The Adventurers

by Gustave Aimard

  CHAPTER XXX.

  THE PROTEST.

  The three travellers returned with such speed to Valdivia, that itscarcely took them an hour and a half to traverse the distance whichdivided the plain from the city. They passed on their way GeneralDon Pancho Bustamente, at the head of a detachment of lanceros, andattended by a numerous staff; but the Dark-Hearts, employing their usualprecautions, escaped notice. Don Tadeo cast an ironical glance at hisenemy.

  "Look," he said, with a somewhat malignant smile, to Don Gregorio,"at our worthy general; he fancies himself already protector. What amajestic bearing he affects!"

  "Yes," said Don Gregorio, with the same expression; "but between the cupand the lip he may find there is room for a mischance."

  It was striking ten as they entered Valdivia. The city was almostdeserted: for all who were not detained at home by urgent business hadgone to the plain, to be present at the renewal of the treaties betweenthe Chilians and the Araucanos. This ceremony strongly interested theinhabitants of the province: it was for them a guarantee of tranquillityfor the future; that is to say, the liberty of carrying on with safetytheir commercial transactions with the Indians. More than all the otherprovinces of Chili, Valdivia had cause to dread hostilities with itsredoubtable neighbours. Separated entirely from the territory of therepublic, when left to its own resources, the least movement amongthe Moluchos annihilated its commerce. If the inhabitants appeared tohave emigrated for a time, it was not the same with the soldiers; thenumerous garrison, composed--a thing unheard of in time of peace--offifteen hundred men, had been still further increased within the lasttwo days, principally in the course of the preceding night, by tworegiments of cavalry, and a battery of artillery.

  For what purpose was this calling together of forces, which nothingappeared to justify? The few inhabitants who remained in the cityexperienced a vague uneasiness on this head, for which they could notaccount. There is a singular fact that we wish to point out here, butwhich we by no means take upon ourselves to explain, because it hasalways seemed to us inexplicable. When a great event, whatever it maybe, is about to be accomplished in a country, a vague presentimentseems to warn the inhabitants; men and things assume an unusual aspect;nature itself, associating with this disposition of men's minds, growssensibly darker; a magnetic fluid rushes through the veins; a painfulpressure weighs upon every breast; the atmosphere becomes heavy; thesun loses its brilliancy; and people only communicate their impressionsto each other in a suppressed voice; in short, there is in the airsomething incomprehensible, but I know not what, which says to man ina dismal tone, "Beware! a catastrophe threatens thee!" And this fatalpresentiment is so general, that when the event takes place, and thecrisis is over, every one instinctively cries, "I felt it!" And yet noone could say why he foresaw the cataclysm.

  It is the sentiment of self-preservation which God has placed in theheart of man--that sentiment which constitutes his safeguard, and isso strong, that when danger approaches him, it cries to him, "Beware!"Valdivia was at this moment oppressed by the weight of an unknownapprehension. The few citizens who remained in the city hastened toregain their homes. Numerous patrols of cavalry and infantry traversedthe streets in all directions; cannon rolled along with portentousnoise, and were planted at the comers of all the principal places. Atthe cabildo a crowd of officers and soldiers went in and out with abusy air; couriers succeeded each other unceasingly, and after havingdelivered the orders with which they were charged, set off again at fullspeed.

  At the same time, at the corners of streets, men wrapped in largecloaks, and with hats pulled down over their eyes, harangued the workmenand the sailors of the port, and formed groups, which every instantbecame more numerous. In these groups, arms, gun barrels, bayonets,and pike heads began to glitter in the sun. When these mysterious menwere satisfied that they had accomplished their task in one place, theywent to another. Immediately after their departure, as if by magic,barricades were raised behind them, and impeded the passage. As soon asa barricade was terminated, an energetic-looking sentinel, a workmanwith bare arms, but with a callous hand, brandishing a gun, an axe, ora sabre, placed himself at its summit, and bade all who approached goanother way.

