a smoking ruin, till the hearths are cumbered with their dead, and
the altars run red with the blood of their worshippers. So, if we are
destined to conquer, our triumph shall be made sure, and if we are
doomed to fail, at least there will be a story to be told of us. Do you
swear, my people and my brethren?'

'We swear,' they answered with a shout.

'It is well,' said Guatemoc. 'And now may everlasting shame overtake him
who breaks this oath.'


Thus then was Guatemoc, the last and greatest of the Aztec emperors,
elected to the throne of his forefathers. It was happy for him that he
could not foresee that dreadful day when he, the noblest of men, must
meet a felon's doom at the hand of these very Teules. Yet so it came
about, for the destiny that lay upon the land smote all alike, indeed
the greater the man the more certain was his fate.

When all was done I hurried to the palace to tell Otomie what had come
to pass, and found her in our sleeping chamber lying on her bed.

'What ails you, Otomie?' I asked.

'Alas! my husband,' she answered, 'the pestilence has stricken me. Come
not near, I pray you, come not near. Let me be nursed by the women. You
shall not risk your life for me, beloved.'

'Peace,' I said and came to her. It was too true, I who am a physician
knew the symptoms well. Indeed had it not been for my skill, Otomie