Ted and Stanley slept little during the night preceding that fateful day. And, to Ted’s occasional questioning, Stanley could only repeat that he thought his record of the time correct; however, there was no way of finding out for a certainty. The morrow alone would tell.

The camp was astir early. Groups of musicians struck up tunes on reed instruments accompanied by the deep roll of drums. The wailing of the flutes seemed to carry a mournful note, an ominous message in its very monotony. But, when singers joined in the music, their shrill voices rising and falling in gay cadence, it changed its tenor and was more like the celebration of some joyous festival than the beginning of a day of torture and life-taking. How pitiless these people were, how devoid of all compassion! Downtrodden and suffering though they were, they made an outward show of rejoicing at the ill fortune of others.

After a breakfast scarcely touched by the two, they were taken to the arena where the spectacle was to be staged. A vast number of people had already assembled. Most of them stood in a solid mass surrounding an open square; armed guards formed lines and held them in check. On one side stood those of noble birth, dressed in their most gorgeous attire and bedecked with jewels. Round ornaments of gold hung from their ears. Some wore large breast-plates of the same precious metal that extended from shoulder to shoulder, and from the chin to the waist-line. Their mantles were embroidered or brocaded in curious figures of birds and animals, among which the condor and puma were conspicuous by the frequency with which they appeared. Huge golden pins, shaped like spoons, held the draperies in place. And chains of emeralds hung from their necks, while the turbans that crowned their heads were a mass of bright colors and flashing stones. Each noble was accompanied by a number of attendants that held a canopy of cloth of fine texture over his head to shield it from the sun, and in his hand he carried a staff of polished wood with numerous gold and silver pendants that denoted his rank and position.

Quizquiz arrived not long after. He came in his sedan of gold, massive and heavy, and borne on the shoulders of his highest officials. As the latter deposited their burden on a specially constructed platform, Ted and Stanley could not suppress exclamations of surprise at his lavish and beautiful attire. He was wrapped in a mantle of gold cloth that covered him from his head to his feet; throwing this aside carelessly, he revealed his undergarments made of the same material. Bracelets and amulets covered his arms. The chain around his neck, falling to his waist, was composed of alternate turquoise, pearls, and emeralds, some of them the size of a pigeon’s egg, and so skilfully had the gems been polished that there was continuous play of refracted light in a thousand points of shimmering, satiny color.

Quizquiz carried a burnished-silver mirror in his hand and made frequent use of it to throw a shaft of dazzling light into the eyes of some favorite; this was always the signal for the honored one to fall upon his knees and to chant the praises of the sovereign who had thus condescended to throw the radiance, supposedly emanating from the Inca’s sacred person, upon him.

After amusing himself in this manner for some time, Quizquiz spoke:

“Rejoice with me, for this day is an eventful one,” he said. “I am about to rid my kingdom of its worst enemies; the two strangers who came to spy on me and to rob me, and also of those others who are of no further use to me, but are rather a burden. There are more persons in the valley deserving of a similar fate, and they all shall be called to account in due time. We shall have these imposing spectacles often. It shall be my pleasure to attend them; you also shall be commanded to do so, for they shall remind you of my greatness and of your own abject station. And let each one feel that perhaps he may some day be chosen to delight my eye as one of those to die in my presence. What end could be more glorious for a slave? So cherish the hope of that honor in your hearts.”

The crowd moved uneasily. Evidently they did not relish recognition of that kind. Was there no limit to the vainglorious boasting and cruelty of the tyrant? Was he personally responsible for his words and deeds, or was there some evil influence that prompted him to do such things? Among the spectators were not a few who knew the truth, and their unanimous verdict would have placed the responsibility upon the shoulders of Villac Umu.

“Now let the ceremonies begin. Soncco will attend to his duties well or suffer dire consequences. First, let the two men from the outer world be bound to the wall; then tie the serpents at their feet.”

Soncco bowed low to the Inca. His face was pale and his eyes shot fire. Resentment was pictured in his every feature, and Ted and Stanley knew that it was directed not at them but at the king. Still, he had no alternative but to obey the command. He started his work in a businesslike manner, and prepared personally to bind the hands of the Americans with copper chains. As he reached their side he whispered in Stanley’s ear: “Pray to your God, to mine, or to any other one you want to; use your most powerful charms and magic. But let everything happen just as you said it would. If you fail in this, stand quietly until Quizquiz has taken too much wine; then break away, for the chains have an open link, and kill Villac Umu. Leave the rest to me. Here is a dagger,” and he slipped a long, keen blade into Stanley’s hand, hiding the transaction with his cloak.

Stanley made no answer, but a moment later conveyed the information to Ted, who was tied close by his side.

