CHAPTER XI.
THE PUBLIC OPINION PROCLAIMS ITSELF.--BATTLE.
"How now, thou here yet? In God's name, what madness hast thou? Up,idiot! up, and fly, or in mercy I will slay thee here!"
As he spoke, Alvarado touched Orteguilla with the handle of his axe. Thelatter sprang up, alarmed.
"_Mira, Senor!_ She is just dead. I could not leave her dying. I had avow."
The cavalier looked at the dead girl; his heart softened.
"I give thee honor, lad, I give thee honor. Hadst thou left her living,shame would have been to thee forever. But waste not time in maudlin.Hell's spawn is loose." With raised visor, he stood in his stirrups."See, far as eye can reach, the street is full! And hark to their yells!Here, mount behind me; we must go at speed."
The infidels, faced about, were coming back. The page gave them oneglance, then caught the hand reached out to him, and placing his foot onthe captain's swung himself behind. At a word, up the street, over thebridges, by the palaces and temples, the horsemen galloped. Thedetachment, at the head of which they had sallied from thepalace,--gunners, arquebusiers, and cross-bowmen,--had been started inreturn some time before; upon overtaking them, Alvarado rode to abroad-shouldered fellow, whose grizzly beard overflowed the chin-pieceof his morion:--
"Ho, Mesa! the hounds we followed so merrily were only feigning; theyhave turned upon us. Do thou take the rear, with thy guns. We will tothe front, and cut a path to the gate. Follow closely."
"Doubt not, captain. I know the trick. I caught it in Italy."
"_Cierto!_ What thou knowest not about a gun is not worth the knowing,"Alvarado said; then to the page, "Dismount, lad, and take place withthese. What we have ahead may require free man and free horse. _Picaro!_If anybody is killed, thou hast permission to use his arms. What say ye,_companeros mios_?" he cried, facing the detachment. "What say ye? HereI bring one whom we thought roasted and eaten by the cannibals in thetemples. Either he hath escaped by miracle, or they are not judges ofbones good to mess upon. He is without arms. Will ye take care of him? Ileave him my shield. Will ye take care of that also?"
And Najerra, the hunchback, replied, "The shield we will take, Senor;but--"
"But what?"
"Senor, may a Christian lawfully take what the infidels have refused?"
And they looked at Orteguilla, and laughed roundly,--the bold, confidentadventurers; in the midst of the jollity, however, down the street camea sound deeper than that of the guns,--a sound of abysmal depth, likethunder, but without its continuity,--a divided, throbbing sound, suchas has been heard in the throat of a volcano. Alvarado threw up hisvisor.
"What now?" asked Serrano, first to speak.
"One, two, three,--I have it!" the captain replied. "Count ye thestrokes,--one, two, three. By the bones of the saints, the drum in thegreat temple! Forward, comrades! Our friends are in peril! If they arelost, so are we. Forward, in Christ's name!"
Afterwards they became familiar with the sound; but now, heard the firsttime in battle, every man of them was affected. They moved off rapidly,and there was no jesting,--none of the grim wit with which old soldierssometimes cover the nervousness preceding the primary plunge into adoubtful fight.
"Close the files. Be ready!" shouted Serrano.
And ready they were,--matches lighted, steel-cords full drawn. Everydrum-beat welded them a firmer unit.
The roar of the combat in progress around the palace had been all thetime audible to the returning party; now they beheld the _teocallis_covered with infidels, and the street blockaded with them, while a cloudof smoke, slowly rising and slowly fading, bespoke the toils andbraveries of the defence enacting under its dun shade. Suddenly,Alvarado stood in his stirrups,--
"_Ola!_ what have we here?"
A body of Aztecs, in excellent order, armed with spears of unusuallength, and with a front that swept the street from wall to wall, wasmarching swiftly to meet him.
"There is wood enough in those spears to build a ship," said a horseman.
A few steps on another spoke,--
"If I may be allowed, Senor, I suggest that Mesa be called up to playupon them awhile."
But Alvarado's spirit rose.
