The Tiger Hunter Part 34

"Yes; the brave bay-brown you lost in your affair at Las Palmas. He has been recovered for you, and taken care of. Ah! he has been marvellously cared for, I can a.s.sure your Honour. He was sent back to the hacienda."

"Who sent him?" hastily inquired Don Rafael.

"Why, who could it be, your Honour, but Don Mariano de Silva. One of his people brought the horse to Del Valle three days ago--saying that he supposed the owner of such a fine animal would be pleased to have him again. As the saddle and bridle had been lost, a new saddle and bridle were sent along with him. Ah! splendid they are--the bridle, with a pretty bunch of red ribbons on the frontlet!"

"Where are these ribbons?" hastily asked Don Rafael, carried away by the thought that a sight of them might enable him to divine whether the hand of Gertrudis had attached them to the frontlet.

"One of our people--Felipe el Galan--took them to make a c.o.c.kade with."

"Felipe is a silly fellow, whom, one of these days, I shall punish for his indiscretion."

"I told him so, your Honour; but he would take them. I should add, your Honour, that the servant of Don Mariano also brought a letter for you."

"Ah! why did you not tell me so at first?"

"I began at the beginning, your Honour," replied the phlegmatic Julian.

"Here is the letter."

The messenger drew from the pocket of his _jaqueta_ a small packet done up in a leaf of maize, inside which he had prudently concealed the letter. Unfolding the leaf, he handed the note to Don Rafael, whose hand visibly trembled on taking it.

In vain did he attempt to dissemble his emotion under the studied air of coolness with which he received the letter, which he permitted to remain unopened.

This letter, thought he, should be from Gertrudis; and he dwelt on the voluptuous pleasure he was about to enjoy while reading it alone.

"Well, Julian," said he, after a pause, "anything else have you to tell me of?"

"Yes, your Honour; the most important of all. Arroyo, Bocardo, and their bandits have returned to the neighbourhood; and Lieutenant Veraegui has charged me to say to you--"

"Arroyo! Bocardo!" interrupted Don Rafael, all at once re-awaking from his sweet dreams to thoughts of vengeance. "Tell Lieutenant Veraegui to give double rations to his horses, and get them ready for a campaign.

Say that in two or three days I shall be with him, and we shall enter upon it. The last a.s.sault upon Huaj.a.pam is to be made this very day, and the place must either fall, or we raise the siege. I shall then obtain leave from the Commander-in-chief, and by the Virgin! I shall capture these two ruffians, or set the whole province on fire. _Vaya, Julian_!"

Julian was about to depart, when Don Rafael's eye, once more alighting upon the little billet which promised to yield him a moment of sweet happiness, called the messenger back to him.

"Stay a moment!" said he, looking around for his purse, "you have been the bearer of good news, Julian. Here!"

And, as he said this, he placed in the hands of the messenger an _onza_ of gold.

Julian accepted the douceur with eagerness--not without profound astonishment at being so generously recompensed for reporting the re-appearance of Arroyo and his band! Nevertheless, his satisfaction at the perquisite far exceeded his surprise.

As soon as he had gone out of the tent, Don Rafael took the letter from the table--where he had for the moment deposited it--and held it for some seconds in his hand without daring to open it. His heart rose and fell in violent pulsations, for he had no doubt that the letter was from Gertrudis, and it was the first souvenir he had received from her for nearly two years--since he had embraced the Royalist cause.

In fine, he opened the note. Although written in a feminine hand, it was more like that of Marianita than Gertrudis, and contained only the following words:--

"The inmates of Las Palmas are not forgetful that they have received a kindness from Don Rafael Tres-Villas under very critical circ.u.mstances; and they believe that the Colonel Tres-Villas might be gratified at having restored to him the n.o.ble steed which the Captain Tres-Villas had such reason to esteem."

"A kindness!" exclaimed Don Rafael, with bitter emphasis, "what ingrat.i.tude! A service rendered by the betrayal of an oath sworn over the head of my murdered father! They call it a kindness--an act of simple politeness, forsooth! Oh! I must endeavour to think no more of those who have forgotten me."

And with a bitter sigh the Colonel strode forth from his tent, and proceeded towards the marquee of the Commander-in-chief--where the council of war was at that moment a.s.sembling.

