CHAPTER XXIII
THOMAS IS MARRIED
Otomie turned and went. I watched the golden curtains close behind
her; then I sank back upon the couch and instantly was lost in
sleep, for I was faint and weak, and so dazed with weariness, that
at the time I scarcely knew what had happened, or the purpose of
our talk. Afterwards, however, it came back to me. I must have
slept for many hours, for when I awoke it was far on into the
night. It was night but not dark, for through the barred window
places came the sound of tumult and fighting, and red rays of light
cast by the flames of burning houses. One of these windows was
above my couch, and standing on the bed I seized the sill with my
hands. With much pain, because of the flesh wound in my side, I
drew myself up till I could look through the bars. Then I saw that
the Spaniards, not content with the capture of the teocalli, had
made a night attack and set fire to hundreds of houses in the city.
The glare of the flames was that of a lurid day, and by it I could
see the white men retreating to their quarters, pursued by
thousands of Aztecs, who hung upon their flanks, shooting at them
with stones and arrows.
Now I dropped down from the window place and began to think as to
what I should do, for again my mind was wavering. Should I desert
Otomie and escape to the Spaniards if that were possible, taking my
chance of death at the hands of de Garcia? Or should I stay among
the Aztecs if they would give me shelter, and wed Otomie? There
was a third choice, indeed, to stay with them and leave Otomie
alone, though it would be difficult to do this and keep my honour.
One thing I understood, if I married Otomie it must be at her own
price, for then I must become an Indian and give over all hope of
returning to England and to my betrothed. Of this, indeed, there
was little chance, still, while my life remained to me, it might
come about if I was free. But once my hands were tied by this
marriage it could never be during Otomie's lifetime, and so far as
Lily Bozard was concerned I should be dead. How could I be thus
faithless to her memory and my troth, and on the other hand, how
could I discard the woman who had risked all for me, and who, to
speak truth, had grown so dear to me, though there was one yet
dearer? A hero or an angel might find a path out of this tangle,
but alas! I was neither the one nor the other, only a man afflicted
as other men are with human weakness, and Otomie was at hand, and
very sweet and fair. Still, almost I determined that I would avail
myself of her nobleness, that I would go back upon my words, and
beg her to despise me and see me no more, in order that I might not
be forced to break the troth that I had pledged beneath the beech
at Ditchingham. For I greatly dreaded this oath of life-long
fidelity which I should be forced to swear if I chose any other
path.
Thus I thought on in pitiable confusion of mind, not knowing that
all these matters were beyond my ordering, since a path was already
made ready to my feet, which I must follow or die. And let this be
a proof of the honesty of my words, since, had I been desirous of
glozing the truth, I need have written nothing of these struggles
of conscience, and of my own weakness. For soon it was to come to
this, though not by her will, that I must either wed Otomie or die
at once, and few would blame me for doing the first and not the
last. Indeed, though I did wed her, I might still have declared
myself to my affianced and to all the world as a slave of events
from which there was no escape. But it is not all the truth, since
my mind was divided, and had it not been settled for me, I cannot
say how the struggle would have ended.
Now, looking back on the distant past, and weighing my actions and
character as a judge might do, I can see, however, that had I found
time to consider, there was another matter which would surely have
turned the scale in favour of Otomie. De Garcia was among the
Spaniards, and my hatred of de Garcia was the ruling passion of my
life, a stronger passion even than my love for the two dear women
who have been its joy. Indeed, though he is dead these many years
I still hate him, and evil though the desire be, even in my age I
long that my vengeance was still to wreak. While I remained among
the Aztecs de Garcia would be their enemy and mine, and I might
meet him in war and kill him there. But if I succeeded in reaching
the Spanish camp, then it was almost sure that he would bring about
my instant death. Doubtless he had told such a tale of me already,
that within an hour I should be hung as a spy, or otherwise made
away with.
But I will cease from these unprofitable wonderings which have but
one value, that of setting out my strange necessity of choice
between an absent and a present love, and go on with the story of
an event in which there was no room to balance scruples.
While I sat musing on the couch the curtain was drawn, and a man
entered bearing a torch. It was Guatemoc as he had come from the
fray, which, except for its harvest of burning houses, was finished
for that night. The plumes were shorn from his head, his golden
armour was hacked by the Spanish swords, and he bled from a shot
wound in the neck.
'Greeting, Teule,' he said. 'Certainly I never thought to see you
alive to-night, or myself either for that matter. But it is a
strange world, and now, if never before in Tenoctitlan, those
things happen for which we look the least. But I have no time for
words. I came to summon you before the council.'
