Brief time had the young Spaniard and his Indian
princess for explanation, or for converse,
for while she was yet clasped to his grateful
breast in the first sweet embrace of love, a
long, wild yell rang far into the bosom of

[figure description] Page 093.[end figure description]

the night from the cave's mouth above, and
the broad glare of a hundred torches, tumultuously
brandished by as many strong and
savage hands, disclosed to the eyes of the astounded
fugitives the fierce cacique himself,
surrounded by the flower of his wild chivalry,
armed at all points, with bow and buckler,
war-club and javelin, and pike, thronging the
rocky threshold of that deserted dungeon.
Each swarthy figure stood out revealed on
that bold eminence like animated sculptures
of the far-famed Corinthian brass; the sinewy
frames, the well developed muscles, nay!
more, the very features of every stern cacique,
the plumy crowns, and pictured quivers, all
clearly visible and palpably defined against
the fierce red glow which formed the back
ground to that animated picture. Brief time
was there, indeed! for instantly discovering
the mode by which the fugitive had left his
place of confinement, and guessing that his
flight was but recent—for though the crimson
glare of their resinous torches rendered the
group above as visible as daylight could have
done, it lacked the power to penetrate the
gloom which veiled the little knot of beings
at the base of that huge precipice,—two of
the boldest of the great cacique's followers addressed
themselves to the pursuit by the same
fearful and precarious ladder; while many
others might be seen casting aside the heavier
portions of their dress and armature, and girding
up their loins for a similar purpose.

“Haste, haste, Hernando,” whispered
the Indian maiden, in a voice that fairly trembled
with agitation—“haste to yon thicket by
the stream—fly thou, Alonzo, and unbind the
horses! Come, Orozimbo—brother!”

And, as she spoke grasping her lover by the
arm, she hurried him away to a dense mass of
thorny brushwood, which, overcanopied with
many a vine and many a tangled creeper,
clothed the banks of a wide, brawling streamlet,
flowing with a loud incessant murmur, though
in a slender volume, over a bed of gravel, and
small rocky fragments, detached, in the lapse
of ages, from the tall crag that overhung it
H re, fastened to the branches, stood three
Spanish chargers, equipped with the lightest
housings then in use, except that one, in addition
to the saddle, was provided with a velvet
cushion attached to the cantle, and kept in
its place by a thong, securing it to the richly
plated crupper.

“Mount, mount, Alonzo,” cried the maiden;
“stay not to hold your master's stirrup;
mount, and delay not! Every minute now
is worth a human life!” While yet the words
were on her lips, the page had leaped into his
saddle, and swinging her slight form, with
scarce an effort, to the croup of the tall charger,
Hernando, without setting foot in stirrup, vaulted
into the saddle before her, grasped the reins
firmly with a practised hand, and stirring his
steed's mettle with the spur, rode a few paces
down the channel of the stream, till he had
reached a place clear from the overbowering
brushwood. The boy Alonzo followed hard
on his traces, leading the third horse by the
bridle at his side.

“Where—oh where tarries Orozimbo?”
whispered again the Charib maiden, in a sweet
low voice of her native tongue—“without
him, all is naught!”

Ere she had finished speaking, they cleared
the thicket, and by the strong illumination of
the lights above, a fearful scene was rendered
visible. The foremost two of the pursuers
were half way down the ladder, while three
of their followers had commenced their perilous
descent, and were now hanging to the
topmost rungs! Where—where was Orozimbo?

