CHAPTER VI.
AT LAST--AT LAST.
As our ship steered away out into the open sea, Mr. Burton walked upinto the ruinous old Spanish town, and stopped at the hotel, in whosebreezy corridor he found several of his traveling companions, who hadpreceded him. These persons had been somewhat surprised at hisdesertion of the rest of his party for a visit to their decayed city;but when he explained to them his desire of visiting some of theirdeserted mines, and examining the character of the mountainous region,a little back, before proceeding to similar investigations inCalifornia, their wonder gave place to the habitual indolence oftemperaments hardly active enough for curiosity. There were two orthree persons from the United States stopping at the hotel, who quicklymade his acquaintance, eager for news direct from home, and while heconversed with these the four o'clock dinner was announced. He sippedhis chocolate leisurely, after the dessert, chatting at ease with hisnew friends; and upon expressing a desire to see more of the old town,one of them offered to accompany him upon a walk. They strolled outamong cool palm groves, and back through the dilapidated streets, madepicturesque by some processions of Catholics, winding through thetwilight with their torches, until the moon arose and glimmered on therestless ocean.
Most persons, on business similar to Mr. Burton's, would have gone atonce to the American consul for his assistance; but he felt himselffully equal to the emergency, and desired no aid in the enterprisewhich he was about to prosecute. Therefore he refused the invitation ofhis companion to call upon the consul; and finally returned to hishotel, to sit awhile in the open, moonlit corridor, before retiring tohis room, where he lay long awake, pondering upon the steps to be takennext day, and somewhat disturbed by the open doors and windows, whichwere the order of the establishment.
He was awakened from his first slumber by the cold nose of a dog rubbedin his face, and from his second by a lizard creeping over him; but notbeing a nervous man, he contrived to sleep soundly at last. He wasserved, early in the morning, with a cup of coffee in his apartment,and before the late breakfast was ready, he had been abroad andconcluded his arrangements for a visit to the estates of Don Miguel.Everybody knew that gentleman by reputation; and he had no difficultyin securing the services of two half-naked, lazy-looking nativeIndians, to act as guides, who, with three forlorn mules, destined tocarry the party, were at the door when he finished his repast. He waswarned to go well armed, as, though the route to Don Miguel's was anold one, often traveled, there was always more or less danger in thatcountry. A pistol or two would not be out of place, if only to keep hisshiftless guides in order. Mr. Burton thanked his advisers, told themhe feared nothing, and set out upon his long, hot and tediousride--thirty miles on muleback, under a southern sun, being somethingmore of a task than he had ever known a journey of that length to behitherto. At noon he took a rest of a couple of hours at a miserableinn by the wayside, and a dinner of fried tortillas, rendered tolerableby a dessert of limes, bananas and oranges. With a supply of thiscooling fruit in his pockets, he braved the afternoon sun, determinedto reach the _hacienda_ before dark. As he neared his destination, thecharacter of the country changed. The broad road, cut through groves ofpalm, and fields of corn, with orchards of figs and peaches, grew morenarrow and uneven, and the surface of the ground more broken. Beforehim loomed up hills, growing higher as they retreated, some of theglittering peaks seeming to glisten with snow. A cool, refreshing airswept down from them; the scenery, although wilder, was beautiful andromantic in the extreme. Wearied as he was with the conduct of a mulewhich was no disgrace to the reputation of its species, Mr. Burtonenjoyed the magnificent scene which opened before him, as he approachedthe _hacienda_ of Don Miguel. It lay at the foot of a low mountain,first of the brotherhood which overtopped it, and stood looking overits shoulder. Rich plains, some of them highly cultivated, and otherscovered with the grazing herds of a thousand cattle, lay at the foot ofthe hill, which was heavily timbered, and down which leaped a sparklingcascade, not more beautiful to the eye than promising of freshness tothe pastures below, and of "water-privileges" to the mines understoodto lay somewhere in the canons of the mountain.
