CHAPTER VI--THE HOLE IN THE WALL

It would not be becoming to record the exact words used by O'Connor as he lay, within a few feet of Will, on the slope of the embankment. They were very expressive, and very warm, so warm indeed that Mr. Jackson just beyond him suggested that he should "draw it mild." Ruggles, a little farther away, did not utter a word, and for some moments Will simply listened sympathetically to O'Connor, who undoubtedly expressed the feelings of them all.

"It was Machado, after all," said Will at length.

This provoked another explosion from O'Connor, who said a great deal as to what he would do to Machado when he got him.

"Yes, the scoundrel!" said Mr. Jackson. "He and his telegraph have done it. I'll take care another time to have an English telegraphist."

Machado had in fact telegraphed in the Chief's name to Bolivar, asking that six empty trucks should be coupled to the usual train. He had further instructed that the train should stop at a place about twenty miles from railhead to load up sleepers, which were cut from the forest for use on the railway. When the train pulled up at the appointed spot there was no load of sleepers, but a company of armed rebels, who sprang into the empty trucks, and covered themselves with canvas, Captain Espejo having ordered the driver, a Spaniard, to take them on to railhead, threatening him with instant death if he attempted to give warning.

"I wonder what they will do with us," said Mr. Jackson.

"I hope they'll take us away from this pretty soon," said Will. "There's a fly on my nose, and I can't shake it off."

"My throat is like an oven," growled O'Connor.

"One glass of beer!" sighed Ruggles: "just one: there's no harm in one."

Their plight was indeed desperately unpleasant. They were laid on the sunny side of the embankment. The afternoon sun beat full upon them, and before long they were subject to the pressing attentions of innumerable insects, which, their arms being bound, they were unable to drive away. They got some relief by turning over on their faces, but as time went on the heat, the insects, and their thirst made them thoroughly wretched. More than once O'Connor yelled for some one to bring him a drink; but no attention was paid to him, and it seemed as if Captain Espejo, for all his charming manners, was bent on slowly grilling them to death.

Just before sunset, however, a bugle sounded. Sitting up, the prisoners witnessed the arrival of General Carabano himself. He rode in amid a group of twenty officers, who formed a sort of guard of honour. Captain Espejo had paraded his men to welcome the General, whom they received with a volley of sounding vivas. Behind rode a long line of cavalry in all sorts of costumes, many of them having a led horse, no doubt the steeds of Captain Espejo's party. Behind these came a long procession of animals and men, the latter the most motley collection of ruffians Will had ever seen. Some were mounted on mules, some on donkeys; some had saddles, some rode bare-backed. There were bridles of leather, of rope, of bejuco, a climbing plant that grows plentifully in the forests. Some had no bridles at all, but clung to the donkey's mane, guiding it by a slap on the right or left ear, or a thump on the flank.

When Will thought he had seen the last of them enter, he was amazed to find that they were followed by a regiment of Caribbee infantry, who had already earned from the Government troops the name of Carabano's bloodhounds. Their only clothing was a narrow strip about the waist and the feathers in their hair. Each had a lance, and a bow and quiver slung over the back.

"A dashed fine-looking lot," said O'Connor, admiring these muscular redskins. "You could make something of those fellows."

"The General looks a Tartar," said Will.

"There's a good deal of the negro in his composition, I'll swear," remarked Mr. Jackson. "That's a bad look-out for us; there's no more insufferable brute than your negro in authority."

General Carabano in truth looked an unpleasant man to deal with. He was very big and tall, with a large fat face, a wide nose and thick lips, and woolly hair. He sat his horse in the middle of the compound by the tree until his men had all marched in. Then, after a few words with Captain Espejo, he rode towards the prisoners. Halting opposite them, he told his orderlies to stand them on their feet, and then, assuming a haughty demeanour, he demanded to know what they meant by rebelling against his Government. None of them replied. Enraged at their silence, he declared that he would shoot them. On this, however, Captain Espejo deferentially suggested that the penalty might be at least deferred.

"They are Englishmen, Excellency," he said, "and if you treat them as they undoubtedly deserve there will be trouble with their Government, which may seriously embarrass the consolidation of your administration."

"Caramba!" cried the General: "their Government is thousands of miles away."

"True, Excellency; but it is above all things essential that the lives of foreigners should be spared if you wish your Government to be recognized."

"Well, we will think of it. Set a guard over them to-night, Senor Capitan, and take care that none of them escapes. Where is that loyal friend of the State, Senor Machado?"

The prisoners' feet were unbound, and they were led away to one of the tents, so that they did not hear the conversation between the General and Machado. The upshot of this was that the telegraphist flashed a message to Bolivar in Mr. Jackson's name, saying that the engine had broken down, and asking for another train to be dispatched with bridging materials and other things which he found himself in need of. The General's aim was to get possession of as much rolling stock as possible for the transport of his troops to Bolivar when the time arrived. The city was a hundred and thirty miles distant by rail, though less than half that distance across country, and the junction was fifty miles from railhead, so that with care and the assistance of Machado it would be easy to prevent news of what had happened from reaching the Jefe. The camp was situated in a part of the country remote from highways, and the mounted men whom the General had placed at various points would prevent any messengers from getting through in either direction.

