On reaching the hacienda he received a hearty welcome from Don Ramon and his family, and Don Carlos rode with him over a part of the estate, where a large number of peóns were engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, maize, and other grain.
"If you have time, Se?or Hugh, you must go with me to see our other estates; our principal one lies twenty leagues to the south. We have five hundred square miles of land there, and big herds of cattle and droves of horses, but I suppose you have seen enough cattle."
"Yes; there is no novelty about that," Hugh replied. "How many have you?"
"There and in other places we have somewhere about 150,000 head; as to the horses, we don't know; they are quite wild, and we drive them in and catch them as they are wanted. We have about a score of our best here, but these are the only animals we keep here except bullocks for the plough and the teams to take the crops down to market." [304]
"I hear you have been rather troubled with brigands lately; have you any fear of them?"
"The scoundrels!" the young man exclaimed passionately; "it is a disgrace that they are not hunted down. Yes, they have been very daring lately, and my father and several of the other hacienderos have written lately to the authorities of Santa Fé complaining of the inactivity of the police here. I have tried to persuade my father to move down to our house at El Paso until the bands have been destroyed; but he laughs at the idea of danger. We have twenty armed peóns sleeping in the outhouses, and twelve male servants in the house, and indeed there is little chance of their attacking us; still one cannot but feel uncomfortable with ladies here.
"There are a hundred troops or so stationed in the fort on the other side of the river, and they have joined two or three times in the search for the brigands, but of course they are too far off to be any protection to us here; besides they are not of much use among the mountains. The officer in command is fonder of good wine than he is of the saddle. It is a difficult thing to rout out these brigands; half the peasantry are in alliance with them, and they get information of everything that is going on, and even if we knew of their hiding-places, there would be little chance of our taking them by surprise. However, sooner or later, I suppose, we shall have them. There is a large reward offered for their capture; someone is sure to prove traitor at last. It is always the way with these bands, someone thinks himself ill-used in the division of the booty, or takes offence with the leaders, or something of that sort, or is tempted by the reward, and then we get them all; if it wasn't for treachery, the country would soon become uninhabitable."
His host would not hear of Hugh returning that evening to El Paso, but sent a peón in to tell Royce that he would not return until next day. Hugh spent a delightful evening; the [305] young ladies played on the mandoline, and sang with their brother. The soft light, the luxurious appointments, and the ripple of female talk, were strange and delightful after so long a time among rough surroundings; and it was with great reluctance that he mounted his horse and rode back on the following morning. He found on arrival that his comrade had arranged the matter with José, and had deposited the money with the priest. As he was standing chatting to him at the door of the hotel, a ragged Mexican boy ran up, placed a scrap of paper in Hugh's hand, and at once darted away.
"It is from the doctor," Hugh said, opening it, and then read as follows: "I have something particular to say to you; it must be private; when you have received this stroll quietly through the town as if you were only looking at the shops; go down to the river and follow it up till you hear three whistles, then come to them; you had better come alone. The doctor."
"I wonder what the little man has got to say, Royce?"
"Dunno," the other said. "I suppose you had better go and see. You have got your six-shooter anyhow?"
Hugh obeyed his instructions and walked along the river bank till he heard the whistles; they came from a small clump of bushes standing apart from any others. As he approached it he heard the doctor's voice, "Look round and see if there is anyone in sight."
"No one that I can see," Hugh replied.
"Then come in."
Hugh pushed his way through the bushes.
"Why, what is the matter, doctor?" he asked, surprised at all these precautions.
"I will tell you. Sit down there. It is just as we fancied it might be. I told you that we might be watched. These confounded Mexicans have nothing to do but watch, and they have found out what we are after."
"How did you learn that, doctor?" [306]
"Well," the doctor said reluctantly, "my mate has but one fault, he will sometimes go in for a drink. It's not often, but just occasionally, once perhaps every few months. It has always been so ever since I have known him. Well, last night it came over him. He thought it would be a long while before he would have a chance again, I suppose; he is not quarrelsome when he drinks, but you may be sure I always go with him so as to take care of him. So yesterday evening, seeing that he had made up his mind for it and was not to be turned, I went with him to a little wine-shop near where we lodge. There were half-a-dozen Mexicans in there drinking and talking, and as they stopt talking directly we went in, I saw we were not wanted. But I noticed more than that. I saw two of them glance at each other, and though I could not recollect I had ever set eyes on them before, I saw they knew us.
