CHAPTER FIVE.
BLACK AND RED.
On that same evening, and about an hour before sunset, two men madetheir appearance on the banks of a small river that traversed thecountry not far from the group of huts where the traveller had halted--at a point about halfway between them and the hacienda Las Palmas.
At the place where the two men appeared upon its banks, the river inquestion ran through the middle of a narrow valley; flowing so gentlyalong, that its unrippled surface mirrored the blue sky. At this placethe water filled its channel up to the level of the banks, that weretreeless, and covered with a sward of grass. Farther down trees grewalong the edge of the stream--tall oaks and cotton woods, whose brancheswere interlaced by flowering llianas. Still farther down, the riverentered between high banks of wilder appearance, and covered with yetmore luxuriant vegetation. From the grassy meadow, in which the two menwere standing, the noise of a cataract, like the breaking of the seaupon a rocky beach, was distinctly audible.
The complexion and costume of one of the men pronounced him an Indian.The former was a copper-brown, the well-known colour of the Americanaboriginal. His dress consisted of a coarse shirt of greyish woollenstuff, rayed with black stripes. Its short sleeves, scarce reaching tothe elbows, permitted to be seen a pair of strong, sinewy arms ofdeepest bronze. It was confined round the waist with a thick leathernbelt, while its skirt hung down to mid-thigh. Below this appeared thelegs of a pair of trowsers, wide, but reaching only to the knee. Thesewere of tanned sheep-skin, and of a reddish brown hue. From the bottomsof the trowsers, the legs and ankles of the Indian were naked; while the_chaussure_ consisted of leathern buskins, also of a brownish redcolour. A hat of rush plaiting covered his head, from under which hungtwo long tresses of black hair--one over each cheek--and reaching downto his elbows.
He was a man of tall stature, and with a physiognomy remarkable for oneof his race. Instead of the servile aspect so characteristic of the_Indios mangos_ (subdued Indians) of Mexico, he had more the air of thetrue savage, or _Indio bravo_. This appearance was strengthened by thefact of his having a slight moustache and beard--a rare distinctionamong the aborigines of Mexico.
Over his shoulder he carried a short, thick carbine, somewhat rusty;while a long _machete_ (half sword, half knife), was stuck behind hisbelt.
His companion was a negro, whose clothing consisted of little else thanrags. Otherwise there was nothing remarkable about him--if we exceptthe air of stupified credulity with which he appeared to be listening tothe discourse of the Indian. From time to time his features assumed anexpression of ill-concealed fear.
The red man, closely followed by the black, was advancing along the bankat a place destitute of timber and where the ground was smooth and soft.He was going slowly, his body bent slightly forwards, and his eyesturned upon the earth as if in search of some object, or tracking ananimal. Suddenly he came to a top--
"Now!" he exclaimed, turning to the negro, and pointing to the ground,"I told you I should find their traces in less than half an hour. Lookthere!"
The Indian spoke in a tone of triumph; but the feeling was far frombeing shared by his companion, who bent his eyes upon the earth ratherwith a look of dismay. The sight was sufficient to have causeduneasiness to any one other than a hunter of wild beasts. In the softmud was exhibited a number of tracks--twenty of them in all. They wereof different sizes, too; and appeared to have been recently made. Themarks of sharp claws, distinctly outlined in the clayey soil, told whatkind of animal had made the tracks. It was the fierce jaguar--the tiger(_tigre_) of the Spanish-Americans.
"It's not half an hour since they have been here," continued the Indian."_Mira_!" exclaimed he, pointing to a little eddy on the edge of thestream, "they have been drinking there not ten minutes ago: the water isyet muddy!"
"Let us get away," suggested the negro, whose black face was now palewith fear. "I see no use in our remaining here. See! there are manytracks, and of different sizes, too. Lord bless me! a whole processionof tigers must have passed here."
"Oh! you are exaggerating," rejoined the Indian, with a sneering laugh."Let us count them," he continued, bending down over the foot-prints,"one--two--three--four: a male, a female, and her two _cachorros_(cubs). That is all. _Carrambo_! what a sight for a _tigrero_(tiger-hunter)."
"Ah! indeed!" assented the negro, in a hesitating way.
"Yes," rejoined the other; "but we shan't go after them to-day. We havemore important business on our hands."
"Would it not be better to defer the business you were speaking of tillto-morrow, and now return to the hacienda? However curious I am to seethe wonderful things you promised, still--"
"What!" exclaimed the Indian, interrupting his companion's speech,"defer that business till another day? Impossible. The opportunitywould not come round for another month, and then we shall be far fromthis place. No, no, Clara," continued he, addressing the black by this_very_ odd cognomen, "no, no; we must about it to-day and at this verymoment. Sit down, then."
Suiting the action to the word, the Indian squatted himself on thegrass; and the negro, willing or unwilling, was forced to follow hisexample.