CHAPTER XVII.
A CUNNING RUSE.
"Speaking about joining our forces," said Colonel Marchand, "under thecircumstances it will be impossible for me to fulfill my promise to youwhen I wrote. Neither would it be practicable to carry out plans madeunder different conditions. Join our army for a while; it will prove alively vacation for you, and just as soon as this little cloud blowsover we will start. We will have the government behind us, too. It isa great undertaking in more senses than one. I expect to becomeregularly attached to Castro's army within a short time. In fact, I amaway now only temporarily. What do you say to becoming comrades underCastro?"
"I should want to consult Harrie before I decided," replied Ronie.
"So you shall. Now that is settled, let us talk of other matters. Itis perfectly natural, however, that you should cast your fortunes withours for a short time. Venezuela does not forget that it was due toMiranda's experience gained in fighting for the independence of theGreat Republic that he learned something of what might come to hisnative land, and that it was the friendship of Lafayette, Hamilton andFox which encouraged him to push forward. When the revolution openedin 1810, the United States furnished Venezuela with her munitions ofwar. Two years later, when the earthquake destroyed twenty thousand ofour people, she sent supplies with a liberal hand to us. In thiscrisis, which I believe is to be the most important affair in herhistory, we stand in need of Northern friendship. Europe is againstus, and in the jealousy of the powers there would gladly hail anypretext upon which she could seize us."
"The Monroe Doctrine must be a great safeguard to you."
"If it hadn't been for that these little South American republics wouldhave been swallowed by European powers long before this."
"While the swallowing would have caused some bloody wars."
"Very true, but we are used to that. There has not been a time withinmy remembrance when there has not been a war of some form in process.Speaking of the European nations swallowing us, you may forget that weare three times as large as France or Germany, and five times as largeas Italy. We are larger than any European country outside of Russia.Something of its natural features may be understood from the fact thatit holds within its domain some beautiful bodies of inland water, thelargest of which, Lake Maracaibo, is somewhat larger than Lake Ontario.Within the republic are over a thousand rivers, the largest of which isthe Orinoco, next in size to the Amazon of the rivers of South America.
"In regard to its physical features, the country may be divided intothree great zones, increasing in size according to the following order:First, the zone of agriculture; second, the zone of grazing land; last,the larger in area than both of the others, the zone of the forests.There are two seasons, the wet and the dry, called winter and summer.
"Venezuela is thinly populated, having about two and one-half millionsof inhabitants. They still preserve the type of the Spanish race,which afforded them origin, though they have become largely acosmopolitan race, due to the mixture with the natives. These haveretained to a wonderful extent their primitive beauty, so the men aremanly and symmetrical, the women graceful and beautiful."
"How is it about the wild horses our geographies describe as stillroaming with flowing manes and foaming nostrils and llanoes andpampas?" asked Ronie.
"They disappeared before the buffalo vanished from your Western plains.I would say also of the people, instead of the wild beauties your bookstell you are yet living in almost primitive simplicity, you will find,when you get to the capital, women and maidens looking quite asanxiously for the fashion sheet from Paris as her sisters in New York.We are apt to think the only civilization is that around us. How welldo I remember that my first impressions were that the little spaceabout me in which I was reared comprised the world. Gradually myvision extended, and my knowledge expanded, until I find it is a bigold world, and that it holds many people."
Colonel Marchand's kindly words, and his willingness to inform hisfriends, put our couple very much at their ease. Ronie improved thefirst opportunity to speak of that matter which was frequentlyuppermost in his mind, the finding of his mother's photograph undersuch peculiar circumstances. He was unable to offer any solution ofthe mystery, while he showed a deep concern.
"I cannot think your mother would come to this country, even with thehope of meeting you, without first sending me word of her intentions.Of course, I should have tried and met her at La Guayra."
"You have not heard from her?"
"Not a word, though I did expect to get a letter in regard to yourcoming. I feel very sure the photograph must have been brought fromNew York by some disinterested party, who came into possession of it byaccident. I cannot imagine anything else, though this is rather hardto believe."
