Chapter XI. The Spaniard's Offer

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　The afternoon passed without incident in the log prison saveanother and very welcome visit from Luiz, who brought water andsome cloth bandages to be used on Paul's shoulder. Henry andLong Jim, familiar with hurts, dressed it carefully andskillfully. Paul's healthy blood would quickly do the rest.

　　"It will be stiff a little for three or four days," saidHenry, "but you'll forget in a week that you ever had it."

　　Then he turned to Luiz.

　　"We'd like to thank you," he said, "I know you don'tunderstand our words, but maybe you take our meaning."

　　Luiz nodded violently, smiled at the boy, and then held outhis hand in quite an American fashion. His face expressed notonly understanding but gratitude as well. Henry, of the acuteeye and retentive mind, took a second look. Then he remembered.

　　"The man whom the buffalo was about to gore and run over!"he exclaimed. "Well, I am glad I was there to help you, and itseems that a lucky chance has made us a friend."

　　He took the proffered hand and shook it heartily. When Luizhad gone he explained to the others.

　　"He is surely a friend," he said, "and we have certainly hada piece of good fortune."

　　But Long Jim instantly demurred.

　　"Henry," he said, "you're a smart fellow, but you're talkin'real foolish. It wuz your good heart that done it. Ef it hadn'ttold you to help him when that mad bull wuz about to run over himand gore him an' trample him clean out uv sight in the earth, hewouldn't a-been here now, grinnin' at you an' with the gratitudeoozin' out uv him all over."

　　Just before the sunset the door was opened again and BraxtonWyatt thrust in his hateful face. Behind him stood four Spanishsoldiers.

　　"I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he said with irony."We'd rather be here, as we are, than be in your place, havingdone what you have done," exclaimed Paul passionately.

　　Wyatt paled a little, but instantly recovered himself.

　　"A bear can growl a lot when it's in a trap but growlingdoesn't help it out," he said airily.

　　" We kin do more than growl. We've got sharp teeth, too, ezyou ought to know," said Tom Ross, the man of few words.

　　"I'll admit that you have had some successes in the past,"said Wyatt, smiling maliciously, "but your time is done. We arethe victors, and you'll never get out of this."

　　The four as if by common consent turned their backs upon himand did not utter another word. The renegade understood thecontempt expressed by those four silent backs, and the willfulflush broke through the tan of his face. He had never hated themmore bitterly.

　　"Come you, Henry Ware," he said roughly, "Captain Alvarezwishes to ask you some questions.

　　"I wouldn't go, Henry," said Long Jim. "I wouldn't hev aword to say to that Spaniard or to this white Injun either."

　　"He will go, whether willingly or unwillingly," said BraxtonWyatt. "I've men enough here to drag him."

　　"I will go willingly, Jim," said Henry addressing himself tohis comrade rather than to the renegade. "It cannot do any harm,and it may help."

　　"Yes, it is wiser," said Paul.

　　"So long, boys," said Henry. "I'll be back pretty soon."

　　He stepped out, calmly ignoring the existence of BraxtonWyatt, and placed himself in the center of the little group ofsoldiers. His manner indicated clearly that he would make noattempt to escape. And, armed though the four soldiers were, andunarmed though their captive was, they breathed four simultaneoussighs of relief. Henry Ware, boy though he was, with his greatheight and powerful shoulders, chest, and limbs, was a trulyformidable figure.

　　Braxton Wyatt turned the key noisily in the huge padlockthat held the door.

　　"There," he said, "I think we've got that cattle securelyfastened in the pen!"

　　Henry knew that the insulting words were intended for hisear, but he gave no sign of hearing them. He stoodexpressionless awaiting the word to the soldiers to march.Braxton Wyatt quickly gave it. He was angrier than because hecould not stir Henry Ware, whom he hated most of all, to openanger.

　　The march led straight to the Chateau of Beaulieu, acrosswell-trimmed sward, and Henry's alert eye took in everything, thepretentious house, so unlike anything erected by his own peoplein Kentucky, the low outbuildings, and the occasional gleam of auniform.

　　But Henry did not observe at this moment with any eye to theescape of himself and his comrades. His condition of mind wasspiritual and he felt a satisfaction for which he could not haveaccounted if he had tried. He felt sure that his friends and hewould escape. He did not doubt it even now, when only one of thefive was free in the woods out there. The spring sun was settingin great clouds of red and gold fire, a pleasant coolness wascoming over the heated landscape, and every building, fence, andtree was touched by a soft but vivid light.

