CHAPTER X.
The prince left Zelmonco villa with an added weight to the gloom whichburdened his soul and saddened immeasurably his heart. A new feelingpossessed him--a feeling which had been awakened by the charm of acontact with the object of his boyhood's affections. It seemed to havesuddenly become a part of his being, arousing within him almost a senseof bitterness at his unhappy lot. His good sense, however, came to hissupport. While the sentiment which had aroused the disturbing feelingsthat oppressed him was not adverse to his sensibilities, but, on thecontrary, one that he would have gladly encouraged; still, to yield toit at such a time, he felt, was unworthy of his manhood. He accordinglyset his face toward the mountains, and turned his back upon theattractions which lured him from his purpose, and went forward toachieve the object for which he had started out--the present securityof his person and life, and the ultimate liberation of his people.
It was several leagues from the villa to the home of the loyalTezcucan; yet, under ordinary circumstances, the distance could havebeen covered easily before morning, with time to spare; for the nativeswere a people who traveled very rapidly when the occasion required it.But the prince was a fugitive, fleeing from the emissaries of hisrelentless foe, and had to be continually on his guard againstsurprise. As a consequence his progress was greatly impeded, anddaylight found him still on the road. However, he was not discovered,and his journey of the night finally ended in safety.
By lying over through one day, and traveling one more night, thefugitives would arrive at a point where discovery by recognition wasconsidered a very remote probability. This being the case, the balanceof the journey could then be pursued by daylight with little fear ofdetection. Accordingly the prince and his companion rested andrefreshed themselves at the house of the former's friend, untilevening, when their journey was resumed.
Another night on the road was gone through, which carried them well ontheir way toward the mountains. At the approach of the morning's dawn asecluded spot off from the highway was looked for, where a few hours'sleep could be had without fear of molestation. Such a spot was found,and the tired and travel-worn sojourners gave themselves over torecuperation in the forgetfulness of slumber.
The sun was well up toward the meridian when they awoke from arefreshing sleep and resumed their journey.
At the end of a league or more they came to a small hamlet wheremuch-needed refreshments were procured. Being greatly invigorated byhaving partaken of a substantial meal, they proceeded on their way withincreased confidence.
Several leagues were covered without interruption, and the wayfarerswere beginning to feel quite free from anxiety, when, about the thirdor fourth hour of the afternoon, their fancied security was disturbedand grave apprehension aroused by the appearance, in front of them, ofa party of six Tepanec soldiers. They were near a bend in the road, andthe approach of the soldiers was not observed until too late to avoidmeeting them by turning aside. To have done this after being seen wouldhave aroused suspicion in the minds of the advancing troop, and causedthe immediate detention and possible recognition of the fugitives.Their only safety, under the circumstances, lay in goingstraightforward and taking the chances of discovery. When they cameface to face with the soldiers, great was the prince's surprise andperturbation at recognizing in a member of the band one of his guestsof the day on which he fled the palace. Should he be recognized hecould scarcely hope to escape, as the only, means of defense he carriedwas a stout walking-stick, while Oza did not have even a stick. Herealized fully the peril of the moment, and felt it to be more criticalthan any he had been called upon to pass through. Walking boldlyforward, he passed the soldiers. That strange sense of uneasiness anduncertainty which is produced by the mingling of hope andapprehension--a feeling often experienced by those who are on theborder between danger and safety, was upon him.
"Halt!" came the stern command which broke the spell, and caused him tolook back. "You are the one addressed," continued one of the soldiers,who appeared to be the leader of the band, in answer to the prince'sinquiring look.
"From whom comes the authority for halting a traveler thus on thehighway?" demanded the prince, in return.
"That, you shall quickly learn," answered the soldier. "From Maxtla,the king, comes the authority for halting you. You are the fugitiveprince, Hualcoyotl, whom we have orders to secure, dead or alive. I nowcommand you, in the king's name, to surrender. If you are not PrinceHualcoyotl, you will be quickly restored to liberty."
"What reason have you for supposing that you now address the person ofPrince Hualcoyotl?" inquired he.
"This man," said the soldier, pointing to the one previously recognizedby the prince, "is my informant. He saw you at your palace, he says,the day you escaped from the king's officer."
"He is mistaken," returned the prince. "I am a chief, going onimportant business. You will do well not to detain me."
As he said this, Hualcoyotl turned to move on.
"Halt! or we will make your body a target for our arrows," called thesoldier, imperatively, and his men brought their bows to place, tocarry the threat into execution. At the same time the speaker advancedin the direction of the prince.
"Stop, soldier!" exclaimed Hualcoyotl, in a voice of command whichcaused the warrior to pause. "Advance farther at your peril," hecontinued, swinging his heavy stick into position to defend himself."The life of him who approaches me with evil intent shall pay thepenalty of his temerity."
"You can not escape us, Prince Hualcoyotl. The orders are to secureyou, and you will have to yield," said the soldier.
"Never! except by force. If you want me, take me," was the prince'sdefiant answer.
"Then take you we will; alive if we can, dead if we must. Forward,men!" Two of the soldiers gave their attention to Oza, while the otherfour advanced quickly but cautiously upon the prince. A determinedeffort was made to get in on him, but without avail.
Hualcoyotl was a strong man, vigorous and skillful, and beingforewarned was not to be taken without a desperate struggle. The stoutstick in his trained hand was a weapon to be feared. He succeeded inbeating off his assailants, and stood eyeing them like a fierce animalat bay, grim and defiant.
