A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire
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CHAPTER XIV.
Hunger was pressing hard upon the fugitive prince and his companion,and it became an absolute necessity for one of them to venture out insearch of food. Hualcoyotl took it upon himself to do this.
The natives were adepts in the practice of imitating certain birds andanimals, and a signal of this kind was agreed upon, to be used inemergencies.
Before setting out on his venture, Hualcoyotl enjoined upon his man thestrictest watchfulness, and that he should on no account leave hisretreat, unless driven from it by threatened danger; also to listen forthe signal, but not to answer until it had been repeated.
It was night, and black darkness enveloped the mountain, especiallywithin the dense woody growth which covered it. The prince stolenoiselessly forth from his hiding-place, and with that stealth whichis characteristic of the American Indian, passed down the mountain'sside, and out onto the plain below. Food in abundance was just beforehim, but to undertake to secure it would be at the risk of discovery,and, possibly, death. The maddening pangs of hunger were impellinghim on; and in his starving condition the tempting food, which wasalmost within his reach, outweighed the instinctive sense ofself-preservation. With cat-like tread he moved away from themountain's base, knowing that, at any moment, he might come upon acamp of his enemy. In his weak and nervous condition the noise madein the rustling of a leaf, or by the breaking of a twig, wasmagnified a dozenfold in his imagination.
Though desperation was leading him on, the prince did not for aninstant relax his vigilance.
At last he was in the midst of plenty; fields of corn just in the milk,and fruit, on shrub and tree, to be had for the plucking. Securing aquantity of each, he started to return. The same watchful vigilance wasobserved returning as in going out. He was moving cautiously along,with his senses wide awake, when a sound, very like the noise of someone moving near him, arrested his attention.
"Pish!" he ejaculated, after listening a moment. "'Twas but theflapping of a wing by some nightbird."
The thought had scarcely crossed his mind when a screech most dismal,and quite close, struck upon his sensitive ear, sending a chill to hisvery heart. Reduced as he was by hunger, with nerves up-strung to theirutmost tension, the shock was very severe, and he felt, for an instant,as if he would sink to the earth.
"What a woman I have become!" he muttered, chidingly, to himself. "Thiswill not do. To allow the scream of a bird to affect me thus iscowardice."
Bracing himself against further weakness, he resumed his cautiousmovement toward the foot of the mountain. When he reached it, heattempted to ascend, but now, that he was in a measure safe, thenervous rigor and force of will, which had sustained him, relaxed, andhe was compelled to sit down until his exhausted powers were restored.
While he lingered thus, his thoughts reverted to his palace home; toold Itzalmo, his faithful friend and counselor; to Euetzin, hiscompanion and confidante, and to Zelmonco villa, the home of Itlza.Thoughts of her awakened a pleasurable thrill in his soul, and hisfeatures softened under the touch of a sentiment which, if not love,was something very nearly akin to it. To himself he said:
"Am I, indeed, in love with my friend's sweet sister? Yes, it must beso; for I feel that I could sacrifice the man who would dare to comebetween us!"
When he felt himself sufficiently recovered to ascend the mountain, hearose and proceeded slowly up its side, and on toward his retreat. Ashe approached his hiding-place he became more wary. What if, in hisabsence, his retreat had been discovered by his enemy? The thoughtimpressed itself upon him so forcibly that he paused frequently tolisten for unusual sounds; but nothing reached his ear save the low andfamiliar murmur of the night winds, lulling, with their monotonicalsong, nature's wearied hosts to rest.
When near enough to give it, he sounded the signal, so like the realthat the shrewdest woodsman might have been deceived. Again it piercedthe silent woods, and quickly came back the echo in Oza's answer.
Hualcoyotl, now relieved of his apprehensions, went boldly forward, andwas gladly welcomed back by his anxious attendant.
They could not risk a fire in the nighttime, and were compelled to makea supper on uncooked maize and fruit. Very soon sleep, "Nature's sweetrestorer," claimed her own, and they were lost to the dangers aboutthem.
The next morning, before the sun was up, a fire was built, and abreakfast of roasted maize duly prepared. They had no salt with whichto season it, but that was of little consequence to them; hungerfurnished the added relish, and gave it a flavor that all thecondiments required by necessity and art, for man's gratification andneed, could not have given. It was a delicious feast to thehalf-starved fugitives, and was repeated several times during the day.
