Hualla received his due in praises for his brave conduct, as represented by Euetzin. He, however, did not seem to relish it, receiving it with a good deal of embarra.s.sment.

Proof of the lad's cleverness in the matter of wound dressing had been furnished the tzin in two instances, and, by his request, he was installed as his nurse. The youth was provided with an apartment of his own, from which he was seldom seen except when at the bedside of the tzin.

In less than a day after his arrival at the town, Euetzin became quite ill. The exhaustive efforts which he had made to get away from the camp of the enemy, and the unavoidable aggravation and neglect of his wound, were followed by very serious consequences. A fever set in, and, owing to the dangerous character of his injury, a complication was brought on which, but for the careful administrations of his two faithful nurses and a vigorous const.i.tution to aid them, might have terminated fatally.

Who was the second nurse? we imagine the reader will wonder. We answer, none other than the good old Itzalmo.

The old preceptor, soon after his flight from Azcapozalco, came to this town for better security; and, being too old to take part in the struggle for liberty, had remained there in concealment, waiting the result. Having no intercourse with the people of the town, he did not learn of the wounded cacique's arrival until the following day. He had, however, in the meantime learned of the great victory which had been won by the allies, and the retreat of Maxtla's army. This emboldened him, and he left his seclusion to rejoice with his brethren over the good news. By doing so he quickly learned of the presence of the wounded chief, and at once decided to make him a visit, thinking he might, in some way, be of service to him. The old man was not informed as to the tzin's ident.i.ty, and made his visit from purely humane and patriotic motives. On presenting himself at his apartments he was greatly surprised at discovering in the supposed stranger his young friend and pupil, tzin Euet; and as a serious turn in the tzin's condition was just then evident, he became deeply concerned about him, and immediately gave his whole attention to the case, proving himself to be a most devoted and skillful attendant. When he fully realized the dangerous condition of his young friend he insisted upon notifying the prince regarding him, to which, for some reason, the tzin objected.

"Wait a few days," said he, "when I will be well enough to go to Tezcuco by boat." Thus were his friends kept in ignorance of his escape and whereabouts. The few days were more than doubled before his consent could be obtained, because of the unconscious condition into which he suddenly pa.s.sed, and in which he remained for several days. A messenger was finally dispatched with particulars of his situation, the communication being signed by Itzalmo, with the simple statement that the writer was with him.

Hualla was always at the bedside of the tzin when Itzalmo was not, and appeared anxious and watchful for encouraging signs in the patient's condition. When a change for the better was at last discovered, he was wonderfully elated for a youngster like him, and especially one who had so lately entered into the endangered life.

One day, while the tzin slept, the youthful nurse leaned over the bed to listen to his breathing; possibly to learn if any change had taken place in the condition of it. Suddenly, as if from an irresistible impulse, he pressed a kiss upon the sick man's brow. As he did so the word "Mitla" might have been distinctly heard coming from the sleeper's lips. Hualla drew back quickly, and could his face have been seen in that moment, the observer would have been astonished at the singularly happy expression upon it. The word uttered carried with it a revelation.

As the days went by, Hualla became more devoted to the afflicted tzin, and actions expressive of ardent attachment were of frequent occurrence on his part.

The patient was rapidly recovering; the nurses, however, had not relinquished their posts of duty, but continued careful of his every want. It was in Hualla's watch that we find him quietly dozing, or apparently so, while the young nurse sat in his accustomed place near the bed. Presently the latter rose from his seat and approached the bedside, and, as he frequently did, leaned over the sleeper and gazed intently into his face. As he was thus occupied Euetzin suddenly opened his eyes to encounter an earnest, loving expression, which the watcher was unconsciously revealing. Only a pair of undisguised eyes were seen by the tzin, in which he beheld, not Hualla, but one with whom he had at last come to realize he was in love, and, quick as the thought which impelled him, he caught the watcher's form, and drew it to him, while he exclaimed:

"Mitla, my own true love! How is it that you are here?" and, when he had said this, imprinted a fervent kiss upon Hualla's lips.

"The a.s.surance that you love me brings a great joy to my heart. I am repaid for all that I have endured for love's sake. But, Euetzin, you must not forget that you are ill. Excitement might do you harm,"

returned the young nurse in surprising language.

"Such excitement will make me well," replied the tzin. "But, Mitla, you have not told me how you came to be here," still holding the form in his close embrace.

