CHAPTER V.
THE MASSACRE IN CHOLULA.
Inside the hall, scarcely a step from the curtain, the monarch stoppedbewildered; half amazed, half alarmed, he surveyed the chamber, nowglowing as with day. Flowers blooming, birds singing, shrubbery, thickand green as in his own garden. Whence came they? how were theynurtured down so far? And the countless subjects painted on the ceilingand walls, and woven in colors on the tapestry,--surely they were thework of the same master who had wrought so marvellously in the goldenchamber. The extent of the hall, exaggerated by the light, impressedhim. Filled with the presence of what seemed impossibilities, he criedout,--
"The abode of Quetzal'!"
"No," answered Mualox, "not his abode, only his temple,--the temple ofhis own building."
And from that time it was with the king as if the god were actuallypresent.
The paba read the effect in the monarch's manner,--in his attitude, inthe softness of his tread, in the cloudy, saddened expression of hiscountenance, in the whisper with which he spoke; he read it, and wasassured.
"This way, O king! Though your servant cannot let you see into the Sun,or give you the sign required, follow him, and he will bring you to hearof events in Cholula even as they transpire. Remember, however, he saysnow that the Cholulans and the twenty thousand warriors will fail, andthe night bring you but sorrow and repentance."
Along the aisles he conducted him, until they came to the fountain,where the monarch stopped again. The light there was brighter than inthe rest of the hall. A number of birds flew up, scared by the stranger;in the space around the marble basin stood vases crowned with flowers;the floor was strewn with wreaths and garlands; the water sparkled withsilvery lustre; yet all were lost on the wondering guest, who saw onlyTecetl,--a vision, once seen, to be looked at again and again.
Upon a couch, a little apart from the fountain, she sat, leaning againsta pile of cushions, which was covered by a mantle of _plumaje_. Hergarments were white, and wholly without ornament; her hair strayedlightly from a wreath upon her head; the childish hands lay clasped inher lap; upon the soft mattress rested the delicate limbs, covered, butnot concealed, the soles of the small feet tinted with warmth and life,like the pink and rose lining of certain shells. So fragile, innocent,and beautiful looked she, and so hushed and motionless withal,--so likea spirituality,--that the monarch's quick sensation of sympathy shotthrough his heart an absolute pain.
"Disturb her not; let her sleep," he whispered, waving his hand.
Mualox smiled.
"Nay, the full battle-cry of your armies would not waken her."
The influence of the Will was upon her, stronger than slumber. Not yetwas she to see a human being other than the paba,--not even the greatking. A little longer was she to be happy in ignorance of the actualworld. Ah, many, many are the victims of affection unwise in its veryfulness!
Again and again the monarch scanned the girl's face, charmed, yet awed.The paba had said the sleep was wakeless; and that was a mysteryunreported by tradition, unknown to his philosophy, and rarer, if notgreater, than death. If life at all, what kind was it? The longer helooked and reflected, the lovelier she grew. So completely was hiscredulity gained that he thought not once of questioning Mualox abouther; he was content with believing.
The paba, meantime, had been holding one of her hands, and gazingintently in her face. When he looked up, the monarch was startled by hisappearance; his air was imposing, his eyes lighted with the mesmericforce.
"Sit, O king, and give ear. Through the lips of his child, Quetzal'will speak, and tell you of the day in Cholula."
He spoke imperiously, and the monarch obeyed. Then, disturbed only bythe chiming of the fountain, and sometimes by the whistling of thebirds, Tecetl began, and softly, brokenly, unconsciously told of themassacre in the holy city of Cholula. Not a question was asked her.There was little prompting aloud. Much did the king marvel, never oncedoubted he.
"The sky is very clear," said Tecetl. "I rise into the air; I leave thecity in the lake, and the lake itself; now the mountains are below me.Lo, another city! I descend again; the _azoteas_ of a temple receivesme; around are great houses. Who are these I see? There, in front of thetemple, they stand, in lines; even in the shade their garments glisten.They have shields; some bear long lances, some sit on strange animalsthat have eyes of fire and ring the pavement with their stamping."
"Does the king understand?" asked Mualox.
"She describes the strangers," was the reply.
And Tecetl resumed. "There is one standing in the midst of a throng; hespeaks, they listen. I cannot repeat his words, or understand them, forthey are not like ours. Now I see his face, and it is white; his eyesare black, and his cheeks bearded; he is angry; he points to the cityaround the temple, and his voice grows harsh, and his face dark."
The king approached a step, and whispered, "Malinche!"
But Mualox replied with flashing eyes, "The servant knows his god; it isQuetzal'!"
"He speaks, I listen," Tecetl continued, after a rest, and thenceforthher sentences were given at longer intervals. "Now he is through; hewaves his hand, and the listeners retire, and go to different quarters;in places they kindle fires; the gates are open, and some stationthemselves there."
"Named she where this is happening?" asked Montezuma.
