by G. A. Henty
The next day they were again brought before the tribunal, and thegrand inquisitor, without this time entering into any length ofspeech, informed them briefly that he gave them another three days;and that if, at the end of the third day, their obstinacy did notyield, he would use the means at his disposal--and he pointed tovarious instruments, hanging on the walls or ranged on the table.Of these, although the lads were ignorant of their uses, theyentertained no doubt, whatever, that they were the instruments oftorture of which they had heard--thumb screws, iron gags, the boot,the rack, and other devilish inventions. They made no reply to theaddress, and were taken away, this time, down several windingstairs to a black and noxious dungeon, far below the general levelof the earth.
No ray of light entered this cell. The walls were damp withmoisture. In the corner the boys discovered, by the sense offeeling, a small pile of rotten straw; which had, without doubt,formed the bed of some other unfortunate, who had before tenantedthe prison. Here, at least, they had no fear of being overheard;but as the ingenuity of the inquisitors was well known, they agreedto say no word of the hopes they still cherished; but to talk ofother matters, purely personal to themselves. Here, as hour afterhour passed, they strengthened each other in their resolutions, byan agreement that no torture should wring from them a recantationof their faith, and by many prayers for strength and support fromabove.
Once a day the door opened, and an attendant brought in bread andwater, which he placed in silence on the ground. The second day, ashe did so, he placed a bundle by the side of the bread, andwhispering, "Be prudent. Use these only as the last resource.Friends are preparing to help you," retired as noiselessly asusual.
When left in darkness again, the lads seized upon the parcel. Itwas large and heavy and, to their great delight, they found that itcontained two daggers and two brace of heavy pistols.
"I wonder," Ned said, in a whisper to Tom, "that our friend doesnot contrive to get us passed through the prison. But I supposethat he finds that only one or two, perhaps, of the attendants arecorruptible; and that our jailor, although he might free us fromthis cell, could not pass us through the corridors and out of thebuilding."
"Let us see," Tom said, "if we can make our way into any cell whichmay adjoin this. If it is empty we might, perchance, make ourescape."
All night the boys labored with their daggers, having first tappedthe wall all round, to hear if any difference of sound gave anintimation that a hollow space was behind. They could not perceivethis; but fancying that, upon the one side, there was some veryslight difference, they attempted to remove the stones there.
All through the night and next day they continued their labor; andsucceeded, with great difficulty, in removing two of the stones ofthe wall. Behind these, however, was a mass of rubble, formed ofcement so hard that the daggers failed to make any impression,whatever, upon it; and after laboring through the whole day, theywere forced to abandon the design, and replace the stones as theyhad before been; filling up the interstices with the mortar whichthey had dug out, so that no trace of the task upon which they wereemployed should remain.
That night, when the door opened, two figures, as before, presentedthemselves; and they knew that their summons before the dreadedcourt was at hand. With their daggers and pistols concealed withintheir vests, they followed their guides; each, with a grasp of hishand, assuring the other of his steadfastness and faith. They hadresolved that, sooner than submit to torture, which would cripplethem for life, they would fight to the last, and die resisting.
This time they found in the audience hall, in addition to the threejudges, four men; clothed also in black, but evidently of aninferior order. These were standing, ranged along by the wall, inreadiness to obey the orders of the judges. Their attendants fellback to the door, and the prisoners remained, standing alone, inthe center of the room.
"Acting in all kindness," the judge said, "we have given you ampletime to retract, and to consider your position; and we now callupon you to consent, formally, to abandon your accursed heresies,and to embrace the offer which the holy church kindly makes to you;or to endure the pains which it will be necessary that we shouldinflict, in order to soften your hardness of heart."
"We are perfectly resolved," Ned said, "to maintain the religion ofour fathers. As Englishmen, we protest against this outrage. Whenyour countrymen fall into our hands, no man dreams of endeavoringto compel them to abandon their faith. They are treated ashonorable prisoners; and if any outrage be attempted upon ourbodies, sooner or later, be assured, the news of it will come tothe ears of our English captains; and for every drop of blood ofours shed, a Spanish life will answer."
