CHAPTER XXV
HOW THEY TOOK THE GOLD-TRAIN
"God will relent, and quit thee all thy debt, Who ever more approves, and more accepts Him who imploring mercy sues for life, Than who self-rigorous chooses death as due, Which argues over-just, and self-displeased For self-offence, more than for God offended."
Samson Agonistes.
A fortnight or more has passed in severe toil, but not more severe thanthey have endured many a time before. Bidding farewell once andforever to the green ocean of the eastern plains, they have crossed theCordillera; they have taken a longing glance at the city of Santa Fe,lying in the midst of rich gardens on its lofty mountain plateau, andhave seen, as was to be expected, that it was far too large a place forany attempt of theirs. But they have not altogether thrown away theirtime. Their Indian lad has discovered that a gold-train is going downfrom Santa Fe toward the Magdalena; and they are waiting for it besidethe miserable rut which serves for a road, encamped in a forest of oakswhich would make them almost fancy themselves back again in Europe, wereit not for the tree-ferns which form the undergrowth; and were it not,too, for the deep gorges opening at their very feet; in which, whiletheir brows are swept by the cool breezes of a temperate zone, theycan see far below, dim through their everlasting vapor-bath of rank hotsteam, the mighty forms and gorgeous colors of the tropic forest.
They have pitched their camp among the tree-ferns, above a spot wherethe path winds along a steep hill-side, with a sheer cliff below of manya hundred feet. There was a road there once, perhaps, when Cundinamarcawas a civilized and cultivated kingdom; but all which Spanish misrulehas left of it are a few steps slipping from their places at the bottomof a narrow ditch of mud. It has gone the way of the aqueducts, andbridges, and post-houses, the gardens and the llama-flocks of thatstrange empire. In the mad search for gold, every art of civilizationhas fallen to decay, save architecture alone; and that survives only inthe splendid cathedrals which have risen upon the ruins of the templesof the Sun, in honor of a milder Pantheon; if, indeed, that can becalled a milder one which demands (as we have seen already) humansacrifices, unknown to the gentle nature-worship of the Incas.
And now, the rapid tropic vegetation has reclaimed its old domains,and Amyas and his crew are as utterly alone, within a few miles of animportant Spanish settlement, as they would be in the solitudes of theOrinoco or the Amazon.
In the meanwhile, all their attempts to find sulphur and nitre have beenunavailing; and they have been forced to depend after all (much to Yeo'sdisgust) upon their swords and arrows. Be it so: Drake took Nombre deDios and the gold-train there with no better weapons; and they may do asmuch.
So, having blocked up the road above by felling a large tree across it,they sit there among the flowers chewing coca, in default of food anddrink, and meditating among themselves the cause of a mysterious roar,which has been heard nightly in their wake ever since they left thebanks of the Meta. Jaguar it is not, nor monkey: it is unlike any soundthey know; and why should it follow them? However, they are in the landof wonders; and, moreover, the gold train is far more important than anynoise.
At last, up from beneath there was a sharp crack and a loud cry.The crack was neither the snapping of a branch, nor the tapping of awoodpecker; the cry was neither the scream of the parrot, nor the howlof the monkey.
"That was a whip's crack," said Yeo, "and a woman's wail. They are closehere, lads!"
"A woman's? Do they drive women in their gangs?" asked Amyas.
"Why not, the brutes? There they are, sir. Did you see their basnetsglitter?"
"Men!" said Amyas, in a low voice, "I trust you all not to shoot tillI do. Then give them one arrow, out swords, and at them! Pass the wordalong."
Up they came, slowly, and all hearts beat loud at their coming.
First, about twenty soldiers, only one-half of whom were on foot; theother half being borne, incredible as it may seem, each in a chair onthe back of a single Indian, while those who marched had consigned theirheaviest armor and their arquebuses into the hands of attendant slaves,who were each pricked on at will by the pike of the soldier behind them.
"The men are mad to let their ordnance out of their hands."
"Oh, sir, an Indian will pray to an arquebus not to shoot him; he suretheir artillery is safe enough," said Yeo.
"Look at the proud villains," whispered another, "to make dumb beasts ofhuman creatures like that!"
"Ten shot," counted the business-like Amyas, "and ten pikes; Will cantackle them up above."
Last of this troop came some inferior officer, also in his chair, who,as he went slowly up the hill, with his face turned toward the gangwhich followed, drew every other second the cigar from his lips, toinspirit them with those pious ejaculations to the various objects ofhis worship, divine, human, anatomic, wooden and textile, which earnedfor the pious Spaniards of the sixteenth century the uncharitableimputation of being at once the most fetish-ridden idolaters and themost abominable swearers of all Europeans.
"The blasphemous dog!" said Yeo, fumbling at his bow-string, as ifhe longed to send an arrow through him. But Amyas had hardly laid hisfinger on the impatient veteran's arm, when another procession followed,which made them forget all else.
A sad and hideous sight it was: yet one too common even then in thoseremoter districts, where the humane edicts were disregarded which theprayers of Dominican friars (to their everlasting honor be it spoken)had wrung from the Spanish sovereigns, and which the legislation of thatmost wise, virtuous, and heroic Inquisitor (paradoxical as the words mayseem), Pedro de la Gasca, had carried into effect in Peru,--futile andtardy alleviations of cruelties and miseries unexampled in thehistory of Christendom, or perhaps on earth, save in the conquests ofSennacherib and Zingis Khan. But on the frontiers, where negroes wereimported to endure the toil which was found fatal to the Indian, and allIndian tribes convicted (or suspected) of cannibalism were hunted downfor the salvation of their souls and the enslavement of their bodies,such scenes as these were still too common; and, indeed, if we are tojudge from Humboldt's impartial account, were not very much amended evenat the close of the last century, in those much-boasted Jesuit missionsin which (as many of them as existed anywhere but on paper) militarytyranny was superadded to monastic, and the Gospel preached with fireand sword, almost as shamelessly as by the first Conquistadores.
