BROTHERS OF THE BLOOD
I shall not weary you who perchance may some day read this story of mine
by dwelling on the sorrow and shame that filled me as I entered the
foul, unlovely streets, and saw the filthy refuse in the squares of the
city that I remembered so pure and bright and beautiful; nor yet by
telling of the feelings that possessed me when I saw the poor remains of
our desecrated temples, the places where our vanished palaces had stood,
and the dismantled ruins of that mighty fortress of Sacsahuaman, which I
had last seen standing palace-crowned and throned in all its grandeur
high up above the city.
All this and more you who read must picture for yourselves, for I have
greater things to tell of than the poor sorrows of a wanderer who had
left his own age and his own kindred far behind him, and who had come
back into a strange world to find his country a wilderness, and the
children of his people the slaves of strangers.
It had been settled amongst us that, for the purpose for which we had
come, it would be necessary to hire a house that should be at once
commodious for our work, sufficiently removed from the city for privacy,
and capable of defence against intruders if need be. The professor,
being already known in Cuzco as a man of science and seeker after
antiquities, and possessing, moreover, a special permit from the
Government in Lima to travel and dwell in the interior, and make such
searches as he thought fit, undertook the business of finding such a
house. He made many journeys in quest of what he sought, and on these
journeys Djama always accompanied him, since he had to see that the
house chosen contained a chamber suitable for that precious work which
he had undertaken to do in return for the share of treasure that I was
to give to him.
And while these two were absent I at times wandered about the city with
Joyful Star and Francis Hartness, who, it was plain to see, already
looked with eyes of love and longing on her beauty, as in good truth I
myself could have done had I dared, and could I have forgotten that
older love of mine who still lay cold in her death-sleep in the cave by
the lake yonder, over the mountains to the westward, whither I had
already cast so many longing glances. But at other times I left them to
go upon my own ways, for I had work on hand which, for the present, did
not concern them.
I had by this time met and conversed with many of my people in their own
language, which was that of the labouring classes of my own times, and
from them I had learned that at a village called San Sebastian, through
which we had passed, about two leagues to the south of the city, there
still dwelt many families of Ayllos--that is to say, the descendants of
those of the old noble Inca lineage, who had been permitted by their
conquerors to settle here. So one morning I went to visit an old
Indian--as they now called all our people--named Ullullo, with whom I
had made acquaintance, and at his house I dressed myself in the native
fashion--in an old shirt and short trousers, with sandals on my feet,
and a broad-brimmed, fringed hat on my head, and covered myself with a
faded poncho, and together we went on foot to San Sebastian, I looking
no different from the rest of the Indians who were passing to and fro
upon the road.
I had already seen, while riding through the village, that the people
were different to those of all other villages that we had come through
on the way. They were taller of stature, prouder of carriage, and
fairer of face. The blood showed red in their cheeks through the light
brown of their skin, and these signs had told me that if any remnant of
the pure Inca race was left these must be they; and I was soon to have
proof that it was so, although the children of those who had lived in
palaces were now dwelling in huts of mud and reeds.
Ullullo led me first to the house of a man named Tupac Rayca, who was
chief among the Indians of the town. He was great-grandson of that
ill-fated Tupac-Amaru, who, as you know, had revolted many years before
against the oppressors of his race, and for this, after being forced to
watch the torture and murder of his wife in the square of Cuzco, had
himself been torn limb from limb by horses.
We found him alone in a bare room in one of the better houses of the
village. As he stood up to salute us it needed but a glance to tell me
that in his veins at least the ancient blood of our race flowed well
nigh as purely as it did in my own. Had it not been for the meanness of
his clothing and the dull, brooding look on his noble features--the
stamp of generations of oppression--I could have pictured him with the
yellow Llautu[A] on his brow, the golden image of the Sun on his
girdled tunic, and the rainbow banner in his hand, standing amongst the
guards of the great Huayna-Capac himself.
