"Yes."
"Then you will remain?"
"I will."
The count went away, not noticing the strange expression in the glance the Indian turned on him.
CHAPTER IX.
A MEETING IN THE DESERT.
About three musket shots' distance from the hacienda, in a thicket of nopals, mastic trees, and mesquites, intermingled with a few mahogany cedars, wild cottonwood trees, and pines, just an hour before sunset, a horseman dismounted; hobbled his horse, a magnificent mustang, with flashing eyes and fine chest; then, after turning an inquiring glance around, probably satisfied with the profound silence and tranquility pervading at the spot, he made his arrangements for camping.
The man had passed middle life: he was an Indian warrior of great height dressed in the Comanche costume in its utmost purity. Although he appeared to be sixty years of age, he seemed gifted with great vigour, and no sign of decrepitude could be traced in his muscular limbs and intelligent face: the eagle's feather fixed in the centre of his warlock allowed him to be recognised as a chief. This man was Eagle-head, the Comanche chief.
After laying his rifle by his side he collected dry wood, and lit a fire; then he threw several yards of tasajo on the ashes, with several maize tortillas; and all these preparations for a comfortable supper made, he filled his calumet, crouched near the fire, and began smoking with that placid calmness which never deserts the Indians under any circumstances.
Two hours thus passed peacefully, and nothing disturbed the repose the chief was enjoying. Night succeeded day; darkness had invaded the desert, and with it the silence of solitude began to reign in the mysterious depths of the prairie.
The Indian still remained motionless, contenting himself with turning now and then to his horse, which was gaily devouring the climbing peas and the young buds of the trees.
Suddenly Eagle-head looked up, bent forward, and, without otherwise disturbing himself, stretched out his hand to his rifle, while the mustang left off eating, laid back its ears, and neighed noisily. Still the forest appeared as calm as ever. It needed all an Indian's sharp ear to have heard a suspicious rustling through the silence.
At the end of a moment the chiefs frowning brows returned to their proper position, he re-assumed his easy posture, and lifting his two forefingers to his mouth, imitated with rare perfection, for two or three minutes, the harmonious, modulations of the centzontle, or Mexican nightingale: the horse had also begun eating again.
Only a few minutes passed ere the cry of the nighthawk was twice heard in the direction of the river. Soon after the sound of horses became audible, mingled with the cracking of branches and the rustling of leaves, and two mounted men made their appearance. The chief did not turn to see who they were; he had probably recognised them, and knew that they alone, or at any rate one of them, were to come to him here.
These two horsemen were Don Louis and Belhumeur. They hobbled their horses by the side of the chiefs, lay down by the fire, and, on the Indian's silent invitation, vigorously attacked the supper prepared for them. They had left the Rancho the previous evening, and ridden without the loss of a moment to join the chief.
The Count de Lhorailles had invited them at the pulquería to join his party, but Belhumeur had declined the offer. Not knowing for what purpose the Indian chief had appointed to meet him, he did not care to mix up a stranger in his friend's affairs. Still, the three men had parted on excellent terms, and the count pressed Don Louis and the Canadian to pay him a visit at Guetzalli, an offer to which they had replied evasively.
Singular is the effect of sympathy. The impression the count produced on the two adventurers was so unfavourable for him, that the latter, while replying with the utmost politeness, had not thought it wise to give their names, and had employed the greatest reserve, carrying their prudence to such an extent as to leave him ignorant of their nationality, by continuing to converse in Spanish, though at the first word he uttered they recognised him to be a Frenchman.
When they had ended their meal Belhumeur filled his pipe, and put out his hand to take up a coal.
"Wait," the chief said sharply.
This was the first word the Indian uttered; up to that moment the three men had not interchanged a syllable. Belhumeur looked at him.
"H'm!" he said, "What is the matter now?"
"I do not know yet," the chief answered. "I have heard a suspicious rustling in the bushes; and at a great distance off, to leeward of us, several buffaloes peacefully grazing took to flight without any apparent cause."
"Hum!" the Canadian went on, "That is growing serious. What do you think, Louis?"
"In the desert," the latter replied slowly, "everything has a cause—nothing happens by accident. I believe we had better be on our guard. Stay!" he added, as he raised his head, and pointed out to his friends several birds that passed rapidly away over them. "Have you often seen at this hour a flight of condors soaring in the sky?"
The chief shook his head.
"There is something the matter," he muttered: "the dogs of Apaches are hunting."
"'Tis possible," Belhumeur said.
"Before all," the Frenchman observed, "let us put out the fire; its gleam, slight as it is, might betray us."
His companions followed his advice, and the fire was extinguished in a second.
"My brother, the paleface, is prudent," the chief said courteously. "He knows the desert. I am happy to see him by my side."
Don Louis thanked the chief courteously.
"And now," Belhumeur went on, "we are almost invisible—no visible danger threatens us; so let us hold a council. The chief had the first scent of peril: it is, therefore, his place to tell us what he observed."
The Indian wrapped him up in his fresada; the three men drew closer, so as to be able to speak in a whisper, and the council commenced.
"Since sunrise this morning," Eagle-head said, "I have been marching in the desert. I was anxious to reach the place of meeting, and proceeded in a straight line to arrive sooner. All along the road I found evident signs of the passage of a numerous band; the tracks were wide and full, like those made by a party of warriors so large they care not for discovery. These trails continued for a long distance, then suddenly disappeared: it was impossible for me to find them again."
"Deuce, deuce!" the Canadian muttered, "That is awkward."
"At first I did not pay much attention to trail, but presently I began to feel restless, and that is the reason I have mentioned it to you."
"What reason rendered you restless?"
"I believe that the expedition whose passage I discovered is directed against the great cabin of the palefaces at Guetzalli."
"What makes you suppose so?" Louis asked.
"This. At the hour the alligator leaves the mud of the bank to plunge again into the Gila, the sound of horses a short distance off compelled me, lest I should be discovered, to bury myself in a thicket of mangroves and floripondios. When sheltered from a surprise I looked out. A band of palefaces passed within bow-shot of me, in the direction of Guetzalli."
"I know who they were," Belhumeur remarked. "What next?"
"I recognised, in spite of the care he had taken to render himself unrecognisable, the man who served as guide to the party; then I guessed the infernal scheme formed by the Apache dogs."
"Who was it?"
"A man my brother knows. It is Wah-sho-che-gorah, the Black Bear, the principal chief of the White Crow tribe."
"If you are not mistaken, chief, horrible things will be done ere long. The Black Bear is the implacable enemy of the whites."
