Les scalpeurs blancs. English.

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  A REACTION.

  After the sentry's challenge, loud shouts were raised outside therancho, and, ere long, the noise and confusion since his return tohonesty, the worthy monk had resumed his monastic habits of prolixity,we will take his place and narrate the facts as briefly as possible.

  We have said that on entering the rancho the Jaguar, while passingthrough the first room, had perceived, among the sleepers upon straw,Lanzi, Quoniam, and Fray Antonio. All these men were really sleeping,but with that light sleep peculiar to hunters and wood rangers, and thesound of the young man's footsteps had aroused them; so soon as they sawthe door of the second room close on the American they rose noiselessly,took up their weapons, and stealthily quitted the rancho. They had donethis without exchanging a syllable, and were evidently carrying out aplan arranged beforehand, and which the presence of the sentry had aloneimpeded. Their horses were saddled in a twinkling, they leapt into theirsaddles, and when John Davis returned to his post they were far out ofreach. The American, who immediately perceived their departure, gave astart of passion, and resumed his rounds, growling between his teeth:

  "The deuce take them! I only hope they may get a dose of lead in theirheads, provided they do not bring a cuadrilla of Mexican lancers down onus."

  Still, the plan of these bold rangers was far from meriting such animprecation, for they were about to accomplish a work of devotion.Ignorant of Colonel Melendez' promises, and having, moreover, no sort ofconfidence in the well-known Punic faith of the Mexicans, they proposedto beat up the country, and assembled all the fugitives of their partythey came across, in order to defend Tranquil and Dona Carmela from anyinsult. In the meanwhile Lanzi would swim off to the brig, which wouldbe cruising a cable's length from the beach, announce to Captain Johnsonthe result of the battle of Cerro Pardo, tell him the critical positionin which the old hunter and his daughter were placed, and beg him to goto the rancho and remove the wounded man on board, if circumstancescompelled it.

  Fortune, which, according to a well-known proverb, always favours thebrave, was far more favourable to the plans of this forlorn hope thanthey had any right to expect; they had hardly galloped ten miles acrosscountry in no settled direction, ere they perceived numerous bivouacfires sparkling through the night in front of a wretched fishingvillage, situated on the sea shore a little distance from the Fort ofthe Point. They stopped to hold a council; but at the moment theyprepared to deliberate, they were suddenly surrounded by a dozenhorsemen, and made prisoners, ere they had time to lay hands on theirarms or make an effort at defence.

  Only one of the three comrades succeeded in escaping, and that wasLanzi; the brave half-breed slipped off his horse, and passing like aserpent between the legs of the horses, he disappeared before his flightwas noticed. Lanzi had reflected that by remaining with his comrades helet himself be captured without profit; while if he succeeded inescaping he might hope to accomplish the commission he had undertaken,so that he retained a chance of safety for Tranquil and his daughter. Itwas in consequence of this reasoning, made with the rapidity thatcharacterised the half-breed, that he attempted and accomplished hisbold flight, leaving his comrades to get as they best could out of theawkward scrape they had fallen into.

  But a thing happened to the latter which they were far fromanticipating, and which the half-breed would never have suspected. Thecapture of the two men was effected so rapidly; they had been sosurprised that not a single word was exchanged on either side; but whenthey were secured the Chief of the detachment ordered them to follow himin a rough voice, and then a curious fact occurred: these men, who couldnot see each other for the darkness, became old friends again so soon asa sentence had been exchanged. Fray Antonio and his comrades had falleninto the hands of Texan fugitives from the battle, and were theprisoners of their own friends.

  After numberless mutual congratulations, explanations came on thecarpet, and these horsemen proved to belong to the Jaguar's cuadrilla.When their Chief left them to fly to the cart they continued to fightfor some time while awaiting his return; but pressed on all sides, andnot seeing him return, they broke and began flying in all directions. Asthey were perfectly acquainted with the country, it was easy for them toescape the pursuit of the Mexican cavalry; and each, with that instinctpeculiar to partisans and guerillas, proceeded separately to one of thegathering places, whither the Jaguar was accustomed to summon them. Herethey nearly all came together again, for the simple reason that as theircuadrilla formed the rearguard, it had been the last engaged, andsuffered very slightly, as it was almost immediately broken up by thedeparture of its Chief.

