The Freebooters Part 36

The young chieftain gave the General an ironical glance.

"Why should I employ toward you those conventional forms of politeness, General? From the moment when, without my authority, and against my will, you introduced yourself into this house, you should have considered yourself as quite at home. It is I, then, who am the stranger here, and in that position I am no longer permitted to do the honours of this house."

"Caballero," the General answered, with a movement of impatience, "I am grieved to find in you this stiffness and determination to quarrel. When I entered this house, my intentions with respect to you were, perhaps, not so hostile as you suppose; but, since you force me to a clear and categorical explanation, I am prepared to satisfy you, and prove to you that I am acquainted not only with your conduct, but with the plans you entertain and are carrying out, with a tenacity and boldness which, if I did not take, would lead inevitably to their speedy realization."

The young man started, and a flash burst from his wild eye at this direct insinuation, which revealed to him the danger with which he was menaced; but immediately regaining his presence of mind, and extinguishing the fire of his glance, he replied, coolly--

"I am listening to you, General."

The latter turned to his officers.

"Do as I do, senores," he said, as he sat down; "take seats, as this caballero refuses to offer them to us. As this friendly conversation may be prolonged for some time yet, it is unnecessary that you should fatigue yourselves by listening to it standing."

The officers bowed, and seated themselves comfortably on the butacas with which the apartment was furnished. The General continued, after a few moments of reflection, during which the young man looked at him carelessly, while rolling a husk cigarette:

"And in the first place, to proceed regularly, and prove to you that I am well-informed of all that concerns you," he said, purposely laying a stress on the words, "I will begin by telling you your name."

"In truth, General, you should have begun with that," the young man said, negligently.

"You are," the General went on, quietly, "the famous Chief whom the insurgents and Freebooters have christened the Jaguar."

"Ah, ah!" he remarked, ironically, "So you know that, Senor Governor?"

"And a good many more things, as you shall see."

"Go on," he said, as he threw himself back with the graceful negligence of a friend on a visit.

"After giving a powerful organization to your revolt on the Indian border by seizing the Larch-tree hacienda, and allying yourself with certain Comanche and Apache tribes, you understood that, to succeed, you must give up that guerilla warfare, which I confess you had carried on for some time with considerable success." "Thanks," said the Jaguar, with an ironical bow.

"You therefore entrust the temporary command of your bands to one of your comrades, and yourself come into the heart of Texas, with your most faithful a.s.sociates, in order to revolutionize the coast, and deal a great blow by seizing a seaport. Galveston, by its position at the mouth of the Trinidad river, is a strategical point of the utmost importance for your plans. For two months past you have been concealed in this house, which you have made the headquarters of your insurrection, and where you are making all the preparations for the audacious enterprise you wish to attempt. You have at your disposal numerous emissaries and faithful conspirators; the government of the United States supply you with abundance of arms and ammunition, which you think you will soon have need of. Your measures have been so well taken, and your machinations carried on with such great skill; you fancy yourself so nearly on the point of success, that hardly an hour back you convened here the princ.i.p.al members of your party, in order to give them their final instructions. Is it so? Am I correctly informed? Answer me, Caballero."

"What would you have me answer, Caballero," the young man said, with a delightful smile, "since you know all?"

"Then, you confess that you are the Jaguar, the Chief of the Freebooters!"

"Canarios, I should think so."

"You also allow that you came here with the intention of seizing the city?"

"Incontestably," the other said, with an air of mockery; "it does not allow the shadow of a doubt."

"Take care," the General remarked drily; "it is a much more serious matter than you seem to think."

"What the deuce would you have me do General? It is not my fault. You enter my house, without giving me notice, with a crowd of officers and soldiers; you surround my residence, carry it by storm, and when you have finished this pretty job worthy of an alguazil, without showing me the slightest sc.r.a.p of paper authorising you to act in that way, you tell me to my face that I am the Chief of the bandits, a conspirator, and Lord knows what; and then you request me to prove it. On my faith!

