CHAPTER XXXVIII.
SMOKE IN THE MOUNTAIN.
The three adventurers rapidly left Bloodson's camp, and proceeded in thedirection of the mountains, galloping silently side by side. They had aforeboding that the finale of this terrible drama was approaching, andinvoluntarily their thoughts were sad.
Man is so constituted that the feeling which has most power over him issadness; human organisation is formed for struggling, and joy is only ananomaly; built to resist the hardest trials, the strongest man isfrequently the one who yields most easily to great joy; hence, strangeto say nothing more resembles happiness than sorrow; the symptoms are socompletely the same, that a great joy annihilates the faculties almostas much as a great sorrow does.
At this moment, the three persons we are following were under the weightof an emotion such as we have described. At the instant when theyexpected the hopes they had so long entertained would be fulfilled, theyfelt an emotion which completely mastered them, and for which they couldnot account. They were about to play for a decisive stake. Ever sincethey had been contending with this rude adversary, they had ever foundhim standing in the track, returning them trick for trick, and althoughcruelly wounded, constantly retaining the victory. This time luck hadturned; Heaven itself seemed to have interposed to make justice triumph,and the bandit, driven to his last entrenchments, was expecting them tobe forced at any moment.
Still they did not conceal from themselves the difficulties of thisfinal struggle, in which the squatter would escape the fate reserved himby death, unless they managed to deceive him by trickery. In such astate of mind, we may easily suppose that they said nothing, and reachedthe foot of the mountain without exchanging a syllable. Here theystopped.
"Caballeros," the gambusino said, "before going further, we shall not dobadly, I fancy, by making some indispensable arrangements."
"What do you mean, my friend?" Don Pablo asked.
"We are going to enter regions," Andres replied, "where our horses willbecome more injurious than useful; in the mountains a footman passesanywhere, a horseman nowhere."
"That is true; let us leave our horses here, then; the noble brutes willnot stray beyond the spot where they can find provender. When we requirethem; we shall be sure to find them again, with a little search."
"Is that the senorita's opinion also?" the gambusino asked respectfully.
"Quite," she answered.
"Then let us dismount, remove saddle and bridle, and leave them to theirinstinct."
They removed everything that could trouble the horses, and then drovethem away. The intelligent animals, accustomed to this, only went a fewyards, and began quietly nibbling the thick prairie grass.
"That is all right," the gambusino said; "now let us think ofourselves."
"But the harness," White Gazelle remarked; "the moment will come when weshall be glad to have it ready to hand."
"Perfectly true," said Andres; "so we will put it in a safe place; forinstance, this hollow tree will form a famous storeroom."
"Caramba! that is an original idea," Don Pablo said, "and deserves beingfollowed."
The three saddles were placed in the tree, and so covered with deadleaves, that it would be impossible to suspect their presence.
"Now," said White Gazelle, "let us look after a place to bivouac: thenights are cold at this season, especially in the mountains; day israpidly departing, and we shall soon be in darkness."
Our three scouts had left the camp at a rather late hour: hence, whilethey were unsaddling their horses, and hiding the harness, the sun hadgradually sunk down beneath the horizon: the short period of twilighthad begun, during which day finishes, and night begins, in whichdarkness and light, struggling desperately together, spread over thelandscape a mixed haze, through which objects are regarded as through aprism.
They must profit by this moment to look about them, so that they mightrun no risk of losing themselves so soon as darkness had gained thevictory. They did so, therefore: after carefully noting the position ofthe different peaks, they boldly set out. They walked for nearly an hourup an ascent constantly becoming steeper, and then reached a species ofnarrow platform, where they halted for a moment; in the first place totake breath, and then to consult about their further operations.
"Suppose we sleep here?" White Gazelle said. "The perpendicular rockbehind us offers a famous shelter, from the wind, and, wrapped up in ourzarapes and buffalo robes, I feel convinced we should be quitecomfortable."
"Patience, Nina," the gambusino said, sententiously, "we must not talkabout sleeping at present."
"Why not?" she said, sharply; "for my part, I may tell you I can sleepfamously here."
"Possibly so, Nina," Andres continued; "but we have something else to doat present."
"What then?"
"Look about us."
"Why, you must be mad, my friend. It is as black as in an oven. Thedemon himself, though so used to darkness, would tread on his tail."
"That is the very reason; let us take advantage of the moon not havingyet risen, to explore the neighbourhood."
"I do not understand you."
"See how transparent the atmosphere is; the vacillating and dubiouslight of the stars is sufficient to let objects be distinguished at anenormous distance. If the men we are pursuing, eat, which is probable,this is just the hour they would select to cook their food."
