“be just and fear not.
let all the ends thou aim’st at be
thy god’s, and truth’s; then, when thou fall’st,
thou fall’st a blessed martyr.”
shakespeare.
hewahewa had been a silent witness of the two interviews. his curiosity was excited by what olmedo had said of his religion to pohaku, and he desired to know more of a faith so new to him. from the first, tolta had been an object of jealousy and suspicion, as likely to cross his own ambition; but the wily mexican in winning the confidence of pohaku, had also paid such court to him, in his character of high-priest, that he could find no positive cause of distrust. he had supported his schemes, therefore, because they enlarged his own field, relying upon his own cautious and calculating policy to reap the harvest of which the other two would sow the seeds. without comprehending a word of what had passed between the mexican and spaniard, the deportment of the latter, as he rejected tolta’s double treachery, attracted his attention, and he determined to know for himself the actual relations between them.
when tolta left olmedo, hewahewa went out[211] also, saying to his associate, “thanks, mexican; a rare festival you have provided for us to-morrow. an offering like this is a new event in hawaii. sweet will be your revenge. may pele prosper you,” and touching noses, according to the national mode of salutation, they parted.
no sooner, however, was tolta fairly out of sight, than hewahewa retraced his steps to olmedo’s prison. the guards were his own men, because the prisoner was in his custody, preparatory to the solemn rites of the next day. he alone, besides tolta, had the right of access at any hour, for the victim once consecrated to the gods was tabu, but permitted to feast, if he could, in view of his terrible destiny.
olmedo was on his knees, with crucifix uplifted, praying for strength for himself, and that beatriz might be spared the fate to which she seemed doomed. “not our will, but thine be done, our saviour and our god; yet if this trial and death be necessary that we may enter paradise, o grant that i, the enlisted soldier of the cross, may alone bear the torment. accept my sacrifice, queen of heaven, pity and save thy daughter. let not these heathens triumph in her agony, but take her peacefully to thy bosom, virgin mother,” and his eyes overflowed with grief as he thought of his utter helplessness to aid her. with his prayer, however, a calm gradually came to his spirit. it could not be called hope, but it brought peace, and renewed his trust in divine aid. a demeanor so unlike the dogged despair, or frantic fear to[212] which he had been accustomed in his victims for the altar, surprised the high-priest, and imbued him with a respect for his prisoner, that he had never before felt for any one. olmedo was so wrapped in his own emotions, that his entrance had been unnoticed. tapping him on the shoulder as he still knelt, hewahewa said to him, “you pray then, brother priest. who to?”
“i am an unworthy servant of the holy church. have you heard of the christian’s god? i pray to him.”
“nothing but what tolta tells. he must be more fiendish than is our pele in her anger, if he delights in such deeds as your countrymen have done in mexico. but i believe in neither. there is no god but what we make for ourselves. tell me your thought. i would know what makes you so calm, in sight of a death so terrible?”
“willingly. first tell me, who created hawaii?”
“i know not. it sprang from night or chaos, so our bards say,” replied hewahewa.
“something from nothing. do you believe this? where does a man go when he dies?”
“back to night, or everlasting sleep.”
“then, you think, that man and the earth came by chance out of nothing, and return to nothing?”
“that is my thought. we must make the most of life. there is no other. i believe in what i have, in what i feel and see, but in nothing more. death finishes all. do you not fear to go back to nothing?”
[213]
“if i thought as you think, i should. but the earth you love, and the life you covet teach differently. can the canoe live on the ocean without a pilot? does the taro ripen without the sun? think you that this earth drifts at random in space, without a hand to guide it? no! the supreme being made this world and man to dwell therein. he has made also a heaven for the good, and a hell for the evil. he governs all, and sent his son ages gone by to tell us there was eternal life, and we should be happy or miserable as we obeyed the commands he left. among other things, he told us white men to go abroad over the earth and tell to all nations the glad tidings. i am one of his soldiers. but we carry no arms. we fight not, we teach as he taught, and if we are put to death, we pray for those who kill our bodies, that they may believe as we do. then will they see that death is but a portal to a more glorious life. there are bad men among us white as among you, who love evil and commit the crimes tolta tells of. our mission is as much to them as to you. we preach love and faith in the great god to all, and it is because we know that he will receive us into paradise that we dread not death.”
much after this manner did olmedo talk to hewahewa, who listed attentively to words which opened to him new trains of thought. he felt a desire to save him from his impending fate, that he might hear more. but the whole population were assembling to witness a sacrifice such as had never before been offered in hawaii, and he dared not[214] disappoint them. besides, tolta and pohaku were not to be easily balked. musing for a few moments he abruptly said to olmedo, “i would see more of you. you must not die. i will provide a substitute; give me your garments for him and you shall be secreted, while the howling mob will think you have been thrown to pele.”
“not so! i would not purchase my life at the expense of an innocent victim. i thank you for your intended kindness to me, but this must not be.”
“are you mad? what is the life of a slave to you! he will be but too much honored to take your place. refuse me not. i am determined on this.”
“never! my religion forbids even evil thoughts, much more deeds. free me if you will, for that i would be most grateful. but you know not the spirit of a christian, if you think him so base as to purchase his safety by a crime.”
“strange being, what means this? soon the sacred drums will sound, and the criers announce that the solemn festival has begun. then it will be beyond my power to make the exchange. yield before it be too late. hast thou no daughter, no wife to live for?”
“daughter! alas i have a daughter. think of me no longer. take her from the toils of that mexican, and i will even bless you, and pray the son for you in heaven to which i am going. she would despise me, more if possible than i should myself, could i accept my life on your terms. mention[215] not that again. have you a daughter? i see by your face you have. by the love you bear her, as you would not have her dishonored by a villain, or see her a mangled corpse, save her. you can: will you not?” and he grasped the hand of hewahewa and wrung it in his anguish.
he had struck the only chord of feeling in his gaoler. “where is this woman,” he asked; “for your sake i will see her.”
olmedo then detailed their capture and subsequent history up to the time he was violently separated from beatriz, and finally the offer of tolta to redeem them both, and his contemplated treason to pohaku, provided he would assent to his designs upon her. hewahewa listened eagerly to every word by which the thread of his rival’s projects was unravelled to him. he now saw clearly the game he was pursuing, and without betraying his intention, simply said, “if not too late, i will do as you wish. she shall be a sister to my daughter. courage. farewell.”
