CHAPTER XIII.
THE MIDNIGHT MEETING.
In the meantime Don Fernando Carril, bending over his horse's mane, wasgliding through the night like a phantom.
Thanks to the precaution he had taken of wrapping pieces of sheepskinround the hoofs of the horse, he passed on silently and rapidly as thespectre-horseman of the German ballad, making the frightened packs of_coyotes_ fly before his career.
Gradually he neared the banks of the river, which he forded withoutslackening his speed; inciting his steed by voice and gesture, andthrowing sharp glances to right and left, before and behind him.
His flight lasted full three hours, during which the Mexican neverallowed his favourite a moment's respite to fetch his breath and resthis tired limbs.
But when at last he arrived at a spot on the narrow river, where itrolled its muddy waters between low banks lined with tufted cottontrees, he alighted in a thick coppice, and, having convinced himself hewas alone, plucked a handful of grass, and rubbed his horse down withthat care, and solicitude of which those alone are capable whose livesmay at any moment depend on the speed of their faithful and devotedcompanion. Then taking off the bridle, and leaving him to graze onthe tall and abundant grasses, the Mexican spread his _zarape_ on theground, and closed his eyes.
Nothing troubled the silence of the night; no sound arose in thedesert. Don Fernando lay motionless as a corpse, his eyes still closed,and his head supported by his left arm; and thus he lay for two hours.
Did he sleep? Did he wake? None could say. Suddenly the hooting of anowl arose on the air. In an instant Don Fernando half-raised himself,bent his head forward, and listened, with his eyes fixed on the heavens.
It was deep in the night; the stars were shedding on the earth theirobscure and doubtful light; nothing foretold the approach of day.
It was scarcely two o'clock in the morning; the owl is the first birdto announce the approach of the sun, but owls do not proclaim the daythree hours before it breaks. Notwithstanding the perfection of theimitation, the Mexican hesitated. Soon a second hoot, followed bya third, dispersed the doubts of Don Fernando; he rose, and thricerepeated the cry of the water hawk.
A similar cry issued immediately from the opposite bank of the river.
Don Fernando bridled his horse, cast his _zarape_ over his shoulders,examined his weapons to ensure their efficacy, flung himself into thesaddle without touching stirrup, and crossed the river.
A short distance in front of him lay an islet, covered with poplarsand cotton trees, towards which he bent his steps. The approach tothe islet was easy; the horse, recruited by his two hours' rest, swamstrongly, and touched the ground nearly in a straight line from thespot where he had plunged in.
Scarcely had the Mexican reached the land, when a rider emerged fromthe thicket, and halting some twenty paces off, exclaimed, in a loudvoice, and an accent of great discontent:
"You were late in replying to my signal. I was on the point of leaving."
"Perhaps it would have been better had you done so," sharply repliedDon Fernando.
"Aha!" said the other mockingly, "Does the wind blow from that quarter?"
"Never mind whence it blows, if I do not sail before it. I am here;what do you want with me? Be short; for I have no time to give you."
"_iVive Dios!_ Something very interesting must entice you to the placewhence you came, if you are so anxious to be there again."
"Listen, Tigercat," roundly and sharply replied the Mexican; "if youhave summoned me here so urgently merely to chafe and laugh at me, itis useless to stay longer; so, adieu!"
As he said this, Don Fernando turned as if to retire and quit theisland.
The Tigercat--for his interlocutor was no other than that extraordinarypersonage--quickly seized a pistol, and cocked it.
"_iRayo de Dios!_" said he; "if you stir a foot, I will blow yourbrains out!"
"Pooh!" replied the other, with a sneer; "What should I be doing in themeanwhile? A truce to threats, or I kill you like a dog."
With action as prompt as the Tigercat's, he too had drawn a pistol,cocked, and presented it at his opponent.
"You would not dare to do it."
"You know I dare all," said the Mexican.
"We have lost time enough; let us proceed to business," said the oldman, alighting from his horse.
"Well, let us proceed to business. What is it you want with me?"replied Don Fernando, also dismounting.
"Why have you deceived and turned against me, instead of serving me, asyou are bound?"
"I was bound to nothing with you; on the contrary, I roundly refusedthe mission which you persisted in forcing upon me."