A line of Indians, Negroes, and Zambos, naked, emaciated, scarred withwhips and fetters, and chained together by their left wrists, toiledupwards, panting and perspiring under the burden of a basket held upby a strap which passed across their foreheads. Yeo's sneer was buttoo just; there were not only old men and youths among them, but women;slender young girls, mothers with children, running at their knee;and, at the sight, a low murmur of indignation rose from the ambushedEnglishmen, worthy of the free and righteous hearts of those days, whenRaleigh could appeal to man and God, on the ground of a common humanity,in behalf of the outraged heathens of the New World; when Englishmenstill knew that man was man, and that the instinct of freedom wasthe righteous voice of God; ere the hapless seventeenth century hadbrutalized them also, by bestowing on them, amid a hundred other badlegacies, the fatal gift of negro-slaves.
But the first forty, so Amyas counted, bore on their backs a burdenwhich made all, perhaps, but him and Yeo, forget even the wretches whobore it. Each basket contained a square package of carefully cordedhide; the look whereof friend Amyas knew full well.
"What's in they, captain?"
"Gold!" And at that magic word all eyes were strained greedily forward,and such a rustle followed, that Amyas, in the very face of detection,had to whisper--
"Be men, be men, or you will spoil all yet!"
The last twenty, or so, of the Indians bore larger baskets, but morelightly freighted, seemingly with manioc, and maize-bread, and otherfood for the party; and after them came, with their bearers andattendants, just twenty soldiers more, followed by the officer
incharge, who smiled away in his chair, and twirled two huge mustachios,thinking of nothing less than of the English arrows which were itchingto be away and through his ribs. The ambush was complete; the onlyquestion how and when to begin?
Amyas had a shrinking, which all will understand, from drawing bow incool blood on men so utterly unsuspicious and defenceless, even thoughin the very act of devilish cruelty--for devilish cruelty it was, asthree or four drivers armed with whips lingered up and down the slowlystaggering file of Indians, and avenged every moment's lagging, evenevery stumble, by a blow of the cruel manati-hide, which cracked likea pistol-shot against the naked limbs of the silent and uncomplainingvictim.
Suddenly the casus belli, as usually happens, arose of its own accord.
The last but one of the chained line was an old gray-headed man,followed by a slender graceful girl of some eighteen years old, andAmyas's heart yearned over them as they came up. Just as they passed,the foremost of the file had rounded the corner above; there was abustle, and a voice shouted, "Halt, senors! there is a tree across thepath!"
"A tree across the path?" bellowed the officer, with a variety ofpassionate addresses to the Mother of Heaven, the fiends of hell, SaintJago of Compostella, and various other personages; while the line oftrembling Indians, told to halt above, and driven on by blows below,surged up and down upon the ruinous steps of the Indian road, until thepoor old man fell grovelling on his face.
The officer leaped down, and hurried upward to see what had happened. Ofcourse, he came across the old man.
"Sin peccado concebida! Grandfather of Beelzebub, is this a place to lieworshipping your fiends?" and he pricked the prostrate wretch with thepoint of his sword.
The old man tried to rise: but the weight on his head was too much forhim; he fell again, and lay motionless.
The driver applied the manati-hide across his loins, once, twice, withfearful force; but even that specific was useless.
"Gastado, Senor Capitan," said he, with a shrug. "Used up. He has beenfailing these three months!"
"What does the intendant mean by sending me out with worn-out cattlelike these? Forward there!" shouted he. "Clear away the tree, senors,and I'll soon clear the chain. Hold it up, Pedrillo!"
The driver held up the chain, which was fastened to the old man's wrist.The officer stepped back, and flourished round his head a Toledo blade,whose beauty made Amyas break the Tenth Commandment on the spot.
The man was a tall, handsome, broad-shouldered, high-bred man; and Amyasthought that he was going to display the strength of his arm, and thetemper of his blade, in severing the chain at one stroke.
Even he was not prepared for the recondite fancies of a Spanishadventurer, worthy son or nephew of those first conquerors, who used totry the keenness of their swords upon the living bodies of Indians, andregale themselves at meals with the odor of roasting caciques.
The blade gleamed in the air, once, twice, and fell: not on the chain,but on the wrist which it fettered. There was a shriek--a crimsonflash--and the chain and its prisoner were parted indeed.
One moment more, and Amyas's arrow would have been through the throatof the murderer, who paused, regarding his workmanship with a satisfiedsmile; but vengeance was not to come from him.
Quick and fierce as a tiger-cat, the girl sprang on the ruffian, andwith the intense strength of passion, clasped him in her arms, andleaped with him from the narrow ledge into the abyss below.
There was a rush, a shout; all faces were bent over the precipice.The girl hung by her chained wrist: the officer was gone. There was amoment's awful silence; and then Amyas heard his body crashing throughthe tree-tops far below.
"Haul her up! Hew her in pieces! Burn the witch!" and the driver,seizing the chain, pulled at it with all his might, while all springingfrom their chairs, stooped over the brink.
Now was the time for Amyas! Heaven had delivered them into his hands.Swift and sure, at ten yards off, his arrow rushed through the body ofthe driver, and then, with a roar as of the leaping lion, he sprang likean avenging angel into the midst of the astonished ruffians.
His first thought was for the girl. In a moment, by sheer strength, hehad jerked her safely up into the road; while the Spaniards recoiledright and left, fancying him for the moment some mountain giant orsupernatural foe. His hurrah undeceived them in an instant, and a cryof "English! Lutheran dogs!" arose, but arose too late. The men of Devonhad followed their captain's lead: a storm of arrows left five Spaniardsdead, and a dozen more wounded, and down leapt Salvation Yeo, his whitehair streaming behind him, with twenty good swords more, and the work ofdeath began.
The Spaniards fought like lions; but they had no time to fix theirarquebuses on the crutches; no room, in that narrow path, to use theirpikes. The English had the wall of them; and to have the wall there, wasto have the foe's life at their mercy. Five desperate minutes, and not aliving Spaniard stood upon those steps; and certainly no living one layin the green abyss below. Two only, who were behind the rest, happeningto be in full armor, escaped without mortal wound, and fled down thehill again.
"After them! Michael Evans and Simon Heard; and catch them, if they runa league."
The two long and lean Clovelly men, active as deer from forest training,ran two feet for the Spaniard's one; and in ten minutes returned, havingdone their work; while Amyas and his men hurried past the Indians, tohelp Cary and the party forward, where shouts and musket shots announceda sharp affray.
Their arrival settled the matter. All the Spaniards fell but three orfour, who scrambled down the crannies of the cliff.
