +"Why, stranger, whar else 'ud she be goin'?" + +"I thought she might be going down to New Orleans." + +"Wal, she did run thar form'lly; but she's off that now. She's changed +hands lately, and's been put on the other line, 'tween Saint Louis and +Cinc'natti, which air a trade she'll suit for better. She wa'nt big +enough for below; but bein' a light draught critter, she's jest the +thing to get over the Falls." + +"And you are certain she is now on the way to Cincinatti?" + +"No, that I aint, stranger. She may be on top o' a durnation snag, or +chuck up on a sand-bar at this minnit, for what I can tell. All I know +for sartin is that she's boun' for Cinc'natti; and if nothin' happens +her, she'll be thar in less 'n four days from now. Whether she breaks +down, howsomever, air a question beyont my calkerlationa. She mout an' +she mout not." + +With this sublime resignation to probabilities, the tall speaker in the +glass house, evidently intended that the conversation should come to a +close, for I observed that he bent his gaze more eagerly ahead, and +seemed to direct his attention exclusively to the tiller. Perhaps the +idea of the _Missouri Belle_ resting upon a snag or sand-bar, had +suggested the probability of the _Sultana_ getting into a similar +predicament, and stimulated him to increased caution in the performance +of his duty. + +Though I had succeeded in concealing my emotions from the steersman, it +was not without an effort. The information he imparted was full of +serious meaning; and augmented the feeling of uneasiness, from which I +already suffered. Stronger than ever did I feel that presentiment of +evil. + +The statement of the pilot admitted of no interpretation but one. It +was direct and point blank: that the _Missouri Belle_ was bound for +Cincinatti. The man could have no motive for misleading me. Why should +he? I had asked a simple question, without much show of interest or +curiosity; he had answered it from pure politeness. There was not the +slightest reason why he should make a misstatement; and I accepted what +he had said as the truth. + +The riddle had assumed a new character, and had become altogether more +difficult of solution. "What," I repeated to myself, "can Madame +Dardonville have to do on a Cincinatti boat? Surely there is something +astray?" + +It did not appear exactly _en regle_, for the lady to leave Saint Louis +in the expectation of a visit from her New Orleans friends; but I +presumed she had sent a second despatch, which had not been received. +Moreover, she was going down to them, and it mattered less about their +coming up for her. These were my first reflections after seeing her +upon the down-river boat, and until I had heard the talk of the two +pilots. Now, however, circumstances had a different appearance. On the +_Missouri Belle_ she could not be going to New Orleans, but to +Cincinatti. Did she expect us to follow her there? and for what end? +Perhaps she would only go as far as the Ohio mouth, in this boat, and +there wait for another, coming down the Ohio river? This method of +getting from Saint Louis to New Orleans was common enough, when there +did not chance to be a boat going direct. The large hotel at Cairo +offered a temporary sojourn for such passengers. But why should Madame +Dardonville adopt this roundabout method, and especially at such a time? + +A score of conjectures passed through my mind, all ending idly. The +only one at all satisfactory, was that, perhaps, I had been in an error +from the very beginning. Perhaps, after all, I had neither seen Madame +Dardonville nor her daughter; but two ladies who very much resembled +them! It was not the first _equivoque_ I had experienced; and this +should have rendered me less confident of the evidence of my senses. +Notwithstanding these reflections, however, I could not convince myself +that I was in error. + +So long, therefore, as there was the slightest doubt, I felt that it +would be imprudent to communicate my suspicions to my travelling +companions. It could serve no good purpose; and would only render them +uneasy, as I was myself,--in all likelihood, much more so. Ere long we +should all know the truth; and should it prove that I was mistaken, I +would have the satisfaction of having saved my friends from unnecessary +pain, and myself from ridicule. + +Though I joined them the moment after, I gave neither of them the +slightest hint of what I had seen or suspected. + +Story 2, Chapter XIV. + +NO ONE ON THE WATCH. + +It was ten o'clock on the following day, when the _Sultana_ snorting +under a full head of steam, brought us within sight of the "Mound City," +so called from certain Indian tumuli, that here form a conspicuous +feature on the banks of the mighty river. + +Long before reaching our destination, my travelling companions and I had +ascended to the hurricane-deck; and we were straining our eyes to catch +sight, not of the spires and cupolas that overtop the town, but of a +building that had for all of us a far greater interest--a white cottage +or villa, with green Venetians--the villa Dardonville. As it stood +conspicuously near the western bank of the river, and we knew that it +was visible from the level of the water, we expected soon to be +gratified with a view of it, especially, as we were now nearly opposite +to it. A skirting of oak woods appeared alone to conceal it; and, as +the boat forged ahead, we gazed eagerly into the vista that was +gradually opening beyond them. + +Slowly and gently, as if by the passage of a panoramic picture, the +villa was disclosed to our view; and my companions hailed its appearance +with exclamations of delight. Visions of a happy meeting with old dear +friends, of sumptuous hospitality, of free rural enjoyments, of many +pleasurable incidents, were before the minds of both; and as for Luis, +the sight of that pretty homestead could not fail to call up emotions of +a still more thrilling kind. + +Though I had myself seen the villa before, and from the water, it was a +new sight to both my friends. It was, in fact, a new house, and had +been built by Dardonville on retiring from business. On Luis's last +visit to Saint Louis, the family was residing in the city. It was +shortly after, that they had removed to the charming abode on the bluff. + +My friends were enthusiastic in their praises of the pretty mansion. +They admired its style of architecture, its smooth sloping lawn, its +shrubberies; in short, both were in the mood for admiring. + +As the boat arrived directly in front of it, and the house came fully +into view, it did not strike me as presenting so hospitable an +appearance: in fact, an observer, knowing nothing of its inmates, would +have given it a character altogether different. The front door was shut +close; and so, too, were the Venetian shutters, every one of them. Even +the gate of the verandah railings appeared to be latched and locked. +There was no life, human or animal, stirring about the place; not a +creature to be seen. There was no smoke issuing from the chimneys, not +a film. The place had the appearance of being uninhabited, deserted! + +My companions could not help noticing this, though without having any +suspicion that the house might be empty. + +Why are the windows closed? and on such a beautiful morning? + +I could only make answer to this pertinent query, by observing that the +house faced eastward; and the sun might be too strong at that hour. + +"_Parbleu_!" exclaimed Adele, "I feel cold enough; you see, I shiver? +For my part, I should open every blind, and admit all the sun I could +get. I shall do so, as soon as we get there." + +"But la!" continued she, after a pause, "surely they expect us? and by +the _Sultana_, too? You would think some one would be on the look out? +They must certainly hear the blowing of our grand boat? And yet no one +appears--not even a face at the windows! Come, M'amselle Olympe, this +is barely kind of you." + +Adele endeavoured to disfigure her beautiful countenance with a slight +grimace, expressive of chagrin; but the laugh that followed showed how +little she was in earnest. + +"It may be," interposed Luis, "they are not astir yet: it is early." + +"Early, _mon frere_? it is ten o'clock!" + +"True, it is that hour," assented Luis, after consulting his watch. + +"Besides, where is old Pluto? where Calypse and Chloe? Some of them +should be abroad. At least, one of them might have been playing +sentinel, I think?" + +These were the familiar names of Madame Dardonville's domestics, all +known to myself. + +"Ah!" exclaimed Adele, a new thought suggesting itself, "I fancy I can +explain. Madame and Olympe are gone up to town, that's it. Perhaps she +knows that the boat is near: she may have heard it from below, and has +driven up to the landing to meet us? Of course Pluto would be with her, +and the others are busy in the house. That explains all. So we shall +meet her at the landing. Well, that will be charming!" + +I gave my assent to this explanation, though far from believing it to be +the true one. The deserted appearance of the house was a new element of +anxiety to me; and, combined with what I already knew, almost confirmed +the terrible suspicion that had shaped itself in my imagination. Though +straggling to conceal my real thoughts, it was with difficulty I +succeeded in doing so. More than once my companions regarded me with +inquiring looks: as though they observed a singularity in my bearing and +behaviour. + +With a sense of the keenest anxiety, I looked forward to the moment of +our arrival: I did not indulge in much hope that Adele's conjecture +would prove correct. + +Alas! it did not. As the boat was warped in, broadside to the wharf, I +scanned the crowd with keen glances: not a group--scarcely an +individual--escaped my observation. There were no ladies there--no +Madame Dardonville, no Olympe! There were carriages, but not theirs. +No private carriages were to be seen, only hackneys waiting for a fare +from the boat. + +I looked at Adele. There was a slight curl upon her pretty lip--this +time really expressive of disappointment and chagrin. + +"Perhaps they are up in the town?" I suggested, gently. + +"Nay, Monsieur, they should be _here_. It is cruel of Olympe." + +"The Madame may have business?" + +"_N'importe pas_." + +I saw by this that Adele was really offended. Perhaps she had been +hearing too many encomiums upon Olympe's beauty. It is not _woman_ to +like this; and least to be expected from a woman who is herself a +beauty. + +Nothing remained but to engage a hackney. This was the work of a +moment; and, as our united luggage was not large, we were soon passing +through the streets of Saint Louis. The Jehu had received his +directions to drive to the Villa Dardonville. He knew the house, and we +were soon carried beyond the suburbs in that direction. + +We met people on the way. The faces of one or two of them were known to +me. As the carriage was an open phaeton, we could all be seen. I +observed the eyes of these people turn towards us with a strange +expression: a look, as I thought, of astonishment! Luis appeared more +especially to be the object of interest. As we were driving rapidly, +however, no one spoke. If they had anything to say, there was no +opportunity for them to say it. I do not know whether either of my +companions observed this, nor might I have done so; but for the +foreknowledge of which I was possessed. + +We at length reached our destination. The phaeton being driven to the +front, halted opposite the verandah. No one rushed out to greet us! no +one opened the door! + +"_C'est drole_!" murmured Adele. + +Luis stepped out of the carriage and knocked. A heavy foot was heard +inside: some one coming along the hallway? There was heard the turning +of a bolt, and then the rattle of a chain. Strange! the door has been +locked! + +It was opened at length, though slowly, and with some degree of caution; +and then a round black face was presented to our view. It was the face +of Pluto. + +Story 2, Chapter XV. + +PLUTO. + +The expression depicted on the countenance of the negro, told us at once +that we were not expected. His lips stood apart, his eyes rolled in +their sockets, till only the whites were visible, and he stood with both +hands raised aloft in an attitude of astonishment! + +"Why--wy--wy, mass'r Looey! war de dibbil hab you come from?" + +"Why, Pluto, where should I have come from, but from home?--from New +Orleans?" + +"Aw! massr! don't joke dis ole nigga. You know you hadn't time to get +down dar; you'd scarce time to get to the mouf ob de 'Hio." + +"The mouth of the Ohio?" + +"Ya, massr! You know de _Belle_ didn't start till near night; an' how +could you a got dar? Golly, massr! hope dar's nuffin wrong? wha' did +you leave missa and Ma'aselle 'Lympe?" + +"Where did I leave your mistress and Mademoiselle Olympe! I have not +seen either of them, since I last saw you, Pluto." + +"O Gorramighty! massr Looey, how you _do_ run dis ole nigga, 'case he +half blind. Hyaw! hyaw! hyaw!" + +"Half crazed, rather, Pluto, I should fancy!" + +"Craze, massr? law massr, no. But do tell, Massr Looey, whar be de ma'm +an' ma'aselle?" + +"That is just the question I have to put to you. Where are they?" + +"Lor, massr, how can I tell. Didn't I drive you all 'board de boat +yes'day noon, and sure massr, I han't seed none ob you since den?" + +"Drive us aboard the boat! drive who?" + +"Why you, massr, an' Missa Dardonville, and Ma'aselle 'Lympe." + +"Of what boat are you speaking?" + +"De big boat for Cincinatti--da _Massonry Belle_, dey calls her." + +De Hauteroche turned towards me with a look expressive of stupified +wonder. + +"What!" he gasped out, "what can this fellow mean?" + +"Answer me, Pluto," said I, addressing myself to the domestic, "you say +you drove your mistress and Mademoiselle to the boat--the _Missouri +Belle_?" + +"Ya, massr, dat for sarting." + +"And did they embark in her?" + +"Sarting, massr, I seed um go off afore I leff de waff." + +"A gentleman accompanied them?" + +"Ob coos, Massr Hoteroche 'companied dem." + +"Who said it was Monsieur De Hauteroche?" + +"Ebbery body say so; but law, massr, dis chile aint blind. I see Massr +Looey ma'seff; an' sure he wa' stayin' at de house for more 'n a week. +You's only a playin' possum wi' de ole nigga? dat's what you are a +doin'." + +"Another word, Pluto! Did Madame tell you where she was going?" + +"No, massr, not adzactly tell me, but I knows whar, for all dat. Hyaw, +hyaw, hyaw!" and the darkie displayed his ivories in a broad grin, while +a knowing look was exhibited in the corners of his great eyes. + +"Where was it?" I asked, without heeding his ludicrous humour. + +"Gorry, massr; p'raps Massr Looey, he no let me tell?" and the black +turned an inquisitive look towards De Hauteroche. + +"It is just what I desire you to do. For Heaven's sake, man, do not +delay! This is most mysterious." + +"Berry queer! Well, Massr Looey, since you's no objection, I tell dis +gemman and Missy Adele; but I thort dey know'd all 'bout it a'ready. Ob +coorse we brak folk only knows what we've heerd. It may be true, an' it +mayent, for all dat." + +"Out with it, man!" + +"Well, de folks all say dat Ma'aselle 'Lympe she go be marry to young +Massr Looey; and dat dey all go de way to France to have de knot tied-- +all de way to France! hyaw! hyaw!" + +"To France?" + +"Yes, massr. De say young massr--hyaw--he have rich uncle dar--he die-- +he leave all to Massr Looey--hope him true Massr Looey--dat young massr +he go to get de money, and den he marry Ma'aselle 'Lympe, and den dey +all come back hyar." + +"And who has said all this?" + +"Law, massr, ebbery body know 'im--ebbery body say so. 'Sides, I hear +Massr Gardette, de banker, tell one gemman, day I drove massr to de +bank. Golly, de big cheque missa did draw out dat berry day! She say +'twar for trabbelin 'spenses. Dar wa dollars 'nuf to a trabbled 'em all +ober de world. But say, Massr Looey, why hab you come back? Sure missa +an' Ma'aselle 'Lympe are safe? Hope dar's nuffin wrong, massr?" + +De Hauteroche appeared stupified with amazement--absolutely petrified. +Pluto might as well have addressed his inquiries to a stone. + +To question the negro further would have been idle. Indeed, I was +already in possession of sufficient data to determine the outlines of +this mysterious affair--if not to make known the whole of its details. +I was now convinced that a horrid crime was being committed--a base +deception practised--of which Madame Dardonville and her daughter were +the dupes and victims. In all likelihood, some one was personating Luis +De Hauteroche; and, under this guise--and by some pretence about a +legacy, as report declared--had induced Madame Dardonville to leave her +home and make a journey to France! This part of the story might be true +or not; but certain it was that the ladies had gone away in the company +of some one who was personating Luis de Hauteroche. Whither they were +gone, and with what intent, I could not determine; but I had little +doubt as to who was their companion and betrayer: it was the +_sportsman_, Despard. + +I did not communicate my thoughts to either of my companions. I could +see no object in doing so. Their hour of misery would arrive soon +enough. I thought it better they should suffer an hour of mystery. + +I knew that Monsieur Gardette was a friend of Madame Dardonville--a +family friend, as such men are termed. It was probable, therefore, he +could throw light on the matter. He had cashed a large cheque, it +appeared, and must know something of the object for which it was drawn. +Moreover, the affair of the lost bill of exchange was to be inquired +after. Both objects could be accomplished at the same time. + +I proposed, therefore, that we should at once proceed to the +banking-house of Monsieur Gardette. My companions, overcome with +astonishment, yielded unresistingly to my proposal, and, giving the Jehu +the necessary orders, we were driven back in the direction of the city. + +Half an hour brought us to the banking-house, where the horses were +pulled up. Adele sat in the carriage and her brother, acting under my +advice, remained with her. I thought it better I should see Monsieur +Gardette alone. Not yet had the time arrived, when it was necessary De +Hauteroche should know the full extent of his loss. + +Story 2, Chapter XVI. + +MONSIEUR GARDETTE. + +I had the good fortune to find Monsieur Gardette in his counting-house. +He knew me; and our interview proceeded without embarrassment. + +I shall not weary my reader with the conversation that passed between +us; nor yet detail all the circumstances that came to my knowledge +during that interview. Suffice it to give only those more immediately +connected with the thread of my narrative; and which of themselves were +sufficient to confirm my most fearful suspicion. + +Some one like De Hauteroche--resembling him almost as a counterpart--had +assumed his name; had deceived Madame Dardonville as to the identity; +and by an influence, as yet only guessed at, had persuaded herself and +daughter to take the extraordinary step of accompanying him to Europe! + +All this might easily have been effected. There was no improbability in +it, when it is remembered that it was some years since De Hauteroche had +been seen either by mother or daughter. + +Another circumstance, which I now recollected, strengthened the +probability of their having gone on this journey. I remembered Madame +Dardonville having told me that she contemplated a journey to Europe, at +some not distant period--that she was desirous of visiting the home of +her youth, and renewing some ancient friendships. Moreover, she had +stated her intention of residing some time in Paris, in order that in +the world's fashionable metropolis, she might obtain for her daughter +the finishing touch of a polite education. + +This was but an ambition common to most transatlantic _emigres_, +especially, as in the case of the widow of Dardonville, where pecuniary +considerations offered no obstacle. It was not improbable, therefore, +that she had carried, or was about to carry, this design into execution. + +All that seemed singular was the hasty manner in which she had +undertaken the journey: for in her letters to New Orleans she had not +said a word of such intention. It was easy to conceive, however, that +the counterfeit De Hauteroche, acting with the influence which the real +De Hauteroche possessed, might, without much difficulty, have thus +brought about the event. + +In reality, it was no longer a conjecture, but a _fait accompli_. He +had done it; and Madame Dardonville and her daughter, in the company of +an accomplished brigand, were now on their way to Europe. Of the truth +of this, the facts stated by the banker were sufficient proof Monsieur +Gardette was aware of my friendly relations with the family, and without +reserve he communicated all he knew. His knowledge was not much, and +related chiefly to matters of business. Of course, like other friends +of the family, he had heard the rumours that were afloat; and in his +business capacity he was made aware of the intended trip to Europe. A +circular letter for a large amount (10,000 dollars), made payable in +Paris, besides a small cheque for present purposes, had naturally made +him aware that some grand manoeuvre was going on, and that Paris was to +be the _but_ of a journey. Further than this, he had not been intrusted +with the confidence of the family. All else he had drawn from rumours, +which were current in the place. It would not be easy for a lady, so +conspicuous as the rich widow Dardonville, to keep even family secrets +concealed. Rumour could not be cheated of her tales; and that which was +generally believed in this instance, appeared to be the correct one. + +The banker had heard of the projected marriage of Olympe; that young De +Hauteroche was to be the son-in-law; and, indeed, some of the peculiar +conditions of Monsieur Dardonville's will were not unknown to him. +Administrators will let secrets slip out, and bankers have peculiar +opportunities of becoming possessed of them. + +Monsieur Gardette had heard other particulars--that young De Hauteroche +had been on a visit to the villa Dardonville for more than a week: of +this fact he was quite certain, and no doubt it accounted for him, +Monsieur Gardette, not receiving an answer to a communication he had +addressed to that gentleman in New Orleans. + +I knew well enough to what communication he referred; and I soon +convinced him that it did not account for his not receiving the answer. + +All these particulars Monsieur Gardette imparted to me, without any +suspicion of the real state of the case; and, when I told him that +Monsieur De Hauteroche had not been on a visit to the Villa Dardonville, +he firmly, but politely, contradicted the assertion! + +"Pardon me, Monsieur! I know several who have seen him here, though not +in town, for, what was considered strange, he has never made his +appearance in our streets during the whole of his stay. It is not so +strange, either," proceeded the banker, with a bland smile. "At such a +crisis men care but little for general society. Perhaps," added the old +gentleman, with a knowing look, "he will go more abroad by-and-bye. A +lucky young man--a splendid fortune, sir!" + +"An unhappy young man, Monsieur Gardette. A sad fortune, I fear--more +truly, a terrible misfortune!" + +"Why, Monsieur? what mean you?" + +"That the person who was on a visit to the Villa Dardonville was not +Monsieur De Hauteroche; but, as I have reason to believe, a noted +_sportsman_, or rather swindler, who is personating him. Monsieur De +Hauteroche has just arrived with me in the _Sultana_. We came direct +from New Orleans: out of which city Monsieur De Hauteroche has not been +for months past." + +Had a bomb-shell dropped into the counting-house of Monsieur Gardette, +it could not have startled him more effectually. He leaped from his +chair, exclaiming: + +"_Sacre Dieu_! Monsieur--you are jesting?" + +"Alas! no. Look through the window, Monsieur Gardette--that is Luis De +Hauteroche." + +The carriage was directly under the window; and Luis and Adele, seated +in it, were visible through the half-open Venetian. + +"Certainly! it is he and his sister! I know them both--pretty children! +I knew the old Colonel well _Mon Dieu_! Monsieur--is what you tell me +true?" + +"My friends will confirm it?" + +"_Pardieu_! I fear it needs no confirmation. Ah! now I comprehend--no +answer--the thousand dollar bill--this accounts for it--his staying so +closely by the villa--friends not received there--the number of cheques +drawn!--_Mon Dieu_! Madame Dardonville is lost--we are all lost!" + +"Let us hope not yet. It may still be possible to intercept this +villainous adventurer, and frustrate his scheme of infamy?" + +"Possible, Monsieur!