Five or six well-mounted and armed horsemen were following a narrowtrack marked on the side of a hill in that wild and mountainous countrywhich separates the Fort of Agua Verde, of which the Spaniards werestill masters, from the little town of Nueva Bilbao. Of these sixtravellers, five appeared to be peons, or servants, while the sixthwas a man of some forty years of age, of lofty stature and haughtydemeanour, who kept, as far as the road allowed, by the side of hisservants, and talked to them in a low voice, while looking at times atthe gloomy scenery that surrounded him, and which the encroaching gloomrendered even more ominous.
All these men advanced rifle on hip, and ready to fire at theslightest suspicious movement in the chaparral, which they attentivelyinvestigated. This distrust was justified by the state in which thiswild country found itself, for the revolutionary opinions had made moreprogress here than anywhere else.
The travellers had reached the highest point of the track they werefollowing, and were preparing to descend into the plain, but theyinvoluntarily stopped for a moment to admire the magnificent landscapeand grand panorama which were suddenly unrolled before their sight.From the lofty spot which the travellers had reached, they embraced aconsiderable extent of the loveliest country in the world, renderedeven more picturesque by the numerous diversities of the ground; anuninterrupted series of small hills rising one above the other, andcovered with luxuriant verdure, were blended in the distant azure ofthe horizon, with the lofty mountains of which they formed the spurs,and supplied a splendid frame for the magnificent picture. An extensivelake, studded with small plots resembling bouquets, occupied nearly theentire centre of the plain to which the travellers were preparing todescend.
A deep calm brooded over the landscape, which the first gleams of duskwere beginning to tinge with varying hues. Nothing enlivened thisdeserted country, and the travellers were on the point of startingagain, when one of the servants turned to his master, and pointed inthe direction of a track that ran along the bank of the lake.
"Stay, mi amo," he said, "I know not if I am mistaken, but I fancy Ican see down there, near that cactus clump, something resembling humanforms. Unluckily, the gloom gathering in the valley prevents me beingcertain."
The master looked attentively for some minutes in the indicateddirection, and then shook his head several times, as if annoyed.
"You are right, Viscachu," he said; "they are men, and I candistinguish their horses tied up a few yards from them; who can theybe?"
"Travellers, like ourselves," remarked the peon, whom his master hadcalled Viscachu.
"Hum!" the horseman said dubiously, "People do not travel in such timesas these, unless they have very important motives. Those two persons,for there are two, as I can distinguish them perfectly now, are moreprobably spies sent to meet us, and find out the reason of our presencein these parts."
"With all the respect I owe you, mi amo," Viscachu, who seemed to beon rather familiar terms with his master, objected, "that does notseem very likely; if these strangers were spies, they would not exposethemselves so, but, on the contrary, would be careful to keep out ofsight. And then, again, they would not be ahead of us, but behind us."
"You are right, Viscachu; I did not reflect on all that; but we arecompelled to display such prudence, that I yielded involuntarily to myfirst impulse."
"And it is often the right one," the peon observed, with a smile; "butthis time I believe the proverb is false, and that these persons aresimply travellers, whom business of some nature has brought across ourpath. However, it is an easy matter to make sure; there are only twoof them, while we are six, well armed and resolute men. Let us pushon boldly towards them, because it is probable that they have alreadyperceived us, and our hesitation, which has no apparent cause, may seemto them suspicious."
"Yes, we have stopped here too long as it is, so let us continue ourjourney. Well, if they are enemies, they will have their work cut out,that's all. Hang such foolish terror! We can face a larger party thanthe one at present in front of us."
"Excellent, Don Aurelio, that is what I call talking," the peon saidgaily; "so let us start without further delay."
Don Aurelio bent down to his servant, after looking round himanxiously--
"Be prudent!" he said, in a low voice.
"That is true," the peon replied, with a slight smile. "I let myselfbe carried away involuntarily; but do not be alarmed, I will be morecareful in future."
