CHAPTER X.
HOW THE IRON CROSS CAME BACK.
Io' stayed at the landing awhile, nursing the thought left him by hiscomrade. And he was still there, the plash of the rowers of the recedingcanoe in his ear, when the great gate of the palace gave exit to anotherperson, this time a girl. The guards on duty paid her no attention. Shewas clad simply and poorly, and carried a basket. Around the hill werescores of gardeners' daughters like her.
From the avenue she turned into a path which, through one of the fieldsbelow, led her to an inlet of the lake, where the market-people wereaccustomed to moor their canoes. The stars gave light, but too feebly toreclaim anything from the darkness. Groping amongst the vessels, she atlength entered one, and, seating herself, pushed clear of the land, andout in the lake toward the glow in the sky beneath which reposed thecity.
Like the night, the lake was calm; therefore, no fear for theadventuress. The boat, under her hand, had not the speed of the king'swhen driven by his twelve practised rowers; yet she was its mistress,and it obeyed her kindly. But why the journey? Why alone on the water atsuch a time?
Half an hour of steady work. The city was, of course, much nearer. Atthe same time, the labor began to tell; the reach of her paddle was notso great as at the beginning, nor was the dip so deep; her breathing wasless free, and sometimes she stopped to draw a dripping hand across herforehead. Surely, this is not a gardener's daughter.
_Voyageurs_ now became frequent. Most of them passed by with thesalutation usual on the lake,--"The blessings of the gods upon you!"Once she was in danger. A canoe full of singers, and the singers full of_pulque_, came down at speed upon her vessel. Happily, the blow wasgiven obliquely; the crash suspended the song; the wassailers sprang totheir feet; seeing only a girl, and no harm done, they drew off,laughing. "Out with your lamp next time!" shouted one of them. A law ofthe lake required some such signal at night.
In the flurry of the collision, a _tamane_, leaning over the bow of thestrange canoe, swung a light almost in the girl's face. With a cry, sheshrank away; as she did so, from her bosom fell a shining cross. To thedull slave the symbol told no tale; but, good reader, we know that thereis but one maiden in all Anahuac who wears such a jewel, and we know forwhom she wears that one. By the light of that cross, we also know theweary passenger is, not a gardener's daughter, but Nenetzin, theprincess.
And the wonder grows. What does the 'tzin Nene--so they called her inthe days they swung her to sleep in the swinging cradle--out so faralone on the lake? And where goes she in such guise, this night of allothers, and now when the kiss of her betrothed is scarcely cold on herlips? Where are the slaves? Where the signs of royalty? As prayed by thegentle _voyageurs_, the blessings of the gods may be upon her, but muchI doubt if she has her mother's, almost as holy.
Slowly now she wins her way. The paddle grows heavier in herunaccustomed hands. On her brow gathers a dew which is neither of thenight nor the lake. She is not within the radius of the temple lights,yet stops to rest, and bathe her palms in the cooling waves. Later, whenthe wall of the city, close by, stretches away on either side, farreaching, a margin of darkness under the illuminated sky, the canoeseems at last to conquer; it floats at will idly as a log; and in thattime the princess sits motionless as the boat, lapsed in revery. Herpurpose, if she has one, may have chilled in the solitude or weakenedunder the labor. Alas, if the purpose be good! If evil, help her, Osweet Mary, Mother!
The sound of paddles behind her broke the spell. With a hurried glanceover her shoulder, she bent again to the task, and there was no morehesitation. She gained the wall, and passed in, taking the first canal.By the houses, and through the press of canoes, and under the bridges,to the heart of the city, she went. On the steps bordering a basin closeto the street which had been Cortes' line of march the day of the entry,she landed, and, ascending to the thoroughfare, set out briskly, basketin hand, her face to the south. With never a look to the right or left,never a response to the idlers on the pavement, she hurried down thestreet. The watchers on the towers sung the hour; she scarcely heardthem. At last she reached the great temple. A glance at the_coatapantli_, one at the shadowy sanctuaries, to be sure of thelocality; then her eyes fell upon the palace of Axaya', and she stopped.The street to this point had been thronged with people; here there werenone; the strangers were by themselves. The main gate of the ancienthouse stood half open, and she saw the wheels of gun-carriages, and nowand then a Christian soldier pacing his round, slowly and grimly; of thelittle host, he alone gave signs of life. Over the walls she heard thestamp of horses' feet, and once a neigh, shrill and loud. The awe of theIndian in presence of the white man seized her, and she looked andlistened, half frightened, half worshipful, with but one clear sense,and that was of the nearness of the _Tonatiah_.
