CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE WOUNDED MAN.
Let us return to the Count de Prebois Crance. When the abduction wascommitted, that part of the plain where Don Tadeo had pitched his campwas deserted. The crowd, attracted by curiosity, had all gone to theside where the renewal of the treaties was taking place. Besides, themeasures of the ravishers had been so judiciously taken, all had passedso quickly, without resistance, without cries or tumult, that no alarmhad been given, and no one could suspect what was going on. The cries of"murder!" uttered by the wounded young man were too faint to be heard,and the pistol shots he had fired were confounded with the other noisesof the festival.
Louis remained for a considerable time lying senseless in front of thetent, the blood flowing from two wounds. By a singular chance, thepeons, the arrieros, and even the two Indian chiefs, who could not thinkthere was anything to be dreaded, had all gone, as we have said, to bepresent at the ceremony. When the cross had been planted, and the toquiand the General had gone, arm in arm, to the tent of the latter, thecrowd began to separate into little groups, and soon dispersed, eachreturning to the spot where he had established his temporary camp.
The Indian chiefs were the first to quit the scene; now that theircuriosity was satisfied, they reproached themselves for having been solong absent from their friend. On approaching the little camp, they weresurprised at not seeing Louis, and a certain appearance of disorder inthe baggage filled them with uneasiness. They quickened their pace, andthe nearer they drew the more evident this disorder became in theireyes, accustomed to remark those thousands of signs which escape theeyes of the white man. In fact, the passage left free in the inclosureformed by the bales, seemed to have been the scene of a struggle; thefootmarks of several horses were strongly imprinted in the moist earth,and some bales had even been removed, as if to widen the entrance, andlay scattered about. All these indications were more than sufficient forthe chiefs; they exchanged an anxious glance, and rushed into the camp.
Louis was still lying where the assassins had left him, stretched acrossthe entrance of the tent, his discharged pistols in his hands, his headthrown back, his mouth half open, and his teeth clenched. The blood hadceased to flow. The two men looked at him for a moment with a feeling ofstupor. His countenance was of a livid paleness.
"He is dead!" said Curumilla, in a voice stifled by emotion.
"He seems so," Trangoil-Lanec replied as he knelt down by the body.
He raised the young man's senseless head, untied his cravat, and openedhis vest; then they perceived the two gaping wounds.
"This is a revenge!" he murmured.
"What is to be done?" said Curumilla, shaking his head discouragingly.
"Let us try to recover him--I hope he is not dead."
And then, with infinite address and incredible celerity, the two Indiansbestowed upon the wounded man the most intelligent and most effectivecares. For a long time all were useless. At length a sigh, faint as abreath, exhaled painfully from the oppressed breast of the young man; aslight flush tinted his cheeks, and, after several efforts, he openedhis eyes. Curumilla, after having washed the wounds with clean coldwater, applied a cataplasm to them of bruised oregano leaves.
"Loss of blood alone has made him faint," he said; "the wounds are wide,but not deep, and not at all dangerous."
"But what has been going on here?" Trangoil-Lanec asked.
"Hush!" said Curumilla, laying his hand upon his comrade's arm; "hespeaks."
Indeed, the young man's lips did move silently; but, at length, hepronounced with a great effort, and in a voice so low that the Indiansscarcely heard it--that single word which for him contained everything--
"Rosario!"
Then he sank back again.
"Ah!" cried Curumilla, as if a sudden light had broken upon him,"where is the young palefaced maiden?" and he sprang into the tent, "Iunderstand it all now!" he said, returning quickly to his friend.
The Indians lifted up the wounded man gently in their arms, and carriedhim into the tent, where they placed him in Rosario's empty hammock.Louis recovered his senses, but almost immediately was overcome bya profound drowsiness. After having made him as comfortable as theycould, the two Indians left the tent, and began, with the instinct oftheir race, to seek on the ground for indications they could ask of nowitness, but which would show them traces they could understand. Nowthat the murder and the abduction had taken place, it became necessaryto get upon the track of the ravishers, and endeavour, if possible, tosave the young girl. After minute researches, which did not last lessthan two hours, the Indians returned to the front of the tent; they satdown, face to face, and smoked for a few minutes in silence.
The peons and arrieros had returned from the ceremony, and expressedthe greatest terror on learning what had taken place during theirabsence. The poor people did not know what to do; they trembled whenthey reflected upon the responsibility which rested upon them, and uponthe terrible account Don Tadeo would require of them. After the twochiefs had smoked a few minutes, they extinguished their pipes, andTrangoil-Lanec began:
"My brother is a wise chief, let him say what he has seen."
"I will speak, since my brother desires it," Curumilla replied, bowinghis head; "the pale maiden with the blue eyes has been carried off byfive horsemen."
To this Trangoil-Lanec made a sign of assent.
"These five horsemen came from the other side of the river; theirfootmarks are strongly imprinted on the ground, which was wetted in theplaces where the horses trod with their dripping hoofs; four of thesehorsemen are Huiliches, the fifth is a paleface; when they reached theentrance of the camp, they stopped and consulted an instant, then fourof them dismounted; the trace of their footsteps is visible."
"Good!" said Trangoil-Lanec, "my brother has the eyes of a Quanaco;nothing escapes him."
