THE INCA’S THREAT
When the Inca hove in sight the following morning Ted and Stanley were
filled with wonder and dismay. It seemed as if the whole population of
the valley had come with him. Long lines of soldiers marched in advance
and at the rear of the procession. In the centre were the members of
his court, the nobles, and a numerous body of the clergy. The pomp and
splendor affected by the youthful monarch were surprising to the two
Americans, who on their previous visit had become accustomed to the
gorgeous attire of Huayna Capac and to the lavish display of wealth
with which he surrounded himself.
A horde of menials swept the roadway in advance of the royal party;
youths in snowy garments sprinkled it with scented water and strewed
the petals of orchids and other rare flowers over the way the ruler
must pass.
The golden litter in which the king rode was not the one used by his
father, for, according to custom, upon the death of an Inca, all those
things connected intimately with his use accompanied his remains to
their final resting-place or were destroyed. Quizquiz had a more
massive one, encrusted with emeralds, which were ingeniously mounted
in the pale, pure gold, so as to form figures of the sun rising above
the mountain tops, of llamas and of condors. And while fifty of his
subjects of the highest rank trudged along under the oppressive weight
of the litter and its occupant, Quizquiz, reclining on soft cushions,
amused himself by striking at them with a long-lashed whip. The
carriers seemed not to resent this abuse; they deemed it an honor thus
to serve their sovereign, knowing all the while that to trip or fall
while bearing the sacred burden would constitute a crime punishable by
death.
Very obviously the Inca had carefully planned to impress the visitors
with his power and magnificence. When the throng reached the helpless
airplane and its equally helpless occupants, it formed a circle around
them, leaving a space in the centre not over a hundred feet across. The
golden litter was carried much nearer, so that the monarch could have a
clear view of what was in front of him.
Ted and Stanley, their faces well concealed by their helmets, goggles,
and upturned collars, returned the insolent stare of Quizquiz, and at
the same time took in the colorful display of his trappings. On his
head he wore the scarlet fringe, or _borla_, that fell down to his
eyes, with two slender, glittering feathers standing up in front; that
was his crown. His mantle, falling loosely about his rather well-knit
body, was a mass of shimmering folds of rich brocade, gold and silver
threads woven upon a white ground. His arms, which were exposed to
view, were bedecked with bracelets; rings covered his fingers.
“I am Quizquiz, Child of the Sun, most illustrious of all the Incas
that have honored the earth with their presence,” he announced
haughtily, toying with his whip as he spoke. “My authority is
unquestioned and unlimited. My subjects do my bidding. At a word from
me they die, if it suits my pleasure. Indeed, I am called the Tiger.”
“None disputes the glory or the power of the great king,” Stanley
replied promptly.
“Then make known your mission. The valley is sacred ground. Intruders
are not welcome, as two men from the outer world learned during the
reign of Huayna Capac, my father.”
At the latter words the two Americans detected a shade of hatred in the
speaker’s voice, while his eyes flashed fire.
“We desire food, shelter, and rest until it suits our convenience to
return to the sky whence we came. That is a small request to make of a
king.”
[Illustration: Very obviously the Inca had carefully planned to impress
the visitors]
“You came from the sky! I saw that with my own eyes. Are you gods
that you travel through space like the spirits of the departed?”
“We are masters of the air,” Ted said. He did not like the attitude of
the questioner, and Stanley was visibly uneasy.
For a moment Quizquiz surveyed them. His face, while handsome, bore a
sullen expression, and the beady black eyes and drooping mouth bespoke
a cruel and cunning disposition.
“Yes, yes,” he said impatiently. “But are you gods? Are you brothers of
the sun, or companions of the moon? You speak with the voices of men.
You ask for food and rest, like mortals.”
“All who would make known their thoughts must speak with the voices of
men. The Inca is no exception.”
Quizquiz was plainly puzzled.
“And the thing that carries you through the air,” he asked, “is it
bird, beast, or devil?”
