Beadle's Dime Library No. 151 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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12 chief exclaimed, at length throwing off the mask and brandishing his tomahawk with great rapidity. But at the same instant a man rose like a black phantom behind the Apache chief, threw his arms round his nee and lifting him with wondrous strength, hurl him to the ground, and placed his knee on his chest, ere the sachem, surprised and alarmed by this sudden attack, had attempted to defend himself. At the yell uttered by Blue-fox, some fifty Apache warriors appeared as if by enchantment, but almost at the same moment the hunter’s comrades, who, although invisible, had attentively followed the in- cidents of this scene, stood by the Canadian’s side. Fray Antonio, from whom they were far from ex- pecting’ such resolution, brought down two Apaches with pistols, and rejoined the whites. Two groups of implacable enemies were thus op- posed; unfortunately, the hunters were very weak against the numerous foes that surrounded them on all sides. Still, their firm demeanor and flashi re ho evidenced their unbending resolution to le themselves be killed to the last man, sooner than surrender to the red-skins. It was an imposing s le offered by this hand- ful of men surrounded by foes, and who yet seemed as calm as if they were peaceably seated round their camp-fire. Carmela and Singing-bird, suffering from sharp pangs of terror, pr all in a tremor to the side of their friends. Blue-fox still lay on the ground, held down by Black-deer, whose knee compressed his chest, and neutralized all the tremendous efforts he made to rise. The Apaches, with their long barbed arrows pointed at the hunters, only aw aword or a sign to begin the attack. A silence of death brooded over the prairie; it seemed as if these men, before tearing each other to pieces, were coll all their strength to bound forward and rush on each other. Black-deer was the first to break the silence. ** Wah!" he shouted, in a voice rendered hoarse with ion, as he brandished over his enemy's head. his scalping-knife, whose blade emitted sinis- ter gleams; “at length I meet thee, dog, thief, ch.cken-heart; I hold my vengeance in my hands; at last thy scalp will adorn my horse’s mane.”’ “* Thou but a chattering old woman; thy in- sults cannot affect me, so try something else. Blue- fox laughs at thee; thou can’st not compel him to utter a cry of pain or make a complaint.’ “I will follow thy advice,’’ Black-deer shouted, passionately, and se his enemy’s scalp-lock. “Stop, I insist,” the Canadian shouted, in a thun- Caring voice, as he seized the arm of the vindictive chief. The latter obeyed. ‘“* Let that man rise,’’ Tranquil continued. ~~ _aeel gave him a ferocious glance, but made no reply. **It must be so,’’ the hunter said. The Comanche chief bent his head, restored his enemy to liberty, and fell back a pace. With one bound Blue-fox sprung up; but, instead of attempt- ing flight, he crossed arms on his chest, resumed that mask of impenetrable stoicism which Indians so rarely doff, and waited. Tranquil regarded him for a moment with a singular expression, and then “TI was wrong — now, and my brother must pardon me. No, the memories of youth are not effaced like clouds which the wind bears away. When I saw the terrible danger that menaced Blue- fox, my heart was affected, and I remembered that we had been for a long time friends. I trembled to see his blood flow before me. Blue-fox isa t chief, he must die as a warrior in the sunshine, he is free to rejoin his friends; he can go.” The chief raised his head, *“On what conditions?’ he said, dryly. “@nnone, If the Apache warriors attack us, we will fight them; if not, we will continue our journey y. The chief must decide, for events de- pend. on his will.”’ Tranquil, in acting as he did had furnished an evi- dent proof of the profound knowledge he possessed of the character of the red-skins, among whom an heroic action is immediately appreciated at its full value. It was a dangerous to play, but the situation “ .- ys; Ay - despite their COUrage ; e t begun, must have been naturally crushed by numbers, ond Faget massacred, For the success of his Cana- dian could only calculate on a feeling on the part of Blue-fox, and he had staked his all. After listening to Tranquil’s remarks, Blue-fox remained silent for some minutes, during which a violent combat went on in his heart; he felt that he was the dupe of the snare into which he had tried to draw thé hunter by remind him of their old friendship; but the murmurs of admiration, which his warriors were unable to suppress, on seeing the Canadian’s noble deed, w him that he must > a and feign a gratitude which he was far m expe " The power of an Indian chief is always very pre- carious; and he is often constrained, in spite of him- self, to bow before the demands of his subordinates. if he does not wish to be overthrown and have a new chief set up immediately in his place. Blue-fox, therefo slowly drew his on from his belt, and let it fall at the hunter's feet. “The great white hunter and his brothers can con- tinue to follow their path,’ he said; ‘‘the eyes of the Apache warriors are closed, they will not see them. The pale-faces can depart, they will find no one on their road till the second moon from this; but then they must,take care; an Apache chief will set himself on their trail,in order to ask back from them the knife he leaves them, and which he will re- quire.” The Canadian.s down and picked up the knife, which he through t. of “When Blue- @x asks me for it he wil find it there,"’ he said, as he pointed to it. “Och! I take it again. Now, we are even. Farewell !"’ , The chief then bowed courteously to his enemi made @ prodigious bound back, ack ‘n the eae grass. The Apache warrtors uttered their war-yell twice, and almost immediately their black outlines disappeared in the gloom. waited for a few minutes,.apd then turned to his comrades. vi iow, we will set onut,”’ he said; “the road is The Freebooters. - oo out of the scrape cleverly,’’ Loyal Heart m $ ee said to “but it was a terrible risk. The Canadian smiled, but made no further reply. Then they started. CHAPTER XI. THE SUMMONS, rise of the conducta, so skillfully man- aged by the Jaguar, electrified the whole country. The independent chiefs, who were fighting all along the border, had, at the umexpected news of the de- cisive success obtained by the Jaguar, assembled their cuadrillas, and, iy common agreement, and through an heroic impulse, ranged themselves under the banners of the youthful chieftain, and pledged him obedience, in order to carry through the libera- tion of their country. Thus the Jaguar suddenly found himself at the head of an imposing force, that is to say, he collect- ed an army of about eleven hun men, Our readers must not smile at the name of army given to what would represent a regiment with us. Never before had Texas collected so many fighting men under one chief. The Jaguar's army was composed of men hardened by lengthened fighting, who burned to cope with the entientons and who, before all, wished to be free! The J was thoroughly acquainted with the character of his soldiers; he knew that he must Only ask one thing of them—an impossibility—and this he had, cons pew f determined to attempt. Through the wish of the new commander-in-chief all the captains of cuadrillas assembled in a council of war, in order to draw up a plan of campaign. Each y gave his opinion. The debate was short, for all ente ned the same idea—and that was, to seize on the Larch-tree hacienda, in order to cut off the communications of the Mexican army, prevent it from receiving reinforcements from the other States of the confederation; and, once masters of the fortress, to defeat in detail the different Mexi- can detachments scattered over Texan territory. As this plan was remarkably simple, the J re- solved to carry it out immediately. After oo ey om detachment of five hundred horsemen to cover his rear, and avoid any surprise, he advanced with his main body by forced marches on the Larch-tree, with the intention of investing and carrying it by as- sault ere the Mexicans had found time to put a gar- rison in it and throw up intrenchments. Unfortunately, despite all the diligence the J had displayed in the execution of his plan, the Mexi- cans, owing to the lengthened rience and in- fallible glance of General Rubio been more prompt he, and the place been in a perfect state of defense for two days ere the Texan army big rae eee tic athe a a al s disap men Res annoy e Jaguar. but did not ae im; & saw that he would have to lay siege the Larch-tree, and bravely made his preparations. The Americans dug up the soil with wondrous rapidity, and a night was suffi- cient for them to finish the preperecity works, and make breastworks and parapets. e cans gave no signs of life, and allowed the insurgents to establish themselves in their lines without opposi- tion; by sunrise all was finished. It was a strange le offered by this handful of men, who, without artillery or siege material of an description, — lines round a stoutly- built fortress, admirably situated for resistance, and defended by a numerous garrison, which was deter- mined not to surrender, As they arrived after sunset, when the night had all but set in, the Texans had formed an imperfect idea of the defensive state of the place which they proposed to ; hence, when day broke, | eagerly a to see what enemy they wo have to deal with. The surprise was g but ble to them, and they were compelled to ad- t i Se one, and that the intrenchments they pro carry had a for- midable ———— surprise was changed THRE su almost into disco ment when the fortress haughtily hoisted the Mexican , Saluting it with which fell into the several rounds of grape-sho center of the camp, and | killed and wounded some fifteen men. But this movement of weakness was but short; @ reaction speedily took place in these energetic men, and it was with hurrahs and shouts of joy that they ~ ee the ee —— - ieee They not accompany the hoisting o can- non shots, but they saluted it with salvos of mus- ketry, whose well-sustained fire gave back to the besieged the death they had scattered through the camp. The Jaguar, after attentively examining the forti- fications, resolved to proceed according to rule, and summon the place to surrender before ng the siege seriously. Co uently, he hoisted a white on the top of the intrenchments, and waited; a few moments later a flag of the same color a peared on the breastwork thrown up outside the lace Pp ‘ The Jaguar, preceded by a trumpeter, followed by two or three officers, left the camp and climbed u the bill on which the hacienda was situated. number of ees see to his own had left the place and advanced to meet him, On arriving at about an equal distance from the two lines the Ja- guar hal and in a few minutes the Mexican offi- cers, commanded by Don Felix Paz, joined him. After the usual compliments had been exchanged with extreme politeness, the omo asked: “With whom have I the honor of speaking? “With the commander-in-ehief of the Texan ered. e do not recognize any Texan army,’’ the ma- or-domo said dryly. ‘Texas forms an integral por on of Mexico; her army, the only one she ought to can.” possess, is Mexican. ‘If you do.not know the one I have the honor of commanding,” the Jaguar said with a sraile of su- perb may: ere long it will have made so much noise, that you will be compelled to recognize it. sa That is possible; but for the present we do not ow 2 “Then you do not wish to parley?” ‘*With whom?”’ ‘‘Come, caballero, suppose we are frank with one another—are you willing?’ “I wish for nothing better.” rg coum | “You know as well as I do that we are fighting for our independence.”’ ‘“* Very good. In that case you are insurgents.”’ re y, and feel proud of the title."’ ‘*Hum! we do not treat with insurgents, who are: placed mepene the pale of the law, and who, as such, cannot offer us any serious guarantee.” “Caballero,” the Jaguar exclaimed with ill-dis- i impatience, ‘‘ I have the honor of remarking hat you insult me.”’ ‘“*] am very sorry for it; but what other answer than that can I give you?” There was a momentary silence; the vigorous re- sistance offered him made the Jaguar feel seriously alarmed. - oe you the fort-commandant?” he asked. 4s Oo.’ ‘Why did yan come, then?”’ ‘* Because 1 was ordered to do so." ‘Hum! and who is the governor of the place?” ** A colonel.” ‘* Why did he not come in person to meet me?” _ “Because he probably did not think it worth while to put himself out of the way.” “Hum! that way of behaving seems to me rather ay for war has laws which every man is bound to ollow.”’ ‘*May be, but it is not war in this case, that must not be let out of sight.’’ " ae is it, then, in your opinion?” 7) on b surrection. ‘Well, I wish to speak with your Commandant, for I can only treat with him. Are you disposed to let me see him ?”’ “That does not depend on me, but on him.”’ “Very good. Can I trust to your delivering my message to him?”’ **] do not see why I should not.”’ ‘* Be kind enough then to return at once to him, and I will wait for you here, unless you permit me to enter the fortress. “That is impossible.” ‘* As you please; I will, therefore, await your re- ply here.”’ ‘Very well.” The two men bowed courteously, and took leave of each other. Don Felix Paz re-entered the for- tress, while the Jaguar, sitting on the trunk of a felled tree, examined with the test attention the fortifications of the hacienda, the details of which he could easily survey from the spot where he now was. The young man leaned his elbow on his knee and let his head rest on his hand; his eyes wandered over the surrounding objects with an expression of indefinable melancholy ; gradually a gloomy sadness seized on his mind; while indulging in his thought external objects disap from his sight, an isolating himself completely he gave way to the flood of bitter recollections which rose from his. heart to his brain, and removed him from the pre- occupations of his present situation. For a long time he had been plunged in this species of prostration, when a mb | voice smote his ear, The Jaguar, suddenly drawn from his reverie by the sound of a voice which he fancied he recognized, threw up his head sharply, and gave a start of sur- prise on recognizing Don Juan Melendez de Gongo- ra, for it was really the colonel who was now ad- dressing him. The Texan chief rose, and spoke to his officers. ** Back, caballeros,’’ he said; “‘ this gentleman and: myself have matters to talk about which no one must hear.”’ The xeneae withdrew out of Dean es — ee was alone, for on recognizing the r, he or- dered his escort to await him at the bass of the in- trenchments. “I meet you here again then, my friend,’ the Jaguar said sadly. “Yes,’’ the young officer answered; ‘ fatality seems determined to keep us in constant opposition.” “On examining the ht and strength of your walls,” the Independent continued, “I had already ized the culties of the task forced on me; these difficulties have now grown almost into im- possibilities.’ “ Alas, ney friend, fate wills it so, we are forced to submit to its caprices; and while in my heart de- ploring what takes place, I am yet resolved todo m uty as a man of honor, and die in the breach, wit my breast turned toward you. I was not aware that ou were the chief of the insurrectionary bands that. ave invested the place, although a secret forebod- ing warned me of your presence.”’ ‘That is st the Jaguar muttered, ‘‘for I also felt the fore ing to which you allude; that is why I so strongly insisted on having an interview with the commandant of the —— ‘The same reason urged me, on con , not to show myself; but I thought I must yield to. your entreaty, and hence here I am; I swear to you that I should have wished to avoid this interview, which is $0 pe nful to both of us, in consequence of our mu ee . ‘It is better that it should have taken place; now that we have hada f explanation, we shall be “You are t, d; it is better that it should be so; let me press oon he hand for the last time, and then each of us will resume his ‘Here is my hand friend,” the young chief made answer. The two men heartily shook hands, and then fell back a few making a to their respec- tive escorts to rejoin them. en the officers were a behind the chiefs, the Jaguar ordered his bugler to sound the summons; the latter ore, and the Mexican trumpet imm y replied. e ar then advan two and took off his hat to the colone “With whom have! the honor of speaking?’’ he “Tam,” the officer replied, returning the salu “Colonel Don Juan Melendez de Gongora, inves by General Don Jose Maria Rubio, Commander-in- ef of the Mexican forces in Texas, with the mili- tary government of the Larch-tree hacienda, whic resent circumstances have raised to the rank of 9. “ey answe as he w hi u “his hat the. and placed ain on his head, “am Supreme Chief of the Confederated Army of Texas.” “The men who take that name, the person com Ebooks (E(0) oo