Chapter VIII. The Chateau of Beaulieu

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　They noticed one day a high bluff shooting up on the easternbank and running along for some distance. It was clothed indense green forest, and it was rather a welcome break in themonotony of the low shores.

　　"A big city will be built there some day," said theprophetic Paul.*

　　[* It is probable that the bluff, indicated by Paul, is the oneon which the present city of Memphis stands.]

　　"Now, Paul, why in tarnation do you say that?" exclaimed TomRoss.

　　"Why, because it's such a good place. It's a high hill on agreat river so well suited to navigation, and it has a vast, richcountry behind it."

　　But Tom Ross shook his head.

　　"Seems to me, Paul," he said, "that you're bitin' off a lotmore'n you can chaw. Things that are to happen a hundred yearsfrom now ain't never happenin' fur me."

　　But Paul merely smiled and held to his opinion.

　　On the following day they tied up at a point, where theriver began a sharp and wide curve around a long, narrowpeninsula. It was just about dark when they stopped and, asusual, they were able to run the boat into dense foliage at themargin, where not even the keenest eye could see it.

　　"We've got plenty of goose and duck left over from dinner,"said Henry, "so I'm thinking, Jim, that you'd better not lightthe fire on your bricks tonight."

　　"All right," replied Jim, "I don't mind restin'. I feelabout ez lazy ez Sol Hyde looks."

　　But Henry Ware had another and more important thing in mind.His was the keenest eye of them all, and just before landing hehad noticed to the southward and on the other side of thepeninsula a faint, dark line against the edge of the sunset.Few, even with an eye good enough to see it, would have taken itfor anything but a wisp of cloud, but the physical sense of HenryWare, so acute that it bordered upon intuition, was not deceived.

　　"Sol," he said after they had eaten a little, "let's walkacross this neck of land and explore a bit."

　　"It's a dark night to be traveling," said Paul. But Henryonly laughed. Tom Ross may have had his suspicions, but he didnot deem it worth while to say anything. He knew that Henry andShif'less Sol were quite competent to achieve any task that theymight be undertaking.

　　Henry and Sol strolled carelessly into the bush, but beforethey had gone a dozen steps their whole manner changed. Eachbecame eager and alert.

　　"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. "What have youseed?"

　　"Smoke! The smoke of a camp fire and it's on the other sideof this neck. I think it's the camp of Alvarez. He must havebeen going more slowly than we thought."

　　"We'll soon find out," said Shif'less Sol, as they advanced.But the task was not as easy as they had thought. The peninsulawas very low and the greater part of it had been overflowedrecently. Their feet, no matter how lightly they stepped, sankin the mire, and when they pulled them out again the mud emitteda sticky sigh. An owl perched in a tree, high above the marsh,began to hoot dismally, and Shif'less Sol uttered a growl.

　　"I wish we had the big, dry woods o' Kentucky to gothrough," he whispered to Henry. "I am't much o' a mud-crawler."

　　"But as we haven't got those big, dry woods," Henrywhispered back, "we'll have to crawl, creep, or walk through themud."

　　It was about two miles across the neck, and as they wentvery slowly for fear of making noise, it took them a full hour toreach the other side, or to come near enough to see what might bethere. Then they found that Henry's belief, or rather intuition,was right.

　　They could see quite well from the dense covert. All theSpanish boats were tied up at the shore and two or three fireshad been built for the purposes of cooking. The soldiers intheir picturesque costumes lounged about. The hum ofconversation and now and then a laugh arose.

　　Henry soon marked Francisco Alvarez. The Spanish leader saton a little heap of boughs on the highest and dryest spot in thecamp, and all who approached him did so with every sign ofrespect-if they spoke it was hat in hand.

　　The firelight fell in a red blaze across the face ofFrancisco Alvarez and revealed every feature in minute detail tothe keen eyes in the covert. It was a thin, haughty face,clear-cut and cruel, but just now its air was that ofsatisfaction, as if in the opinion of Francisco Alvarez allthings were going well with his plans. Henry believed that hecould guess his thoughts.

