CHAPTER XXXIV.
The first thought of the young cavalier was, that Don Gabriel had beenbasely and murderously struck by some felon hand; an apprehension ofwhich he was, in part, immediately relieved by the protestations ofBaltasar, but which was not entirely removed until he had assisted tocarry the knight into a chamber of the palace, and beheld him open hiseyes and roll them wildly round him, like one awaking from a dream ofnight-mare.
"I say," muttered Baltasar, as he raised the head of the distracted man,and beckoned to clear the room of many idle personages who had thrustthemselves in, "he was hurt by no mortal man, for I stood close at hisside, and there is not a drop of blood on his body. 'Twas one of theaccursed ghosts, whom may St. John sink down to hell; for they are everpersecuting us."
"Mortal man, or immortal fiend," whispered Lazaro, knitting his brows,but looking greatly frighted, "I saw him running away, the moment theknight screeched; and, I will take my oath, he had such a damnableappearance as belongs to nothing but the devil, or one of these pagangods, who are all devils. Had he been a man, I should have slain him,for I struck at him with my spear!"
"Miserere mei!" groaned the knight, rising to his feet, "they are allunearthed,--Zayda at the temple, and _he_ in the palace!"
Don Amador trembled, when he heard his kinsman pronounce the name ofZayda, for he remembered the words of Jacinto. Nevertheless he said, "benot disturbed, my father; for we are none here but thy servants."
"Ay!" said the knight, looking gloomily but sanely to his friend; "Iafflict thee with my folly; but I know _now_ that it will end.--Let theboy Jacinto sing to me the song of the Virgin; I will pray and sleep."
Don Amador looked round, and Jacinto not being present, began toremember that the page had been separated from him in the crowd, andthat he had not seen him since the moment of separation. None of theattendants had noticed him enter the court-yard; and a superstitiousfear was mingled with his anxiety, when Don Gabriel, casting his eyes toheaven, said, with a deep groan,--
"The time beginneth, the flower is broken, and now I see how each branchshall fall, and the trunk that is blasted, shall be left, naked, toperish! Seek no more for the boy," he went on to Amador, with a graveplacidity, which, coupled with the extravagance of his words, gave theyouth reason to fear that his mind, wavering under a thousand shocks,had at last settled down for ever in the calm of insanity,--"seek forthe good child no more, for he is now in heaven. And lament not thou, myson Amador, that thou shalt speedily follow him; for thy heart is yetpure, thy soul unstained, and grace shall not be denied thee!"
"Jacinto is not dead, my father," said the neophyte earnestly; "and ifthou wilt suffer Baltasar to remove thy corslet, and make thee a couchunder yonder canopy, I will fetch him to thee presently, and he shallsing thee to sleep."
"Remove the armour indeed," muttered Don Gabriel, submitting passively,"for now there is no more need of aught but the crucifix, prayers, andthe grave. Poor children! that shall die before the day of canker, whatmatters it? I lament ye not,--ye shall sleep in peace!"
Thus murmuring out his distractions, in which his servants perceivednothing but the influence of some supernatural warning that boded themcalamity, the knight allowed himself to be disarmed and laid upon acouch on a raised platform at the side of the chamber, over which thevoluminous arras that covered the walls, were festooned into a sort ofnot inelegant tester.
Meanwhile, the neophyte, beckoning Lazaro with him, and charging him tomake good search throughout the palace for the page, began to addresshimself to the same duty. And first, attracted by the lights and by thesounds of many voices coming from a neighbouring apartment, he advancedto the door, where he was suddenly arrested by the appearance of aMexican of very majestic stature, though clad in the same humble robeswhich had covered the attendants of Montezuma, issuing from the chamber,followed by a throng of cavaliers, among whom was the general himself.At the side of Cortes stood a boy, in stature resembling Jacinto; and inwhom, for a moment, Don Amador thought he had discovered the object ofhis desires. But this agreeable delusion was instantly put to flight,when he heard Don Hernan address him by the name of Orteguilla, and sawthat he exercised the functions of an interpreter.
