by Bret Harte
CHAPTER VII.
THE RETURN OF THE EXCELSIOR.
Amazed and disconcerted, Hurlstone, nevertheless, retained his presenceof mind.
"There must be some mistake," he said coolly; "I am certainly not theperson you seem to be expecting."
"Were you not sent here by Winslow?" demanded Perkins.
"No. The person you are looking for is probably one I saw on the shore.He no doubt became alarmed at my approach, and has allowed me quiteunwittingly to take his place in the boat."
Perkins examined Hurlstone keenly for a moment, stepped to the door,gave a brief order, and returned.
"Then, if you did not intend the honor of this visit for me," heresumed, with a smile, "may I ask, my dear fellow, whom you expectedto meet, and on what ship? There are not so many at Todos Santos, if mymemory serves me right, as to create confusion."
"I must decline to answer that question," said Hurlstone curtly.
The Senor smiled, with an accession of his old gentleness.
"My dear young friend," he said, "have you forgotten that on a far moreimportant occasion to YOU, I showed no desire to pry into your secret?"Hurlstone made a movement of deprecation. "Nor have I any such desirenow. But for the sake of our coming to an understanding as friends,let me answer the question for you. You are here, my dear fellow, asa messenger from the Mission of Todos Santos to the EcclesiasticalCommission from Guadalajara, whose ship touches here every three years.It is now due. You have mistaken this vessel for theirs."
Hurlstone remained silent.
"It is no secret," continued Senor Perkins blandly; "nor shall I pretendto conceal MY purpose here, which is on the invitation of certaindistressed patriots of Todos Santos, to assist them in their deliverancefrom the effete tyranny of the Church and its Government. I have beenfortunate enough to anticipate the arrival of your vessel, as you werefortunate enough to anticipate the arrival of my messenger. I am doublyfortunate, as it gives me the pleasure of your company this evening,and necessitates no further trouble than the return of the boat for theother gentleman--which has already gone. Doubtless you may know him."
"I must warn you again, Senor Perkins," said Hurlstone sternly, "thatI have no connection with any political party; nor have I any sympathywith your purpose against the constituted authorities."
"I am willing to believe that you have no political affinities at all,my dear Mr. Hurlstone," returned Perkins, with unruffled composure,"and, consequently, we will not argue as to what is the constitutedauthority of Todos Santos. Perhaps to-morrow it may be on board THISSHIP, and I may still have the pleasure of making you at home here!"
"Until then," said Hurlstone dryly, "at least you will allow me torepair my error by returning to the shore."
"For the moment I hardly think it would be wise," replied Perkinsgently. "Allowing that you escaped the vigilance of my friends on theshore, whose suspicions you have aroused, and who might do you someinjury, you would feel it your duty to inform those who sent you of thepresence of my ship, and thus precipitate a collision between myfriends and yours, which would be promotive of ill-feeling, and perhapsbloodshed. You know my peaceful disposition, Mr. Hurlstone; you canhardly expect me to countenance an act of folly that would be inviolation of it."
"In other words, having decoyed me here on board your ship, you intendto detain me," said Hurlstone insultingly.
"'Decoy,'" said Perkins, in gentle deprecation, "'decoy' is hardly theword I expected from a gentleman who has been so unfortunate as to take,unsolicited and of his own free will, another person's place in a boat.But," he continued, assuming an easy argumentative attitude, "let uslook at it from your view-point. Let us imagine that YOUR ship hadanticipated mine, and that MY messenger had unwittingly gone on board ofHER. What do you think they would have done to him?"
"They would have hung him at the yard-arm, as he deserved," saidHurlstone unflinchingly.
"You are wrong," said Perkins gently. "They would have given him thealternative of betraying his trust, and confessing everything--which hewould probably have accepted. Pardon me!--this is no insinuation againstyou," he interrupted,--"but I regret to say that my experience with theeffete Latin races of this continent has not inspired me with confidencein their loyalty to trust. Let me give you an instance," he continued,smiling: "the ship you are expecting is supposed to be an inviolablesecret of the Church, but it is known to me--to my friends ashore--andeven to you, my poor friend, a heretic! More than that, I am told thatthe Comandante, the Padre, and Alcalde are actually arranging to deportsome of the American women by this vessel, which has been hithertosacred to the emissaries of the Church alone. But you probably knowthis--it is doubtless part of your errand. I only mention it to convinceyou that I have certainly no need either to know your secrets, to hangyou from the yard-arm if you refused to give them up, or to hold youas hostage for my messenger, who, as I have shown you, can take care ofhimself. I shall not ask you for that secret despatch you undoubtedlycarry next your heart, because I don't want it. You are at liberty tokeep it until you can deliver it, or drop it out of that port-holeinto the sea--as you choose. But I hear the boat returning," continuedPerkins, rising gently from his seat as the sound of oars came faintlyalongside, "and no doubt with Winslow's messenger. I am sorry you won'tlet me bring you together. I dare say he knows all about you, and itreally need not alter your opinions."
