THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES \ DO NOT Kir.T, MK, S!i;: I A>I A WOMAN THE WAR TRAIL; OR, THE HUNT OF THE WILD HORSE. KY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID, AUTHOR OF "THK KIHI.K RANfJKRS," " THK WHiTi ( H I BK," "TH li ai'AIinOOX, "tub SCAI.P-HUN'TKRS," KTf-. Illusfralci) biT M.. Ijiivbtii. (S' LONDON: ROUTLEDGE, WAENE, & ROUTLEDGE, FARRINGnON STREET; NEW YORK: SC, WALKER STREET. 1860. THE WArt-TPtAIL CHAPTER I. SOUVENIRS. Land of the nopal and maguey — home of Moctezuma and Malinche ! — I cannot wring thy memories from my heart ! Years may roll on, hand wax weak, and heart grow old, but never till Ijoth ai-e cold can I forget thee ! I would not ; for thee would I remember. Not for all the world would I bathe my soul in the waters of Lethe. Blessed be memory for thy sake ! Bright land of Anahuac! my spirit mounts upon the aerial wings of Fancy, and once more I stand upon thy shores ! Over thy broad savannahs I spur my noble steed, whose joyous neigh tells that he too is inspired by the scene. I rest mider the shade of the corozo palm, and quaff the wine of the acrocomia. I climb thy mountains of nniygduloid and pori)hyiy — thy crags of quartz, that yield the white silver and the yellow gold. 1 cross thy hclds of lava, rugged in outline, and yet more nigged with their coverture of strange vegetable forms — acacias and cactus, yuccas and zamias. I traverse thy table-plains through bristling rows of giant aloes, wliose sparkling juico cheers me on my path. I .stand upon the limits of eternal f>now, crushing tlie Alpine lichen under my heel ; whilo down in the deep barranca, far down below, I behold tho feathery fronds of the palm, the wax-Uke foliage of the oriingc, the broad sliining loaves of the pnthos, of arums, and bananas ! O that I could agaiu look with living eye on B 2 THE WAR-TRAIL. tliese bright pictures, that even thus palely outlined upon the retina of memory, impart pleasure to my soul ! Laud of Moctezuma ! I have other souvenirs of thee, more deeply graven on my memory than these pictures of peace. Thou recallest scenes of war. I traversed thy fields a foeman — sword in hand — and now, after years gone by, many a wild scene of soldier-life springs up before me with all the vividness of reality. The, Bivouac ! — I sit by the night camp-fire ; around ai'e warlike forms and bearded faces. The blazing log re- flects the sheen of arms and accoutrements — saddles, rifles, pistols, canteens, strewing the ground, or hanging from the branches of adjacent trees. Picketed steeds loom large in the darkness, their forms dimly outlined against the sombi-e background of the forest. A solitary palm stands near, its curving fi^onds looking hoary under the fire-light. The same light gleams upon the fluted columns of the great organ-cactus, upon agaves and bromelias, upon the silvery tillandsia, that drapes the tall trees as with a toga. The wild tale is told — the song is sung — the jest goes round — the hoarse peal echoes through the aisles of the forest, frighting the parrot on its perch, and the wolf upon his prowl. Little reck they who sing, and jest, and laugh — little reck they of the morrow. ***** The Skirmish ! — Morning breaks. The fragrant forest is silent, and the white blue hght is just tinging the tree- tops. A shot rings upon the air : it is the warning-gun of the picket-sentinel, who comes galloping in upon the guard. The enemy approaches ! ' To horse ! ' the bugle thrills in clear loud notes. The slumberers spring to their feet — they seize their rifles, pistols, and sabres, and dash through the smouldering fires till ashes cloud the air. The steeds snort and neigh ; in a trice they are saddled, bridled, and mounted ; and away sweeps the troop along the forest road. The enemy is in sight — a band of guerilleros, in all their picturesqueness of manga and serape — of scarlet, purple, and gold. Lances, with shining points and stream- ing pennons, o'ertop the trees. The bugle sounds the charge ; its notes are drowned by the charging cheer. We meet our swarthy foemen face to face ; spear-thrusts are answered by pistol-shots ; oxix A MEXICAN FRONTIER VILLAGE. 8 sabres cross and clink, but oui- snorting steeds rear back, and will not let us kill each other. We wheel and meet again, with deadlier aim, and more determined arm ; wa strike without remorse — we strike for freedom ! Hf * * *■ iti The Battle-field I — The serried columns and the brist« ling guns — the roar of cannon and the roll of drums — the bugle's wildest notes, the cheer, the charge — the struggle hand to hand — the falling foenian and his dying groan — the rout, retreat, the hoarse huzza for victory! I well re- meiiber, but I cannot paint them. a- * it * it Land of Anahuac ! thou recallest other scenes, far dif- ferent from these — scenes of tender love or stormy passion. The strife is o'er — the war-drum has ceased to beat, and the bugle to bray ; the steed stands chafing in his stall, and the conqueror dallies in the halls of the conquered. Love is now the victor, and the stern soldier, himself subdued, is transfoimed into a suing lover. In gilded hall or garden bower, behold him on bended knee, wliispering his soft tale in the ear of some dark-eyed dongella, Andalusian or Aztec ! % if * * * Lovely land ! In truth have I sweet memories of thee ; for who could traverse thy fields without beholding some fair flower, ever after to be borne upon his bosom 1 And yet, not all my souvenirs are glad. Pleasant and painful, sweet and sad, they thrill my heart with alternate throes. But the sad emotions have been tempered by time, and the glad ones, at each returning tide, seem tinged with brighter glow. In thy bowers, as elsewhere, roses must be plucked from thorns ; but in memory's mellowed light I see not the thorns — I behold only the bright and beautiful rosea. CHAPTER XL A. MEXICAN FRO^TIER VILLAGE, A Mexican p^ichlita on the banks of the Rio Bravo del Norte— a mere rancher ia, or hamlet. Tho quaint old church 4 THE WAU-TRxUL. of Moiisco-Ttalian style, witli its cupola of motley japan, the residence of the cura, and the house of the alcalde, are the only stone structures in the place. These constitute three sides of the piazza, a somewhat spacious square. The remaining side is taken up with shops or dwellings of the common people. They are built of large imburnt bricks (adobes), some of them washed with lime, others gaudily coloured like the proscenium of a theatre, but most of them uniform in their muddy and forbidding brown. All have heavy jail-like doors, and windows without glass or sash. The reja of iron bars, set vertically, opposes the burglar, not the weather. i^rom the four cornei'S of the piazza, narrow, unpaved, dusty lanes lead off to the country, for some distance bordered on both sides by the adobe houses. Still farther out, on the skirts of the village, and spai'sely placed, are dwelhngs of frailer build, but more picturesque appearance ; they are ridge-roofed structures, of the split trunks of that gigantic lily, the arborescent yucca. Its branches form the rafters, its tough fibrous leaves the thatch. In these ran- chltos dwell the poor peons, the descendants of the con- quered race. The stone dwellings, and those of mud likewise, are Jlat-roofed, tiled or cemented — sometimes tastefully ja- panned — with a parapet breast-high running round the edge. This flat roof is the azotea, characteristic of Mexican architecture. AVhen the sun is low and the evening cool, the azotea is a pleasant lounging-place, especially wlaen the proprietor of the house has a taste for flowers ; then it is converted into an aerial garden, and displays the rich flora for which the picture-land of Mexico is justly celebrated. It is just the place to enjoy a cigar, a glass oi pmole, or, if you prefer it, Catalan. The smoke is wafted away, and the open air gives a relish to the beverage. Besides, your eye is feasted ; you enjoy the privacy of a drawing-room, while you com- mand what is passing in the street. The slight pai'apet gives security, while hindering a too free view from below ; you see, without being seen. The world moves on, busied with earthly affixirs, and does not think of looking up. I stand upon such an azotea : it is that over the house of the alcalde ; and his being the tallest roof in the village, I command a view of ail the others. I can see beyond them A MEXICAN mOXTlKU VILLAGE. 5 all, and note the prominent features of the surroundiug country. My eye wanders with delight over the deep rich verdure of its tropic vegetation ; I can even distinguifih its more characteristic forms — the cactus, the yucca, and the agave. I observe that the village is girdled by a belt of open ground — cultivated fields — where the maize v/avcs its silken tassels in the breeze, contrasting with the darker leaves of the capsicums and bean-plants (frijoles). This open ground is of limited extent. The chappural, with its thorny thicket of acacias, mimosoe, ingas, and robinias — a perfect maze of leguminous trees — hems it in ; and so near is the verge of this jangle, that I can distinguish its under- gro\vth of stemlcss sabal palms and bromelias — the sun- scorched and scarlet leaves of the pita plant shining in the distanc*e like lists of fire. This propinquity of the forest to the little pueblita be- speaks the indolence of the inhabitants; perhaps not._ It iimst be remembered that these people are not agriculturists, but vaqueros (herdsmen) ; and that the glades and openings of that thick chapparal are speckled v.ith herds of fierce Spanish cattle, and droves of small sharp-eared Andalusian horses, of the race of the Barb. The fact of so little culti- vation docs not abnegate the existence of industry on the part of the villagers. Grazing is their occupation, not farm- ing ; only a little of the latter to give them maize for their tortilhu, chile to scasonit with, and black beans to complete the repast. These three, with the half-wild beef of their wide pastures, constitute the staple of food throughout all Mexico. For drink, the denizen of the high table-land finds his favourite beverage — the rival of champagne — in the core of the gigantic aloe ; while he of the tropic coast-land refreshes himself from the juice of auothcr native endogcn, the acrocomia palm. Favoured land ! Ceres loves thee, and Bacchus too. To thy fields both the god and the goddess have been freely bounteous. Food and drink may bo had from them on ea.sy terms. Alas ! as in all other lands — one only excepted — Nature's divine views have been thwarted, her aim .set aside, by the malignity of man. As over the broad world, the blight of the despot is upon thy beauty. Why are these pooplo crowded together — hived, o-s it were, in towns and villages} Herdsmen — one woiild ex- pect to find them scattered by reason of their occupation. 6 THE WAR-TRAIL. Besides, a sky continually bright, a genial clime, a pic- turesqueness of scene — all seem to invite to rural life ; and yet I have ridden for hours, a succession of lovely land- scapes rising before my eyas, all of them wild, wanting in that one feature which makes the rural picture perfect — the house, the dwelling of man ! Towns there are ; and at long intervals the huge hacienda of the landed lord, walled in like a fortress ; but where are the ranchos, the homes of the common people 1 True, I have noticed the ruins of many, and that explains the puzzle. I remember, now that I am on tho frontier ; that for years past the banks of the Eio Bravo, from its source to the sea, have been hostile ground — a war-border of fifteen hundred miles in length ! Many a red conflict has occurred — is still occurring — be- tween those Arabs of the American desert — the Horse Indians — and the pale-faced descendants of the Spaniard. That is why the ranchos exist only in ruins — that is why the haciendas are loopholed, and the populace pent up within walls. The condition of feudal Europe exists in free America, on the banks of the Eio Bravo del Norte ! ***** Nearly a mile off, looking westward, I perceive the sheen of water : it is a reach of the great river that glances under the setting sun. The river curves at that point ; and the summit of a gentle hill, half girdled by the stream, is crowned by the low white walls of a hacienda. Though only one story high, this hacienda appears, from its extent, and the style of its architecture, to be a noble mansion. Like all of its class, it is flat-roofed ; but the parapet is crenated, and small ornamental turrets over the angles and the great gateway relieve the monotony of its outhnes. A larger tower, the belfry of a chapel, appears in the back- ground, the Mexican hacienda is usually provided 'Rath its little capilla, for the convenient worship of the peon re- tainers. The emblems of rehgion, such as it is, are thick over the land. The ghmmer of glass behind the iron rejas relieves to some extent the prison-like aspect, so character- istic of Mexican country-houses. This is further modified by the appearance over the parapet of green foUage. Forms of tropic vegetation show above the wall ; among others, the graceful curving fronds of a palm. This must be an exotic, for although the lower half of the Eio Bravo is within the zone of the palms, the species that grow so far THE RANGERS ON PICKET, 7 north are fan-palms {chamoerops and sahal). This one is of fur different form, ^\^th phimc-shapcd pinnate fronds, of the character of eocos, phoenix, or euterpe. I note the fact, not from any botanical curiosity with ■which it inspires me, but rather because the presence of this exotic palm has a signi- ficance. It illustrates a point in the character of him — it may be her — who is the presiding spirit of the place. Iso doubt there is a fair garden upon the azotea — perhaps a f\iir being among its flowers ! Pleasant thoughts spring up — anticipations. I long to climb that sloping hill, to enter that splendid mansion, and, longing still, I gaze. ***** The ring of a bugle startles me fi'om this pleasant reverie. 'Tis only a stable-call ; but it has driven sweet reflections out of my mind, and my eyes are turned away from the bright mansion, and rest upon the piazza of the pueblita. There, a far diftcrcnt scene greets their glancerj CHAPTER in. THE RA^'GERS ON PICKET. The centre of the piazza presents a salient point in the picture. There the well {el poso), with its gigantic wheel, its huge leathern belt and buckets, its trough of cemented stone-work, ofiers an Oriental aspect. Verily, it is the Persian wheel ! 'Tis odd to a northern eye to find such a structure in this "Western land ; but the explanation is easy. The Persian wheel lias travelled from I'^gypt along the southern shores of the Mediterranean. "With the Moors it crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, and the Spaniard has carried it over the Atlantic. The reader of the sacred volume will find many a fixmiliar passa:;e illustrated in the customs of Mexico. The genius of the Arab has shaped many a thought for the brain of the Aztec ! ^ly eye rests not long upon the well, but turns to gaze on the scene of active life that is passing near and around it. Forms, and varied ones, I trow, arc luoviiig there. Gliding with silent step and dubious look — his wide 8 THE WAR-TRAIL. cakoii^ros flapping around his ankles, his arms and shoulders shrouded iu the mottled scrape, his black broad-brimmed hat darkening still more his swarth face — goes the pobla7io, the denizen of the adobe hut. He shuns the centre of the piazza, keeping around the walls ; but at intervals his eyes are turned towards the well with a look of mingled fierce- ness and fear. He reaches a doorway — it is silently opened by a hand within — he enters quickly, and seems glad to get out of sight. A little afterwards, I can catch a glimpse of his sombre face dimly visible behind the bars of the reja. At distant corners, I descry small groups of his class — all similarly costumed in calzoneros, striped blankets, and glaze hats ; all, like him, wearing uneasy looks. They ges- ticulate little, contraiy to their usual habit, and converse only in whispers or low mutterings. Unusual circumstances surround them. jMost of the women are within doors ; a, few of the poorer class — of pure Indian race — are seated in the piazza. They are hucksters, and their wares are spread before them on a thin palm-leaf mat (petaie), while another similar one, supported umbrella-like on a stem, screens them and their merchandise from the sun. Their dyed woollen garments, their bare heads, their coarse black hair, adorned with twists of scarlet worsted, impart to them somewhat of a gipsy look. Tliey appear as free of care as the zingali themselves : they laugh, and chatter, and show their white teeth all day long, asking each new-comer to purchase their fruits and vegetables, their pinole, atole, and aqica didce. Their not unmusical voices ring pleasantly upon the ear. Now and then a young girl, with red olla poised upon her crown, trips hghtly across the piazza in the direction of the well. Perhaps she is a poblana — one of the belles of the village — in short-skirted, bright-coloured petticoat, onbroidered but sleeveless chemisette, with small satin slippers upon her feet ; head, shoulders, and bosom, shrouded in the blue-grey reboso ; ai'ms and ankles bare. Several of these may be seen passing to and fro. They appear less uneasy than the men ; ihey even smile at intervals, and reply to the rude badinage uttered in an unknown tongue by the odd-looking strangers around the well. The Mexi- can women are courageous as they are amiable. Aa a face, their beauty is undeniable. THE RAXGERS ON PICKET. 9 But "who arc these strangers 1 They do not belong to the place, that is evident ; and equally so that they are objects of terror to those who do. At present they are m;usters here. Their numbers, their proud coniident swag- ger, and the bold loud tone of their conversation, attest that they arc masters of the ground. Who arc they ? Odd-looking, 1 have styled them ; and the phrase is to be taken iu its full signiticance. A more odd-looking set of fellows never mustered in a j\Iexicau piazza, nor else- where. There are fourscore of them ; and but that each, carries a yager rifle in his hand, a knife in his belt, and a Colt's pistol on his thigh, you could not discover the slightest point of resemblance between any two of them. Their arms are the only things about them denoting uni- formity, and some sort of organisation ; for the rest, they are as unlike one another as the various shapes and hues of coarse broadcloth, woollen jeans, cottonades, coloured blankets, and buckskin, can make them. They wear caps of 'coon-skin, and cat's-skin, and squirrel ; hats of beaver, and felt, and glaze, of wool and palmetto, of every imagin- able shape and slouch. Even of the modern monster — the silken " tile" — samples might be seen, badlT/ crushed. There are coats of broadcloth, few in number, and well W(jrn ; but many are the gai-ments of " Kentucky je;uis" of bluish-grey, of copper-coloured nigger cloth, and sky-co- loured cottonade. Some wear coats made of green blan- kets, otliers of blue ones, and some of a scarlet red. There are hunting-shirts of dressed deerskin, with plaited skirt, and cape, fringed and jauntily adorned with beads and embroidery — the favourite style of the backwoods hunter ; but others there are of true Indian cut — open only at the throat, and hanging loose, or fastened around the waist with a belt — the same tJjat secures the knife and pistol. There are cloth jackets too, such as are worn by sailors, and others of sky-blue cottonade — the costume of tho Creole of Louisiana ; some of red-brown leather — tho jaqueta of tlie Spano-American ; and still another fashion, the close-fitting embroidered " spencer" of the ]\Iexican ranchcro. Some shoulders are covered by scrapes, and some by the more graceful and toga-like manga. Look lower down : examine the limbs of the men of this motley baud : the covering of these is not less varied than their 10 THE WAR-TRAIL. upper garments. You see wrappers of coarse cloth, of flannel, and of baize : they are blue, and scarlet, and green. You see leggings of raw hide and of buckskin ; boots of horse-leather reaching to the thighs ; " nigger boots " of still coarser fabric, with the pantaloons tucked under ; hrogans of unstained calf-skin, and moccasins of varied cut, betokening the fashion of more than one Indian tribe. You may see limbs encased in calzoneros, and others in the heavy stamped leather hotas of the Mexican horseman, resembling the greaves of warriors of the olden time. The heels of all are armed, though their armature is as varied as the costumes. There are spurs of silver and steel, some plated, and some with the plating worn off; some strapped, and others screwed into the heel of the boot ; some hght, with small rowels and tiny teeth, while others are seen (the heavy spur of Mexico) of several pounds' weight, with rowels five inches in diameter, and teeth that might be dashed through the ribs of a horse ! — cruel weapons of the Mexican cavallero. But these spurs in the piazza, these botas and calzo- neros, these maugas and serapes, are not worn by Mexi- catis. Their present wearers are men of a different race. Most of those tall stalwart bodies are the product of the maize-plant of Kentucky and Tennessee, or the buckwheat and " hog-meat" of the fertile flats of Ohio, Indiana, and the Illinois. They are the squatters and hunters of the backwoods, the farmers of the great western slopes of the Alleghanies, the boatmen of the Mississippi, the pioneers of Ai'kansas and Missouri, the trappers of prairie-land, the voyageiirs of the lake-country, the young planters of the lower states, the French Creoles of Louisiana, the adven- turous settlers of Texas, with here and there a gay city spark from the larger towns of the " great west." Yes, and from other sources are individuals of that mixed band. I recognise the Teutonic type — the fair hair and whitish-yellow moustache of the German, the florid Eng- lishman, the staid Scot, and his contrast the noisy Hiber- nian ; both equally brave. I behold the adroit and nimble Frenchman, full of laugh and chatter, the stanch sol- dierly S\viss, and the moustached exile of Poland, dark, Bombre, and silent. What a study for an ethnologist is that band of odd-looking men ! Who are they % THE RANGERS ON PICKET. 11 You have thrice asked the question. I answer it : They are a corps of " Raugcrs" — the guerilla of the American army. And who am I ? I am their captain — their chief. Yes, I am the leader of that queer crew ; and, despite their rough motley aspect, I dare affirm, that not in Eu- rope, not in America elsewhere, not upon the great globe's surface, can be found a band, of like numbers, to equal them in strength, daring, and warlike intelhgence. Many of them have spent half a life in the shaqDening practice of border warfare — Indian or Mexican — and from these the others have learnt. Some have been gentlemen upon whom fortune has frowned ; a few have been desperadoes within the pale of civilised life ; and a smaller few, per- haps, outlaics beyond it — bad materials wherewith to colonise; not so bad, if you go but to conquer. Rude as is the coup d'ocil of the coi^js, I am proud to say that a high sentiment of honour pervades it — higher than will be found in the picked corps de garde of an emperor. True, they appear rough and reckless — terrible, I might say; for most of them — with their long beards and hair, dust-begrimed faces, slouched hats, and odd habihments, belted as they are with knife, pistol, powder- horn, and pouch — present such an aspect. But you would wrong them to take them as they look. Few among them are the pure bandits whose aim is plunder. Many a noble heart beats beneath a rude exterior — many a one truly humane. There are hearts in that band that throb under the influence of patriotism ; some are guided by a still nobler impulse, a desire to ex- tend the area of freedom ; others, it is true, yearn but for revenge. These last are chiefly Texans, who mourn a friend or brother slain by IMexican treachery. They have not forgotten the cowardly assassination of Goliad ; they re- member the red butchery of the Alamo. Perliaps I alone, of all the band, have no motive for being here ; if one, 'tis shght — scarce so noble as ven- geance. Mere chance, the love of excitement and adven- ture, perhaps some weak fondness for power and fame, are all the excuses I can urge for taking a hand in this afliiir. A poor adventurer — \vithout friends, without home, with- out country, for my native land is no moio a nation — my heart is not cheered by a single throb of patriotism. I a2 the war-trail. have no private wrong to redress, no public cause, no country for which to combat. During intervals of inaction, these thoughts recur to me, and give me pain. » ^ :(E * :* The men have picketed their horses in the church en- closure ; some are tied to trees, and others to the reja- bars of the windows : like their riders, a motley group, various in size, colour, and race. The strong high-mettled steed of Kentucky and Tennessee, the light " pacer" of Louisiana, the cob, the barb, his descendant the " mus- tang," that but a few weeks ago was running wild upon the i^rairies, rnay all be seen in the troop. Mules, also, of two distinct races — the large gaunt mule of North Ame- rica, and the smaller and more sprightly variety, native of the soil. My own black steed, with his pretty fern-coloured muzzle, stands near the fountain in the centre of the ]>]azza. ]My eye wanders with a sort of habitual delight o\er the oval outlines of his body. How proudly he curves his swan-like neck, and with mock auger paws up the dust ! He knows that my eyes are upon him. * * * * We have been scarcely an hour in the rancheria ; we H,re perfect strangers to it : we are the first American troop its people have yet seen — although the war has been going on for some months farther do'ma the river. AVe have been despatched upon scouting duty, with orders to scour the surrounding country as far as it is safe. The object in sending us hither is not so much to guard against a surprise from our Mexican foe, who is not upon this side, but to guard them, the Mexicans, from another enemy — an enemy of both of us — the Comanche ! These Indian Ishmaelites, report says, are upon the " war-trail" and have quite an army in the field. It is said they are fo- raging higher up the river, where they have it all to them- selves, and have just pillaged a settlement in that direc- tion — butchered the men, as is their wont, and candied off the women, children, and chattels. "We came hither to conquer the Mexicans, but wo must protect while conquer- ing them ! Cosas de Mexico I MAKING A CAmVE. 13 CH^VPTER IV. ILAKIXG A CArXIVE, 1 VAS musing upon tlic singular character of tLis trian- guliir war, when my reverie was disturbed hy the hoof- fctrokes of a horse. The sounds came from a distance, out- side the village ; the strokes were those of a horse at full gallop. I stepped hastily across the azotea, and looked over the parapet, in hopes of obtaining a view of this rapid rider. I was not disappointed — as 1 neared the wall, the road and the rider came full under my eyes. In the latter, I beheld a picturesque object. He ap- peared to be a very young man — a mere youth, without l)eard or moustache, but of singularly handsome features. The complexion was dark, almost brown ; but even at the distance of two hundred yards, I could perceive the flash of a noble eye, and note a damask redness \ipon his cheeks. His shoulders were covered with a scarlet manga, that draped backward over the hips of liis horse ; and upon his head he wore a light sombrero, laced, banded, and tusselled with bullion of gold. The horse was a small but finely proportioned mustang — spotted like a jaguai- upon a ground colour of cream — a tiiie Andalusiau. The hor.scman was advancing at a gallop, without fear of the ground before him : by chance, his eyes were raised to the level of the azotea, on which I stood ; my uniform, and the sparkle of my accoutrements, caught his glance ; and quick as thought, as if by an involuntary movement, ho reined up his mustang, until its ample tail lay clustered upon the dust of the road. It was then that 1 noted the singular appearance of both horse and rider. Just at that moment, the ranger, who held ]uckct on that side of the village, sprang forth from his hiding-place, and challenged the horseman to halt. The challenge was vuiheeded. Another jerk of the rein spun the mustang round, as upon a pivot ; and the next instant, inipillod by the spur, the animal resumed his gallop. He did not 14 THE WAR-TRAIL. return by the road, but shot off in a new direction, nearly at right angles to his former course. A rifle-bull t't would have followed, and most likely have stopped the career of either horse or rider, had not I, just in the " nick" of time, shouted to the sentry to hold his fire. A reflection had occurred to me : the game was too noble, too beautiful, to be butchered by a bullet ; it was worth a chase and a capture. My horse was by the water-trough- I had noticed that he was not yet unsaddled, and the bridle was still on. He had been warmed by the morning's scout ; and I had ordered my negro groom to walk him round for an hour or so before letting him at the water. I did not wait to descend by the escalera; I sprang upon the parapet, and from that into the piazza. The groom, perceiving my intention, met me half-way with the horse. I seized the I'eins, and bounded into the saddle. Several of the readiest of the rangers followed my example ; and as I galloped down the lane that led out of the ranch eria, I could tell by the clattering of hoofs that half-a-dozeu of them were at my heels. I cared not much for that, for surely I was a match for the stripling we meant to chase. I knew, moreover, that speed at the moment was of more importance than strength ; and that if the spotted horse possessed as much "bottom" as he evidently did "heels," his rider and I would have it to ourselves in the end. I knew that all the horses of my troop were less swift than my own ; and from the half-dozen springs I had witnessed on the part of the mustang, I felt satisfied that it remained only for me to overhaul him. My springing down from the roof and up into the saddle had occupied scarcely two minutes' time ; and in two more, I had cleared the houses, and was scouring across the fields after the scarlet horseman. He was evidently making to get round the village, and continue the journey our presence had so suddenly interrupted. The chase led through a field oimilpas. My horse sank deeply in the loose earth, while the lighter mustang bounded over it like a hai-e. He was distancing me, and I began to fear I should lose him, when all at once I saw that his course was intercepted by a list of magueys, running trans- versely right and left. The plants were of luxuriant growth, MAKING A CAPTIVE. 15 eiglit or ten feet high, and placed alternately, so that their huge hooked blades interlocked with each other, forming a natural chevaux-de-frise. This barrier at first glance seemed impassable for either man or horse. It brovight the ^lexican to a halt. He was turning to skirt it, when he perceived that I had leaned into the diagonal line, and could not fail to head him. With a quick wrench upon the rein, he once more wheeled round, set his horse against the magueys, plied the spur, and dashed right into their midst. In a moment, both horso and rider were out of sight ; but as I spurred up to the spot, I could hear the thick blades crackle under the hoofs of the mustang. There was no time for reflection. I must either follow, or abandon the pursuit. The alternative was not thought of. I was on my honour, my steed upon his mettle ; and without halt we went plunging through the magueys. Torn and bleeding, we came out on the opposite side ; and I perceived, to my satisfaction, that I had made better time than the red rider before me ; his halt had lessened the distance between us. But another field of milpas had to be passed, and he was again gaining upon me, as we galloped over the hea\7' ground. When nearly through the field, I perceived something glancing before us : it was water — a wide drain or ditch, a zcquia for irrigating the field. Like the magueys, it ran ti-ansvcrsely to our course. " That will stop him," thought I ; "he must take to the right or left, and then " My thoughts were interrupted. Instead of turning either to right or left, the Mexican headed his horse at the zequia, and the noble creature rushing forward, rose like a bird upon the wing, and cleared the canal ! I had no time to expend in admiring the feat ; I hastened to imitate it, and galloping forward, I set myself for tho leap. ^ly brave steed needed neither whip nor spur ; he had seen tho other leap the zcquia, and he knew what was expected of him. With a bound he went over, clearing tho drain by several feet ; and then, as if resolved upon bring- ing the affiiir to an end, ho laid his head forward, and stretched himself at race-course speed. A broad grassy plain — a savannah — lay beforo us, and to 16 THE WAR-TRAIL. the hoofs of both horses, pursuer and pursued, now rang upon hard firm turf. The rest of the chase Avould liave been a simple trial of speed, and I made sure of overhauHng the mustang before he could reach the opposite side, when a new obstacle presented itself. A vast herd of cattle and horses studded the savannah throughout its whole extent ; these, startled by our wild gallop, tossed their heads, and ran affrighted in every direction, but frequently as other- wise, directly in our way, ]\Iorc than once I was forced to rein in, to save my neck or my horse's from being broken over a fierce bull or a long-homed lumbering ox ; and more than once I was compelled to swerve from my course. "What vexed me most, was that in this zigzag race, the mustang, from practice perhaps, had the advantage ; and while it continued, he increased his distance. We cleared the drove at lengtli ; but to my chagrin I perceived that we were nearly across the plain. As I glanced ahead, I saw the chapparal near, with taller trees rising over it ; beyond, I sav/ the swell of a hill, with white walls upon its summit. It was the hacienda already men- tioned : we were riding directly towai'ds it. I was growing anxious about the result. Should the horseman reach the thicket, I would be almost certain to lose him. / dared not let him escape. What would my men say, if I went back without him '/ I had hindered the sentry from firing, and permitted to escape, perhaps a spy, perhaps some important personage. His desperate efforts to get off' favoured the suj^position that he was one or the other. He rmist be tahen ! Under fresh impulse, derived from these reflections', I lanced the flanks of ni}' horse more deeply than ever. More seemed to divine my thoughts, and stretched himself to his utmost. There were no more cattle, not an obstacle, and his superior speed soon lessened the distance between him- self and tlie mustang. Ten seconds more would do it. The ten seconds flew by. \fdt myself within shooting distance ; I drew my pistol from its holster. " Alto ! yo tiro" (Halt ! or I fire), I cried aloud. There was no reply : the mustang kept on ! " Halt ! " I cried again, unwilling to take the life of a fellow-creature — " halt ! or you are a dead man ! " No reply again ! There were not sis yards between myself and tho MT CAPTIVE. 17 Jrexican Iiorscmnn. Eiiling straight behind him, I could have sent a bullet into his back. Some secret in.stinct re- strained me ; it was partly, though not altogether, a feeling of admiration : there Avas au indefinable idea in my mind at the moment. Idy hnger rested on the trigger, and I could not draw it. " He must not escape ! He is nearing the trees ! He must not be allowed to enter the thicket ; I must cripple the horse." I looked for a place to aim at — his hips were towards me — should I hit him there he might still get off. Where should I aim ? At this moment the animal wheeled, as if guided liy his own impulse — perhaps by the knees of his rider — and shot off in a new direction. The object of this manoeuvre was to throw me out of the track. So far it was successful ; but it gave me just the opportunity to aim as I wanted ; as it brought the mustang's side towards me ; and levelling my pistol, 1 sent a bullet through his kidneys. A single plunge forward was his last, and both horse and rider came to tho ground. In an instant the latter had disengaged himself from his struggling steed, and stood upon his feet. Fearing that he might still endeavour to escape to the cover of the thicket, 1 spurred forward, jHstol in hand, and pointed the weapon at his head. But he made no attempt cither at furtlier flight or resistance. On the contrary, he stood with folded arms, fronting the levelled tube, and, looking me full in the face, said with an air of perfect coolness, — " No watume, ami go ! ^oy mvger '" (Do not kill me, friend ! 