At the Point of the Sword Part 36

His face grew paler, but he answered steadily, "I trust they will not be so foolish. Should they be, the battalion, will know how to defend itself."

"Caramba!" exclaimed Alzura, when the meeting broke up, "it seems to me that the second battalion is likely to follow the first. What can we do against an army?"

"There will be no fighting," I answered cheerfully. "They will simply march without us, and the government will agree to their demands."

I spoke as if my opinion were conclusive, but nevertheless I did not sleep comfortably that night. The troops were wakened early, breakfast was hurried over, and then, to the sound of bugles, the various regiments paraded. Presently they began to move, and a mounted officer dashed over to know why our battalion remained still.

"By my orders they remain. I refuse to join in what my officers and I regard as an act of treason," calmly replied Videla. "We will willingly march against the enemy, but not against our own government."

Bending over, the officer whispered something in his ear.

"We have counted the cost," replied our chief, "and are not to be frightened. Let the men who are unwilling to obey me fall out; no harm will happen to them," said he, turning to the troop.

Not a man moved, the brave fellows stood in their ranks, firm as rocks.

Again the officer whispered to Videla, and then dashed off at full speed. It was, as Alzura afterwards remarked, a bad quarter of an hour for us. If the chiefs endeavoured to force us into submission, there could be but one result. Videla would not yield, and we could not desert him. Perhaps the firmness of our bearing saved us; perhaps the chiefs feared the people, for the battalion was composed entirely of Peruvians; but whatever the reason, we remained unmolested, and the army marched off without us. Then the men were dismissed, and we gathered in groups to chat over the incident.

"What will happen now?" asked one fellow.

"It is all decided," replied Videla. "I heard last night that the government will yield. Riva-Aguero is to be made president, and Santa Cruz commander-in-chief."

"And what shall we do, colonel?"

"Obey orders," he answered, smiling. "We cannot fight for a government that has resigned its powers."

The evening proved Videla's words true. The troops, having accomplished their object, returned to camp, rejoicing that the country had a new ruler.

"Now," exclaimed Alzura, as we turned in for the night, "I suppose we shall see great things done!"

"New brooms sweep clean," said I, laughing, "but unfortunately they soon become old ones."

However, it really did seem as if the new general intended to push on the war in vigorous style. Preparations were made for another expedition to the south; Bolivar was invited to Peru; and Sucre, his most brilliant general, had already come.

At this time we knew nothing of Colonel Miller; but about the end of March he returned to Lima, having done more with his handful of men than all the southern army. The stories told by officers who served with him filled us with envy.

"Did you hear how we cleared the Royalists out of Arequipa?" asked Captain Plaza. "That was a rich joke," and he laughed even at the recollection of it.

"Let us hear it," said I.

"Well, of course, it loses in the telling, but I'll do my best. First of all, we caught a peasant and shut him up where he could hear all and see nothing. The poor fellow imagined we were going to shoot him as a spy. About every half-hour or so one of us would go to the colonel to report the arrival of fresh troops, and ask where they were to camp.

Then we spread our few men about the valley and kindled dozens of blazing fires. As soon as it was dark enough, the colonel ordered the man to be brought out."

"His face was a study," interrupted Cordova. "He certainly expected to be shot."

"The colonel read him a lecture," continued Plaza, "and wound up by offering to spare his life on his promising to take a letter to the governor of Arequipa. 'But,' said the colonel sternly, 'you are not to tell what you have seen here. I want him to think we are very few in number. Do you understand?' The fellow promised readily enough, placed the letter in his hat, mounted his horse, and rode down the valley, counting the fires as he went. Of course he told every Royalist officer the truth as he believed it, and they cleared out of the district in double-quick time. Then we forced the governor to supply us with forage for five hundred horses."

"But you didn't have five hundred!"

"That was the joke. We carted the stuff to some sandhills, where a part of the force was supposed to lie in ambush. When the Royalists returned with large reinforcements, they wasted days, being afraid of falling into a trap. It was very funny watching their manoeuvres."

"Then there was the officer with the flag of truce near Chala," said Cordova. "He carried back a pretty report to his chief!"

"Yes," said Plaza, laughing; "he believed we were just the advance-guard of a large force. He stayed with us the night, but I'm afraid his slumbers were troubled ones. The bustle was tremendous--soldiers coming and going every few minutes. The colonel was giving all kinds of impossible orders; in fact, you would have thought we had quite a big army there. Next morning I escorted the Royalist a mile or so on the road. All our men were spread out, some in fatigue dress, to make him believe there were at least two regiments."

"That was a good trick," laughed Alzura.

"And the officers galloped about, shouting to the men to go to their camps in the rear. Turning to me, the fellow exclaimed seriously, 'It is all very well for Miller to have a couple of battalions; but we have a couple as well as he!'

"'Ah,' said I, trying to keep a straight face, 'you keep your eyes open, I see. I warned the colonel not to let you see so much.'"

"Did you really fool him?" asked half a dozen men in a breath.

"Yes, and kept our position till the colonel was ready to move. If I had my way, Miller should be commander-in-chief. He is now the best man in the country for the post."

"Bravo!" cried Cordova. "As it is, I suppose we shall all be under Bolivar's thumb soon."

"I don't much care who leads," said Alzura, "as long as we win; and it's about time something was done. The Royalists are getting a strong following in the city again."

"Bah!" exclaimed Plaza scornfully, "they're just weather-c.o.c.ks, twisting about with every wind that blows--first Royalist, then Patriot, then Royalist again! It's enough to take away one's breath.

Did you hear about Camba?"

"He was one of us," said Alzura, "went over to the Royalists, and came back again."

"And was appointed second in command of the Legion!"

There was a cry of amazement from every one in the room; but Plaza continued, "It's a fact; only Miller put his foot down. 'My officers are gentlemen,' said he. 'If you appoint this man over them they will break their swords, and I shall be the first to do so.' That stopped the game, and Camba was pushed in somewhere else."

"It's a wonder he hasn't changed again," I said.

"He is only biding his time, like a good many others."

"I know nearly a dozen myself," said Alzura, "and one of them is a neighbour of yours, Crawford."

"Do you mean the fellow with the pretty daughter?" some one asked.

"Yes. I respect the girl. She is an out-and-out Royalist, and makes no attempt to deny it; but the old man is a schemer--he runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds."

"Don't vent your opinion too freely, my boy; Montilla has powerful influence in high quarters."

"Well," said Alzura doggedly, "if he isn't working hard to bring back the Royalists, I am very much mistaken."

The young officer's words made me very uneasy. I knew little of Don Felipe's proceedings, as, although he was an occasional visitor at our house, a certain coolness had sprung up between us. For this feeling it would have been difficult, perhaps, to give any particular reason.

To all appearance the man had acted fairly enough; indeed, according to his own account, he had always been my best friend.

Still, I had very little love for him, and no respect at all. I was rather suspicious of a man who changed sides just when it best suited his interests. With Rosa things were different. She was a born Royalist, and though I thought her views mistaken, I admired her pluck in holding so stoutly to them.

But the idea that her father was preparing to turn his coat again worried me. True, he might win a big reward by helping the Spaniards; but in the event of discovery, he could hardly expect to escape death.

I told myself the punishment would serve him right, and that the business was none of mine; yet somehow I could not get rid of the uneasy feeling. If Alzura's suspicions were correct, the man might be taken and hanged at any moment. I said again it would serve him right, but the justice of his sentence would not lessen Rosa's suffering.

All that night I lay awake thinking. I could not get the girl out of my head. You see, I had known her so long; we had played together like brother and sister; she was so pretty and winsome that I hated the idea of trouble a.s.sailing her.