CHAPTER X

AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION

"For the first time for many a long day I suffered from sleeplessness," said Mr. Blunt on the following morning, when he and Dudley met. "This idea of yours filled my mind so that my eyes would not close. I kept asking myself over and over again why I had been content to go on, year in and year out, suffering these Indian raids, when I might have made arrangements to call my friends after the very first raid and follow the ruffians. Then I thought of the poor gauchos who had been killed, and finally I came to the conclusion that I would not let another day pass without taking steps to carry out your plan. Now, lad, we will send for Pietro and give him his orders. Then we will mount and ride for the port. Fortunately I have business to attend to in Buenos Ayres, and shall be able to see to it and to this other matter at the same time."

According to their usual custom they went to the stables, led out their horses and watered them, afterwards feeding and grooming them. And while the beasts ate in peace, the two sat down to their own breakfast. By the time the grooming was done, Pietro was there, standing awkwardly before his employer, shuffling from one foot to the other, and grinning so that his strong white teeth shone in the morning sun.

"A fine day, master," he said in his quaint English. "A grand day. The hearts of the men are gay this morning. The master has heard the whole tale?"

"Heard the tale, and thanks his faithful and gallant gauchos," exclaimed Mr. Blunt, striding up to the swarthy foreman and gripping his hand. "My young manager has told me how well you all behaved, and I can assure you that I am highly pleased. Never before have the Indians had such a lesson. I am proud of my gauchos."

"And they of their master and his manager," came the answer, as Pietro shuffled his feet and flushed under his dusky skin, while he struck at the doorposts with the tail of his riding whip. For the tall owner of the rancho had a peculiar effect on his gauchos. They held him in great respect, always listened to what he had to say and straightway obeyed. It was seldom that they exchanged words with him.

"You sent for me, master," said Pietro at length; "what do you desire?"

"That you should conduct the work of the rancho while we are absent. Listen, Pietro! My young manager, the gringo who so lately joined us and showed an old hand how to shoot, has done a great deal for us."

"That is true, master," eagerly assented Pietro. "Did he not lead us yesterday? Is not our success due to him?"

"To him and to those who supported him," was the answer. "But he has done more. He has asked me why it is that I as well as other owners of estancias on the pampas are content to put up with Indian raids, to suffer the loss of cattle and men."

The gaucho's dark eyebrows were elevated, while he flicked with his whip at the doorpost.

"It is not a question of why, master," he said. "Up till yesterday we have followed one plan, and one only. The señor gave us another, and well it worked. But I fear we shall have to go on as before. Who can say when these Indians will come again? I think it may be a year or more, for they have been soundly beaten. But they are fierce fighters, and they must hate us very sorely. If they think that there is a chance of success they will raid us again, and then it will not be cattle alone for which they will come."

"I agree. They will endeavor to wipe us all out, so as to satisfy their thirst for revenge."

"That is so, master. They will kill every man here, and torture as many as possible."

"Then tell, me, Pietro, do you and your comrades wish to be tortured, to be suddenly set upon and killed by the Indians?"

The gaucho started and flushed again, while a puzzled expression came over his face.

"Surely not, master," he said quickly. "But there is always the danger, and how can we avoid it?"

"Come into the house and I will tell you," answered Mr. Blunt shortly.

Turning, they went into the one big room and sat down at the table, on which the tall Englishman spread out a plan of the Entre Rios country, which showed the estancia stretched out on the pampas.

"We are here," he said, putting his finger on a wide stretch marked "Mr. Blunt's estancia." "You see we are close to the Indian country, which extends beyond us into the interior. The Indians have for many years now been moving closer to the ranchos, for they are then within reach of the beasts they steal, and still so much in the wilds that the gauchos and their masters do not care to follow. But we shall do that. The señor here has proposed that we build forts close to each corral. Into those forts our men can dash when the Indians appear, and if they have time to drive the beasts into the corral, all the better, for then their rifles will be able to keep the enemy from touching them. You know that Indians like to fall upon their victims when they are least expected, and do not care to attack houses and forts."

"That is true, señor. They are cowards at heart, I think. Cruel and fierce when all is in their favor, but wanting in dash at other times. They would not easily take a fort. This plan promises well, for it will save the lives of men and many valuable beasts."

