A CHALLENGE, AND ITS RESULT
While the embassy of Tlascalans, headed by Huetzin, was being received
with all honor in the camp of the rejoicing Spaniards, another,
consisting of five Aztec nobles, with a retinue of two hundred
servants, bearing presents of great value, arrived from the court of
Montezuma. They were sent by the trembling monarch to congratulate
Cortes on his recent victories over the most redoubtable warriors of
the Plateau, and to warn him against entering into an alliance with
them. In reality the Aztec king, who had watched the movements of the
white conquerors with deepest anxiety, and who had rejoiced when they
took the road to Tlascala, still hoped that they might be destroyed by
the armies of the mountain republic, and would have used any means to
prolong the war just ended. Under pretence of needing time to prepare a
suitable answer to his majesty, Cortes detained these ambassadors for
several days, that they might witness his reception at the Tlascalan
capital.
Preparations were now made for leaving the hill of Zompach, on
which the conquerors had passed three memorable weeks, and its
fortress-temple, the ruins of which are shown to this day as those
of the "Tower of Victory." On the 23d of September, the anniversary
of which is still celebrated by Tlascalans as a day of jubilee, the
Christian army entered the capital of the brave little republic. The
van of the procession consisted of a body of white-robed priests,
chanting and scattering clouds of sweet incense from swaying censers.
Next came Huetzin, proudly leading an escort of a thousand Tlascalan
warriors. These were followed by Cortes and the Aztec envoys. After
them marched the battle-worn Spanish troops, with their rumbling
artillery and prancing cavalry bringing up the rear.
The eager multitude of spectators who thronged the streets and terraced
roofs, and who were kept in check by an efficient body of native
police, greeted the conquerors with acclamations, showering upon them
garlands and wreaths of the choicest flowers. They even hung these
over the necks of the horses, and on the black-muzzled guns. Arches of
green branches, entwined with roses, spanned the streets, and the house
fronts were gay with fragrant festoons.
A great feast was provided in the palace of Titcala for the entire
Spanish army, and at the entrance the aged chieftain waited to welcome
them. When Huetzin escorted Cortes to where the veteran stood, the
latter passed his hands over the conqueror's face, and, tracing its
lines of rugged determination, exclaimed:
"Now, oh, Malinche, do I understand the secret of thy success! Thou
hast the will of a god; and when thy face is set, no mortal power may
turn it to the right or to the left."
After the banquet the Spaniards were conducted to quarters prepared
for them in the court of the temple. The festivities were continued
for a week, during which time feasting was alternated with games and
exhibitions of every description. The Tlascalans never wearied of
witnessing the manœuvres of the Spanish horsemen, nor their displays
of skill with the lance. In these, none so astonished the spectators
as did Sandoval, with a feat that he performed, not only once, but
many times in succession. It was to ride at full speed toward a paper
target, and pierce, with the glittering point of his lance, a painted
circle, no larger than a man's eye. Only one possessed of the steadiest
nerves and keenest eyesight, trained by long practice, could have
accomplished this feat. Even with these qualifications, the rider
was so dependent on the steadiness of his horse, that on the back of
any but his own Motilla, even Sandoval often failed to strike the
tiny circle. With Motilla's aid failure seemed impossible, and of the
plaudits that the feat drew from admiring throngs, it is doubtful if
horse or rider received the most.
Nor was Huetzin at all behind his newly adopted brother in deeds of
warlike skill. Standing at thirty paces from the same target used by
Sandoval, he would hurl javelin after javelin through the tiny mark,
each passing through the opening made by its predecessor without
enlarging it. He could also shoot one, two, or even three arrows at a
time from his bow, with equal precision, and could split the shaft of
one, quivering in a mark, with the keen blade of another. Such feats,
though rare, were not unknown to the Tlascalans; but to the Spaniards
they seemed little short of supernatural, and, on account of them,
Huetzin was treated with a greater respect by the white soldiers than
any other native of the land.
