CHAPTER VII.
"Senor Juan Lerma," said Cortes, when the last of the assemblage hadreluctantly departed:--He had descended from the platform, and spokewith a voice, which, if not decidedly friendly, was, at least, free fromevery trace of sternness:--"Senor Juan Lerma, I have to say, that forthe result of your enterprise, however it has been attended by calamity,you deserve both thanks and honours; and it will rest upon your owndetermination whether you shall obtain them or not. Some things thereare, growing out of this affair, of which it becomes me to speak; andthereby I shall give you an opportunity to remove certain stains not yetwashed from your good name; and after that, to take off others that arethought to attach to mine. Hast thou not heard of those fierce and fatalwars, that broke out in Mexico shortly after thy departure."
"I have," said Juan; "the king's spies brought the news to Tzintzontzan;and they were not only lamentable to hear, but they caused us to be castinto cages, and devoted, as we feared, to die the death of sacrifice:For know, senor, the sanguinary Mexitli is the god of all this land."
"And hadst thou no suspicion, before departing, that these wars werebrewing, and threatening us with destruction? Thou wert somewhat quickerin catching the heathen tongue than others, and wert not withoutcounsellors and friends even among the household of Montezuma."
To this demand, the young man, though embarrassed by the innuendo thatfollowed it, did not hesitate to answer:
"I had such suspicions, and I made them known to your excellency."
"You did indeed," said Cortes, musingly; "and I derided them, beingsomewhat heated at the time: but counsel to an irritated temper is evensharper than salt on a wounded skin.--This knowledge, senor," he wenton, "some will impute to thee as good reason why thou shouldst loiterfourteen months in the wilderness, to avoid sharing in our perils, whichwere somewhat more horrible than have ever before beset Christian men."
"This," said Juan, firmly, and a little dryly, for there was somethingin the tone of the speaker, which, though he knew not why, impressed himunpleasantly,--"this is to make me a coward, which your excellency willnot believe me to be."
"By my conscience, no!" said Cortes, with emphasis. "Without muchthought of this present expedition of which we speak, there is no manwill accuse thee of fear, who has heard of thy voyage in the fusta. Bymy conscience, a most mad piece of daring!" he continued as if inadmiration, although it was observable, that, while he spoke, hiscountenance darkened, as though there were some disagreeable thoughtassociated with the recollection. "No," he went on, "there will be moresaid of anger and ambition than of terror. Thou knowest, we have envyand detraction about us, that spare none. I can hear, already, howVillafana and other knaves of his peevish, malicious temper, will speakof thee.--They will speak of thy causes for resentment, of the promisedfavour of the plotting king, a principality among the lakes, with thehope of loftier succession, and the hand of the princely Maiden of theStar,----"
"And this," cried Juan, interrupting the general, "this is to make me atraitor and apostate! Senor, I doubt not that the senor Guzman is at thebottom of all this slander: and I therefore claim to defie,--"
"Peace! wilt thou put thyself in opposition again? If thou dost butraise thy hand in wrath, save against an infidel enemy, thou wert betternever to have been born!"
The sudden sternness with which these words were uttered, checked theimpetuosity of the youth, and filled him again with anxious forebodings.The general, instantly resuming the milder tones with which he hadspoken before, continued,
"So much will be said of _thee_. Before I offer thee my hand, in tokenthat I desire to forget everything of the past, but that I once trulyloved thee, and before I propose to thee a new and honourableduty,--hear,--not what will be, but what has been said of _myself_, inrelation to thine expedition and to thee."
Here the general paused a moment, eyeing the youth intently, as if toread his most secret thoughts; then continuing, he said, with the utmostgravity,
"It has been said of me, senor Juan Lerma, that I sent thee upon thyenterprise of the South Seas, in the malicious thought that the blow ofsavages might execute the sentence of vengeance I cared not to commit toa Christian assassin. What thinkest thou of this?"
"Even that it is the blackest and insanest of slanders; and that itshows me, I have little cause to marvel at my own loss of credit, when Ifind that malice can aim even at your excellency's. Whatever may havebeen your anger, I never believed your excellency would conceal it, muchless expend it, in secret vengeance upon a feeble wretch like myself."
