' And he held his hand to me.
I took it, answering with the help of Marina, who was watching this
great lord with eager eyes.
'It may be so, prince, but though in my own country I am a man of repute
and wealth, here I am nothing but a slave snatched from the sacrifice.'
'I know it,' he said frowning. 'It is well for all here that you were so
snatched before the breath of life had left you, else Montezuma's wrath
had fallen on this city.' And he looked at the cacique who trembled,
such in those days was the terror of Montezuma's name.
Then he asked me if I was a Teule or Spaniard. I told him that I was
no Spaniard but one of another white race who had Spanish blood in his
veins. This saying seemed to puzzle him, for he had never so much as
heard of any other white race, so I told him something of my story, at
least so much of it as had to do with my being cast away.
When I had finished, he said, 'If I have understood aright, Teule, you
say that you are no Spaniard, yet that you have Spanish blood in you,
and came hither in a Spanish ship, and I find this story strange. Well,
it is for Montezuma to judge of these matters, so let us talk of them no
more. Come and show me how you handle that great bow of yours. Did you
bring it with you or did you fashion it here? They tell me, Teule, that
there is no such archer in the land.
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