CHAPTER XII--THE KIDNAPPERS
The door between the two rooms was closed. That into the patio wasajar. Will stole across the room and peeped into the patio. A smalllamp was burning at the farther end, near the front door. A man satdozing on a chair outside De Mello's room, which was no doubt occupiedby Carabano. Another lay fast asleep on the floor at the patio door ofMachado's room. But for these the patio was empty. To enter it seemedtoo risky; Will stepped back into the cloak-room and listened at thedoor of communication. There was no sound. He waited, pressing his earagainst the door. Now he heard slight snores: somebody was in thefarther room, asleep. He gently tried the handle. The door was notlocked. Grasping his revolver, Azito having his machete, he quicklyopened the door and went in. Machado was asleep on a long cane chair.The telegraphic instrument stood on a table at his left hand. Willsoftly closed the door behind him, and motioned to Azito to stand at thedoor opening into the patio. A clock on a shelf told the hour: it wasfive minutes past eleven.
Machado was fast asleep and did not stir. Was it possible to wake himwithout causing him to cry out or make some sound that would alarm themen in the patio? Will went to the foot of the cane chair, and pointinghis revolver full at Machado's head, he gently touched him. The manmoved uneasily. Will touched him again. He drew up his legs slightly.Another touch, and his eyes opened. For a moment Will thought that theshock would itself force a cry from him, but at a warning hiss his jawdropped, and a look of terror distorted his face as he saw the shiningbarrel of the revolver within two feet of his eyes. With a gesture ofwarning Will allowed him a few seconds to collect himself: then in tonesso low that they could scarcely have been heard outside he said--
"You are awake?"
Machado's swarthy face had gone grey with fear. He did not reply.
"It depends on yourself whether you awake again. Do as I bid you andyour life is safe. At the least sign of treachery I shoot you like adog. You understand?"
Machado's lips moved, but no sound came from them.
"I have some questions to ask," Will continued rapidly, but in the samequiet tone. "If your answers are contrary to what I know to be fact youare a dead man. Where is Senor Jackson?"
"At Las Piedras," said the man in a whisper.
Will started. This was the name of General Carabano's hacienda nearlyfifty miles away.
"What is to be done with him and Senor O'Connor?"
"They are held at ransom."
"And if ransom is refused?"
"Then they will be shot."
"How do you know?"
"The General says so."
"Will he keep his word?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"He has sworn it."
"When is it to be?"
"To-morrow."
"Why are you here?"
"I am waiting."
"What for?"
"A message."
"From where?"
"Ciudad Bolivar."
"What message?"
"A reply."
"What?"
"To the General's."
"What was his message?"
"If the ransom is not promised by midnight the prisoners will be shotto-morrow."
"Has he had no message before?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"The President refused to pay a ransom."
"The General repeated his demand?"
"Yes."
"Does he expect consent?"
"No; it is a last attempt."
"You are speaking the truth?"
"Yes."
There was no doubt of it. The man's terror was so evident that he wouldscarcely have had the wits to invent a falsehood. Nor could he knowwhat information Will already had. His answers indeed gave Will nothingof which he was not already aware, except the whereabouts of theprisoners.
Will stood for a moment thinking, still pointing his revolver at theabject Spaniard. A desperate scheme had suggested itself. He hadalready risked much: was it not possible to risk still more? His taskwith Machado had been unexpectedly easy: might not a greater task provefeasible? It was clear that unless the ransom was agreed to by the timestated, the fate of the prisoners was sealed. It was clear also fromwhat the Jefe at Bolivar had told him that there was not the slightestlikelihood of the Government yielding on this point. He knew roughlythe direction of General Carabano's hacienda, but recognized how littlechance there was of doing anything to help his friends. He could notreach them during the night: the journey was long and dangerous. Thereremained, as it seemed, one chance: that of intercepting the General'smessenger in the morning. He asked another question.
"If the reply from Ciudad Bolivar is unsatisfactory, the General willsend a messenger to Las Piedras?"
"He will go himself."
