By Right of Conquest Part 16

When Roger approached, he bowed low, saluting in Mexican fas.h.i.+on. The king rose as he approached, looking with lively curiosity and interest at the strange visitor, of whom he had already received so many reports.

Roger, on his part, regarded the king with no less interest. He saw before him a young man of three or four and twenty, with a bright intelligent face. His figure showed signs of considerable strength as well as activity, and there was a certain martial air in his carriage that spoke of the soldier rather than of the king. The n.o.bles had endeavored to impress upon Roger the necessity for him to salute the king, by prostrating himself on the ground as they themselves did. But Roger had refused to comply with their request.

"King Hal, himself, would not expect me to go before him like a worm, if he gave me audience," he said to himself; "and I will not demean myself, as an Englishman, to bow as a slave before any other monarch. Besides, to do so would be to acknowledge that I was his humble subject, and would at once show that I have no pretension, whatever, to be the superior creature they seem to consider me. I will salute him as his n.o.bles saluted me--paying due deference to his rank, and no more."

The king himself did not seem displeased at Roger's breach of the usual etiquette. He looked with admiration at the tall figure of this strange white man, and at the frank and honest expression of his pleasant face, his blue eyes, and sunny hair.

"Whoever he may be, he comes not as an enemy," he said in a low voice to his sister, who was standing next to him. "There is neither deceit nor treachery in that face."

Then he said aloud to Roger:

"You are welcome, white stranger. We rejoice to see you in our courts. We have heard wonderful stories concerning you, and about the people in the distant lands from which you come; and shall gladly hear them from your lips, for we are told that you speak our tongue."

"I thank you, King Cacama, and I am glad, indeed, that it is my good fortune to behold so great and magnificent a king. I have come, as you have heard, from a far country, towards the rising sun; so far that it takes many months to traverse the sea which divides it from you; but had the distance been far greater than it is, I should have been more than repaid for the journey by the sight of you, and of this great city over which you rule."

"And is it true that your people move about the sea in floating castles, and that they fight with weapons that make a noise like thunder, and can batter down walls at a distance of two miles?"

"They can kill men at more than that distance, Sire, but for battering down walls they are used at shorter distances. The s.h.i.+ps are, as you say, floating castles, and will carry hundreds of men, with provisions and stores for many months, besides merchandise and goods. These castles are armed with weapons such as you speak of, some of them carrying twenty or more; besides which each man carries a weapon of the same kind, but small and light in make, so that it can be carried on the shoulders. These weapons also make a great noise, though not comparable with that of the large pieces, which are called cannon."

"And they have animals on which they sit, and which carry them at a speed far greater than that at which a man can run?"

"That is so, Sire."

"Of what color are they, and of what form?"

"They are all colors: some are black, and some white, others brown, or gray, or roan, or bay."

This answer seemed to surprise the king more than any other he had heard. All the beasts and birds with which he was acquainted were of the particular color which appertained to their species, and that the animals of any one kind should thus differ in so extraordinary degree from each other struck him as remarkable, indeed.

Roger had always been fond of sketching, and had often whiled away dull hours on board s.h.i.+p with pencil and paintbrush; and his cousins at home had quite a collection of sketches that he made for them in, foreign parts. He now said:

"If your Majesty will order that gentleman, who is at present taking my likeness, to hand me a sheet of paper and his brushes, I will endeavor to draw for your Majesty an outline of the animal I speak of, and which we call a horse."

At the king's order the scribe at once handed the necessary materials to Roger, who in three or four minutes dashed off a spirited sketch of a horse, with a rider upon his back. The king was greatly struck with the representation. The Aztecs possessed the art of copying objects with a fair amount of accuracy, but the figures were stiff and wooden, without the slightest life or animation. To the king, then, this little sketch appeared almost supernatural. Here was before him an animal which looked alive, as if already in movement. He pa.s.sed it to those next to him, and continued the conversation.

"And the men fight on the backs of those animals?"

"The n.o.bles and a certain portion of the troops fight on horseback, the rest of the army on foot."

"And are not these animals frightened at the terrible noises made by the weapons you speak of?"

"They speedily become accustomed to them, Your Majesty, just as men do; and will carry their rider into the midst of the enemy, however great the noise. Some other time I will draw for your Majesty a representation of one of our knights, or captains, charging in full armor; which is, as you have perhaps heard, made of a metal that is not known here."

"And these weapons that you speak of are made of the same metal?"

"They are mostly made of that metal, Sire, though sometimes they are made of a metal which we call bra.s.s, which is a compound of copper, and of another metal called tin, which adds greatly to its strength and hardness."

"But how do they work? What machinery can be used to hurl a missile at so vast a distance?"

"There is no machinery, Sire. The weapon is a hollow tube of vast strength, closed at one end, with only a small hole left there by which fire can be applied. A black powder, composed of various substances, is placed in the tube and pressed up to the end, a wad of cotton or other material being forced down upon it. A large ball made of this metal, which is called iron, and almost the same diameter as the tube, is pushed down upon the wad; and the weapon is pointed at the enemy, or at the wall to be knocked down. Then fire is applied to the small hole, the powder at once explodes with a noise like thunder, and the ball is sent through the air with so great a speed that the eye cannot follow its flight, and all that it strikes goes down before it."

"Even one of these captains on his horse?" the king asked.