"That was the reason I spoke to my brother. But, after all what does it concern us? In the desert each man has enough to do in taking care of himself, without troubling about others."
The Canadian shook his head.
"Yes, what you say is true," he replied. "We ought, perhaps, to abandon the inhabitants of the hacienda to their fate, and not interfere in matters which may cause us great misery."
"Do you intend to act thus?" the Frenchman asked sharply.
"I do not say so positively," the Canadian replied; "but the case is a difficult one. We shall have to deal with numerous enemies."
"Yes, but the men about to be surprised are your fellow countrymen."
"It is true; and it is that which renders the affair so awkward. I do not wish to see these unhappy beings scalped. On the other hand, we run the risk, by hurrying rashly into danger, of ourselves being the victims of our devotion."
"Why reflect thus?"
"By Jove! In order to weigh the for and against. There is nothing I detest so much as rushing headlong into an enterprise of which I have not calculated the consequences beforehand. When I have done so I care for nothing."
Don Louis could not refrain from smiling at this singular reasoning.
"I have my plan," the Canadian went on a moment later. "The night will not pass without our learning something new. Let us draw near the bank of the river. I am greatly mistaken, or we shall soon obtain there the there the information we require before we make up our minds. Our horses run no risk here: we can leave them; besides, they would only prove an embarrassment for us."
The three men lay down on the ground, and began crawling silently in the direction indicated by Belhumeur.
The night was magnificent, the moon brilliant, and the atmosphere so diaphanous, that objects might have been distinguished for a great distance on an open plain. The three adventurers did not leave their covert; but, on arriving at the skirt of the forest, they hid themselves in an almost inextricable thicket, and waited with that patience so characteristic of the wood rangers.
The silence which brooded over the desert was so intense that the slightest sounds were perceptible. A leaf falling on the water, a pebble detaching itself from the bank, the slow and continuous murmur of the water running over its gravel bed, the rustling of the owl's wing as it fluttered from branch to branch, were the only distinguishable sounds.
For several hours the three men remained motionless and watchful, eye and ear strained, with the finger on the trigger of the rifle, through fear of a surprise; but nothing had yet happened to corroborate the suspicions of Eagle-head, or the previsions of Belhumeur. Suddenly Louis felt the chief's arm resting gently on his shoulder, as he pointed to the river. The Frenchman rose on his knees and looked.
An almost imperceptible movement agitated the surface of the river, as if an alligator were floating along.
"Oh, oh!" Belhumeur muttered; "I fancy that is what we are expecting."
A black mass soon appeared, floating rather than swimming on the water, and noiselessly advancing toward the spot where the hunters were in ambush. At the end of a few moments, this body, whatever it might be, stopped, and the cry of the prairie dog was heard several times repeated.
At once the howl of the coyote broke forth forcibly so near the three men, that, spite of themselves, they shuddered, and a man hanging by the hands dropped down from an oak tree, scarcely three yards from the spot where they were.
This man wore the Mexican costume.
"Come, chief," he said in a low voice, though not venturing down to the river, "come, we are alone."
The man thus addressed emerged from the water, and clambered up the bank to join the person awaiting him.
"My brother speaks too loudly," he said. "In the desert a man is never alone; the leaves have eyes, the trees ears."
"Bah! What you say, has not common sense. Who on earth would play the spy on us? With the exception of your warriors, who are probably concealed in the neighbourhood, no one can see or hear us."
The Indian shook his head. Now that he was standing only a few spaces from the adventurers, Belhumeur perceived that Eagle-head was not mistaken, and that the man was really the Black Bear. The two men stood for a moment silently gazing at each other. The Mexican was the first to speak.
"You have manoeuvred well," he said in an insinuating voice. "I know not how you managed it, but you have succeeded in entering the fort."
"Yes," the Indian replied.
"Now we have only our final arrangements to make. You are a great chief in whom I place the utmost confidence. Here is what I promised you. I ought not to pay you till afterwards, but I do not wish the slightest cloud to rise between us."
The Indian silently rejected the purse the other held out to him.
"The Black Bear has reflected," he said coldly.
"On what, may I ask?"
"A warrior is not a woman to waste his words. What my brother offered the Black Bear, the Apache chief refuses."
"Which means?"
"That all is broken off."
The Mexican repressed with difficulty a sign of disappointment.
"Then," he said, "You have not warned your warriors? When I give the order you will not attack the hacienda?"
"The Black Bear has warned his warriors. He will attack the palefaces."
"What did you say this moment? I confess that I do not comprehend you, chief."
"Because the paleface will not comprehend. The Black Bear will attack the hacienda, but on his own account."
"That was agreed between us, I fancy."
"Yes; but the Black Bear has seen the singing bird. His hut is empty: he wishes to place in it the young pale virgin."
"Scoundrel!" the Mexican shouted in his wrath; "You would betray me in that way?"
"How have I betrayed the paleface?" the Indian replied, still perfectly calm. "He offered me a bargain; I refused it. I see nothing dishonest in that."
The Mexican bit his lip with rage; he was caught, and could make no reply.
"I will revenge myself," he said, stamping his foot.
"The Black Bear is a powerful chief; he laughs at the croaking of the ravens. The paleface can do nothing against him."
With a movement swift as thought, the Mexican rushed on the Indian, seized him by the throat, and, drawing his dagger, raised it to strike him. But the Apache carefully watched the actions of his opponent: by a movement no less swift he freed himself from his grasp, and with one bound was out of reach.
"The paleface has dared to touch a chief," he said in a hoarse voice; "he shall die."
The Mexican shrugged his shoulders and seized the pistol in his girdle.
It is impossible to say how this scene would have ended, had not a new incident happened to change its features completely. From the same tree in which the Mexican had been hidden a few moments previously, another individual suddenly fell, rushed on the chief, and hurled him to the ground before he could make a gesture to defend himself, so thoroughly was he off his guard.
"By Jove!" Belhumeur muttered with a stifled laugh, "there must be a legion of devils in that tree."
The Mexican and the man who had come so luckily to his help had securely tied the Indian with a reata.
"Now you are in my power, chief," the Mexican said, "and you will be obliged to consent to my terms."
The Apache grinned, and uttered a shrill whistle.
At this signal fifty Indian warriors appeared, as if they had sprung from the ground, and that so suddenly, that the two white men were surrounded in an instant by an impassable circle.
"Deuce!" Belhumeur said in an aside, "that complicates matters. How will they get out of that?"
"And we?" Louis whispered in his ear.
The Canadian replied by that shrug of the shoulders which signifies in all languages, "We must trust in Heaven," and began looking again, interested as he was in the highest degree by the unexpected changes of scene.
