Un capitaine de quinze ans. English Page 16

  CHAPTER XV.

  A STRANGER.

  At daybreak, next morning, Austin, who happened to be on guard, heardDingo bark, and noticed that he started up and ran towards the river.Arousing the inmates of the grotto, he announced to them that some onewas coming.

  "It isn't Negoro," said Tom; "Dingo would bark louder than that ifNegoro were to be seen."

  "Who, then, can it be?" asked Mrs. Weldon, with an inquiring glancetowards Dick.

  "We must wait and see, madam," replied Dick quietly.

  Bidding Bat, Austin, and Hercules follow his example, Dick Sands tookup a cutlass and a rifle, into the breach of which he slipped acartridge. Thus armed, the four young men made their way towards theriver bank. Tom and Actaeon were left with Mrs. Weldon at the entranceof the grotto.

  The sun was just rising. Its rays, intercepted by the lofty range ofmountains in the east, did not fall directly on the cliff; but the seato its western horizon was sparkling in the sunbeams as the partymarched along the shore. Dingo was motionless as a setter, but did notcease barking. It soon proved not to be his old enemy who wasdisturbing him. A man, who was not Negoro, appeared round the angle ofthe cliff, and advancing cautiously along the bank of the stream,seemed by his gestures to be endeavouring to pacify the dog, with whichan encounter would certainly have been by no means desirable.

  "That's not Negoro!" said Hercules.

  "Good morning, my young friend."]

  "No loss for any of us," muttered Bat.

  "You are right," replied Dick; "perhaps he is a native; let us hope hemay be able to tell us our whereabouts, and save us the trouble ofexploring."

  With their rifles on their shoulders, they advanced steadily towardsthe new arrival. The stranger, on becoming aware of their approach,manifested great surprise; he was apparently puzzled as to how they hadreached the shore, for the "Pilgrim" had been entirely broken up duringthe night, and the spars that were floating about had probably been toofew and too scattered to attract his attention. His first attitudeseemed to betray something of fear; and raising to his shoulder a gunthat had been slung to his belt, he began to retrace his steps; butconciliatory gestures on the part of Dick quickly reassured him, andafter a moment's hesitation, he continued to advance.

  He was a man of about forty years of age, strongly built, with a keen,bright eye, grizzly hair and beard, and a complexion tanned as withconstant exposure to the forest air. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, akind of leather jerkin, or tunic, and long boots reaching nearly to hisknees. To his high heels was fastened a pair of wide-rowelled spurs,which clanked as he moved.

  Dick Sands in an instant saw that he was not looking upon one of theroving Indians of the pampas, but upon one of those adventurers, oftenof very doubtful character, who are not unfrequently to be met with inthe remotest quarters of the earth. Clearly this was neither an Indiannor a Spaniard. His erect, not to say rigid deportment, and the reddishhue with which his hair and beard were streaked, betokened him to be ofAnglo-Saxon origin, a conjecture which was at once confirmed when uponDick's wishing him "good morning," he replied in unmistakable English,with hardly a trace of foreign accent,--

  "Good morning, my young friend."

  He stepped forward, and having shaken hands with Dick, nodded to allhis companions.

  "Are you English?" he asked.

  "No; we are Americans," replied Dick.

  "North or South?" inquired the man.

  "North," Dick answered.

  The information seemed to afford the stranger no little satisfaction,and he again wrung Dick's hand with all the enthusiasm of afellow-countryman.

  "And may I ask what brings you here?" he continued.

  Before, however, Dick had time to reply, the stranger had courteouslyraised his hat, and, looking round, Dick saw that his bow was intendedfor Mrs. Weldon, who had just reached the river-bank. She proceeded totell him the particulars of how they had been shipwrecked, and how thevessel had gone to pieces on the reefs.

  A look of pity crossed the man's face as he listened, and he cast hiseye, as it might be involuntarily, upon the sea, in order to discernsome vestige of the stranded ship.

  "Ah! there is nothing to be seen of our poor schooner!" said Dickmournfully; "the last of her was broken up in the storm last night."

  "And now," interposed Mrs. Weldon, "can you tell us where we are?"

  "Where?" exclaimed the man, with every indication of surprise at herquestion; "why, on the coast of South America, of course!"

  "But on what part? are we near Peru?" Dick inquired eagerly.

