CHAPTER VIII.
THE PUEBLO (THE TOWN).
After the Spanish rule had been firmly established in the NewWorld, the government, to hold the Indians, in cheek, constructedfortified posts, at certain distances, on the extreme limits of theirpossessions. These posts were called _presidios_, and were peopled bycriminals of every degree of whom it was deemed prudent to clear themother country. The _presidio_ of San Lucar, on the Rio Bermejo, wasone of the first established.
At the epoch of the foundation of this _presidio_, the post consistedsolely of a fort built on the north bank, on a steep cliff whichcommands the river, the plains to the south, and the surroundingcountry.
It is square in form, built with very thick walls of hewn stone, andflanked by three bastions,--two on the river, to east and west, thethird in the plain.
The interior contains the chapel, priest's house and the powdermagazine; on the other sides are the old dwelling places of theprisoners, spacious buildings for the commandant, the treasurer, andofficers of the garrison, and likewise a small hospital.
All these buildings, only one story high, were finished off withflat Italian roofs. Outside, the government had also constructed vastgranaries, a bakery, a mill, two workshops for saddlers and carpenters,and two _ranchos_ appropriated to the horses and cattle.
In these days the fort is almost in ruins the walls, for want ofrepair, are crumbling in all directions; only the dwellings are kept intolerable condition.
The _presidio_ of San Lucar is divided into three sections,--two tothe north, the third to the south of the river.
Its general aspect is melancholy. A few sparse trees grow here andthere, in close contiguity to the river, manifesting, by their wantof vitality, how ungrateful is the soil from which they draw theirexistence. The roads are covered with a pulverulent sand, throwing upclouds of dust at the least motion in the atmosphere.
Three days after the events recorded in our last chapter, at abouttwo o'clock in the afternoon, five or six _vaqueros_ and _leperos_were seated at a table in the drinking room of a _pulqueria_ (a publichouse) of New San Lucar, which is situated on the south bank of theriver, and disputed vehemently, while they emptied, at long draughts,the _pulque_ in the cups which circulated among them.
"_iCanarios!_" exclaimed a tall and meagre fellow, with the mien andair of a brazen-faced scoundrel, "Are we not free men? If Senor DonLouis Pedrosa, our governor, persist in fleecing us in this fashion,the Tigercat is not too far off for a man to come to an understandingwith him. Though he chooses to be an Indian chief today, he is a whiteman without alloy, and a _caballero_ to the tips of his fingers."
"_iCalla la voz!_ be silent, Pablito!" said another; "You had betterswallow your words with your _pulque_ than utter such folly."
"I will speak!" said Pablito, who was washing the inside of his throatmore than the others.
"Do you not know that invisible eyes are watching us from the shade,and that ears are open to gather up our words, and profit by them?"
"There you are again," replied the first speaker: "always in fear,Carlocho! I have no more respect for a spy than for an old _cuarta_"(hag).
"Pablito!" exclaimed the other, placing his finger on his lips.
"What! Am I not right? Why does Don Louis bear us so much malice?"
"You are wrong," interrupted a third, with a laugh. "Don Louis, on thecontrary, is only too fond of you so he always keeps you under histhumb."
"This devil of a _verado_ has a wit fit for such a rascal as he,"roared Pablito, with shouts of laughter.
"Well, after us the end of the world."
"In the meantime let us drink," said the _verado_.
"Good! Let us drink, and drown care. Have we not Don Fernando Carrilto help us when our purses run dry?"
"Another name which ought to have stuck in your throat," said Carlocho,striking the table in his irritation with his fist. "Can you never holdyour tongue, cursed dog?"
Pablito frowned, and, looking angrily across the table, exclaimed: "Doyou pretend to give me a lesson, _amigo? iCanarios!_ You begin to putmy blood up."
"A lesson? And why not, when you deserve it?" replied the other,without stirring. "_Caray_ these two hours you have been drinking likea sponge; you are full as a vat, and talk as wildly as an old woman.Hold your tongue, or go to sleep."
"_Mil rayos_," growled Pablito, sticking his knife violently into thetable; "You shall answer for this!"
"_iVive Dios!_ A blood-letting will do you good. My hand itches to giveyou a _navajada_ (a stroke with a knife) across your hideous snout."
"Hideous snout, did you say?" and Pablito threw himself upon Carlocho,who awaited his onset firmly.
The other _vaqueros_ and _leperos_ threw themselves between the pair,to prevent the meeting.
