THE POST OF SAN MIGUEL.
As the dangerous honour of commanding one of the border forts like
San Miguel is not at all coveted by the brilliant officers accustomed
to clatter their sabres on the stones of the Palace in Mexico, it
is generally only given to brave soldiers who have no prospect of
promotion left to them.
Informed by a cabo, or corporal, of the names of the guests who thus
suddenly arrived, the Captain rose to meet them with open arms and a
smile on his lips.
"Oh, oh," he exclaimed, gleefully; "this is a charming surprise!
Children, I am delighted to see you."
"Do not thank us, Don Marcos," Doña Mariana answered, smilingly. "We
are not paying you a visit, but have come to ask shelter and protection
of you."
"You have them already. ¡Rayo de Dios! Are we not relations, and very
close ones, too?"
"Without doubt, cousin," Don Ruiz said; "hence, in our misfortune, it
is a great happiness for us to come across you."
"Hilloh! You have something serious to tell me," the Captain continued,
his face growing gloomy.
"So serious," the young man said, with a bow to the partizan, who stood
motionless by his side, "that had it not been for the help of this
caballero, in all probability we should be lying dead in the desert."
"Oh, oh; my poor children! Come, dismount and follow me; you must need
rest and refreshment after such an alarm. Cabo Hernandez, take charge
of the horses."
The corporal took the horses, which he led to the corral; and the young
people followed the Captain, after having been kissed and hugged by him
several times. Don Marcos pressed the hunter's hand, and made him a
sign to follow them.
"There," he said, after introducing his guests into a room modestly
furnished with a few butacas; "sit down, children; and when you have
rested, we will talk."
Refreshments had been prepared on the table. While the young people
enjoyed them, the Captain quitted them, and went with the hunter into
another room. So soon as they were alone, the two men became serious,
and the joy that illumined the Captain's face was suddenly extinguished.
"Well," he asked Stronghand, after making him a sign to sit down, "what
news?"
"Bad," he answered, distinctly.
"I expected it," the officer muttered, with a sad toss of the head; "we
must put on our harness again, and push out into the savannah, in order
to prove to these bandits that we are able to punish them."
The hunter shook his head several times, but said nothing. The Captain
looked at him attentively for some minutes.
"What is the matter, my friend?" he at length asked him, with growing
anxiety; "I never saw you so sad and gloomy before."
"The reason is," he answered, "because circumstances have never been so
serious."
"Explain yourself, my friend; I confess to you that you are really
beginning to alarm me. With the exception of a few insignificant
marauders, the borders have never appeared to me more quiet."
"It is a deceitful calm, Don Marcos, which contains the tempest in its
bosom--and a terrible tempest, I, assure you."
"And yet our spies are all agreed in assuring us that the Indians are
not at all thinking of an expedition."
"It proves that your spies betray you, that's all."
"Possibly so; but still, I should like some proof or sign."
"I ask for nothing better; I am enabled to give you the most positive
information."
"Very good; that is the way to speak. I am listening to you."
"Before all, is your garrison strong?"
"I consider it large enough."
"Perhaps so: how many men have you?"
"Sixty or seventy, about."
"That is not enough."
"What! Not enough? The garrisons of blockhouses are never more
numerous."
"In a time of peace, it may be so; but under present circumstances, I
repeat to you, that they are not enough, and you will soon agree with
me on that score. You must send off a courier, without the loss of a
moment, to ask for a reinforcement of from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred men. Do not deceive yourself, Captain; you will be the first
attacked, and the attack will be a rude one. I warn you."
"Thanks for the hint. Still, my good friend, you will permit me not to
follow it till you have proved to me that there are urgent reasons for
doing so."
"As you please, Captain; you are the commandant of the post, and your
responsibility must urge you to prudence. I will therefore abstain from
making any farther observations on the subject which only concerns me
very indirectly."
"You are annoyed, and wrongly so, my friend; the responsibility to
which you refer demands that I should not let myself be led by vague
rumours to take measures I might have cause to regret. Give me the
explanation I expect of you; and, probably, when I know the imminence
of the danger that threatens me, I shall follow your advice."
"I wish for nothing more than to satisfy you; so listen to me. What I
have to tell you will not take long."
At this moment the room door opened and Corporal Hernandez appeared.
The Captain, annoyed at being thus inopportunely disturbed, turned
sharply round and angrily addressed the man--
"Well Corporal," he said, "what the fiend do you want now?"
"Excuse me, Captain," the poor fellow said, astounded at this rough
greeting, "but the Lieutenant sent me."
