CHAPTER XIX.
PITIC.
The distance is not great from Guaymas to Pitic, and the count coveredit in a few hours.
Pitic, or Hermosillo, is a delightful town, enclosed with walls, andsurrounded by kitchen gardens, whose produce is rather important.Unfortunately, the night had completely set in when the count arrivedthere, and he could only take a vague glance at the scenery, which, seenthrough the obscurity, had entirely changed its character, and assumed agloomy appearance, which painfully contracted the adventurer's heart.The count had considerably recovered from his first illusions; thepaltry annoyances of which he was the object now made him see the futureunder a different light, and he already doubted the success of anenterprise against which, from the outset, so many underhand obstacleswere raised.
At the moment of mounting his horse, he had received from the generalcommandant of the province a note giving him peremptory orders to remainat Guaymas, with his company, and not to march forward until more ampleinformation, that is to say, until the general had received positiveinstructions on the subject, from the central government at Mexico. Asmay be easily supposed, this order, intimated in so brutal a mannerafter all that had passed, had obtained the sole result of pressing thecount's departure; for he was outraged by this flagrant violation of allthe conditions stipulated in his treaty.
The little band entered Pitic without exciting the slightest attention.At this hour the streets were nearly deserted; and the few travellersthey met _en route,_ deceived by their Mexican costume, did not eventake the trouble to look at them. The count dismounted in the Calle SanAgostino, before a house which he had got in readiness for the occasion,without saying a word to anyone. After a gentle rap at the door, itopened, and the party entered. The house belonged to a Frenchman, whohad gone on a journey in the interior, for commercial reasons; butduring his absence, the servants, in obedience to his instructions,received the count with the utmost attention. The latter, afterwhispering a few words to Don Cornelio, who went out at once, retired tothe cuarto prepared for him.
Don Louis was a man of powerful and energetic temper, a man of actionbefore all. He understood that, after the turn that matters had taken,he must act energetically and without losing a moment, unless he wishedto receive an irreparable check. His plan was formed, and he prepared tocarry it out without delay.
Don Cornelio returned at the moment when the count, who had changed hiscostume, was giving a final glance at his appearance.
"Already!" he said, on perceiving the Spaniard.
"I have found the house, it is only a few paces from here."
"All the better, we shall have less distance to go."
"Five minutes at the most."
"Is General Guerrero in Pitic?"
"He is. Still I fancy you would do better by delaying your visit tilltomorrow."
"Why so?"
"Because there is a _tertulia_ this evening at the palace."
The count turned.
"What difference does that make?" he asked.
"Oh, as you please, senor; but, perhaps, you do not know what a tertuliais."
"Not exactly; but you will explain it to me?"
"Nothing more easy. A tertulia is a party, a festival--a ball, in aword."
"I understand. And you are sure, Don Cornelio, that there is a tertuliathis evening at the governor's palace?"
"Positively sure, your excellency."
"Bravo! That will do our business."
The Spaniard looked at him in amazement.
"Don Cornelio," the count continued, "change your travelling dress. Imean to take you with me."
"The fact is----," he said hesitating.
"What then?"
"I must confess to you, senor conde, that I have no other clothes savethose I wear."
"Ah, that is of no consequence," the count replied with a smile,pointing at the same time to a heap of clothes thrown pell-mell on thefurniture. "I suppose that you are sufficiently my friend not to feelannoyed at the cool way in which I treat you."
"Oh, not at all," the Spaniard exclaimed, with a movement of joy.
"I must ask you to make haste, though; for I am waiting."
"I only ask for five minutes."
"I give you ten. You will find me in the patio; I am going to give myescort orders to mount."
The count went out, and Don Cornelio eagerly set to work obeying him. Wemust add, to the glory of the Spaniard, that Don Louis' treatment ofhim, so far from annoying him, had caused him to feel a deep gratitude.
The Spaniard was not mistaken; there was really a tertulia at thegovernor's palace. General Guerrero was extremely rich: hence, the ballhe gave this evening was sumptuous, and in every way worthy of theexalted post he occupied in the province.
The crowd filled his rooms, which glistened with light and dazzled withgilding. All the higher society of Pitic was assembled at the palace;tables, covered with gold, were surrounded by players, who, with thatproud carelessness characteristic of Mexicans, risked enormous sums on acard. In a vast hall, a band, perhaps rather wild to European ears,regulated the movements of the dancers; while a private room wasreserved for the ladies. Dona Angela, ravishingly beautiful, was seatedon her throne, in the midst of this bevy of pretty women.
