Up the Forked River: or, Adventures in South America

CHAPTER XV

Suddenly her plodding pony stood still, with a slight neigh and ears erect. They were at that moment winding around the face of a precipice, with the wall on the left rising to a height of a hundred feet or more, and sloping downward on the right into a gorge of Stygian blackness. The path was a yard or over in width, so there was plenty of foothold, and the halt could not be due to any lack of that nature.

The guide was motionless, a dozen paces in advance. Something seemed to have caught his notice and caused him to hesitate. Peering beyond his head in the vivid moonlight, Miss Starland discerned a crouching form, lithe and sinewy, and resembling a huge hound. It had been approaching from the opposite direction, when it was checked by sight of the man. A growl pierced the stillness, as it stood lashing its sides with its long tail. Then it began inching forward with intent to attack the obstacle in its path. The latter maintained his stationary pose, but at sight of the beast stealthily creeping upon him, he raised his gun to his shoulder, took a quick aim and fired.

The space was short and the shot sped true. Upon receiving the bullet, the beast emitted a rasping screech and leaped directly upward, as if impelled from a springboard, and falling on its side, rolled over the edge of the precipice, down which it sped, clawing, snarling and bringing the loose dirt streaming after it, until it vanished in the gloomy depths and all became as it was before.

The soldier coolly reloaded his gun, without stirring from his position, turned his head and said in a conversational tone: “Come on; all is well.” Then he resumed his walk, and the pony of Miss Starland, as if all had been clear to him from the first, plodded onward.

“Do you know what that animal was?” called the Señorita from the rear.

“How should I know anything about him?”

“It was a jaguar.”

“Said to be one of the most dangerous animals of your country.”

“I hope you have no fear of that particular one.”

“No, but there must be others.”

“They are not plentiful in these mountains; at any rate, the guide will take good care of you.”

A few minutes later, the procession began descending the trail, which broadened and was partly hidden by undergrowth and trees, that lined the sides and overshadowed the party at intervals. Several times Miss Starland had heard an odd chattering, which she could not identify, but which did not disturb the others. This showed that the soldiers understood and so long as that was the case, she need not be disturbed in mind.

In the lowest part of the valley-like depression, where she could catch only dim glimpses of her guide, she was dreadfully startled by an object alighting like a feather on her horse directly in front. It was so close that she instantly saw it was a monkey, which in pure mischief had dropped from one of the branches and perched itself on the shoulders of the pony. Looking round at her it chattered and seemed on the point of climbing upon her head when she struck it so sharp a cuff that it toppled over sideways from the horse upon the trail, down which it went clawing and chattering its anger; but, though, it dropped from sight, it must be believed it suffered no harm, because of its own nimbleness.

Her friend saw enough to understand what had taken place and called out:

“I hope you are not frightened, Warrenia; the little fellow meant no harm.”

“But I do not wish his company; you are welcome to it.”

“I care little either way, but they are revengeful, and when you cuff the next one’s ears, don’t do it too hard, or it may rouse the others to attack you; heigho! here’s another!” exclaimed the Señorita, as one of the agile creatures bounded from somewhere upon her horse and whisked out of sight again.

A soft murmur stole through the night, and gradually increased in depth of volume, until when the party rounded a bend in the trail, they came upon the cause. To the right and a hundred feet above them, a sheet of crystalline water poured over the edge of the rocks and tumbled into the valley below, whence it wound its course to the Rio Rubio, only a short distance away. The falls were twenty feet in width, with a descent perhaps twice as great, and in the moonlight they looked like a motionless sheen of silver, which might have been believed to be the case but for the churning of the snowy foam below. From this a fleecy mist was continually ascending, and a little way above, it displayed a faint rainbow, whose exquisitely delicate beauty caused an exclamation of delight from the visitor who saw the picture for the first time in her life.

But to the escort it was a familiar sight, and they gave it only a glance, as they trudged onward. They were unemotional automata, who knew nothing except to obey the orders of their terrible chief. He had commanded them to give safe conduct to the young women to the Castle, and that was their sole task. So far as the American was aware, not a word had been spoken by the man at the rear, and the guide opened his lips only when necessary.

Several times while pressing over the trail, they had caught sight of the stone structure, and noted the twinkling of the lights from the upper story. Making another turn, and climbing a slight ascent, they came to the small plateau on which it stood, only a few rods in advance.

