CHAPTER XXV.
BACK TO DUTY.
Since the beginning of the war I had seen a great deal of Indianendurance, but nothing to equal that of our new captors. They marchedalong in a curious fashion at a kind of jog-trot pace, taking shortsteps and carrying their feet close to the ground. Mile after mile wascovered without apparent effort, and when at last a halt was called,not a man looked the least bit tired. As for Alzura and me, we wereexhausted, and lay down just as we were. The Indians lit a fire,roasted some maize, and loosening our bonds, gave us a share of thefood, a drink of water, and a little coca. Whether they were friendsor foes we could not tell, but despite their ferocious looks they didus no harm.
While on the march I had resolved to try them with the charm of thesilver key; but, to my dismay, I found it was no longer round my neck.A part of the chain was still there, but it had snapped off, and thekey was gone, sunk probably in the dreadful morass. However, turningto one of the fellows, I said, first in Spanish, then in the patoisused by Sorillo's men, "We are officers in the Patriot army, andfriends of Raymon Sorillo and the Silver Key; who are you?"
He shook his head solemnly, and looked at me with a blank stare.
"Try him with English, Juan," laughed Alzura. "I wonder where he liveswhen he's at home? Perhaps he knows Portuguese. I'll have a shot athim."
If Alzura knew Portuguese--which I rather doubted--the Indian wasignorant of that language, and was quite unmoved by my comrade's floodof oratory.
Perhaps he thought Alzura was singing. But my companion in adversitydid not take the suggestion in good part; indeed it seemed to annoy him.
"Never mind," said I cheerfully; "they can't march us about for ever.We are bound to meet with civilized beings some time or other."
"But these fellows may belong to the Royalists! Many of the Indians onthis side of the mountains do. Then we shall be taken back to theisland!"
"We shall have guides across the morass, though; that's one thing to bethankful for."
"And be put in irons! Perhaps you think that's a subject forcheerfulness?"
"We shouldn't be able to risk our lives again, at all events."
"Oh, go to sleep," exclaimed Alzura, "if you've nothing more sensiblethan that to say!" and he rolled a little nearer the fire.
The next morning the Indians resumed their journey, and after a wearytramp of many miles, encamped on the side of a mountain, where stoodseveral huts in a half-ruined state. One of these was set aside forus, and a sentry was placed at the door.
Here we remained for three weeks while our captors made frequentexcursions, starting early in the morning and returning late at night,though of their object we had not the faintest idea. At the end ofthat time we were taken with them; and from morn till night, forseveral days in succession, we roamed about those dreadful mountains,till every muscle in our bodies ached with fatigue.
"What is the use of it all?" I asked Alzura gloomily. "What do theyexpect to gain by this continual tramp up and down?"
"It's my belief that they can't help themselves," he replied. "It's adisease, a form of madness, which keeps them continually on the move.Yesterday we climbed the same hill a dozen times, and finished at thestarting-point. Or perhaps it's some new kind of warfare they'veinvented."
"It's awfully ridiculous, anyhow, and I don't see that we've gainedmuch by leaving the island--unless it's exercise."
"When the war is over, I'll give up walking altogether," said my chumresolutely. "When I'm not on horseback, or in a carriage of some kind,I'll be carried about in a chair. If this lasts much longer, my feetwill be worn out."
That evening the Indians lit their fire earlier than usual--acircumstance for which we were duly grateful. We ate our supper, andsat chatting together cheerfully, being put in good humour by thewarmth and brightness of the ruddy flames.
Suddenly we heard in the distance the long-drawn-out note of a nightbird, repeated again and again, and each time nearer to us. It wasanswered by our sentries; but the men round the fire made no movement,nor did they show the slightest interest when half a dozen horsemenrode up. The leader, however, rose slowly and talked to the strangers,who, after seeing to their horses, came and sat down.
"Juan," said Alzura, "these fellows belong to a different tribe.Perhaps we shall have a chance of making ourselves understood."
"They are looking at us very pointedly," I answered; and raising myvoice, I said, "Can any of you talk Spanish?"
"Yes," cried several together, coming near to us; "what do you want?"