"Have you forgotten Hualla?"

"No, no! I have not forgotten Hualla, nor will I ever; but, my dear girl, what has he to do with your presence here?"

"Hualla has everything to do with my presence here; for Hualla and Mitla are one and the same, Euetzin," was the answer which fell with surprising effect upon the tzin's ears. In astonishment he let go his hold of the yielding form, and held it off at arms' length. There was no mistake; what he had just heard was, indeed, true; for it was certainly Hualla who stood, smiling and happy, before him. He looked at the metamorphosed Mitla for a moment, and then, as if suddenly realizing the wonderful depth of devotion she had shown for him, he said in a voice exhibiting profound emotion:

"Never love more ardent and powerful moved the heart of woman than that which has inspired you to do what you have done! The devotion of Hualla, and the familiar tone of his voice, which has often startled me, are now explained. From the horrors of an awful death the hand of Hualla--your hand, O best beloved of my heart--hath rescued me. What do I not owe you?" He paused, and, drawing Mitla to him, kissed her fondly.

"Let this be my pledge of troth," he said impressively; "my pledge that she who has risked and done so much for me shall be my wife."

Mitla's devotion to the man she loved so wildly, and the brave heart which had struggled through so great dangers and fatigue for his sake, were rewarded at last, and she made unspeakably happy. Her joy was so great that she could have rested indefinitely in his embrace, but Itzalmo must not know that Hualla was other than he seemed. She disengaged herself from Euetzin's arms, and when the old man came he found his fellow attendant in his accustomed place, and the patient looking unusually bright and cheerful.

CHAPTER x.x.xV.

The object of the coalition against Maxtla having been achieved, and Tezcuco once more in position to defend herself, the league was dissolved. The foreign armies quietly withdrew from the city, and returned to their respective capitals--the hunter-guard having early gone back to their mountain homes.

The parting between the old warrior chieftain, Ix, and his friend Tezcot, was expressive of a deep and lasting regard. The latter promised, at leaving--to please his hermit friend--that, providing his affairs at home would admit of it, he would return to witness the prince's coronation, which event was then paramount to everything else in the minds of the disenthralled and happy people, who were bent on making it a memorable occasion--a day on which not only the crowning of their new king should take place, but a grand celebration, also, in honor of Tezcuco's independence and their liberation from an enforced va.s.salage.

It was customary, when an event not down on their calendar was to be observed, to select one of their festal days on which to celebrate it, of which they had a great number, every deity having one especially set apart for its service. One of the most prominent on their calendar was, accordingly, chosen for the occasion--prominent because of the lat.i.tude which would be afforded the priesthood, in it, to exercise its peculiar functions, not omitting the revolting ceremony of human sacrifice, in which its members seemed to delight. Not since the subversion of their government had a festival so impressive in character been celebrated in Tezcuco, and the priests, awake to the importance of an occasion which would restore to them privileges so long withheld, were active in its promotion, and a great number of victims--chiefly prisoners of war--were selected for sacrifice.

Hualcoyotl was greatly averse to the shocking scenes of blood and agony, which always attended the sacrificial ceremony, but had no power--not even as a king--to stop it, for the authority of the priesthood in such matters was supreme.

We have it from fairly reliable sources--mostly traditional, to be sure, yet worthy of credence--that he made it an especial effort of his long and prosperous reign to have the inhuman practice abolished, and bring his people to worship according to the belief which he had early conceived to be the correct one--which, in the light of his surroundings, was truly remarkable. He believed in "One unseen Cause of Causes"--"One all-powerful G.o.d"--a unity, to whom appeals should be made direct. In this particular he showed a high order of intelligence, for it is an established opinion, if not a fact, that the simplicity of the idea of one G.o.d, who has no need of inferior representatives to execute his will, is too vast for the conception of narrowed understandings, and, as a consequence, resort to a multiplicity of deities follows.

The great Tezcucan was only partially successful in his efforts, because of the vitiating influence of his Aztec neighbors, who exceeded all the other races of Anahuac in barbaric practices, between whom and his people there existed the closest political relations, almost from the day of his coronation up to the time of the conquest.

