At the Point of the Sword

  CHAPTER XII.

  A STERN PURSUIT.

  As soon as our vessels left the shelter of the bay, they felt the fullforce of the gale; and but for skilful handling on the part of theircrews, would most likely have come to grief. Even as it was, the moretimid of the passengers began to think they would have done better intrusting to the mercy of the victorious Spaniards.

  "It is lucky for us, lieutenant," exclaimed Castro, "that the brigs didnot reach Arica."

  "I hope they are safe," I said doubtfully.

  "Safe enough by this time," he replied--"at the bottom of the ocean!"

  Whether or not he was right in his surmise I cannot say, but from thatday to this I never again heard mention of the unfortunate vessels.

  After being at sea about a week, on reduced rations both of food and ofwater, we ran one night into the roadstead of Pisco, landed, and beforedaylight had made ourselves masters of the town, the Royalistshurriedly retreating.

  On board the schooner I had obtained a much-needed rest, but directlymy feet touched the shore I was set to work again.

  There never was such a man for prompt and instant action as ColonelMiller. As Jose said more than once, he was always packing twenty-fourhours' work into twelve, and no one within had ever had a chance toshirk his share.

  "We must follow up the enemy--follow them up, and not give them amoment's rest!" said he, almost before the nose of our boat had touchedthe shore.

  First, however, it was necessary to obtain animals, and almost beforeday broke a dozen parties were dispatched to scour the surroundingdistrict for horses. The Royalists, however, had been beforehand, andit took three days to procure the needful supplies.

  Fortunately a woman arrived from Lima with a drove of fifty mules,which our leader instantly pressed into the service, in spite of theirlawful owner's protestations. She was a fine, handsome, and remarkablewoman, who traded on her own account like a man, and she made a sturdyfight for her property. Directly the mules were seized she bouncedinto the colonel's room, her eyes ablaze.

  "Good-morning, madam," said he courteously.

  "It's a bad morning for me," she replied. "Do you know that your menhave stolen my mules?"

  "Not stolen, madam; only borrowed, by my orders, for the good of thePatriot cause."

  "I defy you to keep them!" she cried. "See," and waving & paper, addedtriumphantly, "that will make you less high and mighty, SenorEnglishman!"

  The paper was a passport and protection signed by San Martin himself;but it produced no effect on the stubborn colonel.

  "I am sorry, madam," he exclaimed, still courteously, "but my men needthe mules. They shall be paid for, handsomely, but I must have them."

  The woman gasped with astonishment, and pushing the paper close to thecolonel's face, cried, "Are you blind? Can't you see General SanMartin's name? Don't you know that he can have you shot to-day if hepleases?"

  "Not _to-day_, madam. The swiftest messenger could not get here fromLima to-day; and thanks to your mules, which are really very fineanimals, we shall begin to chase the Royalists at dawn."

  Luckily she could not see my face as she broke into a torrent of abuse.She had a fine command of the Spanish language, which she used for hisbenefit, besides throwing in a number of odd phrases picked up fromEnglish sailors. And all the while the colonel beamed upon hergenially, as if she were paying him the highest compliments. At lengthshe announced, in high-pitched tones, that where her mules went therewould she go also; she would not trust them to such a band of thievingscoundrels.

  "I am delighted, madam," said the colonel, bowing low; "your societywill in some degree atone for the hardships of our journey."

  Neither of us thought she would really carry out her threat; but earlynext morning she appeared mounted on one of her own mules, and attachedherself to me.

  "Madam," said I gravely, trying to imitate the colonel, "this is agreat pleasure for us; but even at the risk of losing your valuedcompany, I must once more point out to you the real nature of thisjourney. We shall be half starved, besides suffering torments fromthirst; we shall be worn out by forced marches, and some of us, nodoubt, will fall victims to the Spanish bullets."

  "I won't leave my mules," was her only reply.

  "But why not sell them to the colonel? he will give you a fair price."

  "And what about my profit?" she cried. "Do you know why I came toPisco?--to buy brandy at eight dollars a jar, which just now I couldsell in Lima at eighty! What do you think of that, young man? Why, Ishould have cleared a handsome fortune by this trip!"