  "No, my lad, no; you are more to the south; you are on the coast ofBolivia; close to the borders of Chili."

  "A good distance, I suppose, from Lima?" asked Dick.

  "From Lima? yes, a long way; Lima is far to the north."

  "And what is the name of that promontory?" Dick said, pointing to theadjacent headland.

  "That, I confess, is more than I am able to tell you," replied thestranger; "for although I have travelled a great deal in the interiorof the country, I have never before visited this part of the coast."

  Dick pondered in thoughtful silence over the information he had thusreceived. He had no reason to doubt its accuracy; according to his ownreckoning he would have expected to come ashore somewhere between thelatitudes of 27 deg. and 30 deg.; and by this stranger's showing he had madethe latitude 25 deg.; the discrepancy was not very great; it was not morethan might be accounted for by the action of the currents, which heknew he had been unable to estimate; moreover, the deserted characterof the whole shore inclined him to believe more easily that he was inLower Bolivia.

  Whilst this conversation was going on, Mrs. Weldon, whose suspicionshad been excited by Negoro's disappearance, had been scrutinizing thestranger with the utmost attention; but she could detect nothing eitherin his manner or in his words to give her any cause to doubt his goodfaith.

  "Pardon me," she said presently; "but you do not seem to me to be anative of Peru?"

  "No; like yourself, I am an American, Mrs. ----;" he paused, as ifwaiting to be told her name.

  The lady smiled, and gave her name; he thanked her, and continued,--

  "My name is Harris. I was born in South Carolina; but it is now twentyyears since I left my home for the pampas of Bolivia; imagine,therefore, how much pleasure it gives me to come across some countrymenof my own."

  "Do you live in this part of the province, Mr. Harris?" Mrs. Weldonasked.

  "No, indeed; far away; I live down to the south, close to the bordersof Chili. At present I am taking a journey north-eastwards to Atacama."

  "Atacama!" exclaimed Dick; "are we anywhere near the desert of Atacama?"

  "Yes, my young friend," rejoined Harris, "you are just on the edge ofit. It extends far beyond those mountains which you see on the horizon,and is one of the most curious and least explored parts of thecontinent."

  "And are you travelling through it alone?" Mrs. Weldon inquired.

  "Yes, quite alone; and it is not the first time I have performed thejourney. One of my brothers owns a large farm, the hacienda of SanFelice, about 200 miles from here, and I have occasion now and then topay him business visits."

  "He is my little son."]

  After a moment's hesitation, as if he were weighing a sudden thought,he continued,--

  "I am on my way there now, and if you will accompany me I can promiseyou a hearty welcome, and my brother will be most happy to do his bestto provide you with means of conveyance to San Francisco."

  Mrs. Weldon had hardly begun to express her thanks for the proposalwhen he said abruptly,--

  "Are these negroes your slaves?"

  "Slaves! sir," replied Mrs. Weldon, drawing herself up proudly; "wehave no slaves in the United States. The south has now long followedthe example of the north. Slavery is abolished."

  "I beg your pardon, madam. I had forgotten that the war of 1862 hadsolved that question. But seeing these fellows with you, I thoughtperhaps they might be in your ser
vice," he added, with a slight tone ofirony.

  "We are very proud to be of any service to Mrs. Weldon," Tom interposedwith dignity, "but we are no man's property. It is true I was sold fora slave when I was six years old; but I have long since had my freedom;and so has my son. Bat here, and all his friends, were born of freeparents."

  "Ah! well then, I have to congratulate you," replied Harris, in amanner that jarred very sensibly upon Mrs. Weldon's feelings; but shesaid nothing.

  Harris added,--

  "I can assure you that you are as safe here in Bolivia as you would bein New England."

  He had not finished speaking, when Jack, followed by Nan, came out ofthe grotto. The child was rubbing his eyes, having only just awakenedfrom his night's sleep. Catching sight of his mother, he darted towardsher.

  "What a charming little boy!" exclaimed Harris.

  "He is my little son," said Mrs. Weldon, kissing the child by way ofmorning greeting.

  "Ah, madam, I am sure you must have suffered doubly on his account.Will the little man let me kiss him too?"

  But there was something in the stranger's appearance that did not takeJack's fancy, and he shrank back timidly to his mother's side.

  "You must excuse him, sir; he is very shy."

