The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. I.
Page 15
CHAPTER XV.
Then followed another period of silence and dejection, in which theprisoner wasted away as much in body as in spirit, becoming solistlessly indifferent to everything, that he no longer betrayed anydesire to draw Najara into conversation, nor even to meet the advanceswhich his jailer now often made. The thought of escaping fromconfinement, perhaps, never entered his mind; for, had he been even lessresigned to his fate, the strict watch kept over him, and the conditionof his prison, added to his apparent friendlessness, must have beenenough to banish all such thoughts. His chamber was neither dark nordamp, but made strong by its bulky door, barred on the outside, and bywindows, high above the floor, so very narrow that no human being couldhope to pass through them.
Narrow as they were, however, it was the jailer's custom to examine themvery closely each morning; a degree of vigilance that Juan had, in theearlier days of captivity, remarked with some surprise. He becameacquainted with Najara's object at last. One morning, he was roused outof his stupefaction by a harsh exclamation from his jailer, and lookingup, he beheld him take from the floor, immediately under one of theloopholes, what seemed a slip of paper, tied to a little stick, whichappeared, some time during the night, to have been thus thrust into theprison. What were its contents he never could divine; for Najara had nosooner cast his eyes over it, than mingling a laugh of satisfaction atits miscarriage with some natural compassion for the profoundwretchedness which had sealed the ears and eyes of the prisoner, heimmediately departed with the prize.
From this time, Juan became more vigilant and wary; but the followingnight, he was admonished, by the clank of armour and the occasionalsound of voices without, that sentinels were now stationed under thewindows, thus precluding all hope of friendly communication from thatquarter.
Before he had again entirely relapsed into his listless gloom, he beganto have a vague consciousness that the Indian slave, who accompaniedNajara, was becoming more officious than of old, in setting his mealsbefore him, and particularly in placing the jar of water at his side,instead of depositing it on his table, as he had done before. Hissuspicion was confirmed, when, one morning, as Najara was making hiswonted survey of the windows, the slave gave him a quick, impatientlook, and shaking the jar as he set it down, made him sensible, by arattling sound within it, that there was something besides the innocentelement concealed at the bottom. As soon as Najara had departed, he madean examination of the mystery, and drew forth, with some astonishment, aplate of transparent obsidian, on which had been scratched by some hardinstrument or precious stone, a few words which he was soon able todecypher. "If thou wilt leave Mexico, and live, take the stone from thepitcher."
He strode about the apartment for a moment in disorder; then, crushingthe glassy temptation under his heel, and returning the fragments to thejar, he sat down again to brood over his despair.--The next morning thepitcher contained nothing but water.
Thus, then, the time passed away, in the ordinary listlessness ofconfinement,--the dull and sleepy torture of solitude; until Najara,waxing more compassionate as his prisoner grew more obviouslyindifferent to light, to food, and to speech, bethought him of a mode ofindulgence from which no danger could be apprehended, and accordinglyintroduced the dog Befo into the apartment.
The loud yells of joy with which Befo beheld his young master, recalledJuan from his lethargy; and Najara was touched still further withcompunction at the sight of the animal's transports.
"He has been whining every day at the prison gate," he muttered; "anddoubtless he would have whined full as much, though he were to be let inonly to be beaten. Such a fond fool is this young Juan himself: hereturns to his master, though he knows the scourge is ready. It werebetter he had taken my advice, and passed to the sea by Otumba: Heshould have known Cortes would never forgive him."
The presence of this faithful animal, if it did not recall Juan'sspirits, at least preserved him from sinking further into stupefaction;and nothing gave him more evident delight, than when, each morning,having prevailed upon Najara to lead his dumb companion into the air forexercise, he could hear Befo, in the joy of a liberty which he did notshare, dashing frantically through the garden, now coursing by thewater-side, now prancing by the palace, and, all the time, yelping andbarking with the most clamorous delight. From these daily sorties thedog was used to return, with fresh spirits and increased attachment, toshare, for the remainder of the day, the confinement of his master, uponwhom, at his entrance, he jumped and fawned almost as boisterously aswhen enjoying his sports in the garden.
One day, however, he returned with a much graver aspect than usual, andstalking up to where Juan sat, he stood, wagging his tail, and gazing upwith a look exceedingly knowing and significant. Somewhat surprised atthis, and finding that Befo refused, even when invited, to begin hisusual rough expressions of friendship, he took him by the leatherncollar, by which the servants of Cortes had been wont to secure him atnight, and pulled him towards him. The motion of the collar released alittle packet, that had been carefully secured beneath it, and which nowfell upon Juan's knee. As soon as the sagacious animal perceived that hehad accomplished a task, not often committed to such a messenger, hereturned to his usual demonstrations of satisfaction; and, for a moment,Juan was unable to examine the singular missive. When Befo becamecomposed, he opened it, and read, with no little agitation, thefollowing words: "Not for _me_, but for thyself.--There is but a daymore to choose. Leave Mexico, and shed not thine own blood: make not thyfriends curse thee.--Return but a fragment of the paper, or tie but ahair round the collar,--and thou shalt be saved.--Not for _me_, but for_thyself_."
The morning came, and Juan, taking the paper from his bosom, tore it topieces. When Najara offered as usual to liberate the dog, he perceivedthat Juan held him fast by the collar.
"How now, senor, shall the dog play?"
"It is cruel to rob him of his hour's liberty," said Juan, with asubdued voice; "but, this day, suffer him to remain with me."
"Well, senor, as you will," said Najara; "but I would you had somebetter friend,--at least, some one who could counsel you. There arerunners arrived from the northern towns; and, at midday, Cortes willmarch into the city."
"The better reason, then, that I should have this friend, who have noother," said Juan, calmly.
"Harkee, senor," said Najara, with a sort of petulant sympathy, "if youwould but curse yourself and your foes, or bemoan your fate a little, Ishould like it better than this stupid, womanish resignation.--Harkye,--I care not if I tell you: I thought you had come athwart thefancies of Don Hernan, in the matter of the Dona, not that Don Hernanhad wronged your own: I knew not that there was any old love betweenyou."
"What art thou speaking of, Najara?" said Juan, with a hasty andtroubled voice.
"This does, in some sense, weaken the sin of drawing sword upon him,"continued the hunchback, "for no man loves to be robbed of hismistress.--Well,--the senora is sorry for you.--She thought to bribe meto let her speak with you.--Bribe me!--And yet I pitied her, for she wassorely distressed."
"For God's sake," exclaimed Juan, in extreme suffering, "speak me not aword of her; let me not hear her name."
"Well, be not cast down; she has much power with the general, and,doubtless, she will plead for you. Well, fare you well.--I did think tolet Cortes know of her acts: but that might harden him against you stillmore.--Why should I waste thought upon him," muttered the deformed as hepassed from the prison. "It is hard, or it seems hard, that heavenshould give up a frame so beauteous and majestical, to be marred by thehangman's axe or rope, and leave a deformed lump like me, to scarelittle Indian girls and boys, and to be jibed at by all the craven loonsof the army. But this is naught: if I am crooked, I am neither fool,traitor, nor coward, as most others are, in one degree or other, andsometimes in all."
As Najara had foretold, the army returned to Tezcuco about noon, as wasmade evident to Juan, by the sound of trumpets and cannon, and otherwarlike noises of rejoicing; which, continuing to fil
l the city for manyhours, came to his ears like the tumult of a distant storm, and began todie away, only when the last twinkle of sunset, shooting through hisnarrow windows, had faded from the opposite wall.