The Free Rangers: A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi

by Joseph A. Altsheler

  CHAPTER XV

  BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ

  It took only a few minutes to reach the banks of the stream, and they sawat once that an event was occurring. New Orleans could rejoice, if shechoose, in honor of an important arrival.

  A fleet of a dozen large boats swung from the middle of the stream andmade for the levee. In the boats were men in uniform.

  "I have an impression, though my impressions are often wrong and my memoryalways weak, that yonder cavalier who sits haughtily in the boat as if hewere sole proprietor of the Mississippi, is your good friend, DonFrancisco Alvarez," said Lieutenant Bernal in his mincing way.

  They had all recognized Alvarez, and they expected quick trouble. As itwas bound to come they had no objection to its coming at once. The boat ofAlvarez made the landing and as he sprang out he was followed by BraxtonWyatt, also in the uniform of a Spanish officer. The eyes of the Captaininstantly caught sight of "The Galleon," then of the five, and then ofLieutenant Diego Bernal standing near the Americans.

  "Men," he cried to some of his soldiers who had landed. "Seize this boatat once! It is my property, taken from me by these American thieves!"

  The soldiers moved to obey, but the little Catalan, Lieutenant DiegoBernal stepped forward. Never was he more mincing, and it is likely thathe never felt more satisfaction than he did now at the role that he wasabout to play.

  "Gently! Gently! my good captain," he said. "I am a port officer and boatscannot be seized at will in His Most Catholic Majesty's city of NewOrleans."

  His manner stung Alvarez, who replied hotly:

  "I repeat, it is my boat! It was stolen from me by these thieves fromKaintock!"

  "But that must be proved," and the lieutenant's voice was very soft andsilky. "The law is still administered in the City of New Orleans. And letme assure you, my good captain, that the matter of the boat is a trifle.What really concerns is your delay in coming to New Orleans with yourAmerican captives, whom you held at your place of Beaulieu. HisExcellency, the Governor General, Don Bernardo Galvez, is very much afraidthat you have involved Spain in serious difficulties with a friendlypeople."

  Alvarez looked fiercely at Bernal. How much did this man know? But thelittle lieutenant merely stroked his mustache, and his face wasexpressionless.

  "If explanations are due," said Alvarez, "I shall make them to DonBernardo."

  "Very good! very good!" murmured the lieutenant. "I am quite sure thatDon Bernardo will be greatly pleased."

  Alvarez turned angrily, gave some orders to his men, and then stalked awayfollowed by Wyatt and two others. The renegade had never spoken a word,but he and the five had exchanged some threatening glances.

  Alvarez and Bernal had spoken in Spanish, but Henry and the otherssurmised the import of their words. They knew, too, by the manner ofAlvarez that the little triumph had been with Bernal.

  "He wanted the boat, did he not?" said Henry.

  "Yes," replied the lieutenant, "but you can sleep in it to-night. I warnyou, however, to see Bernardo Galvez in the morning as soon as you can.After all, you are Americans and foreigners, while Alvarez is a Spaniardand one of us. You will have much to overcome."

  They perceived the truth of his suggestion and thanked him. He gave them afriendly good night and went away. The five went on board "The Galleon"and prepared for sleep, having dismissed their watchman with ample pay.

  As the boat was securely tied there was no need to keep a watch and allprepared for the night. But they did not go to sleep yet, although theydid not talk, every one being occupied with his own thoughts.

  Paul sat at the stern of the boat leaning against the side, and his eyeswere on New Orleans, where he saw the formless shapes of buildings andtwinkling lights here and there. The city, in a way, attracted him and,in another way, it repelled him. It interested him, but he had no desireto live there. It was a port, a gate, as it were, opening into the vastold world, to which belonged the centuries, and of which he had read andthought so much, but the single taste of it turned Paul's heart with astronger affection than ever toward the New World to which he belonged.The great forests of the north seemed clean and fresh to him as they hadseemed to Jim. There, at least, a man could know who were his friends andwho were his enemies.

  He saw boats passing on the turbid, brown current of the Mississippi andhe heard snatches of strange, foreign songs. The night had fully come andheavy darkness hung over land and water, but New Orleans did not sleep.The smugglers, the adventurers, the former galley slaves, the riff-raff ofEurope, and the mixed bloods of the West Indies were abroad in pursuit ofeither business or pleasure, each equally favored by the dusk.

