"Is this a long hill?" I asked Carmen.
"Very. An affair of half an hour, at least, at this speed; and we cannot go faster," he answered, as he turned half round in his saddle.
"Why are you looking backward?"
"To see whether we are followed. We lost much time in the _quebrado_, and we have lost more since. Have you good eyes, Gahara? Born Africans generally have."
"Yes, sir. My name, Gahra Dahra, signifies Dahra, the keen sighted!"
"I am glad to hear it. Be good enough to look round occasionally, and if you see anything let us know."
We had nearly reached the summit of the rise when the negro uttered an exclamation and turned his horse completely round.
"What is it?" asked Carmen and myself, following his example.
"I see figures on the brow of yonder hill."
"You see more than I can, and I have not bad eyes," said Carmen, looking intently. "What are they like, those figures?"
"That I cannot make out yet. They are many; they move; and every minute they grow bigger! That is all I can tell."
"It is quite enough. The bodies of the two troopers have been found, the alarm has been given, and we are pursued. But they won"t overtake us. They have that hill to descend, this to mount; and our horses are better than theirs."
"Are you going far, senor?" inquired Gahra.
"To the llanos."
"By Los Teycos?"
"Yes. We shall easily steal through Los Teycos, and I know of a place in the forest beyond, where we can hide during the day."
"Pardon me for venturing to contradict you, senor; but I fear you will not find it very easy to steal through Los Teycos. For three days it has been held by a company of infantry and all the outlets are strictly guarded. No civilian unfurnished with a safe conduct from the captain-general is allowed to pa.s.s."
"_Caramba!_ We are between two fires, it seems. Well, we must make a dash for it. The sentries cannot stop us, and we can gallop through before they turn out the guard."
"The horses will be very tired by that time, senor, and the troopers can get fresh mounts at Los Teycos. But I know a way--"
"The Indian trail! Do you know the Indian trail?"
"Yes, sir. I know the Indian trail, and I can take you to a place in the forest where there is gra.s.s and water and game, and we shall be safe from pursuit as long as we like to stay."
"How far off?"
"About two leagues."
"Good. Lead on in heaven"s name. You are a treasure, Gahra Dahra. In rescuing you from those ruffianly Spaniards we did ourselves, as well as you, a good turn."
Our pursuers, who numbered a full score, could now be distinctly seen, but in a few minutes we lost sight of them. After a sharp ride of half an hour, the negro called a halt.
"This is the place. Here we turn off," he said.
"Here! I see nothing but the almost dry bed of a torrent."
"So much the better. We shall make no footmarks," said Carmen. "Go on, Gahra. But first of all turn that led horse adrift. Are you sure this place you speak of is unknown to the Spaniards?"
"Quite. It is known only to a few wandering Indians and fugitive slaves.
We can stay here till sunrise. It is impossible to follow the Indian trail by night, even with such a moon as this."
After we had partly ridden, partly walked (for we were several times compelled to dismount) about a mile along the bed of the stream, which was hemmed in between impenetrable walls of tall trees and dense undergrowth, Gahra, who was leading, called out: "This way!" and vanished into what looked like a hole, but proved to be a cleft in the bank so overhung by vegetation as to be well-nigh invisible.
It was the entrance to a pa.s.sage barely wide enough to admit a horse and his rider, yet as light as a star-gemmed mid-night, for the leafy vault above us was radiant with fireflies, gleaming like diamonds in the dark hair of a fair woman.
But even with this help it was extremely difficult to force our way through the tangled undergrowth, which we had several times to attack, sword in hand, and none of us were sorry when Gahra announced that we had reached the end.
"_Por todos los santos!_ But this is fairyland!" exclaimed Carmen, who was just before me. "I never saw anything so beautiful."
He might well say so. We were on the sh.o.r.e of a mountain-tarn, into whose clear depths the crescent moon, looking calmly down, saw its image reflected as in a silver mirror. Lilies floated on its waters, ferns and flowering shrubs bent over them, the air was fragrant with sweet smells, and all around uprose giant trees with stems as round and smooth as the granite columns of a great cathedral; and, as it seemed in that dim religious light, high enough to support the dome of heaven.
I was so lost in admiration of this marvellous scene that my companions had unsaddled and were leading their horses down to the water before I thought of dismounting from mine.
Apart from the beauty of the spot, we could have found none more suitable for a bivouac! We were in safety and our horses in clover, and, tethering them with the lariats, we left them to graze. Gahra gathered leaves and twigs and kindled a fire, for the air at that height was fresh, and we were lightly clad. We cooked our _tasajo_ on the embers, and after smoking the calumet of peace, rolled ourselves in our _cobijas_, laid our heads on our saddles, and slept the sleep of the just.
CHAPTER XIII.
ON THE LLANOS.
Only a moment ago the land had been folded in the mantle of darkness. Now, a flaming eye rises from the ground at some immeasurable distance, like an outburst of volcanic fire. It grows apace, chasing away the night and casting a ruddy glow on, as it seems, a vast and waveless sea, as still as the painted ocean of the poem, as silent as death, a sea without ships and without life, mournful and illimitable, and as awe-inspiring and impressive as the Andes or the Alps.
So complete is the illusion that did I not know we were on the verge of the llanos I should be tempted to believe that supernatural agency had transported us while we slept to the coasts of the Caribbean Sea or the yet more distant sh.o.r.es of the Pacific Ocean.
Six days are gone by since we left our bivouac by the mountain-tarn: three we have wandered in the woods under the guidance of Gahra, three sought Mejia and his guerillas, who, being always on the move, are hard to find.
Last night we reached the range of hills which form, as it were, the northern coast-line of the vast series of savannas which stretch from the tropics to the Straits of Magellan; and it is now a question whether we shall descend to the llanos or continue our search in the sierra.
"It was there I left him," said Carmen, pointing to a _quebrada_ some ten miles away.
"Where we were yesterday?"
"Yes; and he said he would be either there or hereabout when I returned, and I am quite up to time. But Mejia takes sudden resolves sometimes. He may have gone to beat up Griselli"s quarters at San Felipe, or be making a dash across the llanos in the hope of surprising the fortified post of Tres Cruces."
"What shall we do then; wait here until he comes back?"
"Or ride out on the llanos in the direction of Tres Cruces. If we don"t meet Mejia and his people we may hear something of them."
"I am for the llanos."