PEDRO'S BOLD STROKE
All this time the wolves had let us alone. Frequently, toward evening,
we would detect them standing on the hillsides watching us, but they
were afraid to come near: the hammering and sawing, the stir and bustle
checked them and they kept aloof--by daylight.
Every night, though, they came down to the edge of the cañon to howl at
us, and as the flume neared completion there was danger that they might
summon courage to cross by it--the old bridge we had long ago tumbled
into the stream. To prevent this, we at first set up every night a
temporary gate across it, but later, we adopted a safer and better plan.
We set two doors in our flume, one in the down-stream end, the other in
the side, about the middle, so that by closing the former and opening
the latter, all the water could be made to fall into the stream below.
Our supply could thus be regulated at the flume instead of going all
the way up to the old head-gate for the purpose.
These gates being set, Pedro and another Mexican went up and opened
connection between the lake and the low place where we had stirred up
the deer the first day we were up there, and very soon there was a
second little lake formed. Then, the flume being ready, we two and Pedro
went up and raised the stone head-gate three inches. The rush with which
the water came out was astonishing, and before the day was over it had
come on down to the flume and was pouring through the side gate into the
gorge--making a perfect defence against the wolves.
During the two months, or thereabouts, that we had been engaged in this
work, Dick had made altogether three trips to Mosby, on which occasions
he had written to Arthur, detailing our progress. Arthur, on his part,
had written to us--or, rather, somewhat to our surprise, he had written
to the professor instead of directly to Dick--once from Santa Fé and
once from the City of Mexico, whither he had been sent to institute a
search of the records there. His last letter stated that up to that time
no trace of the old patent had been found, but that, in spite of that
drawback, his father was vigorously stirring things up at his end of the
line, and that we might expect to see "something doing" in the enemy's
camp at any time. He stated also that he had hopes of rejoining us some
time early in July.
In consequence, we had been constantly on the watch for him for nearly a
month, but here was the end of July approaching and no Arthur had
appeared.
As we were very anxious to know when to expect him, and as we were also
in need of new supplies, the moment the flume was finished Dick set off
once more for Mosby, while Pedro and I, transferring all our tools from
the far side of the gorge, picked out a new working-ground on our side.
There was nothing further to be done on the "island," but though the
flume was finished and ready for use, we still had need of a large
amount of lumber in the construction of our ditch, for at the head of
every draw it would be necessary to build a short flume, or, in some
places, a culvert, to allow a passage for the rain-water which otherwise
during the summer thunder-storm season would wash our ditch full of
earth and rubbish.
As it would be too inconvenient, unfortunately, to cut lumber in the
old place and carry it across the flume, we moved all the tools, as I
said, over to our side, and following along the line of the ditch for
about half a mile, we selected a spot above it on the mountain and there
set our Mexicans to work felling trees and digging new saw-pits.
From the place selected we could see out over the plain in all
directions; a fact which had been one of our reasons for choosing that
particular spot.
Indeed it had become a matter of great importance that we should be able
to keep a watch on the valley, for we believed we had more than ever
reason to fear some act of hostility on the part of the padron. Dick had
no more than gone that day, when we were surprised by receiving a
daylight visit from our friend, José Santanna, who informed us that
Galvez of late had been showing unwonted signs of unrest; that he was
growing more and more suspicious, irritable and evil-tempered. That the
evening before a man had ridden into the village and had handed Galvez a
paper--some legal notice, I guessed--upon receipt of which the padron
had at first broken into a towering rage; had then gone about for half
a day in a mood so morose and snappish that no one dared go near him;
and that finally he had ordered his horse and ridden away, saying that
he was going to Taos.
"To Taos!" I exclaimed. "What has he gone to Taos for?"
José shrugged his shoulders and spread out his hands, palms upward, as
much as to say, "Who knows?"
"Have we scared him out after all, I wonder," said I. "Did he say
anything about coming back, José?"
"He said he would return in four days," replied the Mexican.
"And is that all you know about it?"
"_Si, señor_, that is all. I know no more."
From this conversation it was plain to me that the law was beginning to
work, and that Galvez was becoming uneasy. Knowing his character, I,
too, became uneasy, for, should he be rendered desperate, there was no
telling what tactics he might resort to. It was this consideration that
made me so anxious for the safe return of my two partners.
From my vantage-point on the mountain I kept up a pretty constant watch
for the next few days; no one could come across the valley from any
direction without my seeing them--during daylight, that is--and unless
Galvez had slipped into Hermanos after dark I was sure he had not
returned, when, about three o'clock on the afternoon of the fourth day I
espied Dick, a long way off, coming back from Mosby. It was twelve hours
earlier than I had expected him, and wondering if he had any special
reason for making such a quick trip, I got my pony and hurried off to
meet him.