　　"He thinks that the Spanish are already committed against usand that he and Braxton Wyatt with a force of Spaniards and thetribes will yet destroy our settlements in Kentucky."

　　Thinking of Braxton Wyatt he looked for him and, as helooked, the renegade came from a point near the shore toward thecommander. It was evident that Wyatt had been faring well. Hisfrontier dress had been partly replaced with gay Spanishgarments. He now wore a cap with a feather in it, and a velvetdoublet. He, too, had a most complacent look.

　　Wyatt approached Alvarez and the commander courteouslyinvited him to a seat on the hillock near him. When he took theseat a soldier brought the renegade a cup of wine, and he drank,first lifting the cup toward Alvarez as if he drank a toast tothe success of the alliance. There could be no doubt about theperfect understanding of the two; and Henry's anger rose. It wasimpossible to set a limit on what a ruthless and determined manlike Francisco Alvarez might do.

　　Wyatt rose presently after a nod to the commander and walkedamong the soldiers. He seemed to have no particular object inview and his strollings brought him near to the edge of theswampy forest.

　　"Perhaps he's spying about, and will come into the woodswhere we are," whispered Henry. "Maybe he has those maps andplans upon him, and it would be a great thing to get them. Idon't believe he could make a new set soon."

　　"It's a risky thing to try," said Shif'less Sol, "but ef hecomes in here, an' you think it the best thing to do, I'm readyto help."

　　The two crouched a little lower and remained breathless.Braxton Wyatt strolled on. He was making a sort of vagueinspection of the camp, but he was really thinking more about thegreat triumph that he saw ahead. Since he had turned renegade,leaving his own white race to join the Indians, a thing that wassometimes done, he had been stung by many defeats and he wished agreat revenge that would pour oil upon all these wounds.

　　A bad nature grows worse with failure. Seeking to injurehis former people and failing at every turn, Braxton Wyatt hatedthem more and more all the time. His wrath was particularlydirected against the five who had been such great instruments insending his careful plans astray. His scheme with the Indianleague had failed chiefly through them, but he felt that he couldnow come with a Spanish force that would prove irresistible.That was why he glowed with internal warmth and pride. Thesettlements would be destroyed and he, in fact, would be thedestroyer.

　　Braxton Wyatt entered the edge of the woods, still occupiedwith the cruel triumph that was to be his. He did not noticethat the foliage was gradually shutting out the firelight.Presently he saw, or believed that he saw, a shadowy but terriblefigure. It was the figure of the one whom he dreaded most onearth.

　　It was but a glimpse of a form, seen through the bushes, butWyatt's blood turned cold in every vein. He uttered ahalf-choked cry, and running back through the bushes, sprang intothe firelight. Two or three Spanish soldiers looked at him inamazement, but he was not a coward, and he had pride of a kind.As soon as he leaped back into the firelight he felt that he hadmade a fool of himself. Henry Ware could not have been there -he and his comrades had been left behind long ago. Comingsuddenly out of his thoughts, he had been deceived in the dark bya bush and imagination had done the rest. Yes, it was onlyfancy!

　　"A rattlesnake! I nearly trod on him," he said in brokenSpanish words that he had picked up, and then walked in ascareless a manner as he could assume toward the mound whereFrancisco Alvarez sat. But he could not wholly control himself -the shock had been too great - and his body yet trembled. He didnot know it, but the pallor of his face showed through the tan,and Alvarez noticed it.

　　"You have had a fright, Senior Wyatt," he said in hisprecise, cold English. "What is it?"

　　"Not a fright," replied Wyatt in tones that he sought tomake indifferent, "but a start. I nearly trod on a rattlesnakethat lay coiled ready to strike, and I got away just in time.The Spaniard regarded him with a penetrating look, but the chillyblue eyes expressed nothing. Yet Francisco Alvarez thought thata bold woodsman like Braxton Wyatt would not show so much fearafter a harmless passage with any kind of a snake.

　　"Do you think the five, the party that you said were so muchto be dreaded, are still following us?" he asked presently.

