In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IV

  A GREAT RANCH

  Antonio had indeed been charged to make light of the fight in the pass.

  "My father is almost sure to mount and ride out to meet me," Juan saidto him before starting. "You can say we had a skirmish with somebrigands in the hills, and that I have a slight flesh wound in theshoulder, but don't say more about it until he has started to meet us.Then you can go to the huts and break the news of the death of Lopez andPedro to their wives, but keep them from going anywhere near the housetill I arrive. I don't wish my mother to know anything about it till Isee her. If she heard that two of the men had been killed she would atonce imagine that I had been badly wounded and that you were concealingthe truth from her. Of course you will tell them, Antonio, that I ambringing a friend with me."

  Senor Sarasta and his daughter came up. Will Harland reined in his horsea little so as to allow his companion to meet his friends alone. Juanchecked his horse and dismounted as they came up to them, and they, too,leaped from their horses.

  "Welcome home again, Juan!" his father said, embracing him in Spanishfashion; while the girl kissed him with warm affection.

  "So I hear from Antonio that you have had trouble on the way and havelost some blood."

  "'Tis only a flesh wound, sir, but just at present it is smarting a gooddeal. Riding over those mountains is not the best thing in the world,even for a trifling wound. Now I wish to introduce you to my friend, DonWilliam Harland, an American gentleman, who has done me vital service,as I will presently relate to you."

  Will had also dismounted, and was standing by his horse, some fifteenyards away. Juan's father walked across to him, and, lifting hissombrero, said:

  "As the friend of my son, senor, I welcome you most warmly, the more sosince he tells me that you have rendered him a signal service, though ofwhat nature I am not aware, but in any case, as his friend you are mine,and I beg you to consider my house as your own. This is my daughter,Donna Clara."

  Will removed his sombrero and bowed deeply, while the girl made aceremonious salute.

  "Now let us mount and ride on," Senor Sarasta said. "Your mother willbe anxiously expecting you, Juan. We have been looking for you for thepast two days. But where are your other two men?"

  "I am sorry to say, father, that they are both killed," Juan replied.

  "Killed!" the haciendero repeated; while the girl uttered an exclamationof horror.

  "Why, Antonio only spoke of the attack upon you as a trifle!"

  "I told him to do so, sir. I did not wish for you or my mother to bealarmed. She might well have imagined that the wound was much moreserious than he reported; but it was a serious affair. We were ambushedby a party of nine men in the upper part of the pass in the hills beyondMonterey. The two men were killed by their first fire. We took to therocks. My friend here shot their leader and one of the men. I shotanother, but should not have been much further use, for one of themfired almost at the same instant that I did, and his bullet cut my armfrom the elbow to the shoulder. It is not at all a serious wound, butit disabled the arm for a time. However, the fall of their leadersettled the affair. The other six men, finding that they could not getaway without a certainty of being shot, surrendered, coming out one byone and throwing down their weapons in the road and then going down thepass singly. I was obliged to let them go, for they were still superiorto us in number, and we could no more show ourselves out of shelter thanthey could. Some at least of us might have fallen had the fight goneon."

  "Well, let us mount," the don said. "You must tell me all about it lateron. The first thing to do is to have your wound seen to. Padre Hidalgois a famous hand at such matters."

  "Well, senor," he went on to Will, as they cantered along, "I can quiteunderstand now that the service that you rendered to my son is avaluable one, for had you not shot the leader of these rascals, to saynothing of some of the others, the fight might have terminated verydifferently."

  "That is certainly so," Juan said, "but that was not the service towhich I alluded. Don William and I made our first acquaintance in thestreets of San Diego after nightfall. I was returning through thequarter by the port when I was attacked suddenly by four cut-throats. Iwas defending myself as well as I could, but should certainly have beenkilled had not this gentleman, who was an entire stranger to me, ran upand levelled one of my assailants to the ground with a blow from a stickhe carried, and broke the wrist of another. The third, turning to defendhimself, I disposed of, and the other ran away."

