University of Virginia Library

9. CHAPTER IX.

The sun was high in heaven, when Hernando
de Leon awoke from the deep but
perturbed and restless slumbers which, induced
by the fever of his wounds, and the
toilsome journey of the prcceding day, had
fallen on him almost before his limbs were
stretched upon their temporary couch.
The bright rays streaming in between the
massive beams that barred the portal of his
dungeon, full of ten thousand dancing
motes, had fallen full upon his face, and
uncurtained eyelids, dazzling the orbs
within; so that when he upstarted from
his dreamless sleep, it was a moment or
two before he could so far collect his
thoughts as to discover where he was, or
what had been the circumstances which
placed him in that wild abode. By slow
degrees, however, the truth dawned on his
mind, and with the truth that dull sense of
oppression, that dense and smothering
weight, which to souls of the highest order
and most delicate perceptions, seems
ever to attend the loss of liberty. For
awhile, therefore, he brooded gloomily and
darkly over the strange events of the past
day; the singular mode in which he had
been so unexpectedly entrapped, the unex
plained and unintelligible conduct of the
savages, and, above all, the motives which
had influenced them in their treatment of
himself.

Thence his thoughts strayed, by no unnatural
transition, to the mild features and
kind ministry of the Charib boy; and when
he probed his memory, he clearly recollected
him to be one of the slaves of Orozimbo's
household, though from this he
could draw no plausible conjecture, either
for good or evil. After a little space, wandering
again, his spirit began to reflect
upon the chances of his liberation; nor did
he meditate long on this topic, before he
came to the conclusion that for his present
escape from the hands of the fierce
cacique, and for his ultimate return to the
settlements of his countrymen, he must rely
entirely on his own energies. Hope of
assistance from without was evidently desperate.
The speed and secrecy with which
the Indians had conducted their retreat—
the ignorance of all his comrades respecting
his own movements on that eventful
morning—the death, flight or capture of
all those who had been privy to the time or
place of his encounter with Herreiro, and
above all the great and almost certain probability
that some ulterior object, involving
inroads on the Spanish posts, of magnitude
sufficient to engage their occupants exclusively
in their own self-preservation, had
drawn the wily Caonabo to such a distance
from his usual fastnesses, all these considerations
led the young captive to believe
that on himself alone, on his own often
tried resources, on his own resolute will
and unflinching nerves, on his own deep
sagacity and dauntless courage, on his own
hardihood of heart and corresponding energy
of thews and sinews, depended all his
hope of extrication from an imprisonment
which promised to be long indeed, and painful,
unless it should be brought to a more
speedy, though no less unwished termination
through the medium of a violent and
cruel death.

Stimulated, by reflections such as these,
to something of exertion, Hernando rose

from his lowly couch, with the intent of
exploring, to the utmost, the secrets of his
prison-house, which, so far as the uncertain
light, checkered and broken by the gratings
through which it found its way, permitted
him to judge, seemed of considerable depth
and magnitude, when, to his great surprise,
as he raised himself, he perceived that, during
his slumbers, his dungeon had been visited
by some one who had left, hard by his pillow,
a calabash of pure, cold water, with a
slight meal of fruits and the cassava bread,
which formed the principal article of nutriment
among the simple Indians. So sound,
however, had been his sleep, that the noise
of opening the heavy creaking gate had
fallen unheard and unheeded on his dulled
senses. To lave his heated brow and hands,
in the cool element—to quaff a long, long
draught, more soothing, in his present temper,
than the most fragrant wines of Xenes,
or the yet more renowned and costly Val
de Peñas—was his first impulse; but when
refreshed and reinvigorated by the innocent
cup, he turned to taste the eatables before
him, his very soul revolted from the untouched
morsel, the rising spasm of the
throat, the hysterica passio of poor Lear,
convulsed him; and, casting the food from
him, he buried his hot aching temples in his
hands, and remained for many minutes,
plunged, as it were, in a deep stupor—then,
by a mighty effort, shaking off the lethargic
gloom, he drank again more deeply than
before, sprung to his feet, and strode, with
firm and rapid steps, several times to and
fro the area of his prison, immediately
within the wicket, where fell the brightest
glances of the half-interrupted sunlight.

