GUATAMOZIN, accompanied by Hualpa, left the city
a little after nightfall. Impressed, doubtless, by the
great event of the day, the two journeyed in silence, until
so far out that the fires of the capital faded into a rosy tint
low on the horizon.

Then the 'tzin said, “I am tired, body and spirit; yet
must I go back to Tenochtitlan.”

“To-night?” Hualpa asked.

“To-night; and I need help.”

“What I can, O 'tzin, that will I.”

“You are weary, also.”

“I could follow a wounded deer till dawn, if you so wished.”

“It is well.”

After a while the 'tzin again spoke.

“To-day I have unlearned all the lessons of my youth.
The faith I thought part of my life is not; I have seen the
great king conquered without a blow!”

There was a sigh such as only shame can wring from a
strong man.

“At the Chalcan's, where the many discontented meet to-night,
there will be,” he resumed, “much talk of war without
the king. Such conferences are criminal; and yet there
shall be war.”

He spoke with emphasis.

[figure description] Page 258.[end figure description]

“In my exile without a cause,” he next said, “I have
learned to distinguish between the king and country. I
have even reflected upon conditions when the choosing between
them may become a duty. Far be they hence! but
when they come, Anahuac shall have her son. To accomplish
their purpose, the lords in the city rely upon their
united power, which is nothing; with the signet in his hand,
Maxtla alone could disperse their forces. There is that,
however, by which what they seek can be wrought rightfully, —
something under the throne, not above it, where
they are looking, and only the gods are, — a power known to
every ruler as his servant when wisely cared for, and his
master when disregarded; public opinion we call it, meaning
the judgment and will of the many. In this garb of artisan,
I have been with the people all day, and for a purpose
higher than sight of what I abhorred. I talked with them.
I know them. In the march from Xoloc there was not a
shout. In the awful silence, what of welcome was there?
Honor to the people! Before they are conquered the lake
will wear a red not of the sun! Imagine them of one
mind, and zealous for war: how long until the army catches
the sentiment? Imagine the streets and temples resounding
with a constant cry, `Death to the strangers!' how long
until the king yields to the clamor? O comrade, that would
be the lawful triumph of public opinion; and so, I say, war
shall be.”

After that the 'tzin remained sunk in thought until the
canoe touched the landing at his garden. Leaving the boatmen
there, he proceeded, with Hualpa, to the palace. In
his study, he said, “You have seen the head of the stranger
whom I slew at Nauhtlan. I have another trophy. Come
with me.”

Providing himself with a lamp, he led the way to what
seemed a kind of workshop. Upon the walls, mixed with

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strange banners, hung all kinds of Aztec armor; a bench
stood by one of the windows, covered with tools; on the
floor lay bows, arrows, and lances, of such fashion as to betray
the experimentalist. The corners were decorated, if the
term may be used, with effigies of warriors preserved by the
process peculiar to the people. In the centre of the room, a
superior attraction to Hualpa, stood a horse, which had been
subjected to the same process, but was so lifelike now that
he could hardly think it dead. The posture chosen for the
animal was that of partial repose, its head erect, its ears
thrown sharply forward, its nostrils distended, the forefeet
firmly planted; so it had, in life, often stood watching the
approach or disappearance of its comrades. The housings
were upon it precisely as when taken from the field.

“I promised there should be war,” the 'tzin said, when he
supposed Hualpa's wonder spent, “and that the people
should bring it about. Now I say, that the opinion I rely
upon would ripen to-morrow, were there not a thick cloud
about it. The faith that Malinche and his followers are
teules has spread from the palace throughout the valley.
Unless it be dispelled, Anahuac must remain the prey of the
spoiler. Mualox, the keeper of the old Cû of Quetzal', taught
me long ago, that in the common mind mystery can only
be assailed by mystery; and that, O comrade, is what I now
propose. This nameless thing here belonged to the stranger
whom I slew at Nauhtlan. Come closer, and lay your hand
upon it; mount it, and you may know how its master felt
the day he rode it to death. There is his lance, there his
shield, here his helm and whole array; take them, and
learn what little is required to make a god of a man.”

For a moment he busied himself getting the property of
the unfortunate Christian together; then he stopped before
the Tihuancan, saying, “Let others choose their parts, O
comrade. All a warrior may do, that will I. If the Empire

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must die, it shall be like a fighting man, — a hero's song for
future minstrels. Help me now. We will take the trophy
to the city, and set it up in the tianguez along with the
shield, arms, and armor. The rotting head in the summer-house
we will fix near by on the lance. To-morrow, when
the traders open their stalls, and the thousands so shamelessly
sold come back to their bartering and business, a mystery
shall meet them which no man can look upon and afterwards
believe Malinche a god. I see the scene, — the rush of the
people, their surprise, their pointing fingers. I hear the
eager questions, `What are they?' Whence came they?'
I hear the ready answer, `Death to the strangers!' Then, O
comrade, will begin the Opinion, by force of which, the gods
willing, we shall yet hear the drum of Huitzil'. Lay hold
now, and let us to the canoe with the trophies.”

“If it be heavy as it seems, good 'tzin,” said Hualpa,
stooping to the wooden slab which served as the base of the
effigy, “I fear we shall be overtasked.”

“It is not heavy; two children could carry it. A word
more before we proceed. In what I propose there is a peril
aside from the patrols in the tianguez. Malinche will hear
of —”

Hualpa laughed. “Was ever a victim sacrificed before he
was caught?”

“Hear further,” said the 'tzin, gravely. “I took the king
to the summer-house, and showed him the head, which he
will recognize. Your heart, as well as mine, may pay the
forfeit. Consider.”

“Lay hold, O 'tzin! Did you not but now call me comrade?
Lay hold!”

Thereupon they carried the once good steed out to the
landing. Then the 'tzin went to the kiosk for the Spaniard's
head, while Hualpa returned to the palace for the
arms and equipments. The head, wrapped in a cloth, was

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dropped in the bow of the boat, and the horse and trappings
carried on board. Trusting in the gods, the voyageurs
pushed off, and were landed, without interruption, near the
great tianguez.