CHAPTER XXVIII
THOMAS IS DOOMED
At the words of Cortes two Spaniards came forward, and seizing me oneby either arm, they led me across the roof of the house towards thestairway. Otomie had heard also, and though she did not understand thewords, she read the face of Cortes, and knew well that I was being takento imprisonment or death. As I passed her, she started forward, a terrorshining in her eyes. Fearing that she was about to throw herself uponmy breast, and thus to reveal herself as my wife, and bring my fate uponher, I glanced at her warningly, then making pretence to stumble, asthough with fear and exhaustion, I fell at her feet. The soldiers wholed me laughed brutally, and one of them kicked me with his heavy boot.But Otomie stooped down and held her hand to me to help me rise, and asI did so, we spoke low and swiftly.
'Farewell, wife,' I said; 'whatever happens, keep silent.'
'Farewell,' she answered; 'if you must die, await me in the gates ofdeath, for I will join you there.'
'Nay, live on. Time shall bring comfort.'
'You are my life, beloved. With you time ends for me.' Now I was on myfeet again, and I think that none noted our whispered words, for allwere listening to Cortes, who rated the man that had kicked me.
'I bade you guard this traitor, not to kick him,' he said angrily inCastilian. 'Will you put us to open shame before these savages? Doso once more, and you shall pay for it smartly. Learn a lesson ingentleness from that woman; she is starving, yet she leaves her food tohelp your prisoner to his feet. Now take him away to the camp, and seethat he comes to no harm, for he can tell me much.'
Then the soldiers led me away, grumbling as they went, and the lastthing that I saw was the despairing face of Otomie my wife, as she gazedafter me, faint with the secret agony of our parting. But when I cameto the head of the stairway, Guatemoc, who stood near, took my hand andshook it.
'Farewell, my brother,' he said with a heavy smile; 'the game we playedtogether is finished, and now it is time for us to rest. I thank you foryour valour and your aid.'
'Farewell, Guatemoc,' I answered. 'You are fallen, but let this comfortyou, in your fall you have found immortal fame.'
'On, on!' growled the soldiers, and I went, little thinking how Guatemocand I should meet again.
They took me to a canoe, and we were paddled across the lake byTlascalans, till at length we came to the Spanish camp. All the journeythrough, my guards, though they laid no hand on me, fearing the angerof Cortes, mocked and taunted me, asking me how I liked the ways of theheathen, and whether I ate the flesh of the sacrifices raw or cooked;and many another such brutal jest they made at my expense. For a while Ibore it, for I had learned to be patient from the Indians, but at last Ianswered them in few words and bitter.
'Peace, cowards,' I said; 'remember that I am helpless, and that were Ibefore you strong and armed, either I should not live to listen to suchwords, or you would not live to repeat them.'
Then they were silent, and I also was silent.
When we reached their camp I was led through it, followed by a throng offierce Tlascalans and others, who would have torn me limb from limb hadthey not feared to do so. I saw some Spaniards also, but the mostof these were so drunk with mescal, and with joy at the tidings thatTenoctitlan had fallen, and their labours were ended at last, that theytook no heed of me. Never did I see such madness as possessed them, forthese poor fools believed that henceforth they should eat their verybread off plates of gold. It was for gold that they had followed Cortes;for gold they had braved the altar of sacrifice and fought in a hundredfights, and now, as they thought, they had won it.
The room of the stone house where they prisoned me had a window securedby bars of wood, and through these bars I could see and hear therevellings of the soldiers during the time of my confinement. All daylong, when they were not on duty, and most of the night also, theygambled and drank, staking tens of pesos on a single throw, whichthe loser must pay out of his share of the countless treasures of theAztecs. Little did they care if they won or lost, they were so sureof plunder, but played on till drink overpowered them, and they rolledsenseless beneath the tables, or till they sprang up and danced wildlyto and fro, catching at the sunbeams and screaming 'Gold! gold! gold!'