"iHalloa, _caballeros!_" cried the _pulquero_ (innkeeper), thinking itnecessary to interfere. "Peace! in the name of God or the devil! Noquarrels in my house: if you wish for satisfaction, the street is free."
"The _pulquero_ is right!" screamed Pablito. "Come, if you are a man!"
"Gladly!" cried Carlocho; and the two _vaqueros_ rushed into the street.
As to the worthy _pulquero_, he stood at his door, his hands in thepockets of his _calzoneras_ (loose trousers), and whistled a _jarana_(a dance tune), while expecting the fight.
Pablito and Carlocho wrapped the left arm in the _zarape_ for a shield,took off their hats and saluted with much affectation, drew their longknives from their girdles, and, without exchanging a word, stood ontheir guard with remarkable coolness.
In this kind of duel--the only one, by the by, known inMexico--satisfaction consists in slashing the adversary in the face.A blow delivered below the girdle would be considered a piece oftreachery unworthy of a true _caballero._
The two opponents, firmly planted with legs apart, bodies inclined, andheads thrown back, watched each other fixedly, in order to forestall amovement, parry a blow, or inflict a wound. The rest of the _vaqueros_,with their delicate maize cigarettes in their mouths, looked oncomposedly, and applauded every adroit thrust or parry.
The fight was continued for some minutes, with equal success oneither side, when Pablito, whose sight was most likely obfuscated byhis copious potations, came to the parry a second too late, and feltthe point of Carlocho's knife rip the skin of his face from chin toforehead.
"Bravo! Bravo!" exclaimed all the _vaqueros_ at once. "Well hit!"
The combatants, flattered by this approbation, stepped away from eachother, bowed to the spectators, sheathed their knives, saluted oneanother with exquisite courtesy, and having first shaken hands, wentinto the _pulqueria_ once more.
The _vaqueros_ are a peculiar race of men, whose ways and manners arequite distinct from the customs known in Europe. Those of San Lucarmay serve as a type. Born on the Indian frontiers they have contractedsanguinary habits, and their disregard of life is remarkable.Inveterate gamblers, the cards are never out of their hands; and playis a fruitful source of quarrels, in which the knife is constantlycalled into requisition. Careless of the future, little heedful ofpresent trouble, and enduring physical suffering hardily, they lookupon death with as much contempt as on life, and recoil before nodanger.
These men--who often abandon their families in order to live a lifeof greater license among the savage hordes of the desert; who, inshear wantonness, spill the blood of their fellow creatures; who areimplacable in their hate--these men are capable of ardent friendship,and of extraordinary devotedness and self-denial. Their characterpresents a curious mixture of good and evil, of unbridled vice andsterling qualities. They are at one and the same time idle, gamblers,quarrelsome, drunkards, ferocious, brave to rashness and devoted heartand soul to a friend, or the patron of their choice. From infancy bloodruns like water from their hands during the period of the _matanzadel ganado_ (slaughtering the cattle); and this familiarity with thecrimson stains hardens them to the sight of human gore. Lastly, theirjokes are as coarse as their habits, the threat of using the
knife onquite frivolous occasions being the most delicate and the most common.
While the _vaqueros_, reseated at the table in the _pulqueria_, werepouring libations to their reconciliation, and drowning the remembranceof the petty incident in floods of _pulque_ and _mezcal_ (a coarse kindof brandy), a man entered, muffled in the folds of a thick cloak, andwith the wide brim of his hat pulled over his eyes. Approaching thetable without uttering a word, he cast a look of seeming indifferencearound, lighted a cigarette at the brazier, and struck three blows uponit with a large piastre he held between his fingers.
The noise, which appeared to be a signal, startled the three_vaqueros_. They dropped the noisy conversation they were engaged in,as if suddenly struck by an electric shock, and became as still asdeath. Pablito and Carlocho began to tremble, seeking all the while todiscover the features of the new arrival under the folds of his cloak;while the _verado_ turned his head on one side to hide his craftysmiles.
The stranger cast his half-consumed cigar into the brazier, andretired from the filthy room in the same silence in which he came.
An instant later, Pablito, who was stanching his bleeding cheek,and Carlocho, making a pretence of important business, quitted the_pulqueria_. The _verado_ glided along the wall to the door, andfollowed at their heels.
"Holloa!" muttered the _pulquero_, "Here are three _picaros_(villains), who seem to be concocting some devil's job, in which morebroken heads than _duros_ (dollars) are to be gained. _iCaray!_ That istheir lookout."
