CHAPTER II.
Don Amador de Leste was interrupted in the agreeable duty (the last tobe performed in the little caravel,) of inquiring into the health andcondition of his war-horse, Fogoso, by a summons, or, as it was morecourteously expressed, an invitation, to attend the admiral on board hisown vessel. Giving a thousand charges to his attendants, all of whichwere received with due deference and humility, he stepped into the boat,which, in a few moments, he exchanged for the decks of theCapitana,--not, however, without some doubt as to the degree ofloftiness he should assume during the interview with his excellency, theadmiral, his kinsman. His pride had already twice, or thrice, since hisappearance among the islands of the New World, been incensed by thearrogant assumption of their petty dignitaries to inquire into, andcontrol, the independence of his movements: and he remembered with highdispleasure, that the royal adelantado of Cuba, the renowned Velasquez,a man of whom, as he was pleased to say, he had never heard so much asthe name until he found himself within his territories, had not onlydared to disregard the privileges of his birth and decorations, but hadwell-nigh answered his ire and menaces, by giving him to chains andcaptivity. Nor, when, at last, the pious exertions of the good friars ofSantiago had allayed the growing storm, and appeased his ownindignation, by urging the necessity their governor was under to examineinto the character and objects of all persons, who, by declining tovisit the new El Dorado under the authority of the commander, mightreasonably be suspected of a desire to join his rebelliouslieutenant,--not even then could the proud Amador forget that, whatevermight be the excuse, his independence _had_ been questioned, and mightbe again, by any inflated official whom he should be so unlucky as tomeet. His doubt, however, in this case, was immediately dispelled by thedegree of state and ceremony with which he was received on board theCapitana, and conducted to his excellency; and the last shadow ofhesitation departed from his brow, when he beheld the admiral preparedto welcome him with such courtesy and deference as were only accorded tothe most noble and favoured.
"If I do not err," said the admiral, with a bow of great reverence, anda smile of prodigious suavity, "I behold, in the senor Don Amador deLeste, a gentleman of Valencia, whom I make free, as I shall be proud,to welcome as my countryman and kinsman?"
"Senor Almirante," replied Amador, with equal amenity, "my mother was aValencian, and of the house of Cavallero. Wherefore, I take it forgranted, we are in some sort related; but in what degree, I am not ableto determine: nor do I think that a matter very important to bequestioned into, since, in these savage corners of the earth, thefarthest degree of consanguinity should draw men together as firmly asthe closest."
"You are right, senor cavalier and kinsman," said the admiral: "affinityof any degree should be a claim to the intimacy and affection ofbrotherhood; and although this is the first time I have enjoyed thefelicity to behold my right worthy and much honoured cousin, I welcomehim with good will to such hospitalities as my poor bark and thisbarbarous clime can afford; marvelling, however, amid all mysatisfaction, what strange fortune has driven him to exchange theknightly combats of Christendom for the ignoble campaigns of this wildhemisphere."
"As to that, most noble and excellent cousin," said the cavalier, "Iwill not scruple to inform your excellency, together with all othermatters, wherein, as my kinsman, you are entitled to question; previousto which, however, I must demand of your goodness to know how far yourinterrogatories are to bear the stamp of office and authority, thesatisfaction of my mind on which point will materially affect thecharacter of my answers."
"Surely," said the admiral courteously, and seemingly with greatfrankness, "I will only presume to question you as a friend andrelative, and, as such, no farther than it may suit your pleasure toallow. My office I will only use so far as it may enable me to assistyou in your objects, if, as I will make bold to believe, you may needsuch assistance in this land of Mexico."
"I thank your excellency," said Amador, now receiving and pressing thehand of the commander with much cordiality, "both for your offers ofassistance, which, if I may need it, I will freely accept; and for yourassurance you do not mean to trouble me with your authority:--a mark ofextreme civility and good sense, which virtues, under your favour, Ihave not found so common among your fellow-commanders in these heathenlands, as I was led to expect."
The admiral smiled pleasantly on his kinsman while replying, "I must begyour allowance for the presumption of my brothers in command, who, soothto say, have had so much dealing with the wild Indians and roughreprobates of these regions as somewhat to have forgot their manners,when treating with gentlemen and nobles. My superior and governor, theworthy and thrice-honoured Velasquez, (whom God grant many and wisercounsellors!) is rather hot of head and unreasonable of temper; and has,doubtless, thrown some obstructions in the way of your visit to thisdisturbed land. But you should remember, that the junction of so brave acavalier as Don Amador de Leste with the mutinous bands of the senorCortes, is a thing to excite both dread and opposition."