"You are insolent," the inquisitor said, coldly. "It is rash tothreaten men in whose power you are. These walls reveal no secrets,and though the town were full of your English pirates, yet wouldyour doom be accomplished; without a possibility of rescue, andwithout your fate ever becoming known, beyond these four walls.
"Bethink you," he said, "before you compel me to use the means atmy disposal; for men have spoken as bravely and as obstinately asyou, but they have changed their minds, when they felt their bonescracking under the torture. We would fain abstain from injuringfigures as manly as yours; but, if needs be, we will so reduce themto wrecks that you will envy the veriest cripple who crawls foralms, on the steps of the cathedral here."
The boys remained silent, and the inquisitor, with an air of angryimpatience, motioned to the men ranged along by the wall to seizetheir prisoners.
The lads saw that the time for action was come. Each produced hispistol from his breast, the one leveling his at the head of thegrand inquisitor, while the other faced the foremost of thoseadvancing towards them.
"One step nearer," Ned said, "and the two of you are dead men."
A silence as of death fell in the chamber. The judges were tooastonished even to rise from their seats, and the familiars pausedin their advance.
"You see," Ned said to the grand inquisitor, "that you are notmasters of the situation. One touch upon my trigger, and the deathwith which you threaten me is yours. Now write, as I order you, apass by which we may be allowed to quit these accursed walls,without molestation."
Without hesitation, the judge wrote on a piece of paper therequired order.
"Now," Ned said, "you must come with us; for I put no faith,whatever, in your promises; for I know the ways of your kind, thatpromises made to heretics are not considered sacred. You are,yourself, my best safeguard; for be assured that the slightestinterruption to us, upon our way, and I draw my trigger, and sendyou to that eternity to which you have dispatched so many victims."
The judge rose to his feet, and Ned could see that, quiet as heappeared, he was trembling with passion. Tom had, at the firstalarm, retreated to the door; so as to prevent the escape of theattendants stationed there, or of any of the others, to give thealarm. He now opened it, and Ned was about to pass out with theinquisitor when, glancing round, he saw that one of the otherjudges had disappeared, doubtless by some door placed behind thearras, at the end of the room.
"Treachery is intended," he muttered to the inquisitor; "butremember that you will be the first victim."
Slowly Ned passed along the corridors, the inquisitor between thetwo Englishmen, the attendants following in a group behind,uncertain what course to pursue, and without orders from theirsuperior, when at last they came to a door. This was locked, andNed ordered the inquisitor to have it opened.
"I have not the keys," he said. "They are in the hands of theattendant whose duty it is to attend to this portion of thebuilding."
"Call them," Ned said impatiently.
The inquisitor struck on the closed door with his hands, and calledaloud, but no answer was returned.
"Bid these men behind you force it in," Ned said.
The men advanced, but as they did so a small side door in thepassage, behind Ned, opened noiselessly, and suddenly a thickblanket was thrown over his head, while an arm struck up the handwhich had th
e pistol. He drew the trigger, however; and the grandinquisitor, with a groan, sank to the ground. At the same instant anumber of men rushed through the door, and threw themselves uponthe lads, and were joined by the attendants standing behind.
A desperate struggle ensued. Tom shot the two first men who sprangupon him, and for some minutes the lads maintained a desperatestruggle. Again and again, the crowd of their assailants pulled oneor other of them to the ground; but it was not until their strengthwas utterly exhausted, by their struggles, that both were secured,and bound hand and foot. Then, at the order of one of the otherjudges; who, now that all danger was over, appeared upon the scene,they were lifted bodily, carried back to their dungeon, and castupon the ground.
Panting and breathless, the lads lay for some time, too exhaustedto speak.
"I am afraid that I missed that rascally chief inquisitor," Nedsaid. "Did you notice, Tom?"
"I scarcely saw, for at the same moment I was struck from behind;but I fancy that he fell, when your pistol exploded."
