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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6cb1567 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68211 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68211) diff --git a/old/68211-0.txt b/old/68211-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2fb7c9e..0000000 --- a/old/68211-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10503 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Gold and glory, by Grace Stebbing - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Gold and glory - or, Wild ways of other days, a tale of early American discovery - -Author: Grace Stebbing - -Release Date: May 31, 2022 [eBook #68211] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOLD AND GLORY *** - - - - - - GOLD AND GLORY - - OR, - - WILD WAYS OF OTHER DAYS - - A TALE OF EARLY AMERICAN DISCOVERY - - BY GRACE STEBBING - - _Author of "Silverdale Rectory," "Only a Tramp," etc._ - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - New York - THOMAS WHITTAKER - 2 AND 3, BIBLE HOUSE. - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -Only an apology for having written this historical tale. - -My private opinion is, that all writers of historical tales should -return me thanks if I apologize for them with myself, all in a body, -the truer the tale the ampler being the spirit of the apology. - -While I have been writing this tale, sometimes in its most important -or serious portions, I have been startled by detecting my own mouth -widening with an absurd smile, or by hearing a ridiculous chuckle -issuing from my own lips, and have suddenly discovered that I was quite -unconsciously repeating to myself the famous old Scotch anecdote of the -old woman and the Scotch preacher--"That's good, and that's Robertson; -and that's good, and that's Chalmers; ... and that's bad, and that's -himsel'." - -Turning the old woman into the more learned among my possible readers, -and the Scotch preacher into myself, I read the anecdote--"That's good, -and that's Prescott; that's good, and that's Robertson; that's good, -and that's guide-book; that's good, and that's Arthur Helps; and that's -bad, and that's hersel'." - -I can only wind up my apology by pleading, that at least my badness has -not gone the length of distorting a single fact, nor of giving to this -wonderful page of history any touch of false colouring. - - G. S. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. _A POISON-FLY FOR THE HEART OF ARAGON_ - - CHAPTER II. _CONSPIRATORS_ - - CHAPTER III. _RIVALS AT DON PHILIP'S HOUSE_ - - CHAPTER IV. _THINKING OF EXILE_ - - CHAPTER V. _DEATH FOR ARBUES DE EPILA_ - - CHAPTER VI. _SANCHO'S BROKEN VICTUALS_ - - CHAPTER VII. _CONSULTING A SWEET TOOTH_ - - CHAPTER VIII. _A POWERFUL FRIEND_ - - CHAPTER IX. _FROM THE NEW PRINTING PRESS_ - - CHAPTER X. _A JACK IN OFFICE_ - - CHAPTER XI. _THE FIRST FIND_ - - CHAPTER XII. _SURGEON TO THE REDSKINS_ - - CHAPTER XIII. _FOR LIFE OR DEATH_ - - CHAPTER XIV. _MASTER PEDRO'S DOGS IN DANGER_ - - CHAPTER XV. _NOISE TO THE RESCUE_ - - CHAPTER XVI. _I AM 'DON ALONZO'_ - - CHAPTER XVII. _GOOD OLD DON_ - - CHAPTER XVIII. _DEATH FOR DON_ - - CHAPTER XIX. _THE WAY TO TREAT THE REDSKINS_ - - CHAPTER XX. _THE MASSACRE AT CAONAO_ - - CHAPTER XXI. _THE PATRIOT CACIQUE HATUEY_ - - CHAPTER XXII. _ANOTHER STORM FOR THE PILOT ALAMINOS_ - - CHAPTER XXIII. _A SYMBOL WITH TWO MEANINGS_ - - CHAPTER XXIV. _KINDRED FEELING_ - - CHAPTER XXV. _MONTORO DE DIEGO TURNS HANGMAN_ - - CHAPTER XXVI. _CORTES BURNS HIS SHIPS_ - - CHAPTER XXVII. _MONTORO LEADS A CHANT_ - - CHAPTER XXVIII. _THE GODS MUST AVENGE THEMSELVES_ - - CHAPTER XXIX. _MONTORO AND CABRERA RESCUE A HUMAN SACRIFICE_ - - CHAPTER XXX. _TOO USEFUL TO BE KILLED_ - - CHAPTER XXXI. _ONCE FOR ALL--THEY SHALL CEASE_ - - CHAPTER XXXII. _ON THE ROAD TO MEXICO_ - - CHAPTER XXXIII. _THE CAUSE ONCE MORE IN JEOPARDY_ - - CHAPTER XXXIV. _AN INDIAN GIRL-CHAMPION_ - - CHAPTER XXXV. _THE TLASCALAN KNIGHT'S PROBATION_ - - CHAPTER XXXVI. _ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY_ - - CHAPTER XXXVII. _ESCALANTE'S FATE DECIDES IT_ - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. _THE DOWNFALL OF AN EMPIRE_ - - CHAPTER XXXIX. _HOMEWARD BOUND_ - - CHAPTER XL. _REINSTATED_ - - - - - GOLD AND GLORY, - - OR - - Wild Ways of other Days. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - _A POISON-FLY FOR THE HEART OF ARAGON._ - - -In an apartment, gorgeous with a magnificence that owed something of -its style to Moorish influence, were gathered, one evening, a number of -stern-browed companions. - -A group of men, whose dark eyes and olive complexions proclaimed their -Spanish nationality, as their haughty mien and the splendour of their -attire bore evidence to their noble rank. - -The year was 1485: a sad year for Aragon was that of 1485, and above -all terrible for Saragossa. But as yet only the half, indeed not quite -the half, of the year had gone by, when those Spanish grandees were -gathered together, and when one of them muttered beneath his breath, -fiercely: - -"It is not the horror of it only, that sets one's brain on fire. It is -the shame!" - -And those around him echoed--"It is the shame." - -During the past year, 1484, his Most Catholic Majesty, King Ferdinand -of the lately-united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, had forced upon -his proud, independent-spirited Aragonese a new-modelled form of the -Inquisition. The Inquisition had, indeed, been one of the institutions -of the noble little kingdom for over two hundred years already, but in -the free air of Aragon it had been rather an admonisher to orderliness -and good manners than a deadly foe to liberty. Now, all this was -changed. The stern and bitter-spirited Torquemada took care of that. -The new Inquisition was fierce, relentless, suspicious, grasping, -avaricious, deadly. And in their hearts the haughty, freedom-loving -Aragonese loathed its imperious domination even more than they dreaded -its cruelty. - -"It was not the horror of it only," said Montoro de Diego truly, "that -made their eyes burn, and sent the tingling blood quivering into their -hands. It was the shame." - -And those others around him, even to Don James of Navarre, the King -Ferdinand's own nephew, echoed the words with clenched hands, and -between clenched teeth-- - -"It is the shame!" - -But what cared Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, that mortal wounds -should be inflicted on the noblest instincts of human nature? or what -cared his tools in Aragon? Crushed, broken-spirited men would be all -the easier to handle--all the easier to plunder or destroy. - -Montoro de Diego had been one of the deputation sent by the Cortes to -the fountain-head, as it was then believed, of all truth and mercy and -justice, to implore release from the new infliction; for whilst one -deputation had gone to the king himself, to implore him to abolish his -recent innovation, another, headed by Diego, had gone to the pope. But -the embassy was fruitless. The pope wanted money, and burning rich -Jews, and wealthy Aragonese suspected of heretical tendencies, put -their property into the papal coffers. The pope very decidedly refused -to give up this new and easy way of making himself and his friends -rich. The king's refusal was equally peremptory, and the deputations -returned with dark brows and heavy hearts to those anxiously awaiting -them. - -The burnings and confiscations had already begun. - -Soon after Diego and his companions entered the city of Saragossa they -encountered a great procession, evidently one of importance judging -from the sumptuousness of the ecclesiastics' dresses, their numbers, -and the crowds of attendants surrounding them, crucifix-bearers, -candle-bearers, incense-bearers, and others. There was no especial -Saint's Day or Festival named in the Calendar for that date, and for a -few moments the returning travellers were puzzled. But the procession -advanced, and the mystery was solved. - -In the centre of the gorgeous train moved a group so dismal, so -heart-rending to look upon, that it must have rained tears down the -cheeks of the Inquisitors themselves, had they not steeled their hearts -with the impenetrable armour of a cold, utter selfishness. - -Deadly pale, emaciated, unwashed, uncombed, with wrists and fingers -twisted and broken, and limping feet, came the members of this group -clad in coarse yellow garments embroidered with scarlet crosses, and a -hideous adornment of red flames and devils. Some few of the tortured -victims of base or bigoted cruelty were on their way to receive such a -pardon as consisted in the fine of their entire fortunes, or life-long -imprisonment; the others--they were to afford illuminations for the -day's ceremonies with their own burning bodies. For each member of -the wretched group there was the added burden of knowing that they -were leaving behind them names that were to be loaded with infamy, and -families reduced to the lowest depths of beggary. - -"And all," muttered a voice beside Diego's elbow, "for the crime, real -or suspected, or imputed, of having Jewish blood in their veins." - -"Say rather," fiercely muttered back the noble--"say rather, for the -crime of having gold and lands, which will so stick to the hands of the -Inquisitors, that the king's troops in Granada will keep the Lenten -fast the year through, before a sack of grain is bought for them out of -those new funds." - -"Ay," answered the unknown voice, "the Señor saith truth, unless there -shall be hearts stout enough, and hands daring enough, to rid our -Aragon of yon fiend Arbues de Epila." - -Montoro de Diego turned with an involuntary start to look at the -speaker of such daring words. For even though they had been uttered in -low cautious tones they betokened an almost mad audacity, during those -late spring days when the very breath of the warm air seemed laden with -accusations, bringing death and ruin to the worthiest of the land, at -the mandate of that very Arbues. - -But Diego's eyes encountered nothing more important than the wondering -brown orbs of a little beggar child, who was taking the whole imposing -spectacle in with artistic delight, unmixed with any idea of horror, -and who was evidently astonished at the agitated aspect of his tall -companion, and irritated too, that the Señor should thus stand barring -the way, instead of passing on with the rest of the rabble-rout -trailing after the procession. - -Whoever had ventured to express his fury against the new Inquisitor of -Saragossa, it was evidently not this curly-headed little urchin, and -with a somewhat impatient gesture of disappointment the noble turned -away in search of his companions. But they also had disappeared. -Carried away by the excitement or curiosity of the moment, they also -had joined in the dread procession of the Auto da Fé. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - _CONSPIRATORS._ - - -"It is the shame," that was the burden of the low and emphatic -consultation that was being held by the group of men, gathered -privately in the palace of one of the indignant nobles of Aragon. -Little more than twenty-four hours had passed since the disappointed -deputation to Rome had returned, in time to witness the full horrors of -the cruel tribunal they had so vainly tried to abolish, and the feeling -of humiliation was keen. - -And shame, indeed, there was for the brave, proud Aragonese, that the -despotic tyranny of the Inquisition should hold sway amidst their -boasted freedom and high culture. - -"We are not alone in our indignation," added Montoro de Diego after -a pause, and with a keen, swift glance around at the faces of his -companions to satisfy a lurking doubt whether the muffled voice at his -elbow, yesterday, had not indeed belonged to one of them. - -But every face present was turned to his suddenly, with such vivid, -evident curiosity at the changed and significant tone of his voice, -that the shadowy supposition quickly faded, and with a second cautious -but sharp glance, this time directed at doors and windows instead of -at the room's occupants, the young nobleman replied to the questioning -looks by a sign which gathered them all closer about him as he repeated: - -"No; we are not alone in our just resentment. The spirit of -disaffection is rife in Saragossa." - -"The Virgin be praised that it is so," muttered one of the grandees -moodily, while another asked hastily: - -"But how know you this? What secret intelligence have you received?" - -"And when?" put in a third questioner somewhat jealously. - -The new system was already beginning to grow its natural fruit of -general suspicion and distrust. But Diego speedily disarmed them as -regarded himself on this occasion. His voice had been low before, it -sank now to a scarcely audible whisper as he answered: - -"One, I know not who--even the voice was a disguised one I -believe--spoke to me yesterday in the crowded streets; one who must -have marked the anger and mortification of my countenance I judge, and -thence dared act the tempter." - -"But how?" "In what way?" came the eager, impatient queries. - -"In the intimation that the world were well rid of Arbues de Epila." - -As those few weighty words were rather breathed than spoken, those -self-controlled, impassible grandees of Spain started involuntarily, -and stifled exclamations escaped their lips. - -Arbues de Epila! The day was hot with brilliant sunshine. Even in -that carefully-shaded room the air was heavy with warmth, and yet--as -Montoro de Diego muttered the hinted threat against Arbues de Epila, -the crafty, cruel, unsparing Inquisitor--those brave, dauntless, -self-reliant men felt chill. They were in a close group before, but -involuntarily they drew into a still closer circle, and looked over -their shoulders. In open fight with the impetuous Italians or with the -desperate Moors of Granada, no more fearless warriors could be found -than those grandees of Spain, but against this new, secret, lurking, -unaccustomed foe their haughty courage provided them no weapons. To be -snatched at in the dark, torn secretly from home, fame, and family, -buried in oblivion until brought forth to be burnt; and branded, -unheard with the blackest infamy--these were agonies to fill even those -stout hearts with horror. - -Stealthy glances, of which until the present time they would have -been altogether disdainful, were cast by each and all of them at one -another. Who should say that even in their own midst there might not be -standing a creature of the Inquisition, bribed to the hideous work by -promises of titles, lands, position, or Paradise without Purgatory? - -Quailing beneath these strangely unaccustomed fears all maintained a -constrained silence for some time. But meanwhile the suggestion thrown -out yesterday, and now repeated, worked in those fevered brains, and -at length the fiercest of the number threw back his head, folded -his arms across his breast, and spoke. Not loudly indeed, but with -a concentrated passion that sent each syllable with the force of an -alarum into the hearts of his hearers. - -"The stranger was right. We have been cravens--children kissing the -rod, with our petitions. Now we will be men once more, judges in our -own cause, and Arbues shall die." - -As he pronounced that last dread word he held out his hand, and his -companions crowded together to clasp it, in tacit acceptance of the -declaration. But there was one exception. One member of the group drew -back. Montoro de Diego stretched forth no consenting hand, but stood, -pale and sorrowful, gazing at his friends. They in turn gazed back at -him with mingled astonishment, fear, and fury. But he never blenched. -His lip indeed curled for a moment with something of scorn as he -detected the expression of terror in some of the gleaming eyes turned -on him. But scorn died away again in sadness as he said slowly: - -"Is it so then, truly, that we nobles of Aragon have already yielded -ourselves voluntarily for slaves, accepting the despicable sins of -slaves--cowardice and assassination! Now verily it is time then to weep -for the past of Aragon, to mourn over its decay." - -But bravely and nobly as Montoro de Diego spoke, he could not undo the -harm of his incautious repetition of the stranger's fatal hint. Some -of his companions had already their affections lacerated by the loss -of friends, torn from their families to undergo the most horrible of -deaths, the others were full of dark apprehensions for themselves, or -for those whose lives were more precious to them than their own. And -the thought of getting quit of the cruel tormentor took all too swift -and fast hold of the minds of that assembled group. - -"It is very evident," muttered one of the party with a scarcely stifled -groan--"it is very evident, my Diego, that you count amongst the number -of your friends none of those whose names, or position, or country, -place them in jeopardy." - -"Ah! indeed," added another, without perceiving the flush that suddenly -deepened on the young noble's cheeks, "and it is easy enough to -discover, even if one had not known it, that Diego has neither wife nor -child for whose sake to feel a due value for his life and lands." - -Again that sudden flush on the handsome face, but Montoro stood in -shadow, and none marked it. The gathering of men, now turned into a -band of conspirators, was more intent on learning from Montoro de -Diego whether he meant to betray their purpose, than in taking note of -his own private emotion, and once assured of his silence they let him -depart, while they remained yet some time longer in secret conclave, -to concert their plans for destroying Arbues and the Inquisition both -together. - -"There cannot be much difficulty one would imagine," muttered one of -the conspirators, "in compassing the death of a wretch held in almost -universal odium." - -But others of the party shook their heads, while one, more fully -acquainted with the state of affairs than the rest, replied moodily: - -"Nay then, your imagination runs wide of the mark. The difficulty in -accomplishing our undertaking will be as great as the danger we incur. -The cruel are ever cowards. Arbues wears mail beneath his monastic -robes, complete even to bearing the weight of the warrior's helmet -beneath the monk's hood. And his person is diligently guarded by an -obsequious train of satellites." - -"Then we must bribe the watch-dogs over to our side," was the stern -remark of the haughty Don Alonso, who had been the first to seize upon -the suggestion thrown out by the unknown voice in the crowd. - -Immediately after that declaration the noblemen dispersed, for it was -not safe just at that time for men to remain too long closeted together. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - _RIVALS AT DON PHILIP'S HOUSE._ - - -When Montoro de Diego quitted the palace of Don Alonso his face -betokened an anxiety even greater than that warranted by the -conversation in which he had just taken part. To say truth his secret -belief was, that the deadly decision arrived at by his friends was the -frothy result of recent disappointed hopes, and that with the calming -influence of time bolder and more honourable counsels would prevail. As -he left the palace, therefore, he left also behind him all disquietudes -especially associated with the late discussion, and the settled gravity -of his face now belonged to matters of more private interest. - -Don Alonso had declared, that it was easy enough to see that Don -Diego had no friends amongst those looked upon with evil eyes by -the authorities of the Inquisition. But Don Alonso was wrong. The -two friends whom Don Diego valued more highly than any others upon -earth were reputed of the race of Israel. Christians indeed, for two -generations past, but still with a true proud gratitude clinging to -the remembrance that they had the blood in their veins of the "chosen -people of God." They were Don Philip and his daughter Rachel. - -Don Miguel had remarked with something of a sneer that it was easy -enough to remember, from his present action, that Don Diego was -unencumbered with family ties. And Don Miguel was so far right that -Montoro de Diego was as yet a bachelor. But he was on the eve of -marriage with Don Philip's daughter, and the words of his fellow-nobles -had rung in his ears as words of evil omen. As he paced along the -streets he tried in vain to shake off his dark forebodings, and it was -with a very careworn countenance that he at length presented himself at -the home of his promised bride. - -To his increased disturbance, upon being ushered into the presence of -Don Philip and his daughter, the young nobleman found a stranger with -them; at least, one who was a stranger to him, though apparently not -so to his friends, with whom he appeared to be on terms of familiar -intercourse. - -Don Diego at once took a deep aversion to the interloper, for he had -entered with the full determination to press upon Rachel and Don Philip -the expediency of an immediate marriage, in order that both father -and daughter might have the powerful protection of his high position, -and undoubted Spanish descent and orthodoxy. But it was, of course, -impossible to speak on such topics in the presence of a stranger. So -annoyed was he that his greetings to his betrothed bride partook of his -constraint, and the girl appeared relieved when her father called to -her: - -"Rachel, my child, the evening is warm; will you not order in some -fruit for the refreshment of our guests?" - -As the beautiful young girl left the apartment in gentle obedience to -her father's desire the stranger followed her with his eyes, saying -with studied softness: - -"Your daughter is so lovely it were a pity that she had not been -dowered with a fairer name." - -The old man sighed before replying: "Perchance, Señor, you are right. -And yet, in my ears the name of Rachel has a sweetness that can -scarcely be surpassed." - -"It might sound sweeter in mine," rejoined the stranger still in tones -of studied suavity, "if it were not one of the names favoured by the -accursed race of Israel." - -A momentary flash shot from the eyes of Don Philip, but hastily he -dropped his lids over them as he answered with forced quietude: -"Doubtless I should have bestowed another name upon my child had I -foreseen these days, when it is counted for a crime to be descended -from those to whom the Great I Am, in His infinite wisdom, gave the -first Law and the first Covenant." - -He ceased with another low, quiet sigh, and a short silence ensued, -during which Don Diego felt rather than saw the sharp, searching -glances being bestowed upon himself by the stranger, who at length -rose, and said coolly: - -"Ay, truly, Don Philip, a crime it is in the eyes of Holy Mother Church -to have aught to do, even to the extent of a name, with the accursed -race, and so, to repeat my offer to you for the hand of your fair -daughter. I support my offer now with the promise--not a light one, -permit me to impress upon you--to gain the sanction of the Church that -her old name of Rachel shall be cancelled, and a new and Christian one -bestowed upon her?" - -As he finished speaking he turned from Don Philip with a look of -insolent assurance to Don Diego, who in his turn had started from -his seat, and stood with nervous fingers grasping the hilt of his -rapier. As the nobleman met the sinister eyes, full of an impertinent -challenge, he made a hasty step forward with the haughty exclamation: - -"And who are you pray, sir, who dare ask for the hand of one who is -promised to Don Montoro de Diego? Know you, sir, that the daughter of -Don Philip is my affianced bride?" - -"I have heard something of the sort," was the reply, in a tone of -indescribable cool insolence. "Yes; I have already learnt that you have -had eyesight good enough to discover the fairest beauty in Saragossa. -But you had better leave her to me, noble Señor. She will be--" and -the speaker paused a moment to give greater emphasis to his next -slowly-uttered words--"she will be safer with me than with you--and -her father also." And with a parting look and nod, so full of latent -knowledge and cruel determination that Don Diego's blood seemed to -freeze in his veins as he encountered them, the new aspirant for the -beautiful young heiress took his leave. - -As the great iron-bound outer door clanged to, behind him, the head -of the old man sank forward on his breast with a groan. His daughter -re-entered the apartment at the moment, and the smile which had begun -to dawn on her countenance at the departure of the unwelcome guest gave -way to a cry of dismay. Flying across the floor she threw herself on -the ground beside her father with a pitiful little cry. - -"Oh! my father, are you ill?--What ails you, my father?" - -For some seconds the old man's trembling hand tenderly caressing the -soft hair was the only answer. At last he asked with a choked voice: - -"My daughter--couldst thou be content to wed yon Italian?" - -The words had scarcely passed his lips when the girl sprang to her -feet, gazing with wild eyes at her questioner. - -"Kill me, my father, but give me not to yon awful, hateful man. -Besides--" and with a look of agonized entreaty she turned towards Don -Diego--"besides, am I not already given by you to another?" - -"And to another who has both the will and the power to claim the -fulfilment of the promise," exclaimed Montoro de Diego, coming forward, -and clasping the girl's hand in his with an air of iron resolution. - -Once again there was a heavy silence in the darkening chamber, and when -it was broken the hearers felt scarcely less oppressed by the sound, -although the words themselves seemed to speak of happiness. - -"My son," said the old man in low and urgent tones, "it is true, I have -given you my child--my only one. Fetch the good old priest Bartolo now, -at once, and secretly, and let him within this hour make my gift to you -secure." - -A faint protest against this sudden, unexpected haste was made by the -young bride, but Don Diego needed no second bidding to the adoption of -a course he considered to be dictated as much by prudence as affection. -Two hours later Montoro de Diego wended his way to his own palace with -his young wife, Rachel Diego, by his side. - -"Do not weep so, my Rachel," entreated the young nobleman as he led his -bride into her new home. - -But the tears of the agitated girl flowed as bitterly as ever as she -moaned, "My father--oh! my father! If but my father had come with us!" - -"He has promised to take up his abode with us, if possible, within -the next few weeks, my Rachel," returned Montoro de Diego, in the -vain endeavour to give her comfort. But she dwelt upon the words, "if -possible," rather than upon the promise. She guessed but too well the -fears which had dismissed her thus summarily from her father's home. -She had heard but too much of the hideous tragedies of the past two -months, and her husband himself was too oppressed with forebodings to -give her consolation in such a tone of confidence as should secure her -belief. - -Don Philip had offered his life for his daughter's happiness, and his -daughter well-nigh divined the fact. - -Had the Christianized Jew consented to give his daughter, and his -daughters princely fortune, to the vile informer of the Inquisition, he -would have escaped harm or persecution, at any rate for that season. -But he counted the cost, and taking his life into his hand, for the -sake of his child's happiness, he committed her henceforth to the -loving charge of the noble-hearted Don Diego. The fulfilment of the -sacrifice was not long delayed. - -The days went by, and the weeks--one--two--three. The second day of -the fourth week was drawing to its close, since the group of Spanish -noblemen had muttered their passionate resolves to rid their Aragon -of Arbues de Epila. They had not been idle since then. Time had not -quenched their burning indignation, but rather fanned it fiercer as -they gathered fresh adherents, and gold, that ever needful aid in all -enterprises. But the one adherent Don Alonso and Don Miguel most longed -for still held aloof. - -The lengthening shadows of that day belonged also, as the reader knows, -to the second day of the fourth week since Don Diego's marriage, and -his new ties made him but increasingly anxious to keep in the most -careful path of rectitude, for the sake of expediency now as much as -honour. - -The name of Montoro de Diego was hitherto so unblemished, his rank was -so important, that he might well believe himself a safe protector for -his young bride, and for his new father-in-law, even though it was -not wholly unmixed, pure Spanish blood that flowed in their veins. -And he was firm in his refusal to have any part in schemes of danger. -His wife was safe, hidden up in the recesses of his palace; and his -father-in-law, he trusted, had secured safety in flight. - -On the day succeeding that on which Don Philip had refused to purchase -peace at the price of his daughter's welfare, Rachel Diego had received -a few hurried lines of farewell from him, saying that he was going -into exile until safer times for Saragossa, and bidding her be of good -cheer, as all immediately concerning themselves now promised to go well. - -Under these circumstances Don Diego might be pardoned, perhaps, if for -a time he forgot the miseries surrounding him--forgot his hopes to -infuse a bolder, nobler spirit of upright resistance to evil, into his -comrades, and rested content with his own happiness. - -But there came a dark awakening. - -The day had been one of dazzling heat; and as the sun's rays grew more -and more slanting, and the shadows longer, Don Diego bid his gentle -young wife a short adieu, and sauntered forth to draw, if possible, a -freer breath out-of-doors than was possible within. - -He had been more impatient in seeking the evening breeze than most of -his fellow-citizens, for the streets were still almost deserted. There -was but one pedestrian besides himself in sight, and Montoro de Diego -was well content to note that that one was a stranger, for he was in no -mood just then for parrying fresh solicitations from his friends by -signs, and half-uttered words, to join their secret counsels. He was -sufficiently annoyed when he perceived at the lapse of a few seconds -that even the stranger was evidently bent on accosting him. Determined -not to have his meditations interrupted he turned short round, and -began to retrace his way towards his own abode. - -But not so was he to secure isolation. The rapid pitpat of steps behind -him quickly proved that the stranger was as desirous of a meeting as he -was wishful to avoid it; and scarcely had the Spanish nobleman had time -to entertain thoughts of mingled wonder and annoyance, when he shrank -angrily from a tap on his arm, and faced round to see what manner of -individual it might be who had dared such a familiarity with one of the -grandees of Aragon. The explanation was sudden and complete. - -A low, mocking laugh greeted the involuntary widening of his eyes. Don -Diego stood face to face with the man he had seen but once before; but -that was on an occasion never to be forgotten, for it was the evening -of his marriage, and the man before him was the one who had dared try -to deprive him of his bride. For that he bore him no love, nor for the -hinted threats then uttered; but now his blood curdled with instinctive -horror as he gazed at the sinister, cruel face mocking his with an -expression on it of such cool insolence. - -Don Diego's most eager impulse was to dash his companion to the ground -and leave him; but for the first time in his life fear had gained -possession of him. Fear, not for himself, but for those whom he held -more precious. - -"Why do you stay me? What would you with me?" he questioned at last, in -tones that vainly strove for their customary accent of haughtiness. The -cynical triumph of the Italian grew more visible. - -"Meseems, my Señor," he replied with a sneer; "meseems from your -countenance, and your new-found humility of voice, that your heart must -have prophesied to you that matter anent which I have stayed you, that -counsel that I would, for our mutual advantage, hold with you. It is of -Don Philip and his daughter Rachel that I wish to speak with you." - -Montoro de Diego inclined his head in silent token of attention, and -the foreigner continued in slow, smooth speech: - -"Doubtless, my Señor, you remember that in your presence, some few -weeks ago, I made proposals of marriage for the fair, rich daughter of -Don Philip. The night of the day on which I made these proposals the -birds flew from me, and from my little hints in case of contumacy, out -of Saragossa. That was a foolish step to take, my Señor, was it not?" - -He paused for an answer, and the dry lips of Don Diego replied stiffly: -"Don Philip asked me not for counsel in his actions, neither did I give -it." - -"Ah!" resumed the Italian with a second sneer, "that may perchance be -a true statement, Don Diego; but I shall be better inclined to accept -it worthily, when you shall now reverse your professed behaviour, and -accept the post of adviser to the obstinate heretic." - -"I cannot," was the hasty exclamation. "Don Philip is no heretic, but a -faithful son of the Church, and I have no clue to his retreat." - -"Then I can give you one," was the low-spoken answer. "Don Philip has -been tracked, and brought back. But his daughter is not with him. He -refuses to confess her hiding-place, although he is now in the dungeons -of the Holy Inquisition, and can purchase freedom by the information." - -"Cruel, black-hearted villain!" exclaimed Don Diego, shocked and -infuriated at length beyond all prudence; "know this, that Rachel, -daughter of Don Philip, is now my bride. And know this yet further, -that the nobles of Aragon are not yet so ground beneath the feet of a -new dominion that they cannot protect their wives, and those belonging -to them, from the perjured baseness of dastards who would destroy them." - -Once more the young nobleman turned to quit his abhorred companion, but -once more that hated touch fell upon his arm, and the Italian again -confronted him with a face literally livid with malice as he hissed out: - -"The nobles of Aragon are doubtless all-powerful, my Señor, and yet for -your news of your bride I will give you news of her father. Ere this -hour to-morrow the burnt ashes of his body will have been scattered to -the four winds of heaven. Take that news back to your bride to win her -welcome with." - -Don Diego was alone. Whether he had been leaning against the walls of -that heavy portico five seconds, five minutes, or five hours, he could -scarcely tell when he became conscious of his own painful reiteration -of the words, "Ere this hour to-morrow--ere this hour to-morrow." - -"What is the matter, Montoro? rouse yourself. What about this hour -to-morrow?" asked the voice of Don Alonso at his elbow. And Montoro -shudderingly raised himself from the wall, looked with dazed eyes at -his friend, and repeated: - -"Ere this hour to-morrow. Will she know?" - -"Will who know?" again questioned Don Alonso, as he passed his arm -through his friend's and drew him on, for the street was no longer -empty. Doors were opening on all sides, and the people pouring forth -to the various entertainments of the evening. Some curious glances had -already been cast at Don Diego, as he leant there stupefied with horror -and anguish for his wife's threatened misery. - -In the early part of the evening the Italian tool of the Inquisition -had sought Don Diego. When evening had given way to night, Don Diego -sought the Italian, and as a suppliant. - -"It ill suits an Aragonese to sue to the villain of a foreigner," said -the wretch, with malicious sarcasm. "It makes me marvel, my Señor, that -you should deign thus to condescend." - -"I marvel also," murmured the Spaniard, rather to himself than to his -unworthy companion. "When the sword of the Moor was at my throat I -disdained to sue for mercy; when I lay spurned by the pirate's foot I -felt no fear; but now--ay now, if you will--I will give you the power -to boast that one of the greatest of the nobles of Aragon has knelt at -your feet to sue for a favour at your hands." - -"And you will not deny the humiliating fact if I should publish it?" -demanded the Italian, with a half air of yielding, and Montoro Diego, -with a light of hope springing into his face, exclaimed: - -"No, no. I will myself declare the deed, if for its performance you -will obtain me the life and freedom of Don Philip." - -Like a drowning man stretching forth to a straw, Montoro had snatched -at a false hope. With that low, mocking laugh that issued freely enough -from his thin, cruel lips, the Italian said slowly: - -"Ah! your wish is very great, my Señor, I see that--truly very great to -save a heart-ache to your bride. But--see you--you have hindered Jerome -Tivoli of his desire, and now it is his turn, the turn of the 'base, -black-hearted villain,' Jerome. And he takes your desire into his -ears, he tastes it on his palate, it is sweet to him, sweetened with -the thought of revenge, and then--he spurns it--spits it forth from -him--thus!" - -The Aragonese tore his rapier from its sheath, and darted forward, his -fierce southern blood aflame with fury at the insult. But his companion -stood there coolly with folded arms, content to hiss between his teeth: - -"We are not unwatched, my Señor. I have plenty to avenge me if you -think Doña Rachel will be gratified to lose husband now as well as -father." - -The mention of his wife was opportune. It restored Don Diego to his -self-control. With a mighty effort mastering his pride, he collected -his thoughts for one final attempt on behalf of the good old man doomed -so tyrannically to an awful death. - -Before seeking this second interview with the foreigner Montoro de -Diego had schooled himself to bear everything for the sake of his -one great object, and although for a moment he had allowed self to -rise uppermost, he now once more crushed it down, and returned to the -attitude of the humble suppliant. - -He did not indeed repeat the offer, so insultingly rejected, to kneel -to the informer, but he appealed earnestly to more sordid instincts. -The man had alluded to Don Philip's daughter as rich as well as -beautiful, and he now offered him the heiress's wealth as compensation -for the loss of the heiress herself. - -As he spoke a sudden gleam of satisfaction shot into the Italian's -eyes, and a second time a hope, far greater than the first, rose in -the petitioner's heart; but yet again it was dashed to the ground. -Just as he was prepared to hear that his terms were agreed upon, -his companion's countenance underwent a sudden change. A shadow had -just fallen across the floor, and with a heavy scowl replacing the -expression of greed he bent forward with the hasty mutter: - -"Fool of a Spaniard, has that idiot tongue of thine but one tone, that -thou must needs screech thy offers, like a parrot from the Indies, into -all ears that choose to listen?" Then aloud, as though in continuation -of a widely-different theme: "And so, as I tell thee, thy offers go -for nought, for the wealth will of right flow into the coffers of the -Sacred Office when the accursed Jew shall have suffered in the flesh to -save his soul. And now," insolently, "I have no more time to listen to -thy prating, and so go." - -Whether he went of his free will, or was turned out, Montoro de -Diego never clearly remembered, but on finding himself beneath the -starry sky, he dashed off to the palace of the dread Arbues himself. -Well-nigh frantic with despair, as he thought of the torments that the -aged prisoner was even then all too probably undergoing, he forced -admittance, late though the hour was, to the presence of the stern -ecclesiastic, who was prudently surrounded by guards even in the -privacy of his own supper-room. Nothing short of the great influence of -Don Diego's high rank would have enabled him to penetrate so far, but -even that did not protect him from the Inquisitor's rebuke, nor gain -him a favourable hearing for his cause. - -"It is our blessed office," said the bigoted supporter of Rome's worst -errors, "to purge the Church, to--" - -"If Don Philip die, others will die with him," sharply interrupted the -young Spaniard, with fierce significance, and he left the Inquisitor's -palace as abruptly as he had entered it, half determined, in that -bitter hour, to throw in his lot with the conspirators. If there were -none to listen to reason, none to obey the dictates of justice or -mercy, why should he maintain alone his integrity? - -So passion and despair tried to argue against his conscience, as he -retraced his steps to his own home and the waiting Rachel. But the -events of that night were not yet over. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - _THINKING OF EXILE._ - - -As Montoro de Diego entered the deep portico of his palace entrance, -he stumbled against some obstruction in the way. He stooped, and found -there was a man dead, or in a deep swoon, lying at his feet. - -Before he could ascertain more, or summon his servants, a third person -stepped out of the obscurity and muttered rapidly: - -"Remember, the gold is to be mine. It is not my fault that he has thus -suffered before release." - -Then the whisperer of those significant words was gone, and the -young man was alone with the prostrate form of his father-in-law. -Relinquishing his intention to call for aid, he lifted the inanimate -body in his own strong arms, and bore his burden into a small inner -apartment, reserved for his own devotion to such learned studies as -were then flourishing in Aragon under the fostering care of royal -encouragement. Something of medicine and surgery he had also acquired, -but he soon discovered with bitter sorrow that in the present case -his skill was useless. The old man was dying. Every limb had been -dislocated on the rack. - -"They tortured me to try to extort the secret of my child's -hiding-place," murmured the old man quietly. "But thanks be to the -Lord, He gave me strength. This day I shall be with Him. They have but -hastened my coming home, my children." - -And so, with forgiveness and love in his heart, and the light of coming -glory on his face, this rescued victim of the Inquisition died in his -daughter's arms, just as the sun's first golden rays were brightening -the streets of Saragossa. Those rays that were glowing on the walls of -the dungeons, within which slept, for the last time on earth, those -innocent ones who were that day to be burnt in one of the awful Autos -da Fé; those rays that were glowing on the walls and windows of the -palace where Arbues the Inquisitor still slumbered. - -"For so He maketh His sun to shine on the evil and the good." - -The morning was still young when Don Diego received two visitors. -The first, Jerome Tivoli, was quickly dismissed with the curt but -satisfying speech: - -"A noble of Aragon ever keeps his word. The miserable treasure you -crave is yours." - -His interview with Don Alonso was far longer. - -"Surely now you must join us," urged that fiery spirit with impatient -indignation. "You cannot refuse to aid in avenging the wrongs of your -father-in-law." - -"His mode," murmured the other, "of avenging his own wrongs, was to -pray for light for his murderers." - -But Don Alonso was marching with hasty strides up and down the -apartment, and did not hear the words. His own conscience was ill -at ease, as the head of conspirators having assassination for their -object, and he had an unacknowledged feeling that he would be more -comfortable in his mind if the upright Montoro would throw in his lot -with them. But Don Diego was firm in his refusal. That recent death-bed -scene had given him back his faith in the wisdom and love of God, in -spite of the darkness now around him, and he ended the discussion at -last, by saying: - -"No, Alonso, I will keep my honour whatever else I may be forced to -lose. But, although I will not join you, I will tell you whom I would -join, were my Rachel a man, or, being a woman, had she but been inured -to hardships as a mountain peasant. I would suffer exile thankfully, so -embittered to me has my native land become." - -"Embittered indeed to us all," almost groaned the other, adding, "But -whom then is it you would join in your exile? Any of our friends, or -one I know not?" - -"One you know not, nor I either, personally," was the reply; "but one -whom we both know well by reputation. That Christopher Colon, the -Genoese, who, for the past six months almost, has been wearying our -Queen Isabella of Castile to provide him means to find some strange -new world; some vision of wonder that has risen in his imagination, -brilliant with lands of gold and pearl, and perfumed with sweeter -spices than the Indies." - -Don Alonso uttered a short laugh of contempt. - -"Ah, ha! And you mean to tell me that you would be willing to throw in -your lot with that beggarly, visionary adventurer! Our King Ferdinand -knows better than to waste his maravedis on such moon-struck projects, -or to let his consort do so either." - -"And yet," said Montoro, somewhat doubtfully, "and yet, although of -course new worlds are foolishness to dream of, some islands might -perchance fall to our share, if we adventured somewhat to find them, -as such good and profitable prizes have been falling, during the -past fifty years, pretty plentifully, to our clever neighbours, the -Portuguese." - -"Ay, and even they won't listen to this Genoese, you may recollect. -Besides, the Pope has given everything in the seas and on it, I have -heard, to those lucky neighbours of ours, so of what use for Spaniards -to jeopardize lives and treasure to benefit the Portuguese?" - -"Nay," answered Don Diego, "the Pope's grant to them is only for the -countries from Cape Horn to India. Why should not we obtain a grant for -lands in the other hemisphere?" - -And so the poor young nobleman tried to stifle grief and apprehension -in dreams of other lands, of whose discovery he would not live to hear, -although his son would one day help others to found new homes on their -far-off soil. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - _DEATH FOR ARBUES DE EPILA._ - - -The days went by; the days of that year, 1485: and still the hideous -spectacles of the Auto da Fé continued to be witnessed with shame and -anguish by the inhabitants of Saragossa. Still the cry of the tortured -victims ascended up to heaven, and still Arbues de Epila lived in his -case of mail. - -Those were busy, agitating days for Spain. The war with Granada was -still in progress. King Ferdinand was much exercised in mind with -various jealousies connected with French affairs, and, more than -all important for future ages, the Queen's confessor, Ferdinand di -Talavera, together with a council of self-sufficient pedants and -philosophers, was taking into consideration that request of the -Genoese, Christopher Colon, or, as we call him, Columbus, to be -provided with such an equipment of ships, men, and necessary stores, as -should enable him to find and found countries hitherto unheard of, and -only thought of, most people declared, by crack-brained dreamers. - -"Besides," finally decided Talavera and his sage council, with pompous -absurdity; "besides, if there were nothing else against this scheme, -such as the convex figure of the globe, for instance, which, of course, -would prevent vessels ever getting back again, up the side of the -world, once they got down, there was the impudence of the suggestion. -It was presumptuous in any person to pretend that he alone possessed -knowledge superior to all the rest of the world united." - -And such impertinent presumption was certainly not to be encouraged -in an "obscure Genoese pilot." And so, for that while, after weary -waiting, and the weary hope deferred that maketh the heart sick, -Columbus and his splendid plans were dismissed. But this result was not -arrived at until four years after the months with which we are, for the -minute, more immediately concerned; and so to return to the thread of -our narrative, and to add yet further--and still the men of Saragossa -gathered into secret bands, discussing rather by tokens, than by words, -the unspeakable cruelties that were being committed in their midst, and -the proposed destruction of their arch-instigator, Arbues de Epila. - -All was ripe at length for the fulfilment of the fatal plot; fatal, -alas, not only to the Inquisitor, but to his murderers also, and to -many and many another wholly innocent of the crime. - -All day long Don Alonso, Don Miguel, Don James of Navarre, with the -rest of the conspirators, many of them with the noblest blood of Aragon -flowing in their veins, watched with a fierce, hungry eagerness for the -moment in which to strike the blow. The hours wore on, the evening -came. In low-breathed murmurs one and another rekindled their own -fury, or revived the flagging courage of a companion, by recalling the -generosity of character, the blameless life, of some friend or relative -snatched out of life by this barbarous persecution. - -Night fell over the city of Saragossa, and gradually the conspirators -stealthily, silently drew round about the walls of the cathedral. It -was approaching midnight. The fierce persecutor of his fellow-men was -on his knees before the great altar of the cathedral, on his knees -before Him who has said, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." - -Arbues knelt there in the flood of brightness from the lighted altar, -and his enemies gathered up around him in the gloomy shadows of the -surrounding darkness. Suddenly there was a muffled shout--a cry. He -raised his head;--too late,--escape was impossible. Already the arm and -hand were streaming with blood that had signed so many warrants for the -torture and death of others. Then came the fatal blow. - -[Illustration: Arbues knelt there in a flood of brightness from the -lighted altar. Suddenly there was a muffled shout--a cry. He raised his -head;--too late,--escape was impossible.] - -A dagger shone, gleaming red with life-blood, in the light, from the -back of the victim's neck, in the flesh of which its point was firmly -embedded. - -Who gave that final thrust none knew but the giver. Only Don Miguel, -who stood by in the fierce crush and _melée_, heard the words hissed -out as the deadly weapon was darted forth: - -"So dies the fiend, Arbues de Epila!" - -And he, too, cast a hasty glance beside him, as Montoro de Diego had -done when those words were uttered behind his ear in the Auto da Fé -crowd some weeks ago. - -But Montoro de Diego had found no one at his elbow but an innocent, -wide-eyed child; and Don Miguel only found a crowd of terrified, -cringing priests, who with pallid faces and trembling limbs bore off -the dying superior to his own apartments, where he lingered two days, -blindly giving thanks to God that he had been accepted as a martyr in -His cause! - -"The enemy of our liberty, our honour, our security is dead," muttered -Don Alonso in fierce triumph to Montoro de Diego, as he sought -temporary shelter from the dangers of pursuit in his friend's palace. -But Don Diego shook his head with prophetic sadness as he answered: - -"May the Holy Virgin grant that you have not called down worse evils -upon our unhappy city!" - -All too soon his fears were realized. The Church was offended, and the -sovereigns, at the assassination of the great Inquisitor, and terrible -was the vengeance wreaked far and wide upon all who had been, or were -supposed to have been, implicated in the impious deed. Hundreds upon -hundreds of people died, by torture, in the dungeons, at the stake, -by persecutions innumerable, and starvation; and the whole province -of Aragon was still further cruelly humiliated in the persons of its -nobles, who were condemned in crowds to do penance in the Autos da Fé. - -Don Alonso and Don Miguel were hanged instead of burned, not in mercy, -but in sign of greater infamy, and that they might feel themselves -ground to the very dust by the intense degradation of their punishment. -And Don Diego did not escape the general ruin of his friends. - -The heat of the search for victims had somewhat abated, when the -covetous desires of one of the members of the Inquisition turned upon -the possessions of the wealthy nobleman. - -A path to the coveted riches was soon found. Montoro de Diego's words -were suddenly remembered that he uttered on the night of Don Philip's -death--"If Don Philip die others will die with him." On these words -he was condemned, first to lingering months in a loathsome dungeon, -then to death; and his young wife was driven forth from the gates of -Saragossa in widowed penury and despair. The second Montoro de Diego -was born a beggar and fatherless, but he had the brave, upright spirit -of his father in him for his portion; and with his fortunes our tale -is, for the future, concerned. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - _SANCHO'S BROKEN VICTUALS._ - - -Poverty and pride do not go well in company, and so a Spanish lad of -some fourteen or fifteen years of age had begun to learn. But the -lesson was hard, and one badly learnt, when one evening some broken -victuals were flung to him as they might have been to a famished dog, -and accompanied by the exclamation: - -"There, starveling, be not squeamish, but feed those lean cheeks of -thine, and give me thanks for thy supper." - -"I'll give thee that for thy base-born impudence," was the passionate -retort, as the youth seized the package of broken meats and was about -to use it as a missile to hurl at the donor's head. - -But as the muscular young arm was raised it was suddenly grasped from -behind, and a sweet, soft voice said hurriedly: - -"My son, bethink you. For those of noble blood to be street-brawlers -brings as great disgrace as beggary. You have never yet so far shamed -me, or forgotten the due restraints of your rank." - -As the slight, pale woman spoke the lad's clutched fingers loosened -their hold of the parcel; it dropped back into the dusty gutter; -and with burning cheeks he suffered himself to be led away from -the neighbourhood of the half-angry, half-contemptuous man whose -well-intentioned gift had been so spurned. When the mother and son had -disappeared the man turned, with a short laugh, from watching them, and -addressed himself to a neighbour. - -"Easy to see who they are. Holy Mother Church has had something to say -to their belongings in the past, I wager. But noble though they may -be still, and rich though they may have been once, they are clearly -starving now, and had better accept good food when they can get it." - -And in this declaration the worthy Sancho was certainly most right, -although the bread of charity, even when most delicately bestowed, -tasted bitter in those hungry mouths; for the man was further right in -his belief that mother and son were of high birth, and the mother had -also been reared in luxury. - -However, the little incident over, with the alms-giver's comment upon -it, the worthy burgess of the small town of El Cuevo, upon the very -borders of Aragon, turned his thoughts to matters of greater interest -and importance. - -"What thinkest thou, friend Pedro, of the new expedition preparing to -set out for yon troublesome new-found island of Hispaniola--has it thy -approval?" - -The friend Pedro thus addressed was busily engaged in inspecting -various samples of foreign spices. He now raised a solemn pair of eyes -from his aromatic treasures as he replied: - -"Troublesome it may be to those who govern it; but so long as my -son doth continue to send me home a sufficiency of these marketable -commodities, it is not he nor I that shall grumble at its finding." - -The burly Sancho laughed. - -"Ay, ay, neighbour, I know thee of old. A well-lined pocket thou ever -holdest good recompense for a few thwacks. Would that the grand old -Admiral Columbus could find comfort for ingratitude and sorrows with -such ease!" - -"But so he might do if he would but try," was the shrewd answer. "You -see our brave Genoese hath ever been more needful for empty-handed -honour and glory, than for gathering together good store of worldly -spoil, to fall back upon when men should begrudge him the shadow-prizes -he desired. Now it seemeth that he may chance to have neither." - -"Well, well, I know not," continued Sancho. "The queen hath ever a -good will to the great man. And although he is not to be commissioned -to go himself to the punishment of that Jack-in-office Bobadilla, men -say that the Commendador of Lares, Don Nicolas de Ovando, who is now -preparing to set out thither, hath all the virtues under the sun. Wise -and prudent and abstemious, and of a winning manner." - -"Umph!" grunted the spice-dealer. "Don Ovando had needs be a second -St. Paul if he is to win justice and mercy for the poor natives out -yonder, at the hands of the off-scouring of our streets; and that is -what our gentle-hearted queen hath most at heart." - -Master Sancho nodded his head gravely. - -"Ah, friend Pedro, I say not but you are right. And that minds me: if -my head were not so thick, I might have bethought me to advise yon -lad, with the great eyes and the short temper, to seek fortune, like -many another of his peers, in those far-off lands across the ocean. I -daresay he would have accepted that advice with a better grace than he -did my scraps." - -His neighbour looked up this time more fully than he had yet done, and -let his hands rest for a few moments idle on the samples with which he -had been so occupied, as he exclaimed with genuine astonishment: - -"Why, friend Sancho, verily it seems to me that you have taken some -queer true interest in yon ragged piece of impudence. I have noted you -more than once, ay, than twice, watch him of an evening as he went by -till out of sight. And now, when he would have flung your kindness back -at you, still talking of him, forsooth. Nay then, had he so treated me -he would have been roundly cuffed, I tell thee; and so an end." - -Broad-shouldered, easy-going Sancho laughed and gave a shrug. - -"I am not fond of being ready with my fists, friend Pedro; my hands -are large, and might hap to be over heavy; besides, I have a broken -thumb. But you judge rightly; I have taken a fancy to that set-up, -handsome-faced young beggar. And I have watched him, not only of an -evening past these doors, but at other hours in the town; and although -he rejects help for himself, many a time have I seen him give it to -those weaker or more helpless than himself." - -Meantime, while he was being thus discussed, that same "set-up, -handsome-faced young beggar" was remonstrating with his mother against -her oft-reiterated lectures to him on humility, and on a studied -avoidance of everything that should draw observation upon them. - -"I will not slink into corners like a thief, nor hide myself in holes -like a rat," he exclaimed at last, with haughty indignation. "Hast thou -not told me thyself, my mother, that I am an Aragonese?" - -But Rachel Diego replied with a lip that trembled while it curled: - -"In truth art thou, my son, a child of a barren land. The heir of -territories so stricken from the Maker's hand with poverty, that -perchance we waste life's breath in lamenting that treasures so -miserable should be wrested from us." - -But the mother's new line of argument, to soothe her son's dangerous -agitation, was fruitless as the other. His eyes flashed still more -brilliantly with his burning indignation, as he retorted again: - -"You say right, my mother. The land of Aragon is so poor and barren, -that perchance her sons and daughters might all long since have -forsaken their churlish, niggard-handed mother, and finally renounced -her, but that she gives them liberty. Even in our oath of allegiance we -tender no slaves' submission to oppression." - -The widowed mother turned her sad eyes upon her proud-spirited boy. - -"My son, no oath of allegiance has as yet been called for from thy -lips." - -The flush deepened on the young Spaniard's face. He pressed his teeth -into the crimson lower lip for some seconds to strangle back a groan -that sought escape from his own over-burdened heart. He had heard of -the tragedies of those months before his birth. - -"No," he muttered at length bitterly. "No. It is true. I am esteemed -too contemptible to have even vows wrung from me that are counted -worthless. But the oath that my father spoke is registered in my heart; -the oath due from us, whose proud heritage it is to call ourselves the -nobles of Aragon. And such is the oath that I, in my turn, tender to my -sovereign, Ferdinand of Aragon and Castile." - -The lad paused a moment, and then, with folded arms, and in low, firm -tones, repeated the proud words of the Aragonese oath of allegiance. - -"We, who are each of us as good, and who are altogether more powerful -than you, promise obedience to your government if you maintain our -rights and liberties, but if not, not." - -As he spoke Rachel Diego dropped her face into her hands, and as he -ended she murmured in stifled tones: - -"Your father pronounced that haughty vow, and what availed the boast?" - -What indeed! The young Montoro gazed for a moment at his wan mother, at -the bare room, and then, with all his haughtiness lost in a flood of -sudden despair, he darted from the miserable apartment to wrestle with -his agitation in the wild darkness of a stormy night. - -That his heart should be torn with bitterness and grief was little -wonder, for all too well he knew how it came to pass that his mother -was fatherless and a widow, and how he himself had been robbed of -his parent and his patrimony. Something of the dismal tale of Don -Philip's tortured death, and of the base villain who had grasped at -his daughter's fortune, had been told the boy from time to time by his -mother. Something, also, of the avarice and barbarity that had wrested -a few despairing words to the destruction of his own father, the noble -Don Montoro de Diego. - -But much fuller details of those dismal days of 1485 had been given to -the disinherited son of a blameless father by the old priest Bartolo, -who had secretly aided the outcast young widow and her infant when -they were first driven from their home, and who had continued to give -them all the assistance in his power until his death, some months ago; -in that very month of December, in fact, of 1500, when the hearts of -so many in Spain, and elsewhere, throbbed with indignation at the -news that a vessel had arrived in the port of Cadiz with the great -discoverer on board, in chains like a common malefactor. - -While the young Montoro was mourning over the dying priest, however, -he little heeded the gossip going on around him about one who, during -the remaining five years of a well-worn life, was to have a far greater -influence on the orphan lad's career than ever the good old priest -would have had the power to exercise. - -But the days of December passed on. The old priest was buried. Columbus -was delivered from his chains by hasty order of the king and queen, and -was further invited in flattering terms of kindness to join the royal -Court at Granada; a thousand ducats to defray expenses, and a handsome -retinue as escort on the journey, being sent in testimony that the -friendliness of the invitation was sincere. And so the saddened heart -of the glorious old Admiral was once more warmed with half-fallacious -hope. Not so with poor Rachel Diego and her son. - -Life had been hard enough while Father Bartolo lived, but after his -death the struggle for existence became well-nigh desperate; and by the -time the months had come round to this following December of 1501, more -people, in the obscure little town of El Cuevo, than the worthy burgess -Sancho, had come to the conclusion that the unknown young widow and her -handsome son were dying of starvation. - -But death was evidently preferable, in the minds of the helpless -couple, to degradation. Work they could not obtain, and charity they -would not accept. - -"And small blame to them after all," muttered Master Sancho to himself, -a few days after his vain effort to bestow a supper on the objects of -his interest. "I don't believe that I, either, should relish the taste -of other men's leavings. Thanks be to the virgin that I have never had -to eat them. But yet--to starve? Umph! I know not whether I should like -the flavour of starvation any better." - -And he folded his arms across his portly person with a slightly mocking -laugh of self-consciousness. - -This short soliloquy had been occasioned by the sight of young Montoro -Diego passing the end of the street. His reappearance now, in the -street itself, with a large loaf of bread in his arms, brought the -soliloquy to a sudden stop; and Sancho left his post of observation in -his own doorway, and hurried as fast as his weighty figure would allow -to the pedestrian, finding no very great difficulty in barring the -lad's further progress along the narrow roadway with his broad form. -Montoro threw back his head impatiently. - -"What now?" he demanded, with flushed cheeks. "Have you some more dog's -meat that you wish to be rid of?" - -The burgess laughed. - -"Verily, my son, there is a bold spirit hidden under those rags of -thine. But a truce to laughter; for verily I feel angered with you now, -and I have a right?" - -"Because I would none of your mean gifts?" asked Montoro hotly. - -"Nay, indeed; that was your affair. But I am angry, and have a right -to be, that you should accept aid from others which you will not have -from me." - -"Accept aid!" repeated the lad wonderingly. "Of what are you speaking? -What aid have we received since the only friend died of whom we would -accept it?" - -But even as he spoke he caught the eyes of his companion fixed upon the -loaf by way of significant answer, and he added shortly: - -"This I have earned. It is no gift." - -Then slipping under his questioner's arm he thought to have escaped; -but Master Sancho caught him by the shoulder and held him fast. - -"Look here, my son, by your air and looks I judge you to have been -born to a rank far above my own and so if it be your pleasure I will -speak to you with uncovered head by way of deference. But speak to you -I will, for I have taken a fancy to you; and if you are not as set -against work as against alms I may help you." - -There was a spasmodic twitch of the shoulder at those last words; and -the boy's face was so turned away that his captor could not read it. -But after a moment's silence the worthy-hearted man continued, with a -different accent of somewhat impatient anger: - -"Hark ye, lad, ye may be as indifferent about thyself as it may please -thee; but I cry shame on thee to refuse aught that may provide needful -nourishment for that sweet and gentle mother of thine. To nourish -thy false pride--ay, I will even call it by a juster name, thy base -pride--thy mother is offering herself a sacrifice." - -There was a gulping sound in the boy's throat, and then with a choking -gasp he muttered: - -"She could not, she would not, live on charity." - -"No," instantly agreed the burgess of El Cuevo; "that I begin to -believe. But she could and would live on the honest earnings of your -hands. And be you noble or no, you'll find ne'er a priest in Spain to -dare tell you that it is more honourable to let a mother starve than to -work for her." - -For the first time Montoro Diego let his eyes fairly rest on his -mentor's face. There was something so genuinely true in the ring of the -voice that the boy's anger and indignation dwindled away he scarce knew -how, and gave place to a growing trust. With an effort he crushed down -his emotion as he replied in low tones: - -"I have no coward scruples against work, believe me. But I am noble, as -you say. The son of one who died wrongfully for the death of Arbues de -Epila. It was at the peril of their lives that any helped my mother, -even with work, at the time that my father was thus barbarously mur--" - -Burgess Sancho sharply clapped his hand over the boy's mouth, muttering -with half-angry solicitude: - -"Knowest thou not, my son, that a still tongue is wisdom? Keep thy -information of the past for those who ask for it, and to those who do -so give it not. You, a starving boy in the streets of El Cuevo, I can -help. You may have dropped from the clouds for aught I know. Dost thou -not comprehend me?" - -Montoro's dark eyes gleamed with a flitting smile. The Aragonese of -those days were not wanting in intelligence. But at the same time his -native pride, and even his nobility of character, forbade him to accept -aught at the expense of his identity, and so he quickly let his new -friend understand. - -"I have no inheritance but my father's name and my father's unsullied -memory," he declared firmly; "and I will bear that openly. I have -earned this loaf to-day, and more, by grinding colours for the great -painter staying yonder; but first I told him who I was." - -"More foolish you," remarked Master Sancho, with a shrug. "But what -said he to thy news?" - -"Even as thou--that I had more truth than wit. But he gave me work all -the same, for he said that he need have no fear. The king could replace -heretic nobles with other nobles, but he could not replace a painter, -and so he would be wise enough to keep the one he had." - -"Ay, then," agreed Master Sancho, "the Señor is right; and if I -were you I would turn painter also, for the royal ordinance of last -September did not name that amongst the many things you may not be." - -"No," returned Montoro with a bitter laugh; "that last ordinance -of persecution only excludes me from such employments as would be -possible, not from those needing gifts vouchsafed only to the few. But -I must say adios, for my mother will already have feared some mischance -has come to me." - -"To our next meeting, then," said the worthy burgess. "And meantime I -will cudgel my brains till I find some means to help you, for all you -are so self-willed and impracticable, my son." - -The friendly look and the confident nod that accompanied these gruffly -good-humoured words were full of such pleasant encouragement that -Montoro Diego flew home with a heart suddenly grown as light as though -he had already regained the power to use the title of 'Don' before his -name, and had already won back the heritage of his ancestors. - -We say "already," for of course Montoro, like all brave-spirited, -properly-constituted individuals, was perfectly convinced, even -in the lowest stage of rags and hunger, that the day would most -positively come when he should re-enter his fathers home as the -publicly-acknowledged Don Montoro de Diego. Meantime there was good -bread for his supper that night, and for his mother, together with a -handful of roasted chestnuts and a bottle of thin wine, grateful in -that warm climate from its very sourness. - -"And to-morrow," he said cheerfully, "the great painter says, my -mother, that I may work in his studio again. And, if only you would go -with me, he would not again sigh that there were none beautiful and -tender-faced enough in the land to sit to him for the Holy Mother." - -Rachel Diego said hastily, "Hush, my son," and shook her head at him; -but at the same time she smiled, and a delicate flush tinted the pale -cheeks, for her boy's loving praises were so sweet in her ears that -they turned the humble supper into a feast. - -The mother and son were very happy together that night; but had those -two who so greatly loved each other known that even then schemes were -being revolved in a shrewd and busy brain that would result, within -a few short months, in placing a wide and storm-tossed ocean between -them, one at least of the couple would have found the bread given to -her turned to ashes in her mouth, and would have changed her smiles to -weeping. - -Happily for them, however, no prevision marred the rare joyousness of -those few hours, nor disturbed the sleep that followed, gladdened with -bright dreams. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - _CONSULTING A SWEET TOOTH._ - - -"Friend Pedro!" - -"Ay, what now?" - -And the spice-dealer looked up from a small pile of curiosities, lying -on a tray on his knees, with a more than half-betrayed idea that -nothing his neighbour had to say could be so important, as calculating -how much he might hope to make by the sale of those uncommon wares. - -But this belief was somewhat lessened when his eyes rested on his -friend's countenance. "Hey, then!" he ejaculated; "our painter yonder -saith that thou art never a true Spaniard, for thy face is too round, -but were he to see thee now he would surely tell a different tale." - -"It is but lengthened by the height of my considering-cap," was the -answer, with a laugh that speedily restored his visage to its usual -good-humoured breadth. - -Master Pedro appeared greatly relieved by the change. To say truth, -in that land of solemn faces and staid deportments, a cheerful -neighbour was as refreshing as a sunlit breeze in the early days of -spring; and the spice-dealer, although the solemnest of the solemn -himself, duly appreciated the fact, not to mention that he had a true -though hidden affection for this especial neighbour, and would have -grieved greatly if sorrow had befallen him. But long faces only due to -considering-caps--well, that was another thing, and really not worth -wasting the minutes of a working-day upon. He bent his head once more -over his tray of West Indian treasures, as he asked with diminished -interest: - -"And pray then what has led thee to the wearing of a cap so weighty? -Have the good fathers of St. Jacomb refused the purchase of thy Venice -lustres, or will not they give thee a fair price for them?" - -Burgess Sancho laughed again. "Nay, neighbour, trouble not thyself -to guess, for thy guess is wide of the mark. The good fathers closed -eagerly with my offer of the lustres, and the maravedis I demanded in -exchange are already in my pouch. But hark ye, friend Pedro!--with the -lustres came to me also two Venice glasses of the most changeful pearly -hue, tall and thin, and of a good capacity. And I have a mind to keep -them to myself, and, moreover, to try to-night how the flavour of a -good wine from Madeira goes with them. Come thou in, when the sun hath -gone down, and help me with my judgment." - -"And also with my judgment on a matter of far more moment," muttered -the worthy trader to himself, with a shrewd twinkle in his eye at -having thus cleverly angled for his neighbour's company. - -For the spice-dealer was one difficult to entice farther than his own -doorway; and nothing short of those promises of choice wine from the -Portuguese island of Madeira, to be drunk out of yet choicer goblets, -would have tempted him on the present occasion to break his rule. As -it was, the last glimmer of daylight had disappeared more than an hour -when a cloaked figure stepped from one door to the next, and gave a tap -upon the nail-studded panels. - -"Better late than never, friend; come thy ways in," said Master Sancho -heartily, as he acted the part of his own door-porter, and ushered his -neighbour into a room brightly lighted with fire and lamp; for even -in that sunny land of Spain the cold, damp winds of December made the -blaze of crackling logs pleasant after sundown. What would not have -been so pleasant to English ideas, was the overpoweringly pervading -odour of burning lavender, a bundle of which was slowly smouldering -on the hearth, by way of giving the atmosphere of the apartment that -special tone and perfume considered desirable by its occupants. - -On a small table in front of the cheerful hearth stood the beautiful -Venice glasses, tall and slender, shimmering with opal tints in the -ruddy glow, which also shone through a flask of golden-tinted Madeira, -and danced hither and thither over various dishes daintily set -forth with sweet-meats. For, ascetic-looking as Master Pedro was in -appearance, he had as sweet a tooth as any Roman, and Master Sancho was -too anxious to gain his aid or counsel to neglect anything that might -tend to put him in good humour. - -But although Pedro's eyes gleamed with a certain satisfaction at sight -of the festive preparations, he was shrewd enough to read between the -lines; and as he stretched his feet comfortably towards the fire, and -put back his delicate glass after a contented sip, he asked with grim -humour: - -"And now, friend Sancho, that you have baited your net and caught your -fly, tell me, what wouldest thou seek from out it?" - -The merchant's face flushed at the unexpected question, and he began -hastily: "Now, by the Holy Virgin, I protest that good fellowship--" - -"And some perplexity besides," interrupted Pedro with a knowing smile, -"made you anxious for my company. But tell me without hesitation what -you would have of me, for I would stretch many a point to serve so good -a neighbour." - -"Thou sayest so!" exclaimed worthy Sancho, as he rose hastily to his -feet, and with hand resting on the table bent over his companion, -eagerly scanning his countenance. "Thou sayest so, and would hold to -that thou hast said?" - -"Ay verily," was the calm answer. "Almost, maybe, to the extent of -putting my limbs in danger of the rack, if they might save thine from -the like peril thereby." - -However, in spite of his declaration, Master Pedro was somewhat taken -aback when his companion dropped again into his chair, muttering -thoughtfully: - -"Nay then, not quite so bad as that, I hope; not quite so bad as that; -although--" and he raised his voice slightly once more, and raised his -eyes to his friend again as he added--"although I certainly did think -it were prudent to seek your advice in the privacy of my own home, -rather than to proclaim my desires to the ears of the whole town. It is -now three weeks since you accused me of taking an interest in a certain -large-eyed vagrant boy--" - -"Ay indeed," with fading interest, "of watching the bundle of rags as a -dog might watch a rat." - -"Even so. And when you have watched anything in that way for the space -of months, you end by either loving it, or holding it in abhorrence. I -have ended by loving it. And unfortunately I love where the law hates. -Father and grandfather of that bundle of rags have perished at the -mandate of the Holy Tribunal." - -Master Sancho ceased, and bestowed a long, silent stare upon the -glowing logs, while his companion took a long, slow sip of the rich -wine. At last the spice-dealer put down his glass, placed his hands -slowly, outspread, on his knees, and said in slow, muffled tones: - -"Friend Sancho, I have some rules for life which I have found good. -One of them is, 'Never give advice.' But this once I will depart from -that rule, and advise thee to rid thy heart of this unlucky love, -and for the future ever to wear thine eyes within thy cloak when yon -lean-cheeks is within sight." - -"Umph!" calmly ejaculated the host, still staring into the fire. "I -knew that would be thy first well-meant advice; and, to tell thee the -truth, I reckon that it may be as well for me not to be gazing at the -lad quite so much as I have done of late. It is with that belief that I -have turned to you to help me to get quit of the poor starveling." - -At these last unexpected words the guest started, and cast a keen, -swift glance of almost angry wonder upon his entertainer, as he said -hastily: - -"Nay, neighbour, what is that thou sayest? I advise thee to have nought -to do with the lad, that is true; but canst thou think, even for thy -safety, that I would aid thee to get rid of the poor fatherless one?" - -A smile began to steal over the merchant's broad countenance, as he -replied coolly: - -"Ay, verily, and that is what I can and do expect. But not, as you seem -to fear, to the lad's hurt. Here, in our Spain, it is not easy just -now to set him on his feet. But if you will give him some commission -to your son--nay, be calm and hear me out--if you will do that for the -comfort of his mother, I will furnish him clothes and a fair purse, and -trust me, I will also find means some way to smuggle him on board one -of the ships, now fitting out in the southern port of Cadiz to carry -the Commendador to Hispaniola. That is my scheme; many a good hour that -I might have enjoyed in sleep have I bestowed upon it, and now you are -going to aid me to carry it through." - -"Never!" exclaimed Master Pedro, excitedly; "never, never! Not for all -the maravedis that ever fell into the coffers of the Holy Office will -I help thee to help one who inherits its suspicions. Dost hear me, -neighbour Sancho?--I say, never!" - -"Ay, ay, I hear thee," calmly replied the individual addressed. "I -heard thee say that same 'never' in my dreams two days ago, and -answered thee with 'ever.' Now I hear thee say it actually with thy -lips, and still I answer it with 'ever.' But take another taste of the -wine, friend Pedro; fill thy glass again, if but to see the mingling -of the colours, and draw in thy chair closer to the warmth. No need to -neglect the comforts of the body because thy mind is perturbed." - -"Ah!" growled the other. "Thou hast well put into words the doctrine of -thy life, I warrant me." - -Master Sancho laughed. - -"And if so, neither words nor doctrine, can any say, have served -me shabbily. If it should so fall out in the future that even in -this world I must suffer for my sins, or for other folks' caprices, -nevertheless in the past my face hath had its share of rejoicing in the -sunshine of its own smiles." - -"It is in the sunshine of the smiles of others," retorted the -spice-dealer, "that most men would fain be able to rejoice." - -"Ay, even so, and that is where most men fall into error," was the calm -reply. "Comfort from the smiles of others is like the fleeting comfort -a sick beggar gets from the glow of another man's fire. A healthy man -has the abiding glow in his own veins, and he carries it about with him -where he goes. Thus is it when the spring of smiles is within thine own -heart, man, and thou art led to accept gratefully blessings as they -fall to thy hand." - -The spice-merchant's eyes opened somewhat roundly as he heard this -short philosophical-sounding speech, so very unlike his jovial -neighbour's ordinary conversation, but before he could utter the -sarcastic words of surprise hovering on his tongue, he was recalled to -his recent anxieties by his friend continuing in a more earnest tone: - -"And thus, as I like to grasp at the blessings as they come--the -blessings of good fire, good friends, good food; good fun--so I -can even open my hand wide enough to take hold of another sort of -blessings, when they are thrust upon me so plainly that I can but see -they are being offered. Do you mind the text upon which Father Ignatius -preached to us on Christmas Day?" - -Master Pedro considered a moment, and shook his head. To say truth, -when that sermon began, his head was occupied with the doubt of whom he -should trust to send with his next consignment of money, glass beads, -and other things, to his son. - -"It was appropriate to the occasion," he said at last with a clever -evasion worthy of the Delphic oracle. - -But his companion was too much in earnest now to smile. He replied -quietly: - -"The text was this: 'Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least -of these, my brethren, ye did it not to me. Depart from me, ye cursed, -into everlasting fire.'" - -So sternly solemn was his utterance of those two final words, that -the other was thrilled with it, and moving uneasily on his seat, he -muttered: - -"One would think you were talking of the Holy Tribunal itself, to hear -you." - -"Only," ejaculated Sancho, "that I am talking of something -infinitely more terrible. The one fire is for five minutes, the -other--everlasting. I prefer the five minutes' one, if it must come -to the choice. But, if you will help me, I think not we shall run -much risk of either. Those who are in danger of their lives over -here, and endanger those who aid them, are perfectly welcome, I have -discovered, to imperil those same lives on their own account in the -other hemisphere, for the glory of our country. And, on this I am -resolved--yon black-eyed rascal shall have his chance with the rest." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - _A POWERFUL FRIEND._ - - -"Come with me, and ask no questions." - -Such was the oracular order addressed by Master Pedro to his friend, -Master Sancho, the morning after the conversation over that wonderful -new wine of Madeira, and, with great alacrity, the merchant prepared to -obey, exclaiming, with a joyous rub of his hands: - -"Ah, neighbour, have your will in that matter of the questioning, for -well I guess you would not think to fetch me from my business at this -hour of a working-day but on account of our last night's confab." - -However, for all so sure as he had felt on the matter, he began to be -uncomfortably doubtful when his companion led him from his own door -into the next, from which issued the mingled odours of every known -spice under the sun, and none of them, to worthy Sancho's thinking, -deserving to be compared with the sweet airs wafted over the fields of -their own native lavender. - -"Come in then," testily exclaimed Master Pedro, from the interior of a -room just within the house, and at the entrance of which his friend -had been arrested by the snarlings of two particularly vicious-looking -pups. "Come in; they'll not hurt thee. They know better than to touch a -Spaniard. They are to teach manners to the natives out yonder." - -"Ah!" ejaculated Sancho, with an involuntary shudder, and a look -expressive both of disgust and anger. But he quickly concealed these -emotions. For the present he had one great object in view, and for its -furtherance he must keep his companion in good humour, although his own -was tested to the uttermost, not only by the dogs and their purpose, -but by Master Pedro's employment for the next twenty minutes or so. - -The trader with Venice well enough understood the merits and beauties -of crystal-clear lustres, coloured vases, and golden goblets, and he -had a fair taste in the velvets from Genoa and the fine straws from -Tuscany, but of what use or value all those Moorish tags and rags -could be, which the curiosity-dealer was turning over, save to patch -the holes in the cloaks of the beggars who lay around the doors of the -neighbouring church of San Salvador, he could not imagine. - -"Nay, friend Pedro," he exclaimed at last, with an effort to show no -temper, and to still speak pleasantly; "nay, friend Pedro, if thou hast -brought me here to get a bid from me for yon small rubbish-heap, I tell -thee frankly I value it at nought, seeing it will not even serve to -feed a fire with. Nevertheless, I will even take it, to pleasure thee -and to save mine own time, and at what price you list." - -"Wilt thou then that?" said the other, with a grim smile, as he slowly -lifted himself up from stooping over the pile of lumber, of all hues -and textures, rich and sombre-coloured, thick and fragile. "Another -time, neighbour Sancho, I would warn thee to be more chary of passing -thy word to a blind bargain, lest one more cunning than thyself should -hold thee to the promise. To purchase the rare wares of this small -rubbish-heap would take many more than all the maravedis paid thee -yester morn for thy lustres, by the fathers of San Jacomb. This veil -alone hath been purchased of me for a fair round sum." - -Master Sancho stared at the filmy texture, disfigured here and there -with rents, and shrugged his shoulders. - -"Thy wife, Doña Carlina, would not wear it." - -"She will not have the chance. That veil, now many years since, -shrouded the form of a Sultana--the ill-used queen of Aba-Abdalla, -the last king of the Moors in Granada, thanks to the Virgin, our good -knights, and Queen Isabella. And now Señor Antonio del Rincon hath -hired it, and various others of these draperies, for the finishing of -his great picture of the Life of the Blessed Virgin." - -"And when he hath done with it?" inquired the good merchant, with -something of growing reverence. - -"Then it hath been purchased by a party of the ricos hombres,[1] who -have vowed it to St. Jago, in memory of that grand day ten years -ago, when our valiant Spanish knights adventured themselves, in the -disguise of Turks, within the walls of Granada, as champions of their -enemy's helpless queen. But come, friend, time passes, and Señor -Antonio will be waiting for his stuffs." - -[Footnote 1: The wealthy class next in standing to the nobles.] - -As it was not good Sancho, but Master Pedro himself who had been -delaying the expedition, the friends were soon enough on the road -now that he was ready; and a hope began to dawn again in the mind of -Montoro's new patron, that made amends to him for the loss of minutes -from his daily toils. - -"Señor Antonio del Rincon stands high in favour at the Court, -neighbour," he observed at last, meditatively, as they walked along, -side by side, to their destination; and Master Pedro answered shortly: - -"Ay, neighbour; even so. He doth." - -The reply was given in a tone not exactly inviting to further converse, -but that zealous Sancho nevertheless continued, still thoughtfully: - -"Ay, ay. And doubtless being a favourite he hath influence to obtain a -favour if so be he could be influenced to ask one." - -A shrewd, quick glance from his companion's eyes rewarded this -conjecture; but they and the bundle of "properties" had now arrived at -the temporary abiding-place of del Rincon, known to after-times as the -father of the Spanish School. And Master Pedro's face assumed its usual -solemn business aspect. - -"Mind ye," he muttered hastily, as he paused outside the door of -the studio for a moment, to pull and pat his great package into an -orderliness somewhat destroyed by its carriage from his house--"mind -ye, neighbour, I have brought thee hither, and the rest of the business -ye must manage for yourself; for never another step in so craze-pate -an affair, and one so near akin to rack and faggot, will you get me to -stir, though you should promise me the free gift of your next freight -of Venice glass entire." - -"Nay then, friend Pedro, I'll do more," was the laughing whisper; "if -my hopes succeed, I'll even 'you' thee in gratitude, as thou dost me -for repression." - -A little further compression of the wrinkled lips, a little further -wrinkling of the furrowed forehead, gave the only sign of that mocking -speech having been heard; and an instant later jovial Master Sancho -appeared as sedately ceremonious as his companion, for they had entered -the studio, and stood in the great man's presence, from whom both hoped -great things; the spice-dealer for himself, the trader with Italy for -another. - -A man between fifty and sixty was the Señor Antonio del Rincon, the -gravity of genius somewhat tempered in his countenance by the suavity -learned from contact with that sweet woman, as she was noble Queen, -Isabella of Castile. - -At the artist's elbow stood the handsome young Montoro, who raised -his great earnest eyes with a swift smile of recognition as Master -Sancho entered, and then bent them once more over the colours he was -grinding with most diligent care, for his employer. Never once again -did he cease work during the animated discussion that ensued between -the painter and the owner of the curiosities, although his friendly -well-wisher marked the eager flush that crimsoned his whole face when -a few words were spoken over the veil, of the splendid daring of Don -Juan Chacon, Ponce de Leon, and their two companions, when they stood -victors over the four false-hearted Zegries within the walls of Granada. - -"Humph! He is worth better things than such a task as that," ejaculated -the burgess, unconsciously uttering his thought aloud. - -The painter turned to him surprised. - -"Hey, master merchant, what is it thou sayest? That the veil is too -honourable to take a subordinate place on my canvas, thou thinkest? -Well, maybe thou art right," beginning to relapse into abstracted -contemplation of his work; but with eager deference Master Sancho -stepped forward, putting into words the first thoughts that occurred to -him. Pointing a trembling finger towards a somewhat coarse dish holding -gifts presented to the infant in the manger, he said hastily: - -"It was not of the veil I was thinking. But if Señor Antonio would be -pleased to accept of a dish of crystal, curiously chased, and worked -with gold and gems, for use instead of yon, I would gladly bestow it -for the grand picture's sake, and for the Virgin's honour." - -And thus cleverly did Master Sancho, and with true unselfishness, slip -his dexterous finger into the pie; and in the course of conferences -that day, and a few succeeding days, over the costly dish and similar -articles, he pulled out a goodly plum for Montoro Diego. The last use -the dying Antonio del Rincon was ever to make of his Court influence -was in the service of his young colour-grinder; and soon after the -opening of the new year 1502, good Sancho treated himself to a holiday, -and set out on a journey across Spain to the port of Cadiz accompanied -by Montoro, and bearing a written recommendation of his _protégé_ from -the benevolent Queen to the great Admiral himself. - -"I thought the Virgin had decreed, my son, that I should have to -smuggle thee out of Spain in a cask of the Madeira wine, or in a Venice -flask," said the generous-hearted burgess laughing, and rubbing his -hands, as they proceeded on their first day's journey in fearlessness, -and such comfort as even in those days a well-lined purse commanded. - -The lad answered him with sparkling eyes. His emotions were as yet too -strong for many words. Sorrow at parting with his beloved mother for -the first time was somewhat soothed by having left her in the kind care -and friendship of Doña Carlina; but wonder at his suddenly changed -fortunes, and dazzling hopes of the future, filled his heart almost to -suffocation. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - _FROM THE NEW PRINTING PRESS._ - - -"And I am surety for you, my son; so if you owe me any thanks for my -pains, be honest." - -Such was the parting injunction of Master Sancho, as he bade his -_protégé_ farewell in the harbour of Cadiz on the morning of the 8th of -May, 1502. And with a hot flush in his cheeks, and sparkling eyes, the -youth replied quickly: - -"Honest! Am I not noble? How should a noble of Aragon ever sully his -name with dishonour?" - -"How indeed?" replied Master Sancho as he laid his hand on the lad's -shoulder and continued gravely: "One may well wonder that any bearing -the name of man should sully his manhood by aught that is base; but you -will henceforth be surrounded by many a companion who knows nought of -honour but the honour of grasping more than his neighbour, who cares -for no shame but the shame of being thought capable of virtue. See that -you become not one of them." - -"You have said that the great Admiral is far from being one of -such blots on Spain," said the lad more humbly. "And as I am to -be on his own ship, so I will trust to show myself deserving of -the honour. And"--he added after a moment with a sudden burst of -gratitude--"deserving of all your noble generosity towards me, and your -most helpful trust. The memory of that will be a strong guard to me -from temptation." - -"May St. Jago grant it!" ejaculated the good-hearted man with -affectionate fervour. - -And then patron and _protégé_ had to exchange hasty farewells, for -Ferdinand Columbus, a boy a year or two younger than Montoro, came to -summon him on board. Kind-hearted Queen Isabella, in her good-will -towards the old and trouble-worn navigator, had given up the services -of her young page that on this occasion he might accompany his father, -and comfort him with his mingled love and enthusiasm. - -To Montoro also it was some secret relief to see that there was one -even younger than himself about to brave the very many known, and -many unknown, perils of those far-sought adventures and discoveries; -for more than his timid, grieving mother in El Cuevo had sought to -persuade him that, in leaving that humdrum, safe little town for -untried paths, he was foolishly relinquishing all chances of growing up -to man's estate. That the Admiral was about to take one of his own two -sons seemed a tolerable proof that matters could not be so altogether -desperate as that. - -Meantime, while these thoughts were flashing through Diego's brain, the -merchant's eyes had been attracted by a great iron-bound, iron-clasped -book under the boy Ferdinand's arm, and he at once remembered his -friend Pedro. - -[Illustration: Meantime, the merchant's eyes had been attracted by a -great iron-bound, iron-clasped book under the boy Ferdinand's arm.] - -"My lad," he said, with one of his most winning smiles, "I have left a -neighbour behind me in my own town who loves curiosities, and things -from past times, not only for their value as articles of merchandise, -but for their own sakes, and I would gladly pleasure him with some -worthy gift, on my return, after his own heart. Thinkest thou that I -could purchase yon great old tome of thee? Missal or Moorish prayers, -songs or quaint sayings, I care not, so it be but rare and of a -far-gone date." - -He put out his hand as he spoke to examine his wished-for bargain; -and as Ferdinand Columbus courteously yielded it for inspection he -accompanied the civil act with a smiling: - -"See for yourself, Señor, if it be old enough to suit an antiquary. -Rare it is, certainly; but for the age--it cannot boast as many years -as I. It is one of the Bibles printed, by the king's permission, in -our own tongue, by Theodoric the German, at his printing presses in -Valencia. This copy my father took with him on his first voyage, ten -years ago, across the Atlantic, and he would not think of undertaking -any great expedition without it." - -"And doth he greatly study it, and do you?" inquired Master Sancho, as -with mingled awe and wonder he turned the leaves of a book upon which -his eyes had never before rested. - -But its bearer appeared to think that it was being treated with too -much freedom, and rather anxiously held out his hands to receive it -back as he murmured in a shocked voice: - -"_I_ study it, Señor! The holy saints forbid. That is for the priests. -It is taken with us that by its blessed power may be exorcised such -spirits of evil, and baneful influences, as we may meet with in those -unblessed regions of the West." - -So saying, with a formal bow to the merchant, and a sign to Montoro to -follow him, the son of the great discoverer of a new world, but not of -a more enlightened faith, returned to the small boat that was to carry -them on shipboard. - -Master Sancho stood on the busy strand watching with many another, -until they were drawn up the vessel's side, and then, with a tolerably -deep sigh for the loss of his young companion, he wandered away into -the streets of the bustling city, and soon became the owner of many -curious treasures brought from all parts of the known world, and far -safer possessions in that land of the Inquisition than the one he -had made an attempt, in ignorance, to buy for his timidly cautious -neighbour. - -Indeed, with all his own honest courage shown on behalf of the orphaned -and beggared young noble, the worthy merchant himself would not have -cared to risk travelling with a copy of the Scriptures in his bales, -unauthorized. - -In those days the Bible was for the priests, as Ferdinand Columbus had -said; and the priests took good care not to let the fountain of light -out of their hidden keeping. They loved darkness to reign in the land -rather than light, because their deeds were evil. But when the boy -passed the book for a few minutes into Montoro's charge, as soon as -they got on board, that he might the more readily go in search of his -father, he was not again giving it into the hands of one so ignorant of -its contents, nor to whom it was an affair of so much mystery. - -One small, unsuspected portion of her inheritance had Rachel Philip -saved from the rapacious grasp of the vile informer, Jerome Tivoli, the -Italian. It consisted of three rolls of vellum closely written over in -Hebrew characters, and when Don Philip's father became a Christian he -did not declare his possession of these rolls; but, on the contrary, -closely concealed them, lest he should be deprived of the pearl without -price--the Word of God. - -In a secresy that the more fully impressed the lessons upon his mind -had Don Philip's father taught his son to read these rolls, and to -write "in his mind and in his heart" God's law. In like manner had Don -Philip, in his turn, taught his daughter; and in like manner had Rachel -Diego taught her son to read those three rolls--the Pentateuch, the -Psalms of David, and the book of the prophet Isaiah. - -Through all her troubles of widowhood, wanderings, and poverty she had -kept those books, and she still kept them, for she dared not risk her -child's life with their transfer to him. But it mattered not, for their -truths were imprinted in his soul, and his faith was a living faith, -pure and free from superstition, being built upon the knowledge of -God's own Word. - -Many of those Jew converts who fell at the mandate of the Spanish -Inquisition were the truest Christians, the most upright men, and the -best citizens of their age, for they _knew_ what they believed. - -From his mother's secret teaching, and his own reading, the young -Montoro had become wise unto salvation before the new career began that -had been opened up for him by the merchant's benevolence; and when he -stepped on board the world-renowned Admiral's ship it may be safely -said that the young sweet-voiced, earnest-eyed lad was the mental -superior of most of those with whom he was surrounded. He had now a -great curiosity to see what might be the contents of the Christian -parts of the Bible; and while he awaited his young companion's return, -and was pushed with scant ceremony out of the way of the rough sailors, -only to be hustled yet more imperiously aside by the penniless but -haughty hidalgos who were setting out, as they fondly believed, on a -royal road to fortune, he had the opportunity to gratify his desire. - -Partly by others' driving, partly by his own good management, he at -length got comfortably stowed away into a quiet corner, and there, -dropping himself down on to a bale of goods, he carefully unclasped the -great book, and turned towards the latter half. - -He began to read at once the first words of the first page that opened -beneath his eyes, for the disputes he had witnessed during the past few -minutes between several of his self-asserting companions made them -appear startlingly appropriate. - -"And there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should be -accounted the greatest." - -Many a time did those words recur to his memory during the coming -years, but just then, as he sat in his obscure corner in enforced -quietude and inactivity, he read on and on with forgetfulness even of -his novel position and commencing adventures, in his absorbing interest -in a history then read and fully understood for the first time. We know -the account of our Lord's agony, base betrayal, and awfully cruel death -so well that we have not the faintest idea of how intensely it moved -intelligent minds, who first quietly perused it for themselves in its -own pathetic simplicity, unspoilt in its solemn appeal by any priestly -shows or pageants. - -Montoro Diego clenched his fists and his eyes flashed as he read of -Peter's denial of his Lord and friend. - -"Mean coward!" he muttered. And then his own eyes grew dim as he read -how the slandered, insulted Son of man, the denied of his own chosen -companion, "turned, and looked upon Peter." He seemed to feel his own -being thrilled with the sad reproach, the tender compassion, and the -full forgiveness of that look, and a smothered choking sob parted his -own lips, as "Peter went out, and wept bitterly." - -He read on undisturbed, until he suddenly, as it seemed to him, -received an answer to many long-standing, half-formed questions in his -mind, with the words: - -"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in -all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself." - -That was the last of his reading for that day, and for many days to -come. - -Montoro's eyes were resting on the words--"And beginning at Moses," -his lips were repeating a phrase that seemed for him to form the close -connecting link between the religion given by God to his forefathers, -and the crown of that religion as sealed by Jesus Christ, when -energetic young Fernando found him out in his hiding-place. The younger -boy pounced upon the volume instantly, with a half-indignant cry. - -"Nay then, Diego, if that be thy name, I gave thee this volume of my -father's to hold; there was no commission attached that thou shouldst -read it, or even so much as venture to unclose the clasps. It is more -than I have done, myself." - -Montoro rose from his rough couch, and for all apology said with a -long-drawn breath: - -"I have found wonderful things therein." - -Half-an-hour later it would have appeared that all memory of those -wonderful things was lost. The anchors of the somewhat shabby little -fleet of four vessels were being raised, and with flushed cheeks -and eyes blazing with excitement Montoro Diego was making amends -for ignorance by the most determined vigour and good-will. Such a -little while ago he had been hustled on one side as a useless bit of -goods, whose room was worth more than his company; but already his -keen-sightedness and ready hands had reversed the judgments of those in -his immediate neighbourhood in his favour. - -The afternoon was wearing on, when a grave, kind voice addressed him: - -"My son, I have been observing you. You have done well." - -It was the Admiral himself who spoke, the grand old man who had -attained to ever great heights of humility as he attained to greater -fame, and who never held himself too high to see the worthy efforts of -his humblest follower. - -Montoro's handsome face grew brilliant with delight, and as he bent -it gratefully in acknowledgment of the commendation, his heart seemed -to rise to the possible achievement of deeds of hitherto unheard-of -heroism. At that moment he little knew what those deeds would be; deeds -not indeed wholly unmatched in the previous history of the world, but -yet so rare that, not infidels, but, on the contrary, the most earnest -believers in Christianity, are tempted sometimes to believe that their -faith must be a fable, and those who proclaim its teachings must do so -to tickle their hearers' ears, and as a pastime of the moment. - -Having uttered his few words of encouraging praise, Columbus passed on, -and Montoro, for whom there was no further employment for the moment, -turned to lean over the side of the vessel, and watch the receding -shores of his native land, the fast-diminishing lines of the harbour -of Cadiz, and its throngs of traders from all nations. His mother was -very present with him at that minute, and his mother's parting words: - -"You, the unknown and disinherited noble of Aragon, son of a -foully-slandered and slain father, are, in the world's eyes, nought. -You, the boy Montoro de Diego, may be a hero, the winner of fresh glory -for your name, the gainer of the highest honour from your fellow-men. -The past is not your fault, the future may be your praise. Keep firm to -God and the truth, and fear none." - -That last injunction "to fear none" was indeed little needed in the -sense in which the boy took it. - -"I am not wont to fear," he said, with a touch of impatient pride, -adding the next instant, as his eyes rested on his mother's gentle -face, and with a mischievous smile, "I rather thought, my mother, that -your counsels to me generally were against being overbold." - -"That is true," was the reply, with a fleet answering smile. "But -that is in matters concerning thyself, my son. Be ever backward in -self-assertion, and ever fearless in the cause of justice, truth, and -mercy. As thy father was, so I pray that his son may be." - - * * * * * - -"My father saith that he likes the look of thy face, and wills that we -may be friends." - -Such was the abrupt announcement of that courtly page and intrepid -young adventurer, Fernando Columbus, breaking in upon Montoro's -reverie, and joining him at his post by the vessel's side. - -A third person stood there also for a minute,--a man with grey hair, -and a form shrunken with old age,--and a tear rolled slowly down his -furrowed cheek as he gazed for the last time at his country's strand. - -Montoro's great eyes widened with questioning wonder at sight of the -bowed old man, and when he withdrew he asked his companion, in low -tones, what could have possibly induced one so infirm to set out upon -such toilsome journeyings. - -Ferdinand turned his head to look after the retreating figure, and -shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I suppose his inducement would be -thought by many people a more sensible one than those of the rest of -us, although, if we have anything of a rough voyage, I doubt he will be -proved to have set out too tardily." - -"Still, I hope for my part we shall not always have these smooth -waters," impulsively exclaimed the inexperienced young sailor. "I want -to see what a storm on the ocean is like. But that by the by. Just now -I wish to know what is the inducement of that old hidalgo for leaving -his own home, and the comforts he seems to need. Why do you think it is -a sensible one?" - -"Because," answered the younger boy more gravely, "gold without life is -useless, and even glory without it is not much worth. And various of -our nobles at the Court have come to the belief that the fountain of -youth wastes its precious waters in some hitherto undiscovered region -of this New World. The brave knight, Ponce de Leon, hath determined on -an expedition to go in search of it; meantime yon wealthy Señor hopes -to bribe the Indians to bestow upon him a draught of the precious -water before it be too late. And my father though something doubtful of -this thing, hath consented that Don Aguilar should have passage with us -for the chance. He, himself, would far rather find the Holy Garden of -Eden, which he tells me most surely is out yonder." - -"At any rate," said one of the knightly adventurers who had now -stepped up beside the two lads; "at any rate, Ferdinand, whether thy -father finds the Garden or no, I trust that no flaming firebrands of -the Indians will hinder him from finding, and traversing, that strait -leading from this ocean into the Indian Sea, of which he seems to be so -well assured. The finding of that passage will be wealth for all of us." - -Unfortunately for the hopes of those days, that expected passage proved -to be a land one, and is now called the Isthmus of Darien, which art, -not nature, promises soon to convert into the realization of Columbus's -belief. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - _A JACK IN OFFICE._ - - -It was the 29th of June. There was a hush on board the Admiral's ship. -Yonder were visible the white low houses of San Domingo on the island -of Hispaniola. Around the ship the sea lay still and grey, and the -sails hung limp in the hot, heavy air. - -A knot of men gathered close around a cabin, listening with lowering -brows and compressed lips to bitter groaning, and sobbing cries, that -were being wrung from one within, by his wounded soul. Well might the -old and way-worn discoverer of mighty continents feel tempted at that -moment to cry: "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" - -A storm was coming on; one of his four poor, shabby vessels--that on -which his beloved brother Bartholomew held command--was in a shattered -condition, and he had asked leave to take shelter in the harbour of the -small island he had himself given to Spain, and Spaniards had refused -him! What wonder that the noble and generous heart of the old Admiral -was wrung to its very depths! What wonder that, as Montoro leant with -Fernando against the cabin-door, the lad clenched his fists until the -nails almost cut his palms, and muttered fiercely to his boy friend: - -"Fernando, ask thy father's leave. There is not a man on board will -refuse to turn our guns against those miscreants, though they were -twenty times our countrymen. Only let him give the word, and he shall -be speedily avenged." - -"Ay, speedily," echoed two or three hoarse voices in the group, from -those who had caught the tenor of Montoro's passionate request, and the -Admiral's young son raised his eyes gratefully. His steadfast face was -pale with emotion, his lips trembled. Even this weak testimony to his -father was some comfort. - -"I only wish," he exclaimed, struggling to speak with manly calm; "I -only wish that, as you say, the Admiral would give the word that we -should let our guns loose against the dastard hounds. We would soon -teach them a lesson they should not easily forget." - -"Nay then, young Señor, how about yon fleet?" asked one of the sailors -significantly, pointing to a number of gay and gallant-looking ships at -a short distance within the harbour. "Think you, Señor Ferdinand, that -yon fleet would leave us alone if we took to avenging our insults by -bombarding the town? And they are close upon twenty to one!" - -"What of that?" hastily ejaculated Montoro, his cheeks still crimson -with excitement. "God fights on the side of right and just--" - -He stopped abruptly. The sounds of grief within the cabin had ceased -during this short discussion, and at this instant the door opened, -and a hand was laid on Montoro's shoulder, while the well-known slow, -distinct voice said with grave earnestness: - -"That is true, my son. The great Father fights on the side of right -and justice. But He still better loves to espouse the cause of the -merciful. Instead of seeking to destroy life let us rather try to save -it, that with the measure we mete it may be measured to us again." - -"That comes out of the great book I gave thee to hold the day we -started," whispered Fernando to his companion, who nodded. It had been -a favourite quotation of the benevolent old priest, Bartolo. Meantime -Christopher Columbus proceeded to give proof that he spoke not with his -lips only but from his heart. - -The great fleet in the harbour of San Domingo was that which had -brought out his superseder, Ovando, a few weeks since, and it was now -in all the bustle of preparation for a speedy return to Spain with -crowds of home-going adventurers, many ill-wishers to the just and -virtuous discoverer, numbers of prisoners Spanish and native, and an -immense amount of gold, pearls, and other treasures, well-nigh every -ounce of which had cost a life. - -On board this fleet were the Admiral's most bitter enemies; on board -its grandest vessel was the narrow-minded, mean-spirited upstart, -Bobadilla, who, to the ever-enduring disgrace of his own name and of -his country, had dared to send the great seaman, the great thinker, -the man of unbounded hopes, enthusiasm, courage, endurance, and -magnanimity--the man who to Bobadilla was as a lion to a rat--had dared -to send this giant hero home in chains like a vile malefactor but two -years before, and had covetously grasped at his possessions, impudently -installing himself in the house of his patient victim, and laying -greedy hands upon his arms, gold, plate, jewels, horses, books, and -even his letters and precious manuscripts. - -Against that fleet, with all its proud sumptuousness contrasted with -the miserable little squadron granted to Columbus, and against his base -enemies on board, the company on board his own ship considered that he -had a full right to feel the most vengeful wrath. It was not Montoro -only who could scarcely believe his ears when, after the pause of a -few moments following his sacred quotation--moments devoted to further -keen, close scrutiny of those weather signs in which he was so deeply -skilled--the Admiral summoned forward the crew of the boat that had -just returned, and despatched them with a second message to the new -governor Ovando, to entreat him to save the fleet from the certainly -approaching storm, by a few days' delay of their departure. - -"Better to leave them to meet their fate as they leave us," muttered -Montoro, with the yet unconquered passion of his nature. But once again -that firm touch came upon his shoulder. The Admiral's quick ears had -caught the growl, low as it was. - -"My son," he said quietly, "you shall go with my messengers. That will -be a fitting rebuke for you, will it not," he added with a grave -smile, "for uttering opinions contrary to those of your commander, and -contrary to those of the Divine Ruler of the universe?" - -Obeying a sudden impulse of veneration, Diego snatched the aged hand -in his own, and pressed it to his lips. "I can never attain to your -generosity, Señor," he murmured, "nor be thus forgiving to those -wrongfully my enemies." - -Just as the boat was starting, Ferdinand Columbus bent over the ship's -side, and called mischievously: - -"Diego, there, hark ye!" - -"Ay, what is it then?" asked Montoro, as he lifted his head, resting -on his oar the while. "What news hast thou since I left thee and the -caravel?" - -"Great news," was the mischievous answer. "My father gives me leave to -tell thee that, since thou art doubtless feared by reason of the coming -storm, he will obtain permission at least for such a whipper-snap as -thou to abide on shore." - -That quick, unmanageable spirit of Montoro's was set all ablaze for -a moment at the supposed imputation of cowardice; and he was about -to shout back an answer little in accordance with his late act of -reverence, but Diego Mendez, the officer in command of the little -embassy, hastily clapped his hand over the lad's mouth, as he said with -a short laugh: - -"Nay now, art thou not a very fool to be so taken in? Dost thou not see -by thy tormentor's face that the brain of no Columbus but himself made -up that message for thee?" - -The friendly intervention was timely. When Fernando called down -again--"Say then, dost accept the offer?"--his companion's face was -brimming over with merriment like his own, as the retort was shouted up: - -"Ha, Fernando, my good Señor, thou art but a sorry messenger. My -absent ears have caught the purport of thy father's words better than -thy present ones. The Admiral's message to me is, that since thou art -feared, I must obtain a leave to land for thee. I bid thee, then, calm -thy quaking heart, since I will not fail. Adios." - -"And a slap o' the ear for thee when thou returnest," was the answering -shout; and then the boat cast off, and was rowed with vigorous strokes -to that once fertile, but already so dismal and desolated island of -Hispaniola, the head-quarters of cruelty, lawlessness, suffering, and -rapacity. - -Montoro was very quickly to have a specimen of the deeds that had -brought the island to its present wretched condition. - -As the boat approached the strand, crowds of idlers gathered about, -some to give the new-comers welcome, more to express their contemptuous -dislike of the Admiral by covert sneers or openly-expressed scorn -bestowed upon his followers. - -There, flaunting in silks and brocades, which not even the proudest -hidalgos dared any longer wear in Spain, stood half-a-dozen men, who -had been loosed from richly-deserved felons' dungeons at home, to serve -as colonists for the New World. Near them, reclining in a sumptuous -litter, borne upon the bleeding shoulders of four of the meek-spirited -and unhappy natives, was an ignorant, cunning rascal, whom Montoro had -himself seen carried off to prison for theft in El Cuevo. Now he lay -there in all the insolent dignity of riches, with a palm-leaf umbrella -borne over his head by one slave, whilst another sickly-looking -creature fanned him. - -Closer to the edge of the soft-lapping waters was a real Spanish Don, -whose poverty-stricken estate had driven him to hide his thread-bare -pride in exile. To indemnify himself for leaving his beloved Castile, -he spent his whole time and thoughts on the island in squeezing wealth, -almost, as it seemed, even out of its very stones. His slaves died off -day by day, very nearly as soon as they were allotted to him; but that -was nought to their owner, so long as with the remnants of their dying -strength they reaped his harvests, and brought up gold for him from the -mines. They were to him as machines for making riches; and when one of -the machines wore out, it must be tossed aside to make room for another. - -But with all Don Alfonzo's heartless barbarities to his miserable -victims, he had a warm corner in his callous heart for his own -countrymen, whoever they might be. All Spaniards were friends to Don -Alfonzo, while the ocean lay between him and his home. He watched the -progress of the incoming boat with eyes almost as eager as those with -which, week by week, he counted his golden gains; and when, from the -shallowness of the water, the rowers had to stop some way short of -dry ground, he looked round hastily for some one whom he could order -off for their assistance. None of his own people were in sight, but a -weak, wan-faced Indian lay beside him, and him the nobleman immediately -commanded to rise, and go into the water to help drag up the boat. - -With a moan the poor creature began to obey, but too slowly to suit the -despotic impatience of the Spaniard. - -"Hurry thy lazy carcase, then, thou black-skinned dog," he exclaimed -imperiously; and to enforce his words he raised a bamboo cane he held, -and brought it down with a fierce swish through the air, which told -its own tale of what its effect should be if it came in contact with -the native's tender flesh. As the cane rose the Indian crouched with a -low, pitiful cry, which was echoed with an added note of indignation by -Montoro from the boat. - -The next moment Montoro sprang to his feet with a second cry of -impulsive admiration. The stinging slash of that bamboo cane had come -down upon the arm of a young Spaniard, who had stretched it out as a -cover for the helpless Indian; and then, when the arm had performed -its allotted task, it was quietly withdrawn, terribly cut as it must -have been, and folded over its owner's chest, who as quietly turned and -confronted Don Alfonzo. - -"It is the command of our Sovereign, Queen Isabella," he said firmly, -"that the Indians be treated with humanity, and according to law." - -"Who is that?" asked Montoro, as he sprang on to the sandy shore, and -pointed out the young man who had made his arm serve so readily for -another man's shield. - -Shyness was never one of Montoro Diego's failings; and now curiosity -and a generous admiration made him put his question eagerly to the -first person he came up to. All he got at first was a return question -to match his own, a good-humoured: - -"And pray, then, who are you? If you're come to work you are welcome; -if you have come to make others work, you may as well be off again, for -there are more than enough of that sort here already." - -"I am going off again," replied Diego laughing. "I have not come to -stay; not just yet, at least. But do tell me who that young Señor is." - -"Well, he's a crack-brained young Señor, to begin with," was the reply, -with a shrug of the shoulders. "His name is Bartholomew Las Casas, -and he's only been out here a few weeks. He came out with Ovando. His -father came out here before, with the Admiral himself." - -Montoro grew still more interested. - -"But why do you call him crack-brained?" - -"Because he is crack-brained. Crazy as he can be about what he calls -the wrongs of the black rascals out here. His father took one over for -him to have as his own in Spain, five or six years ago, and comfortable -enough the fellow was with such a soft-hearted master. Then comes the -royal order that there are to be no more of these Indian slaves in -Spain; that they are not cruelly to be kept from their own country, -and they are forthwith all packed back again, to be grabbed at as fast -as they arrive, and worked to quick deaths in the mines. Meantime, our -young Señor Las Casas has been taught to think a whole host of nonsense -about their miseries, and his duties of relieving them. If he uses his -arms as their covers in his fashion just now he'll pretty soon need -some one to relieve him.” - -"Ay, verily," murmured Montoro musingly as he turned away from his -informant and rejoined his companions. The history of his own family's -wrongs had made him more keenly alive to the wrongs of others. He had -a generous feeling of envy that it had been the arm of the young Las -Casas, and not his own, that had taken the blow for the Indian. But, as -the great American poet says, - - "A boy's will is the wind's will." - -Before half-an-hour had passed Montoro's will had veered round once -more--from a desire to relieve injuries to a desire to inflict them. -For humanity's sake Columbus had sent urgent warnings and entreaties -that the departure of the fleet might be delayed a few days, to avoid -the coming storm. And for his charity he received contempt. The -Governor and his counsellors looked at the quiet sky, the calm sea, -they felt the soft breeze on their cheeks, and the contemptuous answer -was sent back: - -"In this year of grace dreamers of dreams are out of fashion." - -"When I see the Admiral's letters patent as the authorized reader of -the heavens, and the interpreter of its signs," said the Governor -haughtily, "doubtless he will find me an obedient pupil. Meantime I -prefer instruction when I ask for it." - -"He and all the rest of them deserve to be drowned if they are not," -said Diego Mendez indignantly, as he returned with his party to the -boat, and put back to the ship. - -Montoro's thoughts flew back to the cannon on board. He felt just then -as if nothing on earth would so well satisfy him as to see them pointed -at the Governor's house, to see their flash, to hear their roar, and to -witness the wholesale destruction they could cause. - -"Why was there no young Las Casas to avenge this insult to the Admiral?" - -But there was One mightier than Las Casas to do that, One whose -artillery was mightier than the cannon in which Montoro put such -confidence. Two days passed, and then the tropical storm burst in -all its fury. To such poor, unforbidden shelter as he could find the -Admiral had guided his battered little squadron, and there he and his -followers waited, and watched the gathering gloom of earth and sea and -air and sky; and well it might seem to some of those watchers that a -spirit of retributive wrath was brooding over the scene of cruelty, -treachery, and insolence. - -"It will require all their seamanship to ride out the coming -hurricane," said the pilot, Antonio de Alaminos, on the second day, as -he regarded somewhat dubiously their own quarters. - -And Diego Mendez answered moodily: - -"I should heave no sigh if they and their ill-gotten wealth went to the -bottom of the deep before mine eyes; but I do grieve to have heard that -on the craziest of their barques they are carrying home the Admiral's -gold, the poor remnant of his rents they have permitted him." - -"Never have care for that, Señor," said the young Fernando earnestly. -"It is my father's, and it will be kept safe for him." - -"It is as well that thou canst console thyself with that belief, any -way," muttered the man, as the boy went off to where Columbus was -already issuing orders, needed by the sudden wild gusts of wind that -came as forerunners of the tempest. - -Then came the wild roar and whirl, and darkness made more awful by the -fiery flashes that momentarily illumined the terrors of the scene. -On land trees uprooted, houses flung into ruins as though made by -children's hands of cards, the fields of maize changed as in an instant -from fields of gold to grey, scorched deserts. Living beings struck at -a breath into corpses; others crushed in the downfall of their homes. -And at sea those four poor cranky vessels, which were all a great -country could afford its great benefactor, tossing and toiling in the -boiling sea. - -Now the waters would seethe as though some hideous cauldron, prepared -by evil spirits for some demon feast, and the doomed vessels shook -through every plank and spar as though with living horror. And then, -with a sudden shock the waters would rush together, and mount wildly -into mountain waves crowned with crests of foam. - -The ships lost sight of each other. Sailors and adventurers all -gave themselves up for death. In a delirium of fear they confessed -their sins to whoever would heed the dismal catalogue. Ave Marias, -invocations of the saints, and such fragments of Scripture as they -knew, were groaned forth on all sides, rather as invocations than -prayers, as the days went by, and still the furious battle of nature -raged. - -The fellow to that storm not even the veteran navigator of all seas -had experienced before. At times during the blackness of the night it -would seem to the affrighted mariners as though hell itself had opened -its jaws to swallow them. Making a pathway for themselves through the -darkness, the raging billows would suddenly rush onwards brilliant with -light, and surround the ship and its awe-struck occupants with a sea -of flame. For a day and night the heavens glowed as a furnace; and the -reverberating peals of thunder sounded to the distracted sailors as the -last despairing cries from the other ships of their sinking comrades. -What was becoming of the wretched, foolhardy creatures on board -Ovando's proud fleet they had no longer care to think. Drenched with -the ceaseless sheet of rain, which poured down day and night throughout -that long week of storm continually, exhausted with toil, worn with -fears, Columbus and his company were to be still further tried by the -majestic terrors of those southern seas. - -Wildly tossed as was the whole ocean, it suddenly became observed, with -deepening dread, that in one spot the agitation was still redoubled. -Even as they looked the waters reared themselves higher and yet higher, -grim and terrible as a giant pillar of molten lead; while a livid cloud -bent down from the heavens to meet it. Thus joining, and ever gathering -fresh size and force as it sucked up the waves in its headlong course, -the dreadful column rushed on towards the ships. - -The Admiral came forth from his cabin with the iron-clasped Bible open -in his hands, to exorcise the evil spirit abroad for their destruction. -Men hardened in callousness fell on their knees in silent prayer. -Antonio de Alaminos stood gazing with fixed eyes at the invincible -enemy. His skill and knowledge were powerless in the presence of that -foe. As he stood there waiting for the end he was startled by a voice -beside him so clear, so calm, that it was distinct even in the midst of -that wild tumult. - -"Alaminos, thinkest thou that we shall live through the storm?" - -Starting, the pilot turned his gaze for a moment from the advancing -column, and exclaimed: - -"Montoro! boy, hast thou no fears?" - -"None," was the low, soft answer of his lips. "None," was the answer -of his rapt, earnest eyes, full of a beautiful awe and reverence. "He -holds the storm in His hand, and us." - -Even as the boy spoke the vessel swerved, the waterspout passed on -beside it, and they were safe. - -"The Admiral's Bible has saved us," exclaimed the mariners, as wild -with joy as they had been with fear. - -Alaminos, the pilot, looked at Montoro de Diego, and said nothing. For -the first time in his life the thought had stolen into his mind whether -the faith to be learnt from the teaching of the Bible might not be a -more precious thing than even its print and paper. - -The force of the long-protracted tempest was at length spent; the -sea subsided, and Columbus's scattered caravals, none of them lost, -gathered together again to offer thanks to God for their preservation, -and to seek the shelter and refreshment no longer denied them, in the -ports of Hispaniola. - -The storm had passed, but it had left behind it sorrow and shame and -gloom on the countenances of Ovando the Governor, and those about him. -The gay, grand fleet, despatched against the Admiral's advice, was -lost, with all those many hundreds of souls on board, and all that -wealth. The Admiral's enemies had perished; Bobadilla, the mutinous -Roldan, and many another. Those gallant ships were gone. Only that -poor, mean, weak little barque, inferior to all its consorts, that had -been thought good enough to carry the Admiral's grudged revenue, that -lived through the storm, and took its little treasure safe into the -Spanish port. - -"It is my father's; I told you that God would guard it," said Fernando -Colon, some months later, when the strange, good news of that survivor -reached his ears. