When the sun plunged into the masses of yellowish mist that clung to the rim of the crater a bright moon was already high in the heavens. The transformation from day to night was sudden, for in the tropics the light fades abruptly, and darkness swoops upon the land almost as a black cloud scurrying across the face of the sun obliterates the brilliant radiance in a short space of time.
The soft moonlight, in streaks and splashes, and the long, creeping shadows made the floor of the crater seem weird and unreal. A streak of silvery light lay across the smooth surface of the lake, and as the two men, crouching on the narrow ledge, gazed in fascination at it, the mirror-like water was broken by ripples that appeared here and there like little pools and lines of sparkling jewels. The creatures that were coming out for their nocturnal frolic, but which could not be clearly distinguished, swam in circles or straight lines and dived with great splashes. Only their heads, like black dots, could be seen on the surface of the water.
“They may be some kind of a muskrat, like the nutria of the Argentine, or like the water opossums,” Stanley suggested. “Whatever they are, they do not seem to be afraid of anything, for, look, one is heading for the shore.”
“I suppose the tigers don’t bother them; they are too small to make even a mouthful.”
A herd of very large, black animals, with low-swinging heads and short, curved horns suddenly hove into sight. They emerged from a clump of forest in a long, straggling formation, and moved to the centre of the largest clearing.
“Buffaloes,” Stanley gasped. “A herd of buffaloes. But what are they doing out in the open?”
“I should think they would hide at night, like the other animals we saw. But they do not seem to be worrying about anything.”
A shrill wail rose clear and piercing from somewhere in the darkness and echoed back and forth among the rocky walls. It was not repeated.
“That sounds like a puma,” Ted hazarded after listening in vain for a repetition of the cry. “I wonder what next!”
Just then one of the buffaloes gave a sharp bellow of alarm. The herd became charged with life instantly, and rushed into a compact mass so quickly it was impossible to follow their movements. But when they again became quiet it was seen that they were standing in a solidly packed circle. The cows and calves were in the centre, and the males, facing outward with lowered heads and bristling horns, formed an unbroken stockade around them.
“Now I see their scheme,” Stanley exclaimed. “They have taken their stand for the night out in the open, where they have a chance for their lives. I doubt if even the sabre-tooths would dare charge that front of horns and hoofs. In the forest they could pick them off singly without much trouble, but——”
A small stone struck Ted’s shoulder, dropped to the ledge, bounded off, and rattled down to the ground.
“Where did that come from?” he asked with a start.
They looked up along the face of the stone wall, but saw nothing.
“Just a loose fragment,” Stanley explained with a nervous laugh. “Probably small pieces are dropping all of the time, or an owl may have started it in alighting.”
Again they strained their eyes toward the moonlit floor of the crater.
“I don’t remember seeing that stone before—the one right below and a little to the left.”
“Nor I. But it must have been there, just the same, for stones can’t walk.”
“How smooth and round it looks. The moonlight and shadows make it appear more conspicuous than before; that is why we notice it now.”
“Yes; I guess you are right.”
Another pebble came rattling down from above, struck the ledge, and bounded down into the crater.
“There is something up there. Stones like that would not drop one at a time unless something started them,” Ted whispered. “I am going to watch the top while you keep your eyes on the bottom.”
But a short time elapsed. Stanley nudged his companion.
“Look!” he whispered. “The smooth, round stone is moving. It is creeping along as stealthily as the shadows themselves, and it is coming in our direction. It must be an animal of some kind.”
“There is one above, too,” Ted returned with bated breath. “They are stalking us from the top and the bottom.”
Stanley quickly looked upward. What he saw made him gasp. A massive head was clearly outlined against the dark rock of the wall, and a pair of eyes, blazing with a green fire, seemed to pierce him through.
“The guns, the guns; quick!” he panted, “before it springs. Don’t mind the one below——”
Ted was tugging at his weapon.
“I can’t. I can’t point it straight up. The angle is too great.”
