Manuello was almost desperate regarding the manacles still clamped
firmly on his wrist; it left his right hand free and he could use the
fingers of the left hand, so he bound the wrist, placing the second
handcuff above the one that was locked and laying it as close to the
wrist as possible; he left his hand free as he could and simply told his
family that he had cut the arm when engaged in practicing with the
machete in the use of which weapon the Cuban insurgents were especially
accomplished; this explanation of his supposed wound was sufficient and
no one had any idea of the actual facts except Tessa and she was both
too loyal to the young man and too frightened because of the reported
crime he had committed to do anything but keep his secret inviolate; he
depended upon her acknowledged affection for him and had no doubt that
she would defend him if occasion required such a proceeding; his chief
anxiety, at present, was to find out the where-abouts of Estrella, for
he was of a fiery and passionate nature and the disappearance of the
girl but added to his desire for her.
On the morning after the accident he had sustained he started out with
the determination to discover where Estrella had gone, for, as she had
said that she would soon see his own family as well as little Tessa, he
reasoned that she could not have gone very far away; so he began his
search by climbing to the top of the hill behind the village, intending
to try to locate her hiding-place by the simple method of checking off
in his own mind impossible localities for concealment and then deciding
which of the probable ones to investigate; having reached the point of
vantage he wished, he began by cutting out the refectory ... then his
own home ... then Tessa's dwelling-place ... then numerous small houses
where he knew it would be practically impossible for another human being
to be entertained in.
Just as he had reached this point in his revery, his attention was
attracted to the mansion on the hill, and he began to observe, closely,
the movements of every one who came to or went from the house; he did
not really suspect that Estrella was there, but his mind wandered idly
over the residences within his view and lighted upon the mansion on the
hill as something different from the other dwellings he could see.
As he watched the gateway of Ruth Wakefield's residence, he noticed,
emerging from it, old Mage whom he remembered as being there, in what he
considered to be the capacity of an upper servant; he looked at the old
woman because she happened to be in his line of vision and not because
he had any curiosity concerning her movements; but the nature of the
errand upon which she seemed to be bound not only surprised, but amused,
him, for she carried in her hand a large basket of choice cut flowers,
and, from time to time, as she walked along, she stooped to gather dried
leaves that had fallen in the pathway with which she seemed trying to
conceal the contents of her basket; she seemed satisfied, at last, and
ceased to gather leaves, while she quickened her pace to a sort of slow
amble which gait she maintained until she had passed beyond Manuello's
view; he wondered, idly, why she covered the flowers, and was about to
move to a point which commanded a more perfect view of the pathway, when
his attention was again attracted to the gateway of the Wakefield
residence.
This time, it was quite a different person who appeared between the high
stone pillars ... a tall woman, evidently young and active, plainly but
serviceably dressed, stood, for a moment, shading her eyes with her hand
from the glaring sunlight, peering down the pathway along which old Mage
had just been walking; she remained in this position but a very short
time, however, for she was, soon, joined by another woman who seemed as
much interested as she had been in watching the pathway; as the two
young creatures stood there, side by side, Manuello could not but remark
upon the similarity of their forms and general appearance ... both were
evidently strong and agile ... both seemed possessed of bounding health
and youthful vigor; it seemed to him that one of the women looked more
sturdy than the other one did, but, as she was wearing a wide and
drooping hat, such as many of the natives of the Island were accustomed
to wear, he could not see her face; as she approached the woman who had
first appeared in the gateway, there was something in her manner that
seemed familiar to the young fellow, and, as she put one hand, gently,
on the other's shoulder, he, again, seemed to recognize something
familiar in the movement; then she spoke, and, although he was too far
away to hear her words, he knew the tones of her voice, and realized
that his search for Estrella was ended.
