"It is only the injudicious activity of the soldiery that we really need
fear; and I think it will be well, Senor Capitano, for you to permit my
colleagues here to prepare a joint letter setting forth the fact of
their detention by you as hostages for the good behaviour of all, and
the unhappy consequences which must result to them from ill-advised
action on the part of any one; so that I may have documentary evidence
to exhibit in confirmation of my own statement, if I find such
confirmation needful. As to your demands, senor, it will, of course, be
impossible for me to concede any of them upon my own unsupported
authority; in the absence of his Excellency, the Viceroy, and in view of
your refusal to afford time for communication with him, I must discuss
the situation with such of the authorities as are immediately
accessible, and abide by their decision, whatever it may be. There is
one matter, however, to which I may as well refer at once, since it will
have to be dealt with sooner or later, and that is, the release of the
prisoners taken upon the occasion of the ill-advised attack upon your
countrymen last year. I approach the subject with the utmost
reluctance, for I fear that what I have to say will be very ill received
by you. I must say it, however; and it is this: it will be quite
impossible for us to comply with that condition in its entirety, for the
best of all reasons, namely, that only a very small number of them still
remain in our hands."
"What, then, has become of the others?" demanded George, in a low, tense
voice, the significance of which caused a visible shudder to thrill
through his audience.
"I very deeply regret to say, most illustrious senor--and I beg you at
the outset to understand that no one here is in the very remotest degree
responsible for the deplorable fact which I have to state--that some of
them are--dead, while others have been condemned to the galleys and
are--I greatly fear--completely lost sight of by this time," replied the
alcalde, in great trepidation, which was fully shared by his twelve
companions.
For a few moments that seemed ages to the quaking Spaniards sitting
there, George remained silent, his burning gaze searching face after
face questioningly, and more than one present, knowing the nature of the
revelation that must now very soon come, seemed to already feel a rope
tightening about his neck.
At length, when the silence had become almost intolerable, George spoke
again, still with ominous calmness and quietness. Leaning forward
across the table, with his eyes steadfastly fixed upon those of the
alcalde, he said:
"Your reply, senor, sounds curiously significant, and impels me to
demand further information. Can you, by any chance, inform me how many
of those men are dead, what were their names, and what was the cause and
nature of their death?"
"No, senor, I cannot answer your question categorically at the present
moment," replied the alcalde. "All that I can tell you, now, is that
some of them died of the wounds which they received in the fight, some
died of disease, and the rest--perished--in the--Inquisition--or linger
still within its walls. But records, of course, exist from which it
will no doubt be possible to furnish you with all details."
"So," commented George, after another terrible silence, "some perished
in the Inquisition--or linger still within its walls. Can you tell me,
senor, how they chanced to get into the power of the Inquisition?"
"Certainly, senor," answered the alcalde, with alacrity, believing that
he saw his way to clear himself and his colleagues from blame. "Upon
their capture, they were naturally at first confined in prison by order
of the military authorities. From thence some of them--a few--were sent
to the galleys, some--as I just now had the honour to mention to you,
died in prison of their wounds, and the remainder were claimed by the
Chief Inquisitor."
"I see," commented George. "Yes, I think I begin to understand, and see
my way. Now, senor, I will furnish you with pens and paper, and you can
proceed to draft the document to which you just now referred, while I
place on record the nature and extent of my claims. When we have done
that, I will go ashore with you, taking with me a party of armed men,
accompanied by whom I purpose to call at your Inquisition and remove
from thence any Englishmen whom I may find within its walls. I have
decided to take this step, not only to save time, but also because,
having seen something of your fellow-countrymen in Old Spain, I know the
extreme reluctance with which you would regard any suggestion of mine
that you should bring pressure of any kind to bear upon your own clergy,
therefore I will relieve you of all embarrassment on that score by
personally assuming the responsibility. It will also probably be
necessary that I should have an interview with the commander of your
military forces, as I presume that he is the official who will be able
to furnish me with the names of the Englishmen captured, with
particulars of the manner in which they were disposed of. Indeed, upon
second thoughts, I am inclined to believe that he is the man upon whom I
ought first to call; and since I presume that it will be necessary for
you also to call upon him--in the interests of your friends here--we
will make the call together."
