CHAPTER VI.
THE PRESERVER.
In order to make the reader comprehend the position of the hunters, itis necessary to return to the Comanche chief.
Scarce had his enemies disappeared among the trees, ere Eagle Headraised himself softly up, bent his body forward, and listened toascertain if they were really departing. As soon as he had acquired thatcertainty, he tore off a morsel of his blanket with which he wrapped uphis arm as well as he could, and, in spite of the weakness produced byloss of blood and the pain he suffered, he set off resolutely on thetrail of the hunters.
He accompanied them, thus himself unseen, to the limits of the camp.There, concealed behind an ebony tree, he witnessed, without being ableto prevent it, though boiling with rage, the search made by the huntersfor their traps, and, at length, their departure after recovering them.
Although the bloodhounds which the hunters had with them were excellentdogs, trained to scent an Indian from a distance, by a providentialchance, which probably saved the life of the Comanche chief, theyhad fallen upon the remains of the repast of the redskins, and theirmasters, not dreaming that they were watched, did not think ofcommanding their vigilance.
The Comanches at length regained their camp, after having, with infinitedifficulty, succeeded in catching their horses.
The sight of their wounded chief caused them great surprise, and stillgreater anger, of which Eagle Head took advantage to send them alloff again in pursuit of the hunters, who, retarded by the traps theycarried, could not be far off, and must inevitably fall speedily intotheir hands.
They had been but for an instant the dupes of the stratagem invented byLoyal Heart, and had not been long in recognising, on the first trees ofthe forest unequivocal traces of the passage of their enemies.
At this moment, Eagle Head, ashamed of being thus held in check by twodetermined men, whose cunning, superior to his own, deceived all hiscalculations, resolved to put an end to them at once, by carrying intoexecution the diabolical project of setting fire to the forest; a meanswhich, according to the manner in which he meant to employ it, must, hedid not doubt, at length deliver his formidable adversaries up to him.
In consequence, dispersing his warriors in various directions, so asto form a vast circle, he ordered the high grass to be set on fire invarious places simultaneously.
The idea, though barbarous and worthy of the savage warriors whoemployed it, was a good one. The hunters, after having vainlyendeavoured to escape from the network of flame which encompassed themon all sides, would be obliged, in spite of themselves, if they didnot prefer being burnt alive, to surrender quietly to their ferociousenemies.
Eagle Head had calculated and foreseen everything, except the most easyand most simple thing, the only chance of safety that would be left toLoyal Heart and his companions.
As we have said, at the command of their chief the warriors haddispersed, and had lighted the conflagration at several pointssimultaneously.
At this advanced season of the year, the plants and grass, parched bythe incandescent rays of the summer's sun, were immediately in a blaze,and the fire extended in all directions with frightful rapidity.
Not, however, so quickly as not to allow a certain time to elapse beforeit united.
Loyal Heart had not hesitated. Whilst the Indians were running likedemons around the barrier of flame they had just opposed to theirenemies, and were uttering yells of joy, the hunter, followed by hisfriend, had rushed at full speed between two walls of fire, which fromright and left advanced upon him, hissing, and threatening to unite atonce above his head and beneath his feet. Amidst calcined trees whichfell with a crash, blinded by clouds of thick smoke which stopped theirrespiration, burnt by showers of sparks which poured upon them fromall parts, following boldly their course beneath a vault of flame, theintrepid adventurers had cleared, at the cost of a few trifling burns,the accursed enclosure in which the Indians had thought to bury themfor ever, and were already far from the enemies who were congratulatingthemselves upon the success of their artful and barbarous plan.
The conflagration, in the meantime, assumed formidable proportions; theforest shrivelled up under the grasp of the fire; the prairie was butone sheet of flame, in the midst of which the wild animals, driven fromtheir dens and lairs by this unexpected catastrophe, ran about, mad withterror.
The sky gleamed with blood-red reflections, and an impetuous wind sweptbefore it both flames and smoke.
The Indians themselves were terrified at their own handiwork, on seeingaround them entire mountains lighted up like baleful beacons; the earthbecame hot, and immense troops of buffalos made the ground tremble withtheir furious course, while they uttered those bellowings of despairwhich fill with terror the hearts of the bravest men.
In the camp of the Mexicans everything was in the greatest disorder;it was all noise and frightful confusion. The horses had broken theirshackles, and fled away in all directions; the men seized their arms andammunition; others carried the saddles and packages.
Everyone was crying, swearing, commanding--all were running about thecamp as if they had been struck with madness.
The fire continued to advance majestically, swallowing up everything inits passage, preceded by a countless number of animals of all kinds,who bounded along with howls of fear, pursued by the scourge whichthreatened to overtake them at every step.
A thick smoke, laden with sparks, was already passing over the camp ofthe Mexicans; twenty minutes more and all would be over with them.
The general, pressing his niece in his arms, in vain demanded of theguides the best means of avoiding the immense peril which threatenedthem.
But these men, terrified by the imminence of the peril, had lost allself-possession. And then, what remedy could be employed? The flamesformed an immense circle, of which the camp had become the centre.
The strong breeze, however, which up to that moment had kept alive theconflagration, by lending it wings, sank all at once.
There was not a breath of air.
The progress of the fire slackened.
Providence granted these unhappy creatures a few minutes more.
At this moment the camp presented a strange aspect.
All the men, struck with terror, had lost the sense even ofself-preservation.
The _lanceros_ confessed to each other.
The guides were plunged in gloomy despair.
The general accused Heaven of his misfortune.
As for the doctor, he only regretted the plant he could not discover;with him every other consideration yielded to that.
Dona Luz, with her hands clasped, and her knees on the ground, waspraying fervently.
The fire continued to approach, with its vanguard of wild beasts.
