XXV -- MORALES SITS STILL
IT was late at night when Appleby, who felt no inclination for sleep,looked out into the soft darkness from a window of the cuartel where hehad now passed six anxious days Here and there a light blinked dimly inthe gulf of blacker shadow that marked the narrow street beneath him,for there was no moon that night, and the steamy dampness the faint warmwind drove before it obscured the stars. A hot, musky smell rose fromthe silent town.
Still, Appleby, who had keen eyes, fancied he had seen a shadowy formpass twice beneath the nearest light, and then turn as though looking upat the cuartel, and he called Harper softly when it appeared again.
"Can you make out that man?" he said. "This is the third time I haveseen him. It is noticeable that he shows himself just under the lamp."
"Well," said Harper reflectively, "I guess you wouldn't have seen himanywhere else."
The shadowy form slipped away into the obscurity, and there was silencefor at least five minutes while the pair stood very still, wonderingwith a vague sense of expectation what it meant, until Appleby saidsharply, "There he is again."
"No," said Harper. "That's another one. He's taller, and, so far as Ican make out, dressed quite different. Still, he's looking up. It seemsto me he means us or somebody else to see him."
Appleby felt his heart throb, and his voice was not quite steady as hesaid, "Morales has, at least, a half-company in the cuartel."
"Well," said Harper, "I don't quite know. He sent most of the Barremedasaway--though there's a section or two here still. They are the men thatshowed signs of kicking in the plaza, and it's quite likely he figuresthey'd be safer with Vincente's Peninsular battalion. Then counting upthe pickets, outposts, and patrols he'll have on the carretera, there'llscarcely be forty men in this barracks now."
Appleby nodded. "Perhaps you are right," he said. "I have been wonderingwhy nothing has apparently happened to the section which ordered arms.Morales is not the man to let a thing of that kind pass."
Harper was quite aware that his comrade had little interest in thequestion, and surmised that he desired to conceal the fact that theappearance of the man below had stirred him to a state of tenseexpectancy.
"No," he said. "Still, I guess he has quite a good reason for holdinghis hand, and those cazadores will be sorry for themselves when he'sthrough with them. He'll keep them wondering where he's going to hitthem until it grinds all the grit out of them, and then start in."
He stopped somewhat abruptly at the sound of feet on the stairway, andhad his hand on the lattice when a soldier came in. It was evident thathe noticed the half-closed window, and he looked at them curiously.
"The Colonel Morales sends for you," he said, and though there wasapparently nobody within hearing dropped his voice a little. "If he asksyou questions let him wait for your answer. It is necessary that youshould keep him talking at least ten minutes."
Appleby felt a little quiver run through him, and saw that Harper's facehad grown suddenly intent.
"Why?" he asked.
The man made a little gesture expressive of indecision. "The guard ischanged then--and who knows what may happen? The men who come on duty aremy comrades of the Barremedas--and they are afraid. This Morales is mostterrible in his quietness. There is also below a merchant of tobacco."
Appleby saw the sudden sparkle in Harper's eyes, but he put a strongconstraint upon himself, for he dared not hope too much. He knewMaccario's daring, but it was difficult to believe that he would ventureinto the cuartel where there were men who could scarcely fail torecognize him. Still, he remembered the signs of disaffection among thetroops, and that Cuba was steeped in intrigue.
"We are ready," he said very quietly.
The soldier signed to them, and they followed him--down the outerstairway, and up another, along a corridor where two guards werestationed, and into a room where their guide, who raised his hand andswung round, left them. The room was small, with one lattice in it thatapparently opened on to the street and not the patio, and Morales satalone, with his sword and kepi on the table before him, which waslittered with papers. He looked up with expressionless eyes, and thenwhile they stood quivering a little with suspense went on writing forthe space of four minutes by the clock behind him. Appleby, whounderstood his purpose, felt that this would count for a good deal ifever there was a reckoning between them, but seeing the flush of passionin Harper's lean face he once more put a grim constraint upon himself.Knowing the Castilian temperament he also fancied that at this game hecould hold his own with Morales. At last the soldier shook a little sandover what he had written, and carefully cleaned his pen before he turnedto them.
