CHAPTER XX
OTOMIE'S COUNSEL
On the day after the return of Cortes to Mexico, before the hour ofdawn I was awakened from my uneasy slumbers by the whistling cries ofthousands of warriors and the sound of atabals and drums.
Hurrying to my post of outlook on the little pyramid, where Otomiejoined me, I saw that the whole people were gathered for war. So faras the eye could reach, in square, market place, and street, they weremassed in thousands and tens of thousands. Some were armed with slings,some with bows and arrows, others with javelins tipped with copper,and the club set with spikes of obsidian that is called maqua, and yetothers, citizens of the poorer sort, with stakes hardened in the fire.The bodies of some were covered with golden coats of mail and mantles offeatherwork, and their skulls protected by painted wooden helms,crested with hair, and fashioned like the heads of pumas, snakes, orwolves--others wore escaupils, or coats of quilted cotton, but themost of them were naked except for a cloth about the loins. On the flatazoteas, or roofs of houses also, and even on the top of the teocalli ofsacrifice, were bands of men whose part it was to rain missiles into theSpanish quarters. It was a strange sight to see in that red sunrise, andone never to be forgotten, as the light flashed from temples and palacewalls, on to the glittering feather garments and gay banners, the pointsof countless spears and the armour of the Spaniards, who hurried to andfro behind their battlements making ready their defence.
So soon as the sun was up, a priest blew a shrill note upon a shell,which was answered by a trumpet call from the Spanish quarters. Thenwith a shriek of rage the thousands of the Aztecs rushed to the attack,and the air grew dark with missiles. Instantly a wavering line of fireand smoke, followed by a sound as of thunder, broke from the walls ofthe palace of Axa, and the charging warriors fell like autumn leavesbeneath the cannon and arquebuss balls of the Christians.
For a moment they wavered and a great groan went up to heaven, but I sawGuatemoc spring forward, a banner in his hand, and forming up again theyrushed after him. Now they were beneath the wall of the palace, and theassault began. The Aztecs fought furiously. Time upon time they stroveto climb the wall, piling up the bodies of the dead to serve them asladders, and time upon time they were repulsed with cruel loss. Failingin this, they set themselves to battering it down with heavy beams, butwhen the breach was made and they clustered in it like herded sheep, thecannon opened fire on them, tearing long lanes through their mass andleaving them dead by scores. Then they took to the shooting of flamingarrows, and by this means fired the outworks, but the palace was ofstone and would not burn. Thus for twelve long hours the struggle ragedunceasingly, till the sudden fall of darkness put an end to it, andthe only sight to be seen was the flare of countless torches carried bythose who sought out the dead, and the only sounds to be heard were thevoice of women lamenting, and the groans of the dying.
On the morrow the fight broke out again at dawn, when Cortes salliedforth with the greater part of his soldiers, and some thousands ofhis Tlascalan allies. At first I thought that he aimed his attack atMontezuma's palace, and a breath of hope went through me, since then itmight become possible for me to escape in the confusion. But this wasnot so, his object being to set fire to the houses, from the flat roofsof which numberless missiles were hailed hourly upon his followers.The charge was desperate and it succeeded, for the Indians could notwithstand the shock of horsemen any more than their naked skins couldturn the Spaniards' steel. Presently scores of houses were in flames,and thick columns of smoke rolled up like those that float from themouth of Popo. But many of those who rode and ran from the gates ofAxa did not come back thither, for the Aztecs clung to the legs ofthe horses and dragged their riders away living. That very day thesecaptives were sacrificed on the altar of Huitzel, and in the sight oftheir comrades, and with them a horse was offered up, which had beentaken alive, and was borne and dragged with infinite labour up the steepsides of the pyramid. Indeed never had the sacrifices been so many asduring these days of combat. All day long the altars ran red, and allday long the cries of the victims rang in my ears, as the maddenedpriests went about their work. For thus they thought to please the godswho should give them victory over the Teules.
Even at night the sacrifices continued by the light of the sacred fires,that from below gave those who wrought them the appearance of devilsflitting through the flames of hell, and inflicting its torments onthe damned, much as they are depicted in the 'Doom' painting of theresurrection of the dead that is over the chancel arch in this church ofDitchingham. And hour by hour through the darkness, a voice called outthreats and warnings to the Spaniards, saying, 'Huitzel is hungry foryour blood, ye Teules, ye shall surely follow where ye have seen yourfellows go: the cages are ready, the knives are sharp, and the ironsare hot for the torture. Prepare, ye Teules, for though ye slay many, yecannot escape.'
