Aztec Autumn

man's embrace. It was my great-grandfather's belief that because the Yaki males are notorious for cruelly abusing their females, this particular Yaki woman is out to wreak revenge on every man alive.'

'Hmmm,' the padre murmured again. 'Ever since Lilith, every country of the Old World has known a similar female predator, eager to rip the entrails out of any male. Real woman or mythical, who can say? In various languages she is the harpy, the lamia, the witchwife, the nightmare hag, la bella dama sin merced. But tell me, Juan Britanico. If I am to thwart this demoness, how do I find and recognize her?'

'It might be difficult,' I admitted. 'G'nda Ke could pass as a transient young woman of any nation—except the bald Purempecha, of course—even as a Spanish senorita, if she chose to disguise herself. I confess I cannot remember her face well enough to describe her. It was handsome enough, but it seems to blur in my memory. Except for three things. I can tell you that her hair is of no living color. And her skin is flyspecked with freckles. And her eyes are like those of the axolotl lizard. However, if she saw me take the road hither, padre, she would know I intended to warn you about her, and she may well have gone into hiding or fled Utopia altogether.'

We were interrupted by the sudden entry of that young friar I had seen before, now agitated and shouting:

'Padre! Come quickly! A terrible fire to the eastward! San Marcos Churitzio—the guitarra village—it seems to be all ablaze!'

We dashed outdoors and looked where he pointed. An immense column of smoke was rising there, much like the one I had once caused to rise over Grasshopper Hill. But this mischief was none of my doing, so I stayed where I stood when Padre Vasco, his friars and everyone else of Santa Cruz went running to help their neighbors in San Marcos. I of course assumed that the fire was the work of that malevolent G'nda Ke—until I felt a tug at my mantle and turned to find that Tiptoe, this time having personified her name, had slipped up noiselessly behind me. She was smiling broadly, triumphantly, so I said:

'You did that! Set that village afire.'

'Not I, but my warrior women. Ever since I assembled them, we have been searching for you, Tenamaxtli. I saw you in that village yonder. When you departed, I gave orders to my women, then I followed you here.' She added, with some scorn, 'I could see that you had acquired no other followers.'

I gestured toward the smoke. 'But why do that? Those Mexica are a harmless lot.'

'Because they are a harmless lot. To show you what we mere women can do. Come, Tenamaxtli, before the Spaniards return. Come and meet the first recruits of your army of rebellion.'

I accompanied her to a mountainside overlooking the lake, where her 'warriors' had regrouped to wait for her after their torch-bearing foray among the buildings of Erasmo's village. Besides Tiptoe, there were forty-two females, of all ages from barely nubile to matronly. Though they were also of varying degrees of sightliness— uniformly bald, of course—all looked healthy, sturdy and determined to show their mettle. I was resignedly thinking, 'Well, they are only women, but they are forty-three more allies than I have had until now...,' when suddenly my masculine presumptuousness was rebuked.

'Pakapeti,' one of the older women barked at her. 'It was you who enlisted us in this venture. Why now do you ask us to accept this stranger as our leader?'

I expected Tiptoe to say something about my masterly qualities of leadership, or at least to mention the fact that this 'venture' was originally my idea, but all she said was, turning to me, 'Tenamaxtli, show them how your arcabuz works.'

Though considerably exasperated, I did as she said—charging the weapon, then discharging it at a squirrel perched on a tree limb not too far distant (and this time, happily, hitting what I aimed at). The ball of lead fairly disintegrated the little animal, but the women excitedly fingered the remaining scraps of fur and handed them around, and clucked admiringly at the destructiveness of the thunder-stick, and marveled at my possessing such a thing. Then, all together, they began to clamor that I show them how to wield the arcabuz, and that I let them take turns at practicing with it.

'No,' I said firmly. 'If and when each of you procures a thunder-stick of your own, then I will teach you how to use it.'

'And how do we manage that?' demanded that same older woman, who had the voice (and visage) of a coyotl. 'The white men's weapons are not procurable just for the asking.'

'Here is one who will tell you how,' said a new voice.

We had been joined by a forty-fourth woman, this one not bald, not Purempe—this one the Yaki G'nda Ke again, and again obtruding herself into my affairs. Evidently, in just the short time since I had last seen her, the demoness had somehow joined this troop of women and ingratiated herself with them, for they listened respectfully when she spoke. And even I could not find fault with what she had to say:

'There are comely girls among you. And there are numerous Spanish soldiers here in Michihuacan, manning army outposts or guarding the estancias of Spanish landowners. You have only to catch the eye of those men and, with your beauty and your seductive wiles—'

'Are you suggesting that we go astraddle the road?' cried one of the comely young women, using the phrase that connotes prostitution or wanton promiscuity. 'You would have us couple with our avowed enemies?'

I was tempted to say that even hateful, unwashed Christian white men ought to be preferable to billy goats and such other mates as were currently available in Michihuacan. But I kept silent and let G'nda Ke reply:

'There are many ways of besting an enemy in war, young woman. And seduction is one way denied to male combatants. You should take pride in having a weapon unique to our female sex.'

'Well...' said the girl who had objected, sounding somewhat mollified.

G'nda Ke continued, 'Besides, as Purempe women, you have another unique advantage. The Spaniards' own females are repellently hairy of head and body. The Spanish soldiers will be curious to—shall we say?—explore any woman totally and temptingly hairless.'

Most of the bald heads nodded agreement.

'Go to each guard or to each post,' the Yaki woman went on, 'singly or severally, and exercise your charms. Do whatever is necessary, either to addle the soldiers with lust or—if you care to go so far—to wring them limp and helpless. Then steal their thunder-sticks.'

'And any other weapons they may have,' I hastened to put in. 'Also the polvora and lead for those weapons.'

'Now?' asked several of the women, almost eagerly. 'Do we go this instant to seek those soldiers?'

I said, 'I do not see why not, if you are indeed ready to employ your womanly attractions in our cause. But you will appreciate that I have not had time yet to think out any extensive plan of action. Most assuredly, there must be more of us. And to find more, I must go far beyond this land.'

'I will come with you,' Tiptoe said decisively. 'If I could rally this many women in such a short time, surely I can do the same among other peoples and nations.'

'Very well,' I said, having no objection to the company of such an enterprising (and enjoyable) consort. 'And since you and I will be traveling,' I added, magnanimously according her the rank of leader equal to myself, 'I suggest, Pakapeti, that we jointly appoint a second in command here.'

'Yes,' she said, and looked over the gathering. 'Why not you, newcome comrade?' She pointed to the Yaki woman.

'No, no,' said that one, trying to look modest and self-effacing. 'These gallant Purempe women should be led by one of their own. Besides, like you and Tenamaxtli, G'nda Ke will have work to do elsewhere. For the cause.'

'Then,' said Tiptoe, 'I recommend Kurupani.' She indicated the coyotl-looking woman—another one egregiously misnamed, for that Pore word means 'Butterfly.'

'I concur,' I said, and spoke directly to Butterfly. 'It may be a long time before we can wage real warfare against the white men. But while Pakapeti and I are scouring the country for further recruits, you will be in charge of mounting that campaign to procure weapons.'

'No more than that?' the woman asked, and showed me the bowl of hot embers that was their only weapon at present. 'Cannot we do some burning, as well?'

I exclaimed, 'Ayyo, by all means! I am heartily in favor of anything that will harass and worry the Spaniards.