'What is to be my fate?' I asked. 'To be dragged back to the stone
of sacrifice?'
'Nay, have no fear of that. But for the rest I cannot say. In an
hour you may be dead or great among us, if any of us can be called
great in these days of shame. Otomie has worked well for you among
the princes and the counsellors, so she says, and if you have a
heart, you should be grateful to her, for it seems to me that few
women have loved a man so much. As for me, I have been employed
elsewhere,' and he glanced at his rent armour, 'but I will lift up
my voice for you. Now come, friend, for the torch burns low. By
this time you must be well seasoned in dangers; one more or less
will matter as little to you as to me.'
Then I rose and followed him into the great cedar-panelled hall,
where that very morning I had received adoration as a god. Now I
was a god no longer, but a prisoner on trial for his life. Upon
the dais where I had stood in the hour of my godhead were gathered
those of the princes and counsellors who were left alive. Some of
them, like Guatemoc, were clad in rent and bloody mail, others in
their customary dress, and one in a priest's robe. They had only
two things in common among them, the sternness of their faces and
the greatness of their rank, and they sat there this night not to
decide my fate, which was but a little thing, but to take counsel
as to how they might expel the Spaniards before the city was
destroyed.
When I entered, a man in mail, who sat in the centre of the half
circle, and in whom I knew Cuitlahua, who would be emperor should
Montezuma die, looked up quickly and said:
'Who is this, Guatemoc, that you bring with you? Ah! I remember;
the Teule that was the god Tezcat, and who escaped the sacrifice
to-day. Listen, nobles. What is to be done with this man? Say,
is it lawful that he be led back to sacrifice?'
Then the priest answered: 'I grieve to say that it is not lawful
most noble prince. This man has lain on the altar of the god, he
has even been wounded by the holy knife. But the god rejected him
in a fateful hour, and he must lie there no more. Slay him if you
will, but not upon the stone of sacrifice.'
'What then shall be done with him?' said the prince again.
'He is of the blood of the Teules, and therefore an enemy. One
thing is certain; he must not be suffered to join the white devils
and give them tidings of our distresses. Is it not best that he be
put away forthwith?'
Now several of the council nodded their heads, but others sat
silent, making no sign.
'Come,' said Cuitlahua, 'we have no time to waste over this man
when the lives of thousands are hourly at stake. The question is,
Shall the Teule be slain?'
Then Guatemoc rose and spoke, saying: 'Your pardon, noble kinsman,
but I hold that we may put this prisoner to better use than to kill
him. I know him well; he is brave and loyal, as I have proved,
moreover, he is not all a Teule, but half of another race that
hates them as he hates them. Also he has knowledge of their
customs and mode of warfare, which we lack, and I think that he may
be able to give us good counsel in our strait.'
'The counsel of the wolf to the deer perhaps,' said Cuitlahua,
coldly; 'counsel that shall lead us to the fangs of the Teules.
Who shall answer for this foreign devil, that he will not betray us
if we trust him?'
'I will answer with my life,' answered Guatemoc.
'Your life is of too great worth to be set on such a stake, nephew.
Men of this white breed are liars, and his own word is of no value
even if he gives it. I think that it will be best to kill him and
have done with doubts.'
'This man is wed to Otomie, princess of the Otomie, Montezuma's
daughter, your niece,' said Guatemoc again, 'and she loves him so
well that she offered herself upon the stone of sacrifice with him.
Unless I mistake she will answer for him also. Shall she be
summoned before you?'
'If you wish, nephew; but a woman in love is a blind woman, and
doubtless he has deceived her also. Moreover, she was his wife
according to the rule of religion only. Is it your desire that the
princess should be summoned before you, comrades?'
Now some said nay, but the most, those whose interest Otomie had
gained, said yea, and the end of it was that one of their number
was sent to summon her.
Presently she came, looking very weary, but proud in mien and
royally attired, and bowed before the council.
'This is the question, princess,' said Cuitlahua. 'Whether this
Teule shall be slain forthwith, or whether he shall be sworn as one
of us, should he be willing to take the oath? The prince Guatemoc
here vouches for him, and he says, moreover, that you will vouch
for him also. A woman can do this in one way only, by taking him
she vouches as her husband. You are already wed to this foreigner
by the rule of religion. Are you willing to marry him according to
the custom of our land, and to answer for his faith with your own
life?'
'I am willing,' Otomie answered quietly, 'if he is willing.'