"We hadn't any money on us beyond what was wanted to pay for the liquor, so though I didn't like the look of them I was not uneasy. We sat down and called for some liquor, and I managed to say to Sim, 'These chaps know us, Sim; don't you go drinking.' He nodded. We drank for a bit, at least he did, I don't touch spirits. Then, talking carelessly out loud, we, in whispered asides, made out a plan. We agreed that we should quarrel, and I should go out, and that he should seem to go on drinking until he got drunk and stupid, and then like enough he might hear something. So we carried that out.
"As soon as he had drunk his glass he called for another, and then another. I got up a row with him, and told him he was always making a beast of himself. He said he would drink if he chose, and wouldn't be interfered with by any one. Then I got nasty, and we had a big row, and I went out. Then Sim went on drinking; he can stand a lot more than would floor most Mexicans. They got into talk with him, and he could see they were trying to pump him as to what we were going to do, but you bet he didn't let much out. Then he [307] got gradually stupid, and at last rolled off the seat on to the ground. For a bit the Mexicans went on talking together, and then one of them crept over and felt his pockets, and took the few dollars he had in them out. That convinced them he was dead off to sleep, and they went on talking.
"What he gathered was this: the fellows were the spies of one of these bands. They had noticed you particularly when you came in, because it seems their captain was in the town and recognized your horse, and told them he didn't like your being here, and they were to watch you sharp. They were in the crowd when there was the row about the horse, and they saw us having our talk with you. They followed you out to the Don's and back again, and when you rode out in the morning to meet us they sent a boy after you, and he kept you in sight and tracked you up to the hut, and then crawled up close and overheard what we were saying. They sent off word at once to their chief, and we are to be followed by two men; when they have traced us to the place, one is to ride back to some place where a dozen of them will be waiting to attack us on our way back."
"That is bad," Hugh said; "what is to be done?"
"This has got to be put a stop to," the doctor said calmly, "though I don't see how yet. At any rate Sim and I think we had better not hurry, a few days won't make any difference, and something may occur. He picked up from their talk that the villains had something else in hand just at present; some stroke from which they expect to make a lot of money, but they talked low, and he couldn't catch much of what they said. Maybe it will go wrong, and the country may be roused and hunt them down, and if so you bet we will be in it; we have got chances enough to take in this job as it is, and we don't want to reckon on brigands; not that there is much fear of them now that we know their plans, we have only got to ambush the men they send after us. Still, we ain't going to take [308] any chances. The fellows may follow direct; they are sure to choose some one who knows the mountains well, and they may judge by our direction the course we are taking and go by other paths; they would know pretty well we are not the sort of people to fool with. Still it is better to wait a little while and see if there is a chance of putting a stop to it here. It is not that we are feared of the skunks; if we could not throw them off our trail, we could fight them anyway, but one don't want to have them on one's mind; we have got plenty of things to think about without them."
"O yes! I think it much better to stay here for a bit, doctor. There is no hurry about a start on our expedition, and I should certainly like to take a share in routing out these bandits, especially as, from what you say, it seems that the men at their head are the fellows who murdered Don Ramon Perales' son, and sold me his horse. I wonder which hacienda it is that they are meaning to attack!"
"Yes, it is a pity Sim didn't manage to find that out; we would have caught them then."
"Have you any idea how strong the band is?"
"They are not often over twenty," the doctor replied. "Twenty is enough for their work, and if there were more the shares of the plunder would be too small; but, as I said, they have got friends everywhere, and could probably gather thirty or forty more if they knew the troops were going to attack them. A Mexican is always ready on principle to join in if there is a chance of getting a shot at an American soldier."
"I suppose you have not the least idea in what direction these fellows have their headquarters?"
"Well, I have some sort of an idea, at any rate I know of one place where there is a party who don't care about being interfered with by strangers. Two or three months ago when Sim and I were away about forty miles over to the north-west, we were in a village just at the mouth of a bit of a valley, and [309] the girl who waited on us at the little wine-shop whispered in my ear when the landlord's back was turned, 'Don't go up the valley.' Well, we were not thinking of going up the valley, which was only a sort of gulch leading nowhere, but after that we thought that we would have a look at it. We took a goodish round so as to get above it, and looked down, and we saw a house lying among some trees, and lower down, near the mouth of the valley, made out two men sitting among some rocks on the shoulder.
