DISASTER.
The night was tranquil. The Brazilians passed it in sleep. Diogo alone
watched over the common safety.
About two hours before sunrise the scout who had been dispatched by the
marquis returned to the camp.
He was the bearer of strange news. The Indians had disappeared.
Diogo listened attentively to the report brought by the man. Then
turning towards the marquis, who had also passed the night without
closing his eyes--
"Well?" asked he.
"It appears to me--" answered the marquis.
"Wait!" interrupted Diogo; "My friend," said he, addressing the scout,
"go and lie down; you must want to recruit your strength."
The Brazilian bowed, and immediately withdrew.
"It is not advisable," pursued Diogo, "that this man should hear what
we have to say."
"I think that if this news is true, it is excellent."
"Understand well, your Excellency, and be assured that I possess too
thorough a knowledge of the Indians and their manners to deceive
myself."
"I admit it, my friend. Speak, then, I beg."
"I should think, your Excellency, that I failed in my duty if at the
crisis at which we are arrived I did not speak to you with the greatest
freedom. The Guaycurus have honourably warned you to withdraw from
them--they have given you liberty to do so; wrong or right, you have
scorned their warning, I do not dispute with you, understand, your
Excellency, the wisdom of this decision."
"Continue, my friend."
"They have so little intention of withdrawing, that they have
dispatched me to ask the aid of their allies, the Payagoas. Then they
have attacked you with fury, not with the design of seizing on your
camp--they knew beforehand that they would not succeed--but to reduce
you to your present position; that is to say, to the last gasp."
"Conclude, conclude!" interrupted the marquis.
"The conclusion is easy enough," pursued the captain; "the Guaycurus
have pretended to withdraw in order to bring you out into the plain,
and to overcome you the more easily."
"Are you then afraid, Diogo?"
"Certainly, my lord: very much afraid."
"You!"
"Pardon; this needs an explanation. I am afraid--not to die, for from
the moment you announced to me your formal intention, I reckoned on the
sacrifice of my life."
"Then, what is it you mean?"
"I mean, my lord, that I do not fear to die, but that I am dreadfully
afraid of being killed like a beast."
Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, the marquis burst out
laughing.
"Bah, bah!" said he; "Things, I am convinced, will turn out better than
you suppose."
"I wish so, without hoping it, your Excellency."
"Let us see; you believe you are in a position to guide us to the spot
where the Paulistas are at this moment."
"Nothing is more easy than to proceed on the journey, my lord, but I
cannot guarantee it."
"How is that?"
"Why, because we shall all be massacred before reaching it."
"Hum, Diogo; you become monotonous, my friend."
"The end will prove me right, my lord."
"Be silent, prophet of bad omen. At what distance do you think we are
from the Paulistas?"
"Thirty leagues at the most."
"What! Thirty leagues; no more? Come, you are becoming foolish, with
your puerile fears."
"You will see, your Excellency, you will see."
"Well, let it be so; the die is cast, I will try, whatever happens. At
break of day we will leave."
"With your permission, my lord, I think that as you absolutely are
determined on a foolish thing, would it not be more suitable to do it
in a logical way?"
"Which means--"
"That tomorrow will be too late."
"So, in your opinion, it would be necessary--"
"To leave immediately, my lord."
"Well, let it be so; let us set out."
In this circumstance, as in all the preceding, Diogo did not neglect
any precaution.
Four of his soldiers, tried and experienced men, were at first
dispatched by him in advance.
In the preceding assault the waggons and the baggage had been burnt,
and the greater part of the mules had been killed, so that the caravan,
relieved of its load, was in a position to accelerate its march.
Diogo caused the horses' feet to be covered with bags of sheepskin,
filled with sand, in order to stifle the sound of their steps, and
ordered the mouth of each animal to be fastened with a lasso.
"Companions," said he, when each man was in his saddle, "not a cry,
not a sound! We are attempting; at the present moment an expedition on
which safety depends; if we are discovered we shall be lost."
"One word, Diogo," said the marquis to him. "Why have you insisted on
our leaving so suddenly?"
"Because the Indian bravos, your Excellency, ordinarily guard
themselves very badly, and pass the night in sleeping instead of
watching."
"Thank you; now let us set out."
"One moment, my lord;" and then addressing all the soldiers:--
"I am about to march first," said he; "you will follow me one by one,
holding your horses by the bridle to prevent them from stumbling; and
thus arousing the attention of the enemy. You will try to march in
my steps, in order to leave as narrow a track as possible. Now, pay
attention and remember this:--The cry of the alligator will warn you
to halt; the same cry twice raised will mean that you are to mount; the
cry of the owl will order you to gallop. You thoroughly understand me,
do you not?"
The descent commenced. It was a strange spectacle, that offered by this
long line of black spectres, which glided silently in the night, and
appeared to climb the flanks of the hill.
The noise of a branch broken off by the wind; the falling of a leaf,
the unexpected flight of a nocturnal bird--everything was the object of
fear; the bravest man felt, in spite of himself, the blood run cold in
his veins, for behind each trunk of a tree, each angle of a rock, he
feared he should see dart out suddenly the enemy whom he was trying to
avoid.
