WE SET OUT FOR THE INTERIOR, AND I FALL INTO MY JEALOUS HUMOR ONCE MORE.
Having taken formal leave of the governor, whose duty kept him to the
citadel, we returned to the house, where we had barely finished our meal
when a gentleman came to us in great haste, telling us the black ship
was casting anchor, and it was high time to be jogging.
Our escort was waiting in the courtyard, and we set out, a company of
thirteen, with the like number of mules.
Our commander was a Portugal named Lewis de Pino, and, as luck would
have it, he spoke Italian passably; besides him, there were ten other
Portuguese footmen, each armed with an arquebuse, a sword, and a good
supply of powder and ball, hung on their bandalieros. Three of the
mules--sleek, well-conditioned beasts, and very bravely
caparisoned--served to carry Lady Biddy, the commander, and myself; the
rest bore pack-saddles well charged with stores.
We crossed the champaign, and there struck into the woods by a trodden
path with a pleasant shade of trees. We traveled this way until noon,
when, being come to a convenient spot, we dismounted, and there made a
very excellent repast from our stores; after which we reposed until the
great heat of the day was past, and then pushed on again.
About five o'clock we came to an opening in the woods, whence we could
see the river winding through the valley below, but no sign of the
galley which should be there waiting for us. Whereupon Senhor Lewis, who
spoke the Italian, seeming to fall into a great pet, declared that this
was a trick of the governor's lady to gratify her spleen against Lady
Biddy, which had been only too evident from the very first.
"Now," says he, "I perceive why she was so anxious to start off betimes,
and why she urged that you, being unused to traveling on these rivers,
could never endure the teasing of the flies that do infest the water,
and so should go as far as you might by road."
"Our mules are still fresh," says Lady Biddy; "can not we get to our
destination by following this road still further?"
"Nay," says he, "for Dom Sebastian's seat, where he designed you should
stay with his lady until it might be safe to return to Castello Lagos,
lies yet some distance up the river, and is only to be reached by boat
from the point below. For the river winds one way, and this road the
other; nor is there any other means of getting at it that I know of. But
I will make sure of this by questioning the men, who know these parts
better than I."
While he was parleying with his men, Lady Biddy narrated this
conversation to me, and, as she was saying the last words, he comes
back, still feigning to be greatly vexed.
"I am sorry to tell you, madam," says he, "that my men, one and all,
agree with me there is no road to the governor's seat; so I see nothing
for it but to divide my company, and give you one half to cover your
return to Castello Lagos."
"But why divide the company?" says Lady Biddy in alarm; "surely you will
return with us?"
"Nothing would give me greater joy," says he, "but I am only a poor
merchant, and these are my possessions" (with his head in his shoulders
and his hands extended towards the company of footmen and mules). "I
offering you half my servants, I jeopardize as much as I can afford, for
I doubt if I shall see e'er a one of 'em alive again."
When Lady Biddy had translated this to me, she says, in a tone of
terror:
"If he does not expect his men to save their lives in returning to the
town, how may we hope to escape? We can not return thither. Oh, Benet,
what shall we do?"
I was myself prodigiously taken aback, and not a little scared, by this
new turn of affairs; yet, seeing how my dear lady was upset, I tried to
calm her mind by making light of the matter.
"Be of good cheer," says I; "we will for certain not go back to this
Castello Lagos, for if the Portugal will not venture his carcase there,
I will assuredly not risk mine. Nay, you should know, cousin," I adds,
feeling a little sore for reasons that I shall presently explain, "that
I treasure your safety more than this man does his merchandise. I see
through this rogue of a merchant, who, as likely as not, has contrived
this difficulty for his own profit. Do you ask the fellow such questions
as I would put to him."
"With all my heart," says Lady Biddy, "What shall I ask him, Benet?"
"Ask him if he be a merchant of Castello Lagos," says I, putting on a
pretty determined air.
To this Lewis de Pino replied that he was a merchant of Valerias,
whither he was now going. "Valerias," says I, pretending to be mighty
knowing, that he might not perceive my ignorance, "that lies betwixt
here and Caracas, I take it."
He replied yes, but after looking at me in silence a minute, as though
to make out what I was driving at.
"And Caracas," says I, in the same tone, "is t'other side of those
mountains?"
