ON THE RODADERO
Francis Hartness and I came last out of the passage, and I asked him to
lead the soldiers out of the hollow and across the plain to the wall of
the Sacsahuaman, where I would join them, and as soon as they had gone
out of the hollow and were lost to sight I went to the hole among the
bushes where the hidden stone was and released the chain and let the
water flow back into its old place, till the entrance to the Hall of
Gold was only the same dark, stagnant pool that any wanderer might find
at the bottom of the cloven stairway.
Then I strewed the earth over the hole, and piled the stones and
brushwood round and over it as before, and went away to join the others.
I found them standing in a group in one of the angles of the great
fortress, and there I spoke to the soldiers again, and told them how
much depended, both for themselves and for the country, on their
fidelity, promising them peace and prosperity and freedom if they were
faithful, and a speedy death if they betrayed me.
After this I told them what story they should tell when they went back
to the city--how their Indian guide had led them into the entrance to a
cavern in the mountain, their officer going first and he following, and
how, when these two were going on with a single light, some two or three
yards ahead of them a great slab of stone had suddenly fallen down
between them, closing the passage, and how water had risen up and filled
the passage at its lower end, forcing them to run back out of it for
fear of being drowned; and I further gave them permission to bring any
who disbelieved them to the mouth of the cleft under the Sayacusca and
show them the water that they would find at the bottom of it, but to
take good care to send me warning of anyone going there.
This they promised to do, and still full of wonder, and yet pleased with
the gold they had got and the promises I had made to them, they made a
loyal farewell, and marched down through the Gate of Sand, and went back
to the city to tell their story and do the work that I had bidden them
do.
When they had gone I sent some of my men to see that none of them turned
back, and dismissed the rest to their homes, saving only Tupac, Anahuac,
and Ainu and three others who could be trusted in all things; and with
these we went back into the underground chambers of the fortress by the
way that we had left them.
When we got back to the throne-room I sent all but Tupac away to remove
the beasts from the stables and take them to the hacienda, so that the
next night, under cover of the darkness, they could return and bring us
food and drink and clothing and other things that we needed, for now
that matters had gone so far it would not be safe for us to live at the
hacienda or be seen in any place known to the Spaniards until the time
was ripe for the striking of the first blow.
When they were gone we ate and drank a little of what we had brought
with us in the morning, and then lay down, either to sleep or to think
of the strange things that had happened and of what was now quickly
coming to pass.
As for me, no sleep came to my eyes, for I knew that when Joyful Star
awoke I should have to tell her at least something of what her brother
had done and of what had happened to him, and a grievous task it was,
you may be sure, when I came to the doing of it, as I did not many hours
afterwards.
The first thing she asked me when she found that Djama was not with us
was what had become of him, and then, knowing that sooner or later the
bitter truth had to be told, I told her as gently as I was able, and
hiding from her all that I could without lying to her. My words struck
her dumb with horror and amazement, and if it had not been that Francis
Hartness and the professor were there, and told her that they had seen
and heard with their own eyes and ears the truth of all that I said, I
do not think she would have believed me. But when at last she could no
longer doubt the story of her brother's crime and treachery, she came to
me and laid her hand upon my arm, and looked up at me with tearful eyes
and said,--
'But you will not kill him, Vilcaroya, for my sake, will you? He is my
brother, you know, after all, though he has made me almost ashamed to
say so. You must protect yourself, of course, and your people from
treachery, but you will not kill him, will you?'
'He is alive now,' I said, 'because he is Joyful Star's brother, not
because I think he is worthy to live, for he would have betrayed one
life that he gave back, and stained the other with infamy. But I have
given my word, and he shall live, and when he can do no more harm I will
pardon him, and he shall go back to his own country in safety. More than
that I cannot promise even to you.'
'It is all that I can ask for,' she said, 'and more than he could expect
after what he has done. But, oh! why should he have brought such a shame
as this upon us?'
'Upon himself only,' I said. It would not be possible for such a thing
as shame to touch you.'
