CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN.
A DECOY SENTRY.
On the same evening while the besieged were celebrating mass in thePiazza of Huajapam, other scenes were occurring not many leaguesdistant. Behind the chain of hills which bounded the plain of Huajapam,and in the rear of the Royalist encampment, a third army had suddenlymade its appearance--though still invisible to the Spanish sentries.Morelos, true to his promise, with a thousand soldiers under hiscommand, was hastening forward to the relief of Trujano. These were allthe regular troops at his disposal; as he had been compelled to leave astrong garrison in the town of Chilapa, which he had also recently takenfrom the Royalists.
Besides his regulars, however, he was accompanied by a large force ofIndians, armed with bows and slings.
At a short distance behind the General-in-chief, the Marshal Galeana andCaptain Don Cornelio Lantejas were riding side by side.
Notwithstanding the distinguished position which he held in theinsurgent army, the ci-devant student of theology seemed ill at ease.Some secret grief was troubling his spirit.
"The General is quite right in refusing you leave of absence," saidGaleana. "A brave and experienced officer like you cannot be wellspared; and your persistence in asking for leave has greatly offendedhim, I can assure you. As for that, my dear Lantejas, leave it to me.I am much mistaken if I don't soon find you an opportunity of achievingsome bold deed, which will be certain to reinstate you in the General'sfavour. You will only have to slay three or four Spanish soldiers, or aRoyalist officer of high rank, and that will set you all straight withMorelos."
"I should prefer slaying the officer, I think," answered Lantejas,scarce knowing what to say in reply.
To him, who had hitherto been only a hero by simple accident, the ideaof premeditating any act that would distinguish him, only brought afresh shadow upon the horizon of his future; and he would gladly haveresigned the honours he had already gained for leave to escape being thecandidate for new ones.
As soon as Morelos' army had halted for the night, the General andGaleana commenced deliberating on some plan by which they might give theenemy a decisive blow. The strategy which appeared most to recommenditself was to get the Royalist army between two fires; that is, whilethe troops of Morelos himself assaulted the Spanish camp in the rear,those of Trujano should make a sortie from the town, and attack theenemy on his front.
To the carrying out of this design the chief obstacle that presenteditself was the difficulty of communicating with the besieged. Themessenger of Trujano had left the camp of Morelos before the idea ofsuch an attack had been conceived. Was there any one in the insurgentarmy who could pass the Royalist lines, and carry a message into thetown? That became the question, which, as it so happened, Don CornelioLantejas was able to answer in the affirmative.
The Captain was in command of the Indians, one of whom had informed himthat he knew a secret way by which the town could be entered. Thepatriotic Indian at the same time declared his willingness to carry amessage to Colonel Trujano.
On communicating this information to the General, Lantejas had nothought of the honourable commission it would be the means of obtainingfor himself. Perhaps, had he suspected what was in store for him, hewould have withheld it. He did not do so, however; and, on disclosingthe fact to Morelos, the General at once ordered him to accompany theIndian, taking along with him some half-dozen of his trustiest men.
An honour thus offered by the Commander-in-chief of an army cannot,without difficulty, be declined; and Don Cornelio was constrained toaccept it.
Choosing for his companions Costal and Clara, with some half-dozenothers, and, preceded by the Indian guide, he set forth towards thetown.
After two hours spent in climbing the hills, they came within sight ofthe bivouac fires of the Spanish camp--towards which they proceededwithout making stop, until they had arrived near the line of pickets.Here the guide halted the party, concealing them behind a ruined wall.
From this point a road, deeply sunk below the surface of the plain, ranpast the place where one of the Spanish pickets held post. It was thesame post where, but a short while before, the earless Indian hadsucceeded in deceiving the sentry. The one now on post was not thesame. The guard had been meanwhile relieved and another sentry hadtaken the place; who, by the uneasy glances which, from time to time, hekept casting around him, was evidently under the belief that hisposition was a dangerous one.
Many causes combined to render the new sentinel sufficientlyuncomfortable. The night was disagreeably cold; the companionship ofthe corpses, whose mutilated state presented death before his eyes inits most hideous aspect; their odour horribly infecting the air;--allthese causes, coming together, could not fail to inspire the soldierwith a secret fear.
To chase away his unpleasant reflections--as well as to keep his bloodwarm against the chill breeze--he walked to and fro in double quicktime. The only moments when he remained motionless were at thoseintervals when it was necessary for him to pause and call out the usualphrase: "_Alerta, centinela_!"