  Shif'less Sol and Long Jim were already asleep, but Paul was restless andslumber would not come. Henry, too, was wakeful, and Paul at lastsuggested that they walk in the city. Henry accepted, and with a word toTom Ross they sprang ashore.

  New Orleans was even more interesting to them by night than by day, as ithad now a peculiarly uncanny look added to its other qualities. The nightwas close, heavy, and warm, and the brown current of the river showed butdismally through it. Lights were still moving on the Mississippi, but theboats that bore them were invisible. From the side of the river pleasantodors came to their nostrils, the clean, sweet scents of vast, undefiledwoods and prairies, the flavor of a wind blowing over wild flowers, butfrom the side of the city the smells were as variegated and repellent asever.

  Nevertheless the two youths turned into the city, lit faintly by theflaring oil lanterns, and walked along through one street and anotherseeing what they could see. The night life was active and much of it wassodden. Oaths played a great part in the talk they heard and intoxicationwas a prevalent note. Sounds of strife, either without or within, arosenow and then, but Henry and Paul, wishing to keep clear of all trouble,never stayed to see the result. They more than suspected that knives shonetoo often in these orgies.

  They stopped a few moments by the old church in front of the Placed'Armes. The church was flanked on one side by a low brick building, verywhite with roof of red and yellow tiles, while to the left of the churchstood a villa-like house half hidden among the trees. They admired theeffect of the moonlight on the tiles, and then, passing through the woodenfence that enclosed it, they entered the deserted Place d'Armes.

  "I can breathe better here," said Henry. "I know that I shall never befond of towns."

  But the imaginative Paul shuddered.

  "Look," he said, "the gallows!"

  He pointed to the huge gallows that stood in the Place d'Armes, ready forfrequent use. The moonlight had now grown dim. In its wavering beams thegallows rose to immense proportions and seemed also to take on thesemblance of life. It reached out its long wooden arm as if to grasp Pauland with another shudder he turned his back to it.

  The two continued down one side of the Place d'Armes in the shade ofmagnolias and cypresses that drooped over the wooden fence. As they passedthey heard the sound of a shot.

  "Somebody in the city fighting with a rifle or pistol instead of a knife,"said Paul.

  But Henry stood motionless and silent for a moment or two. He haddistinctly felt the rush of air on his face as a bullet passed by. He wasseeking to see whence the shot had come and he thought he caught a glimpseof a figure among the cypresses.

  "No, Paul," he exclaimed, "that shot was aimed at me!"

  He sprang over the wooden fence and was followed by Paul. They searcheddiligently among the trees but found nothing. Then they looked at eachother, and each read the same opinion in the other's eyes.

  "It was either Braxton Wyatt or somebody else in the service of Alvarez,"said Henry.

  "Yes," said Paul, nodding assent, "and I think that 'The Galleon' is amuch safer place for us at night than the City of New Orleans."

  "That is true," said Henry, "and it is not worth while for us to make acomplaint about being shot at. We cannot prove anything, and New Orleansis too turbulent a place to pay attention to a stray rifle or pistol shotat night." />
  They were back at the boat in a few minutes. Shif'less Sol and Long Jimstill slept soundly, but Tom Ross was awake. They told him briefly whathad occurred, and Tom shook his head sagely.

  "Better stay on the boat ez long ez we kin keep it," he said. "Ez fur me,I'd rather be shot at by Injuns in the woods uv Kentucky than be hevin'white men drawin' beads on me here in a town. It looks more nateral. Uvcourse it wuz Braxton Wyatt or some other tool uv that wicked Spaniard,Alvarez."

  Early the next morning the five, after hiring the same watchman to careagain for their boat, went to the house of the Governor General, thelarge, low building at the corner of Toulouse Street and Rue de la Levee.Early as they were they were not the first to arrive.

  A tall man, neatly dressed in a fine brown suit with fine, snow-white,puffed linen, silver-buckled shoes, and hair, tied in a powdered queue,stood on the veranda. He had a frank, open face, and the rive knew at oncethat he was an American. Had not his appearance proclaimed hisnationality, his speech would have done it for him.

