Miss Fairfax of Virginia: A Romance of Love and Adventure Under the Palmettos

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  HOW THEY WENT IN.

  The battlements and towers of the old fortification stood up grimlyagainst the clouded heavens when Roderic drew near--just as they hadreared themselves for centuries, and looked down upon many of thestrangest scenes marking the history of new America.

  Roderic had considerable respect for antiquity, and yielded the palmto none when it came to holding in reverence such wonderful mementoesof the past; but common sense triumphed over such feelings, andwhen necessity demanded that he should push the sanctity of age andtradition into the background, he never hesitated.

  Should the success of his avowed undertaking be in peril he would feelit incumbent upon himself to walk roughshod over the range and evendestroy if necessary the finest and most venerated relic of olden days.

  Such is the price of American progress--a musty disease breeding oldpalace must be transformed into a modern hive of industry or be leveledto the ground in order to make way for some edifice of more valueto humanity; for these Americans are a practical people of to-day,seeking not to perpetuate the evils of the dead past, but to raise upthe masses to a higher plane where they may enjoy the fruits of theirlabor, reap the benefits of free education and worship God in their ownway, irrespective of church and state.

  It was well known to Owen that Spanish sentries, Mauser in hand,patroled the walls and corridors of the old building.

  He had even marked as minutely as possible where each soldier's beatbegan and ended, for it is such little things as this that count in thelong run, often most unexpectedly.

  It appeared to be a formidable task for one American toundertake--seldom had a heavier load been placed upon a single pair ofshoulders; but fortunately this man was singularly well equipped forthe task, since his previous work for years had always been in thissame line.

  He therefore viewed the great ragged pile of ancient masonry, overwhich the banner of Castile and Aragon flapped in the night breeze,with something of the gladiator's spirit when he was wont to face atiger in the arena--the immensity of the task aroused every atom ofdetermination, quickened his blood and caused him to feel an eagernessto open hostilities.

  All seemed quiet.

  Not far away lay the great barracks of the Spanish soldiers, and hecould even hear them call out at times.

  This lent additional piquancy to the game--when it became necessary tosnatch a condemned prisoner from the very heart of the Spanish camp,the glory attending success would be all the greater.

  Not that Roderic sought additional sources of danger--he would havebeen satisfied with much less, since his one purpose was to save Leonand win his sister.

  A clock in the city boomed the hour.

  "I am on time--now to see if my fellow laborer has reached therendezvous," Roderic muttered.

  At one point the shadow of the corner tower fell athwart the whiteroad and here he turned.

  A little birdlike trill greeted his ears--it might have proceeded fromsome feathered songster ensconced among the leafy vines that coveredthe rugged wall, and which had been disturbed by his stealthy advance.

  The American seemed to believe otherwise, for he quickly imitated thesound.

  Whereupon there appeared a figure from behind a buttressed base of thetower wall, a figure that approached him at first eagerly, then coyly.

  Roderic took several steps forward to meet the half unwilling advanceof the other.

  "Senora, is it you?" he whispered, eagerly.

  "Si, senor," came the low reply from the figure dressed in masculinegarments.

  "Good. We are both on time. The night favors us as much as we couldhope for. Let us then go to work without delay."

  "Heaven bless you, senor--"

  "Not a word in that line--it is useless, and dangerous as well, sincesentries are on the ramparts and they have keen ears. I feared youmight not come, for the danger would appall many."

  "Ah! senor, what is danger to me--what would I not risk if by so doingI could save _his_ life, my beloved Leon? Fire and blood could not holdme in check if _he_ called. My life is his alone, for without him allelse would be dead. That is the love a Spanish woman gives, senor. Donot forget it when you think of Georgia."

  Roderic was thrilled by her words, so intense so full ofdevotion--yes, few nationalities can love with the fire and enthusiasmshown by Spain's sons and daughters, and if their affection does notalways stand the test of time, lay it to the burning zeal that eats upthe heart.

  He remembered that he too was beloved by just such an impulsive,beautiful girl, who at this hour was doubtless wrestling with the deepwounds wrought by jealousy's fingers; and the recollection gave himboth ecstasy and keen pain.

  At least he said no more to her of the danger she ran--in the serviceof love what matters it where peril lies; the sacred nature of the dutyrenders every obligation a privilege.

  "Follow me, please, and keep close to the wall. When I stop do likewiseand crouch down. Should one of the fellows on the walls call out, makeno move, utter no sound, but wait until I direct you."

