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atdmi?tt an? outljron TSIK 8DMTEB WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. 'Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's.land Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jane, 12 66 Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1894. |New Series-Vol. XIV. . No. II. Cjrt S8ta?t|iicnt at? ^ou?|r0iL Published Every Wednesday, 3>J. C3r. Osteen, SUMTER, S. C. TERMS : Two Dollars per annum-in advance. ADVERTISEMENT: One Square first insertion.......$1 00 Svery subsequent insertion-. . 50 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. * - Ail commnnicarioos which subserve private interests wiU becharged foras advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be charged for. COPY Kl GMT. KM, BX TM? AUTHOR. CHAPTER^ XSLVIL THE ESCAPE. Now Otomie put the rope off her neck, and descending from the stool stood be? fore Marina. "Yon are Marina," she said coldly and proudly, "and you come to save us, you who have brought ruin on the land that bore yon and have given thousands of her children to death and shame and torment? Now, if I had my way, I would have none of your salvation-nay, I would rather save myself as I was about to do." Thus Otomie spoke, and never had she looked more royal than in this moment when she risked her last chance of life that she might pour out her scorn upon one whom she deemed a traitress-no, one who was a traitress, for had it not been for Marina's wit andr aid Cortes would never have conquered Anahuac- I trem? bled as I heard her angry words, for, all I suffered notwithstanding, life still seemed sweet to me, who, 10 seconds ago, had stood upon the verge of death. Surely Marina would depart and leave us to our doom. But it was not so. In? deed she shrank and trembled before Otomie's contempt. They were a strange contrast in their different loveliness as they stood face to face in the torture den, and it was strange also to see the spirit of the lady of royal blood, threatened as she was with a shameful death, or still more shameful life, triumph over the Indian girl whom today fortune had set far above her as the stars. "Say, royal lady," asked Marina in her gentle voice, "for what cause did you, if tales are true, lie by the side of yonder white man upon the stone of sacrifice? " "Because I love him, Marina. " "And for this same cause" have I, Ma? rina, laid my honor upon a different altar; for this same cause I have striven against the children of my people, because I love another such as he. It is for love of Cortes that I have aided Cortes; therefore despise me not, but >t your love plead for mine, seeing that, to us women, love is all. I season my sin shall find a fitting punish? ment.*' "It had need be sharp," answered Otomie. "My love has harmed none. See before you but one grain of the countless harvest of your own. In yonder chair Guatemoc, your king, was this day tor? tured by your master, Cortes, who swore to treat him with all honor. By his side sat Teule, my husband and your friend. Him Cortes gave over to his private enemy, De Garcia, whom you name Sarceda. See how he has left him. Nay, do not shudder, gentle lady. Look now at his wounds! Consider to what a pass we are driven when yon find us about to die thus like dogs, he, my husband, that he may not live to see me handled as he has been, and I with him because a princess of the Otomie and of Montezuma's blood cannot submit to such a shamo while death has one door through which to creep. It is but a single grain-of your harvest, outcast and trai toreas, the harvest of misery and death that is stored yonder in the ruins of Te noctitlan. Had I my will I tell you that I had sooner die a score of times than take help from a hand so stained with the blood of my people and of yours-I" "Oh, cease, lady, cease," groaned Ma? rina, covering her eyes with her hand, as though the-sight of Otomie were dreadful to her. "What is done is done. Do not add to my remorse. What did you say that you, the Lady Otomie, were brought here to be tortured?" "Even so, and before my husband's eyes. Why should Montezuma's daughter and the princess of the Otomie escape the fate of the emperor of the Aztecs? If her womanhood does not protect her, has she anything to hope of her lost rank?' ' "Cortes knows nothip^ of this; I swear it," said Marina. "TO the rest he has been driven by the clamor of the soldiers, who taunt him with stealing treasure that he has never found. But of this last wicked? ness he is innocent." "Then let him ask his tool Sarceda of it." "As" fear Sarceda, I promise you, prin? cess, that if I can I will avenge this threat upon him. But time is short. I am come here with the knowledge of Cortes, to see if I can win the secret of the treasure from * Teule, your husband, and for niy-friend ship's sake I am about to betray my trust and help him and you to fly. Do you re? fuse my aid?" Otomie said nothing, but I spoke for the first time. "Nay, Marinaj I