"_Madre de Dios!_ Be prudent, I pray you, Juan!" warned Don Pedro. "Such words are best left unsaid."

"Are they?" I demanded. "If to-morrow every free-minded man in New Spain spoke out his real thoughts, to-morrow this land would be free from Old Spain."

"_Maria santisima!_" gasped Dona Marguerite, dropping her fan and sitting erect.

"We forget that Don Juan is a citizen of the Anglo-American Republic,"

said Alisanda, calmly. "In his land men are not accustomed to wear muzzles."

"Because our fathers rebelled and triumphed over the tyrant who oppressed them," I added.

There followed a tense silence. The sun had set, and I could barely distinguish the features of the others in the fast gathering twilight.

There was a shadow upon them, not alone of the night.

Before any one spoke, the silence was broken by the peal of a huge church bell. Instantly all others than myself bent forward, crossing themselves and murmuring hasty prayers--"_Ave Maria purisima!_" "_Ave Maria santisima!_"--while slowly the great bell pealed forth its deep and sonorous note.

In the midst a little hand slipped out and rested for a moment upon my hard knuckles. I turned my palm about to clasp the visitor, but it flitted like a b.u.t.terfly. An instant later _la oracion_ was brought to a close by a merry chime of smaller bells. The senoras began to chat in lively tones, and servants hastened in with waxen tapers to relieve the deepening gloom.

Greatly to my annoyance, Walker rose to leave. I might have surmised that he was prompted to the action by jealousy, but my ignorance of local etiquette made me apprehensive of another blunder. This forced me to follow his lead and join in his polite refusals of the pressing invitations of our host and hostess to remain for the evening. In a land where, upon an introduction to a man in the plaza, he presents you with his house, and later is not at home to you when you call at that same house, it is as well to take the most urgent of invitations with a grain of salt.

As we bowed to the ladies, Dona Dolores demurely slipped aside and drew the attention of the others by a piquant remark about one of the fine paintings upon the wall. Alisanda took the opportunity to flash me a glance which set my heart to leaping with the certainty that I had lost nothing by my crossing of the barrier. Just what I had gained was yet to be seen. I knew I had gone far toward winning my lady's heart--I had crossed the barrier of nationality and birth. But I did not forget that I had yet to cross the gulf of religion.

With that one swift glance, she drew back, and Don Pedro escorted us to the door. We exchanged bows with him, and moved down the gallery to the head of the stairway. Here we turned and again exchanged bows. We descended to the first landing, and paused to return the bow which he made to us over the gallery rail. Another exchange of bows from the edge of the beautiful flower-and-shrub-embowered court, and we at last escaped out through the tunnel-like pa.s.sage to the great gate.

Pa.s.sing through the wicket into the street, which was lit up by the red glare of a resin torch, we found ourselves face to face with Father Rocus and Lieutenant Don Jesus Maria de Gonzales y Medina. The aide-de-camp bowed stiffly and stared from Walker to myself with a glance of fiery jealousy. I gave him a curt nod, and hastened to grasp the proffered hand of the beaming padre.

"G.o.d be with you, my son!" he exclaimed.

"My thanks for the kind wish, padre!" I replied "I see you are coming to call upon my friend Senor Vallois."

"Your friend!" muttered Medina, for I had spoken in French.

"My friend," I repeated. "I had the pleasure of meeting Don Pedro in my own country. But now, senor, with regard to our misunderstanding this morning, I wish to express my regrets and to explain that the error was committed through inadvertence."

"Ah--if you apologize," he said, with a complacent half-sneer.

"You mistake me, senor. I do not apologize. I merely explain."

He turned, without answering, and swaggered in through the archway.

"You _Americanos_!" protested Father Rocus, reaching up to lay a hand upon my shoulder. "Can you never be prudent? Medina is a swordsman. Your friend here will tell you that out of five duels, the aide has to his credit three deaths on the black record of Satanas."

"If he is a swordsman, I am a pistol shot," I rejoined.

"Then all turns upon the chance of who challenges and who has choice of weapons. G.o.d grant the choice fall to you! He is in strong need of a lesson."

"That is true!" muttered Walker, with a shrug.

"Meantime, my son, it will be well for you to consider the peril of your soul and come often to the _Parroquia_ to hear me preach," admonished the padre. He spoke in a severe tone, but I fancied I caught a twinkle in his eye as he turned to enter the gate.

Walker took me familiarly by the arm, and as we sauntered back to his quarters, first inquired particularly as to my skill with the pistol, and then went into the details of Medina's duels. Before he had finished I divined that he and others of the officers at Chihuahua would be more than pleased to see some one trim the comb of the braggadocio aide-de-camp. If an outsider could be inveigled into taking the risk, so much the better.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE SERENADE

The following morning I a.s.sisted Pike in the preparation of a sketch of our trip, which had been most courteously requested by Salcedo. Walker offered his services, and would take no refusal. But we found more than one opportunity for a word apart, and Pike told me that he was already in touch with the woolly-headed old Caesar, who had at once offered to help us to obtain information as to the country's mines, ranches, and Government. He had begun by pointing out to my friend the closet in which were secreted the Government maps that had hung on the walls before our arrival.

