CHAPTER XX.
Meanwhile, a scene of still more tragical character was on the point ofbeing represented within the walls of the palace.
It was a tempestuous night. The clouds, which had all day enveloped thepagan metropolis, were, at last, gathered over Tezcuco. The wind blew ingusts, with frequent rain; and as the distant thunderbolts rolled with arumbling cadence over Mexico, vast sheets of lightning shot up in thewest, illuminating sky, lake, and mountain, with a cadaverous glare.
Some five or six of the principal cavaliers were assembled with Cortes,in the great Hall of Audience, engaged in earnest and anxious debate. Ithappened, by accident, that the huge curtain, which, at night, wasusually drawn over the window of alabaster, had been, this evening,neglected by the attendants; so that it remained, drooping in giganticfestoons from the great beam, carved into a serpent's head, which heldit at the top, down to the lesser ornaments that supported it on thesides, of the casement. The strong cords, by which it could be draggedinto its place, hung over the central beam, flapping occasionallyagainst the alabaster wall, as the gust, puffing in through the greatdoor, whirled the smoke and flame of the lamps and torches, from thewalls and pillars, to which they were attached.
Thus, though the alabaster slabs were too thick to transmit any ordinaryray, the brighter flashes of lightning made their way through, andadded, at times, a ghastly glare to the light of the lamps; in which thecountenances of the cavaliers, perturbed as they were, assumed such anunnatural hue as might have beseemed the ghosts of dead heroes, risingto earth, to meddle again in the sport of slaughter.
The visage of the Captain-General betrayed greater anxiety, mingled withsterner wrath, than appeared on any other; and when he spoke, it was inaccents brief and low, and exceedingly emphatic.
"I tell you, cavaliers," he cried, "the mystery that shrouds thistreason is more frightful than the treason itself. We are at fault,senores, we are at fault. We behold enough to show us that the devilsare at work about us, but not to discover in what mode they are toiling.It is clear enough that Villafana is a dog, and one day he shall hang;but I know not, in what manner, nor at what time, he will bite. This iscertain: he has suffered one of the Mexicans to leave his cell, andcommunicate with Xicotencal: it is certain, also, that this cur ofTlascala will leave the camp before day-dawn; and how many of hiswarriors will follow after him, that I leave you to conjecture. This Ihave from a true mouth. He is incensed, first, on account of Juan Lerma;and, secondly, I doubt not, the Mexican has made the most of hisgrowling temper and present discontent. What sayst thou, Sandoval? Whathinders thee to lie in wait, and, following at his heels, so do withhim, that his Tlascalans who desert afterwards, may be frightened on thepath, and so return to us? There are good trees on the wayside!"
"Ay," replied Don Gonzalo, grimly, "when there is any executioner's worktowards, I am sure to play jack-ketch. I am loath to deal with a manthat hath been so valiant; but if he be a traitor, it is right he shoulddie. What if I give him the bastinado, Turk-wise? Methinks that wouldbring him into a sounder temper."
"It would but inflame the choler of his proud people," said the shrewdergeneral; "whereas his sudden death, dealt upon him in the act ofdesertion, will strike them with fear. Take thou a rope with thee, myson, and fear not to use it."
The young cavalier nodded assent; and the general went on:
"Concerning the ambassadors, thus secretly treating with a traitor,methinks they have forfeited all claim to protection?"
"Ay," said Alvarado; "and the bastinado, of which Sandoval spake, mayserve the good purpose of opening their lips, and thereby revealing, notonly the depth of the Tlascalan defection, but the length to whichVillafana and his curs have gone with them. Let us send for them, andtry the experiment. Or stay--here are cords enough on the curtain. Oneof these, twisted round the brow with a sword-hilt, I have known tobring out a man's tongue as far as his eyes."
The cavaliers turned to the window; and the bitter smile of theCaptain-General was made deathlike, by a flash, brighter than usual,shooting through the wall.
"A good thought," he said; "but we will not be precipitate. We have themsecured; and however Villafana may permit them to speak with others, heis somewhat too wise to set them free. We will have this thingconsidered in the morning."
At this moment, Don Francisco de Guzman made his appearance in thechamber, his visage disfigured by a black patch, and somewhat pale. Butthis, as it was soon discovered, was caused rather by care thansickness.
"Senor," he exclaimed, "I have been to seek the ambassadors--They haveescaped!"
"Escaped!" echoed Cortes. "Thou art beside thyself! And the villainAlguazil, has he fled with them? I will tear his flesh with pincers!What! release the infidels, under my eye?"
