CHAPTER XXIV.
THE BOAR AT BAY.
We must beg the reader to follow us to Guaymas, about a year after theevents described in the last chapter.
A man dressed in a military garb, bearing considerable resemblanceto the Mexican uniform, was walking, with his arms behind his back,up and down the sumptuously furnished room. This man appeared to bedeep in thought; his brows were drawn together; and at times he turnedan impatient glance toward a clock placed on a bracket. This man wasevidently expecting somebody who did not arrive, for his impatience andill-temper increased with every moment. He took up his hat, which he hadthrown on a sofa, probably with the intention of withdrawing, when adoor opened, and a servant announced,--
"His Excellency Don Sebastian Guerrero."
"At last," the visitor growled between his teeth.
The general appeared. He was in full uniform.
"Pardon me, my dear count," he said in an affectionate tone, "pardonme for having kept you waiting so long, I had infinite difficulty ingetting rid of the troublesome people who bored me. At length I amquite at your service, and ready to listen with proper attention to thecommunications it may please you to make to me.
"General," the count answered, "two motives bring me here today: inthe first place, the desire to obtain from you a clear and categoricalanswer on the subject of the propositions I had the honour of makingto you a few days back; and next the complaints I have to make to youon the matter of certain very grave facts which have occurred to theprejudice of the French battalion, and of which I have not the leastdoubt," he added with a certain tinge of irony in his voice, "you wereignorant."
"This is the first I hear of them, sir. Believe me that I am resolvedto do good and ample justice to the French battalion, of which I havehad only to speak in terms of praise since its organisation, not onlythrough the good conduct of the men without distinction, but also forthe services it has not ceased to render."
"Those are handsome words, general. Why must they be so barren?"
"You are mistaken, count, and I hope soon to prove to you the contrary.But let this be for the present, and come to the grievances of which youhave to complain. Explain yourself."
The two persons who were talking in this friendly manner and lavishingsmiles were General Guerrero and Count Louis de Prebois Crance, the twomen we have seen in such bitter enmity. What had happened, then, sincethe treaty of Guaymas? What reason was sufficiently powerful to makethem forget their hatred? What community of ideas could have existedbetween them to produce a change so extraordinary and inexplicable?
We will ask our readers' permission to explain this before goingfurther, the more so as the events we have to narrate throw a perfectlight on the Mexican character.
The general, after the success of the treaty of Guaymas, and the way inwhich, thanks to the treachery of Don Cornelio, the insurrection of thepueblos was prevented, thought he had completely gained his cause, andbelieved that he had got rid of the count for ever. The latter, sickalmost unto death, and incapable of connecting two ideas, had receivedorders to leave Guaymas immediately. His friends, who were restoredto liberty after the signature of the treaty, hastened to join him.Valentine had him carried to Mazatlan, where he gradually recovered;then both set out for San Francisco, leaving Curumilla in Sonora, whowas ordered to keep them acquainted with the progress of events.
The general had held up before his daughter as a merit the generositywith which he had treated the count; then he had left her ostensiblyfree to act as she pleased, hoping that with time she would forget herlove, and consent to second certain projects he did not as yet let hersee, but which consisted in marrying to one of the most influentialpersons in Mexico. Still months had slipped away. The general, who builton the count's absence, and, before all, the want of news about him,to cure his daughter of what he called her mad passion, was greatlyastonished, when he one day began talking to her about his plans and themarriage he had projected, to hear her answer,--
"My father, I have told you that I will marry the Count de PreboisCrance: no other will obtain my hand. You yourself consented to thatunion: hence I consider myself bound to him, and, so long as he lives, Iwill remain faithful to him."
The general was at first greatly taken aback by this answer; for,although he was well aware of his daughter's firmness of character,he was far from expecting such pertinacity. Still, after a moment, heregained his presence of mind, and bending over to her, kissed her onthe forehead, saying, with pretended kindness,--
"Come, you naughty child, I see I must do what you please, though Iconfess it is a heavy sacrifice. Well, I will try. It will not depend onme whether you see the man you love again."
