IX -- THE BREAKING OF THE NET
THERE was no wind, and the night was very still, when Appleby lay achingin every limb behind an aloe hedge which cut off the dim white road.Harper sat on the steaming earth close beside him contemplativelymunching the end of a cigar, for smoking was distinctly inadvisable justthen, and he was in need of something to stay the pangs of hunger. Hereand there a dusky figure showed among the leaves, and now and then a lowmurmur or a soft rustling rose from the black shadow of the overhangingpalms; but the scarcely audible sound sank once more into the silence,and a muleteer had just passed along the dusty road apparently withoutthe faintest suspicion that rather more than a hundred famishing men hadwatched him with fingers tightening on their rifle barrels. He saw andheard nothing, which was fortunate for him, and now his voice and thetramp of his team came back faintly across the cane.
The dew was heavy, as it usually is in the tropics when a clear, stillnight follows a day of scorching heat, and Appleby could have wrung itfrom the garments he had borrowed from the Alcalde's wardrobe at SantaMarta. That, however, did not trouble him, for they rested with apleasant coolness upon his sun-scorched skin; and he was mainlyconscious of a sense of emptiness and a distressful stitch in his sideas he watched the strip of road. It wound out from the inky shadows ofthe palms, led by the hedge of aloes, and was lost again in the canethat stretched away, a dim sweep of dusky green, under the moon. It wasat least a week since he had had an adequate meal, and he had passedthat day crawling through a mangrove swamp, where pits of foul blackmire lay beneath the great slimy roots.
Haste and concealment had, however, appeared advisable to the SinVerguenza; for their success at Santa Marta had brought two strongbattalions upon their trail, and Morales had decreed theirextermination. Cut off from the hills, they had taken to a belt ofreeking mangrove swamps, and Morales, who was too wise to venture hisraw troops in those dim haunts of fever, had persistently drawn his nettighter about them. They had accordingly divided when supplies ran out,and the Captain Maccario, who did not know whether the rest hadsucceeded in breaking through, had halted those who remained with him towait until the moon sank before making a dash for another tract ofjungle. They were, indeed, almost too weary to drag themselves anyfurther just then, and their leader had reason for believing there was acompany of cazadores somewhere upon the road.
He lay a little apart from Appleby, and raised his head so that themoonlight shone into his face, which showed intent and anxious, when apalm frond rustled behind them. There was nothing astonishing in this,but when the rustle repeated itself it seemed to Appleby that there wassomething curiously persistent in the sound. He glanced at the Spaniard,who saw him, and raised one hand as if in warning. The sound ceased, andthere was once more an impressive silence, which lasted for someminutes. Then Appleby felt Harper's hand upon his shoulder.
"Look!" he said in a hoarse whisper, and his comrade set his lips as heturned his head.
A man who had appeared without a sound stood in the white road, hisrigid figure forced up sharp and black against it, and it was evidentthat he was peering about him. Then, with a swiftness that had itssignificance, he slipped back into the shadow, and moved through it,stopping a second or two now and then as though to listen. Appleby couldjust see him, and felt a little shiver run through him, for he knew theloyalist scout was running a horrible risk. He hoped the man would seenothing, for the last thing the Sin Verguenza desired was to chance arifle shot just then. He, however, came on, treading softly and stoopingas though to observe the dew-clogged dust, until he stopped again wherea little pathway led in among the aloes.
Then he straightened himself, looked behind him, and turning his headstared into the shadow of the palms that lay black and impenetrablebeyond the aloes, while the moonlight shone down into his face. Itshowed white and set against the dusky background; and Appleby, whocould see the intent eyes, held his breath, for he knew the man's lifehung trembling in the balance. One step would take him to his death, foranother face that was drawn and haggard and had the stamp of hunger onit showed amidst the leaves behind him. The suspense lasted for a spaceof seconds, and Appleby felt himself quivering under the tension, untilthe man made a sudden movement as though something suspicious had caughthis eyes. Then there was a rustle of leaves, a shadowy form sprang, andthe scout went down; while Appleby, who saw a flash in the moonlight,turned his head away. He heard a strangled groan and a struggling amidstthe leaves, and then there was once more an impressive silence.
"Two dollars, senor!" said a dusky man breathlessly, as he came up tothe Captain Maccario; and the Spaniard made a curious little gesture ashe glanced at Appleby.
"You can keep them. Drag him away!" he said in Castilian. "It is thefortune of war, Don Bernardino!"
Appleby said nothing, but Harper turned to the officer. "The troops willnot be far behind," he said. "Will we get through?"
Maccario shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows?" he said. "It is certainthe cazadores come, but if they march past us the road is open. It is bymisfortune we do not know how many there are of them."
"Where are we going if we do get through?" asked Harper.
