Montezuma's DaughterHaggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
History
Montezuma's Daughter
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540 -- Fiction
Now he who had taken such fierce joy in the death of others on this
same stone, began to tremble and weep, for he did not desire to drink
of his own medicine.
“Why must I be offered up, O prince?” he cried, “I who have been a
faithful servant to the gods and to the Emperor.”
“Because you dared to try to offer up this Teule,” answered Guatemoc,
pointing to me, “without leave from your master Montezuma, and because
of the other evils that you have done, all of which are written in this
scroll. The Teule is a son of Quetzal, as you have yourself declared,
and Quetzal will be avenged because of his son. Away with him, here is
your warrant.”
Then the priests, who till this moment had been his servants, dragged
their chief to the stone, and there, notwithstanding his prayers and
bellowings, one who had donned his mantle practised his own art upon
him, and presently his body was cast down the side of the pyramid. For
my part I am not sufficient of a Christian to pretend that I was sorry
to see him die in that same fashion by which he had caused the death of
so many better men.
When it was done Guatemoc turned to me and said, “So perish all your
enemies, my friend Teule.”
Within an hour of this event, which revealed to me how great was the
power of Montezuma, seeing that the sight of a ring from his finger
could bring about the instant death of a high priest at the hands of
his disciples, we started on our long journey. But before I went I bid
a warm farewell to my friend the _cacique_, and also to Marina, who
wept at my going. The _cacique_ I never saw again, but Marina I did
see.
For a whole month we travelled, for the way was far and the road rough,
and sometimes we must cut our path through forests and sometimes we
must wait upon the banks of rivers. Many were the strange sights that I
saw upon that journey, and many the cities in which we sojourned in
much state and honour, but I cannot stop to tell of all these.
One thing I will relate, however, though briefly, because it changed
the regard that the prince Guatemoc and I felt one to the other into a
friendship which lasted till his death, and indeed endures in my heart
to this hour.
One day we were delayed by the banks of a swollen river, and in pastime
went out to hunt for deer. When we had hunted a while and killed three
deer, it chanced that Guatemoc perceived a buck standing on a hillock,
and we set out to stalk it, five of us in all. But the buck was in the
open, and the trees and bush ceased a full hundred yards away from
where he stood, so that there was no way by which we might draw near to
him. Then Guatemoc began to mock me, saying, “Now, Teule, they tell
tales of your archery, and this deer is thrice as far as we Aztecs can
make sure of killing. Let us see your skill.”
“I will try,” I answered, “though the shot is long.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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