"So please you," said Guzman, "this, I think, was no resolved treachery,but an effect of infatuation. The wine that came to us to-day, was toostrong for the watchmen: where they got it, I know not; but I found themsound asleep at the open door."
"They shall be scourged, till they drop more blood than they have drunkwine," said Don Hernan, furiously. "And the prison-guards also? Hah? Theprisoner has escaped?"
"Not so," said the cavalier: "all's well there, save--"
"And Villafana? Speak me the word--Has he fled?"
"Senor mio, no: he is in the prison, carousing with Juan Lerma, as theguards say. I heard his voice through the door."
"Carousing? does Juan Lerma take his death so merrily? By'r lady, devilas he is, it is a sin to slay him!"
"As to the prisoner," said Guzman, "I know not whether he be merry ornot; but I myself (for I had mine ear to the door,) heard Villafanasmack his lips, and vow he 'would drink no more, this being no time tobe thick-witted.' But every one knows Villafana: his bibbing oncebrought him to the strappado."
"Ay; and it shall bring him to the gallows.--It is the fate of thecan-clinker--all spoken in three words--drunk, whipped, andgibbeted!--Didst thou worm naught from the guards? They were of his ownappointing."
"Not a syllable," replied Guzman: "I do believe they have been too muchfrightened, and are now penitent men."
"It may be," said Cortes, "it may be; but I would I could look into thedreams of Villafana. If I punish him for the flight of the ambassadors,it may be that I disperse an imposthume before it comes to a head; or itmay prove, that I drive the matter into the more vital organs of thisbody politic, till all be corrupted and consumed. What say ye to alittle torture inflicted on Villafana himself? Yet he is a bold dog, andmay not speak. They say he winced not under the lash. I swear to you, myfriends, I am in a strait."
While Cortes thus admitted the difficulty in which he felt himselfpressed, and the cavaliers were divided in their counsels, theyperceived a common soldier intrude himself into the chamber, and boldlyapproach them.
"Hah!" cried Alvarado, ever hot of temper, "who art thou, SirGallows-bird, that bringest thy knave's pate among cavaliers incouncil?"
"Hold! touch him not; 'tis the Barba-Roxa!" exclaimed Don Hernan. "Whatimpertinence is this, sirrah? Who bade thee hitherward?"
"God and my good saint," said Gaspar, flinging himself on his knees, andadding, with the greatest impetuosity, "Pardon, senor! pardon for twounhappy men! Or if that cannot be, why pardon then for _one_; and I carenot how soon you hang up the others."
"What means the fool? Art thou distracted?"
"Senor!" cried the soldier, wringing his hands, "I am a knave andtraitor. Grant me the life of Juan Lerma, who meant you no wrong, and Iwill give you, for the rope and sword, two hundred and forty suchtraitors as the world never saw, and myself among them; for I havesigned my name with knife and arrow, and sworn myself to brotherhood,under the pains of hell, which I care not how soon may came upon me."
"Let some one of you look to the door," said Cortes, quickly: "and seethat the sentinels keep their eyes open.--How now, Gaspar! what is thisthou sayst? Art thou indeed a villain? I should have struck on the mouthany soldier that had said it of thee."
> "I am what I said," replied Gaspar; "your excellency refused to listento me, when I pleaded for Juan Lerma; and I was incensed. I said tomyself, senor, 'I have saved your life, and yet you deny me the life ofmy friend, who, in ignorance, broke a decree, yet knew no malice.'Besides, senor, you called me a dog,--'an officious, presuming dog;'whereas I was not a dog _then_, but _now_. Well, senor, while I was in apassion, the devil came to me, and tempted me, and I signed my name tomy perdition."
"What!" said Alvarado, recoiling with devout horror, "hast thou reallysigned over thy soul to Satan? We will burn thee, thou devil's penitent,in a hot fire!"
"Speak on," said Cortes. "What meanest thou by this mummery? What devilis this? for, though Satan be walking now among us, yet, I think, itcould not be he."
"It was Villafana," replied Gaspar; "and heaven pardon me, for I thinkit must be Apollyon in his likeness!"
At this communication, the cavaliers all stared at one another, andCortes exclaimed,
"Two hundred and forty men! What! are there so many knaves of hisparty?"
"Ay, and many more, who will help, but will not put down their namesupon paper," replied Gaspar. "But your excellency says nothing of JuanLerma. If you will pardon him, your excellency shall hear all."
