CHAPTER XXXV.
When Don Amador returned to the chamber, he was rejoiced to find hiskinsman asleep, and not offended that the faithful Marco and Baltasarwere both nodding, as they sat at his side. He threw himself softly on acot of mats, covered with robes of fine cotton, over which was a littlecanopy,--such being the beds of the better orders of Mexico. The crowdedstate of the palace (for it is recorded, that the number of Totonac andTlascalan allies, who remained in the garrison with Alvarado, nowswelled the army of Cortes to nearly nine thousand men,) left him noother choice; and he felt, that his presence was perhaps necessary, inthe unhappy condition of his knight. He was mindful to obey the counselsof Don Hernan, and lie with his weapons ready to be grasped at the firstalarm; and he remembered also the hint that had been given him, not tobe surprised at such tumults, when he heard a sound, continuedthroughout the greater part of the night, as of heavy instrumentsknocking against the court-yard wall, convincing him as well of themilitary vigilance and preparations, as of the fears of his general. Inaddition to this disturbance, he was often startled by moans and wildexpressions, coming from the lips of the sleeping knight, showing himthat even slumber brought no repose to his distempered spirit. But,above all, (and this made manifest the hold that the Moorish boy had gotupon his affections,) he was troubled with thoughts of Jacinto; andoften, as the angel of sleep began to flutter over his eyelids, she wasdriven away, by some sudden and painfully intense conception of thegreat peril which must surround the friendless lad, now that the eventsof the evening proved him to be in the midst, and doubtless in thepower, of an enraged multitude, to whom every stranger was an enemy.Often, too, as he was sinking into slumber, the first voice of dreamswould cry to him in the tones of Jacinto, or the silent enchanter wouldbring before his eyes the spectacle of the boy, confined in the cage ofvictims, or dragged away, by the hands of ferocious priests, to theplace of sacrifice. These distractions kept him tossing about in greatrestlessness, for a long time; and it was not until the sounds of theworkmen in the yard were no longer heard, and until a deep silencepervaded the palace, that he was able to drown his torments in sleep.
He was roused from slumber by a painful dream, and fancying it must benow approaching the time of dawn, he stole softly to the bed-side ofCalavar, without disturbing the attendants. A taper of myrtle-wax,burning on a little pedestal hard by, disclosed to him the countenanceof the knight, contracted with pain, and flushed as if with fever, butstill chained in repose. He stepped noiselessly away, and gathering hissword and a few pieces of armour in his hands, left the apartment.
From the door of the palace, he could see, dimly,--for it was not yetmorning,--that vast numbers of Tlascalans were lying asleep in thecourt-yard among the horses, while many sentinels were stalking about insilent watchfulness. He was now able, likewise, to understand the causeof the heavy knocking, which had annoyed him. The gates were closed; butin three rude embrasures, which had been broken in the wall by theworkmen, frowned as many pieces of ordnance, commanding the street bywhich he had approached the palace.
Entering this again, and attracted by the distant murmur of voices, hediscovered a staircase at the end of a passage, ascending which, heimmediately found himself on the terraced roof of the building. And nowhe could perceive the exposed condition of the royal citadel, as well asthe preparations made to sustain it, in the event of a siege.
The palace, itself, extended over a great piece of ground, in the formof a square, the walled sides of which were continuous, but the centredivided by rows of structures that crossed each other, into many littlecourts. The buildings were all low, consisting, indeed, of but onefloor, except that, in the centre, were several chambers on the roofs ofothers, that might be called turrets or observatories. The terraces wereso covered with flowers and shrubs, that they seemed a garden. This massof houses was surrounded on all sides by a spacious court, confined by awall six or eight feet high, running entirely round the whole. Thepalace, with its outer court, did not yet occupy all of the great squareupon which it stood. It was a short bow-shot from the battlements tothe houses, which lined the four sides of the square. Opposite to eachside or front of the fabric, was a great street, along which the eye, infull daylight, could traverse, till arrested by the surrounding lake.Directly opposite, likewise, to each of these streets, as Don Amadorsoon discovered, the careful general had caused to be broken as manyembrasures as he had seen on the quarter of the principal entrance; and,now, there were no less than twelve pieces of artillery (with those whoserved them sleeping in cloaks hard by,) looking with formidablepreparation down the yawning and silent approaches.