"Thou hast but little worldly knowledge," said the Captain-General, halfsmiling, "or thou wouldst know, that revenge is of a reptile's nature,crawling rather in secret among dark thickets than openly over sunnyplains, and none the less venomous, that it can lie half a year torpid.Neither put thou much trust in innocent looks; which, to a shrewd eye,are like sea-water,--the smoother they lie, the deeper can they belooked into."
Having pronounced these metaphorical maxims with much gravity, his eyeall the time bent on the youth, Cortes paused for a moment, as if for areply; when, receiving none, for, in truth, Juan, not well comprehendingthem, knew not what to answer, he continued,
"Let us understand one another. There has been strife betweenus,--strife and ill-will. I have perhaps done you injustice: I thought Ihad cause. By my conscience, young man, I once loved you very well--Ihave been sorry for you."
"I have deserved your displeasure," said Juan, hurriedly, moved by theearnestness with which the general spoke; "but, I hope, not beyondforgiveness."
"Surely not, surely not," said Cortes; "but what I may forget as thyfriend, I am still bound to consider as thy general. I am now the king'sofficer, and it becomes me, forgetting all private feelings, to know nofriends but those who approve themselves true and valuable servants ofhis majesty. In this character, I must remember some of thy past actswith disfavour; but in both, it is not improper I should desire thoushouldst have opportunity fully to retrieve thy good name, and, in spiteof envy and detraction, to deserve such friendship as I have shown theein former years."
The exile pondered a moment over the words of the general, in moreindecision than before. They spoke of friendship and kindness, andseemed to offer an apology for severity that was rather official thanpersonal; and yet, in this apology, was a degree of reproach, of whichit appeared Cortes's resolution to keep him always sensible.Nevertheless, this very tone of complaint served to soothe the littleexasperation of feelings which had remained in Juan's breast, whilesmarting under a sense of wrong and injustice. Anger both irritates andhardens the heart; reproach softens, while it distresses. It seemedobvious to Juan, that Cortes, while apprizing him that a fullreconciliation had not yet taken place, was willing, nay anxious, thatit should. He answered therefore with the greatest fervour,
"If your excellency will but show me in what manner I may regain yourfavour--at least your belief that I have not wantonly rejected it--Icall heaven to witness, I will remember it as such an act of kindness asthat which _this_ must ever keep me in memory of."
As he spoke, he touched with his finger a rapier-scar on his rightbreast, which the narrowness and peculiar fashion of his mantle scarcelyenabled him to conceal, even when so disposed.
At this sight, Cortes seemed disordered, if not offended, saying afterstriding to and fro for an instant,
"Let these follies be forgotten! Bury the past, and think only of thefuture. It is true, I avenged thy wrong--It gives me no pleasure toremember it.--Did I think this, when I made thee my son,--fed thee at myboard, lodged thee on my couch, advanced thee, honoured thee, fought thybattles? did I think _this_? Pho! Juan Lerma, thou hast not repaid mewell!"
"Senor!" said Juan, surprised and confounded by the sudden andreproachful bitterness of these words; "when I presumed to speak to youin opposition to your measures, it was with the boldness--the folly--ofaffection, jealous for your excellency's--your excellency's--"
"Honour!" said Cortes, sharply. "Let us spe
ak of this no more. Tobusiness, senor, to business. Leave mine honour to mine own keeping:thou wilt find, I have it even in my thoughts. To business, to business.What say ye, Councillors?--Wilt thou truly steal my dog from me? If yourob me of naught else, it is no matter.--What say you, senor Capitan DelSalto? what say you, Sandoval? Is this young man fit to be entrustedwith a captain's command? He was a good Cornet.--Can we confide to him aduty of danger and trust? His pilgrimage to the Hummingbird-land,methinks, was well conducted. What say you? I have a goodly thought forhim--But I will abide your better judgment."
"By St. James," said Alvarado, "there is no braver lad in the army; andwere he but of clear hidalgo lineage, I should say, give him a commandwith the best. But here is my thought: he is a good sailor, especiallyin piraguas and galleys: give him a brigantine. I will crave to have himin the squadron attached to mine own division."
"In my mind," said Sandoval, "he is good for the land service. It isneedful we revenge the death of Salcedo and his eighty loons, whosuffered themselves to be killed before Tochtepec. Lerma has the love ofthe dog Xicotencal, who loves nobody else. He can follow the youngsenor, with some twenty thousand or so of his bare-legs; and they cantake the town among them."