have no love for this thief's fate if I can escaper it, but how is it to be done?" "The chance is poor enough, Teule, but I bethought me that once out of this prison you might slip away disguised. Few will be stirring at dawn, and of them the most will not be keen to notice men j or things. See, I have brought you the dress of a Spanish soldier. Your skin is dark, and in the half light you might pass as one, and for the princess your wife I have brought another dress. Indeed I am ashamed to offer it, but it is the only one that will not be noted at this hour; also, Teule, I bring you a sword, that which was taken from you, though I think that once it had another owner. " Now while she spoke Marina undid her bundle, and there in it were the dresses and the sword, the same that I had taken from the Spaniard Diaz in the massacre of the noche triste. First she drew out tho wpmanls robe and hauded it to Otomie, and 1 saw that it was such a robe among the Indians is worn by the wo: who follow camps, a robe with red yellow in it. Otomie saw it also and d back. "Surely, girl, you have brought a { ment of your own in error, ' ' she said qn ly, but in such a fashion as showed ic of the savage heart that is native to race than she often suffered to be S? " At the least I cannot wear such robes "It seems that I must bear too muc answered Marina, growing wroth at 1 and striving to keep back thc tears t started to her eyes. "I will away and le you, " and she began to roll up her bun< "Forgive her, Marina," I said hast for the desire to escape grew on me ev minute. ''Sorrow has set an edge uj her tongue." Then, turning to Oton I added: "I pray you be more gentle, -. T. for my sake if not for your own. Mar is our only hope." "Would that she had left us to die peace, husband. Well, so be it, for y< sake I will put on these garments o: drab. But how shall we escape out of t place and the camp? Will the door opened to us and the guards removed, a if we pass them can you walk, hus bane "The doors will not be opened, ladj said Marina, "for those wait without w will see that they are locked when I hi passed them. But there will be nothing fear from the guard-trust to me for See, the bars of this window are but wood. That sword will soon sever the and if you are seen you must play the pw of a drunken soldier being guided to ] quarters by a woman. For the rest I kn< nothing, save that I run great risk for ye sakes, since, if it is discovered that I h aided you, then I shall find it hard to & ten the rage of Cortes, who, the war bei won," and she sighed, "dges not need i now so much as once he did. " "I can make shit lio hop on my rig foot," I said, "and for the rest we mt ! trust to fortune. It can give us no woi gifts than those we have already. " i "So be it, Teule, and now farewell, i I dare stay no longer. I can do nothij more. May your good star shine on y< I and lead you hence in safety, and, Teu? j if we never meet again, I pray you th ii j of me kindly, fur there are many in tl world who will do otherwise in the da ! toc?me." j "Farewell, Marina," I said, and s] was gone. We heard the doors close behind her ai the distant voices of those who bore h j litter; then all was silence. Otomie liste: i ed at the window for awhile, but tl guards seemed to be gone, where or why do not know to this hour, and the on sound was that of distant revelry from tl camp. 'And now to the work," I said to Ot mie. "As you wish, husband, but I fear will be profitless. I do not trust that w< man. Faithless in all, without doubt si betrays us. Still at the worst you ha^ the sword and can use it. " "it matters little, " I answered. "Ot plight cannot be worse than it is nov Life has no greater evils than torment an death, and they are with us already." Then I sat upon thc stool, and my arm being left sound and strong I hacked wit the sharp sword at the wooden bass of th window, severing them one by ene ti] there was a space big enough for us t *creep throngfe.- This being done and- u one having appeared to disturb us, O tomi clad me in the clothes of a Spanish so] dier which Marina had brought, for j could not dress myself. What I suffere? In the donning of those garments an< more especially in pulling of the long boo on to my burned foot can never be told but more than once I stopped, ponderinj whether it would not be better to die rath er than to endure such agonies. At las it was done, and Otomie must put on th red and yellow robe, a garb of shame sud . aa many an honest Indian woman wnnh tile- sooner tuan be seen in, and I thin! that as she did this her agony was greata than mine, though of another sort, for U her proud heart that dress was a very shirl of Nesaus. Presently she was clad ant minced before me with ? savage mockery, saying! a ?'Prithee, soldier, do I look my part?" "A peace to such fooling," I answered. "Our lives are at stake. How does it mat ter how wc disguise ourselves?" "It matters much, husband* but how can yon understand, who are a man and a