CHAPTER XLII.
THE NIGHT JOURNEY.
Antinahuel beckoned Black-Stag to come to him, and the Apo-Ulmen did notdelay. Notwithstanding the number and copiousness of the libations inwhich he had indulged, the face of the Araucano chief was as impassive,and his step as steady, as if he had only drunk water. When he arrivedin front of the toqui, he bowed respectfully, and waited in silence tillhe was spoken to. The toqui, with his eyes fixed on the ground, andburied in serious reflections, was some time before he was aware of hispresence. At length he raised his eyes; his countenance was dark, hiseyes seemed to dart lightning, a nervous tremour agitated all his limbs.
"Is my father suffering?" Black-Stag asked, mildly and affectionately.
"I am," the chief replied.
"Guecubu has breathed upon the heart of my father; but let him takecourage, Pillian will support him."
"No," Antinahuel replied; "the breath which dries my breast is a breathof fear."
"Of fear?"
"Yes; the Huincas are powerful. I dread the strength of their arms formy young men!"
Black-Stag surveyed him with astonishment.
"What signifies the power of the palefaces," he said, "when my father isat the head of the four Uthal-Mapus?"
"This war will be terrible; and I would conquer."
"My father will conquer. Do not all the warriors listen to his voice?"
"No," said Antinahuel, sorrowfully; "the Ulmens of the Puelches were notpresent at the council."
"That is true," Black-Stag murmured.
"The Puelches are the first among Aucas warriors."
"That is true, too," said Black-Stag.
"I suffer!" Antinahuel repeated.
Black-Stag laid his hand upon his shoulder.
"My father," he said, in an insinuating tone, "is a great chief; nothingis impossible to him!"
"What does my son mean?"
"War is declared. Whilst we attempt incursions into the Chilianterritory, to keep our enemies in a state of uncertainty as to ourplans, let my father mount with his mosotones upon his coursers morefleet than the wind, and fly upon the wings of the tempest to thePuelches. His words will convince them; the warriors will abandoneverything to follow him and fight under his orders. With theirassistance we shall conquer the Huincas, and the heart of my father willswell with joy and pride!"
"My son is wise! I will follow his counsels," the toqui answered, with asmile of mysterious expression; "but he has said war is resolved upon;the interests of my nation must not suffer from the short absence I amforced to make."
"My father will provide for that."
"I have provided for it," Antinahuel said, with a courteous smile; "letmy son listen to me."
"My ears are open to receive the words of my father."
"At sunrise, when the fumes of the water fire are dissipated, the chiefswill ask for Antinahuel." Black-Stag nodded assent.
"I will place in the hands of my son," the chief continued, "the stonehatchet, the sign of my dignity. Black-Stag is a part of my soul, hisheart is devoted to me; I name him my vice-toqui--he will take my place."
The Apo-Ulmen bowed respectfully before Antinahuel, and kissed his hand.
"Whatever my father orders shall be instantly executed," he said.
"The chiefs are of a proud character; their courage is fiery: my sonmust not give them time to cool, he must make them so compromisethemselves, that they cannot afterwards retract."
"What are the names of these chiefs, that I may keep them in my memory?"
"They are the most powerful Ulmens of the nation. Let my son rememberthey are eight in number; each of them must make an incursion on thefrontier, in order to prove to the Chiaplos that hostilities havecommenced. The four principal among them will immediately repair toValdivia, to proclaim the declaration of war to the palefaces."
"Good!"
"These are the names of the Ulmens: Tangol, Qud-pal, Auchanguer,Colfunguin, Trumau, Cuyumil, and Pailapen. Does my son hear these namesdistinctly?"
"I have heard them."
"Has my son understood the sense of my words? Have they entered into hisbrain?"
"The words of my father are here," said Black-Stag, pointing to hisforehead; "he may banish all uneasiness, and fly towards her who hastaken possession of his heart."
"Good!" Antinahuel replied; "my son loves me, he will remember; aftertwo suns he will find me at the tolderia of the Black Serpents."
