Chapter 11

XI

"Now Carreras, under the guise of politics and liberalism, was a
scoundrel of the deepest dye, and the unhappy state of Mendoza was the
prey of thieves, robbers, traitors and murderers, who formed his
party. He was under a noble exterior a man without heart, pity,
honour, or conscience. Tie aspired to nothing but tyranny, and though
he would have made use of Gaspar Ruiz for his nefarious designs, yet
he soon became aware that to propitiate the Chilian Government would
answer his purpose better. I blush to say that he made proposals to
our Government to deliver up on certain conditions the wife and child
of the man who had trusted to his honour, and that this offer was
accepted.

"While on her way to Mendoza over the Pequena pass she was betrayed by
her escort of Carreras' men, and given up to the officer in command of
a Chilian fort on the upland at the foot of the main Cordillera range.
This atrocious transaction might have cost me dear, for as a matter of
fact I was a prisoner in Gaspar Ruiz' camp when he received the news.
I had been captured during a reconnaissance, my escort of a few
troopers being speared by the Indians of his bodyguard. I was saved
from the same fate because he recognised my features just in time. No
doubt my friends thought I was dead, and I would not have given much
for my life at any time. But the strong man treated me very well,
because, he said, I had always believed in his innocence and had tried
to serve him when he was a victim of injustice.

"'And now,' was his speech to me, 'you shall see that I always speak
the truth. You are safe.'

"I did not think I was very safe when I was called up to go to him one
night. He paced up and down like a wild beast, exclaiming, 'Betrayed!
Betrayed!'

"He walked up to me clenching his fists. 'I could cut your throat.'

"'Will that give your wife back to you?' I said as quietly as I
could.

"'And the child!' he yelled out, as if mad. He fell into a chair and
laughed in a frightful, boisterous manner. 'Oh, no, you are safe.'

"I assured him that his wife's life was safe too; but I did not say
what I was convinced of--that he would never see her again. He wanted
war to the death, and the war could only end with his death.

"He gave me a strange, inexplicable look, and sat muttering blankly.
'In their hands. In their hands.'

"I kept as still as a mouse before a cat. Suddenly he jumped up.
'What am I doing here?' he cried; and opening the door, he yelled out
orders to saddle and mount. 'What is it?' he stammered, coming up to
me. 'The Pequena fort; a fort of palisades! Nothing. I would get her
back if she were hidden in the very heart of