LETTERS FROM HOME
There was some little discussion over the amount of supplies that it
would be necessary to purchase.
"Travelling quietly, the journey will not occupy over fourteen days,"
Harry said. "Do not get anything more than is absolutely necessary. It
is evident that the whole country is in a disturbed state, and it is as
well to have nothing to lose. We can buy nearly everything we want in
the way of meat and flour at villages we pass through. Therefore, if we
have enough tea, coffee, and sugar there will be really no occasion to
buy anything more. We have still two or three bottles of spirits left,
and you can buy pulque everywhere. There is a proverb two or three
thousand years old, 'The empty traveller can sing before the robber'.
We are reduced to that condition, except for our tents, bedding, and
blankets, and they have done good service and would not cost much to
replace. There remain, then, only the animals. They would certainly be
a serious loss to us."
"Brigands would not want to take them. They would not be of the least
use to them in the mountains. I would not say the same of parties of
disbanded soldiers making their way down to Lima or Callao, who might
prefer riding to travelling all that distance."
"The brigands might take our rifles and pistols, Dias."
"Yes, they would be sure to do that, señor. But we have had more than
our share of bad luck already, what with the brigands in the Cerro
pass, and these rascals we have just had to do with. I will enquire
when the last silver convoy went down. If one has gone during the past
five or six days, we could overtake it soon, for we can do two days'
journey to its one. If no convoy has gone forward later, and there is
one starting shortly, it might be worth our while to wait for it, for
by all accounts the road down to Lima is infested by discharged
soldiers, and ruffians of all kinds from Callao and Lima."
"Have the convoys an escort?"
"Yes, señors. The silver mines have always a considerable force in
their pay. They used to have troops from the division stationed here,
but what with the constant revolutions, and the fact that more than
once the escort, instead of protecting the convoys, mutinied and seized
them, they found it better to raise a force themselves. They do not
take Creoles, preferring pure-bred Indians, who are just as brave as
the Creoles, if not braver, and can be relied upon to be faithful to
their trust. The consequence is that, in spite of the disturbed state
of the country, it is a long time now since one of their escorts has
been attacked, especially as the robbers would find great difficulty in
disposing of the silver, as each ingot is marked with the name of the
mine it comes from.
"They might, of course, melt it up again; but even then there would be
a difficulty, as the law is very strict as to the sale of silver, and a
certificate has to be obtained from the local authorities in every
case, stating where it was obtained. This is hard upon the natives, for
many of the little mines are worked among the mountains, and the
rascals, to whom all official positions are given in reward for
services done to the party which happens to be in power for the time,
take good care to fleece the Indians heavily before they will give them
the necessary documents. Nothing can be done here, señors, without
greasing the palms of two or three people, and the grease has to be
pretty heavily laid on."
Dias went out and made enquiries. "There will be no convoy for another
fortnight. One went down ten days ago."
"I certainly shall not wait another fortnight, Dias. As to an escort,
less than a dozen men would be useless, and as they would be a
fortnight at least going down, and as much returning, even if you could
get twelve men who could be relied upon, it would be a very expensive
job. We might as well risk losing our baggage, and even our guns. The
great thing will be to reduce the weight as much as possible. Four
cotton beds take up a lot of space, and I think in any case I should
have bought new ones at Lima; at any rate they can go. The blankets and
ponchos we could, of course, carry behind us. So that practically there
are only the two tents, cooking utensils, and the stores, which will
not weigh many pounds, to carry, and with our clothes the whole will
make a ridiculously small load even for one mule. We had better get rid
of the pickaxes and shovels, they would fetch pretty nearly as much
here as we should give for new ones at Lima.
"Thus, then, with Donna Maria riding one of the mules, there would be
our five selves and three led mules, of which only one would be laden.
That would offer no great temptation to plunderers; and as we shall all
have guns across our shoulders, they would see that it would not be
worth while to interfere on the very slight chance that the one laden
mule might be carrying anything valuable."