The descent was long; they could but march slowly. Diogo, who appeared
to see at night as well as by day, chose his ground with the greatest
care, and did not advance except when he was sure that the earth on
which he placed his foot was firm.
Sometimes they stopped for a few minutes, and then a shudder of alarm
ran like an electric current through the whole line.
At last, at the end of an hour, they reached the plain.
The cry of an alligator which was raised in the silence warned them
that they were to halt.
Two minutes later the same cry raised twice caused them to throw
themselves in the saddle, and then at last, at the cry of the owl, they
darted off at a gallop, doubled in pace by the instinctive fear that
they experienced of terrible danger.
The marquis had ordered doña Laura to mount on horseback. The young
girl obeyed passively, without uttering a word, and had placed herself,
as well as her slave, in the middle of the line of horsemen.
The marquis had wished this because this position appeared to him least
dangerous.
During all the night the Brazilians, leaning on the necks of their
horses, galloped on.
At sunrise they had made eighteen or nineteen leagues, which was
enormous, but the poor horses were spent.
At a league before them the fugitives perceived a broad stream.
It was the Pilcomayo, one of the most considerable affluents of the Rio
Paraguai.
The marquis approached the captain.
"We have done wonders, Diogo," said he to him; "thanks to your
admirable arrangements, we are saved."
"Do not thank me yet, my lord," answered the Indian, with a mocking
smile "all is not yet finished."
"Oho! We have now an advance of our enemies which puts us out of their
reach."
"We have gained no advance on the Guaycurus, my lord; our only chance
of safety is to reach the river, and to cross it."
"Well! What prevents us from doing so?"
"Look at the horses; before we have got half the distance which
separates us from the Pilcomayo, the enemy will be upon us."
"You are thoroughly obstinate to the end; you see yourself that the
plain is perfectly clear."
"You think so, my lord?"
"Why, I have looked in vain in every direction."
"That is because you are not used to the prairie, that is all. Look,"
added he, stretching his arm in the direction of the northeast. "Notice
that convulsive undulation of the high grass."
"Just so; but what does that prove?"
"Do you see again," continued the impassable captain, "those companies
of nandus and of seriemas who run madly in all directions. Those
flights of guaros and of kamichis?"
"Yes, yes, I see all that; well?"
"Well! Well, your Excellency, the undulation of the grass without
apparent cause, since there is not a breath of air stirring, the mad
course of the nandus and the seriemas, and the frightened flight of
the guaros and the kamichis, simply mean that the Guaycurus are on our
track."
"But in an hour we shall have crossed the river."
"With our horses that is impossible; it is with difficulty that they
can put one foot before the other."
"That is true," murmured the marquis, "but then what is to be done?"
"Prepare ourselves to die."
"Oh, that is not true that you say, Diogo."
"In an hour not one of us will exist," coolly answered the captain.
"But we shall not allow ourselves to be assassinated without defending
ourselves?"
"That is another question, my lord. Will you fight to the last gasp?"
"Certainly."
"Very well. We shall be killed, I am certain, but the victory will cost
our enemies dearly."
Without losing a moment, the captain made his arrangements for the
combat.
The Brazilians jumped to the ground, cut the throats of their horses,
and with the bodies of the unhappy animals they formed a circle.
The marquis, occupied at this time in speaking with animation to doña
Laura, did not perceive this butchery, till it was too late to oppose
it.
"What are you doing?" cried he.
"Entrenchments," impassively answered Diogo. "Behind these bodies we
shall shelter ourselves."
"But how, then, shall we fly after the combat?"
The Indian burst into a nervous and discordant laugh.
"We shall not fly, inasmuch as we shall be dead."
The marquis could find nothing to answer.
Doña Laura had thrown herself on the ground, a prey to profound
despair. Her horse was the only one that had not been killed.
"You are about to die," said Don Roque.
"I hope so," answered she, with a low and broken voice.
"You thoroughly hate me, then?"
"There is not in my heart place for hatred; I despise you."
"Doña Laura," he pursued, "there is yet time. Reveal to me your secret."
"Why should I do so?" she said.
"Curses!" cried he, stamping with rage. "This woman is a demon. Will
nothing, then, convince you? Of what use to you now would be the
possession of that secret?"
"And to you?" she coldly asked.
"Tell me, tell me, and I swear to you I will save you, even if to do so
I should have to walk in blood up to the knees. Tell me, Doña Laura, I
entreat you."
"No! I prefer to die, than to be saved by you."
"Die, then, and be cursed!" cried the marquis, seizing a pistol from
his girdle.
A hand arrested his arm.
He turned round, darting a fierce look at him who had dared to touch
him.
"Excuse me, your Excellency," said Diogo to him, still impassable, "if
I interrupt your interesting conversation with the señorita."
Doña Laura had not made a movement to escape death. Death for her would
have been a deliverance.
"What do you want with me?" cried the marquis.
"To announce to you, my lord, that the moment is near. Look!"
The marquis looked.