"No; there is an enemy fast coming behind us; turn thy ear in thatdirection, and thou mayest hear them already. We cannot wait. Battle-axeand horse first; if they fail, then the guns. Look to girth andbuckle!"
Rode they then without halt or speech until the space between them andthe coming line was not more than forty yards.
"Are ye ready?" asked Alvarado, closing his visor.
"Ready, Senor."
"Axes, then! Follow me. Forward! _Christo y Santiago!_"
At the last word, the riders loosed reins, and standing in theirstirrups bent forward over the saddle-bow, as well to guard the horse asto discover points of attack; each poised his shield to protect hisbreast and left side,--the axe and right arm would take care of theright side; each took up the cry, _Christo y Santiago_; then, likepillars of iron on steeds of iron, they charged. From the infidels oneanswering yell, and down they sank, each upon his knee; and thereupon,the spears, planted on the ground, presented a front so bristling thatleader less reckless than Alvarado would have stopped in mid-career.Forward, foremost in the charge, he drove, right upon the brazen points,a score or more of which rattled against his mail or that of his steed,and glanced harmlessly, or were dashed aside by the axe whirled fromright to left with wonderful strength and skill. Something similarhappened to each of his followers. A moment of confusion,--man and beastin furious action, clang of blows, splintering of wood, andbattle-cries,--then two results: the Christians were repulsed, and thatbefore the second infidel rank had been reached; and while they were inamongst the long spears, fencing and striking, clear above the medley ofthe _melee_ they heard a shout, _Al-a-lala! Al-a-lala!_ Alvarado lookedthat way; looked through the yellow shafts and brazen points. Brief timehad he; yet he beheld and recognized the opposing leader. Behind thekneeling ranks he stood, without trappings, without a shield even; a_maquahuitl_, edged with flint, sharp as glass, hard as steel, was hisonly weapon; behind him appeared an irregular mass of probably half athousand men, unarmed and almost naked. Even as the good captain looked,the horde sprang forward, and by pressing between the files of spearmen,or leaping panther-like over their shoulders, gained the front. Therethey rushed upon the horsemen, entangled amidst the spears,--to capture,not slay them; for, by the Aztec code of honor, the measure of awarrior's greatness was the number of prisoners he brought out ofbattle, a present to the gods, not the number of foemen he slew. Therush was like that of wolves upon a herd of deer. First to encounter aChristian was the chief. The exchange of blows was incredibly quick. Thehorse reared, plunged blindly, then rolled upon the ground; the flinty_maquahuitl_, surer than the axe, had broken its leg. A cry, sharpenedby mortal terror,--a Spanish cry for help, in the Mother's name.Christians and infidels looked that way, and from the latter burst ajubilant yell,--
"The 'tzin! The 'tzin!"
The successful leader stooped, and wrenched the shield from the fallenman; then he swung the _maquahuitl_ twice, and brought it down on themailed head of the horse: the weapon broke in pieces; the steed laystill forever.
Now, Alvarado was not the man to let the cry of a comrade go unheeded.
"Turn, gentlemen! One of us is down; hear ye not the name of Christ andthe Mother? To the rescue! Charge! _Christo y Santiago!_"
Forward the brave men spurred; the spears closed around them as before,while the unarmed foe, encouraged by the 'tzin's achievement, redoubledtheir efforts to drag them from their saddles. In disregard of blows,given fast as skilled hands could rise and fall, some flung themselvesupon the legs and necks of the horses, where they seemed to cling afterthe axe had spattered their brains or the hoofs crushed their bones;some caught the bridle-reins, and hung to them full weight; othersstruggled with the riders directly, hauling at them, leaping behindthem, catchin
g sword-arm and shield; and so did the peril finally growthat the Christians were forced to give up the rescue, the better totake care of themselves.
"God's curses upon the dogs!" shouted Alvarado, in fury at sight of theSpaniard dragged away. "Back, some of ye, who can, to Serrano! Bid himadvance. Quick, or we, too, are lost!"