So saying George produced writing materials, and, handing a liberal
supply to the alcalde, seated himself at the table and proceeded to
enumerate in writing the several demands which he had already made by
word of mouth, quite undisturbed by the excited discussion which was
proceeding among the Spaniards as to the precise terms in which their
own document should be worded so as to render it as impressive as
possible to those to whom it might be necessary to exhibit it. His own
work was soon done, and a copy taken for retention and reference, if
needful; and then he sat patiently for nearly half-an-hour until the
hostages' letter had been drafted to their satisfaction, and duly
signed. Next, having formally handed his written demand to the alcalde,
he invited the latter to follow him out on deck, where, summoning
Basset, the captain of the soldiers, and Dyer, the pilot, he issued to
them certain instructions. Then, turning to the alcalde, who had stood
by, listening, but understanding nothing of what was being said, George
remarked:
"Senor Alvarez, as you have just seen, I have issued certain
instructions to two of my officers, and they are these. Don Ricardo
Basset, my military commandant, I have instructed to muster ten of his
soldiers, fully armed and equipped, to accompany me ashore, under him,
as a body guard. And to Don Roberto Dyer, my lieutenant, I have given
instructions that the gentlemen whom I have considered it necessary to
retain as hostages are to be treated with the utmost possible courtesy,
so long as all matters go well, but that upon the slightest sign or
indication of treachery upon the part of your countrymen, either ashore
or afloat, he is to hang them, one after the other, at those yard-arms,
up there. Also, he is to keep his guns trained upon the town and, in
the event of none of the landing party returning before sunset, open
fire upon it forthwith. I have explained these matters to you in order
that you may realise that upon you, and upon the success with which you
are able to impress upon your compatriots the absolute necessity for
complete submission, depends the lives of the hostages whom you are
leaving behind you. Ah! here comes Senor Basset with his guard; and I
see that the boat is also ready; therefore, as there may be much to be
done between this and sunset, we will go as soon as you are ready,
senor."
Whereupon Don Juan Alvarez, the alcalde of San Juan de Ulua, hurried
back to the great state cabin to reassure and bid farewell to the
hostages, and then, returning to the deck, accompanied George to the
boat, where Basset and his men had already taken their places; and the
party pushed off and headed for the landing place.
Although it was a city, San Juan was, at this period of its history, but
a very small place, of little more than a square mile in area, with only
two streets at all worthy of the name, these two streets traversing each
other at right angles and crossing in the centre of the city, the
junction of the two being at the Grand Plaza, or Square, one side of
which was occupied by the Cathedral, while the other three sides were
given up to the Government and Municipal Buildings. It was to one of
these last, a large and imposing building with the arms of Spain boldly
sculptured upon its pediment, that the alcalde conducted the little
party of Englishmen, and which he entered alone, after apologising
elaborately for doing so, upon the plea that it would greatly facilitate
matters if he were permitted to first see Don Manuel Rebiera, the acting
Commandant, and explain to him the situation. George agreed with him
that this might be so, and patiently took up his stand outside, waiting,
in company with Basset and his squad of soldiers, in the shadow of the
building until he should be summoned to enter. And meanwhile the party
became objects of curiosity and by no means friendly comment to a
rapidly increasing crowd, chiefly of men of the labouring class, who
came to gaze curiously upon the little knot of resolute-looking
Englishmen who returned their gaze so fearlessly, blowing their lighted
matches occasionally and handling their muskets in significant fashion
when the mob showed signs of becoming rather too demonstrative.
At length, after an absence of nearly twenty minutes, the alcalde re-
appeared and, with further apologies, this time for his prolonged
absence, invited George to accompany him into the building for the
purpose of being presented to Don Manuel Rebiera, the acting Commandant.