"Oh, father! can it be possible?" she exclaimed with a joy she could notrestrain. "Are you speaking seriously?"
"Most seriously, wicked one; so dry your tears--re-assume your gaietyand your bright colour of former days."
"Then I shall see him again?"
"I swear it to you."
"Here?"
"Yes, here, at Guaymas."
"Oh!" she exclaimed impetuously, as she threw her arms round his neckand embraced him tenderly, at the same time melting into tears. "Oh, howkind you are, my father, and how I will love you if you do that!"
"I will do it, I tell you," he said, affected, in spite of himself, bythis love so true and so passionate.
The general had already arranged his scheme in his head--the schemewhich we shall soon see unfolded in all its hideousness. Of the replyhis daughter had made him Don Sebastian only remembered one sentence:"_So long as the count lives I will remain faithful to him._"
Poor Dona Angela had, without suspecting it, germinated in her father'sbrain the most horrible project that can be imagined. Two days laterCurumilla started for San Francisco, bearer of a letter from the younglady for the count--a letter destined to have an immense influence onDon Louis' ulterior determination.
The Mexicans had been so magnificently beaten by the French atHermosillo that they had kept up a most touching and respectfulrecollection of them. General Guerrero, who, as the reader has been ina position to see, was a man of imagination, had made a reflection fullof logic and good sense on this subject. He said to himself that if theFrench had so thoroughly thrashed the Mexicans, who are very terriblesoldiers as we know, _a fortiori_, they would defeat the Indians, and,if necessary, the Yankees, those gringos, as the Americans of theSouth call them, whom they hold in mortal terror, and expect at anymoment to see invade Mexico. In consequence of this reasoning, GeneralGuerrero had formed at Guaymas a battalion entirely composed of Frenchvolunteers, commanded by their own officers, and whose services were forthe present limited to acting as police of the port, and maintainingorder in the town.
Unfortunately the commandant of the battalion, though an upright officerand good soldier, was not exactly the man to be placed at the head ofthese volunteers. His ideas, rather narrow and paltry, were not up tothe position he occupied, and grave misunderstandings soon broke outbetween the Mexicans and the foreigners--misunderstandings probablyencouraged in an underhand manner by certain influential persons, butwhich placed the battalion, in spite of the conciliatory temper of itschief, and the attempts he made to restore harmony, in a very difficultposition, which naturally became more aggravated with each day.
Two parties were formed in the battalion: one, hostile to thecommandant, spoke affectionately of the count, the memory of whom wasstill maintained in Sonora, regretted his absence, and formed vowsfor his return; the other, though not devoted to the commandant, yetremained attached to the honour of the flag. But the devotion waslukewarm, and there was no doubt, if any unforeseen event occurred, thatthese men would let themselves be led away by circumstances.
In this state of affairs General Alvarez _pronounced_ against SantaAnna, President of the Republic, and summoned the chiefs of all thecorps scattered through the provinces to revolt. General Guerrerohesitated, or pretended to hesitate, ere declaring himself. Suddenly
itwas heard with amazement, almost with stupor, that the Count de PreboisCrance had landed at Guaymas. This is what had occurred.
Immediately after that conversation with his daughter, of which we havequoted a part, the general paid a visit to Senor Don Antonio MendezPavo. This visit was a long one. The two gentlemen conversed secretlytogether, after which the general returned to his house rubbing hishands.
In the meanwhile Don Louis was at San Francisco, sorrowful and gloomy,ashamed of the result of an expedition so well begun, furious with thetraitors who had caused its failure, and burning--shall we confessit?--in spite of Valentine's wise exhortations, to take his revenge.From several quarters simultaneously influential persons invited thecount to undertake a second expedition. The money requisite for thepurchase of arms and enrolment of volunteers was offered him. Louis hadalso had secret interviews with two bold adventurers, Colonel Walker andColonel Fremont, who at a later date was a candidate for the presidencyof the United States. These two men made him advantageous offers; butthe count declined them, owing to the omnipotent intervention of thehunter.
