CHAPTER XX.
ADVENTURES AND SURPRISES.
While Riva Baez was struggling with his wounded horse, whose suddenplunge had nearly unseated him, Ronie was also active, but in quiteanother manner. The flash of the shots from the treetops had not sentout its blaze of lurid light before he had discovered a pair of darkforms crouching in the foliage overhead, and the double report had notdied away before he had covered one of these with his rifle, his clear,ringing voice exclaiming:
"Hold, there! Move an inch, and I will send a bullet through yourhead!"
Immediately cries of fright were uttered by the twain in their loftyambush, but neither man offered to move. The companions of Ronie andRiva Baez, who had fallen behind a little, startled by these shots andoutcries, now dashed hurriedly upon the scene.
"Cover the other rebel up there with your Mauser, Jack," commandedRonie. "Do not hesitate to fire if he dares to lift a finger."
Jack quickly comprehended the situation, and no sooner had his youthfulcommander spoken than he took swift aim at the trembling wretch in thetree, saying, loud enough for the victim to hear:
"Ay, sergeant; I glory in such shooting!"
By this time Riva had succeeded in quieting his horse, which had notreceived a fatal wound, and the veteran scout was ready to do his partin the exciting drama.
"Stand at the foot of the tree to receive them, boys," ordered Ronie."I am going to invite them to join us. Their company may be moredesirable than we think."
Then, addressing the twain above, he continued in the best Spanish hecould command:
"Come down, senors, as quickly as may be."
"Spare our lives, senor!" begged the one whom the young American hadselected as his victim.
"Upon the condition that you surrender peacefully. As proof that youmean what you profess, please drop your weapons down to my men."
Without delay, the couple dropped their Mausers, which were caught bythe young Venezuelans.
"If you have any other firearms, kindly let them down, We have more usefor them than you."
This demand was followed by two braces of heavy pistols, followed by acouple of ugly-looking knives.
"Any more such playthings?" asked Ronie.
"No, senor. We have no more weapons, unless you call this rope such."
"Let that down, too. It will come in handy in a few minutes. You werevery thoughtful to take it along with you."
The stout hempen rope was next thrown to the ground, after which theterrified sharpshooters waited for the succeeding order.
"Now, come down yourselves. Don't waste any powder, boys, if they arefoolish enough to think of trying to run away."
"Ay, sergeant, trust us for that," replied Jack.
Ronie soon had the satisfaction of seeing the two cringing before himlike a couple of curs about to receive a whipping. One of them wasevidently a half-breed, while his companion, who had done the talkingso far, showed more of Spanish blood.
"You have been caught in an ugly game, senors," said Ronie, whereuponboth bowed, the spokesman saying:
"Do not shoot us, Senor Americano. If you will spare our lives, wewill fight for you."
"A pretty mess you'd make of it. You were scouts for El Capitan?"
"_Si, senor_."
"You mistook us for Castro's soldiers?"
"_Si, senor_. We could not see very plain, and we thought you wereonly two."
"Which made your shooting more justifiable, I suppose. Seeing you aresuch poor marksmen, we will forgive you, providing you will answer myquestions."
"_Si, senor_."
"Where is El Capitan?"
"At Morova."
"How far is that from here?"
"Four kilometers, senor."
"What is he doing there?"
"Waiting for reinforcements."
"What does he need reinforcements for?"
"To whip the dogs of Castro."
"No doubt he needs them. But are there any of Castro's soldiers inthis vicinity?"
"_Si, senor_, at Baracoa."
This bit of information caused Ronie to resume his questioning withgreater interest, for he knew this referred to Colonel Marchand'sregiment.
"How many men has El Capitan under him?'
"Five thousand, senor."
"Beware, senor, for I know now you lie."
"He will have, senor, before he reaches Valencia."
"So he is headed in that way?"
"_Si, senor_."
"What I want to know is, how many men has he now? Be careful, foranother lie will send your cringing souls to purgatory. How many menhas El Capitan now?"
"Spare me, senor! I do not lie. El Capitan has about two hundred withhim now, but he expects more soon."
"Do you mean to say he has two hundred at Morova?"
"Senor misunderstood me. He will have two hundred as soon as Calverasreaches him with his troops."
"Dog!" cried Ronie, looking as fierce as he could, while he threatenedto resort to violence then and there, "you are trying to cheat me. Iasked you how many soldiers El Capitan has at Morova."
"Fifty, senor," and the frightened wretch and his companion seemedabout to collapse.
"That is all now," declared the young sergeant. "Secure them, men, atonce."
Nothing loath, his companions began to carry out his order, Jackassisting Riva Baez in binding the spokesman of the twain. While theywere doing this, the former heard the sound of paper crumpled in theprisoner's pocket. Thrusting his hand into the receptacle, he quicklydrew forth two soiled and wrinkled missives.
"What have we here?" he asked. "As I live, here is a dispatch forColonel Marchand from General Castro," handing, as he spoke, the paperto Ronie. Then, his eye falling upon the well-known envelope and stampof his own country, he exclaimed:
"A letter for you, Ronie; and from New York!"
If honest Jack Greenland had unconsciously committed a breach of goodrespect in thus addressing a superior, Ronie did not heed it, while hetook the crumpled missive handed him, his own hand trembling and a mistcoming over his eyes at this unexpected communication from his nativeland. This mist deepened and his hand shook more violently, as hemurmured, after glancing at its superscription:
"It is from mother, Jack!"
It was fortunate for the reputation of our hero that his companionswere attentive to their duty, or the prisoners might have eluded theircaptors. But he was certainly excusable for his temporary lack ofdiscretion. The finding of this letter from his mother, under thecircumstances and condition of affairs, was enough to rob him of hisusual presence of mind. While the others completed their tasks, heexamined the missive, to find that it had already been opened. Withblurred sight, he ran hastily over its closely-written page, saying,when he finished:
"It is as I expected. Mother was to leave New York soon after writingthis, to meet me in Caracas. This was directed in the care of ColonelMarchand, and has been forwarded through the courtesy of General Castroto the colonel. She is here in this country, and in trouble, as I havefeared."
