CHAPTER IX.
THE TEOCALI.
We will now return to Valentine and his companions.
The six horsemen were still galloping in the direction of the mountains;and, about midnight, they stopped at the base of an enormous granitemass, which rose solitary and glowing in the prairie.
"This is the spot," said Bloodson, as he dismounted. His companionsfollowed his example, and Valentine took a scrutinising glance around.
"If what I suppose be true," he said, "your dwelling might be an eaglenest."
"Or a vulture's," the stranger hoarsely answered. "Wait a few seconds."
He then imitated the cry of the tiger-serpent. Suddenly, as if byenchantment, the mass of granite was illumined from top to bottom, andtorches, shaken by vague and indistinct forms, ran rapidly along theslopes, bounding with extreme velocity until they arrived close to theastonished travellers, who found themselves all at once surrounded bysome fifty men in strange garbs and with sinister faces, rendered evenmore sinister by the reflection of the torches which the wind drove inevery direction.
"These are my men," the stranger said, laconically.
"Hum!" Valentine remarked, "You have a formidable army."
"Yes," Bloodson went on; "for all these men are devoted to me. On manyoccasions, I have put their attachment to rude trials. They will letthemselves be killed at a signal from me."
"Oh, ho!" the hunter went on, "The man who can speak thus is verystrong, especially if he wish to gain an honourable end."
The stranger made no answer, but turned his head away.
"Where is Shaw?" he asked.
"Here I am, master," the man he had asked after said as he showedhimself.
"What!" Valentine exclaimed, "Red Cedar's son!"
"Yes: did I not save his life which his brother sought to take? By thattitle he belongs to me. Now," he added "come, my guests, do not remainany longer outside. I will show you my domain. Shaw, do you take thehorses."
The travellers followed the stranger, who, preceded by severaltorch-bearers, was already escalading the abrupt sides of the graniteblock. The ascent was ruder still. It was easy to recognise the steps ofa staircase, beneath the roots, creepers, and brambles that overgrewthem. The travellers were plunged in the utmost astonishment. Valentineand Curumilla alone affected an indifference which caused their host toponder.
When about one-third up the mountain, Bloodson stopped before anexcavation made by human hands, through whose gaping entrance a threadof light emerged.
"You did not, perhaps, expect," said Bloodson, as he turned to hisfriends, "to find in the Far West a keep as strong as this."
"I confess, Don Miguel, that I did not expect it."
"Oh, my friends, your memory fails you, I fancy," Valentine said with asmile; "this mountain, if I am not mistaken, is nothing but a Teocali."
"It is true," Bloodson said, with an air of annoyance he tried in vainto hide, "I have placed my abode in the interior of an ancient Teocali."
"There are a good many about here, history relates that it was in thiscountry the Aztecs assembled before finally invading the plateau ofAnahuac."
"For a stranger, Don Valentine," Bloodson remarked, "you were wellacquainted with the history of this country."
"And with that of its inhabitants; yes, senor caballero," the hunterreplied.
They went in, and found themselves in an immense hall, with white walls,loaded with sculpture, which, as Valentine had stated, must date back tothe epoch of the Aztecs. A great number of torches, fixed in ironsockets, spread a fairylike light over this hall. Bloodson did thehonours of this strange abode, as a man perfectly versed in the habits ofcivilised life. A few minutes after their arrival, the hunters enjoyed ameal which, though served in the desert, left nothing to be desired asregarded the delicacy of the dishes or the order in which it was served.
The sight of Shaw had involuntarily inspired Valentine with a secretdistrust of their host; the latter, with the penetration and knowledgeof mankind he possessed, at once noticed it, and resolved to get rid ofit by a frank explanation between the hunter and himself.
As for Curumilla, the worthy Indian ate with good appetite, as was hiswont, not uttering a word, though he did not lose a syllable of what wassaid around him, and his piercing eye had already scrutinised the mostsecret nooks of the spot where he was.
When the supper was ended, Bloodson gave a signal, and his comradessuddenly disappeared at the end of the hall, where they stretchedthemselves on piles of dry leaves which served them as beds. The huntersremained alone with their host, and at a sign from the latter, Shaw tooka place by his side. For some time they smoked in silence, untilBloodson threw far from him the end of the cigarette he had beensmoking, and took the word.
"Senores caballeros," he said, with a tone of frankness that pleased hishearers, "all that you see here may reasonably surprise you, I allow.Still, nothing is more simple; the men you, have seen belong to all theIndian tribes that traverse the desert; only one of them is a white man,and that is Shaw. If Don Pablo will be kind enough to reflect, he willtell you that the man found in the streets of Santa Fe with a knife inhis chest was saved by me."
"In truth," the young man said, "Father Seraphin and myself picked upthe poor wretch, who gave no sign of life. You only could recall him toexistence."
"All the others are in the same case; proscribed by tribes, menaced withinstant death by their enemies, they have sought a refuge with me.There is now another point, I desire to clear up, in order that no cloudmay exist between us, and that you may place the most perfect confidencein me."
His hearers bowed respectfully.
"For what good?" Valentine said; "Every man in this world has hissecret, caballero, and we do not ask for yours. We are connected by thestrongest bond that can attach men, a common hatred for the sameindividual, and the desire to take a striking revenge on him--what moredo we want?"
