CHAPTER XXI.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW.
The house taken for Valentine by Mr. Rallier was, as we have alreadystated, situated in the Calle de Tacuba, and by a strange accident, inno way premeditated, only a few yards from the mansion belonging toGeneral Don Sebastian Guerrero. The latter had no suspicion of this,for until the moment when the hunter thought it advisable to pay hima visit, he had been completely ignorant of his enemy's presence inMexico, in spite of the crowd of spies whom he paid to inform him of hisarrival in the capital.
The hunter, therefore, would only have had a few steps to go to reachhome after leaving the general. But suspecting that the latter mighthave given orders to have his carriage followed, he ordered his coachmanto drive to the Alameda, and thence to the Paseo de Bucareli.
As the night was far advanced, the promenaders had abandoned theshady walks of the Alameda, which was now completely deserted. This,doubtless, was what the hunter desired, for, on reaching about thecentre of the drive, he ordered the coachman to stop, and got out withhis companions. After recommending him to watch carefully over his mules(in Mexico people do not use horses for their carriages), and not letany one approach him, for fear of one of those surprises so frequent atthis hour at this place, the three men then disappeared in one of theshady walks, though careful not to go too far, so that they could assisttheir coachman in case of need.
Valentine, like all men accustomed to desert life, that is to vasthorizons of verdure, had an instinctive distrust of stone walls,behind which, in his fancy, a spy was continually listening. Hence,when he had an important affair to discuss, or a serious matter tocommunicate to his friends, he preferred--in spite of the care withwhich his house had been chosen, and the faithful friends who passed asservants there--going to the Alameda, the Paseo de Bucareli, the Vega,or somewhere in the environs of Mexico, where after posting Curumillaas a sentry, that is to say, the man in whom he had the most perfectfaith, and whose scent, if I may be allowed the term, was infallible, hebelieved that he could safely confide his closest secrets to the friendshe conveyed to these strange open air councils.
On reaching a thick clump of trees the hunter stopped.
"We shall be comfortable here," he said, as he sat down on a stone benchand invited his friends to imitate him, "and shall be able to talkwithout fear."
"The trees have eyes, and the leaves ears," Belhumeur answeredsententiously; "I fear nothing so much in the world as these transparentscreens of verdure, which allow everything to be seen and heard."
"Yes," Valentine remarked with a smile, "if you do not take theprecaution to frighten away spies;" and at the same moment he imitatedthe soft cadenced hiss of the coral snake.
A similar hiss was heard from the centre of the clump and seemed like anecho.
"That is the chief's signal," the Canadian said. "He has been watchingfor us there for nearly an hour. Do you now believe that we are insafety?"
"Certainly; when Curumilla watches over us we have no surprise toapprehend."
"Let us talk, then," said Don Martial.
"One moment," Valentine remarked, "we must first hear the report of afriend, which is most valuable, and will doubtless decide the measureswe have to adopt."
"Whom are you alluding to?"
"You shall see," Valentine answered, and clapped his hands thrice softly.
Immediately a slight sound and a gentle rustling of leaves was heard ina neighbouring thicket, and a man suddenly emerged, about four pacesfrom the hunters. It was Carnero, the capataz of General Guerrero. Hewore a vicuna skin hat, of which the large brim was bent over his eyes,and he was wrapped up in a spacious cloak.
"Good evening, senores," he said, with a polite bow, "I have beenawaiting your coming for nearly an hour, and almost despaired of seeingyou tonight."
"We were detained longer than we expected by General Guerrero."
"Do you come from him?"
"Did I not tell you I should call on him?"
"Yes; but I hardly believed that you would have the temerity to ventureso imprudently into the lion's den."
"Nonsense," Valentine said with a disdainful smile, "the lion as youcall him, I assure you, was remarkably tame; he drew in his clawscompletely, and received us with the most exquisite politeness."
