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

by Robert Montgomery Bird

  CHAPTER LVII.

  At midnight, the Mexican spy, looking over the broken wall, beheld inthe court-yard which it environed, a scene of singular devotion;--orrather he caught with his ears--for the grave was not blacker than thatmidnight--the smothered accents of supplication. The Christians wereupon their knees, listening, with a silence broken only by the fretfulchamping of steeds, and the suppressed moans of wounded men, to aprayer, pronounced in a whispering voice, wherein the father Olmedoimplored of Heaven to regard them in pity, to stupify the senses oftheir enemies, and surround his servants with the shields of mercy, sothat, this night, they might walk out of the city which was theirprison-house, and from the island which had been their charnel,oppressed no more by the weight of His anger.

  The prostrate soldiers, to that moment, full of confident hope, and notanticipating the danger of any opposition, hearkened with solicitude tothe humble and earnest supplication; and when the padre besought thedeity to endow their arms with strength, and their hearts with courage,to sustain the toils, and perhaps the perils, of retreat, they werestruck with a vague but racking fear. The petition which was meant toembolden, deprived them of hope; and they rose from their vaindevotions, in unexpected horror.

  The gloom that invested the ruinous palace, prevailed equally over thepagan city. No torch shone from the casements or house-tops, no taperflickered in the streets; and the urns of fire on the neighbouringpyramid, the only light visible,--save, now and then, a ghastly gleam oflightning bursting up from the south,--burned with a dull and sickenedglare, as if neglected by their watchers. A silence, in character withthe obscurity, reigned over the slumbering city; and when, at last, thesteps of those who bore the ponderous bridge, and the creaking ofartillery wheels, were-heard ringing and rolling over the square, thesounds smote on the hearts of all like the tolling of distant funeralbells.

  The plan of retreat, determined after anxious deliberation, andcarefully made known to all, was adopted with readiness, as thesefootsteps and this rolling sound of wheels,--the only signalsmade,--were heard; each man knew his place, and, without delay, assumedit. In little more than half an hour, the whole train of invaders,Christian principals and Tlascalan abettors, was in motion, creeping,with the slow and stealthy pace of malefactors, over the street that ledto the dike of Tacuba. Few glances were sent back to the palace, asthose dim sheets of lightning, flashing up over the path they werepursuing, revealed obscurely, ever and anon, its broken and desertedturrets. Its gloomy pile associated nothing but the memory of disasterand grief. Fearful looks, however were cast upon the dusky fabrics oneither side of the street, as if the fugitives apprehended that eachcreak of a wheel, each clattering of horses' hoofs, or the rattling ofarmour, might draw the infidel from his slumbers; and many an ear wasdirected anxiously towards the van, in fear lest the trumpet should, atlast, be sounded, with the signal of enemies already drawn up, athousand deep, on the path they were treading. But no sounds were heard,save those which denoted the continued progress of their own bands; nowakeful barbarian was seen lurking in the streets; and hope again slowlyreturned to the bosoms of the tremblers.

  Before they had yet reached the borders of the island, the night becamestill more dark than at their outset; for the lightning grew fainter ateach flash, and finally sank beneath the horizon, to continue its luridgambols among the depths of the South Sea. This was witnessed withsecret satisfaction; for, with these treacherous scintillations,departed the dread that many felt, lest they should betray the march ofthe army.

  It has been mentioned, that the people of Tenochtitlan had not onlycovered the surface of the island with their dwellings, but had extendedthem, on foundations of piles, into the lake, wherever the shallownessof the water permitted. This was especially the case in theneighbourhood of the great dikes; in which places, not only singlehouses, but entire blocks, deserving the name of suburbs, wereconstructed. Such a suburb jutted out, for some distance, along thecauseway of Tacuba.

  The van of the army had already passed beyond the furthest of theseblack and silent structures, and yet no just cause existed to supposethe retreat had been discovered; though many men of sharper ears orfainter hearts than their fellows, had averred that they could, attimes, distinguish, on the rear, a dull sound, as of men moving behindthem in heavy masses. The wiser, however, were satisfied, that no suchsounds could prevail even over the subdued noise of their ownfootsteps; but some of these bent their ears anxiously towards thefront, as if afraid of danger in that quarter. The reason of this wasnot concealed. All day, sounds of lamentation had been heard coming fromthe dike, upon which they were now marching, or from its neighbourhood.It was rumoured, that the cemetery of the Mexican kings lay on the hillof Chapoltepec, under the huge and melancholy cypresses, whichovershadow that green promontory; and that there, this day, Montezumahad been laid among his ancestors. A whole people had gone forth tolament him; and how many of the mourners might be now returning by thecauseway, was a question which disturbed the reflections of all.