"Well, what does the Lieutenant want? Speak! But be brief, if that is
possible."
"Captain, the sentry has seen a large party of horsemen coming at full
gallop towards the fort, and the Lieutenant ordered me to warn you."
"Eh," said the Captain, looking uneasily at the hunter, "were you in
the right? and is this troop the vanguard of the enemy you threaten us
with?"
"This troop," the hunter answered, with an equivocal smile, "has been
following Don Ruiz and myself since the morning. I do not believe that
these horsemen are Indians."
"What's the Lieutenant's opinion about these scamps?" the Captain asked
the corporal.
"They are too far off yet, and too hidden by the dust they raise,
Captain, for it to be possible to recognise them," the non-commissioned
officer replied with a bow.
"That is true. We had better, I believe, go and look for ourselves.
Will you come?"
"I should think so," the hunter said, as he seized his rifle, which he
had deposited in a corner of the room; and they went out.
Don Ruiz and his sister were talking together, while doing ample
justice to the refreshment placed at their disposal. On seeing the
Captain, the young man rose and walked up to him.
"Cousin," he said to him, with a bow, "I hear that you are on the point
of being attacked; and as it is to some extent my cause you are going
to defend, for the bandits who threaten you at this moment are allies
of those with whom I had a fight last night, pray allow me to fire a
shot by your side."
"¡Viva Dios! Most heartily, my dear cousin," the Captain answered,
gaily: "although these scoundrels are not worth the trouble. Come
along!"
"That's a fine fellow!" the Captain whispered in the hunter's ear.
The latter made no answer. He contented himself with shrugging his
shoulders, and turned away.
"Oh," Doña Mariana exclaimed, "Ruiz, what are you going to do? Stay
with me, I implore you, brother!"
"Impossible, sister," the young man answered, as he kissed her; "what
would our cousin think of me were I to skulk here when fighting was
going on?"
"Fear nothing, Niña; I am answerable for your brother," the Captain
said with a smile.
The girl sat down again sadly on the butaca from which she had risen,
and the four men then left the room, and proceeded to the patio, or
court. Here everybody was busy. The Lieutenant, an old experienced
soldier, with a grey moustache and face furrowed by sabre cuts, and
whose whole life had been spent on the borders, had not lost his time.
While, by his order, Corporal Hernandez warned the Captain, he had
ordered the "fall-in" to be beaten, had placed the best shots at the
loopholes, and made all arrangements to avoid a surprise and give a
warm reception to the enemy who advanced so daringly against the fort.
When the Captain set foot in the court, he stopped, embraced at a
glance the wise and intelligent arrangements made by his Lieutenant,
and a smile of satisfaction spread over his features.
"And now," he said to the hunter, "let us go and see who the enemy is
with whom we have to deal."
"It is unnecessary; for I can tell you, Captain," the other replied;
"they are the pirates."
"Pirates!" Don Marcos exclaimed in amazement. "What! Those villains
would dare--"
"Alone, certainly not," Stronghand quickly interrupted him; "but with
the certainty of being supported by the Indians, of whom they are
only the vanguard, they will not hesitate to do so. However, unless
I am greatly mistaken, their attack will not be serious; and their
object is probably to discover in what state of defence the post is.
Receive them, then, in such a way as to leave them no doubt on this
head, and prove to them that you are perfectly on your guard; and this
demonstration will without doubt be sufficient to send them flying."
"You are right," said the Captain. "Viva Dios! They shall have their
answer, I promise you."
He then gave the Corporal an order in a low voice; the latter bowed,
and went off hurriedly. For some minutes a deep silence prevailed in
the fort. The moments that precede a contest bring with them something
solemn, which causes the bravest men to reflect, and prepare for the
struggle, either by a powerful effort of the will, or by mentally
addressing a last and fervent prayer to Heaven.
All at once, horrible yells were heard, mingled with the furious
galloping of many horses; and then the enemy appeared, leaning over
the necks of their steeds, and brandishing their weapons with an air
of defiance. When they came within pistol shot, the word to fire was
given from the walls, and a general discharge burst forth like a clap
of thunder.
The horsemen fell into confusion, and turned back precipitately and in
the greatest disorder, followed by the Mexican bullets, which, directed
by strong arms and sure eyes, made great ravages in their ranks at
every step. Still, they had not fled so fast but that they could be
recognised for what they really were--that is, pirates of the prairies.
Half naked for the most part, and without saddles, they brandished
their rifles and long lances, and excited their horses by terrific
yells.