"I agree with you, señor. Our appearance would be that of a party of
travellers who have been exploring the old ruins, or, as has been done
before, endeavouring to ascertain whether the rivers on the east are
navigable down to the Amazon. Besides, the bulk of the people here do
not forget what they owe to Englishmen, and the fact that you are of
that nation would in itself secure good treatment for you among all
except desperate men."
Accordingly they started the next morning. Maria rode, in Amazon
fashion, on a mule between her husband and Harry. Bertie followed with
José, to whose saddle the three baggage mules were attached in single
file. They were undisturbed on their journey. Three or four times they
were hailed by men on the rocks above as they went through difficult
points of the pass. The reply of Dias, that the two gentlemen with him
were Englishmen who had been exploring the ruins and doing a little
shooting among the hills, generally satisfied them. One or two,
however, who enquired what the mule was carrying, were invited by him
to come down and see, though at the same time they were informed that
the load contained nothing but blankets and cooking vessels, and enough
provisions to last them on the way.
When, within two days' journey from Lima, a party of rough men came
down into the road, Dias rode forward to meet them and repeated his
usual story. "You can examine the mule if you like," he said, "but I
warn you not to interfere with us; the English señors are not men to be
meddled with. They are armed with rifles, and each carries a brace of
double-barrelled pistols. They are dead shots, too, and you may reckon
that it will cost you over a dozen lives were you to interfere with
them. Moreover, the other muleteer and myself could give a fair account
of ourselves. Rather than have trouble, however, two of you can come
forward and see that my statement as to what the mule carries is
correct. Its burden would not fetch fifty dollars at Lima."
Two of the men came forward and examined the mule's burden, and felt
the saddles of the others to see that nothing was concealed there. When
they rejoined their party one who appeared to be their leader came
forward.
"Señors," he said, "I regret that we have stopped you; but we are poor
men, and are obliged to take to the road to live. Perhaps your honours
would not mind giving us ten dollars to buy food at the next village."
[Illustration: THEY SAW APPROACHING A PEASANT WOMAN SITTING ON A MULE.]
"I have not many dollars left," Harry said, "but if you really need
food you are welcome to ten of them, for we shall need nothing more
than what we carry till we arrive at Lima." He handed him the ten
dollars, and then, showing him his purse, said, "You see there are but
five others."
With many thanks the man retired, and he and his companions took off
their hats as Harry and his party rode through them.
"Another such stoppage," Harry said with a laugh, "and we shall have to
fall back upon our little stock of gold-dust."
However, they met with no more trouble, and on the following evening
rode into Lima and took up their quarters at the hotel. Dias asked that
he might go on with the mules to his home.
"In the first place, señor, we want to know how things have gone on in
our absence. We had arranged with neighbours to look after the garden
and the house. They were glad to do so, as the garden was a fruitful
one. They were to take all they could raise and keep it well planted,
so that whenever we might return we should find our usual supply of
fruits and vegetables. In the next place, Maria is nervous about my
staying here after what happened last time. We may take it as certain
that the friends of the men we hurt will take the chance of paying off
the score if they can find an opportunity. I shall come in each day to
see if you have any orders for me."
"There will be no occasion for that, Dias. We have quite made up our
minds to wait here for a week before starting on our next expedition,
so if you will come over in four days that will be quite soon enough.
You can overhaul the blankets and bags, and see that those good enough
to keep are put in good repair, and those worn out replaced. We shall
want quite as many stores as those we took last time, for there are
very few villages except on the sea-shore, and we shall find difficulty
in replenishing our stock. We shall have to buy double-barrelled guns
in place of those we lost, but that we shall do ourselves. We have
plenty of ammunition and cartridges for the rifles and pistols, but we
had only a few shot cartridges left when we lost the guns."
As soon as Dias had gone on with the mules Harry went to the British
consul's and found three letters waiting there for him, two from Miss
Fortescue and one from Mr. Barnett. He put the former into his pocket
to be read and enjoyed privately, but opened that of Mr. Barnett at
once. It was in answer to that Harry had written at Cuzco.
