CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR.
THE TALISMAN TRANSMITTED.
It was only after a long and desperate effort to subdue the passion withwhich Don Rafael Tres-Villas had inspired her, that Gertrudis de Silvaresolved upon making use of the talisman she had so carefullypreserved--that message, which Don Rafael had sworn to obey without amoment's hesitation--even though it should reach him on the instant whenhis hand was raised to strike down his most mortal enemy.
When the young girl at length reluctantly yielded to the determinationof once more seeing Don Rafael, her first emotion was one of profoundpleasure. She could not convince herself of the fact, that her formerlover could now be indifferent, or that from his mouth she should hearthe avowal that he no longer loved her. She believed that the messagewould convey to him a happiness similar to that she herself felt insending it; and it was for this reason, and also the better to securehis fidelity and zeal, that she had led the messenger to expect amagnificent reward, on the accomplishment of his errand. Under thecritical circumstances in which the messenger found himself, aftersetting out from Oajaca, it was well that such a golden lure glistenedbefore his mental vision--else the precious talisman might have stoodless chance of arriving at its destination.
On the departure of the messenger, Gertrudis felt as if inspired withnew life; but this joyful state was but of short duration. Doubt soontook the place of certainty. Between herself and her lover more thanone misunderstanding had arisen, all the result of imperiouscircumstances. She was no longer loved--this was her reflection. Thedistant proof she had for a while believed in--the affair of AguasCalientes--was perhaps only a wild freak on the part of the Colonel; andif he no longer loved her, it was because he loved another.
Moreover, her messenger would have to traverse a country disturbed bycivil war, and there was every chance of his failing to accomplish hismission. This doubt also added to the torture she was undergoing.
Overcome by such sad thoughts, and at times devoured by black and bitterjealousy, her heart was lacerated to the extreme of endurance. Hercheek had paled to the hue of the lily; while the purple circle roundher eyes told of the mental agony the young Creole was enduring.
In this condition was she when Don Mariano set out on the journey fromOajaca--only three days after the departure of the messenger Gaspar.
The fond father beheld with apprehension the extreme melancholy that hadtaken possession of his daughter; and, convinced of the inutility of theefforts he had already made to cure her of her passion for Don Rafael--by representing the latter as unworthy of her--he had altogether changedhis tactics in that regard. He now endeavoured to extenuate the faultsof the Colonel; and, in the place of an accuser, became his benevolentchampion.
"The nobility and frankness of his character," Don Mariano would say,"is enough to set aside all suspicion of his perfidy. His silence maybe explained by the events through which he has been involuntarilyborne, and by the political relationships that surround him."
Gertrudis smiled sadly at the words of her father, but her heart was notthe less torn with grief.
In this unpleasant state of mind they passed three days, whilejourneying from Oajaca to the borders of the lake Ostuta. On the routethey had met with no particular adventures nor encountered any obstacle;though from rumours that reached them from time to time--of thesanguinary deeds perpetrated by the ferocious Arroyo--they could nothelp experiencing a certain amount of apprehension.
It was on the third evening of the journey that they reached the Ostutariver and had halted upon its banks at the spot already described.During the night Don Mariano, rendered uneasy by hearing certainconfused noises in the adjoining forest, had despatched one of thetrustiest of his servants in the direction of the crossing, withdirections to reconnoitre the place.
Two hours afterwards the domestic returned, with the report, that, nearthe ford he had seen numerous fires blazing along the bank of the riverand on both sides of the ford. These could be no other than the firesof Arroyo's camp: since they had heard several times along their route,that the brigand was encamped at the crossing of the Ostuta.
The servant added, that in returning from his reconnaissance he wasunder the belief that some one had followed him, as dogging his stepsthrough the forest. It was for this reason that Don Mariano had causedthe fires of his bivouac to be extinguished, and had so suddenly takenhis departure from the place.
By going some distance down the river, and making the circuit of thelake into which it flowed, the servant of Don Mariano believed he couldfind a crossing, by which they might reach the hacienda of San Carlos ona different road. Although this detour would make their journey nearlyone day longer, it would still be preferable to falling into the companyof Arroyo and his brigands.
Among all the places in America, sacred to the worship of the nativeraces, perhaps none enjoys a greater celebrity than the lake of Ostuta,and the mountain which rises up out of the bosom of its waters.
The mountain is called Monopostiac, or the _Cerro encantado_ (enchantedhill). It has long been the locale of Indian tradition; and thesingularly lugubrious aspect of the lake and its surrounding scenerywould seem to justify the legendary stories of which it has been madethe scene. It was to the borders of this lake, that the necessity ofseeking his own and his daughter's safety, was now conducting DonMariano de Silva.
The journey proved long and arduous. The feebleness of Gertrudis wouldnot permit her to travel fast, even in her easy _litera_; and the badstate of the roads, which would scarce admit the passage of the mules,contributed to retard their advance.
It was near midnight before they came within sight of the lake,--itssombre waters suddenly appearing through an opening in the trees. Atthe point where they approached, it was bordered by a thick forest,whose dark shadowy foliage promised them an impenetrable asylum wherethey might pass the night safe from discovery or pursuit.
In this forest Don Mariano resolved to make halt, and wait until thelight of day might enable him to discover the crossing, by which, as hisservant had assured him, they might reach the by-road leading to thehacienda of San Carlos.