These preparations completed, the priests from the Temple of the Snakes put in their appearance. They were a hideous lot, clothed in long mantles of a drab color, and wore black masks over their faces. Each one carried a tuft of red feathers in his hand. The column, headed by six of its number who beat drums and sang in a weird jargon, marched to the Inca’s dais and halted. The drum-beats ceased and the priests prostrated themselves on the ground, rising after a moment and forming a semicircle in front of the doomed men. One of the leaders produced two bags from under his cloak; he untied the string of one of them and shook its contents on the ground. It was a great snake, drawn up in a mass of tight coils, and hissed defiantly at the men who stood around it. The two saw at once that it was a bushmaster, the deadliest and most feared of all South American serpents. But what a monster it was! It could have been no less than ten feet long. As it raised its head, slowly, the deep orange color of its back, marked with a regular pattern of broad, black X’s, glistened with a metallic lustre in the sunlight.

Before the reptile could get its bearings to dart away several of the priests pounced upon it and seized it in their hands, for it was harmless so far, its arrow-shaped head having been covered with a muzzle of fine, gold wires. A stout cord was fastened around its neck, and with this it was securely tied at Ted’s feet, the priests stretching out the snake and allowing sufficient cord so that it could strike to within less than an inch of the man.

It was a bushmaster, the deadliest and the most feared of all South American snakes

The second bag was now opened and its occupant, exactly like that of the first, bound in front of Stanley. Then two of the priests pinned the heads of the snakes to the ground with long, forked sticks, while others removed the wires that held the death-dealing jaws together. This accomplished, the entire company performed a wild, uncanny dance, howling and rushing past the supposedly helpless men and the serpents. As they passed each stooped and struck the reptiles a blow with his tuft of feathers, until they had been aroused to a mad frenzy. After that the priests again marched up to the Inca’s sedan, fell flat on their faces as before, and took up their station in the front ranks of the onlookers.

Ted and Stanley were fascinated by the terrible creatures at their feet. Enraged at the treatment received from the priests, the snakes were lunging to right and to left, and then settled down to striking at the men in front of them. Again and again their repulsive heads shot forward, with wide-open mouths and long, white fangs that glistened in the sunlight; but the tethers kept them just out of reach and tantalized them to further effort. And all the while the snakes coiled and uncoiled their great, scale-covered bodies and lashed their tails on the hard ground with such rapidity that they made a buzzing sound. Ted and Stanley felt the cold, sinuous bodies writhe against their bare feet; how long could they withstand this ordeal? If it was true that snakes could charm, and they began to think it was because they could not remove their gaze from the greenish eyes of the reptiles, they would be unable to endure the strain much longer, and would soon either droop within reach of the darting heads or be compelled to make a break for liberty.

Peals of laughter from Quizquiz recalled them to their senses.

“It is better than I had hoped,” he said in a shrill voice. “Praised be Villac Umu, who is father of the idea.”

The high priest, who was seated in his own golden sedan by the Inca’s side, rose and bowed in recognition of this compliment.

“For the pleasure of my adored one I would arrange any spectacle,” he said.

“Now let us feast and sing and dance to while away the time,” Quizquiz continued. “Bring the sparkling wine that we may drink to the evil fortune of the men from the outer world.”

Golden cups of large size, filled with a beverage made from ground, fermented maize, were brought by attendants, and after the Inca and Villac Umu had partaken liberally, the others of the nobility were served. The drinking continued throughout the remainder of the morning, interrupted only when Soncco came to report the progress of the preparations that were being made for the other victims.

“The spear-point glows with a reddish heat, and Toparca lies on the ground, bound hand and foot,” he said on one occasion, and, “The oil is bubbling in the caldron; Huascar is near by, well guarded and sullenly awaiting his fate,” on another. But Quizquiz only laughed and bade Soncco stay his hand and to place the condemned men in a position so they could see what was happening to the strangers.

To Ted and Stanley the hours seemed like eternity. Would Quizquiz never succumb to the influence of the liquor? The amount he could consume was prodigious! The strain of remaining in one position was becoming unbearable. They dared not shift their feet; the snakes, now motionless, with heads raised a few inches above their coiled bodies, were quietly waiting for the decisive moment.

“It must be noon now,” Ted finally ventured.

“Yes,” said Stanley slowly, looking up at the glaring sun almost overhead in a cloudless sky.

“No signs of anything happening yet,” uneasily. “I wonder if Soncco told the truth about the open link in the chains. He may have said that simply to pacify us, so we would submit to being bound without a struggle.”

“Wait a little while longer. Then—well, I believe Soncco told the truth. We must get Villac Umu. If there is a fight, any one and every one else will do for the next, but I think that with the high priest out of the way Soncco can handle the crowd; he is the one they really hold in superstitious fear. Snap the chain suddenly and jump to one side so far as you can. Remember that Pizarro conquered the whole nation of millions of people by capturing the leader; we have a chance of doing the same thing on a smaller scale with that beast out of the way.”

Minutes passed; they waited in vain.

“I must have been mistaken, after all,” Stanley said gloomily as he caught an impatient look from Soncco. “Look! he is signalling us now. Let’s break away. Are you ready?”

“Yes. Give the word.”

A crash halted the reply on Stanley’s lips.

