Gustave Aimard
Stronghand: or, The Noble Revenge
The adventurer listened with the most earnest attention to the revelations the bailiff made with a certain degree of complacency. Kidd, who was accustomed to fish in troubled waters, had found an opportunity for a famous haul in these revelations. His plan was at once formed, and so soon as he came in sight of the pueblos his arrangements were made. It was late when the travellers reached the barriers of the Real de Minas; the sun had set long before, and the sentries, although they recognised the adventurer as one of their side, made some difficulty about letting him and his companions into the town. They were engaged for nearly an hour in parleying outside, and it was only by the express orders of the commandant that they obtained permission at last to enter the pueblo, which had been converted into a regular fortress.
Kidd, still continuing to act as guide to his comrades, led them straight to a mesón, where he left them at liberty to rest themselves, after warmly recommending them to the landlord. Then the bandit, after placing his horse in the corral, and carefully wrapping himself up in his zarapé, and pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes to escape recognition, glided through the darkness to the house of Don Marcos de Niza, which he entered. The captain, as we said, was accessible at all hours of the day or night, to any person who had news to communicate. At this moment he was in the same study where he had already held a conversation with Master Kidd. On noticing the adventurer, the captain raised his eyes, and without leaving his chair, he said – "Ah, is that you, Master Kidd? Your absence has been long; but for all that, you are welcome, if you bring good news."
The bandit gave a meaning smile.
"My news is excellent, captain," he said, laying a marked stress on the words, "especially for you."
"¡Cuerpo de Cristo! I hope so, for am I not commandant of the town?"
"Yes; but I am not going to talk with you about politics at present, Excellency."
"In that case, go to the deuce, scoundrel," the captain said, shrugging his shoulders angrily; "do you think I have nothing more important to do than listen to the rubbish you may please to invent and tire my ears with?"
"I invent nothing, Excellency. Fortune has this very day granted me the opportunity of catching a secret it is most important for you to know – that is all."
"Well, tell me what this mighty secret is."
"It relates to your private affairs, Excellency."
"My affairs!" the captain repeated, bursting into a laugh; "Hang it all! Have I any?"
"If the secret does not relate directly to you, it interests in a most eminent degree one of your nearest relatives?"
"Ah! who is he?"
"The Marquis de Moguer."
The captain became serious; he frowned with a menacing expression, which made Kidd tremble in spite of his well-bred effrontery.
"Speak, and be brief," he said to him.
"Nothing will suit me better."
The captain took several ounces from the table drawer, which he threw to the bandit, who caught them in their flight, and stowed them away with a grin of satisfaction in his huge pockets.
"You will not regret your money, Excellency," he said.
"I hope not; and now go on, scoundrel, as you are paid."
Kidd, without further pressing, related in its fullest details all that had occurred between himself and the bailiff on the road. The captain listened with the most earnest attention.
"Is that all?" he asked, when the other stopped.
"Yes, Excellency."
"Good; now be off. You will continue to watch this man, and report to me all he does."
And he dismissed him with a wave of the hand. The adventurer bowed, and went away. When alone, the captain reflected for a few minutes, and then wrote a letter, sealed it, and summoned his orderly, who at once made his appearance.
"Isidro," the captain said to him, "at all risks this letter must be in the hands of the Marquis de Moguer within six hours at the most. You understand me? – at all risks?"
"It shall be done, captain."
"Take this for yourself," – and he handed him some gold coins, – "and this pass, which will enable you to go in and out. You must be off at once."
Without replying, the soldier withdrew, after concealing the letter in the breast of his uniform.
"And now," the captain muttered to himself; "let them come on."
CHAPTER XXXIII
COMPLICATIONS
After leaving the captain's study, Kidd halted in the anteroom, not because he had any plan formed, but through that instinct which urges villains of his species not to leave a good place till compelled. He had heard the captain summon his asistente. The latter, after a few moments' absence, returned to the anteroom with a look of importance which at once caused the adventurer to reflect, and suggested to him the idea of knowing what the conversation was the soldier had held with his chief. Isidro, the captain's asistente, was an Opatas Indian, of tried bravery and fidelity. Unluckily, though he did his duty in the battlefield, his intellect was rather restricted, and, like all Indians, he had a propensity for strong liquors, which had several times brought him to great grief. Kidd was familiar with the soldier, and knew his weakness; hence his plan was formed in a moment.
"Since you remain here," he said to him, "I shall be off: when I came to speak to the captain, I left a nearly full bottle of mezcal at the tocanda of Master Cospeto, and on my word I feel inclined to go and finish it. I will not invite you to accompany me, for your duty keeps you here; otherwise you may be assured that I should be delighted to empty it with you."
