A Fortune Hunter; Or, The Old Stone Corral: A Tale of the Santa Fe Trail Read online

  Chapter II.

  COLONEL WARLOW'S STORY.

  "When a boy of twenty I joined the army that soon invaded Mexico, andcarried victory with its banners into the Aztec capital--theworld-renowned halls of the Montezumas.

  "It was before Vera Cruz--when our ranks were swept by the iron hail,rained upon our storming columns by scores of cannon from San Juan deUlloa--that I first saw Bruce Walraven, whom I was thenceforth to regardas a brother.

  "An exploding shell had killed my horse, which had fallen upon me insuch a way that made it impossible for me to rise without assistance;and while I was yet vainly struggling to extricate myself from thedangerous position, a squadron of cavalry rushed by, charging a companyof Mexican infantry intrenched behind a light breastwork of sand-bags. Iheld up my hand with an imploring gesture--a human voice was lost in thewild thunder and roar of artillery--and the leader of the cavalry saw mysad plight. He wavered a moment as though struggling with discipline;but the sight of a fellow-soldier in distress seemed to outweigh allelse, even the pride of leading his men, for he dashed to my side andhelped me to rise; then, as a riderless horse galloped by, he caught itsdangling rein, and by his help, in a moment more I was again in thesaddle.

  "By rapid riding we soon overtook the command, and were greeted by aringing cheer from the soldiers, who quickly showed their appreciationof his humanity. Later in the war I would not have been so fortunate;but we were new, as yet, to scenes of bloodshed and carnage, whichaccounted for the laxity of discipline, but evidence of humanity, shownin this incident.

  "After the successful storming of the enemy's slight earthworks, which,with their usual lack of military science, had been but half manned andilly constructed, I had a long talk with young Lieutenant Walraven, andin a short time I had managed to be exchanged into his company; and wesoon became inseparable companions, sharing the same blanket at nightand rude fare during the day, or riding side by side through the battlesof that glorious campaign, and finally reaching the valley of Mexicosafely.

  "Here, while engaged in a slight skirmish with the enemy, Walraven waswounded in the arm, and was immediately conveyed to the old hacienda ofMonteluma, near by. At his urgent request I was detailed to stay withhim as a guard. In the courts of that princely villa he rapidlyconvalesced; and one day, while seated by the great fountain, wheremyrtle and jasmine, oleander and roses, mingled their fragrance, he sawtwo beautiful Spanish ladies loitering near, and being concealed by theluxuriant foliage himself, he could see and hear all that passedwithout being discovered.

  "He always afterward declared to me that at first he had no intention ofplaying the eavesdropper; but when he learned from their talk that itwas himself they were discussing, then the temptation became too greatto resist, so he sat very still while the following dialogue took place,and which, with his usual boyish frankness, he related to me an hourlater. This was in Spanish; but Bruce was now quite proficient in thatlanguage, and readily understood all that was said:--

  "'But, Ivarene, my dear, it does not become Don Rozarro's daughter andheiress--last, alas! of the proud line of Monteluma--to becomeinfatuated with the blue eyes and golden hair of this wounded soldier;and if he is as handsome as a Norse king, to which you so foolishlycompare him, he still is no less our country's enemy,' said the elderlady, who seemed to be a duenna, whose sole care consisted in keepingthe younger and more beautiful lady hidden from the eyes of herunwelcome guests, but with what success you may readily perceive.

  "'But, Labella, cousin dear, he is alone, wounded and ill in a foreignland--no mother, sister, or sweetheart near to soothe his long days ofpain! (I wonder if he has a sweetheart in that cold Northland!) Andthen, Labella, does not the good Book command us to do good to those whohate us, and to love our enemies?' she replied with a mischievoussmile.

  "'Oh, the command, my darling, does not apply to every sunny-hairedtrooper who, invades our country--'

  "'No--no; not every one, true!' retorted Ivarene, archly, to which theduenna quickly replied:--

  "'I fear, Ivarene, that your English education, and your much reading ofthose Northern books, have turned your head.'