  Such were his brief instructions.

  She gave him to understand that she comprehended all he wished.

  Then they moved away, keeping close to the rough walls, where theshadows lay thickest.

  It was a slow and laborious task.

  Here and there lay heaps of broken bricks, just where they had fallenHeaven alone knew how many years back, since it is a settled Spanishrule never to spoil the picturesque and _bizarre_ by miserable modernattempts at thrift and cleanliness--vines had grown over the _debris_and moon flowers whitened the face of the rough wall.

  It may have been very pretty, but it made the task Roderic had markedout more tiresome than it would otherwise have been.

  He did not grumble however, and Inez would never have complainedeven though compelled to creep through an acre of prickly pear orcactus--her holy fervor of love sanctified the means, and she blessedthe Virgin for allowing her such a privilege to prove her devotion.

  She was a woman in ten thousand--happy Leon, to possess such a loyalheart.

  Besides, while temporarily suffering from these accumulation of years,Roderic knew they were soon to profit through something in the sameline.

  Leon had escaped from his former prison by means of a gaping aperturemade by an inquisitive Yankee shell--the story of his thrillingadventure had made a deep impression on the mind of Owen, anddiscovering just such a grand opening in the wall of the old medievalstructure against which he had now pitted his forces he resolved toimprove upon the experience of Georgia's brother.

  They could, if given half a show, both enter and make their final exitby this means.

  He had the location of the opening pretty well in mind, and was headingfor it now.

  They had fully embarked upon their perilous mission, and please Heaven,would sooner or later meet with the anticipated reward.

  The sentinels paced their beats above on the broad walls, and their"_quien vive_" as they approached each other, together with the answer,came plainly to the ears of those crowded below.

  Roderic breathed easier when he discovered that they had reached thevicinity of this ragged aperture, for at least one portion of theirdangerous journey was over.

  He exercised double care at this point, for while the coast hadappeared clear during the day, that was no sign that it might not bepoliced after nightfall.

  These Spanish sentries have little scruples about opening fire uponany suspicious person seen in the act of endeavoring to enter one oftheir fortifications under the protecting shades of night--scores ofwretched reconcentradoes in Cuba thus paid the penalty of rashness orcuriosity with their lives.

  A little close observation told him that in all likelihood the openinghad not been made an especial object of surveillance--two slow movingautomatons, _yclept_ sentries, in the process of following their beatsto a conclusion approached this scene of wreck about once in fiveminutes, exchanged salutation according to the discipl
ine of the army,indulged in a little good natured chaff, perhaps spoke of the chanceof soon beholding the beloved hills of their native land again whenthe inevitable end came to the dramatic farce old Spain was playingfor the benefit of those Frenchmen and others holding five hundredmillion dollars worth of Cuban bonds--and then wheeling left the spotto darkness and the bats for another spell.

  It was easy enough to pick out the proper time to begin the climb,but after once starting they found it a trifle more difficult to makeprogress, for the material under their feet threatened to trip them up,and several times one of them started some of the broken bricks movingin a way that opened the possibility of an avalanche.

  Thus they had gone but little more than half way when Roderic,believing the time between the meeting of the sentries must haveelapsed, whispered to his companion to crouch down and move no more.

  At this instant a dislodged brick fell with some little clatter downthe declivity, and the sound appeared magnified in his ears because ofits possible serious results.

  A Spanish voice called out above, being answered from the oppositeside, and Roderic looking up could see the two sentinels plainlyoutlined, as they stood peering into the gloom below, and indulgingin various speculations as to the cause of the sound that had reachedtheir ears.

  It was a minute of intense suspense, for he had grave fears lest theybombard the spot with broken bricks, in order to satisfy their mindsthat no secret enemy lurked there.

  Fortunately just at this moment a zigzag flying bat, creature of thetropics, came whirring out of the gloom below, and actually knocked offone of the sentries' hat, which unexpected incident caused considerablehard words from the man who received the scare, and was greeted with anequal amount of half suppressed laughter from the other quarter.

  At least, since the hat was saved the incident might be set down asclosed--no bricks were fired into the chasm, for which Roderic wasdevoutly thankful, not merely on his own account, but because he hadone under his charge for whose safety he held himself responsible.

