THE EXPRESS.
Captain Melendez was anxious to pass through the dangerous defile near
which the conducta had bivouacked; he knew how great was the
responsibility he had taken on himself in accepting the command of the
escort, and did not wish, in the event of any misfortune happening, that
a charge of carelessness or negligence could be brought against him.
The sum conveyed by the recua of mules was important. The Mexican
government, ever forced to expedients to procure money, was impatiently
expecting it; the Captain did not conceal from himself that the whole
responsibility of an attack would be mercilessly thrown on him, and that
he would have to endure all the consequences, whatever might be the
results of an encounter with the border rifles.
Hence his anxiety and alarm increased with every moment; the evident
treachery of Fray Antonio only heightened his apprehensions, by making
him suspect a probable trap. Though it was impossible for him to guess
from what quarter the danger would come, he felt it, as it were,
approaching him inch by inch, and besetting him on all sides, and he
expected a terrible explosion at any moment.
This secret intuition, this providential foreboding, which told him to
be on his guard, placed him in a state of excitement impossible to
describe, and threw him into an intolerable situation, from which he
resolved to escape at all hazards, preferring to run the danger and
confront it, to remaining longer with bayonets pointed at unseen foes.
Hence he doubled his vigilance, himself inspecting the vicinity of the
camp, and watching the loading of the mules, which, fastened to each
other, would, in the event of an attack, be placed in the centre of the
most devoted and resolute men of the escort.
Long before sunrise, the Captain, whose sleep had been an uninterrupted
series of continued starts, quitted the hard bed of skins and
horsecloths on which he had vainly sought a few hours of rest, which his
nervous condition rendered impossible, and began walking sharply up and
down the narrow space that composed the interior of the camp,
involuntarily envying the careless and calm slumbers of the troopers,
who were lying here and there on the ground, wrapped up in their
zarapés.
In the meanwhile day gradually broke. The owl, whose matin hoot
announces the appearance of the sun, had already given its melancholy
note. The Captain kicked the arriero Chief, who was lying by the fire,
and aroused him.
The worthy man rubbed his eyes several times, and when the last clouds
of sleep were dissipated, and order was beginning to be re-established
in his ideas, he exclaimed, while stifling a last sigh--
"Caray, Captain, what fly has stung you that you awake me at so early an
hour? Why, the sky has scarce turned white yet; let me sleep an hour
longer. I was enjoying a most delicious dream, and will try to catch it
up again, for sleep is a glorious thing."
The Captain could not refrain from smiling at this singular outburst;
still, he did not consider himself justified in listening to the
arriero's complaints, for circumstances were too serious to lose time
in futile promises.
"Up, up! Cuerpo de Cristo!" he shouted; "Remember that we have not yet
reached the Rio Seco, and that if we wish to cross this dangerous
passage before sunset, we must make haste."
"That is true," the arriero said, who was on his legs in a moment, as
fresh and lively as if he had been awake for an hour; "forgive me,
Captain, for I have quite as much interest as yourself in making no
unpleasant encounter; according to the law, my fortune answers for the
load I am conveying, and if an accident happened, I and my family would
be reduced to beggary."
"That is true, I did not think of that clause in your contract."
"That does not surprise me, for it cannot at all interest you; but I
cannot get it out of my head, and I declare to you, Captain, that since
I undertook this unlucky journey, I have very often repented having
accepted the conditions imposed on me; something tells me that we shall
not arrive safe and sound on the other side of these confounded
mountains."
"Nonsense, that is folly, no Bautista. You are in a capital condition,
and well escorted; what cause can you have for fear?"
"None, I know, and yet I am convinced that I am not mistaken, and this
journey will be fatal to me."
The same presentiments agitated the officer; still, he must not allow
the arriero to perceive any of his internal disquietude; on the
contrary, he must comfort him, and restore that courage which seemed on
the point of abandoning him.
"You are mad, on my soul," he exclaimed; "to the deuce with the absurd
notions you have got in your wool-gathering noddle."
The arriero shook his head gravely.
"You are at liberty, Don Juan Melendez," he answered, "to laugh at these
ideas; you are an educated man, and naturally believe in nothing. But I,
Caballero, am a poor ignorant Indian, and set faith in what my fathers
believed before me; look you, Captain, we Indians, whether civilized or
savage, have hard heads, and your new ideas cannot get through our thick
skulls."
"Come, explain yourself," the Captain continued, desirous to break off
the conversation without thwarting the arriero's prejudices; "what
reason leads you to suppose that your journey will be unlucky? You are
not the man to be frightened at your own shadow; I have been acquainted
with you for a long while, and know that you possess incontestable
bravery."
"I thank you, Captain, for the good opinion you are pleased to have of
me; yes, I am courageous, and believe I have several times proved it,
but it was when facing dangers which my intellect understood, and not
before perils contrary to the natural laws that govern us."
