CHAPTER XXIV.
THE TWO ULMENS.
If we were writing a romance instead of a true history, there arecertain scenes of the recital which we would pass over in silence. Theone which follows would certainly be of this number; and yet, though ofa rather hazardous puerility, it carries with it its lesson, by showingwhat is the influence of the early habits of a miserable life, even uponnatures the best endowed, and how difficult it is, at a later period, toshake them off. We will add, to the praise of Valentine, the man of whomwe are speaking, that his gaminism, if we may be allowed to employ sucha term, was much more feigned than real, and that his aim, in allowinghimself to be sometimes led away by it, was to bring a smile to the lipsof his foster brother, and thus cheat the sorrow that was undermininghis peace.
This necessary preamble being gone through, we will resume the courseof our narrative, and, abandoning for a time Don Tadeo and his friend,we will request the reader to follow us back to the tribe of the GreatHare. The looked-for morrow was a great day for the tribe, a dayexpected with impatience by all housekeepers, who were about to learnhow to discover, to use Valentine's word, a new dish, which promisedto please the palates of their race. As soon as it was daylight, men,women, and children assembled on the great Square of the village, andformed numerous groups, in which the merit of the unknown dish aboutto be revealed to them was discussed. Louis, for whom the experimenthis friend was going to make had very little interest, wished to remainin the toldo; but Valentine insisted upon his being present at theexperiment, and much against his will, he consented.
The Parisian was already at his post, standing in an open spot, inthe middle of the Square, watching with a laughing eye the anxiousor incredulous expression by turn displayed upon the faces directedtowards him. A table, which was to serve for his culinary preparations,a lighted brasier, upon which boiled an iron pot filled with water, akitchen knife, an enormous frying-pan, found I know not where, a sortof tub, a wooden spoon, some parsley, a bit of bacon, some salt, somepepper, and a basket full of fresh eggs, had been prepared at his desireby the cares of Trangoil-Lanec.
All eagerly looked for the arrival of the Apo-Ulmen of the tribe, withwhich the exhibition was to commence. A kind of dais had been erectedfor him in front of the operator, and when he had taken his lightedcalumet from the hands of his pipe-bearer, he bent a little on oneside and whispered a few words in the ear of Curumilla, who stoodrespectfully beside him. The Ulmen bowed, came down from the dais, wentstraight to the Parisian to tell him he might begin, and then resumedhis post.
Valentine returned the salutation of this master of the ceremonies,took off his poncho, which he folded up and laid carefully at his feet,and turning up his sleeves above his elbows with the studied grace ofa performer, he leant slightly forward, placed his right hand upon thetable, and assuming the tone of a vendor of quack medicines who boastsof the efficacy of his nostrums to gaping clowns, he thus commenced hisdemonstration in a loud voice and with a perfectly clear utterance:--
"Illustrious Ulmens, and you redoubtable warriors of the noble andsacred tribe of the Great Hare, listen attentively to what I have thehonour of explaining to you. In the beginning of time the world didnot exist; water and clouds, which continually clashed against eachother in space, then formed the universe. When Pillian created theworld, as soon as at his voice man had issued from the bosom of the redmountain, he took him by the hand, and pointing to all the productionsof the earth, the air, and the water, he said to him,--'Thou art theking of creation: consequently, animals, plants, and fishes all belongto thee, and are, each in proportion with its strength, instincts, orconformation, to minister to thy welfare and thy happiness in the worldin which I have placed thee; thus the horse shall bear thee with fieryspeed across the deserts, fleecy lamas and sheep clothe thee with theirwool, and nourish thee with their succulent flesh.' When Pillian hadanalyzed, one after the other, the diverse qualities of the animals,before proceeding to the plants and fishes, he stopped at the hen, whichwas moving carelessly about, and picking up the grains of corn scatteredon the ground. Pillian took her by the wings, and showing her to man,said, 'Here is one of the most useful animals I have created for thyservice; boiled in a pot, the hen will afford thee an excellent brothwhen thou art sick; roasted, its white flesh will acquire a deliciousflavour; of her eggs thou canst make omelettes with herbs, omeletteswith mushrooms, omelettes with ham, and, above all others, with bacon.If thou art indisposed, and solid food should be too heavy for thy weakstomach, thou canst boil her eggs in the shell, and then thou wilt saysomething, indeed!'