"Let not one of them escape! Slay them as Israel slew Amalek!" criedYeo, as he bent over; and ere the wretches could reach a place ofshelter, an arrow was quivering in each body, as it rolled lifeless downthe rocks.
"Now then! Loose the Indians!"
They found armorers tools on one of the dead bodies, and it was done.
"We are your friends," said Amyas. "All we ask is, that you shall helpus to carry this gold down to the Magdalena, and then you are free."
Some few of the younger grovelled at his knees, and kissed his feet,hailing him as the child of the Sun: but the most part kept a stolidindifference, and when freed from their fetters, sat quietly down wherethey stood, staring into vacancy. The iron had entered too deeply intotheir soul. They seemed past hope, enjoyment, even understanding.
But the young girl, who was last of all in the line, as soon as she wasloosed, sprang to her father's body, speaking no word, lifted it in herthin arms, laid it across her knees, kissed the fallen lips, strokedthe furrowed cheeks, murmured inarticulate sounds like the cooing of awoodland dove, of which none knew the meaning but she, and he who heardnot, for his soul had long since fled. Suddenly the truth flashed onher; silent as ever, she drew one long heaving breath, and rose erect,the body in her arms.
Another moment, and she had leaped into the abyss.
They watched her dark and slender limbs, twined closely round the oldman's corpse, turn over, and over, and over, till a crash among theleaves, and a scream among the birds, told that she had reached thetrees; and the green roof hid her from their view.
"Brave lass!" shouted a sailor.
"The Lord forgive her!" said Yeo. "But, your worship, we must have theserascals' ordnance."
"And their clothes too, Yeo, if we wish to get down the Magdalenaunchallenged. Now listen, my masters all! We have won, by God's goodgrace, gold enough to serve us the rest of our lives, and that withoutlosing a single man; and may yet win more, if we be wise, and He thinksgood. But oh, my friends, remember Mr. Oxenham and his crew; and donot make God's gift our ruin, by faithlessness, or greediness, or anymutinous haste."
"You shall find none in us!" cried several men. "We know your worship.We can trust our general."
"Thank God!" said Amyas. "Now then, it will be no shame or sin tomake the Indians carry it, saving the women, whom God forbid weshould burden. But we must pass through the very heart of the Spanishsettlem
ents, and by the town of Saint Martha itself. So the clothes andweapons of these Spaniards we must have, let it cost us what labor itmay. How many lie in the road?"
"Thirteen here, and about ten up above," said Cary.
"Then there are near twenty missing. Who will volunteer to go down overcliff, and bring up the spoil of them?"
"I, and I, and I;" and a dozen stepped out, as they did always whenAmyas wanted anything done; for the simple reason, that they knew thathe meant to help at the doing of it himself.
"Very well, then, follow me. Sir John, take the Indian lad for yourinterpreter, and try and comfort the souls of these poor heathens. Tellthem that they shall all be free."
"Why, who is that comes up the road?"
All eyes were turned in the direction of which he spoke. And, wonder ofwonders! up came none other than Ayacanora herself, blow-gun in hand,bow on back, and bedecked in all her feather garments, which last wererather the worse for a fortnight's woodland travel.
All stood mute with astonishment, as, seeing Amyas, she uttered a cryof joy, quickened her pace into a run, and at last fell panting andexhausted at his feet.
"I have found you!" she said; "you ran away from me, but you could notescape me!" And she fawned round Amyas, like a dog who has found hismaster, and then sat down on the bank, and burst into wild sobs.
"God help us!" said Amyas, clutching his hair, as he looked down uponthe beautiful weeper. "What am I to do with her, over and above allthese poor heathens?"
But there was no time to be lost, and over the cliff he scrambled; whilethe girl, seeing that the main body of the English remained, sat down ona point of rock to watch him.
After half-an-hour's hard work, the weapons, clothes, and armor of thefallen Spaniards were hauled up the cliff, and distributed in bundlesamong the men; the rest of the corpses were thrown over the precipice,and they started again upon their road toward the Magdalena, while Yeosnorted like a war-horse who smells the battle, at the delight of oncemore handling powder and ball.
"We can face the world now, sir! Why not go back and try Santa Fe, afterall?"
But Amyas thought that enough was as good as a feast, and they held ondownwards, while the slaves followed, without a sign of gratitude, butmeekly obedient to their new masters, and testifying now and then by asign or a grunt, their surprise at not being beaten, or made to carrytheir captors. Some, however, caught sight of the little calabashes ofcoca which the English carried. That woke them from their torpor,and they began coaxing abjectly (and not in vain) for a taste of thatmiraculous herb, which would not only make food unnecessary, and enabletheir panting lungs to endure that keen mountain air, but would ridthem, for awhile at least, of the fallen Indian's most unpitying foe,the malady of thought.
As the cavalcade turned the corner of the mountain, they paused for onelast look at the scene of that fearful triumph. Lines of vultures werealready streaming out of infinite space, as if created suddenly for theoccasion. A few hours and there would be no trace of that fierce fray,but a few white bones amid untrodden beds of flowers.
And now Amyas had time to ask Ayacanora the meaning of this her strangeappearance. He wished her anywhere but where she was: but now that shewas here, what heart could be so hard as not to take pity on the poorwild thing? And Amyas as he spoke to her had, perhaps, a tenderness inhis tone, from very fear of hurting her, which he had never used before.Passionately she told him how she had followed on their track day andnight, and had every evening made sounds, as loud as she dared, in hopesof their hearing her, and either waiting for her, or coming back to seewhat caused the noise.
Amyas now recollected the strange roaring which had followed them.
"Noises? What did you make them with?"
Ayacanora lifted her finger with an air of most self-satisfied mystery,and then drew cautiously from under her feather cloak an object at whichAmyas had hard work to keep his countenance.
"Look!" whispered she, as if half afraid that the thing itself shouldhear her. "I have it--the holy trumpet!"
There it was verily, that mysterious bone of contention; a handsomeearthen tube some two feet long, neatly glazed, and painted with quaintgrecques and figures of animals; a relic evidently of some civilizationnow extinct.
Brimblecombe rubbed his little fat hands. "Brave maid! you have cheatedSatan this time," quoth he; while Yeo advised that the "idolatrousrelic" should be forthwith "hove over cliff."
