The Elopement.
After my new companion had been installed in my chamber, I went out
under pretense of seeing that the horses were taken care of, and ordered
Cecilio to fetch from the kitchen a supper sufficient for two persons.
The Biscayan, after some ceremony, seemed quite willing to accompany me
in my repast. I had already made a good supper, but, for politeness'
sake, I took a small portion to bear him company, my guest meanwhile
doing justice to the viands, and quite lost in wonder at my
abstemiousness.
"How can I help it?" said I, in explanation; "this is my first run
through the country, and I have not yet got accustomed to their infernal
cookery."
And while Cecilio, standing behind my chair, opened his eyes wide on
hearing me say that I had but newly come into the country, I could not
help admiring the prodigious appetite that had been developed by a fast
of twenty-four hours.
"Now," said I, when the dishes were all cleared, "if the neighborhood of
a young and charming lady, whose chamber is next to mine, does not
hinder you from sleeping, I fancy you will do well to imitate me." And I
muffled myself in my cloak, and lay down on the floor.
"Not a bad idea," said the Spaniard. "But, before going to sleep,
perhaps you would like to hear an air on my mandolin."
"Use your freedom, but pray pardon me if the melody set me asleep."
In spite of the hard and cold couch on which I was reclining, in a short
time I heard nothing but a confused murmur of broken notes, and then
consciousness forsook me. I awoke with a start, under the impression
that a strong chilling draught was setting full upon me. The long, thin
candle which had been stuck to the wall of the chamber was throwing its
last dull, smoky glare around. The Spaniard had disappeared. I was
alone; and the chamber door, which had been left open, had allowed the
cold night air to enter and awake me. A dead silence reigned through the
hacienda, broken only by the distant crowing of the cock. I listened,
surprised at the abrupt disappearance of my companion, and rose and shut
the door, and, while doing so, threw a hasty glance into the court-yard.
From amid the darkness I thought I discerned two black profiles half
hidden by a column. One of them was that of the Biscayan, whose voice I
could distinguish, although he spoke low; the other was unknown to me;
but in the sweet tone, and in the accents, though prudently concealed, I
could not doubt for a moment but that it was a woman. I had seen enough.
I repaired to the door and pushed it open. At the grating of the rusty
hinges, a slender form disappeared like a shadow behind a distant
pillar. The Biscayan came up quickly to me.
"No apologies," said he; "you have, without knowing it, made yourself
master of a secret which would have been yours sooner or later. It is
better, then, that you know it now. Besides, I was just speaking of
you. Is it not to you I owe one of the happiest moments of my life? Have
I not still need of a new proof of that friendship which henceforth will
be so valuable to me?"
Don Jaime then, in a few words, gave me the particulars of a romantic
attachment which had arisen six months before in the shady walks of the
Alameda; that, owing to the want of fortune on his part, a union could
not be effected; that all attempts at flight had been defeated by
watchful vigilance, which had never been relaxed till the time when the
father of her he loved for her beauty alone, before knowing of her
wealth, set out to visit one of his haciendas in the interior of the
country. To assist in the attempt at elopement, Don Jaime had brought
two horses with him; but at the third stage, at Arroyo Zarco, the poor
young man, who had followed the carriage at a distance, was deprived of
this last resource, as the huesped would not admit him within the walls
of the building. Thanks to our lucky meeting, he had obtained
admittance, and was now quite ready for a start to Guanajuato. Once
there, Don Jaime intended to intrust the daughter of the _haciendero_ to
the care of a distant relative of his, who would conceal her in a
convent till, the pursuit being slackened and the marriage concluded, he
could set sail for Spain. Unluckily, a new obstacle presented itself.
How could we quit the inn without awakening the suspicions of the
huesped, and how hide the direction of our flight and keep up
appearances? Don Jaime had thought that I might be able to accompany
them, leaving my valet at the venta, while we accommodated ourselves
with his horse. Donna Luzecita (the lady's name) could pass easily for
Cecilio, and the landlord, seeing as many pass out as had entered in,
could conceive no suspicion.
