To say that I made my way from the house to the hut in which Fernandez
was imprisoned with as much speed as I could command, would be to
express my meaning very inadequately. As soon as I realized the fact
that the trick I had played upon Silvestre was discovered, I threw
prudence to the winds, and ran as I had not done for years across the
plateau towards the building in question. The sailor was still on
guard at the door, which was open, while the negro lay bound just
where we had thrown him down.
"Stand by, they're after us!" I cried, regardless of who might hear.
With that I plunged headlong into the dark hut, shouting to Fernandez
as I did so to prepare the padlock for the key. South American
politics produce some curious incidents, but I am not sure that they
could find another to equal that which I am now so inadequately
attempting to describe.
Dropping on my knees beside the bed, I felt about for the chain and,
running my hand along it, at length obtained possession of the
padlock, inserted the key, and in a trice the President was free.
"By this time they must have released Silvestre," I whispered. "For
heaven's sake let us get away from here!"
"Nobody could be more willing to do that than myself," the other
answered, springing from the bed as he spoke, and coming in violent
contact with myself, whom he could not see. "You are in command, so
you had better lead the way."
Bidding him follow me, I hastened out of the hut, ordered the sailor
to accompany us, and plunged into the jungle. As we did so a shout
from the house proclaimed the fact that Silvestre was free once more
and thirsting for vengeance. We had not stumbled forward many paces
before other shouts followed, showing that he had called Manuel and
his gang to his assistance.
A very small percentage of the readers of my story have, I trust, been
called upon to run for their lives through a West Indian jungle in the
dead of night. Those who have done so, however, will be able to
understand the sufferings of the wretched trio who stumbled, reeled,
scraped, and fought their way down from the plateau to the shore. The
darkness was opaque, the obstacles so multifarious, that never for a
moment did we seem to have a yard's clear going. Take a sack, a
three-legged, and an obstacle race, throw in a game of blind-man's
buff, in which you are the blind man, and you will have some faint
idea of our difficulties.
Once, from the hill behind us, the sound of a shot reached us, though
what its meaning was, I could not even conjecture. At last, wearied to
the point of dropping, our faces streaming with perspiration, our
flesh cut and bruised, we emerged from the forest and stood upon the
seashore. Unfortunately, in our haste, we had not steered as true a
course as we would have desired, and instead of coming out in the
centre of the little bay where the schooner's boat had been ordered to
await us, we found ourselves at the end of the small promontory which
separated the bay from that in which the settlement was situated. This
was unfortunate in more ways than one, but it could not be helped. The
worst part of it was that we could not see the boat or the figures of
the Senorita or Matthews.
"Look! what is that?" cried the President at last, pointing along the
beach to the left. "Is it a man?"
I have fairly good eyes, but I must confess that I could see nothing
that in any way resembled a human figure in the direction he
indicated. He, however, seemed positive that he was right; so,
realizing that we could do no good by remaining where we were, we
hurried along the beach without further loss of time. We had not
proceeded more than fifty yards, however, when the crack of a rifle
came from the scrub on our left. If it were aimed at me, the man who
fired it was certainly a very fair marksman, for the bullet whistled
by within a few inches of my head. It was plain that Silvestre, or at
least one of his myrmidons, were not very far behind us. We were
destined soon to be convinced as to their numbers and also as to their
identity. For the sound of the shot had scarcely died away before
three men emerged from the jungle, and Silvestre's voice called upon
us to throw up our arms, and then added that unless we did so we
should be shot down without mercy. I could well believe this, and I
also knew the sort of mercy we should be likely to receive should we
allow ourselves to fall into his hands. The fate he had arranged for
Fernandez and his niece would be nothing to the cruelty he would
practise upon us.
"_Nombre de Dios!_" cried the President, "why haven't I a weapon of
some sort!"
He was destined to have one somewhat sooner than he imagined, for as
he finished speaking another rifle-shot rang out, and instantly my
revolver fell from my hand and I realized that I had been shot
through the forearm. The President coolly stooped and picked up the
weapon.
