CHAPTER SIXTY ONE.
THE FUGITIVES IN DANGER.
El Zapote and his confrere, the messenger, after making a wide detourthrough the forest, came out on the Huajapam road. Their intention wasto journey on to Huajapam--where they supposed the royalist army stillheld the place in siege, and where they expected to find ColonelTres-Villas, to whom the messenger had been sent. Little did either theex-guerillero or his companion suspect that it was the colonel himselffrom whom they had just parted.
"By my faith!" remarked the messenger, as they journeyed along, "it's apity now that we did not ask that gentleman his name. It is likelyenough that he is some grand officer belonging to the royalist army."
"Bah!" replied Zapote. "What good would it be to us to know his name?He's a lost man, I fear. It matters little, therefore, what name hecarries."
"_Quien sabe_?" doubtingly rejoined the messenger.
"I am more vexed," continued Zapote, "that we were not able to doanything for him. It can't be helped, however; and just now, let metell you, my brave Gaspar, that we have got to look out for ourselves.We are yet far from being out of danger."
The two men pursued their route, gliding silently and cautiously underthe shadow of the underwood.
Scarce ten minutes had elapsed when they again heard the voices of thosewho were beating the wood in search of the hiding-place of Don Rafael.Both stepped behind a screen of bushes and listened. In the midst of aprofound silence, they heard the crackling of branches; and the momentafter a man appeared at a short distance from where they stood. He wasadvancing with stealthy step, carbine in hand, and almost at the sameinstant two others made their appearance, coming up behind him, andmoving forward with like caution.
All three were stealthily gliding from tree to tree--making a temporaryrampart of the trunks, as they reconnoitred the ground before them.
One of these men was recognised by Zapote as an old comrade.
"Eh, Perico!" cried he, speaking loud enough to be heard by the men.
"Hola! Who calls me?" responded Perico.
"I--Juan el Zapote."
"Zapote! how is it that you are here? Where did you come from?"
"From the camp," replied Zapote, with wondrous impudence. "Our Captainhas sent--"
"Oh! the Captain knows, then, that we are in pursuit of a royalist whohas taken shelter in the _chapparal_? We have had a time of it afterhim, and he's not found yet. We have scoured the thicket all the nightin search of his hiding-place; and, out of ten of us who came after him,eight only remain. Two, Suarez and Pacheco, he has killed somewhere;but if I may judge by the signal cries to which we have responded, thereshould be at least twenty of our comrades at present looking after him."
At this moment another man joined company with the three already on theground. Fortunately for Juan el Zapote and the messenger, these fourwere precisely the same whom Pepe Lobos had ordered to go round by theHuajapam road, and as they had not yet been in communication with theparty from the camp, they were ignorant of the fact that their oldcomrade, Zapote, was himself being pursued as a deserter. "Well,"continued Zapote, "as I was saying, our Captain has sent me on an errandwith my companion, Gaspar, here; and we are in the greatest haste."
"What errand?" demanded Perico.
"_Carrambo_! A secret mission; one that I daren't disclose to you._Adios, amigo_! I am in a terrible hurry."
"Before you go," cried one of the men, "tell us if you saw anybody?"
"Saw anybody? Who? The royalist you are in search of?"
"Yes; the mad Colonel."
"No; I met no mad colonel," said Zapote, turning away.
"Eh! _hombre_?" exclaimed Perico, with a significant glance; "make itappear you are ignorant that it is the Colonel Tres-Villas we arepursuing? You know that well enough. You wish to capture him alone,and get the five hundred dollars to yourself?"
"Colonel Tres-Villas?" cried Zapote and the messenger in the samebreath.
"Five hundred dollars reward!" exclaimed Zapote the instant after,raising his hand to his head, as if about to pluck out a fistful of hishair.
"Certainly, that same; a grand gentleman, with black moustachios, a felthat of the same colour, a soldier's infantry jacket, and gold-lacedcavalry pantaloons."
"And he has killed two of our people?"
"Four. Since Suarez and Pacheco have not returned, we may also reckonthem as dead men."
Zapote no longer doubted that the man from whom they had just parted washe to whom they were bearing the message of Gertrudis de Silva, in otherwords, the Colonel Tres-Villas. He exchanged a significant glance withthe messenger.
For a moment the new resolution of honesty made by the ex-bandit waveredupon its foundation, still but weakly laid; but the mute appealingglance of Gaspar, and the remembrance of the promise of fidelity he hadjust made, conquered the instinct of cupidity that had momentarily beenaroused within him.
"Well--we have neither met nor seen any one," he remarked drily; "but weare losing our time. _Adios_!"
"_Vete con Dios_!" (God be with you), responded Perico.
Zapote and Gaspar, saluting the others, walked away--going at a moderatepace so long as they were in sight of the insurgents; but as soon asthey were behind the bushes advancing with all the speed in their power.
Their object now was to put themselves as distant as possible from thedanger; since their projected journey to Huajapam was no more to bethought of. When they had got to such a distance as not any longer tofear pursuit, Zapote flung himself down upon the grass with an air ofprofound disappointment.
"What are we to do now?" inquired Gaspar, in a lugubrious tone.
Zapote, overcome by his emotions, made no reply. About a minute after,however, he sprang suddenly to his feet, as if some interesting idea hadoccurred to him.
"A grand idea!" he exclaimed, "a superb idea!"
"Ah! What is it?"
"Listen, _camarado_! I am known to those who are laying siege to thehacienda Del Valle: you are known to those who defend it. Well, weshall thus be able to get in. Once inside, you can pass me off for oneof the servants of your master, Don Mariano de Silva."
"That might be possible, my dear Zapote," naively answered Gaspar, "ifit were not for your devil of a physiognomy."
"Never mind that. I shall alter it to suit the occasion. You shallsee. All I ask is, that if I extricate the Colonel from his presentdilemma, I am to have a reward of a thousand dollars. I risk my lifefor it; and the sum would be only a fair one. I shall take fifty men,and deliver him from danger. As to your message, he will pay for thatseparately, and you may have all the bounty to yourself."
"It would be a great stroke of business, if we could so manage it,"assented Gaspar.
"You see, after all," philosophically remarked the ex-bandit, "thathonesty is the best policy."
"But suppose the Colonel should be taken prisoner, or killed?" suggestedGaspar.
"We must take the chance of that. If he be, we shall endeavour tocapture Arroyo. In either case, I ought to have a reward; and, costwhat it will, I mean to try for one."
"It is possible," again suggested Gaspar, "the Colonel may be able toreach the bamboo brake on the river bank. If so, we might still be intime to save him."
"In less than two hours we can get back here with the men to rescue him.They can easily make a sortie from Del Valle, now that nearly all theothers are scouring the forest. Quick, then, let us make for thehacienda."
Excited by the hope of being able to accomplish their design, the twoadventurers started off, gliding through the thicket as rapidly as theycould make their way in the direction of the hacienda Del Valle.