1 am a woman I) CHAPTER V. ; MY CAPTIVE. " Do not kill me, friend ! I am a vommi / " This declaration scarcely astonished me; I was half prepared for it. During our wild gallo]>, 1 had noticed nno or two circumstances which led me to suspect that tho c 18 THE WAR-TRAIL. spy I pursued was a female. As the mustang sprang over the zequia, the flowing skirt of the manga was puffed up- ward, and hung for some moments sj^read out in the air. A velvet bodice beneath, a tunic-like skirt, the tourmcro of the form, all impressed me as singular for a cavallero, how- ever rich and young. The limbs I could not see, as the goat-skin armas-de-agua were drawn over them ; but I caught a glimpse of a gold spur, and a heel of a tiny red boot to which it was attached. The clubbed hair, too, loosened by the violent motion, had fallen backward, and in two thick plaits, slightly dishevelled, rested upon the croup of the horse. ' A young Indian's might have been equally as long, but his tresses would have been jet-black and coarse-grained, whereas those under my eyes were soft, silky, and nut-brown. Neither the style of riding — a la Dibchesse de Berri — nor the manlike costume of manga and hat, were averse to the idea that the rider was a woman. Both the style and costume are common to the rancheras of Mexico. Moreover, as the mustang made his last double, I had caught a near view of the side face of the rider. The features of no man — not of the Trojan shepherd, not of Adonis or Endymion — were so exquisitely chiselled as they. Certainly a woman ! Her declaration at once put an end to my conjectures, but, as I have said, did not astonish me. I was astonished, however, by its tone and manner. Instead of being uttered in accents of alarm, it was pro- nounced as coolly as if the whole thing had been a jest ! Sadness, not supplication, was the prevailing tone, which was further carried out as she knelt to the ground, pressed her lips to the muzzle of the still breathing mustang, and exclaimed, — ^^ Ay-dc-mi! pohre ycgua! muerte ! muerte T^ (Alas me ! poor mare ! dead ! dead ! ) " A woman 1 " said I, feigning astonishment. My inter- rogatory was unheeded ; she did not even look up. '■'' Ay-de-mi ! pohre yegua ! Lola, Lolita ! " she repeated, as coolly as if the dead mustang was the only object of her thoughts, and I, the armed assassin, fifty miles from the spot ! "A woman?" I again ejaculated — in my embarrass- ment scarcely knowing what to say. ">Si, senor ; nada mas — qrie quiere F. .^" (Yes, sir; nothing more — what do you want l) MY CAPTIVE. 19 As she made this reply, she rose to her feet, and stood confronting mc witliout the sliglitest semblance of fear So unexpected was the answer, both in tone and sentiment, that for the life of me I could not help breaking into a laugh. " You are merry, sir. You have made me sad ; you have killed my favourite ! " I shall not easily fargetthe look that accompanied these •words — sorrow, anger, contempt, defiance, were expi-essed in one and the same glance. My laughter was suddenly checked ; I felt humiliated in that proud presence. " Seiiorita," I replied, " I deeply regret the necessity I have been under : it might have been worse " "And how, pray 1— how worse ?" demanded she, inter- rupting me. " My pistol might have been aimed at yourself, but for a suspicion " " Oarrambo ! " cried she, again interrupting me, " it could not have been worse ! I loved that creature dearly ■^dearly as I do my life — as Hove my father — fobre yegua — yeguita — ita — ita /" And as she thus wildly expressed herself, she bent down, passed her arms around the neck of the mustang, and once more pressed her lips to its velvet muzzle. Then gently closing its eyelids, she rose to an erect attitude, and stood with folded arms, regarding the lifeless form with a sad and bitter expression of countenance. I scarcely knew wliat to do. I was in a dilemma with my fair captive. I would have given a month of my " ^lay- roU " to have restored the spotted mustang to life ; but aa that was out of the question, I bethought me of some means of making restitution to its owner. An offer of money would not be delicate. What then ? A thought occurred to me, that promised to relieve mo from my embarrassment. The eagerness of the rich Mexicans to obtain our large American hovHcs—frimncs, as they term them — was well known throughout the army. Fabulous prices were often paid for them by these ricos, who wanted them for display upon the Puseo. We had many good half-bred bloods iu the troop ; one of these, thought I, might be acceptable even to a lady who hud lost her pet. 20 THE WAK-TRAIL. I made tlie offer as delicately as I could. It was re- jected with scorn ! " Wliat, seiior ! " cried she, striking the ground with her foot till the rowels rang — " what 1 A horse to me 1 — Mira /" she continued, pointing to the plain : " look there, sir ! There are a thousand horses ; they are mine. Now, know the value of your offer. Do I stand in need of a horse?" " But, seiiorita," stammered I apologizingly, " these are horses of native race. The one I propose to " " Bah !" she exclaimed, interrupting me, and pointing to the mustang ; " I would not have exchanged that native for all the frisones in your troop. Not one of them was its equal ! '' A personal slight would not have called forth a contra- diction ; yet this defiance had that effect. She had touched the chord of my vanity — I might almost say, of my affec- tion. With some pique I replied, — " One, seriorita 'I " I looked towards Moro as I spoke. Her eyes followed mine, and she stood for some moments gazing at him in silence. I watched the expression of her eye ; I saw it kindle into admiration as it swept over the gracefully curving outlines of my noble steed. He looked at the moment superb ; the short skurry had drawn the foam from his lips, and flakes of it clung against his neck and counter, contrasting finely with the shining black of his skin ; his sides heaved and fell in regular undulations, and the smoke issued from his blood-red nostrils ; his eye was still on fire, and his neck proudly arched, as though con- scious of his late triumj)h, and the interest he was now exciting. For a long while she stood gazing upon him, and though she spoke not a word, I saw that she recognised his fine points. "You are right, cavallero," she said at length, and thoughtfully ; " ho is." Just then a series of reflections were passing through my mind, that rendered me extremely uncomfortable ; and I felt regret that I had so pointedly drawn her attention to the horse. Would she demand him .? That was the thought that troubled me. I had not promised her a7i^ KOLINA DE VAUGAS. 21 horse in my troop, and Moro I would not have given for her lierd of a thousand ; but on the strength of the of!cr I had made, what if she should fancy 1dm? The circum- etances were awkward for a refusal ; indeed, under any circumstances refusal would have been painful. I began to feel that I could deny lier nothing. This proud beau- tiful woman already divided my interest with Moro ! My position was a delicate one ; fortunately, I was relieved from it by an incident that carried our thoughts into a new current : the troopers who had followed me at that moment rode up. .She seemed uneasy at their presence ; that could not be wondered at, considering their wild garb and fierce looks, I ordered them back to their quarters. They stared for a moment at the fallen mustang with its rich blood-stained trappings, at its late rider, and her picturesque ganaents ; and then, muttering a few words to one another, obeyed the order. I was once more alone with my captive. CHAH^ER VI. ISOLINA DE VARGAS. As soon as the men were out of hearing, she said inter- rogatively, " Tejanos .*"' " Some of them are Texans — not alL" " You are their chief i " " I am." " Capitan, I presume 1 " "That is my rank." " And now, Senor Capitan, am T your captive 1" The question took mo by surprise, and, fur the moment, I did not know what answer to make. The excitement of the chase, the encounter, and its curious developments — perhaps above all other things, the bewitching beauty of my cajitive — had driven out of my mind the whole pur- pose of the pursuit ; and for some minutes I had not been thinking of any result. The interrogatory reniindod luo that I had a delicate duty to perform. AVaa this lady a 22 THE WAR-TRAIL. Such a supposition was by no means improbable, aa any old campaigner can testify. " Fair ladies — though never one so fair as she — have, ere now, served their country in this fashion. She may be the bearer of some important dispatch for the enemy. If so, and I permit her to go free, the consequences may be serious — unplea- sant even to myself." So ran my reflections. On the other hand, I disliked the duty of taking her back a prisoner. I feared to execute it ; I dreaded her displeasure. / wished to be friends toith her. I felt the influence of that mysterious power which transcends all strength — the power of beauty. I had been but ten mi- nutes in the company of this brown-skinned maiden, and already she controlled my heart as though she had been its mistress for life ! I knew not how to reply. She saw that I hesitated, and again put the question, — " Am I your captive ? " " I fear, seiiorita, I am yoursP I was prompted to this declaration, partly to escape from a direct answer, and partly giving way to the passion ah'eady fast gathering in my bosom. It was no coquetry on my part, no desire to make a pretty passage of words. Though I spoke only from impulse, I was serious ; and with no little anxiety did I watch the effect of my speech. Her large lustrous eyes rested iipon me, at first with a puzzled expression ; this gradually changed to one of more significance — one that pleased me better. She seemed for a moment to throw aside her indifference, and regard me with more attention. I fancied, from the glance she gave, that she was contented with what I had said. For all that, the slight curl upon her pretty lip had a pro- voking air of triumph in it ; and she resumed her proud hauteur as she replied, — " Come, cavaUero ; this is idle compliment. Am I free to go ?» I wavered betwixt duty and over-politeness : a com- promise offered itself. " Lady," said I, approaching her, and looking as se- riously as I could into her beautiful eyes, " if you give me your word that you are not a spy, you are free to go : your word — I ask nothing more." I prescribed these conditions rather in a tone of en- ISOLDTA DE VAEGAS. 23 treaty than commaud. I affected sternness, but my coun- tenance must have mocked me. My captive broke into unrestrained laughter, crying out at intervals, — "la spy ! — a spy ! Ha, ha, ha ! Senor Capitan, you are jesting?" " I hope, sefiorita, you are in earnest. You arc no spy, then 1 — you bear no dispatch for our enemy ?" " Nothing of the sort, mio capitan ;" and she continued her light laughter. " Why, then, did you try to make away from us ?" " Ah, cavaUcro ! are you not Tejanos ? Do not be offended when 1 tell you that your people bear but an indifferent reputation among us Mexicans." " But your iittempt to escape was, to say the least, rash and imprudent : you risked life by it." " Carrarnho, yes ! I perceive I did ;" and she looked significantly at the mustang, while a bitter smile played upon her lips. " I perceive it now ; I did not then. I did not think there was a horseman in all your troop could come up with me. Merced! there was one. You have overtaken me : you alone could have done it." As she uttered these words, her largo brown eyes were once more turned upon me — not in a fixed gaze, but wander- ing. She scanned me from the forage-cap on my crown to tho spur upon my heel. I watched her eye with eager interest : I fancied that its scornful expression was giving way; I fancied there was a ray of tenderness in the glance. I would have given the world to have divined her thoughts at that moment. Our eyes met, and parted in mutual embarrassment — at least I fancied so ; for on turning again, I saw that her head drooped, and her gaze was directed downward, as if some new thought occui)ied her. For some moments, both were silent. We might havo remained longer thus, but it occurred to mc that I wa.s acting rudely. The lady was still my captive. I had not yet given her permission to depart : I hastened to tender it. " Spy or no spy, seiiorita, 1 shall not detain you. I shall bear tho risk : you are free to go." " Oradas 1 cavaUero I And now, since you havo bo* S-1' THE WAU-TRAIL. haved so handsomely, I shall set your mind at rest about the rid:. Read !" She handed me a folded paper ; at a glance, I recog- nised the safe-guard of the commander-in-chief, enjoin- ing upon all to respect its bearer — the Doha Isolina de Vargas. " You perceive, mio capitan, I v/as not your captive after all? Ila ! ha! ha!" " Lady, you arc too generous not to pardon the rude- ness to which you have been subjected .'" " Preely, capitan — freely." " I shudder at thought of the risk you have run. Why did you act with such imprudence l Your sudden flight at sight of our picket caused suspicion, and of course it was our duty to follow and capture you. With the safe- guard, you had no cause for flight." " Ha ! it was that very safe-guard that caused me to fly." " The safe-guard, seiiorita 1 Pray, explain !" " Can I trust your prudence, capitan '\ " " I promise " " Know, then, that I was not certain you were Ame- ricanos; for aught I could see, you might have been a guerilla of my countrymen. How would it be if this paper, and sundry others I carry, were to fall into the hands of Canales 1 You jjerceive, capitan, we fear our friends more than our enemies!' I now fully comprehended the motive of her flight. " You speak Spanish too well, mio capitan," continued she. " Had you cried ' Halt ! ' in your native tongue, I should at once have pulled up, and ])erhaps saved my pet. Ah, me ! — pobre yegua ! pobre Lola, .'" As she uttered the last exclamation, her feelings once more overcame her ; and sinking down upon her knees, she passed her arms around the neck of the mustang, now stiff and cold. Her face was buried in the long thick mane, and I could perceive the tears sparkling like dew-drops over the tossed hair. " Pobre Lolita /" she continued, " I have good cause to grieve ; I had reason to love you well. ]\Iore than once you !t ! The more I reflected upon the incident, the more I became conscious of the powerful interest its heroine had excited within me. Interest, indeed ! Say rather passion — a passion that in one single hour had grown as large as my heart ! it was not tlie /';-,s-< love of my hfe. I was nigh thirty 30 THE WAR-TRAHi. years of age. I liad been enamoured before — more tban once, it may be — and I understood what the feehug was. I needed no Cupid to tell me I was iu love again — to the very ends of my fingers. To paint the object of my passion is a task I shall not attempt. Beauty like hers must be left to the ima,gination. Think of the woman you yoursdfloYe or have loved ; fancy her in her fairest moments, in bower or boudoir — perchance a blushing bride — and you may form some idea No, no, no ! you could never have looked upon woman so lovely as Iholina de Vargas. Oh ! that I could fix that fleeting phantom of beauty — that I could paint that likeness for the world to admire ! It cannot be. The most puissant pen is j3owerless, the brightest colour too cold. Though deeply graven upon the tablet of my heart, I cannot multiply the imjDression. It is idle to talk of wavy hair, profuse and glossed — of almond eyes with long dark fringes — of pearl-white teeth, and cheeks tinted with damascene. All these had she, but they are not peculiar characteristics. Other women are thus gifted. The traits of her beauty lay in the intellectual as much as the physical — in a happy combination of both- The soul, the spirit, had its share in producing this incom- parable picture. It was to behold the play of those noble features, to watch the changing cheek, the varying smile, the falling lash, the flashing eye, the glance now tender, now sublime — it was to look on all this, and be impressed with an idea of the diviuest lovehness. ***** As I ate my frugal breakfast, such a vision was passing befoie me. I contemplated the future with pleasant hopes, but not without feelings of uneasiness. I had not forgotten the abrupt parting' — no invitation to renew the acquaint- ance, no hope, no j^rospect that I should ever behold that beautiful woman again, unless blind chance should prove my friend. I am not a fatalist, and I therefore resolved not to rely upon mere destiny, but, if possible, to help it a little in its evolution. Before I had finished my coffee, a dozen schemes had passed through my mind, all tending towards one object — the renewal of my acquaintance with Isolina de Vargas. Unless favoured by som3 lucky accident, or, what was more AH ORDER TO FORAGE. 81 desirable, hy the lady herself, I knew -wo might never meet again. In such times, it was not Hkely she would be much " out-of-doors ;" and in a few days, hours perhaps, /might be ordered en route never more to return to that interesting outpost. As the district was, of course, under martial law, and I was dc facto dictator, you will imagine that I might easily have procured the right of entry anywhere. Not so. What- ever be the license of the mere soldier as regards the common people of a conquered country, the position of the officer with its higher class is essentially different. If a gentleman, he naturally feels a delicacy in making any advances towards an acquaintance ; and his honour restrains him from the freer forms of introduction. To take ad- vantage of his position of power would be a positive mean- ness, of which a true gentleman cannot be guilty. Besides, there may be rancour on the part of the conquered — there usually is — but even when no such feeling exists, another ban-ier stands in the way of free association between the officer and " society." The latter feels that the position of affiiirs will not be permanent ; the enemy will in time evacuate, and then the vengeance of mob-patriotism is to be dreaded. Never did the ricos of Mexico feel more secure than while under the protection of the American army : many of them were disposed to be friendly ; but the phantom of the future, with its mob emeutes, stared them m the face, and under this dread they were forced to adopt a hypocritical exclusiveness. Epaulettes must not be seen glancing through the windows of their drawing- rooms ! Under such circumstances, ray situation was difficult enough. I might gaze upon the outside walls of that hand- some hacienda till my heart ached, bat how was I to eti'ect an entrance ? To charge a fort, a battery, an intrenched camp — to storm a castle, or break a solid square — one or all would have been child's play comparedwith the dilTiciUty of cross- ing that glacial line of etiquette that separated me from my beautiful enemy. To eifect this purpose, a dozen schemes were passed thrnugli my mind, and rejected, till my eyes at length rested upon liie most niteresting object in the apartment — the little white rope that hung upon my saddlebow. Jii the 3'2 THE WAR-TRAIL. lazo, I recognised my " forlorn-hope." That pretty imple- ment must be returned to its oTner, I myself should take it home ! So far destiny should be guided by me ; beyond, I should have to put my trust in destiny. I think best under the influence of a cigar ; and lighting one, I ascended to the azofcea, to complete my little scheme. I had scarcely made two turns of the roof, when a horseman galloped into the piazza. He was in dragoon uniform, and I soon perceived he was an orderly from head- quarters, inquiring for the commandant of the outpost. One of the men pointed to me ; and the orderly trotting forward, drew up in front of the alcalde's house, and an- nounced that he was the bearer of a dispatch from the general-in-chief, at the same time showing a folded paper. I directed him to pass it up on the point of his sabre, which he did ; and then saluting me, he turned his horse and galloped back as he had come. I opened the dispatch, and read : — "Mead-quarters, Army of Occupation, "Juhj—th, 1846. " Sir, — You will take a sufficient number of your men, and proceed to the hacienda of Don Ramon de Vargas, in the neighbourhood of your station. You will there find five thousand head of beeves, which you will cause to be driven to the camp of the American army, and delivered to the commissary -general. You will find the necessary , drivers upon the ground, and a portion of your troop will form the escort. The enclosed note will enable you to understand the nature of your duty. , A. A. Adjutant-general. " Captain "Warpield." "Surely," thought I, as I finished reading — "surely thci-e is a ' Providence that shapes our ends.' Just as I was cudgelling my brains for some scheme of introduction to Don Ramon de Vargas, here comes one ready fashioned to my hand." I thought no more about the lazo : the rope was no jionger an object of prime interest. Trimmed and embel- lished with the graceful excuse of " duty," I should now ride boldly up to the hacienda, and enter its gates with tho confident air of a welcome guest. Welcome, indeed ! A AN ORDER TO FORAGE. 33 contract for five thousand beeves, and at war-prices ! A good stroke of business on the part of the okl Don. Of course, I shall see him — "embrace him" — hobnob with him over a glass of Canario or Xeres — get ujwn the most intimate terms, and so be "asked back." I am usually- popular with old gentlemen, and I trusted to my bright star to place me en rapport with Don Ramon de Vargas. The coralling of the cattle would occupy some time — a brace of hours at the least. That would be outside work, and I could intrust it to my lieutenant or a sergeant. For myself, I was determined to stay by the walls. The Don must go out to look after his vaqueros. It would be rude to leave me alone. lie would introduce me to his daughter — he could not do less — a customer on so large a scale ! We should be left to ourselves, and then Ha ! Ijurra ! I had forgotten him. Would he be there ? The recollection of this man fell like a shadow over the bright fancies I had conjured up. A dispatch from head-quarters calls forpromptattcntion and my reflections were cut short by the necessity of carrying the order into execution. Without loss of time, I issued the command for about fifty of the rangers to " boot and saddle." I was about to pay more than ordinary attention to my toilet, Avhcn it occurred to me I might as well first peruse the "note" referred to in the dispatch. I opened the paper ; to my surprise the document was in Spanish. This did not puzzle me, and I read : — " The five thousand beeves are ready for you, according to the contract, but / cannot take upon me to deliver them. Thei) viiist he taken from me with a show of force ; and even a liltle rihdcness, on the part of those you send, would not be out of place. My vaf[ueros arc at your service, but / must not command them. You may press them. " Ramon de Vargas." Tliis note was addressed to the commissary-general of tlio American army. Its meaning, though to the uninitiated a little obscure, was to mc ;vs clear as noonday ; and, although it gave me a high opinion of the administrative talmts of Don Ramon de Vargas, it was by no means a welcome document. It rendered null every act of the fine pro- o 34 THE WAR-TRAIL gramme I had sketched out. By its directions, there was to be no " embracing," no hobnobbing over wine, no friendly chat with tlie Don, no tSte-a-tete with his beautiful daughter — no ; but, on the contrary, I was to ride up with a swagger, bang the doors, threaten the trembling porter, kick the peons, and demand from their master five thousand head of beef-cattle — all in true freebooting style ! A nice figui'e I shall cut, thought I, in the eyes of Isolina. A little reflection, however, convinced me that that in- telligent creature would be in the secret. Yes, she will understand my motives. I can act with as much mildness as circumstances -will permit. My Texan lieutenant will do the kicking of the peons, and that without much pressing. If she be not cloistered, I will have a glimpse at her ; so here goes. " To horse ! " The bugle gave the signal; fifty rangers — with Lieu- tenants Holingsworth and Wheatley — leaped into their saddles, and next moment were filing by twos from the piazza, myself at their head. A twenty minutes' trot brought us to the front gate of the hacienda, where we halted. The great door, massive and jail-like, was closed, locked, and barred ; the shutters of the windows as well. Not a soul was to be seen outside, not even the apparition of a frightened peon. I had given my Texan lieutenant his cue ; he knew enough of Spanish for the purpose. Fhnging himself out of the saddle, he approached the gate, and commenced hammering upon it with the butt of his pistol. " Ambre la puerta /" (Open the door !) cried he. No answer. " La puerta — la puerta /" he repeated in a louder tonev Still no answer. " Ambre la puerta ,'" once more vociferated the lieu- tenant, at the same time thundering on the woodwork with his weapon. When the noise ceased, a faint " Quien es?" (Who is it ?) was heard from within. " Yo /" bawled Wheatley, "ambre ! ambre /" " Si, senor," answered the voice in a somewhat tremulous key. "Andaf anda.f Somas hombres de bien.''* (Quick then! We are hoiaest men.) AN ORDER TO FORAGE. 35 A rattling of chains and shooting of bolts now com- menced, and lasted for at least a couple of minutes, at the end of which time the great folding-doors opened inward, displajing to view the swarthy leather-clad portero, the brick-paved saguan, and a portion oithe patio, or courtyard within. As soon as the door was fairly open, Wheatley made a rush at the trembling porter, caught him by the jerkin, boxed both his ears, and then commanded him in a loud voice to summon the dueiio ! This conduct, somewhat unexpected on the part of tho rangers, seemed to be just to their taste ; and I could hear behind me the whole troop chuckhng in half-suppressed laughter. GuerilUros as they were, they had never been allowed much license in their dealings with the inhabitants — the non-combatants — of the country, and much less had they witnessed such conduct on the part of their officers. Indeed, it was cause of complaint in the ranks of tho American army, and with many officers too, that even hostile Mexicans were treated with a lenient consideration denied to themselves. Wheatley's behaviour, therefore, touched a chord in theheartsofourfollowing, that vibrated pleasantly enough ; they began to believe that the cam- paign was about to become a little more jolly. ''»S'e/tor," stammered the porter, "the du — du — dueiio has given or — orders — he wi — wi — will not s — see any one." " mil not ? " echoed Whcatley ; " go, tell him he must ! " " Yes, amigo^^ I said soothingly ; for I began to fear tho man would be too badly frightened to deliver his message. "Go, say to your master that an American officer has business with him, and must see him immediately." Tho man went oft', after a little more persuasion from the free hand of Wheatley, of course leaving the gates open behind him. We did not wait for his return. Tho patio looked in- viting ; and, directing Holingsworthto remain outside with the men, and the Texan lieutenant to follow me, I headed my horse for tho great archway, and rode in. ^ SHE WAR-TKAIL. CHAPTER VIIL DON BAMON. On enteniig the courtyard, a somewhat novel scene pre- sented itself — a Spanish picture, with some transatlantic touches. The patio of a I\lexican house is its proper front. Here you no longer look upon jail-like door and windows, but facades gaily frescoed, curtained verandahs, and glazed Bashes that reach to the ground. The patio of Don Ramon's mansion was paved with brick. A fountain, with its tank of japanned mason-work, stood in the centre ; orange-trees stretched their fronds over the water : their golden globes and white wax-like flowers perfumed the atmosphere, which, cooled by the constant evaporation of the jet, felt fresh and fragrant. Around three sides of the court extended a verandah, its floor of painted tiles rising but a few inches above the level of the pavement. A row of portales supported the roof of this verandah, and the whole corridor was railed in, and curtained. The curtains were close-drawn, and except at one point — the entrance between two of the portales — the corridor was completely screened from our view, and consequently all the windows of the house, that opened into the verandah. No human face greeted our searching glances. In looking to the rear — into the great corral, or cattle-yard — we could see numerous peons in their brown leathern dresses, with naked legs and sandalled feet ; vaqueros in all their gran- deur of velveteens, bell-buttons, and gold or silver lace ; with a number of women and young girls in coloured naguas and rebosos. A busy scene was presented in that quarter. It was the great cattle enclosure, for the estate of Don Ramon de Vargas was a hacienda de ganados, or grand grazing-farm — a title which in no way detracts from the presumed respectability of its owner, many of the noble hidalgoes of Mexico being graziers on a large scale. On entering the patio, I only glanced back at the corral ; my eyes were busy with the curtained verandah, and, failing there, were carried up to the azotea, in hopes DON RAMON. 37 of discovering the object of my thoughts. Tlie house, as I have elsewhere stated, was but a single story in height, and from the saddle I could almost look into the azotea. I could see that it was a sanctuary of rare plants, and the broad leaves and bright corollas of some of the taller ones appeared over the edge of the parapet. Abundance of fair flowers I could perceive, but not that one for which I was looking. No face yet showed, no voice greeted us with a welcome. The shouts of the vaqucros, the umsic of sing- ing-birds caged along the corridor, and the murmur of the fountain, were the only sounds. The two former suddenly became hushed, as the hoofs of our horses rang upon tho stone pavement, and the heedless water alone continued to utter its soft monotone. Once more my eyes swept tho curtain, gazing intently into the few apertures left by a careless drawing ; once more they sought tho azotea, and glanced along the para- pet : my scrutiny still remained unrewarded. Without exchanging a word, Wheatley and I sat silent in our saddles, awaiting the return of the portero. Already the peons, vaqueros, and wenches, had poured in through the back gateway, and stood staring with astonishment at the unexpected guests. After a considerable pause, the tread of feet was heard upon the corridor, and presently the messenger appeared, and announced that the dueho was coming. In a minute after, one of the curtains was drawn back, and an old gentleman made his appearance behind the railing. lie was a person of largo frame, and althougli slightly stooping with age, his step was firm, and his wholo aspect bespoke a wonderful energy and resolution. His eyes were large and brilliant, shadowed by heavy brows, upon which tho hair still retained its dark colour, al- though that of his head was white as snow, lie waa simply habited — in a j;icket of nankeen cloth, and wide trousers of like material. He wore neither waistcoat nor cravat. A full white shirt of finest linen covered his breast, and a sash of dull blue colour was twisted around his •waist. On his head was a costly hat of the " Guaj-aquil grass," and in hia fingers a husk cigarrito smoking at the end. Altogether, the aspect of Don Ramon — for it was he — despite its assumed sternness, was pleasing and intclli- 38 THE WAR-TRAIL. gent ; and I should have rehshed a friendly chat with him, even upon his own account. This, however, was out of the question. I must abide by the spirit of my orders : the farce must be played out ; so, touching the flanks of my horse, I rode forward to the edge of the verandah, and placed myself vis-d-vis with the Don. " Are you Don Eamon de Vargas ?" " Si, seilor," was the reply, in a tone of angry astonish- ment. " I am an oificer of the American army " — I spoke loud, and in Spanish, of course, for the benefit of the peons and vaqueros. " I am sent to offer you a contract to supply the army with beeves. I have here an order from the general-in-chief " " I have no beeves for sale," interrupted Don Ramon, in a loud, indignant voice ; " I shall have nothing to do with the American army." " Then, sir," retorted I, " I must take your beeves without your consent. You shall be paid for them, but take them I must ; my orders require that I should do so. Moreover, your vaqueros must accompany us, and drive the cattle to the American camp." As I said this, I signalled to Holingsworth, who rode in with his following ; and then the whole troop, filing through the back gateway, began to collect the frightened vaqueros, and set them about their work. " I protest against this robbery ! " shouted Don Ramon. " It is infamous — contrary to the laws of civilised warfare. I shall appeal to my government — to yours — I shall have redress." " You shall have payment, Don Eamon," said I, appa- rently trying to pacify him. " Payment, carramho ! — payment from robbers, fZi- husteros " "Come, come, old gentleman!" cried Wheatley, who was only half behind the scenes, and who spoke rather in earnest, " keep a good tongue in your head, or you may lose something of more value to you than your cattle. Remember whom you are talking to." " Tejanos! ladronesP'' hissed Don Ramon, with an earnest application of the latter phrase that would cer- tainly have brought Wheatley's revolver from his belt, had DON RAMON. 89 I not, at the momentj whispered a word in the lieute- nant's ear. " Hang the old rascal ! " muttered he in reply to me ; " I tliought he was in earnest. Look here, old fellow !" he continued, addressing himself to Don Ramon, " don't you be scared about the dollars. Uncle Sam's a liberal trader and a good paymaster. I wish your beef was mine, and I had his promise to pay for it. So take things a little easier, if you please ; and don't be so free of your ' fiUbus- teros' and 'ladi'oncs:' free-born Texans ain't used to Buch talk." Don Ramon suddenly cut short the colloquy by angrily closing the curtains, and hiding himself from our sight. During the whole scone I had great difficulty in con- trolling my countenance. I could perceive that the Alcxi- can laboured under a similar difficulty. There was a laughing devil in the corner of his keen eye that required restraint ; and I thought once or twice cither he or I should lose our equanimity. / certainly should have done so, but that my heart and eyes were most of the time in other quarters. As for the Don, he was playing an im})or- tant part ; and a suspicion of his hypocrisy, on the minds of some of the leather-clad greasers who listened to the dialogue, might have aftenvards brought him to grief. Mo.st of them were his own domestics and retainers, but not all. There were free ranchcros among them — some who be- longed to the pueblita itself — some, perchance, who had figured in pronunciamentos — who voted at elections, and styled themselves citizens. The Don, therefore, had good reasons for assuming a character ; and well did the old gentleman sustain it. As he drew the curtain, his half- whispered " Adios, capitan ! " heard only by myself, sounded full of sweetness and promise ; and I ielt rather contented as I straightened myself in the saddle, end issued the order for ricving his cattle. 40 THE WAR-TRAIL. CHAPTER IX. " UN PAPELCITO." Wheatley now rode after the troop, with which HoHnga- worth had ah-eady entered the corral. A band of drivers was speedily pressed into service ; and with these the two lieutenants proceeded to the great plain at the foot of the hill, where most of Don Ramon's cattle were at pasture. By this arrangement I was left alone, if I except the com- pany of half-a-dozen shppered wenches — the deities of the cocina — who, clustered in the corner of the patio, eyed me with mingled looks of curiosity and fear. The verandah curtains remained hermetically closed, and though I glanced at every aperture that offered a chance to an observing eye, no one appeared to be stirring behind them. " Too high-bred — perhaps indifferent 1 " thought I. The latter supposition was by no means gratifpng to my vanity. " After all, now that the others are gone out of the way, Don Ramon mic/ht ask me to step inside. Ah! no — these mestizo women would tell tales : I perceive it would never do. I may as well give it up. I shall ride out, and join the troop." As I turned my horse to put this design into execution, the fountain came under my eyes. Its water reminded me that I was thirsty, for it was a July day, and a hot one. A gourd cup lay on the edge of the tank. Without dismount- ing, I was able to lay hold of the vessel, and filling it with the cool sparkling liquid, I drained it off. It was veiy good water, but not Canaiio or Xeres. Sweeping the curtain once more, I turned with a disap- pointed glance, and jagging my horse, rode doggedly out through the back gateway. Once in the rear of the buildings, I had a full view of the great meadow already known to me ; and pulling up, I sat in the saddle, and watched the animated scene that was there being enacted. Bulls, half wild, rushing to and fro in mad fury ; vaqucros mounted on their light mustangs, with " UN PAPELCITO." 41 streaming sash and winding lazo ; rangers upon their heavier steeds, offering but a clumsy aid to the more adroit and Eractised herdsmen ; others driving off lai'ge gi-oups that ad been already collected and brought into subjection : and all this amidst the fierce bellowing of the bulls, the shouts and laughter of the delighted troopers, the shriller cries of the vaqueros and peons : the whole forming a pic- ture that, under other circumstances, I should have con- templated with interest. Just then my spirits were not attuned to its enjoyment, and although I remahicd for some minutes with my eyes fixed upon the plain, my thoughts were wandering elsewhere. I confess to a strong faith in woman's curiosity. That such a scene could be passing under the windows of the most aristocratic mansion, without its most aristocratic inmate deigning to take a peep at it, I could not believe. Besides, Isoliua was the very reverse. "Ha! Despite that jealous curtain, those beautiful eyes are glancing through some aperture — window or loophole, I doubt not ;" and with this reflection I once more turned my face to the buildings. Just then it occurred to me that 1 had not sufficiently reconnoitred i\xQ front of the dwelling. As we approached it, we had observed that the shutters of the \vindows were closed ; but these oi^ened inward, and since that time one or other of them miglit have been set a little ajar. From my knowledge of Mexican interiors, I knew that the front windows are those of the principal apartments — of the sala and grand cuarto, or drawing-room — precisely those where the inmates of that hour should bo found. " Fool ! " thought I, " to have remained so long in the patio. Had I gone round to the front of the house, I might have Tis not too late — tlicre's a cliance yet." Under the impulse of this new hope, I rode back througli the corral, and re-entered the patio. The brown- skinned mestizas were still there, chattering and Hurried as ever, and the curtain Iiad not been stirred. A glance at it was all I gave ; and without stopping I walked my liorse across the paved court, and entered under the arched aaguan. The massive gate stood open, as we had left it ; and ou looking into the httle box of the portcro, I ])er- ceived that it was empty. Tlie man had liid himself, ia dread of a second interview with the Texau lieutenant ! 