CHAPTER XXXIX.

The case of Hualcoyotl against Cacami was one of the first, of a special character, which came up for trial under the new organization of the courts.

The sessions of the court which was to try the case were held in a hall set apart for court purposes, called the hall of justice.

The day set for the hearing was at hand, and the court had convened. The judges, dressed in their court costumes, which gave them a solemn and dignified appearance, were in their seats. The chief officer in attendance had commanded silence, and a hush of expectancy had fallen upon those present. The case was an interesting one in its character, and prominent from the fact that the king was a party to it, and had attracted quite a large audience to witness the proceedings, which were opened by the presiding justice saying, very impressively:

"The keeper of records will read the order of the court for the delivery of one Cacami into its presence."

The official indicated rose up and read, in a manner peculiarly his own, yet native in the nasalized expression with which his delivery was effected:

"It is ordered," he began, scrutinizing with care the hieroglyphical painting, which he held up before him, "that Cacami, a warrior, be brought into the presence of this, the king's highest tribunal of justice, that he may have opportunity to show why he should not suffer the penalty of death for the violation of a sacred and duly established law of the realm."

The keeper of prisoners retired, and, after a few minutes' absence, returned, accompanied by Cacami. The young warrior was looking pale, but resolute. He walked with a firm step to his place in the court; and being a man of superb physique, admirably proportioned, with a bright eye and handsome face, his appearance elicited a murmur of voices, which was evidently an expression of admiration. Directly followed Itlza, in company with Euetzin. She was beautifully but plainly dressed, and never looked more attractive. The audience was perfectly quiet for a moment, while she was being seated, when its tongue again became active and a subdued buzz arose from it.

Itlza was given a seat near her husband, while the tzin occupied one only a short distance off. When she sat down, her hand quickly found its way into Cacami's, the clasp of which seemed to give her courage.

The officer, whose duty it was to observe order, commanded silence, and the chief justice proceeded to say:

"The keeper of records will read the charge under which the prisoner at the bar is held accused."

Again the nasalated twang of the recorder's voice was heard to wring out quite distinctly, as he read:

"It is charged that Cacami, a warrior and subject of the realm, contrary to, and in defiance of, a most sacred law of the same, did hurt and injure the feelings, and spoil the affections of Hualcoyotl, the king, by engaging and marrying with Itlza, a daughter of Euzelmozin, who was the chosen of Hualcoyotl to be his queen; to which charge Cacami shall give satisfactory answer, or stand convicted, and shall, if it be so decided, suffer the penalty therefor, which is death."

"What has the prisoner, Cacami, to say in answer to the charge under which he stands committed?" asked the judge of the accused.

Cacami rose in his place, and calmly replied:

"I will abide the decision of the court. Let the trial proceed."

We are informed by traditional history that the profession and practice of law was not extant among the Anahuacans. No counsel was, therefore, at hand to be employed in the defense of a prisoner or litigant. The parties involved in the trial stated their own case, and won or lost, according to the weight of the evidence furnished through their witnesses. In criminal cases the procedure was necessarily different, charges being preferred and published in open court, which the accused was compelled to refute or stand convicted.

The laws regulating testimony were most liberal. The accused was entitled to give evidence, and, if he so desired, address the court in his own behalf, and the force of what he said was not impaired by the fact that he was on trial.

After a few preliminary matters were attended to, the judge again addressed the accused:

"Cacami, the prisoner, will rise and answer."

Cacami stood up, and the judge continued:

"How long have you been acquainted with Itlza, the daughter of Euzelmozin?"

"I met her first, and made her acquaintance, about the time of Hualcoyotl's escape to the mountains."

"When did the desire to possess the maiden first enter your heart?" continued the judge.

"My heart went out to Itlza the first time I saw her, and I resolved to win her if I could."

"Did Itlza encourage you in this?"

"She certainly did."

"In what manner?"

"By teaching me to love her."

"When did Itlza become your affianced?"

"Only a few days before we were married."

"And when were you married?"

"Just before our army moved against Azcapozalco."

"Was there no understanding between you previous to the time of your betrothal that you were to wed?"

"There was not, except in the fact that we were acknowledged lovers, intending, in due time, to become affianced."

"About what time did you become acknowledged lovers?"

"A short time previous to the tourney at Tlacopan."

"The love was mutual?"

"I believe it was."

"And you said nothing about it to anyone?"

"I did not, and do not think she did."

"You should have informed the mother and brother of your attachment, if only in justice to them. Just here was your first mistake." Continuing, the judge inquired:

"Did you know at the time of your marriage that Itlza had been chosen by Hualcoyotl to be his queen?"

"I did."

"Were you aware of the consequences of such a step, under the circumstances?"

"I was."

"And took the step in the face of such knowledge?" questioned the judge in a severe stress of voice.

"Even so," answered Cacami, undaunted by the sternness of the judge; "rather than see her whom I love the wife of another, though that other was the king."