--no, no--impossible! I can think of no means--how +would you act?" + +"Follow them, of course?" + +"Ah! Monsieur, it is easy to say follow them. The boat left yesterday. +She is a fast boat; she is the mail-packet. There is no other for +Cincinatti--not one for a week." + +"Are you certain of that?" + +"Quite certain--here is the list." + +The banker pointed to the printed table, that exhibited the days of +sailing of the different steam-boats. I had not patience to examine it. +His assertion was sufficient to satisfy me: for he had himself a stake +in the pursuit--enough to give him an interest in its success. + +His information filled me with chagrin. All along I had been planning a +mode of procedure; and I could think of no other, than that of +immediately following Despard and his innocent victims. I had +calculated on their being detained at Cincinatti: for I had ascertained +that the _Missouri Belle_ ran no farther. It was not hopeless, +therefore, had there been another boat on that day, or the following, or +even the third day; but a week, that would never do. The travellers +would easily obtain passage beyond Cincinatti; the more easily as it was +now the season of high water. They would reach Pittsburg or Wheeling; +and from either of these cities the communication with the Atlantic +seaboard was constant and daily. In New York lay the Cunard steamer. +Her days of sailing were fixed and certain; but at that moment my mind +was in such a turmoil, that I could not calculate with any degree of +exactitude, our prospects of reaching her in time. That must be left to +a later period. + +In spite of the confusion of the moment, an idea had come to my aid: +Cincinatti might be reached by horse. + +I rapidly communicated this thought to the banker, who, to my +satisfaction, did not disapprove of it. It was a long ride, over three +hundred miles, the roads heavy; it would cost much horseflesh, suggested +the man of money: but the circumstances required that some desperate +plan must be had recourse to. + +De Hauteroche and I could take horse, and ride day and night. Adele +could remain at Saint Luis. No matter at what cost we travelled, it was +the only course to be followed. No other offered a feasible hope. + +It was a fortunate circumstance, that just before leaving New Orleans I +had had my exchequer replenished; and there would be no obstacle in +finding means. The worthy banker, moreover, threw out a hint that he +would not hang back; and, furthermore, offered to become the guardian of +Adele during our absence. I knew that this would be agreeable both to +De Hauteroche and his sister. + +All these matters were arranged without communicating with our friends +outside. I felt certain that it was the course of action De Hauteroche +would take, and I was but preparing the way. It cost only a few minutes +to sketch out the programme. + +Though suffering under the disappointment occasioned by Madame +Dardonville's unexpected absence, and tortured by the mystery of it, my +friends were not yet fully awake to its fearful import. It was no +longer possible to keep from them the afflicting news. In another +minute, and in the privacy of the banker's counting-house, they were +made acquainted with all. I need not describe the surprise, the grief, +the agony, of both--the furious paroxysm of passion into which Luis was +thrown. + +The necessity of action, however, at length produced calmness. There +was no time to be wasted in idle emotions, and De Hauteroche, entering +at once into the design already sketched out, we speedily prepared +ourselves to carry it into execution. Adele offered no objection. She +saw the necessity of this painful parting--at once from brother and +lover--and she only prayed that we might succeed in the end. + +Before the sun had passed his meridian, De Hauteroche and I, mounted on +the two toughest steeds the stables of Saint Louis could produce, rode +off for the ferry wharf. There, crossing the broad river, we entered +the territory of Illinois; and, without pausing a moment, we started +forward upon the road that conducts to the distant city of Cincinatti. + +Story 2, Chapter XVII. + +THE PURSUIT. + +But few words passed between myself and my companion for the first ten +miles along the road. He was absorbed in profound melancholy, while I +was busied in making certain calculations. We travelled as fast as was +safe for our horses; though far more rapidly than these were accustomed +to go. Wherever the road would admit of it, our pace was a gallop; at +other times a gentle canter, or an ambling gait, known throughout the +Mississippian States as "pacing." This, where horses have been trained +to it (and most western horses have), is one of the fastest and most +convenient gaits for travellers to adopt. Both horse and horseman are +less fatigued by it than by either the trot or gallop; and the speed +attained is almost as good as by either. + +I had some difficulty in restraining my companion. Still labouring +under the excitement produced by the painful discovery, he would have +galloped on at top speed, till his horse had broken down under him. I +knew that this would be the greatest of misfortunes; and that, if we had +any chance of reaching Cincinatti as soon as the steamer, an incident of +this kind would be certain to destroy it. Should either of our horses +give up, from being overridden, much time might be lost before we could +replace them; and this, perhaps, might occur miles from any town--miles +from any stable where it was possible to obtain a remount. Our only +hope, therefore, lay in carefully guarding against such a _contretemps_; +and economising the strength of our animals, as far as the necessary +rate of speed would allow us. + +Of course we had no idea of riding the same horses all the way. That +would have been impossible--at all events within the time allowed us for +the journey. It was our intention to take the Saint Louis horses some +sixty miles or so, in fact, to such place as we might obtain a relay, +thence to proceed upon fresh ones, sixty or seventy miles further; and +so on till we had reached our destination. This sort of journeying +would require a liberal outlay; but of that we were not in the mind to +care much. The object upon which we were bent rendered such +considerations of inferior importance. + +I have said that I was engaged in certain calculations. They were +rather conjectures as to the probability of our success, though they +partook also of the character of the former. Some of my data were exact +enough. Others depended only on contingencies, that might or might not +turn in our favour. Of one thing, however, I was able to assure both +myself and my companion; and that was, that there was still a +possibility of our overtaking the adventurer, and if fortune favoured +us, a probability of it. I need hardly say how joyed was De Hauteroche +by the assurance. Of course it was but my opinion; and I had only +arrived at it, after a process of reasoning in which I had examined the +case in all its hearings. Before starting off from Saint Louis, we had +not allowed time for this. In the confused haste of preparation, we +thought only of entering upon the pursuit; and had started blindly +forward, without even calculating the chances of success. It would be +time enough to think of these upon the road: at all events, it was not +before we were fairly on the road, that we found time to talk of them. + +One of the data, upon which I relied, was that incidentally furnished me +by the pilot of the _Sultana_. He had stated, during our short +conversation, that the _Missouri Belle_ would reach Cincinatti in less +than four days--in all about four days from the time she had taken her +departure from Saint Louis. Monsieur Gardette had confirmed this +statement: it agreed with his own information. About four days was the +usual time in making such a journey. The boat had the start of us about +three quarters of a day. True she had a longer route to go--by more +than a hundred miles--but then her progress would be continuous, night +and day, at a speed of at least ten miles an hour; while we must rest +and sleep. Could we have ridden three days and nights without stopping, +we might have headed her. This, however, was a physical impossibility, +or nearly akin to it. I believe my companion would have attempted it, +had I not restrained him. I had still hoped that we might arrive in +time; and, by making one hundred miles a day, we might calculate on so +doing. Three days would thus bring us to Cincinatti; and I knew that +the steamer could not arrive before. + +It proved a long, hard ride; and, I need scarcely add, that it was not a +merry one. It required all my efforts to cheer my companion, who +sometimes sank into the most profound melancholy--varied at intervals by +a passionate outburst of anger, as he reflected upon the villainous +outrage, of which himself and those he held dearest had been made the +victims. There was still hope, however; and that had its effect in +restoring his spirits to an occasional calmness. + +It was a long, weary ride; and occupied the greater part of both night +and day. Many a poor steed was left along our route, with just strength +to return to his stable. We scarcely took rest or sleep; but, saddling +fresh horses, we pressed on. The road seemed interminable, +notwithstanding the rate at which we travelled; and many miles of it we +passed over, asleep in our saddles! + +Our journey ended at length; but notwithstanding all our exertions, we +had not made good our programme. It was the fourth day when we caught +sight of the spires of Cincinatti--near the evening. No more weary eyes +than ours ever looked upon the walls of a city. But the prospect of +success awakened us to fresh energy; and we rode briskly onward and +entered the streets. + +The "Henry House" was upon our way, and it was the only hotel--at least, +the one where such a party would be certain to stop. We halted and made +inquiries. They had not been there: though other passengers by the +_Missouri Belle_ were in the house. The boat, then, had arrived! + +We were preparing to hasten on board; but it was not necessary. + +"Strangers," said the hotel keeper, pointing to a gentleman who stood +near, "if you wish to inquire about any passengers by the _Missouri +Belle_, that is the captain himself." + +"Yes," freely answered the latter, in reply to our inquiries, "two +ladies and a gentleman--Madame Dardonville, of Saint Louis--I know the +lady--and her daughter. The gentleman I do not know--a young lawyer +from New Orleans, I believe." + +"At what hotel have they stopped?" + +"Not at any. A Wheeling boat was just going out as we came to the +landing; they went by her. They were going East." + +De Hauteroche and I slipped out of our saddles, and walked, or rather +trotted into the hotel. The intelligence was terrible, and for the +moment unmanned us both. Fortune appeared to be on the side of +villainy. + +Story 2, Chapter XVIII. + +THE DENOUEMENT. + +Refreshed by a draught of wine, I proceeded to prosecute our inquiry. I +had not yet lost hope; and with this I succeeded also in cheering my +friend. The day was Sunday; and I knew that the Saturday following was +the sailing day of the Atlantic steamer. There was then only the Cunard +line; and only one steamer every fortnight. Both day and hour were +fixed--each alternate Saturday at 12 noon--punctual as the Horse Guards' +clock. At both termini of her long ocean-journey was this punctuality +observed; and I knew that a gun proclaimed the exact meridional hour of +her departure. To reach New York, then, by 12 o'clock on Saturday, was +the object to be aimed at. Was it possible of accomplishment? + +Inquiry led me to believe that it was; and hope once more supplanted +despair in the bosom of De Hauteroche. + +Everything depended upon when we could get a boat to Wheeling: since +beyond that the journey would be by stage-coach and rail; and these had +fixed and certain arrangements. + +When could we start for Wheeling? No one at the hotel could answer this +question; and, without loss of time, we proceeded to seek our +information at the wharf or landing. + +None that day, of course. It was Sunday, and we did not expect it; but +we ascertained that a small boat--a very indifferent looking craft-- +purposed starting for Pittsburg on the morrow. Of course a Pittsburg +boat would serve equally well for Wheeling. The hour promised was +twelve; and, without further hesitation, we engaged passage. + +We needed the refreshment of a hotel; and, having paid our fare, we +returned to the Henry House. + +Here we were put in possession of a piece of intelligence, unexpected as +it was unpleasant. It was to the effect that we need not calculate +getting off on the morrow--that there was not the slightest prospect of +such a thing; that the captain of the little boat--the _Buckeye_, she +was called--was well known to take several days in starting. We might +congratulate ourselves if we were off by Wednesday! + +There was an air of probability in all this; and our informants had no +motive for deceiving us. Certainly it would have given us great +uneasiness--in fact, have destroyed our last hope--had it not been for +an idea that entered my head at that moment, and promised to get us +clear of such a sad dilemma. I had observed, while aboard, that the +_Buckeye_ was a very humble trader--that the money she received, on +account of either freight or passengers during a single trip, could not +be a very large amount; and that a douceur of 100 dollars would no doubt +fix her hour of sailing--as punctually as the _Cunard_ steamer herself. + +I communicated my opinion to my friend. He was exactly of the same way +of thinking. + +The thing was easily arranged. It cost us a second visit to the +_Buckeye_; and, before we retired for the night, we felt quite easy in +our minds that the little steamer would take us off at the appointed +hour. + +And she did: having steamed off from the landing on the stroke of 12 +noon, to the astonishment of all Cincinatti! + +Wheeling was reached; and then jolting by stage over the cold mountains +to Cumberland, we continued on by rail to Baltimore. Thence without +delay to the drab city of Philadelphia; and onward to the metropolis of +America. We made no inquiries by the way; we did not stop, except for +the hours of the different trains: we had but one object in view--to +reach New York by 12 noon on Saturday. + +It was Saturday morning when we left Philadelphia. We were in the very +train designed to reach New York in time--the express--arranged for the +sailing of the European steamer. Thank Heaven, we should be in time! + +The Fates once more turned against us. Some accident to the engine, +occurring near Trenton, delayed us for half an hour; but this being +righted, we pressed forward with accelerated speed. + +Many a watch was regarded with anxious eyes--for there were many in the +train who proposed crossing the Atlantic--but who can tell the agony +experienced at this moment by Luis de Hauteroche? I was myself too +troubled to speak. + +The feeling at length reached its culminating point. The city of New +Jersey was in sight: there lay the _Cunard_ steamer at her moorings! + +No, she is moving out! See! she has dropped into mid stream! Behold +that white puff of smoke! Hark! 'tis the signal gun! She is gone-- +gone! + +No boat may overtake her now--the swiftest would be launched in vain. +She will delay for no one--not even for Prince or President. She is the +_Cunard_ packet. Her laws are immutable--fixed--inexorable. O God! she +is gone! + +My friend's distress exhibited itself in a frantic manner; but there +were others, suffering from far less disappointment, who made equal show +of their chagrin. This had the effect of drawing away from us that +notice we might otherwise have attracted. + +Silent and melancholy we both stood upon the now deserted wharf--gazing +upon the black hull, that every minute was growing a more insignificant +object to the sight. I shall not attempt to depict the feelings of my +companion: I could scarcely analyse my own. + +We were turning coldly away to seek some hotel; we had even advanced +some paces from the landing, when a singular cry, followed by a confused +murmur of voices, as of men in dispute, caused us to look back. + +A small knot of sea-faring men stood on a projection of the wharf: they +appeared to be employes of the Steam Company; who, after performing the +duty of getting the vessel afloat, had lingered to see her out of the +bay. One of the men held a telescope levelled to his eye, and directed +down the bay: as if following the movements of the steamer. We listened +to hear what the men were saying. + +"Yes!" exclaimed the man with the telescope, "I told you so--something +wrong yonder." + +"Give me the glass, old fellow!" demanded one of his comrades--a +rough-looking sailor. + +"Yes, give it to Brace, Bill--he's got a long sight." + +The man surrendered the glass, as requested; and Brace, placing it to +his eye, looked silently and steadily through it. I could have heard my +companion's heart heating, had it not been for the thumping of my own. +How eagerly we waited for the words of Brace! They came at length-- +words of gold! + +"Ye be right, Bill--there ur somethin' wrong--there's a paddle broke--I +sees 'em on the wheel-house--yes, that's it." + +"They'll put back again!" suggested one. + +"Sartin to do," drawled Brace, "they are putting back--they're getting +the cripple round now as fast as she can come. Now she comes this way. +Make ready your ropes, boys--more grog, and plenty o' keelhaulin'!" + +The reaction of feeling produced by these words, in the minds of my +companion and myself, cannot be described; and it was sustained by the +evidence of our own eyes--for, the moment after, we could make out that +it was the steamer's head that was towards us, and that she was slowly +but certainly making up the bay--back to the landing from which she had +just taken her departure. + +There was something almost astounding in this occurrence. It seemed as +if Providence itself had a hand in the event. + +We did not allow our excited feelings to hinder us from taking some +cautionary steps necessary to the carrying out of our design. There was +time enough for us to reach the office of the nearest justice, and arm +ourselves with the authority for an arrest; and before the steamer had +reached the wharf, we were on the spot with two plainclothes policemen, +anxious for action. They scented large game, and consequently a rich +reward. + +They had soon an opportunity of earning it; for, in a few minutes after, +we were aboard, and Monsieur Jacques Despard was in handcuffs! + +I was glad that we alighted upon him alone--as it saved a painful scene. +The ladies were in their state-room; and knew nothing of the arrest, +till after their travelling companion had been carried over the side of +the ship! + +There was a scene notwithstanding--a scene of surprise and confusion; +but explanations followed fast; and the scene ended by all who took part +in it becoming imbued with one common feeling--that sense of supreme +joy, which one experiences who has just narrowly escaped from some +terrible danger. + +As yet no injury had accrued. How near all had been to utter ruin! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Of course the passage money was freely forfeited to Messrs. Cunard Co; +and the family luggage transferred from the steamer to a Broadway hotel. + +After a short stay there, another steamer that plies between New York +and New Orleans, carried us directly to the latter city--where Monsieur +Gardette was good enough to meet us, and deliver up his temporary ward. + +Long ere this we had learnt the details of the Despard infamy. They +differed, in no essential particular, from what conjecture had suggested +to us. + +It appeared that it was not the first time Despard had personated young +De Hauteroche, to his own advantage, and the latter's disgrace. He was +well aware of the remarkable likeness between them; and with this, as an +aid to his swindling designs, he acted with a certainty of success. He +had taken pains to possess himself of such points in the family history +as were accessible to his inquiries; and it was while prosecuting this +branch of his _industrie_, that the letters had fallen into his hands. +Of the use he made of them we know most of the details. As already +conjectured, he had started for Saint Louis, on gaining possession of +the will and the letter which accompanied it; and, as neither Madame +Dardonville nor Olympe had seen Luis de Hauteroche for a considerable +period of time, the deception was easy enough. The voyage to France was +a deep laid scheme; and the circular letter for 10,000 dollars on a +Paris Bank was a bold stroke of swindling. Once there, the villain +expected to be the recipient of that money. The plea for the journey +was not without plausibility. The Saint Louis rumour was correct: a +dead uncle's property left to the De Hauteroches--a legacy that required +to be claimed immediately. Another inducement: his sister Adele and the +young Englishman were to meet him there--in Paris. The Englishman was +married to Adele, and preferred returning to Europe by the West India +steamer! Such had been his story. + +The hasty marriage somewhat surprised Madame Dardonville, as well as the +design of the European convention. She regarded it as somewhat +eccentric; but Luis De Hauteroche was to her, nearest and dearest, and +how could she refuse compliance with his proposal? In fine, she made +her arrangements, and set forth. + +Nothing had been said of the marriage between Luis and Olympe. That was +tacitly left for future arrangement. Paris would be the place--if it +should ever come off It was doubtful, however, whether it ever would +have taken place--even if the steamer had held on her way. Both Madame +Dardonville and her daughter had conceived strange imaginings about the +projected son-in-law. Something had occurred every day--almost every +hour--to excite surprise--even a little _degout_. Luis De Hauteroche +had much changed--for the worse--had become dissipated, vulgarised--in +short, anything but what should have been expected in the son of his +father. It was a disappointment--a chagrin. + +Poor Luis! Had the steamer gone on, he might have lost part of the +fortune, but he was in little danger of losing his wife. Olympe would +undoubtedly have forfeited the legacy rather than have yielded herself +up to the vulgar counterfeit. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I saw Despard once afterwards--while on a visit to the Louisiana State +Prison at Bayou Sara. With his little pile of picked cotton before him, +he looked a sorry enough sort of wretch--far different from the ruffled +_elegant_ of other days. The forgery had been proved home, and entitled +him to his present residence for a lease of not less than ten years! + +How very different appeared his counterpart when I last saw him, +elegantly attired, living in an elegant mansion with elegant furniture, +and waited on by a troop of willing domestics! + +And she who gave him all this was by his side--his blooming bride--the +lovely Olympe. + +END OF DESPARD, THE SPORTSMAN. + +Story 3. + +A CASE OF RETALIATION. + +The first action fought by the American army in the valley of Mexico, on +20th August, 1847, was at Contreras. It was an attack upon a fortified +camp, in which lay General Valencia with 6000 Mexicans, composed of the +remnant of the army beaten by Taylor, on the hills of Bueno Vista. It +was styled "The Army of the North;" most of the soldiers composing it +being from the northern departments--the hardy miners of Zacatecas and +San Luis Potosi,--and they were esteemed "the flower" of the Mexican +army. + +On the previous day powder enough was burned to have cured the +atmosphere for twenty miles around; yet there was nothing done. We held +the ground, however, in mud up to our ankles. In this we lay shivering +under a cold drizzle until the morning. + +By daylight we were at it in earnest. During the night two of our best +brigades had crept, unperceived, through the clay "barrancas" close up +to the rear of the enemy's camp, ready to spring. + +At daybreak old Riley shouted, "Forward and give them hell?" and before +our foes--not expecting us from that quarter--could bring their +artillery to bear upon us, we were in the midst of them. + +The action lasted just seventeen minutes. At the end of that time we +had laid our hands upon thirty of Valencia's cannon, and taken about a +thousand prisoners; and had, moreover, the satisfaction of seeing the +rest of them, in their long yellow mantles, disappearing through the +fissures of the lava fields, in rapid flight along the road to Mexico. + +We followed, of course, but as our cavalry had not been able to cross +the Pedregal, and as the enemy were our superiors in retreat, we were +soon distanced. As we came down upon the village of San Angel, the +occasional blast of a light infantry bugle, with the "crack--crack-- +cr-r-r-ack" of our rifles in front, told us that we had still some more +work to do before entering the halls of the Montezumas. We were, in +fact, driving in the light troops of Santa Anna's main army, lying we +knew not where, but somewhere between us and the far famed city. + +It is not my intention to give an account of the battle that followed; +nor should I have entered into these details of the fight at Contreras, +were it not to put the reader in possession of "situations," and, +moreover, to bring to his notice an incident that occurred, during that +action, to a friend--the hero of this narrative--whom I will now +introduce. I was at the time a Sub., and my friend, Richard L--, was +the Captain of my company; young as myself and fully as ardent in +pursuit of the red glory of war. We had long known each other, had gone +through the campaign together, and, more than once, had stood side by +side under the leaden "hail." I need not say how a juxtaposition of +this kind strengthens the ties of friendship. + +We had come out of Resaca and Monterey, unscathed. We had passed +through Cerro Gordo with "only a scratch." So far we had been +fortunate, as I esteemed it. + +Not so my friend; he wished to get a wound for the honour of the thing. +He was accommodated at Contreras; for the bullet from an escopette had +passed through his left arm below the elbow-joint. It appeared to be +only a flesh wound; and as his sword-arm was still safe, he disdained to +leave the field until the "day was done." Binding the wounded limb with +a rag from his shirt, and slinging it in his sash, he headed his company +in the pursuit. By ten o'clock we had driven the enemy's skirmishers +out of San Angel, and had taken possession of the village. Our +Commander-in-Chief was as yet ignorant of the position of the Mexican +army; and we halted, to await the necessary reconnaissance. + +Notwithstanding the cold of the preceding night, the day had become hot +and oppressive. The soldiers, wearied with watching, marching, and the +fight, threw themselves down in the dusty streets. Hunger kept many +awake, for they had eaten nothing for twenty hours. A few houses were +entered, and the _tortillas_ and _tasajo_ were drawn forth; but there is +very little to be found, at any time, in the larder of a Mexican house; +and the gaol-like doors of most of them were closely barred. The +unglazed windows were open; but the massive iron railings of the "reja" +defended them from intrusion. From these railings various flags were +suspended--French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese--signifying that the +inmates were foreigners in the country, and therefore entitled to +respect. Where no excuse for such claim existed, a white banner, the +emblem of peace, protruded through the bars; and perhaps this was as +much respected as the symbols of neutrality. + +It was the season when fashion deserts the Alameda of Mexico, and +betakes itself to _month_, cock-fighting, and intriguing, in the +romantic pueblos that stud the valley. San Angel is one of these +pueblos, and at that moment many of the principal families of the city +were domiciled around us. Through the rejas we could catch an +occasional glimpse of the occupiers of the dark apartments within. + +It is said that, with woman, curiosity is stronger than fear. It +appeared to be so in this case. When the inhabitants saw that pillage +was not intended, beautiful and stylish women showed themselves in the +windows and on the balconies, looking down at us with a timorous yet +confiding wonder. This was strange, after the stories of our barbarity, +in which they had been so well drilled; but we had become accustomed to +the high courage of the Mexican females, and it was a saying amongst us, +that "the women were the best men in the country." Jesting aside, I am +satisfied, that had they taken up arms instead of their puny countrymen, +we should not have boasted so many easy victories. + +Our bivouack lasted about an hour. The reconnaissance having been at +length completed, the enemy was discovered in a fortified position +around the convent and bridge of Churubusco. Twigg's division was +ordered forward to commence the attack, just as the distant booming of +cannon across the lava fields, told us that our right wing, under Worth, +had sprung the enemy's left, at the hacienda of San Antonio, and was +driving it along the great national road. Both wings of our army were +beautifully converging to a common focus--the pueblo of Churubusco. The +brigade to which I was attached, still held the position where it had +halted in San Angel. We were to move down to the support of Twigg's +division, as soon as the latter should get fairly engaged. Our place in +the line had thrown us in front of a house somewhat retired from the +rest, single storied, and, like most of the others, flat roofed, with a +low parapet around the top. A large door and two windows fronted the +street. One of the windows was open, and knotted to the reja was a +small white handkerchief, embroidered along the borders and fringed with +fine lace. There was something so delicate, yet striking, in the +appeal, that it at once attracted the attention of L--and myself. It +would have touched the compassion of a Cossack; and we felt at the +moment that we would have protected that house against a general's order +to pillage. + +We had seated ourselves on the edge of the banquette, directly in front +of the window. A bottle of wine, by some accident, had reached us; and +as we quaffed its contents, our eyes constantly wandered upon the open +reja. We could see no one. All was dark within; but we could not help +thinking that the owner of the kerchief--she who had hurriedly displayed +that simple emblem of truce--could not be otherwise than an interesting +and lovely creature. + +At length the drums beat for Twigg's division to move forward, and, +attracted by the noise, a grey-haired old man appeared at the window. +With feelings of disappointment, my friend and I turned our glances upon +the street, and for some moments watched the horse artillery as it swept +past. When our gaze was again directed to the house, the old man had a +companion--the object of our instinctive expectation; yet fairer even +than our imagination had portrayed. + +The features indicated that she was a Mexican, but the complexion was +darker than the half-breed; the Aztec blood predominated. The crimson +mantling under the bronze of her cheeks, gave to her countenance that +picturelike expression of the mixed races of the western world. The +eye, black, with long fringing lash, and a brow upon which the jetty +crescent seemed to have been painted. The nose slightly aquiline, +curving at the nostril; while luxuriant hair, in broad plaits, fell far +below her waist. As she stood on the sill of the low window, we had a +full view of her person--from the satin slipper to the _reboso_ that +long loosely over her forehead. She was plainly dressed in the style of +her country. We saw that she was not of the aristocracy, for, even in +this remote region, has Paris fashioned the costume of that order. On +the other hand, she was above the class of the "poblanas," the +demoiselles of the showy "naguas" and naked ankles. She was of the +middle rank. For some moments my friend and myself gazed in silent +wonder upon the fair apparition. + +She stood a while, looking out upon the street, scanning the strange +uniforms that were grouped before her. At length her eye fell upon us; +and as she perceived that my comrade was wounded, she turned towards the +old man. + +"Look, father, a wounded officer! ah, what a sad thing, poor officer." + +"Yes, it is a captain, shot through the arm." + +"Poor fellow! He is pale--he is weary. I shall give him sweet water; +shall I, father?" + +"Very well, go, bring it." + +The girl disappeared from the window; and in a few moments she returned +with a glass, containing an amber-coloured liquid--the essence of the +pine-apple. Making a sign towards L--, the little hand that held the +class was thrust through the bars of the rejo into his hand. I rose, +and taking the glass, I handed it to my friend. L--bowed to the window, +and acknowledging his gratitude in the best Spanish he could muster, he +drank off the contents. The glass was then returned; and the young girl +took her station as before. + +We did not enter into conversation,--neither L--nor myself; but I +noticed that the incident had made an impression upon my friend. On the +other hand, I observed the eyes of the girl, although at intervals +wandering away, always return, and rest upon the features of my comrade. + +L--was handsome; besides, he bore upon his person the evidence of a +higher quality--courage; the quality that, before all others, will win +the heart of a woman. + +All at once, the features of the girl changed their expression, and she +uttered a scream. Turning towards my friend, I saw the blood dripping +through the sash. His wound had reopened. + +I threw my arms around him, as several of the soldiers rushed forward; +but before we could remove the bandage L--had swooned. + +"May I beseech you to open the door?" said I, addressing the young girl +and her father. + +"_Si--si, Senor_," cried they together, hurrying away from the window. + +At that moment the rattle of musketry from Coyoacan, and the roar of +field artillery, told us that Twigg was engaged. The long roll echoed +through the streets, and the soldiers were speedily under arms. + +I could stay no longer, for I had now to lead the company; so leaving +L--in charge of two of the men, I placed myself at its head. As the +"Forward" was given, I neared the great door swing upon its hinges; and +looking back as we marched down the street, I saw my friend conducted +into the house. I had no fears for his safety, as a regiment was to +remain in the village... In ten minutes more I was upon the field of +battle, and a red field it was. Of my own small detachment every second +soldier "bit the dust" on the plain of Portales. I escaped unhurt, +though my regiment was well peppered by our own artillerists from the +_tete du pont_ of Churubusco. In two hours we drove the enemy through +the _garita_ of San Antonio de Abad. It was a total rout; and we could +have entered the city without firing another shot. We halted, however, +before the gates--a fatal halt, that afterwards cost us nearly 2,000 +men, the flower of our little army. But, as I before observed, I am not +writing a history of the campaign. + +An armistice followed, and gathering our wounded from the fields around +Churubusco, the army retired into the villages. The four divisions +occupied respectively the pueblos of Tacubaya, San Angel, Mixcoac, and +San Augustin de les Cuevas. San Angel was our destination; and the day +after the battle my brigade marched back, and established itself in the +village. + +I was not long in repairing to the house where I had left my friend. I +found him suffering from fever--burning fever. In another day he was +delirious; and in a week he had lost his arm; but the fever left him, +and he began to recover. During the fortnight that followed, I made +frequent visits; but a far more tender solicitude watched over him. +Rafaela was by his couch; and the old man--her father--appeared to take +a deep interest in his recovery. These, with the servants, were the +only inmates of the house. + +The treacherous enemy having broken the armistice, the burning of the +Palace-castle of Chapultepec followed soon arter. Had we failed in the +attempt, not one of us would ever have gone out from the valley of +Mexico. But we took the castle, and our crippled forces entered the +captured city of the Montezumas, and planted their banners upon the +National Palace. I was not among those who marched in. Three days +afterwards I was carried in upon a stretcher, with a bullet-hole through +my thigh, that kept me within doors for a period of three months. + +During my invalid hours, L--was my frequent visitor; he had completely +recovered his health, but I noticed that a change had come over him, and +his former gaiety was gone. + +Fresh troops arrived in Mexico, and to make room, our regiment, hitherto +occupying a garrison in the city, was ordered out to its old quarters at +San Angel. This was welcome news for my friend, who would now be near +the object of his thoughts. For my own part, although once more on my +limbs, I did not desire to return to duty in that quarter; and on +various pretexts, I was enabled to lengthen out my leave until the +treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. + +Once only I visited Saint Angel. As I entered the house where L--lived, +I found him seated in the open _patio_, under the shade of the orange +trees. Rafaela was beside him, and his only hand was held in both of +hers. There was no surprise on the part of either, though I was +welcomed cordially by both--by her, as being the friend of the man she +loved. Yes, she loved him. + +"See," cried L--, rising, and referring to the situation in which I had +found them. "All this, my dear H--, in spite of my misfortunes!" and he +glanced significantly at his armless sleeve. "Who would not love her?" + +The treaty of Guadalupe was at length concluded, and we had orders to +prepare for the route homeward. The next day I received a visit from +L--. + +"Henry," said he, "I am in a dilemma." + +"Well, Major," I replied, for L--as well as myself had gained a +"step"--"what is it?" + +"You know I am in love, and you know with whom. What am I to do with +her?" + +"Why, marry her, of course. What else?" + +"I dare not." + +"Dare not!" + +"That is--not now." + +"Why not? Resign your commission, and remain here. You know our +regiment is to be disbanded; you cannot do better." + +"Ah! my dear fellow, that is not the thing that hinders me." + +"What then?" + +"Should I marry her, and remain, our lives would not be safe one moment +after the army had marched. Papers containing threats and ribald jests +have, from time to time, been thrust under the door of her house--to the +effect that, should she marry `el official Americano'--so they are +worded--both she and her father will be murdered. You know the feeling +that is abroad in regard to those who have shown us hospitality." + +"Why not take her with you, then?" + +"Her father, he would suffer." + +"Take him too." + +"That I proposed, but he will not consent. He fears the confiscation of +his property, which is considerable. I would not care for that, though +my own fortune, as you know, would be small enough to support us. But +the old man will go on no terms, and Rafaela will not leave him." + +The old man's fears in regard to the confiscation were not without good +foundation. There was a party in Mexico, while we occupied the city, +that had advocated "annexation"--that is, the annexing of the whole +country to the United States. This party consisted chiefly of pure +Spaniards, "ricos" of the republic, who wanted a government of stability +and order. In the houses of these many of our officers visited, +receiving those elegant hospitalities that were in general denied us by +Mexicans of a more patriotic stamp. Our friends were termed +"Ayankeeados," and were hated by the populace. But they were marked in +still higher quarters. Several members of the government, then sitting +at Queretaro--among others a noted minister--had written to their agents +in the city to note down all those who, by word or act, might show +kindness to the American army. Even those ladies who should present +themselves at the theatre were to be among the number of the proscribed. + +In addition to the Ayankeeados were many families--perhaps not otherwise +predisposed to favour us--who by accident had admitted us within their +circle--such accident as that which had opened the house and heart of +Rafaela to my friend L--. These, too, were under "compromisa" with the +rabble. My comrade's case was undoubtedly what he had termed it--a +dilemma. + +"You are not disposed to give her up, then?" said I, smiling at my +anxious friend, as I put the interrogation. + +"I know you are only jesting, Henry. You know me too well for that. +No! Rather than give her up, I will stay and risk everything--even +life." + +"Come, Major," said I, "there will be no need for you to risk anything, +if you will only follow my advice. It is simply this--come home with +your regiment; stay a month or two at New Orleans, until the excitement +consequent upon our evacuation cools down. Shave off your moustache, +put on plain clothes; come back and marry Rafaela." + +"It is terrible to think of parting with her. Oh!--" + +"That may all be; I doubt it not; but what else can you do?" + +"Nothing--nothing. You are right. It is certainly the best--the only +plan. I will follow it." And L--left me. + +I saw no more of him for three days, when the brigade to which he and I +belonged, entered the city on its road homeward. He had detailed his +plans to Rafaela, and had bid her, for a time, farewell. + +The other three divisions had already marched. Ours was to form the +rear-guard, and that night was to be our last in the city of Mexico. I +had retired to bed at an early hour, to prepare for our march on the +morrow. I was about falling asleep when a loud knock sounded at my +door. I rose and opened it. It was L--. I started as the light showed +me his face--it was ghastly. His lips were white, his teeth set, and +dark rings appeared around his eyes. The eyes themselves glared in +their sockets, lit up by some terrible emotion. + +"Come!" cried he, in a hoarse and tremulous voice. "Come with me, +Henry, I need you." + +"What is it, my dear L--? A quarrel? A duel?" + +"No! no! nothing of the sort. Come! come! come! I will show you a +sight that will make a wolf of you. Haste! For God's sake, haste!" + +I hurried on my clothes. + +"Bring your arms!" cried L--; "you may require them." + +I buckled on my sword and pistol-belt, and followed hastily into the +street. We ran down the Calle Correo toward the Alameda. It was the +road to the Convent of San Francisco, where our regiment had quartered +for the night. As yet I knew not for what I was going. Could the enemy +have attacked us? No--all was quiet. The people were in their beds. +What could it be? L--had not, and would not, explain; but to my +inquiries, continually cried, "Haste--come on!" We reached the convent, +and, hastily passing the guard, made for the quarters occupied by my +friend. As we entered the room--a large one--I saw five or six females, +with about a dozen men, soldiers and officers. All were excited by some +unusual occurrence. The females were Mexicans, and their heads were +muffled in their rebozos. Some were weeping aloud, others talking in +strains of lamentation. Among them I distinguished the face of my +friend's betrothed. + +"Dearest Rafaela!" cried L--, throwing his arms around her--"it is my +friend. Here, Henry, look here! look at this!" + +As he spoke, he raised the rebozo, and gently drew back her long black +hair. I saw blood upon her cheeks and shoulders! I looked more +closely. It flowed from her ears. + +"Her ears! _O God! they have been cut off_!" + +"Ay, ay," cried L--, hoarsely; and dropping the dark tresses, again +threw his arms around the girl, and kissed away the tears that were +rolling down her cheeks--while uttering expressions of endearment and +consolation. + +I turned to the other females; they were all similarly mutilated; some +of them even worse, for their foreheads, where the U.S. had been freshly +burned upon them, were red and swollen. Excepting Rafaela, they were +all of the "poblana" class--the laundresses--the mistresses of the +soldiers. + +The surgeon was in attendance, and in a short time all was done that +could be done for wounds like these. + +"Come!" cried L--, addressing those around him, "we are wasting time, +and that is precious; it is near midnight. The horses will be ready by +this, and the rest will be waiting; come Henry, you will go? You will +stand by us?" + +"I will, but what do you intend?" + +"Do not ask us, my friend, you will see presently." + +"Think, my dear L--," said I, in a whisper; "do not act rashly." + +"Rashly! there is no rashness about me--you know that. A cowardly act, +like this, cannot be revenged too soon. Revenge! what am I talking of? +It is not revenge, but justice. The men who could perpetrate this +fiendish deed are not fit to live on the earth, and by Heavens! not one +of them shall be alive by the morning. Ha, dastards! they thought we +were gone; they will find their mistake. Mine be the responsibility,-- +mine the revenge. Come, friends! come!" And so saying L--led the way, +holding his betrothed by the hand. We all followed out of the room, and +into the street. + +On reaching the Alameda, a group of dark objects was seen among the +trees. They were horses and horsemen; there were about thirty of the +latter, and enough of the former to mount the party who were with L--. +I saw from their size that the horses were of our own troops, with +dragoon saddles. In the hurry L--had not thought of saddles for our +female companions; but the oversight was of no consequence. Their +habitual mode of riding was _a la Duchesse de Berri_, and in this way +they mounted. Before summoning me, L--had organised his band--they were +picked men. In the dim light I could see dragoon and infantry uniforms, +men in plain clothes, followers of the army, gamblers, teamsters, +Texans, desperadoes, ready for just such an adventure. Here and there I +could distinguish the long-tailed frock--the undress of the officer. +The band, in all, mustered more than forty men. + +We rode quietly through the streets, and, issuing from the gate of Nino +Perdido, took the road for San Angel. As we proceeded onward I gathered +a more minute account of what had transpired at the village. As soon as +our division had evacuated it, a mob of thirty or forty ruffians had +proceeded to the houses of those whom they termed "Ayankeeados," and +glutted their cowardly vengeance on their unfortunate victims. Some of +these had been actually killed in attempting to resist; others had +escaped to the Pedregal which runs close to the village; while a few-- +Rafaela among the number--after submitting to a terrible atrocity, had +fled to the city for protection. + +On hearing the details of these horrid scenes, I no longer felt a +repugnance in accompanying my friend. I felt as he did, that men +capable of such deeds were "not fit to live," and we were proceeding to +execute a sentence that was just, though illegal. It was not our +intention to punish all; we could not have accomplished this, had we so +willed it. By the testimony of the girls, there were five or six who +had been the promoters and ringleaders of the whole business. These +were well known to one or other of the victims, as in most instances it +had been some old grudge for which they had been singled out, as objects +of this cowardly vengeance. In Rafaela's case it was a ruffian who had +once aspired to her hand, and had been rejected. Jealousy had moved the +fiend to this terrible revenge. + +It is three leagues from Mexico to San Angel. The road runs through +meadows and fields of magueys. Except the lone _pulqueria_, at the +corner where a cross path leads to the hacienda of Narvarte, there is +not a house before reaching the bridge of Coyoacan. Here there is a +cluster of buildings--"fabricas"--which, during the stay of our army, +had been occupied by a regiment. Before arriving at this point we saw +no one; and here, only people who, waked from their sleep by the tread +of our horses, had not the curiosity to follow us. + +San Angel is a mile further up the hill. Before entering the village we +divided into five parties, each to be guided by one of the girls. L--'s +vengeance was especially directed towards the _ci-devant_ lover of his +betrothed. She herself knowing his residence, was to be our guide. + +Proceeding through narrow lanes, we arrived in a suburb of the village, +and halted before a house of rather stylish appearance. We had +dismounted outside the town, leaving our horses in charge of a guard. +It was very dark, and we clustered around the door. One knocked--a +voice was heard from within--Rafaela recognised it as that of the +ruffian himself. The knock was repeated, and one of the party who spoke +the language perfectly, called out:-- + +"Open the door! Open, Don Pedro!" + +"Who is it?" asked the voice. + +"Yo," (I) was the simple reply. + +This is generally sufficient to open the door of a Mexican house, and +Don Pedro was heard within, moving toward the "Saguan." + +The next moment the great door swung back on its hinges, and the ruffian +was dragged forth. He was a swarthy fierce-looking fellow--from what I +could see in the dim light--and made a desperate resistance, but he was +in the hands of men who soon overpowered and bound him. We did not +delay a moment, but hurried back to the place where we had left our +horses. As we passed through the streets, men and women were running +from house to house, and we heard voices and shots in the distance. On +reaching our rendezvous we found our comrades, all of whom had succeeded +in making their capture. + +There was no time to be lost; there might be troops in the village-- +though we saw none--but whether or not, there were "leperos" enough to +assail us. We did not give them time to muster. Mounting ourselves and +our prisoners we rode off at a rapid pace, and were soon beyond the +danger of pursuit. + +Those who have passed through the gate Nino Perdido will remember that +the road leading to San Angel runs, for nearly a mile, in a straight +line, and that, for this distance, it is lined on both sides with a +double row of large old trees. It is one of the drives (paseos) of +Mexico. Where the trees end, the road bends slightly to the south. At +this point a cross road strikes off to the pueblito of Piedad, and at +the crossing there is a small house, or rather a temple, where the pious +wayfarer kneels in his dusty devotions. This little temple, the +residence of a hermitical monk, was uninhabited during our occupation of +the valley, and, in the actions that resulted in the capture of the +city, it had come in for more than its share of hard knocks. A battery +had been thrown up beside it, and the counter-battery had bored the +walls of the temple with round shot. I never passed this solitary +building without admiring its situation. There was no house nearer it +than the aforementioned "tinacal" of Narvarte, or the city itself. It +stood in the midst of swampy meadows, bordered by broad plats of the +green maguey, and this isolation, together with the huge old trees that +shadowed and sang over it, gave the spot an air of romantic loneliness. + +On arriving under the shadow of the trees, and in front of the lone +temple, our party halted by order of their leader. Several of the +troopers dismounted, and the prisoners were taken down from their +horses. I saw men uncoiling ropes that had hung from their saddle-bows, +and I shuddered to think of the use that was about to be made of them. + +"Henry," said L--, riding up to me and speaking in a whisper, "they must +not see this."