"The sun shone on their gun barrels, but that didn't go for much, for the Mexicans out in the country pretty well always go armed. We watched them for a couple of hours, and as they didn't stir we concluded they were sentries. The girl wouldn't have given us that warning unless there had been something wrong, and I expect that house was the headquarters of one of these gangs."
"What made her do it, I wonder, doctor?"
"That I can't say, Lightning. It is never easy to say why a woman does a thing. She may have thought it a pity that Sim and I should get our throats cut, though I own that wouldn't be a thing likely to trouble a Mexican girl. Then she may have had a grudge against them; perhaps they had shot some lover of hers, or one of them may have jilted her. Anyhow, there it was, and if we hear of any attack of brigands upon a hacienda, we will try that place before going any further. And now, lad, you had better be going back. I shall lie here quiet for an hour or two in case there should be anyone watching you, as is likely enough."
Hugh returned to the hotel and told Royce what he had heard.
"That will suit me," Bill said. "I am death on border ruffians, and if ever I see two of them it wur them fellows as sold you the horse at M'Kinney. And so it's their intention to follow us and wipe us out, and get our swag? Waal, maybe [310] it will be the other way. If I was you, Lightning, I would ride over to Don Ramon's this evening, and give him a hint to be on his guard. There is no reason why it should be his place they have got in their mind more than any other. But the fact that they stole the son's horse, to say nothing of killing him, might turn their thoughts that way. If you do a fellow one injury, I reckon that like as not you will do him another. I don't know why it is so, but I reckons it's human nature."
"I will ride over at once," Hugh said.
"I wouldn't do that, Hugh. You don't know who may have been watching you, and if it is known that you had been meeting the doctor quiet, and the doctor is a mate of Sim's, and Sim was in that wine-shop, they will be putting things together, and if you ride straight over to Don Ramon now, they will think it is because of something the doctor has been saying to you. Then if it should chance as that is the place they are thinking of, it air long odds that Sim and the doctor get a knife atween their shoulders afore bed-time. You go quietly off in the cool of the evening, just jogging along as if you was going to pay a visit of no particular account. They ain't got no interest in us, except as to this expedition to find gold, and they won't concarn themselves in your movements as long as I am here at the hotel and the others ain't getting ready to make a start. They have learned all they want to learn about our going."
Just as the sun was setting, Hugh set out. It was dark when he reached Don Ramon's hacienda. After chatting awhile with Don Ramon, his wife and son—the two girls, their father said, being somewhere out in the garden—Hugh said quietly to the Mexican that he wanted to speak to him for a moment in private. Don Ramon lighted a fresh cigarette, and then said carelessly, "It is a lovely evening, we may as well stroll outside and find the girls. I don't suppose they know that [311] you are here?" Don Carlos followed them into the broad verandah outside the house.
"Your son can hear what I have to say," Hugh said in reply to an inquiring look from Don Ramon, and then reported the conversation that Sim had overheard. Father and son were both much excited at the statement that the horse had been recognized.
"Then poor Estafan's murderers are somewhere in this neighbourhood!" the don exclaimed. "That is the part of the story that interests me most, se?or. As to attacking my hacienda, I don't believe they would venture upon it. They must know that they would meet with a stout resistance, and El Paso is but three miles away. Daring as they are, they would scarcely venture on such an undertaking; but I will, of course, take every precaution. I will order four men to be on guard at night, bid the others sleep with their arms ready at hand, and see that the shutters and doors are barred at night. But the other matter touches us nearly. If Estafan's murderers are in the province we will hunt them down if I have to arm all the vaqueros and peóns, and have a regular campaign against them.
"You were quite right not to mention this before my wife; she and my daughters had better know nothing about it. By the way, I wonder where the girls are; they are not generally as late as this. I suppose the evening has tempted them; it is full moon to-morrow." He raised his voice and called the girls. There was no reply. "Carlos, do you go and look for them, and tell them from me to come up to the house; and now, se?or, we will have a cup of coffee."
In a quarter of an hour Carlos returned. "I cannot find them, father. I have been all round the garden calling them."