"I remember," said Amador, "that some such excuse was made for him, andthat my assurance that my business had no more to do with that valiantrebel than with his own crabbed excellency, was no more believed thanthe assertion of any common hind: a piece of incredulity I shall takegreat pleasure, at some more convenient period, of removing, at mysword's point, from his excellency's body."
"I am grieved you should have cause to complain of the governor," saidthe senor Cavallero; "and verily I myself cannot pretend to justify hisrash and tyrannical opposition, especially in the matter of yourself;who, I take it for granted, come hither as the kinsman of the knightCalavar, to search out and remove that crack-brained cavalier from thesescenes of tumult and danger."
"The knight Calavar," said the young soldier sternly, "like other men,has his eccentricities and follies; but if God has smitten him with asorer infirmity than others, he has left him so much strength of arm andresoluteness of heart, and withal has given him friends of sounhesitating a devotion, that it will always be wise to pronounce hisname with the respect which his great worth and valiant deeds haveproved to be his due."
"Surely," said the admiral, good-humouredly, "it is my boast that I canclaim, through yourself, to be distantly related to this most renownedand unhappy gentleman; and, while I would sharply rebuke a stranger formentioning him with discourtesy, I held myself at liberty to speak ofhim with freedom to yourself."
"I beg your pardon then," said Amador, "if I took offence at yourutterance of a word, which seemed to me to savour more of the heartlessridicule with which the world is disposed to remark a mental calamity,than the respectful pity which, it is my opinion, in such cases shouldbe always accorded. Your excellency did right to suppose my business inthis hemisphere was to seek out the knight Calavar; not, however, as youhave hinted, to remove him from among the savages, (for I give you tounderstand, he is ever capable of being the guide and director of hisown actions;) but to render him the dutiful service of his kinsman andesquire, and to submit myself to his will and government, whether it beto fight these rogues of Mexico, or any other heathens whatever."
"I give you praise for your fidelity and affection," said the senorCavallero, "which, I think, will stand the knight in good stead, if itbe his pleasure to remain longer in this wild country. But tell me, DonAmador:--as a Cavallero of Valencia, I could not be ignorant of themisfortune of our very renowned cousin; yet was I never able to compassthe cause of his melancholy. I remember that when he fleshed his boyishsword for the first time among the Moors of the Alpujarras, he wasaccounted not only of valour, but of discretion, far beyond his years.There was no patrimony in all Granada so rich and enviable as thelordship of Calavar; no nobleman of Spain was thought to have fairer andloftier prospects than the young Don Gines Gabriel de Calavar; none hadgreater reason to laugh and be merry, for before the beard had darkenedon his lip, he had enjoyed the reputation of a brave soldier; yet, nosooner came he to man's estate, than, utterly disregarding the interestsof his hou
se and the common impulses of youth, he flung himself into thearms of the knights of Rhodes, vowed himself to toil and sorrow, andhas, ever since, been remembered by those who knew him in his boyhood,as the saddest and maddest of men."
"So much I have heard, and so much I know, of the good knight," saidAmador, with a sigh; "little more can I add to the story, but that somecalamity, the nature of which I never dared to inquire, suddenly wroughtthis change in him, even in the midst of his youth, and led him todevote his life to the cause of the faithful."
"Thou hast heard it suggested," said Cavallero, significantly, "that, inthe matter of the Alpujarras, his heart was hotter, and his hand redderthan became a Christian knight, even when striking on the hearth of theInfidel?"
"Senor cousin and admiral," said Amador decidedly, "in my soul, Ibelieve you are uttering these suggestions only from a kinsman's concernfor the honour and welfare of the party in question; and therefore do Imake bold to tell you, the man who, in my hearing, asperses the knightCalavar, charging his grief of mind to be the fruit of any criminal ordishonourable deed, shall abide the issue of the slander as ruefully asif it had been cast on the ashes of my mother!"
