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

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER XVII.

  The sun had not yet set, when the ray, stealing through the vapours thatgathered among the distant peaks, beheld the senor Cortes and his littlearmy crossing the River of Canoes. A quarter-league above his encampmentwas the very ford which had given him passage, when, with a force shortof five hundred men, and a few score of wild Totonacs, taken with himless as warlike auxiliaries than as beasts of burthen and hostages forthe fidelity of their tribe, he set out to cross mountains of snow andfire, rocky deserts and foaming rivers, in the invasion of an empire,whose limits, as well as its resources and power, were utterly unknown.Here the stream was more shallow than at that spot where it had been thefate of Don Amador to ford it; the flood had also in a measuresubsided; and while the mounted individuals passed it with ease, thewaters came not above the breasts of the footmen. Don Amador rode at theside of his knight, and though chafing with discontent at the thoughtthat he should share no part in the brave deeds of the coming night, andbe but a looker-on, while strangers were robbing him of his vengeance,yet did he conceal his troubles, lest the exhibition of them should givenew pain to his unhappy kinsman. The three attendants were behind, andFabueno, though evidently regarding the knight Calavar with a deep andsuperstitious awe, rode not far from his patron.

  The rivulet was crossed, and the hardy desperadoes who were now marchingwith spears to attack a foe of five times their own number, fortifiedwith cannon on an eminence, gathered about their leader as he sat hishorse on the bank, as if expecting his final instructions andencouragement. He surveyed them not only with gravity but withcomplacency, and smiling as if in derision of their weakness,--for theydid not number much over two hundred and fifty men,--he said, withinimitable dryness:--

  "My good friends and companions! you are now about to fight a battle,the issue of which will depend very much on your own conduct; and I haveto inform you, that if, as seems reasonable enough, you are vanquished,there is not a man of you that shall not hang at some corner of Zempoalato-morrow!"

  A murmur running through the whole crew, marked the disgust of all atthis unsavoury exordium.

  "The reasons for this opinion," continued the leader, gravely, "both asto the probable fate of the battle and of yourselves in the event ofyour being beaten, I shall have no trouble in speaking; only that, likeone who knows how to use the butt as well as the blade of his lance, Ishall discourse first of the hinder part of my argument; that is to say,of the very great certainty with which a gibbet shall reward every manwho, this night, handles his weapon too tenderly. Know, then, my goodbrothers, that, at this moment, though you very loyally and truly avowyourselves the soldiers of his majesty, our king and master, it hathsomehow entered into the head of the general Narvaez, the lieutenant ofhis majesty's governor, to consider you as villain rebels andtraitors;--an imputation so exceedingly preposterous and eccentric,that, were we in a Christian land, you should not be required to denyit; but, standing as you do, with no better present judge than youraccuser, it is certain your innocence could not be made apparent to hismajesty, until after the gallinazas had picked the last morsel from yourbones; at which time, as I think you will agree with me, a declarationof your true loyalty would not be a matter of much consequence to any ofyou."

  Again a murmur, accompanied by sundry ferocious looks and savageinterjections, testified the discontent of the adventurers.

  "What I say, is the truth," continued Cortes, adopting the scowl whichdarkened the visages of all, extending his drawn sabre above his head,and speaking with a fierce and resolute indignation: "In the face ofthat heaven, which has seen us, for its honour and glory, devoteourselves to pain and peril, landing friendless and unaided, save by itsown divine countenance, on the shores of bitter and murderousbarbarians, overthrowing their bloody idols, and even in the chiefsanctuaries of their diabolic superstition, on the palaces of theiremperors and the pyramids of their gods, erecting the standard of thecrucified Saviour,--I say, even in the face of that heaven that has seenus do these things that will immortalize us on earth and glorify us inheaven, the man Narvaez has dared to call us traitors to our king andfaith, has denounced us more as infidel Moors, than as ChristianSpaniards, and declaring war upon us with sword, fire, and free rope,has sworn to give us to the death of caitiffs and felons!"

  The answer to this passionate appeal was loud and furious. Thecavaliers clashed their swords upon their bucklers, the footmen drovetheir spears into the soil, and, foaming with rage, swore they wouldthus answer the calumny in the heart of their enemy.

  "Does it need I should give you more proof of the bloody and insolentviolence of Narvaez?" said the general. "He hath set a price upon myhead, and on the head of my loyal friend Sandoval, as though we werevile bandits and assassins."

  "What needs more words?" cried the young captain, thus referred to. "Heshall have my head for the three thousand crowns, if he can take it."

  "How it happens he has not thought any other head in this company worthbuying," said the commander, with an adroit bitterness, "is an insult hemust himself explain."

  There was not a cavalier present that did not swear, in his heart, hewould avenge such forbearance with the full swing of his weapon.