"Could you not have remained neuter, and allowed these people to fallinto my hands again?"
"No; my honour compelled me to defend them."
"Your honour!" burst out the Tigercat, with a cynical laugh.
The Mexican was confused: he frowned, but recovered himself, andcontinued:
"Hospitality is sacred in the prairie; its rights are indefeasible. Thepeople I guided had placed themselves, of their own accord, under myprotection: to abandon, or refuse to defend them, would have been tobetray them. You yourself would have done as I did."
"It is useless to recur any more to this, or to discuss a deed that isdone. Why did you not return to me?"
"Because I preferred to stay at San Lucar."
"Yes; civilized life is sure to attract you; I can understand that thisdouble part you are playing, at your own risk and peril, has charms foryou. Don Fernando Carril is received with open arms in the circles ofthe highest Mexican society. But believe me, boy, you had better takeheed lest your adventurous spirit lead you into some false steps, fromwhich not all the courage of Stoneheart could save you."
"I did not come here to listen to sermons."
"True; but it is my duty to read you the sermons you did not come tohear. As long as I remain in the desert, I will not lose sight ofyou for a moment. I know all your doings; I am ignorant of nothingregarding you."
"And why have you surrounded me with spies?" said Don Fernandohaughtily.
"In order to know if I could still repose the same confidence in you."
"And what have you learned from your spies?"
"Nothing but what is satisfactory; only I insist on knowing how westand towards each other."
"Do not your spies make you aware of my slightest doings?"
"Yes, of all that concerns you personally: thus I know you have not yetventured to present yourself to Don Pedro de Luna;" and he sneered.
"True; but I intend to see him tomorrow."
The Tigercat shrugged his shoulders in disdain.
"Let us speak of more serious matters," said he. "How do we stand?"
"I have followed your instructions in everything. For two years, sincethe time I first made my appearance in San Lucar, I have lost no singleopportunity of forming connections, which will, I hope be of service toyou later on. Although my appearance at the _pueblo_ is rare, and myvisits are short, I still think I have attained the object you proposedto yourself when you gave me my orders. The mystery with which Isurround myself has been of more use to me than I dared to hope. I haveattached to myself the greater number of the _vaqueros_ and _leperos_in the _presidio_--gallows birds, but I can count upon them; they aredevoted to me. These fellows only know me as Don Fernando Carril."
"Ah, I know all that," said the Tigercat.
"You do?" said the Mexican, looking at the old man with a glance ofanger.
"Have I not told you I never left you out of my sight?"
"Yes--as far as my personal affairs are concerned."
"Well, the hour is come to gather the harvest we have sown among thesevillains. They will serve me better against their countrymen thanthe redskins in whom I dare not place perfect confidence. They areacquainted with Spanish tactics, and accustomed to firearms. Now thatyour part with the _picaros_ is over, I shall begin to play mine. Imust enter into direct relation with
them."
"As you please; I thank you for releasing me from the responsibilityof an affair the object of which you have never thought fit to confideto me. I shall be glad to procure you the means of treating personallywith the rascals I have engaged in your service."
"I understand your longings to be free, and approve them the more,since it was I who first inspired you with the wish to become betteracquainted with the charming daughter of Don Pedro de Luna."
"Not a word of her," said Don Fernando fiercely. "If, up to the presenttime, I have consented to be guided by you, and to obey your orderswithout discussing them, the time has now come to place the questionclearly and categorically before us, so that no misunderstanding mayarise between us in the future. It is this reason alone which hadweight enough to bring me tonight in answer to your summons."
The Tigercat looked at the Mexican long and fixedly; then he replied:
"Speak, then, madman, who do not see the gulf which yawns at your feet:speak; I listen."
Don Fernando remained some time lost in thought, leaning against theknotted trunk of a poplar, and with his eyes cast on the ground.
"Tigercat," said he at length, "I know not who you are, nor the motiveswhich have induced you to renounce civilisation, to take refuge inthe desert, and adopt the life of the Indian; I do not wish to knowthem. Every man is responsible for his own actions, and must render anaccount of them to his own conscience. As to myself, never has a wordfrom your mouth taught me in what place I was born, or to what familyI belong. Although you brought me up--although, as far back as mymemory carries me, I have seen no one belonging to me but yourself--yetI cannot think you are my father. Had I been your son, or even onlya distant relative, it is evident my training would have been widelydifferent to that which I received at your express commands."