  "Never mind," said Harris; "we shall be better acquainted by-and-by.When we get to my brother's, he shall have a nice little pony to ride."

  But not even this tempting offer seemed to have any effect in coaxingJack into a more genial mood. He kept fast hold of his mother's hand,and she, somewhat vexed at his behaviour, and anxious that no offenceshould be given to a man who appeared so friendly in his intentions,hastened to turn the conversation to another topic.

  Meantime Dick Sands had been considering Harris's proposal. Upon thewhole, the plan of making their way to the hacienda of San Feliceseemed to commend itself to his judgment; but he could not conceal fromhimself that a journey of 200 miles across plains and forests, withoutany means of transport, would be extremely fatiguing. On expressing hisdoubts on this point, he was met with the reply,--

  "Oh, that can be managed well enough, young man; just round the cornerof the cliff there I have a horse, which is quite at the disposal ofthe lady and her son; and by easy stages of ten miles or so a day, itwill do the rest of us no harm to travel on foot. Besides," he added,"when I spoke of the journey being 200 miles, I was thinking offollowing, as I usually do, the course of the river; but by taking ashort cut across the forest, we may reduce the distance by nearlyeighty miles."

  Mrs. Weldon was about to say how grateful she was, but Harrisanticipated her.

  "Not a word, madam, I beg you. You cannot thank me better than byaccepting my offer. I confess I have never crossed this forest, but Iam so much accustomed to the pampas that I have little fear of losingmy way. The only difficulty is in the matter of provisions, as I haveonly supplied myself with enough to carry me on to San Felice."

  "As to provisions," replied Mrs. Weldon, "we have enough and to spare;and we shall be more than willing to share everything with you."

  "That is well," answered Harris; "then there can be no reason why weshould not start at once."

  He was turning away with the intention of fetching his horse, when DickSands detained him. True to his seaman's instincts, the young sailorfelt that he should be much more at his ease on the sea-shore thantraversing the heart of an unknown forest.

  "Pardon me, Mr. Harris," he began, "but instead of taking so long ajourney across the desert of Atacama, would it not be far better for usto follow the coast either northwards or southwards, until we reach thenearest seaport?"

  A frown passed over Harris's countenance.

  "I know very little about the coast," he answered; "but I know enoughto assure you that there is no town to the north within 300 or 400miles."

  "Then why should we not go south?" persisted Dick.

  "You would then have to travel to Chili, which is almost as far; and,under your circumstances, I should not advise you to skirt the pampasof the Argentine Republic. For my own part, I could not accompany you."

  "But do not the vessels which ply between Chili and Peru come withinsight of this coast?" interposed Mrs. Weldon.

  "No, madam; they keep out so far to sea that there would not be thefaintest chance of your hailing one."

  "You seem to have another question to ask Mr. Harris," Mrs. Weldoncontinued, addressing Dick, who still looked rather doubtful.

  Dick replied that he was about to inquire at what port he would belikely to find a ship to convey their party to San Francisco.

  "That I really cannot tell you, my young friend," rejoined Harris; "Ican only repeat my promise that we will furnish you with the means ofconveyance from San Felice to Atacama, where no doubt you will obtainall the information you require."

  "I hope you will not think that Dick is insensible to your kindness,Mr. Harris," said Mrs. Weldon, apologetically.

  "On the contrary," promptly observed Dick; "I fully appreciate it; Ionly wish we had been cast ashore upon a spot where we should have hadno need to intrude upon his generosity."

  "I assure you, madam, it gives me unbounded pleasure to serve you inany way," said Harris; "it is, as I have told you, not often that Icome in contact with any of my own countrymen."

  "Then we accept your offer as frankly as it is made," replied the lady,adding; "but I cannot consent to deprive you of your horse. I am a verygood walker."

  "So am I," said Harris, with a bow, "and consequently I intend you andyour little son to ride. I am used to long tramps through the pampas.Besides, it is not at all unlikely that we shall come across some ofthe workpeople belonging to the hacienda; if so, they will be able togive us a mount."

  Convinced that it would only be thwarting Mrs. Weldon's wishes to throwany further impediment in the way, Dick Sands suppressed his desire toraise fresh obstacles, and simply asked how soon they ought to start.

  "This very day, at once," said Harris quickly.

  "So soon?" asked Dick.