  "By the saints! you seem to have had a hot time of it, Juan, and,indeed, we have all good reason to be most grateful to your preserver.Senor Harland, my obligations to you are infinite--such as I can neverrepay."

  "Really, senor, you are making more of the matter than it is worth,"Will said earnestly. "I was going quietly along when I heard shouts andexclamations, and felt that someone was being attacked. I ran forward,and, seeing four men attacking one, had no difficulty in deciding whowere the aggressors, and without hesitation joined in. As I took them bysurprise, and, in fact, disposed of two of them before they could attackme, while almost at the same moment Juan killed another, the affair wasover almost before it began. It was not a quarter of a minute from thetime I came up to that in which the fourth man was running off at thetop of his speed. I have already benefited very largely by the affair,having gained thereby the friendship of your son, the hospitality of hisfriend, Senor Guzman, and the opportunity of making this journey andpaying you a visit. As to the affair in the mountains, I was defendingmy own life also, and our success was as important to me as to him."

  "It is well for you to make light of it, sir, but whether the firstaffair lasted a quarter of a minute or a quarter of an hour, the resultwas the same. Your quickness and courage in thus plunging into a streetfray on behalf of a stranger saved my son's life, as doubtless did theshot that killed the leader of the party attacking you. It is strange,indeed, that he should have met with two such adventures in the courseof a week. Possibly, Juan, the one was a sequel to the other, and thoseengaged in it may have been the comrades of the men who attacked you atSan Diego, and who thus assaulted you to obtain revenge for their mishapthere."

  "That was so, father. Both attacks were the work of one man, who, I amhappy to say, will trouble me no more, as he was the leader of thesecond attack--the man whom Senor Harland shot."

  "But who is the man, and what could have been his motive for thusattacking you?"

  "I only suspected the first time, father, and until I looked at the manHarland had shot I was not sure of it. Happily none of the men who actedfor him are likely to open their lips on the matter, and no one elsewill have a suspicion. Had it been otherwise we might have had a gooddeal of trouble over it, for the man was Captain Enriques Melos."

  Sarasta looked grave.

  "As you say, that would lead to serious trouble were it known, although,clearly, you were not to blame in the matter; but what was the reason ofhis enmity against you?"

  "He was a suitor for Donna Christina Guzman's hand, father."

  "Ah, ah, that explains it! Well, we will think no more of it at present;but what did you do with his body?"

  "We piled rocks over it; there is no fear of his being discovered, andas he certainly would not have mentioned to anyone his intention ofmurdering me on my way home, no search is likely to be made in thatdirection."

  "That is well. Of course I received your letter, Juan, and sent off amessenger at once to Senor Guzman, giving my and your mother's heartyconsent to the match, which indeed pleased us much."

  Two or three minutes later they arrived at the hacienda, in front ofwhich a number of servants and peons employed in the gardens and stableshad gathered to welcome their young master back after his nine months'absence. As they dismounted, Donna Sarasta appeared at the door. Juanran up the steps and tenderly embraced her; Senor Sarasta then led Willup.

  "Your first welcome, my dear, should have been given to this gentleman,Senor William Harland, for had i
t not been for him you would not haveJuan by your side now. He has twice saved his life."

  "Twice saved his life!" Donna Sarasta exclaimed incredulously. "Is itpossible, Philip?"

  "It is quite true," her husband said gravely. "Had it not been for himJuan would never have returned to us. Do not be alarmed; the danger isover, for the author of these attacks has fallen by Don William'srifle."

  The lady held out both hands to Will. The tears were streaming down hercheeks.

  "Senor," she said, "I cannot thank you now. Remember that it is our onlyson's life that you have saved. Think of what we should have felt hadhe not returned, and our men had brought us news of his death. May theBlessed Virgin reward you and bless you! Give me your arm, Philip, I amfaint."

  Her husband and son supported her into the house and placed her on acouch.

  "Look after your mother, Clara," the Mexican said, as two femaleattendants came in.