  "It is very sad, madam; but soldiers, you know--"

  "Soldiers? Bah! Look at them riding on my mules! _My_ mules, markyou! And to think that each of the honest beasts might be carryingfour jars of brandy at eight dollars a jar! It's a wicked waste ofmule-flesh! Eight from eighty leaves seventy-two; take twelve forexpenses, there's still sixty, and four sixties are two hundred andforty--all clear profit from! A dozen of your vagabonds would be dearat the price! Look at that rascally fellow cutting my mule with awhip! I will most certainly have your colonel shot!"

  "I think not, madam; you have too tender a heart."

  "Yes," said she complacently, "that is the truth. I am not sternenough. But fancy"--and here she went all over her calculations again,winding up with the assertion that we were a set of common thieves androgues.

  By degrees, however, her manner changed: the ill-humour wore off, andshe became quite a Patriot, saying she would willingly lose her mulesif the Royalists were hunted down.

  However, about nine o'clock in the morning I left the good lady to pourher grievances into more sympathetic ears, being ordered to push onwith a small detachment of cavalry, guided by Castro. Jose was luckyenough to stay with the main body. Captain Plaza was in command of ourparty, and he rode with the guide and me. Our course to Ica, the firstvillage on our route, lay over a burning desert of very loose sand,dotted at great intervals by clumps of stunted palms. It was ahorrible ride, and when we reached Ica, about four in the afternoon,neither men nor animals could go a step further.

  The people received us kindly, provided food and drink, and freshhorses in place of our wearied animals. Then we slept for an hour,and, thus refreshed, resumed the pursuit. I have often wondered sincehow any of us survived the hardships of the next few days.

  Now and again we obtained an hour's rest, but our leader halted onlywhen our animals showed signs of exhaustion. The Spaniards must havesuffered as much as, if not more than, ourselves, as occasionally wecame upon a dead horse or a dead man, killed by sheer fatigue.

  On the third night after leaving lea we had ample proof of theirdesperate straits. We had left the sandy deserts behind, and weretoiling along painfully, sustained only by Castro's assurance that heknew of a capital camping-ground.

  "A fine wooded place," said he, "with grass for the horses, and a clearstream of water. You will be tempted to stay there all night, captain."

  "Three hours," replied Plaza, "not a moment more. We must be close ontheir heels now, and I don't mean Santalla to escape if I can help it."

  Santalla was a Royalist colonel of whose cruelty I had heard manytimes. He was a gigantic fellow, of enormous strength; but, accordingto all accounts, a pitiful coward in spite of his boasting. Indeed,any leader of average bravery would have turned and struck a blow atthe handful of tired riders which now pursued him.

  "Here we are!" exclaimed Castro presently, and I saw with satisfactionthe trees on our left hand to which he pointed. Every bone in my bodywas racked with pain, my lips were parched, my eyes ached, and for thelast hour I had scarcely been able to keep my seat.

  Halting his men, Plaza sent me on with the guide to investigate.Leaving our horses, we moved forward swiftly but quietly; there wasjust the possibility of a trap. The place was almost like an enclosureon a large hacienda, but the fence was composed of trees, and we couldhear the plashing waters of a stream.

  Inside the r
ing was an open space, and there, to our astonishment, webeheld some twenty men lying on the grass in all manner of attitudes.Not one made the slightest movement, and at first I thought they mustbe dead.

  "Don't be too sure," whispered Castro, and stooping down he glidednoiselessly to the nearest man, while I waited with breathlesseagerness.

  "Poor beggars!" said he pityingly; "we must have pushed them hard. Idon't believe they would waken if a cannon were fired at them!"

  This was an exaggeration, but indeed they slept so soundly that ourmen, surrounding them, took away most of their weapons before theyunderstood what was going on. Binding their arms, we pushed anddragged them close together, and then the captain placed his men roundthem in a circle. Sentries were stationed at various places on theouter ring, and, much to my disgust, I was told off to visit themduring the first hour.