I asked Ullullo to leave us alone for a little while, and when he had
gone I stepped forward, and, drawing myself up to my full height, I
looked him in the eyes, and said in the tongue that was spoken only by
those of the divine Inca race,--
'Tell me, Tupac-Rayca, does a remnant of the Children of the Sun still
dwell in the Land of the Four Regions, and are they still faithful to
the traditions of their race, and the faith of their ancestors?'
As the words left my lips he staggered back a pace or two with his hands
clasped to his forehead, staring at me from under them as though--as in
very truth I was--some spirit of the past stood re-embodied before him.
Then, coming forward again and scanning me eagerly from head to foot, he
whispered in the same tongue--by the Lord of Light how those familiar
accents thrilled my ears as I heard them again after so long!
'Who are you--a stranger--that comes in the image of those long dead, to
ask me such a question in the tongue that may only be spoken when none
save those of the Blood are present?'
'One who is of the Blood himself!' I answered, taking a stride towards
him, and stretching out my hand. 'Fear not, Tupac-Rayca, son of him that
suffered, I am a friend, and have come from afar to work as a friend
with you and others of the Blood that may still be left in the land,
with a great and holy purpose of which you shall know ere long.'
He grasped my hand and bowed over it in silence for a while. Then he
stepped back and looked at me again, murmuring,--
'Can it be so? Has the divine Manco come back from the Mansions of the
Sun to save the remnant of his children, or has Vilcaroya broken the
bonds of his death-sleep and come to fulfil the oath he swore with
Golden Star before the altar in the Sanctuary? I know all the Children
of the Blood that are left in the land, and I have never seen your face
before, yet you are of the Blood. Who are you--Lord?'
The last word seemed forced from his lips by some power other than his
own will, and it sounded most pleasant to me, for it told me that,
without knowing my name, and seeing me only as a stranger, he had
recognised the stamp of my divine ancestry, and this promised well for
the progress of the work I had in hand. I answered him kindly, and yet
as one speaking to another who is scarce his equal, and said,--
'My name matters not now or here, Tupac, for we are but two, and I
might lie to you, and you would have no proof of my truth or falsehood.
But if you will do as I bid you, to-night you shall know and all shall
be made plain and with ample proof. Are you willing to give me your
aid?'
He picked up a rude hoe that stood in a corner of the room, and laying
it across his shoulder after the manner of one who bears a burden, bowed
his head and answered,--
'The Son of the Sun has but to speak, and I and all his slaves will
obey.'
What he had done was an act of homage, which, in the olden time, was
paid only to him who wore the imperial Llautu, and proved to me how
faithfully the old traditions had been preserved in secret.
'That is well said, Tupac,' I replied, speaking now as a sovereign might
speak to a faithful subject, 'and in the days to come fear not that I
shall forget this, your first act of unasked-for homage. Now, hear me.
Are there twenty men of the Blood in this village--men who are faithful
and can be trusted even to the death?'
'There are five hundred here, Lord, and as many thousands within the
valley, whose blood has flowed pure from the olden times, unpolluted by
a single stain of Spanish dirt. What would you with them?'
'I asked not for hundreds or thousands,' I said, right glad at heart to
hear such good tidings. 'For the present I need but a score, so do you
choose me twenty of the noblest blood and the best judgment, and an hour
before midnight let them be with you on the plain behind the
Sacsahuaman. Let them come well provided with torches or candles, and
tools, levers, and hammers and spades. Tell them what has passed between
us, but nothing of the guesses that you may have made in your own mind
while we have been talking, and leave the rest to me. Can you do that?'
'It shall be done, Lord,' he answered, still bending before me with the
shaft of the hoe across his shoulders, 'and we will wait and toil in
patience till the Son of the Sun shall please to reveal himself to the
eyes of his servants.'
