CHAPTER XX
THE BUTCHER OF TORTOSA
Upon the village of Sarria and upon its circling mountains nightdescended with Oriental swiftness. The white houses grew blurred andindistinct. Red roofs, green shutters, dark window squares, took on thesame shade of indistinguishable purple.
But in the west the rich orange lingered long, the typical Spanishafter-glow of day edging the black hills with dusky scarlet, andextending upwards to the zenith sombre and mysterious, like her ownbanner of gold and red strangely steeped in blood.
In the mill-house of Sarria they were not idle. Ramon Garcia and Rollohad constructed a carrying couch for Dolores, where, on a light andpliant framework of the great bulrush _canas_ that grew along the canaledges, her mattress might be laid.
It was arranged that, after Dolores had been conveyed with Concha and LaGiralda in attendance to the Convent of the Holy Innocents, the threeyoung men and El Sarria should return in order to release and warn thebrothers Fernandez of the consequences of treachery. Thereafter theywere to ride out upon their mission.
Crisp and clear the night was. The air clean-tasting like spring water,yet stimulating as a draught of wine long-cooled in cellar darkness.
Very gently, and as it were in one piece like a swaddled infant, Doloreswas lifted by El Sarria in his arms and laid upon the hastily-arrangedambulance. The four bearers fell in. La Giralda locked the doors of themill-house, and by a circuitous route, which avoided the village and itsbarking curs, they proceeded in the direction of the convent buildings.
As often as the foot of any of the bearers slipped upon a stone, Ramongrew sick with apprehension, and in a whisper over his shoulder he wouldinquire of Dolores if all was well.
"All is well, beloved," the voice, weak and feeble, would reply. "Youare here--you are not angry with me. Yes, all is well."
They moved slowly through the darkness, La Giralda, with many crooningencouragements, waiting upon Dolores, now lifting up the corner of acover-lid and now anxiously adjusting a pillow.
It was done at last, and with no more adventure than that once when theywere resting the carrying couch under a wall, a muleteer passed, andcried, "Good-night to you, folk of peace!" To which El Sarria grunted areply, and the man passed on, humming a gay Aragonese ditty, and puffinghis cigarette, the red point of which glowed like a fire-fly long afterboth man and beast had been merged in the general darkness of thevalley.
They were soon passing under the eastern side of the convent.
"Ah, I can smell them," murmured John Mortimer, exstatically, "a hundredtons, if not more. I wonder if I could not tackle the old lady to-nightabout them?"
He spoke meditatively, but no one of the party took the least notice.For Rollo was busy with the future conduct of the expedition. Etiennewas thinking of the girl behind the green lattices, while the others didnot understand a word of what he said.
John Mortimer sighed a deep and genuine sigh.
"Spain is very well," he muttered; "but give me Chorley for doingbusiness in!"
At last they were at the little white cowl of the porter's lodge, out ofwhich the black bars of the wicket grinned with a semblance of ghastlymirth.
Rollo knocked gently. The panel slid back noiselessly, and there was theface of Concha Cabezos dimly revealed. No longer mischievous or evenpiquant, but drawn and pale with anxiety.
"There are bad people here," she whispered, "who have persuaded the LadySuperior that you are impostors. She will not receive or keep DoloresGarcia unless she is satisfied----"
"What?" came from the rear in a thunderous growl.
"Hush, I bid you!" commanded Rollo, sternly, "remember you have put thisin my hands." And the outlaw fell back silenced for the moment--hisheart, however, revolving death and burnings.
"Trust me with your papers--your credentials," said Concha, quickly."These will convince her. I will bring them to you at the mill-houseto-morrow morning!"
Rollo ran his knife round the stitching of his coat where he carriedthese sacredest possessions.
"There," he said, "remember--do not let them out of your sight a moment.I am putting far more than my own life into your hands."
"I will cherish them as the most precious thing in the world. And now,I will go and show them to the Lady Superior."
"Not till you have taken in my Dolores as you promised," came the voiceof El Sarria, "or by Heaven I will burn your convent to the ground. Sheshall not be left here in the damp dews of the night."