The prisoners were given a meal; then they were bound again and left in the tent, a strong guard being posted outside. They spent a most uncomfortable night. After Captain Espejo's remonstrance they did not suppose the General would shoot them; but uncertainty as to their fate and distress at the ruin of the Company's business worried them, and they were sleepless during the greater part of the night, discussing their situation in low tones.

Next day they were not allowed to leave the tent. They saw nothing of the General, who was in fact busy following up his operations of the previous evening. He got Machado to telegraph to head-quarters for more money. The reason given was that a wash-out--one of the sudden floods to which the country is subject--had destroyed a large quantity of stores, which must be replaced on the spot by purchases from the neighbouring haciendados. He impressed into his service such of the peons and foremen as he thought worthy of it, and drove the rest from the camp, no doubt feeling confident that by the time any of them could make their way over difficult country to Bolivar that town would have fallen into his hands.

The supplies and money requisitioned arrived late on the following day. The General had now two locomotives and thirty wagons, including those that were permanently at railhead for construction purposes. The personnel of the two trains were kept under guard, to prevent them from making off with the engines.

Meanwhile the General, finding the rough camp at railhead little to his taste, had shifted his quarters to Antonio de Mello's residence about five miles below. The news of the coup had been conveyed to De Mello instantly by some of the Indians who had fled from the camp, and he had hurriedly quitted the place for another estate of his many miles to the south, where his mother and sister were living. The hacienda was left in charge of the servants. De Mello knew that he could make no resistance to the appropriation of his house by the revolutionary leader; the utmost he could do was to remove his horses. It was not very patriotic conduct; but patriotism is not a common virtue in that land of revolution.

The General took up his quarters in the hacienda with some of his staff, including Captain Espejo, their horses being placed in the new stables. The sight of the old stables suggested to Espejo that the prisoners might be conveyed thither, so that they should be constantly under the General's eye. Accordingly they were marched in under escort of cavalry, O'Connor fuming at the indignity, which gave the others a little amusement. Will even cracked a joke when each was given a loose-box, remarking that it was the first time he had been in a box, the dress circle having been hitherto the height of his attainment.

Unknown to the prisoners, a telegraph cabin had been hurriedly rigged up for Machado at the railway line within a short distance of the house. The General had found the man so useful that he deemed it convenient to have him close at hand. It seemed advisable also that his troops should be more closely in touch with him than they could be in the old camp, so he ordered the tents to be struck, and all the stores and other things that would be useful to be transferred to a new camp about half-a-mile in the rear of the hacienda.

Will's box was in the centre, and through the open door he could see two sentries marching to and fro. Another sentry was posted at the door of the hacienda. He could see also the comings and goings of the General and his staff. They often walked up and down on the terrace in front of the house. The door of the stables was usually open during the day-time, but it was closed at night, and a sentry came on guard within. General Carabano had given orders that the prisoners were to be prevented from communicating with one another. At first they disregarded the command, but when Captain Espejo threatened to gag them if they persisted they thought it best to remain silent, irksome though the restriction was. One of the annoyances of their situation was the impertinent curiosity of the officers and such of the men as came on various errands to the hacienda. The former sometimes lolled at the door, smoking their long cigarros, and jesting among themselves at the four prisoners, who sat in enforced silence in the mangers. When the officers were not present, their servants copied them, and drove O'Connor almost frantic with their insulting remarks. The other three, not so sensitive as the fiery Irishman, accepted their lot more philosophically.

Meanwhile General Carabano's force was increasing. News of his exploit had been carried through the neighbourhood, and since nothing succeeds like success, it had had the effect of bringing to his flag many who hoped to share in his expected triumph. There was at present plenty of provisions in the camp, and with the serviceable Machado at his elbow, the General could always telegraph for further supplies. Will hoped that De Mello would have informed the authorities at Caracas of what had occurred, and that a Government force would be dispatched to deal with the General; but De Mello had gone in the opposite direction. Moreover, the Government had its hands full in the north, and there was no chance of present assistance from that quarter.

On the second day of the imprisonment, Will, looking through the doorway, caught sight of a black figure lurking among some bushes on the farther side of the lake, not far from the house. It seemed very much like his negro boy Jose, and to assure himself on the point, he walked as far as the sentry would allow him towards the door. As he came into the light the negro apparently recognized him and impulsively started forward: then, fearing discovery, slipped back again into the bushes.

"I wonder what he is after," thought Will.

At that moment he saw Machado leave the house, and walk slowly round the margin of the lake as if going for an aimless stroll. All at once he sprang forward, and before the negro could get away, Machado pounced on him and hauled him to the house. They disappeared through the doorway, and though Will kept a pretty careful watch on it for the rest of the day, he did not see the boy come out again.

That night it occurred to him that, though speaking was forbidden, he might yet communicate with the Chief, whose box was next to his own. They both knew the Morse code, though neither had any expert knowledge of telegraphy, and Will experimented by tapping gently on the partition, spelling out the words, "Are you awake?" For some time he received no reply, and thought that the Chief must either be asleep or did not understand that the taps had any meaning. By and by, however, when the question was repeated for the fourth time, Will was delighted to hear answering taps, which he made out to be, "All right: I twig: be careful."