The answer disposed of Will's last hope. The only means of saving theprisoners was to deal with the General himself. It was a desperate gameto play in the midst of a hostile camp, but his first move, withMachado, had been successful, and the man was so cowed andterror-stricken that he might prove a serviceable instrument in thelarger scheme. Time was running short; it was a quarter past eleven.Will made up his mind to risk all.
"Dismiss the man at your door," he said. "Tell him that you need him nolonger. You will take the message to the General yourself. Attempt notreachery. I will keep my word."
He motioned to Azito, of whose presence Machado seemed to become awarefor the first time, to stand behind a clothes-press near the camp-bed.
"Open the door only a few inches," he continued. "Now!"
He stepped behind the door, allowing room for it to open about twelveinches. He could not be seen by the man in the patio, but was able tocover Machado with his revolver. The telegraphist lay for a few momentsas though hesitating.
"Quick!" said Will in a fierce whisper.
Machado rose unsteadily and, walking to the door, opened it. In a lowvoice he called to the sleeping man. There was no reply or movement.
"Kick him!" whispered Will.
Machado touched the man with his foot. He started up. Machado gave himthe instruction Will had dictated, and he went off at once, glad enough,no doubt, to find a more comfortable bed. When he was gone, Will closedthe door.
"Now, the password," he said.
"_Bolivar_," replied Machado.
But Will marked a slight hesitation before the answer was given.
"Are you sure?" he said fiercely. "A mistake will cost you dear."
"A slip, senor," said Machado, quailing. "Bolivar was last night'spassword: to-night's is Libertad."
"Make no more slips. Now go to your table."
On the table, close to the instrument, lay a number of telegram formsplundered from the railway, and a pencil. Pointing to these, Willsaid--
"Write what I say. 'Release prisoners: will send----' Stop there, andadd, 'Message interrupted.'"
Machado wrote the words. His fingers trembled so violently that thestrokes were like those of an old man. Then Will, telling Azito tostand over Machado with his knife and to kill him if he moved, he turnedthe handle at the side of the instrument that switched off the current,and worked the operating handle for half-a-minute. The clicks could bedistinctly heard in the patio, but the current being switched off, noeffect was produced at the other end of the wire.
Giving the telegraph form to Machado, he said--
"Where does the General sleep?"
"In a room on the other side of the patio, near the door."
"The man outside the door is an orderly?"
"Yes, senor."
"You will take this slip and hand it to the orderly. Say you must hurryback, and return here."
Will thought he detected a gleam of relief and hope in the man's eyes.But if Machado fancied he saw a chance of escape, he was disappointed bythe next words.
"I shall stand near this door, with my revolver. It has six chambers.Beware how you
hurry or stumble. If you delay one instant longer thanis required to repeat what I have said----"
He looked significantly into Machado's eyes. The man opened the doorand went along the patio. Once he half turned, as if to see whether hewas watched, but thought better of it and went on: it was nervous work,walking with a revolver pointed at his back. He reached the door,handed the slip to the orderly, said a few words, and returned at once.Will saw the orderly knock at the General's door, and just as Machadocame into the room, the General called to the man to enter.
Will closed the door. There was no time to be lost if the effect of themessage was what he hoped it would be. The clock said twenty minutes totwelve.
"Sit in your chair," he said to Machado, "and occupy yourself with yourinstrument. Make believe that you are sending a message and awaitingthe answer."
Machado sat as directed, with his back to the door. Then Will tookAzito's knife and cut down the cord that drew the jalousies across thewindow.
"Tie his legs to the chair," he said to the Indian, adding to Machado:"You will suffer no harm if you do not resist. Work the instrument."
Will was now in a fever of uncertainty and apprehension. Would the fishrise to the bait? He knew the cupidity of the Liberator. If he was theman Will believed him to be, he would not wait to receive the completedmessage in writing, but would come across the patio to be at hand whenthe instrument spelled out the words promising the addition of 60,000pesos to his chest. There was one thing to fear: that he would not comealone. He might waken his lieutenants on the way; then the game wouldbe up. But Will reflected that a refusal had already come from Bolivar.Probably neither General Carabano nor any of his officers expected afavourable reply, otherwise they would not all have gone to bed.Machado had been left on the chance of the Government relenting, and hehad done his duty, the General would think.