42 THE WAR-TRAH. In another moment I had emerged from the gateway, and was about turning my horse to inspect the windows, when I heard the word " Capitan," pronounced in a voice that sounded soft as a silver bell, and thrilled to my heart like a strain of music. I looked towards the windows. It came not thence ; they were close shut as ever. Whence Before I had time to ask myself the question, the " Capitan" was repeated in a somewhat louder key, and I now perceived that the voice proceeded from above — from the azotea. I wrenched my horse round, at the same time turning my eyes upward. I could see no one ; but just at that moment an arm, that might have been attached to the bust of Venus, was protruded through a notch in the parapet. In the small hand, wickedly sparkling with jewels, was something white, which I could not distinguish until I saw it projected on the grass — at the same moment that the phrase " Un papelcito " reached my ears. Without hesitation I dismounted — made myself master of the papelcito ; and then leaping once more into the saddle, looked upward. I had purposely drawn my horse some distance from the walls, so that I might command a better view. I was not disappointed — Isolina ! The face, that lovely face, was just distinguishable through the slender embrasure, the large brown eyes gaz- ing upon me with that half-earnest, half-mocking glance I had already noticed, and which produced mthin me both pleasure and pain ! I was about to speak to her, when I saw the expression suddenly change : a hurried glance was thrown backwards, as if the approach of some one disturbed her ; a finger rested momentarily on her lips, and then her face disap- peared behind the screening wall of the parapet. I understood the universal sign, and remained silent. For some moments I was undecided whether to go or stay. She had evidently withdrawn from the front of the building, though she was still upon the azotea. Some one had joined her ; and I could hear voices in convei'sation ; her own contrasting with the harsher tones of a man. Per- haps her father — perhaps — that other relative — less agree- able supposition ! I was about to ride off, when it occurred to me that I UN PAPELcrro, 43 had better first master the contents of the " papelcito." Perhaps it might throw some light on the situation, and enable me to adopt the more pleasant alternative of re- maining a while longer upon the premises. I had thrust the biUet into the breast of my frock ; and now looked around for some place where I might draw it forth and peruse it unobserved. The great arched gateway, shadowy and tenantless, offered the desired accommoda- tion ; and heading my horse to it, I once more rode inside the saguan. Facing around so as to hide my front from the cocineras, I drew forth the strip of folded paper, and spread it open before me. Though written in pencil, and evidently in a hun-ied impromptu, I had no difficulty in deciphering it. My heart throbbed exultingly as I read : — " Capitan ! I know you will pardon our dry hospitality ? A cup of cold water — ha ! ha ! ha ! Kemember what I told you yesterday: we fear our friends more than our foes, and we have a guest in the hou^e nv^ father dreads more than you and your terrible filihusteros. I am not angry with you for my pet, but you have carried off my lazo as well. Ah, capitan ! would you rob me of everything ? — Adios ! " ISOLINA." Thrusting the paper back into my bosom, I sat for some time pondering upon its contents. Part was clear enough — the remaining part full of mystery. " We fear our friends more than our/oea." I was be- hind the scenes sufficiently to comprehend what was in- tended by that cunningly worded phrase. It simply meant that Don Ramon do Vargas was Ayankieado — in other words, a friend to the American cause, or, as some loud demagogues would have pronounced him, a " traitor to his country." It did not follow, however, that he was anything of the kind. He might have wi.shcd success to the Anicri- can arms, and still remained a true friend to his country — not one of those blind bigots whose standard displays the brigand motto, " Our country right or wrong ;" but an en- lightened patriot, who desired more to .see Mexico enjoy peace and happiness under foreign domination, than that it shouli continue in anarchy under the iron rule of native despots. What is there in the empty title o{ independence, without peace, without liberty ? After all, patriotism in 44 THE WAR-TRAIL. its ordinary sense is but a doubtful virtue — perhaps nearer to a crime ! It will one day appear so ; one day in the far future it will be supplanted by a virtue of higher order — the patriotism that knows no boundaries of nations, but whose country is the whole earth. That, however, would not be "patriotism !" Was Don Eamon do Vargas a patriot in this sense — a man of progress, who cared not that the name of " Mexico" should be blotted from the map, so long as peace and pros- perity should be given to his country under another name ? Was Don Ramon one of these ? It might be. There were many such in Mexico at that time, and these principally of the class to which Seiior de Vargas belonged — the ricos, or proprietors. It is easy enough to explain why the Ayan- kieados were of the class of ricos. Perhaps the affection of Don Ramon for the American cause had less lofty motives ; perhaps the live thousand beeves may have had something to do with it ? Whethei or no, I could not tell ; nor did I stay to consider. I only reflected upon the matter at all as ofiering an explanation to the ambiguous phrase now twice used by his fair daughter — "We fear our friends more than our /oes." On cither supposition, the meaning was clear. What followed was far from being equally perspicuous. A guest in the house dreaded by her father? Here was mystery indeed. Who could that guest be ? — who but Jjurra ? But Ijurra was her cousin— she had said so. If a cousin, why should he be dreaded 1 Was there still another guest in the house ? That might be : I had not been inside to see. The mansion was large enough to accommodate another — half a score of others. For all tliat, my thoughts constantly turned upon Ijurra, why I know not, but I could not resist the belief that he was the person pointed at — the guest that was " di'eaded !" The behaviour whicX I had noticed on the day before — the first and only time I bad ever seen the man — his angry speech and looks addressed to Isohna — her apparent fear of him : these it was, no doubt, that guided my instincts ; and I at length came to the con- viction that he was tbo fiend dreaded by Don Ramon. And she too feared him ! " God grant she do not also love h^.m !" AN OLD ENJIITT. 45. Such was my mental ejaculation, as I passed on to consider the closing sentences of tho hastily written note. In these I also encountered ambiguity of expression ; whether I construed it aright, time would tell. Perhaps my wish was too nuich parent to my thoughts : hut it was with an exulting heart 1 read the closing sentence and rode forth from the gateway. CHAPTER X. AN OLD ENMITY. I RODE slowly, and but a few paces before reining up my horse. Although I was under the impression that it would be useless remaining, and that an interview with Isolina was impossible — for that day at least — I could not divest myself of the desire to linger a little longer near the spot. Perhaps she might appear again upon the azotea ; if but for a moment ; if but to wave her hand, and waft me an adieu ; if but When a short distance separated me from the walls, T drew up ; and turning in the saddle, glanced back to the parapet. A f;ice was there, where hers had been ; but, oh, the contrast between her lovely features and those that now met my gaze ! Hyperion to the Satyr ! Not that tho face now before me was ugly or ill-featured. Thcro aro some, and women too, who would have termed it handsome ; to my eyes it was hideous ! Let me confess that this hideousness, or more properly its cause, rested in tho moral, rather than the physical expression ; perhaps, too, a little of it miglit have been found in my own hcai-t. Under other circumstances, I might not have criticised that fiicc so harshly. All the world did not agree with mo iibout tho face of Rafael Ijurra — for it wfus lie who was gazing over the ])arapct. Our eyes met ; and that first glance stamped tho relationship between us — hostility for life ! Not a word passed, and yet tho IooIct of each tolil tho ofhor, in tho plainest language, " / am your foe'.'' Had wo sworn it in 46 THE WAR-TRAIL. wild oaths, in all the bitter hyperbole of insult, neither of us would have felt it more profound and keen, I shall not stay to analyse this feeling of sudden and unexpressed hostility, though the philosophy of it is simple enough. You too have experienced it — perhaps more than once in your life, without being exactly able to explain it. I am not in that dilemma : I could explain it easily enough ; but it scarcely merits an explanation. Suffice to say, that while gazing upon the face of that man, I entertained it in all its strength. I have called it an unexpressed hostihty. Therein I have sjjoken without thought : it was fully expressed by both of us, though not in words. Words are but weak symbols of a passion, compared with the passion itself, exhibited in the clenched hand, the lip compressed, the flashing eye, the clouded cheek, the quick play of the muscles — weak symbols are words compared with signs hke these. No words passed between Ijurra and myself; none were needed. Each read in the other a rival — a rival in love, a competitor for the heart of a lovely woman, the loveliest in Mexico ! It is needless to say that, under such an aspect, each hated the other at sight. In the face of Ijurra I read more. I saw before me a man of bad heart and brutal nature. His large, and to speak the truth, beautiful eyes, had in them an animal expression. They were not without intelligence, but so much the worse, for that intelligence expressed ferocity and bad faith. His beauty was the beauty of the jaguar. He had the air of an accomplished man, accustomed ta conquest in the field of love — heartless, reckless, false. mystery of our nature, there are those who love such men ! In Ijurra's face I read more : he kneiv my secret ! The significant glance of his eye told me so. He knew why I was lingering there. The satiric smile upon his lip attested it. He saw my efforts to obtain an interview, and confident in his own position, held my failure but lightly — a something only to amuse him. I could teU all this by the sardonic sneer that sat upon his features. As we continued to gaze, neither moving his eyes from the other, this sneer became too oppressive to be silently borne. I could no longer stand such a satirical reading of my thoughts. The insult was »s marked as words could have made it ; and I was about to have recourse to AN OLD ENMITY. 47 words to reply, when the clatter of a horse's hoofs caused me to turn my eyes in an opposite direction. A horseman was coming uj? the hill, in a direct line from the pastures. I saw it was one of the lieutenants — Holingsworth. A few more stretches of his horse brought the lieu- tenant upon the ground, where he pulled up directly in front of me. "Captain "Wai-field !" said he, speaking in an official tone, " the cattle are collected ; shall we proceed " He proceeded no further with that sentence ; his eye, chance directed, was carried up to the azotea, and rested upon the face of Ijurra. He started in his saddle, as if a serpent had stung him ; his hollow eyes shot prominently out, glaring wildly from their sockets, while the muscles of his throat and jaws twitched in convulsive action ! For a moment, the desperate passion seemed to stifle his breathing, and while thus silent, the exi')rcssion of his eyes puzzled me. It was of frantic joy, and ill became that face where I had never observed a smile. Bui the strange look was soon explained — it was not of fiiendship, but the joy of anticipated vengeance ! Breaking into a wild laugh, he shrieked out, — " Rafael Ijurra, by the eternal God !" This awful and emphatic recognition produced its effect. I saw that Ijurra knew the man who addressed him. His dark countenance turned suddenly pale, and then became mottled with livid spots, while his eyes scintillated, and rolled about in the un.steady glances of terror. He mado no reply beyond the ejaculation "Demonio !" which seemed involuntarily to escape him. He appeared unablo to reply ; surprise and fright held him spell-bound and speechless ! "Traitor! villain! murderer !" shrieked Holingsworth, "we've met at last ; now for a squaring of our accounts !" and in the next instant the muzzle of his rifle was pointing to the notch in the parapet — pointing to the face of Ijurra ! "Hold, Holingsworth! — hold!" cried I, pressing my heel deeply into my horse's flanks, and da.shing forward. Though my steed sprang instantly to the spur, and aa quickly I caught the lieutenant's arm, I was too late to arrest the .shot. I spoiled his aim, however ; and the bullet, instead of passing through the brain of Riifaul Ijurra, as it would certainly have done, glanced upon the 48 THE WAR-TRAIL. mortar of the parapet, sending a cloud of lime-dust into his face. Up to that moment the Mexican had made no attiimpt to escape beyond the aim of his antagonist. Terror must have glued him to the spot. It was only when the report of the rifle, and the blinding mortar broke the spell, that he was able to turn and fly. When the dust cleared away, his head was no longer above the wall. I turned to my companion, and addressed him in some warmth, — " Lieutenant Holingsworth ! I command " " Captain Warfield," intemipted he, in a tone of cool determination, " you may command me in all matters of duty, and I shall obey you. This is a private afiair ; and, by the Eternal, the General himself Bah ! I lose time ; the villain will escape !" and before I could seize either himself or his bridle-rein, Hohngsworth had shot his horse past mc, and entered the gateway at a gallop. I followed as quickly as I could, and reached the patio almost as soon as he ; but too late to hinder him from his purjiose. I grasped him by the arm, but with determined strength he wi'enched himself free — at the same instant ghding out of the saddle. Pistol in hand, he rushed up the escalera, his traihng scabbard clanking upon the stone steps as he went. He was soon out of my sight, behind the j)arapet of the azotca. Flinging myself from the saddle, I followed as fast as my legs would carry me. While on the stairway, I heard loud words and oaths above, the crash of falling objects, and then two shots following quick and fast upon each other. I heard scream- ing in a woman's voice, and then a groan — the last uttered by a man. One of them is dead or dying, thought I. On reaching the azotea — which I did in a few seconds of time — I found perfect silence there. I saw no one, male or female, living or dead ! True, the place was like a garden, with plants, shrubs, and even trees growing in gigantic pots. I could not view it all at once. They might still be there behind the screen of leaves 1 I ran to and fro over the whole roof; I saw flower- AJN OLD EXMITT. 49 pots frcslily broken. It was the crash of them I had heard while coming up. I saw no man, neither Holingsworth nor Ijurra ! They could not be standing up, oi' 1 should have seen them. " Perhaps they are down among tha pots — both. There were two shots. Perhaps both are down — dead." But whero was she who screamed ? "Was it Isolina ? Half distracted, I rushed to another part of the roof. I saw a small escalera — a private stair — that led into the interior of the house. Ha ! they must have gone down by it 1 she who screamed must have gone that way I For a moment I hesitated to follow ; but it was no time to stand upon etiquette ; and I was preparing to plunge down the stairway, when I heard shouting outside the walls, and then another shot from a plt;tol. I turned, and stepped hastily across the azotea in the direction of the sounds. Hooked over the parapet. Down the slope of the hill two men were running at the top of their speed, one after the other. The hindmost held in his hand a drawn sabre. It was Holingsworth still in pursuit of Ijurra! The latter appeared to be gaining upon his vengeful puisuer, who, burdened with his accoutrements, nm heavily. The Mexican was evidently making for the woods that gi-ew at the bottom of the hill ; and in a few seconds more he had entered the timber, and passed out of sight. Like a hound upon the trail, Holingsv.'orth followed, and disappeared from ray view at the same spot. Hoping I might still be able to prevent the shedding of blood, I descended ha.stily from the azotea, mounted my hor.se, and galloped down the hill. I reached the edge of the woods where the two had gone in, and followed some distance upon their trail ; ]n\t I lost it at length, and came to a halt. I remained for .some minutes listening for voices, or, what I more expected to hear, the report of a pistol. Neither sound reached mc. I heard only the shouts of the vaqueros on the other side of the hill ; and this reminding me of my duty, I turned my horse, and rode back to the hacienda. There, evciy thing was silent : not a face was to be seen. Tlie inmates of the house had hidden themselves in rooms barred up and dark ; even the damsels of the kitchen had E 50 THE WAR-TRAIL disappeared — thinking, no doubt, that an attack vfoiild be made upon the premises, and that spohation and plunder were intended. I was puzzled how to act. Hohngsworth's strange conduct liad disarranged my ideas. I should have demanded admission, and explained the occurrence to Don Ramon ; but I had no explanation to give ; I rather needed one for myself ; and under a painful feeling of suspense as to the result, I rode off from the place. Half-a-dozen rangers were left upon the ground with orders to await the return of Holingsworth, and then gallop after us ; while the remainder of the troop, with AVheatley and myself in advance of the vast drove, took the route for the American camp. CHAPTER XL RAFAEL IJURRA. In ill-humour I journeyed along. The hot sun and the dusty road did not improve my temper, ruffled as it was by the unj^leasant incident. I was far from satisfied with my first lieutenant, whose conduct was still a mystery. Wheatley could not explain it. Some old enmity, no doubt — both of us believed — some story of wrong and revenge. No everyday man was Holingsworth, but one altogether of peculiar character and temperament — as unhke him who rode by my side as acid to alkali. The latter was a dashing, cheerful fellow, dressed in half-Mexican costume, who could ride a wild horse and throw the lazo with any vaquero in the crowd. He was a true Texan, almost by birth ; had shared the fortunes of the young republic since the days of Austin ; and was never more happy than while engaged in the border warfare, that, with slight intervals, had been carried on against either Mexican or Indian foeman, ever since the lone-star had spread its banner to the breeze. No raw recruit was Wheatley ; though young, he was what Texans term an "old Indian fighter" — a real ''Texas ranger." RAFAEL UURBA. 61 Holingswcrth was not a Texan, but a Tennessean, though Texas had been for some years his adopted home. It was not the first time he had crossed the Eio Grande. He had been one oi the unfortunate Mier expedition — a survivor of that decimated baud — afterwards carried in chains to Mexico, and there compelled to work breast- deep in ttie mud of the great zancas that traverse the streets. Such experience might account for the serious, somewhat stem expression that habitually rested upon his countenance, and gave him the character of a " dark saturnine man." t have said incidentally that I never saw him smile — never. He spoke seldom, and, as a general thing, only upon mat- ters of duty ; but at times, when he fancied himself alone, I have heard him mutter threats, while a convulsive twitch- ing of the muscles and a mechanical clenching of the fingers accompanied his words, as though he stood in the presence of some deadly foe ! I had more than once ob- served these frenzied outbursts, without knowing aught of their cause. Harding Holingsworth — such was his full name — was a man with whom no one would have cared to take the liberty of asking an explanation of his conduct. His courage and war-prowess were weU known among the Texans ; but it is idle to add this, since otherwise he could not have stood among them in the capacity of a leader. Men like them, who have the election of their own officers, do not trust their hves to the guidance of either stripling or coward. Whcatley and I were talking the matter over as we rode along, and endeavouring to account for the strange behaviour of Holingsworth. We had both concluded that the affair had arisen from some old enmity — perhaps con- nected with the Mier expedition — when accidentally I mentioned the Mexican's name. Up to this moment the Texan heutenant had not seen Ijurra — having been busy with the cattle upon the other side of the hill — nor had the name been pronounced in his hearing. "Ijurra?" he exclaimed with a start, reining up, and turning upon me an inquiring look. " Ijurra." " Rafael Ijurra, do you think ? " "Yes, Rafael — that is the name." "A tall dark fellow, moustached and whiskered?— not ill-looking \ " 52 THE WAR-TRAIIi. " Yes ; he might answer that description," I replied. " If it be the same Eafael Ijurra that used to hve fit San Antonio, there's more than one Texan would like to raise his h.a,\r. The same — it must be — there's no two of the name ; 'taint likely — no." " What do you know of him ?" " Know ? — that he's about the most precious scoundrel in all Texas or Mexico either, and that's saying a good deal. Eafael Ijurra? 'Tis he, by thunder ! It can he nobody else ; and Hohngsworth Ha ! now I think of it, it's just the man ; and Harding Holingsworth, of all men living, has good reasons to remember Am." "How? Explain!" The Texan paused for a moment, as if to collect his scattered memories, and then proceeded to detail what he knew of Rafael Ijurra. His account, without the exple- tives and emphatic ejaculations whicli adorned it, was sub- stantially as follows : — Eafael Ijurra was by birth a Texan of ifexican race. He had formerly possessed a hacienda near San Antonio de Bexar, with other considerable property, all of which he had spent at play, or otherwise dissipated, so that he had sunk to the status of a professional gambler. Up to the date of the Mier expedition he had passed off as a citizen of Texas, under the new regime, and pretended much patriotic attachment to the young republic. "When the Mier adventure was about being oi"ganised, Ijurra had influence enough to have himself elected one of its officers. No one suspected his fidelity to the cause. He was one of those who at the halt by Laredo urged the imprudent ad- vance upon ]\Iier ; and his presumed knowledge of the country — of which he was a native — gave weight to his counsel. It afterwards proved that his free advice was intended for the benefit of the enemy, with whom he was in secret correspondence. On the night before the battle Ijurra was missing. The Texan army was captured after a brave defence — in which they slew more than their own number of the enemy — and, under guard, the remnant was marched off for the capital of Mexico. On the second or third day of their march, what was the astonishment of the Texan prisoners to see Rafael Ijurra in the uniform of a Mexican officer, Wid forming fdrt of their escort ! But that their hands RAFAEL UURHA. 63 were bound, they would have torn him to pieces, so enmged were they at this piece of black ti'easou. "Iwas not in that ugly scrape," continued the lieutenant. " As luck would have it, I was down with a fever in Brazos bottom, or I guess I should have had to draw my lean with the rest of 'em, poor fellows ! " Wheatley's allusion to "drawing his bean" I understood well enough. All who have ever read the account of this ill-starred adventure will remember, that the Texans, goaded by ill-treatment, rose upon their guard, disarmed, and con(]uered them ; but in their subsequent attempt to escape, ill managed and ill guided, nearly all of them wero recaptured, and decimated— qi\c\\ tenth man having been shot like a dog ! The mode of choosing the victims was by lot, and the black and white beans of Mexico {frijoles) were made use of as the expositors of the fatal decrees of destiny. A number of the beans, corresponding to the number of the captives, was placed within an earthen olla — there being a black bean for every nine wliite ones. He who drew the black bean must die ! During the drawing of this fearful lottery, there oc- curred incidents exhibiting character as heroic as has ever been recorded in story. Bead from an eye-witness : — "They all drew their beans with manly dignity and firmness. Some of lighter temper jested over the bloody tragedy. One would say, ' Boi/s ! this boats rajjiin/j all to pieces!^ Another, '■Well, this is the t'dlest gambling- scrape I ever v:as in.^ Robert Beard, who lay upon the gi'ound exceedingly ill, called his brother William, and said, 'Brother, if you (h-aw a black bean, I'll take your place — I want to die ! ' The brother, with overwhelming anguish, replied, 'No, I will keep my own place; / am strong>'r, and better able to die than yoxi^ Major Cocke, when he drew the fatal bean, held it up between his linger and thumb, and, with a smile of contempt, .said, 'Boys! I told you so : 1 never failed in my life to draw a prize ! ' He then coolly added, 'They only rob me of forty years.' Henry Whaling, one of Cameron's best fighters, as ho drew his black bean, .said, in a joyous tone, 'Well, they don t make nuich out of mo anyhow : 1 know I've killed twenty- five of them.' Then demanding his dinner in a firm voice, 54 THE WAR-TRAIL. he added, * They shall not cheat me out of it ! ' Saying this, he ate heartily, smoked a cigar, and in twenty minutes after had ceased to live ! The Mexicans fired fifteen shots at Whaling before he expired ! Young Torrey, quite a youth but in spirit a giant, said that he ' was perfectly willing to meet his fate — for the glory of his country he had fought, and for her glory he was willing to die.' Edward Este sjioke of his death with the coolest indifference. Cash said, 'Well, they murdered my brother with Colonel Eannin, and they are about to murder me.' J. L. Jones said to the interpreter, ' Tell the officer to look upon men who are not afraid to die for their country.' Cajitain Eastland behaved with the most patriotic dignity ; he desired that his country should not particularly avenge his death. Major Dunham said he was prepared to die for his country. James Ogden, with his usual equanimity of tem- per, smiled at his fate and said, * I am prepared to meet it.' Young Eobert W. Harris behaved in the most un- flinching manner, and called upon his companions to avenge their murder. ***** "They were bound together — their eyes being bandaged — and set upon a log near the wall with their backs to- wards their executioners. They all begged the officer to shoot them in front, and at a short distance, saying they * were not afraid to look death in the face.^ This request the Mexican refused ; and to make his cruelty as refined as possible, caused the fire to be delivered from a distance, and to be continued for ten or twelve minutes, lacerating and mangling those heroes in a manner too horrible for description." When you talk of Thermopylae, think also of Texas ! " But what of Holingsworth 1 " I asked. " Ah ! Holingsworth ! " replied the lieutenant ; " he ha* good cause to remember Ijurra, now I think of it. I shall give the story to you as I heard it ;" and my companion proceeded with a relation, which caused the blood to curdle in my veins, as I listened. It fully explained, if it did not palliate, the fierce hatred of the Tennessean towards Rafael Ijurra. In the Mier expedition Holingsworth had a brother, who, like himself, was made prisoner. He was a delicate youth, and could ill endure the hardships, much less the RAPAEL UURRA. 56 barbarous treatment, to which the prisoners were exposed during that memorable march. He became reduced to a skeleton, and worse than that, footsore, so that lie could no longer endure the pain of his feet and ankles, worn skinless, and charged with the sjiincs of acacias, cactus, and the numerous thorny plants in which the dry soil of Mexico is so prolific. In agony he fell down upon the road. Ijurra was in command of the guard ; from him Holingsworth's brother begged to be allowed the use of a mule. The youth had known Ijurra at San Antonio, and had even lent him money, which was never returned. " To your feet and forward ! " was Ijurra's answer. " I cannot move a step," said the youth, despairingly. " Cannot ! Carrai ! we shall see wliether you can. Here, Pablo," continued he, addressing himself to one of the soldiers of the guard ; " give this fellow the spur ; he is restive ! " The ruffian soldier approached with fixed bayonet, seri- ously intending to use its point on the poor v/aywora invalid ! The latter rose with an effort, and made a des- perate attempt to keep on ; but his resolution again failed him. He could not endure the agonising pain, and after staggering a pace or two, he fell up against a rock. " I cannot! " he again cried — '"I cannot march farther: let me die here." "Forward ! or you shall die here," shouted Ijurra, draw- ing a pistol from his belt, and cocking it, evidently with tha determination to carry out his threat. '"Forward ! " " I cannot," faintly replied the youth. " Forivard, or I fire ! " "Fire ! " cried the young man, throwing open the flapa of his hunting-shii-t, and making one last efibrt to stand erect. " You are scarce worth a bullet," said the monster with a sneer ; at the same instant he lovolled his pistol at the breast of his victim, and fired ! When the smoke was blown aside, tlie body of young Ilolingsworth was seen lying at the base of the rock, doubled up, dead ! A tlu-ill of horror ran through the line of cai)tivoa Even their habitually brutal giiards were touched by such wanton barbarity. Tiio brother of the youth was not six 56 THE WAR-TRAIL. yards from the spot, tightly bound, and witness of the whole scene ! Fancy his feelings at that moment ! "No wonder, ' continued the Texan — "no wonder that Harding Holingsworth don't stand upon ceremony as to where and when he may attack Rafael Ijurra. I verily believe that the presence of theCommander-in-chief wouldn't restrain him from taking vengeance. It ain't to be won- dered at ! " In hopes that my companion might help me to some knowledge of the family at the hacienda, I guided the con- vereation in that direction. " And Don Ramon de Vargas is Ijurra's uncle ? " " Sure enough, he must be. Ha ! I did not think of that. Don Ramon is the l^ncle. I ought to have known him this morning— that confounded mezcal I drank knocked him out of my mind altogether. I have seen the old fellow several times. He used to come to San Antonio once a-year on business with the merchants there. I remember, too, he once brought a daughter with him — splendid girl that, and no mistake ! Faith, she crazed half the young fellows in San Antonio, and there was no end of duels ubout her. She used to ride wild horses, and fling the lazo like a Comanche. But what am I talking about ? That mezcal has got into my brains, sure enough. It must have been her you chased '? Sure as shooting it was ! " " Probable enough," I replied, in a careless way. My companion little knew the deep, feverish interest his re- marks were exciting, or the struggle it was costing me to conceal my emotions. One thing I longed to learn from him — whether any of these amorous dueUists had been favoured with the appro- bation of the lady. I longed to put this question, and yet the absolute dread of the answer restrained my tongue ! I remained silent, till the opportunity had passed. The hoof-strokes of half-a-dozen horses coming rapidly from the rear, interrupted the conversation. Without surprise, I perceived that it was Holingsworth and the rangers who had been left at the hacienda. " Captain Warfield !"said the Tennessean as he spurred alongside, " my conduct no doubt surprises you. I shall be able to explain it to your satisfaction when time per- mits. It's a long storj — a painful one to me : you will THE TEIXOW DOMINO. C7 not require it from mo now. This much let me say— • for good reason, I hold Rafael Ijurra as my most deadly foe. J came to Mexico to hill that man ; and, by the Eternal ! if I don't succeed, I care not who kills me/" " You have not then " "With a feeling of relief, I put the question, for I read the answer in the look of disappointed vengeance that gleamed in the eyes of the Tenncssean. I was not per- mitted to finish the interrogatory ; he knew what I was going to ask, and interrupted me with the reply, — "No, no ; the villain has escaped ; but by " The rest of the emphatic vow was inaudible ; but the •wild glance that tiashed from the speaker's eye expressed his deep purpose more plainly than words. The next moment he fell back to his place in the troop, and with his head slightly bent forward, rode on in silence. His dark taciturn features were lit up at intervals by an ominous gleam, showing that he still brooded over hia unavenged wrong. CHAPTER XII. THE YELLOW DOMIJJO. The nest two days I passed in feverish restlessness. Ilolingsworth's conduct had quite disconcerted my plans. From the concluding sentences of Isolina's note, I had construed an invitation to revisit the hacienda in some more quiet guise than that of a filibusturo ; but after what had transpired, I could not muster courage to present myself muler any pretence. It was not likely I should bo welcome — 1, the associate — nay, the commander — of the man who had attempted to take the life of a nephew — a cousin ! ]-)on R;imou had sli[)ulated for a " little rude- ness ;" he had had tlie full measure of his bargain, and a good deal more. He could not otherwise than think so. Were I to present myself at the hacienda, 1 could not bo else than coldly received — iu short, unwelcome. I thought of apologies and pretexts, but to no purpose. 5b THE WAR-TRAIL. For two days I remained in vacillating indecision ; I neither saw nor heard of her who engrossed my thoughts. ****** News from head-quarters ! A " grand ball" to be given in the city ! This bit of gossip fell upon my ear without producing the slightest impression, for I cared little for dancing, and less for grand balls ; in early youth I had liked both ; but not then. The thing would at once have passed from my thoughts, had it not been for some additional information imparted at the same time, which to me at once rendered the ball attractive. The information I allude to was, that the ball was got up " by authority," and would be upon a grand scale. Its object was political ; in other words, it was to be the means of bringing about a friendly intercourse between the con- querors and the conquered — a desirable end. Every effort would be made to draw out the " native society," and let them see that we Yankee officers were not such " barba- rians" as they affected to deem, and in reality pronounced us. It was known — so stated my informant — that many families of the Ayankieados would be present ; and in order to make it pleasanter for those who feared pro- scription, the ball was to be a masked one — itn baile de mascara. " The Ayankieados are to be there ! and she " My heart bounded with new hope : and I resolved to make one of the maskers — not that I intended to go in costume. In my slender wardrobe was a civilian dress of proper cut, and tolerably well preserved : that would answer my purpose. The ball was to come off on the night following that on which I had word of it. My suspense would bo short. ****** Tlie time appeared long enough, but at length the hoxir arrived, and, mounting my good steed, I started off for the city. A brisk ride of two hours brought me on the ground, and I found that I was late enough to be fashionable. ****** As I entered the ball-room, I saw that most of the com- pany had arrived, and the floor was grouped with dancers. It was evident the affair was a " success." There were THE YELLOW DOMINO. 59 four or five hundred persons present, nearly half of them ladies. Many were in character costumes, as Tyrolese pea- sants, Andalusian majas, Bavarian broom-girls, "Wallachian boyards, Turkish sultanas, and bead-bedecked Indian boUcs. A greater number were disguised in the ungraceful domino, while not a few appeared in regular evening dress. Most of the ladies wore masks ; some simply hid their faces behind the coquettish rehoso ^o/jat/o, while others permitted their charms to be gazed upon. As the time passed on, and an occasional copita de vino strengthened the nerves of the company, the uncovered faces became more nu- merous, and masks got lost or put away. As for the gentlemen, a number of them also wore masks — some were in costume, but uniforms predominated, stamping the ball with a miUtary character. It was not a little singular to see a number of Mexican officers minghng in the throng ! These were of course prisoners on parole ; and their more brilhant uniforms, of French patterns, con- trasted oddly with the plain blue dresses of their con- querors. The presence of these prisoners, in the full glitter of their gold-lace, was not exactly in good taste ; but a moment's reflection convinced one it was not a matter of choice with them. Poor fellows ! had they abided by the laws of etiquette, they could not have been there ; and no doubt they were as desirous of shaking their legs in the dance as the gayest of their captors. Indeed, in this species of rivalry they far outstripped the latter. I spent but little time in observing these peculiarities ; but one idea engrossed my mind, and that was to find Isohna de Vargas — no easy task amid such a multitude of maskers. Among the uncovered faces she was not. I soon scanned them all, or rather glanced at them. It needed no scanning to recognise hers. If there, she was one of the mascaritas, and I addressed myself to a close observation of the dames en costume and the dominoes. Hopeless enough appeared the prospect of recognising her, but a little hope sustained me in the reflection, that, being myself uncovered, she might recognise me. When a full half-hour had passed away, ami my lyni- like surveillance was still unrewarded, this hope died within mc ; and, what may appear strange, I began to wish she was not there. 