The Fair God; or, The Last of the 'Tzins: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER III.

  LOVE ON THE LAKE.

  "What can they mean? Here have they been loitering since morning, as ifthe lake, like the _tianguez_, were a place for idlers. As I love thegods, if I knew them, they should be punished!"

  So the farmer of the _chinampa_ heretofore described as the property ofthe princess Tula gave expression to his wrath; after which he returnedto his employment; that is, he went crawling among the shrubs andflowers, pruning-knife in hand, here clipping a limb, there looseningthe loam. Emerging from the thicket after a protracted stay, his ire wasagain aroused.

  "Still there! Thieves maybe, watching a chance to steal. But we shallsee. My work is done, and I will not take eyes off of them again."

  The good man's alarm was occasioned by the occupants of a canoe, which,since sunrise, had been plying about the garden, never stationary,seldom more than three hundred yards away, yet always keeping on theside next the city. Once in a while the slaves withdrew their paddles,leaving the vessel to the breeze; at such times it drifted so near thatswells, something like those of the sea when settling into calm, tumbledthe surface; far to the south, however, he discerned the canoe, lookingno larger than a blue-winged gull.

  "It is coming; I see the prow this way. Is the vase ready?"

  "The vase! You forget; there are two of them."

  Hualpa looked down confused.

  "Does the 'tzin intend them both for Tula?"

  Hualpa was the more embarrassed.

  "Flowers have a meaning; sometimes they tell tales. Let me see if Icannot read what the 'tzin would say to Tula."

  And Io' went forward and brought the vases, and, placing them beforehim, began to study each flower.

  "Io'," said Hualpa, in a low voice, "but one of the vases is the'tzin's."

  "And the other?" asked the prince, looking up.

  Hualpa's face flushed deeper.

  "The other is mine. Have you not two sisters?"

  Io's eyes dilated; a moment he was serious, then he burst out laughing.

  "I have you now! Nenetzin,--she, too, has a lover."

  The hunter never found himself so at loss; he played with the loops ofhis _escaupil_, and refused to take his eyes off the coming canoe.Through his veins the blood ran merrily; in his brain it intoxicated,like wine.

  "And pleasanter yet to be made noble and master of a palace over byChapultepec," Io' answered. "But see! Yonder is a canoe."

  "From the city?"

  "It is too far off; wait awhile."

  But Hualpa, impatient, leaned over the side, and looked for himself. Atthe time they were up in the northern part of the lake, at least aleague from the capital. Long, regular he could see the _voyageurs_reclining in the shade of the blue canopy, wrapped in _escaupils_ suchas none but lords or distinguished merchants were permitted to wear.

  The leisurely _voyageurs_, on their part, appeared to have a perfectunderstanding of the light in which they were viewed from the_chinampa_.

  "There he is again! See!" said one of them.

  The other lifted the curtain, and looked, and laughed.

  "Ah! if we could send an arrow there, just near enough to whistlethrough the orange-trees. Tula would never hear the end of the story. Hewould tell her how two thieves came to plunder him; how they shot athim; how narrowly he escaped--"

  "And how valiantly he defended the garden. By Our Mother, Io', I have amind to try him!"

  Hualpa half rose to measure the distance, but fell back at once. "No.Better that we get into no difficulty. We are messengers, and have theseflowers to deliver. Besides, the judge is not to my liking."

  "Tula is merciful, and would forgive you for the 'tzin's sake."

  "I meant the judge of the court," Hualpa said, soberly. "You never sawhim lift the golden arrow, as if to draw it across your portrait. It ispleasanter sitting here, in the shade, rocked by the water."

  "I have heard how love makes women of warriors; now I will see,--I willsee how brave you are."

  "Ho, slaves! Put the canoe about; yonder are those whom I would meet,"Hualpa shouted.

  The vessel was headed to the south. A long distance had to be passed,and in the time the ambassador recovered himself. Lying down again, andtwanging the chord of his bow, he endeavored to compose a speech toaccompany the delivery of the vase to Tula. But his thoughts wouldreturn to his own love; the laugh with which Io' received hisexplanation flattered him; and, true to the logic of the passion, healready saw the vase accepted, and himself the favored of Nenetzin. Fromthat point the world of dreams was but a step distant; he took the step,but was brought back by Io'.

  "They recognize us; Nenetzin waves her scarf!"

  The approaching vessel was elegant as the art of the Aztecan shipmastercould make it. The prow was sculptured into the head and slender, curvedneck of a swan. The passengers, fair as ever journeyed on sea wave, satunder a canopy of royal green, above which floated a _panache_ of long,trailing feathers, colored like the canopy. Like a creature of thewater, so lightly, so gracefully, the boat drew nigh the messengers.When alongside, Io' sprang aboard, and, with boyish ardor, embraced hissisters.

  "What has kept you so?"

  "We stayed to see twenty thousand warriors cross the causeway," repliedNenetzin.

  "Where can they be going?"

  "To Cholula."

  The news excited the boy; turning to speak to Hualpa, he was reminded ofhis duty.