Thus the struggle went on day after day, till thousands of the Aztecswere dead, and the Spaniards were well nigh worn out with hunger,war, and wounds, for they could not rest a single hour. At length onemorning, when the assault was at its hottest, Montezuma himself appearedupon the central tower of the palace, clad in splendid robes and wearingthe diadem. Before him stood heralds bearing golden wands, and abouthim were the nobles who attended him in his captivity, and a guard ofSpaniards. He stretched out his hand, and suddenly the fighting wasstayed and a silence fell upon the place, even the wounded ceased fromtheir groaning. Then he addressed the multitude. What he said I was toofar off to hear, though I learned its purport afterwards. He prayed hispeople to cease from war, for the Spaniards were his friends and guestsand would presently leave the city of Tenoctitlan. When these cowardlywords had passed his lips, a fury took his subjects, who for long yearshad worshipped him as a god, and a shriek rent the air that seemed tosay two words only:
'Woman! Traitor!'
Then I saw an arrow rush upwards and strike the emperor, and after thearrow a shower of stones, so that he fell down there upon the towerroof.
Now a voice cried, 'We have slain our king. Montezuma is dead,' andinstantly with a dreadful wailing the multitude fled this way and that,so that presently no living man could be seen where there had beenthousands.
I turned to comfort Otomie, who was watching at my side, and had seenher royal father fall, and led her weeping into the palace. Here we metGuatemoc, the prince, and his mien was fierce and wild. He was fullyarmed and carried a bow in his hand.
'Is Montezuma dead?' I asked.
'I neither know nor care,' he answered with a savage laugh, then added:
'Now curse me, Otomie my cousin, for it was my arrow that smote himdown, this king who has become a woman and a traitor, false to hismanhood and his country.'
Then Otomie ceased weeping and answered:
'I cannot curse you, Guatemoc, for the gods have smitten my fatherwith a madness as you smote him with your arrow, and it is best thathe should die, both for his own sake and for that of his people. Still,Guatemoc, I am sure of this, that your crime will not go unpunished,and that in payment for this sacrilege, you shall yourself come to ashameful death.'
'It may be so,' said Guatemoc, 'but at least I shall not die betrayingmy trust;' and he went.
Now I must tell that, as I believed, this was my last day on earth,for on the morrow my year of godhead expired, and I, Thomas Wingfield,should be led out to sacrifice. Notwithstanding all the tumult in thecity, the mourning for the dead and the fear that hung over it like acloud, the ceremonies of religion and its feasts were still celebratedstrictly, more strictly indeed than ever before. Thus on this night afestival was held in my honour, and I must sit at the feast crownedwith flowers and surrounded by my wives, while those nobles who remainedalive in the city did me homage, and with them Cuitlahua, who, ifMontezuma were dead, would now be emperor. It was a dreary meal enough,for I could scarcely be gay though I strove to drown my woes in drink,and as for the guests, they had little jollity left in them. Hundredsof their relatives were dead and with them tho
usands of the people; theSpaniards still held their own in the fortress, and that day they hadseen their emperor, who to them was a god, smitten down by one of theirown number, and above all they felt that doom was upon themselves. Whatwonder that they were not merry? Indeed no funeral feast could have beenmore sad, for flowers and wine and fair women do not make pleasure, andafter all it was a funeral feast--for me.
At length it came to an end and I fled to my own apartments, whither mythree wives followed me, for Otomie did not come, calling me most happyand blessed who to-morrow should be with myself, that is with my owngodhead, in heaven. But I did not call them blessed, for, rising inwrath, I drove them away, saying that I had but one comfort left, and itwas that wherever I might go I should leave them behind.
Then I cast myself upon the cushions of my bed and mourned in my fearand bitterness of heart. This was the end of the vengeance which I hadsworn to wreak on de Garcia, that I myself must have my heart torn frommy breast and offered to a devil. Truly Fonseca, my benefactor, hadspoken words of wisdom when he counselled me to take my fortune andforget my oath. Had I done so, to-day I might have been my betrothed'shusband and happy in her love at home in peaceful England, instead ofwhat I was, a lost soul in the power of fiends and about to be offeredto a fiend. In the bitterness of the thought and the extremity of myanguish I wept aloud and prayed to my Maker that I might be deliveredfrom this cruel death, or at the least that my sins should be forgivenme, so that to-morrow night I might rest at peace in heaven.