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - _THE FIRST FIND._ - - -Great storms are very terrible, and weeks of drenching rains, Montoro -de Diego, and his friend Ferdinand Columbus, had time to discover, -were most disagreeable accompaniments to travels whether by water or -land. As for poor Don Aguilar, the hardships of the way killed him, -as Fernando Colon had foreseen, before he had a chance to purchase -a draught from that dreamt-of fountain of youth. And long-continued -dismal weather very nearly also killed the courage at least of most of -the old hidalgo's companions. - -After that first great storm, a few days were passed at Port Hermosa, -to refresh the crews, and repair the caravels, and then Columbus -started forth again to find the wished-for, but non-existent, strait -through the Isthmus of Darien. Having spent about five months in this -fruitless search he gave it up, greatly to the delight of the whole of -his companions. They were much more anxious after what they considered -the infinitely superior quest for the gold mines of Veragua, distant -about thirty leagues from Porto Bello. - -What with cross currents, however, contrary winds, and bad weather, -those thirty leagues took nearly a month in the traversing, and it was -not until the day of the Epiphany, 1503, that the Admiral reached the -mouth of a river, to which he gave the name of Belen, or Bethlehem. In -the immediate neighbourhood of this river was the country said to be -so rich in the precious mineral that Columbus felt convinced that, as -further discoveries would find the Garden of Paradise in the new-found -world, so also he was on the borders of that land of Ophir whence king -Solomon had drawn his stores of the valued treasure. Meanwhile, every -one but himself, and his son Ferdinand, was very eager to get similar -treasure for his own purse, and so soundings somewhat less cautious -than usual were taken, the four caravels crossed the bar at the -mouth of the river Belen, now swollen by past months of rain, sailed -some little distance up it, and there cast anchor for a season of -exploration. - -Montoro was as wild with eager excitement and delight as any one, when -he obtained leave to go with the first boats sent on shore. - -"Do you then, too, care so much for gold?" asked his friend Fernando, -in a disappointed tone, as he saw his companion's glowing face. "I had -not thought it of thee." - -"Nor need now," was the quick answer. "I go not to hunt for gold, but -glory. My father's wealth they robbed him of. The glory he won on the -walls of Alhama will cling as long as time shall last to the name of -Don Montoro de Diego. Such glory, and not gold, would I win also." - -"Nobly spoken, my lad of the quick temper," said Señor Diego Mendez, -in smiling allusion to the time when he had hindered hasty words by -putting his hand over the boy's mouth. Since that day Diego Mendez -had many times taken note of his young companion. Neither Montoro's -ability, courage, wit, nor readiness were lost upon him, and the -occasion was soon to come now when he was to show his appreciation of -them. - -As the boats' crews stepped on shore, one or two of the eager seekers -after fortune gathered up handfuls of the glistening sand, eyeing it -sharply, as they did so, in such a way that Diego Mendez exclaimed with -a laugh: - -"Why now, comrades, would it not be well, think you, just to set to -work, and shovel the shore pell-mell into the boats, and carry it off -at once to Spain? Of course you'd be rich then, no doubt, without -further trouble." - -"Well, we've had enough of that, at any rate, already, to deserve some -pay," grumbled one, while a couple of others sulkily enough dropped -their glittering burden to avoid further ridicule. - -"How pretty it is though," exclaimed Montoro, who stood watching the -wet grains as they fell shining in the sunlight. "And here is some -more up here!" he cried in astonishment half-an-hour later, suddenly -stopping short from his companions, in their progress through the -forest, and dropping on his knees beneath a tree. - -"Some more what?" asked half-a-dozen voices at once, as their owners -crowded round in amazed watching of their young comrade, who was most -busily grubbing away at the tree's roots. - -"Ay, indeed, some more what?" repeated the Adelantado, in equal -surprise. "What is it that you have found?" - -"Why some more of that shining sand," was the ready reply. "And of -course it is nothing worth really, only that it is somewhat strange, -methinks, to find it up here so far from the sea wet and shining." - -"Strange! ay, strange indeed," echoed Diego Mendez, now quickly -pressing through to his namesake's side. "Passing strange, my lad, if -it be indeed, as you say, shining because, this dry, hot day, it lies -there wet. But--is it so?" - -Just as that question was put Montoro raised his stooping face with -almost a startled glance at the questioner. He had told Fernando, -and told him truly, that it was glory, not gold, that he desired. -Still treasure meant power to return to his mother, power to give her -comfort, power perhaps to win back his ancestral home. And he knew now -that his hand was full, not of grains of sand, shining because they -were wet; but of grains of gold, shining with their own lustre. - -"No," he breathed, for a moment awed by his discovery. "No, my Señor, -this is no sand heavy with the spray of sea waves. This is the treasure -you are seeking." - -Montoro's find put a stop to all further explorations for that day, -excepting explorations about those roots. The entire party fell into -a state that might, far more literally than usual, be termed one of -'money-grubbing' excitement. More diligently than the greediest pigs -ever grubbed for a feast round about oak trees or beeches, or Spanish -pigs grub for truffles, did those Spanish gentlemen grub with fingers -and nails round about the trees of that wild American forest. - -Montoro put a crown to the triumphs of his keen-sighted eyes by finding -quite a fair-sized little lump of gold at the edge of a streamlet, -which he put by carefully for Fernando; and then he employed himself in -gathering a supply of the abundant fruits to carry back to the ship for -the general benefit. - -"Nay then," said Antonio de Alaminos, gratefully accepting a bunch -of bananas, "but these are worth all the gold that was ever found -or fought over, my lad. Our God gives us these as loving gifts. I -sometimes think that He has given us gold as He gave the forbidden -fruit--to try us." - -Montoro raised his eyes for an instant and then lowered them again, as -he murmured: - -"Often hath my mother said that there are many things more worth." - -"Truly are there," was the assent. "But hark!" he added in a louder -tone and more quickly, "here is the Admiral. He is calling for us." - -The summons was an important one. So satisfactory were the accounts -brought back of the country, not only as regarded the promise of gold, -but as to its general appearance of fertility and beauty, that the -Admiral forthwith resolved upon the establishment of a colony. - -"You think not," he demanded as Montoro and the pilot drew near; "you -think not, Mendez, that it is the finding of this glittering dust only, -that hath dazzled your eyes with respect to the virtues of the land?" - -Mendez was about to reply with due gravity when his friend, Rodrigo de -Escobar, broke in boldly, exclaiming: - -"Nay then, as the Jewish spies said of old so can we say now, that it -is a goodly land and a pleasant; and if it overfloweth not with milk -and honey, neither is it inhabited with a people akin to the Anakim; -and it has at least the grapes of Eshcol, and many a pleasant thing -besides." - -The Admiral smiled gravely. - -"All which meaneth, I take it, Señor Rodrigo, that whosoever else -believeth thy report, thou believest it thyself." - -De Escobar bowed, while one beside Montoro muttered with a low laugh: - -"Most assuredly friend Rodrigo would believe everything favourable of -a land that flowed with that best of all sweet golden honey, the real -gold itself, even though all else were desert." - -"And small blame to him," retorted Tristan, captain of one of the -other caravels, who had just come on board to hear the news. "Señor -de Escobar is much of my own way of thinking--that life united with -poverty is but a poor sort of an affair, not worth the trouble of the -guardianship." - -This being the general opinion, and a very slight amount of -questioning eliciting the universal adhesion to Rodrigo's proposition, -that a land where gold was to be gathered, even about the roots of -the trees, was a good land to stay in, it was not difficult to obtain -volunteers for the new colony. - -Besides, even for those who were not so madly eager for gold Veragua -had many attractions, seeing that the land abounded in rich fruits, the -water in fish, the soil was fertile, and the Cacique and his people -friendly. - -"And what more can you want?" said Amerigo Vespucci decisively. - -"What more can any men want?" said another, with a shrug of the -shoulders. "Especially men like us, who have had for these weeks past -to munch our biscuit in the dark, lest our stomachs should turn at -seeing how many and how fat were the other eaters we were obliged also -to devour." - -"Bah!" ejaculated De Escobar, as he flung over a morsel of the said -biscuit at the same time into the water. "It is too abominable of thee, -Tristan, thus to remind a hungry wretch of the foul nature of his food. -For thy barbarity thou shalt owe me thy first--" - -"Nay, Señor," interposed Montoro Diego out of the dusk; "here is -somewhat to make amends for thy lost supper. These great nuts have hard -outsides; but within they are better than our little ones of Spain." - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - _SURGEON TO THE REDSKINS._ - - -Colonists for the proposed new settlement having proved so easily -forthcoming, the next step in the business was to provide them -habitations, and shelter of some sort for the needful stores. -Accordingly the next morning, almost as soon as it was light, a number -of men were sent on shore, as builders of the first European town to be -founded on the mainland of America. Bartholomew Columbus went with them -to choose a site for the place of which he was to be the Governor; and -amongst the number of his companions were Diego Mendez, Diego's special -comrade Rodrigo de Escobar, and of course Montoro. - -"I cannot get on at all without my sharp-eyed namesake," said the -notary good-naturedly, when he pleaded with the Admiral for Montoro's -company. And thus, some little it must be confessed to Ferdinand's -vexation, Montoro was once more of the land-going party, proving of as -much service on this occasion as on the last, although the results were -not so immediately apparent. - -Cutting timber, clearing ground of a troublesomely-luxuriant -vegetation, and driving stakes, had progressed for some time merrily -enough, to the evident wonder and interest of an ever-increasing crowd -of natives, men, women, and children, when Diego Mendez, looking about -him for a help in a hard piece of work, discovered Montoro some couple -of hundred yards or so distant from the building-ground, and apparently -engaged in a very private and earnest conversation with a couple of -native women, and three or four children. - -"What, in the name of St. Jago, is the lad after now?" he exclaimed -rather irritably, for he had got his fingers pinched in a split -bamboo he had wanted his _protégé_ to help him in sundering, and -small annoyances were more trying to these brave Spaniards than great -disasters. "Montoro," he shouted, "Montoro, you come here, can't you!" - -Montoro was back like an arrow. - -"Ay, Señor Mendez; what would you with me?" - -"What would I?" was the hasty answer. "Why everything; all manner -of things. But thou'rt such a fellow! Thou'rt never at hand when -needed. At least,"--still growling, but with a grim dawning accent of -compunction for injustice,--"at least not always. Here thou'st left me -to well-nigh lose the half of my hand, while thou'st been trying to -wheedle gold mine secrets out of those poor fools yonder, with that -soft tongue of thine." - -"No such thing," exclaimed Rodrigo de Escobar with his usual -volubility, before Montoro could answer for himself. "You are mistaken, -Mendez. Had the lad been using a soft tongue so usefully his absence -might be the more readily forgiven him. But it is a stupid soft heart -that deserves the blame this time. Because gold-seeker, discoverer, -navigator, builder, and half-a-dozen other things are not trades enough -for the young jackanapes to take to at once, he must needs be taking a -turn now at surgery." - -"Nay then, Rodrigo," said his friend incredulously, and looking -alternately from the laughing accuser to the half-troubled accused. The -face of neither tended in any way to relieve the notary's curiosity. -"Speak out, man," he said at last. "With what is it that you charge the -lad?" - -"With what I say," replied de Escobar with another laugh. "With playing -the surgeon unauthorized, Children and monkeys are all alike--they must -needs imitate what they see others doing; and consequently, one of -those monkey-children yonder got hold of my hammer awhile since, and of -course contrived to hammer its own fingers pretty sharply." - -"Terribly!" broke in Montoro impulsively, forgetting his temporary -shyness in the recollection of his pity. "The poor little creature, my -señor, has hammered his fingers perfectly black, and the poor ignorant -mother could only cry over it, and do nothing; and so--and so--" - -And so, and so Montoro Diego once more grew shy as his own part in the -business drew to the fore, and came to a stammering conclusion, and -Diego Mendez with a smile took up the tale. - -"And so, and so then, my friend, I suppose you do really confess that -Don Rodrigo de Escobar has laid only true things to your charge, -and that you have thought, by adding your ignorance to the woman's -ignorance, to make one wisdom. Hey, my modest young friend, then is it -so?" - -Montoro looked up now, with flushed cheeks it is true, but with some -returning boldness also, as he replied sturdily-- - -"My ignorance, at any rate, my señor, has had this good result--that -the child no longer cries. But if you would spare me yet another five -minutes, I would fain return to him, just to make my bandages more -secure than I left them in my haste upon your call." - -"Come then, have your way," said his new patron good-humouredly. "I -confess I am not a little curious to see what sort of surgery you have -evolved from that daring head of yours, and whether it be not a gag in -the squaller's mouth that has produced this peacefulness." - -But there was no gag in the small redskin's smiling mouth, neither, -assuredly, was there one in the mouth of the small redskin's mother, -who poured forth a perfect torrent of incomprehensible words as she -alternately kissed Montoro's feet and her child's injured hand, or -rather the great bundle of wet leaf-poultice in which it was most -scientifically enveloped. - -"Umph!" muttered Diego Mendez, as he looked at the bound-up limb and -the grateful mother. "And pray how hast thou come by thy skill, my -friend? Is St. Luke thy patron saint, and has he instructed thee?" - -"My mother has been my teacher," was the quiet answer. "And she had -much learning of many various uses to mankind, from her father." - -The notary cast a keen glance of sudden intelligence at his companion, -and then said slowly-- - -"Ah, now thou hast let me into a secret as to thy birth that I had -partly guessed at before. Now I know from what race thou hast drawn -much of thine intelligence, and the bookishness that hath ofttimes -surprised me. But hark ye, lad, for I have a kindness for thee. Tell -to none others of our companions what thou hast thus told to me; for -remember, Spain has decreed just now that she will have no dealings, -save those of the fire and the rack, with the great race that is too -wise for bigotry to let it live. And the favour thou art sure to win, -and the good fortune, will make men but too ready to use ill tales -against thee. But now--leave thy patient, and let us back to our -building again, for the day wears fast." - -So saying, he turned his steps back towards the rising settlement; and -when Montoro had managed with some difficulty to disengage himself from -the thankful woman, he followed his patron, the native child clinging -to him with his sound hand, and contriving to make his short legs keep -up with his companion's long ones. - -A general laugh greeted the truant when he returned thus accompanied; -but Montoro tossed up his handsome young head very independently as he -shouted-- - -"Laugh as you may please, my señors; but when you desire a guide and an -interpreter, do not then think to borrow mine." - -"Ah! ha!" exclaimed Diego Mendez, not at all displeased at his -_protégé's_ readiness. "My friends, methinks the lad hath had the best -of it; and we were wise not to provoke him to register a vow to keep -his useful new acquaintances to himself." - -"If he did," muttered Rodrigo, "there would but need to draw a long and -doleful face to make him break it. For no oath's sake would he ever be -got to cut off a John Baptist's head." - -"I'll cut off thine, though," grumbled Juan de Alba, "if thou keepest -not those bamboo points to thyself, instead of using them to pierce -mine eyes. Thou art a clumsy carpenter, in very deed, as ever I saw." - -"And I rejoice that thou shouldst have to say so," retorted the other. -"The fingers of Rodrigo de Escobar scorn this servile work." - -"Do they also scorn to peel bananas?" asked the Adelantado, coming up -with a great ripe bunch at an opportune moment to stop a squabble from -growing into a quarrel. He had enough to do to keep the peace among his -gang of noble workmen. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - _FOR LIFE OR DEATH._ - - -For some few days the work of building progressed merrily enough. -The seemingly ubiquitous Montoro Diego, with his beautiful voice, -his bright eyes, and his untiring activity, inspired the whole party -with a portion of his own spirit; and his grateful native friend, the -mother of his small patient, proved of the greatest comfort to the new -colonists by keeping them plentifully supplied with fruit, fish, birds, -and food cooked after the native fashion, but very acceptable to men -who had lived hardly too long to be fastidious. Besides, they were -very desirous of sparing as much as possible their own small remaining -stores of biscuit, cheese, wine, oil, and vinegar, of which the Admiral -could only leave so small a quantity for the civilized provision of the -colony. - -At the outset of the new undertaking, others besides the mother of the -child had shown most hospitable alacrity in bringing gifts for the -white strangers' larder; but by degrees these gifts ceased, and at -last, whilst all the others of the Spaniards still looked gay enough, -Montoro's face began to grow very grave. He still had many good things -brought to him, but he noticed that they began to be brought with an -air of secresy, and at last the poor creature proved her gratitude by -giving him signs as plainly as she dared, that Quibian, the Cacique of -Veragua, was not altogether so friendly as he seemed. - -"It was not his own gold mines, but those of a dreaded neighbour chief, -that he had pointed out to the Spaniards on their first arrival," she -declared; "and now he was noting with jealous eyes, and an angry heart, -the preparations of the white strangers for taking up their abode on -his territories." - -Poor Cacique! Had he known the dismal fate that was so speedily to -overwhelm him and all he cherished, his jealousy and wrath must have -burnt with a fierceness to consume his heart. But for the moment the -Spaniards were but a handful of men in an unknown and populous country; -moreover, the water in the river had fallen, dry weather had set in, -and threatened to continue, the bar at the river's mouth was visible at -low tide, and the ships were shut in beyond the possibility of present -escape. It behoved the Admiral and his band of followers to be careful, -and each individual felt it incumbent on him personally to watch for -the safety of all; even to sleep, as the saying is, like a dog with one -eye open. - -Under these circumstances it is little wonder that Mendez noticed with -some uneasiness the unusual gravity of Montoro's face one morning, -after a short interview with his Indian patient, and the child's -mother. - -"Hey, then, master Long-face" he exclaimed, with half-affected gaiety, -"say, what treason is it thou hast been concocting with thy dark friend -yonder? Hath she been offering thee the kingdom of the Cacique Quibian, -if thou wilt engage to share the throne with her?" - -Montoro threw back his head for an instant haughtily. Boy as he was, -he did not like such jests. But he too much admired Diego Mendez for -his anger against him to be long-lived. Besides, he had a weight upon -his mind of which he desired to unburden himself. After the momentary -pause, he said hastily-- - -"The woman's communication, Señor Mendez, had no reference to me -further than as I am one of us. But if I at all rightly comprehend her -signs, this Quibian, the Cacique of Veragua, under his smoothness to us -has designs of the deepest treachery. Even now I believe that we are -being surrounded on all sides by his warriors." - -Señor Mendez stroked his chin thoughtfully. To say truth, he was deeply -startled by the suspicion thus presented to him; but he was a Spaniard, -and therefore chary of displays of any other emotion than that of -pride. Moreover, he was a notary by profession, and had thus learnt -caution: to hear all he could, to see all he could, to think much, and -to say little. - -His meditations were undisturbed by Montoro. At last he took the boy by -the arm, leading him farther away from their companions before he said -quietly-- - -"You have done well, my namesake, in bringing your tale to me. Let it -rest there for the present, and see that you show the woman no great -belief of her news, and no shadow even of a fear." - -"But--" began Montoro eagerly, and then he stopped as suddenly as he -had begun. - -His companion looked at him doubtfully. - -"Well, Diego, 'but' what? Wouldst say thy fears are too strong to be -dissembled?" - -"Even so," was the startling answer, with flushed cheeks, but with such -a bold, brave look in the uplifted eyes that the unexpected reply was -still more bewildering. - -"Nay, then; thou art audacious enough in confessing cowardice," -ejaculated the notary, with eyes so widening with wonder that they -seemed to monopolize his face. - -Just a flash of a smile shot across Montoro's face at having for once -thus overbalanced the self-possession of the shrewd man of business. -But he replied almost in the same moment-- - -"In truth, Señor, I can afford to be bold in confessing to these fears, -seeing that they are not for myself, but for others, and for the -honour of our expedition. Verily I think that it would break our great -Admiral's heart, should terrible mischance happen to us who are with -him now in his neglected, sorely-tried old age. And that must not be." - -"And how then do you purpose to prevent it?" asked Mendez, once more -the cool, self-contained notary. "Do you propose to call out the -Cacique to prove his honourable intentions by single combat, after our -own Spain's knightly fashion?" - -"Would that it were possible!" was the reply with kindling eyes. "But -no, Señor, my meaning is more simple. I have told you my fears. But -if you mean to treat them as idle fancies, or to stand by to see what -comes of them, I shall forthwith carry them to the Admiral himself." - -"Umph!" said Diego Mendez deliberately, "you would so, would you? And -you would do well. But hark ye, youngster--I neither intend to treat -you nor your tale as nought, so with that assurance rest thee satisfied -a while. I too have noted somewhat of late, upon which your news throws -fresh light. But be wary. Tell no one what you have told to me, and -show no sign of trouble." - -Convinced at last that his warning was received as seriously as -he desired, Montoro returned to his task amongst the amateur -house-builders, and displayed considerable ingenuity as a constructor -of neat roofs out of palm leaves. His alacrity at his work was the -more cheerful when, from his position on the hill above the mouth of -the river, he saw the accountant for the new settlement put off in one -of the boats to return to the Admiral's ship. This happened within -half-an-hour of their conversation on the native woman's intelligence, -and increased Montoro's good opinion of his own wisdom in choosing -Señor Mendez as the recipient of his confidence. Cautious as he was, he -could evidently act quickly enough in an emergency. In a short time he -was rowing rapidly back to the building-ground, bringing half-a-dozen -fully-armed men with him, and making signs to Montoro to meet him on -the shore. - -Down went tools and palm leaves, down from the roof with a bound sprang -the tiler, and a minute later a second flying leap had carried him into -the boat beside Diego Mendez. A few rapid words were exchanged between -the two, and then the notary said gravely-- - -"Well, I have made you the offer of coming with me by the Admiral's -consent; but remember, our undertaking is one of life and death." - -"I understand," was the quiet answer. "But if we die, our deaths will -be a sign to all these others to prepare for defence; if we live we -shall at any rate have discovered the nature of our danger. I go with -you gladly." - -And of that latter fact his earnest, animated countenance gave abundant -evidence as they proceeded on their perilous enterprise. Passing from -the river Belen, they rowed along the sea-coast until they reached the -Veragua, at which point the real peril of their enterprise began, and -the first proof was obtained of the woman's veracity. - -There upon the shore, within a few yards of them, was a great -encampment of the Indians, the warriors of their tribe, and fully -armed. The number of the Spaniards was eight, the number of the -Indians more than as many hundreds. For one moment the Europeans -rested on their oars in silence. It was no preconcerted act, but one -of involuntary homage paid by all things living, however daring, when -brought face to face with imminent death. - -The half-whimsical, unbidden thought darted through Montoro's brain -that his mother had declared she should never see him again on earth, -and so she could not reasonably feel hurt if her words came true. What -unconnected thoughts flashed for that same supreme instant through -the mind of Diego Mendez none can say. It had scarcely passed when he -sprang into the shallow water, walked on shore, and with an air of the -most dignified composure advanced alone into the very midst of the -great fierce gathering. - -Utterly overawed by the white man's astounding temerity, the Indians -fell back, with wonder and irresolution depicted on their countenances. -They answered questions with trepidation. - -"Yes; they were on the war-path. Their Cacique had enemies in the -neighbourhood." - -"Ah!" replied Diego Mendez with cool courtesy, "then our coming is -well-timed. In return for your Cacique's attentions to us we will -now aid his arms against his foes. We will accompany you on your -expedition." - -"Not so," was the Indian chiefs angry reply. "We are strong enough to -fight our own battles; we seek no help. Only leave us: that is all we -desire." - -By manifold signs his followers equally betrayed their impatience to -be rid of the new-comers, and strenuously declined to have anything -to do with the boat, or its crew. Seating himself in the small barque -with his face toward the Indian camp, and closely wrapped in his -cloak, Diego Mendez calmly sat, hour after hour, and watched the dusky -warriors. - -The day waned; the short twilight drew on. One of the occupants of the -boat began to feel his courage cooling under this tedious inaction, and -he ventured to mutter somewhat anxiously-- - -"The night is coming, Señor Mendez. We shall be wholly at their mercy -in the darkness." - -"Even so, Juan," was the calm answer; "and yet we must remain. We set -out with no thought of going in search of child's play. It is our lives -or the expedition." - -And so they sat on in that boat, watching and watched, and the night -fell. Easily could the Indians have slain them all, but they were -afraid. The spirits of a thousand warriors were quelled by one man's -fearlessness. And as the blackness of night began to fade away into -pale dawn, the chief and his army faded from the scene--stole back -to Veragua stupefied and conquered. Moral power had won its strange, -bloodless victory. Then the watchers in the boat roused up, took their -oars again, and returned with their news to the ships. - -"And thus the woman's truth is proved," said Montoro eagerly. - -But his convictions were something lessened when the Admiral said -slowly-- - -"You are more sure than I, my son. That you saw an army of the natives -I fully believe. But that they had any purpose to attack us I strongly -doubt. Quibian has given many proofs of his friendly feelings towards -us. And even to-day he has sent us a plentiful supply of fish, and -game, and cocoa-nuts, maize, bananas, and pine-apples." - -"And even to-day," interrupted Mendez with unusual heat, "even to-day, -Señor, the Cacique Quibian is meditating our massacre. Give me but -this cool-headed boy to go with me, and we will penetrate to the very -head-quarters of his people, to his very residence itself, and learn -the truth so fully that you shall no longer be able to doubt our -testimony." - -There was a pause. The veteran navigator gazed with keen eyes at his -two excited companions, and at length said slowly-- - -"I send you not on so perilous a quest, but you may go." - -The faces of his hearers lighted up as though he had endowed them with -some new-found gold mines, and with a hasty farewell from Montoro to -his half-jealous friend Fernando, the two companions were rowed back -again to land, and at once set out alone on their desperate expedition. - -For nearly an hour they walked on rapidly side by side in silence. At -last Montoro asked doubtfully,-- - -"Why keep we thus to the seaboard, Señor? Surely we have learnt that -the residence of the Cacique is far away up yonder, beyond the forest. -We should be turning inland if we wish to reach it." - -Mendez turned his shrewd face towards his questioner with a slight -smile. - -"Ah, my friend, thou art bold and brave beyond thy years, and ready, -to boot; but thou hast not yet quite an old head on thy shoulders, I -perceive. If our foes are watching for our destruction as we suppose, -how long thinkest thou, I and thou should live, bewildered, trapped, -and helpless, in yonder jungle? No, we will keep to the shore till we -reach the Veragua, and then we will follow the Veragua till it leads us -to this Cacique's village, and his own abode. Light, and a clear space, -are valuable to us just now." - -Diego Mendez was willing to sacrifice his life freely for the general -good, but he had no idea of wasting it. Montoro did not wish to waste -his either, but to his impetuous nature this winding round, instead of -making a straight dash, was becoming very tedious, when they at length -reached the river's mouth, and at the same time came upon two canoes -and a party of native fishermen. Whether subjects of Quibian or of his -rival, the Spaniards could not ascertain, but whoever they were, they -showed themselves so kind and hospitable that the tired and footsore -pedestrians made signs to be taken into the canoes, when they were -about to set out on their return voyage up the river. - -Making sure of consent, the notary went so far as to put his foot on -to the end of the canoe ready for stepping in. But the owners sprang -forward to push him back, with most vigorous shakings of the head, and -still more significant pointings towards the village, and the bundles -of arrows in their own canoes. - -Mendez and Montoro exchanged glances. There was no longer, then, much -doubt of the fate intended them, and ere many minutes had passed they -had learnt that the disconcerted warriors of last night were only -waiting for the next day, before making a fresh descent upon the white -intruders, shooting them, and burning the new settlement. - -"Even so," said Diego Mendez at last. "We have but learnt afresh what -we were well assured of before. But we will not wait for the doom -intended us. It better beseems Spaniards to be the first aggressors." - -As to the general humanity or morality of that sentiment young Montoro -might have taken exception at a quieter moment; but just now he was -infinitely too excited for tranquil thought, and eagerly seconded his -older companion in so urging to be taken up the river, that at length -the kind, simple-hearted fishermen consented, although with great -reluctance. - -The poor people's astonishment was still greater when, on reaching the -village, picturesquely situated on the banks of the river, and now in -all the bustle of warlike preparations, their two passengers insisted -on landing, and putting themselves into the power of their enemies. - -Still Diego Mendez preserved his cool presence of mind. Having learnt -that Quibian had been wounded by an arrow, he gave out that he was a -surgeon come to heal the injured leg; and demanding immediate admission -to the Cacique, he mounted the hill to the very walls of the royal -residence. - -Arrived at the summit of the eminence, he and his companion paused a -moment to take breath, and Montoro, for all his courage, could not -wholly suppress a shudder at the hideous ornamentation of the royal -domain. Three hundred human heads, recently torn from their trunks, -were arranged in circles, in all their grim horribleness, before the -Cacique's abode, the trophies of his valour, and significant warnings -to his adversaries. - -Mendez also glanced at these heads, and from them to the handsome lad -beside him, so rich with the blessings of vigorous youth and health, -and a shade of regret passed over his face. - -But it was too late for such reflections now. The die was cast, and -they must advance, and resolutely. The slightest token of hesitation or -fear would most assuredly be fatal. - -But however brave they might be, others were cowardly enough. They had -scarcely moved forward a dozen steps on the plateau of the hill when a -crowd of women and children caught sight of the strange new beings, and -throwing their arms wildly above their heads in a very abandonment of -terror, they fled in all directions, startling the echoes with their -shrieks. - -It soon became evident that they had startled more than the echoes, -for a son of the Cacique, a tall, powerfully-built man, rushed out to -ascertain the cause of the commotion, and looked ready enough to add -the Spaniards' heads to his father's collection when he perceived them -thus braving him, as it were, on his own ground. - -Not being versed in the laws of chivalry, he took the notary at -unawares with a blow which nearly sent him headlong down the hill, and -Montoro almost as suddenly dashed forward with doubled fists to revenge -his companion; but Mendez was far from desiring to be so championed. -Recovering his footing, he grasped the boy by the shoulder and pulled -him back, saying hastily,-- - -"My friend! patience is a virtue--when it is expedient." - -Thus pocketing the affront for the present in a way that was very -astonishing to Montoro, the notary by signs complimented his antagonist -on his vigour, and ended by winning the powerful young savage over -to the side of peace and good-will by presenting him with a comb, a -pair of scissors, and a looking-glass, and giving him a lesson in -hair-dressing. So delighted was the great Quibian's heir with that new -accomplishment, that he fairly hugged his instructor, and although -he could not obtain the bold Spaniards an interview with the angry, -invalid monarch, he sufficiently showed his gratitude by despatching -them safe back again to the waiting Admiral, and their anxious comrades. - -[Illustration: He ended by winning the powerful young savage over to -the side of peace and good-will by presenting him with a comb, a pair -of scissors, and a looking-glass]. - -Thus began and ended Montoro de Diego's first great adventure in -the New World, and from henceforth he was marked out as one of -those for whom the new scenes were to be scenes of renown. With the -bitter termination, for others, of that exploit he had no concern. -He was lying in his berth in the unconsciousness of fever when, -a few days later, the Adelantado and eighty men, guided by Diego -Mendez, seized the unfortunate Cacique, and carried off his wives, -children, and chief friends to die miserable deaths of despair and -broken-heartedness. Well might the poor creatures long to prevent even -the least cruel of the white invaders from landing on their shores. - -Even in the present day it is hard to teach civilized people that the -uncivilized have rights equal with their own, and as sacred. In those -days it was impossible. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - _MASTER PEDRO'S DOGS IN DANGER._ - - -It was still high day when Mendez the notary, and Montoro de Diego, -returned from their expedition to the heart of the Cacique's territory, -and reported themselves once more on board the Admiral's ship; but by -the time the history of their doings and discoveries was ended, it -was too late for any further undertakings in the building line that -afternoon. Fernando got hold of his chosen friend and comrade as the -interview with the Admiral came to an end, and said resolutely-- - -"Come now, Diego, I take upon myself to say that thou hast earned a -holiday for the next twelve hours, and those not given to sleep I -intend shall be devoted to me; or, if it please you better, to me and -those dogs of thine." - -"My dogs, indeed!" laughed Montoro. "I have told thee before, and I -tell thee again, that they are no more mine than thine. Had I but known -in time that I was to go ashore at Hispaniola, they should have been -landed there for their rightful owner, I can tell thee, and I had been -quit of their care once for all." - -"Ay, and of their love too," retorted Fernando slyly. - -Montoro shrugged his shoulders; but his affectation of indifference -went for nought. The mutual affection existing between the couple of -young bloodhounds, and their young keeper, was too well known by every -one on board for his occasional pretence of carelessness about them to -go for anything. His companion soon proved its present shallowness. - -"Oh, well," he said, in his turn shrugging his shoulders, "if you have -left off caring about them it's all right. But I do pity the poor -brutes a little myself, having nothing to eat for the past--well, -there's no saying how many hours. But you know you didn't feed them -before you went off yesterday." - -"Of course I did not," returned Montoro angrily, all his coolness -utterly vanished. "It was much too early then to feed them; but I did -not suppose I left behind me a set of heartless wretches, who would let -poor dumb animals suffer." - -Fernando Colon's lip twitched with something uncommonly like a smile as -he expostulated-- - -"Nay then, you know perfectly that you choose always to feed them -yourself. You have ever given small thanks to those who have dared to -do so in your place." - -"Ah!" exclaimed Montoro with rising passion. "And so because, forsooth, -I choose to attend to the dogs myself, when I am on board, if I were -dead you would let them starve?" - -"Nay, for I should not then have to fear your scowl," was the -answer ending with a laugh. But Nando added the next moment with a -good-natured smile-- - -"Even the Admiral himself was not afraid of your wrath anent those -doggies, when you were safe out of the way, for he fed them with his -own hands." - -As those last words were uttered Montoro turned sharply away and -brushed his sleeve across his eyes. He turned back again almost as -quickly, and laid a tolerably hard grip of his strong fingers on his -companion's arm as he muttered huskily-- - -"You'll never let me get a hold over my temper, Nando, if you torment -me thus. But did--did thy noble father in very truth think upon the -wants of the poor doggies?" - -Ferdinand's eyes were glistening too as he replied-- - -"Ay, that he did indeed. And know'st thou, Toro, half I feel jealous -of thee, for verily I believe that it was as much on thy account as -for the dogs' sake that my father did them so much honour. But hark to -the storm they are making. They have found out thou art on board. Come -away, and let them loose." - -The next minute the two dogs of Master Pedro, the spice and curiosity -dealer of El Cuevo, were bounding up on deck, giving vent to a -succession of excited hurrahs in their own especial tongue. - -Those half-unconscious caresses bestowed upon the hounds by Doña Rachel -Diego at the hour of parting, those tears with which, in trying to -conceal them, she had bedewed the dogs' heads, had so endeared the -animals to her son, that from the outset of his long journeyings he -ever considered their comfort before his own, and reaped the just -reward in their fidelity and strong attachment to himself. But that -evening he was destined to pay a somewhat heavy penalty for the -friendship. - -"Toro, you never give the dogs a swim," said Ferdinand suddenly, when, -after a regular romping match, boys and animals had tumbled themselves -down together in a promiscuous heap, to get back breath and energy for -further proceedings. The dogs were so enormously strong that playing -with them was not easy work like playing with kittens. - -"I feel as if I had been engaged in a pretty stiff wrestling match," -said Montoro, laughing, and stretching his arms, "and oh! how warm it's -become, or I." - -"You may as well add that 'or I,'" laughed back the other; "for I -suspect, as the sun is going down, that the air must be somewhat -cooler than when you came on board. But the hounds really do look hot, -poor creatures, and they could get such a splendid bathe here in the -river--and so could we." - -"Umph!" growled that rather tired-out young Don Diego. "I think it -would have been a much more sensible suggestion that we could have a -splendid turn-in to our berths. But you are such a horrible fellow. I -don't believe you ever know what it is to feel done up." - -"Nor you either, generally," said Ferdinand with another laugh. - -But his companion was not going to be weak enough to echo it, not he. - -"'Generally' isn't 'never,'" he returned. "But here goes, you energetic -plague. In with you as hard as you like, I'll follow." - -And so saying he rolled himself over with a very good imitation of -used-up laziness, and got himself slowly up from his hands and knees on -to his feet, with the wind-up of a solemn, self-satisfied "Oh!" - -"Oh, indeed!" came the mocking echo from half-a-dozen deep throats, -followed by shouts of laughter. - -Montoro was just a trifle disconcerted. He had not known of these extra -witnesses of his performance. - -"Pity but thy mother were here," said Diego Mendez, one of the group. -"Then wouldst thou have surely had such another lollipop as must have -rewarded thy first triumph in this exhibition." - -"Nay then," came the reply, for the performer had not taken long to -recover his self-possession; "nay then, Señor, if you are pleased to -bestow that lollipop for the show it will be the first, seeing that -on that other past occasion of which you speak I returned myself to -the floor with a suddenness that bumped my forehead, and my reward, -therefore, was a plaster." - -"Thy impudent mouth deserves a hot plaster now, methinks," muttered a -surly hidalgo in the background. - -But fortunately hot-tempered Montoro did not hear the mutter, and no -one else heeded it. The group of men moved off, and left the lads -once more to their own devices. Montoro stepped up to the side of the -vessel and looked over at the clear, bright waters of the river. The -dogs shook themselves and followed him, Don rearing himself up on his -hind legs on the right hand to look over, and Señor resolutely pushing -himself in between the two boys, and rearing himself up on Montoro's -left hand, with forepaws resting on the vessel's edge. - -"How different the river looks now to the dingy-coloured, troubled -stream we sailed up such a short time ago," said Montoro. - -"Yes," answered Ferdinand; "the fair weather has given the mud and sand -time to settle. That is why I think it looks so tempting for a bathe." - -The dogs gave their answers also in an expressive fashion of their own, -like the hurrah business, hunching up their shoulders, and settling -their heads down between them with noses pushed forward, and intent -eyes that meant anything you like to imagine, except disagreement with -their friend. Still that same friend hesitated. His human companion -glanced at him with some wonder. - -"Toro--" - -"Ay, Nando, what now?" - -"Only--the banks are very nigh on either hand, and thou canst swim now, -I take it, as well as any one on board these caravels?" - -"Hey, what sayest thou?" said Montoro, with a bewildered stare in -his eyes, which was very nearly reproduced in the other pair when he -suddenly recollected himself, and exclaimed with a short laugh--"Why -now, Nando, you may fairly think that I have lost my wits; but in -truth they had but gone travelling on their own account hence to El -Cuevo, and--Come. I can swim, saidst thou? Truly can I then, and I'll -prove it by beating you and the dogs in a match from here to the shore -yonder, and back again." - -"Done with you," exclaimed the sailor's son, beginning his disrobing -with eager haste as he spoke. "Antonio," he shouted to the pilot, -"Antonio! be good-natured; drop us over a rope, and bide here to summon -us back if we are wanted." - -"A crocodile, maybe, will have you first," answered Alaminos as he -sauntered up. - -"In saying so you belie your own boasted knowledge that these ugly -brutes will not, unprovoked, attack a human being," was the quick -retort. - -"Even so," was the calm reply; "neither will they. But I said not they -would hesitate to make a snap at imps." - -However, there were no crocodiles--to give the alligators the name -given to them at that time--to be seen, neither were other more -dangerous enemies to be seen, when the two boys and the two dogs took -their simultaneous plunge, with a splutter and dash and commotion that -drew two or three of the crew to keep watch beside the pilot. - -Once in the water, Montoro quite forgot that he was tired, and -struck out vigorously for the shore. Unfortunately, however, for the -fulfilment of his boast, his four-footed admirers would insist upon -trying to help him, first to get back to the caravel, which they -appeared to consider the wisest proceeding; and when he had at last -thoroughly convinced them that he intended to keep his face for the -present turned the other way, their attentions were little less -retarding. One would get a whole bunch of the curly black locks between -his teeth firmly, if not exactly comfortably to their owner, while the -other made perpetual lip-nibbles at his ears and shoulders. Montoro was -not at all sorry at last to join the laughing and exultant Ferdinand on -the river bank. - -"Don and Señor shall go back first when we return," he said with -a reproachful shake of his head at the four-footed individuals in -question. "I should have beaten you easily but for them." - -"Poor old doggies!" said Ferdinand, stroking the great head nearest to -him as he spoke. "Good old fellows; you'd better far make friends with -me, as he is so ungrateful to you." - -As though the dogs understood the address made to them, when Nando -took his hand from Señor's head, and rolled himself down the bank back -into the water again, with a great souse, and forthwith set to work -floundering and swimming and diving and jumping, Señor jumped up, gave -a hasty lick to Diego's hand, and then followed the other boy into the -water, and the two together began to hurry back to the ship, actuated -at first by a spirit of mischief, and then, by the sharply-uttered -orders of the Admiral. - -And while Columbus shouted his commands to his young son to return to -him, others were trying to obey the orders to man a boat instantly, -and put off from the ship for the shore Fernando and Señor had just -left. - -"But there is no boat! they are all yonder!" groaned Antonio de -Alaminos as he wrung his hands. "And the bravest and brightest spirit -of us all will die unrevenged." - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - _NOISE TO THE RESCUE._ - - -That Montoro Diego should die 'unrevenged' was Antonio the pilot's only -moan. To wish for his life might well seem useless. How should he live -without aid, and how should aid be got to him in time, even should -there be a dozen boats available! Arrows were flying around him, and -arrows fly faster than any rowers yet heard of can ply their oars. - -The fact of the matter was this. Very few people care now-a-days, nor -ever have cared, for uninvited guests; and the Cacique of Veragua and -his people were no exceptions to the general rule. When Columbus and -his four caravels appeared off their coasts, they were as pleased with -the novel exhibition as we are with a sight of the Persian Shah, an -elephant called Jumbo, or a king of the Cannibal Islands. And they -treated the exhibitors very well, giving them much more than enough for -one feast; and then, when they were satisfied with the sight, and had -found that enough of that was certainly, so far as they were concerned, -as good as a feast, they gave their visitors some very valuable little -presents, and courteously hinted--"Now you may go." - -But, instead of taking the unacceptable hint, they didn't go. On the -contrary, they coolly took possession of other people's land, built -a considerable number of houses upon it, and showed plainly enough -that they meant to take up their abode there without an invitation. -These Spaniards would never have dreamt of trying to treat their home -neighbours, the Portuguese or the French, with such scant ceremony. But -these Veraguans were "only savages, heathen, miserable dark-skinned -creatures, with no rights at all." No claims to halfpence, only to -kicks. - -Unfortunately, these poor heathen savages thought differently. Quibian, -with his bad leg laid up in his uncivilized palace, growled forth his -orders to his painted warriors to expel the impudent intruders; and -all his able-bodied subjects turned themselves into volunteers for the -furtherance of the same purpose. Here, there, and everywhere around -that bit of coast, and between the two rivers, lurked the Spaniards' -foes, and half-a-dozen particularly malicious ones were concealed -just within the borders of the forest, facing the Admiral's ship, -when Montoro and Ferdinand forsook its safety for their ill-advised -bathe. The spies grinned at each other with silent delight when they -saw the boys swim straight for the bank, mount it, and actually place -themselves in the full power of the enemy. The arrows would have left -the bows at once, and both the lads might have suffered but for the -dogs. - -The Veraguans, like their neighbours on the great new continent, had -no domestic animals, and the gambols and tricks of Don and Señor were -most fascinatingly wonderful to those hidden spectators, who almost -forgot their desire to kill the dogs' companions in delighted attention -to the dogs themselves. But suddenly Fernando, in that very unexpected -way, rolled himself down the bank and disappeared,--he and one of the -four-footed friends,--only to reappear to their eyes half-way back -to the ship. The Indians were furious at his escape and their own -stupidity, and, darting out of their hiding-place, shot off all six -arrows simultaneously at the two hoped-for victims still remaining in -their power. - -Rather, it should be said, the one hoped-for victim, for the Indians -would have rather preferred to spare Don had it been possible. But the -animal, obeying its instincts, sprang forward on seeing the strangers, -and received three out of the six arrows in its own body. The others -fell harmless, for Montoro, on seeing the unexpected adversaries, had -obeyed his natural human instincts, and sprung on one side. - -In so springing he involuntarily followed Fernando's example, and -rolled down the bank. Had he then and there set off swimming back to -his friends, he would in all probability have got off uninjured; but -the help Master Sancho, the merchant, had many a time in El Cuevo seen -him render to those more helpless than himself he was ready with now, -almost as much as a matter of instinct as the actions that preceded the -unselfish act. - -As he disappeared down the bank the Veraguans uttered yells of -disappointed rage; but through those sounds there fell upon his ears, -with an accent of bitter disappointment, a most piteous moan. Poor -Don had given his body as a shield for his companion, and now that he -lay suffering, perhaps dying, his companion was forsaking him. Don -felt that to be very hard lines, and so he howled out his sorrow. -He certainly would not have treated his friend so, and though his -friend was only a human being, and not a faithful dog, he had imagined -this especial human being to be different to most. It seemed he was -mistaken, and so he howled for his disappointment. And Montoro heard -the mournful howl, and understood all it said as well as if it had been -the very longest and most comprehensive German word that even Bret -Harte ever got hold of. - -Ten seconds later the spectators on board the ship saw the lad -remounting the bank with a wild bound, actually returning towards his -enemies--one unarmed, defenceless boy against half-a-dozen fierce -warriors. - -"And all for the sake of a dog," said Alaminos to him some time later -with a touch of anger. - -"All for the sake of a creature that cried to me for aid," was the -reply. "And ere I cease to care for such, I trust that I may no longer -cumber the earth." - -But during those present moments, while Montoro was climbing the -bank, the pilot was standing with wide eyes gazing across at him, and -wondering greatly as to the motives for his strange proceeding. He had -forgotten about the dog, or thought it was dead and done for. - -Poor old Don himself knew better. He was lying there helpless, with -three arrows in his faithful side; but he was not yet too dead or done -for to be able to give vent to an ecstatic weak squeak of a bark when -he caught sight again of his beloved master. - -So astounded were the Indians that they beat a momentary retreat -into the forest, while Montoro knelt down and pulled the arrows out -of the dog's wounds, Don the while alternately licking his hands and -moaning. But it was no time just then for delicate handling. The three -arrows were out in little more than as many seconds, and then with an -inspiriting "Hi, good dog," Diego roused up the poor animal and pulled -it down the bank with him once more, just as a second flight of arrows -sped more truly to their intended mark. This time Diego quivered, and -uttered one sharp, irrepressible cry as four of the darts struck and -pierced his unprotected flesh. Pulling out the one most accessible, he -plunged into the water, the dog with him. The Indians rushed forward. -For those past few seconds they had imagined he must have some means of -defence at hand to make him so daring, but now they were undeceived, -and proportionably brave, themselves. Another flight of arrows was -launched, this time happily with such eager, excited haste as to be -harmless. But what advantage was that? The foe had plenty more arrows, -and would apparently have plenty more time to shoot them at their -wished-for target, for both the lad and the dog were evidently much -hurt, and were swimming very slowly and feebly. - -Then it was that Antonio de Alaminos wrung his hands and groaned over -his favourite's impending fate. But the Admiral did something better -than groan. There was no possibility of getting a boat across from -the building-ground in time to be of any use, and the position was -imminent. One more glance was cast by the father at his young son -rapidly nearing the vessel, and still unconscious of his friend's -danger, and then the order was shouted forth--"Fire off the guns--wait -not to take aim." - -Answering shouts of comprehension greeted the order, and as the guns -were now always in a state of readiness for immediate use, it was -obeyed with almost incredible speed, so great was the eagerness to -save the young life now in jeopardy. Even while the exhausted Montoro -was plunging himself and Don under water to escape another shower of -arrows, there came the flash, the roar of the four falconets, followed -by peal upon peal of the most frantic screechings from the Indians. -Whether they were hurt was very doubtful, but it was evident enough -that they were madly terrified. Flinging away their weapons, they -decamped into the shelter of the forest again, and it was only by the -fading sound of the continued shrieks that the direction of their -retreat towards the village could be learnt. - -"That was a lucky thought--to fight by fear," said Diego Mendez with a -sigh of relief, as he prepared to spring into the river to the further -aid of the rescued Montoro; but the Admiral checked him one moment, -saying reverently-- - -"It was a blessed thought, my friend, for it was inspired by God." - -Twenty minutes later Montoro was safe in his berth; the arrows had been -extracted, and the wounds dressed, and poor Don lay dozing uneasily at -his feet. It had just been suggested that the dog should be put out of -its sufferings forthwith by a blow on the head. But Columbus would not -have it done. The lad had nearly lost his life to save the animal's, -and it should not prove such a useless service. - -"You will at any rate, my father, allow me a little time to try to get -him well?" said Ferdinand eagerly. - -"Most assuredly, my son," answered the Admiral. "For thy friend's sake, -and for the dog's, it shall be so." - -And thus it came to pass that while Montoro lay ill of fever from his -torn wounds and over-fatigue, many weighty things befell his companions -and the Indians of Veragua, and faithful Don lay at his master's -feet and licked himself back into wholeness. In fact, Don's surgical -appliances did him good far more speedily than those made use of on -behalf of Montoro. And when his comrade Señor's bones lay bleaching in -the American forest some few weeks later, he was bounding about the -deck in full strength and health, and utter disregard of the calamities -that had befallen nearly every other living creature any way connected -with him. - -When Montoro again recovered consciousness the Admiral's caravel was -once more on the way to Hispaniola. The settlement at Veragua had been -half destroyed, wholly abandoned; the poor Cacique of Veragua and -his people were slain, dead or dispersed; and once more Montoro de -Diego, and many of his companions, had to turn their hopes of fortune -to the island colony that had already, in the short space of eight -years, been so frequently the hotbed of envy, hatred, malice, and all -uncharitableness. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - _I AM 'DON ALONZO.'_ - - -It was a splendid evening one day towards the end of the year 1503, -when a tall, plainly-attired, handsome youth drew near the home of a -Spanish colonist to whom he had notes of introduction. He had walked -out to it from San Domingo, a distance of some five miles, and now -stood still to survey the scene, his hand resting on a dog's head the -while that had accompanied him. - -"It is a glorious place, old Don," he muttered in a tone of -considerable satisfaction, although it betokened great surprise as well. - -And a glorious place it was, and most especially beautiful now that -the long, low houses of stone and earth, the waving palms, and all the -other luxuriance of that southern clime, were bathed in the golden -glory of a southern sunset. In a cushioned reclining chair, placed in -a shady spot of the broad verandah, lounged a young man, handsome, -but for a Spaniard coarse-featured and rather thick-set. However, all -defects of person were thrown into the background by a sumptuousness of -attire that fairly startled the youth as he at length approached, and -delivered his letters. - -"And you are the son of Master Pedro, the spice-dealer of El Cuevo!" he -breathed forth at last. - -The words of that ejaculation were common-place enough, but the tone in -which they were uttered, and the look with which they were accompanied, -made them so inexpressibly gratifying, and at the same time comical, to -the man to whom they were addressed, that he burst into a loud, long -laugh before vouchsafing them any other answer. - -"Yes, yes," he said at last, recovering himself with an easy -nonchalance. "Yes, yes, youngster, I do not mind confessing to you, -since you know the fact before my confession, that the worthy old -gentleman yonder, with his frugal fare, and his better stuff cloak for -holidays, is my father, and a rare good old miser he is, to save the -maravedis for my spending. But mind ye, that is between you and me and -Saint Peter." - -A wondering gaze from a great pair of thoughtful, brilliant eyes was -the questioning reply to this intimation. "And for the rest of the -world," asked the owner of the eyes after a short pause, "who is your -father for the rest of the world?" - -Another laugh greeted this query. - -"Why, for the rest of the world, being what you have found me, Don -Alonzo de Loyala, my father is, like thine own, some long-deceased -grandee of Spain, who neglected his duty towards his son as regarded -the due endowment of riches to maintain my rank in mine own land." - -As this mocking speech ended, Montoro de Diego's cheeks flushed -angrily, and he exclaimed-- - -"Do you then imply that my claims to noble birth are thus also assumed? -By St.--" - -"Nay then, nay," good-humouredly interrupted the other. "In these -latitudes it is not well for health to heat thyself for nought. Keep -thy passion for the red rascals, who are so lazy that they'll die -rather than live and work. I imply nothing to thy detriment. Wert thou -placed as I am, then wouldst thou also have a wealthy father at thy -back, to help thee to maintain that rank out here it should pleasure -thee to claim. Meantime, I do no more than half of those around me, -and with better right; for I am no released felon, and I deal honestly -by those I trade with. I will deal honestly with you. Twice have I had -advices from my father, and from good master Sancho, that I should try -to secure you for a companion and aid, should you elect to remain here -on the Admiral's return to Spain. And I like you at first sight well -enough to be willing to take their advice. Will you stay with me then, -or shall I help you to find friends elsewhere?" - -Montoro looked at the man from head to foot slowly and earnestly, as he -lounged there before him, so great a contrast to himself, and then as -slowly and earnestly said-- - -"I agree to stay--for a time." - -"Umph!" muttered the self-styled Don Alonzo, somewhat taken aback in -his turn. "Umph! my noble youngster, methinks from your air you suppose -the obligation to be rather more mutual than I esteem it. You are a -beggar and friendless, and I--am not." - -However, Montoro was not now so friendless as his new colleague -assumed. Had he returned to Spain, even there he might now have been -found some sort of employment, and out in the Colony the spirited young -adventurer, with a pair of hands both able and willing to work, could -have easily found some more indolent seeker after wealth willing to go -into partnership with him. But Rachel de Diego was sheltered under the -roof of the spice-merchant, and her son had a hidden eagerness that he -might be able to find shelter under the roof of the spice-merchant's -son. It was to that motive that 'Don Alonzo' owed the easy settlement -of his agreement with his new young partner, and not, as he imagined, -to the promising air of luxurious comfort in his surroundings. That -offered more allurements to a third party to the affair. - -Don threatened for a few minutes to upset the amiable arrangements -between his real owner and his self-adopted master, for poor Don had -very faint notions of the rights of property and ownership, and Don was -thirsty and Don was hungry, and, moreover, Don was as fond of grapes -as any Christian Don, real or pretended, to be found in or out of -Spain. All of a sudden, while Montoro was gazing thoughtfully out at -the silver line of distant sea, and Don Alonzo was muttering to himself -the remark mentioned above, tired Don caught sight of a piled-up dish -of grapes on a table in the verandah. He licked his dry lips, and went -on eyeing them. Then he licked his dry lips again, and ventured upon -a small whine. That sound recalled Montoro's wandering wits so far -that he turned round and nodded to his four-footed friend, and said -dreamily-- - -"Yes, yes. All right, good old Don." - -That was enough. Don was in that state of longing that a very small -amount of encouragement was enough to induce him to help himself to -the desired feast, and before either of his companions knew well what -he was about, he had bounded up to the table, scrunched up one juicy, -deliciously refreshing bunch of grapes, and had a second in his mouth -about to be treated in the same way. But "there's many a slip 'twixt -the cup and the lip," and in this instance there proved to be a slip -'twixt the lip and the throat. - -Don Alonzo quickly became aware of what was going on, and, seizing a -heavy bottle, he flung it with full force angrily at the dog; and it -hit, not the dog, but the dog's champion, happily only a touch, and -then fell crashing on the floor of the verandah. - -The next instant Montoro's first dash forward to save the dog was -followed by a second to save Don Alonzo; for the huge animal had made a -furious spring at his antagonist, accompanied by a growl that gave full -promise of his intentions. Montoro's most resolute and stern command -was needed before the hound was brought to crouch down by his side, -with red-lit eyes still glaring at his unrecognized owner. - -"That brute shall be shot before he's an hour older," came the surly -declaration at last, as Montoro knelt on the stone pavement soothing -the animal back into good temper. At the sharp announcement he looked -up quickly. - -"Then you shall shoot him through me," he said passionately, "as you -struck me just now instead of him. He is my only friend out here, and -we will live or die together." - -Don Alonzo shook himself irritably. He was good-hearted enough if -over-indulgent parents in the first instance, and superabundant good -fortune since, had not rather spoilt him. Besides, four years' sojourn -on the island of Hispaniola had not tended to teach regard for any -life but his own; that he esteemed at quite a high enough rate, and he -answered Montoro now with angry remonstrance-- - -"It is all very fine to talk heroics, youngster; but thinkest thou that -I am going to be browbeaten into keeping my own dog, to stand in danger -of being mauled by it any time its tempers up, as if I were a wretched -native!" - -Montoro stood up and folded his arms. - -"Neither you nor any other man, Indian or European, shall suffer from -Doffs teeth. Or, if perchance that sounds too proud a boast, for the -first human being that Don injures he shall die. He shall be as a lamb -to you now--see--hold out your hand." - -With some scarcely-disguised trepidation Alonzo obeyed. Don cast a -beseeching glance of remonstrance at his friend; but instead of any -encouragement to rejection of the offered fellowship, he got a grave -shake of the head; and with a very crestfallen aspect he rose, walked -dolefully along the verandah, and put his paw into the outstretched -hand, and looked up with mute appeal for forgiveness. - -Don Alonzo was wise enough to seal the new compact with a -freely-generous gift of more of the coveted grapes. If Montoro for Don, -and Don for himself, would engage that Don Alonzo should never feel -the sharpness of that animal's teeth, his owner was only too willing -that it should live. For it was quite the fashion now to use these -powerful dogs out in the new world, not only as terrible aids in battle -against the poor, half-defenceless Indians, but also to hunt down -the miserable, wholly-defenceless slaves who sometimes dared to run -away to die in peace in their native forests, instead of beneath the -short-sighted, as well as brutal, taskmaster's lash. - -The young Diego had declared that Don should never be so employed, but -that declaration Don Alonzo comfortably decided in his own mind was -all nonsense. He himself had had qualms about the treatment of the -natives when he first came out, but he had long since got rid of all -such inconvenient scruples; and so of course would this new arrival -get speedily rid of his. Every one did, with the exception of that -impracticable idiot of a neighbour of his, that young fellow Las Casas, -who had come out from Spain with his head so full of theories and -bookish ideas that he had no room in it for common sense. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - _GOOD OLD DON._ - - -Time passed on. In Spain good Queen Isabella died, and two years later -the poor, neglected noble-hearted, pious old Admiral, Christopher -Columbus, recommending himself to God, and his two sons, Diego and -Ferdinand, to King Ferdinand's tardy justice and each other's brotherly -love, also bade a final farewell to an ungrateful world. - -And in Hispaniola also time passed on. Many there grieved over the -Admiral when he was dead, who had tormented him in every possible way -when living,--that is the way with poor, stupid human nature. But he -had one true mourner, who had loved and served him with all his heart -during the year that they were together, and whose memory for those he -cared for was not a short one. Montoro de Diego, amidst his many new -interests, felt a very keen pang of sorrow when the news was brought -out to the island, towards the end of the year 1506, of the loss the -world had sustained. - -"Ah! Señor Las Casas," he sighed one morning, some months later; "ah! -then, if he had lived, and the queen, you might then have had hope even -yet to work some good for these wretched, rightful owners of these -lands. But now--" - -"Ay, indeed!" exclaimed Bartholomew Las Casas with heaving chest, as he -rose and strode hastily up and down his terrace. "You may well pause -upon that but now, Diego. For now one might more wisely waste breath -in calling upon wolves and wild cats to cease from fierceness, than in -pleading with one's fellow-men for mercy, justice, or compassion. 'Give -us yourselves,' is the fierce cry that echoes all around us. 'Give us -yourselves, your wives and daughters, for our humble slaves; give us -your gold, your lands, all you hold most valuable; resign your wills, -your faith, your souls into our keeping, and we will give you leave to -live as long as unremitting toil and cruelty will let you. But resist -us, fight for your country or your liberty, contradict our lightest -caprice, and we will shoot you down as though you were so many rabbits, -we will hunt you to death with our dogs as though you were vermin or -wild beasts.'" - -The young man came to a sudden stop, with a face glowing with generous -indignation, and literally panting for breath with his burst of -righteous wrath. Montoro's cheeks were flushed with sympathy as he said -in quick reply-- - -"It is so. I can but too terribly vouch for the truth of your bitter -accusation. But, Señor, your brethren the priests, can they not--" - -Las Casas turned upon him with sharp interruption. - -"Can they not help me, you would ask? Ay, verily," with indignant -scorn; "well indeed do they help the cause I have at heart! This is -one of the proclamations allowed by some of those same brethren the -priests--'Your souls are doomed to eternal perdition, your bodies -belong to those who have conquered your soil!' Much good my brethren -the priests will do!" - -There was a short silence, and then he continued more calmly, and -laying his hand upon a pile of papers, "But after all, Diego, I do hope -to work some good for the poor natives. I have written out a strong -case for them, and I am intending to return to Spain shortly, there to -plead their cause myself." - -"And you shall have my testimony, if you will," said Montoro eagerly. -"For it is our Don Alonzo's will that I should take a journey to Spain -this coming season, in charge of a somewhat richer freight than usual. -And if you start not immediately we may go together." - -"And Don?" said Las Casas, in smiling interrogation. - -"Ay, truly," was the laughing answer, although something of a blush -accompanied it. "But in faith," he added the next moment, "it is not -only for love of the animal that I have it for my constant companion. -Since I have discovered the horrible use to which its fellows are put, -I live in fear of a coming day when I may regret having saved its life." - -"Then," continued his friend, "you will leave it behind you in Spain -perchance, when you return hither?" - -"That is so long to look ahead," said Montoro, feeling not a little -glad that he was not called upon for an immediate decision. - -When it really came to the point he did what he thought much better -than leaving Don behind in El Cuevo. He got Master Pedro to transfer -all property in it to himself. His services to the old spice-dealer -and his son had well merited so much of a reward. And as for Don, he -deserved not only a good master, but almost as many bunches of grapes -besides as he chose to eat, when, a couple of years later, he was the -means of saving Montoro's life and a bag full of gold-dust to the value -of many thousand pesos. - -Diego's first return journey to Spain proved so successful, owing to -his scrupulous honesty and intelligence, that Don Alonzo speedily sent -him on a second, and others also most eagerly availed themselves of so -upright a messenger to transmit their golden gleanings to their own -country. - -But, as it happened, with Diego there voyaged also to Spain three -ne'er-do-wells. They had gambled away all their slaves, all their -grants of land, all their gathered-up spoils, and then, having finally -gambled away all their future prospects of wealth in Hispaniola, the -miscreants, as mean as they were bad, slipped away from the island and -their creditors on the first ship back to Spain. - -"And mind ye," muttered one of the number to his companions one -evening, as they drew near the end of their two months' voyage,--"mind -ye, if we follow that insolent, set-up fellow Diego a day or two's -journey up the country after landing, we shall not be losing time, -neither shall we have cause to regret having left Hispaniola in his -company." - -"How so?" questioned one of the two eager listeners doubtfully. "My -child yonder, little Bautista, told me when I questioned him some days -ago anent Diego's gold, that the bags were to be sent by other hands to -Madrid." - -"And you credit the tale!" exclaimed the first speaker scornfully. -"You'll believe next that the Garden of Paradise has been found." - -"And so I will," was the retort, "when the news is given me by Montoro -de Diego. He would not lie to save his life, and least of all would he -lie to a child." - -"By all the saints," sneered the third of the group, "but Don Diego -hath a warm advocate in you! Doubtless it were useless to expect you to -touch his gold, even though it lay by the wayside to be picked up." - -"Doubtless under those circumstances," was the sharp reply, "there -should be little left for you to snatch. All the same, he hath shown -kindness to my boy, and he tells him nought but truth." - -"Well, well," said Almado, the first speaker, more softly, "there is no -need that we should wrangle over the fellow's virtues, they sicken me -forsooth. Ne'er the less, he shall be a very saint if you will, so we -do but get his merchandise. As for the gold that is to go to Madrid, -that is but that small part, of what he carries, which is for the -king's coffers. Of that I am well assured. So you see thy little son -yonder hath been told the truth indeed, but only in part, and maybe to -mislead us." - -"Umph," muttered Bautista's father, also more quietly. "That may well -be." - -"Ay," agreed the third of the company, "that may well be." - -And for the next few hours they all redoubled their efforts to be -on good terms with Don. They flattered themselves, indeed, that he -regarded them quite in the light of friends, for Don, like most very -strong creatures, whether going on two legs or four, never troubled -himself to show uncalled-for fierceness. As long as no one interfered -with him or his master, and his master gave him no orders to interfere -with others, he maintained the grave indifference of manner worthy of -a highborn Spaniard. But woe betide those who should presume upon this -calmness. - -Arrived at Cadiz, Montoro delivered up the royal revenue to the -authorized messengers awaiting it, and then he and his dog and his bags -set out on their journey up the country, in company with worthy Master -Sancho, who had come to meet him, and two or three other traders from -the interior. - -"Farewell, my little Bautista," said Montoro; "I shall pray for our -future meeting." - -"Nay," said the child hurriedly, and with a frightened look round, "do -not that, Señor. I love you, you have been good to me, and so I pray -the Virgin to grant we may not meet again." - -Montoro opened his eyes wide. - -"How so, little man? Love me, and yet pray that we may not again cross -each other's paths? How is that, tell me?" - -But the boy shook his head, and began to tremble violently. - -"Do not ask me," he muttered with white lips; "they will kill me. Only -keep away from us. They do not know I have heard--" - -"Ha!" exclaimed Montoro, a look of intelligence now taking the place -of bewilderment. Then he stooped and kissed the child's forehead, as -he said in low tones, "Blessings on thee for thy true heart, my little -lad, and my thanks. May the Lord have thee in His keeping, and guard -thy hands from sin." - -And so they parted, each, as poor little Bautista fondly thought, to go -widely different ways, but in reality to take two routes leading to the -same goal. - -For the first two days' journey inland the party to which Montoro -joined himself was a particularly strong one, too strong for the three -gamblers to care to meddle with; accordingly they withdrew themselves -from notice, until the travelling company was reduced to Montoro -himself, Master Sancho and his thick-headed attendant, and a couple of -poor-spirited merchants, who would have rather hidden themselves in -their bales at the appearance of danger, than tried to defend them. But -then--there was Don. - -The third day was drawing to a close, when Diego and his companions -reached a wretched little inn, the worst on their route, and with -considerable grumbling on the part of comfort-loving Master Sancho, -they put up there for the night. To make matters worse, the amount of -available accommodation was even less than usual, for another party of -travellers had arrived before them, and taken the chief and largest -room. - -However, there was no help for it. Master Sancho had to make the best -of a bad bargain, and as nothing would induce him to share a room with -Don, and nothing would induce Montoro to dispense with Don's company as -a guardian under present circumstances, he and the dog had one room, -and the worthy burgess of El Cuevo and the two merchants from Saragossa -had to crowd into the other. - -"One night," explained Master Sancho to his companions, "that young -rascal I've taken a fancy to, persuaded me to share a sleeping -apartment with him and that great brute, and in the night I -snored,--I'm given to snore,--and the creature didn't approve, and -woke me up with a sounding thump of its great paw. And there, behold! -it stood reared up over me, with glaring eyes and a growling mouth. I -warrant you, I prayed in one minute to more saints in the calendar than -I've prayed to in many a long year before." - -"Doubtless," assented one of the merchants with paling cheeks. "I -have ever thought it a fearful great beast, and unsafe. But hearken! -Methinks it is now quarrelling even with its own master. Ah!" with -startled breathlessness--"it is shot." - -Then there was a sudden rushing all over the inn. Screams, shrieks, -shouts, slamming of doors, and above all, the continuous roar of Don's -deep growling bark. - -At length men and lights were gathered in Montoro's room, and there -stood Montoro holding in a firm grip one of the smugglers. But the hero -of the fray, and the conqueror, was grand old Don standing with one -great fore-paw on the breast of one robber, the other fore-paw on the -breast of Bautista's father, who lay weltering in his blood, shot by -the other of his comrades in the attempt to shoot the dog. - -"But my child, my little son," murmured the wretched, dying man. - -"I will guard and care for him," said Montoro huskily. - -He had been rescued from misery himself once, now he was the rescuer. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - _DEATH FOR DON._ - - -It was the early part of the year 1511, when Montoro, become now quite -an experienced islander and man of business, left Don Alonzo's place, -Palmyra, one morning for the neighbouring town of San Domingo. The -object of the visit was to arrange some important matters with certain -foreign merchants, who had lately arrived with tempting offers to the -planters for the produce of their estates. - -"And don't hurry thyself," said Don Alonzo with unusual consideration. -"Take thy pleasure for a few days when thou art in the town, for verily -this dog's hole of a place is dull enough to make a man long to shuffle -off life with a native's readiness." - -"If those same natives should get the upper-hand," answered Montoro -drily, "I doubt not they would help you. Meantime, I will trust to find -you still in the flesh, and well, when I return, and so--_adios_." - -"And for you, fair journeyings and good bargains," said the indolent -superior, as he lay lounging in his low chair sipping a cool lime-juice -beverage. Little enough of the work he did himself towards accumulating -his own wealth. - -But, lazy and self-indulgent as he was, it had not escaped Montoro that -there was a certain scarcely-suppressed eagerness, and barely-hidden -hope of some sort, underlying his present declared wishes for his -subordinate's comfort. As Montoro left the verandah and passed through -the house he called to his rescued _protégé_, who had proved useful -enough to secure himself a home beneath Don Alonzo's roof. No work had -seemed to come amiss to him, excepting that of aid to the overseers in -the gold mines, in which he had been recently employed. But the brutal -task-masters had just sent the boy back, saying that he was no good to -them whatever, worse than no good indeed, for he pitied the rascally -workers instead of flogging them. - -Bautista came readily enough when he heard his beloved Señor Diego's -voice. - -"Am I to go with you, my Señor?" he exclaimed beseechingly. "Ah! but I -will be to you eyes and hands and feet, if I may." - -"I prefer to use my own, thank you," answered Montoro smiling, as he -patted the boy's head. "But look not so disappointed, Bautista, for if -I cannot trust myself to thee, I am going to leave in thy charge one I -hold almost dearer. I leave thee guardian of our faithful old Don. And -see thou that he comes to no harm, and--that he does no harm. I have -guarded him from that sin hitherto; do thou guard him in my absence." - -A deep breath, almost a groan, burst from the boy's lips. - -"My Señor," he muttered anxiously, "give me some other duty to perform -for you. This may be too hard." - -Diego frowned. - -"I trust not," he said sternly. "It shall be worse for others if it -prove so. And remember, you have my orders, and if need be you must -declare them." - -So saying he nodded his farewell to the boy and departed, leaving Don's -new guardian in a very doleful frame of mind, for he knew well enough -the cause of Don Alonzo's desire to be a short time rid of Montoro. - -The spice-merchant's son was good-natured enough so long as he was -crossed in nothing, but Montoro's settled refusal to have Don used as -a hunter of runaway slaves had roused Alonzo's spite, and for the past -year, ever since the return of Montoro and the dog from Spain, he had -been seeking some chance to gratify his malice. Hitherto where Diego -had gone the dog had gone, but at last this expedition to the town was -arranged, and for various circumstances it was more convenient to leave -Don behind. - -"And at last," declared Don Alonzo with a malicious chuckle, "at last -the brute shall be set to its proper work." - -Bautista was in the apartment at the time, as well as one of the -overseers, and as a significant warning to him the words were -added--"And it shall have its first taste of the flesh of any one, be -he Spaniard or native, who betrays my purpose to Señor Long-face." - -No wonder the boy desired that some other duty might be commuted to his -charge by his patron, in test of his affection. As Montoro rode off -with a party of attendants, Bautista made his way to Don, and poured -out his fears to an apparently perfectly intelligent pair of ears. - -"But all the same, you know quite well, Don," said Bautista -reproachfully, "you do know quite well, that in spite of your good -Christian bringing up, you would seize a poor redskin by the leg if you -were set at him." - -"Of course he would, like the sensible thoroughbred he is," shouted a -well-known voice not a couple of yards distant. And Bautista sprang to -his feet with a terrified look on his face, as he saw the hateful head -overseer, Jerome Tivoli, had come up to him unperceived. - -The man now stood intently regarding the dog, with a more sinister -expression than usual upon his cruel face, and the boy could scarcely -restrain himself from flying away from the spot. Nothing short of his -loyal devotion to his patron could have kept him there. At last he said -huskily-- - -"It is useless so to examine this dog, for, strong or weak, you can -have nought to do with it, since it belongs to the Señor Diego, and he -chooses not that it should be used for your purposes." - -De Tivoli uttered a short, hard laugh, and his eyes glittered as he -said slowly-- - -"Ah! yes. It is the Señor Montoro de Diego's dog---his favourite. And -verily it is a fine animal, and powerful, and will do a day's work well -for us. That dog of a slave Guatchi has run away, and, dead or alive, -yon pet of our Señor Diego shall bring him back to us." - -Bautista flung himself down again beside the dog, and threw his arms -about its neck, as he exclaimed with the courage of affection-- - -"No! I tell thee no, Señor Tivoli. Señor Diego has left it to me to -guard his dog from doing harm, and I will keep my charge." - -De Tivoli's thin lips curled; but ere he could reply other footsteps -were heard approaching, and Don Alonzo himself appeared upon the scene. - -"How now, De Tivoli," he exclaimed hastily. "Why dost thou waste time? -The idle rascal Guatchi hath had start enough, I trow, to breathe the -dog e'en now; why dost thou delay?" - -"It is but for a minute, Don Alonzo," replied the other coolly. "Yon -boy declares that, for Don Diego's sake, it shall not be sent hunting." - -"And I," retorted Don Alonzo, "swear by St. Jago that it shall." - -"And I, in the name of one higher," exclaimed Montoro de Diego, thus -unexpectedly making his own appearance on the scene again, "I declare, -with Bautista, that it shall not go." - -Don Alonzo started slightly, and his face flushed for a moment with -ill-restrained annoyance and uneasiness as he saw that set, resolute -countenance before him; but he tried to assume an air of carelessness, -and to laugh away the matter with an off-hand-- - -"Why, my mentor, how have you contrived to accomplish the business you -had in hand so quickly? What brings you back so soon?" - -"Your good genius, I feel inclined to imagine," was Montoro's answer, -in tones somewhat quieter than those of his first exclamation. But -the fading sparkle in his eyes rekindled as his companion replied -irritably-- - -"Then I wish the meddlesome beast had minded its own business, instead -of sending you back here to pull a long face over what I mean to do in -spite of it." - -As he spoke he walked up to where the dog Don lay tethered, held a -strip of cotton cloth to its nose, and then muttering viciously-- - -"Find him, Don, find him!" pressed his finger hastily on the spring of -the dog's collar, and set it free. - -The great animal bounded forward. The next instant there was a howl, a -moan, and Don lay dying at Montoro's feet; rather, one should say, at -Montoro's knees, for the young man had sunk on to them almost as soon -as his own fist had fallen with that lightning stroke, and the same -hand that had dealt the death-blow was now soothing the poor brute's -last agonies. It was Montoro de Diego who had killed it, and yet it was -to Montoro's face that the pleading brown eyes were lifted with their -last gaze of affection, and it was Montoro's hand that the dying tongue -licked with the last breath. - -"My poor old Don," muttered Montoro huskily, as he tenderly pressed the -side quivering with the death struggle; "poor old Don." - -"It's fine for thee to pity the poor brute when it owes its sufferings -to thy malice," exclaimed Don Alonzo furiously, and with fingers on the -hilt of his dagger, as though they itched to lay his companion beside -the animal. - -But Diego paid no seeming heed to the show of rage. Maintaining his -kneeling position for a while longer, he replied quietly-- - -"Yes, it once owed its life to me, and now it owes its death to me, and -better so than it should have been the innocent cause of suffering to -one of our human brethren, for whom the cross rose on Calvary." - -And then he rose from beside the dog's dead body, and turned slowly -away with a saddened face. In spite of its ferocious nature, the animal -had always been most docile with him; and besides, it had been that -oft-felt link with his mother's home. How long ago now seemed that -first day of parting from his country, when Rachel de Diego's slender -fingers had rested for a few moments on the animal's head. Her son -would far rather have a second time undergone some peril to save its -life, than have had to destroy it for the prevention of a crime. - -"Ah, Señor," murmured Bautista, as he crept out on to the verandah -after him a few minutes later. "Ah, Señor, you have saved poor -Guatchi's limbs from being mangled; but I doubt me you have made an -enemy for yourself." - -"You were willing to do the same in the same cause, Bautista," was the -answer with a grave smile of approval. "I knew not that thou wast so -staunchly ranged on the side of justice and mercy. Henceforth we are -friends." - -The boy sprang forward to clasp the hand held out to him, and said -eagerly-- - -"To follow in your steps, Señor, I began to remind myself that the -Indians' flesh had feelings like our own, but my past month in the -mines has been a black lesson in horror that I would not repeat to -escape the pains of purgatory. These Indians are tenfold weaker than -we are, and their sufferings are tenfold more, for they have learnt -nothing of manhood to sustain them. You have seen them die here in the -plantations, Señor, and that has roused your pity; but in those mines -it is not that _some_ die, but that _none survive_. A few days of that -dismal work beneath cuffs and lashes, and their strength is spent--" - -"And then?" came the short query. - -"And then," ended the boy with a sort of gasp for breath, "they sink -to the ground, and the brutal kick given to rouse them up to continued -labour, is the accompaniment of their last breath. It is little wonder, -Señor, that I should wish poor Guatchi to get away free, now that he -has escaped such toil alive." - -The whole fervour of the boy's susceptible nature was aroused, and -Montoro felt more than ever convinced that he was in the presence of -one whose spirit was akin to his own. - -"Hearken, Bautista," he said, after a short pause. "I have within the -past few hours copied out part of a commission against the miserable -inhabitants of this new world, lately granted by our king, and framed -by the greatest divines and lawyers of our old home. Alonso de Ojeda -and Diego de Nicuessa bear drafts of this commission with them, and be -well assured that they will not spare its execution. But stay; I will -read thee the very words themselves, addressed for peremptory orders -to these poor heathen, ignorant of the very language in which we call -upon them to obey our faith and laws:--'If you will not consent to take -our Church for your Church, the holy father the Pope for your spiritual -head, our king for your king and sovereign lord over your kings and -countries, then, with the help of God, I will enter your country by -force; I will carry on war against you with the utmost violence; I -will subject you to the yoke of obedience; I will take your wives and -children and will make them slaves; I will seize your goods, and do -you all the mischief in my power, as rebellious subjects, who will not -submit to their lawful sovereign. And I protest that all the bloodshed -and calamities that shall follow shall be due to you, and not to -us.'"[2] - -[Footnote 2: Robertson's 'America,' Bk. III. pp. 193, 194.] - -As Montoro came to the end of his sheet he folded and replaced it -in his pocket, and then, utterly forgetful of his companion in his -reawakened indignation, he wandered away from the verandah, and betook -himself to the simple dwelling of the good clerigo, Bartholomew de las -Casas, who was now finally settled in Hispaniola, by royal desire, as a -missionary to the natives. - -"But of what use," he exclaimed this afternoon in sorrowful despair -to his equally weary-hearted visitor, "of what use, Diego, to waste -our time and strength, in trying to teach the sublime truths of -religion to men whose spirits are broken, and their minds weakened by -oppression?" - -"Of what use, indeed," assented Montoro with passion, "to try to teach -men to believe in a religion professing itself the religion of love and -mercy, while they are slaves to those calling themselves its followers, -and who are acting at the same time the part of demons!" - -"You speak strongly," said the true-hearted, good Christian bishop. -"But verily I cannot say you have not reason. Knowest thou, my friend, -that when first we settled ourselves upon this fertile fragrant island, -not yet fifteen years ago, the inhabitants numbered above three -millions, and now they scarcely amount to fifteen thousand. Scarcely -fifteen thousand!" he repeated slowly, and in awe-struck tones, as -though he scarcely could endure to recall the awful fact to his own -remembrance. - -Montoro de Diego looked at his informant with a startled countenance, -and then suddenly bent his eyes upon the ground as though he expected -to see the 'brothers' blood' crying for vengeance from the soil. - -"It is no good," he exclaimed at last. "I will stay in this accursed -place no longer. To my restlessness I might have opposed a sense of -duty; but to fight any longer against my miserable disgust at the -scenes around me is beyond my strength." - -The bishop mused awhile before replying slowly,-- - -"And yet, good example is valuable." - -"Elsewhere it may be, but not here," returned Diego hastily. "Else, -Riverenza, must your own bright example long since have turned devils -into saints, murderers into good Samaritans. What good did your example -do, even in the matter of the _repartimientos_? Did your giving up your -share of these unjustly and basely-enslaved creatures serve any other -purpose than that of impoverishing one who ever uses his wealth for the -relief of suffering? Nay, further, your good example on this accursed -island worked actually on the side of evil." - -"How so?" asked Las Casas. But he looked as though he knew the answer, -even before his companion said heavily,-- - -"Even we reaped some miserable advantage at 'Palmyra' from your -renunciation. Some half-dozen poor creatures who had thriven under -your mild rule were made over to us to die. But see," Montoro suddenly -exclaimed, interrupting himself and springing to his feet, "the day is -passing, and I should have been in San Domingo hours ago. I started -early enough, but some suspicion that I was leaving mischief behind me -brought me back, and now poor Don is dead." - -It was only a dog that was dead, but that dog was Don--the dog on whose -head his mother's tears had fallen--the dog for whose sake he had once -endangered his own life; and with these thoughts suddenly recalled -to his mind, Montoro de Diego was glad to beat a hasty retreat from -further observation. - -Las Casas remained deep in earnest ponderings long after his friend had -left him, for he too had begun to think that it was vain to continue -his efforts of philanthropy any longer on the island of Hispaniola, -and that he would do wisely to exert his influence as protector of the -Indians in new fields, less overcrowded with the refuse population of -his own country. - -Meantime Montoro reached the town, and was instantly accosted by a -young man of about his own age, and tall, bright, and handsome as -himself, but with a dash of off-hand daring about his person and manner -instead of Montoro's lofty dignity. - -"Diego!" he exclaimed, as soon as he caught sight of him, "you are -just the comrade I most desire in our coming campaign. Throw thy -paltry bales into the sea, man, and enrol thyself under our captain's -standard." - -"But who then is thy captain?" asked Montoro with some interest, "and -what is this new campaign? Thou art ever mad, my Cortes, upon some -fresh undertaking." - -The handsome young notary laughed. - -"Better that than sticking to the same spot till thy feet bid fair -to grow to the soil, like thy money-grubber, Don Alonzo, yonder. -But, I warrant thee, this undertaking now on hand is no mere pastime -for a summer's evening. Our captain, Don Diego Velasquez, hath it in -commission to conquer an island, the island of Cuba." - -"Ay, doubtless," returned Montoro bitterly. "And hath also leave and -licence, and perchance it may be even orders likewise, to kill off the -inhabitants there, like so many mosquitoes, as hath been done here!" - -The other shrugged his shoulders rather contemptuously. - -"Verily, Diego, thou and our bishop yonder have been bitten by the same -dog. But to comfort thy heart, know that Bartholomew Las Casas is to be -invited to go with us to guard thy pets, lest one of us should so much -as slap one of their brats to still its overmuch squalling at strange -faces. So, what say'st thou now?" - -Montoro's face cleared to a smile. - -"This is what I say--that if Las Casas goes, then do I go also." - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - _THE WAY TO TREAT THE REDSKINS._ - - -"Montoro! I say, Montoro, I have news for thee." - -"Out with it then," came the answer from our friend, who was once more -engaged in his occupation of eight years before at Veragua. Houses were -built there for a colony that was never founded, and now Montoro and -his companions were building houses on the island of Cuba, with a very -fair prospect of inhabiting them. - -Only one chief had offered any determined resistance to the invaders, -and even his followers were not numerous enough to excite much anxiety. -He had fled from his native land of Hispaniola to escape the Spanish -rule, and now he was brought to bay, and compelled to make a final -effort for independence. It had just been decided to send out a party -against him, strong enough, as Velasquez put it, "To conquer the rebel -once for all, and have done with it." - -"And I am to be one of the party," said Juan de Cabrera, excitedly. -"And if you choose you also are to have a hand in catching this -Hatuey, and helping to make him an example." - -"He is that already," replied Montoro gravely. "Would that the poor -sheep, his countrymen, knew how to profit by it." - -"By my faith," exclaimed Cabrera impatiently, "you are a queer fellow, -Diego. Wouldst thou then that these 'poor sheep,' who are as a hundred -to one of us, should know their strength, and shoot us down like vermin -in a barn?" - -Montoro flung down the great wooden hammer with which he had been -driving stakes, and came forward, his face set with mingled sternness -and sorrow. - -"Ay, truly, Juan de Cabrera, less would it shame me that the heathen -should thus treat us, than to know that we Christians have acted that -hideous part towards them. Hast thou heard of the late campaign in -Trinidad, where our countrymen have burnt alive in cold blood--to save -trouble!