For a few moments there was no sign. Will began to fear that the trapwould not work. He said a few words to Azito, who tore a long stripfrom the bottom of the curtain and rolled it up. The instrument clickedon, Machado never turning his head, but looking out of the corners ofhis eyes. At last there was a footfall along the patio. Will slippedbehind the door. Immediately afterwards it was burst open.
"Well, what do they say?"
General Carabano took two strides into the room. Noiselessly closingthe door with his foot, Will sprang to the Liberator, threw his arms ina strangling embrace about his neck, and pulled him backwards to thefloor. The General struggled and spluttered, half-choked. He was apowerful man, and in a wrestling match on even terms Will would havecome off badly. But while the General was striving to regain hisfooting Azito glided from his place of concealment, forced a gag betweenhis teeth and helped Will to bear him to the floor. Then, while Willheld him firmly, the Indian deftly bound his arms and feet with theremainder of the cord. By the time this was done the General was blackin the face with his frantic efforts to rise and to cry out. MeanwhileMachado, who had stopped the clicking when he heard the General enter,had watched with a look of horror all that went on. He dared not raisehis voice, knowing full well that before he could release himself one orother of these desperate visitors would be free to deal with him.
The Liberator of Venezuela was now in bonds. There had been so littlesound that the orderly at the farther end of the patio could have heardnothing. The other officers in the house were asleep. If only Fortunewould smile a little longer, Will felt that the game would be absolutelyin his hands.
Bidding Azito keep guard over the General, prostrate on the floor, Willwent to the chair and released Machado.
"Stand up, senor," he said. "I have to ask a little more of you, and solong as you do exactly as I tell you, you will come to no harm from me."
"I had no hand in this, Excellency," the unhappy man blurted out,addressing the General.
"Silence!" said Will. "I will make that clear. You shall be releasedpresently beyond the reach of General Carabano or any of his officers.You shall not suffer for double treachery. Stand still!"
He quickly tied Machado's ankles together with a short piece of cord, sothat he could walk but not run.
"Now listen very carefully. We are going to pass out of the camp. Weshall probably come to the front of the house. The sentry willchallenge you. You will give the password, and your name. He will askyou what we are carrying. You will say: 'His Excellency sends a spy tofeed the caymans.' Say it now."
"But--but--" stammered the man, "you will not----"
"No, I shall not harm his Excellency. Repeat what I said."
"'His Excellency sends a spy to feed the caymans,'" said Machado.
"That is right. The sentry may ask questions. You must answer him: saywhat you please, but do not play me false. The sentry may wish to seethe spy. You must keep him off. If you cannot do so, so much the worsefor you. You cannot run, you are unarmed--I will make sure of that; andif you attempt to give the alarm be sure that you, at any rate, will notescape. You understand? Your safety depends on ours. And it will bewell to remember, too, that if we fail, nobody will believe all this wasdone without your connivance. Is it clear?"
"Yes, senor," murmured the man.
Will searched his pockets for arms. He had none. But he shot amomentary glance towards a long cape hanging from a peg on the wall.Will saw the glance, and feeling the garment, discovered a revolver.This he put in his pocket. Then, opening the door into the adjoiningcloak-room, he ordered Machado to take the General's head and Azito thelegs. The General writhed and heaved, until Will slipped under hisknees a short board that held his legs stiff. The two men lifted him.When they stood in the doorway Will turned out the light. Then he badethem carry their bulky burden into the next room.
From the window Will saw that the camp was in utter darkness. No lightsfrom the back of the house shone upon the ground. He opened both leavesof the window and passed on to the veranda. The others followed himslowly as he made his way to the right-hand corner. There he stoppedand peeped round. The stables were opposite this face of the house, anda light shone upon them from the General's bedroom. It would be unsafeto pass that way. They must descend from the veranda, cross a few yardsof ground, and come to the rear of the stables. Between these and thelast of the line of tents, on this side, there was a gap of perhapsfifteen yards. Will listened for the footfall of a sentry. All wassilent save slight sounds from the stables: probably the man was asleep.Bidding the others follow him he went down the steps and walked on. Itwas very dark: their forms could scarcely have been seen if the sentryhad been alert.