"Cucharés!" the Mexican said to his companion, "Hold that scoundrel tight and at the least suspicious movement kill him like a dog."
"Be calm, Don Martial," the lepero answered, pulling from his vaquera boot a knife, whose sharp blade flashed with a bluish tinge in the moon's rays.
"What decision does the Black Bear come to?" the Tigrero went on, addressing the chief lying at his feet.
"The life of a chief belongs to thee, dog of the palefaces: take it if thou darest!" the Apache replied with a smile of contempt.
"I will not kill you: not because I am afraid, for I know not such a feeling," the Mexican said, "but because I disdain to shed the blood of an enemy who is defenceless, even if he be, like you, an unclean coyote."
"Kill me, I say, if thou canst, but insult me not. Hasten! For my warriors may lose patience, sacrifice thee to their wrath, and thou mightest die unavenged."
"You are jesting; you know perfectly well that your warriors will not move an inch so long as I hold you thus. I propose to offer you peace."
"Peace!" the chief said, and his eyes flashed. "On what conditions?"
"Two only. Cucharés, unfasten the reata, but watch him closely."
The lepero obeyed.
"Thanks," the chief said as he rose to his knees. "Speak; I am listening—my ears are open. What are these conditions?"
"First, my comrade and myself will be free to retire whither we please."
"Good, and next?"
"Next, you will pledge yourself to remain with your warriors, and not return to the hacienda in the disguise you have assumed for the next twenty-four hours."
"Is that all?"
"It is all."
"Listen to me in your turn, then, paleface. I accept your conditions, but I must tell you mine."
"Speak."
"I will not re-enter the hacienda save with the eagle feather in my war-tuft, at the head of my warriors, and that before the sun has thrice set behind the lofty peaks of the mountains of the day."
"You are boasting, Apache; it is impossible for you to enter the hacienda save by treachery."
"We shall see;" and smiling with a sinister air, he added, "the singing bird will go into the hut of an Apache chief to cook his game."
The Mexican shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
"Try to take the hacienda and carry off the maiden," he said.
"I will try. Your hand."
"Here it is."
The chief turned to his warriors, holding the Tigrero's hand clasped in his own.
"Brothers!" he said in a loud voice, and with an accent of supreme majesty, "this paleface is the friend of the Black Bear—let no one molest him."
The warriors bowed respectfully, and fell back to the right and left, to leave a passage for the two white men.
"Farewell!" the Black Bear said, saluting his enemy. "In twenty-four hours I shall be on your trail."
"You are mistaken, dog of an Apache," Don Martial replied disdainfully; "I shall be on yours."
"Good! We are, then, certain of meeting," the Black Bear said.
And he retired with a slow and firm step, followed by his warriors, whose footfalls soon died away in the depths of the forest.
"On my faith, Don Martial," the lepero said, "I believe that you were wrong to let that Indian dog escape so easily."
The Tigrero shrugged his shoulders.
"Were we not obliged to get out of the wasp's nest into which we had thrust our heads?" he said. "Bah! It is only put off for a time. Let us go and find our horses."
"One moment if you will grant it me," Belhumeur said, leaving his hiding place, and advancing politely with his two comrades.
"What's this?" Cucharés said, pulling out his knife again, while Don Martial coolly cocked his pistols.
"This? Caballero," Belhumeur said quietly, "I fancy you can see plainly; enough."
"I see three men."
"Indeed, you are not at all mistaken. Three men who have been unseen witnesses of the scene you ended so bravely—three men who held themselves ready to come to your aid had it been necessary, and who now offer to make common cause with you, to prevent the plunder of the hacienda by the Apaches. Does that suit you?"
"That depends," the Tigrero said. "I must know first what interest urges you to act in this manner."
"That of being agreeable to you in the first place," Belhumeur replied politely, "and next, the desire to save the scalps of the poor wretches menaced by those infernal redskins."
"In that case I heartily accept your offer."
"Be good enough, then, to follow us to our camping ground, that we may discuss the plan of the campaign."
So soon as Cucharés noticed that the men who presented themselves so strangely were really friends, he returned his knife to his boot, and went in search of the horses, which had been left a short distance off. He arrived at this moment, leading the two horses, and the five men proceeded together to the camping ground.
"Take care," Belhumeur said to Don Martial; "you have made yourself an implacable enemy this night. If you do not make haste to kill him, one day or another the Black Bear will kill you. The Apaches never pardon an insult."
"I know it; so I shall take my precautions, you may be sure."
"That is your concern. Perhaps it would have been better to get rid of him, at the risk of what might have happened afterwards."
"How could I imagine I had friends so near me? Oh, had I but known it!"
"Well, it is of no use crying over spilt milk."
"Do you believe that he will keep scrupulously the conditions he accepted?"
"You do not know the Black Bear; he is a man of noble sentiments and has a way of his own for understanding points of honour. You saw that during your entire discussion he disdained to play any trickery: his words were always frank."
"They were."
"Be certain, therefore, that he will keep his promise."
The conversation was interrupted. Don Martial had suddenly become pensive. The Apache's menaces gave him a good deal to think about. The camp was reached, and Eagle-head immediately set to work rekindling the fire.
"What are you about?" Belhumeur observed to him. "You will reveal our presence."
"No," the Indian said, shaking his head. "The Black Bear has retired with his warriors: they are far away at present; so we need not take useless precautions."
The fire soon cracked again. The five men crouched round it joyfully, lit their pipes and began smoking.
"I don't care," the Canadian presently said. "Had it not been for the extraordinary coolness you displayed I do not know how you would have escaped."
"Let us now see how best to foil the plans of those red devils," said the Mexican.
"It is very simple," Louis interposed. "One of us will proceed tomorrow to the hacienda, to warn the owner of what has passed this night. He will be on his guard and all will be right."
"Yes, I believe those are the best means, and we will employ them."
"Five men are as nothing against five hundred," observed Eagle-head; "we must warn the palefaces."
"That is assuredly the plan we must follow," the Tigrero remarked; "but which of us will consent to go to the hacienda? Neither my comrade nor myself can do so."
"I fancy there is some love story hidden under all this," the Canadian observed cunningly. "I can understand that you would find a difficulty in—"
"What need of further discussion?" Louis interrupted. "With tomorrow's dawn I will go to the hacienda; I undertake to explain to the owner all the dangers that menace him in their fullest details."
"That is agreed on, then, and all is settled," Belhumeur said.
"Then, so soon as our horses have rested, my comrade and myself will return to Guaymas."