"Let us hope it is nothing serious," said Jack. "At least, we can onlyhope for the best until we are able to learn more and do more. Has thedispatch to Colonel Marchand been opened?"
"Excuse me, Jack, for forgetting my duty. It must be duty beforepersonal afflictions, I suppose. Yes, this has been opened. In thatcase, it will do no harm for me to read it, particularly as I may learnsomething to guide us in our work. It says," he continued, while hescanned the document, "that General Castro has been elected presidentof the republic for a term of six years. It says also that a body ofhis troops have been defeated at Barquismoto by the insurgents; thatthe _Libertador_ has fixed on and sunk a Venezuelan ship named _Crespo_off Cumarebo, and that Matos has succeeded in landing twenty thousandrifles and two million cartridges at Trinidad.
"Now I come to news that interests us more. General Castro has sent toSan Carlos demanding that Harrie be set at liberty immediately.
Thatis good news indeed. But he goes on to say that he cannot setFrancisco free until his case has had an investigation. Well, this hasproved to be a pretty fortunate capture."
"A newsy one, certainly, and not all of it bad news, by any means.Shall we take these fellows along with us, sergeant?"
"Pardon me, Jack, I must be more mindful of my duty. Yes, I suppose weshall have to do so. It is also necessary that one of us return toColonel Marchand with all haste possible, apprising him of what we havedone, and to take him this dispatch from the general. While you arearranging for one of the boys to undertake this duty, I will write afew words to the colonel."
Then Ronie prepared his first war dispatch, succinctly describing whathe had done and discovered. By the time he had finished this Jack hadgot one of the younger Venezuelans in readiness for his journey back tothe regiment. Though he was loath to trust these important messageswith this scout, Ronie felt that he could not do any better. He couldnot very well spare Jack or Riva Baez. Then, too, the latter vouchedfor the honesty and capability of the other, so he saw him depart withfull confidence that the arduous duty would be performed faithfully.
The hands of the prisoners having been securely bound behind them, theywere ordered to march in front of Jack and the younger Venezuelan,while Ronie and Riva Baez rode in front. In this manner the journeywas resumed, though continued but a short time. It was now getting tobe sunrise, and Riva having a friend in that vicinity, it was deemedbest to stop there for a while--at least, long enough for the animalsto recuperate.
The plantation of this man proved to be a huge farm of many thousandacres, but much of it valueless on account of the revolutionary stateof the country. He was at home, and as soon as he learned thecharacter of his visitors from his old friend Riva, he extended a mostcordial greeting to them, promising to do everything in his power toassist them. The sight of the prisoners pleased him hugely, for he wasa most pronounced admirer and supporter of Castro, and he quicklyplaced the two spies in quarters from which they could not escapewithout help.
"How is it," asked Ronie, "that you keep from being molested by theinsurgents, when you are situated in the heart of the debatable ground?"
"The reason is simply because I can muster a force that can outwhip anyarmy of curs that El Capitan can muster," he replied, rathervaingloriously. "Oh, they have tried it, Sergeant Rand, but I haverouted them like a band of monkeys, and I can do it again."
Our little party fared sumptuously at the hands of this rather pompousVenezuelan, whose name was Don Isadora Casimiro, and so they could findno fault if he was a bit boastful and radical in his ideas. Heinsisted that they remain with him during the day, showing theadvantage they would gain by waiting until nightfall before startingout. As much as Ronie disliked this inactivity, he believed it waswisest to do so. During the day the news was brought in by one of DonIsadora's scouts that El Capitan was mustering his forces to march onSan Carlos with the purpose of liberating El Mocho.
As soon as the shadows of night began to fall, Ronie prepared to startanew on his expedition, Jack and the two Venezuelans accompanying him,the prisoners being left in care of the followers of Don Isadora. Theride for half an hour continued through an archway of trees growing onthe plantation of their host, when Riva declared that they had reachedthe limit of his broad domains. They soon after entered a valley, thehoof-strokes of their horses muffled by the soft, spongy earth.
It must have been nearly midnight, for they had ridden several miles upand down the country without discovering any trace of the enemy, whenRiva, who was slightly ahead of the others, abruptly paused in hisadvance. Ronie quickly gained his side, where he stopped to learn thecause of this unexpected halt. It required no words on the part of theguide to explain his action, as he mutely pointed with his right handto a ravine, or gorge, running parallel with the road. The sound ofhuman voices came up distinctly to the ears of Ronie.
Handing the rein of his horse to his companion, he silently dismounted,and crept toward the brink of the chasm overhanging the place. In amoment the light of a camp-fire struggled dimly upward through thethick foliage, while with the sound of voices came the noise andconfusion of a body of men moving about.
"I believe it is an encampment of El Capitan," he whispered to Jack,who had joined him. "I have a mind to get a little closer."
"I need not tell you to be careful," said Jack. "Can I go with you?"
"I do not believe you had better, Jack. I will not be gone long. Fromthe sounds, I judge the party below are about to start on some midnightraid."
Before he had finished speaking, Ronie began to lower himself down thedescent, moving with such care that he made no noise. The bank did notprove to be perpendicular, but its smooth side sloped gently away toits foot, and covered as it was with rank vegetation, Ronie had littledifficulty in descending, except that at places the matted mass ofgrowth was so dense that he could penetrate it only after persistenteffort. At the end of five minutes he found himself so near the bottomthat his next step was upon the thatched roof of one of the primitivebuildings that seemed to form a row on this side.