"In that case," Ned said, "we may have a respite, for a day or two.He will feel inclined to be present at the ceremony of torturing,himself.
"On one thing I am determined. We will not be taken by the men inblack, and submit to having our limbs wrenched, without an effort.I should think that, if we snatch up some of the iron instrumentslying about, we can manage to make such a resistance that they willhave to kill us, before we are overcome. If I could kill myself, Icertainly would do so. I do not think I am a coward, Tom, but Iconfess that the sight of those horrible instruments makes my bloodrun cold."
"I feel with you, Ned. Death itself were nothing; but to be torn,limb from limb, is something horrible."
The day passed, without any visit being paid to them. No food wasbrought in, and they were left, as if forgotten, by their jailors.Thus they were unable to tell the hour and, as it was perfectlydark, it was by guesswork that they at last lay down to sleep onthe damp stones.
Presently they were awoke by the tramp of numerous footsteps. Thenthere was a tremendous battering at the door.
"What on earth are they doing?" Ned exclaimed. "Have they lost thekey, and are they going to break open the door, and finish with us,now? Get ready. We will make a fight at once, and try and end it."
Presently the door gave way before the heavy blows which werestruck upon it; and, to the astonishment of the lads, a band ofIndians, naked to the waist and holding torches, burst into thecell.
"Here they are!" exclaimed one of them, in Spanish.
"Quick, there is not a moment to be lost. Follow us;" and, stoopingdown, he cut the cords which bound them.
Bewildered and confused with the sudden light, and by theunexpected irruption, the boys followed the speaker; and, closelysurrounded by the Indians, made their way down the passages and outinto the courtyard. There was no resistance, or interference. Thefamiliars had, apparently, fled at the sudden attack upon the jail,and no one appeared to bar their exit.
The great gates of the courtyard stood uninjured, but the posterndoor had been battered in. Another body of natives, armed withspears and bows and arrows, were standing round the entrance; and agood many of the people of the neighborhood, roused by the suddentumult, were standing at the doors. These looked on, apparently,with mere curiosity, and with no desire to interfere with what wasgoing on.
Indeed, the Inquisition was never popular with the great body ofthe Spaniards; over whom its secret proceedings, and terriblecruelties, hung like a dark cloud, as none could ever say that theymight not be the objects of denunciation.
It was clear that the Indians were acting upon a fixed plan; for,the moment that those from within the prison sallied out, allformed in a compact body, and at a brisk slinging trot started downthe street; the lads being kept well in the center, so as toconceal them from the gaze of the public. Not a word was spoken,till they had issued from the town. For another quarter of a miletheir hurried march continued; and then, without a word, the wholeof the escort, with the exception of one man, turned up a crossroadand vanished into the darkness.
"Heaven be praised that I have saved you, senors!" said the Indianwho remained. "Do you not recognize me? I am Don Estevan, whoselife you saved at Arica. I feared that I might be too late to findyou unharmed; but it required time to get the necessary forcetogether.
"You recognized me, of course, on the pier when you landed. Theinstant I heard of your arrest, I chartered a swift-sailing countrycraft, and arrived here the day before you. I was the bearer of aletter, signed by many of the soldiers in garrison at Arica, totheir comrades here; saying how bravely you had behaved, and thatyou had become good comrades in the regiment, and urging them to doanything in their power to save you from the Inquisition. This Ithought might be useful, as they would be sure to be called out, incase of an attack upon the Inquisition; and I prayed them to be asslow as possible in their movements, in case of any sudden alarm.This will account for the fact that none of them arrived upon thespot before we had finished our business, just now.
"But there is not a moment to delay. I have horses two miles awayin readiness, and we must make for there. They will be sure to puton bloodhounds in pursuit, and we may have to ride for it."
The boys briefly expressed their intense gratitude to theirpreserver, for his efforts in their behalf, Ned adding, "I fear,Don Estevan, that your generous deed of tonight will involve you infearful danger."