"My dear Harry," he said,
"Your first letter was quite satisfactory. I was glad to find that you
had reached Lima without encountering more than a stiffish gale, which
was as well as you could have expected. I was still more glad that you
had found Dias alive and willing to accompany you. Your letter from
Cuzco has now reached me. I think you were extremely lucky to get
through that street broil without any damage to either of you. It was
certainly a hazardous business to interfere in an affair of that kind
without having any weapons except the sticks you carried. Still, I can
well understand that, as you would certainly have lost the services of
Dias had you not done so, it was worth running a good deal of risk;
and, as you say, it had the natural effect of binding him to you heart
and soul.
"I feel very uneasy about you both, and have blamed myself many a time
for suggesting this scheme to you. I can only say that it is really the
only possible way in which it seemed to me you could carry out the task
set you. In fairy stories it is, so far as I can remember, a not
uncommon thing for a king to set some task, that appears absolutely
hopeless, to the suitors for his daughter's hand, and the hero always
accomplishes the impossible. But this is always done with the
assistance of some good fairy, and unfortunately good fairies are not
to be met with in the present day. I have great faith in Dias, but fear
that he is a very poor substitute for a fairy godmother. Still, I am
convinced that he will do all in his power, and will even strain his
conscience severely, by conducting you to places where his traditions
lead him to believe that gold, either in the shape of mines or hidden
treasure, is to be found.
"Your search will not improbably lead you into places where the Indians
have won back their own from the civilization introduced by the
Spaniards, and I have always heard that on the eastern side of the
Cordilleras the natives entertain a deadly hatred for whites, and
attack all who endeavour to penetrate into the forest. Don't be too
rash, lad. Remember that it will not add to your lady-love's happiness
to learn that you have been massacred in your attempt to carry out your
knight-errant adventure, and if you are careless about your own life,
don't forget that its loss will probably entail the loss of your
brother's also. Dangers, of course, you must meet and face, but
remember that prudence is a valuable aid to bravery.
"I am glad to know that Dias has taken his wife with him. A woman is a
very useful adjunct to an expedition such as yours. Of course in some
ways she is necessarily a trouble, and always a responsibility. Still,
if, as you say is the case with her, she is a good cook, this makes a
wonderful difference in your comfort, and certainly adds to the chance
of your preserving your health. And in the next place, should you fall
ill, or be mauled by a tiger or puma, she will make a far better nurse
than Dias himself would be. Now that you are cutting yourself adrift
from civilization, I shall not expect to hear from you again for a long
time. I shall try and not be uneasy; but really, Harry, I do feel that
I have incurred a very heavy responsibility, and may, with the best
intentions in the world, have sent you and Bertie to your death. I
have, as you directed me, addressed this to the care of our consul, and
it must be many months before you receive it, many months more before I
again hear from you. Should you require more money, draw upon me. I
have always a good balance standing at the bank, therefore do not
hesitate to draw, in case the amount sent out to you quarterly does not
prove sufficient to carry out any scheme you may have in hand.
"With all good wishes for your own and Bertie's welfare,
"I remain,
"Your affectionate guardian,
"JAMES BARNETT."
When he returned to the hotel he handed Mr. Barnett's letter to Bertie
to read, and said:
"Stop down here in the patio, Bertie; I have two letters that I want to
read quietly."
Bertie laughed.
"All right, Harry; take your time over them; I won't disturb you."
It was dusk now, and when Harry went to his room he lit a couple of
candles and seated himself in a large cane arm-chair and opened his
letters.
The first one consisted chiefly of expressions of pleasure at his
arrival at Callao, of remarks upon the voyage, of complaints as to the
long time that had passed without news of him, and of assurances of
affection.
The second was, like Mr. Barnett's, in reply to his letter from Cuzco.
"My dearest Harry,
"After reading your letter I have been more and more impressed with my
heartlessness in allowing you to undertake such a journey as you have
before you. I ought to have been braver. I ought to have refused
absolutely to allow you to go. The prospect of your being able to
overcome my father's objections really amounts to nothing, and I ought
to have said that I would not accept the sacrifice, and would not allow
you to run such risks; that it would be better and kinder for both of
us to accept the inevitable, and not enter upon such a struggle with
fate.