60 THE WAR-TRAIL. " If present," thought I, " she must have seen me ere this, and to have taken no notice " A Uttle pang of chagrin accom]3auied this reflection. I flung myself upon a seat, and endeavoured to assume an air of indifference, though I was far from feehng indif- ferent, and my eyes as before kept eagerly scanning the fair maskers. Now and then, the tournure of an ankle — I had seen Isolina's — or the elliptical sweep of a fine figure, in- spired me with fresh hope : but as the mascaritas who owned them were near enough to have seen, and yet took no notice of me, I conjectured — in fact, hoped — that none of them was she. Indeed, a well-turned ankle is no dis- tinctive mark among the fair doncellas of Mexico. At length, a pair of unusually neat ones, supporting a figure of such superb outlines, that even the ungraceful domino could not conceal them, came under my eyes, and riveted my attention. My heart beat wildly as I gazed. I could not help the belief that the lady in the yellow domino was Isolina de Vargas. She was waltzing with a young dragoon ofl&cer ; and as they passed me I rose from my seat, and approached the orbit of the dance, in order to keep them under my eyes. As they passed me a second time, I fancied the lady re- garded me through her mask : I fancied I saw her start. I was almost sure it was Isolina ! My feeling was now that of jealousy. The yoimg officer was one of the elegant gentlemen of the service — a pro- fessed lady-killer — a fellow, who, notwithstandmg his well- known deficiency of brains, was ever welcome among women. She seemed to press closely to him as they whirled around, while her head rested languishinglyupon hia shoulder. She appeared to be contented with her partner. I could scarcely endure the agony of my fancies. It was a relief to me when the music ceased and the waltz ended. The circle broke up, and the waltzers scattered in dif- ferent directions, but my eyes followed only the dragoon officer and his jmrtner. He conducted her to a seat, and then placing himself by her side, the two appeared to en- gage in an earnest and interesting conversation. With me politeness Avas now out of the question. I had grown as jealous as a tiger ; and I drew near enough to become a listener. The lowness of the tone in which they conversed precluded the possibility of my hearing THE BLUE DOMINO, 61 much Df what was said, but I could make out that tho spark was " coaxing" bis partner to remove her mask. The voice that replied was surely Isolina's ! I could myself have torn the silken screen from her fiice through very vexation ; but I was saved that indiscre- tion, for the request of her cavalier seemed to prevail, and the next instant the mask was removed by the lady's own hand. Shade of Erebus ! what did I see ? She was black — a negrcss / Not black as ebony, but nearly so ; with thick lips, high cheek-bones, and a row of short " kinky" curls danghng over tho arch of her glistening forehead ! My astonishment, though perhaps of a more agreeable kind, was not gi-eater than that of the dragoon lieutenant — who, by the way, was also a full-blooded " Southerner." At sight of his partner's face he started, as if a six-pound shot had winded him ; and after a few half-muttereil ex- cuses, he rose with an air of extreme gaucherie, and hurry- ing off, hid himself behind the crowd ! The "coloured lady," mortified — as I presumed she must be — hastily readjusted her mask, and rising from her seat, glided away from the scene of her humiliation. I gazed after her with a mingled feeling of curiosity and pity ; I saw her pass out of the door alone, e\'idcntly with the intention of leaving the ball. I fancied she had departed, as her domino, conspicuous by its bright yellow colour, was no more seen among tho maskers. CHAPTER XIIL THE BLUE DOMINO. Thus di.sappointed, I gave up all hope of meeting her for wlioso sake I had come to the ball. She was cither not there, or did not wish to be recognised, even by me. Tho latter supposition was the more bitter of the iwo ; and goaded by it and one or two other uncongenial thoughts, I paid frequent visits to the '' refreshment-room," whero wiue llowed freely. A cup or two drove the one idea out 62 THa; war-trail, of my miud ; and after a while, I grew more companion- able, and determined to enjoy myself like others around me. I had not danced as yet, but the wine soon got to my toes as well as into my head ; and I resolved to put myself in motion with the first partner that offered. I soon found one — a blue domino — that came right in my way, as if the fates had determined we should dance together. The lady was " not engaged for the next ;" she would be " most happy." This, by the way, was said in French, which would have taken me by surprise, had I not known that there were many French people living in C , as in all the large cities of Mexico. They are usually jewellers, dentists, mil- liners, or rather artisans of that class who drive a lucrative trade among the luxury-loving Mexicanos. To know there were French people in the place, was to be certain you would find them at the ball ; and there were they, num- bers of them, pirouetting about, and comporting them- selves with the gay insouciance characteristic of their nation. I was not surprised, then, when my blue domino addressed me in French. "A French modiste!" conjectured I, as soon as she spoke. Milliner or no, it mattered not to me ; I wanted a danc- ing partner ; and after another phrase or two in the same sweet tongue, away went she and I in the curving whirl of a waltz. After sailing once round the room, I had two quite new and distinct impressions upon my mind : the first, that I had a partner who could waltz, a thing not to be met with every day. My blue domino seemed to have no feet under her, but floated around me as if borne upon the air ! Fbr the moment, I fancied myself in Eanelagh or Mabille ! My other impression was, that my arm encircled as pretty a waist as ever was clasped by a lover. There was a pleasing rotundity about it, combined with a general sym- metry of form and serpentine yieldiness of movement that rendered dancing with such a partner both easy and de- lightful. My observation at the moment was, that if the face of the modiste bore any sort of proportion to her figure, she needed not have come so far from France to push her fortune. THE BLUE DOIIINO. 63 With such a partner I could not otherwise than waltz well ; and never better than uijon that occasion. We were soon under the observation of the company, and became the cynosure of a circle. This I did not relish, and draw- ing my blue domino to one side, we waltzed towards a seat, into which I handed her with the usual pohte expres- sion of thanks. This seat was in a little recess or blind window, where two persons might freely converse without fear of au eaves-dropper. I had no desire to inin away from a part- ner who danced so well, though she were a modiste. There was room for two upon the bench, and I asked permission to sit beside her. " Oh, certainly," was the frank reply. " And wiU you permit me to remain with you till the music recommences V " If you desire it." " And dance with you again V " With pleasure, monsieur, if it suit your convenience. But is there no other who claims you as a partner ? — no other in this assemblage you would prefer V " Not one, I assure you. You are the only one present ■with whom I care to dance." As I said this, I thought I perceived a shght movement, that indicated some emotion. " It was a gallant speech, and the modiste is pleased with the compliment," thought I. Her reply : — " It flatters me, sir, that you prefer my company to that of the many splendid beauties who are in this saloon ; though it may gratify me still more if you knew who I am" The last clause was uttered with an emphasis, and fol- lowed by a sigh ! " Poor girl!" thought I, "she fancies that I mistake her for some grand dame — that if I knew her real posi- tion, her humble avocation, I should not longer care to dance with her. In that she is mistaken. I make no dis- tinction between a milliner and a marchioness, especially in a ball-room. There, grace and beauty alone guide to preference." After giving way to some such reflections, I replied, — " It is my regret, mam'selle, not to have the happiness 6-1 THE WAR-TRAIL. of knowing who you are, and it is not possible I ever may, unless you will have the goodness to remove your mask." " Ah ! monsieur, what you request is impossible." " Impossible ! and why may I ask 1" " Because, were you to see my face, I should not have yoii for my partner in the nest dance ; and to say the truth, I should regret that, since you waltz so admirably." " Oh ! refusal and flattery in the same breath ! No, niani'seUe, I am sure your face will never be the means of your losing a partner. Come ! let me beg of you to remove that envious counterfeit. Let us converse freely face to face. / am not masked, as you see." " In truth, sir, you have no reason to hide your face, which is more than I can say for many other men iii tliis room." " Quick-witted milliner," thought I. " Bravo, Eane- lagh! VivelaMabille!"-' " Thanks, amiable masker ! " I replied. " But you arc too generous : you flatter me " " It is worth while," rejoined she, interrupting me ; "it improves your cheek : blushes become you, ha, ha, ha ! " " The deuce !" I ejaculated, half aloud, " this dame du Boulevard is laughing at me !" " But what are youl" she continued, suddenly changing her tone. " You are not a Mexican 1 Ai'e you soldier or civilian ?" " What would you take me for ?" " A poet, from your pale face, but more from the manner in which I have heard you sigh." " I have not sighed since we sat down. " No — but before we sat down." " What ! in the dance ?" " No — before the dance." " Ha ! then you observed me before 1 " " O yes, your plain dress rendered you conspicuous among so many uniforms ; besides your manner " " What manner 1 " I asked, with some degree of confu- sion, fearing that in my search after Isolina I had com- mitted some stupid piece of left-handedness. " Your abstraction ; and, by the way, had you not a little penchant for a yellow domino V " A yellow domino 1 " repeated I, raising my hand to THE BLUE DOMD.'0. 65 my head, as though it cost me an effort to remember it — " a yellow domino 1" " Ay, ay — a yc-U-ow dom-in-o," rejoined my companion, with sarcastic emphasis — " a yellow domino, who waltzed with a young officer — not bad-looking, by the way." " Ah ! I think I do remember " " Well, I think you ought," rejoined my tormentor, " and well, too : you took sufficient pains to observe." " Ah — aw — yes," stammered I. " I thought you were conning verses to her, and as you had not the advantage oiseeing her face, were making them to her feet!" " ITa, ha ! — what an idea of yours, mad'm'scllc !" " In the end, she was not ungenerous — she let you see the foce ?" " The devil !" exclaimed I, starting ; " you saw the denouement, then ? " "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed she; "of course I saw the denouement, ha, ha ! — drole, wasn't it ?" " Very," replied I, not much relishing the joke, but endeavouring to join my companion in the laugh. " How silly tiie spark looked ! Ihi, ha ! " " Very siUy, indeed. Ha, ha, ha !" "And how disappointed " " Eh ] " " How disappointed you looked, monsieur! " « Oh— ah— I— no— I assure you— I had no interest in the affair. I was not disappointed — at least not as you imagine." " Ah ! " " The feeling uppermost in my mind was pitjj — pity for the poor girl." " And you really did pity her ?" This (juestion was put with an earnestness that sounded somewhat strange at the moment. " I really did. Tluv creature seemed so mortified " ■' She seemed mortified, ditl she ?" " Of course. She left the room immediately after, and has not returned since. No doubt she has gone home, poor devil ! " " Poor devil ! Is that the extent of your pity ?" " Well, after all, it must be confessed she was a sui)crb deceiftion: a finer dancer I never saw — I beg pardon, I r 66 THE WAR-TRAIL. except my present partner — a good foot, an elegant figure, and then to turn out " « Whatr' " Una negrilla ! '' " I fear, monsieur, you Americans are not very gallant towards tlie ladies of colour. It is different here in Mexico, which you term despotic.^' I felt the rebuke. " To change the subject," continued she ; " are you not a poet ?" " I do not deserve the name of poet, yet I wiU not deny that I have made verses." " I thought as much. What an instinct I have ! O that I could prevail upon you to write some verses to me!" " What ! without knowing either your name or having looked upon your face. Mam'selle, I must at least see the features I am called upon to praise." " Ah, monsieur, you little know : were I to unmask those features, I should stand but a poor chance of getting the verses. My plain face would counteract all your poetic inspirations." '• Shade of Lucretia ! this is no needlewoman, though dealing in weapons quite as sharp. Modiste, indeed! I have been labouring mider a mistake. This is some darne spirit uelle, some grand lady." I had now grown more than curious to look upon the face of my companion. Her conversation had won me : a woman who could talk so, I fancied, could not be ill-look- ing. Such an enchanting spirit could not be hidden behind a plain face ; besides, there was the gracefulness of form, the small gloved hand, the dainty foot and ankle demon- strated in the dance, a voice that rang like music, and the flash of a superb eye, which I could perceive even thi'ough the mask. Beyond a doubt, she was beautiful. " Lady ! " I said, speaking with more earnestness than ever, " I entreat you to unmask yourself. Were it not in a ball-room, I should beg the favour upon my knees," " And were I to grant it, you could hardly rise soon enough, and pronounce your lukewarm leave-taking. Ha, monsieur! think of the yeUow domino !" " Mam'selle, you take pleasure in mortifying me. Do you deem me capable of such fickleness 1 Suppose for a THE BLUE DOMINO. 67 moment, you are not wliat the world calls beautiful, you could not, by removing your mask, also strip yourself of the attractions of your conversation — of that voice that thrills through my heart — of that gi-ace exhibited iu your every moveruent! With such endowments how could a woman appear ill-looking ? If your face was even as black as hers of the yellow domino, I verily believe I could not perceive its darkness." " Ha, ha, ha ! take care what you say, monsieur. I pre- sume you are not more indulgent than the rest of your sex ; and well know I that, with you men, ugliness is the greatest crime of a woman." " I am different, I swear " " Do not perjure yourself, as you will if I but remove my mask. I tell you, sir, that in spite of all the fine qua- lities you imagine me to possess, I am a vision that would horrify you to look upon." " Impossible ! — your form, your grace, your voice. Oh, unmask ! I accept every consequence for the favour I ask." " Then be it as you wish ; but I shall not be the means of punishing you. Receive from your own hands the chas- tisement of your curiosity." " You permit me, then ? Thanks, mam'selle, thanks ! It is fa.stened behind : yes, the knot is here — now I have it — so — so " With trembling fingers I undid the string, and pulled off the piece of taffcty. Shade of Sheba ! what did I see? The mask fell from my fingers, as though it had been iron at a cherry heat. Astonishment caused me to drop it ; rather say horror — horror at beholding the face under- neath — the face of tho yellow domino! Yes, there was the same ncgrcss with her tliick lips, high cheek-bones, and tho little well-oiled kinks hanging like corkscrews over her temples ! 1 knew not cither what to say or do ; my gallantry was clean gone ; and although I resumed my seat, I remained perfectly dumb. Had I looked in a mirror at that moment, I should certainly have beheld the face of a fool. My companion, wlio seemed to have made up her mind to su«h a result, instead of being mortified, burst into a loud fit of laughter, at tho same time crying out in a tone of railler}', — 68 THE WAR-TRAIL. " Now, Monsieur le Poote, does my face inspire you 1 When may I expect the verses ? To-morrow ? Soon ? Never ? Ah ! monsieur, I fear you arc not more gallant to US poor 'ladies ob colour' than your countryman the lieu- tenant. Ha, ha, ha ! " I was too much ashamed of my own conduct, and too deeply wounded by her reproach, to make reply. For- tunately her continued laughter offered me an opportunity to mutter some broken phi'ases, accompanied by very clumsy gestures, and thus take myself off. Certainly, in all my life, I never made a more awkward adieu. I walked, or rather stole, towards the entrance, deter- mined to leave the ball-room, and gallop home. On reaching the door, my cariosity grew stronger than my shame ; and I resolved to take a parting look at this singular Ethiopian. The blue domino, still within the niche, caught my eye at once ; but on looking up to the face — gracious Heaven ! it was Isolina's ! I stood as if turned into stone. My gaze was fixed upon her face, and I could not take it off. She was looking at me ; but, oh ! the expression with which those eyes regarded me ! That was a glance to be remembered for life. She no longer laughed, but her proud lip seemed to curl with a sarcastic smile, as of scorn ! I hesitated whether to return and apologise. But no ; it was too late. I could have fallen upon my knees, and begged forgiveness. It was too late. I should only subject myself to further ridicule from that capricious spirit. Perhaps my look of remorse had moi'e effect than words. I thought her expression changed ; her glance became more tender, as if inviting me back ! Perhaps At this moment a man approached, and without cere- mony seated himself by her side. His face was towards me — I recognised Ijurra ! " They converse. Is it of me ? Is it of ? If so, ho will laugh. A world to see that man laugh, and know it is at me. If he do, I shall soon cast off the load that is crush- ing my heart ! " He laughs not — not even a smile is traceable on his sombre features. She has not told him, and well for him she has not. Prudence, perchance, restrains her tongue ; she might guess the result." They are on tt^ir feet again ; she masks. Ijurra leads LOVE-THOUGHTS. 69 her to the dance ; they front to each other ; they whirl away — away : they are lost among the maskers, •'♦* * * * " Some wine, mozo !" A deep long draught, a few seconds spent in buckling on my sword, a few more in reaching the gate, one spring, and my saddled steed was under me. I rode with desperate heart and hot head ; but the cool night-r.ir, the motion of my horse, and his proud spirit mingling with mine, gave me relief, and I soon felt calmer. On reaching the rancheria, I found my Hcutcnants still up, eating their rudely cooked supper. As my ajjpetite was roused, I joined them at their meal ; and their friendly con- verse restored for the time my spirit's equanimity. CHAPTER XIV. LOVE-THOUGHTS. A DREAD feeling is jealousy, mortified vanity, or whatever you may designate the disappointment of love. I liave ex- perienced the sting of shame, the blight of broken fortune, the fear of death itself ; yet none of these ever wrung my heart so rudely as the pang of an unreciprocated passion. The former are but transient trials, and their bitterness soon has an end. Jealousy, like the tooth of the serpent, carries poison in its sting, and long and slow is the healing of its wound. AVell knew he this, that master of the human heart : lago's prayer was not meant for mockery. To drown my mortihcation, 1 liad drunk wine freely at the ball ; and on returning home, had continued my iiota- tions with the more fiery s[)irit of "Catalan." l!y tliis means I gained relief and sleep, but only of short dura- tion. Long before day I was awake — awake to the doul)l8 bitterness of jealousy and shame — awake to both mental and physical pain, tor the fumes of the vile stutF I had drunk wrecked my brain as though they would burst open my skulk An ounce of opium would not have set nio to sleep again, and I tossed on my couch like one labouring under delirium. 70 THE WAR-TRAIL. Of course the incidents of the preceding night were up- permost in my mind. Every scene and action that had occurred were as j)lainly before me as if I was again wit- nessing them. Every effort to alienate my thoughts, and fix them upon some other theme, proved vain and idle ; they ever returned to the same circle of reflections, in the centre of which was Isolina de Vargas ! I thought of all that had passed, of all she had said. I remembered every word. How bitterly I remembered that scornful laugh ! — how bitterly that sarcastic smile, when the double mask was removed ! The very remembrance of her beauty pained me ! It was now to me as to Tantalus the ciystal waters, never to be tasted. Before, I had formed hopes, had indulged in prospective dreams : the masquerade adventure had dissi- pated them. I no longer hoped, no longer permitted myself to dream of pleasant times to come : I felt that I was scorned. This feeling produced a momentary revulsion in my thoughts. There were moments when I hated her, and vengeful impulses careered across my soul. These were fleeting moments : again before me rose that lovely form, that proud grand spirit, in the full entirety of its power, and again my soul became absorbed in admira- tion, and yielded itself to its hopeless passion. It was far from being my first love, and thus experienced, I could reason upon it. I felt certain it was to be the strongest and stormiest of my life. I know of three loves distinct in kind and power. First, when the passion is reciprocated — when the heart of the beloved yields back thought for thought, and throb for throb, without one reserved pulsation. This is bliss upon earth — not always long-lived — ending perchance in a species of sublimated friendship. To have is no longer to desire. The second is love entirely unrequited — love that never knew word or smile of encouragement, no soft whisper to fan it into flame, no ray of hoi:ie to feed upon. Such dies of inanition — the sooner that its object is out of the way, and absence in time will conquer it. The third is the love that " dotes yet doubts," that doubts but never dies — no never. The jealousy that pains, only sustains it ; it lives on, now happy in the honeyed LOVE-THOUGHTS. 71 conviction of triumph, now smarting under real or fancied scorn — on, on, so long as its object is accessible to sight or hearing ! No matter how worthless that object may be or become — no matter how lost or fallen ! Love regards not this ; it has nought to do with the moral part of our nature. Beauty is the shi'ine of its worship, and beauty is not morality. In my own mind I am conscious of three elements or classes of feeling : the moral, the intelUfitual, and what 1 may term the passional — the last as distinct from either of the other two as oil from spii-its or water. To the last belongs love, which, I repeat again, has no sympathy with the moral feelings of our nature, but, alas ! as one might almost beheve, with their opposite. Even a plain but wicked coquette will captivate more hearts than a beautiful saint, and the brilhant murderess ere now has made con- quests at the very foot of the scaffold ! It pains me to pronounce these convictions, derived as they arc from experience. There is as little gain as plea- sure in so doing, but popularity must be sacrificed at the shrine of truth. For the sake of effect, I shall not play false with philosophy. Kough ranger as I was, I had studied psychology suih- cicntly to understand these truths ; and I endeavoured to analyse my passion for this girl or woman — to discover why I loved her. ller physical beauty was of the highest order, and that no doubt was an element ; but it was not all. Ilad I merely looked upon this beauty under ordi- nary circumstances — that is, without coming in contact with the spirit that animated it — I might have loved her, or I might not. It was the h^pirit, then, that had won me, though not alone. The same gem in a less brilliant set- ting might have failed to draw my admiration. I was the captive both of the spirit and the form. Soul and body had co-operated in producing my passion, and this may account lx)r its suddenness and profundity. Why I lovcd^ her person, I knew — I was not ignorant of the laws of beauty — but why tlic spirit, I knew not. Certainly not from any idea I had formed of her high moral qualities ; I had no evidence of these. Of her courage, even to daring, I had proof ; of energy and determined will ; of the power of thought, quick and versatile ; but tlicsc are not moi d qualities, they arc not even feminine ! Ti-ue, she 72 THE WAR-TRAIL. •wept ovei' her slain steed. Hiimanity? I have known a hardened lorette weep bitter tears for her tortoise-shell cat. She refused to take from me my horse. Generosity ? She had a thousand within sight. Alas ! in thus reviewing all that had passed between myself and the beautiful Isolina, in search of her moraL qualities, I met with but httle success ! I\Iystery of our nature ! I loved her not the less ! And yet my passion was pure, and I do not believe that my heart was wicked. IMj'stery of our nature ! He who reads all hearts alone can solve thee ! I loved without reason ; but I loved now without hope. Hope I had before that night. Her glance through the turrets — her note — its contents — 'a word, a look at other times, had inspired me with hopes, however faint they were. The incident of the ball-room had crushed them. Ijurra's dark face kept lowering before me ; even in my visions he was always by her side. "What was between the two 1 Perhaps a nearer relationship than that of cousin ? Perhaps they were affianced ? 3Iarried ? The thought maddened me. I could rest upon my couch no longer. I rose and sought the open air ; I climbed to the azotea, and paced it to and fro, as the tiger walks his cage. My thoughts were wild, and my movements without method. To add to the bitterness of my reflections, I now dis- covered that I had sustained a loss — not in property, but something that annoyed me still more. I had lost the order and its enclosure — the note of Don Ramon. I had dropped them on the day in which they were received, and I believed in the patio of the hacienda, where they must have been picked up at once. If by Don Ramon himself, then all was well ; but if they had fallen into the hands of some of the leather-clad herdsmen, ill affected to Don Ramon, it might be an awkward affair for that gentleman — indeed for myself. Such negligence would scarcely be overlooked at head-quarters ; and I had ill forebodings about the result. It was one of my soul's darkest hours. From its very darkness I might have known that light was near, for the proverb is equally true in the moral ag in the material world. Liglit vjus near. 'o' AJI ODD EriSTLBl 73 CHAPTER XV. AN ODD EPISTLE. Bkeauast I liaidly tasted. A taso of chocolate and a Bmall sugared cake — the desayuna of every Mexican — — were brought, aud these served me for breakfast. A glass of cognac and a Ilavanna were more to the purpose, and helped to stay the -wild trembling of my nerves. Fortunately, there was no duty to perform, else I could ill have attended to it. I remained on the azotea till near mid-daj'. The .storm raging within prevented me from taking note of what was passing around. The scenes in the piazza, the rangers and their steeds, the " greasers" in their striped blankets, the Indias squatted on their iMates, the pretty poblanas, were all unnoticed by me. At intervals my eyes rested upon the walls of the dis- tant dwelling ; it was not so distant but that a human form could have been distinguished upon its roof, had one been there. There was none, and twenty, ay, fifty times, did I turn away my disappointed gaze. About noon the Serjeant of the guard reported that a Mexican wished to speak with me. Mechanically, I gavo orders for the man to be sent up ; but it was not until he appeared before me that I thought of what I was doing. The presence of the Mexican at once aroused me iVoni my unpleasant reverie. I recognised him as one of the va- qucros of Don Ramon de Vargas — the same I had seen ou the plain during my first interview with Isoliua. Tliere was something in his manner that betokened him a messenger. A folded note, which he drew from imder his jerkin — after having glanced around to see whether he was noticed — confirmed my observation. I took the note. There was no superscription, nor di-ere delighted at tho idea of such a "scout," and exhibited as much excitement as if I was leading them to a skirmish with guenileros. The country through whicli we passed was at fir.*;! a dense chapparal, consisting of the various thorny shrubs 78 THE WAR-TRAHi. and plants for whicli this part of Mexico is so celebrated. The greater proportion belonged to the family of Icguminosce — robinias, gleditschias, and the Texan acacias of more than one species, there known as mezqidte. Aloes, too, formed part of the under-growth, to the no small annoyance of the traveller — the wild species known as the lechugioilla, or pita-plant, whose core is cooked for food, whose fibrous leaves serve for the manufacture of thread, cordage, or cloth — while its sap yields by distillation the fiery mezcal. Here and there, a tree yucca grew by the way, its fascicles of rigid leaves reminding one of the plumed heads of Indian warriors. Some I saw with edible fruits growing in clus- ters, like bunches of bananas. Several species are there of these fruit-bearing yuccas in the region of the Eio Grande, as yet imknown to the scientific botanist. I observed also the palmilla, or soap-plant, another yucca whose roots yield an excellent substitute for soap ; and various forms of cactus — never out of sight on Mexican soil — grew thickly around, a characteristic feature of the landscape. Plants of humbler stature covered the surface, among which the syngenesists predominated ; while the fetid artemisia, and the still more disagreeably odorous creosote plant {Larrea Mexicana), grew upon spots that were sandy and arid. Pleasanter objects to the eye were the scarlet panicles of the Fouquiera splendens, then unde- scribed by botanists, and yet to become a favourite of the arboretums. I was in no mood for botanising at the time, but I well remember how I admired this elegant species — its tall culm-like stems, surmounted by panicles of brilliant flowers, rising high above the level of the surrounding thicket, hke banners above a host. Not that I i^ossess the refined taste of a lover of flowers, and much less then ; but cold must be the heart that could look upon the floral beauty of Mexico, without remembering some portion of its charms. Even the rudest of my followers could not otherwise than admire ; and once or twice, as we journeyed along, I could hear them give utterance to that fine ej)ithet oi the heart's desire, " Beautiful ! " As we advanced, the aspect changed. The surface be- came freer of jungle ; a succession of glade and thicket ; in short, a " mezquite prairie." Still advancing, the " open- ings " became larger, while the timbered surface diminished llll-; M ANA DA. THE MANADA. 79 in extcut, and now and then the glades joined each other without interruption. We had riden nearly ten miles without drawing bridle, when our guide struck upon the trail of the manada. Sev- eral of the old hunters, without dismounting, pronounced the tracks to be those of wild onares, which they easily dis- tinguished from horso tracks. Their judgment proved cor- rect ; for following the trail but a short distance farther, wc came full in sight of the drove, which the vaqucro confi- dently pronounced was the manada we were in search of! So far our success equalled our expectations ; but to get sight of a cahallada of wild-horses, and to capture its swiftest steed, are two things of very unequal difficulty. This fact ray anxiously beating heart and quickly throbbing pulse revealed to me at the moment. It would be difficult to describe the mingled feelings of anxious doubt and joy- ous hope that passed through my mind, as from afar oft' I gazed upon that shy herd, still unconscious of our ap- proach. The prairie upon which the mares were browsing was more then a mile in width, and, like those wc had been passing through, it was surrounded by the low chapparal forest — although there were avenues that communicated with other openings of a similar kind. Near its centre was the manada. Some of the mares were quietly browsing upon tlie grass, while others were frisking and playing about, now rearing up as if in combat, now rushing in wild gallop, their tossed manes and full tails flung loosely upon the wind. Even in the distance we could trace the full rounded development of their bodies ; and their smooth coats glistening under the sun denoted their fair condi- tion. They were of all colours known to the horse, for in this the race of the Spanish horse is somewhat pccuhar. There were bays, and blacks, and whites — the last being most numerous. There were greys, both iron and roan, and duns with white manes and tails, and some of a molo colour, and not a few of the kind knowai in Mexico as pintitdos (piel)alds) — for spotted horses are not uncommon among the mustangs — all of course with full manes and tails, since the mutilating shears of the jockey had never curtailed their flowing glories. But where was the lord of this splcntlid harem ? — where the steed ? 80 THE WAR-TRAIL. This was the thought that was uppcrm Dst in the mind of all — the question upon every tongue. Our eyes wandered over the herd, now here, now there. Whitehorses there were, numbersof them, but it needed but a glance to tell that the "steed of the j)rairies " was not there. We eyed each other with looks of disappointment. Even my companions felt that ; but a far more bitter feeling was growing upon me as I gazed upon the leader- less troop. Could I have captured and carried back the whole drove, the present would not have purchased one smile from Isolina. The steed was not among them ! He might still be in the neighbourhood ; or had ho forsaken the manada altogether, and gone far away over the wide prairie in search of new conquests ? The vaquero believed he was not far off. I had faitli in this man's opinion, who, having passed his life in the observation of vnld and half-wild horses, had a perfect knowledge of their habits. There was hope then. The steed might be near ; perhaps lying down in the shade of the thicket ; perhaps with a portion of the manada or some favourite in one of the adjacent glades. If so, our guide assured us we should soon have him in view. He would soon bring the steed upon the ground. How 1 Simply by startling the mares, whose neigh of alarm would be heard from afar. The plan seemed feasible enough ; but it was advisable that we should surround the manada before attempting to disturb them, else they might gallop off in the opposite di- rection, before any of us could get near. Without delay, we proceeded to effect the " surround." Tlie chapparal aided us by concealing our movements ; and in half-an-hour we had deployed around the prairie. The drove still browsed and played. They had no suspicion that a cordon of huntei-s was being formed around them, else they would have long since galloped away. Of all wild creatures, the shyest is the wild-horse ; the deei', the antelope, and buffalo, are far less fearful of the approach of man. The mustang seems to understand the doom that awaits him in captivity. One could almost fancy that the runaways from the settlements — occasion- ally seen amongst them — had poured into their ears tho tale of their hardships and long endurance. THE ItANADA. 