  "Good morning," he exclaimed, cheerily, "you are the gentlemen fromKentucky who arrived yesterday? Yes, you must be! All New Orleans hasheard of the feat of strength and dexterity, performed by one of you lastnight in Monsieur Gilibert's Inn of Henri Quatre! And he who did it couldbe none other than you, my friend!"

  He looked fixedly and admiringly at Henry, and the youth blushed under histan.

  "It was merely done to stop an annoyance," he said. "I did not mean tomake any display."

  The prepossessing stranger laughed.

  "Doubtless," he said, "but you have received a great advertisement,nevertheless. Some rumor concerning the cause of your visit has alsospread in New Orleans, and for this reason I am here to meet you at thedoor of the Governor General."

  The five looked at him inquiringly. He smiled, and they liked him betterthan ever.

  "I don't mean to make a mystery of anything," he said. "My name isPollock, Oliver Pollock."

  "Ah," exclaimed Paul, his face alight, "you are the head of the company ofPhiladelphia, New York and Boston merchants that is sending arms from NewOrleans up the Mississippi and Ohio to Pittsburg, where they are landedand taken across the country for the use of our hard-pressed brethren inthe east!"

  The shrewd merchant's eyes twinkled.

  "I see, my young friend," he said to Paul, "that you are alert, even ifyou have just come out of the wilderness. Yes, I am that man, and I amproud to be the head of such a company. I tell you, too, that you havecome at the right time. The English, as you know, are forbidden for thepresent to trade at New Orleans, while we are unrestricted. But Englandis powerful, far more powerful than Spain, and she is pushing hard forthe privilege. If she gets it we shall he hit in a vital spot. Moreover,an exceedingly strong faction here, one with great influence, is strivingcontinually to help England and to crush us."

  "Alvarez!" exclaimed Henry and Paul together.

  "Yes, Alvarez! We must not underrate his strength and cunning, but if heis engaged in plotting, in actual treason, or what is very near it, yourcoming may help us to prove it and thus strengthen the hand of BernardoGalvez, who is our friend."

  "There is no doubt of the fact!" said Henry earnestly. "He is planning tomake himself Governor General in place of Galvez!"

  "Ah, but to prove it! to prove it! You are strangers and foreigners, andAlvarez is before you here. No, don't blame yourselves, you could not helpit. But he is the commander of the Spanish forces in Northern Louisiana.He came, summoned urgently on the King's business, and he gained access toBernardo Galvez last night. Oh, he's a shrewd man, and a cunning one, andwe know not what plausible tale he may have poured out to the GovernorGeneral. But come, the sentinel here wishes to know our business and Ishall go in with you, if I may."

  "Of course," said Henry. "We thank you for your aid."

  They saw in a moment how valuable this help could be as Mr. Pollock spokerapidly in Spanish to one of the sentinels, who seemed impressed, and whoquickly disappeared within the house. They spent some anxious minutes inwaiting, but the sentinel returned in a few minutes with word that theywould be received.

  "That is good," said Mr. Pollock to the five. "It is well to strike beforethe blow of Alvarez sinks in too deeply."

  They entered an ante-chamber furnished with a splendor that theKentuckians had never seen before. There were pictures and the arms ofSpain upon the walls, and rich heavy rugs upon the floor. The sentinelsaid something in Spanish to Mr. Pollock and the merchant laughed.

  "He makes the polite request," said Mr. Pollock, "that you leave yourrifles here. Ah, you see that the fame of the Kentucky rifle has alreadyreached New Orleans. They will be perfectly safe, I assure you."

  The five leaned their rifles in a row against the wall, long,slender-barreled weapons, which were destined to make one day anunparalleled record before this very city of New Orleans.

  A wide door was thrown open and an attendant dressed in gorgeous Spanishlivery announced their names as they entered a large room furnished withas great a degree of state as could be reproduced at that time in NewOrleans. An armed soldier stood on either side of the door, and, at thefar end of the room, sitting in a great chair on a slightly raisedplatform, was a handsome, youngish man in the uniform of a Spanishcolonel. He had a strong, open countenance, and the five knew that it wasBernardo Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana. The favorableimpression of him that they had received from reports was confirmed by hisappearance.