"I have taken every precaution," the young Spaniard said. "I didnot charter the vessel in my own name, and came up in disguise. Allmy friends believe me to be still at Arica, and no one, so far as Iknow, has recognized me here. I was obliged to go to my estate,which lies a hundred miles up the country. There I armed my peonsand vaqueros, and a number of Indians who were living near, to whomI have always shown kindness. None of them knew that it was thedungeon of the Inquisition which they were to attack, but believedthat it was merely a prison they were about to force; for the powerof superstition is very great in this country, and although a greatmany of the men may lead wild and godless lives, they tremble atthe thought of lifting their hands against that mysterious andawful body, the Inquisition.
"News travels slowly, indeed, in this country; and it is not likelythat the fact that the prison of the Inquisition has been brokenopen will ever reach the men on my estate. The priest of thevillage is a worthy man; and he has, I know, no sympathy withbigotry and cruelty. Consequently, if any of them should, in theirconfession, tell him that they have been engaged in breaking aprison, he will perchance guess what prison it was, and may imaginethat I had a hand in it. But I feel sure that the knowledge sogained would go no further.
"I might, had I chosen, have had the horses brought to the pointwhere we separated from my men. But in that case the hounds mighthave followed upon the main body, and so some clue would have beengained as to the direction from which they came. As it is, theywill follow us up, at any rate until we take horses. We will makeour track visible, for some distance, so that the pursuit may becarried on. Before it is over, they will have lost all track of therest of their assailants; and will not, indeed, be able to tracethe direction in which they went. They, too, have horses at a shortdistance, and will speedily regain the estate."
"How did you know in which cell we were confined?"
"Through the jailor. The man who attended you was once employed bymy father. I met him, the day I arrived from Arica, and bribed himto convey the arms to you; with which I thought that, should theybring you to trial and torture before I could collect my force, youmight make a resistance; for I judged that you would rather diethan suffer mutilation and agony. When you disclosed your arms,today, he slipped at once from the building, as he knew that hewould be suspected. Changing his clothes in a house near, hemounted his horse and rode to meet us, conveying the news that thecrisis had arrived. How it ended he could not tell; but he hopedthat some delay might occur, in resuming proceedings against you."
By this time they had reached their horses, wh
ich were tied in aclump of trees, at a short distance from the road.
"They are fine animals," Don Estevan said, "and we may reckon uponshowing our heels to any of those who pursue us; for I can assureyou that the chase is likely to be a hot one."
"Whither do you intend to go?"
"I am thinking of making for Arica. Before we reach that town youcan, if you choose, strike to the hills and join the nativesbeyond, as you proposed when at Arica; or, should you prefer it,you can, in disguises, enter Arica and remain there, for a time,until all possibility of your friends appearing before that placebe at an end.
"My absence will not have been noticed, for I mentioned to friendsthere that I was going into the interior, to investigate a mine, ofwhose existence I had heard from some Indians. When I return,therefore, I shall say that the mine was not sufficientlypromising, in appearance, for me to care about asking for aconcession from the government. I shall, of course, pretend to beextremely vexed at the time that has been wasted; and I do not seethat any suspicion can fall upon me, as having been concerned inthe affair at Lima.
"We will walk our horses at a slow pace, in order to save them, asfar as possible; and to ascertain whether our pursuers havecorrectly followed our steps. When we once hear them, we can thenput on our best speed; and as they will not know that we are but ashort distance ahead, they will go at a moderate pace. Besides, thespeed of bloodhounds, when tracking, is by no means great."
An hour later, they heard a faint sound in the distance.Instinctively they checked their horses, and again, in the darknessof the night, the deep distant bay of a hound was heard.
"Just as I thought!" Don Estevan exclaimed. "They have got thebloodhounds, and I should think, by the sound, that they must havejust reached the spot where we mounted. The hounds will be puzzlednow; but the sagacity of these creatures is so great that I am byno means sure that they will be unable to follow us by the track ofthe horses. Now let us set spur."
