CHAPTER VI
La Gloria, the chief port and capital of the Republic of Equinata, ischarmingly situated on the west side of an admirably shaped bay, andis land-locked, save for a distance of about half-a-mile. It boasts apopulation numbering upwards of thirty thousand, of which only someten or twelve thousand are white, the remainder being half-castes,quadroons, mulattoes, and negroes unadulterated. The city possessessome fine buildings, notable among which is the Cathedral of SanPedro, a handsome edifice, though somewhat damaged by the earthquakeof '83. The Houses of Parliament are also imposing structures, asbefits a land where every man is a politician, and no boy knows whatmay be in store for him. There is also the President's palace, and, ofcourse, an opera house, and equally of course a long stretch ofbarracks, where the soldiers would seem to spend their time smokingcigarettes and hatching plots against their superiors.
As we passed through the Heads and entered the harbour, it struck me Ihad never looked upon a fairer scene. The blue waters of the bay, thewhite houses peeping out from amid the wealth of foliage, and themountains rising tier upon tier behind, made up as pretty a picture asthe eye of man could desire to dwell upon. We had scarcely come toanchor before a boat put off to us, pulled by four stalwart niggers,and carrying a much-uniformed official, who sat beside the coxswain.He proved to be the health officer--a voluble little Spaniard, with amagnificent idea of his own importance. As soon as his boat wasalongside he ran up the ladder to the gangway with the agility of amonkey, and made his way to the place where Captain Ferguson waswaiting to receive him. During the years I had been in the SouthAmerican trade, I had managed to pick up a considerable smattering ofSpanish, enough at any rate to make myself understood by the Dons. Iwas not nearly so fluent with it, however, as was Ferguson, who, Isoon discovered, could talk the lingo as well as any swell of Aragon.As soon as they had transacted their business, the latter brought thehealth officer along to the saloon whither I had descended, and whereI was introduced to him as the owner of the yacht.
"You possess a most beautiful vessel, senor," he said, bowing beforeme as if he would never be able to straighten his back again.
"And you a most beautiful harbour and city," I replied, resolved notto be outdone in the matter of compliments.
"Am I to believe that this can be your first visit to Equinata,senor?" he asked as if in astonishment.
"Yes, my first," I replied in my best Trevelyan manner. "I can assureyou, however, that I am charmed with it, most charmed."
"Ah, you must wait until you have been ashore," he continued, "thenyou will indeed be surprised. The Plaza, the Almeda, the Opera House,and the President's palace. Ah!" Here he paused and gave an airy waveof his hand as if to signify that, when I should come to view thesewonders, I might indeed describe the city as being beautiful; untilthen, however, I could not pretend to any real notion of its glories.
"I shall be delighted to make its acquaintance," I returned, "and alsoto pay my respects to your most illustrious President, who, I hear, isbeloved by all his people."
"Ah, the good President," said the little man, but without any greatenthusiasm. "And his niece--the beautiful Senorita Dolores. I raise myglass to the most beautiful woman in Equinata." Thereupon, with hiseyes turned to the deck above, he drank solemnly to the health of thelady of whose existence I then heard for the first time.
A little more desultory conversation followed, in the course of whichI managed to extract from him, in a roundabout way, a quantity ofinformation of which I stood in need. Then the little man hoistedhimself out of his chair, and with a regret born of a bottle and ahalf of excellent champagne, stated his intention of returning to theshore once more. Having fired another salvo of compliments at me, hecarried this plan into effect, and we saw no more of him. Half-an-hourlater the Harbour Master and the Chief Customs official arrived, drankmore champagne, with which you may be sure I liberally plied them,smoked a number of cigars, praised their city, their country, andtheir excellent selves, but did nothing in the way of performing theirbusiness, and in their turn departed for the shore. Then I lunched,spent an hour in meditation in an easy-chair under the awning, andthen, having ordered a boat, prepared to set off on a tour ofinspection of the capital.
