he left me none too soon. i could hear don pedro cursing furiously in the courtyard. fearful that if matters came to blows, i might do an injury to the kinsman of my lady, i dragged myself away, heavy with despair. not until i was half across the plaza did i notice that i still held her rosary in my hand. i stared at the little gold cross with bitter hatred. it seemed so harsh a mockery that she should have given me as parting gift that symbol of the gulf that now yawned between us, wider and deeper than ever. yet the gift was from her, and—i must bear my cross!
for a moment i was tempted to put a pistol to my head and end all. but the life within me was sane and strong, and the memory of my lost lady too sweet for me to hurl myself into the unknown. in reflex from that last black thought of self-destruction there came to me even a feeble consciousness of resignation—a feeling that for her sake i must endeavor to live my life in a manner worthy of her memory. and this feeling did not leave me, but increased in strength throughout the weary weeks of our long homeward journey.
we started that afternoon, immediately after the siesta, and proceeded in a southerly direction on the road toward durango. but i do not propose to give here the tedious details of our trip. greatly to our disappointment, a few days brought us a parting from our noble friend malgares, who turned over his instructions and despatch-pouch to a captain barelo. the latter took us so far south before rounding the lower end of the terrible bolson de mapimi desert that we at one time thought he had secret orders to march us to the city of mexico.
whatever the object of this long detour, it served the purpose of enabling pike and myself to take many more observations of the mines, towns, and other features of the country than if we had followed a shorter route. by the time we had swung around, north by east, up through the province of coahuila, and crossed over the rio del norte, which here is more often called the rio grande, we had all but one of the musket barrels closely packed with notes.
from the rio grande we proceeded northeastward, and crossing the border of the province of texas, arrived at san antonio on the seventh of june. here we were received with the utmost hospitality by the gallant and beloved general herrera and by governor cordero, who took us into his own quarters, offered us every favor within his power, and had a house especially prepared for the men.
many other prominent persons of the town were no less cordial and hospitable. among them was a captain ugarte, to whom we brought letters of introduction from malgares. his charming wife doña anita was a sister of doña dolores. hardly had we been introduced to her when the kindly señora led me aside and showed me a letter which she had received from señora malgares a week before our arrival.
"my sister has roused my deepest interest, señor robinson, by the story of your doleful separation from your dulcinea," she explained. "this letter begs me to do what little i can to console you."
"you are most kind, señora," i replied. "but i know of nothing—unless i might ask you to send a message by doña dolores to señorita alisanda."
"gladly! have you received no message from her?"
i shook my head sadly. she thought a moment, and then pressed me to tell her of my last meeting with alisanda. the moment i mentioned the cross her face brightened.
"permit me to see the rosary," she said.
i drew the bitter-sweet gift from my bosom and handed it over to her. to my surprise, she began to examine the beads with a minute scrutiny, feeling and shaking each in turn as she passed it along the cord. whatever she had thought to discover, she found nothing. at the last she took up the little crucifix and turned it over in her slender hand.
"ah!" she exclaimed, holding it closer to her sparkling eyes. "her name is alisanda vallois."
"alisanda vallois," i repeated, wondering at the remark.
"a. v.—alisanda vallois. you have planned for a meeting in august?"
"no, señora. we did not plan. i have heard of no such plan."
"santa maria! men are so stupid!" she rejoined. "look, there is your message: 'a v—aug'! what ever else can that mean than alisanda vallois, in august?"
"what?" i cried, half mad with delight. "but where?—what place, señora? tell me where!"
she laughed at my blindness. "where, señor? you ask that? what did she call this gift—the exact words?"
"la vera cruz!" even as the words passed my lips, the truth flashed upon me. i had indeed been stupid—blind!—blind not to have seen those faintly scratched letters on the gold; stupid not to have joined the symbolism of the gift to her words, "la vera cruz"!
i kissed the señora's hand with a fervor which, i trust, did not disturb the peace of mind of captain ugarte. later she undertook to send to the care of doña dolores a message which, for the sake of precaution, i restricted to the one line:—
"la vera cruz is my guide and comforter."
despite so joyful a revelation to glorify our stay at san antonio, i felt no regrets when another week saw us started on to the north and east for nacogdoches, the most eastward of the spanish presidios in texas.
the second day beyond that place we crossed the sabine, and were left by our spanish escort, being in the neutral zone.
on the afternoon of july the first we at last arrived at natchitoches, only fifteen days short of a full year since we had departed on our long and eventful journey from belle fontaine.
such greeting as we received from our officers at the fort may be better imagined than expressed. and not the least of my joys upon this happy occasion was that of hearing my brave and resolute friend hailed by his fellows, not as lieutenant, but as captain! we were alike astonished and gratified to learn that he had been entitled to that advanced rank since the twelfth of the preceding august. what was more, his services had been most handsomely noticed to congress by president jefferson.
as the captain had arrived at the journey's end outworn and in miserable health, i restrained myself to remain with him long enough to assist in arranging the great mass of notes which, to the exultant delight of our countrymen, we brought to view by filing off the barrels of the six muskets.
there would have been no end to the questions of the officers of the fort had not pike intimated that discretion required silence with regard to all the important details until after he had made his report to general wilkinson and the secretary of war. the doughty general, we were informed, had hurried east to richmond some weeks past, to take part in the trial of colonel burr and harmon blennerhasset for treason.
but as to the facts of the great case, i observed that our countrymen were decidedly circumspect in their statements; for it seems that the general himself was accused by his numerous enemies of complicity in the alleged treasonous conspiracy. captain—i write the word with pride—captain pike was highly indignant at this attempt to implicate the friend and patron who had so helped him in his career. but i, remembering what i had learned from burr and from the general himself, and above all considering that hideous charge by the aide medina, had the greatest difficulty in giving the passive assent of silence when my friend said that he would include my respects in his letter to the general.
truth to tell, having now the possibility of again meeting and of winning my lady, i was extremely desirous for a commission in the army. it was an ambition which the captain and i had frequently discussed since our departure from chihuahua, and which he told me he intended to call to the attention not only of general wilkinson but of the secretary of war, general dearborn.
i need hardly say that we had also discussed, in confidence, my plans for a voyage to vera cruz. but as he knew even less about the sea than myself, he could only commend my intention of applying for assistance to mr. daniel clark, and insist upon my leaving him as soon as his health was a little improved and the notes partly arranged.
at last my growing impatience and anxiety forced me to bend to his urging. we parted, with more than brotherly regard and affection, in the fond expectation of rejoining each other within a few months as brothers in arms. his last words were an assurance that he could obtain me a captaincy, and a heart-felt wish that i might succeed in my venture.