CHAPTER VI.
THE IRON CROSS.
"My lord Maxtla, go see if there be none coming this way now."
And while the chief touched the ground with his palm, the king added, asto himself, and impatiently, "Surely it is time."
"Of whom speak you?" asked Cuitlahua, standing by. Only the brotherwould have so presumed.
The monarch looked into the branches of the cypress-tree above him; heseemed holding the words in ear, while he followed a thought.
They were in the grove of Chapultepec at the time. About them were thefamous trees, apparently old as the hill itself, with trunks so massivethat they had likeness to things of cunning labor, products of somedivine art. The sun touched them here and there with slanting yellowrays, by contrast deepening the shadows that purpled the air. From thegnarled limbs the gray moss drooped, like listless drapery. Nestingbirds sang from the topmost boughs, and parrots, flitting to and fro,lit the gloaming with transient gleams of scarlet and gold: yet theeffect of the place was mysterious; the hush of the solitude softenedreflection into dreaming; the silence was a solemn presence in whichspeech sunk to a whisper, and laughter would have been profanation. Insuch primeval temples men walk with Time, as in paradise Adam walkedwith God.
"I am waiting for the lord Hualpa," the king at last replied, turninghis sad eyes to his brother's face.
"Hualpa!" said Cuitlahua, marvelling, as well he might, to find thegreat king waiting for the merchant's son, so lately a simple hunter.
"Yes. He serves me in an affair of importance. His appointment was fornoon; he tarries, I fear, in the city. Next time I will choose an oldermessenger."
The manner of the explanation was that of one who has in mind somethingof which he desires to speak, yet doubts the wisdom of speaking. So thecacique seemed to understand, for he relapsed into silence, while themonarch again looked upwards. Was the object he studied in the sky or inhis heart?
Maxtla returned; saluting, he said, "The lake is thronged with canoes, Oking, but none come this way."
The sadness of the royal face deepened.
"Montezuma, my brother," said Cuitlahua.
"Well."
"Give me a moment's audience."
"Certainly. The laggard comes not; the rest of the day is yours." And toMaxtla he said, "In the palace are the queens, and the princesses Tulaand Nenetzin. Inform them that I am coming."
When the chief was gone, the monarch turned to Cuitlahua, smiling: "Yes,the rest of the day is yours, and the night also; for I must wait forthe merchant's son; and our mother, were she here, would say it was goodof you to share my waiting."
The pleasantry and the tender allusion were hardly observed by thecacique. "I wished to call your attention to Iztlil', the Tezcucan," hesaid, gravely.
"Iztlil'? what of him now?"
"Trouble. What else can come of him? Last night at the house of Xoli,the Chalcan, he drank too much _pulque_, quarrelled with the good man'sguests, and abused everybody loyal,--abused you, my brother. I sent aservant to watch him. You must know--if not, you should--that allTenochtitlan believes the Tezcucan to be in alliance with Malinche andhis robbers."
"Robbers!" said Montezuma, starting.
The cacique went on. "That he has corresponded with the Tlascalans iswell understood. Only last night he spoke of a confederacy of tribes andcities to overturn the Empire."
"Goes he so far?" exclaimed the king, now very attentive.
"He is a traitor!" replied Cuitlahua, emphatically. "So I sent a servantto follow him. From the Chalcan's, he was seen go to the gates of thepalace of Axaya'. Malinche received him. He is there now."
The two were silent awhile, the cacique observing the king, the kinggazing upon the ground.
"Well," said the latter, at length, "is that all?"
"Is it not enough?"
"You are right. He must be arrested. Keep close watch on the gates ofthe palace, and upon his coming out, seize him, and put him safely awayin the temple."
"But if he comes not out?"
"To-morrow, at noon, if he be yet within, go to Malinche and demand him.Here is your authority."
At that, the monarch took from a finger of his left hand a ring of gold,set with an oval green malachite, on which his likeness was exquisitelycut.
