CHAPTER VIII
SUSPENSE
Romana did not return to Mr. O'Hagan's house. He guessed that everymember of the household would be under suspicion; and though his partwith the Mollendists was not known, Pardo, if he came on the scene,would not hesitate to trump up a charge against him. So he hung aboutuntil nightfall, and then slipped into the town and took shelter withPedro Galdos, the agent who had dogged Pardo's messenger to San Juan.
Galdos was a strange illustration of the irony of circumstances inSpanish America. At one time, under another name, he had beensub-prefect of a provincial town; but he lost his office with a changeof government, and drifted into poverty. He now earned a scantylivelihood by selling lottery tickets and doing any odd jobs that camehis way. No one in San Rosario had known him in his official career;none would have suspected that the thin, shabby, down-at-heel old manwho haunted the street-corners, pestering folks to buy his grimy lotterytickets, had formerly held a post of authority. As agent and spy of theMollendists he was quite trustworthy. Since his dismissal he was alwaysagainst the government; and his services were at the disposal of anyopponent of the present prefect, whether Mollendo or another.
He lived alone in a little two-roomed mud cottage at the east end of thetown. Here Romana sought a temporary lodging. Galdos already had somenews for him. Mr. O'Hagan had not been taken to the capital, but wasimprisoned in the town jail.
"I will tell you why, senor," said the old man. "The Prefect wishes tomanage things quietly. There is too much sunlight in San Juan! TheSenor Ingles has many friends and a few compatriots there, and theywould agitate if the thing were known. The Prefect's own party would beuneasy, for it is no light matter to oppress an Ingles; the BritishGovernment would say hard things at Lima, and the Prefect might findhimself in hot water. He is a hotheaded, reckless imbecile; but some ofhis supporters are more prudent, and they would hesitate to provoke theanger of the government. But here, in this out-of-the-way town, manythings can be done without making a noise. The Prefect has manycreatures who will do just as he bids them. He needs much money; histroops are clamouring for arrears of pay, and he lacks arms andammunition for the campaign he is meditating against our party. TheSenor Ingles is known to be wealthy; that is his crime."
"What will the Prefect do with him?" asked Romana.
"Who knows?" replied Galdos with a shrug. "We shall see. There wastrouble at the hacienda to-day. When the Japanese workers heard thatthe caballero was arrested, they marched to the house and threatenedmischief to the gendarmes. It was only the intervention of the senorathat prevented a fight. She pled with the people to go back to theirwork for the senor's sake. The Inglesa is a clever woman. Where is theboy?"
"He is in a safe place, where he will remain until we know what is to bedone. If the worst happens he must take refuge with Senor Mollendo untilwe can convey him and his mother to Lima. I shall go back to himto-morrow."
Meanwhile Tim had eaten his supper--a tin of beans which he found in thecupboard--and made himself as snug as possible among the rugs in one ofthe box beds. He was not frightened, but he would not have denied thathe felt miserable. For a long time he lay wakeful, wondering how farthe Prefect's tyranny might go, and taking a good deal of unnecessaryblame to himself for having wished for a motor-bicycle. The machine, ofcourse, was no more the cause of recent events than a ball of worsted isthe cause of a kitten's playfulness. Just as a kitten's native energymakes the ball the occasion of leaps and gambols; so the Prefect hadseized on Tim's adventure with the gobernador as a pretext for squeezingthe gobernador himself, and for venting his spite on the man who wouldnot be squeezed.
Romana came back on the following afternoon. The news he brought wasnot calculated to lighten Tim's heaviness. Mr. O'Hagan was closelyconfined; gendarmes were flocking into the town, to overawe any whomight be disaffected, Romana supposed. He left again at dusk, beggingTim to be patient.
Next day his information was even more serious. The Prefect hadarrived, accompanied by a number of officers, and it was rumoured thatthe prisoner was to be tried by court-martial. The ordinary process oflaw was evidently too slow for the dictator; it left, perhaps, too manyloopholes for escape. With a court composed of his own particular toolshe might depend on the proceedings being short and swift.
"But it is utterly illegal to try a civilian by court-martial in time ofpeace," Tim protested.
"The Prefect makes his own law," said Romana. "He has proclaimedmartial law in the town."