Before entering upon the estates which he had now reached, Mr. Burtonsecured a night's lodging for his _peons_, at a hovel by the roadside,and having abundantly rewarded them, dismissed them from his service,riding forward alone along the private carriage-way, which, throughgroves of flowering trees and fragrant peach-orchards, led up to thelong, low, spacious mansion of Don Miguel.
By the servant who came forth to receive him he was informed that themaster of the place was at home, and was soon shown into his presence,in the cool, tile-floored sitting-room, in which he was lounging,waiting for the supper-hour.
Mr. Burton's powers of pleasing were too great, and his refinement tooreal, for him to fail in making the impression he desired upon thegentleman into whose house he had intruded himself. The cold courtesywith which he was at first received, soon took a tinge of warmth, andit was with sincere cordiality that Don Miguel offered him thehospitalities of his home, and full liberty to make all the researcheshe might desire upon his estate. The habitual dislike of the Spaniardfor "los Yankees," seemed quite overcome in the case of Don Miguel, byhis friendship for his son-in-law, of whom he soon spoke, anticipatingthe pleasure it would give Dr. Seltzer to meet a gentleman so recentlyfrom his old home, New York. On this account he made the strangerdoubly welcome. Mr. Burton was interested in his host, and liked him,perceiving him to be intelligent, generous and enthusiastic; his heartrebuked him when he thought of the mission upon which he had come intothis little retired Paradise, so remote from the world and so lovely initself that it did seem as if evil ought to have forgotten it.
The two had conversed nearly an hour, when Don Miguel said,
"It is now our supper-hour. Allow a servant to show you to yourapartment, where we will give you time to at least bathe your face andhands after your weary ride. I was so entertained with the news thatyou bring me from the States that I have neglected your comfort. Dr.Seltzer went up on the mountain, to-day, to look after our mininginterest a little, but I expect his return every moment. He will becharmed to meet a countryman."
This last assertion Mr. Burton doubted, for he knew that the remorse ofa guilty conscience stung the possessor into a restlessness which madeany unexpected event a matter of suspicion. As the door closed upon himin the large, airy chamber into which he was ushered, he sunk, for afew moments, into a chair, and something like a tremor shook hisusually steady nerves. He stood so close upon the probableaccomplishment of the object he had kept in view for two years, that,for an instant, excitement overcame him. He soon rallied, however, andat the end of fifteen minutes, when the _peon_ came in again toannounce supper, he had toned up his courage with a plentiful dash ofcold water, and was never more his own peculiar self, than when he setfoot in the supper-room. A glance told him that the absent member ofthe family had not yet returned; only two persons were present, hishost, and the beautiful woman whom he introduced as his daughter, Mrs.Seltzer. The three sat down to the table, which was covered with anelegant repast, the first dish of which was a fine-flavored roastwild-turkey.
There was a plentiful supply of porcelain and silver-ware; it did nottake five seconds for the guest to decide that the quondam druggist ofBlankville--if this were indeed the person, as he assumed with suchcertainty--had gotten himself into enviable quarters.
As his penetrating glance rested on the exquisite face which confrontedhim across the "pale specter of the salt," he kept asking himself, withinward anguish, why it was that he had not circumvented this adventurersooner, before the young, girlish creature he saw before him hadinvolved her fate with that of the guilty.
Beautiful as our dreamiest fancies of Spanish women she was, accordingto the report of Mr. Burton, and he was no enthusiast. He saw that shewas as uneasy as a bird which misses its mate, her black eyesconstantly wandering to the door, and
her ear so preoccupied withlistening for the expected step as scarcely to take note of the remarksmade to her by the stranger. Once she asked him, with much interest, ifhe had known Dr. Seltzer in New York, but upon his answering in thenegative, he could guess that he had fallen in her esteem, for sheimmediately withdrew her attention from him.