　　The pallor showed again for a moment through the tan inBraxton Wyatt's face, but he answered again as carelessly as hecould:

　　"It may be. I hate them, but I do not deny that they arebold and resourceful. They have a good boat, and they mayfollow; but what harm could they do?"

　　"As I told you, they might go before Bernardo Galvez, ourGovernor General at New Orleans, and spoil the pretty plan thatyou, and I have formed. Galvez is - as he calls himself - aLiberal. He would help these rebels and fight England. How cana Spaniard lend himself to the cause of Republican rebels andinjure monarchy? Cannot he foresee, cannot he look ahead alittle and tell what rebel success means? It would in the end beas great a blow to Spain as to England. If Kaintock is permittedto grow she will threaten Louisiana. These men in theirbuckskins are daring and dangerous and we must attend to them!"

　　The Spaniard clenched his hands in anger, and the blue lightof his eyes was singularly cruel.

　　"Galvez is a fool," he continued. "He is not allowing theEnglish to trade at New Orleans, but he is giving the Americanrebels full chance. He has allowed one, Pollock, Oliver Pollock,to establish a base there. This Pollock has formed a company ofNew York, Philadelphia, and Boston merchants, and they aresending arms and ammunition in fleets of canoes up theMississippi and then up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, where they areunloaded and then taken eastward by land for the use of therebels. A fleet of these canoes is to start about the time wearrive in New Orleans."

　　"We might meet it," suggested Braxton Wyatt, "and say thatit attacked us."

　　The Spaniard smiled.

　　"The idea is not bad," he said, "and it could be done. Wecould sink their whole fleet of canoes with the pretty littlecannon that we carry, and we could prove that they began theattack. But I do not choose to run the risk of compromisingmyself just yet. There is a more glorious enterprise afoot.Hark you, Senior Wyatt."

　　Braxton Wyatt leaned forward and listened attentively.Francisco Alvarez had drank of wine that evening, and his bloodwas warm. He, too, dreamed a great dream.

　　"You are a man of discretion and you have helped me. Ispeak to you as one devoted to my cause. If you should butbreathe what I say to another I would first swear that it was alie, and then deliver you to these five gentlemen, former friendsof yours who would tear you in pieces."

　　Braxton Wyatt shivered again, and the Spaniard, seeing theshiver, laughed and was convinced.

　　"Why should I betray you?" said the renegade. "I have nomotive to do so and every possible motive to keep faith."

　　"I know it," replied Alvarez, "and, that is why I speak. Itis to your interest to be faithful to me and when my enterprisesucceeds, as it certainly will, you shall have your proper shareof the reward. Bernardo Galvez, as you know, is the GovernorGeneral of Louisiana, and his father is the Viceroy of Mexico.They are powerful, very powerful, and I am only a commander oftroops under the son, but I, too, am powerful. My family is oneof the first in Spain. It sits upon the very steps of the throneand more than once royal blood has entered our veins. I was afavorite at the court and I have many friends there. The Kingmight be persuaded that Bernardo Galvez is not a fitrepresentative of the royal interests in Louisiana."

　　Francisco Alvarez leaned a little forward and his blue eyes,usually so chill, sparkled now with fire. He was speaking ofwhat lay next to his heart.

　　Braxton Wyatt, full of shrewdness and perception, understoodat once.

　　"Bernardo Galvez might give way as Governor General ofLouisiana," said the renegade, "to be succeeded by a better man,one who had the real interests of Spain at heart, one who wouldrefuse to give the slightest aid to rebels, rebels who wouldstrike against a throne!"

　　The Spaniard looked pleased.

　　"I see that you are a man of penetration, Senior Wyatt," hesaid, "and I am fortunate in having you as a lieutenant. Youhave divined my thought. I work, not for the interests of a manwhose name has been mentioned by neither of us, but for the trueinterests of Spain and the divine right of kings. What is thismiserable Kaintock which is springing up? We will crush it outas you would have crushed the rattlesnake! The people of NewOrleans and Louisiana hate rebels! Why should they not? It isthe rebels who in time will take Louisiana from us if they can,not England."