81 I had myself ridden to the opposite side of the prairie, in order to be certain when the circle was complete. I was now alone, having dropped my companions at intervals along the margin of the timber. I had brought with me the bugle, with a note or two of which I intended to give the alarm to the mares. I had placed myself in a clump of mezquite trees, and was about raising the horn to my lips, when a shrill scream from behind caused mo to bring down the instrument, and turn suddenly in my scat. For a moment, I was in doubt as to what could have produced such a singular utterance, when a .second time it fell on my ear, and then I recognised it. It was the neigh of the prairie stallion ! Near me wa.s a break in the thicket, a sort of avenue leading out into another prairie. In this I could hear the hoof-stroke of a horse going at a gaUop. As fast as the underwood would allow, I pressed for- ward and came out upon the edge of the open ground ; but the sun, low down, flashed in my eyes, and I could see no object distinctly. The tread of the hoofs and the slu'ill neighing still rang in my ears. Presently the dazzling light no longer quite blinded me : I shaded my eyes with my hand, and could perceive the form of a noble steed stretching in full galloi) down the avenue, and coming in the direction of the manada. Half-a-dozen springs brought him opposite ; the beam was no longer in my eyes ; and as he galloped past, I saw before me " the white steed of the prairies." There was no mistaking the marks of that splendid creature : there was the snow-white body, the ears of jetty blackness, the blue muzzle, the red projected nostril, the broad oval quarters, the rounded and symmetric limbs — all the points of an incomparable steed ! Like an arrow he shot past. He did not arrest his pace for an instant, but galloped on in a direct lino for the drove. The marcs had answered his first signal with a respon- sive neigh ; and tossing up tlxeir heads, the whole manada was instantly in motion. In a few seconds, they .stoinl at rest a,<^i\\n, form I'd 171 line — as exact as could have bcon done by a troop of cavalry — and fronting their lead will give sunie idea of the pain uf hunger ; that i)ain will increase upon a second day, and by tlio thinl will have reached its maximum. Upon the fourth and fifth, tlie boily grov.'s weaker, and the bjain becomes deranged ; the nerve, however, is less acute, and though the ssuftcring is still intense, hunger is never harder to endure than upon the eenond or third days 94 THE WAR-TRAIL. Of course, these remarks apply only to tkose not habit- uated to long fasts. I have known men who could endure hunger for six days, and feel less pain than others under a fast of twenty-four hours. Indians or prairie-hunters were those men, and fortunately for them that they are endowed with such powers of endurance, often driven as they are into circumstances of the most dire necessity. Truly, " the Lord tempers the wind to the shorn lamb ! " As I have said, my first thought was of something to eat. I rose to my feet, and with my eye swept the prairie in every direction : no object living or dead, greeted my sight ; beast or bird there was none ; my horse alone met my glance, JLuietly browsing on his trail-rope. I could not help envying him, as I scanned his well- filled sides. I thought of the bounty of the Creator in thus providing for his less intelligent creatures — giving them the power to live where man would starve. Who does not in this recognise the hand of a Pro^^dence 1 I walked forward to the edge of the barranca, and looked over. It was a grim abyss, over a hundred feet in depth, and about the same in width. Its sides were less precipi- tous at this point. The escarpment rocks had fallen in, and formed a sort of shelving bank, by which a man on foot might have descended into its bed, and climbed out on the opposite side ; but it was not passable for a horse. Its cliiFs were furrowed and uneven ; rocks jutted out and hung over ; and in the seams grew cactus plants, bramble, and small trees of dwarf cedar (Juniperus prostrata). I looked into its channel. I had heard the torrent rolUng down in the night. I saw traces of the water among the rocks. A large body must have passed, and yet not a cup- ful could now have been lifted from its bed ! '\yhat re- mained was fast filtering into the sand, or rising back to the heavens upon the heated atmosphere. I had brought with me my rifle, in hopes of espying some living creature ; but after walking for a considerable distance along the edge, I abandoned the search. No trace of bird or quadruped could be found, and I turned and went back to the place where I had slept. To draw the picket-pin of my horse and saddle him, was the work of a few miuTites ; this done, I began to bethink me of where Ixoas goinininent marks of the grizzly bear, as they are liis most formidable means of attack — were all easily identified. "When my eyes first rested upon the brute, he was just emerging out of the barranca at the very spot where I had climbed up myself. It was his tracks, then, I had ob- served while scaling the cliflf ! On reaching the level of the prairie, he advanced a l)ace or two, and then halting, reared himself erect, and stood upon his hind-legs ; at the same time he uttered a snorting sound, which resembled the " blowing" of hogs when suddenly startled in the forest. For some moments Le remained in this upright attitude, rubbing his head with his fore-paws, and playing his huge arms about after tho manner of monkeys. In fact, as he stood fronting me, ho looked not unlike a gigantic ape ; and his yellowish-red colour favoured a resemblance to the great ourang. Wlicn I say that I was terrified by the presence of this unwelcome intruder, I speak no more tlian tnith. Had I been on horseback, I should have regarded the creuturo no more tliau the auail that crawled upon tho grass. Tho gnzzly bear ia too slow to ovci-tako a borso ; but 1 wua 102 THE WAR-TRAIIi. afoot, and knew that the animal could outrun me, how- ever swift I might deem myself. To suppose that he would not attack me would have been to suppose an improbability. I did not reckon upon such a chance ; I knew too well the disposition of the enemy that was approaching. I knew that in nine cases out of ten the grizzly bear is the assailant — that no animal in America will willingly risk a contest with him ; and I am not certain that the lion of Africa would wear his laurels after an encounter with this fierce quadruped. Man himself shuns such an encounter, unless mounted upou the friendly horse ; and even then, where the ground is not clear and open, the prudent trapper always gives " old Ephraim " — the prairie sobriquet of the grizzly — a wide berth, and rides on without molesting him. The white hunter reckons a grizzly bear equal in prowess to two Indians ; while the Indian himself accounts the de- struction of one of these animals a great feat in his life's history. Among Indian braves, a necklace of bear's claws is a badge of honour — since these adornments can be worn only by the man who has himself killed the animals from which they have been taken. On the other hand, the grizzly bear fears no adversary ; he assails the largest animals on sight. The elk, the moose, the bison, or wild-horse, if caught, is instantly killed. With a blow of his paw, he can lay open the flesh, as if it had been gashed with an axe ; and he can drag the body of a full-grown buffalo to any distance. He rushes upon man, whether mounted or on foot ; and a dozen hunters have retreated before his furious assault. A dozen bullets — ay, nearly twice that number — have been fired into the body of a grizzly bear without killing him ; and only a shot through the brain or the heart will prove instantaneously mortal. Gifted with such tenacity of life and sanguinary fierce- ness of disposition, no wonder the grizzly bear is a dreaded creature. Were he jjossessed of the fleetness of the lion or tiger, he would be a more terrible assailant than either ; and it is not too much to say that his haunts would be unapproachable by man. Compared with the horse, how- ever, he is slow of foot ; and there is another circumstance scarcely less favourable to those who pass through his district — he is not a trce-cl^mbcr. Indeed, he dop^i not 103 affect the forest ; but there is usually some timber in the neighbourhood of his haunts ; and many a life has been saved by his intended victim having taken refuge in a tree. I was "well acquainted with these points in the natural history of the grizzly bear ; ani you may fancy the feelings I experienced at finding myself in the presence of one of the largest and fiercest upon the naked plain, alone, dis- mounted, almost unarmed ! There was not a bush where I could hide myself, not a tree into which I might climb. There was no means of escape, and almost none of defence ; the knife was the only weapon I had with me ; my rifle I had left upon the other side of the barranca, and to reach it was out of the question. Even could I have got to the path that led down the cliff, it would have been madness to attempt crossing there ; for although not a tree-climber, the grizzly bear, by means of his great claws, could have scaled the cliif more expeditiously than I. Had I made the attemj^t, I should have been caught before I could have reached the bottom of the ravine. The bear was directly in the path. It would have been literally flinging myself " into his embrace" to have gone that way. These reflections occupy minutes of your time to read; I thought them in less than moments. A single glance around showed me the utter helplessness of my situation ; I saw there was no alternative but a desperate conflict — a conflict with the knife ! Despair, that for a moment had unnerved, now had the effect of bracing me ; and, fronting my fierce foe, I stood ready to receive him. I had heard of hunters having conquci'cd and killed the grizzly bear with no other weapon than a knife — but after a terrible and protracted struggle — after many wounds and sore loss of blood. I had read in the book of a natu- ralist, that " a man might end a stru^'gle with a bear iu a few instants, if one hand be sufficiently at liberty to grn.sp the throat of the animal with the thumb and iiiigere exter- nally, jiist at the root of the tongue, a.s a slight degree of compression there will generally suffice to j)ro(luco a .spasm of the glottis, that will soon suffocate the bear beyond the power of offering rca'stuuco or doing injury." 104 THE WAR-TRAIL. Beautiful theory ! Sagacious naturalist ! How woulclst thou like to make the experiment ? Hast thou ever heard of birds being caught by the application of " salt to the tail 1 " The theory is as correct as thine, and I am certain the practice of it would not be more difficult ! But I digress among these after-thoughts. I had no time to reflect upon " compressions of the tongue " or " spasms of the glottis." My antagonist soon finished his reconnaissance of me, and, dropping upon all-fours and uttering a loud scream, rushed towards me with open mouth. I had resolved to await his onset ; but as he came nearer, and I beheld his great gaunt form, his gleaming teeth, and his senna-coloured eyes flashing like fire, changed my design ; a new thought came suddenly into my mind ; I turned and fled. The thought that prompted me to adopt this course was, that just then I remembered the antelope I had shot; the bear might be attracted by the carcass, and pause over it — maybe long enough to give me a start, or enable me to escape altogether. If not, my situation could be no worse than it then was. Alas ! my hope was short-lived. On reaching the antelope, the fierce monster made no halt. I glanced back to see ; he was already past it, and following rapidly upon my heels. I am a swift runner — one of the swiftest. Many a school-day triumph can I remember ; but what was my speed against such a competitor ! I was only running myself out of breath. I should be less x^repared for the desperate conflict that must, after all, take place ; better for roe to turn, and at once face the foe! I had half resolved — was about to turn, in fact — when an object flashed before my eyes that dazzled them. Inadvertently I had run in the direction of the pond ; I was now upon its edge. It was the sun gleaming from the water that had dazzled me — for the surface was calm as a mirror. A new idea — a sort of half-hope — rushed into my mind. It was the strav/ to the drowning man. The fierce brute was close behind me ; another instant, and we must have grappled. " if ot yet, not yet," thought I. " I shall fight him ia CHASED BY A. " GRIZZLY* 105 the water — in the deep water : that may give mo an ad- vantage. Perhaps, then, the contest will bo more equal ; perhaps I may escape by diving." I sprang into the pond without a moment of hesitation. The water was knee-deep. I plunged onward, making for the centre ; the spray rose round me ; the pond deep- ened as I advanced ; I was soon up to the waist. I glanced around with anxious heart ; the bear was standing upon the shore. To my surprise and joy, I saw that he had halted, and seemed disinclined to follow me. I say, to my surprise I saw this, for I knew that water has no terrors for the grizzly bear ; I knew that he could swim ; I had seen many of his kind crossing deep lakes and rapid rivers. What, then, hindered him from follow- ing me ? I could not guess, nor, indeed, did I try to guess, at the moment ; 1 thought of nothing but getting fartlicr from the shore, and waded on till I had arrived uear^tho centre of the lake and stood neck-deep in the water. I could go no farther without swimming, and therefore came to a stand, with my face turned towards my pm-suer. I watched his every movement. He had risen once more upon his hiixl-quarters, and in this attitude stood looking after me, but still apparently without any inten- tion of taking to the water. After regarding me for some momenta, he fell back upon all-fours, and commenced running round the border of the pond, as if searching for a place to enter. There were still not over two hundred paces between lis, for the pond was only twice that in diameter. IIo could easily have reached me, had he felt so disposed ; but for some reason or other, he seemed disinclined to a " swim," though for nearly half-an-hour he kept lomning backwards and forwards along the shore. Now and then he made short excursions out into the prairie ; but always returned again, and regarded mo afresh, as though determined not to lose sight of mo for any length of time. I was in hopes that he might stray round to tho other side of the pond, and give mo the chance of making a rush for the ravine ; but no; ho contintied on that sido where ho had first appeared, a.s though he suspciti'd my design. I knew liot how long the siege was to last; but o-s I well 106 THE WAR-TRAIL. understood the implacable disposition of the grizzly bear, I could not hope that the scene would be otherwise than protracted. It lasted a long while — more than an hour I should think. I began to despair. I shivered. The pond must have been a spring, so chill were its waters. I shivered, but kept my place ; I dared not move out of it. I even feared to agitate the water around me, lest by so doing I might excite my fierce enemy, and tempt his onset. I shivered, but stood still. j\fy patience was at length rewarded. The bear, making one of his short tours into the prairie, espied the carcass of the antelope. I saw that he had halted over something, though I could not tell what, for my eyes were below tha level of the plain. Presently his head was raised again, and in his jaws were the remains of the prong-horn. To my joy I per- ceived that he was dragging it towards the barranca, and in another minute he had disappeared with it behind the cliff. CHAPTER XXIII. THE TOUGHEST STRUGGLE OP MY LIFE. I SWAM a few strokes, and then wading gently and without noise, I stood upon the sandy shore. V/ith shivering frame and drijiping garments, I stood, uncertain what course to pursue. I was upon the opposite side of the lake — I mean opposite to where I had entered it. I had chosen that side intentionally, lest the bear should suddenly return. He might deposit the carcass in his lair, and come back to look after me. It is a habit of these ani- mals, when not pressed by immediate hunger, to bury their food or store it in their caves. Even the devouring of the little antelope would have been an affair of only a few minutes' time, and the bear might still return, more raven- ous that he had tasted blood. I was filled with irresolution. Should I run off" across THE TOUGHEST STRUGGLE OF MY LITB. 107 the plain beyond the reach of pursuit 1 I should have to return again for my horse and rifle. To take to the prairie on foot would be like going to sea without a boat. Even had I been sure of reaching the settlements in safety with- out my horse, I could not think of leaving him behind. I loved my Moro too well for that : I would have risked life itself rather than part with the noble creature. No ; the idea of deserting him was not entertained for a moment. But how was I to join him ? The only path by which I could cross the bari'anca had just been taken by the bear. Tlie latter was no doubt still upon it, in the bottom of tho ravine. To attempt passing over would be to bring myself once more under the eyes of the fierce brute ; and I should lertainly become his victim. Another idea suggested itself — to go up the barranca, and find a crossing, or else head the chasm altogether, and come down upon the opposite side. That was possibly the best plan to pursue. I was about starting forward to execute it, when, to my dismay, I again beheld the bear ; this time, not upon the same side with myself, but upon the opposite one, where Moro was picketed ! He was just climbing out of the ravine when I first saw him — slowly dragging his huge body over the escarpment of the cliff. In a moment he stood erect upon tho open plain. I was filled with a new consternation ; I perceived too surely that he was about to attack the horse ! The latter had ali'cady observed the bear's approach, and seemed to be fully aware of his danger. I hatl staked liim at the distance of about four hundred yai'ds from tho barranca, and upon a lazo of about twenty in leugth. At sight of tlic bear he had run out to the end of his trail-rope, and was snorting and plunging with afiright. This new dilemma arrested me, and I stood with anxious feelings to watch the result. I had no hope of being able to yield the slightest aid to my poor horse — at least none occurred to me at the moment. The bear made directly towards him, and my licart throbbed wildly as I saw the brute approach almost within clawing distance. The horse sprang round, however, and galloped upon a circle of whidi the lazo was tho radiu.s. I knew, from the hard jerks he had already given to the rope, 103 THE WAR-TUAIL. that tliere was no chance of its yielding and freeing him. No ; it was a raw-hide lazo of the toughest thong. I knew its power, and I remembered how firmly I had driven home tiie picket-pin. This I now regretted. What would I have given to have been able at that moment to draw the blada of my knife across that rope ! I continued to watch the struggle with a painful feeling of suspense. The horse still kept out of the bear's reach by galloping round the circumference of the circle, while the bear made his attacks by crossing its chords, or running in circles of lesser diameter. The whole scene bore a re- semblance to an act at the Hippodrome, Moro being the steed, and the bear taking the part of the ring-master ! Once or twice, the rope circling round, and quite taut, caught upon the legs of the bear, and, after carrying him along with it for some distance, iiung him over upon his back. This seemed to add to his rage, since, after recover- ing his legs again, he ran after the horse with redoubled fury. I could have been amused at the singular spectacle, but that my mind was too painfully agitated about the result. The scene continued for some minutes without much change in the relative position of the actors. I began to hope that the bear might be baffled after all, and finding the horse too nimble for him, might desist from his attacks, particularly as the horse had already administered to him several kicks that would have discomfited any other as- sailant. These, however, only rendered the brute mora savage and vengeful. Just at this time the scene assumed a new phase, likely to bring about the denouement. The rope had once more pressed against the bear ; but this time, instead of trying to avoid it, he seized it in his teeth and paws. I thought at first he was going to cut it, and this was exactly what I wished for; but no — to my consternation I saw that he was crawling along it by constantly renewing his hold, and thus gradually and surely drawing nearer to his victim ! The horse now screamed with terror ! I could bear the sight no longer. I remembered that I had left my rifle near the edge of the barranca, and some distance from the horse ; I remembered, too, that after shooting the antelope, I had carefully reloaded it. I ran forward to the cliff", and dashed madly down its rilK TOUGHEST STRUGGLE dl' MY LIFE. tHE TOUGITEST STRUGGLE OP MY LIFE, 109 face ; I climbed the opposite steep, and clutching the gun, rushed towards the scene of strife. I was still in time ; the bear had not yet readied his victim, though now within less than six feet of him. I advanced within ten paces, and fired. As though my shot had cut the thong, it gave way at the moment, and tho horse with a wild neigh sprang off into the prairie ! I had hit the bear, as I afterwards ascertained, but not in a vital part, and my bullet had no more effect upon him than if it had been a drop of snipe-shot. It was tho strength of despair that had broken the rope, and set freo the steed. It was my turn now — for the bear, as soon as he per- ceived that the horse had escaped him, turned and sprang upon me, uttering, as he did so, a loud scream. I had no choice but fight. I liad no time to reload. Garey with his gun catered for the cuisine, and the ruflcd grouse, 12G THE WAR-TRAIL. the prairie partridge, and roasted ribs of fresh vtnison, were dainties even to an invahd. In three days I was strong enough to mount ; and bidding adieu to our camping-ground, we all three set forth, taking with us our beautiful captive. He was still as wild as a deer ; but we had adopted precautious to prevent him from getting away from us. The trappers led him between them, secured to the saddles of both by a lazo, Wc did not return in the direction of our old trail ; my companions knew a shorter route — at least one upon which we should sooner reach water — and that is the most important consideration on a prairie-journey. We headed in a more westerly direction ; by which, keeping in a straight line, we expected to strike the Eio Grande some distance above the rancheria. The sky was leaden-grey — the sun not being visible — and with no guide in the heavens, we knew that we might easily diverge from a direct course. To provide against this, my companions had recourse to a compass of their own invention. On taking our departure from camp, a sapling was stuck into the ground, and upon the top of this was adjusted a piece of bear's-skin, which, with the long hair upon it, could be distinguished at the distance of a mile or more. The direction having been determined upon, another wand, similarly garnished with a tuft of the bear's-skin, was set up several hundred yards distant from the first. Turning our backs upon these signal-posts, we rode off with perfect confidence, glancing back at intervals to make sure we were keeping the line. So long as they re- mained in sight, and aligned with each other, we could not otherwise than travel in a straight path. It was an ingenious contrivance, but it was Hot the first time I had been witness to the ingenuity of my trapper-friends, and therefore I was not astonished. When the black tufts were well-nigh hidden from view, a similar pair — the materials for which had been brought along — were erected ; and these insured our direction for another stretch of a mile ; then fresh saplings were planted ; and so on, till we had passed over six miles of the plain. We now came in sight of timber right ahead of us, and apparently about five miles distant. Towards this we directed our course. " weed"-prairie on fire, 127 We reached the timber about noon, and found it to consist of black-jack and post-oak groves, with mczquite and wild china-trees interspersed, and here and there some taller trees of the honey-locust {GleditscJda triacanthos). It was not a close forest, but a succession of groves, with openings between — avenues and grassy glades. There were many pleasant spots, and, faint with the ride, I would fain have chosen one of them for a resting- place ; but there was no water, and without water we could not halt. A short distance farther, and we should reach a stream — a small arroyo, an affluent of the Rio Grande. So promised my companions, and we rode onward. After passing a mile or so through the timber-open- ings, we came out on the edge of a prairie of considerable extent. It was full three miles in diameter, and difiercd altogether from the plain we had left behind us. It was of the kind known in hunter phraseology as a " weed- prairie" — that is, instead of having a grassy turf, its sur- face was covered with a thick gi-owth of flowering-plauts, as helianthus, malvas, altheas, hibiscus, and other tall an- nuals standing side by side, and frequently laced together by wild-pea vines and various species of convolvulus. Such a flower-prairie was the one now before us, but not a flower was in sight ; they had all bloomed, faded, and fallen — perhaps imsccn by human eye — and the withered stalks, burned by a hot .sun, looked brown and forbidding. They cracked and broke at the slightest touch, their seed-pods shelling their contents hkc rain upon the loose earth. Instead of striking across this prau'ic, we skirted around^ its edge ; and at no great (Hstance arrived on the banks of the arroyo. We had made but a short march ; but my companions, fearful that a longer lide might bring on fever, proposed to encamp there for the night, and huLsh our journey on the following day. Though I felt strong enough to have gone farther, I made no objection to the proposal ; and our horses were at once unsaddled and picketed near tho banks of the arroyo. The stream ran through a little bottom-valley covered with a sward of grass, and upon this wc staked our steeds ; but a bcttt;r place oliered for our camp uix>n the higher 128 THE WAR-TRAIL. ground ; and we chose a spot under the shade of a large locust-tree, upon the edge of the great wilderness of weeds. To this place we carried our saddles, bridles, and blankets, and having collected a quantity of dead branches, kindled our cainp-hre. Wc had already quenched our thirst at the stream, but, although we were all three hungi-y enough, the dried flesh of the grizzly bear proved but a poor repast. The rivulet looked promising for fish. Garey had both hooks and line in his " possible sack," and I proposed the angle. The young trapper soon baited his hooks ; and he and I, repairing to the stream, cast our lines, sat down, and waited for a nibble. Fishing was not to Eube's taste. For a few minutes he stood watching us, but evidently with litle interest, either in the sport, or what it might produce. Rube was not a fish-eater. " Durn yur fish ! " exclaimed he at length : " I'd ruther hev a hunk o' deer-meat than all the fish in Texas. I'll jest see ef I kin scare up somethin ; the place looks likely for deer — it do." So saying, the old trapper shouldered his long rifle, and stalking oft" up the bank, was soon out of sight. Garey and I continued bobbing with but indifferent success. We had succeeded in drawing out a couple of cat-fish, not the most palatable of the finny tribe, when the crack of Rube's rifle sounded in our ears. It seemed to come from the wccd-prairie, and we both ran up on the high bank to ascertain what success had attended the shot. Sure enough, Rube was out in the 2:)rairie, nearly half a mile distant from the camp. His head and shoulders were just visible above the tall stalks of the helianthus ; and we could see, by his stooping at intervals, that he was bending over some game he had killed, skinning or cutting it up. The game we could not see, on account of the interposed culms of the weeds. " A deer, I reck'n," remai-ked Garey. " Buflier don't often o' late years stray so far to the southert, though I've killed some on the Grande, higher up." Without other remark passing between us, we de- scended to the arroyo, and recommenced our fishing. We A ^'V/EED ''-PRAIRIE OM I'lRE. 129 took it for granted that Paibc did not require nny aid, or he would have signalled to u.s. lie would .soon return with his game to the camp. We had just discovered that silver-fish (a species of hyodon) were plentiful in the stream, and this kejit our attention fixed. We were desirous of taking some of them for our dinner, knowing them to be excellent eating, and far superior to the despised " cat." Having changed our bait for some small pieces of gold- lace, which my uniform furnished, we succeeded in pulling several of these beautiful creatures out of the water ; and ■were congi-atulating one another upon the dehcious broil we should have, when our conversation was suddenly in- terrupted by a crackHng noise, that caused both of us to turn our faces towards the prairie. The sight that met our eyes prompted us to spring simultaneously to our feet. Our horses already rcai-cd upon their lazoes — neighing with afi'right — and the wild screams of Rube's mustang-marc were loud and contiimous. There was no mystery about the cause ; that was obvious at a glance. The wind had blown some sparks among tho dry tiower-stalks. The weed-prairie was on fire ! Though startled at the first sight of the conflagration, for ourselves we had nothing to fear. The bottom ou which we stood was a sward ot short buifalo-grass ; it was not likely to catch ilrc, and even if it did, we could ea.sily escape from it. There is not much danger in a burning prairie where the gi-ass is light and sliort ; one can dash through the line of flame, with no gi-eater injury than the singeing of his hair, or a little sutlbcation from the smoke ; but upon a plain covered v/ith rank and thick vegetation, the case is very different. We therefore felt no appre- hension for ourselves, but wc did for our companion ; his situation filled us with alarm. Was he still where wo had last seen him ? This was the first question we asked one another. If so, then Ina peril was great indeed ; his escape would be ahnost hope- less ! Wc had observed him a full half-mile out among tho weeds, and on foot too. To have attempted a retreat towards the opposite side of the i)rairie, would hav(> been folly: it was three miles off'. Even on horseback, the flames would havo overtaken him ! Mounted, or ou foot, 130 THE WAR-TRAIL. he could not have got oiit of the way through those tall stalks — laced as they were by pea-vines and other trailing plants — whose tough tangle would have hindered the pro- gress even of the strongest horse ! To have returned to the near side would be his only chance ; biit that would be in the vei-y face of the fire, and, unless he had started long before the flames broke out, it was evident that his retreat in that direction would be cut oft". As already stated, the weeds were as dry as tiuder ; and the flames, impelled by gusts of wind, at intervals shot out their red tongues, licking up the withered stalks, coiling like serpents around them, and consuming them almost instantaneously. Filled with forebodings, my companion and I ran in the direction of the prairie. When first noticed by us, the fire had extended but a few yards on each side of the locust-tree we had chosen for our camp. We were not opposite this point at the momeut, having gone a little way down the arroyo ; we ran, therefore, not towards the camp, but for the nearest l^oint of high ground, in order to discover the situation of our friend. On reaching the high ground, about two hundred yards from the locust, we saw to our astonishment that the fire had already spread, and was now burning forward to the spot where we had climbed up ! We had only a moment to glance outward, when the conflagration, hissing and crackhng as it passed, rolled in front of us, and with its wall of flame shut ofi" our view of the prairie. But that glance had shown us all, and filled our hearts with sorrow and dismay ; it revealed the situation of the trapper — no longer a situation of peril, but, as we sup- posed, of certain death ! He was still in the place where we had last seen him ; he had evidently made no attempt to escape from it. Per- haps the knowledge that such an attempt must have failed, had hindered him from making it. The reflection that he might as well die where he stood, as be licked up by the flames in the act of fleeing from them, had bound him to the spot, wavering and undecided ! Oh ! it was a dread sight to see that old man, hardened sinner that he was, about to ^e snatched into eternity! RTTI5K RO.\STED ALIVE. IP,\ I remember his wild look, as the red flame, roiling between us, shut him from our sight! We saw him but for a single instant : his head and shoulders were alone visible above the tall weeds. He made no sign either with voice or arm ; but I fancied that even at that distance I could read his glance of despair ! Was there no hope ? Could no exertion be made to rescue him? Could he do nothing for himself? Was there no chance of his being able to clear a circle round him, and burn off a space before the line of fire could come up? Such a ruse has often availed, but no — never in such a gi-ound as that ! The weeds were too thick an.l tall — it could not be done — Garcy said it could not be done. There waa no hope, then. The old trapper was lost I CHAPTER XXVIII. RUBE ROASTED ALIVE. DooiiED beyond doubt — doomed to qiiick, awful, and cer- tain death was the earless trapper. In five minutes more he must perish. The wall of flame, moving faster tlian charging cavalry, would soon envelope him, and surer than the carbine's volley or the keen sabre-cut was the death borne forward upon the wings of that hissing, crackling cohort of fire. Here and there, tall jets, shooting suddenly upward, stalked far in advance of the main line — fiery giants, with red arms stretched forth, as if eager to grasp their victim. Already their hot breath was upon him ; another minute, and he must perish ! In a sort of stupor we stood, Garey and T, wat<;hing tho advance of the flames. Neither of us uttered a wonl : pain- ful emotions prevented speech. Both our hearts were hout- ing audibly. Mine wa.s bitterly wnnig ; but I knew that the heart of my companion wa.s enduring the very ncm/* of anguish. I glanced upward to his face : his eye wits fi.xo(i, and looked steadfastly in one direction — as though it wcmld 132 THE WAR-TRAHi, pierce the sheet of flame that rolled farther .and farlhci* from where we stood, and nearer to tlie fatal spot. The ex- pression of Garey's eye was fearful to behold ; it was a look of concentrated agony. A single tear had escaped from it, and was rolling down the rude weather-bronzed cheek, little used to such bedewing. The broad chest was heaving in short quick s^>asms, and it was evident the man was struggling with his breath. He was listening through all this intensity of gaze — listening for the death-shriek of his old comrade — his bosom-friend ! Not long was the suspense ; though there was no shriek, no cry of human voice, to indicate the crisis. If any arose, it was not heard by us. It could not have been ; it would have been drowned amid the roar of the flames, and the crackling of the hollow culms, whose pent-up gases, set free by the fire, sounded like the continuous rolling of musketry. No death-cry fell upon our ears ; but, for all that, we were satisfied that the drama had reached its denoueme^it: the unfortunate trapper had been roasted alive ! Already the flames had passed over the spot where we had last seen him — far beyond — leaving the ground charred and black behind them. Though the smoke hindered our view of the plain, we knew that the climax had passed : the hapless victim had succumbed ; and it remained only to look for his bones among the smouldering ashes. Up to this moment Garey had stood in a fixed attitude, silent and rigid as a statue. It was not hope that had held him thus spell-bound ; he had entertained no such feeling from the first: it was rather a paralysis produced by despair. Now that the crisis was over, and he felt certain that his comrade had perished, his muscles, so long held in ten- sion, suddenly relaxed — his arms fell loosely to his sides — the tears chased each other over his cheeks — his head re- clined forward, and in a hoarse husky voice he exclaimed : " God ! he's rubbed out, rubbed out ! We've seed the last o' poor Old Rube!" My sorrow, though perhaps not so keen as that of my companion, was nevertheless suflicieutly painful, I knew the earless trapper well — had been his associate under strange circumstances — amid scenes of danger that draw men's hearts more closely together than any phrases of flat- tery or compliment. More than once had I seen him tried RU BE ROASTED AXH' IC. 1 3 3 in the hour of peril ; iind I knew that, notwithstanding tlio wildness and eccentricity of his character — of his crimes, I might add — his heart, ill directed by early education, ill guided by after-association, was still rile with many virtues. Many proofs of this could I recall ; and I confess that a feeling akin to friendship had spi-ung up between myself and this singular man. Between him and Garey the tie* were still stronger. Long and inseparable companionshi]) — years of participa- tion in a life of hardships and perils — like thoughts and habitudes — though pcrhai)S dispositions, age, and charac- ters a good deal unlike — all had combined to unite the two in a firm bond of friendship. To use their own expressive jihrase, they "fnce' to each other. No wonder then that the look, with wliicli the young trapper regarded that black plain, was one of indescribable anguish. To his mournful speech I made no reply. "What cnuld I have said i I could not offer consolation. I was griev- ing us well as he : njy silence was but an assent to his sad solilofiuy. i\itcr a moment he continued, his voice still trcmuloua with sorrow, — " Come, commaradc ! It arc no use our cryiu like a kupple o' squav.'s." \V'ith his large finger ho dashed the tears aside, as if ashamed of having shed them. " It are all over now," he continued. " Let's look arter his bones — that is, if tliar's anythin left o' 'em — and gie 'em Christyun burial. Come !" "Wc caught our horses, and mounting, rode off over tho burnt ground. Tho hoofs of tho animals tossed up tho smouldering ashes as we advanced, the h(jt red cinders causing tliem to prance. The smoko pained our eyes, and prevented us from seeing far ahead ; but wc guided ourselves lus well iu» we could towards the point where we had last seen tho trapper, and where wc expected to find his remains. On nearing the spot, our eyes fell upon a ilark ma.s8 that lay upon tho plain : but it appeared much larger tlian the body of a man. "We coulil not make out what it wiw, until within a few feet of it, and even then it was dillicult to recognise it as the carcass of a bufialo — though such in reality it was. It was no doubt the game which the tmppcr 134 THE WAR-TRAIL. had killed. It rested as it had fallen — as these animals usually fall — upon the breast, with legs widely spread, and humped shoulders upward. We could perceive that the unfortunate man had neai'ly finished skinning it — for the hide, parted along the spine, had been removed from the back and sides, and with the fleshy side turned outward, was hanging to the ground, so as to conceal the lower half of the carcass. The whole sur- face was burnt to the colour of charcoal. But where were the remains of the hunter 1 They were nowhere to be seen near the spot. The smoke had now cleared away sufficiently to enable us to observe the ground for several hundred yards around us. An object of small dimensions could have been distinguished upon the now bare surface ; but none was seen. Yes ! a mass lay close to the carcass, which drew our attention for a moment ; but on riding up to it we perceived that it was the stomach and intestines of the buifalo, black and half broiled. But where were the bones of Eube ? Had he got away from the spot, and perished elsewhere ? We glanced towards the fire still raging on the distant plain. No : it was not probable he had moved thence. By the last look we had obtained of him, he did not appear to be making any effort to escape, and he could scarcely have gone a hundred yards before the flames swept over the spot and must have enveloped him. How then 1 Were his bones entirely consumed — cal- cined — reduced to ashes ? The lean, withered, dried-up body of the old mountain-man favoured such a supposi- tion ; and we began seriously to entertain it — for in no other way could we account for the total absence of all remains ! For some moments we sat in our saddles under the in- fluence of strange emotions, but without exchanging a word. We scanned the black plain round and round. The smoke no longer hindered our view of the ground. In the weed-prairies there is no grassy turf ; and the dry herba- ceous stems of the annuals had burned out with the I'api- dity of blazing flax, so that nothing was left to cause a smoke. The fire was red or dead in an instant. We could see clear enough all the surface of the ground, but nothing that riicmbled the remains of a human being ! EUBE ROASTED ALIVE. 