"No, no," whispered Concha, "she shall be laid in the lodge of theportress, and La Giralda shall watch her till her own chamber isprepared, and I have eased the mind of the Lady Superior."
The great bars were drawn. The bolts gave back with many creakings, andthrough the black gap of the main gate they carried Dolores into thewarm flower-scented darkness of the portress's lodge.
She was laid on a bed, and the moment after Concha turned earnestly uponthe four men.
"Now go," she said, "this instant! I also have risked more than youknow. Go back!"
"Can I not stay with her to-night?" pleaded El Sarria, keeping the limphand wet with chill perspiration close in his.
"Go--go, I say!" said Concha. "Go, or it may be too late. See yonder."
And on a hill away to the west a red light burned for a long moment andthen vanished.
The three young men went out, but El Sarria lingered, kneeling by hiswife's bedside. Rollo went back and touched him on the shoulder.
"You must come with us--for _her_ sake!" he said. And he pointed withhis finger. And obediently at his word the giant arose and went out.Rollo followed quickly, but as he went a little palm fell on his arm anda low voice whispered in his ear--
"You trust me, do you not?"
Rollo lifted Concha's hand from his sleeve and kissed it.
"With my life--and more!" he said.
"What more?" queried Concha.
"With my friends' lives!" he answered.
And as he went out with no other word Concha breathed a sigh very softlyand turned towards Dolores. She felt somehow as if the tables were beingturned upon her.
* * * * *
Outside there was a kind of waiting hush in the air, an electric tensionof expectation, or so at least it seemed to Rollo.
As they marched along the road towards the mill-house, they saw a ruddyglow towards the south.
"Something is on fire there!" said John Mortimer. "I mind when Graidly'smills were burnt in Bowton, we saw a glimmer in the sky just like yon!And we were at Chorley, mind you, miles and miles away!"
"They are more like camp-fires behind the hills," commented Etienne,from his larger experience. "I think we had better clear out of Sarriato-night."
"That," said Rollo, firmly, "is impossible so far as I am concerned. Imust wait at the mill-house for the papers. But do you three go on, andI will rejoin you to-morrow."
"I will stay," said El Sarria, as soon as Rollo's words had beeninterpreted to him.
"And I," cried Etienne. "Shall it be said that a Saint Pierre everforsook a friend?"
"And I," said John Mortimer, "to look after the onions!"
The mill-house was silent and dark as they had left it. They could hearthe drip-drip of the water from the motionless wheel. An owl called atintervals down in the valley. Rollo, to whom La Giralda had given thekey, stooped to fit it into the keyhole. The door was opened and thefour stepped swiftly within. Then Rollo locked the door again inside.
They heard nothing through all the silent, empty house but the sound oftheir own breathing. Yet here, also, there was the same sense of strainlying vague and uneasy upon them.
"Let us go on and see that all is right," said Rollo, and led the wayinto the large room where they had found Luis Fernandez. He walked up tothe window, a dim oblong of blackness, only less Egyptian than thechamber itself. He stooped to strike his flint and steel together intohis tinder-box, and even as the small glittering point winked, Rollofelt his throat gr
asped back and front by different pairs of hands,while others clung to his knees and brought him to the ground.
"Treachery! Out with you, lads--into the open!" he cried to hiscompanions, as well as he could for the throttling fingers.
But behind him there arose the sound of a mighty combat. Furniture wasoverset, or broke with a sharp crashing noise as it was trampledunderfoot.
"Show a light, there," cried a quick voice, in a tone of command.
A lantern was brought from an inner room, and there, on the floor, inthe grasp of their captors, were Ramon Garcia, still heaving with hismighty exertions, and Rollo the Scot, who lay very quiet so soon as hehad assured himself that present resistance would do no good.
"Bring in the others," commanded the voice again, "and let us see whatthe dogs look like."
Mortimer and Etienne, having been captured in the hall, while trying tounlock the outer door, were roughly haled into the room. Rollo waspermitted to rise, but the giant was kept on his back while theyFastened him up securely with ropes and halters.
Then Luis Fernandez came in, an evil smile on his dark handsome face,and behind him a little thick-set active man in some military dress oflight material. The uniform was unfamiliar to Rollo, who, for a moment,was in doubt whether he was in the hands of the Cristinos or in those ofthe partisans of Don Carlos.