"It seemed to me you might have concluded that the decision you made wasa trifle hasty, Senor Appleby," he said.
"You gave me no opportunity of changing it," said Appleby as quietly ashe could, though he realized that his voice was not quite his usual one."In any case I do not see what I gain. We are under sentence, and onehas usually a motive for what he does in Cuba."
Morales glanced at him steadily with keen dark eyes, and Applebywondered whether he had assumed too great an eagerness by suggestingthat he might be willing to treat with a man who had hitherto found himobdurate. Then the officer smiled.
"It is evident that the man who passed the sentence could commute it,"he said.
Appleby appeared to reflect. He did not know what was going on below,but he desired at least to hold Morales' attention until the change ofthe guard.
"Of course!" he said. "Still, he had apparently no intention of doingso. It seems to me we are under no obligation to Colonel Morales in onerespect."
"No?" and Morales' smile was sardonic.
Appleby shook his head. "I fancy that we owe rather more to certaindisaffected cazadores," he said. "That little display was, of course,unexpected."
He saw the dark eyes flash, but next moment the officer's face was oncemore expressionless.
"One cannot foresee everything, but I think there will not be anotherdisplay of the kind," he said. "Well, I will make an admission. Would itastonish you to hear that, in spite of the sentence, it was not intendedthat you should face the firing party?"
Appleby, who heard a soft crunching under his comrade's foot, glanced athim warningly. Harper's eyes were glowing, and the fingers of one handwere tightly clenched, but meeting Appleby's gaze he controlled himself.
"One would not presume to question the word of Colonel Morales," saidAppleby with rather more than a trace of irony. "In this case there wasalso the fact that your distinguished countrymen have already incurred aserious responsibility. Spain cannot afford to offer any unnecessaryprovocation to two other nations just now."
The contempt in Morales' little laugh was not assumed. "Pshaw! It isevident you do not understand the Castilians, Senor Appleby. One wouldalmost fancy that you were trifling with me."
"I am afraid you rate my courage too high," said Appleby, who glanced atthe clock. "It is, however, difficult to decide. The thing suggested wasunpleasant, and you understand that one has prejudices. Perhaps that isbecause I have not lived very long in Cuba. Still, I admit that what wesaw in the plaza was suggestive, but there is the difficulty that Icannot commit my comrade, who may have different notions."
Once more Morales fixed his dark eyes upon him, and Appleby, who couldfeel his heart throbbing, wondered if he had blundered in not assumingat least a trace of anxiety. He fancied that Morales must suspect thatthere was something behind his indifferent attitude, but, tingling withsuspense as he was, the role was very difficult to play. It wasessential that he should lead the officer on with the hope of makingterms until the guard was changed. The minute finger of the little clockscarcely seemed to move, while he could feel that the damp was beaded onhis forehead.
Morales, however, laughed. "I fancy he could be left you. Still, Iwished him to hear--that he should know whom he was indebted to in casewe did not arrive at an understanding. Well, I will be frank. We willassume that the offer I
made you is open still."
Appleby stood silent for almost half a minute, which appearedinterminable, feeling that Morales' eyes never left his face. Then therewas a tramp of feet in the patio, followed by a tread on the stairway,and it was only by strenuous effort that he retained his immobility. Theguard was being changed a minute or two earlier than he had expected.
A voice rose from outside, somebody tapped at the door and Moralesappeared to check an exclamation of impatience when a man came in. Hewas dressed immaculately in white linen and spotless duck, and carried acostly Panama hat in his hand.
"With many excuses, senor, I venture to do myself this honor," he said."You may remember you were once pleased to express your approbation ofmy poor tobacco."
