Behind the Hacienda del Venado--that is, to the northward of it--the
surface of the country was still in a state of nature; as we have
already said, the edge of the forest lay almost within gun-shot of the
walls; and this vast tract of woods extended for many leagues to the
north, till it ended in the great deserts of Tubac.
The only road that trended in a northerly direction, was that leading to
the Presidio of Tubac--though in reality it was not a road, but simply
an Indian trail. At a short distance beyond the hacienda, it was
crossed by a turbulent and rapid stream--the same that passed near the
house--augmented by several tributaries that joined it in the woods.
Where the road crossed it, and for a long distance above and below, this
stream partook rather of the nature of a torrent, running in a deep bed,
between rocky banks--a _canon_. Over this canon the crossing was
effected by means of a rude bridge consisting simply of the trunks of
two or three trees, laid side by side, and reaching from bank to bank.
About half-way between the hacienda and this bridge, and but a short
distance from the side of the road, was the fire which had already
attracted so much attention.
This fire had been kindled near the centre of a little glade, but its
flame cast a red glare upon the trees at a distance, until the grey bark
of the button-wood, the pale foliage of the acacias, and the scarlet
leaves of the sumac, all appeared of one colour: while the darker
llianas, stretching from tree to tree, encircled the little glade with a
series of festoons.
At the hour when Tiburcio was about leaving the hacienda, two persons
were seated by this fire, in the attitude of men who were resting after
a day of fatigue. These persons were the trappers, who had already made
their appearance at La Poza.
There was nothing remarkable in two men having made their camp-fire in
the woods; it was their proximity to a hacienda--and that, too, the
Hacienda del Venado--that rendered the fact significant. The trappers
knew well enough that the hacienda was close at hand; it followed, then,
that they had some reasons of their own for not availing themselves of
its hospitality. A large pile of fagots lay near the fire, evidently
collected to feed it, and this proved that the men who had kindled it
intended to pass the night on the spot.
The appearance of these two men would have been striking, even in the
light of day; but under that of the fire it was picturesque--almost
fantastic. The older of the two was habited in a costume half Indian,
half Canadian; on his head was a sort of bonnet, shaped like a truncated
cone, and made out of the skin of a fox; a blue striped cotton shirt
covered his shoulders, and beside him upon the ground lay a sort of
woollen surtout--the _capote_ of the Canadians. His legs were encased
in leathern leggins, reaching from the thigh downward to the ankle; but
instead of moccasins he wore upon his feet a pair of strong iron-bound
shoes, capable of lasting him for a couple of years at the least. A
large buffalo-horn, suspended from the shoulder, contained his powder;
and upon his right side hung a leathern pouch, well filled with bullets.
In fine, a long rifle, with a barrel nearly six feet in length, rested
near his hand; and this, with a large hunting-knife stuck in his belt,
completed his equipment. His hair already showed symptoms of turning
grey and a long scar which crossed his temples, and appeared to run all
round his head, showed that if his scalp was still there he had some
time or other run the risk of having it _raised_. His bronzed
complexion denoted a long exposure to sun, wind, and rain; but for all
this, his countenance shone with an expression of good-humour. This was
in conformity with his herculean strength--for nature usually bestows
upon these colossal men a large share of kind-heartedness.
The other trapper appeared to be some five or six years younger; and
although by no means a man of small stature, he was but a pigmy
alongside his gigantic companion. His countenance also lacked the
serenity which distinguished that of the other--his black eyes gave out
an expression of boldness approaching to effrontery; and the play of his
features indicated a man whose passions, fiery by nature, once aroused,
would lead him into acts of violence--even of cruelty. Everything about
him bespoke the second trapper to be a man of different race from his
companion--a man in whose veins ran the hot blood of the south.
Although his style of dress did not differ very much from that of his
comrade, there were some points in it that denoted him to be more of a
horseman. Nevertheless, his well-worn shoes bore witness to his having
made more than one long journey on foot.
The Canadian, half reclining upon the grass, was watching with especial
interest a large piece of mutton, which, supported upon a spit of
iron-wood, was frizzling and sputtering in the blaze of the fire. He
appeared to enjoy the savoury odour that proceeded from the joint; and
so much was his attention taken up by his gastronomic zeal, that he
scarce listened to what his companion was saying.
