A REACTION.
After the sentry's challenge, loud shouts were raised outside the
rancho, and, ere long, the noise and confusion since his return to
honesty, the worthy monk had resumed his monastic habits of prolixity,
we will take his place and narrate the facts as briefly as possible.
We have said that on entering the rancho the Jaguar, while passing
through the first room, had perceived, among the sleepers upon straw,
Lanzi, Quoniam, and Fray Antonio. All these men were really sleeping,
but with that light sleep peculiar to hunters and wood rangers, and the
sound of the young man's footsteps had aroused them; so soon as they saw
the door of the second room close on the American they rose noiselessly,
took up their weapons, and stealthily quitted the rancho. They had done
this without exchanging a syllable, and were evidently carrying out a
plan arranged beforehand, and which the presence of the sentry had alone
impeded. Their horses were saddled in a twinkling, they leapt into their
saddles, and when John Davis returned to his post they were far out of
reach. The American, who immediately perceived their departure, gave a
start of passion, and resumed his rounds, growling between his teeth:
"The deuce take them! I only hope they may get a dose of lead in their
heads, provided they do not bring a cuadrilla of Mexican lancers down on
us."
Still, the plan of these bold rangers was far from meriting such an
imprecation, for they were about to accomplish a work of devotion.
Ignorant of Colonel Melendez' promises, and having, moreover, no sort of
confidence in the well-known Punic faith of the Mexicans, they proposed
to beat up the country, and assembled all the fugitives of their party
they came across, in order to defend Tranquil and Doña Carmela from any
insult. In the meanwhile Lanzi would swim off to the brig, which would
be cruising a cable's length from the beach, announce to Captain Johnson
the result of the battle of Cerro Pardo, tell him the critical position
in which the old hunter and his daughter were placed, and beg him to go
to the rancho and remove the wounded man on board, if circumstances
compelled it.
Fortune, which, according to a well-known proverb, always favours the
brave, was far more favourable to the plans of this forlorn hope than
they had any right to expect; they had hardly galloped ten miles across
country in no settled direction, ere they perceived numerous bivouac
fires sparkling through the night in front of a wretched fishing
village, situated on the sea shore a little distance from the Fort of
the Point. They stopped to hold a council; but at the moment they
prepared to deliberate, they were suddenly surrounded by a dozen
horsemen, and made prisoners, ere they had time to lay hands on their
arms or make an effort at defence.
Only one of the three comrades succeeded in escaping, and that was
Lanzi; the brave half-breed slipped off his horse, and passing like a
serpent between the legs of the horses, he disappeared before his flight
was noticed. Lanzi had reflected that by remaining with his comrades he
let himself be captured without profit; while if he succeeded in
escaping he might hope to accomplish the commission he had undertaken,
so that he retained a chance of safety for Tranquil and his daughter. It
was in consequence of this reasoning, made with the rapidity that
characterised the half-breed, that he attempted and accomplished his
bold flight, leaving his comrades to get as they best could out of the
awkward scrape they had fallen into.
But a thing happened to the latter which they were far from
anticipating, and which the half-breed would never have suspected. The
capture of the two men was effected so rapidly; they had been so
surprised that not a single word was exchanged on either side; but when
they were secured the Chief of the detachment ordered them to follow him
in a rough voice, and then a curious fact occurred: these men, who could
not see each other for the darkness, became old friends again so soon as
a sentence had been exchanged. Fray Antonio and his comrades had fallen
into the hands of Texan fugitives from the battle, and were the
prisoners of their own friends.
After numberless mutual congratulations, explanations came on the
carpet, and these horsemen proved to belong to the Jaguar's cuadrilla.
When their Chief left them to fly to the cart they continued to fight
for some time while awaiting his return; but pressed on all sides, and
not seeing him return, they broke and began flying in all directions. As
they were perfectly acquainted with the country, it was easy for them to
escape the pursuit of the Mexican cavalry; and each, with that instinct
peculiar to partisans and guerillas, proceeded separately to one of the
gathering places, whither the Jaguar was accustomed to summon them. Here
they nearly all came together again, for the simple reason that as their
cuadrilla formed the rearguard, it had been the last engaged, and
suffered very slightly, as it was almost immediately broken up by the
departure of its Chief.
