COUNT DE MELGOSA.
The Spaniards remained on the defensive for some time longer; they
could not believe in their marvellous deliverance, and expected the
redskins to return at every moment and attack them again. The entire
night however passed without the deep silence of the desert being
disturbed otherwise than by the ferocious howling of the jaguars, and
the snapping bark of the coyotes, which were proceeding in packs to
the watering places. At sunrise they perceived that the canyon was
entirely deserted, and that their savage enemies had given up all
attempts to carry their encampment by storm. After returning thanks to
heaven for the unexpected help sent them in their distress, they busily
set to work burying the dead, in order that they might be able to start
as soon as possible.
Their loss during the obstinate fight with the Indians was serious.
Four of the count's brave soldiers had fallen, the two others were
wounded, and himself and the Canadian had only escaped by a miracle.
The hunter was forced to allow that for the fifteen years he had been
traversing the prairie, in all the engagements he had fought with the
redskins, he never saw them proceed with so much method, and display
such obstinacy in their attack. The Spaniards, certain of having
nothing more to fear, left their entrenchments and proceeded to the
mainland in order to bury their dead.
At length, when they had paid the last rites to their comrades, and
had rolled heavy stones upon the graves to prevent the bodies being
profaned by wild beasts, the hunters hastily took their morning meal,
saddled their horses, and set out again, saddened by the mournful
incident which had interrupted their journey so painfully. All smiled
around them. The day announced itself under magnificent auspices, the
birds saluted with their merry songs the apparition of the day star,
the leaves glistened with dew, a thick mist rose from the ground, a
perfumed breeze rustled the branches. In a word, all breathed calm joy
and pure happiness in this desert which, but a few hours previously,
had been witness of a horrid scene of carnage.
As on the previous day, the count and the adventurer rode side by
side, absorbed in gloomy thoughts, and looking round them absently and
carelessly. At length the Canadian drew himself up, shook his head
several times as if to dismiss a troublesome thought, and turning to
the count said, as if he were completing aloud an internal thought--
"Stuff, a little sooner or a little later, a man must die after all."
"Yes," the count said with a sad smile, "dying is indeed the common
law. But dying thus, far from one's friends, beneath the bullets of
unworthy foes, without benefit to humanity--that is truly frightful,
and what heaven ought not to permit."
"Do not murmur against Providence, señor. These men have fallen, it is
true; but their death was not so useless as you seem to think, because
it enabled you to await the help which delivered you."
"That is true, and I am wrong; still I cannot help pitying the fate of
devoted servants, whose death I indirectly caused."
"It was a glorious fight, vigorously carried on upon both sides. Still
it was time for our liberators to arrive. Had they not, it is more than
probable that we should now be also lying lifeless on the ground. But,"
he added, after a moment's reflection, "why did our saviours go off
in that way? I fancy they might have joined us, if not to receive our
congratulations and thanks, at least to inquire into our state."
"What good would that do? The Queen of the Savannah heard our muskets,
that was sufficient to prove to her that we were still alive and able
to fight."
"That is possible," the Canadian continued thoughtfully; "but however
great may be the obligation I have contracted towards the extraordinary
woman you call by that name, I shall not be satisfied till I shall have
been close to her."
"Why so? With what have you to reproach her? Why obstinately try to
disturb the secrets of a person who must be an object of indifference
to you?"
"You are mistaken on that head, señor. This woman, this strange being,
has already interfered twice in my affairs at a very short interval of
time. A man like myself, señor, does not contract serious obligations,
unless he knows that he will be able someday to repay to the person who
forces such protection upon him."
The count burst into a laugh.
"Caballero, caballero," he said, "you are punctilious, and difficult
to satisfy. Anyone in your place would readily put up with the
affront, and not be at all anxious to know to whom he owes so great an
obligation."
"Everybody, señor, looks at matters from his own point of sight; for my
part I repeat that the way in which the woman to whom we are alluding
has twice interfered in my affairs has excited in me, I will not say
a curiosity, but such a lively interest, that I swear to you I mean
to learn something about her at all risks so soon as I am at liberty
again."
"Take my advice, Don Oliver, do not try to discover the matter, for
there is a sad story beneath it."
"You know her, then?"
"Perhaps so. I can only form conjectures, for the persons directly
interested in that woman's actions insist on maintaining the deepest
silence."
"Why, wait a minute," the Canadian said, hitting his forehead like a
man who suddenly remembers something he had quite forgotten, "I believe
now that Don Aurelio Gutiérrez told us at the Hacienda del Barrio
certain facts connected with this person."
