The Freebooters: A Story of the Texan War Page 11

  CHAPTER XI.

  A METAMORPHOSIS.

  We must now go back for some days, and return to the encampment of thehunters, whom we left in a most awkward position, watched by thevigilant eye of the Apaches, and compelled to trust temporarily to FrayAntonio, that is to say, to a man for whom, in his heart, not one ofthem felt the slightest sympathy. Still, had it been possible to readthe monk's mind, their opinion about him would probably have beencompletely changed.

  A revolution had taken place in this man's mind, and he had beenunconsciously overcome by that influence which upright natures everexert over those which have not yet been entirely spoiled. However,whatever was the cause of the change which had taken place almostsuddenly in the monk's ideas, we are bound to state that it was sincere,and that Fray Antonio really intended to serve his new friends, whateverthe consequences might be to himself.

  Tranquil, accustomed, through the desert life he led, to discover with acertain degree of skill the true feelings of persons with whom accidentbrought him in contact, thought it his duty to appear to trust, underpresent circumstances, entirely on the monk, though he might not giveperfect credence to his protestations of devotion.

  "Are you brave?" he asked him, continuing the conversation.

  Fray Antonio, surprised by the sudden question, hesitated for a moment.

  "That depends," he said.

  "Good; that is the answer of a sensible man. There are moments when thebravest is afraid, and no man can answer for his courage."

  The monk gave a sign of assent.

  "We have," Tranquil continued, "to cheat the cheater, and play atdiamond cut diamond with him; you understand me?"

  "Perfectly. Go on."

  "Very good. Return to Blue-fox,"

  "What?"

  "Are you afraid?"

  "Not exactly; but I fancy he may proceed to extremities with me."

  "That is a risk to be run."

  "Well, be it so," he exclaimed resolutely, "I will run it."

  The Canadian looked fixedly at him.

  "That will do," he said to him. "Here, take these, and, at any rate, ifyou are attacked, you will not die unavenged."

  And he put a brace of pistols in his hand. The monk examined themattentively for a moment, turning them over so as to assure himself thatthey were in good state, then he hid them under his gown with a start ofjoy.

  "I fear nothing now," he said; "I am going."

  "Still I must explain to you----"

  "For what good purpose?" the monk interrupted him. "I will tell Blue-foxthat you consent to have an interview with him; but, as you do not careto go alone to his camp, you prefer seeing him without witnesses in themiddle of the prairie."

  "That will do, and you will bring him with you to the spot where I shallbe waiting."

  "I will try, at any rate."

  "That is what I mean."

  "But where will you wait for him?"

  "On the skirt of the forest."

  "All right."

  "One parting hint."

  "Out with it."

  "Keep a few paces from the Chief, not before or behind, but on his righthand, if possible."

  "Very good; I understand."

  "Well, I trust you will succeed."

  "Oh, now I fear nothing, as I am armed."

  After uttering these words, the monk rose and walked away with a quickand firm step. The Canadian looked after him for some time.

  "Is he a traitor?" he muttered.

  "I do not think so," Loyal Heart answered.

  "May Heaven grant it!"

  "What is your plan?"

  "It is simple: we can only triumph over the enemies who surround us bystratagem; hence, that is the only thing I intend employing. We mustescape from these red demons at all hazards."

  "That is true. But, when we have succeeded in throwing them out, whereshall we go?"

  "We must not dream, in the present excited state of the country, ofmaking a long journey across the desert with two females; it would berunning certain ruin."

  "That is true; but what can we do?"

  "It is my intention to proceed to the Larch-tree hacienda. There, Ifancy, my daughter will obtain the best protection for the present."

  "Permit me to remind you that yourself refused to have recourse tothat."

  "That is true; hence I only resolve on it when in a fix. As for you----"

  "Oh, I will accompany you," Loyal Heart quickly interrupted him.

  "Thanks," the Canadian exclaimed, warmly. "Still, in spite of all thepleasure your generous offer occasions me, I cannot accept it."

  "Why not?"