Two or three individuals, probably chiefs, with their heads covered by
a species of turban, were noticeable through their ragged uniforms,
doubtless torn off murdered soldiers; their repulsive dirt and
ferocious appearance inspired the deepest disgust. No doubt was
possible: these wretches were certainly whites and half-breeds. What a
difference between these sinister bandits and the Apaches, Comanches,
and Arapahoes--those magnificent children of nature, so careful in the
choice of their weapons--so noble in their demeanour.
After a rather long race, they stopped to hold counsel, out of range of
the firearms. They were at this moment joined by a second band, whose
leader began speaking and gesticulating with the utmost excitement,
pointing to the fort each moment with his rifle. The two bands, united,
might possibly amount to one hundred and fifty horsemen.
After a rather long discussion, the pirates started again, and stopped
at the very foot of the walls. Captain Niza, wishing to inflict a
severe chastisement on them, had given orders not to fire, but to let
them do as they pleased. Hidden by the thick cactus hedge, the bandits
had suddenly become invisible; but the Mexicans, confiding in the
strength of their position and the solidity of the posts and gates,
felt no fear.
Reassured by the silence of the garrison, some thirty pirates, among
whom were several of their chiefs, escaladed the great gate in turn,
and rushed toward the second wall. Unluckily for the success of their
plan, the wall was too lofty to be cleared in the same way; hence they
scattered. Some sought stones and posts to beat in the second gate;
while others tried, though in vain, to open the one they had so easily
scaled.
The Mexicans could distinctly hear the pirates in the second
_enceinte_ explaining to their comrades the difficulty they experienced
in penetrating into the fort, and they must force the gate, in order
to allow a passage for those who remained outside. The latter then
threw their _reatas_, which, caught upon the posts, were tightened by
the combined efforts of the men and horses, and seemed on the point of
pulling the gate off its hinges; but the posts held firmly, and were
not even shaken by this supreme effort.
"What are you waiting for, Captain?" Don Ruiz whispered in the
Commandant's ear. "Why do you not kill these vermin?"
"There are not enough yet in the trap," he answered, with a cunning
look; "let them come."
In fact, as if the bandits had wished to obey the old soldier, some
twenty more clambered over the gale, so that there were fifty of the
pirates between the cactus and the stone wall. Encouraged by their
numbers, which momentarily increased, they made a general assault. But,
all at once, every loophole was lit up by a sinister flash, and the
bullets began showering uninterruptedly on the wretches, who, through
their own position, found it impossible to answer the plunging fire of
the Mexicans. Recognising the fault they had committed, and the trap
they had so stupidly entered, the pirates became demoralized, fear
seized upon them, and they only thought of flight.
Then they dashed at the outer gate, to clamber over it and reach the
plain; there the bullets dashed them down again--suffering from a
desperation which was the greater because they had no help to hope for
from their friends outside, whom, at the first check, they had heard
start off at full speed; and consequently they felt they were lost.
The Mexicans, pitiless in their vengeance, fired incessantly on
the wretches, some of whom, by crawling on their hands and knees,
succeeded in reaching the foot of the wall below the loopholes--a
position in which they could not be attacked, unless the Mexicans
exposed themselves, and ran the risk of being killed or wounded. Of
fifty bandits who had scaled the gate, fourteen still lived; the others
were dead, and not one had succeeded in making his escape.
"Ha! Ha!" said the Captain, rubbing his hands gleefully. "I fancy that
the lesson will be useful, though it may have been a trifle rough."
But, on the reiterated entreaties of Don Ruiz, the worthy Commandant,
who in his heart was not cruel, consented to ask the survivors if they
were willing to surrender, a proposition which the pirates greeted with
yells of rage and defiance. These fourteen men, though their rifles
were discharged, were not enemies to despise, armed as they were with
long and heavy _machetes_, and resolved to die. The Mexicans were
acquainted with them, and knew that in a hand-to-hand fight they would
prove tough customers.
Still there must be an end to it. At an order from the Captain the
gate of the second wall was suddenly opened, and some twenty horsemen
charged at full gallop the bandits, who, far from recoiling, awaited
them with a firm foot. The _mêlée_ was terrible, but short. Three
Mexicans were killed, and five others seriously wounded; but the
pirates, after an obstinate resistance, fell never to rise again.
Only one of them--profiting by the disorder and the attention which the
soldiers remaining at the loopholes paid to the fight--succeeded by a
miracle of resolution and strength in scaling the wall and flying. This
pirate, the only one who escaped the massacre, was Kidd. On reaching
the plain he stopped for a second, turned to the fort with a gesture of
menace and defiance, and, leaping on a riderless horse, went off amid
a shower of bullets, not one of which struck him.