"To make ourselves known," I replied. "These worthy fellows can'tunderstand us, and we're tired of playing hide-and-seek in themountains."
"Who are you? Where do you come from? Are you for the king?" askedone.
This was treading on dangerous ground; but as we really were worn out,and there seemed no chance of escape, I thought it best to take thebull by the horns. At the worst we should only be handed over to theenemy and sent back to prison.
So I answered quietly, "No; we are Patriot officers who have escapedfrom the Spaniards. If you are on our side, perhaps you will help usto return to our own people."
"You are with friends, senor, if what you say is true," remarked onewho seemed to have some sort of authority.
"_If?_" said I, trying to speak haughtily; "do you doubt it?"
"Well," said the fellow, with a knowing grin, "you don't look much likeofficers of any kind." And he was right.
We were, in fact, a pair of as dreary-looking objects as one would belikely to meet. Our sandals were worn out, our clothes hung in rags,and the holes in Alzura's tunic made it painfully apparent that he didnot indulge in the luxury of a shirt. Whether we wore uniform, and ifso what kind, would have been difficult to decide, as we were stillplastered with mud from head to foot. So I could not altogether blamethe man for his distrust.
However, I repeated my statement, told him we had fought under theEnglishman Miller, and at last introduced the name of Raymon Sorillo.
"We know him well," I said in conclusion, "and are good friends of theSilver Key."
Apparently my words were interpreted for the benefit of our captors,who jabbered together for a considerable time, while Alzura and Ianxiously awaited the result of the conference.
At last the leader of the horsemen, turning to me, said, "Senor, it isdecided that I shall take you to the army, where your words can beproved. If your story is not true, you will be shot as spies."
"All right; we agree!" I exclaimed joyfully, for it was a delightfulthought that we were to escape the strange beings who spent their timein running about the rocks.
"We shall start early," he continued, "so you had better get somerest." Which we did, as soon as our excited state permitted.
"Bravo!" exclaimed Alzura, after breakfast the next morning; "this isan improvement. Fancy being on horseback again! This will be betterthan trudging on foot, Juan, eh?"
"What about the men who have lent us their horses?"
"Oh," said he merrily, "I believe they would as soon walk as ride, andI'm sure they could keep up longer than the animals."
By this talk you will understand we had been provided with a couple ofhorses; and taking leave of our original captors, we rode off with ournew ones. Of course, both Alzura and I were unarmed, and the leader,in a quiet way, so arranged that we were never very far from a man witha musket.
He was rather a lively fellow for an Indian, and having made sure wecould not escape, talked with us freely. He told us the men we hadjust left were very useful, having already sent in a great deal ofvaluable information to the Patriot army. He also said that Bolivarhad crossed the Andes with a large army, and that a decisive battle wasexpected at any time. He was very curious about our escape, and couldbarely credit that we had crossed the morass without assistance.
"It has been done before," he said, "but only once or twice, and thenby natives."
"We shan't do it again," laughed Alzura. "It near
ly turned our hairwhite. It was the nastiest experience I have ever had--worse than whenthe Royalists cut us up at Torata."
"Were you in that battle, senor? Wasn't it terrible?" and the manlooked at my comrade with renewed interest.
Indeed, from that time he treated us both with increased respect, andthe journey passed quite pleasantly in his company. During the secondday we met several groups of mounted Indians, and a detachment ofregular soldiers; which showed that we could not be far from the mainencampment, on the plain between Rancas and Pasco. Our guide expectedto reach it that night, but we did not get in till after breakfast nextmorning.
The plain was a splendid place for a camp, though rather high up, beingsome twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. Surrounding iton all sides, huge mountains towered, their mighty summits hidden bythe clouds. The table-land itself was alive with soldiers, andpresently I caught sight of the flag which had been presented to thePeruvian Legion.
"Take us over there," I cried excitedly to the guide.--"There are ourcomrades, Alzura. I see Plaza, and Cordova, and the sour-faced oldmajor. Viva! viva!" and I rose in the stirrups with delight.