"Let be," said Amyas. "What is the meaning of this, Ayacanora? And whyhave you followed us?"
She told a long story, from which Amyas picked up, as far as he couldunderstand her, that that trumpet had been for years the torment of herlife; the one thing in the tribe superior to her; the one thing whichshe was not allowed to see, because, forsooth, she was a woman. So shedetermined to show them that a woman was as good as a man; and henceher hatred of marriage, and her Amazonian exploits. But still the Piachewould not show her that trumpet, or tell her where it was; and as forgoing to seek it, even she feared the superstitious wrath of the tribeat such a profanation. But the day after the English went, the Piachechose to express his joy at their departure; whereon, as was to beexpected, a fresh explosion between master and pupil, which ended, sheconfessed, in her burning the old rogue's hut over his head, from whichhe escaped with loss of all his conjuring-tackle, and fled raging intothe woods, vowing that he would carry off the trumpet to the neighboringtribe. Whereon, by a sudden impulse, the young lady took plenty of coca,her weapons, and her feathers, started on his trail, and ran him toearth just as he was unveiling the precious mystery. At which sight(she confessed) she was horribly afraid, and half inclined to run; but,gathering courage from the thought that the white men used to laugh atthe whole matter, she rushed upon the hapless conjuror, and bore off herprize in triumph; and there it was!
"I hope you have not killed him?" said Amyas.
"I did beat him a little; but I thought you would not let me kill him."
Amyas was half amused with her confession of his authority over her; butshe went on--
"And then I dare not go back to the Indians; so I was forced to comeafter you."
"And is that, then, your only reason for coming after us?" asked stupidAmyas.
He had touched some secret chord--though what it was he was too busy toinquire. The girl drew herself up proudly, blushing scarlet, and said:
"You never tell lies. Do you think that I would tell lies?"
On which she fell to the rear, and followed them steadfastly, speakingto no one, but evidently determined to follow them to the world's end.
They soon left the highroad; and for several days held on downwards,hewing their path slowly and painfully through the thick underwood. Onthe evening of the fourth day, they had reached the margin of a river,at a point where it seemed broad and still enough for navigation. Forthose three days they had not seen a trace of human beings, and the spotseemed lonely enough for them to encamp without fear of discovery, andbegin the making of their canoes. They began to spread themselves alongthe stream, in search of the soft-wooded trees proper for their purpose;but hardly had their search begun, when, in the midst of a densethicket, they came upon a sight which filled them with astonishment.Beneath a honeycombed cliff, which supported one enormous cotton-tree,was a spot of some thirty yards square sloping down to the stream,planted in rows with magnificent banana-plants, full twelve feet high,and bearing among their huge waxy leaves clusters of ripeningfruit; while, under their mellow shade, yams and cassava plants wereflourishing luxuriantly, the whole being surrounded by a hedge of orangeand scarlet flowers. There it lay, streaked with long shadows from thesetting sun, while a cool southern air rustled in the cotton-tree, andflapped to and fro the great banana-leaves; a tiny paradise of art andcare. But where was its inhabitant?
Aroused by the noise of their approach, a figure issued from a cave inthe rocks, and, after gazing at them for a moment, came down the gardentowards them. He was a tall and stately old man, whose snow-white beardand h
air covered his chest and shoulders, while his lower limbs werewrapt in Indian-web. Slowly and solemnly he approached, a staff in onehand, a string of beads in the other, the living likeness of some oldHebrew prophet, or anchorite of ancient legend. He bowed courteously toAmyas (who of course returned his salute), and was in act to speak, whenhis eye fell upon the Indians, who were laying down their burdens ina heap under the trees. His mild countenance assumed instantly anexpression of the acutest sorrow and displeasure; and, striking hishands together, he spoke in Spanish:
"Alas! miserable me! Alas! unhappy senors! Do my old eyes deceive me,and is it one of those evil visions of the past which haunt my dreamsby night; or has the accursed thirst of gold, the ruin of my race,penetrated even into this my solitude? Oh, senors, senors, know you notthat you bear with you your own poison, your own familiar fiend, theroot of every evil? And is it not enough for you, senors, to loadyourselves with the wedge of Achan, and partake his doom, but you mustmake these hapless heathens the victims of your greed and cruelty,and forestall for them on earth those torments which may await theirunbaptized souls hereafter?"
"We have preserved, and not enslaved these Indians, ancient senor," saidAmyas, proudly; "and to-morrow will see them as free as the birds overour heads."
"Free? Then you cannot be countrymen of mine! But pardon an old man,my son, if he has spoken too hastily in the bitterness of his ownexperience. But who and whence are you? And why are you bringing intothis lonely wilderness that gold--for I know too well the shape of thoseaccursed packets, which would God that I had never seen!"
"What we are, reverend sir, matters little, as long as we behave to youas the young should to the old. As for our gold, it will be a curse ora blessing to us, I conceive, just as we use it well or ill; and so isa man's head, or his hand, or any other thing; but that is no reason forcutting off his limbs for fear of doing harm with them; neither is itfor throwing away those packages, which, by your leave, we shall depositin one of these caves. We must be your neighbors, I fear, for a dayor two; but I can promise you, that your garden shall be respected, oncondition that you do not inform any human soul of our being here."
"God forbid, senor, that I should try to increase the number of myvisitors, much less to bring hither strife and blood, of which I haveseen too much already. As you have come in peace, in peace depart. Leaveme alone with God and my penitence, and may the Lord have mercy on you!"
And he was about to withdraw, when, recollecting himself, he turnedsuddenly to Amyas again--
"Pardon me, senor, if, after forty years of utter solitude, I shrink atfirst from the conversation of human beings, and forget, in the habitualshyness of a recluse, the duties of a hospitable gentleman of Spain.My garden, and all which it produces, is at your service. Only let meentreat that these poor Indians shall have their share; for heathensthough they be, Christ died for them; and I cannot but cherish in mysoul some secret hope that He did not die in vain."
"God forbid!" said Brimblecombe. "They are no worse than we, for aughtI see, whatsoever their fathers may have been; and they have fared noworse than we since they have been with us, nor will, I promise you."
