By Right of Conquest Part 22

Cuitcatl embraced Roger.

"I wish that I could go with you, my white brother, and share your dangers down to the coast," he said; "but I could aid you but little, and my life would be forfeited on my return. May the G.o.ds of Mexico, and the G.o.d you wors.h.i.+p, protect you.

"It may be--who knows?--that some day you may return hither. Cuitcatl's heart will be rejoiced to see you."

"Thank you for all your kindness," Roger said. "Whatever befalls me, I shall never forget it. Thank Cacama for all he has done in my favor, and say goodbye for me to the princess. Tell her that it is better so, for that so soft a flower would soon droop, and pine away, in my cold country."

Roger took his seat in the canoe, Bathalda seized the paddle, and the little boat shot out from the sh.o.r.e. For some distance they kept close in under the shadow of the land, Bathalda saying that two or three royal canoes were rowing up and down, opposite the town, and that every canoe putting off had been stopped and questioned. Several times, when the sound of a paddle was heard out on the lake, Bathalda stopped rowing for a time; but after keeping close to the sh.o.r.e for an hour, he struck out more boldly and, after two hours' further rowing, approached the sh.o.r.e again.

"This is the point where we must land," he said. "Four hours' walking will take us among the hills; but before we leave the canoe we will half fill it with stones, then knock a hole in her bottom and push her out into the lake to sink. Were she found here in the morning, it might afford a clue as to the way we had taken."

This was done, and then they started for the hills. Alone, Roger would have had great difficulty in making his way along the paths running between the cultivated fields; but his companion led the way without hesitation, seeing, apparently, as well as if it had been broad daylight. Roger carried the ax, which was a heavy one, on one shoulder; and in the other hand the spear, which he used as a walking stick.

Before daylight broke they were ascending the hills, which were wild and rugged. They pa.s.sed several villages lying high up on rugged hilltops, and inaccessible, save by ladders, which could be drawn up in case of attack.

"The tribes here have only recently been conquered," Bathalda said. "They pay tribute to Mexico, but are a wild race; and as there is nothing to be obtained from them but hard knocks, they are but little interfered with."

Getting deeper among the hills, Bathalda, just as morning was breaking, led the way up a ravine down which a little stream trickled, and found a resting place among a number of great rocks that had fallen from above.

"Here," he said, "we shall be perfectly safe for the day. It is not likely that even a shepherd will enter this ravine, and if he does, he is not likely to come upon us here. First, let us eat our breakfast; and then we will lie down, and sleep till evening. I will keep watch if you like, but I do not think there is any occasion for it."

"Not the least," Roger agreed. "We had both better get what sleep we can. We shall have a long tramp before us, tonight."

They were undisturbed during the day and, as soon as the sun set, were again on their feet. The journey was a toilsome one. The country was so broken that they were continually either climbing the steep hills or descending into the valleys. After the moon had set they were forced to come to a halt, for some hours, finding it impossible to climb the steep hills in the darkness. With the first light of day they were again in motion, and continued walking for some hours.

"There," Bathalda said at last, as he gained the brow of the hill, "that is the plateau land. The town you see there, away on our right, is Otompan. Now we will keep due west. There are no large towns now, till we reach Tlatlanquitepec and Perote. From that point our danger will be the greatest, for all the roads across the mountains are sure to be watched. The guards at the station houses on these roads have, no doubt, by this time had orders to look for you and arrest you; but by traveling at night, we may pa.s.s them safely.

"We may as well enter that field of maize, and lie down until evening. After that we will follow a path till we gain a main road, and then travel straight on. We can go so much faster on a road than through the fields; and I know where the post houses are situated, so we can make a detour to avoid them."

That night they walked, as far as Roger could guess, fifty miles, and again entered a very hilly country. In the morning they left the road and encamped in a wood, far up the hillside. During the day they saw several parties of troops following the road; and many couriers pa.s.sed along, at a swift run.

"The whole country is up," Bathalda said. "We shall have to be very careful, in future."

The first night, while pa.s.sing through the low, hot country near the lake, Roger had cut a strong bamboo; together with a bundle of smaller rods, suitable for arrows. Bathalda had brought with him a bag of sharp obsidian arrowheads, and some feathers for winging them, together with a bowstring of twice the ordinary strength. He had looked on with amus.e.m.e.nt when Roger cut the bamboo, making it, as was the custom of English archers, of his own height.

"My lord is not intending that, surely, for a bow?" he said.

"Yes, Bathalda, I think that will do well," Roger said, trying with his knee the stiffness of the cane.

At the halt next day, Roger had cut the notches for the string.

"Now, Bathalda," he said, "can you string this?"

"No, my lord; nor can any other man."