  During this flight a great number of other partisans had swelled theirranks, so that at this moment their band formed a corps of nearly sixhundred resolute men, well mounted and armed, but who, unfortunately,had no leader. The capture of Fray Antonio, who found many of hissoldiers among them, was, therefore, a piece of good luck for thepartisans, who, though they had been left to their own resources foronly a few hours, were already beginning to understand the difficultiesof their position, and how dangerous it would become for them iffatality willed it that they should be discovered and attacked, by aMexican corps.

  Still, they had acted with great prudence up to this moment. Obliged toleave the retreat they had selected, and which offered them noresources, they had bivouacked a little distance from the Fort of thePoint, in order to be protected both by the garrison of the fortress andthe fire of their cruisers, which they knew to be close at hand.

  When Fray Antonio had picked up this information, which was precious forhim, and overwhelmed him with delight, by permitting him to dispose ofnumerous and determined corps, instead of a few demoralized fugitives ofno value, he determined to requite the soldiers who had captured him forthe pleasure they caused him by telling him that the Jaguar was not deadas they had falsely supposed--that he was not even wounded, but was inhiding at the rancho which had for a long time served as headquarters ofthe Texan army, and he would conduct them thither if they pleased. Atthis proposal of the worthy monk's the joy of the Freebooters becamedelirious, almost frenzied, for they adored their Chief, and longed toplace themselves under his orders again. Consequently, the camp wasimmediately raised, the partisans formed in a column, Fray Antonioplacing himself at its head, and the remains of the Texan army set outjoyously for the rancho. The reader knows the rest.

  The Jaguar warmly thanked Fray Antonio; he then stated that the ranchowould temporarily be headquarters, and ordered his men to bivouac roundthe house. Still, there was one thing which greatly alarmed the youngman: no news had been received, of Lanzi. What had become of him?Perhaps he had found death in accomplishing his rash enterprise, andtrying to reach, by swimming, Captain Johnson's brig. The Jaguar knewthe friendship that united Tranquil and the half-breed, and what deeproot that friendship had taken in the heart of both, and he feared theeffect on the Canadian of the announcement of a calamity which,unhappily, was only too probable. Hence, in spite of his promise ofreturning at once to the hunter, he walked anxiously up and down infront of the rancho, gazing at intervals out to sea, and not feeling thecourage to be present when the Canadian asked after his old friend andwas told of his death.

  Presently, Carmela appeared in the doorway. The old hunter, not seeingthe Jaguar return, and alarmed by the noisy demonstrations he heardoutside, at length resolved to send the girl on a voyage of discovery,after warning her not to commit any act of imprudence, but return to hisside at the slightest appearance of danger, Carmela ran off in delightto find the Jaguar; a few remarks she heard while passing through thehouse told her what was occurring, and she had no fear about venturingoutside. On seeing her the young man checked his hurried walk and waitedfor her, while trying to give his features an expression agreeing withthe lucky situation in which he was supposed to be.

  "Well!" she said to him, with that little pouting air which she couldassume if necessary, and which suited her so well; "What has become ofyou, deserter? We have
been waiting for you with the most livelyimpatience, and there you are walking quietly up and down, instead ofhurrying to bring us the good news you promised us."

  "Forgive me, Carmela," he replied; "I was wrong to appear thus to forgetyou, and leave you in a state of anxiety; but so many extraordinarythings have occurred, that I do not really yet know whether I am awakeor dreaming."

  "Everybody deserts us this morning, not excepting Lanzi and Quoniam, whohave not yet made their appearance."

  "You will pardon them, Senorita, for I am the sole cause of theirabsence. I found myself compelled to entrust them both with importantduties, but I trust they will soon return, and directly they do so, Iwill send them to you."

  "But are you not coming in, Jaguar? My father would be glad to talk withyou."