  "Because the nation which had adopted you claims your help, and youcannot refuse it."

  "It will wait; besides, Black-deer will make my excuses."

  "No," the Chief said, distinctly; "I will not leave my Pale friends indanger."

  "By Jove!" Tranquil exclaimed joyously, "As it is so, we shall have somefun; hang it all, if five resolute and well-armed men cannot get thebest of a hundred Apaches. Listen to me, comrades: while I go ostensiblyto the meeting I have granted Blue-fox, follow me in Indian file, and beready to appear directly I give you the signal by imitating the cry ofthe mockingbird."

  "All right."

  "You, Lanzi and Quoniam, will watch over Carmela."

  "We will all watch over her, friend, trust to us," said Loyal Heart.

  Tranquil gave his comrades a parting farewell, threw his rifle over hisshoulder, and left the encampment. He had hardly disappeared ere thehunters lay down on the ground, and crawled on his trail, Carmela guidedby Singing-bird forming the rearguard. The maiden felt an involuntaryshudder run over her limbs as she entered the forest. This night march,whose issue might prove so fatal, terrified her, and suggested gloomyforebodings, which she feared to see realised at every step.

  In the meanwhile Fray Antonio continued his journey, and soon emergedfrom the forest. Far from his resolution being shaken, the nearer hedrew to the Apaches he felt it, on the contrary, become firmer. The monkwas eager to prove to the hunters that he was worthy the confidence theyplaced in him; and if at times the thought of the dangers to which heexposed himself crossed his mind, he drove it off, being determined torisk his life, if needed, in saving Do?a Carmela, and preventing herfalling into the hands of the cruel enemies who were preparing to seizeher.

  Fray Antonio had gone hardly five hundred yards from the forest, when aman suddenly emerged from a thicket and barred his passage. The monksuppressed with difficulty a cry of terror at this unexpectedapparition, and started back. But immediately regaining his coolness, heprepared to sustain the terrible contest that doubtless menaced him, forhe had recognised Blue-fox at the first glance. The Chief examined himin silence, fixing on him his deep black eye with an expression ofsuspicion which did not escape the monk.

  "My father has been a long time," he at length said, harshly.

  "I could not be any quicker," the monk answered.

  "Wah! My father returns alone; the great Pale warrior was afraid; he didnot accompany my father."

  "You are mistaken, Chief; the man you call the great Pale hunter, andwhom I call Tranquil, was not afraid, and did not refuse to accompanyme."

  "Och! Blue-fox is a Sachem; his eye pierces the thickest darkness;though he may look he sees nothing."

  "That is probably because you do not look in the right direction, that'sall."

  "My father will explain. Blue-fox desires to know how his Pale friendcarried out the mission the Sachem confided to him."

  "I took the best advantage possible of my meeting with the hunter, inorder to carry out the orders I had received."

  "My father will pardon me, I am only a poor Indian without brains;things must be repeated to me several times before I can understandthem. Will the great Pale hunter come?"

  "Yes."

  "When?"

  "At once."

  "Where is he then?"

  "I left him over there, at the verge of the forest. He is wa
iting forthe Chief."

  Blue-fox started at this remark, and fixed on the monk a glance whichseemed trying to read the most secret thoughts of his heart.

  "Why did he not accompany my father here?" he said.

  The monk assumed the most simple look possible.

  "On my faith, I do not know," he answered; "but of what consequence isit?"

  "It is pleasanter to converse on the prairie."

  "Do you think so? Well, it is possible. For my part I do not see anydifference between here and there."

  This was said with such apparent carelessness, that, in spite of all hiscraft, the Chief was deceived.

  "Has the great Pale hunter come alone?"

  "No," Fray Antonio replied, boldly.

  "If that be so, Blue-fox will not go."

  "The Chief will reflect."

  "What is the use of reflecting? The father has deceived his Red friend."

  "The hunter could not come alone."

  "Why not?"

  "Because he did not wish to leave in the forest the girl who accompanieshim."

  The Indian's face suddenly brightened, and assumed an expression ofextraordinary cunning.