"A good thought," said Cortes, "a good thought: for this is a commandwhich, nobody coveting, there will be none to envy. What sayst thou,senor Lerma? wilt thou adventure upon a deed thought to be bothdangerous and desperate? Choose for thyself: I will compel thee tonothing. I tell thee the truth.--No captain seeks after this employment,and three have refused, except upon condition that I give them, besidesas many Indians as they can raise, three hundred picked Spaniards. Thoucanst not look for more than twenty, with some five or six horsemen."
The eyes of the exile sparkled.
"Your excellency honours me."
"Never think so; deceive not thyself," said Cortes, with apparentfrankness. "The enterprise is dangerous, nay, as I have said, desperate;and by my conscience, it will be said of it, as of the South Seajourney, that it is devised for thy ruin.--If I honour thee, I mustsuffer thereby: no evil can happen to thee, that will not be maliciouslyimputed to wicked and premeditated design. By my conscience, there aremany who think me but a hangman in disguise!"
"I hope your excellency will not think of these things," said Juan,fervently. "I will do battle with any one who presumes--"
"Peace: have I not told thee already that the duel is forbidden underheavy penalties? I swear to thee, they shall be enforced, in all casesof disobedience, were it upon my own brother.--I tell thee again, I canadvance thee to no service which will not make me the mark of slander.There are fools about us, who, I know not why, have tortured anger intohatred, and will now interpret good-will into malignant treachery. But Icare not for this: the tall tree catches the bolts that pass by theunderwood,--the rock that rises above the sea, is lashed by breakers,while the grovellers at the bottom lie in tranquillity. It is thus withthe condition of man;--peace abides with the lowly, envy shoots arrowsat the high. Think of this, think of this, Juan Lerma, when thou hearestme maligned."
"I shall not need," said Juan. "The more dangerous the duty, the moremust I thank your excellency for your confidence. I beseech, therefore,that I may be permitted to undertake this present enterprise."
"Wilt thou march them on foot, and with no better arms than thy Indianbattle-axe and buckler?" demanded the general, gravely.
"I have heard," said Juan, with hesitation, "that your excellency has incharge certain horses and arms, which of right are mine, as being thegifts of a bountiful friend."
"It is even so," said Cortes, "and the restoration of them, which thoucanst justly claim, will cause some heart-burnings. I must crave yourpardon for having presumed to bestow them away, as though they had beenmine own property."
"Under your favour," said Juan, "considering that they were the gifts ofyour excellency's ever honoured and beloved lady--"
"Ha!" cried Cortes, with a darkening visage, "what fiend possessed theewith this impertinent conceit?"
"I beg your excellency's pardon for my presumption," said Juan, "whichwas indeed caused no more by rumour than by a belief that there was noother being in the world, who could thus far have befriended me."
"Why then," said Cortes, "if thou knowest not the donor, it is the moreremarkable; for nobody else does. Very strange! Two horses, the worst ofwhich is worth full nine hundred crowns, and Bobadil almostpriceless;--a suit of armour so well chosen to thy stature, that never aman of us all but is as loose in the cuirass as a shrivelled walnut inthe shell,--all very positively sent to _thee_ from Santiago,--for thee,senor, and for nobody else!"
"They are saint's gifts," said Alvarado, devoutly: "the young man hassuffered much, and has found favour with heaven."
"Senor," said Juan, mildly, "you are jesting with me. I will hope, byand by, to discover this benevolent patron. What I have to say now, isthat my wants will be content with but one of the horses; the return ofwhich will cause your excellency no trouble,--the same being in thehands of the senor Guzman, who has already signified his intention torestore him."
"Ha! has he so, indeed? Why thy very enemies have become thy friends!"
"As for the armour, senor," continued the youth, without thinking fit tonotice the latter exclamation, "I will make no claim to it, if you havebestowed it away. A simple morion and breastplate,--or indeed a good capand doublet of escaupil, if iron be scarce,--will content me, provided Ihave but a good sword and steed."
"Thou shalt have both," said Cortes, "and the plate-mail also; whichbeing somewhat too gigantic for any cavalier, and too good for a commonsoldier, I have preserved, thinking some day to bestow it upon theTlascalan Xicotencal.--Thou art not loath to undertake this business? Iwill give thee a day to think of it."
