CHAPTER X.
SWORD-THRUSTS.
In order to make the facts that follow intelligible, we must leave DonTadeo and his friend in their critical position, and return to the twoprincipal personages of this history, whom we have so long neglected.We saw in a preceding chapter the two foster brothers gaily leavingValparaiso, to repair to the capital of Chili, like Bias, carrying alltheir fortune with them, but possessing over the philosophical Greek theimmense advantage of being amply furnished with hopes and illusions, twowords which, in this life, have but too frequently the same meaning.
After a rather long ride, the young men had stopped for the night ina miserable _rancho_ constructed of mud and dry branches, the dismalskeleton of which stood out on one side of the road. The inhabitant ofthis miserable dwelling, a poor devil of a peon, whose life was passedin guarding a few head of lean cattle, gave our travellers a frank andhospitable reception. Quite delighted at having something to offer them,he had cheerfully shared with them his _charqui_--strips of meat, driedin the sun--and his _harina tostada_--roasted corn--the whole washeddown with cups of detestable _chicha_.
The Frenchmen, who had been literally dying of hunger, were glad of eventhese humble viands, however little savoury they might be, and afterascertaining that their horses were comfortably provided for, they laydown, wrapped in their ponchos, upon a heap of dry leaves, a deliciousbed for fatigued men, and upon which they slept soundly till morning.
At daybreak, our two adventurers, still accompanied by their dog Caesar,who, whatever he might think, expressed no astonishment at this new kindof life, but trotted seriously beside them, saddled their horses, badefarewell to their host, to whom they gave a few reals in return forhis hospitality, and set forward again, looking with earnest curiosityat every object that presented itself to their view, and surprised tofind so little difference between the New World and the Old. The lifethey were beginning, so different from that they had hitherto led, was,for them, full of unexpected charms, and they felt like schoolboys inholiday time. Their lungs seemed to expand to inhale the fresh, sharpbreeze of the mountains. Everything, in their eyes, wore a smilingaspect; in a word, they felt they lived.
It is about thirty-five leagues from Valparaiso to Chili, as the peopleof the country are accustomed to call the capital of the Republic. Thehandsome, broad, and well-kept up road, which was formerly cut throughthe mountain by the Spaniards, is rather monotonous, and completelydevoid of interest for tourists. Vegetation is rare and poor; a fineand almost impalpable dust arises with the least puff of wind. The fewtrees, which stand at long distances from each other, are slender,stunted, dried up by both wind and sun, and seem, by their wretchedappearance, to protest against the efforts at cultivation which havebeen made on this plateau, which is rendered sterile by the strong seabreezes and the cold winds of the Cordilleras which sweep over it.
At times may be seen, at an immense height, like a black dot in space,the great condor of Chili, the eagle of the Andes, or the savage vulturein search of prey. At long intervals pass _recuas_ of mules, headed bythe _yegua madrina_, whose sonorous bells are heard to a great distance,accompanying, well or ill, the dismal chant of the muleteer, who thusendeavours to keep his beasts going. Or else it is a _guaso_ of theinterior, hastening to his chacra or his hacienda, and who, proudlymounted upon a half wild horse, passes like a whirlwind, favouring youas he goes by, with the eternal "Santas tardes, caballero!"
With the exception of what we have described, the road is dull, dusty,and solitary. There is not, as with us, a single hostelry affordingaccommodation for horse and foot; these would be useless establishmentsin a country where the stranger enters every house as if it were hisown home. Nothing! Solitude everywhere and always; hunger, thirst, andfatigue must be expected and endured.
But our young men perceived nothing of this. Enthusiasm supplied theplace of all they wanted; the road appeared charming to them; thejourney they were making, delightful! They were in America; beneaththeir feet was the soil of the New World, that privileged land, of whichso many surprising accounts are given; of which so many people talk, andabout which so few know anything. Having landed only a few days before,while still under the impressions of an endless passage, the wearinessof which had weighed down their spirits like a mantle of lead, theybeheld Chili through the enchanting prism of their hopes; reality didnot yet exist for them. What we have here said may appear a paradox tomany people; and yet, we are satisfied that all travellers of good faithwill acknowledge the exact truth.
At times travelling at a steady foot pace, at others enjoying a laughand a gallop, our young men, to whom the political events of the ChilianRepublic were very uninteresting, and who, consequently, knew nothing ofwhat was going on, arrived quietly within a league of Santiago, at abouteleven o'clock in the evening, just at the moment when the ten Chilianpatriots were falling on the Plaza Mayor, beneath the balls of GeneralBustamente's soldiers.
"Let us pull up here," Valentine said cheerfully; "it will give ourhorses time to breathe."
"Pull up! what for?" Louis asked. "It is late; we shall not find asingle hotel open."
"My dear friend," Valentine replied, with a laugh, "you are still aParisian to the backbone! You forget that we are in America. In thatcity, of which the numerous steeples dimly stand out on the horizonbefore us, everybody is long since asleep, and all the doors are closed."
"What shall we do, then?"
"Pardieu! why, we will bivouac. The night is magnificent. The heavensdisplay all their jewelry; the air is warm and balmy; what better couldwe desire?"
"Oh, nothing, of course!" Louis replied, laughingly.
"Well, then, we have, as you see, time to chat a little."
"Chat, brother! why, we have done nothing else since morning."
"Pardon me, I don't agree with you. We have talked much, about all sortsof things, of the country in which we are, and of the manners of theinhabitants, little as we know about them; but we have not talked in themanner I mean."
"Explain yourself more clearly."
"Look you, brother; an idea has just struck me. We know not whatadventures await us in that city, yonder, before us. Well! before weenter it, I should like to have a sort of final conversation with you."