foreigner? Now I will clamber through the window, and yon must follow me ii you can. If not, I will return to you, and we will end this masquerade.'"' - Then she passed through the hole swift? ly, for Otomie was agile and strong as an ocelot, and mounting the stool .1 made shift to follow her as well as my hurts would allow. In the end I was able to throw myself upon the sill of the window, and there I was stretched out' like a dead cat till she drew me across it, and I fell with her to the ground on the farther side and lay groaning. She lifted me to my feet, or rather to my foot, for I could usc but one of them, and we stared round us. No one was to be seen, and the sound of revelry had died away, for the crest of Po? po was already red with the sunlight, and the dawn grew in the valley. "Where to?" I sadd. Now, Otomie had been allowed to walk in t the camp with her sister, the wife of Guatenioc, and other Aztec- ladies, and she had. this gift in -common with most Indians-that where she had once passed there she could pass again, even in the darkest night. "To the south gate," she whispered. "Perhaps it is unguarded now that thc war is done. At the least, I know tho road thither." So we started, I leaning on her shoulder and hopping on my right foot, and thus very painfully we traversed some 300 yards, meeting nobody. But now our good lur % failed us, for passing round the corner of some buildings we carno face to face with three soldiers returning to their huts from a midnight revel and with them some na? tive servants. "Whom have we here?" said the first of these. ''Your name, comrade.'' "Good night, brother, good night," I answered in Spanish, speaking with the thick voice of drunkenness. "Good morning, yt?u mean," he said, for the dawn was breaking. "Your name''' I don't know your face, though it seems that you have been in the wars. ' ' And he laughed. "You mustn't ask a comrade his name, " I said solemnly and swinging to and fro. ''The captain might send for me, and he's a temperate man. Your ann, girl. It is time to go to sloe;.. Thc-sun sets. " They laughed, but one of them address? ed Otomie, saying: "Leave the sot, my pretty, and come and walk?with us." And he caught her by the arm. But she turned on him with so fierce a look that he let her go again, astonished, and we staggered on till the corner of another house hid us from their view. Here I sank to the ground over? come with pain, for while thc soldiers were in sight I was obliged to use my wounded foot lest they should suspect. But Oto? mie pulled me up, saying: "Alas, beloved, we must pass on or per? ish." I rose, groaning, and by what efforts I reached the south gate I cannot describe, though I thought that I must die before I came there. At last it was before us, and, as chance would have it, the Spanish guard were asleep in the guardhouse. Three Tlascalans only were crouched over a little fire, their serapes or blankets about their heads, for the dawn was chilly. "Open the gates, dogs!" ! said in a proud voice. Seeing a Spanish soldier, one of them rose to obey, then paused and said: "Why and by whose orders?" I could not see the man's face because of the blanket, but his voice sounded fa? miliar to me, and I grew afraid Still I must speak. . "Why? Because I am drunk and wish to lie without till I grow sober. By whose orders? . By mine. I am an officer of the day, and if you disobey I'll have you flog? ged till you never ask another question." "Shall I call the Teules within?" said the man sulkily to his companion. "No," he answered. "The Lord Sarce? da is weary and gave orders that he should not be awakened without good cause. Keep them in or let them through, as you will, but do not wake him. " I trembled in every limb. De Garcia was m the guardhouse! What if he awoke? What if he came out and saw me? More, now I guessed whose voice it was that I knew again. It was that of one of those Tlascalans who had aided in tormenting me. What if he should see my face? He could scarcely fail to know that on which he had left his mark so recently. I was dumb with fear and could say nothir..;, and had it not been for the wit of Otomie there my story would haye ended. But now she played her part and played it well, plying the man with the coarse raillery of the camp till at length she put him in a good humor, and he opened the gate, bid **J am spent, I can do no more." ding her begone and me with her. Already we had parsed the gato when a sudden faintness seized me, and I stumbled and fell, rolling over on my back as I touched the earth. "Up, friend, up," said Otomie, with a harsh laugh. "If you must sleep, wait till you find some friendly bush," and she dragged at me to lift me. The Tlascalan, still laughing, came forward to help her, and between them I gained my feet again, but as I rose my cap, which fitted me but UL fell off. He picked it up and gave it to me, and our eyes met, my face being, somewhat in the shadow. Next instant I was hobbling on, but looking back I saw