"It might do even more," suddenly interposed Dudley. "A flare might be arranged at the top of each fort, and fire be put to it the instant the Indians appeared. The smoke would be seen during the day, and the flame at night. That would spread the alarm, so that the gauchos all over the estancia would know within a few minutes of the Indians' coming."

"And at once ride here," cried Mr. Blunt. "That is a good suggestion and shall be adopted. Now, Pietro, what have you to say to all this?"

"What can I say, señor, but that the scheme promises well? I can see that a fort close to each corral will allow the gauchos to reach safety before the Indians come; for if a tower be built, a watchman can be stationed there and give early warning. Then there is a flare to warn all the rest, and while they assemble, the fort and the beasts in the corral will occupy the attention of the Indians. They will find us ready, and their rush will fail. There will be fighting, and they will retire at once, unless they are in great strength, when the señors will send for help and drive them away."

"We shall do more," said Mr. Blunt briskly. "The young señor proposes that we call in our neighbors, and that we follow a hundred and more miles if necessary, till we come up with the raiders, and destroy them and their villages. What do you think of that plan?"

The sturdy gaucho opened his eyes very wide at the news, for never before had such a suggestion been made. Indeed, as the reader will have already gathered, the owners of the ranchos and their gauchos had hitherto been satisfied if all their beasts were not taken. Retaliation was as a rule out of the question, while the Indian country was practically unexplored, and was supposed to be wild and waterless, and to offer great danger to those who did not know it. Pietro had had food for reflection during the last two hours. Like Mr. Blunt, he had seen that another course was possible, for Dudley's tactics had been eminently successful. But to hear now that still more was intended--that a more vigorous and pugnacious policy was to be followed, and every effort made not only to defend the rancho against Indian attack, but to follow and punish the marauders, astounded him. He struck his overalls a sounding thwack with his whip, and stared, open-mouthed, at his master. Then his eyes turned to Dudley, and he smiled.

"This proposition," he said, "comes from the young señor?"

"It does. I have agreed to the plan and have been thinking out the details."

"Then what is good to the señor and his manager is good also to me and my comrades. If the Indians come we will enter the forts and hold them. Afterwards we will go with our masters and do our utmost to slay every one of the ruffians. Then shall we be able to ranch in peace and security. We and our wives shall no longer be in dread of a sudden night attack, of torture, and of a violent death. The señor goes now and wishes me to look after the rancho?"

"That is so. We shall be gone for two weeks, perhaps, and in that time there need be no fear of the Indians. It will take us six months to build our forts, and by then perhaps the enemy will have recovered from their beating, and will be considering another attack. Now, Pietro, you will go to the men and tell them what you have heard. Let them know that the plan is the young señor's, and that I fully agree with it."

The sturdy gaucho went off, flicking his whip, and Dudley and his employer watched the active fellow walk up to his horse, which stood out by the well with the reins dangling loosely on its neck. He seemed to kick the ground with his feet and in a moment was in the saddle. No need for Pietro to wait to get his stirrups. The horse bounded off, the whip cracked like a pistol, and the foreman of the gauchos raced away like the wind, eager to tell his tale and let all know what was about to happen.

"Now we will pack our valises and go," said Mr. Blunt. "Pepito will accompany us to the port and will return with the horses. I shall give him orders to bring them again within two weeks, for our business will take us quite a week and the rest of the time will be spent on the river. As we sail down stream we will go carefully into this matter, and draw up a list of articles which will be required."

Within half an hour the two were mounted and riding from the rancho, while Pepito, his dusky face aglow with pride, sat a beautiful horse just behind them. Across the pommel of his saddle was slung the coil of his bolas, while the barrel of his rifle stuck up clear behind his head, for he had slung the weapon. A gallant and handsome fellow he looked, too, for this Pepito was barely twenty-three, and as fine a specimen of the gaucho cowboy as could be met with. He was tall, slim, and extremely active. He sat his horse as if he had been born in the saddle, his knees close in, his toes just engaging the stirrups, and the whole poise of his body denoting comfort and ease. And yet he sat on a horse which barely four weeks before had been rounded up from a herd of wild horses grazing out on the pampas, a big, handsome gray which danced from side to side as they rode, tossing its head, and clanking its bit, while every rolling leaf, every shadow or reflection of the sun sent it shying to one side, or prancing till its fore feet pawed the air; and its rider sat a saddle which gave little or no support.