The remaining _vaqueros_, completely absorbed in a game at _monte_,and bending over their cards, appeared scarcely to have noticed thedeparture of their comrades.
At some little distance from the _pulqueria_ the stranger looked back.The two _vaqueros_ were walking close behind him, talking carelessly,as if they were two idlers strolling along. The _verado_ was not to beseen.
The stranger went on his way again, after making a scarcely perceptiblesign to the two men, and pursued a road which, in a gentle curve,gradually retired from the river, and led, little by little, into thefields. At the exit from the _pueblo_ this road took a sharp angle, andnarrowed suddenly into a path, which lost itself in the plain amongmany more.
Just at the bend in the road, a cavalier, trotting hurriedly in thedirection of the _presidio_, passed close to the three men; but,immersed in their thoughts, neither stranger nor _vaqueros_ tooknotice of him. As to the cavalier, he darted a rapid and piercing lookat them, and gradually slackened his horse's speed, which he stoppedaltogether a few yards further on.
"God forgive me!" he said to himself; that is Don Fernando Carril, orelse the devil in flesh and bone. That fool, Zapote, has missed himagain, then! What business can he have out here, in company with thosetwo bandits, who look like agents of Satan? May I never be TorribioQuiroga if I don't find out, and if I do not put myself on their traces.
Senor Don Torribio Quiroga was an individual of not more thanthirty-five, with a rather stout figure, under the middle height. Butto make up for it, the squareness of his shoulders, and thick-setlimbs, gave unmistakable evidence of great muscular power. Little greyeyes, lively, and sparkling with malice and audacity, lit up a facewhich was perhaps somewhat vulgar. He was dressed in the costume of allMexicans of a certain rank.
He dismounted, and looked about for somebody to hold his horse,but could see no one; for, at San Lucar, and especially in the new_pueblo_, it was almost a miracle to meet two persons passing throughthe streets at the same time. He stamped in anger, threw the reins overhis arm, and led his horse to the _pulqueria_ whence the _vaqueros_ hadcome, confiding him to the care of the landlord.
Having carefully completed this duty--for the Mexican's dearest friendis his horse--Don Torribio retraced his steps with the most minuteprecaution, like a man who wishes to see without himself being seen.
The _vaqueros_ had gained considerably upon him, and disappeared behinda hillock of shifting sand just at the moment when he turned the angleof the lane: however, he soon saw them again as they were toiling up asteep and rough path leading to a clump of trees, which by chance orsome caprice of nature had shot up among the arid sands.
Sure of finding them now, Don Torribio began to walk more slowly, andlit a cigar, to keep himself in countenance in case of surprise, or toprevent any casual suspicion of his intentions. Luckily, the _vaqueros_never looked back once, but entered the wood close upon the heels ofthe man recognised by Don Torribio as Don Fernando Carril.
When, in his turn, Don Torribio arrived at the margin of the wood, hetook good care not to walk straight into it. He first made a slight_detour_ to the right; then, bending down to the ground, he commencedcrawling on hands and knees, taking special care to avoid any noisethat might excite the attention of the _vaqueros_.
The sound of voices soon reached him. Gently raising his head, heperceived, in a small clearing close at hand, the figures of the threemen, who had stopped, and were engaged in a lively conversation. Herose from the ground, and hid himself behind a maple tree.
Don Fernando Carril had dropped his cloak, leaning with his shouldersagainst a tree, and, with his legs crossed, he was listening withvisible impatience to what Pablito was saying.
The hands of Don Fernando were small, and delicately gloved; his feet,showing the nobility of his blood by their diminutive size, wereencased in varnished boots,--a luxury unheard of in these distantregions. His costume, of amazing richness, was absolutely identical inshape with that of the _vaqueros_. A diamond of immense value fastenedthe collar of his shirt; and his _zarape_ was worth more than fivehundred piastres. For the present, we will conclude the portrait here.
Two years before our narrative commences, Don Fernando Carril hadarrived at San Lucar, knowing nobody; and everyone had asked, Whois he? Where does he come from? Whence does he derive his riches?And where do his estates lie? Don Fernando bought a _hacienda_ a fewleagues from San Lucar. Under pretence of defending it against theIndians, he fortified it, surrounded it with palisades and a moat,and furnished it with two small pieces of cannon. In this way he hadkept his doings secret, and curiosity at bay. Although he never openedhis _hacienda_ to receive a guest, he was himself received by thefirst inhabitants of San Lucar, whom he visited most assiduously, tillsuddenly, to the great amazement of all, he disappeared for severalmonths.
