The Freebooters Part 25

"Why did he not come in person to meet me?"

"Because he probably did not think it worth while to put himself out of the way."

"Hum! That way of behaving seems to me rather lax, for war has laws which every man is bound to follow."

"Maybe, but it is not war in this case, that must not be let out of sight."

"What is it then, in your opinion?"

"Insurrection."

"Well, I wish to speak with your Commandant, for I can only treat with him. Are you disposed to let me see him?"

"That does not depend on me, but on him."

"Very good. Can I trust to your delivering my message to him?"

"I do not see why I should not."

"Be kind enough, then, to return at once to him, and I will wait for you here, unless you permit me to enter the fortress."

"That is impossible."

"As you please; I will, therefore, await your reply here."

"Very well."

The two men bowed courteously, and took leave of each other. Don Felix Paz re-entered the fortress, while the Jaguar, sitting on the trunk of a felled tree, examined with the greatest attention the fortifications of the hacienda, the details of which he could easily survey from the spot where he now was. The young man leaned his elbow on his knee, and let his head rest on his hand; his eyes wandered over the surrounding objects with an expression of indefinable melancholy; gradually a gloomy sadness seized on his mind; while indulging in his thoughts, external objects disappeared from his sight, and isolating himself completely, he gave way to the flood of bitter recollections which rose from his heart to his brain, and removed him from the preoccupations of his present situation.

For a long time he had been plunged in this species of prostration, when a friendly voice smote his ear. The Jaguar, suddenly drawn from his reverie by the sound of a voice which he fancied he recognised, threw up his head sharply, and gave a start of surprise on recognising Don Juan Melendez de Gongora, for it was really the Colonel who was now addressing him. The Texan Chief rose, and spoke to his officers.

"Back, Caballeros," he said; "this gentleman and myself have matters to talk about which no one must hear."

The Texans withdrew out of earshot. The Colonel was alone, for on recognising the Jaguar, he had ordered his escort to await him at the base of the intrenchments.

"I meet you here again then, my friend," the Jaguar said sadly.

"Yes," the young officer answered; "fatality seems determined to keep us in constant opposition."

"On examining the height and strength of your walls," the Independent continued, "I had already recognized the difficulties of the task forced on me; these difficulties have now grown almost into impossibilities."

"Alas, my friend, fate wills it so, we are forced to submit to its caprices; and while in my heart deploring what takes place, I am yet resolved to do my duty as a man of honour, and die in the breach, with my breast turned toward you."

"I know it, brother, and cannot feel angry with you; for I too am resolved to carry out the difficult task imposed on me."

"Such are the terrible exigencies of civil war, that the men most inclined to esteem and love one another, are compelled to be foes."

"G.o.d and our country will judge us, friend, and our consciences will absolve us; men are not combating, but principles fatally placed in opposition."

"I was not aware that you were the Chief of the insurrectionary bands that have invested the place, although a secret foreboding warned me of your presence."

"That is strange," the Jaguar muttered, "for I also felt the foreboding to which you allude; that is why I so strongly insisted on having an interview with the Commandant of the hacienda."

"The same reason urged me, on the contrary, not to show myself; but I thought I must yield to your entreaty, and hence here I am; I swear to you that I should have wished to avoid this interview, which is so painful to both of us, in consequence of our mutual feelings."

"It is better that it should have taken place; now that we have had a frank explanation, we shall be better fitted to do our duty."

"You are right, friend; it is perhaps better that it should be so; let me press your honest hand for the last time, and then each of us will resume his part."

"Here is my hand, friend," the young Chief made answer.

The two men heartily shook hands, and then fell back a few paces, making a signal to their respective escorts to rejoin them. When the officers were ranged behind the Chiefs, the Jaguar ordered his bugler to sound the summons; the latter obeyed, and the Mexican trumpet immediately replied. The Jaguar then advanced two paces, and courteously took off his hat to the Colonel.

"With whom have I the honour of speaking?" he asked.

"I am," the officer replied, returning the salute, "Colonel Don Juan Melendez de Gongora, invested by General Don Jose Maria Rubio, Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican forces in Texas, with the military government of the Larch-tree hacienda, which present circ.u.mstances have raised to the rank of a first cla.s.s fortress; and who may you be, Caballero?"

"I," the Jaguar answered, as he drew himself up, and placed his hat again on his head, "am the Supreme Chief of the Confederated Army of Texas."

"The men who take that name, and the person who commands them, can only be regarded by me as traitors and fosterers of rebellion."

"We care little, Colonel, what name you give us, or the manner in which you regard our acts. We have taken up arms to render our country independent, and shall not lay them down till that n.o.ble task is accomplished. These are the proposals I think it my duty to make you."

"I cannot and will not treat with rebels," the Colonel said, clearly and distinctly.

"You will act as you please, Colonel; but humanity orders you to avoid bloodshed, if possible, and your duty imperiously commands you to listen to what I have to say to you."

"Be it so, Caballero, I will listen to you, and then will see what answer I have to give you; but I must ask you to be brief."

The Jaguar leaned the point of his sabre on the ground, and giving a clear and piercing glance at the Mexican staff, he continued, in a loud, firm, and accentuated voice--

"I, the Commander-in-Chief of the Liberating Army of Texas, summon you, a Colonel in the service of the Mexican Republic, whose sovereignty we no longer recognise, to surrender to us this Larch-tree hacienda, of which you ent.i.tle yourself the Governor, and which you hold without right or reason. If, within twenty-four hours, the said hacienda is put into our hands, with all it contains, guns, ammunition, material of war, and otherwise, the garrison will quit the place with the honours of war, under arms, with drums and fifes playing. Then, after laying down their arms, the garrison will be free to retire to the interior of Texas, after making oath that during a year and a day they will not serve in Texas against the Liberating Army."

"Have you ended?" the Colonel asked, with ill-disguised impatience.

"Not yet," the Jaguar coldly answered.

"I must ask you to make haste."

On seeing these two men exchange savage glances, and placed in such a hostile position face to face, no one would have supposed that they were fond of each other, and groaned in their hearts at the painful part fate compelled them to play against their will. The truth was, that in one military fanaticism, in the other an ardent love of his country, had imposed silence on every other feeling, and only permitted them to listen to one, the most imperious of all--the sentiment of duty. The Jaguar, perfectly calm and firm, continued in the same resolute accent--

"If, against my expectations, these conditions are refused, and the place obstinately defends itself, the Army of Liberation will immediately invest it, carry on the siege with all the vigour of which it is capable, and when the hacienda is captured, it will undergo the fate of towns taken by a.s.sault; the garrison will be decimated, and remain prisoners till the end of the war."

"Very good," the Colonel replied, ironically; "however harsh these conditions may be, we prefer them to the former; and if the fate of arms betray us, we will endure without complaint the law of the conquerors."

The Jaguar bowed ceremoniously.

"I have only to withdraw," he said.