In the tiger's lair

With each passing minute the helplessness of their position was more firmly driven home upon Ted and Stanley. They expected momentarily to be attacked by the horde of Indians, many of whom they had seen from above. But not a human being came within range of their vision.

“What fools we were,” Ted observed dejectedly, “not to let well enough alone. We would come back, and now——”

“That is only human nature, I guess. Never satisfied and always eager to take a chance. Well, we are like the pitcher that went to the well once too often.”

“Why don’t they come after us, I wonder!”

“Superstitious, perhaps. But they will be here in due time. Count on that!”

Ted changed the unpleasant subject.

“Whatever could have happened that the engine died that way? Did I neglect to fill the second tank?”

“No. It’s full. There is something mysterious about it. We might try to find out what the trouble is while we are waiting.”

They examined the tank for air-leaks that would reduce the pressure to the point where the fuel would not feed. But the gauge registered five pounds—more than enough. Then they began tracing the slender feed-pipe from the tank to the carburetor. Almost immediately the trouble was found. Some one had disconnected one of the joints and had stopped up the pipe with soap, so of course the gasolene could not flow.

“We have our friends, the lieutenants, to thank for that,” Stanley said bitterly. “It’s hard to believe that any one could do such a thing.”

“They did a good job. I guess we shall never stand in their way again.”

“If we had only brought a spare stick there would be a good chance of getting out of here. We could make the change in a little while and leave before any one had the courage to come near us.”

“But the fact is we did not bring a spare stick. We knew better than that, too. Luck has been against us from the very start; and it’s getting worse.”

“We might rig up the wireless outfit and send out a call for help. That is the only thing I can think of,” Stanley suggested without enthusiasm.

“It can do no harm, anyway.”

They unreeled the long wire antenna and removed the lead weight, or “fish,” from the end, replacing it with a bottle from the emergency kit. In flight the purpose of the fish was to keep the wire trailing out behind as straight as possible; but now they stretched the slender braided metal thread to the top of a tree near the river and tied the bottle to the highest branch. In this manner a message could be flashed into space, they did not know how far, but none could be taken in answer, as there was no receiving equipment in the plane.

Ted switched on the battery and placed his fingers on the key.

“S. O. S., S. O. S.,” the spark was flashed into the ether; “stranded one hour north of Cuzco, in valley surrounded by ring of yellow vapor. Need propeller. Notify aviation-field, Cuzco.”

The message was repeated a number of times.

“We are wasting time and energy,” Ted said suddenly, releasing the key and cutting the switch. “In the first place, I doubt if the spark will carry beyond the valley. And I just remembered that even if they should pick it up at the flying-field, they could not possibly help us. There is no other ship in commission, and even if there were, the only persons who could handle it are the lieutenants, who certainly would not come to help us.”

“I don’t look for help from the field, but I thought there might be a station somewhere near here in the mountains, a secret government outfit. And if the facts were known, it might be possible that a ship would be sent from some other camp, perhaps even from Bolivia.”

“All right. I’ll send it again and add our names to the end of it.”

Once more the appeal was wafted into space.

“I have it,” Ted shouted, jumping from his seat. “We will get a new stick right here!”

“Get one here?”

“Yes. When the Indians show up it is as likely as not that they will be overawed and treat us like gods instead of starting trouble, for didn’t we come from the sky? We can keep on our goggles and helmets as a disguise; then put them to work.”

“I fail to see what good that would do.”

“People who can build walls and houses of large stones that fit together so perfectly they stand for centuries; who put up temples and palaces, and who make such wonderful textiles and ornaments, must be pretty skilful with their hands, and also have a good deal of intelligence to back them up. We will get them to make a new propeller, under our direction and with our help. Then we can leave the way we came.”

“It sounds wild and impracticable.”

“Wait and see. Leave the matter to me.”

It was not until the next day that they saw signs of life in the valley. They had eaten the last of their food and had spent a miserable night huddled up in the seats of the stranded plane.

A long column of Indians, marching in orderly manner, appeared from the direction of the river that flowed through the centre of the depression. At first the advancing throng was too far distant to distinguish its character, but as it drew nearer the two watchers saw by the gorgeous dress and glittering ornaments that many of the marchers belonged to the nobility.