But, despite all the general's efforts to please his guests, and excitethem to amuse themselves, the festivities languished. The young ladies,generally so impassioned for dancing, refused all invitations; theypreferred to remain talking together in the apartment reserved for them.The fact was, they were discussing at this moment a most interestingpoint, which had the privilege of arousing feminine curiosity to thehighest pitch. The news of the French landing at Guaymas supplied thestaple of the conversation.
"Good gracious!" a young woman said, with a charming smile, "will theEnglish come here?"
"Doubtlessly," another observed; "but they are not English, _Querida_."
"Oh, you are mistaken, Carmencita. All foreigners are English, that isto say heretics; my confessor told me so."
"They must be hideous," a third asserted, advancing her head incuriosity.
"Indeed not, I assure you; they are men like others," the second speakerobserved, a pretty brunette, with black eyes that sparkled with malice."I spent Corpus Christi with my uncle at Guaymas, and saw them. Some ofthem, indeed, are very good-looking."
"That is impossible!" they exclaimed in chorus. "They are heretics!"
"They will massacre us."
"They are said to be very cruel."
"Their chief especially."
Till then Dona Angela had remained silent, absorbed in silent thought;but at this remark she suddenly raised her head.
"Their chief is a caballero," she said in a loud voice. "He is a condein his own country; and if he has come to Sonora, it is probably only onour behalf."
All the young women were silent; for they were amazed at this strangeoutbreak on the part of Dona Angela; then they began chatteringtogether. The young lady, vexed at having thrust herself forward soimprudently, bit her lips, blushed slightly, and fell back in herreverie. At this moment Don Sebastian entered the room.
"Ah, here is the general!" three or four young girls exclaimed gaily, asthey rose and eagerly surrounded him.
"Yes, here I am, senoritas," he answered with a smile. "What do you wantof me?"
"Merely some information."
"About what?"
"We wish to know," Dona Carmencita began; then she corrected herself."It is not I, general, but these ladies."
"I am persuaded of that," Don Sebastian said, gallantly; "be goodenough, then, to be their interpreter. What do they desire to know?"
"Who are the Ingleses?"
"What Ingleses?"
"Those who have landed at Guaymas."
"Ah! Very good."
"You will tell us, will you not, general?" they all exclaimed at once.
"If it is agreeable to you."
"Oh! Greatly so."
"In the first place,
they are not English."
"They must be, as they are foreigners."
The general smiled at this simple observation; but mentally recognisingthe impossibility of destroying an opinion so deeply rooted, he turnedthe question.
"These men are two hundred and odd in number."
"So many as that?" two or three young ladies exclaimed, with a gestureof terror.
"Yes, indeed, so many as that, senoritas; but reassure yourselves--youhave nothing to fear from them. They are kind and obliging, and theirchief is a perfect caballero."
"But why do they come here?"
"They came for the purpose of working certain mines."
"I beg your pardon, papa," Dona Angela observed, who had beenattentively listening to the conversation. "Did you not say they came?"
"Yes, my child, I said so."
"But they are still at the port, I think?"
"Yes, they are; but it is probable that they will soon depart."
"For the mines?"
"No. To return whence they came."
Dona Angela contracted her eyebrows, a movement in her which denotedgrave annoyance and great mental preoccupation, and was silent again.
"All the better. Let them go, the heretics!" one of the ladiesexclaimed. "These accursed English only come to our country to plunderus."
"That is true." The majority warmly supported her.
"Besides, I do not care what is said; I assert that they are frightfullyugly."
"Well!" a young lady said, with a delicious pout, "I should have likedto see one--only one--to know what to think about them."
"I am very much afraid, Dona Redempcion," the general remarked with asmile, "that it will now be impossible to satisfy your curiosity."
"All the worse; for a heretic must be an extraordinary animal. Are theyas ugly as the Indios Bravos?"
"That is a different matter."
"Ah! And are you certain, general, that I shall not be able to see one?That annoys me."
"I regret it, senorita."
"And I, too. But supposing one of them were to come to Hermosillo?"
"That is peremptorily forbidden them. They will be cautious not todisobey the order they have received."
"Ah!" she said with a pout.
At the same moment, a door was thrown open with a crash; and a servantannounced in a loud and perfectly distinct voice,--
"His Excellency the Count Louis de Prebois. His Excellency Don CornelioMendoza."
If the count purposed to produce an effect, his object was completelyattained. His sudden entrance was a regular tableau, and caused ageneral emotion, whose immense extent it was certainly impossible forhim to calculate.
All the ladies had risen, and, grouped round the general, examined witha curious and timid eye the chief of the adventurers.
The count, whose splendid ranchero costume, which he wore withinimitable grace, added to the fascinating charm spread over his wholeperson, walked a few steps with a smile, bowed around with a gesturefull of elegance, and waited. The general had suddenly turned of a lividpallor.
