“The punishment for a first offense is a branding. For the second offense it is death,” Bautista said, then he held the brand high and close to the thief s forehead, close enough for the man to feel its radiant heat. Bautista hesitated, smiling, and it seemed to Sharpe that the whole room held its breath. Colonel Ruiz turned away. The elegant Marquinez went pale.
“No!” the man screamed, then Bautista pushed the brand forward and the scream soared high and terrible. There was a sizzling sound, a flash of flame as the man’s greasy hair briefly flared with fire, then the big room filled with the smell of burning flesh. Bautista held the brand on the man’s skin even as the thief collapsed.
The iron was pushed back into the coals as the second man was hauled forward. That second man looked at Sharpe. “Senor, I beg you! It was not us! Not us!”
“Your Excellency!” Sharpe called.
“If I were in England,” Bautista jiggled the iron in the fire, “would you think it proper for me to interfere with English justice? This is Chile, Mister Sharpe, not England. Justice here is what I say it is, and I treat thieves with the certain cure of pain. Exquisite pain!” He pulled the brand free, turned and aimed the bright letter at the second man.
“God save Ireland,” Harper said softly beside Sharpe. Most of the audience looked shocked. One uniformed man had gone to a window and was leaning across the wide stone sill. Bautista, though, was enjoying himself. Sharpe could see it in the dark eyes. The second man screamed, and again there was the hiss of burning skin and the stink of flesh cooking, and then the second man, like the first, had the big L branded forever on his forehead.
“Take them away,” Bautista commanded as he tossed the branding iron into the fireplace, then turned and stared defiantly at Sharpe. The Captain-General looked tired, as though all the joy of his morning had suddenly evaporated. “Your request to travel to Puerto Crucero and recover the body of Don Bias Vivar is granted. Captain Marquinez will issue you with the necessary permits, and you will leave Valdivia tomorrow. That finishes today’s business. Good day.”
The Captain-General, his morning display of efficiency and cruelty complete, turned on his heels and walked away.
“Who were they?” Sharpe challenged Marquinez.
“They?”
“Those two men.”
“They were the thieves, of course.”
“I don’t believe it,” Sharpe claimed angrily. “I didn’t recognize either man.”
“If they were not the thieves,” Marquinez said very calmly, “then how do you explain their possession of your property?” He smiled as he waited for Sharpe’s answer and, when none came, he opened a drawer of his desk and took out a sheaf of documents. “Your travel permits, Colonel. You will note they specify you must leave Valdivia tomorrow.” He dealt the documents onto the desk one by one, as though they were playing cards. “Mister Harper’s travel pass, which bears the same date restrictions as your own. This is your fortress pass, which gives you entry to the Citadel at Puerto Crucero, and finally, a letter from His Excellency giving you permission to exhume the body of General Vivar.” Marquinez smiled. “Everything you wish!”
Sharpe, after his flash of anger, felt churlish. The papers were indeed everything he needed, even down to the letter authorizing the exhumation. “What about the church’s permission?”
“I think you will find that no churchman will countermand the wishes of Captain-General Bautista,” Marquinez said.
Sharpe picked up the papers. “You’ve been very helpful, Captain.”
“It is our pleasure to be helpful.”
“And at least we’ll have fine weather for our voyage,” Harper put in cheerfully.
“Your voyage?” Marquinez asked in evident puzzlement, then understood Harper’s meaning. “Ah! You are assuming that you will be traveling on board the Espiritu Santo. Alas, she has no spare passenger cabins, at least not till she has dropped those passengers traveling to Puerto Crucero. Which means that you must travel overland. Which is good news, gentlemen! It will offer you a chance to see some of our lovely countryside.”
“But if we don’t have to catch the ship,” Sharpe asked, “why do we have to leave tomorrow?”