Itlza continued to address her mother:

"Do you think, mother, that the old king's death will effect the prince in his retirement?" she asked.

"Maxtla will be king; evil is in Maxtla's heart--the prince must beware," replied the mother.

"Why does Hualcoyotl remain so pa.s.sively a prisoner in his own palace?

Is he a slave that he endures his restraint without an effort to obtain his freedom?" questioned Itlza, with much warmth.

"I know of but one way by which he might gain his freedom, my child; and that is too terrible to think about."

"You allude to a revolt, mother?"

"Yes, it was that I had in mind; and yet, though it would bring sorrow to many hearts, and possibly to ours, I could not say my people nay should they attempt it, for they are but slaves to the Tepanec king,"

replied the mother, in accents of sadness.

"You speak truly, mother; for Euet would--" Itlza's half-formed sentence was here suddenly broken off. She was seized from behind and held firmly for a moment, while a hand was placed over her mouth. When she was released, she turned quickly to learn who her a.s.sailant was, and met the laughing face of her brother, who saluted her in a most loving manner and completed her unfinished sentence by saying:

"Euet would that you drop so unpleasant a subject--there is only sadness in it."

"A bad brother is Euet, to give his sister such a fright!" exclaimed she, pleasantly.

The tzin answered her badinage with a closer embrace; and, releasing her, saluted his mother in an affectionate manner, who said:

"Euet, my son, you are most welcome after so protracted an absence.

Your sister and myself were beginning to wonder at your remaining away so long, and would in a little while have become uneasy about you."

"My mother and sister are very good to remember me so kindly, but they should not forget that Euet is no longer a boy. A man's responsibilities are now his, and he has duties to perform which sometimes interfere very much with his plans for gratifying the cravings of his heart. I am not forgetful of the filial obligations which bind me with golden chords of love to my estimable mother and sweet sister; yet there are times, in the press of worldlier things, when even these most precious of all obligations are neglected."

"You are right, my son; a mother's love is selfish. I had not considered well--but you are tired and need refreshment. Let us go in."

As they moved toward the house the conversation was continued. The mother presently inquired:

"How fares the good prince?"

"The prince is well, though somewhat dejected at the turn affairs have taken since the old king's death, of which you have already heard,"

answered the tzin.

"Yes, the news of his death has spread quickly. Your allusion to it prompts me to inquire about his successor. Maxtla has ascended the throne, I suppose, and now rules in his father's stead?" inquiringly returned the mother.

"Maxtla is king," replied Euet; "and even now may be laying plans for the destruction of the prince."

The faces of the mother and daughter quickly took on an expression of anxiety.

Hualcoyotl had spent many of his boyhood hours at the home of his friend Euet, which had resulted in his holding a warm place in the heart of each member of the family. Itlza and her mother had not seen him for a number of years, yet in Euetzin was found a link which bound them still to their young friend of other and more auspicious times.

"What are we to understand by those ominous words, my son?" inquired the mother in anxious tones.

"Good mother, I will explain, but not now. My walk has made me ravenous, and I do not intend that even your anxiety for the prince shall deprive me of my supper," replied he, playfully.

"How thoughtless of me to forget for a moment that you are hungry,"

returned she, with maternal concern. "Itlza, see that refreshments are served immediately; and now, my son, you must pardon your mother for her negligence."

"Thank my mother for her goodness, rather, in being thoughtful of my friend," replied the tzin, imprinting a filial kiss upon her brow.

This act and the accompanying words were in a vein of affectionate mirthfulness which brought the mother's heart into her eyes, and she could only look her grat.i.tude. The tzin led her to the board where refreshments were served, and mother and daughter were soon partaking of a spirit of cheerfulness which his presence imparted....

The day was nearly spent; approaching night was beginning to cast her shadows over the earth, and her dusky mantle would soon envelope all.

The family were seated in the s.p.a.cious drawing-room of their home.

Euetzin was relating the particulars of the prince's experience at the palace of the king, and his mother and sister were listening with the most intense interest to his recital. When he told of the prince's determination to prepare for resistance, and that he, the tzin, was then on his way to engage in inciting it, the mother could keep silent no longer, but cried out in anguish of heart:

"Oh, my son, can it be that my fears are to be realized so soon, and must we indeed lose you?"