"Thus," continued Valentine, attitudinizing before the Indians, who,with open mouths and staring eyes, lost not a single word he uttered,whether they understood it or not, whilst, in spite of his secretgrief, Louis literally writhed with laughter; "thus it was that Pillianspoke to the first man at the commencement of ages; you were not there,Araucano warriors, it is therefore not astonishing that you know nothingabout it; neither was I there, it is true; but, thanks to the talentwe white men possess of transmitting our thoughts from age to age, bymeans of writing, these words of the Great Spirit have been carefullycollected, and have come down to us in their purity. Without furtherprelude, I am going to have the honour of producing before you a boiledegg! Listen to me; it is as simple as saying good-day, and within thereach of the most limited capacity. In order to enjoy a boiled egg,two things are necessary--in the first place, an egg, and then, someboiling water! You take the egg in your fingers, thus, you uncover yoursaucepan, you place the egg in a spoon and deposit it carefully in thesaucepan, where you allow it to boil gently three minutes. Mind, threeminutes, neither more nor less: pay attention to that important detail,for a longer time would compromise the success of your operation. Thereit is!"
The action suited the word; the three minutes were past: Valentinetook out the egg, beheaded it, sprinkled a little salt on it, andpresented it to the Ulmen with some long strips of maize bread. Allthis was performed with the most imperturbable seriousness, amidst theprofound silence of the attentive crowd. The Apo-Ulmen proceeded totaste this wonderful egg with the most deliberate gravity. An air ofdoubt appeared for a second on his lips, as he raised the first mouthfultowards them; but, by degrees, the features of his broad face expandedunder the influence of joy and pleasure, and he at last exclaimedenthusiastically,--
"Wah! It is good! Very good!"
Valentine returned to his brasier with a modest smile, and set aboutboiling eggs, which he distributed among the Ulmens and principalwarriors, who quickly mingled their felicitations with those of theApo-Ulmen. A delirious joy took possession of the poor Indians, andValentine could hardly keep his ground, so eagerly did they press roundhim, to examine closely his mysterious mode of cooking the eggs. Atlength, calm was re-established, and the curiosity of the majority wassatisfied. The Apo-Ulmen, who had not been able to make his voice heardin the tumult, was able to restore a little order, and obtain silence.Valentine looked at his public with an air of satisfaction. From thatmoment the Indians were believers--the most incredulous were convinced,and all awaited with impatience the continuation of his experiments.
"Listen to me!" he continued, striking a sharp blow on the table withthe knife he held in his hand; "listen to me, but, above all, observeclosely how I proceed. A boiled egg was child's play to me, but theomelette requires to be considered seriously, and executed with care, inorder to obtain that finish, that smoothness, flavour, and perfectionso much prized by real judges. I am about to make a bacon-omelette, andwhen I name that, I name the most exquisite dish in the world! Whilstexplaining to you the manner in which you should set about it, I willproduce it: follow my reasonings closely, and observe attentively themanner in which I mingle the various ingredients which enter into thecomposition of this dish. To make a bacon omelette, I must have bacon,eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and some butter--there they are, as yousee, all on that table. Now I will mix them."
Then, with incredible address, and the greatest qu
ickness, he commenceda monster bacon-omelette, of at least sixty eggs, while continuing hisexplanation with inexpressible freedom and copiousness. The interest ofthe Indians was warmly excited, their enthusiasm betraying itself byshouts, leaps, and laughter; but it was carried to its height, and thestamping, crying, and screaming became terrific, when the Puelches sawValentine seize the long handle of the frying-pan with a firm grasp,and toss the omelette three different times into the air, without anyapparent effort, and with the style and ease of a finished cook. Whenthe omelette was done to the moment, the Frenchman placed it upon adish, taking care to double it with the talent which _cordons bleus_alone possess, and was then preparing to carry it smoking to theApo-Ulmen, but he, enticed by the flavour of the boiled egg, and withappetite excited to the highest pitch, spared him that trouble; forhe forgot all decorum, and rushed towards the table, followed by theprincipal Ulmens of the tribe. The success of the Parisian was enormous.Never, in the history of the divine art, did a cook obtain such aglorious triumph! Valentine, with the modesty peculiar to men of realtalent, stole away from the honours they wished to pay him, and hastenedto conceal himself with his friend in the toldo of Trangoil-Lanec.