--He pointed to the girls.--"Take them some distance ahead +and wait for us; we will not be long about it, I promise." + +Glad of the excuse to be absent from such a scene, I put spurs to my +horse, and rode forward, followed by the females of the party. On +reaching the circle near the middle of the paseo I halted. + +It was quite dark, and we could see nothing of those we had left behind +us. We could hear nothing--nothing but the wind moaning high up among +the branches of the tall poplars; but this, with the knowledge I had of +what was going on so near me, impressed me with an indescribable feeling +of sadness. + +L--had kept his promise; he was not long about it. + +In less than ten minutes the party came trotting up, chatting gaily as +they rode, but their prisoners had been left behind. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +As the American army moved down the road to Vera Cruz, many travelling +carriages were in its train. In one of these were a girl and a +grey-haired old man. Almost constantly during the march a young officer +might be seen riding by this carriage, conversing through the windows +with its occupants within. + +A short time after the return troops landed at New Orleans, a bridal +party were seen to enter the old Spanish cathedral; the bridegroom was +an officer who had lost an arm. His fame and the reputed beauty of the +bride had brought together a large concourse of spectators. + +"She loved me," said L--to me on the morning of this his happiest day; +"she loved me in spite of my mutilated limb, and should I cease to love +her because she has--no, I see it not; she is to me the same as ever." + +And there were none present who saw it; few were there who knew that +under those dark folds of raven hair were the _souvenirs_ of a terrible +tragedy. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The Mexican government behaved better to the Ayankeeados than was +expected. They did not confiscate the property; and L--is now enjoying +his fortune in a snug hacienda, somewhere in the neighbourhood of San +Angel. + +Story 4. + +THE BROKEN BITT. + +Several months after our army had made its fighting _entree_ into the +capital of Mexico, the regiment known as the "Texan Rangers" arrived in +that city. [Note. By _our_ army is understood the American forces.] I +am not very certain but that their approach, peaceful as it was, created +almost as much terror in the minds of the inhabitants, as our +sword-in-hand entrance had occasioned three months before. The name +"Tejano" in the ears of a Mexican, sounded with a fearful emphasis, as +Goth might have done to a Roman, or Cossack to a plain Christian. Many +of them thought they would now be called upon to answer for the sins of +Santa Anna, for the treason of Santa Fe, the slaughter of the Alamo, and +the _battue_ at Goliad. In the midst of this ludicrous consternation, +the Texans rode quietly into the piazza, and breaking up into squadrons, +filed off to their respective quarters. In a few hours the minds of the +Mexicans became once more tranquil. They were not to be plundered, +after all! + +I shall never forget the appearance of the Texan Rangers as they pulled +up in the Plazza--I could not call the movement a halt. If I live, I +shall make an attempt to describe it. I say an attempt, for, to do +justice to that ragged _coup d'oeil_ is beyond the privilege of the pen. +The brush might do it, handled by a Hogarth; and had that excellent +artist been in my place, there and then, we might have had a picture +that would have drawn laughter so long as paint and canvas stuck +together. Here we have no room for details. One point, however, must +be noted, as it relates to our subject--the horses--for be it known, the +Rangers were mounted men. Instead of the large cavalry horses which the +government had put under them some six months before, each ranger now +straddled a scraggy mustang, his boot-heel, with its rusty spur raking +the ground as he rode along. What had become of the original "mount"? +That was the question, which was answered thus:--The regiment had just +made its march of several hundred leagues through the enemy's country, +halting at various places. During the halts, the rich _haciendados_ +coveting the fine steeds of Kentucky--colossal when compared with their +own gingery jennets--offered freely for them. A series of "swops" had +been the consequence. The Texan, at a horse trade keen as the edge of +his bowie, took anything that could carry a saddle, at the same time +receiving a "mighty heap" of dollars to square the exchange. In this +way they had brought themselves down to the ill-conditioned nags upon +which they made their first appearance in the capital. Strange to say, +these grew fat in a trice, although they were constantly on the scout; +seldom idle long enough to let their backs get dry. There was no rest +for the Rangers. One week riding fifty leagues to capture Santa Anna; +the next, after Paredes, or the robbers of the Cerro; the next, on the +trail of the Padre Jarauta; and yet, despite this journeying and +fatigue, it was observed by every one that the Rangers' horses, though +still only mustangs, became as fat and plump as if they had been +standing all the time with their heads in a corn-crib. It was wonderful +to see horses thus fattening upon hard work! + +Some endeavoured to account for it, by insinuating that they were not +the same cattle upon which the regiment was mounted on its arrival--that +the "swopping system" was still practised along the road, and frequently +with only one party present at the "trade." There were such +insinuations I remember well. Perhaps they were slanders, perhaps not. +I leave it a question of inference. + +About this time I was told of a splendid mare that was in the possession +of one of the Rangers. Of course she was for sale. I wished just then +to obtain such an animal; so, drawing three months' pay (being in all +about 300 dollars), I rode over to the Texan quarters--intending, if the +mare pleased me, to make a bid. + +She was led out, and proved to be worthy of her reputation--a large +brown Arabian, with jet black legs and sweeping tail, while her head and +neck were graceful as an antelope's. + +While examining her, I noticed a small brand upon her left hind flank. +I observed at the same time that some diligence had been used to render +the mark "unswearable." After a little puzzling and adjusting of hair, +I made out the letter C. + +"What is this?" I asked. + +"It er the mark of a hot iron. Yer can see that, kint ye?" + +"I can; but this mare is no mustang?" + +"Aint a mustang neyther," responded the Ranger, whittling away at a +strop of leather which he held in his hand, and seeming utterly +indifferent to everything else. + +"Why, then, has she been marked?" I inquired. "It is not usual for +Americans to brand their horses, excepting those that belong to the +government. Then they're branded U.S.; this mark is a C." + +"Well, then, stranger, if you must know all about it, the mar' wur tuk +from our people on the grand, by that ar chapparil fox Canales. He +burned in that `C.' C stands for Canales, I reckin." + +"That's true, and for many other names as well. But how did you get her +back again?" + +"Wagh! we kumd upon Canales an' his yellerbellies, an' tuk her from them +ag'in, afore the singed bar had done smokin'. Now er yer satisfied?" + +I was not. It is true, the story was probable enough. The mare was not +Mexican, that was plain. The horse of that country is of a peculiar +race, and is as easily distinguished from the English or American Arab, +as a sheep is from a goat. Still she bore a Mexican mark, and had been +in the possession of some of these people. She might have been, as the +Ranger stated, one of our own horses captured and recaptured on the +upper line; but I had not observed any such animal with the Texans on +their arrival; and as I had heard that the _ricos_ of Mexico had, from +time to time, imported blood stock from England and the United States, I +feared that she might prove to be one of these. The voice of the Texan +interrupted my reflection. + +"The critter's Kaintuck," continued he--"true Kaintuck. She wur brought +down on the Grand, by a lootenant at the breakin' out o' this hyar muss. +She were at Paler Alter, an' at Monterey, an' Bony Yeesty; and at that +Hashendy, the time as Dan Drake rid the hundred-mile gallop on Cash +Clay's mar'. Old Kaintuck she er, an' nothin' else. They don't raise +such cattle in these hyar diggins, I reckin'. Yee-up, old gal; hold up +yer corn-trap; thar's money bid for ye!" + +At the end of this curious monologue, the mare threw up her head and +neighed long and loudly. + +"Come, my man," said I, "what's the meaning of that?" + +The neigh was peculiar, and struck me as that of a mare who had been +recently separated from her colt. + +"She's a whigherin' for a hoss, that's hyar," answered the Ranger +coolly. "They haint been separate a half-an-hour for more 'n a yar, I +reckin'. Hev they, Bill?" + +"That they haint," replied the man appealed to, one of a crowd of Texans +who had gathered around us. + +"They're in the same kumpny, an' rid in the same file," continued the +owner of the mare. "She won't bear that ar leetle hoss out o' her sight +a minit. One o' the boys hes tuk _him_ out to water. That's why she +whighers, aint it, Bill?" + +"'Taint nothin' else," replied the _confrere_. + +"But," said I, "it is strange I did not see this mare when you first +came up. I was in the Piazza, and took particular notice of your +horses. I think I should have remarked such a fine-looking animal as +this." + +"Look hyar, stranger," answered the Texan, somewhat irritated by this +cross-questioning. "I brought this mar' up the road along with the +raygyment. If yer want to buy her, yer kin do it, by givin' a fair +vally for her. If yer don't, there's no bones broke, an' I don't care a +nigger's dam. If I only take her out to the Palaza, I kin git my axin' +from one o' these Mexikins in the twinklin' o' a goat's eye. Can't I, +Bill?" + +"Yes, siree," responded Bill. + +"Yer say ye didn't see her when we kum up. That aint nothin' strange. +She war kivered with sweat an' dust, inch deep; besides, she wur thin +then as old bull in enow time. She aint to say fat yit, but she's +improved some, I reckin'. Aint she, Bill?" + +"A dog-goned heap," was the ready response of Bill. I was so taken with +the appearance of the beautiful creature, that I determined to run the +risk, and purchase her. I might have to give her up again to some +gentleman claiming his property; but, thought I, I can easily recover my +money, as the Ranger will be glad to pay it back to me, rather than +spend his time in the guardhouse. + +"How much?" I asked, having made up my mind to buy. + +"The zact figger yer want?" + +"Yes, the exact figure." + +"Two-fifty: cheap enough, I reckin'. Aint it, Bill?" + +"Dog cheap," was the laconic answer. I offered two hundred. It +wouldn't do. The cunning Ranger saw that I was "bound" to have her, and +stood up to his first asking. I raised my bid to two hundred and +twenty-five. + +"Won't take a picayune less nor two-fifty. She's a'mighty cheap at it. +She er the finest mar' in all Mexiko. That's sartin." + +After a while, I saw that the man was inexorable; and, drawing out my +purse, I counted down the required amount. A bill of sale, which was +signed by the Ranger, and witnessed by his comrade, Bill, completed the +"trade," and the mare was forthwith transferred to my quarters. Under +the nimble brush and comb of my Mexican groom, Vicente, she soon became +the most admired piece of horseflesh that made its appearance on the +Pasao. + +About ten days after, a party of us (we had nothing to do at the time) +came to the resolve to visit Real del Monte, a rich silver-mine in the +mountains that skirt the north-east of the valley. A division of our +army was stationed there, and some of our old _comarados_ had sent us an +"invite" to come up and explore the mines--adding that two or three very +hospitable English _haciendados_ lived in that neighbourhood. + +We could not resist, and consequently made ready to start. There were +eight or ten of us in all, who had asked and obtained leave; and as we +intended to include in our excursion the old town of Tezcoco and the +pyramids of Teotihuacan--a guerilla neighbourhood--we borrowed a score +of dragoons to escort us. I had resolved to try my new purchase upon +the road on this occasion. + +The morning of our departure arrived, and I was about to throw my leg +over the saddle, when I was accosted by a small, spare man, with the +salutation-- + +"_Buenas dias, capitan_!" + +There was nothing in the words strange or unusual, nor, indeed, in the +individual who pronounced them; but there was something in the manner of +this gentleman that told me at once he had some business with me. + +"Well, senor," I asked, "what is it?" + +The stranger hesitated for a moment, and then looking at the mare, +replied, "La yegua, capitan." + +"The mare--well, what of her?" I asked, with a beating heart. + +"I regret to inform you, captain, that you have purchased a stolen +horse;" and the little man bowed politely as he said it. + +Had it been an order from the commander-in-chief, placing me under +arrest, I should not have been so much vexed at it. I had grown so fond +of this animal that I would cheerfully have paid down another two +hundred and fifty rather than part with her, and this I saw plainly I +would now have to do. + +"Stolen!" I echoed involuntarily. + +"Yes, captain, it is true." + +"And from whom? From you, sir?" + +"No, captain; from Don Miguel Castro." + +"And you?" + +"I am his agent--his _mayorazgo_--nothing more." + +"Don Miguel Castro," thought I. "Yes--C for Castro--yes, all as he +says, no doubt of it. I must give up the mare." + +"Well, my dear sir," I asked, after a pause, "how am I to know that your +statement is true?" + +"Here, captain--here is the certificate of Senor Smeeth." Saying this, +the little man handed me a folded document, on opening which I found it +to be a bill of sale delivered by the celebrated Joe Smith, of Mexican +horse-dealing notoriety, and describing the property to a hair. + +"This seems quite correct," I observed, returning the bill; "but it will +be necessary for you to prove this claim before the commander-in-chief; +and when that is done I shall deliver you your mare. _Adios, +caballero_!" + +So saying, I rode off to overtake my companions, determined, since I +must part with the animal, first to have one good ride out of her. + +We spent about a week in the mountains, enjoying every amusement that +our friends could provide for us. We found the English _haciendados_ +worthy of their reputation. What a contrast between the cheer of their +Saxon hospitality and the cold welcome of the selfish Iberian! But we +approached the limits of our "leave," and must get back to duty and the +city. After a parting and a promise to return, we leaped once more to +the saddle, and headed our horses homeward. + +It was our intention to have made the journey back in one day, but the +stirrup-cup had delayed us at starting; and night--a very dark one at +that season--overtook us as we crossed the isthmus between lakes Tezcoco +and San Cristobal. The road was deep, miry, and bordered by bottomless +zancas of mud and water. The little village of San Cristobal lay by the +border of the lake, at some distance; and wheeling out of the road, we +approached it, intending to remain there till morning. The _pueblito_ +was reached at length, and with the alcalde's permission, our horses +were picketed in the piazza, and ourselves put in possession of an empty +_cuarto_, which, with several millions of fleas, was placed at our +disposal. Money was offered freely, but no supper could be had; and +when it was not to be procured for money, we had experience enough among +these people to know that it was not to be had at all. A dish of +_frijoles_ stewed in lard, a _tortilla_, and a bowl of sour _pulque_, +were all that we could raise; and, after swallowing this, we lit our +cigars, spread our blankets both over and under the fleas, and commenced +arranging ourselves for the night. + +It so happened that I could talk Spanish "like a book," and, +furthermore, that I was the only one in our party who possessed this +accomplishment. The alcalde, in consequence, directed all his +conversation to me, and, being a sociable old fellow, he had become very +fond of me. He had remained with us until a late hour, and during this +time I had offered him a havanna, which he had accepted and smoked with +much seeming enjoyment. As I was about seizing my blanket to make my +"spread" along with the rest, old Jose Maria--for this was the alcalde's +name--plucked me gently by the sleeve, and whispered in my ear that "_su +casa_" was "_a mi disposition_" I was about to translate this hospitable +proffer according to its usual French and Spanish signification, when it +was repeated in a more pressing manner; and as I was not very difficult +to coax away from the _cuarto_, I took Jose Maria at his word, and +followed him across the piazza. On the other side was _su casa_. We +entered it at once, and were welcomed by a felt, buxom-looking old lady, +who proved to be Don Jose's left rib. Another lady made her appearance +shortly after, who was neither so old, nor so fat, nor so buxom as the +dona, but whose complexion was very dusky, with a dangerous black eye +peeping from under a dark, crescent-shaped eyebrow. This, I was given +to understand, was the only fruit of Don Jose's wedded life; and not +bad-looking fruit either. + +The ladies spent but little time in idle phrases of welcome. Jose +snapped his fingers, and in a twinkling, a turkey hash with a large dish +of _mole_, were smoking upon the table. There were other dishes, too-- +pleasant little _entrees_, spiced and flavoured with all sorts of +_chile_. + +As I ate my supper with the alcalde and his compact little family, I +could not help chuckling at the advantage I had gained over my +supperless, and, no doubt, sleepless companions. Neither was my +exultation diminished when, near the end of the repast, old Jose Maria +stepped up to an alcove and drew out a quaint, queer old bottle, whose +waxen seal conjured up exciting visions of the port of Funchal and the +peak of Teneriffe. + +I was fortunately enabled, through my cigar-case, to contribute to the +evening's entertainment; and my host and I sat for an hour after the +ladies had retired, discussing our wine and tobacco, and talking of the +Texan Rangers, of which corps the worthy magistrate had rather a low +opinion. It appeared that they had paid the neighbourhood a visit not +long before, behaving upon the occasion in no very creditable manner. + +It was late, or early if you will, when Jose inverted the bottle for the +last time, and pressing my hand with a "_posa V. buena noche_!" the +Mexican showed me to my chamber. Here I found one of the great and rare +luxuries of this land--a couch with clean sheets; and in the "twinkling +of a bedpost" I was between the latter, and forgetful of everything. + +When I awoke in the morning, I found my comrades in the piazza, making +ready to start. It was still only grey dawn, but as they were all sadly +flea-bitten, and knew that nothing could be had to eat in San Cristobal, +they had made up their minds to ride on, and breakfast at Guadalupe. I +was preparing to accompany them, when Jose whispered in my ear that +breakfast would be on the table in five minutes, and I must wait for it. +This was a tempting offer. My health was excellent, and half-a-dozen +mouthfuls of the fresh morning air had given me a keen appetite. + +"If the breakfast," thought I, "bear any sort of proportion to last +night's supper, it's worth waiting for; better than we are likely to get +at Guadalupe; besides, `a bird in the hand,'" etc. I could soon +overtake my companions on my fine mare, which had by this time proved +herself a first-class roadster. + +I placed my lips under the broad brim of Josh's, and repeated the words, +"_Con gusto_." + +"_Esta bueno_," replied Jose, slipping back into his house. + +The next moment my companions had ridden off into the obscure twilight, +and I was left alone in the village. None of my friends, I believe, had +noticed that I stayed behind; and if they had, it would not have called +forth a remark, as I was considered old enough to take care of myself. + +My host proved as good as his word; for in five minutes, or less, the +breakfast was steaming on the table; nor did it do any discredit to the +supper. There were ham and eggs; a ham omelette; a chicken _fricase_; a +dish of _chile rilleno_; another of _chile Colorado_; plenty of good +claret, to wash down the peppers; and after that, a cup of the coffee +which only Spaniards can make. Then there was a glass of good old +Maraschino, and a cigar to "top off with," and as the morning was now +tiptoe, I rose to take my leave. I shook hands with the senora, then +with the senorita; and, amidst a shower of benedictions, I walked forth, +followed by Jose Maria himself. My mare stood near the door, ready +saddled. I threw the bridle over her neck, and was about to plant my +foot in the stirrup, when my host touched me lightly on the left arm, +and holding out a small slip of paper, with a sort of apologetic smile, +uttered the words, "_Sa cuenta chiquita, capitan_." (The small bill, +captain.) + +"A bill!" I exclaimed, as soon as I had recovered from my astonishment. + +"_Chiquitita_," (Very, very small) coolly responded Jose. + +I took the "_cuenta chiquitita_" in my fingers, and opening it, +read--"_Un peso por cena--un peso por cama--un peso por almuerzo--tres +pesos por vino:--Suma seis pesos_." (Anglice: Slipper, one dollar--bed, +one dollar--breakfast, one dollar--wine, three dollars. Total, six +dollars.) + +"It's a joke the old fellow's playing me," thought I. + +I looked at Jose, then at the bill; then back at Jose again, putting on +a knowing smile, to show him that I was up to his fun; but after +carrying on this dumb show for some moments, I perceived that not a +muscle of the Mexican's face betrayed the slightest motion. His +features remained as rigid as the bronze statue of Carlos Quinto that +stood in the capital; and, after scanning them fairly, I became +satisfied there was no joke either "meant or intended." + +Arriving at this conclusion, my first impulse was to make his "worship" +eat the bill, and then leap to my saddle, and show him "clean heels;" +but this, I saw on reflection, would be but a shabby reckoning on my +part. True I had fared well; but it was vexatious to be thus +"chizzled," and in such a scandalous manner. It could not be mended, +however; and mentally promising never again to trust Mexican +hospitality, I drew forth my purse, and reluctantly counted out the +"_seis pesos_." Then both mentally and verbally sending Jose to a +climate hotter than the tropics, I touched my mare's flank, and left the +village in a gallop. + +I was so "bitter mad" at the trick played upon me, that I did not draw +bridle for a mile or more. After that, checking my fiery animal, I fell +into an easy canter, and laughed till I was nearly hoarse. I kept +straight on for Guadalupe, expecting to overhaul my friends in the +middle of their breakfast. + +I had not the slightest intention of showing them the "_cuenta +chiquitita_," or saying a word about it. No, no; I should have +preferred paying it twice over. + +With these reflections, occasionally making the woods ring with my +laughter, I had reached to within five miles of San Cristobal, when, all +at once, my mare uttered a loud neigh, and sprang into a by road. The +reins had been thrown loosely upon her neck; and before I could collect +them, she was fairly into the new track, and going at top speed! I +dragged with all my might upon the bitt--which happened to be a "fool's +fancy," lightly constructed--when, to my mortification, one of the rings +gave way, and the rein came back with a jerk. I had now only one rein. +With this I could have brought her up on open ground, but we were +running up a narrow lane, and on each side was a treble row of magueys, +forming a most fearful-looking _chevaux-de-frise_! + +Had I pulled the mare to either