  But this apprehension was dispelled, when the front of the army hadreached the first of the three ditches which intersected the dike ofTacuba. Its bridge was removed and gone, and the deep water laytranquilly in the chasm. The foe, relying on this simple precaution, hadleft the dike to its solitude; and the expedient for continuing theimprisonment of the Spaniards, was the warrant of their security.

  A little breeze, dashing occasionally drops of rain, began to puff alongthe lake, as the bridge-bearers deposited their burden over the abyss.This was not the labour of a moment; the heavy artillery, which stillpreceded the train of discomfited slayers, like a troop of jackals inthe path of other destroyers, required that the ponderous frame shouldbe adjusted with the greatest care. While the carriers, assisted by abody of Tlascalans, who slipped into the ditch and swam to the oppositeside, were busy with their work, the long train of fugitives behind,halted, and remained silent with expectation. The rumbling of the woodover the flags of the causeway, the suppressed murmurs of the labourers,and, now and then, the dropping of some stone loosened by their feet,into the ditch,--added to the sighs of the breeze, whispering faintlyover casque and spear,--were the only sounds that broke the dismal quietof the scene; and there was something in these, as well as in theoccurrence itself, which caused many to think of the characteristics ofa funeral;--the mute and solemn expectation of the lookers-on,--thesmothered expressions of the few,--and the occasional rattle of clods,dropping, by accident, upon the coffin.

  The bridge was, at last, fixed, and the loud clang of hoofs was heard,as Cortes, himself, made trial of its strength. The breath of thosebehind, came more freely, when these sounds reached their ears; and theywaited impatiently till the advance of those who preceded them, shouldgive motion to their own ranks.

  The post of Don Amador de Leste had been assigned, at his own demand, inthe vanguard,--which was a force consisting of twenty horsemen, twohundred foot, and ten times that number of Tlascalan warriors, commandedby Sandoval, the valiant; and, up to this moment, he had ridden at thatleader's side, without much thought of unhealed wounds and feebleness,willing, and fully prepared, to divide the danger and the honour of anydifficulty, which might be presented. But being now convinced, by thesign we have mentioned,--that is to say, the removal of the originalbridge,--that no enemies lay in wait on the causeway, he descended fromthe back of Fogoso, giving the rein to Lazaro, and commanding him toproceed onward with the party. In this, he was, perhaps, not so muchgoverned by a desire to escape the tedium of riding in company with theever taciturn Sandoval, as to be nearer to the forlorn boy, Jacinto, whohad, until this moment, trudged along at his side. Some little curiosityto witness the passage of the rout of fugitives, had also its influence;for, taking the page by the hand, he led him to the edge of the bridge,where he could observe every thing without inconvenience, and withoutobstructing the course of others.

  The dike of Tacuba was, like that of Iztapalapan, of stone, and sobroad, that ten horsemen could easily ride on
it abreast. Its base wasbroad, shelving, and rugged, and the summit was, perhaps, six feet abovethe surface of the water.

  The thunder of the twenty horsemen, as they rode over the bridge,interrupted the consolation which the neophyte was about to give toJacinto; who, hanging closely to his patron's arm, yet looked backtowards the city, with many sobs for his exiled father. In the gloomyobscurity of the hour, the cavaliers of the van, as they passed, seemedrather like spectres than men;--in an instant of time, they were hiddenfrom sight among the thick shadows in front. Not less phantom-likeappeared the two hundred foot, stealing over the chasm, and vanishinglike those who had preceded them. Then came the two thousand Tlascalans,their broken and drooping plumes rustling over their dusky backs, asthey strode onwards, with steps quickened, but almost noiseless.

  After these, came the cannon,--eighteen pieces of different sizes,dragged by rows of pagans, commanded by the gunners. The bridge groanedunder their weight; and a murmur of joy crept over the compactedmultitude behind, when they had counted them, one by one, rumbling overthe sonorous wood, and knew that the last had crossed in safety.

  Much time was necessarily occupied in the passage of these cumbrousinstruments; and an interval of several minutes was allowed to intervenebetwixt the passage of each, while the cannoniers were looking to thecondition of the bridge and the ropes.

