Walthew pulled up his mule and sat gazing at the town. He had been riding beside Blanca, while Father Agustin and two others followed at some distance.
"Five minutes ago you could hardly see the place against the background and now it glows as if it were lighted up inside," he remarked. "Looks more like an enchanted palace than a collection of adobe houses. One could imagine that some magician had suddenly conjured it up."
"I"m afraid there"s not much enchantment in Rio Frio," Blanca answered.
"It"s very prosaic and rather dirty."
"Well, I don"t know," said Walthew, looking boldly at her. "I"m not given to romantic sentiment, but something very strange happened to me one night in your town. Must have been glamour in the air, for I"ve been a changed man ever since. You wouldn"t expect a matter-of-fact American, who was on the hunt for money, to trail round the country trying to act like Garibaldi, unless he was bewitched."
Blanca smiled prettily.
"You have, at least, chosen to follow a great example, senor."
"I don"t think I chose him," Walthew returned dryly. "I"d have looked for somebody easier."
"But you were free to give up the part if you found it too hard for you."
"No; that"s the trouble. I wasn"t free."
The girl knew that he was not talking at random to hide nervousness.
There was an underlying gravity in his manner and she secretly thrilled to it. Although he still wore the dirty bandage and was dusty and unkempt, she thought he had a very gallant air. His eyes were bright and intent, and his thin face was very resolute. The faint smile with which he regarded her somehow emphasized his determined, highstrung look.
"Senor," she said, "it is better to aim high. Achievement is not everything; the effort counts, and it is a generous errand you go upon to-night. But we will talk of something else. Look; there is the house where I spent the only happy years I can remember, until my father heard the call of duty once more and obeyed. Higher up, you can see the green gap of the _alameda_; beyond it the church of San Sebastian." She paused for a moment with a shiver. "The white line beneath it is the top of the _presidio_, where Gomez lives. But the light fades quickly, and now, see--everything has gone."
The sun had sunk behind the cordillera, and the white town, changing suddenly to gray, melted out of sight as the shadows rolled up the hillside.
"You must see that it"s enchanted," Walthew remarked. "The magician has waved his wand and blotted it out."
"It will shine again to-morrow," Blanca answered in a quiet voice. "The shadows have long rested on this country of ours, but one looks for the dawn."
The others were close behind them, but the party was smaller than it had been. Ragged men with dark, determined faces had been picked up on the way, but it would excite suspicion if they entered Rio Frio in a body, and they had separated during the last hour. Walthew did not know what their orders were, but he thought they would act upon some plan already made if he failed to secure Grahame"s release; and Blanca presently bore this conclusion out.
"You will not be left unsupported, but it will be better if you can make Gomez set your comrade free without our help," she said. "We do not wish to strike the first blow to-night, but if it is needful, the _presidio_ will be attacked. Gomez"s position is like ours: he is not quite ready to force a conflict. You see how that strengthens your hand. He cannot altogether trust his soldiers, and a shot would rouse the town." Her voice sounded rather strained as she concluded: "But if you are careful, the shot will not be fired. Gomez is cruel, but he is a coward, and will give way if you use moral force."
"It"s a big thing," Walthew answered thoughtfully. "Still, I must put it over somehow. I have to get my partner out."
Darkness fell before they reached Rio Frio, and Blanca stopped her mule on the outskirts of the town.
"We must separate here," she said. "I do not think the entrance is carefully guarded, because it is not Gomez"s policy to admit that an attack is possible, but there may be spies, and a _rural_ or two on watch." She paused and held out her hand. "I wish you good fortune, senor, and I do not think your nerve will fail, but if the worst comes, we will not leave you in Gomez"s power."
Walthew, bending down, kissed her hand and then lifted his hat.
"Until I see you again, senorita," he said and quietly rode on.
There was no moon and the air was still. The town rose before him, vague and shadowy, with a faint musky smell drifting out from it. As he reached the first of the houses, a wave of heat, rising from the rough pavement, surrounded him. The walls looked blank, for there were no lights behind the lattices, but a ray of brightness fell across the street a short distance in front. As he crossed the illuminated strip a man in white uniform stepped forward and seized his bridle.
"Who comes?" he asked, looking hard at Walthew"s face.
"A messenger for the _secretario_."
