The Kidnapped President

To use a stage expression, it was a pretty market I had brought my pigs to! I had felt so confident that my errand was not known, and that I should succeed in getting safely out of the country, that I had neglected the most simple precautions, and in consequence here I was a prisoner, with the pleasing possibility ahead of me of either having my throat cut by a common murderer before the night was past, or, what was more probable, of being propped against a wall and shot by President Fernandez' soldiers at daybreak. The mere knowledge that I was still alive, and that my watch, chain, and money had not been taken from me, pointed to the fact that I was a prisoner of the State, and not of a private individual. All things considered, it would be difficult to say which would prove the worse fate.

Putting aside for the moment the question as to whose captive I was, I examined my watch, and discovered that it was just half-past one. Only an hour had elapsed since the episode on the wharf – to me, however, it seemed an Eternity. After a while, feeling stronger, I got on to my feet again, and began to pace the room. I also tried the door, only to find it locked. They had got me fast enough. So much was certain. The next time, I told myself, I crossed the threshold, it would in all probability be to be haled to a place of execution. For upwards of an hour I paced the room, calling myself a fool and idiot, and every other name I could think of, for having allowed myself to be drawn into such an affair. I recalled that quiet evening at Falstead, when the idea of the adventure had appeared so attractive to me, and, as I did so, it seemed to me I could hear Molly's gentle voice saying: "Act as you think best, dear! I know that it will be all right then." I had certainly acted on my own judgment, and here I was in consequence!

I was still thinking of Falstead when a sharp cry reached me from the yard outside, followed by a prolonged scuffling noise. Then there was a heavy fall, another, and yet another. After that all was silence once more.

"What on earth is the matter?" I asked myself. "It sounded like a struggle of some sort. Can they by any chance have captured Ferguson, and have brought him here to be my fellow-prisoner?"

A few moments later some one approached my door. A key was placed in the lock and turned, then the door opened, and a man, carrying a lantern, entered quickly, closing the door behind him. The upper half of his face was hidden by a black mask. My astonishment may be imagined when, after he had removed it, I discovered that he was none other than Don José de Hermaños.

"Hush!" he began, holding up his hand as a sign to me not to speak. "I want you to listen to what I have to say, and not to interrupt me until I have finished. In the first place, let me inform you that the President has discovered everything! While you were talking to him to-night at the ball, he knew why you were in Equinata, and, what is more, had already laid his plans to effect your arrest. The reason why he did it so secretly, and why you were not taken to the regular cartel, is because he does not want, for reasons of his own, to attract public attention just at present. I was warned in time, but was unable to communicate with you. Now, by a stratagem, we have overpowered your gaolers, and you are free!"

"But where am I?" I asked, in the same low voice.

"In the old cartel on the outskirts of the town," Hermaños replied. "Now I want you to pay attention to what I am about to say to you. There is still time to retrieve matters, if we go the proper way to work about it. The President, when he left the ball to-night – and now you will be able to understand his reasons for leaving so early – drove out to consult with General Mopaxus, who is lying ill at his house six miles distant on the road to Sarbassa. The road in question is hilly, and it will take him at least an hour to get there. We will say that he remains with the General an hour. In that case, he should not reach the Capital until four o'clock at the earliest. Word must be sent to the captain of the yacht to shift his moorings and to have a boat ashore at the little bay of Horejos at three o'clock. Horejos is three miles outside the city, and Fernandez will have to pass through the village on his way home. We must catch him at any hazard."

"How many men have you with you?"

"Seven," he replied.

"Can they be relied upon?"

"To the death! They know that their own safety depends upon getting Fernandez out of the way. Four of them he has suspected for some time past. They would prefer to shoot him, and so make sure of him, but as there are definite orders against that, they feel that the next best thing they can do is to get him out of the country. And between ourselves, that is exactly my own case."

"And what about the Guards here?"

"They are safe for the present," he answered. "But no time must be lost, for it is more than likely that at daybreak others will come to take their places."

"And how am I to communicate with Ferguson?"

He fumbled in his pocket for a moment.

"Here is a sheet of paper, an envelope, and a pencil. He knows your writing, of course. When you have written it, one of my men shall take it aboard. If he has to get steam up, there is not any too much time for him to do so. Every moment is of the utmost importance."

I forthwith pencilled a hasty note to the captain, bidding him get up steam, weigh anchor, and have a boat ashore in Horejos Bay at three o'clock, and stand by to leave Equinata at latest by four o'clock. This note I handed to Hermaños, and when I had done so, followed him from the cell.

Once outside, I found myself in a large yard, illuminated by the bright moonlight. I looked about me for the bodies of my captors, but was informed by my companion that they had been securely bound and placed in an adjoining cell. On hearing our steps, six figures appeared from the shadow of the wall. They did not speak, but at a sign from Hermaños, one went on ahead and opened the gates, whereupon two of them passed out. After an interval of some thirty seconds, two more disappeared in the same mysterious fashion, the remaining pair making themselves scarce when the same duration of time had elapsed.

