CHAPTER VI.
THE JOURNEY.
In a very short time after the occurrences related in the precedingchapter, the travellers saw a tolerably numerous troop of riders emergefrom the forest.
Stoneheart rode at their head, and Don Pedro discovered, with feelingsof lively satisfaction, that the horses and mules so audaciously stolenfrom him were in the rear of the troop.
"Ha!" said he, "The robbers have been compelled to disgorge their prey."
"It would appear so," answered the old man, with a scarcely perceptiblesmile.
Meanwhile, the hunter had halted the troop at a little distance fromthe _teocali._ He himself had dismounted, and was now coming towardsthe travellers. He soon reached them.
"I perceive that you have succeeded in your enterprise," the Tigercatsaid to him in a tone of raillery.
"I have," answered the hunter laconically, and turning from him.
"I am rejoiced at this circumstance," resumed the old man, addressingDon Pedro; "thanks to it, you will reach your home on your own horses,and without the loss of anything belonging to you."
"How shall I ever repay all the obligations I owe you, senor?" said the_hacendero_, with great emotion.
"By not thanking me for them: my conduct towards you has been verysimple, and solely dictated by the interest I took in your unluckyposition."
Although nothing could be more evident than the Tigercat's intentionto make a courteous answer, his words were uttered with such a hissingaccent, his voice was so ironical, and his tone so sarcastic, that theeffect produced was quite contrary to what he intended. Without exactlycomprehending the reason, Don Pedro felt he had met with an insultinstead of a compliment.
"Let us end this," said Stoneheart abruptly. "The sun is alreadyhigh; and it is time to set out, if you would cross the forest beforenightfall."
"In all sincerity," said the Tigercat, "notwithstanding the chagrin Ifeel at seeing you depart, it is my duty to warn you that, if nothingdetains you here, you will do well to commence your journey."
Don Pedro and his companions rose, and, accompanied by the two hunters,descended into the plain.
During the words which had been exchanged on the _teocali_, the mountedIndians had disappeared, leaving the animals of the Mexicans at theplace where they had first halted.
The _hacendero_, before he mounted, turned his head several times inthe direction in which the Indian's had vanished.
"What are you looking for?" asked the old man, uneasy at this repeatedmovement.
"You will excuse me," answered Don Pedro; "but I am afraid to enterwithout a guide into that pathless forest; and I do not see the one youwere good enough to promise me."
"Nevertheless he stands before you, senor," said the Tigercat, pointingto the hunter.
"Yes," said the latter, looking defiantly at the old man, "it is I whoam to be your guide; and I give you my sacred word, that in despite ofsavages, be they beasts or men, I will conduct you in safety to your_hacienda._"
The Tigercat made no answer to these words, which were evidently spokenfor his behoof; he contented himself by shrugging his shoulders, whilean indefinable expression settled on his mocking lips.
"Oh!" said the _hacendero_, "We have indeed nothing to fear if you areto be our guide, senor; the generosity of your late conduct is a sureguarantee for the future."
"Let us go," said the hunter briefly, "we have already lost too muchtime."
The travellers mounted without replying.
"Adieu! And good luck," said the Tigercat, when he saw them ready tostart.
"One word, if you please, caballero," exclaimed the _hacendero_, bowingslightly to his host.
"Speak, senor," said the latter; "is there any further service I canrender you?"
"No," replied the Mexican; "I owe you too many favours already; only,before I leave you, perhaps forever, I wish to tell you, withoutdesiring to pry too closely into the motives which prompted youractions towards me, your conduct has apparently been so cordial andnoble, that I must try to express to you the extent of my gratitude.Whatever may happen, senor, and until evident proof to the contrary, Iconsider myself indebted to you; and if occasion offers, I shall knowhow to cancel the debt I owe you."
And before the Tigercat, stupefied by this adieu, which proved thatthe _hacendero_ was not quite his dupe, had recovered, the Mexicanhad given both spurs to his horse, and galloped off to rejoin hiscompanions who had already advanced some little way.
The old man remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the travellers,until they had finally disappeared within the forest; then he regainedthe _teocali_, muttering in a low voice:
"Has he foreseen my purpose? No, it is impossible; but his suspicion isaroused, and I must have been less prudent than my wont."
In the meantime the travellers had entered upon the forest, under theguidance of Stoneheart, who rode alone in advance, with drooping head,and apparently plunged in sombre thought.
For two hours they progressed without exchanging a word. The hunterrode on as if he were alone, without troubling himself in the leastabout those who followed him; without even turning his head in theirdirection, to see whether they were behind him.