　　Braxton Wyatt smiled. He was delighted to the very centerof his cunning heart. His plans and those of Alvarez marchedwell together. Each strengthened the other.

　　"I am with you to the end," he said.

　　"The end will be a glorious triumph," said the Spaniard inemphatic tones.

　　Meanwhile Henry and Shif'less Sol still lay in the thicket.Their project to seize Braxton Wyatt and strip him of the mapsand plans had been defeated.

　　Henry knew that the renegade had caught a glimpse of him inthe dusk and among the thick bushes and he expected an immediatealarm. But when Wyatt raised none, he and Sol lingered. Theysaw the renegade go to the Spaniard's side on the little mound,and they saw the two talk long and earnestly, but, of course,they could not understand a word of what was said.

　　"They look mighty pleased with one another," whisperedShif'less Sol, "so it's bound to mean that they're up to theworst sort o' mischief."

　　"Yes," replied Henry, "and that mischief is sure to be aimedat our people."

　　They waited about a half hour longer and then picked theirway back through the marsh to their own side of the peninsula.It was now very late and Paul and Jim Hart were sound asleep inthe boat, but Tom Ross was keeping vigilant guard.

　　"Wuz it them?" he asked.

　　"Yes," replied Henry. "They're camped on the other side ofthis neck, and Braxton Wyatt is still with them. There's bigmischief afoot and we've got to keep on following, waiting ourchance, which, I think, will come."

　　They did not start until noon the next day, in order to givethe Spaniards a longer lead, and they rounded the neck of landvery slowly lest they run into a trap. But when the river laystraight before them again they beheld nothing. They passed thepoint where the Spaniards had camped and saw the dead coals oftheir fires, but they did not stop, continuing instead theirsteady progress down stream.

　　It now grew hot upon the water. They had come many hundredsof miles since the start, and they were in a warmer climate. Thecharacter of the vegetation was changing. The cypress and themagnolia became frequent on the banks, and now and then they sawgreat, drooping live oaks. The soil seemed to grow softer andthe water was more deeply permeated with mud. Although the floodwas gone, the river spread out in places to a vast width, andeven at its narrowest it was a gigantic stream. Other great,lazy rivers poured in their volume from east and west. Narrow,doublets, half-hidden in vegetation, extended from either side.There were bayous, although the five had not yet heard the name,and many of them swarmed with fish.

　　The warm air was heavy and languorous and now Shif'less Solconfessed.

　　"I'm gittin' too much o' it, even fur a lazy man," he said."'Pears to me I'm always wantin' to sleep. Now, I like aboutsixteen hours sleepin' out o' the twenty-four, but when it comesto keep awake jest long enough to eat three meals a day I'm infavor of it."

　　"It must be a rich country, though," said Tom Ross. "Nowonder them Spaniards want to keep it."

　　That day they passed at some distance three canoescontaining Indians, but the canoes showed no wish to come nearand investigate. Henry said that the Indians in them lookedsprawling and dirty, unlike the alert, clean-limbed natives ofthe North.

　　"They probably belong," said Paul, "to the Natchez tribe whowere beaten into submission long ago by the French, and whodoubtless lack energy anyhow."

　　The Indian canoes went lazily on, and soon were lost tosight. Now a serious problem arose. They were approaching thesettled parts of Louisiana. It is true, it was only the thinnestfringe of white people extending along either shore of the rivera short distance above New Orleans, but they were coming to aregion in which they would be noticed, and they might have toexplain their presence before they wished to do so. Nor had theyfound any opportunity to capture Braxton Wyatt and his maps andplans. Nevertheless, they hung so closely on the trail ofAlvarez that every night and morning they could see the smoke ofhis camp fire.

　　They stopped one evening in a cove of the river, shelteredby great mournful cypresses, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went outagain to scrutinize the Spanish camp. They returned beforemidnight with unusual news. Alvarez with his whole force hadturned from the Mississippi and had gone up a bayou about fourmiles. There he had landed some of his small cannon and storesat a rude wharf, and showed all the signs of making a stay, butwhether short or long they could not tell.