"She describes the strangers; and are they not in Cholula, O king? Shealso spoke of the _azoteas_ of a temple--"
"True, true," replied the king, moodily. "The preparations must be goingon in the square of the temple in which Malinche was lodged last night."
Tecetl continued. "And now I look down the street; a crowd approachesfrom the city--"
"Speak of them," said Mualox. "I would know who they are."
"Most of them wear long beards and robes, like yours, father,--robeswhite and reaching to their feet; in front a few come, swingingcensers--"
"They are pabas from the temples," said Mualox.
"Behind them I see a greater crowd," she continued. "How stately theirstep! how beautiful their plumes!"
"The twenty thousand! the army!" said Mualox.
"No, she speaks of them as plumed. They must be lords and caciques goingto the temple." While speaking, the monarch's eyes wandered restlessly,and he sighed, saying, "Where can the companies be? It is time they werein the city."
So his anxiety betrayed itself.
Then Mualox said, grimly, "Hope not, O king. The priests and caciques goto death; the army would but swell the flow of blood."
Montezuma clapped his hands, and drooped his head.
"Yet more," said Tecetl, almost immediately; "another crowd comes on, aband reaching far down the street; they are naked, and come withoutorder, bringing--"
"The _tamanes_," said Mualox, without looking from her face.
"And now," she said, "the city begins to stir. I look, and on thehouse-tops and temples hosts collect; from all the towers the smoke goesup in bluer columns: yet all is still. Those who carry the censers comenear the gate below me; now they are within it; the plumed train followsthem, and the square begins to fill. Back by the great door, on one ofthe animals, the god--"
"Quetzal'," muttered Mualox.
"A company, glistening, surrounds him; his face seems whiter thanbefore, his eyes darker; a shield is on his arm, white plumes toss abovehis head. The censer-bearers cross the square, and the air thickens witha sweet perfume. Now he speaks to them; his voice is harsh and high;they are frightened; some kneel, and begin to pray as to a god; othersturn and start quickly for the gate."
"Take heed, take heed, O king!" said Mualox, his eyes aflame.
And Montezuma answered, trembling with fear and rage, "Has Anahuac nogods to care for her children?"
"What can they against the Supreme Quetzal'? It is a trial of power. Theend is at hand!"
Never man spoke more confidently than the paba.
By this time Tecetl's face was flushed, and
her voice faint. Mualoxfilled the hollow of his hand with water, and laved her forehead. Andshe sighed wearily and continued,--
"The fair-faced god--"
"Mark the words, O king,--mark the words!" said the paba.
"The fair-faced god quits speaking; he waves his hand, and one of hiscompany on the steps of the temple answers with a shout. Lo! a stream offire, and a noise like the bursting of a cloud! a rising, rolling cloudof smoke veils the whole front of the house. How the smoke thickens! Howthe strangers rush into the square! The square itself trembles! I do notunderstand it, father--"
"It is battle! On, child! a king waits to see a god in battle."
"In my pictures there is nothing like this, nor have you told me ofanything like it. O, it is fearful!" she said. "The crowd in the middleof the square, those who came from the city, are broken, and rush hereand there; at the gates they are beaten back; some, climbing the walls,are struck by arrows, and fall down screaming. Hark! how they call onthe gods,--Huitzil', Tezca', Quetzal'. And why are they not heard?Where, father, where is the good Quetzal'?"
Flashed the paba's eyes with the superhuman light,--other answer hedeigned not; and she proceeded.
"What a change has come over the square! Where are they that awhile agofilled it with white robes and dancing plumes?"
She shuddered visibly.
"I look again. The pavement is covered with heaps of the fallen, andamong them I see some with plumes and some with robes; even thecenser-bearers lie still. What can it mean? And all the time the horrorgrows. When the thunder and fire and smoke burst from near thetemple-steps, how the helpless in the square shriek with terror and runblindly about! How many are torn to pieces! Down they go; I cannot countthem, they fall so fast, and in such heaps! Then--ah, the pavement looksred! O father, it is blood!"
She stopped. Montezuma covered his face with his hands; the good heartthat so loved his people sickened at their slaughter.
Again Mualox bathed her face. Joy flamed in his eyes; Quetzal' wasconsummating his vengeance, and confirming the prophecies of hisservant.
"Go on; stay not!" he said, sternly. "The story is not told."
"Still the running to and fro, and the screaming; still the fireflashing, and the smoke rising, and the hissing of arrows and sound ofblows; still the prayers to Huitzil'!" said Tecetl. "I look down, andunder the smoke, which has a choking smell, I see the fallen. Red poolsgather in the hollow places, plumes are broken, and robes are no longerwhite. O, the piteous looks I see, the moans I hear, the many faces,brown like oak-leaves faded, turned stilly up to the sun!"
"The people of the god,--tell of them," said Mualox.
