e doors being open and the soldiers able
to see through both apartments, his movements gave them no concern. It was
the custom, however, when any one entered the presence of a great lord,
for the servants to throw aromatics into a burning censer. This the
prince's attendants did, and such clouds of incense arose as to hide him
from the unsuspecting soldiers. Thus obscured, he entered a secret passage
which led to a large earthen pipe, formerly employed to bring water to the
palace. In this he concealed himself until nightfall, and then made his
way into the suburbs, where he found shelter in the house of one of his
father's former vassals.

Maxtla, enraged to find that his proposed victim had twice escaped him,
grew more determined on his death, and ordered immediate and thorough
pursuit, promising to reward whoever should take him, dead or alive, with
the hand of a noble lady and an ample domain. Troops of armed men scoured
the country in every direction, searching all suspected places, and some
of them entered the cottage in which he had taken refuge. Here there was a
heap of the maguey fibres used in the manufacture of cloth, and hid
beneath this the fugitive escaped capture. But the chase soon grew so hot
that he left this place for the wooded hill country between his state and
the neighboring one of Tlascala, hoping to find safety in its thickets and
caverns.

The royal fugitive now led a wretched life, wandering from place to place,
exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, remaining concealed by
day, and stealing out at night in search of food. His pursuers, eager to
win the enticing reward, kept up an active search, more than once coming
dangerously near to his retreat.

Very interesting stories are told of his adventures in this period of
peril. The high rewards offered did not suffice to wean from him the
attachment of the people, and more than once he owed his safety to their
loyalty. Some of them submitted to torture, and even to loss of life,
rather than betray his place of retreat to his enemies. Even many of the
soldiers were his friends, and once, when hotly pursued, he took refuge
among a small party of these, who were dancing around a large drum. To
conceal him from his enemies they placed him in the drum and continued
their dance around it.

At another time the pursuers were so close to him that he just succeeded
in turning the crest of a hill when they began to climb it on the other
side. H