On the morrow of this eventful day, at the moment when the young menwere about to leave the quarters they inhabited in common, their hostpresented himself, followed by Curumilla. The two chiefs saluted them,sat down upon the beaten earth which served instead of flooring, and littheir pipes. Louis, already accustomed to the ceremonious habits of theAraucanos, and convinced that their friends had something of importanceto say, reseated himself, as did also his foster brother, and awaitedpatiently the expected communication. When the chiefs had deliberatelysmoked out their pipes, and shaken the last ashes upon their nails,they replaced them in their belts, and, after exchanging a glance,Trangoil-Lanec began:--
"Are my pale brothers still resolved to leave us?"
"Yes," replied Louis.
"Has Indian hospitality been wanting towards them?"
"So far from that, chief," the young man said, warmly pressing hishands, "you have treated us like children of your own tribe."
"Then why leave us?" Trangoil-Lanec asked; "we know not what we lose, dowe ever know what we shall find?"
"You are right, chief; but you know we came into this country for thepurpose of visiting Antinahuel," Louis observed.
"And does my golden-haired brother," for so he called Valentine,"absolutely wish to see him?"
"Absolutely," replied the young man.
The two chiefs exchanged a second glance.
"He shall see him," replied Trangoil-Lanec; "Antinahuel is at hisvillage."
"Good!" said Valentine. "In that case we will set out tomorrow."
"My brothers shall not go alone."
"What do you mean by that?" Valentine asked.
"The Indian soil is not safe for palefaces; my brother has saved mylife, I shall follow him."
"My brother has preserved me a friend," said Curumilla, who had tillthat time preserved silence; "I shall follow him."
"You cannot think of such a thing, chief," Valentine remarked. "We aretravellers whom chance knocks about at its pleasure; we know not whatdestiny has in reserve for us, nor whither it will conduct us, afterhaving seen the man to whom we are sent."
"What does it signify?" Curumilla replied; "where you go, we will go."
The young men were greatly moved by such frank and noble devotion.
"Oh!" Louis exclaimed, warmly, "it is impossible! your friends, yourwives, and your children."
"Our wives and children will be taken care of by our relations until ourreturn."
"My friends, my good friends," said Valentine, with emotion, "you arewrong; we cannot impose such a sacrifice upon you, we will not consentto it for your sake; I have already told you, we are ignorant of whatawaits us, or what we shall do; allow us to go alone."
"We will follow our pale brothers," Trangoil-Lanec said in a tone thatadmitted of no reply; "my brothers are not acquainted with the llanos;four men are a force in the desert--two men are dead."
The Frenchmen contested the matter no longer, they accepted the offerof the Ulmens, and did so the more readily, because they plainlyperceived what an immense advantage these men would be to them. Theywere accustomed to a life in the woods, they knew all its mysteries,and had fathomed all its depths. The chiefs took leave of their guests,to prepare for their departure, which was irrevocably fixed for thenext day. At sunrise, a small party, composed of Louis, Valentine,Trangoil-Lanec, and Curumilla, all four mounted upon excellent horses ofthat mixed Andalusian and Arabian breed, which the Spaniards importedinto America, and Caesar, who trotted at their side in close file, leftthe tolderia, escorted by all the members of the tribe shouting: "Comeback again! come back again!--A good journey! a good journey!"
After repeated farewells to these worthy people, the four travellersdirected their course towards the tolderia of the Black-Serpents, andsoon disappeared in the numberless defiles formed by the quebradas.