  On entering the city, Don Tadeo and his companions found themselvescompletely barricaded. Don Tadeo smiled triumphantly. The three mencleared the barricades, which were thrown open at their approach, andthe sentinels bowed to them as they passed. We have forgotten to saythat all three were masked. There was something striking in the marchof these three phantoms, before whom all obstacles gave way. If now andthen a stray citizen ventured to ask timidly who those three maskedmen were, he received for answer, "It is the King of Darkness and hislieutenants;" and the citizen, trembling with fear, crossed himself, andwent his way hastily.

  The three men thus arrived at the entrance of the Plaza Mayor. Theretwo pieces of mounted cannon barred their passage, and the artillerymenwere at their guns waiting, match in hand. At a sign from Don Tadeo, theofficer who commanded approached him. He leant down upon the neck of hishorse and said a few words to the officer in a whisper; the latter bowedrespectfully, and, turning to his soldiers, said--

  "Let these gentlemen pass."

  In all the cities of Spanish America there is a monumental fountain inthe centre of the Plaza Mayor. It was towards this fountain that DonTadeo conducted his companions. A hundred individuals, scattered hereand there, and who appeared to expect him, drew together at his approach.

  "Well," Don Tadeo asked Valentine, "how do you like our ride?"

  "Delightful," the other replied, "only I fancy we shall shortly come toblows, and hear the hissing of bullets."

  "I hope so," said the conspirator, coolly.

  "Ah! ah!" the young man remarked, "all is for the best, then?"

  "You are about to be present at a very interesting spectacle."

  "Oh! I depend upon you for that. For my part, I am glad at not havinglost such an opportunity."

  "Is it not one?"

  "Pardieu!--yes. It is astonishing how travelling instructs one," headded, in the form of a parenthesis.

  The individuals assembled near the fountain surrounded them withevery mark of the profoundest respect. These were the faithful--theDark-Hearts--upon whom perfect dependence was to be placed.

  "Gentlemen," said Don Tadeo, "the struggle is about to commence. Idesire at length that you should know me, that you should be informedwho the man is who commands you."

  And he threw off his mask. A burst of enthusiasm broke from the ranksof the conspirators. "Don Tadeo de Leon!" they cried with astonishment,mingled with a species of veneration for the man who had suffered somuch for the common cause.

  "Yes, gentlemen," Don Tadeo replied, "the man whom the creatures of thetyrant condemned to death, and whom God has miraculously preserved, inorder to be the instrument of His vengeance today."

  All the conspirators pressed tumultuously round him. These men ofspontaneous impressions, and essentially superstitious, no longerdoubted of victory, since they had at their head the man whom God, asthey believed, had so manifestly protected. Don Tadeo had calculatedupon this manifestation to heighten the ardour of the conspirators,and to augment still further the prestige he enjoyed. The result hadanswered his expectations.

  "Is everyone at his post?" he asked.

  "Yes."

  "Are arms and ammunition distributed?"

  "To everybody."

  "Are all the barricades completed?--all the gates of the city guarded?"

  "All."

  "That is well. Now wait."

  And quiet was re-established.

  All these men had known Don Tadeo for a long time; they appreciated hischaracter at its true value; they had already vowed to him a boundlessfriendship; and now they knew that Don Tadeo and the King of Darknesswere the same person, they were ready to lay down their lives for him.The news of the revelation which had been made near the fountain spreadthrough the city with the rapidity of a train of gunpowder, and adde
dgreatly to the fermentation which already prevailed. Whilst the fewwords were being exchanged between the chief of the conspirators andhis party, a regiment of infantry had formed in front of the cabildo,flanked right and left by two squadrons of horse.

  "Attention!" Don Tadeo commanded.

  A sensation of impatience pervaded the men grouped around him.

  "Eh! eh!" Valentine murmured, with that mocking, short laugh that waspeculiar to him; "this is going on capitally! Caramba! we shall soonhave some fun!"

  The gates of the cabildo were thrown open violently, and a general,followed by a brilliant staff, took his station on the top step of thegreat staircase; next several senators made their appearance in fullcostume, and formed a group round him. At a signal from the general, thedrums beat for a time, to secure attention and silence. When all wasquiet, a senator, who held a roll of paper in his hand, came forward afew steps, and prepared to read.

