CHAPTER X.
ARCHIE MAKES A BOLD DASH.
"Who was that?" whispered Archie, in a trembling voice.
"Pedro," replied the young Mexican.
"What did he want?"
"He told me to bring up the gray and black; he is going out to stealhorses, now," said Beppo, with the same indifference he would havemanifested if he had said that Pedro was about to drive up a herd ofcattle.
For a moment Archie stood, almost without breathing, looking up at thetrap-door through which the Ranchero had disappeared. His heart beatso fast and furiously that he was almost afraid the man might hear it,and come back to see what was the matter. At first he did not knowwhat to do; but, after a few seconds' reflection, the details of ascheme which he had matured while Beppo was telling him about theplans of the mutineers, flashed through his mind, and he began tobestir himself.
Since he entered the stable and found his horse there, he had morethan once told himself that if he could only contrive some way to getthe animal above ground, he could laugh at all the Rancheros inSouthern California. He would jump on his back, and go through thecourt, and out of the gate, at a rate of speed that would make DonCarlos and his band of rascals wonder; but the difficulty was to getthe horse up there without being obliged to answer questions. As faras his disguise was concerned, he was not at all uneasy. He was sonearly Beppo's size that the jacket fitted him exactly; and hisjourney across the plains, and constant exposure to the hot sun, hadtanned his face until it was almost as brown as an Indian's. It wasjust the color of Beppo's--not quite so dirty, of course, but that wassomething the Mexicans would not be likely to notice. Besides, Archiewas a capital mimic, and he knew that, if he was questioned, he couldimitate his prisoner's way of talking, Spanish twang and all. He hadthe keys, too, with which he could open any doors he might find in hisway; but suppose he should meet some of the band, and they should askhim where he was going, and what he intended to do with thehorses--what reply could he make? Now, however, he had no fears onthat score. Pedro had made every thing easy for him. Mistaking him forBeppo, he had ordered him to bring up the horses; and if he met anyone who took an interest in his movements, he would know how to answerthem.
"I'll soon be out of here," said Archie, to himself; "and when I oncefind myself fairly in that court, won't I astonish these Greasers?Uncle said this morning that if we could shoot Old Davy and arrest thehorse-thieves, he would be glad of it. We've finished the grizzly, andif we can't capture the robbers, we will at least have thesatisfaction of knowing that we have broken up the band, and got ourhorses back. But I believe we can gobble up every one of them. When Iget home I'll tell Carlos to send out uncle's herdsmen, and we willarouse the settlement, and raise a crowd of men, and come here andstorm the rancho. I'll have a chance then to see a fight and smellpowder."
Many a time, while talking over the particulars of the battle whichhad taken place years before at Mr. Winters's rancho, Archie hadexpressed the hope that another band of freebooters would turn upbefore he left California, and make a second attack on the building.He had passed through a fight with hostile Indians; had heard thewhistle of their bullets and arrows; and he thought that all that wasneeded to complete the list of his adventures, was the opportunity oftaking part in a siege of a week or two. If every thing workedaccording to his calculations, it was probable that his wish would begratified. How the robbers would fight when they found theirstronghold surrounded by the settlers; and what desperate attemptsthey would make to cut their way out! How the rifles would crack! andhow Dick Lewis and Bob Kelly would yell and exult at findingthemselves once more in their natural element! Archie became highlyexcited over the prospect.
Archie's first care was to provide for the safe keeping of hisprisoner, which he did by binding his handkerchief over his mouth, andpushing him under Roderick's manger, where he tied him fast; Bepposubmitting to the operation without a murmur. His next work was toprepare the horses for their plundering expedition, which he had fullydetermined should not prove a success that night. A saddle, which hungupon a peg close at hand, was soon strapped on the mustang's back; butwhen Archie had slipped the bridle over his head, a thought struckhim, and he stopped and looked reflectively down at his prisoner.
"I shall have to untie this fellow again," said he, "for I don't knowwhich way to go. These passage-ways run about in every direction, andI might get lost; then, if some of the band should meet me, they wouldknow in a minute that I wasn't Beppo. Whoa, there! Where are yougoing, Roderick?"
While Archie was talking to himself, the mustang backed out of hisstall, and walked quietly to the grated door at the farther end of thestable, where he stopped, and seemed to be waiting for some one tocome and let him out. He had become quite familiar with his newquarters; and Archie knew then that he had only to let Roderick takehis own course, and he would lead him straight to the court. Hequickly put the saddle on his own horse, and he also backed out of hisstall, and took his stand beside Roderick, in front of the grateddoor. So far every thing was working to Archie's satisfaction; but thedangerous part was yet to come, and he trembled when he thought of it.He carefully examined his revolver, hid his bowie-knife in his boot,and put the pistols, which he had found on the table, into histrousers' pockets. Then he pulled out his bunch of keys, picked up thelantern, and started toward the door. He regretted an instantafterward that he had not left the lantern; for as he glanced towardthe door, he saw a face pressed close against the bars, and a pair ofeyes glaring at him with a most ferocious expression. Archie stoppedsuddenly, undecided how to act. Had the man penetrated his disguise?That question was quickly answered to his satisfaction by theRanchero, who clenched his hand and shook it at him, saying, in asavage whisper:
"You haven't heard the last of this, my young friend. I'll settle withyou as soon as you have taken those horses up."
