The Pirates of the Prairies Part 46

"Don Pacheco shrugged his shoulders without replying to me, and addressed the richest banker of Arispe, who was standing near him:--

"'Senor Don Julio Baldomero,' he said to him, 'how much do you think there is on that table?'

"The banker took a glance in my direction, and then answered:--

"'Six hundred thousand piastres, or nearly so, senor.'

"'Very good,' the other said. 'Don Julio, be good enough to give me a bill for twelve hundred thousand piastres, payable at sight, on your bank.'

"The banker bowed, took out his pocketbook, and wrote a few words on a leaf which he tore out, and handed to Don Pacheco.

"'Do you believe, sir,' the Mexican said to me, 'that this bill represents the sum before you?'

"These words were accompanied by the sarcastic smile this man constantly had on his lips, and which drove me wild.

"'Yes,' I replied haughtily, 'and I am awaiting your determination.'

"'It is formed,' he said. 'Ask for new cards, and let us begin. Still, you can recall your word, if you like.'

"'Nonsense,' I said, as I undid a fresh pack of cards.

"Although our altercation had been short, as everybody knew our feelings toward each other, the conversation had broken off, and all the guests at the tertulia had collected around us. A profound silence prevailed in the room, and the faces expressed the curiosity and interest aroused by this strange scene. After shuffling the cards for some time, I handed them to my opponent to cut. The stranger laid his right hand on the pack, and said to me impertinently:--

"'There is yet time.'

"I shrugged my shoulders as reply. He cut, and I began dealing. At the fourth hand I had lost, and was ruined!"

The pirate stopped. For some time his voice had been growing weaker, and it was only by making extreme efforts that he succeeded in speaking distinctly.

"Drink!" he said so softly that the girl scarce heard him. She caught up a skin of water.

"No," he said, "brandy."

White Gazelle obeyed him.

The pirate eagerly drank two or three mouthfuls.

"All was over," he continued, in a firm voice, with sparkling eye, and face flushed by the fever preying on him. "Concealing my rage in my heart, I prepared to leave the table with a smile on my lips.

"'One moment, sir,' my opponent said. 'The game is not over yet.'

"'What do you want more?' I answered him. 'Have you not won?'

"'Oh!' he said, with a gesture of supreme contempt: 'That is true. I have won this wretched sum. But you have a stake still to risk.'

"'I do not understand you, sir.'

"'Perhaps so! Listen to me. There are on this table eighteen hundred thousand piastres, that is to say, a fabulous fortune, which would form the happiness of a dozen families.'

"'Well?' I answered in a surprise.

"'Well, I will play you for them, if you like. Hang it, my dear sir, I am in luck at this moment, and I will not let fortune escape me while I hold her.'

"'I have nothing more to stake, sir, and you know it,' I said in a loud and haughty voice. 'I do not understand what you are alluding to.'

"To this he replied, without seeming in the least disconcerted, 'You love Dona Isabella Izaguirre?'

"'How does that concern you?'

"'If I may believe public rumour, you are to marry her in a few days,' he continued calmly. 'Well, I too love Dona Isabel, and I have made up my mind she shall be mine by fair means or foul.'

"'And?' I interrupted him violently.

"'And, if you like, I will stake these eighteen hundred thousand piastres against her hand. You see that I appreciate her value,' he added, as he carelessly lit his panatellas.

"'_Canario!_ A splendid game! What a magnificent stake! A man cannot act more gallantly!' Such were the remarks made around me by the witnesses of this scene.

"'You hesitate?' Don Pacheco asked me in his ironical way.

"I looked defiantly round me, but no one accepted my challenge.

"'No,' I answered in a hollow voice, my teeth clenched with rage. 'I accept.'

"The audience uttered a cry of admiration. Never in the memory of players at Arispe, had a game of monte afforded such interest, and all eagerly collected round the table. I felt for Dona Isabel that profound love which const.i.tutes a man's existence.

"'Who is to deal?' I asked my adversary.

"'You!' he replied, with his infernal smile.

"Five minutes later, I had lost my mistress!"

There was a moment's silence; a nervous tremor had a.s.sailed the pirate, and for some instants it was only by an extraordinary effort that he had been enabled to utter the words that seemed to choke him. It was evident that the wound in his heart was as vivid as on the day when he received it, and that only a strong interest induced him to refer to it.

"At length," he continued with a certain volubility, as he wiped away the cold perspiration that beaded on his forehead, and mingled with the blood that oozed from his wound, "the stranger approached me.

"'Are you satisfied?' he said.

"'Not yet,' I replied in a gloomy voice: 'we have still one game to play out.'

"'Oh,' he said, ironically, 'I fancied you had nothing more to lose.'

"'You were mistaken. You have still my life to gain from me.'

"'That is true,' he said, 'and by heaven, I will win it from you. I wish to cover your stake to the end, so let us go out.'

"'Why do that?' I said to him. 'This table served as the arena for the first two games, and the third shall be decided upon it.'

"'Done!' he said. 'By Jupiter! You are a fine fellow! I may kill you, but I shall be proud of my victory.'