Appleby contrived to smile, though it cost him an effort, but Harpergasped, and there was for a moment a silence they both found itdifficult to bear. Appleby in the meanwhile saw the gleam in Morales'eyes, but was quite aware that a Castilian gentleman rates his owndignity too highly to consider it necessary to impress it upon everystranger.
"It is an intrusion," he said quietly. "I do not understand why thesentries admitted you."
The tobacco merchant made a little deprecatory gesture, and Appleby felthis hands tremble as he watched the man move a step nearer the officer'schair.
"It was not their fault. I slipped by when the guard was changed," hesaid. "One would make excuses for such boldness, but you understand thenecessities of business. Now, I have here examples of a most excellenttobacco."
Morales turned, apparently to summon one of the guards. "Still, the manwho let you pass will be sorry!"
Then there was a little click-clack that sounded horribly distinct, andas he swung round again a pistol glinted in the tobacco merchant's hand.
"Senor," said the latter, "it would be advisable to sit very still."
Morales became suddenly rigid, but his eyes were very steady as heglanced at the stranger. "One begins to understand," he said. "Are younot, however, a little indiscreet, senor? There is a guard scarcelythirty feet away. A sound also travels far in this building."
The tobacco merchant laughed. "Will you open the door, Senor Harper,that Colonel Morales may see his guard?"
Harper rose, and when he flung the door open the sentry was revealed. Hestood in the corridor gazing into the lighted room, but though thesituation must have been evident to him, his face was expressionless,and his erect figure showed motionless against the shadow behind him.Then for just a moment a flush of darker color swept into Morales' olivecheek, and Appleby fancied that he winced.
"That man is taking a heavy risk," he said. "There is a half-company ofhis comrades in the cuartel."
The tobacco merchant smiled. "Then one would fancy, senor, that some ofthem had mutinied."
Morales said nothing for a moment, and Appleby surmised that he waswondering how many of his men had remained loyal. Then he made a littleimpatient gesture.
"Well," he said, "what do you want from me?"
"A very little thing, senor. No more than the liberty of a certain peon,Domingo Pereira. I do not ask the freedom of these friends of mine.That, as you can comprehend, is unnecessary."
A little gleam crept into the officer's dark eyes. "It is a trifledifficult to understand why you place yourself under an obligation to mein respect to the peon Pereira. If there is a mutiny in the cuartel, whynot take him?"
"It is simple. The affair is one that we wish to arrange quietly, butthere are one or two sections who will take no part with us, and theSergeant Suarez is an obdurate loyalist. All we ask is an order for thehanding over of the prisoner to the guard. That, since it will not beknown when they mutinied, will cast no discredit upon the ColonelMorales."
"And if I should not think fit to sign it?"
The tobacco merchant shrugged his shoulders. "One would recommend you toreflect," he said. "Between two Spanish gentlemen who have no wish forunpleasantness that should be sufficient. Still, you see before youthree determined men and you have proof that your guard has mutinied. Itis convenient that you write the order."
"You want nothing more?"
"No, senor. To be frank, my friends have no intention of seizing thecuartel. We are not in a position to hold it just now."
Morales tore a strip of paper from a pad, scribbled upon it and flung itacross the table to the tobacco merchant, who passed it to Appleby.
"You will hand that to the soldier outside," he said. "He will come backand report when he has delivered the prisoner to the guard."
Appleby went out, and the tobacco merchant laid the pistol down. "It wasan unpleasant necessity," he said. "Still, one can dispense with it nowwe have arrived at an understanding."
Harper laughed as he clenched his big hands on the back of the chair heleaned upon.
"If the distinguished gentleman tries to get up something will happen tohim," he said. "I have been figuring just where I could get him with theleg of this."
Morales made a little gesture of disgust. "The Senor Harper does notunderstand us. One has objections to anything unseemly, senor. I have afancy that I have seen you in other places than the hacienda SanCristoval."
"In Alturas Pass--and elsewhere," said the tobacco merchant with a smile."I once had the honor of meeting the Colonel Morales in the street belowus. At that time he had a sword in his hand."