The landing-place at La Gloria is, or was, very similar to that ofmost other South American seaports. That is to say, at some distantdate, harbour works on a very large scale had been commenced, but forsome reason had never been completed. Possibly a Revolution may havebeen accountable for the stoppage of the work, or the President, orMinister of Public Works, may have decamped with the funds. At anyrate all there was to show for the money voted was one substantiallybuilt wharf, the commencement of a pier, and a quantity of uncutstone, which still remained, moss-covered and weather-worn, just wherethe contractors had dumped it down.
I landed at the wharf, and immediately dispatched the boat back to theyacht. Trustworthy though the crew might be, I had no desire that theyshould hang about the sea front and talk to the inhabitants. Then,leaving the wharf, I made my way into the town.
It was a picturesque place of the true Central American type. TheCalle de San Pedro, which cuts the town proper in half, is a handsomethoroughfare, and contains numerous fine shops, warehouses, andmerchants' offices. Indeed, the scene in the street on that particularafternoon was a most bright and animated one, and would not havediscredited Rio or Buenos Ayres. Half-a-mile or so further on thestreet in question enters the Great Square, in which stand theCathedral, the Houses of Parliament, the Law Courts, and, moreimportant than all, so far as I was concerned, the President's palace.The centre is laid out as a public garden, and possesses a band-standand many fine statues of the heroes of Equinata in impossible garbsand more impossible attitudes. Seating myself on a bench in thisgarden, I took careful stock of my surroundings. Opposite me was thePresident's palace, with a sentry lounging on either side of thegates. While I watched the latter were opened, and a handsome carriagedrove in and pulled up before the massive portico of the palace. Afterthat the gates were closed once more.
I do not mind confessing that at this point in my adventure I was at aloss to know how to proceed. I might visit the palace and inscribe myname in the visitors' book, but, so far as I could see, that would notdo very much to help me. I consulted the card I had brought with me,and on which was written the name and address of the man to whom, soSilvestre had informed me at our last meeting, I was to look forassistance. His name was Don Jose de Hermanos, and his address was No.13 in the Calle de San Juan. Before leaving the yacht I had taken theprecaution to make myself familiar with the quarter in which thestreet was situated, and had ascertained that it commenced at theHouses of Parliament and ran straight through the western portion ofthe city, towards the foot of the mountains. I accordingly made myway thither, and having discovered it, proceeded in search of thehouse in which the mysterious Don Jose resided, or had his place ofbusiness. Greatly to my surprise it proved to be a wine merchant'sshop, and I accordingly entered the little square _patio_ and lookedabout me. On the left was what was evidently the office, and in it anold man, engaged on some mysterious manipulation of an empty cask. Iaddressed him in my best Spanish, but he took no sort of notice of me.I called to him again with the same result. Then having satisfiedmyself that the old fellow was deaf, I touched him on the shoulderwith my stick. This had the desired effect, for he jumped quicklyround and stared at me in amazement.
A more comical countenance than he possessed I don't remember ever tohave seen. He was a mulatto, and, if one might judge from hisappearance, some sixty years of age. He asked me in Spanish who Idesired to see, and I replied to the best of my ability that I was insearch of a gentleman named Hermanos. From the signs the other made Igathered that the latter was not at home. I endeavoured to questionhim concerning him, but the old fellow was either naturally dense, or,for some reason best known to himself, pretended not to understand. Inanother moment I should have left the place in despair, but, just asI was making up my mind to do so
, the sound of a footstep in the_patio_ outside attracted my attention. I turned to find myself faceto face with a tall, well-proportioned stranger, with a black beardand a pair of bristling moustaches. The old mulatto forsook his taskand handed the other the card I had given him. He glanced at it, thenlooked up from it to me, after which he politely returned it to me,saying as he did so--
"You desire to see Don Hermanos, senor?"
"That is what has brought me here," I answered.
"You come from our neighbours across the frontier, perhaps?" hecontinued, still eyeing me critically.