　　"Alvarez must have a place, a plantation, I believe theycall it, near here," said Paul intuitively, "and he's going tostop at it. As he wants to get Spain into a war with us he couldplot a lot of mischief in a house of his own away from NewOrleans."

　　"Of course, that's it," said Henry with conviction. "Now ifwe could only capture Braxton Wyatt and then carry off the fellowand his maps and plans with us, it would be a great stroke. Itmight make Alvarez quit his wicked plot."

　　Henry and Shif'less Sol slept briefly, and rising beforedaylight, went forth to investigate again. When they arrived atthe edge of the bayou, they saw that the work of removal had beenresumed already. All the boats had been tied up securely, and amongrel lot of new men had joined the Spanish force, shiftlessand half-civilized Houma and Natchez Indians, coal black negroes,some from the West Indies and some from Africa, Acadians, andfierce-looking adventurers from Europe. Most of them seemed tobe laborers, however, and they worked with the arms and baggagetaken from the boats. Among these laborers were several stalwartnegro women with blazing red handkerchiefs tied around theirheads.

　　Alvarez came off one of the boats, followed by BraxtonWyatt. The Spanish commander had attired himself with greatcare, and he was a really splendid figure in his glitteringuniform and plumed hat. His gold-hilted small sword swung by hisside. He bore himself as a lord proprietor, and in fact he wassuch at this moment. He was about to go, surrounded by hisretainers, to his own house on a huge grant of land made to himby the Spanish King-Spanish kings granted lands very freely inAmerica to favorites, and the relatives of favorites.

　　Braxton Wyatt also showed pride. Was he not the mosttrusted friend of an able man who was dreaming a great dream, adream that would come true? The last remnants of his borderattire had disappeared and he, too, was dressed wholly as aSpanish officer, though by no means so splendidly as his chief.Alvarez addressed a few words to a man in civilian attire,evidently his overseer, a dark, heavy West India Spaniard whocarried a pistol in his sash, and then advanced through therabble, which quickly fell back on either side to let him pass.

　　Horses were in waiting for Alvarez, Wyatt, and severalothers, and mounting, they rode off. Henry and Shif'less Solwatching from the bush as well as they could, and following. Theway of the officers led through a great plantation but partiallyredeemed from the ancient forest. Cane and grain fields were oneither side of the path, and presently they approached a largehouse of only one story, built of wood, and surrounded by a wideveranda supported with posts at regular intervals. This housewas built around a court in the center of which was a clear pool.Henry and the shiftless one saw Alvarez and his company dismountand enter the house. They noticed others who approached on foot,but who did not enter, obviously men who did not dare to enterunless asked. Among them was a thin, middle-aged NatchezIndian, whose extraordinary, feline face had won for him the nameof The Cat. Henry particularly observed this man, whose mannerwas in accordance with his appearance and name. Like those theyhad seen in the canoes he had a hangdog, shiftless look,different from the bold warrior of the more northerly forests.

　　The two did not remain long. So many people were about thatthey were likely to be seen, and they returned through the forestto the cypress cove in which "The Galleon" lay hidden. Here, itwas agreed that they should go forth later in the day on anothertour of inspection, re-inforced by Tom Ross, while Long Jim andPaul should remain to guard the boat and their precious stores.

　　When the three had gone, Long Jim sat on the edge of theboat and looked around at the sluggish waters of the bayou, thesad cypresses, and the drooping live oaks. An ugly water snaketwined its slimy length just within the edge of the bayou, andthe odor of the still forest about them was heavy and oppressive.

　　Long Jim took a long, comprehensive look, and then heaved adeep sigh.

　　"What's the matter?" asked Paul.

　　"I don't think the country and the climate agree with me,"replied Long Jim lugubriously. "I wuz never so fur south afore,an' I'm a delicate plant, I am. I need the snow and the northwind to keep me fresh an' bloomin'. All this gits on me. Mylungs don't feel clean. I'm longin' fur them big, fine woods upin our country, whar you may run agin a b'ar, but whar you ain'tlikely to step on a snake a fore you see it."

