CHAPTER V.
Among the many ruins of ancient Mexico, and not the least of interestand wonder, were those of the great aqueducts, by means of which vastquantities of water were brought from distant points to supply anextensive system of irrigation, and, presumably, the palaces and villasof the rulers and their wealthy adherents.
The Tezcucan palace, while Hualcoyotl's father was yet a prosperous andindependent sovereign, was furnished with all the advantagesattainable, among which was an abundant supply of water, brought intothe palace through a large conduit, or earthen pipe. After thesubjugation of the Tezcucans, and death of their king, this pipe fellinto disuse and ruin.
There was a passageway leading from within the palace to the abandonedconduit, which was concealed by a secret door. In this outlet Itzalmosaw a sure avenue of deliverance for his young master, and devised aplan of escape for him through its offered adaptedness, which wassuccessfully carried out, as recorded at the close of the last chapter.
The plan of escape, so ingeniously devised by the old preceptor, wascommunicated to the prince, who, after being again urged to savehimself for the sake of his people, concluded to acquiesce; for hebegan to realize that death certainly awaited him should he remain,while in the plan of Itzalmo there was hope, a strong argument againsthis false notion of defiance in the face of such overwhelming odds.
When Hualcoyotl left the banqueting hall and entered the saloon he washurried to and through the secret door into the passageway and on tothe conduit, where he found present security. It was not his purpose toreenter the palace, but to follow the pipe to a point where an openinghad, in the gradual decay of the structure, appeared in its side, andfrom there make his escape. To do this was not an easy task, for he hada considerable distance to go, and the pipe being too small to permithim to rise, he was compelled to proceed in a crawling manner, and,frequently, to work his way through accumulated obstructions. Aftermuch vexatious toiling he found himself nearing the opening in theconduit, through which he expected to make his exit. A flood of light,most welcome, was streaming in through the breach, the sight of whichfreshened his flagging energies and relieved the arduousness of hisadvance. The goal was finally reached, and just beyond was freedom--tohim, however, a freedom to be gained only under cover of darkness.
It had been arranged that the prince should remain in the conduit untilnight, when, at a preconcerted signal, to be given by his faithful andtrusted attendant, Oza, to assure him that the way was clear, he shouldcome forth and be conducted to a place of safety.
The time passed tediously to the anxious fugitive in his closequarters, and he was beginning to feel the effect of it on hisendurance, when his attention was attracted by a sound not unfamiliar.A short period of silence ensued, and then followed the signal to quitthe conduit. He was quickly at Oza's side, of whom he inquired:
"Whither do we go?"
"To the cottage of Kan, the weaver. Let my master follow his servant,"cautiously replied Oza, moving noiselessly away.
While Hualcoyotl was waiting in the conduit for night to come to hisrelief, a former vassal and ardent adherent of his father's, a weaverof _nequen_ (maguey cloth) by the name of Kan, who lived on theoutskirts of the city, was seen and consulted with reference to hissafety. The weaver immediately interested himself in the son of his oldmaster, and proposed that he be brought to his cottage, where he couldremain until a better and safer refuge was found for him. The proposalwas gladly acceded to, and the fugitive, at leaving the conduit, wasconducted to his house, where he was made comfortable and secure forthe time being.
* * * * *
The officer who had charge of the expedition to the Tezcucan palace,with a view to taking Hualcoyotl's life, was greatly chagrined at theeffectual manner in which he was tricked. After exhausting hisingenuity in futile efforts to find a clue to the prince's mysteriousdisappearance, he placed a guard over the palace and returned in hasteto his master, the king, to whom he reported the failure of hismission, but in such manner as to save his own head, which would nodoubt have been required of him for his incautiousness, had the kingbeen correctly informed.
Maxtla became greatly enraged when he learned of the failure of theexpedition and escape of his hated rival. Troops of armed men wereordered to scour the country in every direction in search of him, and,in addition, a large reward was offered for his capture, dead or alive.The hand of a noble lady, and a rich domain to accompany it, waspromised to whoever should take him, regardless of the captor'sprevious condition in life.
The perils to which the prince was being subjected by his powerfulenemy, and the persistent efforts made to destroy him, were becominggenerally known. Among his friends--the Tezcucans, who were deeplyincensed at the unjust treatment of their favorite--a latent hatred ofeverything Tepanec was being wrought into a feeling of antagonism,which was rapidly engendering a spirit of resistance to the relentlessand malicious persecutor.
"Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad," was assuredlyexemplified in the brief and despotic career of the tyrant Maxtla; forby his unkingly conduct toward the unoffending Hualcoyotl he wasdigging a pit, so to speak, broad and deep, which would engulf not onlyhimself, but his nation as well, of whose proud capital, the royal cityof Azcapozalco, no vestige would remain to mark the spot whereon itstood; nor track, nor trace of all the mighty host of those o'er whomby right he ruled, but only waste and desolated space, on which, toemphasize a conqueror's hate, it was decreed the slave-man's martshould be.[5]
[5] NOTE.--The royal city of Azcapozalco was razed to the ground, and the wasted territory was henceforth reserved as the great slave-mart for the nations of Anahuac.--_Prescott_.
Some days subsequent to the coming of Hualcoyotl to the weaver'scottage a band of soldiers appeared in its vicinity. Every house wasbeing searched, and it was soon learned that he was the object of thesearch. Measures were immediately taken to prevent his discovery.