No need; Serrano was coming. To the very spears he advanced, and openedwith cross-bow and arquebus; yet the infidels remained firm. Then thedullest of the Christians discerned the 'tzin's strategy, and knew well,if the line in front of them were not broken before the companies comingup the street closed upon their rear, they were indeed lost. So at theword, Mesa came, his guns charged to the muzzles. To avoid his ownpeople, he sent one piece to the right of the centre of combat, and theother to the left, and trained both to obtain the deepest lines ofcross-fire. The effect was indescribable; yet the lanes cloven throughthe kneeling ranks were instantly refilled.
The 'tzin became anxious.
"Look, Hualpa!" he said. "The companies should be up by this time. Canyou see them?"
"The smoke is too great; I cannot see."
Some of his people attacking the horsemen began to retreat behind thespearmen. He caught up the axe of the Spaniard, and ran where the smokewas most blinding. In a moment he was at the front; clear, inspiring,joyous even, rose his cry. He rushed upon a bowman, caught him in hisarms, and bore him off with all his armor on. A hundred ready handsseized the unfortunate. Again the cry,--
"The 'tzin! The 'tzin!"
"Another victim for the gods!" he answered. "Hold fast, O my countrymen!Behind the strangers come the companies. Do what I say, and Anahuacshall live."
At his word, they arose; at his word again, they advanced, with levelledspears. Faster the missiles smote them; the horsemen raged; eachSpaniard felt, unless that line were broken his doom was come. Alvaradofought, never thinking of defence. The bowmen and arquebusiers recoiled.Twice Mesa drew back his guns. Finally, Don Pedro outdid himself, andbroke the fence of spears; his troop followed him; right and left theyplunged, killing at every step. At places, the onset of the infidelsslackened, halted; then the ranks began to break into small groups; atlast, they dropped their arms, and fairly fled, bearing the 'tzin awayin the mighty press for life. At their backs rode the vengeful horsemen,and behind the horsemen, over the dead and shrieking wretches, movedSerrano and Mesa.
And to the very gates of the palace the fight continued. A ship in itspassage displaces a body of water; behind, however, follows an equalreflux: so with the Christians, except that the masses who closed inupon their rear outnumbered those they put to rout in front. Their rapidmovement had the appearance of flight; on the other hand, that of theinfidels had the appearance of pursuit. The sortie was not againrepeated.
* * * * *
Seven days the assault went on,--a week of fighting, intermitted only atnight, under cover of which the Aztecs carried off their dead andwounded,--the former to the lake, the latter to the hospitals. Among theChristians some there were who had seen grand wars; some had even servedunder the Great Captain: but, as they freely averred, never had theyseen such courage, devotion, and endurance, such indifference to woundsand death, as here. At times, the struggle was hand to hand; then,standing upon their point of honor, the infidels perished by scores invain attempts to take alive whom they might easily have slain; and thisit was,--this fatal point of honor,--more than superiority in anyrespect, that made great battles so bloodless to the Spaniards. Still,nearly all of the latter were wounded, a few disabled, and seven killedoutright. Upon the Tlascalans the losses chiefly fell; hundreds of themwere killed; hundreds more lay wounded in the chambers of the palace.
The evening of the seventh day, the 'tzin, standing on the western vergeof the _teocallis_, from which he had constantly directed the assault,saw coming the results which could alone console him for the awfulsacrifice of his countrymen. The yells of the Tlascalans were not asdefiant as formerly; the men of iron, the Christians, were seen to sinkwearily down at their posts, and sleep, despite the tumult of thebattle; the guns were more slowly and carefully served; and whereas,before Cortes departure there had been three meals a day, now there werebut two: the supply of provisions was failing. The ancient house, whereconstructed of wood, showed signs of demolition; fuel was becomingscant. Where the garrison obtained its supply of water was a marvel. Hehad not then heard of what Father Bartolome afterwards celebrated as amiracle of Christ,--the accidental finding of a spring in the middle ofthe garden.
Then the assault was discontinued, and a blockade established. Anotherweek, during which nothing entered the gates of the palace to sustainman or beast. Then there was but one meal a day, and the sentinels onthe walls began to show the effect.