As this knowledge was fully impressed upon him he cast about in his mind
as to what method of procedure to take to bring about his desired end
which was to see and talk with the girl, himself, as soon as possible;
first, he thought to approach the house as a fruit-peddler, but put that
thought aside as unlikely to attain his object ... then, he decided to
spy around the place until he located Estrella's own room, intending to
bring his guitar and sing under her window some native love-songs,
hoping to impress upon her his undying affection and imagining that, now
that Victorio was out of the way, his cause would be more likely to
succeed than before.
He had started out to carry this intention into practice, leaving his
original position among the heavy timber that skirted the hill, and
going more into the open than before in order to more closely approach
the house, when he became aware of another presence in the wooded
section that he had just left; he could not make out just what this
presence was ... his ideas concerning it were hazy and uncertain, but he
felt sure that he was not alone and, now that he had left the timber, it
seemed to him that the unknown presence was following close behind him;
he turned sharply around but discovered nothing behind him and kept on
in the direction he had been proceeding in, although his nerves were
keyed up and ready to jump at the slightest sound; suddenly, directly in
front of him, he heard a voice saying:
"Do not approach any nearer to her. If you insist upon doing so you must
take the consequences which are freighted with bitter pain for you."
It seemed to Manuello that this voice was within himself and came from
his own thoughts and, yet, it seemed, also, to be in the pathway ahead
of him, separated from him and yet a part of him; he hesitated, as above
everything else, the natives of Cuba are superstitious and Manuello was
no exception to this rule; his own criminal record, naturally, made him
timid; besides, Estrella's evidently favored position as a member of the
household of Ruth Wakefield elevated the girl in his estimation, for
everyone in that neighborhood had great respect, amounting almost to
veneration, for the inmates of the mansion on the hill.
The young man stopped in his progress toward the house and turned his
attention, for an anxious moment, to his manacled wrist, which gave him
a great deal of uneasiness and some suffering as well; as he held this
wrist with his free right hand, he had his back toward the path that led
down into the village, and was unaware of the nearness of Father Felix
until the good Priest touched him on the elbow; wheeling round,
instantly, he faced the only man he was not afraid to meet among his
neighbors; for, although the Priest had told him he knew that he
possessed a guilty secret, yet he, also was aware of Father Felix' usual
kindness and protection exercised over his people, so that it was with a
feeling of relief that he discovered who the new-comer was.
"My Son," said the Priest, "you are abroad early ... what news have you
heard in the village, this morning?"
Manuello looked at him searchingly as if to discover why he asked him
this question, wondering if he had heard of his own encounter of the
evening before, but failing to gain any knowledge of the secret thoughts
of the Priest, he said at random:
"Everything is about as usual, I guess ... nothing startling seems to
have happened during the night."
"I heard," began Father Felix, "I heard that a soldier had been struck
down by some marauder shortly after the time of your leaving my society,
last night, and I thought you might have happened to be in the vicinity
of the crime. By-the-way," he went on, solicitously, "what has happened
to your left wrist?"
"Oh ... that!" said Manuello, carelessly. "That is simply a love token
from the machete of a friend of mine while we were sparring for
practice; as you said, last night, Cuba may have need of us fighting-men
soon, and we wish to be ready to take our proper place when the time for
action comes."
"Well, be careful of your weapons, my Son ... save your steel for your
enemies and those of your native land."
Speaking in this manner, the good Priest pursued his journey up the hill
and disappeared within the gateway where Manuello had, only very
recently, seen Estrella standing with the mistress of the mansion; he
decided, under the existing circumstances, to retrace his steps toward
the village, contenting himself with the thought that he now knew where
Estrella was; he thought that he might as well impart this information
to little Tessa, and, also, he wanted to find out whether she had heard
anything more about his encounter with the soldier on the street, also
if she had thought of any way whereby he might be freed from the
manacles which became more and more distressing and uncomfortable.
With this thought in his mind, he was approaching Tessa's home when he
was intercepted by the very individual he meant to inquire about.