the Tlascalan staring after us with a puz? zled air, like that of a man who is not sure of the witness of his senses. "He knows me," I said to Otomie, "and presently, when he has found his wits, he will follow us." "On, on!" answered Otomie. "Round yonder corner are aloe bushes where we may hide." "lam spent I can do no more," and again I began to fall. Then Otomie caught me as I fell, and of a sudden she put out her strength, and lifting me from the ground as a mother lifts her child staggered forward, holding me to her breast. For 60 paces or more .he carried me thus, love and despair giv? ing her strength, till at last we reached the edge of the aloe plants, and there we sank together to the earth. I cast my eyes back over the path which we had traveled Round the corner came the Tlascalan, a spiked club in his hand, seeking us to solve his doubts. "It is finished," I gasped. "The man comes." For answer Otomie drew my sword from its scabbard and hid it in the grass. "Now feign sleep," she said. "It is our last chance." I cast my arm over my face and pretend? ed to be asleep. Presently I heard the sound of a man passing through the bushes, and the Tlascalan stood over me. "What would you?" asked Otomie. "Can you not see that he sleeps? Let him sleep." "I must look on his face first, woman," he answered, dragging aside my arm. 41 By the gods, I thought so! This is that Teule whom we dealt with yesterday and who escapes." "You are mad," ste said, laughing. "He has escaped from nowhere, save from a brawl and a drinking bout. " "You lie, woman, or if you do not lie you know nothing. This man has the se? cret of Montezuma's treasure and is worth a king's ransom. " And he lifted his club. "And yet you wish to slay him! Well, I know nothing of him. Take him back whence he came. He is but a drunken ot, and I shall be well rid of him. " "Well said. It would be foolish to kill him, but by bearing him alive to the Lord Sarceda I shall win honor and reward. Come, help me." "Help yourself, " she answered sullenly. "But first search his pouch. There may be some triflo there which we can divide. ' ' "Well said again," he answered, and kneeling down he bent over me and began to fumble at the fastenings of the pouch. Otomie was behind Hm. I saw "her face change, and a terrible light came into her eyes-snch a light as shines in the eyes of the priest at sacrifice. Quick as thought she drew the sword from the grass and smote with all her strength upon the man's bent neck. Down he fell, making no sound, and she also fell beside him. In a moment she was on her feet again, star? ing at him wildly, the naked sword in her hand. "Up," she said, "before others come to seek him! Nay, you must!" Now again we were struggling forward through the bushes, my mind filled with a great wonder that grew slowly to a whirling nothingness. For awhile it seem? ed to me as though I were lost in an evil dream and walking on redhot irons in my dream. Then came a vision of armed men with lifted spears and of Otomie running toward them with outstretched arms. I knew no more. CHAPTER XXVIIL OTOMIE PLEADS WITH HER PEOPLE. When I awoke, it was to find myself in a cave, where the light shone very dimly Otomie leaned over me, and not far away a man was cooking a pot over a fire made of dry aloe leaves. "Where am I, and what has happened? I asked. 44 You are safe, beloved, ' ' she answered, "at least for awhile. When you have eat? en, 1 will tell you more. " She brought me broth and food, and ate eagerly, and when I was satisfied she spoke: "You remember how the Tlascalan fol lowed us and how-I was rid of him?" '4I remember, Otomie, though how you found strength to kill him I do not under stand/' "Love and despair gave it to mc, and pray that I may never have such another need. Do not speak of it, husband, for this is more terrible to me than all that When J awoke, it was to find myself in a cave. has been before. One thing comforts me, however. I did not kill him; the sword twisted in my hand, and I believe that he was but stunned. Then we fled a little way, and looking back I saw that two oth? er Tlascalans. companions of the senseless man, were following us and him. Pres? ently they came up to where he lay and stared at him. Then they started on our tracks, running hard, and very soon they must have caught us, for now you could scarcely stir. Your mind was gone, and I had no more strength to carry you. 4 'Still we stumbled on till presently, when the pursuers were within 50 paces of us, I saw armed men-eight of them-rushing at us from the bushes. They were of my own people, the Otomies, soldiers that had served under you, who watched the Spanish camp, and seeing a Spaniard alone they came to slay him. They very nearly did so indeed, for at first I was so breathless I could scarcely speak, but at last in a few words I made shift to declare my name and rank and your, sad plight. But now the two Tlascalans were upon us, and I called to the men of the Otomie to protect us, and