"But," said the other, while the royal hand was outstretched, "ifMalinche refuses your demand?"
"Then--then--" And the speaker paused so long that his indecision wasapparent.
"Behind the refusal,--see you what lies there?" asked Cuitlahua,bluntly.
The king reflected.
"Is it not war?" the cacique persisted.
The hand fell down, and closed upon the signet.
"The demand is just, and will not be refused. Take the ring, my brother;we will at least test Malinche's disposition. Say to him that the lordIztlil' is a traitor; that he is conspiring against me; and that Irequire his person for punishment. So say to him; but go not yet. Themessenger I await may bring me something to make your missionunnecessary."
The cacique smiled grimly. "If the Tezcucan is guilty, so is Malinche,"he said. "Is it well to tell him what you know?"
"Yes. He will then be careful; at least, he will not be deceived."
"Be it so," said Cuitlahua, taking the ring. "I will bring you hisanswer; then--"
"Well?"
"Bear with me, O king. The subject I now wish to speak of is a tenderone, though I know not why. To win the good-will of the Tezcucan, wasnot Guatamozin, our nephew, banished the city?"
"Well?"
"Now that the Tezcucan is lost, why should not the 'tzin return? He is ahappy man, O my brother, who discovers an enemy; happier is he who, atthe same time, discovers a friend."
Montezuma studied the cacique's face, then, with his eyes upon theground, walked on. Cuitlahua went with him. Past the great trees, underthe gray moss, up the hill to the summit, and along the summit to theverge of the rocky bluff, they went. At the king's side, when hestopped, was a porphyritic rock, bearing, in bas-relief, his own image,and that of his father. Below him, westwardly, spread the placid lake;above it, the setting sun; in its midst, a fair child on a fair mother'sbreast, Tenochtitlan.
"See! a canoe goes swiftly round yon _chinampa_; now it outstrips itsneighbors, and turns this way. How the slaves bend to the paddles! Mylaggards at last!"
The king, while speaking, rubbed his hands gleefully. For the time,Cuitlahua and his question were forgotten.
"The lord Hualpa has company," observed the brother, quietly.
"Yes. Io'."
Another spell of silence, during which both watched the canoe.
"Come, let us to the palace. Lingering here is useless." And withanother look to the city and lake, and a last one at the speedingvessel, yet too far off to be identified, the king finally turned away.And Guatamozin was still an exile.
Tecalco and Acatlan, the queens, and Tula, and their attendants, sittingon the _azoteas_ of the ancient house, taking the air of the decliningday, arose to salute the monarch and his brother. The latter took thehand of each, saying, "The gods of our fathers be good to you." Tula'sforehead he touched with his lips. His countenance, like his figure andnature, Indian in type, softened somewhat under her glance. He knew hersorrow, and in sympathy thought of the 'tzin, and of the petition in hisbehalf, as yet unanswered.
"All are not here, one is absent,--Nenetzin. Where is she? I may notsleep well without hearing her laugh once more."
Acatlan said, "You are very good, my lord, to remember my child. Shechose to remain below."
"She is not sick, I hope."
"Not sick, yet not well."
"Ah! the trouble is of the mind, perhaps. How old is she now."
"Old enough to be in love, if that is your meaning."
Cuitlahua smiled. "That is not a sickness, but a happiness; so, atleast, the minstrels say."
"What ails Nenetzin?" asked the king.
Aca
tlan cast down her eyes, and hesitated.
"Speak! What ails her?"
"I hardly know. She hardly knows herself," the queen answered. "If I amto believe what she tells me, the lord Cuitlahua is right; she is inlove."
"With Tula, I suppose," said the king, laughing.
"Would it were! She says her lover is called _Tonatiah_. Much I fear,however, that what she thinks love is really a delusion, wrought bymagic. She is not herself. When did Malinche go to the temple?"
"Four days ago," the king replied.
