CHAPTER XIII.
THE AMBUSCADE
Curumilla and his two companions descended the steep sides of theCorcovado; if the ascent had been difficult, the descent was notless so. Everywhere escaped thousands of hideous creatures; andnot unfrequently they caught glimpses of snakes, unfolding theirthreatening rings under the dead leaves which on all sides covered theground. Sometimes they were obliged to crawl on their knees, at othersto jump from branch to branch.
This painful and fatiguing march lasted nearly three hours. At the endof that time they found themselves again at the entrance of the grottowhere they had left their horses. The two white men were literallyknocked up, particularly the count. As for Curumilla, he was as freshand active as if he had not gone a step. Physical fatigue seems to haveno hold on the iron organisation of the Indians.
"My brothers require test," he said; "we will remain here for them torecover their strength."
A half hour passed away without a word being exchanged. Curumilla haddisappeared for a time.
When he returned he drew from his belt a small box which he presentedto the count, saying, "Take this."
"Oh!" cried Don Tadeo, joyfully, "coca!"
"Yes," said the Indian, "my father can take some."
"What is all that to do?" said the count.
"My friend," said Don Tadeo, "America is the promised land; itsprivileged soil produces everything: as we have the herb of Paraguay,which is so good a substitute for tea, we have coca, which, I assureyou, advantageously supplies the place of the betel, and has thefaculty of restoring the strength and reviving the courage."
"The deuce!" said the young man. "You are too serious, Don Tadeo,to leave me for an instant to suppose you wish to impose upon mycredulity; give me quickly, I beg, some of this precious drug."
Don Tadeo held out to the count the coca he had prepared. The latterput it into his mouth without hesitation. Curumilla, after havingcarefully reclosed the box and returned it to his belt, saddled thehorses. All at once a sharp firing was heard.
"What is all that?" Louis cried, springing up.
"The fight beginning," Curumilla replied coolly.
At that moment the cries became redoubled.
"Come!" said Don Tadeo; "one hour's delay cannot cause any great harmto my daughter."
"To horse, then," said the chief.
As they drew nearer, the noise of the fierce fight that was raging inthe defile became more distinct; they recognised perfectly the war cryof the Chilians mixed with the howlings of the Araucanos; now and thenbullets were flattened against the trees, or whizzed around them.
"Halt!" cried the Ulmen suddenly.
The horsemen checked their horses, which were bathed in sweat.Curumilla had conducted his friends to a place which entirely commandedthe outlet of the defile on the side of Santiago. It was a species ofnatural fortress, composed of blocks of granite, strangely heaped uponone another by some convulsion of nature, perhaps an earthquake. Theserocks, at a distance, bore a striking resemblance to a tower; and theirtotal height was about thirty feet. In a word, it was a real fortress,from which a siege might be sustained.
"What a fine position," Don Tadeo observed.
They dismounted: Curumilla relieved the horses of their equipments, andlet them loose in the woods. A slight movement was heard from among theleaves, the boughs of the underwood parted, and a man appeared. TheUlmen cocked his gun. The man who had so unexpectedly arrived had agun thrown on his back, and he had in his hand a sword, crimson to thehilt. He ran on, looking around him on all sides, not like a man whois flying, but, on the contrary, as if seeking for somebody. Curumillauttered an exclamation of surprise, quitted his hiding place, andadvanced towards the newcomer.
"I was seeking my father," he said earnestly.
"Good!" Curumilla replied; "here I am."
"Let my son follow me," said Curumilla, "we cannot stay here."
The two Indians climbed the rocks, at the summit of which Don Tadeo andthe young count had already arrived.
The two whites were surprised at the presence of the newcomer, whowas no other than Joan; but the moment was not propitious for askingexplanations; the four men hastened to erect a parapet. This labourcompleted, they rested for a while.
"When I saw," he said, "that the prisoner had succeeded in escaping, inspite of the valiant efforts of the men who escorted him. I thought itwould be best you should be acquainted with this news, and I plungedinto the forest, and came in search of you."
"Oh!" said Don Tadeo, "if that man is free, all is lost."
The four men placed themselves, gun in hand, on the edge of theplatform. The number of the fugitives increased every instant. Thewhole plain, just before so calm and solitary, presented one of themost animated spectacles. From time to time men were to be seenfalling, many of them never to rise again; others, more fortunate,who were only wounded, made incredible efforts to rise. A squadronof Chilian horsemen came out at a gallop, driving before them theAraucanos, who still resisted. In advance of this troop a man mountedon a black horse, across the neck of which a fainting woman wasreclining, was riding with the rapidity of an arrow. He gained groundconstantly upon the soldiers.
"It is he," cried the Don, "it is the general."
At the same time the count and Curumilla fired. The horse stoppedshort, reared perfectly upright, fought the air with its forefeet,appeared to stagger for an instant, and then fell like lead, draggingits rider down with it.
The Indians, struck with terror at this unexpected attack, redoubledtheir speed, and fled across the plain.
The Pearl of the Andes: A Tale of Love and Adventure Page 13