  Bernardo Galvez rose with punctilious courtesy and saluted Oliver Pollock,who introduced in turn the five, to every one of whom the Governor Generalgave a bow and a friendly word. Like all others in New Orleans who hadseen them, he bestowed an admiring look upon their size, theirstraightness, and above all, the extraordinary air of independence andresolution that characterized every one of them, indicated, not by thewords they said or the things they did, but by an atmosphere they created,something that cannot be described. They had never been in such a roombefore, one containing so much of the splendor of old Europe, but theywere not awed in the least by it, and Bernardo Galvez knew it.

  Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant and patriot, man of affairs, and judgeof his kind, observed them closely and, observing, he felt a great thrillof satisfaction. The five, boys though two of them were, had felt the vastimportance of their mission and, now that they had come, he too, felt it.It was a most critical and delicate moment for the struggling youngnation. He knew much of Francisco Alvarez, and he surmised more.

  "I have heard of you," said the Governor General to the five, and histones became judicial and severe, as became the ruler of a million squaremiles of fertile territory belonging to His Most Catholic Majesty, theKing of Spain. "You are the subject of formal complaint made by thecaptain of our forces in the North, Don Francisco Alvarez."

  It was now Paul, the scholar, youth of imagination, and future statesman,who responded and it seemed fitting to all that he should do so.

  "Will Your Excellency state the complaint against us?" he asked in a graveand manly way.

  "I will leave it to Don Francisco to state it," replied Bernardo Galvez."I expected that you would be here this morning, so I have chosen toconfront you with him. Each side shall tell its story."

  This seemed fair, and the five, who had been waved to seats by a greatwindow with Mr. Pollock, made no protest. There they sat in silence for afew minutes, while the Governor General dictated to a secretary who sat ata little table by his side and who wrote with a goose-quill.

  The wide door was at length thrown open again, and the usher announced DonFrancisco and his aide, Senor Braxton Wyatt. The five were amazed andindignant at the assurance of the renegade, but they said nothing.

  Alvarez walked into the room, cool, dignified, and austere, but his mannerwas not calculated to ruffle his superior officer. It seemed rather toindicate a confidence that the Governor General would punish as wasfitting the impertinence of the intruders from Kaintock. He bestowed onlya singl
e glance upon them, as if his victory over such insignificantopponents were already assured. The blood slowly rose to the faces ofPaul and Henry, but they were about to witness an extraordinary exhibitionof Spanish pliancy and dexterity.

  Braxton Wyatt was as thoroughly the Spaniard as clothes could make him,which was not thorough at all, and he imitated his leader even to thesupercilious glance at the Kentuckians and the following look of assuredvictory. The five took no notice of him.

  Alvarez gave to the Governor General a military salute, which Galvezreturned in like fashion. Then the captain sat down in a chair near theGovernor General, and the latter said, maintaining his judicial tone:

  "Those against whom you made the complaint last night are here, DonFrancisco. Will you state again the charges? It is but fair that theyshould hear and make reply, if they can."

  He spoke in English that the five might understand, and Alvarez replied inthe same language.

  "Your Excellency," he said, and his tone seemed frank, open, andconvincing--the five were amazed that he could have such a truthful lookand manner of injured innocence--"you know that I have been a mostfaithful guardian of the interests of our master, the King. I have donelong and hard service in the far north, in a wilderness infested byhostile savages."

  "No one doubts your courage and endurance, Don Francisco," said BernardoGalvez.

  "My devotion to Spain is the great passion of my life," continued Alvarezin a gratified tone.

  "You know how jealously I have sought to guard against incursions fromKaintock. The settlements of the Americans there are but two or three yearold, yet these people press already upon the Mississippi and threaten HisMajesty's territory of Louisiana."

  "I think that we wander a little from the subject," said Galvez, "It wouldbe better to state the core of your complaint."

  Alvarez made a deprecating gesture.

  "I deemed the preamble necessary to a full understanding of what hasfollowed," he said. "When I tell of Kaintock I tell what these men are.Suffice it now to say that, of their own accord and by their own hands,they have made war upon Spain. They have stolen away a boat of mine,loaded with arms and stores, they have fired upon His Majesty's subjects,and one of them has slain a Natchez trailer, a faithful, valuable man inmy service."