--nigh upon two hundred men and women, and innocent babes -scarcely more helpless than their kind and gentle-natured fathers? How -shall Spanish tears or Spanish blood, thinkest thou, ever wash out that -foul stain?" - -Juan de Cabrera turned away for a moment, for he had no answer ready. -When he turned round again he said, with an assumption of flippancy he -was for once far from feeling,-- - -"Ah, well, I have not heard this shady tale before, and I don't suppose -that it has lost any of its shadows by coming through thy lips. -Doubtless it was but a toss up whether our brethren should be killed, -or should kill." - -"Not so," said Montoro, sternly. "Juan Bono hath confessed, himself, -that the unhappy creatures whom he thus repaid had been as fathers -and mothers to him, and to all his party; but he had been sent to -make slaves, and he made them the more readily by burning part of the -population before resistance was dreamt of." - -He stopped abruptly, and stooped to pick up his tool. Then once more -raising his eyes to his companion's face, he said slowly and quietly-- - -"That is all; but a ghastly all; and I would to God that the heathen -had shot me ere I heard it." - -There was a long silence after this ere Cabrera ventured once more to -ask-- - -"But, Diego, for all this thou wilt join us, wilt thou not? Even for -the sake of thine own feelings thou shouldst do so to help in the -promotion of fair play." - -"If I were the Governor himself," said Montoro hastily, "I should exert -myself in vain for justice where this unfortunate Hatuey is concerned. -He has been as a king in his own land, and now we dare to proclaim him -a rebel because he proves himself a patriot, and in the face of despair -fights for his country and his people's liberty. No; I will have nought -to do with 'catching' this noble-hearted heathen Cacique, and aiding to -throw him into slavery." - -Cabrera cast a keen, furtive glance at his companion at the utterance -of that last word. Evidently, although Diego had heard that horrible -Trinidad news, he had not yet heard of the doom pronounced against -the troublesomely desperate Cacique of Hispaniola, when he should be -once safely caught in the hands of the Cuban governor. As for Don Juan -de Cabrera, he had no inclination to give the information. To turn the -subject, he said after a short pause-- - -"Well then, friend Diego, if thou comest not with us, what is it thou -hast a mind to? Something nobler, I trust, than wood-cutting, as -though thou wert born a boor in a German forest rather than a Spanish -nobleman." - -"I feel little inclined to boast just now of my Spanish birthright, I -can tell thee," said Montoro heavily. "But to answer thy question--Ay; -I have other plans on hand than my present employment. I accompany Las -Casas on his progress of pacification through the island, and we hope -great things from our efforts, both for the natives and the colony." - -Cabrera's shoulders went up in a slight shrug, almost in spite of -himself. - -"It is to be hoped that you and the clerigo have picked your associates -carefully for your peaceful expedition," he said, with a touch of -scorn. "Otherwise I fear me there may chance some rubs to your tender -consciences ere it is accomplished." - -"Little danger," answered Montoro, confidently, adding with a smile, -"for we have, as you say, chosen our companions with due thought. You -see, we have not invited you." - -Juan de Cabrera laughed. - -"Thanks for the compliment, my friend. I would a hundred-fold rather -be found guilty of too much impetuosity, than of a calm, cold-blooded -calculation." - -The smile died out of Montoro's face as he now exclaimed hotly-- - -"It is easy at all times for men to sneer at right and justice, and to -clothe evil with grand words. In Spain our impetuosity has been a sword -in the hand of honour; why is it here a weapon that would be disdained -even by the paid tool of an assassin? But there, Juan, I but waste my -breath on thee. This is no true impetuosity, no true impulsive daring, -that robs and massacres the harmless peoples of these lands; but rather -is it the base, despicable, grovelling fruit of cold-blooded reckonings -of ounces of gold against lives. By heaven, I--" - -"There, there, Toro," interrupted the light-hearted cavalier, with -unusual quietness of manner, "do not spend thy eloquence upon an -unworthy mortal like me. And for thy solace learn that, although -methinks thou and the clerigo draw the line too fine, I loathe some of -our doings out here well-nigh as greatly as thou canst do thyself. But -adios, for my party will be starting on the Hatuey hunt without me if I -do not hasten." - -So saying, the gay adventurer departed with an air as jaunty as though -he were bound for one of the Court tournaments of Spain, to be rewarded -by winning kingly smiles and his lady's scarf. And shortly after his -friend Montoro de Diego, with Las Casas, departed on their Cuban tour, -accompanied by a number of armed followers, who were intended, by -their formidable appearance, to ensure unbroken peace, not to win it -after battle. But unhappily Juan de Cabrera's prognostications proved -truer than Diego's hopes. - -"Well, comrade," said a soldier to a companion at the evening halt of -the first day's march; "well, comrade, thou hast then recovered health -and strength in time to have another try for fortune; at any rate for -such flimsy fragments as our present soft-hearted leaders will permit -us to accept. For my part, I had fain that I had been rather sent off -after the rebel Cacique. There will be more pickings to be gathered -up there I doubt, than we shall be able to find baskets for in this -direction. But as for saving souls--" - -"As for saving souls," interrupted the man addressed in a deep, -fierce tone; "as for that matter, Guzman, we will save our own souls -by clearing God's earth of these vile, idol-serving vermin. Joshua -was sent forth of old, as Father Gonzalo saith, to rid the world of -the heathen, and so have we the like mission now. And for one Andrea -Botello will obey." - -Guzman stared. - -"My faith, Botello, let not the noble Señor Diego hear thee speak thus, -or thou wilt most assuredly get ordered back to the settlement again!" - -But Botello's eyes blazed with a yet fiercer fire, and his brow grew -blacker, as he muttered: - -"Against those who have a mission from on high, man's orders avail -nought. The commands to slay and destroy, and leave not one remaining, -have come to me from authority, supreme e'en over the Governor -Velasquez himself. Speak not to me of orders!" - -"Nay, then, that will I not," murmured Guzman to himself, as he went -off to more cheerful companions. "I will spend no more words on thee, -friend Botello," he continued in soliloquy, "so long as it appears that -the remnants of thy late fever are yet burning in thy veins. It might -chance thou wouldst find thou hadst an order to stick thy poniard into -me." - -A few minutes later the prudent soldier was consulting with some -friends, whether a warning hint respecting Botello's aspirations should -not be given to their priest commander. - -"But say, then," laughed another, "what need to trouble the good -clerigo for nought? What can one man's moody fancies do of harm, with -so many against him on the other side?" - -"Umph, no," said another, somewhat less confidently; "_if_ all the rest -are on the other side; but one fanatic can make an army of disciples, -if his feelings be but strong enough." - -"Just so," was the off-hand reply. "If they be strong enough, but not -if they be the half-delirious fancies of a sick man, who ought still to -be in his bed at St. Jago yonder, instead of travelling with us. But -come on, let's hurry up to that party of redskins over there; they seem -well laden, and for my part I prefer to dine on their providing than on -my own, or that of our commanders. They treat us better." - -The whole of the little expedition, including Las Casas and Montoro, -appeared to be of the same way of thinking, to judge by the way the -hospitable and kind-hearted Indians were soon surrounded. Whether owing -to the absence of newspapers and telegrams in those days, or to the -hopes of the poor inhabitants of the New World that kindness would -gain kindness, at any rate in their own case, cannot now be said; but -while the refugee Cacique, who had fled from the barbarities of the -Spaniards on his own island, was being hunted down in one part of Cuba, -in another the gentle, courteous natives were treating their invaders -with the most true-hearted friendliness. - -"They must, verily, be worse than the tigers of the forests who harm -these simple creatures!" exclaimed Montoro one day, as a number of -Indians hastened to the new encampment with the farewell offerings -of fruit, rice, cooked food, and various little presents as tokens -of peace and good-will, accepting smiles for thanks with inborn -graciousness. - -Las Casas smiled at his friend's ardour. - -"I feel now," he said joyously, "that I can afford to smile, for all -things here are going forward as I would wish. The natives are learning -that there are at least some amongst the white men who have a knowledge -of right and wrong. And for these with us, Montoro, thinkest thou not -that they have begun to find it pleasant to continue in well-doing, and -to awaken smiles instead of tears? For myself, I do hope so, I confess." - -"And I," assented Montoro earnestly. "I do believe, my father, that -thy noble example has reaped at length the good fruit it has so long -merited." - -The two friends passed on, nor marked a pallid-faced, fierce-eyed man, -who had stood near them, and now muttered between his teeth, gazing -after the clerigo: - -"Tremble, thou Saul, who wouldst spare Agag, and the chief of the -spoil, when thou shouldst destroy! Guard thyself, lest the vengeance -that falls upon the enemies of the Cross encompass thee also, as were -meet." - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - _THE MASSACRE AT CAONAO._ - - -Some weeks had passed, and all had hitherto gone well, when one day, -on arriving at the suburbs of the native town of Caonao, Las Casas -announced it to be his intention to remain there two or three days, -making it the limit of his present expedition, and then to return to -the head-quarters of Velasquez, with the report of their doings and -adventures. - -"Meantime," he said, with the cheerful good-humour proper to his nature -when at ease for others--"meantime we will make holiday for the next -forty-eight hours." - -"And," said Diego smiling, "thanks to our good red brothers here, we -can also give our holiday its proper accompaniment of feasting." - -"Just so," agreed Las Casas, with an answering smile. "I confess the -truth; it was the sight of the abundant supplies of all kinds with -which we are provided, that led me to resolve on marking this terminus -of our pleasant expedition with something of the nature of a festival. -Gather the men for me, Diego, some into the surrounding houses, the -remainder may well encamp out here in these gardens, fit for Paradise -itself." - -"And for yourself, father?" asked Montoro. "Are you bent on other -explorations?" - -"Not very distant ones," was the bright answer. "I am but about to -explore yon temple, and endeavour to use my stammering tongue for God's -glory with its inmates. They may now better believe, I trust, that we -come as bearers of a message of mercy." - -"Truly I hope so," replied Montoro, as he nodded the brief adieu to his -friend, and then turned quickly to execute the duties committed to him. -In thus hastily turning, he almost knocked over a man who, unobserved, -had silently moved up close to the two chiefs of the party, until he -stood almost shoulder to shoulder with de Diego. - -Diego was about to administer a sharp and haughty reproof to the -presumptuous intruder on the society of his superiors, but a second -look at his companion checked the words on his lips; and he stood a -listener instead of a speaker, as the man uttered, through drawn lips -that scarcely moved, a wild denunciation of the Amorites, the Hivites, -the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Gergashites, and the -Jebusites. - -Those who hear of the matter now may feel tempted to smile, but there -was no smile on the countenance of the young nobleman, no feeling of -mirth in his heart, as he stood facing the mad fanatic. The man's eyes -were fixed in a glassy stare that saw nought then visible; and his -eager, bloodthirsty curses against those he denounced as the enemies of -God, and of his Christ, made Montoro's blood run cold. - -"Friend," he began at last--"friend, rouse thyself. Recall thy -scattered thoughts. Those enemies of God's people, and daring breakers -of His laws, have perished for their iniquities more than two thousand -years ago. What priestly tales from the Holy Scriptures have been -startling thy ears of late?" - -"He hath been ill, at death's door with malarious fever, but a few -days before joining this expedition, Señor," answered another of the -soldiers coming forward now, and hastily putting his hand on his -comrade's arm, as though to draw him away, but at the same time with an -air of secret warning which, at another time, would not have escaped -the keen eyes of the young officer. Now, however, Montoro was anxious -to get the clerigo's wishes carried out before his return on the scene, -and he was more intent on taking a view of the ground around him, as to -its capabilities for comfortable encampment, than in noting the actions -of individuals. - -"See," he said kindly, but somewhat absently, "yonder come our kind -Indian friends with supplies of water; doubtless thy comrade is -suffering from thirst. Go forward with him, and see that his wants are -well attended to." - -The man bowed, and quickly pulled his companion on to hinder the word -answer he seemed about to give. - -"Thou art a very fool, Botello," he muttered angrily, when out of -earshot of Diego. "Of what good to rouse us up to help fulfil thy -purpose, when thy blabbing lips must go well-nigh to betray it, to -the one of all others most keen to hinder it. The clerigo hath some -thoughts to spare from his red lambs to his own comfortable living, -but this Señor Diego carrieth the vile heathen on his back to his own -greatest detriment. Verily, methinks he would far sooner have that -sword of thine pierce him than one of them." - -Botello turned, with those dull-burning, sullen eyes of his fixed upon -his friend. - -"If it is thus with him," he said between his clenched teeth, "then -will he receive due punishment in witnessing the slaughter of those he -thus dares to cherish. But come, the hour has arrived, and the victims." - -And suddenly, with a wild cry, he dashed forward towards a group of -some hundreds of defenceless Indians--men, women, and children--laden -with fruits, and jars of water for their Spanish guests. Snatching his -sword from its sheath it flashed for a few moments in the sun, as he -brandished it on high, and then, with a madman's howl, he plunged it -into the bodies of an infant and its mother who was advancing with a -timid smile to offer drink to the thirsty travellers. - -Tearing the reeking weapon from his first quivering victims he rushed -on over them, dealing death and wounds frantically around him. For some -moments he was alone in his dread activity. The Indians were spellbound -with the dismal horror. Even his own fellows were awe-struck with the -impetus of the hideous onslaught. - -But quickly the scene changed. In his fatal career the wretched madman -cut down the beloved young squaw of a tall and unusually powerful -Indian, before he could fling himself before her as a cover. Baffled -of his loving effort he threw himself upon the Spaniard, utterly -regardless, in his despairing fury, of the blood-dripping sword. -Snapping it with his hands as though it had been a thread from his -native cotton plants, he tossed away the pieces, and then, with those -sinewy, disengaged fingers, throttled his antagonist, and cast the dead -body of the wretched Botello beside that of the murdered Indian. - -The red man's ferocious shout of triumph was the signal for answering -shouts of fury from the Spaniards. They had looked on while innocent -and gentle women and children were ruthlessly slaughtered, but the -sight of one of their own number slain was one that aroused all their -fiercest feelings of revenge, and ere it could be well said that they -had had time for thought swords and daggers were flashing in the light, -the fair, flower-bestrewn earth was streaming with blood, and mangled -bodies of dead and dying creatures, some still clasping their simple -offerings, that pleaded for good-will, in their stiffening hands, were -piled in awful heaps around the camping ground. - -To this drear, sickening sight Montoro de Diego rushed forward as he -saw the tumult that was raging. Guzman, one of the few who remained -faithful to his leader's trust in him, flew to the temple to summon Las -Casas. The redskins' friend was just issuing from the building when -his follower reached it, breathless with haste, pallid with horror, and -bespattered with gore from the pitiful victims who had been falling in -wholesale crowds around him. The countenance of the clerigo turned pale -also as he caught sight of the panting soldier. - -"What is it?" he exclaimed. "Our brethren--what of them? Is it a -massacre?" - -Guzman nodded. He could not speak; one word he managed to gasp -out--"Go." For a massacre it was indeed, though not of the nature -imagined by Las Casas; not a massacre perpetrated by ignorant heathen -of those from whom they had scarce ever received ought but wrong, but -a massacre barbarously committed by Christians on those from whom they -had received nought but kindness and submissive respect. But Las Casas -waited not to learn more from his breathless retainer. He saw the wild -tumult surging in the distance; he heard the confused roar of mingled -shrieks, shouts, yells, and groans; and whatever was going forward that -concerned his company his place was in their midst, to die with them if -their rescue were no longer possible. - -In a moment of time this decision had darted through his brain, and the -next instant he was flying over the ground that intervened between the -temple of Caonao, and the open plain where the deadliest of the uproar -was in awful progress. - -Two or three huts of less pretensions than the houses in the town were -scattered here and there. Close to the fighting, dying, struggling -multitudes stood one of these wooden buildings somewhat larger than the -rest. In it a number of the hospitable Indian women had been gathered, -a few minutes since, cooking and preparing food for their cruel -invaders. Now a panic-stricken, shrieking rabble of both sexes and all -ages was dashing into it, Indians pursued by Spaniards--Indians, as Las -Casas perceived at the first horror-stricken glance, with nothing but -crushed fruits and flowers in their hands, or wounded infants moaning -in their arms, Spaniards with blood-dropping, crimsoned swords. Then he -knew all. A groan of bitterest anguish burst from his lips-- - -"Oh, my God!" - -The words were a prayer, an abject prayer to the Most High for mercy. -Had the earth at that moment opened her black jaws and swallowed up -every Spaniard present, had fire from heaven licked them up and carried -them to hell, Las Casas would have felt no wonder. He wondered more -that an all-powerful God should spare. - -One moment he gave to that groan, one moment to that prayer, and -then, throwing himself in the doorway of the hut, he dashed aside a -half-frenzied soldier who was entering in pursuit of the wretched -fugitives, and uttered a mighty, furious shout: - -"Back, Spaniards, back, you dastardly mean hounds, every one of you, -or run your swords thus hallowed with the blood of the innocents into -your leader's body. I invite you to it, fiends every one of you rather -than men, that I may the more speedily close mine eyes for ever on this -scene fit only for the shades of hell." - -Then he looked into the hut upon the huddled flock of trembling, -weeping, wounded human sheep. Some had climbed, for refuge from their -bloodthirsty pursuers, to the rafters of the roof, and hung there, with -their wild eyes gleaming, through their long black hair, down upon -events below, and their white teeth chattering for fear. - -The sudden appearance of Las Casas upon the spot, and the change of -his usual mild demeanour to one of such haughty, biting indignation, -had created a temporary, rapid lull about the spot where he stood. A -permanent arrest of the massacre in that direction, he all too fondly -believed, and so he began to soothe and reassure the poor creatures -gathered together for death within the walls of that humble little -dwelling. Some few words of comfort in their own language he knew, -and spoke most eagerly, but the deep sympathy of his countenance, his -pitying eyes, spoke still more eloquently, and above all, his fame had -come before him even here, as a father and friend of the helpless. - -Gradually some put back the hair from their faces and ventured to look -around them, mothers loosened their convulsive grasp of their children, -and the climbers on the rafters swung themselves down to the ground -again. But even Las Casas could see that all was not yet achieved -for the restoration of peace. At a few hundred yards' distance the -horrible, shameful work of slaughter still continued, and once more -quitting the hut and its defenceless multitude, Bartholomew Las Casas -dashed onwards to repeat his efforts at arresting the wholesale murder -of defenceless men, helpless women, the aged and the infant. - -"Oh, Montoro!" he ejaculated as to himself, as he neared this fresh -scene of horror. "Alas! Montoro de Diego, where canst thou have been to -allow such things!" - -A voice from beside his feet answered him--"I am here, my friend. -Disabled at the first moment. But do not heed me. Hasten to save what -poor remnant there may yet remain of these unhappy victims." - -Las Casas looked at his half fainting friend, then at the dreadful -_mêlée_ beyond, and with a hurried--"I will return immediately," he ran -on, and a second time hurled his furious commands at his followers to -cease their cowardly slaughter of their helpless prey. - -A second time the leader's voice and the leader's presence cowed the -Spaniards back to order--momentarily. From the rear where the hut -lay there suddenly broke upon the air wilder shrieks and yells than -had been heard before. Deep oaths and curses of Spanish throats were -mingled with the shrill Indian cries, and off darted the soldiers -gathered about Las Casas to join their other comrades. They were like -so many score of bloodhounds, with the taste for blood so aroused -that it could no more be satisfied. Not again could the friend of -the Indians reach the doorway of that hut until it had become a -charnel-house, so crammed with the dead and dying, that the stoutest -heart might turn away from the ghastly task of learning if there were -yet any, amongst those heaps of mangled bodies, to whom it might be -possible to speak last words of pity. - -There had been five hundred living human beings crowded into that -building when Las Casas left it ten minutes ago, now there lay there -five hundred mangled bodies lying in crimson pools, some already stiff -and stark, some writhing in the death agonies, none ever to see the sun -in this world again, or to learn on earth that the religion called the -Christian faith, which those white intruders came to spread, was not -the religion of a demon more vile than any their untaught imaginings -had ever dared portray. - -A poor mother's despairing wail over her mortally wounded child, had -been the slight spark needed to rekindle the blind rage of the Spanish -soldiers. A soldier had held a crucifix before the infant's dying eyes, -and the mother, fearing fresh cruelties, had wildly dashed it from the -man's hand. That was more than provocation enough for gold-seekers -who salved their greed for wealth and fame with the plea, that their -journeyings were to widen the limits of Christ's kingdom. - -Scarcely had the crucifix fallen to the ground ere the murdered woman -fell beside it. Many a dead body had the man to move the following day -ere he recovered the treasured symbol of an immortal love. All that -night the leader of the expedition knelt, alone, in prayer. - -All that night Montoro de Diego lay praying, faint and weak from loss -of blood, shed at the commencement of the hideous fray in the vain -effort to arrest the massacre. Never, so long as Montoro lived, did he -hear the name of the little town of Caonao without a shudder, never -did he remember the sounds of those women's wails, the sounds of those -children's cries of dying agony, without a moan escaping his own lips, -and a shivering horror overwhelming him that such things should have -been. - -One day for a day of burial, and then, in a solemn hush as though a -funeral _cortége_, or a train of vanquished fugitives, the expedition -formed again for marching, and retraced its steps to St. Jago. Montoro -made one attempt to cheer his friend, but the soothing words were -hurriedly put aside. - -"Nay, nay, Diego. Speak not to me of comfort in our shame and bitter -affliction. I came forth confident in my own strength, in my own power -to rule man and to guide those under me in the ways of peace, and the -Lord of Hosts has thus humbled my presumptuousness in the dust. Speak -not to me of comfort; there is none save in prayer." - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - _THE PATRIOT CACIQUE HATUEY._ - - -The march back to the Cuban seat of government was made more rapidly -than the march out had been. Then, all had been gaiety and brightness. -A band of picked men under a favourite and joyous-natured leader, peace -and good-will for their motto, and friendly natives hovering ever -around them as they journeyed, to turn each day into one of pleasant -feastings. - -Now the leader had but stern, grief-stricken eyes to turn upon -those under his command, and the men walked on bowed with a sense -of well-merited disgrace. Few and far between were the offerings -made to them now, and those were bestowed with trembling hands, and -countenances marked by abject terror. None of the circumstances of the -homeward way tempted the explorers to linger. - -But full as was the generous-hearted Montoro's cup of sorrow, it was -not yet so full but that it was to be called upon to hold more, even to -overflowing. - -The shadows of the marching men were beginning to lengthen as they -moved along, as though the shades had learnt the art of deception with -each hour of the growing day, and wished to startle the whole race of -earth's crawlers, beetles, snakes, worms, and their fellows, with the -semblance of an oncoming race of giants. The air was full of humming -insects, quivering heat, and the rich scent of leaves and flowers. - -The Spaniards stepped onwards slowly. They were near the end of their -journey now, and their eyes were tired with gazing at that - - "Landscape winking through the heat." - -A hot shimmer over all things, such as Tennyson had never seen when he -wrote a line which almost makes one feel warm even on a cold winter's -day. - -Montoro was feeling depressed and weary, and sentiments of gladness and -regret were pretty equally mingled in his breast as he saw the various -roofs close before him of the newly-founded town of St. Jago. But -personal sorrow cannot be indulged by leaders. - -"Put your best feet forward, my friends," cried Bartholomew Las -Casas at this moment. However bitterly he might grieve over recent -occurrences, there was still sufficient of the spirit of the commander -in him to rebel against the notion of reappearing before Velasquez, -Cortes, and the rest of their fellow-adventurers, like a company of -whipped dogs; but he need not have troubled himself, for an event was -taking place at that hour in St. Jago that absorbed all interests. - -Hatuey, the Cacique of Hispaniola--Hatuey, the noble, untutored -patriot--had been taken prisoner whilst fighting his last battles -for freedom and his country, and Hatuey was adjudged to suffer as a -rebel! He was to be made an example of, so the Governor declared--to be -the scarecrow to frighten all others of his race and the surrounding -nations from daring to perform one of the most sacred duties of -mankind. The Spaniards acknowledged it to be so for themselves; -but then--Hatuey was a heathen, and had refused to be forced into -Christianity at the point of the sword. - -Las Casas, Montoro, and their followers were close to the town when -Montoro de Diego was suddenly almost thrown to the ground by an Indian -woman, who flung herself before him with a wild, heart-rending cry, and -clasped his knees convulsively. - -Already Diego had become known on the island as a friend of the -friendless, an eager helper of the helpless, and this poor, despairing -creature had been on the look-out for him, during the past hours of -that day, with a gnawing agony of longing that had made the hours seem -like weeks. He was her last hope, and now, catching sight of him, she -flew forward with a wildness of look and manner that made those around -believe her to be mad. - -And in truth the favourite wife of Hatuey was well-nigh frantic with -dread and horror at the threatened fate of the one she loved. - -Las Casas and the whole of the small band of warriors drew around -as she poured forth her lamentable tale, with groans and sighs and -streaming tears, and the countenances of the two leaders glowed with -deepening indignation as they listened. At length Montoro lifted -himself up with flashing eyes, and turning to his friend exclaimed -passionately-- - -"It seems that we Spaniards are bent on accumulating sins upon our -heads, until the measure of Heaven's wrath shall be attained. Give me -your permission that I leave you now on the instant, and hasten to -avert at any rate this threatened iniquity." - -"If it be possible, with the grace of God," murmured Las Casas; but -Montoro had hastened away with the Indian woman before the words were -uttered, and was already on his road to the Governor's house. The -others followed. - -"What! returned, my very esteemed friend Diego?" exclaimed the laughing -voice of Juan de Cabrera from the verandah of the Governor's residence -as the other approached. - -Montoro sprang forward more quickly. - -"Well met, Cabrera," he cried, in tones so stern that their ordinary -melody was lost; "well met, for thou canst tell me where I may most -wisely seek the Governor." - -"That can I," was the reply more seriously, "or rather, I can tell thee -where thou mayest seek him and find him; but as to the wisdom of the -search, verily that is another matter. For my part, I am thankful to -maintain my present distance between myself and him just now. And if -you are prudent you will remain with me, and ask no further questions." - -Montoro strode forward still more hastily, and his face paled with -emotion as he asked huskily-- - -"Toy not with me, Juan. Thou canst not surely mean that yon diabolical -act of which this woman speaks is already in progress?" - -Cabrera bowed, murmuring at the same time-- - -"Ah! then thou hast heard. I would have spared thee." - -Montoro shook himself wrathfully. - -"Exert thyself to spare the deeds, not the hearing of them after. Where -is the spot that is to be made foul for ever by this crime?" - -Cabrera raised his hand, and pointed. - -"But, Diego, stay with me. Spare thyself a needless agony. Wert thou -eloquent as the archangel Gabriel himself thou wouldst avail nought to -turn Velasquez from his present purpose." - -Diego was already going off to the place indicated, but he turned back -a moment. - -"I am not purposing to use my words on Velasquez, but on his prisoner. -This poor creature tells me that Hatuey is offered life on one -condition. It shall be my office as a humble suppliant to implore him -to accept it." - -So saying, with a sign to the weeping Indian woman, he darted off -with a fiery speed that gave the poor creature at least the comfort -of feeling that she had one with her who sympathized with her hapless -misery. They were not long in reaching their destination. - -Scattered groups of men and women, chiefly Indians, they came up -with first, and then there was a dense crowd around a central space -occupied by the Governor, a small group of counsellors, and a tall and -noble-looking Indian, so still, so silent, so immovably calm of face, -that he seemed rather a life-like statue of a Stoic than a human being. - -Yet more central still was a great stake surrounded by a pile of -faggots, beside which stood two Indian slaves, who were to feel the -bitterest sting of slavery in doing to death their champion. - -Had Hatuey been a slave, and assigned this post, he would have joined -the victim at the stake rather than perform it; but all are not thus -noble-minded. Life is sweet, even with floggings, or rather, death -has terrors for all men, excepting such as are steeled by doggedness, -or for such as are sustained by the hidden strength from on high, a -strength to which the Cacique may now have owed his courageous calm, -although his Christian murderers scorned him as a heathen. - -But his poor, heart-stricken squaw felt no courage, no grand sentiments -of resignation, as she caught sight of her chief and husband being -now dragged towards the giant pile, and saw the ropes which were to -bind his body to the stake. With a piercing cry she tore a way for -herself through that dense circle of pitiless Spanish warriors, and -cast herself at Hatuey's feet uttering dry gasping moans worse to hear -than any weeping. Montoro de Diego followed her through the crowd, and -strode up to Velasquez. - -"Señor!" he exclaimed, in a voice that vibrated to the depths of -many a callous heart of even those hardened listeners by whom he was -surrounded; "Señor, already are we as so many Cains in this land; -pause ere you give Satan yet another plea against us in the courts -above. Lay upon me what burden or what fine you will, and let me ransom -yon grand example to all patriots. Give me his life, that the heathen -may learn that Spaniards prize true greatness." - -He came to a pause in his rapid speech from breathlessness, and then -for the first time gave himself full opportunity to notice his hearer's -face. - -Cynicism and contemptuous indignation were united in the Governor's -expression, but there was no hope to be read there for the success of -Montoro's prayer. - -There was a sarcastic sharpness in Velasquez' voice as he replied-- - -"Methinks, Señor Diego, you take somewhat too much upon yourself. I -trust to teach Spaniards, and the heathen too, to prize true greatness, -in the person of one who knows how to punish those who dare to set -themselves in defiance to his country. For the rest, ill news travels -apace, and we have heard of the brave doings of your _peaceful_ -expedition at Caonao. It were a pity that ere you hastened to the -rescue of one man you did not spare those hundreds." - -"I would have laid down my own life to do so," was the low, hurried -answer. "But do not add to my remorse by refusal of this petition." - -Velasquez turned himself about to his officers with a scornful laugh, -exclaiming-- - -"Verily, my Señors, 'petition' he calls his demand, backed up by -threats of Heaven's thunderbolts for refusal. Humility and arrogance -could not well be more perfectly combined." - -The great man's laugh was subserviently echoed by some throats, whilst -some other of the faces showed shame, or indifference to the spectacle -before them. - -Montoro de Diego stood yet for some moments gazing with deep, solemn -eyes at the Governor. Years before, his father had pleaded for a life -with the Inquisitor, Arbues de Epila, and vainly, and had left a true -prophecy behind him when he left. So now the son. Turning his eyes -slowly from one to another of the group, and then of the wide circle, -Montoro raised his hand and cried aloud-- - -"As that man stands there doomed most basely to a barbarous and cruel -death, so may many standing here now, at no long distant date, know -what it is to await a horrible death at the pitiless hand of savages." - -"He is offered mercy if he will become a Christian," suddenly said the -Governor with some change of tone, and an involuntary shudder at the -horrible mental pictures conjured up by the denunciation. - -Montoro started. Yes; he had forgotten that. He had forgotten there was -yet a hope, and that it was to that he had intended to cling when he -accompanied the Indian woman to the scene of judgment. Wasting neither -time nor words on ceremony, he turned his back on the Governor, and -followed the woman to the edge of the faggot-pile, in the centre of -which Hatuey stood, already bound to the stake, and utterly calm as -ever, excepting when his eyes seemed constrained to rest upon the -sobbing woman at his feet. - -The priest, Father Olmedo, now stood beside him, exhorting him to -change his faith and save his soul. But the admonitions were as though -spoken to the wind, for all the heed the Cacique appeared to pay. - -[Illustration: The priest, Father Olmedo, now stood beside him, -exhorting him to change his faith and save his soul. But the -admonitions were as though spoken to the wind for all the heed the -Cacique appeared to pay.] - -"It is useless," said Father Olmedo at last. "I have done all I can -for mercy's sake, and for the glory of our most holy faith, but he is -obstinate and irreclaimable. He will not hearken to me. He will not be -saved. Slaves, light the pile." - -The Indians raised their torches, a thrill ran through the assembled -multitude, the crouching woman sprang to her feet with a piercing -shriek, flinging her arms above her head, and Montoro sprang forward, -shouting in stentorian tones to the faggot-lighters, - -"Hold!" - -There was a moment's pause. Some gleam of thankfulness began to come -into the executioners' eyes. The woman dropped her arms to clasp -her hands with renewed hope and entreaty. A shade of half-impatient -curiosity gathered on the Cacique's face. He had betrayed no agitation -at impending death, but this reprieve troubled him. And it was only a -reprieve. - -The passionate earnestness of Montoro did touch some answering chord in -the Indian's breast which the priest had not known how to reach, and, -but for that swift-flying news from Caonao, Hatuey might have consented -to look forward to the Paradise which Montoro painted in such glowing -colours. But, as he listened with some signs of yielding on his face, -recollections crowded back upon his mind, and suddenly turning full to -Montoro, he asked with startling abruptness-- - -"But tell me then, assure me of this. There are two of these abodes of -bliss, are there?--two of these glorious, sunlit homes of paradise?" - -Diego's eyes widened with wonder. So earnest, so eager were the tone -and manner of the questioner as he put his singular query, that the -answer was not at once forthcoming. He repeated it impatiently. - -"Tell me then, and truly, if one of the white-faces knows how to speak -the truth--has this gracious Lord of whom you speak provided one -Paradise for those of your race, another for His children here? I would -know that before I hear ought else, or give my answer to your plea." - -Yet again Montoro paused an instant, and then he replied slowly and -distinctly-- - -"They shall be one fold under one Shepherd. Spaniards and Indians who -have been good, and loved their Lord, will live there together in love." - -As that last word was uttered the Cacique drew himself up to his full -height once more, and with curling lip exclaimed-- - -"In love, you say! Ah! in love such as that which murdered my people in -Haiti, and drove me from my home! In love such as that which has hunted -me to death, and will look on now to note exultingly if my tortured -body writhes! In love such as that which has slain the hundreds of the -innocent and the helpless at Caonao! The love of the wild cat or of the -rattle-snake! I spurn your love! I hate your love! and will none of -your Lord nor of your Paradise. Our gods teach us not such love. Light -your fires quickly. I welcome your faggots and their flames. I long to -escape from the sight of the faces of the dastard white men to my own -heaven, where nought so vile as a Spaniard can ever hope to enter." - -Montoro fell back stunned from before the dark face working with mortal -hatred. Stumbling against the woman, who once again lay moaning on the -ground, he stooped to raise her, and the next moment he himself, with -his swooning charge, was dragged back from the lighted pile, and forced -by friendly hands to the outside of the wide circle; while Hatuey, the -heathen patriot, was burnt to death by Spaniards claiming to do all -things "for the glory of the Christian faith." - -"And thus," murmured Las Casas as he withdrew, sick-hearted, from the -dismal scene,--"thus do they let the light of the Gospel shine, even -with a lurid light that makes it to be abhorred." - -"As I abhor this land," groaned Montoro. "I have fled from the horrors -of Hispaniola, and now I am driven forth once more to find, if it be -possible, a land where I may dare without shame to confess myself a -Spaniard." - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - _ANOTHER STORM FOR THE PILOT ALAMINOS._ - - -It was the 18th day of February, 1519, an eventful day for many a one -besides Montoro de Diego. - -The sun was sparkling on the wavelets in the bay, and on the sails of -the little fleet riding at anchor in the harbour of the so-called town -of Cape St. Vincent, at the westerly extremity of the island of Cuba. -The brilliant rays of that southern sun were also shining on an eager -assemblage of possibly nine hundred men, who considered themselves -quite sufficient for the conquering of great nations. - -Dark native faces with smooth cheeks and chins, and surrounded by -lank black hair, showed conspicuously amongst the greater numbers of -their Spanish comrades. Guns, crossbows, gleaming armour, and a small, -precious little troop of sixteen hardly-acquired horses, were also -gathered there on the strand awaiting embarkation. And over all waved -the great banner of black velvet with its embroiderings of gold. - -Many of those stern great Spanish eyes were raised with devout gaze to -its crimson cross, set in flames of azure and white, and to its Latin -motto:-- - -"Friends, let us follow the cross; and under this sign, if we have -faith, we shall conquer." - -Once, as Montoro de Diego lifted his glance to those words, he quietly -clasped his hands in silent prayer. But the action had not been secret -enough to escape the observation of that scoffing, sharp-sighted Juan -de Cabrera, and he muttered flippantly-- - -"Nay then, comrade, lower your looks a little. There yonder is the sign -I follow, and so long as we all hold together and have faith in that, -never you fear but we'll conquer, if even that gay-gilt red and black -thing should fall overboard." - -Instinctively Montoro followed the direction of his companions glance -towards the "sign" indicated--a man about his own age, slightly above -middle height, and singularly handsome, both in face and figure. -His complexion was pale, and his large dark eyes gave an expression -of gravity to a countenance otherwise indicating cheerfulness. His -figure was slender, but his chest deep, his shoulders broad, his -frame muscular and well-proportioned, presenting a union of agility -and vigour that qualified him to excel in fencing, horsemanship, and -the other generous exercises of chivalry, and to bear with well-known -indifference any amount of toil and privation. - -This strikingly handsome form and countenance were further set off with -all the advantages of rich, well-studied dress, and a few magnificent -ornaments of great value. All combined to mark the frank, gay-hearted -soldier, the cool, resolute, calculating man, born to command, and -determined to be obeyed. - -Such was Hernando Cortes, the commander of this present expedition -to the mainland of America, which was destined to be so memorable -for those engaged in it, and for the world. And such as he was, he -possessed the almost unbounded love and confidence, not only of Juan -de Cabrera, but of all those now enlisted under his standard. Officers -and privates, any or all of them, would have cheerfully laid down their -lives for him. - -Nevertheless, with some few of them the Cross came first. Gold, renown, -adventure, excitement for themselves, honour for their leader, but -above all, triumph for the Cross; and so ready ears hearkened to him as -he stood there, splendid in hope and beauty and strength, radiant in -the clear morning light, and exclaimed-- - -"My brothers, we are entering on an enterprise that shall make our -names famous to after-ages. We go from this tiny bay as the conquerors -of nations vaster than our own country, and fit to be the gardens of -Paradise. I hold out to you a glorious prize, but it is to be won by -incessant toil. Great things are achieved only by great exertions, -and glory was never the reward of sloth. If I have laboured hard, and -staked my all on this undertaking, it is for the love of that renown -which is the noblest recompense of man. But if any among you covet -riches more, be but true to me as I will be true to you, and I will -make you masters of such as our countrymen have never dreamed of. You -are few in number, but strong in resolution; and, if this does not -falter, doubt not but that the Almighty, who has never deserted the -Spaniard in his contest with the infidel, will shield you, though -encompassed by a cloud of enemies; for your cause is a just cause, and -you are to fight under the banner of the Cross."[3] - -[Footnote 3: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' Prescott.] - -"God grant," murmured Diego, "that that sign of Divine love may wave -over scenes less dismal in our future conquests, than it has done in -the past." - -But with the exception of the good priest, Father Bartolomé de Olmedo, -none were in a humour to pay attention to the sigh. The spirited -speech of the general had set all the chords of ambition, avarice, -and religious zeal vibrating, and the whole force was burning with -impatience to set out, without a moment's loss of time, on the promised -career of triumphant conquest. Solemn mass was forthwith celebrated by -the two priests accompanying the expedition, the fleet was placed under -the immediate protection of St. Peter, the commander's patron saint, -and, weighing anchor, it took its departure for the coast of Yucatan. - -A glorious day for Spain, as men count glory, was that February day of -1519, but so black a day for the unhappy native kingdoms of America -that one learns, almost with a thrill of thankfulness, that it was not -to be all sunshine for the ruthless conquerors. Bright weather gave -place to hurricanes, and the ships were scattered in every direction -in that unknown sea. Only on board the general's own ship was a pilot -who could pretend to any accurate knowledge of those storm-tossed -waters, and even he looked grave, that old Antonio de Alaminos, who had -acted as pilot to the great Columbus in his last voyage in 1502, and -who regarded the fact as the greatest glory of his chequered life. - -In the height of the tempest a voice beside his elbow, a voice -singularly clear and sweet even for that Spanish tongue, said calmly, -and with no shade of anxiety in the tones-- - -"Thinkest thou, Alaminos, that we shall live out the storm?" - -The old pilot turned, and cast a hasty glance at the speaker's face. It -was one worth looking at--a noble face, with the stamp of uprightness -on the brow, and a perfect peacefulness in the eyes, even at that -moment when Death's lean claws seemed already to have the cranky ship -in his clutch, and to be dragging it, and its helpless living freight, -into the vortex of those whirlpool depths. - -That first swift glance Alaminos repeated with a longer one--one that -had a sudden question in it, and a puzzled memory. At last he asked -quickly-- - -"Have you been on board this vessel, captain, since we cast off from -St. Jago? Have I seen you, or heard you speak, during the past few -days?" - -"Never a word of speech hast thou heard from my lips until now, since -I enrolled myself under the banner of Hernan Cortes," was the answer, -with a passing smile. - -"And I have only since yesterday been chosen to form one of the company -on board this ship. Nevertheless, thou hast seen me before, good -Alaminos, and heard my voice, and then," with another of those fleeting -smiles, "thou wast pleased to give me good words in return, as also did -our great and grand old Admiral." - -Again that keen, swift, puzzled glance from the old pilot's eyes, ere -he passed his sleeve over them, to get rid of the sudden tribute they -paid to the memory of that same grand old Admiral who had died nearly -thirteen years ago. Montoro blinked his own eyelids for a moment before -he added-- - -"Ay, Antonio, it is now within a couple of months of seventeen long -years since a lean-cheeked, ignorant boy stole up to thy side one day -in these same waters, and asked thee for the first time that question: -'Thinkest thou that we shall live out this storm?'" - -"And as then, so now," answered Antonio de Alaminos, with wondering -recollection, "the storm begins to fall to calm, even as the words are -spoken. Your eyes, Señor, and your voice are the same as then; is the -fearless, holy faith the same that made that wise, noble boy so calm -and brave in the face of death? or--doth the man but mock his boyhood -by the repetition of those words?" - -The privileged old pilot put his queries sturdily, and backed them with -one of those clear, searching glances that had the faculty of reading -men as cleverly as shores, shoals, and quicksands. But the heart of -Montoro de Diego had little to hide; the flush that burnt in the -bronzed cheeks was the flush of humility, not shame, as he replied in -tones so lowered as scarcely to be audible against the wind-- - -"The man is, I fear, no wiser, no nobler, than the boy could claim to -be, but he does hold fast to his boyhood's one little bit of wisdom, in -clinging to the fount of all wisdom and salvation." - -"Salvation!" exclaimed a voice close at hand from one who had come -forward unobserved, and had caught the last word; "ay, indeed, this -lull hath been our salvation, I verily believe. Thanks be to St. -Peter for his guardianship. I vow the first handful of gold-dust to -his shrine, if we ride safely at anchor off the shores of Cozumel by -nightfall." - -So spoke Hernando Cortes, and as he spoke he laid his hand with -friendly familiarity on Montoro's shoulder. - -"Dost recollect, Diego," he said, smiling, "how I prevailed upon thee, -now six years ago, to be one of Velasquez' followers in the conquest of -Cuba? Little we thought then of the time to come, when thou shouldst be -a follower of mine for a far greater enterprise." - -Montoro's face reflected his companion's smile as he replied-- - -"Perhaps it were best to beware of boasting until we are beyond -Velasquez' reach." - -Cortes laughed outright. - -"Ah ah! how sorely he repents him already, the poor Governor, that he -gave me this command. Verily, Montoro, I think I owe you as many thanks -as myself for getting away from Cuba before his messengers could stop -us. You are the quickest, readiest fellow I ever saw." - -"In flight," exclaimed Juan de Cabrera, sauntering up, and with a -mischievous nod of his head. "Will he be as good, think you, captain, -at a fight?" - -"Stand forth and learn," cried Montoro, as he drew his sword, and -flashed it in his friend's face with a suddenness which made that -worthy start back against the vessel's side. - -Montoro and Cortes joined in a shout of laughter. - -"Well, my friend," said Cortes, "thou hast well earned thy answer and -received it." - -For once the temper of the easy-going cavalier seemed somewhat ruffled -as he growled out-- - -"The beggar brats in the streets of Madrid can be ready enough in their -onslaughts on defenceless foes. They are as swift another way when an -officer of justice shows his face." - -Montoro de Diego restored his sword to its sheath, and stepped up to -the angry knight with outstretched hand. - -"Forgive my jest, Don Juan," he said with a smile. "You should do so -the more easily, inasmuch as you must remember that I did but turn your -own against yourself. I have little fear that when need comes either -you or I will be found wanting in due bravery." - -"And I have still less," added Cortes. "Meantime I confess that I -should turn coward, did I find my best friends drawing on me." - -Thus cleverly did the Commander of the present bold enterprise heal -any little remnant of soreness that might have rankled in the breast of -one of his retainers. - -With enemies of his own countrymen behind him, and a nation likely to -prove filled with formidable foes before him, Hernando Cortes felt -anxious enough to have good fellowship reigning in his camp. - -"How else," he said a little later on to Montoro, between jest and -earnest--"how else, friend Diego, thinkest thou that I shall be able to -obtain for our gracious and royal master those 'comfortable presents of -gold, pearls, and precious stones,' which are required of us, as proofs -of the natives' good-will and the success of our expedition?" - -Montoro shrugged his shoulders with some haughty impatience. - -"Methinks, Captain, with our countrymen now-a-days it is gold before -all things. If possible, no doubt, gold and glory both; but if not, -gold at any rate, even with disgrace." - -This time it was the handsome face of the Commander that flushed hotly. - -"Diego, you use hard words." - -"But just ones," was the firm reply; "although I apply them not to you. -Left free to the dictates of your own noble nature, I shall not fear -the having bound myself to follow you. But"--with a look around, and -in lower tones--"there are those in your band may be too strong for -you--those whose one article of faith for themselves is, 'I believe in -the delights of wealth!' whose one article of belief for the natives of -these regions is, 'Beggar yourselves for us, and you shall be saved as -future footstools for our feet in heaven. Do otherwise, and you shall -be slaughtered here and damned hereafter.' Am I not right?" - -For answer Cortes imitated his companion's shrug of the shoulders. - -"But I promise you this," he added--"I will make an example of the very -first who transgress." - -"Thanks for the assurance," said the other. - -And then, a disabled barque coming in sight, Cortes went off to give -orders as to aiding it to gain the port of Cozumel. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - _A SYMBOL WITH TWO MEANINGS._ - - -"Captain," said Juan de Cabrera some few hours after his momentary -disagreement with Montoro, and now once more with a smiling -countenance. "See, Captain Cortes, I have but stepped forward to remind -you that St. Peter hath well earned that handful of gold-dust, you -vowed a while since to his shrine. And if you will be advised, you will -entrust the gift, with an added pinch or two, to me." - -Don Juan de Cabrera had inherited a good fortune from his father, who -had been killed during the siege of Zarento in 1501, under the great -Captain Gonsalvo. Cabrera was a child at that date; and by the time he -was old enough to understand the use of wealth, and to wish to have the -spending of some of that he had been brought up to believe he should -enjoy, his mother and other guardians had so wasted the greater part, -that they were glad to try if they could banish disappointment by -filling his brain with other thoughts. - -In those days of wonderful and incessant discovery, all ranks were -tempted from time to time to try a turn of Fortune's wheel. Even the -rich and prosperous frequently left luxury and friends and home, for -many a long year, behind them, while they wandered about the world, -seeking they scarcely knew what--change and variety, it might be, -perhaps--change from slothful ease to the novel sensation of vigorous -discomfort. And that they certainly obtained. - -But however that might be, when his mother and his uncles and his -confessor talked of the glorious voyagings, and journeyings, being -now enjoyed by so many of his countrymen, the young Cabrera caught at -the bait eagerly enough, and had very soon started off to make a new -fortune for himself. - -That fortune, however, was as far away from his hands now as when he -set out to find it! But he took things easily, and looked bright enough -as he stood there, with his laughing face, before Hernando Cortes, -offering himself as gold-bearer to the shrine. - -But Cortes was in no humour for a joke. - -"I will get my handful of gold for St. Peter from St. Peter's -namesake," he said sternly, and with his large brilliant eyes fixed on -the glum, crestfallen Pedro de Alvarado, captain of one of the vessels, -who had contrived to reach the shores of the island of Cozumel before -the Captain-General of the expedition. - -"And if you make such use of Fortune's favours in the future," said -Hernando Cortes still more sternly, "it will prove a bad day for you, -my worthy Señor, when you came under my command." - -"What has he done?" muttered Cabrera to Diego, who was standing by with -a wrathful countenance. - -"Done!" was the retort. "Why, done like the rest of our Spanish -wolves--spent the first hours of his arrival here in showing the -natives what good thieves we make." - -"Ay, verily," added the good Father Bartolomé de Olmedo. "And he hath -added blows and beatings, doubtless, that the lesson may be the better -remembered." - -"Or," muttered that Juan de Cabrera beneath his breath, "to make some -amends by those gifts for what he hath taken away." - -But Señor Juan took some care that his companions should neither hear -the words, nor see their author's smile at his own small witticism. He -turned away from the groups collected together on the shore, and set -off for a short walk inland. - -"Whither away there?" questioned a voice behind him a few moments later. - -Montoro and the priest had followed him. - -"My son," said Father Olmedo, "methinks lonely saunters may be scarcely -wise in a strange land at any time; but to indulge them now, when Pedro -de Alvarado hath so angered and terrified the people, is too imprudent, -I should have thought, even for thy careless courage." - -"Say rather, for my careless indifference, father," said the young man -with a touch of honest reverence for once. "I can lay no claim just now -to brave fearlessness. I had even forgotten there was aught to fear. -But see, who goes yonder?" - -The three men stopped, as three other men, all Indians, passed them at -a light run. One turned a few yards ahead and nodded gaily to Montoro. - -"Why, Diego," exclaimed Cabrera in surprise, "surely that is thy man -Melchorejo, whom thou hast had so many years?" - -"Ay," was the reply, "even from his childhood, when I bound up his -wounded hand for him. My slight deed of kindness hath reaped a rich -reward since then." - -"So it seems," rejoined the other, "if it is to be crowned by -desertion, so soon as he has the fair chance of return to his own home." - -"But it is not to be so crowned," answered Montoro quietly. "At any -rate not now. He has but gone with those poor Indians just taken -prisoners by Alvarado, to restore them to their friends." - -"And to act as our interpreter from Hernando Cortes," added Olmedo; "to -assure the Indians of his good-will towards them, and earnest desire -for the maintenance of peace." - -"And behold!--behold its emblem," suddenly cried Cabrera with an -unusual expression of wondering awe upon his face. - -And before his companions could question him, he had sprung forward -and flung himself on his knees on the ground, with hands raised in -adoration. - -"What hast thou?" called Father Olmedo eagerly, and for the moment -standing still in his amazement. - -"What hast thou found?" called also Montoro de Diego equally bewildered. - -And then the two hastened onwards a few paces; in their turn caught -sight of some most unexpected object, and also in their turn sprang to -their companion's side. One instant the eyes of the priest met those of -the Spanish nobleman with an expression of deep rapture in them, and -then Bartolomé de Olmedo was about to sink down on his knees beside -Cabrera. But his purpose was arrested. - -"Do it not, my father," hastily murmured Montoro. And clutching at the -priest's arm he drew him sharply back to stand beside himself, where he -remained gazing down at a stone cross about three feet high, erected in -the outer court of a small temple they had reached. - -The priest looked round at him for a moment reproachfully. The next -a sort of mingled fear and horror showed themselves growing in his -countenance. And he wrenched himself free from the detaining hand. - -"Art thou a renegade from the most Holy Faith?" he asked in stern and -heart-grieved tones. - -"Not so," was the short and absent-minded answer, while eyes and -thoughts were still equally fixed, it was very evident, upon that cross. - -Father Olmedo was greatly puzzled, but very doubtful, he hardly knew -of which--whether of his suspicions, or of Diego. In his turn laying a -hand on the other's arm, he said impatiently-- - -"Rouse thyself, my son, and answer me like a man, and, if it may be, -the Blessed Virgin grant it, like a true son of the Church--" - -"Which I am." - -"May the saints grant it, I have said." - -"Why, father, I would vouch for that grave Toro's allegiance to Holy -Mother Church with my life!" cried Juan de Cabrera springing to his -feet to take part in the question. - -There was a scarcely perceptible pause, and then Cabrera added-- - -"Why do you doubt him, my father?" - -Montoro answered the question with quiet gravity. - -"Because I hindered him from an act which, although innocent from its -ignorance, I feared that his conscience would regret. I have prevented -the father from paying adoration to the God of rain." - -"What?" shouted Cabrera, retreating from the cross as if he had been -stung, but at the same time staring at it with all his might. - -"What?" repeated the priest with equal wonder, but more soberly. -"What can be the reading of your strange riddle, my son?" he asked in -amazement. "You stay me from the due reverence I would have hastened -to pay to this most blessed symbol of our faith, and then you tell -us--verily, my brain is perplexed--I know not what it is thou wouldst -say!" - -"I would say only that I have said," was the earnest answer. -"Marvellous as it must appear to you, my father, marvellous as even yet -it appears to me, it is nevertheless true, that the symbol, to us so -sacred as the Christian symbol of salvation, is to these poor heathen -people of this world the symbol of the God of rain." - -"Umph," muttered Cabrera, eyeing the cross somewhat ruefully. "Father, -I ever have so many penances lying upon my shoulders; shall I have yet -another for having thus knelt in worship to a heathen god, and will it -be a heavy one?" - -"I were fain to say 'Yes' for thy levity," came the reply. - -"Levity, i' faith!" ejaculated the young Spaniard. "My question arose -from no careless merriment, I can assure you. But if I draw not a long -face, like Toro yonder, with each word I say, I am ever twitted with my -levity." - -He turned away in one of his short-lived huffs, while the priest looked -at him with no unkindly smile, and said more freely-- - -"Nay then, my son, pardon me. I do believe that now thou art something -wounded in thy spirit, as I myself by now had likewise been, but for -the ready thought and hand of our good friend here." - -"Good to you, bad to me," retorted Cabrera. "If he could not speak in -time to spare me the sin, and mortification, of bowing down to an idol -he might have held his peace, and not thus have proclaimed my shame." - -"Shame, nonsense," said Montoro good-humouredly. "In my boyhood, when -I first came out here under the great Admiral, I and others paid -loving reverence to our Saviour before one of these native crosses. -And doubtless, He who sees the hearts of men accepted our prayers and -praises, for the spirit with which they were offered." - -Cabrera's superstitious fears seemed somewhat relieved. - -"What sayest thou, father?" he asked. - -Father Olmedo paused a few moments. He was a good and merciful man, and -a good priest; but his training had cramped his intellect, and he could -not quite as readily as Diego grasp at true and noble thoughts. Until -now he had felt almost as horrified as the worshipper himself, that -Christian prayers should have been offered up at an idol's feet. But -Cabrera was impatient. - -"Say, father, do you also think that I have placed my soul in no -jeopardy?" - -Bartolomé de Olmedo must reply. - -"Thy soul in jeopardy?" he repeated hastily. "Nay, then, nay; there -is here no question of thy soul, my son, seeing thou didst it but in -ignorance; and for those who sin in ignorance our Lord hath said the -stripes shall be few." - -"But still, then, there will be those few," muttered the young -Spaniard, eyeing the small cross vindictively, before he turned back to -Montoro with the reproachful query-- - -"Diego, thou couldst stop the father from kneeling to false gods, why -wert thou too careful of thy breath to spare me a word of warning?" - -Montoro smiled at his unreasonable companion. - -"Well thou knowest, Juan, or at any rate can guess, that I saw neither -the cross, nor thine intention to do it reverence. The trees hid it -from our view." - -"And the waters of yon stream shall henceforth hide it from the view of -all," exclaimed the discomfited disciple of Rome, as he stooped, and -prepared to exert all his strength in uprooting it from its present -position. But the politic priest stopped him. - -"Hold!" he exclaimed quickly. And then more tranquilly: "My son, we -will leave the sacred symbol of our faith standing where'er we meet -with it. Only, cleansing it from its past unhallowed memories, we will -reconsecrate it to Him who died thereon. Our conversion of the heathen -shall thus be rendered easier, by seeing that we also reverence the -cross." - -Cabrera looked doubtful for a few moments. - -"Dost thou not think, father, that, whatever thou mayst do to these -crosses, they will still remain to the redskins their god of rain; and -that, whatever thou mayst try to teach them, and they may profess, it -will be still as the god of rain they will worship them?" - -"So I should fear," murmured Montoro thoughtfully. - -But the priest said sententiously-- - -"My son, those questions are for the blessed saints, and the pope." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - _KINDRED FEELING._ - - -"He shall be hung; I have said it." - -And Hernan Cortes looked very much indeed at that moment as if he had -said it. - -"As if he had said the whole band of us should be hung," muttered that -incorrigible Juan de Cabrera. After a moment's pause he added, "Toro, -my brother." - -"Thy brother!" exclaimed a companion standing by. "Thy very reverend, -great, great-grandfather, thou shouldst say." - -"Doubtless," returned the other calmly; "but still my brother in arms, -so do not interrupt thy betters, Rodrigo, but hearken. My brother Toro, -dost thou not feel thankful that there is no rope in the camp strong -enough to hang us all at one go?" - -Montoro lifted his proud head high. - -"If I were a thief I should be glad," he said slowly, and with a -significance little relished by not a few of those about him. - -Some of them sauntered off to the neighbourhood of less strict censors. -Cabrera laughed. Thieving propensities were not amongst the long list -of his faults. But he looked grave again as he said-- - -"After all, though, it is hard lines upon that unlucky dog Morla, -that he should have to be the one to do duty--hanging for the rest of -the culprits. A flogging now, or some such penance as that, you know, -that--that--" - -"That should leave him little the worse after it is over, you would -say," said Montoro. - -"Just so," was the slow reply, as the young adventurer thought upon -some of his own penances in the way of heavy fines, which decidedly did -leave him a good deal the worse in pocket, at any rate, whatever might -be the case as to person. "But to be hung! That was another thing." - -"What was it that Morla stole from the black beggars?" asked Ordaz, who -had but just returned with a couple of escorts from a short exploring -expedition, during which various little bits of gold had somehow or -other found their way into the pockets of himself and his companions. - -Ordaz mechanically put up his hand to his neck as he spoke, as though -feeling beforehand the sensation of a rope about it. He had angered -Cortes very greatly but a few weeks since, by standing up boldly for -what he declared to be the rights of Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, -in regard to the present undertaking. On that occasion he had the -pleasure of passing twenty-four hours on board one of the ships in -irons. There was no knowing whether this resolute, prompt commander -might not treat him to something worse now, and so his anxious -question-- - -"What was it that Morla stole?" - -Cabrera noticed both the involuntary action and the tone of voice, and -answered both with a mischievous-- - -"Ah, my noble Ordaz, hast heard that the commander thinks of -overhauling all our possessions, to see how much each of us has that -may help to drown us, if hanging cords run short. Instead of feeling -that long neck of thine, thou hadst better learn the Indian art of -diving. Morla is to swing for stealing a couple of fowls, thou art -as like to sleep beneath the waves for thy golden borrowings. So to -confession with thee at once, like a good Catholic." - -"Who talks of good Catholics," exclaimed Don Pedro de Alvarado, coming -hurriedly up to the group as the men stood gossiping. "There is as good -a fighting man, as ever drew sword upon the enemies of Spain, going to -be sent full gallop into purgatory just for wringing the necks of a -bird or two." - -"Or rather," corrected Montoro, "for wringing the fingers of those who -held them, is perchance nearer to the truth." - -"Well, well," said Alvarado, "put it as you will, most noble and -virtuous Señor Diego; but I know this, that the man is a first-rate -soldier, and our numbers are small enough already." - -"Ay, and if they need diminishing," assented Cabrera, "the redskins are -like enough to do us a favour that way when they get the chance, if the -horrible air hereabouts do not do it first. Besides, poor Morla hath -made restitution." - -"Hath he so?" asked Montoro with a more relenting accent in his voice. -"I feared that he had killed the owners of the fowls. Otherwise--I do -lament his heavy punishment." - -"Thou art in earnest?" said Alvarado eagerly, and stepping nearer to -the last speaker, who looked hurt as well as surprised. - -"Surely I am in earnest. Why canst thou doubt it, Alvarado?" - -"Well," was the rather hesitating answer, "to tell truth, Diego, -I thought thou hadst of late years given so much pity to our -adversaries--" - -"Our adversaries!" interrupted Montoro indignantly. "Callest thou these -poor, simple, hospitable peoples of this New World our adversaries? -That were, verily, to add mockery to our many barbarities." There was -a brief, angry pause before Montoro recovered himself, and said more -gently--"But there, Don Pedro, I meant not thus to break in upon thy -speech. I crave pardon. Thou wouldst have said that I give too much -pity to the Indians to have ought to spare for my own brethren?" - -"Even so," came the blunt reply. - -"And even so it is not," was the answer back. "And I will prove it, by -attempting anything thou mayest suggest, for the rescue of this man -Morla from his impending fate. What wouldst thou?" - -"First to grasp thee by the hand for a true good comrade," was the -impulsive reply. "And then--" - -"Well, and then? Fear not to tell me thy will," said Montoro more -warmly and cordially. "You see, I stand pledged now to help you." - -"Yes, I see--I know," said the other stammering, and turning his eyes -somewhat cautiously from side to side. At last he muttered quickly in -an undertone--"Diego, there are here too many quick-eared listeners; I -will seek you in your tent an hour hence. The man is not to die till -nightfall." - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - _MONTORO DE DIEGO TURNS HANGMAN._ - - -A good deal within the hour Pedro de Alvarado stepped into Montoro's -tent, and with somewhat scant ceremony; for, Spaniard though he was, he -felt ceremony and strict punctuality also somewhat out of the reckoning -where a man's life was concerned. - -Besides, he had just seen Morla sitting bound upon the ground between -two guardians, and with the rope beside him, with which he was to be -hung so soon as the priest should have been fetched back to the camp to -confess him. And the poor wretch had appealed to his superior with a -mixture of pitifulness and indignation. - -"Ah, Captain! save me from this dismal fate. You should, in very -justice you should, for you contented not yourself with stealing skin -and bone done up in feathers. And yet you came off with no punishment -at all." - -"Thou impudent fellow!" exclaimed Alvarado. "Callest thou a furious -rebuke before the whole force, and accompanied with threats too, -nothing? Thinkest thou that thy beggarly life is worth a Spanish -noble's honour?" - -Morla was in no great haste to answer this peremptory question; but at -last he grumbled out-- - -"If one has not the honour, I suppose, then, one may at least value the -life; and I call it hard lines to lose all one's got." - -A grim laugh was the reply to this undeniable statement. - -"Well, well, fellow, maybe there I can agree with thee. And yet more; -know that I have already given thee more of my thoughts than thou -shouldst venture to expect." - -The man's eyes brightened. - -"Ah! and I am not to be hung after all, thou wouldst say, my Captain?" - -"After all, I would say that thou art to be hung," was the curt retort, -and with it Pedro de Alvarado turned short round, and went his way. But -before he did so he had managed to cast a warning, significant glance -at the condemned culprit, which gave the poor fellow comfort in spite -of the sinister words, and the brutal laugh of his guardians. - -The Captain betook himself, as has been said, at once to Montoro's -tent, and was greeted instantly with a ready alacrity that proved time -and reflection had not cooled his promise. - -"Now, Captain, what wouldst thou?" - -Don Pedro had marched in quickly enough, but his tongue seemed -unwilling to second the agility of his feet. He paused so long ere -speaking, that Montoro said at last, between jest and earnest-- - -"Perhaps, Captain, your suggestion is that I should substitute my own -neck for that of the poor culprit, Morla?" - -"And if it were," was the reply, "I verily believe that you would -accept it. At any rate, you would accept it as easily as that which I -am about to make; that--that--" - -"Well!" rather impatiently. - -Alvarado made a dash at it. - -"I want you to beg the post of hangman." - -Montoro started back with a cry of horror. It was bad enough to him to -kill men in fair fight, but to destroy a fellow-creature in cold blood -was a thing too horrible to be thought of. He felt stunned, and it was -not until his companion had broken into a short, smothered laugh that -he could recall his scattered senses. - -"Why, Diego," muttered Don Pedro, "you could not look more -horror-struck if I had asked you to murder the man, instead of only--" - -"Don't, don't," gasped Montoro. "To me, hanging the man would be like -murdering him." - -"Doubtless. But I intend not that you should do either, if you please." - -Montoro began to breathe more freely, but also to look somewhat angry. - -"Don Pedro, this is no time for speaking in riddles, to my thinking." - -"Nor to mine either," replied the Captain, with a half-smile. "But to -tell you the truth, I am a trifle afraid of you, friend Diego, and I -well know that my present proposition must be somewhat unpalatable. But -mark you, I only wish that you should request the post of hangman on -the present occasion, and not that you should fulfil the duties of the -office, when you have it, to its usual end." - -"Oh--h--h!" ejaculated Montoro now, with a new light of comprehension -beginning to dawn on his face. "But yet," he added, after a moment's -pause, "although I am willing enough to plead for mercy in this -instance, I fear greatly that I shall sue in vain. Cortes is so -resolved on making an example of some one." - -"I know that. That is why I only ask you to be appointed executioner, -and not to plead for pardon. The wretches to whom the office is now -given have a personal spite against their comrade, and will take good -care that the fatal decree be carried out to the very letter--that he -be hanged by the neck until he be dead. Now I propose that you hang -him." - -"Hold, hold," exclaimed Montoro once more, with a half-smile upon his -face, it is true, but a return of horrified disgust also. "You said I -was not to have any hanging to do." - -"Well, well," was the answer, "not hanging till any one hung be dead, -or even choked. But surely, to save a fellow-creature's life, you will -not refuse to put a rope round his neck, will you?" - -"Umph!" muttered Montoro, dismally. He did not at all like the -alternative. "I would really rather that some one should put the rope -round mine. But, by the bye, why do not you ask Cortes to let you have -this new kind of honour yourself, pray? Why am I, of all people, to -seek it?" - -Alvarado lifted his dark eyebrows significantly enough. - -"You know the answer, I dare swear, to your own question, Diego. To -whom but yourself would our worthy commander be likely to grant such -a favour, think you? He knows your feeling for the Indians, and may -credit your willingness to avenge them; but for the rest of us--Ah! -thou knowest." - -Pedro de Alvarado was right enough. Hernan Cortes gave the desired -order to Montoro to replace the executioners already appointed, and at -the same time he declared very positively that he would have given it -to no one else. Secretly, he was intensely astonished and disgusted -with his friend for having asked the favour. - -"Every man with a hobby is sure to ride it to death," he muttered -angrily to Montejo. "Morla must hang, to win us the trust and good-will -of the Indians for the present, that our progress towards Mexico be not -further hindered or harassed. But to think of a Spaniard longing to -kill a Spaniard, for the sake of a parcel of redskins! Faugh! Our Don -Diego hath fallen a hundred-fold in our estimation." - -That same poor Don Diego felt, foolishly enough, as if he had fallen a -hundred-fold in his own estimation when he actually stood beside the -condemned culprit, Morla, with the hangman's rope in his hand. - -The order obtained, Alvarado had lost no time in hurrying his friend -with him to the proposed scene of execution. They were joined on their -way by Juan de Cabrera, carrying an empty tub, at sight of which -Montoro actually shuddered, to the evident amusement of his companions, -who burst into shouts of laughter. He remonstrated impatiently. - -"How can you find amusement in what perchance may turn out a tragedy?" - -"Tragedy, indeed," exclaimed Cabrera, laughing as heartily as ever. -"That element is passed, my well-beloved but too long-faced friend. The -comedy is to be played now." - -"And thy tub yonder represents stage properties," laughed Alvarado. -"The carrying of it becomes thee as would the carrying of a Damascus -blade." - -"Beware that I break not thy head with it, by way of proving it hath -use as well as ornament to boast," was the retort of the light-hearted -knight, who ever seemed ready to dance, whether to fun or fighting. - -The surly fellows who were guarding the soldier, Morla, were very -loth to give up their trust, and it was not until they had received a -particularly sharp hint from Don Pedro that their own past, present, -and future delinquencies should be visited with the heaviest possible -punishments if they did not preserve themselves from his displeasure, -that they at length obeyed his commands to betake themselves out of -sight and hearing. - -"And now, sirrah," said Cabrera, jauntily, "may it please thee to stand -up and be hung; for, as doubtless thou canst perceive, the noble Don -Montoro de Diego is in haste to be quit of that rough rope, and of his -task." - -The man thus adjured began to rise from the ground, but still somewhat -slowly, and with a dubious countenance. His reluctance grew greater -when he saw it reflected on the amateur hangman's face. - -"But, my good Señors," he began anxiously, "I thought that surely now -you signified I should be released?" - -"Yes," said Montoro, with equal anxiety; "verily I think that this play -hath continued long enough; too long for yon fellow's apprehensions and -my distress. What is to be the end?" - -"Why, his hanging," replied Cabrera, quickly. "To that thou art pledged -to the commander; therefore proceed to thy task, and for the sake of -that very tender conscience of thine ask no further questions. Ten -minutes hence thou wilt have light enough to see our plot by. It is -very simple." - -So saying, he placed his tub on the ground beneath the gallows, and -with a solemn shake of the head at the prisoner, desired him to kneel -upon it, and to pray that all things might go well with him. To this -piece of advice poor Morla paid the greatest heed, as he felt Montoro's -trembling fingers adjusting that horrible rope about his neck. - -"Ah, Señor, not too tight," he muttered, even yet thinking it more -than probable that his noble countrymen might really hang him, in -inadvertence, if not in sport. - -But they had no such intention. The next minute he felt the tub very -slowly and gently drawn from beneath him; his feet naturally went -downwards to the ground, which they managed just to touch by the toes, -and there he stood, not comfortably certainly, but still not dead--most -decidedly not. - -"And there thou art to stay, upon the gallows--" - -"Or under it," interrupted Cabrera. - -"'Upon' was the commander's word," was the sedate answer. "It best -becomes us to keep to that. There thou art to stay upon the gallows -for the space of half-an-hour, and then be cut down, and thy body cast -outside the camp. But hearken, thou Morla; if I find thy body not -again within the camp, ten minutes later, I will find thee a further -punishment as a deserter. Don Juan de Cabrera hath consented to hide -thee in his tent awhile." - -At the expiration of a rather short half-hour, a very tired, toe-aching -Morla was accordingly cut down, and Montoro returned to his tent, -thankful enough that his good repute had enabled him to save a -fellow-Spaniard's life, but also not a little relieved that the -unpleasant farce was over, and his new office of hangman come to an end -with sunset. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - _CORTES BURNS HIS SHIPS._ - - -It was night, and sleep reigned throughout the camp of the Spaniards, -for the new city of Villa Rica de Vera Cruz could as yet be considered -little better than a camp, in spite of its grand-sounding name, and the -crowd of duly-appointed officers with which Cortes had endeavoured to -give it sudden dignity. - -Even the sentinels were drowsy at their posts, and scarcely feared -rebuke, for peace had prevailed both within and without for some -days past, at any rate on the surface of events, and Cortes had been -indulging in a short breathing space. - -Montoro de Diego was in his tent, asleep like his comrades, dreaming of -his boyhood, and of the gentle-spirited and lovely young mother who had -made poverty and hard usage endurable to him in the past, honour and -righteous dealing his firm principles in the present. But his dreams -were to be disturbed. - -Slowly, and in almost breathless silence, a fold of his tent was pushed -aside, and a man crept within, holding back the canvas for a moment, -that by the faint light he might discover the object of his search. -Then he dropped it again, and moved on the two or three paces in the -darkness, until he dropped on his knees beside the low bed on which -Montoro lay, and bent his mouth to the sleeper's ear. - -"My Señor--Señor Diego," he whispered urgently. "Rouse you, my Señor." - -And, with a soldier's watchful spirit, Montoro needed no second bidding -to arouse him. Grasping his sword even before he was fully awake, he -would have sprung to his feet the next instant, with a shout to banish -slumber from the whole band, but that his probable conduct had been -divined, and prudently guarded against. - -One firm, hard hand was pressed down upon the nobleman's chest, another -closely covered his mouth, while the hushed voice beside him muttered -hurriedly-- - -"Nay then, my Señor, nay then. Lie still, and be silent, or you will -render my care fruitless. I have come to you with the discovery I have -made, before all others, for your prudence's sake, and now you are -eager as the Don Juan de Cabrera himself could be, to publish the whole -matter to the very winds, methinks." - -In spite of this expostulation, which was in truth intended more as -a warning than an expression of real belief, its speaker trustfully -enough withdrew both his detaining hands at its conclusion, and -permitted his companion to rise into a sitting posture on his bed, and -to speak. - -"Who are you?" was the very natural first use that Montoro made of his -power of speech, for he did not recognize the voice, and he could not -see the face. However, he was soon enlightened so far. - -"I am Morla, the man you hung," was the comprehensive information. "And -you were good to me then, my Señor," came the seemingly contradictory -statement; "and so for that, and for those other reasons, that you -are wise and wary, and have our Captain's confidence, I have come to -you with my discovery of a conspiracy in the camp. It is intended by -many to forsake the great cause, and, taking to the ships secretly, -to flee from this land to Cuba, or to Spain, with evil reports of the -expedition and of its leader, to exonerate themselves." - -Montoro was startled. - -"Wherefore," he demanded sternly, "hast thou not instantly carried news -of this base treachery to our leader himself?" - -A smile, unseen in the darkness, flitted over the man's face. - -"Bethink you, my Señor, what credence should I be likely to gain -from our commander, when he learns that I am, myself, a testimony of -disobedience to his commands." - -There was some plausibility in that reasoning; nevertheless, he yielded -to Montoro's desire that he should accompany him forthwith to Cortes' -tent, to corroborate the statements he wished made. - -Aroused by Diego with the same stealthy caution as had been used -towards himself, Cortes was not long in learning the particulars of -the cowardly conspiracy, and, even as he listened, his prompt mind had -already begun to concert the measures for its suppression. - -"But still," he said at length, thoughtfully, "we must be well assured -of the truth of these accusations before we publish them, or attempt to -punish. From whom, Toro, hast thou learnt all this?" - -Montoro moved aside. - -"There is my informant, Captain, and--I fully trust him." - -A lamp was burning in the commander's tent, or rather hut of -palm-branches and native cotton-mats, and as Montoro stepped to one -side a man, hitherto unnoticed behind him, came forward into its light, -and, falling on his knees before a small crucifix, called it to witness -that his tale was true. - -Cortes looked at him closely for a few moments and then said drily-- - -"If it be but as true as that thou wast not hung, friend Morla, then -will it be true indeed." - -"It had needs be truer than that, Hernan Cortes," returned Montoro: -"for he was hung, as I know to my cost, as I had the hanging of him. -And at the end of half-an-hour he was cut down, according to thy -orders." - -"Ah! I see," exclaimed Cortes, with a glimmer of a smile. "And no doubt -our worthy Don Juan de Cabrera found it needful to give thee a lesson -in hanging, by which thou profitedst. Is it not so, friend Toro?" - -Montoro laughed. - -"Partly so. But, to confess the truth, Pedro de Alvarado declared that -if this Morla were hung to death he should, himself, evermore go about -the world feeling as though there were a cord about his own neck, only -waiting to be used." - -That glimmer of a smile broadened for a moment, but the time was too -serious for its cherishing. - -"Enough!" said Cortes, with returning gravity. "Rise, fellow, and come -nearer. And hearken! Should these charges prove true, well; if false, -then will I myself hang thee ere to-morrow's sunset, and thou hadst -best make thy peace with Heaven, for I warn thee thou wilt not live to -laugh at me as having 'prentice hands at my new work." - -The man bowed calmly. - -"Ere the morrow's sunset, Captain, I shall have your thanks and praises -for my promptness." - -And Morla was right. He had gained his dark news from one of the -conspirators themselves, who had turned faint-hearted at the last -moment, and from this informer all further particulars were quickly -drawn. The conspiracy was quashed, Morla reinstated in a post of trust, -and the ringleaders punished with death, maiming, or degradation. - -The executions had been accomplished, a miserable pilot lay moaning in -agony and despair over his footless limbs, others were endeavouring -to find some posture of ease for bodies torn and lacerated by -fiercely-wielded whips, and the commander of the expedition stood upon -the shore, moodily gazing out to sea. He felt those hours to be the -crisis in his fate. - -A gloom was over the sky, the camp, and Cortes; and a spirit of -doubtfulness and disappointment seemed to be brooding in the atmosphere. - -Alvarado, Gonzalo de Sandoval, Escalante, Juan de Cabrera, and Montoro, -gathered into a group not far from their leader, watched him, and -discussed the present position of affairs. - -"The conspiracy is put down for the moment," said Alvarado gravely, -"but at any hour it may be rekindled so long as we stay inactive in -this unhealthy place. And some morning we may rise to find two thirds -of the small handful of our comrades gone, and no ships left with which -to effect our own escape." - -"What would you say, Alvarado," said a voice suddenly,--"what would you -all say, in truth, if you did find yourselves thus with the means of -escape cut off--with no safety for us but in victory?" - -Cortes had suddenly stepped up to them as his comrade and follower -had been speaking, and there was so strange a tone in his voice as he -put this question, so deep and burning a light glowing in the depths -of his eyes, that the little group of men stood as though breathless, -gazing at him, and waiting to hear more. The tension on their minds was -strained to the utmost. - -Having asked his searching question, Hernan Cortes appeared for the -moment indifferent as to the answer. Folding his arms across his broad -and powerful chest, he once more turned, and gazed out across the -waters to where the ten vessels that composed his fleet rode quietly at -anchor. They looked well enough to the eye at any rate. And besides, -they signified to those few hundreds of men, encamped on that foreign -coast, home and life and liberty. While they had those ships to flee -to, they felt brave to dare and attempt much. But without those ships, -in an unknown world and surrounded by myriads of foes, their case would -indeed be desperate. And even so Cortes, in his far-seeing wisdom, -wished it should be. He turned back to his companions, and began -abruptly as before. - -"Comrades, to many, doubtless to most of our brethren in arms, those -ships signify home and life and liberty, and yet--I wish you to aid me -in burning them." - -Montoro and the others of the group gazed at him speechless for one -instant, and then cast startled glances around towards the distant camp. - -"Yes," said Cortes, answering the looks, "most assuredly it is we who -should be burnt before the ships, if some of yon timorous or turbulent -spirits heard word prematurely of such intention. But nevertheless, -minute by minute, as I have stood here thinking, the conviction has -grown upon me that only in the burning of those ships lies victory for -us." - -"Break down the bridge behind," muttered Juan de Cabrera, "and the mule -must go forward." - -"Even so," was the reply. "We are few enough as it is for the glorious -enterprise on which we are embarked, and shall we allow base-minded -churls to force us back to the contempt and ridicule of those who, we -too well know, would store up scorning for us? No, no, my brethren, -my noble and valued friends and comrades, do you but stand by me -faithfully in the future, as you have done in the past, and we will cut -off the means of retreat that, for ourselves, we value not, and force -all to die with us, or to aid us in winning the splendid triumph that -shall shed a glory on us, to endure to the end of time." - -He stood there glowing with his own magnificent enthusiasm, and his -hearers, carried with him beyond the dictates of a colder prudence, -exclaimed eagerly as though with one heart-- - -"Agreed. We are with you. Burn the ships, and go forward in the names -of thy patron saint and St. Jago." - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - _MONTORO LEADS A CHANT._ - - -"The ships are burnt!" "Our ships are burnt!" resounded on all sides -from the Spanish troops rushing from their quarters in that new Villa -Rica de Vera Cruz. - -Consternation, fear, and fury gave ever-increasing emphasis to that one -wild, startled shout, "Our ships are burnt!" - -"Said I not well," muttered the discontented priest Father Juan Diaz, -instigator of the former conspiracy--"said I not well that this Cortes -was leading us like cattle, for his own renown, to be butchered in the -shambles!" - -Even Father Olmedo, and Morla, and others of his stamp, eagerly -watching for opportunities to earn distinction, felt their hearts sink -heavily as they repeated that startled cry, "Our ships are burnt!" - -For one half-hour it may have been that Hernando Cortes trembled, and -that his friends feared for him, and for themselves. - -"But after all," said Juan de Cabrera, recovering his usual off-hand -carelessness, "one can but die once, and though, as you yourself said, -Captain, one would rather die at the hands of others than one's own -friends, or one's own countrymen, still, when the breath is once fairly -out of the body, I scarcely suppose one will care much what hand drove -it forth." - -"That is true," replied Cortes, with a sudden return of his usual -resolute energy and undaunted bearing, and as another tumultuous -shout rent the air throughout the so-called town of Vera Cruz, the -Captain-General strode forth from his hut, and with stentorian tones -exclaimed to his mutinous followers-- - -"What means this uproar, comrades? If you have complaints to make, I am -here. Make them to me." - -"Our ships are burnt, and by your orders," came the reply, but by no -means from all throats now, and from none so loudly as before. Some -were cowed in the actual presence of that resolute commander of theirs, -others were awed into admiration and fresh attachment by his dauntless -attitude. - -Still, a certain number there were who yet reiterated that reproachful -cry, "Our ships are burnt!" - -"Yes, comrades, it is true," exclaimed Cortes, in tones as loud and -resolute as before. "Our ships are burnt, but not before the foul -creatures of these seas had so eaten through them, that they had been -water coffins for any who had trusted their lives to them for the -voyage back to Spain; ay, or even to our new Santiago yonder. Those who -had gone on board them had gone to their death." - -"And those who stay here stay to their death," called a harsh voice -from the midst of the crowd. "You might at least have given us our -choice." - -"And so he has, coward," shouted Alvarado. "Stand forth and show -thyself, and any others of thy chattering-teethed brethren, and I will -gather the bundle of you in my arms as one gathers a bundle of cotton, -and fling the worthless bale on shipboard! Faugh! the Captain wants not -such as thou to help him on the road to glory and renown." - -The tone of this tirade was more scathing in its contempt than even the -words, and a momentary hush followed it. None stood forth to accept the -untempting offer of its maker. - -At length Cortes once again broke the silence. Distinctly, but slowly, -and more calmly than before he addressed his assembled army-- - -"What the Captain, Don Pedro de Alvarado, saith is true. For those who -chose flight there is still the means. I desire no unwilling comrades. -For me, I have chosen my part. I remain here so long as there is one -to bear me company. But for those who shrink from the dangers of our -glorious enterprise, let them go home, in God's name. There is still -one vessel left. Let them take that and return to Cuba. They can tell -there how they deserted their commander and their comrades, and then -patiently await us until our return with the Aztecs' spoils."[4] - -[Footnote 4: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico.'--Prescott.] - -Cortes ceased, and for some moments there was a silence throughout -the small army, broken only by the humming of the insects and the -occasional clink of a sword. But Juan de Cabrera never felt much -reverence for silence. - -"How now," he shouted mockingly, "how now, ye bold cravens! Where are -all your voices? Ye were brave enough a few minutes since. Come along -with you to the front. Or are ye, in very truth, turned too cowardly -even to confess your cowardice, ye miserable crew!" - -It seemed so, for there was still no answer from even a single voice, -and Cortes wisely changed the question, and in a few moments the whole -air was resounding with the enthusiastic acclaim from every throat: - -"To Mexico!--to Mexico! Lead on, Captain! Lead us on to Mexico!" - -"All the same," muttered a sullen-browed soldier to Juan Diaz the -priest, who stood beside him--"all the same, father, you did say that -we should be traitors to ourselves if any longer we continued to follow -yon upstart." - -"Hold thy peace, fool," returned the discontented ecclesiastic. -"Knowest thou not that for all things, even for revolt, a fitting time -is needful?" - -And with that sententious remark the politic priest edged himself away -to safer neighbourhood, and resumed the cry as lustily as the truest -among Cortes' followers-- - -"To Mexico! Lead on to Mexico!" - -Well satisfied with the change effected thus rapidly in his soldiers' -sentiments, the Commander suddenly resolved to give the new-born -enthusiasm a safe outlet, and at the same time to further one of his -own most solemnly-cherished purposes. He raised his hands to claim -silence once more, then his voice. But his efforts were vain. He had -roused a new uproar, which, though a joyous one, was universal, and -more difficult to allay. Threats to fly might be toned down by some -tinge of shame, but offers and entreaties to be allowed to fight needed -no restraint. The cry rang on and on unceasingly: - -"To Mexico! Lead on to Mexico!" - -"To Mexico indeed! To the depths of the sea with you rather, squalling -rabble that ye are," said Cortes at last impatiently. Turning to the -group of officers about him he added in comic despair: "Can no one -befriend me thus far?" - -"How far?" asked Alvarado and Escalante together, and with some wonder. - -"How far!" repeated the Captain in a tone of increasing irritation. -"Why, to the extent of ramming something down those screaming throats, -to stop this Babel, to be sure." - -Juan de Cabrera gave a delighted leap. - -"I have it. I'll set the dogs barking; that will drown them." - -"Ay, and thy Captain also," ejaculated Cortes, breaking into a short -laugh in spite of himself. "Wilt thou never outgrow thy boyhood, thou -madcap Juan? Thinkest thou--" - -But his remonstrance died away on his lips, and they curved into an -awe-struck smile. From a few feet behind him there arose the first -notes of a solemn chant--loud and strong as a battle-cry, sweet as the -tones of a silver bell. - -Alone and unaided the glorious voice sang on for a few moments, and -then Father Olmedo's rich bass joined in, and Pedro de Alvarado's, then -the light tenors of Escalante and Cabrera, and the ringing voice of -Gonzalo de Sandoval. - -For the space, perhaps, of a quarter of a minute the shouting soldiers -continued their cry through the chant, "To Mexico! to Mexico!" then, -with a startled sensation of thrilling wonder, the foremost ranks -caught the sweeter sounds, hushed their own discordant tones, paused, -and joined in. - -"Hearken!" came the smothered ejaculation of the man Morla to Juan -Diaz, who had just come up to him. And Juan the priest gazed at him -with wide eyes, and then, accepting this new vent for his restlessness, -he too joined in with a tremendous vigour that soon let all ears, that -were not absolutely deaf, in the neighbourhood know what was going -forward. - -By some unconscious impulse the rough company of Spanish adventurers -fell upon their knees, and still the solemn chant rose and fell, and -swelled again, on that new-found western shore of an idolatrous land, -to the glory of the one true God. - -Cortes alone remained standing, alone remained mute, with his great, -vivacious eyes fixed intently upon the great, earnest ones of Montoro -de Diego. By his own fearlessness and iron will he had quelled the -mutinous mob, by the power of his voice and the power of his faith -Montoro de Diego had subdued it to a noble calm and peace. - -The chant ceased; the prayer of Father Olmedo for safety from foes, -and unity amongst themselves, was ended, and rising to his feet again -Montoro asked in clear, loud tones, audible to all around-- - -"And now, our Captain, since we have consecrated ourselves anew to -brotherhood, what wouldst thou with us? Say on: we hearken." - -"Then hear this, first of all," exclaimed the leader with generous -warmth, as he grasped his friend's hand, and clasped it between both -his own. "Hear this: that from my soul I thank thee for thy Christlike -fervour, which has thus taught thee to retune our hearts to reason -after their late frantic turmoil. And for the rest," he added after a -moment's interval, and more lightly, "Ay, for the rest, the remainder -of my speech must wait, for it is ill-rewarded toil haranguing hungry -listeners." - -"Yea, verily," softly assented that irrepressible Cabrera. "And the -more so when the said hungry mortals, not to speak of the dogs, poor -starving brutes, can see their victuals waiting for their mouths." - -The young cavalier was right, and many other sharp eyes besides his -own had caught sight already of the long train of Indians laden with -provisions. Pheasants, turkeys, roast and boiled, and very good -eating in their native land, even though they were not accompanied -with bread-sauce, and were seasoned with neither chestnuts nor -veal-stuffing. There were, however, plenty of fresh, sweet maize -cakes to eat with them, and enough vegetables to satisfy even a -German. Then, amongst the seasonable gifts were fish of all kinds, -dressed by those clever native cooks in many savoury ways; plantains, -bananas, pine-apples, purple grapes, and even sweet-meats of various -sorts made with the sugar of the agave. Beverages also were not -wanting, from the thick-frothed, rich, vanilla-flavoured chocolate and -cooling fruit-drinks, to the fermented juice of the Mexican aloe, the -intoxicating _pulque_. - -Altogether the 'victuals awaiting mouths,' as Cabrera expressed it, -to put it more in accordance with circumstances, the feast awaiting -feasters, was of such quality and quantity as to make it quite as well, -perhaps, that Hernando Cortes decided to dispense with his followers' -attention for the present. - -"To claim a patient hearing for a discourse, while those savoury meats -were cooling, really might prove too much for the forbearance of even -our good Father Olmedo himself," said Cortes smiling, as he linked his -arm within that of the priest, and led him off with him as a companion -at the dinner then being carried to his hut. - -"'Twould be a deal too much for mine," said Alvarado, moving off in -another direction with his friends. "Here, thou Morla,--thou'rt a good -hand at looking after fowls, thou know'st,--just hasten yonder and pick -us out the plumpest and the fairest-cooked of those good-eating great -birds yonder, and thy good patron here, Don Montoro, will give thee due -thanks." - -"For thy sake, Alvarado, or mine own?" asked Montoro, laughing. - -The other shrugged his shoulders. - -"I'll not quarrel with thee, my dear Toro, on that point, since thou -art very sure to permit me the lion's share of food as the reward of -victory, whether won or no." - -"Of course he will," broke in Juan de Cabrera, "seeing that for himself -he will henceforth live upon an elegant but unsubstantial dietary of -air." - -"Wherefore?" - -"For this simple reason, that time will be wanting to him for any more -substantial meal. From this hour henceforth, even to the ending of -this campaign, I do authorize, empower, and appoint him to be chief -minstrel, on duty unrelieved, to the high and mighty Hernando Cortes, -Captain-General and Chief Justice of the magnificent Villa Rica de Vera -Cruz. The appointment is splendid, though somewhat empty of--" - -"Like thy words--of wit," interrupted Alvarado. "Come, crackbrain, I -will allow thee almost as good a share as myself of the viands Morla -brings, to silence thy mouth for awhile, for verily thou art the prince -of sparrows for a chatterer." - -"And also a black-crested cockatoo! Ah! I always did suppose myself a -marvel, now I know it." - -And so laughing off the emotions produced by the recent great crisis -in the fate of their leader and his enterprise, the party of Spanish -officers sauntered off to their quarters, and were very soon pleasantly -engaged in doing ample justice to the good cheer provided so hospitably -by those whom they designated as 'their foes.' - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - _THE GODS MUST AVENGE THEMSELVES._ - - -The wooden platters, leaf baskets, and rough earthen bowls brought by -the Indians full of good things were not long in being emptied, and -then the Spaniards were at leisure once more to indulge in curiosity. - -"What think you, father, was our captain about to say to us before the -wherewithal for a dinner was so seasonably provided?" - -Morla looked anxious for the answer, for although he had caught the -infection of the late sudden outburst of enthusiasm, and had shouted -as lustily as any one--"To Mexico! to Mexico!" he had a bad foot at -the present time, and contemplated with very great apprehension the -prospect of a number of days' long marches. But Juan Diaz could give -him neither news nor consolation. - -"Take a siesta," was the priest's advice. "I doubt not Cortes is doing -so himself. And when he hath fed well and slept well, he will perchance -think well to inform us of his lordly will, whether half-a-dozen or so -more of his betters are to be hanged, perhaps, to do him pleasure." - -"Thou the first, for an ill-conditioned, surly knave that thou art," -muttered Alvarado under his breath, as he came up in time to hear most -of the priest's speech. Passing a few yards farther on he raised his -voice, and summoned the little army once more to assemble without delay -to hear the proposed plan of future movements. - -Within ten minutes the whole force had crowded up together around -Cortes, and in breathless silence awaited the coming news. The first -words were somewhat startling. They were a repetition of their own at -the outset of that morning's tumult. - -"Comrades, our ships are burnt." - -Then--a long, startling pause following startling words. Men turned -their heads slowly from side to side, and gazed into each others' eyes. - -Were those words and the silence ominous of evil to come? of passionate -accusations or of dark forebodings? But before one could mutter these -and many another doubt to his fellow, the words were repeated, and the -short speech continued to its end. - -"Our ships are burnt. Now we go to burn the heathen gods of this -benighted land. We are helpless in our own strength; in the power of -the one true God we are invincible. Let us invite His aid and mercy by -showing due honour to the most holy faith. We go, my comrades, to hurl -the idols from their altars to make way for the Blessed Mother, and -once for all to blot out human sacrifices from this polluted land, by -raising on high the cross of Him who has become the one sacrifice for -all mankind." - -The short speech of Hernando Cortes was ended, and although it -contained no hint for any one there of gain, of gold, or glory, it -went home--straight home from the speaker's heart to the hearts of his -hearers. - -Intensely ambitious, and burdened with many faults, was that dauntless -leader; wild, reckless, and cruel were many of his followers; but in -some strange way they held to the Christian faith as they knew it, and -were at any time willing to lay down their life in its cause, although -none of their sins. - -The emotions that closed that day were stronger and deeper than those -with which it opened. Even the turbulent priest, Juan Diaz, put on an -appearance of satisfaction now, whatever he might really still feel as -to the discomforts of pestilent marshes, uncertain commons, and the -faint prospect of better things for the future. - -"Before all things spread the Catholic faith," was the watchword in -that age, of all exploring expeditions, the one universal plea for -their aid and countenance. Cortes held to it with the intense fervour -natural to his strong nature. So did his followers; but all the same -that Merry Andrew, Juan de Cabrera, took occasion during the course of -the afternoon to remark to Alvarado-- - -"Now, my most estimable and dearly-beloved friend, when we get into -those heathen temples do the friendly part by me, and just give me a -quiet hint where to lay my fingers on any easily-portable little bits -of gold." - -"If you don't take better heed to that impudent tongue of thine," -interfered Escalante with a laugh, "he is more likely to introduce thee -to a good cudgelling." - -Alvarado himself as usual shrugged his shoulders with calm -indifference. Words that would have led to fatal combats amongst those -fiery, proud Spaniards if spoken by any one else were uttered by the -young, laughing-eyed Cabrera with perfect impunity. - -"Did thy mother never think," said Don Pedro with an air of kind pity, -"of putting thee in the way of earning an honest livelihood as Court -fool?" - -"Ay, that did she," was the instant reply; "but thy mother heard of it, -and begged of her not to stand in thy light. She said there were so -many comfortable little pickings--" - -"Now, now, Cabrera! Hold!" sharply interrupted Montoro; "it is enough. -Verily thou dost allow that tongue of thine too much licence. Alvarado, -I would a few words in private with you, if you can for awhile forego -this youngster's company." - -So saying, he linked his hand in the other's arm and drew him away, -before amusement should change into anger. And for the next hour and -more even Cabrera was deep in converse of the gravest nature with -Escalante, Alonzo de Grado, Velasquez de Leon, and Gonzalo de Sandoval. - -Not a man in that little camp-city slept much that night, from Hernando -Cortes the leader down to the meanest soldier amongst his followers. -All felt that they were on the eve of great things. What had gone -before was, as it were, drill-work; but now there loomed before them -the true tug of war. - -"And, in the prospect facing us there is one thing, I confess, that -fills me with an almost abject terror." - -It was Escalante who spoke, brave, firm, calm-natured Escalante, than -whom there was no officer more justly honoured in the whole band for -his wise spirit and unflinching courage. And yet now he uttered those -craven-seeming words in low, hushed tones, and with eyes filled with -a nameless horror that said even more than the words had done. His -companions gazed at him in amazement. - -"It is well for his present peace," said Cabrera, "that it is thyself -and not another that has said that for thee, Escalante." - -"Ay, indeed," ejaculated Gonzalo de Sandoval. "But what mystery lies -there, Escalante, at the back of thy words?" - -"No mystery," was the reply--"nought but a plain truth. The idea of -falling alive into some of these heathens' hands in battle, and of then -being offered up in sacrifice to their idols, and eaten after in their -ghastly cannibal feasts, in very deed seemeth to me, when I think on -it, to--" - -"Ah! to pluck the heart out of thy breast before those fiendish -hands can do it," exclaimed Cabrera, starting to his feet in sudden -excitement. "I grant thee, Escalante, one has need to learn a new kind -of courage to that we have hitherto required, to hold a stiff face -before these thoughts." - -"Not the terrors of the Inquisition itself," muttered Alonzo de Grado, -"can compare with them." - -But Velasquez had had enough, and more than enough, for his part, of -such discourse, and flinging back his head with impetuous hauteur, he -said indignantly-- - -"In very truth I marvel at ye all, discussing as though it were a -possibility, the chance of a Spanish nobleman falling alive into the -hands of a base redskin! Let us turn our tongues to themes that shall -be more profitable." - -"To pleasanter ones, with all my heart," said Juan de Cabrera readily. -"But see, who comes yonder in such haste?" - -"Morla, for a gold button," said Sandoval. - -"An easy guess enough," laughed Velasquez. "And none will take thy bet, -my friend. Was there ever another man with so huge a head as Morla!" - -"Never mind, Morla, it hath brains inside," said Escalante -good-naturedly to the man, who had now come up to the party of -officers, and stood before them awaiting permission and opportunity to -speak. Curiosity gave him them soon enough. - -"Brains or no brains, thou hanged rascal," said Cabrera, "what wouldst -thou with us. To have another try at thy neck by way of practice for -the natives, if they turn restive on their gods' behalf?" - -A grim smile flitted for a moment over the soldier's face. - -"I thank thee, my Señor, I would rather that practising were -undertaken with the Don Montoro de Diego by to witness it, and to make -sure that the lesson were not too well learnt. Meantime, I have a -message from the Captain-General to the Don Juan de Escalante, to the -effect that he will repair without delay to the Captain's tent." - -The order was obeyed with alacrity, and when the officer returned, some -time later, to his brethren in arms his face wore an expression of -mingled elation and satisfaction. The confidence felt in his abilities -and integrity had received full proof, for he was to be left in charge -of the new city of Villa Rica de Vera Cruz, and of its small garrison, -of which Morla was to form one, and of the company of slaves and -attendants. - -"You will at any rate be safe from the perils of the sacrificial altar, -seeing that here you will have neither priests, false gods, nor altars -for the sacrifice," said the fine young officer Gonzalo de Sandoval, -with just a touch of envy at his companion's elevation to a post of -so much trust and honour. But Cabrera looked at the matter in another -light-- - -"Neither will he have here the rich prizes that we go to gather from -the golden palaces of Mexico." - -"I agree with you," said Velasquez. "Wealth and action, with any peril -you please, for me, sooner than poverty and a safe tranquillity." - -And so the band of high-spirited young adventurers discussed their -prospects gaily, none seeing into the veiled future, nor knowing that -the one they thought to leave to such safety was doomed to deadly -peril, none dreaming that the remaining days of life of their gallant -comrade were so few, and that they were about to bid him a final -farewell. But more of that in its due course. - -With the first dawn of the morrow after the day of mutiny, clamour, and -expectation, the whole camp was astir, and in no long time after, the -army was on its way through a country beautiful enough for the Garden -of Paradise, to the Indian city of Cempoalla, one of the centres of the -civilization of the Western World. - -Delighted feelings of new hope arose in the soldiers' minds as -they came in sight of fruit-laden orchards in the highest state of -cultivation, and gardens evidencing a care and knowledge, in their -wonderful beauty and luxuriance, that few indeed of the gardens of -Europe could boast in that warlike age. - -Hernando Cortes and his men marched on. Cortes himself maintained -a closely observant silence, but his officers and men were not so -reticent, and on all sides there were exclamations of wonder, at the -unexpected signs of an advanced civilization and refinement so utterly -unlooked-for in those regions. - -And now their progress began to be somewhat impeded by the innumerable -processions that met them from the city,[5] some coming to welcome the -strange visitors, some coming as sightseers, to enjoy an early view of -the new-comers and their marvellous four-footed companions, whom they -took, like the ancients of the old world, to form with their riders one -extraordinary animal. - -[Footnote 5: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' Vol. I., p. 288.--Prescott.] - -"Are we once more fighting on the battle-fields of Granada, think you!" -ejaculated Alvarado to Montoro, as he pointed to a long train of men -then approaching the Captain-General, and glittering in the sunlight as -they came on, clad in richly-coloured mantles worn over the shoulders -in the Moorish fashion, gorgeous sashes of every rainbow tint, or -girdles, while splendid jewels of gold adorned their necks, their ears -and nostrils. - -Montoro gazed at them in equal wonder. - -"But see," he murmured, almost breathless with amaze,--"see yonder, -friend Pedro. Let thine eyes travel on a little farther. Is not yon a -singular sight to behold in a country where we had taught ourselves to -expect nought but savage wilds, and inhabitants sunk in the depths of a -miserable degradation? I feel as though I had fallen asleep, to awake -in dreamland." - -"And a fair enough dreamland too," replied Juan de Cabrera. "I care -not, for my part, how long I may remain there, so I be not altogether -smothered with their flowers." - -That hope as to the smothering seemed almost needful with reference to -the trains of women and young maidens to whom Montoro had directed his -companion's notice. Beautifully clad from the neck to the ankles in -robes of exquisitely-wrought fine cotton, ornamented with finely-worked -golden necklets, bracelets, and earrings, and surrounded by crowds of -obsequious attendants, the graceful processions advanced, literally -laden with brilliant blossoms, the products of that most lovely -country. - -Hastening gaily forward, they surrounded the warriors with their dainty -offerings. They hung a chaplet of roses about the general's helmet, and -wreaths about his charger's neck. As for the yellow-haired Alvarado -and the laughing Cabrera, they were very soon converted into tolerable -imitations of the English Maypole, or the May-day Jack-in-the-green, -their fine Spanish eyes beaming out of the midst of their bright -coverings, upon their decorators, with a smiling good-humour that gave -little warning of future headlong and annihilating cruelty. - -At length the Europeans reached the city, and silence fell upon them -as they slowly entered the narrow, crowded streets, and paced along to -a temple assigned them by the Cacique for their quarters, during their -stay in his dominion. - -Not one of the band would have now retreated from the enterprise on -hand had he been able. At the same time, for a company of about six or -seven hundred men to be cooped up within a close-built town, of whose -ins and outs they knew nothing, and in this position to be surrounded -by thirty thousand people who might prove to be crafty enemies, was a -state of affairs to make even the most reckless feel just a little bit -like wishing that they had at least two pairs of eyes, and one of them -situated in the back of their heads. - -No one saw fit to demur when Cortes announced, on arriving at the -temple, that he intended to double the usual number of the sentinels -to keep watch at night, and that the whole force was to maintain a -constant state of the utmost vigilance, and readiness for any surprise. - -"Moreover," concluded the General, with resolute determination of -manner, "moreover, comrades, it is my absolute command, on pain of -death, that none leave the precincts of our present quarters without -my leave, on any pretext whatsoever. I will myself shoot the first who -does." - -"Umph," muttered Cabrera with a little raising of his eyebrows. "You -speak very positively, my Captain. How would it be with your word if -you did not get the chance!" - -"Just so," returned Alvarado in the same tone. "My fears of being -caught hold of by those bloodthirsty idol-priests would do more to keep -me from straying, than any threats of being shot if I were lucky enough -to get back to camp again. Meantime, here comes a party of well-laden -cooks. Whatever other fate they intend for us, it is apparently not -starvation." - -As those two thus talked together, Montoro de Diego was no little -startled by one of the women, with a flower-decked basket of maize -cakes in her hands, and cheeks streaming with tears, separating herself -with some quiet caution from her fellows, and coming up to him with -her gift, and with eyes that besought, with all the power of mute -eloquence, for a hearing for some tale of sorrow. - -Montoro had been wandering with a vivid interest through some of the -numerous apartments of the temple, opening on to the courtyard where -the rest of his comrades were assembled, and he was standing within -one of the halls, and alone, when the woman caught sight of him. The -bringing of the maize bread was but a pretext for an interview. - -"Be comforted. Trust me; I will do what I can," said Montoro, with the -flush of deep excitement on his face, after listening for a few moments -to the poor creature's broken utterances. - -Then he dismissed her, and made his way to Cortes, asking a private -audience. But the General was in something less than his usual cordial -mood. Cortes was preoccupied, and oppressed with many anxieties that -night, and little disposed to speech or interviews with even those whom -he most esteemed. - -"What is it, Diego?" he asked rather hastily--"any news of treachery -without or within? For matters of high importance one must have always -leisure; for others--I crave your pardon,--they must wait." - -Montoro bowed with a certain degree of haughtiness. - -"I am not accustomed to seek private interviews concerning -trivialities. But,--I will crave your pardon as you have craved -mine,--methinks, now I give second thoughts to the affair, that thou -mightest even pronounce my present matter unworthy of your present -favourable attention, and with disfavour I can well dispense." - -"As I with thine unseasonable anger, friend Toro," said Hernando with -grave reproach. - -But the angered cavalier had already retired. - -"To brood over his fancied causes of complaint against me, no doubt, -like the most unreasonable amongst my company," muttered Cortes in a -tone of vexation. - -Union was so abundantly necessary just now. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - _MONTORO AND CABRERA RESCUE A HUMAN SACRIFICE._ - - -"Cabrera." - -"Diego!" - -The one name had been spoken with a sort of eager hush in the voice; -the second with an accent of startled interrogation. - -The hour was about ten at night. Cabrera and Diego had been on sentry -duty since Diego's short, sharp interview with the General. One of them -had just been relieved, and the other was about to be so, when Montoro -called to his friend, who passed him on his way to shelter and sleep. - -Cabrera stepped up closer to his friend. - -"Why, Toro, what is it? Of all men in the world to hear thee speaking -as thou hadst some mystery to whisper!" - -"And so I have," came the hurried return. - -Juan's big round eyes grew bigger and rounder than ever. - -"Well, and if thou hast, there is ne'er a redskin about can understand -thee if thou dost but speak fast, and with some of those long words -thou knowest so--" - -"Hush thee, then," muttered Montoro hastily. "It is from no redskin -that I would hide the matter that I have in hand, at least not for the -moment, but from the keenest pair of Spanish ears that either thou or I -are likely to have met with." - -"If thou meanest to hint at our Captain-General by that," agreed -Cabrera, "thou art right enough, for I believe that he hears thoughts -sometimes, without need of the tongue to give them utterance. But the -business grows interesting. I love a plot. I would thou wert about to -propose to break bounds, and take a midnight wandering." - -"And it is--" a pause at the fancied sound of an approaching footstep. -And then he continued, scarcely audibly, "It is even so. Wilt thou join -me?" - -Cabrera paused an instant, and gave a perceptible start. - -"It is death, Diego, by the General's orders." - -"I know it. And it is death to a native Christian, my lost Indian -interpreter, as a living sacrifice to heathen gods, if we do not rescue -him ere the dawn. But there, I should not have asked thee to share the -double danger; I will go alone. You will not, at least, betray me?" - -"No, nor suffer you to go alone," was the hurried answer. "I would -sooner shoot myself. But there comes your exchange. Where shall we meet -again?" - -"In the hollow there, two yards to the right," muttered Montoro -quickly, and then he stood silent and watchful, awaiting the -new-comer, as though intent upon nothing beyond guarding his present -post. - -Two minutes later he once more stood beside Cabrera, at the only spot -of the temple's surroundings whence escape unobserved was possible. -Montoro's diligent search had discovered it very soon after he quitted -the General, and the daring companions had scarcely met before they -were safe outside the temple's precincts. There they were joined by -the Indian woman, waiting to be their guide to the great temple of -sacrifice. On its lofty summit there was a fire burning, and in front -of the fire was visible, even at a distance, the great stone, stained -with the blood of the countless human sacrifices offered up to the -honour of the horrible god of war. - -Closely following their guide, and keeping in the darkest shadows of -the houses along the silent streets, the two Spaniards went on their -adventurous mission of mercy. Suddenly the woman fell back upon them -for a few moments with a low cry, and her hand upraised towards the -temple's heights. The Spaniards stood still and with their eyes obeyed -her sign. - -The fire had been replenished, and blazed up fiercely, and there, -high up above the houses of the town, on the elevated platform, and -illuminated by the ruddy glow, there now stood a group of men. As the -Europeans gazed they perceived a stir amongst that group--one appeared -to fall; there was a pause, the woman with another shuddering cry -dropped her face into her hands. Then a far-off shout fell upon the -two friends' ears, and they saw an upraised arm against the glowing -background, a hand that held something-- - -"Is it a head?" muttered Cabrera. - -But the woman once more hurried them on. - -"But if he is already slain," questioned Montoro sadly, "what can we do -more?" - -"Perhaps he is not already sacrificed," came the anguished answer in -broken Spanish. "There are many to die to-night to please the god; -perhaps he still lives, and may be saved." - -For that 'perhaps' the devoted champion of the oppressed, and his -friend, continued their dangerous route. It might be to meet the -fate that, only twenty-four hours before, Escalante had spoken of -with such horror. But even if they escaped that, it would but be to -receive death at the hands of their own countrymen. Montoro began to -be sorely troubled. To save one man he had brought the life of another -into jeopardy. After all, it might be that he did deserve Alvarado's -accusation. He stood still again. - -"Cabrera, I have done wrong." - -"Well," was the calm answer. "A thought more wildly, perchance, than -might have been looked for from the sensible Don Montoro. Shall we -return?" - -"You will," was the eager reply. "We have not as yet gone too far for -you to find your way back easily." - -"Oh--h," ejaculated Cabrera. "And for thyself?" - -"I go on." - -"Ah! I see. Thanks, my friend, for your dismissal then, but--I go on -also." - -Montoro clenched his hands tightly. - -"It will be a load off my heart, Juan, if you will return." - -"Without you?--never. You must keep your load." - -They had begun to move on again slowly before this short dialogue was -ended; but now a bitter, imploring moan from the poor creature with -them helped Montoro to forget all but her troubles, and making a sign -to her, they hurried on as rapidly as before. - -After all, as far as Juan de Cabrera was concerned, any excitement, -even to the excitement of deadly peril, was better than peace and -quietness. He rather liked the sensation of feeling as though a dozen -or two pairs of those lean, small, redskin hands were stretching out -from every doorway to clutch at him, and that he had a sword by his -side which should win him freedom. Montoro for the time thought of -nothing at all, but his purpose to rescue his native servant from the -bloody altar of the horrible war-god Huitzilopotchli. - -Arrived at the foot of the mound on which the chief temple was built, -the guide paused, and looked at her companions as though with some -compunction for having brought them into so great peril; but her -regrets were then too late. They had caught sight of a spectacle which -had filled them with loathing indignation; and they sprang up the -mound, rushed up the great flight of stone steps in the centre of the -temple with a fierce shout, regardless of prudence, indifferent to all -consequences, and gained the platform just in time to witness the -completion of a third awful act of heathen faith. - -On a huge block of jasper, with a slightly convex surface, lay the -living, human, palpitating sacrifice. Around him were gathered six -of the war-god's priests, hardened to their awful office by almost -daily custom. Men fitted for such duties they looked, with their -wild eyes, their long and matted locks flowing in wild disorder over -their shoulders, and their sable, crimson-stained robes covered with -hieroglyphic scrolls of mystic import. - -Five of these weird, sombre, butcher-priests held down the head and -limbs of the victim. The sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, emblematic of -the office, cut open the breast of the sacrifice with a sharp razor of -the volcanic itztli, inserted his hand in the wound, and tore away the -beating heart from the yet writhing body; the awful trophy was held for -one moment up on high, then cast at the feet of the idol to which it -was devoted.[6] - -[Footnote 6: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' vol. i. p. 63.--Prescott.] - -All was over before the Spaniards' second furious cry had had power to -escape their lips. The next instant that elevated plateau was a scene -of wild confusion. - -Transported beyond himself, Cabrera had shot down the priest of -sacrifice, dashed to the ground, insensible, two of the other -black-robed ministers of the dismal faith, and then with his sword cut -asunder the bonds binding a group of prisoners awaiting their turn on -the jasper block. - -Montoro had not been idle. At the point of the sword he had driven the -remaining priests into the interior of the temple, flung into the fire -the instrument of torture, and the instruments of music used to drown -the wretched sufferers' cries, and then, with a far-echoing shout--"For -the glory of the one true God!" he signed to the rescued captives, -brandished his sword aloft, and, followed by the liberated train, the -two Spaniards rushed down from the height, thrust a way for themselves -and their bewildered companions through the gathering multitudes, with -an impetuosity that bore down all obstacles, and with the happy Indian -woman once more for guide, regained their own quarters. - -The whole band of their comrades was astir, and within an hour of their -stealthy departure Montoro de Diego and Cabrera, with the little group -of Indians about them, once more stood in the courtyard of the lesser -temple, surrounded by their Captain-General and the whole company of -his followers. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - - _TOO USEFUL TO BE KILLED._ - - -"General, I have disobeyed your orders, and I accept my punishment, and -acknowledge its justice." - -Those words were the first that were distinctly audible above the -hubbub and din prevailing in the courtyard of the Spaniards' new -encampment. But they were spoken by a singularly penetrating voice, -and in cold, calm tones that had an almost incredible power of making -themselves heard. - -During the last half-hour the moon had dispelled the darkness of night, -and was shining in a steel-blue, cloudless sky, with a brilliancy at -least equal to the light of many a northern day. In the foreground -glittered the waters of the great Gulf of Mexico; to the left the -silver thread of a river wound in and out amidst a country luxuriant -and fertile as a garden; the narrow streets of the city lay at their -feet; above them still gloomed and glowed, like some evil eye, that -fire on the summit of the great temple, and over all, away in the -distant background, towered the 'everlasting hills' and the snow-crown -of Citlaltepelt or Orizaba. - -So beautiful, so majestic, so peaceful the scene, could but that -agitated gathering of men of the two hemispheres have been blotted out. - -Hernando Cortes, tall and stately, bearing his handsome face with -a proud dignity, stood with folded arms somewhat apart from the -tumultuous throngs, all of whom, in the midst of their other words and -thoughts, took time to cast many a searching glance at the leader; -but all their scrutiny was in vain. Nothing was to be learnt of the -meditations going on in the brain behind that fixed countenance. - -Opposite to Hernando stood a man equally handsome in face and figure, -equally calm and stately, but with a strange sweet light in his eyes -as they rested on the poor startled Indians standing huddled together, -scarcely knowing as yet whether to rejoice or no, at their rescue from -the hands of the Cempoallan priests. - -Montoro's father had died because he dared to plead for the life of -the Jew. Montoro had a deep hidden gratitude in his heart, that he had -been thus able to offer his life for the lives of these poor helpless -Indians. And with this thanksgiving in his heart he spoke, and the -babel of confused voices ceased. - -Cabrera stepped up beside his companion, saying coolly-- - -"Well, General, here am I also. I cannot say with Diego that I will -acknowledge the justice of the threatened punishment, or that I would -accept it, if I could see my way on any side to doing the other thing; -but--as it is--" - -A shrug of the shoulders finished the sentence, and then there was a -silence. The native servant and interpreter crept to Montoro's feet, -clasping them, and entreating to be returned to the stone of sacrifice -if otherwise his deliverer must die. The native woman hid her face in -her robe, and kneeling before Cortes wept there silently. - -At last Alvarado stepped forward impetuously, and exclaimed-- - -"Hernando Cortes, those two comrades of ours have risked their lives -to save the blood of a Christian from being poured out to the honour -of a heathen god! Is the order of a Spanish leader like the law of the -Medes and Persians--one that altereth not? Those two have broken your -command; according to that, it is admitted, their lives are forfeited. -Can it be that they are to pay the penalty!" - -As he concluded with that passionate demand, a sudden brilliant smile -for one instant passed over the face of Cortes like a lightning flash. -Then it was sternly set as before, as his lips opened to reply. - -The soldiers had been subsiding into quietness before, now they were -hushed into an intense expectancy that seemed as though it could be -felt. The words with which their attention was rewarded were few enough. - -"You ask me, Don Pedro de Alvarado, if those two of our Spanish -brethren yonder are to die. I say yes, if any of you, their brethren, -will shoot them. Montoro, may I crave that private audience with you -that I lost this afternoon?" - -Juan de Cabrera sprang forward with raised hands, and shoulders almost -up to his ears. Even the Indians forgot their apprehensions and -laughed. He bestowed a most horrible-looking, wide-mouthed grin upon -them, and then drew his face to an almost impossible length, as he -continued his way to Cortes, groaning out-- - -"Oh, General! don't you please to need a private audience with me also? -That fellow, Don Gonzalo there, is quite beside himself with longing to -try the new gun he hath just received from the armourer. I shiver with -fear." - -"Then take a doze of sleep to cure thee," was the laughing reply, "and -get Father Olmedo to shrive thee first for thy sin of disobedience. -I had needs be a schoolmaster rather than a general, to rule great -overgrown boys like thee." - -Then Cortes turned to a quieter region of the temple, and with his -officers held deep counsel as to next proceedings. Although he spared -his two followers from the mingled motives of prudence, friendship, -and admiration, he felt somewhat bitterly that their romantic act of -generosity had greatly complicated the position of affairs. Yesterday -he had feared enmity, now he was sure of it. - -"As strongly as we hold to our faith," he said gravely, "so I have ere -now discovered do they hold to theirs. As resolutely as we would avenge -an insult to our Lord, so will these heathen endeavour to avenge the -insult put upon their gods of wood and clay. We must be prepared." - -As the dawn grew full, Cortes, with his usual decisive energy, -determined suddenly to know the worst at once; not to act on the -defensive as he had first planned, but to issue forth immediately, -and complete the desecration, already so boldly begun, of the heathen -altars of Cempoalla. - -"We have come hither," he exclaimed in animated tones to his followers, -"to burn the idols of this polluted land, and to raise the sacred -standard of the cross. Let us delay the glorious task no longer. In the -name of the Holy Faith I go." - -"In the name of the Holy Faith lead on, we follow you," shouted back -the small, undaunted army with one acclaim; and in another minute, in -firm, close array, the Spaniards had issued forth from their enclosure. - -They had not made much way when an Indian scout flew back to them, with -heels winged with fear, to say that the Cacique himself, at the head of -his troops, was advancing to their encounter. - -"All the better," muttered Cabrera. "Saves our steps, and my boots are -something the worse for wear." - -But before proceeding to extremities the two leaders called a parley: -the Indian chief to expostulate on the violence done his gods in -return for his great hospitality; and Cortes to desire that he and his -subjects would hear from Father Olmedo a discourse, to prove that his -gods were no gods, that it was no more possible to do them dishonour -than to show respect or disrespect to an old tree-stump, and to teach -them the principles of Divine truth. - -With a fine courtesy the Indian Cacique gave consent, even while -burning under a sense of wrong; and something he must have gleaned -through the interpreter of the required teaching, for he replied with -dignity-- - -"Know this, ye white-faces, that it seemeth to me we have not much -to learn from you, beyond that faithlessness that you would have us -show to our gods. We too believe in a supreme Creator and Lord of the -universe--that God by whom we live and move and have our being; the -Giver of all good gifts, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, perfect. We -too believe in a future life--a heaven and a hell. We too believe in -the virtues of temperance, charity, self-denial; and that of ourselves, -being born in sin, we are capable of no good thing. We too are admitted -into fellowship with the supreme Lord of all things by the rite of -baptism. The lips and bosoms of our infants are sprinkled with water, -and we beseech the Lord to permit the holy drops to wash away the sin -that was given to them before the foundation of the world, so that they -may be born anew. We too pray for grace to keep peace with all, to bear -injuries with humility, trusting to the Almighty to avenge us." - -The fine old Cacique ceased, and in breathless amazement the Spaniards -gazed at the Indian who had thus made confession of a faith so -strangely in accord with their own, so utterly unexpected. - -"And with these sublime truths," murmured Father Olmedo with wide -eyes, "there is mingled the awful Polytheism, the ghastly idol-worship -that revels in human sacrifices. This is verily the devil's work, -transforming himself into the likeness of an angel of light that his -worship may gain in glory." - -Another thought came to Montoro de Diego. Imagination travels as the -lightning, flashing from one end of the earth to the other. As Montoro -stood there, in one of the flower-decked squares of the Indian town of -Cempoalla, his spirit was hovering above the wide piazza of the Spanish -city of Saragossa. It was the day, so imagination told him, of an Auto -da Fé. - -Slowly entering the square came the long procession--priests of the -true holy Catholic faith who had learnt 'God is love,' incense-bearers, -candle-bearers, and all the troop of satellites. - -In Montoro de Diego's dream-ears were sounding the solemn cadences of -the chants, as the procession moved slowly, solemnly along. Then, in -the centre of the long imposing train he saw a dismal spectacle. Clad -in the yellow garments of scorn and contumely, adorned for shame's -sake and derision with scarlet flames and so-called devils, limped and -crawled along the racked and wrenched, and twisted and scorched victims -of the Inquisition, passing along to be burnt alive, in the name of -religion, at those stakes at the four corners of the great piazza. - -And as the Romish priest, Father Olmedo, thought of the Indian idol -sacrifices, and murmured, "Verily this is the devil's work, uniting -sublime truths with the blackest iniquity," Montoro thought of the -Autos da Fé, and murmured to himself-- - -"If the one be the devil's work, is not the other likewise?" - -At a future day the same question was asked by an Indian captive in -Spain, asked with indignant scorn, and answered by himself-- - -"Ay, verily. Either both are of the gods--our sacrifices of blood and -yours of fire--or both are of the devil. And ye, proud Spaniards, had -done well to purge your own land, before ye laid waste our countries, -and destroyed our nations, to remove the mote that lay in our eyes." - -But we must return to Cempoalla, and pass by dreams and dreamers for -the present, for there is once more a sudden sound and stir borne along -upon the air. The Cacique and his army raise their heads, grasp their -arrows more firmly, and look expectant. - -The Spaniards close up together again, lay their hands on their -sword-hilts, and wait. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - - _ONCE FOR ALL--THEY SHALL CEASE._ - - -The number of priests in the capital of the empire of Mexico itself -amounted, at the time of the conquest, to very many thousands--five -thousand for the immense chief _teocalli_, or house of God, alone. - -These priests were gathered together in great establishments, where -a most rigorous discipline was maintained, much after the fashion of -Roman Catholic institutions. And as with the empire itself, so was -it, in a lesser degree, with the empire's tributaries. In those also -chiefs and people endeavoured to make their peace with heaven, as -in the old world, by such immense endowments of lands and riches as -tended naturally to swell the ranks of a race so well provided for, and -regarded with such supreme reverence. - -The smiling territory of Cempoalla was as well provided as its -neighbours, with these numerous ministers of a religion that so -strangely blended bloodthirsty superstition with exalted faith and -enlightenment. - -Juan de Cabrera fondly supposed that in slaying a man whom he honestly -looked upon as a murderer of the blackest die, deserving death, he had -rid that city, at any rate, of its one hideously-skilful executioner, -and, as he put it, "that no more of that sort of work could go on for -the present, either in their presence or their absence." But he made a -most tremendous mistake. - -"The king is dead. Long live the king." - -The priest-executioner-in-chief had fallen, before the altar of the -god he had served with such dreadful fidelity. He had died yesterday, -to-day he had a successor burning with ardour to avenge him by -increased sacrifices, to atone for those deferred, and to prove his own -consummate skill in the detestable work. - -"If only," was his fierce wild prayer--"if only the one invisible, -supreme God would grant that some of the sacrilegious, infidel white -faces might fall into the hands of the Cempoallan warriors, that they -themselves might be offered up as peace-offerings to the insulted -Huitzilopotchli!" - -Were his prayer granted there was no doubt that the morose and -gloomy-natured priest would not spare also to inflict upon the -prisoners some prior tortures, ingenious enough in their barbarous -cruelty to have excited the admiring envy of the most savage of -Inquisitors. - -But meantime he had other business on hand--sacrifices truly, but -sacrifices drawn from the families of his own nation; and, moreover, -sacrifices of such a nature that, had he been as wise as he was -ruthless, he would have delayed their attempted offering until those -white-faces had left his land. They were just the last drops needed to -fill the Spaniards' cup of boiling indignation full to overflowing. - -Exquisitely fertile and luxuriant as the whole district of Cempoalla -looked to the Spanish eyes, so wearied with the barren tracts of sand, -and marshy swamps of their recent station, there had in reality been a -considerable time of drought lately, and the Indians were beginning to -have fears for some of their harvests. Tlaloc, the god of rain, whose -symbol of a cross had so disconcerted Cabrera and Father Olmedo, had to -be propitiated. - -For some days past a solemn festival had been decreed in his honour. -The victims were bought for the altar, the invitation to the faithful -was announced, and, although a priest had been slain in the night, the -imperious god of rain must not be deprived of his offerings in the -morning. Thence the sounds which had so suddenly arrested all speech -and movement of the two armies, Christian and heathen, met together in -the great square of the city. - -The waiting and suspense were short. The sounds of musical instruments -and of a wild melodious chant drew rapidly nearer. They reached the -square, and the Spaniards turned wondering eyes upon each other. - -"The procession of the Fête Dieu!" exclaimed Cabrera in bewilderment. - -"One might well suppose so," returned Montoro, almost equally surprised. - -Cortes turned with rapid questionings to Doña Marina, the native -captive princess and his interpreter. - -Passing across the further end of the square, on the way to Tlaloc's -temple, were lines of sable-robed priests, trains of flower-decked -youths and maidens from the priests' seminaries, crowds of devout -worshippers; and in the midst of all, borne aloft in view of every eye, -a number of lovely children, tiny creatures scarcely beyond the days of -infancy, dressed in bright-hued festal robes, wreathed with flowers, -and seated in gay litters, around each of which gathered groups of -chanting priests, and the parents who had sold them. - -Wide-eyed and dumb with wonder were some of these little ones. And -on them the priests frowned. Others, startled, terrified, with tiny, -helpless arms outstretched to their miserable, deluded mothers, were -drowned in tears, choking with piteous sobbings. And on them the -priests cast pitiless smiles, and sang and danced with wilder fervour -than before. Those tears were of good omen for the god's acceptance of -his worshippers' prayers. Dry-eyed sacrifices were fruitless ones.[7] - -[Footnote 7: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico'--Prescott.] - -But the exacting god was to have no sacrifice that day, dry-eyed or -otherwise. - -The procession was passing on, when at length Hernan Cortes, with a -horror-stricken shout of comprehension, raised his head from Doña -Marina, and turning to face his followers exclaimed, in a voice that -literally trembled with passion and haste: - -"Comrades! look yonder. See ye that sight? See ye those helpless babes, -decked out thus bravely as the heathen nations of old were wont to deck -four-footed beasts for sacrifice? Those babes are sold for sacrifice -by a black, well-nigh incredible bigotry. Twenty minutes hence, without -your succour, their innocent hearts will have been plucked from out -their riven breasts, as offerings to that blasphemous god who pollutes -the sign of our redemption. Say, comrades, shall this thing be?" - -The men started a step forward with cheeks aflame. - -"No!" exclaimed Alvarado. "By St. Jago and our good swords, no!" - -"No!" echoed the whole band, as though with one voice. - -"No!" cried Cabrera, impetuously. "Not if we have to put every man in -Cempoalla to the sword to deliver them." - -And with these exclamations it seemed, for one moment, as though the -Spaniards were going to rush forward pell-mell, and effect a rescue. -But Cortes raised his hand and checked them. There was time yet to -proceed more peaceably. He turned back to the Cacique. - -"You see," he began. - -"I see there is another of those red-cloaked demons yonder," muttered -Cabrera in a tone of bitter loathing to Montoro. - -But the low aside formed no interruption to the General, who continued, -with determination-- - -"You see, my followers and I have one heart in this matter. And I, -for my part, am resolved that within this hour the idol gods shall be -destroyed. Use your authority to stay yonder procession on its further -course to sin, and thus hinder bloodshed." - -But even before his words were ended it became evident that force must -effect, if possible, what persuasion could not do. The Cacique's reply -to the imperative demand was a swift signal to his army. It was obeyed -as swiftly. - -The Indian warriors gathered up from all sides, with shrill cries and -clashing of weapons. The priests began to rush on with the litters and -their wailing occupants, towards the temple, for the consummation of -the sacrifice. The Spaniards, with Montoro de Diego at their head, flew -forward, moved to too heart-sickened a pity to wait any longer upon -the rule of orders. And soon the whole square and the entire route to -the temple was one scene of wild uproar. The priests, in their sombre -cotton robes, and dishevelled tresses matted with blood flowing over -their shoulders, rushing frantically amongst their warrior brethren, -urging them on to the fray, and calling upon them to protect their gods -from violation. - -All was war and tumult where so lately had been peace and friendly -brotherhood. - -Cortes took his usual prompt and decided measures. While Montoro led -the rescue party, and ceased not his determined onslaught until he had -delivered the infants back to arms that, in the new turn of affairs, -were stretched out readily enough to receive them again, Cortes, by a -bold manœuvre, and the firing off of those terror-speaking guns, gained -possession of the great Cacique himself and of some of his principal -subjects, including the chief priests. - -"Now," he authoritatively commanded once more, and with a better -chance of being obeyed. "Now, Nezahualth, you and your people are in -my power. Give orders that not another arrow is shot this day, or -disobedience shall cost you all your lives." - -"The gods will protect us," exclaimed a frenzied priest. - -Cortes turned upon him with a cold, haughty glance. - -"Did the gods protect thy brethren yesternight? The Spaniards were two -to a multitude, and the Spaniards' God gave them victory. Thy god gave -his followers up to disgrace and death!" - -Whatever effect these words of reminder had upon the Totonac priest, -they had a powerful one upon the Totonac chieftain, the Cacique of -Cempoalla. With a sudden lowering of his lofty head, he dropped his -face into his hands, and exclaimed bitterly that the white men must -work their will, and the gods must avenge themselves. - -"Even so," said Cortes sternly. "Thus it must be, for from this hour, -once for all, their idols shall be destroyed from this city, and the -human sacrifices shall cease." - -This settled the matter. The Christians were not slow in availing -themselves of the Cacique's submission to the inevitable. - -At a signal from Cortes fifty soldiers darted off to the chief temple, -sprang up the great stone stairway as eagerly as Montoro de Diego and -Cabrera had done the night before, entered the building on the summit, -the walls of which were black with human gore, tore the huge wooden -idols from their foundations, and dragged them to the edge of the -terrace. - -The fantastic forms and features of these symbolic idols meant nothing -to the Spaniards' eyes but outward and visible representations of the -hideous lineaments of Satan. With the greatest alacrity, cheered on by -Cabrera, the soldiers rolled the colossal monsters down the steps of -the pyramid, amidst the triumphant shouts of their own companions, and -the groans and lamentations of the awe-struck natives, who forthwith -gave up all hopes of the coming harvest in despair. - -The work was finally crowned by the burning of the images in the -presence of the assembled, startled multitudes. That finishing touch -proved a wise one. Hitherto, during the work of desecration, the -Totonacs had waited in trembling expectation of some fearful exhibition -of their insulted god's great power and glory. But now. Poor impotent -deities! they had not been able even to prevent the profanation of -their shrines, the destruction of their own representations. - -"What think ye of your gods now?" asked Pedro de Alvarado -contemptuously, as he spurned a heap of the smouldering ashes with his -foot, and turned his scornful eyes upon a group of humbled priests -beside him. - -"Verily they be fine gods," added Father Juan Diaz, ever ready to hit -those who were down. "As able, i' faith, to help ye as to assert their -own dignity." - -So began the priests and people of Cempoalla, apparently, to think -themselves. With bowed heads and dejected steps they left those -humiliating mounds of ashes. The day of solemn festival was turned into -a day of turmoil and mourning. - -The people of that fair land of Mexico had received their first trample -under the iron heel of the conqueror. In their abject dejection they -aided in the business of their own humiliation. - -By Cortes' orders a number of the Totonacs cleansed the floor and -walls of the teocalli from their foul impurities; a fresh coating of -stucco was laid on them by the native masons, and an altar was raised, -surmounted by a lofty cross, and hung with garlands of roses. - -"And now, my friends," exclaimed Cortes, addressing the multitudes -assembled around the base of the pyramid temple, watching proceedings -with a stupefied wonder--"and now, put by your sad thoughts and your -saddened countenances, for a brighter day has dawned for you than you -have ever known hitherto. I have spoilt one procession, but I will make -you full amends with another and more glorious." - -With the easy vivacity and changeableness of the semi-civilized nature, -the Indians roused up at the Spanish General's new tones of cheerful -friendship, and greeted his short speech with shouts of approval, -smiles, and nods, which received full reply. Sternness had done its -work; he was quite ready now to be as joyous and cordial and brotherly -as they would let him. They went from one extreme to the other--from -animal-like ferocity to childlike docility, owing to the weakness of -their nature. But Cortes, from the dark brows of the resolute victor -who would be obeyed, to the courteous, agreeable friend, from policy, -and an almost unequalled power of self-command. He promised the -procession, and it was soon formed. - -Once more Spaniards and Indians assembled in the great square. Side by -side, no longer conqueror and captive, but host and guest once more, -moved on with calm and stately steps the two leaders, the tall, slender -Spaniard, the tall, corpulent Indian chief. Following them came the -two armies, in the same brotherly union. Then the Totonac priests, -no longer wearing their dismal black garments with those suggestive -dark-hued stains upon them, but clothed in white robes, and, like their -brother Christian priests, bearing great lighted candles in their -hands; while an image of the Virgin, little less roughly made in those -days than the idols so lately deposed, but half-smothered under the -sweet-scented, brilliant burden of flowers, was borne aloft, and, as -the procession climbed the steps of the temple, was deposited above the -altar, and a solemn mass, performed by Father Olmedo, concluded the -great ceremony, instead of a bloody sacrifice. - -"At the same time," murmured Montoro to a companion late that night, -as he paced the courtyard of the Spanish encampment--"at the same -time, methinks, these poor creatures can but credit us with the cruel -insolence of strength, which has destroyed their idols to make way for -our own. They had a cross which they adored; we have cast it down to -erect our own. They had idols which they reverenced; we have burnt -their images but to set up another." - -"Even so," replied the good priest, in the same low tones. "My fears -go with your thoughts--that they must have strange doubts as to our -honesty." - -"We preach against idols, and yet have them," added Montoro. "I wonder -if our work this day has done much good for the salvation of souls?" - -"It has done some good for the salvation of bodies, at any rate," broke -in Juan de Cabrera from his sentry post, opposite to which the two -friends had paused in the interest of their conversation. "It is thanks -wholly and solely to thee, all throughout, Toro, that that hapless -little company of babies is alive to-night. And so, my long-faced -friend, instead of looking solemn as an old crow, thou shouldst be the -merriest fellow in the company." - -"Ho, there!" cried the voice of a fourth comer on the scene. "Who talks -of merriment, I would know, forsooth, at this sleepy hour of the night, -and with never an honest bit of gambling allowed to pass the watch -hours by. For my part, I feel glum as a sulky bear." - -"Then keep thy distance," was the retort. "For this sultry weather -makes me suspicious that my bones may be in a dried-up state, and -somewhat too easily crackable, my very esteemed Señor Velasquez de -Leon." - -Montoro laughed. - -"Didst say, Juan, bones or brains were crackable?" - -"Both--or meant to," said the young man. "My bones, and Leon's brains. -But come, Leon, hast thou not come to relieve guard? for that Toro -there, thief that he is, robbed me of my rest last night, and I shall -fall asleep on the march to-morrow." - -"Better not," replied Velasquez, with a warning shake of the head. "Be -advised in time, lest thou mightest get left behind, and then thou -wouldst assuredly be raised by the Totonac priests to the honour of the -post of one of their lost gods. Thy beauty matches to a marvel that of -their striking god of war." - -"I'll match him in the striking trait on thee then, at any rate," cried -Cabrera, as he raised his arm. But the next instant it was caught, and -held fast for a moment in a good firm grip before it was let go. - -"How now, my crack-brained schoolboy?" said the laughing voice of the -General. "Hast had not enough of brawls during the past day to last -thee even over one night? Keep thy blows for the turbulent spirits we -may meet on the road to Mexico." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - - _ON THE ROAD TO MEXICO._ - - -Such magnificent and royal gifts of gold and silver, of precious stones -and precious stuffs, of birds and animals, of jeweller's work and the -marvellous feather work, feather fans and feather tapestries, costly -shields and beautiful embroidery, had been forwarded, by the hands -of ambassadors, from the Emperor of Mexico to the Spanish camp, that -the Spaniards, from Cortes down to the meanest soldier, had the most -exalted ideas of the wealth and power of the new-found empire. - -"For my part," remarked Juan de Cabrera one day during the march--"for -my part, I have serious thoughts of giving up the worn-out old country, -and setting up my tent for the future in this new fairy-land. Gold and -fruit and flowers, and food for the trouble of accepting it, are things -just suited to my quiet tastes." - -Montoro laughed. - -"Few of thy friends will doubt thy word for it, Juan. But how -about that promise to thy new, bright-eyed bride, the princess of -Cempoalla--that she should reign as the queen of beauty not long hence -in thine own old city of Madrid?" - -"Umph!" ejaculated Cabrera with a slight shrug. "For the promise--well, -seest thou it was no vow, bound for honour's sake to be kept--nought -but a passing word to a woman. And since she hath me, I doubt not she -will have little care for aught else." - -"Hearken to him, O ye birds!" cried Alvarado. "Thy vanity doth but -outdo thy faithlessness, thou black-crested cockatoo. But knowest thou, -I shall be fairly content, for my part, when we are indeed in Mexico's -great capital, Tenochtitlan; for I grow tired of this marching with -one's head watching all ways at once during the day, and taking sleep -at night like a dog, with one eye open." - -"Ay, and worse than a dog--with one's hand on one's sword besides," -added Cabrera. - -Montoro raised his eyebrows as he looked from one to the other of his -companions. - -"Think ye then, that once in the island city all your cares and -anxieties will be at an end?" - -"If they do," put in Gonzalo de Sandoval, "I can tell them so thinks -not the General himself. Methinks, for all his assumption of cool -confidence, that his black locks grow something touched with grey of -late." - -"And mine also," said Alvarado with a toss of his yellow locks. "But -from want of a siesta, and not from any dread of what these poor -helpless, red-skinned creatures are likely to do to us." - -But even the bold Alvarado and the careless Cabrera felt, a few days -later, that confidence, and a feeling of security, were not much more -certain of acquirement in a town than amid the uncertain perils of -the high-way. Meantime their easy and bloodless victory at Cempoalla -had taught both officers and men, for the most part, a good-natured -contempt for the natives; and this sentiment was increased by the -friendliness hitherto shown them on their route, whenever they were -able to come fairly to speech with the Indians. - -Alvarado and Cabrera in particular might be pardoned for their -impatience, at what they considered something of overmuch watchfulness, -for the sunny hair and blue eyes of the one, and the merry face of the -other, had hitherto won them smiles and Benjamin's portions from all -they met. - -However, even before entering a town, the various members of that small -army were to learn that their General's prudence was wiser than their -own impatience of the discipline. - -Between the territory of Cempoalla and Mexico lay the fine little -warlike, independent republic of Tlascala, governed by a council -elected by their tribes, and united by the strongest bonds of -patriotism, and mutual hatred to their powerful and aggressive -neighbour, the Emperor of Mexico.[8] - -[Footnote 8: 'Hist. of America.'--Robertson.] - -Fierce and revengeful, high-spirited and independent, Cortes decided, -as soon as he heard of them, that they were the very auxiliaries to -be desired in the contemplated conquest. For every step he now made -towards the heart of the great empire, gave him fresh evidence of what -an astoundingly bold thing he was doing, in adventuring himself and his -handful of enfeebled men in such a magnificent enterprise. - -"But with some few thousands of these enemies of Mexico, these -Tlascalans," he said one evening towards the end of August, when a halt -had been called for the night--"with their aid at our back, Diego, we -shall go forward right merrily, methinks." - -Montoro looked grave. To say truth, the many human sacrifices he had -witnessed of late, and the awfully numerous traces of others discovered -along the route, had caused some temporary wavering in his sympathies. -Just for the time he was not quite sure if he did not think his Spanish -sword would, after all, be well employed in slaying some of the -bloodthirsty beings who offered up, in sacrifices to their abominable -idols, girls and boys and little children, and then held ghastly -feastings on their flesh. - -He had begun to feel a loathing indignation for these wretched -believers in a gross superstition, which made him a more welcome -confidant for Cortes than was usual. He was quite ready to have his -five hundred valiant Spanish companions reinforced by a few times that -number of the natives. But he had heard news from his interpreter, -during the day's march, that made him doubtful if such a reinforcement -were altogether so likely as the General appeared to think. - -"What does thy face mean, Diego, since thy tongue says nought?" asked -Hernando Cortes after a few moments' silence. "Forgive me, but it looks -nigh as long as yon merry madcap Cabrera is wont to call it." - -Montoro smiled slightly. But he grew earnest enough the next instant as -he said-- - -"Cortes, I fear me that thy face also will lengthen when I tell thee -that the Tlascalans are meditating war with us, I believe, rather than -peace." - -"How sayest thou, Toro?" exclaimed that impetuous fellow, Velasquez -de Leon. "Sayest thou the rascals have a mind to feel the touch of a -good Toledo blade or two? I' faith, under those circumstances it is for -them, not us, to draw the long faces, so I warn them." - -"And I warn you," said Cortes seriously, "that it is for both to do -so. But what is it that you have learnt, Diego? or rather, what reason -is given you for these worthy warriors' bad feeling? They are at such -enmity with the Mexicans, that one had some right, truly, to count with -confidence upon their friendship." - -"And I fully believe would have also had it," was the reply, "had you -but given any proof that your sentiments towards this emperor bore any -likeness to their own. But--" - -"Well?" came the rather impatient query; "but what? Although I have not -told the Mexicans themselves such things as should lead them to shut -their ways against us, I have let their foes know fairly well that I am -ready to aid all complainants to redress their wrongs." - -"You have told them so, that is true," said Montoro, once more with a -slight smile. "The Tlascalans also admit so much; but, as they say with -some astuteness, your deeds are at variance with your words. You have -exchanged many valuable gifts with their powerful adversary, you have -entertained many of his ambassadors, and you now propose as a friend to -visit him in his capital." - -"Moreover," put in Father Olmedo, "I learn from your own interpreter, -Doña Marina, that they hold us in terrible abhorrence for our hasty and -unexplained desecration of the altars of Cempoalla, a place with which -they are on terms of peace." - -Cortes sprang to his feet angrily. - -"That is the best deed I have performed in my life, and it shall -receive many a repetition. Preachments are no part of a soldier's -duties. It shall be mine to destroy the pollutions of the land; you, -father, can take the task of preaching it into purity with such suave -slowness as you please. Meantime, to put these rumours respecting those -Tlascalans yonder to the test. We will send an embassy forthwith to -demand a passage through their territories to Mexico." - -"Send me," exclaimed Velasquez de Leon eagerly. - -"And me," cried Juan de Cabrera, delighted at the prospect of real -action. He preferred using his arms to watching by them, and so did -most of his companions. - -But Cortes was too politic to accept the offers. The number of his -fearless and trusty knights was small enough without risking the lives -of any of them needlessly. Some of the chief men among the Cempoallans -had accompanied the Spaniards on their march, and of these Cortes chose -out four, and sent them to their neighbours, charged with his amicable -demand. - -Three or four days passed, and those messengers had not returned. -Matters began to look serious. Montoro, with his native interpreter, -and both in disguise, penetrated some distance one early morning into -the unknown dominions. They returned to the camp with the startling -intelligence that the ambassadors had been seized as traitors to their -country's cause, and renegades from the true faith, and were within a -short time to be sacrificed as peace-offerings to the insulted gods. - -Instantly the whole camp was astir. The Cempoallans tremblingly anxious -to deliver their friends from the indignity of the fate awaiting them; -Cortes strongly determined that such a blot should not fall upon his -expedition, in the person of his allies. - -There was no need to urge despatch in preparations. Each man of the -force, native and Spaniard alike, was burning to set forth against the -new foe. The foe was equally ready. - -But amongst these strange people of the new world were some of the -sentiments supposed to belong wholly to the old world's chivalry. - -Just as the army was about to set out from its quarters, on that -morning of the thirtieth of August, 1519, a long train of people was -observed approaching from the distance, bearing an ensign of peace. - -Cortes called a halt of his own followers. He and Montoro de Diego, -and Father Olmedo, felt most thankful for the turn affairs appeared to -have taken, thus at the very twelfth hour. Alvarado and Velasquez, with -a good many of their like-minded comrades, it is true, were nothing at -all so well contented. They had been living on very short commons the -past few days, fare as meagre and unsatisfying as possible, and they -regarded the punishment of the unfriendly republicans as a probable -means of replenishing their scanty larders. - -However, as it turned out, neither content nor discontent had any -present foundation. The Tlascalans had also, on their part, it was -true, sent an embassage, and a well-laden one. But, although the -messengers brought a good deal with them that was acceptable, a request -for peace was not one of the offerings. - -As the train came near, it was discovered that abundant supplies of -food of all kinds were being brought to the half-famished little army. -But before they were presented, and to leave no doubt on the Spaniards' -minds as to the motives of the gift, one fierce, slim warrior advanced -before the company of food-bearers, and with a haughty, undaunted -bearing that extorted the respect even of his haughty hearers, he -exclaimed-- - -"See, poor starved-out creatures of a starved-out land, although we -refuse entrance to the impious enemies of our gods, we would not that -ye should think we grudge, or have need to grudge, you of the bounties -that your God, it seems, denies you. - -"The Republic of Tlascala sends you food, and in abundance--meat and -bread. Eat, and be satisfied. The warriors of Tlascala scorn to attack -an enemy enfeebled with disease, faint with hunger. Victory over such -would be a vain one. We affront not our gods with famished victims, -neither do we deign to feast upon an emaciated prey." - -"What a mercy for us," muttered that reckless Cabrera, "since your -noble disdain hath led you to feed us thus hospitably." - -"For my part also," added Alvarado as quietly, "I would fain try if -food will give me back something of the strength of arm their blazing -sun hath robbed me of." - -"You may well say blazing sun," ejaculated Velasquez de Leon, upon -whose excitable temperament the tremendous, continuous heat of the past -few weeks had had a peculiarly trying effect. Even the sight of the -food scarcely cheered his flagging spirits. Cabrera laid his hand on -his shoulder encouragingly. - -"Cheer up, friend Leon; I will do the friendly part by thee, if thou -wilt, and offer thee up to that aggravating god of rain. Thy dignified -person may appease his angry, spiteful idol-ship." - -Velasquez sighed. - -"I feel well-nigh inclined, Juan, to give thee leave. I have more than -once of late had the thought that I would offer up myself." - -But whatever might be the voluntarily-endured sufferings of the -Spaniards, they were light enough in comparison with those of the poor, -brave Tlascalans. Cortes accepted their food, and likewise accepted -their challenge, and the following day the two armies met to do -battle--the one to preserve its country from the presumptuous invaders' -tread, the other to make good its claim to advance where it chose. - -Of the two armies decidedly the native one presented the most -magnificent and imposing appearance, not only for numbers, but for -array. - -Far and wide, over a vast plain about six miles square, stretched the -enormous army. Nothing could be more picturesque than the appearance of -these Indian battalions, with the naked bodies of the common soldiers -gaudily painted with the colours of the chieftains whose banners they -followed, the splendidly attired chieftains themselves, with their -gleaming spears and darts, and the innumerable banners, on which were -emblazoned the armorial bearings of the great Tlascalan and Otomie -chiefs. - -Amongst the most conspicuous of these gorgeous banners were the white -heron on the rock, the cognizance of the house of Xicotencatl, and the -golden eagle with outspread wings, richly ornamented with emeralds and -silver work, the great standard of the Republic of Tlascala. - -The feather-mail of the more distinguished warriors, like the bodies -of their inferior companions, also indicated by the choice of colours -under whose orders they were more specially enrolled. The caciques -themselves, and their chief officers, were clothed in quilted cotton -tunics two inches thick, which, fitting close to the body, protected -also the thighs and the shoulders; over this garment were cuirasses of -thin gold or silver plate. Their legs were defended by leathern boots -or sandals trimmed with gold. - -But the most brilliant portion of the costume was a rich mantle of -the Mexican feather work, embroidered with a skill and taste alike -wonderful. This picturesque dress was surmounted by a fantastic helmet -made of wood or leather, representing the head of some wild animal, and -frequently displaying a fierce set of teeth. - -From the crown floated a splendid plume of rich feathers, indicating by -form and colour the rank and family of the wearer. The rest of their -armour consisted of shields of wood covered with leather, or of reeds -quilted with cotton, and all alike showily ornamented, and finished off -with a beautiful fringe of feather work. - -Their weapons were slings, bows and arrows, javelins, and darts. And -for swords, a two-handed staff, about three and a half feet long, in -which at regular distances were inserted sharp blades of itztli--a -formidable weapon, with which they could fell a horse. They excelled in -throwing the javelin, and they were such expert archers that they could -discharge two and even three at a time.[9] - -[Footnote 9: Hist. 'Conquest of Mexico.'--Prescott.] - -And yet with all this, and with an almost superhuman courage besides, -the poor, noble republicans were conquered. They had not guns, they -had not horses, and they had no keen Toledo blades--those cruel blades -that cut their hands through to the bone when they grasped them, in -their desperate courage, to wrench them, if it might be, from their -adversaries' clasp. - -And thus, after fourteen days of grand efforts to maintain their -hitherto unbroken freedom, and to preserve the soil of their country -from the invader's foot, the Tlascalans found themselves at length so -diminished in numbers, so broken in strength, and so utterly helpless -against the white-faces' wonderful animals and wonderful weapons, that -once more an embassage came from Tlascalan head-quarters to the Spanish -general. - -Once more the stern-visaged Tlascalan warrior heralded a train of men -and Indian maidens, bearing various gifts to the invading force. - -Even yet the brave redskin maintained his grave dignity of bearing, but -it was tempered now with a deep melancholy, as he exclaimed in tones of -heart-stirred grief-- - -"Behold, ye strange and invincible white-faces, our gods have warned -us now that to fight against ye is vain. Ye are few, and we are many; -but we are slain, and our sepulchres already overflow, while ye all -are still alive. We cannot fight against the gods, if such ye be, or -against the gods who fight for you." - -"You say well," responded Cortes, solemnly. "It is our God and St. Jago -who fight for us, and through them we are as rocks to withstand the -assaults of all enemies. But if you come to ask for peace, you will -find us to be friends as staunch as we are resistless foes." - -The warrior lifted his head proudly. - -"We come to offer peace, and we bring gifts as signs of good-will. If -ye are, in very deed, fierce-tempered divinities, lo! we present to -you five slaves, that ye may drink their blood and eat their flesh. -If ye are mild deities, accept an offering of incense and variegated -plumes. For we are poor. We have little gold, or cotton, or salt; only, -hitherto, our freedom and our arms. If ye be but men of like nature -with ourselves, we bring you meat and bread and fruit to nourish you." - -And they brought them far more besides than all that, for they brought -them strong fidelity, clever brains, and arms useful enough against -nations armed like themselves, and of no higher grade in the scale of -civilization. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - - _THE CAUSE ONCE MORE IN JEOPARDY._ - - -A very singular and picturesque affair was the camp of the Spaniards, -when they paused, for rest or war, on the march to Mexico. - -The gay-coloured cotton hangings of the Mexican manufactures had, in -many instances, taken the place of the Spaniards' own rough and ragged -tent coverings. All around were squatted groups of the slaves who had -accompanied the army from Cuba and the sea-coast--races far inferior to -those by whom they were now surrounded, and with very scant ideas as to -dress, or any of the other refinements of civilization. - -Then there were the gentle-spirited, courteous Totonac allies, -evidencing their cultured tastes, and advanced instincts, by gathering -armfuls of the brilliant wild blossoms about them to adorn their -helmets and their shields; whilst regarding them, a short distance off, -stood companies of the more warlike, stern-spirited Tlascalans, looking -on at their neighbours' doings with a contempt they took no pains to -conceal. They were magnificent enough themselves in their warrior's -dress, as has been seen; but, under present circumstances, aught -having a festal or light-hearted appearance they fairly well judged to -betoken effeminacy as much as refinement. - -For the rest, there was little love lost between the Cempoallans and -the poverty-stricken, hardy Republicans, and although united for the -time in one camp as allies of one commander, they took care mutually -not to have too much to do with each other. - -As for the Spaniards themselves, who were now but as one to eight of -their Indian comrades, they were a lean-cheeked, sallow, hollow-eyed -set of tatterdemalions enough by this time. All of them had received -more or less wounds in their fierce battles with the Tlascalans, and -even Hernando Cortes was only kept up by his indomitable resolution, -for what with illness and his doctor, he had been brought to such a -state of weakness that he could hardly sit steady on his saddle. Fifty -of his poor, overdone soldiers had died since starting from Vera Cruz, -and the whole band had at last become more than half doubtful whether -any of them would reach Mexico alive. - -"And really," grumbled Pedro de Alvarado dolefully one evening, "really -I don't much care if I do. I'd just as soon lay my bones out here to -bleach as within yon mythical city of gold." - -"Mythical, as to the being built of gold, doubtless," returned Montoro -de Diego in a cheering tone. "But as to there being a fine city yonder, -that you surely do not doubt. Think how hopeful all of you were a -while since, when you saw the magnificence of its Emperor's gifts!" - -"Ah, well!" sighed poor Pedro restlessly. "I would give him better -thanks now for an ounce of good health than for an hundredweight of -gold." - -"Ay indeed, my Captain," groaned Father Juan Diaz. "There you have me -with you. I am but just come hither from shriving two poor wretches, -who have bid good-bye to this earthly purgatory to go to that which is -invisible, and methinks 'twill be not long before you join them there." - -"Nay, croaker," exclaimed a voice between contempt and indignation. -"There is many an Indian now living will have cause to wish that thine -ill prophecy were a true one, before our friend Pedro rids him of his -troublesome body. But come thou with me. I would rather try my hand at -putting some spirit into thee, than leave thee to rob our comrades of -the measure that is theirs." - -And so saying Cortes, who had come up at a somewhat opportune moment, -marched off the crestfallen, discontented priest to his own quarters to -receive a pretty sharp lecture, spite his reverend profession, before -he was released. - -All the same, the priest's mischievous growls had already borne -fruit, and the following morning, before the tents were struck, the -Captain-General had to receive a deputation from the malcontents, who -were too numerous to be treated with anger or disdain. - -"But you are so foolish!" exclaimed Hernando, indeed trembling at the -desperate state of the mighty cause he had in hand. "Ye speak as though -it were for my glory alone, to fill my pockets with gold only, that ye -have all thus fought and struggled and endured until now! Is it not -likewise for yourselves? If our achievements shall be so stupendous and -so glorious that they hand my name down to after-ages, will not your -names also gain the like renown?" - -Cortes put the exclamation as a declared certainty, but his hearers -rather accepted it as a question, and a shrunken-limbed, white-lipped -soldier from amidst the group rejoined harshly-- - -"Nay, not so, Captain. Those who live through the battle win their -spurs, like enough; but those who die, e'en though it be on the eve of -victory, so it be before the battle is decided, think you their names -get handed down? Faith, no, then. Fame is like other riches, limited in -quantity, and so it is reserved, like many another thing, for those who -walk over their comrades' dead bodies to success." - -As the man ended his speech he staggered from weakness, and would have -fallen forward to the ground on his face but that Montoro, who had been -standing beside the General to guard him in case of mutiny, saw the -poor fellow sinking, and sprang forward in time to catch him in his -arms. - -Cortes had been hitherto standing fronting his discontented followers -with an air of proud resolve, every inch the commander, and the -indomitable discoverer and conqueror, but now his countenance suddenly -changed, softened, and his lips trembled. He was the man with a genial -temper and a warm heart once more--the very comrade indeed of the -meanest soldier in his company, who bore all that they had to bear, -eat the same food, and shared all the same privations and fatigues; -or rather, differed in this, that he took the lion's share of every -discomfort whenever it was possible. - -As the exhausted man fell swooning into Montoro's ready arms, Cortes -stepped forward hastily, and carefully aided in carrying him to his -own tent, and there placed him in the clever care of Doña Marina, the -interpreter. - -"Poor fellow!" he ejaculated on his return to the waiting deputation. -"Poor fellow! no wonder that he speaks down-heartedly, for I find that -he has been badly wounded, and has fever." - -"So have we all been wounded," said another of the group, but more -calmly. "And for the fever, well, I may almost say, and so have we all -got fever. And do you wonder, General, that it is so?" - -A rather weary smile passed over the General's countenance as he -replied, - -"No, truly, I wonder not at all. I also have been wounded, as you know, -in our late engagements with these brave Tlascalans, and I also have -fever. But seeing that we all confess to having suffered so much to -reach the threshold, shall we not adventure the one more step to enter -the door?" - -"If it were a step!" ejaculated the new spokesman. "But as it is, we -live a worse life than our very animals. When the saddles are off them -they can forget their troubles for a while, but for us! Ah! then, we -have no dog's life indeed, but one much worse. Fighting and watching -night and day, we have no rest till death steps up to put an end to -all." - -The speaker's words were hard, but they were uttered so temperately and -firmly that Cortes replied to them in the like spirit-- - -"You are right, my brothers--no animal, no unreasoning beast of burden -could endure the life we have borne for these past months of desperate -adventure; neither could any animal be so buoyed up with lofty hopes, -neither could it have so glorious a rejoicing if success should be -the crown at last. Our God has helped us to bear and to overcome, as -the gods of the ancients never helped even the very greatest of their -heroes. None but Spaniards, my brothers, aided by the Spaniard's God -and St. Jago, could have struggled onwards, always conquerors as we -have been, a handful in the midst of myriads of foes. And remember--" -And as Cortes uttered that word he paused, and looked round upon his -followers ere he repeated impressively, "Remember, comrades, whatever -adversities we have suffered, whatever trials, we have still ever -advanced, we have made no step backwards from our undertaking. But you -are all free men. We will all stand here and watch the man who first -makes that step in retreat and he shall have no hindrance. I myself -will be the first to bid him the 'good speed' of farewell." - -"Poor fellows!" murmured Father Olmedo with a half-smile to Montoro. -"Our General is indeed clever. Few would have found a way so well to -give a choice that is no choice. How can any of them now accept his -permission to be gone!" - -Montoro's countenance reflected the half-smile of his companion. But at -the same time he shrugged his shoulders with the reply, - -"Ah, well! as Hernando Cortes himself says, better death with honour -than life with disgrace." - -Unconsciously he uttered the last sentence aloud, and once more he did -the General good service. The poor, hard-worn grumblers heard it, and -it clenched the argument already so cleverly managed by Cortes. - -"Perhaps you have reason, my Señor," exclaimed one of the malcontents. -"If we get home alive with our boasted programme of conquest -unfulfilled we shall get nought but scorning, it is probable, till we -shall wish that verily we had died with our brethren out here. So for -my part, after all, I elect to stay." - -"To advance, you mean," cried Cortes joyously, making a stride forward -to lay his hand, with a well-assumed air of gratitude and friendly -familiarity, on the shoulder of the recovered adherent. "There is -no 'staying' for us, my friends. We must continue to advance to our -appointed goal, or we must retreat. And I frankly tell you all this, -that it is my firm belief that our greatest safety, nay, still more, -our only safety, lies in progress." - -"How so?" boldly demanded a voice in the crowd. "For honour--well, that -may be. But for safety!" - -"Ay," replied Cortes. "And for safety too, I affirm. And were it not -that the experiment would be too costly I would soon prove my assertion -to be well-founded. Hitherto our course has been one of unbroken -advance, and victory over one petty state after another, and all have -become awed by our strange power. Let us make but one day's journey -backwards, as though disheartened or worn out, and the spell would -be broken; our enemies, forgetting their own petty squabbles for the -time, would unite for the destruction of the common enemy and invader, -and by the mere force of numbers we should be overwhelmed as with an -avalanche. But now we are once more united, my hands feel strong once -more, and I will most surely lead you on, my comrades, to a full and -final success." - -"Meantime," remarked Juan de Cabrera, in a tone of as much satisfaction -as marked Cortes' own voice, "meantime, my very good friends and -brothers, I see yonder a party of these worthy redskin cooks advancing -in the very nick of time with our dinner. And I confess that, for my -part, I would fain for the present put by the questions of backwards or -forwards, and stay a while to help clear their dishes for them." - -Apparently Don Juan's sentiments were remarkably similar at the moment -to those of the rest of his companions, and, after a good meal, Cortes -found his band once more ready with alacrity to follow whither he might -choose to lead. - -Their first destination was the beautiful and sacred city of -Cholula--the Rome, as it were, of Mexico. The Tlascalans eagerly -warned the Spaniards against approaching it or entering its streets. -The Cholulans, they declared, were fair speaking but crafty, making -amends to themselves for cowardly weakness by cunning, and the most -unscrupulous treachery. - -But Cortes was never a man to be easily turned aside from his purpose. -The Cholulans sent to invite him to enter their city, but entreated -that the hasty-tempered Tlascalan warriors might be kept without in the -camp, and Cortes accepted the invitation and granted the request. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - - _AN INDIAN GIRL-CHAMPION._ - - -The ancient and populous city of Cholula was reputed of great -antiquity by the Aztecs, even when they themselves conquered it from -the descendants of its ancient founders. It was the chief seat of -the religion of the empire and of its commerce, and was held in the -most profound veneration by the Aztecs generally, as the chosen abode -for twenty years of their wonderful, benevolent, and wise white god -Quetzalcoatl, whose descendants they took the unknown Spaniards to be -when they first landed on their coasts. - -Poor creatures! they were soon undeceived. These new gods taught them -plenty of lessons, truly--such lessons as human nature learns but too -readily. But they taught none of the lessons their wise ancestor and -so-called god had taught of the arts of peace, and civilization, and -wise-living. - -But whatever might be the merits or demerits of Cholula and the -Cholulans, the Tlascalan Caciques showed such anxiety that the -Spaniards should give them a wide berth, that at length Cortes somewhat -impatiently exclaimed,-- - -"Methought the Republicans of Tlascala were reputed a brave nation; but -I see now that there are some they fear, and they are the people of -Cholula." - -The eyes of the younger chieftains flashed indignantly at the -imputation, but the grand old centenarian Xicotencatl signed to -them to keep silence. He called to him a young Indian maiden, his -granddaughter, and in low, impressive tones spoke a few words to her. - -As the girl listened the crimson deepened in her cheeks, her chest -heaved, and the pair of brilliant dark eyes, she turned upon the -Spanish General, were flashing as proudly as any of those belonging to -the warriors of her country. - -Leaving the apartment for a few moments, she quickly returned with a -long leather thong, which she carried to Cortes, and then placing her -small, dark-hued wrists together, she made signs to him that he should -bind them with it thus. - -Hernando Cortes was ever gentle with women, and he looked at the -rough leather strap, and at the delicate wrists from which the -gaily-embroidered robe had been thrown back, and met the girl's signs -with smiling shakings of the head for denial. But it was no good. The -young Indian flung back the hair from her low, broad forehead angrily, -and stamped her foot. Then pressing her wrists against each other more -tightly than before, she again held them up to Cortes with an air of -resolution, mingled with something of wistful entreaty he could no -longer resist. - -"Best see, Captain," said Cabrera, inquisitively; "best let us see what -the wilful lassie will be at." - -"Ay, indeed," agreed Velasquez readily. "I would fain see what rebuke -for your taunt of cowardice, Captain, the ancient white-locks yonder -hath devised, and yon maiden is so eager to carry out." - -Even Montoro looked curious enough to see what small play was to be -performed for their edification. Neither he nor any of them thought it -could be anything very desperate, with that slight young girl chosen -for the heroine and only actor. - -Accordingly, thus urged, and with the small, gold-sandalled foot still -tapping restlessly before him on the floor, Hernando Cortes at last set -himself to the singular task accorded him, and was not let off, by his -small monitress, before he had really bound her wrists together too -tightly for her to move them as much as a leaf's thickness apart. - -Then she walked with erect head and firm steps back to the old Cacique, -where he sat, even that hot day, beside a brazier of burning coals. Old -age had chilled the physical nature, although the brave spirit still -glowed with the generous warmth of youth. - -As his granddaughter stood before him he stooped for a moment over -the copper pan of fire. The Spaniards stood at the other end of the -apartment still and silent, waiting for what was to come. With all -their guessing they had not guessed rightly the nature of the lesson -to be taught them. - -At the expiration of a few instants the Indian maiden returned back -towards them, walking with calm, slow dignity as before--her head -erect, her full, crimson lips lying lightly and softly together, and -her two bound arms stretched out steadily before her. - -At first the Spaniards looked only at her face, and were greatly -puzzled. What had been done to her, or what had she done in that short -interval to prove the courage of her nation? They could not tell the -riddle. - -Suddenly the eyes of Montoro fell to her arms, and he uttered a low, -pained cry. But he did no more. He seemed as though he could not move; -for once his readiness forsook him. His friends looked at him, saw the -direction of his eyes, and in their turn they also glanced down at the -girl's arms, and in their turn they also uttered startled cries as they -did so. - -There upon the soft, tender young arms lay a glowing coal, eating its -fiery way into the bare flesh. And there came the young and delicate -owner of those agonized arms pacing along slowly, with a calm and -noble bearing and a proudly-smiling face, the champion of her nation's -dauntlessness. - -Pedro de Alvarado sprang forward, an unwonted dimness in his eyes, -and snatching away the burning fragment with his fingers, he flung it -out into the courtyard, and then with hasty gentleness unbound the -tortured, swelling wrists, whilst the girl looked up in his face with -a pleased, half-smiling wonder at his pity. - -The old Cacique turned to Cortes. - -"Will the white-face chieftain or his brothers any longer doubt the -courage of the warriors of Tlascala? They have seen the courage of our -maidens." - -"Ay, indeed!" ejaculated Cabrera. "And if the courage of the maidens -of ancient times were anything of a match to it I, for my part, feel -little wonder that in those days there was a race of Amazons. Little -use would there be in trying to keep a wife, after that pattern, in -order with a threat of fisticuffs." - -Montoro turned a laughing face round from the young Indian girl, whose -wounds he was examining. - -"Is that the way you try to rule your Cempoallan bride, my Juan? I had -scarcely thought it from her looks." - -"Ah," was the calm reply, "thou seest, friend Montoro, thou knowest -nought of women and their natures. Sour looks and savage ways always -put the merry light in their eyes, and the laughter on their lips. I -have taught thee a useful lesson, see that it proves profitable." - -"When the opportunity shall come," came the answer, but more in earnest -now than in jest, "I will surely try to profit by thy teaching, but the -teaching of thy ways and not thy words." - -And then, summoning one of the young maiden's attendants to accompany -them, Montoro went with his docile and grateful patient away to a -quieter apartment. - -The girl-heroine had been quite willing to bear the agonizing pain -with uncomplaining fortitude, but she was by no means loth to have the -scorched and blistered sores dressed with a skill and tenderness to -which she had been hitherto a stranger. Doña Marina stood by the while, -gaining a useful lesson, and acting as interpreter. - -As the dressing drew to a close the girl said with a sudden tone of -animation,-- - -"The good white-face seems to think I have done something deserving -praise; will he let me take him to see what my brothers, and their -companions, bear ere they can enter the noble rank of knighthood?" - -Her eyes looked so bright and eager that Montoro would have scarcely -cared to refuse the request, even had it been an unwelcome one; but -as it happened to agree most thoroughly with his own desires to see, -and learn, everything that was possible of these wonderful new-found -countries before he quitted them, his assent was almost as eager as the -offer; and a few minutes hence Montoro, accompanied by his faithful -interpreter, and the Cacique's granddaughter, accompanied, as befitted -her rank, by half-a-dozen attendants and Doña Marina, set forth on an -expedition to one of the neighbouring temples. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXV. - - _THE TLASCALAN KNIGHT'S PROBATION._ - - -Fast as her nimble little gay-sandalled feet could move, the aged -Cacique's grandchild danced along the well-thronged streets of the fine -city of Tlascala, the capital of the Republic. - -Friends passed her, and with smiles and nods tossed to her great -bunches of roses and sweet honeysuckle. From many a broad, -flat-terraced roof sweet-toned, merry laughter floated down, as a -well-aimed garland fell over Montoro de Diego's handsome head and -rested round his neck, or a brilliant chaplet of bright blossoms -stopped its flight on the footway before his feet. - -Thither marched along a band of warriors in glittering array, and -singing as they marched to the wild music of the instruments. And here -Xicotencatl's granddaughter paused a few moments, with the impatient -small feet curbed to stillness, and the bright eyes bent to the ground -with meek deference. A company of the white-robed, long-haired priests -was passing, swinging burning censers as they went, and the clouds -of aromatic incense floated like a purple veil through the dazzling, -sunlit air of that October day. - -The priests passed on, and once more the Indian maiden led her -companions on again, showing her rows of little white teeth in -gratified smiles as her Spanish companion lingered now and again to -admire the beautiful pottery, elegant in design and fine in make as -that of Florence, or to gaze in surprise at the fine public baths, or -the busy barbers' shops and sweetmeat stalls. - -At the entrance of one especially narrow street she came to a second -standstill. Montoro very quickly read the cause. About half-way down -the street there was a disturbance of some sort going on,--a fight over -a bad market bargain,--and the partisans on both sides effectually -blocked up the way from every one else. - -"Let us take another route," said Montoro. - -But his guide shook her head. - -"No need," she said confidently. - -And even as she spoke two or three of the efficient, well-disciplined -Tlascalan police put in an appearance on the scene, and the tumult was -quelled almost instantaneously. A half-unconscious wish passed through -the Spaniard's mind that the Spanish guardians of the peace were -anything like as effective. - -But they were nearing the temple now for which they were bound, and -all other thoughts were lost sight of for the present in wondering -speculations as to what new sights he had been brought to witness. It -was thanks to the rank and good-will of his guide, and to the fame of -her late deed, which had already spread through the city, that he thus -easily gained admission to them. - -The temple-in-chief of Tlascala did not, indeed, cover forty acres of -ground, with an acre of platform for its colossal summit, like its -bewildering giant of a sister at Cholula, but it was of sufficient size -and proportions to embrace various ecclesiastical institutions within -its limits, under the jurisdiction of the priests--seminaries for the -education of children, girls and boys, colleges for the priests, and -training-schools for the young knights before their entry into the -world and its many strifes. - -It was with some parade and solemn ceremony that Montoro de Diego -was admitted into its precincts, and only upon the half-pleading, -half-authoritative demand of the great chieftain's child. But at length -he and his companions stood within one of the great halls, and the -chatterbox tongues of the young girl, of Doña Marina, and of the Indian -women were hushed to reverential silence. - -There upon the pavement, a few yards before them, lay a motionless -human figure, emaciated to the last degree, and with a deathly -pallidness visible even through the red-lined skin. Beside it lay the -gaudy feather mantle, the grotesque helmet, and the copper-tipped -javelin. - -The figure was that of a very young man, and, so it seemed to Montoro, -of one fast dying, if not already dead. He turned with a glance of awed -interrogation to his conductor, and was bewildered past all saying, and -astounded, when he met her face glowing with enthusiasm and lighted by -a pair of eyes brilliant with proud joy. - -"See, good chieftain," she murmured, with lips trembling with lofty -emotion, "see now that it is not I only of the Tlascalans who know how -to endure for honour's sake and our country. Yonder is my brother, the -youngest. This is now the fifty-third day that he watches, prays, and -fasts in the temple beside his armour, that he may hereafter with due -rank and fortitude fight in the Republic's wars." - -"Surely," ejaculated Montoro, "surely this youth will never live to -fight! Methinks he hath but hours of life left even for peace." - -As Doña Marina interpreted this speech the words caught the young -knight's ears, and the figure which the Spaniard had taken for that of -one in the death swoon had sprung to its feet, and by rapid words, and -gestures of indignant scorn, gave swift proof that the emaciated frame -was still instinct with keen vitality. - -The brother and sister exchanged a few low-spoken sentences, the -probationer returned to his hard and comfortless couch beside the -armour that he so longed to don, and the young guide led her party away -to another part of the temple, where fresh scenes for wonder awaited -her amateur surgeon. - -These said fresh scenes very nearly led to an outbreak of hostilities, -for even Montoro de Diego, for all his self-discipline, had the fiery -Spanish blood in his veins, and would imagine himself specially -commissioned to set other folks to rights; at any rate to try to do so, -whether the effort were wild or sensible. - -It is true, however, that the sights to which he was now introduced -without any previous preparation were terrible enough to have aroused -the uninformed indignation of any feeling heart. - -In one of the inner courts the Indian maiden made another pause, and -pointed with one of her swathed-up arms to the farther end, where a -group of men were collected around a companion, whom they were flogging -with a savage force that cut open the flesh at every stroke of the lash. - -Montoro winced with sympathy as the great whip fell. - -"Ah!" he exclaimed, "use the authority of your father's name to stay -that cruel punishment." - -The young girl's lip curled proudly. - -"It is a self-chosen punishment." - -"Self-chosen!" - -"Ay, self-chosen. How should the warrior dare the peril of being made -a sacrifice by enemies, if he had not fortitude sufficient to bear -the rods of his friends? But come, there is more to see, that the -white-face may learn that the warriors of Tlascala know how to suffer, -and can thereafter have small chance to fear aught that the most cruel -foes can do to them." - -So saying, the girl once more led the way on to an inner hall opposite -to that by which they had first entered. She had, however, scarcely -entered it when she turned back again hastily, saying-- - -"No, not this yet; this is for the last. Come!" - -But for once the slightly imperative "Come!" was not obeyed by the -white-face as it had been before. His keen eyes had alighted on that -which had thrilled him with horror. - -"Verily," he exclaimed, "it seems that if ye have many of the blessings -of civilization ye have also its curses, even to an Inquisition with -all its iniquities." - -"What do you mean? what would you do?" exclaimed the girl, -half-angered, half-terrified as she saw her companion's perturbed -countenance, and could scarcely, with the help of Doña Marina and her -attendants, keep him from dashing forward into the dim hall, where a -young man lay stretched upon a bier of damp reeds, beneath which burned -a great fire of smoking herbs, which were stirred from time to time -into greater heat. - -Truly the punishment, if it were a punishment, was a fearful one; but -the Indian girl laid a firm, determined clasp upon Montoro de Diego's -arm as she pointed to the young man on his fiery bed. - -"He too is my brother," she said, with stern pride--"my eldest brother. -That is his final trial. When he wins through that he will be enrolled -in the noble order of our knights. Now you know why the Indian warrior -fights well." - -"You are a noble race, and worthy of a noble fate," murmured the -Spaniard; and many a sigh escaped him as they wended homewards. - - * * * * * - -And now we must pass on quickly to the occupation of Mexico itself, -and there, in that island city of flowers and palaces and temples -and turrets, take our final leave of Hernando Cortes, its great, -world-famous conqueror. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - - _ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY._ - - -Scarcely any one in this nineteenth century, who pretends to the name -of traveller, neglects to visit the world-famous and beautiful water -city of Italy, the white-robed bride of the Adriatic. - -When the Spanish discoverers set out for the lands of another -hemisphere they little dreamt that they were to find out there another -Venice, even more strange, more wonderful in its sweet, flowery, -marvellous beauty, than the Venice on their own side of the Atlantic. - -As the rough, way-hardened soldiers of Cortes came in sight of the -great Lake of Tezcuco, with its fringe of white, well-ordered, -flower-embowered villages, its dark groves of oak, cedar, and -sycamores, and its richly-cultivated fields, they involuntarily came -to a sudden halt, with first a dead silence, and then the air was rent -with a simultaneous burst of ecstatic admiration. - -"But behold!" exclaimed Juan de Cabrera with sudden bewilderment; -"behold, Toro, the very islands on the bosom of yon fair lake are -islands of enchantment!" - -"How so?" queried Velasquez, pushing in his eager face between the two. -"What new marvel hast discovered, Juan, where all is past belief?" - -"Past belief, you may well say," returned the other. "I believe not -that Hernando Cortes himself, even in his dreams, hath had thought of -what he was to find out here. As I said before, I have cut the old -world for aye; my home is henceforth here in fairy-land." - -"Well, well," retorted Velasquez, "that is stale news now. Thou'st said -that same every time, the past weeks, that thou hast caught sight of -bright blossoms, bright eyes, or a palm tree. What hast seen now of -novelty?" - -"Why, his new home on a moving island," said Montoro, laughing. "Have I -not guessed right, Cabrera?" - -"That hast thou," was the satisfied answer. "Trust thine eyes, my Toro, -to see farther through a deal board than the very wood-worm itself. -Thine eyes and thy voice make some amends to thy friends for thy long -face and scruples." - -"I hope he thanks thee for thy compliment," ejaculated Velasquez, -with his more short-sighted eyes roving here, there, and everywhere -meantime. "But I do wish thou couldst answer a comrade's civil -question, instead of indulging in questionable flatteries. What meanest -thou by moving islands?" - -"Just what I say," replied Juan de Cabrera, as the group of men moved -slowly on down the mountain road towards the vast plain of Mexico, his -eyes for the time diverted from the proud island city of Tenochtitlan -to the chinampas, or wandering islands, being propelled by their -owners from one part of the lake to another, as trade or inclination -prompted. - -These chinampas might be regarded as the market-gardens of the capital. -Originally they were nothing but masses of earth loosened from the -shore by the action of the water, and held together by the fibrous -roots of the various plants flourishing upon them. Gathering these into -rafts, tightly knit together, of reeds and rushes, the Aztecs had made -for themselves artificial islands two or three hundred feet in length, -on which were grown the fruits and vegetables for Tenochtitlan. - -Bright with luxuriant vegetation, graceful with little fruit-trees, and -homelike with the pretty little wooden hut of the owner, these moving -islands were a feature in the glorious landscape, quite sufficiently -noteworthy to excuse Cabrera for letting his attention be diverted by -them for a few minutes from more important objects. Even the warlike -Velasquez was momentarily charmed into an amused pleasure with the -novel sight. - -"I tell thee what it is, Juan," he said, laughing. "Our General will -thus have small trouble in rewarding his faithful followers with lands -and homes. He has but to turn off a score or two of those redskin -beggars yonder and put us on, and there we are." - -"Yea, verily," exclaimed Montoro in a tone of indignant scorn. "There -ye would be. Fresh examples of the base, thievish instincts of the -Spanish nation." - -Velasquez started forward with flashing eyes, and his sword -half-drawn. But Cabrera dragged him back, muttering hurriedly-- - -"Nonsense, Leon. Thou mightest as well wish to fight that enthusiast, -Bishop Las Casas, for taking the Indians' part, as this monk-soldier -here. Let him be. He returns to Spain, he tells me, with the next -despatches. See yonder. What is Hernando Cortes regarding thus -intently?" - -"Thy magic islands, perchance," was the reply. - -But Cortes had no eyes just then for the mere prettinesses of the -majestically-beautiful scene lying stretched out beneath his feet, nor -even for the great volcano Popocatapetl towering above it all. His eyes -were fixed upon the approaches to that great capital of the powerful -empire of Mexico, within which he meant to rest that coming night. As -he gazed upon the city, and its approaches, his face told nothing of -the nature of his intent thought, but in his heart there was the full -confession that his determination was one bold almost to madness. - -On the east of Tenochtitlan there was no access but by water. On the -other three sides the entrances were by causeways. That of Iztapalapan, -built out from the mainland to the city, on the south. That of -Tepejacac on the north, which, running through the heart of the city -as its principal street, met the southern causeway. And lastly, the -dike of Tlacopan, connecting the island city with the continent on the -west.[10] - -[Footnote 10: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,'--Prescott.] - -This last causeway, which a short time hence Cortes and his companions -were to have the bitterest reasons for remembering, was about two miles -in length. All the three were built in the same substantial manner, of -lime and stone, were defended by drawbridges, and were wide enough for -ten or twelve horsemen to ride abreast. - -"But still," as Cortes told himself in the secresy of his own heart, -and as some of the more thoughtful of his men also told themselves as -they now looked down upon it for the first time, "wide as that causeway -was, some thousands of determined enemies upon it in their rear, the -thousands of the great city's inhabitants driving them in front, that -long causeway might well become the death-blow of them and their -exalted hopes." - -There was a few minutes' pause. Some would not unwillingly have heard -the word of command for a retreat, while there was yet time. But that -word did not come. As Cabrera had once said so Cortes always thought: -"We must all die, and we can die but once." - -The word of command was given to advance, and in no long time after, -the army had reached the city of Iztapalapan, where it was finally -determined to call a halt for the night, and make a first appearance -before the Emperor at a more seasonable hour on the following day. - -With the first streak of dawn of the 8th November, 1519, the Spanish -general and his troops were astir. A lovely morning, the brilliant -beams of the sun gradually fading into dimness the innumerable sacred -fires of the assemblages of temples. - -The whole city was visible to them. The wide-spreading palace of the -Emperor, like a second palace of the Cæsars, comprising many homes, -gardens of every description for plants and animals, and aviaries of -the most gorgeous description, within the one circle. Then the great -redstone mansions of the nobles, their roofs blooming like so many -exquisite parterres of flowers. The neat dwellings of the poorer -classes, of stone and unbaked bricks, here and there rudely adorned -with crossbar wooden rafters. Everywhere gardens, streets perfectly -kept and perfectly clean, and terraces. - -The whole place was waking up now to a new day. All was gay with -business and bustle. Canoes glancing swiftly up and down the canals, -the streets crowded with people in their bright and picturesque -costumes, fountains playing in courts adorned with porphyry and jasper. -Stone footways, revenue offices, and numerous bridges, over which -people were hurrying in all directions; whilst the enormous market was -already becoming thronged with an animated company of many thousands -of buyers and sellers, and commodities of all kinds, from slaves -for work or sacrifice, down to pastry, sweets, and flowers. Cotton -dresses and cloaks, curtains and coverlids, toys and jewellery of the -most delicate and exquisite workmanship. Pottery stalls, graceful -wood-carvings, helmets, quilted doublets, copperheaded lances and -arrows, feather-mail, and the broad maquahuitl or Mexican sword, with -its sharp blades of itztli. Itztli razors and mirrors, and barbers to -use the razors and lend or sell the mirrors, hides raw and dressed, -and live animals. Fish, game, poultry, and building materials. Flowers -everywhere, and also, almost everywhere, in and out amongst the motley -throngs, the royal officers of justice to keep the peace, collect the -duties, and to see to weights and measures, and good faith and order -generally. - -This Empire of Mexico, and above all its heart, this fair city of -Tenochtitlan, was decidedly no abode of savage ignorance, but rather -the region of a civilization but very little lower in the scale than -that of its conquerors. The deep astonishment and wonder they felt at -the discovery is but reproduced in us, as we read of all these marvels. -And the wonder in our minds must but be a hundred-fold increased as we -remember that this great and far-advanced nation, was utterly conquered -and overthrown by a handful of rough, half-taught adventurers! - -Meantime, to return to these same adventurers, with no apology either -for having given you Prescott's descriptions of this most astonishing -Mexico almost word for word, as he, in his turn, has copied it from -the letters of one of the very adventurers themselves who accompanied -Cortes, that 8th of November morning over the south causeway into -ancient Mexico. - -On the causeway, at the distance of about half a league from the -capital, the small army of conquest encountered a solid wall of stone -twelve feet high stretching right across the dike, and strengthened by -towers at the extremities. In the centre was a battlemented gate which -was opened to admit the white-faced warriors. - -"I confess," muttered Alvarado to Velasquez, who rode beside him, as -those gates clanged to behind them, "I confess that I should not think -him quite a craven among my brethren who should indeed, at this moment, -show a real white-face for once." - -Velasquez shrugged his shoulders. - -"Well, it is true we have walked into the jaws of death. It but remains -to see whether our Captain-General be a wedge strong enough to split -them." - -"Or, as our Diego yonder would say," returned the other, "to hold them -open until we walk out again." - -"Bah! for the walking out again," was the impatient reply. "Unless, -forsooth, it be to leave but bare walls behind us. As the Lord's people -of old had command to spoil the Egyptians, so I believe are we now -ordained to spoil the heathen savages who imbrue their land with human -sacrifices." - -"Well," murmured Pedro de Alvarado thoughtfully, "I know not. But it -is true, these hateful sacrifices have made even Diego himself grow -somewhat cooler, methinks, in his desire to keep our fingers away from -this Mexican pie." - -At this point in the short conversation the Spanish expedition was met -by a splendid cortege of several hundred Aztec chiefs, sent forward by -their monarch, who had at length so far overcome his unwillingness to -receive the dreaded strangers as to send these messengers with words -of welcome to them, and to announce his own approach. - -Having spent a somewhat tedious hour in ceremonious greetings, the -route was continued over a drawbridge, accompanied by their brilliantly -attired escort, each member of which evidently had studied the art -of setting himself off to the best advantage, as well as any dainty -Spanish cavalier at the Court of Madrid. At length there came in sight -the glittering retinue of the Emperor, wending its stately course along -the great, wide, central street towards the foreigners. - -Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers of state -bearing golden wands, was borne the royal palanquin, blazing with -burnished gold, and canopied with brilliant feather work, powdered with -jewels and fringed with silver. - -Having advanced to within a few yards of the Spanish General, the -palanquin was lowered, the intervening ground was spread with cotton -carpetings; nobles, bare-footed, and with faces bent to the earth, -lined the way, and the great monarch Montezuma, clothed with the girdle -and ample national cloak of the finest embroidered cotton, stepped -forth. - -"Behold them!" softly ejaculated Cabrera, as the Emperor stepped to the -ground, and the Spaniard's eyes were dazzled by the passing flash of -the sandals' golden soles, and the glisten of emeralds and pearls with -which their fastenings were beautified. - -Montezuma, this monarch who had taught both friends and foes to tremble -at his frown, was at this time about forty years of age, tall and -slender. His hair, which was black and straight, and of a due length -to become his rank, was crowned with a plume of feathers of the royal -green, which waved above features marked by a considerable degree of -thoughtful intelligence. He moved with dignity, and his whole bearing, -tempered by an expression of benignity not to have been anticipated, -from the reports of him that had hitherto reached the Spaniards' ears, -proclaimed a great and worthy ruler among men.[11] - -[Footnote 11: 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' vol. ii.--Prescott.] - -Such courtly and dignified compliments were forthwith exchanged between -the Aztec Emperor and the Spanish commander as might be expected -between two such men, and then the Emperor was once more borne back -to his palace, amid the homage of his prostrate subjects; while the -Spaniards, with colours flying and music playing, were conducted by -Montezuma's brother to the quarters assigned to them in the capital. - -With royal hospitality the Emperor had devoted to the use of his -visitors a splendid palace, built some fifty years before by his own -father, and here he was waiting to receive them when they entered, and -he completed the ceremony of welcome by hanging a superb and massy -collar of golden ornaments around the neck of Hernando Cortes, or -'Malinche,' as with a touch of brotherly affection he now renamed him. - -"This palace," he said, with the superb generosity he had already -several times shown in the magnificence of the gifts to his 'Brother of -Spain'--"This palace, Malinche, henceforth belongs to you and to your -brethren. Rest after your fatigues, and in a little while I will visit -you again." - -So saying, with the most true tact and politeness, Montezuma withdrew, -only to evince afresh his thought and kindness by forthwith sending his -stranger guests a bountiful collation, and a tribe of obsequious and -skilful Mexican slaves to serve it. - -Having left his visitors ample leisure, both for feastings and for a -few hours' quiet sleep, the Emperor's glittering palanquin once more -made its appearance, amidst the fountains and flowers of the courtyard -of their pleasant new quarters. - -He did not depart this time until he had left behind him substantial -proofs of his good-will. Suits of garments for every man of the small -army, even including the hated Tlascalan allies, profusion of gold -chains and other ornaments, and so many gracious expressions of face -and voice, that he left even the most morose or prejudiced amongst the -Spaniards deeply impressed with the munificence and affability of one -whom they had been taught, by his enemies, to regard as a tyrannical -and bloodthirsty monster. - -The iron hearts of the rough adventurers were touched for once in their -lives; and when, on the next day, they, in turn, visited Montezuma in -his royal abode, they beguiled their return march with discourse on -his gentle breeding and courtesy, and their new-born respect for this -potentate of a new-found world. - -Meantime Cortes was not quite so thoroughly satisfied with this new -aspect of affairs as might, perhaps, be expected, or as were Montoro -de Diego, Father Olmedo, and others of the gentler spirits of the -expedition. - -Cortes was bent on conquest, not compliments, and the strong position -of the Indians and their immense numbers, combined with the growing -good-will towards them, and respect of many of his own followers, -inspired him with a sudden hurry, and most unusual feverish eagerness -to bring matters to an issue. - -As a first step to demonstrate his power he treated the inhabitants of -the capital to a discharge of the artillery, which the poor terrified -people regarded as powers wielded by the white-faces' very gods -themselves. - -But this was not enough for Cortes. He decided by one great theft, made -at once, to gain a bloodless victory. He decided to steal from them -their king. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - - _ESCALANTE'S FATE DECIDES IT._ - - -"I cannot help it, Diego. It is the force of circumstances. Either we -must be the aggressors or the victims. And how, thinkest thou, I could -then answer it to myself, were I to see these men, who have with so -full a trust followed me, butchered before mine eyes?" - -Hernando Cortes was striding up and down the enormous apartment of the -palace appointed him for a residence by Montezuma. His whole bearing, -his face, his voice, betokened excessive agitation. He had only one -companion with him at that hour, Montoro de Diego, and Montoro also -looked very sorely troubled. - -"We have received nought at the hands of this heathen monarch," -he murmured, in tones of heartfelt grief; "nought but the noblest -generosity, the most chivalrous respect." - -"That is true," was the stern reply. "And we are going to return it -with--with--" - -"The basest treachery and black ingratitude." - -There was silence in the apartment, but for those tramping feet, and -the somewhat heavy breathing of the men. At last Cortes turned aside, -and came to where his friend sat with clasped hands and bowed head, -pondering over the inscrutable ways of Providence. He stood before him, -looking down upon him with an expression of impatient sorrow. - -"Toro, thou and I have been friends for many a stirring year now. We -have never yet had cause to doubt each other's truth. Whatever I do in -these coming days, believe, or strive to believe, that I act--I declare -it by the holy faith itself--according to what I feel to be the loudest -calls of duty." - -Montoro grasped the other's hand for a moment. He did believe the -assurance, although, to his more tender conscience and more enlightened -mind, it seemed extraordinary that a glaring wrong could assume the -garb of duty. - -As the friends thus stood together the gold-embroidered, -brilliantly-dyed cotton hangings before the entrance of the room were -hastily thrust aside, and a young Spanish knight entered, and advanced -impetuously towards the Captain-General. He paused in some confusion -when he had approached near enough to see the two grave faces. - -"Well, Velasquez," said his superior, with an accent of friendly -encouragement, "methinks thy countenance betokens a whole budget of -news. What is its nature? Good or evil? Fear not to speak out. I hold -myself ever prepared in spirit to accept either." - -Thus encouraged, the young soldier of fortune came a step or two -nearer, as he replied with suppressed eagerness-- - -"It is not news, to be so called, that I bring you, Captain. I come -rather as a messenger, I would say." - -"Ah!" ejaculated Cortes, with some surprise. "A messenger! And from -whom?" - -"Well," said Velasquez, more slowly, "I believe that I might almost say -with truth that I bear a message to you from the whole of our force -now gathered in this island city. We would know, Captain, with your -good pleasure, what is the next step that you propose to take for the -furtherance of the objects of this present expedition--the spread of -the most holy Catholic faith, and the glory of the Spanish kingdom." - -"Methinks," said Cortes, with some tone of coldness and -hauteur,--"methinks, friend, that we have already not only taken -many steps in pursuit of those two worthy objects, but that we have -likewise, in some large measure, gained them. What wouldst thou -more--thou and those for whom thou claimest to be the messenger?" - -The young Velasquez de Leon changed colour somewhat at this address. -The buoyant hope of success had made Hernando Cortes even more than -usually frank and friendly, the past few days, with his officers. But -none knew better than he how to suddenly surround himself with a chill, -impassable barrier when he chose. - -There was an uncomfortable pause. Cortes broke it. - -"Well, Leon," he said, with a short laugh, "say on, man. Methinks thou -art but a sorry ambassador. Wilt thou find a readier tongue when I -send thee to Montezuma to invite him hither?" - -The young knight sprang forward, his colour still further heightened, -truly, but with delight now instead of uneasiness. - -"Order me on that service, my Captain, this very hour, and if my tongue -prove not ready enough, my sword shall make amends." - -Cortes turned with a meaning look to Montoro ere he answered, more -cordially-- - -"I do not doubt you; that is to say, if I did not add my hand to thine -on its hilt. It is just that over-readiness of my followers to use -their swords that ofttimes ties me to inaction. If I took thee with me -to yon red-skinned monarch's palace, couldst thou possibly abide by the -policy of patience?" - -"Put him in my charge, Captain," came a laughing shout from the end of -the apartment, and the next moment Don Juan de Cabrera had joined the -trio. - -"Your charge indeed!" said Cortes, with a shrug of the shoulders. "A -monkey tied to a cockatoo!" - -"Ah," was the calm retort, "my hair is rather rough, for I broke my -comb awhile since on the dog Ciudad's back. But yet, worthy Captain, -thy natural history is somewhat astray, as I have remarked before, or I -am ignorant if cockatoos are ornamented with black crests." - -"I wonder whether thou wouldst still laugh if thou wast beaten black," -muttered Velasquez, irritably. - -"Perhaps," said the careless-hearted cavalier, "if thou wast standing -by, looking solemn enough to tempt me. Dost ever laugh thyself, my Don -Velasquez?" - -"Not when life and honour lie trembling in the balance," said the young -knight, indignantly. And, forgetful for the instant of the leader's -presence, he continued--"For you, Don Juan, you seem not to remember -that we are here pent up like a stack of wood, ready for the burning -when our enemies choose to desire light for their temple's sacrifices." - -Cortes bent his face forward swiftly towards the speaker. - -"Say then, Leon, do you counsel retreat over yonder bridges while yet -there is time? Is that what thou camest to--" - -But the commander could not finish his sentence. The Spaniard's -deference and decorum were neither of them sufficient to restrain him -at such an imputation. - -"Retreat!" he exclaimed. "I have never yet been of the number of those -who have counselled that. Ere I would join in retreat I would of myself -yield me into these heathen butchers' hands, to have my heart plucked -out as an offering to their gods." - -"But yet, if we stay," was the quiet answer,--"bethink you, Velasquez, -if we stay, that may still possibly be thy fate, and that of many of -us." - -"Not if we make a bold fight for it at once," said Cabrera, grown -almost as serious as if Leon's rebuke were weighing on his mind. -But, as a fact, he did feel grave enough at their present insecure -situation, and, brave as he was, he had a shuddering horror at the -thought of becoming one of those dreadful sacrifices. - -"Any spark may kindle the fury against us of these savages," muttered -Velasquez, "and already our easy sloth is nourishing their contempt." - -A return of the former haughty look was quickly visible on the face -of Cortes at these words; but ere he could reply to them a noise and -tumult without startled all four occupants of the room, and they -hastily issued forth to learn the cause. - -Montoro was the first to reach the threshold of the palace, and with a -low, terrible cry he fell back upon his comrades. - -"What is it?" gasped Cortes; and, pushing to the front, he received a -ghastly answer to his query. - -Spiked upon Indian lances, and held aloft by Indian hands, was an -immense human head, crowned with heavy dark locks matted and stiffened -with gore. A crowd of Indians, warriors and women, trooped along behind -it, rending the air with their yells of triumph. - -For the space of ten seconds it might be that the bronzed cheek of -Cortes blanched; then he made a dash forward, caught one of the yelling -youths, and dragging him back with him to the doorway, questioned him -rapidly. - -"Whose was that head yonder? Was it the head of an enemy of the -Mexicans? a Tlascalan, or whose?" - -The Indian boy cringed and trembled in that tightening grip. - -"It is not the head of one of the white men here with the great white -chief." - -"It is the head of poor Morla, whom we left behind at Vera Cruz as -one of Escalante's garrison," said Montoro sadly. "I should know it -anywhere, and under any circumstances." - -"Ay, truly," added Alvarado, in confirmation; "it is doubtless his. I -did but save the poor fellow from hanging to leave him to a fate still -worse. But what of the rest of the garrison? How comes he to have -suffered? What is the meaning of this dismal matter? Was he sent out by -Escalante as a messenger?" - -All these questions, asked as they were by the lips of Alvarado, were -indeed asked by the entire party in their thoughts. Montoro, resolved -to know the worst at once, hurriedly obtained permission from Cortes, -and, regardless of personal risk, he made his way, with his faithful -interpreter, to the strangers, who were still bearing on high their -ghastly trophy. - -It was with no good news that he returned soon after to his companions -in arms. Their saddest fears were realized. The noble-hearted, upright -young officer, the beloved of all ranks of his companions, had met an -early death with seven or eight of the garrison of Vera Cruz, in a -pitched battle with a Mexican general. - -"Is that the boasted discipline of this great empire," exclaimed Cortes -indignantly, "that we should be cherished visitors of its Emperor, and -meanwhile our comrades should be attacked and slain by his officers? -What say you now, Montoro? Do you still place implicit trust in these -base Indians?" - -There was a moment's pause ere Montoro answered gravely-- - -"Base, I cannot call them, in that they fight for their lands and -liberty; but I confess that I do feel now, strongly almost as yourself, -that either we must re--" - -"Retreat! never!" exclaimed Velasquez de Leon fiercely, interrupting -the speaker. "What is thy other alternative, Don Diego, for the first -is nought?" - -"Ay, the other?" asked Cortes, with some extra touch of anxiety, to -which Montoro's eyes replied with a grave, sad smile, as his lips -answered-- - -"The other alternative then, I would say, that is forced upon us for -the common safety, is, that some step be taken without delay to make -our present position more secure." - -Cortes grasped his friend's fingers tight as he muttered in a voice -hoarse with emotion-- - -"Toro, I thank thee for those words. Thou hast strengthened my hands. -Thy stern disapprobation of my intent lay too hardly on me. Now I can -go forward." - -"But meantime," muttered young Juan de Cabrera, with something of a -gulp,--"meantime, poor old Escalante hath gone forward to that land -whence none return." - -Montoro laid his hand for one moment on the younger man's arm, as he -murmured earnestly-- - -"Only free from care and toil a little sooner, Juan. We shall join him. -Methinks rest must be very grateful after labour." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - _THE DOWNFALL OF AN EMPIRE._ - - -The fate of the young commander of the garrison of Vera Cruz, and of -poor Morla, effected a speedy change in the sentiments of the whole of -the Spaniards towards their Mexican entertainers. - -"When the Tlascalans entered upon hostilities with us," said Juan de -Cabrera, with a grim laugh, "they fed us up as men feed fowls, to -make them fatter eating for themselves; but then, like sturdy, blunt -warriors as they are, they told us so, whereas--" - -"Ay," interrupted that hot-headed Velasquez, "whereas these -smooth-spoken scoundrels here fill our mouths with one hand, only that -our eyes may be covered while they give us a dose of itztli with the -other." - -"Well, well," said Hernan Cortes himself, rather gravely, "it may be -so; and verily I hope it is, for I confess I would fain believe that we -are but about to meet treachery with treachery, and not true-hearted -generosity with cruelty." - -The two officers glanced at one another significantly as they moved -away out of hearing, and Velasquez remarked irritably to his companion-- - -"Talk of true hearts, indeed! That Diego yonder is making the General -well-nigh as soft-hearted as himself. What is a soldier, i' faith, if -he sets up to have feelings for his foes?" - -"I will tell thee," said the calm, clear voice of Montoro unexpectedly. -"I will tell thee, friend Leon. He is then a true knight, such a knight -as our Cid would have called comrades with, and not a rascal. But the -General is calling for us. Father Olmedo waits to say mass, and to -bless us ere we start." - -"Finish your sentence, Toro," said Cabrera quietly, and with a smile, -as he passed on with him to the chapel they had fitted up for their own -services. - -Montoro looked round at his companion with some slight surprise. - -"What finish wouldst have to my sentence, Juan? I understand thee not." - -The other laughed as he answered in low tones-- - -"Mind me not, my dear friend Long-face; but thou knowest well that thy -tongue ached to say--'ere we start on our kidnapping expedition.' Ah!" -with another low, merry laugh, "said I not truly? Thy face betrays -thee." - -It was indeed true that Montoro de Diego regarded the present -intentions of his companions in anything but a favourable light, -although, unless they would retreat, he knew well enough that some -strong measure was needful under present circumstances. - -All he could do now he did. Whilst Fathers Olmedo and Juan Diaz were -engaged in the celebration of mass, he offered up the most fervent, -heartfelt prayers that the Father of all would have pity upon all His -children, that the Almighty Lord of the universe would so order all -things that they should further His kingdom upon earth, and His glory. - -The mass ended, Cortes at once set out for the palace of Montezuma, -accompanied by a trusty band of his officers--the inflexible, -sunny-haired Alvarado, the fiery Velasquez de Leon, the intrepid and -upright Sandoval, the wary Lugo, Davila, ready-handed, careless and -fearless Juan de Cabrera, and the calm, keen-eyed, dependable, noble -Montoro de Diego. - -Montoro did not, could not, approve of the new, stern step about -to be attempted for the conquest of Mexico. Nevertheless, when he -unobtrusively placed himself by the General's side, Cortes knew well -enough that, should the matter on hand come to bloodshed, Montoro de -Diego would die before his General suffered hurt. - -Arrived at the palace, the unsuspecting monarch gave his usual gracious -and ready assent to his guests' demand for an audience. His oracles of -old had foretold the coming of white-faces as gods, or the messengers -of the gods, and so he ever treated them with a singular reverential -courtesy, even when he had learnt to recognize them as scourges of -evil, rather than the bright angels of mercy, teaching and blessing, he -had been led to look for and to await with eager hopefulness. - -Stationed cautiously, at various intervals between their barracks and -the royal residence, were companies of the Spanish soldiers, armed -to the teeth, ready to support their General and their officers in -case of need. The guns were loaded, and pointed at the palace. Every -preparation and precaution was attended to that prudence or foresight -could dictate, and with that consciousness Cortes advanced to the -undertaking with his usual air of bold, calm confidence. - -The poor Emperor was in a specially bright, gay humour. He entered -into a cheerful conversation, through the interpreters, with the -young Spanish knights, and to prove his brotherly attachment to -'Malinche,' offered him one of his daughters for a wife. He pleased -his own generous love of giving, and his guests' love of receiving, by -lavishing costly and elegant little gifts upon them after his usual -fashion. - -Cabrera caught sight suddenly of Montoro de Diego's scornful, curling -lip, and eyes flashing with indignation, as Velasquez de Leon bent his -head to have a gold chain hung about his neck. - -"What is it now, good Long-face?" he muttered, in some slight surprise. -"Methought that thou wouldst be well satisfied with this interval of -amity." - -Montoro turned upon his friend with the fierceness of his ungovernable -boyhood. - -"I would that yon poor monarch's gifts could burn ye all!" he exclaimed -passionately. "The base love of gold hath turned Spaniards into a crew -of the meanest hounds that walk the earth. Even a cat would not accept -a gift from the mouse it meant to kill." - -But Montoro's generous wrath acted as the unintentional signal for the -consummation of the proposed act of treachery. His angry words and -looks startled the Emperor, and Cortes took advantage of his anxious -queries to reply to them in his own way. Suddenly dropping the mask of -smiles from his face, he exclaimed sternly-- - -"Can it surprise you, Montezuma, that my followers should show some -tokens of indignation, when their well-loved comrades have been slain -by your generals, during the very hours when you have made pretence to -grasp their hands as brothers?" - -The Emperor's face paled somewhat. - -"It has been no pretence, Malinche. I have learnt to love and trust -you." - -"Then prove your words," cried Cortes, with a rapid glance round at -his Spanish officers, who gathered instantly close up about him and -the Emperor,--that poor Emperor, who had already, one would think, -sufficiently proved his trust by dismissing all his own faithful guards -and attendants from the apartment where he entertained his treacherous -visitors. "Then prove your words," exclaimed Cortes a second time, -striding a step nearer to the trembling monarch. "Trust yourself to -our care for awhile. We have been your guests; now be our guest in our -quarters, until you have proved your innocence of this cruel slaughter -of our comrades. So only will we credit what you say." - -Montezuma rose from his pile of cushions, and grasping the embroidered -hangings of the wall behind him for support, he replied, with a brave -effort at self-command, and with returning dignity-- - -"Nay, ye white-faces, as messengers from the gods have I received you; -but you, as a culprit prisoner would hold me in your power." - -"Not would, but will, or as a corpse," exclaimed that hot-brained -Velasquez de Leon; and, drawing his sword with unforeseen speed, he had -it already touching the Emperor's breast, before Montoro could spring -forward and dash it down again. - -But the rash, discourteous act had pushed matters to an extremity -beyond recall. Even had Hernando Cortes felt any inclination to repent -of his harsh purpose, it would now truly have been impossible. After -suffering such a gross indignity Montezuma must have consulted his high -estate by destroying, or expelling, the handful of foreigners who had -dared to inflict it, were he able. Even he seemed conscious of this new -aspect of the affair. - -"Do you desire to have me in your power that you may kill me?" he asked -at length, with a tone of calm despair that touched even Cortes' heart. - -He answered eagerly-- - -"Nay, verily. You profess affection for me; I swear to it for you. But -I cannot let my followers be slain with impunity. I have their lives to -answer for to my sovereign." - -"That may well be," was the answer. "But now they are slain; and -although, on my kingly word I declare, without my will or knowledge, I -yet profess my deepest grief for the mischance. What would you more, -Malinche?" - -"That you should come with us now," was the ready answer. "Not as a -prisoner, as you put it, but as an honoured guest, surrounded by your -own attendants, and free of access to all your subjects as you are here -in your own palace." - -"And for how long to remain such a guest?" asked Montezuma. He was -beginning to waver, not indeed from inward conviction of the truth of -the plausible words, but from a growing knowledge that they covered -an iron, inflexible resolve; and that he would be allowed no power to -summon any of his subjects to his aid from this snare, but at the peril -of instant death from that circle of ready, flashing swords. "How long -would you that I should thus abide amongst you, Malinche?" - -"Until Guanhpopoea and his warriors shall have obeyed your summons -hither, to answer for their crimes." - -"Crimes," repeated the Emperor. "Their crime, it is but one, Malinche." - -"Not so," was the stern, cold answer, while Hernando's piercing eyes -fixed themselves with a full gaze upon the monarch's face. "Not so, -your Majesty. For one crime, there is the unprovoked slaughter of our -brethren. That is for us to avenge. For the other crime, there is the -presumptuous warfare waged by your general against those with whom -you are at peace, and without your will or knowledge. That is the act -of a rebel. That is for you to avenge, that insult to your supreme -authority. And it merits--death!" - -Before that look, and at that word, Montezuma blanched, as before a -fatal blow, and he grew pale as death himself. Even Montoro, in his -secret heart, asked himself whether a faithful general were not about -to suffer, not for presumption, but for too great fidelity to one who -knew the arts of treachery, and of wearing a double face, almost as -well as did his Spanish brethren themselves. - -One more feeble effort Montezuma made to maintain the dignity of his -sovereignty. - -"My people will never submit to such an indignity for me, as that I -should quit my own royal domain to take up my dwelling with a handful -of needy strangers, who have to be dependent on our bounty even for the -food they eat." - -But this last remonstrance was as vain as all the others had been. - -"Your word is law with your people," said Cortes. "Give your orders, -and you will be obeyed. I, on my part, swear to you, by St. Jago, that -nought now or ever, on the part of myself or my followers, shall lower -you in the eyes of your subjects." - -And so far, to the letter, Cortes did at least keep his word. From -the outward show of respect and deference towards the unhappy monarch -he never permitted his rough soldiers to depart, when that golden -litter, and the Aztec nobles, had for the second time borne the once -all-powerful Emperor of Mexico to those Spanish quarters, which were -henceforth to be his sad prison during the short remainder of his life. - -Montezuma had been in his gilded bondage but a few days when the -noble chieftain Guanhpopoea, his son, and fifteen lesser Aztec -chiefs, arrived in proud obedience to the summons, and in like proud, -speechless submission suffered the cruel punishment decreed them by -Cortes, of being burnt alive. They had but done their duty in trying to -rid their sovereign of encroaching strangers, who refused all requests -to leave a country to which they had not been invited. - -The chiefs were burnt alive in the courtyard of the Spaniards' palace; -Montezuma sat manacled in an apartment above, mute with a despair only -to be equalled by the shame and grief with which the heart of Montoro -de Diego felt bowed to the very dust. - -He had saved ere now many an Indian from his threatened fate. This time -he was powerless. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIX. - - _HOMEWARD BOUND._ - - -"And you must leave us then, Diego--leave us on the very eve of our -full and final triumph?" - -Hernando spoke with a mingled accent of regret and bitterness. In his -reply Montoro hinted at both notes. - -"I wish to leave. But believe, my captain and my long-time friend, I -shall part with you with grief, and although my conscience forbids -my further aiding a conquest and spoliation which I deem unjust, I -would not, and I dare not if I would, endeavour to be the ruler of the -consciences of others." - -Cortes looked at him in some surprise. - -"How so, Diego? What sayest thou? Surely thou wouldst make me, and -all of us, think as thou dost, were it but possible to thy persuasive -tongue." - -But the answer came readily enough. - -"Nay then, verily," said Montoro, with tones deeper and more earnest -than before; "that truly would I not. I am not omniscient. These -marvellous and wide-spread conquests and slaughters are allowed by the -universal Father, I know--" - -"Why, of course they are," came the hasty interruption. "They are -undertaken for the glory of the Faith." - -"And," muttered Juan de Cabrera, with just a momentary twitch of his -lips at the corners,--"and just a little, perchance, for the glory -likewise of ourselves and our silk-lined, empty pockets." - -But Montoro de Diego paid no more heed to the one interruption than to -the other, as he continued with scarcely a pause-- - -"They are allowed by the Almighty, I know, for against His will there -can be nought on earth. But perchance they are also with His will, -by His law, and for the spread of the knowledge of His Gospel. What -mortal shall dare to judge of this? I, at least, veil my face before -the mysterious workings of the Creator; and although I feel my own call -henceforth to be to quieter scenes, I judge not those who, with regard -to honour and humanity, shall prosecute these wars." - -"Then you do not leave me as you left Hispaniola long since, because -you believed it given up to the government of Satan and his captains?" -asked Cortes, with a touch of anxiety in his voice. "It is not quite so -bad as this then, is it, Toro?" - -A grave smile overspread Montoro's face. - -"I leave you, my friend, because, to my thinking, each nation should -be content with its own possessions, and such as it may win peaceably, -or in lawful trading; but I confess freely that, since discovery and -conquest are now the order of the day, I heartily congratulate these -countries that Providence has permitted it to you, rather than to any -others, to be the Commander of this, the most glorious expedition of -any hitherto undertaken by Spanish arms. Some things you have done -hardly, but in much you are merciful. And now, farewell." - -"Farewell," returned the other fervently. "Have you any wishes, my -Diego, to leave with me?" - -Diego retained his friend's hand a few moments. - -"Yes--one wish. If, as the days roll on, you have any time and thought -to spare to our old friendship, yield it this offering, Cortes--show -mercy for its sake whenever it is possible." - -"It is a promise," came the low-spoken answer, and the two friends -parted, never to meet again on earth. - -Hernando Cortes completed his splendid conquest of Mexico; Montoro de -Diego wended his way homewards to his mother and his native land, where -a surprise awaited him of a most unexpected nature. - -The philanthropy and unselfishness which had distinguished Montoro's -American career so greatly that in some circles his fame was scarcely -inferior to that even of the apostle of the Indies himself, had not, at -the same time, very much increased his wealth. This was to be expected; -but still, as the Spaniard neared Spain an involuntary sigh burst from -him. - -"What meaneth that sigh, Diego?" asked a companion. - -There came a second half-sigh before the answer. - -"I fear it meaneth that I am not as strong as I had I hoped." - -"Ah!" said Cabrera sympathetically; "that climate out yonder doth -touch--" - -"Climate!" echoed Montoro with momentary scorn. "Tush, man! I speak -not of climates and bodily strength. It is of the moral powers I was -meditating when you caught me in that sigh. I started from our native -land eighteen years ago, confident, with a boy's confidence, that a -couple of years or so--say half-a-dozen at most--were to send me back -to my country so berobed and begirt with gold and glory that I should -dazzle all beholders, and walk back to my ancestral halls over the -backs of crowds of humble suppliants." - -Cabrera laughed gaily. - -"Ay, Diego. How like that was to a boyish dream. But now?" - -"But now," said Montoro with a shrug of the shoulders, but betraying -more sadness than he wished--"but now, there is little need for thee or -any one to question. Now, as thou knowest, I return to my mother, able, -indeed, henceforth to keep her and myself in bread; but for the olives -and the oil and the wine, well, for my purse's length I will trust that -they reach not up to famine prices so long as the dear mother lives." - -"And where dost thou propose that that same living shall be?" asked -Cabrera, with a curious gleam in his eyes, over which the lids were -somewhat lowered for concealment. - -But such care was a little superfluous. Montoro was so taken up with -regrets which for once would have their way, that he paid small heed -to his companion's looks. He was thinking of his mother's face, and -wondering whether he should read any mute reproach for empty-handedness -in the sweet eyes that lighted it. But he had heard the question, and -he answered it-- - -"Have I never yet told thee, my Juan, of the humble home I have long -since provided for my mother in the little town of El Cuevo? I hope to -join her there within the next fortnight, and there I suppose I shall -end my days." - -"And there _I_ suppose that thou'lt do nothing of the sort," responded -the captain with a downright bluntness, that acted as a wholesome tonic -to his friend. "Why, Toro, I suppose not that yon wretched little -town of El Cuevo is big enough to hold above half-a-score of beggars -altogether. How, in the name of St. Jago, dost suppose that, with thy -wide sympathies, thou wilt be able to exist in such a narrow field?" - -This was a new way of putting the matter, and a very clever one for -that moment; and Montoro broke out into a hearty laugh, at sound of -which Juan de Cabrera took himself back to the duties of his ship with -a growling mutter to himself. - -"Well, at any rate, that is some crumb of consolation to a fellow, -perhaps, for having to keep a secret that seems sometimes to be burning -a regular hole in my brain." - -Happily, before that seeming grew into reality Cabrera's vessel -arrived safely at the port of Cadiz. Shortly after that he reached the -Court of King Charles in safety, and got comfortably rid of that burden -of mystery which he found so trying. Better still, he was authorized to -have the telling of it to the one it so greatly concerned--his comrade, -Montoro de Diego. He also was empowered to tell it after his own -desire,--bit by bit,--and found as much satisfaction in this telling, -or nearly so, as in telling over his own number of ounces of gold, -which proved a goodly sum in spite of his usual honesty, and general -carelessness as to golden or any other gains that had not fun for a -foundation. - - - - - CHAPTER XL. - - _REINSTATED._ - - -"Adios, my friend," said Montoro, a couple of weeks after landing on -Spanish soil. - -"_Adios_ for the night, for I am sleepy," returned Cabrera. "But as -yet, _adios_ for no longer." - -"But it must be," remonstrated Montoro. "My business here is -accomplished at last, and I am off to El Cuevo with the first dawn of -to-morrow." - -"Are you so?" retorted Don Juan. "I must surely say that thou art in -mighty haste to part company with thy friends, my hasty Señor." - -"And I must say," returned Montoro, with a pleased smile, "that thou -art as unreasonable as thou art gracious. What thinkest thou the mother -will say, whom I have not seen for six years, and then but for a flying -visit, if I linger on my road home now?" - -"And what thinkest thou," demanded Don Juan, with dry -deliberation--"what thinkest thou our somewhat imperious sovereign, the -noble King Charles of Spain and Emperor of Germany, will think, and -possibly also do, if you disobey the orders of his minister that you -remain here?" - -"When he pleases to give such orders about his insignificant subject -he will be obeyed," was the laughing answer. "Meantime, pending such -orders--" - -"Meantime, you have such orders," said again Don Juan calmly, but so -firmly that the words began to carry some conviction to his hearer's -brain, and he started to his feet. - -"Nay, Juan, play not with me thus. Tell me, is there real meaning in -thy speech?" - -"Judge for thyself," was the reply. And he drew letters from his pocket -and spread them before his companion's eyes. "Canst read, Diego?" - -The question was not wholly sarcastic. Many a brave knight in those -days could read the signs of a field of battle far more readily than -the pages of a book, or those written signs conveying thoughts from -mind to mind. But, as is well known, Diego could read, and his eyes -dilated with wonder as he read the few lines of the two letters now -laid before him. - -One of the letters ordered that the Don Montoro de Diego should remain -at Cadiz until further advice should have been taken about him. The -second of them contained the information that the Don Montoro de Diego -was to remain at Cadiz until the end of the coming week, and then to -proceed, without further delay, to Madrid in the company of Cabrera, -his suite, and the Aztec treasure. - -Montoro's bronzed cheeks grew pale as his eyes rested on the letters. -His first thought was one of dumb despair. Not for himself, for he was -toilworn and heartworn, and would have felt inclined to welcome any -death just then as the gateway to rest. But for his mother he feared -greatly that those orders signified an ominous memory of his origin. - -Juan de Cabrera read his friend's face readily enough, and before the -reading his own boyish love of tormenting faded, and the mysterious -import of the letters was explained. - -Montoro de Diego's report had gone before him. The good bishop Las -Casas had long since sounded a trumpet for him. Montejo months ago -had echoed the blast, and now Cortes, the conqueror of an Empire, and -Father Olmedo, the wise missionary of Mexico, had made one of the -bearers of their magnificent spoils to the King Charles also the bearer -of his own praises. - -A few weeks hence Montoro de Diego, with the trembling hand of the -sweet-eyed, silver-haired mother, Rachel de Diego, clasped tightly -within his own, once more entered the home of his ancestors, from which -he had been driven in his helpless first weeks of infancy. - -He had sought neither gold nor glory, but only to tread in the steps -of Him who has said--'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' 'By this -shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to -another.' - -He had sown the seeds of mercy, uprightness, honour, and compassion; -and even in those wild, wealth-clutching days he reaped men's honour -and a golden harvest. - - - THE END. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOLD AND GLORY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Gold and glory</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>or, Wild ways of other days, a tale of early American discovery</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Grace Stebbing</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 31, 2022 [eBook #68211]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOLD AND GLORY ***</div> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>GOLD AND GLORY</h1> - -<h3>OR,</h3> - -<h2>WILD WAYS OF OTHER DAYS</h2> - -<p>A TALE OF EARLY AMERICAN DISCOVERY</p> - -<h2>BY GRACE STEBBING</h2> - -<p><i>Author of "Silverdale Rectory," "Only a Tramp," etc.</i></p> - -<p><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</i></p> - -<p>New York<br /> -THOMAS WHITTAKER<br /> -2 AND 3, BIBLE HOUSE.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> - - -<p>Only an apology for having written this historical tale.</p> - -<p>My private opinion is, that all writers of historical tales should -return me thanks if I apologize for them with myself, all in a body, -the truer the tale the ampler being the spirit of the apology.</p> - -<p>While I have been writing this tale, sometimes in its most important -or serious portions, I have been startled by detecting my own mouth -widening with an absurd smile, or by hearing a ridiculous chuckle -issuing from my own lips, and have suddenly discovered that I was quite -unconsciously repeating to myself the famous old Scotch anecdote of the -old woman and the Scotch preacher—"That's good, and that's Robertson; -and that's good, and that's Chalmers; ... and that's bad, and that's -himsel'."</p> - -<p>Turning the old woman into the more learned among my possible readers, -and the Scotch preacher into myself, I read the anecdote—"That's good, -and that's Prescott; that's good, and that's Robertson; that's good, -and that's guide-book; that's good, and that's Arthur Helps; and that's -bad, and that's hersel'."</p> - -<p>I can only wind up my apology by pleading, that at least my badness has -not gone the length of distorting a single fact, nor of giving to this -wonderful page of history any touch of false colouring.</p> - -<p class="ph2">G. S.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="contents"> -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER I.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"> <i>A POISON-FLY FOR THE HEART OF ARAGON</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER II.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"> <i>CONSPIRATORS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER III.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"> <i>RIVALS AT DON PHILIP'S HOUSE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER IV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"> <i>THINKING OF EXILE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER V.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"> <i>DEATH FOR ARBUES DE EPILA</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER VI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"> <i>SANCHO'S BROKEN VICTUALS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER VII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"> <i>CONSULTING A SWEET TOOTH</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER VIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"> <i>A POWERFUL FRIEND</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER IX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"> <i>FROM THE NEW PRINTING PRESS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER X.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_X"> <i>A JACK IN OFFICE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"> <i>THE FIRST FIND</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"> <i>SURGEON TO THE REDSKINS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"> <i>FOR LIFE OR DEATH</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XIV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"> <i>MASTER PEDRO'S DOGS IN DANGER</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"> <i>NOISE TO THE RESCUE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XVI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"> <i>I AM 'DON ALONZO'</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XVII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"> <i>GOOD OLD DON</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XVIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"> <i>DEATH FOR DON</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XIX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"> <i>THE WAY TO TREAT THE REDSKINS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"> <i>THE MASSACRE AT CAONAO</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"> <i>THE PATRIOT CACIQUE HATUEY</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"> <i>ANOTHER STORM FOR THE PILOT ALAMINOS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"> <i>A SYMBOL WITH TWO MEANINGS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXIV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"> <i>KINDRED FEELING</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"> <i>MONTORO DE DIEGO TURNS HANGMAN</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXVI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"> <i>CORTES BURNS HIS SHIPS</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXVII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"> <i>MONTORO LEADS A CHANT</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXVIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"> <i>THE GODS MUST AVENGE THEMSELVES</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXIX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX"> <i>MONTORO AND CABRERA RESCUE A HUMAN SACRIFICE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"> <i>TOO USEFUL TO BE KILLED</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI"> <i>ONCE FOR ALL—THEY SHALL CEASE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII"> <i>ON THE ROAD TO MEXICO</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII"> <i>THE CAUSE ONCE MORE IN JEOPARDY</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXIV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV"> <i>AN INDIAN GIRL-CHAMPION</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV"> <i>THE TLASCALAN KNIGHT'S PROBATION</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXVI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI"> <i>ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXVII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII"> <i>ESCALANTE'S FATE DECIDES IT</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXVIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII"> <i>THE DOWNFALL OF AN EMPIRE</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XXXIX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX"> <i>HOMEWARD BOUND</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER XL.</td><td align="left"><a href="#CHAPTER_XL"> <i>REINSTATED</i></a></td></tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>GOLD AND GLORY,</h2> - -<h3>OR</h3> - -<h2>Wild Ways of other Days.</h2> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>A POISON-FLY FOR THE HEART OF ARAGON.</i></h3> - - -<p>In an apartment, gorgeous with a magnificence that owed something of -its style to Moorish influence, were gathered, one evening, a number of -stern-browed companions.</p> - -<p>A group of men, whose dark eyes and olive complexions proclaimed their -Spanish nationality, as their haughty mien and the splendour of their -attire bore evidence to their noble rank.</p> - -<p>The year was 1485: a sad year for Aragon was that of 1485, and above -all terrible for Saragossa. But as yet only the half, indeed not quite -the half, of the year had gone by, when those Spanish grandees were -gathered together, and when one of them muttered beneath his breath, -fiercely:</p> - -<p>"It is not the horror of it only, that sets one's brain on fire. It is -the shame!"</p> - -<p>And those around him echoed—"It is the shame."</p> - -<p>During the past year, 1484, his Most Catholic Majesty, King Ferdinand -of the lately-united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, had forced upon -his proud, independent-spirited Aragonese a new-modelled form of the -Inquisition. The Inquisition had, indeed, been one of the institutions -of the noble little kingdom for over two hundred years already, but in -the free air of Aragon it had been rather an admonisher to orderliness -and good manners than a deadly foe to liberty. Now, all this was -changed. The stern and bitter-spirited Torquemada took care of that. -The new Inquisition was fierce, relentless, suspicious, grasping, -avaricious, deadly. And in their hearts the haughty, freedom-loving -Aragonese loathed its imperious domination even more than they dreaded -its cruelty.</p> - -<p>"It was not the horror of it only," said Montoro de Diego truly, "that -made their eyes burn, and sent the tingling blood quivering into their -hands. It was the shame."</p> - -<p>And those others around him, even to Don James of Navarre, the King -Ferdinand's own nephew, echoed the words with clenched hands, and -between clenched teeth—</p> - -<p>"It is the shame!"</p> - -<p>But what cared Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, that mortal wounds -should be inflicted on the noblest instincts of human nature? or what -cared his tools in Aragon? Crushed, broken-spirited men would be all -the easier to handle—all the easier to plunder or destroy.