"Pardon me, in the desert, as in the civilised life of towns," Bloodsonsaid with dignity, "men like to know those with whom accident hasbrought them into relationship. I am anxious you should know that theforce I have at my service, and which is really formidable, DonValentine, as you were good enough to observe, is employed by me to actas the police of the desert; repulsed by the world, I resolved torevenge myself on it by pursuing and destroying those pirates of theprairies who attack and plunder the caravans that cross the desert. Itis a rude task I have undertaken, I assure you, for the villainies arenumerous in the Far West, but I wage an obstinate war on them, and solong as Heaven permits, I will carry it on without truce or mercy."
"I have already heard what you say spoken of," Valentine replied, as heheld out his hand sympathisingly; "the man who thus comprehends hismission on earth must be one in a thousand, and I shall ever be happy tobe counted in the number of his friends."
"Thanks," Bloodson answered with emotion, "thanks for your remark, whichcompensates me for many insults and much miscomprehension. And now,caballeros, I place at your disposal the men who are devoted to me; dowith them whatever you please, and I will be the first to offer theexample of obedience."
"Listen," Valentine replied, after a moment's reflection; "we have todeal with a thorough-paced villain, whose principal weapon is cunning,and we shall only succeed in conquering him by employing the same. Aconsiderable party is soon tracked on the prairie; Red Cedar has the eyeof a vulture and the scent of a dog; the more we are, the less chance wehave of catching him."
"What is to be done then, my friend?" Don Miguel asked.
"This," Valentine went on: "surround him, that is to say, enclose him ina circle whence he cannot emerge, by securing allies among all thedesert Indians; but it is understood that these allies will actseparately, until we have so well succeeded in tracking the villain thathe must surrender."
"Yes, your idea is good, though difficult and dangerous in itsexecution."
"Not so much as you suppose," Valentine responded warmly. "Listen to me:tomorrow, at daybreak, Cu
rumilla and myself will go in search of RedCedar's trail, and I swear to you that we shall find it again."
"Good," said Don Miguel; "and afterwards?"
"Wait; while one of us remains to watch the bandit, the other willreturn to warn you of the spot where he is. During that time you willhave formed alliances with the _pueblos_ Indians, and be in a condition toforce the boar in its lair."
"Yes," Bloodson remarked, "that plan is simple, and for that very reasonmust succeed. It is a struggle of cunning, that is all."
"Yes," General Ibanez objected; "but why should we not go on his trailalso?"
"Because," Valentine answered, "though you are as brave as your sword,general, you are a soldier--that is to say, you understand nothing ofthe Indian warfare we are about to carry on, a war composed entirely ofambushes and treachery. You and our friends, in spite of your well-knowncourage, and I might almost say, on account of it, would prove moreinjurious than useful, owing to your ignorance of the country in whichwe are, and the manners of the men we have to fight."
"That is true," Don Miguel said; "our friend is in the right, leave himto act; I am convinced that he will succeed."
"And so am I," Valentine exclaimed, with an accent of conviction; "thatis why I wish to be free, so that I may act as I please."
"In short," the general went on, "in a game so serious as that we areplaying with men so clever and determined as those we have to fightwith, nothing must be left to accident. I resign myself to inaction;carry out your schemes as you think proper, Don Valentine."
"Pardon me," Don Pablo exclaimed, hotly. "My father and you may consentto remain here, for I can understand that your age and habits render youbut little fitting for the life you would be obliged to lead; but I amgoing. I am strong, able to stand fatigue, and long accustomed byValentine himself to the terrible demands of the desert life you areignorant of. My sister's safety is at stake: we wish to rescue her fromthe hands of her ravishers; and hence I must join the men who are goingin search of her."
Valentine gave him a glance full of tenderness. "Be it so," he said tohim. "You will come with us, Pablo: this will complete your initiationinto desert life."
"Thanks, my friend, thanks," the young man said gladly. "You haveremoved an immense weight from my heart. Poor sister! I shallcooeperate, then, in her deliverance!"
"There is another man you must take with you, Don Valentine," Bloodsonsaid.
"Why so?" Valentine asked.
"Because," the other answered, "as soon as you have departed, I shall goand visit the Indian villages: when the moment arrives, we must knowwhere to meet."
"Yes, but how is it to be managed?"
"Shaw will accompany you."
A flash of joy passed into the young man's eye, although his faceremained unmoved.
"So soon as you have found the trail, Shaw, who knows my hiding places,will be sent off by you to advise me, and he will find me, wherever Imay be."
"Yes," the squatter's son said, laconically. Valentine examined him fora moment attentively, and then turned to Bloodson:
"Be it so," he said; "he shall come. I am greatly mistaken, or thisyoung man has a greater interest than we suppose in the success of ourplans; and we can trust entirely to him."
Shaw lowered his eyes with a blush.
"And now," Bloodson said, "it is late: we have hardly four hours ofnight left. I believe that we have come to a perfect understanding, andthat we shall do well to sleep. We do not know what the morrow reservesfor us."
"Yes, let us sleep," Valentine said, "for I intend starting at sunrise."
"Will your horses be rested?"
"Let them rest, for we do not want them; a trail can only be properlyfollowed on foot."
"You are right; a man on foot can pass anywhere."
After exchanging a few more words, each rose to go and throw himself ona pile of dry leaves.
Don Miguel seized Valentine's arm and clutched it firmly, as he said,with tears in his voice,--
"Friend, restore me my daughter."
"I will do so," the hunter said, with emotion, "or die."
The hacendero went away a few paces, but then hurriedly returned to theFrenchman's side.
"Watch over my son," he said in a choking voice.
"Do not be alarmed, my friend," the hunter answered.
Don Miguel warmly pressed the hunter's hand, uttered a sigh, andretired.
A few moments later, and all were sound asleep in the Teocali, with theexception of the sentries that watched over the common safety.