"My duty does not keep me here," the Indian answered; "on the contrary, I have a long ride to make this very night."
"A long ride!" the adventurer exclaimed; "¡Caray! It is the same case with me, and as I know no better preservative against the night cold than mezcal, that is why I meant to empty the bottle before mounting. If your inclinations lie the same way, it is at your service."
We will allow that the asistente hesitated.
"Have you also a ride to take?" he asked.
"Yes, and I suspect that yours is as long as mine: well, I am going a long distance; what direction do you follow?"
"The captain sends me to Arispe," the bandit answered, boldly.
"Why, how singular that is! We shall follow the same road."
"That is indeed strange. Well, is it settled? – Will you drink the stirrup-cup with me?"
"Upon due reflection, I see no harm in it."
"Let us make haste, then," the brigand continued, for he feared lest the captain might catch him with his asistente; "we have no time to lose."
For reasons best known to himself, the adventurer left the Indian at the house door, bidding him bring his horse to Cospeto's rancho, where he would join him in a few minutes, and they would set out on their journey together. Kidd merely wanted to warn the mesonero, with whom he had lodged the bailiff, not to let him go away on any excuse – "Watch him closely, and at the slightest suspicious movement go and inform Captain Don Marcos Niza" – who, for reasons connected with the public safety, did not wish to let these strangers out of sight. The mesonero promised to carry out his instructions faithfully; and, re-assured on this point, the adventurer fetched his horse from the corral, and went to join the Opatas at Señor Cospeto's rancho, as had been agreed on. On reaching the inn by one street, to his great satisfaction he saw the orderly arriving by another, mounted, and ready to start. The two friends entered the rookery to which we have already conducted the reader.
The adventurer honourably kept his word: not only did he order a bottle of mezcal, but at the same time one of excellent Catalonian refino. The Indian's prudence was entirely routed by such generosity; the more so because he had no reason to distrust the bandit, with whom he had already made several excursions, and regarded him as an excellent comrade. Kidd, in order to avoid any doubts on the part of his comrade, was careful not to ask him any questions; he merely poured him out glass after glass, and when the bottles were empty, the Indian had drunk the greater part of their contents, as Kidd desired to retain his coolness. When they had finished, the bandit rose, paid the score, and called for another bottle of refino.
"This is for the road," he said.
"An excellent idea," remarked the asistente, whose eyes flashed like carbuncles, and who was beginning to have a very vague notion of the state of affairs. They left the rancho, and mounted their horses. Kidd was rather anxious as to how he should get out of the rancho, as he had no pass of any sort; for if it were difficult to get into the Real de Minas, it was quite as much to get out of it. Luckily, for the adventurer, Isidro's pass was in perfect order, and when he showed it at the gate, where he was perfectly well known to all the soldiers on duty, he said, pointing to Kidd, "This caballero goes with me." The soldiers, aware that Isidro was the confidential man of the captain, did not offer the slightest difficulty, but allowed them to pass, and wished them a lucky journey. When the adventurer found himself in the open country he drew a deep breath of relief, as he gave his too confiding comrade a sarcastic glance.
"Now," he said, "we must take the shortest road, in order to arrive sooner."
"What, are there two roads?" Isidro asked.
"There are ten," Kidd replied coolly; "but the shortest runs almost in a right line, and passes close to the Hacienda del Toro."
"Let us take that, then."
"Why that more than another?"
"Because I am going to the hacienda."
"Ah," the adventurer said, pleasantly, "let us take a drink, and start." Uncorking the bottle, he took a pull, and then handed it to his companion, who imitated him, with an evident expression of pleasure.
"You say, then," Kidd resumed, as he smacked his lips, "That you are going to the Hacienda del Toro?"
"Yes, I am."
"It is a good house, and most hospitable."
"Do you know it?"
"¡Caray! I should think so. The majordomo is my intimate friend. What happy days I have spent with that excellent Señor Paredes!"
"Since it is your road, why not call there with me as you are certain of a kind reception?"
"I do not say I will not; I suppose you are going to ask the Marquis for some men, as soldiers are scarce at the pueblo?"
"I do not think that is the case. Don Hernando has already authorized the captain to enlist his miners, and the peons left him he will need to defend the hacienda in the event of an attack."
"That is true; besides, it is no business of mine. Let every man have his own secrets."
"Oh, I do not think there is any great secret in the matter: the captain is a near relation of the Marquis; they often write to each other, and the letter I am ordered to deliver will only refer, I expect, to family matters and private interests."
"That is probable; the more so, because it is said that the Marquis's affairs are in a very bad state at present."
"So it is said; but I have heard that they are about to be settled."