Notwithstanding his chagrin, however, Don Rafael did not tear up the letter that had caused such disappointment, nor yet did he fling it away. Perhaps it had been touched by the hand of Gertrudis; and, with this thought pa.s.sing through his mind, he placed the billet in a little pocket in his uniform, which chanced to be on the left side, just over his heart.

While pa.s.sing towards head-quarters, another reflection crossed his mind, that exerted a consolatory influence upon his spirits. Gertrudis knew how much he prized the n.o.ble bay-brown--so often caressed by her hand. Was it for that reason the horse had been sent back to him? Was it she who had attached the rosette of ribbons to the bridle, to recall the flowers of the grenadine which in happier times she had placed upon his frontlet?

It was sweet happiness to believe it was she.

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.

THE COUNCIL OF WAR.

The Commander-in-chief Bonavia, the generals of brigade--Caldelas and Regules--were seated around a table covered with a green cloth, when Don Rafael entered the marquee. The council had not yet commenced.

"Ah! Colonel," cried Bonavia, addressing Don Rafael, as he entered, "I understand you have received a message from Del Valle. Is it of a private nature, or one that may a.s.sist the Royalist cause?"

"The lieutenant who commands the garrison of Del Valle informs me that those two guerilleros, whom both sides now regard as outlaws--Arroyo and Bocardo, I mean--have returned to Oajaca with their band. I have the honour to solicit from your Excellency that, after this place is taken, you will grant me permission to go in pursuit of these brigands, and hunt them as wild beasts."

"You shall have leave to do so, Colonel. I know no one better qualified to perform such a duty."

"I can promise your Excellency that no one will set about it with more zeal, nor follow it up with more perseverance."

The war council was then inaugurated without further delay.

Without reporting all that pa.s.sed at Huaj.a.pam, we shall give a few details that may render more clear the relative situation of the besieged and the besiegers at this memorable blockade of Huaj.a.pam.

"Gentlemen," began Bonavia, addressing himself to his a.s.sembled officers, "it is now one hundred and fourteen days since we opened siege upon this paltry town. Without counting skirmishes, we have made fourteen regular attacks upon it; and yet we are at this hour no nearer capturing it than we were on the first day!"

"Less nearer, I should say," interposed Regules, when the Commander-in-chief had ceased speaking. "The confidence of the besieged has grown stronger by the success of their obstinate resistance. When we first invested the place, they possessed not a single cannon. Now they have three pieces, which this Colonel Trujano has caused to be cast out of the bells of the churches."

"That is as much as to say that General Regules is of opinion we should raise the siege?"

This speech was delivered by Caldelas in a tone of irony, which plainly expressed that a certain animosity existed between these two generals.

Such was in reality the fact--a feeling of rivalry having long estranged them from each other. Caldelas was an energetic officer, brave, and of undoubted loyalty; while Regules, on the other hand, was noted for unnecessary severity, while his courage was more than questionable.

"It is just that question I have summoned you to discuss," said Bonavia, without giving Regules time to reply to the taunt of his rival, "whether we are to raise the siege or continue it. It is for Colonel Tres-Villas, who is the youngest of you, and of lowest grade, to give his advice first. p.r.o.nounce, Colonel!"

"When fifteen hundred men besiege a place like Huaj.a.pam, defended by only three hundred, they should either take it, or to the last man die upon its ramparts. To do otherwise, would be to compromise not only their own honour but the cause which they serve. That is the opinion I have the honour of submitting to your Excellency."

"And you, General Caldelas, what is your advice?"

"I agree with the Colonel. To raise the siege would be a pernicious example for the Royalist troops, and a deplorable encouragement to the insurrection. What would the brave Commander-in-chief of our army--Don Felix Calleja--say to our raising the siege? During a hundred days he besieged Cuautla Amilpas, defended by a general far more skilful than Trujano--Morelos himself--and yet on the hundredth day he was master of the town."

"Morelos evacuated the place," interposed Regules.

"What matter if he did? By so doing, he acknowledged himself defeated; and the Spanish flag had the honours of a successful siege."

It was now the turn of Regules to give his opinion.