Night came and went; when morning broke, the same stillness rested on the valley. All of its guests still slept the deep sleep of fatigue1, except Tolta, who had thought he heard at intervals2 distant sounds that fell mockingly upon his ear for a moment, and then died away into profound silence. Cautiously he had listened and peered into the deep shadows of hill and forest, but had detected nothing. As often, however, as he had sunk again into restless slumber4, the same strange sounds came to him. The air seemed filled with them; voices and laughter, the tramp of feet and cries of animals, yet so vague and intermingled, that at last he fancied there was a spell upon the valley; that its inhabitants had all perished by demoniacal violence, and unseen by mortal eyes, during the night, came back to haunt their late homes.
This solution of the mystery was not calculated to reassure6 him, and he became more restless than before. Visions of his native land mingled5 themselves with the phantom7 forms and sounds which disturbed his slumbers8. His imagination vibrated[65] between joy and fear, without a moment’s pause to give him rest. Gradually, however, as morning twilight9 came up over the hill tops, he fancied he detected shadowy outlines of men, sharp against the horizon, passing rapidly into the gloom further down. His terrors were then realized. He saw the ghosts that had so disturbed his slumbers fleeing before the coming day, and he shuddered10 as with a grave-chill.
A cock suddenly crowed afar off. Tolta started as if the trumpet11 of Cortez had sounded in his ears. His blood tingled12 once more in his veins13. Another and another crow, nearer and nearer; the morning air is suddenly filled with their rival notes. A dog barks! Scores of dogs’ throats open in reply. Human voices are now distinctly heard. Groups of men, women, and children, can be plainly seen descending14 into the valley from the wooded uplands. He watches their motions, half doubting his own senses. A band orderly marching approaches the enclosure. He sees among them the sharp array of lances, and the brilliant colors of feathered casques and cloaks. They recall to him the warriors15 of Mexico, and he exults16 in their martial17 tread and warlike aspect. His first impulse is to rush forward and greet them. “Now shall Spanish blood again be shed, and their false hearts quiver on the altars of Mexico’s war-god! Here in this teocalli, shall the incense18 so sweet to Huitzilpotcli’s nostrils19 once more ascend;” and in his dreamy excitement he rushed forward as if to strike the serpent-skin drum, whose terrible signal had so[66] often been the death-warrant to his country’s invaders20.
Shall Beatriz die this death? No sooner did she occur to him, than his fierceness passed away like a spent surge. All other emotions were lost in the desire to protect her. Stepping quietly inside the house, he woke Juan and motioned him to follow.
As they passed out and looked over the parapet, they saw considerable stir among the warriors. They were coming towards them at great speed, and evidently with no friendly intent. Their leader had caught sight of Tolta as he left the wall to awaken21 Juan, and indignant at what he supposed a violation22 of the tabu, by one of his people, ordered them to surround the enclosure, so as to prevent the possibility of escape, while he with a few followers24 ascended25 by the narrow stone steps, that he might slay26 the sacrilegious wretch27 with his own hand.
By the time Kiana—for it was he—had nearly reached the platform, Juan had arrived at the gate-way, and at a glance took in his whole position.
“Tonatiuh can now strike the infidel,” said Tolta with sarcastic28 emphasis, as he recalled Juan’s unwise speech of the day before, at the same time pointing to Kiana, whose rapid strides would in another instant bring him in front of Alvirez. The Mexican then re-entered the house to warn Beatriz of their new danger.
Juan had too often encountered as fearful odds,[67] in his Mexican campaigns, to lose his presence of mind in a crisis like this. He called to his men to come to his succor29, as he prepared to hold the gate-way against his foes30, and shouting his accustomed battle-cry, drew his long Toledo blade, and advanced it in guard to await Kiana’s onset31.