This gentleman was found installed in a room which partook, in about
equal proportions, of the characteristics of an office and a barrack-
room, with a sentry outside the door, who stolidly saluted the pair as
they passed in.
Captain Rebiera proved to be a typical Spanish soldier of the period,
bluff and hearty, but exceedingly courteous in manner, with, according
to his own account, a profound respect and admiration for the English,
so far as his knowledge of them extended, yet George quickly came to the
conclusion that the good man was suffering from a certain feeling of
soreness at the idea of the city, for the safety of which he was
responsible, being to all intents and purposes in the power and at the
mercy of the exceedingly young man to whom he was introduced. He
greeted George courteously, yet with a certain suggestion of restrained
antagonism, and then said:
"Senor, my friend, Don Juan Alvarez, has very briefly acquainted me with
the extraordinary circumstances of your visit to our port, and of the
still more extraordinary demands which you have seen fit to make. Now,
I may as well mention that, so far as those demands are concerned, it
will be quite impossible for me to concede them without first
consulting--"
"Pardon me, Don Manuel," interrupted George, who was already beginning
to suspect a disposition on the part of this individual at least to set
up a system of delay and retardation of proceedings, "I do not think we
need enter upon a discussion of my demands as a whole just now. The
object of my visit to you is to obtain a list of the names of the
Englishmen who fell into your hands last year as a result of your
unprovoked attack upon the squadron of my countryman, Admiral Hawkins,
and a statement of what has become of them. I presume you can furnish
me with this information, can you not?"
"No doubt--yes, no doubt I can," replied Don Manuel, with deliberation.
"A search of the records should certainly enable us to discover the
information which you require; but of course it will take time. Still,
I think I may promise you that in a week from now--"
"A week!" exploded George, "_A week_!" Then he turned to the alcalde,
and, calming himself with an effort, said: "Senor, I am afraid that your
friend Don Manuel, here, does not realise the urgency of this matter, or
the extreme seriousness of the situation. I want the information asked
for, _now, at once_, within the hour at least. Will you have the very
great goodness to make this clear to him?"
Whereupon the alcalde drew Don Manuel away into a far corner of the room
and, with every evidence of extreme agitation, addressed himself
earnestly to the soldier for some five minutes or more, at the end of
which the pair returned to where George was standing by the table,
fidgeting with his sword-hilt. The arguments and remonstrances of the
alcalde seemed to have been effective, for upon their return Don Manuel
said:
"I crave your pardon, most noble senor; I certainly did not understand
that the matter was anything like so urgent as it appears to be. I beg
that you will be seated, senor, and I will do my best to have the
information found for you forthwith."
Then, as George seated himself, the acting Commandant rang a bell, in
response to which a messenger appeared, to whom he gave certain
instructions, whereupon the man vanished, and Don Manuel, taking a chair
on the opposite side of the table to that at which George was sitting,
began a somewhat constrained conversation upon indifferent subjects,
which was interrupted by the appearance of a servant with wine and three
handsome cups of chased silver. Saint Leger, however, coldly but
courteously declined refreshments of any kind; he resolved that he would
do nothing which could by any possibility be construed into either tacit
consent to methods of delay or an acceptance of proffered friendship; he
was there as an enemy and an avenger, and he was determined to keep this
fact prominently to the fore; consequently the constraint rapidly grew
until, so far as Don Manuel at least was concerned, it became
unendurable, and, rising, he begged that his visitors would excuse him,
upon the plea that he desired to expedite matters by personally
directing the search for the required information.
And apparently the stimulus of his presence was successful, for after an
absence of about a quarter of an hour he returned, bearing in his hand a
book between the pages of which slips of paper had been inserted to mark
the positions of certain entries.
"There," he exclaimed, in a tone of satisfaction, as he laid the book
upon the table and opened it, "by a stroke of singular good fortune,
senor, we have been able to at once lay our hands upon the record which
will furnish you with the information you require. Here, for instance,
is the first entry, giving the names of the Englishmen who were captured
upon the occasion to which you refer. They number forty-three, and
their names are as follows." He proceeded to read out the names of the
unfortunate ones, among which occurred that of Hubert Saint Leger--"a
namesake of your own, senor," commented Don Manuel. "Was he, perchance,
a relative of yours?"
