Yes, the voice was Ijurra's. I knew it well. While listening to it by
the mesa, I had noted its tones sufficiently to remember them--round,
sonorous, of true Spanish accent, and not inharmonious--though at that
moment they grated harshly upon my ear.
An indescribable feeling came over me: it was not jealousy--I was too
confident to be jealous--and yet, I shame to confess, I felt a sensation
sadly akin to it. After those earnest oaths, those tears and frenzied
kisses--so soon after! Oh, shame upon me!
Alas! the experienced heart no more enjoys the tranquil continuity of
faith. Its belief is like a broken dream--an intermittence of light and
shade. It was my misfortune, my error, perhaps my crime, to remember
too many pairs of pretty perjured lips.
In a word, I was once more jealous, in spite of all that had passed--of
sighs, and tears, and plighted vows--once more jealous of Ijurra!
But the moment before, his name was on her tongue, and spoken with
scorn; in the same breath I was assured that he was no longer in the
neighbourhood, that he was far away!
No; he was upon the spot, in close conversation with her, and scarcely
five minutes after the oath had been sworn that bound her to me for
life! Less wonder I was jealous. That the feeling lasted only for an
instant might be some palliation, but it was no merit of mine that
brought it so quickly to a termination. I cannot screen my conduct
behind an act of volition; for although the poisoned sting rankled but
for a few seconds of time, during that short period I yielded obedience
to its demoniac promptings.
I slipped down gently from my saddle; and with the crouching gait and
silent tread of the jaguar, approached the speakers. My horse, well
trained to such tactics stayed where I had dismounted, without tie or
hopple. No fear that his hoof would betray me.
Step by step I advanced, with my hands cautiously parting the boughs.
The fronds of a curious sabal palm befriended me. They grew vertically
on short petioles, like large green fans; and overlying one another,
formed a perfect screen, through which the keenest eye could not
perceive the approach of an intruder.
In a few seconds, I stood behind the last row that bounded the edge of a
small opening; and peering through the serrate interstices of the
leaves, I saw my betrothed and her cousin.
Isolina was still in the saddle. Ijurra was on foot, and standing by
her stirrup, with one hand resting upon the pommel, the other grasping
the rein.
Up to this moment, my heart had continued its painful throbbing; but the
attitude of Ijurra, with his troubled and angry look, at once produced a
revulsion in my feelings. I saw that the encounter had been
accidental--at least on the part of Isolina; I saw that she was
_detained_.
I could not see her face; it was turned in the opposite direction, and
towards Ijurra; but the tones of her voice reached me, and by these I
perceived that she addressed him in anger. Oh, how those accents of
indignation ravished my heart; sweeter were they to me than the softest
melody!
As yet, I had heard nothing of what had passed between them; the loud
beating of my heart, the rustling of the leaves under my feet, of the
boughs as I pressed through them, had prevented me from distinguishing
what was said. These sounds ceased as I came to a stop; and although
still fifty paces distant from the speakers, I could catch every word of
their conversation, favoured by the loud tone in which it was carried
on.
"So, then, you refuse?"
It was Ijurra who put this interrogatory.
"I have done so before, Rafael; your conduct has given me no cause to
change my mind."
"Ha! my conduct has nothing to do with it; you have other reasons.
Isolina, do not imagine I am such a _bobo_. I know your secret: you
love this _gringo_--this Yankee captain?"
"And suppose I do, that is my affair. Nay, more, sir, shall not even
attempt to make a secret of it. I do love him--I do--I do."
Ijurra's eyes gleamed with malignant fire; his lips turned white, and
tightened over his teeth; he seemed endeavouring to curb the exposure of
his spleen.
"And you would marry him?" he asked with compressed emphasis.
"I _shall_ marry him," was the prompt reply.
"_Por todos santos_! it shall never be."
"And who is to hinder it?"
"I!"
"Ha, ha, ha! You are raving, Rafael Ijurra!"
"You may love him to your heart's content--I care not; but marry him--
never! s'death! never!"
"Indeed?"
"By the saints, I swear it. I swear--"
"You have sworn enough; you are sufficiently perjured already."
"_Carrai_!" furiously shouted Ijurra, as if losing patience. "Listen to
me, Isolina de Vargas! I have something to say that may not be so
pleasant--"
"You can say nothing pleasant; but I listen."
"First, then, here are certain documents that concern you--both you and
your father."
I saw some folded papers in his hand, which he had taken from under his
jacket. He opened and held them before her face, as he continued:--
"This safeguard is one given by the American commander-in-chief to the
Dona Isolina de Vargas. Perhaps you have seen it before? And here is a
letter from Don Ramon de Vargas to the commissary-general of the
American army, enclosed within another from that functionary to your pet
filibustero--a pretty piece of treason this!"
"Well, sir?"
"Not so well for you, madame. You forget that General Santa Anna is now
chief of this republic. Think you he will not punish such traitorous
correspondence! _Carrambo_! if I but lay these documents before his
Excellency, I shall have an order for the arrest of both yourself and
your father as quickly as it can be spoken. No more; the estate will be
proscript and confiscated--it will become mine--mine!"
The speaker paused, as if for an answer.
Isolina remained silent. I could not see her face to notice the effect.
I fancied that the threat had terrified her. Ijurra continued:--
"Now, senorita! you better comprehend our relative positions. Give your
consent to become my wife, and these papers shall be destroyed on the
instant."
"Never!" was the firm response that delighted my ears.
"Never!" echoed Ijurra; "then dread the consequences. I shall obtain
orders for your arrest, and as soon as this horde of Yankee ruffians has
been driven from the country, the property shall be mine."
"Ha, ha, ha!" came the scornful laugh in reply--"ha, ha, ha! you
mistake, Rafael Ijurra; you are not so far-sighted as you deem yourself;
you forget that my father's land lies on the _Texan_ side of the Rio
Grande; and ere that horde of Yankee ruffians, as you term them, be
driven out, they will establish this river for their boundary. Where,
then, will lie the power of confiscation? Not with you, and your
cowardly master. Ha, ha, ha!"
The reply maddened Ijurra still further, for he saw the probability of
what had been said. His face became livid, and he seemed to lose all
control of himself.
"Even so," he shouted with the addition of a fierce oath--"even so,
_you_ shall never inherit those lands. Listen, Isolina de Vargas!
listen to another secret I have for you: know, senorita, that you are
not the lawful daughter of Don Ramon!"