The first venture of the prince having proved successful, othersfollowed as often as circumstances required it. With each recurringtrip he became more bold, and less vigilant, and finally it was decidedto make a daylight venture. The first was successful, but the secondproved unfortunate, and the last. On this occasion he got too far awayfrom the base of the mountain, and, in returning, was intercepted by aparty of Tepanec troops. They were discovered to each other about thesame time. The soldiers, to be sure of their man, sent up a savageyell, which had the desired effect, for the prince immediately startedto run for his life, making his identity quite certain, and a chasebegan at once.
Hualcoyotl was fleet of foot, and had recovered, in the past few days,much of his former vigor. He gained rapidly on his pursuers, which gavehim an opportunity to change his course. The deflection he made tookhim out of sight of the soldiers, but their continued yells indicated ahot and determined pursuit.
He was becoming hopeful of his ability to evade them, if he could onlyhold out. The gaining confidence within him added strength to hislimbs. On, on, he almost flew; and, as he ran, the yells of hispursuers impelled him forward in his flight.
The course the fugitive was now pursuing was nearly in the direction ofthe mountain, and he was speeding along on the wings of hope, when, ashe dashed into a narrow vale, he came suddenly upon another party ofsoldiers. He was right in their midst before he was aware of theirpresence. "The gods defend me now!" was the prayerful ejaculation whichescaped him as he took in the situation.
The moment the prince came into their midst the soldiers surmised whohe was, and, closing around him, seized and laid him on the ground. Alarge drum, which they had with them, was then brought forward andplaced over him. When this was done, they began to sing and dancearound it.
When the pursuers of the prince came in sight of the party of soldierswho were dancing around the drum under which he was lying, theysuddenly stopped and viewed the scene with an air of bewilderment, asif uncertain what to do. The pause was of short duration, however; for,with a yell of disappointment and rage at the disappearance of theprince, they changed their course so as to pass the dancing party, andwere soon out of sight and hearing.
Hualcoyotl's wonder and astonishment were great when his captors beganto sing and dance around the drum. The song did not indicate a spiritof hostility, but, on the other hand, friendliness. What did it mean?Could it possibly be that he was not in the hands of an enemy? Thesequeries passed quickly through his mind.
The mystery was very soon cleared away. When his pursuers haddisappeared, his captors lifted the drum from over him and assisted himto rise. He was free; no hand was upon him, and the faces about himwere wreathed in smiles of satisfaction, while he was told that he wasamong friends. His astonishment, and the joy he experienced because ofhis deliverance, were very great. His captors were men of Tlacopan, afriendly nation, whose singular conduct was explained when theyinformed him that on his appearance in their midst they guessed who hewas, and that his pursuers were emissaries of Maxtla. There was no timeto lose in explanations, then, if they would save him; so he wasquickly seized and placed under the drum as a means of concealment.
Hualcoyotl expressed his gratitude in words of no uncertain meaning,and commended the soldiers for their ready shrew
dness in devising andexecuting the plan to save him.
He remained with them until night, when he was escorted by them towithin a short distance of his retreat, where they left him with afeeling of personal friendliness, and also one of satisfaction athaving done a kind act in the service of a good man.
Oza was overjoyed at his master's safe return, for he had given him upas lost or captured.
After explaining the cause of his protracted absence, the prince said:
"And now, Oza, we must leave this place at once, and get as far from itas possible before daylight to-morrow morning. My pursuers will scourthese rocks and hills in every direction without delay in search of me.If we would escape them, we must lose no time in getting away."
The prince took his bearings, and they started. It began to rain, andthe night grew wet and dark. They suffered much from the inclementweather, and the hurts and bruises which they got in their efforts tocross the mountain. All night through they dragged themselves wearilyon, over the rough and rocky ground. When day dawned they knew notwhere they were, nor did they care, so they were beyond pursuit.
The first thing to be done after daylight was to find a suitable place,safe and comfortable, in which to fix a temporary habitation.
In a small, narrow ravine among the rocks a spot was found whichpromised protection from the sun and rain by adding a covering ofboughs and leaves, which was speedily accomplished. After partaking ofa light breakfast of maize and fruit, the last they had excepting a fewears of the former, they disposed themselves to rest; and being greatlyworn and fatigued from the laborious tramp of the night, soon foundoblivion in sleep.