falling on the Tlasca? lans before they knew that enemies were there they killed one of them and took the other prisoner. Then they made a litter, and placing you on it bore you without rest 20 leagues into the mountains till they reached this secret hiding place, and here you have lain three days and nights. The Teules have searched for you far and wide, but they have searched in vain. Only yesterday two of them, with 10 Tlascalans, passed within 100 paces of this cave, and I had much ado to prevent our people from attacking them. Now they are gone whence they came, and I think that we are safe for a time. Soon you will be bet? ter, and we can go hence. " "Where can we go to, Otomie? We are birds without a nest." "We must seek shelter in the City of Pines or fly across tho water. There is no other choice, husband." "We cannot try the sea, Otomie, for all the ships that come here are Spanish, and I do not know how they will greet us in the City of Pines now that our cause is lost, and with it so many thousands of their warriors." ' ' Wc must take the risk, husband. There are still true hearts in Anahuac who will stand by us in our sorrow and their own. At the least we have escaped from greater dangers. Now let me dress your wounds and rest awhile." So for three more days I lay in the cave of the mountains, and Otomie tended me, and at the end of that time my state was such that I could travel in a litter, though for some weeks I was unable to set foot to the ground. On the fourth day we started by night, and I was carried on men's shoul? ders till at length we passed up the gorge that leads to the City of Pines. Here we were stopped by sentries, to whom Otomie told our tale, bidding some of them go for? ward and repeat it to the captains of the city. We followed the messengers slowly, for my bearers were weary, and came to the gates of thc beautiful town just as thc red rays of sunset struck upon the 6nowy pinnacle of Xaca that towers behind it. turning her cap of smoke to a sullen red, like that of molten iron. Tho news of our coming had spread about, and here and there knots of people were gathered to watch us pass. For thc most part they stood silent, but now and again some woman whose husband or son had perished in the siege would hiss a curse at us. Alas, how different was our state this day to what it had been when not a year before we entered tho City of Pines for the first time! Then we were escorted by an army 10,000 strong; then musicians had sung before us, and our path was strewn with flowers. And now! Now we came two fugitives from thc vengeance of the Teules-I borne in a litter by four tired soldiers, while Otomie, the princess of this people, "stfi? cT?? In her wai 1 to r?^sr?Le, at ? which the women mocked, for she had been able to come by no other, tramped at i my side, since there was none to carry her, j and the inhabitants of the place cursed us as the authors of their woes. Nor did wc know if they would stop at words. At length we crossed thc square beneath the shadow of the teocalli and reached the ancient and sculptured palace as thc light failed and the smoke on Xaca, the holy hill, began to glow with the fire in its heart. Herc small preparation had been made to receive us, and that night we sup? ped by the light of a torch upon tortillas, or meal cakes, and water, like the humblest in the land. Then we crept to our rest, and as I lay awake because of the pain of my hurts I heard Otomie, who thought that I slept, break into low sobbing at my side. Her proud spirit was humbled at last, and she, whom I had never known to weep except once, when our firstborn died in the siege, wept bitterly. 44 Why do you sorrow thus, Otomie?" I asked at length. "Idid not know that you wero awake, husband," she sobbed in answer, "or I would have checked my grief. Husband, I sorrow over all that has befallen us and our people; also, though these are but lit? tle things, because you are brought low and treated as a man of no estate, and of the cold comfort that we find here. " "You have cause, wife," I answered 14 Say, what will these Otomies do with us -kill us or give us up to the Teules?" k4I do not know; tomorrow we shall learn. But for my part I will not be sur? rendered living." "Nor I, wife. Death is better than the tender mercies of Cortes and his minister, De Garcia. Is there any hope?" 4 4 Yes, there is hope, beloved. Now the Otomies are cast down, and they remem? ber that we led the flower of their land to death. But they arc brave and generous at heart, and if I can touch them there all may yet be well. Weariness, pain and memory make us weak, who should be full of courage, having escaped so many ills. Sleep, my husband, and leave me to think. AU shall yet go well, for even misfortune has an end" So I slept and woke in the morning somewhat refreshed and with a happier mind, for who is there that is not bolder when the light shines on him and he is renewed by rest? When I opened my eyes, the sun was al? ready high, but Otomie had risen with the dawn, and she had not been idle during those three hours. For one thing she had contrived to obtain food and raiment more befitting to our rank than the rags In which we were clothed; also she had ' brought together certain men of condition who were friendly and loyal to her in mis? fortune, and these she sent about the city, letting it be known that she would address the people at midday from the steps of the palace, for, as Otomie well knew, the heart? strings of a crowd aro touched more easily than those of cold and ancient counselors. 