side, she would have certainly tripped +up in the magueys, and impaled me on their bayonet-shaped spikes. I +could do nothing better than keep my seat, and let her run it out. She +would not be long about it, at the rate she was going, for she ran as if +on a course, and staked ten to one against the field. At intervals she +would throw up her head, and utter that strange wild neigh which I had +noticed on first seeing her. + +On we went through the tall aloes, the rows of plants looking like a +green fringe as we shot past them. We came up to several _ranchos_. +The _leperos_ that lounged about the doors threw up their hats, and +shouted "_Viva_!" The _ranchos_ fell behind. A large house--a +_hacienda_--lay before. I could see beautiful women clustering into the +windows as I approached Gilpin and Don Quixote came into my head. + +"Good heavens!" thought I. "What will they think of my riding past in +this ludicrous style?" + +Riding past! I had scarcely given words to the thought, when my mare +wheeled sharply to the left--almost flinging me out of my seat--and +dashed right into the main gateway of the mansion! Three more springs, +and she was in the _patio_, where, stopping like a shot, she threw up +her head, uttered another neigh, and stood looking wildly round, with +heaving, smoking flanks. The neigh had scarcely echoed when it was +answered from within; and the next moment a half-grown colt came loping +through a doorway, and ran up with all the demonstrations of a filial +recognition. + +I had not time to recover from my surprise when a lovely apparition +flashed out of the _portale_, and came running across the _patio_. It +was a girl--something between a girl, a woman, and, I might add, a +goddess. + +Without heeding or seeming to notice my presence, she rushed up and +flung her arms around the neck of my Arab, which bent its head to +receive the embrace. The girl then pressed her lips against the +velvet-like muzzle of the animal, all the while muttering exclamations, +as-- + +"_Ah! mia yegua buenita! Mora, Morita, digame de donde viene, Morita_?" +(Ah, my pretty little mare! pretty Mora, little Mora, tell me whence +come you, little Mora!) + +And the mare replied to all this by a low neighing, turning from one to +the other of the two objects that caressed her, and seemingly at a loss +to know to which she should give most of her attention. + +I sat speechless, looking down at the strange scene--at the beautiful +girl--at her shining black hair (a cloth-yard long), as it hung loosely +over her white, nude shoulders--at her rounded snowy arms--at her dark +flashing eyes--at her cheeks, mounted with the hue of health and +beauty--at her small red lips, as, like crushed rosebuds, they were +pressed against the smooth skin of the Arab. + +"Oh, I am dreaming!" thought I. "I am still between old Jose's +comfortable sheets. It's the Teneriffe has done it all, and the _cuenta +chiquitita_ is only a joke after all. Ha, ha, ha! I have paid no bill +to the worthy alcalde--hospitable old fellow! It's all a dream--all." + +But at this point of my reflections, several other ladies made their +appearance in the _portale_, and several gentlemen, too, and the great +gateway was fast filling up with the _pelados_ who had hooted me as I +passed the _rancheria_. It was no dream, then; I had settled one +account, and I was fast becoming sensible that I should shortly be +called upon to settle another. + +Fortunately the fog caused by old Jose's Maraschino had now cleared +away, and I began to comprehend how the "camp was pitched." It was +certain that my mare _had got home_. That was plain enough. It was +equally certain that the old gentleman with the white moustache, and +dark stern eyebrows, was Don Miguel Castro. These two points were as +clear as daylight. It was very evident that I had got myself, or rather +the mare had got me, into a most awkward predicament. How was I to get +out of it? This was by no means clear. + +Should I confess all, and throw myself on their mercy? It was a +queer-looking gang by the gateway. They wouldn't wish better sport than +to chuck me into a horse-pond, or string me up to the limb of a tree. +No, it would never do to confess. I must account for the broken bridle +to save a broken head. I need hardly mention that these were only +silent thoughts. But at that moment a plan of escape from my dilemma +came into my mind. + +By that time the gentlemen, headed by the old don, had descended into +the _patio_ and approached the mare, upon whose back I still kept my +seat. Hitherto they had exhibited indications of alarm. They supposed +at first that a troop of Texan Rangers was at my heels. Becoming +satisfied, in consequence of the reports of the _rancheros_, that I was +alone, they now surrounded me with stern, inquiring looks. There was no +time to be lost. I must not allow them to speculate on how the bridle +came to be broken, or that they were indebted to the mare alone, for my +visit. No, that would never do; so, throwing my legs over the croup, I +landed upon the pavement with as much deliberation as if I had been +dismounting at my own stable-door. Assuming all the _sang-froid_ I +could muster, I walked up to the old gentleman in grey, and making him a +polite bow, said interrogatively-- + +"Don Miguel Castro?" + +"_Si senor_," replied he, in a hurried manner, and, as I fancied, +somewhat angrily. + +"This is your mare?" + +"_Si senor_," in the same tone and manner. + +"She was lately stolen from you?" + +"_Si senor_," with the like emphasis. + +"By a Texan Ranger?" + +"_Por un ladron_," (by a robber), replied the Mexican, with an angry +look, which I observed was copied by very dark countenances appearing +all around me. + +"He certainly was not an honest man," I answered, with a smile. "You +have an agent in Mexico," continued I, "who has claimed this animal in +your name?" + +"_Si senor_." + +"I had purchased her from the Texan, who deceived me as to her previous +history." + +"I know all that," was the prompt response. + +"I told your agent--not knowing him--that I could not give her up until +his claim was made good before the commander-in-chief, or until I could +have the honour of an interview with yourself." + +"_Bueno_!" + +"I was passing with a party of friends, and, leaving them, I entered the +road leading to your residence, and, as you see, I am here. I should +apologise for the _manner_ of my approach. The animal, overjoyed at +heading towards her home, made a complete run away with me, and, as you +may observe, has broken the bitt-ring." + +There was the least little bit of a white lie in this, but I felt that +my life was in extreme danger. The Texans had harried this +neighbourhood not a month before--in fact, at the time the mare was +stolen. Several men had been killed upon the occasion. The inhabitants +were much exasperated in consequence, and would have thought little of +making me the victim of retaliatory vengeance, by jerking me up to a +tree. I think, therefore, I was rather justified in the slight +colouring I gave to my narrative. + +Don Miguel stood for some time as if puzzled at what I had said. + +"You say, then, the mare is yours?" I resumed, breaking the silence. + +"_Si senor, esta mia_," was the reply. + +"Will you have the goodness to order one of your servants to remove the +saddle and bridle?" + +This was done as desired. + +"May I request you to keep them in safety until I can have an +opportunity to send for them?" + +"Certainly, sir," replied the don, brightening up. + +"And now, sir, may I ask you to certify that you have recovered your +mare, since that will be necessary to enable me to recover my money?" + +By this time the don and his party were quite overcome by my _rare +generosity_! The stern looks disappeared; the _pelados_ were driven out +of the _patio_; and in five minutes more I found myself stretching my +limbs under the family table, and on the best of terms with the whole +household, including the little goddess before mentioned, who proved to +be the real owner of the Arab. It was lucky for me that I was not +quartered in that vicinity, or she might have become the owner of +something that I could less conveniently have parted with. As it was, I +came out of the fire of her brilliant eyes almost unhurt, which I may +attribute to the insensibility produced by a very choice article of old +"Bordeos" that was exhumed from the vaults under Don Miguel's mansion. + +I came off--I can hardly tell how. I remember clambering into a yellow +carriage, and rolling along a level road. I remember meeting a party of +mounted men, who said they had been sent out to look for me, and then I +remember-- + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Two days afterwards I went to seek the Ranger, and learned, to my +chagrin, that he was gone. His company had been ordered down the road, +as the escort of a train to Vera Cruz, where they were to be disbanded +and sent home. Had I lost my two hundred and fifty dollars? Not so. +On my return from Mexico, in June, 1848, I accidentally overhauled my +man in the Ranger camp at Encerro. He was without a dollar. The +_fandangueras_ of Jalapa had completely cleared him out; but, to do him +justice, he did all in his power to make suitable reparation. Going +behind the tents, he returned in a minute or two, leading a large and +handsome sorrel, which he delivered over to me with due formality, and +with the following wind-up:-- + +"Thar aint no such hoss doins in this hyar camp. I tell yer, cap, thet +thet ar mar' wa'n't a suckumstance to this hyar anymal." + +Story 5. + +A TURKEY HUNT IN TEXAS. + +By far the finest game bird in the world, is the wild turkey of America. +It exceeds all others in size, in the ratio of two or three to one; and +in delicacy of flesh it is not excelled by either partridge, grouse, or +pheasant. The domesticated variety is much inferior to the wild, either +in bulk of body, or quality of flesh; and in the markets of the United +States, a wild turkey of equal weight with a common one, will always +command a much higher price--partly from the greater scarcity of the +dish, but as much on account of its superior delicacy. + +Before proceeding to hunt the wild turkey, some account of the habits of +this beautiful bird may not be out of place. He stands--for we speak +more particularly of the "gobbler," or cock--full four feet on his +robust red legs: while his wings, which are rather short in proportion +to his bulk, have a spread of about five. When of largest size, he +weighs forty pounds avoirdupois. His body is finely proportioned, with +a small head and tapering neck. In shape, he is far superior to his +loose, high shouldered representative of the farm-yard, and more +resembles his proud congener, the peacock; while in colour, although not +so gaudy as the latter, still is he an hundred times more brilliant than +his tame congener, that now for more than three centuries has been +reduced to companionship with civilised man, and naturalised in almost +every country upon the globe. + +The general tints of the wild turkey-gobbler are purple and rich brown; +but his close-lying plumes exhibit many other colours, frequently a +beautiful violet gleaming upon them, according to the light in which the +sun is reflected from their surface. The plumage all over presents a +fine metallic lustre, which in most other birds is chiefly conspicuous +on the gorget, breast, and shoulders. The neck is not so destitute of +downy feathers as in the tame variety--having the skin and wart-like +protuberances of a purplish blue colour, while the wattle proceeding +from the crown is also furnished with a slight sprinkling of down; and +when the bird is excited, either by anger or by amorous propensity, this +appendage becomes so elongated as to cover the beak, and hang several +inches below it. + +The tuft, resembling horse hair, which grows out from the junction of +the neck and breast, in a wild turkey-cock of full size, is often nearly +a foot in length! but for what purpose the bird has been furnished with +this curious "tresa" is one of the mysteries of nature. + +The geographical range of this fine bird is longitudinally extensive. +Its northern boundary may be regarded as the British possessions, while +to the south it is found as far as the Isthmus of Panama. The wild +turkey is often spoken of by, not very observant, travellers who have +visited South America; but the supposition is, that the birds mentioned +by these writers, were some of the larger species of the _Cracidae_ or +_curraesows_. + +It is also probable that the beautiful ocellated turkey of Southern +Mexico and Central America, may be an inhabitant of the countries south +of Panama: as the same circumstances of soil, climate, and vegetation +exist there, as in the habitat where it is found. + +Latitudinally, the wild turkey was supposed not to extend beyond the +line of the Rocky Mountains. This is an error. Although there is no +account of its being met with near the Pacific coast of California, yet +has it been shot upon the Gila River, which lies westward of the +Cordillera. + +Throughout all the original United States territory--the great +forest-covered tract between the Mississippi and the Atlantic--it was +one of the commonest birds in the times of the early settlements; and it +is still far from rare, in those parts of the States where large patches +of woodland extend between the sparse plantations. + +Westward of the Mississippi, on the "timber" prairies--especially those +interspersed with copses of _pecan_ and hickory-trees, as also some of +the acorn-bearing oaks--wild turkeys may be often encountered in flocks +of from eighty to a hundred. + +It has hitherto been taken for granted, that only two species of wild +turkey (_meleagris_) existed:--that properly so called, and the +ocellated, or "Honduras turkey," already mentioned Of course, the +_tallegalla_, or "wattled" turkey of Australia, is not taken into +account in this enumeration: nor the common barn-yard breed, which has +always been regarded as the mere domesticated variety of the _meleagris +gullipavo_. + +Discoveries, however, have lately been made by naturalists, which go far +to prove that the wild turkey of North America is not only a distinct +species from the domestic bird, but that the latter is of itself only +distantly related to another species, equally distinct from the wild +turkeys of the United States country east of the Mississippi. + +That which has been found throughout Mexico--and northward upon the +Gila, and the elevated table plains on both sides of the Rio del Norte-- +in short, throughout the Rocky Mountain district--differs in many +respects from the bird of the Alleghanian forests. It is even plausibly +proved that our tame turkey could not have descended from the wild +species of the Atlantic States--one of the arguments being, that all +attempts hitherto made to reduce the latter to the condition of a +dunghill fowl--and they have been many--have ended in complete failure. + +It is certain that the European breed was not brought from the United +States. It was introduced as early as the year 1530, and must therefore +have been transported across the Atlantic by the Spaniards--either from +Mexico or the West India islands. + +The Mexican wild species--if it be a different species--is in some +respects more like the tame variety than that of the north-eastern +portion of the Continent; and it is more probable, in every way, that +the former is the progenitor of the domestic breed. + +Another hypothesis is, that on their arrival in the West Indies, the +Spaniards found tame turkeys stalking about the huts of the islanders; +and that it was from these they obtained the breed, since propagated +over the whole civilised world; and that the domesticated variety, as we +term it, is not sprung from either of the wild breeds--Mexican or +North-American--but is a distinct species in itself. + +This hypothesis, or speculation, is not without probability: since the +bird of the barn-yard, instead of being an improvement, even in bulk, +upon the wild species, is in reality a retrograded and inferior +creature. + +If the theory be correct, there would be four distinct species of +turkey--the American, the Mexican, the ocellated, and the tame--to say +nothing of the queer _tallegalla_, or "wattled" turkey of Australia. + +Space does not allow me to dwell long upon the habits of this bird. +Suffice it to say that, like all the _gallinaceae_, the wild turkey is +gregarious, and is seen in large flocks or "gangs," often numbering as +many as a hundred. These flocks are differently constituted at +different periods of the year. + +In October they congregate into large promiscuous assemblages: that is, +males, females, and young ones, better than half-grown, grouping +together. They seek their food, which consists chiefly of vegetable +substances, as berries, seeds, and grasses; but they do not confine +themselves to an exclusively vegetable diet, and will greedily devour +beetles, grubs, and even tadpoles, young frogs, and lizards. + +Like all birds, at this season of the year they are in greatest +numbers--the young broods having become fully fledged, and each counting +from ten to fifteen in a family. Up to the time that the young are able +to take care of themselves, the females keep them apart from the old +males, which would otherwise destroy them, by repeatedly pecking them on +the skull. + +It is only as the autumn advances well into October, that all ages and +sexes unite to form the large gangs; and for this reason October is the +"turkey month" of the Indians. + +Throughout the fall and winter they associate together making long +journeys across the country, rarely taking to wing, except when sprung +by wolves, foxes, or hunting-dogs, or when it becomes necessary for them +to make the passage of a river; for, like all migrating creatures, they +do not permit any impediment to interrupt the course on which design or +instinct impels them. + +When about to effect the crossing of a river, they seek the highest +eminence on the nether bank, and remain there sometimes for two or three +days before making the attempt. The males at such times gobble most +obstreperously, and strut over the ground with all the importance +imaginable: as if to inspire the females and the young with courage for +the undertaking. Even the females take part in these demonstrations, +lowering their wings and spreading their tails, in imitation of their +lordly mates. + +After this sort of play has been carried on for a considerable time, the +whole flock flies up to the highest branches of the adjacent trees; and +then, at a signal given by one acting as leader, all fly out over the +water--directing their flight toward the opposite bank. + +The old and strong birds easily effect the crossing; but the younger and +more feeble individuals of the gang frequently fall into the water. Not +always, however, to be drowned; as they can swim tolerably well--which +they do by spreading their tails, folding their wings close to their +bodies, protruding their long necks far above the surface, and +alternately plying their feet in strong, rapid strokes. + +Sometimes all do not succeed in reaching the bank. A few of the very +feeblest, unable to swim with sufficient speed, get carried down by the +current, and ultimately perish. + +This is the winter life of the wild turkeys, when they become fat, +changing their bulk from fifteen or twenty pounds--which, is their +average weight--to thirty, and sometimes forty. + +On the return of spring--in March--the females coquettishly separate +themselves from the males; though the latter continue in flocks, +following the former from place to place. Then commences the season of +their loves; and though the sexes roost apart, their roosting-places are +near each other. At this time the woods become animated by their +vociferous calling; and if a female bird utters her note within hearing, +it is taken up by scores of males, not with the gobble used by them on +other occasions, but with an imitative cry, such as may be heard among +their tame congeners of the farm-yard. + +This calling is usually heard before the break of day; and as soon as +the sun has fairly risen, the males descend from the trees, and commence +strutting over the ground, with spread tail and wings, uttering at +intervals the "tsut" peculiar to the species. + +On such occasions two males meet, and then ensues a fight, ending in the +defeat--often even the death--of the weaker. The conqueror is then +joined by the female--or, more generally, females--that have been the +object of this deadly rivalry; and, during the next month or so, he +holds these as his harem, roosting by or near them, and performing the +duties of a protector. In time, however, they become shy of him-- +stealing off to deposit their eggs; which, should he chance to discover +them, will be instantly broken by the blows of his paternal beak! + +The nest consists of a few dried leaves, collected carelessly on the +ground--sometimes among the tops of a fallen tree, sometimes on a dry +hillock in a thicket of sumach or bramble, or by the side of a dead log. + +As already stated, the wild turkey is still to be found within the +limits of the old States of the American Union. It is more common in +the Mississippi Valley, where it is still possible to obtain these birds +in considerable numbers. + +The usual mode of capturing them is by a trap--known as a turkey-trap--a +contrivance of the simplest kind. + +A square enclosure, of some six or eight feet wide, is constructed--the +materials being split pieces of timber--usually the ordinary fence-rail, +which is always eight feet in length. + +These, resting at right angles on one another, form a rectangular +enclosure, which, when carried up to the height of six or seven feet, is +covered in by the same sort of rails, laid at regular intervals along +the top. Care is taken that the spaces between them be not wide enough +to permit the passage of a turkey; and the top rails are also secured by +a heavy log, which hinders the bird--strong though he be--from forcing +them out of their place. The trap is constructed on the declivity of a +hill; and on the lower side, a cut or tunnel is excavated, leading under +the bottom rail, inwards. The cut is then continued for a few yards +down the slope, when it runs out to the common level of the ground. + +This being completed, the trap is ready for work, and only requires +baiting. + +This is done by laying a train of maize (Indian corn), a hundred yards +or so in length--commencing at any point in the woods, and carried along +a line until it enters the hollowed way to the enclosure. Inside, a +larger quantity of the corn is scattered, lying conspicuously upon the +floor of the gigantic cage. + +The gang of turkeys, taking their morning stroll, chance to come upon +the train of scattered maize. They soon gobble up the few grains +sparsely distributed outside; and step by step approach the enclosure. +They are not shy of the rude structure; for often have they wandered +along the side of a rail-fence, or flopped over it, to commit +devastation on the maize-crops of the planter. Even his corn-bins have +not deterred them from pilfering his garnered crops. What else can this +penn be, but a remote corn-bin in the middle of the woods, with the +unhusked maize removed from it, leaving a few scattered grains upon the +ground? + +The little ravine conducts them under the lowermost rail. They enter +without hesitation--without fear; and it is only after they have +"gobbled" up the grains that seduced them inside, that they begin to +think of continuing their stroll through the forest. + +Then, for the first time, does the thought occur to any of them, that +they are in a trap. It soon occurs, not only to one, but to all: and a +fearful fluttering and screaming takes place, with a confusion of ideas, +that prevents the oldest and wisest gobbler of the gang from finding his +way out again. + +With their eyes elevated far above the level of the excavated trench, +they never think of looking downward; and after spending hours, +sometimes even days, inside the cunningly-contrived trap, they are at +length released by the arrival of the trapper--but only to be +transferred to the spit or the market-stall, with the dinner-table as +their ultimate destination. + +In America, as in England, turkey is the chosen dish of the Christmas +dinner-table--in America even more than in England. There, whatever +else there may be of nick-nacks, _entrees_, and _hors d'oeuvres_, +turkey, roast or boiled, holds the prominent place--is the _piece de +resistance_ of the banquet. He is but a poor man indeed in that once +great--to be hoped still great--republic, who could not have a turkey +for his Christmas dinner. + +Upon that most interesting holiday, the humblest artisan in America may +dine upon tame turkey; but the greater luxury--the wild bird, with its +dark flesh and game flavour--the true _meleagris_, trapped or taken from +his remote forest feeding-ground--smokes only on the table of the +citizen who has been more than ordinarily successful in the pursuits of +life. + +There may the wild turkey be seen, in all the perfection of size, +succulence, and savour. + +If old Buffon, the charlatan naturalist of France, could have but eaten +a slice of