MANUELA'S OPPORTUNITY.
That was a pleasant little meal, under the great plane-tree in the
cup-shaped dell. Marm Prudence had kept, through all her years of
foreign residence, her New England touch in cookery, and Senor Delmonte
declared that it was worth a whole campaign twice over to taste her
doughnuts. They drank "_Cuba Libre_" in raspberry vinegar that had come
all the way from Vermont, and Rita was obliged to confess that Senor
Delmonte was a charming host, and that she was enjoying herself
extremely.
It was late in the afternoon when she and Marm Prudence took their way
back through the forest. At first Rita was silent; but as distance
increased between them and the dell, she could not restrain her
curiosity.
How was it, she asked, that this young man was there alone, separated
from his companions? He said he was in hiding. Hiding! a detestable, an
unworthy word! Why should a son of Cuba be in hiding, she wished to
know! She had worked herself into a fine glow of indignation again, and
was ready to believe anything and everything bad about the agreeable
youth with the blue eyes.
"I must know!" she repeated, dropping her voice to a contralto note that
she was fond of. "Tell me, Marm Prudence; tell me all! have I broken the
bread of a recreant?"
"I thought it was my bread," said Marm Prudence, dryly. "I'll tell you,
if you'll give me a chance, Miss Margaritty. I supposed, though, that
you'd have heard of Jack Delmonty; Captain Jack, as they call him. Since
his last raid the Gringos have offered a big reward for him, alive or
dead. He was wounded in the foot, and thought he might hender his troop
some if he tried to go with them in that state. So he camped here, and
we've seen to him as best we could."
Rita was dumb, half with amazement, half with mortification. How was it
possible that she had been so stupid? Heard of Captain Jack? where were
her wits? the daring guerrilla leader, the pride of the Cuban bands, the
terror of all Spaniards in that part of the island. Why, he was one of
her pet heroes; only--only she had fancied him so utterly different. The
Captain Jack of her fancy was a gigantic person, with blue-black curls,
with eyes like wells of black light (she had been fond of this bit of
description, and often repeated it to herself), a superb moustache, and
a nose absolutely Grecian, like the Santillo nose of tender memory. This
half-Yankee stripling, blue-eyed, with a nose that--yes, that actually
turned up a little, and the merest feather of brown laid on his upper
lip--how could she or any one suppose this to be the famous cavalry
leader?
Rita blushed scarlet with distress, as she remembered her bearing, which
she had tried to make as scornful as was compatible with good manners.
She had meant, had done her best, to show him that she thought lightly
of a Cuban soldier who, for what reason soever, proclaimed himself
without apology to be "in hiding." To be sure, he had not seemed to feel
the rebuke as she had expected he would. Once or twice she had caught
that look of Uncle John in his eyes; the laughing, critical, yet kindly
scrutiny that always made her feel like a little girl, and a silly girl
at that. Was that what she had seemed to Captain Delmonte? Of course it
was. She had had the great, the crowning opportunity of her life, of
doing homage to a real hero (she forgot good General Sevillo, who had
been a hero in a quiet and business-like way for sixty years), and she
had lost the opportunity.
It was a very subdued Rita who returned to the house that evening. At
the edge of the wood they were met by Don Annunzio, who stood as before,
smoking his long black cigar, and scrutinising the road and the
surrounding country. A wave of his hand told them that all was well, and
they stepped quickly across the road, and in another minute were on the
verandah.
Don Annunzio followed them with an elaborate air of indifference; but
once seated in his great chair, he began to speak eagerly, gesticulating
with his cigar.
"_Dios!_ Prudencia, you had an inspiration from heaven this day. What I
have been through! the sole comfort is that I have lost twenty pounds at
least, from sheer anxiety. Imagine that you had not been gone an hour,
when up they ride, the _guerrilla_ that was reported to us yesterday. At
their head, that pestiferous Col. Diego Moreno. He dismounts, demands
coffee, bananas, what there is. I go to get them; and, the saints
aiding me, I meet in the face the pretty Manuela. Another instant, and
she would have been on the verandah, would have been seen by these
swine, female curiosity having led her to imagine a necessary errand in
that direction. I seize this charming child by the shoulders, I push her
into her room. I tell her, 'Thou hast a dangerous fever. Go to thy bed
on the instant, it is a matter of thy life.'
"My countenance is such that she obeys without a word. She is an
admirable creature! Beauty, in the female sex--"
"Do go on, Noonsey," said his wife, good-naturedly, "and never mind
about beauty now. Land knows we have got other things to think about."
"It is true, it is true, my own!" replied the amiable fat man. "I return
to the verandah. This man is striding up and down, cutting at my poor
vines with his apoplexy of a whip. He calls me; I stand before him
thus, civil but erect.
"'Have you any strangers here, Don Annunzio?'
"'No, Senor Colonel.'
"It is true, senorita. To make a stranger of you, so friendly, so
gracious--the thought is intolerable.
"He approaches, he regards me fixedly.