</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego had been one of the deputation sent by the Cortes to -the fountain-head, as it was then believed, of all truth and mercy and -justice, to implore release from the new infliction; for whilst one -deputation had gone to the king himself, to implore him to abolish his -recent innovation, another, headed by Diego, had gone to the pope. But -the embassy was fruitless. The pope wanted money, and burning rich -Jews, and wealthy Aragonese suspected of heretical tendencies, put -their property into the papal coffers. The pope very decidedly refused -to give up this new and easy way of making himself and his friends -rich. The king's refusal was equally peremptory, and the deputations -returned with dark brows and heavy hearts to those anxiously awaiting -them.</p> - -<p>The burnings and confiscations had already begun.</p> - -<p>Soon after Diego and his companions entered the city of Saragossa they -encountered a great procession, evidently one of importance judging -from the sumptuousness of the ecclesiastics' dresses, their numbers, -and the crowds of attendants surrounding them, crucifix-bearers, -candle-bearers, incense-bearers, and others. There was no especial -Saint's Day or Festival named in the Calendar for that date, and for a -few moments the returning travellers were puzzled. But the procession -advanced, and the mystery was solved.</p> - -<p>In the centre of the gorgeous train moved a group so dismal, so -heart-rending to look upon, that it must have rained tears down the -cheeks of the Inquisitors themselves, had they not steeled their hearts -with the impenetrable armour of a cold, utter selfishness.</p> - -<p>Deadly pale, emaciated, unwashed, uncombed, with wrists and fingers -twisted and broken, and limping feet, came the members of this group -clad in coarse yellow garments embroidered with scarlet crosses, and a -hideous adornment of red flames and devils. Some few of the tortured -victims of base or bigoted cruelty were on their way to receive such a -pardon as consisted in the fine of their entire fortunes, or life-long -imprisonment; the others—they were to afford illuminations for the -day's ceremonies with their own burning bodies. For each member of -the wretched group there was the added burden of knowing that they -were leaving behind them names that were to be loaded with infamy, and -families reduced to the lowest depths of beggary.</p> - -<p>"And all," muttered a voice beside Diego's elbow, "for the crime, real -or suspected, or imputed, of having Jewish blood in their veins."</p> - -<p>"Say rather," fiercely muttered back the noble—"say rather, for the -crime of having gold and lands, which will so stick to the hands of the -Inquisitors, that the king's troops in Granada will keep the Lenten -fast the year through, before a sack of grain is bought for them out of -those new funds."</p> - -<p>"Ay," answered the unknown voice, "the Señor saith truth, unless there -shall be hearts stout enough, and hands daring enough, to rid our -Aragon of yon fiend Arbues de Epila."</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego turned with an involuntary start to look at the -speaker of such daring words. For even though they had been uttered in -low cautious tones they betokened an almost mad audacity, during those -late spring days when the very breath of the warm air seemed laden with -accusations, bringing death and ruin to the worthiest of the land, at -the mandate of that very Arbues.</p> - -<p>But Diego's eyes encountered nothing more important than the wondering -brown orbs of a little beggar child, who was taking the whole imposing -spectacle in with artistic delight, unmixed with any idea of horror, -and who was evidently astonished at the agitated aspect of his tall -companion, and irritated too, that the Señor should thus stand barring -the way, instead of passing on with the rest of the rabble-rout -trailing after the procession.</p> - -<p>Whoever had ventured to express his fury against the new Inquisitor of -Saragossa, it was evidently not this curly-headed little urchin, and -with a somewhat impatient gesture of disappointment the noble turned -away in search of his companions. But they also had disappeared. -Carried away by the excitement or curiosity of the moment, they also -had joined in the dread procession of the Auto da Fé.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>CONSPIRATORS.</i></h3> - - -<p>"It is the shame," that was the burden of the low and emphatic -consultation that was being held by the group of men, gathered -privately in the palace of one of the indignant nobles of Aragon. -Little more than twenty-four hours had passed since the disappointed -deputation to Rome had returned, in time to witness the full horrors of -the cruel tribunal they had so vainly tried to abolish, and the feeling -of humiliation was keen.</p> - -<p>And shame, indeed, there was for the brave, proud Aragonese, that the -despotic tyranny of the Inquisition should hold sway amidst their -boasted freedom and high culture.</p> - -<p>"We are not alone in our indignation," added Montoro de Diego after -a pause, and with a keen, swift glance around at the faces of his -companions to satisfy a lurking doubt whether the muffled voice at his -elbow, yesterday, had not indeed belonged to one of them.</p> - -<p>But every face present was turned to his suddenly, with such vivid, -evident curiosity at the changed and significant tone of his voice, -that the shadowy supposition quickly faded, and with a second cautious -but sharp glance, this time directed at doors and windows instead of -at the room's occupants, the young nobleman replied to the questioning -looks by a sign which gathered them all closer about him as he repeated:</p> - -<p>"No; we are not alone in our just resentment. The spirit of -disaffection is rife in Saragossa."</p> - -<p>"The Virgin be praised that it is so," muttered one of the grandees -moodily, while another asked hastily:</p> - -<p>"But how know you this? What secret intelligence have you received?"</p> - -<p>"And when?" put in a third questioner somewhat jealously.</p> - -<p>The new system was already beginning to grow its natural fruit of -general suspicion and distrust. But Diego speedily disarmed them as -regarded himself on this occasion. His voice had been low before, it -sank now to a scarcely audible whisper as he answered:</p> - -<p>"One, I know not who—even the voice was a disguised one I -believe—spoke to me yesterday in the crowded streets; one who must -have marked the anger and mortification of my countenance I judge, and -thence dared act the tempter."</p> - -<p>"But how?" "In what way?" came the eager, impatient queries.</p> - -<p>"In the intimation that the world were well rid of Arbues de Epila."</p> - -<p>As those few weighty words were rather breathed than spoken, those -self-controlled, impassible grandees of Spain started involuntarily, -and stifled exclamations escaped their lips.</p> - -<p>Arbues de Epila! The day was hot with brilliant sunshine. Even in -that carefully-shaded room the air was heavy with warmth, and yet—as -Montoro de Diego muttered the hinted threat against Arbues de Epila, -the crafty, cruel, unsparing Inquisitor—those brave, dauntless, -self-reliant men felt chill. They were in a close group before, but -involuntarily they drew into a still closer circle, and looked over -their shoulders. In open fight with the impetuous Italians or with the -desperate Moors of Granada, no more fearless warriors could be found -than those grandees of Spain, but against this new, secret, lurking, -unaccustomed foe their haughty courage provided them no weapons. To be -snatched at in the dark, torn secretly from home, fame, and family, -buried in oblivion until brought forth to be burnt; and branded, -unheard with the blackest infamy—these were agonies to fill even those -stout hearts with horror.</p> - -<p>Stealthy glances, of which until the present time they would have -been altogether disdainful, were cast by each and all of them at one -another. Who should say that even in their own midst there might not be -standing a creature of the Inquisition, bribed to the hideous work by -promises of titles, lands, position, or Paradise without Purgatory?</p> - -<p>Quailing beneath these strangely unaccustomed fears all maintained a -constrained silence for some time. But meanwhile the suggestion thrown -out yesterday, and now repeated, worked in those fevered brains, and -at length the fiercest of the number threw back his head, folded -his arms across his breast, and spoke. Not loudly indeed, but with -a concentrated passion that sent each syllable with the force of an -alarum into the hearts of his hearers.</p> - -<p>"The stranger was right. We have been cravens—children kissing the -rod, with our petitions. Now we will be men once more, judges in our -own cause, and Arbues shall die."</p> - -<p>As he pronounced that last dread word he held out his hand, and his -companions crowded together to clasp it, in tacit acceptance of the -declaration. But there was one exception. One member of the group drew -back. Montoro de Diego stretched forth no consenting hand, but stood, -pale and sorrowful, gazing at his friends. They in turn gazed back at -him with mingled astonishment, fear, and fury. But he never blenched. -His lip indeed curled for a moment with something of scorn as he -detected the expression of terror in some of the gleaming eyes turned -on him. But scorn died away again in sadness as he said slowly:</p> - -<p>"Is it so then, truly, that we nobles of Aragon have already yielded -ourselves voluntarily for slaves, accepting the despicable sins of -slaves—cowardice and assassination! Now verily it is time then to weep -for the past of Aragon, to mourn over its decay."</p> - -<p>But bravely and nobly as Montoro de Diego spoke, he could not undo the -harm of his incautious repetition of the stranger's fatal hint. Some -of his companions had already their affections lacerated by the loss -of friends, torn from their families to undergo the most horrible of -deaths, the others were full of dark apprehensions for themselves, or -for those whose lives were more precious to them than their own. And -the thought of getting quit of the cruel tormentor took all too swift -and fast hold of the minds of that assembled group.</p> - -<p>"It is very evident," muttered one of the party with a scarcely stifled -groan—"it is very evident, my Diego, that you count amongst the number -of your friends none of those whose names, or position, or country, -place them in jeopardy."</p> - -<p>"Ah! indeed," added another, without perceiving the flush that suddenly -deepened on the young noble's cheeks, "and it is easy enough to -discover, even if one had not known it, that Diego has neither wife nor -child for whose sake to feel a due value for his life and lands."</p> - -<p>Again that sudden flush on the handsome face, but Montoro stood in -shadow, and none marked it. The gathering of men, now turned into a -band of conspirators, was more intent on learning from Montoro de -Diego whether he meant to betray their purpose, than in taking note of -his own private emotion, and once assured of his silence they let him -depart, while they remained yet some time longer in secret conclave, -to concert their plans for destroying Arbues and the Inquisition both -together.</p> - -<p>"There cannot be much difficulty one would imagine," muttered one of -the conspirators, "in compassing the death of a wretch held in almost -universal odium."</p> - -<p>But others of the party shook their heads, while one, more fully -acquainted with the state of affairs than the rest, replied moodily:</p> - -<p>"Nay then, your imagination runs wide of the mark. The difficulty in -accomplishing our undertaking will be as great as the danger we incur. -The cruel are ever cowards. Arbues wears mail beneath his monastic -robes, complete even to bearing the weight of the warrior's helmet -beneath the monk's hood. And his person is diligently guarded by an -obsequious train of satellites."</p> - -<p>"Then we must bribe the watch-dogs over to our side," was the stern -remark of the haughty Don Alonso, who had been the first to seize upon -the suggestion thrown out by the unknown voice in the crowd.</p> - -<p>Immediately after that declaration the noblemen dispersed, for it was -not safe just at that time for men to remain too long closeted together.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>RIVALS AT DON PHILIP'S HOUSE.</i></h3> - - -<p>When Montoro de Diego quitted the palace of Don Alonso his face -betokened an anxiety even greater than that warranted by the -conversation in which he had just taken part. To say truth his secret -belief was, that the deadly decision arrived at by his friends was the -frothy result of recent disappointed hopes, and that with the calming -influence of time bolder and more honourable counsels would prevail. As -he left the palace, therefore, he left also behind him all disquietudes -especially associated with the late discussion, and the settled gravity -of his face now belonged to matters of more private interest.</p> - -<p>Don Alonso had declared, that it was easy enough to see that Don -Diego had no friends amongst those looked upon with evil eyes by -the authorities of the Inquisition. But Don Alonso was wrong. The -two friends whom Don Diego valued more highly than any others upon -earth were reputed of the race of Israel. Christians indeed, for two -generations past, but still with a true proud gratitude clinging to -the remembrance that they had the blood in their veins of the "chosen -people of God." They were Don Philip and his daughter Rachel.</p> - -<p>Don Miguel had remarked with something of a sneer that it was easy -enough to remember, from his present action, that Don Diego was -unencumbered with family ties. And Don Miguel was so far right that -Montoro de Diego was as yet a bachelor. But he was on the eve of -marriage with Don Philip's daughter, and the words of his fellow-nobles -had rung in his ears as words of evil omen. As he paced along the -streets he tried in vain to shake off his dark forebodings, and it was -with a very careworn countenance that he at length presented himself at -the home of his promised bride.</p> - -<p>To his increased disturbance, upon being ushered into the presence of -Don Philip and his daughter, the young nobleman found a stranger with -them; at least, one who was a stranger to him, though apparently not -so to his friends, with whom he appeared to be on terms of familiar -intercourse.</p> - -<p>Don Diego at once took a deep aversion to the interloper, for he had -entered with the full determination to press upon Rachel and Don Philip -the expediency of an immediate marriage, in order that both father -and daughter might have the powerful protection of his high position, -and undoubted Spanish descent and orthodoxy. But it was, of course, -impossible to speak on such topics in the presence of a stranger. So -annoyed was he that his greetings to his betrothed bride partook of his -constraint, and the girl appeared relieved when her father called to -her:</p> - -<p>"Rachel, my child, the evening is warm; will you not order in some -fruit for the refreshment of our guests?"</p> - -<p>As the beautiful young girl left the apartment in gentle obedience to -her father's desire the stranger followed her with his eyes, saying -with studied softness:</p> - -<p>"Your daughter is so lovely it were a pity that she had not been -dowered with a fairer name."</p> - -<p>The old man sighed before replying: "Perchance, Señor, you are right. -And yet, in my ears the name of Rachel has a sweetness that can -scarcely be surpassed."</p> - -<p>"It might sound sweeter in mine," rejoined the stranger still in tones -of studied suavity, "if it were not one of the names favoured by the -accursed race of Israel."</p> - -<p>A momentary flash shot from the eyes of Don Philip, but hastily he -dropped his lids over them as he answered with forced quietude: -"Doubtless I should have bestowed another name upon my child had I -foreseen these days, when it is counted for a crime to be descended -from those to whom the Great I Am, in His infinite wisdom, gave the -first Law and the first Covenant."</p> - -<p>He ceased with another low, quiet sigh, and a short silence ensued, -during which Don Diego felt rather than saw the sharp, searching -glances being bestowed upon himself by the stranger, who at length -rose, and said coolly:</p> - -<p>"Ay, truly, Don Philip, a crime it is in the eyes of Holy Mother Church -to have aught to do, even to the extent of a name, with the accursed -race, and so, to repeat my offer to you for the hand of your fair -daughter. I support my offer now with the promise—not a light one, -permit me to impress upon you—to gain the sanction of the Church that -her old name of Rachel shall be cancelled, and a new and Christian one -bestowed upon her?"</p> - -<p>As he finished speaking he turned from Don Philip with a look of -insolent assurance to Don Diego, who in his turn had started from -his seat, and stood with nervous fingers grasping the hilt of his -rapier. As the nobleman met the sinister eyes, full of an impertinent -challenge, he made a hasty step forward with the haughty exclamation:</p> - -<p>"And who are you pray, sir, who dare ask for the hand of one who is -promised to Don Montoro de Diego? Know you, sir, that the daughter of -Don Philip is my affianced bride?"</p> - -<p>"I have heard something of the sort," was the reply, in a tone of -indescribable cool insolence. "Yes; I have already learnt that you have -had eyesight good enough to discover the fairest beauty in Saragossa. -But you had better leave her to me, noble Señor. She will be—" and -the speaker paused a moment to give greater emphasis to his next -slowly-uttered words—"she will be safer with me than with you—and -her father also." And with a parting look and nod, so full of latent -knowledge and cruel determination that Don Diego's blood seemed to -freeze in his veins as he encountered them, the new aspirant for the -beautiful young heiress took his leave.</p> - -<p>As the great iron-bound outer door clanged to, behind him, the head -of the old man sank forward on his breast with a groan. His daughter -re-entered the apartment at the moment, and the smile which had begun -to dawn on her countenance at the departure of the unwelcome guest gave -way to a cry of dismay. Flying across the floor she threw herself on -the ground beside her father with a pitiful little cry.</p> - -<p>"Oh! my father, are you ill?—What ails you, my father?"</p> - -<p>For some seconds the old man's trembling hand tenderly caressing the -soft hair was the only answer. At last he asked with a choked voice:</p> - -<p>"My daughter—couldst thou be content to wed yon Italian?"</p> - -<p>The words had scarcely passed his lips when the girl sprang to her -feet, gazing with wild eyes at her questioner.</p> - -<p>"Kill me, my father, but give me not to yon awful, hateful man. -Besides—" and with a look of agonized entreaty she turned towards Don -Diego—"besides, am I not already given by you to another?"</p> - -<p>"And to another who has both the will and the power to claim the -fulfilment of the promise," exclaimed Montoro de Diego, coming forward, -and clasping the girl's hand in his with an air of iron resolution.</p> - -<p>Once again there was a heavy silence in the darkening chamber, and when -it was broken the hearers felt scarcely less oppressed by the sound, -although the words themselves seemed to speak of happiness.</p> - -<p>"My son," said the old man in low and urgent tones, "it is true, I have -given you my child—my only one. Fetch the good old priest Bartolo now, -at once, and secretly, and let him within this hour make my gift to you -secure."</p> - -<p>A faint protest against this sudden, unexpected haste was made by the -young bride, but Don Diego needed no second bidding to the adoption of -a course he considered to be dictated as much by prudence as affection. -Two hours later Montoro de Diego wended his way to his own palace with -his young wife, Rachel Diego, by his side.</p> - -<p>"Do not weep so, my Rachel," entreated the young nobleman as he led his -bride into her new home.</p> - -<p>But the tears of the agitated girl flowed as bitterly as ever as she -moaned, "My father—oh! my father! If but my father had come with us!"</p> - -<p>"He has promised to take up his abode with us, if possible, within -the next few weeks, my Rachel," returned Montoro de Diego, in the -vain endeavour to give her comfort. But she dwelt upon the words, "if -possible," rather than upon the promise. She guessed but too well the -fears which had dismissed her thus summarily from her father's home. -She had heard but too much of the hideous tragedies of the past two -months, and her husband himself was too oppressed with forebodings to -give her consolation in such a tone of confidence as should secure her -belief.</p> - -<p>Don Philip had offered his life for his daughter's happiness, and his -daughter well-nigh divined the fact.</p> - -<p>Had the Christianized Jew consented to give his daughter, and his -daughters princely fortune, to the vile informer of the Inquisition, he -would have escaped harm or persecution, at any rate for that season. -But he counted the cost, and taking his life into his hand, for the -sake of his child's happiness, he committed her henceforth to the -loving charge of the noble-hearted Don Diego. The fulfilment of the -sacrifice was not long delayed.</p> - -<p>The days went by, and the weeks—one—two—three. The second day of -the fourth week was drawing to its close, since the group of Spanish -noblemen had muttered their passionate resolves to rid their Aragon -of Arbues de Epila. They had not been idle since then. Time had not -quenched their burning indignation, but rather fanned it fiercer as -they gathered fresh adherents, and gold, that ever needful aid in all -enterprises. But the one adherent Don Alonso and Don Miguel most longed -for still held aloof.</p> - -<p>The lengthening shadows of that day belonged also, as the reader knows, -to the second day of the fourth week since Don Diego's marriage, and -his new ties made him but increasingly anxious to keep in the most -careful path of rectitude, for the sake of expediency now as much as -honour.</p> - -<p>The name of Montoro de Diego was hitherto so unblemished, his rank was -so important, that he might well believe himself a safe protector for -his young bride, and for his new father-in-law, even though it was -not wholly unmixed, pure Spanish blood that flowed in their veins. -And he was firm in his refusal to have any part in schemes of danger. -His wife was safe, hidden up in the recesses of his palace; and his -father-in-law, he trusted, had secured safety in flight.</p> - -<p>On the day succeeding that on which Don Philip had refused to purchase -peace at the price of his daughter's welfare, Rachel Diego had received -a few hurried lines of farewell from him, saying that he was going -into exile until safer times for Saragossa, and bidding her be of good -cheer, as all immediately concerning themselves now promised to go well.</p> - -<p>Under these circumstances Don Diego might be pardoned, perhaps, if for -a time he forgot the miseries surrounding him—forgot his hopes to -infuse a bolder, nobler spirit of upright resistance to evil, into his -comrades, and rested content with his own happiness.</p> - -<p>But there came a dark awakening.</p> - -<p>The day had been one of dazzling heat; and as the sun's rays grew more -and more slanting, and the shadows longer, Don Diego bid his gentle -young wife a short adieu, and sauntered forth to draw, if possible, a -freer breath out-of-doors than was possible within.</p> - -<p>He had been more impatient in seeking the evening breeze than most of -his fellow-citizens, for the streets were still almost deserted. There -was but one pedestrian besides himself in sight, and Montoro de Diego -was well content to note that that one was a stranger, for he was in no -mood just then for parrying fresh solicitations from his friends by -signs, and half-uttered words, to join their secret counsels. He was -sufficiently annoyed when he perceived at the lapse of a few seconds -that even the stranger was evidently bent on accosting him. Determined -not to have his meditations interrupted he turned short round, and -began to retrace his way towards his own abode.</p> - -<p>But not so was he to secure isolation. The rapid pitpat of steps behind -him quickly proved that the stranger was as desirous of a meeting as he -was wishful to avoid it; and scarcely had the Spanish nobleman had time -to entertain thoughts of mingled wonder and annoyance, when he shrank -angrily from a tap on his arm, and faced round to see what manner of -individual it might be who had dared such a familiarity with one of the -grandees of Aragon. The explanation was sudden and complete.</p> - -<p>A low, mocking laugh greeted the involuntary widening of his eyes. Don -Diego stood face to face with the man he had seen but once before; but -that was on an occasion never to be forgotten, for it was the evening -of his marriage, and the man before him was the one who had dared try -to deprive him of his bride. For that he bore him no love, nor for the -hinted threats then uttered; but now his blood curdled with instinctive -horror as he gazed at the sinister, cruel face mocking his with an -expression on it of such cool insolence.</p> - -<p>Don Diego's most eager impulse was to dash his companion to the ground -and leave him; but for the first time in his life fear had gained -possession of him. Fear, not for himself, but for those whom he held -more precious.</p> - -<p>"Why do you stay me? What would you with me?" he questioned at last, in -tones that vainly strove for their customary accent of haughtiness. The -cynical triumph of the Italian grew more visible.</p> - -<p>"Meseems, my Señor," he replied with a sneer; "meseems from your -countenance, and your new-found humility of voice, that your heart must -have prophesied to you that matter anent which I have stayed you, that -counsel that I would, for our mutual advantage, hold with you. It is of -Don Philip and his daughter Rachel that I wish to speak with you."</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego inclined his head in silent token of attention, and -the foreigner continued in slow, smooth speech:</p> - -<p>"Doubtless, my Señor, you remember that in your presence, some few -weeks ago, I made proposals of marriage for the fair, rich daughter of -Don Philip. The night of the day on which I made these proposals the -birds flew from me, and from my little hints in case of contumacy, out -of Saragossa. That was a foolish step to take, my Señor, was it not?"</p> - -<p>He paused for an answer, and the dry lips of Don Diego replied stiffly: -"Don Philip asked me not for counsel in his actions, neither did I give -it."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" resumed the Italian with a second sneer, "that may perchance be -a true statement, Don Diego; but I shall be better inclined to accept -it worthily, when you shall now reverse your professed behaviour, and -accept the post of adviser to the obstinate heretic."</p> - -<p>"I cannot," was the hasty exclamation. "Don Philip is no heretic, but a -faithful son of the Church, and I have no clue to his retreat."</p> - -<p>"Then I can give you one," was the low-spoken answer. "Don Philip has -been tracked, and brought back. But his daughter is not with him. He -refuses to confess her hiding-place, although he is now in the dungeons -of the Holy Inquisition, and can purchase freedom by the information."</p> - -<p>"Cruel, black-hearted villain!" exclaimed Don Diego, shocked and -infuriated at length beyond all prudence; "know this, that Rachel, -daughter of Don Philip, is now my bride. And know this yet further, -that the nobles of Aragon are not yet so ground beneath the feet of a -new dominion that they cannot protect their wives, and those belonging -to them, from the perjured baseness of dastards who would destroy them."</p> - -<p>Once more the young nobleman turned to quit his abhorred companion, but -once more that hated touch fell upon his arm, and the Italian again -confronted him with a face literally livid with malice as he hissed out:</p> - -<p>"The nobles of Aragon are doubtless all-powerful, my Señor, and yet for -your news of your bride I will give you news of her father. Ere this -hour to-morrow the burnt ashes of his body will have been scattered to -the four winds of heaven. Take that news back to your bride to win her -welcome with."</p> - -<p>Don Diego was alone. Whether he had been leaning against the walls of -that heavy portico five seconds, five minutes, or five hours, he could -scarcely tell when he became conscious of his own painful reiteration -of the words, "Ere this hour to-morrow—ere this hour to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"What is the matter, Montoro? rouse yourself. What about this hour -to-morrow?" asked the voice of Don Alonso at his elbow. And Montoro -shudderingly raised himself from the wall, looked with dazed eyes at -his friend, and repeated:</p> - -<p>"Ere this hour to-morrow. Will she know?"</p> - -<p>"Will who know?" again questioned Don Alonso, as he passed his arm -through his friend's and drew him on, for the street was no longer -empty. Doors were opening on all sides, and the people pouring forth -to the various entertainments of the evening. Some curious glances had -already been cast at Don Diego, as he leant there stupefied with horror -and anguish for his wife's threatened misery.</p> - -<p>In the early part of the evening the Italian tool of the Inquisition -had sought Don Diego. When evening had given way to night, Don Diego -sought the Italian, and as a suppliant.</p> - -<p>"It ill suits an Aragonese to sue to the villain of a foreigner," said -the wretch, with malicious sarcasm. "It makes me marvel, my Señor, that -you should deign thus to condescend."</p> - -<p>"I marvel also," murmured the Spaniard, rather to himself than to his -unworthy companion. "When the sword of the Moor was at my throat I -disdained to sue for mercy; when I lay spurned by the pirate's foot I -felt no fear; but now—ay now, if you will—I will give you the power -to boast that one of the greatest of the nobles of Aragon has knelt at -your feet to sue for a favour at your hands."</p> - -<p>"And you will not deny the humiliating fact if I should publish it?" -demanded the Italian, with a half air of yielding, and Montoro Diego, -with a light of hope springing into his face, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"No, no. I will myself declare the deed, if for its performance you -will obtain me the life and freedom of Don Philip."</p> - -<p>Like a drowning man stretching forth to a straw, Montoro had snatched -at a false hope. With that low, mocking laugh that issued freely enough -from his thin, cruel lips, the Italian said slowly:</p> - -<p>"Ah! your wish is very great, my Señor, I see that—truly very great to -save a heart-ache to your bride. But—see you—you have hindered Jerome -Tivoli of his desire, and now it is his turn, the turn of the 'base, -black-hearted villain,' Jerome. And he takes your desire into his -ears, he tastes it on his palate, it is sweet to him, sweetened with -the thought of revenge, and then—he spurns it—spits it forth from -him—thus!"</p> - -<p>The Aragonese tore his rapier from its sheath, and darted forward, his -fierce southern blood aflame with fury at the insult. But his companion -stood there coolly with folded arms, content to hiss between his teeth:</p> - -<p>"We are not unwatched, my Señor. I have plenty to avenge me if you -think Doña Rachel will be gratified to lose husband now as well as -father."</p> - -<p>The mention of his wife was opportune. It restored Don Diego to his -self-control. With a mighty effort mastering his pride, he collected -his thoughts for one final attempt on behalf of the good old man doomed -so tyrannically to an awful death.</p> - -<p>Before seeking this second interview with the foreigner Montoro de -Diego had schooled himself to bear everything for the sake of his -one great object, and although for a moment he had allowed self to -rise uppermost, he now once more crushed it down, and returned to the -attitude of the humble suppliant.</p> - -<p>He did not indeed repeat the offer, so insultingly rejected, to kneel -to the informer, but he appealed earnestly to more sordid instincts. -The man had alluded to Don Philip's daughter as rich as well as -beautiful, and he now offered him the heiress's wealth as compensation -for the loss of the heiress herself.</p> - -<p>As he spoke a sudden gleam of satisfaction shot into the Italian's -eyes, and a second time a hope, far greater than the first, rose in -the petitioner's heart; but yet again it was dashed to the ground. -Just as he was prepared to hear that his terms were agreed upon, -his companion's countenance underwent a sudden change. A shadow had -just fallen across the floor, and with a heavy scowl replacing the -expression of greed he bent forward with the hasty mutter:</p> - -<p>"Fool of a Spaniard, has that idiot tongue of thine but one tone, that -thou must needs screech thy offers, like a parrot from the Indies, into -all ears that choose to listen?" Then aloud, as though in continuation -of a widely-different theme: "And so, as I tell thee, thy offers go -for nought, for the wealth will of right flow into the coffers of the -Sacred Office when the accursed Jew shall have suffered in the flesh to -save his soul. And now," insolently, "I have no more time to listen to -thy prating, and so go."</p> - -<p>Whether he went of his free will, or was turned out, Montoro de -Diego never clearly remembered, but on finding himself beneath the -starry sky, he dashed off to the palace of the dread Arbues himself. -Well-nigh frantic with despair, as he thought of the torments that the -aged prisoner was even then all too probably undergoing, he forced -admittance, late though the hour was, to the presence of the stern -ecclesiastic, who was prudently surrounded by guards even in the -privacy of his own supper-room. Nothing short of the great influence of -Don Diego's high rank would have enabled him to penetrate so far, but -even that did not protect him from the Inquisitor's rebuke, nor gain -him a favourable hearing for his cause.</p> - -<p>"It is our blessed office," said the bigoted supporter of Rome's worst -errors, "to purge the Church, to—"</p> - -<p>"If Don Philip die, others will die with him," sharply interrupted the -young Spaniard, with fierce significance, and he left the Inquisitor's -palace as abruptly as he had entered it, half determined, in that -bitter hour, to throw in his lot with the conspirators. If there were -none to listen to reason, none to obey the dictates of justice or -mercy, why should he maintain alone his integrity?</p> - -<p>So passion and despair tried to argue against his conscience, as he -retraced his steps to his own home and the waiting Rachel. But the -events of that night were not yet over.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THINKING OF EXILE.</i></h3> - - -<p>As Montoro de Diego entered the deep portico of his palace entrance, -he stumbled against some obstruction in the way. He stooped, and found -there was a man dead, or in a deep swoon, lying at his feet.</p> - -<p>Before he could ascertain more, or summon his servants, a third person -stepped out of the obscurity and muttered rapidly:</p> - -<p>"Remember, the gold is to be mine. It is not my fault that he has thus -suffered before release."</p> - -<p>Then the whisperer of those significant words was gone, and the -young man was alone with the prostrate form of his father-in-law. -Relinquishing his intention to call for aid, he lifted the inanimate -body in his own strong arms, and bore his burden into a small inner -apartment, reserved for his own devotion to such learned studies as -were then flourishing in Aragon under the fostering care of royal -encouragement. Something of medicine and surgery he had also acquired, -but he soon discovered with bitter sorrow that in the present case -his skill was useless. The old man was dying. Every limb had been -dislocated on the rack.</p> - -<p>"They tortured me to try to extort the secret of my child's -hiding-place," murmured the old man quietly. "But thanks be to the -Lord, He gave me strength. This day I shall be with Him. They have but -hastened my coming home, my children."</p> - -<p>And so, with forgiveness and love in his heart, and the light of coming -glory on his face, this rescued victim of the Inquisition died in his -daughter's arms, just as the sun's first golden rays were brightening -the streets of Saragossa. Those rays that were glowing on the walls of -the dungeons, within which slept, for the last time on earth, those -innocent ones who were that day to be burnt in one of the awful Autos -da Fé; those rays that were glowing on the walls and windows of the -palace where Arbues the Inquisitor still slumbered.</p> - -<p>"For so He maketh His sun to shine on the evil and the good."</p> - -<p>The morning was still young when Don Diego received two visitors. -The first, Jerome Tivoli, was quickly dismissed with the curt but -satisfying speech:</p> - -<p>"A noble of Aragon ever keeps his word. The miserable treasure you -crave is yours."</p> - -<p>His interview with Don Alonso was far longer.</p> - -<p>"Surely now you must join us," urged that fiery spirit with impatient -indignation. "You cannot refuse to aid in avenging the wrongs of your -father-in-law."</p> - -<p>"His mode," murmured the other, "of avenging his own wrongs, was to -pray for light for his murderers."</p> - -<p>But Don Alonso was marching with hasty strides up and down the -apartment, and did not hear the words. His own conscience was ill -at ease, as the head of conspirators having assassination for their -object, and he had an unacknowledged feeling that he would be more -comfortable in his mind if the upright Montoro would throw in his lot -with them. But Don Diego was firm in his refusal. That recent death-bed -scene had given him back his faith in the wisdom and love of God, in -spite of the darkness now around him, and he ended the discussion at -last, by saying:</p> - -<p>"No, Alonso, I will keep my honour whatever else I may be forced to -lose. But, although I will not join you, I will tell you whom I would -join, were my Rachel a man, or, being a woman, had she but been inured -to hardships as a mountain peasant. I would suffer exile thankfully, so -embittered to me has my native land become."</p> - -<p>"Embittered indeed to us all," almost groaned the other, adding, "But -whom then is it you would join in your exile? Any of our friends, or -one I know not?"</p> - -<p>"One you know not, nor I either, personally," was the reply; "but one -whom we both know well by reputation. That Christopher Colon, the -Genoese, who, for the past six months almost, has been wearying our -Queen Isabella of Castile to provide him means to find some strange -new world; some vision of wonder that has risen in his imagination, -brilliant with lands of gold and pearl, and perfumed with sweeter -spices than the Indies."</p> - -<p>Don Alonso uttered a short laugh of contempt.</p> - -<p>"Ah, ha! And you mean to tell me that you would be willing to throw in -your lot with that beggarly, visionary adventurer! Our King Ferdinand -knows better than to waste his maravedis on such moon-struck projects, -or to let his consort do so either."</p> - -<p>"And yet," said Montoro, somewhat doubtfully, "and yet, although of -course new worlds are foolishness to dream of, some islands might -perchance fall to our share, if we adventured somewhat to find them, -as such good and profitable prizes have been falling, during the -past fifty years, pretty plentifully, to our clever neighbours, the -Portuguese."</p> - -<p>"Ay, and even they won't listen to this Genoese, you may recollect. -Besides, the Pope has given everything in the seas and on it, I have -heard, to those lucky neighbours of ours, so of what use for Spaniards -to jeopardize lives and treasure to benefit the Portuguese?"</p> - -<p>"Nay," answered Don Diego, "the Pope's grant to them is only for the -countries from Cape Horn to India. Why should not we obtain a grant for -lands in the other hemisphere?"</p> - -<p>And so the poor young nobleman tried to stifle grief and apprehension -in dreams of other lands, of whose discovery he would not live to hear, -although his son would one day help others to found new homes on their -far-off soil.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>DEATH FOR ARBUES DE EPILA.</i></h3> - - -<p>The days went by; the days of that year, 1485: and still the hideous -spectacles of the Auto da Fé continued to be witnessed with shame and -anguish by the inhabitants of Saragossa. Still the cry of the tortured -victims ascended up to heaven, and still Arbues de Epila lived in his -case of mail.</p> - -<p>Those were busy, agitating days for Spain. The war with Granada was -still in progress. King Ferdinand was much exercised in mind with -various jealousies connected with French affairs, and, more than -all important for future ages, the Queen's confessor, Ferdinand di -Talavera, together with a council of self-sufficient pedants and -philosophers, was taking into consideration that request of the -Genoese, Christopher Colon, or, as we call him, Columbus, to be -provided with such an equipment of ships, men, and necessary stores, as -should enable him to find and found countries hitherto unheard of, and -only thought of, most people declared, by crack-brained dreamers.</p> - -<p>"Besides," finally decided Talavera and his sage council, with pompous -absurdity; "besides, if there were nothing else against this scheme, -such as the convex figure of the globe, for instance, which, of course, -would prevent vessels ever getting back again, up the side of the -world, once they got down, there was the impudence of the suggestion. -It was presumptuous in any person to pretend that he alone possessed -knowledge superior to all the rest of the world united."</p> - -<p>And such impertinent presumption was certainly not to be encouraged -in an "obscure Genoese pilot." And so, for that while, after weary -waiting, and the weary hope deferred that maketh the heart sick, -Columbus and his splendid plans were dismissed. But this result was not -arrived at until four years after the months with which we are, for the -minute, more immediately concerned; and so to return to the thread of -our narrative, and to add yet further—and still the men of Saragossa -gathered into secret bands, discussing rather by tokens, than by words, -the unspeakable cruelties that were being committed in their midst, and -the proposed destruction of their arch-instigator, Arbues de Epila.</p> - -<p>All was ripe at length for the fulfilment of the fatal plot; fatal, -alas, not only to the Inquisitor, but to his murderers also, and to -many and many another wholly innocent of the crime.</p> - -<p>All day long Don Alonso, Don Miguel, Don James of Navarre, with the -rest of the conspirators, many of them with the noblest blood of Aragon -flowing in their veins, watched with a fierce, hungry eagerness for the -moment in which to strike the blow. The hours wore on, the evening -came. In low-breathed murmurs one and another rekindled their own -fury, or revived the flagging courage of a companion, by recalling the -generosity of character, the blameless life, of some friend or relative -snatched out of life by this barbarous persecution.</p> - -<p>Night fell over the city of Saragossa, and gradually the conspirators -stealthily, silently drew round about the walls of the cathedral. It -was approaching midnight. The fierce persecutor of his fellow-men was -on his knees before the great altar of the cathedral, on his knees -before Him who has said, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."</p> - -<p>Arbues knelt there in the flood of brightness from the lighted altar, -and his enemies gathered up around him in the gloomy shadows of the -surrounding darkness. Suddenly there was a muffled shout—a cry. He -raised his head;—too late,—escape was impossible. Already the arm and -hand were streaming with blood that had signed so many warrants for the -torture and death of others. Then came the fatal blow.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>Arbues knelt there in a flood of brightness from the -lighted altar. Suddenly there was a muffled shout—a cry. He raised his -head;—too late,—escape was impossible.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>A dagger shone, gleaming red with life-blood, in the light, from the -back of the victim's neck, in the flesh of which its point was firmly -embedded.</p> - -<p>Who gave that final thrust none knew but the giver. Only Don Miguel, -who stood by in the fierce crush and <i>melée</i>, heard the words hissed -out as the deadly weapon was darted forth:</p> - -<p>"So dies the fiend, Arbues de Epila!"</p> - -<p>And he, too, cast a hasty glance beside him, as Montoro de Diego had -done when those words were uttered behind his ear in the Auto da Fé -crowd some weeks ago.</p> - -<p>But Montoro de Diego had found no one at his elbow but an innocent, -wide-eyed child; and Don Miguel only found a crowd of terrified, -cringing priests, who with pallid faces and trembling limbs bore off -the dying superior to his own apartments, where he lingered two days, -blindly giving thanks to God that he had been accepted as a martyr in -His cause!</p> - -<p>"The enemy of our liberty, our honour, our security is dead," muttered -Don Alonso in fierce triumph to Montoro de Diego, as he sought -temporary shelter from the dangers of pursuit in his friend's palace. -But Don Diego shook his head with prophetic sadness as he answered:</p> - -<p>"May the Holy Virgin grant that you have not called down worse evils -upon our unhappy city!"</p> - -<p>All too soon his fears were realized. The Church was offended, and the -sovereigns, at the assassination of the great Inquisitor, and terrible -was the vengeance wreaked far and wide upon all who had been, or were -supposed to have been, implicated in the impious deed. Hundreds upon -hundreds of people died, by torture, in the dungeons, at the stake, -by persecutions innumerable, and starvation; and the whole province -of Aragon was still further cruelly humiliated in the persons of its -nobles, who were condemned in crowds to do penance in the Autos da Fé.</p> - -<p>Don Alonso and Don Miguel were hanged instead of burned, not in mercy, -but in sign of greater infamy, and that they might feel themselves -ground to the very dust by the intense degradation of their punishment. -And Don Diego did not escape the general ruin of his friends.</p> - -<p>The heat of the search for victims had somewhat abated, when the -covetous desires of one of the members of the Inquisition turned upon -the possessions of the wealthy nobleman.</p> - -<p>A path to the coveted riches was soon found. Montoro de Diego's words -were suddenly remembered that he uttered on the night of Don Philip's -death—"If Don Philip die others will die with him." On these words -he was condemned, first to lingering months in a loathsome dungeon, -then to death; and his young wife was driven forth from the gates of -Saragossa in widowed penury and despair. The second Montoro de Diego -was born a beggar and fatherless, but he had the brave, upright spirit -of his father in him for his portion; and with his fortunes our tale -is, for the future, concerned.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>SANCHO'S BROKEN VICTUALS.</i></h3> - - -<p>Poverty and pride do not go well in company, and so a Spanish lad of -some fourteen or fifteen years of age had begun to learn. But the -lesson was hard, and one badly learnt, when one evening some broken -victuals were flung to him as they might have been to a famished dog, -and accompanied by the exclamation:</p> - -<p>"There, starveling, be not squeamish, but feed those lean cheeks of -thine, and give me thanks for thy supper."</p> - -<p>"I'll give thee that for thy base-born impudence," was the passionate -retort, as the youth seized the package of broken meats and was about -to use it as a missile to hurl at the donor's head.</p> - -<p>But as the muscular young arm was raised it was suddenly grasped from -behind, and a sweet, soft voice said hurriedly:</p> - -<p>"My son, bethink you. For those of noble blood to be street-brawlers -brings as great disgrace as beggary. You have never yet so far shamed -me, or forgotten the due restraints of your rank."</p> - -<p>As the slight, pale woman spoke the lad's clutched fingers loosened -their hold of the parcel; it dropped back into the dusty gutter; -and with burning cheeks he suffered himself to be led away from -the neighbourhood of the half-angry, half-contemptuous man whose -well-intentioned gift had been so spurned. When the mother and son had -disappeared the man turned, with a short laugh, from watching them, and -addressed himself to a neighbour.</p> - -<p>"Easy to see who they are. Holy Mother Church has had something to say -to their belongings in the past, I wager. But noble though they may -be still, and rich though they may have been once, they are clearly -starving now, and had better accept good food when they can get it."</p> - -<p>And in this declaration the worthy Sancho was certainly most right, -although the bread of charity, even when most delicately bestowed, -tasted bitter in those hungry mouths; for the man was further right in -his belief that mother and son were of high birth, and the mother had -also been reared in luxury.</p> - -<p>However, the little incident over, with the alms-giver's comment upon -it, the worthy burgess of the small town of El Cuevo, upon the very -borders of Aragon, turned his thoughts to matters of greater interest -and importance.</p> - -<p>"What thinkest thou, friend Pedro, of the new expedition preparing to -set out for yon troublesome new-found island of Hispaniola—has it thy -approval?"</p> - -<p>The friend Pedro thus addressed was busily engaged in inspecting -various samples of foreign spices. He now raised a solemn pair of eyes -from his aromatic treasures as he replied:</p> - -<p>"Troublesome it may be to those who govern it; but so long as my -son doth continue to send me home a sufficiency of these marketable -commodities, it is not he nor I that shall grumble at its finding."</p> - -<p>The burly Sancho laughed.</p> - -<p>"Ay, ay, neighbour, I know thee of old. A well-lined pocket thou ever -holdest good recompense for a few thwacks. Would that the grand old -Admiral Columbus could find comfort for ingratitude and sorrows with -such ease!"</p> - -<p>"But so he might do if he would but try," was the shrewd answer. "You -see our brave Genoese hath ever been more needful for empty-handed -honour and glory, than for gathering together good store of worldly -spoil, to fall back upon when men should begrudge him the shadow-prizes -he desired. Now it seemeth that he may chance to have neither."</p> - -<p>"Well, well, I know not," continued Sancho. "The queen hath ever a -good will to the great man. And although he is not to be commissioned -to go himself to the punishment of that Jack-in-office Bobadilla, men -say that the Commendador of Lares, Don Nicolas de Ovando, who is now -preparing to set out thither, hath all the virtues under the sun. Wise -and prudent and abstemious, and of a winning manner."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" grunted the spice-dealer. "Don Ovando had needs be a second -St. Paul if he is to win justice and mercy for the poor natives out -yonder, at the hands of the off-scouring of our streets; and that is -what our gentle-hearted queen hath most at heart."</p> - -<p>Master Sancho nodded his head gravely.</p> - -<p>"Ah, friend Pedro, I say not but you are right. And that minds me: if -my head were not so thick, I might have bethought me to advise yon -lad, with the great eyes and the short temper, to seek fortune, like -many another of his peers, in those far-off lands across the ocean. I -daresay he would have accepted that advice with a better grace than he -did my scraps."</p> - -<p>His neighbour looked up this time more fully than he had yet done, and -let his hands rest for a few moments idle on the samples with which he -had been so occupied, as he exclaimed with genuine astonishment:</p> - -<p>"Why, friend Sancho, verily it seems to me that you have taken some -queer true interest in yon ragged piece of impudence. I have noted you -more than once, ay, than twice, watch him of an evening as he went by -till out of sight. And now, when he would have flung your kindness back -at you, still talking of him, forsooth. Nay then, had he so treated me -he would have been roundly cuffed, I tell thee; and so an end."</p> - -<p>Broad-shouldered, easy-going Sancho laughed and gave a shrug.</p> - -<p>"I am not fond of being ready with my fists, friend Pedro; my hands -are large, and might hap to be over heavy; besides, I have a broken -thumb. But you judge rightly; I have taken a fancy to that set-up, -handsome-faced young beggar. And I have watched him, not only of an -evening past these doors, but at other hours in the town; and although -he rejects help for himself, many a time have I seen him give it to -those weaker or more helpless than himself."</p> - -<p>Meantime, while he was being thus discussed, that same "set-up, -handsome-faced young beggar" was remonstrating with his mother against -her oft-reiterated lectures to him on humility, and on a studied -avoidance of everything that should draw observation upon them.</p> - -<p>"I will not slink into corners like a thief, nor hide myself in holes -like a rat," he exclaimed at last, with haughty indignation. "Hast thou -not told me thyself, my mother, that I am an Aragonese?"</p> - -<p>But Rachel Diego replied with a lip that trembled while it curled:</p> - -<p>"In truth art thou, my son, a child of a barren land. The heir of -territories so stricken from the Maker's hand with poverty, that -perchance we waste life's breath in lamenting that treasures so -miserable should be wrested from us."</p> - -<p>But the mother's new line of argument, to soothe her son's dangerous -agitation, was fruitless as the other. His eyes flashed still more -brilliantly with his burning indignation, as he retorted again:</p> - -<p>"You say right, my mother. The land of Aragon is so poor and barren, -that perchance her sons and daughters might all long since have -forsaken their churlish, niggard-handed mother, and finally renounced -her, but that she gives them liberty. Even in our oath of allegiance we -tender no slaves' submission to oppression."</p> - -<p>The widowed mother turned her sad eyes upon her proud-spirited boy.</p> - -<p>"My son, no oath of allegiance has as yet been called for from thy -lips."</p> - -<p>The flush deepened on the young Spaniard's face. He pressed his teeth -into the crimson lower lip for some seconds to strangle back a groan -that sought escape from his own over-burdened heart. He had heard of -the tragedies of those months before his birth.</p> - -<p>"No," he muttered at length bitterly. "No. It is true. I am esteemed -too contemptible to have even vows wrung from me that are counted -worthless. But the oath that my father spoke is registered in my heart; -the oath due from us, whose proud heritage it is to call ourselves the -nobles of Aragon. And such is the oath that I, in my turn, tender to my -sovereign, Ferdinand of Aragon and Castile."</p> - -<p>The lad paused a moment, and then, with folded arms, and in low, firm -tones, repeated the proud words of the Aragonese oath of allegiance.</p> - -<p>"We, who are each of us as good, and who are altogether more powerful -than you, promise obedience to your government if you maintain our -rights and liberties, but if not, not."</p> - -<p>As he spoke Rachel Diego dropped her face into her hands, and as he -ended she murmured in stifled tones:</p> - -<p>"Your father pronounced that haughty vow, and what availed the boast?"</p> - -<p>What indeed! The young Montoro gazed for a moment at his wan mother, at -the bare room, and then, with all his haughtiness lost in a flood of -sudden despair, he darted from the miserable apartment to wrestle with -his agitation in the wild darkness of a stormy night.</p> - -<p>That his heart should be torn with bitterness and grief was little -wonder, for all too well he knew how it came to pass that his mother -was fatherless and a widow, and how he himself had been robbed of -his parent and his patrimony. Something of the dismal tale of Don -Philip's tortured death, and of the base villain who had grasped at -his daughter's fortune, had been told the boy from time to time by his -mother. Something, also, of the avarice and barbarity that had wrested -a few despairing words to the destruction of his own father, the noble -Don Montoro de Diego.</p> - -<p>But much fuller details of those dismal days of 1485 had been given to -the disinherited son of a blameless father by the old priest Bartolo, -who had secretly aided the outcast young widow and her infant when -they were first driven from their home, and who had continued to give -them all the assistance in his power until his death, some months ago; -in that very month of December, in fact, of 1500, when the hearts of -so many in Spain, and elsewhere, throbbed with indignation at the -news that a vessel had arrived in the port of Cadiz with the great -discoverer on board, in chains like a common malefactor.</p> - -<p>While the young Montoro was mourning over the dying priest, however, -he little heeded the gossip going on around him about one who, during -the remaining five years of a well-worn life, was to have a far greater -influence on the orphan lad's career than ever the good old priest -would have had the power to exercise.</p> - -<p>But the days of December passed on. The old priest was buried. Columbus -was delivered from his chains by hasty order of the king and queen, and -was further invited in flattering terms of kindness to join the royal -Court at Granada; a thousand ducats to defray expenses, and a handsome -retinue as escort on the journey, being sent in testimony that the -friendliness of the invitation was sincere. And so the saddened heart -of the glorious old Admiral was once more warmed with half-fallacious -hope. Not so with poor Rachel Diego and her son.</p> - -<p>Life had been hard enough while Father Bartolo lived, but after his -death the struggle for existence became well-nigh desperate; and by the -time the months had come round to this following December of 1501, more -people, in the obscure little town of El Cuevo, than the worthy burgess -Sancho, had come to the conclusion that the unknown young widow and her -handsome son were dying of starvation.</p> - -<p>But death was evidently preferable, in the minds of the helpless -couple, to degradation. Work they could not obtain, and charity they -would not accept.</p> - -<p>"And small blame to them after all," muttered Master Sancho to himself, -a few days after his vain effort to bestow a supper on the objects of -his interest. "I don't believe that I, either, should relish the taste -of other men's leavings. Thanks be to the virgin that I have never had -to eat them. But yet—to starve? Umph! I know not whether I should like -the flavour of starvation any better."</p> - -<p>And he folded his arms across his portly person with a slightly mocking -laugh of self-consciousness.</p> - -<p>This short soliloquy had been occasioned by the sight of young Montoro -Diego passing the end of the street. His reappearance now, in the -street itself, with a large loaf of bread in his arms, brought the -soliloquy to a sudden stop; and Sancho left his post of observation in -his own doorway, and hurried as fast as his weighty figure would allow -to the pedestrian, finding no very great difficulty in barring the -lad's further progress along the narrow roadway with his broad form. -Montoro threw back his head impatiently.</p> - -<p>"What now?" he demanded, with flushed cheeks. "Have you some more dog's -meat that you wish to be rid of?"</p> - -<p>The burgess laughed.</p> - -<p>"Verily, my son, there is a bold spirit hidden under those rags of -thine. But a truce to laughter; for verily I feel angered with you now, -and I have a right?"</p> - -<p>"Because I would none of your mean gifts?" asked Montoro hotly.</p> - -<p>"Nay, indeed; that was your affair. But I am angry, and have a right -to be, that you should accept aid from others which you will not have -from me."</p> - -<p>"Accept aid!" repeated the lad wonderingly. "Of what are you speaking? -What aid have we received since the only friend died of whom we would -accept it?"</p> - -<p>But even as he spoke he caught the eyes of his companion fixed upon the -loaf by way of significant answer, and he added shortly:</p> - -<p>"This I have earned. It is no gift."</p> - -<p>Then slipping under his questioner's arm he thought to have escaped; -but Master Sancho caught him by the shoulder and held him fast.</p> - -<p>"Look here, my son, by your air and looks I judge you to have been -born to a rank far above my own and so if it be your pleasure I will -speak to you with uncovered head by way of deference. But speak to you -I will, for I have taken a fancy to you; and if you are not as set -against work as against alms I may help you."</p> - -<p>There was a spasmodic twitch of the shoulder at those last words; and -the boy's face was so turned away that his captor could not read it. -But after a moment's silence the worthy-hearted man continued, with a -different accent of somewhat impatient anger:</p> - -<p>"Hark ye, lad, ye may be as indifferent about thyself as it may please -thee; but I cry shame on thee to refuse aught that may provide needful -nourishment for that sweet and gentle mother of thine. To nourish -thy false pride—ay, I will even call it by a juster name, thy base -pride—thy mother is offering herself a sacrifice."</p> - -<p>There was a gulping sound in the boy's throat, and then with a choking -gasp he muttered:</p> - -<p>"She could not, she would not, live on charity."</p> - -<p>"No," instantly agreed the burgess of El Cuevo; "that I begin to -believe. But she could and would live on the honest earnings of your -hands. And be you noble or no, you'll find ne'er a priest in Spain to -dare tell you that it is more honourable to let a mother starve than to -work for her."</p> - -<p>For the first time Montoro Diego let his eyes fairly rest on his -mentor's face. There was something so genuinely true in the ring of the -voice that the boy's anger and indignation dwindled away he scarce knew -how, and gave place to a growing trust. With an effort he crushed down -his emotion as he replied in low tones:</p> - -<p>"I have no coward scruples against work, believe me. But I am noble, as -you say. The son of one who died wrongfully for the death of Arbues de -Epila. It was at the peril of their lives that any helped my mother, -even with work, at the time that my father was thus barbarously mur—"</p> - -<p>Burgess Sancho sharply clapped his hand over the boy's mouth, muttering -with half-angry solicitude:</p> - -<p>"Knowest thou not, my son, that a still tongue is wisdom? Keep thy -information of the past for those who ask for it, and to those who do -so give it not. You, a starving boy in the streets of El Cuevo, I can -help. You may have dropped from the clouds for aught I know. Dost thou -not comprehend me?"</p> - -<p>Montoro's dark eyes gleamed with a flitting smile. The Aragonese of -those days were not wanting in intelligence. But at the same time his -native pride, and even his nobility of character, forbade him to accept -aught at the expense of his identity, and so he quickly let his new -friend understand.</p> - -<p>"I have no inheritance but my father's name and my father's unsullied -memory," he declared firmly; "and I will bear that openly. I have -earned this loaf to-day, and more, by grinding colours for the great -painter staying yonder; but first I told him who I was."</p> - -<p>"More foolish you," remarked Master Sancho, with a shrug. "But what -said he to thy news?"</p> - -<p>"Even as thou—that I had more truth than wit. But he gave me work all -the same, for he said that he need have no fear. The king could replace -heretic nobles with other nobles, but he could not replace a painter, -and so he would be wise enough to keep the one he had."</p> - -<p>"Ay, then," agreed Master Sancho, "the Señor is right; and if I -were you I would turn painter also, for the royal ordinance of last -September did not name that amongst the many things you may not be."</p> - -<p>"No," returned Montoro with a bitter laugh; "that last ordinance -of persecution only excludes me from such employments as would be -possible, not from those needing gifts vouchsafed only to the few. But -I must say adios, for my mother will already have feared some mischance -has come to me."</p> - -<p>"To our next meeting, then," said the worthy burgess. "And meantime I -will cudgel my brains till I find some means to help you, for all you -are so self-willed and impracticable, my son."</p> - -<p>The friendly look and the confident nod that accompanied these gruffly -good-humoured words were full of such pleasant encouragement that -Montoro Diego flew home with a heart suddenly grown as light as though -he had already regained the power to use the title of 'Don' before his -name, and had already won back the heritage of his ancestors.</p> - -<p>We say "already," for of course Montoro, like all brave-spirited, -properly-constituted individuals, was perfectly convinced, even -in the lowest stage of rags and hunger, that the day would most -positively come when he should re-enter his fathers home as the -publicly-acknowledged Don Montoro de Diego. Meantime there was good -bread for his supper that night, and for his mother, together with a -handful of roasted chestnuts and a bottle of thin wine, grateful in -that warm climate from its very sourness.</p> - -<p>"And to-morrow," he said cheerfully, "the great painter says, my -mother, that I may work in his studio again. And, if only you would go -with me, he would not again sigh that there were none beautiful and -tender-faced enough in the land to sit to him for the Holy Mother."</p> - -<p>Rachel Diego said hastily, "Hush, my son," and shook her head at him; -but at the same time she smiled, and a delicate flush tinted the pale -cheeks, for her boy's loving praises were so sweet in her ears that -they turned the humble supper into a feast.</p> - -<p>The mother and son were very happy together that night; but had those -two who so greatly loved each other known that even then schemes were -being revolved in a shrewd and busy brain that would result, within -a few short months, in placing a wide and storm-tossed ocean between -them, one at least of the couple would have found the bread given to -her turned to ashes in her mouth, and would have changed her smiles to -weeping.</p> - -<p>Happily for them, however, no prevision marred the rare joyousness of -those few hours, nor disturbed the sleep that followed, gladdened with -bright dreams.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>CONSULTING A SWEET TOOTH.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Friend Pedro!"</p> - -<p>"Ay, what now?"</p> - -<p>And the spice-dealer looked up from a small pile of curiosities, lying -on a tray on his knees, with a more than half-betrayed idea that -nothing his neighbour had to say could be so important, as calculating -how much he might hope to make by the sale of those uncommon wares.</p> - -<p>But this belief was somewhat lessened when his eyes rested on his -friend's countenance. "Hey, then!" he ejaculated; "our painter yonder -saith that thou art never a true Spaniard, for thy face is too round, -but were he to see thee now he would surely tell a different tale."</p> - -<p>"It is but lengthened by the height of my considering-cap," was the -answer, with a laugh that speedily restored his visage to its usual -good-humoured breadth.</p> - -<p>Master Pedro appeared greatly relieved by the change. To say truth, -in that land of solemn faces and staid deportments, a cheerful -neighbour was as refreshing as a sunlit breeze in the early days of -spring; and the spice-dealer, although the solemnest of the solemn -himself, duly appreciated the fact, not to mention that he had a true -though hidden affection for this especial neighbour, and would have -grieved greatly if sorrow had befallen him. But long faces only due to -considering-caps—well, that was another thing, and really not worth -wasting the minutes of a working-day upon. He bent his head once more -over his tray of West Indian treasures, as he asked with diminished -interest:</p> - -<p>"And pray then what has led thee to the wearing of a cap so weighty? -Have the good fathers of St. Jacomb refused the purchase of thy Venice -lustres, or will not they give thee a fair price for them?"</p> - -<p>Burgess Sancho laughed again. "Nay, neighbour, trouble not thyself -to guess, for thy guess is wide of the mark. The good fathers closed -eagerly with my offer of the lustres, and the maravedis I demanded in -exchange are already in my pouch. But hark ye, friend Pedro!—with the -lustres came to me also two Venice glasses of the most changeful pearly -hue, tall and thin, and of a good capacity. And I have a mind to keep -them to myself, and, moreover, to try to-night how the flavour of a -good wine from Madeira goes with them. Come thou in, when the sun hath -gone down, and help me with my judgment."</p> - -<p>"And also with my judgment on a matter of far more moment," muttered -the worthy trader to himself, with a shrewd twinkle in his eye at -having thus cleverly angled for his neighbour's company.</p> - -<p>For the spice-dealer was one difficult to entice farther than his own -doorway; and nothing short of those promises of choice wine from the -Portuguese island of Madeira, to be drunk out of yet choicer goblets, -would have tempted him on the present occasion to break his rule. As -it was, the last glimmer of daylight had disappeared more than an hour -when a cloaked figure stepped from one door to the next, and gave a tap -upon the nail-studded panels.</p> - -<p>"Better late than never, friend; come thy ways in," said Master Sancho -heartily, as he acted the part of his own door-porter, and ushered his -neighbour into a room brightly lighted with fire and lamp; for even -in that sunny land of Spain the cold, damp winds of December made the -blaze of crackling logs pleasant after sundown. What would not have -been so pleasant to English ideas, was the overpoweringly pervading -odour of burning lavender, a bundle of which was slowly smouldering -on the hearth, by way of giving the atmosphere of the apartment that -special tone and perfume considered desirable by its occupants.</p> - -<p>On a small table in front of the cheerful hearth stood the beautiful -Venice glasses, tall and slender, shimmering with opal tints in the -ruddy glow, which also shone through a flask of golden-tinted Madeira, -and danced hither and thither over various dishes daintily set -forth with sweet-meats. For, ascetic-looking as Master Pedro was in -appearance, he had as sweet a tooth as any Roman, and Master Sancho was -too anxious to gain his aid or counsel to neglect anything that might -tend to put him in good humour.</p> - -<p>But although Pedro's eyes gleamed with a certain satisfaction at sight -of the festive preparations, he was shrewd enough to read between the -lines; and as he stretched his feet comfortably towards the fire, and -put back his delicate glass after a contented sip, he asked with grim -humour:</p> - -<p>"And now, friend Sancho, that you have baited your net and caught your -fly, tell me, what wouldest thou seek from out it?"</p> - -<p>The merchant's face flushed at the unexpected question, and he began -hastily: "Now, by the Holy Virgin, I protest that good fellowship—"</p> - -<p>"And some perplexity besides," interrupted Pedro with a knowing smile, -"made you anxious for my company. But tell me without hesitation what -you would have of me, for I would stretch many a point to serve so good -a neighbour."</p> - -<p>"Thou sayest so!" exclaimed worthy Sancho, as he rose hastily to his -feet, and with hand resting on the table bent over his companion, -eagerly scanning his countenance. "Thou sayest so, and would hold to -that thou hast said?"</p> - -<p>"Ay verily," was the calm answer. "Almost, maybe, to the extent of -putting my limbs in danger of the rack, if they might save thine from -the like peril thereby."</p> - -<p>However, in spite of his declaration, Master Pedro was somewhat taken -aback when his companion dropped again into his chair, muttering -thoughtfully:</p> - -<p>"Nay then, not quite so bad as that, I hope; not quite so bad as that; -although—" and he raised his voice slightly once more, and raised his -eyes to his friend again as he added—"although I certainly did think -it were prudent to seek your advice in the privacy of my own home, -rather than to proclaim my desires to the ears of the whole town. It is -now three weeks since you accused me of taking an interest in a certain -large-eyed vagrant boy—"</p> - -<p>"Ay indeed," with fading interest, "of watching the bundle of rags as a -dog might watch a rat."</p> - -<p>"Even so. And when you have watched anything in that way for the space -of months, you end by either loving it, or holding it in abhorrence. I -have ended by loving it. And unfortunately I love where the law hates. -Father and grandfather of that bundle of rags have perished at the -mandate of the Holy Tribunal."</p> - -<p>Master Sancho ceased, and bestowed a long, silent stare upon the -glowing logs, while his companion took a long, slow sip of the rich -wine. At last the spice-dealer put down his glass, placed his hands -slowly, outspread, on his knees, and said in slow, muffled tones:</p> - -<p>"Friend Sancho, I have some rules for life which I have found good. -One of them is, 'Never give advice.' But this once I will depart from -that rule, and advise thee to rid thy heart of this unlucky love, -and for the future ever to wear thine eyes within thy cloak when yon -lean-cheeks is within sight."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" calmly ejaculated the host, still staring into the fire. "I -knew that would be thy first well-meant advice; and, to tell thee the -truth, I reckon that it may be as well for me not to be gazing at the -lad quite so much as I have done of late. It is with that belief that I -have turned to you to help me to get quit of the poor starveling."</p> - -<p>At these last unexpected words the guest started, and cast a keen, -swift glance of almost angry wonder upon his entertainer, as he said -hastily:</p> - -<p>"Nay, neighbour, what is that thou sayest? I advise thee to have nought -to do with the lad, that is true; but canst thou think, even for thy -safety, that I would aid thee to get rid of the poor fatherless one?"</p> - -<p>A smile began to steal over the merchant's broad countenance, as he -replied coolly:</p> - -<p>"Ay, verily, and that is what I can and do expect. But not, as you seem -to fear, to the lad's hurt. Here, in our Spain, it is not easy just -now to set him on his feet. But if you will give him some commission -to your son—nay, be calm and hear me out—if you will do that for the -comfort of his mother, I will furnish him clothes and a fair purse, and -trust me, I will also find means some way to smuggle him on board one -of the ships, now fitting out in the southern port of Cadiz to carry -the Commendador to Hispaniola. That is my scheme; many a good hour that -I might have enjoyed in sleep have I bestowed upon it, and now you are -going to aid me to carry it through."</p> - -<p>"Never!" exclaimed Master Pedro, excitedly; "never, never! Not for all -the maravedis that ever fell into the coffers of the Holy Office will -I help thee to help one who inherits its suspicions. Dost hear me, -neighbour Sancho?—I say, never!"</p> - -<p>"Ay, ay, I hear thee," calmly replied the individual addressed. "I -heard thee say that same 'never' in my dreams two days ago, and -answered thee with 'ever.' Now I hear thee say it actually with thy -lips, and still I answer it with 'ever.' But take another taste of the -wine, friend Pedro; fill thy glass again, if but to see the mingling -of the colours, and draw in thy chair closer to the warmth. No need to -neglect the comforts of the body because thy mind is perturbed."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" growled the other. "Thou hast well put into words the doctrine of -thy life, I warrant me."</p> - -<p>Master Sancho laughed.</p> - -<p>"And if so, neither words nor doctrine, can any say, have served -me shabbily. If it should so fall out in the future that even in -this world I must suffer for my sins, or for other folks' caprices, -nevertheless in the past my face hath had its share of rejoicing in the -sunshine of its own smiles."</p> - -<p>"It is in the sunshine of the smiles of others," retorted the -spice-dealer, "that most men would fain be able to rejoice."</p> - -<p>"Ay, even so, and that is where most men fall into error," was the calm -reply. "Comfort from the smiles of others is like the fleeting comfort -a sick beggar gets from the glow of another man's fire. A healthy man -has the abiding glow in his own veins, and he carries it about with him -where he goes. Thus is it when the spring of smiles is within thine own -heart, man, and thou art led to accept gratefully blessings as they -fall to thy hand."</p> - -<p>The spice-merchant's eyes opened somewhat roundly as he heard this -short philosophical-sounding speech, so very unlike his jovial -neighbour's ordinary conversation, but before he could utter the -sarcastic words of surprise hovering on his tongue, he was recalled to -his recent anxieties by his friend continuing in a more earnest tone:</p> - -<p>"And thus, as I like to grasp at the blessings as they come—the -blessings of good fire, good friends, good food; good fun—so I -can even open my hand wide enough to take hold of another sort of -blessings, when they are thrust upon me so plainly that I can but see -they are being offered. Do you mind the text upon which Father Ignatius -preached to us on Christmas Day?"</p> - -<p>Master Pedro considered a moment, and shook his head. To say truth, -when that sermon began, his head was occupied with the doubt of whom he -should trust to send with his next consignment of money, glass beads, -and other things, to his son.</p> - -<p>"It was appropriate to the occasion," he said at last with a clever -evasion worthy of the Delphic oracle.</p> - -<p>But his companion was too much in earnest now to smile. He replied -quietly:</p> - -<p>"The text was this: 'Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least -of these, my brethren, ye did it not to me. Depart from me, ye cursed, -into everlasting fire.'"</p> - -<p>So sternly solemn was his utterance of those two final words, that -the other was thrilled with it, and moving uneasily on his seat, he -muttered:</p> - -<p>"One would think you were talking of the Holy Tribunal itself, to hear -you."</p> - -<p>"Only," ejaculated Sancho, "that I am talking of something -infinitely more terrible. The one fire is for five minutes, the -other—everlasting. I prefer the five minutes' one, if it must come -to the choice. But, if you will help me, I think not we shall run -much risk of either. Those who are in danger of their lives over -here, and endanger those who aid them, are perfectly welcome, I have -discovered, to imperil those same lives on their own account in the -other hemisphere, for the glory of our country. And, on this I am -resolved—yon black-eyed rascal shall have his chance with the rest."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>A POWERFUL FRIEND.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Come with me, and ask no questions."</p> - -<p>Such was the oracular order addressed by Master Pedro to his friend, -Master Sancho, the morning after the conversation over that wonderful -new wine of Madeira, and, with great alacrity, the merchant prepared to -obey, exclaiming, with a joyous rub of his hands:</p> - -<p>"Ah, neighbour, have your will in that matter of the questioning, for -well I guess you would not think to fetch me from my business at this -hour of a working-day but on account of our last night's confab."</p> - -<p>However, for all so sure as he had felt on the matter, he began to be -uncomfortably doubtful when his companion led him from his own door -into the next, from which issued the mingled odours of every known -spice under the sun, and none of them, to worthy Sancho's thinking, -deserving to be compared with the sweet airs wafted over the fields of -their own native lavender.</p> - -<p>"Come in then," testily exclaimed Master Pedro, from the interior of a -room just within the house, and at the entrance of which his friend -had been arrested by the snarlings of two particularly vicious-looking -pups. "Come in; they'll not hurt thee. They know better than to touch a -Spaniard. They are to teach manners to the natives out yonder."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" ejaculated Sancho, with an involuntary shudder, and a look -expressive both of disgust and anger. But he quickly concealed these -emotions. For the present he had one great object in view, and for its -furtherance he must keep his companion in good humour, although his own -was tested to the uttermost, not only by the dogs and their purpose, -but by Master Pedro's employment for the next twenty minutes or so.</p> - -<p>The trader with Venice well enough understood the merits and beauties -of crystal-clear lustres, coloured vases, and golden goblets, and he -had a fair taste in the velvets from Genoa and the fine straws from -Tuscany, but of what use or value all those Moorish tags and rags -could be, which the curiosity-dealer was turning over, save to patch -the holes in the cloaks of the beggars who lay around the doors of the -neighbouring church of San Salvador, he could not imagine.</p> - -<p>"Nay, friend Pedro," he exclaimed at last, with an effort to show no -temper, and to still speak pleasantly; "nay, friend Pedro, if thou hast -brought me here to get a bid from me for yon small rubbish-heap, I tell -thee frankly I value it at nought, seeing it will not even serve to -feed a fire with. Nevertheless, I will even take it, to pleasure thee -and to save mine own time, and at what price you list."</p> - -<p>"Wilt thou then that?" said the other, with a grim smile, as he slowly -lifted himself up from stooping over the pile of lumber, of all hues -and textures, rich and sombre-coloured, thick and fragile. "Another -time, neighbour Sancho, I would warn thee to be more chary of passing -thy word to a blind bargain, lest one more cunning than thyself should -hold thee to the promise. To purchase the rare wares of this small -rubbish-heap would take many more than all the maravedis paid thee -yester morn for thy lustres, by the fathers of San Jacomb. This veil -alone hath been purchased of me for a fair round sum."</p> - -<p>Master Sancho stared at the filmy texture, disfigured here and there -with rents, and shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Thy wife, Doña Carlina, would not wear it."</p> - -<p>"She will not have the chance. That veil, now many years since, -shrouded the form of a Sultana—the ill-used queen of Aba-Abdalla, -the last king of the Moors in Granada, thanks to the Virgin, our good -knights, and Queen Isabella. And now Señor Antonio del Rincon hath -hired it, and various others of these draperies, for the finishing of -his great picture of the Life of the Blessed Virgin."</p> - -<p>"And when he hath done with it?" inquired the good merchant, with -something of growing reverence.</p> - -<p>"Then it hath been purchased by a party of the ricos hombres,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> who -have vowed it to St. Jago, in memory of that grand day ten years -ago, when our valiant Spanish knights adventured themselves, in the -disguise of Turks, within the walls of Granada, as champions of their -enemy's helpless queen. But come, friend, time passes, and Señor -Antonio will be waiting for his stuffs."</p> - -<p>As it was not good Sancho, but Master Pedro himself who had been -delaying the expedition, the friends were soon enough on the road -now that he was ready; and a hope began to dawn again in the mind of -Montoro's new patron, that made amends to him for the loss of minutes -from his daily toils.</p> - -<p>"Señor Antonio del Rincon stands high in favour at the Court, -neighbour," he observed at last, meditatively, as they walked along, -side by side, to their destination; and Master Pedro answered shortly:</p> - -<p>"Ay, neighbour; even so. He doth."</p> - -<p>The reply was given in a tone not exactly inviting to further converse, -but that zealous Sancho nevertheless continued, still thoughtfully:</p> - -<p>"Ay, ay. And doubtless being a favourite he hath influence to obtain a -favour if so be he could be influenced to ask one."</p> - -<p>A shrewd, quick glance from his companion's eyes rewarded this -conjecture; but they and the bundle of "properties" had now arrived at -the temporary abiding-place of del Rincon, known to after-times as the -father of the Spanish School. And Master Pedro's face assumed its usual -solemn business aspect.</p> - -<p>"Mind ye," he muttered hastily, as he paused outside the door of -the studio for a moment, to pull and pat his great package into an -orderliness somewhat destroyed by its carriage from his house—"mind -ye, neighbour, I have brought thee hither, and the rest of the business -ye must manage for yourself; for never another step in so craze-pate -an affair, and one so near akin to rack and faggot, will you get me to -stir, though you should promise me the free gift of your next freight -of Venice glass entire."</p> - -<p>"Nay then, friend Pedro, I'll do more," was the laughing whisper; "if -my hopes succeed, I'll even 'you' thee in gratitude, as thou dost me -for repression."</p> - -<p>A little further compression of the wrinkled lips, a little further -wrinkling of the furrowed forehead, gave the only sign of that mocking -speech having been heard; and an instant later jovial Master Sancho -appeared as sedately ceremonious as his companion, for they had entered -the studio, and stood in the great man's presence, from whom both hoped -great things; the spice-dealer for himself, the trader with Italy for -another.</p> - -<p>A man between fifty and sixty was the Señor Antonio del Rincon, the -gravity of genius somewhat tempered in his countenance by the suavity -learned from contact with that sweet woman, as she was noble Queen, -Isabella of Castile.</p> - -<p>At the artist's elbow stood the handsome young Montoro, who raised -his great earnest eyes with a swift smile of recognition as Master -Sancho entered, and then bent them once more over the colours he was -grinding with most diligent care, for his employer. Never once again -did he cease work during the animated discussion that ensued between -the painter and the owner of the curiosities, although his friendly -well-wisher marked the eager flush that crimsoned his whole face when -a few words were spoken over the veil, of the splendid daring of Don -Juan Chacon, Ponce de Leon, and their two companions, when they stood -victors over the four false-hearted Zegries within the walls of Granada.</p> - -<p>"Humph! He is worth better things than such a task as that," ejaculated -the burgess, unconsciously uttering his thought aloud.</p> - -<p>The painter turned to him surprised.</p> - -<p>"Hey, master merchant, what is it thou sayest? That the veil is too -honourable to take a subordinate place on my canvas, thou thinkest? -Well, maybe thou art right," beginning to relapse into abstracted -contemplation of his work; but with eager deference Master Sancho -stepped forward, putting into words the first thoughts that occurred to -him. Pointing a trembling finger towards a somewhat coarse dish holding -gifts presented to the infant in the manger, he said hastily:</p> - -<p>"It was not of the veil I was thinking. But if Señor Antonio would be -pleased to accept of a dish of crystal, curiously chased, and worked -with gold and gems, for use instead of yon, I would gladly bestow it -for the grand picture's sake, and for the Virgin's honour."</p> - -<p>And thus cleverly did Master Sancho, and with true unselfishness, slip -his dexterous finger into the pie; and in the course of conferences -that day, and a few succeeding days, over the costly dish and similar -articles, he pulled out a goodly plum for Montoro Diego. The last use -the dying Antonio del Rincon was ever to make of his Court influence -was in the service of his young colour-grinder; and soon after the -opening of the new year 1502, good Sancho treated himself to a holiday, -and set out on a journey across Spain to the port of Cadiz accompanied -by Montoro, and bearing a written recommendation of his <i>protégé</i> from -the benevolent Queen to the great Admiral himself.</p> - -<p>"I thought the Virgin had decreed, my son, that I should have to -smuggle thee out of Spain in a cask of the Madeira wine, or in a Venice -flask," said the generous-hearted burgess laughing, and rubbing his -hands, as they proceeded on their first day's journey in fearlessness, -and such comfort as even in those days a well-lined purse commanded.</p> - -<p>The lad answered him with sparkling eyes. His emotions were as yet too -strong for many words. Sorrow at parting with his beloved mother for -the first time was somewhat soothed by having left her in the kind care -and friendship of Doña Carlina; but wonder at his suddenly changed -fortunes, and dazzling hopes of the future, filled his heart almost to -suffocation.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>FROM THE NEW PRINTING PRESS.</i></h3> - - -<p>"And I am surety for you, my son; so if you owe me any thanks for my -pains, be honest."</p> - -<p>Such was the parting injunction of Master Sancho, as he bade his -<i>protégé</i> farewell in the harbour of Cadiz on the morning of the 8th of -May, 1502. And with a hot flush in his cheeks, and sparkling eyes, the -youth replied quickly:</p> - -<p>"Honest! Am I not noble? How should a noble of Aragon ever sully his -name with dishonour?"</p> - -<p>"How indeed?" replied Master Sancho as he laid his hand on the lad's -shoulder and continued gravely: "One may well wonder that any bearing -the name of man should sully his manhood by aught that is base; but you -will henceforth be surrounded by many a companion who knows nought of -honour but the honour of grasping more than his neighbour, who cares -for no shame but the shame of being thought capable of virtue. See that -you become not one of them."</p> - -<p>"You have said that the great Admiral is far from being one of -such blots on Spain," said the lad more humbly. "And as I am to -be on his own ship, so I will trust to show myself deserving of -the honour. And"—he added after a moment with a sudden burst of -gratitude—"deserving of all your noble generosity towards me, and your -most helpful trust. The memory of that will be a strong guard to me -from temptation."</p> - -<p>"May St. Jago grant it!" ejaculated the good-hearted man with -affectionate fervour.</p> - -<p>And then patron and <i>protégé</i> had to exchange hasty farewells, for -Ferdinand Columbus, a boy a year or two younger than Montoro, came to -summon him on board. Kind-hearted Queen Isabella, in her good-will -towards the old and trouble-worn navigator, had given up the services -of her young page that on this occasion he might accompany his father, -and comfort him with his mingled love and enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>To Montoro also it was some secret relief to see that there was one -even younger than himself about to brave the very many known, and -many unknown, perils of those far-sought adventures and discoveries; -for more than his timid, grieving mother in El Cuevo had sought to -persuade him that, in leaving that humdrum, safe little town for -untried paths, he was foolishly relinquishing all chances of growing up -to man's estate. That the Admiral was about to take one of his own two -sons seemed a tolerable proof that matters could not be so altogether -desperate as that.</p> - -<p>Meantime, while these thoughts were flashing through Diego's brain, the -merchant's eyes had been attracted by a great iron-bound, iron-clasped -book under the boy Ferdinand's arm, and he at once remembered his -friend Pedro.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>Meantime, the merchant's eyes had been attracted by a -great iron-bound, iron-clasped book under the boy Ferdinand's arm.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"My lad," he said, with one of his most winning smiles, "I have left a -neighbour behind me in my own town who loves curiosities, and things -from past times, not only for their value as articles of merchandise, -but for their own sakes, and I would gladly pleasure him with some -worthy gift, on my return, after his own heart. Thinkest thou that I -could purchase yon great old tome of thee? Missal or Moorish prayers, -songs or quaint sayings, I care not, so it be but rare and of a -far-gone date."</p> - -<p>He put out his hand as he spoke to examine his wished-for bargain; -and as Ferdinand Columbus courteously yielded it for inspection he -accompanied the civil act with a smiling:</p> - -<p>"See for yourself, Señor, if it be old enough to suit an antiquary. -Rare it is, certainly; but for the age—it cannot boast as many years -as I. It is one of the Bibles printed, by the king's permission, in -our own tongue, by Theodoric the German, at his printing presses in -Valencia. This copy my father took with him on his first voyage, ten -years ago, across the Atlantic, and he would not think of undertaking -any great expedition without it."</p> - -<p>"And doth he greatly study it, and do you?" inquired Master Sancho, as -with mingled awe and wonder he turned the leaves of a book upon which -his eyes had never before rested.</p> - -<p>But its bearer appeared to think that it was being treated with too -much freedom, and rather anxiously held out his hands to receive it -back as he murmured in a shocked voice:</p> - -<p>"<i>I</i> study it, Señor! The holy saints forbid. That is for the priests. -It is taken with us that by its blessed power may be exorcised such -spirits of evil, and baneful influences, as we may meet with in those -unblessed regions of the West."</p> - -<p>So saying, with a formal bow to the merchant, and a sign to Montoro to -follow him, the son of the great discoverer of a new world, but not of -a more enlightened faith, returned to the small boat that was to carry -them on shipboard.</p> - -<p>Master Sancho stood on the busy strand watching with many another, -until they were drawn up the vessel's side, and then, with a tolerably -deep sigh for the loss of his young companion, he wandered away into -the streets of the bustling city, and soon became the owner of many -curious treasures brought from all parts of the known world, and far -safer possessions in that land of the Inquisition than the one he -had made an attempt, in ignorance, to buy for his timidly cautious -neighbour.</p> - -<p>Indeed, with all his own honest courage shown on behalf of the orphaned -and beggared young noble, the worthy merchant himself would not have -cared to risk travelling with a copy of the Scriptures in his bales, -unauthorized.</p> - -<p>In those days the Bible was for the priests, as Ferdinand Columbus had -said; and the priests took good care not to let the fountain of light -out of their hidden keeping. They loved darkness to reign in the land -rather than light, because their deeds were evil. But when the boy -passed the book for a few minutes into Montoro's charge, as soon as -they got on board, that he might the more readily go in search of his -father, he was not again giving it into the hands of one so ignorant of -its contents, nor to whom it was an affair of so much mystery.</p> - -<p>One small, unsuspected portion of her inheritance had Rachel Philip -saved from the rapacious grasp of the vile informer, Jerome Tivoli, the -Italian. It consisted of three rolls of vellum closely written over in -Hebrew characters, and when Don Philip's father became a Christian he -did not declare his possession of these rolls; but, on the contrary, -closely concealed them, lest he should be deprived of the pearl without -price—the Word of God.</p> - -<p>In a secresy that the more fully impressed the lessons upon his mind -had Don Philip's father taught his son to read these rolls, and to -write "in his mind and in his heart" God's law. In like manner had Don -Philip, in his turn, taught his daughter; and in like manner had Rachel -Diego taught her son to read those three rolls—the Pentateuch, the -Psalms of David, and the book of the prophet Isaiah.</p> - -<p>Through all her troubles of widowhood, wanderings, and poverty she had -kept those books, and she still kept them, for she dared not risk her -child's life with their transfer to him. But it mattered not, for their -truths were imprinted in his soul, and his faith was a living faith, -pure and free from superstition, being built upon the knowledge of -God's own Word.</p> - -<p>Many of those Jew converts who fell at the mandate of the Spanish -Inquisition were the truest Christians, the most upright men, and the -best citizens of their age, for they <i>knew</i> what they believed.</p> - -<p>From his mother's secret teaching, and his own reading, the young -Montoro had become wise unto salvation before the new career began that -had been opened up for him by the merchant's benevolence; and when he -stepped on board the world-renowned Admiral's ship it may be safely -said that the young sweet-voiced, earnest-eyed lad was the mental -superior of most of those with whom he was surrounded. He had now a -great curiosity to see what might be the contents of the Christian -parts of the Bible; and while he awaited his young companion's return, -and was pushed with scant ceremony out of the way of the rough sailors, -only to be hustled yet more imperiously aside by the penniless but -haughty hidalgos who were setting out, as they fondly believed, on a -royal road to fortune, he had the opportunity to gratify his desire.</p> - -<p>Partly by others' driving, partly by his own good management, he at -length got comfortably stowed away into a quiet corner, and there, -dropping himself down on to a bale of goods, he carefully unclasped the -great book, and turned towards the latter half.</p> - -<p>He began to read at once the first words of the first page that opened -beneath his eyes, for the disputes he had witnessed during the past few -minutes between several of his self-asserting companions made them -appear startlingly appropriate.</p> - -<p>"And there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should be -accounted the greatest."</p> - -<p>Many a time did those words recur to his memory during the coming -years, but just then, as he sat in his obscure corner in enforced -quietude and inactivity, he read on and on with forgetfulness even of -his novel position and commencing adventures, in his absorbing interest -in a history then read and fully understood for the first time. We know -the account of our Lord's agony, base betrayal, and awfully cruel death -so well that we have not the faintest idea of how intensely it moved -intelligent minds, who first quietly perused it for themselves in its -own pathetic simplicity, unspoilt in its solemn appeal by any priestly -shows or pageants.</p> - -<p>Montoro Diego clenched his fists and his eyes flashed as he read of -Peter's denial of his Lord and friend.</p> - -<p>"Mean coward!" he muttered. And then his own eyes grew dim as he read -how the slandered, insulted Son of man, the denied of his own chosen -companion, "turned, and looked upon Peter." He seemed to feel his own -being thrilled with the sad reproach, the tender compassion, and the -full forgiveness of that look, and a smothered choking sob parted his -own lips, as "Peter went out, and wept bitterly."</p> - -<p>He read on undisturbed, until he suddenly, as it seemed to him, -received an answer to many long-standing, half-formed questions in his -mind, with the words:</p> - -<p>"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in -all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself."</p> - -<p>That was the last of his reading for that day, and for many days to -come.</p> - -<p>Montoro's eyes were resting on the words—"And beginning at Moses," -his lips were repeating a phrase that seemed for him to form the close -connecting link between the religion given by God to his forefathers, -and the crown of that religion as sealed by Jesus Christ, when -energetic young Fernando found him out in his hiding-place. The younger -boy pounced upon the volume instantly, with a half-indignant cry.</p> - -<p>"Nay then, Diego, if that be thy name, I gave thee this volume of my -father's to hold; there was no commission attached that thou shouldst -read it, or even so much as venture to unclose the clasps. It is more -than I have done, myself."</p> - -<p>Montoro rose from his rough couch, and for all apology said with a -long-drawn breath:</p> - -<p>"I have found wonderful things therein."</p> - -<p>Half-an-hour later it would have appeared that all memory of those -wonderful things was lost. The anchors of the somewhat shabby little -fleet of four vessels were being raised, and with flushed cheeks -and eyes blazing with excitement Montoro Diego was making amends -for ignorance by the most determined vigour and good-will. Such a -little while ago he had been hustled on one side as a useless bit of -goods, whose room was worth more than his company; but already his -keen-sightedness and ready hands had reversed the judgments of those in -his immediate neighbourhood in his favour.</p> - -<p>The afternoon was wearing on, when a grave, kind voice addressed him:</p> - -<p>"My son, I have been observing you. You have done well."</p> - -<p>It was the Admiral himself who spoke, the grand old man who had -attained to ever great heights of humility as he attained to greater -fame, and who never held himself too high to see the worthy efforts of -his humblest follower.</p> - -<p>Montoro's handsome face grew brilliant with delight, and as he bent -it gratefully in acknowledgment of the commendation, his heart seemed -to rise to the possible achievement of deeds of hitherto unheard-of -heroism. At that moment he little knew what those deeds would be; deeds -not indeed wholly unmatched in the previous history of the world, but -yet so rare that, not infidels, but, on the contrary, the most earnest -believers in Christianity, are tempted sometimes to believe that their -faith must be a fable, and those who proclaim its teachings must do so -to tickle their hearers' ears, and as a pastime of the moment.</p> - -<p>Having uttered his few words of encouraging praise, Columbus passed on, -and Montoro, for whom there was no further employment for the moment, -turned to lean over the side of the vessel, and watch the receding -shores of his native land, the fast-diminishing lines of the harbour -of Cadiz, and its throngs of traders from all nations. His mother was -very present with him at that minute, and his mother's parting words:</p> - -<p>"You, the unknown and disinherited noble of Aragon, son of a -foully-slandered and slain father, are, in the world's eyes, nought. -You, the boy Montoro de Diego, may be a hero, the winner of fresh glory -for your name, the gainer of the highest honour from your fellow-men. -The past is not your fault, the future may be your praise. Keep firm to -God and the truth, and fear none."</p> - -<p>That last injunction "to fear none" was indeed little needed in the -sense in which the boy took it.</p> - -<p>"I am not wont to fear," he said, with a touch of impatient pride, -adding the next instant, as his eyes rested on his mother's gentle -face, and with a mischievous smile, "I rather thought, my mother, that -your counsels to me generally were against being overbold."</p> - -<p>"That is true," was the reply, with a fleet answering smile. "But -that is in matters concerning thyself, my son. Be ever backward in -self-assertion, and ever fearless in the cause of justice, truth, and -mercy. As thy father was, so I pray that his son may be."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"My father saith that he likes the look of thy face, and wills that we -may be friends."</p> - -<p>Such was the abrupt announcement of that courtly page and intrepid -young adventurer, Fernando Columbus, breaking in upon Montoro's -reverie, and joining him at his post by the vessel's side.</p> - -<p>A third person stood there also for a minute,—a man with grey hair, -and a form shrunken with old age,—and a tear rolled slowly down his -furrowed cheek as he gazed for the last time at his country's strand.</p> - -<p>Montoro's great eyes widened with questioning wonder at sight of the -bowed old man, and when he withdrew he asked his companion, in low -tones, what could have possibly induced one so infirm to set out upon -such toilsome journeyings.</p> - -<p>Ferdinand turned his head to look after the retreating figure, and -shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I suppose his inducement would be -thought by many people a more sensible one than those of the rest of -us, although, if we have anything of a rough voyage, I doubt he will be -proved to have set out too tardily."</p> - -<p>"Still, I hope for my part we shall not always have these smooth -waters," impulsively exclaimed the inexperienced young sailor. "I want -to see what a storm on the ocean is like. But that by the by. Just now -I wish to know what is the inducement of that old hidalgo for leaving -his own home, and the comforts he seems to need. Why do you think it is -a sensible one?"</p> - -<p>"Because," answered the younger boy more gravely, "gold without life is -useless, and even glory without it is not much worth. And various of -our nobles at the Court have come to the belief that the fountain of -youth wastes its precious waters in some hitherto undiscovered region -of this New World. The brave knight, Ponce de Leon, hath determined on -an expedition to go in search of it; meantime yon wealthy Señor hopes -to bribe the Indians to bestow upon him a draught of the precious -water before it be too late. And my father though something doubtful of -this thing, hath consented that Don Aguilar should have passage with us -for the chance. He, himself, would far rather find the Holy Garden of -Eden, which he tells me most surely is out yonder."</p> - -<p>"At any rate," said one of the knightly adventurers who had now -stepped up beside the two lads; "at any rate, Ferdinand, whether thy -father finds the Garden or no, I trust that no flaming firebrands of -the Indians will hinder him from finding, and traversing, that strait -leading from this ocean into the Indian Sea, of which he seems to be so -well assured. The finding of that passage will be wealth for all of us."</p> - -<p>Unfortunately for the hopes of those days, that expected passage proved -to be a land one, and is now called the Isthmus of Darien, which art, -not nature, promises soon to convert into the realization of Columbus's -belief.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>A JACK IN OFFICE.</i></h3> - - -<p>It was the 29th of June. There was a hush on board the Admiral's ship. -Yonder were visible the white low houses of San Domingo on the island -of Hispaniola. Around the ship the sea lay still and grey, and the -sails hung limp in the hot, heavy air.</p> - -<p>A knot of men gathered close around a cabin, listening with lowering -brows and compressed lips to bitter groaning, and sobbing cries, that -were being wrung from one within, by his wounded soul. Well might the -old and way-worn discoverer of mighty continents feel tempted at that -moment to cry: "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?"</p> - -<p>A storm was coming on; one of his four poor, shabby vessels—that on -which his beloved brother Bartholomew held command—was in a shattered -condition, and he had asked leave to take shelter in the harbour of the -small island he had himself given to Spain, and Spaniards had refused -him! What wonder that the noble and generous heart of the old Admiral -was wrung to its very depths! What wonder that, as Montoro leant with -Fernando against the cabin-door, the lad clenched his fists until the -nails almost cut his palms, and muttered fiercely to his boy friend:</p> - -<p>"Fernando, ask thy father's leave. There is not a man on board will -refuse to turn our guns against those miscreants, though they were -twenty times our countrymen. Only let him give the word, and he shall -be speedily avenged."</p> - -<p>"Ay, speedily," echoed two or three hoarse voices in the group, from -those who had caught the tenor of Montoro's passionate request, and the -Admiral's young son raised his eyes gratefully. His steadfast face was -pale with emotion, his lips trembled. Even this weak testimony to his -father was some comfort.</p> - -<p>"I only wish," he exclaimed, struggling to speak with manly calm; "I -only wish that, as you say, the Admiral would give the word that we -should let our guns loose against the dastard hounds. We would soon -teach them a lesson they should not easily forget."</p> - -<p>"Nay then, young Señor, how about yon fleet?" asked one of the sailors -significantly, pointing to a number of gay and gallant-looking ships at -a short distance within the harbour. "Think you, Señor Ferdinand, that -yon fleet would leave us alone if we took to avenging our insults by -bombarding the town? And they are close upon twenty to one!"</p> - -<p>"What of that?" hastily ejaculated Montoro, his cheeks still crimson -with excitement. "God fights on the side of right and just—"</p> - -<p>He stopped abruptly. The sounds of grief within the cabin had ceased -during this short discussion, and at this instant the door opened, -and a hand was laid on Montoro's shoulder, while the well-known slow, -distinct voice said with grave earnestness:</p> - -<p>"That is true, my son. The great Father fights on the side of right -and justice. But He still better loves to espouse the cause of the -merciful. Instead of seeking to destroy life let us rather try to save -it, that with the measure we mete it may be measured to us again."</p> - -<p>"That comes out of the great book I gave thee to hold the day we -started," whispered Fernando to his companion, who nodded. It had been -a favourite quotation of the benevolent old priest, Bartolo. Meantime -Christopher Columbus proceeded to give proof that he spoke not with his -lips only but from his heart.</p> - -<p>The great fleet in the harbour of San Domingo was that which had -brought out his superseder, Ovando, a few weeks since, and it was now -in all the bustle of preparation for a speedy return to Spain with -crowds of home-going adventurers, many ill-wishers to the just and -virtuous discoverer, numbers of prisoners Spanish and native, and an -immense amount of gold, pearls, and other treasures, well-nigh every -ounce of which had cost a life.</p> - -<p>On board this fleet were the Admiral's most bitter enemies; on board -its grandest vessel was the narrow-minded, mean-spirited upstart, -Bobadilla, who, to the ever-enduring disgrace of his own name and of -his country, had dared to send the great seaman, the great thinker, -the man of unbounded hopes, enthusiasm, courage, endurance, and -magnanimity—the man who to Bobadilla was as a lion to a rat—had dared -to send this giant hero home in chains like a vile malefactor but two -years before, and had covetously grasped at his possessions, impudently -installing himself in the house of his patient victim, and laying -greedy hands upon his arms, gold, plate, jewels, horses, books, and -even his letters and precious manuscripts.</p> - -<p>Against that fleet, with all its proud sumptuousness contrasted with -the miserable little squadron granted to Columbus, and against his base -enemies on board, the company on board his own ship considered that he -had a full right to feel the most vengeful wrath. It was not Montoro -only who could scarcely believe his ears when, after the pause of a -few moments following his sacred quotation—moments devoted to further -keen, close scrutiny of those weather signs in which he was so deeply -skilled—the Admiral summoned forward the crew of the boat that had -just returned, and despatched them with a second message to the new -governor Ovando, to entreat him to save the fleet from the certainly -approaching storm, by a few days' delay of their departure.</p> - -<p>"Better to leave them to meet their fate as they leave us," muttered -Montoro, with the yet unconquered passion of his nature. But once again -that firm touch came upon his shoulder. The Admiral's quick ears had -caught the growl, low as it was.</p> - -<p>"My son," he said quietly, "you shall go with my messengers. That will -be a fitting rebuke for you, will it not," he added with a grave -smile, "for uttering opinions contrary to those of your commander, and -contrary to those of the Divine Ruler of the universe?"</p> - -<p>Obeying a sudden impulse of veneration, Diego snatched the aged hand -in his own, and pressed it to his lips. "I can never attain to your -generosity, Señor," he murmured, "nor be thus forgiving to those -wrongfully my enemies."</p> - -<p>Just as the boat was starting, Ferdinand Columbus bent over the ship's -side, and called mischievously:</p> - -<p>"Diego, there, hark ye!"</p> - -<p>"Ay, what is it then?" asked Montoro, as he lifted his head, resting -on his oar the while. "What news hast thou since I left thee and the -caravel?"</p> - -<p>"Great news," was the mischievous answer. "My father gives me leave to -tell thee that, since thou art doubtless feared by reason of the coming -storm, he will obtain permission at least for such a whipper-snap as -thou to abide on shore."</p> - -<p>That quick, unmanageable spirit of Montoro's was set all ablaze for -a moment at the supposed imputation of cowardice; and he was about -to shout back an answer little in accordance with his late act of -reverence, but Diego Mendez, the officer in command of the little -embassy, hastily clapped his hand over the lad's mouth, as he said with -a short laugh:</p> - -<p>"Nay now, art thou not a very fool to be so taken in? Dost thou not see -by thy tormentor's face that the brain of no Columbus but himself made -up that message for thee?"</p> - -<p>The friendly intervention was timely. When Fernando called down -again—"Say then, dost accept the offer?"—his companion's face was -brimming over with merriment like his own, as the retort was shouted up:</p> - -<p>"Ha, Fernando, my good Señor, thou art but a sorry messenger. My -absent ears have caught the purport of thy father's words better than -thy present ones. The Admiral's message to me is, that since thou art -feared, I must obtain a leave to land for thee. I bid thee, then, calm -thy quaking heart, since I will not fail. Adios."</p> - -<p>"And a slap o' the ear for thee when thou returnest," was the answering -shout; and then the boat cast off, and was rowed with vigorous strokes -to that once fertile, but already so dismal and desolated island of -Hispaniola, the head-quarters of cruelty, lawlessness, suffering, and -rapacity.</p> - -<p>Montoro was very quickly to have a specimen of the deeds that had -brought the island to its present wretched condition.</p> - -<p>As the boat approached the strand, crowds of idlers gathered about, -some to give the new-comers welcome, more to express their contemptuous -dislike of the Admiral by covert sneers or openly-expressed scorn -bestowed upon his followers.</p> - -<p>There, flaunting in silks and brocades, which not even the proudest -hidalgos dared any longer wear in Spain, stood half-a-dozen men, who -had been loosed from richly-deserved felons' dungeons at home, to serve -as colonists for the New World. Near them, reclining in a sumptuous -litter, borne upon the bleeding shoulders of four of the meek-spirited -and unhappy natives, was an ignorant, cunning rascal, whom Montoro had -himself seen carried off to prison for theft in El Cuevo. Now he lay -there in all the insolent dignity of riches, with a palm-leaf umbrella -borne over his head by one slave, whilst another sickly-looking -creature fanned him.</p> - -<p>Closer to the edge of the soft-lapping waters was a real Spanish Don, -whose poverty-stricken estate had driven him to hide his thread-bare -pride in exile. To indemnify himself for leaving his beloved Castile, -he spent his whole time and thoughts on the island in squeezing wealth, -almost, as it seemed, even out of its very stones. His slaves died off -day by day, very nearly as soon as they were allotted to him; but that -was nought to their owner, so long as with the remnants of their dying -strength they reaped his harvests, and brought up gold for him from the -mines. They were to him as machines for making riches; and when one of -the machines wore out, it must be tossed aside to make room for another.</p> - -<p>But with all Don Alfonzo's heartless barbarities to his miserable -victims, he had a warm corner in his callous heart for his own -countrymen, whoever they might be. All Spaniards were friends to Don -Alfonzo, while the ocean lay between him and his home. He watched the -progress of the incoming boat with eyes almost as eager as those with -which, week by week, he counted his golden gains; and when, from the -shallowness of the water, the rowers had to stop some way short of -dry ground, he looked round hastily for some one whom he could order -off for their assistance. None of his own people were in sight, but a -weak, wan-faced Indian lay beside him, and him the nobleman immediately -commanded to rise, and go into the water to help drag up the boat.</p> - -<p>With a moan the poor creature began to obey, but too slowly to suit the -despotic impatience of the Spaniard.</p> - -<p>"Hurry thy lazy carcase, then, thou black-skinned dog," he exclaimed -imperiously; and to enforce his words he raised a bamboo cane he held, -and brought it down with a fierce swish through the air, which told -its own tale of what its effect should be if it came in contact with -the native's tender flesh. As the cane rose the Indian crouched with a -low, pitiful cry, which was echoed with an added note of indignation by -Montoro from the boat.</p> - -<p>The next moment Montoro sprang to his feet with a second cry of -impulsive admiration. The stinging slash of that bamboo cane had come -down upon the arm of a young Spaniard, who had stretched it out as a -cover for the helpless Indian; and then, when the arm had performed -its allotted task, it was quietly withdrawn, terribly cut as it must -have been, and folded over its owner's chest, who as quietly turned and -confronted Don Alfonzo.</p> - -<p>"It is the command of our Sovereign, Queen Isabella," he said firmly, -"that the Indians be treated with humanity, and according to law."</p> - -<p>"Who is that?" asked Montoro, as he sprang on to the sandy shore, and -pointed out the young man who had made his arm serve so readily for -another man's shield.</p> - -<p>Shyness was never one of Montoro Diego's failings; and now curiosity -and a generous admiration made him put his question eagerly to the -first person he came up to. All he got at first was a return question -to match his own, a good-humoured:</p> - -<p>"And pray, then, who are you? If you're come to work you are welcome; -if you have come to make others work, you may as well be off again, for -there are more than enough of that sort here already."</p> - -<p>"I am going off again," replied Diego laughing. "I have not come to -stay; not just yet, at least. But do tell me who that young Señor is."</p> - -<p>"Well, he's a crack-brained young Señor, to begin with," was the reply, -with a shrug of the shoulders. "His name is Bartholomew Las Casas, -and he's only been out here a few weeks. He came out with Ovando. His -father came out here before, with the Admiral himself."</p> - -<p>Montoro grew still more interested.</p> - -<p>"But why do you call him crack-brained?"</p> - -<p>"Because he is crack-brained. Crazy as he can be about what he calls -the wrongs of the black rascals out here. His father took one over for -him to have as his own in Spain, five or six years ago, and comfortable -enough the fellow was with such a soft-hearted master. Then comes the -royal order that there are to be no more of these Indian slaves in -Spain; that they are not cruelly to be kept from their own country, -and they are forthwith all packed back again, to be grabbed at as fast -as they arrive, and worked to quick deaths in the mines. Meantime, our -young Señor Las Casas has been taught to think a whole host of nonsense -about their miseries, and his duties of relieving them. If he uses his -arms as their covers in his fashion just now he'll pretty soon need -some one to relieve him.”</p> - -<p>"Ay, verily," murmured Montoro musingly as he turned away from his -informant and rejoined his companions. The history of his own family's -wrongs had made him more keenly alive to the wrongs of others. He had -a generous feeling of envy that it had been the arm of the young Las -Casas, and not his own, that had taken the blow for the Indian. But, as -the great American poet says,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -"A boy's will is the wind's will."</div> - -<p>Before half-an-hour had passed Montoro's will had veered round once -more—from a desire to relieve injuries to a desire to inflict them. -For humanity's sake Columbus had sent urgent warnings and entreaties -that the departure of the fleet might be delayed a few days, to avoid -the coming storm. And for his charity he received contempt. The -Governor and his counsellors looked at the quiet sky, the calm sea, -they felt the soft breeze on their cheeks, and the contemptuous answer -was sent back:</p> - -<p>"In this year of grace dreamers of dreams are out of fashion."</p> - -<p>"When I see the Admiral's letters patent as the authorized reader of -the heavens, and the interpreter of its signs," said the Governor -haughtily, "doubtless he will find me an obedient pupil. Meantime I -prefer instruction when I ask for it."</p> - -<p>"He and all the rest of them deserve to be drowned if they are not," -said Diego Mendez indignantly, as he returned with his party to the -boat, and put back to the ship.</p> - -<p>Montoro's thoughts flew back to the cannon on board. He felt just then -as if nothing on earth would so well satisfy him as to see them pointed -at the Governor's house, to see their flash, to hear their roar, and to -witness the wholesale destruction they could cause.</p> - -<p>"Why was there no young Las Casas to avenge this insult to the Admiral?"</p> - -<p>But there was One mightier than Las Casas to do that, One whose -artillery was mightier than the cannon in which Montoro put such -confidence. Two days passed, and then the tropical storm burst in -all its fury. To such poor, unforbidden shelter as he could find the -Admiral had guided his battered little squadron, and there he and his -followers waited, and watched the gathering gloom of earth and sea and -air and sky; and well it might seem to some of those watchers that a -spirit of retributive wrath was brooding over the scene of cruelty, -treachery, and insolence.</p> - -<p>"It will require all their seamanship to ride out the coming -hurricane," said the pilot, Antonio de Alaminos, on the second day, as -he regarded somewhat dubiously their own quarters.</p> - -<p>And Diego Mendez answered moodily:</p> - -<p>"I should heave no sigh if they and their ill-gotten wealth went to the -bottom of the deep before mine eyes; but I do grieve to have heard that -on the craziest of their barques they are carrying home the Admiral's -gold, the poor remnant of his rents they have permitted him."</p> - -<p>"Never have care for that, Señor," said the young Fernando earnestly. -"It is my father's, and it will be kept safe for him."</p> - -<p>"It is as well that thou canst console thyself with that belief, any -way," muttered the man, as the boy went off to where Columbus was -already issuing orders, needed by the sudden wild gusts of wind that -came as forerunners of the tempest.</p> - -<p>Then came the wild roar and whirl, and darkness made more awful by the -fiery flashes that momentarily illumined the terrors of the scene. -On land trees uprooted, houses flung into ruins as though made by -children's hands of cards, the fields of maize changed as in an instant -from fields of gold to grey, scorched deserts. Living beings struck at -a breath into corpses; others crushed in the downfall of their homes. -And at sea those four poor cranky vessels, which were all a great -country could afford its great benefactor, tossing and toiling in the -boiling sea.</p> - -<p>Now the waters would seethe as though some hideous cauldron, prepared -by evil spirits for some demon feast, and the doomed vessels shook -through every plank and spar as though with living horror. And then, -with a sudden shock the waters would rush together, and mount wildly -into mountain waves crowned with crests of foam.