uld not
withstand the shock of horsemen any more than their naked skins could
turn the Spaniards' steel. Presently scores of houses were in flames,
and thick columns of smoke rolled up like those that float from the
mouth of Popo. But many of those who rode and ran from the gates of
Axa did not come back thither, for the Aztecs clung to the legs of
the horses and dragged their riders away living. That very day these
captives were sacrificed on the altar of Huitzel, and in the sight of
their comrades, and with them a horse was offered up, which had been
taken alive, and was borne and dragged with infinite labour up the steep
sides of the pyramid. Indeed never had the sacrifices been so many as
during these days of combat. All day long the altars ran red, and all
day long the cries of the victims rang in my ears, as the maddened
priests went about their work. For thus they thought to please the gods
who should give them victory over the Teules.

Even at night the sacrifices continued by the light of the sacred fires,
that from below gave those who wrought them the appearance of devils
flitting through the flames of hell, and inflicting its torments on
the damned, much as they are depicted in the 'Doom' painting of the
resurrection of the dead that is over the chancel arch in this church of
Ditchingham. And hour by hour through the darkness, a voice called out
threats and warnings to the Spaniards, saying, 'Huitzel is hungry for
your blood, ye Teules, ye shall surely follow where ye have seen your
fellows go: the cages are ready, the knives are sharp, and the irons
are hot for the torture. Prepare, ye Teules, for though ye slay many, ye
cannot escape.'

Thus the struggle went on day after day, till thousands of the Aztecs
were dead, and the Spaniards were well nigh worn out with hunger,
war, and wounds, for they could not rest a single hour. At length one
morning, when the assault was at its hottest, Montezuma himself appeared
upon the central tower of the palace, clad in splendid robes and wearing
the diadem. Before him stood heralds bearing golden wands, and about
him were the nobles who attended him in his captivity, and a guard of
Spaniards. He stretched out his hand, and suddenly the fighting was
stayed and a silence fell upon the place, even the wounded ceased from
their groaning. Then he addressed the multitude. What he said I was too
far off to hear, though I learned its purport afterwards. He prayed his
people t