Don Ramon rose from his seat and struck a bell on the table. "They must have gone up to their rooms," he said, "without coming in here." When the servant appeared, he [312] said, "Rosita, go up to the se?oritas' room, and tell them that Don Hugh Tunstall is here."
"They are not there, se?or. I have just come down from their rooms."
"What can have become of them, Carlos?" Don Ramon said.
"I have no idea, father; they had Lion with them. He was asleep here when they called him from outside, and I saw him get up and dash through the open window."
"I can't understand it," the don said anxiously, "for the evening is cold; besides, they would scarcely go outside the garden after nightfall."
"They might be down at Chaquita's cottage, father."
"Oh, yes! I didn't think of that, Carlos," Don Ramon said. "Yes, they are often down at their old nurse's. Rosita, tell Juan to go down to Chaquita's cottage and beg the young ladies to return, as I want them."
In ten minutes the servant came back.
"They are not there, se?or; they left there just as it was getting dark."
"Surely there is nothing to be uneasy about, Ramon!" his wife said. "The girls are often out as late as this on a moonlight evening. They are sure to be about the garden, somewhere."
"But Carlos has been round," Don Ramon said. "Well, we will go and have another look for them." Followed by the two young men he stepped out on to the verandah. "Carlos," he said, "go round to the men's quarters and tell them your sisters are missing, and that they are all to turn out and search. I don't like this," he said to Hugh, after his son had left. "I should have thought nothing of it at any other time, but after what you have just been telling me, I feel nervous. Now, let us go round the garden."
DISCOVERING THE BODY OF THE BLOODHOUND.
They traversed all the walks, Don Ramon repeatedly calling the girls' names. They were joined in their search by Don [313] Carlos and a number of the men. "They are certainly not in the garden," Don Ramon said at last. "Now, let us go down towards Chaquita's cottage; they may either have followed the road on their way back, or have come along a by-path to the garden. We will go by the path, and return the other way."
The path lay through a shrubbery. Just as they entered it, a man met them running.
"Well, what is it, Juan?" Don Ramon asked as he came up and he could see his face by the light of the torches some of the men were carrying.
"I don't know, se?or, but we have just come upon some fresh blood on the path."
With a cry of alarm Don Ramon ran forward with his son and Hugh. Fifty yards farther they saw two of the men standing with torches in the middle of the path.
"Here is blood, se?or," one of them said. "We passed it without noticing it on our way to the cottage; we were not examining the ground; but on our way back the light of the torches fell upon it."
Don Ramon stood staring in speechless horror at a large patch of blood on the path. "There has been a struggle here," Hugh said, examining the ground. "See! there are marks of large feet. Some of them have trod in the blood. See, Don Carlos!" and he pointed to a line of blood drops leading to one of the bushes.
"Search, Hugh," the young man groaned, "I dare not."
Hugh motioned one of the men with a torch to follow him. The father and son stood gazing after them as they entered the bushes. A moment later Hugh called out:
"It is the dog, se?ors, there is nothing else."
An exclamation of joy broke from the two Mexicans. They were at least relieved of the overpowering dread that had seized them at the sight of the blood, and at once joined [314] Hugh. The dog, a fine Cuban blood-hound, was lying dead, stabbed in a dozen places.
"What can it mean, father?" Don Carlos said in a low voice.
"I can hardly think," the Mexican said, passing his hand across his forehead.
"I am afraid, se?or, it is too evident," Hugh put in. "This is the explanation of what my friend heard. The brigands did not intend to attack the hacienda. They have carried off your daughters, and the hound has died in their defence."
"That must be it," Don Ramon exclaimed in the deepest anguish. "Oh, my poor girls, how can it have happened!"
"I expect they were in hiding here," Hugh said, "and sprang up suddenly and seized and gagged the se?oritas before they had time to scream. The hound doubtless sprang upon them, and, as you see, they killed it with their knives."
"What is to be done?" Don Ramon asked hopelessly.
"The first thing is to follow the path down to the road," Hugh said; "probably they had horses somewhere. Will you tell the men to go along cautiously with their torches near the ground."
Don Carlos gave the order in Mexican. One of the party, who was the chief hunter at the hacienda, went a little ahead of the others with a torch. He stopped a short distance before he reached the junction of the path with the road, which they could see ahead of them in the moonlight.
