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

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER XIV.

  THE KING BEFORE HIS PEOPLE AGAIN.

  Guatamozin's call at the royal palace to see the king, Cuitlahua, hadnot been without result. When told that the monarch was too sick of theplague to be seen, he called for the officer who had charge of theaccounts of tribute received for the royal support.

  "Show me," said the 'tzin, "how much corn was delivered to Montezuma forMalinche."

  A package of folded _aguave_ leaves was brought and laid at theaccountant's feet. In a moment he took out a leaf well covered withpicture-writing, and gave it to the 'tzin, who, after study, said to acacique in waiting, "Bring me one of the couriers," and to another,"Bring me wherewith to write."

  When the latter was brought, he sat down, and dipping a brush into avessel of liquid color, drew upon a clear, yellow-tinted leaf a pictureof a mother duck leading her brood from the shore into the water; by wayof signature, he appended in one corner the figure of an owl in flight.On five other sheets he repeated the writing; then the missives weregiven each to a separate courier with verbal directions for theirdelivery.

  When he left the palace, the 'tzin laid his hand upon Hualpa's shoulder,and said, joyfully,--

  "Better than I thought, O comrade. Malinche has corn for one day only!"

  The blood quickened in Hualpa's heart, as he asked,--"Then the end isnear?"

  "To-morrow, or the next day," said the 'tzin.

  "But Montezuma is generous,--"

  "Can he give what he has not? To-night there will be delivered for hisuse and that of his household, whom I have had numbered for the purpose,provisions for one day, not more."

  "Then it is so! Praised be the gods! and you, O my master, wiser thanother men!" cried Hualpa, with upraised face, and a gladness which wasof youth again, and love so blind that he saw Nenetzin,--not thestars,--and so deaf that he heard not the other words of the 'tzin,--

  "The couriers bear my orders to bring up all the armies. And they willbe here in the morning."

  * * * * *

  In the depth of the night, while Cortes lay restlessly dreaming, hissentinels on the palace were attracted by music apparently from everyquarter; at first, so mellowed by distance as to seem like the nightsinging to itself; afterwhile, swollen into the familiar dissonantminstrelsy of conch and atabal, mixed with chanting of many voices.

  "O ho!" shouted the outliers on the neighboring houses, "O ho, accursedstrangers! Think no more of conquest,--not even of escape; think only ofdeath by sacrifice! If you are indeed _teules_, the night, thoughdeepened by the smoke of our burning houses, cannot hinder you fromseeing the children of Anahuac coming in answer to the call of Huitzil'.If you are men, open wide your ears that you may hear their paddles onthe lake and their tramp on the causeway. O victims! one day more,then,--the sacrifice!"

  Even the Christians, leaning on their lances, and listening, felt theheaviness of heart which is all of fear the brave can know, and crossedthemselves, and repeated such pater nosters as they could recollect.

  And so it was. The reserve armies which had been reposing in the valesbehind Chapultepec all marched to the city; and the noise of theirshouting, drumming, and trumpeting, when they arrived and began tooccupy its thoroughfares and strong places, was like the roar of thesea.

  To the garrison, under arms meantime, and suffering from the influenceof all they heard, the dawn was a long time coming; but at last the suncame, and poured its full light over the leaguered palace and courtlyprecincts.

  But the foemen stood idly looking at each other; for in the night,Cortes, on his side, had made preparations for peace. Two caciques wentfrom him to the king Cuitlahua, proposing a parley; and the king repliedthat he would come in the morning, and hear what he had to say. So therewas truce as well as sunshine.

  "Tell me truly, Don Pedro,--as thou art a gentleman, tell me,--didstthou ever see a sight like this?"

  Whereupon, Alvarado, who, with others, was leaning against the parapetwhich formed part of the battlements of the eastern gate of the palace,looked again, and critically, over that portion of the square visiblefrom his position, and replied,--"I will answer truly and lovingly asif thou wert my little princess yonder in the _patio_. Sight like this Inever saw, and"--he added, with a quizzical smile--"never care to seeagain."

  Orteguilla persisted,--

  "Nay, didst thou ever see anything that surpassed it?"

  Once more Alvarado surveyed the scene,--of men a myriad, in the streetsrank upon rank; so on the houses and temple,--everywhere the glinting ofarms, and the brown faces of warriors glistening above their glisteningshields; everywhere _escaupiles_ of flaming red, and banners; everywherethe ineffable beauty and splendor of royal war. The good captainwithdrew his enamoured gaze slowly:--

  "No, never!" he said.

