The garrison of the hacienda lived, then, as if they had been roughly cut off from the world, for no sound transpired without, and no news reached them. This situation was extremely disagreeable to the Mexicans; unfortunately for them, it was daily aggravated, and threatened to become, ere long, completely intolerable. Colonel Melendez, since the beginning of the siege, had proved himself what he was, that is to say, an officer of rare merit, with a vigilance nothing could foil, and a trustworthy bravery. Seeing his gunners so cruelly decimated by the Texan bullets, he undertook to take their place, loading the guns at his own peril, and firing them at the insurgents.
Such courage struck the Texans with so great admiration, that although it would several times have been easy for them to kill their daring foe, their rifles had constantly turned away from this man, who seemed to find a delight in braving death at every moment. The Jaguar, while closely investing the fort, and eagerly desiring to carry it, had given peremptory orders to spare the life of his friend, whom he could not refrain from pitying and admiring, as much for his courage as for his devotion to the cause he served.
Although it was near midnight, the Colonel was still up; at the moment when the hunter was brought to him, he was walking thoughtfully up and down his bedroom, consulting from time to time a detailed plan, of the fortifications that lay open on a table.
Tranquil's arrival caused him great satisfaction, for he hoped to obtain from him news from without. Unfortunately, the hunter did not know much about the political state of the country, owing to the isolated life he led in the forests. Still, he answered with the greatest frankness all the questions the Colonel thought proper to ask him, and gave him the little information he had been enabled to collect; then he told him the various incidents of his own journey. At the name of Carmela the young officer was slightly troubled, and a vivid flush suffused his face; but he recovered, and listened attentively to the hunter's story. When the latter came to the incident in the grotto, and the fragment of conversation he had overheard between the Apache Chief and the Texan, his interest was greatly excited, and he made him repeat the story.
"Oh, that letter," he muttered several times, "that letter; what would I not give to know its contents!"
Unhappily, that was impossible. After a moment, the Colonel begged Tranquil to continue his story. The hunter then told him in what way he had managed to cross the enemy's lines and introduce himself into the fort. This bold action greatly struck the Colonel.
"You were more fortunate than prudent," he said, "in thus venturing into the midst of your enemies."
The hunter smiled good-temperedly.
"I was almost certain of succeeding," he said.
"How so?"