'Nor shall you have to wait long,' I said. 'Now put that off your back
and take my hand again, for we are not Inca and servant yet, only two
men of the Blood, and brothers of a fallen race who are joined together
to perform a holy work. Now farewell, Tupac, till to-night. Choose your
companions well, and fear not but that your services and your
faithfulness shall have their due reward.'
He put his hand humbly and tremblingly into mine, bowing low over it,
and so I left him, standing there with bent head, not daring to look up
until the door closed behind me. Then Ullullo and I went back into the
city, and as we crossed the great square on our way to Ullullo's house,
I saw my four English friends standing among the market people by the
fountain in the centre. We passed close to them, and I heard my name
spoken by Joyful Star to her brother, who answered her and said,--
'I daresay we shall find he is making friends again with some of these
filthy Indian compatriots of his.'
I hated him from that moment for his bitter words, and swore in my heart
that some day he should pay for them, for I loved my people, and pitied
them in their misery and degradation. I stopped beside them, and my
heart was beating hard as I listened for what Joyful Star would say, and
I have remembered her words, even as I have remembered his. She looked
at him with the light of anger in her eyes and said,--
'For shame, Laurens! I couldn't have believed that you would have said
such a thing. If you belonged to a race that had been enslaved and
plundered by these brutes of Spaniards and Peruvians for three centuries
and a half, do you think you would be any better than these poor
fellows? And, besides, whatever they are, they are Vilcaroya's people,
and he is our friend.'
I could have fallen on the stones and kissed her feet for those sweet
words of hers, and I moved away quickly for fear I should betray myself,
and went with a swelling heart and mingled tears of love and anger in my
eyes to old Ullullo's house, where I changed my clothes again, and then,
as it was nearly dinner time, which, as you know, is in the evening in
Spanish countries, I went back to the house where we were lodging,
wondering what they would think if they could have understood the words
that had passed between Tupac-Rayca and myself.
When I met them again I saw that they would willingly have learned what
had become of me during the day, but I answered their inquiries by
telling them nothing more and yet a great deal less than the truth, and
saying that I had spent the day revisiting old scenes, and learning what
I could of the present condition of my people. This satisfied them
outwardly at least, though I saw a look in Djama's eyes which told me
that he suspected more of the truth than it suited my purpose to tell
him.
Then our conversation turned to the matter of procuring a house, such as
I have spoken of, and the professor told me that he had heard of a
hacienda, well built and solid, and standing in its own domain, about
three leagues across the valley to the westward, on a secluded little
plain among the hills, which would serve our purpose excellently; but
the owner of it wished to sell it, and 'with the stupidity of these
Peruvians,' as he said, would not hire it out to us but would only sell
it, and the price was twenty thousand soles, or dollars of Peru, which
was two thousand pounds in English money.
'It is a great pity,' said the professor, when he had finished telling
me about it, 'for it doesn't seem as though there was another house in
the neighbourhood of Cuzco that would suit our purpose, and this one
would do perfectly.'
'Of course, if the fellow won't let it there's no use thinking any more
about the matter, for two thousand pounds is entirely out of the
question. It seems to me that the expedition will be quite expensive
enough without the luxury of buying houses at fancy prices.'
It was Djama who spoke. No one else at our table could have spoken like
that. I heard him in silence, for I could not trust myself to speak for
the anger that was rising within me. I saw Joyful Star raise her eyelids
and look at him with a swift glance that meant much; but she, too, said
nothing; and then, looking at me, he spoke again and said,--
'Of course, if His Highness'--for so he always spoke of me when no
strangers were present--'would just unlock one of those treasure-houses
of his, the matter would be easy enough, but I suppose that's outside
the contract.'
I still kept silence, knowing as I did what the night was to bring
forth. But Francis Hartness answered for me, and said,--
'I don't think you can quite put it that way, Djama, if you'll excuse me
saying so. If I am not mistaken, it has been clearly understood that the
first treasure-house to be unlocked is the one that holds Vilcaroya's
greatest treasure--his wife--and what you say seems to suggest--'
'It is enough!' I said, unconsciously speaking in my growing anger in
the same imperious tone that I had used but a few hours before to Tupac.
