hisshield; but the young cavalier was not thus to be baffled; for, changingsuddenly his sword to his bridle hand, and leaning forward, he sodexterously clasped the lovely girl round the waist, that the robber,completely taken by surprise, relinquished his hold, and beheld hersecurely seated in front of her rescuer before he had time to draw aweapon for his defence; when Don Luis, again changing his sword to hisright hand, dealt him a blow on the shoulder, that completely disabledhim from further resistance. A shot from the pistol of Pedro hadlikewise severely wounded him with the slouched hat; and the shouts ofGoncalo Christovao, and his attendants, being now heard, the bandittilost courage, and, turning their horses, galloped after their woundedleader, leaving Don Luis master of the field, with all the booty, exceptthe jewels and money they carried about them. With the fair charge heheld in his arms, it was impossible for him to attempt to follow; nordid he think fit to risk the lives of his attendants in a pursuit,which, considering that the robbers were probably well acquainted withthe country, would no doubt prove fruitless.
As, his faithful Pedro holding his horse, he gently lifted Donna Clarato the ground, he now, for the first time, observed her extreme beauty;and, though he had fancied his heart seared to all female attractions,he could not help acknowledging that he had never seen one so lovely asthe fair girl to whom he had just afforded such essential service."Fear not, lady," he said, in a tone modulated by his feelings; "you arefree from all danger, and your father, also, is unharmed. See, here hecomes to assure you of his safety."
As he spoke, the fidalgo arrived on the spot, and Don Luis's heart beatquick with new, undefined sensations, as Donna Clara, forgetting all herterrors and danger on seeing her father in safety, sprang forward, andfell weeping on his neck, while he folded her in a tender embrace. Forsome minutes neither could find words to give utterance to theirfeelings of joy, which were too deep, too tender, indeed, for merewords; the father standing gazing on the lovely countenance of hisdaughter, as she reclined in his arms, while she looked up with aninquiring glance to assure herself that she was not deceived. Atlength, the Fidalgo addressed Don Luis with that dignified air whichmarks the man of true nobility.
"Senhor, you have bestowed an inestimable benefit on me," he said: "letme not longer remain in ignorance of the name of one to whom I wouldendeavour to offer that earnest gratitude which, however, no words canexpress."
"Oh! do not speak of gratitude, senhor," answered Don Luis: "it is I whohave to rejoice in my happiness at having been of service to one so fairand lovely as your daughter. My name is Don Luis d'Almeida."
"Ah! the son of one whose reputation I well know," answered the Fidalgo."And truly delighted I am to hear by whom so great a weight ofgratitude has been imposed. My name, also, you may probably have heard;it is Goncalo Christovao."
"A name so illustrious I could not fail to have heard, senhor," answeredDon Luis; "and my satisfaction is doubled at knowing to whom I have beenof service." The fidalgo bowed in return for the compliment, at whichhe was well pleased; nor did it fail to increase his estimation for theperson who paid it.
"But pardon me, Don Luis," he said; "we ought no longer to remain here;for those wretches are capable of any treachery, and may return to fireon us at a distance."
"You observe rightly, senhor; we will no longer delay here," answeredDon Luis; and, offering his support to Donna Clara on one side, whileher father aided her on the other,--she, expressing her thanks to hergallant deliverer much more by looks than words,--they conducted hertowards the spot where the litters had been left; the patient muleshaving stood quiet during the whole time of the affray.
