The Insurgent Chief

"That is quite true, chief; I listen to you."

"My brother, the white chief, knows the customs of the Pampa, does he not?"

"I know them; my life has been almost wholly passed in the desert."

"Does he know the ceremony of the compact of vengeance in use in the tribe of the Guaycurus?"

"I have heard speak of it, without, however, having ever practised it on my own account; I know that it is a kind of brotherhood of arms which binds two men to each other by a tie stronger than the nearest relationship."

"Yes, that is it; does my brother consent to this ceremony being performed by us?"

"I consent to it with all my heart, chief," answered the partisan without hesitation, "because my intentions are pure, no thought of treachery is in my heart, and I have for my brother great friendship."

"Good," resumed the young chief, smiling; "I thank my brother for accepting me as his blood companion; the Cougar will bind us to each other."

The three men rose.

The Cougar then advanced between them, and making them stretch out the right hand:

"Each of you," said he, "is double; he has a friend to watch over him in all places and in all circumstances – night as well as day, morning as well as evening; the enemies of one are the enemies of the other; what one possesses belongs to his friend; at the call of his blood companion, no matter where he is, no matter what he is doing, the friend must immediately abandon all to run to him who claims his presence. Death even cannot disunite you; in the other life your compact must continue as strong as in this. You, Zeno Cabral, for the tribe of the Guaycurus, you are now named Cabral Gueyma; and you, Gueyma, for the brothers of your friend, are Gueyma Zeno. Your blood even ought to mix in your breasts, in order that your thoughts may be really the same, and that, at the hour when you shall appear after death before the Master of the world, he may recognise you and reunite you to each other."

After having thus spoken, the Cougar drew his knife from its sheath, and slightly punctured the chest of the partisan, just over the heart.

Zeno supported without trembling or paling this startling incision; the old chief received the blood which flowed from the wound in a coui, in which a little water remained. He then punctured in the same way the chest of the young chief, and caused his blood to flow into the coui.

Then raising the vessel above his head:

"Warriors," cried he, in a sombre and majestic voice, "your blood is contained there, so well mixed that it cannot be separated; each of you is about to drink of this cup, which between you you must empty; it is your turn first," added he, turning to Zeno Cabral, and holding out the vessel to him.

"Give it to me," coldly answered the partisan, and he carried it without hesitation to his lips.

When he had drunk about half of what it contained he presented it to Gueyma. The latter took it without uttering a word, and emptied it at a draught.

"At our next meeting, brother," then said the young chief, "we will exchange our horses, for we cannot do so now. Meanwhile, here is my gun, my sabre, my knife, my powder horn, my shot pouch, my laco, and my bolas. Accept them, and may the Great Spirit grant that they may do you as good service as they have done me."

"I receive them, brother, in exchange for my arms – which take."

Then the two men embraced, and the ceremony was over.

"Now," said the Cougar, "the moment for separation has come; we must rejoin our warriors; where shall we see one another again, and when will the meeting take place?"

"The second sun after this," answered the partisan, "I shall expect my brothers three hours before the setting of the sun at the Cañon de Yerbas Verdes. The captives will be with me. The cry of the eagle of the Cordilleras, three times repeated, will warn my brothers of my presence; they will answer me by that of the maukawis, repeated the same number of times."

"Good! My warriors will be exact."

The three men heartily shook hands, and the Guaycurus chiefs withdrew, again taking the almost impracticable way by which they had come, but which could not offer any serious difficulties to men inured like them to every bodily exercise, and endowed with an unequalled suppleness and agility.

Zeno Cabral remained alone in the cavern.

The partisan threw himself on a seat, leant his head on his breast, and thus remained for a considerable lapse of time plunged in profound reflection.

When the first shadows of evening began to invade the entrance of the cavern, the young man stood up.

"At last," murmured he in a low voice, "I am about to have that vengeance that for so long a time I have sought. No one now can snatch my prey from me. My father will start with joy in his grave on seeing in what way I keep my oath. Alas! Why must I use the hatchet intended to martyr two innocent women? The true culprit still escapes me! Will God permit him to fall through my hands? How shall I compel him to give himself to me?"

He kept silence some moments, and then resumed with savage energy.

"Of what use is it to pity the fate of these women? Does not the law of the desert say, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? It is not I who have committed the crime. I avenge the insult done to my family; the die is cast; God will judge me!"

He rose and took a few steps in the cavern. The darkness was nearly complete. Zeno Cabral took a torch of rotten wood, lit it, and fixed it in the ground; then, after another hesitation, he shook his head, passed his hand over his forehead, as if to chase away a passing idea, and sat himself down on one of the seats, after having cleared away the traces of the meal and those left by the Guaycurus warriors.

"I am mad," murmured he in a low voice, "it is too late now to go back;" and seizing his gun he fired it in the air.

The sound of the report repeated by the numerous echoes of the cavern reverberated for a considerable time, grew weaker and weaker, and finally ceased.

Almost immediately the light of several torches shone at the bottom of a side gallery, rapidly increased, and soon illuminated the cavern with reddish tints which fell upon the walls with fantastic reflections. These torches were carried by Montoneros led by several officers, among whom was Don Silvio Quiroga.

"Here we are, General," said the captain, with a respectful bow.

"Where are the prisoners?" asked Zeno Cabral, as he loaded his gun, which he placed within reach.

"Guarded at a few paces off by our detachment of our men."

"Let them come."

The captain withdrew without answering. Some minutes passed, at the end of which he reappeared, accompanied by three unarmed men, who walked in the midst of a group of partisans.

"It is well," said the General, "leave me with these caballeros, I wish to talk with them; only be ready to run here if occasion requires, at the first signal. Go."

Captain Quiroga planted two or three torches in the ground, and then disappeared in the gallery from which he had come out.

Don Zeno remained alone with the two prisoners; the latter stood upright before him, cold and haughty, their heads proudly thrown back, and their arms crossed on their chests.

There was a moment of silence.

It was one of the prisoners who broke it.

"I suppose, Señor General," said he, with a slight tone of raillery, "since that is the title they give you, that you have called us into your presence in order to have us shot?"

"You are deceived, Señor Don Lucio Ortega," coldly answered the partisan; "at present at least, such is not my intention."

"You know me," cried the Spaniard, with a movement of surprise which he could not suppress.

"Yes, Señor, I know you, as well as your companions, the Señor Count Mendoza and Colonel Zinozain. I know even with what design you have come thus to wander about these mountains; you see that I am well served by my spies."

"¡Caramba!" gaily cried Captain Ortega, "I wish I had been as well served by mine."

The partisan smiled with irony.