Gaspar Ruiz

by Joseph Conrad

  IX

  WITH movements of mechanical care and an air of abstraction old GeneralSantierra lighted a long and thick cigar.

  "It was a good many hours before we could send a party back to theravine," he said to his guests. "We had found one-third of the town laidlow, the rest shaken up; and the inhabitants, rich and poor, reduced tothe same state of distraction by the universal disaster. The affectedcheerfulness of some contrasted with the despair of others. In thegeneral confusion a number of reckless thieves, without fear of God orman, became a danger to those who from the downfall of their homes hadmanaged to save some valuables. Crying 'Misericordia' louder than any atevery tremor, and beating their breasts with one hand, these scoundrelsrobbed the poor victims with the other, not even stopping short ofmurder.

  "General Robles' division was occupied entirely in guarding thedestroyed quarters of the town from the depredations of these inhumanmonsters. Taken up with my duties of orderly officer, it was only in themorning that I could assure myself of the safety of my own family.

  "My mother and my sisters had escaped with their lives from thatball-room, where I had left them early in the evening. I remember thosetwo beautiful young women--God rest their souls--as if I saw them thismoment, in the garden of our destroyed house, pale but active, assistingsome of our poor neighbours, in their soiled ball-dresses and with thedust of fallen walls on their hair. As to my mother, she had a stoicalsoul in her frail body. Half-covered by a costly shawl, she was lyingon a rustic seat by the side of an ornamental basin whose fountain hadceased to play for ever on that night.

  "I had hardly had time to embrace them all with transports of joy, whenmy chief, coming along, dispatched me to the ravine with a few soldiers,to bring in my strong man, as he called him, and that pale girl.

  "But there was no one for us to bring in. A land-slide had covered theruins of the house; and it was like a large mound of earth with only theends of some timbers visible here and there--nothing more.

  "Thus were the tribulations of the old Royalist couple ended. Anenormous and unconsecrated grave had swallowed them up alive, in theirunhappy obstinacy against the will of a people to be free. And theirdaughter was gone.

  "That Gaspar Ruiz had carried her off I understood very well. But asthe case was not foreseen, I had no instructions to pursue them. Andcertainly I had no desire to do so. I had grown mistrustful of myinterference. It had never been successful, and had not even appearedcreditable. He was gone. Well, let him go. And he had carried off theRoyalist girl! Nothing better. Vaya con Dios. This was not the timeto bother about a deserter who, justly or unjustly, ought to have beendead, and a girl for whom it would have been better to have never beenborn.

  "So I marched my men back to the town.

  "After a few days, order having been re-established, all the principalfamilies, including my own, left for Santiago. We had a fine housethere. At the same time the division of Robles was moved to newcantonments near the capital. This change suited very well the state ofmy domestic and amorous feelings.

  "One night, rather late, I was called to my chief. I found GeneralRobles in his quarters, at ease, with his uniform off, drinking neatbrandy out of a tumbler--as a precaution, he used to say, against thesleeplessness induced by the bites of mosquitoes. He was a good soldier,and he taught me the art and practice of war.

  "No doubt God has been merciful to his soul; for his motives were neverother than patriotic, if his character was irascible. As to the useof mosquito nets, he considered it effeminate, shameful--unworthy of asoldier.

  "I noticed at the first glance that his face, already very red, wore anexpression of high good-humour.

  "'Aha! senor teniente,' he cried loudly, as I saluted at the door.'Behold! Your strong man has turned up again.'

  "He extended to me a folded letter, which I saw was superscribed 'To theCommander-in-Chief of the Republican Armies.'

  "'This,' General Robles went on in his loud voice, 'was thrust by a boyinto the hand of a sentry at the Quartel General, while the fellow stoodthere thinking of his girl, no doubt--for before he could gather hiswits together, the boy had disappeared amongst the market people, and heprotests he could not recognise him to save his life.'

  "My chief told me further that the soldier had given the letter to thesergeant of the guard, and that ultimately it had reached the hands ofour generalissimo. His Excellency had deigned to take cognisance of itwith his own eyes. After that he had referred the matter in confidenceto General Robles.

  "The letter, senores, I cannot now recollect textually. I saw thesignature of Gaspar Ruiz. He was an audacious fellow. He had snatched asoul for himself out of a cataclysm, remember. And now it was thatsoul which had dictated the terms of his letter. Its tone was veryindependent. I remember it struck me at the time as noble--dignified. Itwas, no doubt, her letter. Now I shudder at the depth of its duplicity.Gaspar Ruiz was made to complain of the injustice of which he had beena victim. He invoked his previous record of fidelity and courage. Havingbeen saved from death by the miraculous interposition of Providence, hecould think of nothing but of retrieving his character. This, he wrote,he could not hope to do in the ranks as a discredited soldier stillunder suspicion. He had the means to give a striking proof of hisfidelity. And he ended by proposing to the General-in-Chief a meeting atmidnight in the middle of the Plaza before the Moneta. The signal wouldbe to strike fire with flint and steel three times, which was not tooconspicuous and yet distinctive enough for recognition.

  "San Martin, the great Liberator, loved men of audacity and courage.Besides, he was just and compassionate. I told him as much of the man'sstory as I knew, and was ordered to accompany him on the appointednight. The signals were duly exchanged. It was midnight, and the wholetown was dark and silent. Their two cloaked figures came together inthe centre of the vast Plaza, and, keeping discreetly at a distance,I listened for an hour or more to the murmur of their voices. Then thegeneral motioned me to approach; and as I did so I heard San Martin,who was courteous to gentle and simple alike, offer Gaspar Ruiz thehospitality of the headquarters for the night. But the soldier refused,saying that he would not be worthy of that honour till he had donesomething.