This answer produced such a commotion and hum of voices that the officer in attendance had to command order.

"Thus did you err a second time, and grievously," said the judge, and the court looked grave and foreboding.

Cacami was now told to be seated.

"Itlza will rise and answer," said the judge, addressing her courteously. When she had risen he continued:

"You are the wife of Cacami, the prisoner at the bar?"

"I am proud to acknowledge myself the wife of Cacami," was her earnest reply, accompanied by an affectionate glance at the object of her adoration.

"Did Cacami persuade you to do so unwise an act as to wed with him under the grave circumstances which existed at the time of your marriage?"

"Cacami did not persuade me. My love was pledged to him, and I was the first to say, let us wed, though it be unto death."

This declaration from Itlza was received by the spectators with evident admiration for her courage and fidelity; and, had it not been for the great respect in which the court was held, would have been followed by a demonstration of approval. The gravity of the judges, on the other hand, deepened, for in her answer, so earnestly and honestly given, she had convicted herself of voluntary complicity with Cacami in the offense against the king. It was not necessary to question her further, and she was told to be seated.

The tzin looked perplexed and troubled, on account of the gravity of the position in which his beloved sister's ingenuous reply had placed her.

"Euetzin will rise and answer," said the judge, at which the witness was not a little surprised, as he was not expecting a call at the moment.

"When did you learn of the marriage of your sister with the prisoner?"

"At the time of Cacami's arrest," he replied.

"Had you no previous knowledge or intimation of the sentiments entertained by the young people for each other?"

"None whatever. I did not even suspect it, though, since the facts have become known, I can see that I might have done so with reason."

"You have been a close and intimate friend of Cacami's, tzin Euet. Will you state to the court what you know of him personally?"

The court, like the audience, had been favorably impressed with the bearing and perfect candor of the young people, who were being tried for their lives, and was evidently seeking palliating conditions relevant to their case. The last quest of the judge could have been made with no other intent. It was just the position in which the tzin desired to be placed; for it gave him the ear of the court, and the liberty to address it in behalf of his friend, without the fear of interruption so long as he observed a due regard for its dignity. He began by saying:

"The court is very kind in conferring upon me the liberty to address it—a privilege I very much desired, for which I am profoundly thankful." Here the tzin made his obeisance to the court, and continued:

"I have known Cacami long enough, and well enough, to be able to speak of him in no doubtful language. Cacami and myself labored side by side for the freedom of Tezcuco, in times that tried the patriotism of her sons. I know him to be a patriot and true friend, which I have proven, not only once, but many times. He is a brave and valiant warrior, to which our noble Hualcoyotl can bear abundant testimony. He is a true man, in that he has staked his life in an issue which involves those emotions and sentiments of the heart which honor a man above all others—a pure, unsullied love for the woman of his choice. He stands to-day, though a prisoner at the bar of justice, a man to whom Tezcuco owes as much as to any one person within or without her borders. Had it not been for the strong right arm of this valiant man, both as citizen and warrior, Hualcoyotl would not be king to-day. You look at me in amazement, and well you may, for the words I speak are the words of truth and soberness; and when this court condemns to die the warrior Cacami, for following the dictates of an attachment stronger than the fear of death, it robs Tezcuco of one of her bravest and best; a man to whom every Tezcucan should give honor and respect, which is his due; for out of his hand came the life of Hualcoyotl, the king, whom all delight to honor." The audience, at this point in the tzin's speech, was like a mine prepared, ready to break out in a storm of approval, from the effect of his impressive eloquence. His heart was in the subject, and his face illumined by the earnestness of his effort to place the character of his friend in the best possible light before the judges. He continued:

"The words of commendation which I am compelled to speak in behalf of the warrior Cacami are not spoken out of sympathy for a friend who is passing through an ordeal, but from a feeling of regard for his personal worth. I admire a man who is brave and fearless in the discharge of his duty, be that duty what it may. Such a man is found in the prisoner at the bar—the man whom you are to liberate or condemn to death. I do not negative the possibility that a feeling of friendship for the accused may influence me to some extent in what I say; it could hardly be otherwise; but, while this may be admitted, there underlies it all an esteem and admiration for the man—as a man—which have developed through daily intercourse and observation, and which would obtain were we less friendly. My language has not been too strong, I would impress upon you, but rather lacking in strength; for the words have not yet been coined that will do justice to the worth of him whom the law would condemn. Were the king to stand in my place at this moment, I believe that he would, in the magnanimity of his noble nature, be compelled to reecho the words I have spoken. If worth, in those attributes which are esteemed above all others in a man's character: honesty, fidelity, courage, and patriotism, may be counted in the prisoner's favor, then I pray the court to give him the benefit of its weight; for, if any man is entitled to it, that man is Cacami, the defendant at the bar."