Morales' face grew very grim, but he held himself in hand. "Yes. Iremember now," he said. "The leader of the Sin Verguenza--Don Maccario?"
The tobacco merchant made him a little half-ironical inclination."Colonel Morales will appreciate the consideration I have shown him incoming myself," he said. "The affair might have been arrangeddifferently had I sent one or two of my men who have a little accountwith him."
Morales said nothing, and there was silence for a space of minutes. Whathe thought was not apparent, for though his color was a trifle darkernow, he sat rigidly still, but Appleby felt himself quivering a little,and saw that Harper's lips were grimly set, while Maccario moved thefingers of one hand in a curious nervous fashion. Appleby scarcely daredwonder what was happening in the patio, though he surmised that if theSergeant Suarez questioned the order it would go very hard with all ofthem, for there were, he remembered, fifty men in the cuartel, and onlya handful of them had mutinied. He could feel his heart beating, andanathematized the loquaciousness of Maccario and his deference toCastilian decorum which had kept them so long. It was evident to himthat any trifling unexpected difficulty would result in theirdestruction. At last, when every nerve in him was tingling, a man camehastily up the stairway.
"We have Domingo Pereira," he said. "The others are getting impatient,senor!"
Maccario rose and turned to Morales. "Take warning, senor. No one issafe from the Sin Verguenza, and we may not extend you as muchconsideration when we next meet," he said. "In the meanwhile I ask yourword on the faith of a soldier of Spain that you will sit here silentfor the next ten minutes."
Again Morales' eyes gleamed. "Now," he said ironically, "comes yourdifficulty. I will promise nothing--and a pistol is noisy. I am not sureabout the extent of the mutiny."
Maccario very suggestively shook his sleeve. "In this country onecarries a little implement which is silent and effective, but there isanother means of obviating the difficulty. This sash of mine is of amplelength and spun from the finest silk, though one would not care tosubject a distinguished officer to an indignity."
"Take it off," said Harper. "I'll fix him so half his cazadores couldn'tuntie him. You're not going to take his word he'll sit there."
Maccario stopped him with a gesture, and turned to Morales. "It would,it seems, be wiser to promise, senor. We ask no more than ten minutes."
For a moment the officer's olive face became suffused, but the bloodebbed from it, leaving it almost pale, and it was very quietly hepledged himself. Then they turned and left him, and Harper gasped whenthey went out into the corridor.
"Well," he said shortly, "I don't want to go through an
thing like thatagain. It was 'most as hard as what happened in the plaza, and it seemsto me the sooner we light out of this place the better."
In another minute they reached the great patio, where a handful of menin uniform were eagerly waiting them. They formed about the releasedprisoners, and one of them ironically saluted the loyalist sentry whosat in his box with a cloth bound about his head as they passed out intothe silent street. The hot walls flung back the tramp of their feet witha horrible distinctness, but the citizen of Santa Marta had grownaccustomed to the passing of the rounds, and when Maccario, stoppingbeneath a light, pulled out his watch they were close to the outside ofthe town.
"Haste would be advisable, I think," he said.
Then they broke into a run, but Maccario swung round as they sped down astreet and flung himself into a shadowy patio. They swept through itinto an open door, and out through one at the back of the building,while Appleby gasped with relief as he found himself in a garden withthe town at last behind him.
Maccario laughed a little as he touched his shoulder. "There is a pathhere," he said. "The Sin Verguenza have friends everywhere."
They were quickly clear of the garden, and as they blundered through agrove of trees shadowy objects clustered about them, while when Maccariostopped again there appeared to be a swarm of them. A growing clamor,through which the ringing of the bugles came stridently, rose from thetown.
"We will stop and adopt a convenient formation," he said. "You will, Ithink, find a few of your friends here, Don Bernardino. It is scarcelylikely that Morales will risk a pursuit in the darkness."
"If anybody had told me he would have sat there because he promised Iguess I wouldn't have believed him," said Harper.