"Tell me this knave, my merry _muchacho_," said the general,--"tell methis knave, (that is to say, this royal prince,) Cuitlahuatzin, that Idischarge him from captivity, under the assurance that he shall, veryfaithfully, and without delay, command his runagate people to bring mecorn to the market; of which it is not fitting we should be kept in wantlonger than to-morrow. And give him to understand, that I hold, as thehostage of his good faith and compliance, the dog Montezuma; (translate_that_, the king his brother:) who shall be made to suffer the penaltyof any neglect, on his part, to furnish me with the afore-mentionednecessary provision."
The little Orteguilla, in part acquainted with the Mexican tongue, didas he was directed; and the prince Cuitlahuatzin, (or, as it should bepronounced in English speech, Quitlawatzin,) receiving and understandingthe direction, bowed his head to Cortes with stately humility, andimmediately withdrew.
Not discovering or hearing aught of Jacinto in this throng, Don Amadorcontinued his search in other parts of the palace, the court-yard, andeven the neighbouring street; but with such indifferent success, that,when stumbling upon Lazaro, and made acquainted that he had been equallyunfortunate, he began to entertain the most serious fears for the fateof the boy.
"Perhaps he was carried off by the spectre," muttered Lazaro,superstitiously, "as his worship Don Gabriel as much as hinted."
"Or perhaps," said the neophyte, with a thrill of horror, "by some ofthose bloody cannibals, to be devoured! And I remember now, that therewere many savages about me at the time; though I thought themTlascalans. I would to heaven, I had speared the knaves that camebetween us; but I swear to St. John of the Desert, if they have trulyrobbed me of the boy, and for that diabolical purpose, I will pursuetheir whole race with a most unrelenting vengeance."
At this moment, the cavalier was startled by a sudden "Hark!" fromLazaro, and heard, at a distance in the street, though objects were lostin the darkness, a great tumult as of men in affray, and plainlydistinguished a voice crying aloud, "Arma! arma! and Christian men, forthe love of God, to the rescue of Christians beset by infidels!"
"Draw thy sword, Lazaro, and follow!" cried the cavalier, "for these areother victims; and, with God's favour, we _will_ rescue them!"
Thus exclaiming, and without a moment thinking of the unknown perilsamong which he was rushing, he ran rapidly in the direction of thecries, and straightway beheld, a little in advance of a great crowd ofpeople, a group consisting of four or five persons, several of themwomen in strange attire, who stood shrieking with terror, while at theirfeet rolled three or four on the ground in close and murderous combat.The cries of one of these prostrate figures bespoke him a Spaniard, andwhile one sinewy pagan seemed to hold him upon the earth, another stoodwith his uplifted weapon, in the very act of despatching him. At thismoment, Don Amador rushed forwards, and shouting his war-cry, _Dios, ybuena esperanza!_ (that is, 'God and good cheer!') struck the menacingsavage a blow that sent him yelling away, and seized upon the other bythe shoulder to stab him; when, suddenly, the Spaniard rose to his feet,with a leap that tumbled the infidel to the earth, and showed him to bealready dead, cried aloud, in the well-remembered voice of themagician,--
"Tetragrammaton! thou wert a good shield, though a bloody one, sircarcass!--Save the princesses, and fly, or we are all dead men!--Arma!arma! to the rescue!"
Thus shouting, and seizing upon one of the women, while Don Amadorsnatched the arm of the other, (for he perceived, they were like to becut off by the approaching crowd,) the sorcerer, with his rescuers, rantowards the palace. His cries had reached the quarters; and presentlythey were surrounded by a hundred soldiers and cavaliers bearing lights,in the glare of which Don Amador had scarce time to note the countenanceof his new ward, before she was locked in the arms of De Morla.
"Minnapotzin! Benita!" cried the joyous cavalier. "Amigo mio! thou hastsaved my princess!"
"Stop not to prate and be happy; for the storm comes!" exclaimedBotello. "To the palace, all of ye! and to the cannon! for were you fivehundred men, there are wolves enow at your heels to devour you!"
Thus admonished, and perceiving, in fact, that a vast, though silentmultitude was approaching, all were fain to fly, and in an instant theywere crowding into the gates of the court-yard.
"This comes of insulting the king!" cried a voice from the melee, asCortes, shouting out to clear the gates, was seen himself assisting todraw a piece of artillery to the opening.