A sharp twang broke the silence which had
succeeded to the yell of the infuriate Indians.
A keen, sharp ringing twang! a hurtling sound
as of some missile in quick motion, followed—
a long, dark streak was seen almost immediately
glancing within the circling radiance of
the torches, towards the leading Charib—at the
next instant he relaxed his hold—a piercing
yell of anguish and despair pealed up to the
dark heavens—headforemost the tawny savage
plunged earthward—and the soft, heavy plashing
noise announced, as plainly as the clearest
words could tell, that not one bone remained
unbroken after that fearful fall! Another
twang—and yet another!—and almost simultaneously,
with the small, shrill voice of the
fatal cord, another, and another of the wretched
Indians, transfixed by the unerring shafts
of Orozimbo, were precipitated—one shrieking
hopelessly but incessantly through the deaf
air, until the awful crash finished his cries and
agonies together—one mute in his stern despair—
from their slight foothold; while daunted
by the deadly archery of their unseen enemy,
and ignorant how many foes were launching
death at every shot among them, the
survivors retreated up the ladder, with wild
haste, and when they reached the summit, a
long drawn yell, strangely expressive of malice
frustrated, and disappointed vengeance, told
those who heard it from below that they
abandoned that precarious method of pursuit.
Another moment, and the light passed from the
verge, and a loud burst of dissonant and angry
voices, receding rapidly, betokened that the
pursuers had turned off to seek some easier
exit from the hill-fortress.

Secured thus, by the bravery and foresight
of her stripling brother, from a pursuit so instantaneous
that escape would have been scarce
possible, Guarica called aloud, no longer fearing
to betray their proximity to the enemy by
her words:

“Hasten, good brother, hasten! We tarry
for thee, Orozimbo,” and guided by the accents

[figure description] Page 094.[end figure description]

of her well known voice, panting from the
rapidity of his previous motions, and from agitation
in a scarcely less degree, with his full
quiver rattling on his naked shoulders, and the
long bow, which had of late done such good
service, swinging at his back, the Charib boy
darted down the slight declivity, and, wreathing
his hand lightly in the courser's mane, bounded
at once upon his back.

“Follow, Guarica; follow me close: there
is no time for words,” he exclaimed, as he
snatched the bridle, and dashing at once into a
gallop, drove down the pebbly channel of the
stream—the small stones and water flashing
high into the air at every stroke of the fleet
steed, and indicating to Hernando the direction
which his guide had taken. No easy task was
it, however, to ride down that wild water-course;
for though the streamlet was so shallow
that it barely reached the horses' knees,
the rugged inequalities of its bed—here thickly
interspersed with rough and craggy fragments,
here paved with slippery boulders, and
there with broad smooth ledges of hard slaty
rock, polished by the incressant rippling of the
current, till ice itself hardly would have afforded
a less treacherous foothold—rendered it
perilous indeed, save to a cavalier of the first
order to put a horse to his speed among its
numerous obstacles. At first, the youthful
Spaniard could not conceive the cause which
should have tempted Orozimbo to lead him by
so strange a path; but busy as he was in holding
up and guiding the stout charger which
nobly bore his double freight, his mind was actively
employed: and almost on the instant,
remembering the instinct, scarcely inferior to
the scent of the sagacious bloodhound, with
which the Charib tribes were wont to follow
on the track of any fugitive, he saw the wisdom
of this singular precaution. For something
more than two hours they dashed on unwearied,
though the sparkling waters, which,
driven far aloft, had draggled all their garments
from the buskin to the very plume—the stream
now wending in bold curves through rich and
fair savannahs, now driving into the most devious
shades of underwood and forest. Still on
dashed, rousing the wild fowl from their sedgy
haunts on the stream's margin, scaring the birds
of night from their almost impervious roosts,
till now the stars began to pale their ineffectual
fires, and a faint streak on the eastern sky
to tell of coming day. They reached a smooth
green vega, broader than any they had passed
or seen, and here, for the first time, Orozimbo
paused from his headlong race.

“All is well, now, Guarica—pursuit is far
behind; two leagues hence, just beyond that
fringe of wood which you may see glooming
dark against the opening morn, tarry your gallant
kinsmen, Don Hernando. Many will
blame us for the deeds which we have wrought
in thy behalf, young Spaniard. All our countrymen
must hate us, and if we 'scape this
'venture, our future home must be within the
scope of Spain's all-powerful protection. All
peril is over now for a space, and if thou art
weary, my sweet sister, here may we rest
awhile.”

