The Freebooters: A Story of the Texan War Page 15

  CHAPTER XV.

  A THUNDERBOLT.

  We will now return to the hacienda.

  The Colonel and the Major-domo went down to the Patio, where they foundassembled the one hundred and fifty men selected for the execution ofthe surprise, which the Colonel proposed to attempt on the rebel camp.Tranquil, according to the orders he had received, after assuringhimself that Carmela was enjoying a sound and refreshing sleep, hastenedto tell Loyal Heart and Black-deer what the Colonel expected from them.The two men immediately followed their friend into the Patio, where thesoldiers were already assembled.

  The Colonel divided his men into three detachments, each of fifty men:he took the command of the first, keeping the Canadian with him; DonFelix, having Loyal Heart for guide, had the command of the second; andthe third, at the head of which was placed a captain, an old soldier ofgreat experience, was directed by Black-deer. These arrangements made,the Colonel gave the order for departure. The detachments at onceseparated, and left the hacienda by three different gates.

  The Colonel's plan was extremely simple; descend unheard to the rebels'camp, enter it, and fire it on three different sides; then, profiting bythe disorder and tumult occasioned by this surprise, rush on the rebelswith shouts of "Viva Mejico!" prevent them rallying or extinguishing thefire, massacre as many as possible, and afterwards effect an orderlyretreat on the hacienda.

  At the moment when the Mexicans left the hacienda, the same thinghappened to them as to the insurgents, who left their camp at the samemoment, that is to say, they were suddenly enveloped in thick darkness.The Colonel bent down to Tranquil, and said to him good-humouredly--

  "This is a good omen for the success of our expedition."

  The Jaguar was saying the same thing to White Scalper almostsimultaneously.

  The three detachments silently descended the hill, marching in Indianfile, and taking the greatest care to stifle the sound of theirfootsteps on the ground. On coming within a certain distance of theTexan entrenchments, they halted, with one accord, to take breath, liketigers, which at the moment of leaping on the prey they covet, drawthemselves up, in order to take a vigorous impetus. The soldierswheeled, so as to present a rather extensive line; then each lay down onthe sand, and at the signal, muttered in a low voice by the guides, theybegan crawling like reptiles through the tall grass, cutting passagesthrough the bushes, advancing in a straight line, and clearingobstacles, without thinking of turning them.

  We have said that White Scalper, no doubt with the intention of causingthe Larch-tree garrison to feel greater security, and persuade them thatall was quiet in camp, had objected to the Apache sentries beingaroused, for he considered their vigilance quite unnecessary,--notsupposing for a moment that the Mexicans would dare to leave theirlines of defence and take the initiative in a sally. The direction theold man had given to the detachment he guided, by drawing it away fromthe approaches of the fortress, had also favoured the Colonel's plans,which, without that, would have been, in all probability, foiled.

  Still, the Canadian hunter was too prudent and accustomed to the tricksof Indian war not to assure himself previously that there was no trap toapprehend. Hence, on arriving about fifteen yards from the breastworks,he ordered a halt. Then, gliding like a serpent through the shrubs anddead trees that covered the ground at this spot, he pushed forward areconnoissance. Loyal Heart and Black-deer, to whom he had givendetailed instructions how to act before leaving the hacienda, executedthe same manoeuvre. The absence of the scouts was long, or, at leastappeared so to all these men, who were so impatient to bound on theenemy and begin the the attack. At length Tranquil returned, but he wasanxious and frowning, and a gloomy restlessness seemed to agitate him.These signs did not escape the Colonel's notice.

  "What is the matter with you?" he asked him. "Are the rebels alarmed?Have you noticed any signs of agitation in their camp?"

  "No," he replied, with his eyes obstinately fixed before him, as if hewished to pierce the gloom and read the mysteries it contained. "I haveseen nothing, noticed nothing; the deepest calm, apparently, prevails inthe camp."

  "Apparently, do you say?"