“Kneel down. I will rest it on your shoulder.”
Stanley pulled one of the guns from its mount. The great head was now hanging over the edge of the shelf on which the creature stood, not ten feet above them, and from it came a rumbling growl accompanied by a clicking and champing of strong teeth.
Ted had dropped to his knees. Stanley was flat on his back trying to bring the bead through the ring sight of the gun. But the high lights and shadows were deceptive, and before he could align the sights the glowing eyes had vanished again. The tiger had drawn back for the spring.
“Back! Flatten yourself against the wall,” he shouted, throwing himself against the face of the cliff and dragging Ted with him.
Something whizzed through the air; there came a crunching thud, and then a roar that seemed to make the earth tremble shattered the death-like silence that had reigned in the crater. An instant later a huge, dark form catapulted past the crouching men, heavily struck the edge of the narrow shelf, and fell to the ground with a crash. Something had gone awry; either the brute had miscalculated the distance or its footing had given away, and the fall of such a heavy creature from the great height must have hurt it sorely.
With one accord the two men pulled themselves to the edge and looked down. They were just in time to see what they had at first mistaken for a stone rise to its feet, give one snarl of rage, and then spring upon the mass that had fallen from above and was thrashing about helplessly on the ground.
As it shot through the air, white teeth, like long daggers, glistened in the sides of the wide-open mouth. There was no mistake. They were face to face with the sabre-toothed tigers.
An instant later a huge, dark form catapulted past the crouching men
Screams and snarls, hoarse bellowings and roars cut short by gurgling blood filled the air, mingled with the sound of the heavy, struggling bodies. The brutes were in a deadly embrace, and rolled over and over on the rock-strewn ground, biting, clawing, and tearing at one another with all the ferocity of their savage nature. The onlookers could not tell whether this was the settling of an ancient grudge, or if the tiger that had been on the ground had quickly realized the helplessness of the one that had fallen from above, and had taken advantage of the opportunity to easily rid the crater of one of its own kind, of which there may have been more than the limited space could conveniently support.
The combat was terrifying, even from a safe distance, but of short duration. The aggressor finished his work in short order. To the ears of the spellbound watchers came the sound of crunching bones and rending flesh, mingled with cries of agony and fear. And from a distance rose the mournful wail of a lone wolf, doubtlessly watching the battle and impatiently waiting for its end so that it might feast on the remains of the loser. Shadowy forms, also, were flitting noiselessly through the air, coming apparently from nowhere. They, too, were awaiting their share of the spoils.
A few additional plunges of the sword-like teeth and the tiger that now was underneath lay still. Then the victor arose, shook himself, and calmly walked away a few paces, faced the centre of the crater and announced his supremacy with an ear-splitting roar. But was it really the proclaiming of the winning of a battle with one of his own kind, or did the thunderous voice convey a challenge? Looking in the direction toward which the brute had turned, the two on the ledge understood the situation in a flash. In front of the terrible creature, and not fifty yards away, stood a man.
For a moment the tiger stood still, as if planning its strategy, then it advanced with measured steps, moving its head from side to side and growling the while. But the man did not stir; he had taken an arrow from a pack that he carried slung over one shoulder, and was fitting it, without haste, to his bow.
Ted and Stanley stared in horror. Who was the man who had dared venture into the crater, alone and at night, and who now calmly faced the most powerful as well as most savage of all the earth’s living creatures, armed with but a bow and a handful of arrows? Surely, he must be demented, for any man in his right senses would know that such weapons were of little avail against such an adversary.
At five paces from its victim the tiger stopped. It crouched low. The head was resting between the forepaws; the tail, which was short and thick, twitched nervously from side to side. Was the great beast surprised and puzzled by the audacity of the mancreature? Or was it preparing for the spring?
The man, without haste, raised his bow, grasping the tough wooden arc and the shaft of the arrow with his left hand while with his right he began steadily and firmly to draw back the cord. The upper part of his body was bare, and there was the rippling play of powerful muscles in arms and shoulders straining to the limit of endurance.