  "Yes. The rainy season begins in April, and the sooner we are at SanFelice the better. The way through the forest is the safest as well asthe shortest, for we shall be less likely to meet any of the nomadIndians, who are notorious robbers."

  Without making any direct reply, Dick proceeded to instruct the negroesto choose such of the provisions as were most easy of transport, and tomake them up into packages, that every one might carry a due share.Hercules with his usual good nature professed himself willing to carrythe entire load; a proposal, however, to which Dick would not listenfor a moment.

  "You are a fine fellow, Hercules" said Harris, scrutinizing the giantwith the eye of a connoisseur; "you would be worth something in theAfrican market."

  "Those who want me now must catch me first," retorted Hercules, with agrin.

  The services of all hands were enlisted, and in a comparatively shorttime sufficient food was packed up to supply the party for about tendays' march.

  "You must allow us to show you what hospitality is in our power," saidMrs. Weldon, addressing her new acquaintance; "our breakfast will beready in a quarter of an hour, and we shall be happy if you will joinus."

  "It will give me much pleasure," answered Harris, gaily; "I will employthe interval in fetching my horse, who has breakfasted already."

  "I will accompany you," said Dick.

  "By all means, my young friend; come with me, and I will show you thelower part of the river."

  While they were gone, Hercules was sent in search of Cousin Benedict,who was wandering on the top of the cliff in quest of some wonderfulinsect, which, of course, was not to be found. Without asking hispermission, Hercules unceremoniously brought him back to Mrs. Weldon,who explained how they were about to start upon a ten days' march intothe interior of the country. The entomologist was quite satisfied withthe arrangement, and declared himself ready for a march across theentire continent, as long as he was free to be adding to his collectionon the way.

  Thus assure
d of her cousin's acquiescence in her plans; Mrs. Weldonproceeded to prepare such a substantial meal as she hoped wouldinvigorate them all for the approaching journey.

  Harris and Dick Sands, meantime, had turned the corner of the cliff,and walked about 300 paces along the shore until they came to a tree towhich a horse was tethered. The creature neighed as it recognized itsmaster. It was a strong-built animal, of a kind that Dick had not seenbefore, although its long neck and crupper, short loins, flat shouldersand arched forehead indicated that it was of Arabian breed.

  They came to a tree to which a horse was tethered.]

  "Plenty of strength here," Harris said, as after unfastening the horse,he took it by the bridle and began to lead it along the shore.

  Dick made no reply; he was casting a hasty glance at the forest whichenclosed them on either hand; it was an unattractive sight, but heobserved nothing to give him any particular ground for uneasiness.

  Turning round, he said abruptly,--

  "Did you meet a Portuguese last night, named Negoro?"

  "Negoro? who is Negoro?" asked Harris, in a tone of surprise.

  "He was our ship's cook; but he has disappeared."

  "Drowned, probably," said Harris indifferently.

  "No, he was not drowned; he was with us during the evening, but leftafterwards; I thought perhaps you might have met him along theriver-side, as you came that way."

  "No," said Harris, "I saw no one; if your cook ventured alone into theforest, most likely he has lost his way; it is possible we may pick himup upon our road."

  When they arrived at the grotto, they found breakfast duly prepared.Like the supper of the previous evening it consisted mainly of cornedbeef and biscuit. Harris did ample justice to the repast.

  "There is no fear of our starving as we go," he observed to Mrs.Weldon; "but I can hardly say so much for the unfortunate Portuguese,your cook, of whom my young friend here has been speaking."

  "Ah! has Dick been telling you about Negoro?" Mrs. Weldon said.

  Dick explained that he had been inquiring whether Mr. Harris hadhappened to meet him in the direction he had come.

  "I saw nothing of him," Harris repeated; "and as he has deserted you,you need not give yourselves any concern about him." And apparentlyglad to turn the subject, he said, "Now, madam, I am at your service;shall we start at once?"

  It was agreed that there was no cause for delay. Each one took up thepackage that had been assigned him. Mrs. Weldon, with Hercules' help,mounted the horse, and Jack, with his miniature gun slung across hisshoulder, was placed astride in front of her. Without a thought ofacknowledging the kindness of the good-natured stranger in providinghim so enjoyable a ride, the heedless little fellow declared himselfquite capable of guiding the "gentleman's horse," and when to indulgehim the bridle was put into his hand, he looked as proud as though hehad been appointed leader of the whole caravan.