"In that case take care," the capataz replied, with a significant shakeof the head; "if he received you as you say, and I have no reason todoubt it, he is, be assured, preparing a terrible countermine againstyou."
"I am of the same opinion; the question is, whether we shall allow himthe time to act."
"He is very clever, my dear Valentine," the capataz continued, "andseems to possess an intuition of evil. In spite of the oath I took toyou when, on your entreaty, I consented to remain in his service, thereare days when, although I possess a thorough knowledge of his character,he terrifies even me, and I feel on the point of giving up the rude taskwhich, through devotion to you, I have imposed on myself."
"Courage, my friend; persevere but a few days longer, and, believe me,we shall be all avenged."
"May heaven grant it!" the capataz said with a sigh; "but I confess thatI dare not believe it, even though it is you who assure me of the fact."
"Have you learnt any important news since our last interview?"
"Only one thing, but I think it is of the utmost gravity for you."
"Speak, my friend."
"What I have to tell you is short and gloomy, senores. The general,after a secret conversation with his man of business, ordered me tocarry a letter to the Convent of the Bernardines."
"To the convent?" Don Martial exclaimed.
"Silence," said Valentine. "Do you know the contents of this letter?"
"Dona Anita gave it me to read. The general informs the abbess that heis resolved to finish the matter; that whether his ward be mad or not,he means to marry her, and that at sunrise on the day after tomorrow, apriest sent by him will present himself at the convent to arrange theceremony."
"Great God! what is to be done?" the Tigrero exclaimed sadly; "how isthe execution of this odious machination to be prevented?"
"Silence," Valentine repeated. "Is that all, Carnero?"
"No; the general adds, that he requests the abbess to prepare the younglady for this union, and that he will himself call at the conventtomorrow, in order to explain more fully his inexorable wishes--theseare the very words of the letter."
"Very good, my friend, I thank you for this precious information; it isof the utmost importance that the general should be prevented from goingto the convent before three o'clock of the tarde. You understand, myfriend, this is of vital importance, so you must manage to effect it."
"Do not be uneasy, my dear Valentine; the general shall not go to theconvent before the hour you indicate, whatever may be the means I amforced to employ to prevent him."
"I count on your promise, my friend; and now good-bye."
He offered him his hand, which the capataz pressed forcibly.
"When shall I see you, again?" he asked.
"I will soon let you know," the hunter answered.
The capataz bowed and went down a walk; the sound of his footstepsrapidly decreased, and was quite inaudible within a few minutes.
"My friends," Valentine then said, "we have now arrived at the momentfor the final struggle, which we have so long been preparing. We mustnot let ourselves be led away by hatred, but act like judges, not as menwho are avenging themselves. Blood demands blood, it is true, accordingto the law of the desert; but, remember, however culpable the man whomwe have condemned may be, his death would be an indelible spot, a brandof infamy which would sully our honour."
"But this monster," the Tigrero exclaimed, with a passion the moreviolent because it was repressed, "is beyond the pale of humanity."
"He may re-enter it to repent."
"Are we priests then to practise forgetfulness of insults?" Don Martialasked with a fiendish grin.
"No, my friend, there are men in the grand a
nd sublime acceptation ofthe term; men who have often been faulty themselves, and who, renderedbetter by the life of struggling they have led, and the grief which hasfrequently bowed them beneath its iron yoke, inflict a chastisement, butdespise vengeance, which they leave to weak and pusillanimous minds. Whoof you, my friends, would dare to say that he has suffered more than I?To Him alone will I concede the right of imposing his will on me, andwhat He bids me do I will do."
"Forgive me, my friend," the Tigrero answered, "you are ever good, evergreat. God, in imposing on you a heavy task, endowed you at the sametime with an energetic soul, and a heart which seems to expand in yourbosom under the blast of adversity, instead of withering. We, however,are but common men, in whom the sanguinary instinct of the savageis constantly revealed in spite of all our efforts, and who know noother law save that of retaliation. Forget the senseless words my lipsuttered, and be assured that I will ever joyfully obey you, whateveryou may command, persuaded as I am, that you can only ask the man whohas utterly placed himself in your power to do just actions."