I had a feeling that Dick was bringing news of some sort, and his first
words after shaking hands proved the correctness of my impression.
"Well, old chap!" he exclaimed. "I've got news for you this time that
will make you 'sit up and take notice':--Arthur may be here any day; and
he has at last got track of that patent."
"Got a letter from him, then, did you?" I asked.
"Yes; written from Cadiz, in Spain, more than three weeks ago."
"From Cadiz!" I cried. "What's he doing there?"
"His father sent him over to go through a chest of old papers they have
in their house there. Arthur says--I'll give you his letter to read as
soon as we get to camp--he says that he spent a fortnight reading all
sorts of musty documents, without success, when at last he came upon an
old note-book with the name of Arthur the First on its fly-leaf, and in
that he found a single line referring to the patent--the only mention
that has turned up anywhere."
"And what does that say?"
"It says---- Here, wait a minute; hold my rifle. I'll show you what it
says."
So saying, Dick took the letter out of his pocket, and finding the right
place, handed it to me. The passage read: "It was an old memorandum-book
in which my very great-grandfather used to note down all the particulars
of the copper shipments and other matters dealing with the K. P. mine;
but on the last fly-leaf was this entry, written in English: 'Mem. In
case of accident to myself: The King's patent and the King's commission
are in a hole in the wall above the door of the strong-room.' Where the
strong-room may have been," Arthur went on, "I don't know, unless it is
in the _Casa_. Ask Pedro."
"What do you think of that?" asked Dick.
"I think---- Well, I think we'll do as Arthur says: ask Pedro."
In the course of an hour we had reached camp, when Dick, as soon as he
had greeted the faithful Mexican, at once propounded the important
question.
"Pedro," said he, without any preface, "did you ever hear of the
'strong-room'?"
"Surely," replied Pedro, with an air of surprise at being asked such a
question. "Everybody knows the strong-room. It is a little room on the
east side of the _Casa_; it has a door and no window; it is where one
time the copper was stored, waiting for the pack-trains to come and take
it away."
"It is, is it!" cried Dick. "Then, Frank, I shouldn't be a bit surprised
if those deeds were in there now. How are we to find out?"
"Go and look!" I exclaimed, springing to my feet. "Now's our chance!
Galvez is away--gone to Taos. Let us make a try for it at once. He's due
to be back to-day, and then it will be too late. Come on! Let's get out!
We haven't a minute to lose! Will you come with us, Pedro?"
To my surprise, and, I must confess, to my disappointment also, Pedro
shook his head. I supposed he was afraid to leave his mountain, and for
a moment my opinion of his courage suffered a relapse. But I was doing
him an injustice, as I heartily owned to myself, when, pointing out over
the valley, he said, quietly:
"It is too late already, señor. Look there!"
Half a mile the other side of Hermanos, riding toward the village, were
three horsemen, one of whom we recognized as Galvez. Who the others
might be, and why the padron should be bringing them to Hermanos, we
could not guess. We were destined, however, to learn all about them
later in the day.
As a matter of course, the sole subject of our thoughts and our
conversation was the King's patent, and whether or not it was still in
its hiding-place above the door of the strong-room. The only way to find
out was to get in there and search for it, but how to do that was the
question. Many plans did we discuss and discard, and we were still
discussing as we sat round the fire that night--our Mexican workmen
being encamped some distance away--when Pedro suddenly jumped up, and
signaling to us to keep quiet, stood for a moment with his head bent
forward, listening intently. His sharp ears had detected some sound
inaudible to our less practised hearing.
Making a quick backward motion with his hand, he whispered sharply:
"Get away! Get away back from the light of the fire while I go see!"
We speedily retreated up the hill a little way and hid ourselves among
the trees, while Pedro, with the stealth of a wild animal, slipped
silently off into the darkness. So quick and so noiseless were the
movements of the clumsy-looking Mexican that I thought to myself I had
rather be hunted by wolves than by that skilful woodsman, with his keen
senses, his giant strength and his deadly, silent bow and arrow. I did
not wonder any more that Galvez kept himself aloof.
For two or three minutes silence prevailed, when we saw Pedro step back
into the circle of light, and with him another man. It was our friend,
José Santanna, again.
"Well, José!" cried Dick. "What can we do for you?"