Dudley and his employer, too, made a handsome picture as they rode side by side. They sat their saddles with that easy grace which comes to men who ride every day and for a great part of the day. No longer did the huge spurs which were strapped to Dudley's heels trouble him. He hardly knew that they were there, for practice does wonders.

Chatting together as they rode, trotting at times, and at others going at a gentle amble, they finally reached their camping ground for the night, and slid from their horses. It took but a little while to water the beasts and to feed them, when, leaving them to the enjoyment of their meal, Dudley and his employer went for a stroll, while Pepito, his sleeves rolled to the elbow, lit a fire, placed a kettle upon it, and skewered a piece of deer flesh on his ramrod. Presently the meal was ready, and when it was finished, and Mr. Blunt had smoked his cigar, saddles were placed on end, blankets laid on the ground, and in a little while the three were sleeping, their ponchos wrapped well round them, and only the stars above to look down upon their recumbent figures.

On the following afternoon they reached the port at which Dudley had first disembarked, and were lucky in getting a boat at once.

"One never knows how they will be running," said Mr. Blunt, "and I have made it a practice, when going down to the coast, to send in a messenger a few days before to get tidings of the boats. This is luck, and in a matter of three days we shall be at Buenos Ayres. On the way down we will go thoroughly into these matters we have been speaking of."

Two days later, after a most pleasant sail down the Paraná, they arrived at their destination, and Mr. Blunt at once led the way to a business house with which he was acquainted.

"I have an agent here who buys my cattle," he said. "The beasts are driven to slaughterhouses near the river, and there the flesh is dried. Boats lie alongside the little dock, and at once carry the dried flesh, the hides, and hoofs, and horns, down to Buenos Ayres. It is a good arrangement, for once the beasts are handed over by my gauchos I have no further trouble. The time has come to clear some of the herds out, and that is partly the reason of my visit here. Now, this is the house. You will see that my friends here will be able to supply us with all that we want. They are general agents, and buy or sell everything from live beasts to nails and tinned tacks."

The firm to which he went were indeed exceedingly up-to-date, and once they had ascertained Mr. Blunt's wants, and had looked over his lists, they declared that they could obtain all the articles within three days.

"The guns we shall get here, as well as ammunition," said the manager. "Then the tools, nails, and other things are in this store, so that they will not delay you. The wood is the only difficulty. You say, Mr. Blunt, that there is not sufficient up near your estancia?"

"That is so," was the answer. "What there is, is too small. Besides, I haven't men enough to spare for cutting. It will be cheaper to buy round or squared logs and ship them to the cattle station. From there they can be carted to the corrals. That reminds me, I shall want a couple of dozen extra hands to help with the buildings."

In half an hour the details of the whole order had been arranged. Mr. Blunt was advised to charter a boat to carry all the stores to be obtained in Buenos Ayres, and to pick up his logs at a port higher up the river, where it would be cheaper.

"You will have to send up several loads, without doubt," said the manager, "for one of the boats would not carry enough for one fort even. The boat will be chartered this evening, and the loading can commence to-morrow. I will engage a couple of dozen men, if possible, and they can go up with you."

So excellent were the arrangements that within four days Mr. Blunt and Dudley found themselves embarked on a river boat, and standing up the stream for the port where they were to pick up wood for the forts. On board, besides rifles and tools, they had seven men, whom they had engaged to undertake the building operations, and these individuals were engaged at that moment in sprawling on the deck forward and smoking vigorously.

"Not a very taking lot of fellows," said Mr. Blunt in low tones, as he and Dudley emerged from the small cabin which had been given up to them, and stepped on the deck. "They are, I expect, the men who are always open to casual labor, and who lounge about the docks looking for odd jobs. However, we shall see little of them, and Pietro and his gauchos will keep them in order. Now, all we want is a smart breeze to take us swiftly up the river."

Fortune seemed to smile upon them in this expedition, for they held a brisk and favoring breeze all that day and the next, and when the second night came they were anchored off the port where they were to take in the wood. A couple of cables were passed out from the bow and stern, and made fast to the wharf, while a plank was thrown across to the latter, enabling all to land at their pleasure, a privilege of which the hands who had been engaged at once took advantage. Mr. Blunt and Dudley ate their evening meal, and having strolled ashore for a time returned to their cabin.