"On the contrary, I have come by sea," I replied. "I am an Englishman,as you have doubtless already observed, and my yacht is anchored inthe harbour."
"In that case permit me to welcome you most heartily to Equinata," hereturned, but without any great show of enthusiasm. "Perhaps you willaccompany me to my private office, where I shall be pleased indeed tobe of any service I can to you."
I followed him across the _patio_ to a door on the further side. Thishe opened, and when I had passed into the room, he followed my exampleand closed it carefully after him.
"How am I to know that you are the gentleman whom I have been led toexpect?" he began, when I had seated myself and he had offered me acigar. "As wine of that particular vintage is very difficult toobtain, you must see yourself that I have to be most careful that I donot make the mistake of giving information concerning it to the wrongperson."
I thereupon took my watch from my pocket, opened the case, and took asmall piece of paper--which Silvestre had also given me at our lastmeeting--from it. This I handed to the man before me, who read whatwas written upon it very carefully, and then tore it up into tinyfragments.
"I am quite satisfied," he said, "and now to arrange the matter youdesire." Then, dropping his voice almost to a whisper, he continued,"Of course I recognize the fact that you would not have been chosenfor the work had you not been considered a person most likely toaccomplish it. Nevertheless, I feel sure that you can have but a verysmall notion how dangerous it is likely to prove. The man in questionmistrusts everybody, and should but a breath of suspicion attachitself to you, you would be in the cartel to-night, and most probablyin your grave to-morrow morning. Though my opinions have not changedin a single particular, I am not at all certain that it is wise of meto mix myself up in it. However, I don't see exactly in what way I amto get out of it."
It struck me that the latter portion of his speech was spoken more tohimself than to me.
"Before we go any further, it would perhaps be as well that I shouldconvince myself that you are Don Hermanos," I said, for so far I hadhad no proof of his identity.
He did not answer me, but crossed to a writing-table on the other sideof the room, and, unlocking a drawer, took from it a book. Turning toa certain page, he showed me a series of portraits of the prominentpoliticians of Equinata. One was a likeness of himself, and underneathwas printed his name in full--Don Jose de Hermanos, Minister of Mines.I expressed myself as being quite satisfied.
"And now," I continued, "will you be good enough to tell me how youpropose to introduce me to the Pres----"--here he held up his hand asif in expostulation--"to the individual whose acquaintance I am soanxious to make?"
"As you may suppose, I have been thinking of that," he replied, "and Ihave come to the conclusion that it would be better for me not to bepersonally concerned in it. As it is, I am not at all certain in myown mind that he looks upon me with a favourable eye. I have afriend, however, with whom he is on terms of the greatest friendship.Through this friend I will have you presented. It would be better inthe meantime if you will call at the palace and inscribe your name inthe visitors' book, according to custom. After that I will make it mybusiness to see my friend, and to arrange the matter with him. Fromthat moment, if you will permit me, I will retire from the businessaltogether."
"You do not care about taking the responsibility of my endeavours, Isuppose?" I said.
"Exactly, senor," he answered. "You have guessed correctly. To bequite frank with you, I am afraid of being shot. I have seen thegentleman we are discussing deal with his enemies on variousoccasions, and his behaviour impressed me with a desire to keep myhead out of the lion's mouth."
"May I ask in what capacity you intend introducing me to your friend?"I went on. "Is it quite wise, do you think, to import a third partyinto the transaction?"
"There will be no third party," he answered. "There will only be myfriend and yourself. As I understand the situation, you are a richEnglishman, travelling in our country. You have given me an order forsome wine for your yacht, and as the leading wine merchant of thecity, and having the reputation of our country at stake, I am anxiousto do my best for you. I also desire, for the same reason, that youshould enjoy your stay. What could be more natural than that I shouldintroduce you to a friend who is also one of our most prominentcitizens? You need not fear, senor, that I shall be foolish enough tocompromise either you or myself."
