THE SAVING OF GUATEMOC
Now after this dreadful day I was kindly dealt with by the people of
Tobasco, who gave me the name of Teule or Spaniard, and no longer
sought to put me to sacrifice. Far from it indeed, I was well clothed
and fed, and suffered to wander where I would, though always under the
care of guards who, had I escaped, would have paid for it with their
lives. I learned that on the morrow of my rescue from the priests,
messengers were despatched to Montezuma, the great king, acquainting
him with the history of my capture, and seeking to know his pleasure
concerning me. But the way to Tenoctitlan was far, and many weeks
passed before the messengers returned again. Meanwhile I filled the
days in learning the Maya language, and also something of that of the
Aztecs, which I practised with Marina and others. For Marina was not a
Tobascan, having been born at Painalla, on the southeastern borders of
the empire. But her mother sold her to merchants in order that Marina’s
inheritance might come to another child of hers by a second marriage,
and thus in the end the girl fell into the hands of the _cacique_ of
Tobasco.
Also I learned something of the history and customs, and of the picture
writing of the land, and how to read it, and moreover I obtained great
repute among the Tobascans by my skill in medicine, so that in time
they grew to believe that I was indeed a child of Quetzal, the good
god. And the more I studied this people the less I could understand of
them. In most ways they were equal to any nation of our own world of
which I had knowledge. None are more skilled in the arts, few are
better architects or boast purer laws. Moreover, they were brave and
had patience. But their faith was the canker at the root of the tree.
In precept it was noble and had much in common with our own, such as
the rite of baptism, but I have told what it was in practice. And yet,
when all is said, is it more cruel to offer up victims to the gods than
to torture them in the vaults of the Holy Office or to immure them in
the walls of nunneries?
When I had lived a month in Tobasco I had learned enough of the
language to talk with Marina, with whom I grew friendly, though no
more, and it was from her that I gathered the most of my knowledge, and
also many hints as to the conduct necessary to my safety. In return I
taught her something of my own faith, and of the customs of the
Europeans, and it was the knowledge that she gained from me which
afterwards made her so useful to the Spaniards, and prepared her to
accept their religion, giving her insight into the ways of white
people.
So I abode for four months and more in the house of the _cacique_ of
Tobasco, who carried his kindness towards me to the length of offering
me his sister in marriage. To this proposal I said no as gently as I
might, and he marvelled at it, for the girl was fair. Indeed, so well
was I treated, that had it not been that my heart was far away, and
because of the horrible rites of their religion which I was forced to
witness almost daily, I could have learned to love this gentle,
skilled, and industrious people.
At length, when full four months had passed away, the messengers
returned from the court of Montezuma, having been much delayed by
swollen rivers and other accidents of travel. So great was the
importance that the Emperor attached to the fact of my capture, and so
desirous was he to see me at his capital, that he had sent his own
nephew, the Prince Guatemoc, to fetch me and a great escort of warriors
with him.
Never shall I forget my first meeting with this prince who afterwards
became my dear companion and brother in arms. When the escort arrived I
was away from the town shooting deer with the bow and arrow, a weapon
in the use of which I had such skill that all the Indians wondered at
me, not knowing that twice I had won the prize at the butts on Bungay
Common. Our party being summoned by a messenger, we returned bearing
our deer with us. On reaching the courtyard of the _cacique’s_ house, I
found it filled with warriors most gorgeously attired, and among them
one more splendid than the rest. He was young, very tall and broad,
most handsome in face, and having eyes like those of an eagle, while
his whole aspect breathed majesty and command. His body was encased in
a cuirass of gold, over which hung a mantle made of the most gorgeous
feathers, exquisitely set in bands of different colours. On his head he
wore a helmet of gold surmounted by the royal crest, an eagle, standing
on a snake fashioned in gold and gems. On his arms, and beneath his
knees, he wore circlets of gold and gems, and in his hand was a
copper-bladed spear. Round this man were many nobles dressed in a
somewhat similar fashion, except that the most of them wore a vest of
quilted cotton in place of the gold cuirass, and a jewelled _panache_
of the plumes of birds instead of the royal symbol.
This was Guatemoc, Montezuma’s nephew, and afterwards the last emperor
of Anahuac. So soon as I saw him I saluted him in the Indian fashion by
touching the earth with my right hand, which I then raised to my head.
But Guatemoc, having scanned me with his eye as I stood, bow in hand,
attired in my simple hunter’s dress, smiled frankly and said:
“Surely, Teule, if I know anything of the looks of men, we are too
equal in our birth, as in our age, for you to salute me as a slave
greets his master.” And he held his hand to me.
I took it, answering with the help of Marina, who was watching this
great lord with eager eyes.
“It may be so, prince, but though in my own country I am a man of
repute and wealth, here I am nothing but a slave snatched from the
sacrifice.”
“I know it,” he said frowning. “It is well for all here that you were
so snatched before the breath of life had left you, else Montezuma’s
wrath had fallen on this city.” And he looked at the _cacique_ who
trembled, such in those days was the terror of Montezuma’s name.
