The Red Track: A Story of Social Life in Mexico

"The villain is dead," the general exclaimed, furiously.

"You are perfectly well aware of the contrary," Señor Valentine answered, "and to remove any doubts you may still happen to have, I will give you the proof. Don Martial," he said aloud, "come in, pray, and tell General Guerrero yourself that you are not dead."

"Oh!" the general muttered furiously, "this man is a demon."

At this moment the door opened, and a new personage entered the room.

CHAPTER XIX.
ASSISTANCE

The man who now entered the hall of mirrors was dressed like the riders who promenade at the Bucareli, and gallop at carriage doors – that is to say, in trousers with silk stripes down the sides, and a broad-brimmed hat decorated with a double gold string and tassels.

He walked gracefully up to Don Sebastian, still holding his hat in his right hand, bowed to him with that exquisite grace of which the Mexicans alone seem to have the privilege, and thrusting his hand into his side, he said, with an accent of cutting sarcasm, and in a harsh, metallic voice —

"Do you recognize me, Don Sebastian, and do you believe that I am really alive, and that it is not the ghost of Martial the Tigrero which has come from the grave to address you?"

At the same moment Belhumeur's clever, knowing face could be seen peering through the doorway. With his eyes obstinately fixed on the general, he seemed to be impatiently expecting an answer, which the latter, struggling with several different feelings, evidently hesitated to give. Still, he was compelled to form a resolution, so he rose and looked the Tigrero boldly in the face.

"Who are you, señor?" he said, in a firm voice, "and by what right do you question me?"

"Well played," said Valentine, with a laugh; "by heaven, caballero, it is a pleasure to contend with you, for, on my soul, you are a rude adversary."

"Do you think so?" Don Sebastian asked, with a hoarse laugh.

"Certainly," the hunter continued, "and I am delighted to bear my testimony to the fact; hence you had better yield at once, for you are in a dilemma from which you cannot escape, not even by a master stroke."

There was a silence, lasting some minutes. At length the general seemed to make up his mind, for he turned to Belhumeur, who was still listening, and bowed to him with ironical politeness.

"Why stand half hidden by that door?" he said to him; "pray enter, caballero, for your presence here will be most agreeable to the whole company."

The Canadian at once entered, and after giving the general a respectful bow he leant over the back of Valentine's chair. The latter eagerly followed all the incidents of the strange scene that was being played before him, and in which he appeared to be a disinterested spectator rather than an actor.

"You see, señores," the general said, haughtily, "that I imitate your example, and, like you, play fairly. I believe that you entered my house in order to propose a bargain to me, Don Valentine? You, señor," he said, turning to the Tigrero, "whom I told that I did not recognize, and whom I have the honour of receiving at my house for the first time, have doubtless come as witness for these caballeros, who are your friends. Well, gentlemen, you shall all three be satisfied. I am awaiting your proposal, Don Valentine. I allow, señor, that you, whose miraculous resuscitation I have hitherto denied, are alive, and are really Don Martial the ex-lover of Doña Anita de Torrés. As for you, señor, whom I do not know, I authorize you to declare before any one you like the truth of the words I utter. Are you all three satisfied, gentlemen? Is there anything else I can do to afford you pleasure? – if so, speak, and I am ready to satisfy you."

"A man could not yield to what is inevitable with better grace," Valentine replied, bowing ironically.

"Thanks for your approval, caballero, and be kind enough to let me know, without further delay, the conditions on which you are willing to leave off pursuing me with that terrible hatred with which you incessantly threaten me, and whose result is rather long in coming, according to my judgment."

These words were uttered with a mixture of pride and contempt impossible to express, and which for a moment rendered Valentine dumb, so extraordinary did the sudden change in his adversary's humour appear to him.

"I am waiting," the general added, as he fell back in his chair, with an air of weariness.

"We will bring matters to an end," Valentine said, drawing himself up with an air of resolution.

"That is what I wish," the general interrupted him, as he lit a cigarette, which he began smoking with the most profound coolness.