135 " No," said Garey, with a long-drawn sigh. " Poor Old Rube ! The ojssed thing has burned him to ashes — bones an all ! Thur ain't as much o' im left as 'ud fill a tabacca- pipe !" " The h — , thur ain't ! " replied a voice that caused both of us to start in our saddles, as if it had been Rube's ghost that addressed us — " the h — , thur ain't !" reijcated the voice, as though it came out of the ground beneath our feet. " Thur's enough o' Ole Rube left to fill the stummuk o' this hyur buffler ; an by the jumpin Geehosophat, a tight fit it iir ! Wagh ! I'm wellnigh sufflocated ! Gie's yur claws, Bill, an pull me out o' this hyur trap ! " To our astonishment the pendent hide of the buffalo was raised by an invisible hand ; and underneath appeared, protruding through a hole in the side of the carcass, the unmistakable physiognomy of the eailcss trapper ! There was something so ludicrous in the apparition, that the sight of it, combined with the joyful reaction of our feelings, sent both Garey and myself into convulsions of laughter. The young trapper lay back in the saddle to give freer play to his lungs ; and his loud cachinuations, varied at intervals by savage yells, caused our horses to dance about as if they anticipated an onslaught of Indians ! At first I could detect a significant smile at the angles formed by Rube's thin lips ; but this disappeared as the laughter continued too long for his patience. "Cuss yur larfin !" cried he at length. "Kum, Billee, boy ! Lay holt hyur, an gi' me a lielp, or 1 must wrigglo out o' meself. The durned hole ain't cs big cs twur when I krep in. Durn it, man, make haste ! I'm bettcr'n half- baked !" Garey now leaped from his horse, and taking hold of his comrade by the " claws," drew liim out of his sin- gular hiding-place. But the appearance of the old trapper, as he stood erect — red, recking, and greasy — wa.s so supremely ludicrous, that both Garey and I were driven off into a fresh fit of Lvjghter, which lasted for several minutes. Rube, once released from his uncomfortable situation, paid not the slightest attention to our niirtli ; but - down, drew out his long rifle — frum where ho had it imder the hanging skin— and after having exaniinevl tlic piece, to see that no harm had come to it, ho laid it gently 136 THE WAR-XllAIL. across the horns of the bull. Then taking the"bowie'' from his belt, he quietly proceeded with the skinning of the buflalo, as if nothing had happened to interrupt the operation ! ]\Ieanwhile Garey and I had laughed ourselves hoai'sc, and, moreover, were brimful of curiosity to know the par- ticulars of Rube's adventure ; but for some time he fought shy of our queries, and pretended to be " miffed " at the manner in which we had ivelcomed him to life again. It was all pretence, however, as Garey well knew ; and the latter, having thrust into his comrade's hand the gourd, still containing a small drop oi agxiardientc, soon conciliated him ; and after a little more coaxing, the old trapper con- descended to give us the details of his curious escapade. Thus ran his narration : — " Ee wur both o' yur mighty green to think thet arter fightin grizzly bar an Injun for nigh forty yeern on these hyur parairas, I wur a-gwine to be rubbed out by a spunk o' iire like tliet. Prechaps 'twur nat'ral enough for Ihe young fcllur h^iir to take me for a, greenhorn, seein as he oucest tuk me for a grizzl//. lie, he, he — ho, ho, hoo ! I say it wur, an ur nat'ral enough for him to a thort so ; but 7/ou mout a knowd better — ^ou, Bill Garey, seein as ec oughter knowd me. "AVal!" continued Eube, after another "suck" at the gourd, " when I seed the weeds afire, I knowd it wa'ut no use makin tracks. Prechaps if I'd a spied the thing w^ieu the bleeze fust broke out, I mout a run for it, an mout a hed time ; but I wur busy skinnin this hyur beest, wi' my head clost down to the karkidge, an thurfor didn't see nuthin till I heern the cracklin, an in coorse thur wa'nt the ghost o' a chance to git clur then. I seed thet at the fust glimp. " I ain't a-gwine to say I wa'nt skeeart ; I wur skeeait, an bad skeeart too. I thort for a spell, I wur boun to go under. " Jest then I sot my eyes upon the buffler. I hed got the critter 'bout half-skinned, as ee see ; an the idee kim inter my head, I mout crawl somehow under, an pull the hide over me. I tried thet plan fust ; but I kudnt git kivered to my saterfaction, an I gin it up. " A better idee then kim uppermost, an thet wur to clur out the anymal's inside, an thur cache, I reck'n I wa'ut THE MESA. 137 long in cuttin out a whccn o' the bufflcr's ribs, nn tarin out the guts ; an .1 wa'ut long ncythcr in squczziu my kurkidgu, Ibct fo'most, through the hole. " I hcdn't need to a been long ; it wur a close shave an a tight fit, it wur. Jest as I hod got my head 'bout half through, the blccze kim swizzin round, an nearly singed tho ears off t»' me. He, he, he — ho, ho, hoo !" Garcy and I joined in the laugh, at what we both knew to be one of Old Rube's favourite jokes ; but Kube liim.sclf chuekled so long, that wc became impatient to hear the end of his adventure. "Well!" interrupted Garey, " cou.sarn your old .^kin ! what next ?" " Wagh !" continued the trapper, "the way thet blcczo did kum wur a caution to snakes. It roared an serceehcd, an yowltcd, an hissed, an the weeds crackled like a niilliou o' wagon-whups ! I wur like to be spiilicated wi' tho smoke ; but I contruv to pull down the flap o' hide, an thet gin me sonic relief — though I wur wi-U-nigh tlmkcd afore I got the thing fixed. So tliur I lay till I heeru you fi;Iluis palaverin about a 'bacca-pipc, and thurfor 1 knowd the liul thing wur over. Wagh !' And with tlii.s exclamation Rube ended his narration, and once more betook himself to the butchering of tho already half-roasted bufliilo. Garey and I lent a hand ; and having cut out the huniji- ribs and other titbits, we returned to tlie camp. What with broiled hyodons, roa.st ril)s, tongue, and marrow-bones, we had no reason for that uight to be dissatislicd with the hos- pitality of the prairies. CIIM^TEll XXIX. THE MESA. After a breakfast of buflalo-flesh, seasoned willi splendid appetites, and wa.'^hed tlown by a cup of cold water from tho arroyo, we ".saddled up," and headed for a high b<.Utc,']\xs^ visible over tho plain. 138 THE WAR-TKAIL, My companions knew the landmark well. It lay directly in our route. "We should pass near its base, and a ride of ten miles farther would bring us to the end of our journey ; indeed, the eminence was within sight of the rancheria. From the roof of the alcalde's house I had frequently noticed it outlined against the horizon, in a north-westerly direction from the village. In clear weather only was it visible. Struck with the singularity of this prairie -mound, I had longed to examine it, and had even projected a visit to it ; but circumstances had prevented me from carrying out my intention. I was at length to have the pleasure of a nearer acquaintance with it. I have called it singular. Most isolated hills are conical, dome-shaped, or ridge-like ; this one differed from the usual configuration — hence its singularity. It presented the ap- pearance of a huge box set upon the prairie, not unlike that rare formation, the " cofre," which crowns the summit of the mountain Perote. Its sides in the distance appeared perfectly vertical, and its top horizontal as the plain on which it rested. As we drew nearer, I could perceive by the dark parapet- like band along its crest that it was covered with a growth of timber. This was the more readily observed from con- trast with the perpendicular sides, which were almost of a snowy whiteness, on account of the gypsum, chalk, or milky quartz of which the rock was composed. The most peculiar feature of the mound was perhaps its apparently regular foi'm — a perfect parallelopipedon. But it was striking in other respects. Its sides glistened fantastically under the rays of the sun, as though it were studded with settings of glass. This, however, was easily accounted for ; and I knew that the sparkling efiect was produced by plates of mica or selenite that entered into the composition of the rock. I had seen large mountains that presented a similar appearance. More than one such exist in the great American Saiira, in whose glittering cliffs, viewed from afar, may be found the origin ot that wild chimera, the mountain of gold. Although neither a mountain of gold nor silver, the mound in question was an object of rare interest. A very enchanted castle it did appear, and it was difficult to assign its formation to nature alone. Human agency, one could THE MESA. 139 not help fancying, must have had something to do in pihng up a structure so regular and compact. But he who has travelled over much of the earth's sur- face will have met with many " freaks " of nature, exhibit- ing like appearance of design, in her world of inorganic matter. It was, in fact, one of those formations, of which many are met with in the plateaux-lands of America, knowTi in Spanish phraseology as mesas. This name is given to them in allusion to the flat table-like tops, which distin- guish them from other elevated summits. Sometimes one of these mesas is found hundreds of miles from any similar eminence ; more frequently a num- Der of them stand near each other, like truncated cones — the summits of all being on the same level, and often covered with a vegetation difiering materially from that of the sur- rounding plains. Geologists have affirmed that these table-tops are the ancient level of the plains themselves ; and tliat all around, and intervening between them, has either sunk or submitted to the degradation of water ! It is a vague ex])lanation, and scarcely satisfies the spe- culative mind. The viesa of Mexico is still a geological puzzle. As we approached this singular object, I could not help regarding it with a degi'ee of curiosity. I had seen mesa heights before — in the "mauvaise terre," upon the Mis- souri, in the Navajo country west of the Rocky Mountains, and along the edges of the " Llano Estacado," which of itself is a vast mesa. The moiuid before us was peculiar, from its very regular form, and the sparkling sheen of its clifl's. Its coniiilcte isolation, moreover, added to the cftcct — for no other eminence appeared in sight. The low hills that bordered the Eio (Jnindu could barely be distinguished in the dis- tance. On getting nearer to it, its character became somewhat altered ; the square box-liko form appeared less regular, and it was thcin perceived that the parallel()pi]ieilun waa not perfect. Slight ledges could be traceil tnivereing the face of its clifts, and here and there the rectangular lines were broken to the eye. Nature, after all, had nut been so exact in lier architecture. Yet, with every deduction, it was a singular structure 140 THE WAR-TRAIL. to look upon, not the less so that its summit was iaacces' sible to human foot. A precipice fifty yards sheer fronted outward on all sides. No one had ever scaled this precipice — so alleged my companions, who were well acquainted with the locality. We had approached within less than a mile of its base ; our conversation had dropped — at least so far as I was con- cerned ; my thoughts were occupied with the mound, and my eyes wandering over its outlines. I was endeavouring to make out the character of the vegetation which seemed to flourish luxuriantly on its sum- mit. The dark foliage was e\'ideutly that of some sjiecies of acicidar trees, perhaps the common rod ced^v {Junipcnis Virginiana); but there were others of lighter hue — in all likelihood piuons, the pines with edible cones, pecu- liar to this region. I noticed, also, growing upon the very edge of the chfF, yuccas and aloes, whose radiating blades, stretching out, curved gracefully over the white rock. Forms of cactus, too, were apparent, and several plants of the great pita/icTja rose high above the cliff, like gigantic candelabra — strange objects in such a situation. My companions seemed to have no eyes for these rare vegetable beauties ; I could hear them at intervals engaged in conversation ; but the subject had no reference to the scene, and I paid little attention to what they were saying. All at once I was startled by the voice of Garey, giving utterance to the em])hatic announcement, — "Injuns, by G—!" "Indians ! — where ?" The interrogation as it escaped my lips, was half invol- untary, and needed no reply. Garey's glance guided me ; and following its direction, I observed a string of horse- men just debouching from behind the mesa, and spurring forward upon the plain. Both my companions had drawn bridle, and halted. I followed their example ; and all three of us sat in our sad- dles, scanning this sudden apparition of mounted men. A dozen had now cleared themselves from behind the mesa, and were riding towards us. We were yet nearly a mile from them ; and at that dis- tance it is dithcult to distinguish a white man from an Indian — I should rather say impossible. Even at half the distance, the oldest prairie-men are sometimes puzzled. THE MESA. 1 ;i Tlie gamicnta arc often not veiy dissimikr, and sun-bronze and dust confound the complexions. Although Garey, at fust sight of thorn, had i^ronoiniced the horsemen to be Indians — the most probable suppo- sition under the circumstances — it was but a ramlom con- jecture, and for some time we remained in doul>t. " If they're Injuns," suggested Garey, " they're Co- manche." "An if thur Kimanch," added Eubc, with ominou.s emphasis, "we've got to fight, if thur Kimanch, thur on the wai'-trail, an tiiur'll bo mischief in 'em. Wagh ! Look to yur Hints an primin ! " Kube's counsel was instantly followed. Necessity quick- ened our precautions. All of us well knew, that, should tiie ai)proaching horsemen turn out to be Comanches, we had no alternative but fight. This warlike nation occupies the wliole wcstisrn area of Texas, ranging from the Itio Grande on the south, to the Arkansas on the north. They are to-day, with their kindred bribes, the most powerful Indian alliance on the continent. They affect the ownership of all prairie-laud, styling them- selves its "lords," though their sovereignty towards the north is successfully disputed by the Pawnees, Sioux, Black- feet, and others as warlike as they. From the earliest times, they have been the fiend of the Texan settler ; and a detailed account of their forays and pillaging expeditions would fill a score of volumes. But from these tiiey have not gone back unscathed. The re[)risals have outnumbered the assaults, and the ritle of the border-ranger has done its work of vengeance. In Mexico they have found less pui.ssant defenders of the heiirth and home ; and into the north-eaatcrn provinces of that unhappy country, the Comanches have been for tho last half-century iu the habit of making an annual expedi- tion of war and plunder. In fact, plunder has become tho Ijetter part of their subsistence, as they usually return from these rieving incursions laden with spoil, and carrying with them vast droves of horses, mules, horned cattle, aud cap- tive women ! For a .short time, these du.sky freebooters were at peace with the Anglo-Aiuerican colonists of T(.'xas. It was but n temporary armistice, brought about by Houston j but Lamar's administration, of u leisa pacific character, sue- 1 42 THE WAR-TRATL. ceeded, and the settlers were again embroiled with the Indians. AVar to the knife was declared and carried on ; red and white killed each other on sight. When two men met upon the prairie, the colour of the skin determineol the relations between them ! If they difiFered in this, the^ were enemies without parley, and to kill the other was tho first thought of each. The lex talionis was the custom of the hour. If the rancour could possibly have been augmented, an incident had just transpired calculated to produce that effect. A band of Comanche warriors had offered their services to the commander-in-chief of the American army. They held the following language : — " Let us fight on your side. We have no quarrel with you. You are warriors : we know it, and respect you. We fight against the cowardly Mexicans, who robbed us of our country. We fight for Moctezuma /" These words, uttered along the whole northern frontier of ]\Iexico, are full of strange import. The American commander prudently declined the Comanche alliance ; and the result was the bitter tri- angular war in which, as already noticed, we were now engaged. If, then, the approaching horsemen were Indians of the Comanche tribe. Rube's forecast was correct ; we had " got to fight." With this understanding, we lost no time in putting ourselves in an attitude of defence. Hastily dismounting, and sheltering our bodies behind those of our horses, we awaited the approach of the band,- CHAPTER XXX. GUEBRILMROS. The manoeuvre had occupied only a few seconds of time, and the horsemen were yet distant. They had thrown themselves into a formation, and were riding " by twos !" This movement took us by surprise. The tactics were GUE?.mLLEn03. 143 not Indian : Comanches never march in double file. Tha horsemen could not bo Indians. Who, then ? A sudden hope crossed my mind, that it might be a party of my own people, out in search of me. " By twos" ■was our favourite and habitual order of march. But no ; the long lances and streaming pennons at once dissipated the hope : there was not a lance in the American army. They could not be " rangers." Comanches on the war-trail would have been armed with the lance, but clearly they were not Comanches. "Wagh!" exclaimed Rube, after eyeing them intently. "Ef thur Injuns, I'm a niggur! Ef thur Injuns, they've got beards an sombrayras, an thet ain't Injun sign nohow. No!" he added, raising his voice, "thur a gang o' yellur- beUicd Mexikins ! thet's what they ur." All three of us had arrived simultaneously at the same conviction. The horsemen were Mexicans. It was no great source of rejoicing to know this ; and the knowledge produced no change in our defensive atti- tude. We well knew that a band of Mexicans, armed as these were, could not be other than a hostile party, and bitter too in their hostility. For several weeks past, the petite guerre had been waged with dire vengeance. The neutral ground had been the scene of reprisals and terrible retaliations. On one side, wagon-trains had been attacked and captured, harmless teamsters murdered, or mutilated whilst still alive. I saw one with his arms cut oft" by the elbow-joints, his heart taken out, and thrust between his teeth ! He was dead ; but another whom I saw still lived, with the cross deeply gashed upon his breast, on his brow, upon the soles of his feet, and the palms of hia hands — a hon-id spectacle to behold! On the other side, ranchos had been ransacked and ruined, villages given to the flames, and men on mere sus- picion shot down upon the .spot or hanged upon the nearest tree. Such a character had the war assumed ; and under these circumstances, we knew that the approaching horsemen were our deadly foes. Beyond a doubt, it was either a scouting-party of Mexican lancers, a gvAirriVa, or a band of robbers. Du- ring the war, the two last were nearly synonymous, and 144 THE WAR-TRAIL. the first not itufrequcntly partook of the character of both. One thing that puzzled us — what could any of the three bo doing in that quarter l The neutral ground — the scene of guerrilla operations ^lay between the two armies ; and we were now far re- mote from it ; in fact, altogether away from the settle- ments. AVhat could have brought lancers, guerrilleros, or robbers out upon the plains 1 There was no game in that quarter for an}^ of these gentry — neither an American force to be attacked, nor a traveller to be plundered ! ]\Iy own troop was the extreme out-picket in this direction, and it was full ten miles off. The only thing likely to bo met with near the mesa would be a war-party of Comanches, and we knew the Mexicans well enough to be convinceil that, whether soldiers or freebooters, they were not in search of that. Such reflections, made in double-quick time, occurred to us as we scanned the advancing troop. Up to this moment, they had ridden directly towards us, and were now nearly iu a line between us and the niesa. On getting within about half-a-mile of our position, they turned sharply tov/ards the west, and rode as if to make round to our rear ! This manoeuvre of course placed us upon their flank ; and now. outlined against the sky, we could distinctly trace tlieir forms and note their habiliments and armour. Nearly all wore broad-brimmed sombreros, with jacket, sash, and calzoneros. They carried lances, lazoes, and carbines or escopettos. We could distinguish sabres and machetes — the universal weapon of the Mexican ranchei'o. They could nnter- tained no suspicion of our design ; hence the road towards tho mesa wa.s still perfectly open to us. In another mi- nute, however, the five riders would liavc been circling around us, anil tliat would have naturally altered our Bituation. "Hurry, Rube!'' cried Garcy — " huiry, man, and le's be off!" " Keep cool, Billce," rejoined Rube, who was adjusting IGO THE WAR-TRAIL. the Ijridle of Garey's liorse. " Plenty o' time, I tell ee ; tlioy aiu't a comin yit. Ho-woo ! olc gal!" he contiuued, addressing himself to the mare — " ho-woo ! we're a-gwino to leave you ahint a bit, but I reck'n yu'U turn up agin. They won't eat ye, anyhow ; so don't be skeeart about thet, ole gal ! Now, Bihee, I'm ready." lb was time, for the riders were again spurring forward to surround us. Without waiting to observe further, we all three leaped simultaneously on horseback ; and, plying the spur deeply, shot off in a direct line of the mesa. A glance behind showed us the gucrrilleros — the whole band coming in full tilt after us, while their cries sounded in our ears. To our satisfaction, we saw we had gained ground upon them — our sudden start having taken them by surprise, and produced in their ranks a momentary hesitation. We had no fear of being able to reach the mesa before they could overtake us. For my own part, I could soon have ridden out of si[;ht altogether ; so could Garey, mounted on the white steed, that, with only a raw-hide halter, was behaving splendidly. It was Garey's own horse, a strong but slow brute, that delayed us ; he was ridden by llube ; and it Avas well the chase was not to be a long one, else our i^ur- Buers would have easily overhauled him. Garey and I kept by his side. " Don't be afeerd, Rube ! " shouted Garey, in a tone of encouragement; "we aiu't a-goiu to leave you — we'll stick thegither!" " Yes," added I, in the excitement of the moment, " we live or die together ! " " Hooray, young fcUur ! " cried Rube, in a burst af wild gratitude — " hooray for you ! I know yur the stuff, an won't leave me ahint, though I gin you the slip oncest — when you mistuk me for the grizzly. He, he, hoo! But then, you see twur no use o' my stickin to you — ne'er a bit o' good. AVagh! them niggurs ur gettin nigher ! " We were riding directly for the middle of the mesa, whose cliff, like a vast wall, rose up from the level plain. We headed for its central part, as though we expected some gate to open in the rock and give us shelter ! Shouts of astmishment could be heard minsrlino; with rube's CHAnGEH. IC) the hoof-strokes. Some of the expressions we lieard dis- tinctly. " Whither go tliey ?" " Wnja ! do they intend to ride up the clift'1" '■^ Carramho ! hueno ! bticno / van c/i la trampa." (Good ! they are going into the trap !) Shouts of exultation followed, as they saw us thus voluntarily placing ourselves in a position from which retreat appeared impossible. They had been apprehensive, on our first galloping off, that we might bo mounted on swift horses, and meditated escaping by speed ; but on discovering that this was not our intention, cries of joyful import were heard ; and as we approached the cliiF, we saw them deploying behind us, with the design of hemming us in. It was jnst the move- ment we had anticipated, and the very thing wc desired them to do. We galloped up close to the rocky wall before drawing bridle ; then, suddenly flinging ourselves to the ground, we placed our backs to the cliff, drew our horses in front of us, and holding the bridles in our teeth, raised our rifles towards the foe. Once more the three shining tubes were levelled, pro- mising certain death to the first who should approach within range. CHAPTER XXXIV. robe's charger. Orn attitude of defence, thus suddenly assumed, produccil a . what is't, old boy ] " inquired Garey, who imder- etood the signal, and knew that the whistle denoted some discovery. Rube's reply was the interrogatory, " How long's yur trail-rope, Bill ?" '• It arc twenty yards — good mizyurc," answered Garey. " An yurs, young fellur 1 " " About tlie same length — perhaps a yard or two more." " Good !" ejaculated the questioner, with a satisfied look, "We'll fool them niggurs yit — Ke will !" "Ilooraw for you, old boy! you've hit on some plan, hain't you V This was Garcy's interrogatory. " Sartintly, I hez." " Let's have it then, kumraarade," said Garey, seeing that Rube had relapsed into silence ; "thar ain't much time to think o' things " " Plenty o' time, Ijillee ! Don't lie so durncd impatient., boy. Thur's gobs o' time. I'll stake my ole mar agin the young fellur's black boss, thet we'll be out o" this sernjio afore sunup. Gechosoi)hat ! how thu '11 cuss wheu they finds the trap ernpy. He, he, he ! — ho, ho, hoo !" And the old sinner contiinied to laugh for some sccond.H, as coolly and cheerfully as if no enemy wa.s within a thou- sand miles of the .spot. Garey and I were chafing with impatience, but we knew that our comiiidc was in one of his queer moods, and it was no use attempting to push him faster than he was dis- posed to go. When his chuckling fit was ended, he assumed a moi-e 178 THE WAR-TRAIL. serious air, and once more appeared to busy himself with the calculation of some problem. He spoke in soliloquy. "Twenty yurds o' Bill's," muttered he, "an twenty o' the young fellur's, ur forty ; an myen — itur sixteen yurds — make the hul fifty an six ; ye-es, fifty-six preezactly. Then thur's the knots to kum off o' thet, though fornenst 'em thur's bi'idles. Wagh ! thur's rope aplenty, an enough ovei", to string up half a score o' them yellcr-bellies, ef iver I gits holt on"' em. An won't I ? W agh ! " During this arithmetical process, Rube, instead of gazing any longer into the barrel of his rifle, had kept his eyes wandering up and down the cliff. Before he had ceased talking, both Garey and myself had divined his plan, but we refrained from telling him so. To have anticipated the old trapper in his disclosure would have been a mortal offence. We waited for him to make it known. " Now, boyees ! " said he at length, "hyur's how we'll git clur. Fust an fo'must, we'll crawl up yanner, soon's it gits dark enough to kiver us. Seconds, we'll toat our trail- ropes along wi' us. Thuds, we'll jine the three the- gither, an ef thet ain't long enough, a kupple o' bridles '11 help out. Fo'th, we'll tie the eend o' the rope to a sap- hn up thur on top, an then slide down the bluff on t'other side, do ee see? Fift, oncest down on the paraira, we'll put straight for the settlements. Sixt an lastest, when we gits thur, we'll gather a wheen o' the young fellur's rangers, take a bee-line back to the mound, an gie these hyur niggurs sech a lambaystin as they hain't bed since the war begun. Now ?" " Now" meant, What think you of the plan ? Llentally, both Garey and I had already approved of it, and we promptly signified our approval. It really promised well. Should we succeed in carry- ing out the details without being detected, it was proba- ble enough that within a few hours we might be safe in the piazza of the rancheria, and quenching our thirst at its crystal well. The anticipated pleasure filled us with fresh energy ; and we instantly set about putting everything in readiness. One watched, while the other two worked. Our lazoes were knotted together, and the four horses BUBES PLAN. 179 fastened head to head with their bridles, and secured so as to keep thcni behind the boulder. This done, we awaited the falling of night. Would it be a dark night 1 About this we now felt anxious. It was already closing down, and gave promise of favouring us : a layer of lead- coloured clouds covered the sky, and we knew there could be no moon before midnight. Rube, who boasted he coixld read weather-sign like a " salt-sea sailor," scrutinised the sky. " Wal, old hos ! " interrogated Garey, " what do ye think o't? Will it be dark, eh ?" "Black as a bar !" muttered Rube in reply ; and then, as if not satisfied with the simile, he added, " Black as the inside o' a bufflcr bull's belly on a burnt paraira !" The old trapper laughed heartily at the ludicrous con- ceit, and Garey and I could not refrain from joining in the laugh. The guerrillcros must have heard us ; they must have deemed us mad ! Rube's prognostication proved correct : the night came down dark and lowering. The leaden layer broke up into black cumulus clouds, that slowly careered across thecanopy of the sky. A storm portended ; and already some big drops, that shot vertically downward, could be heard plash- ing heavily upon our saddles. All this was to our satis- faction ; but at that moment a flash of lightning illumined the whole arch of the heavens, lighting the prairie as with a thousand torches. It was none of the pale lavender-coloured light, seen in northern climes, but a brilliant blaze, that appeared to pervade all space, and almost rivalled tho bi'ightness of day. Its sudden and unexpected appearance filled us with dismay : we recognised in it an obstacle to our designs. " Durn the tarnal thing ! " exclaimed Rube peevishly. "It urwus8 than a moon, durn it !" "Is it going to be the quick-forky, or the long-blazcy ?** inquired CJarey, with a reference to two distinct modes in which upon these southern i)rairics, the electric fluid ex- hibits itself. In the former tho flashes are quick and short-lived, and the intervals of darknes.s also of short duration. Bolt« pierce the clouds in straight, lance-hk© shafts, or forking 180 THE WAR-TRAIL. and zig-zag, folloAVCcl by thunder in loud unequal bursts, and dashes of intermittent rain. The other is very distinct from this ; there are no shafts or bolts, but a steady blaze which fills the "whole firma- ment with a white quivering light, lasting many seconds of time, and followed by long inteiwals of amorphous dark- ness. Such lightning is rarely accompanied by thunder, and rain is not always its concomitant, though it was this sort we now witnessed, and rain-drops were falling. "Quick-forky !" echoed Kube, in reply to his comrade's interrogatory; "no — dod rot it! not so bad as thet. It ur the blazey. Thur's no thunder, dont'ee see ? "Wal ! we must grope our way up atween the glimps." I understood why Rube preferred the "blazey;" tho long intervals of darkness between the flashes might enable us to carry out our plan. He had scarcely finished speaking, when the lightning gleamed a second time, and the prairie was lit up like a theatre during the grand scene in a spectacle. We could see the guerrilleros standing by their horses, in cordon across the plain ; we could distinguish their arms and equipments — even the buttons upon their jackets ! With their faces rendered ghastly under the glare, and their bodies magnified to gigantic proportions, they presented to our eyes a wild and spectral appearance. With the flash there was no thunder — neither the close quick clap, nor the distant rumble. There was perfect silence, which rendered the scene more awfully impres- sive. "All right !" muttered Eube, as he saw that the be- siegers still" kept their places. "AVemust jest grope our way up atween the glimps ; but fust let 'em see we're still hyur." We protnided our faces and rifles around the rock, and in this position awaited another flash. It came, bright as before : the enemy could not fail to have noticed us. Our programme was already prepared : Garey was to ascend first, and take up the rope. He only waited for the termination of another blaze. One end of the lazo was fastened round his waist, and the rope hung down behind him. SC.VLIXG THE CLIFF. 181 When the light gleamed again, he was ready ; and the moment it went out, he glided forward to the cliff", and coranienccd his ascent. Oh, for a long interval of darkness! CH^VPTER XXXIX. SCALING TEIE CLIFF. On, for a long interval of darkness! Our hearts beat anxiously — at least I can answer for my own. Rube watched the guen-illeros, permitting his head to be seen by thcni. ily eyea were bent upon the rocky wall, but through the thick darkness I looked in vain for our comrade. I listened to hear how he was progress- ing : I could distinguish a slight sci-atching against the cliff, each moment higher and farther away ; but Garey climbed with a moccasined foot, and the noise was too faint to reach the ears of our enemies. Oh, for a long in- terval of darkness ! It appeared a long one ; perhaps it was not five minutes, Init it felt twice that, before the lightning again bla^icd forth. With the flash, I ran my eyes up the precipitous wall. Oh, God ! Garey was still upon its face, as yet scarce midway up. He was standing on a ledge — his body flattened against the rock — and with his arms extended horizontally, he presented the appearance of a man crucified upon the chfl! So long as the glare lasted, he remained in this attitude, motionless as tlie rock itself. I turned with anxious look towards the gucrrillcros. I heard no voice ; I observed no movement. Thank Heaven ! they .saw him not! Near where he was resting, some bushes of the trailing cedar grew out of the cliff; their dark foliage mottled its white face, rendering the form of the climber Icsa conspicuous. Another long spell of darkness, another blaze of light I scanned the goi'ge : no human fonu was visible. 1 saW 182 THE WAR-TRAIL. a dark line that, like a crack, vertically intersected the cliff from parapet to base : it was the rope Garey had can-ied up. He had reached the summit in safety ! It was my turn nest — for Kube insisted on retaining the post of danger — and with my i-ifle slung on my back, I stood ready. I had given the parting whisper to my brave steed, and pressed his velvet muzzle to my cheek. With the last flicker of the electric gleam, I seized the hanging lazo, and drew myself upward. I had confidence in the rope : I knew it was fastened above, or safe in the strong grasp of Garey. With its aid, the ascent was rendered easy. I expe- rienced no difficulty in climbing from ledge to ledge, and before the light came again, I had reached the crest of the cliff We lay flat among the bushes that grew by the very brink, scarcely showing our faces to the front. I ..saw that the rope had been fastened round the trunk of a small tree. Presently we perceived by its jerking, that Eube had begun his ascent. Shortly after, we could hear him sprawling and scratch- ing ujiward, and then his thin dark form loomed over the edge of the cliff", and, dead beat for breath, he staggered silently into the bushes beside us. Even in the darkness I noticed something peculiar in his appearance : his head looked smaller, but I had no time to question him. We waited only for another glance at the guerrilleros ; they were still at their posts, evidently unconscious of our movements. Rube's cat-skin cap, cunningly adjusted upon the boulder, satisfied them that we were still at ours ; and explained, moreover, the oddness I had observed about the upper story of the trapper. Eube had now recovered wind ; and gathering up the rope, we stole away over the table-summit to search for a place of descent. On reaching the opposite side, we at once found what we wanted — a tree near the edge of the cliff". Many small pines grew upon the escarpment ; and selecting one, we knotted the rope securely around its trunk. There was yet much to be done before any of us could attempt the descent. We knew that the cliff was more than a hundred feet in vertical height, and to glide down SCALING THE CLIFF. 