river and giving them a good feed of corn. This task ended, he took a
nap for a couple of hours, which was sufficient to restore to his
muscles the necessary energy; and as it was not two o’clock in the
afternoon, he shared the frugal dinner of his host.
On hearing the church bells of San Mateo tolling “Las Animas” he
resolved to awaken Salvador, which was not an easy thing to do. For all
that he shook him, it was impossible to overcome the stupor which held
him fast. Finally he opened his eyes, looking about in a dazed way
without comprehending, until Pedro’s voice insisting on the urgency of
taking the road made him remember the reality of the situation. Salvador
got up with difficulty; each movement that he made aroused a dormant
pain in his body, which was agitated by a painful, feverish sensation. A
little glass of cognac produced the necessary reaction and the odor of
supper already served began to remind him that he had been fasting for
many hours.
While Salvador was devouring a chicken, which at Pedro’s request the
daughter of ’Nor José had cooked, the latter, seated on a bench,
observed him closely. Naturally keen, he had scented the fact that
beneath the short jacket was hidden a person who was not accustomed to
wear it. The attentiveness of Pedro to Salvador, the respect with which
he talked to him, were indications that this man belonged to a higher
class of society than his garb would imply. This was evident; but
looking well into the matter, what difference did it make to him that
the stranger was who he was?
A five dollar bill which Salvador put in his hand, completely confirmed
the old man’s suspicions. In a little while Pedro entered to give
notice that the horses were ready and Salvador, in bidding farewell,
warmly squeezed the hand of his chance host, who almost fell over
himself in his salutations and wishes for a safe journey. They were
already going out to the veranda, when a boy came running up with the
news that ’Nor José’s oldest daughter was very ill. About to give birth
to a child she had suffered a fall with bad consequences.
The old man was very much alarmed and Salvador tried to calm him,
advising him to call a doctor.
“We have no doctor here,” replied ’Nor José, much distressed, “and while
one is coming from Alajuela the girl may die.”
Salvador, who was a warm-hearted fellow, did not hesitate a moment.
“Let us go and see her,” he said. “I am a doctor.”
The old man, surprised and pleased, did not know what to say.
“May God pay you, señor, may God pay you!” he finally murmured with
tears in his eyes. Pedro, plainly anxious, improved the moment when the
countryman went to get his hat and call his daughter, to whisper in
Salvador’s ear that the sick woman was no less than the wife of the
_jefe politico_, who must already have had orders to capture him.
“No matter, Pedro. It is my duty not to allow this poor woman to die.
Let us go at once.”
The old man, who returned hurriedly, heard these last words. “May God
pay you, señor,” he said again in a low voice. Pedro took the old man
behind him on the crupper and Salvador the girl. After fifteen minutes
of fast riding, the four stopped in front of the _jefe politico’s_
office.
The house was full of gossipers of the neighborhood, who had come in
armed with infallible remedies which they were anxious to apply to the
sufferer. The friends of the _jefe politico_, gathered together in the
dining-room about a bottle of white rum, told discreetly, for the
comfort of the official, of similar cases which finally had ended
happily.
The arrival of her father and sister called forth a groan from the sick
one, who in her role of a first-time mother considered herself as good
as dead.
“Enter, enter, doctor!” exclaimed the old man, politely addressing the
fugitive, whom nobody in the midst of the general confusion had as yet
noticed. Judging by his costume, those present took him for one of those
country quacks who live on the ignorance and avarice of the country
people. Salvador examined the sick woman carefully and was convinced
that, although the case was a serious one, it would not be difficult to
save her. Without loss of time he took such measures as the
circumstances demanded, and from that moment he thought only of the life
of the little human creature which depended on his care. In vain Pedro
reminded him many times of the great peril he was incurring in that
house; nothing could make him withdraw.
’Nor José and the _jefe politico_, feeling more at ease after hearing
the doctor’s opinion, went to join the circle of friends, who had
already given a good account of the first bottle of rum. When the second
was opened, tongues began to get loosened, and the conversation acquired
an animation which it lacked at the beginning.
Incidentally they talked of the revolution which had just taken place
and ’Nor José, who, on account of the isolation in which he lived, was
ignorant of it all, made them tell him of what had happened, listening
to the story with anxiety. On learning that it was the Cuartel Principal
which had been attacked, he asked his son-in-law whether he had news of
Rafael, his son, who was one of the garrison.
“I don’t know anything about him,” replied the _jefe politico_. “I
suppose that there is no news since they have not sent me any word.
Nevertheless in order to feel easy I am going to telegraph to San José.”
When the despatch was written it was sent to the telegraph office.
Salvador did not leave his patient, encouraging her with cheering words
to bear her pains with fortitude. Pedro, ill at ease, was watching the
street, near the horses which were dozing with their heads low down.
At ten o’clock at night a long telegram came for the _jefe politico_. As
he was reading it his hands trembled slightly. Suddenly a violent
exclamation broke from his lips.
