The Freebooters: A Story of the Texan War Read online

  CHAPTER IV.

  TWO ENEMIES.

  In the great work of creation, God indubitably most profoundly set theseal of his omnipotence in the heart of forests. The ocean, despite itsimmense extent, offers sailors only a despairing monotony, or suddenupheavals, which fill the mind with a secret and invincible terror. Themountains which stud the globe, and elevate to immense heights theirserrated peaks, covered with eternal snow, only inspire terror, andrepresent to the astonished eyes of the tourist a terrific maze of chaosand travailing nature.

  But when you reach the verge of one of those splendid oases of verdurewhich are called virgin forests, you undergo involuntarily an impressionof religious contemplation and gentle melancholy at the sight of thesethousand arches of foliage, intertwined like the ceiling of an oldGothic church, in which the moss-clad trunks of centennial oaksrepresent the clustered columns, rising at one spot only a few feet fromthe ground, at others soaring to the skies.

  Then, animated by the purer air, breathing with the full power of thelungs, attracted and fascinated by the mobile and infinite perspectivesthat open out on all sides--feeling the movement easier on the softcarpet of soil and dust accumulated by departed ages, the traveller'sstep grows freer, his glance more piercing, and his hand more firm, andhe begins sighing for the hazardous and masculine life of the desert.The further he proceeds beneath these shifting shadows, while life isas noisy all around as a rising tide, the more does the freshness whichcirculates through the foliage purify the blood, and strengthen thelimbs; and he comprehends more and more the irresistible attractions ofthe forest, and the religious love the wood rangers have for it.

  Men habituated to a desert life are never willing to quit it again; forthey understand all its voices, have sounded all its mysteries, and tothem the forest is a world which they love much as the sailor does thesea. When a glowing sun enlivens the wild and picturesque landscape,when the glistening snow on the far-off peaks stands out like a silverribbon above the masses of verdure, when the birds twitter among theleaves, the insects buzz on the grass, and the wild beasts in theirunknown lairs, add their solemn sounds to the concert;--at such a momentall invites reverie and contemplation, and the wood rangers feelthemselves the nearer to God, because they are the further from man.

  These bold explorers of the desert are picked men, and powerfully built,kept constantly in movement, and forced each second into a contest withthe obstacles that incessantly arise before them. No danger terrifiesthem, no difficulty arrests them; perils they brave, difficulties theysurmount as if in sport; for, hurled by the divine will beyond the paleof common law, their existence is only a succession of strange incidentsand feverish adventures, which cause them to live a century in a fewmoments.

  The hesitation of the Border Rifles was short; for these half-savagemen, an obstacle to be overcome could only prove a stimulus for theirminds, so fertile in resources.

  The two wounded men, securely fastened on cross pieces of wood byreatas, were let down in turn to the bottom of the precipice, and laidon the bank of a small stream, which ran noiselessly through this plain,forming the most capricious windings. John Davis, fearing some outbreakon the part of his angry comrades, himself undertook to let the Captaindown, in order to be certain that no accident would happen to him.

  When the wounded men had been removed from the eagle's nest, which hadso miraculously saved them, the adventurers glided along the cliff withsingular address and rapidity, and the whole band was soon collected onthe bank of the stream. As is frequently the case in a mountainouscountry, the bottom of the barranca was a rather wide prairie, shelteredbetween two lofty hills, which enclosed it on the right and left, thusforming a species of gorge, which, at the spot where the fight tookplace, was really a gulf of great depth.

  John Davis, without losing a moment, lavished on the Jaguar all theattention his state demanded; while Ruperto, though much against thegrain, did the same for the Mexican Captain, by the American'speremptory orders.

  During the various events we have described, the whole night had slippedaway, and the sun rose at the moment the adventurers completed theirperilous descent. The country then resumed its real aspect, and what hadappeared by the flickering light of the torches a desolate and ariddesert, became a charming and smiling landscape.