“No, no!” Guarica interrupted him, breathless
from the wild speed at which they had
thus far journeyed. “No, no! no, no! we
will not pause till we have reached the cavaliers.”

“At least, however,” interposed Hernando,
using the Indian tongue, which was no less
familiar to him than his native language—“at
least, let us, if we be free from present danger,
ride somewhat gently, in order that our steeds
may so regain their wind, and be in ease again
to bear us stoutly, if aught should call for
fresh exertion of mettle.”

“Be it so,” answered Orozimbo, turning his
horse's head, and riding as he spoke up the
green margin of the rivulet, till he stood on the
level meadow, where he was joined by his
companions—“Be it so. Well I am assured
no foeman could have followed with such
speed as to be less than two leagues distant in
our rear—and on this open plain none can approach
us undetected. One hour's advance
will bring us to a band of horsemen, under the
bold Ojeda, that would contemn the might of
Caonabo's tribe.”

Taking the lead once more, he trotted gently
forward, the daylight brightening more and
more till the great sun burst from the cloudy
veil that curtained his bright orient chamber,
and filled the earth with lustre and rejoicing.
Love, which, oppressed by doubt, anxiety,
and care, had been remembered only to
aggravate their sorrows and increase their
apprehensions, resumed, beneath that gladsome
light, its more legitimate and wonted
functions, and, before many moments had
elapsed, Hernando was recounting to the attentive
ears of the sweet Indian girl his confident
and certain expectations of an immediate termination
to all the obstacles which had thus far
opposed their union, while he inquired eagerly
into the late mysterious history of his surprise,
imprisonment, and rescue. Few words sufficed
to make all clear. Chance, alone—blind
and sudden chance—had brought about his
capture—a chance which had in fact preserved
the Spanish settlements from certain peril—
probable destruction. Apprised, as has been
mentioned heretofore, of the relaxed discipline
and contemptuous negligence of military usages
which had crept on the garrison during the absence
of its great commander, the wily Charib
had assembled all his bold tributary hordes,
and was even then in full march to commence
an onslaught on walls which he most assuredly
would have found mounted with culverins unloaded
and watched—or unwatched rather—
by sentinels unarmed and sleeping. And despite
the exertions of Guarica, had the assailants
not been delayed by the arrival of the

[figure description] Page 095.[end figure description]

duellists, and the protracted conflict which held
the Charibs gazing in mute wonder, Ojeda's
tidings would have been all too late to save the
city from surprise. As it was, he arrived just
in time; and the report of Caonabo's scouts,
who reported the garrison to be so thoroughly
on the alert that it was clear they must have
received intelligence, determined the cacique to
retreat instantly, and wait a better opportunity.

Hernando's eyes had not deceived him; for
it was in truth Orozimbo, whom he had seen
disputing with Caonabo; and, as he surmised,
it was concerning himself that the argument
was maintained so angrily; the young man insisting
on his release, and his uncle, maddened
by his disappointment, refusing positively
to keep the word which he had plighted
for his safety.

This refusal perhaps it was which, awakening
a generous indignation on the boy's part,
determined him, yet more than his sympathy
in his beloved sister's affection, to effect by one
means or other the escape of the young Spaniard.
In this intent, he judged it best to accompany
the band on their march; and to carry
out his plans better he appeared to acquiesce
in his uncle's views, and avoided all communication
with, or apparent interest in the prisoner.

Within half an hour of the capture, however,
he contrived to send off news of what
had happened to his sister, by a messenger on
whom he could rely, desiring her to seek aid
from the very man to whom she was most
willing to apply, Alonzo de Ojeda; and to
meet him prepared with horses, and with Spanish
aid at hand, the next morning at a point
which he indicated.

Arrived at the hill fortress, he easily obtained
the release of Alonzo, on whom the
Charibs set no value, on condition that he
should be blindfolded until he was some miles
distant from the fort.

