So I was loosed and led into the sanctuary, and when I came
out the paba announced to the people that the god had declared me to be
one of his children, and it was for this reason that then and thereafter
they treated me with reverence.
CHAPTER XIV
THE SAVING OF GUATEMOC
Now after this dreadful day I was kindly dealt with by the people of
Tobasco, who gave me the name of Teule or Spaniard, and no longer sought
to put me to sacrifice. Far from it indeed, I was well clothed and fed,
and suffered to wander where I would, though always under the care of
guards who, had I escaped, would have paid for it with their lives. I
learned that on the morrow of my rescue from the priests, messengers
were despatched to Montezuma, the great king, acquainting him with the
history of my capture, and seeking to know his pleasure concerning me.
But the way to Tenoctitlan was far, and many weeks passed before the
messengers returned again. Meanwhile I filled the days in learning
the Maya language, and also something of that of the Aztecs, which I
practised with Marina and others. For Marina was not a Tobascan, having
been born at Painalla, on the southeastern borders of the empire. But
her mother sold her to merchants in order that Marina's inheritance
might come to another child of hers by a second marriage, and thus in
the end the girl fell into the hands of the cacique of Tobasco.
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