The Freebooters Part 52

Still, what the demon had stated about his soul put a flea in the ear of the worthy seigneur; and hence, without loss of time, he occupied himself about his salvation. His first care was to establish a town near the fortress, to which he attracted, by promises, adventurers from all countries; then he sought a monk capable of liberating him from all his sins; and it is probable that he found one, added the worthy Franciscan who narrated this legend to us, in which he firmly believed, for Count Estevan de Sourdis died in a state of grace, after leaving the greater portion of his property to the clergy, founding two monasteries, and building three churches. In short, the ex-pirate made a fool of the demon to the end.

Without attaching to this legend the perfect belief of the man who told it us, still we were struck with admiration at the sight of the immense, perpendicular block of granite, on the crest of which the castle boldly stands, perched there like a vulture's nest, and we were compelled to allow that the means employed to build it seemed to us entirely incomprehensible.

It was this fortress that the Jaguar had resolved to carry by surprise.

The task, if not impossible, was at the least very difficult, and it needed all the audacious rashness of the young Chief merely to conceive the thought of undertaking it.

The night was dark; heavy clouds laden with electricity coursed across the sky, and by intercepting the moonbeams rendered the gloom denser still. The conspirators pa.s.sed silently through the deserted streets of the town like a legion of phantoms. They went on thus for a long time, with watchful eye and finger on the rifle trigger, ready to fire at the slightest suspicious sound; but nothing disturbed their march to the seash.o.r.e, which they reached after making a thousand windings, in order to foil the spies who might have attempted to follow them in the darkness. The spot where they were was a small sandy creek, sheltered on all sides by tall cliffs; here, at a word from the Jaguar, they halted, for the difficulties of the expedition were about to begin. The young Chief a.s.sembled his comrades round him.

"Caballeros," he then said, in a low voice, "we are proceeding to the fort of the Point, which we must carry before sunrise; listen to me attentively, and remember my instructions, in order that during the expedition we may be exposed to no misunderstanding, which, in our present situation, would not only be mortal to us, but cause our comrades, who on their side are attempting a hazardous enterprise, to lose all the fruit of their labours."

The conspirators drew nearer in order to hear better. The swell died, at their feet with a hollow murmur, and out at sea could be seen the wares raised by the north-east wind, which would probably rise into a tempest within an hour. The Jaguar continued--

"The fort of the Point is impregnable, or, at least, pa.s.ses as such; I have resolved to deprive it of the haughty boast, and for that purpose have counted on you, comrades. Owing to the opinion the Mexicans have of the strength of this citadel, they have considered it unnecessary to keep up a numerous garrison there, convinced as they are that its position will defend it, and that it is impossible to carry it, save by treachery. The garrison, therefore, is only composed of thirty soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant; it is small, and yet enormous; small, if we force them into a hand-to-hand fight; enormous, if we are compelled to remain at a distance. On the land side, the granite rock on which the fort is built is so perpendicular that we could not hope to ascend beyond one half of it; for, excepting the path cut in the rock, which is defended at regular distances by barricades, escalading is impracticable. We cannot, therefore, think of attacking it on that side.

But the sea is left to us, if the land fails us; if we can succeed in landing on the narrow strip of earth which is left uncovered at low water for about an hour at the foot of the fortress, it is probable that we shall succeed in our enterprise; for it will never occur to the garrison that any attempt to attack them by sea will be made on such a night as this. That is not all--we must reach that strip of land, and speedily too; the sea is beginning to ebb, and the moment is favourable.

This is what I propose doing."

The conspirators, collected round their Chief, paid the most earnest attention to his words. It was for them a question of life or death.