She looked up at me again and smiled through her tears, as if my words
had pleased her well, and that smile of hers was more to me than even
her tears. Then she went back to the little chamber where she had slept,
and presently returned leading Golden Star by the hand, and then we all
sat down in the silver seats and talked of the wonderful things that had
happened, and I told Golden Star all the story of my own return to life,
and hers, and what I knew of the changes that had happened in the world
since she and I had said our last words to each other in the Sanctuary
of the Sun; and then I set her talking with the others, translating for
her and for them as well as I could, and she, knowing nothing of what
had happened in the night, and being glad that Evil Eyes, as she called
Djama in our own speech, had gone away for a long time, was as happy as
a child amongst us, and soon even Ruth became more cheerful and began to
try and make her say words of English and repeat her name and the
professor's and Francis Hartness's after her, for she already loved her
dearly, and, even in the midst of her own sorrow, she was rejoiced that
the soul which had slept had been so happily re-awakened in her.
After this, Francis Hartness and I began to talk our plans over again,
and to discuss the chances of the revolt in Cuzco, and I showed him how,
with the help of my people, I would the next day cut off all
communication between the valley and the rest of the country until our
work was finished there, for I was determined that the first part of the
empire of my fathers' that I would re-take should be the City of the Sun
itself and the region that it commanded, since I knew that my people
still looked upon it as the most sacred spot on earth, and would fight
better to take it than any other place. And in this plan Francis
Hartness, looking at the matter as a soldier, also agreed with me.
We thought it best that none of us should show ourselves in the open
that day, for we knew not what the effect of the soldiers' story and
their return without their officer might be in Cuzco, for if it had
become widely known, it would certainly bring many people up to the
Rodadero to behold the scene of so strange an occurrence. So we spent
the day in conversation, and, which was more interesting to my
companions, in exploring the maze of chambers and passages and winding
galleries which the labour of many thousands of men had wrought out of
the solid rock in the days of my ancestors, for you must know that in
those days the fortress of the Sacsahuaman was crowned with a great
palace, which was the strongest place in all the Land of the Four
Regions, and so here were stored very great treasures, not only of gold
and silver and precious stones, but also weapons and armour and most
finely-woven cloths of the purest wool of the Vicuña, which is softer
than silk, brilliantly dyed and embroidered with gems and threads of
gold, and the imperial robes that had been worn by twenty generations of
Incas, many sets of each, since nothing that had belonged to one Inca
might ever be used by another after his death.
Among these were found many sets of the royal robes of the Coyas or
queen-wives of the Incas, and I took Golden Star aside and told her to
take two of these and to clothe herself in one and Joyful Star in the
other, so that we might see our two Inca princesses side by side as
they might have looked in the days of the past, and she fell in with my
humour, laughing and clapping her hands like a delighted child.
So she took the robes and led Joyful Star away with her to their own
chamber, talking to her in her soft, musical speech, though she knew she
could not understand her, and yet making so many pretty signs and
eloquent gestures that Ruth, forgetting her sorrow for the time,
comprehended her, and entered into the spirit of the play, and soon they
came back to us into the throne-room, clad exactly alike, and so
perfectly resembling each other, save for the contrast of the blue eyes
and the brown, and the bright hair and the dark, that they could have
been taken for nothing save twin daughters of the Sun and the fairest of
his children; and Tupac and the two men that I had kept in the fortress
to attend to our wants fell on their knees before them as they passed,
as though they would have worshipped them.
It was at this time, and while we were passing the hours in this
fashion, that Golden Star did something that gave me great joy and a
bright hope for the future. I had been telling her of the wonderful
country that I had returned to life in, and of the marvellous things
that I had seen there, and this, she knew already, was the country of
Francis Hartness. So, as he came from such a wonderful land, she
thought, in the innocence of her old-world simplicity, that he was one
of a new race of beings that came on to the earth since our days, and
when I told her he was but human like ourselves, though very strong and
learned and skilled in many things that we knew nothing of, she said to
me, just as a sister might say to a brother from whom she had no
secrets,--
'He is rather, in my eyes, like a son of our Father who has come to
earth from the Mansions of the Sun; yet I am very glad that he is not,
and that he is a man such as you are, my brother, and when Joyful Star
has taught me the speech of her people I will talk with him, and then I
think life will be better for me, for even now, though I cannot
understand his words, his voice sounds like music to me, and when he
looks at me he makes me try to remember something that was in my other
life, and I have forgotten. What is it, I wonder?'