Maccario laughed. "There is apparently still a little you do notunderstand," he said. "That is a great rascal, but he is also a bravesoldier and a Castilian gentleman. Had he not known his own value toSpain it is conceivable that--"
He stopped with a little expressive gesture, and Harper felt somethingvery like a shiver run through him. He, however, said nothing further,but took his place among the rest, for already Appleby was forming themen. Then marching silently they swung through the tobacco fields untilthey came out upon the carretera that led to San Cristoval.
XXVI -- THE SEIZING OF SAN CRISTOVAL
FOR a time the tramp of marching feet throbbed softly along thecarretera that wound, a black thread of shadow, through the dusky cane.The dust was clogged with moisture and deadened the sound, while the SinVerguenza were not shod after the fashion of British infantry. Some ofthem, indeed, wore no shoes at all, and as he watched the dim, half-seenfigures flit almost silently through the night Appleby could havefancied he was marching with a company of shadows through a land ofdreams.
The sensation was, however, by no means new to him. He had felt it nowand then before on a long night march when the mind, as it were,released itself from the domination of the worn-out, but it was plainernow than it had ever been. He had during the last few days been livingunder a heavy strain, and now there crowded upon him vague perplexingfancies and elusive memories which he could almost believe had beentransmitted him by the soldiers whose blood was in his veins. It wasonly by an effort that, plodding along with half-closed eyes, he shookthem off and roused himself to attention. Shadowy men moved on into theblackness in front of him, and more were winding out of the gloombehind. Now and then a clump of palms went by, showing a mere patch ofobscurity against the clouded sky, and where the road was harder thebeat of weary feet rang through the silence hollowly. He did not feeldrowsy, but wondered if he was wholly awake when he heard Harper's voicebeside him.
"You seem kind of quiet. I guess you're thinking hard," he said.
"No," said Appleby, with a little laugh. "I could scarcely rememberclearly what happened yesterday. I don't know, however, that I want toespecially."
"Well," said Harper reflectively, "it must be the same kind of thingthat is wrong with me. My thoughts keep going round in rings, and bringup at the same place every time, as though somebody had put a peg in. Ican see that peon in the plaza clawing at the stones, and the cazadoresstanding still with ordered rifles. That seems to slide away, and it'sthe 'Maine' going under, bows down. I wasn't there, but the big swirl inthe water is quite plain to me, and I can see the bodies coming upthrough the green heave by twos and threes. Then I wonder how I cameaway from the cuartel and left Morales sitting there, and I want to liveuntil I meet him, when he isn't alone, again."
His voice sank into a faint hoarse murmur that was more significant thanany declamation, but Appleby, who had his own score against Morales,said nothing. He felt that a time would come when he and the Spanishsoldier would once more stand face to face, and that to let hisvindictive passions run riot in the meanwhile would be puerile. ThenMaccario's voice came sharply across the wavering rifles, and theshuffle of feet grew still. There was a murmur of voices until the headof the column moved again, and the men who left the carretera ploddedalong a narrow pathway and then flung themselves down among the cane,while Appleby, who did not quite know how he got there, found himselfsitting in a little open space with Maccario and two or three of theleaders. There was blackness and silence about them.
"Morales will wait until the dawn," said Maccario. "We have taught himthat one gains little by chasing the Sin Verguenza at night, and the menhave marched a long way. We will seize the hacienda when the light isjust creeping into the sky."
"There are troops there?" asked Appleby.
"A section or two. Morales is a clever man, but one is apt to believewhat one wishes to, and it is some little time since he drove out theSin Verguenza."
"He has spies," said Appleby.
Maccario laughed softly. "It is dangerous to spy upon the Sin Verguenza,and there are men who go out and are not seen again. One also brings atale of what he has not seen now and then, and when one has friendseverywhere it is not difficult to contrive that the cazadores shall findreasons Morales should believe him."
"Pancho brought you my message?" said Appleby.