When two of the soldiers presently entered Kan's place they found himbusily engaged at his work, preparing the fibers of maguey for theloom, a quantity of which was lying in piles about him. One of the men,addressing him, said:
"The soldiers of the king are searching for Hualcoyotl, the fugitiveprince, who is thought to be hiding somewhere in this part of the city.We are here to look through your cottage, weaver."
"The soldiers of the king know their duty, and must perform it, thoughit will avail them nothing to search my place. Kan, the weaver, hasother business to occupy his time than that of hiding royalaristocrats, who would take no more account of his life than they wouldof an ocelotl's," was the curt and not inapt reply.
"There is truth in what you say, weaver," returned the soldier. "Smallvalue is put upon a man's life by them, especially if he is in theirway."
Without further delay he proceeded, with his companion, to search thefew apartments of the cottage, giving them a thorough examination.
Kan never worked more diligently than he did while the soldiers werelooking through his place. The fibers of the maguey fairly flew throughhis hands, and higher and wider grew the pile of thready stuff at hisleft. Although his movements were rapid, he showed no evidence ofdisquiet. His countenance wore its customary stern look, and yet,beneath, there was poignant solicitude for his royal charge. It appearsto have been a characteristic of his people to forget self in theirdevotion to others. He took no account of his own personal risk: thepenalty he incurred in harboring the fugitive--a penalty the measure ofwhich would depend on the caprice of a suspicious and tyrannizing king.
After a protracted search into all the nooks and secret places aboutthe weaver's premises, the men returned to the room in which he wasworking. This room was quite plain, without recess or other receptaclewhere a man might have found concealment. The spokesman lookedcritically over it, and said:
"The fugitive is surely not hiding with you, friend; for we findnothing of a suspicious character about you
r house. Sorry we wereobliged to trouble you, but orders must be obeyed."
"Right, soldier!" returned Kan. "You have performed your duty, and noharm has been done."
The weaver spoke with affected carelessness, which he did not feel, forevery moment which the soldiers spent in the room was one of anxiety tohim.
Casting his eyes over the apartment once more, the soldier said:
"Since everything with you appears straight and satisfactory, we'llrelieve you of our presence. Good luck to you, weaver."
"The same to the soldiers of the king," replied Kan, with a supremeeffort at indifference, as the searchers turned to leave his place.
The party was hardly beyond the curtained doorway when the weaver'sassumed carelessness gave place to cautiousness.
"Hist! do not stir!" he ejaculated guardedly. Rising, he went to asmall window, a safe point from which to watch the soldiers' movements.When he was satisfied they would not return, and that all presentdanger was past, he went to the pile of selected fibers, which hadgrown so rapidly under his supreme efforts while the soldiers weresearching his place, and, lifting them, said:
"You may rise now from your uncomfortable position. The soldiers seemto be satisfied with their search of my premises, and are gone."
The prince rose from the floor, on which he had been lying beneath thepile of fibers, and, glancing at his greatly disordered apparel, said,in a soliloquizing manner:
"Hualcoyotl is indeed fallen. I never expected to reach a state so farbeneath my manhood as this; but, since it is for country and freedom,submission must be the rule, however humiliating the conditions."Fixing his eyes on the weaver, he continued: "Your reply to thesoldier, Kan, in which you referred to royal aristocrats and theindifference usually shown by them for the lives of their subjects, hastaught me a valuable lesson--one that I will not soon forget. It is tootrue that rulers are often disposed to hold the lives of their subjectslightly. Should it be my good fortune to regain my heritage, Kan andhis words, so aptly spoken, shall not be forgotten."
"I pray, O Prince, that you will believe me. The words were not spokenout of disrespect, but to mislead the soldier that his search might notbe too close." Spoken humbly and out of fear that he had given offense."Kan is only one of many," he continued, "who would delight in servingand honoring Hualcoyotl as their king."
"It does not matter, Kan, what prompted the use of the words," repliedthe prince, kindly; "they were well said and timely, and you need haveno regrets for having uttered them. At this moment I may be indebted tothem for my liberty, if not my life. But let them pass; I would notthey were unsaid. My escape from detection was narrow, indeed," he wenton; "and due, my faithful friend, to your sagacity alone. I can nolonger consent to your life and home being put in jeopardy on myaccount. There is no place in Tezcuco that will furnish me a saferetreat--my flight must be resumed. I will go into the mountains, inthe direction of Tlascala, where refuge may be found in theirfastnesses until my people are ready to avenge themselves on theauthors of their degradation. If you will find a way, Kan, to informOza that I would see him, you will confer a favor which may be the lastyou will have an opportunity to bestow upon your unfortunate guest."The prince's closing words expressed deep dejection, and Kan hastenedto answer by way of encouragement:
"May the son of my murdered master be mistaken in that, is the prayerof Kan. May he live to deliver his people from the power of the hatedMaxtla, and be crowned king in the place of his noble father!"
"You have my thanks, Kan, for your kind and prayerful words; and, now,let Oza be summoned and preparations made for my departure to-night."
Oza came, and on being informed of the prince's purpose, became greatlyworried over it. That he should go off to the mountains alone was notto be thought of for a moment. He was willing and ready to share hismaster's hardships, and insisted on being permitted to do so with somuch earnestness and show of fealty that Hualcoyotl finally consentedthat he should, for a few days at least.
The preparations for their departure were speedily consummated,including a visit by Oza to the palace; and night, which was to shieldthem in their flight, was waited for in patient silence.
When the hour came for leaving, the prince bade his preserver a kindgood-bye, with promises of future remembrance, and, with Oza for acompanion, went out into the darkness--a fugitive from an unjustcondemnation.
A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire Page 7