"How, sirrah!" cried Cortes, sternly, "Do you avow yourself a sworntraitor, and yet dictate to me terms of mercy? Speak, or you shall havethat to your brows, which will bring out words with screams."
Gaspar sprang to his feet,--boldly, fearlessly, and even insolently,returning the look of the Captain-General:
"Your excellency has no heart, and I have," he cried. "Do your will uponus both; and reckon my death to your conscience, as you do that of JuanLerma. You shall not have a word more. Here are my arms.--What cavalierwill demean himself to tie them? I will meet your excellency at thejudgment-seat."
"Thou art but a fool," said Cortes, moderating his anger,--or, at least,mollifying the severity of his accents; for his countenance yet gleamedwith wrath. "Thou knowest, that, having saved my life at Xochimilco, Ican, in no case, take thine."
"But I leave that to the laws, without asking any mercy," said the RedBeard, obstinately: "I ask the life of Juan Lerma, condemned withoutlaw."
"Dost thou impugn my justice, fellow?" cried the ferocious De Olid. "Iswear to thee, when thou art brought to be judged, I will give thee adouble quantity, for this very reason."
While the cavalier gave utterance to so excellent a proof of his equity,Alvarado, with whom Gaspar had been a favourite, whispered in his ear,
"Speak out, and fear not. It stands not with the captain's honour tobarter men's lives for knave's confessions; yet he shall pardon theyoung man, thy friend, as I am thy guarantee."
"What say ye, cavaliers?" cried Cortes: "does it become me, to remit asentence of death, at such mutinous intercession?"
Before any of the officers could reply, Gaspar, confiding in the promiseof Alvarado, threw himself again at the general's feet, crying,
"Senor, I am not a mutineer, but a penitent. I am mad to think thatone,--so good a friend, so valiant a soldier, so true a follower, (forthere is no falsehood in Juan Lerma,) should die for a smallmatter,--saving Don Francisco's presence,--when there are so many roguesabout us, that go unpunished. But I leave him to your excellency'smercy, trusting that your excellency will reconsider the judgment, andrelease him. Therefore I will speak, in this trust; and I pray heaven toremember the act, be it merciful or be it cruel.--This is what I have tosay: In my passion, I betook me to Villafana; who, promising to saveLerma's life, I signed with him; though the first act of guilt was totake your excellency's life. Holy mother of heaven! pardon me; but I wasvery much incensed. Well, senor, I found on the paper the names of twohundred and forty men, and I will tell you such as I remember; but ifyou will send to the prison, and suddenly seize the Alguazil, you willfind the list in his bosom.--"
"Quinones, see thou to this," said Cortes, turning to the master of thearmory, who made one of the council. "Take with thee none but hidalgos,and be sudden, making no noise and shedding no blood--Yet stay: thiswill not do, neither. Hark thee, Gaspar, man, when shall this preciousearthquake rumble into the upper air?"
"To-morrow," replied the soldier; and then, to the horror andastonishment of all present, he divulged the whole scheme ofassassination, as Villafana had himself spoken it in the prison.
"With a letter from my father, too!" cried Cortes, apparently morestruck with the heartless barbarity of the stratagem, than with anythingelse in Gaspar's communication: "This is indeed the Judas-kiss,the--Faugh! these were the words of Magdalena!"
While he muttered these words to himself, he was roused by a suddenvoice at the great door, and heard distinctly the unexpected voice ofVillafana, saying, as he wrangled with the guards,
"Oh, 'slid, you take upon you too much. I come at the order of thegeneral."
"Admit Villafana," said Cortes, in tones that penetrated loudly to thefarthest limits of the room, for the cavaliers were stricken into aboding silence at the accents of the Alguazil: "Admit my trustyVillafana." And Villafana entered.
He was evidently flushed with wine, and it was for that reason,doubtless, that he did not seem to observe the presence of his forswornassociate, nor the suspicious act of two cavaliers, who stole from thegroup, and took possession of the door by which he had entered. Heapproached with a reckless and confident, though somewhat stupid, air,exclaiming, after divers humble scrapes and salaams,
"I come at your excellency's bidding, according to appointment. This wasthe hour, please your excellency--But 'tis a scurvy night, with muchthunder and lightning."
"Ay, truly," said Cortes, with a mild voice, while all the rest stood inthe silence of death; "but, being so observant, Villafana, how comes ityou have not remarked that you are here without the Indian Techeechee,whom I commanded you to bring hither at this hour?"
"Senor," said the Alguazil, a little confused, "that old Ottomi is a slydog, and, I doubt me, not over-honest."