"So shall he win his deservings," said the commander. "Nevertheless dothCalavar himself give some cause for these foolish surmises, of whichindiscreet persons have occasionally delivered themselves; for theevident misery of heart and distraction of head, the austere andpenitential self-denial of his life, nay, the very ostentation of griefand contrition, which is written in his deportment and blazoned on hisarmour, and which has gained him, in these lands, the appellation of thePenitent Knight, seem almost to warrant the suspicion of an unquiet andremorseful conscience, brooding over the memory of an unabsolved crime.But I say this not so much to justify, as, in part, to excuse those idleimpertinents, who are so free with their innuendoes. I have everpondered with wonder on the secret of the brave knight's unrest; yet, Imust confess to thee, I was struck with no less astonishment, when,returning from Nombre de Dios to Santiago, I heard that a famous KnightHospitaller, and he no other than Don Gines Gabriel de Calavar, hadarrived among the islands, frenzied with the opportunity of slayingpagans at his pleasure, and had already followed on the path of Cortesto Mexico. It gave me great pain, and caused me no little marvel, tofind he had come and vanished with so little of the retinue of his rank,and of the attendance necessary to one in his condition, that two orthree ignorant grooms were his only attendants."
"I have no doubt," said Amador, "I can allay your wonder as to thesematters. Your excellency need not be told that the banner of the Turknow floats over the broken ramparts of Rhodes, and over the corses ofthose noble knights of San Juan, who defended them for more than twohundred years, and at last perished among their ruins. This is acatastrophe that has pealed over all Christendom like the roar of afuneral bell, and its sound has even pierced to these lands of twilight.No knight among all that band of warriors and martyrs, as I am myself awitness, did more brave and heroical actions throughout the black andbloody siege, than my lord and kinsman, Calavar. But the good andever-gracious Saint, the patron of this most ancient and chivalricbrotherhood, saved him, with a few other knights, out of the jaws ofdestruction, and restored him again to his own country. Rhodes wasfallen, there was no longer a home for the destitute knights; theywandered over Europe, whithersoever their destinies listed, butparticularly wheresoever there was an infidel to be slain. Our monarchof Spain contemplated a crusade among the Moors of Barbary, thedescendants of that accursed--(why should I not say wretched? for theyare exiles;)--that wretched race who had once o'ermastered our ownbeloved land; the knight Calavar entered into this project withalacrity, and set himself to such preparations as should win him goodvengeance for the blood of his brothers lost at Rhodes. I did myself, inobedience to his will, betake me to the business of seeing what honestChristians might be prevailed on to fight under his banner; and whilethus engaged, at a distance from my beloved lord, with, perhaps, as Ishould confess with shame, less energy and more sloth than were becomingin his follower, I suffered certain worldly allurements to step betweenme and my duty, and, for a time, almost forgot my renowned and unhappykinsman. Now senor," continued the youth, with some little hesitation,and a deep sigh, "it is not necessary I should trouble you with any veryparticular account of my forgetfulness and stupidity: it was soon knownthat the enthusiasm of our king was somewhat abated touching the matterof the African crusade,--perhaps swallowed up in the interest wherewithhe regarded the new world which God and the great Colon had given him;the enthusiasm of his subjects diminished in like manner: there was nomore talk of Africa. This, senor, may perhaps in a measure excuse my ownlethargy, but you may be assured I awoke out of it with shame andmortification, when I discovered that the good knight, left to himself,and deprived of that excitement of combat, or the hope of combat, sonecessary to the well-being of his mind, had suddenly (doubtless, in oneof those paroxysms of eccentricity,--or delirium, as I may call it toyou,) departed from the land, and was now cleaving the surges thatdivided us from the new hemisphere. There was nothing left for me but tofollow him in the first ship that sailed on the same adventure. This Ihave done: I have tracked my leader from Palos to Cuba; from Cuba tothis barren coast; and now, with your good leave and aidance, I willtake the last step of the pursuit, and render myself up to his authorityin the barbaric city, Tenochtitlan."
"I respect your motive, and praise your devotion, most worthy cousin,"said the admiral with much kindness; "and yet you must forgive me, if Idare to express to you some degree of pity. My long acquaintance withthese countries, both of isle and main, has well instructed me what youhave to expect among them; and I can truly conceive what sacrifices youhave made for the good knight's sake. In any case, I beg leave toapprise you, you can command all my services, either to persist inseeking him, or to return to Spain. My advice is, that you leave thisplace forthwith, in a ship which I am to-morrow to despatch toAndalusia; return to your native land; betake yourself to thoseallurements, and that lethargy, which I can well believe may bring youhappiness; commend yourself to your honourable lady-love, and think nomore of the wild Calavar. Here, if you lose not life, before you havelooked on your kinsman, as there is much fear, you must resolve to passyour days in such suffering and misery, and withal in ignoble warfarewith naked savages, supported by such mean and desperate companions, as,I am sure, you were never born to."