The muleteers, with shouts of pleasure, collected their scatteredbeasts, whom they had never expected to see again, and busily employedthemselves in putting the litters and baggage to rights. Leaving thebody of the slain robber as food for the wolves, the servants draggedforward his companion who had been wounded, one of them, more humanethan the rest, attempting to stop the blood flowing from a deep wound inhis shoulder, but in vain; yet the man, though he felt himself to bedying, would give no information respecting the rest of the banditti.They were close to the road, when they encountered the priest; and thewounded robber, seeing a person in the clerical dress, earnestlyentreated that the consolations of religion might be administered tohim. At a sign from the priest, he was therefore placed on the bank,facing the road, and the servants retiring, the holy man knelt down byhis side, to hear the confession of his sins, before which he couldoffer none of the satisfactory comforts of absolution; but the detailoccupied a considerable time; for his peccadillos were, alas! of noslight magnitude, nor of little interest, it would seem, by the look ofearnest attention which overspread the countenance of his listener. Therobber threw many a dark imputation on the characters of some of highrank and influence in the realm, by whose instigation he had committedvarious atrocities, yet unconfessed and unabsolved. "Now, Father," saidthe dying man, "absolve me from these sins which press most heavily onme, and I will afterwards make confession of the remainder."
"Not so, my son," answered the Priest; "you must make a clear dischargeof your conscience; for I may not afford absolution to a heart yetloaded with iniquity."
"Oh! Father, I am dying, and feel that I am a miserable sinner!"ejaculated the man, with a feeble voice; "but there is a deed I sworenot to reveal to any one, and I may not break my oath. Oh! grant me,then, absolution, ere I die."
"That may not be," answered the Priest; "oaths made to sinners likeourselves, for a wicked purpose, can be annulled by a minister ofreligion, as the only way of making retribution for the crime."
"It was a deed of blood, Father, but I sought not to do it of my ownaccord; another instigated me to it by bribes which my poverty could notresist, and I swore never to reveal it."
"I have said such oaths are valueless!" exclaimed the Priest eagerly."Come, haste, for your last moments are approaching, when you will beconsigned to the terrible flames of purgatory, for thousands andthousands of years, without a mass said for the repose of your soul, ifyou do not go at once to the ever-burning and bottomless pit, amonginfidels and heretics."
The hair of the man stood on end with horror, at the picture of tormentoffered to his imagination; his eyeballs rolled wildly, as with clenchedhands he for an instant sat upright on the ground, and seemed as ifabout to rise altogether.
"I will confess, I will confess!" he cried, "though I break my oath.'Twas the young Conde de San Vincente who hired me by a large bribe todo the deed. There was a lady whose affections he sought to gain, buther husband was--Oh, Father, where are you? I am cold--very cold!"cried the man.
"Who was the husband?--you slew him?" asked the Priest, stooping downover the dying wretch.
"He was the"--but ere he could pronounce the name which hung quiveringon his lips, he uttered a loud shriek, and, with a convulsive shudder,fell back a lifeless corpse. The priest, however, had heard enough forhis purpose; and uttering, or pretending to utter, a prayer over thebody, he rose from the ground, and some of the servants coming up, oneof them threw a cloak over the distorted features of the dead man.
While the scene of horror we have described was enacting, Don Luis hadbeen actively employed in restoring order to the scattered cavalcade;his first care being to place Donna Clara in her litter, in which herold gouvernante accompanied her. The fidalgo was too much injured andfatigued to remount his horse, and therefore took his seat in hislitter; the two wounded men-servants being placed in the third, whilethe females mounted the mules of the former; one of the mules of thefourth litter having been wounded, they were unable to support a burden.
These various arrangements having been made; the fidalgo, with manyexpressions of gratitude, would have bid farewell to his deliverer; butDon Luis, fearful that the brigands might again return, insisted onescorting him and his daughter to Leiria, the nearest town on the roadto Lisbon, where, if thought advisable, a guard might be procured. "Ishould be performing but half my devoir as a knight, if I were
to quityou in the middle of the forest," said Don Luis; "a few hours' delay canbe of slight consequence to me, and I may happily be of some furtherservice to you."
"I cannot refuse your courteous offer, senhor," answered the Fidalgo,pointing to his daughter. "For my daughter's sake, it is mostacceptable, as I yet tremble for her safety."
Further delay being unnecessary, the party was again put in motion, DonLuis now riding by the side of the fidalgo's litter, and ever and anon,notwithstanding his previous intentions to the contrary, approachingthat of Donna Clara, to inquire if she had recovered from her alarm, andto assure her that she had no further cause for fear; an assurance inwhich, proceeding from the lips of so handsome a