  "Here the ladies passed on through a latticed arcade, and their voiceswere lost in the distance; but my friend had seen and heard enough tolose his heart completely, and in the evening, as we sat on the balconywithout, he was so quiet and thoughtful that I began to realize the factthat he was deeply entangled in the meshes of love at first sight.

  "Leaving him to his reflections, I walked to the edge of the balcony togaze out over the matchless landscape which the lofty mansion commanded.

  "The tropic moon poured a flood of silvery radiance over the Vale ofMexico, while low down on the horizon burned the fiery Southern Cross.The bubbling domes of the great capital seemed to float upon the lakeswhich environ its walls, and her myriad lights twinkled and flashed backfrom their waters like stars on a frosty night.

  "Old Chapultepec, with its castellated walls, towered out on the loftyheadland; and the dark forests of cypress, that had witnessed thetragedies and pageants of Aztec splendor for a thousand years past,clothed the base of the hill in a sombre mantle, peopled by thespectres, I thought, of long dead princes and Montezumas that in thedim past had lived their lives of inconceivable luxury in those ancientgroves.

  "Over all loomed the old volcanoes, white and ghostly, with theirmantles of eternal snow and hearts of hidden fire. Shrouded in mystery,they seemed a fit emblem of the Aztec past, whose buried histories stillhaunt this ancient land.

  "Near by, at the foot of the lofty terrace, the groves of olive andorange were sombre in shade. In the soft wind the myrtle rustledfaintly, and on the roses at our feet the dew-drops glinted in fitfulsplendor.

  "In an angle of the old wall, where the murky shadows were deepest, theglow-worms burned in the damp grass, and the fire-flies glimmeredincessantly. There I half fancied that I could see strange formshovering; and when a figure flitted out into the moonlight, then wasquickly lost again in the black shade of an aloe, I was startled for amoment; but concluding it was one of the peons belonging to the estate,I turned my eyes to again feast on the glorious view.

  "There were numberless fountains pouring down their sheen of waters,that, after flashing a moment in the moonlight, rippled away inrivulets, which gurgled and sang as they leaped over the terraces inmimic cascades, where they joined the waters of the fairy-like lakesthat slumbered in the grounds below. These tranquil sheets of water werethe reservoirs which served to irrigate the vast estate, and were deckedwith floating gardens, on which were gilded arbors or lattices ofwhite, with beds of bright-hued tropic flowers.

  "On every hand lay league upon league of land, all owned by the youngmistress of Monteluma. The long avenue of cypress only ending close tothe walls of the capital, the villages of peons, the pasturages wherethe numerous flocks grazed, groves of orange and lemon, and the fieldsof wheat,--all these I knew were the undisputed estate of our hostess,of whom Bruce was now dreaming.

  "I was aroused from my reverie by an exclamation from my companion, whohad now sprung up excitedly and was pointing down toward the entrance,while he grasped the pistols that hung in his belt--weapons that werenever lost sight of in this turbulent country. As I looked toward thespot where he was pointing I could see the long line of a hundredsteps--which led up to the only entrance to the hacienda--lined andthronging with armed men:

  "In a moment the situation flashed upon us: they were banditti ormarauders, emboldened by the unprotected state of the rich villa, andwere now attacking the great iron-studded door. If they effected anentrance, I shuddered with apprehension to think of the fate of itsinmates; but we lost no time while we were thus speculating, but quicklybarring the door on the balcony we rushed down into the court, and whileI grasped the bell-rope and sent forth a wild alarm from the brazen bellthat hung in the lofty tower, Bruce hurried on through the long halltoward the door of entrance.

  "As he was fastening the chains and bars across the entranc
e a crowd offrightened peons came flocking into the hall, and while we were hastilyarming them with the guns that hung upon the wall and directing them toguard the upper windows and doors that opened out upon the loftybalconies, the door of the great saloon was hurriedly thrown open, andSenora Labella asked in a trembling voice the reason of the commotion.