"What you counsel me," said Amador coolly, "is doubtless both wisdom andfriendship; nevertheless, if your excellency will be good enough toreconsider your advice, you will perceive it involves such selfishness,meanness, and dishonour, as cannot be listened to with any propriety bya kinsman of the knight of Calavar. I do not say I come hither tocondescend to this ignoble warfare,--though if it be worthy my goodknight, _I_ shall have no reason to scorn it. I bear with me, to mykinsman, the despatch of his most eminent highness, the Grand Master ofthe most illustrious order of San Juan, wherein, although it berecommended to him, if such warfare seem to him honourable andadvantageous to the cause of Christ, to strike fast and well, it is, ifsuch strife be otherwise, strongly urged on him to return without delayto Europe, and to the Isle of Malta; which, it is announced, our monarchof Spain will speedily give to the good knights. It is therefore,"continued the cavalier, "from the nature of things and of mine own will,clearly impossible I should follow your advice; in default of which, Imust beg such other counsel and assistance of your excellency as yourexcellency may think needful to bestow; only premising, that as I havemany a weary league of sand and mountain to compass, the sooner youbenefit me with these good things the better."
"Your journey will be neither so long nor so wearisome as you imagine,"said Cavallero: "but, I fear me, will present more obstructions than youmay be prepared to encounter. I take it for granted, the governorVelasquez has furnished you with no commands to his general Don Panfilode Narvaez, since he gave you none to myself."
"This is even the fact," said Amador; "I entered the caravel which
brought me here, as I thought, in defiance of his authority, and notwithout apprehensions of being obliged to cut off the ears of some dozenor two of his rogues, who might be ordered to detain me. Nevertheless, Ileft the island without a contest, and equally without aidance of anykind from this discourteous ruler."
"I must give thee some counsel, then," said the admiral, "for Iapprehend the governor did, very perfidiously as I esteem it, when heceased his opposition, rest much hope on that of his general. Thou artacquainted with the character of Narvaez?"
"By my faith, I am so ignorant of all matters appertaining to theseclimates, that, saving thine own, and the knight Calavar's, and one ortwo others which I acquired this morning, I am familiar only with thoseof two other persons,--to wit,--of Velasquez, whom I consider a veryscurvy and ill-bred personage, and of Cortes, a man whom I hold in muchesteem, ever since I heard he burned his fleet to keep his followersfrom running away, and made prisoner of the great Mexican emperor in hisown capital. In addition to this, I know the aforesaid governor dothvery hotly hate, and hath disgraced with the titles of rebel and outlaw,this same respectable and courageous Cortes; but for what reason, as Ihave been kept in somewhat too great a passion to inquire, I am yetaltogether ignorant."
"For one who may soon share an important part in the events of thisregion, I think thou showest a most princely indifference to them," saidthe admiral, smiling. "I will not say the safety, but the facility, withwhich thou mayest traverse these lands, will be greatly increased byknowing some little of their history; and that knowledge I will hastento impart to thee, and with what brevity I can. If I should be led tospeak with more freedom of certain persons than may seem fitting in aninferior and a colleague, I must beseech thee to remember I am doing soto a kinsman, and for his especial information and good. Know then,senor Don Amador, the person whom it pleased our viceroy, the son ofColon, to set over us, and whom it has since pleased his most devoutmajesty, the emperor, to confirm in the government of Cuba, and even tothat to add the further dignity of ruler of the kings of Mexico, is, asI hinted to thee before, afflicted with so irascible a temper and sojealous a fancy, that, were I not restrained by the office I hold underhim, I should say he was, at the least, as mad as any other man in hisdominion. The desire of immortalizing himself by some great exploitwould be commendable in him, were it not accompanied by the ambition toachieve it by the hands of another. Ever since the discovery of thisfair empire of Montezuma by the senor Cordova, he has thirsted for theglory of subduing it; and has taken all the steps necessary to such apurpose, except the single one of attempting it in person;--an omissionnot in itself important, since there are an hundred other cavaliers morecapable of the task, only that, besides the other munitions with whichhe furnishes his lieutenant, he follows him ever with so plentiful astore of distrust, that it is utterly impossible his officer should havea chance to immortalize him. After much seeking of a man whose ambitionshould extend no further than to the glory of winning a crown for thepurpose of seeing his excellency wear it, he fixed upon the worthyhidalgo, Hernan Cortes, a gentleman of Medellin in Estremadura, anddespatched him on the business of conquest. Now, no sooner was hisgeneral gone, than this jealous imagination, whereof I spake, instantlypresented to his mind the image of Cortes as a conqueror, suddenlylaying claim, before the emperor and the world, to the sole merit of theconquest; a spectacle so infinitely intolerable, that without delay heset himself at work to hinder Cortes from making any conquest at all."
