THE INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA CRUZ

BOOK NINE: BOOK of the JAGUAR PRIEST

CHAPTER NINE

"But didn't it cross your mind, even for a moment, that... by placing yourself in this dzulob's favor... you could secure the Governorship of Quintana Roo for yourself?"

The Oficiales had moved their lodgings from the Gran Hotel to a posada, a small guest house southwest of the plaza. Silvestro's purse was heavy from the commissions the monterias paid, but not bottomless, and he found the old wood and the glaring portraits of Europeans upon the wall intimidating, and the beds uncomfortable. At the posada, they had only to tie up their hammocks, leave their few possessions on the floor beneath them and this was the end of it. They did not even have to fear that someone would steal their clothes or machetes, for Salvador Alvarado's campaign against the petty criminals of Merida was prosecuted harshly unceasingly.

Silvestro was not really surprised that the Governor considered him little more than one of these, and his baiting of Clarencio had been merciless.

"If this Governor were an honest man, you'd have cause for caution," said Clarencio. He had not, after all, been brought back to Alvarado but the tall, shifty eyed Lieutenant had left word with the keeper of the boardinghouse and met with the young Oficiale alone. Alvarado's proposition was that Clarencio become the partner of a Mexican whom Alvarado would influence Carranza to appoint as the Governor and Jefe Militar of Quintana Roo. As for Silvestro, he would be "taken care of" at another date, and in the manner of the Lieutenant, the words could be interpreted either as a promise to buy off the Tatoob or to have him killed. Clarencio, expressing an interest in the proposition but reminding the Lieutenant of the decades, if not centuries, of warfare in the territory, agreed to hear a more detailed plan from the President's representatives when they arrived.

Silvestro paid more attention to his surroundings after this, but the days of waiting for Carranza's reply passed casually; both Oficiales traipsing through Merida's cobbled streets where the struggle between mule cart and fotingo was being waged, to the inevitable dominance of the latter. Afternoons were passed in any of the city's numerous cafes which, within the last few years, had begun admitting those of the mazehualob with gold or silver money. Thursday evening, they even paid a few centavos to enter a moving picture theater where a succession of black and white images passed speedily back and forth upon a white cloth... scenes from North America; its cowboys, girls in swimsuits and comical policemen - a placard in the lobby promoted the impending "Nacimiento del Nación", with the description "... espectaculo de Caballeros Kulklusklan!"

"That is Juan de la Cruz in Guatemala," Clarencio guessed, "for those of Peten call him by this name and... see!... there are his Catholic Oficiales, though they have robes of white, not brown like the Mexicans do." And Silvestro regretted losing the opportunity to avail himself of this novelty since, if Carranza did not summon them to Mexico, they had determined to return to the Territory to wait and, if necessary, to resume the war.

On Friday morning, Silvestro and Clarencio duly presented themselves at the state palace and were received by Alvarado. The Governor had a telegram which he waved invitingly, holding it just out of reach as though he were a proud papa bearing a present for his children, inviting the representatives of the territory to be seated and hear his news.

"The word from Mexico is good," Alvarado beamed. "The President has agreed that it is in the interests of Mexico to negotiate with representatives of the valued, honored territory - which place Venustiano Carranza holds great expectations for! He has invited the Maya ambassador to the capital at the expense of the Federal Government. You are to board the steamer Dominguez at Progreso, north of the city, disembark at Veracruz... where you shall meet President Carranza's agent... and travel, by rail, the distance from Veracruz to the capital. "A route," he added, "closely followed by the President himself at the conclusion of his war against the bandits."

Alvarado handed Clarencio an envelope in which were two steamship tickets and five hundred Constitutionalist or Carrancista pesos. The Oficiale began to translate but Alvarado interrupted him.

"This next you obviously must not translate, but only repeat what I have said before. The Federal Officer who drives you to Progreso, he'll handle this fellow here, and I regret that you'll have to return one of the tickets to this officer. I have an obligation to be thrifty. You'll soon be on your way... are you ready for this? Can you translate this now?"

"Claro," agreed Clarencio, and recited exactly what he had been told to say in Mayan. Silvestro had already warned him that Alvarado, though from the distant state of Sonora, was a capable and crafty foe, and it was entirely possible that he had learned at least some of the Mayan language... the better to do to the mazehualob what Silvestro was doing to him.

Alvarado consulted his watch with an expression of goodwill. "My Teniente will depart at ten Monday morning; the Dominguez leaves Progreso at four in the afternoon. I have arranged for your passage by rail... the train leaves from Veracruz every morning... and you certainly can find a taxi to take you from the docks. You haven't ever been in a motor car, have you?" he inquired and, after Clarencio translated the question, Silvestro replied that he hadn't.

"This world is a changing one, General, changing so quickly that one barely has time to track its progress. I, myself, rode in a motor vehicle for the first time only eight years ago. It cannot be compared to a train, nonetheless I am here, alive, before the two of you. Personally I would prefer a horse, but..."

He lay his arms upon the table, regarding Silvestro with the utmost interest and benignity. "Where you are going," he said, "you shall witness things that even I, Salvador Alvarado, have not been privileged to discover! You will be taken in by a mighty city in all of its majesty, a veritable City of God. All that you and your people have fought for these many years... now the time comes for you to reap your reward."

Governor Alvarado's smile was positively brilliant as he passed the envelope across his desk towards Clarencio Pec, keeping his gaze upon Silvestro. "Until we meet again," said the Governor.

And Silvestro, forgetting the counsel he had given, muttered, in reply, words that in Mayan are similar to: "Yes, in Hell we shall!" but Alvarado, steeped, like a teabag, in his benevolent pretense, dismissed them as a spontaneous outpouring of gratitude.

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