the _meleagris_ under such circumstances, he might, perhaps, +have conceded to the birds of America some of the good qualities which +he has so recklessly denied them. + +But the palate of this presumptuous curator of moth-eaten remains, had +never been indulged with the delicate flavour of a canvas-back duck, a +"reed-bird," a grouse of the prairies, or a wild turkey trapped amidst +the solitudes of an American forest. + +He had studied their habits only at second-hand, while their bright +hues, their sweet songs, and their many other valuable qualities, he +could only deduce, or deny, from the stuffed and damaged skins seen by +him in a "royal collection." + +With such superiority of flesh, it is scarcely necessary to say, that +there are people who make it their business to procure the wild turkey, +and send the bird to market. There are a few men throughout the United +States who follow this business as an exclusive calling; but more often +the turkey is obtained as part of the game-bag of the regular +deer-hunter, and by him sold to the consumer. + +The gun is used, as with other game-birds; and when it is a +fowling-piece, buck-shot--the swan-shot of European countries--is the +kind necessarily required to kill such a large, strong bird. The +regular deer-hunter, however, never thinks of carrying a fowling-piece; +and his pea-rifle, with a barrel of nearly five feet in length, and +bored for a bullet not much larger than the buck-shot itself, is with +him the weapon for turkeys, deer, wolves, bears, panthers, and even +Indians--if need be. + +There's still another method of hunting the turkey, practised on the +prairies; and that is with horses and hounds! + +My young readers will no doubt be surprised to hear that a wild turkey, +with wings over five feet in spread, can be captured by dogs. But such +is the fact; as I can assure them, by having myself ridden in many a +chase of the sort, and more than once have I had the good fortune to be +"in at the death." + +Taking the turkey after this fashion is called "running it down." + +I have practised this sport upon the beautiful prairies of Texas; and as +my first turkey hunt after this fashion led me into a little adventure, +which came very near having a serious termination, an account both of +this peculiar mode of hunting--as well as the occurrence in my memory +connected with it--may be given at the same time. + +On a journey which I was making from Natchitoches, on the Red River of +Louisiana, along the line of military posts (forts) established in +Western Texas, I had occasion to stop for some days at the house of a +cotton planter--living along the route. + +My halt was one of necessity--to recruit my tired escort, as well as a +fine horse I was riding, which, upon a journey that had extended several +hundred miles through the wilderness, I had used somewhat badly. To +make up for having abused him, I resolved upon giving him a few days' +rest upon the plantation. I had letters of introduction to its owner; +though these were by no means requisite to secure me a hospitable +reception in the house of a Texan planter--especially with the official +stamp afforded by the cut and colour of my coat. + +As the planter was a man both of intelligence and circumstance--with +three or four fine sons and as many grown-up girls--my halt at his house +was far from being irksome; and perhaps I remained a day or two longer +than exactly "squared" with my duty. + +Be that as it may, I remember that I ate my Christmas dinner with them; +and it was while procuring the _piece de resistance_ of that +dinner--_the wild turkey_--that I became initiated into the peculiar +mode of capturing these birds by "running them down." + +The custom of having turkey for the Christmas dinner has been +transported by the colonists into the wilds of Texas; where it is as +rigorously observed as in the "mother country"--the United States. + +On the day preceding this Christmas holiday, a turkey hunt was got up-- +in order that a bird or two might be obtained for the table. + +At an early hour we set forth--a party on horseback, consisting of the +planter himself, his sons, and one or two friends on a Christmas visit +to the plantation. + +Each of the party shouldering his fowling-piece or rifle--though, as I +was informed, not with any design to use these weapons against the +"gobblers," but, only as a providence in case of meeting with other and +larger game. + +Moreover, a Texan frontiersman without a gun over his shoulder--or +carried across the pommel of his saddle--is a creature rarely to be +encountered upon the prairies. + +On that day the weapons, intended to be used against the turkeys, were +horses and hounds; and as we rode forth out of the enclosure of the +planter's dwelling, I noticed some half score of the latter--an appanage +of every Texan plantation--trotting along at the heels of our +_cavayard_. + +I was myself no little surprised, on being informed that this was the +object for which the hounds were going out with us; and I did not quite +comprehend how the quadrupeds were to bring a bird _to bay_. + +I could form some conjecture, however--founded on a past experience in +the art of venerie. I remembered, while deer-hunting in the forests of +the Mississippi bottom, that the hounds, especially when ill-trained +ones, were often led away from the trail of the stag by that of wild +turkeys; and that the birds, although not seen among the underwood, +frequently conducted the chase, for a mile or so, across the hills. + +The turkeys would, at length, come to a stand, by taking refuge on the +trees--thus leaving the hounds in a quandary, and the hunters in +something approaching to a passion. + +I knew, moreover, that the wild turkey rarely takes to wing--and then +only when compelled by the necessity of crossing a river, or escaping +from some dangerous pursuer, that has got too close to the tip of its +tail. + +Guided by these lights, I was not without some glimmer of a guess as to +the nature of the sport upon which we were setting forth. + +My considerate friends, not wishing that I should be taken by surprise-- +and in order that I should have fair play in procuring my share of the +spoils--gave me a full account of the _modus venandi_, as we rode on +towards the ground. + +The prairie towards which we were proceeding--a noted haunt of the +turkeys--was of that kind known in Texas, as a "timber" prairie; that +is, a plain, interspersed with groves of great trees--at a greater or +less distance apart from each other--with here and there small copses-- +in Texan parlance, "islands,"--intervening. + +Sometimes the larger clumps of timber are so far apart as to be nearly +out of sight of each other; while the verdant surface between exhibits a +mottled aspect of darker tints, caused by the "islands," with here and +there some solitary tree--a giant evergreen oak--standing apart, as if +disdaining to associate with the humbler growth constituting the copses. + +On the prairie towards which we were proceeding, the timber growth was +principally trees of the genus _juglans_ and _carya_--among which the +_pecan_ was conspicuous--sometimes forming islands of itself. Of the +delicious nuts of this last-mentioned tree, the wild turkey is what the +French term _friand_--preferring them to all other food. + +In the winter these nuts, having dropped ungarnered from the branches, +lie neglected upon the ground--that is, by human beings, although not by +the wild denizen of the prairies. + +At such time the turkeys go in search of them--making long journeys +beyond the more secure fastnesses of the great forest; and while +straying among the _pecan_ copses, and far out upon the open prairie, +they become fair game for hounds and horses, and can be _run down_ by +either. + +The mode of proceeding is to "approach" ah near as possible without +giving the birds the alarm; and then, calling out the "view halloo" to +the dogs, and spurring the horses to their highest speed, the chase +sweeps onward. + +The turkeys, at the first start, whirr up into the air with a thundering +noise; and usually fly to the distance of half a mile--when they drop +down to the earth. On touching _terra firma_, however, they do not +suspend their flight; for it is continued along the ground: almost as +rapidly as in the air--both legs and wings being brought into play. + +The chase for a time now very much resembles that of the ostrich; +between which bird and the wild turkey there are many points of +resemblance. The race is usually in a direct line, and towards some +heavy timber, which may be seen in the distance. + +Should the latter chance to be near, and up-hill from the point of +starting, the turkey will distance both dogs and hunters, and escape to +the trees. On the other hand, if a sufficient space of open prairie +intervene, either level or down hill, the quadrupeds will eventually +close upon the birds, when the latter will once more take to wing. + +This second appeal to his pinions is not so prolonged as the first; and +after flying a few hundred yards, the gobbler will once more "come to +grass," and go legging it, with outstretched neck and flopping wings as +before--as before to be overhauled by hounds and horsemen. + +Perhaps he may attempt a third and still shorter flight; but if a grove +be near, or a single tree, or even a tuft of bushes, he will take to one +or the other--in the hope of hiding himself from his relentless +pursuers. + +He will either fly up into the tree, or bury his body among the hushes. +If it be a tall tree, he will not succeed in getting a safe roost: for +he is already too fatigued, and, being a _pecan-fed_ gobbler, too fat +for this last exertion. In all likelihood he will stick his head into a +thick bush or tussock of long grass--where the dogs will soon "cook his +goose" for him, although he be a turkey-gobbler. + +As, during our journey towards the _pecan prairie_, I had been +theoretically initiated into the mysteries of this peculiar chase, I +determined, after arriving on the ground, to play my part without +reference to any guidance from my companions: for it frequently happens +that a flock of turkeys after being once "scared up," fly in different +directions, leaving each hunter a choice as to the bird or birds he may +follow--the dogs being necessarily permitted to make a similar +selection. + +As it chanced on that particular occasion, our turkey hunt turned out an +affair of the scattering kind--at least, mine did--carrying me so far +away from my companions, that I not only lost sight of them, but my way +as well; and came precious near sustaining the loss of something more +important than either--_my scalp_! + +Almost the instant after entering among the islands of timber, we +discovered a gang of gobblers. They were not all _gobblers_, correctly +speaking: for the flock was a promiscuous one--comprising old and young +birds, as well as male and female. They were in the very situation +desired by the hunters: that is far out upon the open prairie, where +they could not easily retreat to the heavy timber, without giving us a +long chase, plenty of sport, and probably one or two captures. They +were "grazing" along the edge of a little grove or coppice--which my +companions could easily identify as composed of _pecan-trees_--the nuts +of which, no doubt, had attracted them to the place. + +By good fortune a series of similar "islands," forming a sort of +_archipelago_, extended from the point where we first came in sight of +the turkeys, to that beside which they were picking up the _pecan-nuts_. + +By keeping the copses between ourselves and the birds, we succeeded in +stealing up behind that which was nearest them; and then suddenly plying +the spur, and raising the "hue and cry," we broke around the cover, and +went towards them at full gallop, the hounds harking-forward among the +hoofs of our horses. + +As to be expected, the birds whirred upward into the air; but not all +together. Neither did they fly in one direction. They had been +somewhat scattered over the _pasture_; and the suddenness of our +onslaught caused a still further separation of their cohorts, which flew +off in bands of two and three together, taking different directions-- +some of them, being, perhaps, more scared than the rest, going away +alone. + +The hunters, as if taking their cue from this sudden distribution of the +game, became separated in like manner--the hounds also scattering into +couples as the chase proceeded. + +For an instant or two I was nonplussed: not knowing which party to +follow; but, seeing what I believed to be the biggest gobbler of the +gang flying over the _pecan_ copse in a backward direction, and +reckoning from his ponderous appearance that his flight would not be a +protracted one, I wheeled my horse, and galloped under and after him. + +There were none of the dogs going my way; but I had been told that this +was of no great importance. A good horse will easily _run down_ this +sort of game; and the hounds are only useful when it comes to the +_finale_ of the chase, and the turkey is to be "grupped." Then the +dismounted horseman is in danger of losing his bird, by the latter +taking a foul start, and so escaping him. + +Determined, should I succeed in running down my turkey, to take +precautions against this, I lanced my horse's flanks and rode on. + +Unfortunately, it was not my own horse's flanks I was lacerating, or the +chase would not have continued so long. To save my precious steed, I +was astride of a horse furnished to me by my host--a stout Mexican +mustang, which, although by no means an indifferent mount, was nothing +to the splendid Arab I had left in contiguity with the maize-trough of +the planter. + +I urged the animal forward with all the speed that lay in his lithe +sinewy limbs; and after less than a half-mile made over the verdant turf +of the prairie, I had the satisfaction to see the gobbler drop suddenly +down upon the grass, and continue his _flight_ upon his long red legs. + +I was scarcely three hundred yards behind him, as he touched the ground. +This the mustang soon reduced to a tenth part of the distance; when the +old cock, perceiving himself in danger of being caught, once more +whirred up towards the sky. + +This second "spring" did not exceed a couple of hundred paces; and his +coming down so soon convinced me, that the "balance" of the pursuit +would be a trial between the legs of the turkey and the limbs of the +mustang. + +This conviction turned out to be well founded; and on we went over the +prairie, with all the speed that bird and beast were capable of +commanding. + +For the first half-mile or so I saw that I was gaining upon the +gobbler--not rapidly; for the mustang, though tough, was far from being +a fast one. He promised bottom, however; and I was indulging in high +hopes that in time I should overtake the turkey, and carry him back a +prize, a triumph in the eyes of my hunting companions. + +All at once this agreeable prospect began to appear doubtful. Although +I continued to press the mustang, both with spurs and voice, I still +perceived that the distance between me and the turkey was gradually +growing greater, instead of less! + +Surely the horse had not slackened his speed? I had guarded against +that. The gobbler, then, must have quickened his. + +What was the explanation? + +I soon discovered it. I saw that the chase was carrying me up a hill. + +A sharp ridge trended across the prairie, transversely to the line of +the pursuit. Both pursued and pursuer had parted from the level plain, +and were now gliding up the acclivity. + +I knew the meaning of this. I remembered a chapter of my ornithology, +studied among the pine barrens of Tennessee, where I had observed a +turkey-gobbler distance the hounds against the steep slope of a ridge; +and do it with perfect ease. I knew that the bird, aided by its +extended wings, could run against the hill with almost double the speed +of either dog or horse; and that was the reason why my mustang was +falling so far into the rear. + +I kept on; but only to have my chagrin increased, by seeing the gobbler +go much faster than myself. + +He reached the crest of the ridge before my little steed, badly blown, +had got half up its sloping side! + +I was about to give up the chase in despair. The distance separating me +from the turkey was at least two hundred yards; and I fancied that the +mustang, winded as he was, might be hurt in trying to overtake it. I +did not desire to damage my reputation by "riding a free horse to +death." + +While thus hesitating, I was astonished by observing an unexpected +circumstance. The turkey had reached the summit of the ridge, and was +so conspicuously outlined against the blue background of the sky, that I +could see it from head to heel. While admiring the outlines of the +magnificent bird, I saw its wings all at once cease from their flapping, +and drop down by its sides, while, at the same instant, the action of +its limbs became suspended, and, as if having spent its last effort of +strength, it tumbled over on the turf. + +"Good!" thought I, "I've run it down, after all! What a fool I was to +think of discontinuing the chase! There's nothing more to do but to +ride up and take possession of it." + +Lest the bird might recover breath, and make a new start, I once more +drove my spurs into the sides of the mustang, and galloped up to the +crest of the ridge. + +I need not have been in such hot haste: for on getting near enough to +the gobbler to be able to judge of his condition, I saw that he was +dead! + +"'Twas the pace that killed him!" I muttered to myself, gleefully +adapting the old saw to the circumstance which was giving me so much +gratification. + +I lost no time in dismounting from my horse, with the design of taking +possession of my prize. + +As I approached the fallen gobbler, I stopped short to contemplate him. + +A splendid creature he appeared, even in death. His plumage still +gleamed with the iridescent hues of life--just as at sunrise of that +morning, when he had strutted his short hour over the prairie turf +before the eyes of his coquettish female companions. + +I was still occupied in this _post-mortem_ examination, when I perceived +that there was blood upon the beak of the bird--a tiny stream oozing out +between its mandibles. + +I was somewhat astonished by this singular circumstance--the effect of a +simple chase. But I was a hundredfold more surprised on perceiving the +true cause of the sanguinary extravasation, when I saw the feathered end +of an arrow protruding out from under the wing-coverts of the turkey. + +I had scarcely time to reflect on this singular appearance, when I heard +a "swishing" noise in the air above me. + +I looked up. A looped cord was descending over my head, which the +instant after had settled upon my shoulders. At the same instant a wild +yelling filled my ears; and I saw running towards me a score of human +forms, whose naked, bronze-coloured skins, clouted thighs, and +vermillion faces, proclaimed them to be Indians. + +I perceived at once that I had fallen into the hands of a party of +Comanches--on the war-trail, too--as their scant dress and painted faces +proclaimed. + +They had been bivouacking on the other side of the ridge; and seeing +only the turkey as it came upon the crest, some one of them had taken +advantage of the pause which the bird had made on perceiving them, and +sent an arrow into its side. + +When I said just now that I had fallen into their hands, I spoke +figuratively. It had not gone quite so far as that; though, had I been +without the bowie-knife habitually carried in my belt, such most +certainly would have been my fate--and I should, perhaps, never have had +an opportunity of recording this adventure. + +But the keen blade proved my preserver. In an instant it was out of its +sheath; and the lazzo that had fallen over my shoulders--and in another +second of time would have entangled my arms--lay, with its loop cut +open, idly trailing upon the grass. + +I never took to the saddle with greater celerity; and if my mustang had +been allowed to lag a little while ascending that prairie slope, he made +amends for the delay in going down again. + +He needed neither voice nor spur to urge him to his utmost speed. The +sight of the Indians, to say nothing of their wild yelling--well +understood, and dreaded, by the mustang--had given him an impetus that +carried him across the plain like a streak of lightning. + +Fortunately, the Indians were afoot, and I was not followed; but this +knowledge did not hinder me from continuing my gallop until I had +retraced the ground gone over in the turkey chase, and rejoined my +friends--still engaged with the gobblers they had pursued in the +opposite direction. + +My report caused a sudden suspension of their sports--succeeded by a +quick ride straight homeward. + +By good fortune, a brace of the birds had been already secured, to grace +the dinner-table on the following day, and upon which they appeared, +their flavour not a little heightened by the spice of adventure that had +come so near preventing their capture. + +Story 6. + +TRAPPED IN A TREE. + +Among the many queer characters I have encountered in the shadow of the +forest, or the sunshine of the prairie, I can remember none _queerer_, +or more original, than Zebulon Stump--"Old Zeb Stump," as he was +familiarly known among his acquaintances. + +"Kaintuck by birth and raisin'," as he used to describe himself, he was +a hunter of the pure Daniel Boone breed. The chase was his sole +railing; and he would have indignantly scouted the suggestion, that he +ever followed it for mere amusement. + +Though by no means of uncongenial disposition, he affected to hold all +amateur hunters in a kind of lordly contempt; and his conversation with +such was always of a condescending character. For all this, he was not +averse to their company; especially that of the young gentlemen of the +neighbourhood who chanced to be honoured with his acquaintance. + +Being myself one of those who could lay claim to this privilege, I +oft-times availed myself of it; and many of my hunting excursions were +made in the companionship of Old Zeb Stump. He was, in truth, my guide +and instructor, as well as companion; and initiated me into many +mysteries of American woodcraft, in which I was at that time but little +skilled. + +To me one of the most insoluble of these mysteries was that of Old Zeb's +own existence; and I was acquainted with him for a considerable time +before I could unravel the clue to it. He stood six feet in boots, +fabricated out of the tanned skin of an alligator--into the ample tops +of which were crowded the legs of a pair of coarse "copperas" trowsers; +while the only other garments upon his body were a doeskin shirt, and a +"blanket-coat" that had once been green, but, like the leaves of the +autumnal forest, had become changed to a sere and yellowish hue. A +slouch "felt" shaded his cheeks from the sun; though for this purpose it +was not often needed: since it was only upon very rare occasions that +Old Zeb strayed beyond the shadows of the "Timber." + +Where he lived, and how he supported himself, were to me the two points +that chiefly required clearing up. In the tract of virgin forest, where +I was in the habit of meeting him by appointment, there was neither +house nor hut. So said the people of Grand Gulf (a small town upon the +Mississippi in which I was sojourning). And yet Old Zeb had told me +that in this forest region was his home. + +It was only after our acquaintance had ripened into a strong feeling of +fellowship, that I became his guest; and had the pleasure of spending an +hour under his humble roof. + +Humble I may truly designate it, since it consisted of the hollow trunk +of a gigantic sycamore-tree, still strading and growing! + +In this cavity Old Zeb found sufficient shelter for him self, his +"squaw," as he termed Mrs Stump (whose existence was now for the first +time revealed to me), his _penates_, and, when the weather required it, +for the tough old cob that carried him in his forest wanderings. + +His household was no longer a puzzle; though there still remained the +mystery of how he managed to maintain it. + +A skilled hunter might easily procure sufficient food for himself and +family; but even the hunter disdains a diet exclusively game. There was +the coffee (to a strong cup of which I was myself made welcome); the +"pone" of corn-bread; the corn itself necessary to the sustenance of the +old horse; the muslin gown that shrouded the somewhat angular outlines +of Mrs Stump; with many other commodities that could not be procured by +a rifle. Even the rifle itself required food not to be found in the +forest. + +Presuming on our friendly intimacy, I put the question: + +"How do you make out to live? You don't appear to manufacture anything, +nor do I see any signs of cultivation around your dwelling. How, then, +do you support yourself?" + +"Them keeps us--them thar," answered my host, pointing to a corner of +his tree-cabin. + +I looked in the direction indicated. The skins of several species of +animals, among which I recognised those of the painter, 'possum, and +'coon, along with a haunch or two of recently-killed venison, met my +glance. + +"Oh! you traffic in these?" + +"Jess so, stranger. Sells the skins to the storekeeper