"Look, sir, look, there's the boat!" cried the sailor a few seconds
later.
Sure enough there it was, but unfortunately a considerable distance
ahead.
"There's nothing left but to run for it," I cried. "Come on!"
With that we took to our heels and scurried along the beach.
Silvestre, as soon as he became aware of our intentions, sent a volley
after us, doubtless meant as an inducement to heave-to. We paid no
attention, however. Though we did not look round we knew that they
were after us; but we had a fair start, and if only they did not
manage to hit us, there was the bare possibility of our reaching the
boat in time. Already I could see Matthews standing knee-deep in the
water in order to keep the little craft afloat. He shouted to
encourage us. Then there came another shout from our left, and three
other figures ran down between ourselves and the boat we were striving
so hard to reach. All three were armed, and in the man in the middle,
when he called upon us to surrender, I recognized the blackguardly
half-caste Manuel. For the moment it looked as if our case were
hopeless.
It is at such moments that all the inventive faculties in one's
possession hasten to one's aid. Had I been permitted half a day to
think the question out, I should probably never have hit upon a plan
half as promising as that which then flashed through my mind. The men
in front were little more than a couple of dozen paces away; Silvestre
and his party were perhaps a hundred yards behind, and were every
moment coming closer. The thought had scarcely occurred to me before
the crack of rifles sounded from behind. Fortunately none of us were
hit.
"Down! down!" I cried to my companions. "Let them suppose that they
have winged us!"
As I spoke we all threw ourselves with one accord upon our faces on
the sand. As I expected, the men in front immediately jumped to the
conclusion that we had been shot by their friends behind. They
accordingly rushed forward to make sure of us. My ruse must have
dawned upon Fernandez, for, to this day, I am certain that I heard a
chuckle escape him. Almost at the same moment Manuel ran up to us, his
two companions being only a few yards distant.
"Shoot them," I whispered; and as I spoke I saw Fernandez roll over on
his side and raise his right arm. His revolver gave three vicious
little cracks, and one by one each man stopped, performed a curious
spin, and then fell forward on the sand.
I don't know that I am a particularly imaginative man. As a matter of
fact my friends have on several occasions informed me that I am a
somewhat prosaic individual. All I know is that at that moment, though
why I should have done so, no one, least of all myself, will ever be
able to tell (for I have never participated in a hunt in my life), I
let out a wild "yoicks" and sprang to my feet.
"Make for the boat!" cried Fernandez.
Without a word I did as I was directed. The boat was now only a matter
of some fifty yards ahead. How I covered this distance I shall never
be able to understand. All I do know is that when I reached the spot
where Matthews was standing, I came an ignominious cropper at the
water's edge. The fact was I was done for, wholly and completely done
for. It may seem an absurd statement to make, but I will leave it to
the charity of my readers to remember that I had been through a great
deal that night, and also that a shattered arm does not add to one's
strength.
At that moment Fernandez rose to a moral height, far above that I had
expected to find in him. Turning to Matthews, who, as I have said, was
standing knee-deep in the water, keeping the boat afloat, he cried:
"Hold the boat steady while we get Senor Trevelyan in."
I was so far done for that he must have thought I was dead;
nevertheless, and although Silvestre and his men were by this time
little more than thirty yards behind us, he did not abandon me, but
with the other man's assistance picked me up, then waded with me into
the water and dropped me into the boat, where I lay like a log. I
heard Fernandez order Matthews and the other man into the boat, and
then wondered what was going to happen next. I saw the Senorita half
rise from her seat in the stern. She uttered a little cry. Then I
heard a swish of water alongside, as if the boat were being turned
round.
"Take care, Silvestre," cried Fernandez, "there's Equinata at the end
of my barrel, and a good deal more beside."
What Silvestre said in reply I do not pretend to know. All I can say
is that I heard the sharp crack of his revolver, followed by a laugh
from Fernandez, and a wild shriek that might have been anything, but
which told me nothing. A moment later, and just as I was feeling as if
nothing in the world mattered to me, I was conscious of some one
saying: "Pull up, my lads, we'll get away yet!" At the same instant a
soft hand touched my cheek, and a low voice whispered: "May the
saints be merciful to you!" Then I lost consciousness.