'In truth it is a great honour that you would do this white dog,'
said Cuitlahua. 'Bethink you, you are princess of the Otomie and
one of our master's daughters, it is to you that we look to bring
back the mountain clans of the Otomie, of whom you are
chieftainess, from their unholy alliance with the accursed
Tlascalans, the slaves of the Teules. Is not your life too
precious to be set on such a stake as this foreigner's faith? for
learn, Otomie, if he proves false your rank shall not help you.'
'I know it all,' she replied quietly. 'Foreigner or not, I love
this man and I will answer for him with my blood. Moreover, I look
to him to assist me to win back the people of the Otomie to their
allegiance. But let him speak for himself, my lord. It may happen
that he has no desire to take me in marriage.'
Cuitlahua smiled grimly and said, 'When the choice lies between the
breast of death and those fair arms of yours, niece, it is easy to
guess his answer. Still, speak, Teule, and swiftly.'
'I have little to say, lord. If the princess Otomie is willing to
wed me, I am willing to wed her,' I answered, and thus in the
moment of my danger all my doubts and scruples vanished. As
Cuitlahua had said, it was easy to guess the choice of one set
between death and Otomie.
She heard and looked at me warningly, saying in a low voice:
'Remember our words, Teule. In such a marriage you renounce your
past and give me your future.'
'I remember,' I answered, and while I spoke, there came before my
eyes a vision of Lily's face as it had been when I bade her
farewell. This then was the end of the vows that I had sworn.
Cuitlahua looked at me with a glance which seemed to search my
heart and said:
'I hear your words, Teule. You, a white wanderer, are graciously
willing to take this princess to wife, and by her to be lifted high
among the great lords of this land. But say, how can we trust you?
If you fail us your wife dies indeed, but that may be naught to
you.'
'I am ready to swear allegiance,' I answered. 'I hate the
Spaniards, and among them is my bitterest enemy whom I followed
across the sea to kill--the man who strove to murder me this very
day. I can say no more, if you doubt my words it were best to make
an end of me. Already I have suffered much at the hands of your
people; it matters little if I die or live.'
'Boldly spoken, Teule. Now, lords, I ask your judgment. Shall
this man be given to Otomie as husband and be sworn as one of us,
or shall he be killed instantly? You know the matter. If he can
be trusted, as Guatemoc and Otomie believe, he will be worth an
army to us, for he is acquainted with the language, the customs,
the weapons, and the modes of warfare of these white devils whom
the gods have let loose upon us. If on the other hand he is not to
be trusted, and it is hard for us to put faith in one of his blood,
he may do us much injury, for in the end he will escape to the
Teules, and betray our counsels and our strength, or the lack of
it. It is for you to judge, lords.'
Now the councillors consulted together, and some said one thing and
some another, for they were not by any means of a mind in the
matter. At length growing weary, Cuitlahua called on them to put
the question to the vote, and this they did by a lifting of hands.
First those who were in favour of my death held up their hands,
then those who thought that it would be wise to spare me. There
were twenty-six councillors present, not counting Cuitlahua, and of
these thirteen voted for my execution and thirteen were for saving
me alive.
'Now it seems that I must give a casting vote,' said Cuitlahua when
the tale had been rendered, and my blood turned cold at his words,
for I had seen that his mind was set against me. Then it was that
Otomie broke in, saying:
'Your pardon, my uncle, but before you speak I have a word to say.
You need my services, do you not? for if the people of the Otomie
will listen to any and suffer themselves to be led from their evil
path, it is to me. My mother was by birth their chieftainess, the
last of a long line, and I am her only child, moreover my father is
their emperor. Therefore my life is of no small worth now in this
time of trouble, for though I am nothing in myself, yet it may
chance that I can bring thirty thousand warriors to your standard.
The priests knew this on yonder pyramid, and when I claimed my
right to lie at the side of the Teule, they gainsayed me, nor would
they suffer it, though they hungered for the royal blood, till I
called down the vengeance of the gods upon them. Now my uncle, and
you, lords, I tell you this: Slay yonder man if you will, but know
that then you must find another than me to lure the Otomie from
their rebellion, for then I complete what I began to-day, and
follow him to the grave.'
She ceased and a murmur of amazement went round the chamber, for
none had looked to find such love and courage in this lady's heart.
Only Cuitlahua grew angry.
'Disloyal girl,' he said; 'do you dare to set your lover before
your country? Shame upon you, shameless daughter of our king.
