CHAPTER XXVIII.
AN INDIAN VENGEANCE.
It was a frightful thing to see Diego's headlong gallop along the roadfrom Valparaiso to Santiago. In the shadows of the night, the shapelessgroup of the horse, and the two human beings it bore, made the sparksfly out of the pebbles on the road. The animal's powerful hoofs boundedalong, pounding everything that they settled on, while its outstretchedhead cleft the air. Its ears were erect, and from its open nostrilsissued jets of steam which traced long white tracks in the darkness.
The horse dashed along, uttering snorts of pain, and biting betweenits clenched teeth the bit which was covered with foam, while bloodand perspiration poured from its flanks, which were torn by the spursof its impatient rider. And the greater its speed grew, the more Diegotortured it, and tried to make it go faster. The trees, the houses, androcks disappeared with an extraordinary rapidity on either side of theroad.
Inez, half dead at the moment when the half-breed dragged her fromthe convent, felt herself recalled to life by the movement which thehorse imparted to her body. Her long hair trailed in the dust, andher eyes, raised to heaven, were bathed in tears of despair, grief,and powerlessness. At the risk of dashing out her brains against thestones, she made extraordinary efforts to escape from her ravisher'sarms.
But the latter, fixing on her a glance whose expression revealedferocious joy and lubricity, did not appear to notice the horror whichhe caused the maiden; or rather, he appeared to derive from it a sourceof indescribable pleasure. His contracted lips remained dumb, and onlyat intervals allowed a shrill whistle to pass, destined to redouble theardour of his steed, which, exasperated by the pressure of its rider,hardly touched the ground, as it were, and devoured the space like thefantastic courser in the German ballad.
"Stay, child," Diego said, suddenly, as he raised Inez on his horse'sneck, and compelled her to look at a country house which they werepassing; "here is your father's house, the haughty General Soto-Mayor,call him to your assistance."
And a savage grin succeeded these words.
"Father!" the maiden cried, whom he had freed from hergag--"father!--father!"
This cry died away in hollow echoes, and the house disappeared againin the dizziness of this mad ride and the horse still galloped on.Suddenly Inez, collecting all her strength, leaped forward with suchvivacity that her feet were already touching the ground, but Diego wason his guard, and ere she had regained her balance, he stooped downwithout checking his horse, and seizing the maiden by her long hair,he raised her, and placed her again before him. A sob burst from Inez'chest, and she fainted.
"Oh! you will not escape me," the half-breed shouted; "I have you, andno one in the world will be able to tear you from my hands!"
In the meanwhile, day had succeeded darkness; the sun rose in allits splendour, and myriads of birds saluted the return of the lightby their joyous carols. Nature was awakening gaily, and the sky of atransparent azure, promised one of those lovely days which the blessedclimate of South America has alone the privilege of offering.
A fertile and deliciously diversified landscape stretched out on eitherside of the road, and became blended with the horizon. The maiden'slifeless body hung on either side of the horse, following all thejoltings which it imparted; with her head thrown back, and covered witha livid pallor, eyes closed, lips blanched and parted, teeth clenched,neck bare, and bosom heaving, she palpitated under the large hand ofthe Vaquero, which pressed heavily upon her.
At length they reached a devastated hacienda, in which a hundredIndians, painted for war, were encamped. Tahi-Mari gave a signal,and a horse was brought him. It was high time, for the one which hadborne him from Valparaiso hardly halted ere it fell, pouring frommouth, nostrils, and ears a flood of black thick blood. Diego got intothe saddle again, caught up the maiden in his arms, and prepared tocontinue his journey.
The Indians, who doubtless only awaited the coming of their chief,imitated his example, after throwing a few flaming logs upon the roofof the hacienda, in order to leave a trace of their passage. Ere longthe whole band, at the head of which Diego placed himself, dashedforward, surrounded by the cloud of dust which they raised.