  "Here is a messenger from Guatamozin,--the lord Hualpa, who slew thetiger in the garden."

  The heart of the young warrior beat violently; he touched the floor ofthe canoe with his palm.

  And Tula spoke. "We have heard the minstrels sing the story. Arise, lordHualpa."

  "The words of the noble Tula are pleasanter than any song. Will she hearthe message I bring?"

  She looked at Io' and Nenetzin, and assented.

  "Guatamozin salutes the noble Tula. He hopes the blessings of the godsare about her. He bade me say, that four mornings ago the king visitedhim at his palace, but talked of nothing but the strangers; so that thecontract with Iztlil', the Tezcucan, still holds good. Further, the kingasked his counsel as to what should be done with the strangers. Headvised war, whereupon the king became angry, and departed, saying thata courier would come for the 'tzin when his presence was wanted in thecity; so the banishment also holds good. And so, finally, there is nomore hope from interviews with the king. All that remains is to leavethe cause to time and the gods."

  A moment her calm face was troubled; but she recovered, and said, withsimple dignity,--

  "I thank you. Is the 'tzin well and patient?"

  "He is a warrior, noble Tula, and foemen are marching through theprovinces, like welcome guests; he thinks of them, and curses the peaceas a season fruitful of dishonor."

  Nenetzin, who had been quietly listening, was aroused.

  "Has he heard the news? Does he not know a battle is to be fought inCholula?"

  "Such tidings will be medicine to his spirit."

  "A battle!" cried Io'. "Tell me about it, Nenetzin."

  "I, too, will listen," said Hualpa; "for the gods have given me a loveof words spoken with a voice sweeter than the flutes of Tezca'."

  The girl laughed aloud, and was well pleased, although she answered,--

  "My father gave me a bracelet this morning, but he did not carry hislove so far as to tell me his purposes; and I am not yet a warrior totalk to warriors about battles. The lord Maxtla, even Tula here, canbetter tell you of such things."

  "Of what?" asked Tula.

  "Io' and his friend wish to know all about the war."

  The elder princess mused a moment, and then said gravely, "You may tellthe 'tzin, as from me, lord Hualpa, that twenty thousand warriors thismorning marched for Cholula; that the citizens there have been armed;and to-morrow, the gods willing, Malinche will be attacked. The king atone time thought of conducting the expedition himself; but, bypersuasion of the paba,
Mualox, he has given the command to the lordCuitlahua."

  Io' clapped his hands. "The gods are kind; let us rejoice, O Hualpa!What marching of armies there will be! What battles! Hasten, and let usto Cholula; we can be there before the night sets in."

  "What!" said Nenetzin. "Would you fight, Io'? No, no; come home with us,and I will put my parrot in a tree, and you may shoot at him all day."

  The boy went to his own canoe, and, returning, held up a shield of pearland gold. "See! With a bow I beat our father and the lord Hualpa, andthis was the prize."

  "That a shield!" Nenetzin said. "A toy,--a mere brooch to a Tlascalan, Ihave a tortoise-shell that will serve you better."

  The boy frowned, and a rejoinder was on his lips when Tula spoke.

  "The flowers in your vases are very beautiful, lord Hualpa. What altaris to receive the tribute?"

  Nenetzin's badinage had charmed the ambassador into forgetfulness of hisembassy; so he answered confusedly, "The noble Tula reminds me of myduty. Before now, standing upon the hills of Tihuanco, watching themorning brightening in the east, I have forgotten myself. I praypardon--"

  Tula glanced archly at Nenetzin. "The morning looks pleasant; doubtless,its worshipper will be forgiven."

  And then he knew the woman's sharp eyes had seen into his inner heart,and that the audacious dream he there cherished was exposed; yet hisconfusion gave place to delight, for the discovery had been publishedwith a smile. Thereupon, he set one of the vases at her feet, andtouched the floor with his palm, and said,--

  "I was charged by Guatamozin to salute you again, and say that theseflowers would tell you all his hopes and wishes."

  As she raised the gift, her hand trembled; then he discovered howprecious a simple Cholulan vase could become; and with that his realtask was before him. Taking the other vase, he knelt before Nenetzin.

  "I have but little skill in courtierly ways," he said. "In flowers I seenothing but their beauty; and what I would have these say is, that ifNenetzin, the beautiful Nenetzin, will accept them, she will make mevery happy."

  The girl looked at Tula, then at him; then she raised the vase, and,laughing, hid her face in the flowers.

  But little more was said; and soon the lashings were cast off, and thevessels separated.

  On the return Hualpa stopped at Tenochtitlan, and in the shade of theportico, over a cup of the new beverage, now all the fashion, receivedfrom Xoli the particulars of the contemplated attack upon the strangersin Cholula; for, with his usual diligence in the fields of gossip, thebroker had early informed himself of all that was to be heard of theaffair. And that night, while Io' dreamed of war, and the hunter oflove, the 'tzin paced his study or wandered through his gardens,feverishly solicitous about the result of the expedition.

  "If it fail," he repeated over and over,--"if it fail, Malinche willenter Tenochtitlan as a god!"