  "It must be now manifest," continued Cortes, with composure, "thatdefeat will be the warrant and assurance of a gallows-death to all thatmay render themselves prisoners. And having convinced you of this, I maynow betake me to the first article of my discourse, as one that concernsthe possibility of your defeat. It is quite probable," he went on tosay, with an irony more effectual than the most encouraging argument ofhope, "that being but two hundred and fifty strong, and enfeebled byyour divers battles with the Tlascalans, and the knavish herds ofCholula, you will be easily beaten by a thousand men, who, besides beingfond of the valiant diversions of Indian dancers, and the martialdelights of house shelter and soft beds, have hardened their bodies, andperfected their knowledge of arms, among the plantain patches of Cuba;and who, in addition, are of so magnanimous a turn, that they would, thehalf of them, at this moment, rather join your ranks than draw swordagainst you. But why do I talk thus? A live dog is better than a deadlion,--and a score of waking men, better than a hundred sleepers. Know,then, ye grumbling and incensed companions, if ye _will_ conquer thisman that comes with a rope, ye may. Botello hath shown me how the starsare propitious, and how the Spirit of the Crystal hath promised ussuccess. Heaven fights on our side, for we fight for heaven;--St. Paulwill be with us, for we contend for the privilege to convert theheathen;--and Santiago will not forget us, for with every thrust of ourspears, we strike a brave blow for Spain!"

  "Let us on!" cried all, with a shout of exultation; "We will conquer!"

  "Nay!" cried the general, with a mock discretion. "Rush not too eagerlyon danger. Let us wait a day for those two thousand brown varlets ofChinantla, whom the loitering Barrientos conducts hitherward; for thoughit be somewhat dishonourable to share a triumph with Indian soldiers,yet will they doubtless make that triumph the more certain."

  "We will win it ourselves!" cried the excited desperadoes.

  "Ye will have hotter work than ye think," said Cortes; "and surely Ibelieve ye will take to your heels, like the old Arrowauks of Cuba,leaving me to die at the pyramid--For I swear you, if ye force me toconduct you to Zempoala, I will not come from it alive, unless as itsmaster!"

  "Let it be proclaimed death to any one that turns his back!" cried anhundred voices.

  "Ay then, ye mad valiant rogues! ye shall have your wish!" cried Cortes,yielding to an excitement he had not easily suppressed, rising in hisstirrups and looking round him with that fiery and fanatical enthusiasmwhich was the true secret of his greatness, and which left him not for amoment even in the darkest and most perilous hour of his enterprise. "Wewill march to Zempoala, with God in our hearts, and the name of the HolySpirit on our lips; and remembering that, under such influence, wescattered the tens of thousands that beset us on the plains ofTlascala, we will show this dog of a Biscayan what it is to oppose
thearms of heaven,--Amen!"

  And _Amen_ was uttered fiercely and frantically by the adventurers, asthey prepared to follow their leader. But a wave of his hand checkedtheir ardour for a moment; a few words explained the order of attack,and the duties of the several leaders, of whom the young Sandoval wasappointed to the most honourable and dangerous task,--to seize theartillery by a coup-de-main, and thus give passage for De Leon in theassault of the towers, while Cortes himself should stand by with achosen body of reserve, to witness the valour of his captains, and giveassistance where it might be needed. Again, when the announcement ofthese orders seemed to have taken the restraint from the ardour of hisfollowers, the general checked them. A huge and rugged cross ofcotton-wood raised its mouldering bulk before them on their path,--aholy landmark, raised by the piety of the invader, nine months before,while on his march to Tenochtitlan.

  "Under the cross will we commend ourselves to God, and prepare ourselvesfor battle," said the leader, riding forward, and dismounting. Hisexample was followed by all the cavaliers, who, together with thefootmen, knelt upon the dank grass, and baring their heads, prepared forthe rites of penitence and absolution. None knelt with a more devoutsubmission than the knight of Calavar; none exposed with more humilitytheir youthful heads to the evening breeze than did he hissilver-touched locks and withered temples; and none, as the holychaplain dictated the act of general confession and contrition, echoedhis words with a more fervent sincerity. Under the rude crucifix in thedesert, knelt those men who were about to imbrue their hands in blood,and that the blood of their countrymen.

  The words of penitence were said, the rite of absolution pronounced; andthe followers of Cortes rose to their feet, with their hearts full ofconquest. But before the helm was buckled and the horse mounted, therecame on the twilight air, from the towers of Zempoala, the sound of thevesper-bell of Narvaez.

  "It is long since we have worshipped at the sound of a Christian bell,"said Cortes, again flinging himself on his knees. "God speaks to us inthe omen. We have not forgotten, among infidel savages, that we areChristians!"

  As if those tones were rung in the chapel of a brother, instead of thebarracks of an enemy, and as if to join that enemy in one act of piety,before springing upon him, sword in hand, all again knelt down; and theAve-Marias of two hostile armies, on the brink of engagement, went up toheaven together.