THE SURPRISE.
So soon as the emotion caused by Don Pablo's prowess was calmed they
began thinking about returning. The sun was rapidly descending in the
horizon: the whole day had been spent with the exciting incidents of the
chase. The Hacienda de la Noria was nearly ten leagues distant: it was,
therefore, urgent to start as speedily as possible, unless the party
wished to run the risk of bivouacking in the open air.
The men would easily have put up with this slight annoyance, which, in a
climate like that of New Mexico, and at this season of the year, has
nothing painful about it; but they had ladies with them. Left one or two
leagues in the rear, they must feel alarmed by the absence of the
hunters--an absence which, as so frequently happens when out hunting,
had been protracted far beyond all expectation.
Don Miguel gave the vaqueros orders to brand the captured horses with
his cipher; and the whole party then returned, laughing and singing, in
the direction of the tents where the ladies had been left. The vaqueros
who had served as beaters during the day remained behind to guard the
horses.
In these countries, where there is scarce any twilight, night succeeds
the day almost without transition. As soon as the sun had set the
hunters found themselves in complete darkness; for, as the sun descended
on the horizon, the shade invaded the sky in equal proportions, and, at
the moment when the day planet disappeared, the night was complete. The
desert, hitherto silent, seemed to wake up all at once: the birds,
stupefied by the heat, commenced a formidable concert, in which joined
at intervals, from the inaccessible depths of the forest, the snapping
of the _carcajous_ and the barking of the coyotes mingled with the
hoarse howling of the wild beasts that had left their dens to come down
and drink in the river.
Then gradually the cries, the songs, and the howling ceased, and nothing
was audible save the hurried footfalls of the hunters' horses on the
pebbles of the road. A solemn silence seemed to brood over this abrupt
and primitive scenery. At intervals the green tufts of the trees and the
tall grass bowed slowly with a prolonged rustling of leaves and
branches, as if a mysterious breath passed over them, and compelled them
to bend their heads. There was something at once striking and terrible
in the imposing appearance offered by the prairie at this hour of the
night, beneath this sky studded with brilliant stars, which sparkled
like emeralds, in the presence of this sublime immensity, which only
suffered one voice to be heard--that of Deity.
The young and enthusiastic man to whom it is given to be present at such
a spectacle feels a thrill run over all his body: he experiences an
undefinable feeling of happiness and extraordinary pleasure on looking
round him at the desert, whose unexplored depths conceal from him so
many secrets, and display to him Divine Majesty in all its grandeur and
omnipotence. Many a time during our adventurous journeys on the American
continent, when marching at hazard during these lovely nights so full of
charms, which nothing can make those comprehend who have not experienced
them, we have yielded to the soft emotions that overcame us. Isolating
and absorbing ourselves within ourselves, we, have fallen into a state
of beatitude, from which nothing had the power of drawing us.
The hunters so gay and talkative at the start, had yielded to this
omnipotent influence of the desert, and advanced rapidly and silently,
only exchanging a few syllables at lengthened intervals. The profoundest
calm still continued to reign over the desert; and while, owing to the
astonishing transparency of the atmosphere, the eye could embrace a
horizon, nothing suspicious was visible.
The fireflies buzzed carelessly round the top of the grass, and the
flickering fires burning before the tents to which the hunters were
bound could be already seen about half a league ahead. At a signal from
Don Miguel the party, which had, up to the present, only trotted, set
out at a long canter; for each felt anxious to leave a scene which, in
the darkness, had assumed a sinister aspect.
They thus arrived within a hundred yards of the fires, whose ruddy glow
was reflected on the distant trees, when suddenly a fearful yell crossed
the air, and from behind every bush out started an Indian horseman
brandishing his weapons, and making his horse curvet round the white
men, while uttering his war cry. The Mexicans, taken unawares, were
surrounded ere they sufficiently recovered from their stupor to think
about employing their weapons. At a glance Don Miguel judged the
position: it was a critical one. The hunters were at the most but
twenty: the number of Comanche warriors surrounding them was at least
three hundred.