"I doubt me so, too," said Cortes, in the same encouraging tones; "yet,honest or false, sly or simple, methinks thou shouldst not have sufferedhim to escape."
"Escape! what, Techeechee escape!" cried Villafana with unaffectedsurprise: "Ho, no! I did but give the gray infidel a sop of wine, andstraightway he hid himself in a corner, to sleep off his drunkenness.And,--and,--" continued he, with instinctive though clumsycunning,--"and I thought it would be unbeseemly to bring him to yourexcellency, in that condition. I beg your excellency's pardon for makinghim acquainted with such Christian liquor; but it was out of pity,together with some little hope of converting him to the faith; and,besides, I knew not his head was so weak. I will fetch him to yourexcellency in the morning."
"Why, this is well," said the Captain-General, with such insinuatinggentleness as characterizes the snake, when closing softly on his prey;"and I doubt not thou canst give me as good an account of theambassadors. It is said to me, that they also have escaped."
"Good God!" cried Villafana, startled not only out of his confidence,but, in great measure, out of his intoxication, by such an announcement;"the ambassadors escaped? It cannot be!"
"Pho, they have hurt thee more than I thought,--even to the point ofdestroying thy memory," rejoined the Captain-General, with theblandishment of a smile. "There is blood upon thy shoulder: I doubt not,thou wert severely hurt, while attempting to prevent their flight. Noone ever questioned the courage of Villafana."
"Yes, senor, yes--no--yes; that is,--I mean to say--Saints ofheaven!"--And here the Alguazil paused, completely sobered,--that is,restored to his senses, but not to his wits; for he perceived himself ina difficulty, and his invention pointed out no means of escape. Herolled his eyes, haggard at once with debauch and alarm, over thecavaliers, and, though the lofty figure of Alvarado concealed Gasparfrom his view, he beheld enough in the extraordinary sedateness of allpresent, to fill him with the most racking suspicions. He turned againto Cortes, and commanding his fears as much as he co
uld, went on, withan appearance of boldness,
"Alas, noble senor, if the ambassadors _be_ escaped, I am a lostman,--for I trusted too much to the vigilance of others, and I shouldnot have done so. Alas, senor," he continued with more energy, as hismind began to work more clearly, "I have committed a great offence inthis negligence; but I vow to heaven, it was owing to my fears of JuanLerma, who made many efforts to escape, and had strong friends to helphim. Your excellency may see the necessity I was under, to give all mythoughts to him; for, some one having furnished him with a dagger, hefoully attacked me, not on my guard, giving me this wound; and had itnot been for the sudden rushing in of the guard, I should certainly havebeen killed."
Thus spoke the Alguazil, with returning craft, mingling together fictionand fact with an address which astonished even himself:
"Yes, senor," he continued, satisfied with the strength of his argument,and now elated with a prospect of providing against the effects of hisimprudent disclosures in the prison; "yes, senor, and the young man,besides thus wounding me, swore he would have me hanged for aconspiracy; stating roundly, as the guards will witness, (I am certainthat Esteban, the Left-Handed, heard him,) that, being a notoriousgrumbler, any such fiction would be believed of me. As if this wouldmake me a conspirator! whereas, your excellency knows, according to theproverb, Barking dogs are no biters." And the audacious ruffian,relapsing into security, attested his innocence by a gentle laugh andthe sweetest of his smiles.
"Again I say, thou speakest well," said Cortes, carelessly descendingfrom the platform, on which he had mounted at the approach of Villafana."Thine arguments have even satisfied me of the folly of certain charges,brought against thee by this mad fellow, here, at thy elbow."
As he spoke, Alvarado, taking his instructions rather from aconsentaneous feeling of propriety than from any hint of Don Hernan's,moved aside, and Villafana's eyes fell upon the figure of Gaspar.
"Think of it, good fellow," said Cortes, laying his hand uponVillafana's shoulder, as if to support himself a little; "the things hesaid of thee are innumerable, and excessively preposterous. He averred,for instance, that thou wert peevishly offended, because I had notinvited thy presence to the festivities of the morning banquet, and wertresolved to come, whether I would or not, and that with a letter from myfather in one hand, and a dagger in the other. Eh! is not thisoutrageous? He said, besides,--But, o' my life, thou hast bled too muchfrom this wound! Juan Lerma strikes deep, when the fit is on him. I hopethou art not faint, man!"