From what I had so far seen of him I could quite believe the latterportion of his remark. If all Silvestre's supporters were of the samecalibre, it struck me that he would experience some little difficultyin regaining his lost position. Hermanos was certainly as rank acoward as I had met for many a long day.
"In that case, I will make my way to the palace now, and write my namein the visitors' book. But how, and when, shall I hear from you?"
"I will communicate with you to-night," he said. "I shall be sendingyou some wine and cigars on board, which I hope you will accept, and Iwill word the note that accompanies them, so that you will be able toread between the lines. It would be as well, I imagine, that we shouldnot meet again."
From the way he said this I could see he was as anxious to get rid ofme as he was to preserve his incognito. I accordingly thanked him forhis assistance, and bade him farewell.
Recrossing the little _patio_, I passed into the street once more, andretraced my steps to the Great Square. Having reached it, I made myway through the garden to the President's palace. The sentries stillslouched beside the gate as I had first seen them. So far as I couldtell, their only object in life was to see how near sleep they couldgo without actually dozing off. Then I entered the palace grounds, andwalked up the drive to the marble portico, where I entered my name inthe book placed there for that purpose. I had already practised thenew Trevelyan signature, and was by this time able to write it withsomething of a flourish. This momentous act accomplished, I left thepalace and returned to the yacht, feeling that, although I had not sofar made any very important headway in the conduct of my enterprise, Ihad at least set the machinery in motion.
Summoning Ferguson to the smoking-room, I gave him an account of allthat had transpired, furnishing him at the same time with my opinionof Don Jose de Hermanos.
"It only bears out what I said to you the other night," he observed."When a man dabbles in Revolutions he is apt to burn his fingers. Itis very plain that this man Hermanos, to use a popular saying, hastaken the length of the President's foot, and as a natural consequencehe is most anxious to keep out of its way, lest he should be crushedby it. I don't know that I altogether blame him. He has calculatedexactly how much he has to gain, which may not be very much, and he isalso aware that if he fails, he has everything to lose."
He then proceeded to inform me that the yacht had been an object ofconsiderable interest to many of the inhabitants of La Gloria thatafternoon. It is doubtful whether such a handsome craft had ever beenseen in those waters before.
"If only we can get things into proper trim ashore, they shall have anopportunity of admiring her even more than they do now, and for otherreasons," I said. "We must have an At Home on board, and invite thepolite society of the capital."
An hour or so before sundown, the same curious individual whom I hadseen manipulating the cask in Hermanos' office, made his appearancealongside in a boat. He brought with him a case of wine and a smallbox wrapped in paper. I rewarded him, and dispatched him to th
e shoreonce more. Then returning to the smoking-room with the smaller parcelin my hand, I opened it to discover what I had expected I should findthere, a box of cigars and a note carefully placed inside. It was nota very long epistle, and informed me that it gave the wine merchantthe greatest pleasure to comply with my esteemed instructions, and toforward me a sample box of the cigars, concerning which his goodfriend, General Sagana, had spoken so highly. Should more be required,his agent would do himself the honour of waiting upon me on thefollowing morning to learn my wishes. That was all!
"That means, of course, that General Sagana is the agent," I said tomyself. "Well, let him come as soon as he pleases. He will find mequite ready to receive him."
Next morning I was enjoying the cool breeze under the bridge awning,when the second mate came up to inform me that a shore boat wasapproaching the accommodation ladder. Rising from my chair I glancedover the side to discover that what he had said was correct. A largeboat pulled by six men was approaching the yacht. In the stern, seatedbeside the coxswain, was one of the most curious little specimens of asoldier one would be likely to find in a day's march. His height couldnot have exceeded five feet, but what he lacked in stature he made upin self-importance. He was attired in full uniform, even to the extentof spurs and a sword. A helmet with plumes was perched upon his head,while upwards of a dozen crosses decorated his breast. His face wassmall and puckered into a thousand wrinkles; his eyebrows were large,bushy, and snow-white; while a fierce moustache of the same colourcurled up in corkscrew twists until it nearly touched his eyes. Assoon as the boat was alongside, he ascended the ladder to the deck.
