ON SECRET WORK.
Buffalo Bill did not care to trust even Señor Otega with any secrets,
for he knew not who he could place confidence in; but, having now
come to the valley, being on the spot, he might find out from the
señor some information that might be of value to him.
He wished to see just who the maiden he had rescued was, who the band
of outlaws might be, when Señor Otego had said that not one of the
secret foes of the people in the valley had ever been seen.
Then who was the officer in the Mexican uniform, and why was he in
the valley thus attired, why the victim of these men?
It was to get at the bottom facts, as well as he could, that Buffalo
Bill had started upon his visit to Señor Otega.
As he neared the ranch he saw the cattle and horses feeding near, the
cowboys, five in number, guarding them and gazing curiously at him,
and to these he nodded as he rode near, and said pleasantly:
“Good morning, pards.”
They returned his salute in silence, and were evidently surprised at
seeing a stranger.
Going on up to the hacienda he saw Señor Otega just about to mount
his horse, but discovering him, he turned toward him, and said:
“Why, señor, you in our valley again? You are welcome, I assure you.”
Buffalo Bill responded to the questions, and then said:
“But my coming prevents you from going on a ride, I fear?”
“No, for I can go another time, as there is no great hurry. I was
merely intending to ride over to see the stranger who had taken
possession of the old mission ranch and urge that he give up such a
thought, for I deem it my duty to advise him.”
“Thanks, señor. Do you know who he is?”
“An American of wealth, I believe, who came here with his people,
cattle, horses, and all.”
“Permit me to say, señor, that I am the one. I took possession
yesterday.”
“You surprise me.”
“And it is a surprise to me that you should know it so soon.”
“I learned it last night, from my men. But, señor, I am the more
distressed, now, as I learn you are the man, for I like you, and to
go to that terrible place is but to go to your doom.”
“Not so bad as that, I hope, Señor Otega. The fact is, I fell in love
with your beautiful valley, and, anxious to find a home, I decided to
settle here, and the old hacienda was the only place I could get. So
I came here from the northward, bringing my cattle, horses, outfit,
and cowboys with me, and I assure you we shall be most comfortable.
You see, I took an early opportunity to call upon you.”
But Señor Otega seemed to be lost in thought, and said, in an
absent-minded way:
“Come in, come in! Why did you come to this valley, señor?”
“To settle here, at least for a while.”
“You have your people with you?”
“Yes, all of them, and real men, too.”
“I am glad. But why did you seek a home beneath that doomed roof?”
“Do you remember telling me the curse that rested upon this valley?
You told me that your daughter had been taken from you by an unseen
foe.”
“Yes.”
“Has she been restored to you?”
“Alas, no! She is still a prisoner. Only yesterday I paid the tax of
one thousand pesos put upon me.”
“It is an outrage.”
“It is the seventh I have paid, señor, and I believe there are to be
five more, if not still more, before she is returned to us.”
“And other families pay this same tax?”
“Yes, señor.”
“It is infamous.”
“But they do not all pay the same sum, señor, for the taxgatherer
knows well the circumstances of each of his victims, and collects
accordingly. He does not put upon any one a sum that cannot be paid,
for when I pay a thousand, a poor man pays a hundred, and one pays
five thousand pesos, señor.”
“Who is that?”
“A young girl, the Señorita Suelo Sada, known as The Fair Hermit.”
“Ah! who did you say she was?”
“One left a large fortune by a kinsman, who owned the ranch where
she lives, and she came here to dwell, but receives no visitors, has
no friendships, and lives such a life of utter seclusion we call her
here in the valley the hermitess, the beautiful recluse, and other
such names.”
“Who of her family are with her?”
“Not one.”
“Does she dwell all alone?”
“All alone, señor, save her servants and cattlemen, of whom there are
quite a number, but they, too, hold themselves aloof from all others,
and the stockmen are known as the hermit cowboys.”
“Then how can these secret taxgatherers, as we may call them, make a
demand upon the Señorita Sada for so large a sum, as they cannot have
any of her loved ones, señor?”
“Ah, but they have. She is betrothed to a Mexican officer, I hear,
and he came here on a visit to her, was seized on his way home, and
is now held a prisoner by these men whom no one knows. I learn the
demand is made upon her regularly for five thousand pesos, and she
pays it.”
“Is the officer a man of any prominence?”
“He is a captain of lanceros, señor, in the Mexican army.”
“It is strange that his government has taken no steps to release him.”
“There is a threat to put him to death if such an attempt is made.”
Buffalo Bill did not tell about his rescue of the fair hermit and the
officer.