The ladies missed their practice in smiles and ogling, the men theiroccupation of contriving adroit questions to entrap Don Fernando.Don Louis Pedrosa, whose post as governor gave him a right to beinquisitive, could not help feeling uneasy about the stranger; but,wearied with conjecture, he was obliged to trust to time, which, sooneror later, reveals all mysteries. Nothing more was known of the man whowas standing in the clearing, listening to Pablito.
"Enough!" said this personage, interrupting Pablito, in a fit ofpassion; "You are a dog, and a dog's son."
"Senor!" exclaimed the latter.
"I feel inclined to crush you, wretch!"
"A threat! And to me!" shouted the _vaquero_ white with fury, andunsheathing his knife.
Don Fernando seized the man's fist with his gloved hand, and gave itsuch a sudden and violent wrench, that the _vaquero_ dropped his weaponwith a groan.
"Down on your knees, and ask for pardon!" the don went on, hurling thewretch to the ground.
"No! I will die first!"
"Begone! You are a brute beast!"
The _vaquero_ staggered as he rose; his eyes were bloodshot, his lipsblue; his whole body trembled. He picked up his knife, and approachedDon Fernando, who stood there with folded arms.
"It is true; yes, I am a brute beast; but, nevertheless, I am devotedto you. Forgive me, or kill me, but do not bid me begone."
"Go! I tell you."
"And you have no more to say to me?"
"It is my last word; vex me no more."
"Your last word to me? Then I go--to the devil!" And he raised hisweapon to kill himself.
Don Fernando arrested the stroke. "I forgive you," said he: "but, ifyou st
ill wish to remain in my service, be mute as a corpse."
The _vaquero_ fell at his feet, and covered with kisses the handextended to him. It was like a dog licking the hand of the master whohas beaten him.
Carlocho had taken no part in this scene, but remained a calm andunmoved spectator.
"What charm has this mysterious stranger," muttered Don Torribio behindhis maple, "to make himself beloved like this?"
After a short silence, Don Fernando again spoke.
"I know you are devoted to me. I have great confidence in yourfidelity; but you are a drunkard, and drink is an evil counsellor."
"I will drink no more," replied the _vaquero_.
Don Fernando smiled in disdain.
"Drink, but do not drown your reason. Drunkenness such as yours letsfall words for which there is no remedy,--words more murderous thanthe dagger. It is not the master, it is the friend who speaks to you.Can I count on you both?"
"You can."
"I leave this place for a few days; you will remain in theneighbourhood. At a short distance from the _pueblo_ is the Hacienda delas Norias de San Antonio; do you know it?"
"Who does not know Don Pedro de Luna?"
"Watch that _hacienda_ carefully, both without and within. If anythingextraordinary befalls Don Pedro or his daughter, Dona Hermosa, one ofyou will come and acquaint me with it. You know where to find me?"
The men bowed their heads.
"Will you execute all my orders, however incomprehensible, withpromptitude and accuracy?"
"We swear so, master."
"Good! One word more; attach to yourselves as many _vaqueros_ as youcan; strive to gather together a body of men to be depended on. Do thiswithout exciting suspicion; she never sleeps with both eyes closed.Stay! I remember! Put no faith in the _verado;_ he is a traitor--a spyupon me, in the service of the Tigercat."
"Shall we kill him?" coolly asked Carlocho.
"It might be, prudent; only rid yourselves of him quietly."
The two _vaqueros_ looked at each other furtively.
Don Fernando seemed not to remark what happened.
"Do you want money?" he asked.
"No, master; we have still some."
"Nevertheless, take this as well: better to have too much than toolittle."
He placed in the hands of Carlocho a long netted purse, across themeshes of which a goodly number of gold pieces glittered.
"Now, Pablito, my horse."
The _vaquero_ led from the recesses of the wood a magnificent charger.Don Fernando vaulted into the saddle.
"Remember," said he, "prudence and fidelity; one indiscretion wouldcost you your lives."
He waved his hand to the _vaqueros_, gave his horse the spur, and rodeoff in the direction of the _presidio_. The two men resumed the road tothe _pueblo._
When they were a good way off, the brushwood at one corner of theclearing began to shake, and a human head slowly emerged, the faceblanched with terror.