The good fellow did not tell that he had been starving himself for thelast three days to cram the children with his own rations; and thatthe sailors, and even Amyas, had been going out of their way every fiveminutes, to get fruit for their new pets.
A camp was soon formed; and that evening the old hermit asked Amyas,Cary, and Brimblecombe to come up into his cavern.
They went; and after the accustomed compliments had passed, sat down onmats upon the ground, while the old man stood, leaning against a slab ofstone surmounted by a rude wooden cross, which evidently served him asa place of prayer. He seemed restless and anxious, as if he waited forthem to begin the conversation; while they, in their turn, waited forhim. At last, when courtesy would not allow him to be silent any longer,he began with a faltering voice:
"You may be equally surprised, senors, at my presence in such a spot,and at my asking you to become my guests even for one evening, while Ihave no better hospitality to offer you."
"It is superfluous, senor, to offer us food in your own habitation whenyou have already put all that you possess at our command."
"True, senors: and my motive for inviting you was, perhaps, somewhat ofa selfish one. I am possessed by a longing to unburthen my heart of atale which I never yet told to man, and which I fear can give to younothing but pain; and yet I will entreat you, of your courtesy, to hearof that which you cannot amend, simply in mercy to a man who feels thathe must confess to some one, or die as miserable as he has lived. AndI believe my confidence will not be misplaced, when it is bestowed uponyou. I have been a cavalier, even as you are; and, strange as it mayseem, that which I have to tell I would sooner impart to the ears of asoldier than of a priest; because it will then sink into souls which canat least sympathize, though they cannot absolve. And you, cavaliers, Iperceive to be noble, from your very looks; to be valiant, by your merepresence in this hostile land; and to be gentle, courteous, and prudent,by your conduct this day to me and to your captives. Will you, then,hear an old man's tale? I am, as you see, full of words; for speech,from long disuse, is difficult to me, and I fear at every sentence lestmy stiffened tongue should play the traitor to my worn-out brain: butif my request seems impertinent, you have only to bid me talk as a hostshould, of matters which concern his guests, and not himself."
The three young men, equally surprised and interested by this exordium,could only entreat their host to "use their ears as those of hisslaves," on which, after fresh apologies, he began:
"Know, then, victorious cavaliers, that I, whom you now see here as apoor hermit, was formerly one of the foremost of that terrible band whowent with Pizarro to the conquest of Peru. Eighty years old am I thisday, unless the calendar which I have carved upon yonder tree deceivesme; and twenty years old was I when I sailed with that fierce man fromPanama, to do that deed with which all earth, and heaven, and hellitself, I fear, has rung. How we endured, suffered, and triumphed; how,mad with success, and glutted with blood, we turned our swords againsteach other, I need not tell to you. For what gentleman of Europe knowsnot our glory and our shame?"
His hearers bowed assent.
"Yes; you have heard of our prowess: for glorious we were awhile, inthe sight of God and man. But I will not speak of our glory, for it istarnished; nor of our wealth, for it was our poison; nor of the sins ofmy comrades, for they have expiated them; but of my own sins, senors,which are more in number than the hairs of my head, and a burden toogreat to bear. Miserere Domine!"
And smiting on his breast, the old warrior went on:
"As I said, we were mad with blood; and none more mad than I. Surely itis no fable that men are possessed, even in this latter age, by devils.Why else did I rejoice in slaying? Why else was I, the son of a nobleand truthful cavalier of Castile, among the foremost to urge uponmy general the murder of the Inca? Why did I rejoice over his dyingagonies? Why, when Don Ferdinando de Soto returned, and upbraided uswith our villainy, did I, instead of confessing the sin which that noblecavalier set before us, withstand him to his face, ay, and would havedrawn the sword on him, but that he refused to fight a liar, as he saidthat I was?"
"Then Don de Soto was against the murder? So his own grandson told me.But I had heard of him only as a tyrant and a butcher."
"Senor, he was compact of good and evil, as are other men: he has paiddearly for his sin; let us hope that he has been paid in turn for hisrighteousness."
John Brimblecombe shook his head at this doctrine, but did not speak.
"So you know his grandson? I trust he is a noble cavalier?"
Amyas was silent; the old gentleman saw that he had touched some sorepoint, and continued:
"And why, again, senors, did I after that day give myself up to crueltyas to a sport; yea, thought that I did God service by destroying thecreatures whom He had made; I who now dare not destroy a gnat, lest Iharm a being
more righteous than myself? Was I mad? If I was, how thenwas I all that while as prudent as I am this day? But I am not here toargue, senors, but to confess. In a word, there was no deed of blooddone for the next few years in which I had not my share, if it were butwithin my reach. When Challcuchima was burned, I was consenting; whenthat fair girl, the wife of Inca Manco, was tortured to death, I smiledat the agonies at which she too smiled, and taunted on the soldiers, totry if I could wring one groan from her before she died. You know whatfollowed, the pillage, the violence, the indignities offered to thevirgins of the Sun. Senors, I will not pollute your chaste ears withwhat was done. But, senors, I had a brother."
And the old man paused awhile.
"A brother--whether better or worse than me, God knows, before whom hehas appeared ere now. At least he did not, as I did, end as a rebelto his king! There was a maiden in one of those convents, senors, morebeautiful than day: and (I blush to tell it) the two brothers of whomI spoke quarrelled for the possession of her. They struck each other,senors! Who struck first I know not; but swords were drawn, and--Thecavaliers round parted them, crying shame. And one of those twobrothers--the one who speaks to you now--crying, 'If I cannot have her,no man shall!' turned the sword which was aimed at his brother, againstthat hapless maiden--and--hear me out, senors, before you flee from mypresence as from that of a monster!--stabbed her to the heart. And asshe died--one moment more, senors, that I may confess all!--she lookedup in my face with a smile as of heaven, and thanked me for having ridher once and for all from Christians and their villainy."
The old man paused.
"God forgive you, senor!" said Jack Brimblecombe, softly.
"You do not, then, turn from me, do not curse me? Then I will try youfarther still, senors. I will know from human lips, whether man can dosuch deeds as I have done, and yet be pitied by his kind; that so I mayhave some hope, that where man has mercy, God may have mercy also. Doyou think that I repented at those awful words? Nothing less, senorsall. No more than I did when De Soto (on whose soul God have mercy)called me--me, a liar! I knew myself a sinner; and for that very reasonI was determined to sin. I would go on, that I might prove myself rightto myself, by showing that I could go on, and not be struck dead fromheaven. Out of mere pride, senors, and self-will, I would fill up thecup of my iniquity; and I filled it.