One day the main gate opened, and a woman and a man came out. The 'tzindescended from his perch to meet them. At the foot of the steps theyknelt to him,--the princess Tula and the prince Io'.
"See, O 'tzin," said the princess, "see the king's signet. We bring youa message from him. He has not wherewith to supply his table. Yesterdayhe was hungry. He bids you re-open the market, and send of the tributesof the provinces without stint,--all that is his kingly right."
"And if I fail?" asked Guatamozin.
"He said not what, for no one has ever failed his order."
And the 'tzin looked at Io'.
"What shall I do, O son of the king?"
In all the fighting, Io' had stayed in the palace with his father.Through the long days he had heard the voices of the battle calling tohim. Many times he walked to the merlons of the _azoteas_, and saw the'tzin on the temple, or listened to his familiar cry in the street. Andwhere,--so ran his thought the while,--where is Hualpa? Happy fellow!What glory he must have won,--true warrior-glory to flourish in songforever! A heroic jealousy would creep upon him, and he would go backmiserable to his chamber.
"One day more, O 'tzin, and all there is in the palace--king andstranger alike--is yours," Io' made answer. "More I need not say."
"Then you go not back?"
"No," said Tula.
"No," said Io'. "I came out to fight. Anahuac is our mother. Let us saveher, O 'tzin!"
And the 'tzin looked to the sun; his eyes withstood its piercingsplendors awhile, then he said, calmly,--
"Go with the princess Tula where she chooses, Io'; then come back. Thegods shall have one day more, though it be my last. Farewell."
They arose and went away. He returned to the _azoteas_.
Next day there was not one meal in the palace. Starvation had come. Andnow the final battle, or surrender! Morning passed; noon came; later,the sun began to go down the sky. In the streets stood thethousands,--on all the housetops, on the temple, they stood,--waitingand looking, now at the leaguered house, now at the 'tzin seated at theverge of the _teocallis_, also waiting.
Suddenly a procession appeared on the central turret of the palace, andin its midst, Montezuma.
"The king! the king!" burst from every throat; then upon the multitudefell a silence, which could not have been deeper if the earth had openedand swallowed the city.
The four heralds waved their silver wands; the white carpet was spread,and the canopy brought and set close by the eastern battlement of theturret; then the king came and stood in the shade before the people. Atsight of him and his familiar royalty the old love came back to them,and they fell upon their knees. He spoke, asserting his privileges; hebade them home, and the army to its quarters. He promised that in ashort time the strangers, whose guest he was, would leave the country;they were already preparing to depart, he said. How wicked the revoltwould then be! How guilty the chiefs who had taken arms against hisorder! He spoke as one not doubtful of his position, but as king andpriest, and was successful. Stunned, confused, uncertain as to duty,nigh broken-hearted, the fighting people and disciplined companiesarose, and, like a conquered mob, turned to go away.
Down from his perch rushed the 'tzin. He put himself in the midst of the
retiring warriors. He appealed to them in vain. The chiefs gatheredaround him, and knelt, and kissed his hands, and bathed his feet withtheir tears; they acknowledged his heroism,--they would die with him,but while the king lived, under the gods, he was master, and to disobeyhim was sacrilege.
Then the 'tzin saw, as if it were a god's decree, that Anahuac andMontezuma could not both live. ONE OR THE OTHER MUST DIE! And never sowise as in his patience, he submitted, and told them,--
"I will send food to the palace, and cease the war now, and until wehave the voice of Huitzil' to determine what we shall do. Go, collectthe companies, and put them in their quarters. This night we will toTlalac; together, from his sacred lips, we will hear our fate, and ourcountry's. Go now. At midnight come to the _teocallis_."
At midnight the sanctuary of Huitzil' was crowded; so was all the_azoteas_. Till the breaking of dawn the sacrifices continued. At last,the _teotuctli_, with a loud cry, ran and laid a heart in the firebefore the idol; then turning to the spectators, he said, in a loudvoice,--
"Let the war go on! So saith the mighty Huitzil'! Woe to him who refusesto hear!"
And the heart that attested the will was the heart of a Spaniard.
BOOK SEVENTH.