"No, you will not, if you please," the Frenchman objected. "I fancy it is proper that you should know the result of the mission I undertake, for it concerns you even more than us. I suspect—"
The Mexican repressed a lively movement of annoyance.
"You are right," he replied; "I did not think of that. I will therefore await your return."
The hunters interchanged a few more remarks, then wrapped themselves in their blankets, lay down on the ground, and speedily fell asleep. The profoundest silence fell on the clearing, which was but dimly lighted by the reddish rays of the expiring fire. The adventurers had been asleep about two hours, when the branches of a shrub were gently parted and a man made his appearance.
He stopped for a moment, seemed to be listening, then crawled without the slightest sound toward the spot where the Tigrero was reposing. It would have been easy to recognise the Black Bear by the light of the fire. The Apache chief plucked his scalping knife from his girdle, and laid it gently on the Tigrero's chest; then casting a parting glance around, to convince himself that the five men slept, he retired with the same precautions, and soon disappeared in the shrub, which closed upon him.
CHAPTER X.
BEFORE THE ATTACK.
At the first cry of the maukawis—that is to say, at sunrise—the adventurers awoke.
The night had been calm. They had slept with nothing to disturb their rest. Iced, however, by the abundant dew which had filtered through their blankets during their sleep, they hurriedly rose to restore the circulation of their blood and warm their stiffened limbs.
At the first movement Don Martial made a knife fell down on the ground. The Mexican picked it up, and uttered a cry of amazement and almost of terror as he showed it to his companions. The arm so unexpectedly found was a scalping knife, whose blade was still stained with large bloody spots.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, brandishing the knife angrily.
Eagle-head seized it, and examined it carefully.
"Wah!" he said in surprise, "the Black Bear has been with us during our sleep."
The hunters could not refrain from a movement of alarm.
"It is impossible," Belhumeur observed.
The Indian shook his head as he displayed the weapon.
"This," he continued, "is the Apache chief's scalping knife; the totem of the tribe is engraved on the hilt."
"'Tis true."
"The Black Bear is a renowned chief. His heart is large enough to contain a world. Obliged to fulfil the engagements he has made, he wished to prove to his enemy that he was master of his life, and that he would take it whenever he thought proper. That is the meaning of this knife placed on the chest of the Yori during his sleep."
The adventurers were confounded by so much boldness. They shuddered at the thought that they had been at the mercy of the chief, who disdained to kill them, and contented himself with defying them. The Mexican especially felt a shudder in spite of his courage. The Canadian was the first to recover his coolness.
"Canario!" he exclaimed, "This Apache dog did right to warn us. Now we will be on our guard."
"Hum!" Cucharés said, passing his hands through his thick and matted hair, "I have not the least desire to be scalped."
"Bah!" Belhumeur said, "People sometimes recover."
"That is possible; but I don't care to make the attempt."
"And now that day has quite broken," Louis observed, "I fancy the time has arrived for me to go to the hacienda. What do you say, gentlemen?"
"We have not a moment to lose, if we wish to foil the enemy's plans," said Don Martial in support of his suggestion.
"The more so as we have to take certain measures which it would be as well to determine as soon as possible," Belhumeur remarked.
The Indian and the lepero contented themselves with giving their assent through a nod.
"Now let us arrange a meeting place," Louis went on to say. "You can not wait for me here, as the Indians know where to find you."
"Yes," Belhumeur replied thoughtfully, "but I do not know the country where we now are, and I should be quite troubled to find a fitting spot."
"I know one," Eagle-head said. "I will lead you to it: our pale brother will join us again there."
"Very good, but for that purpose I must know the spot."
"My brother need not trouble himself about that. When he leaves the great cabin I shall be near him."
"Very good—all right. Good-by till we meet again."
Louis saddled his horse and started off at a gallop in the direction of the hacienda, which was about three musket shots from the camping place.
The Count de Lhorailles was walking about anxiously in the hall of the main body of the building. In spite of himself his meeting with the Mexican occupied his mind. He wished to have a frank explanation with Doña Anita in her father's presence, which should dissipate his doubts, or at least give him the key of the mystery that surrounded the affair.
Another circumstance also dulled his humour, and redoubled his alarms. At daybreak Diégo Léon, his lieutenant, told him that the Indian guide brought home with them the previous day had disappeared during the night, and left no trace. The position was becoming serious. The Mexican moon was approaching. That guide was evidently an Indian spy, ordered to inquire into the strength of the hacienda, and the means of surprising it. The Apaches and Comanches could not be far off; perhaps they were already on the watch in the tall prairie grass, awaiting the favourable moment to rush on their implacable foes.
The count did not conceal from himself that if his position was critical, he was the main cause of it. Invested by the government with an important command, especially charged with the protection of the frontier against Indian invasions, he had not yet made a move, and had in no way tried to fulfil the commission he had not merely accepted but solicited. The Mexican moon commenced in a month; before that period he must strike a decisive blow, which would inspire the Indians with a wholesome terror, prevent them combining and thus foil their plans.
The count had been reflecting for a long time, forgetting in his anxiety the guests he had brought to his house, after whom he had not yet asked, when his old lieutenant appeared before him.
"What do you want, Martin?" he asked.
"Excuse me for disturbing you, captain. Diégo Léon, who is on guard at the isthmus battery with eight men, has just sent me to tell you that a man wishes to see you on a serious matter."
"What sort of a man is he?"
"A white man, well dressed, and mounted on an excellent horse."
"Hem! Did he said nothing further?"
"Pardon me, he added this: 'You will say to the man who commands you that I am one of the men he met at the Rancho of San José.'"
The count's face grew suddenly serene.
"Let him come in," he said: "'tis a friend."
The lieutenant withdrew. So soon as he was alone the count recommenced his walk.
"What can this man want of me?" he muttered. "When I asked his friend and himself to accompany me here they both refused. What reason can have caused such a sudden change in their plans? Bah! What is the use of addling one's brains?" he added, on hearing a horse's footfall re-echoing in the inner patio. "I shall soon know."
Almost immediately Don Louis appeared, led by the lieutenant, who, on a sign from the count, at once disappeared.
"What happy accident," the count said graciously, "procures me the honour of a visit I was so far from expecting?"
Don Louis politely returned the salutation, and replied,
"It is no happy accident that brings me. God grant that I may not be the harbinger of misfortune!"
These words made the count frown.
"What do you mean, señor?" he asked in anxiety. "I do not understand you."
"You will soon do so. But speak French, if you have no objection; we shall understand each other more easily," he said, giving up the Spanish which he had hitherto employed.
"What!" the count exclaimed in surprise, "You speak French?"