</p> - -<p>The ships lost sight of each other. Sailors and adventurers all -gave themselves up for death. In a delirium of fear they confessed -their sins to whoever would heed the dismal catalogue. Ave Marias, -invocations of the saints, and such fragments of Scripture as they -knew, were groaned forth on all sides, rather as invocations than -prayers, as the days went by, and still the furious battle of nature -raged.</p> - -<p>The fellow to that storm not even the veteran navigator of all seas -had experienced before. At times during the blackness of the night it -would seem to the affrighted mariners as though hell itself had opened -its jaws to swallow them. Making a pathway for themselves through the -darkness, the raging billows would suddenly rush onwards brilliant with -light, and surround the ship and its awe-struck occupants with a sea -of flame. For a day and night the heavens glowed as a furnace; and the -reverberating peals of thunder sounded to the distracted sailors as the -last despairing cries from the other ships of their sinking comrades. -What was becoming of the wretched, foolhardy creatures on board -Ovando's proud fleet they had no longer care to think. Drenched with -the ceaseless sheet of rain, which poured down day and night throughout -that long week of storm continually, exhausted with toil, worn with -fears, Columbus and his company were to be still further tried by the -majestic terrors of those southern seas.</p> - -<p>Wildly tossed as was the whole ocean, it suddenly became observed, with -deepening dread, that in one spot the agitation was still redoubled. -Even as they looked the waters reared themselves higher and yet higher, -grim and terrible as a giant pillar of molten lead; while a livid cloud -bent down from the heavens to meet it. Thus joining, and ever gathering -fresh size and force as it sucked up the waves in its headlong course, -the dreadful column rushed on towards the ships.</p> - -<p>The Admiral came forth from his cabin with the iron-clasped Bible open -in his hands, to exorcise the evil spirit abroad for their destruction. -Men hardened in callousness fell on their knees in silent prayer. -Antonio de Alaminos stood gazing with fixed eyes at the invincible -enemy. His skill and knowledge were powerless in the presence of that -foe. As he stood there waiting for the end he was startled by a voice -beside him so clear, so calm, that it was distinct even in the midst of -that wild tumult.</p> - -<p>"Alaminos, thinkest thou that we shall live through the storm?"</p> - -<p>Starting, the pilot turned his gaze for a moment from the advancing -column, and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"Montoro! boy, hast thou no fears?"</p> - -<p>"None," was the low, soft answer of his lips. "None," was the answer -of his rapt, earnest eyes, full of a beautiful awe and reverence. "He -holds the storm in His hand, and us."</p> - -<p>Even as the boy spoke the vessel swerved, the waterspout passed on -beside it, and they were safe.</p> - -<p>"The Admiral's Bible has saved us," exclaimed the mariners, as wild -with joy as they had been with fear.</p> - -<p>Alaminos, the pilot, looked at Montoro de Diego, and said nothing. For -the first time in his life the thought had stolen into his mind whether -the faith to be learnt from the teaching of the Bible might not be a -more precious thing than even its print and paper.</p> - -<p>The force of the long-protracted tempest was at length spent; the -sea subsided, and Columbus's scattered caravals, none of them lost, -gathered together again to offer thanks to God for their preservation, -and to seek the shelter and refreshment no longer denied them, in the -ports of Hispaniola.</p> - -<p>The storm had passed, but it had left behind it sorrow and shame and -gloom on the countenances of Ovando the Governor, and those about him. -The gay, grand fleet, despatched against the Admiral's advice, was -lost, with all those many hundreds of souls on board, and all that -wealth. The Admiral's enemies had perished; Bobadilla, the mutinous -Roldan, and many another. Those gallant ships were gone. Only that -poor, mean, weak little barque, inferior to all its consorts, that had -been thought good enough to carry the Admiral's grudged revenue, that -lived through the storm, and took its little treasure safe into the -Spanish port.</p> - -<p>"It is my father's; I told you that God would guard it," said Fernando -Colon, some months later, when the strange, good news of that survivor -reached his ears.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE FIRST FIND.</i></h3> - - -<p>Great storms are very terrible, and weeks of drenching rains, Montoro -de Diego, and his friend Ferdinand Columbus, had time to discover, -were most disagreeable accompaniments to travels whether by water or -land. As for poor Don Aguilar, the hardships of the way killed him, -as Fernando Colon had foreseen, before he had a chance to purchase -a draught from that dreamt-of fountain of youth. And long-continued -dismal weather very nearly also killed the courage at least of most of -the old hidalgo's companions.</p> - -<p>After that first great storm, a few days were passed at Port Hermosa, -to refresh the crews, and repair the caravels, and then Columbus -started forth again to find the wished-for, but non-existent, strait -through the Isthmus of Darien. Having spent about five months in this -fruitless search he gave it up, greatly to the delight of the whole of -his companions. They were much more anxious after what they considered -the infinitely superior quest for the gold mines of Veragua, distant -about thirty leagues from Porto Bello.</p> - -<p>What with cross currents, however, contrary winds, and bad weather, -those thirty leagues took nearly a month in the traversing, and it was -not until the day of the Epiphany, 1503, that the Admiral reached the -mouth of a river, to which he gave the name of Belen, or Bethlehem. In -the immediate neighbourhood of this river was the country said to be -so rich in the precious mineral that Columbus felt convinced that, as -further discoveries would find the Garden of Paradise in the new-found -world, so also he was on the borders of that land of Ophir whence king -Solomon had drawn his stores of the valued treasure. Meanwhile, every -one but himself, and his son Ferdinand, was very eager to get similar -treasure for his own purse, and so soundings somewhat less cautious -than usual were taken, the four caravels crossed the bar at the -mouth of the river Belen, now swollen by past months of rain, sailed -some little distance up it, and there cast anchor for a season of -exploration.</p> - -<p>Montoro was as wild with eager excitement and delight as any one, when -he obtained leave to go with the first boats sent on shore.</p> - -<p>"Do you then, too, care so much for gold?" asked his friend Fernando, -in a disappointed tone, as he saw his companion's glowing face. "I had -not thought it of thee."</p> - -<p>"Nor need now," was the quick answer. "I go not to hunt for gold, but -glory. My father's wealth they robbed him of. The glory he won on the -walls of Alhama will cling as long as time shall last to the name of -Don Montoro de Diego. Such glory, and not gold, would I win also."</p> - -<p>"Nobly spoken, my lad of the quick temper," said Señor Diego Mendez, -in smiling allusion to the time when he had hindered hasty words by -putting his hand over the boy's mouth. Since that day Diego Mendez -had many times taken note of his young companion. Neither Montoro's -ability, courage, wit, nor readiness were lost upon him, and the -occasion was soon to come now when he was to show his appreciation of -them.</p> - -<p>As the boats' crews stepped on shore, one or two of the eager seekers -after fortune gathered up handfuls of the glistening sand, eyeing it -sharply, as they did so, in such a way that Diego Mendez exclaimed with -a laugh:</p> - -<p>"Why now, comrades, would it not be well, think you, just to set to -work, and shovel the shore pell-mell into the boats, and carry it off -at once to Spain? Of course you'd be rich then, no doubt, without -further trouble."</p> - -<p>"Well, we've had enough of that, at any rate, already, to deserve some -pay," grumbled one, while a couple of others sulkily enough dropped -their glittering burden to avoid further ridicule.</p> - -<p>"How pretty it is though," exclaimed Montoro, who stood watching the -wet grains as they fell shining in the sunlight. "And here is some -more up here!" he cried in astonishment half-an-hour later, suddenly -stopping short from his companions, in their progress through the -forest, and dropping on his knees beneath a tree.</p> - -<p>"Some more what?" asked half-a-dozen voices at once, as their owners -crowded round in amazed watching of their young comrade, who was most -busily grubbing away at the tree's roots.</p> - -<p>"Ay, indeed, some more what?" repeated the Adelantado, in equal -surprise. "What is it that you have found?"</p> - -<p>"Why some more of that shining sand," was the ready reply. "And of -course it is nothing worth really, only that it is somewhat strange, -methinks, to find it up here so far from the sea wet and shining."</p> - -<p>"Strange! ay, strange indeed," echoed Diego Mendez, now quickly -pressing through to his namesake's side. "Passing strange, my lad, if -it be indeed, as you say, shining because, this dry, hot day, it lies -there wet. But—is it so?"</p> - -<p>Just as that question was put Montoro raised his stooping face with -almost a startled glance at the questioner. He had told Fernando, -and told him truly, that it was glory, not gold, that he desired. -Still treasure meant power to return to his mother, power to give her -comfort, power perhaps to win back his ancestral home. And he knew now -that his hand was full, not of grains of sand, shining because they -were wet; but of grains of gold, shining with their own lustre.</p> - -<p>"No," he breathed, for a moment awed by his discovery. "No, my Señor, -this is no sand heavy with the spray of sea waves. This is the treasure -you are seeking."</p> - -<p>Montoro's find put a stop to all further explorations for that day, -excepting explorations about those roots. The entire party fell into -a state that might, far more literally than usual, be termed one of -'money-grubbing' excitement. More diligently than the greediest pigs -ever grubbed for a feast round about oak trees or beeches, or Spanish -pigs grub for truffles, did those Spanish gentlemen grub with fingers -and nails round about the trees of that wild American forest.</p> - -<p>Montoro put a crown to the triumphs of his keen-sighted eyes by finding -quite a fair-sized little lump of gold at the edge of a streamlet, -which he put by carefully for Fernando; and then he employed himself in -gathering a supply of the abundant fruits to carry back to the ship for -the general benefit.</p> - -<p>"Nay then," said Antonio de Alaminos, gratefully accepting a bunch -of bananas, "but these are worth all the gold that was ever found -or fought over, my lad. Our God gives us these as loving gifts. I -sometimes think that He has given us gold as He gave the forbidden -fruit—to try us."</p> - -<p>Montoro raised his eyes for an instant and then lowered them again, as -he murmured:</p> - -<p>"Often hath my mother said that there are many things more worth."</p> - -<p>"Truly are there," was the assent. "But hark!" he added in a louder -tone and more quickly, "here is the Admiral. He is calling for us."</p> - -<p>The summons was an important one. So satisfactory were the accounts -brought back of the country, not only as regarded the promise of gold, -but as to its general appearance of fertility and beauty, that the -Admiral forthwith resolved upon the establishment of a colony.</p> - -<p>"You think not," he demanded as Montoro and the pilot drew near; "you -think not, Mendez, that it is the finding of this glittering dust only, -that hath dazzled your eyes with respect to the virtues of the land?"</p> - -<p>Mendez was about to reply with due gravity when his friend, Rodrigo de -Escobar, broke in boldly, exclaiming:</p> - -<p>"Nay then, as the Jewish spies said of old so can we say now, that it -is a goodly land and a pleasant; and if it overfloweth not with milk -and honey, neither is it inhabited with a people akin to the Anakim; -and it has at least the grapes of Eshcol, and many a pleasant thing -besides."</p> - -<p>The Admiral smiled gravely.</p> - -<p>"All which meaneth, I take it, Señor Rodrigo, that whosoever else -believeth thy report, thou believest it thyself."</p> - -<p>De Escobar bowed, while one beside Montoro muttered with a low laugh:</p> - -<p>"Most assuredly friend Rodrigo would believe everything favourable of -a land that flowed with that best of all sweet golden honey, the real -gold itself, even though all else were desert."</p> - -<p>"And small blame to him," retorted Tristan, captain of one of the -other caravels, who had just come on board to hear the news. "Señor -de Escobar is much of my own way of thinking—that life united with -poverty is but a poor sort of an affair, not worth the trouble of the -guardianship."</p> - -<p>This being the general opinion, and a very slight amount of -questioning eliciting the universal adhesion to Rodrigo's proposition, -that a land where gold was to be gathered, even about the roots of -the trees, was a good land to stay in, it was not difficult to obtain -volunteers for the new colony.</p> - -<p>Besides, even for those who were not so madly eager for gold Veragua -had many attractions, seeing that the land abounded in rich fruits, the -water in fish, the soil was fertile, and the Cacique and his people -friendly.</p> - -<p>"And what more can you want?" said Amerigo Vespucci decisively.</p> - -<p>"What more can any men want?" said another, with a shrug of the -shoulders. "Especially men like us, who have had for these weeks past -to munch our biscuit in the dark, lest our stomachs should turn at -seeing how many and how fat were the other eaters we were obliged also -to devour."</p> - -<p>"Bah!" ejaculated De Escobar, as he flung over a morsel of the said -biscuit at the same time into the water. "It is too abominable of thee, -Tristan, thus to remind a hungry wretch of the foul nature of his food. -For thy barbarity thou shalt owe me thy first—"</p> - -<p>"Nay, Señor," interposed Montoro Diego out of the dusk; "here is -somewhat to make amends for thy lost supper. These great nuts have hard -outsides; but within they are better than our little ones of Spain."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>SURGEON TO THE REDSKINS.</i></h3> - - -<p>Colonists for the proposed new settlement having proved so easily -forthcoming, the next step in the business was to provide them -habitations, and shelter of some sort for the needful stores. -Accordingly the next morning, almost as soon as it was light, a number -of men were sent on shore, as builders of the first European town to be -founded on the mainland of America. Bartholomew Columbus went with them -to choose a site for the place of which he was to be the Governor; and -amongst the number of his companions were Diego Mendez, Diego's special -comrade Rodrigo de Escobar, and of course Montoro.</p> - -<p>"I cannot get on at all without my sharp-eyed namesake," said the -notary good-naturedly, when he pleaded with the Admiral for Montoro's -company. And thus, some little it must be confessed to Ferdinand's -vexation, Montoro was once more of the land-going party, proving of as -much service on this occasion as on the last, although the results were -not so immediately apparent.</p> - -<p>Cutting timber, clearing ground of a troublesomely-luxuriant -vegetation, and driving stakes, had progressed for some time merrily -enough, to the evident wonder and interest of an ever-increasing crowd -of natives, men, women, and children, when Diego Mendez, looking about -him for a help in a hard piece of work, discovered Montoro some couple -of hundred yards or so distant from the building-ground, and apparently -engaged in a very private and earnest conversation with a couple of -native women, and three or four children.</p> - -<p>"What, in the name of St. Jago, is the lad after now?" he exclaimed -rather irritably, for he had got his fingers pinched in a split -bamboo he had wanted his <i>protégé</i> to help him in sundering, and -small annoyances were more trying to these brave Spaniards than great -disasters. "Montoro," he shouted, "Montoro, you come here, can't you!"</p> - -<p>Montoro was back like an arrow.</p> - -<p>"Ay, Señor Mendez; what would you with me?"</p> - -<p>"What would I?" was the hasty answer. "Why everything; all manner -of things. But thou'rt such a fellow! Thou'rt never at hand when -needed. At least,"—still growling, but with a grim dawning accent of -compunction for injustice,—"at least not always. Here thou'st left me -to well-nigh lose the half of my hand, while thou'st been trying to -wheedle gold mine secrets out of those poor fools yonder, with that -soft tongue of thine."</p> - -<p>"No such thing," exclaimed Rodrigo de Escobar with his usual -volubility, before Montoro could answer for himself. "You are mistaken, -Mendez. Had the lad been using a soft tongue so usefully his absence -might be the more readily forgiven him. But it is a stupid soft heart -that deserves the blame this time. Because gold-seeker, discoverer, -navigator, builder, and half-a-dozen other things are not trades enough -for the young jackanapes to take to at once, he must needs be taking a -turn now at surgery."</p> - -<p>"Nay then, Rodrigo," said his friend incredulously, and looking -alternately from the laughing accuser to the half-troubled accused. The -face of neither tended in any way to relieve the notary's curiosity. -"Speak out, man," he said at last. "With what is it that you charge the -lad?"</p> - -<p>"With what I say," replied de Escobar with another laugh. "With playing -the surgeon unauthorized, Children and monkeys are all alike—they must -needs imitate what they see others doing; and consequently, one of -those monkey-children yonder got hold of my hammer awhile since, and of -course contrived to hammer its own fingers pretty sharply."</p> - -<p>"Terribly!" broke in Montoro impulsively, forgetting his temporary -shyness in the recollection of his pity. "The poor little creature, my -señor, has hammered his fingers perfectly black, and the poor ignorant -mother could only cry over it, and do nothing; and so—and so—"</p> - -<p>And so, and so Montoro Diego once more grew shy as his own part in the -business drew to the fore, and came to a stammering conclusion, and -Diego Mendez with a smile took up the tale.</p> - -<p>"And so, and so then, my friend, I suppose you do really confess that -Don Rodrigo de Escobar has laid only true things to your charge, -and that you have thought, by adding your ignorance to the woman's -ignorance, to make one wisdom. Hey, my modest young friend, then is it -so?"</p> - -<p>Montoro looked up now, with flushed cheeks it is true, but with some -returning boldness also, as he replied sturdily—</p> - -<p>"My ignorance, at any rate, my señor, has had this good result—that -the child no longer cries. But if you would spare me yet another five -minutes, I would fain return to him, just to make my bandages more -secure than I left them in my haste upon your call."</p> - -<p>"Come then, have your way," said his new patron good-humouredly. "I -confess I am not a little curious to see what sort of surgery you have -evolved from that daring head of yours, and whether it be not a gag in -the squaller's mouth that has produced this peacefulness."</p> - -<p>But there was no gag in the small redskin's smiling mouth, neither, -assuredly, was there one in the mouth of the small redskin's mother, -who poured forth a perfect torrent of incomprehensible words as she -alternately kissed Montoro's feet and her child's injured hand, or -rather the great bundle of wet leaf-poultice in which it was most -scientifically enveloped.</p> - -<p>"Umph!" muttered Diego Mendez, as he looked at the bound-up limb and -the grateful mother. "And pray how hast thou come by thy skill, my -friend? Is St. Luke thy patron saint, and has he instructed thee?"</p> - -<p>"My mother has been my teacher," was the quiet answer. "And she had -much learning of many various uses to mankind, from her father."</p> - -<p>The notary cast a keen glance of sudden intelligence at his companion, -and then said slowly—</p> - -<p>"Ah, now thou hast let me into a secret as to thy birth that I had -partly guessed at before. Now I know from what race thou hast drawn -much of thine intelligence, and the bookishness that hath ofttimes -surprised me. But hark ye, lad, for I have a kindness for thee. Tell -to none others of our companions what thou hast thus told to me; for -remember, Spain has decreed just now that she will have no dealings, -save those of the fire and the rack, with the great race that is too -wise for bigotry to let it live. And the favour thou art sure to win, -and the good fortune, will make men but too ready to use ill tales -against thee. But now—leave thy patient, and let us back to our -building again, for the day wears fast."</p> - -<p>So saying, he turned his steps back towards the rising settlement; and -when Montoro had managed with some difficulty to disengage himself from -the thankful woman, he followed his patron, the native child clinging -to him with his sound hand, and contriving to make his short legs keep -up with his companion's long ones.</p> - -<p>A general laugh greeted the truant when he returned thus accompanied; -but Montoro tossed up his handsome young head very independently as he -shouted—</p> - -<p>"Laugh as you may please, my señors; but when you desire a guide and an -interpreter, do not then think to borrow mine."</p> - -<p>"Ah! ha!" exclaimed Diego Mendez, not at all displeased at his -<i>protégé's</i> readiness. "My friends, methinks the lad hath had the best -of it; and we were wise not to provoke him to register a vow to keep -his useful new acquaintances to himself."</p> - -<p>"If he did," muttered Rodrigo, "there would but need to draw a long and -doleful face to make him break it. For no oath's sake would he ever be -got to cut off a John Baptist's head."</p> - -<p>"I'll cut off thine, though," grumbled Juan de Alba, "if thou keepest -not those bamboo points to thyself, instead of using them to pierce -mine eyes. Thou art a clumsy carpenter, in very deed, as ever I saw."</p> - -<p>"And I rejoice that thou shouldst have to say so," retorted the other. -"The fingers of Rodrigo de Escobar scorn this servile work."</p> - -<p>"Do they also scorn to peel bananas?" asked the Adelantado, coming up -with a great ripe bunch at an opportune moment to stop a squabble from -growing into a quarrel. He had enough to do to keep the peace among his -gang of noble workmen.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>FOR LIFE OR DEATH.</i></h3> - - -<p>For some few days the work of building progressed merrily enough. -The seemingly ubiquitous Montoro Diego, with his beautiful voice, -his bright eyes, and his untiring activity, inspired the whole party -with a portion of his own spirit; and his grateful native friend, the -mother of his small patient, proved of the greatest comfort to the new -colonists by keeping them plentifully supplied with fruit, fish, birds, -and food cooked after the native fashion, but very acceptable to men -who had lived hardly too long to be fastidious. Besides, they were -very desirous of sparing as much as possible their own small remaining -stores of biscuit, cheese, wine, oil, and vinegar, of which the Admiral -could only leave so small a quantity for the civilized provision of the -colony.</p> - -<p>At the outset of the new undertaking, others besides the mother of the -child had shown most hospitable alacrity in bringing gifts for the -white strangers' larder; but by degrees these gifts ceased, and at -last, whilst all the others of the Spaniards still looked gay enough, -Montoro's face began to grow very grave. He still had many good things -brought to him, but he noticed that they began to be brought with an -air of secresy, and at last the poor creature proved her gratitude by -giving him signs as plainly as she dared, that Quibian, the Cacique of -Veragua, was not altogether so friendly as he seemed.</p> - -<p>"It was not his own gold mines, but those of a dreaded neighbour chief, -that he had pointed out to the Spaniards on their first arrival," she -declared; "and now he was noting with jealous eyes, and an angry heart, -the preparations of the white strangers for taking up their abode on -his territories."</p> - -<p>Poor Cacique! Had he known the dismal fate that was so speedily to -overwhelm him and all he cherished, his jealousy and wrath must have -burnt with a fierceness to consume his heart. But for the moment the -Spaniards were but a handful of men in an unknown and populous country; -moreover, the water in the river had fallen, dry weather had set in, -and threatened to continue, the bar at the river's mouth was visible at -low tide, and the ships were shut in beyond the possibility of present -escape. It behoved the Admiral and his band of followers to be careful, -and each individual felt it incumbent on him personally to watch for -the safety of all; even to sleep, as the saying is, like a dog with one -eye open.</p> - -<p>Under these circumstances it is little wonder that Mendez noticed with -some uneasiness the unusual gravity of Montoro's face one morning, -after a short interview with his Indian patient, and the child's -mother.</p> - -<p>"Hey, then, master Long-face" he exclaimed, with half-affected gaiety, -"say, what treason is it thou hast been concocting with thy dark friend -yonder? Hath she been offering thee the kingdom of the Cacique Quibian, -if thou wilt engage to share the throne with her?"</p> - -<p>Montoro threw back his head for an instant haughtily. Boy as he was, -he did not like such jests. But he too much admired Diego Mendez for -his anger against him to be long-lived. Besides, he had a weight upon -his mind of which he desired to unburden himself. After the momentary -pause, he said hastily—</p> - -<p>"The woman's communication, Señor Mendez, had no reference to me -further than as I am one of us. But if I at all rightly comprehend her -signs, this Quibian, the Cacique of Veragua, under his smoothness to us -has designs of the deepest treachery. Even now I believe that we are -being surrounded on all sides by his warriors."</p> - -<p>Señor Mendez stroked his chin thoughtfully. To say truth, he was deeply -startled by the suspicion thus presented to him; but he was a Spaniard, -and therefore chary of displays of any other emotion than that of -pride. Moreover, he was a notary by profession, and had thus learnt -caution: to hear all he could, to see all he could, to think much, and -to say little.</p> - -<p>His meditations were undisturbed by Montoro. At last he took the boy by -the arm, leading him farther away from their companions before he said -quietly—</p> - -<p>"You have done well, my namesake, in bringing your tale to me. Let it -rest there for the present, and see that you show the woman no great -belief of her news, and no shadow even of a fear."</p> - -<p>"But—" began Montoro eagerly, and then he stopped as suddenly as he -had begun.</p> - -<p>His companion looked at him doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"Well, Diego, 'but' what? Wouldst say thy fears are too strong to be -dissembled?"</p> - -<p>"Even so," was the startling answer, with flushed cheeks, but with such -a bold, brave look in the uplifted eyes that the unexpected reply was -still more bewildering.</p> - -<p>"Nay, then; thou art audacious enough in confessing cowardice," -ejaculated the notary, with eyes so widening with wonder that they -seemed to monopolize his face.</p> - -<p>Just a flash of a smile shot across Montoro's face at having for once -thus overbalanced the self-possession of the shrewd man of business. -But he replied almost in the same moment—</p> - -<p>"In truth, Señor, I can afford to be bold in confessing to these fears, -seeing that they are not for myself, but for others, and for the -honour of our expedition. Verily I think that it would break our great -Admiral's heart, should terrible mischance happen to us who are with -him now in his neglected, sorely-tried old age. And that must not be."</p> - -<p>"And how then do you purpose to prevent it?" asked Mendez, once more -the cool, self-contained notary. "Do you propose to call out the -Cacique to prove his honourable intentions by single combat, after our -own Spain's knightly fashion?"</p> - -<p>"Would that it were possible!" was the reply with kindling eyes. "But -no, Señor, my meaning is more simple. I have told you my fears. But -if you mean to treat them as idle fancies, or to stand by to see what -comes of them, I shall forthwith carry them to the Admiral himself."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" said Diego Mendez deliberately, "you would so, would you? And -you would do well. But hark ye, youngster—I neither intend to treat -you nor your tale as nought, so with that assurance rest thee satisfied -a while. I too have noted somewhat of late, upon which your news throws -fresh light. But be wary. Tell no one what you have told to me, and -show no sign of trouble."</p> - -<p>Convinced at last that his warning was received as seriously as -he desired, Montoro returned to his task amongst the amateur -house-builders, and displayed considerable ingenuity as a constructor -of neat roofs out of palm leaves. His alacrity at his work was the -more cheerful when, from his position on the hill above the mouth of -the river, he saw the accountant for the new settlement put off in one -of the boats to return to the Admiral's ship. This happened within -half-an-hour of their conversation on the native woman's intelligence, -and increased Montoro's good opinion of his own wisdom in choosing -Señor Mendez as the recipient of his confidence. Cautious as he was, he -could evidently act quickly enough in an emergency. In a short time he -was rowing rapidly back to the building-ground, bringing half-a-dozen -fully-armed men with him, and making signs to Montoro to meet him on -the shore.</p> - -<p>Down went tools and palm leaves, down from the roof with a bound sprang -the tiler, and a minute later a second flying leap had carried him into -the boat beside Diego Mendez. A few rapid words were exchanged between -the two, and then the notary said gravely—</p> - -<p>"Well, I have made you the offer of coming with me by the Admiral's -consent; but remember, our undertaking is one of life and death."</p> - -<p>"I understand," was the quiet answer. "But if we die, our deaths will -be a sign to all these others to prepare for defence; if we live we -shall at any rate have discovered the nature of our danger. I go with -you gladly."</p> - -<p>And of that latter fact his earnest, animated countenance gave abundant -evidence as they proceeded on their perilous enterprise. Passing from -the river Belen, they rowed along the sea-coast until they reached the -Veragua, at which point the real peril of their enterprise began, and -the first proof was obtained of the woman's veracity.</p> - -<p>There upon the shore, within a few yards of them, was a great -encampment of the Indians, the warriors of their tribe, and fully -armed. The number of the Spaniards was eight, the number of the -Indians more than as many hundreds. For one moment the Europeans -rested on their oars in silence. It was no preconcerted act, but one -of involuntary homage paid by all things living, however daring, when -brought face to face with imminent death.</p> - -<p>The half-whimsical, unbidden thought darted through Montoro's brain -that his mother had declared she should never see him again on earth, -and so she could not reasonably feel hurt if her words came true. What -unconnected thoughts flashed for that same supreme instant through -the mind of Diego Mendez none can say. It had scarcely passed when he -sprang into the shallow water, walked on shore, and with an air of the -most dignified composure advanced alone into the very midst of the -great fierce gathering.</p> - -<p>Utterly overawed by the white man's astounding temerity, the Indians -fell back, with wonder and irresolution depicted on their countenances. -They answered questions with trepidation.</p> - -<p>"Yes; they were on the war-path. Their Cacique had enemies in the -neighbourhood."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" replied Diego Mendez with cool courtesy, "then our coming is -well-timed. In return for your Cacique's attentions to us we will -now aid his arms against his foes. We will accompany you on your -expedition."</p> - -<p>"Not so," was the Indian chiefs angry reply. "We are strong enough to -fight our own battles; we seek no help. Only leave us: that is all we -desire."</p> - -<p>By manifold signs his followers equally betrayed their impatience to -be rid of the new-comers, and strenuously declined to have anything -to do with the boat, or its crew. Seating himself in the small barque -with his face toward the Indian camp, and closely wrapped in his -cloak, Diego Mendez calmly sat, hour after hour, and watched the dusky -warriors.</p> - -<p>The day waned; the short twilight drew on. One of the occupants of the -boat began to feel his courage cooling under this tedious inaction, and -he ventured to mutter somewhat anxiously—</p> - -<p>"The night is coming, Señor Mendez. We shall be wholly at their mercy -in the darkness."</p> - -<p>"Even so, Juan," was the calm answer; "and yet we must remain. We set -out with no thought of going in search of child's play. It is our lives -or the expedition."</p> - -<p>And so they sat on in that boat, watching and watched, and the night -fell. Easily could the Indians have slain them all, but they were -afraid. The spirits of a thousand warriors were quelled by one man's -fearlessness. And as the blackness of night began to fade away into -pale dawn, the chief and his army faded from the scene—stole back -to Veragua stupefied and conquered. Moral power had won its strange, -bloodless victory. Then the watchers in the boat roused up, took their -oars again, and returned with their news to the ships.</p> - -<p>"And thus the woman's truth is proved," said Montoro eagerly.</p> - -<p>But his convictions were something lessened when the Admiral said -slowly—</p> - -<p>"You are more sure than I, my son. That you saw an army of the natives -I fully believe. But that they had any purpose to attack us I strongly -doubt. Quibian has given many proofs of his friendly feelings towards -us. And even to-day he has sent us a plentiful supply of fish, and -game, and cocoa-nuts, maize, bananas, and pine-apples."</p> - -<p>"And even to-day," interrupted Mendez with unusual heat, "even to-day, -Señor, the Cacique Quibian is meditating our massacre. Give me but -this cool-headed boy to go with me, and we will penetrate to the very -head-quarters of his people, to his very residence itself, and learn -the truth so fully that you shall no longer be able to doubt our -testimony."</p> - -<p>There was a pause. The veteran navigator gazed with keen eyes at his -two excited companions, and at length said slowly—</p> - -<p>"I send you not on so perilous a quest, but you may go."</p> - -<p>The faces of his hearers lighted up as though he had endowed them with -some new-found gold mines, and with a hasty farewell from Montoro to -his half-jealous friend Fernando, the two companions were rowed back -again to land, and at once set out alone on their desperate expedition.</p> - -<p>For nearly an hour they walked on rapidly side by side in silence. At -last Montoro asked doubtfully,—</p> - -<p>"Why keep we thus to the seaboard, Señor? Surely we have learnt that -the residence of the Cacique is far away up yonder, beyond the forest. -We should be turning inland if we wish to reach it."</p> - -<p>Mendez turned his shrewd face towards his questioner with a slight -smile.</p> - -<p>"Ah, my friend, thou art bold and brave beyond thy years, and ready, -to boot; but thou hast not yet quite an old head on thy shoulders, I -perceive. If our foes are watching for our destruction as we suppose, -how long thinkest thou, I and thou should live, bewildered, trapped, -and helpless, in yonder jungle? No, we will keep to the shore till we -reach the Veragua, and then we will follow the Veragua till it leads us -to this Cacique's village, and his own abode. Light, and a clear space, -are valuable to us just now."</p> - -<p>Diego Mendez was willing to sacrifice his life freely for the general -good, but he had no idea of wasting it. Montoro did not wish to waste -his either, but to his impetuous nature this winding round, instead of -making a straight dash, was becoming very tedious, when they at length -reached the river's mouth, and at the same time came upon two canoes -and a party of native fishermen. Whether subjects of Quibian or of his -rival, the Spaniards could not ascertain, but whoever they were, they -showed themselves so kind and hospitable that the tired and footsore -pedestrians made signs to be taken into the canoes, when they were -about to set out on their return voyage up the river.</p> - -<p>Making sure of consent, the notary went so far as to put his foot on -to the end of the canoe ready for stepping in. But the owners sprang -forward to push him back, with most vigorous shakings of the head, and -still more significant pointings towards the village, and the bundles -of arrows in their own canoes.</p> - -<p>Mendez and Montoro exchanged glances. There was no longer, then, much -doubt of the fate intended them, and ere many minutes had passed they -had learnt that the disconcerted warriors of last night were only -waiting for the next day, before making a fresh descent upon the white -intruders, shooting them, and burning the new settlement.</p> - -<p>"Even so," said Diego Mendez at last. "We have but learnt afresh what -we were well assured of before. But we will not wait for the doom -intended us. It better beseems Spaniards to be the first aggressors."</p> - -<p>As to the general humanity or morality of that sentiment young Montoro -might have taken exception at a quieter moment; but just now he was -infinitely too excited for tranquil thought, and eagerly seconded his -older companion in so urging to be taken up the river, that at length -the kind, simple-hearted fishermen consented, although with great -reluctance.</p> - -<p>The poor people's astonishment was still greater when, on reaching the -village, picturesquely situated on the banks of the river, and now in -all the bustle of warlike preparations, their two passengers insisted -on landing, and putting themselves into the power of their enemies.</p> - -<p>Still Diego Mendez preserved his cool presence of mind. Having learnt -that Quibian had been wounded by an arrow, he gave out that he was a -surgeon come to heal the injured leg; and demanding immediate admission -to the Cacique, he mounted the hill to the very walls of the royal -residence.</p> - -<p>Arrived at the summit of the eminence, he and his companion paused a -moment to take breath, and Montoro, for all his courage, could not -wholly suppress a shudder at the hideous ornamentation of the royal -domain. Three hundred human heads, recently torn from their trunks, -were arranged in circles, in all their grim horribleness, before the -Cacique's abode, the trophies of his valour, and significant warnings -to his adversaries.</p> - -<p>Mendez also glanced at these heads, and from them to the handsome lad -beside him, so rich with the blessings of vigorous youth and health, -and a shade of regret passed over his face.</p> - -<p>But it was too late for such reflections now. The die was cast, and -they must advance, and resolutely. The slightest token of hesitation or -fear would most assuredly be fatal.</p> - -<p>But however brave they might be, others were cowardly enough. They had -scarcely moved forward a dozen steps on the plateau of the hill when a -crowd of women and children caught sight of the strange new beings, and -throwing their arms wildly above their heads in a very abandonment of -terror, they fled in all directions, startling the echoes with their -shrieks.</p> - -<p>It soon became evident that they had startled more than the echoes, -for a son of the Cacique, a tall, powerfully-built man, rushed out to -ascertain the cause of the commotion, and looked ready enough to add -the Spaniards' heads to his father's collection when he perceived them -thus braving him, as it were, on his own ground.</p> - -<p>Not being versed in the laws of chivalry, he took the notary at -unawares with a blow which nearly sent him headlong down the hill, and -Montoro almost as suddenly dashed forward with doubled fists to revenge -his companion; but Mendez was far from desiring to be so championed. -Recovering his footing, he grasped the boy by the shoulder and pulled -him back, saying hastily,—</p> - -<p>"My friend! patience is a virtue—when it is expedient."</p> - -<p>Thus pocketing the affront for the present in a way that was very -astonishing to Montoro, the notary by signs complimented his antagonist -on his vigour, and ended by winning the powerful young savage over -to the side of peace and good-will by presenting him with a comb, a -pair of scissors, and a looking-glass, and giving him a lesson in -hair-dressing. So delighted was the great Quibian's heir with that new -accomplishment, that he fairly hugged his instructor, and although -he could not obtain the bold Spaniards an interview with the angry, -invalid monarch, he sufficiently showed his gratitude by despatching -them safe back again to the waiting Admiral, and their anxious comrades.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>He ended by winning the powerful young savage over to -the side of peace and good-will by presenting him with a comb, a pair -of scissors, and a looking-glass.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Thus began and ended Montoro de Diego's first great adventure in -the New World, and from henceforth he was marked out as one of -those for whom the new scenes were to be scenes of renown. With the -bitter termination, for others, of that exploit he had no concern. -He was lying in his berth in the unconsciousness of fever when, -a few days later, the Adelantado and eighty men, guided by Diego -Mendez, seized the unfortunate Cacique, and carried off his wives, -children, and chief friends to die miserable deaths of despair and -broken-heartedness. Well might the poor creatures long to prevent even -the least cruel of the white invaders from landing on their shores.</p> - -<p>Even in the present day it is hard to teach civilized people that the -uncivilized have rights equal with their own, and as sacred. In those -days it was impossible.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>MASTER PEDRO'S DOGS IN DANGER.</i></h3> - - -<p>It was still high day when Mendez the notary, and Montoro de Diego, -returned from their expedition to the heart of the Cacique's territory, -and reported themselves once more on board the Admiral's ship; but by -the time the history of their doings and discoveries was ended, it -was too late for any further undertakings in the building line that -afternoon. Fernando got hold of his chosen friend and comrade as the -interview with the Admiral came to an end, and said resolutely—</p> - -<p>"Come now, Diego, I take upon myself to say that thou hast earned a -holiday for the next twelve hours, and those not given to sleep I -intend shall be devoted to me; or, if it please you better, to me and -those dogs of thine."</p> - -<p>"My dogs, indeed!" laughed Montoro. "I have told thee before, and I -tell thee again, that they are no more mine than thine. Had I but known -in time that I was to go ashore at Hispaniola, they should have been -landed there for their rightful owner, I can tell thee, and I had been -quit of their care once for all."</p> - -<p>"Ay, and of their love too," retorted Fernando slyly.</p> - -<p>Montoro shrugged his shoulders; but his affectation of indifference -went for nought. The mutual affection existing between the couple of -young bloodhounds, and their young keeper, was too well known by every -one on board for his occasional pretence of carelessness about them to -go for anything. His companion soon proved its present shallowness.</p> - -<p>"Oh, well," he said, in his turn shrugging his shoulders, "if you have -left off caring about them it's all right. But I do pity the poor -brutes a little myself, having nothing to eat for the past—well, -there's no saying how many hours. But you know you didn't feed them -before you went off yesterday."</p> - -<p>"Of course I did not," returned Montoro angrily, all his coolness -utterly vanished. "It was much too early then to feed them; but I did -not suppose I left behind me a set of heartless wretches, who would let -poor dumb animals suffer."</p> - -<p>Fernando Colon's lip twitched with something uncommonly like a smile as -he expostulated—</p> - -<p>"Nay then, you know perfectly that you choose always to feed them -yourself. You have ever given small thanks to those who have dared to -do so in your place."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Montoro with rising passion. "And so because, forsooth, -I choose to attend to the dogs myself, when I am on board, if I were -dead you would let them starve?"</p> - -<p>"Nay, for I should not then have to fear your scowl," was the -answer ending with a laugh. But Nando added the next moment with a -good-natured smile—</p> - -<p>"Even the Admiral himself was not afraid of your wrath anent those -doggies, when you were safe out of the way, for he fed them with his -own hands."</p> - -<p>As those last words were uttered Montoro turned sharply away and -brushed his sleeve across his eyes. He turned back again almost as -quickly, and laid a tolerably hard grip of his strong fingers on his -companion's arm as he muttered huskily—</p> - -<p>"You'll never let me get a hold over my temper, Nando, if you torment -me thus. But did—did thy noble father in very truth think upon the -wants of the poor doggies?"</p> - -<p>Ferdinand's eyes were glistening too as he replied—</p> - -<p>"Ay, that he did indeed. And know'st thou, Toro, half I feel jealous -of thee, for verily I believe that it was as much on thy account as -for the dogs' sake that my father did them so much honour. But hark to -the storm they are making. They have found out thou art on board. Come -away, and let them loose."</p> - -<p>The next minute the two dogs of Master Pedro, the spice and curiosity -dealer of El Cuevo, were bounding up on deck, giving vent to a -succession of excited hurrahs in their own especial tongue.</p> - -<p>Those half-unconscious caresses bestowed upon the hounds by Doña Rachel -Diego at the hour of parting, those tears with which, in trying to -conceal them, she had bedewed the dogs' heads, had so endeared the -animals to her son, that from the outset of his long journeyings he -ever considered their comfort before his own, and reaped the just -reward in their fidelity and strong attachment to himself. But that -evening he was destined to pay a somewhat heavy penalty for the -friendship.</p> - -<p>"Toro, you never give the dogs a swim," said Ferdinand suddenly, when, -after a regular romping match, boys and animals had tumbled themselves -down together in a promiscuous heap, to get back breath and energy for -further proceedings. The dogs were so enormously strong that playing -with them was not easy work like playing with kittens.</p> - -<p>"I feel as if I had been engaged in a pretty stiff wrestling match," -said Montoro, laughing, and stretching his arms, "and oh! how warm it's -become, or I."</p> - -<p>"You may as well add that 'or I,'" laughed back the other; "for I -suspect, as the sun is going down, that the air must be somewhat -cooler than when you came on board. But the hounds really do look hot, -poor creatures, and they could get such a splendid bathe here in the -river—and so could we."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" growled that rather tired-out young Don Diego. "I think it -would have been a much more sensible suggestion that we could have a -splendid turn-in to our berths. But you are such a horrible fellow. I -don't believe you ever know what it is to feel done up."</p> - -<p>"Nor you either, generally," said Ferdinand with another laugh.</p> - -<p>But his companion was not going to be weak enough to echo it, not he.</p> - -<p>"'Generally' isn't 'never,'" he returned. "But here goes, you energetic -plague. In with you as hard as you like, I'll follow."</p> - -<p>And so saying he rolled himself over with a very good imitation of -used-up laziness, and got himself slowly up from his hands and knees on -to his feet, with the wind-up of a solemn, self-satisfied "Oh!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, indeed!" came the mocking echo from half-a-dozen deep throats, -followed by shouts of laughter.</p> - -<p>Montoro was just a trifle disconcerted. He had not known of these extra -witnesses of his performance.</p> - -<p>"Pity but thy mother were here," said Diego Mendez, one of the group. -"Then wouldst thou have surely had such another lollipop as must have -rewarded thy first triumph in this exhibition."</p> - -<p>"Nay then," came the reply, for the performer had not taken long to -recover his self-possession; "nay then, Señor, if you are pleased to -bestow that lollipop for the show it will be the first, seeing that -on that other past occasion of which you speak I returned myself to -the floor with a suddenness that bumped my forehead, and my reward, -therefore, was a plaster."</p> - -<p>"Thy impudent mouth deserves a hot plaster now, methinks," muttered a -surly hidalgo in the background.</p> - -<p>But fortunately hot-tempered Montoro did not hear the mutter, and no -one else heeded it. The group of men moved off, and left the lads -once more to their own devices. Montoro stepped up to the side of the -vessel and looked over at the clear, bright waters of the river. The -dogs shook themselves and followed him, Don rearing himself up on his -hind legs on the right hand to look over, and Señor resolutely pushing -himself in between the two boys, and rearing himself up on Montoro's -left hand, with forepaws resting on the vessel's edge.</p> - -<p>"How different the river looks now to the dingy-coloured, troubled -stream we sailed up such a short time ago," said Montoro.</p> - -<p>"Yes," answered Ferdinand; "the fair weather has given the mud and sand -time to settle. That is why I think it looks so tempting for a bathe."</p> - -<p>The dogs gave their answers also in an expressive fashion of their own, -like the hurrah business, hunching up their shoulders, and settling -their heads down between them with noses pushed forward, and intent -eyes that meant anything you like to imagine, except disagreement with -their friend. Still that same friend hesitated. His human companion -glanced at him with some wonder.</p> - -<p>"Toro—"</p> - -<p>"Ay, Nando, what now?"</p> - -<p>"Only—the banks are very nigh on either hand, and thou canst swim now, -I take it, as well as any one on board these caravels?"</p> - -<p>"Hey, what sayest thou?" said Montoro, with a bewildered stare in -his eyes, which was very nearly reproduced in the other pair when he -suddenly recollected himself, and exclaimed with a short laugh—"Why -now, Nando, you may fairly think that I have lost my wits; but in -truth they had but gone travelling on their own account hence to El -Cuevo, and—Come. I can swim, saidst thou? Truly can I then, and I'll -prove it by beating you and the dogs in a match from here to the shore -yonder, and back again."</p> - -<p>"Done with you," exclaimed the sailor's son, beginning his disrobing -with eager haste as he spoke. "Antonio," he shouted to the pilot, -"Antonio! be good-natured; drop us over a rope, and bide here to summon -us back if we are wanted."</p> - -<p>"A crocodile, maybe, will have you first," answered Alaminos as he -sauntered up.</p> - -<p>"In saying so you belie your own boasted knowledge that these ugly -brutes will not, unprovoked, attack a human being," was the quick -retort.</p> - -<p>"Even so," was the calm reply; "neither will they. But I said not they -would hesitate to make a snap at imps."</p> - -<p>However, there were no crocodiles—to give the alligators the name -given to them at that time—to be seen, neither were other more -dangerous enemies to be seen, when the two boys and the two dogs took -their simultaneous plunge, with a splutter and dash and commotion that -drew two or three of the crew to keep watch beside the pilot.</p> - -<p>Once in the water, Montoro quite forgot that he was tired, and -struck out vigorously for the shore. Unfortunately, however, for the -fulfilment of his boast, his four-footed admirers would insist upon -trying to help him, first to get back to the caravel, which they -appeared to consider the wisest proceeding; and when he had at last -thoroughly convinced them that he intended to keep his face for the -present turned the other way, their attentions were little less -retarding. One would get a whole bunch of the curly black locks between -his teeth firmly, if not exactly comfortably to their owner, while the -other made perpetual lip-nibbles at his ears and shoulders. Montoro was -not at all sorry at last to join the laughing and exultant Ferdinand on -the river bank.</p> - -<p>"Don and Señor shall go back first when we return," he said with -a reproachful shake of his head at the four-footed individuals in -question. "I should have beaten you easily but for them."</p> - -<p>"Poor old doggies!" said Ferdinand, stroking the great head nearest to -him as he spoke. "Good old fellows; you'd better far make friends with -me, as he is so ungrateful to you."</p> - -<p>As though the dogs understood the address made to them, when Nando -took his hand from Señor's head, and rolled himself down the bank back -into the water again, with a great souse, and forthwith set to work -floundering and swimming and diving and jumping, Señor jumped up, gave -a hasty lick to Diego's hand, and then followed the other boy into the -water, and the two together began to hurry back to the ship, actuated -at first by a spirit of mischief, and then, by the sharply-uttered -orders of the Admiral.</p> - -<p>And while Columbus shouted his commands to his young son to return to -him, others were trying to obey the orders to man a boat instantly, -and put off from the ship for the shore Fernando and Señor had just -left.</p> - -<p>"But there is no boat! they are all yonder!" groaned Antonio de -Alaminos as he wrung his hands. "And the bravest and brightest spirit -of us all will die unrevenged."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>NOISE TO THE RESCUE.</i></h3> - - -<p>That Montoro Diego should die 'unrevenged' was Antonio the pilot's only -moan. To wish for his life might well seem useless. How should he live -without aid, and how should aid be got to him in time, even should -there be a dozen boats available! Arrows were flying around him, and -arrows fly faster than any rowers yet heard of can ply their oars.</p> - -<p>The fact of the matter was this. Very few people care now-a-days, nor -ever have cared, for uninvited guests; and the Cacique of Veragua and -his people were no exceptions to the general rule. When Columbus and -his four caravels appeared off their coasts, they were as pleased with -the novel exhibition as we are with a sight of the Persian Shah, an -elephant called Jumbo, or a king of the Cannibal Islands. And they -treated the exhibitors very well, giving them much more than enough for -one feast; and then, when they were satisfied with the sight, and had -found that enough of that was certainly, so far as they were concerned, -as good as a feast, they gave their visitors some very valuable little -presents, and courteously hinted—"Now you may go."</p> - -<p>But, instead of taking the unacceptable hint, they didn't go. On the -contrary, they coolly took possession of other people's land, built -a considerable number of houses upon it, and showed plainly enough -that they meant to take up their abode there without an invitation. -These Spaniards would never have dreamt of trying to treat their home -neighbours, the Portuguese or the French, with such scant ceremony. But -these Veraguans were "only savages, heathen, miserable dark-skinned -creatures, with no rights at all." No claims to halfpence, only to -kicks.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, these poor heathen savages thought differently. Quibian, -with his bad leg laid up in his uncivilized palace, growled forth his -orders to his painted warriors to expel the impudent intruders; and -all his able-bodied subjects turned themselves into volunteers for the -furtherance of the same purpose. Here, there, and everywhere around -that bit of coast, and between the two rivers, lurked the Spaniards' -foes, and half-a-dozen particularly malicious ones were concealed -just within the borders of the forest, facing the Admiral's ship, -when Montoro and Ferdinand forsook its safety for their ill-advised -bathe. The spies grinned at each other with silent delight when they -saw the boys swim straight for the bank, mount it, and actually place -themselves in the full power of the enemy. The arrows would have left -the bows at once, and both the lads might have suffered but for the -dogs.</p> - -<p>The Veraguans, like their neighbours on the great new continent, had -no domestic animals, and the gambols and tricks of Don and Señor were -most fascinatingly wonderful to those hidden spectators, who almost -forgot their desire to kill the dogs' companions in delighted attention -to the dogs themselves. But suddenly Fernando, in that very unexpected -way, rolled himself down the bank and disappeared,—he and one of the -four-footed friends,—only to reappear to their eyes half-way back -to the ship. The Indians were furious at his escape and their own -stupidity, and, darting out of their hiding-place, shot off all six -arrows simultaneously at the two hoped-for victims still remaining in -their power.</p> - -<p>Rather, it should be said, the one hoped-for victim, for the Indians -would have rather preferred to spare Don had it been possible. But the -animal, obeying its instincts, sprang forward on seeing the strangers, -and received three out of the six arrows in its own body. The others -fell harmless, for Montoro, on seeing the unexpected adversaries, had -obeyed his natural human instincts, and sprung on one side.</p> - -<p>In so springing he involuntarily followed Fernando's example, and -rolled down the bank. Had he then and there set off swimming back to -his friends, he would in all probability have got off uninjured; but -the help Master Sancho, the merchant, had many a time in El Cuevo seen -him render to those more helpless than himself he was ready with now, -almost as much as a matter of instinct as the actions that preceded the -unselfish act.</p> - -<p>As he disappeared down the bank the Veraguans uttered yells of -disappointed rage; but through those sounds there fell upon his ears, -with an accent of bitter disappointment, a most piteous moan. Poor -Don had given his body as a shield for his companion, and now that he -lay suffering, perhaps dying, his companion was forsaking him. Don -felt that to be very hard lines, and so he howled out his sorrow. -He certainly would not have treated his friend so, and though his -friend was only a human being, and not a faithful dog, he had imagined -this especial human being to be different to most. It seemed he was -mistaken, and so he howled for his disappointment. And Montoro heard -the mournful howl, and understood all it said as well as if it had been -the very longest and most comprehensive German word that even Bret -Harte ever got hold of.</p> - -<p>Ten seconds later the spectators on board the ship saw the lad -remounting the bank with a wild bound, actually returning towards his -enemies—one unarmed, defenceless boy against half-a-dozen fierce -warriors.</p> - -<p>"And all for the sake of a dog," said Alaminos to him some time later -with a touch of anger.</p> - -<p>"All for the sake of a creature that cried to me for aid," was the -reply. "And ere I cease to care for such, I trust that I may no longer -cumber the earth."</p> - -<p>But during those present moments, while Montoro was climbing the -bank, the pilot was standing with wide eyes gazing across at him, and -wondering greatly as to the motives for his strange proceeding. He had -forgotten about the dog, or thought it was dead and done for.</p> - -<p>Poor old Don himself knew better. He was lying there helpless, with -three arrows in his faithful side; but he was not yet too dead or done -for to be able to give vent to an ecstatic weak squeak of a bark when -he caught sight again of his beloved master.</p> - -<p>So astounded were the Indians that they beat a momentary retreat -into the forest, while Montoro knelt down and pulled the arrows out -of the dog's wounds, Don the while alternately licking his hands and -moaning. But it was no time just then for delicate handling. The three -arrows were out in little more than as many seconds, and then with an -inspiriting "Hi, good dog," Diego roused up the poor animal and pulled -it down the bank with him once more, just as a second flight of arrows -sped more truly to their intended mark. This time Diego quivered, and -uttered one sharp, irrepressible cry as four of the darts struck and -pierced his unprotected flesh. Pulling out the one most accessible, he -plunged into the water, the dog with him. The Indians rushed forward. -For those past few seconds they had imagined he must have some means of -defence at hand to make him so daring, but now they were undeceived, -and proportionably brave, themselves. Another flight of arrows was -launched, this time happily with such eager, excited haste as to be -harmless. But what advantage was that? The foe had plenty more arrows, -and would apparently have plenty more time to shoot them at their -wished-for target, for both the lad and the dog were evidently much -hurt, and were swimming very slowly and feebly.</p> - -<p>Then it was that Antonio de Alaminos wrung his hands and groaned over -his favourite's impending fate. But the Admiral did something better -than groan. There was no possibility of getting a boat across from -the building-ground in time to be of any use, and the position was -imminent. One more glance was cast by the father at his young son -rapidly nearing the vessel, and still unconscious of his friend's -danger, and then the order was shouted forth—"Fire off the guns—wait -not to take aim."</p> - -<p>Answering shouts of comprehension greeted the order, and as the guns -were now always in a state of readiness for immediate use, it was -obeyed with almost incredible speed, so great was the eagerness to -save the young life now in jeopardy. Even while the exhausted Montoro -was plunging himself and Don under water to escape another shower of -arrows, there came the flash, the roar of the four falconets, followed -by peal upon peal of the most frantic screechings from the Indians. -Whether they were hurt was very doubtful, but it was evident enough -that they were madly terrified. Flinging away their weapons, they -decamped into the shelter of the forest again, and it was only by the -fading sound of the continued shrieks that the direction of their -retreat towards the village could be learnt.</p> - -<p>"That was a lucky thought—to fight by fear," said Diego Mendez with a -sigh of relief, as he prepared to spring into the river to the further -aid of the rescued Montoro; but the Admiral checked him one moment, -saying reverently—</p> - -<p>"It was a blessed thought, my friend, for it was inspired by God."</p> - -<p>Twenty minutes later Montoro was safe in his berth; the arrows had been -extracted, and the wounds dressed, and poor Don lay dozing uneasily at -his feet. It had just been suggested that the dog should be put out of -its sufferings forthwith by a blow on the head. But Columbus would not -have it done. The lad had nearly lost his life to save the animal's, -and it should not prove such a useless service.</p> - -<p>"You will at any rate, my father, allow me a little time to try to get -him well?" said Ferdinand eagerly.</p> - -<p>"Most assuredly, my son," answered the Admiral. "For thy friend's sake, -and for the dog's, it shall be so."</p> - -<p>And thus it came to pass that while Montoro lay ill of fever from his -torn wounds and over-fatigue, many weighty things befell his companions -and the Indians of Veragua, and faithful Don lay at his master's -feet and licked himself back into wholeness. In fact, Don's surgical -appliances did him good far more speedily than those made use of on -behalf of Montoro. And when his comrade Señor's bones lay bleaching in -the American forest some few weeks later, he was bounding about the -deck in full strength and health, and utter disregard of the calamities -that had befallen nearly every other living creature any way connected -with him.</p> - -<p>When Montoro again recovered consciousness the Admiral's caravel was -once more on the way to Hispaniola. The settlement at Veragua had been -half destroyed, wholly abandoned; the poor Cacique of Veragua and -his people were slain, dead or dispersed; and once more Montoro de -Diego, and many of his companions, had to turn their hopes of fortune -to the island colony that had already, in the short space of eight -years, been so frequently the hotbed of envy, hatred, malice, and all -uncharitableness.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>I AM 'DON ALONZO.'</i></h3> - - -<p>It was a splendid evening one day towards the end of the year 1503, -when a tall, plainly-attired, handsome youth drew near the home of a -Spanish colonist to whom he had notes of introduction. He had walked -out to it from San Domingo, a distance of some five miles, and now -stood still to survey the scene, his hand resting on a dog's head the -while that had accompanied him.</p> - -<p>"It is a glorious place, old Don," he muttered in a tone of -considerable satisfaction, although it betokened great surprise as well.</p> - -<p>And a glorious place it was, and most especially beautiful now that -the long, low houses of stone and earth, the waving palms, and all the -other luxuriance of that southern clime, were bathed in the golden -glory of a southern sunset. In a cushioned reclining chair, placed in -a shady spot of the broad verandah, lounged a young man, handsome, -but for a Spaniard coarse-featured and rather thick-set. However, all -defects of person were thrown into the background by a sumptuousness of -attire that fairly startled the youth as he at length approached, and -delivered his letters.</p> - -<p>"And you are the son of Master Pedro, the spice-dealer of El Cuevo!" he -breathed forth at last.</p> - -<p>The words of that ejaculation were common-place enough, but the tone in -which they were uttered, and the look with which they were accompanied, -made them so inexpressibly gratifying, and at the same time comical, to -the man to whom they were addressed, that he burst into a loud, long -laugh before vouchsafing them any other answer.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes," he said at last, recovering himself with an easy -nonchalance. "Yes, yes, youngster, I do not mind confessing to you, -since you know the fact before my confession, that the worthy old -gentleman yonder, with his frugal fare, and his better stuff cloak for -holidays, is my father, and a rare good old miser he is, to save the -maravedis for my spending. But mind ye, that is between you and me and -Saint Peter."</p> - -<p>A wondering gaze from a great pair of thoughtful, brilliant eyes was -the questioning reply to this intimation. "And for the rest of the -world," asked the owner of the eyes after a short pause, "who is your -father for the rest of the world?"</p> - -<p>Another laugh greeted this query.</p> - -<p>"Why, for the rest of the world, being what you have found me, Don -Alonzo de Loyala, my father is, like thine own, some long-deceased -grandee of Spain, who neglected his duty towards his son as regarded -the due endowment of riches to maintain my rank in mine own land."</p> - -<p>As this mocking speech ended, Montoro de Diego's cheeks flushed -angrily, and he exclaimed—</p> - -<p>"Do you then imply that my claims to noble birth are thus also assumed? -By St.—"</p> - -<p>"Nay then, nay," good-humouredly interrupted the other. "In these -latitudes it is not well for health to heat thyself for nought. Keep -thy passion for the red rascals, who are so lazy that they'll die -rather than live and work. I imply nothing to thy detriment. Wert thou -placed as I am, then wouldst thou also have a wealthy father at thy -back, to help thee to maintain that rank out here it should pleasure -thee to claim. Meantime, I do no more than half of those around me, -and with better right; for I am no released felon, and I deal honestly -by those I trade with. I will deal honestly with you. Twice have I had -advices from my father, and from good master Sancho, that I should try -to secure you for a companion and aid, should you elect to remain here -on the Admiral's return to Spain. And I like you at first sight well -enough to be willing to take their advice. Will you stay with me then, -or shall I help you to find friends elsewhere?"</p> - -<p>Montoro looked at the man from head to foot slowly and earnestly, as he -lounged there before him, so great a contrast to himself, and then as -slowly and earnestly said—</p> - -<p>"I agree to stay—for a time."</p> - -<p>"Umph!" muttered the self-styled Don Alonzo, somewhat taken aback in -his turn. "Umph! my noble youngster, methinks from your air you suppose -the obligation to be rather more mutual than I esteem it. You are a -beggar and friendless, and I—am not."</p> - -<p>However, Montoro was not now so friendless as his new colleague -assumed. Had he returned to Spain, even there he might now have been -found some sort of employment, and out in the Colony the spirited young -adventurer, with a pair of hands both able and willing to work, could -have easily found some more indolent seeker after wealth willing to go -into partnership with him. But Rachel de Diego was sheltered under the -roof of the spice-merchant, and her son had a hidden eagerness that he -might be able to find shelter under the roof of the spice-merchant's -son. It was to that motive that 'Don Alonzo' owed the easy settlement -of his agreement with his new young partner, and not, as he imagined, -to the promising air of luxurious comfort in his surroundings. That -offered more allurements to a third party to the affair.</p> - -<p>Don threatened for a few minutes to upset the amiable arrangements -between his real owner and his self-adopted master, for poor Don had -very faint notions of the rights of property and ownership, and Don was -thirsty and Don was hungry, and, moreover, Don was as fond of grapes -as any Christian Don, real or pretended, to be found in or out of -Spain. All of a sudden, while Montoro was gazing thoughtfully out at -the silver line of distant sea, and Don Alonzo was muttering to himself -the remark mentioned above, tired Don caught sight of a piled-up dish -of grapes on a table in the verandah. He licked his dry lips, and went -on eyeing them. Then he licked his dry lips again, and ventured upon -a small whine. That sound recalled Montoro's wandering wits so far -that he turned round and nodded to his four-footed friend, and said -dreamily—</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes. All right, good old Don."</p> - -<p>That was enough. Don was in that state of longing that a very small -amount of encouragement was enough to induce him to help himself to -the desired feast, and before either of his companions knew well what -he was about, he had bounded up to the table, scrunched up one juicy, -deliciously refreshing bunch of grapes, and had a second in his mouth -about to be treated in the same way. But "there's many a slip 'twixt -the cup and the lip," and in this instance there proved to be a slip -'twixt the lip and the throat.</p> - -<p>Don Alonzo quickly became aware of what was going on, and, seizing a -heavy bottle, he flung it with full force angrily at the dog; and it -hit, not the dog, but the dog's champion, happily only a touch, and -then fell crashing on the floor of the verandah.</p> - -<p>The next instant Montoro's first dash forward to save the dog was -followed by a second to save Don Alonzo; for the huge animal had made a -furious spring at his antagonist, accompanied by a growl that gave full -promise of his intentions. Montoro's most resolute and stern command -was needed before the hound was brought to crouch down by his side, -with red-lit eyes still glaring at his unrecognized owner.</p> - -<p>"That brute shall be shot before he's an hour older," came the surly -declaration at last, as Montoro knelt on the stone pavement soothing -the animal back into good temper. At the sharp announcement he looked -up quickly.</p> - -<p>"Then you shall shoot him through me," he said passionately, "as you -struck me just now instead of him. He is my only friend out here, and -we will live or die together."</p> - -<p>Don Alonzo shook himself irritably. He was good-hearted enough if -over-indulgent parents in the first instance, and superabundant good -fortune since, had not rather spoilt him. Besides, four years' sojourn -on the island of Hispaniola had not tended to teach regard for any -life but his own; that he esteemed at quite a high enough rate, and he -answered Montoro now with angry remonstrance—</p> - -<p>"It is all very fine to talk heroics, youngster; but thinkest thou that -I am going to be browbeaten into keeping my own dog, to stand in danger -of being mauled by it any time its tempers up, as if I were a wretched -native!"</p> - -<p>Montoro stood up and folded his arms.</p> - -<p>"Neither you nor any other man, Indian or European, shall suffer from -Doffs teeth. Or, if perchance that sounds too proud a boast, for the -first human being that Don injures he shall die. He shall be as a lamb -to you now—see—hold out your hand."</p> - -<p>With some scarcely-disguised trepidation Alonzo obeyed. Don cast a -beseeching glance of remonstrance at his friend; but instead of any -encouragement to rejection of the offered fellowship, he got a grave -shake of the head; and with a very crestfallen aspect he rose, walked -dolefully along the verandah, and put his paw into the outstretched -hand, and looked up with mute appeal for forgiveness.</p> - -<p>Don Alonzo was wise enough to seal the new compact with a -freely-generous gift of more of the coveted grapes. If Montoro for Don, -and Don for himself, would engage that Don Alonzo should never feel -the sharpness of that animal's teeth, his owner was only too willing -that it should live. For it was quite the fashion now to use these -powerful dogs out in the new world, not only as terrible aids in battle -against the poor, half-defenceless Indians, but also to hunt down -the miserable, wholly-defenceless slaves who sometimes dared to run -away to die in peace in their native forests, instead of beneath the -short-sighted, as well as brutal, taskmaster's lash.</p> - -<p>The young Diego had declared that Don should never be so employed, but -that declaration Don Alonzo comfortably decided in his own mind was -all nonsense. He himself had had qualms about the treatment of the -natives when he first came out, but he had long since got rid of all -such inconvenient scruples; and so of course would this new arrival -get speedily rid of his. Every one did, with the exception of that -impracticable idiot of a neighbour of his, that young fellow Las Casas, -who had come out from Spain with his head so full of theories and -bookish ideas that he had no room in it for common sense.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>GOOD OLD DON.</i></h3> - - -<p>Time passed on. In Spain good Queen Isabella died, and two years later -the poor, neglected noble-hearted, pious old Admiral, Christopher -Columbus, recommending himself to God, and his two sons, Diego and -Ferdinand, to King Ferdinand's tardy justice and each other's brotherly -love, also bade a final farewell to an ungrateful world.</p> - -<p>And in Hispaniola also time passed on. Many there grieved over the -Admiral when he was dead, who had tormented him in every possible way -when living,—that is the way with poor, stupid human nature. But he -had one true mourner, who had loved and served him with all his heart -during the year that they were together, and whose memory for those he -cared for was not a short one. Montoro de Diego, amidst his many new -interests, felt a very keen pang of sorrow when the news was brought -out to the island, towards the end of the year 1506, of the loss the -world had sustained.</p> - -<p>"Ah! Señor Las Casas," he sighed one morning, some months later; "ah! -then, if he had lived, and the queen, you might then have had hope even -yet to work some good for these wretched, rightful owners of these -lands. But now—"</p> - -<p>"Ay, indeed!" exclaimed Bartholomew Las Casas with heaving chest, as he -rose and strode hastily up and down his terrace. "You may well pause -upon that but now, Diego. For now one might more wisely waste breath -in calling upon wolves and wild cats to cease from fierceness, than in -pleading with one's fellow-men for mercy, justice, or compassion. 'Give -us yourselves,' is the fierce cry that echoes all around us. 'Give us -yourselves, your wives and daughters, for our humble slaves; give us -your gold, your lands, all you hold most valuable; resign your wills, -your faith, your souls into our keeping, and we will give you leave to -live as long as unremitting toil and cruelty will let you. But resist -us, fight for your country or your liberty, contradict our lightest -caprice, and we will shoot you down as though you were so many rabbits, -we will hunt you to death with our dogs as though you were vermin or -wild beasts.'"</p> - -<p>The young man came to a sudden stop, with a face glowing with generous -indignation, and literally panting for breath with his burst of -righteous wrath. Montoro's cheeks were flushed with sympathy as he said -in quick reply—</p> - -<p>"It is so. I can but too terribly vouch for the truth of your bitter -accusation. But, Señor, your brethren the priests, can they not—"</p> - -<p>Las Casas turned upon him with sharp interruption.</p> - -<p>"Can they not help me, you would ask? Ay, verily," with indignant -scorn; "well indeed do they help the cause I have at heart! This is -one of the proclamations allowed by some of those same brethren the -priests—'Your souls are doomed to eternal perdition, your bodies -belong to those who have conquered your soil!' Much good my brethren -the priests will do!"</p> - -<p>There was a short silence, and then he continued more calmly, and -laying his hand upon a pile of papers, "But after all, Diego, I do hope -to work some good for the poor natives. I have written out a strong -case for them, and I am intending to return to Spain shortly, there to -plead their cause myself."</p> - -<p>"And you shall have my testimony, if you will," said Montoro eagerly. -"For it is our Don Alonzo's will that I should take a journey to Spain -this coming season, in charge of a somewhat richer freight than usual. -And if you start not immediately we may go together."</p> - -<p>"And Don?" said Las Casas, in smiling interrogation.</p> - -<p>"Ay, truly," was the laughing answer, although something of a blush -accompanied it. "But in faith," he added the next moment, "it is not -only for love of the animal that I have it for my constant companion. -Since I have discovered the horrible use to which its fellows are put, -I live in fear of a coming day when I may regret having saved its life."</p> - -<p>"Then," continued his friend, "you will leave it behind you in Spain -perchance, when you return hither?"</p> - -<p>"That is so long to look ahead," said Montoro, feeling not a little -glad that he was not called upon for an immediate decision.</p> - -<p>When it really came to the point he did what he thought much better -than leaving Don behind in El Cuevo. He got Master Pedro to transfer -all property in it to himself. His services to the old spice-dealer -and his son had well merited so much of a reward. And as for Don, he -deserved not only a good master, but almost as many bunches of grapes -besides as he chose to eat, when, a couple of years later, he was the -means of saving Montoro's life and a bag full of gold-dust to the value -of many thousand pesos.</p> - -<p>Diego's first return journey to Spain proved so successful, owing to -his scrupulous honesty and intelligence, that Don Alonzo speedily sent -him on a second, and others also most eagerly availed themselves of so -upright a messenger to transmit their golden gleanings to their own -country.</p> - -<p>But, as it happened, with Diego there voyaged also to Spain three -ne'er-do-wells. They had gambled away all their slaves, all their -grants of land, all their gathered-up spoils, and then, having finally -gambled away all their future prospects of wealth in Hispaniola, the -miscreants, as mean as they were bad, slipped away from the island and -their creditors on the first ship back to Spain.</p> - -<p>"And mind ye," muttered one of the number to his companions one -evening, as they drew near the end of their two months' voyage,—"mind -ye, if we follow that insolent, set-up fellow Diego a day or two's -journey up the country after landing, we shall not be losing time, -neither shall we have cause to regret having left Hispaniola in his -company."</p> - -<p>"How so?" questioned one of the two eager listeners doubtfully. "My -child yonder, little Bautista, told me when I questioned him some days -ago anent Diego's gold, that the bags were to be sent by other hands to -Madrid."</p> - -<p>"And you credit the tale!" exclaimed the first speaker scornfully. -"You'll believe next that the Garden of Paradise has been found."</p> - -<p>"And so I will," was the retort, "when the news is given me by Montoro -de Diego. He would not lie to save his life, and least of all would he -lie to a child."</p> - -<p>"By all the saints," sneered the third of the group, "but Don Diego -hath a warm advocate in you! Doubtless it were useless to expect you to -touch his gold, even though it lay by the wayside to be picked up."</p> - -<p>"Doubtless under those circumstances," was the sharp reply, "there -should be little left for you to snatch. All the same, he hath shown -kindness to my boy, and he tells him nought but truth."</p> - -<p>"Well, well," said Almado, the first speaker, more softly, "there is no -need that we should wrangle over the fellow's virtues, they sicken me -forsooth. Ne'er the less, he shall be a very saint if you will, so we -do but get his merchandise. As for the gold that is to go to Madrid, -that is but that small part, of what he carries, which is for the -king's coffers. Of that I am well assured. So you see thy little son -yonder hath been told the truth indeed, but only in part, and maybe to -mislead us."</p> - -<p>"Umph," muttered Bautista's father, also more quietly. "That may well -be."</p> - -<p>"Ay," agreed the third of the company, "that may well be."</p> - -<p>And for the next few hours they all redoubled their efforts to be -on good terms with Don. They flattered themselves, indeed, that he -regarded them quite in the light of friends, for Don, like most very -strong creatures, whether going on two legs or four, never troubled -himself to show uncalled-for fierceness. As long as no one interfered -with him or his master, and his master gave him no orders to interfere -with others, he maintained the grave indifference of manner worthy of -a highborn Spaniard. But woe betide those who should presume upon this -calmness.</p> - -<p>Arrived at Cadiz, Montoro delivered up the royal revenue to the -authorized messengers awaiting it, and then he and his dog and his bags -set out on their journey up the country, in company with worthy Master -Sancho, who had come to meet him, and two or three other traders from -the interior.</p> - -<p>"Farewell, my little Bautista," said Montoro; "I shall pray for our -future meeting."</p> - -<p>"Nay," said the child hurriedly, and with a frightened look round, "do -not that, Señor. I love you, you have been good to me, and so I pray -the Virgin to grant we may not meet again."</p> - -<p>Montoro opened his eyes wide.</p> - -<p>"How so, little man? Love me, and yet pray that we may not again cross -each other's paths? How is that, tell me?"</p> - -<p>But the boy shook his head, and began to tremble violently.</p> - -<p>"Do not ask me," he muttered with white lips; "they will kill me. Only -keep away from us. They do not know I have heard——"</p> - -<p>"Ha!" exclaimed Montoro, a look of intelligence now taking the place -of bewilderment. Then he stooped and kissed the child's forehead, as -he said in low tones, "Blessings on thee for thy true heart, my little -lad, and my thanks. May the Lord have thee in His keeping, and guard -thy hands from sin."</p> - -<p>And so they parted, each, as poor little Bautista fondly thought, to go -widely different ways, but in reality to take two routes leading to the -same goal.</p> - -<p>For the first two days' journey inland the party to which Montoro -joined himself was a particularly strong one, too strong for the three -gamblers to care to meddle with; accordingly they withdrew themselves -from notice, until the travelling company was reduced to Montoro -himself, Master Sancho and his thick-headed attendant, and a couple of -poor-spirited merchants, who would have rather hidden themselves in -their bales at the appearance of danger, than tried to defend them. But -then—there was Don.</p> - -<p>The third day was drawing to a close, when Diego and his companions -reached a wretched little inn, the worst on their route, and with -considerable grumbling on the part of comfort-loving Master Sancho, -they put up there for the night. To make matters worse, the amount of -available accommodation was even less than usual, for another party of -travellers had arrived before them, and taken the chief and largest -room.</p> - -<p>However, there was no help for it. Master Sancho had to make the best -of a bad bargain, and as nothing would induce him to share a room with -Don, and nothing would induce Montoro to dispense with Don's company as -a guardian under present circumstances, he and the dog had one room, -and the worthy burgess of El Cuevo and the two merchants from Saragossa -had to crowd into the other.</p> - -<p>"One night," explained Master Sancho to his companions, "that young -rascal I've taken a fancy to, persuaded me to share a sleeping -apartment with him and that great brute, and in the night I -snored,—I'm given to snore,—and the creature didn't approve, and -woke me up with a sounding thump of its great paw. And there, behold! -it stood reared up over me, with glaring eyes and a growling mouth. I -warrant you, I prayed in one minute to more saints in the calendar than -I've prayed to in many a long year before."</p> - -<p>"Doubtless," assented one of the merchants with paling cheeks. "I -have ever thought it a fearful great beast, and unsafe. But hearken! -Methinks it is now quarrelling even with its own master. Ah!" with -startled breathlessness—"it is shot."</p> - -<p>Then there was a sudden rushing all over the inn. Screams, shrieks, -shouts, slamming of doors, and above all, the continuous roar of Don's -deep growling bark.</p> - -<p>At length men and lights were gathered in Montoro's room, and there -stood Montoro holding in a firm grip one of the smugglers. But the hero -of the fray, and the conqueror, was grand old Don standing with one -great fore-paw on the breast of one robber, the other fore-paw on the -breast of Bautista's father, who lay weltering in his blood, shot by -the other of his comrades in the attempt to shoot the dog.</p> - -<p>"But my child, my little son," murmured the wretched, dying man.</p> - -<p>"I will guard and care for him," said Montoro huskily.</p> - -<p>He had been rescued from misery himself once, now he was the rescuer.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>DEATH FOR DON.</i></h3> - - -<p>It was the early part of the year 1511, when Montoro, become now quite -an experienced islander and man of business, left Don Alonzo's place, -Palmyra, one morning for the neighbouring town of San Domingo. The -object of the visit was to arrange some important matters with certain -foreign merchants, who had lately arrived with tempting offers to the -planters for the produce of their estates.</p> - -<p>"And don't hurry thyself," said Don Alonzo with unusual consideration. -"Take thy pleasure for a few days when thou art in the town, for verily -this dog's hole of a place is dull enough to make a man long to shuffle -off life with a native's readiness."</p> - -<p>"If those same natives should get the upper-hand," answered Montoro -drily, "I doubt not they would help you. Meantime, I will trust to find -you still in the flesh, and well, when I return, and so—<i>adios</i>."</p> - -<p>"And for you, fair journeyings and good bargains," said the indolent -superior, as he lay lounging in his low chair sipping a cool lime-juice -beverage. Little enough of the work he did himself towards accumulating -his own wealth.</p> - -<p>But, lazy and self-indulgent as he was, it had not escaped Montoro that -there was a certain scarcely-suppressed eagerness, and barely-hidden -hope of some sort, underlying his present declared wishes for his -subordinate's comfort. As Montoro left the verandah and passed through -the house he called to his rescued <i>protégé</i>, who had proved useful -enough to secure himself a home beneath Don Alonzo's roof. No work had -seemed to come amiss to him, excepting that of aid to the overseers in -the gold mines, in which he had been recently employed. But the brutal -task-masters had just sent the boy back, saying that he was no good to -them whatever, worse than no good indeed, for he pitied the rascally -workers instead of flogging them.</p> - -<p>Bautista came readily enough when he heard his beloved Señor Diego's -voice.</p> - -<p>"Am I to go with you, my Señor?" he exclaimed beseechingly. "Ah! but I -will be to you eyes and hands and feet, if I may."</p> - -<p>"I prefer to use my own, thank you," answered Montoro smiling, as he -patted the boy's head. "But look not so disappointed, Bautista, for if -I cannot trust myself to thee, I am going to leave in thy charge one I -hold almost dearer. I leave thee guardian of our faithful old Don. And -see thou that he comes to no harm, and—that he does no harm. I have -guarded him from that sin hitherto; do thou guard him in my absence."</p> - -<p>A deep breath, almost a groan, burst from the boy's lips.</p> - -<p>"My Señor," he muttered anxiously, "give me some other duty to perform -for you. This may be too hard."</p> - -<p>Diego frowned.</p> - -<p>"I trust not," he said sternly. "It shall be worse for others if it -prove so. And remember, you have my orders, and if need be you must -declare them."</p> - -<p>So saying he nodded his farewell to the boy and departed, leaving Don's -new guardian in a very doleful frame of mind, for he knew well enough -the cause of Don Alonzo's desire to be a short time rid of Montoro.</p> - -<p>The spice-merchant's son was good-natured enough so long as he was -crossed in nothing, but Montoro's settled refusal to have Don used as -a hunter of runaway slaves had roused Alonzo's spite, and for the past -year, ever since the return of Montoro and the dog from Spain, he had -been seeking some chance to gratify his malice. Hitherto where Diego -had gone the dog had gone, but at last this expedition to the town was -arranged, and for various circumstances it was more convenient to leave -Don behind.</p> - -<p>"And at last," declared Don Alonzo with a malicious chuckle, "at last -the brute shall be set to its proper work."</p> - -<p>Bautista was in the apartment at the time, as well as one of the -overseers, and as a significant warning to him the words were -added—"And it shall have its first taste of the flesh of any one, be -he Spaniard or native, who betrays my purpose to Señor Long-face."</p> - -<p>No wonder the boy desired that some other duty might be commuted to his -charge by his patron, in test of his affection. As Montoro rode off -with a party of attendants, Bautista made his way to Don, and poured -out his fears to an apparently perfectly intelligent pair of ears.</p> - -<p>"But all the same, you know quite well, Don," said Bautista -reproachfully, "you do know quite well, that in spite of your good -Christian bringing up, you would seize a poor redskin by the leg if you -were set at him."</p> - -<p>"Of course he would, like the sensible thoroughbred he is," shouted a -well-known voice not a couple of yards distant. And Bautista sprang to -his feet with a terrified look on his face, as he saw the hateful head -overseer, Jerome Tivoli, had come up to him unperceived.</p> - -<p>The man now stood intently regarding the dog, with a more sinister -expression than usual upon his cruel face, and the boy could scarcely -restrain himself from flying away from the spot. Nothing short of his -loyal devotion to his patron could have kept him there. At last he said -huskily—</p> - -<p>"It is useless so to examine this dog, for, strong or weak, you can -have nought to do with it, since it belongs to the Señor Diego, and he -chooses not that it should be used for your purposes."</p> - -<p>De Tivoli uttered a short, hard laugh, and his eyes glittered as he -said slowly—</p> - -<p>"Ah! yes. It is the Señor Montoro de Diego's dog—-his favourite. And -verily it is a fine animal, and powerful, and will do a day's work well -for us. That dog of a slave Guatchi has run away, and, dead or alive, -yon pet of our Señor Diego shall bring him back to us."</p> - -<p>Bautista flung himself down again beside the dog, and threw his arms -about its neck, as he exclaimed with the courage of affection—</p> - -<p>"No! I tell thee no, Señor Tivoli. Señor Diego has left it to me to -guard his dog from doing harm, and I will keep my charge."</p> - -<p>De Tivoli's thin lips curled; but ere he could reply other footsteps -were heard approaching, and Don Alonzo himself appeared upon the scene.</p> - -<p>"How now, De Tivoli," he exclaimed hastily. "Why dost thou waste time? -The idle rascal Guatchi hath had start enough, I trow, to breathe the -dog e'en now; why dost thou delay?"</p> - -<p>"It is but for a minute, Don Alonzo," replied the other coolly. "Yon -boy declares that, for Don Diego's sake, it shall not be sent hunting."</p> - -<p>"And I," retorted Don Alonzo, "swear by St. Jago that it shall."</p> - -<p>"And I, in the name of one higher," exclaimed Montoro de Diego, thus -unexpectedly making his own appearance on the scene again, "I declare, -with Bautista, that it shall not go."</p> - -<p>Don Alonzo started slightly, and his face flushed for a moment with -ill-restrained annoyance and uneasiness as he saw that set, resolute -countenance before him; but he tried to assume an air of carelessness, -and to laugh away the matter with an off-hand—</p> - -<p>"Why, my mentor, how have you contrived to accomplish the business you -had in hand so quickly? What brings you back so soon?"</p> - -<p>"Your good genius, I feel inclined to imagine," was Montoro's answer, -in tones somewhat quieter than those of his first exclamation. But -the fading sparkle in his eyes rekindled as his companion replied -irritably—</p> - -<p>"Then I wish the meddlesome beast had minded its own business, instead -of sending you back here to pull a long face over what I mean to do in -spite of it."</p> - -<p>As he spoke he walked up to where the dog Don lay tethered, held a -strip of cotton cloth to its nose, and then muttering viciously—</p> - -<p>"Find him, Don, find him!" pressed his finger hastily on the spring of -the dog's collar, and set it free.</p> - -<p>The great animal bounded forward. The next instant there was a howl, a -moan, and Don lay dying at Montoro's feet; rather, one should say, at -Montoro's knees, for the young man had sunk on to them almost as soon -as his own fist had fallen with that lightning stroke, and the same -hand that had dealt the death-blow was now soothing the poor brute's -last agonies. It was Montoro de Diego who had killed it, and yet it was -to Montoro's face that the pleading brown eyes were lifted with their -last gaze of affection, and it was Montoro's hand that the dying tongue -licked with the last breath.</p> - -<p>"My poor old Don," muttered Montoro huskily, as he tenderly pressed the -side quivering with the death struggle; "poor old Don."</p> - -<p>"It's fine for thee to pity the poor brute when it owes its sufferings -to thy malice," exclaimed Don Alonzo furiously, and with fingers on the -hilt of his dagger, as though they itched to lay his companion beside -the animal.</p> - -<p>But Diego paid no seeming heed to the show of rage. Maintaining his -kneeling position for a while longer, he replied quietly—</p> - -<p>"Yes, it once owed its life to me, and now it owes its death to me, and -better so than it should have been the innocent cause of suffering to -one of our human brethren, for whom the cross rose on Calvary."</p> - -<p>And then he rose from beside the dog's dead body, and turned slowly -away with a saddened face. In spite of its ferocious nature, the animal -had always been most docile with him; and besides, it had been that -oft-felt link with his mother's home. How long ago now seemed that -first day of parting from his country, when Rachel de Diego's slender -fingers had rested for a few moments on the animal's head. Her son -would far rather have a second time undergone some peril to save its -life, than have had to destroy it for the prevention of a crime.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Señor," murmured Bautista, as he crept out on to the verandah -after him a few minutes later. "Ah, Señor, you have saved poor -Guatchi's limbs from being mangled; but I doubt me you have made an -enemy for yourself."</p> - -<p>"You were willing to do the same in the same cause, Bautista," was the -answer with a grave smile of approval. "I knew not that thou wast so -staunchly ranged on the side of justice and mercy. Henceforth we are -friends."</p> - -<p>The boy sprang forward to clasp the hand held out to him, and said -eagerly—</p> - -<p>"To follow in your steps, Señor, I began to remind myself that the -Indians' flesh had feelings like our own, but my past month in the -mines has been a black lesson in horror that I would not repeat to -escape the pains of purgatory. These Indians are tenfold weaker than -we are, and their sufferings are tenfold more, for they have learnt -nothing of manhood to sustain them. You have seen them die here in the -plantations, Señor, and that has roused your pity; but in those mines -it is not that <i>some</i> die, but that <i>none survive</i>. A few days of that -dismal work beneath cuffs and lashes, and their strength is spent—"</p> - -<p>"And then?" came the short query.</p> - -<p>"And then," ended the boy with a sort of gasp for breath, "they sink -to the ground, and the brutal kick given to rouse them up to continued -labour, is the accompaniment of their last breath. It is little wonder, -Señor, that I should wish poor Guatchi to get away free, now that he -has escaped such toil alive."</p> - -<p>The whole fervour of the boy's susceptible nature was aroused, and -Montoro felt more than ever convinced that he was in the presence of -one whose spirit was akin to his own.</p> - -<p>"Hearken, Bautista," he said, after a short pause. "I have within the -past few hours copied out part of a commission against the miserable -inhabitants of this new world, lately granted by our king, and framed -by the greatest divines and lawyers of our old home. Alonso de Ojeda -and Diego de Nicuessa bear drafts of this commission with them, and be -well assured that they will not spare its execution. But stay; I will -read thee the very words themselves, addressed for peremptory orders -to these poor heathen, ignorant of the very language in which we call -upon them to obey our faith and laws:—'If you will not consent to take -our Church for your Church, the holy father the Pope for your spiritual -head, our king for your king and sovereign lord over your kings and -countries, then, with the help of God, I will enter your country by -force; I will carry on war against you with the utmost violence; I -will subject you to the yoke of obedience; I will take your wives and -children and will make them slaves; I will seize your goods, and do -you all the mischief in my power, as rebellious subjects, who will not -submit to their lawful sovereign. And I protest that all the bloodshed -and calamities that shall follow shall be due to you, and not to -us.'"<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>As Montoro came to the end of his sheet he folded and replaced it -in his pocket, and then, utterly forgetful of his companion in his -reawakened indignation, he wandered away from the verandah, and betook -himself to the simple dwelling of the good clerigo, Bartholomew de las -Casas, who was now finally settled in Hispaniola, by royal desire, as a -missionary to the natives.</p> - -<p>"But of what use," he exclaimed this afternoon in sorrowful despair -to his equally weary-hearted visitor, "of what use, Diego, to waste -our time and strength, in trying to teach the sublime truths of -religion to men whose spirits are broken, and their minds weakened by -oppression?"</p> - -<p>"Of what use, indeed," assented Montoro with passion, "to try to teach -men to believe in a religion professing itself the religion of love and -mercy, while they are slaves to those calling themselves its followers, -and who are acting at the same time the part of demons!"</p> - -<p>"You speak strongly," said the true-hearted, good Christian bishop. -"But verily I cannot say you have not reason. Knowest thou, my friend, -that when first we settled ourselves upon this fertile fragrant island, -not yet fifteen years ago, the inhabitants numbered above three -millions, and now they scarcely amount to fifteen thousand. Scarcely -fifteen thousand!" he repeated slowly, and in awe-struck tones, as -though he scarcely could endure to recall the awful fact to his own -remembrance.</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego looked at his informant with a startled countenance, -and then suddenly bent his eyes upon the ground as though he expected -to see the 'brothers' blood' crying for vengeance from the soil.</p> - -<p>"It is no good," he exclaimed at last. "I will stay in this accursed -place no longer. To my restlessness I might have opposed a sense of -duty; but to fight any longer against my miserable disgust at the -scenes around me is beyond my strength."</p> - -<p>The bishop mused awhile before replying slowly,—</p> - -<p>"And yet, good example is valuable."</p> - -<p>"Elsewhere it may be, but not here," returned Diego hastily. "Else, -Riverenza, must your own bright example long since have turned devils -into saints, murderers into good Samaritans. What good did your example -do, even in the matter of the <i>repartimientos</i>? Did your giving up your -share of these unjustly and basely-enslaved creatures serve any other -purpose than that of impoverishing one who ever uses his wealth for the -relief of suffering? Nay, further, your good example on this accursed -island worked actually on the side of evil."</p> - -<p>"How so?" asked Las Casas. But he looked as though he knew the answer, -even before his companion said heavily,—</p> - -<p>"Even we reaped some miserable advantage at 'Palmyra' from your -renunciation. Some half-dozen poor creatures who had thriven under -your mild rule were made over to us to die. But see," Montoro suddenly -exclaimed, interrupting himself and springing to his feet, "the day is -passing, and I should have been in San Domingo hours ago. I started -early enough, but some suspicion that I was leaving mischief behind me -brought me back, and now poor Don is dead."</p> - -<p>It was only a dog that was dead, but that dog was Don—the dog on whose -head his mother's tears had fallen—the dog for whose sake he had once -endangered his own life; and with these thoughts suddenly recalled -to his mind, Montoro de Diego was glad to beat a hasty retreat from -further observation.</p> - -<p>Las Casas remained deep in earnest ponderings long after his friend had -left him, for he too had begun to think that it was vain to continue -his efforts of philanthropy any longer on the island of Hispaniola, -and that he would do wisely to exert his influence as protector of the -Indians in new fields, less overcrowded with the refuse population of -his own country.</p> - -<p>Meantime Montoro reached the town, and was instantly accosted by a -young man of about his own age, and tall, bright, and handsome as -himself, but with a dash of off-hand daring about his person and manner -instead of Montoro's lofty dignity.</p> - -<p>"Diego!" he exclaimed, as soon as he caught sight of him, "you are -just the comrade I most desire in our coming campaign. Throw thy -paltry bales into the sea, man, and enrol thyself under our captain's -standard."</p> - -<p>"But who then is thy captain?" asked Montoro with some interest, "and -what is this new campaign? Thou art ever mad, my Cortes, upon some -fresh undertaking."</p> - -<p>The handsome young notary laughed.</p> - -<p>"Better that than sticking to the same spot till thy feet bid fair -to grow to the soil, like thy money-grubber, Don Alonzo, yonder. -But, I warrant thee, this undertaking now on hand is no mere pastime -for a summer's evening. Our captain, Don Diego Velasquez, hath it in -commission to conquer an island, the island of Cuba."</p> - -<p>"Ay, doubtless," returned Montoro bitterly. "And hath also leave and -licence, and perchance it may be even orders likewise, to kill off the -inhabitants there, like so many mosquitoes, as hath been done here!"</p> - -<p>The other shrugged his shoulders rather contemptuously.</p> - -<p>"Verily, Diego, thou and our bishop yonder have been bitten by the same -dog. But to comfort thy heart, know that Bartholomew Las Casas is to be -invited to go with us to guard thy pets, lest one of us should so much -as slap one of their brats to still its overmuch squalling at strange -faces. So, what say'st thou now?"</p> - -<p>Montoro's face cleared to a smile.</p> - -<p>"This is what I say—that if Las Casas goes, then do I go also."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE WAY TO TREAT THE REDSKINS.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Montoro! I say, Montoro, I have news for thee."</p> - -<p>"Out with it then," came the answer from our friend, who was once more -engaged in his occupation of eight years before at Veragua. Houses were -built there for a colony that was never founded, and now Montoro and -his companions were building houses on the island of Cuba, with a very -fair prospect of inhabiting them.</p> - -<p>Only one chief had offered any determined resistance to the invaders, -and even his followers were not numerous enough to excite much anxiety. -He had fled from his native land of Hispaniola to escape the Spanish -rule, and now he was brought to bay, and compelled to make a final -effort for independence. It had just been decided to send out a party -against him, strong enough, as Velasquez put it, "To conquer the rebel -once for all, and have done with it."</p> - -<p>"And I am to be one of the party," said Juan de Cabrera, excitedly. -"And if you choose you also are to have a hand in catching this -Hatuey, and helping to make him an example."</p> - -<p>"He is that already," replied Montoro gravely. "Would that the poor -sheep, his countrymen, knew how to profit by it."</p> - -<p>"By my faith," exclaimed Cabrera impatiently, "you are a queer fellow, -Diego. Wouldst thou then that these 'poor sheep,' who are as a hundred -to one of us, should know their strength, and shoot us down like vermin -in a barn?"</p> - -<p>Montoro flung down the great wooden hammer with which he had been -driving stakes, and came forward, his face set with mingled sternness -and sorrow.</p> - -<p>"Ay, truly, Juan de Cabrera, less would it shame me that the heathen -should thus treat us, than to know that we Christians have acted that -hideous part towards them. Hast thou heard of the late campaign in -Trinidad, where our countrymen have burnt alive in cold blood—to save -trouble!—nigh upon two hundred men and women, and innocent babes -scarcely more helpless than their kind and gentle-natured fathers? How -shall Spanish tears or Spanish blood, thinkest thou, ever wash out that -foul stain?"</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera turned away for a moment, for he had no answer ready. -When he turned round again he said, with an assumption of flippancy he -was for once far from feeling,—</p> - -<p>"Ah, well, I have not heard this shady tale before, and I don't suppose -that it has lost any of its shadows by coming through thy lips. -Doubtless it was but a toss up whether our brethren should be killed, -or should kill."</p> - -<p>"Not so," said Montoro, sternly. "Juan Bono hath confessed, himself, -that the unhappy creatures whom he thus repaid had been as fathers -and mothers to him, and to all his party; but he had been sent to -make slaves, and he made them the more readily by burning part of the -population before resistance was dreamt of."</p> - -<p>He stopped abruptly, and stooped to pick up his tool. Then once more -raising his eyes to his companion's face, he said slowly and quietly—</p> - -<p>"That is all; but a ghastly all; and I would to God that the heathen -had shot me ere I heard it."</p> - -<p>There was a long silence after this ere Cabrera ventured once more to -ask—</p> - -<p>"But, Diego, for all this thou wilt join us, wilt thou not? Even for -the sake of thine own feelings thou shouldst do so to help in the -promotion of fair play."</p> - -<p>"If I were the Governor himself," said Montoro hastily, "I should exert -myself in vain for justice where this unfortunate Hatuey is concerned. -He has been as a king in his own land, and now we dare to proclaim him -a rebel because he proves himself a patriot, and in the face of despair -fights for his country and his people's liberty. No; I will have nought -to do with 'catching' this noble-hearted heathen Cacique, and aiding to -throw him into slavery."</p> - -<p>Cabrera cast a keen, furtive glance at his companion at the utterance -of that last word. Evidently, although Diego had heard that horrible -Trinidad news, he had not yet heard of the doom pronounced against -the troublesomely desperate Cacique of Hispaniola, when he should be -once safely caught in the hands of the Cuban governor. As for Don Juan -de Cabrera, he had no inclination to give the information. To turn the -subject, he said after a short pause—</p> - -<p>"Well then, friend Diego, if thou comest not with us, what is it thou -hast a mind to? Something nobler, I trust, than wood-cutting, as -though thou wert born a boor in a German forest rather than a Spanish -nobleman."</p> - -<p>"I feel little inclined to boast just now of my Spanish birthright, I -can tell thee," said Montoro heavily. "But to answer thy question—Ay; -I have other plans on hand than my present employment. I accompany Las -Casas on his progress of pacification through the island, and we hope -great things from our efforts, both for the natives and the colony."</p> - -<p>Cabrera's shoulders went up in a slight shrug, almost in spite of -himself.</p> - -<p>"It is to be hoped that you and the clerigo have picked your associates -carefully for your peaceful expedition," he said, with a touch of -scorn. "Otherwise I fear me there may chance some rubs to your tender -consciences ere it is accomplished."</p> - -<p>"Little danger," answered Montoro, confidently, adding with a smile, -"for we have, as you say, chosen our companions with due thought. You -see, we have not invited you."</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera laughed.</p> - -<p>"Thanks for the compliment, my friend. I would a hundred-fold rather -be found guilty of too much impetuosity, than of a calm, cold-blooded -calculation."</p> - -<p>The smile died out of Montoro's face as he now exclaimed hotly—</p> - -<p>"It is easy at all times for men to sneer at right and justice, and to -clothe evil with grand words. In Spain our impetuosity has been a sword -in the hand of honour; why is it here a weapon that would be disdained -even by the paid tool of an assassin? But there, Juan, I but waste my -breath on thee. This is no true impetuosity, no true impulsive daring, -that robs and massacres the harmless peoples of these lands; but rather -is it the base, despicable, grovelling fruit of cold-blooded reckonings -of ounces of gold against lives. By heaven, I—"</p> - -<p>"There, there, Toro," interrupted the light-hearted cavalier, with -unusual quietness of manner, "do not spend thy eloquence upon an -unworthy mortal like me. And for thy solace learn that, although -methinks thou and the clerigo draw the line too fine, I loathe some of -our doings out here well-nigh as greatly as thou canst do thyself. But -adios, for my party will be starting on the Hatuey hunt without me if I -do not hasten."</p> - -<p>So saying, the gay adventurer departed with an air as jaunty as though -he were bound for one of the Court tournaments of Spain, to be rewarded -by winning kingly smiles and his lady's scarf. And shortly after his -friend Montoro de Diego, with Las Casas, departed on their Cuban tour, -accompanied by a number of armed followers, who were intended, by -their formidable appearance, to ensure unbroken peace, not to win it -after battle. But unhappily Juan de Cabrera's prognostications proved -truer than Diego's hopes.</p> - -<p>"Well, comrade," said a soldier to a companion at the evening halt of -the first day's march; "well, comrade, thou hast then recovered health -and strength in time to have another try for fortune; at any rate for -such flimsy fragments as our present soft-hearted leaders will permit -us to accept. For my part, I had fain that I had been rather sent off -after the rebel Cacique. There will be more pickings to be gathered -up there I doubt, than we shall be able to find baskets for in this -direction. But as for saving souls—"</p> - -<p>"As for saving souls," interrupted the man addressed in a deep, -fierce tone; "as for that matter, Guzman, we will save our own souls -by clearing God's earth of these vile, idol-serving vermin. Joshua -was sent forth of old, as Father Gonzalo saith, to rid the world of -the heathen, and so have we the like mission now. And for one Andrea -Botello will obey."</p> - -<p>Guzman stared.</p> - -<p>"My faith, Botello, let not the noble Señor Diego hear thee speak thus, -or thou wilt most assuredly get ordered back to the settlement again!"</p> - -<p>But Botello's eyes blazed with a yet fiercer fire, and his brow grew -blacker, as he muttered:</p> - -<p>"Against those who have a mission from on high, man's orders avail -nought. The commands to slay and destroy, and leave not one remaining, -have come to me from authority, supreme e'en over the Governor -Velasquez himself. Speak not to me of orders!"</p> - -<p>"Nay, then, that will I not," murmured Guzman to himself, as he went -off to more cheerful companions. "I will spend no more words on thee, -friend Botello," he continued in soliloquy, "so long as it appears that -the remnants of thy late fever are yet burning in thy veins. It might -chance thou wouldst find thou hadst an order to stick thy poniard into -me."</p> - -<p>A few minutes later the prudent soldier was consulting with some -friends, whether a warning hint respecting Botello's aspirations should -not be given to their priest commander.</p> - -<p>"But say, then," laughed another, "what need to trouble the good -clerigo for nought? What can one man's moody fancies do of harm, with -so many against him on the other side?"</p> - -<p>"Umph, no," said another, somewhat less confidently; "<i>if</i> all the rest -are on the other side; but one fanatic can make an army of disciples, -if his feelings be but strong enough."</p> - -<p>"Just so," was the off-hand reply. "If they be strong enough, but not -if they be the half-delirious fancies of a sick man, who ought still to -be in his bed at St. Jago yonder, instead of travelling with us. But -come on, let's hurry up to that party of redskins over there; they seem -well laden, and for my part I prefer to dine on their providing than on -my own, or that of our commanders. They treat us better."</p> - -<p>The whole of the little expedition, including Las Casas and Montoro, -appeared to be of the same way of thinking, to judge by the way the -hospitable and kind-hearted Indians were soon surrounded. Whether owing -to the absence of newspapers and telegrams in those days, or to the -hopes of the poor inhabitants of the New World that kindness would -gain kindness, at any rate in their own case, cannot now be said; but -while the refugee Cacique, who had fled from the barbarities of the -Spaniards on his own island, was being hunted down in one part of Cuba, -in another the gentle, courteous natives were treating their invaders -with the most true-hearted friendliness.</p> - -<p>"They must, verily, be worse than the tigers of the forests who harm -these simple creatures!" exclaimed Montoro one day, as a number of -Indians hastened to the new encampment with the farewell offerings -of fruit, rice, cooked food, and various little presents as tokens -of peace and good-will, accepting smiles for thanks with inborn -graciousness.</p> - -<p>Las Casas smiled at his friend's ardour.</p> - -<p>"I feel now," he said joyously, "that I can afford to smile, for all -things here are going forward as I would wish. The natives are learning -that there are at least some amongst the white men who have a knowledge -of right and wrong. And for these with us, Montoro, thinkest thou not -that they have begun to find it pleasant to continue in well-doing, and -to awaken smiles instead of tears? For myself, I do hope so, I confess."</p> - -<p>"And I," assented Montoro earnestly. "I do believe, my father, that -thy noble example has reaped at length the good fruit it has so long -merited."</p> - -<p>The two friends passed on, nor marked a pallid-faced, fierce-eyed man, -who had stood near them, and now muttered between his teeth, gazing -after the clerigo:</p> - -<p>"Tremble, thou Saul, who wouldst spare Agag, and the chief of the -spoil, when thou shouldst destroy! Guard thyself, lest the vengeance -that falls upon the enemies of the Cross encompass thee also, as were -meet."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE MASSACRE AT CAONAO.</i></h3> - - -<p>Some weeks had passed, and all had hitherto gone well, when one day, -on arriving at the suburbs of the native town of Caonao, Las Casas -announced it to be his intention to remain there two or three days, -making it the limit of his present expedition, and then to return to -the head-quarters of Velasquez, with the report of their doings and -adventures.</p> - -<p>"Meantime," he said, with the cheerful good-humour proper to his nature -when at ease for others—"meantime we will make holiday for the next -forty-eight hours."</p> - -<p>"And," said Diego smiling, "thanks to our good red brothers here, we -can also give our holiday its proper accompaniment of feasting."</p> - -<p>"Just so," agreed Las Casas, with an answering smile. "I confess the -truth; it was the sight of the abundant supplies of all kinds with -which we are provided, that led me to resolve on marking this terminus -of our pleasant expedition with something of the nature of a festival. -Gather the men for me, Diego, some into the surrounding houses, the -remainder may well encamp out here in these gardens, fit for Paradise -itself."</p> - -<p>"And for yourself, father?" asked Montoro. "Are you bent on other -explorations?"</p> - -<p>"Not very distant ones," was the bright answer. "I am but about to -explore yon temple, and endeavour to use my stammering tongue for God's -glory with its inmates. They may now better believe, I trust, that we -come as bearers of a message of mercy."</p> - -<p>"Truly I hope so," replied Montoro, as he nodded the brief adieu to his -friend, and then turned quickly to execute the duties committed to him. -In thus hastily turning, he almost knocked over a man who, unobserved, -had silently moved up close to the two chiefs of the party, until he -stood almost shoulder to shoulder with de Diego.</p> - -<p>Diego was about to administer a sharp and haughty reproof to the -presumptuous intruder on the society of his superiors, but a second -look at his companion checked the words on his lips; and he stood a -listener instead of a speaker, as the man uttered, through drawn lips -that scarcely moved, a wild denunciation of the Amorites, the Hivites, -the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Gergashites, and the -Jebusites.</p> - -<p>Those who hear of the matter now may feel tempted to smile, but there -was no smile on the countenance of the young nobleman, no feeling of -mirth in his heart, as he stood facing the mad fanatic. The man's eyes -were fixed in a glassy stare that saw nought then visible; and his -eager, bloodthirsty curses against those he denounced as the enemies of -God, and of his Christ, made Montoro's blood run cold.</p> - -<p>"Friend," he began at last—"friend, rouse thyself. Recall thy -scattered thoughts. Those enemies of God's people, and daring breakers -of His laws, have perished for their iniquities more than two thousand -years ago. What priestly tales from the Holy Scriptures have been -startling thy ears of late?"</p> - -<p>"He hath been ill, at death's door with malarious fever, but a few -days before joining this expedition, Señor," answered another of the -soldiers coming forward now, and hastily putting his hand on his -comrade's arm, as though to draw him away, but at the same time with an -air of secret warning which, at another time, would not have escaped -the keen eyes of the young officer. Now, however, Montoro was anxious -to get the clerigo's wishes carried out before his return on the scene, -and he was more intent on taking a view of the ground around him, as to -its capabilities for comfortable encampment, than in noting the actions -of individuals.</p> - -<p>"See," he said kindly, but somewhat absently, "yonder come our kind -Indian friends with supplies of water; doubtless thy comrade is -suffering from thirst. Go forward with him, and see that his wants are -well attended to."</p> - -<p>The man bowed, and quickly pulled his companion on to hinder the word -answer he seemed about to give.</p> - -<p>"Thou art a very fool, Botello," he muttered angrily, when out of -earshot of Diego. "Of what good to rouse us up to help fulfil thy -purpose, when thy blabbing lips must go well-nigh to betray it, to -the one of all others most keen to hinder it. The clerigo hath some -thoughts to spare from his red lambs to his own comfortable living, -but this Señor Diego carrieth the vile heathen on his back to his own -greatest detriment. Verily, methinks he would far sooner have that -sword of thine pierce him than one of them."</p> - -<p>Botello turned, with those dull-burning, sullen eyes of his fixed upon -his friend.</p> - -<p>"If it is thus with him," he said between his clenched teeth, "then -will he receive due punishment in witnessing the slaughter of those he -thus dares to cherish. But come, the hour has arrived, and the victims."</p> - -<p>And suddenly, with a wild cry, he dashed forward towards a group of -some hundreds of defenceless Indians—men, women, and children—laden -with fruits, and jars of water for their Spanish guests. Snatching his -sword from its sheath it flashed for a few moments in the sun, as he -brandished it on high, and then, with a madman's howl, he plunged it -into the bodies of an infant and its mother who was advancing with a -timid smile to offer drink to the thirsty travellers.</p> - -<p>Tearing the reeking weapon from his first quivering victims he rushed -on over them, dealing death and wounds frantically around him. For some -moments he was alone in his dread activity. The Indians were spellbound -with the dismal horror. Even his own fellows were awe-struck with the -impetus of the hideous onslaught.</p> - -<p>But quickly the scene changed. In his fatal career the wretched madman -cut down the beloved young squaw of a tall and unusually powerful -Indian, before he could fling himself before her as a cover. Baffled -of his loving effort he threw himself upon the Spaniard, utterly -regardless, in his despairing fury, of the blood-dripping sword. -Snapping it with his hands as though it had been a thread from his -native cotton plants, he tossed away the pieces, and then, with those -sinewy, disengaged fingers, throttled his antagonist, and cast the dead -body of the wretched Botello beside that of the murdered Indian.</p> - -<p>The red man's ferocious shout of triumph was the signal for answering -shouts of fury from the Spaniards. They had looked on while innocent -and gentle women and children were ruthlessly slaughtered, but the -sight of one of their own number slain was one that aroused all their -fiercest feelings of revenge, and ere it could be well said that they -had had time for thought swords and daggers were flashing in the light, -the fair, flower-bestrewn earth was streaming with blood, and mangled -bodies of dead and dying creatures, some still clasping their simple -offerings, that pleaded for good-will, in their stiffening hands, were -piled in awful heaps around the camping ground.