  It was on these occasions, that the greatest quiet prevailed; for, then,even breath was hushed in suspense; and it was on these occasions also,that the ears of the neophyte were struck by a sound, which had not,perhaps, at that time, attracted the attention of any other person. Thebreeze, which occasionally whispered on his cheek, was so light, asscarcely to disturb the serenity of the lake; and yet, it appeared tohim, notwithstanding all this, that, in these moments of calm, he couldplainly distinguish, upon either hand, and at a little distance, therippling of water, as if agitated by a moderate wind. He strained hiseyes, endeavouring to pierce the gloom, and unravel the cause of thissingular commotion,--but wholly in vain. The circle of vision wascircumscribed into the narrowest bounds; and wo betide the infidel, who,fishing in the lake, that night, should fall from his canoe in slumber,and be parted from it but twenty feet, in his confusion.--The cavalierlooked up to the heavens; but the few drops discharged from their stonyvault, pattered with a sound almost inaudible upon the water. While hewas yet wondering, he heard the voice of one passing him, say to acomrade,--

  "Art thou not wroth, Iago, man, to give up yonder rich town to thekites, and this fair water to the ducks of Mexico?"

  This trivial question gave, at once, a new colour to his thoughts, forhe remembered what millions of wild fowl brooded every night on thelakes; and, almost ashamed that he should have yielded a moment to thesuggestions of fear, he turned, once more, to watch the progress of thearmy.

  The centre division consisted of but an hundred Christian footmen, andhalf a score cavaliers; but two thousand Tlascalans were added to it,and it was commanded by Cortes in person; who, having ridden across thebridge, as has been said, to prove its strength, now waited for thecoming of his party, beyond the breach. Along with this division, wereconducted the prisoners, and the king's spoil,--the latter being carriedon the backs of wounded steeds, unfit for other service, as well as onthe shoulders of Tlameme. The prisoners, comprising all the family ofMontezuma, whom evil fortune had thrown into the hands of Don Hernan,were environed by the hereditary foes of their race, but protected fromany secret stroke of malice, by three or four cavaliers who rode withthem.

  Among these few horsemen, the neophyte perceived one, across whosesaddle-bow there sat what seemed a female, enveloped in thick mantles.In this cavalier, he thought, by the murmur of the voice with which headdressed his muffled companion, that he detected his friend, the senorDe Morla.

  "Is it thou, Francisco, my brother?" he whispered, inclining towards thecavalier; "and hast thou Benita thus under thy protection?"

  "I thank heaven, yes!" replied De Morla. "But what doest thou on foot,and so far removed from the van? Has Fogoso cast thee again? I prythee,walk thou by me a little.--Dost thou remember thy promise?"

  "Surely, I do: but speak not of it now; for, this moment, my heart isvery heavy, and I cannot think with pleasure of a contest with Christianman. I will presently follow thee."

  "Speak me not what I have told thee to mortal man, for the sake of herwhom I hold in my arms, and who already owes thee a life. To-morrow," hecontinued, exultingly, as he passed,--"to-morrow we shall tread upon thelake side; and, then, God be with him who strikes for the honour andinnocence of woman!"

  "Art _thou_ there too, Lorenzo?" said the novice, perceiving thesecretary riding at the heels of the young cavalier of Cuenza, andburthened in like manner with the freight of affection. "Guard thyprincess well, and have great care of the bridge, and the rough edge ofthe dike; for thy horsemanship is not yet so perfect as De Morla's, norcan thy charger at all compare with the chestnut gelding. Ride on withcare, and God be thy speed!"

  The centre of the army was, at last, over the bridge. The neophyte casthis eye to the black mass of the rear-guard, which contained the greaterpart of the troops, both Christian and allied, commanded by Velasquez deLeon and the Tonatiuh; the latter of whom, to show his affection for theisland of which he had been, as he said, a king, and to prove hiscontempt for his late subjects, chose to ride the very last man in thearmy; while De Leon conducted the front of the division. The latter,stern, decided, and self-willed in all cases, deferred, for a moment, togive the signal to march, in order that the centre might be well clearedof the bridge; but more, perhaps, from a natural love of tyranny, totorture with delay the spirits of his impatient followers.

  In this moment of quiet, the sounds, which Don Amador had forgotten,were repeated with more distinctness than at first; but still they wereof so vague a character, that he could not be certain they were producedby any cause more important than the diving and flapping of water-fowl.Nevertheless, feeling a little uneasiness, he clasped the hand ofJacinto tighter in his own, and strode with him over the bridge. Hepaused again, when he had crossed, and was about to give his wholeattention to the mysterious sounds; when, suddenly, he was amazed andstartled by the spectre of a man, rising up as from the lake, andspringing on the causeway close by his side.