Then he asked me if I was a Teule or Spaniard. I told him that I was no
Spaniard but one of another white race who had Spanish blood in his
veins. This saying seemed to puzzle him, for he had never so much as
heard of any other white race, so I told him something of my story, at
least so much of it as had to do with my being cast away.
When I had finished, he said, “If I have understood aright, Teule, you
say that you are no Spaniard, yet that you have Spanish blood in you,
and came hither in a Spanish ship, and I find this story strange. Well,
it is for Montezuma to judge of these matters, so let us talk of them
no more. Come and show me how you handle that great bow of yours. Did
you bring it with you or did you fashion it here? They tell me, Teule,
that there is no such archer in the land.”
So I came up and showed him the bow which was of my own make, and would
shoot an arrow some sixty paces further than any that I saw in Anahuac,
and we fell into talk on matters of sport and war, Marina helping out
my want of language, and before that day was done we had grown
friendly.
For a week the prince Guatemoc and his company rested in the town of
Tobasco, and all this time we three talked much together. Soon I saw
that Marina looked with eyes of longing on the great lord, partly
because of his beauty, rank and might, and partly because she wearied
of her captivity in the house of the _cacique_, and would share
Guatemoc’s power, for Marina was ambitious. She tried to win his heart
in many ways, but he seemed not to notice her, so that at last she
spoke more plainly and in my hearing.
“You go hence to-morrow, prince,” she said softly, “and I have a favour
to ask of you, if you will listen to your handmaid.”
“Speak on, maiden,” he answered.
“I would ask this, that if it pleases you, you will buy me of the
_cacique_ my master, or command him to give me up to you, and take me
with you to Tenoctitlan.”
Guatemoc laughed aloud. “You put things plainly, maiden,” he said, “but
know that in the city of Tenoctitlan, my wife and royal cousin,
Tecuichpo, awaits me, and with her three other ladies, who as it
chances are somewhat jealous.”
Now Marina flushed beneath her brown skin, and for the first and last
time I saw her gentle eyes grow hard with anger as she answered:
“I asked you to take me with you, prince; I did not ask to be your wife
or love.”
“But perchance you meant it,” he said dryly.
“Whatever I may have meant, prince, it is now forgotten. I wished to
see the great city and the great king, because I weary of my life here
and would myself grow great. You have refused me, but perhaps a time
will come when I shall grow great in spite of you, and then I may
remember the shame that has been put upon me against you, prince, and
all your royal house.”
Again Guatemoc laughed, then of a sudden grew stern.
“You are over-bold, girl,” he said; “for less words than these many a
one might find herself stretched upon the stone of sacrifice. But I
will forget them, for your woman’s pride is stung, and you know not
what you say. Do you forget them also, Teule, if you have understood.”
Then Marina turned and went, her bosom heaving with anger and outraged
love or pride, and as she passed me I heard her mutter, “Yes, prince,
you may forget, but I shall not.”
Often since that day I have wondered if some vision of the future
entered into the girl’s breast in that hour, or if in her wrath she
spoke at random. I have wondered also whether this scene between her
and Guatemoc had anything to do with the history of her after life; or
did Marina, as she avowed to me in days to come, bring shame and ruin
on her country for the love of Cortes alone? It is hard to say, and
perhaps these things had nothing to do with what followed, for when
great events have happened, we are apt to search out causes for them in
the past that were no cause. This may have been but a passing mood of
hers and one soon put out of mind, for it is certain that few build up
the temples of their lives upon some firm foundation of hope or hate,
of desire or despair, though it has happened to me to do so, but rather
take chance for their architect—and indeed whether they take him or no,
he is still the master builder. Still that Marina did not forget this
talk I know, for in after times I heard her remind this very prince of
the words that had passed between them, ay, and heard his noble answer
to her.
Now I have but one more thing to tell of my stay in Tobasco, and then
let me on to Mexico, and to the tale of how Montezuma’s daughter became
my wife, and of my further dealings with de Garcia.
On the day of our departure a great sacrifice of slaves was held upon
the _teocalli_ to propitiate the gods, so that they might give us a
safe journey, and also in honour of some festival, for to the festivals
of the Indians there was no end. Thither we went up the sides of the
steep pyramid, since I must look upon these horrors daily. When all was
prepared, and we stood around the stone of sacrifice while the
multitude watched below, that fierce _paba_ who once had felt the
beatings of my heart, came forth from the sanctuary of the god Quetzal
and signed to his companions to stretch the first of the victims on the
stone. Then of a sudden the prince Guatemoc stepped forward, and
addressing the priests, pointed to their chief, and said:
“Seize that man!”
They hesitated, for though he who commanded was a prince of the blood
royal, to lay hands upon a high priest was sacrilege. Then with a smile
Guatemoc drew forth a ring having a dull blue stone set in its bezel,
on which was engraved a strange device. With the ring he drew out also
a scroll of picture-writing, and held them both before the eyes of the
_pabas_. Now the ring was the ring of Montezuma, and the scroll was
signed by the great high priest of Tenoctitlan, and those who looked on
the ring and the scroll knew well that to disobey the mandate of him
who bore them was death and dishonour in one. So without more ado they
seized their chief and held him. Then Guatemoc spoke again and shortly:
“Lay him on the stone and sacrifice him to the god Quetzal.”