This behaviour only moderately astonished the _hacendero_, who,recollecting the manner in which he had made acquaintance with thehunter the day before, was expecting a certain oddness of character onhis part. Nevertheless, he was hurt by the coldness and indifferencedisplayed by the man whose good will he had sought to conciliate. Sohe made no attempt to engage him to break the silence and become moresociable.
A little before midday the travellers reached a tolerably largeclearing, in the centre of which there gushed forth, from the fissuresof a rock, which rose to a grand height in the form of a pyramid, aspring of water, as clear and limpid as crystal, which ran off in anarrow stream through thick tufts of gladiolus.
This clearing, shaded by a leafy vault of gigantic trees surroundingit, offered a delicious spot for repose to the weary travellers.
"We will wait here until the greatest heat of the day is over," saidthe guide, breaking silence for the first time since they had left the_teocali._
"Content," said the _hacendero_, smiling; "indeed, you could not havechosen a fitter spot."
"One of the baggage mules carries food and other refreshment, of whichyou may avail yourself, if you choose; they have been provided for youruse."
"And you--will you not join us?" asked the _hacendero_.
"I am neither hungry nor thirsty; do not trouble yourself about me;other duties claim my attention."
Thinking it useless to insist, Don Pedro dismounted, lifted hisdaughter from her saddle, and placed her on the turf beside the brook.The horses were tethered, and all settled themselves to snatch a fewmoments of repose.
Stoneheart, after silently helping the _peones_ to unload the mulewhich carried the provisions, and spreading them out before Don Pedroand his daughter, absented himself with hasty strides, and was soonlost in the forest.
"What a strange fellow!" said the _capataz_, while doing honour to thefood before him.
"His conduct is incomprehensible," answered Don Pedro.
"But I believe him honest, in spite of his rough manner," said DonaHermosa; "up to the present his proceedings towards us have beenirreproachable."
"Very true," said her father; "yet he seems to display a coldnesswhich, I confess, makes me uneasy."
"It is impossible to think ill of a man who, in spite of all, has shownus nothing but kindness hitherto," replied Dona Hermosa, with a certaindegree of warmth of manner; "we owe him our lives, especially myself,whom he saved from a certain and horrible death."
"Very true, my daughter; yet all this is most difficult to account for."
"Not the least in the world, father: this man, accustomed to liveamongst Indians, has unconsciously adopted their sententiousness, andthe reserve of their manners. What you consider coldness, is probablyno more than bashfulness in the presence of a class of pers
ons he isnot accustomed to; and his want of knowledge of our habits prevents hisspeaking."
"It is not impossible that you may be right, my child; however, Iintend to ease my mind of this anxiety; and I will not leave him till Ihave made an effort to loosen his tongue."
"Why should you distress him, father? We cannot exact anything fromhim, beyond leading us in safety to the _hacienda._ Let him do as helikes, if he only fulfils the promise he made us."
"All very well, senorita," objected the _capataz_; "but you mustconfess that we should be seriously at a loss if he takes it into hishead not to come back."
"That supposition is inadmissible, Don Luciano: his horse is feedingwith ours; besides, for what purpose should he commit such anunwarrantable treason."
"This man, in spite of the whiteness of his skin, is more an Indianthan an individual of our colour; and, right or wrong, senorita, Idistrust the redskins amazingly."
"Moreover," added Don Pedro, "I cannot see what urgent business couldinduce him to leave us all alone, and to plunge into the forest."
"Who can tell, father?" said the girl shrewdly; "It may be he is goneto do us some further service."
"At all events, senorita," resumed the _capataz_, "I see one thingvery clearly, which is, that if this man does not come back again, ourposition is still more frightful than it was yesterday, for then we hadour rifles. Today we are completely without weapons, and incapable ofdefending ourselves if attacked by man or beast."
"It is too true," cried the _hacendero_, turning pale; "our arms weretaken from us while we slept. I never thought of them before. What canbe the meaning of all this? Have we again fallen into a snare, and isthis man really a traitor?"
"No, my father," replied the girl, with spirit; "he is innocent; I amsure of it. You will soon acknowledge the injustice of your suspicions."
"God grant it!" said Don Pedro, with a sigh.
At this moment a sharp and prolonged whistle was heard at a distance.At the sound the hunter's horse, which had been browsing peaceably,pricked up his ears, and darting in the direction whence the whistlewas heard, gave a neigh of pleasure, and galloped off into the forest.
"What did I tell you, senorita?" cried the _capataz_. "Do you believeme now?"
"No," she replied energetically; "I do not believe this man to be atraitor. Strong as appearances may be against him, you will soon seethe injustice of your suspicions."
"For this once, my daughter, I concur with Don Luciano; it is evidentthat, for reasons of his own the miscreant has abandoned us."
His daughter shook her head, but said nothing.
The _hacendero_ continued:
"What shall we do? We must decide upon something or other; we cannotstop here and wait for night."