Still the count had fallen into a black melancholy. The man once sogentle and benevolent had become harsh and sardonic. He doubted himselfand others. The treachery to which he had been a victim embittered hischaracter to such a degree that his best friends began to be seriouslyapprehensive.
He never spoke of Dona Angela--her name never rose from his heart to hislips; but his hand frequently sought on his breast the relic she gavehim on their first meeting, and when he was alone he kissed it fondlywith many a tear. The arrival of Curumilla at San Francisco produceda complete change; the count appeared to have suddenly recovered allhis hopes and all his illusions; the smile reappeared on his lips, andfugitive rays of gaiety illumined his brow.
Two men arrived soon after Curumilla, whose names we will not mention,lest we should sully the pages of this book. In a few days these men,doubtlessly following the instructions they had received, took completepossession of the count's mind, and hurled him back into the torrentfrom which his foster-brother had found such difficulty in drawing him.
One evening the two were seated in a room of the house they occupied incommon, and smoking a pipe after dinner.
"You will come with me, my brother, I trust?" the count said, turning toValentine.
"Then you really mean to go?" the latter said with a sigh.
"What are we doing here?"
"Nothing, it is true. My life is a burden to me, as yours is to you;but we have before us the boundless desert, the immense horizon of theprairies. Why not recommence our happy life of hunting and liberty,instead of trusting to the fallacious promises of these heartlessMexicans, who have already made you suffer so deeply, and whose infamoustreachery brought you to your present condition?"
"I must," the count said with resolution.
"Listen," Valentine went on. "You no longer possess that ardententhusiasm which sustained you on your first expedition. You lack faith.You do not yourself believe in success."
"You are mistaken, brother. I am more certain of, success now than Iwas then; for I have as my allies the men who were formerly my mostobstinate foes."
Valentine burst into a mocking laugh.
"Do you still believe in that?" he said to him.
The count blushed.
"Well, no," he said. "I will conceal nothing from you. My destiny dragsme on. I know that I am proceeding, not to conquest, but to death. Butno matter; I must, I will see her again. Here, read!"
The count drew from his breast the letter Curumilla brought him, andhanded it to Valentine; the latter read it.
"Well," he said, "I prefer your being frank with me. I will follow you."
"Thanks! Good heavens!" he added sadly, "I do not deceive myself: Iknow the old Latin proverb which says _Non bis in idem_: what is oncemissed is so for ever. I do not allow myself to be deceived by thehypocritical protestations of General Guerrero and his worthy acolyte,Senor Pavo. I know perfectly well that both will betray me on the firstopportunity. Well, be it so. I shall have seen again the woman whoexpects me, who summons me, who is all in all to me. If I fall I shallhave a tomb worthy of me. The road I have traced others happier than Iwill follow, and bear civilisation to those countries which you and Ionce dreamed of emancipating."
Valentine could not restrain a sad smile at these words, whichcompletely revealed the count's character--a strange composite of themost varying elements, and in which passion, pride, and enthusiasm wagedan unceasing contest.
The next day Louis opened a recruiting office, and a week later embarkedon board a schooner with his volunteers. The voyage commenced with anevil augury, for the adventurers were wrecked. Had it not been forCurumilla, who saved him at the risk of his life, it would have been allover with the count. The adventurers remained twelve days abandoned on arock.
"The Romans would have seen a foreboding in our shipwreck," thecount said with a sigh, "and would have given up an expedition soinauspiciously begun."
"We should do wisely in following their example," Valentine said sadly:"there is yet time."
The count shrugged his shoulders in reply. A few days later they arrivedat Guaymas. Senor Pavo received the count most kindly, and proposed,himself, to present him to the general.
"I wish to make your peace," he said to him.
Don Louis allowed him to do so. His heart beat at the thought that hewas possibly about to see Dona Angela again, but nothing of the sorttook place. The general was extremely gracious to the count, spoke tohim with feigned candour, and appeared ready to accept his propositions.Don Louis brought with him two hundred men and arms, and placed hissword at his disposal, if he intended to join the Governor-GeneralAlvarez. Don Sebastian, while not replying absolutely to these advances,still allowed it to be seen that they were not displeasing to him; heeven went further, for he almost promised the count to give him thecommand of the French battalion--a promise which, on his side, the countfeigned to hear with the greatest pleasure.