“What are we going to do?” Ted asked, breaking the suspense.

“The machine-guns are in good order and there are over five hundred rounds of ammunition in the magazines.”

“Shall we open fire?”

“No; at least not yet. We could do that only as a last resort. It would rout them in terror, but they would come back. There are many thousands of them, you know. If gaining a few hours’ or days’ time alone would help us, I should be in favor of standing them off with the guns. But that would be of no use whatever to us. As you suggested, we need their help, and the way to get it is to play on their superstitious natures and put them to work. It seems like a flimsy bulwark right now that the mob is bearing down on us; but let’s try it and trust to luck. I will do the parleying and you supervise the work when the time comes. I can see no other way out of it.”

“Nor I,” Ted agreed.

The Indians had halted while still some distance away and were obviously holding a discussion as to whether or not they should advance. A few minutes later they again started forward, then stopped for a second conference. This time they reached a definite conclusion, for they now approached in an unfaltering manner.

Ted and Stanley put on their helmets and goggles and, at least to outward appearances, calmly awaited the coming of the mob. When the Indians had reached a point a hundred feet from the airplane they stopped.

Two files of soldiers stepped forward, halted, and turned to face one another, forming a wide lane. Scarcely had they taken their station when a procession began to advance through this formation. Ted and Stanley watched with pounding hearts and bated breath.

First came a group of menials sweeping the ground with branches of evergreens; then a number of officers or high officials garbed in brilliant robes and bearing various insignia of rank in their hands, such as silver staffs and bundles of rods. Following these, several score of youths, walking backward and singing in a monotonous cadence, strewed the ground with flowers.

A sedan of gold borne on the shoulders of twenty-five of the highest nobles came next. The curtains, heavily embroidered in colors and threads of gold, were drawn so that the occupant of the conveyance could not be seen.

When the men who carried the precious burden reached the end of the lane formed by the soldiers they halted and lowered the fitter to the level of their knees. The curtains were drawn aside and an elderly man wrapped in a mantle of black-and-white and wearing numerous amulets, bracelets, and anklets stepped out upon the rug that had been spread on the ground for him and stood with outstretched hands. Apparently he belonged to the religious order, or perhaps he was a witch-doctor, for he made mysterious passes with his hands and shook a rattle of dried seeds. After a moment he came forward a dozen paces, bowed to the ground, and throwing one corner of his mantle over his shoulder in an impressive manner, spoke.

“Benevolent spirits, demons or men,” he began in a loud voice, “I know not which you may be, so know not how to receive you.”

“And who are you who dares question us?” Stanley returned, pitting his own strategy against the Indian’s.

“If you are spirits or demons, you must know that; for I am Villac Umu, one of the obedient servants of the great Inca, and High Priest of the Temple of the Sun. And you?”

“We have come from the sky. That is all you shall know until it pleases us to tell you more.”

“Yes, yes; even the king saw the great bird swoop into the valley. It filled him with amazement and joy, for might it not be a messenger from heaven with tidings to the greatest of the Incas? If you are brothers of the moon or children of the sun, you may confide in me; the king demands to be told, so that he may prepare to receive you according to your rank.”

“Why did not the king come in person?” Stanley abruptly changed the subject.

“The king is far away.”

“Villac Umu, you dare say that? For all you know we may be able to read your most secret thoughts and to separate the truth from the untruth.”

“Then you must know that I speak truly. The king is not here. If he were, you should feel his very presence, though you could not see him. He is great and powerful and so terrible that he is called the Tiger.”

“Go back to your people,” Stanley commanded, “and return when I wave my hand like this.”

The man bowed and turned without a word.

“What do you make of it?” Ted asked when he was out of hearing. “It looks like a plot of some kind.”

“Certainly. Quizquiz sent him on a spying mission, to find out who or what we are. He dared not come himself, the coward, but I would bet he is concealed somewhere in the background, at a safe distance. No doubt he connects this occurrence with our previous visit, but does not quite trust his own judgment.”

“So much the better. We do not want to see him.”

“I will call back the old man and tell him what we need and ask him to send it to us.”

“Good! Tell him to come on.”