The man gave his fist another shake to emphasize his words, and thenleft the door and hurried down the passage; but, before he disappearedin the darkness, Archie obtained a good view of him, and recognizedhim as one of the mutineers whom he had seen at the door a few minutesbefore. Archie understood his words perfectly. The Ranchero was veryangry at Beppo for his failure to carry out his part of the contract,and had made up his mind to punish him for it at some future time. Hedid try to whip somebody; but, as it happened, he got hold of thewrong man, and came out second best.
"He's gone," said Archie, drawing a long breath of relief, "and Ithink I may venture out. I wouldn't be in Beppo's boots for a quarter,when that man meets him. I believe I am the luckiest fellow in theworld; for whenever I get into a scrape, I always find an easy wayout of it." As he said this, he thought of the "scrape" he had hadthat morning with Old Davy, and told himself he had not come out ofthat so very easily after all. He still felt the effects of his fallin his nose and shoulder. "If any body had asked me half an hour agowhat I thought of the situation," he continued, "I should have saidthat the prospect was not very flattering. I expected to have aterrible fuss with these Greasers; but, just in the nick of time, amutineer comes up, mistakes me for an accomplice, gives me a bunch ofkeys, and thus makes it the easiest matter in the world for me toeffect my escape. It is really wonderful."
Archie at last succeeded in finding a key to fit the lock, the doorswung open, and the horses went out and started down the passage-way,Archie following close at their heels. Now that he had a light, andcould distinguish objects about him, he wondered at the number andextent of the passages. They ran about in all directions, and thehorses turned first into one, and then into another, and twisted aboutuntil he began to believe that they had lost their way. But they knewwhere they were going, and in a few minutes they brought Archie insight of a door which led into the court. The door was open, and therewere half a dozen men standing in front of it, among whom was DonCarlos, who seemed to be highly excited about something; for he wasflourishing his arms wildly around his head, and talking at the top ofhis voice. If Archie had known what a race Frank had had t
hrough thatcourt a little while before, and what had happened to him since, itwould have increased his own excitement and alarm, if such a thingwere possible. He believed that his cousin was still seatedcomfortably in the room where he had left him, reading his book, andall unconscious of Archie's absence.
"He will stay here all night in perfect security," Archie had said,whenever he thought of Frank, "and to-morrow, when he comes home, hewill hardly be willing to believe me when I tell him what I have seen,and what I have been through. The Don will treat him like a gentleman,of course; but what would he do to me if he should find that I amdown in this cellar learning all his secrets? I'd be gone up, sure. Iwonder if the old fellow has discovered my absence, and what he thinksof it!"
The Don, as we know, had discovered his absence, and was greatlyalarmed thereat, fearing that Archie might have found his way into theunderground portions of the rancho, and learned something that wasnot intended for him to know. Having returned from his chase afterFrank (with what success we shall see presently), he was determined toascertain what had become of Archie; and a dozen of his Rancheros wereat that very moment searching for him in every nook and corner of thepassage-ways.
When Archie discovered the men at the door, he knew that the tug ofwar was coming. His disguise had already been tested by Pedro and oneof the mutineers, and their suspicions had not been aroused in theslightest degree; but how would it be when he came out into the court,which was brilliantly lighted up with lanterns? He was quite certainof one thing, and that was, if the Don recognized him, and wanted tostop him, he must do it before he reached the court; for after that itwould be impossible. If he could only put his eyes on the gate, he wassafe. That was what Archie thought as he extinguished his lantern, andspoke in a low tone to the horses, which stopped instantly. MountingKing James, he gathered the reins firmly in his left hand, seized themustang's bridle with his right, and in another moment was dashing atfull speed up the declivity that led to the door. He was right in themidst of the Mexicans before they knew it. Two of them were sentheadlong to the ground, and the Don only saved himself from being rundown, by a jump that was remarkable for one of his years. They wereall scattered right and left, and the way was clear to the gate.
"Good-by, Don Carlos!" shouted Archie, so excited and elated that hecould scarcely speak; "I'll be back in half an hour."
No words could describe the Spaniard's bewilderment and alarm. Herecognized Archie's voice, knew in an instant that his worst fears hadbeen realized, and saw the necessity of preventing him from leavingthe rancho. He stood gazing in astonishment at the swiftly movinghorses and their daring rider; and before he could recover the use ofhis tongue, they were half way across the court.