  The sun has enormous power over the human organisation: it not onlydispels those sombre phantoms which are produced by the darkness, butalso revives the mind and restores to the body its elasticity andvigour, which have been neutralised by the piercing cold of night. Withday, hope and joy returned to the heart of the adventurers; a joyrendered more lively still by the sight of the cases hurled over theprevious night by the Mexicans, and which, though crushed by their fall,had lost none of their precious contents. Hence, the heroic courage anddevotion of the Mexicans had no other result than allowing them to diebravely at their posts, for their sacrifice had not obtained theanticipated result.

  The prairie soon assumed a lively aspect, to which it certainly was notaccustomed; the adventurers lit fires, erected jacals, and the camp wasformed in a few minutes. For a very lengthened period Davis' efforts tobring his friend to life remained sterile; still, the Jaguar hadreceived no wound; he did not seem to have a limb broken; his syncoperesulted solely from the moral effect of his horrible fall.

  For all that, the American, far from giving in, redoubled his care andattention, and at length, saw his efforts crowned with success. TheJaguar made a weak movement, his lips parted as if he were about tospeak, he raised his hand to his brow, gave a deep sigh, and partlyopened his eyes, but closed them instantly, probably dazzled by thebrilliant sunlight.

  "At length he is saved!" the American exclaimed, joyously.

  The adventurers surrounded their Chief, anxiously watching his everymovement. The young man soon opened his eyes again, and, helped byDavis, managed to sit up. A slight patch of red was visible on hischeekbones, but the rest of his face retained an ashen and cadaveroushue. He looked slowly round him, and the absent expression of his glancegradually changed into a gleam of intelligence. "Drink!" he muttered ina hollow and inarticulate voice.

  John Davis uncorked his flask, bent over the wounded man, and placed itto his lips. The latter drank eagerly for two or three minutes, and thenstopped with a sigh of relief.

  "I fancied I was dead," he said.

  "By Heaven!" John Davis remarked, "It was a close shave."

  "Is Captain Melendez still alive?"

  "Yes."

  "What state is he in?"

  "No worse than your own."

  "All the better."

  "Shall we hang him?" Ruperto remarked, still adhering to his notion.

  The Jaguar started, frowned, and then shouted with greater strength thanhe might be supposed to possess--

  "On your life, not a hair of his head must fall; you answer for him tome body for body."

  And he added in a low voice, unintelligible by the hearers, "I sworeit--"

  "'Tis a pity," Ruperto went on. "I am certain that hanging a MexicanCaptain would have produced an excellent effect through the country."

  The Jaguar made a sign.

  "All right, all right," the adventurer continued; "if it is not pleasantto you, we will say no more about it. No matter, that is a funny notionof yours."

  "Enough," the young man said; "I have given my orders."

  So soon as he was alone. Captain Melendez let his head fall on hishands, and tried to re-establish the balance in his mind and arrange hisideas, which the shock he had received had utterly disordered. Still hegradually yielded to a species of lethargy, the natural result of hisfall, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

  He slept peacefully for several hours, nothing happening to disturb hisrepose; and when he awoke he found himself quite a new man; therestorative sleep he had enjoyed had completely rested his nervoussystem, his strength had returned, and it was with an indescribablefeeling of joy that he rose and walked a few steps on the prairie. Withcalmness of mind courage r
eturned, and he was ready to recommence thecontest. He noticed, too, with a certain degree of pleasure, that theadventurers left him at perfect liberty, and did not appear to pay anyattention to him.

  Ruperto returned, but this time he had put off his mocking air, andcarried some provisions in a basket. The adventurer offered them to theCaptain with rough politeness, in which, however, the desire to beagreeable was perceptible. The Captain readily accepted the food, andate with an appetite that surprised himself after so serious a fall.

  "Well," Ruperto remarked, "did I not tell you that you would be sooncured? It is just the same with the Captain--he is as fresh as afloripondio, and was never better in his life."

  "Tell me, my friend," Don Juan answered, "may I be allowed to speak withthe Chief?"

  "Very easily--the more so, as it seems that he has something to say toyou."

  "Indeed."

