In the tiger's lair

Quizquiz was rapidly regaining his self-control and haughty reserve. He folded his arms majestically and looked at the two who had made him prisoner.

“What do you want?” he asked with a sneer.

“You know without asking. Set us free and permit us to return to the outer world.”

“And give you all my gold to take with you. Is that all?”

“We do not want your gold. We told you that before.”

“If I should grant that request you should soon return with some new and more powerful contrivance to rob me. And others would come with you to make sure of it. I know your thoughts. Gold, gold, gold! That is all the white men think of and they stop at nothing to get it. The history of my people proves it.”

“We are not going to argue. If you don’t grant our request at once——” Stanley’s fingers again tightened, while Ted advanced with the heavy rod.

“It shall be as you say. Now I shall go.”

“No, you will stay. We are not fools. What assurance have we that you will keep your promise?”

“The word of a king.”

“That means nothing to us. We must have something more substantial than that, something more reliable.”

“I will make a solemn oath in the presence of my ancestors. There is nothing more binding in the laws and rites of the nation. No one could break a promise so given and live.”

“Then swear, and after you have taken the oath we will tell you what to add to it; and you will talk loud enough so that the people outside can understand every word you say. Make it clear that we are free to leave the valley, and that you will help us in every way to do so; that if you fail to keep your promise, you will forfeit your throne and submit to the vilest treatment any mortal ever received in the valley; admit that your action toward us was unjustified, and apologize for it. Also, as a sign of good faith, tell the truth about Villac Umu, and command the soldiers to arrest him at once and throw him into the river—this to be done before we let you out of the temple; appoint Soncco to take his place. When you have said all this, we will dictate the rest of your speech.”

Quizquiz appeared startled, but soon the old manner returned.

“But not here,” he protested. “The people could not hear me, and to make the oath binding it must be made in the sanctuary before the image of the Sun-God, and where the bodies of my dead and glorious ancestors repose.”

“Then come at once. And be sure that you attempt no trickery. One suspicious move and you will never see the daylight again.”

They quickly retraced their steps, holding the Inca between them, to the main hall of the building. It was damp and gloomy. The rows of dead seemed waiting in silent expectancy; each was seated on his golden throne in a niche in the wall. Their heads were inclined forward, as if in a listening attitude, and their hands, adorned with many jewels, were crossed on their breasts. The crimson fringe adorned the royal heads, and the attire was of the richest. Most of them had long, white hair, indicating that they had attained a ripe age. Obviously they had been embalmed by some secret process, and were in such a splendid state of preservation that they seemed more asleep than dead.

“This place is holy and you have desecrated it by your presence,” Quizquiz hissed as they reached a stone sacrificial altar which stood in the centre of the floor. “You have insulted me, the king, have laid your hands on my sacred person, have gazed upon the venerable dead, and——”

“And we will do one other thing—you know what it is—if you don’t hurry and do what we told you to. Now take your oath; turn around so every one can hear you, then repeat what we said.”

“Release me so I can kneel!”

Stanley relaxed his hold and the Inca knelt close to the altar. Raising both hands he began in a solemn voice: “In this holy temple, in the presence of my forefathers now resting in the glory of the sun, I, Quizquiz, king, swear that——”

At the same moment Stanley noticed a movement in the altar wall. A panel was sliding noiselessly to one side. He made a quick lunge for Quizquiz, and Ted struck with the heavy staff just as the Inca dived headlong into the dark opening that had been revealed under the stones. The door sprang back instantly and from beyond it a mocking voice continued in triumph: “Your punishment will be a thousand times more terrible because of this. You shall see!”

The two stared at one another in blank amazement. It had happened so quickly that it was over before they were fully aware of what was taking place. They pushed and tugged at the panel, but it resisted their efforts.

In kneeling to pray, Quizquiz had pressed a secret mechanism that operated the sliding front of the altar. And he had made good his escape. He had out-generalled them just as it had seemed certain that their release and departure from the valley was assured. The blow stunned them.

“He’s gone for good,” Stanley panted. “It’s all over with us now.”

“Why didn’t we fix him while we had him? Why didn’t we at least tie his hands and feet? We might have known what to expect. Listen!”

A loud shout from without rent the air. The Inca had reappeared and the people acclaimed him with loud applause. Suddenly the noise stopped; some one was speaking. Scarcely knowing what they did the two crept forward to listen. The voice was Villac Umu’s:

“Our holy and adored sovereign, having finished his devotions in the temple, now commands that we, his unworthy slaves, proceed with our declarations. Tupichi, commander of the army, advance, kiss the king’s feet with reverence, and speak. But hold! First I must again remind you of the responsibility attached to the honor bestowed upon you by the king, for each high honor, like each exalted position, carries with it the heavy burden of rendering worthy account of the opportunities it affords. Therefore, should your proposal displease our generous and beloved ruler, you must suffer the fate you suggested for the prisoners.”

Tupichi came forward as he was bidden, knelt humbly, and kissed the Inca’s feet. After a slight pause, lengthened by the silence of the crowd, his tremulous voice could be heard.

“If it pleases the king, let them be stoned to death,” he said meekly.

“You have the courage to insult me thus?” It was Quizquiz who replied. “That penalty is inflicted on petty thieves and like offenders, not on persons like these. The army shall have a new leader; for you, Tupichi, shall be stoned.”

“Huascar, advance and let our ears drink in the thoughts that have been conjured by your fertile brain,” Villac Umu commanded in a croaking voice. Again the silence of expectancy pervaded the air.