  "Wah!" he said, "And no other person but the young Pale virginaccompanies the hunter?"

  "No. It seems that the other white warriors who were with him left himat daybreak."

  "Does my father know where they are gone?"

  "I did not inquire. That does not concern me. Every man has enoughbusiness of his own without troubling himself about that of others."

  "My father is a wise man."

  The monk made no reply to this compliment.

  These words were rapidly exchanged between the two men. Fray Antonio hadanswered so naturally, and with such well-played frankness, that theIndian, whose secret thoughts the Mexican's answers flattered, felt allhis suspicions vanish, and went, head down, into the snare so adroitlylaid for him.

  "Och!" he said, "Blue-fox will see his friend."

  "The father can return to the camp of the Apache warriors."

  "No, thank you, Chief," the monk answered, resolutely, "I preferremaining with people of my own colour."

  Blue-fox reflected for an instant, and then replied, with an ironicalsmile playing round his thin lips--

  "Good; my father is right. He can follow me, then."

  "It is evident," the monk thought to himself, "that this accursed paganis devising some treachery. But I will watch him, and at the slightestsuspicious movement I will blow out his brains like the dog he is."

  But he kept these reflections to himself, and followed the Chief with aneasy and perfectly indifferent air. In the moonbeams, which allowedobjects to be distinguished for a considerable distance, they soonperceived, on the extreme verge of the forest, the dark outline of a manleaning on a rifle.

  "Ah," the Chief said, "we must make ourselves known."

  "That need not trouble you. I take it on myself to warn the hunter whenthe time arrives."

  "Good," the Indian muttered, and they continued to advance.

  Blue-fox, though he placed confidence in his companion, only advanced,however, with extreme caution and prudence, examining the shrubs, andeven the smallest tufts of grass, as if assuring himself that theyconcealed no enemy. But, with the exception of the man they perceivedbefore them, the place seemed plunged in profound solitude; all was calmand motionless; no unusual sound troubled the silence.

  "Let us stop here," said Fray Antonio, "it would be imprudent for us toadvance further without announcing ourselves, although the hunter hasprobably recognized us already; for, as you perceive, Chief, he has notmade the slightest move."

  "That is true, but it is as well to be cautious," the other replied.

  They stopped at about twenty yards from the covert, where Fray Antonioplaced his hands funnel-wise on either side his mouth, and shouted atthe full extent of his lungs--

  "Hilloh! Tranquil, is that you?"

  "Who calls me?" the latter immediately answered.

  "I--Fray Antonio. I am accompanied by the person you are expecting."

  "Advance without fear," Tranquil replied. "Those who seek me without anyintention of treachery have nothing to fear from me."

  The monk turned to the Apache Chief. "What shall we do?" he asked him.

  "Go on," the latter replied, laconically.

  The distance which separated them from the hunter was soon covered; andthe Mexican becoming an impromptu master of the ceremonies, presentedthe two men to each other. The Sachem took a searching glance aroundhim.

  "I do not see the young Pale girl," he said.

  "Did you wish to speak to her or to me?" the Canadian answered, drily."I am ready to listen to you. What have you to say to me?"

  The Indian frowned; his suspicions were returning; he gave a menacingglance at the monk, who, obeying the advice given him, had insensiblywithdrawn a few steps, and was preparing to be an apparently calmwitness of the coming scene. Still, after an internal conflict of someseconds, the Sachem succeeded in mastering the wrath that agitated him,and assumed an affable and confiding countenance.

  "I only wished to speak to my brother," he replied, in an insinuatingvoice; "Blue-fox has for many moons desired to see again the face of afriend."

  "If it were really as the Chief says," the hunter continued, "nothingcould have been more easy. Many days have succeeded one to the other;many years have been swallowed up in the immense gulf of the past, sincethe period when, young and full of faith, I called Blue-fox my friend.At that period he had a Pawnee heart; but now that he has plucked itfrom his bosom, to exchange it for an Apache heart, I know him nolonger."