"Be calm, good mother; do not make my duties heavier by inflicting greater sadness upon my heart. You would not counsel your boy to shrink from the call which must come, sooner or later, to every true son of Tezcuco? The prince has seen fit to send me as his representative among the people, and has charged me with a great and responsible duty. Shall the son of Euzelmozin cowardly shirk it, or shall he, like his lamented father, be fearless in the face of danger? What greater danger, O Teochma, my mother, could arise than that which now threatens the destruction of our prince, and a lower degradation for our deeply wronged country?"

"Forgive me, my son, if I showed in my words a feeling of resentment to the fates that would rob me of my boy. You know your mother too well to believe that she would for a moment counsel you contrary to the dictates of patriotism. No, Euet; though my heart may bleed for the sorrow it will feel, yet would I say, go to your duty, perform it to the best of your ability, and prove yourself a worthy son of Zelmozin and Tezcuco."

"Thanks, my n.o.ble mother; with your approval, so patriotically expressed, I will go out into the midst of dangers, fearing only to do wrong."

When the morning came the tzin was gone, and the unwonted stillness of the villa told of saddened hearts within.

CHAPTER IV.

When suspicious jealousy culminates in anger it is but a step to malicious madness. In such a conflict of the pa.s.sions reason is unable to hold its sway; especially is this true if the natural impulses of the heart are evil. The fatal step is taken and destruction inevitably follows upon the victim, and too often upon those who are innocently the cause.

Maddened at the sight of his supposed rival, and no longer the unimpa.s.sioned arbiter of a king's court, Maxtla, immediately on the withdrawal of Prince Hualcoyotl, dismissed from his presence the chiefs and va.s.sals about him, and retired to his own apartment, where, by giving way to the dominant pa.s.sions of his nature, he wrought himself into a very demon. In his terrible anger he resolved that Hualcoyotl should die, and ordered a meeting of his privy council, whose duty it was to pa.s.s upon the decisions of the king, to take place at once.

The council convened in a chamber set apart for that purpose. When the members were all seated the king addressed them. He appeared unusually stern and determined, and evidenced the deep, terrible, and inflexible purpose which moved him. He said:

"Your king has commanded your presence here at this hour to obtain your approval to a decree of death, which he has laid upon one who is a menace to our authority. Hualcoyotl, the prince of Tezcuco, is the only surviving heir to the Tezcucan crown. While he is permitted to live the Tepanec supremacy over that nation will be as unstable as would a habitation on yonder burning mountain.[3] The voice of the murmuring wind is not more distinct than is the murmur of repining and disaffection which rises from among our subjugated va.s.sals, the Tezcucans, who would have this prince to rule over them. Shall we fold our arms and wait for the storm of insurrection and rebellion, which his existence makes possible, to sweep down upon and overwhelm us, or shall we be wise in precluding the possibility of such an event by his removal? The desolation of our kingdom would no doubt be attempted, and possibly accomplished, should he be raised to power; and I warn you, if accomplished, more than Maxtla would find a grave beneath the ruins. We must strike, worthy chiefs, n.o.bles, for self-preservation. Your king has decreed it--Hualcoyotl must die; are you prepared to approve the decision?"

[3] Popocatepetl.

The members of the council felt that the king was in no humor to brook opposition, and as it was a personal as well as public consideration with them the decree was confirmed.

It was decided, in accordance with the wishes of the king, to have the prince put out of the way in a quiet manner. Agreeable to this decision, arrangements were made for a private party to be given by one of the king's officers in Tezcuco, to which the prince was to have a cordial and pressing invitation, and at which he was to be secretly put to death.

Itzalmo was informed of the diabolical plotting of the conspirators by a friend who was close to the king, and shrewdly defeated their design to a.s.sa.s.sinate his young master; but tradition says another perished in his stead.

The failure of the plan to entrap the prince so enraged the king that he threw off all disguise and publicly proclaimed the decree condemning him to death. The execution of the mandate was imposed upon one of his chief officers, who was ordered to go with a party of soldiers to Tezcuco, and there to enter the palace, seize the prince and put him to death.

On the second day subsequent to the one on which the attempt was made to create an opportunity in which to a.s.sa.s.sinate the prince--the consummation of which was prevented by the old preceptor's cunning, Hualcoyotl was seated alone in his private apartment. There was a notable change in his appearance. The past few days, with their important and, to him, momentous events, had made him seem older. The youthfulness and freshness of his former self were gone, and the sternness of a determined man had settled upon him.