by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
A SUSPICION OF CONNIVANCE.
"Suspicious, to say the least of it! If a coincidence, certainly thestrangest in my experience, or that I've ever heard of. A score ofother carriages passing, and they to have chosen that one of all!_Carrai_! it cannot have been chance--improbable--impossible!"
So soliloquised the Chief Magistrate of Mexico, after receiving a reportof what had occurred in the Calle de Plateros. He had as yet only beenfurnished with a general account of it; but particularising theprisoners who had escaped, with their mode of making off, as also whosecarriage they had seized upon. He had been told, also, that there weretwo ladies in it, but needed not telling who they were.
All this was made known by a messenger who came post-haste to thePalace, soon after the occurrence. He had been sent by ColonelSantander, who could not come himself; too busy getting the Hussars intotheir saddles for the pursuit--for he it was who led it. And never didman follow fugitives with more eagerness to overtake them, or morebitter chagrin in their flight.
Not much, if anything, less was that of Santa Anna himself, as he nowsat reflecting over it. He, too, had seen the two Texans with Rivas inthe sewers; the latter a well-known enemy in war, and, as he latebelieved, a dangerous rival in love. He had glanced exultingly at him,with the thought of that danger past. The rebel proscribed, and foryears sought for, had at length been found; was in his power, with lifeforfeit, and the determination it should be taken. That but a shorthour ago, and now the doomed man was free again!
But surely not? With a squadron of cavalry in pursuit, canon booming,bells ringing, every military post and picket for miles round on thealert, surely four men chained two and two, conspicuous in a grandcarriage, could not eventually get off.
It might seem so; still the thing was possible, as Santa Anna had reasonto know. A man of many adventures, he had himself more than once eludeda pursuing enemy with chances little better.
He sat chewing the cud of disappointment, though not patiently, norkeeping all the time to his chair. Every now and then he rose to hisfeet, made stumping excursions round the room, repeatedly touched thebell, to inquire whether any news had been received of the fugitiveparty.
The aide-de-camp in attendance could not help wondering at all this,having had orders to report instantly whatever word should be broughtin. Besides, why should the great Generalissimo be troubling himselfabout so small a matter as the escape of three or four prisoners,seeming excited as if he had lost a battle.
The cause of this excitement the Dictator alone knew, keeping it tohimself. He was still in the dark as to certain details of what hadtranspired, and had sent for the governor of the Acordada, who should beable to supply them.
Meantime he went about muttering threats against this one and that one,giving way to bitter reflections; one bitterest of all, that there hadbeen a suspicion of connivance at the escape of the prisoners. But tothis there was a sweet side as well; so some words uttered by him wouldindicate.
"Ah, Condesa! You may be clever--you are. But if I find you've had ahand in this, and it can be proved to the world, never was a woman in aman's power more than you'll be in mine. Title, riches, familyinfluence, all will be powerless to shield you. In the cell of a prisonwhere I may yet have the pleasure of paying you a visit, you won't beeither so proud or so scornful as you've shown yourself in a palace thissame day. _Veremos_--we shall see."
"Don Pedro Arias."
It was an aide-de-camp announcing the Governor of the Acordada.
"Conduct him in."
Without delay the prison official was ushered into the presence, lookingvery sad and cowed-like. Nor did the reception accorded him have arestoring influence; instead, the reverse.
"What's all this I hear?" thundered out the disposer of punishments andof places; "you've been letting your prisoners bolt from you in wholebatches. I suppose by this time the Acordada will be empty."
"_Excellentissimo_! I am very sorry to say that four of them--"
"Yes; and of the four, two of them you had orders to guard moststrictly--rigorously."
"I admit it, Sire, but--"
"Sirrah! you needn't waste words excusing yourself. Your conduct shallbe inquired into by-and-by. What I want now is to know thecircumstances--the exact particulars of this strange affair. So answerthe questions I put to you without concealment or prevarication."
The gaol-governor, making humble obeisance, silently awaited theexamination, as a witness in the box who fears he may himself soon standin the dock.
"To begin: why did you send those four prisoners out with thechain-gang?"
"By order of Colonel Santander, Sire. He said it was your Excellency'swish."
"Humph! Well, that's comprehensible. And so far you're excusable. Buthow came it you didn't see to their being better guarded?"
"Sire, I placed them in charge of the chief turnkey--a man namedDominguez--whom I had found most trustworthy on other occasions. To-daybeing exceptional, on account of the ceremonies, he was pressed to takedrink, and, I'm sorry to say, got well-nigh drunk. That will explainhis neglect of duty."
"It seems there were two ladies in the carriage. You know who theywere, I suppose?"
"By inquiry I have ascertained, your Excellency. One was the CountessAlmonte the other Don Luisa Valverde, as your Excellency will know, thedaughter of him to whom the equipage belonged."
"Yes, yes. I know all that. I have been told the carriage made stopdirectly opposite to where these men were at work. Was that so?"
"It was, Sire."
"And have you heard how the stoppage came about?"
"Yes, _Excellentissimo_. The horses shied at something, and brought thewheels into a bank of mud. Then the _cochero_, who appears to be astupid fellow, pulled them up, when he ought to have forced them on.While they were at rest the four _forzados_ made a rush, two right intothe carriage, the other two up to the box; one of these last, the big_Tejano_, getting hold of the reins and whip, and driving off at agallop. They had only one sentry to pass in the direction of SanFrancisco. He, like Dominguez, was too far gone in drink, so there wasnothing to stop them--except the guards at the garitas. And, I am sorryto say, the sergeant at El Nino Perdita let them pass through without somuch as challenging. His account is that, seeing the carriage belongedto one of your Excellency's Ministers, he never thought of stopping it,and should not. Why should he, Sire?"
This touch of obsequious flattery seemed to mollify the Dictator'swrath, or it had by this otherwise expended itself, as evinced by hisrejoinder in a more tranquil tone. Indeed, his manner became almostconfidential.
"Don Pedro," he said, "I'm satisfied with the explanation you give, sofar as regards your own conduct in the affair. But now, tell me, do youthink the ladies who were in the carriage had anything to do with thedrawing up of the horses? Or was it all an accident?"
"Will your Excellency allow me a moment to reflect? I had thoughtsomething of that before; but--"
"Think of it again. Take time, and give me your opinion. Let it be atruthful one, Don Pedro; there's much depending on it."
Thus appealed to, the gaol-governor stood for a time silent, evidentlycudgelling his brains. He made mental review of all that had been toldhim about the behaviour of the young ladies, both before they wereturned out of the carriage and after. He was himself aware of certainrelations, friendly at least, supposed to exist between one of them andone of the escaped prisoners, and had thought it strange, too, thatparticular equipage being chosen. Still, from all he could gather,after ample inquiry, he was forced to the conclusion that the thing wasunpremeditated--at least on the part of the ladies.
This was still his belief, after reflecting as he had been enjoined todo. In support of it he stated the facts as represented to him, how theSenoritas had been forced from their carriage, almost pitched into thestreet, their costly dresses dirtied and damaged, themselves showingwildest affright. Still, this was str
ange, too, on the part of theCondesa; and, in fine, Don Pedro, after further cross-questioning, wasunable to say whether there had been connivance or not.
After giving such an unsatisfactory account of the matter he wasdismissed, rather brusquely; and returned to the Acordada, with an uglyapprehension that instead of continuing governor of this grand gaol,with a handsome salary and snug quarters, he might ere long be himselfthe occupant of one of its cells, set apart for common prisoners.
