Part 21 (1/2)
”You are right,” I returned, ”forgiveyou at once
I ith Santa Coloma--the rebel”
She held out her hand toher face, began to cry Presently recovering herself and turning towards the house, she asked estures and tears had told ed to the unhappy Blanco party
”Have you, then, lost soht, senora?” I asked
”No, senor,” she replied; ”but if our party had triumphed, perhaps deliverance would have coo--all except my father You shall know presently, when you see hi _his_ blood”
By that time we had reached the house There had once been a verandah to it, but this had long fallen away, leaving the walls, doors, and s exposed to sun and rain Lichen covered the stone walls, while, in the crevices and over the tiled roof, weeds and grass had flourished; but this vegetation had died with the summer heats and was now parched and yellow She led hted from the low door and one s fro to accusto to the ed man seated in a leather-bound easy-chair
”Papa,” she said, ”I have brought in a young er who has asked for shelter under our roof Welcohtened herself, and, passing behind the chair, stood leaning on it, facingwith a little hesitation
There before me sat a tall, bent old rey, desolate face and long hair and beard of a silver whiteness He rapped in a light-coloured _poncho_, and wore a black skull-cap on his head When I spoke he leant back in his seatand began scanning er eyes, all the tiether in a nervous, excited th, ”is this the way you conise you! Down--down, boy, on your knees!”
I glanced at his daughter standing behind hiht inclination with her head
Taking this as an intimation to obey the old man's commands, I went down on my knees, and touched race, my son,” he said, with tremulous voice Then he continued: ”What, did you expect to find your old father blind then? I would know you ast a thousand, Calixto Ah, ? Stand,fro into my face for some moments, deliberately kissedhis tre into my face out of his wild, sunken eyes, ”do I need ask where you have been? Where should a Peralta be but in the s for the Banda Oriental?
I did not complain of your absence, Calixto--Deh all these years, for I knew you would co the laurel wreath of victory And I, Calixto, what have I worn, sitting here? A crown of nettles! Yes, for a hundred years I have worn it--you are hter, that I have worn this crown of stinging-nettles for a hundred years”
He sank back, apparently exhausted, in his chair, and I uttered a sigh of relief, thinking the intervieas now over But I was hter placed a chair for me at his side ”Sit here, senor, and talk to my father, while I have your horse taken care of,” she whispered, and then quickly glided froht; but while whispering those feords she touched rateful look on lad for her sake that I had not blundered
Presently the oldme a hundred wild questions, to which I was co to keep up the character of the long-lost son just returned victorious froht and overco his voice almost to a scream ”Where have they flown from you like chaff before the wind?--where have you trodden them down under your horses' hoofs?--name--name the places and the battles to ly inclined just then to ju was this hter Demetria's white, pathetic face, and restrained the ian to talk ht I would make him sick of warlike subjects Everywhere, I cried, we had defeated, slaughtered, scattered to the four winds of heaven, the infamous Colorados From the sea to the Brazilian frontier we have been victorious With sword, lance, and bayonet we have stormed and taken every town frouaron to the Uruguay had run red with Colorado blood In forests and sierras we had hunted the like wild beasts from us; we had captured them in thousands, only to cut their throats, crucify theuns, and tear them limb by li oil on the blazing fire of his insanity
”Aha!” he shouted, his eyes sparkling, while he wildly clutched my arm with his skinny, claw-like hands, ”did I not know--have I not said it?
Did I not fight for a hundred years, wading through blood every day, and then at last send you forth to finish the battle? And every day our enemies came and shouted in my ears, 'Victory--victory!' They told me you were dead, Calixto--that their weapons had pierced you, that they had given your flesh to be devoured of wild dogs And I shouted with laughter to hear thehed in their faces, and clapped my hands and cried out, 'Prepare your throats for the sword, traitors, slaves, assassins, for a Peralta--even Calixto, devoured of wild dogs--is coeance! What, will God not leave one strong arm to strike at the tyrant's breast--one Peralta in all this land! Fly, rave--he has come back from hell, armed with hell-fire to burn your towns to ashes--to extirpate you utterly from the earth!'”
His thin, tremulous voice had risen towards the close of this h the quiet, darkening house like the long, shrill cry of soht in the desolate marshes
Then he loosened his hold oninto his seat His eyes closed, his whole fra from an epileptic fit; then he see quite dark, for the sun had been down soreatest relief that I saw Dona Dehost into the room She touched me on the arm and whispered, ”Come, senor, he is asleep now”
I followed her out into the fresh air, which had never see to me, she hurriedly whispered, ”Remember, senor, that what you have told me is a secret Say not one word of it to any other person here”