"One moment," said Hurlstone, stunned, yet incredulous of Perkins'srevelations. "You said that both the Comandante and Alcalde had arrangedto send away certain ladies--are you not mistaken?"
"I think not," said Perkins quietly, looking over a pile of papers onthe table before him. "Yes, here it is," he continued, reading froma memorandum: "'Don Ramon Ramirez arranged with Pepe for the secretcarrying off of Dona Barbara Brimmer.' Why, that was six weeks ago, andhere we have the Comandante suborning one Marcia, a dragoon, to abductMrs. Markham--by Jove, my old friend!--and Dona Leonor--our beauty, wasshe not? Yes, here it is: in black and white. Read it, if you like,--andpardon me for one moment, while I receive this unlucky messenger."
Left to himself, Hurlstone barely glanced at the memorandum, whichseemed to be the rough minutes of some society. He believed Perkins; butwas it possible that the Padre could be ignorant of the designs of hisfellow-councilors? And if he were not--if he had long before been incomplicity with them for the removal of Eleanor, might he not also haveduped him, Hurlstone, and sent him on this mission as a mere blind;and--more infamously--perhaps even thus decoyed him on board the wrongship? No--it was impossible! His honest blood quickly flew to his cheekat that momentary disloyal suspicion.
Nevertheless, the Senor's bland revelations filled him with vagueuneasiness. SHE was safe with her brother now; but what if he andthe other Americans were engaged in this ridiculous conspiracy, thispot-house rebellion that Father Esteban had spoken of, and which he hadalways treated with such contempt? It seemed strange that Perkins hadsaid nothing of the arrival of the relieving party from the Gulf, andits probable effect on the malcontents. Did he know it? or was the newsnow being brought by this messenger whom he, Hurlstone, had supplanted?If so, when and how had Perkins received the intelligence that broughthim to Todos Santos? The young man could scarcely repress a bitter smileas he remembered the accepted idea of Todos Santos' inviolability--thatinaccessible port that had within six weeks secretly summoned Perkinsto its assistance! And it was there he believed himself secure!What security had he at all? Might not this strange, unimpassioned,omniscient man already know HIS secret as he had known the others'?
The interview of Perkins with the messenger in the next cabin was a longone, and apparently a stormy one on the part of the newcomer. Hurlstonecould hear his excited foreign voice, shrill with the small vehemence ofa shallow character; but there was no change in the slow, measured tonesof the Senor. He listlessly began to turn over the papers on the table.Presently he paused. He had taken up a sheet of paper on which SenorPerkins had evidently been essaying some composition in verse.
It seemedto have been of a lugubrious character. The titular line at the topof the page, "Dirge," had been crossed out for the substituted "InMemoriam." He read carelessly:
"O Muse unmet--but not unwept-- I seek thy sacred haunt in vain. Too late, alas! the tryst is kept-- We may not meet again!
"I sought thee 'midst the orange bloom, To find that thou hadst grasped the palm Of martyr, and the silent tomb Had hid thee in its calm.
"By fever racked, thou languishest On Nicaragua's"--
Hurlstone threw the paper aside. Although he had not forgotten theSenor's reputation for sentimental extravagance, and on another occasionmight have laughed at it, there was something so monstrous inthis hysterical, morbid composition of the man who was even thencontemplating bloodshed and crime, that he was disgusted. Like mostsentimental egotists, Hurlstone was exceedingly intolerant of thatquality in others, and he turned for relief to his own thoughts ofEleanor Keene and his own unfortunate passion. HE could not have writtenpoetry at such a moment!
But the cabin-door opened, and Senor Perkins appeared. Whatever mighthave been the excited condition of his unknown visitor, the Senor'sround, clean-shaven face was smiling and undisturbed by emotion. Ashis eye fell on the page of manuscript Hurlstone had just cast down, aslight shadow crossed his beneficent expanse of forehead, and deepenedin his soft dark eyes; but the next moment it was chased away by hisquick recurring smile. Even thus transient and superficial was hisfeeling, thought Hurlstone.
"I have some news for you," said Perkins affably, "which may alter yourdecision about returning. My friends ashore," he continued, "judgingfrom the ingenuous specimen which has just visited me, are moreremarkable for their temporary zeal and spasmodic devotion than forprudent reserve or lasting discretion. They have submitted a list to meof those whom they consider dangerous to Mexican liberty, and whom theyare desirous of hanging. I regret to say that the list is illogical, andthe request inopportune. Our friend Mr. Banks is put down as an allyof the Government and an objectionable business rival of that eminentpatriot and well-known drover, Senor Martinez, who just called upon me.Mr. Crosby's humor is considered subversive of a proper respect for allpatriotism; but I cannot understand why they have added YOUR name asespecially 'dangerous.'"
