Where Duty Called; or, In Honor Bound

by George Waldo Browne

  CHAPTER III.

  THE YOUNG EXILE.

  The night proved clear and beautiful, a typical southern evening mostfitly closing a day that had been flawless. All the afternoon the skyand sea, so nearly of the same cerulean hue that where they met theymatched so perfectly as to seem a curtain of the same texture, hadappeared to vie with each other in their placidity, while now the starsoverhead were scarcely brighter than their reflections in the watersbelow. On the rim of the distant horizon shone with a soft luster theglorious radii of the gem of the Antipodes, the Southern Cross.

  Harrie was promptly on hand to keep his meeting with the strange youth,but no earlier than the other, who greeted him in his musical voice:

  "Senor is in good season. It is well, for our time cannot be long inwhich to talk. While we speak let us walk slowly back and forth, armin arm, so we shall not be overheard."

  He spoke in a low tone, a little above a whisper, while Harrie allowedhis arm to be drawn into the other's grasp, though he was very watchfulnot to be taken unawares in case of an attack on him.

  "In the first place," said the young Venezuelan, "I judge senor isanxious to know who it is who has placed himself in his way. Butbefore that I would speak of the ship which is at this moment bearingus whither we fain would not go."

  "What about the ship?" asked Harrie, as he hesitated. "What have youto say of that?"

  Lowering his voice so our hero could barely catch his words, he said:

  "It is a pirate ship, senor!"

  Harrie could not repress a low exclamation at this startlingannouncement, but he quickly recovered his presence of mind, saying, ashe recalled the wild deeds of Morgan and his freebooters, Conrad andhis Blue Water Rovers, who once boasted dominion over these seas:

  "How can that be?"

  "At least it is outlawed by the Venezuelan Government, and a big rewardoffered for its capture. It is a conscript working in the interest ofMatos, the outlaw."

  "Who are you who says this, and how come you by this information? Youappear to be one of the crew; why is this so?"

  "I could answer the last question by asking the same of senor. I amhere solely with the hope of getting back to my native land, and to theside of my dear mother. Perhaps you will understand my situationbetter when I tell you that I belong to a family that once ruledVenezuela. The two Guzman Blancos, the elder of whom was an American,were my ancestors. My name is Francisco de Caprian. My family ishated by Matos, while father, who is not living now, did something toincur the displeasure of Castro, so I am in ill-favor all around," headded, with a smile which disclosed two rows of very white teeth.

  "Notwithstanding this," he added, "I am anxious to get back to Caracas,to protect my dear mother in these perilous times, and, it may be,strike one blow more for my country. The De Caprians can trace theirancestry back to Juan Ampues, who founded the first Spanish settlementin Venezuela, and one of them was a captain under Bolivar. Whateverthey may say of my family, they have ever been true to their nativeland. The illustrious General Blanco did much for downtroddenVenezuela, if some complained of him. You cannot suit all, senor, atthe same time. Whither do you wish to go?"

  "To Caracas," replied Harrie.

  "I am glad to hear that, senor, for it will enable us to join fortunes.That is, if you do not hesitate to associate with me. I am frank tosay that I am likely to involve you in trouble; but, at the same time,judging you are strangers there, I may be able to help you. Then, too,I do not believe they will dare to molest you to any serious extent, solong as your country is not mixed up in this imbroglio. Yet a SouthAmerican aroused is like a wild bull, whose coming actions are not tobe gauged by his former behavior. I never have found an American whocould not take care of himself."

  "Thank you, Senor Francisco. I trust you have not found one who woulddesert a comrade in an hour of need."

  Quick and earnest came the reply, while the young Venezuelan graspedHarrie's hand.

  "Never, senor."

  "You shall find my friends and me faithful to our promises."

  "I was confident of that, or I should not have dared to address you.Believe me, the risk was greater than you may realize. Were myidentity to become known on this ship I have no doubt but I should behung at the yardarm, or shot down like a brute, within an hour."

  The youthful speaker showed great earnestness, and with what appearedto be genuine honesty and candor. At any rate, Harrie was fain tobelieve in his honor, and without further delay related enough of hisexperiences for the other to understand the situation of his friendsand himself.

  "I was very sure you were here involuntarily," said Francisco, when hehad finished. "It is likely we can be of service to each other. Fromwhat I have been able to pick up, we are to coast along the shore ofVenezuela, leaving here and there arms and ammunition for Matos and hisinsurgents. It is possible we shall stop at Maracaibo. In case we doso, that will be the place for us to leave the _Libertador_. If thereis a chance before, we shall be remiss as to our personal welfare if wedo not discover and improve it. The eyes of the watch are upon us," hesaid, in a lower tone, "and we had better separate. Keep your eyes andears open until we have opportunity to speak to each other again."

