The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. I.
Page 21
CHAPTER XXI.
The scene of death in which they were engaged, had so employed thethoughts of the cavaliers, that they were, for a time, insensible tomany tumultuous noises in the city, which, beginning at the moment whenthe struggles and outcries of Villafana were fiercest and loudest,increased every instant, until all was uproar.
At first, as they rushed in disorder to the doors, they thought the dinwas caused by a renewal of the storm, or rather the sudden outburstingof a tornado; which, overwhelming the houses of some of the poorercitizens, and burying them among the ruins, might account for thescreams and yells, that were mingled with other noises. But they soonexchanged this fear for one more stirring, when, as they rushed into theair, they heard an alarum ringing from the chapel-bell on the top of thepyramid, drums beating to arms, arquebuses firing in several differentquarters, and were made sensible that a conflict was raging in the town.
"Dios!" cried one; "the conspirators are upon us! Let us back to thehall and defend ourselves!"
"My life upon it," said Gaspar, "the conspirators will not stir tillVillafana opens his lips to them.--Heaven rest his soul!--Hark! theseare the yells of Indians."
"On, friends!" exclaimed Cortes, perceiving the garden full of soldiers,rushing from various parts of the palace, as if to seek the fray. "Thisis Tlascalan work--a knavery of Xicotencal. Hah! hark! see! 'tis anassault upon the prison! Ho, Castilians! ho, Christians! cavaliers andsoldiers, to arms! haste, to arms!"
While the soldiers, collecting together at the well-known voice of theCaptain-General, began to rush with him towards the prison, over which,besides hearing the shouting of the watchmen at the doors, they beheldthree blazing arrows shot up into the air, their alarm was directed toanother quarter, by a violent cannonade from the squadron, moored yet atthe entrance of the little river; and looking that way, they perceivedto their astonishment and fear, no less than four of the brigantinessuddenly enveloped in flames.
"Guzman and Quinones!" cried Cortes, with instant determination, "to theprison, with what force ye can pick up on the way. Shoot all fugitives,as well as all assailants. The rest follow me to the river; for I wouldmine arms should be burned, rather than my vessels."
By this time, all the Spaniards who were capable of bearing arms, werein the open air, and following not less the shouts of Cortes than thecrash of the falconets, ran hastily towards the fleet, which, it was nowevident, was furiously beset by multitudes of Indians in canoes. Theflash of the explosions and the flames bursting ruddily out from sailsand cordage, revealed them clustering with impetuosity around thedevoted vessels, whose crews, it was equally apparent, were making agallant resistance. In this light, the houses bordering upon the waterwere seen covered with citizens, looking on with a tranquillity, whichshowed that their share in the unexpected hostilities, if indeed theyhad any, was entirely passive. A more agreeable sight was disclosed toCortes, as he ran onwards, in the appearance of many thousandTlascalans, rushing down the narrow meadows which bordered the canal,with such alacrity of speed and such furious cries of 'Tlascala!' and'Castilla!' as convinced him of their fidelity and affection.
"It is a Mexican device, after all," he muttered; "a plan of theambassadors. Well done for thee, Villafana!--Bold varlets, these! What!down with your demi-culverins and sakers, Orozca! Where is my goodcannonier, Juan Catalan? We will aid the vessels from the shore."
The mariners, however hotly engaged, replied to the cries of theirfriends with shouts of courage; and redoubling their exertions, theysucceeded not only in repelling the assailants, whose obvious aim was tofire the whole fleet, from those ships not yet ignited, but even inextinguishing the flames in the less fortunate four. In this, they weredoubtless materially assisted by the condition of the planks andtimbers, which being of green wood, the flames would perhaps haveconfined their ravages to the more combustible sails and cordage, andsoon expired for want of fuel. They weighed anchor also, and takingadvantage of the gusts which still blew over the lake, six of thelargest and strongest set sail, and boldly plunged among the canoes,overturning and sinking many, while the others, receiving assistancefrom the shore, betook themselves to the little harbour, dragging withthem their disabled consorts.
In this manner, it soon became evident that the danger in this quarterwas over; and Cortes, directing that the position of the brigantinesshould be strengthened by a temporary battery at the mouth of the river,returned to inspect the condition of the city in the neighbourhood ofthe palace.
The sounds of contention were over; and one passing through the garden,and listening to the moaning of the winds through the trees, couldscarce have believed that half an hour before it had been a scene ofsuch warlike bustle. The bell rang no longer, the drums, trumpets, andarquebuses were silent, and the sentinels paced to and fro at theirstations, as if nothing unusual had happened. The only sounds indeedthat now vexed the calm of the night, were the occasional explosion of afalconet from some brigantine, afar among the shadows of the lake, stillpursuing the retreating canoes. The attack was perhaps unpremeditated;or, perhaps, its only object was to taunt and defy. At all events, itwas now over; and in less than an hour from the time of the first alarm,the cry of all's-well could be heard through the different quarters ofthe city.