  "Keep a sharp lookout," said the captain, "and go round regularly.They are likely to fall asleep if you don't,"--which I did not think atall surprising. However, I had a good drink of water, and dipped myhead in the stream, which freshened me somewhat. Then I began whathas, perhaps, been the very longest hour in my life. Fortunately I hadto walk, and I tried hard to keep my eyes open all the time. As to thecaptain's "sharp look-out," I concluded he must have been joking.

  The hour came to an end at last, and I was free to sleep. I just laydown on the ground, drew my poncho over me, and was sound asleep. Iwould not have undertaken another hour's duty just then for all thegold ever mined.

  The capture of the small Spanish detachment was a benefit to us in oneway: it prevented Plaza from moving so early, and gave us all an extrahour's sleep. However, as soon as day broke, he told off half a dozenmen to guard the prisoners until the colonel's arrival, and ordered therest to be ready for starting in ten minutes.

  "It's nothing to do with me," remarked Castro, as he and I rode out atthe head of the men; "but the captain's overdoing it. He's taking theheart out of his fellows, and just at the last pinch they'll fall topieces. There's nothing left in them for a dash at the end."

  "We shouldn't shine in a cavalry charge," I admitted, laughing andlooking at my horse, "unless, indeed, it were under Don Quixote'sbanner!"

  "Well, Crawford," cried the captain, riding up, "something ought tohappen soon now. It's a pity we wasted that last hour this morning,though. We must make up for it during the day. One of the prisonersinformed me that Santalla cannot be far ahead. I have a good mind topush on with the men on the strongest horses, leaving you to follow.What do you think?"

  "I think that you are going fast enough, captain. Both men and horsesare fagged now, and it's useless to catch up with Santalla just as weare all dead beat."

  "But if we don't go ahead we shan't catch him at all. The colonel didnot send us on in front to sit down by the wayside."

  "No, captain; but that's just what we shall be doing soon, whether wewant to or not. Most of the horses are nearly done for now."

  "Then we'll get fresh ones," cried he (which, by the way, there was nopossible means of doing), "or continue the pursuit on foot. Do youthink if the colonel were in my place he would lag behind?"

  Of course I knew he would not, but then Miller was Miller, who had not,to my thinking, his equal in South America. And Plaza wished toimitate his chief, forgetting he did not possess that marvellouspersonal influence over men which accounted so much for the Englishcolonel's success.

  So we pushed on, till, at the end of the third mile or thereabout, ahorse sank through sheer weariness to the ground, and had notsufficient strength to rise again.

  "Run on with the rest," said the captain to the rider; "we will rideand tie by turns."

  The man saluted and came on, but the last I saw of him he wasstaggering from side to side of the track, as if he had completely lostcontrol of his limbs. After a time another horse fell, giving usanother infantry-man, who in a short time was, I daresay, also leftbehind on the road.

  "'Twill be a plain trail for the main body," remarked the guide; for weourselves were continually passing broken weapons, mules that could notdrag their limbs a step further, dead horses, and now and then aRoyalist soldier curled up on the track fast asleep.

  "Where will Santalla make for?" I asked.

  "Arequipa. But I don't think he can reach it. The Indians bar thedirect route, and his only way out, as far as I can see, is by takingto the mountains at Copari."

  "My horse won't face a hill just now."

  Castro smiled, saying, "The pass near Copari is too rugged for horsesat any time; the climbing must all be done on foot," and he smiledagain at my gesture of despair.

  At ten o'clock Plaza was compelled to halt, three-fourths of the menbeing tired as dogs, while several horses had foundered on the road.He was very excited, having heard from the last Spaniard picked up thatSantalla, thoroughly worn out, was barely two hours' march in front.

  He glanced wrathfully at his tired troopers. There they lay, fiveminutes after the order to halt, sleeping like dead men, and for thetime being certainly of no greater use.

  "Caramba!" cried he, "it makes me wild! Two hours, Crawford! Do youhear? And look at them! The prize will slip through our fingers afterall!"

  "Hardly that, captain," I murmured sleepily, "as it has never been inour hands."

  "Santalla will have to rest as well," remarked the guide, "so thescales will balance."

