Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER XV.

  This discourse of the novice, together with the magical unction of thewound, occupied so much time, that when it was finished, the storm hadin a great measure passed away; and Botello, either feeling hisinability to reply to it with an allegory of equal beauty, or despairingto overcome the scepticism of the cavalier, instead of answering, rosefrom his seat, and led the way to the post on the hill-side, which theyhad lately deserted.

  Drops of rain still occasionally fell from the heavens, or were whirledby the passing gusts from the boughs; the clouds still careeredmenacingly in the atmosphere; and though the sunbeams ever and anonburst through their rent sides, and glimmered with splendour on theshivered tops and lacerated roots of many a fallen tree, it was stilldoubtful at what moment the capricious elements might resume theirconflict. The river, that was before a brook, now rolled along a turbidtorrent, and seemed, every moment, to augment in volume and fury, as itsshort-lived tributaries poured down their foaming treasures from thehills----

  "The boy to his bed, and the fool to his fire-side!" cried theenchanter, with a sudden exultation, as, pointing down the hill, hedisclosed to the cavalier the valley deprived of its late visiters. Thearmed men of Cadmus had not risen from the soil with a more magicalcelerity than had the soldiers of Narvaez vanished: the valley wassilent and solitary. "I said the tempest should open for us a path!"continued Botello; "and lo! the spirit which was given to me does notlie!"

  "I must confess," quoth Don Amador, with surprise, "you have in thisinstance, as in several others, verified your prediction. What juggler'strick is this? Where is the hound Narvaez?"

  "Galloping back to Zempoala, to amuse himself with the dancers on thepyramid," said Botello, with a grin of saturnine delight. "He came outagainst Cortes, and his heart failed him in the tempest: he lovesbetter, and so do his people, the comfort of the temple, than the strifeof these tropical elements. Wo be to him who would contend with a strongman, when he hides his head from the shower! He shall vapour in themorning, but tremble when the enemy comes to him in dreams!"

  "And I am to understand, then," said Amador, with a voice of high scornand displeasure, "that these effeminate hinds, after drawing out theirforces in the face of an enemy, have taken to their heels, like villagegirls in a summer festival, at the dashing of rain?"

  "It is even so," said Botello: "they are now hiding themselves in theirquarters; while those veterans who awaited them beyond the river, standyet to their arms, and blush even to look for the shelter of a tree."

  "Let us descend, then," said the cavalier, "and join them without delay;for I believe those men of Cortes are true soldiers, and I long to maketheir acquaintance."

  "It is needful we do so, and that quickly," said the astrologer; "forthis river, though by midnight it shall again be shrunk to a fairybrook, will, in an hour, be impassable."

  It required not many moments to convey the party to the banks of thestream; but when they had reached it, it was apparent, it could not beforded without peril. Its channel was wild and rocky; fallen andshivered trees fringed its borders with a bristling net-work, over andamong which the current raved with a noisy turbulence. The cavalierregarded it with solicitude; but perceiving that the magician was urginghis horse into it without hesitation, he prepared forthwith to followhis example. He saw, however, that the secretary faltered; and feelingas much pity for his inexperience, as commiseration for the helplessnessto which, as he supposed, the arrow-hurt had reduced him, he rode up tohim with words of comfort and encouragement.

  "Thou perceivest," he said, "that Botello goes into the water withoutfear. Thou shall pass, Lorenzo, without danger; for besides placingLazaro on one side of thee, I will myself take station on the other. Ifthou shouldst, by any mischance, find thyself out of depth, all thatthou canst do, will be to trust the matter to thy horse, who isdoubtless too sagacious to thrust himself into any superfluous jeopardy.Be of good heart: this is a small matter: thou wilt one day, perhaps, ifthou continuest to desire the life and fame of a soldier, have to pass amore raging torrent than this, and that, too, in the teeth of an enemy."

  The secretary blushed at his fears, and willing to retrieve hischaracter, dashed into the flood with an alacrity that carried himbeyond his patron. For a moment he advanced steadily and securely, atthe heels of Botello; but becoming alarmed at the sight of a treesurging down towards him, he veered a little from the direction, andinstantly found his horse swimming under him. Before Lazaro or thecavalier could approach to his aid, his discomposure got so much thebetter of his discretion, that he began to jerk and pull at the reinsin such a manner as to infuse some of his own disorder into the steed.Don Amador beheld the sorrel nag not only plunging and rearing in thewater, but turning his head down the stream, and swimming with thecurrent.

  "Give thy horse the reins, and perplex him not, Lorenzo!" he cried,urging the dauntless Fogoso to his rescue; "jerk not, pull not, or thouwilt be in great danger."

  But before the secretary could obey the voice of Don Amador, and beforethe latter could reach him, the hand of Lazaro had grasped the bridle,and turned the animal's head to the bank.

