The Fair God; or, The Last of the 'Tzins: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico by Lew Wallace
CHAPTER IX.
LIFE IN THE PABA'S WORLD.
When the page awoke, after a long, refreshing sleep, he saw the fountainfirst, and Tecetl next. She was sitting a little way off, upon a matstretched on the floor. A number of birds were about her, whistling andcoquetting with each other. One or two of very beautiful plumagebalanced themselves on the edge of the basin, and bathed their wings inthe crystal water. Through half-shut eyes, he studied her. She wasquiet,--thinking of what? Of what do children think in their wakingdreams? Yet he might have known, from her pensive look and frequentsighs, that the fountain was singing to deaf ears, and the birds playingtheir tricks before sightless eyes. She was most probably thinking ofwhat he had so lately taught her, and nursed the great mystery assomething past finding out; many a wiser head has done the same thing.
Now, Orteguilla was very sensible of her loveliness; he was no lesssensible, also, that she was a mystery out of the common way of life;and had he been in a place of safety, in the palace of Axaya', he wouldhave stayed a long time pretending sleep, in order to study herunobserved. But his situation presently rose to mind; the yellow glow ofthe lamps suggested the day outside; the birds, liberty; the fountainand shrubbery, the world he had lost; and the girl, life,--his life, andall its innumerable strong attachments. And so, in his mind, he ran overhis adventures in the house. He surveyed all of the chamber that wasvisible from the bench. The light, the fountain, the vegetation, thedecorated walls,--everything in view dependent upon the care of man.Where so much was to be done constantly, was there not something to bedone at once,--something to save life? There were the lamps: how werethey supplied? They might go out. And, _Jesu Christo_! the corpse of thepaba! He sat up, as if touched by a spear: there it was, in all therepulsiveness of death.
The movement attracted the girl's attention; she arose, and waited forhim to speak.
"Good morning,--if morning it be," he said.
She made no reply.
"Come here," he continued. "I have some questions to ask."
She drew a few steps nearer. A bird with breast of purple and wings ofsnow flew around her for a while, then settled upon her hand, and wasdrawn close to her bosom. He remembered, from Father Bartolome'sreading, how the love of God once before took a bird's form; andforthwith his piety and superstition hedged her about with sanctity.What with the white wings upon her breast, and the whiter innocencywithin, she was safe as if bound by walls of brass.
"Have no fear, I pray you," he said, misinterpreting her respectfulsentiment. "You and I are two people in a difficult strait, and, if Imistake not, much dependent upon each other. A God, of whom you neverheard, but whom I will tell you all about, took your father away, andsent me in his stead. The road thither, I confess, has been toilsome anddreadful. Ah me, I shudder at the thought!"
He emphasized his feelings by a true Spanish shrug of the shoulders.
"This is a strange place," he next said. "How long have you been here?"
"I cannot say."
"Can you remember coming, and who brought you?"
"No."
"You must have been a baby." He looked at her with pity. "Have you neverbeen elsewhere?"
"No, never."
"Ah, by the Mother that keeps me! Always here! And the sky, and sun, andstars, and all God's glory of nature, seen in the valleys, mountains,and rivers, and seas,--have they been denied you, poor girl?"
"I have seen them all," she answered.
"Where?"
"On the ceiling and walls."
He looked up at the former, and noticed its excellence ofrepresentation.
"Very good,--beautiful!" he said, in the way of criticism. "Who did thework?"
"Quetzal'."
"And who is Quetzal'?"
"Who should know better than the god himself?"
"Me?"
"Yes."
Again he shrugged his shoulders.
"My name, then, is Quetzal'. Now, what is yours?"
"Tecetl."
"Well, then, Tecetl, let me undeceive you. In the first place, I am notQuetzal', or any god. I am a man, as your father there was. My name isOrteguilla; and for the time I am page to the great king Montezuma. Andbefore long, if I live, and get out of this place, as I most devoutlypray, I will be a soldier. In the next place you are a girl, and soonwill be a woman. You have been cheated of life. By God's help, I willtake you out of this. Do you understand me?"
"No; unless men and gods are the same."