The news of the count's arrival, spreading through the other rooms withincomprehensible rapidity, suddenly stopped the dancing and gambling;all the guests quitted the other rooms, and proceeded toward the one inwhich the count was said to be.
Still, each second that elapsed added to the embarrassment of theposition; the general felt it, and sought in vain a mode of escape. DonLouis understood, or rather guessed, the general's perplexity; hence,advancing two paces, he said with exquisite politeness,--
"I am confounded, general, by the trouble I have involuntarily causedamong your guests. It seems that I was not expected at Pitic."
The general succeeded in regaining a little self-possession.
"I allow it, caballero," he replied. "Still the impromptu visit you havedeigned to make me must be most agreeable to me, be assured."
"I hope so, general; and yet, to judge by the glances directed upon mefrom all sides, I may be permitted to doubt it."
"You are mistaken, senor conde," the general continued, attempting tosmile. "For the last few days fame has been so occupied with you, thatthe eagerness of which you are now the object ought not at all toastonish you."
"I should wish, general," the count said, with a bow, "that thiseagerness were more friendly. My conduct, since my arrival in Sonora,should have attracted greater sympathy toward me."
"What would you? We are savages, senor conde," the general said with asarcastic smile; "we have the misfortune not to love what comes fromforeign parts; so you must forgive us. But enough on that subject, forthe present," he added, changing his tone. "As you have been kind enoughto become my guest, allow me to present you officially to these ladies,who are burning to become better acquainted with you."
Don Louis yielded gracefully to the general's wishes. The latter then,affecting the most exquisite courtesy, presented his guest, as he calledhim, to the most influential persons at the ball. Then he led him to hisdaughter, who, since the count's entrance, had stood motionless, withher eyes obstinately fixed upon him.
"Senor conde," the general said, "my daughter, Dona Angela. Dona Angela,the Count Don Louis de Prebois Crance."
Don Louis bowed respectfully before the young lady.
"I have had the honour of knowing the count for a long while," she saidwith a graceful smile.
"It is true," the general said, suddenly pretending to remember; "wehave been acquainted for a long time, caballero."
"It was not my place to remind you under what circumstances we met."
"That is true, count, it was mine; believe me that I have not forgottenit."
"Nor I," the young lady murmured; "for I owe you my life, senor."
"Oh, senorita!"
"Permit me, permit me, senor conde," the general said, with an emphasisassuredly affected; "we Mexican caballeros have a long memory for goodas for ill. You risked your life to defend mine, and that is one of thedebts we like to pay. I am your debtor, senor Don Louis."
"Are you speaking seriously, general?" the count asked, looking at himfixedly.
"Certainly, caballero; the subject is too serious for me to treat itotherwise. I will even add that my most lively desire would be soon tofind the occasion to acquit my debt."
"If that be so, general, I can offer you the occasion, if you will allowme?"
"How so?" the general asked, somewhat taken aback by finding himselftaken at his word. "I am too happy to be agreeable to you. What do youwant of me?"
"I want nothing, general; I only wish to make a request of you."
"A request! You, Don Louis? Oh, oh, what is it? Pray speak."
"I would beg you to grant me a few moments of private conversation."
"This night?"
"This very instant."
"Come," the general continued, "I hoped to be free from business for afew hours at least, but you order otherwise. Your request shall besatisfied, Don Louis; a caballero has but his word."
"Pray pardon me, general. I am really confounded by pressing you sogreatly; but imperious reasons----"
"Not a word more, I implore you, Don Louis, or you will make me supposethat you attach to this interview an importance which it cannot possiblypossess."
Don Louis contented himself with bowing in reply. The general thenturned to his guests, the majority of whom, their first curiositysatisfied, had returned to the various amusements they had quitted for amoment.
"Senoras and caballeros," he said, "I must ask you to pardon me forleaving you for a few minutes; but as you see, Don Louis has my word,and I must free it."
The guests bowed courteously. Dona Angela had summoned Don Cornelio toher side, and, profiting by the liberty Mexican manners give younggirls, she was conversing with him in a low voice.
"Go, papa," she said with a soft smile, intended for the count; "but donot keep Senor Don Louis too long. Now that the ladies know him, theywould like some conversation with him."
"Do not be alarmed
, ladies; in ten minutes we shall return. Anydiscussion between myself and the count cannot be long."
"Heaven grant that be true," Louis said in his heart; "but I believe thecontrary."
The general passed his arm through the count's, led him through thesaloons, and stopped at a door he opened.
"Go in, caballero," he said to him.
The count entered, and the general followed, carefully closing the doorbehind him.