When I recovered my senses I was lying off the top of the main hatch
of the schooner. Fernandez was standing near me, but it was impossible
to see his face.
Lying on my back I could not tell what was happening. I could,
however, hear Monsieur Maxime arranging sundry nautical details with
his crew, and with all his accustomed fluency. The little man had
accepted the position from his own standpoint, which, as you may be
sure, was theatrical to a degree. As I have since heard, he avers
that, had it not been for his influence and exertions at that
momentous time, the President of Equinata would never have returned to
his country at all. For this reason he is looked upon as a hero in
Martinique to this day.
"Heaven be praised you are not dead, senor," said a very soft voice,
and, on turning my head, I found the Senorita seating herself beside
me.
It was some few minutes after dawn, and in the dim light her face
looked very wan and haggard. Allowing for the wear and tear of time
and the exigencies of a most anxious and untoward experience, she was
dressed very much the same as she had been when she left the
ball-room at La Gloria on the night on which I had effected their
capture. But the woman in her extraordinary beauty was still the same.
She was certainly one female in a thousand, and he would have been a
curious individual who could have shown himself insensible to her
fascinations. Then Fernandez turned his head, saw her bending over me,
and came over and also seated himself beside me.
"Dear friend," he began, in a voice that was full of kindliness, "I am
not going to attempt to thank you for all that you have done for me.
For the present it is sufficient for me to do what I can to mitigate
your sufferings. I won't deny that there have been people who have
doubted my medical ability; I am about to prove to you, however, that
I am more capable than they suppose."
So saying, he removed the wrappings from my arm and commenced
operations. The bullet, it seemed, had shattered the bone, and was
fortunately now lying quite close to the surface. To extract it was
the work of a few painful minutes, after which the limb was set and
bound up. That accomplished I was at liberty to rise from the hatch.
All this time our behaviour towards each other was as diffident as
could well be imagined. For once the President had dropped his
cynicism, while the Senorita regarded me with eyes that overflowed
with gratitude.
The island had long since disappeared below the horizon, and now the
little schooner was cleaving her way through the water under the
influence of a capital breeze. Escorted by the Senorita I made my way
aft.
Monsieur Maxime himself was at the wheel, presenting a curious figure
as he hung upon the spokes. I found a shady spot for the Senorita, and
then walked across to where the President was standing before the
taffrail.
"I want you to tell me everything," I said. "How did you manage to
effect our escape? Remember, I know nothing of what occurred after you
placed me in the boat."
"There's not very much to tell," he answered. "I might mention,
however, that Silvestre and the half-caste will give no further
trouble."
"You shot Silvestre, then?"
"I did," he replied, "and I don't know that I ever enjoyed doing
anything so much. It was a close thing between us. Look here!"
He pointed to his left ear, on the lobe of which was a small scar.
"It couldn't have been much closer, could it?" he remarked. "My luck,
however, stood by me as usual." Then in a lower and more kindly tone,
he added: "My luck and the luck of Equinata!"
For a few moments we stood side by side thinking our thoughts in
silence. I recalled the day when I had first seen the dead man in Rio,
and also that never-to-be-forgotten afternoon on which he had made the
proposal to me that was destined to cost him his life on the beach of
an island in the Carribean Sea and to return me to Equinata a wounded
and ruined man.
At last Fernandez turned to me and, placing his hand upon my shoulder,
looked me full and fair in the face.
"Trevelyan--Helmsworth--Helmsworth--Trevelyan--whatever your name may
be, you have put upon me a debt of gratitude I shall never be able to
repay. I must confess, however, that I cannot quite understand what it
was that so suddenly made you change sides. I offered you excellent
terms on the beach on the night that I fell into your hands, and I
repeated it on board the yacht. You were a pillar of rectitude then.