"Surely," said Amador, "this governor Velasquez is a fool, as well as aknave!"
"Heaven have him in keeping! You should mention him with respect: but asyou are speaking in the confidence of blood-relationship, I cannot takenotice of your sarcasm," said the admiral. "The senor Cortes, however,"continued Cavallero, "was by no means disposed to second the disloyalfrenzy of the governor: (disloyal I call it, since it threatened todeprive his majesty, the emperor Charles, of the opportunity of adding anew empire to his diadem.) On the other hand, Cortes was fullydetermined to do his duty, and thought the governor could do nothingbetter than to follow his example. But in the end, this same Cortes,though of as meek a temper as is desirable in the commander of an army,became greatly incensed at the sottish and grievous distrust of hisgovernor; and calling his army together, and representing to them thefoolish predicament in which his excellency had placed them, he threwdown his truncheon with contempt, and told them that as Velasquez hadleft them without a leader, the wisest thing that remained for them wasto find another as soon as possible: as for himself, he disdained tohold his commission longer under such a commander."
"By heaven, a most proper-spirited and gallant gentleman!" cried Amador."I honour him for the act, but chiefly for the contempt it argued ofthis jackfeather ruler."
"I must beg of your favour," said the admiral, gravely, "to rememberthat his excellency is my chief and commander; though, in justice, Ithink you have some reason to censure him.--What remained for the armyof Cortes, now no longer having a general? They were loath to leave thefair empire that appeared almost in their grasp, and enraged at thegovernor, who seemed determined to rob them of it. There was only oneway to secure the conquest for their royal master: they absolvedthemselves of their allegiance to the governor, swore themselves thesoldiers and subjects of the emperor alone, and erecting themselvesinto a colony, forthwith elected Cortes their governor andcommander-in-chief; and despatched advice of the same to Don Carlos,with a petition for permission to pursue and conclude the conquest ofTenochtitlan in his name."
"A very loyal, defensible, and, indeed, praiseworthy action," said DonAmador, with emphasis; "and I marvel your jealous governor did not stabhimself forthwith, out of pure chagrin, to be so sharply and justlyoutwitted."
"Instead of that," said the admiral, "boiling with vexation and rage,and devoting Cortes to the fiend who had first suggested him as a properlieutenant, his excellency equipped a second army, more than twice asstrong as that he had ordered Cortes to raise; and this, one would havethought, he would have commanded in person. But the old whim ofconquering by lieutenants, and becoming famous by proxy, still beset thebrain of his wisdom. He gave the command of an army of more than athousand men to the senor Panfilo de Narvaez, a Biscayan, ofwhom the best I can say is, that he swore eternal fidelity toVelasquez,--resolving privately in his own mind that, as soon as he hadsubdued Cortes, he would follow his example, and throw off the authorityof his distrustful commander."
"I should call this treachery," said Amador, "but that I think theabsurdity of the chief a full excuse for the defection of the follower."