　　Braxton led the way into the house and into a great room,where Francisco Alvarez sat in a high chair, keeping state like afeudal lord. He waved his hand and the soldiers withdrew. Thenhe said to Braxton Wyatt:

　　"I wish to speak alone, absolutely alone, to Senior Ware,and I must ask you to leave us for a little while."

　　Braxton turned on his heel, his anger but half concealed,and the Spaniard smiled to himself. Francisco Alvarez was a wilyman, a reader of the minds of others, and he did not object tothe present displeasure of Wyatt.

　　But he said nothing until the renegade was gone. Henry,meanwhile, had quietly taken his seat in a cane chair. He wasnot of any mind to stand in the presence of this man who borehimself as if he were master of everything by right divine.

　　Francisco Alvarez observed the act and understood itsmeaning. He smiled again to himself. He had not misjudged theyouth, and it confirmed him in the plan that had come suddenlyinto his cunning mind.

　　"Senior Ware," he said, veiling his voice and speaking witha velvety courtesy that was unusual in him, "I have brought youhere to tell you first that I repent my act to-day, by which Iplaced your comrade's life in seeming danger. I was hasty, but Ihad been goaded greatly, and it may be, too, that I wasinfluenced by the sinister advice of one who hates you and yourfriends in a manner almost beyond belief. Besides, the swordsmanhad orders not to slay."

　　Henry Ware looked at him in great surprise.

　　Five minutes ago he would not have dreamed it possible thathe could hear such a speech in such a tone from FranciscoAlvarez. He waited to see what it meant. Alvarez regarded himin a sort of kindly contemplation, as a man would look upon ayouth for whom he had benevolent plans.

　　"We have been enemies so far," he resumed in his winningtone, "you and your comrades against myself and my people. But Ihave learned one thing, and I am confirmed in it by the opinionof others; boy as you are, you are the strongest and mostdangerous of the five who oppose me; you are the leader."

　　The words, although true, were those of compliment andflattery, and Henry felt the touch of poison in the silky tone.He stiffened himself slightly as if he would resist a danger,unknown as yet, but all the more to be dreaded on that account.He still remained silent.

　　"Yes, you are the strongest and the one most to be feared,"continued Alvarez musingly, "I am not saying it to flatter you,but because it is a matter that I have weighed well for reasonspertaining to statecraft. There sentiment or personal likingcannot count. I have plans, large plans, in regard to thiscountry. I suppose that every ambitious man who comes here hasthem. How can he help it when he sees so vast and fertile aland, inhabited only by savages? My plan, I believe, is right,in accordance with probability and justice. You, Senior Ware,are a representative of a race that has crossed the mountainsinto a new region. You have there, in Kaintock, thin and feeblesettlements that must soon be crushed."

　　Henry spoke for the first time, but he showed no excitement,although his heart had begun to beat faster.

　　"I think you are wrong, Captain Alvarez," Henry said. "Thesettlements in Kentucky have already driven back some formidableforays, and they grow stronger every day."

　　"Forays of savages only. What could they do if a force ofwhite men, a powerful force, armed with cannon came?"

　　"But will they come?" asked Henry pointedly.

　　"Ah, I see you are clever," said Alvarez, still smiling."You and the other youth, Cotter, are educated, and you mustrealize the truth of what I say. Yes, that force will come.Your Eastern colonies are about to be defeated by the King ofEngland. You are rebels, and there is no place for defeatedrebels but the depths of the wilderness. Spain has beencoquetting with these colonies, but she will come back to theside of the English monarchy where she belongs. The monarchiesmust stand together against all rebels."

　　"How do you know that Spain will help England to fight us?"asked Henry.

　　Alvarez smiled once more, but the smile now, instead ofbeing merely winning, was superior.

　　"It is a long distance from here to Europe," he replied,"but news may come even into the depths of the woods. I havemany friends in Spain, friends near the court, who inform mewhenever the wind changes."

　　Henry did not like, that superior smile. It was a mistakeof Francisco Alvarez, a mistake that many strong men make, toassume a patronizing manner even for a moment in the presence ofanother who was also strong. Henry's intuition at once put himon guard at all points.

　　"I have heard," he said, "that Bernardo Galvez, the SpanishGovernor General at New Orleans, is no friend of the Britishpower. But why do you discuss these things with me or tell me ofthem?"

