The Lost Treasure of Montezuma, Part I [pp. 409-417; system: 408-417]

THE LOST TREASURE OF MONTEZUMA.
that which I have heard of their customs.
Ah! there is an altercation; would we
could know its purport."
There was, indeed, an interruption in
the gladiatorial games, for part of the
populace, admiring more the valor of the
hero than thirsting for the bloody sport,
cried aloud that the trial should cease at
the customary time, more especially as
Tlahuicole had not only killed six of his
opponents, but had wounded several,
who had, with blind excitement and fury,
offered themselves before him, in the
intervals between the appearance of the
more serious combatants.
As has been remarked, when six men
had been killed by the valiant Tlaxcalteca, there was a movement among many
of the audience for his release-perhaps
the more determined because he remained still unwounded, and thus seemed to
them remarkably preserved by the gods.
For some moments there was a babel of
sounds, and a collision between the opposing factions seemed inevitable, as the
officers attempted to usher in the seventh
combatant. But at this point, Tlahluicole, who had been leaning listlessly
upon his bloody sword, lifted up his
voice and called upon the king to interfere in his behalf, and to command the
continuance of the games. This Montezuma, for a moment, hesitated to do;
but remembering that his royal word had
been passed, he caused silence to be proclaimed, and the seventh prisoner was led
in. He was the smallest man who had
yet appeared, the larger and more valiant
having been brought forth first, in the
expectation that the more puny would
not be needed. Tlahuicole threw upon
his opponent a glance of scorn, which
changed to one of agony, as, from his
despised foe, he received his first wound.
For a moment, exhausted by his previous efforts, he shuddered and recoiled;
but the next, the Otomi fell, with a cloven
skull, and without a struggle breathed
his last.
But the wound which Tlahuicole had
received at his hands had weakened him
so much, that he could but feebly parry
the strokes of the eighth antagonist, or
deal his own; and it seemed, indeed,
more by fortune, than either skill or
strength, that he dealt the blow which
hurried his foe upon the same path so
many of his brethren had been forced
to tread.
When the ninth combatant appeared,
Tlahuicole was bleeding from a dozen
wounds. To those gathered around him,
he was, indeed, a ghastly object; and to
the White Men, gazing from afar, he
seemed bathed in gore. They had, some
time before, been joined by their Indian
interpreter, Marina, who had told them
what she had learned concerning the
Tlaxcalteca.
"I prophesy that he will win his free dom," cried Cortez, excitedly, as the
swords of the combatants flashed in the
rays of the setting sun. "Bravo! Saw
you that stroke? A hundred dollars to
one, upon the'laxcalteca! By the Madonna! the Otomi falls!"
It was true. But while the triumphant
shouts of the people were at their height,
and Montezuma, now weeping for joy,
had arisen to order the release of Tlahuicole, the Tlaxcalteca was seen to waver to and fro, and then to fall heavily
upon the body of the Otomi.
The priests, in their scarlet robes, lifted him up reverently, and bore him
away. Not a person stirred; but presently, one of the sacerdotes re-appeared
at the door of the temple, and held up a
quivering and bleeding heart-the heart
of Tlahuicole. And then there rang
forth upon the air a mighty groan; and
as the people wended their way into the
streets, they hurried, weeping, to their
dwellings, caring not to look upon the
lacerated body, which had been delivered to the servants of the widow, Lingela,
and, by the orders of Montezuma, was
borne away for honorable sepulture
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. [Nov.