The Biscayan regarded me with a look of such melting eloquence, that I
was on the point of throwing myself, heart and soul, into this new
adventure; but, on reflection, I deemed it proper to refuse. Don Jaime
sighed, and left me. He returned in a few minutes, accompanied by the
young lady. A rebozo, worn in the Mexican manner, was passed round her
head. Through the folds of her silk veil you could discern a bandeau of
jet black hair encircling a brow empurpled with a modest blush, and
under the arch of her black eyebrows two eyes modestly veiled by their
long lashes.
"What should I not owe you, Señor Cavalier," said she, in that
harmonious voice whose silvery tone had so charmed me some minutes
before, "if you would consent to help us in our extremity! At any rate,
a refusal will never change my unalterable resolution."
I must confess that her look and simple words had almost brought me over
to her side. I only stammered out some commonplace about duty and
prudence.
"Your presence," added the Spaniard, "can prevent one misfortune; for I
love her so much that, rather than see her torn from me, I would stab
her to the heart."
Proud and grateful for this burst of passion in her lover, the lady
raised her eyes, which had been hitherto cast to the ground, and gazed
steadily at the Spaniard with one of those sharp, piercing looks of love
which her Creole impetuosity could not retain. It was thus she desired
to be loved. Then, holding out to me one of those hands which God seems
to have modeled expressly for Mexican women--"You consent, don't you?"
said she.
Every moment was precious. Twelve o'clock had struck, and I could not
pain her by another refusal. To carry our saddles and valises to the
stables, and prepare the horses for the road, was the work of an
instant. The darkness in the stables was very great, and it was only by
the light from our cigars that we could distinguish our steeds. In the
court-yard the two coachmen were sleeping near their mules.
"Halloo! friend," cried one of them, yawning, "are you for the road so
early?"
"I have a long way to go," I replied; "but you needn't stir; the cock
has not yet crown."
The snoring of the coachmen, who had dropped asleep an instant
afterward, was soon mixed with the chorus of noises that proceeded from
the stable, and by groping about we managed to finish our business
without any new interruptions. We arranged that the better of the two
horses which Don Jaime had brought with him should be reserved for the
use of the daughter of the haciendero. One thing only remained to be
done--to instruct Cecilio in the part he was to play in our absence. I
went to his bed-chamber. His organ of wonder had been largely exercised
during the night, but the surprise which now awaited him was still more
astonishing than any of the others. The poor fellow was sleeping with
his hands clenched, when I, with some difficulty, awoke him.
"Wilt thou[26] listen?" said I to him, when he was fully awakened. "Thou
must sleep soundly till ten o'clock in the morning. If thou art unable
to do so, at least remain in thy chamber. Reasons of the most important
nature demand that thy presence in the venta be not even suspected till
that hour. Thou must then slip unperceived out of the hacienda; and, in
order that thou may'st do that the more easily, I am going to take away
thy horse. Take the road to Celaya, and rejoin me at the venta of the
Soledad, where I shall wait for thee."
"I shall execute your lordship's orders," said Cecilio, bowing sadly,
and seemingly quite disconcerted at this new inconvenience.
My two companions were in the saddle on my return. Don Jaime appeared to
shudder in the cold night air; and his beautiful companion, her head
concealed by her thick silk veil, and her shoulders covered with a manga
with the lining outside, seemed completely disguised except to a very
experienced eye. The convulsive agitation of her bosom, however, and her
stifled sobs, betrayed her violent emotion. I well understood the
sentiments which agitated her, and I could not help casting a melancholy
glance in the direction of the chamber in which the father of Donna Luz
slept. In that trying moment, the Castilian generosity, so inherent in
Don Jaime's character, showed itself in a remarkable manner.
"Luzecita," he said, in a choking voice, "you have not yet advanced too
far to recede--it is your father you are leaving."
Recalled by the voice of Don Jaime to the thought that was uppermost in
her mind, the lady trembled, and the two for a time seemed alone in the
world. Taking the hand of the one she loved, and carrying it to her lips
with the passionate submission of an Eastern slave,
"I have no father now," she said, in a voice at once firm and sweet;
"lead on."
On hearing this my last scruples vanished, and we set out. We traversed
the court in silence. The huesped was sleeping on the ground close to
the gate. I touched him with the point of my lance without speaking; he
started up with the mechanical promptness of a man accustomed to be
roused at all hours of the night.