"To what are you alluding, señor?"
"Good gracious! I attached but slight importance to the narrative at
the time, so that what I heard is very confused in my head. Still I
think it referred to the extermination of an Indian tribe encamped on
Don Aníbal de Saldibar's estates, and atrocious revenge on the part
of the redskins, in consequence of which the hacendero's wife became
insane."
"Yes, all that you say is true. When Doña Emilia regained her reason
she vowed an implacable hatred against the Indians, and since that
period, if what is said be true, she has constantly pursued them
without truce or mercy, hunting them down, and massacring them like
wild beasts."
"That is indeed extraordinary."
"The redskins, tracked by this lady, whom they believe to be protected
by a charm, as she has constantly foiled their snares and escaped
unwounded from all their attacks, have conceived such a superstitious
fear for her that her name alone, as you saw last night, is sufficient
to cause them a wild terror and set them to flight, and as if rendering
homage to the terror with which she has continued to inspire them, they
have given her the name you heard repeated during the fight."
"The Queen of the Savannah?"
"Yes."
"I have often heard the Indians speak of this strange creature, whom
they imagine to be a species of malevolent genius, and about whom they
recount the most fantastic and improbable stories; but I confess I was
far from suspecting that the Queen of the Savannah and Doña Emilia de
Saldibar were one and the same person."
"I do not say that they are, and I affirm nothing; I merely repeat to
you what is said."
"How is it that you, a friend of Don Aníbal, are not better informed
about the affair?"
"Because, I repeat once again, Don Aníbal maintains an obstinate
silence on the subject; and if by any chance this mysterious being is
alluded to in his presence he at once turns the conversation, so that
no one exactly knows what to believe, and is forced to make conjectures
more or less probable."
"Very good," the hunter answered, "I thank you for your information,
caballero. But, _¡viva Dios!_ I swear to you that I will force Don
Aníbal to tell me how matters really are; or, if he will not, I shall
not hesitate to question his wife."
"I doubt greatly whether you will be able to obtain even the shortest
interview with her. She is constantly shut up in her apartments with
her daughter. No one sees her, and several of her domestics even do not
know her."
"You excite my curiosity the more, señor."
"All the worse for you, caballero," the count continued; "for admitting
that you succeeded in seeing Doña Emilia, I am convinced that she would
not consent to answer any of the questions you thought proper to ask
her."
"Oh, oh! That appears to me rather too strong; but no matter, I will
not recognize defeat, and I pledge you my word that so soon as I return
to the hacienda, I will try, by all the means in my power, to obtain
the clue of the enigma."
"As you please, caballero. I have warned you, and have no right to
check or encourage you in what you intend doing. Still, if I may be
allowed to offer my advice in so serious a matter, I would invite you
to refrain. It is not always prudent to try and interfere in people's
business against their will, especially when it does not concern you in
any way."
"I thank you for your advice, caballero, though it is not in my power
to follow it. But," he said, as he stopped his horse, and laid his hand
over his forehead to keep off the sunlight, "who is that coming down
there?"
"Where?" the count asked, imitating the hunter.
"There, in front of us; a horseman is coming up at full speed."
"It is true," the count said; "I can just distinguish him in the cloud
of dust raised by his horse's hoofs."
"Hum!" the Canadian said, as he cocked his rifle; "If he be alone, we
can easily settle him; but when a thing is doubtful, it is always as
well to take one's precautions."
"What are you about?"
"As you can see, I am preparing to receive the coming visitor."
In the meanwhile, the horseman rapidly approached the Spaniards, and
it was soon easy to see, by his dress and horse harness, that he was a
Mexican. While galloping, this man made signs as if wishing to attract
the attention of the travellers, and induce them to advance.
"I was not mistaken," the count said all at once; "uncock your rifle,
caballero; you have nothing to fear, for that individual is one of
my peons. What motive could have induced the countess to send off a
courier?"
"We are going to learn," the Canadian replied, as he laid his rifle
across the saddlebow again, "for he will have joined us in five
minutes."
In fact, the horseman shortly after accosted them. He was a sturdy
peon, with sun burnt face and powerful limbs; he was well armed, and
rode one of those prairie horses which European steeds can never
equal. On coming up to his master, he stopped his horse so short that
its four feet seemed to be suddenly welded to the ground, and, bowing
respectfully to the count, he took from the China crape faja, tightly
fastened around his hips, a bag of opossum skin, from which he drew a
letter, and handed it to his master. The count opened the letter, but
before reading it looked at the peon with ill-disguised anxiety, and
said to him--
"Has anything new occurred at the hacienda, Diego López?"