After a few hours' ride, whose rapidity surpasses all description, theIndians saw the lofty steeples of the capital of Chili standing outon the horizon, beneath a cloud of smoke and fog which hung over thecity. The Araucanos turned slightly to the left, galloping through thefields, and trampling down the rich crops that covered them. In abouthalf an hour they reached the first Indian sentries, and they soonfound themselves within the camp of the twelve Molucho tribes.
Let us examine for a moment the state in which the war was. As wehave already said, after several sanguinary combats, the Chilians,suddenly attacked by the Araucanos, who had invaded their territorieson all sides at once, to the number of 200,000, had been, in spite ofprodigies of valour, completely defeated and compelled to retreat.
The Moluchos had surprised their enemies without giving them timeto assemble. The population of Chili was only composed, at thattime, of two million and a half, scattered over a territory of vastextent, nearly as large as Germany. The towns are very remote fromeach other, and the means of transport are almost unknown. We cantherefore understand the difficult position in which the besieged foundthemselves.
The Chilian army, which should be composed of 10,000 men, neverconsists of more than 7,000, scattered through distant garrisons;and for that very reason it is very difficult to assemble it underpressing circumstances. The soldiers, usually recruited by force,are, as a rule, thorough scamps, whom peaceful people fear as much asthe Indians, for they know that when they pass into a province theyplunder, burn, and violate absolutely as if they were in a conqueredcountry. Hence the government only quarters a very small number inthe great centres of population, removes them as far as possible, andsubdivides them so as to be able to keep them under more easily, andnever allows a whole regiment to remain in the same province at once.
What became of this organization when the Araucanos declared war? TheChilian government, attacked simultaneously on all sides, was unable,in spite of all its efforts, to collect a force sufficiently imposingto boldly face the Indians and drive them back. Hence, the only chancewas to check their advance by harassing them and having outpost fights,by means of which it was hoped that they might be discouraged, andinduced to return to their forest fastnesses.
These tactics were certainly good, and had often been employedsuccessfully. This time again they would have, in all probability,succeeded, through the military science and discipline of theSpaniards, if they had not had to contend against this countless massof Indians, and above all, if the latter had not been commanded byTahi-Mari. The Molucho chief had not indulged in idle boasting when hetold the Ulmens of the twelve nations that he was acquainted with allthe resources of the Spaniards, and was certain of conquering them.
In fact, after dashing on Valdivia like a starving tiger on the prey itcovets, his road as far as Santiago had been one triumphant progress,in which he overthrew, destroyed, and plundered everything, and leftbehind him a long sanguinary track, marked at intervals by numeroushorribly mutilated Spanish corpses. Advancing with a sword in one handand a torch in the other, this modern Attila wished to reconquer theChilian territory by wading up to his knees in Spanish blood.
Nothing was sacred to him, neither age nor sex; old people, womenand children, were pitilessly tortured. The twenty years which hehad spent in traversing the various countries of America had provedof service to him, by familiarizing him with strategic ideas and themode of employing military forces, through watching the manoeuvres andexercises of the Spanish armies, whose entire strength consisted inskilful tactics. Tahi-Mari's first care, therefore, was to employ theideas which he had acquired in introducing a species of discipline inthe ranks of the Moluchos.
The Chilians no longer understood the method of fighting the Indians.They no longer had the skirmishes to which they were accustomed, butreal battles, f
ought according to all the rules of warfare, whoseobservance on the part of Araucanos beyond measure surprised them.
In this way victors and vanquished had arrived beneath the walls ofSantiago. The Indians, after pushing on a reconnoisance even in thesuburbs of the city, had boldly halted a short distance from its gates,and were bravely preparing for a storm. A frightful terror had seizedon the inhabitants of Santiago. The richer emigrated in crowds, whilethe rest prepared, like the troops, to offer a vigorous resistance.
The President of the Republic had smiled disdainfully, when he saw fromthe ramparts the enemy getting ready for a serious attack; but whenhe had distinguished the perfect concord with which this multitudeacted--with what skill the posts were established--taking advantageof the slightest accident of ground, and only operating with the mostconsummate prudence; selecting with discernment the weakest spots ofthe fortress, and holding the river Mapucho above and below the city,so as to let no succour or provisions reach it--his forehead becamewrinkled with anxiety, and a deadly fear seized upon him; for heunderstood that his enemies were guided by an experienced chief, whosemilitary genius would easily overcome the obstacles opposed to him,if time were granted him to take his measures and establish himselfsecurely in the position which he occupied.
