The first thought of the young cavalier was, that Don Gabriel had been
basely and murderously struck by some felon hand; an apprehension of
which he was, in part, immediately relieved by the protestations of
Baltasar, but which was not entirely removed until he had assisted to
carry the knight into a chamber of the palace, and beheld him open his
eyes and roll them wildly round him, like one awaking from a dream of
night-mare.
"I say," muttered Baltasar, as he raised the head of the distracted man,
and beckoned to clear the room of many idle personages who had thrust
themselves in, "he was hurt by no mortal man, for I stood close at his
side, and there is not a drop of blood on his body. 'Twas one of the
accursed ghosts, whom may St. John sink down to hell; for they are ever
persecuting us."
"Mortal man, or immortal fiend," whispered Lazaro, knitting his brows,
but looking greatly frighted, "I saw him running away, the moment the
knight screeched; and, I will take my oath, he had such a damnable
appearance as belongs to nothing but the devil, or one of these pagan
gods, who are all devils. Had he been a man, I should have slain him,
for I struck at him with my spear!"
"Miserere mei!" groaned the knight, rising to his feet, "they are all
unearthed,--Zayda at the temple, and _he_ in the palace!"
Don Amador trembled, when he heard his kinsman pronounce the name of
Zayda, for he remembered the words of Jacinto. Nevertheless he said, "be
not disturbed, my father; for we are none here but thy servants."
"Ay!" said the knight, looking gloomily but sanely to his friend; "I
afflict thee with my folly; but I know _now_ that it will end.--Let the
boy Jacinto sing to me the song of the Virgin; I will pray and sleep."
Don Amador looked round, and Jacinto not being present, began to
remember that the page had been separated from him in the crowd, and
that he had not seen him since the moment of separation. None of the
attendants had noticed him enter the court-yard; and a superstitious
fear was mingled with his anxiety, when Don Gabriel, casting his eyes to
heaven, said, with a deep groan,--
"The time beginneth, the flower is broken, and now I see how each branch
shall fall, and the trunk that is blasted, shall be left, naked, to
perish! Seek no more for the boy," he went on to Amador, with a grave
placidity, which, coupled with the extravagance of his words, gave the
youth reason to fear that his mind, wavering under a thousand shocks,
had at last settled down for ever in the calm of insanity,--"seek for
the good child no more, for he is now in heaven. And lament not thou, my
son Amador, that thou shalt speedily follow him; for thy heart is yet
pure, thy soul unstained, and grace shall not be denied thee!"
"Jacinto is not dead, my father," said the neophyte earnestly; "and if
thou wilt suffer Baltasar to remove thy corslet, and make thee a couch
under yonder canopy, I will fetch him to thee presently, and he shall
sing thee to sleep."
"Remove the armour indeed," muttered Don Gabriel, submitting passively,
"for now there is no more need of aught but the crucifix, prayers, and
the grave. Poor children! that shall die before the day of canker, what
matters it? I lament ye not,--ye shall sleep in peace!"
Thus murmuring out his distractions, in which his servants perceived
nothing but the influence of some supernatural warning that boded them
calamity, the knight allowed himself to be disarmed and laid upon a
couch on a raised platform at the side of the chamber, over which the
voluminous arras that covered the walls, were festooned into a sort of
not inelegant tester.
Meanwhile, the neophyte, beckoning Lazaro with him, and charging him to
make good search throughout the palace for the page, began to address
himself to the same duty. And first, attracted by the lights and by the
sounds of many voices coming from a neighbouring apartment, he advanced
to the door, where he was suddenly arrested by the appearance of a
Mexican of very majestic stature, though clad in the same humble robes
which had covered the attendants of Montezuma, issuing from the chamber,
followed by a throng of cavaliers, among whom was the general himself.
At the side of Cortes stood a boy, in stature resembling Jacinto; and in
whom, for a moment, Don Amador thought he had discovered the object of
his desires. But this agreeable delusion was instantly put to flight,
when he heard Don Hernan address him by the name of Orteguilla, and saw
that he exercised the functions of an interpreter.