"Yes," Louis said, "for I have the honour of being your fellow countryman, although," he added with a suppressed sigh, "I have quitted our country for more than ten years. It is always a great pleasure to me to be able to speak my own language."
The expression of the count's face completely changed on hearing these words.
"Oh!" he continued, "permit me to press your hand, sir. Two Frenchmen who meet in this distant land are brothers; let us momentarily forget the spot where we are, and talk about France—that dear country from which we are so remote and which we love so much."
"Alas, sir!" Louis replied, with suppressed emotion, "I should be happy to forget for a few minutes what surrounds us, to summon up the recollections of our common country. Unfortunately the moment is a grave one; great dangers threaten you, and the time we would thus lose might produce a fearful catastrophe."
"You startle me, sir. What is happening? What have you so terrible to announce to me?"
"Did I not tell you that I was a messenger of evil tidings?"
"No matter. When told by you they will be welcome. In the situation in which I am placed in this desert, must I not ever expect misfortune?"
"I hope to be able to help you in warding off the danger that now hangs over you."
"Thanks for your fraternal conduct. Now speak, I am listening to you. Whatever you may tell me, I shall have the courage to hear it."
Don Louis, without revealing to the count his meeting with the Tigrero, as had been agreed on, told him how he had overheard a conversation between his guide and several Apache warriors ambushed in the vicinity of the hacienda, and the plan they had formed to surprise the colony.
"And now, sir," he added, "it is for you to judge of the gravity of this news, and the arrangements you will have to make, in order to foil the plans of the Indians."
"I thank you, sir. When my lieutenant told me, a few moments prior to your arrival, of the disappearance of the guide, I immediately saw that I had to do with a spy. What you now report to me converts my suspicions into certainty. As you say, there is not a moment to lose, and I will at once think over the necessary arrangements."
He walked to a table and struck a bell sharply. A peon entered.
"The first lieutenant," he said. In a few minutes the latter arrived.
"Lieutenant," the count said to him, "take twenty men with you, and scour the country for three leagues round. I have just learned that Indians are concealed near here."
The old soldier bowed in reply, and prepared to obey.
"An instant," Louis exclaimed, signing him to stop, "one word more."
"Eh?" Martin Leroux said, turning round in amazement, "You are talking French now."
"As you hear," Louis answered with a smile.
"You wished to make a remark," the count asked.
"I have lived in America a very long time. My home has been the desert, and I know the Indians, whom I have learned to rival in craft. If you allow me. I will give you some advice, which, I fancy, may be useful to you under present circumstances."
"By Jove!" the count exclaimed; "pray speak, my dear countryman. Your advice will be very advantageous to us, I feel assured."
At this moment Don Sylva entered the room.
"Ah!" the count continued, "come hither, my friend. We have great need of you. Your knowledge of Indian habits will prove most useful to us."
"What has happened?" the hacendero asked as he bowed courteously to all present.
"We are threatened with an attack from the Apaches."
"Oh, oh! That is serious, my friend. What do you propose doing?"
"I do not know yet. I had given Don Martin orders to scour the neighbourhood; but this gentleman appears to be of a different opinion."
"The caballero is right," the Mexican answered, bowing to Don Louis; "but, in the first place, are you certain about this attack?"
"This gentleman came expressly to warn me."
"Then there can be no further doubt. We must make the necessary arrangements as quickly as possible. What is the caballero's opinion?"
"He was about to give it at the moment you came in."
"Then pray do not let me disturb your conference. Speak, sir."
Don Louis bowed and took the word.
"Caballero!" he began, turning to Don Sylva, "What I am about to say is addressed principally to the French señores, who, accustomed to European warfare and in the white mode of fighting, are, I am convinced, ignorant of Indian tactics."
"'Tis true," the count observed.
"Bah!" Leroux said, twirling his long moustaches with great self-sufficiency, "We will learn them."
"Take care you do not do so at your own expense," Don Louis continued. "Indian war is entirely one of stratagems and ambushes. The enemy who attacks you never forms in line; he remains constantly concealed, employing all means to conquer, but principally treachery. Five hundred Apache warriors, commanded by an intrepid chief, would defeat in the prairie your best soldiers, whom they would decimate, while not giving a chance for retaliation."
"Oh, oh!" the count muttered, "Is that their only way of fighting?"
"The only one," the hacendero said in confirmation.
"Hum!" Leroux remarked, "I fancy it is very like the war in Africa."
"Not so much as you suppose. The Arabs let themselves be seen, while the Apaches, I repeat to you, only show themselves in the utmost extremity."
"Then my plan of pushing forward a reconnoissance—"
"Is impracticable for two reasons: either your horsemen, though surrounded by enemies, will not discover one of them, or they will be attracted into an ambush, where, in spite of prodigies of valour, they will perish to the last man."
"All that this gentleman says is most perfectly true: it is easy to see that he has a great experience of Indian warfare, and has often measured himself with Indios bravos."
"That experience cost my happiness. All those I loved were massacred by these ferocious enemies," Don Louis replied sorrowfully. "Fear the same fate if you do not display the greatest prudence. I know how repugnant it is to the chivalrous character of our nation to follow such a course; but in my opinion it is the only one that offers any chances of salvation."
"We have here several women, children, and your daughter before all, Don Sylva. We must absolutely shelter her from all danger; if possible, spare her the slightest alarm. I, therefore, accept this gentleman's views, and am determined to act with the greatest circumspection."
"I thank you for my daughter and myself."
"And now, sir, as we are already indebted to you for such good advice, complete your task. In my place, what would you do?"
"My advice is as follows," Louis answered seriously. "The Apaches will attack you for certain reasons I know, and which it is unnecessary to tell you. They make a point of honour of the success of that attack. Hence intrench yourselves here as well as you can. You have a considerable garrison composed of tried men; consequently, nearly all the chances are in your favour."
"I have one hundred and seventy resolute Frenchmen, who have all been soldiers."
"Behind good walls, and well armed, they are more than you want."
"Without counting forty peons, accustomed to pursuing the Indians, and whom I brought with me," Don Sylva remarked.
"Are those men here at this moment?" Louis asked sharply.
"Yes, sir."
"Oh! That simplifies the question materially. If you will believe me, the Indians have now everything to fear instead of you."
"Explain."
"It is evident that you will be attacked from the river. Perhaps, in order to divide your forces, the Indians will make a feigned attack from the side of the isthmus; but that point is too strongly defended for them to attempt to carry it. I repeat, then, all the enemy's efforts will be directed on the side of the river."