To these benevolent expressions, the Alguazil replied by turning uponthe general a countenance so bloodless, and an eye filled with suchecstacy of despair, (for if the poniards of all had been at his throat,he could not have been more perfectly apprized of his coming fate,) thatCortes must have been struck with some feeling of commiseration, had nothis nature been somewhat akin to that of a cat, which delights less tokill than to sport with the agonies of a dying victim. As it was, hecontinued to torment the abandoned wretch, by adding, pleasantly,
"And what thinkest thou of this, too, my Villafana? Two hundred andforty conspirators, to rush in when the blow was struck!--doubtless tocarve their dinners from the ribs of my cavaliers!--Ah, Villafana,Villafana! thou shouldst have a care of thy friends. Our enemies areharmless, but our friends are always dangerous.--What dost thou say toall this, Villafana?--Knave! hadst thou twenty daggers in thy jerkin,thou wert still but an unfanged reptile!"
While he spoke, in this jestful mood, he was sensible that Villafana,(doubtless with an instinctive motion, of which he was himselfunconscious, being apparently turned to stone,) was stealing his hand uptowards his bosom, as if to grasp a weapon. The moment the member hadreached the opening of his garment, Cortes caught him by the throat, andgiving utterance to his last words with a voice of thunder, andemploying a strength irresistible by such a man as Villafana, he hurledhim to the floor, at the same instant placing his foot on his throat.Then stooping down, and thrusting his hand into the traitor's bosom, heplucked out, at a single grasp, a poniard, a letter, and the fatal listof conspirators. He pushed the first aside, read the superscription ofthe second with a laugh, and casting his eye upon the third, devouredits contents with an avidity that left him unconscious of the murmurs ofthe fierce cavaliers, and the groans of the wretched Alguazil,strangling under his foot.
"What, senor! will you rob the gallows of its prey?" cried Alvarado,pointing his sword at the prostrate traitor, as, indeed, did all therest, (having drawn them at the moment when Cortes seized him by thethroat:) "His crime is manifest to all: what need of trial? Every manhis steel through the dog!"
"Hold!" cried the Captain-General; "this were a death for an hidalgo.Up, cur! up, and meet thy fate! Up!" And he spurned the wretch with hisfoot.
The Alguazil rose up, his face black with blood, which, not perfectlydispersing even at release from strangulation, remained in leopard-likeblotches over his visage, ghastfully contrasted with the ashy hues thatgathered between them. As he rose, his arms were seized by two or threecavaliers; and Sandoval, as quick in action as he was sluggish inspeech, snatching the rich sword-sash of samite from his own shoulders,instantly secured them behind his back.
"For the love of God, senores!" cried Villafana, finding speech at last,"what do you mean? what do you design? You will not kill an innocentman? Will you judge me at the charge of a liar? Gaspar is my sworn foe.I will make all clear.--Senor, I have been drinking, and my mind isconfused: take me not at this disadvantage. Oh, for God's sake, what doyou mean?--The list? what, the list? 'Tis for a merry-making--arejoicing for my birthday. I will explain all to your excellencies.--Iam an innocent man.--Gaspar is a forsworn caitiff--a caitiff, senores, acaitiff!--I claim trial by the civil judges."--
"Gag him," cried one.
"Strike him on the mouth," said another. And Villafana, gasping forbreath, uttered, for a moment, nothing but inarticulate murmurs.
"De Olid, Marin, De Ircio," cried Cortes, rapidly, and withinexpressible decision, "ye are judges of life and death; Sandoval andAlvarado, by right of office, ye can sit in judgment; Quinones, Guzman,and the rest, I make you, in the king's name, special associates of theothers.--Why, here is a court, not martial, but civil; and the dog shallhave judgment to his content! He stands charged of treason.--Guilty,senores? or not guilty?"
"Guilty!" cried all with one voice: and De Olid added, "Let us take himinto the garden, and hang him to the cedar-tree."
"To the window," said Cortes, pointing with his sword to the stoutcords, hanging so invitingly from the serpent's-head; and in an instantthe victim was dragged upon the platform.
Up to this moment, his fears had been uttered rather in vehementcomplaints than in outcries; but now, when he perceived that he wascondemned by a mockery of trial, doomed without the respite of aminute's space to pray, the rope dangling before his eyes, and alreadyin the hands of a cavalier, who was bending it into a noose, he uttereda piercing scream, and endeavoured to throw himself on his knees.
"Mercy!" he cried, "mercy! mercy! I will confess--I can save all yourlives--Mercy! mercy!"