"He was my brother, senor," answered George, tersely. "Read on, if you
please."
The end of the list was soon reached; and then George said: "I am
obliged to you, senor. Now, in the first place, I must trouble you for
a copy of that list, with a statement opposite each name setting forth
the manner in which that person was dealt with."
"Certainly, senor," answered Don Manuel, politely; "that information
also I believe we can afford you. If you will permit me I will summon
my clerk to prepare the list you require."
George bowed his acquiescence; the clerk was sent for; and after about
an hour's work the list was completed and handed to the young
Englishman, who took it and, having glanced carefully through it, said:
"I am obliged to you, Don Manuel. I see that, of the forty-three
prisoners taken, ten died of their wounds, in prison; seventeen, of whom
my brother was one, were sentenced to the galleys, and sixteen were
claimed by your Inquisition. Can you afford me any further information
with regard to the seventeen who were sentenced to the galleys; as, for
example, the name of the galley to which each man was consigned, and
where those galleys may be looked for at the present moment?"
"No, senor," answered Don Manuel, "I regret to say that I cannot. They
were all put on board a ship called the _San Mathias_, and sent in her
to Nombre de Dios, where, if you will hear more of them, you must e'en
go and enquire."
"I thank you, senor," answered George quietly, ignoring a certain
suggestion of insolence in the other's concluding remark. "And now, as
to the sixteen who were surrendered to the Inquisition. What can you
tell me concerning them?"
"Nothing, senor," answered Don Manuel, at length displaying some signs
of uneasiness. "When the Holy Office claims a man, that man disappears
from the public ken, generally for ever; or if he is seen again it is
only when he figures in the _auto-da-fe_, dressed in a San Benito.
Pardon, Senor Capitano, but this is a matter upon which I can afford you
no information, and which I must absolutely refuse to discuss with you,
or anyone."
"Very well," said George, "be it so. But I suppose you will have no
objection to inform me whereabout the Inquisition building is to be
found?"
"Where it is to be found?" reiterated Don Manuel. "Why assuredly--.
But stay. What is your object in requiring that particular bit of
information, senor?"
"Merely that I have business there, a call to make," answered George,
imperturbably.
"Business! a call!" reiterated the soldier. "Surely, senor, it is not
possible that you, a heretic, intend to force your sinful way into the
presence of the holy fathers, and to--to--. Saints and angels! I will
be no party to such a blasphemous proceeding. If that be your
intention, senor, seek your information elsewhere; I will not imperil my
soul by assisting, in ever so indirect a manner, an act of sacrilege."
"As you will, senor," answered George, calmly. "But I would have you
remember that by delaying me in the performance of the task which I have
undertaken, you are jeopardising the city and all in it. If I am
delayed--"
"Pray say no more, noble senor," interrupted the alcalde. "There is
nothing to be gained, Don Manuel, by withholding from the illustrious
Adelantado the information which he seeks; for if you will not give it,
others will. And--a word in your ear, senor. If anything should happen
to these Englishmen while they are in the city, their comrades will most
fearfully avenge themselves upon us. They have left us no room to doubt
what will happen in such a case, and they are the kind of men who will
carry out their threats to the very last letter. Therefore, see to it,
my friend, that steps are taken to prevent your soldiery from
interfering with or molesting them in any way. For, should anything
untoward happen, you will be held responsible. Now, I have warned you.
See to it!"
"_Bueno_! senor alcalde, you are my superior, and since those are your
orders, I will obey them," answered Don Manuel. "Nevertheless," he
continued, "if the Commandant were well enough to take the command, I
know what he would do. He would arrest and imprison these audacious
strangers, and defy their comrades to do their worst. Moreover, senor,
I should not like to be in your shoes when the news of this disgraceful
business reaches the ears of his Excellency the Viceroy."
