CHAPTER XIV.
To the surprise, and much also to the dissatisfaction, of Don Amador,the noon-day sun still found him struggling, with his companions, amongthe rocks and forests. It seemed to him, from a review of his journey,that he had been doubling and turning, for the whole morning, like a boyat blindman's-buff, within a circle of a few leagues; and though hecould not, upon the closest inspection, detect a single tree or brookwhich he remembered to have passed before, he shrewdly suspected it wasBotello's intention to make him well acquainted with the forest, beforedismissing him from its depths. It was however vain to wonder, andequally fruitless to complain. For the whole morning, at differentintervals, he was assured, sometimes from hearing their shouts in thethicket, sometimes from beholding them from a hill-top crossing anopposing eminence, that his pursuers were close at his heels: of whichfact, and the necessity it presented to move with becoming caution, theenchanter took advantage in the construction of his answers to everyremonstrance. At length, perhaps two hours after noon, the travellersapproached a hill, whence, as Botello assured them, they might look downupon the River of Canoes. This was the more agreeable intelligence,since the day was intolerably hot, and they almost longed for thebursting of a tempest which had been brooding in the welkin for the lasthalf hour, the drenching of which, as they thought, would be far moresufferable than the combustion of sunshine. They reached the hill, andfrom its bushy and stony side, looked down upon the valley, where theriver, or, more properly speaking, the rivulet, went foaming andfretting over its rugged channel. On the hither side of the stream, thevale was bare and sandy, and on the other, though doubtless partaking ofthe same character, the trees which bordered upon the water, makingdivers agreeable groves, entirely shut out the view, so that Don Amadorsaw not, as he had fondly anticipated, the encampment of the invader ofMexico, and the resting-place of his kinsman. But if he beheld not whathe so much desired to see, he surveyed another spectacle, which causedhim no little wonder. At a short distance, and almost at the bottom ofthe hill, he was struck with the unexpected apparition of the army ofNarvaez, drawn out in order of battle, as if awaiting the approach of afoe, and commanding the passage of the river. He rubbed his eyes withastonishment; but there was no delusion in the view.
"Senor," said Botello, in a low voice, as if reading his thoughts, "youmarvel to see this army, which we left sleeping at the temple, arrivedat the river before us; but you forget Zempoala lies only a league fromthe river."
"Let us descend, and cross to the other side," said Amador, impatiently."I see the very spot where sits the knave Narvaez on his horse; and ifthe valiant Cortes have it in intention, as I do not doubt, to give himbattle, I should sharply regret to watch the conflict from thishill-side."
"I told Narvaez, himself," said the magician, with a sort of triumph,"he should not join battle with Cortes to-day; and he shall not!--Whenthe time comes, Don Amador may join in the combat, if he will.--Becontent, senor: we cannot stir from this hill without being observed,and captured or slain. The thunder roars, the bolt glitters in theheaven; the storm that levels the tall ceibas, will open us a pathpresently, even through that angry army."
Almost while Botello spoke, and before the cavalier could add words tothe disinclination with which he regarded so untimely a delay, thereburst such a thunderbolt over his head, as made Fogoso, in common withevery other horse in the party, cower to the earth, as if stricken byits violence. This was immediately followed by a succession of separateexplosions and of multisonous volleys, less resembling the furious roarof the ordnance of a great army than of the artillery of volcanoes; andit became immediately necessary for each man to dismount, and allay, ashe could, the frantic terrors of his charger. In the midst of thissublime prelude, the rushing of a mighty wind was added to the orchestreof the elements; and, in an instant, the face of day, the black vapoursabove and the varied valley below, were hidden in a cloud of dust, sand,and leaves, stripped in a moment from the plains and the forest; and inan instant also, the army of Narvaez was snatched from the eyes of thecavalier. Presently, also, came another sound, heard even above the pealof the thunder and the rush of the wind; the roar of a great rain,booming along like a moving cataract, was mingled with the harsh musicof nature; and Don Amador looked anxiously round for some place ofshelter. Happily, though no cavern welcomed them into its gloomysecurity, there was a spot hard by, where certain tall and massive rockslay so jammed and wedged together, as to present most of thecharacteristics of a chamber, except that there was wanting the fourthside, as well as the roof, unless indeed the outstretched branches ofthe great trees that grew among these fragments, might have beenconsidered a suitable canopy. A spring bubbled up from among these mossyruins, giving nourishment to a thick growth of brambles and weeds, whichadded their own tangled covert to the stouter shelter of the rocks andtrunks. Into this nook the party, guided by Botello, to whom it seemednot unfamiliar, penetrated forthwith; and here they found themselves, ina great measure, sheltered from the rain. Here also, taking advantage ofa period of inactivity, and at the instigation of Don Amador, whoperceived with solicitude the visage of the secretary covered not onlywith languor, but flushed with fatigue and fever, the enchanter setabout relieving the distresses of the youth. He removed the bandage andgarment, examined the wound, bathed the inflamed member in the coolwaters of the fountain; and having thus commenced proceedings with soreasonable a preliminary, he drew a little silver vessel from hiswallet, containing the unguent 'blessed,' as he had before said, 'of thefat of a pagan's heart,' and which, as may be repeated to those whomight doubt the efficacy of so remarkable a compound, was not only muchused, but highly commended by the Christian soldiers of that day inAmerica. The magician commanded Fabueno to repeat a paternoster asslowly and devoutly as possible, (for none of Botello's conjurationswere conducted without the appearance of deep devotion;) and mumblinghimself another, or perhaps repeating some superstitious invocation, heapplied the ointment, previously spread over green leaves, to the wound;and when it was again bound up, the secretary declared its anguish wasmuch mitigated, as well as his whole body greatly refreshed.
Don Amador regarded the youth for a moment with much grave kindness; andthen said,--
"I owe this man so much gratitude for the good he seems to have, anddoubtless has, done thee, whom I now, Fabueno,--at least until I canreceive instructions from my kinsman, the admiral,--must esteem as beingmy ward and follower, that I am unwilling to offend him by seeming tothrow any discredit on his remedy. Nevertheless I am not less bound toinstruct thee with counsel, than to repay him with thanks; for whichreason I must charge thee to remember, that, when any miracle of a veryunusual or unnecessary character is wrought upon thyself, much more ofit may possibly be the product of thine own imagination, than of thatagent which seems to thee to be the only cause."
"Faith will work miracles, but fancy will not!" said Botello, gravely.
"If I were a better philosopher, good Botello," said Don Amador, "Iwould attempt to show thee how that which thou callest faith, is, insuch a case as this, nothing but imagination in very fervent action,differing as much from that calm assurance which constitutes true faith,as doth a potter's pitcher gilded to resemble true gold, from a goldenpitcher; which difference, in the latter case, may be instantlydetected, by ringing them. And here I may tell thee, Botello, by way ofcontinuing the figure, that, as the earthen vessel will really tinklemore pleasantly than the vessel of gold, so also will the excitedimagination give forth a sound so much more captivating than thetranquil utterance of belief, that, in attempting to distinguish betweenthem, men are often seduced into error. Nevertheless, I will not quarrelwith thee on this subject, for I perceive thou art religious; and whatthy religion does not blame in thee, I have no right to censure."
This was a degree of liberality doubtless produced rather by the amiablefeeling of gratitude than any natural tolerance of disposition oreducation; for the neophyte was in all respects a representative of thenobler spirits of his age, in wh
om the good qualities inherited fromnature were dashed, and sometimes marred, by the tenets of a badphilosophy.