This chief in his rush up the steps had not fairly lifted his eyes until the shout of “Santiago for Spain” reached his ears. His astonishment32 at the apparition33 of the white man,—the gleaming steel, fierce eyes, thick red beard and strange tongue, the costume so unlike his people’s,—instead of the expected tawny34 hue35 of his own race, brought him to a sudden stop. It was but for a moment, for, excited by his previous fury at a crime so uncommon36 among his people, he saw only an offender37 who seemed aided by sorcery, and rushed at him with uplifted javelin38, reserving his force to strike and not to throw. So sudden and powerful was his spring, that although Juan’s sword parried the blow, he was borne backward, and Kiana found himself on the platform.
Both paused as they now better saw each other’s strength and strangeness. Kiana’s surprise was increased as Juan’s men, followed by Olmedo with crucifix in hand, came hastily up and ranged themselves at his side. His own soldiers were fast crowding upon the platform, filled with wonder rather than fear, at so unexpected a sight. At his command they were filing off to surround Juan’s little band, and close in upon them, while he upraised his javelin, prepared once more to tempt39 the[68] skill of his strange enemy. His right foot was advanced, his broad chest thrown out and weapon poised40 to try again the thrust, which had never before failed him, when a new cry was heard and a new figure came forward and sprung between him and Alvirez.
It was Beatriz. Her long flowing robes, dishevelled hair, her pallor and the impulsive41 energy with which she pushed aside Juan’s sword, and turned her eager eyes towards Kiana, fearlessly fronting his javelin, amazed the red-men. Their weapons dropped silently by their sides, as their chief gazed in astonishment with powerless arm upon the new apparition.
Kiana’s indecision was, however, only momentary42. A sudden thought had seized him. Turning to his followers he said, “Behold Lono and his wife! they have returned with their faces brightened, and their speech changed, from their abode43 in the sun. They have come as Lono promised, with new teachers and good gifts. Let us honor them and make them welcome.” As he spoke44 every weapon was laid upon the earth, and every head was bowed. Kiana alone stood erect45, asserting his dignity even in the presence of a returned god.
Whatever his native sense might have suggested in regard to the origin of the group before him, his sagacity in turning the ideas of his people into their present channel, was safety to the one side, and direct benefit to himself. He recognized at once a superiority in their armor and habiliments, which evinced a knowledge far beyond that of his own[69] people. They could be useful to him in many ways. Naturally humane46 and generous, after his first anger had cooled, he would not have harmed a hair of their heads. On the contrary, he and his people, had they found them helpless on the shore, would have tenderly received them. Now that he saw the tabu had not been violated, but that so far from sacrilege, an event had occurred that appeared to all miraculous47, and confirmatory of the traditions of his ancestry48, he determined49 to receive the strangers as his own kin3, while he confirmed in the minds of his people the belief in their divinity. As the common Hawaiian’s idea of a god was of a being not more removed from him in power and intelligence than was the white man, this was an easy affair.
Accordingly he gave orders that they should be provided with suitable retinues50 and lands, and servants assigned to them as of his own family.
His decision was proclaimed by the public heralds51. Great were the rejoicings and shouts throughout the valley, that Lono and his wife had come back and were to protect them from their enemies, and enrich them by new arts and gifts. The simple people believed and prostrated52 themselves deferentially53 before Juan and Beatriz. Their persons and those of the others were tabued or made sacred. No follower23 of Kiana’s dared lift his hand toward them, except to do them service or honor. The change from the peril54 of immediate55 massacre56, to being worshipped as divine personages, was so striking, that while they realized its advantages,[70] they could not, before they had acquired the easy tongue of Hawaii, fully57 comprehend its cause. The seamen58, however, readily domesticated59 themselves, taking wives, and were soon placed on the footing of petty chiefs.
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1
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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11
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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12
tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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14
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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exults
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的第三人称单数 ) | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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18
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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19
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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20
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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22
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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25
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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29
succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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30
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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31
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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32
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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34
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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36
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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37
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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38
javelin
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| n.标枪，投枪 | |
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39
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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40
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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41
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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42
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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43
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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44
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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45
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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46
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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47
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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48
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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49
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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50
retinues
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| n.一批随员( retinue的名词复数 ) | |
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51
heralds
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| n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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52
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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53
deferentially
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| adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地 | |
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54
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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55
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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56
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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57
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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58
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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59
domesticated
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| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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