"Next day. He came in staggering. It was a long way and a mule couldscarcely have made the journey faster. Another man came, but where therest are I do not know. Perhaps the pickets saw them, and they are lyingamong the cane. It was, however, morning when I had gathered thirty men,and I knew you were in Santa Marta then. We moved slowly until anotherthirty came up with me, but one could not assault the cuartel with sixtymen. So we scattered, and the Sin Verguenza hid where the patrols wouldnot find them, while a merchant of tobacco who has friends there cameinto Santa Marta. He saw what was happening, and how one might profit byMorales' little blunder."
"I don't quite understand," said Appleby. "Only a handful of men hadactually mutinied."
"Morales would have shot them, only he is cunning, and had seen thetemper of the people. A dead man cannot feel, but one can hold fear overa living one until he crushes him, and those cazadores knew what toexpect. One can, however, be too cunning, my friend."
"The men could have deserted."
"It is also conceivable that, in spite of the pickets, you could havegot out of San Cristoval, but what then? There is only the cane to hidein, starving, until the patrols find one. It was when they heard the SinVerguenza were coming the affair became simple."
"Still, they shot three of your friends."
Maccario's voice sank a little. "That is counted to Morales, and theywill have the opportunity of doing a good deal for us in an hour or two.There will be no fighting when we occupy San Cristoval. Comes a patrolwith an order from Morales, and no one is very alert at that hour. Thepatrol is admitted, there is a seizing of rifles, and the Sin Verguenza,who have crept up behind, are in. With a little contrivance there is nodifficulty."
"One could hold the hacienda with sixty men."
Maccario laughed. "With six hundred one could be sure; and in a fewweeks we shall have a battalion, for our time is coming soon. When theAmerican troops have landed there will be work for th
ose of Spain. Youhave our felicitations on your clear sight, Don Bernardino. A littlething makes a quarrel when the suspicion and the dislike are there."
There was a murmur from the rest, and Harper stood up among the cane.
"A little thing!" he said hoarsely. "The devils sunk the 'Maine'!"
Appleby said nothing. He was worn out and limp from the strain, andfancied he must have gone to sleep, for when he was next conscious ofanything the men about him had risen to their feet. It was a littlelighter, and a faint cool breeze was blowing, while he shivered as hestood up with his thin damp garments clinging to his limbs.
Maccario spoke sharply, there was a shuffling of feet, and beforeAppleby quite realized what was happening the Sin Verguenza were oncemore plodding down the road to San Cristoval. Then he shook thestiffness and lassitude from him, and braced himself to face the work onhand. Maccario's plan might fail, and he knew it would in that case beno easy task to drive Morales' cazadores out of the hacienda. The sleephad, however, refreshed him, the vague memories had vanished, and hishead was clear, while a faint sense of exhilaration came upon him. Therewas something inspiriting in the tramp of feet that grew brisker now,and in the thin musical jingle of steel. He had, for what seemed a verylong time, played a risky game alone, and it was a relief to face actualvisible peril with trusty comrades about him and a good rifle in hishand.
By and by there was another brief stoppage, and the handful of cazadoreswent on alone when the rest plunged into a path among the cane.Maccario, it was evident, did not care to take the risk of blunderingupon a picket, and a man led them by twisting paths until at last thehacienda rose blackly before them. Appleby could see it dimly, a blur ofshadowy buildings with the ridge of roof parapet alone cutting hard andsharp against the clearing sky. Beyond it rose the gaunt chimney of thesugar mill, a vague spire of blackness that ran up into the night, butthough a few lights blinked in the lower windows there was no sound fromthe house. The men were standing silent and impassively still, so thathe could scarcely distinguish them from the cane, but he made outMaccario few paces away from him.
"We will have to wait. It is farther by the road," he said "Can youtrust the cazadores? They have already deserted one leader."
Maccario seemed to laugh. "They know what to expect from Morales. Itwould, of course, not be difficult to warn their comrades, but whatthen? Comes a sergeant to Morales with a tale that they have led the SinVerguenza into a trap. Morales is not likely to be grateful, or placemuch value on the men who change their masters twice in one night.Still, one takes precautions in Cuba, and while they trample down theroad a few men who wear no shoes follow close behind them. Then if thereis to be another change it is not the cazadores who will walk into thetrap."