"For the road already?" on receiving the reckoning. "And this cavalier
also, with his two horses?"
"Yes," I replied; "this cavalier, my valet, and myself, must be at the
hacienda of San Francisco before daylight."
"A pleasant journey," he cried, on opening the gate, which soon closed
behind us. We at first followed the road to Mexico, so as to tally with
the false direction I had given to the huesped; we then turned bridle
all at once in the direction of Celaya, making a wide detour to avoid
passing near the hacienda. A damp, icy fog covered the plain as far as
the eye could reach; the night-wind tore aside the curtain of mist from
time to time, and showed us the surrounding country covered with
hoar-frost. A few paces distant appeared the watch-fire of the Biscayan:
it looked like a star just about to expire. Our horses made their way
rapidly through the mist, the breath that issued from their nostrils
playing about their heads in immense volumes. Although not sharing in
the feverish impatience of my two companions, I could not help feeling a
kind of emotion when I compared the uncertain issue of the event into
which they had blindly rushed with the thick vapors which enwrapped in
darkness the road and the objects around. We were not long in placing a
considerable distance between us and the venta. We then slackened our
pace; a grayish glimmer began to light up the objects around us: in the
east, and behind the hills, which were still enveloped in mist, a few
pale rays heralded the approach of the sun.
"Let us stop here a minute," I said to the Biscayan, "to breathe our
horses. In the mean time, I shall alight to listen if there are any
pursuers behind us."
We had now covered a distance of almost eight leagues without exchanging
a word, this being one of those cases in which a full heart places a
restraint upon the tongue. With my ear close to the ground, I listened
anxiously to catch the sound of the approach of horsemen: no noise, no
echo came from the earth. We were in a vast desert plain. The slight
agitation I had felt during our long gallop was succeeded by a soothing
calm; I seated myself on the grass, and invited my companions to do the
same. This moment of passing security brought out a burst of sentiment
which had been restrained during the long gallop. As the hoar-frost
immediately disappears when the first beams of the sun have reddened the
grassy plain, so anxiety fled from the hearts of the two lovers, and
gave place to confidence and delirious exultation. Scarcely had the lady
alighted, than, obeying an irresistible impulse of her Mexican nature,
she strained in her arms him who would henceforth stand to her in place
of the whole world. The faded, melancholy face of the Spaniard seemed
all at once lighted up with animation; but the rapture inspired by these
caresses was too much for him; he turned pale, staggered, and fell to
the ground with his eyes closed. Donna Luz rent the air with her
shrieks.
"Don't be afraid," I said; "joy never kills."
I laid him gently upon the grass; Donna Luz knelt by him, and bedewed
him with tears. Don Jaime soon revived and came to himself, while the
young Creole, turning about, hid her face in her hands with that strange
mixture of modesty and passion which lent an additional charm to her
beauty.
"You must come with us no farther," said the Biscayan to me. "You have
risked enough in our service, and I will abuse your kindness no longer;
but, before parting, I have another favor to ask of you: it is that you
take my cloak in exchange for yours; it will aid my disguise more
effectually."
I consented to his request.
"You will gain little by the bargain," said Don Jaime, with a smile;
"but you have done me a great service. Since you are not bound in any
particular direction, you may perhaps come to Guanajuato. I shall remain
a fortnight there, and you can easily find me out, and I shall be but
too happy to express to you once more the gratitude which I shall feel
for you all my life."
The parting moment came. We assisted the lady to her saddle. Don Jaime
then mounted. Untying the mandolin which hung at his saddle-bow,
"Take this," he cried, "and keep it as a remembrance of me. For a long
time this instrument and hope were all my possessions; now, instead of
hope, God has given me the reality."
The tears stood in his eyes. He shook me by the hand a second time.
Donna Luz paid me with a smile more than she owed me, and the pair
galloped away. I followed them with my eye for a long time
involuntarily, thinking that there was much between the cup and the
lip. The morning mist soon hid them from my sight.
FOOTNOTE:
[26] In Mexico it is the custom for masters to "_thou_" their valets.