Why, it is in the blood--as the father is so is the daughter. Did
not Montezuma forsake his people and choose to lie among these
Teules, the false children of Quetzal? And now this Otomie follows
in his path. Tell us how is it, woman, that you and your lover
alone escaped from the teocalli yonder when all the rest were
killed. Are you then in league with these Teules? I say to you,
niece, that if things were otherwise and I had my way, you should
win your desire indeed, for you should be slain at this man's side
and within the hour.' And he ceased for lack of breath, and looked
upon her fiercely.
But Otomie never quailed; she stood before him pale and quiet, with
folded hands and downcast eyes, and answered:
'Forbear to reproach me because my love is strong, or reproach me
if you will, I have spoken my last word. Condemn this man to die
and Prince you must seek some other envoy to win back the Otomie to
the cause of Anahuac.'
Now Cuitlahua pondered, staring into the gloom above him and
pulling at his beard, and the silence was great, for none knew what
his judgment would be. At last he spoke:
'So be it. We have need of Otomie, my niece, and it is of no avail
to fight against a woman's love. Teule, we give you life, and with
the life honour and wealth, and the greatest of our women in
marriage, and a place in our councils. Take these gifts and her,
but I say to you both, beware how you use them. If you betray us,
nay, if you do but think on treachery, I swear to you that you
shall die a death so slow and horrible that the very name of it
would turn your heart to water; you and your wife, your children
and your servants. Come, let him be sworn!'
I heard and my head swam, and a mist gathered before my eyes. Once
again I was saved from instant death.
Presently it cleared, and looking up my eyes met those of the woman
who had saved me, Otomie my wife, who smiled upon me somewhat
sadly. Then the priest came forward bearing a wooden bowl, carved
about with strange signs, and a flint knife, and bade me bare my
arm. He cut my flesh with the knife, so that blood ran from it
into the bowl. Some drops of this blood he emptied on to the
ground, muttering invocations the while. Then he turned and looked
at Cuitlahua as though in question, and Cuitlahua answered with a
bitter laugh:
'Let him be baptized with the blood of the princess Otomie my
niece, for she is bail for him.'
'Nay, lord,' said Guatemoc, 'these two have mingled bloods already
upon the stone of sacrifice, and they are man and wife. But I also
have vouched for him, and I offer mine in earnest of my faith.'
'This Teule has good friends,' said Cuitlahua; 'you honour him
overmuch. But so be it.'
Then Guatemoc came forward, and when the priest would have cut him
with the knife, he laughed and said, pointing to the bullet wound
upon his neck:
'No need for that, priest. Blood runs here that was shed by the
Teules. None can be fitter for this purpose.'
So the priest drew away the bandage and suffered the blood of
Guatemoc to drop into a second smaller bowl. Then he came to me
and dipping his finger into the blood, he drew the sign of a cross
upon my forehead as a Christian priest draws it upon the forehead
of an infant, and said:
'In the presence and the name of god our lord, who is everywhere
and sees all things, I sign you with this blood and make you of
this blood. In the presence and the name of god our lord, who is
everywhere and sees all things, I pour forth your blood upon the
earth!' (here he poured as he spoke). 'As this blood of yours
sinks into the earth, so may the memory of your past life sink and
be forgotten, for you are born again of the people of Anahuac. In
the presence and the name of god our lord, who is everywhere and
sees all things, I mingle these bloods' (here he poured from one
bowl into the other), 'and with them I touch your tongue' (here
dipping his finger into the bowl he touched the tip of my tongue
with it) 'and bid you swear thus:
'"May every evil to which the flesh of man is subject enter into my
flesh, may I live in misery and die in torment by the dreadful
death, may my soul be rejected from the Houses of the Sun, may it
wander homeless for ever in the darkness that is behind the Stars,
if I depart from this my oath. I, Teule, swear to be faithful to
the people of Anahuac and to their lawful governors. I swear to
wage war upon their foes and to compass their destruction, and more
especially upon the Teules till they are driven into the sea. I
swear to offer no affront to the gods of Anahuac. I swear myself
in marriage to Otomie, princess of the Otomie, the daughter of
Montezuma my lord, for so long as her life shall endure. I swear
to attempt no escape from these shores. I swear to renounce my
father and my mother, and the land where I was born, and to cling
to this land of my new birth; and this my oath shall endure till
the volcan Popo ceases to vomit smoke and fire, till there is no
king in Tenoctitlan, till no priest serves the altars of the gods,
and the people of Anahuac are no more a people."
'Do you swear these things, one and all?'
'One and all I swear them,' I answered because I must, though there
was much in the oath that I liked little enough. And yet mark how
strangely things came to pass. Within fifteen years from that
night the volcan Popo had ceased to vomit smoke and fire, the kings
had ceased to reign in Tenoctitlan, the priests had ceased to serve
the altars of the gods, the people of Anahuac were no more a
people, and my vow was null and void. Yet the priests who framed
this form chose these things as examples of what was immortal!