It was then that the President of the Republic, no longer doubtingthe imminence of the danger which the country was incurring, made anenergetic appeal to the patriotism of the Chilians; an appeal to whichthey responded enthusiastically by hurrying up from all sides to rangethemselves under his banner. But time was needed for this succour toarrive, and to come the enormous distances that separated it from thecapital. In order to gain this time, the president feigned a desire totreat with the Indians, and pave the way for negotiations.
The redskins had established their camp in the smoking ruins ofthe charming country houses which surrounded the city, and whosemagnificent gardens, now, alas! devastated, seemed to make Santiagostand out from a basket of flowers. Nothing could be conceived sofilthy, repulsive, and frightful as the appearance of this camp,forming a girdle round the city. It was hopeless to look for parallelsor covered ways; not even a sentry could be seen watching over thecommon safety.
The camp was open on both sides, and at first sight it might have beensupposed deserted, had not the dense smoke rising from the wigwams,made of branches and erected without any apparent order, proved that itwas inhabited. A gloomy silence prevailed day and night in this strangecamp, and no human being was visible there.
The Chilians, though thoroughly acquainted with the crafty character oftheir enemies, had allowed themselves to be trapped by this semblanceof neglect and carelessness. Two days after the Moluchos sat downbefore the city, a strong Chilian patrol, consisting of two hundredresolute men, left the city about midnight; and, deadening the soundof their footsteps as far as possible, advanced into the very centreof the camp without being disquieted. Everybody seemed asleep, and nosentinel had given the alarm. The leader of the expedition, satisfiedwith the result which he fancied he had obtained, was preparing toreturn to Santiago to report the result of his reconnoisance to thebesieged, when, on turning back, he found every line of retreatinterrupted, and a countless swarm of Indians surrounding him.
The officer who had fallen into the trap did the only thing that wasleft him: he fell bravely at the head of the men whom he commanded. Onthe next morning, at sunrise, two hundred heads, scalped and horriblydisfigured, were thrown by the Moluchos over the walls of Santiago. TheChilian Spaniards took the hint, and did not repeat the experiment.
When Tahi-Mari entered the camp with his band, the Indians flocked uptumultuously, and received him with loud yells of delight. He made thema sign of thanks, and without checking his pace, went toward his lodge,in the doorway of which Shounon-Kouiretzi, crouching on his heels, wasgravely smoking. On seeing the commander he said--
"Tahi-Mari is a great chief; is he contented with his journey?"
"Yes," Diego replied, laconically. "My brother will watch at my door,and allow no one to enter."
"My brother can trust to me; no one shall enter." And the Indian begansmoking again, impassively. Diego went in, carrying Inez, wrapped up ina poncho. After removing her bonds, he laid her on some sheepskins,thrown in a corner of the hut, which served him as a bed. Then hefetched a calabash of water and dashed the contents in her face, butInez still remained motionless.
On seeing this, Diego bent down and devoted to her the greatestattention, in order to recall her to her senses; anxiously consultingher pulse, raising her in his arms, tapping her hands, and employing,in a word, all the means usual for restoring a fainting person. For along time his efforts were sterile, and life seemed to have abandonedthe poor girl for ever.
"Can she be dead?" Diego muttered.
And he began attending to her again. At length a sigh burst from Inez'sbosom, she languishingly opened her eyes and uttered a few broken wordsin a faint voice. All at once she rose.
"Where am I?" she screamed.
Diego, without answering, fell back into a dark corner of the lodge,and fixed a serpent glance upon her.
"Where am I?" she repeated. "Maria! sister! how I am suffering! Oh,Heaven!"
Her memory gradually returned, and everything flooded back to her mind.Then a shudder of terror agitated all her limbs, her haggard eyeswandered around, and she perceived Diego.