"Do not think that I am already growing weary of waiting, and that my
heart is in any way changed. It is not that. It is anxiety about you,
and the feeling how wrong I was to let you go. Were there even a shadow
of chance of your success I would wait patiently for years. I do not
say that my life is a pleasant one. It is not. My father is still
bitterly angry with me for, as he says, throwing away my chances; that
is to say, of marrying a man I do not care for, simply because he is
rich. But I can bear that. Mother is very very good, and does all in
her power to cheer me; but, as you know, she has never been much more
than a cipher, accustomed always to submit to my father's will, and it
is wonderful to me that in our matter she has ventured, not openly to
oppose him, but to give me what strength and comfort she can.
"I hardly know how I should have got on without her comfort. My father
hardly speaks to me. He treats me as if I had been convicted of some
deadly sin, and is only restrained from punishing me in some way
because, by some blunder or other, contumacy against the will of a
father has been omitted from the penal code. Seriously, Harry, it makes
me unhappy, not only for myself but for him. Until I was unable to give
in to him in this question he has always been the kindest of fathers. I
am sure he feels this estrangement between us almost as much as I do,
but believes that he is acting for my good; and it is a great pain to
him that I cannot see the matter in the same light as he does. Of
course to me it is most ridiculous that he should suppose that my
happiness depends upon having a title, and cutting a figure at court,
and that sort of thing; but there is no arguing over it, and I am as
thoroughly convinced that my view is the correct one as he is that it
is utter folly.
"However, I am almost as sorry for him as for myself, and would do
almost anything short of giving you up to make him happy. However, do
not think that I am very miserable, because I am not. Somehow, though I
can't give any good reason for my belief, I do think you will succeed.
I do not say that I think for a moment you are likely to come home with
the sum my father named as necessary; that seems to be quite hopeless.
But I think somehow you may succeed in doing well; and though some
people might consider that he was justified in refusing his consent to
what he might think was a bad match, he could not do so with any
justice were I to determine upon marrying a gentleman with some
fortune. He thinks a great deal of public opinion, and would know that
even chat would be against him. But Indeed, Harry, I am beginning to
doubt whether in the end I shall be able to sacrifice my life to his
unfortunate mania, that I must marry what he calls well. I love you,
and told him that if at the end of two years you were not in a position
to claim my hand, I would give in to my father's wishes. I will keep my
promise so far, that I will not run away with you or marry you in
defiance of his command. But as I have agreed to wait for two years for
you, I may ask you to wait another two years for me.
"When I think of you going through all sorts of dangers and hardships
for my sake, I feel that it would be downright wickedness to turn
against you if you find that you cannot perform an impossible task.
Instead of this separation making you less dear to me, it is affecting
me in quite the other way. My thoughts are always with you. How could
it be otherwise? I have worked myself up to such a pitch that I have
almost resolved that, when the two years are up, I will say to my
father: 'I shall ask Harry to release me from my promise to him, and
for two years, Father, I will go about and allow men a fair chance of
winning my love. If at the end of that time I have met no one to whom I
can give my heart, I will then go my own way, and if Harry will take me
I will marry him.' It will require a great deal of courage to say so;
but you are doing so much to try and win me, that it would be hard
indeed if I were to shrink from doing a little on my part.
"Still, it would make it easier for me if you should have the good
fortune to bring home something; not because, as I have told you many
times, I should shrink for a moment from renouncing all the luxuries in
which I have been brought up, and for which I care so little, but
because it would, in his eyes, be a proof of how earnestly you have
striven to do what you could to meet his requirements. I did not mean
to say this when I began my letter, but it seems to me that it will
give you heart and strength in your work, and that you will see from it
that I, too, have taken my courage in my hand, and show you that your
love and faithfulness shall some day have the reward they deserve.
"God bless you and keep you, dearest,
"Your loving HILDA."
Harry read the letter through again and again, and at last Bertie came
in.