"Now it is our turn," Hermaños whispered. "With the exception of the man who has gone to the yacht, each company will proceed to the rendezvous by different routes through the city. Fernandez has spies everywhere, and we must be careful that our behaviour does not attract their attention. To that end I have brought this poncho and hat for you."

I had noticed a bundle upon the ground, and had wondered what it might be. My own hat had disappeared, goodness only knows where. So placing the sombrero on my head, I pulled the poncho over my shoulders, and then we, in our turn, left the cartel.

As Hermaños had said, the lock-up was on the outskirts of the city, and the locality through which he led me was quite unknown to me.

What was the end of our adventure to be?

CHAPTER IX

It was evident to me that Hermaños had laid his plans most carefully, for some hundred and fifty to two hundred yards from the gate, we found a vehicle of the volante description awaiting our coming. We entered it, and the driver, without asking for instructions, set off at a sharp pace. We had proceeded some distance before Don José spoke.

"I hope you understand, Señor Trevelyan," he said at last, "what a serious risk I am running on your account?"

"Many thanks," I replied. "I am afraid, however, you do me too much honour. I fancy if it had only been a question of my safety, I should have had to appeal to you for some time before I should have had your assistance."

I spoke out of the bitterness of my heart, half expecting that my words would offend him. To my surprise, however, they did not do so. He only laughed in a quiet way, and then lapsed into silence once more. The carriage rattled through the silent streets, and at length passed out into the open country on the other side. So far we had not attracted attention. Eventually we pulled up at the foot of a steep hill, one side of which was formed by the mountain, the other looking down upon a stretch of plain, beyond which again was the open sea.

"We must climb this hill," said Hermaños, "and when we have descended it again we shall be at the rendezvous. Let us hope Fernandez has not made his appearance yet."

We accordingly alighted from the vehicle, and, when we had seen it return citywards, began to climb the steep ascent. At the summit, and just before the hill begins to descend on the other side, were three palms. When we reached these my companion uttered a low and peculiar whistle. It was answered from the shadow, and a moment later a figure emerged from the darkness and stood before us. Hermaños went to him and said something in an undertone which I did not hear.

"It's all right," he remarked when he returned to me. "Fernandez has not returned yet. They are watching for him in the valley below, and we had better join them."

"With all my heart," I replied, for, as you may suppose, I was eager to have the business over and done with.

We accordingly descended the hill in the direction indicated. The road here was little better than a cart-track, and one that I should have been very sorry to drive along on a dark night. In the moonlit valley below could be seen the little fishing village of Horejos. I examined my watch and discovered that it wanted twenty minutes to three o'clock. Needless to say, I profoundly hoped that Ferguson had received my message, and that we should find the boat awaiting us.

When we reached the foot of the hill, it was to discover that the road ran between two walls of rock. Blasting operations were accountable at this point for the existence of the track, which would otherwise have been impassable. On the top of the rock on the right, and continuing up the hill-side, was a thick wood, in which it would have been possible for some hundreds of men to have lain concealed. Behind the rock on the other side was a gentle slope continuing to within a few dozen yards of the shore. All things considered, a better place for the work we had in hand could scarcely have been imagined. It would have been out of the question for two carriages to have passed abreast, owing to the width of the road; and one glance was sufficient to show me that it would be quite possible for a determined man to bring a vehicle to a standstill at such a spot. That Hermaños was in a state of considerable trepidation regarding his share in the business I could see. From what he had already said to me I gathered that, had he not advanced so far in the business, he would even at the eleventh hour have drawn back. Had he been left to himself, he would doubtless have allowed General Fernandez' rule to continue without bothering himself about Silvestre. Unfortunately, however, Silvestre had obtained too great a hold upon him, and, in consequence, in order to cover the shortcomings of his own past, he had been compelled to take up arms at the very juncture when he was most desirous of remaining quietly in the background. Who the men with him were I had no sort of idea, nor did he inform me. That they were desperate like himself I could very well imagine.

When we reached the spot just described, Hermaños again gave utterance to the low and peculiar whistle I have already mentioned. This whistle was answered by another, and then a voice from the darkness said in Spanish, "All is well! He has not passed yet!"

A moment later a man scrambled down the bank and stood before us. He wore a poncho, and had a broad-brimmed sombrero.

"No sign of him yet, Luiz?" Hermaños said.

"No, there is no sign yet, señor," the other replied. "But he can't be long now. In another hour it will begin to grow light, and if he does not come before daybreak, then our opportunity will be gone."

"When he comes, what do you propose to do?" I inquired.

"I thought that when the carriage arrives here some of us would appear in the road and stop the horses, while you go to the door and cover the President with your revolver."

I should here remark that when Hermaños had handed me the hat and poncho, he had also given me a heavy Colt's revolver.

"And having done that?" I asked, more for the sake of seeing what he would say than for any other reason.

"March him down by the path yonder to the sea, put him into the boat, and take him out to the yacht," he answered. "After that you can do with him as you please."

"I trust the boat has arrived," I said. "Is there no way of finding out? We ought to make sure of that!"

"I will send a man to see," he replied, and then ordered the individual named Luiz to go to the beach and discover whether the boat was there.