“Shame, shame!” he cried, at length
giving articulate expression to his thoughts
—“shame, shame on thee, Hernando!—to
pine and give way thus beneath the pressure
of so slight an evil—for what is this to
thy hard soul—cankering captivity, among
the savage paynimry of Spain—where fettered
to the floor thou languishedst for nine
long months, unvisited by the fair light of
Heaven. Shame! it must not be?” and he
manned himself, upon the instant, by a
single effort, and, turning from the light,
explored with cautious scrutiny each nook
and angle of the cavern. It was of large
extent, wide, deep, and full of irregular recesses;
and seemed to have been used as a
species of magazine, or store-house; for
piles of dried fish, baskets of wicker-work
heaped with the golden ears of maize, or
roots of the cassava, cumbered the floor;
while on rude shelves were stowed away
the simple fabric of the Indian broom, mattings,
and rolls of cotton cloth, fantastically
dyed, and in one—the most secret—nook,
protected by a wooden door, a mass of glittering
ornaments, some wrought of the
purest gold, and others of the adulterated
metal, which the savages termed guanin,
breast-plates, and crowns and bracelets,
enough to have satisfied the avarice insatiate
of a Pizarro or a Cortez. Nor were
these all; for visible amid the darkness, by
the rays which their own gorgeous substance
concentrated, lay bars, and ingots
and huge wedges, of the virgin metal,
beside a pile of unwrought ore, gleaming
with massy vcins, of value utterly uncalculable.
Slight was the glance which the
young Spaniard cast upon these more than
kingly treasures—a single crevice opening
to the outer air had been to him a discovery
more precious than the concentrated wealth
of all the mighty mines of the new world—
a single coat of plate, with helm and buckler,
and a good Spanish blade to match
them, he would have clutched with hands
that scorned the richer metal—but these
were not; and he turned from the cacique's
treasury with a heedless air, to resume his
hitherto unprofitable search. Not far did
he go, however, before another wooden
door presented itself, closed only by an inartificial
latch, which yielded instantly to
his impatient fingers. It opened—and before
him extended a huge and stately hall,
for such it seemed, wide as the cloistered
chancel of some gothic pile, and loftier;
walled, paved and vaulted by the primeval
hand of nature, first and unrivaled architect,
with the eternal granite—not as the
outer chamber, obscure, or dimly seen by