  "Suppose thou wert in the midst of a company of fighting spearmen,instead of this spluttering gutter," said the man-at-arms, in his ear,"wouldst thou distract thy beast in this school-boy fashion?"

  The contemptuous composure of the soldier did more to restore thespirits of Fabueno, than the counsels of the cavalier; and yielding upthe guidance of himself as well as his animal, to Lazaro, he was soonout of danger.

  In the meanwhile, Don Amador, in his hurry to give the secretary relief,had taken so little note of his own situation, that when he beheld hisward in safety, he discovered that he was himself even more disagreeablysituated. A few yards below him was a cluster of rocks, against which,as he discerned at a glance, it would be fatal to be dashed, but whichhe saw not how he could avoid, inasmuch as the bank above them was sopalisaded by the sharp and jutting boughs of a prostrate tree, that itseemed impossible he could effect a landing there. While balancing indoubt, at a time when doubt, as he well knew, was jeopardy, he heard avoice suddenly crying to him from the bank,

  "What ho, senor! holla! 'Ware the rocks, and spur on: your hope is inthe tree-top."

  While Don Amador instinctively obeyed this command, and urged his steedfull towards the threatening branches, he raised his head, and perceiveda cavalier on a dun horse riding into the water, above the rocks hard bythe tree, as if to convince him of the practicability of the passage,and the shallowness of the water. This unknown auxiliary stretched forthhis hand, and doing to Amador the service rendered by Lazaro to thesecretary, the neophyte instantly found himself in safety, and ascendingthe bank of the river. Not till his charge was on dry land, did thestranger relax his hand; and then perhaps the sooner, that Don Amadorseized it with a most cordial gripe, and while he held it, said,fervently,--

  "I swear to thee, cavalier! I believe thou hast saved me from a greatdanger, if thou hast not absolutely preserved my life: for which gooddeed, besides giving thee my most unfeigned present thanks, I avowmyself, till the day of my death, enslaved under the necessity torequite thee with any honourable risk thou canst hereafter impose."

  While Don Amador spoke, he perused the countenance and surveyed thefigure of his deliverer. He was a man in the prime and midway of life,tall and long-limbed, but with a breadth of shoulders and development ofmuscle that proved him, as did the grasp with which he assisted thewar-horse from the flood, to possess great bodily strength. His face washandsome and manly, though with rather delicate features; and a verylofty and capacious forehead shone among thin black locks, and under avelvet cap worn in a negligent manner, with a medal of a saint dragglingloosely from it. His beard was black and thin, like his hair, and Amadorplainly perceived through it the scar of a sword-cut between the chinand mouth. His garments were of a fine and dark cloth, without muchornament; but his _fanfarrona_, as it was called in the language of thecavaliers, was a gold chain of at le
ast thrice the weight and bigness ofthe neophyte's, linked round his neck, and supporting a pendant ofChrist and the Virgin; and in addition, Don Amador saw on a finger ofthe hand he grasped, a diamond ring of goodly size and lustre. Such wasthe valiant gentleman, who won the friendship of the neophyte not lessby his ready good will than by his excellent appearance; although thislast qualification was perhaps not displayed to advantage, inasmuch ashis whole attire and equipments, as well as the skin and armour of hishorse, were dripping with wet, as if both had been lately plunged intothe river or exposed to all the rigour of the storm. He replied to DonAmador's courtesies with a frank and open countenance, and a laugh ofgood humour, as if entirely unconscious of any discomfort from hisreeking condition, or of any merit in the service he had rendered.

  "I accept thy offers of friendship," he said, "and very heartily, senor.But I vow to thee, when I helped thee out of the stream, I thought Ishould have had to give thee battle the next moment, as a sworn friendof Don Panfilo, the Biscayan."

  "How little justice there was in that suspicion," said Amador, "you willknow when I tell you, that, at this moment, next to the satisfaction offinding some opportunity to requite your true service, I know of nogreater pleasure the saints could send me than a fair opportunity tocross swords with this ill-mannered general, in serious and mortalarbitrement. Know, senor, I am at this moment a captive escaped out ofthe hands of that most dishonourable and unworthy person, seeking myway, with my followers, under guidance of a certain conjurer calledBotello to the camp of the valiant senor Don Hernan Cortes and I rejoicein this rencounter the more, because I am persuaded you are yourself atrue friend of that much-respected commander."

  "Ay, by my conscience! you may say so," cried the blithe cavalier; "andI would to heaven Cortes had many more friends that love him so well asmy self. But come, senor; you are hard by his head-quarters.--Yet, underfavour, let us, before seeking them, say a word to Botello, who, withyour people, I perceive, has crossed the river."

