'The Alameda, during the early part of the day, is perhaps the most
unfrequented spot in the whole city of Mexico; in fact, almost deserted.
It would be, therefore, unsafe to traverse, were it not that the absence
of victims insured the stray loiterer against any well-grounded fear of
robbers. Great, therefore, was my surprise at hearing, shortly after I
had taken my seat, two persons in animated conversation behind the spot
which I had selected. A thicket of climbing plants and prickly cactuses
alone separated me from them; but while it prevented me from catching
even a glimpse of their persons, I lost not one word of their
conversation.
''Pedro,' said a full, sonorous voice, 'I am by no means satisfied with
you. In the management of this business, you have shown a carelessness
that I can not tolerate. Why, zounds! your acquaintance with Pepito was
a most excellent pretext for gaining access to the enemy's camp. You
might have pretended to be very anxious about Pepito, who I most
heartily wish was at the devil, and what could be more natural than
going to make inquiry after him?'
''Well, General, the fact is this,' said the invisible individual, who
had been addressed as Pedro, 'much as I am attached to Pepito, I am by
no means anxious to have a bullet through my brains.'
''Bullet through your brains! what do you mean?'
''Simply what I say. Now, look here, Señor General, the other day, last
Friday, I succeeded in slipping, during the old woman's absence, to the
door of the fellow's room. 'Who is there?' exclaimed the 'Inglez,' in a
loud voice, just as I was about to give the third kick at his door. 'Me,
Pedro,' I replied. 'Don't know you,' was the answer, 'you must have
mistaken the room,' 'Not at all, Señor,' said I, 'I come to seek some
tidings of my _compadre_, Pepito.' 'Tidings of Pepito,' repeated the
Inglez, 'tidings of Pepito--wait--' So I did wait, congratulating
myself on the success of my scheme, and handling my knife with a
confident expectation of making sure work of my man, when I heard the
floor creak, and looking through the key-hole, I saw the confounded
Inglez cocking a pistol and putting a fresh cap on it. And do you know,
General, it somehow happened that when he opened the door, I was at the
bottom of the stairs.'
''Which means, Pedro, that you ran away like a coward as you are.'
''_Coward!_--nay, General, you must be joking. The truth is, I
experienced a new sensation; I felt for the first time the emotion of
fear; yes, that must have been what passed over me. It was something
quite new to me, and for the moment I did not know what ailed me.'
''Idiot! do you suppose a foreigner would be fool enough to amuse
himself by shooting a Mexican at mid-day, in the very heart of the
capital?'
''Oh! I know very well, General, that it would cost him a small fortune,
if he was rich, and his life if he was poor. But then these Inglez are
so imprudent, so rash, so headstrong, and I felt that I had no wish to
have a bullet in my head, just to put money into the pocket of the best
judge in the city.'
''Nonsense; but about those papers. I must have them. What steps do you
propose taking?'
''General and chief, were I to put my hand upon my heart, and tell you
the sacred truth, I should say that I propose for a time to lie quiet
and--do nothing.'
''Do nothing--lie quiet! Do you forget that I have paid you already one
hundred dollars in advance, and that four hundred more are ready for you
when your job is finished?'
''Oh! I know our bargain, General, and I have the greatest confidence in
your honor. As for abandoning the enterprise, that I have never dreamed
of; but the fact is, my motive in remaining inactive for a season is,
that I am certain if I make a move now I shall be undoubtedly checked,
perhaps mated.'
''How so?'
''Well--because I find at the monte-table, where I usually try my luck,
that there has been for nearly a week a run on odd numbers. Now, I
always remark that when there is a run on odds, I always lose in every
thing I put my hand to. Stop, then, General, till the tables turn, and
when I strike a new vein, you shall hear from your servant, Pedro.'
'Of course I waited, expecting to hear the General burst forth in
violent denunciations on his servant, Pedro, or at any rate supposed he
would ridicule such an excuse; but I was deceived.
''Well, Pedro, your excuse is not so bad; had you explained yourself at
the outset, I should not have been so angry.'
'The Mexicans, it may be remarked, are influenced in the most important
and momentous actions of their life, by superstition; this fact is
readily explained, when we reflect that the vast majority of them are
utterly devoid of the very first rudiments of education, and owe the
position they occupy to the fortune of civil war or of the
gambling-table. Except in the mere texture and richness of their
costume, nothing else in that strange country of the grotesque and
picturesque, distinguishes the man of rank from the beggar or the
_lazzaroni_. In every class, in every rank, you meet with the same
simplicity, the same vanity, the same prejudices, the same superstition,
the same purity of language, the same grace of elocution. The beggar,
wrapped in his tatters, displays the self-same exquisite polish of
manners, the same courteous bearing, as the senator or the millionaire,
in velvet and gold. After all, it must be ever remembered that perhaps
the senator was once a beggar, and that ere long the beggar may be a
senator. One or two lucky hits at monte, and in a few, short hours, lo!
the metamorphosis is complete.'
'You can readily believe that the conversation I had thus overheard
interested me greatly; however the promptings of curiosity would have
riveted me to my seat, the dictates of prudence warned me to retire as
quickly and stealthily as possible.
'With a tread as noiseless as practicable, I therefore turned my
footsteps to the main avenue, and keeping an eye always on the spot I
had left, I took another seat near the main entrance. Not much more than
a quarter of an hour could have elapsed, when along the same path I had
myself taken, I saw two men approaching. One of them was a tall and very
handsome man; he flourished in his hand a cane with massive gold head,
and walked with a military air, in fact, with the air of a hero and a
conqueror; perfectly well-dressed, in the latest European fashion;
indeed, had it not been for the immense profusion of gold chain, and
sparkling rings upon his fingers, instead of gloves, you might have
almost mistaken him for a _gentleman_. His companion presented the most
striking contrast. His face, shaded by a torn, slouched hat, was dirty
and coffee-colored. Of short stature, slight build, and
round-shouldered, he followed his master, with an humble, abject look,
and from his tread, you would almost have imagined that he was anxious
not to leave any track behind, of his footsteps on the gravel walk. A
velvet cloak, so worn and patched that a _lazzaroni_ would only have
yielded to the temptation of stealing it, from a love of art and not
from any hope of its being of any earthly use to him, was thrown across
his shoulders, beneath which appeared pantaloons ornamented on the outer
seam of each leg with long-shanked brass buttons, covered with
verdigris, and boots of Spanish leather, outrageously dilapidated.
'As they drew nearer to my seat, I became more and more impressed that
the handsome flourisher of the gold-headed cane was not unknown to me. I
was not mistaken, for as he passed me his eye caught mine, and with a
friendly wave of the hand, he honored me with a most polite recognition.
It was General Valiente, one of the most celebrated or rather notorious
'ladies' men' in Mexico.
'From the fact of his companion having addressed him as General, and
from the direction in which I had watched them come, I was at no loss to
identify General Valiente and his companion with the invisible talkers
who had so unwittingly imparted their secrets to me.
'I noticed that immediately on leaving the Alameda, General Valiente and
his friend Pedro separated, without further parley, and each took
directly opposite roads.
'This adventure took firm hold of my mind, and for nearly two hours I
remained seated in the Alameda, revolving it over and over. Personally,
I knew but little of this General Valiente; but by hearsay, much. His
name was connected with various strange stories, in which jealous
husbands, duels, poniards, and poison figured very largely, and it had
been hinted that had Eugene Sue been acquainted with Valiente, there
might have been forthcoming one of the most intensely interesting
histories relative to the mysteries of Mexico.