Stanley waved his hand and the waiting figure approached.

“For the present we shall need food, water, and shelter,” he began, “and as soon as possible thereafter twenty of the most skilled workers in wood, who must bring with them their implements; also a dozen boards of the finest, hardest wood that grows in the valley, of these dimensions.” Here he threw to the priest a ball of cord, into which he had tied knots to show the required length, breadth, and thickness of the boards. “Let them bring an abundance of glue, also.”

“But there is no shelter near by,” the spokesman of the Indians interposed. “Let the visitors accompany me to the villa at the baths where the Inca sojourns, and where there is comfort and refreshment.”

“That is impossible. We shall remain here.”

“The king will want to know to whom these supplies are to be given.”

“Tell him they are for visitors from the sky who are disappointed and grieved at the suspicion with which they have been received, and who will therefore depart again after a short rest.”

“The great king will be pained to receive such a message, for in addition to being terrible he is also generous and kind. He would welcome the visitors from the sky in his palace.”

“Will you kindly convey our requests to him?”

“With pleasure. And in the meantime tents and food will be provided without delay.” Then, after a moment’s silence: “The king will be sad and disappointed because you will not accept the hospitality of his villa. Will you not go, later perhaps, when you are rested?”

“Later, perhaps.”

“Possibly the king may consent to come here as a special favor to——”

“No! It is not necessary. Urge him not to expose his sacred person to the hardships of the trail. Plead with him. We could fly to the palace later, so why subject the great Inca to any inconvenience.”

Without a word the priest returned to his followers and immediately departed in the direction from which the column had come.

“He is a shrewd old fellow,” Ted said when they were gone.

“But he did not find out much. You don’t think he recognized our voices?”

“I hope not. You should be an actor. You played your part very impressively. I almost forgot who was talking.”

A number of soldiers arrived before nightfall. They brought tents and baskets of food. After putting up the shelters, two of their number volunteered to remain to do the cooking, but Stanley ordered all of them to depart.

“We must use the greatest caution. We will be surrounded by spies. Instead of using the tents we had better take the blankets and sleep on the ground under the wings.”

“I wish the carpenters would get here, although I doubt if they can make a usable propeller. There is nothing like trying, though, and we will pretend that they can; that will be more cheerful and will give us time to look for some other possible opening for escape.”

“No telling! Something may turn up sooner than we expect. That has always been the way here. New things happen suddenly every so often. Let’s eat.”

The carpenters did not arrive until the third day. They brought all the articles that had been asked for and were at once put to work. Their first task was to shave down the boards until their surfaces were absolutely smooth. Then they were all glued together face to face, forming a thick block, after which heavy stones were placed on top to press them firmly together while the glue set. The dexterity with which the Indians plied their tempered copper tools was remarkable. And the hopes of the two Americans rose accordingly, for they saw that the shaping of a new propeller was a possibility after all.

These hopes, however, were badly shaken a few days later. A herald arrived to announce the coming of the Inca on the following morning. The youth was dressed in a tunic made of small golden disks linked together, and comported himself in an arrogant, even impudent, manner.

“I have never known it to fail,” Ted exploded. “Just when things are beginning to run smoothly a new calamity happens.”

“I knew he would come. They have given him a good description of us and of the plane, and as we refused to visit him, he decided to come here. You remember how curious he was.”

“Yes, and you know what curiosity did.”

“I only wish Quizquiz had been the cat.”

“Well, if he is determined to pay his respects to us, we shall return the compliment in due time, count on that.”

“I have just thought of something,” Ted said solemnly. “The way Pizarro conquered the whole Incan nation of many millions was to capture the king. Without a leader they were like so many sheep. We will capture Quizquiz.”

“I should like to lay my hands on him for a few minutes at least. But how are we going to do it?”

“Induce him to take a ride after the ship is repaired.”

“He would never do it. He’s too big a coward.”

“We will tell him he can soar above the clouds and absorb some of the radiance of the sun. That will flatter his vanity and he will accept eagerly in spite of his fears. Then we can land him outside the valley and hold him prisoner while we come back to continue our search for the gold. His people will do anything to help us and will give us everything they have if we will but give them back their king.”