THE BARGAIN.
The two adventurers rode gaily side by side, telling one another the
news of the desert, that is to say, hunting exploits, and skirmishes
with the Indians, and conversing about the political events which for
some months past had attained a certain gravity and alarming importance
for the Mexican government.
But, while thus talking, asking each other questions, the answers to
which they did not wait to hear, their conversation had no other object
save to conceal the secret preoccupation that agitated them.
In their previous discussion, each had tried to overreach the other,
trying to draw out secrets, the hunter manoeuvring to lead the soldier
to an act of treachery, the latter asking no better than to sell
himself, and acting in accordance with his wishes; the result of the
trial was that they had found themselves of equal force, and each had
obtained the result he wanted.
But this was no longer the question with them; like all crafty men,
success, instead of satisfying them, had given birth in their minds to
a multitude of suspicions. John Davis asked himself what cause had led
the dragoon to betray his party so easily, without stipulating
beforehand for important advantages for himself.
For everything is paid for in America, and infamy especially commands a
high price.
On his side, the dragoon found that the hunter put faith in his
statements very easily, and, in spite of his comrade's affectionate
manner, the nearer he approached the camp of the border rifles, the more
his uneasiness increased; for he was beginning to fear lest he had gone
head first into a snare, and had trusted too imprudently to a man whose
reputation was far from reassuring him.
Such was the state of mind in which the two men stood to each other,
scarce an hour after leaving the spot where they had met so
accidentally.
Still, each carefully hid his apprehensions in his heart; nothing was
visible on the exterior; on the contrary, they redoubled their
politeness and obsequiousness toward each other, behaving rather like
brothers delighted to have met after a long separation, than as men who
two hours previously spoke together for the first time.
The sun had set about an hour, and it was quite dark when they came
within a short distance of the Jaguar's camp, whose bivouac fires
flashed out of the gloom, reflecting themselves with fantastic effects
of light on the surrounding objects, and imprinting on the rugged
scenery of the prairie a stamp of savage majesty.
"We have arrived," the hunter said, as he stopped his horse and turned
to his companion; "no one has perceived us; you can still turn back
without any fear of pursuit; what is your decision?"
"Canarios! Comrade," the soldier answered, shrugging his shoulders with
a disdainful air; "I have not come so far to shiver at the entrance of
the camp, and allow me to remark, with all the respect due to you, that
your remark appears to me singular at the least."
"I owed it to myself to make it; who knows whether you may not repent
to-morrow the hazardous step you are taking to-day?"
"That is possible. Well, what would you have? I will run the risk; my
determination is formed, and is unchangeable. So let us push on, in
Heaven's name."
"As you please, Caballero; within a quarter of an hour you will be in
the presence of the man you desire to see. You will have an explanation
with him, and my task will be accomplished."
"And I shall have nothing but thanks to offer you," the soldier quickly
interrupted him; "but let us not remain any longer here: we may attract
attention, and become the mark for a bullet, which I confess to you I am
not at all desirous of."
The hunter, without replying, let his horse feel the spur, and they
continued to advance.
Within a few minutes they entered the circle of light cast by the fire;
almost immediately the sharp click of a rifle being cocked was heard,
and a rough voice ordered them to stop in the devil's name.
The order, though not positively polite, was not the less peremptory,
and the two adventurers thought it advisable to obey.
Several armed men then issued from the entrenchments; and one of them,
addressing the strangers, asked them who they were, and what they wanted
at such an unseasonable hour.
"Who we are?" the American answered, firmly; "What we want? To come in
as quickly as we can."
"That is all very fine," the other replied; "but, if you do not tell us
your names, you will not enter so soon, especially as one of you wears a
uniform which is not in the odour of sanctity with us."
"All right, Ruperto," the American replied, "I am John Davis, and you
know me, I suppose; so let me pass, without delay. I answer for this
caballero, who has an important communication to make to the Chief."
"You are welcome, Master John; do not be angry with me, for you know
that prudence is the mother of safety."
"Yes, yes," the American said, with a laugh, "deuce take me if you
easily get into a scrape for lack of prudence, gossip."
They then entered the camp without farther obstacle.
The border rifles were generally sleeping round the fires, but a cordon
of vigilant sentries, placed at the openings of the camp, watched over
the common security.
John Davis dismounted, inviting his comrade to follow his example; then,
making him a sign to follow, he walked toward a tent, through the canvas
of which a weak light could be seen flickering.
On reaching the entrance of the tent, the hunter stopped, and tapped
twice.
"Are you asleep, Jaguar?" he asked, in a suppressed voice.
"Is that you, Davis, my old comrade?" was immediately asked from within.