When, therefore, the game had been played and your employer had won,
why did you so suddenly come to my rescue? I think I know you well
enough by this time to feel sure that your conversion was due to no
mercenary motive."
"You may make your mind easy on that score," I replied. "It was not a
question of money."
"Then will you tell me why you did it? Silvestre, when his chance
came, would doubtless have proved himself an excellent patron, of
course providing it didn't suit his book to put you out of the way!"
"That's exactly it," I replied. "You have put the matter in a
nutshell."
"I am afraid I am dense enough not to be able to grasp your meaning,"
he returned.
"You suggest that it might possibly have suited his book to have put
me out of the way. Well, that is why I threw in my lot with you. It
would make rather a long story, but I will endeavour to tell it to you
as briefly as I can. When I agreed with Silvestre in England to effect
your----"
I paused for a moment with a little embarrassment. Fernandez' eyes
twinkled.
"Shall we say _deportation_?" he inquired.
"To effect your deportation! I did so upon his giving me his word of
honour that no harm should happen to you. I had no objection to his
keeping you a prisoner as long as he pleased----"
"Which he certainly did. Proceed!"
"I have already confessed to you that had I known you first I would
not have undertaken the work; but I was out of employment----"
"The mail steamer _Pernambuco_--stormy interview with the Board of
Directors in London--meeting with Silvestre in the garden of the Inn
at Falstead--five thousand pounds down--and five thousand when I
should be handed over to him----"
He laughed good-humouredly as he noticed my almost overwhelming
surprise.
"My dear fellow, to rule a country like Equinata one must possess a
faculty for obtaining information. Allow me to frankly admit that I
was conversant with Mr. Trevelyan's history and of his acquaintance
with ex-President Silvestre, when he made his appearance in his
beautiful yacht in the harbour of La Gloria. But in telling you this I
am interrupting your narrative. Pray proceed! You remarked, I think,
that you were out of employment."
"I was; and the money offered me by Silvestre was too tempting to be
refused. I came, I saw you, and as you know, I conquered. I handed you
over to Silvestre, as I had contracted to do, and once more secured
from him his promise that, with the exception of imprisonment, no harm
should befall you. It was then agreed that I should leave the island
at once in the yacht for Cuba, _en route_ for England. The money
promised me for the work I had done was handed to me, and I left
Silvestre."
"But you could not have reached Cuba in the time?"
"I did not attempt to do so. A certain conversation I had with Captain
Ferguson changed all my plans."
"And the purport of that conversation?"
"It appears that Ferguson had by chance overheard the half-caste,
Manuel, discussing with the negress, Palmyre, certain instructions
they had received from Silvestre. Immediately the yacht returned from
conveying me from Cuba it would appear that Silvestre was to set sail
for Equinata, and as soon as he was out of the way you and the
Senorita were to be poisoned by Palmyre."
"Good heavens! The cowardly scoundrel!"
For the first time since I had known Fernandez I saw a look of fear
pass over his face. It was not until later that I learnt that
assassination by poisoning was the one thing in the world he dreaded.
"Well," he went on when he had regained his composure, "what happened
after that?"
"I arranged with Ferguson that, instead of taking me on to Cuba, he
should drop me at Asturia. I was fortunate enough to secure this
schooner, and hurried back in her--in the hope of effecting your
release. The rest you know!"
He nodded.
"Yes," he said, "the rest I know!"
He turned away from me almost abruptly, and stood for some moments
looking down at the bubbling water under the counter. When he
addressed me again it was in quite his old manner.
"We live in an extraordinary world," he remarked. "You plot to
separate me from my country and end by restoring me to it. Silvestre
agrees to make your fortune and finished by placing you in a worse
position than you were before. Even the Senorita yonder has found
things turn out contrary to her expectations. On the night of the now
famous ball at La Gloria, she was by no means satisfied, so I was
given to understand, with her ball dress; yet that strange taskmaster,
Force of Circumstances, has decreed that she should wear it, without
intermission, longer than any festive costume ever purchased?"
"And what of yourself?"