A sound of approaching feet disturbed her, and she ran across to thegate; at once the purpose which had held her silent on the _azoteas_,which prompted her ready acquiescence in the betrothal to Hualpa, whichhad sustained her in the passage of the lake, was revealed. She wasseeking her lover to save him.
She would have passed through the gateway, but for a number of lancesdropped with their points almost against her breast. What with fear ofthose behind and of those before her, she almost died. On the pavement,outside the entrance, she was lying when Alvarado came to the rescue.The guard made way for him quickly; for in his manner was the warningwhich nothing takes from words, not even threats; verily, it had been aswell to attempt to hinder a leaping panther. He threw the lances up, andknelt by her, saying tenderly, "Nenetzin, Nenetzin, poor child! It isI,--come to save you!"
She half arose, and, smiling through her tears, clasped her hands, andcried, "_Tonatiah! Tonatiah!_"
There are times when a look, a gesture, a tone of the voice, do all aherald's part. What need of speech to tell the Spaniard why the truantwas there? The poor disguise, the basket, told of flight; her presenceat that hour said, "I have come to thee"; the cross returned, the tears,the joy at sight of him, certified her love; and so, when she put herarm around his neck, and the arrow, not yet taken away, rattled againsthis corselet, to his heart there shot a pain so sharp and quick itseemed as if the very soul of him was going out.
He raised her gently, and carried her through the entrance. The roughmen looking on saw upon his cheek what, if the cheek had been a woman's,they would have sworn was a tear.
"Ho, Marina!" he cried to the wondering interpreter. "I bring thee abird dropped too soon from the nest. The hunter hath chased the poorthing, and here is a bolt in its wing. Give place in thy cot, while I gofor a doctor, and room with thee, that malice hurt not a good name."
And at the sight the Indian woman was touched; she ran to the cot,smoothed the pillow of feathers, and said, "Here, rest her here, and runquickly. I will care for her."
He laid her down tenderly, but she clung to his hand, and said toMarina, "He must not go. Let him first hear what I have to say."
"But you are hurt."
"It is nothing, nothing. He must stay."
So earnestly did she speak, that the captain changed his mind. "Verywell. What is spoken in pain should be spoken quickly. I will stay."
Nenetzin caught the assent, and went on rapidly. "Let him know thatto-morrow at noon the drum in the great temple will be beaten, and thebridges taken up, and then there will be war."
"By the saints! she bringeth doughty news," said Alvarado, in his voiceof soldier. "Ask her where she got it; ask her, as you love us, Marina."
"From my father,--from the king himself."
"And this is child of Montezuma!" cried Marina.
"The princess Nenetzin," said the cavalier. "But stay not so. Ask herwhen and where she heard the news."
"To-day, at Chapultepec."
"What of the particulars? How is the war to be made? What are thepreparations?"
"The lord Cuitlahua is to take up the bridges. Maize and meat will befurnished to-morrow only. Abo
ut the great temple now there are tenthousand warriors for an attack, and elsewhere in the city there areseventy thousand more."
"Enough," said Alvarado, kissing the little hand. "Look now to the hurt,Marina. Bring the light; mayhap we can take the bolt away ourselves."
Marina knelt, and examined the wounded arm, and shortly held up thearrow.
"Good!" the cavalier said. "Thou art a doctor, indeed, Marina. In theschools at home they give students big-lettered parchments. I will dobetter by thee; I will cover the arm that did this surgery withbracelets of gold. Run now, and bring cloth and water. The blood thouseest trickling here is from her heart, which loveth me too dearly tosuffer such waste. Haste thee! haste thee!"
They bathed the wound, and applied the bandages, though all too roughlyto suit the cavalier, who, thereupon, turned to go, saying, "Sit thouthere, Marina, and leave her not, except to do her will. Tell her I willreturn, and to be at rest, for she is safe as in her father's house. Ifany do but look at her wrongfully, they shall account to me. So, by mymother's cross, I swear!"