  "'You cannot have a common deserter for your guest, Excellency,' heprotested with a low laugh, and stepping backwards, merged slowly intothe night.

  "The Commander-in-Chief observed to me, as we turned away: 'He hadsomebody with him, our friend Ruiz. I saw two figures for a moment. Itwas an unobtrusive companion.'

  "I too had observed another figure join the vanishing form of GasparRuiz. It had the appearance of a short fellow in a poncho and a bighat. And I wondered stupidly who it could be he had dared take intohis confidence. I might have guessed it could be no one but that fatalgirl--alas!

  "Where he kept her concealed I do not know. He had--it was knownafterwards--an uncle, his mother's brother, a small shopkeeper inSantiago. Perhaps it was there that she found a roof and food. Whatevershe found, it was poor enough to exasperate her pride and keep up heranger and hate. It is certain she did not accompany him on the feathe undertook to accomplish first of all. It was nothing less than thedestruction of a store of war material collected secretly by the Spanishauthorities in the south, in a town called Linares. Gaspar Ruiz wasentrusted with a small party only, but they proved themselves worthy ofSan Martin's confidence. The season was not propitious. They had to swimswollen rivers. They seemed, however, to have galloped night and day,outriding the news of their foray, and holding straight for the town, ahundred miles into the enemy's country, till at break of day they rodeinto it sword in hand, surprising the little garrison. It fled withoutmaking a stand, leaving most of its officers in Gaspar Ruiz' hands.

  "A great explosion of gunpowder ended the conflagration of the magazinesthe raiders had set on fire without loss of time. In less than sixhours they were riding away at the same mad speed, without the loss of asingle man. Good as they were, such an exploit is not performed withouta still better leadership.
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br />   "I was dining at the headquarters when Gas-par Ruiz himself brought thenews of his success. And it was a great blow to the Royalist troops. Fora proof he displayed to us the garrison's flag. He took it from underhis poncho and flung it on the table. The man was transfigured; therewas something exulting and menacing in the expression of his face. Hestood behind General San Martin's chair and looked proudly at us all.He had a round blue cap edged with silver braid on his head, and we allcould see a large white scar on the nape of his sunburnt neck.

  "Somebody asked him what he had done with the captured Spanish officers.

  "He shrugged his shoulders scornfully. 'What a question to ask! Ina partisan war you do not burden yourself with prisoners. I let themgo--and here are their sword-knots.'

  "He flung a bunch of them on the table upon the flag. Then GeneralRobles, whom I was attending there, spoke up in his loud, thick voice:'You did! Then, my brave friend, you do not know yet how a war like oursought to be conducted. You should have done--this.' And he passed theedge of his hand across his own throat.

  "Alas, senores! It was only too true that on both sides this contest, inits nature so heroic, was stained by ferocity. The murmurs that aroseat General Robles' words were by no means unanimous in tone. But thegenerous and brave San Martin praised the humane action, and pointedout to Ruiz a place on his right hand. Then rising with a full glasshe proposed a toast: 'Caballeros and comrades-in-arms, let us drink thehealth of Captain Gaspar Ruiz.' And when we had emptied our glasses:'I intend,' the Commander-in-Chief continued, 'to entrust him with theguardianship of our southern frontier, while we go afar to liberate ourbrethren in Peru. He whom the enemy could not stop from striking a blowat his very heart will know how to protect the peaceful populations weleave behind us to pursue our sacred task.' And he embraced the silentGaspar Ruiz by his side.

  "Later on, when we all rose from table, I approached the latest officerof the army with my congratulations. 'And, Captain Ruiz,' I added,'perhaps you do not mind telling a man who has always believed in theuprightness of your character, what became of Dona Erminia on thatnight?'

  "At this friendly question his aspect changed. He looked at me fromunder his eyebrows with the heavy, dull glance of a guasso--of apeasant.

  "Senor teniente,' he said thickly, and as if very much cast down, 'donot ask me about the senorita, for I prefer not to think about her atall when I am amongst you.'

  "He looked, with a frown, all about the room, full of smoking andtalking officers. Of course I did not insist.

  "These, senores, were the last words I was to hear him utter for a long,long time. The very next day we embarked for our arduous expedition toPeru, and we only heard of Gaspar Ruiz' doings in the midst of battlesof our own. He had been appointed military guardian of our southernprovince. He raised a partida. But his leniency to the conquered foedispleased the Civil Governor, who was a formal, uneasy man, full ofsuspicions. He forwarded reports against Gaspar Ruiz to the SupremeGovernment; one of them being that he had married publicly, with greatpomp, a woman of Royalist tendencies. Quarrels were sure to arisebetween these two men of very different character. At last the CivilGovernor began to complain of his inactivity, and to hint at treachery,which, he wrote, would be not surprising in a man of such antecedents.Gaspar Ruiz heard of it. His rage flamed up, and the woman ever by hisside knew how to feed it with perfidious words. I do not knowwhether really the Supreme Government ever did--as he complainedafterwards--send orders for his arrest. It seems certain that theCivil Governor began to tamper with his officers, and that Gaspar Ruizdiscovered the fact.

  "One evening, when the Governor was giving a tertullia Gaspar Ruiz,followed by six men he could trust, appeared riding through the town tothe door of the Government House, and entered the sala armed, his hat onhis head. As the Governor, displeased, advanced to meet him, he seizedthe wretched man round the body, carried him off from the midst of theappalled guests, as though he were a child, and flung him down the outersteps into the street. An angry hug from Gaspar Ruiz was enough to crushthe life out of a giant; but in addition Gaspar Ruiz' horsemen firedtheir pistols at the body of the Governor as it lay motionless at thebottom of the stairs."