"These are my conditions," the hunter said distinctly and harshly, for he was annoyed by this frigid indifference. "You will at once leave Mexico, and give up Doña Anita, to whom you will not only restore her liberty, but also the right of giving her hand and fortune to whomsoever she pleases. You will sell your estates, and retire to the United States, promising on oath never to return to Mexico. On my side, I pledge myself to restore you your daughter's body, and never attempt to injure you in any way."

"Have you anything more to add?" the general asked, as he coolly watched the blue smoke of his cigarette as it rose in circles to the ceiling.

"Nothing; but take care, señor, I too have taken an oath, and from what I have told you, you must have seen how far I have detected your secrets. Accept or refuse, but come to a decision; for this is the last time we shall meet face to face under the like conditions. The game we are playing is a terrible one, and must end in the death of one of us; and I shall show you no pity, as, doubtless, you will show me none. Reflect seriously before answering yes or no, and I give you half an hour to decide."

The general burst into a sharp and nervous laugh. "Viva Dios, caballero!" he exclaimed, with a contemptuous toss of his head, "I have listened to you with extreme surprise. You dispose of my will with an incomparable facility. I do not know who gives you the right to speak and act as you are doing; but, by heaven, hatred, however active it may be, can in no case possess this privilege. You fancy yourself much more powerful than you really are, I fancy; but, at any rate, whatever may happen, bear this carefully in mind – I will not retreat an inch before you. Accepting your impudent and ridiculous conditions would be to cover myself with shame and my utter ruin. Were you the genius of Evil clothed in mortal form, I would not the less persist in the track I have laid down for myself, and in which I will persevere at my own risk and peril; however terrible may be the obstacles you raise, I will overthrow them or succumb bravely, buried beneath the ruins of my abortive plans and my destroyed fortunes. Hence consider yourself warned, Don Valentine; that I despise your menaces, and they will not stop me. And you, Don Martial, since such is your name, that I shall marry my ward, in spite of the efforts you may make to prevent me, and shall do so because I wish it, and because no man in the world has ever attempted to resist my will without being at once mercilessly crushed. And now, señores, as we have said all we have to say to each other, and I think there is no more, and we can have no doubt as to our mutual intentions, permit me to take leave of you, for I wish to go to the Santa Anna theatre, and it is already very late."

He rang the bell, and a footman came in.

"Order the carriage," he said to him.

"Then," Valentine said as he rose, "it is war to the death between us."

"War to the death! be it so."

"We shall only meet once again, general," the hunter remarked; "and that will be on the eve of your death, when you are in Capilla."

"I accept the meeting, and will bow uncomplainingly before you if you are powerful enough to obtain that result; but, believe me, I am not there yet."

"You are nearer your fall than you perhaps suppose."

"That is possible; but enough of this; any further conversation will be useless. Light these gentlemen down," he said to the servant, who at this moment entered the room.

The three men rose, exchanged dumb bows with the general, and, accompanied by him to the door of the room, they followed the footman, who preceded them with candles. Two carriages were waiting at the foot of the stairs; Valentine and his friends got into one of them, the general took his seat in the other, and they heard him give the order in a firm voice to drive to the Santa Anna theatre. The coachmen flogged their horses, which started at a gallop, and the two carriages left the house, the gates of which were closed after them.

The Santa Anna theatre was built in 1844 by the Spanish architect, Hidalgo. This building has externally nothing remarkable about it, either in regard to frontage or position; but we are glad to state that the interior is convenient, elegant, and even grand.

After passing through the external portico, you enter a yard covered with a glass dome, next come wide stairs with low steps, large and lofty lobbies, a double row of galleries looking on the front yard, and airy crush-rooms for the promenaders.

The house is well built, well decorated, and spacious; it has three rows of boxes, with a lower circle representing the pit boxes, and another above the third circle for the lower classes. In the pit, it is worth mentioning that each visitor has his stall, which he reaches easily and comfortably by passages formed down the centre and round the theatre. The boxes nearly all contain ten persons, and are separated from each other by light colonnades and partitions. To each box is attached a room, to which people withdraw between the acts, and, instead of the balconies which in our theatres conceal a great part of the ladies' toilets, the boxes have only a ledge a few inches in height, which allows the splendid dresses of the audience to be fully admired.