Proof again appeared that this journey had been pre-arranged. Instead of two guards, some eight or ten men were patrolling and lounging on the outside of the grim building. One of these came forward and spoke for several minutes, in low tones, with the guide. A call was made to the man at the rear and he advanced and took part in the conversation.

The ponies halted of their own accord. While Miss Starland was waiting and wondering, her friend dropped lightly from the saddle and came to her side.

“Give me your hand, Warrenia; we are done riding for tonight.”

The next moment the two young women stood beside each other on the ground. Naturally the Señorita took charge of her guest and led the way through the broad opening to the lower part of the Castle, where a native woman was standing. Manuela recognized her as a servant of her uncle’s household, and addressed her by name. She replied that their apartment was ready and conducted the two into the lower division of the building, which was dimly lit up by a lamp fastened to a bracket in the wall. Still under the lead of Juanita, as she was called, the couple passed up the steps to the principal apartment, which they had inspected the day before.

“You will wish to be together,” said the servant with a broad smile, “and this is your home, so long as you honor the Castle with your company.”

“Yes, we shall stay together,” the Señorita hastened to say, slipping her arm under that of her friend, who pressed it affectionately. “You may leave us now, Juanita, and when we want you, we will call.”

The apartment was the one that had been provided with conveniences and appointments, such as two young ladies were likely to need, even to the little knick-knacks that are considered indispensable by them. A glance around the room, in the mellow light of the lamp on the mantel, showed nothing lacking.

“It seems to have been specially prepared for us,” said the Señorita.

“And that, my dear friend, is the one thing that troubles me; I do not understand it; do you?”

CHAPTER XVI

Señorita Estacardo drew her chair beside the snowy couch and faced her friend, who did the same regarding her. Reaching out her hand, she lovingly inclosed that of Miss Starland, just as she used to do in the dear old days at the Seminary. The American young woman leaned forward and kissed the dark cheek, and for a minute they sat without speaking. Then with the black eyes gazing into the blue ones, the owner of the former said in a voice, scarcely above a whisper:

“Warrenia, I do not understand it.”

“And, Manuela, I’m afraid I do.”

“Tell me, then.”

“Surely you have a suspicion. Why should we mince matters? He has forgotten his pledge to you and is more resolute than before.”

“I fear you are right. The thought has been growing upon me ever since we left the boat. Need I tell you that you are no more shocked and grieved than I?”

“No, nothing that mind can conceive will ever throw a shadow upon your loyalty and goodness. I have known you too long and too well for me to have room for such an injustice.”

The other’s answer to this was to throw her arms impulsively around the neck of her friend and to kiss her again and again, murmuring:

“Thank you and bless you! I can never be the angel that you are and I would gladly die for you.”

There were no tears in the eyes of either; they were too brave for that. It was the American who spoke when they became more composed:

“We are agreed upon the one thing, and, therefore, must be right. But you can aid me to clear up several points that trouble me. Why did General Yozarro put us ashore and send us here?”

“I suspect his reason for that. You know he has spoken of sending us to the Castle to spend a few days of the hot weather. He had the preparations made and this room fitted for us. We should have come here today, but for your change of mind. You demanded to go to Zalapata and he could not refuse. His plan that you should come to the Castle was not changed, but he had to seem to defer to your wishes. To have come directly here would have been a plain disregard of them, so he spent the day in planning this deception, and carried it out without the least difficulty.”

“Must he not have seen that when we went ashore and found the escort waiting with ponies, we should see that the whole thing was pre-arranged? In no other way could it have come about.”

“True, but when we understood it all it would be too late to do us any good.”

“What of his story that General Bambos had sent a boat up the river to attack Atlamalco?”

“It was pure invention.”

“We certainly have heard no sounds of a battle between the boats.”

“Because there has been none. He saw no more of a hostile fleet than did we, for none exists; he has gone back to Atlamalco.”

“I suppose he will be here tomorrow with some cunning falsehood to explain why the conflict did not take place. He will say he gave chase to the enemy, who fled without firing a shot, but how can I pretend to believe him?”

“There is no call for any such pretense. If he tries further deception, ask him to make clear how the two soldiers were waiting on shore with horses. If he makes a reasonable explanation of that, he has more ingenuity than I ever supposed.”