183 a rope of that length is a trying feat, worthy the most ex- pert of tars. None of us might be able to accomplish it : the first could be lowered down easily enough, and tiiis was our intention ; so might the socond ; but the la.st would have to glide down the rope without aid. We were not long delayed by the contemplation of this obstacle : my comrades were men of quick thought ; and a plan to get over the difficulty soon suggested itself. Their knives were out in a trice : a sapling was pro- cured, and cut into short pieces ; these were notched, and tied at intervals along the rope. Our "Jacob's ladder" ■was ready. It still remained to make sure that the rope was of sufficient length. The knots had somewhat shortened it ; but tliis point was soon settled, with like ingenuity. A small stone was tied to one end, and then dropped over the cliff. We listened : we heard the dull " thump " of the stone upon the prairie turf. The rope therefore reached to the ground. It was again drawn up, the stone taken out, and the noose fastened around the body of Rube, under his armpits He was the lightest, and for this reason had been chosen to make the first descent, as he would least try the strength of the rope — still a doul.'tful point. The ascent had not proved it — for in climbnig up, but one-half of our weiglit had been upon it, our feet resting either against the clitic or upon its ledges. On reaching the plain, llube wa-s to submit the roi)e to trial, before either Carey or I should attempt to go down. This he was to do by adding a large stone to his own weight — making both at least equal to that of Garcy, who was by far the heaviest of tlie party. All being arranged, the old trapper slid silently over the edge of the cliff — Garey and I giving out tlie rope slowly, and with caution. Foot by foot, and yard by yard, it was drawn througli our hands, by the weight of tlie descending body — nuw lost to our siglit over the brow of the cliff. Still slowly, and with caution, wc allowed the lazo to pass, taking care that it should glide gradually, so as not to jerk, and cause the body of our comrade to oscillate with too much violence against the rocks. We were both seated close together, our faces turned to 184 THE WAR-TRAIL. the plaiu. More than three-quarters of the rope had passed from us, and we were congratulating ourselves that the trial would soon be over, when, to our dismay, the strain ceased with a suddenness that caused both of us to recoil upon our backs ! At the same instant, we heard the "twang" of the snapping rope, followed by a sharp cry from below ! We sprang to our feet, and mechanically recommenced hauling upon the rope. The weight was no longer upon it, it was light as packthread, and returned to our hands without effort. Desisting, we fronted to each other, but not for an explanation. Neither required it ; neither uttered a word. The case was clear : the rope had broken ; our comrade had been hurled to the earth! "With a simultaneous impulse, we dropped upon our knees ; and, crawling forward to the brink of the precipice, looked over and downward. We could sec nothing in the dark abysm that frowned below ; and we waited till the light should break forth again. We listened with ears keenly set. Was it a groan we heard 1 a cry of agony ? No ; its re- petition told us what it was — the howl of the prairie-wolf. No human voice reached our ears. Alas, no ! Even a cry of pain would have been welcome, since it would have told us our comrade still lived. But no, he was silent — dead — perhaps broken to atoms ! It was long ere the lightning gleamed again. Before it did we heard voices. They came from the bottom of the cliff directly under us ; but there were two, and neither Avas the voice of the trapper. It is easy to distinguish the full intonation of the Saxon from the shrill treble of the sons of Anahuac. The voices were those of our foes. Presently the light discovered them to us. Two there were. They were on horseback, moving on the plain below, and close into the cliff. We saw tliem distinctly, but we saw not what we had expected — the mangled body of our comrade ! The gleam, long continued, had given us full time to scrutinise the ground. We could h.ive distinguished upon it any object as large as a cat. Eube, living or dead, was certainly not there ! liad he fallen into the hands of the guerrilla 1 The two we saw can-ied lances, but no prisoner. It was not likely T SCALING THE CLIFF. 185 they liad captured liim : besides, we kuew that Rube, unless badly crippled, would never have surrendered without a struargle ; and neither shot not shout had been heard. We were soon relieved from all uneasiness on this .score. The brigands continued their conversation, and the light breeze wafted their voices upwards, so that we could dis- tinguish part of what was said. "Carranibo!" exclaimed one impatiently; "you must have been mistaken ] It was the coyote you heard." " Capitan ! I am confident it was a man's voice." " Then it must have proceeded from one of the picaros behind the rock. There is no one out here ? But come ! let us return by the other side of the mesa — vamos/" The hool-strokes admonished us that they were passing onward to carry out the design of the last speaker — who was no other than Jjurra himself. It was a relief to know that our comrade had not yet fallen into their clutches. How far he was injured, wo could not have an idea. The rope had given way close to the top, and Rube had carried most of it down with him. In the confusion, we had not noticed how much remained, behind our hands, when he fell ; and now we could only guess. Seeing that he had disappeared from the spot, we were in high hope that he had sustained no serious injury. But whither had he gone ? IJad ho but crawled away, and was yet in the neighbourhood of the mesa ? If so, they might still light upon him. Hiding-place there was none, either by the base of the cliff or on the surrounding plain. Oarey and I were anxious aliout the result — the more so, that the gucrrilleros had licard his cry, and' were iu search of him. He might easily be found in such a naked spot. We hastily formed the determination to cross the table summit to the other side, and watch the movements of the two horsemen. Guided by their voices, wc once more knelt above them, lit the rearmost angle of tlio mound. Tlicy liad there halted to examine tlie ground, and only waited for the flash ; we, ton, waited above tlicm, and u-ithin rmuji'. "We kin fetch them out o' thar saddles/" wluspercd my companion. 186 THE WAR-TRAIL. I hesitated to give my assent ; perhaps it was prudence that restrained me, for I had now conceived hopes of a surer dehverance. At that moment gleamed the hghtning ; the dark horse, men loomed large under its yellow glare ; they were less than fifty paces from the muzzles of our guns : we could have sighted them with sure aim ; and, bayed as we had been, I was almost tempted to yield to the solicitations of my companion. Just then, an object came under our eyes that caused both of us to draw back our half-levelled rifles — that object was the body of our comrade Rube. It was lying flat along the ground, the arms and legs stretched out to their full extent, and the face buried deep in the grass. From the elevation at which we viewed it, it appeared like the hide of a young buffalo, spread out to dry, and pinned tightly to the turf. But we knew it was not that ; we knew it was the body of a man dressed in brown buckskin — the body of the earless traj^per ! It was not dead neither ; no dead body could have placed itself in such an attitude, for it lay flattened along the turf like a gigantic newt. The object of this attitude was evident to us, and our hearts beat with a painful anxiety while the light flickered around. The body was scarcely five hundred yards out ; but though perfectly visil^e from our position, it must have been inconspicuous to the horsemen below ; for as soon as it darkened, we heard them, to our great relief, ride back toward the front — Ijurra reiterating his doubts as they passed away. Fortunate it was for both him and his companion they had not espied that prostrate form — fortunate for Rube — for all of us ! Garey and I kept our places, and waited for another flash. When it came, the brown buckskin was no longer in sight ! Far off — nearly a mile off", we fancied we could distinguish the same form flattened out as befoi'e ; but the gloam of the prairie-grass rendered our vision uncertain. Of one thing, however, we were certain — our comrade had escaped. A REKFORCEMEOT. 187 CHAPTER XL. JL REINFORCEMENT. For the first time, since encountering tlie guerrilla, I breathed freely, and felt confitlent wc should get free. I\ry comrade shared my belief ; and it is needless to say that we recrossed the summit of the mesa Avith lighter hearts and step more buoyant. Of course we no longer speculated about making the descent ; with the fragment of rope left, that was impossible. "We were simply returning to the front, to keep an eye upon the gucrrilleros, and, if possible, prevent them from approaching our horses — should they by any chance dis- cover that we had retreated from our position behind the rock. We were the more anxious about our horses, now that we had less apprehension for ourselves ; at least I can answer for myself, and the explanation is easy. So long as I felt the probability that every moment might be the last of my life, the fate of Moro and the white steed was but a secondary consideration. Now that I felt certain I should survive this perilous esaapade, the future once more urged its claims ; and I was anxious not only to preserve my own steed, but the beautiful creature that had led me into all this peril, but whose capture still promised its rich reward. That all danger was i)ast — that in a few hours we should be free — was the full belief both of my companion and myself. Perhaps you may not comprehend from what chttti we drew so confident and comfortable a conclusion, though our reasoning was simple enough. "We knew that Rube would reach the rancheria, and return with a rescue — that was aU. 'Tis truo we were not without some anxiety. Tlio rangers might no longer be there ? — the army might have marched ? — perhaps the picket was withdrawn i Rubo himself might be intercepted, or slain ? Tlic last hypothesis gave us leaat concern. We had full trust iu the tnippcr'.s ability to penetrate to the American 188 THE WAR-TRATL. camp — to the enemy's, if necessary. We liad just been favoured with a specimen of his skill. Whether the army had advanced or not, Rube would reach it before morning, if he should have to steal a horse upon the way. He would soon find the rangers ; and, even without orders, Holings- worth would lend him a few — half-a-dozen of them would be enough. In the worst view of the case, there were stragglers enough about the camp — odd birds, that could easily be enlisted for such a duty. We had scarcely a doubt that our comrade would come back with a rescue. As to the time, we were left to conjectures. It might be before morning's light — it might not be before late in the following day, or even the night after. But that was a consideration that now weighed lightly. We could hold our aerial fortress for a week — a month — ay, far longer, and against hundreds. We could not be assailed. With our rifles to guard the clifl', no storming-party could ap- proach — no forlorn hope could scale our battlements ! But what of thirst and hunger, you will ask ? Ha ! we dreaded not either. Fortune's favours had fallen upon us in showers. Even on that lone summit, we found the means to assuage the one and satisfy the other ! In crossing the table-top, we stumbled upon huge echino- cacti, that grew over the ground like ant-hills or gigantic bee-hives. They were the mamillaria of Quackenboss — dome-shaped, and some of them ten feet in diameter. Garey's knife was out in a trice ; a portion of the spinous coat of the largest was stripped off, its top truncated, and a bowl scooped in the soft succulent mass. In another minute wc had assuaged our thirst from this vegetable fountain of the Desert. With similar facility were we enabled to gratifj' the kindred appetite. As I had conjectured, on viewing them from the plain, the trees of light-green foliage were " piiions" — the " nut-pine" (Pimcs cdulis), of which there are several species in Northern Mexico, whose cones contain seeds edible and nutritious. A few handfuls of these we gathered, and hungered no more. They would have been better roasted, but at that moment we were contented to eat them law. No wonder, then, that with such a supply for the pre- sent, and such hopes for the future, we no longer dreaded the impotent fury of our foes. A REINFORCEMENT. 1£9 We lay down at the top of the gorge to watch their furtlicr movements, and cover our horses from their attack. The flash of the hghtning showed them still on guard, just as we had left them. One of each file was mounted, while his companion, on foot, paced to and fro in tlie intervals of the cordon. Their measures were cunningly taken ; they were evidently determined we should not steal past them in the darkness ! The lightning began to abate, and the intervals between the flashes became longer and longer. During one of these intervals, we were startled by the sound of hoof-strokes at some distance off : it was the tramp of horses upon the hard plain. There is a diS'erence between the hoof-stroke of a ridden horse and one that is ridei'less, and the prairie-man is rarely puzzled to distinguish them. My companion at once pro- nounced the horses to be " mounted." The guerrilleros, on the alert, had heard them at the same time as we, and two of them had galloped out to re- connoitre. This we ascertained only by hcarincj, for wo could not distinguish an object six feet from our faces — the darkness being almost palpable to the touch. The sounds came from a considerable distance, but as they were continually growing more distinct we could tell that the horsemen were advancing toward the mesa. We drew no hope from this advent. Rube could not yet have even reached the rancheria. The new-comers were El Zorro and his companion on their return. We were not kept long in doubt : the horsemen ap- proached, and shouts and salutations wore exchanged be- tween them and the guerrilleros, while the horses of both parties neighed in response, as if they knew each other. At this moment the lightning shone again, and to our surprise we perceived not only El Zorro, but a reinforcement of full thirty men ! The tramphng of many hoofs had half prepared us for this discovery. It was not without feelings of alarm that we beheld this accession to the enemy's strength. Surely they would no longer hesitate to assail our forti-ess behind tlie rock ? At least then our horses would be captured ? P.esides, Kubc s rescue might be too weak for such a force \ There wcro now nearly fifty of the g^jeiTilleros. Oiu' anxiety aa to the first two points was soon at aa 190 THE WAR-TRAIL. end. To our astonisliment, we perceived that no assault was to be made as yet. We saw them increase the strength of their cordon of sentries, and make other dispositions to carry on the siege. Evidently they regarded us as hunters do the grizzly bear, the lion, or tiger — not to be attacked in our lair. They dreaded the havoc which they well knew would be made by our rifles and revolvers ; and they determined to reduce us by starvation. On no other principle could we account for the cowardly continence of their revenge. CHAPTER XLL THE INDIAN SPY. It was past the hour of midnight. The lightning, that for some time had appeared only at long intervals, now ceased altogether. Its fitful glare gave place to a softer, steadier light, for the moon had arisen, and was climbing up the eastern sky. Cumulus clouds still hung in the heavens, slowly floating across the canopy ; but their masses were detached, and the azure firmament was visible through the spaces between. The beautiful planet Venus, and here and there a solitary star, twinkled in these blue voids, or gleamed thi'ough the filmy bordering of the clouds ; but the chiefs of the constellations alone were visible. The moon's disc was clear and well defined, whiter from contrast with the dark cumuli : and her beam frosted the prairie till the grass looked hoar. There was neither mist nor mu'age ; the electric fluid had purged the atmosphere of its gases, and the air was cool, limpid, and bracing. Though the moon had passed the full, so brilliant washer beam, that an object could have been distinguished far ofi" upon the plain, whose silveiy level extended on all sides to the horizon. The thick black clouds, however, moving silently over the sky, occasioned long intervals of eclipse, during which the prairie, as before, was shrouded in sombre darkness. Up to this time, Garey and I had remained by the head of the little gorge, through which we had ascended. The moon was behind us, for the guerrilla was on the western THE INDIAN SPY. 101 side of the mesa. The shadow of the mound was thrown far out upon the plain, and just beyond its well- defined edge was the hne of sentinels, thickly posted. On our knees among the low shrubbery, we were unseen by them, while we commanded a perfect view of the whole troop, as they smoked, chattered, shouted, and sang — for they gavo such tokens of their jovial humour. After quietly watching them for some time, Garey left me to take a turn round the summit, and reconnoitre the opposite or eastern side. In that direction lay the ran- cheria ; and if the picket was still stationed there, wc might i-.oon expect the rescue. My rangers were not the men to tarry, called forth on such a duty; and, under Rube's guidance, they would be most likely to make their approach by the rear of the mound. Garey, therefore, went in that direction to make his reconnaissance. He had not parted from me more than a minute, when a dark object out upon the plain attracted my glance. I fancied it was the figure of a man ; though it was prostrate and flattened against the ground, just as old Rube had ap- peared when making his escape ! Surely it was not he ? I had but an indistinct view of it, for it was full six hundred yards from the mesa, and directly beyond the line of the guerrilleros. Just then a cloud crossing the moon's disc, shrouded the plain, and the dark object was no longer visible. I kept my eyes fixed on the spot, and waited for the re- turning light. AVhcn ttie cloud passed, the figure was no longer where I had first noticed it ; but nearer to the horsemen I per- ceived the same object, and in the same attitude as before ! It was now within less than two hundred yards of the Mexican line, but a bunch of tufted grass appeared to shelter it from the eyes of the guerrilleros — since none of them gave any sign that it was perceived by them. From my elevated position, the grass did not conceal it, I had a clear view of the figure, and was certain it was tbo body of a man, and, still more, of a naheil man — for it gli^t- ined under the sheen of the moonhght, aa only a naked Dody would have done. Up to tliis time I had fancied, or rather/earet/, it might be Rube. I say feared — for I had no wish to see Rube, upon his return, present himself in that fashion. 192 THE WAR-TRAIL. Surely he would not come, back alouc ? And why should he be thus playing the spy, since he already knew the exact position of our enemy ( The apparition puzzled me, and I was for a while in doubt. But the naked body reassured me. It could not bo Eube. The skin was of a dark hue, but so was that of the old trapper. Though born white, the sun, dirt, gun- powder, and grease, with the smoke of many a prairie-fire, had altered Rube's complexion to the true copper-tint; and in point of colour, he had but little advantage over a full-blood Indian. But Rube would not have been naked ; he never doffed his buckskins. Besides, the oily glitter of that body was not Rube's ; his '"' hide" would not have shone so under the moonlight. No ; the prostrate form was not his. Another cloud cast new shadows ; and while these continued, I saw no more of the skulking figure. As the moon again shone forth, I perceived that it was gone from behind the tuft of grass. I scanned the ground in the immediate neighbourhood. It was not to be seen ; but on looking farther out, I could just distinguish the figure of a man, bent forward and rapidly gliding away. I followed it with my eyes until it disappeared in the distance, as though melting into the moonlight. While gazing over the distant plain in the direction whence the figure had retreated, I was startled at behold- ing, not one, but many forms dimly outlined upon the prairie edge. " It was Rube," thought I ; " and yonder are the rangers ! " I strained my eyes to the utmost. They were horse- men beyond a doubt ; but, to my astonishment, instead of being close together, one followed another in single file, until a long line was traced against the sky like the links of a gigantic chain. Except in the nan'ow defile, or the forest-path, my rangers never rode in that fashion. It could not be they ? At this crisis a new thought came into my mind. More than once in my life had I witnessed a spectacle similar to that now under my eyes — more than once had I looked upon it with dread. That serried line was an old THE CAEALLADA. 103 acquaintance : it was a baud of Indian Vv-arriors on their midnight march — upon the war-trail ! The actions of the spy were explained : he was au Indian runner. The party to whom he belonged was about to approach the mesa — perhaps with the design of en- camping there — he had been sent forward to reconnoitre the gromid. What effect his talc would have, I could not guess. I Could see that the horsemen were halted — perliaps await- ing the return of their messenger. They were too distant to be seen by the Mexicans ; and the minute after, they were also invisible to my eyes upon the darkly-shadowed prairie. Before communicating with Garey, I resolved to wait for another gleam of moonlight, so that I might have a more distinct story to tell. CIIAPTEU XLII. THE CAC.VLLADA, It was nearly a quarter of an hour before the cloud moved away ; and then, to my surprise, I saw a cluiui) of horses — not horsemen — upon the prairie, and scarcely half-a-milo distant from the mesa ! Not one of them was mounted, and, to all appearance, it was a drove of wild-horses that had galloped up during the interval of darkness, and were now standing silent and motionless. I strained my eyes upon the distant prairie, but the dim horsemen were no longer to be seen. They niu^t have ridden oft' beyond the range of vision ? T was about to .seek my comrade and communicate tn him what had passed, when, on rising to my foet, I found bim standing by my side. He had been all around the summit without .seeing aught, and had returned to satisfy himself that the guerrilla were still (pact. "Ilillow!" lie exclaimed, as his eyes fell upon the caballada. " What the darnation's yonder ? A drove o' wild bosses? It's mighty strange them niggers dou"t notice 'em ! By the etarnal " o 194 THE WAR-TRAIL. I know not what Garey meant to have said. His W()rc!9 were drowned by the wild yell that broke simultaneously from the Mexican line ; and the next moment the whole troop were seen springing to their saddles, and putting themselves in motion. We of course supposed that they had just discovered the caballada of wild-horses, and it was that that was pro- ducing this sudden stampede. What was our astonishment on perceiving that we ourselves were the cause of the alarm ; for the guerrilleros, instead of fronting to the plain, rode closer up to the cliff, and screaming wildly, fired their carbines at its ! Among the rest, we could distinguish the great gun of El Zorro, and the hiss of its leaden bullet, as it passed close to our ears ! We were puzzled at first to know how they had dis- covered us. A glance explained that the moon had risen higher in the heavens, and the shadow cast by the mound had been gradually foreshortened. While gazing out at the caballada, we had incautiously kept our feet ; and our figures, magnified to gigantic proportions, were thrown forward upon the plain directly under the eyes of our enemies. They had but to look up to see us where wo stood. Instantly we knelt down among the bushes, clutching our rifles. The sui'prise occasioned by our appearance upon the clilf seemed to have deprived our enemies, for the moment, of their habitual prudence, as several of them rode boldly within range. Perhaps they were some of the late arrivals. In the dark shadow, we could not make out their forms ; but one had the misfortune to be mounted on a white horse, and that guided the trapper's aim. I saw him glancing along his barrel, and heard the sharp crack. I fancied I heard a stifled groan from below, and the next moment the white horse was seen galloping out into the moonlight, but the rider was no longer upon his back. Another cloud passed over the moon, and the plain was again shrouded from our sight. Garey was proceed- ing to reload, when a cry arose amidst the darkness, that caused him to pause and listen. The cry was again re- peated, and then uttered continuously with that wild into- nation which caa alone proceed from the throat of the THE CABALLADA. 195 savage. It was not the guevrilla that was uttering that cry ; it was the yell of the Indian warrior. " Comanche war-hoop!" cried Garey, after listening a moment. " Comanche war-hoop ! by the etarnal ! Hoo- raw ! the Injuns are upon 'em !" Amidst the cries, we could hear the rapid trampling of horses, and the ground appeared to vibrate under the quick heavy tread. Each moment the strokes sounded nearer. The savages were charging the guerrilla ! The moon shot forth from the cloud. There was no longer a doubt. The wild-horses were mounted ; each carried an Indian naked to the waist — his painted body glaring red in the moonlight, and terrible to behold. By this time the Mexicans had all moimtcd and faced towards the unexpected foe, but with evident signs of irresolution in their ranks. They would never stand the chart^e — no, never. So said Garey ; and he was right. The savages had advanced within less than a hundred paces of the ^lexican hne, when they were observed to pull suddenly up. tt was but a momentary halt — just time enough to enable them to mark the formation of their foes, and send a flight of arrows into their midst. That done, they dashed onward, uttering their wild yelLs, and brandishing their long spears. The guerrilleros only waited to discharge their car- bines and escopettes ; they did not think of reloading. Most of them flung away their guns as soon as they had fired, and the retreat began. The whole troop turned its back upon the enemy, and spurring their horses to a gallop, came sweeping round the base of the mesa in head- long flight. The Indians, uttering their demoniac yells, followed as fast. They were rendered more furious, that their hated foe was likely to escape them. The latter were indebted to us for having put them upon the alert. But for that circumstance, the Indians would have charged them while dismounted, and far different might have uc^n their fate. Mounted and ready for flight, most of them would pro- bably get clear. The moment wo saw the direction tho cha.se was about to take, Garey and I rushed acrosa the summit to the other side. 196 THE WAK-TBAIL. On arriving at the brow of the precijjice, our vie'\.' was perfect, and we could see both parties as they passed along its base directly below us. Both were riding in straggling clumps, and scarcely two hundred paces separated the real-most of the pursued from the headmost of the pur- suers. The latter still uttered their war-cry, while the former now rode in silence — their breath bound, and their voices hushed in the deathlike stillness of terror. All at once a cry arose from the guerrilla — short, quick, and despairing — the voice of some new conster- nation ; at the same moment the whole troop were seen to pull up. We looked for the cause of this extraordinary conduct ; Dur ej'es and ears both guided us to the explanation. From the opposite direction, and scarcely three hun- dred yards distant, appeared a band of horsemen coming up at a gallop. They were right in the moon's eye, and we could see glancing arms, and hear loud voices. The hoofs could be heard pounding the prairie, and my com- panion and I recognised the heavy tread of the American horse. Still more certain were we about that hoarse " hurrah." Neither Indian nor Mexican could have ut- tered that well-known shout. " Hooraw ! — the rangers !" cried Garey, as he echoed the cry at the full pitch of his voice. The guerrilleros, stupified by surprise at sight of this new enemy, had paused for a moment — no doubt fancying it was another party of Indians. Their halt was of short duration ; the dim light favoured them ; rifles already played upon their ranks ; and, suddenly wheeling to the left, they struck out into the open plain. The Indians, seeing them turn off, leaned into the dia- gonal line to intercept them ; but the rangers, already close up, had just made a similar movement, and savage and Saxon were now obliquing towards each other ! The moon, that for some minutes had been yielding but a faint light, became suddenly eclipsed by a cloud, and the darkness was now greater than ever. Garey and I saw no more of the strife ; but we heard the shock of the opposing bands ; we heard the war-whoop of the savage mingling with the ranger's vengeful shout : we heard the " crack, crack, crack" of yager rifles, and the quick deto- nations of revolvers — the clashing of sabre-blades upon A CHAPTER OF EXrLiVI^TATIOK.S. 197 spear-shafts — the ring of Itrcaking Ktcel — Ihe i.cighing of steeds — the victor's cry of triumph — and the deep an- guished groan of the victim. With anxious hearts, ;ind nerves excited to their ut- most, we stood upon the chff, and hstened to these sounds of dread import. Not long did they last. The fierce struggle was soon over. When the moon gleamed forth again, the battle Avas ended. Prostrate forms, both of man and horse, were lying upon the plain. Far to the south, a dark clump was seen disa])pearii)g over the prairie's edge : it was the cowardly guen-illa. To the west, horsemen galloped away, alone, or in strag- gling groups ; but the cheer of triumph that reached us from the scene of strife told us who were the masters of the ground. The I'angei-s had triumphed. " Whur ur ye, Ijill T' cried a voice from the bottom of the clift", which both of us easily recognised. " Hyar I be," answered Garey. " AVul, we've gin them Injuns goss, I reck'n ; but cuss the luck, the yeller-bcllics hev got clur off. Wagh ! " ; CHAPTER XLIIT. A CHArTER OF EXPLAKATIONS. Tni: fight couhl not have lasted more than ten minutes. The whole skirmish had the semblance of a moonlight dream, interrupted by interludes of darkness. So rai)id had been the movements of the forces engaged, that after the first fire not a gun was reloaded. As for the guerrilleros, the Indian war-cry seemed to have shaken the pieces out of their hands, for the ground where they had fir.st broken olf was literally strewed with carbines, cscopettes, and lances. The great gun of El Zorro was found among the spoils. Notwithstanding the shortness of the affair, it proved .sufTicienily tragical to both Mexicans and Indians ; five of the guerrilleros had bit the dust, and twice that number of savage warriors lay lifeless upon the plain — their bodies 198 THE WAR-TRAIL. glaring under the red war-paint, as if shrouded in blood. The Mexicans lay near the foot of the mesa, having fallen under the first fire of the rangers, delivered as they galloped up. The Indians were farther out upon the plain, where they had dropped to the thick rapid detonations of the re- volvers, that, so long as the warriors held their ground, played upon them with fearful effect. They may have heard of this weapon, and perhaps have seen a revolver in the hands of some trapper or traveller, but, to my know- ledge, it was the first time they had ever encountered a band of men armed with so terrible a power to destroy ; for the rangers were indeed the first military organisation that carried Colt's pistol into battle — the high cost of the arm having deterred the government from extending it to other branches of the service. Nor did the rangers themselves come unscathed out of the fight ; two had dropped out of their saddles, pierced by the Comanche spear ; while nearly a dozen were more or less severely wounded by arrows. While Quackenboss was climbing the clifi", Garey and I found time to talk over the strange incidents to which we had been witness. We were aided by explanations from below, but without these we had no difficulty in compre- hending all. The Indians were a baud of Comanches, as their war- cry had already made known to us. Their arrival on the ground at that moment was purely accidental, so far as we or the Mexicans were concerned : it was a war-party, and upon the war-trail, with the intention of reiving a rich Mexican town on the other side of the Rio Grande, some twenty leagues from the rancheria. Their spy had discovered the horsemen by the mesa, and made them out to be Mex- icans — a foe which the lordly Comanche holds in supreme contempt. Not so contemptible in his eyes are Mexican horses, silver-studded saddles, speckled scrapes, mangas of fine cloth, bell-buttoned breeches, arms, and accoutrements : and it was to sweep this paraphernalia that the attack had been made ; though hereditary hatred of the Spanish race — old as the conquest — and revenge for more recent wi'ongs, were of themselves sufl&cient motives to have impelled the Indians to their hostile attempt. All this we learned from one of their braves, who remained wounded upon the ground, and who, upon closer A CHAPTER OP EXPLANATIONS. 199 examination, turned out to be a ci-devant Mexican captive, now completely Indianiscd ! Fortunately for the Mexican town, the savages, thus checked, abandoned their design, and returned to their mountain fastnesses sadly humbled. The rest of the affair was still of easier explanation to Garey and myself. Eube, as we conjectured, had arrived safe at the rancheria ; and in ten minutes after his story had been told, fifty rangers, with Holingsworth at their head, rode rapidly for the mesa. Rube had guided them with his usual craft. Like tho Indians, they had been moving forward during the inter- vals of darkness ; but, coming in the opposite direction, they had kept the mound between them and their foe, and, trusting to this advantage, were in hopes of taking the guerrilleros by surprise. They had approached almost within charging distance, when the war-whoop of the savage sounded in their ears, and they were met by the retreating band. Knowing that all who came that way must be enemies, they delivered their fire upon the approaching horsemen, and then galloping for^varJ, found themselves face to face with the painted warriors of the plains. The mutual surprise of rangers and Indians, caused by the unexpected rencontre, proved a happy circumstance for the cowardly guerrilla — who, during the short halt of their double pursuers, and the confused fight that followed, were enabled to gallop off beyond reach of pursuit. It was a curious conjecture what would have been tho result had the rangers not arrived on the ground. Cer- tainly the Indians would have rescued us from our not less savage foes. My companion and I might have remained undiscovered, but we should have lost our precious horses. As it was, wc were soon once more upon their backs ; and, fi'ce from all thought of peril, now joyfully turned our faces towards the rancheria. Wheatley rode by my side. Holingsworth with a party remained upon tho ground to collect the "spoils" and l)ury our unfortunate comrades. As wo moved away, I turned, and fur a moment gazed back on the .scene of strife. 1 saw Holingsworth dismounted on the plain. Ho w.is moving among tlic bodies of the five guerrilUroa ; one after anulhcr, ho turned them over, till tho moon glared upon their 200 THE WAR-TRAIL. ghastly features. So odd were his movements, and so earnest did he appear, that one might have fancied him engaged in searching for a fallen friend, or more like somo prowhng robber intent upon stripping the dead ! But neither object was his — on the contrary, he was searching for a foe. He found him not. After scanning the features of all five, he was seen to turn away, and the unconcerned manner in -which he moved from the spot told that he who was sought was not among the slain. "The news, Wheatley ?" "News, Cap! Grand news, by thunder! It appears we have been barking up the wrong tree — at least so thinks President Polk. They say we can't reach Mexico on this line ; so we're all going to be drawn off, and shipped to some port farther down the gulf, Vera Cruz — I beheve." " Ah ! grand news, indeed." " I don't Uke it a bit," continued Wheatley ; " the less so since it is rumoured that old ' Rough and Ready' is to be recalled, and we're to be commanded by that book mar- tinet Scott. It's shabby treatment of Taylor, after what the old vet has accomplished. They're afraid of him set- ting up for President next go. Hang their politics ! It's a confounded shame, by thunder !" I could partly understand Wheatley's reluctance to be ordered upon the new line of operations. The gay lieu- tenant was never troubled with ennui ; his leisure hours he contrived to pass pleasantly enough in company with Conchita, the plump, dark-eyed daughter of the alcalde ; more than once, I had unwittingly interrupted them in their amorous dalliance. Tlie ranchcria with its mud huts and dusty lanes, in the eyes of the Texan, was a city of gilded palaces, its streets paved with gold. It was Wheat- ley's heaven, and Conchita was the angel who inhabited it. Little as either he or I had liked the post at first, neither of us desired a change of quarters. As yet, no order had arrived to call the picket in, but my companion afiirmed that the camp-rumour was a sub- stantial one, and believed that we might expect such a command at any moment. " What say they of me ? " I inquired. " Of you, Cap 1 Why, nothing. What do you exf>ect them to say of you 1 A CIIAITER 01' EXPLANATIONS. 