After dinner and the siesta, we received calls from a number of the most prominent gentlemen of Chihuahua, including Malgares's father-in-law, Colonel Mayron, and Don Manuel Zuloaga, one of the under secretaries.

Almost in the first breath the latter insisted upon our visiting him that evening, and as he chanced to be the first in the field, we a.s.sented.

Other invitations showered upon us thick and fast, so that it soon became apparent we should not lack for social entertainment, despite our equivocal position in the eyes of the Governor-General. More than once we were urged to move to the luxurious homes of these generous gentlemen, but declined because Salcedo had intimated his wish that we should stay in Walker's quarters. Otherwise there seemed to be no check upon our liberty. We were free to come and go in the city as we chose.

To save us the annoyance of arrest by the night patrols, we were even given the especial countersign of "_Americanos_."

During the afternoon Malgares and Senor Vallois pressed Pike and myself to receive loans from them of sufficient money to replenish our wardrobes. We declined, but later accepted a loan from Senor Zuloaga, on his representations that Salcedo would soon comply with my friend's application for an official loan, and that we owed it to the dignity of our country to present a favorable appearance. Accordingly, we went out with him to his tailor and to the stores, and made provisions for complete costumes in the prevailing mode of Europe and our own country.

This occupied us until vespers, or _la oracion_, after which, having donned such articles of our new outfit as were ready for wear, we accompanied Senor Zuloaga to his house. As the senor was a bachelor, we spent a most interesting hour alone with him on the _azotea_, or flat earthen roof of his house, discussing the great questions of politics and religion.

Our host talked with freedom, telling us, among other things, there was reason to dread that Emperor Napoleon had designs to seize Spain and dethrone King Ferdinand. In such event, he added, many of the loyal subjects in New Spain would consider it the highest patriotism to declare for independence. As Americans, Pike and I heartily commended this revolutionary sentiment.

Before we could further sound the position of our host, other callers arrived, and he shifted the conversation to less perilous topics. We descended to the _sala_, where there soon gathered a number of our new acquaintances and other persons of wealth and station who expressed themselves as eager for an introduction to the _Anglo-Americano caballeros_.

My truculent friend Lieutenant Medina came in early with Walker, to whom he seemed to have much to say on the side. He greeted Pike effusively, myself with marked reserve. After this he avoided us both, and soon sat down to gamble at cards with other officers. The rest of the company stood around or lolled on the divans, puffing their _cigarros_, and _cigarritos_, the younger men chatting about women and horses, the older ones adding to these stock topics the third one of fortune.

As politics was a subject unmentioned, Pike attached himself to the group which seemed most disposed to discuss silver and gold mining and the other important industry of stock-raising. I kept more among the younger men, gleaning in the chaff of their sensual anecdotes for grains of information on military affairs. My harvest was so scant that I gave over the attempt at the serving of the _dulces_ and wine, an hour or two before midnight.

This light refreshment proved to be the signal for a general change. The gamblers gave over their cards, the others their barren chatter. A guitar was brought in, and Lieutenant Medina sang a rollicking wine song, nearly all present joining in the refrain. The aide was gifted with a rather fine tenor voice--and knew it. At the end of the song, he tendered the guitar, with a flourish, to the _Americano_ lieutenant.

Pike declined the honor; upon which Medina turned to me, with a yet deeper bow, his lip curled in a smile of malicious antic.i.p.ation.

There was a general flash of surprise when I gravely accepted the instrument and set about readjusting the strings to my own key. I did not look at Medina, for I had need to keep a cool head. After so many months my fingers bent stiffly to the strings. But I had not forgotten my lady's lessons, and as the refrain of the first song had enabled me to test my voice, I was able to render a Spanish love ditty with some little success.

"Bravo!" exclaimed our host as I handed him the guitar. "I did not know that you _Americanos_ were singers."

"We are not, as a rule," said Pike. "For the most part, our people have been too intent upon hewing their way through the wilderness and fighting for life and freedom to find time for skilled voice-training.

Yet we have our singing-schools even on the outer frontiers."

"It is quite evident that Senor Robinson has found time to cultivate his fine voice," remarked one of the crowd.

"There will soon be a baritone beneath the balconies," added Medina.

"Beware, all you who have wives and daughters!"

Senor Zuloaga handed the guitar back to me. "Pray accept this little gift from a friend, Don Juan," he said. "The senoritas of Chihuahua will be deprived of a great pleasure if you lack the means to serenade them."

"Senor," I replied, accepting the guitar, "it would be most ungallant to refuse a gift presented in such terms. Though I lack the skill and voice of Lieutenant Medina, I will do my best. May I ask if His Excellency, the Governor-General, is the father of one of your charming senoritas?"

A sudden hush fell upon the company at the mere mention of their master.