CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
TREATS OF A GAUCHO YOUTH.
From these Gauchos Colonel Marchbanks learned that his troops had beenseen searching for him by the eldest son, Pizarro, and that handsomeyouth professed himself willing to guide the party to the place wherethe soldiers were likely to be found. Without delay, therefore, theyresumed their journey after supper, and that night encamped on the openplain.
While the party was busy making arrangements for the night, Pedrosauntered to the top of a neighbouring knoll to have what he styled alook round.
It was a clear moonlight night, and Lawrence, recognising the figure ofthe guide, followed him.
"Pedro," he said, on overtaking him, "how is it possible that Pizarrocan guide us to where the troops are, seeing that it is some time sincehe saw them, and he did not know in what direction they meant to travel?Besides, they may have changed their intentions and their route severaltimes."
"You forget, senhor, that troops leave a broad trail, and you do notyet, I see, fully appreciate the wonderful powers of some Gauchos intracking out men. This Pizarro, although so young, is alreadycelebrated in that way."
"You know him, then? Why, you seem to know everybody!"
"I know every one of note," replied the guide, "for my travels have beenextensive, and my memory is pretty strong. Let me give you one or twoinstances of Pizarro's powers. I was in this part of the country twoyears ago. Having occasion to pass this way, I fell in with Pizarro,and we travelled together a short time. One forenoon we were ridingover the plains, when he stopped suddenly, pointed to a footprint, andsaid, `That is the little grey horse that was stolen from my fatherthree years ago!' `Are you sure?' said I, almost laughing at him.`Sure!' said he, `of course I am; moreover, I'm certain that the horsepassed here not more than half an hour ago.' `Let's follow it up,then,' said I, more in jest than earnest. But we did follow it up, andrecovered the little grey horse that same evening."
"A wonderful power of observation indeed, as well as memory," saidLawrence, looking with increased interest at the young Gaucho, who couldbe seen, by the light of the neighbouring camp-fire, moving about in agraceful, free and easy manner, assisting in the preparation of supper.
"It was pretty well in its way," returned Pedro, "but he did a sharperthing than that last year. A gold escort was attacked somewhere in thewest, and the robbers, after killing most of the men, escaped with thebags of gold. The authorities being very anxious to trace out andpunish the robbers, offered a high reward for any useful information asto their whereabouts. Now it chanced that Pizarro was moving about thecountry at that time, and, hearing of the adventure and the reward, kepthis eyes open and his wits about him a little more sharply than usual--though he does that pretty well at all times by nature. One day he sawa little child leading a mule laden with raw hides along a narrow path.This is a common enough sight, in no way calculated to attractparticular attention; nevertheless it did attract the attention ofPizarro. I don't pretend to understand the workings of a Gaucho's mind.Perhaps it was the extreme smallness of the child that struck him,causing him to think that as no father or mother would risk such alittle thing with the charge of a loaded mule without a special reason,it would be as well to find out what that special reason might be.Perhaps it was something else. Anyhow, suspicion being awakened, hefollowed the mule for a short distance, and soon observed that itstepped as if it carried a much heavier weight than a mere pack ofhides. At once the stolen gold flashed into Pizarro's mind. He stoppedthe mule, cut the bandages off the hides, and there, concealed amongthem, found the stolen bags!"
"After that," said Lawrence, "I have no doubt whatever that he will soonfind the troops."
"Neither have I," returned Pedro; "but Pizarro, and men like him, can domuch more than I have told you. By a flight of birds they can tell ofan approaching band of men before they are in sight, and by the cloud ofdust they make when they appear they can form a close estimate of theirnumbers. When the Indian hordes are about to make a raid, Gauchos arewarned of it by the ostriches and llamas and other timid beasts of thePampas all travelling in one direction, and in many other ways that seemlittle short of miraculous they act the part of wilderness-detectives."
While continuing their journey next day, Lawrence resolved to have achat with the Gaucho youth. Riding up alongside, he saluted him, andreceived a reply and a graceful bow that would have done credit to aSpanish grandee. He discovered ere long that the young man's mind, likehis body, had been cast in a noble mould, and that, although ignorant ofalmost everything beyond his own wild plains, he was deeply imbued withreverence for Truth and Justice in all the relations of life. Indeed,his sense of these attributes of God was so strong that the constantviolation of them by those around him roused in him occasional bursts ofhot indignation, as Lawrence very soon found when he touched on a recentrevolution which had taken place in the province of San Juan.