And he hurried back to the audience-chamber, where the council was yetin session. While he related what had been told by Nenetzin, a deepsilence pervaded the assemblage, and the brave men, from looking at eachother, turned, with singular unanimity, to Cortes; who, thus appealedto, threw off his affectation, and standing up, spoke, so as to be heardby all,--
"Comrades, soldiers, gentlemen, let there be no words more. The step youhave urged upon me, in the name of the army, I hesitated to take. Igrant you, I hesitated; but not from love of the soft-tongued, lying,pagan king. Bethink ye. We left Cuba hastily, as ye all remember,because of a design to arrest us there as malefactors and traitors. Now,when our enemies in that island hear from our expedition, and have toldthem all its results,--the wealth we have won, and the country, cities,peoples, and empire discovered,--envy and jealousy will pursue us, andfalse tongues go back to Spain, and fill the ears of our royal masterwith reports intended to rob us of our glory and despoil us of our hire.How could I know but the seizure in question might be magnified intoimpolicy and cruelty, and furnish cause for disgrace, imprisonment, andforfeiture? For that I hesitated. This news, however, endeth doubt anddebate. The over-cunning king hath put himself outside of mercy orcompassion; we are compelled to undo him. So far, well. Let me remind yenow, that the news of which I speak hath in it a warning which it weresinful not to heed. Yesterday the great infidel was at our mercy; notmore difficult his capture then than a visit to his palace; but now, inall the histories of bold performances, nothing bolder,--nothing of theCid's, nothing of King Arthur's. In the heart of his capital we are tomake prisoner him, the head of millions, the political ruler andreligious chief, not merely secure in the love and fear of his subjects,but in the height of his careful preparation for war, in the centre ofhis camp, within call, nay, under the eyes, of his legions, numberingthousands where we number tens. Take ye each, my brave brethren, thefull measure of the design, and then tell me, in simple words, how itmay be best done. And among ye, let him speak who can truly say, I daredo what my tongue delivereth. I wait your answer."
And in the chamber there again fell a hush so deep that those presentmight well have been taken for ghosts. The idea as first seen by themwas commonplace; under his description, it became heroic; andstruggling, as he suggested, to measure it each for himself, all weredumb.
"Good gentlemen," said Cortes, smiling, "why so laggard now? Speak, Diazdel Castillo. Offer what thou canst."
The good soldier, and afterward good chronicler, of the conquest and itstrials, this one among the rest, replied, "I confess, Senor, theenterprise is difficult beyond my first thought. I confess, also, tomore reflection about its necessity than its achievement. To answertruthfully, at this time I see but one way to the end; and that is, toinvite the monarch here under some sufficient pretence, and then layhands on him."
"Are ye all of the same minds, gentlemen?"
There was a murmur of assent, whereupon Cortes arose from leaning uponhis sword, and said, sharply,--
"To hear ye, gentlemen, one would think the summer all before us inwhich to interchange courtesies with the royal barbarian. What is thefact? At noon to-morrow our hours of grace expire. A beat of drum, andthen assault, and after that,"--he paused, looking grimly round thecircle,--"and after that, sacrifices to the gods, I suppose."
There was a general movement and outcry. Some griped their arms, otherscrossed themselves. Cortes saw and pressed his advantage.
"I shall not take your advice, Bernal Diaz; not I, by my conscience!Heaven helping me, I expect to see old Spain again; and more, I expectto take these comrades back with me, rich in glory and gold." Then, tothe officers behind him, he said, in his ordinary tone of command,"Ordas, do thou bid the carpenters prepare quarters in this palace forMontezuma and his court; and let them begin their work to-night, for hewill be our guest before noon to-morrow. And thou, Leon, thou, Lugo,thou, Avila, and thou, Sandoval, get ye ready to go with me to the--"
"And I?" asked Alvarado.
"Thou shalt go also."
"And the army, Senor?" Diaz suggested.
"The army shall remain in quarters."
Never man's manner more calm, never man more absolutely assured. Thelisteners warmed with admiration. As unconscious of the effect he wasworking, he went on,--
"I have shown the difficulties of the enterprise; now I say further, thecrisis of the expedition is upon us: if I succeed, all is won; if Ifail, all is lost. In such strait, what should we do between this andthen? Let us not trust in our cunning and strength: we are Christians;as such, put we our faith in Christ and the Holy Mother. Olmedo, father,go thou to the chapel, and get ready the altar. The night to confessionand prayer; and let the morning find us on our knees shrieved andblessed. We are done, comrades. Let the chamber be cleared. To thechapel all."
And they did the bidding cheerfully. All night the good father wasengaged in holy work, confessing, shrieving, praying. So the morningfound them.