CHAPTER SIXTY NINE.
THE CATALAN LIEUTENANT.
It is already known how Don Rafael Tres-Villas had fortified hishacienda of Del Valle, and how, when called elsewhere by his militaryduties, he had left its garrison of nearly a hundred men, under thecommand of a Catalonian officer, Lieutenant Veraegui.
On the same day in which he had made a sortie from the hacienda, andsucceeded in capturing ten of the besieging guerilleros, the Lieutenantreceived a despatch from the governor of the province, ordering him,without further delay, to attack the band of Arroyo, and annihilate it,if possible. Then, with his whole troop, to repair to Oajaca, which wasnow in danger of being besieged by Morelos. The despatch also conveyedto Veraegui the additional intelligence of the raising of the siege ofHuajapam, and the total defeat of the besieging forces.
The news was anything but agreeable to the Catalonian Lieutenant. Inthe _alcavala_--which he had for the past two years been accustomed tolevy on all the traffic between Puebla and Oajaca--he had foundexcellent pay for his soldiers; and being a man not over scrupulous,though brave as a lion, he felt greatly disinclined to change hiscomfortable quarters. A fierce royalist, moreover, the news fromHuajapam excited his fury against the insurgents to the highest pitch;and he blamed himself for the clemency he had displayed that verymorning in hanging four of the guerilleros he had taken, up by the neck,instead of by the heels--as he had done with three of their comrades.
About an hour after Don Cornelio Lantejas and his travelling companionshad passed Del Valle--and only a few minutes from the time, when, thanksto the darkness of the night, two of Arroyo's followers had found anopportunity to carry off the heads of their three comrades--two menpresented themselves in front of the fortified hacienda.
They were Gaspar and Juan de Zapote, who had hidden themselves duringthe day, and awaited the friendly darkness, to enable them to make theirway through the lines of the besieging force.
"I see no one," muttered Zapote, as they glided into the avenue. "Theplace appears to be deserted! It's likely enough that my ex-comradeshave abandoned the siege."
"So much the better--let us keep on then!" rejoined Gaspar.
"Gently, gently, compadre!" counselled Zapote. "You forget that mycostume is of the military kind, and likely to make a sentinelsuspicious of me. A carbine shot might be the only hail we should getfrom one of these Royalists."
"Your physiognomy, amigo, is more likely than your costume to begetsuspicions."
"Ah! that comes of the bad company I have been keeping of late."
"Never mind that. I shall go forward alone, and make myself known tothe sentries. I can then introduce you as a comrade, devoted to theservice of Don Rafael Tres-Villas, and who offers to assist indelivering the Colonel from danger."
"Precisely so, that is, if the Colonel be still alive."
"_Quien viva_!" came the sonorous hail of a sentinel from the crenelledparapet.
"_Gente de paz_!" replied Gaspar, advancing alone, while Zapote,notwithstanding the obscurity of the night, instinctively placed himselfbehind the trunk of a tree.
"What is your wish?" demanded the guard.
"I am the bearer of important news from the Colonel Tres-Villas,"answered Gaspar.
"And we wish to communicate them to Lieutenant Veraegui," added Zapote,from behind, but without leaving the shelter of the tree.
"How many of you are there?" asked the sentinel.
"Two."
"You may advance, then," said the soldier, dropping his carbine to the"order arms."
The gate was soon opened; and Gaspar and Zapote, entering within thefortress, were conducted by the corporal of the guard towards thequarters of his commander.
The Lieutenant Veraegui was, at the moment, within one of the chambersof the mansion, engaged over a game of cards with a young _alferez_. Onthe table before them stood a bottle of Catalan brandy--the product ofhis own native province--clear and strong as alcohol. A couple ofglasses flanked the bottle, and beside them lay a pile of Havana cigars.
Zapote, on entering, could not help a slight tremor; which was increasedas the Catalan Lieutenant bent upon him an inquisitorial look of hisgrey eyes, that glanced keenly under eyebrows long and grizzled like hismoustaches.
Veraegui was a soldier of fortune, of rude unpolished speech, and withmanners not very different from those which he had practised whilewearing the chevrons of a Sergeant.
From the examination of Zapote, he passed unceremoniously to that ofGaspar, whose features he instantly recognised.
"Ah! it is you?" he said, addressing the messenger. "Well, you haveseen the Colonel, and bring news from him? He has, I trust, escapedfrom the disaster of Huajapam."
"Senor Lieutenant," replied Gaspar, "I know not of what affair you arespeaking. All I know is, that this morning the Colonel Tres-Villas wasin the woods between here and the Ostuta--where the bandits of Arroyowere tracking him like a wild beast."