"I would far rather we had not put in so close to the shore," said the former, "for it has given those men of ours a chance to get into the town, which seems to consist mostly of saloons. They are rough fellows, and the chances are they will hardly be fit for work early in the morning. Those must be our logs piled on the wharf, and I reckon four hours work will see them all aboard. That should allow us to reach the cattle station where they are to be unloaded in about twenty-four hours, so that we shall be back at the rancho within the time we mentioned."

They sat chatting for a little while, and presently, finding the fumes of his employer's cigar just a little strong in the confined space of the cabin, Dudley went out on deck and strolled up and down.

"Pitch dark," he said to himself, looking up at the sky, and then at the dim oil lamps on shore. "I think Mr. Blunt must be right about the men, for there is a great commotion going on over there. It sounds as if they were fighting in one of the saloons. And what's that?"

The creak of a block and the thud of a rope on the deck of a boat a little distance away attracted his attention, and for some few minutes he stood quite still, listening to the commotion from the saloons on shore and to the sounds from the river.

"Evidently another boat has put in for the night," he said. "There goes her anchor, and I suppose we shall see her in the morning. It is so dark that one cannot see a foot in front of one's face."

As he stood on the deck of the river boat he distinctly heard the splash of an anchor falling into the water, and the low call of men pulling at the cable. It did not strike him then that the noise they made was subdued, as if they were afraid of attracting the attention of the people on the quay or those aboard the other boat moored close to it. He listened for a while, and then went into the cabin, where he found Mr. Blunt still smoking.

"How's the night?" asked Mr. Blunt. "Dark? Then I am glad we are at rest, for there are rocks and sand-banks up in these reaches of the river, and it is not nice to be stranded on them. That is why the majority of boats tie up at night. What of the men?"

"There is a good deal of noise from the saloons in the town," answered Dudley. "It sounds as if they were quarrelling."

"I should not wonder," was the reply. "They are a set of ne'er-do-wells, who enjoy a rough and tumble in the saloons. It would not surprise me if one or more were hurt. The gauchos who come in from the estancias are wonderfully polite as a rule, but when they get to the saloons, and have indulged somewhat freely in the bad spirit to be obtained there, they become quarrelsome. It does not take a gaucho a second to produce a revolver, and when shooting begins someone is sure to be killed. They are, in fact, every bit as wild as the cowboys in North America. Ah! That was a shot. Well, we cannot interfere, but I hope that those foolish fellows have not got into trouble."

He stifled a yawn, flung the stump of his cigar through the port, and lay back in his seat. As for Dudley, the silence of the river had some fascination for him, or perhaps the sudden and quiet arrival of the other boat had aroused his suspicions. He went out on the deck again, and paced restlessly to and fro, listening intently, starting when a yard creaked, and straining his ears to catch every sound. He could see a light now across the water some fifty yards away, and now and again thought he heard the sound of voices.

"Perhaps they are having a late meal before turning in," he thought. "But I cannot make out why they are so silent. As a rule one hears a mandolin playing, and some fellow singing to the stars. They are so suspiciously silent!"

Half an hour later, unable to make anything of the strangers, and satisfied that there was really nothing to be alarmed about, he went to the cabin again, and reported that the town was quiet, and that as yet there was no sign of the men who had left the vessel.

"They will appear in the early hours of the morning," said Mr. Blunt, "and no doubt we shall be awakened by their singing. Time to turn in, Dudley; we have work before us on the morrow."

