by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER FORTY SIX.
A DEAD MAN IDENTIFIED.
Whether his young companions be sleeping or awake, the gaucho does notstay by their side; but, almost as soon as seeing them disposed alongthe earth, slips out from under the fig-tree, and facing towards thecentral part of the cemetery, walks off in that direction. His objectis to revisit the scaffold lately left by them, and make a more detailedexamination of it. Not that he cares aught about the structure itself.It is not the first time for him to have seen similar burying-places ofthe Chaco Indians, and he knows as much about them as he cares to know.Nor is his object, in returning to this particular one, of a verydefinite character; but rather because a vague idea or instinct has comeinto his mind which prompts him to the act--a sort of presentiment thathe may there see something to throw light on much of what has been allalong mystifying him. To go thither will in no way interfere with hisduties as a sentinel, since he can perform these equally well or betterby moving about. Besides, it will help to beguile the time, as alsomake him familiar with the ground they have got upon--a familiarity thatmay hereafter prove of service to them. As already stated, he hadobserved that the scaffold is of recent erection, telling that the manor woman laid upon it cannot have been very long dead. He had,moreover, noticed, while attaching his bridle to one of the uprights,that a series of notches was cut in the post, evidently to facilitateascent. In all likelihood, the surviving relatives of the deceased arein the habit of coming thither at periodical intervals, to adorn thetomb with flowers or other tokens of affectionate memory; perhaps bringvotive offerings to the spirit which presides over that consecratedspot. But whatever the purpose of the notches, the gaucho knows theywill enable him to climb up with ease, and see what rests upon theplatform.
Approaching the catafalque with silent tread, he stands for a timegazing at it without making any movement to mount up. Not fromcuriosity does he so regard it; but something akin to awe has stolenover his spirit, and he almost fears further to intrude on thesacredness of the place. Besides, the act requires caution. What ifsome of the Indians given to nocturnal straying should chance to comethat way, and see him up those stairs, desecrating the abode of thedead? Even were there no other reason for his fearing to be found inthat place, the act itself would make him liable to punishment--possiblyno less than death! For among the Tovas, as many other tribes of SouthAmerican Indians--infidels though they are called--the tombs of theirdead are held as sacred as those of the Spanish Christians who sodesignate them.
Notwithstanding all this, Gaspar the gaucho is not to be baulked in hisdesign. He has not come to the bottom of that curious catafalque, to goaway again without seeing what is above. And though he standshesitating, it is only for a short while, finally making up his mind toascend.
Ascend he does; laying hold of one of the notched corner posts, andclimbing the primitive ladder, as it were, set ready and awaiting him.
As the moon is by this far down in the sky, its beams are not obstructedby the roof thatch, but fall obliquely upon the floor of the platformbeneath. There, lying at full length, the gaucho perceives a form,easily recognisable as that of a human being, though swathed in variouskinds of cloths, which cover it from head to foot. The body of a man,moreover, as can be told by its size and shape; while beside, andarranged around it, are certain insignia proclaiming it to be that ofsome distinguished chieftain of the Tovas. There are spears, shields,_macanas_, lazoes, bolas--among them the _bola perdida_, some of theseweapons placed upon the platform alongside the corpse, others suspendedfrom the beams and poles supporting the thatch of the roof. There ishorse-gear as well--the multifarious trappings which appertain to thecaparison of a gaucho's steed--recado, carona, caronilla, jerga, withMameluke bitts and spurs of immensely large rowels; for all these arepossessed by the higher order of pampas Indians, and notably theirchiefs--property they have picked up in some plundering expedition,where gauchos themselves have been their victims.
Just such a thought passes through the mind of gaucho Gaspar, as hiseyes rest on the grand array displayed on the _cacique's_ tomb. Forthat it is the tomb of a _cacique_, and one of grand note, he has not adoubt, seeing such a selection of trophies. In addition to the warweapons and implements of the chase, there are articles of dress andadornment; bracelets of gold, bead necklets and belts, with coronets ofbright-coloured plumes; while most conspicuous of all is a largefeather-embroidered _manta_, covering the corpse from head to foot, evenconcealing the face.
Still there is nothing in all this to astonish Gaspar Mendez, or in anyway give him a surprise. He has seen the like before, and often amongthe Auracanian Indians, who are kindred with the tribes of the Chaco.He but makes the reflection, how silly it is in these savages thus toexpose such fine commodities to the weather, and let them go to loss anddecay--all to satisfy a heathen instinct of superstition! And thusreflecting, he would in all probability have lowered himself back to theground, but for that presentiment still upon him. It influences him toremain a moment longer balancing himself upon the notched upright, andgazing over the platform. Just then the moon getting clear of somecirrhus clouds, and shining brighter than ever, lights up an objecthitherto unnoticed by him, but one he recognises as an old acquaintance.He starts on beholding a felt hat of the Tyrolese pattern, which hewell remembers to have seen worn by his master, the hunter-naturalist,and by him given to the aged _cacique_ of the Tovas as a token offriendship. And now he feels the presentiment which has been upon himall explained and fulfilled. Springing up on the platform, anduncovering the face of the corpse, he beholds--Naraguana!