But a glance about the chamber eased his mind. The white _boinas_ of theBasque provinces, mingled with the red of Navarra, told him that he hadbeen captured by the Carlists.
"Well," said a little dark man with the curly hair, black and kinkedlike a negro's, "give an account of yourselves and of your proceedingsin this village."
"We are soldiers in the service of His Excellency Don Carlos," saidRollo, fearlessly; "we are on our way to the camp of General Cabrera ona mission of importance."
Luis Fernandez looked across at his companion, who had seated himselfcarelessly in a large chair by the window.
"Did I not tell you he would say that?" he said. The other nodded. "On amission to General Cabrera," repeated the chief of Rollo's captors;"well, then, doubtless you can prove your statement by papers anddocuments. Let me see your credentials."
"I must know, first, to whom I have the honour of speaking," said Rollo,firmly.
"You shall," said the man in the chair. "I am General Cabrera, in theservice of His Absolute Majesty, Carlos, Fifth of Spain. I shall be gladto receive your credentials, sir."
Then it flashed upon Rollo that all his papers were in the hands ofConcha Cabezos. He had given them to her that she might show them to theLady Superior, and so insure a welcome for poor little Dolores, whomthey had left lying on the bed in the portress's lodge at the Convent ofthe Holy Innocents.
"I can indeed give you the message, and that instantly," said Rollo;"but I am unfortunately prevented from showing you my credentials tillthe morning. They are at present at the--in the hands of a friend----"
Here Rollo stammered and came to a full stop. Luis Fernandez laughedscornfully.
"Of course," he said: "what did I tell you, General? He has nocredentials."
Cabrera struck his clenched fist on the table.
"Sir," he said, "you are a strange messenger. You pretend a mission tome, and when asked for your credentials you tell us that they are in thehands of a friend. Tell us your friend's name, and how you came topermit documents of value to me and to the cause for which you say thatyou are fighting, to fall into any hands but your own."
Rollo saw that to refer to the Convent of the Holy Innocents, or tomention Concha's name, would infallibly betray the hiding-place ofDolores to her enemies, so he could only reiterate his former answer.
"I am unfortunately prevented by my honour from revealing the name of myfriend, or why the documents were so entrusted. But if your excellencywill only wait till the morning, I promise that you shall be abundantlysatisfied."
"I am not accustomed to wait for the morning," said Cabrera. "There isno slackening of rein on the King's service. But I have certaininformation as to who you are, which may prove more pertinent to theoccasion, and may, perhaps, prevent any delay whatsoever."
Cabrera leisurely rolled and lighted a cigarette, giving great attentionto the closing of the paper in which it was enwrapped.
"I am informed," he said, when he had successfully achieved this, "thatyou are three members of the English Foreign Legion which has beenfighting for the Cristino traitors. What have you to say to that?"
"That it is a lie," shouted Etienne, thrusting himself forward. "I aCristino! I would have you know that I am the Count of Saint Pierre, acousin in the second degree of Don Carlos himself, and that I came toSpain to fight for the only true and constitutional King, Carlos theFifth."
Cabrera turned his head and scrutinised the little Frenchman.
"Ah, then," he said dryly, "if that be so, perhaps you have taken bettercare of your papers than this tall gentleman, who has such trust in hisfriends."
"A Saint Pierre does not need papers to prove his identity," saidEtienne, proudly.
"They are sometimes convenient, nevertheless, even to a Saint Pierre,"said Cabrera, with irony: "they may prevent certain little mistakeswhich are more easily made than remedied."
There was a long pause at this point.
"What is your business here, Monsieur de Saint Pierre?" continued theCarlist General suavely, throwing away his cigarette end after inhalingthe "breast" to the last puff with infinite satisfaction.
"I was sent on a mission, along with these two gentlemen, at theinstance of my uncle, Don Baltasar Varela, the Abbot of Montblanch, andone of the most trusted councillors of Don Carlos!"
"Doubtless--doubtless," said Cabrera; "but have you the papers to proveit? Or any letter in your uncle's handwriting authorising you to committhe lawless acts you have committed on the person and property of thisfaithful servant of the King?"