Then, at a signal from the leader, the little party began descendingthe hill, though not till the peons had assured themselves that theirmuskets were in good state, and ready to do service if it came to afight. The path followed by the Mexicans, like all those found on theside of a hill or mountain, formed a countless succession of turns, sothat, although from the height, where they halted for a moment, it waseasy for them to notice the strangers almost beneath them, owing to theconstant turnings they were obliged to take they required a lengthenedperiod to reach them, the more because the constantly increasing gloomcompelled them to redouble their precautions in order to prevent theirhorses stumbling over pebbles, and rolling into the quebradas pastwhich the track ran.
In the desert, man, being obliged to keep constantly on guard againstthe invisible enemies who incessantly watch him, grows accustomed notonly to watch the bushes, grass, and rocks that surround him, but alsoto examine the air, water, and sky, as if he expected a foe to risebefore him at any moment. The result is, that the physical qualitiesof the individual who is habituated to the normal life of thesavannahs, acquire such perfection, that, by a species of a propheticintuition, the wood rangers, who are so praised, and of whom so littleis generally known, foresee the dangers that threaten them even beforethose dangers have become realized.
The strangers, perceived from the top of the hill by the Mexicans, hadguessed the presence of the latter before they appeared, and theireyes had been eagerly fixed on the crest of the hill some momentsbefore the newcomers crowned it. These two men had set up theirnight bivouac near a clump of cactuses, and they quietly continuedto prepare their supper, apparently troubling themselves very littleabout the approaching travellers. Still, anyone able to examine themclosely would have perceived that they had made all preparations for anobstinate defence, in the event of an attack. Hence their rifles layready cocked within arm's length, and their horses were still saddledand bridled, so that they could be mounted immediately, should it provenecessary.
As for these two men--whose portraits we shall draw, as they playa very important part in our story--although they were in no wayrelated, they bore an extraordinary likeness to each other, not so muchin features, but in general appearance, that is to say, both were tall,thin, and powerfully built; they were light haired and had blue eyes,in a word, they displayed all the characteristic traits of the northernrace,--we mean the true Norman, and not the Anglo-Saxon.
In truth, these men were Canadians. At the period of which we arewriting, the United States of America had not attained that degree offactitious strength and daring confidence they eventually reached. TheKing of Spain reigned as lord and master of the colonies as much asof the Peninsula. No Anglo-American had up to this time dared to leapacross the frontier and hunt in New Spain. The laws were strict andrigorously carried out; any foreigner surprised inside the frontier wasregarded as a spy, and treated as such, that is to say, mercilesslyshot. Several examples having been made, the Americans took the hint,and did not attempt to force their way in.
But times had changed; the Mexican insurrection, by rendering theinhabitants interested accomplices in infractions of the Spanish laws,favoured this immigration, the more so because the Mexicans, who hadbeen kept by the Spaniards in utter ignorance of the use of firearmsand of military discipline, wanted to obtain men capable of leadingand teaching them how to conquer their oppressors. Hence the NorthAmericans, who had hitherto been held in check by the severity of theCastilian laws, began to inundate the territory of New Spain from allsides.
The two men to whom we refer
at this moment were hardy comrades, realwood rangers, who, reaching the Mexican border while hunting buffaloand deer, crossed it in the hope of picking up an honest fortune in ashort time by fishing in the troubled waters of revolution. We must dothem the justice of saying that, in their hearts, they cared but littlefor either of the parties quarrelling in Mexico, and were probablyready to sell their assistance to the one which offered the highestprice and the most tangible hopes of a speedy fortune. Still they weregood fellows, bold and experienced, caring as little for their life asfor a leaf that fell from a tree, and resolved to risk it on a throw ofthe dice, if it offered them the hope of advantageous gain.
The first of these two men was called Oliver Clary.
The redskins among whom he had resided for a long time had christenedhim the Sumach, in consequence of his extraordinary strength andboldness; while his comrade had forgotten the name he originally bore,and only answered to that of Moonshine. These strange and significantnames will save us the trouble of dwelling on the character of theirbearers, the more so as the reader will be able to appreciate it in thecourse of the story.
Carelessly reclining on the grass by the side of the fire lit to cooktheir supper, they watched with one eye the leg of venison which,with some batatas, was to constitute their meal, and with the otherattentively followed the march of the Mexicans. The latter, so soon asthey left the track and entered the plain, affected a certain militaryair, which did not fail to appear formidable to the Canadians, themore so as the newcomers were well armed, and moreover seemed resoluteand difficult to intimidate. The hunters waited till they came nearlywithin pistol shot, then rose cautiously, and placed themselves withshouldered rifles in the middle of the road.