"Yes."
"Come in, for I was impatiently waiting for you."
The American raised the curtain which covered the entrance, and glided
into the tent; the soldier followed him gently, and the curtain fell
down behind them.
The Jaguar, seated on a buffalo skull, was reading a voluminous
correspondence by the dubious light of a _candil_; and in a corner of
the tent might be seen two or three bear-skins, evidently intended to
serve as a bed. On seeing the newcomers, the young man folded up the
papers, and laid them in a small iron casket, the key of which he placed
in his bosom, then raised his head, and looked anxiously at the soldier.
"Who's this, John?" he asked; "Have you brought prisoners?"
"No," the other answered, "this caballero was most desirous of seeing
you, for certain reasons he will himself explain; so I thought I had
better carry out his wishes."
"Good; we will settle with him in a moment. What have you done?"
"What you ordered me."
"Then you have succeeded?"
"Completely."
"Bravo, my friend! Tell me all about it."
"What need of details?" the American answered, looking meaningly at the
dragoon, who stood motionless a couple of paces from him.
The Jaguar understood him.
"That is true," he said, "suppose we see of what sort of wood this man
is made;" and addressing the soldier, he added, "Come hither, my good
fellow."
"Here I am, at your orders, Captain."
"What is your name?"
"Gregorio Felpa. I am a dragoon, as you can see by my uniform,
Excellency."
"What is your motive for wishing to see me?"
"An anxiety to render you an important service, Excellency."
"I thank you, but usually services are confoundedly dear, and I am not a
rich man."
"You will become so."
"I hope so. But what is the great service you propose to render me?"
"I will explain to you, in two words. In every political question there
are two sides, and that depends on the point of view from which you
regard it. I am a child of Texas, son of a North American and an Indian
woman, which means that I cordially detest the Americans."
"Come to facts."
"I am doing so. A soldier against my will, General Rubio has entrusted
me with a dispatch for Captain Melendez, in which he gives him a place
of meeting, so as to avoid the Rio Seco, where the report runs that you
intend to ambush, in order to carry off the conducta."
"Ah, ah," the Jaguar said, becoming very attentive, "but how do you know
the contents of the dispatch?"
"In a very simple way. The General places the utmost confidence in me;
and he read me the dispatch, because I am to serve as the Captain's
guide."
"Then you are betraying your Chief?"
"Is that the name you give my action?"
"I am looking at it from the General's side."
"And from yours?"
"When we have succeeded I will tell you."
"Good," he carelessly replied.
"You have this dispatch?"
"Here it is."
The Jaguar took it, examined it attentively, turning it over and over,
and then prepared to break the seal.
"Stop!" the soldier hurriedly exclaimed.
"What for?"
"Because, if you open it, I cannot deliver it to the man for whom it is
intended."
"What do you mean?"
"You do not understand me," the soldier said, with ill-concealed
impatience.
"That is probable," the Captain answered.
"I only ask you to listen to me for five minutes."
"Speak."
"The meeting-place appointed for the Captain and the General is the
Laguna del Venado. Before reaching the Laguna there is a very narrow and
densely-wooded gorge."
"The Paso de Palo Muerto; I know it."
"Good. You will hide yourself there, on the right and left, in the
bushes; and when the conducta passes, you will attack it on all sides at
once; it is impossible for it to escape you, if, as I suppose, your
arrangements are properly made."
"Yes, the spot is most favourable for an attack. But who guarantees that
the conducta will pass through this gorge?"
"I do."
"What do you mean?"
"Certainly, as I shall act as guide."
"Hum! We no longer understand one another."
"Excuse me, we do, perfectly. I will leave you, and go to the Captain,
to whom I will deliver the General's dispatch; he will be compelled to
take me for his guide, whether we like it or not; and I will lead him
into your hands as surely as a novillo taken to the shambles."
The Jaguar gave the soldier a glance which seemed trying to read the
bottom of his heart.
"You are a daring fellow," he said to him, "but I fancy you settle
events a little too much as you would like them. I do not know you; I
see you to-day for the first time, and, excuse my frankness, it is to
arrange an act of treachery. Who answers for your good faith? If I am
foolish enough to let you go quietly, what assures me that you will not
turn against me?"
"My own interest, in the first place; if you seize the conducta by my
aid, you will give me five hundred ounces."
"That is not too dear: still, allow me to make a further objection."
"Do so, Excellency."
"Nothing proves to me that you have not been promised double the amount
to trap me."
"Oh!" he said, with a shake of the head.
"Hang it all! Listen to me; more singular things than that have been
known, and though my head may be worth little, I confess to you that I
have the weakness of attaching remarkable value to it; hence I warn you,
that unless you have better security to offer, the affair is broken
off."