Listening at this window also I gathered some of the tidings of thecamp. I learned that Cortes had come back, bringing Guatemoc and severalof the princes with him, together with many of the noble Aztec ladies.Indeed I saw and heard the soldiers gambling for these women when theywere weary of their play for money, a description of each of thembeing written on a piece of paper. One of these ladies answered well toOtomie, my wife, and she was put up to auction by the brute who won herin the gamble, and sold to a common soldier for a hundred pesos. Forthese men never doubted but that the women and the gold would be handedover to them.
Thus things went for several days, during which I sat and slept in myprison untroubled by any, except the native woman who waited on me andbrought me food in plenty. During those days I ate as I have never eatenbefore or since, and I slept much, for my sorrows could not rid my bodyof its appetites and commanding need for food and rest. Indeed I verilybelieve that at the end of a week, I had increased in weight by a fullhalf; also my weariness was conquered at length, and I was strong again.
But when I was neither sleeping nor eating I watched at my window,hoping, though in vain, to catch some sight of Otomie or of Guatemoc.If I might not see my friends, however, at least I saw my foe, for oneevening de Garcia came and stared at my prison. He could not see me, butI saw him, and the devilish smile that flickered on his face as he wentaway like a wolf, made me shiver with a presage of woes to come. For tenminutes or more he stood gazing at my window hungrily, as a cat gazes ata caged bird, and I felt that he was waiting for the door to be opened,and KNEW that it would soon be opened.
This happened on the eve of the day upon which I was put to torture.
Meanwhile, as time went on, I noticed that a change came over the temperof the camp. The soldiers ceased to gamble for untold wealth, they evenceased from drinking to excess and from their riotous joy, but took tohanging together in knots discussing fiercely I could not learn of what.On the day when de Garcia came to look at my prison there was a greatgathering in the square opposite my prison, to which I saw Cortes rideup on a white horse and richly dressed. The meeting was too far away forme to overhear what passed, but I noted that several officers addressedCortes angrily, and that their speeches were loudly cheered by thesoldiers. At length the great captain answered them at some length, andthey broke up in silence. Next morning after I had breakfasted, foursoldiers came into my prison and ordered me to accompany them.
'Whither?' I asked.
'To the captain, traitor,' their leader answered.
'It has come at last,' I thought to myself, but I said only:
'It is well. Any change from this hole is one for the better.'
'Certainly,' he replied; 'and it is your last shift.'
Then I knew that the man believed that I was going to my death. In fiveminutes I was standing before Cortes in his private house. At his sidewas Marina and around him were several of his companions in arms. Thegreat man looked at me for a while, then spoke.
'Your name is Wingfield; you are of mixed blood, half English andhalf Spanish. You were cast away in the Tobasco River and taken toTenoctitlan. There you were doomed to personate the Aztec god Tezcat,and were rescued by us when we captured the great teocalli. Subsequentlyyou joined the Aztecs and took part in the attack and slaughter of thenoche triste. You were afterwards the friend and counsellor of Guatemoc,and assisted him in his defence of Tenoctitlan. Is this true, prisoner?'
'It is all true, general,' I answered.
'Good. You are now our prisoner, and had you a thousand lives, you haveforfeited them all because of your treachery to your race and blood.Into the circumstances that led you to commit this horrible treason Icannot enter; the fact remains. You have slain many of the Spaniardsand their allies; that is,
being in a state of treason you have murderedthem. Wingfield, your life is forfeit and I condemn you to die byhanging as a traitor and an apostate.'
'Then there is nothing more to be said,' I answered quietly, though acold fear froze my blood.
'There is something,' answered Cortes. 'Though your crimes have been somany, I am ready to give you your life and freedom upon a condition.I am ready to do more, to find you a passage to Europe on the firstoccasion, where you may perchance escape the echoes of your infamy ifGod is good to you. The condition is this. We have reason to believethat you are acquainted with the hiding place of the gold of Montezuma,which was unlawfully stolen from us on the night of the noche triste.Nay, we know that this is so, for you were seen to go with the canoesthat were laden with it. Choose now, apostate, between a shameful deathand the revealing to us of the secret of this treasure.'
