Les fils de la tortue. English

by Gustave Aimard

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  THE SCALP.

  It was about ten o'clock at night. It was cold and foggy; the windwhistled violently, and heavy black clouds coming from the southdropped heavy rain upon the ground. Between Valparaiso and Rio Claro--that is to say, in the gorge which had many times served as a refugefor the smugglers, and which our readers are already acquaintedwith--Tahi-Mari indolently lying at the foot of a tree, was rollinga papelito in his fingers, while lending an attentive ear to theslightest sounds which the gust conveyed to him and at times dartingglances around him which seemed trying to pierce the obscurity.

  "Ten o'clock already," he said, "and Leon not yet arrived: what candetain him? It is not possible that he can have forgotten the hour ofour meeting. I will wait longer," he added, as he drew his mechero fromhis pocket and lit his cigarette, "for Leon must come back to me--hemust absolutely."

  Suddenly a sound so light that only an Indian's ear could seize it,crossed the space.

  "What is that?" Diego asked himself.

  He rose cautiously, and after concealing his horse in a dense thicket,hid himself behind the trunk of an enormous tree close by. The soundgradually drew nearer, and it was soon easy to recognise the gallopof a horse at full speed. A few minutes later a rider turned into theclearing; but he had not gone a few yards when his horse stumbledagainst a stone, tottered, and in spite of the efforts of the man onits back, slipped with all four feet, and fell.

  "Der Teufel! Carajo! Sacrebleu!" Wilhelm shouted, as he fell, borrowingfrom all the languages he spoke the expressions best adapted to renderthe lively annoyance which he felt at the accident which had happenedto him.

  But the German was a good horseman, and the fall of the horse did notat all take him unawares. He freed his feet from the stirrups and foundhimself on his legs. Still, on looking around him, he noticed that theclearing which was deserted on his arrival, had become peopled, as ifby enchantment, by some fifty Indians, who seemed to have sprung out ofthe ground.

  "The deuce!" thought Wilhelm; "I fancy there will be a row, and I amafraid that I shall come off second best."

  At this moment a shrill whistle was heard, and the Indians disappearedso rapidly that the German rubbed his eyes to see whether he was awake.

  "Hilloh!" he asked himself, "is this an apparition, and are they demonsor men?"

  Then, seeing that he was really alone, he busied himself with raisinghis horse.

  "There," he continued, when the animal was on its legs again, "I willwait till Senor Diego arrives. Plague take the spot; it does not appearto me so sure as formerly, and our ex-lieutenant might have chosenanother."

  "Here I am, Wilhelm!" Diego said, suddenly, as he stood before thesmuggler.

  "Well, I am not sorry for it, lieutenant," the German answered,phlegmatically.

  "What do you want here?" the other asked him, sharply.

  "I have come because the captain ordered me to do so, that is all."

  "Why did Leon send you in his place? I was expecting him here."

  "Ah, that is another matter, and you must not be angry with him."

  "But," Diego continued, biting his moustache savagely, "what does heexpect me to do with you?"

  "Hang it all--whatever you like."

  "But where is he?"

  "He is arrested."

  "How!--arrested?"

  "Yes; and it was before being imprisoned in the Calabozo, that heordered me to go in all haste and warn you."

  "Arrested!" the half-breed said, stamping his foot; "that scoundrel ofa Crevel has betrayed me, and shall pay dearly for it."

  "Crevel, do you say, lieutenant? Well, it is possible; and yet I do notthink so."

  "I am sure of it."

  "Why so?"

  "I sent him a letter which he was to deliver to Leon, and in which Iwarned the latter of the danger that menaced him."

  "A letter, you say; and when did you send it?"

  "This morning early."

  "Ah!" said Wilhelm, "I have it."

  And he told Diego how--as Leon had gone out when the letter arrived atCrevel's--the latter asked him to deliver it to the captain, and thatwhen he received it, he put it in his pocket without reading, absorbedas he was in his conversation with General Soto-Mayor.

  "What! is the general at Valparaiso?" Diego asked, interrupting thesmuggler.

  "Yes, lieutenant; but he will not be so for long."

  "Why not?"

  "Because the governor had just given him command of the new body ofvolunteers, who are going to reinforce the Chilian army at Santiago."

  "That is well."

  Tahi-Mari whistled in a peculiar way, and an Indian appeared. Thechief of the Molucho army said a few words to him in a low voice. TheIndian bowed as a sign of obedience, and, gliding through the herbage,disappeared. Wilhelm looked on at the scene, whistling to give himselfa careless air. When the Indian had gone, Tahi-Mari turned to him, andlaid his hand on his shoulder.