The fellow made off; and after he had left us we walked a little further down the road and seated ourselves upon the bank. A quarter of an hour passed, during which time we discussed everything but the business before us. Then the messenger returned with the information that the boat was waiting for us, a couple of hundred yards or so away, in charge of the chief officer.

"So far, all is well," I said, and as I spoke the sound of wheels reached us from the distance.

"He is coming," Hermaños exclaimed, springing to his feet; then, turning to the man who had just returned from the beach, he cried: "Call the others, Luiz!"

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.

"Hermaños," 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 Hermaños 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 Señorita 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, Señor 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 assure 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 Señorita had done the same.

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

"If you do as I ask you not a hair of your head shall be harmed, Señorita," 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 Señorita 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, Señor President, to be good enough to walk ahead. The Señorita 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 Hermaños and two of his fellow-conspirators brought up the rear. No one would have imagined that, only a few hours before, the Señorita 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 circumstances, the Señorita 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 shore was an exceedingly rough one, little better in fact than a goat-track, and as the Señorita 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, señor," she said gravely, and, without another word, continued her walk.

"Señorita," 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, señor," 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."

After such a speech there was not much to be said, so we continued our walk in silence. Ten minutes later we reached the beach, walked along it for a hundred yards or so, and then found ourselves beside the yacht's gig, which had been pulled up on the shore to await our coming. As soon as they saw us the boat's crew, led by the chief officer, made their appearance from a hollow in the sand-hills where they had been concealed.

"Permit me to help you into the boat," I said to the Señorita, moving towards it as I spoke. "When you are on board we can push her out into deeper water."

She accordingly took my hand and stepped into the boat, after which the men ran it into the water.

"Now, Mr. President," I continued, "if you will be so kind as to get in, I think we had better be moving."

He hesitated for a moment.

"Before we do so, might I have a word with you in private, Señor Trevelyan?" he said. "I will not detain you more than a few moments."

I answered in the affirmative, and we moved a few paces away together. To make sure that he played no trick upon me, I took my revolver from my pocket and carried it somewhat ostentatiously in my hand. He noticed the precaution and gave utterance to one of his peculiar laughs.

"You need have no fear," he said. "I shall not run away. My heart, as you may have heard, is a little weak, and I am afraid a sharp run on this sand would not tend to improve it. Let us talk here. Now, Señor Trevelyan, I am going to put a very simple question to you. I very naturally presume that you have been well paid by my rival, Don Guzman de Silvestre, to effect my capture and deportation?"

"It is scarcely necessary for me to admit that fact," I answered. "Yes! All things considered, I am very well paid."

"Needless to remark," he continued, "I have no desire to leave Equinata. Nor am I anxious to find myself in my old enemy's hands. The question I wish to put to you, therefore, is this: What would your price be to let me go?"

"I cannot answer that question," I replied, "and for the simple reason that I am unable to let you go at all."

"I should be willing to pay a large sum in cash, and, what is more, I would give you a substantial guarantee that, if you would leave La Gloria to-morrow, I would let you depart in peace."

"I am very sorry, General Fernandez," I said, "but I am afraid you have made some little mistake in your estimation of my character. I will be perfectly candid with you, and will admit that, if I could live the past few weeks over again, I should not be treating you as I am doing to-night. However, I have accepted Don Guzman's offer, and I have taken his money. For that reason I cannot take yours, nor can I let you go, glad as I should be to do so. I wonder what you would have done with me, had I not had the good fortune to escape from the cartel to-night?"

"I can tell you exactly," he answered. "You would have shared your quarters with some of your fellow-conspirators, and I should have shot you in the morning. Experience has taught me that there is nothing like dispatch in these matters. Strike home, and strike hard, is my motto."

"So I have been given to understand," I replied dryly. "And now let us return to the boat."

"You are still determined not to let me go?" he said. "What do you say to an offer of twenty thousand pounds, in English money?"

"I could not do it for fifty thousand," I replied. "Come along, sir, the dawn will soon be here, and I am anxious to be out of Equinata before it comes."

He gave a little shrug of the shoulders as I spoke, and then moved towards the boat.

"One more question," he said before we joined the others. "Where are you going to take me?"

"I shall hope to be able to show you that in a very short time," I answered. "For the present, however, it must remain a secret. Now, sir, into the boat, if you please."

Before he got in he turned to Don José de Hermaños, who was standing with his friends by the water's edge.

"Farewell, Don José," he said, as genially as if he were addressing a valued acquaintance. "I wonder whether you and I are destined to meet again? As you are aware, I have a good memory for both friends and enemies! I once imagined that you and I would have been able to work together. I believe we should have done so, had not you committed yourself too deeply to my rival before I was able to bring my influence to bear upon you. I should put that mask in my pocket if I were you. You forget that you have a mole upon your chin."

The man he addressed stepped back a pace as if he had been struck. He had disguised himself so carefully that he thought detection was impossible. Nevertheless, he had omitted to conceal a disfigurement on the lower portion of his countenance that was sufficient to reveal his identity to any one at all acquainted with him. His astonishment may have accounted for his failure to reply to the other's speech.

The President having taken his place beside the Señorita, I prepared to follow him, but before doing so I held out my hand to Hermaños.