an' the deer +meat to anybody as'll buy it." + +"But I have never seen you in the town." + +"I never goes thar. I don't like them stinkin' storekeepers. They +allers cheats me." + +"Who, then, does the marketing for you?" + +"The ole 'oman thar. She kin manage them counter-jumpers better'n I +kin. Can't you, ole gurl?" + +"Well, that I guess I can," replied the partner of Old Zeb's bosom, with +an emphasis that left no doubt upon my mind that she believed herself to +be speaking the truth. + +I now recollected having more than once seen Mrs Stump in the streets +of Grand Gulf, on her marketing errands, and having dined at an hotel +upon a haunch of buck of her especial providing. Still more, I +remembered purchasing from her a brace of white-headed eagles +(_falco-leucocephalus_), which this good lady had brought in from the +forest, and which I had forwarded to the Zoological Society of London. + +Old Zeb's shooting was something that to me at the time appeared +marvellous. He could "bark" a squirrel among the tops of the tallest +tree; or could equally kill it by sending his bullet through its eye. +He used to boast, in a quiet way, that he never "spoilt a skin, though +it war only that o' a contemptible squ'll." + +But what interested me more than all was his tales of adventure, of most +of which he was himself the hero. Many of these were well worthy of +being recorded. + +One I deemed of especial interest, partly from its own essential +oddness, partly from the quaint queerness of the language in which it +was related to me, and not a little from the fact of its hingeing on a +phenomenon, to which more than once I had myself been witness. I allude +to the caving in, or breaking down of the banks of the Mississippi +river, caused by the undermining influence of the current; when large +slips of land, often whole acres, thickly studded with gigantic trees, +glide into the water, to be swished away with a violence equalling the +vortex of Charybdis. + +It was in connection with one of these land-slips that Old Zeb had met +with the adventure in question, which came very near depriving him of +his life, as it did of his liberty for a period of several days' +duration. + +Perhaps the narration had best be given in his own piquant _patois_; and +I shall so set it forth, as nearly as I can transcribe it from the +tablets of my memory. + +I was indebted for the tale to a chance circumstance: for it was a rare +thing in Old Zeb to volunteer a story, unless something turned up to +suggest it. + +We had killed a fine buck, which had run several hundred lengths of +himself with the lead in his carcass, and had fallen within a few feet +of the bank of the river. + +While stopping to "gralloch the deer," Old Zeb looked around with a +pointed expression, as he did so, exclaiming: + +"Darn me! ef this ain't the place whar I war trapped in a tree! +Dog-gone ef taint! Thar's the very saplin' itself." + +I looked at the "saplin'" to which my companion was pointing. It was a +swamp cypress, of some thirty feet in girth, by at least a hundred and +fifty in height. + +"Trapped in a tree?" I echoed, with emphatic interest, perceiving that +Old Zeb was upon the edge of some odd adventure. + +Desirous of tempting him to the relation of it, I continued, "Trapped in +a tree? How could that be, Mr Stump, an old forester like you?" + +"It did be, howsomedever," was the quaint reply of my companion, "an' +not so very long agone neyther; only about three yeer. Ef ye'll sit +down a bit, an' we may as well, since the sun's putty consid'able +hellish hot jest now, I'll tell ye all about it. An' I kin tell ye, for +I hain't forgotten neery sarcumstance o' the hul thing. No, that I +hain't, an' I'll lay odds, young feller, that ef you ever be as badly +skeeart as I war then, you'll carry the recollexshun o' that skeear till +ye gets chucked into yur coffin--ay, that ye will!" + +Old Zeb here paused; but whether to reflect on what he was going to say +next, or to give time for his last words to produce their due +impression, I could not determine. I refrained from making rejoinder, +knowing that I had now got him fairly over the edge of the adventure, +and was safe enough to "have it out." + +"Wal, kumrade, I war out arter deer, jest as you an' me are the day; +only it had got to be lateish--nigh sundown i'deed--and I hadn't emptied +my rifle the hul day. Fact is, I hadn't sot eye on a thing wuth a +charge o' powder an' lead. I war afut; an', as you know yerself, it are +a good six mile from this to my shanty. I didn't like goin' home empy +handed, 'specially as I knowed we war empy-housed at the time, an' the +ole 'ooman wanted somethin' to get us a pound or two o' coffee an' sugar +fixins. So I thort I shed stay all night i' the wuds, trustin' to +gettin' a shot at a stray buck or a turkey-gobbler i' the urly daylight. +I war jest in the spot whar we air now; only it looked quite different +then. The under scrub's been all burnt down, as you may see. Then the +hul place about hyar war kivered wi' the tallest o' cane, an' so thick, +a coon ked scace a worm'd his way through it. + +"Wal, stranger, 'ithout makin' more ado, I tuk up my quarters for the +night under that ere big cyprus. The groun' war dampish, for thar had +been a spell o' rain; so I tuk out my bowie, an' cut me enuf o' the +green cane to make me a sort o' a shake-down. + +"It war comfitable enuf; an' in the twinklin' o' a buck's tail I war +sound asleep. + +"I slep like a 'possum till the day war beginnin' to break; an' then I +awoke, or rayther, war awoke by the damdest noise as ever rousted a +fellar out o' his slumber. I heerd a skreekin', an' screamin', an' +screevin', as ef all the saws in Massissippi war bein' sharped 'ithin +twenty yards o' my ear. + +"It all kim from overhead, from out the tops o' the cyprus. + +"I warn't puzzled a bit by them thar sounds. I knowed it war the +calling o' the baldy eagles: for it warn't the fust time I had listened +to them thar. + +"`Thar's a neest,' sez I to myself; `an' young uns too. Thet's why the +birds is makin' such a dod-rotted rumpus.' + +"Not that I cared much about a eagle's neest, nor the birds themselves +neyther. But jess then I remembers some thin' my ole 'ooman hed tolt +me. She hed heerd thet there war a rich Britisher staying at the hotel +in Grand Gulf, who were offerin' no eend o' money to whomsoever ud git +him a brace o' young baldy eagles." + +"You were rightly informed: it was I who made the offer." + +"Dog-gone it, wur it you? Ef I'd know'd--but niver mind; I kudn't a +done diff'rent from what I did. Wal, strenger, in coorse I clomb the +tree. It warn't so easy as you may s'pose. Thar war forty feet o' the +stem 'ithout a branch, an' so smooth that a catamount kedn't a scaled +it. I thort at first that the cyprus warn't climeable nohow; but jess +then I seed a big fox-grape-vine, that arter sprawlin' up another tree +clost by, left this un, an' then sloped off to the one whar the baldies +hed thar neest. This war the very thing I wanted--a sort o' Jaykup's +ladder--an' 'ithout wastin' a minute o' time, I speeled up the +grape-vine. + +"It warn't no joke neyther. The darned thing wobbled about till I wur +well nigh pitched back to the groun': an' there war a time when I thort +seriously o' slippin' down agin. + +"But then kim the thort o' the ole woman an' the empty house at hum, +along wi' what she'd sayed about the Britisher an' his big purse; and +bein' freshly narved by these recolleckshuns, I swarmed up the vine like +a squ'll. + +"Once upon the Cyprus thar warn't no diffeequilty in reachin' the neest. +There war plenty o' footin' among the top branches whar the birds had +made thar eyeray. + +"For all that it warn't so easy to get into the neest. There kedn't a +been less than a waggon-load o' sticks in that thar construckshun, to +say nothin' o' Spanish moss, an' the baldies' own dreppins, an' all +sorts o' bones belonging to both fish an' four-footed anymals. It tuk +me nigh an hour to make a hole so that I ked get my head above the edge, +and see what the neest contained. + +"As I expected, thar war young 'uns in it, two o' them about +half-feathered. All this time the ole birds had been abroad--as I +supposed, lookin' up a breakfast for thar chicks. + +"`How darned disappointed they'll be!' sez I to myself, `when they gits +back an' find that thar young 'uns have fled the neest--'ithout +feathers!' + +"I war too sure o' my game and too kewrious about the young baldies, +watchin' them as they cowered close together, hissin' and threetenin' +me, to take notice o' anythin' besides. + +"But I war rousted out o' my rev'rie by feelin' the hat suddintly jirked +up off o' my head, at the same time gettin' a scratch across the cheek, +that sent the blood spurtin' all over my face. It wur the talons o' the +she eagle as did it; while the ole cock, clost to her tail, kept +skreekin' an' screamin' an' makin' a confusion o' noises, as if he had +jess come custrut from the towers o' Babylon. + +"I had grupped one o' the young baldies afore the old 'uns kim up. I +needn't tell ye I war only too glad to let the durned thing go agen, an' +duck my head under the edge o' the neest; whar I kep it, till the +critters had got a sort o' tired threetenin' me, and guv up the attack. + +"I needn't tell ye, neyther, thet I, too, hed gin up all thort o' takin' +the young eagles. Arter the wound I'd received I war contented to leave +'em alone; an' not all the gold in the Britisher's purse ked then have +bought that brace o' birds. + +"I only waited to rekiver my composure; an' then I commenced makin' back +tracks down the tree. + +"I hed got 'bout halfway atween the baldies' neest an' the place whar +the fox-grape tuk holt o' the cyprus, when I war stopped short by +somethin' I heerd--a sound far more terrific than the screech o' the +eagles. + +"It war the creakin' and crashin' o' timber--along wi' that unairthly +rumblin' such as ye may hear when the banks o' the great Mississippi be +a cavin' in. + +"It war that very thing itself. I kud see the trees that stood atween +me an' the river, tumblin' an' tossin' about, an' then goin' wi' a grand +swish an' a plunge into the fast flowin' current o' the stream. The +cyprus itself shook as if the wind war busy among its branches. I ked +feel a suddint jirk upon it, an' then it righted agin, and stood steady +as a rock. The eagles above me war screamin' wusa than ever, while I +below war tremblin' like an aspin. + +"I knowed well enuf what it all meaned. I knowed that it war the bank +o' the river cavin' in; but knowin' this, didn't gie me any great +satisfaction: since I war under the belief that in another minute the +Cyprus mout _cave in too_. + +"I didn't stay the ten thousandth frakshun o' a minute. I hurried to +git back to the groun; an' soon reached the place whar the grape-vine +jeined on to the Cyprus. + +"There warn't no grape-vine to be seen. It war clur gone away. + +"The tother tree to which its root had been clingin' war one o' them as +had falled into the river, takin' the fox-grape along wi' it. It war +that had gin the pluck I feeled when descendin' from the neest. + +"I looked below. The river had changed its channel. Instead o' runnin' +twenty yurds from the spot it war surgin' along clost to the bottom o' +the cyprus. I seed that in another minuit the cyprus itself mout topple +over into the stream, an' be whirled along, or swallowed in the frothin' +water. + +"For me to git to the ground was plainly unpossible. I ked only do so +by jumpin' forty foot in the clur, an' I knew that to do so wud a +shivered my ole thigh-bones, tough as they mout be. + +"I ked do nothin' but stay whar I war--nothin' but wait and watch-- +listenin' to the screamin' o' the eagles--as skeeart as myself--to the +hoarse roarin' o' the angry waters, an' the crashin' o' the trees, as +one arter another they fell victims to the underminin' influence o' the +flood." + +I had by this time become fascinated by the narrative, Old Zeb's +thoughts, notwithstanding the _patois_ in which they were expressed, had +risen to the sublime; and although he paused for some minutes, I made no +attempt to interrupt his reflections, but in silence I waited for him to +continue his tale. + +"Wal, strenger, what do ye suppose I did next?" was the interrogation +with which my ears were soon after saluted. + +"Really, I cannot imagine," I replied, considerably surprised at Old +Zeb's question, abrupt as it was unexpected. + +"Wal; ye don't suppose I kim down from the tree?" + +"I don't see how you could." + +"Neyther did I. I kedn't an' I didn't. I mout as well a tried to git +down the purpendikler face o' the Chicasaw bluff, or the wall o' +Lexin'ton Court-house. I seed I kedn't make a descent o' it no how, an' +thurfore I guv it up, an' stayed whar I war, crosslegs on a branch o' +the tree. + +"It warn't the most comfutable kind o' seat, but I hed somethin' else +than kushions to think o'. I didn't know the minnit I mout be shot out +into the Massissippi; an' as I never war much o' a swimmer--to say +nothin' o' bein' smashed among the branches in fallin', I warn't over +satisfied wi' my situation. + +"As I ked do nothin' but stick it out, I stuck it out, keepin' to my +seat like death to a dead nigger, only shiftin' a leetle now an' then to +ease my achin' posteerors. + +"In this unkomfitable condishun I passed the hul o' that day. Though +there warn't an easy bone in my body, I had got to be a bit easier in my +mind; for on lookin' down at the river, I begun to believe that the +cavin' in had kum to an eend, an' that the Cyprus war goin' to keep its +place. + +"So far I felt komfited; but this feelin' didn't last long. It war +follered by the reflexshun that whether the tree war to stand or fall, I +war equally a lost man. + +"I knowd that I war beyond the reach o' human help. Nothin' but chance +ked fetch livin' critter within hearin' o' my voice. I seed the river +plain enuf, an' boats mout be passin' up an' down--both steam an' flat-- +but I knowed that both was 'customed to steer along the opposite shore, +to 'void the dang'rous eddy as sets torst the side I war on. The river, +as ye see, young feller, are moren' a mile wide at this place. The +people on a passin' boat wudn't hear me; an' if they did, they'd take it +for some one a mockin' o' them. A man hailin' a boat from the top o' a +cyprus tree! I knowd it 'ud be no use. + +"For all that I made trial o' it. Boats did come past, o' all kinds as +navigate the Massissippi; steamers, keel-boats, an' flats. I hailed +them all--hailed till I was hoarse. They must a heerd me. I'm sartain +some o' 'em did, for I war answered by shouts o' scornful laughter. My +own shouts o' despair mout a been mistuk for the cries o' a mocker or a +madman." + +The hunter once more paused in his narrative, as if overpowered by the +remembrance of those moments of misery. I remained silent as before--as +before struck with the sublimity of thought, to which the backwoodsman +was unconsciously giving speech. + +Observing my silence he resumed his narration. + +"Wal, strenger; I kim to the konclusion that I war _trapped in that +tree_, an' no mistake. I seed no more chance o' gettin' clur than kud a +bar wi' a two ton log across the small o' his back. The only hope I hed +war that the ole ooman 'ud be arter me, as she usooally is whensoever +I'm missin' for a spell. But that moutn't be for a single night, nor +two on 'em in succession. Beside, what chance o' her findin' me in a +track o' timmer twenty mile in sarcumference? That hope war only +'vanesccnt, an' soon died out 'ithin me. + +"It war just arter I had gin up all hope o' being suckered by anybody +else, that I begun to think o' doin' suthin' for myself. I needed to do +suthin'. Full thirty hours hed passed since I'd eyther ate or drunk, +for I'd been huntin' all the day before 'ithout doin' eyther. I war +both hungry an' thusty--if anythin', sufferin' most from the +last-mentioned o' them two evils. I ked a swallered the muddiest water +as ever war found in a puddle, an' neyther frogs nor tadpoles would a +deterred me. As to eatin', when I thort o' that, I kudn't help runnin' +my eyes up'ards; an' spite o' the spurt I'd hed wi' thar parents I ked +a' told them young baldies that thur lives war in danger. + +"Possible, I mout a feeled hungrier an' thustier than I did, if it +hedn't been for the fear I war in, 'bout the cyprus topplin' over into +the river. That hed kep me in sich a state o' skeear as to hinder me +from thinkin' o' moust anythin' else. As the time passed, hows'ever, +an' the tree still kep its purpendicklar, I begun to b'lieve that the +bank warn't agoin to move any more. I ked see the water down below, +through the branches o' the cyprus, an' tho' it war clost by, thar +'peared to be a clanjamfery o' big roott stickin' out from the bank, as +war like to keep the dirt firm agin the underminin' o' the current-- +leastwise for a good spell. + +"Soon as I bekum satersfied o' this, I feeled easier; an once more tuk +to thinkin' how I war to get down. Jess as afore, the thinkin' warn't +to no purpiss. Thar war no way but to jump it, an' I mout as well ha' +thort o' jumpin' from the top o' a 'piscopy church steeple 'ithout +gettin' squashed. I gin the thing up in shur despurashun. + +"By this time it hed got to be night; an' as thar warn't no use o' my +makin' things wuss than they war, I looked about the cyprus to see ef +thar war any limb softer than another, whar I ked lay my karkiss for a +snoose. + +"I found a place in one o' the forks large enuf to lodge a full growd +bar. Thar I squatted. + +"I slep putty well, considerin' thet the scratch the eagle had gin me +had got to be soreish, an' war wuss torst the mornin'. Beside, I warn't +quite easy in my mind 'bout the cavin' in o' the bank; an' more'n once I +woke wi' a start thinkin' I war being switched into the river. Nothin' +partickler happened till peep o' day, an' nothin' very partickler then, +'ceptin' that I feeled hungry enuf to eat a raw skunk. Jess at that +minnit the young baldies war in bad kumpny. While I war thinkin' o' +climbin' up to the neest an' ringin' one o' thar necks, I chanced to +look out over the river. All at onest I see one o' them big +water-hawks--_osparay_ they call 'em--plunge down an' rise up agin wi' a +catfish in his claws. He hadn't got twenty fut above the surface, when +one o' the old baldies--the hen it war--went shootin' torst him like a +streak o' greased lightnin'. Afore he ked a counted six, I seed the she +baldy comin' torst the tree wi' the catfish in _her_ claws. + +"`Good,' sez I to myself, `ef I must make my breakfast on the raw, I'd +rayther it shed be fish than squab eagle.' + +"I started for the neest. This time I tuk the purcaushun to unsheath my +bowie, and carry it in my hand ready for a fight; an' it warnt no idle +purcaushun as it proved, for scace hed I got my head above the edge o' +the neest, when both the ole birds attackted me jess as before. + +"The fight war now more evenly atween us; an' the cunnin' critters +appeared to know it, for they kep' well out o' reach o' the bowie, +though floppin' an' clawin' at me whenever they seed a chance. I gin +the ole hen a prod thet cooled her courage considrable; an' as for the +cock, he warn't a sarcumstance to her, for, as you knows, young feller, +_the cock o' eagles is allers the hen bird_. + +"The fish war lyin' in the bottom o' the neest whar the hen had dropped +it. It hadn't been touched, 'ceptin' by her claws whar she had carried +it; and the young 'uns war too much skeeart durin' the skrimmage to +think o' thar breakfast. + +"I spiked the catfish on the blade o' my bowie, an' drawin' it torst me, +I slid back down the tree to the fork whar I had passed the night. Thar +I ate it." + +"Raw?" + +"Jess as it kum from the river. I mout a gin it a sort o' a cookin' ef +I'd liked; for I hed my punk pouch wi' me, an' I ked a got firin' from +the dead bark o' the cyprus. But I war too hungry to wait, an' I ate it +raw. The fish war a kupple o' pound weight; an' I left nothin' o' it +but the bones, fins, an' tail. The guts I gin to the young eagles, for +a purpose I hed jess then. + +"As ye may guess, I warn't hungry any longer, but thar kumd upon me a +spell o' the durndest thust I ever sperienced in all my life. The fish +meat made it wuss, for arter I had swallered it, I feeled as ef my +inside war afire. It war like a pile o' hickery sticks burnin' in my +belly, an' bleezin' up through my breast and jugglers. The sun war +shinin' full upon the river, an' the glitterin' o' the water made things +wuss, for it made me hanker arter it, an' crave it all the more. + +"Onest or twice I got out o' the fork, thinkin' I ked creep along a limb +an' drop down into the river. I shed a done so hed it been near enuf, +tho' I knowd I ked niver a swum ashore. But I seed the water war too +far off an' I hed to gie the idee up an' go back to my den. + +"'Twar o' no use chawin' the twigs o' the cyprus. They war full o' +rozin, an 'ud only make the chokin' worse. Thar war some green leaves +o' the fox-grape-vine, an I chawed all o' them I ked lay my claws on. +It dud some good; but my sufferins war a'most unbarable. + +"How war I to get at the water o' that river, that flowed so tauntinly +jess out o' reach? That war the queery that nixt occerpied me. + +"I 'most jumped off o' the tree when at last I bethort me o' a way; for +I did bethink me o' one. + +"I hed a piece o' string I allers carries about me. 'Twar quite long +enuf to reach the river bank, an' let it down into the water. I ked +empy my powder-horn and let it down. It wud fill, an' I ked then draw +it up agin. Hooray! + +"I shouted that hooray only onest. On lookin' for the horn I diskivered +thet I hed left it on the ground, whar I hed tuk it off afore goin' to +sleep under the cyprus. + +"I warn't agoin' to be beat in that easy way. Ef I had no vessel that +wud draw water I hed my ole doeskin shirt. I ked let that down, soak +it, an' pull it up agin'. + +"No sooner sayed than done. The shirt war peeled off, gathered up into +a clew, tied to the eend o' the string, an' chucked out'ard. + +"It struck a branch o' the cyprus, an' fell short. + +"I tried agin, an' agin, an' over agin. The darned thing still fell +short several feet from the bank o' the river. It warn't any fault o' +the cord. It war long enuf. It war the thick branches o' the cyprus +that gin me no chance to make a clur cast. I tried till I got dead +tired of failin'--till I seed the thing war impossible--an' then I gin +it up. + +"I shed a felt dreadful at failin' arter bein' so cock sure o' suckcess; +but jess then I bethut me o' another plan for reachin' that preecious +flooid. I've tolt ye 'bout my cuttin' a lot o' cane to make me a +shake-down for sleepin' on. Thar it still war, right under me--a hul +cord o' it. + +"The sight o' the long tubes surgested a new idee, which I warn't long +in puttin' to practice. Takin' the shirt out o' its loop, I made the +string fast to the heft o' my bowie. I then shot the knife down among +the cane, sendin' it wi' all my might, an' takin' care to keep the peint +o' the blade down'ards. It warn't long afore I hed spiked up as much o' +thet ere cane as wud a streetched twenty yurds into the river. + +"It tuk more time to manafacter the machine I intended makin', which war +a long tube as mout enable me to draw up the water o' the stream. Thar +war no eend o' whittlin' an' punchin' out the jeints, an' then splicin' +the tubes one to the tother. But I knowd it war a case o' life or +death; an' knowin' thet, I worked on constant as a ole gin-hoss. + +"I war rewarded for my patience. I got my blow-gun completed, an' +shovin' it carefully out, takin' the percaushun to gie it a double rest +upon the branches, I hed the saterfaction to see its peint dippin' down +into the river. + +"My mouth war applied to the other eend, an' oh, golly! Thar warn't no +mint julep ever sucked through a straw, as tasted like the flooid that +kim gurglin' up through that ere cane. I thort I ked niver take the +thing from my lips, an' I feel putty sartin thet while I war drinkin', +the Massissippi must a fell a kupple o' feet in the clur." + +"Ha! ha! ha!" + +"Ye may larf, young fellar, an' I'm glad to see ye in sech good spirits; +but ye ant so elevated as I war. When I tuk my mouth from the cane, I +feeled all over a new man, jess as ef I hed been raised from the dead, +or dragged out o' a consoomin' fire. + +"Wal, strenger, I haint yet got to the eend o' my story--I s'pose you +wish to hear the hul on it?" + +"By all means--let me hear the _finale_." + +"I don't know what ye mean by the finalley, but I'll gie ye the wind-up +o' the affair; which preehaps are the most kewrious part o' it. + +"I lived in the fork of thet ere cyprus for six long days, occasionally +payin' a visit to the eagles' necst, an' robbin' the young baldies o' +the food thar parents hed purvided for them. Thar diet war various, +consistin' o' fish, flesh, an' fowl, an' o' a konsequence so war mine. +I hed all three for a change; sometimes a rabbit, sometimes a squrrel, +with game to foller, sech as partridge, teal, an' widgeon. I didn't +cook 'em at all. I war afraid o' settin' fire to the withered leaves o' +the tree, an' burnin' up the neest--which wud a been like killin' the +goose as laid the eggs o' gold. + +"I mout a managed that sort o' existence for a longer