"I search for them,--I see them on the steps and out by the walls andthe gates. They are all in their places yet; not one of them is down;theirs the arrows, and the fire and thunder."
"Does the king hear?" asked Mualox. "Only the pabas and caciques perish.Who may presume to oppose Quetzal'? Look further, child. Tell us of thecity."
"Gladly, most gladly! Now, abroad over the city. The people quit thehouse-tops; they run from all directions to the troubled temple; theycrowd the streets; about the gates, where the gods are, they struggle toget into the square, and the air thickens with their arrows. The god--"
"What god?" asked Mualox.
"The white-plumed one."
"Quetzal'! Go on!"
"He has--" She faltered.
"What?"
"In my pictures, father, there is nothing like them. Fire leaps fromtheir mouths, and smoke, and the air and earth tremble when they speak;and see--ah, how the crowds in the streets go down before them!"
Again she shuddered, and faltered.
"Hear, O king!" said Mualox, who not only recognized the cannon of theSpaniards in the description, but saw their weight at that moment as anargument. "What can the slingers, and the spearmen of Chinantla, and theswords-men of Tenochtitlan, against warriors of the Sun, with theirlightning and thunder!"
And he looked at the monarch, sitting with his face covered, and wassatisfied. With faculties sharpened by a zeal too fervid for sympathy,he saw the fears of the proud but kindly soul, and rejoiced in them. Yethe permitted no delay.
"Go on, child! Look for the fair-faced god; he holds the battle in hishand."
"I see him,--I see his white plumes nodding in a group of spears. Now heis at the main gate of the temple, and speaks. Hark! The earth is shakenby another roar,--from the street another great cry; and through thesmoke, out of the gate, he leads his band. And the animals,--what shallI call them?"
"Tell us of the god!" replied the enthusiast, himself ignorant of thename and nature of the horse.
"Well, well,--they run like deer; on them the god and his comradesplunge into the masses in the street; beating back and pursuing,striking with their spears, and trampling down all in their way. Stonesand arrows are flung from the houses, but they avail nothing. The godshouts joyously, he plunges on; and the blood flows faster than before;it reddens the shields, it drips from the spear-points--"
"Enough, Mualox!" said Montezuma, starting from his seat, and speakingfirmly. "I want no more. Guide me hence!"
The paba was surprised; rising slowly, he asked,--
"Will not the king stay to the end?"
"Stay!" repeated the monarch, with curling lip. "Are my people ofCholula wolves that I should be glad at their slaughter? It is murder,massacre, not battle! Show me to the roof again. Come!"
Mualox turned to Tecetl; touching her hand, he found it cold; the sunkeneyes, and the lips, vermeil no longer, admonished him of the delicacy ofher spirit and body. He filled a vase at the fountain, and laved herface, the while soothingly repeating, "Tecetl, Tecetl, child!" Someminutes were thus devoted; then kissing her, and replacing the handtenderly in the other lying in her lap, he said to the monarch,--
"Until to-day, O king, this sacredness has been sealed from thegenerations that forsook the religion of Quetzal'. Eye of mocker has notseen, nor foot of unbeliever trod this purlieu, the last to receive hisblessing. You alone--I am of the god--you alone can go abroad knowingwhat is here. Never before were you so nearly face to face with theRuler of the Winds! And now, with what force a servant may, I chargeyou, by the glory of the Sun, respect this house; and when you think ofit, or of what here you have seen, be it as friend, lover, andworshipper. If the king will follow me, I am ready."
"I am neither mocker nor unbeliever. Lead on," replied Montezuma.
And after that, the king paid no attention to the chamber; he movedalong the aisles too unhappy to be curious. The twenty thousand warriorshad not been mentioned by Tecetl; they had not, it would seem, enteredthe city or the battle, so there was a chance of the victory; yet was hehopeless, for never a doubt had he of her story. Wherefore, hislamentation was twofold,--for his people and for himself.
And Mualox was silent as the king, though for a different cause. To him,suddenly, the object of his life put on the garb of quick possibility.Quetzal', he was sure, would fill the streets of Cholula with the dead,and crown his wrath amid the ruins of the city. In the face of exampleso dreadful, none would dare oppose him, not even Montezuma, whose pridebroken was next to his faith gained. And around the new-born hope, ascherubs around the Madonna, rustled the wings of fancies most exalted.He saw the supremacy of Quetzal' acknowledged above all others, the Curestored to its first glory, and the silent cells repeopled. O happyday! Already he heard the court-yard resounding with solemn chants as ofold; and before the altar, in the presence-chamber, from morn till nighthe stood, receiving offerings, and dispensing blessings to theworshippers who, with a faith equal to his own, believed the ancientimage the ONE SUPREME GOD.
At the head of the eastern steps of the temple, as the king began thedescent, the holy man knelt, and said,--
"For peace to his people let the wise Montezuma look to Quetzal'. Mualoxgives him his blessing. Farewell."