THE RANCHO.
In one of our previous works we proved by documentary evidence
that, since the declaration of its independence, that is to say, in
about forty years, Mexico has reached its two hundred and thirtieth
revolution which gives an average of about five revolutions a year. In
our opinion, this is very decent for a country which, if it pleased,
regard being had to the retrograde measures adopted by the government,
would have been justified in having at least one a month.
The causes of these revolutions are and must be ever the same in
a country where the sabre rules without control, and which counts
_twenty-four_ thousand officers for an army of twenty thousand
men. These officers, very ignorant generally, and very ambitious
individually, incapable of executing the slightest manoeuvre, or
commanding the most simple movement, find in the general disorder
chances of promotion which they would not otherwise have, and many
Mexican generals have attained their elevated rank without having once
been present at a battle, or even seen any other fire than that of
the cigarettes they constantly have in their mouths. The real truth
is, they have skilfully pronounced themselves; each _pronunciamiento_
has gained them a step, sometimes two, and with pronunciamiento after
pronunciamiento, they have acquired the general's scarf, that is to say,
the probability, with the aid of luck, of being in their turn proclaimed
President of the Republic, which is the dream of all of them, and the
constant object of their efforts.
We have said that the travellers had scarce time to conceal themselves
in the bar, ere several knocks on the door warned the landlord that the
mysterious guests he expected were beginning to arrive.
Ño Lusacho was a fat little man, with constantly rolling gray eyes, a
cunning look, and a prominent stomach--the true type of the Mexican
Ranchero, who is more eager for gain than two Jews, and very ready when
circumstances demand it, that is to say, when his own interests are
concerned, to make a bargain with his conscience. He assured himself by
a glance that all was in order in the room, and that there was nothing
to cause the presence of strangers to be suspected, and then walked to
the door; but, before opening, with the probable intention of displaying
his zeal, he thought it advisable to challenge the arrivals.
"¿Quién vive?" he asked.
"Gente de paz!" a rough voice answered; "open in the Fiend's name, if
you do not wish us to break in your door."
Ño Lusacho doubtless recognized the voice, for the somewhat brusque
response appeared to him sufficient, and he immediately prepared to draw
back the bolts.
The door was hardly ajar ere several men burst into the inn, thrusting
each other aside in their haste, as if afraid of being followed. These
men were seven or eight in number; and it was easy to see they were
officers, in spite of the precaution of some among them who had put on
civilian attire.
They laughed and jested loudly, which proved that, if they were
conspirators, or, at least, if they were brought to this ill-famed den
by any illicit object, that object, whatever it might be, did not spoil
their gaiety or appear to them of sufficient importance to render
them unwontedly serious.
They seated themselves at a table, and the landlord, who had doubtless
long been acquainted with their habits, placed before them a bottle of
Catalonian refino and a jug of pulque, which they straightway began
swallowing while rolling their cigarettes.
The door of the rancho had been left ajar by the landlord, who probably
thought it unnecessary to close it; the officers succeeded each other
with great rapidity, and their number soon became so great, that the
room, though very spacious, was completely filled. The newcomers
followed the example of those who had preceded them; they seated
themselves at a table, and began drinking and smoking, not appearing to
trouble themselves about the earlier comers, to whom they merely bowed
as they entered.
As for Ño Lusacho, he continually prowled round the tables, watching
everything with a corner of his eyes, and being careful not to serve the
slightest article without receiving immediate payment. At length one of
the officers rose, and, after rapping his glass on the table several
times to attract attention, he asked--
"Is Don Sirven here?"
"Yes, señor," a young man of twenty at the most answered as he rose. His
effeminate features were already worn by precocious debauchery.
"Assure yourself that no person is absent."
The young man bowed, and began walking from one table to the other,
exchanging two or three words in a low voice with each of the visitors.
When Don Sirven had gone round the room, he went to the person who had
addressed him, and said with a respectful bow--
"Señor coronel, the meeting is complete, and only one person is absent;
but as he did not tell us certainly whether he would do us the honour of
being present tonight, I----"
"That will do, alférez," the colonel interrupted him; "remain outside
the house, carefully watch the environs, and let no one approach without
challenging him, but if you know who arrives, introduce him immediately.
You have heard me, so execute my orders punctually; you understand the
importance of passive obedience for yourself."
"You can trust to me, coronel," the young man answered; and, after
bowing to his superior officer, he left the room and closed the door
behind him.
The officers, then, without getting up, turned round on the benches, and
thus found themselves face to face with the colonel, who had stationed
himself in the middle of the room. The latter waited a few minutes till
perfect silence was established, and then, after bowing to the audience,
he spoke as follows;--
"Let me, in the first place, thank you, caballeros, for the punctuality
with which you have responded to the meeting I had the honour of
arranging with you. I am delighted at the confidence it has pleased you
to display in me, and, believe me, I shall show myself worthy of it; for
it proves to me once again that you are really devoted to the interests
of our country, and that it may freely reckon on you in the hour of
danger."
