"We are in a bad sc.r.a.pe, _amigo mio_. Unless, I am greatly mistaken the regiment of Irun, or, at any rate, a squadron of it is on the march hitherward. If they started at sunrise and rested during the heat of the day, this is about the time the advance-guard would be here. Having no enemy to fear in these parts, they would naturally break up into small detachments; there has been no rain for weeks, and the dust raised by a large body of hors.e.m.e.n is simply stifling. However, we may as well go forward to certain death as go back to it. Besides, I hate going back in any circ.u.mstances. And we have just one chance. We must hurry on and ride for our lives."
"I don"t quite see that. We shall meet them all the sooner."
Carmen made some reply which I failed to catch, and as the way was rough and Pizarro required all my attention, I did not repeat the question.
We pa.s.sed rapidly up the brow, and when we reached more even ground, put our horses to the gallop and went on, up hill and down dale, until Carmen, uttering an exclamation, pulled his horse into a walk.
"I think we can get down here," he said.
We had reached a place where, although the mountain to our right was still precipitous, the ravine seemed narrower and the sides less steep.
"I think we can," repeated Carmen. "At any rate, we must try."
And with that he dismounted, and leading his horse to the brink of the ravine, incontinently disappeared.
"Come on! It will do!" he cried, dragging his horse after him.
I followed with Pizarro, who missing his footing landed on his head. As for myself, I rolled from top to bottom, the descent being much steeper than I had expected.
CHAPTER XII.
BETWEEN TWO FIRES.
The ravine was filled with shrubs and trees, through which we partly forced, partly threaded our way, until we reached a spot where we were invisible from the road.
"Now off with your _cobija_ and throw it over your horse"s head," said Carmen. "If they don"t hear they won"t neigh, and a single neigh might be our ruin."
"You mean to stay here until the troops have gone past?"
"Exactly, I knew there was a good hiding-place hereabout, and that if we reached it before the troops came up we should be safe. If there be any more of them they will pa.s.s us in a few minutes. Now, if you will hitch Pizarro to that tree--oh, you have done so already. Good! Well, let us return to the road and watch. We can hide in the gra.s.s, or behind the bushes."
We returned accordingly, and choosing a place where we could see without being seen, we lay down and listened, exchanging now and then a whispered remark.
"Hist!" said Carmen, presently, putting his ear to the ground. He had been so long on the war-path and lived so much in the open air, that his senses were almost as acute as those of a wild animal.
"They are coming!"
Soon the hum of voices, the neighing of steeds, and the clang of steel fell on my ear, and peering between the branches I could see a group of shadows moving toward us. Then the shadows, taking form and substance, became six hors.e.m.e.n. They pa.s.sed within a few feet of our hiding-place. We heard their talk, saw their faces in the moonlight, and Carmen whispered that he could distinguish the facings of their uniforms.
"It is as I feared," he muttered, "the entire regiment of Irun, shifting their quarters to Caracas. We are prisoners here for an hour or two. Well, it is perhaps better to have them behind than before us."
"What will happen when they find the bodies of the two troopers?"
"That is precisely the question I am asking myself. But not having met us they will naturally conclude that we have gone on toward Caracas."
"Unless they are differently informed by the man who escaped us."
"I don"t think he would be in any hurry to turn back. He went off at a devil of a pace."
"He might turn back for all that, when he recovered from his scare. He could not help seeing that we were only two, and if he informs the others they will know of a surety that we are hiding in the ravine."
"And then there would be a hunt. However, at the speed they are riding it will take them an hour or more to reach the scene of our skirmish, and then there is coming back. Everything depends on how soon the last of them go by. If we have only a few minutes start they will never overtake us, and once on the other side of Los Teycos we shall be safe both from discovery and pursuit. European cavalry are of no use in a Venezuelan forest; and I don"t think these Irun fellows have any blood-hounds."
"Blood-hounds! You surely don"t mean to say that the Spaniards use blood-hounds?"
"I mean nothing else. General Griscelli, who holds the chief command in the district of San Felipe, keeps a pack of blood-hounds, which he got from Cuba. But, though a Spanish general, Griscelli is not a Spaniard born. He is either a Corsican or an Italian. I believe he was originally in the French army, and when Dupont surrendered at Baylen he went over to the other side, and accepted a commission from the King of Spain."
"Not a very good record, that."
"And he is not a good man. He outvies even the Spaniards in cruelty. A very able general, though. He has given us a deal of trouble. Down with your head! Here comes some more."
A whole troop this time. They pa.s.s in a cloud of dust. After a short interval another detachment sweeps by; then another and another.
"_Gracias a Dios!_ they are putting on more speed. At this rate we shall soon be at liberty. But, _caramba_, how they might have been trapped, Senor Fortescue! A few men on that height hurling down rocks, the defile lined with sharp-shooters, half a hundred of Mejia"s _llaneros_ to cut off their retreat, and the regiment of Irun could be destroyed to a man."
"Or taken prisoners."
"I don"t think there would be many prisoners," said Carmen, grimly. "These must almost be the last, I think--they are. See! Here come the tag-rag and bobtail."
The tag-rag and bob-tail consisted of a string of loaded mules with their _arrieros_, a dozen women riding mules, and as many men on foot.
"Let us get out of this hole while we may, and before any of them come back. Once on the road and mounted, we shall at least be able to fight; but down here--"
"All the same, this hole has served our turn well. However, I quite agree with you that the best thing we can do is to get out of it quickly."
This was more easily said than done. It was like climbing up a precipice.
Pizarro slipped back three times. Carmen"s mare did no better. In the end we had to dismount, fasten two lariats to each saddle, and haul while the horses scrambled. A little help goes a long way in such circ.u.mstances.
All this both made noise and caused delay, and it was with a decided sense of relief that we found ourselves once more in the saddle and _en route_.
"We have lost more time than I reckoned on," said Carmen, as we galloped through the pa.s.s. "If any of the dragoons had turned back--However, they did not, and, as our horses are both fresher than theirs and carry less weight, they will have no chance of overtaking us if they do; and, as the whole of the regiment has gone on, there is no chance of meeting any more of them--_Caramba!_ Halt!"
"What is it?" I asked, pulling up short.
"I spoke too soon. More are coming. Don"t you hear them?"
"Yes; and I see shadows in the distance."
"The shadows are soldiers, and we shall have to charge them whether they be few or many, _amigo mio_; so say your prayers and draw your Toledo. But first let us shake hands, we may never--"
"I am quite ready to charge by your side, Carmen; but would it not be better, think you, to try what a little strategy will do?"
"With all my heart, if you can suggest anything feasible. I like a fight immensely--when the odds are not too great--and I hope to die fighting.
All the same, I have no very strong desire to die at this particular moment."