Page:Queen Moo's talisman; the fall of the Maya empire (IA queenmoostalisma00leplrich).djvu/83

 Averted was his gaze, his hands upraised,

Aggrieved he seemed to be and sore amazed;

But not a word expressed; no hope gave he

That from the tyrant Aac they might be free.

There came a final day of vengeance dire,

When subjects turned upon their haughty Sire.

E'en to this time may yet be seen the place

Where he was killed by one of Maya race;

Where last he took his stand upon that height

Within his palace grounds, there forced to fight

In self-defence or yield to prisoner's lot;

Restraint his outraged subjects planned. 'T was not

Their wish, e'en now, to slay the wilful man

Whose being throbbed with blood of honored Can.

Aac towered there amid his fallen men,

Defiant, raging, livid, and 'twas then

That one named Pacab flung his arms aside,

Approached the Prince, and as he neared him cried—

"Now yield thyself; we would not do thee wrong;

Full well we know all rights to thee belong.

Thy safety we desire and not thy life,

Tho' thou hast filled our land with grief and strife."

With one fell blow Aac struck the speaker dead,

Then shook the dripping axe above his head.

But scarce the deed was done when from the crowd

An elder man leaped forth and wailed aloud—