"You know the Castle is prepared for your stay, which I hope will be brief; I shall see that nothing is neglected and you will hear from me tomorrow."
The three were standing for a minute or two on the bank, having but little luggage to take with them, since, when they left Atlamalco nothing like this had been dreamed of by the two.
"But, General," said the Senorita, "it is a mile to the Castle; how are we to reach there alone and at night?"
Before he answered, two men came silently out of the gloomy wood. They were in the uniform of soldiers, and one of them, saluting, said:
"General, we have the horses saddled and waiting."
"That is fortunate; I will a.s.sist you to mount."
This time he did not press the hand of Miss Starland, when with his slight help, she vaulted into the saddle, nor did he sigh or give expression to anything sentimental. The time was too critical for anything like that. He waved them farewell, hurried aboard over the plank, which was quickly drawn in, and the screw of the tugboat began churning the muddy water, as she circled slowly about and headed up stream.
The young women, being mounted, looked apprehensively out over the moonlit stream, expecting and dreading the coming of the other boat which was to fire the opening gun of another senseless and vicious conflict between the peppery republics. The situation, however, was too dangerous for them to wait more than a few minutes, and one of the soldiers, doffing his sombrero, spoke with the utmost deference:
"I will lead the way and your horse will follow. My comrade will walk at the rear; be a.s.sured there is no danger."
Each man carried a musket and the one who had spoken turned inland.
The horse of the American followed, the gait of all being the ordinary walk. The Senorita was only a few steps behind her, while the second soldier silently stalked at the rear. The American noticed that they were following a clearly marked path or trail, which soon began descending, then climbed upward, and wound around and between rocks, the gloom in some places being so deep that she caught only shadowy glimpses of the guide in front, as he plodded onward like one familiar with his course. At times there were openings where the light was like that at mid-day. She might well have trembled had not her animal been sure-footed, for they had penetrated no more than a few hundred yards, when the little procession began threading along the face of a ma.s.s of rocks, where the path was so narrow that she felt the swish of her skirts against the mountain wall, and on her right it sloped downward perpendicularly, until what seemed a bottomless pit was hidden in a pool of gloom. A misstep by any member of the party would have sent him or her to instant destruction. But the animals and men moved confidently, though the pace was slow. Evidently, with the exception of the women, all were familiar, not only with this method of traveling, but with this particular route.
As soon as our friends had become accustomed to the work, the thoughts of both reverted to the river, and they listened with shrinking foreboding for the sound of the guns that would mark the opening of the fight between the two craft. General Yozarro had declared that he would not permit the boat of his enemy to reach the capital, and he intimated that as soon as he was released from the care of the ladies, he would be quick to open the naval battle.
"He steamed up stream," reflected Miss Starland, "but he will not go far; he is seeking a favorable position near by and the conflict will be a fierce one."
But the minutes pa.s.sed and the silence was unbroken. Naught but the myriad voices of the jungle thrummed into her ears and she found herself wondering what the explanation of the continued silence could be. Had General Yozarro changed his mind and hastened to his capital, with the decision to offer defence there? She could not believe it. It seemed more probable that he had hurried down the river toward Zalapata to meet his antagonist, who may have turned and fled to his own town. Even this looked unlikely, but it was the only explanation that presented itself. She would have liked to converse with her friend, but the circ.u.mstances were unfavorable. The continual shifting of conditions compelled her to keep a firm seat and rein and to watch every step of her horse.
As the minutes pa.s.sed and they penetrated farther into the interior, without hearing the boom of the gun, a disquieting question forced itself upon her. How did it come about that when she and her friend were put ash.o.r.e, two soldiers were awaiting them, with properly saddled animals? It could not have been accident or coincidence. They must have been there by order of General Yozarro, who intended from the first that the landing should be made. No other theory was reasonable. Had any doubt lingered, it would have been removed by the silence of the armed craft.
This question inevitably suggested the other as to the reason why General Yozarro had adopted so extraordinary a policy. Had he wished to send the two to the Castle, there was not the shadow of a difficulty in doing so, by the simplest and most direct means. As we know, they had already visited the gloomy building and would not have hesitated to accompany him again. Why all this mystery of landing them from the boat at night and sending them into the mountains in charge of two of his soldiers?
The thoughts that thronged upon the American were too perplexing for solution, and she resolutely put them away for a more convenient season. When she and her comrade could sit down and talk in quietude, they might formulate the explanation which at present was beyond reach.
One resolution, however, had crystallized: she would lose no time or opportunity in getting beyond the domain of General Yozarro and would never again willingly enter it. She had had more than enough of Zalapata as well as Atlamalco, and yearned for the return of Jack"s yacht, when they could flit from a country which she had come to detest unutterably. She dearly loved Manuela and could not reconcile herself to the thought of losing her companionship forever; but from this time forward, the American must voyage to the country which had been her home for years, and where she could be a.s.sured of respectful treatment.
CHAPTER XV.
Suddenly her plodding pony stood still, with a slight neigh and ears erect. They were at that moment winding around the face of a precipice, with the wall on the left rising to a height of a hundred feet or more, and sloping downward on the right into a gorge of Stygian blackness. The path was a yard or over in width, so there was plenty of foothold, and the halt could not be due to any lack of that nature.