"Señor," replied the Mexican, "I came up to tell you something--to warn
you. The padron is come back. He has been to Taos and he has brought
back with him two men. They are bad--like himself. I go up to the _Casa_
this evening while they are at supper and I hear them talking and
laughing together through the door which is open. They say they like
now to see three boys and a stupid peon"--he nodded toward Pedro--"get
them out. They say if they catch Pedro they hang him, and if they catch
'that young Blake' they shoot him. They are dangerous, señor."
"We shall have to keep our eyes wide open," said Dick. "Do you think
they'll venture up here, José?"
"I think not," replied the Mexican. "One of the men say, 'Let us go up
on the mountain and catch them,' but the padron, he say very quick, 'No,
no. I do not go up on the mountain. While they are there they do no
harm, but if they come down here, then----!'"
"I see," said Dick. "They mean to hold the fort against all comers. It
is pretty evident, I think, that Galvez has been back to his old haunts,
hunted out a couple of his old-time cronies, and brought them back to
garrison the _Casa_, meaning to defy the law to get him out."
"That's it, I expect," said I. "And our chances of getting into the
strong-room are a good deal slimmer than ever."
It certainly did look so; yet, as it happened, I never made a greater
mistake.
Who would have guessed how soon we were to get that chance? And who
would have guessed that the man who was to provide the opportunity--and
that by a plan so bold that I am astonished at it yet--was the man whom
I had that day mentally accused of cowardice? How I did apologize to him
in my thoughts!
"José," said Pedro, "does the padron still go to bed every night at ten
o'clock, as he used to do?"
"_Si_," replied the cowman.
"Does he always come out to the well to get a drink of cold water just
before he goes to bed, as he used to do?"
"_Si_," replied the cowman once more.
"Those two men, are they to sleep in that room next the padron's?"
"_Si_," replied the cowman for the third time.
"Good!" exclaimed Pedro. "What time is it, señor?" turning suddenly to
Dick.
"Half past eight," replied my partner, looking at his watch.
"Good!" exclaimed Pedro once more.
For a minute he sat silent, his lower lip stuck out, frowning at the
fire, while we sat watching him, wondering what he was thinking about,
when, with an angry grunt he muttered to himself, "Stupid peon, eh!
Humph! We'll see!" Then, jumping up, he said briskly: "Señores, get
your horses. We will search the strong-room to-night."
Still wondering what scheme he had in his head, we saddled up and
followed him as he rode down the mountain and out upon the plain, too
much engaged for the moment in picking our way to find an opportunity to
ask questions.
It seemed to me that our guide must have something of the wild animal in
him, for, though it was very dark, he never hesitated for a moment, but
went jogging along, threading his way through the sage-brush without a
pause or a stumble. Either he or his burro must have had the cat-like
gift of being able to see in the dark.
In about an hour we saw dimly the walls of the _Casa_ looming up near
us, and passing by it, we went on down to the creek where we dismounted
and tied up our horses to the trees. Then, following down the creek for
a short distance, we presently came opposite the front gate of the
_Casa_, about a hundred yards distant. The village on the other side of
the stream was dark and silent, but in one of the rooms in the _Casa_,
facing the gateway, we could see a light burning.
"That is the padron's room," whispered José. "He has not gone to bed
yet."
Against the light of the open door we could see between us and the house
the long, black arm of the well-sweep, and advancing toward it, we had
come within about thirty steps of it when Pedro requested us to stop
there and lie down, while he himself went on and crouched behind the
curbing of the well. We could not see him; in fact we could see nothing
but the lights in the window and doorway, the well-sweep, and, very
dimly, the outline of the building.
There we lay in dead silence for a quarter of an hour, wondering what
Pedro expected to do, when we heard voices, and the next moment the
figures of two men showed themselves in the lighted doorway. One of them
carried a candle, and the pair of them went into the next room--all the
rooms opened into the courtyard--and shut the door. For five minutes the
light showed through the little window and then went out. The padron's
friends had gone to bed.
For another five minutes we waited, and then the padron himself
appeared. We could hear the jingle of his spurs as he came leisurely
down to the well to get his nightly drink of cold water. We lay still,
hardly daring to breathe.
Presently, we heard the squeak of the well-sweep and saw it come round,
dip down and rise again. Then we heard the clink of a cup: Galvez was
taking his drink. He never finished it!
At that moment Pedro's burly form rose up from behind the curbing; he
took two steps forward, and with his great right hand he seized Galvez
by the neck from behind, giving it such a squeeze that the unfortunate
man could not utter a sound. We heard the cup fall to the ground with a
clatter.