  "When she learned that the bandits were at the door she fled back intothe room, and as we followed, assuring her of our protection, we saw herfly to where the young heiress stood, her arm yet resting upon thegilded harp which she had but just that moment ceased playing, and thelight from the silver chandelier falling softly upon her raven hair andthe lustrous white silk that fell in graceful folds about her slenderform.

  "While the excited duenna clung to the more youthful lady, and gave wayto incoherent cries of fear and moans of distress, we begged them toretire to a tower of great strength, and we would surely repel theattack; but Ivarene declared she would stay and help defend herhome--saying she would not have it said that the last Rozarro was thefirst to flee from danger.

  "After the senora had been given over to the care of a bevy of badlyfrightened maids, Ivarene hurried fearlessly out into the hall andshowed Bruce where several loop-holes were concealed by slides of iron.These commanded the entrance, and while we rained a galling fire uponthe enemy, she stood in an angle of the thick wall and reloaded theguns for us, which we as rapidly discharged again with telling effect.The blows upon the door soon ceased, and we could see the maraudersretreating down the steps; then, as a parting salute followed them, theycould be heard galloping swiftly away.

  "When all was still again, we accompanied the brave young heiress backto the saloon, where she thanked us earnestly for the rescue of her homefrom the hands of the marauders. Of course, we quickly assured her thatthe honors and glory of the occasion rested in her bravery andresolution. When she gave her hand to my handsome, sunny-haired friend,I think something stronger than admiration shone in his deep-blue eyesas he gazed upon the beautiful creole face, now suffused with blushesand lit by eyes of midnight blackness.

  "The senora had now recovered from her agitation, and was voluble andprofuse in her thanks and compliments. At a sign from her the servantsbrought great silver trays, loaded with cake of white and gold, withdecanters of ruby wine, glittering in the flasks of cut glass likeliquid fire. For an hour or more the dark-eyed young heiress sang songsof Spain in a voice of cultured melody, while her white fingers sweptthe gilded harp, that vibrated in tones of sweetest harmony under herskillful touch.

  "As a compliment to us she also sang several Scotch and English ballads,and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that she had received aneducation in England, and spoke our own tongue with remarkable fluency.

  "From that night we were accorded all the privileges of honored guestsin the great hacienda."

  Here the colonel paused, remarking that as the hour was growing late hishearers would excuse him, which they promised to do providing he wouldcontinue his narrative on the morrow. As the party arose from about thecamp-fire, Robbie said he felt heroic enough to eat several Mexicans,not to mention such relishes as wine, cake, and peons, at which verybroad hint the tea-kettle was soon humming on the embers; and when thecups of the soothing beverage were handed around, Grace passed a basket,which, if not filled with such luxuries as those which had graced theMexican saloon, were at least very acceptable to our friends.

  Scott, whose attention was divided between a chicken-bone and reverie,suddenly inquired if they thought there would ever be another war withMexico. As the party broke up with a laugh at his expense, the quiet ofnature once more reigned over the valley, broken only by the hoarsecroak of the frogs in the dark pools and the shrill cry of the cicada inthe grass.

  The moon threw a pale, silvery light upon the row of white tents, whereour friends were soon dreaming of the new homes that they would build inthis tranquil valley; yet no vision of the strange events which fateheld in store for them came to prepare them for the life of trial andadventure which they were now entering upon.

  One day more of quiet rest, then would begin a life new and strange forthem all. They had left their old selves forever behind; their past wasa blank; new faces and new friends awaited them here in their futurehome, which had never been even claimed as the property of any man sincethe dawn of creation.

  Yes, fate is both unkind and compassionate in withholding a knowledge ofthe blessings and trials that await them here; so they slumber on, whileunseen destiny begins to weave her web, checkered and mysterious as theveil of moonlight that wavers through the willows.