“My unworthy proposal is that the prisoners be boiled in a caldron of oil,” he said simply.

“Your proposal is unworthy indeed. It blasphemes my ears. If you, Huascar, can think of nothing better than that, you do not deserve to be permitted to live. Space in the valley is limited and far too valuable to be occupied by such as you. Boiling in oil will be a fitting reward for your stupidity, and so it shall be.”

“Let Toparca now be heard,” the high priest then announced.

“Glorious one, who has honored me with this rare distinction, blind them with the point of a red-hot spear,” Toparca ventured. “Then set them free on the rugged peaks flanking one of the many craters, so that they will fall into the lake of fire that seethes and roars at the bottom.”

“Come, come!” Quizquiz scolded impatiently. “You chatter like a monkey, or like a parrot that lacks the power to think. Words that mean nothing proclaim a brain that has lost its usefulness. You have pronounced your own sentence.”

“Speak Zaron! It is your turn.”

“I would hold them prisoner until the next exercises, then set them up as targets and let the youths of the nation try their skill at them with bows and arrows, or, if the king prefers, with spears and daggers. A living mark is more interesting to shoot at than some lifeless object.”

“You will be a more fitting target than either of these, Zaron, but I doubt not that the density of your head will dull the arrows and turn them aside,” Quizquiz retorted with a chuckle, in which he was joined by Villac Umu.

And so they proceeded. Each one of the luckless twelve was ordered to state his proposition, and the offering of each was spurned, often with sarcasm and ridicule. So each in turn was sentenced to the same punishment he had contrived to plan for the captives. Only one remained to be heard.

“Soncco, speak quickly; I am fatigued with all this stupidity,” Quizquiz continued impatiently after directing a number of cutting shafts at Chapas, eleventh on the list. “Surely you possess wisdom, or at least so you have pretended. I have trusted you with important missions in the past, and I trust you still or I should not consent to listen longer to this idle gossip.”

“Great and holy king,” Soncco began gravely, “besides whose splendor even the sun pales to the dimness of a menial’s grease-lamp, I am flattered by this praise and confidence, which is undeserved. To serve my revered sovereign is my only wish; to die for him would be my greatest joy. I have evolved a plan that is as striking as it is different from all the others that have been proffered. Therefore I beg of my beloved master that he will condescend to listen with patience while——”

“If you think to flatter me, Soncco, I must tell you that your words are falling on deaf ears. What mere mortal can proclaim my glory? I am above the praise that any tongue can speak,” Quizquiz interrupted haughtily.

“Keep the two strangers in the valley until they die of old age. Let them go where they will, and feed them well so that they may live all the longer—and provide rich apartments for them, with servants and all the comforts of life. As your prisoners they will give perpetual testimony of the power and greatness of the king who is capable of holding them against their will. That is my humble plan, offered in deepest humility.”

“It must be that Soncco does not understand. A reward is not wanted for these intruders, but a penalty of the most terrible nature,” Villac Umu said in consternation.

“It is the high priest who fails to understand,” Soncco replied in a steady voice, while the crowd craned their necks so as not to lose a word. “What punishment could be more horrible than to keep the two here as prisoners all their lives, far removed from their homes and friends? The valley is a small place compared to the vast lands, rivers, and oceans of the outer world that they have been accustomed to traverse. They are masters of the air as well. An ant confined within the pod of a bean would have a thousand times more liberty than they.”

Quizquiz looked incredulous. For a short while he looked intently at Soncco, as if trying to read his innermost thoughts. Then a look of understanding came into his face.

“I have heard your words, Soncco, and I appreciate the motive that inspired them. Instead of obeying my command to contrive a method of punishment for the prisoners, you have thought only to save yourself. One inspired by motives less lofty and less generous than mine would see in your act disloyalty, even treason, and would deal with you accordingly. But have no fear; your life shall be spared, for I have need of you. I hereby designate you to carry out the sentences imposed upon themselves by your eleven companions, and remember, Tupichi, your brother, is among them. Even though you live, Soncco, you will be the one to inflict torture and death on others who are dear to you.”

Soncco was stunned at hearing these words. He stood as in a trance until Quizquiz waved him aside and continued with a note of triumph in his voice: “Let the prisoners now be brought out of the temple.”

Hearing this, Ted and Stanley rushed from the opening in the wall at which they had been listening, and fled to one of the smaller rooms where they could better defend themselves, for now that the Inca was no longer in the building the priests and guards were at liberty to enter. They waited, Ted retaining the heavy, golden rod in his hands, Stanley holding a long knife he had taken from one of the altars; but no one came to attack them. Instead, a pungent odor, faint and not disagreeable, came to their nostrils; they could not tell where it originated. Aside from noting the scent which grew constantly stronger and began to roll into the room in thin wisps and wreaths of blue smoke, they attached no importance to it. Doubtless it was caused by burning incense in one of the numerous sanctuaries; matters of greater import filled their minds.

“I am choking,” Ted suddenly muttered, clutching at his throat; tears streamed down his cheeks. “And I can’t see either.”

Stanley was blindly groping his way toward the door. The two were rapidly losing consciousness in the suffocating fumes that seemed completely to fill the building. As they painfully and aimlessly stumbled through the growing darkness a harsh voice half aroused them to their senses. It was the high priest’s. At the same time they could make out his form, faintly outlined in the haze, while in back of him were other dim figures.

“Drag them out of the holy place,” cried Villac Umu, “and take them before the throne of judgment.”

A dozen hands seized them by the shoulders and legs and carried them, limp and unconscious, out of the temple.