  "Yes, and he even ordered me to ask you if you would allow him aninterview after dinner."

  "Most heartily; I am entirely at his orders; especially," the Captainadded, with a smile, "since I am his prisoner."

  "That is true; well, eat quietly, and while you are doing so I willconvey your message."

  Hereupon Ruperto left the Captain, who did not require the invitation tobe repeated, but vigorously attacked the provisions placed before him.His meal was soon over, and he had been walking up and down for sometime, when he saw the Jaguar approach. The two men bowed ceremoniously,and examined each other for some moments with the greatest attention.

  Up to this moment they had hardly seen one another; their interview ofthe previous evening had taken place in the darkness, and then foughtobstinately; but they had found no time to form mutual opinions as theynow did with the infallible glance of men who are accustomed to judge ina second, persons with whom they have dealings. The Jaguar was the firstto break the silence.

  "You will excuse, Caballero," he said, "the rusticity of my reception:banished men have no other palace save the dome of the forests thatshelter them."

  The Captain bowed.

  "I was far from expecting," he said, "so much courtesy from--"

  He stopped, not daring to utter the word that rose to his lips, throughfear of offending the other.

  "From bandits, I suppose, Captain?" the Jaguar replied, with a smile."Oh, no denial, I know what we are called at Mexico. Yes, Caballero, atthe present day we are outlaws, border ruffians, freebooters; tomorrow,perhaps, we shall be heroes and saviours of a people; but so the worldgoes; but let us leave that. You wished to speak to me, I heard."

  "Did you not also evince a desire, Caballero, to have an interview withme?"

  "I did, Captain; I have only one question to ask you, though--will youpromise me to answer it?"

  "On my honour, if it be possible."

  The Jaguar reflected for a moment, and then continued--

  "You hate me, I suppose?"

  "What makes you imagine that?"

  "How do I know?" the Jaguar replied, with embarrassment; "a thousandreasons, as, for instance, the obstinacy with which you sought to takemy life a few hours agone."

  The Captain drew himself up, and his face assumed a stern expressionwhich it had not worn hitherto.

  "I pledge you my word to be frank with you, Caballero," he said.

  "I thank you beforehand."

  "Between yourself and me, personally, no hatred can exist--at any rate,not on my side; I do not know you, I only saw you yesterday for thefirst time; never, to my cognizance, have you come across my pathbefore, hence I have no reason to hate you. But beside the man there isthe soldier; as an officer in the Mexican army--"

  "Enough, Captain," the young man sharply interrupted him; "you have toldme all I desired to know; political hatreds, however terrible they maybe, are not eternal. You do your duty as I believe I do mine--that isto say, as well as you possibly can, and to that I have no objection.Unfortunately, instead of fighting side by side, we are in oppositecamps; fatality decrees it so; perhaps, some day these unhappydissensions will cease, and then, who knows whether we may not befriends?"

  "We are so already, Caballero," the Captain said, warmly, as he held outhis hand to the Jaguar.

  The latter pressed it vigorously.

  "Let us each follow the road traced for us," he said; "but if we defenda different cause, let us maintain, when the contest is raging, thatesteem and friendship which two loyal enemies ought to feel, who havemeasured their swords and found them of equal length."

  "Agreed," said the Captain.

  "One word more," the Jaguar continued. "I must respond to your franknessby equal frankness."

  "Speak."

  "I presume that the question I asked surprised you?"

  "I confess it."

  "Well, I will tell you why I asked it."

  "What good will that do?"

  "I must; between us two henceforth there must be nothing hidden. Inspite of the hatred I ought to feel for you, I feel myself attracted toyou by a secret sympathy, which I cannot explain, but which urges me toreveal to you a secret on which the happiness of my life depends."

  "I do not understand you, Caballero; the language seems strange to me.Explain yourself, in Heaven's name."

  A feverish flush suddenly covered the Jaguar's face.

  "Listen, Captain, if you only know me today for the first time, yourname has been ringing in my ears for many months past."

  The officer fixed an inquiring glance on the young man.

