Was it a phantom? Surely it could not be human?
So questioned El Coyote and his terrified companions. So, too, had the
scared Galwegian interrogated himself, until his mind, clouded by
repeated appeals to the demijohn, became temporarily relieved of the
terror.
In a similar strain had run the thoughts of more than a hundred others,
to whom the headless horseman had shown himself--the party of searchers
who accompanied the major.
It was at an earlier hour, and a point in the prairie five miles farther
east, that to these the weird figure had made itself manifest.
Looking westward, with the sun-glare in their eyes, they had seen only
its shape, and nothing more--at least nothing to connect it with Maurice
the mustanger.
Viewing it from the west, with the sun at his back, the Galwegian had
seen enough to make out a resemblance to his master--if not an absolute
identification.
Under the light of the moon the four Mexicans, who knew Maurice Gerald
by sight, had arrived at a similar conclusion.
If the impression made upon the servant was one of the wildest awe,
equally had it stricken the conspirators.
The searchers, though less frightened by the strange phenomenon, were
none the less puzzled to explain it.
Up to the instant of its disappearance no explanation had been
attempted--save that jocularly conveyed in the bizarre speech of the
borderer.
"What _do_ you make of it, gentlemen?" said the major, addressing those
that had clustered around him: "I confess it mystifies me."
"An Indian trick?" suggested one. "Some decoy to draw us into an
ambuscade?"
"A most unlikely lure, then;" remarked another; "certainly the last that
would attract me."
"I don't think it's Indian," said the major; "I don't know what to
think. What's your opinion of it, Spangler?"
The tracker shook his head, as if equally uncertain.
"Do you think it's an Indian in disguise?" urged the officer, pressing
him for an answer.
"I know no more than yourself, major," replied he. "It _should_ be
somethin' of that kind: for what else _can_ it be? It must eyther be a
man, or a dummy!"
"That's it--a dummy!" cried several, evidently relieved by his
hypothesis.
"Whatsomever it is--man, dummy, or devil," said the frontiersman, who
had already pronounced upon it, "thar's no reason why we should be
frightened from followin' its trail. Has it left any, I wonder?"
"If it has," replied Spangler, "we'll soon see. Ours goes the same
way--so fur as can be judged from here. Shall we move forr'ad, major?"
"By all means. We must not be turned from our purpose by a trifle like
that. Forward!"
The horsemen again advanced--some of them not without a show of
reluctance. There were among them men, who, if left to themselves,
would have taken the back track. Of this number was Calhoun, who, from
the first moment of sighting the strange apparition, had shown signs of
affright even beyond the rest of his companions. His eyes had suddenly
assumed an unnatural glassiness; his lips were white as ashes; while his
drooping jaw laid bare two rows of teeth, which he appeared with
difficulty to restrain from chattering!
But for the universal confusion, his wild manner might have been
observed. So long as the singular form was in sight, there were eyes
only for it; and when it had at length disappeared, and the party
advanced along the trail, the ex-captain hung back, riding unobserved
among the rearmost.
The tracker had guessed aright. The spot upon which the ghostly shape
had for the moment stood still, lay direct upon the trail they were
already taking up.
But, as if to prove the apparition a spirit, on reaching the place there
were no tracks to be seen!
The explanation, however, was altogether natural. Where the horse had
wheeled round, and for miles beyond, the plain was thickly strewn with
white shingle. It was, in trapper parlance, a "chalk prairie." The
stones showed displacement; and here and there an abrasion that appeared
to have been made by the hoof of a horse. But these marks were scarce
discernible, and only to the eyes of the skilled tracker.
It was the case with the trail they had been taking up--that of the shod
mustang; and as the surface had lately been disturbed by a wild herd,
the particular hoof-marks could no longer be distinguished.
They might have gone further in the direction taken by the headless
rider. The sun would have been their guide, and after that the evening
star. But it was the rider of the shod mustang they were desirous to
overtake; and the half hour of daylight that followed was spent in
fruitless search for his trail--gone blind among the shingle.
Spangler proclaimed himself at fault, as the sun disappeared over the
horizon.
They had no alternative but to ride back to the chapparal, and bivouac
among the bushes.
The intention was to make a fresh trial for the recovery of the trail,
at the earliest hour of the morning.
It was not fulfilled, at least as regarded time. The trial was
postponed by an unexpected circumstance.
Scarce had they formed camp, when a courier arrived, bringing a despatch
for the major. It was from the commanding officer of the district,
whose head-quarters were at San Antonio do Bexar. It had been sent to
Fort Inge, and thence forwarded.
The major made known its tenor by ordering "boots and saddles" to be
sounded; and before the sweat had become dry upon the horses, the
dragoons were once more upon their backs.
The despatch had conveyed the intelligence, that the Comanches were
committing outrage, not upon the Leona, but fifty miles farther to the
eastward, close to the town of San Antonio itself.