"I am sorry for the poor devil!" said Costal, "we must send him to keepguard in the next world."
The wall behind which they had halted, although tumbled down and inruins, still rose sufficiently high to screen the party from the eyes ofthe sentinel. Moreover, between the latter and the ruin, the ground wasthickly studded with aloe plants and bushes of wild wormwood.
"Let us first get rid of the sentry," said Costal; "that accomplished,scatter yourselves among the bushes, and leave the rest to me."
On giving this counsel, the Zapoteque borrowed a sling from one of theIndians, in which he placed a stone carefully chosen. Then ordering twoothers to make ready their bows, he continued, addressing himself to DonCornelio--
"You, Senor Captain, can give the signal. Take two stones--strike themtogether so that the fellow may hear you--strike them twice. And you,"continued he, turning to the bowmen, "on hearing the second stroke, takegood aim, and let fly your arrows."
Costal stood holding the sling in readiness. It was one of those rareoccasions when the bow and the sling serve better than any kind offirearm.
Lantejas brought the two stones into collision with a loud crack.
The sentry heard the concussion, suddenly halted in his steps, broughthis piece to the "ready," and stood listening.
The Captain gave the second signal. The stone and arrows hissedsimultaneously through the air; and, struck by all three, the soldierfell dead without even uttering a cry.
"Go! scatter yourselves among the bushes," cried Costal, hurriedly; "therest I can manage better without you."
Don Cornelio and the Indians, in obedience to Costal's injunction,glided from behind the wall, and crept forward among the aloes.
As they were advancing, directly in front of them, there arose the cry,"_Alerta, centinela_!" It came from the place where the sentry had justfallen; and Don Cornelio, on looking in that direction, perceived, tohis horror and surprise, that the man was once more upon his feet, andwalking his rounds as if nothing had happened!
Lantejas turned to demand an explanation from Costal, but the latter wasnowhere to be seen. The Captain then faced towards the other Indians;but these, instead of concealing themselves any longer behind thebushes, had risen erect, and were running past the sentinel, who seemedto take no notice of them!
A ray of light broke upon the mind of the innocent Lantejas.
"_Santissima_!" cried he, "the sentinel--it must be Costal himself!"
And so it was. The living had replaced the dead; and so aptly didCostal imitate the voice and movements of the soldier who had fallen,that the other sentries along the line had not the slightest suspicionof the change that had taken place.
On comprehending the situation of affairs, Don Cornelio sprang to hisfeet; and, passing the decoy sentinel, ran on at full speed towards thewalls of the town--where his Indians had already preceded him.
Seeing his captain clear through the lines, Cos
tal flung away the shakoand musket of the soldier, and hastened after.
Soon overtaking Don Cornelio, he cried out, "Quicker, run quicker, SenorCaptain! The others will give the alarm as soon as they have missedtheir comrade!"
As he spoke, he caught Don Cornelio by the wrist, and dragged him alongat such a rate that the Captain was scarce able to keep upon his feet.
In a few seconds they reached the line of the Mexican sentries, who,already warned of their approach by the Indians, permitted them to enterthe town without opposition. On entering the Piazza they encounteredTrujano himself; who, with his sword girded on, was making a round ofthe village before retiring to rest.
While Don Cornelio was delivering to him the message of Morelos, theColonel directed scrutinising glances both upon the Captain and hisIndian companion. He had some vague recollection of having once beforeseen the two men, but he could not remember where. At the moment thatDon Cornelio finished speaking, his recollection had become more clearupon the point, "Ah!" exclaimed he, "I was thinking where I had met you.Are you not the young student who had such confidence in the mandate ofthe Bishop of Oajaca, and who, at the hacienda of Las Palmas, denouncedthe insurrection as a deadly crime?"
"The same," answered Lantejas, with a sigh.
"And you," continued Trujano, addressing himself to Costal, "are you notthe tiger-hunter of Don Mariano de Silva?"
"The descendant of the caciques of Tehuantepec," answered Costalproudly.
"God is great, and his ways are inscrutable," rejoined the ex-muleteer,with the inspired air of a prophet of Judah.
After having more substantially repeated his message, Don Cornelio wasconducted by the Colonel to his quarters, and shown the apartment inwhich he was to sleep.
It only remained for him to seek the few hours' rest that wouldintervene before daybreak--the hour fixed for the decisive battle whichwas to take place. Wrapped in his cloak, he flung himself upon thewooden bench that served for a bed--vowing to himself as he fell asleepto attempt no heroic deeds on the following day, beyond those which wererigorously necessary for the defence of his own person.