Before this satisfactory conclusion of an evening so eventful, theCaptain-General was doomed to have his equanimity put to the proof by anew trial. A double line of guards surrounded the prison, and Guzman,Quinones, and Gaspar Olea were among them, the last wringing his hands,and bewailing; but the prison-door was open, a thin smoke issued fromit, and he could see, at a glance, that the only persons in theapartment were a few soldiers, dashing water over its partly consumedfloor. Under the very threshold lay the bodies of two soldiers,fearfully mangled; another was writhing, gasping, and dying in the armsof his comrades; and a fourth, severely wounded, was narrating toQuinones the particulars of an assault, made, as he averred, by tenthousand devils, or Mexicans, who sprang suddenly out of the earth,killed or dispersed the whole guard, carried off the prisoner, or burnedhim, he knew not which, (for he lay upon the ground, counterfeitingdeath,) and then, setting fire to the building, vanished quite assuddenly as they came.
"Were these men Mexicans or Tlascalans?" demanded Cortes, withoutbetraying any sign of feeling.
The soldier started at the sound of his leader's voice, and hastilyreplied,
"In good faith, senor, I know not, for I was somewhat overcome withfear."
"And with wine, sirrah!" exclaimed the General. "But it mattersnot--thou art too stupid to answer now. Have this fellow into the den,Quinones, and let him be brought to me to-morrow.--Senor Don Francisco,we will walk to the palace."
He put his arm into Guzman's, and dragging him to a little distance,where no beam of torch or cresset illuminated his visage, exclaimed,eagerly,
"Tell me the truth, Francisco:--has he perished by fire in the prison,or has he escaped me?"
"Senor," replied Guzman, "his star, or his devil, has helped him."
"Why then the fiends seize thee, and all false friends, who plague me!"cried Cortes, giving way to passion. "Is it thus I am to be cheated?"
"Senor," said Guzman, moderately, but without fear; "I have mine owncause of distress, for my hand is horribly mangled, and I have heardthat the bite of a dying man causes mortification. So, with this pain ofbody and mind, I may not speak good counsel or good defence.--When Ireached the prison, it was empty and on fire. Had not your excellencyinterfered with the execution this day--"
"Ay, there again!" muttered the Captain-General; "mine own hand is madeto befool me; it pulls out of the pit faster than my foot tramples in.Hark thee, Guzman, dost thou not think this young man is protected bysome special providence?"
"I, senor?"
"Why, look you, what could have carried him through the tribes of theWest, to the South Sea, and back again?--(a device of thy scheming,too!) And, didst thou not see, I was about to run him through, in thevery act of mutinous resistance, when a brut
e and insensate dog seizedmy sword-blade in his mouth? And now, for the third time, what but hisangel could have brought to his prison-door yonder infidels ofMexico--his only friends, I think?"
"Let your excellency question if this circumstance will not, withoutremoving him from punishment, give a still stronger excuse for it? Thescribe visited him in the dungeon; a paction with the enemy, sealed bythe act of flight with them to their stronghold, has confirmed himthrice over a traitor."
"Ay, by heaven! it is true!" said Cortes, smiting his hands together;"and, by and by, I will take him out of his hiding-place, and crown theday of victory with a double triumph!"
"And who can affirm," quoth Don Francisco, "that the misbelievers havenot taken him for a sacrifice? It is said, the coronation of Guatimozinis deferred only until he can provide a Castilian victim to do honour tothe ceremony. By my faith, senor, there is a pleasant twitch in mycheek,--ay, in the scar of the rapier-wound--at the very thought of thisretribution!"
"Now, by heaven," said Cortes, with an altered voice, "villain as he is,I cannot rejoice that such a dismal fate should befall him. Death,indeed, but not a death of horror! Dost thou think this, then, can behis doom? Alas, poor youth! had he but some one to lament him or toavenge, I were better satisfied with what I have done. I swear to thee,Francisco, we are e'en as base knaves as himself; for we have employedour strength--our cunning and our strength--against a creature that isutterly friendless. Alas, I say; for I remember me of the days of old;and surely I loved him once as my own soul."
This outbreaking of feeling did not at all surprise Guzman, who had beenfamiliar from the beginning with the ebbings and flowings of DonHernan's hate, and who had several times seen him, when the destiny ofJuan seemed already closed, affected so much that he shed tears, as hedid at the present moment. But Guzman was acquainted with a spell whichnever failed to banish all compunction from the General's breast; and hedid not scruple to employ it now.
"It is enough!" muttered Cortes, through his clenched teeth. "Heaven andmy conscience acquit me, and I will think of it no more."
With these words, he seemed to discharge from his mind all thoughts ofthe youth so deeply detested, and addressing himself to the task ofinspecting in person the condition of all assailable points in the city,betook himself at last, and at the day-dawn, to his repose.
END OF VOL. I.