"I would call your attention to the fact, sir," the lieutenant said, "that at this moment the river is rendered unnavigable by thousands of trees torn from the mountains by the storms, and which it bears along with it."
"I know not whether the river is navigable or not," Don Louis replied firmly, "but of one thing I am certain, that the Apaches will attack you on that side."
"In any case, and not to be taken by surprise, two of the guns will be moved from the isthmus battery, leaving four there, which are more than sufficient, and laid so as to enfilade the river, care be taken to mask them. You will also, Leroux, mount a culverin on the platform of the mirador, whence we shall command the course of the Gila. Go and have these orders executed at once."
The old soldier went out without any reply, in order to carry out the commands of his chief.
"You see, gentlemen," the count then said, "that I hasten to profit by the counsels you are good enough to give me. I recognise my utter inexperience of this Indian warfare, and I repeat that I am happy at being so well supported."
"This gentleman has foreseen everything," the hacendero said; "like him, I believe that the house is most exposed to the river front."
"A last word," Don Louis continued.
"Speak, speak, sir."
"Did you not say, caballero, that you brought with you forty peons, accustomed to Indian warfare, and that they were still here?"
"Yes, I said so, and it is perfectly true."
"Very good. I believe—and be good enough to take it as a simple observation, caballero—I say I believe that it would be a masterstroke, which would insure you the victory, to place your enemies between two fires."
"Indeed it would," the count exclaimed; "but how to do it? You yourself said, only a moment ago, that it would be the height of imprudence to send out a scouting party."
"I said, and I repeat it, the grass and woods are at this moment filled with eyes fixed on the hacienda, who will let no one pass out unnoticed."
"Well?"
"Did I not tell you that this war was one of stratagems and ambushes?"
"You did; but I do not understand, I confess, what you are driving at."
"It is however, excessively simple; you will understand me in a few words."
"I much desire it."
"Señor caballero," Don Louis went on, turning to Don Sylva, "do you intend to remain here?"
"Yes; for certain private reasons I must remain some time here."
"I have no intention, be assured, señor, to interfere in your private affairs. So you remain here?"
"Yes."
"Very good. Have you among your peons a devoted man on whom you can count as on yourself?"
"Cascaras! I should think so. I have Blas Vasquez."
"Would you be good enough to tell me who this Blas is, as I have not the honour of his acquaintance?"
"He is my capataz, and I can trust to him as to myself in matters of danger."
"Excellent! All is going on famously, then."
"I really cannot make you out," the count said.
"You shall see," said Louis.
"I have been trying to do so for the last half hour."
"Your capataz, to whom you will give your instructions, will put himself at the head of his peons within an hour, and ostensibly take the road to Guaymas; but, as soon as he has gone two or three leagues to a point we shall settle on, he will halt. The rest will be the business of myself and friends."
"Oh! I understand your plan now. The peons hidden by you will attack the Indians in the rear so soon as the action has commenced between and them us."
"That is it."
"But the Apaches? Do you believe they will allow a troop of white men to retire without harassing them?"
"The Indians are too shrewd to oppose them. What good would it do to attack a body of men who have no baggage? The fight would not profit them, but cause their position to be discovered. No, no, be easy, caballero, they will not stir: they have too great an interest in remaining invisible."
"And what do you intend to do?"
"The Indians certainly saw me come in this direction; they know I am here. If I went out with them it would betray all. I shall go away alone as I came, and that immediately."
"The plan is so simple and well arranged that it must succeed. Receive our thanks, sir, and be kind enough to tell us your name, that we may know the man to whom we are indebted for so great a service."
"To what end, sir?"
"I join my entreaties, caballero, to those of my friend, Don Gaëtano, in order to induce you to reveal the name of a man whose memory will be eternally engraved on our hearts."
Don Louis hesitated, though unable to account to himself for the reason that made him do so. He felt a repugnance to give up his incognito as respected the count. The two men, however, pressed him so politely, that having no serious reason to offer for the maintenance of his incognito, he allowed himself to be vanquished by their entreaties, and consented to give his name.
"Caballeros," he at length said, "I am the Count Louis Edward Maxime de Prébois Crancé."
"We are friends, I trust," De Lhorailles said, holding out his hand to him.
"What I have done is a proof of it, I think, sir," the other replied with a bow, but not taking the offered hand.
"I thank you," the count went on, without appearing to notice Louis' repugnance. "Do you intend to leave us soon?"
"I must leave you to the urgent business you have on hand. If you will allow me, I will take my leave at once."
"Not breakfasting, at least?"
"You will excuse me, but time presses. I have friends I have now left for some hours, and who must be alarmed by my lengthened absence."
"As they know you are at my house, that is impossible, sir," the count said, somewhat piqued.
"They do not know that I arrived here without accident."
"That is different; then I will not delay you. Once again I thank you, sir."
"I have acted in accordance with my conscience; you owe me no thanks."
The three men quitted the hall, and proceeded towards the isthmus battery, talking of indifferent matters. About half way they met Don Blas, the capataz. Don Sylva made him a sign to join them, and when he was near them explained to him in two words the events that were preparing, and the part he would have to play.
"Voto a Brios!" the capataz exclaimed joyously. "I thank you, Don Sylva, for this good news. We shall have a row at last, then, with those Apache dogs! Caray! They'll see some fun, I swear."
"I trust entirely to you, Blas."
"But at what place must I await this caballero?"
"That is true: we have not fixed the place of meeting."
"About three leagues from here, on the Guaymas road, at a place where the road makes a bend, there is an isolated hill called, I think, El Pan de Azucar: you can ambush there without any fear of discovery. I will join you at this spot with my friends."
"That is agreed. At about what hour?"
"I cannot say for certain: that must depend on circumstances."
A few minutes later Don Louis was riding back to the prairie, while the Count de Lhorailles and the two Mexicans, made preparations for an active defence of the colony.
"It is strange," Don Louis muttered to himself as he galloped on, "that this man who is my countryman, and for whom I shall risk my life ere long, inspires me with no sympathy."
Suddenly his horse shied. Roughly startled from his reverie, the Frenchman looked up.
Eagle-head stood before him.
CHAPTER XI.
THE MEXICAN MOON.
After his visit to the hunters the Black Bear set out, at the head of his warriors, to proceed to a neighbouring island, known by the name of Choke-Heckel, which was one of the advanced Apache posts on the Mexican frontier. He reached the isle at daybreak. At this spot the Gila attains its greatest width: each of the arms formed by the island is nearly two miles wide. The island which rises in the middle of the water, like a basket of flowers, is about two miles long by half a mile wide, and is one immense bouquet, exhaling the sweetest perfumes, and the melodious songs of the birds which congregate in incalculable numbers on all the branches of the trees by which it is covered.