"'A young lady, Senorita Montfort, and her maid, escaped from the
carriage of her stepmother, the honourable Senora Montfort, while on the
way to the convent of the White Sisters, ten days ago. A man of my
command was taken by these hill-cats of Mambis, and carried to a camp in
this neighbourhood. He escaped, and reported to me that a young lady and
her attendant were in the camp. I raided the place yesterday.'
"'With success, who can doubt?' I said. Civility may be used even to the
devil, whom this officer strongly resembled.
"He stamped his feet, he ground his teeth, fire flashed from his eyes.
'They were gone!' he said. 'They had been gone but a few hours, for the
fires were still burning, but no trace of them was to be found. I found,
however, in a deserted _rancho_,--this!' and he held up a delicate comb
of tortoise-shell."
"My side-comb!" cried Rita. "I wondered where I had lost it. Go on,
pray, Don Annunzio."
"He questioned me again, this colonel, on whom may the saints send a
lingering disease. I can swear that there is no young lady in the house?
but assuredly, I can, and do swear it, with all earnestness. He
whistles, and swears also--in a different manner. He says, 'I must
search the house. This is an important matter. A large reward is offered
by the Senora Montfort for the discovery of this young lady.'
"'Search every rat-hole, my colonel,' I reply; 'but first take your
coffee, which is ready at this moment.'
"In effect, Antonia arrives at the instant with the tray. While she is
serving him, I find time to slip with the agility of the serpent into
the passage, and turn the handle of the bedroom door. 'Spotted fever!' I
cry through the crack; and am back at my post before the colonel could
see round Antonia's broad back. Good! he drinks his coffee. He devours
your cakes, my Prudencia, keeping his eye on me all the time, and plying
me with questions. I tell him all is well with us, except the sickness.
"'How then? what sickness?'
"'A servant is ill with fever,' I say. 'We hope that it will not spread
through the house; it is a bad time for fever.' I see he does not like
that, he frowns, he mutters maledictions. I profess myself ready to
conduct him through my poor premises; I lead him through the parlour,
which he had not sense to admire, to the kitchen, to our own apartment,
my cherished one. All the time my heart flutters like a wounded dove. I
cry in my soul, 'All depends on the wit of that child. If she had but
gone with Prudencia to the forest!'
"Finally there is no escape, we must pass the door. I stop before it.
'Open!' says the colonel.
"'Your Excellency will observe,' I say, 'that there is a dangerous case
of spotted fever in this room.'
"He turns white, then black. He pulls his moustache, which resembles a
mattress.
"At last 'How do I know?' he cries; 'You may be lying! all Cubans are
liars. The girl may be in this room!'
[Illustration: "'I THROW OPEN THE DOOR AND STEP BACK, MY HEART IN MY
MOUTH.'"]
"I throw open the door and step back, my heart in my mouth, my eyes
flinging themselves into the apartment. Heavens! what do we see? a
hideous face projects itself from the bed. Red--black--a face from the
pit! A horrible smell is in our nostrils--we hear groans--enough! The
colonel staggers back, cursing. I close the door and follow him out to
the verandah. My own nerves are shaken, I admit it; it was a thing to
shatter the soul. Still cursing, he mounts his horse, and rides away
with his troop. I see them go. They carry away the best of what the
house holds, but what of that? they are gone!
"I hasten, as well as my infirmity allows, to the chamber. I cry
'Manuela, is it thou?'
"I am bidden to enter. I open the door, and find that admirable child at
the toilet-table, washing her face and laughing till the tears flow.
Already half of her pretty face is clean, but half still hideous to
behold.
"'How did you do it?' I ask her. She laughs more merrily than before; if
you have noticed, she has a laughter of silver bells, this maiden. 'The
red lip-salve,' she says, 'and a little ink. Have no fear, Don
Annunzio; it was you who discovered the fever, you know.'
"'But the smell, my child? there must be something bad here, something
unhealthy; a vile smell!'
"She laughs again, this child. 'I burned a piece of tortoise-shell,' she
says. 'Saint Ursula forgive me, it was one of the senorita's side-combs,
but there was nothing else at hand.'
"Thus then, senorita, thus, my Prudencia, has Manuela virtually saved
our house and ourselves. Hasten to embrace her! I have already permitted
myself the salute of a father upon her charming cheek, as simple
gratitude enjoined it."
As if by magic--could she have been listening in the passage?--Manuela
appeared, blushing and radiant. Donna Prudencia did not think it
necessary to kiss her, but she shook her warmly by the hand, telling her
that she was a good girl, and fit to be a Yankee, a compliment which
Manuela hardly appreciated. As for Rita, she kissed the girl on both
cheeks, and stood holding her hands, gazing at her with wistful eyes.
"Ah, Manuela," she cried; "I must not begrudge it to you. You are a
heroine; you have had the opportunity, and you knew how to take it.
Daughter of Cuba, your sister blesses you."
Before Manuela could reply, Donna Prudencia broke in. "There! there!"
she said. "Come down off your high horse, Miss Margaritty, there's a
dear; and help me to see to things. Here's Captain Delmonty coming
to-night, and them chicken-thieves of Gringos have carried off every
living thing there was to eat in the house."