by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
THE BANDITS AT BAY.
I went not without a guide, else I might have climbed Ixticihuatl invain.
The stage-driver still acted in this capacity. By good fortune he hadmade the ascent before--on some speculative expedition during a recess,when the ribbons were out of his hands; and he knew of a second"robbers' nest" still higher up than that chosen as the scene of thenuptials.
It was a lone log hut, the residence of a reputed charcoal burner; butthe situation was too high to be convenient for charcoal burning; and,in Sam Brown's opinion, the "carbonero" was in reality a _bandolero_.
There was just a chance we might find Carrasco at this hut; if not,somewhere else among the mountains.
How different were the feelings with which I now prosecuted the search.No longer indifferent about the escape of the robbers, I was determinedon tracking them up, if I should have to traverse every defile in theCordillera, or climb to the summit of Popocatepec!
Like a second Ordaz, I could have plunged into its fiery crater torescue the captive, who but a short hour before might have leaped intoit, without my stretching forth a hand to restrain her!
It was all changed now. The wound, that had been bleeding for six longmonths, had become suddenly cicatrised. A load seemed lifted from myheart.
I felt light and lithe as I sprang up the acclivity. No Alpine climbercould have equalled me in energy: for never went one with such a purposeto stimulate his strength. It were a trite triumph to scale the summitof the Matterhorn, compared with that of rescuing Mercedes Villa-Senor!
The path was not only difficult, but perilous. It would have been so inthe day. At night both the danger and difficulty were doubled. It wasall up hill--steep as the side of a cairn, and with footing not muchsurer. The surface was corrugated with lava runs, that had been liquidsome centuries before--now congealed into scoriae that resembled theslag cast forth from a furnace.
It was not treeless; but sparsely covered with cactus, grass-like tuftsof _zamia_, and stunted fir-trees. Here and there were patches bare andcoal-black--as if the lava had but recently cooled, after being vomitedforth from the _volcan_ above.
Two things greatly delayed us: the darkness, and the necessity of makinga noiseless advance. The slightest sound--a word spoken aloud--mightfrustrate the purpose of our pursuit.
I had given strict orders for no one to speak--even in whispers. Inthese alone the guide conversed, as he gave his directions. We knewthat our voices would be carried upward to the ears of the brigands,while there was not much likelihood of our hearing theirs.
That they were above us we had little doubt; though we neither heard norsaw them. We were assured by the nature of the ground. The pathcarried us along the combing of a ridge--on either side flanked by astupendous precipice. It was but the continuation of the twin cliffsthat hemmed in the hacienda below. We saw no side track, that therobbers could have taken. We were certain we had them before us.
Our search promised fair for success. The robbers could have nosuspicion that they were being followed--least of all by a score ofAmerican riflemen. The only enemy they might deem near had been lefthelpless below.
Silently we toiled on, stepping as lightly as possible over the looselava.
At intervals we stopped to listen. We fancied we could hear footstepsand the murmuring of men. We were not sure about either. The torrenttearing along the bottom of the "barranca" sent its "sough" into ourears--filling them to the exclusion of almost every other sound.
Still the ravishers could not be far ahead of us. Not suspectingpursuit, they would have no motive for moving in a hurry; thoughCarrasco might have one--Mercedes!
The horrid thought chilled the blood within my veins, causing me tostride on with nervous impatience.
Though the place we were making for was scarce a mile from that we hadleft, nearly two hours elapsed before we came in sight of it.
We did so at length.
What we saw was a rude parallelopipedon projected in dark silhouetteagainst the moonlit sky. It was a cabin constructed of hewn treetrunks; very similar to that of the "States," only with a flat terracedroof instead of the slanting cover of "clap-boards."
It stood upon the very edge of the abyss, its back being flush with theescarpment of the cliff! Only one aperture appeared on the side towardsus--a narrow doorway, with a door upon it; which, as we came withinsight, appeared to be shut.
Presently it was opened from the inside--letting out a stream of lightthat scattered over the cleared track in front. On this we coulddistinguish the figures of several men, hitherto unseen under the shadowof the walls. The logs were in juxta-position, as if carefully"chinked" to keep out the cold: for the dwelling was situated on theextreme limits of the _tierra fria_.
While the door remained open we could see a number of men moving inside,and in their midst the loosely dressed form of a woman. A white scarffloated among the darker drapery of cloaks and _jaquetas_.
The robbers appeared to have just arrived. We knew they could not havebeen there long. Those inside the hut were hurrying to and fro--somecarrying torches that appeared recently ignited.
The party without had commenced kindling a fire, that soon blazed up,throwing its red glare athwart the grey pine-trees; a grove of whichgrowing near the edge of the cliff flung its sable shadow over thedwelling.
The bivouackers were the inferior men of the band; for whom there was noaccommodation inside.