"Ach, mine heavens!" roared the Don, jumping about over the groundlike one demented; "_mine_ dear heavens! Here ish dis leetle poys!Shtop him, dere! Dis ish von grand shwindle!"
There were half a dozen Rancheros in the court, besides those who hadbeen conversing with the Spaniard, and Archie's sudden appearancecreated a great commotion among them. They ran about in everydirection, some shouting for their pistols, and others calling fortheir lassos; but not one among them was daring enough to attempt tostop him. They might as well have tried to stop a locomotive or asteamboat. The horses bounded across the court with terrific speed,and nothing short of a rifle-ball or lasso would have checked them.Archie's face was very pale, but it betrayed not the slightest sign offear. It wore a determined, reckless look, and it was easy enough tosee that he was not to be daunted by any obstacles or dangers he mightfind before him. He would have remorselessly run down all the herdsmenon the rancho, if they had placed themselves in his way.
Archie thought now that his escape was but a question of time--ofseconds; but there was one obstacle in his way that he had notcalculated upon, and that was the gate. When he came in sight of it,what was his dismay to find that it was closed! The heavy oak barswere in their places; and the gate was so well secured, that before hecould dismount and open it, the yelling, angry Mexicans, who wereclosing in from all sides, would be down upon him in a body. He wascornered--caught. His desperate plan for escape, which had been sobrilliantly commenced, and which at first promised to succeed evenbeyond his expectations, had resulted in utter failure. He wished nowthat he had remained hidden in some of the underground rooms untildark.
The horses stopped when they reached the gate, and Archie turned inhis saddle and took a survey of the situation. The court was filledwith men now--for the most of those who had been searching thepassage-ways had come up--and they were all running toward him,swinging their lassos, and brandishing their knives and pistols as ifthey intended to use them as soon as they could get their hands uponhim. A more ferocious looking set of men he had never seen.
Had Archie been placed in this situation a few months before, it isprobable that he would have been frightened out of his wits, and thathe would have surrendered without making any further attempts atescape. But he had been the hero of some exciting adventures since heleft Lawrence, and, to some extent, he had become familiar withdanger. Besides, he was naturally brave and resolute, and believingfrom the actions of his enemies, and the expression he saw in theirfaces, that it was their intention to take a summary vengeance uponhim, he resolved to fight for life and liberty as long as he hadstrength enough to move an arm. He had nothing to gain by surrenderinghimself into the hands of the Mexicans; he might gain every thing byresisting them to the last.
"Now, dis ish _all_ right!" yelled the Don, when he saw Archiehesitating at the gate, and his men closing around him. "We have gotdis leetle poys. Hi! Bedro, vat you makin' dere? Ah! Mine heavens!"
The change in the old Spaniard's tone was caused by an action on thepart of Archie, which astonished every body in the court. DroppingRoderick's bridle, he suddenly wheeled his horse and dashed furiouslytoward the Rancheros, who scattered before him like a flock ofturkeys. As he passed through their ranks, several lassos were thrownat him; but Archie had learned how to avoid these weapons, and bylying flat along his horse's neck, he escaped being pulled from hissaddle. He galloped toward the nearest door, and without trying tostop his horse, threw himself to the ground, and disappeared in thehall like a flash. A few rapid steps brought him to the room to whichthe Don had conducted him on his arrival at the rancho. He did notstop to look for his cousin, for he knew that if Frank had been there,the confusion and noise in the court would have brought him out. Heran straight to the painting of the Indian warrior, pressed thebutton in the handle of the knife, and when the door opened beforehim, he dashed through and ran along the dark passage with recklessspeed;--the smooth click of the spring-lock telling him that thepicture had swung back to its place. He still had the bunch of keys,which he intended to preserve as a memento of his visit to Don Carlos'rancho, and his object now was to reach the room adjoining the stable,and lock himself in. He concluded, from something Beppo had said, thatthere was but one set of keys to all these rooms; and he had thesatisfaction of knowing that if that was the case, the robbers couldnot capture him until they had cut down every door in the rancho. Hewould retreat as they advanced, locking all the doors behind him; andwhen at last he was brought to bay, he would use his revolver.
The passage was so dark that Archie could not see his hand before him;and how he ever got down the stairs without breaking his neck he didnot know. He accomplished the descent in safety, however, and therehis good fortune ended. As he jumped into the passage at the foot ofthe stairs, he came in violent contact with some one who instantlyseized him and held him fast.
"Who's this?" demanded a gruff voice.
"Santa Maria!" cried Archie.
"You young rascal!" continued the man, in a tone of greatsatisfaction. "I've got you now, and I am going to give you the bestdressing down you have had in a twelve-month." Something whistledsharply in the darkness, and Archie felt the effects of a stingingblow from a rawhide in the hands of his invisible antagonist.