"That would be a pity."
"I am well aware of that, but it is your fault, not mine; you should
have taken your measures better before coming to me."
"Then nothing can convince you of my good faith?"
"Nothing."
"Come, we must have an end of this!" the soldier exclaimed, impatiently.
"I ask for nothing better."
"It is clearly understood between us, Excellency, that you will give me
five hundred ounces?"
"If by your aid I carry off the conducta de plata; I promise it."
"That is enough; I know that you never break your word."
He then unbuttoned his uniform, drew out a bag hung round his neck by a
steel chain, and offered it to the Captain.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked him.
"Certainly," the Jaguar replied, crossing himself fervently; "it is a
relic."
"Blessed by the Pope! As this attestation proves."
"It is true."
He took it from his neck, and laid it in the young man's hand, then
crossing his right thumb over the left, he said, in a firm and marked
voice--
"I, Gregorio Felpa, swear on this relic to accomplish faithfully all the
clauses of the bargain I have just concluded with the noble Captain
called the Jaguar: if I break this oath, I renounce from this day and
for ever the place I hope for in Paradise, and devote myself to the
eternal flames of hell. Now," he added, "keep that precious relic; you
will restore it to me on my return."
The Captain, without replying, immediately hung it round his own neck.
Strange contradiction of the human heart, and inexplicable anomaly;
these Indians, for the most part pagans, in spite of the baptism they
have received, and who, while affecting to follow ostensibly the rules
of the Catholic religion, secretly practise the rites of their worship,
have a lively faith in relics and amulets; all wear them round their
necks in little bags, and these perverse and dissolute men, to whom
nothing is sacred, who laugh at the most noble feelings, whose life is
passed in inventing roguery, and preparing acts of treachery, profess so
great a respect for these relics, that there is no instance of an oath
taken on one of them having ever been broken.
Anyone who pleases may explain this extraordinary fact; we content
ourselves with telling it.
Before the oath taken by the soldier, the Jaguar's suspicions at once
faded away to make room for the most perfect confidence.
The conversation lost the stiff tone it had up to the present, the
soldier sat down on a buffalo skull, and the three men, henceforth in
good harmony, quietly discussed the best means to be employed to prevent
a failure.
The plan proposed by the soldier was so simple and easy to carry out,
that it guaranteed success; hence it was adopted entirely, and the
discussion only turned on points of detail.
At a rather late hour of the night, the three men at length separated,
in order to take a few moments of indispensable rest between the fatigue
of the past day and that they would have to endure on the morrow.
Gregorio slept _a pierna suelta_, to employ the Spanish phrase, that is
to say, straight off the reel.
About two hours before sunrise, the Jaguar bent over the sleeper and
awoke him; the soldier rose at once, rubbed his eyes for an instant, and
at the end of five minutes was as fresh and ready as if he had been
asleep for eight-and-forty hours.
"It is time to start," the Jaguar said, in a low voice; "John Davis has
himself rubbed down and saddled your horse; come."
They left the tent; they found the American holding the soldier's
bridle, and the latter leaped into the saddle without using his
stirrups, in order to show that he was quite fresh.
"Mind," the Jaguar observed, "that you employ the utmost prudence, watch
your words and your slightest gestures carefully, for you are about to
deal with the bravest and most skilful officer in the whole Mexican
army."
"Trust to me, Captain. Canarios! The stake is too large for me to run
any risk of losing the game."
"One word more."
"I am listening."
"Manage so as not to reach the gorge till nightfall, for darkness goes a
great way toward the success of a surprise--and now good-bye and good
luck."
"I wish you the same."
The Jaguar and the American escorted the dragoon to the barrier, in
order to pass him through the sentries, who, had not this precaution
been taken, would have infallibly fired at him, owing to the uniform he
wore.
"When he had left the camp, the two men looked after him so long as they
could distinguish his dark outline gliding like a shadow through the
trees of the forest, when it speedily disappeared.
"Hum!" said John Davis, "That is what I call a thorough scoundrel; he is
more cunning than an opossum. What a fearful villain!"
"Well, my friend," the Jaguar answered, carelessly, "men of that stamp
are necessary, else what would become of us?"
"That is true. They are as necessary as the plague and leprosy; but I
stick to what I said, he is the most perfect scoundrel I ever saw; and
the Lord knows the magnificent collection I have come across during the
course of my life!"
A few minutes later, the border rifles raised their camp and mounted to
proceed to the gorge, where the rendezvous had been made with Gregorio
Felpa, the asistente of General Rubio, who placed in him a confidence of
which the soldier was in every respect so worthy.