The neophyte had not yet given a moment to these observations, when heperceived on the top of one of the turrets, a group of cavaliers, who,being relieved against the only streak of dawn that tinged the easternskies, were plainly seen, gesticulating with great earnestness, as ifengaged in important debate. He approached this turret, and mounting theladder that ascended it, was assisted to the roof by the hand of Cortes.
"I give you good cheer, and much praise for your early rising, DonAmador," cried the general, with an easy courtesy and pleasant voice,which did not however, conceal from the novice, that he was reallyaffected by anxiety and even alarm; "for this, besides convincing me,that no one is more ready than thyself for a valiant bout with an enemy,will give thee an opportunity to note in what way these pagan Mexicansadvance to assault; a matter of which I am myself ignorant, thoughassured by my friend Alvarado, that nothing can be more warlike to lookupon."
"I vow to God, and to Saint Peter, who cut off a knave's ear," said DonPedro, "that there are no such besotted, mad, dare-devils in all theworld beside, as you shall quickly see; and I swear to you, in addition,my friends, I did sometimes think, of a morning, the very devils thatdwell in the pit, were let loose upon me. But fear not: with my poorfive-score, and the seven thousand Indians, who should not be countedagainst more than one hundred Christians, I felt no prick of dismay,except when I thought of starvation; and with the force that now aidsus, 'twill be but a boy's pastime, to kill ten thousand of the boldlunatics, each day, before breakfast."
To this valiant speech, which was characteristic of Alvarado,--asnotorious for boasting as for bravery,--Don Amador replied,complacently,--
"To my mind, nothing could be stronger than this citadel against suchenemies as we may have, especially since the placing of those cannonopposite to the great streets,--a precaution which should be commended.Nevertheless, noble cavaliers, it does not appear to me, that we are inany immediate peril of assault: the infidels are not yet arisen."
"Cast thine eye down yonder street!" said Cortes with a low voice, "keepit fixed intently, for two or three moments, on the shadows, and tell mewhat thou seest among them. And, while thou art so doing, do not shameto hold thy buckler a little over thy face; for, now and then, methinks,I have seen on yonder house-tops something unlike to rose-buds, glancingamong the bushes."
"By my faith," said Don Amador, hastily, "it does seem to me, that thereare men stirring afar in the street,--nay, a great body of them, anddoubtless clad in white,--ay, I perceive them now! But I thought 'twas adim mist, creeping up from the lake."
"If thou wilt look to the other three streets," said Cortes, knittinghis brows, and scowling around him, "thou wilt see other such vapoursgathering about us. Thus do they surround stags, in the sierras ofSalamanca! but, sometimes, the hunters have found more wolves than deeramong their quarry; and, by my conscience, so will the dogs of Mexicofind their prey, this day, when they come a-hunting againstCastilians!--Hah! did I not warn thee well?" cried the general, as anarrow, shot from a distant terrace, and by some unseen hand, struckagainst the guarding shield with such violence as to shiver its stonehead into a thousand fragments. "'Ware such Cupids; for, when they missthe heart, they are content to rankle among the ribs. What say ye now,my masters? The knaves are coming nearer! Such big rain-drops do notlong fall one by one, but show how soon the flood will follow. Coveryourselves! for
by my conscience, that was another, though it fellshort. I see the house it comes from; and I will reward the messengershortly with such a cannon-shot as shall leave him houseless.--How now,_mi trompetero_! art thou nodding? Wake me thy bugle, and let thesleepers look on the white clouds!"
A trumpeter, who stood ready at the base of the turret, instantly wounda loud blast on his instrument. It was answered immediately by othersfrom every part of the court and the building; and, as if by magic, thedead silence of the palace was straightway exchanged for the loud dinand confusion of thousands rising and springing to their arms. Duringthis tumult, Cortes descended from the turret.