Appleby said nothing. He had been afforded another glimpse of thecomplex Spanish character, which is marked by an intellectual astutenessand a swift cunning that is beyond the attainment of the averageEnglishman or American, and yet rarely avails the Castilian much whenpitted against them. He had seen enough in Cuba to realize that it wasseldom shortsighted folly and never lack of valor that had blighted thehopes of Spain, but the apathy and indecision when the eventful momentcame, and the instability which when the consummation was almost broughtabout not infrequently changed the plan. Nor were there many Iberians orCubans like Maccario who seldom overlooked the trifles that make thedifference.
The latter made a little sign with his lifted hand, there was a lowrustling, and the Sin Verguenza had vanished among the cane. Applebysmiled as he flung himself down, and realized that a battalion ofcazadores might march past without seeing one of them. Then the softrustling and crackling died away, and it became very still. There was nosound yet from the tram-line which ran between them and the hacienda,and he began to wonder how long the cazadores sent on would be, or ifthey had after all deceived their new friends and eluded the vigilanceof those who watched them. The latter, however, appeared veryimprobable. In the meanwhile the sky was growing a little lighter, thebuildings blacker and sharper in outline, while there was a faintillusory brightness in the east. Still, no sound rose from the hacienda,and there was only silence upon the unseen carretera.
Then he started as a faint rhythmic throbbing came out of it. Itsuggested marching feet, and grew louder while he listened, until heheard the men stumbling among the sleepers of the tram-line. Maccariosaid something, and the Sin Verguenza moved in nearer the building bylittle paths among the cane, while when they stopped again Appleby foundhimself on the verge of the tram-line with the outer wall of thehacienda close in front of him. A few shadowy objects that stumbledamong the sleepers were growing into visibility a little farther alongthe line. They stopped and stood still a moment when a hoarse shout rosefrom the building, and then moved on again when somebody flung them alow warning from amidst the cane. Then they stopped close in front ofthe gate of the patio, and Appleby felt a little quiver run through himas he heard the question of the sentry.
The voice of the man who answered reached him distinctly.
"Friends. Orders from the cuartel! We have come from Santa Marta, and itis a long way. Let us in."
There was another question, and an answer. The big iron grille grated onits hinges as it swung open, and Appleby fancied that one dim figuredetached itself from the rest as they disappeared into the patio.Discipline is seldom unnecessarily rigid among the troops of Spain, andit was not astonishing that a man should stop a moment and speak to thesentry.
Then for a minute or two there was a silence. Now and then a man movedamidst the cane, and the low rustling sounded horribly distinct, butwhile Appleby wondered what was taking place within the haciendaMaccario touched his shoulder, and rising softly he slipped across thetram-line and into the gloom beneath the high wall, with Harper and acluster of crouching men close behind him. Moving circumspectly theycrept forward nearer the gate, until there was a shout from the sentryfollowed by a struggle and the sound of a fall, and a man stood in theopening shouting to them.
Then they went on at a run, and sprang through the gate, stumbling overa man who crawled out from among their feet. There was a clamor in alighted room close by, and a pistol shot rang out. Then a rifle flashed,and as they swept in through a doorway a wisp of acrid smoke met them inthe face. They had a brief glimpse of a few figures in uniform flyingthrough another door, and two men who stood alone in a corner with themutinous cazadores in front of them. One of the latter was by hisemphatic gestures apparently urging them to consider the recommendationhe was making.
The two men, however, stood grimly still, one, who was young and slim,with delicate olive-tinted face and the blue eyes one finds now and thenamong the Castilians, clenching a big pistol, while the dusky, grizzledsergeant beside him held a rifle at his hip. A little blue smoke wasstill curling from the muzzle, and a man with a red smear growingbroader down one leg sat looking at him stupidly in the middle of theroom. Appleby grasped the meaning of the scene at a glance, and then hewas driven forward as the Sin Verguenza poured into the room. Harpersprang past him.
