CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVE.
THE GODDESS OF THE WATERS.
For the first hour the sleep of Don Cornelio was undisturbed, even bydreams. With the second it was very different; for, scarcely had heentered upon it, when a noise sounded in his ears, singular as it wasterrible. He awoke with a start, on hearing what appeared to be theloud clanging of a bell rung at no great distance off.
At first he fancied he was dreaming, and that what he heard in hisdreams was the bell of his native village; but a moment's reflectionsufficed to convince him that he was awake, and couched in the fork of atall tree.
The sounds that had ceased for a while, now recommenced; and DonCornelio was able to count twelve strokes, clear and distinctlymeasured, as if some large clock was tolling the hour of midnight!
It was, in fact, just about that hour--as Don Cornelio could tell by themoon; but the observation did not hinder him from shuddering afresh atthe mysterious sounds. From his elevated position he could see afarover both land and water; but no spire of village church or hacienda wasvisible--nothing but the sombre surface of the lake, the spray of thefar-stretching forest, and the desert plains in the distance.
The tolling again vibrated upon the air; and Don Cornelio was nowconvinced that it was from the lake itself, or the enchanted mountain inits midst, that the sounds proceeded. It seemed as if it was a signal,to awaken the Indian divinities from their sleep of ages!
The moon was still rising higher in the heavens, and her brilliant beamsbroadly illumined the lake, even penetrating through the thickly-setstems of the reeds that bordered it.
Certain vague noises that had from time to time fallen upon the ear ofDon Cornelio, while half slumbering, now that he was awake, were heardmore distinctly; and after a little while these sounds became convertedinto prolonged and dismal howlings, such as he had never before heard inhis life.
Upon just such another night he had been sorely frightened by thehowling of jaguars; but all the tigers in the world could not haveproduced such a frightful noise as that with which his ears were nowassailed. It was a chorus of voices entirely new to him, and thatseemed to proceed from the powerful lungs of some gigantic creaturehitherto unknown.
As thoughts of the supernatural came into his mind, the Captain shiveredthrough his whole frame; and had he not been tied to its branches, hewould certainly have fallen from the tree.
His horse, standing below, appeared fully to partake of his terror; forafter dancing about, and causing the branches to crackle, the animal atlength broke away from its fastenings, and, galloping off, joinedcompany with the horses of Costal and Clara that stood nearer the edgeof the water.
The terrible howlings, combined with the mysterious tolling of the bell,produced upon the mind of Don Cornelio other impressions besides thoseof mere dread. He began to believe in a supernatural presence; and thatthe sounds he heard were the voices of those pagan divinities whomCostal had the boldness to invoke.
Captain Lantejas was not the only person whom these strange noises hadinspired with fear. At little more than gunshot distance from him, andhidden behind the trees, could be seen a number of men closely groupedtogether, and whispering their fears to one another. It need scarcelybe said that they were the domestics of Don Mariano, who had countedwith equal terror and astonishment the twelve strokes of the mysteriousmidnight bell.
Their master, too, had heard the tolling, and was vainly endeavouring toaccount for the singular phenomenon.
Just then the frightful howlings came pealing from the woods behind,awaking Gertrudis, and causing her to raise her head with a cry ofterror. The seven sleepers themselves would have been awakened by sucha terrible fracas of noises.
At this moment one of the domestics--Castrillo--appeared by the_litera_, his face blanched with affright.
"What misfortune have you to announce?" inquired Don Mariano, struckwith the expression upon the servant's countenance.
"Not any, Senor Don Mariano," replied the domestic, "unless to say thatwe are here in some accursed place, and the sooner we get out of it thebetter."
"Get your arms ready," rejoined Don Mariano, "it must be the jaguarsthat are howling near us."
"Ah! Senor master," replied the domestic, with a shake of his head,"never did jaguar howl after that fashion; and all our weapons will beuseless where the spirit of darkness is against us. Listen, there--again!"
Once more a series of prolonged vociferations came echoing through theforest, which certainly had but little resemblance to the voices eitherof jaguars or any other known animals.
"There have been many strange things during this night," gravelycontinued Castrillo. "Everything in nature seems to be turned upsidedown. Dead men have been seen by us wandering about; bells have beenheard tolling where there is neither church nor dwelling, and now thedevil himself is howling in the depths of the forest. Oh, master, letus fly from this place while we may!"