Illumined on this day by the splendid beams of a flashing sun, the place had a strange and unusual appearance which had a powerful effect on the imagination. As far as the eye could reach over the island and the two banks of the Gila could be seen tents of buffalo hide, or huts of branches leaned against each other, and whose strange colours wearied the sight. Numerous canoes made of horse-skins sewed together, and mostly round, or else hollowed out of trunks of trees, traversed the river in every direction. The warriors dismounted and set their horses free, which immediately proceeded to join a number of others.
The chief went towards the huts before which feather flags and the scalps of renowned warriors fluttered in the breeze, passing through the women who were preparing the morning meal. But the Black Bear had been recognised immediately on his arrival, and all got out of his way with respectful bows. A thing no European could credit is the respect all Indians, without exception, pay to their chiefs. Among those who have kept up the manners of their forefathers, and, disdaining European civilisation, have continued to wander about the prairies as free men, this respect is changed into fanaticism, almost into adoration.
The gold fillet adorned with two buffalo horns, placed on the Black Bear's brow, caused him to be recognised by all, and the liveliest joy was evinced on his passage. He at length reached the river's bank. On arriving there he made a sign to a man fishing a short distance off in a canoe; the latter hastened up, and the chief passed over to the island. A hut of branches had been prepared for him. It is probable that invisible sentinels were watching for his arrival, for the moment he set foot on land, a chief called the Little Panther presented himself before him.
"The great chief is welcome among his brothers," he said, bowing courteously before the Black Bear. "Has my father had a good journey?"
"I have had a good journey, I thank my brother."
"If my father consents I will lead him to jacal built to receive him."
"Let us go," the chief said.
The Little Panther bowed a second time, and guided the chief along a path formed through the shrubs. They soon arrived at a jacal, which, in the mind of the Indians, offered the ideal of what was comfortable, through its size, the brilliancy of the colours with which it was painted, and its cleanliness.
"My father is at home," the Little Panther said, respectfully raising the fresada (blanket) which closed the jacal, and falling back to let the Black Bear pass. The latter entered.
"My brother will follow me," he said.
The Little Panther walked in behind him, and let the curtain fall. This abode did not in any way differ from that of the other Indians. A fire burned in the centre. The Black Bear made a sign to the other chief to sit down on a buffalo skull. He then chose one for himself, and sat down near the fire. After a moment's silence, employed by the two chiefs in smoking gravely, the Black Bear addressed the Little Panther:—
"Are the chiefs of all the tribes of our nation collected on the island as I ordered?"
"They are."
"When will they come to my jacal?"
"That depends on my father. They await his good pleasure."
The Black Bear began smoking again silently. A long period was thus spent.
"Nothing new has happened during my absence?" the Black Bear asked, shaking the ash out of his calumet on his thumb.
"Three chiefs of the prairie Comanches have arrived, sent by their nation to treat with the Apaches."
"Wah!" the chief said. "Are they renowned warriors?"
"They have many wolves' tails on their moccasins. They must be valiant."
The Black Bear nodded his head in affirmation.
"One of them, it is said, is the Jester," the Little Panther continued.
"Is my brother certain of what he says?" the chief asked sharply.
"The Comanche warriors refused to give their names when they learned the absence of my father. They answered it was well, and that they would await his return."
"Good! They are chiefs. Where are they?"
"They have lighted a fire, round which they are camping."
"Time is precious. My brother will warn the Apache chiefs that I await them at the council fire."
The Little Panther rose without replying, and quitted the jacal.
For about an hour the Indian chief remained alone buried in thought: at the end of that time the sound of several approaching men could be heard outside. The curtain was raised by the Little Panther, who walked in.
"Well?" the Black Bear asked.
"The chiefs are waiting."
"Let them come in."
The chiefs made their appearance. They were ten in number; each had put on his best ornaments, and all wore their war paint. They entered silently, and ranged themselves silently round the fire, after silently saluting the great chief, and kissing the hem of his robe.
As soon as all the chiefs had assembled in the interior of the toldo, a troop of Apache warriors drew up outside, to keep off the curious, and insure the secrecy of the deliberations. The Black Bear, in spite of his self-mastery, could not refrain from a movement of joy at the sight of all these men, who were entirely devoted to him, and by whose help he felt certain of accomplishing his projects.
"My brothers are welcome," he said, inviting them by a sign to take seats on the buffalo skulls ranged round the fire, "I was awaiting them impatiently."
The chiefs bowed and sat down. Then the pipe bearer entered and presented the calumet to each warrior, who drew two or three puffs of tobacco. When this ceremony was over, and the pipe bearer had departed, the deliberations began.
"Before all," said the Black Bear, "I must give you an account of my mission. The Black Bear has completely fulfilled it; he has entered the hut of the white men; he has thoroughly examined it; he knows the number of palefaces that defend it; and when the hour arrives for him to lead his warriors there, the Black Bear will know how to find the road again."
The chiefs bowed with satisfaction.
"This great cabin of the whites," the Black Bear continued, "is the only serious obstacle we shall find on our road in the new expedition we are undertaking."
"The Yoris are dogs without courage. The Apaches will give them petticoats, and make them prepare their game," the Little Panther said with a grin.
The Black Bear shook his head.
"The palefaces of the great cabin of Guetzalli are not Yoris," he said. "A chief has seen them—-they are men. Nearly all of them have blue eyes and hair the colour of ripe maize; they seem very brave—my brothers must be prudent."
"Does not my father know who these men are?" a chief inquired.
"The Black Bear does not know. He was told down there near the great Salt Lake, that they inhabited a country very far from here, toward the rising sun: that is all."
"These men have no trees, nor fruit, nor buffaloes in their own country, that they come to steal ours."
"The palefaces are insatiable," the Black Bear replied. "They forget that the Great Spirit has only given them, like other men, one mouth and two hands. All they see they covet. The Wacondah, who loves his red sons, let them be born in a rich country, and has covered them with his gifts. The palefaces are jealous, and seek continually to rob and dispossess them; but the Apaches are brave warriors: they can defend their hunting grounds, and prevent them being trampled by these vagabonds, who have come from the other side of the Great Salt Lake on the floating cabins of the Great Medicine."
The chiefs warmly applauded this harangue, which expressed so well the sentiments that affected them, and the animosity with which they were animated against the white race—that conquering and invading race, which constantly drives them further into the desert, not even leaving them the requisite space to breathe and live quietly after their fashion.