Crack! The arrow fell to the ground and the bow straightened with a twang. The string had snapped under the terrific strain. The weapon was useless. But the man was not dismayed by the misfortune. He threw it from him and calmly drew a short sword from his belt; then he crouched forward to await the onslaught of the tiger.
Stanley sprang to his gun and Ted was not long in following his action.
“We must save him,” the former shrieked.
A string of shots rattled forth in quick succession as pointed tongues of flame leaped from the muzzle of the gun. Another followed immediately and the gunners took their eyes from the sights and anxiously looked for the result of the fusillade. Some of the bullets had found their mark. The great beast was rolling on its back, clawing the air with frantic and convulsive movements, and tearing at its own shoulders and sides. Screams of pain came from its throat. But its struggles did not last long. It lay still save for an occasional moan and quiver, then even these signs of life stopped.
“Run! Run for your life!” Stanley shouted to the man. “There may be another one near by. Come this way. There is a ladder at the foot of the cliff.”
“I am not afraid,” the man replied. “I came here to fight the demons.”
“But your bow is useless; you have only a knife, and that is little more than worthless against such creatures.”
“I will come up to you because I want to talk with you. After that I shall return to the crater.”
The man started toward them in a leisurely manner.
“I never saw such courage before. It borders on recklessness.”
“He must be crazy or trying to do away with himself,” Ted said emphatically. “Wonder who he can be?”
“The voice sounded familiar. I am sure I have heard it before, often. Do you realize that he saved our lives? The whiz we heard over our heads just as the tiger above us was about to spring was caused by an arrow. He saw our position and knew that it was hopeless, so he shot at the animal and wounded it; that destroyed its aim and it missed us, barely striking the edge of the shelf and falling to the ground. If it hadn’t been for him the brute should have dropped on top of us.”
“Well, it was a narrow escape, and I am glad we were able to repay the fellow in kind. But I want to meet him and thank him for his action, anyway.”
There was the scraping of the tall pole-ladder against the face of the rock, and a moment later the man’s head and shoulders appeared over the rim of the ledge. The two grasped his hands and helped him up.
His face was youthful. Ted and Stanley knew they had seen it somewhere. And his body, while inclined to be slender, was of strong, athletic build. His only article of clothing was a short tunic of a dark color, so tattered that it hung from him in strips and fringes of thread.
“You killed the demon,” he said in a voice touched with sadness. “Why did you do it?”
“To save you, of course. Your weapon was broken. You had only a sword left. And, anyway, you saved our lives, so we were but repaying an honorable debt,” Stanley said in surprise.
“I was not afraid. I am not a coward.”
“No one could ever call you a coward after seeing what we saw. But it was only natural that we should see your danger and do what we could to help you out of it. A man armed with only a sword would have small chance against such a large, ferocious beast.”
“I was not afraid to die. It would not have mattered, anyway,” the man said sadly.
“Tell us,” Stanley urged, “how did you happen to be in the crater at this time of the night, and alone?”
“To prove to myself that, no matter what I may have been or may have done in the past, I am not a coward at heart.”
“No one called you a coward.”
“Yes, imploring your forgiveness for the contradiction. You called me that very loathsome thing.”
“I?” in surprise. “When?”
The man hesitated. His demeanor was so humble and he appeared so downcast that the two were sorry for him.
“I will take it all back,” Stanley apologized, holding out his hand. “You are as courageous as any one I have ever seen.”
“Do you not know me?” The man came a few steps nearer and turned his face full into the moonlight. “Look into my face. I am Quizquiz!”
“Quizquiz!” both the Americans exclaimed in astonishment.
“Yes.”
“Impossible.”
“Look closely! Now do you recognize me?” He came still nearer and quietly submitted to their scrutiny.
“As I live, it is Quizquiz, but it cannot be the one we knew.” Stanley could hardly believe his eyes. “The Quizquiz who was king was treacherous, cruel, cowardly, and bloodthirsty; the person who stands before us has proved by his actions to-night that he does not know fear, at least, and such valor must have other noble qualities for companions.”