We have dwelt, perhaps with a little complacency, on this description of the Santa Anna theatre, for we thought that, at the moment when it is intended to rebuild the Opera and other Parisian theatres, there can be no harm in displaying the difference that exists between the frightful dens in which the spectators are thrust together pell-mell every night in a city like Paris, which claims to be the first, not only in Europe, but in the whole world, and the spacious airy theatres of a country like Mexico, which in so many respects is inferior to us as regards ideas of civilization and comfort. It would, however, be very easy, we fancy, to obtain in Paris the advantageous results the Mexicans have enjoyed for twenty years, and that at a slight expense. Unfortunately, whatever may be said, the French are the most thorough routine nation in the world, and we greatly fear that, in spite of incessant protests, things will remain for a long time in the same state as they are today.

When the general entered his box, which was in the first circle, and almost facing the stage, the house presented a truly fairy-like appearance. The extraordinary performance had brought an immense throng of spectators and ladies, whose magnificent dresses were covered with diamonds, which glittered and flashed beneath the light that played on them.

Don Sebastian, after bending forward for a moment to exchange bows with his numerous acquaintances, and prove his presence, withdrew to the back of the box, opened his glasses, and began looking carelessly about him. But though, through a powerful effort of the will, his face was cold, calm, and unmoved, a terrible storm was raging in the general's heart.

The scene that had taken place a few minutes previously at his mansion, had filled him with anxiety and gloomy forebodings, for he understood that his adversaries must either believe or feel themselves very strong thus to dare and defy him to the face, and audaciously enter his very house. In vain he tortured his mind to find means to get rid of his obstinate enemy; but time pressed, his situation became at each moment more critical, and unless some bold and desperate stroke proved successful, he felt instinctively that he was lost without chance of salvation.

The president's box was occupied by the first magistrate of the Republic, and some of his aide-de-camps. Several times, Don Sebastian fancied that the president's eyes were fixed on him with a strange expression, after which he bent over and whispered some remarks to the gentlemen who accompanied him. Perhaps, this was not real, and the general's pricked conscience suggested to him suspicions far from the thoughts of those against whom he had so many reasons to be on his guard; but whether real or not, these suspicions tortured his heart and proved to him the necessity of coming to an end at all risks.

Still the performance went on; the curtain had just fallen before the last act, and the general, devoured by anxiety, and persuaded that he had remained long enough in the theatre to testify his presence, was preparing to retire, when the door of his box opened, and Colonel Lupo walked in.

"Ah, is it you, colonel?" Don Sebastian said to him as he offered his hand and gave him a forced smile. "You are welcome; I did not hope any longer to have the pleasure of seeing you, and I was just going away."

"Pray do not let me stop you, general, I have only a few words to say to you."

"Our business?"

"Goes on famously."

"No suspicion?"

"Not the shadow."

The general breathed like a man from whose chest a crushing weight has been just removed.

"Can I be of any service to you?" he said, absently.

"For the present, I have only come for your sake."

"How so?"

"I was accosted today by a lepero, a villain of the worst sort, who says that he wishes to avenge himself on a certain Frenchman, whom he declares you know, and he desires to place himself under your protection, in the event of the blade of his navaja accidentally slipping into his enemy's body."

"Hum! that is serious," the general said with an imperceptible start. "I do not know how far I dare go in being bail for such a scoundrel."

"He declares that you have known him a long time, and that while doing his own business, he will be doing yours."

"You know that I am no admirer of navajadas, for an assassination always injures the character of a politician."

"That is true; but you cannot be rendered responsible for the crimes any villain may think proper to commit."

"Did this worthy gentleman tell you his name, my dear colonel?"

"Yes; but I believe that it would be better to mention it in the open air, rather than in this place."

"One word more; have you cleverly deceived him, and do you think that he really intends to be useful to us?"

"Useful to you, you mean."

"As you please."

"I could almost assert it."

"Well, we will be off; have you weapons about you?"

"I should think so; it would be madness to go about Mexico unarmed."

"I have pistols in my pocket, so I will dismiss my carriage, and we will walk home to my house; does that suit you, my dear colonel?"

"Excellently, general, the more so because if you evince any desire to see the scoundrel in question, nothing will be easier than for me to take you to the den he occupies, without attracting attention."