Any other in my place would act as I am doing; like me, he would bow to the weight of so great a military force and such an entire conviction.

All this seems to me so extraordinary and novel, that I am beginning to doubt my own ident.i.ty, and I ask myself if I have not been hitherto deceived in believing myself, Martin Gutierrez, the ranchero of Santa Aldegonida, in the State of Sonora, and if I am not, on the contrary, the ferocious Jaguar, of whom you speak to me, and for whom you do me the honour of taking me. I confess to you, General, that all this perplexes me in the highest degree, and I should feel greatly obliged if you would kindly bring me to some settled conviction."

"Then, Caballero, up to the present you have been jesting!" the General said hastily.

The Jaguar began laughing.

"_Cuerpo de Cristo_," he replied. "I should think so. What else could I do in the face of such accusations? Discuss them with you? You know as well as I do, General, that it is useless to attempt to overthrow a conviction. Instead of telling me that I am the Jaguar, prove it to me, and then I will bow to the truth. That is very simple, it appears to me."

"Very simple, indeed, Caballero; I hope to be able soon to give you that certainty."

"Very good; but till then, I would observe that you entered my house in a way contrary to law, that the domicile of a citizen is inviolable, and that what you have done today, only a juez de letras, armed with a legal warrant, was empowered to do."

"You would possibly be correct, Caballero, if we lived in ordinary times; but at this moment such is no longer the case; the State is in a state of siege, the military power has taken the place of the civil authority, and alone has the right to command and have carried out those measures that relate to the maintenance of order."

The young man, while the General was speaking, had taken a side glance at the clock. When the governor ceased he rose, and bowing ceremoniously, said:

"To be brief, be kind enough, then, to explain to me categorically, and without further circ.u.mlocution, the motives for your presence in my house; we have been talking a long time and I have not yet been able to read your intentions. I should, therefore, feel obliged by your making them known to me without delay, as important business claims my presence abroad; and if you insist on staying here, I shall be compelled to leave you to yourselves."

"Oh, oh! You change your tone, I fancy, Caballero," the General said, with a little irony. "I will tell you the motives you desire to learn; as for your leaving the house without me or my sanction, which is the same thing, I fancy you would find it rather difficult."

"Which means, I presume, that you look upon me as a prisoner, General?"

"Nearly so, Caballero. When your house has been carefully searched, and we are convinced there is nothing suspicious in it, I may, perhaps, permit you to be put aboard a ship which will carry you far away from the territory of the Mexican Confederation."

"What! Without a warrant, by your mere will?"

"By my mere will: yes, Caballero."

"_Canarios_, Senor General, I see that your government has preserved the healthy Spanish traditions, and is deliciously arbitrary," the Jaguar said, mockingly; "the only question is whether I shall voluntarily submit to such treatment."

"You must have already perceived that force is not on your side, at least for the present."

"Oh, General, when a man has right on his side, force can soon be found."

"Try it, then, Caballero; but I warn you that it will be at your own risk and peril."

"Then you will employ force to coerce a single, unarmed man in his own house?"

"That is my intention."

"Oh! If that be so, I thank you, for you leave me free to act."

"What do you mean by that remark, Caballero?" the General asked, with a frown.

"What do you mean by yours, Senor Governor? I consider that all means are good to escape an arbitrary arrest, and that I shall employ them without the slightest hesitation."

"Try it," the officer said, ironically,

"When the moment for action arrives, I shall not wait for your permission to do so, General," the Jaguar replied, with equal sarcasm.

Although this was the first time General Rubio and the Jaguar had met, the Governor of Galveston had long been acquainted with the reputation of the man with whom he had to deal; he knew how fertile in resources his mind was, and the audacious temerity that formed the basis of his character; personally he owed him a grudge for carrying off the conducta de plata, and capturing the Larch-tree, hence he entertained a lively desire to take an exemplary revenge on his bold adventurer.

The tone in which the Jaguar uttered the last words caused the General a moment's anxiety; but after taking a glance round him, he was rea.s.sured.