CHAPTER XXXVII.
UPON THE TRACK.
It was the evening of the eighth day, after twenty leagues from Arauca.In a virgin forest of myrtles, cypresses, and espinos, which cover withtheir green shade the lower parts of the Cordilleras--four men wereseated round a fire. Of these four men, two wore the Indian costume,and were no other than Trangoil-Lanec and Curumilla; the others werethe count and Valentine.
The spot on which our travellers had halted was one of those glades socommon in American forests. It was a vast space covered with the trunksof trees that have died from age, or been struck by lightning, deeplyinclosed between two hills.
The Indians were too experienced to commit the fault of stopping oftheir own accord in this place; and it was only from the impossibilityof going further that they had consented to pass the night there.
The day had been a rough one, but the night promised to be mild andtranquil. The travellers attacked their supper bravely, in order to bethe sooner able to enjoy the repose they stood so much in need of. Theydid not exchange a word during the repast; the last morsel swallowed,the Indians threw upon the fire a few armfuls of dry wood, of whichthey had an ample provision at hand, then folded themselves in theirponchos, and fell asleep. Valentine and Caesar alone were left to keepguard.
It was almost an hour since he had taken Valentine's place, whenCaesar, who had till that time lain carelessly stretched before thefire, sharply raised his head, sniffed the air in all directions, andgave a surly growl.
"Well, Caesar," said the young man whilst patting the animal, "what'sthe matter, my good dog?"
The Newfoundland fixed his large intelligent eyes upon the count,wagged his tail, and uttered a growl much stronger than the first.
"Very well," said Louis; "we will go on the lookout. Come along,Caesar."
The count examined his rifle and his pistols, and made a sign to thedog, who watched all his motions.
"Now, Cesar," he said, "look out, my fine fellow!"
The animal, as if he had only waited for this order, sprang forward,followed step by step by his master, who examined the bushes, andstopped at intervals to cast an inquiring glance around him.
At length, after numberless windings, the dog crouched, turned itshead towards the young man, and uttered one of those plaintive howls,so like a human complaint, which are peculiar to the race. The countstarted; putting the bushes and leaves apart with precaution, helooked, and with difficulty repressed a cry of painful astonishment atthe strange spectacle which presented itself to his eyes. Within twentypaces from him, in the centre of a vast glade, fifty Indians were lyinground a fire, buried in the sleep of intoxication, as could be divinedfrom the leather bottles scattered without order upon the sand, somefull of aguardiente, others empty.
But what attracted the particular attention of the young man was thesigh of two persons, a man and a woman, firmly bound to two trees. Thehead of the man reclined upon his breast, his large eyes were floodedwith tears; deep sighs seemed to rise from his very heart, as he lookedtowards a young girl standing bound before him.
"Oh!" the count murmured, "Don Tadeo de Leon! My God! Grant that thatwoman be not his daughter!"
Alas! it was she. At their feet lay the Linda, bound to an enormouspost.
The young man felt the blood flow back to his heart; forgetful of hisown preservation, he seized a pistol in each hand, and was about tospring forward, when a heavy hand was laid upon his shoulder, and avoice whispered in his ear--
"Prudence!"
"Prudence!" the young man repeated, in a tone of painful reproach;"look there!"
"I have seen," replied Trangoil-Lanec, "but my brother will look in histurn," he added.
And he pointed to a dozen Indians, who, awakened by the cold of thenight, or perhaps by the involuntary noise made by the two men, inspite of their precaution, rose and looked suspiciously around.
"That is true!" Louis murmured, quite overcome. "Oh, my God! Will younot come to our aid?"
The chief took advantage of the momentary prostration into which hisfriend had fallen, to lead him back a little, so as to avoid increasingthe aroused suspicions of the Indians.
"Still," the young man exclaimed, "we shall save them, shall we not,chief?"
The Araucano shook his head.
"At this moment it is impossible," he replied.
"Brother, now that we have recovered their track, which we had lost,they must be saved."
A smile passed over the lips of the Indian warrior.
"We will try," he said.
"Thanks! thanks, chief," the young man cried.
"Let us return to the camp," said Trangoil-Lanec. "Patience, mybrother," the Indian added in a solemn voice; "nothing is urgent--in anhour we shall be on their track again."
"That is true," the young man said, hanging down his head with forcedresignation.
The two men regained their encampment, where they found Curumilla andValentine still asleep.