"It is my opinion," said the _capataz_, "that we have no otheralternative than to leave this place directly. Who knows whether thewretch is not preparing to swoop down upon us this very moment, at thehead of a band of robbers like himself?"
"Yes; but where are we to go? None of us knows the road," interposedthe _hacendero_.
"Horses have an infallible instinct which never fails to direct them toinhabited places. Let us throw the reins on their necks, and leave themto choose their road."
"It is a chance we might try; it might succeed. Let us set to workwithout delay."
"Father! In the name of Heaven," entreated Dona Hermosa, "Think of whatyou are about to do. Do not act with a precipitation you would soonregret. Wait a little while yet; it is scarcely midday, and an hourmore or less is of little importance."
"I will not wait a minute, not a second!" violently exclaimed the_hacendero_, rising to his feet. "Here, _muchachos!_ Saddle the horsesquickly; we will be off."
The _peones_ hastened to obey.
"Be careful, father," said the girl; "I hear the sound of a horse'shoofs in the thicket; our guide is returning."
The convictions of the _hacendero_ were shaken by his daughter'searnest appeal. He dropped on the turf again, making a sign to hiscompanion to do the like.
Dona Hermosa had not deceived herself. The noise she had heard wascertainly the step--not perhaps of a horse, for it was slow andheavy, but at all events of an animal of great size. It was obviouslyapproaching.
"Perhaps it is a grizzly bear," muttered the _hacendero_.
"Or a jaguar in search of prey," added the _capataz_ in a low voice.
The anxiety of the travellers was intense. Abandoned in the forest,without arms to defend themselves, it was clear that they were lost ifa wild beast should really attack them; for flight was impossible, asthey knew not where to fly to.
"You are mistaken," said Dona Hermosa, who alone had preserved herpresence of mind; "no danger threatens us. Look! The horses continuefeeding without showing the least alarm."
"You are right," said Don Pedro; "they would have perceived the scentof a wild beast--have been mad with fear, and taken to flight beforethis."
Suddenly the bushes parted, and the hunter made his appearance, leadinghis horse by the bridle.
"I was sure of it," cried Dona Hermosa in triumph; while her father andthe _capataz_ cast down their eyes, blushing for shame.
The features of the hunter were as cold and impassive as they hadbeen when he quitted the clearing, only their expression was moresombre. His horse carried on his back a heavy bundle, oblong in shape,carefully corded, and wrapped up in buffalo hide.
"You must excuse me for having left you," he said in a voice thatsounded rather sadly; "I only perceived, when it was too late, thatyou had been deprived of your weapons,--at least I suppose that to bethe case; for you cannot have forgotten to take them when you left the_teocali_; and as it is more than probable you will have to defendyourselves before you leave the wilderness, I have been to find armsfor you."
"Is that the reason why you left us?"
"Why I left you!" he answered quietly. "I brought you to this placebecause a few paces off I have one of those _caches_ (hiding places)which we hunters fashion, here and there in the desert, to serve us intime of need. But," he added in a bitter tone, "it has been discoveredand pillaged. On that account I whistled for my horse, whose help hadbecome indispensable; for I was obliged to go to another _cache_ atsome distance. If it had not been for this mishap, I should have beenback at least half an hour ago."
This explanation was given by the hunter without emphasis, and in thetone of a man conscious he was merely relating a simple fact.
He unloaded his horse, and opened the bale. It contained five Americanrifles, knives, straight swords called _machetes_, powder, balls, andhatchets.
"Arm yourselves. The rifles are good; they will not fail you when thetime to use them arrives."
The Mexicans did not wait to be asked twice; they were soon armed tothe teeth.
"Now, at least," said the hunter, "you can defend yourselves like men,instead of letting yourselves be butchered like deer."
"Ah," sighed Dona Hermosa, "I was convinced he would act like this."
"Thanks, senorita," was his response; "thanks for your trust in me."
While he spoke these words, his features became animated, and his eyesflashed; but he soon resumed the impassiveness of marble.
"I promised to conduct you in safety to your home," he said, "and Iwill do so."
"Is there any danger to be feared?" inquired Don Pedro.
"There is always danger," he replied bitterly, "in the desert more thanelsewhere."
"Are we threatened with treachery?"
"Ask me no questions; I will not reply to them. Listen to my words, andprofit by them. If you wish to preserve your scalps, you must placeimplicit confidence in me, whatever I may do, and obey me, without fearor hesitation, in everything I may order. All I shall do will be donewith but one aim--your safety. Do you consent to these conditions?"
"We do," exclaimed Dona Hermosa fervently; "we will not doubt yourloyalty, and will act entirely according to your council."
"I swear it," said the _hacendero_.