This first portion of the colonel's speech was drowned in applause,
as was only fitting. This colonel was a man of about forty years of
age, of herculean stature, and looking more like a butcher than an
honest soldier. His cunning looks did not at all inspire confidence,
and every step in his profession had been the reward of an act of
treachery. He was a most valuable man in a conspiracy on this account,
for being so old a hand at pronunciamientos, people knew that he was too
clever to join a losing cause; hence, he inspired his accomplices with
unlimited confidence. After allowing time for the enthusiasm to calm, he
continued--
"I am pleased, señores, not at this applause, but at the devotion you so
constantly display for the public welfare. You understand as well as I
do that we can no longer bow our necks beneath the despotic government
that tyrannizes over us. The man who at this moment holds our destinies
in his hands has shown himself unworthy of the mandate we confided to
him; by failing in his duties towards us, he has liberated us from the
oath of obedience we took to him. Human patience has its limits, and the
hour will soon strike for the man who has deceived us to be overthrown."
The colonel had made a start, and would probably have continued his
plausible speech for a long time in an emphatic voice, had not one of
his audience, evidently wearied of finding nothing positive or clear in
this flood of sounding words, suddenly interrupted him--
"That is all very fine, colonel," he said, "_Rayo de Dios!_ we are all
aware that we are gentlemen devoted, body and soul, to our country; but
devotion must be paid for, _cuerpo de Cristo!_ What shall we get by all
this after all? We have not assembled here to compliment each other;
but, on the contrary, to come to a definite understanding. So pray come
to the point at once."
The colonel was at first slightly embarrassed by this warm apostrophe;
but he recovered himself at once, and turned with a smile to his
interrupter--
"I was coming to it, my dear captain, at the very moment when you cut
across my speech."
"Oh, that is different," the captain answered; "pray suppose that I had
not spoken, and explain the affair in a couple of words."
"In the first place," the colonel went on, "I have news for you which I
feel assured you will heartily welcome. This is the last time we shall
meet."
"Very good," said the practical captain, encouraged by the winks of his
companions, "let us hear first what the reward is."
The colonel saw that he could no longer dally with the matter, for all
his hearers openly took part with their comrade, and murmurs of evil
augury were beginning to be audible. At the moment when he resolved to
tell all he knew, the door of the inn was opened, and a man wrapped
in a large cloak quickly entered the room, preceded by the Alferez Don
Sirven, who shouted in a loud voice--
"The general. Caballeros, the general."
At this announcement silence was re-established as if by enchantment.
The person called the general stopped in the middle of the room, looked
around him, and then took off his hat, let his cloak fall from his
shoulders, and appeared in the full-dress uniform of a general officer.
"Long live General Guerrero!" the officers shouted, as they rose
enthusiastically.
"Thanks, gentlemen, thanks," the general responded with numerous bows.
"This warm feeling fills me with delight; but pray be silent, that we
may properly settle the matter which has brought us here; moments are
precious, and, in spite of the precautions we have taken, our presence
at this inn may have been denounced."
All collected round the general with a movement of interest easy to
understand. The latter continued--
"I will come at once to facts," he said, "without entering into idle
speculations, which would cause us to waste valuable time. In a word,
then, what is it we want? To overthrow the present government, and
establish another more in conformity with our opinions and, above all,
our interests."
"Yes, yes," the officers exclaimed.
"In that case we are conspiring against the established authority,
and are rebels in the eyes of the law," the general continued coolly
and distinctly; "as such, we stake our heads, and must not attempt
any self-deception on this point. If our attempt fails, we shall be
pitilessly shot by the victor; but we shall not fail," he hastily
added, on noticing the impression these ill-omened words produced on
his hearers; "we shall not fail, because we are resolutely playing a
terrible game, and each of us knows that his fortune depends on winning
the game. From the alférez up to the brigadier-general each knows that
success will gain him two steps of promotion, and such a stake is
sufficient to determine the least resolute to be staunch when the moment
arrives to begin the struggle."
"Yes, yes," the captain whose observations had, previous to the
general's arrival, so greatly embarrassed the colonel, said, "all that
is very fine. Jumping up two steps is a most agreeable thing; but we
were promised something else in your name, excellency."
The general smiled.
"You are right, captain," he remarked; "and I intend to keep all
promises made in my name--but not, as you might reasonably suppose, when
our glorious enterprise has succeeded. If I waited till then, you might
fear lest I should seek pretexts and excuses to evade their performance."
"When then, pray?" the captain asked, curiously.
"At once, señores," the general exclaimed, in a loud voice, and,
addressing the whole company, "I wish to prove to you that my confidence
in you is entire, and that I put faith in the word you pledged to me."
Joy, astonishment, incredulity, perhaps, so paralyzed his hearers, that
they were unable to utter a syllable. The general examined them for a
moment, and then, turning away with a mocking smile, he walked to the
front door, which he opened. The officers eagerly watched his movements,
with panting chests, and the general, after looking out, coughed twice.