I looked down into her eyes and saw the untroubled serenity of her soul
reflected in them. There was no flush on her cheeks, and her lips were
smiling as they could not have smiled had she known how I could have
answered that question for her. I stooped and kissed her brow and
said,--
'I might guess what it is, Golden Star, but I could not tell you. Yet I
pray that our Father the Sun may put it into the heart of my friend to
teach you what I see now you can only learn from him.'
More than this I would not tell her, though she questioned me sharply.
But the next time that Francis Hartness spoke to her through my lips she
looked up at him, and a little flush came to her cheeks, and a smile to
her lips, and I saw his eyes brighten, and the colour deepen ever so
little under the bronze of his skin.
Then I looked at Joyful Star and saw something shining in her eyes too,
and as she caught my glance she smiled ever so little and said, when I
had finished speaking for him,--
'Vilcaroya is an excellent interpreter, I've no doubt; but don't you
think, Captain Hartness, it would be very much more interesting if you
could talk directly with Her Highness? You know I'm teaching Golden Star
English, and Vilcaroya is teaching you Quichua--now, I wonder which of
you will be able to talk to the other first?'
He pulled his moustache and laughed, looking at Golden Star the while,
and said,--
'Well, Her Highness has the advantage of the easier language and the
freshest, and I daresay the brightest intellect, but probably for all
that we shall begin with some delightful jargon of both languages, and
leave them to sort themselves out as we go on. Still, as you say, it
will be more interesting than talking through an interpreter.'
'And I hope,' she said, with more meaning in her voice than in her
words, 'that you will both of you find it as pleasant as it will be
interesting.'
'Who knows!' he said, catching her meaning and laughing again. 'She is
most wonderfully like you, Miss Ruth, isn't she?'
'Yes, but--but I am not without hope that you may some day compare us a
little, just a little, to my disadvantage.'
What Francis Hartness would have said to this I cannot say, though I do
not think he was displeased by Joyful Star's words, and yet his face
grew very serious as she spoke. But just then Tupac came and told me
that Anahuac and Ainu had returned with the beasts, and were now waiting
outside the bronze doors. From this we learnt that it was already night,
though, truth to tell, the time had passed so quickly for us that I for
one thought that it was little more than late afternoon.
Now, as I have said, I was the only one who knew the secret of the
bronze doors, and so I went back with Tupac and opened them, and, when
the men had entered, closed them again.
There were twelve of them beside Ainu and Anahuac, and all were laden
with food and drink and clothing, and our arms and ammunition, two
repeating rifles and two revolvers for each of us. When the men had laid
their burdens down, I called Anahuac to me, and asked him if he had any
news. He bowed himself before me, and then, standing in front of me as I
sat in one of the seats, he said,--
'Yes, Lord. If the ears of the Son of the Sun are open, his servant will
fill them with tidings of some moment.'
'Say on,' I said, 'and meanwhile let a meal be prepared for us, for we
are hungry.'
This I said to Tupac, and Golden Star, hearing it, smiled, and took
Ruth's hand and led her to the boxes, making signs that they should
perform the housewife's duties together. Then Anahuac began, and said,--
'The ears of the Children of the Blood have not been closed, nor have
their eyes slept throughout the Holy City and the Valley of the Sun, and
they have seen and heard much, and the courage of their hearts has risen
high, and they are longing for the word of their Lord to break the yoke
that is upon their necks.
'When the soldiers returned last night and told the story that my Lord
had put into their mouths, there was great wonder among all the other
soldiers, and many saw in it a sign that the Son of the Sun is mighty,
and can do that which he promises. But among the masters who are set
over the soldiers there was great anger, and they sought, but without
avail, to keep the news from being made public in the city; but the Men
of the Blood took care that this should not be so, and to-day all Cuzco
has been talking of the strange fate of the Coronel Prada, the son of
Don Antonio Prada, the governor. But Don Antonio himself had gone the
day before to a hacienda near Oropesa, and messengers have been sent to
him to tell him the story, and this evening he rode back with all haste
to the city.