  "I should like to do so, Carmela, but at this moment it is impossible;remember that the army is utterly disorganized, at each moment fresh menwho have escaped from the battle join us; only a few Chiefs have turnedup as yet, the rest are missing. I alone must undertake to restore alittle order in this chaos; but be assured that so soon as I have asecond to myself, I will take advantage of it to join you. Alas! It isonly by your side that I am happy."

  The maiden blushed slightly at this insinuation, and answered at oncewith a degree of coldness in her accent, of which she immediatelyrepented, in seeing the impression her words caused the young man, andthe cloud they brought to his forehead.

  "You are at liberty to remain here as long as you please, Caballero; inspeaking to you as I did I merely carried a message my father gave mefor you; the rest concerns me but little."

  The young man bowed without replying, and turned away his head not tolet the cruel girl see the sorrow she caused him by this harsh and sounmerited apostrophe. Carmela walked a few steps toward the house, buton reaching the threshold she ran back and offered her little hand tothe young Chief with an exquisite smile.

  "Forgive me, my friend," she said to him, "I am a madcap. You are notangry with me, I trust?"

  "I angry with you?" he replied, sadly, "Why should I be so, by whatright? What else am I to you than a stranger, an indifferent being, astranger too happy to be endured without any great display of impatienceon your part."

  The maiden bit her lips angrily.

  "Will you not take the hand I offer you?" she said with a slight tingeof impatience.

  The Jaguar looked at her for a moment fixedly, and then seized her hand,on which he imprinted a burning kiss.

  "Why should the head ever do injustice to the heart?" he said, with asigh.

  "Am I not a woman?" she replied with a smile that filled his heart withjoy; "We are waiting for you, so come soon," she added, and shaking herfinger at him, she ran back into the house like a startled fawn, andlaughing like a madcap.

  The Jaguar gazed after her until she at length disappeared in theinterior of the rancho.

  "She is but a coquettish child," he murmured in a low voice; "has she aheart?"

  A stifled sigh was the sole answer he found for the difficult questionhe asked himself, and he bent his eyes again on the sea. Suddenly, heuttered a cry of joy; he had just seen, above the rocks which terminatedon the right, the small bay on which the cuadrilla was encamped, thetall masts of the _Libertad_ corvette, followed or rather convoyed bythe brig. The two ships, impelled by a favourable breeze, soon doubledthe point, and entered the bay; while the corvette made short tacks notto run ashore on the dangerous coast, the brig shortened sail andremained stationary. A boat was immediately let down, several personsseated themselves in it, and the sailors, letting their oars fallsimultaneously into the water, pulled vigorously for the shore.

  The distance they had to row was nearly half a mile, and hence theJaguar was unable to recognise the persons who were arriving. Anxious toknow, however, what he had to depend on, he mounted the first horse hecame across, and galloped toward the boat, followed by some twentyFreebooters; who, seeing their Chief set out, formed him a guard ofhonour. The young man reached the coast at the precise moment when thebows of the boat ran up into the sand. There were three sailors in theboat: Captain Johnson and the person we have met before under the nameof El Alferez, and lastly, Lanzi. On perceiving the latter, the youngChief could not restrain a shout of joy, and without thinking of evensaluting the other two, he seized the half-breed's hand and pressed itcordially several times.

  The Captain and his companion, far from being annoyed at this apparentwant of politeness, seemed, on the contrary, to witness with pleasure,this frank and spontaneous manifestation of an honourable feeling.

  "Bravo, Cabellero!" said the Captain; "By Heaven! You do right to pressthat man's hand, for he is a loyal and devoted fellow; ten times duringthe past night he risked his life in trying to reach my ship, which atlength came aboard, half drowned and dead with fatigue."

  "Nonsense," the half-breed said negligently; "it was nothing at all; themain point was to reach you, as my poor comrades had the ill-luck to betaken prisoners."

  The Jaguar began laughing.

  "Don't be alarmed, my brave fellow," he said to him; "your comrades areas free as yourself, and you will soon see them; there was a mistake inall this which they will have the pleasure of explaining to you."

