CHAPTER XIII. THE CONVENTION BONDS.

Reddish tints were striping the snowy peaks of the Popocatepetl, the last stars were expiring in the heavens, and opaline gleams were tinting the summit of the buildings; day was just beginning to break. Mexico was still sleeping; its silent streets were only disturbed at long intervals by the hurried footfalls of a few Indians arriving from the neighbouring pueblos to sell their fruit and vegetables. A few pulqueros' shops alone timidly set their doors ajar, and were preparing to serve to the early customers the dose of strong liquor, that obligado prologue of every day's work. Half past four struck from the sagrario; at this moment a horseman emerged from the Calle de Tacuba, crossed the Plaza Mayor at a sharp trot, and pulled up right in front of the gates of the palace of the presidency, which were guarded by two sentries.

"Who goes there?" one of them shouted.

"A friend," the horseman replied.

"Pass, friend."

"Certainly not," the horseman answered, "for I have business here."

"You wish to enter the palace?"

"Yes."

"It is too soon; come back in two hours."

"In two hours it will be too late, and so I must enter at once."

"Stuff," the sentry said jeeringly, and then added to his companion: "What do you think of that, Pedrito?"

"Well, well," the other replied with a grin; "I think that the gentleman must be a stranger, who is making a mistake, and fancies himself at the door of a mesón."

"Enough of that insolence, scoundrels," the horseman said sternly; "I have lost too much time already. Warn the officer of the guard, and make haste about it."

The tone employed by the stranger appeared to make a powerful impression on the soldiers. After consulting together for a moment in a whisper—as after all the stranger was in the right, and what he demanded was provided for in their orders—they resolved to satisfy him by striking the door with the butt of their muskets. Two or three minutes later, this door was opened, and offered a passage to a sergeant, who could be easily recognized by the vinewood stick, symbol of his rank, which he carried in his left hand. After enquiring of the sentries the reason of their summons, he bowed politely to the stranger, begged him to wait a moment, and went in, leaving the door open behind him, but almost immediately reappeared, preceding a captain in full dress uniform. The horseman bowed to the captain, and repeated the request which he had previously made to the sentries.

"I am very sorry to refuse you, se?or," the officer replied, "but my orders prohibit me from letting anyone into the palace before eight o'clock; if the reason that brings you here is serious, be kind enough therefore to return at that hour, and nobody will oppose your entrance."

And he bowed as if taking leave.

"Pardon me, Captain," the horseman continued; "one word more, if you please."

"Say it, se?or."

"It is unnecessary for anyone but yourself to hear it."

"Nothing is easier, se?or," the officer replied, as he came near enough to touch the stranger; "now speak." The horseman leaned down, and murmured in a low voice a few words, which the officer listened to with marks of the most profound surprise.

"Are you satisfied now, Captain?"

"Perfectly, se?or;" and turning to the sergeant, who was standing a few yards off, he said "open the gate."

"It is unnecessary," the stranger remarked; "with your permission I will dismount here, and a soldier can hold my horse."

"As you please, se?or."

The horseman dismounted, and threw the bridle to the sergeant, who held it till a private should come to take his place.

"Now, Captain," the stranger continued, "if you wish to set the seal on your kindness by leading me yourself to the person who expects me, I am at your orders."

"I am at yours, se?or," the officer replied, "and since you desire it, I shall have the honour of accompanying you."

They then entered the palace, leaving behind them the sergeant and two sentries in a state of the utmost surprise. Preceded by the captain, the horseman passed through several rooms, which, in spite of the early hour, were always crowded, not by visitors, but officers of all ranks, senators and councillors of the Supreme Court, who seemed to have spent the night at the palace. A great agitation prevailed among the groups, among which were blended officers, members of the clergy, and the chief merchants; they were conversing with considerable animation, but in a low voice; the general expression of faces was gloomy and anxious. The two men at length reached the door of a study guarded, by two sentries; an usher, with a silver chain round his neck, was slowly walking up and down; at the sight of the two men he hurried up to them.

"You have arrived, se?or," said the captain.

"I have now only to take my leave of you, se?or, and offer you my thanks for your politeness," the horseman answered.

They bowed, and the captain returned to his post.

"His Excellency cannot receive at this moment; there was an extraordinary council this night, and his Excellency has given orders that he is to be left alone," said the usher, bowing ceremoniously to the stranger.

"His Excellency will make an exception in my favour," the stranger remarked gently.

"I doubt it, se?or; the order is general, and I dare not break it."

The stranger appeared to reflect for a moment.

The usher waited, evidently surprised that the stranger should persevere in remaining. The other at length raised his head; "I understand, se?or," he said, "how sacred the order you have received must be to you, hence I have no intention of urging you to disobey it; still, as the subject that brings me here is of the most serious nature, let me implore you to do me a service."

"To oblige you, se?or, I will do anything that is compatible with the duties of my office."

"I thank you, se?or; however, I assure you, and you will soon receive proof of my assertion, that, far from reprimanding you, his Excellency, the President, will feel obliged to you for allowing me to reach his presence."