"Here are fresh marks of horses' hoofs," he said. "See," and he held the torch above his head and pointed to the bushes, "twigs have been broken, and there are fresh leaves upon the ground. The horses must have been hidden here. Do not move until I examine down to the road." He went forward alone, and returned in two or three minutes. "There are faint tracks from the road to this point; they came along at a walk. There are deep ones down to the road, and along it; they went off at a gallop. There were six of them." [315]
"What is to be done, se?or?" Don Ramon said to Hugh. "My brain seems on fire, and I cannot think."
"I should imagine your daughters can be in no immediate danger, se?or," Hugh said quietly. "The brigands have doubtless carried them off in order to wring a heavy ransom from you. They must have got two hours' start, and I fear pursuit would be useless to-night, though I would send three of the men accustomed to tracking on at once to follow their traces, and to learn the direction they have taken after leaving here. Of course it will be for you to decide whether you will go down to the town and see the alcalde, and obtain a posse of men to join your vaqueros in a search for them, and then to cross the river to the fort and get the help of the troops, and scour the whole country; or whether you will wait until you hear, as you doubtless will, from the brigands."
"Let us go back to the house," Don Ramon replied; "we must think it over. We must not do anything rash, or we might endanger their lives." The news had reached the house before they arrived there. Donna Maria was completely prostrated with grief, the women were crying and wringing their hands, and the wildest confusion prevailed. Don Ramon had by this time recovered himself, and sternly ordered silence. He then proceeded to the room where his wife had been carried, and endeavoured to assure her that there was little fear for their daughters' lives, for the brigands could have no purpose in injuring them, and had only carried them off for the purpose of exacting a ransom.
"What do you really think had best be done, my friend?" Don Carlos asked Hugh when they were alone together. "Of course, whatever ransom these villains ask must be paid, although I have no doubt it will be something enormous. But it is terrible to think of the girls being even for an hour in their hands, especially when we feel sure that these men are the murderers of my brother." [316]
"I should say," Hugh replied, "that whatever they demand must be paid. It will not do to risk the se?oritas' lives by doing anything as long as they are in their hands. But I should advise that the moment they are free we should fall upon these scoundrels and exterminate them, and recover the ransom. I think that I have a clue to the place where they are likely to be taken. One of my miner friends was speaking to me of a place that would be likely to be used for such a purpose. He could lead a party there. But it would never do to attempt it while the ladies are in their hands. You may be sure that a careful watch will be kept, and at the first alarm the villains might murder them. We will hear what your father says when he returns, and if he thinks, as I do, that we can attempt nothing until he receives some communication from the brigands, I will ride back to El Paso and consult my friends there."
Don Ramon on his return said that he was strongly of opinion that it would risk the girls' lives were any movement made until he heard of them. As he could be of no utility Hugh rode over to El Paso, Don Carlos saying that he would let him know the instant they received any communication from the brigands, but that he should anyhow see him in the morning, as he should ride over with his father to report the matter to the authorities. It was past ten o'clock when Hugh reached the hotel. It happened to be a festa, and the square was full of people, and the cafés and wine-shops open. Royce was in the bar-room of the hotel.
"Royce, do you know where Sim and the doctor are likely to be found?"
"I saw them sitting in front of the wine-shop in the corner of the square, not more than ten minutes ago."
"Come along with me, then, Bill."
"But I thought we weren't to be seen with them?" Royce said. [317]
"There can be no reason against it now," Hugh replied. "They have learned all they wanted to learn about it, and know that we are going together. At any rate our meeting would seem to be accidental."
"Is anything up, Hugh?" Royce asked as they made their way through the crowd in the square. "You look troubled."
"I will tell you directly, Bill."
"There they are. They are still at the same table, Hugh."
There were two empty chairs at the table. Hugh nodded carelessly to the doctor and Sim, and sat down beside them.
"After what you told me this morning, doctor, there can be no harm in our being seen together. I want to talk to you badly. There are too many people about here. Do you mind both coming down to the river. We can talk as we go."
Directly they were out of the square he told the three men what had happened.
"Carried off those two young ladies!" Royce exclaimed. "By thunder, that is too bad. What is to be done, boys?"