"What! at it still, Harry?" he said with a laugh. "You must have got
your letters by heart by this time. I have been sitting in the patio by
myself for two mortal hours expecting you to come down. At last I said
to myself, 'This sort of thing will bring on madness. When a healthy
sailor forgets that his brother is waiting for supper, to say nothing
of himself, it is clear that there is something radically wrong.'"
"It is evident, Bertie, that at present you know nothing of human
nature. If there had been anything radically wrong in this letter I
should probably have been down long ago. It is just the contrary. Hilda
says that if I don't succeed here, she will give herself, or rather her
father, two years, and at the end of that time, if she doesn't find
someone she likes better, she will marry me, whether he likes it or
not--at least, that is what it comes to."
"I congratulate you, old boy. At the same time, it is evident that she
would not have been worth her salt if she had arrived at any other
conclusion. Now, having settled that comfortably, let us go and have
something to eat. You appear to forget altogether that you have had
nothing since breakfast, and it is now past eight o'clock."
"You boys think of nothing but eating," Harry grumbled.
"Well, up till now, Harry, from the time we started, I have observed
that you have a very healthy appetite yourself, and I can tell you it
has cost me half a dollar in bribing the cook to stay on beyond his
usual hour. I did not like to tell him that you were engaged in reading
a love-letter fifty times, so I put it delicately and said that you
were engaged in business of importance. It went against my conscience
to tell such a buster."
"There, come on, Bertie. I had begun to hope that you were growing into
a sensible fellow, but I am afraid that there is no chance of that now,
and that you will continue to be a donkey to the end of your life."
Harry had told Dias that they had better take two or three days at home
before they came into Lima again, but to his surprise the muleteer came
in at ten o'clock next morning.
"Well, Dias, I did not expect to see you again so soon. You have found
everything right at home, I hope?"
"No, señor, I am sorry to say I did not. Three days after we left here
our house was burnt down."
"Burnt down, Dias! I am sorry indeed to hear that. How did it happen? I
thought you said that you had locked it up, and left no one there."
"That was so, señor. The people who took over the garden were to go
into the house once a week to see that everything was in order; but as
this fire broke out only three days after I left, they had not entered
it. Everyone says that it must have been fired on purpose, for the
flames seem to have burst out in all parts at once. No one in the town
thought that I had an enemy in the world, and all have been wondering
who could have had a grudge against me. Of course we need not go very
far to guess who was at the bottom of it."
"I suppose not, Dias. It must have been those scoundrels we gave such a
thrashing to."
"There is no doubt of that, señor. But this time they have got the best
of me, for they know very well that I have no proof against them, and
that it would be useless to lodge any complaint."
"I am afraid it would, Dias. Is it quite burnt down?"
"The walls are standing, señor. It takes a good deal to burn adobe."
"What do you suppose it would cost to put it in the same condition as
before, with the furniture and everything?"
"No great thing, señor; two hundred or two hundred and fifty dollars.
It would not be as much as that if it hadn't been that Maria had left
her festa dresses and her silver trinkets behind. There was not much
furniture in the house; but I think I could replace everything for
about two hundred dollars, and I have a good deal more than that laid
by."
"I shall certainly make that up to you, Dias. It was entirely your
kindness in deciding to take us on Mr. Barnett's recommendation, and to
undertake this journey, that brought the ill-will of these scoundrels
upon you. Of course it is of no use doing anything now, but when our
search is over I shall certainly see that you are not in any way the
loser."
"No, señor; if I could not replace it myself I might accept your kind
offer, but I can do it without breaking very heavily into my savings.
And indeed their attack on me was the outcome of an old grudge. I have
been long regarded as a fortunate man, and truly I have been so. If
there was a job for five mules, and I was disengaged, I always had the
first offer."
"But that was not fortune, Dias; that was because you were known to be
wholly trustworthy."
"There are few muleteers who are not so, señor; it is rarely indeed
that muleteers are false to their trust. I can scarce remember an
instance. We Indians have our faults, but we are honest."