44 Will they come to listen?" I asked "Have no fear," she answered. "The desire to look upon us who have survived the siege and to know the truth of what has happened will bring them. Moreover, | some will be there seeking vengeance on j us." Otomie was right, for as the morning drew on toward midday I saw the dwellers in the City of Pines gathering in thousands till the space between the steps of the palace and the face of the pyramid was i black with thom. Now Otomie combed her curling hair and placed flowers in it and set a gleaming feather cloak about her shoulders, so that it hung down over her white robes, and on her breast that splendid necklace of emeralds, which Gua temoc had given to me in the treasure chamber and which she had preserved safe? ly through all our evil fortune, and a gold? en girdle about her waist. In her hand also she took a little scepter of ebony tip? ped with gold that was in the palace, with other ornaments and emblems of rank, and thus attired, though she was worn with traveling and suffering and grief had dim? med her beauty for awhile, she seemed the queenliest woman that my eyes have seen. Next she caused me to be laid upon my rude litter, and when the hour of noon was come she. commanded those soldiers who had borne me across the mountains to carry me by her 6ide. Thus we issued from the wide doorway of the palace and took our stand upon the platform at the head of the steps. As we came a great cry rose from the thousands of the people, a fierce cry, like that of wild beasts howling for their prey. Higher and higher it rose, a sound to strike terror into the bravest heart, and by degrees I caught its purport. "Kill them!" said the cry. "Give the liar to the Teules!" Otomie stepped forward to the edge of the platform, and lifting the ebony scepter she stood silent, the sunlight beating on her lovely face and form. But the multitude screamed a thousand taunts and threats at us, and still the tumult grew. Once they rushed toward her, as though to tearher to pieces, but fell back at tho last stair, as a wave falls from a rock, and once a spear was thrown that passed between her neck and shoulder. Now the soldiers who had carried me, making certain that our death was at hand, and having no wish to share it, set my litter down upon tho stones and slip? ped back into the palace, but all this while Otomie never so much as moved-no, not even when the spear hissed past her. She stood, before them stately and scornful, a very queen among women, and little by little the majesty of her presence and the greatness of her courage hushed them to silence. When there was quiet at length, she spoke in a clear voice that carried far. 4 4Am I among my own people of the Otomie," she asked bitterly, "or have we I lost our path and wandered perchance j among some savage Tlascalan tribe? Lis? ten, people of the Otomie. I have but one voice, and none can reason with a multi? tude. Choose you a tongue to speak for you and let him set out the desire of your hearts." Now the tumult began again, for some shouted one name and some another, but in the end a priest and noble named Max tla stepped forward, a man of great power Highest of all in Leavening Poi ABSOLV? among the O tom ie, wHo, abo ve an, l??tl Ta: vored an alliance with thc Spaniards and opposed the sending of an army to aid Guatemoc in the defense of Tenoctitlan. Nor did he'come alone, for with him were four chiefs, whom by their dress I knew to be Tlascalans and envoys from Cortes. Then my heart sank, for it was not diffi? cult to guess thc object of their coming. "Speak on, Maxtla," said Otomie, "fer we must hear what there is for us to an? swer, and you, people of the Otomie, I pray you keep silence, that you may judge between us when there is an end of talk? ing." Now a great silence fell upon the multi? tude, who pressed together like sheep ia a pen and strained their ears to catch the words of Maxtla. "My speech with you, princess, and the Teule, your outlawed husband, shall be short and sharp, " he began roughly. "A while hence you came hither to seek an army to aid Cuitlahua, emperor of thc Az? tecs, in his struggle with thc Teules, the sons of Quetzal. That army was given you against the wishes of many of us, for you won over the council by the honey of your words, and we who urged caution or even an alliance with the white men, the children of God, were overruled. You went hence, and 20,000 men, the flower of our people, followed you to Tenoctitlan. Where are they now? I will tell you. Some 200 of them have crept back home, the rest fly to and fro through the air in the giz? zards of the zaphilotes or crouch on the ? earth in the bellies of jackals. Death has them all, and you led them to their deaths. Is it. then, much that we should seek the lives of you two in payment for those 20, 000 of our sons, our husbands and our fa? thers? But we do even ask this. Here be? side me stand ambassadors from Malinche, the captain of the Teules, who reached our city but an hour ago. This is thc demand that they bring from Malinche, and in his own words: *. 