"The wisdom of the proceeding is now made manifest," continued theadmiral. "It is scarce a month since it was my misfortune, as commanderof the naval division of this expedition, to land the forces of Narvaezon this shore. Here I learned with much admiration, that Cortes,notwithstanding the meagerness of his army, had, absolutely, aftercertain bloody combats with savages on the wayside, marched into thegreat city, taken possession of the body of the barbarous emperor, and,through him, virtually, of all the lands which acknowledged his sway;and you may understand how much, as a true and reasonable subject of ourCatholic monarch, I was afflicted to learn, in addition, that thesending of the new force by Velasquez, only served the purpose ofsnatching the conquest out of our hands. For Cortes, under a delusionwhich may be pardoned him, on account of its loyalty, regarding himself,in obedience to the command of his followers, as the only truerepresentative and general of our king, and ourselves, by consequence,as traitors and rebels to his majesty, did forthwith resolve to drive usfrom the land; to do which, it was needful he should withdraw his forcesfrom Tenochtitlan; and therefore, Tenochtitlan is lost."
"Thou sayest, the senor Cortes hath an army not half so powerful as theBiscayan's?"
"Nay, 'tis much short of five hundred men, and weakened by a year'scampaign, and still further diminished by the necessity of maintaining agarrison in his port of Vera Cruz, which he doth humorously denominatethe Rich City, and l
eaving another of more than a hundred men, with oneof his best captains, in the goodly city, out of a hope, which I myselfreckon both vain and foolish, still to retain possession of it."
"And with this shattered and pitiful handful, which I think cannotexceed three hundred men," said Amador, "the brave Cortes is resolute toresist the Biscayan, and his thousand fresh combatants?"
"It is even so," replied Cavallero.
"I give him the praise of a most dauntless and heroic leader," criedAmador; "and I am eager to proffer him the hand of friendship."
"Not only resolute to resist," said the admiral, "but, from the mostundeniable tokens, impatient to attack; as, indeed, are all his people.As an evidence of which, I may tell thee, that Narvaez having quarteredhis host at an Indian city called Zempoala, within a few leagues of thisaforesaid stockade and Rich City of the True Cross, he straightwaydespatched certain officers, military, civil, and religious, to demandthe surrender of the same at the hands of the very young and verysimple-minded senor, Don Gonzalo de Sandoval, its commandante. Whatanswer, thinkest thou, was made by this foolish captain, so many leaguesseparated from his commander, and so far from all assistance? Faith, heflings me the envoys into certain bags of net-work, as one would livequails, and tossing them upon the backs of lusty savages, in lieu ofasses, despatched them forthwith over the mountains to his general. Andthis is the only answer my colleague and most excellent friend thegeneral Narvaez, ever received to his summons for the surrender of theRich City of the True Cross."
"A spirited and ever-to-be-commended youth, this same bold Sandoval,"said Amador earnestly; "and I begin to bethink me, I shall not be loathto remain for a time in the company of a leader, who hath such worthyspirits for his companions. But tell me, senor cavalier and cousin, hathCortes yet struck a blow for his honour and his right?"
"By our Lady, no," said the admiral: "and yet, upon reflection,"continued he, "I must confess, that though he has not yet drawn aChristian sabre on the Biscayan, he has done him much hurt with acertain weapon of gold, the use of which he learned at Mexico, and whoseblows, by the operation of a kind of magic, have the virtue to paralyzethe wrath, without spilling the blood, of an adversary."
"This is a weapon of the devil!" said the young cavalier indignantly,"which I marvel much should be used by so worthy a soldier.Nevertheless, as it does not shed blood, the use of it may bejustifiable in a contest between brothers and countrymen; whereinhumanity and mercy are always more Christian qualities than the rage andblood-thirstiness of another warfare. But notwithstanding all this, ifsuch enchanted arms (if such indeed exist, as I cannot believe,) be invogue among the followers of Cortes, I swear to God and Saint John, Iwill eschew them as I would the gifts of the fiend; and, if compelled bythe command of my good knight, to fight in their company, it shall bewith such sword and spear as I can use with a free conscience, and anhonest arm."
"I commend your honourable resolution," said the admiral, amused withthe literal straightforwardness of his kinsman, but without thinking fitto undeceive him; "but how long the cavalier Cortes will employ sobloodless a rapier, is more than I can determine. He now lies within afew leagues of my colleague, the Biscayan; and although apparently moreripe for negotiation than combat, I shall be much mistaken if he do not,at some convenient season, so fling his crew of desperadoes at the headof Narvaez, as shall make his excellency stare. Indeed there is nowlittle hope of pacification; for Narvaez has very grievously insultedCortes, by proclaiming him a rebel and an outlaw, and setting a price onhis head; and such is his hotheadedness, that, it was but yesterday, hecompelled me to ship to Cuba the king's _oidor_, Vasques, whom he hadarrested for daring to speak to him of amicable treaty. I look daily forintelligence of a battle."