"Tell me this knave, my merry _muchacho_," said the general,--"tell me
this knave, (that is to say, this royal prince,) Cuitlahuatzin, that I
discharge him from captivity, under the assurance that he shall, very
faithfully, and without delay, command his runagate people to bring me
corn to the market; of which it is not fitting we should be kept in want
longer than to-morrow. And give him to understand, that I hold, as the
hostage of his good faith and compliance, the dog Montezuma; (translate
_that_, the king his brother:) who shall be made to suffer the penalty
of any neglect, on his part, to furnish me with the afore-mentioned
necessary provision."
The little Orteguilla, in part acquainted with the Mexican tongue, did
as he was directed; and the prince Cuitlahuatzin, (or, as it should be
pronounced in English speech, Quitlawatzin,) receiving and understanding
the direction, bowed his head to Cortes with stately humility, and
immediately withdrew.
Not discovering or hearing aught of Jacinto in this throng, Don Amador
continued his search in other parts of the palace, the court-yard, and
even the neighbouring street; but with such indifferent success, that,
when stumbling upon Lazaro, and made acquainted that he had been equally
unfortunate, he began to entertain the most serious fears for the fate
of the boy.
"Perhaps he was carried off by the spectre," muttered Lazaro,
superstitiously, "as his worship Don Gabriel as much as hinted."
"Or perhaps," said the neophyte, with a thrill of horror, "by some of
those bloody cannibals, to be devoured! And I remember now, that there
were many savages about me at the time; though I thought them
Tlascalans. I would to heaven, I had speared the knaves that came
between us; but I swear to St. John of the Desert, if they have truly
robbed me of the boy, and for that diabolical purpose, I will pursue
their whole race with a most unrelenting vengeance."
At this moment, the cavalier was startled by a sudden "Hark!" from
Lazaro, and heard, at a distance in the street, though objects were lost
in the darkness, a great tumult as of men in affray, and plainly
distinguished a voice crying aloud, "Arma! arma! and Christian men, for
the love of God, to the rescue of Christians beset by infidels!"
"Draw thy sword, Lazaro, and follow!" cried the cavalier, "for these are
other victims; and, with God's favour, we _will_ rescue them!"
Thus exclaiming, and without a moment thinking of the unknown perils
among which he was rushing, he ran rapidly in the direction of the
cries, and straightway beheld, a little in advance of a great crowd of
people, a group consisting of four or five persons, several of them
women in strange attire, who stood shrieking with terror, while at their
feet rolled three or four on the ground in close and murderous combat.
The cries of one of these prostrate figures bespoke him a Spaniard, and
while one sinewy pagan seemed to hold him upon the earth, another stood
with his uplifted weapon, in the very act of despatching him. At this
moment, Don Amador rushed forwards, and shouting his war-cry, _Dios, y
buena esperanza!_ (that is, 'God and good cheer!') struck the menacing
savage a blow that sent him yelling away, and seized upon the other by
the shoulder to stab him; when, suddenly, the Spaniard rose to his feet,
with a leap that tumbled the infidel to the earth, and showed him to be
already dead, cried aloud, in the well-remembered voice of the
magician,--
"Tetragrammaton! thou wert a good shield, though a bloody one, sir
carcass!--Save the princesses, and fly, or we are all dead men!--Arma!
arma! to the rescue!"
Thus shouting, and seizing upon one of the women, while Don Amador
snatched the arm of the other, (for he perceived, they were like to be
cut off by the approaching crowd,) the sorcerer, with his rescuers, ran
towards the palace. His cries had reached the quarters; and presently
they were surrounded by a hundred soldiers and cavaliers bearing lights,
in the glare of which Don Amador had scarce time to note the countenance
of his new ward, before she was locked in the arms of De Morla.
"Minnapotzin! Benita!" cried the joyous cavalier. "Amigo mio! thou hast
saved my princess!"
"Stop not to prate and be happy; for the storm comes!" exclaimed
Botello. "To the palace, all of ye! and to the cannon! for were you five
hundred men, there are wolves enow at your heels to devour you!"
Thus admonished, and perceiving, in fact, that a vast, though silent
multitude was approaching, all were fain to fly, and in an instant they
were crowding into the gates of the court-yard.
"This comes of insulting the king!" cried a voice from the melee, as
Cortes, shouting out to clear the gates, was seen himself assisting to
draw a piece of artillery to the opening.