201 " Surely there has been some talk about my absence 1" "Oh, that ! No, not a word, at least at head-quarters, for the simple reason, that you're not yet rejiorted misshi^'." " Ah ! that is good news ; but how " " Why, the truth is, Holingsworth and I thouglit we might serve you better by keeping the thing dark — at all events, till we should be sure you were dead lost. AVe hadn't given up all hope. The greaser who guided you out, brought back word that two trappers had gone after you. From his description, I knew that (^uecr old case Rube, and was satisfied that if anything remained of you, ho was the man to find it." " Thanks, my friend ! you have acted wisely ; your dis- creet conduct will save me a world of mortification. "No other news ?" I inquired after a pause. "No," said Wheatlcy, " none worth telling. Oh, yes !" he continued, suddenly recollecting himself, "there is a bit. You remember those hang-dog greasers that used to loaf about the village when we first came ? Well, they're gone, by thunder ! every mother's son of them clean vamosed from the place, and not a grease-spot left of them. You may walk through the whole settlement without seeing a Jlcxican, except the old men and the women. I asked the alcalde where they had cleared to ; but the old chap only .shook his head, and drawled out his eternal 'Quien sabe I' Of course they're ofl" to join some band of guerrillas. T^y thunder ! when I think of it, I wouldn't wonder if they were among that lot we've just scattered. Sure as shootiu' they are ! I saw Holingsworth examine the five dead ones as wc rode off. He'll know them, I guess, and cau tell us if any of our old acquaintances are among them." Knowing more of this matter than Wheatley himself, I enlightened him as to the gucrrilleros and their leader. " Thought so, by thunder ! Eafiiel Ijurra ! No wonder Holingsworth was so keen to .start — in such a hurry to reach the mound, he forgot to tell me who we were after. Deuce tal-.e it ! what fools we've been to let these fcliuw.s slide. We should have stnmg up every man of them when we first reached the place — we should, by thunder !" For some minutes, wc rode on in silence. Twenty times a question was tipon my lijis, but I refrained from putting it, in hopes that Wheatley might have something more to 202 THE WAR-TEAIL. tell me — something of more interest than aught he had yet communicated. He remained provokingly silent. With the design of drawing him out, I assumed a careless air, and inquired, — " Have we had no visitors at the post 1 Any one from the camp V " Not a soul, " replied he, and again relapsed into medi- tative silence. " No visitors whatever ? Has no one inquired for me /" I asked, determined to come boldly to the point. "No," was the discouraging reply. — "Oh, stay: oh, ah — yes, indeed!" he added, correcting himself, while I could perceive that he spoke in a peculiar tone. " Yes, you were inquired for." "By whom?" asked I, in a careless drawl. " Well, that I can't tell," answered the lieutenant in an evident tone of badinage ; " but there appears to be somehody mighty uneasy about you. A slip of a Mexican boy has been backward and forward something less than a million of times. It's plain somebody sends the boy ; but he's a close little shaver that same — he won't tell either who sends him, or what's his business : he only inquires if you have returned, and looks dead down in the mouth when he's told no. I have noticed that he comes and goes on the road that leads to the hacienda." The last words were spoken with a distinct emphasis. " We might have arrested the little fellow as a spy," continued Wheatley, in a tone of quiet irony, "but we fancied he might have been sent by some friend of yours." The speaker concluded with another marked emphasis, and under the moonhght I could see a smile playing across his features. More than once I had " chaffed " my lieu- tenant about Conchita ; he was having his revenge. I was not in a mood to take offence ; my companion could have taken any liberty with me at that moment — his communication had fallen like sweet music upon my ears ; and I rode forward with the proud consciousness that I was not forgotten. Isolina was true. Soon after, my eyes rested upon a shining object ; it was the gilded vane of the little capilla, and beneath glis- tened the white walla of the hacienda, bathed in the milky DUTCH LIGE IN A DIFI'ICULTT. 203 light of the moou. My heart beat with strange emotions as I gazed upon the well-known mansion, and thought of the lovely jewel which that bright casket contained. Was she asleep ? Did she dream ? Of what — of whom, was she dreaming ? CHAPTER XLTV. DUTCH LIGE IN A DIFFICULTY. The soft blue light of morning was just perceptible along the eastern horizon as we rode into the rancheria. I no longer felt hunger. Some of the more provident of the rangers had brought with them well-filled haversacks, and had made me welcome to the contents. From their can- teens I had satisfied my thirst, and Wheatley as usual carried his free flask. Relieved of the protracted strain upon my nerves — of fear and vigil — I felt deadly weary, and scarcely undress- ing, I flung myself upon my leathern catre, and at once fell asleep. A few hours' repose had the desired efiect, and restored both the strength of my body and the vigour of my niiud. I awoke full of health and hoj^e. A world of sweet antici- pations was before me. The sky and fortune were both smiling. I made my toilette with some care — my d<2say una W\ih. less — and then, with lighted cigar, ascended to my favourite lounge on the azotca. The beautiful captive was in the midst of a crowd, f)roudly curving his neck, as if conscious of tlie admiration le excited. The rangers, the poblanas, the hucksters of the piazza, even some sulky lepcros, stood near, gazing with wondering eyes upon the wild-horse. ".Splendid present!" thought I — "worthy the accept- ance of a princess !" It had been my intention to make the ofleriug in person — hence the care bestowed upon my toilette. After more mature reflection, I abandoned thi.s design. 1 was ii fluenccd by a vaiicty of considerations — one 204 THE WAR-TRAIL. among others, being a delicate apprehension that a personal visit from me might compromise the family at the hacienda. The patriotic sentiment was every day growing more in- tense. Even the acceptance of a present was a dangerous matter ; but the steed was not to be a gift — only a return for the favourite that had fallen by my hand — and I was not to appear in the character of a donor. My sable groom, therefore, would convey the beautiful captive. Already the white lazo, formed into a halter, was adjusted around the animal's head, and the negro only awaited orders to lead him away. I confess that at that moment I felt somewhat annoyed at the publicity of my affair. My rough rangers were men of keen intelligence. I could tell from some whispers that had reached me, that one and all of them knew why I had gone upon the wild hunt, and I dreaded their good- humoured satire. I would have given something at that moment to have rendered the steed invisible — to have been able to transport him to his destination, Venus-like, u nder cover of a cloud. I thought of waiting for the friendly shelter of night. Just then, however, an incident occurred which gave me the very opportunity I wanted — a scene so ludicrous, that the steed was no longer the cynosure of admiring eyes. The hero of this scene was Elijah Quackenboss. Of all the men in my band, " Dutch Lige " was the worst clad. Not that there was less money expended upon his outward man ; but partly from his ungainly form and loose untidy habits, and more, perhaps, from the wear and tear caused by his botanising excursions, a suit of broad- cloth did not keep sound upon him for a week. He was habitually in tatters. The skirmish of the night had been profitable to Lige ; it was his true aim that had brought down one of the live guerrilleros. On his asserting this, his comrades had laughed at it, as an idle vaunt ; but Quackenboss proved his assertion to be correct by picking his bullet out of the man's body, and holding it up before their eyes. The peculiar "bore" of his rifle rendered the bullet easy of identification, and all agreed that Lige had shot his man. By the laws of ranger-war, the spoils of this particular individual became the property of Quackenboss ; and the result was, that he had shaken oS" hia tattered rags, and DUTCH LIOE IN A DIFFICULTY. £05 now appeared in the pla/.za in full Mexican costume — com- prisiug calzoneros, and calzoncillos, sash and serape, jacket and glazed hat, botas with gigantic spurs — in shart, a com- plete set of ranchcro habiliments ! Never was such a pair of legs encased in Mexican velve- teens — never were two such anus thrast into the sleeves of an embroidered jaqueta ; and so odd was the tout ensemble of the ranger thus attired, that his appearance in the piazza was hailed by a loud burst of laughter, both from his comrades and the natives who stood around. Even the gloomy Indians showed their white teeth, and joined in the general chorus. But this was not the end. Among other spoiLs, Lige had made capture of a Comanche mustang ; and as his owii war-horse had been for a long time on the decline, this af- forded him an excellent opportunity for a removmt. Some duty of the day had called him forth, and he now ai)i)earcd in the piazza leading the mustang, to which he had trans- ferred his own saddle and bridle. A fine handsome horse it appeared. More than one of his comrades envied him this splendid prize. The laughter had scarcely subsided, when the order was given to mount ; and with others, Quackcnboss sprang to his horse. But his hips were hardly snug in the satldle, when the wicked Comanche "humped" his back, and entered upon a round of kicking which seemed to cxliibit eveiy po.se and attitude of equestrian exercise. First his hind feet, then his fore ones, then all together, could be seen glancing in the air. Now a lioof whizzed past the ear of tlic aflVighted rider, now a set of teeth threatened Ills thighs, while every moment iie appeared in dang.'r of being hurled with violence to the earth. Tlie SDmbrero had long since parted from his head, and the rifle from hi.s hand; and what with the Jl;ip]iing of the wide trousers, the waving of the loose serape, the dancing of the stcil scabbard, the distracted motion of the rider's arms, his lank streaming hair, and look of terror — all combined to form a spectacle sudiciently ludicrous; and the wiiolo crowd was convulsed with laughter, while the i)laz/.a rang with such shouts as " Bravo ! " " Well done, Lige ! " "I loo- raw for you, olil l)ees\vax!" But what surprised Iiia comrades wa.s tjic fact that Quackaiboss still kept his seat. It was well known that 206 THE WAR-TRAIL. lie was tlie worst vkler iu the troop ; yet, despite all the doubling and flinging of the mustang, that had now lasted for several minutes, he was still safe in the saddle. He was winning golden opinions upon the strength of his splendid horsemanship. The rangers were being asto- nished. All at once, however, this mystery was explained, and the cause of his firm seat discovered. One of the by- standers, sharper than the rest, had chanced to look under the belly of the mustang, and the next moment shouted out, — " Hoy ! look yonder ! by Gechorum, his spurs are clinched ! " AU eyes were lowered, and a fresh peal of laughter broke forth from the crowd as they perceived that this was in reality the case. Lige, upon mounting — under the suspicion that the mustang was disposed for a fling — had clutched firmly with his legs ; and these, on account of their extreme length, completely enveloped the body of the animal, so that his heels met underneath. He had forgotten his new spurs, the rowels of which, six inches in diameter, irritated the mustang, and were no doubt the cause of such violent kicking. These, after a few turns had got " locked," and of course held Quackenboss as firmly as if he had been strapped to the saddle. But as the rowels were now buried in the ribs of the mustang, the fierce brute, maddened with the pain, only grew more furious at each fling, and it was natural enough he should do his utmost to rid himself of so cruel a rider. How long he might have kept up the pitching frolic before his involuntary tormentor could have freed himself, is a matter of conjecture. It would have been an unfortu- nate "fix" to have been placed in, alone upon the prairies. Lige, however, found a compassionate bystander ; who, having flung his lazo around the neck of the mustang brought the spectacle to a termination. A LOVER ON THE TRAIL. 207 CHAPTER XLV. A LOVER ON THE TRAIL. Taking advantage of the distraction caused by Quaclcen- boss and his troubles, I despatched the black upon his interesting errand, and ■with no shght anxiety awaited the result. From my position on the roof, I saw my messenger climb the hill, leading the proud steed, and saw him enter the great porLal of the hacienda. Promptly — almost directly — the groom came out again without the horse. The present had been accepted. So far well. I counted the moments, till heavy footsteps were heard upon the escalcra, and a shining black face rose over the roof. There wa.s no letter, no message beyond " mil graciasr I felt a pang of chagrin. I had expected thanks more formal than this mere phrase of compliment. My man appeared better satisfied. A gold onza gleamed in his purple palm — a handsome perquisite. "By whom given V I inquired. " Golly, mass cap'n, a gal guv it ! De handsomest qua- deroom gal dis nigga ever see." Beyond a doubt, Isolina herself was the donor ! I could have broken the rascal's thick skull, but that the queenly douceur gave proof of the satisfaction with which my offering had been received. Even on this trivial circumstance, I built my hopes of yet receiving a fuller meed of thanks. Absorbed in these hopes, I continued to pace the azotea alone. It was a dia de fiesta in the rancheria. Bells had already commenced their clangor, and other notes of rejoicing fell upon the ear. The poblanas appeared in their gayest attire — the Indians in bright naguas, with red and purple tlu-eads twisted in their black hair ; the denizens of the 208 THE WAR-TRAIL. ranchitos were pouring into the piazza, and processions were being formed by ttie church ; jaravx' <• were twanging their guitar-like music ; and pyrotechni machines were set up at the corners of the streets. Tii .^^i-covered saints were carried about on the shoulders of painted maskers ; and there were Pilate and the Centurion, and the Saviour — a spectacle absurd and unnatural ; and yet a spectacle that may be witnessed every week in a Mexican village, and which, with but slight variation, has been exhibited every week for three centuries ! I had no eyes for this disgusting fanfarronade of a de- grading superstition. Sick of the sight, wearied with the sounds, I had given orders for my horso to be saddled, intending to ride forth and seek repose for my spirit amid the silent glades of the chapparal. While waiting for my steed, an object came under my eyes that quickened the beatings of my pulse : my gaze had been long turned in one direction — upon the hacienda of Don Ramon de Vargas. Just then, I saw emerging from its gate, and passing rapidly down the hill, a horse with a rider upon his back. The snow-white colour of this horse, and the scarlet manga of the rider — both contrasting with the green of the surrounding landscape' — could not escape observation even at that distance, and my eyes at once caught the bright object. I hesitated not to form my conclusion. It was the white steed I sav/ ; and the lider — I remembered the manga as when first my eyes rested upon that fair form — the rider was Isolina. She was passing down the slope that stretched from the hacienda to the river, and the minute after, the thick foliage of the platanus trees shrouded the shining meteor from my sight. I noticed that she halted a moment on the edge of the woods, and fancied that she gazed earnestly towards the village ; but the road she had taken led almost in the op- posite direction. I chafed with impatience for my horse. My resolve, made on the impulse of the moment, was to follow the white steed and his scarlet-clad rider. Once in the saddle I hurried out of the piazza, passed A LOVER ON THE TRAIL, 209 ilio ranches of yucca, and reaching the open countr}', pressed my horse into a gallop. My road lay up the river, through a heavily timbered bottom of gum and cotton-woods. These were thickly beset witli the curious tillandsia, whose silvery festoons, stretching from branch to branch, shrouded the sun, causing amongst the trce-triinks the obscurity of twilight. In the midst of one of these .shadowy aisles, I met or ]->assed some one : I saw that it was a Mexican boy ; but the sombre light, and the rapidity with which I was riding, prevented me from noting anything more. The lad shouted after me, uttering some words, which were drowned by the hoof-strokes of my horse. I deemed it some expression of boyish ei'prit, and, without heeding it, rode on. Xot until far out of sight and hearing did it occur to me that I knew the voice and the lad. I recollected a sort of errand-boy attached to the hacienda, and whom I had seen more than once at the rancheria. I now remembered the badinage of Wheatley, and would have returned to question the youth ; but I had left him too far in the rear. After a moment's reflection, I spurred on. I soon arrived at the base of the hill on whicli stood the hacienda ; and here leaving the main road, I followed I a bridle-path that skirted the hill. A few hundred yards brouglit me to the spot whei'e I had last observed the object of my pursuit. The hoof-track of the white horse now guided me, and upon his trail I entered the woods. For some distance, it followed a well-trodden path — a cattle-track — but all at once it diverged from this, and struck off into a heavily timbered bottom, where not the semblance of path existed. Keeping the trace in view, I rode after. As 1 advanced, the timber grew thicker, and the path more difficult. A close underwood of arundinaria and sabal i)alms shut up the way and the view ; trailing roots obstructed progress Ijclow ; while liigher up, tlie trelHs- work of llianas, bamboo briai's, sarsaparilla, and gigantic gi'ape-viues, rendered it neces.sary to bend down in the saddle in order to pass onward. To my suq>rise 1 noticed all this. For what purpose could she have chosen such a path \ Wa-s it indeed Isolina I ha more taking up the tiuco of the steed, 1 rode on. I had advanced near the summit. The tracks were 212 THE WAR-TRAIL. quite recent ; the branches that had been touched by tne flanks of the horse had not yet ceased to vibrate ; the rider could not be far in advance. I fancied I heard the hoof-stroke. Silently I pressed on, expecting eveiy moment to catch the gleam of the scarlet manga, or the white sheen of the steed. A few paces farther, and both were Tinder my eyes, glittering through the feathery frondage of the mimosas. I had followed the true track. The rider was Isolina. I saw that she had halted. She had reached the top of the hill, where the growth of timber ceased. An open- ing of about an acre there was, surrounded on all sides by tlie flowery woods — the very beau-ideal of a summer glade. The open summit commanded a view of the surrounding country — for the hill was a high one — while the charming spot itself enjoyed perfect privacy and repose. In this glade, she had drawn up, and was sitting silently in the saddle as if to enjoy the warbling of birds, the hum of the bees, and the fragrance of flowers. I myself drew rein, and remained for some moments in a state of hesitancy, as to whether I should ride for- ward or go back. A feeling of shame was upon me, and I believe I would have turned luy horse and stolen gently away, but just then I saw the fair rider draw forth from her bosom something that glittered in the sun. It was a watch, and she appeared to note the time. I observed that she looked anxiously over the tops of the low trees, in the direction of the plain below. These circumstances, trivial as they might appear, pro- duced within me a quick sense of pain. I felt as if hot steel was passing through my heart. I had ridden to my ruin — I had followed to be present at an assignation. Thus only could I explain the solitary ride, and by such difficult and devious paths ; thus only could I account for the oft-repeated anxious glance, the ear acutely bent. Beyond a doubt, she was listening for the footsteps of a lover ! The rein fell from my fingers. I sat irresolute — I scarcely breathed — my heart felt cold and feeble — the birds mocked me — the parrots screeched his name — the aras in hoarse concert cried out '"'' Ijurra !'''' The name nerved me, as blood knits the sinews of the A DECLARATION ON HORSKEACK. 213 tiger. Once more ruy fingers closed upon my bridle, my feet became firm in the stirrups, and heart and arm swelled to their full strength. 'Twas but a light rapier that hung against my thigli — no matter ; he might be no better weaponed ; but even armed from head to heel, i feared him not. Three passions — hatred, jealousy, and revenge — supplied an aim of treble strength, and under the influence of these I felt bold and sure of conquest. Yes ' I felt at that moment, as though I could have slain my hated rival with my naked hands. I was no longer troubled with scniplcs of etiquette. No; this monster owed me satisfaction — life itself: lie had striven to take mine ; and now his slioulil be forfeit to my vengeance. On that spot — even in her presence — should he die, or I myself become the victim. The two of us should never go thence alive. " Oil, that he may reach the ground while my blood is thus hot, and my Hand ready !" The fierce thoughts stin-ing within me must have roused my horse, for at that moment he tossed his head and neiglied wildly. A response came hke an echo from the glade, and the instant after, a voice called out, — " llola. ! quien va ?" Concealment was no longer possible. I saw that I was o/jserved ; and, spurring my horse into the open gi'uund, 1 rode up, and halted face to face with IsoHna. CHAPTER XLVI. A DECLARATION ON HORSEBACK. Face to face with my beautiful brunette. Her eyes flashed ujton me with an expression of surprise. I felt abashed by tlie glance ; my conduct was not en rhylc. I bethought me of an apology. What excuse covild I offer for such imcercmonious intrusion ? Accident ? Sho would not believe it ; the time and the place were against Buch a suppo.sition. "With an intellect like hers, it would 214 THE WAR-TRAIL. be idle to adopt so shallow an artifice. No ; I would no'; dissemble ; I would boldly avow tbe truth. Jealousy had rendered me reckless of the result. " Adios, cavallero /" said she, interrupting my hurried reflections. " Carramho ! where is your guide 1 How have you found this place ?" " Easily enough, senorita ; I followed the tracks of your horse." " But so soon — I did not expect you " " No ; you expected another]" " Certainly. I thought Cyprio would arrive before you " "Cyprio!" " Cyprio — yes, Cyprio." " Seiiorita ! if this be another name for your Protean cousin, I have to say it will be better for him he should not arrive at all." " My cousin ? — better not arrive ? Holy Trinity, ca- pitan ! I do not comprehend you ! " Her large brown eyes were rolling in astonishment. I was as much puzzled as she, but I had begun my expla- nation, and was determined to carry it to the end. '•' Then, Seiiorita de Vargas, I shall be more explicit. If Rafael Ijurra appear upon this ground, either he or I leave it not alive. He has attempted my life, and I have vowed to take his, whenever and wherever I may meet him." " Pray heaven you may keep your vow ! " " Your cousin ?" " My cousin — Eafael Ijurra — my worst foe — the direst enemy of our house ! " '' Ha ! and were you not waiting him 1 " " Awaiting him ! Ha, ha, ha ! No. Little timid though I be, I should not desire to be here alone with Rafael Ijurra." " Lady ! you astonish me ; pray explain " " For dios ! gallant capitan, 'tis you who need explain. I sought this interview to thank you for your noble gift. You meet me with auger in your eye, and bitter words upon your tongue." " You sought this interview % — say you so, lady ?" " Certainly I did. For I'easons already known to you, I dared not invite you to our house ; so I have chosen A DECLARATION ON H0R8EEACK. 215 this pretty glade for my drawing-room. How do you like it, cavuUero 1 " " In your society, senorita, tte rudest spot would ap- pear a paradise." " Again the poet's tongue ! Ah, capitan, remember the yellow domino ! No more flattery, I pray ; we are no longer en masque. Face to face, let us be candid with each other.' " "With all my heart I accept the conditions. Candour is the very thing I desire, for, to say the truth, I came prepared for a confession," " A confession ! " " Precisely so ; but since you ai'e an advocate for can- dour, nr.ay I first ask a question ?" " Ho ! you wish to play the confessor with me ?" " I do, senorita." " Bravo, capitan ! Proceed ! I shall answer you in all sincerity." " Then, lady, what I would ask first — Who is this Cyprio -vhom you expected ?" "Cyprio! Ha, ha, ha! Who should Cyprio be but my mozo ; he who carried my message to you. Why do you put such a question 1 " " He who carried your message to me V* " Of course. Yonder is the muchaco himself. Ilola, Cyprio! you may return to the house. Carramho, capitan ! both he and you must have sped well. I did not expect you for half-au-hour ; but you soldiers arc soon in the saddle. So much the better, for it is getting late, and I have a great deal to say to you." A light had broken upon me. 'Twas C}-jn'io I had passed in the forest shade ; the boy was the bearer of a message — hence his having hailed me. 'Twas I who wa.s expected to keep the assit^nation ; 'twas I for whom the timepiece had been con.sulted — for whom those earnest glances had been given ! The bitter moments were past, and my heart swelled anew with proud and pleasant emotions. As yet she knew not that I had come withoit invita- tion. Cyprio, at the word of command, had gone off with- out making any reply, and my prompt appearance upon the ground was still unexplained. I was about to account for it, and ofler aomo apology 216 THE WAR-TRAIL. for my bmsque behaviour, wlieu I was challenged to the confession I had jusfc promised. Minor thoughts gave way before the important pur- pose I had formed, and to which the banter now recalled me. So fair an opportunity might never offer again. In the vicissitudes of a soldier's fife, the chance of to-day should not be disregarded — to-morrow may bring change either in the scene or the circumstances ; and I was skilled enough in love-lore to know that an hour unimproved is often followed by an age of regi'ets. But, in truth, I do some wrong to my character ; I was but little under the influence of such cunniag cog- nizance at that moment. I acted not by volition, but rather under pressure of a passion that held complete mastery over my will, and compelled me to the declaration I was about to make. It was simple enough — tlu-ee little words in dther of the two sweet tononics in which we understood each other. I chose the one — of all others most attuned to tie tones of the loving heart — and bending low to that fair face, and gazing into the liquid depths of those large inquiring eyes, I whispered the sweet, though oft-repeated phrase, — " Fo te amo." The words quivered upon my lips, but their tone proved the sincerity in which I had spoken. No doubu it was further manifest by the earnestness of my manner as I awaited her reply. The habitual smile had departed from her lips ; the damask red deepened and mounted higher upon her cheeks ; the dark fringes drooped downward, and half- concealed the burning orbs beneath : the face of the gay girl had suddenly assumed the serious air of womanhood. At first, I was terrified by the expression, and could scarcely control my dread ; but I drew hope from the flushed cheek, the roseate neck, the swelling panting bosom. Strong emotions were stirring in that breast. Oh, what emotions ! will she not speak ? Will she not declare them 1 There was a long interval of silence — to me, it seemed an age. " Seiior," she said at length — 'twas the first time I had heard that voice tremble — " Sefior, you promised to be candid ; you have been so : are you e4ually sincere ?" A DECLARATION ON HOnSEBACK. 217 " I have spoken from the depth of my soul." The long lashes were raised, and the love-light gleamed in her liquid eyes ; for a moment it burned steadily, bath- ing my heait as with balm. Heaven itself could not have shed a brighter beam upon my spirit. All at once a smile played upon her features, in which I detected, or fancied so, the gay insouciance that springs from indifference. To me it was another moment of pain. She continued, — " And pray, capitan, what would you have rac do ? '' I felt embarrassed, and replied not. " Would you have me declare that I love you 1" " Oh ! you cannot — you do not " " You have not asked the question ! " " No, lady. I too much dread the answer." " Ho ! what a coward you have grown of late ! A pity I am not masked. Shall I draw this veil? Ha, ha, ha!" It wa.s not the manner of love. Love laughs not. My heart was heavy ; I made no reply, but with eyes upon the gi'ound, sat in my saddle, feeling like one condemned. For some moments her laughter rang in my ears, as I fancied, in mockery. Her sweet silvery voice only grated upon my heart. Oh, that I had never listened to its siren tones ! I heard the hoof-stroke of her horse ; and, looking up, saw that she was moving away from the spot. Was .she going to leave me thus ? she spurred towards the centre of the glade, where the ground was higher, and tliere again pulled up. " Come hither, cavallcro !" she cried, beckoning to me with her small gloved hand. Mechanically, I moved forward to the spot. " So, gallant capitan ! you who are brave enough to meet a score of foes, have not the courage to ask a woman if she loves you !" A dismal smile was my only reply to this bitter badina:;e. " Ah ! capitan," she continued, " I will not bcUovo it ; ere now you have put that dreaded interrogatory — often, I feai' too often." I looked at her witli suiiirise. There was a touch of bitterness in the tone. The gay smile was gone ; her eye- lids drooped j her look was turned upon the ground. 218 THE WAR-TRAIL. Was this real, or only a seeming ? the prelude to soma abrupt antithesis ? some fresh outburst of satire 1 " Seiiorita !" said I, "the hypothesis, whether true or false, can have but little interest for you." She answered me with a smile of strange intelligence. I fancied there was sadness in it. 1 fancied " We cannot recover the past," said she, interrupting my thoughts ; " no, no, no ! But for the present — say again — tell me again that you love me ! " " Love you ! — yes, lady " " And I have your heart, your whole heart ?" " Never — can I love another ! " "Thanks! thanks!" " No more than thanks, Isolina ?" For some moments she remained silent, her eyes averted from me ; she appeared struggling with some emotion. " Yes, more than thanks," she replied at length ; " grati- tude ! three things more — if they will suffice to prove my gratitude." "Name them!" " Why should prudery tie my tongue ? I promised to be candid. I, too, came here to make confession. Listen I Three things I have said. Look around you ! — north, south, east, and west — the land you see is mine ; be it yours, if you will." "Isolina!" " This, too, caH I bestow" — she held forth her little hand, which I clasped with fervid emotion. " More ! more ! the third ?" " The thii'd, on second thoughts, I cannot give ; 'tis yours already." « It is ?" " Ilia corazon''' (My heart). Those splendid steeds, like creatures of intelligence, ap- peared to understand what was said ; they had gradually moved closer and closer, till their muzzles touched and their steel curbs rang together. At the last words, they came side by side, as if yoked in a chariot. It appeared delight to them to press their proud heaving flanks against each other, while their riders, closing in mutual clasp, leaned ' over and met their lips in that wild fervid kiss — the climax of love. 1^'"^ /* ., ,5 ^ r - mh ^ -w. .. I A ni:rr.ARATi'>N «% iioRsr.r.At k. BTRATED FROM TIIK TRACK. 219 CHAITER XLVII. BTRATED PROM THE TRACK. We parted upou tlie top of the liill. It was not pnidcnt for us to be seen riding together, and Isoliua went away first, leaving me in the glade. We had bidden adieu in that phrase of pleasant promise, "hasta la manana" (until to-morrow). To-morrow we .should meet again. To-moiTOw, and to-morrow, we should visit that sweet spot, repeat our burning words, renew our blissful vows. I remained some minutes on the ground, now hallowed and holy. AVithin, the tumult of triumphant passion had passed, and was succeeded by the calm repose of perfect contentment. ISlj heart's longings had been gratified ; it had found all that it desired — even to the full reciprocity of its passion. What would it more ? There is no more of mundane bliss. Life has no felicity to cope with re- quited love ; it alone can give us a foretaste of future joys ; by it only may we form some idea of the angel existence of heaven. The world without was in harmony with the spirit within. The scene around me was rose-coloured. The Howers appeared fresher in tint, and breathed a sweeter fragrance in the air ; the hum of the homeward bee, laden with treasures for his love-queen, fell with a dreamy plea- sance upon the ear ; the voices of the birds sounded softer and more musical ; even the ai-as and paroquets, chanting in a more subdued tone, no longer pronounced that hated name ; and the tiny Mexican dovcsjas palomitas — scarcely so large as finches — walked with proud gait over the ground, or side by side upon the branches of the myrtles — like types of tender love — told their heart's tale in sofi? and amorous cooing. Long could I have lingered by that consecrated spot, even hasta la maiiana, but duty claimed me, and its calls must not be disregarded. Already the setting sun wa.s tlingiug purple beams over the distant prairie ; and, heading 220 THE WAR-TRAIL. my hDrse down the liill, I once more i^lunged under the shadows of the mimosas. Absorbed in my supi'cme hapi^incss, I took no heed of aught else ; I noticed neither track nor path. Had I left my horse to himself, most likely he would have taken the right road ; but in my reverie, perhaps I had mechanically dragged upon the rein, and turned him from it. Whether or not, after a lapse of time, I found myself in the midst of thick woods, with not the semblance of a trail to guide me ; and I knew not whether I was riding in the right direction. I ought rather to say that I knew the contrary — else I must long before have reached the clearings around the village. Without much reflection, I turned in a new direction, and rode for some time without striking a trail. This led me once more into doubt, and I made head back again, but still without success. I was in a foi'est-plain, but I could find no path leading anywhere ; and amid the underwood of palmettoes I could not see any great distance around me. Beyond a question, I had strayed far out of my way. At an early hour of the day, this would have given me little concern ; but the sun had now set, and already under the shadow of the moss-covered trees, it was nearly dark. ISIight would be down in a few minutes, and in all pro- bability I should be obliged to spend it in the forest — by no means an agreeable prospect, and the less so that I was thinly clad and hungry. True, I might pass some hours in sweet reflection upon the pleasant incident of the day — I might dream rosy dreams — but, alas ! the soul is sadly under the influence of the body ; the spiritual must ever yield to the physical, and even love itself becomes a victim to the vulgar appetite of hunger. I began to fear that, after all, I should have but a son-y night of it. I should be too hungry to think ; too cold either to sleep or dream ; besides, I was likely to get wet to the shirt — as the rain had commenced falling in large heavy drops. After another unsuccessful effort to strike a trail, I pulled up and sat listening. My eyes woidd no longer avail me ; perhaps my ears might do better service. And so it chanced. The report of a rifle reached them, apparentljf fired some hundred yards off" in the woods. Considering that I was upon hostile ground, such a 8TRAYID FROM THE TRACK. 221 Round might have caused mo alarm ; but I knew from the sharp whip-hke crack that the piece was a hunter's rifle, and no Mexican ever handled a gun of that kind. Moreover, I had heard, closely following upon the shot, a dull con- cussion, as of some heavy body dropped from a high elevation to the gi'ound. I was hunter enough to know the Bignification of this sound. It was the game — bird or bead; — that had fallen from a tree. An American must have fired that shot ; but who ? There were only three or four of the rangers who carried the hunter-rille — a veiy different weapon from the "regu- lation" piece — old backwoodsmen who had been indulged in their whim. It might be one of these. Without hesitation, I headed my horse for the spot, and rode as rapidly as the underwood would permit me. I kept on for five minutes or more without halting. I certainly must have passed the place where the shot had been fired, and yet I saw no one ; but just as I was about to pull up again, a well-known voice reached me from behind with the words, — " By the jumpin Geehosophat ! it ur the young feUur — the capt'n !" Turning, I beheld my trapper comrades just emerging from the bushes, where they had cautiou.sly cached them- selves, on hearing the hoof-strokes of my horse, and lain hid till I had passed them. Rube carried upon his shoulders a large turkey gobl)Ier — the game I had heard drop — while upon Garey's back I observed the choice portions of a deer. "You have been foraging to some advantage," I rc- uiarkcd as they came up. " Yes, capt'n," replied Garey, " «.'e won't want for rashuus. Not but that your rangers offered us a plenty to eat ; but ye see we couldn't in honour accept o' it, for we promised to find for ourselves." " Ye-es, durn it !" added Rube, " we're free mountaineo men — ain't a gwine to sponge on nobody — we ain't." " Au, capt'n,'' continued Garey, " tliar don't appear to be any great eatin fixins abinit the place for yurself nuyther : if yu'll just accept o' the turkey, and one o' these hyar q