  Even he, the prince of gibes and strange oaths, forgot his tricks inpresence of the pageant.

  While the foemen looked at each other so idly, up the beautiful streetcame heralds announcing Cuitlahua. Soon his palanquin, attended by agreat retinue of nobles, was brought and set down in front of theeastern gate of the palace. Upon its appearance, the people knelt, andtouched the ground with their palms. Then there was a blare of Christiantrumpets, and Cortes, with Olmedo and Marina, came upon the turret.

  The heralds waved their silver wands: the hush became absolute; then thecurtains of the palanquin were rolled away, and the king turned his headlanguidly, and looked up to Cortes, who raised his visor, and lookeddown on him; and in the style of a conqueror demanded peace and quickreturn to obedience.

  "If thou dost not," he said, "I will make thy city a ruin."

  The shrill voice of Marina, interpreting, flew wide over the space, sopeopled, yet so still; at the last word, there was a mighty stir, butthe heralds waved their wands, and the hush came back.

  On Cuitlahua's face the pallor of sickness gave place to a flush ofanger; he sat up, and signed to Guatamozin, and upon his shoulder laidhis hand trustingly, saying,--

  "My son, lend me your voice; answer."

  The 'tzin, unmindful that the breath he drew upon his cheek was thebreath of the plague, put his arm around the king, and said, so as to beheard to the temple's top,--

  "The king Cuitlahua answers for himself and his people. Give ear, OMalinche! You have desolated our temples, and broken the images of ourgods; the smoke of our city offends the sky; your swords areterrible,--many have fallen before them, and many more will fall; yet weare content to exchange in death a thousand of ours for one of yours.Behold how many of us are left; then count your losses, and know thatyou cannot escape. Two suns shall not pass, until, amidst our plenty, weshall laugh to see you sick from hunger. For further answer, O Malinche,as becomes the king of his people, Cuitlahua gives you the war-cry ofhis fathers."

  The 'tzin withdrew his arm, and snatching the green _panache_ from thepalanquin, whirled it overhead, crying, "Up, up, Tlateloco! Up,Tlateloco!"

  At sight of the long feathers streaming over the group, like a banner,the multitude sprang to foot, and with horrible clamor and a tempest ofmissiles drove the Christians from the turret.

  And of the two bolts in Cortes' quiver, such was the speeding of theFIRST ONE!

  * * * * *

  An hour passed,--an hour of battle without and dispute within thepalace.

  To Cortes in his chamber then came Orteguilla, reporting.

  "I gave the king the message, Senor; and he bade me tell thee thypurpose is too late. He will not come."

  The passion-vein[50] on Cortes' neck and forehead rose, and stood outlike a purple cord.

  "The heathen dog!" he cried. "Will not! He is a slave, and shall come.By the holy blood of Christ, he shall come, or die!"

  Then Olmedo spoke,--

  "If thou wilt hear, Senor, Montezuma affects me and the good Captain Olitenderly; suffer us to go to him, and see what we can do."

  "So be it, so be i
t! If thou canst bring him, in God's name, go. If herefuse, then--I have sworn! Hearken to the hell's roar without! Let mehave report quickly. I will wait thee here. Begone!"

  Olmedo started. Cortes caught his sleeve, and looked at him fixedly.

  "_Mira!_" he said, in a whisper. "As thou lovest me do this work well.If he fail--if he fail--"

  "Well?" said Olmedo, in the same tone.

  "Then--then get thee to prayers! Go."

  The audience chamber whither Oli and the priest betook themselves, withOrteguilla to interpret, was crowded with courtiers, who made way forthem to the dais upon which Montezuma sat. They kissed his hand, anddeclining the invitation to be seated began their mission.

  "Good king," said the father, "we bring thee a message from Malinche;and as its object is to stay the bloody battle which is so grievous tous all, and the slaughter which must otherwise go on, we pray thy pardonif we make haste to speak."

  The monarch's face chilled, and drawing his mantle close he said,coldly,--

  "I am listening."

  Olmedo proceeded,--

  "The Senor Hernan commiserates the hard lot which compels thee to listenhere to the struggle which hath lasted so many days, and always with thesame result,--the wasting of thy people. The contest hath become arebellion against thee as well as against his sovereign and thine.Finally there will be no one left to govern,--nothing, indeed, but anempty valley and a naked lake. In pity for the multitude, he is disposedto help save them from their false leaders. He hath sent us, therefore,to ask thee to join him in one more effort to that end."