"What are those words your bold lips utter?--How dare you ventureto fling reproaches at me?" said the old man, bursting into a fit ofpassion.
"Interrupt me not, Tigercat; let me open my thoughts to you entirely,"sadly replied the Mexican. "I do not reproach you; but from the timewhen, under the name of Don Fernando Carril, you forced me into thewhirl of civilised life, in spite of myself, and no doubt in spite ofyou, I have learned two things, and my eyes have been opened. I havecomprehended the meaning of two words, the significance of which wasunknown to me till then. These two words have changed not only mycharacter, but the light in which I used to look at things; for, with apurpose I cannot divine, you applied yourself from my infancy to fosterevery evil sentiment germinating within me, while you carefully stifledthe few good qualities which my heart might haply have possessed, hadit not been for the system you adopted. In a word, I have now arrivedat the knowledge of good and evil. I know all your efforts have beenexerted to make me a human wild beast. Have you succeeded? The futureshall show. To judge by the feelings that are surging in my heartwhile I speak to you, you have not reached the result you aimed at;be that as it may, I am no longer your slave. I have served too longas the instrument in your hands of deeds whose aim I cannot see. Youhave yourself taught me that family bonds do not exist in nature;that they are absurd prejudices, trammels invented by civilisation;that no man has a right to impose his will as law on others; that thereal man is he who walks free through life, unincumbered by relationor friend, recognising no master but his own desires. Well, then, Iwill now put in practice these precepts you have so long and steadilyinculcated. What matters to me whether I be Don Fernando Carril, orStoneheart the Bee-hunter? Following the law laid down by yourself, andelevating ingratitude into a virtue, I take back my own free libertyand independence of you, recognising no claim of yours to influence mylife for good or for evil, and assuming from henceforth the right towalk after my own impulses, whatever may happen in consequence of myresolve."
"Go, my child," said the Tigercat, with his mocking sneer; "go, act asyou think fit; but, in spite of all your efforts, you will soon comeback to me; for say what you will, you belong to me, and will soonknow it. But it does not rouse my ire to hear you speak thus; it isnot you who speak--it is love. I am very old, Fernando, but not so oldas to have lost all recollections of my youth. Love has mastered yourheart; when he has utterly burnt it up, you will return to the desert;for then you will have learnt what that life is into which you, poor,ignorant child, are just plunging. You will have learnt that life inthis world is but a feather blown hither and thither by every varyingbreeze; and that at the breath of love, the man who thinks himself thestrongest becomes more feeble than the weakest and most wretched ofcreated beings. But let us break off: it is your will to be free; beso. First of all, however, you have to render me an account of themission with which I charged you."
"I will do so. Present yourself to the _vaqueros_ in my name; thisdiamond"--and he drew one from his finger--"will be your passport. Theyhave been warned: show it to them, and they will obey you as they wouldmyself."
"Where do these men meet?"
"You will find most of them at a low _pulqueria_ in the new Pueblo deSan Lucar. But do you really intend to venture within the _presidio?_"
"Assuredly. Now, one word more: can I count upon you when the hour foraction arrives?"
"You can, if what you purpose is right."
"Aha! You are already beginning to impose conditions."
"Have I not told you so?--Or shall I remain neuter?"
"No; I have need of you. You will, I suppose, inhabit the house youbought? Every day a trusty person shall inform you of the course ofevents; and when the proper moment comes, I know you will be with me."
"Perhaps I may; but happen what will, do not depend too much upon it."
"I do depend upon it, nevertheless, and I will tell you why. At presentyou are under the impulse of love, and naturally your reasoningsuccumbs to the influence of the passion that masters you. But beforea month is over, see what will inevitably happen. Either you willsucceed,--and satiety, following on the heels of sated passion, willmake you glad to return to the wilderness,--or you will fail, andjealousy and wounded pride will inspire the lust for vengeance, and youwill seize with joy the opportunity I shall offer you to glut it."