The guide was motionless, a dozen paces in advance. Something seemed to have caught his notice and caused him to hesitate. Peering beyond his head in the vivid moonlight, Miss Starland discerned a crouching form, lithe and sinewy, and resembling a huge hound. It had been approaching from the opposite direction, when it was checked by sight of the man. A growl pierced the stillness, as it stood lashing its sides with its long tail. Then it began inching forward with intent to attack the obstacle in its path. The latter maintained his stationary pose, but at sight of the beast stealthily creeping upon him, he raised his gun to his shoulder, took a quick aim and fired.
[Ill.u.s.tration: AN OBSTACLE IN THE PATH.]
The s.p.a.ce was short and the shot sped true. Upon receiving the bullet, the beast emitted a rasping screech and leaped directly upward, as if impelled from a springboard, and falling on its side, rolled over the edge of the precipice, down which it sped, clawing, snarling and bringing the loose dirt streaming after it, until it vanished in the gloomy depths and all became as it was before.
The soldier coolly reloaded his gun, without stirring from his position, turned his head and said in a conversational tone: "Come on; all is well." Then he resumed his walk, and the pony of Miss Starland, as if all had been clear to him from the first, plodded onward.
"Do you know what that animal was?" called the Senorita from the rear.
"How should I know anything about him?"
"It was a jaguar."
"Said to be one of the most dangerous animals of your country."
"I hope you have no fear of that particular one."
"No, but there must be others."
"They are not plentiful in these mountains; at any rate, the guide will take good care of you."
A few minutes later, the procession began descending the trail, which broadened and was partly hidden by undergrowth and trees, that lined the sides and overshadowed the party at intervals. Several times Miss Starland had heard an odd chattering, which she could not identify, but which did not disturb the others. This showed that the soldiers understood and so long as that was the case, she need not be disturbed in mind.
In the lowest part of the valley-like depression, where she could catch only dim glimpses of her guide, she was dreadfully startled by an object alighting like a feather on her horse directly in front. It was so close that she instantly saw it was a monkey, which in pure mischief had dropped from one of the branches and perched itself on the shoulders of the pony. Looking round at her it chattered and seemed on the point of climbing upon her head when she struck it so sharp a cuff that it toppled over sideways from the horse upon the trail, down which it went clawing and chattering its anger; but, though, it dropped from sight, it must be believed it suffered no harm, because of its own nimbleness.
Her friend saw enough to understand what had taken place and called out:
"I hope you are not frightened, Warrenia; the little fellow meant no harm."
"But I do not wish his company; you are welcome to it."
"I care little either way, but they are revengeful, and when you cuff the next one"s ears, don"t do it too hard, or it may rouse the others to attack you; heigho! here"s another!" exclaimed the Senorita, as one of the agile creatures bounded from somewhere upon her horse and whisked out of sight again.
A soft murmur stole through the night, and gradually increased in depth of volume, until when the party rounded a bend in the trail, they came upon the cause. To the right and a hundred feet above them, a sheet of crystalline water poured over the edge of the rocks and tumbled into the valley below, whence it wound its course to the Rio Rubio, only a short distance away. The falls were twenty feet in width, with a descent perhaps twice as great, and in the moonlight they looked like a motionless sheen of silver, which might have been believed to be the case but for the churning of the snowy foam below.
From this a fleecy mist was continually ascending, and a little way above, it displayed a faint rainbow, whose exquisitely delicate beauty caused an exclamation of delight from the visitor who saw the picture for the first time in her life.
But to the escort it was a familiar sight, and they gave it only a glance, as they trudged onward. They were unemotional automata, who knew nothing except to obey the orders of their terrible chief. He had commanded them to give safe conduct to the young women to the Castle, and that was their sole task. So far as the American was aware, not a word had been spoken by the man at the rear, and the guide opened his lips only when necessary.
Several times while pressing over the trail, they had caught sight of the stone structure, and noted the twinkling of the lights from the upper story. Making another turn, and climbing a slight ascent, they came to the small plateau on which it stood, only a few rods in advance.
Proof again appeared that this journey had been pre-arranged. Instead of two guards, some eight or ten men were patrolling and lounging on the outside of the grim building. One of these came forward and spoke for several minutes, in low tones, with the guide. A call was made to the man at the rear and he advanced and took part in the conversation.
The ponies halted of their own accord. While Miss Starland was waiting and wondering, her friend dropped lightly from the saddle and came to her side.
"Give me your hand, Warrenia; we are done riding for tonight."
The next moment the two young women stood beside each other on the ground. Naturally the Senorita took charge of her guest and led the way through the broad opening to the lower part of the Castle, where a native woman was standing. Manuela recognized her as a servant of her uncle"s household, and addressed her by name. She replied that their apartment was ready and conducted the two into the lower division of the building, which was dimly lit up by a lamp fastened to a bracket in the wall. Still under the lead of Juanita, as she was called, the couple pa.s.sed up the steps to the princ.i.p.al apartment, which they had inspected the day before.
"You will wish to be together," said the servant with a broad smile, "and this is your home, so long as you honor the Castle with your company."
"Yes, we shall stay together," the Senorita hastened to say, slipping her arm under that of her friend, who pressed it affectionately. "You may leave us now, Juanita, and when we want you, we will call."
The apartment was the one that had been provided with conveniences and appointments, such as two young ladies were likely to need, even to the little knick-knacks that are considered indispensable by them. A glance around the room, in the mellow light of the lamp on the mantel, showed nothing lacking.
"It seems to have been specially prepared for us," said the Senorita.