"You know, doubtless, senors, how, after the death of old Almagro, hisson's party conspired against Pizarro. Now my brother remained faithfulto his old commander; and for that very reason, if you will believe it,did I join the opposite party, and gave myself up, body and soul, to doAlmagro's work. It was enough for me, that the brother who had struckme thought a man right, for me to think that man a devil. What Almagro'swork was, you know. He slew Pizarro, murdered him, senors, like a dog,or rather, like an old lion."
"He deserved his doom," said Amyas.
"Let God judge him, senor, not we; and least of all of us I, who drewthe first blood, and perhaps the last, that day. I, senors, it waswho treacherously stabbed Francisco de Chanes on the staircase, and soopened the door which else had foiled us all; and I--But I am speakingto men of honor, not to butchers. Suffice it that the old man died likea lion, and that we pulled him down, young as we were, like curs.
"Well, I followed Almagro's fortunes. I helped to slay Alvarado. Callthat my third murder, if you will, for if he was traitor to a traitor, Iwas traitor to a true man. Then to the war; you know how Vaca de Castrowas sent from Spain to bring order and justice where was naught butchaos, and the dance of all devils. We met him on the hills of Chupas.Peter of Candia, the Venetian villain, pointed our guns false, andAlmagro stabbed him to the heart. We charged with our lances, managainst man, horse against horse. All fights I ever fought" (and the oldman's eyes flashed out the ancient fire) "were child's play to that day.Our lances shivered like reeds, and we fell on with battle-axe and mace.None asked for quarter, and none gave it; friend to friend, cousin tocousin--no, nor brother, O God! to brother. We were the better armed:but numbers were on their side. Fat Carbajal charged our cannon like anelephant, and took them; but Holguin was shot down. I was with Almagro,and we swept all before us, inch by inch, but surely, till the nightfell. Then Vaca de Castro, the licentiate, the clerk, the schoolman,the man of books, came down on us with his reserve like a whirlwind.Oh! cavaliers, did not God fight against us, when He let us, the men ofiron, us, the heroes of Cuzco and Vilcaconga, be foiled by a scholar ina black gown, with a pen behind his ear? We were beaten. Some ran; somedid not run, senors; and I did not. Geronimo de Alvarado shouted tome, 'We slew Pizarro! We killed the tyrant!' and we rushed upon theconqueror's lances, to die like cavaliers. There was a gallant gentlemanin front of me. His lance struck me in the crest, and bore me over myhorse's croup: but mine, senors, struck him full in the vizor. We bothwent to the ground together, and the battle galloped over us.
"I know not how long I lay, for I was stunned: but after awhile I liftedmyself. My lance was still clenched in my hand, broken but not parted.The point of it was in my foeman's brain. I crawled to him, weary andwounded, and saw that he was a noble cavalier. He lay on his back, hisarms spread wide. I knew that he was dead: but there came over me thestrangest longing to see that dead man's face. Perhaps I knew him. Atleast I could set my foot upon it, and say, 'Vanquished as I am, therelies a foe!' I caught hold of the rivets, and tore his helmet off. Themoon shone bright, senors, as bright as she shines now--the glaring,ghastly, tell-tale moon, which shows man all the sins which he tries tohide; and by that moonlight, senors, I beheld the dead man's face. Andit was the face of my brother!
* * * * *
"Did you ever guess, most noble cavaliers, what Cain's curse might belike? Look on me, and know!
"I tore off my armor and fled, as Cain fled--northward ever, till Ishould reach a land where the name of Spaniard, yea, and the name ofChristian, which the Spaniard has caused to be blasphemed from east towest, should never come. I sank fainting, and waked beneath this rock,this tree, forty-four years ago, and I have never left them since, saveonce, to obtain seeds from Indians, who knew not that I was a SpanishConquistador. And may God have mercy on my soul!"
The old man ceased; and his young hearers, deeply affected by his tale,sat silent for a few minutes. Then John Brimblecombe spoke:
"You are old, sir, and I am young; and perhaps it is not my place tocounsel you. Moreover, sir, in spite of this strange dress of mine, I amneither more nor less than an English priest; and I suppose you will notbe willing to listen to a heretic."
"I have seen Catholics, senor, commit too many abominations even withthe name of God upon their lips, to shrink from a heretic if he speakwisely and well. At least, you are a man; and after all, my heart yearnsmore and more, the longer I sit among you, for the speech of beings ofmy own race. Say what you will, in God's name!"
"I hold, sir," said Jack, modestly, "according to holy Scripture, thatwhosoever repents from his heart, as God knows you seem to have done, isforgiven there and then; and though his sins be as scarlet, they shallbe white as snow, for the sake of Him who died for all."
"Amen! Amen!" said the old man, looking lovingly at his little crucifix."I hope and pray--His name is Love. I know it now; who better? But, sir,even if He have forgiven me, how can I forgive myself? In honor, sir, Imust be just, and sternly just, to myself, even if God be indulgent;as He has been to me, who has left me here in peace for forty years,instead of giving me a prey to the first puma or jaguar which howlsround me every night. He has given me time to work out my own salvation;but have I done it? That doubt maddens me at whiles. When I look uponthat crucifix, I float on boundless hope: but if I take my eyes fromit for a moment, faith fails, and all is blank, and dark, and dreadful,till the devil whispers me to plunge into yon stream, and once and forever wake to certainty, even though it be in hell."
What was Jack to answer? He himself knew not at first. More was wantedthan the mere repetition of free pardon.
"Heretic as I am, sir, you w
ill not believe me when I tell you, as apriest, that God accepts your penitence."
"My heart tells me so already, at moments. But how know I that it doesnot lie?"
"Senor," said Jack, "the best way to punish oneself for doing ill, seemsto me to go and do good; and the best way to find out whether God meansyou well, is to find out whether He will help you to do well. If youhave wronged Indians in time past, see whether you cannot right themnow. If you can, you are safe. For the Lord will not send the devil'sservants to do His work."
The old man held down his head.
"Right the Indians? Alas! what is done, is done!"