"Not an hour, senor," said Juan, ardently. "Give me but time to exchangethese heathen weeds and sandals for good armour and a warhorse, and Iwill depart instantly, with whatsoever force you may think fit toentrust to me."
"Art thou really, then, so hot after danger?"
"God is my protection," said Juan; "I thank heaven, that this duty _is_the most dangerous your excellency could charge me with: it is, for thatreason, the most honourable."
"Sayst thou so?" cried the Captain-General, quickly. "There is _one_duty, at least, I could impose upon thee, which thou wouldst not be sohasty to accept? No, faith; for the very name of it has caused theboldest soldier in the army to turn pale.--Get thee to the armory; restand refresh thyself: to-morrow thou shalt to Tochtepec."
"Senor, for your love I will do what others will not: I have years ofbenefaction to repay. I claim to be appointed to that task which is sodreadful to others."
"By my conscience, no," said Don Hernan: "_this_ would be sending theeto execution indeed. And yet I know none so well fitted as thyself: Thouart fearless, cunning, discreet,--at least thou canst be so; and thouart a master of the barbarous language, I think?"
"Your excellency once commended the success with which I laboured toacquire it: my year's wanderings in the west have made it familiar to mealmost as the tongue of Castile."
"It is a good endowment," said Cortes. "What thinkest thou of anembassage to Tenochtitlan?"
As he spoke, pronouncing each word with deliberate emphasis, he bent hiseyes searchingly on Juan, and a smile crept over his features, as heperceived the young man lose colour and start.
"The man that would do me _that_ duty," he continued, gravely, "wouldindeed deserve well, not only of myself, but of his majesty, the king ofSpain. But think not I mean to overtask thee,--or that I seriouslydesigned to try thee with this rack of probation.--There are bounds tothe courage of us all."
"Your excellency mistakes me," said Juan, dispelling all emotion with asingle effort, and speaking with a voice as firm as it was serious: "ifthere be but one good can come of such an embassy--"
"There might be _many_," said the general, "not the least of which wouldbe the conquest of the city, and thereby of the whole land, wi
thout theloss of Christian lives. Could I but find speech with the princeGuatimozin, I have that which will move him to peaceful submission. Butthis is impossible."
"Again your excellency is deceived," said Juan, with the composure ofone who has taken his resolution. "I will do your bidding,--I will carryyour message to Mexico."
"Pho! I did but jest with thee. Three Indian envoys have I sent already:the infidel slew them all."
"And cannot your excellency answer why? Your envoys were Indians,--yourexcellency's allies, but his subjects, who, in the act of alliance, hadcommitted the crimes of treason and rebellion; for which he punishedthem with death, as seemed to him right and just. A Spanish ambassadorwould be received with greater respect, and perhaps dismissed withoutinjury. I will not, with a boastful vanity, proclaim that I fearnothing; but such fears as I have, are not enough to deter me; and againI say, I will do your bidding."
"My bidding!" cried Cortes; "I bid thee not; heaven forfend I should bidthee any such thing. But if thou really thinkest the danger is notgreat,--if thou art so persuaded--" He paused; his eyes sparkled; hestrode to and fro in disorder. Then suddenly halting, he exclaimed, witha faint laugh, "No, by my conscience! no, by heaven! no, by St. James ofCompostella! thou art the bravest fool of all, but thou shalt not diethe death of a dog! I will not catch thee with tiger-traps!"
To these extraordinary expressions, Juan answered with emotion, butstill with unvarying resolution,
"I wait your excellency's orders. I fear not death; I am alone in theworld;--father or mother, brother or sister, kinsman or friend, there isnot one to lament me, should I come to disaster. If I live, I will, asyour excellency has said, have saved the effusion of Christian blood; ifI die, heaven will remember the motive, and none will miss me.--I willgo to Tenochtitlan."
"Thou art a fool," said Alvarado. "Senor Captain-General, this embassymay not be; I protest against it. The world will cry shame on us."
"I do oppose the same," said Sandoval, "as being the wilful throwingaway of a Christian life."
The other cavaliers present were about to add their voices against themeasure, when Cortes cut them short by saying, sternly,
"Are ye all mad, senores? Think ye, this thing was said seriously? I didbut try the young man's mettle, and I do think he hath somewhat less ofgaingiving about him, as well as much more folly, than any one herepresent. I must get me an ambassador; but, Juan Lerma, thou art not theman."