　　"It is because I have considered you and recognize yourworth," replied Alvarez slowly. "Why rush on to destruction withthe foolish rebels? No, do not speak! Pay good heed to what Isay. There is more passing on this Continent than you think.Great events are about to occur. I do not speak merely of thewar between the rebels - or, if you prefer it, the Americans -and the English, but of another change.

　　"Spain is seated at New Orleans near the mouth of theMississippi, which flows through a larger area of fertile andtemperate country than any other river in the world. The watersof hundreds of navigable streams converge there, and it mustbecome the rival of London and Paris. What can Quebec, Boston,New York, or Charleston be to New Orleans? Can Spain give upsuch a site and such a vast and fertile territory as Louisiana?Never! And here is the greatest opportunity in the world forstrong men! Come with me! Bring your friends with you. We needsuch as you! I offer you a career that could not even enter yourdreams in the woods of Kaintock!"

　　A deep, red flush overspread Henry's face.

　　"Do you think that we could fight against our own people,"he exclaimed. "Do you think that we are made of such stuff asthat miserable renegade, Braxton Wyatt?"

　　Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered withextraordinary emphasis, and they carried the ring of his ownconviction. His great plan possessed him, and he saw before himan instrument of which he could make good use.

　　"I do not ask you to go against your own people," hereplied. "Remain in Louisiana. Great work can be found here foryou and your friends. And where Kaintock is concerned anotherway could be made. It is far from the Eastern colonies, dividedby mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where could they find abetter friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain? And theywill surely need a powerful friend!"

　　Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certainrespect for the scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellentthough the plan was to him. He saw that Alvarez was not anordinary man, that he was one with whom the people for whom hecared would have to reckon. But he was not afraid, nor was hetempted for a moment by the promise of a glittering future thatAlvarez held Out to him. He felt an immense indignation, but hewas still master of himself, and he replied quietly.

　　"I could not leave my own people, nor would any of mycomrades. The air of Louisiana does not suit us. We areaccustomed to a colder climate. We feel, too, that Kaintock cantake care of herself. Nor is it sure that the Eastern colonieswill be crushed by the King. But, should they be, Kentucky wouldnever desert them to join Spain."

　　Alvarez frowned, and his temper began to rise. Henry wasshowing more finesse and more knowledge of the world and itsevents than he had thought possible in one just come out of thewoods.

　　"By entering my service, by becoming a lieutenant of mine,you have all to gain and nothing to lose," he said, resuming hiscustomary tone of superiority.

　　Henry instantly felt the change of manner and resented it."I could not dream of accepting such an offer," he said, "but, ifI should, I'd merely take the place that you've already given toBraxton Wyatt, a renegade. He thinks it is his, and you havemade him think it is his. If you do not keep faith with him howcould I believe that you would keep faith with me?"

　　The dark blood of anger flushed the Spaniard's face. Hehalf rose from his seat and then sat down again.

　　"I have made you an offer," he said, "one that any youth oryoung man should be proud to accept, and you insult me by sayingthat you doubt my faith. You are a child, a backwoodsman, and anignorant fellow!"

　　"I am not ignorant about some things of importance," repliedHenry calmly, "but, if I were low enough to be tempted by youroffer, I should still be wise enough to know that a man who plotsagainst his own superior officer could not be trusted by me."

　　"What do you mean?" asked Alvarez, paling for a moment.

　　"Is it not true that by fair or foul means you expectshortly to succeed Bernardo Galvez as Governor General ofLouisiana?"

　　The Spaniard's hand flew to his sword hilt. Such things asthese were not to be known by everybody. But Henry met his gazesteadily, and the hand fell away from the sword-hilt. He hadgone too far already. He was sorry that he had turned theprofessional swordsman loose on Paul - it had been an unwise deed- and another act of violence in a single day was unworthy a manof his self-control. No, a new and better plan came suddenlyinto his mind.

　　The two sat for a few moments gazing steadily at each other.Alvarez was in the higher chair, and that gave him the physicaladvantage, but the look of the fearless youth was like the sharpsword that cuts scornfully through the maze and web of intrigueand trickery. Alvarez was forced to turn his gaze aside, and hissoul was full of tumult and anger because he had to yield. Thenew plan that he had conceived in regard to this daring boy nowseemed a peculiarly happy thought. Henry's pride and spirit mustbe broken, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the task.He clapped his hands and a soldier entered. He sent a message byhim and several more came, accompanied by Braxton Wyatt. Alvarezmotioned Wyatt to a seat.