What explanation the Indian gave I do not know. We were plucked fromthe saddles and bandied about from one fellow to another in less thanno time, every one helping to keep up a running fire of remarks.
"Now let the Royalists tremble!" exclaimed Plaza, striking a dramaticattitude, spoiled only by the fun and twinkle in his eyes.
"Only think, our little Alzura has returned to us!" cried another; "letus embrace him."
"Wait till he's been scrubbed a few times," suggested Plaza. "Thelegion should be proud of these 'young bloods.' What airs and graces!What remarkable and novel costumes! What--"
"Can any one lend me a shirt?" interrupted Alzura.
"A shirt?" exclaimed Cordova. "My dear fellow, I have a dozen, quiteclean and doing nothing, I shall be proud to let you and Crawford eachhave one."
"Oh, thanks!" said Alzura. "I thought something practical ought tocome from all that talk. Come on, my boy, let's have them at once.Where are they?"
"Just down in Lima. You have only to--" but a roar of laughter drownedthe end of the sentence.
"You really don't require one," remarked Plaza; "it would spoil therest of your uniform--that is, if you have one under that dirt."
Every one was still enjoying the joke, when a number of officers inbrilliant uniforms approached our quarter of the plain. In the leaderI recognized Bolivar; and, to my great satisfaction, Colonel Miller wasone of his suite.
"Your men seem to be enjoying themselves, colonel," we heard Bolivarremark; "what is it all about?"
At that moment Miller caught sight of us, and leaving the general'squestion unanswered, called us over, saying, "Alzura! Crawford! Wherehave you been, my boys? We had quite given you up.--General, these aretwo of my young officers who have been missing for months."
Bolivar, who was in good humour that morning, made us stand by him andrelate our adventures. Then he complimented us on our pluck, andturning to an officer, said, "Take these youngsters to O'Brien, and askhim to supply them with decent clothing; they have at least earnedthat. And I am very proud of you, boys; and so, no doubt, are yourcomrades." At which Plaza led off a round of cheering.
I was very glad to see the great, big, jolly Irishman again, and helost no time in getting us fresh uniforms from the stores, with anextra poncho apiece.
"You'll be glad of that at night," said he, "for up here thethermometer is generally below freezing-point. I must come to see you,if there's time, and hear your story."
O'Brien was quite right about the biting cold, but on that first nightat least we hardly felt it. Dressed in our new clothes, comfortablywrapped in our ponchos, seated close to a roaring fire, and surroundedby old friends, Alzura and I felt amply repaid for all our toils andprivations.
In honour of our arrival our brother officers had organized a grandsupper, the greatest delicacy being a small loaf of white bread, whichthey insisted on sharing with Alzura and myself. After supper, we hadto give an account of our adventures; and many a laugh went up as Itold of my chum's plans, of our disasters in crossing the morass, andof the strange Indians who had mistaken us for Royalists, which, Plazaunkindly remarked, was a poor compliment to the enemy.
"After all," he continued, "you haven't had such a very bad time. Now,while you've been playing, we've been at work."
"Oh," cried Alzura, smiling blandly, "that would be a change for you!"
"We've made roads," said Cordova, with a solemn air, "built huts,collected fuel, carried corn, and driven cattle. We've worked harderthan the labourers on your father's estates."
"Glad to hear it," laughed my chum. "I thought Bolivar would makesomething of you. A pity we weren't with you, though."
"A great pity! With Crawford and you helping, there would have beenlittle for us to do."
"It must have been rough work crossing the mountains," I observed.
"Rough? rather! especially as Bolivar has turned us into cavalry," andhe proceeded to give a graphic account of the passage.
"The shelving ledges on the mountain sides are so narrow that thetroops were obliged to advance in single file. The cavalry, of course,were greatly handicapped. Each man rode a mule, and had a led horse,which he dragged after him by a lasso. Sometimes a break in the track,caused by a deep gully or a waterfall, occurred, when the men had todismount, and to lead their animals.
"But the worst of all was when night came while we were still on themarch," said Plaza. "We always walked then, and more than one fellowwent tumbling down some frightful precipice. We lost our way two orthree times, though there were plenty of trumpeters stationed atintervals. But Cordova will tell you about that," and there was ageneral laugh.
