By Right of Conquest Part 21

"I told her what I had thought of.

"'That seems as good a plan as any other,' she said. 'He will need paints to disguise himself, the dress of a peasant, and arms.'

"'He has his sword,' I said.

"'He cannot take that. Its golden handle would betray him, at once. A heavy woodman's ax, and a bow and spear, would be the most suitable.'

"'He shall have them,' I said. 'My hunter shall take them, and place them in the canoe, in readiness.'

"'What are you going to do now?'

"'I am going first into the town, to give my hunter his instructions, and bid him be at the lake entrance to the gardens, half an hour after the moon has set. I shall want the key of the gate. Next I shall go down, and tell Roger what preparations have been made; and then return here, for it is best I should be seen in the palace. Then, just as the moon sets, I shall go down again to him.'

"'Come here on your way, Cuitcatl. I shall go down with Amenche to say goodbye to him. This obstinate girl has determined to go, and I cannot let her go alone.'

"As soon as I left them, I went down to the town and found my hunter, who has taken a vow to lay down his life to save you, if necessary.

"Here are some peasant's clothes--a coa.r.s.e cotton mantle, and a short skirt. Here is a jar of dye. You had better strip at once, and let me color you, and then put on these clothes. It will be too dark to see to do it properly, when I return. Besides, time will be short then.

"This small jar contains some dye from the juice of a plant which will turn your hair black--at least, as they use it for dyeing the skins of animals black, I suppose it will affect your hair."

Roger at once took off his gaudy attire, and was stained from head to foot with the contents of the jug, and then rubbed his hair with the liquid from the smaller vessel. Then he put on the peasant's clothes.

"You will pa.s.s well, now," Cuitcatl said, heading him out in the moonlight, so that he could obtain a good view of him. "It is only your height that is against you. Still, some men are taller than others; though I never saw one as tall as you, and you will certainly be stared at.

"Is there anything else in the way of arms you would like, beside the ax and spear?"

"I shall make myself a bow and arrows, when we get fairly away," Roger said.

"I did not know you could use them."

"I could not use such little things as those your people carry; but we still use the bow in England, and every boy is obliged, by law, to practice with it. With such a bow as I should make, I could send an arrow three times as far as those puny weapons of yours, and could keep my foes at a distance; whereas, otherwise, they could shoot me down as they chose."

"They will not shoot you down," Cuitcatl said. "You may be quite sure that the orders will be to take you alive, and this will give you a great advantage, if you are attacked. But I must be going up now to the palace again, to show myself, for a time, among our friends. Just as the moon sets I will be here."

"Will you thank the queen and princess for their kindness," Roger said, "and say that, much as I should like to say goodbye to them, I would not that they should run any risks by coming to see me?"

"They will come," Cuitcatl said, "unless I am greatly mistaken. The princess would come, even if her uncle Montezuma were, himself, watching her."

Roger sat down again, and watched the moon going down. He felt a certain sense of exhilaration at the thought that he was about to enter upon a life of active adventure, again. It had seemed to him, lately, that his life was to be spent in this strange country, cut off from all chances of ever returning to England; and that, sooner or later, he was a.s.suredly destined to form a part of their hideous sacrifices. The party against him had been silenced for a moment, but would be sure to gather strength again; and he would be called upon either to wors.h.i.+p these bloodstained idols, or to die.

Life was pleasant enough as it was, at present, with the friends.h.i.+p of the young king, and the kindness of the queen and princess; but he would soon be tired of it, with its everlasting suns.h.i.+ne, and its flowers, and its idleness.

At last the moon set, and in a few minutes he heard footsteps approaching, and Cuitcatl and two veiled figures came up. The queen came straight up to him.

"We are very sorry to lose you, Roger Hawkshaw," she said, gently; "and were there a hope of doing so successfully, we would defy the cruel orders from Montezuma. But it would bring ruin on our people."

"I know that it cannot be done, Madam," Roger said. "I thank you and the king, most heartily, for all your kindness to me. If I escape to my own country, I shall remember it all my life; and I will pray, to the G.o.d we wors.h.i.+p, to give you happiness."

"Take this," the queen said, putting a small bag into his hand. "You have told me that these gems are as much prized among your people as they are here, and you can more easily conceal them than gold. I have taken them, with the king's permission, from the royal treasure; and should you reach your distant home in safety, they ought to make you rich for the rest of your life.

"And now, farewell. Whatever the priests may say, Cacama and I know that you came as a friend, and meant us no harm.

"Now, Amenche," she said, "come and say goodbye."

The girl came forward slowly. She took Roger's hand, and gazed up into his face. She seemed to try to speak, and then Roger felt her sway suddenly, and caught her just as she would have fallen.

"Give her to me," the queen said. "It is best so, by far.

"Hurry away, Roger. You have done harm enough, without meaning it.

"Cuitcatl, take him away, at once."

The young n.o.ble took Roger's hand, and hurried him away.

"What is the matter?" he asked, bewildered. "What did the queen mean--that I had done harm enough?"

"Do you mean to say that you have not seen that Amenche loves you?"

"I never dreamed of such a thing," Roger exclaimed.

"Cacama and the queen, and all of us who have seen her with you, knew it long ago; and had it not been for this unlucky news, today, Cacama would, in a short time, have offered you her hand. There has been a scene tonight between her and her brother; for she declared that she would go with you, and share your dangers, whatever they might be. She has for the last three hours been confined in her chamber, and she was only allowed to come down to say goodbye to you, on her swearing that she would return with the queen to her room."

"I am awfully sorry," Roger said. "I never dreamed of such a thing. The princess has always been very kind to me, but I should never have thought of raising my eyes so high. Besides, as I have told you, I am still scarce a man; and with us, one does not think of marriage until he is five or six years older than I am."

"No one blames you at all," Cuitcatl said. "The king and queen both told her that they were sure you had not thought of her in that way; though they naturally supposed that, had you remained here, you would have gladly formed such an alliance when it was offered you. However, it is no use talking any more about it. You will have difficulties enough before you, and would have had no chance whatever of getting through them, if enc.u.mbered with her.

"Cacama told her so, but she scoffed at the idea of danger. Mexican women, when they love, are ready for any sacrifice. Cacama did not press that, but chiefly spoke of the terrible scandal it would be, were she--his sister and the niece of Montezuma--to be brought back with you, a captive."

They were now at the gate. Cuitcatl opened it, and locked it again after him. A figure was standing outside.

"This is my follower. You may rely upon him to serve you, to the last.

"Bathalda, this is my white friend. You will serve him as you would me."

The man took Roger's hand, and carried it to his forehead.

"My life is yours, my lord," he said.

"Is everything ready, Bathalda?" asked Cuitcatl.

"Yes, my lord. I have the canoe hidden among the rocks, with the arms and some food. It is but a few hundred yards away."

"Let us be off then, at once," Cuitcatl said.

The man led the way down to the lake, and then along the sh.o.r.e for some little distance.

"There is the canoe," he said.