It will be in order here to enlighten the reader relative to the demeanor of the king during the time which elapsed after he entered the charge against Cacami up to the day of his trial.

When too late to recall his action, the sting of mortification and chagrin having subsided sufficiently to permit him to reason, Hualcoyotl became conscious of the fact that he had acted rashly and unwisely. When he recalled the many instances wherein Cacami had stood between him and death, especially when, a stranger to him, he had undoubtedly saved him from the fate which finally overtook his enemy, the Tepanec king, he was filled with remorse for the ungenerous course he had taken. He had promised to remember his deliverer in the future, and how had he done it? By committing him to the mercy of an exacting tribunal of justice, from the decision of which there was no appeal.

The day of trial found the repentant king wrought up to a degree of mental excitement so great that he could not be composed for a minute. He walked the floor of his apartments almost incessantly, and would see no one. He was waiting impatiently for a summons to appear before the court, but no summons came. It came to that point when he could endure the suspense no longer, and he resolved to go to the hall uncalled, where he would listen to the proceedings unobserved. He came to the door of the court-room and paused, just in time to hear Itlza's last answer, which condemned her, in the minds of the judges. When the tzin rose to give in his testimony—which proved to be more in the nature of a speech—he was all attention, and heard every word the speaker said, apparently forgetting his distress of mind in the absorption of the moment, while listening to his friend's eloquent plea.

When Euetzin concluded his address to the court, and was seated, Hualcoyotl entered the hall and walked straight to the spot on which the former had stood, and paused. The court and spectators were astonished alike at the singular conduct of the king. His majesty was laboring under suppressed excitement and, for a moment, after facing the court, appeared unable to speak. He, however, quickly recovered his equanimity, and spoke as follows:

"Well, and true, did my friend, the tzin, speak, when he said the king would be compelled to reecho his words were he standing in his place. I am here to confirm, in the presence of this great tribunal, the words Euetzin has spoken. And, further, to admit that, while overwhelmed with humiliation and chagrin at my defeat, I did err in causing the arrest and committal of the warrior Cacami. Hualcoyotl would better kiss than smite the hand that delivered him from his enemy. The defendant at the bar once saved your king from a terrible death at the hands of Maxtla; and, now, instead of remembering the brave act of his deliverer, as he should, your king so far forgot his obligation as to consign him to a fate hardly less severe than that from which he rescued him. The disposition of the case is in the hands of this tribunal, from the decision of which there is no appeal. If, in the end, Cacami is found guilty, he must die, and with him Itlza, his wife, who is equally liable. Since it was my hand that brought the accused to his present position of a threatened destruction, most willingly would I step into his place, if I might, and bear the penalty of his offense, but that can not be; our laws recognize no substitutions, and the defendant must suffer if found guilty of the charge. If there be extenuating circumstances favorable to the warrior Cacami, your king prays the court to employ them to his advantage. If, by any honorable means, a suspension of action, or mitigation of sentence might be effected, great will be the relief and satisfaction of your sovereign."

The king took a seat near the accused, and at once assumed the relation of an interested friend. Itlza saw him now as the noble and magnanimous prince he had always seemed to her; Cacami felt the weight of his impending doom grow lighter in the friendly attitude of the king, while Euetzin only recognized in the action the generous, forgiving man he knew his royal friend to be.

The judges consulted together for a few minutes, when an adjournment of the court followed.

The court retired to another room for the purpose of holding a private consultation, at which the king was invited to be present. After an absence of quite a half hour it returned and the session was resumed.

Cacami was in his place, with the faithful Itlza beside him.

The presiding judge proceeded to address the prisoner and his friends. After informing them that a decision had been reached by the court, he continued, by saying:

"The case we have been called to consider is an extraordinary one. The accused is represented to be a man of sterling qualities, and worthy of our highest regard. He is charged, however, with a grave offense against his king. The evidence is not wanting to make a case against him, but there have come to our notice, during the trial, conditions which place the court in doubt as to the wisdom of a further prosecution of the defendant. Since this is true, the court has decided, at the instance of the king, who is the injured party, to dismiss the case. The accused is, therefore, honorably discharged from the custody of the court."

Itlza, forgetting all save her great joy, in knowing that Cacami was free, threw herself upon his breast and wept.

Cacami was deeply affected, but he belonged to a race of men who scorned to exhibit a weakness, under any circumstances, and was calm while he held in his strong embrace the weeping Itlza.

Hualcoyotl was the first to speak to them, and, in doing so, assured his now successful rival that he experienced great pleasure in knowing that he was free.

Euetzin was quite rejoiced, and, with a happy smile upon his face, so lately covered by a cloud of anxiety, conducted his now joyful sister and her forever-famous young husband from the court-room, and into the presence of Teochma, the mother, who received them with demonstrations of joy and gladness, forgetting, in the happiness of the moment, her disappointment at not becoming the mother of a queen.