During this flight a great number of other partisans had swelled their
ranks, so that at this moment their band formed a corps of nearly six
hundred resolute men, well mounted and armed, but who, unfortunately,
had no leader. The capture of Fray Antonio, who found many of his
soldiers among them, was, therefore, a piece of good luck for the
partisans, who, though they had been left to their own resources for
only a few hours, were already beginning to understand the difficulties
of their position, and how dangerous it would become for them if
fatality willed it that they should be discovered and attacked, by a
Mexican corps.
Still, they had acted with great prudence up to this moment. Obliged to
leave the retreat they had selected, and which offered them no
resources, they had bivouacked a little distance from the Fort of the
Point, in order to be protected both by the garrison of the fortress and
the fire of their cruisers, which they knew to be close at hand.
When Fray Antonio had picked up this information, which was precious for
him, and overwhelmed him with delight, by permitting him to dispose of
numerous and determined corps, instead of a few demoralized fugitives of
no value, he determined to requite the soldiers who had captured him for
the pleasure they caused him by telling him that the Jaguar was not dead
as they had falsely supposed--that he was not even wounded, but was in
hiding at the rancho which had for a long time served as headquarters of
the Texan army, and he would conduct them thither if they pleased. At
this proposal of the worthy monk's the joy of the Freebooters became
delirious, almost frenzied, for they adored their Chief, and longed to
place themselves under his orders again. Consequently, the camp was
immediately raised, the partisans formed in a column, Fray Antonio
placing himself at its head, and the remains of the Texan army set out
joyously for the rancho. The reader knows the rest.
The Jaguar warmly thanked Fray Antonio; he then stated that the rancho
would temporarily be headquarters, and ordered his men to bivouac round
the house. Still, there was one thing which greatly alarmed the young
man: no news had been received, of Lanzi. What had become of him?
Perhaps he had found death in accomplishing his rash enterprise, and
trying to reach, by swimming, Captain Johnson's brig. The Jaguar knew
the friendship that united Tranquil and the half-breed, and what deep
root that friendship had taken in the heart of both, and he feared the
effect on the Canadian of the announcement of a calamity which,
unhappily, was only too probable. Hence, in spite of his promise of
returning at once to the hunter, he walked anxiously up and down in
front of the rancho, gazing at intervals out to sea, and not feeling the
courage to be present when the Canadian asked after his old friend and
was told of his death.
Presently, Carmela appeared in the doorway. The old hunter, not seeing
the Jaguar return, and alarmed by the noisy demonstrations he heard
outside, at length resolved to send the girl on a voyage of discovery,
after warning her not to commit any act of imprudence, but return to his
side at the slightest appearance of danger, Carmela ran off in delight
to find the Jaguar; a few remarks she heard while passing through the
house told her what was occurring, and she had no fear about venturing
outside. On seeing her the young man checked his hurried walk and waited
for her, while trying to give his features an expression agreeing with
the lucky situation in which he was supposed to be.
"Well!" she said to him, with that little pouting air which she could
assume if necessary, and which suited her so well; "What has become of
you, deserter? We have been waiting for you with the most lively
impatience, and there you are walking quietly up and down, instead of
hurrying to bring us the good news you promised us."
"Forgive me, Carmela," he replied; "I was wrong to appear thus to forget
you, and leave you in a state of anxiety; but so many extraordinary
things have occurred, that I do not really yet know whether I am awake
or dreaming."
"Everybody deserts us this morning, not excepting Lanzi and Quoniam, who
have not yet made their appearance."
"You will pardon them, Señorita, for I am the sole cause of their
absence. I found myself compelled to entrust them both with important
duties, but I trust they will soon return, and directly they do so, I
will send them to you."
"But are you not coming in, Jaguar? My father would be glad to talk with
you."