"Preciseamento!" says he, with a grin, holding up his hand with the tips
of his thumb and second finger joined.
"How far is it to Valerias?" I asked.
"About six days' journey," says he in reply.
"And from Valerias to Caracas is no great matter," says I still, as if I
knew the road well enough.
"The senhor knows that it is no distance at all," says he.
"Good," says I; "then, as our object is to get back to England rather
than to trespass upon Dom Sebastian's hospitality, you shall carry us
with you, for which service you shall be well paid. You shall have my
bond for any reasonable sum."
He would have it that he needed no recompense, but I could see plainly
that he was very well pleased with this turn, which did further convince
me the matter was planned beforehand.
We pushed on till dusk, when we reached a collection of wooden huts,
walled in with a palisade of stout wooden spikes, crossed in the manner
of the letter X, and the spaces so stuffed with thorns and prickly herbs
that no man (least of all a naked savage) could go either in or out,
save by the postern gate at one side. In the midst of these huts stood a
stone tower, pierced with little holes in the upper part, for the use of
muskets in case of attack, as I thought.
We saw no women or children in this village, but only about a dozen
wild, fierce Portugals, each with a long knife stuck in his girdle; and
one, who seemed to have just returned from the chase, had his musket
slung on behind to his bandeliero, and was dressed in a jerkin,
breeches, and gaiters of leather. With their ragged beards, their
sun-burnt skins, and savage air, they looked like so many brigands; yet
were they as courteous as lackeys to us, helping us to dismount, and
providing us with all that was necessary to our comfort. Most of the
houses were mere sheds, used for the storing of powder, food, etc., for
these Portugals, as I learnt, were hunters, who never slept under a roof
except in the rainy season; but there was one well furnished and
provided with sleeping-rooms to serve for the accommodation of the
merchants, who came from time to time to truck their merchandise for the
spoils brought hither by the hunters.
When we had supped, Lady Biddy, being fatigued with the day's journey,
betook herself to her room, and I, having no inclination for society,
lay myself down in a net hung from two beams in the roof, which is their
manner of sleeping in these parts, and the first I had ever seen of such
strange bed-places. There was a second net in this chamber for Lewis de
Pino; but he, having business to do with the hunters, that we might
start betimes the next morning, went out and joined them elsewhere, so
that I was left alone to my meditations.
And here I took myself to task, as well I might, for having misbehaved
myself in a very pitiful, paltry sort towards Lady Biddy from the first
moment we set out on our journey. To make an honest confession, I had
allowed myself once more to come under the dominion of that abominable
jealousy which was my besetting vice. For this Lewis de Pino was one of
those gallants we had discovered seated with Dom Sebastian on our
arrival at Castello Lagos, and the most persistent in passing his
addresses to my lady; nay, he was so smitten with her charms that his
eyes did seem to devour her as often as he looked at her. I had observed
him more than once talking apart with the governor very earnestly: once
touching hands as if on a bargain; and from this I concluded that we had
been sold in a manner by the governor to Lewis de Pino to further the
amorous designs of the latter upon Lady Biddy. Now this conviction
should have drawn me closer to her as a friend and protector, and so it
would, but I took it into my head that she looked too kindly on him.
In crossing the champaign she took no notice of him whatever, being
concerned for our safety, and fearing Rodrigues would get upon our track
ere we got to a place of safety; and all this while she was very silent
and preoccupied, turning in her saddle now and again to look back, and
asking me if I thought we should yet escape, etc., all in a very
troubled and grave manner; but being come into the wood, and greatly
relieved of her anxiety, she grew, as it was natural she should, very
suddenly gay and sprightly. Just at that time Lewis de Pino came to her
side with a compliment in Italian, which, as I say, he spoke
indifferently well, and this brought the smile to her cheek.
"She has not smiled on me since we bade each other good-morning," says I
to myself. "Nay, she would scarcely accept for a truth my assurance of
her safety; yet the moment this grinning Portugal comes to her side she
forgets our peril and is blithe."
So we continued our way; he one side of my lady chatting and smiling,
and I on the other glum and mumchance. Nor did I speak a single word for
half an hour, when she says, turning to me with the smile Lewis de Pino
had brought to her face:
"Have you nothing to say, Benet?"
On this, feeling ashamed to acknowledge the truth, I sought to excuse
myself with a lie.