"Now, my companions," the Jaguar continued, "we have no boat in which to reach the base of the fort; the sound of oars striking against the thowls would give the alarm, excite the suspicion of the garrison, and reveal our presence; we must, therefore, cross by swimming; but it is nearly a league to go; the tide runs out fast, and we shall have to cross it at right angles; moreover, the night is dark, and the sea rough. I will only remind you of the sharks and tintoreras we run a risk of meeting on the way. You see, comrades, that it is a rude affair, and it is certain that we shall not all reach the sand strip. Some of us will remain on the road; but what matter, so long as we succeed? You are brave men, so I have preferred to speak openly with you, and allow you to see all the danger, than deceive you, for a peril if known is half overcome."

In spite of all their courage, the conspirators felt a spasm at their hearts; still not one of them hesitated, for they had freely offered their lives as a sacrifice; besides, they had now gone too far to recoil; they must proceed at all risks. We must say, in praise of the conspirators, that of all the perils enumerated by the Jaguar, only one really alarmed them. What they most feared was the meeting with the tintorera.

We will explain to the reader, who is probably ignorant of the fact, what this dangerous animal is, which possesses the privilege of producing goose flesh in the bravest man, on the mere mention of its name. The seas of Mexico, and especially the coasts, swarm with dangerous fish, among which the shark holds a very honourable place.

But, though it be so dangerous, the Mexican pearl diver, who are mostly Indians, care little for it, and bravely fight it, when the opportunity offers. Still, there is a special sort they are extraordinarily afraid of, and that is the tintorera.

The tintorera is a shark of the largest size, and owes its name to a peculiarity that reveals its presence at a considerable distance. Holes placed near the snout of the fish distil a gluey matter, which spreads over its whole body, and renders it brilliant as fireflies. These phosphoric gleams are the most splendid on stormy nights, when the wind moans and the thunder growls. The same phenomenon is produced on dark nights; the denser the gloom, the more vivid is the furrow traced by the tintorera. This animal, fortunately, is nearly blind, and, consequently, cannot follow its prey by sight. They are also compelled to turn their belly completely up on seizing their prey. In the pearl islands of the Mexican coast there are several Indian and half-breed divers, who are not at all afraid of fighting them, and who frequently succeed in killing them.

"Now," the Jaguar continued, after allowing his comrades some minutes for reflection, "it is time for us to get ready. Listen to me. We are about to attempt a surprise, and must therefore act accordingly. Let us leave here our firearms, which would not only be useless, but might prove dangerous, if a shot were fired imprudently and revealed our presence; hence each will undress, only keeping on his trousers, and carrying his dagger between his teeth; that will be sufficient, as further clothing would only embarra.s.s us in our long swim."

The night grew more and more dark; the sea moaned sadly, under the impulse of the _coromuel_, which was beginning to blow in gusts; the sea wolves howled in the darkness; the _gaviota_ groaned sadly on the top of the rocks; and from time to time the lamantine, as if jealous to add its mournful moan to the sinister sounds of night, mingled with the sharp sighs of the wind its accents, melancholy and plaintive as those of a soul in pain;--all, is short, foreboded a tempest. The hour was well chosen for a deed of darkness.

The first emotion pa.s.sed, the conspirators, galvanized, so to speak, by the firm and confident accent of their Chief, bravely made up their minds without observation or murmur. They threw down their weapons and arms, and silently ranged themselves on the beach, only awaiting the order to dash into the sea. The Jaguar, with fixed eye and frowning brow, remained motionless for some minutes, doubtless thinking of the immense responsibility he a.s.sumed in devoting to a probable death so many men who placed their hopes and confidence in him. At length he made a powerful effort over himself, a sigh escaped from his overladen breast, and, turning to his comrades, who were calmly awaiting the order to start, which would probably be a sentence of death to the majority, he said in a hollow voice--

"Brothers, let us pray!"

All knelt down, and the Jaguar offered up a prayer. His powerful voice was mingled with the howls of the wild beasts and the crash of the tempest; his companions repeated the sentences after him, with the faith of primitive souls, who regard the belief transmitted to them by their ancestors as the only true one.

