ADVENTURES AND SURPRISES.
While Riva Baez was struggling with his wounded horse, whose sudden
plunge had nearly unseated him, Ronie was also active, but in quite
another manner. The flash of the shots from the treetops had not sent
out its blaze of lurid light before he had discovered a pair of dark
forms crouching in the foliage overhead, and the double report had not
died away before he had covered one of these with his rifle, his clear,
ringing voice exclaiming:
"Hold, there! Move an inch, and I will send a bullet through your
head!"
Immediately cries of fright were uttered by the twain in their lofty
ambush, but neither man offered to move. The companions of Ronie and
Riva Baez, who had fallen behind a little, startled by these shots and
outcries, now dashed hurriedly upon the scene.
"Cover the other rebel up there with your Mauser, Jack," commanded
Ronie. "Do not hesitate to fire if he dares to lift a finger."
Jack quickly comprehended the situation, and no sooner had his youthful
commander spoken than he took swift aim at the trembling wretch in the
tree, saying, loud enough for the victim to hear:
"Ay, sergeant; I glory in such shooting!"
By this time Riva had succeeded in quieting his horse, which had not
received a fatal wound, and the veteran scout was ready to do his part
in the exciting drama.
"Stand at the foot of the tree to receive them, boys," ordered Ronie.
"I am going to invite them to join us. Their company may be more
desirable than we think."
Then, addressing the twain above, he continued in the best Spanish he
could command:
"Come down, senors, as quickly as may be."
"Spare our lives, senor!" begged the one whom the young American had
selected as his victim.
"Upon the condition that you surrender peacefully. As proof that you
mean what you profess, please drop your weapons down to my men."
Without delay, the couple dropped their Mausers, which were caught by
the young Venezuelans.
"If you have any other firearms, kindly let them down, We have more use
for them than you."
This demand was followed by two braces of heavy pistols, followed by a
couple of ugly-looking knives.
"Any more such playthings?" asked Ronie.
"No, senor. We have no more weapons, unless you call this rope such."
"Let that down, too. It will come in handy in a few minutes. You were
very thoughtful to take it along with you."
The stout hempen rope was next thrown to the ground, after which the
terrified sharpshooters waited for the succeeding order.
"Now, come down yourselves. Don't waste any powder, boys, if they are
foolish enough to think of trying to run away."
"Ay, sergeant, trust us for that," replied Jack.
Ronie soon had the satisfaction of seeing the two cringing before him
like a couple of curs about to receive a whipping. One of them was
evidently a half-breed, while his companion, who had done the talking
so far, showed more of Spanish blood.
"You have been caught in an ugly game, senors," said Ronie, whereupon
both bowed, the spokesman saying:
"Do not shoot us, Senor Americano. If you will spare our lives, we
will fight for you."
"A pretty mess you'd make of it. You were scouts for El Capitan?"
"_Si, senor_."
"You mistook us for Castro's soldiers?"
"_Si, senor_. We could not see very plain, and we thought you were
only two."
"Which made your shooting more justifiable, I suppose. Seeing you are
such poor marksmen, we will forgive you, providing you will answer my
questions."
"_Si, senor_."
"Where is El Capitan?"
"At Morova."
"How far is that from here?"
"Four kilometers, senor."
"What is he doing there?"
"Waiting for reinforcements."
"What does he need reinforcements for?"
"To whip the dogs of Castro."
"No doubt he needs them. But are there any of Castro's soldiers in
this vicinity?"
"_Si, senor_, at Baracoa."
This bit of information caused Ronie to resume his questioning with
greater interest, for he knew this referred to Colonel Marchand's
regiment.
"How many men has El Capitan under him?'
"Five thousand, senor."
"Beware, senor, for I know now you lie."
"He will have, senor, before he reaches Valencia."
"So he is headed in that way?"
"_Si, senor_."
