THE AMBUSH.
Don Fernando and his friend, as we have related, left the hacienda a
little before Don Torribio. They had made all haste to reach their
dwelling. The _tertulia_ had ended at nine o'clock; and by eleven they
were at the _rancho_.
Doña Manuela was expecting them. In a few words they reported to her
all that had happened at the _tertulia_, and hastened to their couches;
for they were obliged to leave again at daybreak, if they wished to
arrive in good time at San Lucar without over-fatigueing Doña Manuela,
who was to accompany them. In fact, according to agreement, they
mounted their horses a little before four in the morning.
In Mexico, on account of the intense heat of the day, people generally
travel by night; that is to say, from four in the morning till eleven,
and from six in the evening till midnight. Nine o'clock struck as the
three entered the _presidio_. Don Fernando left his friend and the
mother to find their way to the house he possessed in San Lucar, which
he had placed at their disposal, while he himself repaired to the
governor's house, whither affairs of grave importance called him.
The worthy governor overwhelmed the visitor with civilities,--for
the latter had, on more than one occasion, rendered him important
service,--and seemed unable to show him sufficient courtesy But, in
spite of the efforts of his host, Don Fernando perceived that Don José
Kalbris was a prey to anxiety, which all his sense of the attentions
due to his guest did not enable him wholly to conceal.
Don José Kalbris was a brave and worthy soldier, true as his own
steel, to whom the Mexican government had given the charge of the
_presidio_ as a recompense for his valiant services during the War
of Independence. For fifteen years the colonel had governed the
_presidio_, and, thanks to a certain degree of severity tempered by
justice, and to his undoubted courage, had managed to keep it in a
state of comparative tranquillity, in spite of the evil passions of
the _vaqueros_--a set of rascals, three or four of whom he was obliged
to garrote annually, in order to overawe the rest--and the continual
raids of the Indians, who pushed up under the guns of the fort in their
attempts to carry off cattle and make prisoners, the latter being
their favourite booty, especially women.
Don José, endowed with moderate intelligence, but rich in experience,
and warmly supported by the better classes, who had entire confidence
in him, had contrived to maintain peace in his province without much
difficulty up to the time of which we are now speaking. This denoted
a certain strength of character in the old soldier, who was without
education, and had made his own career, particularly when one takes
into consideration the difficulty of his receiving support from his
government; so that he was thrown on his own resources, and obliged to
take the initiative, and act on his own responsibility, in all cases
where he thought fit to exercise the strong arm of the law.
In person the governor was a tall, stout man with a purple and bloated
face, perfectly self-satisfied, fond of hearing himself talk, and who
laid great stress on every syllable he uttered.
Don Fernando, well acquainted with the colonel's character, and holding
him in great esteem, was astounded at the uneasiness he displayed, and
the change from his usual placidity of manner. Fancying that want of
money might be at the bottom of his embarrassment, he resolved to sound
him, and come to his aid, if that were necessary.
"Holloa!" said the colonel, "What good wind blows you to the _presidio_
so early, Don Fernando?"
"The wish to see you," replied the latter, pressing the hand the
colonel extended.
"It is very kind of you. You will breakfast with me, of course?"
"I came to invite myself."
"That is right," said the colonel, striking a bell.
A domestic entered.
"This caballero will do me the honour to breakfast with me."
The servant, a well-trained soldier, disappeared.
"By the bye, Don Fernando, I have a heap of papers here addressed to
you."
"Thank Heaven! I was afraid they had been delayed. I want them
particularly, for certain reasons."
"So much the better, then," said the colonel, producing the papers,
which Don Fernando put into his pocket.
"Breakfast is ready," said the same man who had appeared an instant
before.
The governor and his guest proceeded to the breakfast room, where they
found a third person waiting for them. This was a Major Barnum, an
old Englishman, tall, dry, thin, and formal; as brave a soldier as
ever existed; for twenty years in the service of the Mexican Republic;
devoted heart and soul to the country of his adoption; and second in
command in the _presidio_ of San Lucar.
He and Don José had seen much service together, and were attached to
each other like two brothers; resuscitating in this out of the way
corner of the world the fables of Castor and Pollux Damon and Pythias,
and all the other heroes of ancient friendship.