The senses of the guest were all keenly on the alert; but it was by thesudden fire which leaped and melted in the eyes of the Donna, and therich color which shot into her hitherto olive cheek, that he wasinformed of the approach of her husband. She had heard the rapid gallopof his horse afar off, and now sat; mute and expectant, until he shouldarrive at the gate, cross the veranda and enter the room. In threeminutes he stood in the supper-room. The visitor met him just in themanner he would have most desired--when the man was entirely unwarnedof company, and had no chance to put on a mask. Outwardly Mr. Burtonwas serene as a summer day, but inwardly his teeth were set upon eachother to keep his tongue from crying out--"_This is the man!_" When Dr.Seltzer first perceived a stranger in the room, and heard hisfather-in-law say, "A countryman of yours, from New York, doctor," hisslight start of surprise would, to most persons, have appeared no morethan natural; but the person whose courteous eye met his, saw in it thefirst impulse of an ever-ready apprehension--an alarm, coveredinstantly by a false warmth of manner which caused him to greet thestranger with extreme friendliness.
The new-comer retired for a moment to his room to prepare for the meal;upon his taking his place at table, hot dishes were brought in; theDonna seemed also to have recovered her appetite, which had beenspoiled by his absence; a gay and social hour followed.
Dr. Seltzer might have been good-looking had his eyes not possessed theshifting, uncertain glance that plays before a soul which dares notfrankly meet its fellows, and had not an evil expression predominatedon his features. His face was one which would have been distrusted inany intelligent company of our own people; but the Spaniards, with whomhe was now associated, were so accustomed to treachery and untruthamong their race, and so familiar with kindred features and subtleblack eyes, that he, doubtless, had never impressed them unfavorably. ASpaniard he was at heart, and he had found, in his present life, acongenial sphere. Not that all Spaniards are necessarily murderers--buttheir code of right and wrong is different from ours. Don Miguel was anexcellent gentleman, honorable, to an unusual degree for a Mexican,real and sanguine in his feelings, and thoroughly deceived as to thecharacter and acquirements of the person to whom he had confided somuch. It was the bitter flavor in the cup of his assured triumph thatMr. Burton, in bringing the villain to bay, must shock this amiablehost, and ruin the happiness of his innocent child.
After supper, they sat on the veranda a couple of hours. Thehalf-filled moon sunk down behind the groves of fragrant trees; thestars burned in the sky, large, and, to a Northern eye, preternaturallybright; the wind was luscious with warmth and sweetness; and thebeautiful woman, whose soft eyes dwelt ever on the face of her husband,looked yet more lovely in the clear moonlight. (Through all theearnestness of his story, my friend dwelt on these details, because heobserved them at the time, and they became a part of the narrative inhis mind.)
The conversation was principally upon mining. Mr. Burton had sufficientscientific knowledge to make it apparent that his exploring expeditionwas for the purpose of adding to that knowledge. Before they separatedfor the night, Dr. Seltzer had promised to escort him, on the followingday, over all the mountainous portion of the ranch.
The visitor retired early, being fatigued with his journey; but he didnot sleep as quietly as usual. He was disturbed by the onerous duty towhich he had devoted himself. Visions of the Donna, pale with grief andreproach, and of the interview which he had resolved upon with themurderer, alone on the mountainside, when, by the force of will, andthe suddenness of the accusation, he expected to wring from him thedesired confession--kept him long awake. Once he half rose in his bed;for, lying in that feverish condition when all the senses are exalted,he heard, or fancied he heard, the handle of the door turned, and aperson step silently into the apartment. Knowing the thievishpropensities of the Spanish servants, he had no doubt but one of thesehad entered for purposes of robbery; he therefore remained quiet, butready to pounce upon the intruder should he detect him approaching thebed. The room was entirely dark, the moon having set some time before.Whether he made some sound when rising on his couch, or whether thevisitor gave up his purpose at the last moment, he could onlyconjecture; after some moments of absolute silence he heard the doordrawn softly together again, and was conscious of being alone. Soonafter this he dropped asleep, and awoke in the dawn to find his purseand garments undisturbed.