"The great nation of the Comanches of the Lakes, that which is called the Queen of the Prairies, has deputed to our nation three renowned warriors. I know not the object of this embassy, which, however, must be peaceful. Does it please you, chiefs of my nation, to receive them, and admit them to smoke the calumet of peace round our council fire."
"My father is a very wise warrior," the Little Panther replied: "he can, when he likes, divine the most hidden thoughts in the heart of his enemies. What he does will be well done. The chiefs of his nation will be always happy to regulate their conduct by the counsels he may deign to give them."
The Black Bear threw a glance round the assembly, as if to assure himself that the Little Panther had truly expressed the general will. The members of the council silently bowed their heads in acquiescence. The chief smiled proudly on seeing himself so appreciated by his companions, and addressing the Little Panther, said,—
"Let my brothers, the Comanche chiefs, be introduced."
These words were pronounced with a majesty equal to that of a European king sitting in parliament.
The Little Panther went out to execute the order he had received. During his absence, which was rather long, not a word was exchanged between the chiefs seated on buffalo skulls, with their elbows on their knees, and their chins on the palm of their hand; they remained motionless and silent, apparently plunged into deep thought.
The Little Panther at length returned, preceding the Comanche warriors. On their entry the Apache chiefs rose and saluted them ceremoniously. The Comanches returned the salutation with no less courtesy, but without any other response, and waited till they were addressed.
The Comanche warriors were young and finely built; they had a martial bearing, a free glance, and thoughtful brow. Dressed in their national costume, with heads proudly raised, and hands stemmed in their sides, they had something noble and loyal about them which aroused sympathy. One of them specially, the youngest of the three—he was hardly five-and-twenty—must be a superior man, to judge by appearances: the stern lines of his countenance, the brilliancy of his glance, the elegance and majesty of his bearing, caused him to be recognised at the first glance as a chosen man.
His name was the Jester; and, as might be guessed from the tuft of condor feathers passed through his warlock, he was one of the principal chiefs of the nation.
The Apache chiefs bent on the new arrivals, while not appearing to notice them, that profoundly inquisitive glance possessed to so eminent a degree by the Indians. The Comanches, though they might guess the power of the glances fixed on them, did not make a sign, nor allow a movement to escape them, indicating that they knew themselves to be the object of attention to all present.
Machiavel, author of the "Prince" though he was, compared with the red men, was only a child in matters of policy. These poor savages, as they are called by those who do not know them, are the cleverest and most cunning diplomatists in existence.
After an instant's delay the Black Bear took a step toward the Comanche chiefs, bowed to them, and holding out his right hand palm upwards, said,—
"I am happy to receive beneath my cabin, in the midst of my people, my brothers, the Comanches of the Lakes. They will take their place at the council fire, and smoke with their brothers the calumet of peace."
"Be it so," the Jester replied in a stern voice. "Are we not all children of Wacondah?"
And, without adding another word, he took his seat with the other chiefs at the council fire, side by side with the Apaches. The conversation was broken off again, for everyone was smoking. At length, when the calumet bowls contained only ashes, the Black Bear turned with a courteous smile to the Jester.
"My brothers, the Comanches of the Lakes, are doubtlessly hunting the buffalo not far from here, and then the thought occurred to them to visit their Apache brothers. I thank them for it."
The Jester bowed.
"The Comanches of the Lakes are far away chasing the antelopes on the Del Nato. The Jester, and a few devoted warriors of his tribe who accompany him, are alone encamped on the hunting grounds."
"The Jester is a chief renowned on the prairie," the Apache graciously remarked. "The Black Bear is happy to have seen him. So great a warrior as my brother does not act thus without some plausible motive."
"The Black Bear has guessed it. The Jester has come to renew with his Apache brothers the narrow bonds of a loyal friendship. Why, instead of disputing a territory to which we have equal claims, should we not divide it between us? Should the red men destroy each other? Would it not be better to bury the war hatchet by the council fire at such a depth that, when an Apache met a Comanche, he would only see in him a well-beloved brother? The palefaces, who each moon encroach on our possessions more and more, carry on a furious war with us; then why should we help them by our intestine dissensions?"
The Black Bear rose, and, stretching forth his arm with authority, said,—
"My brother, the Jester, is right. Only one sentiment should henceforth guide us—patriotism! Let us lay aside all our paltry enmities, to think but of one thing—liberty! The palefaces are perfectly ignorant of our plans. During the few days I passed at Guaymas I was able to convince myself of that: thus our sudden invasion will be to them a thunderbolt, which will ice them with terror. They will be more than half conquered by our approach."
There was a solemn silence. The Jester then turned a calm and proud glance round the meeting, and exclaimed,—
"The Mexican moon will begin in twenty-four hours. Redskin warriors! Shall we allow it to pass away without attempting one of those daring strokes which we usually perform at this period of the year? There is one establishment above all, over which we should rush like a whirlwind: that establishment founded by palefaces, other than the Yoris, is for us a permanent menace. I will not deal craftily with you. Apache chiefs! I come to offer you frankly, if you will attack Guetzalli, the support of four hundred Comanche warriors, at whose head I will place myself."
At this proposition a quiver of pleasure ran through the meeting.
"I joyfully accept my brother's proposal," the Black Bear said. "I have, nearly the same number of warriors: our two bands will be strong enough, I hope, to utterly destroy the palefaces. Tomorrow, at the rising of the moon, we will set out."
The chiefs retired, and the Black Bear and the Jester were left alone. These two chiefs enjoyed an equal reputation, and both were adored by their countrymen, hence they examined each other curiously, for up to that moment they had always been enemies, and never had the chance of meeting save with weapons in their hands.
"I thank my brother for his cordial offer," the Black Bear was the first to say. "Under the present circumstances his help will be very advantageous for us; but once the victory is decided, the spoil will be equally shared between the two nations."
The Jester bowed.
"What plan has my brother formed?" he asked.
"A very simple one. The Comanches are terrible horsemen: with my brother at their head, they must be invincible. So soon as the moon shines in the heavens the Jester will set out with his warriors, and proceed toward Guetzalli, being careful to fire the prairie in front of his detachment, in order to raise a curtain of smoke which will conceal his movements and prevent his warriors being counted. If, as is not probable, the palefaces have placed vedettes before their great lodge to announce the arrival of the expedition, my brother will seize and kill them at once, to prevent them giving any alarm. In this expedition, as in all those that have preceded it, everything belonging to the palefaces—lodges, jacals, houses—will be burnt; the beasts carried off and sent to the rear. On arriving in front of Guetzalli my brother will hide himself as well as he can, and await the signal I will give him to attack the palefaces."