"¡Caray! I wish it with all my heart, for it is a pity to see one of the oldest families of the province reduced. Suppose we drink the health of the Marquis?"
"With pleasure."
The bottle was hugged for the second time by the two companions. A man may be an Opatas Indian, that is to say, of herculean stature, with a breast arched like a tortoiseshell; but he cannot swallow with impunity such a prodigious quantity of alcohol as Isidro had absorbed without beginning to feel intoxicated. The asistente, strong though he was, tottered on his horse: his eyes began to close, and his tongue to grow thick. But, excited as he was by liquor, the more difficulty he experienced in speaking the more he wanted to do so. The adventurer eagerly followed the progress of his comrade's intoxication, while careful not to let him see that he was aware of his condition.
"Yes, yes," the Indian continued, "the affairs of the Marquis might easily be arranged sooner than is supposed, comrade."
"With his name it cannot be difficult for him to procure money."
"Nonsense! That is not the point, and I know what I know."
"Exactly, Señor Isidro; and as what you know may be a secret, I will not urge you to tell it me."
"Did I say that it was a secret?" the Indian objected.
"No, but I suppose so."
"You are wrong to suppose so; and, besides, you are my friend, are you not?"
"I believe so," the adventurer answered, modestly.
"Well, if you are my friend, I have nothing to conceal from you."
"That is true; still, if you consider it your duty to hold your tongue – "
"Hold my tongue! Why so? Have you any pretence to silence me?"
"I? Heaven forbid, and the proof is, here's your health."
The Indian began laughing.
"That is what is called an unanswerable argument," he said, as he placed the bottle to his lips and threw back his head, as if contemplating the stars.
He remained in this position till all the remaining liquor had passed down his throat.
"Ah!" he said, with an accent of regret, "It was good."
"What do you mean?" Kidd exclaimed, with pretended surprise; "Is there none left?"
"I do not think so," the Indian remarked, with a drunkard's gravity; "it is a pity that these bottles are so small."
And with that he threw it into the road.
"I agree with you that the rancheros are robbers."
"Yes," said the asistente, with a hiccough, "robbers; but soon – we shall drink as much as we like."
"Eh, eh, that will not be unpleasant; but where will it be?"
"Where? Why, at the Hacienda del Toro."
"Yes, they never refuse a draught of mezcal to an honest man in that house."
"Nonsense, a draught! You are jesting, comrade; whole bottles would be nearer the truth. Besides, do you fancy the Marquis will look into matters so closely at his daughter's marriage."
"What?"
"Where on earth do you come from, that you are ignorant of that? Nothing else is spoken of in the country."
"It is the first I have heard of it."
"Well, all the better; I will tell you. Doña Marianna, a pretty girl, caray, is going to marry a senator, no one less."
The adventurer suddenly pricked up his ears.
"A senator?" he repeated.
"This seems to surprise you. Why should not a pretty girl marry a senator? I consider you a curious comrade to doubt my word."
"I do not doubt it."
"Yes, you do; ugly brute that you are."
The intoxication of the Opatas was at its height. Excited even more by the horse's gallop and the adventurer's artfully managed contradiction, Isidro felt passion mount to his head. The intoxication of Indians is horrible: they become raving madmen; their heated brain gives birth to the strangest hallucinations, and under the influence of spirits they are capable of the greatest crimes. The bandit was aware of all these peculiarities, by which he hoped to profit; he had drawn from the Indian all that he wanted to learn from him; he had squeezed him like a lemon, and now only wanted to throw away the peel. We need hardly say that at this hour of the night the road the two travellers were following was completely deserted, and that Kidd did not fear any overlookers of what he intended doing. They were riding at this moment along the course of a small stream, a confluent of the Rio Bravo del Norte, whose wooded banks afforded sufficient concealment. The adventurer made his horse bound on one side, and drawing his machete, exclaimed —
"Brute yourself, you drunken Opatas!" At the same moment he dealt the poor follow such a sudden blow that he fell off his horse like a log. But he rose to his feet tottering, and though stunned by the attack, and seriously wounded, he drew his sabre, and rushed on the bandit with a yell of fury. But the latter was on his guard; he attentively watched his enemy's movements, and urged his horse forwards. The Indian, thrown down by the animal's chest, rolled on the ground where he lay without stirring. Was he dead? Kidd supposed so; but the bandit was a very prudent man, Indians are crafty, and this death might be a feint. Kidd therefore watched quietly a few paces from his victim, for he was in no hurry.
