A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire
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CHAPTER XVIII.
Euetzin and Cacami, with the assistance of their colaborers, had done asplendid work among the men of their tribe for the cause of Tezcuco.Everywhere they had labored the Tezcucan heart was thoroughly aroused,and the secret preparations for resistance to Maxtla's rule wererapidly assuming proportions highly encouraging to the promoters. Thecomrades were now returning to the once proud capital of their nationto continue the work of organization at the very threshold of theenemy.
The work in Tezcuco had been deferred until assurance of success wasmade reasonably certain elsewhere; and, now, since a perfect confidencein the ultimate triumph of their cause was felt by the conspirators,the work was to be pushed into that city as a final effort in thecreation of the mighty and silent forces which were intended to strikethe shackles from the oppressed Tezcucans.
The young men reached Zelmonco villa, on their way to the city, in theafternoon, where they proposed to stop a few hours with Teochma andItlza. It was a very happy meeting, for weeks had elapsed since thetzin and his companion turned their faces away from the home of theformer.
Itlza's welcome to Cacami was very encouraging to him. The weeks ofabsence he was compelled to endure had strengthened the attachment hehad conceived for her, and he was longing for some token ofreciprocation, which would release him from his pledge of silence. Hethought he saw a realization of his hopes in the greeting he received;and, notwithstanding he was pledged, when he came face to face with theobject of his love he felt that his feelings would impel him to speak,should the opportunity for doing so be presented.
The days had not been without effect upon Itlza, too. She had grownthoughtful, and the thoughts which held her most were thoughts ofCacami. She had often gone to the oak tree, where she sat for hoursand, dreamingly, lived over again the few pleasant moments she hadspent there with him; and, as the dreaming went on, her heart could notdo otherwise than go out to the object of her thoughts.
After an hour of pleasant talk, and the subjects of inquiry had beenexhausted, the little party broke up. Euetzin went to look about thevilla, Teochma to see that suitable refreshments were prepared, andItlza and Cacami for a short stroll in the park.
Persons who are in love are usually inclined to reticence in thepresence of the beloved, except when talking on the subject which isever uppermost in their minds. Thus it was with Cacami and Itlza. Hewas thinking of his promise, and was not a little vexed at himself forhaving given it, now that so favorable an opportunity was presented forpleading his cause. She was thinking of the same thing; and,remembering that she had exacted the promise from him, was endeavoringto devise a way to let him know that he was absolved from it. Theconsequence was a rather awkward silence between them. He finallymanaged to say:
"How has Laughing-eyes occupied the time since her brother and myselfwent away?"
"As she always does--eating, sleeping, and dreaming," she replied,jocosely.
"Were your dreams in your sleeping or waking hours?" he asked, lookingat her with quizzical interest.
"You should not question so, Cacami. To be truthful I might becompelled to say in both; then you would think me a dreamer," sheanswered, coquettishly.
"I should never find fault with your dreaming, Laughing-eyes, if Imight be assured of a part in it," he said, with a look of fondness.
"Selfish Cacami!" she exclaimed, with mock solemnity.
"Yes, Laughing-eyes, Cacami is selfish where you are concerned," herejoined, with unfeigned tenderness.
She could not mistake the trend of his manner, and hoped earnestly thathe would disregard his promise, and speak the endearing words she hadherself checked upon his lips before she realized that her best lovewas his.
"I must have a care for myself; selfish Cacami might choose to spiritme away," she said, archly, at the same time giving him a look whichtempted him severely, and almost loosed his tongue. With a heroiceffort he controlled himself, and, with strained facetiousness,replied:
"When I do that, Laughing-eyes will furnish the spirit wings."
To this quasi repartee she answered only with a coquettish littlelaugh.
They had come to the lower side of the park, near the roadway. A shortpause had followed Cacami's last remark, and he was fixedly andtenderly contemplating his strangely fascinating companion.
The art of fashioning flowers, as well as feathers, into varied andbeautiful designs was an accomplishment frequently attained by thenative women, and in which Itlza was an adept. She had plucked somechoice varieties, here and there, as she walked along, and wrought theminto a delicate, heart-shaped bouquet. She noticed her companion'squiet demeanor, and, feeling a magnetic influence from his fixed gaze,turned to look at him.