  "Said he how I could help him?" asked the king.

  "Come and speak to the people, and disperse them, as once before thoudidst. And to strengthen thy words, and as his part of the trial, hesaith thou mayst pledge him to leave the city as soon as the way isopen. Only let there be no delay. He is in waiting to go with thee, goodking."

  The monarch listened intently.

  "Too late, too late!" he cried. "The ears of my people are turned fromme. I am king in name and form only; the power is another's. I amlost,--so is Malinche. I will not go. Tell him so."

  There was a stir in the chamber, and a groan from the bystanders; butthe messengers remained looking at the poor king, as at one who hadrashly taken a fatal vow.

  "Why do you stay?" he continued, with a glowing face. "What more have Ito do with Malinche? See the state to which my serving him has alreadyreduced me."

  "Remember thy people!" said Olmedo, solemnly.

  Flashed the monarch's eyes as he answered,--

  "My brave people! I hear them now. They are in arms to save themselves;and they will not believe me or the promises of Malinche. I havespoken."

  Then Oli moved a step toward the dais, and kissing the royal hand, said,with suffused eyes,--

  "Thou knowest I love thee, O king; and I say, _if thou carest forthyself_, go."

  Something there was in the words, in the utterance, probably, that drewthe monarch's attention; leaning forward, he studied the cavaliercuriously; over his face the while came the look of a man suddenlycalled by his fate. His lips parted, his eyes fixed; and but that battlehas voices which only the dead may refuse to hear his spirit would havedrifted off into unseemly reverie. Recalling himself with an effort, hearose, and said, half-smiling,--

  "A man, much less a king, is unfit to live when his friends think tomove him from his resolve by appeals to his fears." And rising, anddrawing himself to his full stature, he added, so as to be heardthroughout the chamber, "Very soon, if not now, you will understand mewhen I say I do not care for myself. I desire to die. Go, my friends,and tell Malinche that I will do as he asks, and straightway."

  Oli and Olmedo kissed his hands, and withdrew; whereupon he calmly gavehis orders.

  Very soon the 'tzin, who was directing the battle from a point near thegate of the _coatapantli_, saw a warrior appear on the turret so latelyoccupied by Cortes, and wave a royal _panache_. He raised his shieldoverhead at once, and held it there until on his side the combat ceased.The Christians, glad of a breathing spell, quit almost as soon. All eyesthen turned to the turret; even the combatants who had been fightinghand to hand across the crest of the parapet, ventured to look that way,when, according to the usage of the infidel court, the heralds came, andto the four quarters of the earth waved their silver wands.

  Too well the 'tzin divined the meaning of the ceremony. "Peace," heseemed to hear, and then, "Lover of Anahuac, servant of thegods,--choose now between king and country. Now or never!" The ecstasyof battle fled from him; his will became infirm as a child's. In thespace between him and the turret the smoke of the guns curled andwrithed sensuously, each moment growing fainter and weaker, as did thegreat purpose to which he thought he had steeled himself. When hebrought the shield down, his face was that of a man whom long sicknesshad laid close to the gates of death. Then came the image of Tula, andthen the royal permission to do what the gods enjoined,--nay, more thanpermission, a charge which left the deed to his hand, that there mightbe no lingering amongst the strangers. "O sweetheart!" he said, tohimself, "if this duty leave me stainless, whom may I thank but you!"

  Then he spoke to Hualpa, though with a choking voice,--

  "The king is coming. I must go and meet him. Get my bow, and stand by mewith an arrow in place for instant use."

  Hualpa moved away slowly, watching the 'tzin; then he returned, andasked, in a manner as full of meaning as the words themselves,--

  "Is there not great need that the arrow should be very true?"

  The master's eyes met his as he answered, "Yes; be careful."

  Yet the hunter stayed.

  "O 'tzin," he said, "his blood is not in my veins. He is only mybenefactor. Your days are not numbered, like mine, and as yet you areblameless; for the sake of the peace that makes life sweet, I pray youlet my hand do this service."

  And the 'tzin took his hand, and replied, fervently,--

  "There is nothing so precious as the sight that is quick to see thesorrows of others, unless it be the heart that hurries to help them.After this, I may never doubt your love; but the duty is mine,--made soby the gods,--and he has asked it of me. Lo, the heralds appear!"