Don Fernando and Major Barnum were slightly acquainted with each other,
and glad of the meeting; for the Englishman was an excellent fellow,
and hid a warm and loyal heart under his rather cold manner.
After the usual greetings, all three placed themselves at table, and
commenced a vigorous attack on the delicacies with which the board was
abundantly supplied.
When the first keen relish of appetite had been appeased, the
conversation became more lively, and at the close of the meal grew
quite amicable and confidential.
"By the bye, what is the matter with you, Don José?" said Don Fernando.
"There is something odd about you today, which I have never seen
before."
"Right," said the governor, draining a glass of _Jerez de la Frontera_
(sherry); "I feel sad."
"You sad! You astonish me. If I had not noticed your appetite at
breakfast, I should think you were ill."
"Well," said the soldier, with a sigh, "my appetite is good."
"Then what is there to vex you?"
"I have a presentiment of evil," said the governor, seriously.
"A presentiment of evil!" echoed the major. "I know that at first
sight it seems ridiculous for old soldiers like ourselves to attach
importance to such folly, which is only, at the best, the result of
a diseased imagination. Nevertheless, I too feel like the colonel: I
am uneasy without knowing why; I expect every moment to receive evil
tidings. In two words, I am firmly convinced some great danger is
impending. I feel it, I know it, without being able to guess whence it
is to come."
"Ah," said the governor, "the major has just described my own
sensations. Long as my career as a soldier has been, I have never
felt so anxious and oppressed as now. I have been in this state of
excitement a whole week, and am astonished nothing has happened to
justify my forebodings. Don Fernando, God does give warnings of danger
to man."
"I do not deny the truth of what you propound. I know you too well to
have the least intention to question your conviction. But still, how is
it to be accounted for? You and Major Barnum are not men to be afraid
of a shadow, or easily scared; you have proved that a thousand times.
Has nothing occurred to confirm your presentiment?"
"Nothing as yet," replied the governor; "but I momentarily expect bad
news."
"Come, come, Don José!" said Don Fernando gravely; "you are suffering
from an attack of a malady very common in the major's country, where
they call it 'the blue devils.' It is a kind of spleen, caused by the
fogs in England. Listen to me: get yourself bled--do not spare the wine
cup; and in a couple of days you will be the first to laugh at the
trick your fancy has played you. Do you not think so, major?"
"I wish it were so," said that officer, shaking his head.
"Pooh!" said Don Fernando; "Life is short enough already. What is the
use of creating bugbears to frighten ourselves? And besides, who is
there to give you trouble?"
"_¿Quién sabe?_ We are never sure of anything on the frontiers."
"Nonsense! The Indians have grown as quiet as lambs."
Just then a servant opened the door, and beckoned to the governor.
"What do you want?" said the latter.
"Señor," replied the servant, "a _vaquero_, just arrived in all haste,
requests an audience. He is the bearer of important intelligence."
This announcement fell like a sheet of ice on the three caballeros, and
thoroughly stopped the flow of their fictitious gaiety.
"Let him come in," said the colonel.
Then casting a look of inconceivable sadness on Don Fernando, he added:
"It is fate herself who undertakes to answer you!"
"We shall see!" replied Don Fernando with a forced smile.
Heavy footsteps were heard in the adjacent apartments, and the
_vaquero_ entered.
It was Pablito.
The man had indeed the look of one who brings bad news. He seemed to
have just left the battlefield--to have escaped from a massacre. His
clothes hung in rags, stained with mud and gore; his face, pale as
death, had an expression of sadness very strange in such a man. It was
with difficulty he held himself upright, so dreadfully jaded he seemed
by the struggle he had had to reach the _presidio_. His spurs left a
bloody mark on the floor at every step; and he was forced to support
himself on his rifle.
The three men looked at him with mingled fear and pity.
"Here," said Don Fernando, pouring out a tumbler of wine; "drink this;
it will restore you."
"No!" said Pablito, thrusting back the glass; "I thirst for blood, not
wine!"
These words were uttered in such a tone of hatred and despair, that the
listeners involuntarily turned pale, and shuddered with horror.
"What has happened?" said the colonel, in deep anxiety.
The _vaquero_ wiped the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his
hand, and said, in short, sharp accents, which struck terror into his
hearers:
"The Indians are upon us!"