"Nothing, mi amo, that I know of at least."
"The señora is not indisposed?"
"No, Excellency; but on learning from the lancero, whom you sent to
Leona Vicario, that you would probably pass the hacienda on your return
without stopping, she gave me this letter, and bade me make all speed."
"Is that really all? You are telling the truth, Diego López?"
"By my share of Paradise, Excellency, I have told you all exactly as it
happened."
"Very good--wait."
And, turning to the Canadian, he said--
"Will you permit me?"
"A letter which has arrived in this way, señor, must be of importance,
so read it without further delay."
The count at once began reading, but he had only got through a few
lines ere his face was covered with a deadly pallor.
"What is the matter, señor?" the hunter asked anxiously; "Are you ill,
or has the letter really brought bad news?"
"Neither, caballero," the count answered, making a violent effort to
regain his coolness; "I thank you, but this letter reminds me of a date
which I had not forgotten, alas!" he said with a sigh, "For that is
impossible, but which I might have allowed to pass, owing to present
circumstances. Instead of conducting you straight to Leona Vicario, as
I originally intended, I am compelled to stop at my hacienda. Are you
disposed to accept the poor rustic hospitality I can offer you, or will
you continue your journey to the ciudad, under the guidance of Diego
López?"
"I am entirely at your disposal, señor, and will do what you think
proper, as I am in no hurry; you shall decide my movements."
"As you are so accommodating, we will proceed to the hacienda. Diego
López, ride on ahead, and inform your mistress of our speedy arrival."
The peon bowed, bent over his horse's neck, dug his spurs into its
sides, and started at a gallop.
"We need not hurry," the count said, "for we are only two leagues at
the most from the hacienda."
"I will ride at your pace," the hunter replied; "besides, the sun is
still high."
"The hospitality we have to offer will be sad, señor; family grief
has, unfortunately, banished joy for ever from my hearth. I ask you,
therefore, to excuse any formality which may be visible in the
countess's reception of you."
The Canadian bowed politely, and they went on. In about an hour, they
perceived the lofty and thick walls of a vast hacienda, built on the
top of a scarped rock.
"Oh, oh!" the hunter said, admiring the strength of this majestic
building, "That is an admirable fortress."
"It is the hacienda to which I am taking you, señor, and of which I am
the owner."
"¡Viva Dios! I regret that a citadel like that is not in the possession
of the party I have joined."
"Yes," the count said, with a sigh, "its position is well chosen."
"Admirably. With a good garrison, it would be possible to hold out for
a long time against an army."
"Alas! There was one ill-omened day on which these strong walls,
defended by a garrison of brave and devoted men, could not save it from
being taken by storm, and plundered by the Comanches."
The count heaved a deep sigh as he uttered these words. The hunter,
afraid of saddening his host by dwelling on a subject which seemed so
painful to him, tried to turn the conversation.
"Good gracious!" he said, "I did not notice before that the hacienda is
entirely surrounded by water."
"Yes, the river has been turned so as to form a belt round it. Our
ancestors, compelled continually to contend against the insurrections
of the natives, who only assumed the yoke with great reluctance, built
perfect citadels, and took their precautions against an attack. But
here we are on the river bank; you must dismount, and enter the boat;
it is the only way of passing to the other side."
"I suspect," the hunter said with a laugh, "that there is another--a
ford, for instance; but you do not care to show it to me."
"Perhaps so," the count answered, with a smile; "suppose there were,
would you think me wrong?"
"On my word, no," said the Canadian; "war is a game like any other, in
which the cleverer player has the best chance of winning."
While talking, they had dismounted, and handed their horses to the
soldiers. At this moment the boat, pulled by two sturdy peons, came up
to them; they got in, and in a few minutes found themselves on a sort
of small quay, ten yards wide at the most.
"Come," the count said.
The hunter followed his host, and entered a narrow rugged path which
ran round the hill, and which foot travellers could alone follow, as it
was kept up so badly, perhaps purposely. At length, after ascending in
this way for about a quarter of an hour--not without halting several
times to take breath, so rapid and abrupt was the incline--the two
men reached the top of the hill, and found themselves in front of the
hacienda, from which they were only separated by an abyss some twenty
feet wide. A drawbridge, formed of two narrow planks thrown across the
precipice, supplied them with a rather precarious passage, and they at
length found themselves inside the fortress.
"Well, well," the hunter muttered, as he looked searchingly around him;
"the persons inhabiting this house do not seem to me persuaded that
peace will be durable."