Chata and Chinita, Chapters XXXIII-XXXV [pp. 2-24]

18 Chata and Ckinita. [July
beheld Pedro struggling at the side of the far distant to be recalled by those unrestrainplunging horse, that he realized that the man able cries of returning consciousness. Even
was to be dragged to his death. He had while we poured brandy down his throat,
heard of Ramirez's wild jests and imagined and rubbed and stretched his limbs, it
this might be one, until he beheld the cor- seemed as though it would have been a
t~e speeding forward, urging the unhappy thousand times more charitable to suffer
Pedro before them with blows and jeers, or him to die, than to recall him to such agony.
exhibiting their wonderful horsemanship in When he regained full consciousness, howevading his prostrate body; which ~ahOwever, ever, the cries ceased-not because the pain
more than once sounded under the thud of was less, but that the will regained its mastery.
the horses' feet. "As his eyes fell upon me, he gazed at
Pepe' could have escaped at any moment, me a moment as upon an apparition. So
for in the concentra~ion of attention upon wild was his look, I thought he was
Pedro, his companion had been utterly for- going mad.
gotten; but he followed madly, expostulat- "` Don Juan! here! here!' he muttered
ing, entreating, cursing, while his breath al- hoarsely.`Are we in hell together? But
lowed; and then was seemingly swept onward no!' he sprang up, then fell back with a
in the whirl, almost unconscious, till he groan.` I shall live to warn her yet. The
heard the shot that ended the mad scene, child shall not fall into his accursed hands.
and found himself staggering over the body Never! Never! Ah, Pepe', thou art here;
of the bleeding Pedro. hasten, hasten, tell her she is the child of
- The sight of Ashley, as unexpected, as the man he murdered. What though I die?
assuring,as though an angel had arisen,saved she will be saved! Go! Go!"' Chinita started.
him from utter collapse of mind and body. "The recreant Mozo had returned. It
But for the new excitement, he would have was Stefano, whom you know well. He is
fallen prone, and had he ever regained con- a coward, but ready in resource, and with a
sciousness, it would have been to find his kindly heart. He knew the country well,
comrade dead. But under the impulse of and told us of a cave he once had slept in,
Ashley's energetic action and sustaining and he led us to it unerringly. To our surwords, he even helped to raise the victin~, prise, we found there a scanty supply of
in whom, lacerated though he was, Ashley ~ino1e, left by some wandering tenant, and
soon discovered a feeble flutter of the heart. a quart of water, still fresh enough to show
"We took him to the shelter of the rock," that the cave had not bug been empty.
said Ashley, who had by signs hastened There was a remnant of a woman's dress in
Pep~'s conclusion of the account, which, one corner,-heaven knows how brought
related in his own profuse maniier, was there-and this we used to bind the pistol
far more agonizing than the brief outline wound; while Stefano used the best means
here given; "and found that his extraordin- available in setting the broken arm. These
ary powers of endurance, though strained to rancheros are possessed of strange accomthe uttermost, had stood him in wonderful plishments-I don't believe a surgeon could
stead. An arm was broken, and every have done it with more skill.
muscle so wrenched. and strained, that when "During the course of our passage through
he regained his Con~io~usness the resolute the dusk, bearing as best we could our
will, which during the progress of the tor- groaning burden, his hallucination that I
ture had withheld him from uttering protest was John Ashley merged into recognition.
or groan, utterly gave way and he screamed It was but little I could do for him, but it
in agony. Happily his persecutors were too filled him with gratitude.` You are ~~en