  "But I don't want them to balance!" cried Plaza testily.

  To give the captain his due, he was greatly in earnest, and willing todo himself all that he required of his men. He showed this plainly twohours after we had resumed the pursuit, when his horse suddenly droppedfrom exhaustion. A dozen troopers at once made as if to dismount, buthe ordered them to keep their seats.

  "No, no," he roared; "I take no advantage!" and he ran on, holding bythe stirrup to the nearest horseman.

  The fellows cheered him, and I think we got on better for the incident,though the halts became more frequent now, and our numbers lessened, asone man after another dropped exhausted to the ground. Still we weregaining on the runaways, as a disagreeable episode presently made clear.

  It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and we were straggling atno great speed through a narrow valley, when half a dozen bullets fromthe rocky sides dropped into our midst.

  "Ah!" exclaimed Castro, "now the Spaniards are playing the proper game.These fellows have been left to hold us in check while the main bodyescapes through the Copari Pass."

  "Push on there!" roared the captain, who after a spell of riding hadjust dismounted. There was, indeed, nothing else to be done. We mustrun the gauntlet, and trust to luck for some of us getting through.The Spaniards were well hidden, and could not be dislodged, unless,which was out of the question, we came to hand-grasps with them. Sourging our jaded beasts to a spurt, we quickened the pace, while nowand again a groan and a thud told that a bullet had found its mark.

  Those who were hit lay where they fell; the most of us reached the opencountry just in time to see a dozen or fifteen horsemen mount and rideoff. Evidently they had the pick of Santalla's animals, as they easilykept their distance, though allowing us to advance within range, when,discharging their muskets, they recommenced the retreat.

  Plaza fumed like one distracted at the galling fire, which considerablydelayed our advance, though we suffered in the loss of horses ratherthan of men. He was riding again now, and well in front, with Castroand myself behind him. Suddenly, after a scattering volley, I felt myhorse slip, and the next instant the poor beast was sprawling on theground with a bullet-hole in its chest.

  Staggering to my feet, I ran on, but unsteadily, for in truth I wasgetting very near the end of my strength. However, a husky shout fromthose in front encouraged me, and I saw that at last we had come fairlyupon the runaways.

  Just as Castro had foretold, they were taking to a mountain pass,eastward of Copari, and the main body was already toiling up theascent. Their stores lay about everywher
e; horses and mules wereabandoned; only a handful of horsemen, constituting the rearguard,preserved any appearance of order. For a time they stoutly held themouth of the pass, but at length, leaving their animals, they toodisappeared.

  Plaza went at the entrance like a bull at a gate, Castro followed, andI toiled after them with the men. Up we went, some cheering, but themajority with closed lips, saving their breath. In our fatigued statethe climb was fearfully distressing: men sank to the ground gasping, orfell while trying to grasp the overhanging rocks with nerveless fingers.

  As for me, though straining every nerve, I could not keep pace with theleaders. My eyes smarted and ached; my head seemed to spin round; morethan once I should have fallen but for a friendly hand. Presently Iheard Plaza cheer; but he was out of sight, and the sound seemed tocome from a long distance. Then I was placed gently against a rock bya soldier, who pushed on after the rest.

  Had I been hit? I really did not know. There was blood on my hands,but they had been gashed by the jagged rocks. But hit or not, I mustdo my best to keep up; so trying to steady myself, I took another stepforward. The pass was filled with strange sounds and with strangeshapes too. Large birds hovered over my head, men and animals stood inmy path; I had to dodge here and there in order to find a way through.

  Suddenly a man placed his arm round my waist, and saying, "You must liedown, lieutenant," carried me a little distance, and then placed me onthe ground.

  "No, no," I murmured drowsily; "the captain is calling! Don't you hearthe captain calling?"

  "Yes," said he: "the Spaniards have escaped, and the captain hassounded a halt."

  I did not know then that the man was tricking me for my own good, so Ianswered innocently, "Thank goodness! Now we shall have a little rest.Waken me when they return."

  "Never fear, sir," said he; "I will waken you," and even before heturned away I had lost all knowledge of the situation.