The general looked at his accomplice fixedly. "You have not told me all, colonel?" he said.

"I have not, general, but I am convinced that you understand the motive, which at this moment keeps my mouth shut."

"In that case, let us be off."

He wrapped himself in his cloak and left the box, followed by the colonel. A footman was waiting under the portico for his orders to bring up the carriage.

"Return to the house," the general said; "it is a fine night, and I feel inclined for a walk."

The footman retired.

"Come, colonel," Don Sebastian went on.

They left the theatre and proceeded slowly toward the Portales de Mercaderes, which were entirely deserted at this advanced hour of the night.

CHAPTER XX.
EL ZARAGATE

The night was clear, mild and starry, a profound calm prevailed in the deserted streets, and it was in fact one of those delicious Mexican nights, so filled with soft emanations, and which dispose the mind to delicious reveries.

The two gentlemen, carefully wrapped in their cloaks, walked side by side, along the middle of the street, in fear of an ambuscade, examining with practised eyes the doorways and the dark corners of side streets. When they were far enough from the theatre no longer to fear indiscreet eyes or ears, the general at length broke the silence.

"Now, Señor Don Jaime," he said, "let us speak frankly, if you please."

"I wish for nothing better," the colonel replied, with a bow.

"And to begin," Don Sebastian continued, "tell me who the man is from whom you hinted that I could derive some benefit."

"Nothing is easier, excellency. This man is a villain of the worst sort, as I already had the honour of telling you; his antecedents are, I suppose, rather dark, and that is all I have been able to discover. This man, who, I believe, belongs to no country, but who, in consequence of his adventurous life, has visited them all and speaks all languages, was at San Francisco when the Count de Prébois Crancé organized the cuadrilla of bandits, at the head of which he undertook to dismember our lovely country, and in which, between ourselves, he would probably have succeeded had it not been for your skill and courage."

"We will pass over that, my dear colonel," the general quickly interrupted him; "I did my duty in that affair, as I shall always do it when the interest of my country is at stake."

The colonel bowed.

"Well," he continued, "the villain I am speaking of could not let such a magnificent opportunity slip; he enlisted in the count's cuadrilla. I believe he was starving at San Francisco, and, for certain reasons best known to himself, was not sorry to leave that city – but perhaps I weary you by giving you all these details."

"On the contrary, my dear colonel, I wish to be thoroughly acquainted with this pícaro, in order to judge what reliance may be placed in his protestations."

"On arriving at Guaymas, our man became almost directly the secret agent of that unhappy Colonel Fleury, who, as you well remember, was so brutally assassinated by the Frenchmen."

"Alas, yes!" the general said with a sardonic smile.

"Señor Pavo also employed him several times," Don Jaime continued, "but, unfortunately for our individual, Don Valentine, the count's friend, was watching; he discovered, I knew not how, all his little tricks, and insisted on his dismissal from the company, after a quarrel he had with one of the French officers."

"I think I can remember the affair being talked about at the time. Was not this villain known by the sobriquet of the Zaragate?"

"He was, general; furious at what happened to him, and attributing it to Don Valentine, he took an oath to kill him whenever he met him, so soon as the opportunity offered itself."

"Well?"

"It seems that, despite all his goodwill and his eager desire to get rid of his enemy, the opportunity has not yet offered, as he has not killed him."

"That is true; but how did you come across this scoundrel, colonel?"

"Well, general," he answered with some hesitation, "you know that I have been compelled during the last few days, for the sake of our affair, to keep rather bad company. This scoundrel came to offer his services. I cross-questioned him, and knowing your enmity to that Frenchman, I resolved to inform you of this acquisition. If I have done wrong, forgive me, and we will say no more about it."

"On the contrary, colonel," the general said eagerly. "The deuce! not only have I nothing to forgive, but I feel very grateful to you, for your confession has come at a most fortunate time. You shall judge, however, for I wish to be frank with you, the more so because, apart from the high esteem I feel for your character, our common welfare is at stake at this moment."

"You frighten me, general."

"You will be more frightened directly; know that this Valentine, this Frenchman, this demon, has I know not by what means, discovered our conspiracy, holds all the threads of it, and, more than that, is acquainted with all the members, beginning with myself."