  Before Harrie could reply, the other had slipped away, and he was fainto return to his companions, whom he found anxiously awaiting him. Ina few words he apprized them of what had passed between him and theyoung Venezuelan outlaw, Francisco de Caprian.

  "His words only confirm what we had concluded, and for that I aminclined to believe the young man in part, at least. I was inVenezuela at the time of the downfall of that pompous patriot GuzmanBlanco, and I knew something of the De Caprians. Possibly it was thisfellow's father who was mixed up in the muddle, and who was killed,according to report, soon after I got away. Mind you, I say this, butit will be well for us if we are careful whom we trust. In Venezuelaevery man is a revolutionist, and where revolutions reign thesacredness of human faith is lost. As we seem to be in for our shareof lively times, it may be well for us to look at the situationintelligently."

  "I am surprised at the small amount I know of these South Americanrepublics," declared Harrie. "Though they are much nearer to us, Ireally know far less of them than I do of European nations of to-day,or the ancient empires that crumbled away long years ago."

  "It is usually so," replied Jack. "It is a trait of human nature to bereaching after the things beyond our reach, while we push right overthose near us. The history of South America is a most interesting one,but the most interesting chapter is close at hand, when out of thecrude material shall crystallize a government and a people that shallplace themselves among the powers of the world. I should not know asmuch as I do of Venezuela if it had not been for the two years I spentthere quite recently--years I am not likely to forget."

  "Ojeda, the Spanish adventurer who followed Columbus, named the countryVenezuela, which means "Little Venice," from the fact that he foundpeople living in houses built on piles, which suggested to him the'Queen of the Adriatic,'" said Ronie.

  "Very true," argued [Transcriber's note: agreed?} Jack. "These werenatives living about Lake Maracaibo, but the name was extended to coverthe whole country, though its original inhabitants did not, as a whole,live in dwellings on poles, and move about in canoes. This Alonso deOjeda carried back to his patrons much gold and many pearls that hestole from the simple but honest natives."

  "If I am not mistaken, Vespucci, who had so much to do with naming thenew continent,[1] accompanied Ojeda's expedition," said Harrie.

  "Very true," replied Jack. "I am glad to think that he was more humanethan the majority of the early discoverers, who treated the natives socruelly. The Indians of this country were not only rapidly despoiledof their gold and pearls, but they were themselves inhumanly butcheredor seized and sold into captivity. The result was they soon becamebitter enemies to the newcomers, who thus found colonization andcivilization not only difficult but dangerous. Among those o
f a kinderheart who came here was Juan Ampues, whom your young friend, Harrie,claims was an ancestor of his. Ampues succeeded, through his kindness,in winning over the natives to his side, and he was thus enabled tofound the first settlement in Venezuela. This was in 1527, and thetown whose foundations he laid still exists under the name he gave it,Santa Ana de Coro. But for the most part the Spaniards treated theIndians in a brutal manner, and in the end the unfortunate race waslooted and slain."

  "But I have read that the people of Venezuela fell into worse handswhen the country was leased for a while to the Germans," said Ronie.

  "Right!" declared Jack, earnestly. "You are evidently well posted onhistory. Germany's hold was broken in 1546, but it took two hundredyears to conquer and settle Venezuela, while all the slaughter of humanlives and vast outlay of wealth proved in the end a poor investment forold Spain. One by one her American dependencies have slipped away fromher control, and Venezuela has the honor of being the first to gain herfreedom from Old World tyranny.

  "The first effort to break the chains was made in 1797. This wasunsuccessful, and another attempt was made in 1806, this time byGeneral Francisco Miranda, who invaded Venezuela with an expeditionorganized in the United States, This revolution was successful only sofar as it served to awaken the people to the possibility that laybefore them. The prime opportunity came when Napoleon dethronedFerdinand of Spain, and the inhabitants of this dependency declaredthat they would not submit to this Napoleonic usurpation. Though thismovement was made under a claim of allegiance to the deposed king ofSpain, he was incapable of seeing that it was for his interest to standby them, so he renounced their declaration. The result was anotherdeclaration made on July 5, 1811, a declaration of independence and aconstitution in some respects like ours."

  "It seems a bit strange that they should have an independence day thatcomes so close to ours," said Harrie.

  "Yes; and it is quite as singular that the first blow for liberty wasstruck by their ancestors on the same day in April that our forefathersfired their opening guns upon the British at Concord and Lexington,"replied Jack.

  "What means that confusion and those loud voices upon the deck?" askedRonie, as they were arrested in the midst of their conversation by thesounds of a great commotion having suddenly begun over their heads.

  "There is something new afoot!" declared Jack. "It sounds as if therewas going to be a fight. Follow me, and we will find out what itmeans."