Then, grasping the helpless padron by the back of his trousers, the
little giant swung him off his feet and hoisting him high above his
head, stepped to the rim of the curbing. The next moment there was a
muffled splash--Galvez had been dropped into the well!
He had been dropped in feet foremost, however, and as the well was only
twelve feet deep with four feet of water in it, his life was not
endangered.
At this point we all jumped up and ran forward, reaching the well just
as Galvez recovered his feet, as we could tell by the coughing and
spluttering noises which came up from below. As we approached, Pedro
leaned over the coping and said in a low voice:
"Good-evening, Padron. This is Pedro Sanchez. If you make any noise I
drop the bucket of water on your head."
This gentle hint was not lost upon Galvez, who contented himself with
muttered growlings of an uncomplimentary nature, when Pedro, turning to
Dick, whispered sharply:
"Run quick now to the strong-room. I stay here to guard the padron."
In company with the barefooted José, we ran into the courtyard, where
the Mexican pointed out to us the door of the strong-room, the first on
the right, and while Dick and I pulled it open, taking great care to
make no noise, José himself ran on to the padron's room, whence he
quickly returned with a candle in his hand.
While Dick stood guard outside, in case the padron's two friends should
come out, I slipped into the little room, where, finding an empty
barrel, I placed it in front of the doorway, jumped upon it, and taking
my sheath-knife, I stabbed at the adobe wall just above the lintel of
the door. The second or third stroke produced a hollow sound and
brought down a shower of dried mud, when, vigorously attacking the spot,
I soon uncovered a little board which had been let into the wall and
plastered over with adobe.
In a few seconds I had pried this out, when I found that the space
behind it was hollow, and thrusting in my hand I brought out a brass box
shaped like a magnified cigar-case.
"Dick!" I whispered, eagerly. "I've found something! Come in here!"
My partner quickly joined me, when we pried open the box, finding that
it contained a parcel wrapped up in a piece of cloth. Imagine our
excitement when on tearing off the wrapping we found that the contents
of the package consisted of two parchment documents, written in Spanish!
We had no time to examine them thoroughly, but a hasty glance convincing
us that we had indeed found what we sought, and there being nothing else
in the hole, I crammed the parchments back into the box, shoved the box
into my pocket, buttoned my coat, and away we went back to the well.
"Find it?" whispered Pedro.
I replied by patting my pocket.
Pedro nodded; and then, having first lowered the bucket into the well
again, he leaned over the coping and said softly:
"Padron, you may come out now as soon as you like."
With that, leaving Galvez to climb out if he could, or to remain where
he was if he couldn't, we all turned and ran for it.
Having recovered our horses, José bolted for home, while we went off as
fast as we dared in the darkness for camp.
There, by the light of the fire, we examined our capture. One of the
parchments was the commission of old Arthur the First to the
"Governorship" of the King Philip mine; the other was the original
"Grant" of the Hermanos tract from Philip V, King of Spain, the Indies
and a dozen other countries, to his trusty and well-beloved subject,
Arturo Blake.
"This _is_ great!" cried Dick. "This will settle the title without any
chance of dispute. Galvez may as well pack up and go now. I wonder what
he'll do?"
"I don't know what Galvez will do," said I; "but I can tell you what
_we_ must do, Dick. We must cut and run. This patent must be put away in
a safe place--and it isn't safe here by any means. Galvez will be about
crazy with rage at having been dropped into the well; and for another
thing, he'll see that hole above the door, and he'll know that whatever
it was we took out of the hole, it must be something of importance to
have induced us to come raiding his premises like that."
"That's true," said Dick, nodding his head.
"And I shouldn't be a bit surprised," I continued, "now that he has two
other unscrupulous rascals to back him, if he were to come raiding us in
return. What do you think, Pedro?"
"I think it is likely," replied the Mexican. "I think it is well that
you go, and stop the Señor Blake from coming here. Those men are
dangerous. For me, I have no fear: I can take care of myself."
"Then we'll skip," said Dick. "It's safest; and it's only for a time,
anyhow, for, of course, Galvez's legal ejection is certain, sooner or
later, now that we have the patent in our hands. So we'll get out,
Frank, the very first thing to-morrow."
It was the night of July 28th that we came to this resolution; though,
as a matter of fact, we were not aware of it at the time, for we had
lost track of the days of the month. It was the astounding event of the
day following that impressed the date so indelibly on our memories.
Men plot and plan and calculate and contrive, thinking themselves very
clever; but how feeble they are when Dame Nature steps in and takes a
hand, and how easily she can upset all their calculations, we were to
learn, once for all, that coming day.