"Voto a brios!" the colonel exclaimed, with a start of surprise, and turning pale with terror, "in that case we are lost."

"Well, I confess that our chances of success are considerably diminished."

"Pardon me for asking, general," he continued in great agitation, "but in circumstances like the present – "

"Go on, go on, my dear colonel, do not be embarrassed."

"Are you sure, general, perfectly certain as to the statement you have just made to me?"

"You shall judge. About an hour before the opening of the theatre, Don Valentine himself – you understand me? – came to my house with two friends, doubtless cutthroats in his pay, and revealed all to me; what do you say to that?"

"I say that if this man does not die we are hopelessly lost."

"That is my opinion too," the general remarked coldly.

"How came it that, in spite of this terrible revelations, you ventured to show yourself at the theatre?"

Don Sebastian smiled and shrugged his shoulders disdainfully.

"Ought I to let even indifferent persons see the anxiety that devoured me? Undeceive yourself, colonel, boldness alone can save us; do not forget that we are risking our heads at this moment."

"I am not likely to forget it."

"As for this man, the Zaragate, I must not and will not see him; but do you deal with him as you think proper. You understand that it is of the utmost importance that I should be ignorant of the arrangements you may make with him, and be able to prove, if necessary, that I had no knowledge of this. Moreover, as you are aware, I am not one for extreme measures; the sight of such a villain would be repulsive to me, for I have such a horror of bloodshed. Alas!" he added, with a sigh, "I have been forced to shed only too much in the course of my life."

"I do not know exactly," the colonel muttered.

"I have entire confidence in you; you are an intelligent man; I give you full authority, and whatever you do will be well done. You understand me, I trust?"

"Yes, yes, general," the officer grunted ill-temperedly, "I understand you only too well."

"I see – "

"What do you see?" the other interrupted him.

"That, if we succeed, you will be a general and Governor of Sonora. That is rather a pretty prospect, I fancy, and one worth risking something for."

"It is useless to remind me of your promises, general; you are well aware that I am devoted to you."

"I know it, of course, and on that account leave you. A longer conversation in the moonlight might arouse suspicions. Good night, and come and breakfast with me tomorrow."

"I will not fail, general. Good night, and I kiss your excellency's hands."

The general pulled his hat over his eyes, wrapped himself in his cloak, and went off hastily towards the Calle de Tacuba. On being left alone, the colonel remained for a moment plunged in deep thought; the office with which he was intrusted, for he perfectly caught the meaning of the general's hints, was most serious. He must act vigorously without compromising his chief, and in the shortest possible period, under the penalty of being himself arrested and shot in four and twenty hours if he failed. For the Mexicans, like their old masters the Spaniards, do not jest in matters connected with revolutions, and boldly cut away the evil at the root, by killing all the leaders of the abortive conspiracy.

The situation was critical, and he must make up his mind, for the slight delay might ruin all; but at so late an hour where was he to meet a man like the Zaragate, who had probably no known domicile, and who led, a no doubt most irregular life.

Mexico, like all large cities, is amply endowed with suspicious houses, frequented by rogues of all ages, who are continually wandering about in search of adventures, more or less lucrative, under the complacent protection of the moon.

Moreover, although the worthy colonel had, in the course of his life, frequented very mixed company, as he himself allowed, he was not at all anxious to venture alone at night into the lower parts of the city, and enter the velorios, thorough cut-throat dens, filled with robbers and assassins, in which respectable persons do not even venture in bright day without a shudder.

At the moment when the colonel mechanically raised his head and looked despairingly up to heaven, he fancied he saw several suspicious shadows prowling about him in a suggestive manner. But the colonel was brave, and the more so, because he had literally nothing to lose, hence he quietly loosened his sword, opened his cloak, and at the instant when four or five fellows attacked him at once with machetes and long navajas, he was on guard according to all the rules of the art, with his left foot supported a pillar, and his cloak wrapped like a buckler round his arm.

The attack was a rude one, but the colonel withstood it manfully; besides, all went on in the Mexican way, without a shout or call for help. When you are thus attacked in a Mexican street, you feel so assured of death, that you generally confine yourself to the best possible defence, without losing time in calling for help, which will certainly not arrive.