The head was succeeded by the body of the _verado_ who had risen tohis feet, his knife in one hand, a pistol in the other, and now lookedabout him with his hair standing on end.
"_iCanarios!_" he cried in a low tone; "rid themselves of me quietly!We shall see! we shall see, _iSanta Virgen del Pilar!_ What demons!Aha! I was right to listen."
"It is the only way to hear," said a mocking voice.
"Who goes there?" roared the _verado_, as he jumped to one side.
"A friend," replied Don Torribio, leaving his hiding place andadvancing into the open.
"What! You, Senor Don Torribio Quiroga? You are welcome. Then youlistened too?"
"_iCuerpo de Cristo!_ Didn't I listen! I think I have profited by it,to get edifying news about Don Fernando."
"Since you overheard the conversation, what do you think of it?"
"This _caballero_ seems to me a black villain enough; but we willthwart his infamous plans."
"God grant we may!" muttered the _verado_, with a sigh.
"And now, what are your own intentions?"
"Mine! I swear I do not know. I know nothing, except that my headswims. Did you hear? They want to rid themselves of me quietly! In myopinion, they are the greatest wretches in the prairie."
"Pooh! I have known them a long time; they give me very littleuneasiness."
"And I, on the contrary, am very uneasy."
"What the devil! You are not dead yet!"
"_iVive Dios!_ I am little better off; I am literally between death andthe devil."
"How can you be afraid--you, the most daring hunter of the jaguar Iknow?"
"A jaguar is but a jaguar, after all; one can talk reason to him witha ball. But these two _birbones_ (rascals), whom Don Fernando hasmaliciously set upon my trail, are veritable demons, without faithor law, who would bleed their own fathers for a small measure of_pulque._" ("To bleed" is the common Mexican expression for "to stab.")
"True; but time presses. For reasons with which I need not acquaintyou, I take enormous interest in Don Pedro de Luna, and more in hislovely daughter. Don Fernando Carril, as we have just learnt, isconcocting some infernal plot against this family. I mean to frustrateit. Will you assist me? Two men can do a great deal, if they work witha will."
"Do you propose a partnership with me, Don Torribio?"
"Call it what you will; but answer promptly."
"In that case, sincerity for sincerity, Don Torribio. This morningI would have refused your proposal: tonight I accept it; for I havedone with soft-heartedness. My position is completely changed. Ridthemselves of me quietly! _iVive Dios!_ I will have my revenge. I amyours, as my knife is to the sheath. I am yours, body and soul, on theword of a _vaquero_."
"I see we shall easily come to an understanding."
"Say, rather, we understand each other already."
"Good! But we must be cautious, if we wish to succeed: the game weare about to chase is wily. Do you know a _lepero_ named Tonillo elZapote?"
"Know Tonillo! He is my bosom friend."
"So much the better. This Tonillo is a resolute fellow, on whom one canfearlessly depend."
"That is holy truth. Moreover, he is a _caballero_ of excellentprinciple."
"He is: find him out, and bring him one hour after sunset to theCallejou de las Minas" (the pass of the mines).
"It shall be done; I understand perfectly. We will be there."
"And then, we three will arrange our counterplot."
"Yes; and set your heart at rest. We will find a way to deliver youfrom this man, who wishes to rid himself of me quietly."
"That seems to lie heavily on your mind."
"_iCaray!_ Just put yourself in my place. After all, the longest liverwill see. Don Fernando has not got quite so far with me as he fancies."
"Then you will bring Tonillo?"
"Were I to bring him by force, we would both be there."
"Now, we have nothing more to do than to go about our separate affairs."
"Which road do you take?"
"I am going direct to the _hacienda_ of Don Pedro."
"Listen to me, Don Torribio: do not broach this matter to him."
"What is your reason for saying so, _verado?_"
"Because Don Pedro, excellent man and perfect _caballero_ as he is,has old-fashioned ideas, and would probably attempt to dissuade youfrom your plan."
"Perhaps you may be right; he had better know nothing of the service Iwish to render him."
"It will be better. Now Don Torribio, good-bye till evening."
"Good-bye; and good luck!"
The two men separated. Don Torribio Quiroga ran hastily down the roadleading to the _pueblo_, to regain his horse from the _pulquero_; whilethe _verado_, whose horse had been hidden somewhere about, jumped intothe saddle, and galloped off in a fury still muttering between histeeth:
"Rid themselves of me quietly! Was there ever such an idea? But weshall see. _iMil rayos!_" (a thousand thunders).