“We can have no trouble in convicting him, but, Manuela, my dread is that it will not help matters, but rather make them worse. I must confess that his conduct is beyond my comprehension.”

“It is not beyond mine.”

“What is your theory?”

“It is not a theory but a fact. My uncle is so hopelessly in love with you that his ordinary common sense has left him.”

“It may be as you say, but much remains that is unaccountable to me.”

“I see little that is not made clear by what I have said. You and I know that when a man becomes as blindly infatuated as he, his conduct violates reason and the simplest prudence and he does things that would be absurd in a child. Frightened by the prospect of losing you, he gave all his thoughts and energies to preventing it. This was the only method that suggested itself, and we cannot deny, my dear friend, that it has been quite successful up to this point.”

“But of what possible avail can it be to him? Idiot that he is, he must know that this situation can last but a short time. Jack will find it out within twenty-four hours, and General Yozarro must know what will happen then.”

“Dearest Warrenia, you do not see as much in this as I. What stronger proof can I give of my love to you than to say that we must separate and you must leave this part of the world with the least possible delay? Your own loveliness is your peril. It ought to be your greatest protection, but it is not. I would that your yacht was in the river this very hour and that we could make haste to it, for you are in greater danger than you suspect.”

CHAPTER XVII

The cheek of the American blanched, and she looked earnestly at her friend, as if she did not take in the full meaning of her words. She spoke in a whisper:

“Tell me what you mean.”

The other rose from her chair, walked across the room to the closed door, and turned the big key in the massive lock. Then she lifted the ponderous bar and dropped it into place.

“It may not be necessary,” she said, as she came back, sat down and took the hand which she had released; “for though some of the servants may be in the next room, or in the hall outside, none can hear what we say. It will do no harm, however, to be certain. If you could have your wish you would be in Zalapata tonight?”

“Most assuredly I should.”

“Because the Major is there, but if he chanced to be away, your situation would be no better than at Atlamalco.”

“I am certain it would be a thousand-fold better.”

“I am afraid, dear friend from the North, that I see some things clearer than you; General Bambos is just as much infatuated with your loveliness as General Yozarro.”

“But he has a wife and family!” was the horrified exclamation of Miss Starland.

“That makes not the slightest difference to him.”

An expression of unutterable scorn darkened the face of the American.

“Impossible as it seems, Manuela, I must believe you. How can you live here?” she asked with impulsive disgust; “you cannot trust any man in this country.”

“Ah, my dear Warrenia, they are not all alike; I certainly know one who is different from the two we have been talking about.”

And the dark countenance became delightfully darker, and was aglow with the radiance of perfect love and trust.

“I am glad to assure you I believe every word you say; I forgot Captain Ramon Ortega, the brave officer and faultless gentleman, whose greatest good fortune is to come when he wins you.”

“And his good fortune will be no greater than mine; but, Warrenia, to leave the most winsome of subjects for the most hateful, you will be safer at Zalapata with Major Jack, but neither of you will be secure until you are on the yacht and beyond reach of General Bambos, as well as of General Yozarro. I could almost advise you to wait here, and yet something whispers it will not do.”

“But how am I to leave? It will not do to attempt the journey alone to Zalapata, and what way is there of sending word thither?”

“Why shall we not have our ponies brought up and ride direct to the capital? They are here already, with proper saddles. We can start tomorrow after breaking fast, and we should reach the capital by nightfall.”

“Do you know the route?”

“As well as the walks around the old Seminary, where we spent the happiest days of our lives; I have gone over it many times in my girlhood and have done so since coming home.”

“Neither of us carries any firearms and we must face danger.”

“I was never in any danger, though I suppose there must be more or less of it. I shouldn’t like to meet a jaguar, tiger cat or zaratu, but we might do so without any harm coming to us.”

“What of the serpents?”

“The big ones are near the streams and in the marshy country; we have a few coral snakes with their black heads and ringed bodies, but we are as safe from them without as with firearms. This part of the world is not so much infested as others. If I have no hesitation in making the venture should you feel any?”

“I do not; shall we take an escort?”

“It would seem we ought to do so, but I believe it best to have none.”

“For what reason?”

“They would be soldiers of General Yozarro.”

The significance of these words was not lost upon the other, who hastened to say:

“Let us go alone.”