Thus weeping and praying I sank into a half sleep, and dreamed that Iwalked on the hillside near the church path that runs through the gardenof the Lodge at Ditchingham. The whispers of the wind were in the treeswhich clothe the bank of the Vineyard Hills, the scent of the sweetEnglish flowers was in my nostrils and the balmy air of June blew on mybrow. It was night in this dream of mine, and I thought that the moonshone sweetly on the meadows and the river, while from every side camethe music of the nightingale. But I was not thinking of these delightfulsights and sounds, though they were present in my mind, for my eyeswatched the church path which goes up the hill at the back of the house,and my heart listened for a footstep that I longed to hear. Then therecame a sound of singing from beyond the hill, and the words of the songwere sad, for they told of one who had sailed away and returned no more,and presently between the apple trees I saw a white figure on its crest.Slowly it came towards me and I knew that it was she for whom I waited,Lily my beloved. Now she ceased to sing, but drew on gently and her faceseemed very sad. Moreover it was the face of a woman in middle life,but still most beautiful, more beautiful indeed than it had been in thebloom of youth. She had reached the foot of the hill and was turningtowards the little garden gate, when I came forward from the shadow ofthe trees, and stood before her. Back she started with a cry of fear,then grew silent and gazed into my face.
'So changed,' she murmured; 'can it be the same? Thomas, is it youcome back to me from the dead, or is this but a vision?' and slowly anddoubtingly the dream wraith stretched out her arms as though to claspme.
Then I awoke. I awoke and lo! before me stood a fair woman clothed inwhite, on whom the moonlight shone as in my dream, and her arms werestretched towards me lovingly.
'It is I, beloved, and no vision,' I cried, springing from my bed andclasping her to my breast to kiss her. But before my lips touched hers Isaw my error, for she whom I embraced was not Lily Bozard, my betrothed,but Otomie, princess of the Otomie, who was called my wife. Then I knewthat this was the saddest and the most bitter of dreams that had beensent to mock me, for all the truth rushed into my mind. Losing my holdof Otomie, I fell back upon the bed and groaned aloud, and as I fell Isaw the flush of shame upon her brow and breast. For this woman lovedme, and thus my act and words were an insult to her, who could guesswell what prompted them. Still she spoke gently.
'Pardon me, Teule, I came but to watch and not to waken you. I came alsothat I may see you alone before the daybreak, hoping that I might be ofservice, or at the least, of comfort to you, for the end draws near. Saythen, in your sleep did you mistake me for some other woman dearer andfairer than I am, that you would have embraced me?'
'I dreamed that you were my betrothed whom I love, and who is faraway across the sea,' I answered heavily. 'But enough of love and suchmatters. What have I to do with them who go down into darkness?'
'In truth I cannot tell, Teule, still I have heard wise men say that iflove is to be found anywhere, it is in this same darkness of death, thatis light indeed. Grieve not, for if there is truth in the faith of whichyou have told me or in our own, either on this earth or beyond it, withthe eyes of the spirit you will see your dear before another sun is set,and I pray that you may find her faithful to you. Tell me now, howmuch does she love you? Would SHE have lain by your side on the bed ofsacrifice as, had things gone otherwise between us, Teule, it was myhope to do?'
'No,' I answered, 'it is not the custom of our women to kill themselvesbecause their husbands chance to die.'
'Perhaps they think it better to live and wed again,' answered Otomievery quietly, but I saw her eyes flash and her breast heave in themoonlight as she spoke.
'Enough of this foolish talk,' I said. 'Listen, Otomie; if you had caredfor me truly, surely you would have saved me from this dreadful doom,or prevailed on Guatemoc to save me. You are Montezuma's daughter, couldyou not have brought it about during all these months that he issued hisroyal mandate, commanding that I should be spared?'