  "Wilhelm," he said to him, "you love your captain, do you not, my lad?"

  While uttering these words his searching glance was plunged into thesmuggler's eyes, as if questioning his thoughts.

  "I love the captain? Der Teufel! do you doubt it, lieutenant?"

  "No! that will do; you are an honest fellow."

  "All right."

  "But listen to me. Will you save him?"

  "Certainly. What am I to do for that?"

  "I will tell you. Where is Leon's band?"

  "At Valparaiso."

  "How many men does it consist of at this moment?"

  "Forty."

  "Would they all die for their captain?"

  "I should think so."

  "In that case, you will assemble them tomorrow at Crevel's."

  "At what hour?"

  "Eleven o'clock at night."

  "Settled."

  "Pay attention that Crevel does not open the door to any persons who donot rap thrice, and say Diego and Leon."

  "I will open it myself."

  "That will be better still."

  "After that, what are we to do?"

  "Nothing; the rest is my business: remember my instructions, and beoff."

  "Enough, lieutenant."

  Wilhelm remounted his horse and set out on his return. At about aleague from Valparaiso he met the column of volunteers marching toSantiago, and gaily advancing while singing patriotic airs. Wilhelmwho was not at all desirous of being arrested as a suspicious personfor travelling at this hour of the night, drew up by the wayside, andallowed the men to defile past him. When the last had disappeared inthe distance, the German returned to the high road, and half an hourlater re-entered Valparaiso, puzzling over the remarks of Tahi-Mari,whose plans he could not divine.

  In the meanwhile, the volunteers continued to advance, filling the airwith their martial strains. They formed a body of about four thousandmen; but of this number only one-half were armed with muskets--therest had pikes, lances, or forks; but their enthusiasm--powerfullyinflamed by the copious libations of aguardiente which the inhabitantsof Valparaiso had furnished to them--knew no limits, and made themdiscount beforehand a victory which they regarded as certain.

  These soldiers of the moment had been selected from the lowest classesof society, and retained a turbulence and want of discipline whichnothing could conquer. The citizens of Valparaiso, who feared themalmost as much as if they had been Indians, were delighted at theirdeparture, for, during their short stay in the town, they had, so tospeak, organized plunder, and made robbery their vocation.

  General Soto-Mayor did not at all deceive himself as to the qualitiesof the men whom he commanded, and perceived at the first glance thatit would be impossible to obtain from them the obedience which he hada right to demand. In spite of the repeated orders which he gave themat starting to observe, the greatest silence on the march, through fearof being surprised by the Indians, he found himself constrained tolet them act as they pleased, and he resolved to let the army bivouacon the road, while he p
roceeded to his country house, whence he coulddispatch a courier to Santiago, requesting officers to be sent himwho could aid him in restoring some degree of order among the menhe commanded. It was evident that such a disorderly and noisy marchexposed them to be murdered to a man in the first ambuscade which theAraucanos prepared for him.

  It was about one in the morning when the volunteers arrived at thegeneral's country house. It was plunged in profound obscurity; allthe shutters were closed, and the watch dogs barked mournfully in thedeserted courtyards. After ordering a halt for some hours the generalproceeded towards his residence. At the sound of the bell a heavyfootfall was heard inside, and a grumbling voice asked who was knockingat such an hour, and what he wanted.

  When the general had made himself known, the gate turned heavilyon its hinges, and Senor Soto-Mayor entered, not without a painfulcontraction of the heart, the house which recalled to him suchaffecting recollections. Alas! long past were the happy days which hehad spent in this charming retreat, surrounded by all those to whom hewas attached, and resting from the fatigues of a gloriously occupiedlife.

  The old gentleman's first care was to send off the courier, and then,after taking out of the manservant's hand the candle which he held, heentered the apartments. This splendid residence, which he had left sobrilliant and so animated, was now solitary and deserted. The roomshe passed through, on whose floor his foot echoed dully, were cold;the atmosphere which he breathed was impregnated with a close andunhealthy odour, which testified the little care the guardians of thehouse had displayed in removing it; on all sides were abandonment andsadness.

  At times the general's eyes fell upon an object which had belonged tohis wife, and then they filled with tears, while a deep sigh issuedfrom his oppressed chest. At length, after visiting in turn all theapartments in the house with that painful pleasure which persons feelin evoking a past which cannot return, the general opened the door ofthe room which had served as his bedroom. He could not restrain a startof terror. A man, seated in an easy chair, with his arms folded on hischest, seemed to be awaiting somebody.

  It was Diego.

  "Come in, my dear general," he said, as he rose and bowed courteously.

  "Senor!" said the general.