The young men took off their horses' bridles, that the animals mighthave the advantage of a few tufts of grass which sprang up here andthere; and, stretching themselves luxuriously upon the ground, they littheir cigars.
"We are in America," Valentine resumed; "in the country of gold, uponthat soil where, with intelligence and courage, men of our age can in afew years amass princely fortunes!"
"Do you know, my friend----" interrupted Louis.
"Oh, perfectly!" said Valentine, cutting him short. "You are in love,and you are seeking the object of your love; that's understood: but thatdoes not at all interfere with our projects--quite the contrary."
"How is that?"
"Pardieu! that's plain enough. You know, do you not, that DonaRosario--that's her name, I think--"
"Yes."
"Very well, then; you know she is rich, do you not?"
"There's no doubt of that."
"Ay, ay! but be it understood, not rich as with us: that is to say, somefifty thousand francs a year--a paltry pittance!--but rich as people arehere--a dozen times over millionaires!"
"Probably she may be," the young man said impatiently.
"That's capital! You must understand, then, that when we have found her,for we _shall_ find her, and that soon, you can only demand her hand byproducing a fortune equal to her own."
"The devil! I never thought of that," said the young man.
"I know you did not; you are in love; and, like all other men afflictedwith that disease, you think of nothing but the person you love.Fortunately, however, I am with you, to think for both; and whenever youhave spoken to me of love, I have replied by reminding you of fortune."
"That is true. But how is fortune to be made so promptly?"
"Ah! ah! you have come to that question at last," Valentine said,laughing.
"I know no profession," Louis continued, following his own idea.
"Nor I either. But let not that alarm you; people succeed best in thingsthey don't understand."
"What's to be done?"
"I will think of it; so set your mind at rest. But you must be wellconvinced of one thing, and that is, that we have set foot in a landwhere the ideas are quite different from those of the country we haveleft; where the manners and customs are diametrically opposite."
"You mean to say--"
"I mean to say that we must forget all we have learnt, in order thatwe may remember but one thing--our desire quickly to make a colossalfortune."
"By honourable means?"
"I am acquainted with no other," Valentine replied, seriously. "Andremember, brother, that in the country in which we at present are, thepoint of honour is not at all the same as in France, and many thingswhich with us would appear false coin are here deemed good and passable.On this point a word to the wise! You understand me, don't you?"
"Nearly, I think."
"Very well! Imagine we are in an enemy's country, and must actaccordingly."
"But----"
"Do you wish to marry the woman you love:"
"Can you ask me such a question?"
"Allow me to act, then, as I see best! But, above all, when chancethrows a good opportunity in our way, let us be careful not to miss it."
"Act just as you please."
"Well, that is all I had to say to you;" and throwing away the remainsof his cigar, he rose from his recumbent position.
They were soon again in the saddle, and, at a foot's pace, resumed theirway towards the city, chatting as they went.
Midnight was striking by the clock of the Cabildo at the moment whenthey entered Santiago by the Canada. The streets were deserted andsilent.
"Everybody is asleep," said Louis.
"So it seems," Valentine replied. "Let us look out, notwithstanding. Ifwe find no door open, we can then but compound for a night's bivouac, asI suggested."
At this moment two pistol shots were heard, mingled with the gallop ofhorses.
"What can that be?" said Louis. "Assassination is going on here!"
"Forward! cordieu!" replied Valentine.
They clapped spurs to their horses, and galloped at full speed in thedirection whence the sound proceeded. They soon reached a narrow street,in the middle of which two men on foot were bravely contending with fiveon horseback.
"Have at the horsemen!" Valentine shouted; "help the weaker party!"
"Be of good heart, gentlemen!" said Louis; "help is at hand!"
And timely help it was for Don Gregorio and his friend. A minute later,and they must have succumbed. The providential arrival of the Frenchmenquickly changed the appearance of the fight. Two horsemen fell dead frompistol shots fired by the young men; while a third, knocked down by DonGregorio, was silently strangled by Caesar. The other two thought ithigh time to decamp, leaving their fair prisoner behind them. She hadfainted; and Don Tadeo, leaning against the wall of a house, was uponthe point of following her example. Valentine, with the presence of mindacquired in his old profession of a Spahi, secured the horses of thebandits killed in the skirmish.
"Quick, gentlemen! to the saddle!" Valentine said to the Chilians.
Louis had already dismounted, and was attending to the young lady.
"Do not leave us," Don Gregorio remarked; "we are surrounded by enemies."
"Fear nothing!" said Valentine, "we are quite at your service."
"Many thanks!--A little assistance, if you please, to place my friend,who is wounded, on horseback."
Once in the saddle, Don Tadeo declared he felt sufficiently strong tokeep his seat without help. Don Gregorio placed the still inanimateyoung lady before him.
"Now, gentlemen," he said, "nothing remains for me but to thank you mostcordially, if your business will not allow you to remain longer with us."
"I beg to repeat, caballeros, that we are at your service."
"We have no pressing demand upon our time; we will not leave you till weare assured you are in safety," Louis said, with animation.
"Follow me, then," said Don Gregorio, with a bow; "and do not spare thehorses; it is an affair of life and death."
And the four horsemen set off as fast as their horses could bear them.
"Eh! eh!" said Valentine, in an undertone to his foster brother. "Hereis an adventure that promises something! We are losing no time atSantiago! What think you?"
"We shall see!" Louis replied, in a more thoughtful tone.
No light had gleamed out, no window had been opened, during the combat.The streets remained silent and gloomy; the city seemed abandoned.Nothing was to be heard but the clatter of the horses' feet upon therough pavement of the streets through which they galloped. The cathedralclock struck two as they passed across the Plaza Mayor. Don Tadeo couldnot repress a sigh of relief when glancing at the spot where on, only afew hours before, he had so miraculously escaped death.