"Well?" Don Pablo asked, curiously.
"Follow my argument closely; Red Cedar can only expect enemies from theside of the plain."
"That is true."
"Hence his precautions are taken on that side, and not here; he does notsuspect us so near him, and, persuaded that no one is spying him, hewill let the smoke of his fire rise peacefully to the sky in the shadeof night, convinced that nobody will perceive it, which would beperfectly true, if, unfortunately for him, we were not here. Such is thereason why I urged you to enter the mountains, in spite of the advancedhour."
White Gazelle and Don Pablo were struck by the correctness of thisreasoning. They began, in consequence, to form a better opinion of theirguide, and tacitly recognise in him that superiority which a man who isthoroughly acquainted with a thing, always acquires at a given moment.
"Do as you think proper," Don Pablo said to him.
"We are quite of your opinion," the girl added.
The gambusino displayed no pride or fatuity at this acknowledgement ofthe justice of his argument; he contented himself with recommending hiscompanions not to leave the spot where they were till his return, andthen went off.
When he was alone, instead of walking as he had hitherto done, thegambusino lay down and began crawling slowly along the rocks, stoppingevery now and then to raise his head, look around him and listen to thethousand sounds of the desert. At the expiration of about two hours hereturned.
"Well?" Don Pablo asked him.
"Come!" the gambusino laconically answered.
They followed, and he led them by a most abrupt path, where they wereforced to crawl on their hands and knees, to escape falling over theprecipices. After a lengthened ascent, made with extraordinarydifficulty, the gambusino stood up, making his companions a sign tofollow his example. They did not let the invitation be repeated, forthey were completely worn out.
They found themselves on a platform like the one they had previouslyleft; this platform, like the other, was commanded by an immense rock,but this rock had an enormous orifice like the entrance of an oven, and,strange enough, at the end of this orifice glittered a light about thesize of a star.
"Look!" said the gambusino.
"Oh, oh! What is that?" Don Pablo asked in surprise.
"Can we have found what we are looking for?" White Gazelle exclaimed, asshe clasped her hands.
"Silence," Andres Garote whispered, as he placed his hand on her mouth;"we are at the entrance of a cavern, and these subterraneous passagesare excellent sound conductors; Red Cedar has a fine ear, and though heis so far from you at this moment, you must fear
his overhearing you."
They gazed for a long time at this flickering light; at times a shadowpassed before this star, and its brilliancy was eclipsed for someminutes. The gambusino, when he judged that their curiosity wassatisfied, touched them on the arm, and led them gently away.
"Come," he said to them.
They began ascending again. At the end of about half an hour he madethem stop a second time, and stretched out his arm. "Look attentively,"he said to them.
"Oh," Don Pablo said, at the end of a minute, "smoke."
In fact a slight jet of white smoke seemed to issue from the ground, androse in a thin and transparent spiral to the sky.
"There is no smoke without fire," the gambusino said, with a grin; "Ishowed you the fire first, now there is the smoke. Are you convinced?Have we found the tiger's lair?"
"Yes," they said together.
"That is better than sleeping, eh?" he went on, with a slightlytriumphant accent.
"What are we to do now?" White Gazelle quickly interrupted him.
"Oh, good gracious! A very simple thing," Andres replied; "one of youtwo will immediately return to the camp to announce our discovery, andthe master will act as he thinks proper."
"Good!" said the girl; "I will go."
"And you?" the gambusino asked Don Pablo.
"I stay here."
Garote made no objection, and White Gazelle darted down the mountainside with feverish ardour. The gambusino laid his buffalo robe carefullyon the ground, wrapped himself in his zarape, and lay down.
"What are you about?" Don Pablo asked him.
"You see," he replied, "I am preparing to sleep; we have nothing more todo at present, and must wait till tomorrow to act; I advise you tofollow my example."
"That is true," the young man said; "you are right."
And, rolling himself in his zarape, he threw himself on the ground. Anhour passed away thus, and the two men slept, or pretended to sleep.
Then Don Pablo rose softly on his elbow, and bent over Andres Garote,whom he attentively observed; he was sleeping the calmest possiblesleep. The young man, reassured by this, rose, examined his weapons, andafter giving the sleeper a last glance, descended the mountain.
The moon had risen and cast a light over the landscape scarce sufficientfor him to proceed without fear of falling over a precipice. The youngman, on reaching the lower platform, on to which the entrance of thecavern opened, stopped for a moment, muttered a fervent prayer, as heraised his eyes to the star-studded sky, and after once more examininghis weapons to feel sure they were in good condition, he crossed himselfand boldly entered the cavern.