  "Yes; for it is impossible that this calm can be real, for most of theTexan insurgents are old hunters, accustomed to the rude fatigues of adesert life. I can just understand that, during the first part of thenight, they might not notice the gross neglect of the Apache sentries;but what I cannot in any way admit is, that during the whole night notone of these partisans, to whom prudence is so imperiously recommended,should have got up to make the rounds and see that all was in order.Above all, I cannot understand this of the Jaguar--that man of iron, whonever sleeps, and who, though still very young, possesses all the wisdomand experience which are usually the appanage of men who have passedmiddle life."

  "And you conclude from this?"

  "I conclude that we should, perhaps, do better by not continuing thisreconnoissance further, but return at full speed to the hacienda; for,unless I am greatly mistaken, this gloomy night covers some sinistermystery which we shall see accomplished ere long, and of which we mayfall the victims, unless we take care."

  "From what you say to me," the Colonel made answer, "I see that yourather give me the expression of your own personal opinions than theresult of important facts you may have seen during your reconnoissance."

  "That is true, Colonel; but, if you will permit me to speak so, I wouldobserve that these opinions emanate from a man for whom, thanks to hisexperience, the desert possesses no secrets, and whom his presentimentsrarely deceive."

  "Yes, all that is true; and, perhaps, I ought to follow your advice. Myresolution has possibly been premature, but now, unfortunately, it istoo late to recall it. Withdrawing is an impossibility, for that wouldprove to my soldiers that I was mistaken, which is not admissible. Wemust, at any cost, accept the consequences of our imprudence, and pushon, no matter what happens. Still, we will redouble our prudence, andtry to accomplish our scheme without incurring too great a risk."

  "I am at your orders, Colonel, ready to follow you wherever you mayplease to lead me."

  "Forward, then, and may Heaven be favourable to us!" the young officersaid, resolutely.

  The order was whispered along the line, and the soldiers, whom this longconference had perplexed, and who were afraid they should be obliged toturn back, received it joyfully, and advanced with renewed ardour. Theground that separated them from the breastwork was soon covered, and theentrenchments were escaladed ere a single Apache sentry had given thealarm.

  Suddenly, from three different points of the camp an immense flame shotup, and the Mexicans rushed forward, shouting "_Viva Mejico!_" as theinsurgents, who, hardly awake yet, ran hither and thither, notunderstanding these flames which surrounded them, and these terribleyells which sounded in their ears like a funereal knell.

  For nearly an hour the contest was a chaos; smoke and noise coveredeverything else. According to the American custom, most of theinsurgents had their wives and children with them: hence, from the firstmoment the fight assumed gigantic and terrible proportions. The countrywas covered with a confused medley of startled women, who called totheir husbands or brothers, Apache horsemen galloping among theterrified foot soldiers and overthrown tents, from which rose the criesof children and the groans of the wounded. All around the camp animmense line of smoke bordered the flames kindled by the Mexicans, whobounded forward like wild beasts, uttering fearful yells. All theseunited sounds formed a chorus of inexpressible horror, whose echoextended to the extreme verge of the horizon as sad and mournful as thatof the rising tide. Such are the fearful results of civil wars: they letloose and aggravate all the evil passions of man; the latter forgetevery human feeling in the hope of attaining the object they desire, andincessantly push onward, not caring whether they stumble over ruins orwade through blood.

  Still, when the first feeling of surprise had passed, the insurgentsbegan gradually rallying, in spite of the incessant efforts of theMexicans, and the resistanc
e was organized to a certain extent. ColonelMelendez had gained his object, the success of his plan was complete,the losses of the Texans in men and ammunition were immense; he did notwish, with the few troops he had under him, to advance further into ablazing camp, where they walked under a vault of flames, running therisk of being struck at each moment by the ruins of the powdermagazines, which exploded one after the other with a terrible noise.

  The Colonel took a triumphant glance at the ruins piled up around him,and then ordered the retreat to be sounded. The Mexicans had allowedtheir ardour to carry them in every direction; some, in spite of therepeated warnings of their Chief, were already too far off for it to bepossible for them to fall in directly. These must be waited for,therefore.