During this time the young Toltec was eagerly acquiring two other
accomplishments. From Marina he took daily lessons in the Spanish
tongue, which she had learned to speak fluently during her six months
of intercourse with the conquerors. From Sandoval he received an
equal amount of instruction in the use of his highly prized sword. So
carefully had he been trained by his warrior father in the handling of
all native weapons, that, after a week of practice, he was nearly as
dexterous with the Spanish blade as with his accustomed maquahuitl,
a weapon that he was now inclined to despise. Something of this kind
being intimated one day, within the hearing of Xicoten, that warrior,
anxious to humiliate his cousin, whom at the same time he regarded
as a rival, and jealous for the reputation of his national weapon,
challenged Huetzin to a trial of skill.
Although the latter had not regained his full strength, and had but
a few days of sword practice to match against the other's years of
familiarity with the maquahuitl, his bold spirit did not permit him to
hesitate a moment in accepting the challenge.
Sandoval was greatly troubled when he learned of the rash engagement
entered into by his pupil. He expressed himself on the subject in
vigorous language, ending with: "That rascally kinsman of thine is
jealous of thee, Don Juan, and, if I mistake not, would gladly seize
this flimsy pretext for putting thee out of the way. Canst thou not
avoid him for the present, or until thou art better fitted to lower his
pride?"
This being translated by Marina, who seconded Sandoval's appeal with a
look from her own beautiful eyes that would have moved Huetzin from any
purpose where his word was not pledged, he answered: "It may not be,
my brother. I have promised to try a turn with him, and that promise
I would redeem with my life, if necessary. But it will not be, I am
convinced. Xicoten meditates no more harm to me than I to him, and the
trial will be but a friendly one."
"Let him look to it that it is!" growled Sandoval, "and remember that I
am to act as thy second."
The following day was set apart for certain games of wrestling,
foot-racing, and other tests of strength or skill, and it was decided
that these should end with the trial of weapons between Huetzin and
Xicoten. There was an immense concourse of spectators to witness the
games, and when at length the two Tlascalan champions stood forth,
they were greeted with tumultuous applause. Each was accompanied by a
second, pledged to see fair play. That of the war chief was a brother
noble of gigantic size, and by Huetzin's side walked Sandoval, with a
face as melancholy as though he were attending an execution.
There were no preliminary formalities. The contestants were placed
two paces apart, Xicoten, armed with his maquahuitl, a tough oaken
staff, some three and a half feet long, set with blades of itztli,
and Huetzin with his sword of Toledo steel. Each bore on his left arm
a tough leathern shield. Behind Xicoten stood his second, also armed
with a maquahuitl, and a little to one side of Huetzin, Sandoval leaned
gloomily on his great two-handed sword.
The contest began with a cautious play of fence, in which the
adversaries displayed an equal skill, and which the spectators greeted
with hearty approval. Soon, however, Xicoten's blows began to fall with
a downright earnestness that boded ill for his slighter antagonist, and
but for Huetzin's superior agility in springing back, and so evading
them, it was evident that he would have come to grief. Several times
was his guard beaten down by sheer force. The face of the young Toltec
grew pale, his breath came in gasps, and it was apparent to all that
his powers of endurance were nearly spent.
Finally blood began to ooze from the recent wound in his head, at sight
of which murmurs arose from the spectators, and cries for the contest
to end. Sandoval, who stood with half-closed eyes and an air of bored
indifference, began to arouse. Huetzin deftly caught a cruel blow from
Xicoten's maquahuitl on his shield; but beneath its force his left arm
dropped as though numbed.
With blazing eyes Sandoval stepped forward and lifted his sword as a
signal for the combat to cease. Disobeying the signal, Xicoten, blinded
by a jealous rage, raised his weapon for yet another blow. Ere it could
be delivered Sandoval's great sword was whirled about his head like a
leaping flame, and in another instant it had shorn through the tough
oak of Xicoten's weapon, as though it had been a reed. So complete was
the severance that one-half fell to the ground behind the Tlascalan,
leaving him to gaze at the other, still remaining in his hand, with
such a bewildered air, that the vast audience broke into shouts of
merriment. For a moment Sandoval glared about him as though seeking an
excuse to repeat his mighty blow. Then, with a glance of contempt at
Xicoten, he turned and stalked from the field.
On the next day, in spite of the protests from Montezuma's ambassadors,
and the warnings of the Tlascalan counsellors, the white conquerors
prepared to resume their march to Tenochtitlan, which they proposed to
reach by way of the sacred city of Cholula.