She made a final balance of her treasure and found that it would be enough for whatever life she wanted to lead in Spain. She could not even wait a week more so as to plan the homeward trip carefully.
7
Lately dona Maria had hired two Spanish soldiers who had come this way and who either had deserted or had been discharged. With the help of these two men she formed a special guard composed of mestizos and of Indians and fairly well armed. This guard had become necessary owing to the increase in the number of bandits roaming the country.
One of the Spanish soldiers was made captain of the day, the other captain of the night. This guard proved valuable now that dona Maria had decided to break camp, pack up, and take her riches to Mexico City and from there to good old Spain. The transport would have been practically impossible without an armed convoy.
The metal, of which about one sixth was gold, the rest silver, had been properly smelted and was in bars. In this form it was packed away in crates and boxes and even in baskets made by the Indians. The value of the treasure may be figured from the fact that about one hundred and thirty strong mules were needed to carry the metal alone.
8
The pack-train, accompanied by thirty-five men, of whom twenty were well armed, got under way. They had to march nearly fourteen hundred miles from the mine to the capital, through deserts, across rivers and ravines, and up ten thousand feet across the high passes of the Sierra Madre. They had to hew their way through jungles and virgin forests. They passed through the Tierra Caliente—that is, the tropical districts of the lower regions of the country. They climbed over the stormy and ice-cold ridges of the highest ranges of the Sierra and down again to the tropics. The transport was threatened by heavy tropical rains and cloudbursts; and while traversing long stretches of deserts and rocky lowlands, the beasts almost died of thirst.
The transport in itself was lively enough. Dona Maria was never short of excitement. Mules with their packs broke away and had to be caught; others fell and were killed, and at times their packs had to be hauled up from the depths of a ravine. Other beasts were drowned, and their packs had to be fished out of the torrents of a river. There was never a day without its own peculiar adventure.
An evening came when dona Maria found the camp stirred up. She investigated and saw that one of the Spanish captains was making trouble.
He strode up to dona Maria. “Now, listen here,” he said, “and listen well, lady. Will you marry me or not? And no perhaps, if you know what is good for you.”
“I marry you? You? A stinking highwayman? I marry such a goddamned son of a bitch? Marry you?”
“All right, hussy,” the man said; “I can easily get a greater beauty. I can take it all very well without you being thrown in like a dry bone.”
“What can you, cabron and son of a dog, take without me, you stinking coyote?”
“I mean, of course,” the Spaniard explained, “I can take, without marrying you, all that is in the packs.”
“Oh, can you? Is that so? Well, you’ve made yourself clear. Thanks for the notice.”
The Spaniard grinned at her. He waved his right hand and drew dona Maria’s attention to where the men were camped. “Look at that, fine lady. Perhaps now you are ready to go to church with me and after that to bed. Or before, just as you say, dear. I’ll give you just one hour to find out that you are really in love with me. I don’t need you, see? But I’ll take you just for your own sake.”
“Why wait an hour? I am not used to waiting.” Dona Maria had not lost her bearings. “Fine work you have done, you skunk; I admit that and I admire your courage. I like that type of yours.”
She looked toward the camp and saw the other captain tied to a tree, and all the Indians bound with ropes and lying helpless on the ground. The mestizos alone were standing up. It was these mestizos whom the Spaniard had won over to his side by promising a rich cut of the booty.
“Yes,” dona Maria repeated, “yes, fine work indeed! You’ve done a very good job.”
“And that means you will come to reason, my fine lady,” the Spaniard suggested. “I hope you won’t delay any longer.”
“Right you are, you goddamned devil. I won’t delay any longer.” Dona Maria said this very quietly. She stepped close to one of the many saddles lying on the ground and with a quick move she gripped one of the heavy mule-whips. Before the Spaniard realized what she was doing, she lashed him such a terrific blow across his face that he staggered back and fell, covering his eyes and moaning. With the speed of lightning she gave his face half a dozen lashes so mercilessly that he rolled over as if blind and crawled away, covering his head and his face with one arm, using the other to help him up and out of the blows.