　　"Give me the temperate climate, too," said Paul, "but we'vecome on a great errand, Jim, and we've come a long way. It'sgood, too, to see new things."

　　"So it is, but I don't like to set here waitin' in thisswamp. Think I'll stretch my legs a little on the bank thar, efit's firm enough to hold me up, though I do have an abidin'distrust uv most uv the land hereabouts."

　　Jim leaped upon the bank which upheld him, and stretched hislong legs with obvious relief.

　　"A boat's mighty easy," he said, "but now an' then walkin'sgood."

　　He strode up and down two or three times and then hestopped. He had heard a sound, faint, it is true, but enough toarrest the attention of Long Jim. Then he went on with a look ofdisgust. It was surely one of those snakes again!

　　He was about to pass a great cypress when a pair of long,brown arms reached out and grasped him by the throat. Long Jimwas a strong man and, despite his early advantage, it would havegone hard with the owner of the arms, none other than The Cathimself, but three or four men, springing from the covert, threwthemselves upon him.

　　Paul heard the first sounds of the contest and sprang up.He saw Long Jim struggling in the grasp of many hands, andsnatching at the first weapon that lay near, he sprang to thebank, rushing to the assistance of his comrade.

　　A shout of derisive laughter greeted Paul. Long Jim hadbeen thrown down and held fast and the lad was confronted by noneother than Alvarez himself, while Braxton Wyatt, smiling inmalignant triumph, stood just behind him.

　　"Well, my young man of Kaintock," said Francisco Alvarez inhis precise English, "we have taken you and at least one of yourbrother thieves. In good time we'll have the others, too. Itwas an evil day when you ventured on my plantation so near such awonderful tracker as The Cat. Why, he detected theminstinctively when your comrades ventured near us!"

　　The eyes of the stooping Natchez Indian flashed at thecompliment but, in a moment, he resumed his immobility. All theblood rushed to Paul's face, and he could not contain his anger.

　　"Thief! how dare you call me a thief!" he said.

　　"This is my boat before me," replied Alvarez."You stole it."

　　"Not so," replied Paul. "We captured it. You seized andheld me a prisoner when I came to your camp on a friendlymission, and we took it in fair reprisal and for a good purpose.Moreover, you are plotting with that vile renegade there todestroy our people in Kentucky!"

　　"You are a thief," repeated Francisco Alvarez calmly, "youstole my boat. Why, the very sword that you hold in your hand ismine, stolen from me."

　　Paul glanced down. In his haste and excitement he hadsnatched up one of the beautiful small swords when he leaped fromthe boat, but he had been unconscious of it. He was yet free andhe held a sword in his hand. One of the men who was holding JimHart suddenly kicked him to make him keep quiet, and Paul's wrathblazed up under the double incentive of the blow and the sneeringface of Francisco Alvarez.

　　The lad rushed forward, sword in hand, and one of thesoldiers raised his musket. Alvarez pushed the weapon down.

　　"Since this young rebel wants to fight, and has a stolensword of mine in his hand," he said, "he can fight with me. Iwill give him that honor."

　　So speaking Alvarez drew his own sword and held up the bladeto the light until it glittered. A shout of approval arose fromthe soldiers, but Long Jim cried out:

　　"It ain't fair! It ain't right to take one uv your kind uvweepin's an' attack him! 'It's murder! Let me loose an' I'llfight you with rifles."

　　"Have you got that ruffian securely bound? " asked Alvarez.

　　"Yes," replied one of his men.

　　"Then I'll teach this youth a lesson, as I said."

　　Paul had stopped in his rush, and suddenly he became cooland collected.

　　"Don't you be afraid for me, Jim," he said. " I can takecare of myself, and I'll fight him."

　　Alvarez laughed derisively and the others echoed the laughof their master, but Paul held up his own sword, also, until itglittered in the light. Every nerve and muscle became taut, andthe blood went back from his brain, leaving it cool and clear.

　　"Come on," he said to Alvarez. "I'm ready." They stood in alevel glade, and the two faced each other, the sunshine lightingup all the area enclosed by the cypresses. Around them stoodBraxton Wyatt and the followers of Alvarez.