  "The great hunter of the Palefaces is severe to his Red brother," theIndian answered, with feigned humility, "What matter the days that havepassed, if the hunter finds again his friend of the olden time?"

  The Canadian smiled disdainfully as he shrugged his shoulders.

  "Am I an old woman, to be deceived by the smooth words of a forkedtongue?" he said. "Blue-fox is dead; my eyes only see here an ApacheChief, that is to say, an enemy."

  "Let my brother remove the skin from his heart, he will recognise afriend," the Indian continued, still in a honeyed voice.

  Tranquil involuntarily felt impatient at such cynical impudence.

  "A truce to fine speeches, whose sincerity I do not believe in," hesaid. "Was he my friend who a few days ago tried to carry off mydaughter, and at the head of his warriors attacked the calli in whichshe dwelt, and which is now reduced to ashes?"

  "My brother has heard the mockingbird whisper in his ear, and put faithin its falsehoods; the mocker is a chattering and lying bird."

  "You are more chattering and lying than the mocker," Tranquil exclaimed,as he violently stamped the butt of his rifle on the ground. "For thelast time I repeat to you that I regard you not as a friend, but as anenemy. Now, we have nothing more to say to one another, so let usseparate, for this unpleasant conference has already lasted too long."

  The Indian took a piercing glance around him, and his eye sparkledferociously.

  "We will not part thus," he said, as he walked two or three steps nearerthe hunter, who still remained motionless. The latter attentivelyfollowed his every movement, while affecting the most perfectconfidence.

  As for Fray Antonio, through certain signs that do not deceive menaccustomed to Indian tricks, he understood that the moment for actingvigorously was fast approaching, and while continuing to feign the mostperfect indifference to the interview of which he was witness, he hadquietly drawn the pistols from under his gown, and held them cocked inhis hand, ready to employ them at the first alarm. The situation wasgrowing most awkward between the two speakers: each was preparing forthe struggle, although the faces were still calm and their voicesgentle.

  "Yes," Tranquil continued, without displaying the slightest emotion, "wewill part thus, Chief, and may Heaven grant that we may never findourselves face to face again."

  "Before separating, the hunter will
answer one question."

  "I will not, for this conversation has lasted too long already.Farewell!"

  And he fell back a pace. The Sachem stretched forth his arm to stop him.

  "One word!"

  "I will not," the Canadian replied.

  "Then die, miserable dog of a Paleface," the Chief exclaimed, at lengththrowing off the mask and brandishing his tomahawk with extremerapidity.

  But at the same instant a man rose like a black phantom behind theApache Chief, threw his arms round his body, and lifting him withwondrous strength, hurled him to the ground, and placed his knee on hischest, ere the Sachem, surprised and alarmed by this sudden attack, hadattempted to defend himself.

  At the yell uttered by Blue-fox, some fifty Apache warriors appeared asif by enchantment, but almost at the same moment the hunter's comrades,who, although invisible, had attentively followed the incidents of thisscene, stood by the Canadian's side. Fray Antonio, from whom they werefar from expecting such resolution, brought down two Apaches with hispistols, and rejoined the Whites.

  Two groups of implacable enemies were thus opposed; unfortunately, thehunters were very weak against the numerous foes that surrounded them onall sides. Still, their firm demeanour and flashing eyes evidenced theirunbending resolution to let themselves be killed to the last man, soonerthan surrender to the Redskins.

  It was an imposing spectacle offered by this handful of men surroundedby implacable foes, and who yet seemed as calm as if they were peaceablyseated round their campfire. Carmela and Singing-bird, suffering fromsharp pangs of terror, pressed all in a tremor to the side of theirfriends.

  Blue-fox still lay on the ground, held down by Black-deer, whose kneecompressed his chest, and neutralised all the tremendous efforts he madeto rise. The Apaches, with their long barbed arrows pointed at thehunters, only awaited a word or a sign to begin the attack. A silence ofdeath brooded over the prairie: it seemed as if these men, beforetearing each other to pieces, were collecting all their strength tobound forward and rush on each other. Black-deer was the first to breakthe silence.