"I see naught,--I hear nothing," cried the general, affecting not to
remark this reproach, (which was indeed just; for it was this
over-refinement of policy, spread with wonderful celerity throughout the
city, which dashed the last scale from the eyes of the Mexicans,
convinced them that their monarch was indeed a slave, and let loose the
long-imprisoned current of fury.) "I see nought, I hear nought; and my
brave Rolands have been flying from shadows!"
"Say not so; the town is alive," cried the magician. "The hounds set on
me, as I was bringing, at your excellency's command, these princesses
from Tacuba; and it was only through the mercy of God, my good star, an
Indian that I killed for a buckler, and the help of this true cavalier,
(whose fate, out of gratitude, I will reveal to him to-morrow,) that we
were not all killed by the way:--for small reverence did the false
traitors show to the maidens."
"Clear the way, then. Discharge me the piece, Catalan, true cannonier!"
said Cortes, "and we will see what our foes look like, so near to
midnight."
The match was applied, the palace shook to the roar,--and the blaze,
illumining the street to a great distance, disclosed it, to the surprise
of all, entirely deserted.
"I will aver upon mine oath," said Don Amador, "that the street was but
now full of people; but where they have hidden, or whither they have
fled, wholly passes my comprehension."
"Hidden, surely, in their beds," cried the general, loudly and
cheerfully, for he perceived the crowds about him were panic-struck.
"They set on Botello, doubtless, because they thought he was haling away
the princesses with violence; and, convinced of their error, they have
now gone to their rest,--a mark of wisdom in which I would advise all
here to follow their example."
Thus cheered by their leader, the soldiers began to disperse; and
Amador, musing painfully on the mysterious fate of the page, was
accosted by Cortes, who, drawing him aside, said,--
"It has been told me, senor, that your Moorish boy has made his escape."
"His escape!" echoed the novice, in surprise. "He did indeed vanish away
from me, and I know not how, though much do I fear, in a manner that it
shocks me to think on. I was about to ask of your excellency, as the boy
is a true Christian, as well as a most faithful servant, for such
counsel and assistance as might enable me, this night, to rescue him out
of the hands of the cannibals; for it would be a sin on the souls of us
all, should we suffer him to come to harm."
"And are you so well persuaded of his faith, as to believe him incapable
of treachery?" demanded Don Hernan, earnestly: "Thou forgettest, he has
a father concealed among these infidels."
"Ay! by my faith!" cried Amador, joyously; "I thought not of that
before. And yet, and yet----" Here his countenance fell. "How should he
be so mad, as to leave us in this strange and huge city, with any hope
of discovering Abdalla?"
"I can resolve thee that," said Cortes: "for it is avouched to me by
Yacub, that he saw this wretch (whom may heaven return to me for
punishment, for he is a most subtle, daring, and dangerous traitor,)
this very knave Abdalla, at thy horse's heels; but he could not believe
'twas he, until made acquainted with the flight of the page."
"Ay! now I see it;" said Amador; "and I remember that he wept, as he
held my hand, as if grieving to desert me. But, methinks, 'twill be well
to seek him out, and reclaim him. Will your excellency allow me the
services of any score or two of men, who, for love or gold, may be
induced to follow me in the search?"
"I will answer thee in thine own words," said Cortes: "Where wouldst
thou look in this strange and huge city, with any hope of discovering
him? Be content, senor; the boy is with the fox, his father. _That_
should convince thee, he is in present safety. And senor, I will tell
thee, what I conceal from my people, (for thou art a soldier, and,
therefore, as discreet as fearless,) that I would not, this night,
despatch an hundred men a mile from the palace, without looking to have
half of them slain outright by the rebels that are around us!"
"And dost thou think," said Amador, "that these besotted, naked madmen,
would dare to assail so many?"
"You will see, by my conscience!" cried the general, with a grim and
anxious smile. "Sleep with thine armour at thy side; and forget not thy
buckler, for I have known a Tlascalan arrow pierce through a good
Biscayan gorget; and they say, the Mexicans can shoot as well. Let not
any noise arouse thee, unless it be that of a trumpet. I would have thee
sleep well, my friend; for I know not how soon I may need thy strong
arm, and encouraging countenance!"
Thus darkly and imperfectly apprising the novice of his fears, (for now,
indeed, a demon had roused a thousand apprehensions in his breast,) the
general departed; and Don Amador disconsolately pursued his way to the
chamber of the knight of Rhodes.