A LEAP IN THE DARK.
My readers can readily believe that all of us were much alarmed at
the prospect ahead. We had not dreamed that the freight car contained
soldiers, although all of us had heard that the Spanish Government was
transporting troops by this means wherever the railroads ran.
Alano had scarcely explained the situation, when Captain Guerez
motioned us to withdraw from the side edges of the platforms, so that
the soldiers looking out of the broad side doors of the car could not
catch sight of us.
"We must jump as soon as the meadow appears," whispered the captain.
"Be prepared, all of you."
He had scarcely finished when we heard a clatter of feet, and knew that
one or more of the Spaniards had crawled from a side door to the top of
the car. Then followed cautious footsteps in the direction of the rear
platform. Finding no one there, the Spanish soldiers came forward.
"Ha!" cried one, as he espied Captain Guerez. "Who are you?"
"Friends," was the reply, of course in Spanish.
"Friends? And why ride out here, then?"
"We have no money, _capitan_. We are dirt-poor."
"And where do you intend to go?"
"Los Harmona--if the train will ever reach there."
"What will you do there?"
"We may join the Spanish soldiery, _capitan_--if you will take us."
"Ha!" The Spanish officer tugged at his heavy mustache. He was only a
sergeant, but it pleased him to be called captain. "Why did you not
come into the car instead of sneaking around outside? If you want to
become soldiers we will take you along fast enough. But you must not
play us false. Come up here."
"I am afraid--I may fall off," answered Alano's father, in a trembling
voice.
All the while the conversation had been carried on he had been peering
sharply ahead for the meadow and the water to appear. We now shot out
of the woods, and on either side could be seen long stretches of swamp.
He turned to us and spoke in English. "All ready to jump?"
"Yes," we answered in concert.
"Then jump--all together!"
And away we went, leaving the rude steps of the freight cars with an
impetus that took each several yards from the tracks. I made a straight
leap and landed on my feet, but as quickly rolled over on my shoulder
in the wet grass. Burnham came close to me, but took a header, which
filled his nose and one ear with black mud. Alano and his father were
on the opposite side of the track.
A pistol shot rang out, followed by half a dozen more, but the bullets
did not reach any of us. In a moment the long train had rolled out of
sight. We watched its rear light for fully an eighth of a mile, when it
disappeared around a bend behind a bit of upland.
"Hullo, Mark, how are you?" It was the voice of Alano, who came up on
the tracks directly the freight had passed. He was not hurt in the
least. Captain Guerez had scratched one arm on a bit of low brush, but
outside of this the entire party was uninjured.
"Come now, follow me; there is no time to be lost," said the captain.
"Those soldiers may take it into their heads to have the train run back
in search of us."
"Yes, that's true," said Burnham. "Which way now?"
"We'll walk back on the tracks until we reach dry ground."
The plunge into the wet meadow had completed the work of the rain in
soaking us to the skin, but as the night was warm we did not mind this.
Keeping our eyes on the alert for more Spanish sentries, we hurried
along the railroad embankment for a distance of several hundred yards.
Then we left the tracks and took a trail leading southward.
Our various adventures for the past few hours had completely exhausted
Burnham, while the others of the party were greatly fatigued. The
newspaper man was in favor of stopping under a clump of palm trees and
resting, but Captain Guerez demurred.
"We'll reach a hut or a house ere long," he said. "And there the
accommodations will be much better."
"Well, we can't reach a resting-place too soon," grumbled Burnham.
"I can scarcely drag one foot after the other, and it's so close my
clothing is fairly steaming."
"You are no worse off than any of us," I made answer, as cheerfully as
I could.
The highway was a stony one, and the rains had washed away what little
dirt there was, making walking difficult. However, we had not very far
to go. A turn brought us in sight of a long, low house built of logs
and thatched with palm; and Captain Guerez called a halt.