"Are the troops we search for sent out to aid the government ofMendoza?" demanded Pizarro, turning an earnest and frowning glance onhis companion.
"I believe not," answered Lawrence; "at least I have not heard thecolonel talk of such an object; but I am not in his confidence, and knownothing of his plans."
Pizarro made no rejoinder, and Lawrence, seeing by the continued frownthat the youth's spirit was somewhat stirred, sought for furtherinformation by asking about Mendoza.
"Do you not know," said the Gaucho, with increased vehemence, and a gooddeal of fine action, "that the people of San Juan have deposed theirgovernor, because he is a bad man?"
"I had not heard of it," said Lawrence, "but what has that to do withMendoza?"
"You shall hear, senhor. The governor of San Juan is dishonest. He isbad in every way, and in league with the priests to rob the people. Hisinsolence became so great lately that, as I have said, the people arose,asserted their rights, and deposed him. Then the government of Mendozasent troops to reinstate the governor of San Juan; but they have not yetsucceeded! What right," continued the youth, with grandindignation,--"What right has the government of Mendoza to interfere?Is not the province of San Juan as free to elect its own governor as theprovince of Mendoza? Have its men not brains enough to work out theirown affairs?--ay, and they have arms strong enough to defend theirrights, as the troops shall find when they try to force on the people agovernor of whom they do not approve."
Lawrence felt at once that he was in the presence of one of thosestrong, untameable spirits, of which the world has all too few, whoselove of truth and fair-play becomes, as it were, a master-passion, andaround whom cluster not only many of the world's good men, but--unfortunately for the success of the good cause--also multitudes of thelower dregs of the world's wickedness, not because these dregssympathise with truth and justice, but simply because truth-lovers aresometimes unavoidably arrayed against "the powers that be."
"I don't know the merits of the case to which you refer," said Lawrence,"but I have the strongest sympathy with those who fight or suffer in thecause of fair-play--for those who wish to `do to others as they wouldhave others do to them.' Do the people of San Luis sympathise withthose of San Juan?"
"I know not, senhor, I have never been to San Luis."
As the town referred to lay at a comparatively short distance from theother, Lawrence was much surprised by this reply, but his surprise wasstill further increased when he found that the handsome Gaucho had neverseen any of the towns in regard to which his sense of justice had beenso strongly stirred!
"Where were you born, Pizarro?" he asked.
"In the hut where you found me, senhor."
"And you have never been to Mendoza or San Juan?"
"No, senhor, I have never seen a town or a village--never gone beyondthe plains where we now ride."
"How old are you, Pizarro?"
"I do not know, senhor."
As the youth said this with a slightly confused look, Lawrence forboreto put any more personal questions, and confined his conversati
on togeneral topics; but he could not help wondering at this specimen ofgrand and apparently noble manhood, who could neither read nor write,who knew next to nothing of the great world beyond his own Pampas, andwho had not even seen a collection of huts sufficiently large to meritthe name of village. He could, however, admirably discern the signs ofthe wilderness around him, as he showed by suddenly pointing to the skyand exclaiming--
"See! there is a lion!"
"Lions have not wings, Pizarro," said Lawrence, with a smile, as helooked upward; "but I see, very high in the air, a flock of vultures."
"Just so, senhor, and you observe that they do not move, but arehovering over one spot?"
"Yes, I see that; what then?"
"A lion is there, senhor, devouring the carcass from which he has driventhe vultures away."
In a short time the correctness of the youth's observation was proved bythe party coming upon, and driving away, a puma which had previouslydisturbed the vultures at their banquet on the carcass of an unfortunateox.
The next morning Pizarro's capacity for tracking the wilderness wasproved by the party coming on the broad trail of the troops. Soonafterwards they discovered the men themselves taking their middaysiesta.
Not long after that the united party came within scent of the Atlantic,and on the afternoon of the same day galloped into the town of BuenosAyres.