Part 13 (1/2)

His voice shook with excitement. The words had scarcely left his lips before Luiz gave a loud whistle. In response to it three other men made their appearance from the wood.

”Hermanos,” I said, taking control of affairs, as the party began to don their masks, ”you and two of your men had better stand here to stop the horses.” Then turning to the others, I continued: ”You two, follow me; and, if you don't want to be recognized, let me do whatever talking there is to be done.”

The noise made by the approaching carriage could now be distinctly heard. At most it could not be more than a quarter of a mile away. My heart was beating like a sledge-hammer. Closer and closer came the vehicle, then it turned the corner, and we could plainly see its lights. In a very few minutes it would be upon us. Without exception we had all drawn back into the shadow of the cliff, so that they could have no idea of our presence. Descending the little decline, the carriage entered the cleft between the rocks. The lights from the vehicle flashed like angry eyes upon us.

”Stop!” I cried in Spanish, and as I did so Hermanos and his two companions sprang into the centre of the road. The driver of the carriage, seeing the revolvers pointed at him, pulled up his horses so suddenly that they fell back upon their haunches. Meanwhile I had sprung to the carriage-door and had opened it. ”General Fernandez,” I cried, ”you are my prisoner. I am armed, and if you move hand or foot, I give you warning, I shall shoot you.”

Meanwhile one of my companions had taken a lamp from the socket and had turned it upon the interior of the carriage. By its light I was enabled to convince myself that we had made no mistake. Fernandez was seated in the corner nearest me, and, to my great astonishment, the Senorita was beside him. I will do the President the justice of saying that, at such a trying moment, he comported himself like a brave man.

His voice was as calm as ever I had heard it when he addressed me.

”Ah! so it's you, Senor Trevelyan, is it?” he said. ”I thought I had stopped your little game! What's the meaning of this?”

”It means that the scheme you did your best to frustrate has succeeded after all,” I answered. ”But I have no time to spare. I must therefore ask you to alight without further parley. Let me a.s.sure you it would be no use your attempting to resist. There are six of us here, and we are all armed.”

”It is evident, then, that you have the advantage of me,” he continued, still with the same imperturbable good-humour. ”Well, what must be must, I suppose,” and with that he descended from the carriage and stepped into the road.

Before I could stop her the Senorita had done the same.

”Where you go I follow,” she said, addressing the President. ”I am sure we can rely upon Senor Trevelyan's doing us no harm.”

”If you do as I ask you not a hair of your head shall be harmed, Senorita,” I replied. Then turning to the President once more, I added: ”Before we proceed further it would, perhaps, be as well to make sure that you are not armed, General! We cannot afford to run any risk.”

Fernandez gave a short laugh as he took a revolver from his pocket and handed it to me.

”I was going to use this upon you as soon as I had an opportunity,”

he said. ”I see, however, that I am not to be permitted to do so!”

I turned to the coachman.

”Now, off you go!” I cried. ”If you stop anywhere between here and the palace I'll take care that you hear about it later. You can tell them, when you get there, that the President and the Senorita have gone into the country for a change of air, and that you don't quite know when they will be back.”

The man did not answer, but looked at Fernandez as if for instructions. Seeing that the other did not speak, he whipped up his horses and drove off without another word, leaving his master and mistress prisoners with us.

”Now we in our turn will be off,” I said, as he disappeared over the brow of the hill. ”I must ask you, Senor President, to be good enough to walk ahead. The Senorita and I will follow you.”

It was a silent little party that made its way down the hill-side towards the beach. First walked the President with an armed man on either side of him, his niece and myself followed next, whilst Hermanos and two of his fellow-conspirators brought up the rear. No one would have imagined that, only a few hours before, the Senorita and I had been waltzing round the ball-room at La Gloria as partners, or that the President and I had been seated amicably together discussing the politics of Equinata in all apparent friendliness. I must say in common fairness that, even under these trying circ.u.mstances, the Senorita behaved herself with as much coolness as did her fellow-prisoner. Not once did she flinch or show the least sign of fear.

The path from the road to the sh.o.r.e was an exceedingly rough one, little better in fact than a goat-track, and as the Senorita was still wearing her light dancing-shoes, it must have been an unenviable experience for her. Once her dress was caught by a cactus leaf, and I stopped to extricate it for her. I hoped that my action might break the silence that had so far characterized our march.

”Thank you, senor,” she said gravely, and, without another word, continued her walk.

”Senorita,” I said at last, ”I can quite understand how angry you must feel with me. I suppose it is only natural that you should be. Yet, strange though it may appear, I cannot help feeling ashamed.”

”I am not angry, senor,” she replied. ”My only regret is that we should have been so weak as to have made such a miscalculation. I thought my uncle had caused you to be arrested?”

”He certainly did have me arrested, but I managed to escape,” I answered. ”Doubtless, if your uncle had had his way, he would have had me shot at daybreak.”

”It is more than likely,” she replied, still with the same gravity.

”And all things considered, I am not at all sure it would not have been better for the happiness of Equinata could this event have taken place.”