"But where to? where can we go?" rejoined Don Mariano, casting ananxious glance towards the _litera_. "My poor child--she can scarceendure the fatigues of the journey."
"Oh, father," said Gertrudis, "do not think of me. I shall be able togo on; and I would rather go afoot, than remain longer in this frightfulplace."
"Senor Don Mariano," continued the domestic, "if you will pray God toprotect us from the danger that threatens, I and the others will goafter the mules, and we shall get ready for marching. Above all, wemust leave this place at once; for if you stay I could not hinder therest from running away."
"Very well, then," said Don Mariano, "be it as you wish. Harness theanimals and let us start at once. We shall endeavour to reach SanCarlos."
That which Don Mariano and his people were about to make--a movementfrom the place apparently haunted--the Captain Lantejas would not haveattempted for all the gold in Mexico. Glued by fear to the summit ofhis tree, and cursing the evil fortune that had conducted him thither--regretting, moreover, his foolish curiosity--he continued to listen,though almost mechanically, to what he believed to be a dialogue betweensome Indian divinity and his fearless worshipper, Costal.
All at once the noises came to a termination; and a profound silencesucceeded, which was equally fearful to endure.
This was of short duration, however; for in a few moments the stillnessof the night was once more interrupted by other and different noises,that resembled human voices uttered at a considerable distance from thespot.
Gradually the voices were heard approaching nearer, and Don Cornelio wasunder the impression that it was Costal and Clara returning to wherethey had left their horses. He was mistaken about this, however, andsoon perceived his error. The voices proceeded from the direction hehad himself followed in approaching the lake. Costal and Clara couldnot be coming that way. Moreover, he now saw lights that appeared to betorches carried by those who were talking; and from the rapidity withwhich the lights flitted from point to point, they could only be borneby men on horseback. The Indian and negro could not be mounted, sincetheir horses were still standing tied where they had left them, alongwith his own steed, that had just taken refuge by their side. It couldnot be Costal and Clara who carried the torches.
"Who then?" mentally demanded Don Cornelio; "might it be Arroyo and hisbandits?"
He had scarce given thought to the conjecture, when a troop of horsemenrode out upon the open ground near the edge of the lake; and two of themat the head of the others were instantly recognised by Don Cornelio.They were, in truth, Arroyo and his associate, Bocardo.
The horsemen carrying the torches were seen riding from one point toanother, quartering the ground by numerous crossings, and exploring thethickets on every side, as if in search of some person that had escapedthem.
On approaching the border of the lake, the horsemen turned off along themargin of reeds, without having perceived the three horses that stoodunder the trees.
The torches were now thrown away; and, riding off under the palemoonlight, the horsemen disappeared from
the eyes of Don Cornelio.
He was not without uneasiness as to the peril in which his twocompanions would be placed, should they chance to fall once more intothe hands of the bandits; and he would gladly have warned them of theirdanger, had he known how. But ignorant of the locality in which Costaland Clara were at that exact moment, he could do nothing more than hopethat they might perceive the horsemen first, and conceal themselveswhile the latter were passing. From Costal's habitual wariness, DonCornelio felt confident, that the ex-tiger-hunter would be able to keephimself clear of this new danger.
The captain followed with anxious eyes the forms of the retreatinghorsemen; and his heart beat more tranquilly when he saw them turn roundan angle of the lake, and disappear altogether from his sight.
The moon at this moment shining more brilliantly, enabled him to commanda better view of the waters of the lake, and the selvage of reedsgrowing around it. Once more silence was reigning over the scene, whenall at once Don Cornelio fancied he saw a movement among the sedge, asif some one was making his way through it. In another instant a form,at first shadowy and indistinct, appeared before his eyes. Presently itassumed the outlines of a human form, and what astonished Don Corneliostill more, it was the form of a woman! This he saw distinctly; andperceived also that the woman was dressed in a sort of white garment,with long dark hair hanging in disordered tresses over her shoulders.
A cold perspiration broke out upon the brow of Don Cornelio, as thefemale form was recognised; and his eyes became fixed upon it, withouthis having the power to take them off. He doubted not that he sawbefore him the companion of Tlaloc, the terrible Matlacuezc, who hadjust risen from her watery palace in the Lake Ostuta, whence she hadbeen summoned by the invocations of Costal, the descendant of theancient rulers of Tehuantepec!