“That you shall hear for yourself. It speaks with the voice of thunder.”
According to a prearranged plan, Ted sprang to the ground and spun the
propeller, while Stanley operated the switch and throttle. With a snort
the engine was under way and rapidly picked up speed, until the hand
of the indicator registered five hundred revolutions a minute, the
shattered blade of the propeller adding a whining shriek to the roar of
the exhausts.
The Indians stared wide-eyed at the marvellous performance, and many,
no doubt, would have liked nothing better than to turn and flee,
but the knowledge that a show of fright would bring dire punishment
restrained them from following their impulse.
Stanley cut the switch and the engine stopped.
“Now you have heard,” he said. “Let your priests and wise men interpret
the message.”
Quizquiz called Soncco and a number of other sages and after they had
all admitted that they were unable to interpret the strange sound he
dismissed them in anger with a flick of his whip.
“Twenty strokes of the lash for each one,” he shouted, and a body of
soldiers promptly stepped forward to obey the order.
“Mercy, great and glorious father,” one of the older men cried out,
falling upon his knees and extending his hands in supplication.
“An additional ten strokes for the beggar! Take him away,” Quizquiz
ordered. “And if any one of them so much as sigh while the lash is
falling on his back, run him through with a lance.”
“If it pleases the king, I will explain the message,” Stanley
announced.
“I will hear your words, but let your speech be brief, for I am weary.”
“The great vehicle would carry the Inca into the sky, high above the
tallest mountain-peaks, where the air is pure and where not even the
condor dares venture; out of reach of the contaminating earth, to play
among the clouds and to bask in the bright sunlight; it would take him
so high that the radiance of the sun could descend upon his sacred
person; men would be blinded by the dazzling splendor of the great
king,” Stanley announced solemnly.
“Is that the message?”
“That is my interpretation. A few days are needed for preparations for
the momentous event. And then, the flight into the heavens which even
an Inca has never visited.”
If these speeches were calculated to flatter the vanity of Quizquiz,
the two were doomed to disappointment. For a moment he regarded them
with narrowing eyelids while his hands toyed nervously with the whip.
Then he flew into a violent rage.
“Now indeed do I know that you are not gods, nor even the messengers
of gods,” he shrieked, rising from his cushions and raising his whip
as if to strike in their direction, “for else you must know that I,
Quizquiz, mightiest of all the great kings, never touch my foot upon
the contaminating earth; I honor my highest nobles by permitting them
to carry my holy person from place to place. I need not the radiance
of the sun, for I am already more resplendent than his brightest rays;
is it not through my benevolence that the sun shines at all, and the
stars come forth at night? It is I who permits the wind to blow and the
rain to fall. Your words are blasphemy to my ears. All who live are my
slaves, and to them my words are laws. Depart at once or you remain
here forever!”
The two had no time to ponder the quandary in which this unexpected
turn of affairs had placed them, and for a moment they were speechless.
“Villac Umu!” Quizquiz called. “Come to my side!”
Attendants brought forward the sedan containing the high priest, which
had been kept a few paces to the rear previously. It was the same
conveyance in which he had appeared some days before to interrogate
them.
“How may I serve my revered father?” Villac smirked, with a great show
of humility. “My one hope, my one desire is that I may one day give my
unworthy life to please the king.”
“Speak not of death, Villac Umu, for I have need of you alone among all
men. You, who relieve me of the burden of communing with the gods and
with the spirits, tell me, who are these insolent ones who dare invade
my kingdom, and who disobey me when I command them to depart.”
The high priest languidly raised his hands to his eyes, and for a full
minute appeared to be lost in thought. Then he stood up and pointed
toward Ted and Stanley with one hand. “I have divined the mystery,” he
announced.
“Then speak, good Villac,” Quizquiz said indulgently. “Wisdom such as
yours is given to few men. I knew I could depend on you.”