This once conceded, he seemingly gave up
all further interest in Hernando; and, on pretence
of conveying the boy homeward, had an
interview with his father and Ojeda, arranged
all the further particulars of the escape, and
conducted it with an energy and skill which
ensured its complete success.

The only danger that remained now to be
apprehended was that some roving band, several
of which Orozimbo knew to be out, might
discover the bivouac of Ojeda's horsemen, and,
suspecting an escape, attempt to ambush the
fugitives. Of this, however, there appeared to
be little risk, conducted, as their flight had
been, with so much craft and discretion.

And now the wide savannah was already
passed, and at the verge of the forest, within a
short half mile of the spot where Ojeda waited
their arrival, with ears and soul intent on every
sound that might betoken their approach, they
had to cross a narrow streamlet, running between
deep and wooded banks. Orozimbo, who
was their guide, still led the way, and was in
the middle of the ford, while Hernando with
the maiden was descending the steep path
which led to it, when the well known twang
of the Indian bow was heard, and an arrow
whizzed through the air, so truly aimed that it
passed through the Spaniard's high crowned
hat.

“Push on,” cried the quick-witted youth
upon the instant; “push on, boy, to close
quarters,” and, as he spoke, snatching a pistol
from his holster, he dashed his spurs into
his horse's flanks, and passing Orozimbo in
mid channel, drove up the opposite ascent,
followed by his page, sword in hand.

Then from the brushwood rose a loud,
wild yell, accompanied by a flight of long
Charib shafts—close to the head and breast of
De Leon they hurtled, but none took effect on
him, or on Alonzo. A sharp cry rang, however,
from the rear, followed almost immediately
by a splash in the shallow water, and
then, with bridle loose and bloodstained housings,
the steed of Orozimbo darted at a fierce
gallop onward. Scarce had Hernando reached
the brow of the ravine before, with levelled
pikes and brandished war-clubs, a dozen
Charibs rushed against him; and one, more
daring than his fellows, seized on his bridle
rein. Not half a second did he keep his hold,
for, levelled at a hand's breadth of his head,
Hernando's pistol flashed with unerring aim—
the bullet crashed through the Indian's temples,
and he fell without a word or a groan,
beneath the charger's feet. Rising upon the
instant in his stirrups, the bold cavalier hurled,
with a sure and steady hand, the discharged
weapon in the face of his next opponent.
Then, before he had seen the effect, although
it felled the savage stunned and headlong to
the earth, he unsheathed his trusty rapier with
one hand, while with the other, casting his
bridle loose, he drew and discharged fatally
his second pistol.

All this had passed with the speed of light,
and Alonzo, having at the same time cut
down the first of his assailants, the Indians
broke away on all sides, and it seemed as if
they might have effected their escape; and
so in fact they might have done, had the
young Spaniard chosen to abandon Orozimbo
to his fate; but such was not his nature.
Reining his charger sharply up, he turned his
head, and called aloud upon the faithful Indian.
At the same point of time the Charibs,
who had scattered diverse before his headlong
charge, began again to rally, and one, the
boldest of their number, fitting an arrow to
his bow-string, drew it with steady and swift
aim quite to the head, the cord twanged
sharply, and the shaft took effect right in the

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broad breast of Hernando's war horse, transfixing
his embroidered poitrel. Headlong he
fell to earth, and as he fell, the savages, gaining
fresh courage, made a simultaneous rush
upon the hapless rider.