Realizing that Colonel Marchand had affairs that needed his attention,Ronie and Jack asked if they might look about the town, and the simplerequest being granted, they passed the next few hours in exploring theplace, though finding little to interest them. The regular inhabitantshad nearly all fled, and those who had remained appeared ill at easeunder the existing conditions, as they might have been expected to be.
"I tell you what it is, Jack," said Ronie, "it looks to me as if theserevolutions are sapping the very life out of the country."
"Ay, lad; and now it looks as if you and I were to become actors in oneof them. I wonder what is going on yonder."
These words were spoken by Jack as their attention was caught by thesight of a group of people gathered near the building where they hadbeen lodged. As they advanced with quickening steps, it became evidentthat a fight or street brawl was in process. Around this a couple ofdozen or more civilians had clustered, and by the way they encircledthe combatants it looked as if they were trying to shield them from thegaze of the soldiers, should any of these happen to come that way. Fora wonder not one of these was in sight at that moment, though thesteady tread of the sentry within the building could be heard as hepaced back and forth with measured step.
"Better give them a wide berth," declared Jack. "It never does any onegood to get mixed up in one of these senseless encounters. Why, if youshould go to the assistance of one of them, thinking he was beingabused, the chances are more than even he would join with the other inabusing you. By the horn of rock--Gibraltar, if you please! this doesnot seem to be a fight by common brawlers, for their _mantas_ show theybelong to the better class of civilians."
The garment which had attracted the attention of Jack was the _manta_or _poncho_ made of white linen, which has the quality of repelling theheat of the sun on a warm day. These garments are worn almostcontinually by certain classes, among them the vaqueros, or riders ofthe pampas. That of the latter consists of two blankets sewedtogether, one of a dark blue color and the other of a bright red.These hues are universally selected for a purpose, as they receivelight and heat differently, and are used so as to afford the bestresults. Thus in dark and cloudy days the dark side of the blanket isturned outward; on other days this is reversed. The double blanketthus formed is quite two yards square, with a hole in the center toadmit the head of the owner. Its purpose is two-fold, to protect therider from the heavy dews and showers of the tropics, and to spreadunder him at night when there is no place to sling up his hammock. Butthe effect of this linen _manta_ worn by these street fighters was evenbetter than that of the woolen _cobija_ of the vaqueros. These_mantas_ worn by this twain were fancifully embroidered, and showedthat they were expensive garments. At a distance they would present astriking, picturesque appearance.
Our heroes found it difficult to get near enough to obtain a view ofthe stirring scene in the little opening made by the encirclingon-lookers, and, caring little for the affair, anyway, quietlyretreated. Then, the alarm having been spread, no doubt, the soldiersbegan to appear in sight, and a squad led by an orderly started in todisperse the crowd. But the spectators seemed too earnest to be easilydriven off, while the soldiers themselves quickly became so interestedin th
e contest that they tried little more than to get a good look atthe tableau.
"I never saw a Venezuelan yet who didn't relish a good fight," remarkedJack.
"But look there, Jack!" exclaimed Ronie. "What is going on that way?"
As Ronie pointed toward the rear of the building already mentioned,Jack saw half a dozen loungers hanging along in a manner suspiciouslylike a row of loafers, and not in knots, as men of this kind usuallycongregate.
"See! two of them are helping away a woman. Why, Jack! it is theprisoner, Senora de Caprian! She is trying to escape."
In a moment the whole situation was plain to them. The brawl and fightwas simply a ruse to catch the attention of the soldiers while thecaptive woman made her escape. So cleverly had it been carried out sofar, that it was likely to succeed beyond the most sanguine expectation.
Ronie glanced hurriedly around to see that the orderly and his men werein the thickest of the mob, oblivious of all except the hand-to-handtussle. Another minute and the captive would be beyond recapture,except, possibly, after a long chase. His first thought was that ofgladness for the unfortunate woman, then he remembered that there wasanother side to the question, and that it might be well to retain heras a prisoner of war. He decided quickly upon his course of action;whether it was right or wrong must be proven in the future.
Where Duty Called; or, In Honor Bound Page 20