'Do you, then, take me for so poor a friend, Teule?' she answered hotly.'Know that for all these months, by day and by night, I have worked andstriven to find a means to rescue you. Before he became a prisoner Iimportuned my father the emperor, till he ordered me from his presence.I have sought to bribe the priests, I have plotted ways of escape,ay, and Guatemoc has helped, for he loves you. Had it not been for thecoming of these accursed Teules, and the war that they have levied inthe city, I had surely saved you, for a woman's thought leaps far, andcan find a path where none seems possible. But this war has changedeverything, and moreover the star-readers and diviners of auguries havegiven a prophecy which seals your fate. For they have prophesied thatif your blood flows, and your heart is offered at the hour of noonto-morrow on the altar of Tezcat, our people shall be victorious overthe Teules, and utterly destroy them. But if the sacrifice is celebratedone moment before or after that propitious hour, then the doom ofTenoctitlan is sealed. Also they have declared that you must die, not,according to custom, at the Temple of Arms across the lake, but on thegreat pyramid before the chief statue of the god. All this is knownthroughout the land; thousands of priests are now offering up prayersthat the sacrifice may be fortunate, and a golden ring has been hungover the stone of slaughter in such a fashion that the light of thesun must strike upon the centre of your breast at the very moment ofmid-day. For weeks you have been watched as a jaguar watches its prey,for it was feared that you would escape to the Teules, and we, yourwives, have been watched also. At this moment there is a triple ringof guards about the palace, and priests are set without your doors andbeneath the window places. Judge, then, what chance there is of escape,Teule.'
'Little indeed,' I said, 'and yet I know a road. If I kill myself, theycannot kill me.'
'Nay,' she answered hastily, 'what shall that avail you? While you liveyou may hope, but once dead, you are dead for ever. Also if you mustdie, it is best that you should die by the hand of the priest. Believeme, though the end is horrible,' and she shuddered, 'it is almostpainless, so they say, and very swift. They will not torture you, thatwe have saved you, Guatemoc and I, though at first they wished thus tohonour the god more particularly on this great day.'
'O Teule,' Otomie went on, seating herself by me on the bed, and takingmy hand, 'think no more of these brief terrors, but look beyond them.Is it so hard a thing to die, and swiftly? We all must die, to-day, orto-night, or the next day, it matters little when--and your faith, likeours, teaches that beyond the grave is endless blesse
dness. Think then,my friend, to-morrow you will have passed far from this strife andturmoil; the struggle and the sorrows and the daily fears for the futurethat make the soul sick will be over for you, you will be taken to yourpeace, where no one shall disturb you for ever. There you will find thatmother whom you have told me of, and who loved you, and there perhapsone will join you who loves you better than your mother, mayhap evenI may meet you there, friend,' and she looked up at me strangely. 'Theroad that you are doomed to walk is dark indeed, but surely it mustbe well-trodden, and there is light shining beyond it. So be a man, myfriend, and do not grieve; rejoice rather that at so early an age youhave done with woes and doubts, and come to the gates of joy, that youhave passed the thorny, unwatered wilderness and see the smiling lakesand gardens, and among them the temples of your eternal city.
'And now farewell. We meet no more till the hour of sacrifice, for wewomen who masquerade as wives must accompany you to the first platformsof the temple. Farewell, dear friend, and think upon my words; whetherthey are acceptable to you or no, I am sure of this, that both forthe sake of your own honour and because I ask it of you, you will diebravely as though the eyes of your own people were watching all.' Andbending suddenly, Otomie kissed me on the forehead gently as a sistermight, and was gone.
The curtains swung behind her, but the echoes of her noble words stilldwelt in my heart. Nothing can make man look on death lovingly, and thatawaiting me was one from which the bravest would shrink, yet I felt thatOtomie had spoken truth, and that, terrible as it seemed, it might proveless terrible than life had shewn itself to be. An unnatural calm fellupon my soul like some dense mist upon the face of the ocean. Beneaththat mist the waters might foam, above it the sun might shine, yetaround was one grey peace. In this hour I seemed to stand outside of myearthly self, and to look on all things with a new sense. The tide oflife was ebbing away from me, the shore of death loomed very near, andI understood then, as in extreme old age I understand to-day, how muchmore part we mortals have in death than in this short accident of life.I could consider all my past, I could wonder on the future of my spirit,and even marvel at the gentleness and wisdom of the Indian woman, whowas able to think such thoughts and utter them.
Well, whatever befell, in one thing I would not disappoint her, I woulddie bravely as an Englishman should do, leaving the rest to God. Thesebarbarians should never say of me that the foreigner was a coward. Whowas I that I should complain? Did not hundreds of men as good as I wasperish daily in yonder square, and without a murmur? Had not my motherdied also at the hand of a murderer? Was not that unhappy lady, Isabellade Siguenza, walled up alive because she had been mad enough to love avillain who betrayed her? The world is full of terrors and sorrows suchas mine, who was I that I should complain?
So I mused on till at length the day dawned, and with the rising sunrose the clamour of men making ready for battle. For now the fight ragedfrom day to day, and this was to be one of the most terrible. But Ithought little then of the war between the Aztecs and the Spaniards,who must prepare myself for the struggle of my own death that was now athand.