half-excluded daylight—but flooded with
pure, all-pervading sunshine, which poured
in unpolluted and unveiled, through the
vast natural arch which terminated the
superb arcade. His heart leaped, as it
seemed, with the vast joy of the moment,
into his very throat! All suffering, all
anxiety, all wo was instantly forgotten!
for he was free! free as the fresh summer
wind that was tossed round his head, rife
with the perfumes of a thousand flowing
hills! free as the glowing sunshine that
streamed through that broad portal! With
a quick step, and bounding pulse, he leaped
toward the opening! he reached!—he stood
upon the threshold! Wherefore that sudden
start? wherefore that ashy pallor pervading
brow and cheek and lip? One other
step, and he had been precipitated hundreds
of feet from the sheer verge of the huge
rock, which fell a perpendicular descent of
ninety fathom, down to the cultured plains
below! His feet were now tottering upon
the very brink, and it required more than
an ordinary effort of his strong active frame
to check the impulse of his forward motion,
which had been so impetuously swift, that
but a little more would have sufficed to hurl
him into the empty air. With a dull leaden
weight that sudden disappointment crushed
down the burning aspirations of his soul—
his heart fell sick within him—he clasped
his hands over his throbbing temples—he
was again a captive! It was, however, but
for a moment he was unmanned. Before a
second had elapsed, he was engaged with
all his energies, in the examination of the
smallest peculiarities of the place, hoping,
alas! in vain, that he should still discover
there some path whereby to quit his prison-house;
but not the faintest track—not the
most slight projection, whereon to plant a
foot, was there—above, below, to right and
left of that huge arch, the massy precipice
was smooth and hard and slippery as glass—
and, after a minute inspection, the Spaniard
was reluctantly compelled to own to his
excited hopes, which fain would have deceived
themselves, that nothing had been
gained by his discovery beyond the powers
of gazing forth over the beauties of that
boundless scene, which stretched away, for
miles and miles, beneath his feet to the blue
waters of the ocean, which lost themselves
in turn in the illimitable azure of the cloudless
skies. Wistfully did be strain his eyes
over the wide-spread plain, which from that
lofty eminence showed, map-like and distinct,
its every variation of hill, or sloping
upland, tangled ravine, or broad and fertile
valley, clearly delineated by the undulations
of those mighty shadows which—
thrown by the strong sunshine from a hundred
sweeping clouds—careered like giant
beings over the glittering landscape. Many
an Indian village did he mark nestling beneath
the umbrage of its sheltering palms,
or perched upon some bold projection around
the base of which murmured, with chafing
waters, some one of those bright streams,
hundreds of which might be seen glancing
gold-like to the morning sun; but though
he gazed till his eyes ached, he could descry
no token of his countrymen. The settlements
of Isabella were either too far distant
to be reached by any human glance, or
were, more probably, concealed by some
dark forest-mantled hill; for he could
neither discover them, nor recognize the
curvature of the fair bay on which they
stood. Suddenly, while he yet lingered
over this distant prospect, a faint sound
burst on his ear—a sound oft heard and unforgotten;
though so faint, that now it
scarcely rose above the whisper of the
breeze waving the myriad tree-tops of that
untrodden solitude; and the small voice of
the far river whose angry roar was mellowed,
by the influence of distance, into a
soft and soothing murmur. He started, and
glanced hurriedly around—again that sound
—nearer and clearer than before—the remote
din of ordnance! Toward the east he
gazed, and there, winding their quiet way
through the calm waters in close propinquity
to the green margin of the isle, he
saw four caravellas, with every snow-white
sail spread to the favoring gales, with fluttering
signals streaming from their mastheads,
and by their oft repeated salvos,
soliciting the notice of their countrymen.
It was—it was, past doubt, the squadron of
Columbus—long wished for, and arrived
too late! That squadron, which he had so
fondly, anxiously desired, the pledge and
sanction of his nuptials with his adored
Guarica—which was even now making its
destined harbor, while he a hopeless captive
lay in a living tomb, his fate unknown, his
prison unsuspected—and she, his dark-eyed
love, enduring he knew not what of disappointed
love, of intense yearning, and of
hope deferred—perchance of barbarous outrage,
prompted by the suspicion or the
jealousy of her wild kinsmen. Hopeless,
although he was, he watched those caravellas
with a gaze as eagerly solicitous as
that which the benighted sailor keeps on
the beacon of his safety—while, one by one
they were lost to his sight behind some
towering promontory, and reappeared again,
each after each, glittering forth with all
their white sails shimmering in the meridian
light. At length he might behold
them shortening sail, as though their haven
was at hand, and by and by they shot into
the shadow of a wide wood-crowned hill;
and, though the wateher kept his post until
the sun was bending down toward the
western verge of the horizon, they issued
not again upon the azure waters, beyond
that mass of frowning verdure. With a
heart sicker than before, he had already
turned away, in order to go back into the
outer cavern, when a sharp whizzing sound
beside him attracted his attention, and ere
he could look around the long shaft of a
Charib arrow splintered itself against the
rocky archway, and fell in fragments at his
feet. The first glance of the dauntless
Spaniard was outward, to descry, if possisible,
the archer who had launched that
missile, and with so true an aim! Nor was
he long in doubt—for perched on a projecting
crag of the same line of cliffs, wherein
was perforated the wide cave, within the
mouth of which he stood, a hundred yards,
at the least calculation, distant, he saw the
Charib Orozimbo. A quiver was suspended
from his shoulders, and a long Indian bow
was yet raised in his right hand, to the level
of his eye; but by the friendly wafture of
his left, he seemed to deprecate the notion
that he was hostilely inclined. Again he
waved his hand aloft, pointed toward the
broken arrow, and turning hastily away,
was out of sight before Hernando could
reply to his brief amicable gestures. As
soon as he had roused his scattered energies
of mind, the youthful Spaniard turned his
attention to the fragments of the splintered
shaft, and instantly discovered a small
packet securely fastened to the flint head.
Tearing it hence with eager haste—couched
in the Spanish tongue, and traced upon
the scrap of parchment by a remembered
hand—he read the following sentences:—

Alonzo.”