Now he who had taken such fierce joy in the death of others on this
same stone, began to tremble and weep, for he did not desire to drink
of his own medicine.
“Why must I be offered up, O prince?” he cried, “I who have been a
faithful servant to the gods and to the Emperor.”
“Because you dared to try to offer up this Teule,” answered Guatemoc,
pointing to me, “without leave from your master Montezuma, and because
of the other evils that you have done, all of which are written in this
scroll. The Teule is a son of Quetzal, as you have yourself declared,
and Quetzal will be avenged because of his son. Away with him, here is
your warrant.”
Then the priests, who till this moment had been his servants, dragged
their chief to the stone, and there, notwithstanding his prayers and
bellowings, one who had donned his mantle practised his own art upon
him, and presently his body was cast down the side of the pyramid. For
my part I am not sufficient of a Christian to pretend that I was sorry
to see him die in that same fashion by which he had caused the death of
so many better men.
When it was done Guatemoc turned to me and said, “So perish all your
enemies, my friend Teule.”
Within an hour of this event, which revealed to me how great was the
power of Montezuma, seeing that the sight of a ring from his finger
could bring about the instant death of a high priest at the hands of
his disciples, we started on our long journey. But before I went I bid
a warm farewell to my friend the _cacique_, and also to Marina, who
wept at my going. The _cacique_ I never saw again, but Marina I did
see.
For a whole month we travelled, for the way was far and the road rough,
and sometimes we must cut our path through forests and sometimes we
must wait upon the banks of rivers. Many were the strange sights that I
saw upon that journey, and many the cities in which we sojourned in
much state and honour, but I cannot stop to tell of all these.
One thing I will relate, however, though briefly, because it changed
the regard that the prince Guatemoc and I felt one to the other into a
friendship which lasted till his death, and indeed endures in my heart
to this hour.
One day we were delayed by the banks of a swollen river, and in pastime
went out to hunt for deer. When we had hunted a while and killed three
deer, it chanced that Guatemoc perceived a buck standing on a hillock,
and we set out to stalk it, five of us in all. But the buck was in the
open, and the trees and bush ceased a full hundred yards away from
where he stood, so that there was no way by which we might draw near to
him. Then Guatemoc began to mock me, saying, “Now, Teule, they tell
tales of your archery, and this deer is thrice as far as we Aztecs can
make sure of killing. Let us see your skill.”
“I will try,” I answered, “though the shot is long.”
So we drew beneath the cover of a _ceiba_ tree, of which the lowest
branches drooped to within fifteen feet of the ground, and having set
an arrow on the string of the great bow that I had fashioned after the
shape of those we use in merry England, I aimed and drew it. Straight
sped the arrow and struck the buck fair, passing through its heart, and
a low murmur of wonderment went up from those who saw the feat.
Then, just as we prepared to go to the fallen deer, a male puma, which
is nothing but a cat, though fifty times as big, that had been watching
the buck from above, dropped down from the boughs of the _ceiba_ tree
full on to the shoulders of the prince Guatemoc, felling him to the
ground, where he lay face downwards while the fierce brute clawed and
bit at his back. Indeed had it not been for his golden cuirass and helm
Guatemoc would never have lived to be emperor of Anahuac, and perhaps
it might have been better so.
Now when they saw the puma snarling and tearing at the person of their
prince, though brave men enough, the three nobles who were with us were
seized by sudden panic and ran, thinking him dead. But I did not run,
though I should have been glad enough to do so. At my side hung one of
the Indian weapons that serve them instead of swords, a club of wood
set on both sides with spikes of obsidian, like the teeth in the bill
of a swordfish. Snatching it from its loop I gave the puma battle,
striking a blow upon his head that rolled him over and caused the blood
to pour. In a moment he was up and at me roaring with rage. Whirling
the wooden sword with both hands I smote him in mid air, the blow
passing between his open paws and catching him full on the snout and
head. So hard was this stroke that my weapon was shattered, still it
did not stop the puma. In a second I was cast to the earth with a great
shock, and the brute was on me tearing and biting at my chest and neck.
It was well for me at that moment that I wore a garment of quilted
cotton, otherwise I must have been ripped open, and even with this
covering I was sadly torn, and to this day I bear the marks of the
beast’s claws upon my body. But now when I seemed to be lost the great
blow that I had struck took effect on him, for one of the points of
glass had pierced to his brain. He lifted his head, his claws
contracted themselves in my flesh, then he howled like a dog in pain
and fell dead upon my body. So I lay upon the ground unable to stir,
for I was much hurt, until my companions, having taken heart, came back
and pulled the puma off me. By this time Guatemoc, who saw all, but
till now was unable to move from lack of breath, had found his feet
again.
“Teule,” he gasped, “you are a brave man indeed, and if you live I
swear that I will always stand your friend to the death as you have
stood mine.”
Thus he spoke to me; but to the others he said nothing, casting no
reproaches at them.
Then I fainted away.