Don Aurelio ordered his men to halt, while recommending them in alow voice to keep on their guard for fear of treachery, and ready tocome to his assistance. Then, giving his horse a slight touch of thespur, he proceeded a few yards nearer the hunters, who still remainedmotionless in the middle of the road. Stopping his horse with one hand,with the other he raised his hat, while crying in a clear and wellmodulated voice, "Who goes there?"
"Men of peace," Moonshine answered in excellent Spanish, though it waseasy to recognize the foreigner from his accent.
"Which side do you belong to?" Don Aurelio continued.
Moonshine looked cunningly at his comrade.
"It is easy to ask, caballero," he said, "on which side we are. Tell usfirst which side you are; we are only two against six, and the strongerparty ought to give the first explanation."
"Very good," Don Aurelio replied, "we are for God and independence; andyou?"
The two Canadians exchanged a second look as ironical as the first.
"By Jove, senor," Moonshine said presently, as he rested the butt ofhis rifle on the ground, and crossed his hands confidently over themuzzle, "you ask us a question which we find it rather difficult toanswer. My comrade and I are strangers, as you may easily recognize byour accent, and hence have no settled opinion upon the subject whichdivides your country. On the other hand, you can perceive from our garbthat we are wood rangers, that is to say, men with whom liberty is aworship, almost an adoration; so that if we must have an opinion, weshould rather be on the side of independence than of royalty."
"And why do you not decide for one or the other?" said the horseman,who had drawn nearer, though the Canadian did not appear alarmed by thefact.
"For the reason I had the honour of giving you a moment ago," Moonshinecontinued; "we are foreigners, that is to say, entirely disinterestedin the question; and in case we decided to join either side, it wouldbe the one which offered us the greatest advantages."
"Excellently argued, and like true Yankees," Don Aurelio remarked witha laugh.
"Pardon me, senor," Moonshine objected seriously, "do not make anymistake; my friend and I are not Yankees, but Canadians, which, I mustbeg you to believe, is by no means the same thing."
"Forgive me, senor," Don Aurelio said civilly, "I did not at all intendto insult you."
The hunter bowed, and the Mexican continued--
"My name is Don Aurelio Gutierrez; it is late, and the spot where wenow are is by no means suited for a serious conversation; if you willconsent to accompany me to a hacienda about three leagues from here, Iwill guarantee to modify your opinions, and bring you over to my way ofthinking."
"I do not say no, Senor Gutierrez; but I will propose something better.I suppose you are not in such a hurry that you could not delay yourarrival at the hacienda to which you allude for a few hours?"
Don Aurelio exchanged a look with Viscachu, who, during thisconversation, had drawn nearer, and was now standing by his side.
"No," he at last answered; "so long as I reach the place I am going toby tomorrow morning, that will do."
"Well," the hunter continued, courteously, "as you remarked yourself,the night is dark; accept the hospitality we offer you, and bivouacwith us; the supper is ready and we will eat together: a night in theopen air need have no terrors for you; we will sleep side by side, andtomorrow when the sun appears on the horizon, my comrade and I willaccompany you wherever you please. What do you say to that?"
Don Aurelio exchanged a second look with Viscachu, who gave him a signof assent by nodding his head several times.
"On my honour," he replied with a laugh, as he held out his hand to thehunter, "your proposition is too hearty for me to decline it. Donewith you then, on one condition, however, that my people add a fewprovisions they carry with them to our meal."
"You can add what you please; we will pass the night as good comrades;tomorrow it will be day, and we will see what is to be done. Of courseit is understood that if your proposals do not suit us, we are atliberty to decline them."
"Oh, of course."
Don Aurelio ordered his men to come up, himself dismounted, and fiveminutes later, all our party, merrily seated round the fire, were doingjustice to the hunters' meal, which was considerably augmented throughthe provisions brought by Don Aurelio, and rendered almost sumptuous bya goat skin filled with excellent _refino de Cataluna_, a sort of verystrong spirit, which put the guests in a thorough good humour.
The Queen of the Savannah: A Story of the Mexican War Page 6
