Swift and Sure Part 5

"Never saw it before," mumbled O'Connor. "What is it?"

"A plan of part of the camp."

"What would I want with a plan of the camp? Perhaps the Chief has been amusing himself. Try him."

But the Chief denied all knowledge of the paper.

"I've got something better to do than draw unnecessary plans. What's the good of it?"

"Nothing, except as information to an enemy."

"Ah! that's an idea now. 'A chiel amang us takin' notes,' eh? A wolf within the fold. I'll skin him if I catch him. Do you suspect any one?"

"Sangrado's got a shifty eye."

"Which of 'em hasn't!" said the Chief grimly. "I don't trust any of these Venezuelans beyond eyeshot. Well, he's had his trouble for nothing. There's no camp left, and we'll take care to arrange things differently now. Get a gang to move the safe, there's a good fellow: hanged if it isn't about the only thing left standing."

The safe was conveyed on trolleys to another part of the enclosure, and the Chief's tent was reerected around it. During the next few days he watched the native foremen narrowly, but saw nothing to lead him to suspect any one of them to be the traitor. They appeared indeed to be in good spirits over the news which had just come in through Antonio de Mello, who visited the camp one day and reported that the Government had made some progress in stamping out the revolt in Valencia. Free from danger in that quarter, it might be expected that the Government troops would soon be at liberty to deal with the outbreak in Guayana; and if General Carabano had not succeeded in capturing Bolivar before there was a movement against him, his chance of ultimate success was very small.

De Mello confirmed Azito's information as to the General's lack of money, which was the strongest weapon the Government possessed.

Sangrado, the foreman whom Will had mentioned, declared that the rebuff Captain Espejo had suffered would prove to be the ruin of the revolution. It had not merely deprived the General of the sinews of war on which he had no doubt confidently reckoned, but had so much damaged his prestige that he would find great difficulty in obtaining recruits.

"A courier will come one day, senor," said the man, "with the thanks of the Government. You will be a great man in Venezuela."

"We won't hallo until we are out of the wood," replied the Chief. "You don't want a revolution, then, Sangrado?"

"Certainly not, senor, nor any of us. We know which side our bread is b.u.t.tered."

"Honesty is the best policy," remarked the Chief to the Englishmen of his staff afterwards. "I think the men are all right as long as they get their pay. But I'm not so sure they'd stick to us if a higher bidder came along."

The disorder in the camp was repaired: the work went steadily on: and as the line advanced, and the distance between railhead and the camp increased, Mr. Jackson began to think of shifting to another site, and questioned whether it would be worth while to spend time in fortifying it. He decided to remain in his present quarters until after next pay-day. The money would arrive by train from Bolivar, together with a large quant.i.ty of stores, the wages of the peons being paid partly in kind.

On the morning of the day when the train was expected, Machado handed the Chief a telegraphic message to the effect that the agent of the Company in Bolivar had sent six extra trucks with rails just landed from a steamer that had arrived from Antwerp, the contract for rails being in the hands of a Belgian firm.

"They're a few weeks before they are due," said the Chief, "but that's a fault on the right side. When will the train arrive?"

"About two, senor."

"That means four, I suppose. No doubt we shall get a wire from the junction as usual."

Just after twelve o'clock Machado reported that the train had left the junction, and might be expected in about three hours. The arrival of the fortnightly train was always a matter of interest in the camp. It had become the custom for the peons to strike work and crowd about railhead on these occasions. Mr. Jackson and several of his staff were always present to take formal receipt of the consignment of goods and money, the latter being escorted from the lock-up van to the safe in the Chief's tent.

About four o'clock Mr. Jackson took up his position with the three Englishmen beside the line. Several of the peons stood at hand, ready to transfer the cash to a trolley. The rest of the labourers congregated noisily close by. The appearance of the engine among the trees far away was hailed with a loud shout. In a few minutes the train, longer than usual, drew up; Mr. Jackson stepped forward to the lock-up van, with his duplicate keys of the two huge padlocks on the door. The six trucks behind, covered with canvas, would not be unloaded until the money had been bestowed in the safe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SCRIMMAGE AT RAILHEAD]

He had just thrown the door open, and ordered the peons to lift out the bags of money, when there was a sudden outcry. Looking round, he was amazed to see a swarm of armed men rushing upon him, the nearest no more than two yards away. Before he or any other of the staff could lift a hand to defend himself, he was hurled to the ground, O'Connor and Ruggles lying beside him. Will, who happened to be a little nearer to the engine, made an attempt to bolt, and succeeded in springing down the embankment, only to find himself in the midst of a score of the a.s.sailants. He dodged two or three of them, with the agility of an old Rugby player, but was then tripped up and fell headlong, being immediately pounced on and held. The first man he saw when he collected himself was Machado the telegraphist, who had seized one of his arms and looked at him with a smile of malicious triumph.

"You are the traitor, then," thought Will. "I might have known it, after your sniffing round after my hydroplane."