"To my thought," said Sandoval, "this old Indian, Ocelotzin, will be amuch safer emissary."
Apparently the Ottomi, who had listened throughout the whole conferencewith great attention, and who understood just enough of it to know thecourse that affairs were taking, did not at all relish the suggestion ofSandoval. He started, flung the gray curtain of hair from his visage,and began to pour forth a torrent of such objurgations and remonstrancesas he could find Spanish to express:
"I am not Ocelotzin, the Tiger," he exclaimed; "very weak and old Iam,--no claw, no tooth, no roar."--And here the barbarian, by way ofconfirming his speech, set up a yell, so wild, shrill, and hideous, thatthe cavaliers started back, catching at their swords in alarm, and twoor three soldiers from the ante-room rushed in, as if apprehending someact of treason. But the dog Befo, who had hitherto maintained his postat the feet of Lerma, now rubbing against his knees, now rearing againsthis breast, and sometimes, when pushed down and too long neglected,expressing his impatience or affection, by extending his vast jaws, asif to swallow the hand that repelled him,--the dog Befo heard the cry ofthe savage with such indignation as he would have bestowed upon the howlof a rival. He replied with a lion-like growl, and stalking up to theOttomi, he stood watching him, ever and anon writhing his lips so as todisclose his huge fangs, and seemed waiting the signal to attack,greatly to the terror of the orator.
A wave of the general's hand dismissed the intruding soldiers from theapartment; and at the voice of Lerma, the dog returned to him.
"I am Techeechee," said the orator, resuming his discourse, but withtones greatly subdued; "I am Techeechee, the Silent Dog,--the Silent DogI am; Techeechee, the Silent Dog,--the Silent Dog I am.--Techeechee."--
All this time, he kept his eyes fixed upon Befo as if dreading anassault; and, in fact, his solicitude had somewhat overpowered his mind,so that he continued for some moments to reiterate the above phrases,without any seeming consciousness of their absurdity. At last, he fellinto his vernacular language, and this happily releasing him from histrammels, he poured forth, with amazing volubility, a string of sounds,so harsh, guttural, inarticulate, and unearthly, that they seemed ratherthe basso chatterings of an ape than the meaning accents of a humanbeing.
"What says the knave?" cried Cortes.
"He says," replied Juan, "that he is the little dumb dog of the hills,and will harm nobody; that Montezuma was a big dog, like Befo, (whereinhe lies,) and that Guatimozin the prince is bigger still, and will eathim,--which is to be understood figuratively. He says, he is the LittleDog, and therefore not fit to be an ambassador; but--Ha! what saystthou, Techeechee?"--
The young man spoke to the Ottomi in his own tongue, and receiving ananswer, turned immediately to Cortes, saying,
"It becomes me to inform your excellency of his words; for savage thoughhe be, this old man I have ever found to be marvellously shrewd, as wellas faithful. It is his opinion, that the prince Guatimozin would notinjure _me_, if I went on the embassy; wherefore, I beg your excellencyto reconsider your resolution. He says, too, he will go with me."
"Your destiny, senor, is to the rebellious and bloody town Tochtepec,"replied the general, quickly and decidedly.
"He adds," continued Juan, "that he is Techeechee and no ambassador; butthat he is cousin to Quimichin, the Ground Rat, and that he will be yourspy,--for _quimichin_ is the word by which they express a spy throughoutthe whole land."
"I am Techeechee; I will be Quimichin," said the Indian, as if toconfirm the words of Juan, and twisting his withered features into asmile, that was meant to express both cunning and affection.
"Dost thou think him faithful?" said Cortes. "I will find service forhim. But go, amigo! I have kept thee till thou art as faint and weary asmyself. Get thee to Quinones, and the armory. Make thy preparations andtake thy rest. I will see thee on the morrow--perhaps to-night, andacquaint thee with thy force and instructions. God be with you--Nay,heed not the dog--Adieu, senores--He has much of your own fidelity, roamhe never so much. Take him with you."
When the last of the cavaliers had departed from the chamber, theCaptain-General, stepped upon the platform, and throwing himself intothe chair of state, sat or reclined thereon, with the air of one wornout by exertion of mind and body, and on the eve of sinking into aswoon.