For a moment I wavered. On the one hand was the loss of honour with lifeand liberty and the hope of home, on the other a dreadful end. Then Iremembered my oath and Otomie, and what she would think of me living ordead, if I did this thing, and I wavered no more.
'I know nothing of the treasure, general,' I answered coldly. 'Send meto my death.'
'You mean that you will say nothing of it, traitor. Think again. If youhave sworn any oaths they are broken by God. The empire of the Aztecsis at an end, their king is my prisoner, their great city is a ruin. Thetrue God has triumphed over these devils by my hand. Their wealth is mylawful spoil, and I must have it to pay my gallant comrades who cannotgrow rich on desolation. Think again.'
'I know nothing of this treasure, general.'
'Yet memory sometimes wakens, traitor. I have said that you shall dieif yours should fail you, and so you shall to be sure. But death is notalways swift. There are means, doubtless you who have lived in Spainhave heard of them,' and he arched his brows and glared at me meaningly,'by which a man may die and yet live for many weeks. Now, loth as I amto do it, it seems that if your memory still sleeps, I must find somesuch means to rouse it--before you die.'
'I am in your power, general,' I answered. 'You call me traitor againand again. I am no traitor. I am a subject of the King of England, notof the King of Spain. I came hither following a villain who has wroughtme and mine bitter wrong, one of your company named de Garcia orSarceda. To find him and for other reasons I joined the Aztecs. They areconquered and I am your prisoner. At the least deal with me as a braveman deals with a fallen enemy. I know nothing of the treasure; kill meand make an end.'
'As a man I might wish to do this, Wingfield, but I am more than a man,I am the hand of the Church here in Anahuac. You have partaken with theworshippers of idols, you have seen your fellow Christians sacrificedand devoured by your brute comrades. For this alone you deserve to betortured eternally, and doubtless that will be so after we have donewith you. As for the hidalgo Don Sarceda, I know him only as a bravecompanion in arms, and certainly I shall not listen to tales toldagainst him by a wandering apostate. It is, however, unlucky for you,'and here a gleam of light shot across the face of Cortes, 'that thereshould be any old feud between you, seeing that it is to his charge thatI am about to confide you. Now for the last time I say choose. Willyou reveal the hiding place of the treasure and go free, or will you behanded over to the care of Don Sarceda till such time as he shall findmeans to make you speak?'
Now a great faintness seized me, for I knew that I was condemned to betortured, and that de Garcia was to be the torturer. What mercy had I toexpect from his cruel heart when I, his deadliest foe, lay in his powerto wreak his vengeance on? But still my will and my honour prevailedagainst my terrors, and I answered:
'I have told you, general, that I know nothing of this treasure. Do yourworst, and may God forgive you for your cruelty.'
'Dare not to speak that holy Name, apostate and worshipper of idols,eater of human flesh. Let Sarceda be summoned.'
A messenger went out, and for a while there was silence. I caughtMarina's glance and saw pity in her gentle eyes. But she could not helpme here, for Cortes was mad because no gold had been found, and theclamour of the soldiers for reward had worn him out and brought him tothis shameful remedy, he who was not cruel by nature. Still she stroveto plead for me with him, whispering earnestly in his ear. For a whileCortes listened, then he pushed her from him roughly.
'Peace, Marina,' he said. 'What, shall I spare this English dog somepangs, when my command, and perchance my very life, hangs upon thefinding of the gold? Nay, he knows well where it lies hid; you said ityourself when I would have hung him for a traitor, and certainly he wasone of those whom the spy saw go out with it upon the lake. Our friendwas with them also, but he came back no more; doubtless they murderedhim. What is this man to you that you should plead for him? Cease totrouble me, Marina, am I not troubled enough already?' and Cortes puthis hands to his face and remained lost in thought. As for Marina, shelooked at me sadly and sighed as though to say, 'I have done my best,'and I thanked her with my eyes.