“Cursed drink that has dimmed my vision,” Quizquiz shouted, at the same time dashing his heavy golden goblet to the floor of his litter, “for it must be my blurred eyes that deceive me. Look, Villac Umu! Do you see anything?”

The Inca and the high priest were anxiously scanning the heavens, shielding their eyes with jewel-bedecked hands. Concern and fear were plainly pictured in their faces.

“It is not the drink.” Stanley was quick enough to comprehend the situation and to make use of it to their advantage. “What you see is a giant hand grasping the neck of your helpless Sun-God. Soon his light will fade and you will be floundering in the darkness. Your time has come!”

Then to Ted in a joyous shout: “I was right! I was right! Look! The eclipse; it is starting.”

The two could scarcely keep from jumping from their places, but the decisive moment had not arrived.

The stillness of death had fallen upon the multitude. The drum-beats stopped suddenly, the reed flutes ceased their wails, the voices of the singers were hushed, and half-emptied cups of wine slipped from nerveless fingers and fell to the ground. Every eye was turned skyward, and upon the sea of faces came a pallor and a look of horror, for the impossible was unquestionably happening. A black disk was rapidly stealing over the face of the sun from the west; half of the flaming orb was already obscured, and slowly but relentlessly a sickly gray twilight was falling upon the earth. Brilliant colors faded in the uncanny dusk, and jewels that had flashed and shimmered grew dull and lifeless. Familiar objects took on strange, fantastic shapes before they melted in a maze of grotesque shadows.

“Speak, Villac Umu! Speak!” Quizquiz’s voice was bordering on despair. “You are High Priest of the Temple of the Sun and know the will of the gods. You said this thing could not happen.”

“It is but a cloud,” Villac Umu explained nervously, but his faltering words carried no conviction.

“You lie! It is not a cloud. Command the shadow to retreat. Show your power. Use your magic. Do anything you wish to stop this terrible thing!”

The high priest arose and stretched both arms heavenward. In one hand was a staff from which numerous charms dangled, in the other a rattle of dried seeds. He loudly berated the demons that dared thrust themselves in front of the sun, and commanded them to depart without delay. He shook his staff and rattled his charms at them, but the grayness rapidly deepened into gloom, and when the last vestige of light had disappeared his helplessness was apparent to all. Loud cries, first singly, then in chorus, were raised in terrible accusation. In the darkness it was impossible to see who spoke, and this gave the speakers courage to say what was on their minds, but Ted and Stanley recognized the voice of Soncco among the leaders.

“Villac Umu is to blame for this; he said it could not happen, but it did, and now he is powerless to protect us. Kill him!” the mob shouted, and “Quizquiz shares in his guilt; he is not fit to be king, for he has betrayed us.”

Then one solemn voice made itself heard above the multitude:

“Stay in your places,” it shouted, “for you know not what new terror may overtake you if you move. Do nothing—yet. First beg the white man, who has shown you his power, to bring back the sunlight he has taken away, then——”

A deafening crash cut short the words that came from Soncco’s lips. Then more crashes came, followed by roars and rumbles that shook the very ground beneath their feet.

Ted and Stanley were nearly as much startled as were the others, for in the excitement of the moment they had completely forgotten the dynamite.

“Now,” Stanley shouted, “let’s go.”

With a start they snapped their chains and leaped to one side. Stanley rushed up to Soncco, who, too, seemed bewildered.

“Silence the crowd,” he panted. “I have something to say that I want every one to hear.”

Regaining his senses, Soncco blew shrill blasts upon a trumpet, but it was some time before the confusion subsided. Judging by the sounds, the majority of the people were either kneeling or had fallen to the ground in their terror.

“You have seen and heard everything,” Stanley shouted at the top of his voice. “Now, what do you want? Choose between——”

His words were drowned in the clamor that went up.

“Kill Quizquiz and Villac Umu,” the thousands demanded, “and make the white man king. His companion shall be high priest. We ask nothing more than to be permitted to serve them as slaves for the remainder of our lives if they will but bring back the sunlight.”

It was with the greatest difficulty that Soncco again silenced them.

“It shall be as you say,” said Stanley. “But for the present let every one remain in his place. The sunlight will come back again, and so long as you obey my wishes no harm shall come to you. But if a single one of you betrays his pledge, worse things may happen.”

“You shall be king,” the multitude roared. “We swear it.”

“Quizquiz is gone,” Soncco whispered to Stanley; “the thunder of your medicine was too much for him. He jumped to the ground and ran when the crash came. Villac Umu followed him.”

“Will they keep their promise?” Stanley asked.

“Without question,” Soncco assured him. “And I am sure you will fill the lofty stations in a manner befitting them.”

“What do you mean? What stations? We want to leave so soon as possible.”

“What are the wishes of an individual compared to the welfare of a nation? Consider yourself king, although the actual crowning ceremonies are still to be performed. And your companion is head of all the religious orders. If you had planned to go back to your people, you may find that they will insist on keeping you here, for the people have sworn it.”