"What I want to know is, how many men has he now? Be careful, for
another lie will send your cringing souls to purgatory. How many men
has El Capitan now?"
"Spare me, senor! I do not lie. El Capitan has about two hundred with
him now, but he expects more soon."
"Do you mean to say he has two hundred at Morova?"
"Senor misunderstood me. He will have two hundred as soon as Calveras
reaches him with his troops."
"Dog!" cried Ronie, looking as fierce as he could, while he threatened
to resort to violence then and there, "you are trying to cheat me. I
asked you how many soldiers El Capitan has at Morova."
"Fifty, senor," and the frightened wretch and his companion seemed
about to collapse.
"That is all now," declared the young sergeant. "Secure them, men, at
once."
Nothing loath, his companions began to carry out his order, Jack
assisting Riva Baez in binding the spokesman of the twain. While they
were doing this, the former heard the sound of paper crumpled in the
prisoner's pocket. Thrusting his hand into the receptacle, he quickly
drew forth two soiled and wrinkled missives.
"What have we here?" he asked. "As I live, here is a dispatch for
Colonel Marchand from General Castro," handing, as he spoke, the paper
to Ronie. Then, his eye falling upon the well-known envelope and stamp
of his own country, he exclaimed:
"A letter for you, Ronie; and from New York!"
If honest Jack Greenland had unconsciously committed a breach of good
respect in thus addressing a superior, Ronie did not heed it, while he
took the crumpled missive handed him, his own hand trembling and a mist
coming over his eyes at this unexpected communication from his native
land. This mist deepened and his hand shook more violently, as he
murmured, after glancing at its superscription:
"It is from mother, Jack!"
It was fortunate for the reputation of our hero that his companions
were attentive to their duty, or the prisoners might have eluded their
captors. But he was certainly excusable for his temporary lack of
discretion. The finding of this letter from his mother, under the
circumstances and condition of affairs, was enough to rob him of his
usual presence of mind. While the others completed their tasks, he
examined the missive, to find that it had already been opened. With
blurred sight, he ran hastily over its closely-written page, saying,
when he finished:
"It is as I expected. Mother was to leave New York soon after writing
this, to meet me in Caracas. This was directed in the care of Colonel
Marchand, and has been forwarded through the courtesy of General Castro
to the colonel. She is here in this country, and in trouble, as I have
feared."
"Let us hope it is nothing serious," said Jack. "At least, we can only
hope for the best until we are able to learn more and do more. Has the
dispatch to Colonel Marchand been opened?"
"Excuse me, Jack, for forgetting my duty. It must be duty before
personal afflictions, I suppose. Yes, this has been opened. In that
case, it will do no harm for me to read it, particularly as I may learn
something to guide us in our work. It says," he continued, while he
scanned the document, "that General Castro has been elected president
of the republic for a term of six years. It says also that a body of
his troops have been defeated at Barquismoto by the insurgents; that
the _Libertador_ has fixed on and sunk a Venezuelan ship named _Crespo_
off Cumarebo, and that Matos has succeeded in landing twenty thousand
rifles and two million cartridges at Trinidad.
"Now I come to news that interests us more. General Castro has sent to
San Carlos demanding that Harrie be set at liberty immediately. That
is good news indeed. But he goes on to say that he cannot set
Francisco free until his case has had an investigation. Well, this has
proved to be a pretty fortunate capture."
"A newsy one, certainly, and not all of it bad news, by any means.
Shall we take these fellows along with us, sergeant?"
"Pardon me, Jack, I must be more mindful of my duty. Yes, I suppose we
shall have to do so. It is also necessary that one of us return to
Colonel Marchand with all haste possible, apprising him of what we have
done, and to take him this dispatch from the general. While you are
arranging for one of the boys to undertake this duty, I will write a
few words to the colonel."