They came to the back of the stables, and, striking to the right,reached the end of the wall. Here they halted for a moment, while Willglanced around. A light through the open door of the house wasreflected on the surface of the lake. To his joy he saw that De Mello'slittle sailing yacht lay at the jetty. He had feared it might have beenremoved. Creeping along by the front wall of the stables he came to aspot whence he could see the door. A sentry was sitting on the ground,leaning against the wall, his head bent forward as in slumber. It mightbe possible to get to the jetty without waking him. Will returned to themen, and whispering "Remember!" to Machado, he led the way towards theterrace whence a few steps led down to the jetty.
They were half-way there when, just as they came within the illuminatedspace, the sentry in a sleepy voice cried, "Who goes there?"
"A friend!" answered Machado at once.
"The word?"
"Libertad!"
The General began to struggle, and Will pressed the cold muzzle of therevolver to his brow.
"Who is it?" said the sentry.
"Stop, and answer him," whispered Will.
"Miguel Machado: you know me," said Machado.
"Ah, Senor Machado, it is you. What have you got there?"
"His Excellency sends a spy to feed the caymans."
"A spy!" cried the man, more wakefully. "Who is it?"
"A wretched Indian,
once in the service of the Englishman."
"Is that all? I hoped it was the Englishman who escaped. I was comingto have a look at him, but if it is an Indian it is not worth while. Ishall hear him squeal. Is there any news from Bolivar, Senor Machado?"
"None."
"Then the Englishmen will be shot to-morrow," said the man. "A goodriddance. Come and have a chat on your way back."
During this conversation Will had stood behind Machado so that his facecould not be seen. The lamp in the hall was a small one, and the lightrevealed little. They moved on again, came to the steps, and descendingthese reached the end of the jetty. The General had been passive sincehe felt the cold steel against his brow; but now, feeling that his lastchance had come, he gave a sudden jerk with his legs which threw Azitodown. Instantly Will was upon him, but he was a very powerful man, and,bound though he was, he wriggled and heaved his body with such violencethat it was difficult to hold him. In the struggle he managed by somemeans to get rid of the gag, and shouted at the top of his voice--
"Help! help! I am General Carabano."
His voice was of peculiar timbre, and even the slowest-witted sentrycould not have failed to recognize it. A moment after he had cried out,the sentry fired off his rifle and shouted into the hall of the house.At once Will and Azito caught the General by the feet and began to draghim as fast as possible along the jetty, Machado still holding his head.They were below the level of the terrace, so that none of them was atpresent in danger of being shot. The General was still shouting; thesentry, having given the alarm, was reloading as he ran towards theterrace.
The fugitives had now reached the yacht. Will released his hold of theGeneral, and drew in the painter. While he was doing this, the sentryreached the head of the steps and fired. But the darkness and hisflurry combined to spoil his aim. Realizing that he had missed, hesprang down the steps, and ran along the jetty, clubbing his rifle.Machado saw him coming, and shrank away; but Azito, dropping theGeneral's feet, waited in a crouching posture, and, parrying the blowwith his machete, drove at the man with his head and butted him into thewater.
The General, left thus momentarily unguarded, struggled vehemently tobreak or shake off his bonds. His wriggling brought him to the edge ofthe narrow jetty, and when Will, having loosed the painter, turned tosecure his prisoner, he saw him roll over into the lake on the oppositeside. Instantly he flung himself at full length on the jetty, peeringinto the water for the prize he was determined not to lose. The lakewas shallow. In a few moments the General rose spluttering from hisimmersion, and yelled again for help. Will grabbed him by his whollyhair: Azito plunged into the water, and together they hauled him on tothe jetty and threw him into the yacht. Machado had already jumped intoit. Will and the Indian followed. The latter seized a paddle, Willpushed off, and the little vessel began to move down the lake towardsthe canal.