"Not altogether, senor," said Amyas, "as long as an Indian remains alivein New Granada."
"Senor, shall I confess my weakness? A voice within me has bid me ahundred times go forth and labor, for those oppressed wretches, but Idare not obey. I dare not look them in the face. I should fancy thatthey knew my story; that the very birds upon the trees would reveal mycrime, and bid them turn from me with horror."
"Senor," said Amyas, "these are but the sick fancies of a noble spirit,feeding on itself in solitude. You have but to try to conquer."
"And look now," said Jack, "if you dare not go forth to help theIndians, see now how God has brought the Indians to your own door. Oh,excellent sir--"
"Call me not excellent," said the old man, smiting his breast.
"I do, and shall, sir, while I see in you an excellent repentance, anexcellent humility, and an excellent justice," said Jack. "But oh, sir,look upon these forty souls, whom we must leave behind, like sheep whichhave no shepherd. Could you not teach them to fear God and to love eachother, to live like rational men, perhaps to die like Christians? Theywould obey you as a dog obeys his master. You might be their king, theirfather, yea, their pope, if you would."
"You do not speak like a Lutheran."
"I am not a Lutheran, but an Englishman: but, Protestant as I am, Godknows, I had sooner see these poor souls of your creed, than of none."
"But I am no priest."
"When they are ready," said Jack, "the Lord will send a priest. If youbegin the good work, you may trust to Him to finish it."
"God help me!" said the old warrior.
The talk lasted long into the night, but Amyas was up long beforedaybreak, felling the trees; and as he and Cary walked back tobreakfast, the first thing which they saw was the old man in his gardenwith four or five Indian children round him, talking smilingly to them.
"The old man's heart is sound still," said Will. "No man is lost whostill is fond of little children."
"Ah, senors!" said the hermit as they came up, "you see that I havebegun already to act upon your advice."
"And you have begun at the right end," quoth Amyas; "if you win thechildren, you win the mothers."
"And if you win the mothers," quoth Will, "the poor fathers must needsobey their wives, and follow in the wake."
The old man only sighed. "The prattle of these little ones softensmy hard heart, senors, with a new pleasure; but it saddens me, when Irecollect that there may be children of mine now in the world--childrenwho have never known a father's love--never known aught but a master'sthreats--"
"God has taken care of these little ones. Trust that He has taken careof yours."
That day Amyas assembled the Indians, and told them that they must obeythe hermit as their king, and settle there as best they could: for ifthey broke up and wandered away, nothing was left for them but to fallone by one into the hands of the Spaniards. They heard him with theirusual melancholy and stupid acquiescence, and went and came as they werebid, like animated machines; but the negroes were of a different temper;and four or five stout fellows gave Amyas to understand that they hadbeen warriors in their own country, and that warriors they would bestill; and nothing should keep them from Spaniard-hunting. Amyas sawthat the presence of these desperadoes in the new colony would bothendanger the authority of the hermit, and bring the Spaniards downupon it in a few weeks; so, making a virtue of necessity, he asked themwhether they would go Spaniard-hunting with him.
This was just what the bold Coromantees wished for; they grinned andshouted their delight at serving under so great a warrior, and then setto work most gallantly, getting through more in the day than any tenIndians, and indeed than any two Englishmen.
So went on several days, during which the trees were felled, and theprocess of digging them out began; while Ayacanora, silent and moody,wandered into the woods all day with her blow-gun, and brought homeat evening a load of parrots, monkeys, and curassows; two or three oldhands were sent out to hunt likewise; so that, what with the game andthe fish of the river, which seemed inexhaustible, and the fruit of theneighboring palm-trees, there was no lack of food in the camp. But whatto do with Ayacanora weighed heavily on the mind of Amyas. He opened hisheart on the matter to the old hermit, and asked him whether he wouldtake charge of her. The latter smiled, and shook his head at the notion."If your report of her be true, I may as well take in hand to tame ajaguar." However, he promised to try; and one evening, as they wereall standing together before the mouth of the cave, Ayacanora came upsmiling with the fruit of her day's sport; and Amyas, thinking this afit opportunity, began a carefully prepared harangue to her, which heintended to be altogether soothing, and even pathetic,--to the effectthat the maiden, having no parents, was to look upon this good old manas her father; that he would instruct her in the white man's religion(at which promise Yeo, as a good Protestant, winced a good deal), andteach her how to be happy and good, and so forth; and that, in fine, shewas to remain there with the hermit.
She heard him quietly, her great dark eyes opening wider and wider, herbosom swelling, her stature seeming to grow taller every moment, as sheclenched her weapons firmly in both her hands. Beautiful as she alwayswas, she had never looked so beautiful before; and as Amyas spoke ofparting with her, it was like throwing away a lovely toy; but it must bedone, for her sake, for his, perhaps for that of all the crew.
The last words had hardly passed his lips, when, with a shriek ofmingled scorn, rage, and fear, she dashed through the astonished group.
"Stop her!" were Amyas's first words; but his next were, "Let hergo!" for, springing like a deer through the little garden and over theflower-fence, she turned, menacing with her blow-gun the sailors, whohad already started in her pursuit.
"Let her alone, for Heaven's sake!" shouted Amyas, who, he scarce knewwhy, shrank from the thought of seeing those graceful limbs strugglingin the seamen's grasp.
She turned again, and in another minute her gaudy plumes had vanishedamong the dark forest stems, as swiftly as if she had been a passingbird.
All stood thunderstruck at this unexpected end to the conference. Atlast Aymas spoke:
"There's no use in standing here idle, gentlemen. Staring after herwon't bring her back. After all, I'm glad she's gone."
But the tone of his voice belied his words. Now he had lost her, hewanted her back; and perhaps every one present, except he, guessed why.
But Ayacanora did not return; and ten days more went on in continualtoil at the canoes without any news of her from the hunters. Amyas, bythe by, had strictly bidden these last not to follow the girl, not evento speak to her, if they came across her in their wanderings. He wasshrewd enough to guess that the only way to cure her sulkiness was tooutsulk her; but there was no sign of her presence in any direction; andthe canoes being finished at last, the gold, and such provisions as theycould collect, were placed on board, and one evening the party preparedfor their fresh voyage. They determined to travel as much as possible bynight, for fear of discovery, especially in the neighborhood of the fewSpanish settlements which were then scattered along the banks of themain stream. These, however, the negroes knew, so that there was no fearof coming on them unawares; and as for falling asleep in their nightjourneys, "Nobody," the negroes said, "ever slept on the Magdalena; themosquitoes took too good care of that." Which fact Amyas and his crewverified afterwards as thoroughly a
s wretched men could do.