"Have you seen them?" asked the major.
"Yes," said he abruptly; "I have seen them."
"When was that--today?"
"This very morning, colonel."
"Far from hence?"
"About twenty leagues. They have already crossed the Rio del Norte."
"Already! How many are there? Do you know."
"Count the sand grains in the desert, and you will know."
"God!" said the colonel; "it is impossible. The Indians cannot assemble
in such numbers in the course of a day. Your fears have deceived you."
"Fears!" said Pablito, laughing derisively. "Fear is very well for
you who live in towns; in the wilderness we have no time to make her
acquaintance."
"Well, then, how are they coming?"
"Like a tornado, burning and pillaging as they come."
"Is it their intention to attack the _presidio_?"
"They have formed an immense half moon, the two horns of which are
nearing you every moment."
"Are they still a good way off?"
"Yes; for they are acting on a preconceived plan, establishing
themselves firmly in places capable of defence, and apparently not
governed by the sole instinct of pillage; but, as it would seem,
obeying the directions of a chief who understands the art of war, and
whose influence is felt in all their movements."
"This looks serious," said the governor.
The major shook his head.
"Why have you waited so long before you warned us?" said he.
"This morning, at daybreak, my comrades and I were surrounded by more
than two hundred of these demons, who seemed to rise out of the ground.
We defended ourselves like lions: one is dead; two of us are wounded,
but we managed to escape; and here I am."
"Get back to your post as soon as possible; they shall give you a fresh
horse."
"I will be off directly, colonel."
The _vaquero_ saluted and left them. Five minutes later, they heard his
horse's hoofs clattering over the stony road.
"Well," said the colonel, looking at the two others; "what did I tell
you? Did my forebodings lie?"
Don Fernando rose.
"Where are you going?" asked the colonel.
"Back to the Hacienda del Cormillo."
"At once! Without finishing your breakfast?"
"This instant. I am torn by indescribable anxiety. The Indians may
attack the hacienda; and God knows what may happen."
"El Cormillo is fortified, and cannot be taken by a _coup-de-main_.
However, I think Doña Hermosa would be safer here. Try, if there is
time, to induce Don Pedro to return: no one can foresee the issue of
an invasion undertaken on such a scale; and one cannot take too many
precautions. I should be glad to see Don Pedro and his daughter safe
among us."
"Thank you, colonel; your advice is excellent. I will use every effort
to induce Don Pedro to follow it. Good-bye. I venture to flatter myself
that an energetic demonstration on your part will rid us of these
ferocious foes, whose tactics are always to attempt a surprise, and who
disappear as suddenly as they came the moment they find their plans
have been discovered."
"God grant it! But I scarcely hope as much." "Farewell, caballeros,
and good luck!" said Don Fernando, pressing the hands of the two old
soldiers.
Don Estevan was waiting for him in the court, and joined him as soon as
he appeared.
"Well," said the _mayor domo_, "you have heard the news? The Indians
are coming like the locusts."
"Yes; I have heard so."
"What do you intend to do?"
"To return to the hacienda at once."
"H'm! That would be scarcely prudent. You know how speedily these
demons spread themselves over all the country; we should most likely
meet some of them."
"Well! We will ride over their corpses."
"_¡Canarios!_ I dare say. But you may be killed."
"Pooh! Doña Hermosa expects me; and I am not killed yet."
"True; but you may be."
"Well, we shall see."
"Probably so. However, as I foresaw the objections you would make,
I have arranged everything to go. The horses are ready saddled, the
_peones_ in waiting: we will set off as soon as you choose."
"Thanks, Estevan; you are really a friend."
"I know it," said the latter, with a gay smile. Estevan Diaz whistled
shrilly, and the _peones_ entered the court, leading two horses by
their bridles.
"Let us be off," said Don Fernando, springing into the saddle.
"Let us be off," repeated Don Estevan.
They gave the horses their heads, and began to push their way slowly
through the crowd of idlers assembled before the gates of the fortress
to learn the latest news, and trotted down the steep incline leading
from the fort to the old _presidio_, replying, as well as they could,
to the questions with which they were assailed on all sides. As soon as
they had threaded the town, they increased their speed along the road
to the Hacienda del Cormillo, without noticing the repeated signals of
several more than suspicious-looking individuals, carefully wrapped in
thick cloaks, who had followed them at a distance since they left the
fort, talking eagerly the while to each other.