He was summoned to an early breakfast, which was partaken of by the twoexcursionists alone; his companion was, if possible, more social andfriendly than on the previous evening. It was yet hardly sunrise whenthey arose from the table to mount the horses which awaited them at thedoor. A basket of lunch was attached to the pummel of Dr. Seltzer'ssaddle, whose parting injunction to the servant was to have dinner atfour, as they should stand in need of it upon their return. Then,through a world of dew, coolness and perfume, glittering with the firstrays of the sun, the two men rode off toward the mountains.
After following a good road some five or six miles, they commencedclimbing the first of the series of hills of which mention has beenmade. The road here was still tolerable; but when they advanced intothe immediate region of the mines they were compelled to abandon theirhorses, which were left at a small building, belonging to the ranch,and to proceed on foot into the mountain gorges.
The scenery now became wild beyond mere picturesqueness--it wasstartling, desolate, grand. Traces of old mines, once worked, but nowdeserted, were everywhere visible. Finally they came to a new "lead,"which was being successfully worked by the _peons_ of Don Miguel. Therewere some forty of these men at work, under an overseer. Dr. Seltzershowed his companion the recent improvements which had been made; themachinery which he himself had introduced, and a portion of which hehad invented; stating that, under the system which he himself hadintroduced, Don Miguel was growing a rich man faster than he previouslyhad any idea was possible. The mountain-stream, spoken of as beingvisible at a great distance, glittering from hight to hight, was heremade to do the unromantic work of washing the ore and grinding it. Theoverseer was called upon by the host to give every desirableinformation to the traveler, and here a long visit was made. Lunch waspartaken of under the cool shadow of a ledge of rock; and then Dr.Seltzer proposed, if his visitor was not already too much fatigued, totake him higher up, to a spot which he had discovered only the daybefore, and which he had every reason to believe contained a richerdeposit of silver than any vein heretofore opened--in fact, he thoughta fortune lay hidden in the wild gorge to which he referred, and heanxiously invited the scientific observation of his guest.
This was just the opportunity for being alone with his man that Mr.Burton desired. It may seem strange that he proposed to confront themurderer with his guilt in this solitary manner with no witnesses tocorroborate any testimony he might wring from the guilty; but thedetective knew enough of human nature to know that the confrontedcriminal is almost always a coward, and he had no fear that thisperson, if guilty, accused of his false name and falser character,would refuse to do what he demanded of him. Again, his principalobject, more important by far than the discovery of the actual hiredassassin, was to gain from the frightened accomplice a full, explicitconfession of _who had tempted him to the crime_--who was really themost guilty murderer--whose money had paid for the deed which his owndastardly hand had shrunk from. Strong in resources which never yet hadfailed him, Mr. Burton was anxious for the singular encounter he haddevised.
Leaving all traces of man behind them, the two climbed a rugged path,and entered a canon, through the center of which roared a foamingtorrent, and which was so deep and sheltered that even at thisnoon-hour the path was cool and the sunlight tempered. As they walkedor clambered on, bot
h men gradually grew silent. Of what Dr. Seltzermight be thinking Mr. Burton did not know--his own mind was absorbed inthe scene which he was awaiting the earliest fitting moment to enact.The doctor, who should have acted as guide, had, somehow, chanced tolag behind.
"Which direction shall I take?" asked Mr. Burton, presently.
"Ascend the narrow defile to the right," called out his companion,pressing after him, "but be cautious of your footing. A misstep mayhurl you upon the rocks below. In three minutes we shall be in a safeand beautiful region, with our feet, literally, treading a silverfloor."
As he spoke thus, he drew nearer, but the path was too narrow to allowhim to take the advance, and Mr. Burton continued to lead the way.
The subtle perceptions of the detective, a magnetism which amountedalmost to the marvelous, I have so frequently referred to, that myreader will understand how it was that Mr. Burton, thus in the van, andnot looking at all at his companion, felt a curious, prickly sensationrun along his nerves. He came to the narrowest part of the dangerouspath. An immense rock reached up, a mighty wall, upon the right, and tothe left, far below the uneven, stony and brier-grown ledge along whichhe was picking his steps, foamed and roared the torrent, over rockswhich thrust themselves here and there above the yeasty water. Directlyin front arose an obstacle in the shape of a projection of the rocksome three or four feet in hight, covered with tough little bushes, oneof which he took hold of to draw himself up by.