  A few steps of their horses brought the two cavaliers into contact withthe travellers, with whom Don Amador beheld some half-a-dozen strangers,all of hidalgo appearance, on horseback, and dripping with wet like hisnew friend, but, unlike him, armed to the teeth with helm, mail, andbuckler.

  "How now, Botello, _mi querido_?" he cried, as he rode in among theparty; "what news from my brother Narvaez! and what conjuration wertthou enacting, while he was scampering away before the bad weather?"

  "Nothing but good, senor!" said Botello, baring his head, and bending itto the saddle.

  The neophyte was surprised at this mark of homage in the enchanter, whomhe had found, though neither rude nor presumptuous, not over-burthenedwith servility. Looking round to the other hidalgos, he discovered thatthey all kept their eyes upon his companion with looks of the deepestrespect. At the same moment, and as the truth entered his mind, hecaught the eye of his deliverer, and perceived at once, in this statelythough unarmed cavalier, the person of the renowned Cortes himself. Fora moment, it seemed as if the general were disposed to meet thedisclosure with a grave and lofty deportment suitable to his rank; butas Don Amador raised his hand to his casque with a gesture of reverence,a smile crept over his visage, which was instantly succeeded by agood-humoured and familiar laugh.

  "Thou seest, senor!" he cried, "we will be masking at times, evenwithout much regard either for our enemies or the weather. But trust me,caballero, you are welcome; and doubtless not only to myself, but tothese worthier gentlemen, my friends." And here the general pronouncedthe names of Sandoval, of De Morla, of De Leon, De Olid, andothers,--all, as was afterwards proved, men of great note among theinvaders of Mexico. The neophyte saluted them with courtesy, and then,turning to the general, said:--

  "I am myself called Amador de Leste, a poor hidalgo of Cuenza, a noviceof the order of St. John of the Holy Hospital, and kinsman of the knightGines Gabriel de Calavar, to seek whom am I come to this land of Mexico,and to the tents of your excellency."

  All bowed with great respect at this annunciation; and Cortes himself,half raising his drooping cap, said:--

  "I doubly welcome the cavalier De Leste; and whether he come to honourme with the aid of his good sword, or to rob me of the true friendshipof the knight Calavar, still am I most glad to see him: and glad am Ithat heaven has sent us a kinsman to watch by the side of the goodknight. Senor," continued the general, anticipating the questions of theneophyte, "if you will moderate your impatience a little, until I fulfilmy duties with my mad friend here, the astrologer, I will be rejoiced inperson to conduct you to your kinsman."

  The courteous manners of Hernan Cortes did more to mollify the ardour ofthe novice than could any degree of stateliness. He smothered hisimpatience, though it was burning with a stronger and an increasingflame; while the general proceeded to confer with the magician.

  "How is it, Magico mio?" he cried. "I had a deserter this morning, whotold me thou hadst been entrapped,--that my brother Narvaez hadcudgelled thee with his own hands, and had some thoughts of hangingthee."

  "Such is, in part, the truth," said Botello, tranquilly. "He wasincensed at the stars, and struck me with his foot, because the Spiritof the Crystal gave not an answer to his liking."

  "Ay, indeed!" cried Cortes, curiously; "and Kalidon hath been speakingto him! What said Kalidon-Sadabath of Narvaez?"

  "He said that, to-night," replied Botello, with his most solemnemphasis, "the foot of Cortes should be on the pyramid, and that,to-morrow, the Biscayan should do homage to his rival."

  "Ay! and Kalidon told him all this?" said Cortes, quickly, and, asAmador thought, angrily.

  "He told only that which it was fitting the Biscayan should know," saidBotello, significantly; "he told him that which brought his forces intothe field to-day, so that they shall sleep more soundly for theirlabours to-night; and yet he told him, no blow should be struck in thefield. He showed him many such things; but he told him not, in manner asit was written in the heaven and figured in the stone, that to-nightshould his enemy creep upon him as he slept blind and besotted, andwhile his best friends guided the assailant to his bed-side."

  "Ay, by my conscience!" cried Cortes, turning with meaning looks to hiscompanions; "this Kalidon reads men's thoughts; for it was but an halfhour since, when I beheld these delicate warriors turning their backs tothe gust, that I vowed in my heart, I would, to-night, give them alesson for their folly. What thinkest thou, son Sandoval? Will thysun-burnt, lazy fellows of the Rich City march to Zempoala by night?"

  "Ay, by night or by day,--whenever they are bidden," said thesententious stripling, who, at this early period of the campaign and ofhis life, was not only the favourite of the general, but his second infame. As Don Amador listened to his rough voice, and surveyed his boldand frank countenance adorned with a curly beard and hair, both of amberhue, he bethought him of the story of the heralds summoning him tosurrender his post into their hands, and receiving an answer which theydigested in the nets of the Tlameme, on the road to Tenochtitlan.