  "Yes; I understand. It astonishes you to see me here: but what wouldyou have? Circumstances allowed me no choice; and I am sure that youwill pardon me this slight infraction of etiquette."

  The general was dumb with surprise at the sight of such audacity.Still, when the first flush of indignation had passed, feeling curiousto know the object of the person who behaved to him so strangely, herestrained his anger and awaited the result of this singular interview.

  "Sit down, general, pray," Diego continued, keeping up his tone ofassurance.

  "I thank, you, sir, for your politeness in doing the honours of myhouse; but before aught else, I should wish to know the reason whichhas procured me this visit."

  "I beg your pardon, general," the other replied, with a slight tremorin his voice; "but perhaps you do not recognize me, and so I will--"

  "It is unnecessary, sir. I remember you perfectly well; you are asmuggler, called Diego the Vaquero, who abandoned us after engaging toescort us, as did Captain Leon Delbes, in whose service I believe youwere."

  "That is perfectly correct, general; still the name of Diego is not theonly one which I have the right to bear."

  "That concerns me but slightly."

  "Perhaps not."

  "Explain yourself."

  "If the Spaniards call me Diego, the Indians call me Tahi-Mari."

  This name produced the same effect on the general as an electric shock.

  "Tahi-Mari!" he exclaimed. "You!"

  "Myself!"

  A flash of hatred animated the eyes of the two men, who seemedmeasuring each other like two tigers brought face to face. After amoment's silence, the general continued:

  "Can you be ignorant that I have round the house in which we now arefour thousand men ready to hurry up at my first summons?"

  "No, general; but you do not seem to know that I, too, have in thishouse two hundred Indians, who are watching each of your movements, andwho would rush on you at the slightest signal I gave."

  The general's lips blanched.

  "Ah! I understand," he said. "You have come to assassinate me afterkilling my wife, for now I no longer doubt but that it was you who hadus surprised in such a cowardly fashion in the Parumo of San JuanBautista."

  "You are mistaken, general: it was not I who made you a widower; and itwas in order that none of my men should tear from me the prey I covet,that I have come myself to fetch it."

  "But what impels you to be so furious against those of my race, so thatthe name of Tahi-Mari may be equivalent to that of the murderer of theSoto-Mayors."

  "Because the Soto-Mayors are all cowards and infamous."

  "Villain!"

  "Yes, infamous! and it is because I have sworn to exterminate the lastof the accursed family that I have come to take your life!"

  "Assassin!"

  "Nonsense; a Tahi-Mari fights, but he does so honourably--face to face.Here are two swords," Diego continued, pointing to the weapons lying ona cheffonier, "choose the one you please; or if you like, you have yoursabre, and here is mine. On guard! and may heaven protect the last ofthe Tahi-Maris, while destroying the last of the Soto-Mayors!"

  "I have a son who will avenge me," the general exclaimed.

  "Perhaps not, Senor Don Juan, for you know not whether he is dead oralive."

  "My son!--oh!"

  And the general, overpowered by a feverish excitement, furiously drewthe pistol which he had in his belt and discharged it point-blank atDiego. But the latter was following his movements, and at the momentwhen the general's hand was lowered at him, he cut through his wristwith a sabre-stroke. The general uttered a cry of pain, and the bulletbroke a mirror.

  "Oh, oh!" Diego exclaimed, "ever treacherous; but we are too oldenemies not to know each other, and hence I was on my guard, general."

  The old man, without replying, drew another pistol with his left handand fired. But the badly aimed shot only grazed slightly the Indian'schest; and the bullet, after making a scratch along one of his ribs,entered the panel of a door. Diego bounded like a lion on the old man,who had fallen to the ground, and whose blood was streaming from thefrightful wound he had on his arm. Then he seized his long white hair,pulled up his head violently, and compelled him to look him in the face.

  "At last, Soto-Mayor, you are conquered!" he shouted.

  The old man collected the little strength left him in a supreme effort;his eyes sparkled with fury, his countenance was contracted withdisgust, and he spat in his enemy's face. At this supreme insult Diegouttered a frightful howl, and then drew his knife with a demoniacalgrin.

  In the meanwhile the sound of the pistol shots had spread an alarmamong the volunteers, and a party of them rushed tumultuously into thehouse. When the soldiers entered the general's bedroom, after breakingin the door, they found the window open and the old man stretched outon the floor, bathed in blood. In addition to the horrible mutilationof his arm, he had a hideous wound on his head, from which the bloodstreamed down his face. Diego had scalped the unfortunate Don Juan deSoto-Mayor.

  A cry of horror burst from every mouth, and they hastily gave thewounded man all the care which his wretched condition required.