However, instead of pulling himself up, as his action seemed toindicate that he was about to do, he turned and grasped the arm of Dr.Seltzer. His movement was rapid as lightning, but it was not made amoment too soon. The arm which he held in a clasp of steel was raisedto strike, and a Spanish dirk was in the hand.
A stealthy, murderous light, almost red in its intensity, burned in theeyes which now sunk before his. An instant the foiled assassin stoodsurprised; then commenced a struggle between the two men. Dr. Seltzermade desperate efforts to hurl his antagonist into the torrent beneath;but, though frantic with rage and hate, his violent exertions did noteffect their object. On the contrary, Mr. Burton, calm andself-possessed, despite an instant's astonishment, pressed hisadversary backward along the narrow path until they were both on safeground, in the middle of a little grassy plateau, which they had latelytraversed, where he held him, having disarmed him of his knife.
What had caused his momentary astonishment was the fact that Dr.Seltzer knew him and suspected his object, which truth he instantlycomprehended, upon turning and reading the murderous eyes that met his.Now, as he held him, he remarked,
"Another stab in the back, George Thorley?"
"Well, and what did you come here for, you accursed New York detective?"
"I came to persuade you to turn State's evidence."
"What about?"--there was a slight change in the voice, which told,against his will, that the adventurer felt relieved.
"I want you to give your written and sworn testimony as to who it washired you, for the sum of two thousand dollars, to murder Mr. Moreland,at Blankville, on the 17th of October, 1857."
"Who said I murdered him? Humph! you must think I'm decidedly simple tobe coaxed or frightened into committing myself."
"We'll not waste words, Thorley. I know you, all your history, all yourbad deeds--or enough of them to hang you. I have a warrant for yourarrest in my pocket, which I brought from the States with me. I couldhave brought an escort from Acapulco, and arrested you at once, withoutgiving you any chance for explanation. But I have my own reasons fordesiring to keep this matter quiet--one of which is that I do not wishany premature report to alarm your accomplice, man or woman, whicheverit is, until I can put my hand on the right person."
"What makes you think that I did it?"
"No matter what makes me _think_ so--I don't think, I _know_. I havethe instrument with which you committed the act, with your initials onthe handle. I have the letter you wrote to your accomplice, claimingyour reward. In short, I've proof enough to convict you twice over. Theonly hope you have of any mercy from me is in at once doing all that Iask of you--which is to give a full written statement, over your realname, of all the circumstances which led to the murder."
"I'm not such a fool as to tie the rope around my own neck."
As he made this answer, he gave a powerful jerk to extricate himselffrom the unpleasant position in which he was held. Mr. Burton drew arevolver from his breast-pocket, remarking,
"I will not hold you, Thorley; but just as sure as you make an attemptto get away, I will shoot you. Supposing you succeeded in getting freefrom me--what good would that do you? Your prospects here would beruined; for I should expose you to Don Miguel. You would have to fleefrom wife, country and fortune; all you would preserve would be yourrascally life, which I do not propose, at present, to take."
"A man's life is his best possession."
"A truth you would have done well to remember before you took away thelife of another. I can't talk to such a scoundrel as you, Thorley; Ifairly ache to inflict upon you the punishment you deserve. It is forthe sake of others, in whom I am interested, that I give you this onechance of mercy. Here is paper, pen and ink; sit down on that stonethere, and write what I asked of you."
"What security do you offer me against the consequences of criminatingmyself? I want you to promise I shall be none the worse off for it."
"You are too fully in my power to demand promises of me. Yet this Iwill consent to, as I said before, for the sake of others--to let yougo unprisoned by the warrant I hold against you, and never to put theofficers of justice on your track. One thing, however, I must and shalldo. I can not leave this Paradise, into which you have crept like theserpent, without warning Don Miguel what manner of creature he istrusting and sheltering."
