Beadle's Dime Library No. 151 — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Freebooters. wer ce eae ee ——| + ewe ew 21 surrounded him—‘* Well, m have amused yourselves properly?’ A seeMpe of gene satisfaction ran along the ranks. *Good, my coyotes,” he continued, with the same mocking tone; ‘now, I suppose, you would like to sinell a little blood?’ “Yes,” these sinister persons answered unani- mo q “ Well, console yourselves; I will let you smell it ere long, and in a satisfactory manner. But I do not see Ramirez among os can he have been so awkward as to get himself hung? Although he has deserved it a long time, I do not think him such a fool as to let himself be apprehendes by the spies of the Mexican government.” ; These words were uttered in a soft voice, harmoni- ously modulated, but at the same time sharp and rather shrill. “*T heard my name,”’ said Ramirez, as he appeared in the doorway. ‘Yes, I mentioned it. Well, are you alone?” “Are they both here?” ‘es Both 9 scamps, you “That is excellent. Now, if the Jaguar be as true to his word as I am to mine, I answer for success.” “T hold your prontise, Senor Alferez,”’ said a man who had entered the room some moments previous- ly. ‘Rayo de Dios! you and your comrades are wel- come; for, of course, you are not alone,” ‘*T have twenty men, worth a hundred.”’ “Bravo! I recognise the Jaguar in that.” The latter began laughing. “They only await a penal from me to come in,” “Let them come, let them come; time is precious, so let us not waste it in trifling.’’ The J r walked to the door, and threw away the ligh cigarette he held in his hand. The twenty conspirators entered, and ranged themselves silently behind their chief. Ramirez came in imme- diately after, followed by the two naval officers. . in is clearly understood between us, Jaguar?’’ “We act toward each other with all frankness and noneey of purpose ?”’ as es $9 ‘Thanks, my friend. On my side I swear to be a faithful comrade.”’ “How many men have you?” “ As you see, thirty.” ** Who, added to the twenty I bring, give the re- spectahle amount of fifty men, if the affair be pro- perly managed, fhey are more t we require.’ *“ Now, let us divide our parts.” “ Nothing is changed, I think; I will surprise the fort, while get the corvette.” mF dog ; where are the guides?” “Here,” the two men sea with whom Ramirez conversed when he entered the pulqueria the first time. El Alferez examined them attentively for some minutes, and then turned to the Jaguar. “You can start, I fancy.” ** How many men do you keep with you?” “Take them all; I will only keep Ramirez and the two persons to whom he has to introduce me.” * t is true,”’ said the sailor. “Come, my coyotes,"’ El Alferez continued, “ fol- low your new chief. I place you temporarily under the orders of the Jaguar, to whom I surrender all my claims upon you.’ e men bowed, but made no reply. *“ And, now, brothers,”’ the young man continued, “remember that you are about to fight for the liberty of your country, and that the man who commands you will not e his life for the suc- cess of the stroke he is about to attempt with your gate ne : cle render you oer pa eg “Do not forge signal—one roc we r “Three, if we succeed; and we shall 80, mye we bbe ‘‘May Heaven grant it.” ¥ we meet again.” The two men shook hands, and the Jaguar quitted the pulqueria, followed by these sav men, who marched silently behind him, like wild going in quest of prey. Ere lo none remained in the room but the two naval officers, Ramirez, and the pulquero, who, with eyes by terror, looked at and listened to all this, without unde Ing na El Alferez remained motionless, with y bent forw so long as it was possible for him to hear the test sound of retiring footsteps; when all had become silent he drew himse up, and turned to his comrades, who were as atten- tive as himself. “May Heaven favor us!” he said, as he piously himself. ‘ Now, caballeros, itis our turn. ‘We are ready,’ the three men answered. EF] Alferez took a rapid glance round the room. The pulquero, either through curiosity, want of occupation, or some other cause, was standing motionless in a distant corner of the room, following with an attentive glance the movements of his sin- customers. ‘* Hilloh !"’ El Alferez said to him, “ come hither.” The uero doffed his straw hat, and hastened to obey this injunction, which admitted of no reply. ** Are you fond of money?” asked E] Alferez. “Well, ‘ tolerably so, excellency,"’ he replied, with crafty grimace, which doubtless had iv De to be a smile. “Very good, here is an onza: when we away, we will give you a second; but bear in mind that you must bed and blind.” 4 ‘“*That is ,” he replied, as he pocketed the gold coin, and drew aside, Since the Jaguar's departure, the two officers had been suffering from an anxiety oy did not attem to conceal, but which El Alferez did not appear notice, for his face was quite radiant. In the expedition they were going to attempt in the com- pany of the seemed to them not only rash but mad, especially since El Alferez had so cavalierly given up to the Jaguar the thirty resolute men, whose support they considered indispensable. “Gome, eome, senors,” the young man said, with asmile, after attentively watching ae ea some moments, “* n your courage; hang you look as if you been buried and dug up again; and we are not dead yet, I sup ' “That is true; but we are much better,”’ Don Serapio said significantly. LT Sse El Alferez frowned. ‘‘Can you .be frightened?” he said, apices & “We are not afraid of dying, but only of failing.”’ e That is my business: 1 answer for success on my ‘We are perfectly aware of what you are capable, senor; but we are only four men, and after all—”’ ** And the boat’s crew?” “That is true; but they are only sixteen men.’”’ ** Well, say whether you are resolved to obey me at all hazards?’’ “ Yes, we will obey you.” El Alferez appeared to reflect for a moment, and then addre the pulquero, who was standin anxiously near him—“ Has anything been left wit you for me?” he asked him. “Yes, excellency; this evening at Oracion a man brought a trunk on shoulders.”’ = ere is it?”’ “As the man assured me that it contained articles of considerable value, I had the chest placed in my bedroom, in order that it might be in safety.” “Lead me to your room.” ** Whenever me Peet excellency.”’ ** Senors,”’ erez said, ad x the two naval officers and Ramirez, ‘‘ wait for me in this room; in ten minutes I will join you again.” And without awaiting a reply, he made a sign to the pulquero to lead the way, and left the room with a rapid step. After a few minutes the door through which Don Alferez had passed opened and the pulquero entered, followed by alady. The two officers could scarce refrain from a cry of surprise on recognizing beneath this dress El Alferez himself. The young chief wore feminine attire with considerable grace and reality; he walked with such ease, and appeared so accus- tomed to the thousand nicknacks of a lady’s dress —in a word, the metamorphosis was so complete, that, had it not been for the eye whose strange luster the young man had not quite succeeded in subduing, the t men,could have sworn that this singular noing 98 really a woman. The costume of El Alferez, though not rich, was elegant, and in good taste; his face, half concealed beneath the silken folds of his rebozo, partly hid his haughty expression; in his right hand he held a pretty sandal-wood fan, with which he played with that graceful nonchalance so full of skill which is only possessed by Spanish women and their Amer- ican daughters, “Well, caballeros,’’ the young man said minc- ingly, in a sweet and harmonious voice, ““do you not recognize me? Iam the daughter of your friend Dona Leonora Solcedo, Dona Mencia."’ The three men bowed appootenny. ‘** Pardon me, senorita,’’ Don Serapio replied as he vely kissed the tips of El Alferez’s fingers; “we oe you greed Mea. —_ were so far — an pating e happiness of meeting you here, that—”’ “Even at this moment, after hearing you speak, we dare not yet believe in the reality of what we see +5 The pulquero looked in alarm from one to the other. The worthy man understood nothing of what was going on, and he asked himself con- fidentially was he asleep or awake. In fact, he was not far from believing himself under a spell. “Tdo not understand your rise, caballeros,”’ the feigned Dona Mencia said, with a stress on her words; “ was it not arranged some days back between yourselves, my mother, and my husband, that we should this morning and breakfast with Com- monk Rodriguez, on board the Libertad cor- vette?” “Of course,” Don Serapio quickly exclaimed; “excuse me, senorita, but I really do not know where my head is. How could I have forgotten that?’’ ‘I will excuse you,’’ El Alferez replied, with a smile, “but on condition that inexplicable “5 hel nap gn and havior, by off corvette at once.’ ‘The more so,’’ Don Cristoval added, “ as we have rather a long distance to go, and I have no doubt ou repair your er ungallant be- g me your arm to go on board the the commandant is ng us. *“Canarios! I sh think he was,"’ Ramirez e ; ‘why, senor, he sent me with a boat to take you aboard.” ** Since that is the case, I think we shall do well by starting without further delay.” ‘* We are at your orders, senorita.” * Stay, my ge man,’’ El Alferez added in a soft voice, and addressing the pulquero, “take this in recollection of me.” The good man, half stunned by what he saw, me- chanically held out his right hand, into which the mrmerious adventurer carelessly let a gold onza fall; then, taking Don Serapio’s arm, he went out preceded by Don Cristoval and Ramirez, who hurried to get the t ready. The pulquero stood in his doorway, and looked after the strange visitors who had spent the whole night in his house, as long as he could see them; then he went in again, s his head thonginttutt , and muttering, as he jingled the coin he received All thie fe not clear; @ man who is a woman, friends who do not each other after two hours’ conversation, that is pre- ciously queer; I am certain something is going to happen. But hang me if I mix myself up in it; it is wel is certain circums to Eaow ow to bold one's tongue; besides, it is no business of mine; the money they gave me is good, and I have no Fe ened to tits ol Ky site ‘ tre en vy osophic reaso » an filled a tg pradenees the sulenaro closed his door, and went to bed in order to fetch up by day the sleep his si ties bad made him lose d the night CHAPTER XIX. AT BEA. Ir was about four in the morning; the dawn was beginning to mark the horizon with wide white bands; on the extreme line of the water, a bright red reflection, theh arbinger of sunrise, announced that the sun would soon appear. At this moment a light b ually emerged from the dense fog that hid it, and could be seen sailing close to the wind along the dangerous and rugged coast which forms the entrance of Galveston Bay, at the mouth of the Rio Trinidad. It was a neat vessel of three hundred tons at the sites mmm oar a sn iy ett, IL LCC LL LL LL most, with a gracefully-built hull, and its tall masts mae are pe raking. The was carefully painted and tarred, the yards symmetrically po ay ake and more than all, the menacing muzzles of four eight-pounder carronades which peered out of the bulwarks on either side, and the long thirty-two pounder swivel in the bows, indicated that, although a man-of-war pennant might not be flying from the main-mast, it was not the less resolved, in case of necessity, to fight energetically against the cruisers that might attempt to check its progress. At the moment when we first notice the brig, with the exception of the man at the wheel, and an in- dividual walki > and down the 26 qeeereen: | his pipe, at the first glance the brig’s d seemed de- serted; still, on examining it carefully, fifteen men constituting the watch might have been seen sleep- ing in the bows, whom the slightest signal would be sufficient to awaken. “ Halloh!’’ the walker said suddenly, as he halted eg | the | meget — addressed the helmsman; “Yes, Master Lovel,”’ the sailor answered, as he raised his hand to his woole@@ cap; “it has veered round two points.”’ As the individual who answered to the name of Lovel is destined to play a part in the scenes about to we will describe him: hysically, he was a man of about fifty, nearly as broad as he was tall, and bearing a striking resem- blance to a barrel mounted on feet, but for all that ifted with far from common strength and activity; violet nose, his thick lips, and highly-colored face, with large red whiskers, gave him a jovial appearance, to which, however, two small, gray, and deep-set eyes, full of fire and resolution, imparted something skeptical and mocking. Master Lovel had never known either father or mother; bence he had made the brig and his captain his family. All his loving faculties, a long time driven back and slumbering in his heart, were so fully concentrated on them, that what he felt for both went beyond the limits of a reasonable affection, and had uired the veritable proportions of a gigantic tanaticlans. However, the captain, of whom we shall speak, amply requited the old sailor's friendship. “By the way, lieutenant, I ask your pardon,” the helmsman continued, doubtless encouraged by the manner in which his officer had spoken to him; ‘do you know that we have been making a precious queer navigation the last few days!” “Do you think so, lad?” “Hang it, sir, these continued tacks, and that boat we sent ashore ——— and has not yet returned—all that is rather an,” ‘“‘Hum!" the officer said, without any other expression of his opinion. “ Where may we ~~ , lieutenant?’’ Lovel asked him, with a half-sw half bitter tone. “Well,” the other said, as he turned his quid'in his mouth, and sent forth a stream of blackish saliva, **T confess that I should not be sorry to know.” ‘*Really now ?— well, my boy,” the old sailor said, with a crafty smile, ‘if you are asked, you will an- swer that you do not know; in that way you are certain of not compromising, and, before of not deceiving, voureela? Then, after looking for an instant a: the helms- man’s downcast face on recei this strange an- swer, he added—* Strike eight bells, my dear; there is the sun rising over there behind the mountains: we will call the watch.”’ to the corner of his SS ee a The sailor seized th $ € mouth, he resumed his w cord fastened to the c r of the bell, and struck four double strokes. t this signal they knew so well, the men lying in the forecastle same: sf oO - tumultuously, and rushed to the hatchway, nee with you, starboard watch; up, up, it is four Q” . Starboard watch, ahoy!’ S0 soon as the watch was changed, the master gave the necessary orders todress the vessel. Then, as the sun was to rise above the horizon in a flood of ruddy vapor, which ually dis- the dense fog, that had enve oped the brig broughout the night, like a winding-sheet, he sent a man to the foretop to look seaward, and examine coast they were sailing along. various duties had been discharged, th resumed his walk, taking a look every now and then at the masts, and muttering between his teeth —‘* Where can we be going? He would be kind, if he would tell me: we are making a blind man’s traverse, and we shall be very lu if we get out of it safe and sound.” All at once his face brightened, and a glad smile j spread over it. a had just left his cabin and come upon deck. ptain Johnson was at this period a man hardly three-and-thirty years of age, above the middle ht; his features were mascu- line and marked, and black eyes gave his coun- fmeaes an expression of quaniodt. strength, and. oyalty. Good motiain father,’ he said to Master Lovel, as he cordially offered him his hand. ‘“*Good-morning, lad,”’ the latter replied; “did you sleep well?" ae well, thank you, father. Is there anything new ?”’ At this question, apparently so simple, the lieu- tenant drew himself Up, raised his hand to his hat, and answered deferentialy— _ there is nothing new on board. I tacked at three o’ and, acco to your orders, we have been sai as close to the wind as we could, Coe Cee atkars bosping Gaitants MES oretop always Kee v op the larboard re “That is well," the captain answered, as he took 4 glance at the compass and the sails. In all matters connected with duty, Master Lovel, in spite of the reiterated remarks of his chief, con- stantly maintained toward the latter the tone and manner of a subordinate to his superior. The cap- ton this caeehercnae re te it, aaa ™m e no attention left him free to as} he thought proper. “By the way the lieutenant continued, with some hesitation, “we are near the Buf; do you intend to pass through it?” ““ ee * But we shall be sunk.” EO (G] OOO) “S | - -_—_ a @< == (E(0)