  "And thou, Juan Velasquez de Leon," said the general, turning to a youngand powerfully framed cavalier, with a red beard and fierce countenance,who, besides being clad in a heavier coat of mail than any otherpresent, was more bountifully bedecked with golden chains, and who saton a noble gray mare,--"What sayest thou? Wilt thou play me a bout withNarvaez, the captain of thy kinsman, the governor Velasquez?"

  "Ay, by my beard, I will!" replied De Leon, with a thick ferociousvoice, suiting the action to the word, and wringing the rain-drops fromthe beard he had invoked; "for, though I love the governor, I love nothis dog; and if this godly enchanter will assure me the stars arefavourable to the enterprise, I will be the last man to say, our twohundred and fifty men are no match for the thousand curs that bark atthe heels of the Biscayan."

  "It is written that, if we attack to-night, we shall prevail," saidBotello.

  "If _I_ am permitted to say anything in a matter of such importance,"said the neophyte, "I can aver, that if the
people of Narvaez design torevel away this night, as they did the last, their commanders triflingwith jugglers and rope-dancers, their guards sleeping on their posts, orstraying away into the suburbs, as we discovered them when we escaped atdawn, it is an opinion which I formed on the spot, that some ten orfifteen score of resolute men may take them by surprise, and utterlyvanquish them."

  "I respect the opinion of Don Amador," said Cortes, "as well as thecounsels of Kalidon-Sadabath and the stars, which have never yet told mea falsehood. But how comes it, Botello? Hast thou been flying sincedawn? I cannot understand the necessity thou wert under to lead myworthy friend Don Amador so long a ramble; and moreover I perceive that,though yesterday thou wert constrained to trudge upon foot, thou art,to-day, master of a steed that may almost compare with Motacila, thewag-tail, of my son Sandoval."

  "I stole the beast from the captain of the watch, Salvatierra, while hekept guard over us at some distance in the fields," said the magician,while all the cavaliers laughed heartily at the explanation; "and asfor the long day's travel,--when I found myself upon a good horse, Ithought I could do no better than give the alarm, and draw a party inpursuit, and so entangle them among the woods, or wear them out withfatigue, that they should make little opposition when we came to attacktheir comrades at midnight."

  "A shrewd and most laudable device!" cried Cortes, with unconcealeddelight: "I have ever found thee as good a soldier as astrologer; and ifthe fates be as favourable to thee as I am myself, Botello, I canpromise thee many an acre of maize fields or gold mountains, torecompense thy services."

  "It must be as it is written," said Botello, gravely. "Many a perilshall encompass me; but I know that, in the worst, as it has beenrevealed to me, I shall be rescued out of it on the wings of eagles!"

  "Amen!" cried Cortes, "for the day of miracles is not over. If thesenor De Leste," he continued, "claim to discharge his just anger forhis imprisonment on my brother Narvaez, I will invite him to such a postof honour as shall be most likely to gratify his longings. And afterthat, if my very noble friend be inclined to exercise some of that skillin naval warfare which he has doubtless acquired among the knights ofRhodes, I will rejoice to entrust to him the attack upon the fleet ofCavallero."

  "Senor," said Amador, "though I burn to assist you in the attack onNarvaez, I must first receive the command of my knight Don Gabriel. I amnot so eager to draw sword upon the admiral; for know, valiant DonHernan, I have discovered in Cavallero a kinsman of my mother. Andsenor," continued the neophyte, "I am now reminded of a message which hecharged me to deliver to your excellency, wherein he begs to assure you,that, though fate has arrayed him as your enemy, he cannot forget thefriendship of his former life."

  "Ay!" cried Cortes briskly, "does the excellent admiral say me that?"

  "He bade me also avow to you, that, though it became him not, as anofficer of Velasquez, to hold any communications with you, except thoseof simple form and courtesy, he should be well rejoiced when heaven hasremoved the obstruction, and left him at liberty to meet you with formerfriendship and confidence."

  "By my conscience," cried the general, turning to his officers, andexchanging meaning and joyous glances with them, "though these betidings which Kalidon hath not revealed, yet are they of such pleasantimport, that I shall ever thank Don Amador for being the bearer of them.Eh, my masters!" he exclaimed; "did I not tell you, when we leftTenochtitlan in gloom, we should return to it in merriment? that when wesank our rotten fleet among the surges of Villa Rica, heaven should sendus another and a better? Let us move on, and spread these good newsthrough the camp----"

  The neophyte perceived, by the exultation of the general, that he hadbeen in a manner cajoled by Cavallero; but he was not sorry to think hiskinsman should rather prefer to command his fleet as the ally of Cortesthan as the friend of Narvaez.