The prince's failure to establish his belief in "One Supreme Intelligence" did not abate in the least his personal convictions on the subject, but as the years went by he became more firmly fixed in his faith, which, if not a Christian faith, was so near to it that the difference could only be found in the fact that he was a barbarian, having no knowledge of the Christ; and, yet, who shall say, when ways and means for the acquiring of religious knowledge are considered, that Hualcoyotl's religion was not as acceptable to "Him by whom we live" as was that of the shepherd king?

Itlza and her mother were in due time transferred to the Tezcucan palace, and no royal host was ever more considerate of the wants and comforts of his guests than was he of their's. The mother was elated to a degree which almost made her forget her affliction. In the transfer the first step leading to high honors for her daughter was taken, a sufficient cause for the excitement of a more enlightened intelligence than her's. Itlza, on the other hand, between love for Cacami and sorrow for her lost brother, took no account of the significance which was to be attached to the transfer of her residence from Zelmonco to Tezcuco, and entered upon the change with no suspicion of what it portended.

The prince, in making his proposal to Teochma that she and Itlza should take up their residence in the palace, had put it as near in the form of a command as he could without making it direct. He pressed it upon her as an honor which should not be treated lightly, and being ambitious of her child's advancement she readily complied. As an obedient daughter, who really had no choice in the matter, Itlza acquiesced, and, amid the bustle and confusion with which the city and palace were filled, found the change from quiet Zelmonco very agreeable.

The prince took advantage of the first opportunity offered, after the transfer was made, to have a talk with Teochma regarding Itlza, and his intentions with reference to her. She gave him to understand that his will was her pleasure, but did not deem it politic to make any show of the satisfaction she experienced at having her divinations verified. He directed that the matter should remain a secret between them for the present, as he desired, before revealing to Itlza his purposes, to establish himself in her favor. Thus the matter was left to rest, the prince, the while, using every possible means at his command to gain the affections of his intended queen. Itlza treated him most kindly, accepting his attentions as a matter of course, which encouraged him to persevere.

While seated with Teochma in his family apartments one day, talking in a confidential way, Hualcoyotl was informed by his personal attendant that a strange messenger awaited his pleasure.

"You will ascertain if his business is of a private nature, Oza, and report to me at once," he said, and then turned to resume his conversation with Teochma.

Notwithstanding Oza was a free man, the prince having made good his promise that he should have his freedom, he was still in the latter's service. Their experience together on the mountains had given rise to a warm, mutual attachment between the master and his servant, which resulted in Oza's retention as a special and favored attendant.

The faithful servitor withdrew, and in a few minutes returned, bearing a written message, which he placed in the prince's hand. The latter, after dismissing his man with the injunction to remain near by, proceeded to peruse the writing. On glancing over it he suddenly turned to Teochma, his face beaming with an expression of joyful surprise, and exclaimed:

"Rejoice, O mother of Euetzin, your son lives, and is among friends!"

Teochma was dazed and speechless for a moment, from the sudden and unexpected announcement. Recovering herself, she, in turn, exclaimed:

"My son, my Euet alive, and among friends! O Prince, do not unsay that!"

"I shall not unsay it, Teochma; for it is Itzalmo who writes--Itzalmo, Teochma, who is truth itself," returned he, with a glad emphasis.

"Itzalmo, Prince; is he, too, alive and with my son?"

"Yes, he is with the tzin, but does not explain. It is enough to know, O Teochma, that they are not prisoners. Now, indeed, may we rejoice!"

returned the now joyful prince.

The communication was the one sent by the old preceptor, to which allusion was made in the last chapter.

The good news quickly spread, and the cloud of sorrow which had hung like a pall over the friends of the tzin and the old tutor was lifted, and general rejoicing succeeded.

Hualcoyotl immediately sent a summons to Cacami, who was at his home in the country, to come to him at once. The young warrior came promptly, in obedience to the summons, and was not less joyful than the prince at the surprising intelligence. He was ordered to take a sufficient number of men and go to the little town for the purpose of bringing the wounded tzin and his aged companion to the city. The duty, under the circ.u.mstances, was a most agreeable one to Cacami, who stood not upon the order of his going, but set off at once to perform it.

From a house of sorrow and mourning the palace was changed to one of joy and gladness by the joyful news. Its halls and corridors rang with the music of happy voices, impressing the royal household as the inhabitant of the winter frozen north is impressed by the glad notes of spring, heard in the songs of the returning forest minstrels, after a long and dreary season of storm and cold--incomparable waking of ecstatic emotions.