"Oh," said Alzura, scenting a bit of fun, "order, please, for Cordova'sstory.--Now, my boy, out with it!"
"'Twas nothing," replied Cordova airily. "We missed our way, and hadto return, that's all. A mere accident, only these fellows make such afuss about it."
"Plaza, you tell the yarn," said I. "Cordova's much too modest, andthat's quite a new thing for him, too!"
"Well, it happened on the wildest night of the whole journey. Aterrific snowstorm came on, half blinding us. We were wet through andtired as dogs, and the camping-place was still a long way off. Wecouldn't see much, but there was plenty of noise. The wind howled, thetrumpeters blew loud enough to wake the dead, officers shouted to theirmen, horses neighed and mules brayed: it was a regular pandemonium! Tocrown all, we were following the windings of a roaring torrent."
"And Cordova was leading," interrupted Major Gamarra.
"Some one suggested we were on the wrong track, but our friend knewbetter. 'Follow me,' said he; 'I can guide you by the sounds of thetrumpets.' And we followed."
"Like a flock of sheep," chimed in the major.
"We went on," continued Plaza, "till even Cordova admitted somethingwas wrong; then we stopped."
"Why didn't you turn back?"
"Out of the question, my boy. We tried it, and lost half a dozenanimals in the attempt. The only thing possible was to advance till wereached an open spot. When all our fellows were across we turnedround, and began the march back."
"Bravo, Cordova!" cried my chum, who was bubbling over with laughter.
"Oh, come, wait a bit. You haven't heard the best of the joke yet. Wehad done nearly half the distance, when we met the head of anothersquadron that followed us. 'Go back,' we yelled; 'you've missed theproper path.' 'Go back yourselves,' they shouted in reply; 'we can't!'Well, you know, neither party dared move till daybreak; so we stoodthere, crouching against the rocks and holding on to the animals. Wecould neither eat nor sleep. The wind flung the snow at us in masses,and we were frozen to the marrow. Some pretty things were said aboutCordova before the morning, I can assure you."
"To hear them talk, one would think they were made of sugar!" gruntedCordov
a.
"It took us four hours the next day to get out of the mess," laughedPlaza, "and then we had to catch up with our division. Altogether, itwas a very pleasant incident, though the major here and a few othersfailed to see the fun."
"But how came Canterac to let you through the passes without a fight?"I asked.
"A case of pride going before a fall, I expect. He thinks to serve usas he did at Torata.--By the way, Crawford, you gave Miller his wrongrank this morning. He's a general now, and chief of all the Peruviancavalry."
"Bravo, that's grand news! There isn't a better soldier in the army."
"Only he's so fearfully energetic. He'll keep one on the move forsixteen hours, and then suggest a little scouting as a titbit to windup with," said Cordova.
"You've had a good rest now, anyway."
"We shall pay for it, though."
And Cordova was not far wrong. We had barely fallen asleep when thebugles sounded. The troops rose, and mounted officers dashed about,carrying orders to different squadrons and battalions.
"Breakfast at once; ready to march in an hour," were the commands, andwe wondered what information Bolivar had obtained.
Some said one thing, some another, and very soon a fine crop of rumourssprang up. Canterac was advancing with twenty thousand men; his troopshad mutinied, and declared for the Patriots; he was retreating hot-footfor Cuzco; he was a prisoner in the hands of the mountain tribes.Every man suggested the event he fancied most, and seemed quite annoyedif one expressed any doubt of its accuracy.
"Just our luck," grumbled Alzura. "I did think we should have had alittle rest."
"It's just because you're here that we're moving," laughed Plaza."Directly Bolivar caught sight of you and Crawford yesterday morning,he determined to march. 'Canterac won't stand against those fellows,'he said."
"Bolivar is a capable fellow and a good judge," said Alzura. "I wonderwhere General Miller is."
"Went off in the night, reconnoitring with a party of mountaineers.It's wonderful how those wild fellows have taken to him. They'll goanywhere with him. Come along; it's nearly time for us to move, andBolivar doesn't like to be kept waiting."