In a few minutes all the European members of the staff lay trussed up on the slope of the embankment, Captain Espejo himself superintending the operation. The money had been seized. The native foremen, accepting their fate with the Spaniard's usual nonchalance, stood idly by, puffing at their cigarros. Many of the peons had taken to their heels and fled into the woods. But the majority had been too much cowed even to run, especially when several shots were fired among the fugitives as a warning. Captain Espejo summoned them to stand, declaring that they were now in the service of his excellency General Carabano, the new President, and that any man who resisted would be instantly shot. Then, seeing that the four Englishmen were securely bound, he made his way to the Chief's tent among a group of his officers, ordering his men, who numbered nearly a hundred, to find quarters for themselves and take what they required from the stores in the train.

CHAPTER VI--THE HOLE IN THE WALL

It would not be becoming to record the exact words used by O'Connor as he lay, within a few feet of Will, on the slope of the embankment. They were very expressive, and very warm, so warm indeed that Mr. Jackson just beyond him suggested that he should "draw it mild." Ruggles, a little farther away, did not utter a word, and for some moments Will simply listened sympathetically to O'Connor, who undoubtedly expressed the feelings of them all.

"It was Machado, after all," said Will at length.

This provoked another explosion from O'Connor, who said a great deal as to what he would do to Machado when he got him.

"Yes, the scoundrel!" said Mr. Jackson. "He and his telegraph have done it. I'll take care another time to have an English telegraphist."

Machado had in fact telegraphed in the Chief's name to Bolivar, asking that six empty trucks should be coupled to the usual train. He had further instructed that the train should stop at a place about twenty miles from railhead to load up sleepers, which were cut from the forest for use on the railway. When the train pulled up at the appointed spot there was no load of sleepers, but a company of armed rebels, who sprang into the empty trucks, and covered themselves with canvas, Captain Espejo having ordered the driver, a Spaniard, to take them on to railhead, threatening him with instant death if he attempted to give warning.

"I wonder what they will do with us," said Mr. Jackson.

"I hope they'll take us away from this pretty soon," said Will. "There's a fly on my nose, and I can't shake it off."

"My throat is like an oven," growled O'Connor.

"One gla.s.s of beer!" sighed Ruggles: "just one: there's no harm in one."

Their plight was indeed desperately unpleasant. They were laid on the sunny side of the embankment. The afternoon sun beat full upon them, and before long they were subject to the pressing attentions of innumerable insects, which, their arms being bound, they were unable to drive away. They got some relief by turning over on their faces, but as time went on the heat, the insects, and their thirst made them thoroughly wretched. More than once O'Connor yelled for some one to bring him a drink; but no attention was paid to him, and it seemed as if Captain Espejo, for all his charming manners, was bent on slowly grilling them to death.

Just before sunset, however, a bugle sounded. Sitting up, the prisoners witnessed the arrival of General Carabano himself. He rode in amid a group of twenty officers, who formed a sort of guard of honour. Captain Espejo had paraded his men to welcome the General, whom they received with a volley of sounding vivas. Behind rode a long line of cavalry in all sorts of costumes, many of them having a led horse, no doubt the steeds of Captain Espejo's party. Behind these came a long procession of animals and men, the latter the most motley collection of ruffians Will had ever seen. Some were mounted on mules, some on donkeys; some had saddles, some rode bare-backed. There were bridles of leather, of rope, of bejuco, a climbing plant that grows plentifully in the forests.

Some had no bridles at all, but clung to the donkey's mane, guiding it by a slap on the right or left ear, or a thump on the flank.

When Will thought he had seen the last of them enter, he was amazed to find that they were followed by a regiment of Caribbee infantry, who had already earned from the Government troops the name of Carabano's bloodhounds. Their only clothing was a narrow strip about the waist and the feathers in their hair. Each had a lance, and a bow and quiver slung over the back.

"A dashed fine-looking lot," said O'Connor, admiring these muscular redskins. "You could make something of those fellows."

"The General looks a Tartar," said Will.

"There's a good deal of the negro in his composition, I'll swear,"

remarked Mr. Jackson. "That's a bad look-out for us; there's no more insufferable brute than your negro in authority."

General Carabano in truth looked an unpleasant man to deal with. He was very big and tall, with a large fat face, a wide nose and thick lips, and woolly hair. He sat his horse in the middle of the compound by the tree until his men had all marched in. Then, after a few words with Captain Espejo, he rode towards the prisoners. Halting opposite them, he told his orderlies to stand them on their feet, and then, a.s.suming a haughty demeanour, he demanded to know what they meant by rebelling against his Government. None of them replied. Enraged at their silence, he declared that he would shoot them. On this, however, Captain Espejo deferentially suggested that the penalty might be at least deferred.

"They are Englishmen, Excellency," he said, "and if you treat them as they undoubtedly deserve there will be trouble with their Government, which may seriously embarra.s.s the consolidation of your administration."

"Caramba!" cried the General: "their Government is thousands of miles away."

"True, Excellency; but it is above all things essential that the lives of foreigners should be spared if you wish your Government to be recognized."