The Filibusters, Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne [best book clubs .TXT] 📗

“I’LL tell you what to do with all this stock of prisoners,” said Carew. ” Keep half here in gaol at Los Angeles, send the rest to fight at the front, and shoot your hostages out of hand if the others don’t do as they’re told. Give ‘em clearly to understand this, and you’ll have fifteen hundred very possible second-rate troops. That seems a plain, sensible way to deal with the matter.”

“Rather bloodthirsty, Sir William,” said Davis.

“Oh, I’m no man,” Carew retorted, ” for milkand-water schemes. I’m about sick of this infernal country already. I want to make my pile out of it and be off home, and so far the only things I’ve collected have been two items I didn’t want to wit, wounds.”

“Of which only one would rank for a pension if such things were throwing about,” said Fluellen.

“I’ll ask you to explain?” said Carew, sourly.

“Why, didn’t you get one snipe-shooting on your own account, or at any rate not Sacaronducan-shooting on Briggs’s?”

“If you put it that way,” said Carew, ” I suppose I did. But you mustn’t speak of the gentleman as Briggs now. He’s rather adopted the Grand Llama style of behaviour, and Don Esteban seems the most familiar name he can comfortably do with. I should call the move a little unwise. He’s counting too much on his Presidency before it is quite hatched.”

“He has to keep up the dignity of his position,” said Davis.

“Oh, dignity be sugared,” Carew returned. “Aren’t we a gang of filibusters, which is the polite modern way of saying a crew of pirates? And wouldn’t old Maxillo hang Briggs if he could only lay hold of him, with just as little pomp and ceremony as he’d hang any of the rest of us? It’s no use our playing at being kings and queens; that’s a kid’s game. But what we did have a fine chance of was an excellent lot of loot, and that we aren’t going the right way to collect. No, nowhere near. I don’t see the prospect of fingering so much as a miserable gold candlestick, let alone getting a concession for a mine which one could sell to fools at home, or anything big in that line. It strikes me I’ve been made a common gull of, coming out here; yes, in more ways than one.”

“Why don’t you hedge?” Coffin asked with a laugh. ” Why don’t you write to Maxillo and say that for a cool ten thousand down you’ll put your hands in your pockets and go off peaceably home?”

“Because the old beast hasn’t got the money or else I’d do it, although, by Jove, ten thou’s little enough to get one’s skin slit up like mine is.”

“Billy,” said Coffin, ” don’t be cantankerous. “We’re going to march on Dolores next week, and then you’ll have work enough to keep you from grumbling. It’s high feeding and nothing to do that’s at the bottom of your complaint. That, and sighing after Delicia. You’re wasting time and good looks there, my boy. She’s the General’s money. It’s a sure thing.”

“My dear Wee Hugh, nothing is certain in this life, especially women. If I cultivate Delicia, ‘ pour passer le temps/ I’m at any rate no more conspicuous than the rest of you. I admire the lady; who doesn’t? But I’m not after marrying her. If I were, I should nip her up whilst other people were waiting (and under their noses if it suited me to do so) and put her down a ‘ padre,’ and marry her whether she liked it or whether she didn’t.”

“I don’t fancy,” said Coffin, drily, “you’d make a model husband, Billy. There’s rather too much of the savage about you at times for domestic consumption.”

“Had we not better close the subject, Sir William?” said Davis. ” Do you know, I think it is hardly gentlemanly to discuss with so much freedom er”

Carew laughed. ” A lady you are sweet on yourself, eh? You are a good old muddler, Davis.”

“Oh, she never looks at me,” said Davis.

“Own fault, man; make her. Put less fashionplate into your talk, and more dash. If she won’t listen to you when you’re civil, be rude; and if she won’t listen then, be damned rude. You don’t know how to tackle women.”

“Ladies,” said Davis. ” No, I don’t.”

“There you are, and you let ‘em see it, which is fatal. They care nothing for fledglings. But if you let out you’ve committed three murders already and a highway robbery, and are quite ready to continue the series, then they will be prepared to adore you. It’s stupid of them; but that’s the way the dear things are built.”

“Sir William,” said Davis uncomfortably, ” we will not continue this talk, if you please. I have taught myself to regard ladies chivalrously, and I do not think I am likely to change.”

“Bravo,” said Coffin, “you are the only de’ cently moral man amongst us. Billy, you old ruffian, there goes the ‘ assembly.’ You’ve got five hundred of our ex-prisoners to lick into shape, and you’ve got your work cut out if you’re going to make a regiment of them. So have I, only worse, because there’s devilish few of my poor old corps left to make officers and non-com’s out of. So long, boys. Do your work. See you at mess.”

Off they went, and Davis left at the same time to hammer at his transport and commissariat business. I found myself alone with Fluellen, and what I had been dreading for some days took place at last.

“Look here, Birch,” he said, ” who is this man, Don Juan Carmoy, they are talking about?”

“Oh,” I said indifferently, ” he’s a person who considers himself big in these parts, and who certainly has money and influence, and who has been kind enough to declare for us. A regular Spanishlooking body, but businesslike, and a goodish acquisition, as men go round here. He is to have some sort of a billet in the new Government.”

“Seen his wife?”

“If he’s married I dare say I have. One meets such scores of people. Why, have you seen her? I thought you’d been lying here on your back all the time.”

He turned over on the sofa, and faced the wall.

“I’m not altogether a fool, Birch, or a child; though I’ve no doubt you’ve heard all about my particular bother, and imagine me both. Now just tell me fairly and squarely how things are going on in that direction here, and what they say about me in connection with them.”

“You ask me,” I said, ” a great deal more than I can tell you. I did hear some time since that you were engaged to Donna Carmoy once, and (remembering that) when I met her here and your name was mentioned, I did not see that she showed an interest which was not altogether calm and placid. She’s rather an excitable little woman, I should say.”

“And Carmoy?”

“Is wrapped up in furthering the interests of Don Juan Carmoy. So far he hasn’t shown the least outward uneasiness about your existence, though by the way of experiment, I let drop casually the fact that you had known his wife previously.”

“And what did he say to that?”

“Ah, I’m sorry he’s hurt,” said he. ” Hope he gets better. I should like to ask this Seflor Fluellen to dinner.”

Fluellen laughed bitterly. After a pause he asked, ” And she, Julia, does she care for this fellow?”

“My dear chap,” I answered, ” you expect me to know too much. It is not a question which I should like to put to the lady, and so far she has not given herself away. The few times I’ve seen them together, they behaved as ordinary society people; neither gush nor squabble; and in fact show up like a reasonable married couple.”

“Any children?”

“No at any rate none living now. I asked that.”

“Ah,” said Fluellen, ” I think I’m glad of that. Well, Birch, thanks for what you’ve told me. You want to be off to your work? Then I won’t pester you any longer now, and in a week or so I shall be about again to see matters for myself. But in the meanwhile you might be a kind chap and keep your eyes open, and tell me what’s going along.”

“Look here,” I said; ” I tell you flatly I’m going to assist in raising no earthquakes between Don Juan Carmoy and yourself. The Cause is going most prosperously ahead, and I do not want to see it brought up with a round turn. You and he are both of you men far too capable to be wasting your time in cutting one another’s throats.”

“Our throats are our own, I suppose.”

“Yours isn’t, anyway,” I said, with my hand on the door. ” You’ve signed yourself away body and brains to help the General in this revolution, and until he gives you your formal discharge, you know what you’re liable to if you