'Deliver back to me Otomie, the daughter of Montezuma, and thc renegade of her paramour, who is known as Teule, and who has fled from the justice due to his crimes, and it shall be well with you, people of the Otomie. Hide them or refuse to deliver them, and the fate of the City of Pines shall be as the fate of Tenoctitlan, queen of the valley. Choose, then, between my love and my wrath, people of the Oto? mie. If you obey, the past shall be forgiven, and my yoke will be light upon you. If you refuse, your city shall be s tamped flat and your very name wiped out >f the rec? ords of the world. ' "Say, messengers of thc Malinche, are not these the words of Malinche?" "They are his very words, Maxtla," said the spokesman of the embassy. Now again there was a tumult among the people, and voices cried, "Give them up; give them to Malinche as a peace offer? ing." Otomie stood forward to speak, and it died away, for all desired to hear her words.? Then she spoke: "It seems, people of the Otomie, that I am on trial before my own vassals, and my husband with me. Well, I will plead our cause as well as a woman may, and having the power you shall judge between us and Maxtla and his allies, Malinche and the Tlascalans. What is our offense? It is that we came hither by the command of Cuitlahua to seek your aid in his war with the Teules. What did I tell you then? I told you that if the people of Anahuac would not stand together against the white men they must bc broken one by one, like the sticks of an unbound fagot, and cast into the flames. Did I speak lies? Nay, I spoke the truth, for through the treason of her tribes, and chiefly through thc trea I son of the Tlascalans, Anahuac is fallen and Tenoctitlan is a ruin sown with dead like a field with corn." "It is true, ' ' cried a voice. "Yes, people of the Otomie, it is true, but I say that had all thc warriors of the nations of Anahuac played the part that your sons played the tale had run other? wise. They are dead, and because of their death you would deliver us to our foes and yours, but I, for one, do not mourn them, though among their number are many of my kin. Nay, be not wroth, but listen. It is better that they should lie dead in honor, having earned for themselves a wreath of fame and an immortal dwelling in the houses of the sun, than that they should live to bc slaves, which, it seems, is your desire, people of the Otomie. There j ls no false word in what I said to you, I Now the sticks that Malinche has used to beat out the brains of Guatemoc shall be broken and burned to cook the pot of the Teules. Already these false children are his slaves. Have you not heard his com? mand, that the tribes, his allies, shall la? bor in the quarries and the streets till the glorious city he has burned rises afresh upon the face of thc waters? Will you not hasten to take your share in the work, peo? ple of the Otomie, thc work that knows no rest and no reward except the lash of the overseer and the curse of the Teule? Sure? ly you will hasten, people of the moun ! tains! Your hands are shaped to the spade and the trowel, not to the bow and the spear, and it will be sweeter to toil to do j the will and swell the wealth of Malinche I In the sun of the valley or the shadow of the mine than to bide here free upon your hills, where as yet no foo hasset his foot!" j Again she paused, and a murmur of doubt and unrest went through thc thou? sands who listened. Maxtla stepped for? ward and would have spoken, but the peo? ple shouted him down, crying: "Otomie, Otomie! Let us hear the words of Oto? mie." "I thank you, my people," she said, "for I have still much to tell you. Our crime is, then, that we drew an army after us to fight against the Teules. And how did wc draw this army? Did I command you to muster your array? Nay, I set out my case, and I said 'Nowchoose.' You chose, and of your own free will you dis? patched those glorious companies that now are dead. My crime is, therefore, that you. 1 chose wrongly, as you say; but, as I still hold, most rightly, and because of this j crime I and my husband are to ne given as a peace offering to the Teules. Listen. Les me tell you something of those wars i&, I which we have fought Ixtfore you give us to the Teules and our mouths arc silent ver.-Latest U. S. Gov't Report I Baking ? Powder EEV PURE