So speedily, however, had the skilful soldier
regained his foothold, and so powerfully
did he wield his rapier, that they still feared
to close with him absolutely. Not so, however,
with the fair Guarica, for dislodged from
her seat by the shock of the charger's downfall,
she had been thrown to some yards distance
and seized, as soon as she had touched
the ground, by a gigantic savage, who all
athirst forvengeance and for blood, brandished
his ponderous war-club round his head in the
very act to smite, while hampered by their
numerous foemen, neither Hernando nor the
page could possibly assist her at this fearful
crisis. Just at this moment, the fast, thickbeating
tramp of many horses at full gallop
was heard by both parties, and the continuous
crashing of the brushwood, through which a
band of Europeans was, it was evident, advancing.
The near sound, it would seem, inspired
both parties with fresh vigor—the savages
trying to finish their fell work before
they should be interrupted—the Spaniards
gaining confidence and hope from the vicinity
of friends. Too late, however, would the
arrival of Ojeda on the scene of action have
proved to save Guarica, though now he might
be even within two hundred yards, plying his
bloody spurs, and brandishing aloft his formidable
rapier. Thrice did Hernando rush
upon the Indians in the vain hope of succoring
his promised bride, striking down at each
charge a Charib warrior; but each time he
was driven back by force of irresistible numbers;
and nothing could have saved her from
sure death, had not a bloody form, ghastly,
deathstricken, arisen like a spectre from the
channel of the stream—armed with a Spanish
blade—faithful in death itself, young Orozimbo!
Though faint and staggering, he plied
his keen sword with such mortal energy,
that all shrank back from its downright descent.
The chief who had seized Guarica,
and whose averted head beheld not the approach
of this new combatant, received the
full sway of its sheer edge on his bended
neck. Through muscle, spine, and marrow,
the trenchant blade drove unresisted. Loosing
his grasp upon his captive, he dropped
dead without a word or struggle; and carried
onward by his own impetus, the Charib boy
fell over him, and lay beside him in his
blood—motionless, although living still. A
second more, and with their battle cry,
“Saint Jago!” the fiery Spaniards were
upon them—with flash, and shot, and stab,
and stroke, till not an enemy remained alive
upon the bank of the small stream, which,
late so pure and lucid, flowed now all dark,
curdled, and thick with human gore. Ere yet
the mortal struggle was well over, Hernando
caught Guarica to his arms, and the page
Alonzo upraised the body of her faithful brother
from the earth, and wiped the foam and
gore from his pale lips, while the stern Spaniards
stood around, mute and awe-stricken,
leaning on the weapons which reeked yet
with the homicidal witness. One form was
there beside Alonzo de Ojeda, on whom Hernando's
eyes, engrossed by the sad spectacle
before him, had not yet fallen—a tall and noble
form, gorgeously clad in scarlet, with
much lace and embroidery of gold. But it
was not the gorgeous dress, scarlet, nor lace,
nor gold, but the long locks of snow shading
that broad and massive brow—the air of conscious
dignity and inborn worth, the impress
of unutterable thought united to invincible
resolve, that stamped upon that face and figure
a natural majesty exceeding that of princes—
a majesty becoming the discoverer of
worlds! Silent he stood, and sorrowful;
while the boy Orozimbo, placing the fair hand
of his sister, who, with her lover, knelt above
him in speechless agony of woe, in that of
the young Spaniard, strove hard but fruitlessly,
against the grasp of death, which wa
now grappling with his very soul, to give
his feelings sound—gasping forth something
of which naught could be heard but the
words—“Take her, love and protect”—his
eyes rolled wildly, as he struggled to fix them
on the beloved brow of her for whom he was
dying—his lips were fearfully convulsed, and
with one murmur—“Sister—sister!” he sank
upon the earth, as still and senseless as
its least valued clod. Then that great man
broke silence—

“This is the visible and present hand of
God! Take her, Hernando—she is yours—
yours in the face of man and before God!
Take her to be your wife, for ever and forever—
and as to her you do prove faithful,
true, and loving—so may it be with you and
yours, here and hereafter!”

And the wide forest aisles re-echoed to
the deep “Amen,” which burst impressively
from the stern lips of the Spanish warriors.

The tenderness of her espoused lord effaced,
in time, the cloud from the fair Indian's
brow; and if the source of their first early
love was troubled, so was it not in its meridian
tide! Happy they lived, and honored,
and when at length they paid the debt, which
all must pay to nature, it was among the
tears of children so numerous and noble, that
to this very day many, the grandest of Spain's
nobility, are proud to claim descent from Hernando
de Leon and his bright Charib Bride!