"All the papers in connection with the mission were in the care of myfriend Monsieur Rollo Blair, of Blair Castle," said Etienne. "He wasappointed chief of the expedition by my uncle, Don Baltasar, and if hehas parted temporarily with them, it is doubtless for good andsufficient reasons."
"Search them," commanded Cabrera, suddenly, in a sharp tone of anger, inwhich for the first time the latent cruelty of his nature came out.
Their captors, with no great delicacy of handling, began to overhaul thecontents of the pockets of the four. They examined their boots, thelining of their coats, and ripped up the seams of their waist-coats.
Upon Ramon, nothing at all was found, except the fragment of a handbillissued by the Nationalist general offering a reward for his capture; atwhich more than one of the men wearing the white _boinas_ began to lookupon him with more favour, though they did not offer to ease thesharply-cutting ropes with which they had bound him.
Upon John Mortimer was found a pocket-book full of calculations, and alittle pocket Testament with an inscription in English, which made JohnMortimer blush.
"Tell them my mother gave me that, and made me promise to carry it. Idon't want them to take it away!"
Rollo translated, and Cabrera, after turning over the pages, handed itback with a bow.
"A _gage d'amour_?" he said, smiling.
"Yes, from my mother!" said John Mortimer, blushing yet more.
The search through the pockets of Etienne produced nothing except anumber of brief notes, daintily folded but indifferently written, andsigned by various Lolas, Felesias, and Magdalenas. Most of these werebrief, and to the point. "Meet me at the gate by the rose-tree at seven.My father has gone to the city!" or only "I am waiting for you! Come."
But in the outer pocket of Rollo Blair was found a far more compromisingdocument. When the searcher drew it forth from his coat, the eyes ofLuis Fernandez gleamed with triumph.
Cabrera took the paper and glanced it over carelessly, but as soon ashis eye fell upon the signature the fashion of his countenance changed.He leaped to his feet.
"Nogueras!" he cried; "you are in cor
respondence with Nogueras, thevillain who, in cold blood, shot my poor old mother, for no crime butthat of having borne me. Have the fellow out instantly, and shoot him!"
Rollo stood a moment dumfounded, then he recovered himself and spoke.
"General Cabrera," he said, "this is a trick. I have had nocorrespondence with Nogueras. I had not even heard his name. This hasbeen dropped into my pocket by some traitor. I hold a commission in theservice of Don Carlos, and have had no communication with his enemies."
"But in this place you gave yourselves out as Nationalists, is it notso?" queried Cabrera.
"Certainly," answered Rollo; "we were on a secret mission, and we weregiven to understand that this was a hostile village."
Cabrera took up the letter again and read aloud--
"_To the young Englishman of the Foreign Legion, pretending service with Don Carlos._
"You are ordered to obtain any information as to the movements of the brigand Cabrera and his men, by penetrating into their district, and, if possible, joining their organisation. You will report the same to me, and this pass will hold you safe with all servants and well-wishers of the government of the Queen-Regent.
"NOGUERAS."
The Carlist commander, whose voice had been rising as he read, shoutedrather than uttered the name of the murderer of his mother. He did notagain sit down, but strode up and down, his cavalry sword clanging andbattering against the furniture of the little room as if expressing theangry perturbation of his mind.
"General," said Rollo, as calmly as if arguing a point in theology, "ifI had been guilty of this treachery, would I have kept a paper like thatloose in an outer pocket? Is it not evident that it has been placedthere by some enemy--probably by that archtraitor there, the millerFernandez?"
Luis Fernandez smiled benignly upon Rollo, but did not speak. Hebelieved that the poison had done its work.
Cabrera took not the slightest notice of Rollo's words, but continued topace the floor frowning and muttering.
More than one Carlist soldier glanced at his neighbour with a look whichsaid, plain as a printed proclamation, "It is all over with theforeigners!"
At last Cabrera stopped his promenade. He folded his arms and stoodlooking up at Rollo.
"The morning--I think you said. Well, I will give your friend till themorning to be ready with the proofs of your innocence. But if not, sosoon as the sun rises over the hills out there, you four shall all beshot for spies and traitors. Take them away!"