  He drew his sword, demanding quickly, but with perturbation,--

  "Who and what art thou, that comest thus from the depths of the waters?"

  "Tetragrammaton! peace!--Dost thou not hear?"

  "Hear what, sir conjurer? Hast thou been listening likewise to the wildfowl. By my troth, I thought thou wert a spirit!"

  "Wild fowl!" muttered Botello, with a horse-laugh. "Such wild fowl aseat carrion, and flap the water like crocodiles.--Hah! dost thou nothear? Lay thine ear upon the causeway at the water's edge--But thou hastnot time. Get thee to thy horse, and delay not; and if thou seestCortes, or any other discreet cavalier, bid him draw and be ready. Isaid, that some should escape, but not _all_!--God be with thee! followquickly, and sheath not thy sword."

  "Surely, this time, thou art mad, Botello! Here are no foes."

  But the remonstrance of the cavalier was cut short by the instant flightof the magician; and ere the words were out of his mouth, a horseman,crossing the bridge, and riding up to him, said sternly,--

  "Who art thou, Sir Knave and Sir Witless! that babblest thus aloud, intime of peril, contrary to----"

  "I am thy very good friend, senor De Leon," said the novice, abruptly;"and, waiving any difficulty which might spring from the heat of thywords, if duly considered, I think fit to assure thee, that I have butjust parted from the necromancer, Botello; by whom I am advised to bidthee, as well as all other discreet officers whom I may see, to drawsword, and remain in readiness for a foe; there being certain sounds onthe water, which, in his opinion, are ominous of evil. For myself, I bidGod guard thee, meaning, in person, to join the van, as soon aspossible."

  The cavaliers parted,--De Leon riding back to his party, withoututt
ering a word; and Don Amador, with the page, stepping forwards sofleetly, as soon to find himself among the Tlascalans of the centre.Through these he made his way, ever and anon casting his eye to thelake, and looking for the tokens of a foe, but without perceivinganything at all unusual. He gained the midst of this band of allies,reached the side of his friend, and laid his hand on De Morla's arm. Alow wailing voice came from the folds of the garments, which veiled thecountenance of Minnapotzin; and some strong agitation shook the frame ofhis friend.

  "Think not of love _now_, my brother!" cried the neophyte, hurriedly;"but be warned that thou art in danger, and Minnapotzin with thee. It isthought, that enemies are at hand."

  Having thus spoken, and without waiting for an answer, Don Amador, stillurging Jacinto along, endeavoured to make his way through the densebodies of Tlascalans, which separated him from Don Hernan. He reachedtheir front, he stepped upon the little space left between them and thegeneral, and placed his eyes upon Cortes. But before he had yet spoken,it seemed as if the whole moving mass of the army had been convertedinto marble, on the causeway; for instantly, as if with one consent, thetrain came to a dead halt, and a cry, low, but breathed from the heartsof men struck with mortal dread, rose from the van to the rear, in oneuniversal groan.

  The cavalier turned where all eyes were turned, and beheld a suddenpyramid of fire, like one of the many gushes of flame he had alreadyseen in this volcanic land, save that the blaze was steadier, shoot up,from a vast height in the air, over the distant city, and plunge itssanguine point against the heavens; while, at the same moment, its luridmass, reflected and reversed on the lake, darted over the water to hisfeet, in a path of blood,--as if Mexitli, the Terrible God, had, atlast, roused from slumber, and couched his gigantic spear against theslayers of his children. The blaze illumined the lake far round, and,shining on the casques of cavaliers and the plumes of Tlascalans,disclosed the whole line of the army, stretched along the calzada. In aninstant more, the neophyte, petrified with awe, perceived that thismighty bale-fire was kindled on the top of the great temple; and, in thestrong and glaring line, which it struck out upon the water, there wasrevealed a mass of living objects, floating, like birds, upon theelement, yet speckled with the human colours of Mexico. At the samemoment, and while his eye yet wavered between the flaming pillar and themoving objects on the water, there came from the pyramid a sound, heardonce before, and never more to be forgotten. The horn of the gods waswinded;--the doleful and dismal note came booming with hideous uproarover the waters; and before the hills had caught up its echoes, thewhole lake, right and left, in front and on the rear, rang, roared, andtrembled, under the yells of an hundred thousand infidels.