Presently there was a sound of footsteps and I looked up to see deGarcia standing before me. Time and hardship had touched him lightly,and the lines of silver in his curling hair and peaked beard did but adddignity to his noble presence. Indeed, when I looked at him in his darkSpanish beauty, his rich garments decked with chains of gold, as hebowed before Cortes hat in hand, I was fain to confess that I had neverseen a more gallant cavalier, or one whose aspect gave the lie so whollyto the black heart within. But knowing him for what he was, my veryblood quivered with hate at the sight of him, and when I thought of myown impotence and of the errand on which he had come, I ground my teethand cursed the day that I was born. As for de Garcia, he greeted me witha little cruel smile, then spoke to Cortes.
'Your pleasure, general?'
'Greeting to you, comrade,' answered Cortes. 'You know this renegade?'
'But too well, general. Three times he has striven to murder me.'
'Well, you have escaped and it is your hour now, Sarceda. He says thathe has a quarrel with you; what is it?'
De Garcia hesitated, stroking his peaked beard, then answered: 'I amloth to tell it because it is a tale of error for which I have oftensorrowed and done penance. Yet I will speak for fear you should thinkworse of me than I deserve. This man has some cause to mislike me,since to be frank, when I was younger than I am to-day and given tothe follies of youth, it chanced that in England I met his mother, abeautiful Spanish lady who by ill fortune was wedded to an Englishman,this man's father and a clown of clowns, who maltreated her. I will beshort; the lady learned to love me and I worsted her husband in a duel.Hence this traitor's hate of me.'
I heard and thought that my heart must burst with fury. To all hiswickedness and offences against me, de Garcia now had added slander ofmy dead mother's honour.
'You lie, murderer,' I gasped, tearing at the ropes that bound me.
'I must ask you to protect me from such insult, general,' de Garciaanswered coldly. 'Were the prisoner worthy of my sword, I would askfurther that his bonds should be loosed for a little space, but myhonour would be tarnished for ever were I to fight with such as he.'
'Dare to speak thus once more to a gentleman of Spain,' said Cortescoldly, 'and, you heathen dog, your tongue shall be dragged from youwith red-hot pincers. For you, Sarceda, I thank you for your confidence.If you have no worse crime than a love affair upon your soul, I thinkthat our good chaplain Olmedo will frank you through the purgatorialfires. But we waste words and time. This man has the secret of thetreasure of Guatemoc and of Montezuma. If Guatemoc and his nobles willnot tell it, he at least may be forced to speak, for the torments thatan Indian can endure without a groan will soon bring truth bubbling fromthe lips of this white heathen. Take him, Sarceda, and hearken, lethim be your especial care. First let him suffer with the others, andafterwards, should he prove obdurate, alone. The method I leave to you.Should he confess, summon me.'
'Pardon me, general, but this is no task for an hidalgo of Spain. I havebeen more wont to pi
erce my enemies with the sword than to tear themwith pincers,' said de Garcia, but as he spoke I saw a gleam of triumphshine in his black eyes, and heard the ring of triumph through the mockanger of his voice.
'I know it, comrade. But this must be done; though I hate it, it must bedone, there is no other way. The gold is necessary to me--by theMother of God! the knaves say that I have stolen it!--and I doubt thesestubborn Indian dogs will ever speak, however great their agony. Thisman knows and I give him over to you because you are acquainted with hiswickedness, and that knowledge will steel your heart against all pity.Spare not, comrade; remember that he must be forced to speak.'
'It is your command, Cortes, and I will obey it, though I love the tasklittle; with one proviso, however, that you give me your warrant inwriting.'
'It shall be made out at once,' answered the general. 'And now away withhim.'
'Where to?'
'To the prison that he has left. All is ready and there he will find hiscomrades.'
Then a guard was summoned and I was dragged back to my own place, deGarcia saying as I went that he would be with me presently.