The Comanches and Apaches are the most implacable foes of the white
race. In their periodical invasions of the frontiers they hardly ever
make any prisoners: they mercilessly kill all who fall into their hands.
Still the Mexicans rallied. Certain of the fate that awaited them, they
were resolved to sell their lives dearly. There was a moment of supreme
expectation before the commencement of the deadly combat, when suddenly
an Indian galloped out of the ranks of the warriors, and rode within
three paces of the little band of Mexicans. On arriving there he
stopped, and waved his buffalo robe in sign of peace. The governor of
the provinces prepared to speak.
"Let me carry on the negotiations," Don Miguel said. "I know the Indians
better than you do, and perhaps I shall succeed in getting out of this
awkward position."
"Do so," the governor answered.
General Ibañez was the only one who had remained calm and impassive
since the surprise: he did not make a move to seize his weapons; on the
contrary, he crossed his arms carelessly on his chest, and took a
mocking glance at his comrades as he hummed a seguidilla between his
teeth. Don Pablo had placed himself by his father's side, ready to
defend him at the peril of his life. The Indian chief took the word.
"Let the palefaces listen," he said; "an Indian sachem is about to
speak."
"We have no time to spare in listening to the insidious words which you
are preparing to say to us," Don Miguel replied in a haughty voice.
"Withdraw, and do not obstinately bar our passage, or there will be
blood spilt."
"The palefaces will have brought it on themselves," the Comanche
answered in a gentle voice. "The Indians mean no harm to the pale
warriors."
"Why, then, this sudden attack? The chief is mad. We do not let
ourselves be so easily deceived as he seems to suppose: we know very
well that he wants our scalps."
"No; Unicorn wishes to make a bargain with the palefaces."
"Come, chief, explain yourself; perhaps your intentions are as you
describe them. I do not wish to reproach myself with having refused to
listen to you."
The Indian smiled.
"Good!" he said. "The great white chief is becoming reasonable. Let him
listen, then, to the words Unicorn will pronounce."
"Go on, chief; my comrades and myself are listening."
"The palefaces are thieving dogs," the chief said in a rough voice;
"they carry on a continual war with the redskins, and buy their scalps
as if they were peltry; but the Comanches are magnanimous warriors, who
disdain to avenge themselves. The squaws of the white men are in their
power: they will restore them."
At these words a shudder of terror ran along the ranks of the hunters;
their courage failed them; they had only one desire left--that of saving
those who had so wretchedly fallen into the hands of these bloodthirsty
men.
"On what conditions will the Comanches restore their prisoners?" Don
Miguel asked, whose heart was contracted at the thought of his daughter,
who was also a prisoner. He secretly cursed Valentine, whose fatal
advice was the sole cause of the frightful evil that assailed him at
this moment.
"The palefaces," the chief continued, "will dismount and arrange
themselves in a line. Unicorn will choose from among his enemies those
whom he thinks proper to carry off as prisoners; the rest will be free,
and all the women restored."
"Those conditions are harsh, chief. Can you not modify them?"
"A chief has only one word. Do the palefaces consent?"
"Let us consult together for a few moments at any rate."
"Good! Let the white men consult. Unicorn grants them ten minutes," the
chief made answer.
And turning his horse, he went back to his men. Don Miguel then
addressed his friends.
"Well; what do you think of what has occurred?"
The Mexicans were terrified: still they were compelled to allow that the
conduct of the Indians was extraordinary, and that they had never before
evinced such lenity. Now that reflection had followed on the first
feeling of excitement, they understood that a struggle against enemies
so numerous was insensate, and could only result in rendering their
position worse than it was before, and that the chiefs conditions, harsh
as they were, offered at least some chance of safety for a portion of
them, and the ladies would be saved.
This last and all powerful consideration decided them. Don Miguel had no
occasion to convince them of the necessity of submission. Whatever
struggle it cost them, they dismounted and arranged themselves in a
line, as the chief had demanded, Don Miguel and his son placing
themselves at the head.