"Why are you so silent?" she asked, her voice expressive of sympathetictenderness. She continued: "And what are your thoughts, that the lookfrom your eyes burns into my very heart?"
Her eyes were fixed on his as she spoke, and the love-light, whichshone from them, became suddenly intensified. For an instant she wasovercome by the power of his superior magnetism, and, holding out bothhands, involuntarily exclaimed:
"O, Cacami!"
When Cacami heard the impassioned cry, and saw the no less impassionedlight which beamed upon him from the liquid depths of her intenselyluminous eyes, the temptation was too strong, and, forgetting hispromise, he impulsively clasped her hands in both his own, and, for onemoment of blissful thralldom, two souls stood blending on the verge ofrapture.
"Itlza!" called the mother, from the hill above.
The spell was broken, and the passionate words which trembled onCacami's lips remained unsaid.
Itlza quickly withdrew her hands, and answered her mother's call; butthe flower-heart was left in Cacami's possession.
With quickened pulse the lovers turned from the blissful spot, andwalked toward the house.
The emotions which filled the heart and moved the soul of Cacami, inthat to him ecstatic moment, can not be described. Those who have inlike manner realized the dearest wish of a heart's first and purestlove only can know what his feelings were. Itlza had, not in words, butin the language of soul speaking to soul, surrendered to him thecitadel of affection--her heart, which was typified in the beautifulheart of flowers which he now possessed.
An hour in Cacami's society had shown to Itlza how deep was the loveshe felt for him; and, ere the moment of revelation came, the littlelove-bird which nestled in her heart was fluttering to be released,that it might sing its song for him. She had wrought the flower-heartfor her lover, but knew not how it would reach him. The moment came, aswe have seen, unexpectedly to Cacami at least, which transferred it tohis hand and revealed to him the fact that he was loved.
When the lovers came up to Teochma, who stood waiting for them at thetop of the hill, they had overcome their agitation and met her with noperceptible signs of confusion. She said, with a slight expression ofimpatience:
"Refreshments are waiting, while Cacami and Itlza are lost to theflight of time, and neglect them."
"If I have been remiss, the pleasure of a stroll with Itlza must be myexcuse," said he humbly.
"And, Itlza, what have you to say of your conduct?" asked the mother ina quizzical but affectionate manner, at the same time watching theeffect of her question. If she thought to fathom the sentiment whichmoved the young people she failed; for Itlza answered demurely, castingan arch glance at her companion:
"It was Cacami's fault, mother; he had so much to tell that I forgot."
"Well, well, I'm inclined to think you are both to blame; and since itis so, I can not scold. But you must be more thoughtful in the future;"at saying which Teochma turned and led the way into the house.
After refreshments were served, the family, with Cacami, repaired tothe reception room, where the evening was passed in pleasantconversation. The young people had no opportunity to communicatefarther except in a general way. Thus they were left for anotherinterval of time to meditate on what might have been.
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The tzin was in deepest sympathy with the demands of the hour upon himfrom his enslaved countrymen and their subverted government; and,regardless of the entreaties of his mother and Itlza, and the pressingdesire in his own heart to remain longer, cut short his stay, and withCacami, who was sadly disappointed at not being permitted, by even abrief interview with Itlza, to verify the hopes with which her latestconduct had inspired him, struck out at an early hour the next morningfor Tezcuco, where the work in behalf of Tezcucan independence was tobe continued.
On entering the city the tzin felt forcibly drawn toward the palace ofthe prince. It had been a home to him for the past eight years, andnow, returning to its very threshold to remain for a time, it seemedlike forsaking an old friend to turn away from it.
But the place was still under surveillance by the enemies of his royalmaster, and, unknown though he was to them, his presence there, hefelt, might expose him to suspicion, which would mark him as a personto be watched, thereby causing him annoyance and possible interruptionin his labors. He therefore passed it by with a sigh of regret, andsought accommodations elsewhere, which he found at the home of apatriotic Tezcucan.
No time was permitted to elapse unimproved by Euetzin and hiscoworkers. The necessary steps, which had become a fixed proceeding,were taken, and ere four and twenty hours had passed, a council ofleading Tezcucans was organized, and each member of it, with theobligation still warm upon his lips, was laboring secretly andzealously for country, home and Hualcoyotl.