"I am thinking," says I, "of our peril, which is none of the least."
"Why," says she, "what have we to fear now? That man will never surely
pursue us hither."
"No," says I; "very likely not; but I have heard no sounds of firing,
and I do fear the governor, despite my warning, has yielded to some
cunning artifice of Rodrigues; who by threat or torture may persuade him
to fetch us back with his soldiery."
She translated my fears to Lewis de Pino, who replied that Dom Sebastian
would perish in flames rather than be guilty of treachery.
"And I think so likewise," added Lady Biddy, when she had rendered this,
"for these Portugals have nobility stamped in their features."
"Ay," says I, "and cruelty stamped on their lips, and wickedness in
their eyes as well."
"As for that," says she, laughing, "we are not all Puritans. You must
admit," added she, with a malicious twinkle in her eye, for I fancy she
perceived the secret of my dislike and would pique me for a
punishment--"you must admit Senhor Lewis is a very handsome man."
"Yes," says I; "but I like him none the better for that."
Presently we came to a part where, the path growing narrower, there was
room but for two to go abreast, and here Lewis de Pino, taking off his
hat, made as though he would yield his place to me; but I, not to be
outdone in civility, gave him back his salute and fell behind.
There were abundance of beauteous flowers and gay-plumed birds and
curious growths on either side to please the eye and interest the mind;
but I could not take my eyes off the two faces before me, turned towards
each other, and flushed with pleasure.
"And why," I asked myself, as I lay in my net brooding on these
things--"why should she not be pleased with the courteous and lively
attentions of a well-favored and good-tempered companion? Had I made
myself agreeable, instead of sitting like any stock for stupidity, she
would have smiled on me. This was the first moment of ease, the first
opportunity of pleasant conversation with one of her own degree, that
she had enjoyed for many a day. Granted his talk, as you would believe
in your prejudice and ignorance, was trivial, might it not yet have been
amusing? Wouldn't you, Benet, rather sit an hour listening to the jests
of a Merry Andrew than wait half as long for an oracle to deliver
itself?"
But my lady, for all her amusement, did think of me--ay, I believe she
was concerned for my silence and grieved at my moody humor. Perhaps she
repented having wounded my feelings by treating my gravity lightly.
Still, she had too much spirit, too much proper pride, to humble herself
by asking forgiveness; nay, delicate consideration for my feelings might
have withheld her from humiliating me by taking my folly seriously.
Nevertheless, I say, she did think of me, and turning now and then
pointed out to me some sweet flower or pretty bird. And how did I make a
return for this gentle kindness? By answering in a cavalier and careless
manner that was particularly detestable.
All these reflections came to my mind, I say, as I lay in the dark; and
so I fell a-tormenting myself with reproaches to such a degree that had
I been ten times as tired I could not have closed an eye.
Some time after, Lewis de Pino, a little the worse for liquor, as I
judged, came into the chamber, clambered up into his net, and fell
a-snoring like any pig, so that, maugre my condition, I did wish Lady
Biddy could hear him.
I was still lying wide awake, thinking what a hound I was, when suddenly
there fell upon my ear a sound like a woman wailing in grief. I could
not believe this until I heard the sound a second time. Then I started
on the instant to my feet, knowing there was no woman there but Lady
Biddy; but forgetting the kind of bed in which I lay, and how no man but
a rope-dancer could stand up in such a thing safely, I swung on one side
and came down with a spank on the floor. At that noise, Lewis de Pino
awoke with a grunt, but he fell asleep with another the next minute; and
now, coming to my feet, I heard again that mournful, sorrowing cry. The
door stood wide open. Outside all was still. Not a breath of air moved
the leaves of the trees. The big stars looked down very peacefully. In
the distance I saw the Portugals lying on the ground asleep like so many
dogs; but nothing moved.
Then, again, as I stood there, my heart was pierced with the distant
moan. I crept to the hut where Lady Biddy lay, and, tapping gently at
the door, asked if she were in pain.
But she answered that it was not she who cried; at which my heart was
comforted, for at the first I thought that maybe my sullen humor had
moved her to tears.
So thinking the sound was but the note of a night-bird, of which there
are many in these woods that have the most strange human voices of any
living thing, I went back to my net, and presently fell asleep.