as a god, but not one of the greatest, and one of these grew
angry with him--I cannot tell who. Perhaps it was the god of war,
who saw that the Anahuans were so happy that they no longer went
out to conquer other people, and to provide sacrifices for him.
Perhaps they were jealous, because the people worshiped
Quetzalcoatl more than them. Anyhow, they were angry with him, and
he was obliged to leave us.

"He came down to the sea, and took leave of the people, promising
that he or his descendants would some day revisit them. Then he
took his seat in his boat, which was formed of serpent skins, and
sailed away, and has never been seen again. But we all know that
one day, if he does not come himself, white people will come from
the sea to us.

"I think, Roger, that you are one of the descendants of
Quetzalcoatl; and I think my countrymen would think so, too, and
would hold you in great honor, if the priests, who are very
powerful, did not turn them against you."

"What was this god like?" asked Roger.

"He was tall in stature, and he had a white skin; and his hair was
not like yours, for it was long and dark, and flowed over his
shoulders, and he had a great beard. But as you are tall and white,
you are like him; and as he went towards the rising sun, it may be
that, afterwards, his hair changed from black to a color like
yours, which seems to me brown when you are sitting here, but gold
when the sun falls on it."

"So it seems, Malinche, that I may be sacrificed, or I may be taken
for a god! I would much rather that they would be content to treat
me for what I am--a man like themselves, only of a different race
and color."

Roger had many conversations of this kind with Malinche, and as he
felt his position becoming daily more precarious among the
Tabascans, had come to believe that he should have at least as good
a chance, among the Aztecs, as where he was.

In return for all the girl told him about her country, he told her
much about his own. He explained to her that there were many
peoples among the whites, as among the reds; and they fought
against each other in battle, having weapons which made a noise
like thunder, and killed at a great distance. He told her how one
of these peoples, named Spaniards, had conquered many islands not
very far distant from Tabasco; and how assuredly they would come,
in time, and try to conquer this country, too. He explained that,
while the nation to which he belonged was, at