Hurlstone made a gesture of contempt.
"I suppose they pay me the respect of considering me a friend of theold priest. So be it! I hope they will let the responsibility fall on mealone."
"The Padre is already proscribed as one of the Council," said SenorPerkins quietly.
"Do you mean to say," said Hurlstone impetuously, "that you will permita hair of that innocent old man's head to be harmed by those wretches?"
"You are generous but hasty, my friend," said Senor Perkins, in gentledeprecation. "Allow me to put your question in another way. Ask me ifI intend to perpetuate the Catholic Church in Todos Santos by addinganother martyr to its roll, and I will tell you--No! I need not saythat I am equally opposed to any proceedings against Banks, Crosby, andyourself, for diplomatic reasons, apart from the kindly memories of ourold associations on this ship. I have therefore been obliged to returnto the excellent Martinez his little list, with the remark that I shouldhold HIM personally responsible if any of you are molested. Thereis, however, no danger. Messrs. Banks and Crosby are with the otherAmericans, whom we have guaranteed to protect, at the Mission, in thecare of your friend the Padre. You are surprised! Equally so was thePadre. Had you delayed your departure an hour you would have met them,and I should have been debarred the pleasure of your company.
"By to-morrow," continued Perkins, placing the tips of his fingerstogether reflectively, "the Government of Todos Santos will have changedhands, and without bloodshed. You look incredulous! My dear youngfriend, it has been a part of my professional pride to show the worldthat these revolutions can be accomplished as peacefully as our ownchanges of administration. But for a few infelicitous accidents, thiswould have been the case of the late liberation of Quinquinambo. Theonly risk run is to myself--the leader, and that is as it should be. Butall this personal explanation is, doubtless, uninteresting to you, myyoung friend. I meant only to say that, if you prefer not to remainhere, you can accompany me when I leave the ship at nine o'clock with asmall reconnoitring party, and I will give you safe escort back to yourfriends at the Mission."
This amicable proposition produced a sudden revulsion of feeling inHurlstone. To return to those people from whom he was fleeing, in whatwas scarcely yet a serious emergency, was not to be thought of! Yet,where could he go? How could he be near enough to assist HER withoutagain openly casting his lot among them? And would they not considerhis return an act of cowardice? He could not restrain a gesture ofirritation as he rose impatiently to his feet.
"You are agitated, my dear fellow. It is not unworthy of your youth;but, believe me, it is unnecessary," said Perkins, in his most soothingmanner. "Sit down. You have an hour yet to make your decision. If youprefer to remain, you will accompany the ship to Todos Santos and joinme."
"I don't comprehend you," interrupted Hurlstone suspiciously.
"I forgot," said Perkins, with a bland smile, "that you are unaware ofour plan of campaign. After communicating with the insurgents, I landhere with a small force to assist them. I do this to anticipate anyaction and prevent the interference of the Mexican coaster, now due,which always touches here through ignorance of the channel leading tothe Bay of Todos Santos and the Presidio. I then send the Excelsior,that does know the channel, to Todos Santos, to appear before thePresidio, take the enemy in flank, and cooperate with us. The arrivalof the Excelsior there is the last move of this little game, if I may socall it: it is 'checkmate to the King,' the clerical Government of TodosSantos."
A little impressed, in spite of himself, with the calm forethought andmasterful security of the Senor, Hurlstone thanked him with a greatershow of respect than he had hitherto evinced. The Senor lookedgratified, but unfortunately placed that respect the next moment inperil.
"You were possibly glancing over these verses," he said, with ahesitating and almost awkward diffidence, indicating the manuscriptHurlstone had just thrown aside. "It is merely the first rough draftof a little tribute I had begun to a charming friend. I sometimes," heinterpolated, with an apologetic smile, "trifle with the Muse. Perhaps Iought not to use the word 'trifle' in connection with a composition ofa threnodial and dirge-like character," he continued deprecatingly."Certainly not in the presence of a gentleman as accomplished andeducated as yourself, to whom recreation of this kind is undoubtedlyfamiliar. My occupations have been, unfortunately, of a nature notfavorable to the indulgence of verse. As a college man yourself, my dearsir, you will probably forgive the lucubrations of an old graduate ofWilliam and Mary's, who has forgotten his 'ars poetica.' The verses youhave possibly glanced at are crude, I am aware, and perhaps show thedifficulty of expressing at once the dictates of the heart and thebrain. They refer to a dear friend now at peace. You have perhaps,in happier and more careless hours, heard me speak of Mrs. EuphemiaM'Corkle, of Illinois?"