"Well, I have often told you," said the latter, "that when one is on the
trace of an enemy, whether it be an Indian or a white, one is pretty
sure of coming on his tracks somewhere."
"Yes," rejoined the Canadian; "but you forgot that we shall just have
time to reach Arispe, to receive the pay for our two years' campaign;
besides, by our not going to the hacienda, we lose the bounty upon these
three skins, and miss selling them besides."
"I never forget my interests," replied the other; "no more than I do the
vows which I make: and the best proof of it is, that twenty years ago I
made one which I believe I shall now be able to accomplish. We can
always force them to pay us what is due at Arispe, and we shall find
many an opportunity of getting rid of the skins: but the chance which
has turned up in the middle of these deserts, of bringing me in contact
with the man against whom I have sworn vengeance may not offer again
during my whole lifetime."
"Bah!" exclaimed the Canadian, "vengeance is like many other kinds of
fruit, sweet till you have tasted it, and afterwards bitter as gall."
"For all that, Senor Bois-Rose, you do not appear to practise your own
doctrine with the Apaches, Sioux, Crows, and other Indians with whom you
are at enmity! Your rifle has cracked many a skull--to say nothing of
the warriors you have ripped open with your knife!"
"Oh! that is different, Pepe. Some of these would have robbed me of my
peltries--others would have taken my scalp, and came very near doing so,
as you see--besides, it is blessed bread to clear the prairies of these
red vermin; but I have never sought to revenge myself against one of my
own race and colour. I never hated one of my own kind sufficiently to
kill him."
"Ah! Bois-Rose; it is just those of one's own race we hate most--that
is when they have given us the reason for doing so--and this man has
furnished me with such motives to hate him as can never be forgotten.
Twenty years have not blunted my desire for vengeance; though, on
account of the great distance that separated us, I supposed I should
never find an opportunity of fulfilling my vow. Strange it is that two
men, with relations like ours, should turn up together in the middle of
these desert plains. Well! strange though it be, I do not intend to let
the chance escape me."
Pepe appeared to have fixed his resolution upon this matter, and so
firmly that his companion saw the folly of attempting to dissuade him by
any further advice. The Canadian, moreover, was of an easy disposition,
and readily yielded to the arguments of a friend.
"After all," said he, "perhaps, if I fully understood your motives, I
might entirely approve of the resolution you have made."
"I can give them in two words," rejoined he whom the Canadian was
addressing as Pepe. "It is just twenty years, as I have already told
you, since I was a carabinier in the service of her Catholic majesty. I
should have been content with my position and the amount of pay, had it
only been _paid_ which unfortunately it was not. We were obliged to do
the duty of coast-guard as well, and this would have done well enough
had there been any smuggling, with the capture of which we might have
indemnified ourselves; but there was none. What a fool a smuggler would
have been to have ventured on a coast, guarded by two hundred fellows at
their wits' end with hunger! Well, then I reasoned that if any smuggler
was to land it could only be with the concurrence of our captain, and I
suspected that the captain would make no objection to such an
arrangement--for he himself was, like the rest of us, a creditor of the
government. In such case he would cast around among us for the man in
whom he _could most_ confide, and that would be he who was noted as
being most careless upon his post. I resolved, therefore, to become the
captain's confidential sentry.
"To arrive at this object I pretended to be all the day asleep; and,
notwithstanding the reprimands I received, I managed also to be found
asleep upon my post at all hours of the night. I succeeded in my
design. The captain soon learnt all about my somnolent habits, and
chose me for his favourite sentinel."
At this moment the Canadian detached the mutton from the spit, and
having cut a large "hunk" from it with his knife passed the joint to his
comrade.
This interrupted the narrative, for both narrator and listener were
hungry. The two now sat face to face, their legs forming a sort of an
ellipse, with the roast mutton in the centre, and for several minutes a
formidable gritting of teeth, as huge pieces of the mutton passed
through them, were the only sounds that broke the stillness of the
night.