Of a truth, he must have been gifted with ample stock of courage thus tobrave a danger which was the more terrible, because it was unknown. Withhis eye fixed on the fire, which served as his polar star, Don Pabloadvanced cautiously with outstretched arms, stopping at intervals toaccount for the nameless noises which constantly growl in caverns, andready to defend himself against the invisible foes he suspected in theshadow.
He went on thus for a long time, the fire not appearing to grow larger,when the granite on which he rested his left hand to guide himselfsuddenly left off, and at the end of a narrow passage, dimly lighted byan expiring torch of candlewood, he perceived Ellen kneeling on the bareground, and praying fervently.
The young man stopped, struck with admiration at this unexpected sight.The maiden, with her hair untied and floating in long tresses on hershoulders, with pallid face bathed in tears, seemed to be suffering thegreatest sorrow. Sobs and heavy sighs were escaping from her burdenedbosom.
Don Pablo could not resist the emotion that seized upon him. At thiscrushing sight, forgetting all prudence, he rushed toward the maidenwith open arms, exclaiming, with an accent of supreme love: "Ellen,Ellen, what is the matter?"
At this voice, which smote her ear so unexpectedly, the girl rose, andsaid, with gestures of great majesty:
"Fly, unhappy man, fly, or you are lost!"
"Ellen," he repeated, as he fell on his knees, and clasped his hands inentreaty, "for mercy's sake hear me!"
"What do you want here?" she continued.
"I have come to save you, or perish in the attempt."
"Save me," she cried, sadly; "no, Don Pablo, my destiny is fixedforever. Leave me--fly--I implore you."
"No. I tell you a terrible danger impends over your father. He ishopelessly lost. Come, fly; there is yet time. Oh, Ellen, I implore you,in the name of our love--so chaste and pure, follow me!"
The maiden shook her head with a movement that set her long, fairtresses waving.
"I am condemned, I tell you, Don Pablo; remaining longer here will beyour destruction. You say you love me--well, in the name of your love,or, if you insist, of mine, I implore you to leave me, to shun meforever. Oh, believe me, Don Pablo, my touch brings death. I am anaccursed creature."
The young man folded his arms on his chest, and raised his head proudly.
"No," he said resolutely, "I will not go, I do not wish for the devotionto be yours solely. What do I care for life if I may never see youagain? Ellen, we will die together."
"Oh, Heavens, how he loves me!" she exclaimed, in despair. "Oh, Lord!Lord! Have I suffered enough? Is the measure now full? Oh, Lord! Give methe strength to accomplish my sacrifice to the end. Listen, Don Pablo,"she said to him, as she caught hold of his arm fiercely, "my father isan outlaw, the whole world rejects him; he has only one joy, onehappiness in his immense suffering--his daughter. I cannot, I will notabandon him. Whatever love I may feel for you in my heart, Don Pablo, Iwill never leave my father. No, all is said between us, my love;remaining here longer would be uselessly braving a terrible andinevitable danger. Go, Don Pablo, go--it must be so."
"Remember," the young man said with a groan, "remember, Ellen, that thisinterview will be the last."
"I know it."
"You still wish me to go?"
"I insist on it."
"Yes, but I do not wish it," a rough voice suddenly said.
They turned in terror, and perceived Red Cedar looking at them with agrin, as he leant on his rifle. Ellen gave her father such a flashingglance, that the old squatter involuntarily looked down withoutreplying. She turned to Don Pablo, and took his hand. "Come," she saidto him. She walked resolutely toward her father, who did not stir. "Makeway," she said boldly.
"No," the trapper answered.
"Pay attention to me, father," she continued; "I have sacrificed for youmy life, my happiness, all my hopes on this earth, but on one conditionthat his life shall be sacred. Let him go, then; I insist on it."
"No," he said again, "he must die."
Ellen burst into a wild laugh, whose shrill notes made the two menshudder. With a movement swift as thought, she tore a pistol from thesquatter's belt, cocked it, and put the muzzle to her forehead. "Makeway!" she repeated.
Red Cedar uttered a yell of terror. "Stop!" he shouted, as he rushedtoward her.
"For the last time, make way, or I kill myself!"
"Oh!" he said with an expression of rage impossible to endure, "Go,demon, but I shall find you again."
"Farewell, my beloved!" Ellen cried passionately; "farewell for the lasttime!"
"Ellen," the young man answered, "we shall meet again; I will save youin spite of yourself."
And rushing down the passage, he disappeared.
"And now, father," the maiden said, throwing the pistol far from her,when the sound of her lover's footsteps died away in the distance, "dowith me what you please."
"I pardon you, child," Red Cedar replied gnashing his teeth, "but I willkill him."
La loi de lynch. English Page 38