A TIMELY WARNING.
The involuntary bath which saved our lives served also to restore our
strength. When we entered it we were well-nigh spent; we went out of it
free from any sense of fatigue, a result which was probably as much due to
the chemical properties of the water as to its high temperature.
But though no longer tired we were both hungry and thirsty, and our
garments were wringing wet. Our first proceeding was to take them off and
wring them; our next, to look for fresh water--for the _azuferales_ was
like the ocean-water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
As we picked our way over the smoking waste by the light of the full moon
and the burning forest, I asked Carmen, who knew the country and its ways
so much better than myself, what he proposed that we should do next.
"Rejoin Mejia."
"But how? We are in the enemies' country and without horses, and we know
not where Mejia is."
"I don't think he is far off. He is not the man to retreat after a drawn
battle. Until he has beaten Griscelli or Griscelli has beaten him, you may
be sure he won't go back to the llanos; his men would not let him. As for
horses, we must appropriate the first we come across, either by stratagem
or force."
"Is there a way out of the forest on this side?"
"Yes, there is a good trail made by Indian invalids who come here to drink
the waters. Our difficulty will not be so much in finding our friends as
avoiding our enemies. A few hours' walk will bring us to more open
country, but we cannot well start until--"
"Good heavens! What is that?" I exclaimed, as a plaintive cry, which ended
in a wail of anguish, such as might be given by a lost soul in torment,
rang through the forest.
"It's an _araguato_, a howling monkey," said Carmen, indifferently.
"That's only some old fellow setting the tune; we shall have a regular
chorus presently."
And so we had. The first howl was followed by a second, then by a third,
and a fourth, and soon all the _araguatoes_ in the neighborhood joined in,
and the din became so agonizing that I was fain to put my fingers in my
ears and wait for a lull.
"It sounds dismal enough, in all conscience--to us; but I think they mean
it for a cry of joy, a sort of morning hymn; at any rate, they don't
generally begin until sunrise. But these are perhaps mistaking the fire
for the sun."
And no wonder. It was spreading rapidly. The leafless trees that bordered
the western side of the _azuferales_ were all alight; sparks, carried by
the wind, had kindled several giants of the forest, which, "tall as mast
of some high admiral," were flaunting their flaring banners a hundred feet
above the mass of the fire.
It was the most magnificent spectacle I had ever seen, so magnificent that
in watching it we forgot our own danger, as, if the fire continued to
spread, the forest would be impassable for days, and we should be
imprisoned on the _azuferales_ without either food or fresh water.
"Look yonder!" said Carmen, laying his hand on my shoulder. A herd of deer
were breaking out of the thicket and bounding across the moor.
"Wild animals escaping from the fire?"
"Yes, and we shall have more of them."
The words were scarcely spoken when the deer were followed by a drove of
peccaries; then came jaguars, pumas, antelopes, and monkeys; panthers and
wolves and snakes, great and small, wriggling over the ground with
wondrous speed, and creatures the like of which I had never seen before--a
regular stampede of all sorts and conditions of reptiles and beasts, and
all too much frightened to meddle either with us or each other.
Fortunately for us, moreover, we were not in their line of march, and
there lay between us and them a line of hot springs and smoking sulphur
mounds which they were not likely to pass.
The procession had been going on about half an hour when, happening to
cast my eye skyward, I saw that the moon had disappeared; overhead hung a
heavy mass of cloud, the middle of it reddened by the reflection from the
fire to the color of blood, while the outer edges were as black as ink. It
was almost as grand a spectacle as the burning forest itself.
"We are going to have rain," said Carmen.
"I hope it will rain in bucketfuls," was my answer, for I had drunk
nothing since we left San Felipe, and the run, together with the high
temperature and the heat of the fire, had given me an intolerable thirst.
I spoke with difficulty, my swollen tongue clove to the roof of my mouth,
and I would gladly have given ten years of my life for one glass of cold
water.
Carmen, whose sufferings were as great as my own, echoed my hope. And it
was not long in being gratified, for even as we gazed upward a flash of
lightning split the clouds asunder; peal of thunder followed on peal, the
rain came down not in drops nor bucketfuls but in sheets, and with weight
and force sufficient to beat a child or a weakling to the earth, It was a
veritable godsend; we caught the beautiful cool water in our hands and
drank our fill.