spell, tho' I +acknowledge it war tiresome enuf. But it warn't that as made me anxious +to gie up, but suthin' very diff'rent. I seed that the young baldies +war every day gettin' bigger. Thar feathers war comin' out all over an' +I ked tell that it wudn't be long till they'd take wing. + +"When that time arrove whar shed I be? Still in the tree ov coorse; but +whar war my purvision to cum from? Who wud supply me wi' fish an' flesh +an' fowl, as the eagles had done? Clurly ne'er a one. It war this +thort as made me uneezy. I knew it war not likely I shed ever be +diskivered now, since my ole 'ooman hedn't made her appearance sooner; +an' as to any boat stoppin' for my hail, thet trick I hed tried till I +war a'most broken-winded--leastwise I hed kep' hollerin' every hour day +arter day till my thrapple war as sore as a blister. + +"I seed clarly thet I must do suthin' to get down out o' that tree, or +die among its branches, an' I spent all my spare time in thinkin' what +_mout_ be did. I used to read in Webster's spellin'-book that +`needcessity are the mother o' invenshun.' I reckon old Web warn't fur +astray when he prented them ere words--anyways it proved true in the +case o' Zeb Stump, at the time he war stuck up in that cyprus. + +"I hed noticed thet the two ole eagles bekim tamer and tamer as they got +used to me. They seed thet I did no harm to thar chicks, 'ceptin' so +far as to abstrack from them a portion o' thar daily allowance; but I +allers took care to leave them sufficient for themselves, an' as thar +parents appeared to hev no diffeequlty in purvidin' them wi' plenty-- +unlike many parents in your country, as I've heerd, strenger--my +pilferins didn't seem much to distress them. + +"They grew at last thet they'd sit on the one side o' the neest, while I +war peepin' over the other! + +"I seed thet I ked easily snare them, an' I made up my mind to do thet +very thing: for a purtickler purpus thet kumm'd into my head, an' which +promised to extercate me out o' the ugly scrape I hed so foolishly got +into. + +"Wal, strenger, my idee war this. I hed noticed thet the eagles war +both big birds, an' strong i' the wing. Everybody knows thet much. It +thurfore occurred to me that I mout make them wings do me a sarvice,-- +otherways thet they _mout carry me out o' the tree_. + +"In coorse I didn't intend they shed take me up i' the air. There +warn't much danger o' that. I only thort they mout sarve to break my +fall like one o' them things, _parryshoots_ I b'lieve they call 'em, an' +the which I myself had seed onest in Noo Orleans, sent up into the air +wi' a cat and a coon in it. + +"Arter I'd got my plan tol'ably well traced out, I sot about trappin' +the old eagles. + +"In less 'n an hour's time I hed both o' 'em in my keepin', wi' thar +beaks spliced to keep 'em from bitin' me, an' thar claws cropped clur +off wi' my bowie. + +"I then strengthened the cord I hed used to draw up the canes, by +doublin' it half a dozen times, until it war stout enuf to carry my +weight. One eend o' it I looped round the legs o' the eagles, gatherin' +all four into a bunch, whilst the other eend I made fast around my own +karkiss, jess under the armpits. + +"I did all this upon the lowest limb o' the cyprus, whar I had fetched +down the eagles. + +"When all war ready, I drew my bowie from its sheath, and with its sharp +peint I pricked both the baldies at the same time, so as to set them +a-floppin. As soon as I seed thar four wings in full play, I slid off +o' the branch, directin' myself torst the groun' underneath. + +"I ant very sartin as to what follered. I only recollex bein' dragged +through the branches o' the cyprus, an' the minnit arter plungin' +_cochuck_ into the waters o' the Massissippi. I shed most sartinly a +been drowned ef that ere cord had broken, or the eagles had got loose. +As it war, the birds kep' beatin' the water wi' thar big wings, and in +thet way hindered Zeb Stump from goin' under. + +"I've heerd o' a woman they called Veenis bein' drawed through the sea +by a kupple o' swans; but I don't b'lieve they kud a drawed her at a +quicker rate o' speed than I war carried over the buzum o' the +Massissippi. In less than five minnits from the time I hed dropped out +o' the tree, I seed myself in the middle o' the river and still +scufflin' on. I seed that the baldies war boun' for the Arkansaw shore, +an' knowin' that my life depended on thar reachin' it, I offered no +opposition to thar efforts, but lay still an' allowed them to continue +thar career. + +"As good luck wud hev it, they had strength enuf left to complete the +crossin'; an' thar war another bit o' good luck in the Arkansaw bank +bein' on a level wi' the surface o' the water; so that in five minnits +arter, I foun' myself among the bushes, the baldies still flutterin' +about me, as ef determined to carry me on over the great parairas o' the +West. + +"I feeled that it war time to stop the steam, an' take in sail; so +clutchin' holt o' a branch, I brought the baldies to anchor. I war all +out o' breath, and it war some time afore I ked rekiver my legs, and +release myself from my feathered kumpanyuns. I tuk good care not to let +them go; though sartintly I owed them thet much for the sarvice they had +done me, but jess then I bethort me o' the Britisher at Grand Gulf--ah! +you it war, ye say, young feller?" + +"Certainly. And those are the eagles I purchased from Mrs Stump?" + +"Them same birds, strenger. You shed a hed the young 'uns, but thar +warn't no chance ever ag'in to clomb thet cyprus, an' what bekim o' the +poor critters arterward, I haint the most distant idee. I reckin they +ended thar days in the neest, which ye still see up thar; an' ef they +did, I reckin the buzzarts wudn't be long in makin' a meal o' 'em." + +With my eyes directed to the top of the tall cypress, and fixed upon a +dark mass, resembling a stack of faggots, I listened to the concluding +words of this queer chapter of "Backwoods Adventure." + +Story 7. + +THE BLACK JAGUAR--AN ADVENTURE ON THE AMAZON. + +It has been a contested point among naturalists, whether the black +jaguar of America is merely a variety of the _felis onca_, or a distinct +species. The best informed writers regard it in the former light; and, +so far as my observation has extended, I can perceive no essential +difference between the two varieties, either in size, shape, or habits. +They appear to be distinguished by colour alone. + +Every one knows the colour of the common jaguar--a glossy yellowish +ground, turning paler, almost whitish, under the belly and throat, and +mottled all over by what appear to be jet black spots, but which, on +closer inspection, turn out to be irregular rings, each with a black +blotch in the centre, forming a species of marking which may very +properly be termed a rosette. It is this central spot of the ring that +chiefly distinguishes the markings of the jaguar from those of the +leopard and panther of the Old World--these having the ring, but not the +dab in the centre. + +Among the _felidae_, of the second class, as regards size--that is, +those next in size to the lion and tiger--there are five spotted +species, quite distinct from one another, although they are usually +spoken of under the common appellation of panthers or leopards. Four of +these belong to the Old World--the true leopard, panther, the cheetah, +or hunting leopard, and the ounce. The first two are very much alike, +and can be distinguished from one another only by the skilled zoologist. +The leopard is an inhabitant of the warmer countries of both Asia and +Africa, while, as far as I can ascertain, the panther is found only in +Southern Asia and the great Indian islands. The cheetah, easily +identified by its shape as well as markings, its black spots being +without the rings, is distributed over a vast range, comprising the +whole continent of Africa, with a large portion of that of Asia. + +The fourth of the great spotted cats of the Old World is the least +known. Buffon procured a single skin, and gave to the animal the +appellation of the "ounce;" but his description is worthless, and his +knowledge is confined to the expression of a belief that it came from +some eastern country--perhaps Persia. Since the time of the French +naturalist the "ounce" has been a mystery; and although stuffed skins +may be seen in many museums, no one appears to know whence they have +been procured, or anything of the habits of the animal from which they +have been stripped. But this uncertainty need continue no longer. +Beyond doubt, the ounce of Buffon is the white leopard of the Himalayas, +of late years often met with by Anglo-Indian hunters amongst the highest +summits of those mountains, and rarely descending far below the line of +the snow. + +The jaguar, though often confounded with the leopard and panther of the +Old World, is an entirely distinct animal, exclusively confined to +America, and found there only in countries of a tropical or sub-tropical +character. It is in the hottest tropical regions where this creature +attains to its greatest perfection, in the size and strength if its +body, and the fierceness of its disposition. + +Buffon, who had a keen antipathy to everything American, describes the +jaguar as an innocuous creature of inferior dimensions; but indeed this +writer, whom the French love to designate as "a great naturalist," was +little else than a verbose compiler, and his knowledge of natural +history would scarcely exceed that of many a schoolboy of the present +day. + +Humboldt more correctly characterises the jaguars, when he states that +he has seen specimens which, in point of size, equal the royal tiger of +India; and another distinguished naturalist, Von Tschudi, has given the +measurements of one, made by himself on the spot where it was killed, in +one of the Peruvian valleys, and which goes far towards confirming the +statements of the great scientific traveller. + +I have never myself met with a specimen of the jaguar equalling the +tiger of India in size, but more than one have I seen as large as the +tigress; and I believe the true state of the case to be this:--The +largest jaguars are about equal in size to the smallest tigers. + +As regards fierceness of disposition, and the danger to be apprehended +from an encounter with them, they are indeed the rivals of either the +tiger or lion of the Old World; and the disbelief in this, often +expressed by flippant writers who have never set foot in a South +American forest, is simply an impertinent absurdity. Hundreds of human +beings dwelling upon the banks of the Amazon, the Oronoco, the +Magdalena, and other large tropical rivers, have fallen victims to the +savage instincts of these carnivorous creatures; and, in the eastern +Andes of Peru, it is well known that more than one village has been +abandoned by its inhabitants, for no other reason than to avoid the +danger of being devoured by the jaguars, which like the tigers of India, +instead of diminishing in numbers, usually increase by the proximity of +a settlement. + +It is probable that there are several varieties of the jaguar, perhaps +species, distinct from one another, as the leopards of the Old World are +from the panthers. + +But the black jaguar does not appear anything more than an accidental +circumstance in the colouring, just as the "black panther of Java"--also +found in Bengal--is but a darker variety of the panther itself. + +And yet, taking the testimony of the native inhabitants of South +America--Indians, Portuguese, and Spaniards--there would seem to exist +something more than a mere accidental difference. All agree in stating +that the black jaguar is fiercer, larger, and more powerful than the +fulvous kind. + +Perhaps fancy may have something to do in the formation of this opinion. +The former is not only far less numerous than the latter, but in most +parts it is a scarce and rarely seen animal. Its habits, therefore, +have been less observed. Fancy ever delights to attribute rare and +wonderful qualities to that which is but little known. This may account +for the peculiarities described as belonging to the black jaguar. + +The nomenclature of the natives shows that, notwithstanding the +difference of colour, they in reality regard these animals as being of +one and the same species. "Tiger" and "black tiger," are their +respective appellations in Spanish America, while the Indians of the +Lower Andes know both as the "chinca," but distinguish them by the terms +"yana chinca," and "chaque chinca," that is black and spotted "chincas." +Also in the "Lingoa Geral" they are respectively termed "jauarite" and +"jauarite pixuna." This marking of the relationship between two animals +by the natives of a country where these animals are found, is pretty +generally a safe guide to the naturalist; more particularly in a country +of savage hunters, whose whole lives are spent in the pursuit and +consequent observation of these creatures. + +We may assume, therefore, that the black jaguar is no more than an +accidental variety of the species. In fact, if you suppose the yellow +or ground colour of the spotted kind to be deepened to a maroon brown, +you will have the black jaguar itself; for the latter is not black, as +its name would imply, but of a dark chocolate colour. The ocellae or +rosettes are thickly studded over its body just as upon the fulvous +kinds, and these marks, although not visible to the superficial +observer, can easily be distinguished when the animal stands in a +certain light. + +An incident which occurred to me some years ago, in which a black jaguar +played a prominent part, proved that this creature, whether or not it be +different in species from its yellow congeners, is at least their equal +in boldness and ferocity of disposition. + +I had gone up the Amazon to the Brazilian settlement of Barra, at the +mouth of the Rio Negro; and having accomplished the mission of my visit +to that curious locality, I was desirous of returning again to Gran +Para. There was no way of getting back but by taking passage on one of +the trading vessels of the river; and on one of those which chanced to +be going down to Para, I embarked. + +The craft was one peculiar to the Lower Amazon, and known as an +"Igarite." It had one mast amidships, with a lug sail, and was +flat-bottomed, without keel. The cabin was nothing more than a +"toldo"--an arched roof, thatched with leaves of the _bossu_ palm, and +covering all the afterpart of the vessel, except a small space for the +steersman. A similar toldo was constructed over the forward half of the +igarite, where much of the cargo was stowed; but as this consisted +entirely of _manteiga_ (turtle oil), carried in large earthern _botijas_ +of Indian manufacture, the weather could not injure it; and every +available space was crowded with the jars. Just enough room was left +for four oarsmen, the captain of the craft (Joao, by name), and myself. + +I have been thus particular in describing the igarite and its crew, as +it has something to do with the adventure I am about to relate. + +About half way between Barra and the island of Marajo, we had got into a +somewhat narrow channel between two islets. The wind was blowing +up-stream, and was therefore against us; but as there was a fair +current, we were making a headway of about two or three miles an hour. +It was about mid day, and the sun over our heads was so intensely hot, +that the captain had ordered the "tapinos" to desist from rowing. + +The sail was down, and the igarite floated with the current. The crew, +sheltering their heads under the roof of the forward toldo, soon fell +asleep; and I myself in the after cabin, was nearly in a similar +condition. Joao, acting in the double capacity of captain and +steersman, alone kept awake. + +I had been lying for a considerable time without hearing any other sound +than the rippling of the water against the sides of the igarite. +Indeed, at that hour of the day it is always more silent than at any +other time. Notwithstanding the abundance of animal life in the +tropical parts of South America, the traveller will see or hear but +little signs of it during the hours of noon. The animals all go to +sleep. Even the howling monkeys take their siesta, and the preying +ounce, and other fierce creatures, overcome by the heat, seem to give +their victims a respite. The beautiful snow-white bell-bird is at this +hour the only creature that cheers the solitude of the forest with its +metallic monologue. + +From my state of half-slumber I was awakened by the voice of Joao, +which, in a sort of half-whisper, was heard repeating,-- + +"Senhor! senhor!" + +I looked up; Joao's face was peeping in through an opening in the back +of the toldo. There was an expression upon it that told me something +was in the wind. + +"Well, Joao, what is it?" I inquired. + +"Is your gun loaded, senhor?" + +"Yes," I said, reaching forward and taking my double-barrelled piece +from its rest--"what is it?" + +"There's a queer-looking creature ahead--may be a tapin or a jacare +(crocodile); I can't make it out--come and see, senhor." + +I crept forward to the entrance of the toldo, and looked in the +direction pointed out by the captain, that is, down stream, and nearly +ahead of our course. + +There was a point of the island that jutted slightly into the water, and +against this point a small raft had formed, consisting of dead logs, +branches, and river wreck. + +The raft was not extensive, nor did it appear to be very firmly attached +to the bank; but the logs themselves were tree-trunks of the largest +size, and evidently of some light wood, as they floated high above the +surface of the water. + +On the top of one of them--that nearest the water's edge--a dark object +was visible. It was plainly the body of some animal, but what sort it +was, I could not tell, nor could Joao, as it lay stretched along the +log. + +There was a back, and shoulders, and a neck, head, and legs, too, that +appeared to be grasping the trunk on which the animal lay extended. It +could not be a piece of dark wood, nor yet a _jacare_. The outlines of +the alligator I should have known at a glance. + +"A tapin," thought I, as Joao had at first suggested; but no, it could +not be. Its odd position on the floating log contradicted the +supposition of its being a tapin. A capivara! not that either; and none +of the species of black monkeys would have lodged themselves so +singularly. Besides, it was larger than any of the monkey tribe of +these parts. + +I thought over every animal that I knew to inhabit the regions of the +Amazon. I never once thought of its being a jaguar. Of course the +yellow-spotted skin of this monarch of the American forest, I, as well +as Joao, would have recognised at a glance. + +Both of us gazing and guessing--the tapino still slept--Joao had for the +moment forgotten his office of steersman, and we perceived that the +igarite was drifting right on to the raft. + +The pilot instantly seized the stern oar, and with a strong pull, headed +the vessel so as to clear the timber. + +We were now nearly opposite, and I at length procured a fair view of the +creature that had been puzzling us. What was my astonishment-- +consternation, I may say--on discovering its true character? Instead of +being a harmless tapin, or cavy, as we had been guessing, it was no +other than the dreaded _janarit pixuna_--the _black jaguar of the +Amazon_. + +My first thoughts were about my gun, which I held in my hand. A look at +the weapon, and I saw that both barrels were empty! + +I now remembered having drawn the charges that morning, for the purpose +of wiping the barrels, and I had neglected to reload. It would be too +late to do so now. A cold fear crept over me. Except some dull +cutlasses for cutting brush, there was not another weapon on board. We +were literally defenceless. + +My gaze returned to the jaguar. He was asleep! His maroon-coloured +body, almost as large as that of an Indian tiger, lay stretched along +the raft, glistening in the sun--beautiful, but fearful to behold, +especially from our point of view. The remains of a large fish, half +devoured, lay close by. No doubt he had caught it, satisfied his +hunger, and, yielding to the heat of the noon-day sun, had gone to +sleep. + +These were after thoughts of mine. I was in no humour for reflections +at the time. I only noticed, and with some satisfaction, that the +fierce creature slept. + +Not a word had as yet passed between myself and Joao--a sign only--and +that was mutually, to enjoin silence. The captain saw that my gun was +empty, and knew as well as I did the danger we had to dread. He knew +well that should the jaguar awake, its first act might be to spring upon +the igarite and attack us. + +It was no groundless fear--such things had happened before--ay, even out +into the mid-river, the jaguar had been known to swim, attack the +passing canoe, and drag its occupant overboard! This, too, in the case +of a jaguar of the ordinary size and sort--but a _black jaguar_, one of +monstrous dimensions! + +Joao knew the danger. He stood like a statue firmly grasping the handle +of his oar. + +A few seconds only elapsed until the igarite was opposite the raft, +almost touching it. Now was the critical moment. + +The tapinos still slept. Would they awake? + +I cast a hurried glance at them. They lay like bronze images in the +bottom of the boat in different attitudes; I could hear their breathing. +Mine and Joao's could not have been heard--we scarcely breathed. + +A word--a motion and we are lost! There is neither. + +We glide gently on; the dreaded sleeper hears us not. How close!--I +could almost touch its glossy hide with the muzzle of my gun! Softly, +softly. Ha! + +"See!" whispered Joao, "see, master! the raft comes away--it follows +us--_Santissima_!" + +I saw it as soon as Joao, but could scarcely believe my eyes. The part +of the raft upon which lay the jaguar, had become detached--no doubt by +the swell caused by the passage of the igarite, and was now drifting +down the current. It had parted so silently that not a crackle had been +made among the logs, and the sleeper was not disturbed. The animal lay +upon the floating mass perfectly unconscious of the change in its +position; and yet it was difficult to believe that its fierce nature +could be stilled into such a profound slumber. + +It was not likely it would long continue in this unconscious condition, +and as the log on which it lay was carried by the current in the same +direction as ourselves, and at the like rate of speed, the distance +between it and us, and consequently our danger continued the same as +ever. + +Awaking at any moment, it might have sprung right into the igarite, +where it would have had us completely at its mercy. + +It is not necessary to detail the terrible emotions that passed through +the mind of Joao and myself, while under the convoy of that dread +_compagnon du voyage_. The tapinos, still asleep, were spared them, and +no doubt, I myself would have felt them more keenly had I not been +occupied in the loading of my gun. + +In this, also, Joao assisted me, and the process was as gentle and +silent as if the gun had been glass, and we were afraid of breaking it. + +Fortunately we had succeeded in getting both barrels charged before the +event, which we had been momentarily expecting, came to pass--the +awakening of the jaguar. + +It did come to pass, not from any noise proceeding from the igarite, for +there had been none, but by a disturbance in the water, close to the log +on which the sleeper was extended. + +It was a porpoise that caused this disturbance, rising to the surface to +blow. + +The jaguar started to its feet, causing the log to wriggle unsteadily as +it stood up. For a moment, even its fierce nature seemed to undergo a +shock of surprise, at the odd situation in which it so unexpectedly +perceived itself to be. + +In a short moment, however, its surprise gave place to the fiercest +fury, seeing human forms so near it, and no doubt believing us the cause +of its involuntary voyage. Uttering its wild cat-like screams, and +lashing its long tail against its flanks, it cowered along the log, +gathering its four feet together, evidently with the intention of +launching itself towards the igarite. + +As it couched to make the spring, with its horrid round head flattened +against the trunk of the tree, it could not have offered a fairer aim, +and knowing it would not long continue in this attitude, I lost not an +instant in taking aim. I fired two bullets in as quick succession as I +could pull the two triggers, and fortunately, with fatal effect, for on +the smoke drifting aside, we had the satisfaction to see no jaguar, but +the trunk of a tree bobbing about in the midst of a disc of +blood-stained water. + +The beast had gone dead to the bottom, and the tapinos, who sprang up in +affright from their recumbent attitudes, had only this evidence with the +words of Joao and myself, of the danger from which they had so +unconsciously escaped. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Guerilla Chief, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUERILLA CHIEF *** + +***** This file should be named 35214.txt or 35214.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/2/1/35214/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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