AN EXPLANATION OF THAT CRY I HEARD IN THE NIGHT, WITH OTHER PERTINENT MATTER.
The next morning when we were mounted, and only waiting the order to start on our way, our ears were assailed by the piteous cry of a woman, which recalled to my mind the weeping I had heard in the night; but now the wailing was close at hand, coming from the midst of the huts where the tower stood. The next moment there sounded the sharp crack of a whip, followed by a scream of pain. At this the pretty color went out of Lady Biddy's cheek, and she called to Lewis de Pino, who stood talking with one of the hunters (and both as unconcerned as if they had been stone deaf), to know whence that cry came; but ere he could come smiling to her side to reply, the whole matter was explained by the appearance of five young Indian women bearing among them a long pole, to which they were attached by leather collars round their throats. The foremost of them was stanching her tears with her hands under the threat of the arquebusier conducting them, who had a short-stocked whip with a long lash in his hand, with which he tapped her shoulder menacingly as he spoke. These poor souls had never a bit of clothes on but a clout about their loins, and she who was trying to check her weeping had a long wheal across her neck, that stood out purple from her copper skin where the whip had fallen.
Lady Biddy was greatly shocked at the spectacle of this barbarity; nor could she smile on Lewis de Pino that day as she had the day before, which I was glad to observe; albeit he did all he could to set this matter in a fair light when we stopped at noon to dinner. He told her that slaves were one of the commodities he dealt in, and that if he did not occupy himself in this traffic another would, and maybe to their disadvantage, assuring her they were better treated at his hands than by their own kinsmen, who, of their own free will, brought their wives and daughters down to the station to sell them for knives, axes, beads, and the like; justifying himself by the opinion of some very pious writers that all things being created for the use of man, Providence did furnish the savage heathens to be servants of Christians for the cultivation of spices, sugars, and other things necessary to their comfort.
"But," says Lady Biddy, "if their case is better as slaves than as free women, why does that poor soul weep?"
"Why," says he, "my man was forced to use his whip because she strove to hang herself by the neck to the pole the others carried; and you must agree that in every country those are deservingly punished who attempt to end a life given them to be a blessing to their fellow-creatures."
"Nay," says Lady Biddy, "that is no answer to my question. She wept ere she tried to end her miserable life, for a certainty, and I would know why she wept."
Lewis de Pino, making inquiries on this, learnt that the young woman had but recently been wedded, and that her husband losing his life in battle, she had been sold by her father, who could not be burthened with her.
"So you see, madam," says he, when he had imparted this, "we treat them no worse than they would be treated if we did not exist. Nevertheless, 'tis a trade I would gladly abandon, for the sight of their suffering—which I can not ignore—unmans me for my business, so that I often pay more for these slaves than they are worth, merely to secure them from the ill-treatment they would receive were they returned upon the hands of those who would be rid of them. Nay, the sight of that poor creature's tears so moves me that I will, if it please you, order her collar to be unbolted and give her freedom."
This the sly rogue offered, knowing well that Lady Biddy would not consent to an act which he himself had shown would be the greater cruelty, and with the sole intent, I take it, to insinuate himself into my lady's good graces. All that she desired, therefore, was that the young woman should be placed on one of the pack-mules until she had recovered from the exhaustion into which her grief had thrown her. Whereupon Lewis de Pino, with as good grace as he could muster, ordered her leather collar to be unbolted, and a place to be made for her on one of the mules, making the young woman understand at the same time that it was by the wish of Lady Biddy that this indulgence was granted her. This she understood well enough, for being freed she rushes to Lady Biddy, embraces her knees, pressing her face against them; but this done, ere hand could be laid on her, she darted off with a cry like a startled blackbird into the wood.
Coming to a distance, she had yet so much feeling that gratitude rose in her bosom above the instinct of self-preservation, and she turned about, raising her arms in the air as if to bless Lady Biddy. At that moment, seeing her thus exposed, a Portugal cocks his musket, and, clapping it to his shoulder, fires at her; but by good chance I, standing not more than a yard off, was enabled by a quick movement to fling the fellow's arm up, whereby the ball passed harmlessly over her head. With another wild cry of joy she turned about and fled out of sight, nor did any of the Portugals attempt to follow her more than a score of yards or so, for loaded as they were with their arms, to pursue her, who was light on foot as any deer, was a profitless folly.
This business did not prove more clearly than words what a liar Lewis de Pino was, for surely the girl would not so joyously have recovered freedom if that was true that he told of the barbarity of her kinsfolk. But for all this he did persevere in defending himself as we continued our march, and, to my mortification, Lady Biddy allowed herself, as I judged by her manner, to be beguiled by his crafty tongue. So that I was not much better pleased with her this day than I had been the day before.
Indeed, it was past my comprehension how one of her understanding could fail to see that this Lewis de Pino, for all his good looks and fair speaking, was an arrant rascal; but that was no such extraordinary matter neither, for as the day began to draw in I began to doubt whether I had not suffered him to deceive me, who was by no means under the charm of his personal gifts. For, taking note of the position of the sun pretty frequently, and making all allowance for the turns of the path in winding amongst the mountains, I came to the conclusion that we had been traveling for these two days full south, and rather a point or so to the east of it than to the west. Then calling to mind as well as I could the look of the chart, it grew upon me that we were not making in the direction of Caracas at all, by reason that the chain of mountains there set down ran east and west, with Caracas lying not more than half a dozen leagues from the sea.
As this conviction became stronger, I was troubled beyond description, for to go back was out of the question; while to go on was to lay ourselves more inevitably in the power of Lewis de Pino. So, with a heart like any lump of lead, I laid me in my net that night; yet might I have counted myself a happy man at that time could I have foreseen the greater trouble that was to come, as I shall show in the next chapter.