CHAPTER XXII.
DELIRIUM.
It had been very unwillingly that Don Tadeo de Leon consented to resumethat power which he had so gladly once laid down when he thoughttranquillity was re-established. Dull and silent he followed the troop,who appeared rather to escort a state prisoner than the man they judgedto be alone able to save his country.
For some time the storm had been expending its fury, and Don Tadeoseemed to be revived by the fiery breath of the tempest; he cast awayhis hat, that the rain might bathe his burning brow; with his hairflowing in the wind and his eyes flashing wildly, he dug his spurs intohis horse's sides, and rushed forward shouting--
"Hurrah! hurrah! my faithful fellows! hurrah for our country! forward!forward!"
His companions, in the sinister flashes of the lightning, caughtoccasional glimpses of the imposing shadow galloping before them, hishorse bounding over every obstacle that came in his way. Suddenlyelectrified by this strange vision, they rushed wildly forward inpursuit of him, uttering cries resembling his own, across the inundatedplain, through trees twisted and tortured by the powerful hand of thehurricane, which roared furiously. A mad ride, beyond the power oflanguage to describe, then ensued. Don Tadeo, with his eyes flashingfire, felt himself fatally carried away by the furious delirium whichcompressed his temples like a vice. At intervals he turned sharplyround, uttering inarticulate cries, and then, as suddenly, he liftedhis horse with his spurs and his knees, and galloped forward in pursuitof some imaginary enemy.
The soldiers, terrified at this terrible crisis, of which they couldnot divine the cause, and filled with grief at seeing him in thisunhappy state, rode after him without knowing in what way to restorehim the reason which seemed to be abandoning him.
On approaching Valdivia, although still at some distance from it, theywere surprised to see, at this advanced hour of the night, innumerablelights shining in the direction of the city. Don Gregorio, Don Tadeosmost faithful friend, was overpowered with grief at beholding him insuch a dreadful state, and tried every means to restore to him thatreason which appeared every moment to be about to leave him perhaps forever.
All at once an idea struck him, and Don Gregorio urged his horseforward, pricking it with point of his dagger to increase its speed.The noble animal lowered its head, snorted loudly, and darted off likean arrow. After a few minutes of this wild course, Don Gregorio turnedhis horse short round upon its hind quarters, and without relaxing hisspeed, retraced his steps like a whirlwind. He and Don Tadeo were nowgalloping in a contrary direction, and must inevitably cross or clash.As they met, Don Gregorio seized the curb rein of his friend's horsewith a grasp of iron, and giving it a sudden check, stopped it short.
"Don Tadeo de Leon!" Don Gregorio cried; "have you forgotten DonaRosario, your daughter?"
At the name of his daughter, a convulsive trembling ran over Don Tadeoslimbs.
"My daughter!" he cried in a piercing tone, "oh I restore me mydaughter!"
Suddenly a cadaverous paleness covered his countenance, his eyesclosed, the reins dropped from his hands, and he sank backwards. But,quick as thought, his friend had sprung to the earth, and caught him inhis arms; Don Tadeo had fainted.
"He is saved!" said Don Gregorio.
All these rough soldiers, whom no danger had the power to astonish ormove, breathed a sigh of relief at hearing this word of hope. Severalblankets and cloaks were quickly suspended to the branches of thetree under which the chief was placed for shelter. And all, mute andmotionless, with their bridles passed under their arms, stood awaitingwith anxiety the restoration to life of the man whom they loved as afather.
Nearly an hour passed away. Don Gregorio, bending over his friend,watched with an anxious eye the progress of the crisis. By degrees, theconvulsive trembling which shook the body grew calmer, and he sank intocomplete immobility. Then Don Gregorio tore open Don Tadeo's sleeve,stripped his right arm, drew his dagger and opened a vein. No bloodissued at first; but, at length, after a few seconds, a black drop,of the size of a pins head, appeared at the mouth of the wound; itincreased progressively, and, at length, then followed by a second, andat the expiration of two minutes, a long stream of foaming black bloodsprang from the orifice.
At length his teeth, which had remained clenched moved, and he heaveda sigh. The blood had lost the bituminous colour it at first wore, andhad become red. He opened his eyes, and cast around an astonished look.
"Where am I?" he murmured faintly.
"Thank God! you are safe, dear friend!" Don Gregorio answered, heplaced his thumb upon the wound; "what a fright you have given us!"