"I had the honour of remarking to you, se?or—"

"Let me explain to you what I want of you," the stranger interrupted quickly, "then you will tell me whether you can or cannot do me the service I ask of you."

"That is fair, speak, se?or."

"I will write one word on a piece of paper, and this paper you will place before his Excellency's eyes, without saying a word, if his Excellency says nothing to you; I will withdraw; you see there is no difficulty about it, and that you will in no way transgress the orders you have received."

"That is true," the usher replied, with a meaning smile, "but I evade them."

"Do you see any difficulty in doing so?"

"Is it very necessary, then, that you should see his Excellency this morning?" the usher continued, without answering the question asked him.

"Se?or don Livio," the stranger answered in a grave voice, "for though you do not know me, I know you, I am aware of your devotion to General Miramón; well, on my honour and faith as a Christian, I swear to you that it is most urgent for him that I should see him without delay."

"That is sufficient, se?or," the usher replied; seriously, "if it only depended on myself, you would be with him at this moment; there are paper, pen and ink, on that table, please write."

The horseman thanked him, took up a pen and wrote in large letters, in the middle of a sheet, this one word, "ADOLFO .°.", followed by three dots, arranged in a triangle, and then handed it to the usher.

"There," he said to him.

The usher gazed at him with amazement.

"What!" he exclaimed, "You are—"

"Silence," the stranger said, laying his finger on his lips.

"Oh, you will enter," the usher added, and opening the door, he disappeared.

But almost immediately the door was opened again, and a powerful voice, which did not belong to the usher, shouted twice from the interior of the cabinet, "Come in, come in."

The stranger entered.

"Come," the President continued, "Come, my dear don Adolfo, it is Heaven that sends you," and he advanced towards him, holding out his hand.

Don Adolfo respectfully pressed the President's hand, and sat down in an armchair by his side. At the moment when we bring him on the stage, President Miramón, the general whose name was in every mouth, and who was justly considered the first warrior of Mexico, as he was her best administrator, was quite a young man: he was scarce twenty-six years of age, and yet, what noble and grand actions he had accomplished during the three years he had been in power! Physically, he was tall and elegantly formed; his manner was full of ease; his features, delicate, distinguished, and full of cleverness, displayed boldness and intelligence; his wide forehead was already wrinkled by the effect of thought; his well-opened black eyes had a straight and clear glance, whose depth, at times disturbed those upon whom he fixed them; his rather pale face and eyes bordered by a wide brown circle evidenced a long want of sleep.

"Ah," he said gladly, as he fell back in an easy chair, "my good genius has returned, he is going to bring me back my happiness that has fled."

Don Adolfo shook his head mournfully.

"What is the meaning of that movement, my friend?" the President continued.

"This means, General, that I fear it is too late."

"Too late! How so? Do you not think me capable of taking a startling revenge on my enemies?"

"I think you capable of every great and noble action, General," he replied; "unfortunately treachery surrounds you on all sides, and your friends are deserting you."

"That is only too true," the general said bitterly; "the clergy and the chief merchants, whose protector I constituted myself, whom I have defended everywhere and always, selfishly allow me to exhaust my last resources in protecting them, without deigning to come to my assistance, they will most likely regret me, if, as is only too probable, I succumb through their fault."

"Yes, that is true, General, and in the council which you held this night, of course you assured yourself in a definite manner of the intentions of these men to whom you have sacrificed everything."

"Yes," he said, frowning, and laying a bitter stress on his words, "to all my requests, to all my observations, they only gave one and the same answer: We cannot. They had agreed on it beforehand."

"Pardon my frankness, General, but in that case your position must be extremely critical."

"Say precarious, and you will be nearer the truth, my friend; the treasury is completely empty, and it is impossible for me to fill it again; the army, having received no pay for two months, are murmuring, and threaten to disband; my officers are going over, one after the other, to the enemy; the latter is advancing by forced marches on Mexico; such is the true situation, what do you think of it?"

"It is sad, horribly sad, General; and pardon me the question, and what do you intend doing to parry the danger?"

The general, instead of answering him, gave him a piercing glance.

"But before we go further, General," don Adolfo continued, "permit me, General, to give you an account of my own operations."

"Oh! They have been successful, I feel convinced," the general replied with a smile.

"I hope that you will find them so, Excellency; do you authorize me to make my report?"

"Do so, do so, my friend; I long to hear what you have accomplished for the defense of our noble cause."

"Oh, pardon, General," don Adolfo said quickly; "I am only an adventurer, and my devotion is entirely personal to yourself."

"Good, I understand; let me hear this report."

"In the first place, I succeeded in taking from General Degollado the remains of the conducta which he carried off at the Laguna Seca."

"Good, that is honourable warfare; for it was with the money of that conducta that he took Guadalajara from me. Oh, Castillo! Well, how much is it?"

"Two hundred and sixty thousand piastres."

"Hum! A very decent amount."

