This answer produced such a commotion and hum of voices that the officer in attendance had to command order.

"Thus did you err a second time, and grievously," said the judge, and the court looked grave and foreboding.

Cacami was now told to be seated.

"Itlza will rise and answer," said the judge, addressing her courteously. When she had risen he continued:

"You are the wife of Cacami, the prisoner at the bar?"

"I am proud to acknowledge myself the wife of Cacami," was her earnest reply, accompanied by an affectionate glance at the object of her adoration.

"Did Cacami persuade you to do so unwise an act as to wed with him under the grave circ.u.mstances which existed at the time of your marriage?"

"Cacami did not persuade me. My love was pledged to him, and I was the first to say, let us wed, though it be unto death."

This declaration from Itlza was received by the spectators with evident admiration for her courage and fidelity; and, had it not been for the great respect in which the court was held, would have been followed by a demonstration of approval. The gravity of the judges, on the other hand, deepened, for in her answer, so earnestly and honestly given, she had convicted herself of voluntary complicity with Cacami in the offense against the king. It was not necessary to question her further, and she was told to be seated.

The tzin looked perplexed and troubled, on account of the gravity of the position in which his beloved sister's ingenuous reply had placed her.

"Euetzin will rise and answer," said the judge, at which the witness was not a little surprised, as he was not expecting a call at the moment.

"When did you learn of the marriage of your sister with the prisoner?"

"At the time of Cacami's arrest," he replied.

"Had you no previous knowledge or intimation of the sentiments entertained by the young people for each other?"

"None whatever. I did not even suspect it, though, since the facts have become known, I can see that I might have done so with reason."

"You have been a close and intimate friend of Cacami's, tzin Euet. Will you state to the court what you know of him personally?"

The court, like the audience, had been favorably impressed with the bearing and perfect candor of the young people, who were being tried for their lives, and was evidently seeking palliating conditions relevant to their case. The last quest of the judge could have been made with no other intent. It was just the position in which the tzin desired to be placed; for it gave him the ear of the court, and the liberty to address it in behalf of his friend, without the fear of interruption so long as he observed a due regard for its dignity. He began by saying:

"The court is very kind in conferring upon me the liberty to address it--a privilege I very much desired, for which I am profoundly thankful." Here the tzin made his obeisance to the court, and continued:

"I have known Cacami long enough, and well enough, to be able to speak of him in no doubtful language. Cacami and myself labored side by side for the freedom of Tezcuco, in times that tried the patriotism of her sons. I know him to be a patriot and true friend, which I have proven, not only once, but many times. He is a brave and valiant warrior, to which our n.o.ble Hualcoyotl can bear abundant testimony. He is a true man, in that he has staked his life in an issue which involves those emotions and sentiments of the heart which honor a man above all others--a pure, unsullied love for the woman of his choice. He stands to-day, though a prisoner at the bar of justice, a man to whom Tezcuco owes as much as to any one person within or without her borders. Had it not been for the strong right arm of this valiant man, both as citizen and warrior, Hualcoyotl would not be king to-day. You look at me in amazement, and well you may, for the words I speak are the words of truth and soberness; and when this court condemns to die the warrior Cacami, for following the dictates of an attachment stronger than the fear of death, it robs Tezcuco of one of her bravest and best; a man to whom every Tezcucan should give honor and respect, which is his due; for out of his hand came the life of Hualcoyotl, the king, whom all delight to honor." The audience, at this point in the tzin's speech, was like a mine prepared, ready to break out in a storm of approval, from the effect of his impressive eloquence. His heart was in the subject, and his face illumined by the earnestness of his effort to place the character of his friend in the best possible light before the judges. He continued:

"The words of commendation which I am compelled to speak in behalf of the warrior Cacami are not spoken out of sympathy for a friend who is pa.s.sing through an ordeal, but from a feeling of regard for his personal worth. I admire a man who is brave and fearless in the discharge of his duty, be that duty what it may. Such a man is found in the prisoner at the bar--the man whom you are to liberate or condemn to death. I do not negative the possibility that a feeling of friendship for the accused may influence me to some extent in what I say; it could hardly be otherwise; but, while this may be admitted, there underlies it all an esteem and admiration for the man--as a man--which have developed through daily intercourse and observation, and which would obtain were we less friendly. My language has not been too strong, I would impress upon you, but rather lacking in strength; for the words have not yet been coined that will do justice to the worth of him whom the law would condemn. Were the king to stand in my place at this moment, I believe that he would, in the magnanimity of his n.o.ble nature, be compelled to reecho the words I have spoken. If worth, in those attributes which are esteemed above all others in a man's character: honesty, fidelity, courage, and patriotism, may be counted in the prisoner's favor, then I pray the court to give him the benefit of its weight; for, if any man is ent.i.tled to it, that man is Cacami, the defendant at the bar."

It will be in order here to enlighten the reader relative to the demeanor of the king during the time which elapsed after he entered the charge against Cacami up to the day of his trial.