For the next four or five hours they proceeded, at a steady gallop,towards the south. The country was flat; the road sandy, but even;and the cool night air was exhilarating, indeed, after theconfinement in the dark and noisome dungeon at Lima. So rejoicedwere the boys, with their newly-recovered freedom, that it was withdifficulty they restrained themselves from bursting into shouts ofjoy. But they were anxious that no sounds should be heard, by thevillagers of the little hamlets lying along the road. The sound ofthe horses' hoofs on the sandy track would scarcely arouse asleeping man; and the fact that their tracks would be plainlyvisible in the sand, when daylight came, caused them no concern;as, so far, they had made no effort to deceive their pursuers.
Soon after daylight arrived they found themselves upon a stream,which ran down from the mountains and crossed the road.
"Now," Don Estevan said, "it is time to begin to throw them off ourtrack. They will believe that the party consist solely of Indians,and our turning east will seem as if we intended to take refuge inthe mountains. Let us then strike up the river for awhile, land ata spot where the horses' hoofs will be clearly visible, and thenpursue a course to the southeast, taking us nearer and nearer tothe hills.
"Three leagues hence is another stream. This we will enter, andthey will make sure that we have pursued our former tactics--thatwe have followed it up, and again struck for the hills. Instead ofdoing this, we will follow it down for a mile or two; and quit itat some spot where the bank is firm, and will leave no marks of ourfootsteps. Then we will strike across the country, and regain theroad some seven or eight leagues further south."
The plan appeared a capital one, and was followed out as arranged.Late in the evening, they were again in the vicinity of thesouthern road. In their wallets was a plentiful supply ofprovisions, and they had filled their water bottles at the laststream which they had crossed. Entering a grove of trees, theyunsaddled their horses and allowed them to crop the foliage andshrubs; while they threw themselves down upon the soft earth, stiffand wearied with their long journey.
"We will travel by night, always," Don Estevan said. "I do notthink that any suspicion, whatever, will arise that we have againstruck south; but should any inquiry be made, it is as well that noone along the road shall have seen three mounted men."
For another two days they journeyed, as proposed, by night; restingby day in quiet places and, so far as they knew, without havingbeen seen by any of the scattered population. It was in the middleof the third night, as they were cantering slowly along, that theyheard the tread of a horse, at full gallop, approaching from thesouth.
"You had better withdraw from the road," Don Estevan said, "so thatbut one horseman will be met. I will stop the rider, and hear whyhe gallops so fast. It may be that news has preceded us, and it isas well to gather what intelligence we can."
The boys withdrew from the road, Don Estevan proceeding ahead. Theyheard the sound of the galloping hoofs pause, as their rider metthe Spaniard. There was a talk for a few minutes, and then thehorseman again rode forward at full speed. Don Estevan paused for alittle while, to allow him to get beyond earshot, and then rejoinedhis companions.
"I have great news," he said, "and it is for you to decide whetherit will alter your plan of proceeding. The man whom I have just metis a messenger, dispatched by the governor of Arica to Lima, towarn the governor there that an English ship, under the notedfreebooter Francis Drake, has put into that harbor; and has startedagain, sailing for the north, after exacting certain contributions,but otherwise refraining from injuring the town."
The boys gave a shout of joy, for they had begun to fear that theexpedition must have met with some disaster, in doubling Cape Horn,and been compelled to return.
"What will you do?" the Spaniard asked.
"Return to Lima!" the boys exclaimed, simultaneously. "We shall bethere before the admiral can arrive, and can then rejoin ourcomrades."
"That will indeed be your best plan," Don Estevan said; "but youmust be disguised thoroughly. However, you are not likely to be soclosely investigated as you otherwise would be, at Lima; for youmay be sure that, when the messenger arrives there, the town willbe in such a ferment of excitement, at the approach of yourcountrymen, that our little affair will, for the time, be entirelyforgotten."