  "Sancho, go and call Father Hidalgo down from his study. Doubtless he isunaware that my son has returned. Tell him that he is to bring bandagesand salves, for there is a wound to be dressed. He will find my son inthe dining-room. Do one of you fetch basins of hot water and spongesthere. Now, Senor Harland, I will lead you to your room. Doubtless abath will be agreeable to you after your journey."

  Will was glad to be out of the way during this family meeting, andwillingly followed his host, who took him to a large chamber on thefirst floor. A bath stood ready filled, with towels and allconveniences.

  "I told them to put a suit of Juan's clothes in readiness. I did notknow whether they would fit, but I have no doubt they will do so. Theywill save you the trouble of opening your bag till evening. And now, ifyou will excuse me, I will go down and look at the boy's wound."

  "Well, luck has favoured me, indeed," Will said to himself, as he lookedround the room before proceeding to undress. "A fortnight ago there wasI, a runaway lad without plans, in a strange country, with nothing butmy kit-bag and some ninety pounds to rely upon. Now I am in clover, witha good friend, a welcome assured as long as I choose to stay here, andan amount of gratitude that seems to me almost ridiculous, consideringthat it is all the result of my interfering in a street row, just as Imight have done in any other port. At any rate, I shall have some newexperiences to tell about when I get home. I shall certainly like thesenor; he has been so long out here that he has shaken off the indolentair and the formal constraint that almost all these Spanish peoplehave, and is much more like an American than an Englishman. The merefact of his having settled in this out-of-the-way valley is a proof thathe has a lot of go and pluck.

  "Of course I can't tell much about his wife yet; she is naturally upsetat the thought of Juan's danger. As to his sister, she is ever so muchprettier than his sweetheart, though certainly Christina Guzman ispretty, too. She hardly said a word after her first welcome to him--Isuppose she was too upset to talk, and will brighten up when she findsthat Juan's wounds are really trifling. Well, I expect I shall have ajolly time of it here, and get some shooting and hunting. It will begreat fun among all these herds of wild cattle. The first thing to dowill be to learn to ride properly. I should not like to have all theseMexican fellows laughing at me. At any rate, I have learned something onour way here. I will get Juan to go out alone with me for a bit till Ican be sure of sticking on. From what he was saying, some of theirhorses must be brutes to sit, especially those who jump straight upinto the air, and keep on doing it until they get rid of their riders."

  Having taken a bath and dressed very leisurely, he went downstairsagain, feeling pleased that Juan's clothes fitted him so well, and thatit was not necessary for him to get out his own, for, although new, theywould certainly not look so well after their journey in the kit-bag asdid the spotless white garments that had been provided for him. He foundClara alone in the patio. This hacienda, like most of its kind, was alarge square building with a courtyard in its centre. In this case thepatio had been transformed into a shady little garden, withorange-trees, bananas, and other tropical productions. Grape-vinesclimbed round the light pillars that supported the veranda thatsurrounded it, and covered its roof with a mass of foliage dotted withgreat purple bunches of grapes. Two or three little fountains werehalf-hidden among the trees, and the air was heavy with the scent of theorange and citron flowers.

  "My father and mother will be down directly, senor," she said; "the bellwill ring for the mid-day meal in a few minutes."

  "What a lovely little garden this is!" Will said cheerfully, for he sawthat the girl was nervous and embarrassed. "You would not see anythinglike this in the east, even under glass."

  The girl was silent for a few moments, and then broke out:

  "I hope you do not think me ungrateful, senor, that I have said nothingto thank you for what you did for my brother, but it was not that. Itwas because I felt that if I were to say a word I should break outcrying. We love each other dearly, Juan and I, and it was so awful tothink that I might never have seen him alive again;" and she stopped,with her eyes full of tears.