"The Black-Stag will be there, accompanied by his most valiant warriors;may Pillian guide the steps of my father, and may the god of war granthim success."
"Farewell, brother!" Antinahuel murmured, taking leave of his lieutenant.
Black-Stag bowed to the toqui and retired. As soon as he was alone,Antinahuel made a sign to the Indian whose news had caused hisdeparture. During the conference of the two chiefs this man had stoodmotionless, at a sufficient distance to prevent his hearing what theysaid, but near enough to execute immediately the orders that might begiven him. He drew near in obedience to the sign.
"Is my son fatigued?" the toqui asked.
"No; my horse alone wants rest."
"Well, my son shall have another horse; he will guide us."
Antinahuel, followed by the scout, advanced, without more words, towardsa group of horsemen, who, leaning on their long lances, cast their blackshadows gloomily into the night. These horsemen, about thirty in number,were the mosotones of the toqui. Antinahuel, at a bound, sprang upon amagnificent horse, held by the bridle by two Indians.
"Forward!" he cried, settling himself in his saddle, and plunging hisspurs into the sides of the horse, which set off with the speed of anarrow.
The mosotones followed as quickly after, and the troop of horsemenglided through the darkness like a legion of gloomy phantoms, precededby the scout. Who can express the terrible poetry of a night ride inthe American deserts? The midnight wind had swept the heavens clear ofclouds, and its vault, of a dark blue, appeared to be, like a monarch'srobe, splendidly adorned with an infinite number of stars. The nighthad that velvety transparency peculiar to warm climates. At intervals,a puff of wind, loaded with indistinct sounds, scattered the dry leavesinto the air, and was lost in the distance like a sigh.
The Araucanos, bending over the necks of their horses, whose nostrilsemitted dense clouds of smoke, rode on, and on, and ever on, withoutcasting even a look around them. And yet the desert they weretraversing, so silently and so rapidly, poured floods of splendidharmonies into space. The murmur of water among the lianas and theglayeuls, the moaning of the wind among the leaves, or the confusednoise of a thousand invisible insects, could be heard; at times, lights,fluttering through the foliage, danced upon the grass in the manner ofwild fires; at distances were to be seen old trees, at the angles ofravines or the brink of precipices, standing like spectres, shakingtheir winding sheets of parasitical plants; a thousand rumours hoveredin the air; nameless cries issued from dens hollowed under vast roots;stifled sighs descended from the hoary summits of the mountains: anunknown and mysterious world could be felt existing around. Everywhere,on the earth, in the air, was to be heard the great flood of life, whichcomes from God, passes away, and is incessantly renewed.
The Araucanos still continued their furious course, clearing torrentsand ravines, and crushing under the hoofs of their flying coursersstones, the fragments of which rolled with a splash into the barrancas.At two lances, length, in front, by the side of the scout, Antinahuel,with his eyes ardently directed forward, kept urging on his horse, whosehard and loud breathing proclaimed fatigue. All at once a dark masssurged up in the distance, and then a voice was heard.
"We have arrived," the guide exclaimed.
"At last!" Antinahuel said, pulling up his horse, which could no longerstand when the impetus had ceased. They found themselves in a miserablevillage, composed of five or six huts falling to ruins, and which,at every gust of wind, threatened to tumble to pieces. Antinahuel,who expected the fall of his horse, disengag
ed himself quickly, andaddressing the guide, who had likewise dismounted, asked--
"In which toldo is she?"
"Come," the Indian replied, laconically.
Antinahuel followed him.
They walked some steps without exchanging a word; the chief pressinghis hand strongly on his breast, as if to keep down the beatings of hisheart. After a hasty march of ten minutes, the two men found themselvesin front of an isolated cabin, from the interior of which glimmered afeeble light. The Indian stopped, and turned towards Antinahuel.
"That is it," he said, stretching out his arm in the direction of thecabin.
The toqui turned round to ascertain whether his mosotones, whom, in hisrapid course, he had left far behind, were rejoining him; and then,after the hesitation of a second, he approached the door and pushed it,saying in a low but determined voice--
"An end must be put to this!"
The door opened, and he entered.