Don Amador, fascinated by the spectacle, (for now, the light of dawn,increasing every moment, fully convinced the most sceptical, thatcountless barbarians were thronging in the streets, and advancingagainst the palace,) remained for a time on the terrace in company withothers, surveying their approach, and kindling into ardour. The fourstreets were blocked up with their dusky bodies, for they seemed nearlynaked; and answering the drums and bugles of the Spaniards with thehollow sound of their huge tabours, and the roaring yells of greatconches, and adding to these the uproar of their voices, and, whatgreatly amazed the neophyte, the shrill and piercing din of loudwhistling, they pressed onwards, not fast indeed, but fearlessly, untilthey began to pour like a flood upon the open square. Nevertheless, andnotwithstanding their very menacing appearance, not a bow was yet bent,nor a stone or dart discharged against the Christians; and they werearraying, or rather grouping themselves, (for they seemed to preserve nopeculiar order,) about the square, as if rather to support somepeaceable demand with a show of strength, than to make an absoluteattack, when the neophyte beheld Don Hernan, clad in complete armour,spring upon a cannon, and thence to the top of the wall, and wave hishand towards them with an air of imposing dignity. The vast herdsstilled their cries, and immediately Malintzin, guarded by two soldierswho held shields before her, was seen to ascend and stand by the side ofher master.
"Ask me these hounds," cried the general, with a voice that seemed meantby its loudness to strike the infidels with awe, "wherefore they leavetheir beds, and come, like howling wolves, to disturb me in my dwelling?What is their desire? and wherefore have they not come with baskets ofcorn, rather than with slings and arrows?"
The clear voice of Dona Marina was instantly heard addressing themultitude; and was followed by a shout such as may come from thrice athousand score men, wherein, and among other inexplicable sounds, DonAmador heard the word _Tlatoani! Tlatoani!_ repeated with accents inwhich intreaty seemed mingled with fury. He could not discover themeaning of these cries from the imperfect Castilian, and the low voice,with which Malintzin interpreted them. But he could conjecture theirsignification, by the reply of Cortes.
"Tell the traitorous dogs," he exclaimed, sternly, "that their princeshave avowed themselves the vassals of my master, the great monarch ofSpain; that their lord and king, Montezuma, is my friend and contentedguest, and will therefore remain in my dwelling. Tell them also, hecharges them to disperse, throw by their arms, and return laden withcorn and meat. And add, moreover, that, if they do not immediately obeythis command, the thunders which God has given me to punish them, shallbe let loose upon them, and scatter their corses and their city into theair. Tell we them _this_, and plainly; and, hark'ee, cannoniers! standfast to your linstocks!"
No sooner was this haughty and threatening answer made known to thebarbarians, than they uttered a yell so loud and universal that thepalace, and the earth under it, seemed to shake with the din; andimmediately every quarter of the edifice was covered with arrows,stones, and other missiles, shot off with extraordinary violence andfury.
Don Amador prepared to descend, but paused an instant to observe theeffect of the artillery, for he heard the strong tones of the generalshouting, "Now cannoniers! to your duty, and show yourselves men!"
The very island trembled, when twelve cannon, discharged nearly at thesame moment, opened their fiery throats, and, aimed full among themultitude, poured innumerable death into their ranks. The islandtrembled, but not so the naked barbarians of Tenochtitlan. If thescreams of a thousand wretches, mangled by that explosion, rose on themorning air, they were speedily drowned by the war-cries of survivors;and before the smoke had cleared away, the bloody gaps were filled, andthe infuriated multitudes were rushing with savage intrepidity full uponthe mouths of the artillery.
Don Amador hesitated no longer. He ran down the staircase, paused amoment at the side of Calavar, whom he found raving in a low delirium,for he was burned by fever,--paused only long enough to charge Marco notto leave him, no not even for a moment,--and snatching up and rapidlydonning the remaining pieces of his armour, immediately found himself inthe court-yard, among the combatants.