"Oh, that man!" she said, as she hid her face in her hands. "I am lost!Great God, I am lost!"
Diego issued from his corner, and with his eyes fixed on her, slowlyadvanced toward her. Fascinated by the half-breed's sparkling glance,she fell back step by step, with her arms stretched out, and displayingsigns of the most violent terror.
"Leave me, leave me!" she murmured. She thus reached the walls of thehut, clung to the intertwined branches, and stood motionless, whilestill looking at her persecutor, who walked toward her with an ironicalsmile.
"Leave me!" she repeated, unable to offer Diego any other resistancebut her tears and her despair. But he was not the man to be affected.
"Leave you!" he answered; "do you fancy that I brought you all thisdistance to restore you innocent and pure to those who are dear to you?Undeceive yourself; henceforth you belong to me, and you will not leavethis spot till you have nothing left to refuse me."
"Oh, mother, mother!"
"Your mother is dead, and no one can come to your assistance--do youhear; no one?"
"In that case, kill me," Inez cried, as she threw herself at thehalf-breed's feet.
"No! it is your honour, not your life, that I must have."
"But what have I done to you? Great Heaven, I am only a poor girl, andyou cannot be so cruel to me without a motive."
"No, you have done nothing to me, and I feel for you neither hatrednor love; but you are the daughter of General Soto-Mayor. Your familydishonoured mine, and you will be dishonoured to expiate the crimes ofyour relatives."
"Oh, that is frightful; you will not act thus, because you know verywell that I am innocent."
"Your ancestor dishonoured the wife of my grandfather, and she hasstill to be avenged."
"Mercy, mercy!"
"No! eye for eye, and tooth for tooth!--for you the shame, for me thevengeance!"
"In your mother's name, pity!"
"My mother!"
This word produced such an impression on the half-breed that he boundedwith rage, and his face assumed a fresh expression of rage and fury.
"Ah, you speak to me of my mother! Mad girl! you do not know, then,that she found herself one day in the path of a Soto-Mayor, and that hebrutally and cowardly plunged her into ignominy in order to satisfy amoment of brutal desire?"
"Oh, Heavens!" Inez sobbed.
"You do not know that while the poor woman was grovelling in despair athis feet, and imploring him, in the name of her God, to spare her, thevillain laughed and caught her in his arms. Do you now understand why Iforbid you invoking my mother's name?"
"Oh, I am lost!" Inez sa
id, broken-hearted. "For the man who avengeshimself on the child of his enemy has no heart."
"Yes, you are lost! But if you fancy that my revenge, in seizing you,has spared your father, you are mistaken, for he died by my hand."
"Woe! woe!" the girl shrieked, mad with grief.
"Yes, crushed by my blows, as I will crush all those of your race! No,you will not escape me! It is now your turn to cry and groan--your turnto implore in vain."
And, with the howl of a wild beast, the Indian, whose eyes werebloodshot, and his mouth foaming, rushed frenziedly at Inez and hurledher back on the sheepskins. Then ensued a horrible and namelessstruggle, in which the groans of the victim were mingled with the wildpanting of the savage. Inez resisted with the violence of despair, butsoon, crushed by the half-breed's grasp, she lay helpless, left to themercy of the man who had sworn her dishonour.
* * * *
"Brother," said Long-Scalp, appearing in the doorway, "two Spanishchiefs, followed by several lanceros have come to offer propositions ofpeace to the toqui of the twelve nations."
"Who are the chiefs?" Diego asked.
"General Don Pedro and Colonel Don Juan de Soto-Mayor," the Indianreplied.
A smile of triumph played round the half-breed's lips.
"Let them come! let them come!" he said.
"Does my brother, Tahi-Mari, consent to receive them?"
"Yes," Diego continued, assuming his Indian stoicism. "My brother willassemble the great chiefs around the council-fire, and I will comethither."
Shounon-Kouiretzi bowed and retired.
"The betrothed and the brother. They have arrived too late," Diegosaid, so soon as he was alone.
And he left the hut, in order to preside at the council. Inez wasmotionless on the couch of Tahi-Mari, the great chief of the Araucanos.