"Oh, don't do that, Mr. Burton! He'll turn me off on the world again,and I shall be exposed to the same temptations as ever--and here I wasleading a better life--I was indeed--reformed, quite reformed andrepentant."
"So reformed and repentant, so very excellent, that you were onlyprevented, but now, from killing me and tumbling me into thisconvenient ravine, by my own prudence."
"Every thing was at stake, you know. I was desperate. You must forgiveme. It would not be natural for me to submit to see all I had gainedsnatched away from me--my life periled. I recognized you within fiveminutes after sitting down to the supper-table last night."
"I had no idea you had ever seen me," said Mr. Burton, willing to hearhow it was that this man knew him, when he had never met Thorley untilyesterday.
"I was interested, once, in a forgery case in which you were employedto detect the criminals, by the examination of several handwritingswhich were given you. You accused a highly respectable fellow-citizen,to the astonishment of everybody, and convicted him, too. I, whom hehad employed as an agent in some transactions, but who did not appearin any manner in the case, saw you in the court-room once or twice. I_accidentally_ found out that you were a secret agent of the detectivepolice. When I saw you here, playing the scientific gentleman, myconscience was not so easy as to blind me. I saw the game, and what wasat stake. I had the choice between my own safety or yours. I wasn't soself-denying as to decide in your favor, and so--"
"You visited my room last night."
"Yes. But, on second thought, I decided that to-day would give me thebetter opportunity. Had you waited a second longer, your friends wouldhave had a hard time tracing your fate. An excuse to my father-in-law,that you had returned to Acapulco without stopping, by a nearer route,would have ended inquiry here." He set his teeth, as he concluded,unable to conceal how much he regretted that this convenient_denouement_ had been interrupted. "Was it chance caused you to turn?"he continued, after a moment's silence.
"It was watchfulness. I thought I saw murder in your eyes once before,to-day, when I met them suddenly; but as I believed myself unknown toyou, I could hardly credit my own impression. It grew upon me, however,as we proceeded, and 'by the pricking of my ribs,' I turn
ed in time toprevent the compliment you were about to pay me. But this is wastingtime. Write what I expect of you. I shall permit no lies. I can tellwhen I see one, or hear one. If you say any thing which is not true, Ishall make you correct it."
Coerced by the eye which never ceased to watch his slightest movement,and by the revolver held in range of his breast, the reluctant doctortook the sheet of paper and the fountain-pen which were offered him,sat down on the stone, and, with the top of his sombrero for a desk,wrote slowly for ten or fifteen minutes. Then he arose and handed thedocument, which was signed with his real name, to the detective, who,with one eye on his prisoner, and one on the paper, continued to readthe evidence without giving his companion a chance to profit by anyrelaxation of his vigilance.
"You have told the truth, for once in your life," was his remark, as hefinished reading the paper. "I had found this out myself, fact forfact, all but one or two facts which you give here; but I preferredhaving your testimony before I brought the matter before the properparties, therefore I came here after it"--speaking as if a trip toAcapulco were one of the easiest and most commonplace of things.
"You're d--d cool about it," remarked the adventurer, eying hisadversary with a glance of hate, with which was mingled a forcedadmiration of a "sharpness" which, had he himself possessed it, hecould have used to such advantage. "And now, maybe you'll be goodenough to tell me if the affair kicked up much of a row."
"I can not talk with you. I want you to lead the way back to ourhorses, for, since my business with you is finished, I may say that Ido not fancy your company. You must go with me before Don Miguel, andwe will enlighten him as to your true character, since with him to be'forewarned may be fore-armed.'"
"Oh, don't do that! I beg you to spare me for my wife's sake--it wouldkill her, she loves me so much!" and the creature dropped on his knees.
"I would, indeed, rather than blast her innocent heart with suchknowledge, allow you still to play your part in that little family--,but I know that, sooner or later, you will contrive to break the heartof that confiding woman, and it might be worse in the future than evennow. She has yet no children; she is young, and the wound may heal. Itis an unpleasant duty, which I must perform."
Then followed a scene of begging, prayers, even tears upon one side,and relentless purpose on the other.