The king took a seat near the accused, and at once assumed the relation of an interested friend. Itlza saw him now as the noble and magnanimous prince he had always seemed to her; Cacami felt the weight of his impending doom grow lighter in the friendly attitude of the king, while Euetzin only recognized in the action the generous, forgiving man he knew his royal friend to be. The judges consulted together for a few minutes, when an adjournment of the court followed. The court retired to another room for the purpose of holding a private consultation, at which the king was invited to be present. After an absence of quite a half hour it returned and the session was resumed. Cacami was in his place, with the faithful Itlza beside him. The presiding judge proceeded to address the prisoner and his friends. After informing them that a decision had been reached by the court, he continued, by saying: "The case we have been called to consider is an extraordinary one. The accused is represented to be a man of sterling qualities, and worthy of our highest regard. He is charged, however, with a grave offense against his king. The evidence is not wanting to make a case against him, but there have come to our notice, during the trial, conditions which place the court in doubt as to the wisdom of a further prosecution of the defendant. Since this is true, the court has decided, at the instance of the king, who is the injured party, to dismiss the case. The accused is, therefore, honorably discharged from the custody of the court." Itlza, forgetting all save her great joy, in knowing that Cacami was free, threw herself upon his breast and wept. Cacami was deeply affected, but he belonged to a race of men who scorned to exhibit a weakness, under any circumstances, and was calm while he held in his strong embrace the weeping Itlza. Hualcoyotl was the first to speak to them, and, in doing so, assured his now successful rival that he experienced great pleasure in knowing that he was free. Euetzin was quite rejoiced, and, with a happy smile upon his face, so lately covered by a cloud of anxiety, conducted his now joyful sister and her forever-famous young husband from the court-room, and into the presence of Teochma, the mother, who received them with demonstrations of joy and gladness, forgetting, in the happiness of the moment, her disappointment at not becoming the mother of a queen. CHAPTER XL. Immediately after the trial Cacami and Itlza accompanied Teochma to Zelmonco villa, where the twain remained for a time in the enjoyment of each other's society, made unspeakably felicitous by a love which had been purified and intensified, in the crucible of affliction. The reward of their fidelity was a rich one--the consciousness of having been true to each other through an ordeal little less terrible than death itself.