They sat communing until the night was far advanced. Their plans for the morrow may be summarized in what has been stated. Both believed that no special risk would be run in venturing upon a journey of something more than twenty miles by daylight, without firearms or escort. As a rule, strangers had little to fear in passing through any section of either republic, and there were several native huts along the trail, where the Señorita had obtained refreshment and secured lodging on some of the journeys that were begun too late in the day to be completed before nightfall. Although she was always in the company of others, it was not on account of any misgiving or fear on her part.

Very rarely or never was a wheeled vehicle seen either in Zalapata or Atlamalco, and the connecting roads were naturally no more than simple trails; but all of these were so clearly marked that there was no cause for even a stranger losing his way. While the bifurcation of the river made the water communication between the republics more convenient, many preferred the overland journey. The ride through the craggy mountains, whose width may be roughly given as less than half a dozen miles, was romantic and easy enough when made on the back of a horse.

The strange, disturbing situation in which Miss Starland found herself kept her awake long after the gentle breathing of her friend at her side told her she was unconscious. The conditions were so singular and so alarming that at times she was mystified and doubted the wisdom of the course they had decided upon. She could not believe that the path was as free from danger as the Señorita supposed. None the less, she was resolved to make the venture. There was one comforting feature about it all: if they were followed and brought back under some pretext by the soldiers of General Yozarro, no unpleasant consequences would result therefrom to them. The man would be ready with some plausible justification of his course, but would be as effusive in his courtesy as ever. Finally the sorely troubled one slept.

Neither awoke until the sunlight streamed through the narrow windows, and then the two were roused by the knocking on the outer door, and the call of Juanita that she was waiting with their food. She was admitted and the meal on the broad silver tray was set on the stand in the middle of the apartment. Nothing could have been more appetizing, in that smothering climate, consisting as it did wholly of fruit, and delicious cocoa, including prepared rice, mandioc and cassava, the last being the most popular food in that part of the world.

Juanita having left the meal, courtesied, called down the blessings of the saints upon the visitors, and, assuring them that it would be her happiness to come whenever wanted and to act the part of slave all her life to them, went away, and once more our friends were alone. The Señorita did not fasten the door, for there was no call to do so, and in due time, the two drew up their chairs and partook of the food with the zest of youth and health. There was abundance for both and they fully enjoyed it. By and by, Juanita returned and removed the remains of the repast.

Miss Starland walked to each of the narrow windows in turn and gazed out over the surrounding country. One of the openings gave a view of the Rio Rubio, as it wound to the eastward, until its reunion and onward flow to the Atlantic. She descried a catboat leaning far over and skimming up stream toward Atlamalco, and a canoe, in which were two natives, was observed, as one of the occupants swung his paddle like an American Indian and drove the tiny craft toward the northern shore. But as her vision roved up and down the river, she failed to see that for which she longed above everything else. The yacht which had brought her to this part of the world was still absent. In neither direction could she catch a glimpse of Atlamalco or Zalapata. The other window opened to the south, or toward the mountains, where the view had no interest for her.

As she had done before, she remarked upon the massiveness of the walls and the straightness of the window openings.

“They are so narrow that we could not force ourselves through.”

“Our old buccaneer friend must have had them made thus on purpose. Suppose some of those who hated him – which means all the others – should have become strong enough to clamber up the walls on the outside, – was it not well to make it impossible for them to enter the Castle?”

The matter, however, was of slight interest to our friends and they hurried their preparations for the journey. The Señorita donned her hat and led the way down the steps to the outside. To both it looked as if the number of guards had been increased during the night, for more than a dozen were in sight, without regarding those who had lain down to rest. The young women were saluted by all as they appeared, and the soldiers whom they recognized as their escort of the night before, came forward to learn their wishes.

“Carlos, the ponies that brought us here are still with you?”

“They are, Señorita.”

“Have them saddled and brought out; we are to ride to Zalapata today, and wish to make an early start.”

The man removed his hat, bowed and spoke with the utmost respect:

“I am grieved not to hasten to comply with your commands; but we have orders from General Yozarro that the Señoritas are to remain here till he comes, which will be in a few hours, I think. It fills my heart with sorrow, but as a soldier, the Señorita knows that no choice is left to me.”

And this time, he made two obesiances, – one for each of the dumfounded young women.