'Let the house be bought. I will charge myself with the cost, and I will
be the debtor of my friends no longer.'
They stared at me as I spoke, for hitherto I had spoken to them as a
child rather than as a man; as an inferior, rather than as an equal. I
saw a smile that was not pleasant to look upon pass swiftly over Djama's
mouth, but he kept silence, and the professor said to me,--
'Are you really in earnest, Vilcaroya? You know, according to our
bargain, we have no claim on you until our part of the work is done.
None of us have any desire to learn your secrets.'
'I am not talking of secrets,' I said, breaking into his speech, 'and
one of my race does not speak to make a liar of himself. What I say I
can do and will, for I wish the work to begin at once. Do you think I
have not waited long enough for my beloved, my sister and my wife?'
'Your what!' cried Joyful Star, rising suddenly from her seat, and
staring at me with fixed and wide-opened eyes. 'Your sister! Oh,
Vilcaroya, surely this is not true!' and as she said this I saw her
cheeks grow pale and her lips tremble.
'Yes,' I answered, 'it is true. Why should I lie to my new sister and
friend, Joyful Star? Golden Star was the daughter of my father, the
great Huayna-Capac, though our mothers were not the same.'
I had no time to finish my speech, for with a look of unutterable horror
in her eyes, which pierced me to the heart and seemed to sever it in
twain, she cried,--
'Oh, no, no! that is too horrible! I don't want to hear any more. I will
go back to England to-morrow. Laurens, come to my room; I want to speak
to you at once.'
So saying, she went to the door and opened it and went out, followed by
her brother, who looked at me as he passed me with a look which I never
forgot or forgave, for it was like the words that I had heard him say to
her in the square.
'What is this?' I said to the professor when the door had closed behind
them. 'What have I said or done that Joyful Star should look with
horror upon me and say such cruel words?'
I saw him exchange glances full of meaning with the English soldier
before he answered me; and then, leaning his arms on the table in front
of him, he said, in that quiet, calm voice of his,--
'My dear Vilcaroya, it is a very strange thing, and, as far as Miss
Djama is concerned, perhaps, a very great pity that this has never come
out before, for without knowing it you have given her a shock that may
have very painful consequences. No, don't interrupt me now, for the
sooner I can make you understand the meaning of your words to her the
better. It is this way: we know, of course, that in your day and among
your people sister-marriage was held to be the most sacred of all
marriages. We know that from such a marriage only might spring the
wearer of the imperial Borla, but to us the idea is so unutterably
horrible and revolting that of all the crimes that could be committed by
one of our race that would be the most fearful. It cannot even be
discussed amongst us, and yet you, in the most perfect innocence, have
spoken of it in the presence--Good Heavens, Hartness! what is to be
done? Do you think Miss Djama was really in earnest when she talked of
going back to England to-morrow? It is impossible--it would ruin
everything!'
I kept silence, for my sorrow and wonder were too great for words, but I
listened eagerly for what Francis Hartness would say in reply.
'She was in earnest when she spoke,' he said, as quietly as the
professor had spoken; 'but, if the doctor has as much sense as I give
him credit for, she will have seen the thing in a different light by
this time. Of course, she has read Prescott, and she really knows as
much about the marriage customs of the ancient Incas as we do. In fact,
to tell you the truth'--and as he said this I saw him frown, and an
angry light came into his eyes that I had never seen in them before--'I
really can hardly understand how, knowing that as she does know it, she
can have been as horrified as she certainly was. She knows perfectly
well that Vilcaroya has come at a single step, as it were, from his age
into ours, and so must have brought all the ideas and beliefs of his
time and his people with him. Depend upon it, a little reflection will
very soon show her that, horrible and all as the idea must naturally
have appeared to her at the first shock of hearing it, from Vilcaroya's
point of view there is nothing in it but what is perfectly natural and
proper. Now, to my mind, the matter is much more sad and serious for
Vilcaroya himself than for anyone else.'