And, so saying, he bowed with exaggerated politeness to George and the
alcalde, and with a fierce twist of his moustache strode swaggeringly
out of the room.
CHAPTER NINE.
HOW GEORGE VISITED THE HOLY INQUISITION AT SAN JUAN.
"A good man, in many respects; a very excellent man, indeed," observed
the alcalde, nodding toward the door by which Don Manuel had just
quitted the apartment, "and admirable in the position which he occupies.
As a soldier merely, he is all that one could possibly desire, brave to
recklessness, and an admirable leader. But after all he is only a
soldier fighting is his trade, but he knows nothing whatever about
diplomacy; he does not understand that there is not only a time when men
should fight but also a time when, if they are wise, they should
forbear. It is a fortunate thing for us all, illustrious senor, that I
and not he happens to be in authority at the present juncture; and I beg
that you will not permit his cavalier-like behaviour to influence you in
the slightest degree. And now, noble Capitan, if you have quite
completed your business here, I will point out to you the way to the
Inquisition, for time is pressing, and I am most anxious that no
untoward accident shall occur to interfere with or delay your business
in San Juan. And--I know not what may be the nature of your errand with
the Holy Office, but, if I may be permitted to offer a suggestion, I
would very strongly advise--nay more, I would most earnestly entreat--
that you do nothing to wound the religious susceptibilities of the
inhabitants, who regard the Inquisition, and all connected with it, with
the utmost veneration and dread."
"Probably with even greater dread than veneration, eh, Don Juan?"
remarked George, as he took up his hat and prepared to follow the
alcalde out of the building.
"Possibly, senor; possibly," replied the alcalde, with reservation, as
he led the way.
Nothing more was said until the pair reached the street and rejoined
Basset and his little band of armed men, who stood placidly facing a
crowd of nearly a hundred men principally composed of the more lawless
and ruffianly element which is to be found in the lower quarters of
every city.
The alcalde regarded this sullen-looking, but as yet merely passively
hostile crowd for some moments with an expression of considerable alarm
and misgiving; then, moved by the urgency of the occasion, he waved his
hand to claim attention, and made a little speech in which he first
rebuked the gathering for its discourtesy to the visitors by standing
gaping at them as though they were so many wild beasts, after which he
commanded them to disperse, warning them at the same time to interfere
with the strangers at their peril, informing them that he would very
severely punish any person who should dare to do so, and at the same
time reminding them that the said strangers, though few, were trained
soldiers, fully armed, who would themselves be quick to avenge the
slightest interference or insult. He stood there until the last of the
surly, scowling ruffians had moved slowly and unwillingly away, their
movements finally hastened by the emergence of a party of soldiers from
another wing of the building, and then, when they had all vanished, he
furtively indicated to George the way to the Inquisition, and hurriedly
removed himself from the scene.
The Inquisition was situated at a distance of some ten minutes' march
from the Grand Plaza, and proved to be, when the party of Englishmen
reached it, an extensive forbidding-looking, prison-like structure built
of massive masonry, and apparently strong enough to withstand anything
short of an attack by ordnance. The entrance consisted of an archway
some twelve feet wide fitted with a pair of enormously thick iron-
studded oaken doors, in one of which was a small wicket fitted with a
grille. An iron chain, with a hand grip attached to its lower
extremity, depending from a hole in the wall, indicated the means of
communication with the interior, and this George tugged at violently,
with the result that a loud bell immediately set up a furious clanging
somewhere in the interior of the building. After an interval of nearly
a minute this summons was replied to by a hooded friar who, having drawn
the slide of the grille, peered out through the opening and querulously
demanded to know who it was who raised such a clangour, and what was his
business, to which George, who was the only person visible from the
aperture of the grille, replied that he was a stranger who had urgent
business of a strictly private nature with the Father Superior.
Whereupon the slide of the grille was sharply closed, and the party
faintly heard the shuffling footsteps of the friar receding.