  "Wah!" he shouted, in a voice rendered hoarse with passion, as hebrandished over his enemy's head his scalping knife, whose blade emittedsinister gleams; "at length I meet thee, dog, thief, chicken heart; Ihold my vengeance in my hands; at last thy scalp will adorn my horse'smane."

  "Thou art but a chattering old woman; thy insults cannot affect me, sotry something else. Blue-fox laughs at thee; thou can'st not compel himto utter a cry of pain or make a complaint."

  "I will follow thy advice," Black-deer shouted, passionately, and seizedhis enemy's scalp lock.

  "Stop, I insist," the Canadian shouted, in a thundering voice, as heseized the arm of the vindictive Chief.

  The latter obeyed.

  "Let that man rise," Tranquil continued.

  Black-deer gave him a ferocious glance, but made no reply.

  "It must be so," the hunter said.

  The Comanche Chief bent his head, restored his enemy to liberty, andfell back a pace. With one bound Blue-fox sprang up; but, instead ofattempting flight, he crossed his arms on his chest, resumed that maskof impenetrable stoicism which Indians so rarely doff, and waited.Tranquil regarded him for a moment with a singular expression, and thensaid---

  "I was wrong just now, and my brother must pardon me. No, the memoriesof youth are not effaced like clouds which the wind bears away. When Isaw the terrible danger that menaced Blue-fox, my heart was affected,and I remembered that we had been for a long time friends. I trembled tosee his blood flow before me. Blue-fox is a great Chief, he must die asa warrior in the sunshine, he is free to rejoin his friends; he cango."

  The Chief raised his head.

  "On what conditions?" he said, drily.

  "On none. If the Apache warriors attack us, we will fight them; if not,we will continue our journey peacefully. The Chief must, decide, forevents depend on his will."

  Tranquil, in acting as he had done, had furnished an evident proof ofthe profound knowledge he possessed of the character of the Redskins,among whom any heroic action is immediately appreciated at its fullvalue. It was a dangerous game to play, but the situation of the hunterswas desperate, despite their courage; if the fight had begun, they musthave been naturally crushed by numbers, and pitilessly massacred. Forthe success of his plan the Canadian could only calculate on a goodfeeling on the part of Blue-fox, and he had staked his all.

  After carefully listening to Tranquil's remarks, Blue-fox remainedsilent for some minutes, during which a violent combat went on in hisheart; he felt that he was the dupe of the snare into which he had triedto draw the hunter by reminding him of their old friendship; but themurmurs of admiration, which his warriors were unable to suppress, onseeing the Canadian's noble deed, warned him that he must dissimulate,and feign a gratitude which he was far from experiencing.

  The power of an Indian Chief is always very precarious; and he is oftenconstrained, in spite of himself, to bow before the demands of hissubordinates, if he does not wish to be overthrown and have a new Chiefset up immediately in his place. Blue-fox, therefore, slowly drew hisscalping knife from his belt, and let it fall at the hunter's feet.

  "The great White hunter and his brothers can continue to follow theirpath," he said; "the eyes of the Apache warriors are closed, they willnot see them. The Palefaces can depart, they will find no one on theirroad till the second moon from this; but then they must take care; anApache Chief will set himself on their trail, in order to ask back fromthem the knife he leaves them, and which he will require."

  The Canadian stooped down and picked up the knife, which he passedthrough his belt.

  "When Blue-fox asks me for it, he will find it there," he said, as hepointed to it.

  "Och! I will manage to take it again. Now, we are even. Farewell!"

  The Chief then bowed courteously to his enemies, made a prodigious boundback, and disappeared in the lofty grass. The Apache warriors utteredtheir war yell twice, and almost immediately their black outlinesdisappeared in the gloom. Tranquil waited for a few minutes, and thenturned to his comrades.

  "Now, we will set out," he said; "the road is free."

  "You got out of the scrape cleverly," Loyal Heart said to him; "but itwas a terrible risk."

  The Canadian smiled, but made no further reply. Then they started.