'He has ordered that to-night sentries shall be posted at all the
approaches to the Rodadero and round the Sayacusca, so that none may
come or go without his knowledge, and to-morrow he will come himself
with many officers and two hundred soldiers, and the thing they call
dynamite, that he may rend the Sayacusca in pieces, and find, as he
thinks, the place where his son has been hidden.'
'And the soldiers--what of them?' I asked. 'Will they be for us or
against us?'
'There will be many in the service of my Lord, and if it shall be
possible there shall be more of these than of the others, for those who
were in the Hall of Gold last night have been busy in the hope of my
Lord's further bounty, and many have been tempted with the promise of
gold and freedom; but still there will be many that may not be trusted,
and all the officers of the Governor will be Spaniards.'
'And therefore enemies,' I said, when he had finished his story, and
stood waiting for me to speak.
I told Francis Hartness at once what Anahuac had said, and we debated
for a short time on what we should do. Then I called Tupac, and he came
and stood beside Anahuac, and I said to them,--
'These things have happened well for us, and now we must act quickly, so
that we may take the best advantage of them. When you go hence, take
with you twenty strips of the scarlet fringe in token of my authority,
and give these to twenty of the best of the Men of the Blood, and let
them go with all speed and silence through the towns and villages of the
valley, and say that the Son of the Sun has come, and is about to
stretch forth his hand and take that which was his again. Further, let
every entrance to the valley be closed. Let the bridge over the Great
Speaker be cut with all speed that may be. Let none pass in or out of
the gateway of Piquillacta, and let all the mountain paths be broken
down or blocked, so that none may know what is happening in the valley,
nor any news be carried hence into the country.
'Let every hacienda, whose master is a Spaniard, be given to the flames,
but let no one else be injured. Let none of the strangers be hurt, and
let their goods be sacred. Let all of the sentries who will not serve us
be disarmed or slain silently by the others, and this before midnight,
and let those who are for us--who shall come with the Governor
to-morrow--make ready to do quickly that which shall be commanded them.
The password for those who are with us will be "Vilcaroya." The rest I
will do with my own hands and the help of my friend. I have spoken--let
me be obeyed quickly!'
Then they bent low before me and went to make ready to do what I had
bidden them.
It was then about eight o'clock at night, and after we had had our
evening meal we waited until it was nearly eleven, making perfect our
plans, and then, when Ruth and Golden Star had gone to rest without
knowing of the work which we had in hand--for we had kept it from them
lest they should be anxious for us--Francis Hartness and I armed
ourselves, after I had disguised him as well as I could to make him look
like an Indian, and we said good-night to the professor and left the
fortress by the same way that we had left it the night before.
As soon as we got out into the open air we made our way stealthily back
towards the Rodadero, until I caught sight of a sentry standing near one
of the carved stones.
'I will go and see whether this is a friend or a foe,' I whispered.
'Wait here and cover him with your rifle, but do not fire unless you
hear me whistle.'
'Very well,' he said; 'but take care of yourself, for those Mannlicher
bullets make a very ugly wound.'
I waved my hand to him in reply, and went away towards the sentry,
keeping a good lookout for others who might be about. I had in my belt a
long, heavy-bladed knife, and this I loosened in the sheath as I came
near to him. I got within earshot of him unseen, and then, rising to my
feet behind him, I said in a low voice, but loud enough for him to
hear,--
'Vilcaroya--friend or foe?'
'_Halta! quien va?_'
The words in the hated Spanish speech told me that he was a foe. As he
faced about, bringing his rifle to the ready, I drew my knife and,
before he could take aim, sent it whistling through the air with such
force and so true an aim that it took him in the windpipe and half
buried its blade in his neck. That was one of the tricks of our old
warfare which, with many others, I had taken good care not to forget.