The Captain twisted his moustache impatiently at the arriero's fatiguing
prolixity: but, as he reminded him, he knew the worthy man, and was
aware by experience that attempting to cut short what he had to say was
a loss of time, and he must be allowed to do as he liked.
There are certain men with whom, like the spur with restiff horses, any
attempt to urge them on is a sure means of making them go back.
The young man, therefore, mastered his impatience, and coldly said:--
"I presume, then, you saw some evil omen at the moment of your
departure?"
"Indeed I did, Captain; and certainly, after what I saw, I would not
have started, had I been a man easily frightened."
"What was the omen, then?"
"Do not laugh at me, Captain; several passages of Scripture itself prove
that GOD is often pleased to grant men salutary warnings, to which
unhappily," he added with a sigh, "they are not wise enough to give
credence."
"That is true," the Captain muttered in the style of an interjection.
"Well," the arriero continued, flattered by this approval from a man
like the one he was talking with; "my mules were saddled, the recua was
waiting for me in the corral, guarded by the peons, and I was on the
point of starting. Still, as I did not like separating from my wife, for
a long time probably, without saying a last good bye, I proceeded toward
the house to give her a parting kiss, when, on reaching the threshold, I
mechanically raised my eyes, and saw two owls sitting on the azotea, who
fixed their eyes on me with infernal steadiness. At this unexpected
apparition, I shuddered involuntarily and turned my eyes away. At this
very moment, a dying man, carried by two soldiers on a litter, came down
the street, escorted by a monk who was reciting the Penitential Psalms,
and preparing him to die like an honest and worthy Christian; but the
wounded man made no other answer than laughing ironically at the monk.
All at once this man half rose on the litter, his eyes grew brilliant,
he turned to me, gave me a glance full of sarcasm, and fell back,
muttering these two words evidently addressed to me:--
"_Hasta luego_ (we shall meet soon)."
"Hum!" the Captain said.
"The species of rendezvous this individual gave me, had nothing very
flattering about it, I fancy!" the arriero continued. "I was deeply
affected by the words, and I rushed toward him with the intention of
reproaching him, as I thought was proper--but he was dead."
"Who was the man--did you learn?"
"Yes, he was a Salteador, who had been mortally wounded in a row with
the citizens, and was being carried to the steps of the Cathedral, to
die there."
"Is that all?" the Captain asked.
"Yes.'
"Well, my friend, I did well in insisting upon knowing the motives of
your present uneasiness."
"Ah!"
"Yes, for you have interpreted the omen with which you were favoured, in
a very different way from what you should have done."
"How so?"
"Let me explain: this foreboding signifies, on the contrary, that with
prudence and indefatigable vigilance you will foil all treachery, and
lay beneath your feet any bandits who dare to attack you."
"Oh!" the arriero exclaimed, joyfully; "Are you sure of what you
assert?"
"As I am of salvation in the other world," the Captain replied, crossing
himself fervently.
The arriero had a profound faith in the Captain's words, for he held him
in great esteem, owing to his evident superiority; he did not dream,
consequently, of doubting the assurance the latter gave him of the
mistake he had made in the interpretation of the omen which had caused
him such alarm; he instantly regained his good spirits, and snapped his
fingers mockingly.
"Caray, if that is the case, I run no risk; hence it is useless for me
to give Nuestra Señora de la Soledad the wax taper I promised her."
"Perfectly useless," the Captain assured him.
Now, feeling perfectly at his ease again, the arriero hastened to
perform his ordinary duties.
In this way, the Captain, by pretending to admit the ideas of this
ignorant Indian, had led him quietly to abandon them.
By this time all were astir in the camp, the arrieros were rubbing down
and loading the mules, while the troopers were saddling their horses and
making all preparations for a start.
The Captain watched all the movements with feverish energy, spurring
some on, scolding others, and assuring himself that his orders were
punctually carried out.
When all the preparations were completed, the young officer ordered that
the morning meal should be eaten all standing, and with the bridle
passed over the arm, in order to lose no time, and then gave the signal
for departure.
The soldiers mounted, but at the moment when the column started to leave
the camp finally, a loud noise was heard in the chaparral, the branches
were violently pulled back, and a horseman dressed in a dragoon uniform
appeared a short distance from the party, toward which he advanced at a
gallop.
On coming in front of the Captain, he stopped short, and raised his
hand respectfully to the peak of his forage cap.
"_Dios guarde a Vm!_" he said, "have I the honour of speaking with
Captain Don Juan Melendez?"
"I am he," the Captain answered in great surprise; "what do you want?"
"Nothing personally," the trooper said, "but I have to place a despatch
in your Excellency's hands."
"A despatch--from whom?"
"From his most Excellent General Don José-Maria Rubio, and the contents
of the despatch must be important, for the General ordered me to make
the utmost diligence, and I have ridden forty-seven leagues in nineteen
hours, in order to arrive more quickly."