"Pa.s.s, friend," said the other, letting go the bridle.
Walthew rode on, but checked the mule as soon as he was out of sight. It looked as if he had been expected, but he had been warned that he must give the revolutionaries time to communicate with their friends in the city. They might have some trouble in entering it, although he believed they meant to do so through the house of some sympathizer on the outskirts. When he turned a corner he stopped to listen, but heard nothing behind him, and the street in front was quiet. It seemed that n.o.body had been sent to announce his arrival, and he could proceed slowly without rousing suspicion.
Leaving the direct line, he wound in and out through narrow streets, the mule"s shoes clanging on the hot stones. He pa.s.sed one or two dimly lighted cafes where men, roused by the clatter, looked up, their figures showing indistinct about the small tables between the pillars. Farther on, shadowy groups were sitting close together on the pavement, and though their voices were quiet they had somehow an air of excitement.
Men appeared and vanished in the gloom, moving softly and quickly, as if afraid of loitering. There was a mysterious hint of tension about all that Walthew saw, and he felt his heart beat as he rode on.
Crossing the plaza, he dismounted at the hotel he had previously visited, and sent for the majordomo when the hostler grumbled something about the stable"s being full.
"You will remember me," he said. "I want to leave my mule here and perhaps spend the night."
"I am sorry, but we have no room; there are a number of strangers in the town. They are not so full at the Golden Fleece."
"I"d rather stay here if I have to wait until to-morrow," Walthew answered. "You take care of the mules well, and I may have a long ride.
Then one puts up at a place one knows, with more--confidence."
The majordomo looked hard at him.
"We must try to make room, senor, since you have--confidence."
"Exactly," said Walthew, smiling. "Now I want the mule fed but not unsaddled. I may perhaps need it in an hour, and it would be an advantage if you could find me another."
"It might be possible," the majordomo replied in a thoughtful tone.
"Still, there are spies about and they may watch this house. With permission, I will send the mule to Ramon Silva in the _calle Pinastro_.
He is a carrier, and it is known that he buys pack-animals; he will have both mules ready, if you ask for them with confidence."
Walthew thanked the man and set off for the _presidio_. It was a long, square-fronted building with a sentry-box at the entrance, and an untidy soldier sat smoking outside. Another stood a little farther on in a slouching att.i.tude, a rifle raking across his shoulder and his _kepis_ tilted to one side. Discipline is seldom marked among Spanish-American soldiers, but Walthew was somewhat surprised to note that the fellow was bantering a group of loiterers. They were dressed like peons, and one carried a tray of sweetmeats and another a quant.i.ty of cigarettes, apparently for sale. As Walthew pa.s.sed, the former hurriedly moved his tray, as if to prevent its being upset.
"Be careful, senor!" he exclaimed, giving Walthew a warning glance.
Walthew understood it. The men were not there by accident, and he saw that one was within leaping distance of the sentry. He knew that the Spanish knife is almost as dangerous as the rifle at close quarters; and can, moreover, be thrown a short distance with effect.
"I have a message for the _secretario_," he told the sentry with a careless air.
The man let him pa.s.s, and he saw that he was expected when a dusky steward met him at the door. Since the despatch-carrier was known to be a foreigner, it was easy to enter the _presidio_, but he wondered what would happen before he left. Now that the dangerous game was about to begin, he clearly recognized the risk he ran. For all that, it looked as if he held the trump cards, and he hoped that he had nerve enough to play them well. Pulling himself together, he followed his guide across the _patio_ and up an outer stair, until the man stopped and knocked at a door.
"The messenger, senor," he announced.
Walthew held his breath until he heard the door shut behind him; then he turned to Gomez, who had risen from his seat at a table. It was a small room and the table stood between the men. Walthew felt his nerves tingle and his skin grow damp with perspiration as Gomez looked at him. There was surprise in the secretary"s face and he seemed puzzled, as if he were trying to revive a memory.
"You are not the man we were told would come, but I think I have seen you somewhere," he said.
Walthew stood still, his hand in his jacket pocket, as if about to take the despatches from it.
"The other messenger was detained, but we have met. I once dined at your table at the International, in Havana."
Gomez gave him a quick, suspicious glance.
"Then there is something I do not understand, but it is not important now. You bring the President"s orders?"