Читать книгу The Stolen Boy, an Indian Tale - Барбара Хофланд - Страница 5

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Don Manuel had suffered his son to mix much with the Indians, from a persuasion that the love of exercise they were likely to inspire, could hardly fail to be beneficial to a Spanish boy, being well aware that his nation are (generally speaking) much too indolent; and being a sensible, well-informed man, calculated for residing in any country, and learning what was most valuable in each, he wished to render his son alike fitted to become a citizen of the world. He was not, however, sorry to see that the boy returned to his usual avocations with pleasure, and he determined that when he had passed his ninth birthday, he should enter on a more regular course of study than had hitherto been required from him, the course of his education having unavoidably been interrupted by the voyage to America, and the unsettled state of the family before they could procure a permanent abode.

The birthday of their eldest son was fixed upon, by his affectionate parents, as a proper time for giving a suitable entertainment to the principal inhabitants of San Antonio; and accordingly his entrance into his tenth year was celebrated with the united luxuries of the old world and the new; and for the day, Manuel was treated with much consideration as well as affection. He had a handsome new dress for the occasion, and among other presents, he received, from one of the guests, a very beautiful galloway, suited for his age and size; and as he had learned to ride, it will readily be conceived that nothing could exceed the pleasure he promised himself with this pretty animal, which had been properly broken in for him, and on which he mounted in the presence of his mother, and the ladies of her party. The address with which he managed his steed, the grace of his motions, and the firmness and agility he displayed, excited the admiration of every one; and the heart of the fond mother beat high in her bosom, as she inwardly predicted the future greatness of her beloved boy; whilst her young daughter, not less happy, bounded round her brother, extolling all he did to the skies, and allowing (for the first time) that even the Choctaws had improved him in some things; "for though they did not teach him to ride, yet they did teach him to shoot, and he could now do both, at the same time, most surprisingly."

All pleasure, as well as pains, must have an end; and poor Manuel, in despite of his temporary greatness, at length sunk into such deep repose, that it encroached considerably on the following day; but his parents would not allow him to be disturbed, because he had never been up so late before. In consequence, when other persons were inclined to take their siesta after dinner, Manuel was quite upon the alert, and instead of going to sleep, determined to pay a visit to his pretty horse, and perhaps take a short ride with the groom. Accordingly, having received a nod of approbation from his father, he went up to the stables, which lay at some distance from the house, and finding there Diego, a favourite servant, who had accompanied the family from Spain, he began immediately to beg he would saddle the new favourite for him, and accompany him a little distance.

Diego readily promised to fulfil his wishes, but observed, "that he must, in the first place, put the finishing stroke to what he was about, which was cleaning a very fine mare of his master's, which had been out that morning."

To this, of course, the boy made no objection, and he continued to caress his own pet, and feed him with the best food in the stable, whilst the man pursued his task.

In a moment both were astonished by a loud outcry, of a nature which was utterly incomprehensible to them, since it neither resembled the roaring of wild beasts, nor the voices of human beings; it was wild, terrible, and wonderful—advanced nearer every moment—and was soon heard in conjunction with the sound of horses' feet. When this sound struck on the servant's ear, he exclaimed—"This must be the Cumanches—fly, my dear young master, fly to the house this moment!"

But all flight was impossible—even whilst he spoke, the stable was entered by a whole troop of terrible-looking Indians. Diego was seized on the instant, and hurried out by two of them; and although Manuel instinctively crept under the animal he was caressing, he, too, was presently seen, and felt a strong arm dragging him from his hiding-place. All resistance appeared vain, and only likely to produce instant death; but Manuel for some moments called on his father, in a loud shrieking voice, and afterwards knelt and held up his hands in supplication to the ferocious savage who stood nearest him. Alas! both were in vain; his father at that moment slept, unconscious of all danger; and the only sensation produced in the breast of the savage by his entreaties, was that of contempt; nevertheless, as he perceived that he was a handsome, well-grown boy, and from the situation in which he found him, likely to be conversant with the management of horses, and was, more-over, richly dressed, he determined on taking him with them, in preference to stifling his cries by killing him on the spot.

In a few moments the poor little boy was dragged out, placed on a tall horse, and held there with an irresistible arm, by the strong Indian, whose particular prize he was made. The horses and mules were all taken out, save one deemed too old to be useful, and each of them being secured by a noose, was led off by one or other of the Indians, poor Diego being bound fast to one of them, and led off with the rest. Whilst this was doing, hope revived in the breast of Manuel, and, despite of his situation in the gripe of the barbarian, he shouted aloud, though Diego called on him to desist, as he expected every moment to see him murdered in consequence. The poor boy knew that there were plenty of fire-arms in the house, and many hands that would rush to his assistance, and the dear home which he then beheld with his eyes, he hoped could be reached with his tongue; and in the frantic agony of the moment, it is certain that his shrieks could have reached the ears of the family, they were so loud and piercing, had they not been exhausted by the fatigues of the preceding day.

All this was but the work of a few moments, and Manuel soon found himself riding at a prodigious rate, in a direction he had never gone before; and being sensible that he might scream himself to death to no purpose, he ceased, and tried to comfort himself with the hope that they would shortly be pursued by his father and the servants. As his enslaver kept at the head of the troop, he was many times deceived with false hopes, when he heard the trampling of horses near him; and at one time, so sanguine were his expectations, that he called out—"Courage, Diego! they are following us; we shall soon be rescued."

"I can see, master, though you can't," answered the afflicted man, "and I perceive no help of any kind. Besides, how can they pursue us to good purpose, when there is not a single creature left for them to ride on?"

This melancholy recollection had not once occurred to the mind of the boy, who had hitherto buoyed himself up with the hope that his father would follow at the head of his friends and servants, whose guns and pistols he almost instantly expected to hear, thinking such sounds would be the sweetest in the world to him, and being willing to be wounded, and almost killed, so he might escape from the Indians. When, however, he recollected that indeed all the horses were gone, that his father would be obliged to send for others from San Antonio, and that the time which would elapse, rendered it utterly improbable that he could overtake them before their arrival in those interminable forests towards which they were directing their flight, his heart sank into despair, and he wept in bitter anguish for several hours.

The Indians, on entering the woods, slackened their pace, and rode on in silence, threading their way through the dark labyrinth of tall trees, with a precision and ability which, under other circumstances, would have recalled to the mind of Manuel his admiration of his old friends, the Choctaws; but he was much too unhappy to notice any external circumstance. Often had he wished to penetrate these sublime forests, to see those stately trees which rise higher than the towers of cathedrals, and whose branches are frequently adorned by beautiful flowers, at the same time that their trunks are entwined by other flowers, of the most dazzling colours and beautiful forms, presenting altogether an assemblage of the richest stores of nature. To him, these things were at this moment totally disregarded, for every moment that bore him further from his beloved parents and home was a new cause for sorrow, and every faculty of his mind and his memory was absorbed in the sorrow of his heart. Even the terror which rested on the future, as far as regarded his personal safety, was, for the present, suspended, and grief for the loss of his beloved parents filled his bosom, to the exclusion of every other regret.