It was a stormy day. The sky was gray and lowering; the birds wheeled
screaming around; and the wind, blowing in squalls, roared in the deep
defiles of the road, filling the air with clouds of impalpable dust.
The two _peones_ who had brought the news of the Indians' march upon
the _presidio_ rode twenty paces in advance, and scanned the country
on each side of the road with startled looks, expecting every instant
to see the redskins make their appearance, and to hear the dreaded
war whoop. Don Fernando and Don Estevan rode side by side, without
exchanging a syllable, each sufficiently occupied by his own thoughts.
In the meanwhile, the nearer the travellers got to the river, the
more the storm increased in intensity. The rain fell in torrents,
the lightning flashed incessantly, and the peals of thunder rolled
majestically among the high cliffs, from which enormous crags were
constantly detached, and hurled crashing into the river.
The storm had reached such a pitch of fury, that the riders had the
greatest difficulty in making progress, and were in constant danger of
falling with their horses, which were plunging wildly in their fright
at the tempest. The ground, soaked with rain, afforded no foothold
for the poor brutes: they slipped and stumbled at every step, snorted
violently, and threatened to break down.
"It is impossible to get farther," said the _mayor domo_, picking up
his horse from a plunge which had nearly unseated him.
"But what is to be done?" asked Don Fernando, looking about him with
great anxiety.
"I think we had better take shelter under this clump of trees for a
while: the storm grows worse and worse. It is folly to pursue our
journey while it lasts."
"Let us go, if we must," said Don Fernando resignedly.
Accordingly they turned towards a small copse on one side of the road,
which seemed to offer some little shelter from the intensity of the
storm.
They were only a few paces from it, when four men, their faces covered
with black masks, rushed out of the wood, and dashed at the travellers,
whom they attacked without uttering a word. The _peones_ fell from
their saddles, knocked over by two shots from the masked strangers, and
rolled on the ground in convulsive agony, uttering the most piteous
cries.
Don Fernando and Don Estevan, astonished at this sudden attack by men
who could not be Indians,--for they were dressed like _vaqueros_, and
their hands were white,--instantly dismounted, and, placing themselves
behind their horses, awaited their assailants' onset with cocked rifles.
The latter, after making sure of the death of the _peones_, turned
their horses' heads to attack the two Spaniards. Shots were again
exchanged, and a terrible combat began,--a dreadful struggle of two
men against four--in which no word was spoken, and which was intended
to end in the death of those who had been so treacherously set upon.
However, the combat was sustained with a semblance of equality which
discouraged the assailants, of whom one had already fallen, cut down
to the teeth; while a second was retreating, with his chest pierced
through by the good blade of Don Fernando.
"Aha! my masters," exclaimed the latter; "have you had enough, or do
you wish to make further acquaintance with my blade? Fools that you
are! You should have set at least ten to assassinate us."
"What!" added the _mayor domo_, "Are you already satisfied? You are not
clever enough for highwaymen; the man who pays you might have made a
better choice."
In fact, the two remaining men in masks had withdrawn a few paces, and
held themselves on the defensive.
Suddenly four other masked men appeared, and all six rushed upon the
Spaniards, who awaited them firmly.
"The devil! I wronged you by my suspicion," said Don Estevan. "I see
you are up to your work;" and he discharged a pistol point-blank into
the midst of his adversaries.
The latter, still without a word, answered his fire, and the struggle
was renewed with fresh fury.
But the two brave Spaniards could not defend themselves much longer:
they were exhausted with fatigue; and it was not long before they, in
their turn, fell on the dead bodies of two more of their assailants,
whom they had sacrificed to their fury before they fell.
When they saw Don Fernando and Don Estevan stretched on the ground,
the strangers uttered a shout of triumph. Without troubling themselves
about the _mayor domo_, they seized the body of Don Fernando, threw it
over the neck of one of their horses, and rapidly vanished amongst the
manifold complications of the road.
The tempest continued to rage with fury. A lugubrious silence reigned
in the spot where this tragedy had been acted, and where seven corpses
were now lying, round which the vultures and hideous _zopilotes_,
uttering their hoarse cries, began to sail in narrowing circles.