“he that studieth revenge, keepeth his own wounds green.”—bacon.
tolta had not been idle since the shipwreck. the restraint which the presence of the spaniards had hitherto imposed upon him, was now removed. he was rarely seen with them, and indeed often disappeared for weeks at a time.
kiana had never liked him. tolta felt it at heart and resented it. at the bottom of this feeling was no doubt the attachment both had for beatriz. we have seen the nature of kiana’s; generous and profound, more from deep respect than from positive love, because in reality, while her character compelled, it at the same time repelled his passion. he had striven to win her, for he could not help it. in one sense, he was not disappointed at the result, because his reason told him it could not be otherwise. having therefore obeyed both his own and her will, he now, in continuing his kindness, left her as free to act as himself.
it was different with tolta. the aztec saw even deeper into the impassable gulf between their two natures, but he was drawn to her with the[135] tenacity of the bloodhound to his scent. in her presence he was gentle and serviceable. the passions which excited him when apart from her, became with her like those of a little child. he would gaze upon her for hours with eyes intense with his fiery emotions, but the moment she spoke to him the fire left them, and the good in him illumined his countenance.
beatriz read his character, and while from sympathy in his misfortunes she exerted herself to soothe, she never could so overcome her repugnance as to trust in him as she did in kiana. with the latter she felt safe; with tolta never. the very fierceness which he was ever ready to display in her defence, might at any moment be turned upon her. it was well that her instincts prompted her to distrust him as much as she did, for often the only barrier between them was her own moral superiority. tolta felt this to be indeed a far stronger obstacle than would have been the jealous precautions of lock or duenna. the possibility of beatriz loving him as he did her never deluded him. he knew that was hopeless. still his passion rather grew than abated, especially in the freedom of his new life, which brought back the pride and ambition of his race. so long, however, as he saw that beatriz did not love another, he was reconciled. she had so wisely avoided the subject whenever he sought to suggest his feelings, that he had all but persuaded himself that she was of a different mould from other women. she might be worshipped, but not sought in love.
[136]
he hated juan and the seamen with all the intensity of an aztec’s revenge, for their share in the conquest of his country. olmedo he had ever respected for his virtues, and would have exempted from the fate he cherished at heart for the others. in his excursions about hawaii, he had come in contact with some of pohaku’s warriors. gradually their intercourse had ripened into an intimacy with their chief, with whom he now conspired to overthrow kiana and get possession of the spaniards. so adroitly had he concealed his designs, that he had retained the friendship and confidence of all except a few individuals about him, for his manner was the same it had ever been. their own consciousness of the opportunities he now had, and the provocation they had often given him, were more the causes of their secret distrust than anything they saw. his frequent absences were a relief rather than a cause of suspicion, for he was then forgotten.
he had no difficulty in obtaining a willing auditory to his plans in pohaku, and the chiefs leagued with him. his inmost desire was to sacrifice the spaniards to the war-god of mexico, under any name his allies might choose from their mythology, and to gloat over their dying agonies, while taunting them with their fate as due their crimes against his countrymen. besides this, seeing the brutal nature of pohaku and the easy confidence of kiana, he conceived the design of eventually disposing of both, by turning their arms against each other, while he gradually united all hawaii under his own sway and forced beatriz to become his wife. as[137] hopeless as seemed such a plot, it was within the range of probability could the wily aztec dispose of the chief actors. to this end he now bent all the resources of his cunning.
pohaku listened eagerly to his seductive eloquence as he promised him the wealth of kiana’s people, if he would unite his warriors under his direction. he excited his fears also, as he narrated the career of the white man in mexico, insinuating that they were spies, to be followed by numbers sufficient for the conquest of hawaii, as soon as their report should reach their countrymen in the ports whence they came.
at the suggestion of tolta, some days before the declaration of kiana to beatriz, pohaku had sent his heralds to summon the friendly chiefs to a grand council, at which the plot was to be finally discussed. they assembled at one of his principal fortresses on the southwestern bank of the crater of kilauea, and there in silence and secrecy prepared their plans. tolta knew too well the valor of the spaniards, not to impress upon the chiefs the importance of securing them before marching in force upon kiana. so artfully did he mingle his own revenge with their superstition, that they with one accord decided to seize upon them by a secret expedition entrusted to tolta, who agreed to put them into their hands for a solemn sacrifice to pele, on condition only that the white woman was to be his own prize. accordingly, some of the most active and trusty warriors were placed at his command. by slow marches and secret paths he led them[138] without discovery to the borders of the valley where the spaniards dwelt, dividing them into different ambushes, with orders to seize each one and bear him off at once to pohaku’s fortress, without taking his life, while he was to decoy the white men to them, and on each occasion make his own escape as if equally endangered. so successful was he, that the three seamen were abducted as arranged, without any alarm being given. tolta then, with a select party lay in wait in the vicinity of juan’s dwelling, watching his opportunity to seize the main prize. alvirez, he soon ascertained, was for the present out of his reach, being in a distant part of the valley.
while watching for olmedo and beatriz, he had been witness to the scene between kiana and the latter. without overhearing their discourse, he saw in their parting, as simple as it was, food for his jealousy, for he well knew that her hand and tear had never been given him. his tiger blood was stirred, and he ground his teeth in rage. “what,” said he, “does she frown upon the aztec noble, that she may smile upon this hind of hawaii. once in my power, and she shall be taught to love me or none.”
he watched her after movements more in amazement than anger, for they were to him contradictory and unintelligible. besides, until she was sufficiently far from her people, he dared not give the signal to seize her for fear of a general alarm; but not for one minute did he let her get out of his sight, following her movements under cover of the[139] thick undergrowth of the forest, with the silence and subtlety of a serpent. while thus engaged, a scene occurred which so astonished and fascinated him, that until he had seen it out, he seemed to have forgotten the object of his expedition.