  The three detachments formed in a semicircle, firing on the insurgents,who profited by the moment of respite chance afforded them to becomeconstantly more numerous. They then noticed the small strength of theirassailants, and rushed resolutely upon them. The Mexicans, now united,wished to effect their retreat, but at each instant their positionbecame more difficult, and threatened to become even critical. TheTexans, who were still the more numerous, with rage in their hearts athaving allowed themselves to be thus surprised, and burning forvengeance, vigorously pressed the Mexicans, who, compelled to retreatinch by inch, and keep a front constantly to the enemy, were on thepoint of being outflanked, in spite of the heroic resistance theyopposed to the assailants.

  Colonel Melendez, seeing the danger of the position, collected fortyresolute men, and placing himself at their head, rushed on theinsurgents with an irresistible impetuosity. The latter, surprised intheir turn by this vigorous attack, which they were far from expecting,recoiled, and at length fell back some hundred yards to reform, closelypursued by the Colonel.

  This lucky diversion gave the main body of the Mexicans time to gainground, and when the Texans returned to the charge with fresh ardour,the propitious moment had passed, and the Mexicans were definitivelyprotected from any assault.

  "_Viva Dios!_" the Colonel said, as he rejoined his company; "the affairwas hot, but the advantage remains with us."

  "I did not see the Jaguar during the whole action," the Canadianmuttered.

  "That is true," the young man replied, "and is most strange."

  "His absence alarms me," the hunter said sadly; "I should have preferredhis being there."

  "Where can he be?" the Colonel remarked, suddenly turning thoughtful.

  "Perhaps we shall learn only too soon," the Canadian replied with ashake of the head, foreboding misfortune.

  All at once, and as if chance had wished to justify the hunter's sadforebodings, an immense noise was heard in the hacienda, amid whichcould be distinguished cries of distress, and a well-sustained musketryfire. Then, a sinister glare rose above the Larch-tree, which itcoloured with the hues of fire.

  "Forward! Forward!" the Colonel cried; "The enemy have got into thefort!"

  At the first glance, the young officer understood what had taken place,and the truth at once struck his mind. All rushed toward the hacienda,inside which an obstinate contest seemed to be raging. They soon reachedthe gates, which, fortunately for them, still remained in the hands oftheir comrades, and rushed into the patio, where a horrible spectacleoffered itself to their sight. This is what had happened.

  At the moment when White Scalper prepared to break in the door with thelever, the clamour made by the Mexicans in firing the camp, reached theears of the Texans assembled in the grotto.

  "_Rayo de Dios!_" the Jaguar shouted; "What is the meaning of that?"

  "Probably the Mexicans are attacking your camp," the old man quietlyanswered.

  The young Chief gave him an ugly look.

  "We are betrayed," said John Davis, as he cocked a pistol, and pointedit at the old man.

  "I am beginning to believe it," the Jaguar muttered, all his suspicionscoming back.

  "By whom?" the White Scalper asked with a smile of contempt.

  "By you, you villain!" the American answered roughly.

  "You are mad," the old man said with a disdainful shrug of hisshoulders; "if I had betrayed you, should I have led you here?"

  "That is true," said the Jaguar; "but it is strange, and the noise isunceasing. The Mexicans are doubtless massacring our companions; wecannot abandon them thus, but must hurry to their assistance."

  "Do nothing of the sort," the Scalper sharply exclaimed. "Hasten, on thecontrary, to invade the fortress, which I doubt not is abandoned by thegreater part of its defenders; your companions, so soon as they haverallied, will be strong enough to repulse their assailants."

  The Jaguar hesitated.

  "What is to be done?" he muttered with an undecided air, as he bent anenquiring glance on the men as they passed round him.

  "Act without loss of a moment," the old man eagerly exclaimed, and witha vigorously dealt stroke he broke in the door, which fell in splintersto the ground; "here is the way open, will you recoil?"

  "No! No!" they shouted impetuously, and rushed into the gaping vaultbefore them.

  This vault formed a passage wide enough for four persons to marchabreast, and of sufficient height for them not to be obliged to stoop;it rose with a gentle incline, and resembled a species of labyrinth,owing to the constant turns it took. The darkness was complete, but theimpulse had been given, and no other noise was audible save that of thepanting breathing of these men, and their hurried footsteps, whichsounded hollow on the damp ground they trod. After a twenty minutes'march, which seemed to last an age, the Scalper's voice rose in thegloom, and uttered the single word, "Halt!" All stopped.