In less than an hour not a trace of the fire could be seen--nor anything
else. The darkness had become so dense that we feared to move lest we
might perchance step into one of the boiling springs, fall into the jaws
of a jaguar, or set foot on a poisonous snake. So we stayed where we were,
whiles lying on the flooded ground, whiles standing up or walking a few
paces in the rain, which continued to fall until the rising of the sun,
when it ceased as suddenly as it had begun.
The moor had been turned into a smoking swamp, with a blackened forest on
one side and a wall of living green on the other. The wild animals had
vanished.
"Let us go!" said Carmen.
When we reached the trees we took off our clothes a second time, hung them
on a branch, and sat in the sun till they dried.
"I suppose it is no use thinking about breakfast till we get to a house or
the camp, wherever that may be?" I observed, as we resumed our journey.
"Well, I don't know. What do you say about a cup of milk to begin with?"
"There is nothing I should like better--to begin with--but where is the
cow?"
"There!" pointing to a fine tree with oblong leaves.
"That!"
"Yes, that is the _palo de vaca_ (cow-tree), and as you shall presently
see, it will give us a very good breakfast, though we may get nothing
else. But we shall want cups. Ah, there is a calabash-tree! Lend me your
knife a minute. _Gracias!_"
And with that Carmen went to the tree, from which he cut a large
pear-shaped fruit. This, by slicing off the top and scooping out the pulp
he converted into a large bowl. The next thing was to make a gash in the
_palo de vaca_, whereupon there flowed from the wound a thick milky fluid
which we caught in the bowl and drank. The taste was agreeable and the
result satisfactory, for, though a beefsteak would have been more
acceptable, the drink stayed our hunger for the time and helped us on our
way.
The trail was easily found. For a considerable distance it ran between a
double row of magnificent mimosa-trees which met overhead at a height of
fully one hundred and fifty feet, making a glorious canopy of green leaves
and rustling branches. The rain had cooled the air and laid the dust, and
but for the danger we were in (greater than we suspected) and the
necessity we were under of being continually on the alert, we should have
had a most enjoyable walk. Late in the afternoon we passed a hut and a
maize-field, the first sign of cultivation we had seen since leaving the
_azuferales_, and ascertained our bearings from an old peon who was
swinging in a grass hammock and smoking a cigar. San Felipe was about two
leagues away, and he strongly advised us not to follow a certain trail,
which he described, lest haply we might fall in with Mejia's caballeros,
some of whom he had himself seen within the hour a little lower down the
valley.
This was good news, and we went on in high spirits.
"Didn't I tell you so?" said Carmen, complacently. "I knew Mejia would not
be far off. He is like one of your English bull-dogs. He never knows when
he is beaten."
After a while the country became more open, with here and there patches of
cultivation; huts were more frequent and we met several groups of peons
who, however, eyed us so suspiciously that we thought it inexpedient to
ask them any questions.
About an hour before sunset we perceived in the near distance a solitary
horseman; but as his face was turned the other way he did not see us.
"He looks like one of our fellows," observed Carmen, after scanning him
closely. "All the same, he may not be. Let us slip behind this acacia-bush
and watch his movements."
The man himself seemed to be watching. After a short halt, he rode away
and returned, but whether halting or moving he was always on the lookout,
and as might appear, keenly expectant.
At length he came our way.
"I do believe--_Por Dios_ it is--Guido Pasto, my own man!" and Carmen,
greatly excited, rushed from his hiding-place shouting, "Guido!" at the
top of his voice.
I followed him, equally excited but less boisterous.
Guido, recognizing his master's voice, galloped forward and greeted us
warmly, for though he acted as Carmen's servant he was a free _llanero_,
and expected to be treated as a gentleman and a friend.
"_Gracias a Dios!_" he said; "I was beginning to fear that we had passed
you. Gahra and I have been looking for you all day!"
"That was very good of you; and Señor Fortescue and I owe you a thousand
thanks. But where are General Mejia and the army?"