When too late to recall his action, the sting of mortification and chagrin having subsided sufficiently to permit him to reason, Hualcoyotl became conscious of the fact that he had acted rashly and unwisely. When he recalled the many instances wherein Cacami had stood between him and death, especially when, a stranger to him, he had undoubtedly saved him from the fate which finally overtook his enemy, the Tepanec king, he was filled with remorse for the ungenerous course he had taken. He had promised to remember his deliverer in the future, and how had he done it? By committing him to the mercy of an exacting tribunal of justice, from the decision of which there was no appeal.

The day of trial found the repentant king wrought up to a degree of mental excitement so great that he could not be composed for a minute.

He walked the floor of his apartments almost incessantly, and would see no one. He was waiting impatiently for a summons to appear before the court, but no summons came. It came to that point when he could endure the suspense no longer, and he resolved to go to the hall uncalled, where he would listen to the proceedings un.o.bserved. He came to the door of the court-room and paused, just in time to hear Itlza's last answer, which condemned her, in the minds of the judges. When the tzin rose to give in his testimony--which proved to be more in the nature of a speech--he was all attention, and heard every word the speaker said, apparently forgetting his distress of mind in the absorption of the moment, while listening to his friend's eloquent plea.

When Euetzin concluded his address to the court, and was seated, Hualcoyotl entered the hall and walked straight to the spot on which the former had stood, and paused. The court and spectators were astonished alike at the singular conduct of the king. His majesty was laboring under suppressed excitement and, for a moment, after facing the court, appeared unable to speak. He, however, quickly recovered his equanimity, and spoke as follows:

"Well, and true, did my friend, the tzin, speak, when he said the king would be compelled to reecho his words were he standing in his place. I am here to confirm, in the presence of this great tribunal, the words Euetzin has spoken. And, further, to admit that, while overwhelmed with humiliation and chagrin at my defeat, I did err in causing the arrest and committal of the warrior Cacami. Hualcoyotl would better kiss than smite the hand that delivered him from his enemy. The defendant at the bar once saved your king from a terrible death at the hands of Maxtla; and, now, instead of remembering the brave act of his deliverer, as he should, your king so far forgot his obligation as to consign him to a fate hardly less severe than that from which he rescued him. The disposition of the case is in the hands of this tribunal, from the decision of which there is no appeal. If, in the end, Cacami is found guilty, he must die, and with him Itlza, his wife, who is equally liable. Since it was my hand that brought the accused to his present position of a threatened destruction, most willingly would I step into his place, if I might, and bear the penalty of his offense, but that can not be; our laws recognize no subst.i.tutions, and the defendant must suffer if found guilty of the charge. If there be extenuating circ.u.mstances favorable to the warrior Cacami, your king prays the court to employ them to his advantage. If, by any honorable means, a suspension of action, or mitigation of sentence might be effected, great will be the relief and satisfaction of your sovereign."

The king took a seat near the accused, and at once a.s.sumed the relation of an interested friend. Itlza saw him now as the n.o.ble and magnanimous prince he had always seemed to her; Cacami felt the weight of his impending doom grow lighter in the friendly att.i.tude 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 circ.u.mstances, 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, a.s.sured 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.

The stay of the happy couple at the villa was suddenly brought to a close by an edict from the king, conferring upon Cacami a t.i.tle of n.o.bility, accompanied by a domain commensurate with the dignity it entailed. He was ordered to appear before the proper authority, that he might be inducted into the high and honorable station he was to fill, and be put in possession of his estates, which included a beautiful villa, provided with everything necessary to make it a home worthy of one who was to be an a.s.sociate of the king.

The prescribed forms were complied with, which raised the young farmer warrior to a position of distinction, and he and his faithful wife were duly installed in their new home.

Itlza, if not a queen, was the happy, loving consort of a n.o.ble, who in after years became one of the great men of his nation.

Euetzin was in due time wedded to Mitla, at the king's palace.

Hualcoyotl, remembering the act which saved him from capture by the Tepanec soldiers and brought him to a final refuge, expressed a wish to the tzin that the marriage ceremony between Mitla and himself should be celebrated in his presence. The latter, as a result of the request, made a trip to the mountaineer's home--not, however, as on previous occasions, in a pedestrial fashion, but as a dignitary, within a royal palanquin borne by _tamanes_--for the purpose of consulting the wishes of the hunters' chief and his family, with reference to the matter. The prestige such a wedding would confer upon the favored ones was sufficient inducement to cause a concurrence in the arrangement by the hunter and his family, and the tzin returned to his royal patron the bearer of the gratifying intelligence that he was to be chief sponsor of the occasion.

While elaborate preparations for the event were going on, Tezcot and his family were brought to the palace of the king to become his guests until after the nuptial ceremony.

The eventful day came around, and Mitla, beautiful as she was happy, became the wife of Euetzin, the man who was enshrined in her heart and mind a veritable hero.

No real princess was ever wedded amid scenes of greater splendor. The munificence of the king was lavished upon her, and the occasion, with prodigal liberality, which ended only when he bestowed upon the tzin and herself a magnificent palace home near his own.

The villa of Zelmonco reverted to Euetzin by entailment, and much of the time of Mitla and himself was spent there in the society of his mother, who continued to be its mistress and head.

Ixtlilchoatl and Itzalmo lived to see their country raised far above its pristine glory, and died in the fullness of years, honored for their respective excellence and upright lives.