  "Here we shall have to make our final arrangements," the Scalpercontinued; "but in the first place let me procure you a light, so thatyou may know exactly where you are."

  The old man, who seemed gifted with the precious privilege of seeing inthe darkness, walked about for some minutes in various directions,doubtless collecting the ingredients necessary for the fire he wished tokindle; then he struck a light, lit a piece of tinder, and almostimmediately a brilliant flame seemed to leap forth from the ground, andillumined objects sufficiently for them to be distinguished. The Scalperhad simply lighted a fire of dry wood, probably prepared beforehand.

  The Texans looked curiously around them, so soon as their eyes, at firstdazzled by the bright flames of the fire, had grown accustomed to thelight. They found themselves in a very large, almost circular vault,somewhat resembling a crypt; the walls were lofty, and the roof wasrounded in the shape of a dome. The ground was composed of a very finedry sand, as yellow as gold. This room seemed cut out of the rock, forno sign of masonry was visible.

  In the background, a staircase of some twenty steps, wide, and withoutbannister, mounted to the roof, where it terminated, and it wasimpossible to distinguish whether there were any trapdoor or opening.This trap doubtless existed, but time had covered its openings with theimpalpable dust, which it incessantly wears off even the hardestgranite. After attentively examining the vault by the aid of a blazinglog, the Jaguar returned to the old man, who had remained by the fire.

  "Where are we?" he asked him. Each curiously extended his ear to hearthe Scalper's answer.

  "We are," he said, "exactly under the patio of the hacienda; thisstaircase ends in an opening I will point out to you, and which leadsinto a long-deserted corral, in which, if I am not mistaken, the woodstores of the hacienda are now kept."

  "Good," the Jaguar answered; "but before venturing into what may be anadroitly laid trap, I should like, myself, to visit the corral of whichyou speak, in order to see with my own eyes, and assure myself thatthings are really as you say."

  "I ask nothing better than to lead you to it."

  "Thank you; but I do not see exactly how we shall manage to open thepassage of which you speak, without making a noise, which willimmediately bring down on us the whole of the garrison, of which I amexcessively afraid, as we are not at all conveniently situated forfighting."

  "That need not
trouble you; I pledge myself to open the trap withoutmaking the slightest noise."

  "That is better; but come, time presses."

  "That is true. Come."

  The two men then proceeded to the flight of stairs. On reaching the top,the White Scalper thrust his head against the ceiling, and after severalattempts a slab slowly rose, turned over, and fell noiselessly on itsside, leaving a passage large enough for two men to pass together. WhiteScalper passed through this opening. With one bound the Jaguar stood byhis side, pistol in hand, ready to blow out his brains at the firstsuspicious movement. But he soon perceived that the old man had nointention of betraying him, and, ashamed at the suspicion he hadevidenced, he hid his weapon.

  As the Scalper had stated, they found themselves in an abandonedcorral--a sort of vast stall, open to the sky, in which the Americanskeep their horses; but this one was quite empty. The Jaguar went up to adoor behind which he heard the sound of footsteps and the clanking ofarms, and assured himself that nothing was more easy than to burst thisdoor open.

  "Good," he muttered; "you have kept your word; thank you."

  The Scalper did not seem to hear him; his eyes were fixed on the doorwith a strange intensity, and his limbs trembled, as if he had beenattacked by ague. Without attempting to discover the cause of his oldcomrade's extraordinary emotion, the Jaguar ran to the opening, overwhich he bent down. John Davis was standing on the top step.

  "Well?" he asked.

  "All goes well. Come up, but do not make any noise."

  The four hundred Texans then rose one after the other from the vault.Each, as he came out of the trap, silently fell in. When all had enteredthe corral, the Jaguar returned the slab to its place. Then, returningto his comrades, said in a low but perfectly distinct voice:

  "Our retreat is now cut off; we must either conquer or die."

  The insurgents made no reply; but their eyes flashed such fire, that theJaguar comprehended that they would not give way an inch. It was amoment of terrible suspense while White Scalper was forcing the door.

  "Forward!" the Jaguar shouted.