"Good!" the Captain answered; "Give it here."
The dragoon drew from his bosom a large letter with a red seal, and
respectfully offered it to the officer.
The latter took it and opened it, but, before reading it, he gave the
motionless and impassive soldier before him a suspicious glance, which
he endured, however, with imperturbable assurance.
The man seemed to be about thirty years of age, tall and well built; he
wore his uniform with a certain amount of ease; his intelligent features
had an expression of craft and cunning, rendered more marked still by
his incessantly moving black eyes, which only rested with considerable
hesitation on the Captain.
Sum total, this individual resembled all Mexican soldiers, and there was
nothing about him that could attract attention or excite suspicion.
Still it was only with extreme repugnance that the Captain saw himself
compelled to enter into relations with him; the reason for this it would
certainly have been very difficult, if not impossible for him to say;
but there are in nature certain laws which cannot be gainsaid, and which
cause us at the mere sight of a person, and before he has even spoken,
to feel a sympathy or antipathy for him, and be attracted or repulsed by
him. Whence comes this species of secret presentiment which is never
wrong in its appreciation? That we cannot explain: we merely confine
ourselves to mentioning a fact, whose influence we have often undergone
and efficacy recognized, during the course of our chequered life.
We are bound to assert that the Captain did not feel at all attracted
toward the man to whom we refer, but, on the contrary, was disposed to
place no confidence in him.
"At what place did you leave the General?" he asked, as he mechanically
turned in his fingers the open despatch, at which he had not yet looked.
"At Pozo Redondo, a little in advance of the Noria de Guadalupe,
Captain."
"Who are you--what is your name?"
"I am the assistente of his most excellent General; my name is Gregorio
Lopez."
"Do you know the contents of this despatch?"
"No; but I suppose it is important."
The soldier replied to the Captain's questions with perfect freedom and
frankness. It was evident that he was telling the truth.
After a final hesitation, Don Juan made up his mind to read; but he soon
began frowning, and an angry expression spread over his features.
This is what the despatch contained:--
_"Pozo Redondo."_
"General Don José-Maria Rubio, Supreme Military
Commandant of the State of Texas, has the honour to inform Captain Don
Juan Melendez de Gongora, that fresh troubles have broken out in the
state; several parties of bandits and border-ruffians, under the orders
of different Chiefs, are going about the country pillaging and burning
haciendas, stopping convoys, and interrupting the communications. In the
presence of such grave facts, which compromise the public welfare and
the safety of the inhabitants, the government, as their duty imperiously
orders, have thought fit, in the interest of all, to take general
measures to repress these disorders, before they break out on a larger
scale. In consequence, Texas is declared under martial law--(here
followed the measures adopted by the General to suppress the rebellion,
and then the despatch went on as follows)--General Don José-Maria Rubio
having been informed by spies, on whose devotion he can trust, that one
of the principal insurgent Chiefs, to whom his comrades have given the
name of the Jaguar, is preparing to carry off the conducta de plata
confided to the escort of Captain Don Juan Melendez de Gongora, and
that, for this purpose, the said cabecilla purposes to form an ambuscade
on the Rio Seco, a spot favourable for a surprise; General Rubio orders
Captain Melendez to let himself be guided by the bearer of the present
despatch, a sure and devoted man, who will lead the conducta to the
Laguna del Venado, where this conducta will form a junction with a
detachment of cavalry sent for the purpose, whose numerical strength
will protect it from any aggression. Captain Melendez will take the
command of the troops, and join the General at head quarters with the
least possible delay."
"_Dios y libertad._"
"_The supreme Military General commanding in the State of Texas,_
"DON JOSE-MARIA RUBIO."
After reading this despatch carefully, the Captain raised his head and
examined the soldier for an instant with the deepest and most earnest
attention.
The latter, leaning on the hilt of his sword, was carelessly playing
with his knot, and apparently paying no attention to what was going on
around him.
"The order is positive," the Captain repeated several times, "and I must
obey it, although everything tells me that this man is a traitor."
Then he added aloud--
"Are you well acquainted with this part of the country?"
"I was born here, Captain," the dragoon replied; "there is not a hidden
track I did not traverse in my youth."
"You know that you are to serve as my guide?"
"His Excellency the General did me the honour of telling me so,
Captain."
"And you feel certain of guiding us safe and sound to the spot where we
are expected?"
"At least I will do all that is necessary."
"Good. Are you tired?"
"My horse is more so than I. If you would grant me another, I would be
at your orders immediately, for I see that you are desirous of setting
out."
"I am. Choose a horse."
The soldier did not let the order be repeated. Several remounts followed
the escort, and he selected one of them, to which he transferred the
saddle. In a few minutes he was mounted again.
"I am at your Excellency's orders," he said.
"March," the Captain shouted, and added mentally, "I will not let this
scoundrel out of sight during the march."