Throwing themselves, fully dressed as they were, upon the cushions on either side of the cabin, they closed their eyes and were soon fast asleep, the feeble rays from a swinging candle light shining upon their figures, while the silence of the cabin was broken by their heavy breathing and by the drone of the many mosquitoes infesting the river. Now and again there was a sound from the neighboring boat, but it did not disturb them. They suspected no danger from that quarter, and would not have troubled had the boat lain alongside their own. If, however, they could have looked into the cabin aboard that ship they would have thought otherwise, for gathered there were more than half a dozen cut-throats, all smoking, and all drinking out of tin mugs, which they replenished liberally from a big stone jar. They sat in the narrow place about a long table, at the head of which was a bearded individual, tall and lean, and with a malignant cast of countenance. To look at him under the flickering rays of the smoky lamp he might have been of any nationality. He was swarthy enough almost to be an Indian or a gaucho, and yet he lacked the upright carriage, the direct manner, of those wild men of the pampas. Certainly he was not an Englishman, while his language seemed to indicate that he was an Italian. He was speaking in low tones to his comrades, sometimes addressing them in Italian, sometimes in Portuguese, and at times throwing a word of explanation in English to a haggard individual who sat at the far end of the table.

The latter had the cut of a sailor, and any doubt there might have been on that subject was set at rest by his nautical language. He was an Englishman, a down-at-heels sailor, and most likely had deserted from one of the many sailing ships which put in every week at Montevideo. He was dressed in ragged clothing, wore a week's growth of stubbly beard on his chin, and was altogether as disreputable as one could expect to see. The others were much the same as those who had been engaged by Mr. Blunt for building operations on the rancho, except that they had the cut of gauchos. They wore riding overalls too, and had spurs at their heels, a fact which went far to prove that they were used to horses and to the pampas.

"You have the plan nicely in your heads, comrades," said their spokesman, draining his pannikin. "You are poor?"

"Poor! As poor as mice who live in a church," laughed one of the men. "We have not a dozen coins to toss among us. We are at the end of our tether, and look to you and other kind friends to help us to improve our fortunes."

"Then you have an easy way before you," went on the leader, leering round at the men. "A friend of mine in Montevideo has pointed out a way in which we can all gain wealth easily. You have heard of the estancias and their owners? Yes, I see that you have. Well, are they not wealthy?"

"As rich as bankers," came the answer. "When they have paid their gauchos, and sold their cattle, they have money in hand. I should know, considering that I spent a dozen years on the pampas."

"And you also know the time when their cattle are sold. Twice a year, is it not, comrade?"

"That's correct. Twice a year, and just now is one of the times. The owners have money to chink, and many will not have banked it yet."

"That is just what my friend said. He advised us to form a band to raid these estancias, and to gather what money we could. We commence with this man called Blunt."

The English sailor pricked up his ears at that, and asked a question in very indifferent Portuguese.

"Blunt?" he said. "That's an Englishman. Who is he?"

"A great friend of my friend's," came the leering answer. "So great a friend that we are to attack him first. He is in the boat lying below us. Now, comrades, can you say why I induced our captain to haul in here above that other boat? No? Then I will explain. If we slacken the ropes we shall be carried down silently against the boat, and then----"

The ruffian touched his knife significantly.

"In an hour or two, perhaps," he said. "Our comrades will have returned from the saloons by then, and will be ready to help us. Till then we can smoke."

He reached out for the spirits and replenished his pannikin with liberal hand. Then he continued to chatter in low tones with his comrades. As for the sailor, he was a garrulous ruffian, and had imbibed sufficient spirit to make him even more talkative. He found it lonely to sit at the table while men conversed in an unknown language, and presently, feeling that he too must chatter, he turned on his seat, stretched out a grimy paw, and shook someone who lay asleep on one of the long benches against the wall of the cabin. A tall, slim young man sat up, rubbing his eyes, and stared round at the group about the table with every sign of annoyance and disgust. Indeed, a glance at him was sufficient to show that he was of a different stamp entirely. He was dressed as a gaucho but hardly had the appearance of one of those fine fellows. His cheeks were not tanned, and his hands looked as if they had done little work. Still, for all that, he was sturdy enough, and, if one might venture a guess, was decidedly English. In fact he had only recently arrived out from England, and had taken a passage up the river in this particular boat.

"What is it?" he demanded curtly, for he had kept aloof from his fellow passengers. "What do you want? I am sleepy and wish to be left alone."

"Oh ho, so you're sleepy!" answered the sailor huskily. "Well, my bird, you needn't look so ugly. You don't understand the lingo of these here fellers, now, do yer? Well, nor don't I, 'cept when the chap with the beard speaks in Portuguese or the English he's got. But you can understand me, I reckon, and so we'll have a chat. How'd yer like to join to-night, and make a pile from the chap in that boat down below us?"