"Ah! My case is perhaps stranger still. I began by looking upon you as
my enemy and end by finding you my staunchest friend. I imagined that
I had you in my power, and a few hours later found myself in yours.
Silvestre bought your services for ten thousand pounds--I get them for
nothing."
If ever there was a strange voyage it was that one. The schooner
herself was a very fair sea boat; that, however, was about all that
could be said in her favour. It was her cabin accommodation that
proved most trying. After the first attempt the Senorita declared
emphatically that nothing could induce her to sleep in it again.
Monsieur Maxime might say what he pleased, she declared, but her mind
was made up. It was offered to the President, but he declined. As for
myself, I had already tried it on the voyage from Asturia, and had no
desire to repeat the experiment.
The living on board was but little better. Monsieur Maxime was wont to
declare that the cook, Adolphe, was a past master of the culinary art.
In this statement, I fear, he somewhat exaggerated; indeed, had I not
laid in a stock of provisions before setting out, I dare not think how
we should have fared.
On one occasion the Senorita had the temerity to explore his galley.
She emerged with a white face and a settled determination to partake
no more of his _ragouts_, _bouillons_, etc.
"Really," she observed to me, "one scarcely knows where to go on board
this wretched vessel. The cabin is too terrible, and as for that
kitchen----"
She made an expressive gesture with her hands as if to express her
horror of the place in question.
The same evening I was destined to have a somewhat curious interview
with the Senorita. We had partaken of our evening meal, such as it
was, and had gone forward into the bows to enjoy the cooler air there.
It was a perfect night, and surely no mortal man could have desired a
fairer companion than I had then. We settled ourselves down
comfortably, and, having obtained her permission, I lit a cigar. I do
not know why I should have done so, but I could not help feeling that
I was booked for a sentimental scene. Some men would doubtless have
welcomed it. For myself, however, I must confess, that I dreaded it.
The Senorita was dangerous always, and never more so than when
inclined to be sentimental.
"Senor Trevelyan," she began, when we had been seated some minutes,
and had talked of the beauty of the evening, the freshness of the
breeze and a hundred different subjects, "you of course know that
there was a time when I was your avowed enemy?"
"I am afraid I must say that I _do_ know it," I answered, "and I
should add that you were justified. No one could wonder at your
distaste for me."
"Oh, I don't mean that," she cried, with a little protesting movement
of her hands. "For see how nobly you have behaved since. No, do not
interrupt me. I want to say what is in my mind, for I know that I owe
you an apology. It was all my fault. I hoped to have won you to our
side." She paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, I did not know that
you were already in love!"
"Then the information the President gave her was not altogether
complete," I said to myself. And on thinking it over since I have
often been struck by the omission of this one, and probably the most
important factor in the whole affair. For the fact cannot be denied
that had it not been for my love for Molly, and the consequent desire
to make money, I should, in all probability, not have embarked upon
the matter at all.
"Senorita," I returned, "I fear I stand before you in an altogether
despicable light, so far as my time in Equinata is concerned. The
pitiful part of the whole business is that, had it to be gone over
again, I should probably act as I have done. However, I have shot my
bolt, and, though I managed to hit the bull's-eye, that is to say, I
succeeded in capturing the President, I have failed to receive the
prize. Let that be my punishment."
"But you mustn't talk of punishment," she cried. "You are mistaking my
meaning. Do you think that I am here to reproach you? No, no, far from
that! What I want to suggest is that you should permit us to show our
gratitude. Had it not been for you Equinata would never have seen
General Fernandez again, and I should not be here with you now. How
grateful the President is you can see for yourself. Why should you not
stay in Equinata? It is destined to be a great country. There are
always opportunities for the man who can seize them. You are that man.
Why not try? Would _my_ help count for nothing?"
As she said this she drew a little closer to me. The perfume of her
hair was as intoxicating as the finest wine.
"Think! think!" she continued. "Fernandez cannot rule for ever. He
might not last a year even. Then----"
She was so close to me that her lips almost touched my face.
"Don't you think we had better be walking aft?" I said. "Your _uncle_
is probably wondering where we are!"