  "He has asked it of you! that is enough," and Hualpa stayed no longer.

  Upon the turret the carpet was spread and the canopy set up, and forthcame a throng of cavaliers and infidel lords, the latter splendidlybedight; then appeared Montezuma and Cortes.

  As the king moved forward a cry, blent of all feelings,--love, fear,admiration, hate, reverence,--burst from the great audience; after whichonly Guatamozin and Hualpa, in front of the gate, were left standing.

  And such splendor flashed from the monarch's person, from his sandals ofgold, tunic of feathers, _tilmatli_ of white, and _copilli_[51]inestimably jeweled; from his face and mien issued such majesty that,after the stormy salutation, the multitude became of the place a part,motionless as the stones, the dead not more silent.

  With his hands crossed upon his breast he stood awhile, seeing and beingseen, and all things waited for him to speak; even the air seemedwaiting, it was so very hushed. He looked to the sky, flecked withunhallowed smoke; to the sun, whose heaven, just behind the curtain ofbrightness, was nearer to him than ever before; to the temple, place ofmany a royal ceremony, his own coronation the grandest of all; to thecity, beautiful in its despoilment; to the people, for whom, though theyknew it not, he had come to die; at last his gaze settled uponGuatamozin, and as their eyes met, he smiled; then shaking the_tilmatli_ from his shoulder, he raised his head, and said, in a voicefrom which all weakness was gone, his manner never so kingly,--

  "I know, O my people, that you took up arms to set me free, and that wasright; but how often since then have I told you that I am not aprisoner; that the strangers are my guests; that I am free to leave themwhen I please, and that I live with them because I love them?"

  As in a calm a wind sometimes blows down, and breaks the placid surfaceof a lake into countless ri
pples, driving them hither and thither insparkling confusion, these words fell upon the listening mass; a yell ofanger rose, and from the temple descended bitter reproaches.

  Yet the 'tzin was steady; and when the outcry ended, the king went on,--

  "I am told your excuse now is, that you want to drive my friends fromthe city. My children, here stands Malinche himself. He hears me say forhim that, if you will open the way, he and all with him will leave oftheir own will."

  Again the people broke out in revilements, but the monarch waved hishand angrily, and said,--

  "As I am yet your king, I bid you lay down your arms--"

  Then the 'tzin took the ready bow from Hualpa; full to the ear he drewthe arrow. Steady the arm, strong the hand,--an instant, and the deedwas done! In the purple shadow of the canopy, amidst his pomp ofroyalty, Montezuma fell down, covered, when too late, by a score ofChristian shields. Around him at the same time fell a shower of stonesfrom the temple.

  Then, with a shout of terror, the companies arose as at a word and fled,and, panic-blind, tossed the 'tzin here and there, and finally left himalone in the square with Hualpa.

  "All is lost!" said the latter, disconsolately.

  "Lost!" said the 'tzin. "On the temple yonder lies Malinche's last hope.No need now to assail the palace. When the king comes out, hunger willgo in and fight for us."

  "But the people,--where are they?"

  The 'tzin raised his hand and pointed to the palace,--

  "So the strangers have asked. See!"

  Hualpa turned, and saw the gate open and the cavaliers begin to rideforth.

  "Go they this way, or yon," continued the 'tzin, "they will find thesame answer. Five armies hold the city; a sixth keeps the lake."

  Down the beautiful street the Christians rode unchallenged until theycame to the first canal. While restoring the bridge there, they heardthe clamor of an army, and lo! out of the gardens, houses, and temples,far as the vision reached, the infidels poured and blocked the way.

  Then the cavaliers rode back, and took the way to Tlacopan. There, too,the first canal was bridgeless; and as they stood looking across thechasm, they heard the same clamor and beheld the same martialapparition.

  Once more they rode, this time up the street toward the northern dike,and with the same result.

  "_Ola_, father!" said Cortes, returned to the palace, "we may not stayhere after to-morrow."

  "Amen!" cried Olmedo.

  "Look thou to the sick and wounded; such as can march or move, get themready."

  "And the others?" asked the good man.

  "Do for them what thou dost for the dying. Shrieve them!"

  So saying, the Christian leader sank on his seat, and gave himself tosombre thought.

  He had sped his _second and_--LAST BOLT!

  The rest of the day was spent in preparation for retreat.