"What the divil!" exclaimed the Irishman. "Sky-larking by daylight
_this_ toime, me foine high-way-mon?"
Manuello had drawn back, prepared to again bring the hated handcuffs
down upon the poll of the man before him, if he offered any indignities,
when he was surprised to notice a wheedling tone in the voice of his
opponent of the evening before.
"Indade, mon," began the soldier, "I am in need of those putty bracelets
I gave ye, last night; a prisint like them is not bestowed ivry day, I
tell yees. The only thanks ye give me was a crack on me head wid em
which took away but little of me sinse as I had but little in the
beginning.... I might have known betther than to have tackled a foine,
up-standin' fella like yees, single-handed. Yer a foine figure of a mon,
me Frind, and I'd like mighty well to serve be the side of ye ... how
would it _do_, now, fer ye to enlist in the arrmy and give me back me
bracelets if I spake a good worrd fer ye wid me Captain?"
Manuello looked at him in surprise, but, seeing a chance to get rid of
the hateful manacles, decided to agree to the proposition of the other,
at least for the time being.
"All right," he acquiesced, "go ahead and take these cursed thing off
me, first, and then tell me where you want me to go."
The wary Irishman watched the face of the Cuban, doubtfully, but, as he
really wished to be able to account for the handcuffs, he took the key
from his pocket and stepped a little closer to the young fellow in order
to use it, being careful to keep a firm hold on his gun the while; just
as he was about to unlock the manacles, he heard a slight noise behind
him and looked out of the tail of his eye to be horrified by the near
proximity of one of his superior officers; instantly, he changed his
attitude toward Manuello, dropped the key, and pointed his Mauser rifle
straight at the heart of his prisoner.
"Ye will ... will yees?" he cried out. "Oi'll see about that, ye
Spalpeen! Shtand shtill unless ye want a bullet in yer gullet! Now,
Sir," he said politely to the officer, "ef ye'll be ahfter clicking the
other bracelet on his right wrist whilst I kape him covered, Oi'll be
much obleeged to ye. He's a nasty customer, Sir," he explained, kindly,
"and Oi've been havin' a rough toime wid 'em."
The Spanish officer stepped gingerly up to the prisoner, seized hold of
the manacled wrist and reached for the other uplifted hand; but
Manuello had had enough of their society and proceeded to rid himself
of it by striking at the officer with his left wrist while he made a
grab at the rifle of the Irishman with his right hand; the young Cuban
was wiry and his muscles were like taut steel; the officer went down
like an ox before the slaughterer but the Irishman discharged his gun
regardless of the aim which had been destroyed by the action of the
living target; the result was disastrous to all parties for Manuello
felt a sharp, stinging pain in one of his legs, but, in spite of this,
he clubbed the rifle and brought it down over the skull of the Spanish
soldier, limping away, again a conqueror, but sorely wounded, for the
bullet had passed clear through the injured limb, tearing through the
flesh and bone as is the manner of the long and slender Mauser missile.
In this emergency, the young fellow, knowing that he would be hunted
after the last encounter, not only because of the crime of which he had
tacitly been accused by the soldier but because he had struck down a
Spanish officer, and realizing that, with the manacles still locked upon
his wrist, he was a marked man, bethought him of a deserted hut far back
among the palms that grew all over the Island in tropical profusion; if
he could but reach this hut, he thought, and first apprise Tessa of his
new mishap, he might hide there while he recovered from his wound which
was beginning to give him great pain as it recovered from its first
numbness.
Walking as erectly as he could under the circumstances and keeping his
left wrist well covered by the wide cuff of his jacket-sleeve, he was
proceeding along the familiar street, when he met the girl he was in
search of, strolling placidly along, little dreaming of the imminent
peril in which he had just been placed, for the discharge of the Mauser
rifle had been almost as silent as smokeless; telling her in a few
hurried sentences of his great need and describing to her the location
of the ruined hut he had in mind, Manuello retired from the scene.