"It's the fellow I hove over the balustrade at the cafe," he said."You've got no use for that pistol, senor."
There was a bright flash, and a flake of plaster fell from the wallclose behind Appleby's shoulder, but even as the brown fingers tightenedon the trigger again Harper gripped the young officer. He hove himbodily off his feet, and there was a yell from the Sin Verguenza as heflung him upon the grizzled sergeant. The man staggered, and the pairwent down heavily in the corner. Then Harper, who tore one of hiscomrade's rifles away from him, stood in front of them.
"I guess you had better keep moving in case the rest light out," hesaid.
There was an angry murmur, and though some of the men had already sweptthrough the room the rest stared at Harper, who grinned at them.
"Well," he said, "it's not your fault you're not Americans. Rustle. Hayprisa. Adelante! Tell them I'll put this contract through, Appleby."
Those of the Sin Verguenza who had remaine
d appeared a trifle undecided,until Appleby, who had no desire to witness a purposeless piece ofbutchery, joined his comrade. Then, with the exception of two or three,they turned and went out to head off any of the defenders who mightescape by an outer window from the tram-line. Appleby secured theofficer's pistol, while Harper, apparently with no great effort, draggedhim to his feet, and holding him by the shoulder gravely looked himover.
"Well," he said in English, and his voice expressed approbation, "youhave grit in you. Now stand still a little. Nobody's going to hurt you."
The young officer's face was dark with passion, but he writhed futilelyin his captor's grasp, while the sergeant, who stood up, handed Applebyhis rifle.
"Tell him not to wriggle," said Harper, grinning. "Oh, let up, yousenseless devil!"
Then while the Sin Verguenza laughed he backed his captive against thewall and gravely proceeded to pull his tunic straight and dust him. Whenthis had been accomplished to his satisfaction he stepped back a pace ortwo, and surveyed his work smiling.
"There's not much harm done, senor," he said. "Now, I felt it would havebeen a pleasure to shake the life out of you a minute or two ago."
The officer stared at him in blank astonishment, and then looked at thesergeant, who gravely laid a finger on his forehead.
"They are born that way, these Americans," he said.
The officer made a curious little gesture, and would apparently haveunbuckled his sword, but while the men of the Sin Verguenza, unstableeven in their fierceness, laughed, Harper seized him by the shoulder,and, signing to the sergeant, propelled him violently to the door.
"Out you go while you've got the chance!" he said in English.
The officer turned, and stood still a moment as though undecided, andthen vanished into the night, while in another second the sergeantsprang after him. Appleby laughed as he turned to Harper.
"I scarcely fancy that was wise," he said. "We could have kept him toplay off against any of our men who fall into Morales' hands."
"Well," said Harper reflectively, "I don't quite know why I let him go,but he had grit in him, and it seemed to me that if I hadn't let up ontaking a life or two after getting out of the plaza in Santa Marta itwould have been mean of me. Anyway, I don't figure we'd have kept him.He has the kind of temper that would have stirred up the Sin Verguenzainto sticking knives in him."
Appleby nodded gravely, for he was astonished at very little that Harperdid, while though the big skipper's sentiment were crude there wassomething in his vague notion of thank-offering that appealed to hisfancy. Then Maccario came in.
"The cazadores have left two men behind, but the rest got away, except afew who submitted," he said. "We will find a place in the stables forthem. It will induce Morales to be more considerate with his prisoners."
Appleby told him about the officer. "It was perhaps a blunder, but wecan afford it just now," he said.
Maccario's face grew a trifle grim, but in another moment he made alittle gesture of resignation.
"If it was the wish of the Senor Harper! It is sometimes a trifledifficult to understand an American," he said. "Now if we can find anypeons they shall cut the cane back from the hacienda. Morales will behere in two or three hours with at least a company."
The Dust of Conflict Page 24