He dropped his rifle and clasped his hands to his throat and fell
without a sound. I crept swiftly forward, pulled the knife out of his
throat and drove it into his heart. Then I quickly took off his
cartridge-belt and long coat and cap, and put them on. After that I took
his rifle and stood in his place for a little while, so that the others
might see me, and then walked back to where I had left Hartness. When he
saw me coming, his rifle-barrel moved till it covered me, and he said in
English,--
'Is that you, Vilcaroya?'
'Yes,' I said. 'The sentry was an enemy, and I have killed him. Now I am
going to take you prisoner, as though I were the sentry, and so we can
go together and find the officer who commands the sentries, and take him
prisoner or kill him.'
'All right,' he said with a laugh. 'I surrender. This isn't quite what
we call civilised warfare, but I suppose it can't be helped.'
We went back together to the place where the sentry that I had killed
had stood, and then we saw two or three others coming in towards the
place, no doubt to see why the other sentry should have left his post. I
took Hartness's rifle out of his hand, and, catching him by the arm, led
him to meet the nearest of them, as though I had taken a prisoner.
Within ten paces of them I halted, and said,--
'Is it Vilcaroya or Prada?'
'Vilcaroya to a friend, Prada to an enemy,' he answered, in the dialect
in which I had addressed him.
'Then we are friends,' I said, taking off the peaked cap that had
belonged to the other sentry, and showing him the long, straight, brown
hair that betokened my race. 'I am he who has come back from the days
that are dead--Vilcaroya, the son of Huayna-Capac.'
'And I am thy servant, Lord,' he said, bringing his rifle-butt down
between his feet, and bending his head over the muzzle. 'I am one of
those who saw the glory of my Lord in the Hall of Gold last night.'
'Then thou art one of the faithful,' I said, 'for none have betrayed the
secret or earned the swift death that would have been theirs had they
done so. Now tell me, how many of those who are on guard here to-night
may be trusted?'
'There are twenty of us here, Lord, not counting the officer in
command.'
'Nay,' I said, interrupting him, 'there are but nineteen, for he who
wore this coat and carried this rifle was an enemy, and I have killed
him, as I would have killed thee hadst thou been an enemy. Now, of these
nineteen, how many may I trust?'
'There are but five who may not be trusted, not counting the officer,
and he is a Spaniard, and must be killed.'
'That is good,' I said, for the tone in which he had said these last
words had pleased me well. 'Now this man with me is my faithful friend,
and one who will fight well for me and my people. Go on the other side
of him, and we will take him as a prisoner to the officer. Then thou
shalt see how Vilcaroya deals with his enemies.'
He bent his head in assent, and took his place beside Hartness, and as
we marched away Hartness said to me,--
'I don't think I shall have much to teach you in strategy, Vilcaroya,
but I must say that I would rather have a stand-up fight than this kind
of thing.'
'It is not like what you have told me of the warfare of the English,' I
said, 'yet if it has to be it must be. Let us get it over.'
So we marched him between us across the plain, and when we got between
the wall of the fortress and the carved stone that they called the
Inca's Seat, we saw the officer who was in command of the sentries
walking, with two soldiers beside him, from post to post, seeing that
the sentries were awake and keeping proper watch. We went to meet him,
and halted ten paces from him at his command. I had told the sentry to
reply for me, and he answered the officer's hail and said,--
'Vilcaroya!--a prisoner.'
[Illustration: It had smitten him to the heart.
_To face page 228._]
As the first words left his lips the two soldiers repeated the password
and made with their rifles the movement that is called the salute. My
knife was already in my hand, and as the officer gave a command in
Spanish, it flashed once in the starlight and the next instant was
buried to the hilt in his breast. He fell, as the sentry had done,
without a cry, for it had smitten him to the heart, dead as though he
had been struck by a lightning bolt. The others stared at his fallen
body, dumb with amazement, and I heard Hartness utter a sound that might
have been one either of horror or of wonder; but I had no time to take
heed of this, so I instantly ordered the two soldiers to take the
officer's uniform off his body, and then I said to Hartness,--
'Now, you can speak Spanish and I cannot. Take this Spaniard's uniform
and his weapons, and make yourself the officer of the guard, and then
you shall help me to set a trap that the Governor shall find it a hard
matter to escape from.'