It was no longer a mere rumour. The maraud had commenced by the murder
of men, women, and children, with the firing of their houses.
The major was commanded to lose no time, but bring what troops he could
spare to the scene of operations. Hence his hurried decampment.
The civilians might have stayed; but friendship--even parental
affection--must yield to the necessities of nature. Most of them had
set forth without further preparation than the saddling of their horses,
and shouldering their guns; and hunger now called them home.
There was no intention to abandon the search. That was to be resumed as
soon as they could change horses, and establish a better system of
commissariat. Then would it be continued--as one and all declared, to
the "bitter end."
A small party was left with Spangler to take up the trail of the
American horse, which according to the tracker's forecast would lead
back to the Leona. The rest returned along with the dragoons.
Before parting with Poindexter and his friends, the major made known to
them--what he had hitherto kept back--the facts relating to the bloody
sign, and the tracker's interpretation of it. As he was no longer to
take part in the search, he thought it better to communicate to those
who should, a circumstance so important.
It pained him to direct suspicion upon the young Irishman, with whom in
the way of his calling he had held some pleasant intercourse. But duty
was paramount; and, notwithstanding his disbelief in the mustanger's
guilt, or rather his belief in its improbability, he could not help
acknowledging that appearances were against him.
With the planter and his party it was no longer a suspicion. Now that
the question of Indians was disposed of, men boldly proclaimed Maurice
Gerald a murderer.
That the deed had been done no one thought of doubting.
Oberdoffer's story had furnished the first chapter of the evidence.
Henry's horse returning with the blood-stained saddle the last. The
intermediate links were readily supplied--partly by the interpretations
of the tracker, and partly by conjecture.
No one paused to investigate the motive--at least with any degree of
closeness. The hostility of Gerald was accounted for by his quarrel
with Calhoun; on the supposition that it might have extended to the
whole family of the Poindexters!
It was very absurd reasoning; but men upon the track of a supposed
murderer rarely reason at all. They think only of destroying him.
With this thought did they separate; intending to start afresh on the
following morning, throw themselves once more upon the trail of the two
men who were missing, and follow it up, till one or both should be
found--one or both, living or dead.
The party left with Spangler remained upon the spot which the major had
chosen as a camping ground.
They were in all less than a dozen. A larger number was deemed
unnecessary. Comanches, in that quarter, were no longer to be looked
for; nor was there any other danger that called for a strength of men.
Two or three would have been sufficient for the duty required of them.
Nine or ten stayed--some out of curiosity, others for the sake of
companionship. They were chiefly young men--sons of planters and the
like. Calhoun was among them--the acknowledged chief of the party;
though Spangler, acting as guide, was tacitly understood to be the man
to whom obedience should be given.
Instead of going to sleep, after the others had ridden away, they
gathered around a roaring fire, already kindled within the thicket
glade.
Among them was no stint for supper--either of eatables or drinkables.
The many who had gone back--knowing they would not need them--had
surrendered their haversacks, and the "heel-taps" of their canteens, to
the few who remained. There was liquor enough to last through the
night--even if spent in continuous carousing.
Despite their knowledge of this--despite the cheerful crackling of the
logs, as they took their seats around the fire--they were not in high
spirits.
One and all appeared to be under some influence, that, like a spell,
prevented them from enjoying a pleasure perhaps not surpassed upon
earth.
You may talk of the tranquil joys of the domestic hearth. At times,
upon the prairie, I have myself thought of, and longed to return to
them. But now, looking back upon both, and calmly comparing them, one
with the other, I cannot help exclaiming:
"Give me the circle of the camp-fire, with half-a-dozen of my hunter
comrades around it--once again give me that, and be welcome to the
wealth I have accumulated, and the trivial honours I have gained--thrice
welcome to the care and the toil that must still be exerted in retaining
them."
The sombre abstraction of their spirits was easily explained. The weird
shape was fresh in their thoughts. They were yet under the influence of
an indefinable awe.
Account for the apparition as they best could, and laugh at it--as they
at intervals affected to do--they could not clear their minds of this
unaccountable incubus, nor feel satisfied with any explanation that had
been offered.
The guide Spangler partook of the general sentiment, as did their leader
Calhoun.
The latter appeared more affected by it than any of the party! Seated,
with moody brow, under the shadow of the trees, at some distance from
the fire, he had not spoken a word since the departure of the dragoons.
Nor did he seem disposed to join the circle of those who were basking in
the blaze; but kept himself apart, as if not caring to come under the
scrutiny of his companions.
There was still the same wild look in his eyes--the same scared
expression upon his features--that had shown itself before sunset.
"I say, Cash Calhoun!" cried one of the young fellows by the fire, who
was beginning to talk "tall," under the influence of the oft-repeated
potations--"come up, old fellow, and join us in a drink! We all respect
your sorrow; and will do what we can to get satisfaction, for you and
yours. But a man mustn't always mope, as you're doing. Come along
here, and take a `smile' of the Monongaheela! It'll do you a power of
good, I promise you."