"I think it is about the strength of the bows we use at home," Roger said. "The stringing them is a matter of knack, as well as of strength."

And, to the amazement of the Aztec, he strung the bow.

"Now," said he, "let us make some arrows. They should be a cloth yard in length--that is, from the middle of my chest to the end of my middle finger."

A dozen of the light bamboos were cut to this length. The huntsman fitted the obsidian points to them, and Roger stepped back a hundred yards from the small tree, with a trunk some six inches in diameter, under whose shade they had been sitting. Then he fitted the arrow to the string, bent the bow to its head, and loosed the arrow. It struck the trunk, but glanced off.

"I am out of practice, indeed," he said, "or I should have hit that fair in the center."

To the huntsman, however, the shot seemed well-nigh miraculous, the distance being twice as great as the Mexican bows would carry, with anything like accuracy; while the speed with which the arrow flew, and the distance it went after glancing from the tree, showed that it would have been fatal at least fifty yards beyond the object aimed at. Taking the bow from Roger, he fitted another arrow in and tried to bend it; but with all his efforts could only draw the arrow four or five inches.

"It is wonderful," he said, returning the weapon to Roger. "If I had not seen it done, I could not have believed it."

"It is merely a matter of practice," Roger said. "My people are famous for their dexterity with the bow, and I have seen men hit a mark no bigger than the palm of my hand, ten times in succession, at that distance."

The next time they halted, Bathalda made the rest of the bamboos into arrows and, making a quiver of the bark of a tree, hung them over his shoulder. Roger left his spear behind; using the bow, which he had unstrung, as a walking staff. Bathalda offered to carry the spear, in addition to his own weapon, but Roger told him that he did not care about it.

"If it should come to a hand-to-hand fight," he said, "I would rather rely on my ax. Besides, the bow, now it is unstrung, makes an excellent quarterstaff, a weapon with which I have practiced a great deal. With a spear your people would know quite as much as I should; but I fancy that, with a quarterstaff, I should astonish them. It has the advantage, too, that it disables without killing; and as your soldiers would only be doing their duty in arresting me, I should be sorry to do them more harm than I could help.

"There were a great many men on the road below there, today."

"A great many, my lord; and no doubt the garrisons of the two towns we shall have to pa.s.s tonight will be all out, and on the watch. This is the most dangerous part of the journey. The mountains are rugged, and there are only certain pa.s.ses by which we can travel, and they are sure to be watched narrowly. They will guess that we shall travel by night."

"I suppose it will not be possible to make a detour, either to the south or north?"

The Aztec shook his head.

"To the north lie terrible mountains, of whose pa.s.ses I know nothing. Our provisions are exhausted, and we must, in future, depend upon maize and other things we can pick by the way. Were we to go there, we should find nothing.

"To the south lies Tlascala, whose people are independent of Montezuma. They are fierce and warlike, and would seize and offer you to the G.o.ds, without pity."

"Still, they would not be on the lookout for us; and we might, therefore, pa.s.s through their country without being seen."

"We might do so, my lord," Bathalda agreed.

"At any rate," Roger said, "it seems to me that there would be more chance, in that direction, than in going straight forward. From what you say, it seems well-nigh impossible for us to get through the pa.s.ses ahead of us, without being captured."

Accordingly, when night fell they struck off to the south. The journey was a very toilsome one, for they were now crossing the spurs of the hills, running far down into the plateau. As before, they had to halt when the moon set, but continued their way at daybreak.

"There is a road down in the valley there," Roger said, after three hours' more walking.

Bathalda stood looking down, for some time.

"I know it, now," he said. "It is the last road north of Tlascala, and runs from Huejotlipan to Yxtacamaxt.i.tlan. We are already east of Tlascala, and about fifteen miles from Yxtacamaxt.i.tlan. If we get past that town without accident, we shall then have to cross the Pa.s.s of Obispo, over the great range of mountains, and come down near Naulinco. Once past that town our dangers will be over, for there are few towns and villages in the Tierra Caliente. Our great danger will lie in the pa.s.s. There are but two or three roads across these mountains, and they will know that we must follow them."

"Well, we must take our chance," Roger said. "So far we have met with no difficulties, whatever, and provided we don't come across too large a force, we ought to be able to manage to get through. I noticed there were trees right through the pa.s.s I came over; and I see the country ahead is thickly wooded. How far is the pa.s.s from where we are now?"

"About thirty miles. It is where you see that cleft in the great line of hills."

"Well, we can get near it before the moon sets, and will try to pa.s.s through by daylight. It would be useless attempting to make our way through the trees at night; and if we have to fight, I would rather do so in the light. We will lie down now, for I own I am completely tired out."