"It is very like that worn by Quetzalcoatl, and I would like our king, Montezuma, to see it."
"Certainly," responded Cortez, "but bring it back filled with gold." And they did. No one knows just why, but something made Cortez suspect the gentle natives of treachery, and one morning at daybreak he fell upon them in the market place, and slew thousands of people, and then set fire to the city. His rude soldiers went up on the pyramid and threw down the statue of the Golden Hearted, and erected a cross in its place. History says that the Aztecs had long been offering the hearts of human beings in sacrifice to the Golden Hearted in Cholula, while in Tenochtitlan they had set up an image of a terrible war god, and were worshiping that more than the gentle, inoffensive Golden Hearted. It was this disobedience which made Montezuma fear that he was returning to take vengeance.
One morning early the king went to see the Paba, who had charge of the sacred fires on the altars built by the Golden Hearted himself. The chamber in the temple was square, with the ceiling covered by a lattice work of shining white and yellow metal which, at the intersections, was carved to represent flowers set with jewels. All around the walls were sculptured pictures of men. As the king approached the Paba said:
"The gloomy clouds hanging overhead are not darker than is the mood of Quetzalcoatl, but to the poor Paba the voice of the king is ever welcome."
"Why should the mood of Quetzalcoatl be dark? A new teocalli holds his image, and they say he is happy and that he comes from the place of sunrise with a canoe filled with blessings."
"Do you remember, O king! that in some of the underground chambers of this temple, besides vast stores of wealth, there are prophecies to be read?"
"I remember it well," said Montezuma.
"Give me leave, and I will show you the writing from Quetzalcoatl himself."
Groping their way through the great underground cavern, but dimly lighted, the Paba said:
"Son of a king, is your heart strong? The writing begins here and continues around the wall."