　　"Senior Wyatt," he said in his slow, precise English, "Ihave been having a talk with your friend, your former friendhere, and I find him to be as unworthy as you have described himto be. I offered only kindness to himself and his friends. Ichose to believe that they had been merely foolish, misled byignorance, but his reply has been only to insult me and toblacken you."

　　The renegade did not seek to conceal the joy that shone inhis eyes. He had been in fear when he was sent out of the hall,in fear lest Alvarez had some plan by which he would suffer, andnow it was obvious that nothing had been changed.

　　"It is his character," said Wyatt. "He is vicious and thetruth has never been in him."

　　Henry did not know what all this talk meant, but he refusedto notice Braxton Wyatt. His manner indicated that the renegadehad ceased to exist, and it made Wyatt furious.

　　"You tell the truth," continued Alvarez, "but he isdangerous, too, as you told me, a strong, wily fellow, and Ishall not take any chances on his escape. See, I am providingagainst it."

　　A soldier entered, bearing balls and chain, and Alvarezpointed to Henry. The youth sprang to his feet. He knew thatthis was intended as an indignity, and his mind rebelled.

　　"Put them on him," said Alvarez, and the soldiersapproached. Henry hurled the first back and then the second, butthe others were about to fling themselves upon him in a heap,when a voice from the door cried:

　　"Stop!"

　　It was not a loud voice, but one full of dignity andcommand, and the soldiers instantly fell back.

　　A tall man, robed in black, and with a thin face, smoothlyshaven and austere, stood in the doorway. The eyes, usuallybenevolent and kindly, sparkled with indignation, and one handwas uplifted in rebuke.

　　"Father Montigny!" said Henry, under his breath.

　　"Who says 'stop!' here, where I command?" Alvarez exclaimed,and then he paled at sight of the priest. The Spaniard was abold man, but he wished no conflict with Holy Church.

　　"I said 'stop,'" replied the priest with calm dignity,advancing into the room. "Francisco Alvarez, you were about toperform a deed unworthy of yourself, one that you would havecause to regret. There is no war between Louisiana and Kaintock.What right have you to put this youth in chains?"

　　He took a step further, and the rebuking hand was stilluplifted. The soldiers shrank back and more than one crossedhimself. Yet they were relieved, as Father Montigny hadinterfered with a task that they did not like.

　　"I have the utmost respect for Holy Church," repliedAlvarez, though it cost him an effort to utter the words, "but Iam in command here and all military affairs fall under myjurisdiction. This young man is a dangerous spy and plotter fromKaintock, one who has used force against us. He and his comradesseized one of our boats and that was an act of war."

　　"He is a good youth," said Father Montigny. "He and hiscomrades did me a great service. I know that his motives aregood, and I will not see him treated in such barbarous fashion."

　　The face of Alvarez darkened. This was more than he couldstand.

　　"I am the judge in these matters," he replied, "and I tellyou, Father Montigny, that you must not interfere. Your order,the Capuchins, are in power now at New Orleans, as I know, butthe Jesuits may come back. I should favor their returning."

　　"It is not a question of Capuchin or Jesuit," replied FatherMontigny sternly, "and you, Francisco Alvarez, should know it.It is a question of you and what you are doing here. You neednot make any threats against me, I care for none of them, butBernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New Orleans, shall knowof what is passing at Beaulieu."

　　The face of Alvarez contracted into a terrible frown.Nevertheless he feared the unarmed priest.

　　He was helpless against him and he feared, too, that if hepersisted Father Montigny would quickly learn of other and deepermatters. He broke into a short and by no means hearty laugh.

　　"Perhaps I was going rather far," he said, "but this youthhas provoked me beyond endurance. Take away those things,Gaspar."

　　The Spaniard whom he indicated took the irons, and Henry satdown again in his chair. The threatened ignominy had stung himdeeply and he said under his breath: "I thank you, FatherMontigny." Then Alvarez ordered Henry to be taken away, also.

　　Henry arose without resistance, and walked from the hallwith the soldiers. As he passed, Father Montigny put his hand onhis shoulder and said:

　　"I am your friend, my son."

　　Henry said nothing but gave him a look of deep gratitude ashe walked proudly out.