Hurlstone remembered indistinctly to have heard, even in his reservedexclusiveness on the Excelsior, the current badinage of the passengersconcerning Senor Perkins' extravagant adulation of this unknown poetess.As a part of the staple monotonous humor of the voyage, it had onlydisgusted him. With a feeling that he was unconsciously sharing theburlesque relief of the passengers, he said, with a polite attempt atinterest,
"Then the lady is--no more?"
"If that term can be applied to one whose work is immortal," correctedSenor Perkins gently. "All that was finite of this gifted woman waslately forwarded by Adams's Express Company from San Juan, to receivesepulture among her kindred at Keokuk, Iowa."
"Did she say she was from that place?" asked Hurlstone, with halfautomatic interest.
"The Consul says she gave that request to the priest."
"Then you were not with her when she died?" said Hurlstone absen
tly.
"I was NEVER with her, neither then nor before," returned Senor Perkinsgravely. Seeing Hurlstone's momentary surprise, he went on, "The lateMrs. M'Corkle and I never met--we were personally unknown to each other.You may have observed the epithet 'unmet' in the first line of the firststanza; you will then understand that the privation of actual contactwith this magnetic soul would naturally impart more difficulty intoelegiac expression."
"Then you never really saw the lady you admire?" said Hurlstonevacantly.
"Never. The story is a romantic one," said Perkins, with a smile thatwas half complacent and yet half embarrassed. "May I tell it to you?Thanks. Some three years ago I contributed some verses to the columnsof a Western paper edited by a friend of mine. The subject chosen was myfavorite one, 'The Liberation of Mankind,' in which I may possibly haveexpressed myself with some poetic fervor on a theme so dear to my heart.I may remark without vanity, that it received high encomiums--perhaps atsome more opportune moment you may be induced to cast your eyes over acopy I still retain--but no praise touched me as deeply as a tributein verse in another journal from a gifted unknown, who signed herself'Euphemia.' The subject of the poem, which was dedicated to myself,was on the liberation of women--from--er--I may say certain domesticshackles; treated perhaps vaguely, but with grace and vigor. I replieda week later in a larger poem, recording more fully my theories andaspirations regarding a struggling Central American confederacy,addressed to 'Euphemia.' She rejoined with equal elaboration anddetail, referring to a more definite form of tyranny in the relations ofmarriage, and alluding with some feeling to uncongenial experiences ofher own. An instinct of natural delicacy, veiled under the hyperboleof 'want of space,' prevented my editorial friend from encouraging therepetition of this charming interchange of thought and feeling. But Iprocured the fair stranger's address; we began a correspondence, at onceimaginative and sympathetic in expression, if not always poeticalin form. I was called to South America by the Macedonian cry of'Quinquinambo!' I still corresponded with her. When I returned toQuinquinambo I received letters from her, dated from San Francisco. Ifeel that my words could only fail, my dear Hurlstone, to convey to youthe strength and support I derived from those impassioned breathingsof aid and sympathy at that time. Enough for me to confess that it wasmainly due to the deep womanly interest that SHE took in the fortunesof the passengers of the Excelsior that I gave the Mexican authoritiesearly notice of their whereabouts. But, pardon me,"--he stoppedhesitatingly, with a slight flush, as he noticed the utterly inattentiveface and attitude of Hurlstone,--"I am boring you. I am forgettingthat this is only important to myself," he added, with a sigh. "I onlyintended to ask your advice in regard to the disposition of certainmanuscripts and effects of hers, which are unconnected with ouracquaintance. I thought, perhaps, I might entrust them to your delicacyand consideration. They are here, if you choose to look them over; andhere is also what I believe to be a daguerreotype of the lady herself,but in which I fail to recognize her soul and genius."
He laid a bundle of letters and a morocco case on the table with acarelessness that was intended to hide a slight shade of disappointmentin his face--and rose.
"I beg your pardon," said Hurlstone, in confused and remorseful apology;"but I frankly confess that my thoughts WERE preoccupied. Pray forgiveme. If you will leave these papers with me, I promise to devote myselfto them another time."
"As you please," said the Senor, with a slight return of his oldaffability. "But don't bore yourself now. Let us go on deck."
He passed out of the cabin as Hurlstone glanced, half mechanically, atthe package before him. Suddenly his cheek reddened; he stopped, lookedhurriedly at the retreating form of Perkins, and picked up a manuscriptfrom the packet. It was in his wife's handwriting. A sudden idea flashedacross his mind, and seemed to illuminate the obscure monotony of thestory he had just heard. He turned hurriedly to the morocco case, andopened it with trembling fingers. It was a daguerreotype, faded andsilvered; but the features were those of his wife!