  "Yes, yes," the latter continued, with increasing animation, "she everhas your name on her lips--she only speaks of you. Only a few daysback--but why recall that? Suffice it for you to know that I love her todistraction."

  "Carmela?" the Captain muttered.

  "Yes," the Jaguar exclaimed, "you love her too!"

  "I do," the Captain replied, simply, as he looked on the ground with anair of embarrassment.

  There was a lengthened silence between the two men. It was easy todiscover that each of them was having an internal fight; at length theJaguar managed to quell the storm that growled in his heart, and wenton, in a firm voice--

  "Thanks for your loyal answer, Captain; in loving Carmela you takeadvantage of your good right, just as I do; let this love, instead ofseparating, form a stronger link between us. Carmela is worthy of thelove of an honourable man; let us each love her, and carry on an openwarfare, without treachery or trickery; all the better for the man shemay prefer. She alone must be judge between us; let her follow herheart, for she is too pure and good to deceive herself and make a badchoice."

  "Good!" the Captain exclaimed, enthusiastically; "You are a man after myown heart, Jaguar, and whatever may happen, I shall always think withgladness that I have pressed your honest hand, and am worthy of beingcounted among your friends. Yes, I have a deep and sincere love forCarmela; for a smile from her rosy lips I would joyfully lay down mylife; but I swear that I will follow the noble example you give me, andthe struggle shall be as honourable on my side as on yours."

  "Viva Cristo!" the young man said with frank and simple delight, "I wassure we should end by coming to an understanding."

  "To produce that," the Captain remarked, with a smile, "we only neededthe opportunity for an explanation."

  "Canarios, I trust that it will not be repeated under similarconditions, for it is a perfect miracle that we are still alive."

  "I am not at all anxious to repeat the experiment."

  "Nor I either, I swear to you. But the sun is rapidly declining on thehorizon: I need not tell you that you are free, and at liberty to gowherever you please, if it is not your intention to remain any length oftime with us: I have had a horse got ready which you will permit me tooffer you."

  "I gladly accept it: I do not wish to have any false pride with you, andafoot in these regions, which are quite strange to me, I should feelgreatly embarrassed."

  "That need not trouble you, for I will give you a guide to accompanyyou, till you get in the right road."

  "A tho
usand thanks."

  "Where do you propose going? Of course, if my question be indiscreet, Ido not expect you to answer it."

  "I have nothing to hide from you; I intend joining General Rubio asquickly as possible, to whom I must report the accident that hashappened to the conducta de plata, and the terrible catastrophe of whichI have been the victim."

  "It is the fortune of war, Captain."

  "I do not reproach you; I merely say it was an unfortunate affair."

  "Had it been possible to save the conducta by courage and devotion, youwould have doubtless done it, for you performed your duty worthily."

  "I thank you for this praise."

  "It will be easy for you to reach General Rubio's camp before sunset."

  "Do you think so?"

  "I am sure of it, for you are only three leagues at the most from it."

  "So near as that? Had I but known it," the Captain said in a tone ofregret.

  "Yes, but you were ignorant of the fact. But, nonsense, what good is itreturning to that, you will take your revenge some day or the other."

  "You are right; what is done cannot be undone, so I will be off."

  "Already?"

  "I must."

  "That is true."

  The Jaguar made a signal to a borderer standing a short distance off.

  "The Captain's horse," he said.

  Five minutes later, this borderer, who was no other than Ruperto,reappeared, leading two horses, one of which was a magnificent mustang,with delicate limbs, and flashing eye. The Captain reached the saddle atone leap, and Ruperto was already mounted. The two enemies, henceforthfriends, shook hands for the last time, and after an affectionateparting, the Captain let his horse go.

  "Mind, no tricks, Ruperto!" the Jaguar said in a peremptory voice to theadventurer.

  "All right, all right!" the latter growled in reply.

  The horsemen left the prairie. The Jaguar looked after them as long ashe could see them, and then returned thoughtfully to the jacal, whichserved as his tent.