The two looked at each other in speechless amaze. This was a direct
interference with their personal freedom, the first either had known.
The Senorita was the first to find speech. Addressing the soldier, she
said:
"You say this is the order of General Yozarro?"
"Were it not, I should not dare utter the words."
"What is his reason for the command?"
It was essentially a feminine question, but the soldier did not
hesitate with the reply:
"War impends between Zalapata and Atlamalco; we are expecting at
almost any hour an attack upon _Castillo Descanso_; the Senorita
observes the armed force that has been placed here by General Yozarro;
he cannot allow the Senoritas the danger of falling into the hands of
the perfidious General Bambos and his barbarians."
It was on the tongue of Miss Starland to declare that she would prefer
a hundred times that eventuality to remaining in charge of the
Atlamalcans, but instead, her companion said what was in the minds of
both:
"The order of General Yozarro may apply to me, but cannot apply to my
friend who owes no allegiance to Atlamalco or Zalapata. She comes from
the Great Republic of the North, and no one elsewhere has the right to
say yea or nay to her."
"It distresses me very much, Senorita Estacardo, that special weight
was laid by General Yozarro upon the order as affecting _la
Americana_."
And looking toward the latter, he again removed his hat and bowed low,
instead of contenting himself with the military salute that would have
been the proper thing under the circumstances. The soldier was above
the ordinary native in intelligence.
His words showed the futility of further argument. Without a word, but
throwing back her head with a scornful gesture, the Senorita nodded to
her friend to accompany her back into the gloomy building. Silently
and slowly the two went up the sloping stone steps and re-entered the
room which they had left a few minutes before. The Senorita locked the
door and the two faced each other.
"What do you make of it, Manuela?"
"Only one thing can be made of it; it is as I said; General Yozarro is
determined you shall remain here for some time to come and he gives no
more thought to the foolhardiness of his action than if he were a
child too young to walk."
"What of the story of a war between the republics?"
"I do not believe a word of it."
"Meantime, what are we to do?"
"Sit down, fold our hands and be good; but," she added with a flash of
her eyes, "that is the last thing to do; I long to meet my uncle face
to face. It is the first time he ever offered such an insult to the
daughter of his dead sister and to her friend. I hope he will not
delay his coming."
"I wish to be present when you meet; I, too, shall have something to
say, which I do not think he will soon forget."
But the hours wore slowly away and General Yozarro came not. Was he
not shrinking from her whose fiery temper he well knew? Which of the
two did he fear the most? The northerner may have been of cooler
blood, but her anger, when once set aflame, was all the more profound.
She abominated the man with his sleek smile, his oily manner and his
tempestuous profanity when he thought himself beyond her hearing. She
could not think that the other Dictator, with all his stupidity and
grossness, was one-half as wicked as he. Were she free to do so, she
would not hesitate to throw herself upon his protection.
"Where can Jack be?" she asked after the mid-day repast, and when the
two had talked over every phase of the situation for the twentieth
time. "Surely he must soon learn of this and he will be quick to call
General Yozarro to account."
"I place little hope on that; do not forget, my dear Warrenia, that
the Major is only one man against hundreds."
"But what of the yacht?"
"It is many miles away; no one can say when it will return; remember,
too, General Yozarro's gunboat."
The lip of the American curled with contempt.
"Let them meet and it will be Manila Bay over again on a small scale.
I only wish Captain Winton knew of this! He would sink the miserable
craft or chase her to the foot of the Andes."
In the momentary reaction, Senorita Estacardo smiled:
"You have full faith in your countrymen."
"So have _you_; so has every one who knows them, and who does not? So
will General Yozarro and his barbarians, if they ever rouse the anger
of my people. But why do we speculate? It seems we can do nothing but
wait. Manuela, can we not steal away when night comes?"
"I have asked myself that question, but I cannot see any hope of doing
it. Neither of us can leave without being observed; guards will be on
all sides and we shall be turned back as we were this morning. Let us
go to the upper part of the Castle and look over the country. It may
avail nothing, but it will be a relief to this monotony."
They climbed to the rooms above, which, as we know, were copies of
those they had just left, with the narrow windows on all sides. The
Senorita walked to the opening on the south which commanded a view of
the densely wooded mountains that stretched clear across the island
to the main branch of the Rio Rubio. She expected to see nothing in
that direction of interest and made the survey because her companion
passed to the windows on the north.
"Come to me!" called the American; "here is something strange."
The Senorita was at her side on the instant. Looking across the mile
of rugged country to where the northern stream wound its way, they saw
a small sailboat speeding to the eastward, the moderate breeze causing
it to careen far to one side. Its prow cut the curling water and the
foam spread out like a fan in its wake.
"If we had a glass we might study it closely," said Miss Starland
regretfully, as she scrutinized the craft.
"I don't think there is anything of the kind in the Castle, but it can
make little difference. The boat is a strange one to us, and whoever
is guiding it is no concern of ours."
"Probably you are right, but it looks to me as if there are two or
three aboard,--ah! there are three and they are heading toward shore.
They must land near where we left the boat last night."
"And what of that?"
"It looks as if they are coming to the Castle; they will soon be
here!"
"That does not seem likely to me; the only ones whom we expect are
General Yozarro and his friends, and so long as he has the larger
craft, he will not use such a puny boat as that."