/> "It is well; now I will be answerable for everything. Put aside allanxiety. Do not speak to me; I have need to collect my thoughts."
Bowing carelessly, he betook himself to a little distance, and seatedhimself at the foot of a tree.
In the meantime the curiosity of the Mexicans was strongly excited.They comprehended that serious danger was impending, and that thehunter was planning means to avert it; but now that they had excellentweapons, horns full of powder, and balls, they looked at their positionin a new light, and, although their anxiety was still great, they didnot despair of being able to escape from the snares laid for theirfeet.
The hunter, after remaining motionless as a statue for nearly half anhour, raised his head, calculated the time by the shadows of the trees,and said, rising with some impetuosity,
"To horse; it is time to go."
The horses were soon saddled, and the travellers in their seats.
"You will march in Indian file," continued the hunter; "follow exactlyin my steps."
Instead of advancing in the direction he had taken hitherto, he rodehis horse into the rivulet, the course of which he followed untilhe reached a spot where two other brooks contributed their waters.Stoneheart chose the left hand brook, and followed its windings. TheMexicans closely imitated this manoeuvre, riding in Indian file--thehead of each horse at the crupper of the one in front of him.
The heat was stifling in the covert, where the circulation of the air,impeded by the foliage, was scarcely perceptible. The deepest calmprevailed through the forest; the birds, nestled under the leaves, hadceased their songs; and nothing was heard but the monotonous humming ofinnumerable myriads of mosquitoes hovering about the marshes.
In the meantime the brook they were following increased by degrees tillit assumed the character of a river. Here and there, already, black_chicots_ (trees uprooted and carried down by the rivers, often formingserious obstacles to navigation) began to make their appearance, onwhich rosy flamingoes and herons stood on one leg; the banks right andleft became steeper, and the horses for some time past had been obligedto swim.
This unknown river, whose blue waters had never reflected anythingbut the azure of the skies and the green dome formed by the treescapriciously bending over its banks, presented to the eye a grand andmajestic sight, impressing the mind with a kind of melancholy calm andreligious awe.
The travellers, silent as phantoms, continued their journey, swimmingslowly down the middle of the river, close at the heels of their guide,whose eagle glance explored its banks. Arriving at a place where animmense rock rose like a solitary watchtower, and formed an immensevault overhanging the stream, Stoneheart slipped from his horse, whosebridle he gave to Don Pedro, and swam under the arch, making a sign tothe others to pursue their course. He soon reappeared in one of thoseIndian canoes which are built of birch bark, detached by means ofboiling water, and whose lightness is unequalled. With a few strokesof the paddle he reached the travellers; the latter climbed into thecanoe, and their horses, relieved from the weight of their riders, wereable to swim with greater ease.
Dona Hermosa was very glad of the change. Still suffering from herwound, she began to feel much difficulty in keeping her seat on herhorse, although she exerted herself to the utmost to conceal herfatigue. But the quick eye of the hunter had noticed her lassitude, andhe had brought the canoe for her relief.
They still continued to advance in this manner for nearly an hour,without any occurrence to disturb their tranquillity or make themsuspect the vicinity of an enemy. At last they reached a turn of theriver where the banks rose, for a considerable space, to a prodigiousheight, and hemmed in the stream between two walls of rock terminatingin peaks. In the centre of the river arose a block of grayish granite,about sixty yards in circumference, and towards it the hunter guidedthe canoe. The Mexicans, at first astonished at this manoeuvre, werenot long before they comprehended it; for, when close in upon the rock,they discovered that one of its faces sloped down in a gentle incline,and in this face there yawned the mouth of a cavern.
The canoe touched the ground; the travellers disembarked, and hastenedto bring the horses to land: the poor animals were spent with fatigue.
"Come," said the hunter, shouldering the canoe; and the Mexicansfollowed him.
The cavern was spacious, and seemed to extend under water to a greatdistance. The horses were stabled in a corner, and supplied withprovender.
"Here," said the hunter, "we are as much in safety as it is possibleto be in the desert. If nothing comes to trouble us, we will pass thenight here, in order to give our horses the rest of which they standso much in need. You can light a fire without hesitation; the fissuresin the rock, which afford you light, will divide the smoke, and renderit invisible. Although I believe I have hidden our trail from those inpursuit of us, it is still incumbent on me to make a reconnaissanceoutside. Be not uneasy; present or absent, I watch over you. I willreturn in an hour. But take heed not to show yourselves; in the virginforest, who can tell what eyes may be upon him? Adieu for a time."
He went out, leaving his companions a prey to anxiety, which wasthe more lively because, although well aware that some great dangerthreatened, they could not foresee either whence or in what manner itwould fall on them, and because they were completely at the mercy ofa man whose character and ultimate intentions it was impossible todivine.