Oza was quickly secured by the two soldiers, who now came to theassistance of their comrades. Another advance was made upon the prince,the soldiers approaching him from every point. He met them with heavy,telling blows, and one of their number went down under his stick torise no more. It was a fiercely contested struggle, and had the stickin the prince's hand been a more formidable weapon the soldiers wouldhave found in him more than a match. But skill, backed by only a heavywalking stick, though wielded by a strong right arm, could not longhold out against such odds. He saw that he would be compelled to yield,and was about to do so, when, to his great astonishment, and theamazement of his assailants, a shout rang out upon the air at theirvery ears, which staggered the soldiers for the moment with confusion.Before they could recover they were attacked with the deadly Indiansword, the _maquahuitl_, in the hands of one who evidently knew how touse it. The struggle was quickly terminated. The suddenness of theonslaught, and its fatal result to two of the party, who were placed_hors de combat_, filled the survivors with consternation, which causedthem to seek safety in flight. A number of arrows were sent after themby the newcomer, which had the effect of facilitating their departure,and they were soon out of sight.
Oza was quickly released from his uncomfortable predicament, and foundto have received no personal injury.
Saluting his rescuer in a very humble manner, the prince said:
"To whom are we indebted for our happy deliverance?"
"To a hunter, only," replied the newcomer, who was none other than ourrecent acquaintance, Cacami, the Tezcucan hunter, whom we left enjoyingthe hospitality of the mountaineer, Tezcot, and who was now _en route_home. "Seeing you unfairly set upon by a troop of villainous Tepanecsoldiers," he went on, "I thought I'd take a hand, and see how quicklyfled the cowardly pack, except these t
hree--" He paused to examine thefallen soldiers, to learn what was their condition, and then continued,"who, I fear, are past the aid of man."
"Your coming, friend, was most timely; a moment later and we would havebeen in their power," said the prince.
"That was about the situation, stranger, as I saw it," returned thehunter.
"You have done us a very great service, and I regret that we are unableto suitably reward you. Words will not do it, which leaves us poor,indeed, at this moment. An expression of our deep gratitude is all wehave to offer you. Inadequate as it is, it is sincere," spoke theprince, feelingly.
"There is nothing to reward, friend, nor is there any call for anexpression of gratitude. What I did for you I would do for another,under the same circumstances," replied Cacami, who was disposed todepreciate the service he had rendered the prince.
"And yet you would be justified in pronouncing us ungrateful were wesilent and unfeeling in the matter," said Hualcoyotl.
"I only did my duty, stranger; that's all. So, say no more about it,"persisted the hunter.
"You will at least give us your name," urged the prince. "We would beglad to know and remember it."
Cacami looked at the dead soldiers, two of them victims of his ownsword; and realizing the magnitude of his offence against the king,decided not to make himself known. He said, very courteously, in replyto the prince:
"I do not doubt your gratitude, friend, for the service rendered you.It was done impulsively, and with unfortunate result to two of thesemen, lying here, dead, almost at our feet. I would not be rememberedfor such service, and beg that you will permit me to pass on unknown."
"We will not press you, hunter, but deeply regret that your feelingslead you to withhold your name. You have done a greater service thanyou can at present be aware of," pursued the prince in tones whichconveyed an impression of mystery. "Should you become known to us, wewill, if in our power, reward you for it in a fitting manner."
Cacami looked wonderingly at the prince, because of the hiddensignificance which was evident in his remark. He was, apparently, onthe point of putting an inquiry, but suddenly changed his mind,answering only by a look of depreciation.
The prince, casting his eyes in the direction taken by the retreatingsoldiers, continued, by saying:
"Our assailants may return with assistance; I think we had better begone. In parting from you, hunter, we would once more express ourgratitude, with a hope that we may meet again, under more auspiciouscircumstances."
"All right, stranger; I join you in the hope, but have no doubt thatthis little incident will have been forgotten then," returned Cacami.
"No, that could not be; at least, not by one of us."
With these words the prince turned away, and moved rapidly down theroad, followed by his attendant.
Cacami's appearance and outfit bespoke him the citizen hunter. TheIndian sword (_maquahuitl_) he carried marked him as such, for hunters,as a class, did not carry that weapon, on account of its weight. He wasundoubtedly a successful hunter if the game secured was taken intoaccount. Standing some distance off from where he was were two men whoproved to be his servants. They had charge of a fine collection ofbirds and small animals, which he had secured since leaving Tezcot's.The men appeared to be awaiting orders from him; for on being signaledto move up they did so promptly.
The dead soldiers were moved to one side of the road by Cacami and hismen, and left there to be disposed of by others, or, possibly, tobecome prey for carnivorous birds and beasts.
So soon as the prince and Oza got beyond the bend in the highway andout of view, they betook themselves to the fields and woods for betterprotection. Hualcoyotl's confidence in his security was gone, and heagain became the anxious and watchful fugitive.
The mountains, in which refuge and safety were sought, were finallyreached. In a fastness among the rocks the prince found a fairlycomfortable retreat, and preparations were made for a temporary sojournin it.
The soldiers who escaped the deadly sword of the hunter, instead ofreturning to look after their unfortunate companions, hurried to thenearest point and reported their adventure to the military.
This was the first information received by the Tepanec authorities ofthe prince's whereabouts. Troops were dispatched immediately in thedirection of the mountains in pursuit of him, and his place ofconcealment soon became menaced by straggling bands of them, making thematter of procuring food a very serious one. It was hardly safe for thefugitives to venture out on the mountain, leaving out of the questionthe idea of going from it. For days they had nothing to eat exceptroots and berries; as a consequence, their situation became verydistressing.
The prince insisted that Oza should return to Tezcuco, and leave him tohis fate, but the faithful slave would not hear to it.
"Why sacrifice two lives, Oza, when one may be saved?" urged he.
"It is useless to urge me, good master; I would be a base coward toleave you now," was the loyal answer.
"As you please, but remember you are free to go whenever you sodesire," said the generous prince.
A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire Page 12
