THE TERROR OF DARKNESS AT MIDDAY
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.
[Illustration: 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.”