As he said this he turned from the professor to me and went on,
addressing me in a tone so frank and kindly that ever afterwards I
looked upon him as my friend and my brother,--
'It's not a pleasant thing for me to say, and it must, of course, be a
very painful one for you to hear; still, it has got to be said some time
or other, and, unless I am wrong in what I think of you, I believe you
are man enough to hear it and to agree with me that it had better be
said now than later on, when the saying of it might be tenfold more
painful both to you and us.'
'Say on,' I said shortly. 'Your tongue is straight and your eyes look
into mine as those of a friend should look. I am listening.'
'I would wish for no better friend than you, Vilcaroya, after that, for
I know what you mean. Now, what I have to say is this. We know, of
course, that you look upon yourself as doubly married to this love of
yours, who is dead and, like you, may yet be alive again. You are bound
to her, not only by a marriage which, in the time that it took place,
was perfectly lawful and natural, but also by the oath that you took
together. But you have come back to the world in another age and among
another people, and now that form of marriage is looked upon by all
civilised humanity, not only as unlawful, but, as the professor has just
said, unnatural and horrible beyond conception.
'Therefore, if Golden Star is restored to life, for you to love her,
save as a brother, or for you to consummate the union which, as you have
told us, began and ended before the altar of the Sun, would be to make
not only yourself, but your--your sister, Golden Star, as well, looked
upon with horror and loathing by every civilised man and woman who knew
your story. I am speaking strongly, because it is necessary.
'You might succeed in all your aims, you might realise every ambition of
your life, and yet I tell you it is Heaven's own truth, that if you took
Golden Star to sit beside you on the throne of the Incas as your wife
and queen, you would place her upon a pinnacle of infamy which men would
spit upon and women turn their backs on. The reward of all your labours,
the price of all your treasures, no matter how great they might be,
would be nothing but a curse that would fall heavily on you, but a
thousand times more heavily on the woman whom you have loved best in all
the world.'
He stopped, and they both sat and looked at me in silence, awaiting for
me to answer him. As for me, I felt my spirit wandering over a bare
wilderness where all was dark.
I knew that he had spoken truth, strange as the truth seemed to me, for
no man could have heard his voice and seen the steady light in his
eyes, without knowing that he was a true man, and so spoke the truth.
The moments passed, and I could still find no words to say. Then the
silence was broken by the opening of the door, and Djama came in and
said,--
'My sister wishes you to excuse her coming back to the table. Of course,
I have explained matters to her, and I think she now sees them in a
different light, but for some reason or other she seems strangely
shaken. You know how extremely sensitive she is, and so, as her doctor,
as well as her brother, I have sent her to bed. She wasn't really fit to
come back after what has happened, and a night's rest will be the best
thing in the world for her. I suppose you two have explained things to
His Highness as well, eh?'
'Yes,' I said, rising from my seat. 'It has been explained to me. I do
not understand all now, but I must think, and think alone, so I will
go.'
Then I went to Francis Hartness and held out my hand to him and said,
after the fashion of the English,--
'Good-night, Captain Hartness. You have wounded me sorely with your
words, yet you have spoken them as only a friend could speak them. From
now till the day of my death or yours, Vilcaroya Inca is your friend,
and all his people are your servants.'
Then I took my hand from his, and bowing farewell to the others, walked
swiftly out of the room and got my cloak, and went out into the city to
think in silence by myself over the strange and terrible things that I
had heard, and to calm my spirit before I went to do the work which, in
a few hours, would be awaiting me on the hills behind the Sacsahuaman.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] The yellow Llautu, or fringed turban of wool, worn on the brows, was
the distinguishing mark of the sacred Inca race. The scarlet was worn
only by the reigning Inca--'Son of the Sun.' Its fringe, called the
'borla,' was mingled with threads of gold.