"Let us wait until we know all about it," Sim replied; while the doctor said, in his quiet way, "This has really got to be put a stop to. Let us wait until we are down by the river. We must hear all this quietly, Lightning. Four men can't talk as they walk."
They soon gained a quiet spot away from the houses.
"Now tell us how it came about," the doctor said, "and while we are talking each of you keep his eyes and ears open. We have behaved like fools once, and let ourselves be overheard. We won't do it again."
Hugh told the whole story of the girls' abduction, and stated the determination arrived at by Don Ramon, not to attempt a pursuit, but to pay whatever ransom was demanded, and then to hunt the brigands down.
"That is all very well," the doctor said; "but when they have once got the money, and you may be sure that it will be [318] a very big sum, they will divide it and scatter; and there won't be one of them in the district twelve hours after the girls are given up."
"But what is he to do, doctor?" Sim Howlett said. "He daren't move till he gets the gals. They would cut their throats sure if he did."
"My idea was, Sim," Hugh said, "that if this is the work of the band in that house the doctor was telling me about this morning, we could be in hiding near it; and directly the men who take the girls back to their father return with the ransom, we could fall upon them, destroy the whole band, and get back the money."
"We should want a big force to surround the place," Sim replied; "and there would be no getting it there without being seen. You bet there are a score of them on the look-out, and their friends would bring them word, long before we got there, of such a force being on the way. Besides, there is no surety that it is the place where the gals are, and, even if it is, the hull band may leave when they send the gals away. They may scatter all over the country, and meet again at night fifty miles off. Another thing is, you may bet your boots there will be a lot of trouble about handing over that ransom, and they won't give 'em up until after they have got the money."
"I see that there are all sorts of difficulties before us, Sim, but I am sure you and the doctor will see some way out of it. I am deeply interested in rescuing these poor girls, and we are all interested in this band being wiped out before we start."
"Have you any plan at all?" the doctor asked. "You have had longer time to think this over than we have."
"Well, doctor, my idea was that we could start to-night and get to some place among the hills, where we could hide our horses a mile or two from this house where we suppose they are. We should lie quiet there to-morrow. The next evening we should make our way down, and try and ascertain for [319] certain whether they are there, and see whether it is possible to carry them off.
"Of course that couldn't be attempted unless we are absolutely certain of being able to protect them. If we could get them out without being seen, we might try to do it. If it is not certain we could do that, and get off without being seen, I should say one of us should ride back next morning to Don Ramon and get him to bring up twenty or thirty of his men, or if not, a body of troops from the fort. We should guide them at night to a point as near the house as it would be safe for them to get. Then we four could crawl down to the house. The moment we are in a position to protect the girls, that is to say if we can get into the room where they are kept, we will fire a pistol-shot out of the window as a signal. Then we shall have to make as good a fight of it as we can till the others come up to help us.
"You may be sure that the brigands will be all pretty well occupied with us, and the other party will be able to surround the house, and then rush in to our assistance."
"That looks a good plan, by thunder!" Sim Howlett said. "What do you say, doctor?"
"Well, I think it might be worked somehow on those lines," the doctor agreed. "I don't think there is much danger for the ladies, because, if the brigands did come upon us when we were scouting, some of them would attack us, and the rest would carry the ladies off to some other hiding-place. I don't say if they were surrounded and saw no chance of escape they mightn't kill them out of revenge, but they would never do that until the last thing, because they would reckon, and truly enough, that as long as they are in their hands they have got the means of making terms for themselves. But to one thing I agree anyhow. Let us get our horses and start at once. Don't let us go together. We will meet at the first cross-road a mile to the west of the town. No one is likely to notice us going out. [320] There are plenty of people who have come in from the country to this festa; besides, just at present they won't be watching us. They know what our plans are, and that we don't intend to start for another week, and they won't be giving a thought to us until this affair of the girls is settled. What do you say, Sim?"
"That is right enough," Sim said; "but we must be careful about the roads, doctor. Like enough they will have a man on every road going anywhere near the place, and perhaps miles away."
"Yes, we must make a big circuit," the doctor agreed. "Strike the hills fifteen or twenty miles away from their place, and then work up through them so as to come down right from the other side."
"Shall I get some provisions at the hotel?" Hugh asked.
"No; we will attend to that. There are plenty of places open, and we will get what is wanted. Now, do you and Bill go back by yourselves; we will follow in a minute or two."