"Near the old place. In a better position, though. But you must not go
there--neither of you."
"We must not go there! But why?"
"Because if you do the general will hang you."
"Hang us! Hang Señor Fortescue, who has come all the way from England to
help us! Hang _me_, Salvador Carmen! You have had a sunstroke and lost
your wits; that's what it is, Guido Pasto, you have lost your wits--but,
perhaps you are joking. Say, now, you are joking."
"No, _señor_. It would ill become me to make a foolish joke at your
expense. Neither have I lost my wits, as you are pleased to suggest. It is
only too true; you are in deadly peril. We may be observed, even now. Let
us go behind these bushes, where we may converse in safety. It was to warn
you of your danger that Gahra and I have been watching for you. Gahra will
be here presently, and he will tell you that what I say is true."
"This passes comprehension. What does it all mean? Out with it, good
Guido; you have always been faithful, and I don't think you are a fool."
"Thanks for your good opinion, señor. Well, it is very painful for me to
have to say it; but the general believes, and save your own personal
friends, all the army believes, that you and señor Fortescue are
traitors--that you betrayed them to the enemy."
"On what grounds?" asked Carmen, highly indignant.
"You went to reconnoitre; you did not come back; the next morning we were
attacked by Griscelli in force, and Señor Fortescue was seen among the
enemy, seen by General Mejia himself. It was, moreover, reported this
morning in the camp that Griscelli had let you go."
"So he did, and hunted us with his infernal blood-hounds, and we only
escaped by the skin of our teeth. We were surprised and taken prisoners.
Señor Fortescue was a prisoner on parole when the general saw him. I
believe Griscelli obtained his parole and took him to the _quebrada_ for
no other purpose than to compromise him with the patriots. And that I, who
have killed more than a hundred Spaniards with my own hand, should be
suspected of deserting to the enemy is too monstrous for belief."
"Of course, it is an absurd mistake. Appearances are certainly rather
against us--at any rate, against me; but a word of explanation will put
the matter right. Let us go to the camp at once and have it out."
"Not so fast, Señor Fortescue. I should like to have it out much. But
there is one little difficulty in the way which you may not have taken
into account. Mejia never listens to explanations, and never goes back on
his word. If he said he would hang us he will. He would be very sorry
afterward, I have no doubt; but that would not bring us back to life, and
it would be rather ridiculous to escape Griscelli's blood-hounds, only to
be hanged by our own people."
"And that is not the worst," put in Guido.
"Not the worst! Why what can be worse than being hanged?"
"I mean that even if the general did not carry out his threat you would be
killed all the same. The Colombian gauchos swear that they will hack you
to pieces wherever they find you. When Gahra comes he will tell you the
same."
"You have heard; what do you say?" asked Carmen, turning to me.
"Well, as it seems so certain that if we return to the camp we shall
either be hanged or hacked to pieces, I am decidedly of opinion that we
had better not return."
"So am I. At the same time, it is quite evident that we cannot remain
here, while every man's hand is against us. Is there any possibility of
procuring horses, Guido?"
"Yes, sir. I think Gahra and I will be able to bring you horses and arms
after nightfall."
"Good! And will Gahra and you throw in your lot with us?"
"Where you go I will go, señor. Let Gahra speak for himself. He will be
here shortly. He is coming now. I will show myself that he may know we are
here" (stepping out of the thicket).
When the negro arrived he expressed great satisfaction at finding us alive
and well. He did not think there would be any great difficulty in getting
away and bringing us horses. The _lleranos_ were still allowed to come and
go pretty much as they liked, and if awkward questions were asked it would
be easy to invent excuses. The best time to get away would be immediately
after nightfall, when most of the foraging parties would have returned to
camp and the men be at supper.
It was thereupon agreed that the attempt should be made, and that we
should stay where we were until we heard the howl of an _araguato_, which
Guido could imitate to perfection. This would signify that all was well,
and the coast clear.
Then, after giving us a few pieces of _tasajo_ and a handful of cigars,
the two men rode off; for the night was at hand, and if we did not escape
before light of moon, the chances were very much against our escaping at
all.