The sun had sunk; the night had all but fallen; the men were all onboard; Amyas in command of one canoe, Cary of the other. The Indianswere grouped on the bank, watching the party with their listlessstare, and with them the young guide, who preferred remaining among theIndians, and was made supremely happy by the present of Spanish swordand an English axe; while, in the midst, the old hermit, with tears inhis eyes, prayed God's blessing on them.
"I owe to you, noble cavaliers, new peace, new labor, I may say, newlife. May God be with you, and teach you to use your gold and yourswords better than I used mine."
The adventurers waved their hands to him.
"Give way, men," cried Amyas; and as he spoke the paddles dashed intothe water, to a right English hurrah! which sent the birds flutteringfrom their roosts, and was answered by the yell of a hundred monkeys,and the distant roar of the jaguar.
About twenty yards below, a wooded rock, some ten feet high, hung overthe stream. The river was not there more than fifteen yards broad; deepnear the rock, shallow on the farther side; and Amyas's canoe led theway, within ten feet of the stone.
As he passed, a dark figure leapt from the bushes on the edge, andplunged heavily into the water close to the boat. All started. A jaguar?No; he would not have missed so short a spring. What, then? A humanbeing?
A head rose panting to the surface, and with a few strong strokes theswimmer had clutched the gunwale. It was Ayacanora!
"Go back!" shouted Amyas. "Go back, girl!"
She uttered the same wild cry with which she had fled into the forest.
"I will die, then!" and she threw up her arms. Another moment, and shehad sunk.
To see her perish before his eyes! who could bear that? Her handsalone were above the surface. Amyas caught convulsively at her in thedarkness, and seized her wrist.
A yell rose from the negroes: a roar from the crew as from a cage oflions. There was a rush and a swirl along the surface of the stream; and"Caiman! caiman!" shouted twenty voices.
Now, or never, for the strong arm! "To larboard, men, or over we go!"cried Amyas, and with one huge heave he lifted the slender body uponthe gunwale. Her lower limbs were still in the water, when, within arm'slength, rose above the stream a huge muzzle. The lower jaw lay flat, theupper reached as high as Amyas's head. He could see the long fangsgleam white in the moonshine; he could see for one moment full down themonstrous depths of that great gape, which would have crushed a buffalo.Three inches, and no more, from that soft side, the snout surged up--
There was the gleam of an axe from above, a sharp ringing blow, and thejaws came together with a clash which rang from bank to bank. He hadmissed her! Swerving beneath the blow, his snout had passed beneathher body, and smashed up against the side of the canoe, as the striker,overbalanced, fell headlong overboard upon the monster's back.
"Who is it?"
"Yeo!" shouted a dozen.
Man and beast went down together, and where they sank, the moonlightshone on a great swirling eddy, while all held their breaths, andAyacanora cowered down into the bottom of the canoe, her proud spiritutterly broken, for the first time, by the terror of that great need,and by a bitter loss. For in the struggle, the holy trumpet, companionof all her wanderings, had fallen from her bosom; and her fond hope ofbringing magic prosperity to her English friends had sunk with it to thebottom of the stream.
None heeded her; not even Amyas, round whose knees she clung, fawninglike a spaniel dog: for where was Yeo?
Another swirl; a shout from the canoe abreast of them, and Yeo rose,having dived clean under his own boat, and risen between the two.
"Safe as yet, lads! Heave me a line, or he'll have me after all."
But ere the brute reappeared, the old man was safe on board.
"The Lord has stood by me," panted he, as he shot the water fromhis ears. "We went down together: I knew the Indian trick, and beinguppermost, had my thumbs in his eyes before he could turn: but hecarried me down to the very mud. My breath was nigh gone, so I left go,and struck up: but my toes tingled as I rose again, I'll warrant. Therethe beggar is, looking for me, I declare!"
And, true enough, there was the huge brute swimming slowly round andround, in search of his lost victim. It was too dark to put an arrowinto his eye; so they paddled on, while Ayacanora crouched silently atAmyas's feet.
"Yeo!" asked he, in a low voice, "what shall we do with her?"
"Why ask me, sir?" said the old man, as he had a very good right to ask.
"Because, when one don't know oneself, one had best inquire of one'selders. Besides, you saved her life at the risk of your own, and have aright to a voice in the matter, if any one has, old friend."
"Then, my dear young captain, if the Lord puts a precious soul underyour care, don't you refuse to bear the burden He lays on you."
Amyas was silent awhile; while Ayacanora, who was evidently utterlyexhausted by the night's adventure, and probably by long wanderings,watchings, and weepings which had gone before it, sank with her headagainst his knee, fell fast asleep, and breathed as gently as a child.
At last he rose in the canoe, and called Cary alongside.
"Listen to me, gentlemen, and sailors all. You know that we have amaiden on board here, by no choice of our own. Whether she will be ablessing to us, God alone can tell: but she may turn to the greatestcurse which has befallen us ever since we came out over Bar three yearsago. Promise me one thing, or I put her ashore the next beach, and thatis, that you will treat her as if she were your own sister; and make anagreement here and now, that if the maid comes to harm among us, the manthat is guilty shall hang for it by the neck till he's dead, even thoughhe be I, Captain Leigh, who speak to you. I'll hang you, as I am aChristian; and I give you free leave to hang me."
"A very fair bargain," quoth Cary, "and I for one will see it kept to.Lads, we'll twine a double strong halter for the captain as we go downalong."
"I am not jesting, Will."
"I know it, good old lad," said Cary, stretching out his own hand to himacross the water through the darkness, and giving him a hearty shake. "Iknow it; and listen, men! So help me God! but I'll be the first to backthe Captain in being as good as his word, as I trust he never will needto be."
"Amen!" said Brimblecombe. "Amen!" said Yeo; and many an honest voicejoined in that honest compact, and kept it too, like men.
Westward Ho! Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth Page 25