He tore the billet on the instant into the
smallest fragments, and lest some prying
eye should fall on its contents, scattered it
piecemal, through the rocky porch to the
free winds of heaven. This done, he looked
about him carefully for some projection of
the rock whereunto he might fix the rope,
on which he was to wing his flight down
that precipitous abyss, that no time might
be wasted when the appointed hour should
come, for the adventure; and soon discovered
a tall stalactitic pillar, close to the
brink of the descent, the strength of which
he tested by the exertion of his utmost
power. Satisfied now, that he had nothing
more to do, but to avoid suspicion, and to
await the action of his friends without, he
returned instantly to the exterior cave—
secured the door with care, and dragging
back the cotton matress on which he had
slept the preceding night into the darkest
angle of the prison, stretched himself on it
to expect, as patiently as might be, the approach
of evening. Not long had he lain
there, before a grim-visaged old wrinkled
warrior entered with a supply of food and

water. Without a word, this tawny jailer
deposited his load on the rocky floor, and
then, with uncouth courtesy, applied fresh
bandages, besmeared with some sweet-scented
Indian salve, which acted almost
magically to the refreshment of the wound
upon the wrist, which had been pierced by
the Charib arrow. Having done this, he
peered about with silent scrutiny, into each
angle and recess of the cave-dungeon, and
then, having severely tested the strength of
the wooden barriers, swung to and locked
the heavy lattice, and departed. Slowly the
hours of daylight lagged away, but to the
slowest and the longest term, its end must
come, and gradually the long shadows,
which the setting sun threw over that
green landscape, melted into the dimness of
the universal gloom, and one by one the stars
came out in the dark azure firmament, and
all was still and sweet and breathless.
Anon, the moon came forth, climbing the
arch of Heaven in her pure beauty, and
bathing all on earth in peaceful glory. It
seemed, to the excited spirits of Hernando,
as if she never would complete her transit
over the deep blue skies, and it was with no
small exertion that he compelled himself
to wait the time appointed. Well for him
was it that he did so! for when she attained
her central height, a band of dusky warriors,
with the great Cacique Caonabo at
their head, well armed with spears and war-clubs,
and equipped with many and bright
torches, paused at the grated entrance, and
summoned him to show himself to them,
his captors. After this measure, evidently
of precaution, he was left quite alone, and
shortly after, he fell asleep for a short
space, although his slumbers were disturbed
and broken; and the moon had not set,
although her lower limb was sinking fast
into the forest when he awoke. Cautiously
he peered out through the dungeon gate to
see that all was still without, ere he should
seek his post, then, satisfied that no spies
were upon the watch, he noiselessly unclosed
the inner door, fastened it softly after
him, and stealing through the larger cavern,
showed his tall figure in the archway just
as the last ray of the moon glanced on the
cliffs around him, ere she should disappear.
She sunk, and all was gloom. A moment—a
shrill sharp whistle rung on
the night air, and again a shaft whizzed
by him and fell harmless. A slight thread
was attached to it, which fathom after
fathom he drew in, until a stronger line
supplied its place, and next a stout cord,
and at length, the promised rope! With
eager hands, he gathered it link after link,
coil after coil, fastened it to the lofty stalactite,
and, after having tried, by a sudden
jerk, the safety of the knot, leaned forth
over the rocky brink to see if thence he
might descry aught of his trusty friends.
Diminished by the distance, into a twinkling
gleam, scarce larger than the fire-fly's
spark, at the crag's base, there blazed a
single torch, and, this slight glimmer seen,
without one word or doubt, the dauntless
youth grasped the stout cable, and launched
himself over the perilous brink into the
viewless bosom of the air. The rope had
been prepared with knots at each foot of its
length, through every one of which was
thrust a tough bamboo, forming a rude extempore
step-ladder; yet, though facilitated
somewhat, the descent into that black, and
as it seemed, bottomless abyss, was still
perilous in the extreme, and yet less perilous
than fearful. Steadily, however, did Hernando,
grasping the short rungs with an
iron gripe, and planting his feet one by one,
descend that fearful ladder; nor, till he
stood unseathed on the firm soil below, did
his brain reel, or his stout nerves tremble;
and there, recovering from the transient
tremor and bewilderment that fell upon
him, he found himself clasped in the fond
arms of the faithful Guarica, while round
them gathered the bold page, Alonzo, and
Orozimbo, the true Charib boy, Guarica's
youthful brother; who had alone, designed
with skill and with success, accomplished
this desperate adventure of escape.