</p> - -<p>To this drear, sickening sight Montoro de Diego rushed forward as he -saw the tumult that was raging. Guzman, one of the few who remained -faithful to his leader's trust in him, flew to the temple to summon Las -Casas. The redskins' friend was just issuing from the building when -his follower reached it, breathless with haste, pallid with horror, and -bespattered with gore from the pitiful victims who had been falling in -wholesale crowds around him. The countenance of the clerigo turned pale -also as he caught sight of the panting soldier.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" he exclaimed. "Our brethren—what of them? Is it a -massacre?"</p> - -<p>Guzman nodded. He could not speak; one word he managed to gasp -out—"Go." For a massacre it was indeed, though not of the nature -imagined by Las Casas; not a massacre perpetrated by ignorant heathen -of those from whom they had scarce ever received ought but wrong, but -a massacre barbarously committed by Christians on those from whom they -had received nought but kindness and submissive respect. But Las Casas -waited not to learn more from his breathless retainer. He saw the wild -tumult surging in the distance; he heard the confused roar of mingled -shrieks, shouts, yells, and groans; and whatever was going forward that -concerned his company his place was in their midst, to die with them if -their rescue were no longer possible.</p> - -<p>In a moment of time this decision had darted through his brain, and the -next instant he was flying over the ground that intervened between the -temple of Caonao, and the open plain where the deadliest of the uproar -was in awful progress.</p> - -<p>Two or three huts of less pretensions than the houses in the town were -scattered here and there. Close to the fighting, dying, struggling -multitudes stood one of these wooden buildings somewhat larger than the -rest. In it a number of the hospitable Indian women had been gathered, -a few minutes since, cooking and preparing food for their cruel -invaders. Now a panic-stricken, shrieking rabble of both sexes and all -ages was dashing into it, Indians pursued by Spaniards—Indians, as Las -Casas perceived at the first horror-stricken glance, with nothing but -crushed fruits and flowers in their hands, or wounded infants moaning -in their arms, Spaniards with blood-dropping, crimsoned swords. Then he -knew all. A groan of bitterest anguish burst from his lips—</p> - -<p>"Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>The words were a prayer, an abject prayer to the Most High for mercy. -Had the earth at that moment opened her black jaws and swallowed up -every Spaniard present, had fire from heaven licked them up and carried -them to hell, Las Casas would have felt no wonder. He wondered more -that an all-powerful God should spare.</p> - -<p>One moment he gave to that groan, one moment to that prayer, and -then, throwing himself in the doorway of the hut, he dashed aside a -half-frenzied soldier who was entering in pursuit of the wretched -fugitives, and uttered a mighty, furious shout:</p> - -<p>"Back, Spaniards, back, you dastardly mean hounds, every one of you, -or run your swords thus hallowed with the blood of the innocents into -your leader's body. I invite you to it, fiends every one of you rather -than men, that I may the more speedily close mine eyes for ever on this -scene fit only for the shades of hell."</p> - -<p>Then he looked into the hut upon the huddled flock of trembling, -weeping, wounded human sheep. Some had climbed, for refuge from their -bloodthirsty pursuers, to the rafters of the roof, and hung there, with -their wild eyes gleaming, through their long black hair, down upon -events below, and their white teeth chattering for fear.</p> - -<p>The sudden appearance of Las Casas upon the spot, and the change of -his usual mild demeanour to one of such haughty, biting indignation, -had created a temporary, rapid lull about the spot where he stood. A -permanent arrest of the massacre in that direction, he all too fondly -believed, and so he began to soothe and reassure the poor creatures -gathered together for death within the walls of that humble little -dwelling. Some few words of comfort in their own language he knew, -and spoke most eagerly, but the deep sympathy of his countenance, his -pitying eyes, spoke still more eloquently, and above all, his fame had -come before him even here, as a father and friend of the helpless.</p> - -<p>Gradually some put back the hair from their faces and ventured to look -around them, mothers loosened their convulsive grasp of their children, -and the climbers on the rafters swung themselves down to the ground -again. But even Las Casas could see that all was not yet achieved -for the restoration of peace. At a few hundred yards' distance the -horrible, shameful work of slaughter still continued, and once more -quitting the hut and its defenceless multitude, Bartholomew Las Casas -dashed onwards to repeat his efforts at arresting the wholesale murder -of defenceless men, helpless women, the aged and the infant.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Montoro!" he ejaculated as to himself, as he neared this fresh -scene of horror. "Alas! Montoro de Diego, where canst thou have been to -allow such things!"</p> - -<p>A voice from beside his feet answered him—"I am here, my friend. -Disabled at the first moment. But do not heed me. Hasten to save what -poor remnant there may yet remain of these unhappy victims."</p> - -<p>Las Casas looked at his half fainting friend, then at the dreadful -<i>mêlée</i> beyond, and with a hurried—"I will return immediately," he ran -on, and a second time hurled his furious commands at his followers to -cease their cowardly slaughter of their helpless prey.</p> - -<p>A second time the leader's voice and the leader's presence cowed the -Spaniards back to order—momentarily. From the rear where the hut -lay there suddenly broke upon the air wilder shrieks and yells than -had been heard before. Deep oaths and curses of Spanish throats were -mingled with the shrill Indian cries, and off darted the soldiers -gathered about Las Casas to join their other comrades. They were like -so many score of bloodhounds, with the taste for blood so aroused -that it could no more be satisfied. Not again could the friend of -the Indians reach the doorway of that hut until it had become a -charnel-house, so crammed with the dead and dying, that the stoutest -heart might turn away from the ghastly task of learning if there were -yet any, amongst those heaps of mangled bodies, to whom it might be -possible to speak last words of pity.</p> - -<p>There had been five hundred living human beings crowded into that -building when Las Casas left it ten minutes ago, now there lay there -five hundred mangled bodies lying in crimson pools, some already stiff -and stark, some writhing in the death agonies, none ever to see the sun -in this world again, or to learn on earth that the religion called the -Christian faith, which those white intruders came to spread, was not -the religion of a demon more vile than any their untaught imaginings -had ever dared portray.</p> - -<p>A poor mother's despairing wail over her mortally wounded child, had -been the slight spark needed to rekindle the blind rage of the Spanish -soldiers. A soldier had held a crucifix before the infant's dying eyes, -and the mother, fearing fresh cruelties, had wildly dashed it from the -man's hand. That was more than provocation enough for gold-seekers -who salved their greed for wealth and fame with the plea, that their -journeyings were to widen the limits of Christ's kingdom.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had the crucifix fallen to the ground ere the murdered woman -fell beside it. Many a dead body had the man to move the following day -ere he recovered the treasured symbol of an immortal love. All that -night the leader of the expedition knelt, alone, in prayer.</p> - -<p>All that night Montoro de Diego lay praying, faint and weak from loss -of blood, shed at the commencement of the hideous fray in the vain -effort to arrest the massacre. Never, so long as Montoro lived, did he -hear the name of the little town of Caonao without a shudder, never -did he remember the sounds of those women's wails, the sounds of those -children's cries of dying agony, without a moan escaping his own lips, -and a shivering horror overwhelming him that such things should have -been.</p> - -<p>One day for a day of burial, and then, in a solemn hush as though a -funeral <i>cortége</i>, or a train of vanquished fugitives, the expedition -formed again for marching, and retraced its steps to St. Jago. Montoro -made one attempt to cheer his friend, but the soothing words were -hurriedly put aside.</p> - -<p>"Nay, nay, Diego. Speak not to me of comfort in our shame and bitter -affliction. I came forth confident in my own strength, in my own power -to rule man and to guide those under me in the ways of peace, and the -Lord of Hosts has thus humbled my presumptuousness in the dust. Speak -not to me of comfort; there is none save in prayer."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE PATRIOT CACIQUE HATUEY.</i></h3> - - -<p>The march back to the Cuban seat of government was made more rapidly -than the march out had been. Then, all had been gaiety and brightness. -A band of picked men under a favourite and joyous-natured leader, peace -and good-will for their motto, and friendly natives hovering ever -around them as they journeyed, to turn each day into one of pleasant -feastings.</p> - -<p>Now the leader had but stern, grief-stricken eyes to turn upon -those under his command, and the men walked on bowed with a sense -of well-merited disgrace. Few and far between were the offerings -made to them now, and those were bestowed with trembling hands, and -countenances marked by abject terror. None of the circumstances of the -homeward way tempted the explorers to linger.</p> - -<p>But full as was the generous-hearted Montoro's cup of sorrow, it was -not yet so full but that it was to be called upon to hold more, even to -overflowing.</p> - -<p>The shadows of the marching men were beginning to lengthen as they -moved along, as though the shades had learnt the art of deception with -each hour of the growing day, and wished to startle the whole race of -earth's crawlers, beetles, snakes, worms, and their fellows, with the -semblance of an oncoming race of giants. The air was full of humming -insects, quivering heat, and the rich scent of leaves and flowers.</p> - -<p>The Spaniards stepped onwards slowly. They were near the end of their -journey now, and their eyes were tired with gazing at that</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -"Landscape winking through the heat."</div> - -<p>A hot shimmer over all things, such as Tennyson had never seen when he -wrote a line which almost makes one feel warm even on a cold winter's -day.</p> - -<p>Montoro was feeling depressed and weary, and sentiments of gladness and -regret were pretty equally mingled in his breast as he saw the various -roofs close before him of the newly-founded town of St. Jago. But -personal sorrow cannot be indulged by leaders.</p> - -<p>"Put your best feet forward, my friends," cried Bartholomew Las -Casas at this moment. However bitterly he might grieve over recent -occurrences, there was still sufficient of the spirit of the commander -in him to rebel against the notion of reappearing before Velasquez, -Cortes, and the rest of their fellow-adventurers, like a company of -whipped dogs; but he need not have troubled himself, for an event was -taking place at that hour in St. Jago that absorbed all interests.</p> - -<p>Hatuey, the Cacique of Hispaniola—Hatuey, the noble, untutored -patriot—had been taken prisoner whilst fighting his last battles -for freedom and his country, and Hatuey was adjudged to suffer as a -rebel! He was to be made an example of, so the Governor declared—to be -the scarecrow to frighten all others of his race and the surrounding -nations from daring to perform one of the most sacred duties of -mankind. The Spaniards acknowledged it to be so for themselves; -but then—Hatuey was a heathen, and had refused to be forced into -Christianity at the point of the sword.</p> - -<p>Las Casas, Montoro, and their followers were close to the town when -Montoro de Diego was suddenly almost thrown to the ground by an Indian -woman, who flung herself before him with a wild, heart-rending cry, and -clasped his knees convulsively.</p> - -<p>Already Diego had become known on the island as a friend of the -friendless, an eager helper of the helpless, and this poor, despairing -creature had been on the look-out for him, during the past hours of -that day, with a gnawing agony of longing that had made the hours seem -like weeks. He was her last hope, and now, catching sight of him, she -flew forward with a wildness of look and manner that made those around -believe her to be mad.</p> - -<p>And in truth the favourite wife of Hatuey was well-nigh frantic with -dread and horror at the threatened fate of the one she loved.</p> - -<p>Las Casas and the whole of the small band of warriors drew around -as she poured forth her lamentable tale, with groans and sighs and -streaming tears, and the countenances of the two leaders glowed with -deepening indignation as they listened. At length Montoro lifted -himself up with flashing eyes, and turning to his friend exclaimed -passionately—</p> - -<p>"It seems that we Spaniards are bent on accumulating sins upon our -heads, until the measure of Heaven's wrath shall be attained. Give me -your permission that I leave you now on the instant, and hasten to -avert at any rate this threatened iniquity."</p> - -<p>"If it be possible, with the grace of God," murmured Las Casas; but -Montoro had hastened away with the Indian woman before the words were -uttered, and was already on his road to the Governor's house. The -others followed.</p> - -<p>"What! returned, my very esteemed friend Diego?" exclaimed the laughing -voice of Juan de Cabrera from the verandah of the Governor's residence -as the other approached.</p> - -<p>Montoro sprang forward more quickly.</p> - -<p>"Well met, Cabrera," he cried, in tones so stern that their ordinary -melody was lost; "well met, for thou canst tell me where I may most -wisely seek the Governor."</p> - -<p>"That can I," was the reply more seriously, "or rather, I can tell thee -where thou mayest seek him and find him; but as to the wisdom of the -search, verily that is another matter. For my part, I am thankful to -maintain my present distance between myself and him just now. And if -you are prudent you will remain with me, and ask no further questions."</p> - -<p>Montoro strode forward still more hastily, and his face paled with -emotion as he asked huskily—</p> - -<p>"Toy not with me, Juan. Thou canst not surely mean that yon diabolical -act of which this woman speaks is already in progress?"</p> - -<p>Cabrera bowed, murmuring at the same time—</p> - -<p>"Ah! then thou hast heard. I would have spared thee."</p> - -<p>Montoro shook himself wrathfully.</p> - -<p>"Exert thyself to spare the deeds, not the hearing of them after. Where -is the spot that is to be made foul for ever by this crime?"</p> - -<p>Cabrera raised his hand, and pointed.</p> - -<p>"But, Diego, stay with me. Spare thyself a needless agony. Wert thou -eloquent as the archangel Gabriel himself thou wouldst avail nought to -turn Velasquez from his present purpose."</p> - -<p>Diego was already going off to the place indicated, but he turned back -a moment.</p> - -<p>"I am not purposing to use my words on Velasquez, but on his prisoner. -This poor creature tells me that Hatuey is offered life on one -condition. It shall be my office as a humble suppliant to implore him -to accept it."</p> - -<p>So saying, with a sign to the weeping Indian woman, he darted off -with a fiery speed that gave the poor creature at least the comfort -of feeling that she had one with her who sympathized with her hapless -misery. They were not long in reaching their destination.</p> - -<p>Scattered groups of men and women, chiefly Indians, they came up -with first, and then there was a dense crowd around a central space -occupied by the Governor, a small group of counsellors, and a tall and -noble-looking Indian, so still, so silent, so immovably calm of face, -that he seemed rather a life-like statue of a Stoic than a human being.</p> - -<p>Yet more central still was a great stake surrounded by a pile of -faggots, beside which stood two Indian slaves, who were to feel the -bitterest sting of slavery in doing to death their champion.</p> - -<p>Had Hatuey been a slave, and assigned this post, he would have joined -the victim at the stake rather than perform it; but all are not thus -noble-minded. Life is sweet, even with floggings, or rather, death -has terrors for all men, excepting such as are steeled by doggedness, -or for such as are sustained by the hidden strength from on high, a -strength to which the Cacique may now have owed his courageous calm, -although his Christian murderers scorned him as a heathen.</p> - -<p>But his poor, heart-stricken squaw felt no courage, no grand sentiments -of resignation, as she caught sight of her chief and husband being -now dragged towards the giant pile, and saw the ropes which were to -bind his body to the stake. With a piercing cry she tore a way for -herself through that dense circle of pitiless Spanish warriors, and -cast herself at Hatuey's feet uttering dry gasping moans worse to hear -than any weeping. Montoro de Diego followed her through the crowd, and -strode up to Velasquez.</p> - -<p>"Señor!" he exclaimed, in a voice that vibrated to the depths of -many a callous heart of even those hardened listeners by whom he was -surrounded; "Señor, already are we as so many Cains in this land; -pause ere you give Satan yet another plea against us in the courts -above. Lay upon me what burden or what fine you will, and let me ransom -yon grand example to all patriots. Give me his life, that the heathen -may learn that Spaniards prize true greatness."</p> - -<p>He came to a pause in his rapid speech from breathlessness, and then -for the first time gave himself full opportunity to notice his hearer's -face.</p> - -<p>Cynicism and contemptuous indignation were united in the Governor's -expression, but there was no hope to be read there for the success of -Montoro's prayer.</p> - -<p>There was a sarcastic sharpness in Velasquez' voice as he replied—</p> - -<p>"Methinks, Señor Diego, you take somewhat too much upon yourself. I -trust to teach Spaniards, and the heathen too, to prize true greatness, -in the person of one who knows how to punish those who dare to set -themselves in defiance to his country. For the rest, ill news travels -apace, and we have heard of the brave doings of your <i>peaceful</i> -expedition at Caonao. It were a pity that ere you hastened to the -rescue of one man you did not spare those hundreds."</p> - -<p>"I would have laid down my own life to do so," was the low, hurried -answer. "But do not add to my remorse by refusal of this petition."</p> - -<p>Velasquez turned himself about to his officers with a scornful laugh, -exclaiming—</p> - -<p>"Verily, my Señors, 'petition' he calls his demand, backed up by -threats of Heaven's thunderbolts for refusal. Humility and arrogance -could not well be more perfectly combined."</p> - -<p>The great man's laugh was subserviently echoed by some throats, whilst -some other of the faces showed shame, or indifference to the spectacle -before them.</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego stood yet for some moments gazing with deep, solemn -eyes at the Governor. Years before, his father had pleaded for a life -with the Inquisitor, Arbues de Epila, and vainly, and had left a true -prophecy behind him when he left. So now the son. Turning his eyes -slowly from one to another of the group, and then of the wide circle, -Montoro raised his hand and cried aloud—</p> - -<p>"As that man stands there doomed most basely to a barbarous and cruel -death, so may many standing here now, at no long distant date, know -what it is to await a horrible death at the pitiless hand of savages."</p> - -<p>"He is offered mercy if he will become a Christian," suddenly said the -Governor with some change of tone, and an involuntary shudder at the -horrible mental pictures conjured up by the denunciation.</p> - -<p>Montoro started. Yes; he had forgotten that. He had forgotten there was -yet a hope, and that it was to that he had intended to cling when he -accompanied the Indian woman to the scene of judgment. Wasting neither -time nor words on ceremony, he turned his back on the Governor, and -followed the woman to the edge of the faggot-pile, in the centre of -which Hatuey stood, already bound to the stake, and utterly calm as -ever, excepting when his eyes seemed constrained to rest upon the -sobbing woman at his feet.</p> - -<p>The priest, Father Olmedo, now stood beside him, exhorting him to -change his faith and save his soul. But the admonitions were as though -spoken to the wind, for all the heed the Cacique appeared to pay.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>The priest, Father Olmedo, now stood beside him, -exhorting him to change his faith and save his soul. But the -admonitions were as though spoken to the wind for all the heed the -Cacique appeared to pay.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"It is useless," said Father Olmedo at last. "I have done all I can -for mercy's sake, and for the glory of our most holy faith, but he is -obstinate and irreclaimable. He will not hearken to me. He will not be -saved. Slaves, light the pile."</p> - -<p>The Indians raised their torches, a thrill ran through the assembled -multitude, the crouching woman sprang to her feet with a piercing -shriek, flinging her arms above her head, and Montoro sprang forward, -shouting in stentorian tones to the faggot-lighters,</p> - -<p>"Hold!"</p> - -<p>There was a moment's pause. Some gleam of thankfulness began to come -into the executioners' eyes. The woman dropped her arms to clasp -her hands with renewed hope and entreaty. A shade of half-impatient -curiosity gathered on the Cacique's face. He had betrayed no agitation -at impending death, but this reprieve troubled him. And it was only a -reprieve.</p> - -<p>The passionate earnestness of Montoro did touch some answering chord in -the Indian's breast which the priest had not known how to reach, and, -but for that swift-flying news from Caonao, Hatuey might have consented -to look forward to the Paradise which Montoro painted in such glowing -colours. But, as he listened with some signs of yielding on his face, -recollections crowded back upon his mind, and suddenly turning full to -Montoro, he asked with startling abruptness—</p> - -<p>"But tell me then, assure me of this. There are two of these abodes of -bliss, are there?—two of these glorious, sunlit homes of paradise?"</p> - -<p>Diego's eyes widened with wonder. So earnest, so eager were the tone -and manner of the questioner as he put his singular query, that the -answer was not at once forthcoming. He repeated it impatiently.</p> - -<p>"Tell me then, and truly, if one of the white-faces knows how to speak -the truth—has this gracious Lord of whom you speak provided one -Paradise for those of your race, another for His children here? I would -know that before I hear ought else, or give my answer to your plea."</p> - -<p>Yet again Montoro paused an instant, and then he replied slowly and -distinctly—</p> - -<p>"They shall be one fold under one Shepherd. Spaniards and Indians who -have been good, and loved their Lord, will live there together in love."</p> - -<p>As that last word was uttered the Cacique drew himself up to his full -height once more, and with curling lip exclaimed—</p> - -<p>"In love, you say! Ah! in love such as that which murdered my people in -Haiti, and drove me from my home! In love such as that which has hunted -me to death, and will look on now to note exultingly if my tortured -body writhes! In love such as that which has slain the hundreds of the -innocent and the helpless at Caonao! The love of the wild cat or of the -rattle-snake! I spurn your love! I hate your love! and will none of -your Lord nor of your Paradise. Our gods teach us not such love. Light -your fires quickly. I welcome your faggots and their flames. I long to -escape from the sight of the faces of the dastard white men to my own -heaven, where nought so vile as a Spaniard can ever hope to enter."</p> - -<p>Montoro fell back stunned from before the dark face working with mortal -hatred. Stumbling against the woman, who once again lay moaning on the -ground, he stooped to raise her, and the next moment he himself, with -his swooning charge, was dragged back from the lighted pile, and forced -by friendly hands to the outside of the wide circle; while Hatuey, the -heathen patriot, was burnt to death by Spaniards claiming to do all -things "for the glory of the Christian faith."</p> - -<p>"And thus," murmured Las Casas as he withdrew, sick-hearted, from the -dismal scene,—"thus do they let the light of the Gospel shine, even -with a lurid light that makes it to be abhorred."</p> - -<p>"As I abhor this land," groaned Montoro. "I have fled from the horrors -of Hispaniola, and now I am driven forth once more to find, if it be -possible, a land where I may dare without shame to confess myself a -Spaniard."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>ANOTHER STORM FOR THE PILOT ALAMINOS.</i></h3> - - -<p>It was the 18th day of February, 1519, an eventful day for many a one -besides Montoro de Diego.</p> - -<p>The sun was sparkling on the wavelets in the bay, and on the sails of -the little fleet riding at anchor in the harbour of the so-called town -of Cape St. Vincent, at the westerly extremity of the island of Cuba. -The brilliant rays of that southern sun were also shining on an eager -assemblage of possibly nine hundred men, who considered themselves -quite sufficient for the conquering of great nations.</p> - -<p>Dark native faces with smooth cheeks and chins, and surrounded by -lank black hair, showed conspicuously amongst the greater numbers of -their Spanish comrades. Guns, crossbows, gleaming armour, and a small, -precious little troop of sixteen hardly-acquired horses, were also -gathered there on the strand awaiting embarkation. And over all waved -the great banner of black velvet with its embroiderings of gold.</p> - -<p>Many of those stern great Spanish eyes were raised with devout gaze to -its crimson cross, set in flames of azure and white, and to its Latin -motto:—</p> - -<p>"Friends, let us follow the cross; and under this sign, if we have -faith, we shall conquer."</p> - -<p>Once, as Montoro de Diego lifted his glance to those words, he quietly -clasped his hands in silent prayer. But the action had not been secret -enough to escape the observation of that scoffing, sharp-sighted Juan -de Cabrera, and he muttered flippantly—</p> - -<p>"Nay then, comrade, lower your looks a little. There yonder is the sign -I follow, and so long as we all hold together and have faith in that, -never you fear but we'll conquer, if even that gay-gilt red and black -thing should fall overboard."</p> - -<p>Instinctively Montoro followed the direction of his companions glance -towards the "sign" indicated—a man about his own age, slightly above -middle height, and singularly handsome, both in face and figure. -His complexion was pale, and his large dark eyes gave an expression -of gravity to a countenance otherwise indicating cheerfulness. His -figure was slender, but his chest deep, his shoulders broad, his -frame muscular and well-proportioned, presenting a union of agility -and vigour that qualified him to excel in fencing, horsemanship, and -the other generous exercises of chivalry, and to bear with well-known -indifference any amount of toil and privation.</p> - -<p>This strikingly handsome form and countenance were further set off with -all the advantages of rich, well-studied dress, and a few magnificent -ornaments of great value. All combined to mark the frank, gay-hearted -soldier, the cool, resolute, calculating man, born to command, and -determined to be obeyed.</p> - -<p>Such was Hernando Cortes, the commander of this present expedition -to the mainland of America, which was destined to be so memorable -for those engaged in it, and for the world. And such as he was, he -possessed the almost unbounded love and confidence, not only of Juan -de Cabrera, but of all those now enlisted under his standard. Officers -and privates, any or all of them, would have cheerfully laid down their -lives for him.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, with some few of them the Cross came first. Gold, renown, -adventure, excitement for themselves, honour for their leader, but -above all, triumph for the Cross; and so ready ears hearkened to him as -he stood there, splendid in hope and beauty and strength, radiant in -the clear morning light, and exclaimed—</p> - -<p>"My brothers, we are entering on an enterprise that shall make our -names famous to after-ages. We go from this tiny bay as the conquerors -of nations vaster than our own country, and fit to be the gardens of -Paradise. I hold out to you a glorious prize, but it is to be won by -incessant toil. Great things are achieved only by great exertions, -and glory was never the reward of sloth. If I have laboured hard, and -staked my all on this undertaking, it is for the love of that renown -which is the noblest recompense of man. But if any among you covet -riches more, be but true to me as I will be true to you, and I will -make you masters of such as our countrymen have never dreamed of. You -are few in number, but strong in resolution; and, if this does not -falter, doubt not but that the Almighty, who has never deserted the -Spaniard in his contest with the infidel, will shield you, though -encompassed by a cloud of enemies; for your cause is a just cause, and -you are to fight under the banner of the Cross."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>"God grant," murmured Diego, "that that sign of Divine love may wave -over scenes less dismal in our future conquests, than it has done in -the past."</p> - -<p>But with the exception of the good priest, Father Bartolomé de Olmedo, -none were in a humour to pay attention to the sigh. The spirited -speech of the general had set all the chords of ambition, avarice, -and religious zeal vibrating, and the whole force was burning with -impatience to set out, without a moment's loss of time, on the promised -career of triumphant conquest. Solemn mass was forthwith celebrated by -the two priests accompanying the expedition, the fleet was placed under -the immediate protection of St. Peter, the commander's patron saint, -and, weighing anchor, it took its departure for the coast of Yucatan.</p> - -<p>A glorious day for Spain, as men count glory, was that February day of -1519, but so black a day for the unhappy native kingdoms of America -that one learns, almost with a thrill of thankfulness, that it was not -to be all sunshine for the ruthless conquerors. Bright weather gave -place to hurricanes, and the ships were scattered in every direction -in that unknown sea. Only on board the general's own ship was a pilot -who could pretend to any accurate knowledge of those storm-tossed -waters, and even he looked grave, that old Antonio de Alaminos, who had -acted as pilot to the great Columbus in his last voyage in 1502, and -who regarded the fact as the greatest glory of his chequered life.</p> - -<p>In the height of the tempest a voice beside his elbow, a voice -singularly clear and sweet even for that Spanish tongue, said calmly, -and with no shade of anxiety in the tones—</p> - -<p>"Thinkest thou, Alaminos, that we shall live out the storm?"</p> - -<p>The old pilot turned, and cast a hasty glance at the speaker's face. It -was one worth looking at—a noble face, with the stamp of uprightness -on the brow, and a perfect peacefulness in the eyes, even at that -moment when Death's lean claws seemed already to have the cranky ship -in his clutch, and to be dragging it, and its helpless living freight, -into the vortex of those whirlpool depths.</p> - -<p>That first swift glance Alaminos repeated with a longer one—one that -had a sudden question in it, and a puzzled memory. At last he asked -quickly—</p> - -<p>"Have you been on board this vessel, captain, since we cast off from -St. Jago? Have I seen you, or heard you speak, during the past few -days?"</p> - -<p>"Never a word of speech hast thou heard from my lips until now, since -I enrolled myself under the banner of Hernan Cortes," was the answer, -with a passing smile.</p> - -<p>"And I have only since yesterday been chosen to form one of the company -on board this ship. Nevertheless, thou hast seen me before, good -Alaminos, and heard my voice, and then," with another of those fleeting -smiles, "thou wast pleased to give me good words in return, as also did -our great and grand old Admiral."</p> - -<p>Again that keen, swift, puzzled glance from the old pilot's eyes, ere -he passed his sleeve over them, to get rid of the sudden tribute they -paid to the memory of that same grand old Admiral who had died nearly -thirteen years ago. Montoro blinked his own eyelids for a moment before -he added—</p> - -<p>"Ay, Antonio, it is now within a couple of months of seventeen long -years since a lean-cheeked, ignorant boy stole up to thy side one day -in these same waters, and asked thee for the first time that question: -'Thinkest thou that we shall live out this storm?'"</p> - -<p>"And as then, so now," answered Antonio de Alaminos, with wondering -recollection, "the storm begins to fall to calm, even as the words are -spoken. Your eyes, Señor, and your voice are the same as then; is the -fearless, holy faith the same that made that wise, noble boy so calm -and brave in the face of death? or—doth the man but mock his boyhood -by the repetition of those words?"</p> - -<p>The privileged old pilot put his queries sturdily, and backed them with -one of those clear, searching glances that had the faculty of reading -men as cleverly as shores, shoals, and quicksands. But the heart of -Montoro de Diego had little to hide; the flush that burnt in the -bronzed cheeks was the flush of humility, not shame, as he replied in -tones so lowered as scarcely to be audible against the wind—</p> - -<p>"The man is, I fear, no wiser, no nobler, than the boy could claim to -be, but he does hold fast to his boyhood's one little bit of wisdom, in -clinging to the fount of all wisdom and salvation."</p> - -<p>"Salvation!" exclaimed a voice close at hand from one who had come -forward unobserved, and had caught the last word; "ay, indeed, this -lull hath been our salvation, I verily believe. Thanks be to St. -Peter for his guardianship. I vow the first handful of gold-dust to -his shrine, if we ride safely at anchor off the shores of Cozumel by -nightfall."</p> - -<p>So spoke Hernando Cortes, and as he spoke he laid his hand with -friendly familiarity on Montoro's shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Dost recollect, Diego," he said, smiling, "how I prevailed upon thee, -now six years ago, to be one of Velasquez' followers in the conquest of -Cuba? Little we thought then of the time to come, when thou shouldst be -a follower of mine for a far greater enterprise."</p> - -<p>Montoro's face reflected his companion's smile as he replied—</p> - -<p>"Perhaps it were best to beware of boasting until we are beyond -Velasquez' reach."</p> - -<p>Cortes laughed outright.</p> - -<p>"Ah ah! how sorely he repents him already, the poor Governor, that he -gave me this command. Verily, Montoro, I think I owe you as many thanks -as myself for getting away from Cuba before his messengers could stop -us. You are the quickest, readiest fellow I ever saw."</p> - -<p>"In flight," exclaimed Juan de Cabrera, sauntering up, and with a -mischievous nod of his head. "Will he be as good, think you, captain, -at a fight?"</p> - -<p>"Stand forth and learn," cried Montoro, as he drew his sword, and -flashed it in his friend's face with a suddenness which made that -worthy start back against the vessel's side.</p> - -<p>Montoro and Cortes joined in a shout of laughter.</p> - -<p>"Well, my friend," said Cortes, "thou hast well earned thy answer and -received it."</p> - -<p>For once the temper of the easy-going cavalier seemed somewhat ruffled -as he growled out—</p> - -<p>"The beggar brats in the streets of Madrid can be ready enough in their -onslaughts on defenceless foes. They are as swift another way when an -officer of justice shows his face."</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego restored his sword to its sheath, and stepped up to -the angry knight with outstretched hand.</p> - -<p>"Forgive my jest, Don Juan," he said with a smile. "You should do so -the more easily, inasmuch as you must remember that I did but turn your -own against yourself. I have little fear that when need comes either -you or I will be found wanting in due bravery."</p> - -<p>"And I have still less," added Cortes. "Meantime I confess that I -should turn coward, did I find my best friends drawing on me."</p> - -<p>Thus cleverly did the Commander of the present bold enterprise heal -any little remnant of soreness that might have rankled in the breast of -one of his retainers.</p> - -<p>With enemies of his own countrymen behind him, and a nation likely to -prove filled with formidable foes before him, Hernando Cortes felt -anxious enough to have good fellowship reigning in his camp.</p> - -<p>"How else," he said a little later on to Montoro, between jest and -earnest—"how else, friend Diego, thinkest thou that I shall be able to -obtain for our gracious and royal master those 'comfortable presents of -gold, pearls, and precious stones,' which are required of us, as proofs -of the natives' good-will and the success of our expedition?"</p> - -<p>Montoro shrugged his shoulders with some haughty impatience.</p> - -<p>"Methinks, Captain, with our countrymen now-a-days it is gold before -all things. If possible, no doubt, gold and glory both; but if not, -gold at any rate, even with disgrace."</p> - -<p>This time it was the handsome face of the Commander that flushed hotly.</p> - -<p>"Diego, you use hard words."</p> - -<p>"But just ones," was the firm reply; "although I apply them not to you. -Left free to the dictates of your own noble nature, I shall not fear -the having bound myself to follow you. But"—with a look around, and -in lower tones—"there are those in your band may be too strong for -you—those whose one article of faith for themselves is, 'I believe in -the delights of wealth!' whose one article of belief for the natives of -these regions is, 'Beggar yourselves for us, and you shall be saved as -future footstools for our feet in heaven. Do otherwise, and you shall -be slaughtered here and damned hereafter.' Am I not right?"</p> - -<p>For answer Cortes imitated his companion's shrug of the shoulders.</p> - -<p>"But I promise you this," he added—"I will make an example of the very -first who transgress."</p> - -<p>"Thanks for the assurance," said the other.</p> - -<p>And then, a disabled barque coming in sight, Cortes went off to give -orders as to aiding it to gain the port of Cozumel.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>A SYMBOL WITH TWO MEANINGS.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Captain," said Juan de Cabrera some few hours after his momentary -disagreement with Montoro, and now once more with a smiling -countenance. "See, Captain Cortes, I have but stepped forward to remind -you that St. Peter hath well earned that handful of gold-dust, you -vowed a while since to his shrine. And if you will be advised, you will -entrust the gift, with an added pinch or two, to me."</p> - -<p>Don Juan de Cabrera had inherited a good fortune from his father, who -had been killed during the siege of Zarento in 1501, under the great -Captain Gonsalvo. Cabrera was a child at that date; and by the time he -was old enough to understand the use of wealth, and to wish to have the -spending of some of that he had been brought up to believe he should -enjoy, his mother and other guardians had so wasted the greater part, -that they were glad to try if they could banish disappointment by -filling his brain with other thoughts.</p> - -<p>In those days of wonderful and incessant discovery, all ranks were -tempted from time to time to try a turn of Fortune's wheel. Even the -rich and prosperous frequently left luxury and friends and home, for -many a long year, behind them, while they wandered about the world, -seeking they scarcely knew what—change and variety, it might be, -perhaps—change from slothful ease to the novel sensation of vigorous -discomfort. And that they certainly obtained.</p> - -<p>But however that might be, when his mother and his uncles and his -confessor talked of the glorious voyagings, and journeyings, being -now enjoyed by so many of his countrymen, the young Cabrera caught at -the bait eagerly enough, and had very soon started off to make a new -fortune for himself.</p> - -<p>That fortune, however, was as far away from his hands now as when he -set out to find it! But he took things easily, and looked bright enough -as he stood there, with his laughing face, before Hernando Cortes, -offering himself as gold-bearer to the shrine.</p> - -<p>But Cortes was in no humour for a joke.</p> - -<p>"I will get my handful of gold for St. Peter from St. Peter's -namesake," he said sternly, and with his large brilliant eyes fixed on -the glum, crestfallen Pedro de Alvarado, captain of one of the vessels, -who had contrived to reach the shores of the island of Cozumel before -the Captain-General of the expedition.</p> - -<p>"And if you make such use of Fortune's favours in the future," said -Hernando Cortes still more sternly, "it will prove a bad day for you, -my worthy Señor, when you came under my command."</p> - -<p>"What has he done?" muttered Cabrera to Diego, who was standing by with -a wrathful countenance.</p> - -<p>"Done!" was the retort. "Why, done like the rest of our Spanish -wolves—spent the first hours of his arrival here in showing the -natives what good thieves we make."</p> - -<p>"Ay, verily," added the good Father Bartolomé de Olmedo. "And he hath -added blows and beatings, doubtless, that the lesson may be the better -remembered."</p> - -<p>"Or," muttered that Juan de Cabrera beneath his breath, "to make some -amends by those gifts for what he hath taken away."</p> - -<p>But Señor Juan took some care that his companions should neither hear -the words, nor see their author's smile at his own small witticism. He -turned away from the groups collected together on the shore, and set -off for a short walk inland.</p> - -<p>"Whither away there?" questioned a voice behind him a few moments later.</p> - -<p>Montoro and the priest had followed him.</p> - -<p>"My son," said Father Olmedo, "methinks lonely saunters may be scarcely -wise in a strange land at any time; but to indulge them now, when Pedro -de Alvarado hath so angered and terrified the people, is too imprudent, -I should have thought, even for thy careless courage."</p> - -<p>"Say rather, for my careless indifference, father," said the young man -with a touch of honest reverence for once. "I can lay no claim just now -to brave fearlessness. I had even forgotten there was aught to fear. -But see, who goes yonder?"</p> - -<p>The three men stopped, as three other men, all Indians, passed them at -a light run. One turned a few yards ahead and nodded gaily to Montoro.</p> - -<p>"Why, Diego," exclaimed Cabrera in surprise, "surely that is thy man -Melchorejo, whom thou hast had so many years?"</p> - -<p>"Ay," was the reply, "even from his childhood, when I bound up his -wounded hand for him. My slight deed of kindness hath reaped a rich -reward since then."</p> - -<p>"So it seems," rejoined the other, "if it is to be crowned by -desertion, so soon as he has the fair chance of return to his own home."</p> - -<p>"But it is not to be so crowned," answered Montoro quietly. "At any -rate not now. He has but gone with those poor Indians just taken -prisoners by Alvarado, to restore them to their friends."</p> - -<p>"And to act as our interpreter from Hernando Cortes," added Olmedo; "to -assure the Indians of his good-will towards them, and earnest desire -for the maintenance of peace."</p> - -<p>"And behold!—behold its emblem," suddenly cried Cabrera with an -unusual expression of wondering awe upon his face.</p> - -<p>And before his companions could question him, he had sprung forward -and flung himself on his knees on the ground, with hands raised in -adoration.</p> - -<p>"What hast thou?" called Father Olmedo eagerly, and for the moment -standing still in his amazement.</p> - -<p>"What hast thou found?" called also Montoro de Diego equally bewildered.</p> - -<p>And then the two hastened onwards a few paces; in their turn caught -sight of some most unexpected object, and also in their turn sprang to -their companion's side. One instant the eyes of the priest met those of -the Spanish nobleman with an expression of deep rapture in them, and -then Bartolomé de Olmedo was about to sink down on his knees beside -Cabrera. But his purpose was arrested.</p> - -<p>"Do it not, my father," hastily murmured Montoro. And clutching at the -priest's arm he drew him sharply back to stand beside himself, where he -remained gazing down at a stone cross about three feet high, erected in -the outer court of a small temple they had reached.</p> - -<p>The priest looked round at him for a moment reproachfully. The next -a sort of mingled fear and horror showed themselves growing in his -countenance. And he wrenched himself free from the detaining hand.</p> - -<p>"Art thou a renegade from the most Holy Faith?" he asked in stern and -heart-grieved tones.</p> - -<p>"Not so," was the short and absent-minded answer, while eyes and -thoughts were still equally fixed, it was very evident, upon that cross.</p> - -<p>Father Olmedo was greatly puzzled, but very doubtful, he hardly knew -of which—whether of his suspicions, or of Diego. In his turn laying a -hand on the other's arm, he said impatiently—</p> - -<p>"Rouse thyself, my son, and answer me like a man, and, if it may be, -the Blessed Virgin grant it, like a true son of the Church—"</p> - -<p>"Which I am."</p> - -<p>"May the saints grant it, I have said."</p> - -<p>"Why, father, I would vouch for that grave Toro's allegiance to Holy -Mother Church with my life!" cried Juan de Cabrera springing to his -feet to take part in the question.</p> - -<p>There was a scarcely perceptible pause, and then Cabrera added—</p> - -<p>"Why do you doubt him, my father?"</p> - -<p>Montoro answered the question with quiet gravity.</p> - -<p>"Because I hindered him from an act which, although innocent from its -ignorance, I feared that his conscience would regret. I have prevented -the father from paying adoration to the God of rain."</p> - -<p>"What?" shouted Cabrera, retreating from the cross as if he had been -stung, but at the same time staring at it with all his might.</p> - -<p>"What?" repeated the priest with equal wonder, but more soberly. -"What can be the reading of your strange riddle, my son?" he asked in -amazement. "You stay me from the due reverence I would have hastened -to pay to this most blessed symbol of our faith, and then you tell -us—verily, my brain is perplexed—I know not what it is thou wouldst -say!"</p> - -<p>"I would say only that I have said," was the earnest answer. -"Marvellous as it must appear to you, my father, marvellous as even yet -it appears to me, it is nevertheless true, that the symbol, to us so -sacred as the Christian symbol of salvation, is to these poor heathen -people of this world the symbol of the God of rain."</p> - -<p>"Umph," muttered Cabrera, eyeing the cross somewhat ruefully. "Father, -I ever have so many penances lying upon my shoulders; shall I have yet -another for having thus knelt in worship to a heathen god, and will it -be a heavy one?"</p> - -<p>"I were fain to say 'Yes' for thy levity," came the reply.</p> - -<p>"Levity, i' faith!" ejaculated the young Spaniard. "My question arose -from no careless merriment, I can assure you. But if I draw not a long -face, like Toro yonder, with each word I say, I am ever twitted with my -levity."</p> - -<p>He turned away in one of his short-lived huffs, while the priest looked -at him with no unkindly smile, and said more freely—</p> - -<p>"Nay then, my son, pardon me. I do believe that now thou art something -wounded in thy spirit, as I myself by now had likewise been, but for -the ready thought and hand of our good friend here."</p> - -<p>"Good to you, bad to me," retorted Cabrera. "If he could not speak in -time to spare me the sin, and mortification, of bowing down to an idol -he might have held his peace, and not thus have proclaimed my shame."</p> - -<p>"Shame, nonsense," said Montoro good-humouredly. "In my boyhood, when -I first came out here under the great Admiral, I and others paid -loving reverence to our Saviour before one of these native crosses. -And doubtless, He who sees the hearts of men accepted our prayers and -praises, for the spirit with which they were offered."</p> - -<p>Cabrera's superstitious fears seemed somewhat relieved.</p> - -<p>"What sayest thou, father?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Father Olmedo paused a few moments. He was a good and merciful man, and -a good priest; but his training had cramped his intellect, and he could -not quite as readily as Diego grasp at true and noble thoughts. Until -now he had felt almost as horrified as the worshipper himself, that -Christian prayers should have been offered up at an idol's feet. But -Cabrera was impatient.</p> - -<p>"Say, father, do you also think that I have placed my soul in no -jeopardy?"</p> - -<p>Bartolomé de Olmedo must reply.</p> - -<p>"Thy soul in jeopardy?" he repeated hastily. "Nay, then, nay; there -is here no question of thy soul, my son, seeing thou didst it but in -ignorance; and for those who sin in ignorance our Lord hath said the -stripes shall be few."</p> - -<p>"But still, then, there will be those few," muttered the young -Spaniard, eyeing the small cross vindictively, before he turned back to -Montoro with the reproachful query—</p> - -<p>"Diego, thou couldst stop the father from kneeling to false gods, why -wert thou too careful of thy breath to spare me a word of warning?"</p> - -<p>Montoro smiled at his unreasonable companion.</p> - -<p>"Well thou knowest, Juan, or at any rate can guess, that I saw neither -the cross, nor thine intention to do it reverence. The trees hid it -from our view."</p> - -<p>"And the waters of yon stream shall henceforth hide it from the view of -all," exclaimed the discomfited disciple of Rome, as he stooped, and -prepared to exert all his strength in uprooting it from its present -position. But the politic priest stopped him.</p> - -<p>"Hold!" he exclaimed quickly. And then more tranquilly: "My son, we -will leave the sacred symbol of our faith standing where'er we meet -with it. Only, cleansing it from its past unhallowed memories, we will -reconsecrate it to Him who died thereon. Our conversion of the heathen -shall thus be rendered easier, by seeing that we also reverence the -cross."</p> - -<p>Cabrera looked doubtful for a few moments.</p> - -<p>"Dost thou not think, father, that, whatever thou mayst do to these -crosses, they will still remain to the redskins their god of rain; and -that, whatever thou mayst try to teach them, and they may profess, it -will be still as the god of rain they will worship them?"</p> - -<p>"So I should fear," murmured Montoro thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>But the priest said sententiously—</p> - -<p>"My son, those questions are for the blessed saints, and the pope."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>KINDRED FEELING.</i></h3> - - -<p>"He shall be hung; I have said it."</p> - -<p>And Hernan Cortes looked very much indeed at that moment as if he had -said it.</p> - -<p>"As if he had said the whole band of us should be hung," muttered that -incorrigible Juan de Cabrera. After a moment's pause he added, "Toro, -my brother."</p> - -<p>"Thy brother!" exclaimed a companion standing by. "Thy very reverend, -great, great-grandfather, thou shouldst say."</p> - -<p>"Doubtless," returned the other calmly; "but still my brother in arms, -so do not interrupt thy betters, Rodrigo, but hearken. My brother Toro, -dost thou not feel thankful that there is no rope in the camp strong -enough to hang us all at one go?"</p> - -<p>Montoro lifted his proud head high.</p> - -<p>"If I were a thief I should be glad," he said slowly, and with a -significance little relished by not a few of those about him.</p> - -<p>Some of them sauntered off to the neighbourhood of less strict censors. -Cabrera laughed. Thieving propensities were not amongst the long list -of his faults. But he looked grave again as he said—</p> - -<p>"After all, though, it is hard lines upon that unlucky dog Morla, -that he should have to be the one to do duty—hanging for the rest of -the culprits. A flogging now, or some such penance as that, you know, -that—that—"</p> - -<p>"That should leave him little the worse after it is over, you would -say," said Montoro.</p> - -<p>"Just so," was the slow reply, as the young adventurer thought upon -some of his own penances in the way of heavy fines, which decidedly did -leave him a good deal the worse in pocket, at any rate, whatever might -be the case as to person. "But to be hung! That was another thing."</p> - -<p>"What was it that Morla stole from the black beggars?" asked Ordaz, who -had but just returned with a couple of escorts from a short exploring -expedition, during which various little bits of gold had somehow or -other found their way into the pockets of himself and his companions.</p> - -<p>Ordaz mechanically put up his hand to his neck as he spoke, as though -feeling beforehand the sensation of a rope about it. He had angered -Cortes very greatly but a few weeks since, by standing up boldly for -what he declared to be the rights of Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, -in regard to the present undertaking. On that occasion he had the -pleasure of passing twenty-four hours on board one of the ships in -irons. There was no knowing whether this resolute, prompt commander -might not treat him to something worse now, and so his anxious -question—</p> - -<p>"What was it that Morla stole?"</p> - -<p>Cabrera noticed both the involuntary action and the tone of voice, and -answered both with a mischievous—</p> - -<p>"Ah, my noble Ordaz, hast heard that the commander thinks of -overhauling all our possessions, to see how much each of us has that -may help to drown us, if hanging cords run short. Instead of feeling -that long neck of thine, thou hadst better learn the Indian art of -diving. Morla is to swing for stealing a couple of fowls, thou art -as like to sleep beneath the waves for thy golden borrowings. So to -confession with thee at once, like a good Catholic."</p> - -<p>"Who talks of good Catholics," exclaimed Don Pedro de Alvarado, coming -hurriedly up to the group as the men stood gossiping. "There is as good -a fighting man, as ever drew sword upon the enemies of Spain, going to -be sent full gallop into purgatory just for wringing the necks of a -bird or two."</p> - -<p>"Or rather," corrected Montoro, "for wringing the fingers of those who -held them, is perchance nearer to the truth."</p> - -<p>"Well, well," said Alvarado, "put it as you will, most noble and -virtuous Señor Diego; but I know this, that the man is a first-rate -soldier, and our numbers are small enough already."</p> - -<p>"Ay, and if they need diminishing," assented Cabrera, "the redskins are -like enough to do us a favour that way when they get the chance, if the -horrible air hereabouts do not do it first. Besides, poor Morla hath -made restitution."</p> - -<p>"Hath he so?" asked Montoro with a more relenting accent in his voice. -"I feared that he had killed the owners of the fowls. Otherwise—I do -lament his heavy punishment."</p> - -<p>"Thou art in earnest?" said Alvarado eagerly, and stepping nearer to -the last speaker, who looked hurt as well as surprised.</p> - -<p>"Surely I am in earnest. Why canst thou doubt it, Alvarado?"</p> - -<p>"Well," was the rather hesitating answer, "to tell truth, Diego, -I thought thou hadst of late years given so much pity to our -adversaries—"</p> - -<p>"Our adversaries!" interrupted Montoro indignantly. "Callest thou these -poor, simple, hospitable peoples of this New World our adversaries? -That were, verily, to add mockery to our many barbarities." There was -a brief, angry pause before Montoro recovered himself, and said more -gently—"But there, Don Pedro, I meant not thus to break in upon thy -speech. I crave pardon. Thou wouldst have said that I give too much -pity to the Indians to have ought to spare for my own brethren?"</p> - -<p>"Even so," came the blunt reply.</p> - -<p>"And even so it is not," was the answer back. "And I will prove it, by -attempting anything thou mayest suggest, for the rescue of this man -Morla from his impending fate. What wouldst thou?"</p> - -<p>"First to grasp thee by the hand for a true good comrade," was the -impulsive reply. "And then—"</p> - -<p>"Well, and then? Fear not to tell me thy will," said Montoro more -warmly and cordially. "You see, I stand pledged now to help you."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I see—I know," said the other stammering, and turning his eyes -somewhat cautiously from side to side. At last he muttered quickly in -an undertone—"Diego, there are here too many quick-eared listeners; I -will seek you in your tent an hour hence. The man is not to die till -nightfall."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>MONTORO DE DIEGO TURNS HANGMAN.</i></h3> - - -<p>A good deal within the hour Pedro de Alvarado stepped into Montoro's -tent, and with somewhat scant ceremony; for, Spaniard though he was, he -felt ceremony and strict punctuality also somewhat out of the reckoning -where a man's life was concerned.</p> - -<p>Besides, he had just seen Morla sitting bound upon the ground between -two guardians, and with the rope beside him, with which he was to be -hung so soon as the priest should have been fetched back to the camp to -confess him. And the poor wretch had appealed to his superior with a -mixture of pitifulness and indignation.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Captain! save me from this dismal fate. You should, in very -justice you should, for you contented not yourself with stealing skin -and bone done up in feathers. And yet you came off with no punishment -at all."</p> - -<p>"Thou impudent fellow!" exclaimed Alvarado. "Callest thou a furious -rebuke before the whole force, and accompanied with threats too, -nothing? Thinkest thou that thy beggarly life is worth a Spanish -noble's honour?"</p> - -<p>Morla was in no great haste to answer this peremptory question; but at -last he grumbled out—</p> - -<p>"If one has not the honour, I suppose, then, one may at least value the -life; and I call it hard lines to lose all one's got."</p> - -<p>A grim laugh was the reply to this undeniable statement.</p> - -<p>"Well, well, fellow, maybe there I can agree with thee. And yet more; -know that I have already given thee more of my thoughts than thou -shouldst venture to expect."</p> - -<p>The man's eyes brightened.</p> - -<p>"Ah! and I am not to be hung after all, thou wouldst say, my Captain?"</p> - -<p>"After all, I would say that thou art to be hung," was the curt retort, -and with it Pedro de Alvarado turned short round, and went his way. But -before he did so he had managed to cast a warning, significant glance -at the condemned culprit, which gave the poor fellow comfort in spite -of the sinister words, and the brutal laugh of his guardians.</p> - -<p>The Captain betook himself, as has been said, at once to Montoro's -tent, and was greeted instantly with a ready alacrity that proved time -and reflection had not cooled his promise.</p> - -<p>"Now, Captain, what wouldst thou?"</p> - -<p>Don Pedro had marched in quickly enough, but his tongue seemed -unwilling to second the agility of his feet. He paused so long ere -speaking, that Montoro said at last, between jest and earnest—</p> - -<p>"Perhaps, Captain, your suggestion is that I should substitute my own -neck for that of the poor culprit, Morla?"</p> - -<p>"And if it were," was the reply, "I verily believe that you would -accept it. At any rate, you would accept it as easily as that which I -am about to make; that—that——"</p> - -<p>"Well!" rather impatiently.</p> - -<p>Alvarado made a dash at it.</p> - -<p>"I want you to beg the post of hangman."</p> - -<p>Montoro started back with a cry of horror. It was bad enough to him to -kill men in fair fight, but to destroy a fellow-creature in cold blood -was a thing too horrible to be thought of. He felt stunned, and it was -not until his companion had broken into a short, smothered laugh that -he could recall his scattered senses.</p> - -<p>"Why, Diego," muttered Don Pedro, "you could not look more -horror-struck if I had asked you to murder the man, instead of only——"</p> - -<p>"Don't, don't," gasped Montoro. "To me, hanging the man would be like -murdering him."</p> - -<p>"Doubtless. But I intend not that you should do either, if you please."</p> - -<p>Montoro began to breathe more freely, but also to look somewhat angry.</p> - -<p>"Don Pedro, this is no time for speaking in riddles, to my thinking."</p> - -<p>"Nor to mine either," replied the Captain, with a half-smile. "But to -tell you the truth, I am a trifle afraid of you, friend Diego, and I -well know that my present proposition must be somewhat unpalatable. But -mark you, I only wish that you should request the post of hangman on -the present occasion, and not that you should fulfil the duties of the -office, when you have it, to its usual end."</p> - -<p>"Oh—h—h!" ejaculated Montoro now, with a new light of comprehension -beginning to dawn on his face. "But yet," he added, after a moment's -pause, "although I am willing enough to plead for mercy in this -instance, I fear greatly that I shall sue in vain. Cortes is so -resolved on making an example of some one."</p> - -<p>"I know that. That is why I only ask you to be appointed executioner, -and not to plead for pardon. The wretches to whom the office is now -given have a personal spite against their comrade, and will take good -care that the fatal decree be carried out to the very letter—that he -be hanged by the neck until he be dead. Now I propose that you hang -him."</p> - -<p>"Hold, hold," exclaimed Montoro once more, with a half-smile upon his -face, it is true, but a return of horrified disgust also. "You said I -was not to have any hanging to do."</p> - -<p>"Well, well," was the answer, "not hanging till any one hung be dead, -or even choked. But surely, to save a fellow-creature's life, you will -not refuse to put a rope round his neck, will you?"</p> - -<p>"Umph!" muttered Montoro, dismally. He did not at all like the -alternative. "I would really rather that some one should put the rope -round mine. But, by the bye, why do not you ask Cortes to let you have -this new kind of honour yourself, pray? Why am I, of all people, to -seek it?"</p> - -<p>Alvarado lifted his dark eyebrows significantly enough.</p> - -<p>"You know the answer, I dare swear, to your own question, Diego. To -whom but yourself would our worthy commander be likely to grant such -a favour, think you? He knows your feeling for the Indians, and may -credit your willingness to avenge them; but for the rest of us—Ah! -thou knowest."</p> - -<p>Pedro de Alvarado was right enough. Hernan Cortes gave the desired -order to Montoro to replace the executioners already appointed, and at -the same time he declared very positively that he would have given it -to no one else. Secretly, he was intensely astonished and disgusted -with his friend for having asked the favour.</p> - -<p>"Every man with a hobby is sure to ride it to death," he muttered -angrily to Montejo. "Morla must hang, to win us the trust and good-will -of the Indians for the present, that our progress towards Mexico be not -further hindered or harassed. But to think of a Spaniard longing to -kill a Spaniard, for the sake of a parcel of redskins! Faugh! Our Don -Diego hath fallen a hundred-fold in our estimation."</p> - -<p>That same poor Don Diego felt, foolishly enough, as if he had fallen a -hundred-fold in his own estimation when he actually stood beside the -condemned culprit, Morla, with the hangman's rope in his hand.</p> - -<p>The order obtained, Alvarado had lost no time in hurrying his friend -with him to the proposed scene of execution. They were joined on their -way by Juan de Cabrera, carrying an empty tub, at sight of which -Montoro actually shuddered, to the evident amusement of his companions, -who burst into shouts of laughter. He remonstrated impatiently.</p> - -<p>"How can you find amusement in what perchance may turn out a tragedy?"</p> - -<p>"Tragedy, indeed," exclaimed Cabrera, laughing as heartily as ever. -"That element is passed, my well-beloved but too long-faced friend. The -comedy is to be played now."</p> - -<p>"And thy tub yonder represents stage properties," laughed Alvarado. -"The carrying of it becomes thee as would the carrying of a Damascus -blade."</p> - -<p>"Beware that I break not thy head with it, by way of proving it hath -use as well as ornament to boast," was the retort of the light-hearted -knight, who ever seemed ready to dance, whether to fun or fighting.</p> - -<p>The surly fellows who were guarding the soldier, Morla, were very -loth to give up their trust, and it was not until they had received a -particularly sharp hint from Don Pedro that their own past, present, -and future delinquencies should be visited with the heaviest possible -punishments if they did not preserve themselves from his displeasure, -that they at length obeyed his commands to betake themselves out of -sight and hearing.</p> - -<p>"And now, sirrah," said Cabrera, jauntily, "may it please thee to stand -up and be hung; for, as doubtless thou canst perceive, the noble Don -Montoro de Diego is in haste to be quit of that rough rope, and of his -task."</p> - -<p>The man thus adjured began to rise from the ground, but still somewhat -slowly, and with a dubious countenance. His reluctance grew greater -when he saw it reflected on the amateur hangman's face.</p> - -<p>"But, my good Señors," he began anxiously, "I thought that surely now -you signified I should be released?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Montoro, with equal anxiety; "verily I think that this play -hath continued long enough; too long for yon fellow's apprehensions and -my distress. What is to be the end?"</p> - -<p>"Why, his hanging," replied Cabrera, quickly. "To that thou art pledged -to the commander; therefore proceed to thy task, and for the sake of -that very tender conscience of thine ask no further questions. Ten -minutes hence thou wilt have light enough to see our plot by. It is -very simple."</p> - -<p>So saying, he placed his tub on the ground beneath the gallows, and -with a solemn shake of the head at the prisoner, desired him to kneel -upon it, and to pray that all things might go well with him. To this -piece of advice poor Morla paid the greatest heed, as he felt Montoro's -trembling fingers adjusting that horrible rope about his neck.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Señor, not too tight," he muttered, even yet thinking it more -than probable that his noble countrymen might really hang him, in -inadvertence, if not in sport.</p> - -<p>But they had no such intention. The next minute he felt the tub very -slowly and gently drawn from beneath him; his feet naturally went -downwards to the ground, which they managed just to touch by the toes, -and there he stood, not comfortably certainly, but still not dead—most -decidedly not.</p> - -<p>"And there thou art to stay, upon the gallows——"</p> - -<p>"Or under it," interrupted Cabrera.</p> - -<p>"'Upon' was the commander's word," was the sedate answer. "It best -becomes us to keep to that. There thou art to stay upon the gallows -for the space of half-an-hour, and then be cut down, and thy body cast -outside the camp. But hearken, thou Morla; if I find thy body not -again within the camp, ten minutes later, I will find thee a further -punishment as a deserter. Don Juan de Cabrera hath consented to hide -thee in his tent awhile."</p> - -<p>At the expiration of a rather short half-hour, a very tired, toe-aching -Morla was accordingly cut down, and Montoro returned to his tent, -thankful enough that his good repute had enabled him to save a -fellow-Spaniard's life, but also not a little relieved that the -unpleasant farce was over, and his new office of hangman come to an end -with sunset.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>CORTES BURNS HIS SHIPS.</i></h3> - - -<p>It was night, and sleep reigned throughout the camp of the Spaniards, -for the new city of Villa Rica de Vera Cruz could as yet be considered -little better than a camp, in spite of its grand-sounding name, and the -crowd of duly-appointed officers with which Cortes had endeavoured to -give it sudden dignity.</p> - -<p>Even the sentinels were drowsy at their posts, and scarcely feared -rebuke, for peace had prevailed both within and without for some -days past, at any rate on the surface of events, and Cortes had been -indulging in a short breathing space.</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego was in his tent, asleep like his comrades, dreaming of -his boyhood, and of the gentle-spirited and lovely young mother who had -made poverty and hard usage endurable to him in the past, honour and -righteous dealing his firm principles in the present. But his dreams -were to be disturbed.</p> - -<p>Slowly, and in almost breathless silence, a fold of his tent was pushed -aside, and a man crept within, holding back the canvas for a moment, -that by the faint light he might discover the object of his search. -Then he dropped it again, and moved on the two or three paces in the -darkness, until he dropped on his knees beside the low bed on which -Montoro lay, and bent his mouth to the sleeper's ear.</p> - -<p>"My Señor—Señor Diego," he whispered urgently. "Rouse you, my Señor."</p> - -<p>And, with a soldier's watchful spirit, Montoro needed no second bidding -to arouse him. Grasping his sword even before he was fully awake, he -would have sprung to his feet the next instant, with a shout to banish -slumber from the whole band, but that his probable conduct had been -divined, and prudently guarded against.</p> - -<p>One firm, hard hand was pressed down upon the nobleman's chest, another -closely covered his mouth, while the hushed voice beside him muttered -hurriedly—</p> - -<p>"Nay then, my Señor, nay then. Lie still, and be silent, or you will -render my care fruitless. I have come to you with the discovery I have -made, before all others, for your prudence's sake, and now you are -eager as the Don Juan de Cabrera himself could be, to publish the whole -matter to the very winds, methinks."</p> - -<p>In spite of this expostulation, which was in truth intended more as -a warning than an expression of real belief, its speaker trustfully -enough withdrew both his detaining hands at its conclusion, and -permitted his companion to rise into a sitting posture on his bed, and -to speak.</p> - -<p>"Who are you?" was the very natural first use that Montoro made of his -power of speech, for he did not recognize the voice, and he could not -see the face. However, he was soon enlightened so far.</p> - -<p>"I am Morla, the man you hung," was the comprehensive information. "And -you were good to me then, my Señor," came the seemingly contradictory -statement; "and so for that, and for those other reasons, that you -are wise and wary, and have our Captain's confidence, I have come to -you with my discovery of a conspiracy in the camp. It is intended by -many to forsake the great cause, and, taking to the ships secretly, -to flee from this land to Cuba, or to Spain, with evil reports of the -expedition and of its leader, to exonerate themselves."</p> - -<p>Montoro was startled.</p> - -<p>"Wherefore," he demanded sternly, "hast thou not instantly carried news -of this base treachery to our leader himself?"</p> - -<p>A smile, unseen in the darkness, flitted over the man's face.</p> - -<p>"Bethink you, my Señor, what credence should I be likely to gain -from our commander, when he learns that I am, myself, a testimony of -disobedience to his commands."</p> - -<p>There was some plausibility in that reasoning; nevertheless, he yielded -to Montoro's desire that he should accompany him forthwith to Cortes' -tent, to corroborate the statements he wished made.</p> - -<p>Aroused by Diego with the same stealthy caution as had been used -towards himself, Cortes was not long in learning the particulars of -the cowardly conspiracy, and, even as he listened, his prompt mind had -already begun to concert the measures for its suppression.</p> - -<p>"But still," he said at length, thoughtfully, "we must be well assured -of the truth of these accusations before we publish them, or attempt to -punish. From whom, Toro, hast thou learnt all this?"</p> - -<p>Montoro moved aside.</p> - -<p>"There is my informant, Captain, and—I fully trust him."</p> - -<p>A lamp was burning in the commander's tent, or rather hut of -palm-branches and native cotton-mats, and as Montoro stepped to one -side a man, hitherto unnoticed behind him, came forward into its light, -and, falling on his knees before a small crucifix, called it to witness -that his tale was true.</p> - -<p>Cortes looked at him closely for a few moments and then said drily—</p> - -<p>"If it be but as true as that thou wast not hung, friend Morla, then -will it be true indeed."</p> - -<p>"It had needs be truer than that, Hernan Cortes," returned Montoro: -"for he was hung, as I know to my cost, as I had the hanging of him. -And at the end of half-an-hour he was cut down, according to thy -orders."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see," exclaimed Cortes, with a glimmer of a smile. "And no doubt -our worthy Don Juan de Cabrera found it needful to give thee a lesson -in hanging, by which thou profitedst. Is it not so, friend Toro?"</p> - -<p>Montoro laughed.</p> - -<p>"Partly so. But, to confess the truth, Pedro de Alvarado declared that -if this Morla were hung to death he should, himself, evermore go about -the world feeling as though there were a cord about his own neck, only -waiting to be used."</p> - -<p>That glimmer of a smile broadened for a moment, but the time was too -serious for its cherishing.</p> - -<p>"Enough!" said Cortes, with returning gravity. "Rise, fellow, and come -nearer. And hearken! Should these charges prove true, well; if false, -then will I myself hang thee ere to-morrow's sunset, and thou hadst -best make thy peace with Heaven, for I warn thee thou wilt not live to -laugh at me as having 'prentice hands at my new work."</p> - -<p>The man bowed calmly.</p> - -<p>"Ere the morrow's sunset, Captain, I shall have your thanks and praises -for my promptness."</p> - -<p>And Morla was right. He had gained his dark news from one of the -conspirators themselves, who had turned faint-hearted at the last -moment, and from this informer all further particulars were quickly -drawn. The conspiracy was quashed, Morla reinstated in a post of trust, -and the ringleaders punished with death, maiming, or degradation.</p> - -<p>The executions had been accomplished, a miserable pilot lay moaning in -agony and despair over his footless limbs, others were endeavouring -to find some posture of ease for bodies torn and lacerated by -fiercely-wielded whips, and the commander of the expedition stood upon -the shore, moodily gazing out to sea. He felt those hours to be the -crisis in his fate.</p> - -<p>A gloom was over the sky, the camp, and Cortes; and a spirit of -doubtfulness and disappointment seemed to be brooding in the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>Alvarado, Gonzalo de Sandoval, Escalante, Juan de Cabrera, and Montoro, -gathered into a group not far from their leader, watched him, and -discussed the present position of affairs.</p> - -<p>"The conspiracy is put down for the moment," said Alvarado gravely, -"but at any hour it may be rekindled so long as we stay inactive in -this unhealthy place. And some morning we may rise to find two thirds -of the small handful of our comrades gone, and no ships left with which -to effect our own escape."</p> - -<p>"What would you say, Alvarado," said a voice suddenly,—"what would you -all say, in truth, if you did find yourselves thus with the means of -escape cut off—with no safety for us but in victory?"</p> - -<p>Cortes had suddenly stepped up to them as his comrade and follower -had been speaking, and there was so strange a tone in his voice as he -put this question, so deep and burning a light glowing in the depths -of his eyes, that the little group of men stood as though breathless, -gazing at him, and waiting to hear more. The tension on their minds was -strained to the utmost.</p> - -<p>Having asked his searching question, Hernan Cortes appeared for the -moment indifferent as to the answer. Folding his arms across his broad -and powerful chest, he once more turned, and gazed out across the -waters to where the ten vessels that composed his fleet rode quietly at -anchor. They looked well enough to the eye at any rate. And besides, -they signified to those few hundreds of men, encamped on that foreign -coast, home and life and liberty. While they had those ships to flee -to, they felt brave to dare and attempt much. But without those ships, -in an unknown world and surrounded by myriads of foes, their case would -indeed be desperate. And even so Cortes, in his far-seeing wisdom, -wished it should be. He turned back to his companions, and began -abruptly as before.</p> - -<p>"Comrades, to many, doubtless to most of our brethren in arms, those -ships signify home and life and liberty, and yet—I wish you to aid me -in burning them."</p> - -<p>Montoro and the others of the group gazed at him speechless for one -instant, and then cast startled glances around towards the distant camp.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Cortes, answering the looks, "most assuredly it is we who -should be burnt before the ships, if some of yon timorous or turbulent -spirits heard word prematurely of such intention. But nevertheless, -minute by minute, as I have stood here thinking, the conviction has -grown upon me that only in the burning of those ships lies victory for -us."</p> - -<p>"Break down the bridge behind," muttered Juan de Cabrera, "and the mule -must go forward."</p> - -<p>"Even so," was the reply. "We are few enough as it is for the glorious -enterprise on which we are embarked, and shall we allow base-minded -churls to force us back to the contempt and ridicule of those who, we -too well know, would store up scorning for us? No, no, my brethren, -my noble and valued friends and comrades, do you but stand by me -faithfully in the future, as you have done in the past, and we will cut -off the means of retreat that, for ourselves, we value not, and force -all to die with us, or to aid us in winning the splendid triumph that -shall shed a glory on us, to endure to the end of time."</p> - -<p>He stood there glowing with his own magnificent enthusiasm, and his -hearers, carried with him beyond the dictates of a colder prudence, -exclaimed eagerly as though with one heart—</p> - -<p>"Agreed. We are with you. Burn the ships, and go forward in the names -of thy patron saint and St. Jago."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>MONTORO LEADS A CHANT.</i></h3> - - -<p>"The ships are burnt!" "Our ships are burnt!" resounded on all sides -from the Spanish troops rushing from their quarters in that new Villa -Rica de Vera Cruz.</p> - -<p>Consternation, fear, and fury gave ever-increasing emphasis to that one -wild, startled shout, "Our ships are burnt!"</p> - -<p>"Said I not well," muttered the discontented priest Father Juan Diaz, -instigator of the former conspiracy—"said I not well that this Cortes -was leading us like cattle, for his own renown, to be butchered in the -shambles!"</p> - -<p>Even Father Olmedo, and Morla, and others of his stamp, eagerly -watching for opportunities to earn distinction, felt their hearts sink -heavily as they repeated that startled cry, "Our ships are burnt!"</p> - -<p>For one half-hour it may have been that Hernando Cortes trembled, and -that his friends feared for him, and for themselves.</p> - -<p>"But after all," said Juan de Cabrera, recovering his usual off-hand -carelessness, "one can but die once, and though, as you yourself said, -Captain, one would rather die at the hands of others than one's own -friends, or one's own countrymen, still, when the breath is once fairly -out of the body, I scarcely suppose one will care much what hand drove -it forth."</p> - -<p>"That is true," replied Cortes, with a sudden return of his usual -resolute energy and undaunted bearing, and as another tumultuous -shout rent the air throughout the so-called town of Vera Cruz, the -Captain-General strode forth from his hut, and with stentorian tones -exclaimed to his mutinous followers—</p> - -<p>"What means this uproar, comrades? If you have complaints to make, I am -here. Make them to me."</p> - -<p>"Our ships are burnt, and by your orders," came the reply, but by no -means from all throats now, and from none so loudly as before. Some -were cowed in the actual presence of that resolute commander of theirs, -others were awed into admiration and fresh attachment by his dauntless -attitude.</p> - -<p>Still, a certain number there were who yet reiterated that reproachful -cry, "Our ships are burnt!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, comrades, it is true," exclaimed Cortes, in tones as loud and -resolute as before. "Our ships are burnt, but not before the foul -creatures of these seas had so eaten through them, that they had been -water coffins for any who had trusted their lives to them for the -voyage back to Spain; ay, or even to our new Santiago yonder. Those who -had gone on board them had gone to their death."</p> - -<p>"And those who stay here stay to their death," called a harsh voice -from the midst of the crowd. "You might at least have given us our -choice."</p> - -<p>"And so he has, coward," shouted Alvarado. "Stand forth and show -thyself, and any others of thy chattering-teethed brethren, and I will -gather the bundle of you in my arms as one gathers a bundle of cotton, -and fling the worthless bale on shipboard! Faugh! the Captain wants not -such as thou to help him on the road to glory and renown."</p> - -<p>The tone of this tirade was more scathing in its contempt than even the -words, and a momentary hush followed it. None stood forth to accept the -untempting offer of its maker.</p> - -<p>At length Cortes once again broke the silence. Distinctly, but slowly, -and more calmly than before he addressed his assembled army—</p> - -<p>"What the Captain, Don Pedro de Alvarado, saith is true. For those who -chose flight there is still the means. I desire no unwilling comrades. -For me, I have chosen my part. I remain here so long as there is one -to bear me company. But for those who shrink from the dangers of our -glorious enterprise, let them go home, in God's name. There is still -one vessel left. Let them take that and return to Cuba. They can tell -there how they deserted their commander and their comrades, and then -patiently await us until our return with the Aztecs' spoils."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p>Cortes ceased, and for some moments there was a silence throughout -the small army, broken only by the humming of the insects and the -occasional clink of a sword. But Juan de Cabrera never felt much -reverence for silence.</p> - -<p>"How now," he shouted mockingly, "how now, ye bold cravens! Where are -all your voices? Ye were brave enough a few minutes since. Come along -with you to the front. Or are ye, in very truth, turned too cowardly -even to confess your cowardice, ye miserable crew!"</p> - -<p>It seemed so, for there was still no answer from even a single voice, -and Cortes wisely changed the question, and in a few moments the whole -air was resounding with the enthusiastic acclaim from every throat:</p> - -<p>"To Mexico!—to Mexico! Lead on, Captain! Lead us on to Mexico!"</p> - -<p>"All the same," muttered a sullen-browed soldier to Juan Diaz the -priest, who stood beside him—"all the same, father, you did say that -we should be traitors to ourselves if any longer we continued to follow -yon upstart."</p> - -<p>"Hold thy peace, fool," returned the discontented ecclesiastic. -"Knowest thou not that for all things, even for revolt, a fitting time -is needful?"</p> - -<p>And with that sententious remark the politic priest edged himself away -to safer neighbourhood, and resumed the cry as lustily as the truest -among Cortes' followers—</p> - -<p>"To Mexico! Lead on to Mexico!"</p> - -<p>Well satisfied with the change effected thus rapidly in his soldiers' -sentiments, the Commander suddenly resolved to give the new-born -enthusiasm a safe outlet, and at the same time to further one of his -own most solemnly-cherished purposes. He raised his hands to claim -silence once more, then his voice. But his efforts were vain. He had -roused a new uproar, which, though a joyous one, was universal, and -more difficult to allay. Threats to fly might be toned down by some -tinge of shame, but offers and entreaties to be allowed to fight needed -no restraint. The cry rang on and on unceasingly:</p> - -<p>"To Mexico! Lead on to Mexico!"</p> - -<p>"To Mexico indeed! To the depths of the sea with you rather, squalling -rabble that ye are," said Cortes at last impatiently. Turning to the -group of officers about him he added in comic despair: "Can no one -befriend me thus far?"</p> - -<p>"How far?" asked Alvarado and Escalante together, and with some wonder.</p> - -<p>"How far!" repeated the Captain in a tone of increasing irritation. -"Why, to the extent of ramming something down those screaming throats, -to stop this Babel, to be sure."</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera gave a delighted leap.</p> - -<p>"I have it. I'll set the dogs barking; that will drown them."</p> - -<p>"Ay, and thy Captain also," ejaculated Cortes, breaking into a short -laugh in spite of himself. "Wilt thou never outgrow thy boyhood, thou -madcap Juan? Thinkest thou—"</p> - -<p>But his remonstrance died away on his lips, and they curved into an -awe-struck smile. From a few feet behind him there arose the first -notes of a solemn chant—loud and strong as a battle-cry, sweet as the -tones of a silver bell.</p> - -<p>Alone and unaided the glorious voice sang on for a few moments, and -then Father Olmedo's rich bass joined in, and Pedro de Alvarado's, then -the light tenors of Escalante and Cabrera, and the ringing voice of -Gonzalo de Sandoval.</p> - -<p>For the space, perhaps, of a quarter of a minute the shouting soldiers -continued their cry through the chant, "To Mexico! to Mexico!" then, -with a startled sensation of thrilling wonder, the foremost ranks -caught the sweeter sounds, hushed their own discordant tones, paused, -and joined in.</p> - -<p>"Hearken!" came the smothered ejaculation of the man Morla to Juan -Diaz, who had just come up to him. And Juan the priest gazed at him -with wide eyes, and then, accepting this new vent for his restlessness, -he too joined in with a tremendous vigour that soon let all ears, that -were not absolutely deaf, in the neighbourhood know what was going -forward.</p> - -<p>By some unconscious impulse the rough company of Spanish adventurers -fell upon their knees, and still the solemn chant rose and fell, and -swelled again, on that new-found western shore of an idolatrous land, -to the glory of the one true God.</p> - -<p>Cortes alone remained standing, alone remained mute, with his great, -vivacious eyes fixed intently upon the great, earnest ones of Montoro -de Diego. By his own fearlessness and iron will he had quelled the -mutinous mob, by the power of his voice and the power of his faith -Montoro de Diego had subdued it to a noble calm and peace.</p> - -<p>The chant ceased; the prayer of Father Olmedo for safety from foes, -and unity amongst themselves, was ended, and rising to his feet again -Montoro asked in clear, loud tones, audible to all around—</p> - -<p>"And now, our Captain, since we have consecrated ourselves anew to -brotherhood, what wouldst thou with us? Say on: we hearken."</p> - -<p>"Then hear this, first of all," exclaimed the leader with generous -warmth, as he grasped his friend's hand, and clasped it between both -his own. "Hear this: that from my soul I thank thee for thy Christlike -fervour, which has thus taught thee to retune our hearts to reason -after their late frantic turmoil. And for the rest," he added after a -moment's interval, and more lightly, "Ay, for the rest, the remainder -of my speech must wait, for it is ill-rewarded toil haranguing hungry -listeners."</p> - -<p>"Yea, verily," softly assented that irrepressible Cabrera. "And the -more so when the said hungry mortals, not to speak of the dogs, poor -starving brutes, can see their victuals waiting for their mouths."</p> - -<p>The young cavalier was right, and many other sharp eyes besides his -own had caught sight already of the long train of Indians laden with -provisions. Pheasants, turkeys, roast and boiled, and very good -eating in their native land, even though they were not accompanied -with bread-sauce, and were seasoned with neither chestnuts nor -veal-stuffing. There were, however, plenty of fresh, sweet maize -cakes to eat with them, and enough vegetables to satisfy even a -German. Then, amongst the seasonable gifts were fish of all kinds, -dressed by those clever native cooks in many savoury ways; plantains, -bananas, pine-apples, purple grapes, and even sweet-meats of various -sorts made with the sugar of the agave. Beverages also were not -wanting, from the thick-frothed, rich, vanilla-flavoured chocolate and -cooling fruit-drinks, to the fermented juice of the Mexican aloe, the -intoxicating <i>pulque</i>.</p> - -<p>Altogether the 'victuals awaiting mouths,' as Cabrera expressed it, -to put it more in accordance with circumstances, the feast awaiting -feasters, was of such quality and quantity as to make it quite as well, -perhaps, that Hernando Cortes decided to dispense with his followers' -attention for the present.</p> - -<p>"To claim a patient hearing for a discourse, while those savoury meats -were cooling, really might prove too much for the forbearance of even -our good Father Olmedo himself," said Cortes smiling, as he linked his -arm within that of the priest, and led him off with him as a companion -at the dinner then being carried to his hut.</p> - -<p>"'Twould be a deal too much for mine," said Alvarado, moving off in -another direction with his friends. "Here, thou Morla,—thou'rt a good -hand at looking after fowls, thou know'st,—just hasten yonder and pick -us out the plumpest and the fairest-cooked of those good-eating great -birds yonder, and thy good patron here, Don Montoro, will give thee due -thanks."</p> - -<p>"For thy sake, Alvarado, or mine own?" asked Montoro, laughing.</p> - -<p>The other shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"I'll not quarrel with thee, my dear Toro, on that point, since thou -art very sure to permit me the lion's share of food as the reward of -victory, whether won or no."</p> - -<p>"Of course he will," broke in Juan de Cabrera, "seeing that for himself -he will henceforth live upon an elegant but unsubstantial dietary of -air."</p> - -<p>"Wherefore?"</p> - -<p>"For this simple reason, that time will be wanting to him for any more -substantial meal. From this hour henceforth, even to the ending of -this campaign, I do authorize, empower, and appoint him to be chief -minstrel, on duty unrelieved, to the high and mighty Hernando Cortes, -Captain-General and Chief Justice of the magnificent Villa Rica de Vera -Cruz. The appointment is splendid, though somewhat empty of—"</p> - -<p>"Like thy words—of wit," interrupted Alvarado. "Come, crackbrain, I -will allow thee almost as good a share as myself of the viands Morla -brings, to silence thy mouth for awhile, for verily thou art the prince -of sparrows for a chatterer."</p> - -<p>"And also a black-crested cockatoo! Ah! I always did suppose myself a -marvel, now I know it."</p> - -<p>And so laughing off the emotions produced by the recent great crisis -in the fate of their leader and his enterprise, the party of Spanish -officers sauntered off to their quarters, and were very soon pleasantly -engaged in doing ample justice to the good cheer provided so hospitably -by those whom they designated as 'their foes.'</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE GODS MUST AVENGE THEMSELVES.</i></h3> - - -<p>The wooden platters, leaf baskets, and rough earthen bowls brought by -the Indians full of good things were not long in being emptied, and -then the Spaniards were at leisure once more to indulge in curiosity.</p> - -<p>"What think you, father, was our captain about to say to us before the -wherewithal for a dinner was so seasonably provided?"</p> - -<p>Morla looked anxious for the answer, for although he had caught the -infection of the late sudden outburst of enthusiasm, and had shouted -as lustily as any one—"To Mexico! to Mexico!" he had a bad foot at -the present time, and contemplated with very great apprehension the -prospect of a number of days' long marches. But Juan Diaz could give -him neither news nor consolation.</p> - -<p>"Take a siesta," was the priest's advice. "I doubt not Cortes is doing -so himself. And when he hath fed well and slept well, he will perchance -think well to inform us of his lordly will, whether half-a-dozen or so -more of his betters are to be hanged, perhaps, to do him pleasure."</p> - -<p>"Thou the first, for an ill-conditioned, surly knave that thou art," -muttered Alvarado under his breath, as he came up in time to hear most -of the priest's speech. Passing a few yards farther on he raised his -voice, and summoned the little army once more to assemble without delay -to hear the proposed plan of future movements.</p> - -<p>Within ten minutes the whole force had crowded up together around -Cortes, and in breathless silence awaited the coming news. The first -words were somewhat startling. They were a repetition of their own at -the outset of that morning's tumult.</p> - -<p>"Comrades, our ships are burnt."</p> - -<p>Then—a long, startling pause following startling words. Men turned -their heads slowly from side to side, and gazed into each others' eyes.</p> - -<p>Were those words and the silence ominous of evil to come? of passionate -accusations or of dark forebodings? But before one could mutter these -and many another doubt to his fellow, the words were repeated, and the -short speech continued to its end.</p> - -<p>"Our ships are burnt. Now we go to burn the heathen gods of this -benighted land. We are helpless in our own strength; in the power of -the one true God we are invincible. Let us invite His aid and mercy by -showing due honour to the most holy faith. We go, my comrades, to hurl -the idols from their altars to make way for the Blessed Mother, and -once for all to blot out human sacrifices from this polluted land, by -raising on high the cross of Him who has become the one sacrifice for -all mankind."</p> - -<p>The short speech of Hernando Cortes was ended, and although it -contained no hint for any one there of gain, of gold, or glory, it -went home—straight home from the speaker's heart to the hearts of his -hearers.</p> - -<p>Intensely ambitious, and burdened with many faults, was that dauntless -leader; wild, reckless, and cruel were many of his followers; but in -some strange way they held to the Christian faith as they knew it, and -were at any time willing to lay down their life in its cause, although -none of their sins.</p> - -<p>The emotions that closed that day were stronger and deeper than those -with which it opened. Even the turbulent priest, Juan Diaz, put on an -appearance of satisfaction now, whatever he might really still feel as -to the discomforts of pestilent marshes, uncertain commons, and the -faint prospect of better things for the future.</p> - -<p>"Before all things spread the Catholic faith," was the watchword in -that age, of all exploring expeditions, the one universal plea for -their aid and countenance. Cortes held to it with the intense fervour -natural to his strong nature. So did his followers; but all the same -that Merry Andrew, Juan de Cabrera, took occasion during the course of -the afternoon to remark to Alvarado—</p> - -<p>"Now, my most estimable and dearly-beloved friend, when we get into -those heathen temples do the friendly part by me, and just give me a -quiet hint where to lay my fingers on any easily-portable little bits -of gold."</p> - -<p>"If you don't take better heed to that impudent tongue of thine," -interfered Escalante with a laugh, "he is more likely to introduce thee -to a good cudgelling."</p> - -<p>Alvarado himself as usual shrugged his shoulders with calm -indifference. Words that would have led to fatal combats amongst those -fiery, proud Spaniards if spoken by any one else were uttered by the -young, laughing-eyed Cabrera with perfect impunity.</p> - -<p>"Did thy mother never think," said Don Pedro with an air of kind pity, -"of putting thee in the way of earning an honest livelihood as Court -fool?"</p> - -<p>"Ay, that did she," was the instant reply; "but thy mother heard of it, -and begged of her not to stand in thy light. She said there were so -many comfortable little pickings——"</p> - -<p>"Now, now, Cabrera! Hold!" sharply interrupted Montoro; "it is enough. -Verily thou dost allow that tongue of thine too much licence. Alvarado, -I would a few words in private with you, if you can for awhile forego -this youngster's company."</p> - -<p>So saying, he linked his hand in the other's arm and drew him away, -before amusement should change into anger. And for the next hour and -more even Cabrera was deep in converse of the gravest nature with -Escalante, Alonzo de Grado, Velasquez de Leon, and Gonzalo de Sandoval.</p> - -<p>Not a man in that little camp-city slept much that night, from Hernando -Cortes the leader down to the meanest soldier amongst his followers. -All felt that they were on the eve of great things. What had gone -before was, as it were, drill-work; but now there loomed before them -the true tug of war.</p> - -<p>"And, in the prospect facing us there is one thing, I confess, that -fills me with an almost abject terror."</p> - -<p>It was Escalante who spoke, brave, firm, calm-natured Escalante, than -whom there was no officer more justly honoured in the whole band for -his wise spirit and unflinching courage. And yet now he uttered those -craven-seeming words in low, hushed tones, and with eyes filled with -a nameless horror that said even more than the words had done. His -companions gazed at him in amazement.</p> - -<p>"It is well for his present peace," said Cabrera, "that it is thyself -and not another that has said that for thee, Escalante."</p> - -<p>"Ay, indeed," ejaculated Gonzalo de Sandoval. "But what mystery lies -there, Escalante, at the back of thy words?"</p> - -<p>"No mystery," was the reply—"nought but a plain truth. The idea of -falling alive into some of these heathens' hands in battle, and of then -being offered up in sacrifice to their idols, and eaten after in their -ghastly cannibal feasts, in very deed seemeth to me, when I think on -it, to—"</p> - -<p>"Ah! to pluck the heart out of thy breast before those fiendish -hands can do it," exclaimed Cabrera, starting to his feet in sudden -excitement. "I grant thee, Escalante, one has need to learn a new kind -of courage to that we have hitherto required, to hold a stiff face -before these thoughts."</p> - -<p>"Not the terrors of the Inquisition itself," muttered Alonzo de Grado, -"can compare with them."</p> - -<p>But Velasquez had had enough, and more than enough, for his part, of -such discourse, and flinging back his head with impetuous hauteur, he -said indignantly—</p> - -<p>"In very truth I marvel at ye all, discussing as though it were a -possibility, the chance of a Spanish nobleman falling alive into the -hands of a base redskin! Let us turn our tongues to themes that shall -be more profitable."</p> - -<p>"To pleasanter ones, with all my heart," said Juan de Cabrera readily. -"But see, who comes yonder in such haste?"</p> - -<p>"Morla, for a gold button," said Sandoval.</p> - -<p>"An easy guess enough," laughed Velasquez. "And none will take thy bet, -my friend. Was there ever another man with so huge a head as Morla!"</p> - -<p>"Never mind, Morla, it hath brains inside," said Escalante -good-naturedly to the man, who had now come up to the party of -officers, and stood before them awaiting permission and opportunity to -speak. Curiosity gave him them soon enough.</p> - -<p>"Brains or no brains, thou hanged rascal," said Cabrera, "what wouldst -thou with us. To have another try at thy neck by way of practice for -the natives, if they turn restive on their gods' behalf?"</p> - -<p>A grim smile flitted for a moment over the soldier's face.</p> - -<p>"I thank thee, my Señor, I would rather that practising were -undertaken with the Don Montoro de Diego by to witness it, and to make -sure that the lesson were not too well learnt. Meantime, I have a -message from the Captain-General to the Don Juan de Escalante, to the -effect that he will repair without delay to the Captain's tent."</p> - -<p>The order was obeyed with alacrity, and when the officer returned, some -time later, to his brethren in arms his face wore an expression of -mingled elation and satisfaction. The confidence felt in his abilities -and integrity had received full proof, for he was to be left in charge -of the new city of Villa Rica de Vera Cruz, and of its small garrison, -of which Morla was to form one, and of the company of slaves and -attendants.</p> - -<p>"You will at any rate be safe from the perils of the sacrificial altar, -seeing that here you will have neither priests, false gods, nor altars -for the sacrifice," said the fine young officer Gonzalo de Sandoval, -with just a touch of envy at his companion's elevation to a post of -so much trust and honour. But Cabrera looked at the matter in another -light—</p> - -<p>"Neither will he have here the rich prizes that we go to gather from -the golden palaces of Mexico."</p> - -<p>"I agree with you," said Velasquez. "Wealth and action, with any peril -you please, for me, sooner than poverty and a safe tranquillity."</p> - -<p>And so the band of high-spirited young adventurers discussed their -prospects gaily, none seeing into the veiled future, nor knowing that -the one they thought to leave to such safety was doomed to deadly -peril, none dreaming that the remaining days of life of their gallant -comrade were so few, and that they were about to bid him a final -farewell. But more of that in its due course.</p> - -<p>With the first dawn of the morrow after the day of mutiny, clamour, and -expectation, the whole camp was astir, and in no long time after, the -army was on its way through a country beautiful enough for the Garden -of Paradise, to the Indian city of Cempoalla, one of the centres of the -civilization of the Western World.</p> - -<p>Delighted feelings of new hope arose in the soldiers' minds as -they came in sight of fruit-laden orchards in the highest state of -cultivation, and gardens evidencing a care and knowledge, in their -wonderful beauty and luxuriance, that few indeed of the gardens of -Europe could boast in that warlike age.</p> - -<p>Hernando Cortes and his men marched on. Cortes himself maintained -a closely observant silence, but his officers and men were not so -reticent, and on all sides there were exclamations of wonder, at the -unexpected signs of an advanced civilization and refinement so utterly -unlooked-for in those regions.</p> - -<p>And now their progress began to be somewhat impeded by the innumerable -processions that met them from the city,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> some coming to welcome the -strange visitors, some coming as sightseers, to enjoy an early view of -the new-comers and their marvellous four-footed companions, whom they -took, like the ancients of the old world, to form with their riders one -extraordinary animal.</p> - -<p>"Are we once more fighting on the battle-fields of Granada, think you!" -ejaculated Alvarado to Montoro, as he pointed to a long train of men -then approaching the Captain-General, and glittering in the sunlight as -they came on, clad in richly-coloured mantles worn over the shoulders -in the Moorish fashion, gorgeous sashes of every rainbow tint, or -girdles, while splendid jewels of gold adorned their necks, their ears -and nostrils.</p> - -<p>Montoro gazed at them in equal wonder.</p> - -<p>"But see," he murmured, almost breathless with amaze,—"see yonder, -friend Pedro. Let thine eyes travel on a little farther. Is not yon a -singular sight to behold in a country where we had taught ourselves to -expect nought but savage wilds, and inhabitants sunk in the depths of a -miserable degradation? I feel as though I had fallen asleep, to awake -in dreamland."</p> - -<p>"And a fair enough dreamland too," replied Juan de Cabrera. "I care -not, for my part, how long I may remain there, so I be not altogether -smothered with their flowers."</p> - -<p>That hope as to the smothering seemed almost needful with reference to -the trains of women and young maidens to whom Montoro had directed his -companion's notice. Beautifully clad from the neck to the ankles in -robes of exquisitely-wrought fine cotton, ornamented with finely-worked -golden necklets, bracelets, and earrings, and surrounded by crowds of -obsequious attendants, the graceful processions advanced, literally -laden with brilliant blossoms, the products of that most lovely -country.</p> - -<p>Hastening gaily forward, they surrounded the warriors with their dainty -offerings. They hung a chaplet of roses about the general's helmet, and -wreaths about his charger's neck. As for the yellow-haired Alvarado -and the laughing Cabrera, they were very soon converted into tolerable -imitations of the English Maypole, or the May-day Jack-in-the-green, -their fine Spanish eyes beaming out of the midst of their bright -coverings, upon their decorators, with a smiling good-humour that gave -little warning of future headlong and annihilating cruelty.</p> - -<p>At length the Europeans reached the city, and silence fell upon them -as they slowly entered the narrow, crowded streets, and paced along to -a temple assigned them by the Cacique for their quarters, during their -stay in his dominion.</p> - -<p>Not one of the band would have now retreated from the enterprise on -hand had he been able. At the same time, for a company of about six or -seven hundred men to be cooped up within a close-built town, of whose -ins and outs they knew nothing, and in this position to be surrounded -by thirty thousand people who might prove to be crafty enemies, was a -state of affairs to make even the most reckless feel just a little bit -like wishing that they had at least two pairs of eyes, and one of them -situated in the back of their heads.</p> - -<p>No one saw fit to demur when Cortes announced, on arriving at the -temple, that he intended to double the usual number of the sentinels -to keep watch at night, and that the whole force was to maintain a -constant state of the utmost vigilance, and readiness for any surprise.</p> - -<p>"Moreover," concluded the General, with resolute determination of -manner, "moreover, comrades, it is my absolute command, on pain of -death, that none leave the precincts of our present quarters without -my leave, on any pretext whatsoever. I will myself shoot the first who -does."</p> - -<p>"Umph," muttered Cabrera with a little raising of his eyebrows. "You -speak very positively, my Captain. How would it be with your word if -you did not get the chance!"</p> - -<p>"Just so," returned Alvarado in the same tone. "My fears of being -caught hold of by those bloodthirsty idol-priests would do more to keep -me from straying, than any threats of being shot if I were lucky enough -to get back to camp again. Meantime, here comes a party of well-laden -cooks. Whatever other fate they intend for us, it is apparently not -starvation."</p> - -<p>As those two thus talked together, Montoro de Diego was no little -startled by one of the women, with a flower-decked basket of maize -cakes in her hands, and cheeks streaming with tears, separating herself -with some quiet caution from her fellows, and coming up to him with -her gift, and with eyes that besought, with all the power of mute -eloquence, for a hearing for some tale of sorrow.</p> - -<p>Montoro had been wandering with a vivid interest through some of the -numerous apartments of the temple, opening on to the courtyard where -the rest of his comrades were assembled, and he was standing within -one of the halls, and alone, when the woman caught sight of him. The -bringing of the maize bread was but a pretext for an interview.</p> - -<p>"Be comforted. Trust me; I will do what I can," said Montoro, with the -flush of deep excitement on his face, after listening for a few moments -to the poor creature's broken utterances.</p> - -<p>Then he dismissed her, and made his way to Cortes, asking a private -audience. But the General was in something less than his usual cordial -mood. Cortes was preoccupied, and oppressed with many anxieties that -night, and little disposed to speech or interviews with even those whom -he most esteemed.</p> - -<p>"What is it, Diego?" he asked rather hastily—"any news of treachery -without or within? For matters of high importance one must have always -leisure; for others—I crave your pardon,—they must wait."</p> - -<p>Montoro bowed with a certain degree of haughtiness.</p> - -<p>"I am not accustomed to seek private interviews concerning -trivialities. But,—I will crave your pardon as you have craved -mine,—methinks, now I give second thoughts to the affair, that thou -mightest even pronounce my present matter unworthy of your present -favourable attention, and with disfavour I can well dispense."</p> - -<p>"As I with thine unseasonable anger, friend Toro," said Hernando with -grave reproach.</p> - -<p>But the angered cavalier had already retired.</p> - -<p>"To brood over his fancied causes of complaint against me, no doubt, -like the most unreasonable amongst my company," muttered Cortes in a -tone of vexation.</p> - -<p>Union was so abundantly necessary just now.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>MONTORO AND CABRERA RESCUE A HUMAN SACRIFICE.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Cabrera."</p> - -<p>"Diego!"</p> - -<p>The one name had been spoken with a sort of eager hush in the voice; -the second with an accent of startled interrogation.</p> - -<p>The hour was about ten at night. Cabrera and Diego had been on sentry -duty since Diego's short, sharp interview with the General. One of them -had just been relieved, and the other was about to be so, when Montoro -called to his friend, who passed him on his way to shelter and sleep.</p> - -<p>Cabrera stepped up closer to his friend.</p> - -<p>"Why, Toro, what is it? Of all men in the world to hear thee speaking -as thou hadst some mystery to whisper!"</p> - -<p>"And so I have," came the hurried return.</p> - -<p>Juan's big round eyes grew bigger and rounder than ever.</p> - -<p>"Well, and if thou hast, there is ne'er a redskin about can understand -thee if thou dost but speak fast, and with some of those long words -thou knowest so—"</p> - -<p>"Hush thee, then," muttered Montoro hastily. "It is from no redskin -that I would hide the matter that I have in hand, at least not for the -moment, but from the keenest pair of Spanish ears that either thou or I -are likely to have met with."</p> - -<p>"If thou meanest to hint at our Captain-General by that," agreed -Cabrera, "thou art right enough, for I believe that he hears thoughts -sometimes, without need of the tongue to give them utterance. But the -business grows interesting. I love a plot. I would thou wert about to -propose to break bounds, and take a midnight wandering."</p> - -<p>"And it is—" a pause at the fancied sound of an approaching footstep. -And then he continued, scarcely audibly, "It is even so. Wilt thou join -me?"</p> - -<p>Cabrera paused an instant, and gave a perceptible start.</p> - -<p>"It is death, Diego, by the General's orders."</p> - -<p>"I know it. And it is death to a native Christian, my lost Indian -interpreter, as a living sacrifice to heathen gods, if we do not rescue -him ere the dawn. But there, I should not have asked thee to share the -double danger; I will go alone. You will not, at least, betray me?"</p> - -<p>"No, nor suffer you to go alone," was the hurried answer. "I would -sooner shoot myself. But there comes your exchange. Where shall we meet -again?"</p> - -<p>"In the hollow there, two yards to the right," muttered Montoro -quickly, and then he stood silent and watchful, awaiting the -new-comer, as though intent upon nothing beyond guarding his present -post.</p> - -<p>Two minutes later he once more stood beside Cabrera, at the only spot -of the temple's surroundings whence escape unobserved was possible. -Montoro's diligent search had discovered it very soon after he quitted -the General, and the daring companions had scarcely met before they -were safe outside the temple's precincts. There they were joined by -the Indian woman, waiting to be their guide to the great temple of -sacrifice. On its lofty summit there was a fire burning, and in front -of the fire was visible, even at a distance, the great stone, stained -with the blood of the countless human sacrifices offered up to the -honour of the horrible god of war.</p> - -<p>Closely following their guide, and keeping in the darkest shadows of -the houses along the silent streets, the two Spaniards went on their -adventurous mission of mercy. Suddenly the woman fell back upon them -for a few moments with a low cry, and her hand upraised towards the -temple's heights. The Spaniards stood still and with their eyes obeyed -her sign.</p> - -<p>The fire had been replenished, and blazed up fiercely, and there, -high up above the houses of the town, on the elevated platform, and -illuminated by the ruddy glow, there now stood a group of men. As the -Europeans gazed they perceived a stir amongst that group—one appeared -to fall; there was a pause, the woman with another shuddering cry -dropped her face into her hands. Then a far-off shout fell upon the -two friends' ears, and they saw an upraised arm against the glowing -background, a hand that held something—</p> - -<p>"Is it a head?" muttered Cabrera.</p> - -<p>But the woman once more hurried them on.</p> - -<p>"But if he is already slain," questioned Montoro sadly, "what can we do -more?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps he is not already sacrificed," came the anguished answer in -broken Spanish. "There are many to die to-night to please the god; -perhaps he still lives, and may be saved."</p> - -<p>For that 'perhaps' the devoted champion of the oppressed, and his -friend, continued their dangerous route. It might be to meet the -fate that, only twenty-four hours before, Escalante had spoken of -with such horror. But even if they escaped that, it would but be to -receive death at the hands of their own countrymen. Montoro began to -be sorely troubled. To save one man he had brought the life of another -into jeopardy. After all, it might be that he did deserve Alvarado's -accusation. He stood still again.</p> - -<p>"Cabrera, I have done wrong."</p> - -<p>"Well," was the calm answer. "A thought more wildly, perchance, than -might have been looked for from the sensible Don Montoro. Shall we -return?"</p> - -<p>"You will," was the eager reply. "We have not as yet gone too far for -you to find your way back easily."</p> - -<p>"Oh—h," ejaculated Cabrera. "And for thyself?"</p> - -<p>"I go on."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see. Thanks, my friend, for your dismissal then, but—I go on -also."</p> - -<p>Montoro clenched his hands tightly.</p> - -<p>"It will be a load off my heart, Juan, if you will return."</p> - -<p>"Without you?—never. You must keep your load."</p> - -<p>They had begun to move on again slowly before this short dialogue was -ended; but now a bitter, imploring moan from the poor creature with -them helped Montoro to forget all but her troubles, and making a sign -to her, they hurried on as rapidly as before.</p> - -<p>After all, as far as Juan de Cabrera was concerned, any excitement, -even to the excitement of deadly peril, was better than peace and -quietness. He rather liked the sensation of feeling as though a dozen -or two pairs of those lean, small, redskin hands were stretching out -from every doorway to clutch at him, and that he had a sword by his -side which should win him freedom. Montoro for the time thought of -nothing at all, but his purpose to rescue his native servant from the -bloody altar of the horrible war-god Huitzilopotchli.</p> - -<p>Arrived at the foot of the mound on which the chief temple was built, -the guide paused, and looked at her companions as though with some -compunction for having brought them into so great peril; but her -regrets were then too late. They had caught sight of a spectacle which -had filled them with loathing indignation; and they sprang up the -mound, rushed up the great flight of stone steps in the centre of the -temple with a fierce shout, regardless of prudence, indifferent to all -consequences, and gained the platform just in time to witness the -completion of a third awful act of heathen faith.</p> - -<p>On a huge block of jasper, with a slightly convex surface, lay the -living, human, palpitating sacrifice. Around him were gathered six -of the war-god's priests, hardened to their awful office by almost -daily custom. Men fitted for such duties they looked, with their -wild eyes, their long and matted locks flowing in wild disorder over -their shoulders, and their sable, crimson-stained robes covered with -hieroglyphic scrolls of mystic import.</p> - -<p>Five of these weird, sombre, butcher-priests held down the head and -limbs of the victim. The sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, emblematic of -the office, cut open the breast of the sacrifice with a sharp razor of -the volcanic itztli, inserted his hand in the wound, and tore away the -beating heart from the yet writhing body; the awful trophy was held for -one moment up on high, then cast at the feet of the idol to which it -was devoted.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>All was over before the Spaniards' second furious cry had had power to -escape their lips. The next instant that elevated plateau was a scene -of wild confusion.</p> - -<p>Transported beyond himself, Cabrera had shot down the priest of -sacrifice, dashed to the ground, insensible, two of the other -black-robed ministers of the dismal faith, and then with his sword cut -asunder the bonds binding a group of prisoners awaiting their turn on -the jasper block.</p> - -<p>Montoro had not been idle. At the point of the sword he had driven the -remaining priests into the interior of the temple, flung into the fire -the instrument of torture, and the instruments of music used to drown -the wretched sufferers' cries, and then, with a far-echoing shout—"For -the glory of the one true God!" he signed to the rescued captives, -brandished his sword aloft, and, followed by the liberated train, the -two Spaniards rushed down from the height, thrust a way for themselves -and their bewildered companions through the gathering multitudes, with -an impetuosity that bore down all obstacles, and with the happy Indian -woman once more for guide, regained their own quarters.</p> - -<p>The whole band of their comrades was astir, and within an hour of their -stealthy departure Montoro de Diego and Cabrera, with the little group -of Indians about them, once more stood in the courtyard of the lesser -temple, surrounded by their Captain-General and the whole company of -his followers.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>TOO USEFUL TO BE KILLED.</i></h3> - - -<p>"General, I have disobeyed your orders, and I accept my punishment, and -acknowledge its justice."</p> - -<p>Those words were the first that were distinctly audible above the -hubbub and din prevailing in the courtyard of the Spaniards' new -encampment. But they were spoken by a singularly penetrating voice, -and in cold, calm tones that had an almost incredible power of making -themselves heard.</p> - -<p>During the last half-hour the moon had dispelled the darkness of night, -and was shining in a steel-blue, cloudless sky, with a brilliancy at -least equal to the light of many a northern day. In the foreground -glittered the waters of the great Gulf of Mexico; to the left the -silver thread of a river wound in and out amidst a country luxuriant -and fertile as a garden; the narrow streets of the city lay at their -feet; above them still gloomed and glowed, like some evil eye, that -fire on the summit of the great temple, and over all, away in the -distant background, towered the 'everlasting hills' and the snow-crown -of Citlaltepelt or Orizaba.</p> - -<p>So beautiful, so majestic, so peaceful the scene, could but that -agitated gathering of men of the two hemispheres have been blotted out.</p> - -<p>Hernando Cortes, tall and stately, bearing his handsome face with -a proud dignity, stood with folded arms somewhat apart from the -tumultuous throngs, all of whom, in the midst of their other words and -thoughts, took time to cast many a searching glance at the leader; -but all their scrutiny was in vain. Nothing was to be learnt of the -meditations going on in the brain behind that fixed countenance.</p> - -<p>Opposite to Hernando stood a man equally handsome in face and figure, -equally calm and stately, but with a strange sweet light in his eyes -as they rested on the poor startled Indians standing huddled together, -scarcely knowing as yet whether to rejoice or no, at their rescue from -the hands of the Cempoallan priests.</p> - -<p>Montoro's father had died because he dared to plead for the life of -the Jew. Montoro had a deep hidden gratitude in his heart, that he had -been thus able to offer his life for the lives of these poor helpless -Indians. And with this thanksgiving in his heart he spoke, and the -babel of confused voices ceased.</p> - -<p>Cabrera stepped up beside his companion, saying coolly—</p> - -<p>"Well, General, here am I also. I cannot say with Diego that I will -acknowledge the justice of the threatened punishment, or that I would -accept it, if I could see my way on any side to doing the other thing; -but—as it is—"</p> - -<p>A shrug of the shoulders finished the sentence, and then there was a -silence. The native servant and interpreter crept to Montoro's feet, -clasping them, and entreating to be returned to the stone of sacrifice -if otherwise his deliverer must die. The native woman hid her face in -her robe, and kneeling before Cortes wept there silently.</p> - -<p>At last Alvarado stepped forward impetuously, and exclaimed—</p> - -<p>"Hernando Cortes, those two comrades of ours have risked their lives -to save the blood of a Christian from being poured out to the honour -of a heathen god! Is the order of a Spanish leader like the law of the -Medes and Persians—one that altereth not? Those two have broken your -command; according to that, it is admitted, their lives are forfeited. -Can it be that they are to pay the penalty!"</p> - -<p>As he concluded with that passionate demand, a sudden brilliant smile -for one instant passed over the face of Cortes like a lightning flash. -Then it was sternly set as before, as his lips opened to reply.</p> - -<p>The soldiers had been subsiding into quietness before, now they were -hushed into an intense expectancy that seemed as though it could be -felt. The words with which their attention was rewarded were few enough.</p> - -<p>"You ask me, Don Pedro de Alvarado, if those two of our Spanish -brethren yonder are to die. I say yes, if any of you, their brethren, -will shoot them. Montoro, may I crave that private audience with you -that I lost this afternoon?"</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera sprang forward with raised hands, and shoulders almost -up to his ears. Even the Indians forgot their apprehensions and -laughed. He bestowed a most horrible-looking, wide-mouthed grin upon -them, and then drew his face to an almost impossible length, as he -continued his way to Cortes, groaning out—</p> - -<p>"Oh, General! don't you please to need a private audience with me also? -That fellow, Don Gonzalo there, is quite beside himself with longing to -try the new gun he hath just received from the armourer. I shiver with -fear."</p> - -<p>"Then take a doze of sleep to cure thee," was the laughing reply, "and -get Father Olmedo to shrive thee first for thy sin of disobedience. -I had needs be a schoolmaster rather than a general, to rule great -overgrown boys like thee."</p> - -<p>Then Cortes turned to a quieter region of the temple, and with his -officers held deep counsel as to next proceedings. Although he spared -his two followers from the mingled motives of prudence, friendship, -and admiration, he felt somewhat bitterly that their romantic act of -generosity had greatly complicated the position of affairs. Yesterday -he had feared enmity, now he was sure of it.