"Oh!" cried the general, shaking the arm of the guide violently, "willyou leave us to be burnt thus, without making an effort to save us?"
"What can be done against the will of God?" the Babbler replied,stoically.
"Are there no means, then, of preserving us from death?"
"None!"
"There is one!" a man cried, who, with a scorched face, and half-burnthair, rushed into the camp, climbing over the baggage, and followed byanother individual.
"Who are you?" the general exclaimed.
"That is of little consequence," the stranger replied, drily; "I come tosave you! My companion and I were out of danger; to succour you we havebraved unheard-of perils--that should satisfy you. Your safety is inyour own hands; you have only to will it."
"Command!" the general replied, "I will be the first to give you theexample of obedience."
"Have you no guides with you, then?"
"Certainly we have," said the general.
"Then they are traitors or cowards, for the means I am about to employare known to everybody in the prairie."
The general darted a glance of mistrust at the Babbler, who had not beenable to suppress an appearance of disagreeable surprise at the suddencoming of the two stranger
s.
"Well," said the hunter, "that is an account you can settle with themhereafter; we have something else to think of now."
The Mexicans at the sight of this determined man, with his sharpimpressive language, had instinctively beheld a preserver; they felttheir courage revive with hope, and held themselves ready to execute hisorders with promptness.
"Be quick!" said the hunter, "and pull up all the grass that surroundsthe camp."
Everyone set to work at once.
"For our part," the stranger continued, addressing the general, "we willtake wetted blankets and spread them in front of the baggage."
The general, the captain, and the doctor, under the directions of thehunter, did as he desired, whilst his companion lassoed the horses andthe mules, and hobbled them in the centre of the camp.
"Be quick! be quick!" the hunter cried incessantly, "the fire gains uponus!"
Everyone redoubled his exertions, and, in a short time a large space wascleared.
Dona Luz surveyed with admiration this strange man, who had suddenlyappeared among them in such a providential manner, and who, amidst thehorrible danger that enveloped them, was as calm and self-possessed asif he had had the power to command the awful scourge which continued toadvance upon them with giant strides.
The maiden could not take her eyes off him; in spite of herself,she felt attracted towards this unknown preserver, whose voice,gestures,--his whole person, in short, interested her.
When the grass and herbs had been pulled up with that feverish rapiditywhich men in fear of death display in all they do, the hunter smiledcalmly.
"Now," he said, addressing the Mexicans, "the rest concerns me and myfriend; leave us to act as we think proper; wrap yourselves carefully indamp blankets."
Everyone followed his directions.
The stranger cast a glance around him, and then after making a sign tohis friend, walked straight towards the fire.
"I shall not quit you," the general said, earnestly.
"Come on, then," the stranger replied, laconically.
When they reached the extremity of the space where the grass had beenpulled up, the hunter made a heap of plants and dry wood with his feet,and scattering a little gunpowder over it, he set fire to the mass.
"What are you doing?" the general exclaimed, in amazement.
"As you see, I make fire fight against fire," the hunter replied,quietly.
His companion had acted in the same manner in an opposite direction.
A curtain of flames arose rapidly around them, and, for some minutes,the camp was almost concealed beneath a vault of fire.
A quarter of an hour of terrible anxiety and intense expectation ensued.
By degrees the flames became less fierce, the air more pure; the smokedispersed, the roarings of the conflagration diminished.
At length they were able to recognise each other in this horrible chaos.
A sigh of relief burst from every breast.
The camp was saved!
The conflagration, whose roaring became gradually more dull, conqueredby the hunter, went to convey destruction in other directions.
Everyone rushed towards the stranger to thank him.
"You have saved the life of my niece," said the general warmly; "howshall I discharge my debt to you?"
"You owe me nothing, sir," the hunter replied, with noble simplicity;"in the prairie all men are brothers; I have only performed my duty bycoming to your assistance."
As soon as the first moments of joy were past, and the camp had beenput in a little order, everyone felt the necessity for repose after theterrible anxieties of the night.
The two strangers, who had constantly repulsed modestly, but firmly,the advances the general had made in the warmth of his gratitude, threwthemselves carelessly on the baggage for a few hours' rest.
A little before dawn they arose.
"The earth must be cool by this time," said the hunter: "let us be gonebefore these people wake; perhaps they would not wish us to leave themso."
"Let us be gone!" the other replied laconically.
At the moment he was about to pass over the boundary of the camp, a handwas laid lightly upon the shoulder of the elder. He turned round, andDona Luz was before him.
The two men stopped and bowed respectfully to the young lady.
"Are you going to leave us?" she asked in a soft and melodious voice.
"We must, senorita," the hunter replied.
"I understand," she said with a charming smile; "now that, thanks toyou, we are saved, you have nothing more to do here,--is it not so?"
The two men bowed without replying.
"Grant me a favour," she said.
"Name it, senorita."
She took from her neck a little diamond cross she wore.
"Keep this, in remembrance of me."
The hunter hesitated.
"I beg you to do so," she murmured in an agitated voice.
"I accept it, senorita," the hunter said, as he placed the cross uponhis breast close to his scapulary; "I shall have another talisman to addto that which my mother gave me."
"Thank you," the girl replied joyfully; "one word more?"
"Speak it, lady."
"What are your names?"
"My companion is called Belhumeur."
"But yourself?"
"Loyal Heart."
After bowing a second time, in sign of farewell, the two huntersdeparted at a quick pace, and soon disappeared in the darkness.
Dona Luz looked after them as long as she could perceive them, and thenreturned slowly and pensively towards her tent, repeating to herself ina low but earnest tone,--
"Loyal Heart! Oh! I shall remember that name."
Les trappeurs de l'Arkansas. English Page 10