Of all the sights of horror and disgust, villany, transformed at thedeath-hour, into its natural character and original of cowardice, isamong the most appalling. Villafana was as brave as a ruffian could be;but when imagination is linked in the same spirit with vice, courageexpires almost at the same moment with hope. With a weapon in his hand,and that at liberty, Villafana, perhaps, would have manifested all thevalour in which despair perceives the only hope, and died like a man. Asit was, bound and grasped in the arms of strong men, entirely helplessand equally without hope, his death staring him in the face, he gavehimself up at once to unmanly fears, and wept, screamed, and prayed,until the guards, at watch in the vestibule, sank upon their knees andconned over their beads, to divert their senses from cries so agonizedand so horrible.
As he strove to prostrate himself before his inexorable judges, he waspulled up by the cavaliers, and among others by Don Francisco de Guzman,who
se countenance he recognized.
"Save me, Guzman! save me!" he cried; "for thou wert once of theparty--Save me!"
"Peace, wolf--"
"Mercy! mercy! noble senor!" he continued, turning to Cortes: "I am butone of many. Guzman is as false as I; I charge him with treason: he hasabused your excellency's ear!--Listen, senores, and spare me my life:give me a day--give me but to-night, to pray and confess, and you shallhave all. There are cavaliers among us--Mercy, for the love ofheaven!--Camarga, the Dominican,--Don Palmerino de Castro,--Muertazo ofToledo, Carabo of Seville,--Artiaga, Santa-Rosa, Bravo, Aljaraz, and anhundred more--"
"Peace, lying villain!" cried the Captain-General--"What ho, the rope!quick, the rope!"
"A moment to repent! a moment to repent!" shrieked the victim,struggling so violently to bring his hands before him, as if to claspthem in prayer, that the silken band crackled behind him, and his handsturned black with congested blood; "a moment to repent! for I am asinner. What! would you condemn my soul, too? Saints, hear me! angels,plead for me! A priest, for the love of heaven! I killed Artiaga ofCadiz; I scuttled the ship at Alonso, drowned the nuns, and stole thechurch-plate--Call Magdalena--Where's Magdalena?--You are murdering me!Mercy! mercy! I killed Hilario, too--I poniarded him in the old wounds,inflicted by Juan Lerma--I have much to repent--A priest, for the loveof God! A priest, oh, a priest!"
Thus raved the villain, stained with a thousand crimes; and if aught hadbeen wanting to steel the hearts of his executioners, enough wasdivulged in the unavailing abandonment with which he accused himself ofmisdeeds, so many and so atrocious. While his neck was yet free from therope, he struggled violently, but without any attempt to do a mischiefto his unrelenting murderers; his resistance was, indeed, like that of acur, under the chastisement of a cruel and brutal master, which howlsand contends, and yet fears to employ its fangs against the tyrant. Butwhen he found, at last, that the cavaliers were actually putting thehasty halter about his neck, his struggles were not greater to escapethan to inflict injury. He shook and tossed his head in distraction, andDon Francisco de Guzman, endeavouring to seize him by the beard, hecaught the hand of the cavalier betwixt his teeth, and held it with thegripe of a tiger.
"Hell confound thee, wolf!" cried Guzman, groaning with pain, andstriking him over the face with the hilt of his sword, but in vain:"Help me, cavaliers, or he will have my hand off!--Villain, unlock thyteeth.--"
"Stand aside--This will unloose thee," said one, thrusting his rapierinto the thigh of the vindictive wretch; who no sooner felt the coldsteel penetrate his flesh, than he opened his mouth to utter a yell."Whip him up _now_.--So much for traitors!"
It was the last scream of the assassin. His lips uttered one more cry toheaven; the name of Magdalena was cut short, as the noose closed uponhis throat, and ended in a hoarse, rattling, gulphing whine, that didnot itself prevail beyond the space of a second. As he shot up to thetop of the window, an intense glare of lightning flashed through thealabaster, and his figure, traced upon that lustrous and ghastly medium,was seen dangling and writhing in the death-agony. The next moment, thehuge curtain was drawn over the dreadful spectacle: but those who pauseda moment, to look back, could behold the convulsions of the dyingmiscreant giving motion, and sometimes protrusion, to the dark folds ofthe drapery.--When all was silent, in the darkness of the night, thewatchmen in the vestibule could yet hear the pattering of blood-dropsfalling from his mangled limb, upon the sonorous wood of the platform.
But there were other scenes now occurring, which, for a time, drove fromtheir thoughts the memory of Villafana.