We could bear voices, both inside and out; but the harsh hissing of thecascade, both above and below, hindered us from making anything of whatwas said.
We needed no words to give us an explanation of what we saw. It wasintelligible without this. We had tracked the bandits to their den.They were in it--their victims along with them!
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For the first time since starting on the uphill pursuit, we felt puzzledas to how we should act. My own impulses prompted me to spring forward,and bring the affair to an instant termination.
As far as regarded victory or defeat, I had no fear about the issue.Although Carrasco's party and ours were nearly equal in numbers, I knewthat in real strength--as in courage and equipment--we were as two totheir one.
But even reversing the order, my men would not have shied from thecontest; not if the enemy had been ten to our one.
For myself--with the motive I had, to move, and madden me,--odds neverentered my thoughts.
As it was, we simply considered ourselves in the presence of _vermin_,that we could crush beneath the heels of our boots.
With such feeling of contempt for our antagonists, the impulse was toset upon them at once. My men only waited for the word.
I was prevented from giving it by a reflection. In destroying thevermin the game might be injured along with it? Mercedes and hersister--I thought only of Mercedes--might be wounded, perhaps killed inthe conflict?
This fear was sufficient to restrain us. My comrades intuitively sharedit with me; and I had no difficulty in keeping them in check.
For some time we stayed, crouching behind the trees, where we had firstcome within sight of the cabin.
Who could say what was best to be done? This was the inquiry thatpassed mechanically among us.
The sergeant had conceived an idea. He was an old veteran of the Texanwars--had served in the campaigns of Houston--and obtained a thoroughknowledge of the Mexican character.
"Best way, capten," said he, whispering close to my ear, "would be tobesiege 'em, and make 'em come to tarms."
"How?"
"Surround the place. It's half surrounded already. We've only got to`filade' the other half, and they'll be complete caged."
There was sense in the sergeant's suggestion. I should at once haveacceded to it, but for the thought--I need not say what. Time was theenemy I most dreaded. Just then an hour seemed eternity!
"No," I rejoined, "we mu
st attack them at once. If we leave themundisturbed till the morning, then our pursuit would be to no purpose.These ladies--"
"I kin understan you, capten. I didn't mean to leave it till themornin'. Let's pounce upon 'em now--them that's outside yonder! Lickthat lot up first, and then summon the others to surrender. Seein'their comrades taken, and theirselves surrounded--with ne'er a chance ofescapin'--they'll be only too glad to give up the weemen--ay, withoutrufflin' a hair o' their heads. Besides," continued he, pointing to thesummit of Ixticihuatl, seen distinctly from the spot, "talkin' o'mornin', look yonder, capten!"
I directed my glance upwards. A roseate tint appeared upon the snow.It was the first kiss of the Aurora. Though still night where we lay,there were signs of morn upon the summit of the mountain. In less thantwenty minutes there would be daylight around us!
The thought decided me to act according to the suggestion of thesergeant.
My commands, imparted in a low tone to the comrades that crouched behindme, were followed by a quick rush across the open ground, and the almostinstantaneous capture of the fellows around the fire.
It might have been done without alarming their comrades inside, but forone of them discharging his carbine as we came up.
For him it proved an imprudent act. It was the last shot he ever fired.It hurt no one; but he himself dropped dead the instant after, riddledby the bullets of our revolvers.
The rest surrendered without further show of fight; and in a minute morewere our prisoners.
The shots, of course, carried the surprise inside; but instead of thedoor being thrown open, we saw that it was quickly barricaded!
We discovered this on attempting to force it open, and also that it hadbeen contrived with an eye to such contingency!
While occupied in front of it we were saluted with a volley from above;while the besieged brigands were seen over the parapet of the azotea.
Before we could answer the fire, their heads were "ducked;" and we werecompelled to stand with guns undischarged, or send our shots idly intothe air.
I felt that we were foiled. My comrades shared the thought. A riflemanlay, wounded, among our feet. A second had dropped upon his knees;while three or four others had been scathed by scattering shots.
We stood in a position completely exposed. To hack down the door wouldtake time. Before it could be done, we might look for a seconddischarge from the housetop, with an uneven chance of returning it: forwe now saw that the parapet was _crenelled_; rudely, it is true, butsufficient for the protection of its defenders.
We felt loth to retreat. There seemed a chance to shelter ourselvesclose to the wall; and some, yielding to instinct, had done so. Butseveral heavy blocks of stone were hurled down from above--proving theposition untenable.
There was no help for it but retreat to the cover of the trees; and thiswe did, taking our crippled comrades along with us.
We had lost but little time. The interval of indecision occupied only afew seconds; and, before the bandits had got their carbines ready for afresh fusilade, we were safely sheltered against such "sharpshooters" asthey.