"I trust," Ned said, "that we shall be able to do something torender your security more perfect; for, if I mistake not, when theadmiral hears of the doings of the officials of the Inquisition,how many people they have burned to death lately at Lima, and whatfrightful cruelties they have perpetrated in that ghastly prison,he will burn the place to the ground and hang up the judges; inwhich case we may be sure that no further inquiry will ever bethought of, concerning the attack on the prison. What do you adviseus to do, senor? For it is clear that your best course is to returnto Arica, direct."
"I cannot think of doing that," the generous young Spaniardreplied. "A few days' longer absence will pass unnoticed,especially as people will have plenty of other matters to think,and talk, about. I do not see how you can possibly obtain disguiseswithout my assistance; and as our pursuers will long since havebeen thrown off our track, and will probably have given up thesearch and have returned to Lima, convinced that we already havecrossed the mountains and are beyond their reach. I think thatthere is little danger in my nearing the city.
"Come, let us turn our horses' heads, at once."
In a few minutes, they were returning by the route they hadhitherto traveled They were already dressed as young Spaniards. Thedisguises had been brought by their rescuer, and assumed at thefirst halt. He himself had also washed the paint from his face andhands, and had assumed European garb, in order that any inquiryabout three mounted Indians might be baffled.
"There is now," he said, "no longer any occasion for us to ride bynight. We are journeying north, and any inquiries which may ever beset on foot will certainly point only to men going south; andwhereas our Indian disguises might have been suspected, I am now inmy proper character, and my passing through can excite no rumor orcomment."
>
Don Estevan had, indeed, assumed the garb of a Spanish proprietorof rank, while the boys were dressed as vaqueros; and as theypassed through villages, in the daytime, kept their horses half alength behind that of their leader. They avoided, on their rideback, putting up at any of the posadas, or village inns, on theirroad; sleeping, as before, in the woods. Their marches were long,but were performed at a much slower rate of speed, as they werecertain that they would reach Lima long before the admiral's ship,even should he not pause at any place on the way.
It was upon the sixth day after their rescue from prison that theyagain approached Lima. After much consultation, they had agreed tocontinue in their Spanish dresses, taking only the precaution ofsomewhat staining their faces and hands, to give them the colornatural to men who spend their lives on the plains. Don Estevan,himself, determined to enter the city with them after nightfall;and to take them to the house of a trusty friend, where they shouldlie, concealed, until the news arrived that the English ship wasoff the port. He himself would at once mount his horse, and retracehis steps to Arica.
The programme was carried out successfully. No one glanced at thehidalgo as, with his vaqueros, he rode through the streets of Lima.There were no lights, in those days, save those which hung beforeshrines by the roadside; or occasionally a dim oil lamp, suspendedbefore the portico of some mansion of importance.
The friend to whom Don Estevan assigned them was a young man, ofhis own age; a cousin, and one, like himself, liberal in hisopinions, free from bigotry, and hating the cruelties perpetratedin the name of religion by the Inquisition. He heard with surprisethe narrative which Don Estevan related; for the latter had notvisited him during his short stay in the city, and was supposedstill to be at Arica. Great was his astonishment, indeed, when hefound that the attack upon the prison of the Inquisition, which hadcaused such intense excitement in the city, had been planned andexecuted by his cousin; and his expressions of approval of the deedwere warm and frequent. He assured the boys that he would doeverything in his power to make them comfortable until the arrivalof the English ship.
A discussion took place as to whether it was better that theyshould appear as friends of his, who had come in from their countryestate; or whether they should continue their disguise as vaqueros.There were objections to either plan. In the first place, theattendants in waiting would detect the shortcomings in Ned'sSpanish, and would be astonished at the silence of his companion.Upon the other hand, it would seem strange that they should be keptapart from the servitors of the house. Finally, it was agreed thatthey should appear as men of rank, but that Tom should feignsickness, and therefore keep his room; Ned for the most partremaining shut up with him, and taking his meals there.
This course was followed out, and when the arrangement was completethey took a hearty leave of the noble young Spaniard, who at onceremounted his horse and started on his weary ride back again toArica.
Chapter 17: The Golden Hind.