When I had sworn Guatemoc came forward and embraced me, saying:
'Welcome, Teule, my brother in blood and heart. Now you are one of
us, and we look to you for help and counsel. Come, be seated by
me.'
I looked towards Cuitlahua doubtfully, but he smiled graciously,
and said: 'Teule, your trial is over. We have accepted you, and
you have sworn the solemn oath of brotherhood, to break which is to
die horribly in this world, and to be tortured through eternity by
demons in the next. Forget all that may have been said in the hour
of your weighing, for the balance is in your favour, and be sure
that if you give us no cause to doubt you, you shall find none to
doubt us. Now as the husband of Otomie, you are a lord among the
lords, having honour and great possessions, and as such be seated
by your brother Guatemoc, and join our council.'
I did as he bade me, and Otomie withdrew from our presence. Then
Cuitlahua spoke again, no longer of me and my matters, but of the
urgent affairs of state. He spoke in slow words and weighty, and
more than once his voice broke in his sorrow. He told of the
grievous misfortunes that had overcome the country, of the death of
hundreds of its bravest warriors, of the slaughter of the priests
and soldiers that day on the teocalli, and the desecration of his
nation's gods. What was to be done in this extremity? he asked.
Montezuma lay dying, a prisoner in the camp of the Teules, and the
fire that he had nursed with his breath devoured the land. No
efforts of theirs could break the iron strength of these white
devils, armed as they were with strange and terrible weapons. Day
by day disaster overtook the arms of the Aztecs. What wisdom had
they now that the protecting gods were shattered in their very
shrines, when the altars ran red with the blood of their
ministering priests, when the oracles were dumb or answered only in
the accents of despair?
Then one by one princes and generals arose and gave counsel
according to their lights. At length all had spoken, and Cuitlahua
said, looking towards me:
'We have a new counsellor among us, who is skilled in the warfare
and customs of the white men, who till an hour ago was himself a
white man. Has he no word of comfort for us?'
'Speak, my brother?' said Guatemoc.
Then I spoke. 'Most noble Cuitlahua, and you lords and princes.
You honour me by asking my counsel, and it is this in few words and
brief. You waste your strength by hurling your armies continually
against stone walls and the weapons of the Teules. So you shall
not prevail against them. Your devices must be changed if you
would win victory. The Spaniards are like other men; they are no
gods as the ignorant imagine, and the creatures on which they ride
are not demons but beasts of burden, such as are used for many
purposes in the land where I was born. The Spaniards are men I
say, and do not men hunger and thirst? Cannot men be worn out by
want of sleep, and be killed in many ways? Are not these Teules
already weary to the death? This then is my word of comfort to
you. Cease to attack the Spaniards and invest their camp so
closely that no food can reach them and their allies the
Tlascalans. If this is done, within ten days from now, either they
will surrender or they will strive to break their way back to the
coast. But to do this, first they must win out of the city, and if
dykes are cut through the causeways, that will be no easy matter.
Then when they strive to escape cumbered with the gold they covet
and came here to seek, then I say will be the hour to attack them
and to destroy them utterly.'
I ceased, and a murmur of applause went round the council.
'It seems that we came to a wise judgment when we determined to
spare this man's life,' said Cuitlahua, 'for all that he tells us
is true, and I would that we had followed this policy from the
first. Now, lords, I give my voice for acting as our brother
points the way. What say you?'
'We say with you that our brother's words are good,' answered
Guatemoc presently, 'and now let us follow them to the end.'
Then, after some further talk, the council broke up and I sought my
chamber well nigh blind with weariness and crushed by the weight of
all that I had suffered on that eventful day. The dawn was flaring
in the eastern sky, and by its glimmer I found my path down the
empty corridors, till at length I came to the curtains of my
sleeping place. I drew them and passed through. There, far up the
room, the faint light gleaming on her snowy dress, her raven hair
and ornaments of gold, stood Otomie my bride.
I went towards her, and as I came she glided to meet me with
outstretched arms. Presently they were about my neck and her kiss
was on my brow.
'Now all is done, my love and lord,' she whispered, 'and come good
or ill, or both, we are one till death, for such vows as ours
cannot be broken.'
'All is done indeed, Otomie, and our oaths are lifelong, though
other oaths have been broken that they might be sworn,' I answered.
Thus then I, Thomas Wingfield, was wed to Otomie, princess of the
Otomie, Montezuma's daughter.