"Is it not? I next surprised that bandit Cuéllar; after that his worthy partner Carvajal, and lastly their friend Felipe Irzabal had a row with me; without counting several partisans of Juárez, whom their evil star brought across my track."

"But the total from these various encounters, my friend?"

"Nine hundred and odd thousand piastres; the guerilleros of the worthy Juárez are excellent shearing, for they have their arms free, and take advantage of it to fatten themselves by fishing largely in troubled waters. In short, I bring you about twelve hundred thousand piastres, which will be brought here on mules within an hour, and which you are at liberty to place in the treasury."

"Why, this is magnificent."

"I do what I can, General."

"Hang it all! If all my friends were to beat up the country with such excellent results, I should soon be rich, and able to carry on the war vigorously. Unfortunately that is not the case; but this sum, added to what I have been able to procure in another quarter, makes a very decent amount."

"What other sum are you alluding to, General? You have found money, then?"

"Yes," he replied with some hesitation; "a friend of mine, attaché to the Spanish embassy, suggested the means to me."

Don Adolfo bounded as if he had been stung by a viper.

"Calm yourself, my friend," the general said quickly; "I know that you are an enemy of the duke; still, since his arrival in Mexico, he has rendered me great services, as you cannot deny."

The adventurer was pale and gloomy, and made no reply. The general continued, for, like all honestly-minded men, he felt the necessity of exculpating himself from a bad action, although the utmost pressure alone compelled him to commit it. "The duke," he said, "after the defeat of Silao, when everything failed me at the same moment, succeeded in inducing Spain to recognize my government, which was very useful to me, as you will allow, I think?"

"Yes, yes, I allow it, General. Oh, Heaven! What I was told is true, then!"

"And what were you told?"

"That, being reduced to the last extremity through the obstinate refusal of the clergy and merchants to assist you, you had formed a terrible resolution."

"It is true," the general, said, hanging his head.

"But perhaps it is not too late yet; I bring you money; your situation is changed, and with your permission I will go—"

"Listen," the general said, checking him by a look.

The door had just been opened.

"Did I not forbid you disturbing me?" the President said to the usher, who was standing respectfully before him.

"General Márquez, Excellency," the usher answered impassively.

The President started, and a slight flush spread over his face.

"Let him come in," he said sharply.

General Márquez appeared.

"Well?" the President asked him.

"It is done," the general replied laconically; "the money is paid into the treasury."

"How did it come off?" the President continued, with an imperceptible tremor in his voice.

"I received your Excellency's orders to proceed with a respectable force to the legation of Her British Majesty, and request of the English representative the immediate surrender of the funds destined to pay the bondholders of the English debt, while observing to the representative that the sum was at this moment indispensable to your Excellency, in order to place the city in a posture of defense; moreover, I pledged your Excellency's word for the restitution of the sum, which must only be regarded as a loan for a few days, and: I also offered to arrange with your Excellency the mode of payment which would be most agreeable to him. To all my observations the English representative restricted himself to replying that the money did not belong to him, that he was only the responsible holder, and that it was impossible for him to surrender it. Perceiving that all my objections must fail in presence of an invincible resolution, after an hour spent in useless discussion, I at length determined to execute the last part of the orders I had received; I ordered my soldiers to break the official seals, and I removed all the money I found, being careful to have it counted twice in the presence of witnesses, in order to be sure of the amount of money which I appropriated, in order to restore it in full hereafter. I thus carried off one million four hundred thousand piastres (￡240,000), which were immediately transported to the palace by my orders."

After this succinct narration, General Márquez bowed, like a man convinced that he has perfectly done his duty, and who expects complimenting.

"And what did the English representative do then?" the President asked.

"After protesting, he hauled down his flag, and, followed by the whole legation staff, left the city, declaring that he broke off all relations with your Excellency's government, and that in the face of the unjust act of spoliation to which he had been a victim—such are his own expressions—he should retire to Jalapa, and await fresh instructions from the British government."

"Very well, General, I thank you; I shall have the honour of conversing with you more fully in a moment."

The general bowed and retired.

"You see, my friend," the general remarked, "it is now too late to restore the money."

"Yes, the evil is irremediable, unhappily."

"What do you advise me?"

"General, you are at the bottom of an abyss; your rupture with England is the greatest misfortune which can happen to you under the present circumstances: you must conquer or die."

"I will conquer," the general exclaimed, hotly.

"May Heaven grant it!" the adventurer replied, sorrowfully; "For victory alone can absolve you."

He rose.

"Are you leaving me already?" the President asked him.

"I must, Excellency; have I not to bring the money here, which I at least took from your enemies?" Miramón hung his head sadly.

"Pardon me, General, I was wrong, I should not have spoken thus; do I not know in my own case that misfortune is a bad adviser?"

"Have you nothing to ask of me?"

"Yes, a blank signature."

The general at once gave it to him.

"There," he said, "shall I see you again before your departure from Mexico?"

"Yes, General—one word more."

"What is it?"

"Distrust that Spanish duke; he is betraying you."

He then took leave of the President, and withdrew.