"Of the four horsemen who dismounted, three are Indians, as is easilyperceived by the impression of their naked feet, the great toe of which,accustomed to the stirrup, is very wide apart from the other toes; butthe fourth is a Muruche, for the rowels of his spurs have left deepmarks all around. The three first have crept up to the tent, where DonLouis was talking with the young blue-eyed maiden, and, consequently,with his back towards those who came towards him; he was attackedunexpectedly, and fell without having time to defend himself: then thefourth horseman sprang forward like a puma, seized the maiden in hisarms, and after jumping a second time over the body of Don Louis, wentstraight to his horse, followed by the three Indians. But Don Louisgot up, first on his knees, and then on his feet; he fired his pistolsat the ravishers, and one of them fell mortally wounded. It was thepaleface, for a pool of blood marks the place of his fall, and, inhis agony, he pulled up the grass with his clenched hands; then hiscompanions dismounted again, took him up, and fled. Don Louis, afterdischarging his pistols, had a faintness come over him, and fell downagain: that is what I have learnt."
"Good!" Trangoil-Lanec replied, "my brother knows everything; aftertaking up the body of their comrade, the ravishers crossed the river,and went in the direction of the mountains. Now, what will my brotherdo?"
"Trangoil-Lanec is an experienced chief, he will wait for Don Valentine;Curumilla is younger, he will go upon the track of the ravishers."
"My brother has spoken well; he is wise and prudent; he will find them."
"Yes, Curumilla will find them," the chief replied, laconically.
After saying these words, he arose, saddled his horse, and left thecamp; Trangoil-Lanec soon lost sight of him. He then returned and tookhis place by the wounded man. The day passed away thus. The Spaniardshad all left the plain; the Indians, for the most part, had followedtheir example; there only remained a few tardy Araucanos; but these,also, were preparing to depart. Towards evening, Louis found himselfmuch better; he was able, in a few words, to relate to the Indian whathad passed; but he told him nothing new, he had divined it all.
"Oh!" said the young man, as he ended, "Rosario! poor Rosario is
lost!"
"My brother must not be depressed with grief," Trangoil-Lanec repliedsoftly; "Curumilla is upon the track of the ravishers; the young palemaiden will be saved!"
"Do you seriously tell me that, chief? Is Curumilla really in pursuitof them?" the young man asked, fixing his anxious eyes upon the Indian;"can I indeed hope that?"
"Trangoil-Lanec is an Ulmen," the Araucano replied proudly: "no lie hasever soiled his lips, his tongue is not forked; I repeat that Curumillais in pursuit of the ravishers. Let my brother hope; he will see againthe little bird which sings such sweet songs in his heart."
A sudden flush crossed the young man's face at these words; a sad smilecurled his pale lips; he gently pressed the hand of the chief, andclosing his eyes, he sank gently back in the hammock. All at once thefurious galloping of a horse was heard from without.
"Good!" Trangoil-Lanec murmured, looking at the wounded man, whoseregular breathing proclaimed that he was sleeping peacefully: "what willDon Valentine say to all this?"
And he strode out hastily to meet the Parisian, whose face was thepicture of anxiety.
"Chief!" he cried, in a tremulous voice, "can what the peons say betrue?"
"Yes!" the chief replied coolly.
The young man sank down, as if thunder-struck. The Indian seated himgently upon a bale, and placing himself beside him, pressed his hand,saying in a soothing tone:
"My brother has much courage."
"Alas!" the young man exclaimed, in an agonized voice, "Louis, my poorLouis, dead, assassinated! Oh!" he added, with a terrible gesture, "Iwill avenge him! I will solely live to accomplish that sacred duty!"
The chief looked at him for an instant attentively.
"What does my brother mean?" he asked; "his friend is not dead."
"Oh! why do you seek to deceive me, chief?"
"I speak the truth; Don Louis is not dead," the Ulmen replied, in suchan imposing voice that it carried conviction to the wounded heart of theyoung man.
"Oh!" he cried, impetuously, and springing up, "he lives!--is thatpossible?"
"He has received two wounds."
"Two wounds!"
"Yes, but my brother can be comforted, they are not dangerous; in aweek, at latest, they will be cured."
Valentine remained for an instant stupefied by this good news, after thecatastrophe which the peons and arrieros had announced to him.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, throwing himself into the arms of the chief, whomhe pressed with a kind of frenzy to his breast, "it is true, is itnot?--his life is not in danger?"
"No, no, my brother can reassure himself; loss of blood alone reducedhim to the state of torpor into which he fell. I will answer for hisrecovery."
"Thanks! thanks, chief! I can see him, may I not?"
"He is asleep."
"Oh! I will not wake him, be assured of that; I only wish to see him."
"See him, then," Trangoil-Lanec replied, smiling.
Valentine went in. He looked at his friend, peacefully sleeping; heleant softly over him, and impressing a kiss upon his brow, whispered--
"Sleep, dear brother, I will watch."
The lips of the wounded man moved; he murmured--
"Valentine, save her!"
The Parisian knitted his brow, and drew himself up again.
"Come here, chief," he said to Trangoil-Lanec, "and tell me the detailsof what has passed, that I may know how to avenge my brother, and saveher he loves."
The two men quitted the tent.
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