"Heaven forbid!" He crossed himself fervently. "Do you not know what menare?"
"All my knowledge of things is from the pictures on the walls, and whatelse you see here."
"_Jesu Christo!_" he cried, in open astonishment. "And did the good mannever tell you of the world outside,--of its creation, and its millionsupon millions of people?"
"No."
"Of the world in which you may find the originals of all that is paintedon the walls, more beautiful than colors can make them?"
He received the same reply, but, still incredulous, went on.
"Who takes care of these plants?"
"My father."
"A servant brings your food to the door--may he do so again! Have younot seen him?"
"No."
"Where does the oil that feeds the lamps come from?"
"From Quetzal'."
Just then a lamp went out. He arose hastily, and saw that the contentsof the cup were entirely consumed. "Tecetl, is there plenty of oil?Where do you keep it? Tell me."
"In a jar, there by the door. While you were asleep, I refilled thecups, and now the jar is empty."
He turned pale. Who better than he knew the value of the liquid thatsaved them from the darkness so horribly peopled by hunger and thirst?If exhausted, where could they get more? Without further question, hewent through the chamber, and collected the lamps, and put them all outexcept one. Then he brought the jar from the door, and poured the oilback, losing not a drop.
Tecetl remonstrated, and cried when she saw the darkness invade thechamber, blotting out the walls, and driving the birds to their perches,or to the fountain yet faintly illuminated. But he was firm.
"Fie, fie!" he said. "You should laugh, not cry. Did I not tell youabout the world above this, so great, and so full of people, likeourselves? And did I not promise to take you there? I am come in yourfather's stead. Everything must contribute to our escape. We must thinkof nothing else. Do you understand? This chamber is but one of many, ina house big as a mountain, and full of passages in which, if we getlost, we might wander days and days, and then not get out, unless we hada light to show us the way. So we must save the oil. When this supplygives out, as it soon will if we are not careful, the darkness that sofrightens you will come and swallow us, and we shall die, as did yourfather there."
The last suggestion sufficed; she dried her tears, and drew closer tohim, as if to say, "I confide in you; save me."
Nature teaches fear of death; so that separation from the breathlessthing upon the couch was not like parting from Mualox. Whether shetouched his hand or looked in his face now, "Go hence, go hence!" waswhat she seemed to hear. The stony repulsion that substituted his livinglove reconciled her to the idea of leaving home, for such the chamberhad been to her.
Here I may as well confess the page began to do a great deal oftalking,--a consequence, probably, of having a good listener; or he mayhave thought it a duty to teach all that was necessary to prepare hisdisciple for life in the new world. In the midst of a lecture, thetinkle of a bell brought him to a hasty pause.
"Now, O Blessed Mother, now I am happy! Thou hast not forsaken me! Ishall see the sun again, and brave old Spain. Live my heart!" he cried,as the last tinkle trembled, and died in the silence.
Seeing that she regarded him with surprise, he said, in her tongue, "Iwas thanking the Mother, Tecetl. She will save us both. Go now, andbring the breakfast,--I say breakfast, not knowing better,--and while weeat I will te
She went at once, and, coming back, found him bathing his face and headin the water of the basin,--a healthful act, but not one to strengthenthe idea of his godship. She placed the tray upon the table, and helpedhim to napkin and comb; then they took places opposite each other, withthe lamp between them; whereupon she had other proof of his kind ofbeing; for it is difficult to think of a deity at table, eating. TheGreeks felt the incongruity, and dined their gods on nectar andambrosia, leaving us to imagine them partaken in some other than theordinary, vulgar way. Verily, Tecetl was becoming accustomed to thestranger!
And while they ate, he explained his plans, and talked of the upperworld, and described its wonders and people, until, her curiosityaroused, she plied him with questions; and as point after point wasgiven, we may suppose nature asserted itself, and taught her, by whatpower there is in handsome youth, with its bright eyes, smooth face, andtongue more winsome than wise, that life in the said world was adesirable exchange for the monotonous drifting to which she had been solong subjected. We may also suppose that she was not slow to observe thedifference between Mualox and the page; which was that between age andyouth, or, more philosophically, that between a creature to be reveredand a creature to be admired.
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