"What does all this mean?" said Don Tadeo, in a firmer voice; "tell me,Don Gregorio, what has happened?"
"Faith! it is all my fault," the latter replied. "This will teach me tochoose my horses myself another time, and not leave it to a peon."
"Pray explain yourself, my friend; I do not understand you; I am soweak."
"Well you may be; you have had a terrible fall."
"Ah!" said Don Tadeo, "do you think so?"
"Caspita! Do I think so? Ask these caballeros. A miracle has saved you!"
"It is very singular! I cannot recollect anything of what you speak.When we left our friends all at once, the storm broke out."
"That was it! and your recollection is correct. Your horse took frightat a flash of lightning and ran away. When we came up with you, youwere lying senseless in a ravine."
"What you say must be true, for I feel bruised, and my whole frameseems weak and exhausted."
"That is it! But, I repeat, fortunately you are not wounded; only Ithought it best to bleed you."
"I thank you; the bleeding has done me good, my head is not so hot, myideas are more calm! Thank you, my friend," he added, taking his hand.
"Perhaps you are not strong enough yet to sit on horseback," he said.
"Yes, I assure you, my strength is completely restored; besides, timepresses."
Saying these words, Don Tadeo rose, and asked for his horse. A soldierwas holding it by the bridle. Don Tadeo examined it attentively. Thepoor animal was filthy; it looked as if it had literally been rolledin the mud. Don Tadeo knitted his brow; he could not make it out. DonGregorio laughed in his sleeve; it was by his orders that, to misleadhis friend, the horse had been put in this condition.
"I can but wonder," said Don Tadeo, "when looking at this poor beast,how we both escaped!"
"Is it not incomprehensible?" Don Gregorio replied; "we can none of usaccount for it."
"Are we far from the city?"
"A league at most."
"Let us hasten on, then;" and the troop set off at a gallop.
This time Don Tadeo and his friend rode side by side, talking as theywent, in a low voice of the means to be taken to thwart the attemptsof General Bustamente. Don Tadeo had recovered all his coolness. Hisideas had again become clear. One man alone was a stranger to all wehave related. This was Don Ramon Sandias. The poor senator, soaked withrain, terrified at the storm, and muffled in his cloak up to the eyes,seemed to live quite mechanically. He only wished for one thing, andthat was to gain some place of shelter; so he kept on and on, withoutknowing what he did, or whether the others followed him or not. Hearrived in this manner at Valdivia, and was about to pass on when hewas stopped by a man who seized his bridle.
"Hola? eh, caballero, are you asleep?" a rough voice cried.
He started with fear, and ventured to uncover one eye.
"No," he said, in a hoarse voice; "on the contrary, I am but too wideawake."
"Where do you come from, alone, so late?" the man who had before spokencontinued.
"What do you mean by 'alone'?" said Don Ramon, recovering his spirits alittle--"do you take my companions for nothing?"
"Your companions! What companions are you talking about?" cried severalvoices.
Don Ramon looked round with a terrified air.
"Well, that's true!" he said. "I am alone. What on earth has become ofthe others?"
"What others?" the first speaker rejoined; "we see nobody."
"Caramba!" the senator impatiently replied, "I mean Don Gregorio andhis soldiers."
"What! are you part of Don Gregorios troop?" the people cried from allsides.
"To be sure I am," said the senator; "but pray let me get undershelter, for the rain pours terribly."
"You need not mind that," said a joker; "you can't be wetter than youare!"
"That's true," he replied.
"Do you know whether Don Gregorio has met with Don Tadeo de Leon?"Several voices asked simultaneously.
"Yes, they are coming together."
"Are they far off?"
"How the devil can I tell?"
At hearing this, the people who had stopped him dispersed in alldirections, crying. "Don Tadeo is coming!" without taking any furthernotice of the half-drowned senator, who implored them in vain todirect him to a place of shelter. No one replied to him; all were busylighting torches, or rousing the inhabitants of the houses, either byknocking at their doors, or calling them by their names.
"Valgame Dios!" the senator murmured in despair; "these people are allmad to run about the streets in such weather as this! Am I going to bepresent at another revolution?"
And spurring his horse, which was almost knocked up, he moved on withmuch ado, shaking his head dismally, to seek some hospitable roof wherehe might dry his clothes and get a few hours of repose.