The hunter, while his friend was speaking thus in a voice broken byemotion, had let his head fall on his hands, and seemed absorbed ingloomy and painful thought.
"I have nothing to forgive you, my friend," he replied in a gentle,sympathizing voice, "for through my own sufferings I can understand whatyours are. I, too, often feel my heart bound with wrath and indignation;for, believe me, my friend, I have a constant struggle to wage againstmyself, not to let myself be led away to make a vengeance of what mustonly be a punishment. But enough on this head; time presses, and we mustarrange our plans, so as not to be foiled by our enemies. I went todayto the palace, where I had a secret conversation with the President ofthe Republic, whom, as you are aware, I have known for many years, andwho honours me with a friendship of which I am far from believing myselfworthy. At the end of our interview he handed me a paper, a species ofblank signature, by the aid of which I can do what I think advisable forthe success of our plans."
"Did you obtain such a paper?"
"I have it in my pocket. Now, listen to me. You will go at sunrisetomorrow to the house of Don Antonio Rallier; he will be informed ofyour coming, and you will follow his instructions."
"And you?"
"Do not be anxious about my movements, good friend, and only think ofyour own business, for, I repeat, the decisive moment is approaching.The day after tomorrow begins the feast of the anniversary of MexicanIndependence; that is to say, on that day we shall do battle with ourenemy, and meet him face to face; and the combat will be a rude one, forthis man has a will of iron, and a terrible energy. We shall be ableto conquer him, but not to subdue him, and if we do not take care hewill slip through our hands like a serpent; hence our personal affairsmust be finished tomorrow. Though apparently absent, I shall be reallynear you, that is to say, I will help you with all my power. Still, donot forget that you must act with the most extreme prudence, and, aboveall, the greatest moderation; a second of forgetfulness would ruin you,by alarming the innumerable spies scattered round the Convent of theBernardines. I trust that you have heard and understood me, my friend?"
"Yes, Don Valentine."
"And you will act as I recommend?"
"I promise it."
"Reflect, that you are perhaps risking the loss of your futurehappiness."
"I will not forget your recommendation, I swear to you; I am risking toogreat a stake in this game, which must decide my future life, to letmyself be induced to commit any act of violence."
"Good; I am happy to hear you speak thus; but have confidence, myfriend, I feel certain that we shall succeed."
"May heaven hear you!"
"It always hears those who appeal to it with a pure heart and a livelyfaith. Hope, I tell you; and now, my dear Don Martial, permit me to saya few words to our worthy friend, Belhumeur."
"I will withdraw."
"What for? have I any secrets from you? You can hear what I am going tosay to him."
"You have nothing to say to me, Valentine," the hunter said, with ashake of his head, "nothing but what I know already; I have no otherinterest in what is about to take place beyond the deep friendship thatattached me to the count and now to you. You think that the recollectionI have preserved of our unhappy friend cannot be sufficiently engravenon my heart for me to risk my life at your side in avenging him; but youare mistaken, Valentine, that's all. I will not abandon you in the hourof combat; I will remain at your side even should you order me to leaveyou. I tell you that I swear, and have taken an oath to that effect, tomake a shield of my body to protect you, if it should be necessary. Now,give me your hand, and suppose we say no more about it?"
Valentine remained silent for a moment; a scalding tear ran down hisbronzed cheeks, and he took the hand of the honest, simple-mindedCanadian, and merely uttered the words--
"Thank you; I accept."
They then rose, and returned to their carriage, after Valentine hadwarned his faithful bodyguard, Curumilla, by a signal that he couldleave his hiding place, as the interview was over. A quarter of an hourlater the three gentlemen reached the house in the Calle de Tacuba, wereCurumilla was already awaiting them.