  Lanzi opened his eyes in amazement at this partial revelation, which hedid not at all understand, but he made no answer, contenting himselfwith shrugging his shoulders several times. The Jaguar then offered theCaptain and his two companions horses on which they could proceed to therancho, and which they accepted. The partisans who had followed theirChief, on hearing this offer, hastened to dismount, and courteouslypresented their horses to the strangers. The latter, without stopping tomake a choice, mounted the horses nearest to them, and started.

  While galloping along, the three newcomers looked about them withsurprise, not at all comprehending what they saw; for a time, the Jaguarpaid no great attention to their manoeuvres, and continued to talk aboutindifferent topics; but their preoccupation soon became so marked thathe perceived it, and could not refrain from asking them the cause of it.

  "On my word, Caballeros," the Captain said, all at once taking the ballat the rebound; "if you had not asked me that question, I was on thepoint of asking you one, for I frankly confess that I understand nothingof what is happening to us."

  "What is happening, pray?"

  "Why, I learned last night from this worthy lad, the frightful defeatyou experienced yesterday; the total loss and the utter dispersion ofyour army; I hurried up to offer you and yours, whom I supposed trackedlike wild beasts and without shelter of any sort, an asylum aboard myvessel, and I have barely set foot on land, ere I find myself in themidst of this army which I supposed to be swept away like autumn leavesby a storm; and this army is as firm and well disciplined as before thebattle. Explain to me, I beg, the meaning of this riddle, for I havereally given it up, as impossible to guess."

  "I am ready to satisfy your curiosity," the Jaguar answered with asmile; "but first of all I crave some valuable news from you."

  "Very good; but answer me this first."

  "Go on."

  "Has the battle really taken place?"

  "Certainly."

  "And you have been whipped?"

  "To our heart's content."

  "That is strange, I understand leas than ever; well, speak, I amlistening to you."

  "Is the Fort of the Point still in the hands of our friends?"

  "Yes; our ships have left it an hour at the most. Ever since you sodaringly surprised it, the Mexicans have not come within gunshot."

  "May Heaven be praised!" the young man exclaimed impetuously; "nothingis lost in that case, and all can be repaired. Yes, Captain, we havebeen beaten, we have suffered a frightful defeat; but, as you know,during the ten years we have been struggling against the Mexican power,our oppressors have often believed us crushed, and it is the same thistime, thanks be to Heaven! Two of our best cuadrillas have escapedalmost in safety the horrible massacre of the other corps, and
they arethose you see assembled here. At each moment straggling fugitives joinus, so that within a week we shall probably be able to resume theoffensive. GOD is on our side, for the cause we defend is sacred; we arethe soldiers of an idea, and must conquer. The defeat of yesterday willbe of use to us in the future."

  "You are right, my friend," the Captain answered warmly. "Thisrevolution in truth resembles no other; ever conquered, and ever up inarms, you are stronger today, after your numerous defeats, than when youbegan the struggle. The finger of Heaven is there, and a man must be madnot to perceive it. Hence your losses are limited to men and arms?"

  "To men and arms solely; we have not lost an inch of ground. I seek invain the reason that prevented the victorious Mexicans pursuing us, forwe have kept all our positions, and are scarce ten miles from the battlefield."

  "Many of our Chiefs, I presume, have fallen, or are in the hands of theenemy?"

  "I fear so; still, several have already come in, and others willprobably still join us. There is one, unfortunately, about whom we haveno news--you know to whom I refer; if the day pass without his makinghis appearance, I shall start in search of him."

  The Jaguar had spoken the truth; each moment soldiers who had escapedfrom the battlefield arrived. During the short hour that had elapsedsince he left the rancho, more than two hundred had joined the camp.

  "You see," said the young Chief, looking around him proudly, "that, inspite of our defeat, nothing has really changed for us, as we haveretained our head quarters, and the banner of Texan Independence stillfloats from its azotea."

  The horsemen then dismounted, and entered the rancho.