Captain Tres-Villas, now compelled to obey the order he had received
from the commander-in-chief, proceeded to rejoin his regiment.
Caldelas, at the same period, promoted to the rank of commandant, was
summoned away from Del Valle; and the garrison of the hacienda which
still remained fell under the command of Lieutenant Veraegui, a Catalan.
During the events which followed, Don Rafael saw a great deal of active
service. He bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Calderon, where
the Royalist general, Calleja, with only six thousand soldiers, routed
the undisciplined army of Hidalgo, numbering nearly an hundred thousand
men!
After being carried by the chances of the campaign into almost every
province of the vice-royalty, Don Rafael was at length ordered back to
Oajaca, to assist in the siege of Huajapam. It was while on his passage
to this latter province from the fort of San Blas, that he appeared for
a moment off the isle of Roqueta.
At the siege of Huajapam, his old comrade Caldelas re-appears as a
general; while Don Rafael himself, less fortunate, has not risen above
the rank of a colonel.
Such, briefly, is the history of the dragoon captain up to the time when
the vaquero, Julian, arrived in the camp at Huajapam.
The announcement of this messenger caused within the bosom of Don Rafael
an emotion sudden and vivid. Absence, remarks a moralist, which soon
dissipates a slight affection, has the very opposite effect upon a
profound passion. It only inflames it the more--just as the wind
extinguishes the flame of a candle, while it augments the blaze of a
conflagration. Absence had produced upon Don Rafael an effect of the
latter kind. He lived in the hope that Gertrudis might some day send
him a message of pardon and love. No wonder, then, that he was moved by
the arrival of a messenger from that part of the country.
"Well, Julian," said he, in a tone of assumed carelessness, "you have
news for me--what is it, my lad? I hope the insurgents have not
captured our fortress?"
"Oh no, master," replied Julian; "the soldiers at the hacienda only
complain of having nothing to do. A little scouting through the
country--where they might have the chance of sacking a rich hacienda--
would be more to their taste and fancy. As to that, the news which I
bring to your Honour will probably procure them this opportunity."
"You bring news of our enemy, I presume?"
The tone of disappointment in which the interrogatory was put, was
sufficiently marked to strike even the ear of Julian.
"Yes, Captain," replied he, "but I have other messages; and, to begin
with that which is least important, I fancy it will be agreeable to your
honour to know that I have brought along with me your favourite,
Roncador."
"Roncador?"
"Yes; the brave bay-brown you lost in your affair at Las Palmas. He has
been recovered for you, and taken care of. Ah! he has been marvellously
cared for, I can assure your Honour. He was sent back to the hacienda."
"Who sent him?" hastily inquired Don Rafael.
"Why, who could it be, your Honour, but Don Mariano de Silva. One of
his people brought the horse to Del Valle three days ago--saying that he
supposed the owner of such a fine animal would be pleased to have him
again. As the saddle and bridle had been lost, a new saddle and bridle
were sent along with him. Ah! splendid they are--the bridle, with a
pretty bunch of red ribbons on the frontlet!"
"Where are these ribbons?" hastily asked Don Rafael, carried away by the
thought that a sight of them might enable him to divine whether the hand
of Gertrudis had attached them to the frontlet.
"One of our people--Felipe el Galan--took them to make a cockade with."
"Felipe is a silly fellow, whom, one of these days, I shall punish for
his indiscretion."
"I told him so, your Honour; but he would take them. I should add, your
Honour, that the servant of Don Mariano also brought a letter for you."
"Ah! why did you not tell me so at first?"
"I began at the beginning, your Honour," replied the phlegmatic Julian.
"Here is the letter."
The messenger drew from the pocket of his _jaqueta_ a small packet done
up in a leaf of maize, inside which he had prudently concealed the
letter. Unfolding the leaf, he handed the note to Don Rafael, whose
hand visibly trembled on taking it.
In vain did he attempt to dissemble his emotion under the studied air of
coolness with which he received the letter, which he permitted to remain
unopened.
This letter, thought he, should be from Gertrudis; and he dwelt on the
voluptuous pleasure he was about to enjoy while reading it alone.
"Well, Julian," said he, after a pause, "anything else have you to tell
me of?"
"Yes, your Honour; the most important of all. Arroyo, Bocardo, and
their bandits have returned to the neighbourhood; and Lieutenant
Veraegui has charged me to say to you--"
"Arroyo! Bocardo!" interrupted Don Rafael, all at once re-awaking from
his sweet dreams to thoughts of vengeance. "Tell Lieutenant Veraegui to
give double rations to his horses, and get them ready for a campaign.
Say that in two or three days I shall be with him, and we shall enter
upon it. The last assault upon Huajapam is to be made this very day,
and the place must either fall, or we raise the siege. I shall then
obtain leave from the Commander-in-chief, and by the Virgin! I shall
capture these two ruffians, or set the whole province on fire. _Vaya,
Julian_!"
Julian was about to depart, when Don Rafael's eye, once more alighting
upon the little billet which promised to yield him a moment of sweet
happiness, called the messenger back to him.
"Stay a moment!" said he, looking around for his purse, "you have been
the bearer of good news, Julian. Here!"
And, as he said this, he placed in the hands of the messenger an _onza_
of gold.
Julian accepted the douceur with eagerness--not without profound
astonishment at being so generously recompensed for reporting the
re-appearance of Arroyo and his band! Nevertheless, his satisfaction at
the perquisite far exceeded his surprise.
As soon as he had gone out of the tent, Don Rafael took the letter from
the table--where he had for the moment deposited it--and held it for
some seconds in his hand without daring to open it. His heart rose and
fell in violent pulsations, for he had no doubt that the letter was from
Gertrudis, and it was the first souvenir he had received from her for
nearly two years--since he had embraced the Royalist cause.
In fine, he opened the note. Although written in a feminine hand, it
was more like that of Marianita than Gertrudis, and contained only the
following words:--
"The inmates of Las Palmas are not forgetful that they have received a
kindness from Don Rafael Tres-Villas under very critical
circumstances; and they believe that the Colonel Tres-Villas might be
gratified at having restored to him the noble steed which the Captain
Tres-Villas had such reason to esteem."
"A kindness!" exclaimed Don Rafael, with bitter emphasis, "what
ingratitude! A service rendered by the betrayal of an oath sworn over
the head of my murdered father! They call it a kindness--an act of
simple politeness, forsooth! Oh! I must endeavour to think no more of
those who have forgotten me."
And with a bitter sigh the Colonel strode forth from his tent, and
proceeded towards the marquee of the Commander-in-chief--where the
council of war was at that moment assembling.
Notwithstanding his chagrin, however, Don Rafael did not tear up the
letter that had caused such disappointment, nor yet did he fling it
away. Perhaps it had been touched by the hand of Gertrudis; and, with
this thought passing through his mind, he placed the billet in a little
pocket in his uniform, which chanced to be on the left side, just over
his heart.
While passing towards head-quarters, another reflection crossed his
mind, that exerted a consolatory influence upon his spirits. Gertrudis
knew how much he prized the noble bay-brown--so often caressed by her
hand. Was it for that reason the horse had been sent back to him? Was
it she who had attached the rosette of ribbons to the bridle, to recall
the flowers of the grenadine which in happier times she had placed upon
his frontlet?
It was sweet happiness to believe it was she.