“The visitors from the sky are no other than the two strangers from the
outer world who came into the valley during the reign of Huayna Capac,
your father, and then escaped after having been condemned to death for
their treason against the king. The great bird on which they ride is a
contrivance of the evil one, and I know not the limits of its power.
But as for the men, I recognize their voices, even though they feign
hoarseness, and the color of their eyes is not unfamiliar to me. Seize
them, great king, before they escape.”
“He talks like a madman,” Stanley quickly interrupted, quivering with
apprehension.
“Still, I am inclined to believe his words. Uncover your heads and
faces.”
“When the Inca removes his crimson fringe, for, as the _borla_ is the
emblem of his position, so does this head-dress proclaim ours.”
The crowd began to surge forward at this bold defiance hurled at their
sovereign, whose eyes blazed as he raised his jewelled hands to heaven.
It was a signal to the soldiers. Like an avalanche they swept upon the
plane. The engine not running, Stanley’s gun was useless, but Ted swung
his weapon and pulled the trigger. Three shots rattled out in quick
succession; then the gun jammed and was worthless. The mob was upon
them in a flash. Ted and Stanley fought valiantly, but the fight was
of short duration. Numerous hands clutched them; they struck back with
wrenches, but so soon as one of the soldiers dropped another jumped
into his place. The odds against them were too great to be overcome.
In a short time the two had been dragged from their stronghold, their
clothes nearly torn from their bodies, and barely conscious of the fact
that they were being carried to the Inca’s litter.
Quizquiz’s eyes gleamed with a triumphant and malicious fire. He
gloated over his prisoners, and could scarcely keep from leaping from
his seat to pounce upon them.
“Ever since the day I caused the hole to be dug under the wall and
learned of your escape, I knew you would return; that your greed for
gold would overcome your better sense, and that you would again fall
into my power. The great day has arrived. You are here, my captives,
and I, Quizquiz, am king now! You shall suffer for those insults to me,
and for your treachery to Huayna Capac when you protected the youth he
had condemned to die. You shall not get away this time, be assured of
that. You shall know what it is to suffer bitter agony, and when death
comes to relieve you from the torture you will welcome it. Nor shall
you long be kept in ignorance of the fate that awaits you, for the
knowledge will add to your torment. The highest intellect of the nation
shall pass the sentence. The valley will be rid of you forever and
we shall live in peace, knowing well that your secret ends with your
lives,” he roared.
“Quizquiz,” said Stanley, recovering his senses sufficiently to speak,
and shaking his clenched fists up at the Inca before the guards roughly
grasped his arms. “You cannot frighten us with your threats; it is you
who are afraid, not we. We got the better of you once and we can do it
again. If you are a man, come down and fight me now. I will show you
up for the weakling you are, depending on that villainous creature
called Villac Umu for every word that comes out of your mouth. You
haven’t a thought of your own; if a bird had so little sense it would
fly backwards. You may kill us if you dare, but so surely as you do our
friends in the outer world will come in search of us; they will find
the Hidden Valley and enter it as we did, from the sky. Your crimson
crown will be dragged in the mud and your people exterminated. Now do
your worst and the responsibility for what follows will rest on your
own head.”
The throng stood silent as death, hardly daring to breathe. No one had
thought it possible that any human being could utter such a tirade
against the Inca and live. In awe, they expected the speaker to be
struck to the ground by a hand from heaven, for had he not insulted a
divinity? Even the king was speechless and waited for the miracle that
he felt sure must happen, and that would vindicate his position. But
nothing occurred. Then the people began to stir; into their minds had
come the first suspicion that Quizquiz was not a god, but very human
like the rest of them.
“I am waiting.” Stanley broke the spell with the sound of his voice.
“Will you come down and fight, or do you admit before all your people
that you are a coward and afraid of me?”
In response Quizquiz flicked his whip and the nobles holding his litter
turned and started away.
The multitude, however, did not go away; it broke up into small groups
and in hushed voices discussed the momentous events of the day.