“Do you know his name, señor?”
“It is said to be Del Sol.”
“You know the padre in Silver Lake City.”
“Oh, yes, Padre Juan.”
“Can he do nothing to help you?”
“He is under a ban also--a threat--if he does.”
“And the landlord of the inn? The Señor Riel?”
“Señor Cody, I do not like that man, I do not trust him, though he,
too, is under the ban, as his son, an only child, is a prisoner.
Still, I have a dread of him.”
“Well, Señor Otega, the secret foe can only capture me or one of my
men, to get a ransom, and we’ll watch that they do not.
“I did not come here to pay ransom to robbers; but I came here to
settle, and I like our home, haunted though it may be.
“I told you that I intended to help you, and I am here to do so; but,
remember, not a word of that to any one, for it might thwart my plan.”
“I will be silent, señor, for something tells me you are here for
good, to be relied on. I was going over to the old mission ranch to
warn whoever had settled there to leave, for I did not know it was
you. Are you sure that nothing disturbed you last night?”
“We heard sounds, the cattle were restless, but no harm befell us,
señor, and we’ll take chances, for that is what we are here for.”
“How many men have you, señor.”
“I thought it best to bring at least half a dozen,” was Buffalo
Bill’s evasive reply, for he did not wish his force to be known, even
to Señor Otega. He had not allowed the two Mexicans who drove the
wagon from Silver Lake City to see more than six men beside himself,
keeping the others off beyond the cattle.
“It will be best to have just double the number they think I have,”
was the chief of scouts’ way of thinking.
Buffalo Bill remained to dinner at the hospitable ranch, and the
señora, a sad-faced, lovely woman, gave him a warm greeting, for she
had been pleased with his frank and genial manner upon his last visit
to their home.
Late in the afternoon the scout started upon his return, the señor
accompanying him a few miles on the trail.
Learning that he had just moved in, the Señora Otega insisted that
she be allowed to add to his comfort, and when he was ready to go
he found a pack horse ready for him to carry along, and it had been
loaded with grapes, vegetables, preserves, and a large quantity of
choice provisions, which the good lady insisted that he must accept
from her.
“Just turn the pack horse loose to-night, and he will come home and
give you no further trouble,” said the señor.
The scout was touched by the señora’s kindness, and as he rode away
with her husband, he said:
“You told your wife, then, that I was here to help you?”
“Not a word, señor; but I told her when you left a month ago that
you were Buffalo Bill, the great military scout, and had promised to
be our friend; and, with a woman’s quick intuition where her love
is interested, she feels sure that you have come to save our poor
daughter.”
“Yes, I saw that she was trying to read me, and I appreciate her kind
gifts to make me comfortable. We will enjoy her bounty greatly.”
As they reached the lake shore the sun was touching the horizon, and
the señor halted.
“I will turn back here, Señor Cody, for my wife will be anxious. You
see, we have lately received quite a handsome legacy, and if it were
known, then our secret foes would capture me or my wife and demand a
much larger ransom.”
“Then return home at once, and I regret that you came thus far with
me.”
“You have the most dangerous trail to travel, Señor Cody, and a long
ten miles.”
“I am used to dangerous trails, señor, but if I thought danger might
beset you I would return with you.”
“Not unless you remain all night, señor.”
“I could not do that. The ghosts in the old hacienda might put my men
to flight.”
The sun had now sunk behind the western range of mountains, and the
lake valley was already darkening under the fall of night.
“That man is all right, for he told me of a legacy lately received.
I came here prepared to doubt every one, but I’ll set him down as a
square man,” muttered Buffalo Bill, as he rode along the lake shore,
under the shelter of the fringe of timber, beneath which led the
trail up the valley.
Señor Otega had turned his horse toward home, and set out at a rapid
canter.
Reaching a belt of timber, the animal was walking along at his ease,
the night having set in, when, without a warning, there settled over
the señor’s head a coil of rope, and he found his arms pinioned to
his side, while he heard the words in Spanish:
“Resist, Señor Otega, and you are a dead man. I have men here to
master you.”
Señor Otega thought first of his wife, and he groaned in agony of
spirit.
“What does this outrage upon me mean, for you call me by name, and
hence know me?”
“It means that you are a prisoner, and the Señora Otega will be taxed
to keep you alive,” was the reply.
Señor Otega now, to his chagrin, saw that he had been lassoed by
one man, and he had seized his bridle rein and stood by him, with a
revolver leveled at his head.
But there came a flash, a report, and the kidnaper sank in his tracks
by the side of the señor’s horse.