  When Alvarez spoke of The Cat, he pointed at Shif'less Sol--he was actingon a hint of Wyatt's. The look of Alvarez followed the accusing finger,but the shiftless one rose undaunted.

  "That part of what he tells is true," said Shif'less Sol. "I slew thatInjun--an' a meaner face I never saw in fa'r fight. He slipped upon me inthe dark to murder me, an' thar wuzn't nothin' else left fur me to do."

  Freed of his speech and his wrath, the shiftless one sat down again.Alvarez and the renegade gave him looks of sneering incredulity, but thelook of Bernardo Galvez was one of interest and surprise.

  "What of the other charges?" he asked, turning to Paul, the spokesman.

  The gift of imagination often implies the orator's tongue and Paul had aninspired moment. He stood up, his cheeks flushing and his eyes alight, asthey always were when he was deeply moved.

  "It is true," he said, "that we took a boat belonging to Captain Alvarez,but it was because he forced us to do it. It is he who first made war uponKentucky, not we upon Spain. I went into his camp upon a peaceful mission.He seized and held me a prisoner. I was rescued by my comrades, althoughthey inflicted no harm upon any of the men of Captain Alvarez. He hassought in every way to destroy us, and because he was the beginner ofviolence and because he is planning a great treason and war upon Kentucky,we took his boat and have come to New Orleans for the sole purpose ofappearing before you."

  Alvarez burst into a sneering laugh and Braxton Wyatt, as a matter ofcourse, imitated him, but Bernardo Galvez asked in a grave tone:

  "What do you mean by a great treason? No, Don Francisco, wait! Let himspeak! It is their right."

  "I mean," said Paul boldly, "that he expects to become Governor General ofLouisiana in your place. It is not the policy of Spain to attack us. YetRed Eagle and Yellow Panther, the head chiefs of the powerful Shawnee andMiami nations were in his camp, and he has agreed to help them withSpanish soldiers and Spanish cannon in a raid upon Kentucky."

  "This is an extraordinary statement," said Bernardo Galvez. "Your proof?"

  "Yes, your proof!" sneered Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt sneered, too.

  "This man," said Paul, pointing to the renegade, "is from Kentucky. Wewere boys together but he deserted the white people, his own people, to gowith the red. He has continually urged the Indian attack upon us and hehas brought to Captain Alvarez complete maps of every settlement inKentucky, Wareville, Marlowe, Lexington, Harrodsburg, and all the others.Why is he here! Why has he come to New Orleans, if not to bind the redchiefs and Captain Alvarez together in such an enterprise?"

  Alvarez again burst into a laugh, ironical and taunting. Paul flusheddeeply.

  "I know," he exclaimed, "that we cannot bring you absolute proofs, but itis true, nevertheless. The Indian chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle,have his agreement made without any authority from you, and there are themaps."

  "A map does not necessarily mean war," said Alvarez, "even if they shouldexist, and they do not exist. I took these people, arms in hand, upon HisMajesty's soil, and it was my intention to bring them to New Orleans forexamination and punishment by you."

  "Doubtless it is so," said Bernardo Galvez, "but you were in no hurry toperform the mission. I was forced to send a message to you at Beaulieu tocome to New Orleans with your prisoners, but it seems they have escapedand come of their own accord."

  "And I may state, your Excellency," said Henry Ware rising, "that while mycomrade, Paul Cotter, was a prisoner at Beaulieu, he was forced into aring and a professional swordsman was set upon him. That, Captain Alvarezcannot deny. It was witnessed by too many people."

  Bernardo Galvez gave Alvarez a surprised and stern look. The captainwinced, but it was only for a moment.

  "Is this true, Don Francisco?" asked the Governor General gravely. "Didyou do this thing?"

  Alvarez made a gesture as if It were true, but yet a trifle.

  "I confess, Your Excellency," he said. "I had forgotten the circumstance,but, since I am reminded of it, I will not deny. The thing seems muchworse in the telling than it was in the happening. The young man had showngreat skill with the sword--he had disarmed me in a little encounter; Iadmit that, too--and we wished to test his agility and courage against amaster, who was instructed not to hurt him seriously under anycircumstances."