"I see clearly that very shortly we shall not understand each other atall," said the Mexican with a melancholy smile. "You always reason fromyour evil passions, so great is your hatred of men, and the contemptyou feel for the human race; while I only listen to my good feelings,and suffer myself to be guided by them."
"Well, well, child; I give you a month to finish your caterwauling.That time passed, we will resume our conversation. Adieu."
"Adieu. Are you bound for the _presidio?_"
"No; I return to my village, where, too, I have a little matter ofbusiness; for, unless I am mistaken, curious things have happened sinceI left it."
"Do you dread a revolt there against your power?"
"I do not dread, I wish it," was the enigmatical answer.
The old man then bid the Mexican farewell, mounted his horse, and rodeinto the thicket.
Don Fernando stood there some time, plunged in serious thought,listening mechanically to the sound of the horse's hoofs as they diedaway in the distance. When he could no longer hear them, he turned hishead in the direction Tigercat had taken.
"Go," said he hoarsely; "go, savage, in the belief that I have notdiscovered your project. I will dig a mine under your feet to explodeand crush you. I will foil your attempt. I would dare more than mandares to baffle your machinations. It is three o'clock," he continued,after looking at the sky, from which the stars were fading out; "Ishall have time."
He called his horse and mounted, took the direction of Don Estevan's_rancho_, and recommenced his headlong course across the wilderness.
The horse, fresh from his long rest, stretched himself out freely; anddaylight was just beginning to appear when they reached the _rancho._
Don Fernando gave a sigh of satisfaction. All was quiet about thedwelling; all the inhabitants seemed wrapped in repose. The secret ofhis nocturnal excursion
was safe.
He unsaddled his horse, groomed him carefully,--so as to leave no signsof his ride,--and led him to the _corral_, where he carefully divestedhis hoofs of the pieces of sheepskin, turned him in, closed the door,and softly returned to the zaguan.
Just as he was about to climb into his hammock, he observed a man, who,leaning against the doorpost with his legs crossed, was calmly smokinghis _pajillo._
Don Fernando recoiled on recognising his host; it was, in fact, EstevanDiaz.
The latter, without the slightest semblance of surprise, took thecigarette from his mouth, blew out an enormous mouthful of smoke, andaddressed his guest in a tone of the most polished courtesy.
"You must be greatly fatigued with your long ride tonight, _caballero._Will you have anything to restore you?"
Don Fernando, horrified at the coolness with which this was uttered,hesitated for a moment.
"How am I to understand you, _caballero?_" said he.
"How?" said the other. "Pooh! What is the use of dissembling? I assureyou, it is useless to attempt to blind me: I know all."
"You know all! What do you know?" replied the Mexican, anxious toascertain how far Don Estevan was acquainted with what had occurred.
"I know," replied the _major-domo_, "that you rose, that you saddledyour horse, and that you went to meet one of your friends who waswaiting for you at the Isle de los Pavos."
"What!" cried Don Fernando, scarcely repressing his rage; "You dared tofollow me?"
"_iVive Dios!_ I should think so; it is my way of thinking to fancythat a man who has been all day long on horseback does not takeanother ride through the whole of the following night for merepleasure, particularly in a country like this, which, dangerous enoughby daylight, is doubly so when night has fallen. Moreover, I aminquisitive by nature--"
"You are a spy!" broke in Don Fernando, in a fury.
"Fie, _caballero!_ What a strange expression you use! I a spy! No,no; only as the simplest way of learning what I wanted to know was tolisten, I listened."
"Then you were present at the conversation on the Isle de los Pavos?"
"I will not deny it, caballero; indeed, I was very close to you."
"And heard everything that was said there?"
"To be sure; yes, very nearly all," replied Don Estevan, still smiling.
Don Fernando threw himself upon the _major-domo_, but was stopped byhim with a strength the former hardly expected to meet with.
Don Estevan continued, in the same placid tone in which he had hithertospoken:
"_iCuerpo de Cristo!_ you are my guest. Wait a little; we shall havetime to finish this matter here, after, if it must be."
The Mexican, overwhelmed by these words, stepped back from him, crossedhis arms, and, looking him full in the face, replied, "I will wait."