"I should like to do so, Carmela, but at this moment it is impossible;
remember that the army is utterly disorganized, at each moment fresh men
who have escaped from the battle join us; only a few Chiefs have turned
up as yet, the rest are missing. I alone must undertake to restore a
little order in this chaos; but be assured that so soon as I have a
second to myself, I will take advantage of it to join you. Alas! It is
only by your side that I am happy."
The maiden blushed slightly at this insinuation, and answered at once
with a degree of coldness in her accent, of which she immediately
repented, in seeing the impression her words caused the young man, and
the cloud they brought to his forehead.
"You are at liberty to remain here as long as you please, Caballero; in
speaking to you as I did I merely carried a message my father gave me
for you; the rest concerns me but little."
The young man bowed without replying, and turned away his head not to
let the cruel girl see the sorrow she caused him by this harsh and so
unmerited apostrophe. Carmela walked a few steps toward the house, but
on reaching the threshold she ran back and offered her little hand to
the young Chief with an exquisite smile.
"Forgive me, my friend," she said to him, "I am a madcap. You are not
angry with me, I trust?"
"I angry with you?" he replied, sadly, "Why should I be so, by what
right? What else am I to you than a stranger, an indifferent being, a
stranger too happy to be endured without any great display of impatience
on your part."
The maiden bit her lips angrily.
"Will you not take the hand I offer you?" she said with a slight tinge
of impatience.
The Jaguar looked at her for a moment fixedly, and then seized her hand,
on which he imprinted a burning kiss.
"Why should the head ever do injustice to the heart?" he said, with a
sigh.
"Am I not a woman?" she replied with a smile that filled his heart with
joy; "We are waiting for you, so come soon," she added, and shaking her
finger at him, she ran back into the house like a startled fawn, and
laughing like a madcap.
The Jaguar gazed after her until she at length disappeared in the
interior of the rancho.
"She is but a coquettish child," he murmured in a low voice; "has she a
heart?"
A stifled sigh was the sole answer he found for the difficult question
he asked himself, and he bent his eyes again on the sea. Suddenly, he
uttered a cry of joy; he had just seen, above the rocks which terminated
on the right, the small bay on which the cuadrilla was encamped, the
tall masts of the _Libertad_ corvette, followed or rather convoyed by
the brig. The two ships, impelled by a favourable breeze, soon doubled
the point, and entered the bay; while the corvette made short tacks not
to run ashore on the dangerous coast, the brig shortened sail and
remained stationary. A boat was immediately let down, several persons
seated themselves in it, and the sailors, letting their oars fall
simultaneously into the water, pulled vigorously for the shore.
The distance they had to row was nearly half a mile, and hence the
Jaguar was unable to recognise the persons who were arriving. Anxious to
know, however, what he had to depend on, he mounted the first horse he
came across, and galloped toward the boat, followed by some twenty
Freebooters; who, seeing their Chief set out, formed him a guard of
honour. The young man reached the coast at the precise moment when the
bows of the boat ran up into the sand. There were three sailors in the
boat: Captain Johnson and the person we have met before under the name
of El Alferez, and lastly, Lanzi. On perceiving the latter, the young
Chief could not restrain a shout of joy, and without thinking of even
saluting the other two, he seized the half-breed's hand and pressed it
cordially several times.
The Captain and his companion, far from being annoyed at this apparent
want of politeness, seemed, on the contrary, to witness with pleasure,
this frank and spontaneous manifestation of an honourable feeling.
"Bravo, Cabellero!" said the Captain; "By Heaven! You do right to press
that man's hand, for he is a loyal and devoted fellow; ten times during
the past night he risked his life in trying to reach my ship, which at
length came aboard, half drowned and dead with fatigue."
"Nonsense," the half-breed said negligently; "it was nothing at all; the
main point was to reach you, as my poor comrades had the ill-luck to be
taken prisoners."
The Jaguar began laughing.