</p> - -<p>"As strongly as we hold to our faith," he said gravely, "so I have ere -now discovered do they hold to theirs. As resolutely as we would avenge -an insult to our Lord, so will these heathen endeavour to avenge the -insult put upon their gods of wood and clay. We must be prepared."</p> - -<p>As the dawn grew full, Cortes, with his usual decisive energy, -determined suddenly to know the worst at once; not to act on the -defensive as he had first planned, but to issue forth immediately, -and complete the desecration, already so boldly begun, of the heathen -altars of Cempoalla.</p> - -<p>"We have come hither," he exclaimed in animated tones to his followers, -"to burn the idols of this polluted land, and to raise the sacred -standard of the cross. Let us delay the glorious task no longer. In the -name of the Holy Faith I go."</p> - -<p>"In the name of the Holy Faith lead on, we follow you," shouted back -the small, undaunted army with one acclaim; and in another minute, in -firm, close array, the Spaniards had issued forth from their enclosure.</p> - -<p>They had not made much way when an Indian scout flew back to them, with -heels winged with fear, to say that the Cacique himself, at the head of -his troops, was advancing to their encounter.</p> - -<p>"All the better," muttered Cabrera. "Saves our steps, and my boots are -something the worse for wear."</p> - -<p>But before proceeding to extremities the two leaders called a parley: -the Indian chief to expostulate on the violence done his gods in -return for his great hospitality; and Cortes to desire that he and his -subjects would hear from Father Olmedo a discourse, to prove that his -gods were no gods, that it was no more possible to do them dishonour -than to show respect or disrespect to an old tree-stump, and to teach -them the principles of Divine truth.</p> - -<p>With a fine courtesy the Indian Cacique gave consent, even while -burning under a sense of wrong; and something he must have gleaned -through the interpreter of the required teaching, for he replied with -dignity—</p> - -<p>"Know this, ye white-faces, that it seemeth to me we have not much -to learn from you, beyond that faithlessness that you would have us -show to our gods. We too believe in a supreme Creator and Lord of the -universe—that God by whom we live and move and have our being; the -Giver of all good gifts, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, perfect. We -too believe in a future life—a heaven and a hell. We too believe in -the virtues of temperance, charity, self-denial; and that of ourselves, -being born in sin, we are capable of no good thing. We too are admitted -into fellowship with the supreme Lord of all things by the rite of -baptism. The lips and bosoms of our infants are sprinkled with water, -and we beseech the Lord to permit the holy drops to wash away the sin -that was given to them before the foundation of the world, so that they -may be born anew. We too pray for grace to keep peace with all, to bear -injuries with humility, trusting to the Almighty to avenge us."</p> - -<p>The fine old Cacique ceased, and in breathless amazement the Spaniards -gazed at the Indian who had thus made confession of a faith so -strangely in accord with their own, so utterly unexpected.</p> - -<p>"And with these sublime truths," murmured Father Olmedo with wide -eyes, "there is mingled the awful Polytheism, the ghastly idol-worship -that revels in human sacrifices. This is verily the devil's work, -transforming himself into the likeness of an angel of light that his -worship may gain in glory."</p> - -<p>Another thought came to Montoro de Diego. Imagination travels as the -lightning, flashing from one end of the earth to the other. As Montoro -stood there, in one of the flower-decked squares of the Indian town of -Cempoalla, his spirit was hovering above the wide piazza of the Spanish -city of Saragossa. It was the day, so imagination told him, of an Auto -da Fé.</p> - -<p>Slowly entering the square came the long procession—priests of the -true holy Catholic faith who had learnt 'God is love,' incense-bearers, -candle-bearers, and all the troop of satellites.</p> - -<p>In Montoro de Diego's dream-ears were sounding the solemn cadences of -the chants, as the procession moved slowly, solemnly along. Then, in -the centre of the long imposing train he saw a dismal spectacle. Clad -in the yellow garments of scorn and contumely, adorned for shame's -sake and derision with scarlet flames and so-called devils, limped and -crawled along the racked and wrenched, and twisted and scorched victims -of the Inquisition, passing along to be burnt alive, in the name of -religion, at those stakes at the four corners of the great piazza.</p> - -<p>And as the Romish priest, Father Olmedo, thought of the Indian idol -sacrifices, and murmured, "Verily this is the devil's work, uniting -sublime truths with the blackest iniquity," Montoro thought of the -Autos da Fé, and murmured to himself—</p> - -<p>"If the one be the devil's work, is not the other likewise?"</p> - -<p>At a future day the same question was asked by an Indian captive in -Spain, asked with indignant scorn, and answered by himself—</p> - -<p>"Ay, verily. Either both are of the gods—our sacrifices of blood and -yours of fire—or both are of the devil. And ye, proud Spaniards, had -done well to purge your own land, before ye laid waste our countries, -and destroyed our nations, to remove the mote that lay in our eyes."</p> - -<p>But we must return to Cempoalla, and pass by dreams and dreamers for -the present, for there is once more a sudden sound and stir borne along -upon the air. The Cacique and his army raise their heads, grasp their -arrows more firmly, and look expectant.</p> - -<p>The Spaniards close up together again, lay their hands on their -sword-hilts, and wait.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>ONCE FOR ALL—THEY SHALL CEASE.</i></h3> - - -<p>The number of priests in the capital of the empire of Mexico itself -amounted, at the time of the conquest, to very many thousands—five -thousand for the immense chief <i>teocalli</i>, or house of God, alone.</p> - -<p>These priests were gathered together in great establishments, where -a most rigorous discipline was maintained, much after the fashion of -Roman Catholic institutions. And as with the empire itself, so was -it, in a lesser degree, with the empire's tributaries. In those also -chiefs and people endeavoured to make their peace with heaven, as -in the old world, by such immense endowments of lands and riches as -tended naturally to swell the ranks of a race so well provided for, and -regarded with such supreme reverence.</p> - -<p>The smiling territory of Cempoalla was as well provided as its -neighbours, with these numerous ministers of a religion that so -strangely blended bloodthirsty superstition with exalted faith and -enlightenment.</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera fondly supposed that in slaying a man whom he honestly -looked upon as a murderer of the blackest die, deserving death, he had -rid that city, at any rate, of its one hideously-skilful executioner, -and, as he put it, "that no more of that sort of work could go on for -the present, either in their presence or their absence." But he made a -most tremendous mistake.</p> - -<p>"The king is dead. Long live the king."</p> - -<p>The priest-executioner-in-chief had fallen, before the altar of the -god he had served with such dreadful fidelity. He had died yesterday, -to-day he had a successor burning with ardour to avenge him by -increased sacrifices, to atone for those deferred, and to prove his own -consummate skill in the detestable work.</p> - -<p>"If only," was his fierce wild prayer—"if only the one invisible, -supreme God would grant that some of the sacrilegious, infidel white -faces might fall into the hands of the Cempoallan warriors, that they -themselves might be offered up as peace-offerings to the insulted -Huitzilopotchli!"</p> - -<p>Were his prayer granted there was no doubt that the morose and -gloomy-natured priest would not spare also to inflict upon the -prisoners some prior tortures, ingenious enough in their barbarous -cruelty to have excited the admiring envy of the most savage of -Inquisitors.</p> - -<p>But meantime he had other business on hand—sacrifices truly, but -sacrifices drawn from the families of his own nation; and, moreover, -sacrifices of such a nature that, had he been as wise as he was -ruthless, he would have delayed their attempted offering until those -white-faces had left his land. They were just the last drops needed to -fill the Spaniards' cup of boiling indignation full to overflowing.</p> - -<p>Exquisitely fertile and luxuriant as the whole district of Cempoalla -looked to the Spanish eyes, so wearied with the barren tracts of sand, -and marshy swamps of their recent station, there had in reality been a -considerable time of drought lately, and the Indians were beginning to -have fears for some of their harvests. Tlaloc, the god of rain, whose -symbol of a cross had so disconcerted Cabrera and Father Olmedo, had to -be propitiated.</p> - -<p>For some days past a solemn festival had been decreed in his honour. -The victims were bought for the altar, the invitation to the faithful -was announced, and, although a priest had been slain in the night, the -imperious god of rain must not be deprived of his offerings in the -morning. Thence the sounds which had so suddenly arrested all speech -and movement of the two armies, Christian and heathen, met together in -the great square of the city.</p> - -<p>The waiting and suspense were short. The sounds of musical instruments -and of a wild melodious chant drew rapidly nearer. They reached the -square, and the Spaniards turned wondering eyes upon each other.</p> - -<p>"The procession of the Fête Dieu!" exclaimed Cabrera in bewilderment.</p> - -<p>"One might well suppose so," returned Montoro, almost equally surprised.</p> - -<p>Cortes turned with rapid questionings to Doña Marina, the native -captive princess and his interpreter.</p> - -<p>Passing across the further end of the square, on the way to Tlaloc's -temple, were lines of sable-robed priests, trains of flower-decked -youths and maidens from the priests' seminaries, crowds of devout -worshippers; and in the midst of all, borne aloft in view of every eye, -a number of lovely children, tiny creatures scarcely beyond the days of -infancy, dressed in bright-hued festal robes, wreathed with flowers, -and seated in gay litters, around each of which gathered groups of -chanting priests, and the parents who had sold them.</p> - -<p>Wide-eyed and dumb with wonder were some of these little ones. And -on them the priests frowned. Others, startled, terrified, with tiny, -helpless arms outstretched to their miserable, deluded mothers, were -drowned in tears, choking with piteous sobbings. And on them the -priests cast pitiless smiles, and sang and danced with wilder fervour -than before. Those tears were of good omen for the god's acceptance of -his worshippers' prayers. Dry-eyed sacrifices were fruitless ones.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>But the exacting god was to have no sacrifice that day, dry-eyed or -otherwise.</p> - -<p>The procession was passing on, when at length Hernan Cortes, with a -horror-stricken shout of comprehension, raised his head from Doña -Marina, and turning to face his followers exclaimed, in a voice that -literally trembled with passion and haste:</p> - -<p>"Comrades! look yonder. See ye that sight? See ye those helpless babes, -decked out thus bravely as the heathen nations of old were wont to deck -four-footed beasts for sacrifice? Those babes are sold for sacrifice -by a black, well-nigh incredible bigotry. Twenty minutes hence, without -your succour, their innocent hearts will have been plucked from out -their riven breasts, as offerings to that blasphemous god who pollutes -the sign of our redemption. Say, comrades, shall this thing be?"</p> - -<p>The men started a step forward with cheeks aflame.</p> - -<p>"No!" exclaimed Alvarado. "By St. Jago and our good swords, no!"</p> - -<p>"No!" echoed the whole band, as though with one voice.</p> - -<p>"No!" cried Cabrera, impetuously. "Not if we have to put every man in -Cempoalla to the sword to deliver them."</p> - -<p>And with these exclamations it seemed, for one moment, as though the -Spaniards were going to rush forward pell-mell, and effect a rescue. -But Cortes raised his hand and checked them. There was time yet to -proceed more peaceably. He turned back to the Cacique.</p> - -<p>"You see," he began.</p> - -<p>"I see there is another of those red-cloaked demons yonder," muttered -Cabrera in a tone of bitter loathing to Montoro.</p> - -<p>But the low aside formed no interruption to the General, who continued, -with determination—</p> - -<p>"You see, my followers and I have one heart in this matter. And I, -for my part, am resolved that within this hour the idol gods shall be -destroyed. Use your authority to stay yonder procession on its further -course to sin, and thus hinder bloodshed."</p> - -<p>But even before his words were ended it became evident that force must -effect, if possible, what persuasion could not do. The Cacique's reply -to the imperative demand was a swift signal to his army. It was obeyed -as swiftly.</p> - -<p>The Indian warriors gathered up from all sides, with shrill cries and -clashing of weapons. The priests began to rush on with the litters and -their wailing occupants, towards the temple, for the consummation of -the sacrifice. The Spaniards, with Montoro de Diego at their head, flew -forward, moved to too heart-sickened a pity to wait any longer upon -the rule of orders. And soon the whole square and the entire route to -the temple was one scene of wild uproar. The priests, in their sombre -cotton robes, and dishevelled tresses matted with blood flowing over -their shoulders, rushing frantically amongst their warrior brethren, -urging them on to the fray, and calling upon them to protect their gods -from violation.</p> - -<p>All was war and tumult where so lately had been peace and friendly -brotherhood.</p> - -<p>Cortes took his usual prompt and decided measures. While Montoro led -the rescue party, and ceased not his determined onslaught until he had -delivered the infants back to arms that, in the new turn of affairs, -were stretched out readily enough to receive them again, Cortes, by a -bold manœuvre, and the firing off of those terror-speaking guns, gained -possession of the great Cacique himself and of some of his principal -subjects, including the chief priests.</p> - -<p>"Now," he authoritatively commanded once more, and with a better -chance of being obeyed. "Now, Nezahualth, you and your people are in -my power. Give orders that not another arrow is shot this day, or -disobedience shall cost you all your lives."</p> - -<p>"The gods will protect us," exclaimed a frenzied priest.</p> - -<p>Cortes turned upon him with a cold, haughty glance.</p> - -<p>"Did the gods protect thy brethren yesternight? The Spaniards were two -to a multitude, and the Spaniards' God gave them victory. Thy god gave -his followers up to disgrace and death!"</p> - -<p>Whatever effect these words of reminder had upon the Totonac priest, -they had a powerful one upon the Totonac chieftain, the Cacique of -Cempoalla. With a sudden lowering of his lofty head, he dropped his -face into his hands, and exclaimed bitterly that the white men must -work their will, and the gods must avenge themselves.</p> - -<p>"Even so," said Cortes sternly. "Thus it must be, for from this hour, -once for all, their idols shall be destroyed from this city, and the -human sacrifices shall cease."</p> - -<p>This settled the matter. The Christians were not slow in availing -themselves of the Cacique's submission to the inevitable.</p> - -<p>At a signal from Cortes fifty soldiers darted off to the chief temple, -sprang up the great stone stairway as eagerly as Montoro de Diego and -Cabrera had done the night before, entered the building on the summit, -the walls of which were black with human gore, tore the huge wooden -idols from their foundations, and dragged them to the edge of the -terrace.</p> - -<p>The fantastic forms and features of these symbolic idols meant nothing -to the Spaniards' eyes but outward and visible representations of the -hideous lineaments of Satan. With the greatest alacrity, cheered on by -Cabrera, the soldiers rolled the colossal monsters down the steps of -the pyramid, amidst the triumphant shouts of their own companions, and -the groans and lamentations of the awe-struck natives, who forthwith -gave up all hopes of the coming harvest in despair.</p> - -<p>The work was finally crowned by the burning of the images in the -presence of the assembled, startled multitudes. That finishing touch -proved a wise one. Hitherto, during the work of desecration, the -Totonacs had waited in trembling expectation of some fearful exhibition -of their insulted god's great power and glory. But now. Poor impotent -deities! they had not been able even to prevent the profanation of -their shrines, the destruction of their own representations.</p> - -<p>"What think ye of your gods now?" asked Pedro de Alvarado -contemptuously, as he spurned a heap of the smouldering ashes with his -foot, and turned his scornful eyes upon a group of humbled priests -beside him.</p> - -<p>"Verily they be fine gods," added Father Juan Diaz, ever ready to hit -those who were down. "As able, i' faith, to help ye as to assert their -own dignity."</p> - -<p>So began the priests and people of Cempoalla, apparently, to think -themselves. With bowed heads and dejected steps they left those -humiliating mounds of ashes. The day of solemn festival was turned into -a day of turmoil and mourning.</p> - -<p>The people of that fair land of Mexico had received their first trample -under the iron heel of the conqueror. In their abject dejection they -aided in the business of their own humiliation.</p> - -<p>By Cortes' orders a number of the Totonacs cleansed the floor and -walls of the teocalli from their foul impurities; a fresh coating of -stucco was laid on them by the native masons, and an altar was raised, -surmounted by a lofty cross, and hung with garlands of roses.</p> - -<p>"And now, my friends," exclaimed Cortes, addressing the multitudes -assembled around the base of the pyramid temple, watching proceedings -with a stupefied wonder—"and now, put by your sad thoughts and your -saddened countenances, for a brighter day has dawned for you than you -have ever known hitherto. I have spoilt one procession, but I will make -you full amends with another and more glorious."</p> - -<p>With the easy vivacity and changeableness of the semi-civilized nature, -the Indians roused up at the Spanish General's new tones of cheerful -friendship, and greeted his short speech with shouts of approval, -smiles, and nods, which received full reply. Sternness had done its -work; he was quite ready now to be as joyous and cordial and brotherly -as they would let him. They went from one extreme to the other—from -animal-like ferocity to childlike docility, owing to the weakness of -their nature. But Cortes, from the dark brows of the resolute victor -who would be obeyed, to the courteous, agreeable friend, from policy, -and an almost unequalled power of self-command. He promised the -procession, and it was soon formed.</p> - -<p>Once more Spaniards and Indians assembled in the great square. Side by -side, no longer conqueror and captive, but host and guest once more, -moved on with calm and stately steps the two leaders, the tall, slender -Spaniard, the tall, corpulent Indian chief. Following them came the -two armies, in the same brotherly union. Then the Totonac priests, -no longer wearing their dismal black garments with those suggestive -dark-hued stains upon them, but clothed in white robes, and, like their -brother Christian priests, bearing great lighted candles in their -hands; while an image of the Virgin, little less roughly made in those -days than the idols so lately deposed, but half-smothered under the -sweet-scented, brilliant burden of flowers, was borne aloft, and, as -the procession climbed the steps of the temple, was deposited above the -altar, and a solemn mass, performed by Father Olmedo, concluded the -great ceremony, instead of a bloody sacrifice.</p> - -<p>"At the same time," murmured Montoro to a companion late that night, -as he paced the courtyard of the Spanish encampment—"at the same -time, methinks, these poor creatures can but credit us with the cruel -insolence of strength, which has destroyed their idols to make way for -our own. They had a cross which they adored; we have cast it down to -erect our own. They had idols which they reverenced; we have burnt -their images but to set up another."</p> - -<p>"Even so," replied the good priest, in the same low tones. "My fears -go with your thoughts—that they must have strange doubts as to our -honesty."</p> - -<p>"We preach against idols, and yet have them," added Montoro. "I wonder -if our work this day has done much good for the salvation of souls?"</p> - -<p>"It has done some good for the salvation of bodies, at any rate," broke -in Juan de Cabrera from his sentry post, opposite to which the two -friends had paused in the interest of their conversation. "It is thanks -wholly and solely to thee, all throughout, Toro, that that hapless -little company of babies is alive to-night. And so, my long-faced -friend, instead of looking solemn as an old crow, thou shouldst be the -merriest fellow in the company."</p> - -<p>"Ho, there!" cried the voice of a fourth comer on the scene. "Who talks -of merriment, I would know, forsooth, at this sleepy hour of the night, -and with never an honest bit of gambling allowed to pass the watch -hours by. For my part, I feel glum as a sulky bear."</p> - -<p>"Then keep thy distance," was the retort. "For this sultry weather -makes me suspicious that my bones may be in a dried-up state, and -somewhat too easily crackable, my very esteemed Señor Velasquez de -Leon."</p> - -<p>Montoro laughed.</p> - -<p>"Didst say, Juan, bones or brains were crackable?"</p> - -<p>"Both—or meant to," said the young man. "My bones, and Leon's brains. -But come, Leon, hast thou not come to relieve guard? for that Toro -there, thief that he is, robbed me of my rest last night, and I shall -fall asleep on the march to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"Better not," replied Velasquez, with a warning shake of the head. "Be -advised in time, lest thou mightest get left behind, and then thou -wouldst assuredly be raised by the Totonac priests to the honour of the -post of one of their lost gods. Thy beauty matches to a marvel that of -their striking god of war."</p> - -<p>"I'll match him in the striking trait on thee then, at any rate," cried -Cabrera, as he raised his arm. But the next instant it was caught, and -held fast for a moment in a good firm grip before it was let go.</p> - -<p>"How now, my crack-brained schoolboy?" said the laughing voice of the -General. "Hast had not enough of brawls during the past day to last -thee even over one night? Keep thy blows for the turbulent spirits we -may meet on the road to Mexico."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>ON THE ROAD TO MEXICO.</i></h3> - - -<p>Such magnificent and royal gifts of gold and silver, of precious stones -and precious stuffs, of birds and animals, of jeweller's work and the -marvellous feather work, feather fans and feather tapestries, costly -shields and beautiful embroidery, had been forwarded, by the hands -of ambassadors, from the Emperor of Mexico to the Spanish camp, that -the Spaniards, from Cortes down to the meanest soldier, had the most -exalted ideas of the wealth and power of the new-found empire.</p> - -<p>"For my part," remarked Juan de Cabrera one day during the march—"for -my part, I have serious thoughts of giving up the worn-out old country, -and setting up my tent for the future in this new fairy-land. Gold and -fruit and flowers, and food for the trouble of accepting it, are things -just suited to my quiet tastes."</p> - -<p>Montoro laughed.</p> - -<p>"Few of thy friends will doubt thy word for it, Juan. But how -about that promise to thy new, bright-eyed bride, the princess of -Cempoalla—that she should reign as the queen of beauty not long hence -in thine own old city of Madrid?"</p> - -<p>"Umph!" ejaculated Cabrera with a slight shrug. "For the promise—well, -seest thou it was no vow, bound for honour's sake to be kept—nought -but a passing word to a woman. And since she hath me, I doubt not she -will have little care for aught else."</p> - -<p>"Hearken to him, O ye birds!" cried Alvarado. "Thy vanity doth but -outdo thy faithlessness, thou black-crested cockatoo. But knowest thou, -I shall be fairly content, for my part, when we are indeed in Mexico's -great capital, Tenochtitlan; for I grow tired of this marching with -one's head watching all ways at once during the day, and taking sleep -at night like a dog, with one eye open."</p> - -<p>"Ay, and worse than a dog—with one's hand on one's sword besides," -added Cabrera.</p> - -<p>Montoro raised his eyebrows as he looked from one to the other of his -companions.</p> - -<p>"Think ye then, that once in the island city all your cares and -anxieties will be at an end?"</p> - -<p>"If they do," put in Gonzalo de Sandoval, "I can tell them so thinks -not the General himself. Methinks, for all his assumption of cool -confidence, that his black locks grow something touched with grey of -late."</p> - -<p>"And mine also," said Alvarado with a toss of his yellow locks. "But -from want of a siesta, and not from any dread of what these poor -helpless, red-skinned creatures are likely to do to us."</p> - -<p>But even the bold Alvarado and the careless Cabrera felt, a few days -later, that confidence, and a feeling of security, were not much more -certain of acquirement in a town than amid the uncertain perils of -the high-way. Meantime their easy and bloodless victory at Cempoalla -had taught both officers and men, for the most part, a good-natured -contempt for the natives; and this sentiment was increased by the -friendliness hitherto shown them on their route, whenever they were -able to come fairly to speech with the Indians.</p> - -<p>Alvarado and Cabrera in particular might be pardoned for their -impatience, at what they considered something of overmuch watchfulness, -for the sunny hair and blue eyes of the one, and the merry face of the -other, had hitherto won them smiles and Benjamin's portions from all -they met.</p> - -<p>However, even before entering a town, the various members of that small -army were to learn that their General's prudence was wiser than their -own impatience of the discipline.</p> - -<p>Between the territory of Cempoalla and Mexico lay the fine little -warlike, independent republic of Tlascala, governed by a council -elected by their tribes, and united by the strongest bonds of -patriotism, and mutual hatred to their powerful and aggressive -neighbour, the Emperor of Mexico.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>Fierce and revengeful, high-spirited and independent, Cortes decided, -as soon as he heard of them, that they were the very auxiliaries to -be desired in the contemplated conquest. For every step he now made -towards the heart of the great empire, gave him fresh evidence of what -an astoundingly bold thing he was doing, in adventuring himself and his -handful of enfeebled men in such a magnificent enterprise.</p> - -<p>"But with some few thousands of these enemies of Mexico, these -Tlascalans," he said one evening towards the end of August, when a halt -had been called for the night—"with their aid at our back, Diego, we -shall go forward right merrily, methinks."</p> - -<p>Montoro looked grave. To say truth, the many human sacrifices he had -witnessed of late, and the awfully numerous traces of others discovered -along the route, had caused some temporary wavering in his sympathies. -Just for the time he was not quite sure if he did not think his Spanish -sword would, after all, be well employed in slaying some of the -bloodthirsty beings who offered up, in sacrifices to their abominable -idols, girls and boys and little children, and then held ghastly -feastings on their flesh.</p> - -<p>He had begun to feel a loathing indignation for these wretched -believers in a gross superstition, which made him a more welcome -confidant for Cortes than was usual. He was quite ready to have his -five hundred valiant Spanish companions reinforced by a few times that -number of the natives. But he had heard news from his interpreter, -during the day's march, that made him doubtful if such a reinforcement -were altogether so likely as the General appeared to think.</p> - -<p>"What does thy face mean, Diego, since thy tongue says nought?" asked -Hernando Cortes after a few moments' silence. "Forgive me, but it looks -nigh as long as yon merry madcap Cabrera is wont to call it."</p> - -<p>Montoro smiled slightly. But he grew earnest enough the next instant as -he said—</p> - -<p>"Cortes, I fear me that thy face also will lengthen when I tell thee -that the Tlascalans are meditating war with us, I believe, rather than -peace."</p> - -<p>"How sayest thou, Toro?" exclaimed that impetuous fellow, Velasquez -de Leon. "Sayest thou the rascals have a mind to feel the touch of a -good Toledo blade or two? I' faith, under those circumstances it is for -them, not us, to draw the long faces, so I warn them."</p> - -<p>"And I warn you," said Cortes seriously, "that it is for both to do -so. But what is it that you have learnt, Diego? or rather, what reason -is given you for these worthy warriors' bad feeling? They are at such -enmity with the Mexicans, that one had some right, truly, to count with -confidence upon their friendship."</p> - -<p>"And I fully believe would have also had it," was the reply, "had you -but given any proof that your sentiments towards this emperor bore any -likeness to their own. But——"</p> - -<p>"Well?" came the rather impatient query; "but what? Although I have not -told the Mexicans themselves such things as should lead them to shut -their ways against us, I have let their foes know fairly well that I am -ready to aid all complainants to redress their wrongs."</p> - -<p>"You have told them so, that is true," said Montoro, once more with a -slight smile. "The Tlascalans also admit so much; but, as they say with -some astuteness, your deeds are at variance with your words. You have -exchanged many valuable gifts with their powerful adversary, you have -entertained many of his ambassadors, and you now propose as a friend to -visit him in his capital."</p> - -<p>"Moreover," put in Father Olmedo, "I learn from your own interpreter, -Doña Marina, that they hold us in terrible abhorrence for our hasty and -unexplained desecration of the altars of Cempoalla, a place with which -they are on terms of peace."</p> - -<p>Cortes sprang to his feet angrily.</p> - -<p>"That is the best deed I have performed in my life, and it shall -receive many a repetition. Preachments are no part of a soldier's -duties. It shall be mine to destroy the pollutions of the land; you, -father, can take the task of preaching it into purity with such suave -slowness as you please. Meantime, to put these rumours respecting those -Tlascalans yonder to the test. We will send an embassy forthwith to -demand a passage through their territories to Mexico."</p> - -<p>"Send me," exclaimed Velasquez de Leon eagerly.</p> - -<p>"And me," cried Juan de Cabrera, delighted at the prospect of real -action. He preferred using his arms to watching by them, and so did -most of his companions.</p> - -<p>But Cortes was too politic to accept the offers. The number of his -fearless and trusty knights was small enough without risking the lives -of any of them needlessly. Some of the chief men among the Cempoallans -had accompanied the Spaniards on their march, and of these Cortes chose -out four, and sent them to their neighbours, charged with his amicable -demand.</p> - -<p>Three or four days passed, and those messengers had not returned. -Matters began to look serious. Montoro, with his native interpreter, -and both in disguise, penetrated some distance one early morning into -the unknown dominions. They returned to the camp with the startling -intelligence that the ambassadors had been seized as traitors to their -country's cause, and renegades from the true faith, and were within a -short time to be sacrificed as peace-offerings to the insulted gods.</p> - -<p>Instantly the whole camp was astir. The Cempoallans tremblingly anxious -to deliver their friends from the indignity of the fate awaiting them; -Cortes strongly determined that such a blot should not fall upon his -expedition, in the person of his allies.</p> - -<p>There was no need to urge despatch in preparations. Each man of the -force, native and Spaniard alike, was burning to set forth against the -new foe. The foe was equally ready.</p> - -<p>But amongst these strange people of the new world were some of the -sentiments supposed to belong wholly to the old world's chivalry.</p> - -<p>Just as the army was about to set out from its quarters, on that -morning of the thirtieth of August, 1519, a long train of people was -observed approaching from the distance, bearing an ensign of peace.</p> - -<p>Cortes called a halt of his own followers. He and Montoro de Diego, -and Father Olmedo, felt most thankful for the turn affairs appeared to -have taken, thus at the very twelfth hour. Alvarado and Velasquez, with -a good many of their like-minded comrades, it is true, were nothing at -all so well contented. They had been living on very short commons the -past few days, fare as meagre and unsatisfying as possible, and they -regarded the punishment of the unfriendly republicans as a probable -means of replenishing their scanty larders.</p> - -<p>However, as it turned out, neither content nor discontent had any -present foundation. The Tlascalans had also, on their part, it was -true, sent an embassage, and a well-laden one. But, although the -messengers brought a good deal with them that was acceptable, a request -for peace was not one of the offerings.</p> - -<p>As the train came near, it was discovered that abundant supplies of -food of all kinds were being brought to the half-famished little army. -But before they were presented, and to leave no doubt on the Spaniards' -minds as to the motives of the gift, one fierce, slim warrior advanced -before the company of food-bearers, and with a haughty, undaunted -bearing that extorted the respect even of his haughty hearers, he -exclaimed—</p> - -<p>"See, poor starved-out creatures of a starved-out land, although we -refuse entrance to the impious enemies of our gods, we would not that -ye should think we grudge, or have need to grudge, you of the bounties -that your God, it seems, denies you.</p> - -<p>"The Republic of Tlascala sends you food, and in abundance—meat and -bread. Eat, and be satisfied. The warriors of Tlascala scorn to attack -an enemy enfeebled with disease, faint with hunger. Victory over such -would be a vain one. We affront not our gods with famished victims, -neither do we deign to feast upon an emaciated prey."</p> - -<p>"What a mercy for us," muttered that reckless Cabrera, "since your -noble disdain hath led you to feed us thus hospitably."</p> - -<p>"For my part also," added Alvarado as quietly, "I would fain try if -food will give me back something of the strength of arm their blazing -sun hath robbed me of."</p> - -<p>"You may well say blazing sun," ejaculated Velasquez de Leon, upon -whose excitable temperament the tremendous, continuous heat of the past -few weeks had had a peculiarly trying effect. Even the sight of the -food scarcely cheered his flagging spirits. Cabrera laid his hand on -his shoulder encouragingly.</p> - -<p>"Cheer up, friend Leon; I will do the friendly part by thee, if thou -wilt, and offer thee up to that aggravating god of rain. Thy dignified -person may appease his angry, spiteful idol-ship."</p> - -<p>Velasquez sighed.</p> - -<p>"I feel well-nigh inclined, Juan, to give thee leave. I have more than -once of late had the thought that I would offer up myself."</p> - -<p>But whatever might be the voluntarily-endured sufferings of the -Spaniards, they were light enough in comparison with those of the poor, -brave Tlascalans. Cortes accepted their food, and likewise accepted -their challenge, and the following day the two armies met to do -battle—the one to preserve its country from the presumptuous invaders' -tread, the other to make good its claim to advance where it chose.</p> - -<p>Of the two armies decidedly the native one presented the most -magnificent and imposing appearance, not only for numbers, but for -array.</p> - -<p>Far and wide, over a vast plain about six miles square, stretched the -enormous army. Nothing could be more picturesque than the appearance of -these Indian battalions, with the naked bodies of the common soldiers -gaudily painted with the colours of the chieftains whose banners they -followed, the splendidly attired chieftains themselves, with their -gleaming spears and darts, and the innumerable banners, on which were -emblazoned the armorial bearings of the great Tlascalan and Otomie -chiefs.</p> - -<p>Amongst the most conspicuous of these gorgeous banners were the white -heron on the rock, the cognizance of the house of Xicotencatl, and the -golden eagle with outspread wings, richly ornamented with emeralds and -silver work, the great standard of the Republic of Tlascala.</p> - -<p>The feather-mail of the more distinguished warriors, like the bodies -of their inferior companions, also indicated by the choice of colours -under whose orders they were more specially enrolled. The caciques -themselves, and their chief officers, were clothed in quilted cotton -tunics two inches thick, which, fitting close to the body, protected -also the thighs and the shoulders; over this garment were cuirasses of -thin gold or silver plate. Their legs were defended by leathern boots -or sandals trimmed with gold.</p> - -<p>But the most brilliant portion of the costume was a rich mantle of -the Mexican feather work, embroidered with a skill and taste alike -wonderful. This picturesque dress was surmounted by a fantastic helmet -made of wood or leather, representing the head of some wild animal, and -frequently displaying a fierce set of teeth.</p> - -<p>From the crown floated a splendid plume of rich feathers, indicating by -form and colour the rank and family of the wearer. The rest of their -armour consisted of shields of wood covered with leather, or of reeds -quilted with cotton, and all alike showily ornamented, and finished off -with a beautiful fringe of feather work.</p> - -<p>Their weapons were slings, bows and arrows, javelins, and darts. And -for swords, a two-handed staff, about three and a half feet long, in -which at regular distances were inserted sharp blades of itztli—a -formidable weapon, with which they could fell a horse. They excelled in -throwing the javelin, and they were such expert archers that they could -discharge two and even three at a time.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>And yet with all this, and with an almost superhuman courage besides, -the poor, noble republicans were conquered. They had not guns, they -had not horses, and they had no keen Toledo blades—those cruel blades -that cut their hands through to the bone when they grasped them, in -their desperate courage, to wrench them, if it might be, from their -adversaries' clasp.</p> - -<p>And thus, after fourteen days of grand efforts to maintain their -hitherto unbroken freedom, and to preserve the soil of their country -from the invader's foot, the Tlascalans found themselves at length so -diminished in numbers, so broken in strength, and so utterly helpless -against the white-faces' wonderful animals and wonderful weapons, that -once more an embassage came from Tlascalan head-quarters to the Spanish -general.</p> - -<p>Once more the stern-visaged Tlascalan warrior heralded a train of men -and Indian maidens, bearing various gifts to the invading force.</p> - -<p>Even yet the brave redskin maintained his grave dignity of bearing, but -it was tempered now with a deep melancholy, as he exclaimed in tones of -heart-stirred grief—</p> - -<p>"Behold, ye strange and invincible white-faces, our gods have warned -us now that to fight against ye is vain. Ye are few, and we are many; -but we are slain, and our sepulchres already overflow, while ye all -are still alive. We cannot fight against the gods, if such ye be, or -against the gods who fight for you."</p> - -<p>"You say well," responded Cortes, solemnly. "It is our God and St. Jago -who fight for us, and through them we are as rocks to withstand the -assaults of all enemies. But if you come to ask for peace, you will -find us to be friends as staunch as we are resistless foes."</p> - -<p>The warrior lifted his head proudly.</p> - -<p>"We come to offer peace, and we bring gifts as signs of good-will. If -ye are, in very deed, fierce-tempered divinities, lo! we present to -you five slaves, that ye may drink their blood and eat their flesh. -If ye are mild deities, accept an offering of incense and variegated -plumes. For we are poor. We have little gold, or cotton, or salt; only, -hitherto, our freedom and our arms. If ye be but men of like nature -with ourselves, we bring you meat and bread and fruit to nourish you."</p> - -<p>And they brought them far more besides than all that, for they brought -them strong fidelity, clever brains, and arms useful enough against -nations armed like themselves, and of no higher grade in the scale of -civilization.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE CAUSE ONCE MORE IN JEOPARDY.</i></h3> - - -<p>A very singular and picturesque affair was the camp of the Spaniards, -when they paused, for rest or war, on the march to Mexico.</p> - -<p>The gay-coloured cotton hangings of the Mexican manufactures had, in -many instances, taken the place of the Spaniards' own rough and ragged -tent coverings. All around were squatted groups of the slaves who had -accompanied the army from Cuba and the sea-coast—races far inferior to -those by whom they were now surrounded, and with very scant ideas as to -dress, or any of the other refinements of civilization.</p> - -<p>Then there were the gentle-spirited, courteous Totonac allies, -evidencing their cultured tastes, and advanced instincts, by gathering -armfuls of the brilliant wild blossoms about them to adorn their -helmets and their shields; whilst regarding them, a short distance off, -stood companies of the more warlike, stern-spirited Tlascalans, looking -on at their neighbours' doings with a contempt they took no pains to -conceal. They were magnificent enough themselves in their warrior's -dress, as has been seen; but, under present circumstances, aught -having a festal or light-hearted appearance they fairly well judged to -betoken effeminacy as much as refinement.</p> - -<p>For the rest, there was little love lost between the Cempoallans and -the poverty-stricken, hardy Republicans, and although united for the -time in one camp as allies of one commander, they took care mutually -not to have too much to do with each other.</p> - -<p>As for the Spaniards themselves, who were now but as one to eight of -their Indian comrades, they were a lean-cheeked, sallow, hollow-eyed -set of tatterdemalions enough by this time. All of them had received -more or less wounds in their fierce battles with the Tlascalans, and -even Hernando Cortes was only kept up by his indomitable resolution, -for what with illness and his doctor, he had been brought to such a -state of weakness that he could hardly sit steady on his saddle. Fifty -of his poor, overdone soldiers had died since starting from Vera Cruz, -and the whole band had at last become more than half doubtful whether -any of them would reach Mexico alive.</p> - -<p>"And really," grumbled Pedro de Alvarado dolefully one evening, "really -I don't much care if I do. I'd just as soon lay my bones out here to -bleach as within yon mythical city of gold."</p> - -<p>"Mythical, as to the being built of gold, doubtless," returned Montoro -de Diego in a cheering tone. "But as to there being a fine city yonder, -that you surely do not doubt. Think how hopeful all of you were a -while since, when you saw the magnificence of its Emperor's gifts!"</p> - -<p>"Ah, well!" sighed poor Pedro restlessly. "I would give him better -thanks now for an ounce of good health than for an hundredweight of -gold."</p> - -<p>"Ay indeed, my Captain," groaned Father Juan Diaz. "There you have me -with you. I am but just come hither from shriving two poor wretches, -who have bid good-bye to this earthly purgatory to go to that which is -invisible, and methinks 'twill be not long before you join them there."</p> - -<p>"Nay, croaker," exclaimed a voice between contempt and indignation. -"There is many an Indian now living will have cause to wish that thine -ill prophecy were a true one, before our friend Pedro rids him of his -troublesome body. But come thou with me. I would rather try my hand at -putting some spirit into thee, than leave thee to rob our comrades of -the measure that is theirs."</p> - -<p>And so saying Cortes, who had come up at a somewhat opportune moment, -marched off the crestfallen, discontented priest to his own quarters to -receive a pretty sharp lecture, spite his reverend profession, before -he was released.</p> - -<p>All the same, the priest's mischievous growls had already borne -fruit, and the following morning, before the tents were struck, the -Captain-General had to receive a deputation from the malcontents, who -were too numerous to be treated with anger or disdain.</p> - -<p>"But you are so foolish!" exclaimed Hernando, indeed trembling at the -desperate state of the mighty cause he had in hand. "Ye speak as though -it were for my glory alone, to fill my pockets with gold only, that ye -have all thus fought and struggled and endured until now! Is it not -likewise for yourselves? If our achievements shall be so stupendous and -so glorious that they hand my name down to after-ages, will not your -names also gain the like renown?"</p> - -<p>Cortes put the exclamation as a declared certainty, but his hearers -rather accepted it as a question, and a shrunken-limbed, white-lipped -soldier from amidst the group rejoined harshly—</p> - -<p>"Nay, not so, Captain. Those who live through the battle win their -spurs, like enough; but those who die, e'en though it be on the eve of -victory, so it be before the battle is decided, think you their names -get handed down? Faith, no, then. Fame is like other riches, limited in -quantity, and so it is reserved, like many another thing, for those who -walk over their comrades' dead bodies to success."</p> - -<p>As the man ended his speech he staggered from weakness, and would have -fallen forward to the ground on his face but that Montoro, who had been -standing beside the General to guard him in case of mutiny, saw the -poor fellow sinking, and sprang forward in time to catch him in his -arms.</p> - -<p>Cortes had been hitherto standing fronting his discontented followers -with an air of proud resolve, every inch the commander, and the -indomitable discoverer and conqueror, but now his countenance suddenly -changed, softened, and his lips trembled. He was the man with a genial -temper and a warm heart once more—the very comrade indeed of the -meanest soldier in his company, who bore all that they had to bear, -eat the same food, and shared all the same privations and fatigues; -or rather, differed in this, that he took the lion's share of every -discomfort whenever it was possible.</p> - -<p>As the exhausted man fell swooning into Montoro's ready arms, Cortes -stepped forward hastily, and carefully aided in carrying him to his -own tent, and there placed him in the clever care of Doña Marina, the -interpreter.</p> - -<p>"Poor fellow!" he ejaculated on his return to the waiting deputation. -"Poor fellow! no wonder that he speaks down-heartedly, for I find that -he has been badly wounded, and has fever."</p> - -<p>"So have we all been wounded," said another of the group, but more -calmly. "And for the fever, well, I may almost say, and so have we all -got fever. And do you wonder, General, that it is so?"</p> - -<p>A rather weary smile passed over the General's countenance as he -replied,</p> - -<p>"No, truly, I wonder not at all. I also have been wounded, as you know, -in our late engagements with these brave Tlascalans, and I also have -fever. But seeing that we all confess to having suffered so much to -reach the threshold, shall we not adventure the one more step to enter -the door?"</p> - -<p>"If it were a step!" ejaculated the new spokesman. "But as it is, we -live a worse life than our very animals. When the saddles are off them -they can forget their troubles for a while, but for us! Ah! then, we -have no dog's life indeed, but one much worse. Fighting and watching -night and day, we have no rest till death steps up to put an end to -all."</p> - -<p>The speaker's words were hard, but they were uttered so temperately and -firmly that Cortes replied to them in the like spirit—</p> - -<p>"You are right, my brothers—no animal, no unreasoning beast of burden -could endure the life we have borne for these past months of desperate -adventure; neither could any animal be so buoyed up with lofty hopes, -neither could it have so glorious a rejoicing if success should be -the crown at last. Our God has helped us to bear and to overcome, as -the gods of the ancients never helped even the very greatest of their -heroes. None but Spaniards, my brothers, aided by the Spaniard's God -and St. Jago, could have struggled onwards, always conquerors as we -have been, a handful in the midst of myriads of foes. And remember—" -And as Cortes uttered that word he paused, and looked round upon his -followers ere he repeated impressively, "Remember, comrades, whatever -adversities we have suffered, whatever trials, we have still ever -advanced, we have made no step backwards from our undertaking. But you -are all free men. We will all stand here and watch the man who first -makes that step in retreat and he shall have no hindrance. I myself -will be the first to bid him the 'good speed' of farewell."</p> - -<p>"Poor fellows!" murmured Father Olmedo with a half-smile to Montoro. -"Our General is indeed clever. Few would have found a way so well to -give a choice that is no choice. How can any of them now accept his -permission to be gone!"</p> - -<p>Montoro's countenance reflected the half-smile of his companion. But at -the same time he shrugged his shoulders with the reply,</p> - -<p>"Ah, well! as Hernando Cortes himself says, better death with honour -than life with disgrace."</p> - -<p>Unconsciously he uttered the last sentence aloud, and once more he did -the General good service. The poor, hard-worn grumblers heard it, and -it clenched the argument already so cleverly managed by Cortes.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps you have reason, my Señor," exclaimed one of the malcontents. -"If we get home alive with our boasted programme of conquest -unfulfilled we shall get nought but scorning, it is probable, till we -shall wish that verily we had died with our brethren out here. So for -my part, after all, I elect to stay."</p> - -<p>"To advance, you mean," cried Cortes joyously, making a stride forward -to lay his hand, with a well-assumed air of gratitude and friendly -familiarity, on the shoulder of the recovered adherent. "There is -no 'staying' for us, my friends. We must continue to advance to our -appointed goal, or we must retreat. And I frankly tell you all this, -that it is my firm belief that our greatest safety, nay, still more, -our only safety, lies in progress."</p> - -<p>"How so?" boldly demanded a voice in the crowd. "For honour—well, that -may be. But for safety!"</p> - -<p>"Ay," replied Cortes. "And for safety too, I affirm. And were it not -that the experiment would be too costly I would soon prove my assertion -to be well-founded. Hitherto our course has been one of unbroken -advance, and victory over one petty state after another, and all have -become awed by our strange power. Let us make but one day's journey -backwards, as though disheartened or worn out, and the spell would -be broken; our enemies, forgetting their own petty squabbles for the -time, would unite for the destruction of the common enemy and invader, -and by the mere force of numbers we should be overwhelmed as with an -avalanche. But now we are once more united, my hands feel strong once -more, and I will most surely lead you on, my comrades, to a full and -final success."</p> - -<p>"Meantime," remarked Juan de Cabrera, in a tone of as much satisfaction -as marked Cortes' own voice, "meantime, my very good friends and -brothers, I see yonder a party of these worthy redskin cooks advancing -in the very nick of time with our dinner. And I confess that, for my -part, I would fain for the present put by the questions of backwards or -forwards, and stay a while to help clear their dishes for them."</p> - -<p>Apparently Don Juan's sentiments were remarkably similar at the moment -to those of the rest of his companions, and, after a good meal, Cortes -found his band once more ready with alacrity to follow whither he might -choose to lead.</p> - -<p>Their first destination was the beautiful and sacred city of -Cholula—the Rome, as it were, of Mexico. The Tlascalans eagerly -warned the Spaniards against approaching it or entering its streets. -The Cholulans, they declared, were fair speaking but crafty, making -amends to themselves for cowardly weakness by cunning, and the most -unscrupulous treachery.</p> - -<p>But Cortes was never a man to be easily turned aside from his purpose. -The Cholulans sent to invite him to enter their city, but entreated -that the hasty-tempered Tlascalan warriors might be kept without in the -camp, and Cortes accepted the invitation and granted the request.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>AN INDIAN GIRL-CHAMPION.</i></h3> - - -<p>The ancient and populous city of Cholula was reputed of great -antiquity by the Aztecs, even when they themselves conquered it from -the descendants of its ancient founders. It was the chief seat of -the religion of the empire and of its commerce, and was held in the -most profound veneration by the Aztecs generally, as the chosen abode -for twenty years of their wonderful, benevolent, and wise white god -Quetzalcoatl, whose descendants they took the unknown Spaniards to be -when they first landed on their coasts.</p> - -<p>Poor creatures! they were soon undeceived. These new gods taught them -plenty of lessons, truly—such lessons as human nature learns but too -readily. But they taught none of the lessons their wise ancestor and -so-called god had taught of the arts of peace, and civilization, and -wise-living.</p> - -<p>But whatever might be the merits or demerits of Cholula and the -Cholulans, the Tlascalan Caciques showed such anxiety that the -Spaniards should give them a wide berth, that at length Cortes somewhat -impatiently exclaimed,—</p> - -<p>"Methought the Republicans of Tlascala were reputed a brave nation; but -I see now that there are some they fear, and they are the people of -Cholula."</p> - -<p>The eyes of the younger chieftains flashed indignantly at the -imputation, but the grand old centenarian Xicotencatl signed to -them to keep silence. He called to him a young Indian maiden, his -granddaughter, and in low, impressive tones spoke a few words to her.</p> - -<p>As the girl listened the crimson deepened in her cheeks, her chest -heaved, and the pair of brilliant dark eyes, she turned upon the -Spanish General, were flashing as proudly as any of those belonging to -the warriors of her country.</p> - -<p>Leaving the apartment for a few moments, she quickly returned with a -long leather thong, which she carried to Cortes, and then placing her -small, dark-hued wrists together, she made signs to him that he should -bind them with it thus.</p> - -<p>Hernando Cortes was ever gentle with women, and he looked at the -rough leather strap, and at the delicate wrists from which the -gaily-embroidered robe had been thrown back, and met the girl's signs -with smiling shakings of the head for denial. But it was no good. The -young Indian flung back the hair from her low, broad forehead angrily, -and stamped her foot. Then pressing her wrists against each other more -tightly than before, she again held them up to Cortes with an air of -resolution, mingled with something of wistful entreaty he could no -longer resist.</p> - -<p>"Best see, Captain," said Cabrera, inquisitively; "best let us see what -the wilful lassie will be at."</p> - -<p>"Ay, indeed," agreed Velasquez readily. "I would fain see what rebuke -for your taunt of cowardice, Captain, the ancient white-locks yonder -hath devised, and yon maiden is so eager to carry out."</p> - -<p>Even Montoro looked curious enough to see what small play was to be -performed for their edification. Neither he nor any of them thought it -could be anything very desperate, with that slight young girl chosen -for the heroine and only actor.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, thus urged, and with the small, gold-sandalled foot still -tapping restlessly before him on the floor, Hernando Cortes at last set -himself to the singular task accorded him, and was not let off, by his -small monitress, before he had really bound her wrists together too -tightly for her to move them as much as a leaf's thickness apart.</p> - -<p>Then she walked with erect head and firm steps back to the old Cacique, -where he sat, even that hot day, beside a brazier of burning coals. Old -age had chilled the physical nature, although the brave spirit still -glowed with the generous warmth of youth.</p> - -<p>As his granddaughter stood before him he stooped for a moment over -the copper pan of fire. The Spaniards stood at the other end of the -apartment still and silent, waiting for what was to come. With all -their guessing they had not guessed rightly the nature of the lesson -to be taught them.</p> - -<p>At the expiration of a few instants the Indian maiden returned back -towards them, walking with calm, slow dignity as before—her head -erect, her full, crimson lips lying lightly and softly together, and -her two bound arms stretched out steadily before her.</p> - -<p>At first the Spaniards looked only at her face, and were greatly -puzzled. What had been done to her, or what had she done in that short -interval to prove the courage of her nation? They could not tell the -riddle.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the eyes of Montoro fell to her arms, and he uttered a low, -pained cry. But he did no more. He seemed as though he could not move; -for once his readiness forsook him. His friends looked at him, saw the -direction of his eyes, and in their turn they also glanced down at the -girl's arms, and in their turn they also uttered startled cries as they -did so.</p> - -<p>There upon the soft, tender young arms lay a glowing coal, eating its -fiery way into the bare flesh. And there came the young and delicate -owner of those agonized arms pacing along slowly, with a calm and -noble bearing and a proudly-smiling face, the champion of her nation's -dauntlessness.</p> - -<p>Pedro de Alvarado sprang forward, an unwonted dimness in his eyes, -and snatching away the burning fragment with his fingers, he flung it -out into the courtyard, and then with hasty gentleness unbound the -tortured, swelling wrists, whilst the girl looked up in his face with -a pleased, half-smiling wonder at his pity.</p> - -<p>The old Cacique turned to Cortes.</p> - -<p>"Will the white-face chieftain or his brothers any longer doubt the -courage of the warriors of Tlascala? They have seen the courage of our -maidens."</p> - -<p>"Ay, indeed!" ejaculated Cabrera. "And if the courage of the maidens -of ancient times were anything of a match to it I, for my part, feel -little wonder that in those days there was a race of Amazons. Little -use would there be in trying to keep a wife, after that pattern, in -order with a threat of fisticuffs."</p> - -<p>Montoro turned a laughing face round from the young Indian girl, whose -wounds he was examining.</p> - -<p>"Is that the way you try to rule your Cempoallan bride, my Juan? I had -scarcely thought it from her looks."</p> - -<p>"Ah," was the calm reply, "thou seest, friend Montoro, thou knowest -nought of women and their natures. Sour looks and savage ways always -put the merry light in their eyes, and the laughter on their lips. I -have taught thee a useful lesson, see that it proves profitable."</p> - -<p>"When the opportunity shall come," came the answer, but more in earnest -now than in jest, "I will surely try to profit by thy teaching, but the -teaching of thy ways and not thy words."</p> - -<p>And then, summoning one of the young maiden's attendants to accompany -them, Montoro went with his docile and grateful patient away to a -quieter apartment.</p> - -<p>The girl-heroine had been quite willing to bear the agonizing pain -with uncomplaining fortitude, but she was by no means loth to have the -scorched and blistered sores dressed with a skill and tenderness to -which she had been hitherto a stranger. Doña Marina stood by the while, -gaining a useful lesson, and acting as interpreter.</p> - -<p>As the dressing drew to a close the girl said with a sudden tone of -animation,—</p> - -<p>"The good white-face seems to think I have done something deserving -praise; will he let me take him to see what my brothers, and their -companions, bear ere they can enter the noble rank of knighthood?"</p> - -<p>Her eyes looked so bright and eager that Montoro would have scarcely -cared to refuse the request, even had it been an unwelcome one; but -as it happened to agree most thoroughly with his own desires to see, -and learn, everything that was possible of these wonderful new-found -countries before he quitted them, his assent was almost as eager as the -offer; and a few minutes hence Montoro, accompanied by his faithful -interpreter, and the Cacique's granddaughter, accompanied, as befitted -her rank, by half-a-dozen attendants and Doña Marina, set forth on an -expedition to one of the neighbouring temples.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXV" id="CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE TLASCALAN KNIGHT'S PROBATION.</i></h3> - - -<p>Fast as her nimble little gay-sandalled feet could move, the aged -Cacique's grandchild danced along the well-thronged streets of the fine -city of Tlascala, the capital of the Republic.</p> - -<p>Friends passed her, and with smiles and nods tossed to her great -bunches of roses and sweet honeysuckle. From many a broad, -flat-terraced roof sweet-toned, merry laughter floated down, as a -well-aimed garland fell over Montoro de Diego's handsome head and -rested round his neck, or a brilliant chaplet of bright blossoms -stopped its flight on the footway before his feet.</p> - -<p>Thither marched along a band of warriors in glittering array, and -singing as they marched to the wild music of the instruments. And here -Xicotencatl's granddaughter paused a few moments, with the impatient -small feet curbed to stillness, and the bright eyes bent to the ground -with meek deference. A company of the white-robed, long-haired priests -was passing, swinging burning censers as they went, and the clouds -of aromatic incense floated like a purple veil through the dazzling, -sunlit air of that October day.</p> - -<p>The priests passed on, and once more the Indian maiden led her -companions on again, showing her rows of little white teeth in -gratified smiles as her Spanish companion lingered now and again to -admire the beautiful pottery, elegant in design and fine in make as -that of Florence, or to gaze in surprise at the fine public baths, or -the busy barbers' shops and sweetmeat stalls.</p> - -<p>At the entrance of one especially narrow street she came to a second -standstill. Montoro very quickly read the cause. About half-way down -the street there was a disturbance of some sort going on,—a fight over -a bad market bargain,—and the partisans on both sides effectually -blocked up the way from every one else.</p> - -<p>"Let us take another route," said Montoro.</p> - -<p>But his guide shook her head.</p> - -<p>"No need," she said confidently.</p> - -<p>And even as she spoke two or three of the efficient, well-disciplined -Tlascalan police put in an appearance on the scene, and the tumult was -quelled almost instantaneously. A half-unconscious wish passed through -the Spaniard's mind that the Spanish guardians of the peace were -anything like as effective.</p> - -<p>But they were nearing the temple now for which they were bound, and -all other thoughts were lost sight of for the present in wondering -speculations as to what new sights he had been brought to witness. It -was thanks to the rank and good-will of his guide, and to the fame of -her late deed, which had already spread through the city, that he thus -easily gained admission to them.</p> - -<p>The temple-in-chief of Tlascala did not, indeed, cover forty acres of -ground, with an acre of platform for its colossal summit, like its -bewildering giant of a sister at Cholula, but it was of sufficient size -and proportions to embrace various ecclesiastical institutions within -its limits, under the jurisdiction of the priests—seminaries for the -education of children, girls and boys, colleges for the priests, and -training-schools for the young knights before their entry into the -world and its many strifes.</p> - -<p>It was with some parade and solemn ceremony that Montoro de Diego -was admitted into its precincts, and only upon the half-pleading, -half-authoritative demand of the great chieftain's child. But at length -he and his companions stood within one of the great halls, and the -chatterbox tongues of the young girl, of Doña Marina, and of the Indian -women were hushed to reverential silence.</p> - -<p>There upon the pavement, a few yards before them, lay a motionless -human figure, emaciated to the last degree, and with a deathly -pallidness visible even through the red-lined skin. Beside it lay the -gaudy feather mantle, the grotesque helmet, and the copper-tipped -javelin.</p> - -<p>The figure was that of a very young man, and, so it seemed to Montoro, -of one fast dying, if not already dead. He turned with a glance of awed -interrogation to his conductor, and was bewildered past all saying, and -astounded, when he met her face glowing with enthusiasm and lighted by -a pair of eyes brilliant with proud joy.</p> - -<p>"See, good chieftain," she murmured, with lips trembling with lofty -emotion, "see now that it is not I only of the Tlascalans who know how -to endure for honour's sake and our country. Yonder is my brother, the -youngest. This is now the fifty-third day that he watches, prays, and -fasts in the temple beside his armour, that he may hereafter with due -rank and fortitude fight in the Republic's wars."</p> - -<p>"Surely," ejaculated Montoro, "surely this youth will never live to -fight! Methinks he hath but hours of life left even for peace."</p> - -<p>As Doña Marina interpreted this speech the words caught the young -knight's ears, and the figure which the Spaniard had taken for that of -one in the death swoon had sprung to its feet, and by rapid words, and -gestures of indignant scorn, gave swift proof that the emaciated frame -was still instinct with keen vitality.</p> - -<p>The brother and sister exchanged a few low-spoken sentences, the -probationer returned to his hard and comfortless couch beside the -armour that he so longed to don, and the young guide led her party away -to another part of the temple, where fresh scenes for wonder awaited -her amateur surgeon.</p> - -<p>These said fresh scenes very nearly led to an outbreak of hostilities, -for even Montoro de Diego, for all his self-discipline, had the fiery -Spanish blood in his veins, and would imagine himself specially -commissioned to set other folks to rights; at any rate to try to do so, -whether the effort were wild or sensible.</p> - -<p>It is true, however, that the sights to which he was now introduced -without any previous preparation were terrible enough to have aroused -the uninformed indignation of any feeling heart.</p> - -<p>In one of the inner courts the Indian maiden made another pause, and -pointed with one of her swathed-up arms to the farther end, where a -group of men were collected around a companion, whom they were flogging -with a savage force that cut open the flesh at every stroke of the lash.</p> - -<p>Montoro winced with sympathy as the great whip fell.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" he exclaimed, "use the authority of your father's name to stay -that cruel punishment."</p> - -<p>The young girl's lip curled proudly.</p> - -<p>"It is a self-chosen punishment."</p> - -<p>"Self-chosen!"</p> - -<p>"Ay, self-chosen. How should the warrior dare the peril of being made -a sacrifice by enemies, if he had not fortitude sufficient to bear -the rods of his friends? But come, there is more to see, that the -white-face may learn that the warriors of Tlascala know how to suffer, -and can thereafter have small chance to fear aught that the most cruel -foes can do to them."</p> - -<p>So saying, the girl once more led the way on to an inner hall opposite -to that by which they had first entered. She had, however, scarcely -entered it when she turned back again hastily, saying—</p> - -<p>"No, not this yet; this is for the last. Come!"</p> - -<p>But for once the slightly imperative "Come!" was not obeyed by the -white-face as it had been before. His keen eyes had alighted on that -which had thrilled him with horror.</p> - -<p>"Verily," he exclaimed, "it seems that if ye have many of the blessings -of civilization ye have also its curses, even to an Inquisition with -all its iniquities."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean? what would you do?" exclaimed the girl, -half-angered, half-terrified as she saw her companion's perturbed -countenance, and could scarcely, with the help of Doña Marina and her -attendants, keep him from dashing forward into the dim hall, where a -young man lay stretched upon a bier of damp reeds, beneath which burned -a great fire of smoking herbs, which were stirred from time to time -into greater heat.</p> - -<p>Truly the punishment, if it were a punishment, was a fearful one; but -the Indian girl laid a firm, determined clasp upon Montoro de Diego's -arm as she pointed to the young man on his fiery bed.</p> - -<p>"He too is my brother," she said, with stern pride—"my eldest brother. -That is his final trial. When he wins through that he will be enrolled -in the noble order of our knights. Now you know why the Indian warrior -fights well."</p> - -<p>"You are a noble race, and worthy of a noble fate," murmured the -Spaniard; and many a sigh escaped him as they wended homewards.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And now we must pass on quickly to the occupation of Mexico itself, -and there, in that island city of flowers and palaces and temples -and turrets, take our final leave of Hernando Cortes, its great, -world-famous conqueror.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI">CHAPTER XXXVI.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY.</i></h3> - - -<p>Scarcely any one in this nineteenth century, who pretends to the name -of traveller, neglects to visit the world-famous and beautiful water -city of Italy, the white-robed bride of the Adriatic.</p> - -<p>When the Spanish discoverers set out for the lands of another -hemisphere they little dreamt that they were to find out there another -Venice, even more strange, more wonderful in its sweet, flowery, -marvellous beauty, than the Venice on their own side of the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>As the rough, way-hardened soldiers of Cortes came in sight of the -great Lake of Tezcuco, with its fringe of white, well-ordered, -flower-embowered villages, its dark groves of oak, cedar, and -sycamores, and its richly-cultivated fields, they involuntarily came -to a sudden halt, with first a dead silence, and then the air was rent -with a simultaneous burst of ecstatic admiration.</p> - -<p>"But behold!" exclaimed Juan de Cabrera with sudden bewilderment; -"behold, Toro, the very islands on the bosom of yon fair lake are -islands of enchantment!"</p> - -<p>"How so?" queried Velasquez, pushing in his eager face between the two. -"What new marvel hast discovered, Juan, where all is past belief?"</p> - -<p>"Past belief, you may well say," returned the other. "I believe not -that Hernando Cortes himself, even in his dreams, hath had thought of -what he was to find out here. As I said before, I have cut the old -world for aye; my home is henceforth here in fairy-land."</p> - -<p>"Well, well," retorted Velasquez, "that is stale news now. Thou'st said -that same every time, the past weeks, that thou hast caught sight of -bright blossoms, bright eyes, or a palm tree. What hast seen now of -novelty?"</p> - -<p>"Why, his new home on a moving island," said Montoro, laughing. "Have I -not guessed right, Cabrera?"</p> - -<p>"That hast thou," was the satisfied answer. "Trust thine eyes, my Toro, -to see farther through a deal board than the very wood-worm itself. -Thine eyes and thy voice make some amends to thy friends for thy long -face and scruples."</p> - -<p>"I hope he thanks thee for thy compliment," ejaculated Velasquez, -with his more short-sighted eyes roving here, there, and everywhere -meantime. "But I do wish thou couldst answer a comrade's civil -question, instead of indulging in questionable flatteries. What meanest -thou by moving islands?"</p> - -<p>"Just what I say," replied Juan de Cabrera, as the group of men moved -slowly on down the mountain road towards the vast plain of Mexico, his -eyes for the time diverted from the proud island city of Tenochtitlan -to the chinampas, or wandering islands, being propelled by their -owners from one part of the lake to another, as trade or inclination -prompted.</p> - -<p>These chinampas might be regarded as the market-gardens of the capital. -Originally they were nothing but masses of earth loosened from the -shore by the action of the water, and held together by the fibrous -roots of the various plants flourishing upon them. Gathering these into -rafts, tightly knit together, of reeds and rushes, the Aztecs had made -for themselves artificial islands two or three hundred feet in length, -on which were grown the fruits and vegetables for Tenochtitlan.</p> - -<p>Bright with luxuriant vegetation, graceful with little fruit-trees, and -homelike with the pretty little wooden hut of the owner, these moving -islands were a feature in the glorious landscape, quite sufficiently -noteworthy to excuse Cabrera for letting his attention be diverted by -them for a few minutes from more important objects. Even the warlike -Velasquez was momentarily charmed into an amused pleasure with the -novel sight.</p> - -<p>"I tell thee what it is, Juan," he said, laughing. "Our General will -thus have small trouble in rewarding his faithful followers with lands -and homes. He has but to turn off a score or two of those redskin -beggars yonder and put us on, and there we are."</p> - -<p>"Yea, verily," exclaimed Montoro in a tone of indignant scorn. "There -ye would be. Fresh examples of the base, thievish instincts of the -Spanish nation."</p> - -<p>Velasquez started forward with flashing eyes, and his sword -half-drawn. But Cabrera dragged him back, muttering hurriedly—</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, Leon. Thou mightest as well wish to fight that enthusiast, -Bishop Las Casas, for taking the Indians' part, as this monk-soldier -here. Let him be. He returns to Spain, he tells me, with the next -despatches. See yonder. What is Hernando Cortes regarding thus -intently?"</p> - -<p>"Thy magic islands, perchance," was the reply.</p> - -<p>But Cortes had no eyes just then for the mere prettinesses of the -majestically-beautiful scene lying stretched out beneath his feet, nor -even for the great volcano Popocatapetl towering above it all. His eyes -were fixed upon the approaches to that great capital of the powerful -empire of Mexico, within which he meant to rest that coming night. As -he gazed upon the city, and its approaches, his face told nothing of -the nature of his intent thought, but in his heart there was the full -confession that his determination was one bold almost to madness.</p> - -<p>On the east of Tenochtitlan there was no access but by water. On the -other three sides the entrances were by causeways. That of Iztapalapan, -built out from the mainland to the city, on the south. That of -Tepejacac on the north, which, running through the heart of the city -as its principal street, met the southern causeway. And lastly, the -dike of Tlacopan, connecting the island city with the continent on the -west.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>This last causeway, which a short time hence Cortes and his companions -were to have the bitterest reasons for remembering, was about two miles -in length. All the three were built in the same substantial manner, of -lime and stone, were defended by drawbridges, and were wide enough for -ten or twelve horsemen to ride abreast.</p> - -<p>"But still," as Cortes told himself in the secresy of his own heart, -and as some of the more thoughtful of his men also told themselves as -they now looked down upon it for the first time, "wide as that causeway -was, some thousands of determined enemies upon it in their rear, the -thousands of the great city's inhabitants driving them in front, that -long causeway might well become the death-blow of them and their -exalted hopes."</p> - -<p>There was a few minutes' pause. Some would not unwillingly have heard -the word of command for a retreat, while there was yet time. But that -word did not come. As Cabrera had once said so Cortes always thought: -"We must all die, and we can die but once."</p> - -<p>The word of command was given to advance, and in no long time after, -the army had reached the city of Iztapalapan, where it was finally -determined to call a halt for the night, and make a first appearance -before the Emperor at a more seasonable hour on the following day.</p> - -<p>With the first streak of dawn of the 8th November, 1519, the Spanish -general and his troops were astir. A lovely morning, the brilliant -beams of the sun gradually fading into dimness the innumerable sacred -fires of the assemblages of temples.</p> - -<p>The whole city was visible to them. The wide-spreading palace of the -Emperor, like a second palace of the Cæsars, comprising many homes, -gardens of every description for plants and animals, and aviaries of -the most gorgeous description, within the one circle. Then the great -redstone mansions of the nobles, their roofs blooming like so many -exquisite parterres of flowers. The neat dwellings of the poorer -classes, of stone and unbaked bricks, here and there rudely adorned -with crossbar wooden rafters. Everywhere gardens, streets perfectly -kept and perfectly clean, and terraces.</p> - -<p>The whole place was waking up now to a new day. All was gay with -business and bustle. Canoes glancing swiftly up and down the canals, -the streets crowded with people in their bright and picturesque -costumes, fountains playing in courts adorned with porphyry and jasper. -Stone footways, revenue offices, and numerous bridges, over which -people were hurrying in all directions; whilst the enormous market was -already becoming thronged with an animated company of many thousands -of buyers and sellers, and commodities of all kinds, from slaves -for work or sacrifice, down to pastry, sweets, and flowers. Cotton -dresses and cloaks, curtains and coverlids, toys and jewellery of the -most delicate and exquisite workmanship. Pottery stalls, graceful -wood-carvings, helmets, quilted doublets, copperheaded lances and -arrows, feather-mail, and the broad maquahuitl or Mexican sword, with -its sharp blades of itztli. Itztli razors and mirrors, and barbers to -use the razors and lend or sell the mirrors, hides raw and dressed, -and live animals. Fish, game, poultry, and building materials. Flowers -everywhere, and also, almost everywhere, in and out amongst the motley -throngs, the royal officers of justice to keep the peace, collect the -duties, and to see to weights and measures, and good faith and order -generally.</p> - -<p>This Empire of Mexico, and above all its heart, this fair city of -Tenochtitlan, was decidedly no abode of savage ignorance, but rather -the region of a civilization but very little lower in the scale than -that of its conquerors. The deep astonishment and wonder they felt at -the discovery is but reproduced in us, as we read of all these marvels. -And the wonder in our minds must but be a hundred-fold increased as we -remember that this great and far-advanced nation, was utterly conquered -and overthrown by a handful of rough, half-taught adventurers!</p> - -<p>Meantime, to return to these same adventurers, with no apology either -for having given you Prescott's descriptions of this most astonishing -Mexico almost word for word, as he, in his turn, has copied it from -the letters of one of the very adventurers themselves who accompanied -Cortes, that 8th of November morning over the south causeway into -ancient Mexico.</p> - -<p>On the causeway, at the distance of about half a league from the -capital, the small army of conquest encountered a solid wall of stone -twelve feet high stretching right across the dike, and strengthened by -towers at the extremities. In the centre was a battlemented gate which -was opened to admit the white-faced warriors.</p> - -<p>"I confess," muttered Alvarado to Velasquez, who rode beside him, as -those gates clanged to behind them, "I confess that I should not think -him quite a craven among my brethren who should indeed, at this moment, -show a real white-face for once."</p> - -<p>Velasquez shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Well, it is true we have walked into the jaws of death. It but remains -to see whether our Captain-General be a wedge strong enough to split -them."</p> - -<p>"Or, as our Diego yonder would say," returned the other, "to hold them -open until we walk out again."</p> - -<p>"Bah! for the walking out again," was the impatient reply. "Unless, -forsooth, it be to leave but bare walls behind us. As the Lord's people -of old had command to spoil the Egyptians, so I believe are we now -ordained to spoil the heathen savages who imbrue their land with human -sacrifices."</p> - -<p>"Well," murmured Pedro de Alvarado thoughtfully, "I know not. But it -is true, these hateful sacrifices have made even Diego himself grow -somewhat cooler, methinks, in his desire to keep our fingers away from -this Mexican pie."</p> - -<p>At this point in the short conversation the Spanish expedition was met -by a splendid cortege of several hundred Aztec chiefs, sent forward by -their monarch, who had at length so far overcome his unwillingness to -receive the dreaded strangers as to send these messengers with words -of welcome to them, and to announce his own approach.</p> - -<p>Having spent a somewhat tedious hour in ceremonious greetings, the -route was continued over a drawbridge, accompanied by their brilliantly -attired escort, each member of which evidently had studied the art -of setting himself off to the best advantage, as well as any dainty -Spanish cavalier at the Court of Madrid. At length there came in sight -the glittering retinue of the Emperor, wending its stately course along -the great, wide, central street towards the foreigners.</p> - -<p>Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers of state -bearing golden wands, was borne the royal palanquin, blazing with -burnished gold, and canopied with brilliant feather work, powdered with -jewels and fringed with silver.</p> - -<p>Having advanced to within a few yards of the Spanish General, the -palanquin was lowered, the intervening ground was spread with cotton -carpetings; nobles, bare-footed, and with faces bent to the earth, -lined the way, and the great monarch Montezuma, clothed with the girdle -and ample national cloak of the finest embroidered cotton, stepped -forth.</p> - -<p>"Behold them!" softly ejaculated Cabrera, as the Emperor stepped to the -ground, and the Spaniard's eyes were dazzled by the passing flash of -the sandals' golden soles, and the glisten of emeralds and pearls with -which their fastenings were beautified.</p> - -<p>Montezuma, this monarch who had taught both friends and foes to tremble -at his frown, was at this time about forty years of age, tall and -slender. His hair, which was black and straight, and of a due length -to become his rank, was crowned with a plume of feathers of the royal -green, which waved above features marked by a considerable degree of -thoughtful intelligence. He moved with dignity, and his whole bearing, -tempered by an expression of benignity not to have been anticipated, -from the reports of him that had hitherto reached the Spaniards' ears, -proclaimed a great and worthy ruler among men.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Such courtly and dignified compliments were forthwith exchanged between -the Aztec Emperor and the Spanish commander as might be expected -between two such men, and then the Emperor was once more borne back -to his palace, amid the homage of his prostrate subjects; while the -Spaniards, with colours flying and music playing, were conducted by -Montezuma's brother to the quarters assigned to them in the capital.</p> - -<p>With royal hospitality the Emperor had devoted to the use of his -visitors a splendid palace, built some fifty years before by his own -father, and here he was waiting to receive them when they entered, and -he completed the ceremony of welcome by hanging a superb and massy -collar of golden ornaments around the neck of Hernando Cortes, or -'Malinche,' as with a touch of brotherly affection he now renamed him.</p> - -<p>"This palace," he said, with the superb generosity he had already -several times shown in the magnificence of the gifts to his 'Brother of -Spain'—"This palace, Malinche, henceforth belongs to you and to your -brethren. Rest after your fatigues, and in a little while I will visit -you again."</p> - -<p>So saying, with the most true tact and politeness, Montezuma withdrew, -only to evince afresh his thought and kindness by forthwith sending his -stranger guests a bountiful collation, and a tribe of obsequious and -skilful Mexican slaves to serve it.</p> - -<p>Having left his visitors ample leisure, both for feastings and for a -few hours' quiet sleep, the Emperor's glittering palanquin once more -made its appearance, amidst the fountains and flowers of the courtyard -of their pleasant new quarters.</p> - -<p>He did not depart this time until he had left behind him substantial -proofs of his good-will. Suits of garments for every man of the small -army, even including the hated Tlascalan allies, profusion of gold -chains and other ornaments, and so many gracious expressions of face -and voice, that he left even the most morose or prejudiced amongst the -Spaniards deeply impressed with the munificence and affability of one -whom they had been taught, by his enemies, to regard as a tyrannical -and bloodthirsty monster.</p> - -<p>The iron hearts of the rough adventurers were touched for once in their -lives; and when, on the next day, they, in turn, visited Montezuma in -his royal abode, they beguiled their return march with discourse on -his gentle breeding and courtesy, and their new-born respect for this -potentate of a new-found world.</p> - -<p>Meantime Cortes was not quite so thoroughly satisfied with this new -aspect of affairs as might, perhaps, be expected, or as were Montoro -de Diego, Father Olmedo, and others of the gentler spirits of the -expedition.</p> - -<p>Cortes was bent on conquest, not compliments, and the strong position -of the Indians and their immense numbers, combined with the growing -good-will towards them, and respect of many of his own followers, -inspired him with a sudden hurry, and most unusual feverish eagerness -to bring matters to an issue.</p> - -<p>As a first step to demonstrate his power he treated the inhabitants of -the capital to a discharge of the artillery, which the poor terrified -people regarded as powers wielded by the white-faces' very gods -themselves.</p> - -<p>But this was not enough for Cortes. He decided by one great theft, made -at once, to gain a bloodless victory. He decided to steal from them -their king.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII">CHAPTER XXXVII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>ESCALANTE'S FATE DECIDES IT.</i></h3> - - -<p>"I cannot help it, Diego. It is the force of circumstances. Either we -must be the aggressors or the victims. And how, thinkest thou, I could -then answer it to myself, were I to see these men, who have with so -full a trust followed me, butchered before mine eyes?"</p> - -<p>Hernando Cortes was striding up and down the enormous apartment of the -palace appointed him for a residence by Montezuma. His whole bearing, -his face, his voice, betokened excessive agitation. He had only one -companion with him at that hour, Montoro de Diego, and Montoro also -looked very sorely troubled.</p> - -<p>"We have received nought at the hands of this heathen monarch," -he murmured, in tones of heartfelt grief; "nought but the noblest -generosity, the most chivalrous respect."</p> - -<p>"That is true," was the stern reply. "And we are going to return it -with—with——"</p> - -<p>"The basest treachery and black ingratitude."</p> - -<p>There was silence in the apartment, but for those tramping feet, and -the somewhat heavy breathing of the men. At last Cortes turned aside, -and came to where his friend sat with clasped hands and bowed head, -pondering over the inscrutable ways of Providence. He stood before him, -looking down upon him with an expression of impatient sorrow.</p> - -<p>"Toro, thou and I have been friends for many a stirring year now. We -have never yet had cause to doubt each other's truth. Whatever I do in -these coming days, believe, or strive to believe, that I act—I declare -it by the holy faith itself—according to what I feel to be the loudest -calls of duty."</p> - -<p>Montoro grasped the other's hand for a moment. He did believe the -assurance, although, to his more tender conscience and more enlightened -mind, it seemed extraordinary that a glaring wrong could assume the -garb of duty.</p> - -<p>As the friends thus stood together the gold-embroidered, -brilliantly-dyed cotton hangings before the entrance of the room were -hastily thrust aside, and a young Spanish knight entered, and advanced -impetuously towards the Captain-General. He paused in some confusion -when he had approached near enough to see the two grave faces.</p> - -<p>"Well, Velasquez," said his superior, with an accent of friendly -encouragement, "methinks thy countenance betokens a whole budget of -news. What is its nature? Good or evil? Fear not to speak out. I hold -myself ever prepared in spirit to accept either."</p> - -<p>Thus encouraged, the young soldier of fortune came a step or two -nearer, as he replied with suppressed eagerness—</p> - -<p>"It is not news, to be so called, that I bring you, Captain. I come -rather as a messenger, I would say."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" ejaculated Cortes, with some surprise. "A messenger! And from -whom?"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Velasquez, more slowly, "I believe that I might almost say -with truth that I bear a message to you from the whole of our force -now gathered in this island city. We would know, Captain, with your -good pleasure, what is the next step that you propose to take for the -furtherance of the objects of this present expedition—the spread of -the most holy Catholic faith, and the glory of the Spanish kingdom."</p> - -<p>"Methinks," said Cortes, with some tone of coldness and -hauteur,—"methinks, friend, that we have already not only taken -many steps in pursuit of those two worthy objects, but that we have -likewise, in some large measure, gained them. What wouldst thou -more—thou and those for whom thou claimest to be the messenger?"</p> - -<p>The young Velasquez de Leon changed colour somewhat at this address. -The buoyant hope of success had made Hernando Cortes even more than -usually frank and friendly, the past few days, with his officers. But -none knew better than he how to suddenly surround himself with a chill, -impassable barrier when he chose.</p> - -<p>There was an uncomfortable pause. Cortes broke it.</p> - -<p>"Well, Leon," he said, with a short laugh, "say on, man. Methinks thou -art but a sorry ambassador. Wilt thou find a readier tongue when I -send thee to Montezuma to invite him hither?"</p> - -<p>The young knight sprang forward, his colour still further heightened, -truly, but with delight now instead of uneasiness.</p> - -<p>"Order me on that service, my Captain, this very hour, and if my tongue -prove not ready enough, my sword shall make amends."</p> - -<p>Cortes turned with a meaning look to Montoro ere he answered, more -cordially—</p> - -<p>"I do not doubt you; that is to say, if I did not add my hand to thine -on its hilt. It is just that over-readiness of my followers to use -their swords that ofttimes ties me to inaction. If I took thee with me -to yon red-skinned monarch's palace, couldst thou possibly abide by the -policy of patience?"</p> - -<p>"Put him in my charge, Captain," came a laughing shout from the end of -the apartment, and the next moment Don Juan de Cabrera had joined the -trio.</p> - -<p>"Your charge indeed!" said Cortes, with a shrug of the shoulders. "A -monkey tied to a cockatoo!"</p> - -<p>"Ah," was the calm retort, "my hair is rather rough, for I broke my -comb awhile since on the dog Ciudad's back. But yet, worthy Captain, -thy natural history is somewhat astray, as I have remarked before, or I -am ignorant if cockatoos are ornamented with black crests."</p> - -<p>"I wonder whether thou wouldst still laugh if thou wast beaten black," -muttered Velasquez, irritably.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps," said the careless-hearted cavalier, "if thou wast standing -by, looking solemn enough to tempt me. Dost ever laugh thyself, my Don -Velasquez?"</p> - -<p>"Not when life and honour lie trembling in the balance," said the young -knight, indignantly. And, forgetful for the instant of the leader's -presence, he continued—"For you, Don Juan, you seem not to remember -that we are here pent up like a stack of wood, ready for the burning -when our enemies choose to desire light for their temple's sacrifices."</p> - -<p>Cortes bent his face forward swiftly towards the speaker.</p> - -<p>"Say then, Leon, do you counsel retreat over yonder bridges while yet -there is time? Is that what thou camest to——"</p> - -<p>But the commander could not finish his sentence. The Spaniard's -deference and decorum were neither of them sufficient to restrain him -at such an imputation.</p> - -<p>"Retreat!" he exclaimed. "I have never yet been of the number of those -who have counselled that. Ere I would join in retreat I would of myself -yield me into these heathen butchers' hands, to have my heart plucked -out as an offering to their gods."</p> - -<p>"But yet, if we stay," was the quiet answer,—"bethink you, Velasquez, -if we stay, that may still possibly be thy fate, and that of many of -us."</p> - -<p>"Not if we make a bold fight for it at once," said Cabrera, grown -almost as serious as if Leon's rebuke were weighing on his mind. -But, as a fact, he did feel grave enough at their present insecure -situation, and, brave as he was, he had a shuddering horror at the -thought of becoming one of those dreadful sacrifices.</p> - -<p>"Any spark may kindle the fury against us of these savages," muttered -Velasquez, "and already our easy sloth is nourishing their contempt."</p> - -<p>A return of the former haughty look was quickly visible on the face -of Cortes at these words; but ere he could reply to them a noise and -tumult without startled all four occupants of the room, and they -hastily issued forth to learn the cause.</p> - -<p>Montoro was the first to reach the threshold of the palace, and with a -low, terrible cry he fell back upon his comrades.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" gasped Cortes; and, pushing to the front, he received a -ghastly answer to his query.</p> - -<p>Spiked upon Indian lances, and held aloft by Indian hands, was an -immense human head, crowned with heavy dark locks matted and stiffened -with gore. A crowd of Indians, warriors and women, trooped along behind -it, rending the air with their yells of triumph.</p> - -<p>For the space of ten seconds it might be that the bronzed cheek of -Cortes blanched; then he made a dash forward, caught one of the yelling -youths, and dragging him back with him to the doorway, questioned him -rapidly.</p> - -<p>"Whose was that head yonder? Was it the head of an enemy of the -Mexicans? a Tlascalan, or whose?"</p> - -<p>The Indian boy cringed and trembled in that tightening grip.</p> - -<p>"It is not the head of one of the white men here with the great white -chief."</p> - -<p>"It is the head of poor Morla, whom we left behind at Vera Cruz as -one of Escalante's garrison," said Montoro sadly. "I should know it -anywhere, and under any circumstances."</p> - -<p>"Ay, truly," added Alvarado, in confirmation; "it is doubtless his. I -did but save the poor fellow from hanging to leave him to a fate still -worse. But what of the rest of the garrison? How comes he to have -suffered? What is the meaning of this dismal matter? Was he sent out by -Escalante as a messenger?"</p> - -<p>All these questions, asked as they were by the lips of Alvarado, were -indeed asked by the entire party in their thoughts. Montoro, resolved -to know the worst at once, hurriedly obtained permission from Cortes, -and, regardless of personal risk, he made his way, with his faithful -interpreter, to the strangers, who were still bearing on high their -ghastly trophy.</p> - -<p>It was with no good news that he returned soon after to his companions -in arms. Their saddest fears were realized. The noble-hearted, upright -young officer, the beloved of all ranks of his companions, had met an -early death with seven or eight of the garrison of Vera Cruz, in a -pitched battle with a Mexican general.</p> - -<p>"Is that the boasted discipline of this great empire," exclaimed Cortes -indignantly, "that we should be cherished visitors of its Emperor, and -meanwhile our comrades should be attacked and slain by his officers? -What say you now, Montoro? Do you still place implicit trust in these -base Indians?"</p> - -<p>There was a moment's pause ere Montoro answered gravely—</p> - -<p>"Base, I cannot call them, in that they fight for their lands and -liberty; but I confess that I do feel now, strongly almost as yourself, -that either we must re——"</p> - -<p>"Retreat! never!" exclaimed Velasquez de Leon fiercely, interrupting -the speaker. "What is thy other alternative, Don Diego, for the first -is nought?"</p> - -<p>"Ay, the other?" asked Cortes, with some extra touch of anxiety, to -which Montoro's eyes replied with a grave, sad smile, as his lips -answered—</p> - -<p>"The other alternative then, I would say, that is forced upon us for -the common safety, is, that some step be taken without delay to make -our present position more secure."</p> - -<p>Cortes grasped his friend's fingers tight as he muttered in a voice -hoarse with emotion—</p> - -<p>"Toro, I thank thee for those words. Thou hast strengthened my hands. -Thy stern disapprobation of my intent lay too hardly on me. Now I can -go forward."</p> - -<p>"But meantime," muttered young Juan de Cabrera, with something of a -gulp,—"meantime, poor old Escalante hath gone forward to that land -whence none return."</p> - -<p>Montoro laid his hand for one moment on the younger man's arm, as he -murmured earnestly—</p> - -<p>"Only free from care and toil a little sooner, Juan. We shall join him. -Methinks rest must be very grateful after labour."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII">CHAPTER XXXVIII.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>THE DOWNFALL OF AN EMPIRE.</i></h3> - - -<p>The fate of the young commander of the garrison of Vera Cruz, and of -poor Morla, effected a speedy change in the sentiments of the whole of -the Spaniards towards their Mexican entertainers.</p> - -<p>"When the Tlascalans entered upon hostilities with us," said Juan de -Cabrera, with a grim laugh, "they fed us up as men feed fowls, to -make them fatter eating for themselves; but then, like sturdy, blunt -warriors as they are, they told us so, whereas——"</p> - -<p>"Ay," interrupted that hot-headed Velasquez, "whereas these -smooth-spoken scoundrels here fill our mouths with one hand, only that -our eyes may be covered while they give us a dose of itztli with the -other."</p> - -<p>"Well, well," said Hernan Cortes himself, rather gravely, "it may be -so; and verily I hope it is, for I confess I would fain believe that we -are but about to meet treachery with treachery, and not true-hearted -generosity with cruelty."</p> - -<p>The two officers glanced at one another significantly as they moved -away out of hearing, and Velasquez remarked irritably to his companion—</p> - -<p>"Talk of true hearts, indeed! That Diego yonder is making the General -well-nigh as soft-hearted as himself. What is a soldier, i' faith, if -he sets up to have feelings for his foes?"</p> - -<p>"I will tell thee," said the calm, clear voice of Montoro unexpectedly. -"I will tell thee, friend Leon. He is then a true knight, such a knight -as our Cid would have called comrades with, and not a rascal. But the -General is calling for us. Father Olmedo waits to say mass, and to -bless us ere we start."</p> - -<p>"Finish your sentence, Toro," said Cabrera quietly, and with a smile, -as he passed on with him to the chapel they had fitted up for their own -services.</p> - -<p>Montoro looked round at his companion with some slight surprise.</p> - -<p>"What finish wouldst have to my sentence, Juan? I understand thee not."</p> - -<p>The other laughed as he answered in low tones—</p> - -<p>"Mind me not, my dear friend Long-face; but thou knowest well that thy -tongue ached to say—'ere we start on our kidnapping expedition.' Ah!" -with another low, merry laugh, "said I not truly? Thy face betrays -thee."</p> - -<p>It was indeed true that Montoro de Diego regarded the present -intentions of his companions in anything but a favourable light, -although, unless they would retreat, he knew well enough that some -strong measure was needful under present circumstances.</p> - -<p>All he could do now he did. Whilst Fathers Olmedo and Juan Diaz were -engaged in the celebration of mass, he offered up the most fervent, -heartfelt prayers that the Father of all would have pity upon all His -children, that the Almighty Lord of the universe would so order all -things that they should further His kingdom upon earth, and His glory.</p> - -<p>The mass ended, Cortes at once set out for the palace of Montezuma, -accompanied by a trusty band of his officers—the inflexible, -sunny-haired Alvarado, the fiery Velasquez de Leon, the intrepid and -upright Sandoval, the wary Lugo, Davila, ready-handed, careless and -fearless Juan de Cabrera, and the calm, keen-eyed, dependable, noble -Montoro de Diego.</p> - -<p>Montoro did not, could not, approve of the new, stern step about -to be attempted for the conquest of Mexico. Nevertheless, when he -unobtrusively placed himself by the General's side, Cortes knew well -enough that, should the matter on hand come to bloodshed, Montoro de -Diego would die before his General suffered hurt.</p> - -<p>Arrived at the palace, the unsuspecting monarch gave his usual gracious -and ready assent to his guests' demand for an audience. His oracles of -old had foretold the coming of white-faces as gods, or the messengers -of the gods, and so he ever treated them with a singular reverential -courtesy, even when he had learnt to recognize them as scourges of -evil, rather than the bright angels of mercy, teaching and blessing, he -had been led to look for and to await with eager hopefulness.</p> - -<p>Stationed cautiously, at various intervals between their barracks and -the royal residence, were companies of the Spanish soldiers, armed -to the teeth, ready to support their General and their officers in -case of need. The guns were loaded, and pointed at the palace. Every -preparation and precaution was attended to that prudence or foresight -could dictate, and with that consciousness Cortes advanced to the -undertaking with his usual air of bold, calm confidence.</p> - -<p>The poor Emperor was in a specially bright, gay humour. He entered -into a cheerful conversation, through the interpreters, with the -young Spanish knights, and to prove his brotherly attachment to -'Malinche,' offered him one of his daughters for a wife. He pleased -his own generous love of giving, and his guests' love of receiving, by -lavishing costly and elegant little gifts upon them after his usual -fashion.</p> - -<p>Cabrera caught sight suddenly of Montoro de Diego's scornful, curling -lip, and eyes flashing with indignation, as Velasquez de Leon bent his -head to have a gold chain hung about his neck.</p> - -<p>"What is it now, good Long-face?" he muttered, in some slight surprise. -"Methought that thou wouldst be well satisfied with this interval of -amity."</p> - -<p>Montoro turned upon his friend with the fierceness of his ungovernable -boyhood.</p> - -<p>"I would that yon poor monarch's gifts could burn ye all!" he exclaimed -passionately. "The base love of gold hath turned Spaniards into a crew -of the meanest hounds that walk the earth. Even a cat would not accept -a gift from the mouse it meant to kill."</p> - -<p>But Montoro's generous wrath acted as the unintentional signal for the -consummation of the proposed act of treachery. His angry words and -looks startled the Emperor, and Cortes took advantage of his anxious -queries to reply to them in his own way. Suddenly dropping the mask of -smiles from his face, he exclaimed sternly—</p> - -<p>"Can it surprise you, Montezuma, that my followers should show some -tokens of indignation, when their well-loved comrades have been slain -by your generals, during the very hours when you have made pretence to -grasp their hands as brothers?"</p> - -<p>The Emperor's face paled somewhat.</p> - -<p>"It has been no pretence, Malinche. I have learnt to love and trust -you."</p> - -<p>"Then prove your words," cried Cortes, with a rapid glance round at -his Spanish officers, who gathered instantly close up about him and -the Emperor,—that poor Emperor, who had already, one would think, -sufficiently proved his trust by dismissing all his own faithful guards -and attendants from the apartment where he entertained his treacherous -visitors. "Then prove your words," exclaimed Cortes a second time, -striding a step nearer to the trembling monarch. "Trust yourself to -our care for awhile. We have been your guests; now be our guest in our -quarters, until you have proved your innocence of this cruel slaughter -of our comrades. So only will we credit what you say."</p> - -<p>Montezuma rose from his pile of cushions, and grasping the embroidered -hangings of the wall behind him for support, he replied, with a brave -effort at self-command, and with returning dignity—</p> - -<p>"Nay, ye white-faces, as messengers from the gods have I received you; -but you, as a culprit prisoner would hold me in your power."</p> - -<p>"Not would, but will, or as a corpse," exclaimed that hot-brained -Velasquez de Leon; and, drawing his sword with unforeseen speed, he had -it already touching the Emperor's breast, before Montoro could spring -forward and dash it down again.</p> - -<p>But the rash, discourteous act had pushed matters to an extremity -beyond recall. Even had Hernando Cortes felt any inclination to repent -of his harsh purpose, it would now truly have been impossible. After -suffering such a gross indignity Montezuma must have consulted his high -estate by destroying, or expelling, the handful of foreigners who had -dared to inflict it, were he able. Even he seemed conscious of this new -aspect of the affair.</p> - -<p>"Do you desire to have me in your power that you may kill me?" he asked -at length, with a tone of calm despair that touched even Cortes' heart.</p> - -<p>He answered eagerly—</p> - -<p>"Nay, verily. You profess affection for me; I swear to it for you. But -I cannot let my followers be slain with impunity. I have their lives to -answer for to my sovereign."</p> - -<p>"That may well be," was the answer. "But now they are slain; and -although, on my kingly word I declare, without my will or knowledge, I -yet profess my deepest grief for the mischance. What would you more, -Malinche?"</p> - -<p>"That you should come with us now," was the ready answer. "Not as a -prisoner, as you put it, but as an honoured guest, surrounded by your -own attendants, and free of access to all your subjects as you are here -in your own palace."</p> - -<p>"And for how long to remain such a guest?" asked Montezuma. He was -beginning to waver, not indeed from inward conviction of the truth of -the plausible words, but from a growing knowledge that they covered -an iron, inflexible resolve; and that he would be allowed no power to -summon any of his subjects to his aid from this snare, but at the peril -of instant death from that circle of ready, flashing swords. "How long -would you that I should thus abide amongst you, Malinche?"</p> - -<p>"Until Guanhpopoea and his warriors shall have obeyed your summons -hither, to answer for their crimes."</p> - -<p>"Crimes," repeated the Emperor. "Their crime, it is but one, Malinche."</p> - -<p>"Not so," was the stern, cold answer, while Hernando's piercing eyes -fixed themselves with a full gaze upon the monarch's face. "Not so, -your Majesty. For one crime, there is the unprovoked slaughter of our -brethren. That is for us to avenge. For the other crime, there is the -presumptuous warfare waged by your general against those with whom -you are at peace, and without your will or knowledge. That is the act -of a rebel. That is for you to avenge, that insult to your supreme -authority. And it merits—death!"</p> - -<p>Before that look, and at that word, Montezuma blanched, as before a -fatal blow, and he grew pale as death himself. Even Montoro, in his -secret heart, asked himself whether a faithful general were not about -to suffer, not for presumption, but for too great fidelity to one who -knew the arts of treachery, and of wearing a double face, almost as -well as did his Spanish brethren themselves.</p> - -<p>One more feeble effort Montezuma made to maintain the dignity of his -sovereignty.</p> - -<p>"My people will never submit to such an indignity for me, as that I -should quit my own royal domain to take up my dwelling with a handful -of needy strangers, who have to be dependent on our bounty even for the -food they eat."</p> - -<p>But this last remonstrance was as vain as all the others had been.</p> - -<p>"Your word is law with your people," said Cortes. "Give your orders, -and you will be obeyed. I, on my part, swear to you, by St. Jago, that -nought now or ever, on the part of myself or my followers, shall lower -you in the eyes of your subjects."</p> - -<p>And so far, to the letter, Cortes did at least keep his word. From -the outward show of respect and deference towards the unhappy monarch -he never permitted his rough soldiers to depart, when that golden -litter, and the Aztec nobles, had for the second time borne the once -all-powerful Emperor of Mexico to those Spanish quarters, which were -henceforth to be his sad prison during the short remainder of his life.</p> - -<p>Montezuma had been in his gilded bondage but a few days when the -noble chieftain Guanhpopoea, his son, and fifteen lesser Aztec -chiefs, arrived in proud obedience to the summons, and in like proud, -speechless submission suffered the cruel punishment decreed them by -Cortes, of being burnt alive. They had but done their duty in trying to -rid their sovereign of encroaching strangers, who refused all requests -to leave a country to which they had not been invited.</p> - -<p>The chiefs were burnt alive in the courtyard of the Spaniards' palace; -Montezuma sat manacled in an apartment above, mute with a despair only -to be equalled by the shame and grief with which the heart of Montoro -de Diego felt bowed to the very dust.</p> - -<p>He had saved ere now many an Indian from his threatened fate. This time -he was powerless.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX">CHAPTER XXXIX.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>HOMEWARD BOUND.</i></h3> - - -<p>"And you must leave us then, Diego—leave us on the very eve of our -full and final triumph?"</p> - -<p>Hernando spoke with a mingled accent of regret and bitterness. In his -reply Montoro hinted at both notes.</p> - -<p>"I wish to leave. But believe, my captain and my long-time friend, I -shall part with you with grief, and although my conscience forbids -my further aiding a conquest and spoliation which I deem unjust, I -would not, and I dare not if I would, endeavour to be the ruler of the -consciences of others."</p> - -<p>Cortes looked at him in some surprise.</p> - -<p>"How so, Diego? What sayest thou? Surely thou wouldst make me, and -all of us, think as thou dost, were it but possible to thy persuasive -tongue."</p> - -<p>But the answer came readily enough.</p> - -<p>"Nay then, verily," said Montoro, with tones deeper and more earnest -than before; "that truly would I not. I am not omniscient. These -marvellous and wide-spread conquests and slaughters are allowed by the -universal Father, I know——"</p> - -<p>"Why, of course they are," came the hasty interruption. "They are -undertaken for the glory of the Faith."</p> - -<p>"And," muttered Juan de Cabrera, with just a momentary twitch of his -lips at the corners,—"and just a little, perchance, for the glory -likewise of ourselves and our silk-lined, empty pockets."</p> - -<p>But Montoro de Diego paid no more heed to the one interruption than to -the other, as he continued with scarcely a pause—</p> - -<p>"They are allowed by the Almighty, I know, for against His will there -can be nought on earth. But perchance they are also with His will, -by His law, and for the spread of the knowledge of His Gospel. What -mortal shall dare to judge of this? I, at least, veil my face before -the mysterious workings of the Creator; and although I feel my own call -henceforth to be to quieter scenes, I judge not those who, with regard -to honour and humanity, shall prosecute these wars."</p> - -<p>"Then you do not leave me as you left Hispaniola long since, because -you believed it given up to the government of Satan and his captains?" -asked Cortes, with a touch of anxiety in his voice. "It is not quite so -bad as this then, is it, Toro?"</p> - -<p>A grave smile overspread Montoro's face.</p> - -<p>"I leave you, my friend, because, to my thinking, each nation should -be content with its own possessions, and such as it may win peaceably, -or in lawful trading; but I confess freely that, since discovery and -conquest are now the order of the day, I heartily congratulate these -countries that Providence has permitted it to you, rather than to any -others, to be the Commander of this, the most glorious expedition of -any hitherto undertaken by Spanish arms. Some things you have done -hardly, but in much you are merciful. And now, farewell."</p> - -<p>"Farewell," returned the other fervently. "Have you any wishes, my -Diego, to leave with me?"</p> - -<p>Diego retained his friend's hand a few moments.</p> - -<p>"Yes—one wish. If, as the days roll on, you have any time and thought -to spare to our old friendship, yield it this offering, Cortes—show -mercy for its sake whenever it is possible."</p> - -<p>"It is a promise," came the low-spoken answer, and the two friends -parted, never to meet again on earth.</p> - -<p>Hernando Cortes completed his splendid conquest of Mexico; Montoro de -Diego wended his way homewards to his mother and his native land, where -a surprise awaited him of a most unexpected nature.</p> - -<p>The philanthropy and unselfishness which had distinguished Montoro's -American career so greatly that in some circles his fame was scarcely -inferior to that even of the apostle of the Indies himself, had not, at -the same time, very much increased his wealth. This was to be expected; -but still, as the Spaniard neared Spain an involuntary sigh burst from -him.</p> - -<p>"What meaneth that sigh, Diego?" asked a companion.</p> - -<p>There came a second half-sigh before the answer.</p> - -<p>"I fear it meaneth that I am not as strong as I had I hoped."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" said Cabrera sympathetically; "that climate out yonder doth -touch—"</p> - -<p>"Climate!" echoed Montoro with momentary scorn. "Tush, man! I speak -not of climates and bodily strength. It is of the moral powers I was -meditating when you caught me in that sigh. I started from our native -land eighteen years ago, confident, with a boy's confidence, that a -couple of years or so—say half-a-dozen at most—were to send me back -to my country so berobed and begirt with gold and glory that I should -dazzle all beholders, and walk back to my ancestral halls over the -backs of crowds of humble suppliants."</p> - -<p>Cabrera laughed gaily.</p> - -<p>"Ay, Diego. How like that was to a boyish dream. But now?"</p> - -<p>"But now," said Montoro with a shrug of the shoulders, but betraying -more sadness than he wished—"but now, there is little need for thee or -any one to question. Now, as thou knowest, I return to my mother, able, -indeed, henceforth to keep her and myself in bread; but for the olives -and the oil and the wine, well, for my purse's length I will trust that -they reach not up to famine prices so long as the dear mother lives."</p> - -<p>"And where dost thou propose that that same living shall be?" asked -Cabrera, with a curious gleam in his eyes, over which the lids were -somewhat lowered for concealment.</p> - -<p>But such care was a little superfluous. Montoro was so taken up with -regrets which for once would have their way, that he paid small heed -to his companion's looks. He was thinking of his mother's face, and -wondering whether he should read any mute reproach for empty-handedness -in the sweet eyes that lighted it. But he had heard the question, and -he answered it—</p> - -<p>"Have I never yet told thee, my Juan, of the humble home I have long -since provided for my mother in the little town of El Cuevo? I hope to -join her there within the next fortnight, and there I suppose I shall -end my days."</p> - -<p>"And there <i>I</i> suppose that thou'lt do nothing of the sort," responded -the captain with a downright bluntness, that acted as a wholesome tonic -to his friend. "Why, Toro, I suppose not that yon wretched little -town of El Cuevo is big enough to hold above half-a-score of beggars -altogether. How, in the name of St. Jago, dost suppose that, with thy -wide sympathies, thou wilt be able to exist in such a narrow field?"</p> - -<p>This was a new way of putting the matter, and a very clever one for -that moment; and Montoro broke out into a hearty laugh, at sound of -which Juan de Cabrera took himself back to the duties of his ship with -a growling mutter to himself.</p> - -<p>"Well, at any rate, that is some crumb of consolation to a fellow, -perhaps, for having to keep a secret that seems sometimes to be burning -a regular hole in my brain."</p> - -<p>Happily, before that seeming grew into reality Cabrera's vessel -arrived safely at the port of Cadiz. Shortly after that he reached the -Court of King Charles in safety, and got comfortably rid of that burden -of mystery which he found so trying. Better still, he was authorized to -have the telling of it to the one it so greatly concerned—his comrade, -Montoro de Diego. He also was empowered to tell it after his own -desire,—bit by bit,—and found as much satisfaction in this telling, -or nearly so, as in telling over his own number of ounces of gold, -which proved a goodly sum in spite of his usual honesty, and general -carelessness as to golden or any other gains that had not fun for a -foundation.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XL" id="CHAPTER_XL">CHAPTER XL.</a></h2> - -<h3><i>REINSTATED.</i></h3> - - -<p>"Adios, my friend," said Montoro, a couple of weeks after landing on -Spanish soil.</p> - -<p>"<i>Adios</i> for the night, for I am sleepy," returned Cabrera. "But as -yet, <i>adios</i> for no longer."</p> - -<p>"But it must be," remonstrated Montoro. "My business here is -accomplished at last, and I am off to El Cuevo with the first dawn of -to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"Are you so?" retorted Don Juan. "I must surely say that thou art in -mighty haste to part company with thy friends, my hasty Señor."</p> - -<p>"And I must say," returned Montoro, with a pleased smile, "that thou -art as unreasonable as thou art gracious. What thinkest thou the mother -will say, whom I have not seen for six years, and then but for a flying -visit, if I linger on my road home now?"</p> - -<p>"And what thinkest thou," demanded Don Juan, with dry -deliberation—"what thinkest thou our somewhat imperious sovereign, the -noble King Charles of Spain and Emperor of Germany, will think, and -possibly also do, if you disobey the orders of his minister that you -remain here?"</p> - -<p>"When he pleases to give such orders about his insignificant subject -he will be obeyed," was the laughing answer. "Meantime, pending such -orders——"</p> - -<p>"Meantime, you have such orders," said again Don Juan calmly, but so -firmly that the words began to carry some conviction to his hearer's -brain, and he started to his feet.</p> - -<p>"Nay, Juan, play not with me thus. Tell me, is there real meaning in -thy speech?"</p> - -<p>"Judge for thyself," was the reply. And he drew letters from his pocket -and spread them before his companion's eyes. "Canst read, Diego?"</p> - -<p>The question was not wholly sarcastic. Many a brave knight in those -days could read the signs of a field of battle far more readily than -the pages of a book, or those written signs conveying thoughts from -mind to mind. But, as is well known, Diego could read, and his eyes -dilated with wonder as he read the few lines of the two letters now -laid before him.</p> - -<p>One of the letters ordered that the Don Montoro de Diego should remain -at Cadiz until further advice should have been taken about him. The -second of them contained the information that the Don Montoro de Diego -was to remain at Cadiz until the end of the coming week, and then to -proceed, without further delay, to Madrid in the company of Cabrera, -his suite, and the Aztec treasure.</p> - -<p>Montoro's bronzed cheeks grew pale as his eyes rested on the letters. -His first thought was one of dumb despair. Not for himself, for he was -toilworn and heartworn, and would have felt inclined to welcome any -death just then as the gateway to rest. But for his mother he feared -greatly that those orders signified an ominous memory of his origin.</p> - -<p>Juan de Cabrera read his friend's face readily enough, and before the -reading his own boyish love of tormenting faded, and the mysterious -import of the letters was explained.</p> - -<p>Montoro de Diego's report had gone before him. The good bishop Las -Casas had long since sounded a trumpet for him. Montejo months ago -had echoed the blast, and now Cortes, the conqueror of an Empire, and -Father Olmedo, the wise missionary of Mexico, had made one of the -bearers of their magnificent spoils to the King Charles also the bearer -of his own praises.</p> - -<p>A few weeks hence Montoro de Diego, with the trembling hand of the -sweet-eyed, silver-haired mother, Rachel de Diego, clasped tightly -within his own, once more entered the home of his ancestors, from which -he had been driven in his helpless first weeks of infancy.</p> - -<p>He had sought neither gold nor glory, but only to tread in the steps -of Him who has said—'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' 'By this -shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to -another.'</p> - -<p>He had sown the seeds of mercy, uprightness, honour, and compassion; -and even in those wild, wealth-clutching days he reaped men's honour -and a golden harvest.</p> - - -<p class="ph1">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The wealthy class next in standing to the nobles.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Robertson's 'America,' Bk. III. pp. 193, 194.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico.'—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' Vol. I., p. 288.—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,' vol. i. p. 63.—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico'—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> 'Hist. of America.'—Robertson.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Hist. 'Conquest of Mexico.'—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> 'Hist. Conquest of Mexico,'—Prescott.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> 'Hist. 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