Then Ronie prepared his first war dispatch, succinctly describing what
he had done and discovered. By the time he had finished this Jack had
got one of the younger Venezuelans in readiness for his journey back to
the regiment. Though he was loath to trust these important messages
with this scout, Ronie felt that he could not do any better. He could
not very well spare Jack or Riva Baez. Then, too, the latter vouched
for the honesty and capability of the other, so he saw him depart with
full confidence that the arduous duty would be performed faithfully.
The hands of the prisoners having been securely bound behind them, they
were ordered to march in front of Jack and the younger Venezuelan,
while Ronie and Riva Baez rode in front. In this manner the journey
was resumed, though continued but a short time. It was now getting to
be sunrise, and Riva having a friend in that vicinity, it was deemed
best to stop there for a while--at least, long enough for the animals
to recuperate.
The plantation of this man proved to be a huge farm of many thousand
acres, but much of it valueless on account of the revolutionary state
of the country. He was at home, and as soon as he learned the
character of his visitors from his old friend Riva, he extended a most
cordial greeting to them, promising to do everything in his power to
assist them. The sight of the prisoners pleased him hugely, for he was
a most pronounced admirer and supporter of Castro, and he quickly
placed the two spies in quarters from which they could not escape
without help.
"How is it," asked Ronie, "that you keep from being molested by the
insurgents, when you are situated in the heart of the debatable ground?"
"The reason is simply because I can muster a force that can outwhip any
army of curs that El Capitan can muster," he replied, rather
vaingloriously. "Oh, they have tried it, Sergeant Rand, but I have
routed them like a band of monkeys, and I can do it again."
Our little party fared sumptuously at the hands of this rather pompous
Venezuelan, whose name was Don Isadora Casimiro, and so they could find
no fault if he was a bit boastful and radical in his ideas. He
insisted that they remain with him during the day, showing the
advantage they would gain by waiting until nightfall before starting
out. As much as Ronie disliked this inactivity, he believed it was
wisest to do so. During the day the news was brought in by one of Don
Isadora's scouts that El Capitan was mustering his forces to march on
San Carlos with the purpose of liberating El Mocho.
As soon as the shadows of night began to fall, Ronie prepared to start
anew on his expedition, Jack and the two Venezuelans accompanying him,
the prisoners being left in care of the followers of Don Isadora. The
ride for half an hour continued through an archway of trees growing on
the plantation of their host, when Riva declared that they had reached
the limit of his broad domains. They soon after entered a valley, the
hoof-strokes of their horses muffled by the soft, spongy earth.
It must have been nearly midnight, for they had ridden several miles up
and down the country without discovering any trace of the enemy, when
Riva, who was slightly ahead of the others, abruptly paused in his
advance. Ronie quickly gained his side, where he stopped to learn the
cause of this unexpected halt. It required no words on the part of the
guide to explain his action, as he mutely pointed with his right hand
to a ravine, or gorge, running parallel with the road. The sound of
human voices came up distinctly to the ears of Ronie.
Handing the rein of his horse to his companion, he silently dismounted,
and crept toward the brink of the chasm overhanging the place. In a
moment the light of a camp-fire struggled dimly upward through the
thick foliage, while with the sound of voices came the noise and
confusion of a body of men moving about.
"I believe it is an encampment of El Capitan," he whispered to Jack,
who had joined him. "I have a mind to get a little closer."
"I need not tell you to be careful," said Jack. "Can I go with you?"
"I do not believe you had better, Jack. I will not be gone long. From
the sounds, I judge the party below are about to start on some midnight
raid."
Before he had finished speaking, Ronie began to lower himself down the
descent, moving with such care that he made no noise. The bank did not
prove to be perpendicular, but its smooth side sloped gently away to
its foot, and covered as it was with rank vegetation, Ronie had little
difficulty in descending, except that at places the matted mass of
growth was so dense that he could penetrate it only after persistent
effort. At the end of five minutes he found himself so near the bottom
that his next step was upon the thatched roof of one of the primitive
buildings that seemed to form a row on this side.