"Fifty of them, Sire, were they ranged up in line, one behind the other."

"Will you be able to teach us to make such weapons?"

"Your Majesty, I have had a share in the using of these weapons, but not in the making of them; and they require great skill in their manufacture. I know not whether iron stone exists in this country, and were it found it would require a long experiment and great knowledge to manufacture a cannon from it. As to the powder, it is composed of three ingredients--one is charcoal, which can be obtained wherever trees grow; another is called by us saltpeter; and the third, sulphur; but I cannot say whether either is found in this land. Nor, your Majesty, do I think that such knowledge, could I impart it, would be a blessing to the land; on the contrary, the battles would be far more terrible and b.l.o.o.d.y than they now are. Vast numbers would be slain, and valor and bravery would avail but little, against these terrible missiles."

"No," the king said, thoughtfully: "you would take few prisoners, if you fought with such weapons as these. You take some prisoners, I suppose?"

"Yes, your Majesty; we always take as prisoners those who ask for mercy."

"And what do you do with them?"

"We treat them honorably and well, as is befitting men who have fought bravely. We exchange them for men of our own side who have been taken prisoners by the enemy, or if they are knights or n.o.bles they pay a ransom according to their rank to their captor, and so return home."

"That is good," the young king said, with animation; "though it differs altogether from our usages; but then, how are their altars of the G.o.ds to be served?"

"I believe," Roger said, "that your Majesty's grandfather erected a temple here to the Unknown G.o.d. It is the Unknown G.o.d--unknown to you, but known to us--that the white peoples across the sea wors.h.i.+p. He is a good and gentle and loving G.o.d, and would abhor sacrifices of blood."

The king did not reply for a minute. The introduction of human sacrifices was a comparatively recent innovation in Tezcuco, and although the Aztecs had, lately, almost forced their own hideous rites upon their neighbors, there were many who were still, at heart, opposed to them. He turned the subject by saying:

"There will be much for you to tell me, when we have leisure. At present the banquet waits."

The eighteen months that had elapsed, since the wreck of the Swan, had prepared Roger for taking part in such scenes as those in which he was, at present, placed. From living so long among natives, and in native costume, he had acquired something of their manner; which, unless under strong excitement, was quiet and dignified. He had done this the more because, whenever he went out, all eyes had been upon him, and he had felt that it was necessary, so far as he could, to support the mysterious reputation he possessed. He had lost, alike, the sailor walk and carriage, the careless gaiety of a boy, and the roughness of one brought up to life at sea. He himself was only half conscious of this transformation, but to one who had seen him last when he sailed from Plymouth, it would have appeared absolutely marvelous. Undoubtedly it impressed both the king and his n.o.bles most favorably; and as the party followed the king and Roger to the banqueting hall, there was a chorus of approval of the manners, bearing, and appearance of the white stranger.

The banquet was similar, but on a vastly greater scale, to that of which Roger had partaken at Tepeaca. Mexico contained, within comparatively narrow limits, extreme diversities of climate; and by means of the swift couriers, the kings and n.o.bles could place upon their tables the tropical fruits and vegetables from the zone of the sea, the temperate fruits from the lofty plateau land, and the products of the rich and highly cultivated valley of the capital.

The twenty counselors sat down at table with the king. Other tables were spread at which the princ.i.p.al n.o.bles feasted, while the king's wife and sister and other ladies dined in the same hall, but had tables apart. The king abstained from asking questions of Roger about his country, during the meal, but conversed with him concerning his journey, and his impressions of the country; and inquired particularly whether he was perfectly satisfied with the treatment he had received from the merchants. Roger a.s.sured him that n.o.body could have been kinder or more courteous than they had been, and that he hoped his Majesty would express his satisfaction at their conduct.

"That has already been done," the king said. "The reports of my envoys were sufficient for that. They have been raised in rank, have received permission to carry specially decorated banners, with other privileges and immunities."

After dinner was over, the king, without waiting as usual for the smoking and entertainments of musicians, dancers, and acrobats, rose, saying to Roger:

"I am too anxious to talk with you to take pleasure in these amus.e.m.e.nts. Come with me now."

He led the way to the entrance to the private apartments. These were enclosed by magnificent hangings, which were drawn aside by two attendants as he approached them. The walls were here entirely hidden by hangings, and the floor covered with a thick carpeting of richly-dyed cotton stuff. The air was heavy with odors of perfumes.

The king led the way to an apartment of considerable size, although small in comparison to the two great halls they had left. Couches of quilted mats, covered with silken embroidery, extended round the room; and a general air of comfort, as well as luxury, pervaded it.

From the open windows, a view extended over a lovely garden below, and then across the lake to the walls and temples of Mexico, s.h.i.+ning in the moonlight and dotted with innumerable spots of fire on the summits of the teocallis. The room itself was lighted with open lamps, in which burned cotton wicks embedded in wax.

Cacama clapped his hands, and a young n.o.ble in attendance entered. The king bade him summon six of his counselors, and tell the queen and the princess that he awaited them.

In a short time these entered. The pomp and ceremony of royalty were, to a considerable extent, laid aside in Tezcuco in the interior of the palace--the custom there differing much from that which prevailed at the court of Montezuma, where the emperor never relaxed, in the slightest, in exacting the lowliest and most profound homage from all who approached him.