Whether it was that he was pleased at the interpretation put upon his
silent attitude--which the speech told him had been observed--or whether
he had become suddenly inclined towards a feeling of good fellowship,
Calhoun accepted the invitation; and stepping up to the fire, fell into
line with the rest of the roysterers. Before seating himself, he took a
pull at the proffered flask.
From that moment his air changed, as if by enchantment. Instead of
showing sombre, he became eminently hilarious--so much so as to cause
surprise to more than one of the party. The behaviour seemed odd for a
man, whose cousin was supposed to have been murdered that very morning.
Though commencing in the character of an invited guest, he soon
exhibited himself as the host of the occasion. After the others had
emptied their respective flasks, he proved himself possessed of a supply
that seemed inexhaustible. Canteen after canteen came forth, from his
capacious saddle-bags--the legacy left by many departed friends, who had
gone back with the major.
Partaking of these at the invitation of their leader--encouraged by his
example--the young planter "bloods" who encircled the camp fire, talked,
sang, danced, roared, and even rolled around it, until the alcohol could
no longer keep them awake. Then, yielding to exhausted nature, they
sank back upon the sward, some perhaps to experience the dread slumber
of a first intoxication.
The ex-officer of volunteers was the last of the number who laid himself
along the grass.
If the last to lie down, he was the first to get up. Scarce had the
carousal ceased--scarce had the sonorous breathing of his companions
proclaimed them asleep--when he rose into an erect attitude, and with
cautious steps stole out from among them. With like stealthy tread he
kept on to the confines of the camp--to the spot where his horse stood
"hitched" to a tree.
Releasing the rein from its knot, and throwing it over the neck of the
animal, he clambered into the saddle, and rode noiselessly away.
In all these actions there was no evidence that he was intoxicated. On
the contrary, they proclaimed a clear brain, bent upon some purpose
previously determined. What could it be?
Urged by affection, was he going forth to trace the mystery of the
murder, by finding the body of the murdered man? Did he wish to show
his zeal by going alone?
Some such design might have been interpreted from a series of speeches
that fell carelessly from his lips, as he rode through the chapparal.
"Thank God, there's a clear moon, and six good hours before those
youngsters will think of getting to their feet! I'll have time to
search every corner of the thicket, for a couple of miles around the
place; and if the body be there I cannot fail to find it. But what
could that thing have meant? If I'd been the only one to see it, I
might have believed myself mad. But they all saw it--every one of them.
Almighty heavens! what could it have been?"
The closing speech ended in an exclamation of terrified surprise--
elicited by a spectacle that at the moment presented itself to the eyes
of the ex-officer--causing him to rein up his horse, as if some dread
danger was before him.
Coming in by a side path, he had arrived on the edge of the opening
already described. He was just turning into it, when he saw, that he
was not the only horseman, who at that late hour was traversing the
chapparal.
Another, to all appearance as well mounted as himself, was approaching
along the avenue--not slowly as he, but in a quick trot.
Long before the strange rider had come near, the moonlight, shining fall
upon him, enabled Calhoun to see that he was _headless_!
There could be no mistake about the observation. Though quickly made,
it was complete. The white moon beams, silvering his shoulders, were
reflected from no face, above or between them! It could be no illusion
of the moon's light. Calhoun had seen that same shape under the glare
of the sun.
He now saw more--the missing head, ghastly and gory, half shrouded
behind the hairy holsters! More still--he recognised the horse--the
striped serape upon the shoulders of the rider--the water-guards upon
his legs--the complete caparison--all the belongings of Maurice the
mustanger!
He had ample time to take in these details. At a stand in the
embouchure of the side path, terror held him transfixed to the spot.
His horse appeared to share the feeling. Trembling in its tracks, the
animal made no effort to escape; even when the headless rider pulled up
in front, and, with a snorting, rearing steed, remained for a moment
confronting the frightened party.
It was only after the blood bay had given utterance to a wild
"whigher"--responded to by the howl of a hound close following at his
heels--and turned into the avenue to continue his interrupted trot--only
then that Calhoun became sufficiently released from the spell of horror
to find speech.
"God of heaven!" he cried, in a quivering voice, "what can it mean? Is
it man, or demon, that mocks me? Has the whole day been a dream? Or am
I mad--mad--mad?"
The scarce coherent speech was succeeded by action, instantaneous but
determined. Whatever the purpose of his exploration, it was evidently
abandoned: for, turning his horse with a wrench upon the rein, he rode
back by the way he had come--only at a far faster pace,--pausing not
till he had re-entered the encampment.
Then stealing up to the edge of the fire, he lay down among the
slumbering inebriates--not to sleep, but to stay trembling in their
midst, till daylight disclosed a haggard pallor upon his cheeks, and
ghastly glances sent forth from his sunken eyes.