But the fly was still in the ointment. General Yozarro showed in
innumerable ways that his passion swayed him more absolutely, if
possible, than before. It appeared in the touch of his hand when
assisting Miss Starland to mount or alight from her horse on which she
rode with her friends through the picturesque country that surrounded
the capital,--in the glance of his ardent black eyes, in the sigh
which he pretended to try to keep from her, and in the many hints
which he dropped of his lonely life since the death of his wife. The
young woman could not touch upon these themes, lest he accept it as
encouragement; so she contented herself with parrying them. She began
to long for the time when she should turn her back upon Atlamalco
forever.
On a certain balmy forenoon, General Yozarro, his niece and Miss
Starland rode out from the town and over the trail leading into the
Rubio Mountains. They were on their way to _Castillo Descanso_, which
had been the cause of much fighting between the republics, and which
had finally fallen into the possession of the Dictator of Atlamalco.
It was a considerable way in the mountains and stood upon an elevation
that brought it out in clear view from the capital.
"It is fully three centuries old," explained Senorita Estacardo to her
friend, "and is unlike anything I have ever seen in this part of the
world. I suppose there are plenty of similar buildings along the Rhine
and perhaps on your own Hudson, which has been called the Rhine of
America."
"How came it to be built?"
"I can only repeat the legends that have come down to us. Some great
pirate or general of Spain or Portugal--I don't know which--came up
the river in quest of gold mines of which he had heard stories from
the natives. You know that the first Spaniards who crossed the ocean
to our continent cared more for gold than any or everything else, and
stopped at no crimes to obtain it."
"That was the case with many other nations."
"Well, this buccaneer landed his crew here and tramped inland to the
mountains, where the gold was reported to be. He took with him several
hundred native prisoners to work the mines. He is said to have been
very successful, and while his slaves were digging in the mountains,
he set many others to work building him a home.
"Oh, there was no element of romance lacking, for he brought with him
a young and beautiful bride and it was for her that the Castle was
built. He must have learned from Columbus, Balboa, Pizarro and the
other early explorers that the worm sometimes turns and that it was
wise for him to make his position safe against any revolt of the
Indians. So the house which you are about to visit was put up. It is
of solid stone and three stories high,--something almost unknown in an
earthquake country like ours."
"But what became of this fine old gentleman?"
"I declare I forgot that. He lived there for years and then found that
the danger against which he had made such full preparations was not
the one that threatened him. The natives did not revolt, though why
they did not I do not understand, for he treated them like beasts of
burden and killed many in mere wantonness. It was his own men who rose
against him. They had gathered a great deal of gold, but grew
homesick. They hated the country and begged him again and again to
leave or allow them to go, since they had enough wealth for all. He
swore that not one should depart till the store of gold was increased
ten-fold. Then, and not until then, would he weigh anchor, spread sail
and pass down the river to the ocean and so homeward.
"Well, although I suppose the men were able to gather more gold, it is
not to be supposed they could have gotten as much as he wished. So
they took the shortest way to close up the business. They killed the
captain and his bride, carried aboard ship all the wealth they had
collected, set sail and passed out from further chronicle. What do you
think of the story, Warrenia?"
"It has the true flavor and makes me anxious to look through the
Castle."
General Yozarro, who was riding in advance along the narrow trail, and
listening to the words of his niece at the rear, called over his
shoulder:
"That privilege shall be yours in a brief time, Miss Starland; I am
glad you are interested."
"How could any one help it? Is the Castle yours, General?"
"Yes; it may be said to be a part of the spoils of war. The boundary
line between Atlamalco and Zalapata runs through these mountains, but
its precise course has never been defined. The Castle rightfully
belonged to Atlamalco, but General Bambos claimed that it stood on his
territory. Since he was deaf to argument and reason nothing remained
but to refer it to the arbitrament of arms, with the result that
General Bambos is quite sure not to open the dispute again."
"Did those visitors of the long ago take away all the gold in the
mountains?"
"That is quite impossible."
"Why do _you_ not dig or mine for what is left?"
"I have thought of that, but it seems wise to wait until I gain some
one to share my lonely life with me."
"Would it not be more considerate to finish the work before that time,
so that you both will be at leisure to enjoy it? How much better than
waging war with your neighbors!"
"I have sufficient gold for me and mine. You mean it would be better
for my neighbors to refrain from waging war against me. I made a
religious vow long since never to go to war except in the defence of
my rights, and that you know is one's solemn duty."
It was the same old argument that General Bambos had used in
discussing the question with Major Jack Starland.
The young woman made no reply, for she saw it would be useless, and
her escort added:
"Your counsel is good, Miss Starland, but suppose General Bambos
should construe such action on my part as unfriendly?"
"Surely he cannot do so, unless you enter his territory, and that I am
sure you have no thought of doing."
"You know not the perfidy of that man," was the commentary of the
Dictator, his words inspired by jealousy.
When the Castle of Rest was reached it justified all that Senorita
Estacardo had said of it, though it lacked moat and drawbridge and the
other feudal accessories. It was of massive rock and stone, sixty or
more feet in length and almost as broad. The lowest floor consisted
of two large rooms, with broad openings instead of doors, rough and
unfurnished and with walls several feet in thickness. At the time of
its building, it would have resisted any armament that could have been
brought to bear against it. The crevices between the stones throughout
the structure had been filled with clay or adobe, which in the course
of centuries had hardened to the consistency of rock itself. The
second and third stories contained each four apartments, whose walls
were of less thickness, but the whole constituted a veritable
Gibraltar. Sloping stone steps connected each story, but only the
rooms of the second contained anything in the nature of furniture.
It was evident that General Yozarro had given this portion recent
attention, for the windows, tall, narrow and paneless, had been
screened by netting with the finest of meshes, though none can be fine
enough to wholly exclude the infinitesimal insects like the
coloradilla, or red flea, whose bite is as the point of a red hot
needle, the sand fly, and other devilish insects beyond enumeration.
Matting was spread on the smooth stone floors, there were imported
chairs of costly make, stands, a bureau and much of what constitutes
the appointments of a modern residence in a tropical country. The
doors were made of a species of wood, beautifully carved, but showing
no effects of the tooth of time, except in the gray faded color, for
paint had never touched them. They were powerful enough to defy a
battering ram, fitted with enormous locks and heavy bars that could be
slipped into the massive iron receptacles.
"Had that old buccaneer been given notice of the attack by his men,"
said Miss Starland, when the building had been inspected from top to
bottom, "he might have shut himself in one of these rooms and bade
them do their worst."
"Perhaps he did," suggested General Yozarro.
"And yet the legend says he fell."
"Starvation and thirst are enemies to whom the bravest must
surrender."
"It looks, General, as if you had been rejuvenating this fine old
Castle."
"I have done so to a certain extent in honor of your coming. Besides I
thought my niece would find a stay here pleasant during the
oppressive weather and I prepared it partly for her. You observe how
much cooler it is here than in the capital."