  He spoke rapidly and lightly, almost convincingly. But Henry Wareinterrupted.

  "His object," he said, "was to have Paul Cotter killed."

  Bernardo Galvez looked from one to the other and back again. It was theword of a stranger and a foreigner against that of a Spanish captain inhis service, a man of noble lineage, and with powerful friends at theCourt of Madrid. But the seeds of doubt had been sown nevertheless. Theyouth, Paul, and his comrade Henry, also, had spoken with singularearnestness. Moreover, Francisco Alvarez was an ambitious man, andBernardo Galvez also believed him to be unscrupulous. If he aimed at theplace of Governor General and the commitment of Spain to an alliance withEngland, it was a daring thing to do.

  Bernardo Galvez was sorely troubled and he looked from Alvarez to the fiveand then back again. Alvarez sat smiling. His look was that of one who wasright, who knew that he was right, and who knew that others knew it.Oliver Pollock sitting by the big window, close to the five, was alsowatching shrewdly in order that he might draw from all this coil somecapital for the patriot cause.

  "In any event," said Bernardo Galvez at last, speaking slowly, as if hecarefully considered each word, "you were wrong, Don Francisco, to exposethis youth to such an encounter. If, as you say, it was merely a littlesport, then the sport was ill-chosen and ill-timed. Whether that oranother was your purpose, it reflects upon your judgment and sense ofhumanity."

  He paused, and Alvarez flus
hed darkly, but he was still master of hissupple self.

  "Your words are none too severe, Your Excellency," he said. "I did indeeddo a foolish thing. It was a thoughtless impulse."

  "But," resumed Galvez, as if Alvarez had not spoken, "you are an officerhigh in the service of His Majesty, and these who accuse you are strangersbelonging to another race. They do not bring the proof of their charges,and the fact that they have violently seized and put to their own use theproperty of Spain cannot be denied, as the boat is now anchored at thelevee."

  Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt lifted their chins in triumph and thefive were downcast. But the face of Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchantand far-seeing judge of affairs and men, showed nothing.

  "Therefore," continued the Governor General, "the boat must be returned atonce to Don Francisco, and for the present those who seized it must be theprisoners of Spain."

  Paul was about to spring up in protest, but Henry's hand on his arm heldhim down. Oliver Pollock, too, gave him a warning glance. Yet thetriumphant looks of the Spanish captain and the renegade were hard tobear.

  "On the other hand," continued the Governor General, still weighing hiswords, "the actions of Don Francisco have not been beyond rebuke. He seemsto have regarded those from Kaintock as the prisoners of himself and notof Spain. He made no report of these matters to me, his superior officer,and he has lingered at his place of Beaulieu as if he were subject to noorders save those of his own will."

  Alvarez again flushed and raised his hand in protest, but Bernardo Galvezwent on, disregarding him:

  "Because these offenses give some color to the charges against him, it ismy order that he be relieved for the present of his command, and that hedo not depart, under any circumstance, from the City of New Orleans untilhe receive further instructions."

  Alvarez, sprang up in anger, but a commanding gesture from the GovernorGeneral waved him down in silence.

  "I do not wish to hear any protests, Don Francisco," he said, "but I dointend to look further into these matters."

  "If we have not won, neither has the Spaniard," whispered Henry in Paul'sear.

  Oliver Pollock glanced out of the big window and the turning of his headhid the twinkle in his eye. Yes, these were very delicate matters, and twogreat nations and another that hoped to be great, too, were involved, butone might make progress nevertheless.

  Bernardo Galvez spoke to his secretary, who left the room, but returned ina few minutes with no less a personage than Lieutenant Diego Bernal,mincing, scrupulously dressed, but very alert of eye.

  "You will take six soldiers," said the Governor General to him, "andescort these five to the fortress. Treat them well, but hold them untilfurther orders."

  Oliver Pollock gave a nod to Henry. It said plainly, "go without protest."Henry and his comrades rose and followed Lieutenant Bernal from theGovernor General's house. Thence they went to one of the forts in the wallthat surrounded the town.