"Well, perhaps your getting the first job to go with foreign travellers
may have been a piece of good fortune, but it is because these were so
well satisfied with you that others engaged you. Trustworthiness is not
the only thing wanted in a muleteer; willingness, cheerfulness, and a
readiness to oblige are almost as important for the comfort of
travellers. Well, do you think these fellows will try and play you
another trick, Dias?"
"I hope they will," Dias said savagely, "that is, if they don't have
too much odds against me. I owe them a big score now, for twice they
have got the better of me. I should like to get even with them."
"Well, Dias, I hope they won't try anything of the sort. If anything
should happen to you, I should not only be extremely sorry for your
sake and your wife's, but it would destroy the last chance I have of
carrying out my search for treasure. Do you think that if I were to go
to the consul and lay a complaint against them, on the ground, in the
first place, of their attack on you, and now of burning your house, it
would have any effect?"
"If you were to make a complaint it might do, señor; it certainly would
not were I to do so. A little bribe would, of course, be necessary; you
cannot do anything without that. The officials here are all Gamarra's
men, and there is not one of them who would not take a bribe. But would
it be worth while, as we are only going to stay here a week? And if you
got them imprisoned they would be out again before I came back, and
would be more anxious than ever to get rid of me."
"There is a good deal in that, Dias. As, of course, we shall be away,
and starting for home again as soon as we return here, their spite
would be directed entirely against you."
"I hope, señors, that while you stop here you will never go out without
your pistols. It is against you they have a grudge now more than me; it
was owing to you that they failed in killing me."
"We will do so; and we won't carry sticks this time, so that if they
see us going along they will think we are unarmed."
Whenever they went out after dark, indeed, Harry and Bertie had an idea
that they were followed, and on their way home each invariably carried
a cocked pistol in his pocket, ready for instant use. It was well that
they did so, for on returning late one evening from Señor Pasquez, four
men suddenly sprang out upon them.
They were on their guard, and their arms went up in an instant, and two
shots were fired. As the pistols were almost touching the men's heads
when the trigger was pulled, both the assailants dropped dead, and the
others at once took to their heels.
"There are two of Dias's enemies wiped out," Harry said quietly. "I
hope the others will give us a chance before we leave. Well, let us
walk on before the watch comes along. It would ruin our plans
altogether if we were kept here for an indefinite time while enquiries
are being made."
The next morning they heard from their waiter at breakfast that two men
had been found dead in the street.
"They are muleteers," he said, "but are known to be bad characters, and
are suspected of having been concerned in several murders. It is
evident that they made a mistake this time, and have got what they
deserved. They are known to be associated with others. There were five
of them; one was killed in a knife fight some months ago, and a search
has been made for the others, but it is not likely that they will be
caught. They were probably concerned in the affair, and knowing that
they would be suspected of having a hand in this, and that their
character will go against them, I expect they went off at once to the
foot of the hills, and won't be heard of again for some time to come."
"I think it a pity they were not all shot. It is a shame that in a town
like this people cannot walk in the streets after dark without the risk
of being assassinated."
Dias was very pleased when, on coming up that morning, he heard of what
had happened. He quite agreed that the other men would almost certainly
have taken to the mountains.
"Even if they have not, señor, you are safe from another attack. Now
they know that you carry pistols, and are prepared for them, they will
let you alone."
"When we come back here, Dias, we will give you a brace of our pistols,
and I trust you will carry them in your pocket ready for use after
dark, whether you are in Lima or at Miraflores."
"Thank you, señor. I do not think they are likely to show their faces
here again for a long time; but at any rate I will be on my guard, and
will gratefully accept your offer of the pistols. Now, señors, I must
set to work to-day to get in our stores for the next journey. I have
made a list of what we shall want."
"Well, I have plenty of money, Dias, for I find two remittances from
home awaiting me here. We have already bought two double-barrelled guns
and a stock of ammunition, principally buck-shot, for we shall not be
doing much big game shooting. We can always buy food at the sea-side
villages."
Three days later all was in readiness. The mules were brought up from
Miraflores by José, accompanied by Maria, and an early start was made
on the following morning.