"I see naught,--I hear nothing," cried the general, affecting not toremark this reproach, (which was indeed just; for it was thisover-refinement of policy, spread with wonderful celerity throughout thecity, which dashed the last scale from the eyes of the Mexicans,convinced them that their monarch was indeed a slave, and let loose thelong-imprisoned current of fury.) "I see nought, I hear nought; and mybrave Rolands have been flying from shadows!"
"Say not so; the town is alive," cried the magician. "The hounds set onme, as I was bringing, at your excellency's command, these princessesfrom Tacuba; and it was only through the mercy of God, my good star, anIndian that I killed for a buckler, and the help of this true cavalier,(whose fate, out of gratitude, I will reveal to him to-morrow,) that wewere not all killed by the way:--for small reverence did the falsetraitors show to the maidens."
"Clear the way, then. Discharge me the piece, Catalan, true cannonier!"said Cortes, "and we will see what our foes look like, so near tomidnight."
The match was applied, the palace shook to the roar,--and the blaze,illumining the street to a great distance, disclosed it, to the surpriseof all, entirely deserted.
"I will aver upon mine oath," said Don Amador, "that the street was butnow full of people; but where they have hidden, or whither they havefled, wholly passes my comprehension."
"Hidden, surely, in their beds," cried the general, loudly andcheerfully, for he perceived the crowds about him were panic-struck."They set on Botello, doubtless, because they thought he was haling awaythe princesses with violence; and, convinced of their error, they havenow gone to their rest,--a mark of wisdom in which I would advise allhere to follow their example."
Thus cheered by their leader, the soldiers began to disperse; andAmador, musing painfully on the mysterious fate of the page, wasaccosted by Cortes, who, drawing him aside, said,--
"It has been told me, senor, that your Moorish boy has made his escape."
"His escape!" echoed the novice, in surprise. "He did indeed vanish awayfrom me, and I know not how, though much do I fear, in a manner that itshocks me to think on. I was about to ask of your excellency, as the boyis a true Christian, as well as a most faithful servant, for suchcounsel and assistance as might enable me, this night, to rescue him outof the hands of the cannibals; for it would be a sin on the souls of usall, should we suffer him to come to harm."
"And are you so well persuaded of his faith, as to believe him incapableof treachery?" demanded Don Hernan, earnestly: "Thou forgettest, he hasa father concealed among these infidels."
"Ay! by my faith!" cried Amador, joyously; "I thought not of thatbefore. And yet, and yet----" Here his countenance fell. "How should hebe so mad, as to leave us in this strange and huge city, with any hopeof discovering Abdalla?"
"I can resolve thee that," said Cortes: "for it is avouched to me byYacub, that he saw this wretch (whom may heaven return to me forpunishment, for he is a most subtle, daring, and dangerous traitor,)this very knave Abdalla, at thy horse's heels; but he could not believe'twas he, until made acquainted with the flight of the page."
"Ay! now I see it;" said Amador; "and I remember that he wept, as heheld my hand, as if grieving to desert me. But, methinks, 'twill be wellto seek him out, and reclaim him. Will your excellency allow me theservices of any score or two of men, who, for love or gold, may beinduced to follow me in the search?"
"I will answer thee in thine own words," said Cortes: "Where wouldstthou look in this strange and huge city, with any hope of discoveringhim? Be content, senor; the boy is with the fox, his father. _That_should convince thee, he is in present safety. And senor, I will tellthee, what I conceal from my people, (for thou art a soldier, and,therefore, as discreet as fearless,) that I would not, this night,despatch an hundred men a mile from the palace, without looking to havehalf of them slain outright by the rebels that are around us!"
"And dost thou think," said Amador, "that these besotted, naked madmen,would dare to assail so many?"
"You will see, by my conscience!" cried the general, with a grim andanxious smile. "Sleep with thine armour at thy side; and forget not thybuckler, for I have known a Tlascalan arrow pierce through a goodBiscayan gorget; and they say, the Mexicans can shoot as well. Let notany noise arouse thee, unless it be that of a trumpet. I would have theesleep well, my friend; for I know not how soon I may need thy strongarm, and encouraging countenance!"
Thus darkly and imperfectly apprising the novice of his fears, (for now,indeed, a demon had roused a thousand apprehensions in his breast,) thegeneral departed; and Don Amador disconsolately pursued his way to thechamber of the knight of Rhodes.
Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico Page 36