"Why, wretch!" cried he, after a moment, "If you are not a traitor, you
are grossly deceived."
"As you please, my lord."
"It is a manada of wild horses."
"Exactly so, my lord," answered the captain, with a smile of disdain;
"you have not the least experience of the style in which the Guaycurus
fight, nor of life in the desert. This is probably the last thing I
shall teach you, but it is well you should know it. The Guaycurus
are the best horsemen in the world. This is the ruse they employ to
surprise the enemy. They send in advance a troop of wild horses, in
order to conceal their number; then in the rear they follow, lying on
their sides on their horses, the left hand on the mane, and the right
foot supported by the stirrup."
We have said that all the Brazilians were lying behind the bodies of
their horses, ready to fire at the word of command.
About them the vultures and the urubus, attracted by the smell of
blood, were wheeling in large circles, uttering harsh and discordant
cries.
At a half league off, on the plain, a herd of horses was running with
extreme rapidity.
The Brazilians were sorrowful and silent; they believed themselves lost.
"Boys," cried Diogo, "spare your munitions; do not fire but when you
are sure. You know that we have no more powder."
All of a sudden the wild horses came down like a thunderbolt on the
entrenchments, and notwithstanding a murderous discharge close to their
breasts, leaped them with an irresistible spring.
The Guaycurus warriors leaped to their saddles, uttering frightful
cries, and the massacre commenced.
In the first rank, near Tarou Niom, was Malco Diaz.
The eyes of the half-caste flashed with excitement. He dashed with
extraordinary fury into the thickest of the _mêlée_.
By a movement--rather from instinct than by calculation--the
Brazilians, after their entrenchments had been carried, had grouped
themselves round Laura.
The young girl, kneeling on the ground, her hands clasped, was praying
with fervour.
Poor Phoebe, her breast pierced by a lance, was writhing at her feet,
in the last convulsions of agony.
There was something really grand in the spectacle offered by some
twenty men or so, motionless, silent, keeping close together, and
struggling desperately against a multitude of enemies; having made the
sacrifice of their lives, but resolved to fight to the last gasp, and
only to fall when dead.
Diogo and the marquis achieved prodigies of valour--the Indian with a
supreme contempt of death, the white man with the rage of despair.
"Now, your Excellency," said the captain, mockingly, "do you still
believe we shall be saved?"
Meanwhile the ranks of the Brazilians were being thinned more and more.
On a sudden Malco Diaz bounded in advance, overturned the marquis, and
seizing doña Laura by the hair, he lifted her up, threw her on the neck
of his horse, and darted off across the desert.
The young girl uttered a terrible cry, and fainted.
This cry Diogo had heard. The captain leaped over the body of the
marquis, and overturning everything before him, rushed off in pursuit.
But what can a man on foot do against a horseman riding at full speed?
Malco Diaz stopped, a flash of fury darted from his eyes, and he
shouldered his gun.
"It is my last charge," murmured Diogo; "it shall be for her." And he
fired.
Malco Diaz immediately staggered, his arms were thrown up convulsively,
and he rolled on the ground, dragging the young girl in his fall.
He was dead.
Diogo darted towards him, but suddenly he made a bound on one side,
and taking his gun by the barrel, he raised it above his head. An
Indian was coming down upon him, but the former, immediately changing
his position, bounded like a jaguar, clasped in his powerful arms the
Indian who pursued him, overthrew him, and at the same moment put
himself in the saddle in the Indian's place.
This prodigy of skill and agility accomplished, he flew to the aid of
the young girl.
Scarcely had he raised her in his arms to put her on the horse, which
he had so miraculously appropriated, than the Guaycurus warriors
surrounded him.
Diogo cast a sorrowful look at the young girl, whom he placed on the
ground, and drawing from his girdle his pistols, the only arms he had
left--
"Poor child," murmured he; "I have done what I could. Fate is against
me. I will certainly kill two more of them before dying," he said,
coolly loading his pistols.
Suddenly the ranks of the warriors opened. Tarou Niom appeared.
"Let no one touch that man and woman," he said.
"Come, that will be for another time," said the captain, replacing his
pistols in his girdle.
"You are brave; I love you," resumed Tarou Niom; "take that jni-maak
(feather); it will serve you for a safeguard. Remain here until I
return."
Diogo took the feather, and sat down sadly near the young girl.
An hour later the captain and doña Laura were accompanying the
Guaycurus warriors, who were returning to their village.
The young girl was still in a fainting condition, and did not yet know
the full extent of the new misfortune which had fallen upon her.
Diogo carried her on the neck of his horse, and carefully upheld her.
The brave captain appeared already if not resigned, completely consoled
for his defeat, and talked amicably with the captain, Tarou Niom, who
manifested so much regard for him.
Diogo and the young girl alone had survived by a miracle, which had
excited a feeling of pity in the ferocious heart of the Guaycurus chief.
As to the Marquis de Castelmelhor, no one knew what had become of him.
Notwithstanding the most active search, it had been impossible to find
his body.
Was he dead? Was be living? And had he, against all probability,
succeeded in escaping?