"Ho!" cried the Lieutenant, angrily, as he started up from his chair;"and it is only now you tell me of this, when you might have brought thenews in an hour?"
"Pardon, Lieutenant: both my companion and myself were also hunted bythe same brigands; and we were not able to escape from the woods oneminute sooner than we have done."
"Ah! in that case, I ask your pardon, and that of your companion there,"continued the Lieutenant, turning to Zapote, "whom I should certainlyhave taken for a friend of Arroyo, rather than an enemy to that worthyindividual. Where the devil have I seen you, my good fellow?" he added,fancying he recognised the features of the deserter.
"Oh! your honour, I have travelled a great deal," replied Zapote, whosepresence of mind did not forsake him. "It would not be strange if--"
"So the Colonel has sent you to apprise me of his situation?" said theLieutenant, without waiting for Zapote's explanation.
"We met the Colonel without knowing him," blundered out Gaspar. "It wasonly afterwards we learnt it was he."
"Ha! that is very strange!" remarked the Catalan, again turning his eyeupon the men with a suspicious glance.
Gaspar now related how, as he and his companion were flying from thebandits of Arroyo, Don Rafael had leaped down between them from thebranches of a tree; and how they had parted from him without recognisinghim.
So far the story was well enough; but the narrator was treading onground that was dangerous for Juan el Zapote. It remained to beexplained how they had been informed, by the ex-comrades of thedeserter, that the fugitive they had encountered was the ColonelTres-Villas.
At this point Gaspar hesitated, while the suspicion glances of theLieutenant flitted alternately from one to the other. Zapote, however,came resolutely to the aid of his companion.
"My compadre," said he, "does not wish to tell the whole truth, out ofregard for me. I shall speak for him; and this it is. In going awayfrom here on his message to the Colonel, my friend Gaspar was capturedby the scouts of Arroyo, and taken to the camp of the guerilleros.There he stood a very fair chance of losing his life, when, out ofregard for our _compadrazgo_, and old acquaintance' sake, I consented toassist him at the risk of losing my head."
"Oh! you are then from the camp of Arroyo?"
"Yes," muttered Zapote, in a tone of compunction, "the lamb is sometimesfound in the company of wolves."
"Especially when the lamb so nearly resembles a wolf, that it isdifficult to distinguish them," rejoined the lieutenant with a smile.
"I have always been an honest man," affirmed Zapote, with a demure look."Virtue has been my motto through life; and I assure your honour, thatI was forced to consort with these brigands very much against my will.I was only too glad, when, to save my old compadre here, I found anopportunity of making some amends for the wicked life I have beenobliged to lead in their company."
"Hum!" said the Lieutenant, with a dubious shrug of the shoulders, "Isuppose you expect your virtue to be well rewarded. But how did youascertain that the man you encountered so unexpectedly was the
Colonel?"
Zapote now recounted their subsequent interview with the brigands; andhow he had learnt from them the object of their pursuit--as well as theadroit ruse he had practised to secure the escape of himself and his"compadre."
"It's all true as gospel!" affirmed Gaspar, when his companion hadfinished the relation.
Zapote also made known the advice he had given to Don Rafael: to concealhimself among the bamboos.
"At what place?" demanded the Lieutenant.
"Just below the ford," answered the deserter.
"But, Senor Lieutenant," added he, "I shall be most happy to conduct youto the spot myself."
"You shall do no such thing, my brave fellow. You and your worthy_compadre_, as you call him, shall remain here as hostages, till DonRafael is found. I have no confidence in lambs that have been so longin the company of wolves. If the Colonel be living, so may you; but ifI find it otherwise, then your prospects--Ho, there!" cried theLieutenant, without finishing the threat, "take these two men to theguard-house, and keep them there, till I order them to be set free."
So saying, the Catalan poured out a glass of his favourite liquor, andcommenced drinking it.
"What, and me, too?" inquired Gaspar, in a tone not very complimentaryto his companion in misfortune.
"A fig for you! my worthy fellow!" rejoined the Lieutenant. "You shouldhave remembered the proverb, _mas vale viajar in solo que malacompanado_." (Better travel alone than in bad company.)
"By the cross of Christ!" continued he, after quaffing off his glass, "Ishall make short work of it with this bandit, Arroyo. To-night I shallfinish with him and his band; and if I don't give the jackals andvultures a meal that will last them for a twelvemonth, my name's notVeraegui!"
At an order from his superior, the _alferez_ flung down the cards, andhurried off to prepare the garrison troops for sallying out of the fortto the rescue of their Colonel; while the corporal of the guardsconducted Gaspar and Zapote to the prison--the latter no littledisconcerted at finding his first act of virtue so indifferentlyrewarded!