Unicorn, with that cool courage characteristic of the Indians, then
advanced alone toward the Mexicans, who still held their weapons, and
who, impelled by their despair, and at the risk of being all massacred,
would have sacrificed him to their vengeance. The chief had also
dismounted. With his hands crossed on his back, and frowning brow, he
now commenced his inspection.
Many a heart contracted at his approach, for a question of life and
death was being decided for these hapless men: only the perspective of
the atrocious tortures which menaced the ladies could have made them
consent to this humiliating and degrading condition. The Unicorn,
however, was generous: he only selected eight of the Mexicans, and the
rest received permission to mount their horses, and leave the fatal
circle that begirt them. Still, by a strange accident, or a
premeditation of which the reason escaped them, these, eight
prisoners--among whom were the governor, General Isturitz, and the
criminal judge, Don Luciano Pérez--were the most important personages in
the party, and the members of the Provincial Government.
It was not without surprise that Don Miguel observed this; the
Comanches, however, faithfully fulfilled their compact, and the ladies
were at once set at liberty. They had been treated with the greatest
respect by the Indians, who had surprised their camp, and seized them
almost in the same way as they had done the hunters--that is to say, the
camp was invaded simultaneously on all sides. It was a matter worthy of
remark in an Indian ambuscade that not a drop of blood had been spilt.
After the moments given up to the happiness of seeing his daughter again
safe and sound, Don Miguel resolved to make a last attempt with Unicorn
in favour of the unhappy men who remained in his hands. The chief
listened with deference, and let him speak without interruption; then he
replied with a smile whose expression the hacendero tried in vain to
explain,--
"My father has Indian blood in his veins; the redskins love him: never
will they do him the slightest injury. Unicorn would like to restore him
immediately the prisoners, for whom he cares very little; but that is
impossible. My father himself would speedily regret Unicorn's obedience
to his Wish; but, in order to prove to my father how much the chief
desires to do a thing that will be agreeable to him, the prisoners will
not be ill-treated, and will be let off with a few days' annoyance.
Unicorn consents to accept a ransom for them, instead of making them
slaves. My father can himself tell them this good news."
"Thanks, chief," Don Miguel answered. "The nobility of your character
touches my heart: I shall not forget it. Be persuaded that, under all
circumstances, I shall be happy to prove to you how grateful I am."
The chief bowed gracefully and withdrew, in order to give the hacendero
liberty to communicate with his companions. The latter were seated sadly
on the ground, gloomy and downcast. Don Miguel repeated to them the
conversation he had held with Unicorn, and the promise he had made with
respect to them. This restored them all their courage; and, with the
most affectionate words and marks of the liveliest joy, they thanked the
hacendero for the attempt he had made in their favour.
In fact, thanks to the promise of liberating them for a ransom at the
end of a week, and treating them well during the period of their
captivity, there was nothing so very terrifying about the prospect; and
it was one of those thousand annoyances to which men are exposed by
accident, but whose proportions had been so reduced in their eyes, that,
with the carelessness which forms the staple of the national character,
they were the first to laugh at their mishap.
Don Miguel, however, was anxious to retire; so he took leave of his
companions, and rejoined the chief. The latter repeated his assurances
that the prisoners should be free within a week, if they consented each
to pay a ransom of one thousand piastres, which was a trifle. He assured
the hacendero that he was at liberty to withdraw whenever he pleased,
and he should not oppose his departure.
Don Miguel did not allow the invitation to be repeated. His friends and
himself immediately mounted their horses, together with the ladies, who
were placed in the centre of the detachment; and after taking leave of
Unicorn, the Mexicans dug their spurs into their horses, and started at
a gallop, glad to have got off so cheaply. The campfires were soon left
far behind them, and General Ibañez then approached his friend, and
bending down to his ear, whispered,--
"Don Miguel, can the Comanches be our allies? I fancy that they have
this night given a bold push to the success of our enterprise."
This thought, like a ray of light, had already crossed the hacendero's
brain several times.
"I do not know," he said with a clever smile; "but at any rate, my dear
general, they are very adroit foes."
The little band continued to advance rapidly toward the hacienda, which
was now no great distance, and which they hoped to reach before sunrise.
The events we have described had occurred in less than an hour.