This interview was followed by several others, in which, alwaysexcepting the numberless protestations the general lavished on thecount, the latter could obtain nothing except a species of tacitpermission to take the command of the volunteers, in concert with thechief of the battalion. This permission was more injurious than usefulto the count, however, as it rendered a great part of the Frenchmenindisposed toward him, for they were angry at the general appointingthem a new leader.
During the week the count had been at Guaymas the general had notsaid a word to him about Dona Angela, and it had been impossible forhim to see her. On the day when we find him again at Don Sebastian'shouse, matters had reached such a pitch between the inhabitants andthe French, that immediate repression was urgent in order to preventgreat calamities. Several Frenchmen had been insulted--two had evenbeen stabbed in the public streets; the _civicos_ and inhabitants madegrowling threats against the volunteers; and there was in the air thatsomething which forebodes a great catastrophe, which no one, however,can explain.
The general pretended to feel deeply the insults offered the French. Hepromised the count that prompt and full justice should be done, and theassassins arrested. The truth was that the general, before striking thegreat blow he was meditating, wished for the arrival of the powerfulreinforcements he expected from Hermosillo in order to crush the French,and he only sought to gain time.
The count withdrew.
The next day the insults began again, and the French saw the assassins,whom the general had promised to punish, walking impudently about thestreets. The battalion began to grow fearfully excited, and a freshdeputation, at the head of which the count was placed, was sent to thegeneral. The count peremptorily demanded that justice should be done,two cannon given to the battalion for its security, and that the civicosshould be at once disarmed; for these men, drawn from the dregs of thepopulace, occasioned all the disorders.
Once again the general protested his kindly feeling toward the French,and promised to
deliver to them two guns; but he would not hear aword about disarming the civicos, alleging as his reason that such astep might irritate the population and produce an ill effect. Whileaccompanying the Frenchmen to the very door of the saloon he toldthem that, in order to prove the confidence he placed in them, hewould himself come without an escort to their barracks, and hear theircomplaints.
The step the general took was a bold one, and therefore sure to succeed,especially with Frenchmen, who are good judges of bravery, and correctappreciators of everything that is daring. The general kept his promise;he really proceeded alone to the French quarters, in spite of therecommendations of his officers; he even answered them in a way whichproves how thoroughly he was acquainted with the character of Frenchmen.
A colonel, among others, demonstrated to him the imprudence of thusplacing himself defencelessly in the hands of men exasperated by thevexations of every description from which they had suffered so long.
"You do not know what you are saying, colonel. The Gauls in no wayresemble the Mexicans: with them the point of honour is everything.I know very well that the question will be discussed of keeping meprisoner; but there is one man who will never consent, and who willdefend me if necessary: that man is the Count de Prebois Crance."
The general judged correctly: all happened as he said. It was thecount who energetically opposed his arrest, which was already almostresolved. The general left the barracks in the same way as he enteredthem. No one dared to utter a word of reproach in his presence. On thecontrary, thanks to the honeyed eloquence with which he was gifted, hesucceeded so well in turning opinions in his favour, that every oneoverwhelmed him with protestations of devotion, and an ovation wasalmost offered him.
The result of this audacious visit was immense for the general;for, through the effect he had contrived to produce on the mass ofvolunteers, a division commenced among them almost immediately afterhis departure, and they no longer agreed. One party wished for peace atany price; the others demanded war with loud shouts, insisting that hewas deceiving them, and that they would be once again the dupes of theMexicans.
The latter were right, for they saw clearly; but, as ever happens, theywere not listened to, and in conclusion they came to a compromise, whichis always bad in such circumstances; that is to say, a committee wasappointed to come to an understanding with the government, and regulatethe affairs of the battalion.
As may be seen, the mine was charged: a spark would be sufficient toenkindle an immense fire.