On hearing it, the people present got up as though to ask the cause, but
the _jefe politico_ without speaking a word conducted his father-in-law
to a neighboring room. There, without any preamble, he told him that his
son had been killed in the attack of the night before, and that Doctor
Salvador Moreno was supposed to have been his slayer, and that he was
then trying to escape from the country.
The poor old man, falling limp into a chair, wept bitterly over the
death of his son. After a while he aroused himself with an expression of
unspeakable wrath and the tears dried up in his eyes, which now shone
like red-hot coals. “Salvador Moreno,” he murmured in a hoarse voice, “I
won’t forget that name.”
“I have heard it,” said the _jefe politico_. “I believe it is that of a
young doctor recently come back from Europe.”
One of the women neighbors interrupted the conversation with the glad
news of the birth of a strong and healthy man-child. Both were going in
to see it, but it was not yet time for them to enter.
Pedro, always uneasy, had hardly heard the news when he went in search
of ’Nor José to ask him to remind his companion of the urgency of
starting.
“Tell Don Salvador that it is already very late and that I am waiting
for him,” he said forgetting to use the assumed name. On hearing this
name the old man became petrified. Then he exclaimed with fury.
“Don Salvador! Don Salvador Moreno! That is the doctor’s name, isn’t it
so?”
“Yes. Did he tell you?”
Without replying, ’Nor José went to a corner of the room where a machete
was leaning against the wall. He drew it from its scabbard and with an
expression of unheard-of ferocity, went toward the apartment of his
daughter.
At that moment the door opened. Upon the bed lay the mother, very pale,
but her eyes and lips were smiling. With his sleeves rolled up and
absorbed in his task, Salvador was bathing the new born child in a wash
basin. On seeing this the angry father felt a surge of generous feeling
invade his heart. That man was the slayer of his Rafael; that was the
terrible truth; but that same man who had shed the blood of his son had
just saved another bit of his soul at the risk of his liberty and
perhaps of his very life. He stood looking at the peaceful scene; the
happy mother, the anxious and busy neighbors, and the doctor, very
earnest, coddling the child, whose cries seemed to ask pardon for the
saviour of its mother.
The old man drew back slowly, letting go of the machete. After a moment
of hesitation, he passed his rough hand across his face and drawing near
to the fugitive said in a hoarse and trembling voice.
“Don Salvador, I beg you to go soon, because you are in great danger in
this house.”
FOOTNOTES:
[1] An officer somewhat similar to a mayor of a town.
[2] A small village bearing the same name as the Capital of Costa Rica,
a few miles west of Alajuela.
[3] A river in the northern part of Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan
boundary.
[4] Celebration in honor of a saint.
[5] Contraction of Señor, used by the country people of Costa Rica.
[6] Sweet cakes much liked by the Costa Ricans.
[7] Brandy made from sugar cane.
[8] Low-necked, short-sleeved garment worn by women of the peon class.
[9] A slang expression meaning short-tempered.
[10] The leading citizen of a village.
[11] The Costa Rican government has a monopoly on the manufacture of
liquor, and formerly had one on tobacco also.
[12] Literally, “political head”; corresponding to mayor.
[13] A general store where liquors and all kinds of merchandise are
sold.
[14] (Author’s note): The country people of Costa Rica call those who
live in the cities and especially persons of consequence, “gentes del
centro” or people of the centres.
[15] Hail, Mary, most pure. Form of salutation and reply.
[16] Conceived in grace. Form of salutation and reply.
[17] (Author’s note): Used for “papa” by the country people.
[18] Beans.
[19] Long, narrow shawls worn by women of the poor class.
[20] Large china silk shawls worn by the women of the upper class in
Costa Rica.
[21] One who is on the fence.
[22] In Spanish “gente de levita.” The country people of Costa Rica
thus refer to the upper class.
[23] There is a play on words here that cannot be translated into
English. In a Spanish pack of cards the suit, corresponding to spades
is called “Espadas” or “Swords.”
[24] A district near San José.
[25] This road, which is little traveled, rejoins the main highway to
Puntarenas near the Rio Grande.
[26] Headquarters barracks.
[27] The port on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
[28] A river in the northern part of Costa Rica flowing into the San
Juan.
[29] Between Atenas and San Mateo the highroad crosses a range of
mountains.
[30] In Costa Rica the country people wear a costume quite different
from that of the upper class. The men wear short roundabout jackets and
colored sashes about the waist to support the pantaloons.
[31] The chief official of a town in Spanish America, similar to the
office of mayor in the United States.
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Ricardo Fernandez Guardia=> Ricardo Fernández Guardia
Maria=> María
Garcia=> García
Rodriguez=> Rodríguez
he cast a glace=> he cast a glance {pg 18}
pulperia=> pulpería
senor=> señor
position of the gamoal=> position of the gamoal {pg 34}
the afliction was=> the affliction was {pg 47}
be soon a white dot=> be seen a white dot {pg 49}
who caried them prisoners=> who carried them prisoners {pg 51}
with an expresion=> with an expression {pg 62}