"He means Father to be condemned; what will the sentence be? A bigfine?"
"Probably, with a term of imprisonment also," replied Romana. In hisheart of hearts he expected a much more terrible punishment. ThePrefect would not be satisfied with a fine, however large; nor with aterm of imprisonment, however long. Nor would he even stop atconfiscating Mr. O'Hagan's property, and let him go. There is only onesafe way in which tyranny can walk, and that is a road stained withblood. But Romana did not impart his anticipations to Tim; there was noneed to wring his young heart before the time.
He durst not go into the town next day, but waited in the wood forGaldos to bring him news of the trial. It confirmed his gloomiestforebodings. Pardo was the principal witness against his master. Herepeated authentic fragments of Mr. O'Hagan's talk, which, harmlessenough in themselves, might be construed as treasonable by prejudicedminds. He swore, falsely, that he had heard his master declare that hewould not pay the taxes, which were mere extortion. He declared thatthe L250 which Mr. O'Hagan had sent to Mollendo was not a ransom, but acontribution to the brigands' funds. Similar testimony was given by twoformer servants of the prisoner. Mr. O'Hagan's denials were scouted. Hewas not allowed to employ counsel, and in two hours the sorry farce wasover. He was found guilty, condemned to forfeit his estate and to beshot in the plaza, three days later.
Romana shrank from conveying this heavy tidings to the boy awaiting hisreturn in the cavern. But there was no help for it. He walked backslowly, and broke the news as gently as he could.
Tim was at first utterly overwhelmed. In his most despondent moments hehad never looked for anything so bad as this. When his stupor passed, hecried out that he must go to his mother; that he would himself seek thePrefect, and plead with him to annul the sentence; that he must andwould do something, he knew not what.
"It would be useless, senorito," said Romana sadly. "You would yourselfbe arrested; you might suffer the same fate; then the gracious ladywould be doubly bereaved, left without a protector, and that wouldembitter your father's last moments."
"But I can't sit still and do nothing," cried Tim, walking up and downin his misery. "Suppose it were your father! Won't your Mollendists dosomething? There's a lot of them; wouldn't Senor Mollendo lead them tothe town if I begged and prayed him?"
"He is not strong enough," answered Romana. "The town is full ofgendarmes. I don't know the caballero's plans, but he cannot alter themfor a foreigner."
"He will only send his men to pounce on solitary travellers like thegobernador," said Tim bitterly.
"Remember, senorito, that he is himself outlawed, in hiding. The menyou saw in his camp are not numerous enough; they are ill-armed. Thereare a crowd of gendarmes and several troops of mercenaries already inthe town, and another thousand men can be summoned from San Juan, andwould arrive within a few hours."
"But I could get our Japs to join. They would fight like demons for myfather."
"What arms have they?" said Romana patiently. "It is useless, senorito.But there are three days. Perhaps the Prefect will think better of it.No doubt he is uneasy at not having captured you; he will never feelsafe while you are at large; and he may delay the extreme step. We musthope for the best."
As he became calmer Tim recognised the force of all that Romana hadsaid, and his own helplessness. He could but wait and hope.
Very early next morning they were standing near the mouth of the cav
ern.Romana was about to go again into the wood a few miles nearer the town,to receive any further information that Galdos might have for him.
"Ask him to go to my mother, and bring word how she is," Tim was saying.
"Look, senorito; what is that?" said Romana suddenly, pointing down thetrack in the direction of the town. A mounted party of four wasapproaching, too far off for the individuals of which it was composed tobe distinguished.
HORSEMEN ON THE TRACK]
"They are after me!" said Tim at once.
"Back, senorito!" cried Romana, drawing him behind the screen offoliage, through which they peered anxiously at the advancing party.
"There is a lady!" said Romana presently. "They are riding very fast."
"Is it Mother?" said Tim. "I believe it is! And, Romana, look; Ibelieve it's Father too! Isn't it? Isn't it?"
"For Dios, senorito!" exclaimed Romana, "you are right! It is the senorhimself. He has escaped! Praise to our Lady and Sant Iago! Come! Letus meet them."
The Motor Scout: A Story of Adventure in South America Page 8