"I'll go forward and investigate," he said. "In the meantime be on
guard against anybody following us from the railroad."
He was gone less than quarter of an hour, and on returning said it
was all right. A very old man named Murillo was in sole charge of the
house, and he was a strong Cuban sympathizer.
The place reached, we lost no time in divesting ourselves of a portion
of our clothing and making ourselves comfortable in some grass hammocks
spread between the house posts.
"We ought to start early in the morning," I said, my thoughts still on
my father.
"We will start at four o'clock," announced Captain Guerez. "So make the
most of your rest."
The captain had intended to divide up the night into watches, but
Murillo came forward and volunteered to stand guard.
"You go to sleep," he said in Spanish. "I sleep when you are gone. I
know how to watch."
Feeling the old man could be trusted, we all retired. In a few minutes
Burnham was snoring, and shortly after the others also dropped asleep.
It lacked yet a few minutes of four o'clock in the morning when Murillo
came stealing into the house and shook everyone by the shoulder.
"Spanish soldiers down by the railroad," he explained hurriedly. "They
intend to come up this road."
"Then let us be off!" cried Captain Guerez.
All of us were already arranging our toilets. In a few seconds we were
ready to leave, and Murillo was paid for the trouble he had taken in
our behalf.
"Have they horses?" asked Captain Guerez; and Murillo nodded.
"Then come, all of you!" cried Alano's father. He started out of the
door, and we came after him. Hardly, however, had he taken a dozen
steps than he pushed each of us behind a clump of bushes.
"Soldiers!" he muttered. "They are coming from the opposite direction!"
"We are caught in a trap!" exclaimed Alano. "We cannot go back, and we
cannot go forward."
"Here is a how d'ye do!" put in Burnham. "I'm sure I don't want to take
to those beastly swamps."
Murillo had followed us to the doorway. His face took on a troubled
look, for he wanted us to get away in safety.
"More soldiers coming the other way!" he cried. "What will you do? Ah,
I have it! Come into the house at once?"
"But what will you do?" queried Captain Guerez impatiently.
"I'll show you. Come, and you shall be safe."
The old man spoke so confidently that we followed him inside at once.
Pushing aside a rude table which stood over a rush matting, he caught
hold of a portion of the flooring. A strong pull, and up came a
trapdoor, revealing a hole of inky darkness beneath.
"Into that, all of you!" he cried; and down we went, to find ourselves
in a rude cellar about ten feet square and six feet deep. As soon as
the last of us was down, Murillo replaced the trapdoor, matting, and
table, and we heard him throw off some of his clothing and leap into
one of the hammocks.
We had been left in total darkness, and now stood perfectly still and
listened intently. Not more than three minutes passed, when we heard
the tramping of horses' hoofs on the rocky road. The house reached, the
animals came to a halt, and several soldiers dismounted. A rough voice
yelled out in Spanish:
"Hullo, in there! Who lives here?"
"I do," replied Murillo, with a start and a yawn, as though he had just
awakened from a long sleep.
"Have you seen anything of four strangers around here?"
"No, _capitan_."
There was a pause, and the leader of the soldiers came tramping inside.
"You are sure you are telling me the truth?"
"Yes, _capitan_."
"It is strange."
The newcomer was about to go on, when a shout from outside attracted
his attention. The soldiers from the opposite direction had come up.
A short conference was held, of which, however, we heard nothing
distinctly. Then some of the soldiers came inside, and we heard their
heavy boots moving directly over our heads.
"You say you saw nobody?" was again asked of Murillo.
"No, _capitan_, not a soul. But then I have been asleep since evening.
I am an old man, and I need a great deal of rest."
"You are lazy, no doubt," came with a rough laugh. "Andros, what do you
think?"
"What should I think? There seems to be no one around. We might make a
search."
"Yes, we'll do that. It can do no harm. Tell the other men to scour the
woods and brush."
The order was given; and a moment later those who had first come in
began to search the house.