Still, the assailants being armed with short and heavy weapons, had a marked disadvantage against the colonel's long and thin rapier, which twisted like a snake, writhed round their weapons, and had already pricked two of the men sharply enough to make the others reflect, and display greater prudence in their attack. The colonel felt that they were giving ground.

"Come on, villains," he exclaimed, as he gave a terrific lunge, and ran one of the bandits right through the body, who rolled on the pavement with a yell of pain. "Let us come to an end of this, in the demon's name!"

"Stop, stop!" the man who seemed the leader of the bandits exclaimed; "we are mistaken."

As the bandits asked for nothing better than to stop, they retreated a few steps without hesitation.

"Yes, Rayo de Dios, you are mistaken, birbones," the exasperated colonel shouted.

"Can it possibly be you," the first speaker continued, "Señor Colonel Don Jaime Lupo?"

"Halloh!" the colonel said, falling back a step in surprise, "who mentioned my name?"

"I, excellency; a friend."

"A friend? a strange friend who has been trying to assassinate me for the last ten minutes."

"Believe me, colonel, that had we known whom we had to deal with, we should never have attacked you. All this is the result of a deplorable misunderstanding, which you will, however, excuse."

"But who are you, in the demon's name?"

"What, excellency, do you not recognize the Zaragate?"

"The Zaragate!" the colonel exclaimed, with glad surprise. "Well, scoundrel, are you aware that yours is a singular trade?"

"Alas! excellency, a man must do what he can," the bandit replied, in a sorrowful voice.

"Hum! then you have turned robber at present?"

The scoundrel drew himself up with dignity.

"No, excellency. I am serving, in the company of these honourable caballeros the persons who claim my help."

The honourable caballeros, seeing that the affair was going to end peacefully, had returned their knives to their belts, and seemed tolerably well satisfied at this unexpected conclusion, with the exception of the man who had received the last thrust, and surrendered his felon soul to the fiend; an acquisition, between ourselves, of no great value to the spirit of darkness.

"Can anyone have requested your services against me, Señor Zaragate?" the colonel continued, as he returned his sword to its scabbard.

"Not at all, excellency. I have already had the honour of remarking that it was a mistake; we were waiting here for a young spark, who during the last week has contracted the bad habit of prowling under the window of a senator's mistress, and who asked me as a kindness to free him from this troublesome fellow."

"Caspita! Señor Zaragate, you have a rather quick way with you; and your senator appears to me somewhat hasty. But as your little matter is probably spoiled for tonight – "

"I think, excellency, that the gallant heard the clash of steel, and took very good care not to come on."

"If he did so, he acted wisely; at any rate, if no other motive keeps you here, and you have no objection to accompany me, I shall feel obliged by your doing so, for I have to talk with you on very serious matters, and, in fact, was looking for you."

"Only see what a thing chance is!" the bandit exclaimed.

"Hum! let us hope it will not be quite so brutal next time."

The Zaragate burst into a laugh.

"Stay!" the colonel continued, as he laid a gold coin in his hand, "be good enough to give this in my name to these honourable caballeros, and beg them to forgive the rather rough way in which, at the first moment, I received their advances."

"Oh, they will not owe you a grudge, my dear sir, you may be sure of that."

The bandits, perfectly reconciled with the colonel by means of the coin, gave him tremendous bows, accompanied by offers of service, and took leave of him, after exchanging a few sentences in a whisper with their chief; then they went off to the right, while the colonel and his companion turned to the left.

"They seem to be rather determined fellows," the colonel said, in order to broach his subject.

"Perfect lions, excellency, and obedient as rastreros."

"Excellent; and have you many of that sort under your hand?"

"Nothing would be easier, in the case of need, than to make up a dozen."

"All equally true?"

"All."

"That is really valuable, do you know that, Señor Zaragate; and you are a lucky caballero!"

"Your excellency flatters me."

"On my word, no. I am expressing my honest opinion, that is all."

"Pardon me, excellency; but may I ask where we are going?"

"Have you an inclination for one direction more than another?"

"Not the slightest, excellency; still, I confess that, as a general rule, I like to know where I am going."