The conversation that ensued was a very laborious one. The prisoners were afraid of attracting the attention of the sentry, and sometimes tapped so gently that neither could understand the other. At the best, spelling a message by means of dots and dashes is a lengthy process. But by and by the snores of Ruggles and the incessant croaking of the bullfrogs that infested the canal and lake covered the slight sounds on the partition, and the prisoners conversed more freely. What they said to each other in this way is as follows--

"Machado has caught my boy Jose and lugged him into house."

"Ware hydroplane."

"I shall be sick if they find it."

"They'll make the boy tell."

"Wish I could get away."

"Wishing won't do it."

"No."

"Door locked, sentry inside and out: no go."

"Wish I could, though."

"Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible."

"Rubbish!"

"If I can!"

"You can't."

"I might get to Bolivar."

"No good if you could."

"They'd send help."

"They wouldn't. Country disturbed: would have sent escort with train if could."

"Can't we do anything?"

"No: go to sleep."

"Can't sleep."

"No such word as can't."

"I can escape then."

"Rubbish."

"Rotten business."

"Go to sleep."

But Will remained awake for some hours, beating his brains for some means of breaking prison. With a brick wall behind him, a sentry at the door inside, another outside, he had to confess at length that the idea seemed hopeless, and gave it up in despair.

Next night again, after a fruitless conversation with the Chief, he lay awake still pondering the problem. All at once he thought he heard a slight scratching on the wall behind him. Before he could assure himself that he was not mistaken the sound ceased. He waited anxiously. Yes: without doubt some person or animal was scratching on the bricks, and judging by the sound the wall must be very thin. He tapped gently with his finger-nail on the brickwork. The scratching ceased for a considerable time; then began again. Once more he tapped, wondering whether a friend outside was trying to communicate with him: once more the sound stopped; it seemed as though the scratcher had given a hint that he should discontinue tapping. He lay listening. By and by the scratching recommenced, and went on continuously. Will fell asleep with the sound in his ears, and when he was waked by the sentry opening the door, he almost believed he had heard it in a dream.

The prisoners were taken out for an airing each day, being carefully kept apart. Will looked around eagerly as he walked along by the side of the sentry, to see if there was any clue to the proceedings of the night. Passing along the side of the stables, he glanced at the back wall, but there was nothing to indicate the presence of any one. Tropical weeds grew in profusion behind the stables, nothing having been done to clear the ground since they had been disused. All day he kept his eye on the front of the house. There was the usual coming and going of the inmates, but never a sign that any one of them was a friend.

Shortly after nightfall, the scratching began. It was so quietly done that there was no danger of the sentry hearing it through the croaking of the frogs. Will could no longer doubt that some one was trying to get through the wall. He tapped on the partition.

"Do you hear scratching?"

"No. Mosquitoes or ants?"

"Some one trying to make hole in wall."

"Rubbish."

"Fact."

"Must be a fool."

Will did not attempt further to convince this doubting Thomas, but listened hopefully to the continuous scratching. It went on for hours, and by and by, as it seemed to be coming nearer, he thought of passing his hand over the surface of the brickwork. It touched, just below him, the point of a sharp instrument, and he discovered that the whole of the mortar above two bricks had been scraped away. He wished that he could have helped his unknown friend, but he had neither knife nor any other implement. The knowledge that some one was trying to release him kept him awake all that night, and he perspired with anxiety lest when morning came the work should be discovered. But the sentry did not approach the wall. The day seemed to drag terribly, even though he slept a good part of it. Never in his life had he been so eager for night to come.

Before the next dawn there was a gap in the wall almost large enough for him to crawl through. He bent down to it, and spoke in a whisper; but the only answer was the thrusting back of the bricks into their place. Hearing the Chief grunting in the next box, Will resolved to acquaint him with the progress the unknown worker had made.

"There's hole in wall nearly big enough to squeeze through."

"Honest Injun?"

"Yes. One more night's work will finish it."

"Who's doing it?"

"Don't know. Shall I ask him to make one for you?"

The Chief did not immediately reply.

"Shall I?"

"I've been thinking. No."

"Why not?"

"We'd want four. Take a fortnight."

"Couldn't we overpower sentry and all get away through this hole?"

"No: too risky. Fellow outside would hear scuffle. Certain to. Sure you can get out?"

"To-morrow or next day."

"Make for hydroplane. Less risk for one. Go to Bolivar and get help if you can. Most likely you can't."

"Pity we can't tell others. They don't understand code."

"They'll know soon enough. There'll be a fine hullabaloo when the sentry misses you. Don't go without saying good-bye."

In the middle of the next night Will found that the opening was large enough to admit his body. He tapped on the partition. There was no answer. He tapped again: still no answer. The Chief was asleep. Fearing to let his chance slip, Will determined to go at once. Slowly and cautiously he wriggled through to the outside. A dark form was crouching among the weeds close to the opening. It gave a low grunt as Will appeared. Azito rose from his kneeling posture and began to move away, creeping like a shadow along the wall. Will stole after him.