"I vow to heaven!" said Amador, his eyes sparkling with animation, "Ivow to heaven! I have no desire to mingle in a civil fray of any kind;but if these mad fellows must be e'en at it, I see no reason why Ishould not stand hard by, to be a witness of their bravery. Whereforemost excellent cousin, I must entreat of your favour to despatch mewithout delay, with such guides, or instructions, as will enable me toreach the Senor Cortes before the combat begins."
"If it would suit thee as well to survey this spectacle from the camp ofNarvaez," said Cavallero, "I could gratify thee without any difficulty.But I must apprise thee, that to reach Cortes, it will be necessary topass the lines of Narvaez; and what obstructions he may choose to throwin thy way is more than I can very satisfactorily determine, though Imay counsel thee how best to overcome them."
"Please heaven," said Amador proudly, "he shall make me no oppositionwhich he shall not answer to the cost of his body. For I am here, a freehidalgo of Spain, knowing no authority but the king's will and mine own;a neophyte (and, as I may add, a knight by right, though unsworn,) ofthe illustrious order of San Juan, bearing the instructions of his mosteminent highness, the Grand Master, to a vowed knight, and thereforeliable to the command of no other man, save only, as before excepted,the king; and he who thinks to hinder me in my passage, besidesprovoking the wrath of the aforesaid privileged order, must, as I saidbefore, do it under the peril of mine own sword."
"It would not become me to question your privileges, or the danger withwhich they might be invaded," said the admiral, "nor will I repeat toyou in how little regard these matters may be had by a man who haspresumed to arrest and imprison the representative of his majestyhimself, and who, surrounded by an army, and separated from the sway ofthe laws, is beyond the present responsibility of any government butthat of his own conscience. I can only remind you that, as an emissaryof the holy order, you are doubly bound to avoid a quarrel with aChristian and countryman; especially when, as will presently be yourcase, you are in the lands of the infidel. I must beg to remind you,too, that the Biscayan, holding, as he believes, the authority of theking, and compelled to act as may seem to him necessary for thepreservation of the king's interest, should be respected accordingly;and his humours, as well as his rightful commands, borne without angeror opposition."
"May his majesty live a thousand years!" said the cavalier. "It is nopart of my principle to oppose his pleasure; wherefore, if contestingthe authority of this Biscayan general be such disloyalty, I willrefrain from it; that is, as long as I can. But nevertheless, I willprotest against any authority that may hinder my present journey."
"Moderation, and the exercise of patience," said Cavallero, "willdoubtless secure you from restraint and insult. It is quite necessaryyou report the object of your travel to the commander Narvaez; and evento desire his permission (a courtesy that has in it nothing ofdegradation) to continue your journey."
"Doubtless," said Amador, sarcastically, "you will tell me, as did thesenor Gomez, the captain of the caravel, that this submission of myselfto his commands will be nothing more than the rendering of a customarycompliment to his dignity. If there be any way by which I may pass bythe camp of Narvaez, I shall be much bound to your excellency to informme of it; and I will pursue it, be it ever so rough and long, with muchmore satisfaction than I can ever make my entreaties to him."
"There is no other way," said the admiral. "The Indian city, Zempoala,where Narvaez has established his head-quarters, lies immediately on thepath to the Villa Rica; and the scouts of Narvaez, occupying all theintermediate ground, render it impossible you should pass him withoutobservation, or them without their leader's commands. I am now about todespatch to Narvaez certain reinforcements, in whose company I recommendyou to travel, and with whom I will send such representations to thegeneral as, I think, will secure you his instant permission and,doubtless, aid, to join your kinsman, the good knight, without delay.Only let me entreat of you, as your true friend and relation, notwantonly, by any overbearing pride, to exasperate the peevish temper ofmy colleague."
"I will take your advice," said the cavalier, complacently, "and treatthe Biscayan with as much respect as he may seem to deserve. Only, as itmay be a long day's journey to this Zempoala, I must entreat yourexcellency to give orde
rs for the instant debarkation of my horses andattendants, and permit me to follow them as soon as possible."
"This shall be instantly done," said the admiral. "In the meanwhile, Imust beg to entertain you with the sight of one of those personages whowill be your companions on the journey."
Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico Page 4