"Don't be alarmed, my brave fellow," he said to him; "your comrades are
as free as yourself, and you will soon see them; there was a mistake in
all this which they will have the pleasure of explaining to you."
Lanzi opened his eyes in amazement at this partial revelation, which he
did not at all understand, but he made no answer, contenting himself
with shrugging his shoulders several times. The Jaguar then offered the
Captain and his two companions horses on which they could proceed to the
rancho, and which they accepted. The partisans who had followed their
Chief, on hearing this offer, hastened to dismount, and courteously
presented their horses to the strangers. The latter, without stopping to
make a choice, mounted the horses nearest to them, and started.
While galloping along, the three newcomers looked about them with
surprise, not at all comprehending what they saw; for a time, the Jaguar
paid no great attention to their manoeuvres, and continued to talk about
indifferent topics; but their preoccupation soon became so marked that
he perceived it, and could not refrain from asking them the cause of it.
"On my word, Caballeros," the Captain said, all at once taking the ball
at the rebound; "if you had not asked me that question, I was on the
point of asking you one, for I frankly confess that I understand nothing
of what is happening to us."
"What is happening, pray?"
"Why, I learned last night from this worthy lad, the frightful defeat
you experienced yesterday; the total loss and the utter dispersion of
your army; I hurried up to offer you and yours, whom I supposed tracked
like wild beasts and without shelter of any sort, an asylum aboard my
vessel, and I have barely set foot on land, ere I find myself in the
midst of this army which I supposed to be swept away like autumn leaves
by a storm; and this army is as firm and well disciplined as before the
battle. Explain to me, I beg, the meaning of this riddle, for I have
really given it up, as impossible to guess."
"I am ready to satisfy your curiosity," the Jaguar answered with a
smile; "but first of all I crave some valuable news from you."
"Very good; but answer me this first."
"Go on."
"Has the battle really taken place?"
"Certainly."
"And you have been whipped?"
"To our heart's content."
"That is strange, I understand leas than ever; well, speak, I am
listening to you."
"Is the Fort of the Point still in the hands of our friends?"
"Yes; our ships have left it an hour at the most. Ever since you so
daringly surprised it, the Mexicans have not come within gunshot."
"May Heaven be praised!" the young man exclaimed impetuously; "nothing
is lost in that case, and all can be repaired. Yes, Captain, we have
been beaten, we have suffered a frightful defeat; but, as you know,
during the ten years we have been struggling against the Mexican power,
our oppressors have often believed us crushed, and it is the same this
time, thanks be to Heaven! Two of our best cuadrillas have escaped
almost in safety the horrible massacre of the other corps, and they are
those you see assembled here. At each moment straggling fugitives join
us, so that within a week we shall probably be able to resume the
offensive. GOD is on our side, for the cause we defend is sacred; we are
the soldiers of an idea, and must conquer. The defeat of yesterday will
be of use to us in the future."
"You are right, my friend," the Captain answered warmly. "This
revolution in truth resembles no other; ever conquered, and ever up in
arms, you are stronger today, after your numerous defeats, than when you
began the struggle. The finger of Heaven is there, and a man must be mad
not to perceive it. Hence your losses are limited to men and arms?"
"To men and arms solely; we have not lost an inch of ground. I seek in
vain the reason that prevented the victorious Mexicans pursuing us, for
we have kept all our positions, and are scarce ten miles from the battle
field."
"Many of our Chiefs, I presume, have fallen, or are in the hands of the
enemy?"
"I fear so; still, several have already come in, and others will
probably still join us. There is one, unfortunately, about whom we have
no news--you know to whom I refer; if the day pass without his making
his appearance, I shall start in search of him."
The Jaguar had spoken the truth; each moment soldiers who had escaped
from the battlefield arrived. During the short hour that had elapsed
since he left the rancho, more than two hundred had joined the camp.
"You see," said the young Chief, looking around him proudly, "that, in
spite of our defeat, nothing has really changed for us, as we have
retained our head quarters, and the banner of Texan Independence still
floats from its azotea."
The horsemen then dismounted, and entered the rancho.