  "I quite understand, senorita," he said; "and, indeed, I have been verymuch more than sufficiently thanked by your father and mother. As for myshare in the matter, it was really not worth talking about. I am asailor, you know, and I am sorry to say that sailors when in port areoften in the habit of getting into rows, and I have half a dozen timesat least, when in foreign ports, taken part in a scrimmage when I sawdrunken sailors engaged in a broil with others, and have had to fightvery much harder than I did at San Diego, where, in point of fact, sofar as I was concerned, there was really no fighting at all. I do notsay that your brother might not have come off very badly if I had nothappened to come along, but there was really no shadow of risk tomyself. A couple of blows and it was all over; and I do hope that no onewill say any more in the way of thanking me."

  At this moment Senor Sarasta, his wife, and Juan, all came out together.

  "Well, Juan, how do you feel now?" Will asked, well pleased at theirarrival.

  "I feel a different man altogether," the young Mexican replied. "A warmbath first and then the padre's salves have done wonders for me, and ina week I shall have forgotten all about it."

  The rest of the day was spent in sauntering or sitting in the gardensround the house. They were of the Spanish fashion, containing but fewflowers except those borne by the fruit-trees, and resemblingshrubberies and orchards rather than gardens, shade being the principalobject aimed at. During the afternoon Will told his friend of his desireto become a good horseman.

  "I will put you in charge of Antonio; we have no better rider on theranch. He will put you through a course, beginning with comparativelywell-broken bronchos, until you can sit the worst buckers on the plains;but you must not mind a few heavy falls at first."

  "I shall not mind that a bit, Juan. Sailors have the knack of fallinglightly."

  "Ah, well, he will choose a spot where the grass is long and the groundsoft for your lessons, and I can tell you it makes a good deal ofdifference whether you come off on ground like that or on a spot wherethere is next to no grass, and the ground is as hard as a brick. I haveno doubt that in the course of two or three weeks you will, if youstick to it, be able to ride almost anything."

  "You need not be afraid of my not sticking to it, Juan. I certainlyshould not like to look like a fool to your vaqueros, still less beforeyour mother and sister."

  Accordingly next morning Will's lessons began in a meadow close to thestream, and half a mile away from the house. At first he was thrown aninnumerable number of times, for he had told Antonio to bring with himsome fairly restive horses.

  "It is of no use my spending my time on quiet animals," he said. "I havejust had a week's riding on one of them. I may as well begin with afairly bad one at once; it only means a few more throws. I have got tolearn to hold on, and the sooner I begin that the better."

  "With beginners we sometimes put a strap for them to hold on by, senor."

  Will shook his head. "I don't want any
thing of that sort," he said. "Iwant to be able to stick on by my knees."

  "It is more by properly balancing yourself than by holding on," the mansaid. "If you always keep your balance you will come straight down againinto the saddle, no matter how high he throws you, and there is no doubtthat the tighter you hold on by your knees the more heavy are the throwsthat you will get."

  "I can understand that, Antonio. Now I am ready to begin."

  Will had expected to find it difficult, but he was fairly astounded bythe rapidity and variety of the tricks by which he was again and againthrown off. After a time Antonio urged him to give it up for the day,but he insisted on continuing until he was so absolutely exhausted thathe could do no more.

  "Well, senor," the man said, "you have done wonderfully well for abeginner, and I will guarantee that in another week you will be able toride any ordinary horse, and in a month you will be able to mountfearlessly any animal that you may come across, except, of course, a fewbrutes that scarcely a vaquero on the ranch would care to back."

  Antonio's opinion was justified. It was ten days before Juan was able toride again, and by that time William Harland was so far accustomed tothe saddle that he was able to accompany him and his father on theirexcursions to visit the herds and see that all was going on well. He didnot, however, give up his lessons with Antonio, devoting three or fourhours a day to the work, and at the end of the month he was able to sitany ordinary bucker without difficulty. After that he practised for anhour a day on vicious animals, and at the end of three months Antoniosaid:

  "Now, senor, I can do no more for you; that brute that you have beenriding the last week is the terror of the ranch, and after sitting himas you have done for the last three days, without his being able to getrid of you once, you can ride anything without fear."