"Have I the honour of addressing the most illustrious Senor_Travillion_?" he inquired, after a wrestle with the name, from whichhe imagined he had emerged victorious. Upon my answering in theaffirmative, he made me a sweeping bow that was so irresistibly comicthat I had some difficulty in restraining a smile. Then hecontinued--"Senor, I have the honour to salute you, and to offer you ahearty welcome to our beautiful country. Permit me to introduce myselfto you. I am General Sagana, of the army of the Republic of Equinata."
He said this with as much pride as if his name would rank in historywith those of Napoleon and Wellington.
"I am deeply honoured by your visit," I replied. "Allow me to conductyou to a cool spot under the awning."
An hour later, when he left the yacht, we were on the best of terms.Moreover, I had arranged that that selfsame afternoon I should pay avisit of respect to Madame Sagana and her daughters, who, as Igathered from his words, existed only until they should have theextreme felicity of making my acquaintance.
"You must be prepared to stay with us for a long time," he cried, witha cordiality born of the best part of two bottles of Perrier-Jouet."Ah! believe me, we shall not let you go so easily. We are hospitable,we of Equinata. Farewell, then, senor, until we meet this afternoon."
Then he bowed once more in his best style, descended to his boat,seated himself in the stern, and bade his men row him ashore with allspeed, as there was business of importance toward.
That afternoon, bearing in mind the importance of the occasion, I oncemore made a most careful toilet, and having done so, returned to thecity. Hiring a vehicle of the cab description, I bade the driverconvey me to the residence of the most illustrious General Sagana. Ina whirl of dust, and accompanied by a swarm of beggar boys, we setoff, and in something less than a quarter of an hour found ourselvesdrawn up before an elegant residence in what might have been describedas the suburbs of the town. After I had paid and dismissed mycharioteer, I rang the curious old bell I found hanging on the wallbefore me, and when it was answered, followed the servant into acharming _patio_, in which a fountain played, and from thence into alarge and lofty room, where, to my dismay, a considerable number ofpeople were assembled. It was fortunate for me that I am not easilyabashed. Had this been the case, I should most probably have furnishedthe fashionable world of Equinata with a poor idea of the behaviour ofan Englishman of wealth and position. At the moment of my entrance,the little General was paying considerable attention to a matronlylady who was so tightly squeezed into her chair that it seemed shewould never be able to move from it again. Observing me, however, heleft her, and hastened forward to greet me, after which he led meacross the room to present me to his wife and daughters. The formerwas a small, though more wizened, edition of her husband; the latter,however, were handsome girls of the true Spanish type. Half-a-dozenother presentations followed, after which I was at liberty to makemyself as agreeable as circumstances permitted and my knowledge of theSpanish language would allow. Had only the General's daughters beenpresent, this would not have been such a very difficult matter, forthe very few minutes I spent in their company were sufficient to showme that they were both past mistresses of the art of flirting. Wewere progressing famously, when the door opened, and the ancientman-servant who had admitted me, and who was older and even morewizened than his master or mistress, said something in a low voice tothe General, who immediately hurried out of the room. A whisper ranthrough the company, but what its purport was I could not discover.All doubt, however, was presently set at rest when the Generalreturned, escorting with great pomp a tall, handsome man, thepossessor of a fine head and a singularly clever face. He saluted myhostess and her daughters with considerable ceremony, bowed gravely tothe remainder of the company, and then looked at me, as if wonderingwho I could be.
"Permit me, your Excellency," said the General with one of hisflourishes, "to have the honour of presenting to you Senor Travillionfrom England, who, like so many others, has heard of the glories ofEquinata, and has now come to our country in order that he may seethem for himself."
Long before he had finished his harangue, I had realized that the manstanding before me was none other than the famous PresidentFernandez--Silvestre's mortal enemy, and the man I was being paid toabduct.