THE HARLEQUIN OPAL A ROMANCE BY FERGUS HUME _Author of "The Island of Fantasy," "Aladdin in London," etc._ VOLUME II Once a realm of Indian glory, Famed in Aztec song and story, Fabled by Tradition hoary As an earthly Paradise; Now a land of love romances, Serenades, bolero dances, Looks of scorn, adoring glances, Under burning tropic skies. LONDON W. H. ALLEN & CO., LIMITED 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. 1893 WYMAN AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND REDHILL. PROEM. The stone had its birth in the nurturing earth, Its home in the heart of the main, From the coraline caves it was tossed by the waves On the breast of an aureate plain; And the spirits who dwell in the nethermost hell Stored fire in its bosom of white; The sylphs of the air made it gracious and fair With the blue of the firmament's height. The dull gnomes I ween, gave it glittering sheen, Till yellow as gold it became; The nymphs of the sea made the opal to be A beacon of emerald flame. The many tints glow, they come and they go At bidding of spirits abhorr'd, When one ray is bright, in the bosom of white, Its hue tells the fate of its lord. For yellow hints wealth, and blue meaneth health, While green forbodes passing of gloom, But beware of the red, 'tis an omen of dread, Portending disaster and doom. Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. Words printed in italics are noted with underscores: _italics_. The cover of this ebook was created by the transcriber and is hereby placed in the public domain. INDEX. CHAP. PAGE I.--AWAY TO THE NORTH 1 II.--ACAUHTZIN 21 III.--DON HYPOLITO XUAREZ 37 IV.--RIVALS 58 V.--IN SHADOWLAND 81 VI.--THE SHRINE OF THE OPAL 104 VII.--AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 130 VIII.--AN INDIAN FESTIVAL 153 IX.--THE FUGITIVES 184 X.--FORTUNE TURNS HER WHEEL 210 XI.--AWAY TO THE FRONT 233 XII.--A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT--NEW STYLE 257 XIII.--WITHOUT THE WALLS 278 THE HARLEQUIN OPAL. CHAPTER I. AWAY TO THE NORTH. Oh, leave the south, the languid south, Its cloudless skies, its weary calms; The land of heat, and glare, and drouth, Where aloes bloom, and spring the palms. There water is the best of alms, To cool the ever-parched mouth; Oh, with the breezes bearing balms, Fly northward from the languid south.