  "Bah!" said the General, seizing his arm, "Why lose your time in readingthat rubbish? Leave it to me."

  The senator, who asked no better than to be freed from the dangerouscommission with which, very much against his will, he had been charged,rolled up his papers, and retreated to the rear. The general assumed acommanding posture, placed his hand upon his hip, with the point of hissword on the ground, and said in a voice audible in every corner of theplace--

  "People of the province of Valdivia, the sovereign senate, assembledin congress at Santiago de Chili, has unanimously passed the followingresolutions:--

  "1st. The various provinces of the Chilian republic shall be composed ofindependent states united under the title of the Confederation of theUnited States of South America.

  "2nd. The valiant and most excellent general, Don Pancho Bustamente, hasbeen elected Protector of the Chilian Confederation."

  "People, cry with me--'Long live the Protector Don Pancho Bustamente!'"

  The officers grouped round the General, and the soldiers drawn up in theplace, shouted--

  "Long live the Protector!"

  But the people were mute.

  "Hum!" the general murmured to himself; "they do not display muchenthusiasm."

  A man came forward from the group collected round the fountain, andadvanced boldly to within twenty paces of the soldiers. This man wasDon Tadeo de Leon; his countenance was calm and his bearing firm andcollected. He made a sign with his hand.

  "What is your will?" the general shouted.

  "To reply to your proclamation," the King of Darkness said, intrepidly.

  "Speak! I hear you," the general replied.

  Don Tadeo bowed with a significant smile.

  "In the name of the Chilian people," he said, in a loud, clear voice,"the senate of Santiago de Chili, composed of creatures sold to thetyrant, is declared traitorous to its country."

  "Miserable fellow! what do you dare to say?" the General cried, angrily.

  "No insults, if you please! Allow me to terminate the answer I have togive you," Don Tadeo replied, coolly.

  The General, involuntarily brow-beaten by the heroic courage of thisman, who, alone, unarmed before a triple row of muskets ready to bedirected towards his breast, had dared to speak in this loud, firmtone, and overcome by that ascendancy which a great character alwaysexercises, bit the pommel of his sword with rage.

  "In the name of the people," Don Tadeo, still calm and stoical,continued, "Don Pancho Bustamente is declared a traitor to his country,and as such is degraded from his titles and his power. Liberty! Chili!"

  "Liberty! Chili!" the populace assembled on the square shouted with thegreatest enthusiasm.

  "Oh, this is too audacious!" the General cried, pale with anger."Soldiers, seize that rebel!"

  Several soldiers stepped forward; but, quicker than thought, DonGregorio and Valentine had sprung to Don Tadeo's side, and dragged himback with them among the people.

  "Cordieu!" cried Valentine, pressing his hands enough to crush them,"you are a troublesome man! but I love you the better for it."

  The General, outrageous at seeing his enemy escape, shouted silence. "Inthe name of the Protector," he said, "I command that rebel to be givenup!"

  Hisses and hootings were the only reply.

  "Fire!" the General commanded, who, even before the last insultingmanifestation, had perceived that no half measures were possible. Themuskets were lowered, and a formidable discharge pealed like thunder.Several men fell, killed or wounded.

  "Chili! Liberty! down with the oppressor!" the people shouted, armingthemselves with everything they could lay their hands on. A seconddischarge resounded, followed closely by a third. The ground was, in aninstant, strewed with the dead and dying; but the patriots showed nodisposition to disperse; on the contrary, under the incessant fire ofthe soldiers, they organized a resistance, and soon replied by a fewshots to the incessant platoon firing which was decimating them. Thecombat became mutual; the revolution had commenced.

  "Hum!" the General muttered to himself, "I have undertaken a ratherawkward mission."

  But, essentially a soldier, and endowed to the highest degree with thatspirit of passive obedience which distinguishes all who have grown oldin harness, he prepared either to chastise the insurgents severely, ordie at his post.