Maccario stretching out a brown hand swept it vaguely round the horizon."Here and there and everywhere. The Sin Verguenza will vanish until theyare wanted again. There are too many troops in this country, and it isnot difficult to find a hundred men when they are together; but it isdifferent when you chase them one by one. So Morales stamps out theinsurrection, and when he sends half his troops away we come backagain."
"It is not very evident how we are going to live in the meanwhile," saidAppleby dryly.
Maccario laughed. "What is mine is my friend's, and there is a poorhouse at your service. One could reach it in a week's march, and oncethere we are short of nothing. This is, you understand, a gratefulcountry."
There was light enough for Appleby to see the roguish twinkle in theSpaniard's dark eyes, and he shook his head. "No," he said. "While Ifought with the Sin Verguenza I lived as they did, but it would not suitme to lie idle and levy contributions upon the country."
"Well," said Maccario reflectively, "in the meanwhile you come with me,and we may, perhaps, find means of sending you back to the sea. Just nowI do not know whether any of us will get very far. We have two leaguesto make by the carretera before we find cover, and there are cazadoreson the road; while the Captain Vincente will be upon us by daylight ifwe stay here."
The others understood as much already, and it was because they did notknow exactly where the cazadores were they were lying there. It was alsoa somewhat important question, and they lay still waiting for an answeruntil a faintly rhythmic sound came out of the silence. It sank beyondhearing, but rose again, a trifle louder; and Appleby's heart throbbedas he recognized the tramp of marching men, while a half-articulatesound rose from the Sin Verguenza. They were hungry and very weary, andstarvation waited them if they crawled back into the swamps; while theroad that led to safety was closed by the troops. It was, however,evident that their leader knew his business, and Appleby fancied that ifthe detachment was not a strong one they might still break through.
In the meanwhile the rhythmic tramp was steadily growing louder, and hecould tell by the stirring of those about him that they were waiting instrained expectancy, until there was a patter of footsteps, and a mancame running down the road. He flung himself down gasping besideMaccario, and his voice was breathless as he said, "It is one companyonly."
"Good!" said Maccario dryly. "If they see nothing it is also well. Thenthe road will be open from here to Adeje. On the other hand, if theyhave good eyes it is unfortunate for them."
There was a faint rattle and clicking as the men fidgeted with magazineslide, or snapped open breaches to make sure that a cartridge lay in thechamber. Then an impressive silence followed, which seemed to grow moreintense as the tramp of marching men came ringing sharply down the dimwhite road. Perhaps the officer who led them trusted to the scout whowould never bring him
a warning back again, or had lately arrived fromSpain, and did not know that the man who sought the Sin Verguenza wasapt to find them where he least expected. Then a faintly musicaljingling and the rattle of wheels became audible too, and Appleby shookhis weariness from him as, with the dust rolling about them, dim figuresswung into sight round a bend of the road. The carretera was a broadone, and they appeared to be marching carelessly in open fours, forlaughter and the hum of voices came out of the dust.
Raising his head a little he glanced behind him, but the Sin Verguenzawere ominously still and silent now, and he could only see Maccario'sshoulder, and in places a glint of metal where the moonlight sifteddown. Again a quiver ran through him, and his heart thumped painfully ashe watched the men below through the openings between the aloes. Then heset his lips and grappled with an almost uncontrollable desire to cryout and warn them. He had been hunted by them, and had seen theirhandiwork in the ashes of burnt aldeas that had given his comradesshelter; but for that Morales was responsible, and the men were for themost part conscripts reft from their homes in Spain, and going withlaughter on their lips to their doom. The Sin Verguenza struck at night,in silence, and were seldom contented with a strategetical victory.Still, because the rattle of riflery carries far, they held their handwhile several loose fours shuffling through the dust went by, andAppleby felt a trifle easier.
Then there was another space of waiting before the dust that hadcommenced to sift down grew thicker again as the head of the companyswung round the bend. They were also marching easily with gaps betweenthe files, and the jingle of sling, swivel, scabbard, and canteen rangthrough their trampling, while the rifles twinkled as the fours swungacross the breadths of moonlight between the shadows of the palms. Theywere young men, most of them, and some little more than boys; while hereand there one or two, still unprovided with tropical outfit, wore thekepi and the cazadores, green; but Appleby had seen the men of thePeninsula fight before, and checked a groan. He was one of the SinVerguenza, and knew what awaited him if Morales was successful, but thework on hand seemed horrible to him just then.
The tension grew almost insupportable, when one of the soldiers who hada clear voice started the "Campanadas," and the refrain, that spoke ofgrapes and kisses, rolled from four to four. Melodious as it was itseemed to jar with a horrible discordance upon the silence. Still, therewas a chance that the troops might pass unscathed yet if their officerssaw nothing, and it was with tingling nerves Appleby watched the foursswing by. Half the company had passed him now.