  When the two Dromios above had withdrawn and with shouldered Mausersagain sauntered down their several beats he whispered words ofencouragement to the shrinking form so close at hand, and bade her oncemore follow his lead.

  The venture proved a success, so far as their _entree_ was concerned,for by the time Spanish eyes and ears again approached the broken spotin the ramparts the two intruders had gained the corridor and were safewithin the walls.

  This was only a beginning--the first step.

  Around them stretched the massive walls of the ancient landmark, andsomewhere within their confines Leon was to be found.

  Roderic never groped in the dark when there was a chance for light,and he had used his utmost endeavors during the day in trying to locatethe prisoner.

  One portion of the old fortification was literally a picturesque ruin.

  It did not seem possible that even the easy going Spaniards wouldconfine a prisoner, condemned to be shot, to this antiquated wreck, forthere would be too much chance of his escaping, especially one who hadalready proven so hard to hold as Leon.

  This was of course mere speculation on the part of the Yankee, buthe had taken note of several facts that seemed to corroborate hissuspicion.

  At any rate so strongly impressed was he with this idea that oncewithin the fortress he had no hesitation in turning to the left.

  Possibly Roderic never had a more difficult task than the one nowconfronting him.

  The interior of the great pile of masonry was almost a sealed book tohim, the best he could do during the afternoon having given him but ashadowy idea as to how it was constructed.

  Of course most of it was inhabited only by bats and owls, a sombrerelic of past glories, which fact added to the confusion.

  Sentries patroled sections of the place, just as had been markedout for them--indeed, it was almost impossible to know when one ofthese jack-in-the-box guardians might bob up serenely directly in theintruder's path.

  This fact kept Roderic's nerves on a tension; but the sensation was nonew one to him--he felt pretty much as does the hound held in leash,and scenting the game near by.

  Inez followed him closely.

  She was "dead game" as Roderic more than once muttered to himself whenhe noticed how she copied his movements.

  Never did man have a more faithful and devoted spouse, ready toundertake all risks for his sake--never did woman have a motive moresacred to urge her forward to the rescue of one beloved.

  Roderic knew he was enlisted in a good cause, and in his mind thiscounted for much.

  Their progress while laborious, seemed to be in the right direction.

  Evidences multiplied to the effect that this wing of the fortress wasunder surveillance, as though it contained that over which it wasnecessary a guard should be placed.

  Roderic had been in Russia--he had visited the historic pile of masonryat St. Petersburg on the Volga known as the Fortress of Peter and Paul,and had seen its numerous dungeons, its impregnable gates and thewonderful methods in vogue among the troops guarding its walls.

  Something about this structure in San Juan recalled the prison andfort of Holy Russia--perhaps it was the gloom, the dark dungeons andgeneral funereal aspect of the place, for surely there could be littlecomparison otherwise.

  Occasionally the moon appeared and gave them some means of seeing whatlay ahead; but on these occasions they were compelled to lie quiet sothat their presence might not be discovered.

  All the while they were progressing.

  A labyrinth of masonry surrounded them, and Roderic had to bring tobear many shrewd tactics in order to keep from getting lost.

  His usual manner of doing this was simple and yet wonderfully effective.

  When they came to a place where the passage forked, and it appearedpuzzling to judge which way they should turn, he did not decide hastilybut spent a little time in ascertaining whether one of the routes didnot show more signs of usage than the other, and in every case he founda very distinct difference.

  By following the passage in general use it stood to reason that hewould sooner or later reach the closed dungeon.

  Through such tactics, employed with success by those Nimrods of theforests in their search after game, Roderic had always been able toaccomplish tasks that were deemed next to impossible by others of hiscraft, who governed their actions by antiquated rules lacking in commonsense.

  It was evident that they had crossed the Rubicon--that their bridgeshad been burned behind them.

  Once discovered in the depths of this place and the chances seemedtwenty to one that they would never leave it alive.

  Roderic scouted such a thought--he never allowed it to interfere withhis work--chances of failure were not to be taken as a factor in thematter whatever--success must be the beacon held up to lure them on,glorious success.

  Such confidence brings wonderful results in all things, and wouldaccount for some of the success attending his past.

  A brilliant diplomat is compelled to be bold as well as sagacious.

  To find Leon and bring about his release--to cheat the Spanish army ofa victim whom they expected to execute at sunrise--this was the missionhe had undertaken, and with the kind assistance of good fortune, addedto his tact, he meant that the harvest should be bountiful.