"Here I am, excellency," a voice said, issuing from the fog.
"Bring in the bags," Don Sebastian ordered, and then quietly returned to
the middle of the room.
Almost immediately after a man entered, bearing a heavy leather
saddlebag. It was Carnero, the capataz. At a signal from his master,
he deposited his bundle and went out; but returned shortly after with
another bag, which he placed by the side of the first one. Then, after
bowing to his master, he withdrew, and the door closed upon him.
The general opened the bags, and a flood of gold poured in a trickling
cascade on the table; the officers instinctively bent forward, and held
out their quivering hands.
"Now, señores," the general said, still perfectly calm, as he carelessly
rested his arm on the pile of gold; "permit me to remind you of our
agreement; there are thirty-five of us at present, I believe?"
"Yes, general, thirty-five," the captain replied, who seemed to have
appointed himself speaker in ordinary for self and partners.
"Very good; these thirty-five caballeros are thus subdivided:--ten
alférez, who will each receive twenty-five ounces of silver. Señor Don
Jaime Lupo," he said, turning to the colonel, "will you be kind enough
to hand twenty-five ounces to each of these gentlemen?"
The alférez, or sub-lieutenants, broke through the ranks, and boldly
came up to receive the ounces, which the colonel delivered to each of
them; then they fell back with a delight they did not attempt to conceal.
"Now," the general continued, "twelve captains, to each of whom I wish
you to offer, on my behalf, Don Lupo, fifty ounces."
The captains pocketed the money with no more ceremony than the alférez
had displayed.
"We have ten tenientes, each of whom is to receive thirty-five ounces, I
believe?"
The tenientes, or lieutenants, who had begun to frown on seeing the
captains paid before them, received their money with a bow.
"There now remain three colonels, each of whom has a claim to one
hundred ounces," the general said; "be kind enough to pay them, my dear
colonel."
The latter did not let the invitation be repeated twice. Still the
entire pile of gold was not exhausted, and a considerable sum still
remained on the table. Don Sebastian Guerrero passed his hands several
times through the glittering metal, and at length thrust it from him.
"Señores," he said, with an engaging smile, "about five hundred ounces
remain, which I do not know what to do with; may I ask you to divide
them among you, as subsistence money while awaiting the signal you are
to receive from me."
At this truly regal act of munificence, the enthusiasm attained its
highest pitch; the cries and protestations of devotion became frenzied.
The general alone remained impassive, and looked coldly at the division
made by the colonel.
"When all the gold had disappeared, and the effervescence was beginning
to subside, Don Sebastian, who, like the Angel of Evil, had looked with
a profoundly mocking smile at these men so utterly under the influence
of cupidity, slightly tapped the table, to request silence.
"Señores," he said, "I have kept all my promises, and have acquired the
right to count on you; we shall not meet again, but at a future day I
will let you know my intentions. Still be ready to act at the first
signal; in ten days is the anniversary festival of the Proclamation of
Independence, and, if nothing deranges my plans, I shall probably choose
that day to try, with your assistance, to deliver the country from the
tyrants who oppress it. However, I will be careful to have you warned.
So now let us separate; the night is far advanced, and a longer stay at
this spot might compromise the sacred interests for which we have sworn
to die."
He bowed to the conspirators, but, on reaching the door, turned round
again.
"Farewell, señores," he said, "be faithful to me."
"We will die for you, general," Colonel Lupo answered, in the name of
all.
The general gave a final bow and went out; almost immediately the hoofs
of several horses could be heard echoing on the paved street.
"As we have nothing more to do here, caballeros," the colonel said,
"we had better separate without further delay; but do not forget the
general's parting recommendation."
"Oh, no," the captain said, gleefully rattling the gold, with which his
pockets were filled. "Don Sebastian Guerrero is too generous for us not
to be faithful to him; besides, he appears to me at the present moment
the only man capable of saving our unhappy country from the abyss. We
are all too deeply attached to our country and too devoted to its real
interests, not to sacrifice ourselves for it, when circumstances demand
it."
The conspirators laughingly applauded this speech of the captain's, and
after exchanging courteous bows, they withdrew as they had come; that is
to say, they left the inn one after the other, not to attract attention.
They carefully wrapped themselves in their cloaks, and went off in
parties of three and four, with their hands on their weapons, for fear
of any unpleasant encounter.
A quarter of an hour later, the room was empty, and the landlord bolted
the door for the night.
"Well, señores," he asked the two strangers, who now left the hiding
place in which they had been crouching for upwards of two hours, "are
you satisfied?"
"We could not be more so," replied the one who had been the sole speaker
hitherto.
"Yes, yes," the landlord continued, "three or four more
pronunciamientos, and I believe I shall be able to retire on a decent
competency."
"That is what I wish you, Ño Lusacho, and, to begin, a thing promised is
a thing done; here are your ten ounces."