"Will you learn if Maxtla's army is still on the plain, Hualla?" he said.
"It has gone, tzin Euet. I have only just come from looking."
"Then, Hualla, you must go, at once, to Hualcoyotl for help. I will remain where I am until you return. Please to hasten."
The lad started immediately on his fruitless errand, from which he returned soon after noon, with the discouraging intelligence that the allies had also gone. Euetzin groaned under the weight of a helpless discouragement at the announcement.
"What am I to do, my lad, now that I am helpless?" he said, showing much mental distress.
Hualla tried to comfort him, and proposed to go still farther in search of help. It was the only course left them, under the circumstances. After eating some of the food which he had procured at the deserted camp, the lad started off in the direction of the lake, hoping to find someone there, a fisherman or boatman, who might be induced to come to their assistance. He was most fortunate, and correspondingly elated, in finding a party of boatmen who had just landed at the beach, with whom he succeeded in making arrangements for the tzin's conveyance to a small town, which was situated on the lake, a league or so away.
Having succeeded so well, Hualla was now greatly encouraged at the prospect of soon getting his charge to a place where he could have the immediate attention of a doctor. One thought, however, gave him considerable anxiety; it was of the suffering the wounded tzin would be compelled to undergo while being transferred to the beach. The distance was more than a mile, and the trip, he feared, would prove very distressing to him, should it be necessary for the men to carry him on their arms. This difficulty was quickly overcome by the boatmen, whose native cleverness soon put them in possession of a roughly constructed litter, on which he was borne to the beach with but little trouble, and only a slight addition of discomfort.
When Euetzin learned that Hualla had found assistance to relieve him from his discouraging situation, he could hardly find words strong enough to express his gratitude. His appreciation of the lad's services was hourly growing more and more heartfelt, and he could not but marvel at the exhibition of interest manifested by him for his comfort and safety. It was, apparently, a phenomenal manifestation of disinterested kindness.