  All his comrades rushed after him with the irresistible force of atorrent that is bursting its dykes.

  Very different from the Texans, whose camp had so easily been invaded,the Mexicans were not asleep, but perfectly awake. By orders of theCommandant, so soon as he had left the hacienda the whole garrison gotunder arms, and fell in the patio, ready, if need was, to go immediatelyto the aid of the expeditionary corps, still, they were so far fromexpecting an attack, especially in this manner, that the suddenapparition of this band of demons, who seemed to have ascended from theinfernal regions, caused them extraordinary surprise and terror, andduring some time there was an inextricable confusion.

  The Texans, skilfully profiting by the terror their presence caused,redoubled their efforts to render it impossible for their enemies tooffer any lengthened resistance. But, shut up as they were in a courtwithout an outlet, the very impossibility of flight gave the Mexicansthe necessary courage to rally and fight courageously. Collected roundtheir officers, who encouraged them by voice and example, they resolvedto do their duty manly, and the combat began again with fresh obstinacy.

  It was at this moment that Colonel Melendez and the soldiers whofollowed him burst into the patio, and by their presence were on thepoint of restoring to their party the victory which was slipping fromthem. Unfortunately, this success arrived too late: the Mexicans,surrounded by the Texans, were compelled, after a desperate resistanceand prodigies of valour, to lay down their arms, and surrender atdiscretion.

  For the second time Don Juan Melendez was prisoner to the Jaguar. As onthe first occasion, he was compelled to break his sword, conquered byfatality rather than by his fortunate enemy.

  The first care of the Jaguar, so soon as he was master of the fort, wasto give strict orders that the females should not be insulted. Theconditions imposed on the conquered by the Chief of the Texan army werethe same as he had offered them at the outset. The Mexicans, persuadedthat the Texans were no more than half savage men, were agreeablysurprised at this lenity, which they were far from expecting, andpledged themselves without hesitation to observe scrupulously theconditions of the capitulation. The Mexican garrison was to leave thehacienda at daybreak.

  The preliminaries of the surrender had scarce been agreed on between thetwo leaders ere piercing cries were suddenly heard from the buildingoccupied by the women. Almost immediately the White Scalper, who hadbeen lost out of sight during the excitement of the combat, emerged fromthese buildings bearing across his shoulders a woman whose long hairtrailed on the ground. The old man's eyes flashed, and foam came fromhis mouth. In his right hand he brandished his rifle, which he held bythe barrel, and fell back step by step, like a tiger at bay, beforethose who tried in vain to bar his passage.

  "My daughter!" Tranquil shrieked, as he rushed toward him.

  He had recognised Carmela; the poor child had fainted, and seemed dead.The Colonel and the Jaguar had also recognised the maiden, and by acommon impulse hurried to her aid.

  The White Scalper, recoiling step by step before the cloud of enemiesthat surrounded him, did not reply a word to the insults poured uponhim. He laughed a dry and sharp laugh, and whenever an assailant cametoo near him, he raised his terrible club, and the imprudent man rolledwith a fractured skull on the ground.

  The hunters and the two young men, recognising the impossibility ofstriking this man without running the risk of wounding her they wishedto save, contented themselves with gradually contracting the circleround him, so as to drive him into a corner of the court, where theywould be enabled to seize him. But the ferocious old man foiled theircalculations; he suddenly bounded forward, overthrew those who opposedhis passage, and climbed with headlong speed up the steps leading to theplatform. On reaching the latter, he turned once again to his startledenemies, burst into a hoarse laugh, and leaped over the breastwork intothe river, bearing with him the young girl, of whom he had not loosedhis hold.

  When the witnesses of this extraordinary act of folly had recovered fromthe stupor into which it threw them, and rushed on the platform, theiranxious glances in vain interrogated the river--the waters had reassumedtheir ordinary limpidness. White Scalper had disappeared with theunhappy victim whom he had so audaciously carried off. To accomplishthis unheard-of ravishment he had surrendered the Larch-tree hacienda tothe Texan army. What motive had impelled the strange man to thisunqualifiable action? The impenetrable mystery that enveloped his liferendered any supposition impossible.