Then there was a shout from one of the leading fours, and a sharp order,while a man came running along the line; and the files in front ofAppleby stood still looking about them. He felt his eyes grow dim, andhis fingers quiver on the rifle stock, while his heart throbbedpainfully. Then a mounted officer appeared, apparently on a mule; therewas another order, though Appleby had no notion what it was, and whilethe feet commenced to shuffle Maccario cried out.
Appleby felt the rifle butt jar on his shoulder and the barrel jump inhis hand, but saw nothing for a moment beyond wisps of drifting smoke.It hung about the aloes and obscured the road, but cries and execrationsand orders came out of it, until the rifles of the Sin Verguenza flashedagain. What happened to the cazadores was not apparent then, but it wasevident that some at least survived, for there was a rush of feet in thesmoke, and men with bayonets plunged in among the aloes. They failed toforce a passage through the horrible spines, and another blast ofriflery met them in the face as they floundered and rent themselves.They had done what men could do, for it was usually a leader's blunderthat involved the troops of Spain in defeat, but no flesh and bloodunsheltered could face that withering fire, and some went down among thealoes, while the rest flung themselves upon the murderous rifles.
Then the Sin Verguenza came out from their lair, and Appleby swung hishat off as he ran with a mob of ragged men behind him towards a slim,white-clad officer who was standing in the road. It was in Castilian heshouted, but a bitter laugh and the flash of a pistol answered him, andthere was a glint of steel as half-seen men rallied about their leader.The rifles, however, flashed again, and the cluster of cazadores meltedaway as the Sin Verguenza poured out into the road. Appleby sprang overthe fallen officer, and stood still gasping and conscious for the firsttime that his foot was paining him. Shadowy men were flying round thebend of the road but there were, so far as he could see, very few ofthem; while the glance he cast round him showed what had happened to therest.
"It doesn't look nice," said Harper, who appeared at his side. "Still,there's a mule team down, and I'm kind of anxious to find out if theybrought anything to eat along."
He disappeared again, and Appleby circumspectly took off one of theAlcalde of Santa Marta's shoes. His foot felt hot, and the patches ofstocking that clung about it were saturated, but the light was too dimto show him exactly where it was injured; so he shook the moisture fromthe shoe through a place where the stitches had parted and put it onagain, and was standing stiffly with his weight on one leg when Maccariocame by.
"You have five minutes to look for anything you may have a fancy forin," he said. "There is, however, it seems, a lamentable scarcity ofpesetas among the troops of Spain."
Appleby turned from him with a little gesture of disgust, and Maccario,who shrugged his shoulders, went away again. But the Sin Verguenza wereexpeditious, and within ten minutes had grouped themselves, with bulgingpockets and haversacks made for other men, in straggling fours. Then theword was given, and they swung away at the best pace they could compassdown the carretera. It cost Appleby an effort to limp along with hishalf company, but he managed it for a time, and nobody except Harperseemed to notice when he lagged behind. Then when they were stragglingbehind the rearmost files those in front halted as a man came up, and amurmur ran along the line.
"Morales with four companies!" said somebody. "Marching by the Adejecross-road. If they are not deaf, those cazadores, they have heard thefiring!"
"Forward!" Maccario's voice came back. "With Vincente behind us therewill be masses needed if we do not pass the Adeje road before Morales."
Then the pace grew faster, and Appleby dropped farther behind, withHarper hanging resolutely at his side. There was very little disciplineamong the Sin Verguenza at any time, and every man's first care was tosave his own neck just then. So little by little the distance grewgreater between them and the two lonely men, until when the last of themswept round a bend Appleby stopped altogether and looked at Harper.
"I can't go any farther on one foot. Push on," he said.
Harper laughed a little. "I've a stitch in my side myself, and this kindof gallop takes it out of one. I feel kind of tired of the Sin Verguenzaafter to-night's work, anyway."
Appleby made a little impatient gesture. "Go on," he said, "go on."
"No, sir. I guess I told you I couldn't run."
"I'm dead lame," said Appleby. "You can't carry me."
"Well, I'm not going to try. We'll hustle along, and it's quite likelywe'll get somebody to take us in."
Appleby made a last effort, but his voice shook a little as he said,"This is not your business, Harper. You can't do anything for me. Don'tbe a fool!"
Harper laid a hard hand on his shoulder. "Now, I have no use forarguing. We are white men alone in a heathen country, and you can't helpnot being an American, anyway. When he's in a tight place I don't goback on my partner. You lean on me, and we'll come to a hole we cancrawl into by and by."
He slipped his arm under Appleby's shoulder, and they shuffled on alonedown the dim white road. There was silence all about them, and the trampof the Sin Verguenza came back more and more faintly out of the distanceuntil it ceased altogether.