"Well, the _teule_ met her there, and spoke to her, and gave her apresent. Since that, like a child, she has done little else than playwith the trinket."
Montezuma became interested. He seated himself, and asked, "You said thespell proceeds from the present: why do you think so?"
"The giver said the gift was a symbol of his religion, and whoever woreit became of his faith, and belonged to his god."
"Mictlan!" muttered Cuitlahua.
"Strange! what is the thing?" the king persisted.
"Something of unknown metal, white, like silver, about a hand in length,and attached to a chain."
"Of unknown metal,--a symbol of religion! Where is the marvel now?"
"Around the child's neck, where I believe it has been since she camefrom the temple. Once she allowed me to see if I could tell what themetal was, but only for a moment, and then her eyes never quit me. Shesits hours by herself, with the bauble clasped in both hands, and sighs,and mopes, and has no interest in what used to please her most."
The king mused awhile. The power of the strangers was very great; whatif the gift was the secret of the power?
"Go, Acatlan," he said, "and call Nenetzin. See that she brings thecharm with her."
Then he arose, and began moodily to walk. Cuitlahua talked with Tecalcoand Tula. The hour was very pleasant. The sun, lingering above thehorizon, poured a flood of brilliance upon the hill and palace, and overthe flowers, trailing vines, and dwarfed palm and banana trees, withwhich the _azoteas_ was provided.
Upon the return of the queen with Nenetzin, the king resumed his seat.The girl knelt before him, her face very pale, her eyes full of tears.So lately a child, scarce a woman, yet so weighted with womanly griefs,the father could not view her except with compassion; so he raised her,and, holding her hand, said, "What is this I hear, Nenetzin? Yesterday Iwas thinking of sending you to school. Nowadays lovers are veryexacting; they require of their sweethearts knowledge as well as beauty;but you outrun my plans, you have a lover already. Is it so?"
Nenetzin looked down, blushing.
"And no common lover either," continued the king. "Not a 'tzin, or acacique, or a governor; not a lord or a prince,--a god! Brave child!"
Still Nenetzin was silent.
"You cannot call your lover by name, nor speak to him in his language;nor can he speak to you in yours. Talking by signs must be tedious forthe uses of love, which I understand to be but another name forimpatience; yet you are far advanced; you have seen your beloved, talkedwith him, and received--what?"
Nenetzin clasped the iron cross upon her breast firmly,--not as a goodCatholic, seeking its protection; for she would have laid the same handson Alvarado rather than Christ,--and for the first time she looked inthe questioner's face straight and fearlessly. A moment he regarded her;in the moment his smile faded away; and for her it came neveragain--never.
"Give me what you have there," he said sternly, extending his hand.
"It is but a simple present," she said, holding back.
"No, it has to do with religion, and that not of our fathers."
"It is mine," she persisted, and the queen mother turned pale at sightof her firmness.
"The child is bewitched," interposed Cuitlahua.
"And for that I should have the symbol. Obey me, or--"
Awed by the look, now dark with anger, Nenetzin took the chain from herneck, and put the cross in his hand. "There! I pray you, return them tome."
Now, the cross, as a religious symbol, was not new to the monarch; inCozumel it was an object of worship; in Tabasco it had been reverencedfor ages as emblematic of the God of Rain; in Palenque, the Palmyra ofthe New World, it is sculptured on the fadeless walls, and a child heldup to adore it (in the same picture) proves its holy character; it wasnot new to the heathen king; but the cross of Christ was; and singularlyenough, he received the latter for the first time with no thought ofsaving virtues, but as a problem in metallurgy.
"To-morrow I will send the trinkets to the jewellers," he said, afterclose examination. "They shall try them in the fire. Strange, indeed,if, in all my dominions, they do not find whereof they are made."
He was about to pass the symbol to Maxtla, when a messenger came up, andannounced the lord Hualpa and the prince Io'. Instantly, the cross, andNenetzin, and her tears and troubles, vanished out of his mind.