Again I listened.
Certainly there was the pattering of feet over a floor--with motion timed to the music--now and then a pause--a laugh or an exclamation--all betokening a scene of enjoyment!
"It"s the exact direckshin o" the shanty," whispered Sam. "They must be _in_ it. Thar"s somethin" goin" on, hear that? There"s a bust! Darn me, if they hain"t got a _fandango_!"
It was an increased swelling in the sound that had called forth this exclamatory language. A violin had joined its continuous strain to the throbbing of the _jarana_; and several voices appeared to take part in the conversation, which was carried on during the intervals of the music.
There appeared to be nothing boisterous--no riot or roystering--only such sounds as might be made by a party of pleasure-seekers engaged in a picnic, or _dia de campo_--the chief difference being that it was _in the night_!
Certainly the sounds were not such, as I should have expected to proceed from a band of brigands engaged in an interlude of festivity.
"It"s _them_!" whispered the driver of the diligencia--a better judge of brigand music than myself. "The very chaps we"re in search o". They"re doin" a little bit o" divartin; an", cuss me, cap"n, ef I don"t b"lieve that them two gurls is joinin" willinly in the spree!"
I answered his speech only in thought. And a fell, fearful thought it was.
"Dolores Villa-Senor not forced by cruel circ.u.mstances, but voluntarily a.s.sisting at a carnival of _salteadores_!"
All thoughts of strategy were chased out of my mind. Even prudence for the time forsook me. The remembrance of the past--the morbid imaginings of the present--alike maddened me.
She upon whom I had fixed my affections--high and holy--the toy of a robber-chief! Worse still; herself wanton and willing!
"Go on!" I said, grasping my guide by the arm; "on to the house! Let us see what it means. On, on! There"s no danger. In ten minutes I can call my men around me; and if need be, we can run back to them. On! on!
I must see with my own eyes, if she can be so degraded!"
Without altogether comprehending why, Sam Brown saw that I was determined on advancing; and, yielding to my impulsive command, once more led the way.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
PARADISE FROM THE PILLORY.
Another terrace was ascended; and before us stood the house--a ma.s.sive structure of quadrangular shape only one story in height, but surmounted by an _azotea_ with a parapet running around it.
It was placed upon a platform of limited extent; backed by a precipitous slope, of which the platform was the base; and flanked by two cliffs that scarped off in the opposite direction--downward.
What might be called the gables of the dwelling were flush with the flanking cliffs; but between its rear and the ascending slope was an inclosed s.p.a.ce--forming a _corral_, or courtyard.
Its _facade_ lay towards the smooth s.p.a.ce in front; that declined gently from the walls, like the glacis of a fortification.
A better site for defence could scarcely have been chosen. No foe could advance by either flank; and an attacking party from the front would be exposed while crossing the open ground. The place might be more successfully a.s.sailed from the rear--by an enemy coming over the top of the sierra.
The idea of defence could not have been entertained. On the Indian frontier, yes; but in the valley of Mexico--tranquil since the time of Moctezuma--there had been no fighting. The structure could have nothing to do with the revolutionary era. It was too ancient for that.
It was difficult to understand why such a dwelling had been erected in such a place. It could not be an agricultural establishment: there was no arable land within reach. Nor yet a _hacienda de ganados_: since there was no pasture upon the pine-covered slopes that surrounded it.
Had it been built by the monks? Perhaps by some eccentric recluse, who had chosen the site, for the purpose of contemplating civilisation, without being disturbed by it?
These thoughts were things of an after-time; when, upon an excursion of curiosity, I made myself better acquainted with the topography of the place.
All that I saw then--as we were making our stealthy approach--was a block of dark mason work, with a still darker disc in the centre indicating the entrance door; and on each side of this a large window, from which a stream of light was escaping.
The ground in front had the look of a ruined garden--overgrown with rank gra.s.s, and here and there some clumps of shrubbery run wild.
Among these we made our approach--taking care to keep clear of the two bands of yellow light diverging from the windows. Both were mere apertures without gla.s.s; defended, as in all Mexican houses, by strong iron bars rising vertically from the sill.
There was neither blind nor curtain, to obstruct the pa.s.sage of the light outward, or the view inward.
After a few seconds spent in skulking across the lawn, we succeeded in placing ourselves within good viewing distance of one of the windows.
Inside we could see a table set with the paraphernalia of a feast. It appeared a rude piece of furniture; as did also the chairs that stood around it. So, also, were the plates, dishes, and drinking vessels that covered it: though in these we could perceive a grotesque commingling of the cheap and costly.
Common earthenware _ollas_, and carved bowls of calabash, stood side by side with goblets of silver, and bottles, whose tapering necks told of claret and champagne!
Tall wax candles, that looked as if they had been moulded for the service of the Church, were suspended in chandeliers of the _pitahaya_ cactus, or held in cleft sticks--themselves stuck into the interstices of the slab table!
Only the drink had been as yet brought upon the board; though the meats could be scented from the _cocina_; while several brown-skinned, leathern-clad, "muchachos" were moving to and fro, with a hurried _empress.e.m.e.nt_ that showed they were setting the supper.
It was evident that the two windows were in different apartments; the one opposite us being the _sala de comida_, or dining-room.
It was the _sala grande_, or drawing-room, I most desired to look into.
Not to listen to the music, or become a spectator to the dancing. Both had ceased some time before; and in their place we could now hear only a single voice--that of a man, who seemed to be speaking in a tone measured and solemn!
It required some strategy to get into position for looking through the second window. But it was worth the effort.
From the grand preparations in the dining-room, there should be corresponding company in the drawing-room? Was its quality alike heterogeneous?
As yet we could not tell. A ruined pile, that had once been a sort of portico, extended between the two windows--overshadowing the doorway.
It hindered us from obtaining a view of the second.
We had been kneeling among rhododendrons--a clump of which grew near the dining-room window. There were none in front of the drawing-room; but instead, an enormous aloe--the _maguey_ of Mexico. Once to rearward of it, and screened by its broad blades, we should be in an excellent place for observation.
The question was how to get there, without being ourselves observed.
The ground between the rhododendrons and the "pulque plant" was a smooth piece of turf, without shrub or tree. On this the two bands of light-- widening as they went out from the windows--became commingled.
To have crossed from one side to the other would have been to expose ourselves under a light, clear almost as day.
We did not so much fear being seen by those within the _sala grande_.
Their preoccupation--sport, or whatever was going on--would hinder them from looking forth.
But while crouching among the "rose trees" we had noticed that the great gate was open; and in the faint light that fell straggling across the _saguan_--a little brighter in the _patio_ behind--we could see the dark-skinned domestics flitting to and fro with the supper dishes--like spectres engaged in the preparation of some infernal feast!
Some of these standing in the _saguan_, or loitering by the outside entrance, might observe us while crossing?
We dared not risk it. The exposure would be too great. Should we attempt to cross there would be scarce a chance to escape detection.
There was only one other course: to steal back down the lawn, cross over through the fainter light, and return along the edge of the other cliff.