It was at once a touching and terrible spectacle offered by these simple-minded, lion-hearted men, piously kneeling on this deserted sh.o.r.e in the black night, while the tempest raged around them, preparing themselves by prayer for the sacrifice of their life--alone in the gloom, without the dazzling prestige of a brilliant sun and thousands of spectators, but compelled to lay down their lives, and know no reward in this world.

When the prayer was ended, all rose to their feet. They felt stronger; as G.o.d would henceforth be on their side, what had they to fear?--they had made Him their accomplice. The Jaguar was the last to rise; his brow was serene, but a febrile ardour caused his eyes to flash; he believed in the success of his enterprise. After a.s.suring himself that all his comrades were ready, he ordered--

"Take your daggers between your teeth: Heaven protects us. Forward, brothers, and long live liberty!"

"Long live liberty!" the conspirators shouted.

A dull sound was heard, as they dashed simultaneously into the sea.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE SURPRISE.

The Jaguar spoke truly when he said that the task the conspirators were about to undertake was rude. Swimming side by side, the Texans advanced in a straight line in the direction of the fort, which the obscurity prevented them seeing. The sea was rough and lumpy; heavy waves poured in, and rolled at every moment on their heads; the wind redoubled its violence; the terrible coromuel, the scourge of these coasts, where it causes so many s.h.i.+pwrecks, had risen; there was not a star in the sky to guide these determined men.

They swam on--not a cry, moan, or sigh revealing any fatigue or discouragement on their part. At the head of the gloomy line formed by the energetic heads of the conspirators, the Jaguar progressed alone.

Three-quarters of an hour pa.s.sed, during which all the strength and courage the human will possesses were expended in this struggle of giants by these men, whom nothing could quell. Not one had broken down; the line was still compact, and they advanced with the same vigour.

Before them, at about a musket shot distance, a denser shadow was visible in the gloom, thrown out by the enormous ma.s.s of the fortress they were approaching!

Since the departure, the conspirators, with their eyes ardently fixed ahead, had not exchanged a syllable. What could they have said? They were perfectly aware of the probable consequences of their mad enterprise, and fully conscious of the danger they incurred. Besides, what was the good of speaking, when they could act? Hence they were silent, but they acted vigorously. Still, as all the men swam like otters, and were accustomed to the perfidious element in which they now were, they only expended the necessary amount of strength, and were very careful to keep the line regular.

At length, after superhuman efforts, they succeeded in cutting through the current that dashed with extreme rapidity and strength into the straits. The hardest work was over; from this moment they needed only to let themselves drift gently ash.o.r.e, while careful to keep the right direction.

"Courage!" the Jaguar said.

This word, the first the young man had uttered since the start, restored the strength of his comrades and aroused their ardour again. The fortress stood out gloomy and imposing a short distance ahead, and the conspirators were already swimming in the shadow it cast. All at once a cry disturbed the silence.

"_Tintorera!_"

A brilliant ma.s.s came to meet the conspirators, leave a long phosph.o.r.escent trail behind it.

"Tintorera!" a second voice shouted.

In fact, another shark was advancing from the open sea and swimming straight towards the conspirators, leaving a line of fire.

"Tintorera!" a third voice said, with an indescribable accent of agony.

Three tintoreras beset the swimmers and momentarily contracted the circle in which they held them. The danger was serious.

"Forward, comrades," the Jaguar said, in his calm and sympathetic voice, "swim gently and noiselessly; you know that these monsters are almost blind, and more than half deaf, they have not seen us. John Davis?" he added.

"Here!" the American answered.

"Where are you?"

"I am the last but one on the right."

"Good! you will take the second tintorera and I the first. Lanzi!"

"Lanzi has just disappeared," a voice answered.

"Malediction!" said the Jaguar, "Can he be dead? who shall attack the third tintorera?"

"Do not trouble yourself, Jaguar," the well-known voice of the half-breed answered, "I am after it."

"Good! swim on, comrades, and leave us to cope with these monsters."