“The same body, but not the same spirit, stands before you. Yesterday I was king, with all the evil traits you mentioned, and more too. To-day, I rank with the lowliest—I am nobody in the sight of men, but I have found my true self. That is worth all it cost.”
“Tell us, how did you get into the crater?”
“When, at your command, the sun became darkened, I was seized with panic and fled, blinded by fear and terror. I knew not where I went. And when daylight came again I found myself in this frightful place. Fearing pursuit, I hid in the first crevice in the rocks—it would scarcely admit my body—and waited. Darkness came and with it great monsters emerged from their lairs in the caves. First one, then another, found my hiding-place, but the opening was too small to admit their massive heads. There they stood, screaming and roaring, and blowing their hot breath into my face until I fainted. When I came to, the demons had gone; soon they returned carrying in their mouths the bodies of the luckless soldiers they had slain in the valley. One stopped not ten paces from my place of concealment and, in full view, proceeded to eat its victim; for minutes that seemed like ages I was compelled to lie quietly with the sound of tearing flesh and splintering bones in my ears. And then it came to me suddenly, like the lightning flash in the sky. I was to blame for all this. It was my wrong-doings that had caused untold discontent and suffering in my kingdom. With vainglorious pride I had listened to the flatterers, had followed their suggestions, and had rewarded them lavishly at the expense of the wise, the just, and the good. It was too late to undo these wrongs or to right the injustices of which I had been guilty; but I still had the opportunity to prove to myself that I could be a worthy son of Huayna Capac, then return and ask for a merited punishment. My spirit is now at ease.”
“Villac Umu was the cause of your downfall, was he not?”
“He was my instructor and adviser so long back as I can remember.”
“Were you not governed entirely by his advice?”
“I blame only myself. As king, I was not compelled to listen to any one. I alone am responsible for everything, and deserve the most merciless punishment.”
“Of course you realize that you are no longer king. You are a fugitive from justice, while we are now masters. The tables are turned. You prepared the most fiendish torture that could be devised for us; naturally you must expect us to treat you in the same manner.”
“I am in your hands. Do as you see fit.”
Quizquiz fumbled at his belt; then he fell upon his knees.
“On bended knees I give to you the crimson fringe to which I have no further right. Take it, wear it, and may your God and mine protect you.”
His head was bowed in deepest humiliation. In his extended hand he held the borla, the Inca’s badge of authority.
Stanley took it almost reverently.
“Quizquiz”—Stanley’s voice was tense with emotion—“we are not unmindful of the fact that to-night you were the means of saving our lives, and we are not ungrateful. But neither can we forget your previous character. The welfare of a nation depends upon us. We cannot sacrifice it. You admitted your guilt; you deserve the severest punishment possible. Therefore, you will now consider yourself our prisoner. Do you consent to arrest, or shall we use violence?”
“I give myself into your keeping freely, and I know that the worst you can do to me will not be half so much as I deserve. Here are my hands—bind them—then my feet, too.”
“No, we shall not bind you. We are not afraid of you, or that you will escape. Go to the far end of the ledge and sit down with your back toward the wall. Our guns will be trained upon you; one move, and you die, understand?”
“Your words are very plain. I will do as you command,” and he took up his station in the spot indicated.
Ted and Stanley, while never for an instant relaxing their vigilance, discussed at length the amazing turn events had taken. The problem that confronted them was a perplexing one. Had they encountered the old Quizquiz they had known it would have been an easy matter to dispose of him. But the new Quizquiz was a different person, endowed with the very virtues the other had lacked. There was also this to consider: was he sincere? Would his goodness last, or was he but playing a game with the hope of regaining the throne, when his old character should again assert itself in all its viciousness?
The problem, therefore, that they discussed far into the night, but for which they were unable to find the solution, was: “What shall we do with Quizquiz?”