A quarter of an hour elapsed, and the Indian had not made a movement. Reassured by this complete immobility, the bandit resolved to dismount and go up to him. All at once the Opatas rose; with a tiger leap he bounded on the adventurer, twined his arms round him, and the two men rolled on the ground, uttering savage yells, and trying to take each other's life. It was a short but horrible struggle. The Opatas, in spite of his wounds, derived a factitious strength from the fury that animated him and the excitement produced by intoxication, which was heightened by his ardent desire to take revenge for the cowardly treachery of which he was the victim.
Unhappily, the efforts he was compelled to make opened his wounds, and his blood flowed in streams; and with his blood he felt his life departing. He made a supreme effort to strangle the miserable adventurer in his clenched fingers; but the latter, by a sudden and cleverly calculated movement, succeeded in liberating himself from the Indian's iron grasp. He rose quickly, and at the moment when the asistente recovered from his surprise, and prepared to renew the fight, Kidd; raised his machete, and cleft the poor fellow's head.
"Dog! Accursed dog!" he yelled.
The Indian remained on his feet for a moment, tottering from right to left; he took a step forward with outstretched arms, and then fell with his face to the ground and the death rattle in his throat. This time he was really dead.
"Well," Kidd muttered, as he thrust his machete several times into the ground, in order to remove the blood, "that was tough work; these demons of Indians must be killed twice to make sure they do not recover. What is to be done now?"
He reflected for a few moments; then walked up to the corpse, turned it over, and opened the breast of the uniform to obtain the letter. He had no difficulty in finding it; he placed it in his own pocket, and then stripped his victim, on the chance that he might want to use his uniform. But two things troubled him: the first was the soldier's horse; the second, his bag. The horse he made no attempt to seize; so soon as its master was wounded, the animal started off at a gallop into the wood; and as it would have been madness to try and find it on so dark a night, the adventurer did not attempt it. Still the flight of the horse alarmed him. Any person who found it would take it back to the pueblo, and then suspicions would be aroused which might soon be fixed on him, although he felt almost certain that the soldiers who saw him leave the town with the asistente had not recognized him; but his absence from the pueblo would appear suspicious to the captain, who was acute, and as he knew Kidd so well, would not hesitate to accuse him.
The affair was embarrassing; but luckily for him, the adventurer was a man of resources. Any other person would have fastened a stone to the body, and thrown it into the stream, but the bandit carefully avoided that. Such an expeditious method, while getting rid of the victim, would only have increased the suspicions; besides water is not a good keeper of secrets; one day or another the body would rise perhaps to the surface, and then the nature of the wounds would reveal the hand that dealt them. Kidd hit upon a more simple or sure plan, or at least he thought so. With horrible coolness he scalped the corpse, and threw the scalp into the stream, after rolling it round a large stone; this first profanation accomplished, he made a cross cut on the victim's chest, plucked out his heart, which he also threw into the river, and then plaiting together a few flexible lianas, he formed a cord, which he fastened to the feet of the corpse, and hung it from the main branch of a tree.
"There!" he said, with satisfaction, when the horrible task was completed, "That is all right, caray! I am ready to wager my share of paradise with the first comer that the cleverest people will be taken in. The Indians are in the field at this very moment, and hang me if everyone will not be convinced that this drunken scoundrel was scalped by the Apaches."
In fact, all the hideous mutilating which this villain has made his victim undergo is employed by the Indian bravos upon their enemies. Frightful though the deed was, Kidd consequently, in the impossibility he found of disposing of the body, had employed the best mode in which to divert suspicion.
Before leaving the scene of the murder, the bandit carefully washed the soldier's clothes, and removed any blood stains from his own; then, after assuring himself by a searching glance that there was nothing to denounce the crime of which he had been guilty, he whistled up his horse, and mounted, after carefully fastening the soldier's uniform behind him. He rolled a cigarette, lit it, and set out again, with the satisfaction of a man who had just succeeded in a most important affair, which had caused him great anxiety.
It was somewhat by chance that Kidd originally told the asistente that he was proceeding to Arispe; but the discovery of the letter, and the soldier's confidential remarks, had converted this chance into certainty. The bandit had discovered, amid all poor Isidro's drunken maundering, one leading idea, and scented a profitable stroke of business. He comprehended of what importance it would be to Don Rufino to be informed of all that was going on at the pueblo at the Hacienda del Toro, that he might be able to arrange his plans with certainty. Consequently, the adventurer resolved to ride at full speed to Arispe, determined to make the senator pay dearly for the news he brought, while making a mental reservation, with that adventurous logic he was so skilful in, to betray Don Rufino on the first opportunity, if his own interests demanded that painful sacrifice of him. All this being thoroughly settled in his mind, the bandit started at full speed in the direction of Arispe, which city he reached by sunrise.
