"Well," soliloquised Harry, as he glanced about him upon realising that
he was indeed a prisoner, "what does this mean? Is it mutiny, or
treason, or what is it? And as to there being a revolt of the priests,
I don't believe a word of it. Had there been any such thing it would
not have been possible for me to have entered this building without
encountering some sign--either sight or sound--of it. No; that was just
a yarn, a ruse to get me to come here willingly. Now, I wonder what the
dickens they want with me, and what they intend to do with me now that
they have me. Nothing very serious, I expect; for I am the Inca, and
they would never dare to lay violent hands upon the Inca; that amounts
to sacrilege of the very worst kind. Yes; no doubt. And yet I am by no
means certain that that fact would exercise any very powerful
restraining influence upon our friends Huanacocha and Xaxaguana. They
are both ambitious men, and I am very much inclined to question whether
the religious convictions of either man are powerful enough to hold him
back from sacrilege, if his ambition urged him in that direction. Ah,
well! time will show, I have no doubt; meanwhile I have not had half my
night's rest, so I will do what I can to recover arrears." And, thus
thinking, he quietly stretched himself upon a couch which stood against
one wall of the room, and composed himself to sleep.
With the light-hearted carelessness of extreme youth he actually did
sleep--slept so soundly that he was not even disturbed when, some hours
later, the door was quietly opened and two attendants entered bearing
food and drink, which, seeing that the prisoner still slumbered, they
placed upon the table and departed, securing the door again as they
passed out. It was past ten o'clock in the forenoon when the young man,
having completely rested, opened his eyes and looked about him in
wonderment at finding himself in strange quarters. The next moment,
however, memory returned to him: he recalled the proceedings of the past
night, and once more began to speculate upon the purpose which could
have been powerful enough to induce Huanacocha and Xaxaguana to resort
to so extreme a measure as that of his abduction from the palace. And
now, with the more sober reflections following upon a sound night's
rest, he began to take a somewhat more serious view of the situation.
He began to realise that what these two powerful nobles had done was no
hasty, ill-considered act, undertaken upon the spur of the moment,
without thought of the probable consequences, but was doubtless the
result of long and anxious premeditation; and, if so, they would surely
have taken every possible precaution to guard themselves against evil
consequences. And--a slight shudder thrilled through him as the thought
obtruded itself upon his mind--for aught that he could tell to the
contrary one of those precautions might take the form of providing that
he should never return to the light of day, and that no one should ever
know what had become of him! But here again the optimism of youth came
to support him, and he dismissed the grim reflection with a smile; the
matter, of course, could not be anything like so serious as that, he
told himself, and without doubt in an hour or two hence he would be back
in the palace, heartily laughing at the whole adventure.
He drew forth his watch and looked at it. To his astonishment he found
that it was a quarter after ten o'clock--for, his place of confinement
being below the ground level, and hewn out of the heart of the rock,
there were no windows to it, and the only source of light was the lamp
suspended from the roof, which still burned brightly. For an instant he
was under the impression that his watch had stopped overnight at the
hour indicated, but upon putting it to his ear he found that it was
still running. Then his eye felt upon the viands on the table, and he
suddenly discovered that he was hungry. Without further ado, therefore,
he seated himself at the table, and, dismissing for the moment all
further considerations of the future, fell to and made a most excellent
breakfast.
Escombe had finished his meal a full hour and more, and had found time
once more to become distinctly apprehensive as to the intentions of
Huanacocha and Xaxaguana toward him, when the sound of footsteps
approaching along the passage outside his door warned him that the
crisis was at hand, and the next moment the door was flung open and a
priest entered.
"My Lord," he said, "it is the command of the Villac Vmu that you
accompany me into his presence."
"The command, did you say?" retorted Harry. "Surely the Villac Vmu
strangely forgets himself and his position when he presumes to send
commands to the Inca. However," seeing that the passage outside was
full of armed men who were evidently quite prepared to enforce obedience
to the orders of the High Priest, he continued, "I will not stand upon
ceremony, or carp at a mere form of words, but will obey the summons of
the Villac Vmu. Yet, let him and all who hear me remember that I am the
Inca, and that my power to reward obedience is as great as it is to
punish presumption. Now, lead on."
The priest led the way into the passage, Harry following, and the moment
that the latter emerged from the room in which he had been confined an
armed guard of a dozen men closed in around him, rendering escape on his
part impossible. In this order the procession passed along the passage,
up the steps which Harry had descended upon his arrival, and thence
along a corridor into a room crowded with priests and civilians, where,
raised upon a dais, sat the Villac Vmu enthroned. Still surrounded by
the guard, Harry was halted in front of this dais, and directed to seat
himself in a handsome chair that had been placed there for his
reception. This done, the proceedings at once commenced, and Harry
immediately perceived that he was about to be subjected to some sort of
a trial, for no sooner was he seated than the Villac Vmu cried:
"Let my Lord Huanacocha stand forth."
There was a moment's bustle and confusion, and then from the midst of
the assembled crowd Huanacocha shouldered his way through, and placed
himself near Harry, but outside the encircling guards.
"My Lord Huanacocha," said the Villac Vmu, "at your instigation, and
because of certain representations made by you, I have taken the
unprecedented course of causing our Lord the Inca to be brought hither,
that he may answer, before those here assembled, to the charges which I
understand you desire to bring against him. State, therefore, those
charges; but before doing so ye shall swear by the Light of our Lord the
Sun that your motive in instigating these proceedings is free from all
bias or personal ill will; that you are animated therein solely by
anxiety for the public welfare, and that you will say no word save what
you, personally, know to be the truth."
"All this I swear!" answered Huanacocha, raising his right hand aloft.
"It is well," commented the High Priest. "Proceed now with your
charges."
"My Lord," answered Huanacocha, "my first and most serious charge
against the young man who sits there, and whom we have for these many
months past honoured and served as the re-incarnated Manco Capac, the
father and founder of our nation, is that he is an impostor, with no
right or title whatsoever to the service and reverence which we have
given him.
"My second charge," continued Huanacocha, "which, however, should be
preferred by you rather than by me, O Villac Vmu, is that this youth has
blasphemously forbidden us any longer to worship our Lord the Sun, our
Father and Benefactor, and the Giver of all good gifts, and has
commanded that we shall worship instead Pachacamac, whom he calls God,
of whom we know little or nothing, and whom we have never until now been
bidden to worship. I am strongly opposed to this change of religion--
for it amounts to nothing less--as is everybody else with whom I have
spoken on the subject. We all fear that such change will certainly
bring disaster and ruin upon the nation. There are other charges which
could be preferred against the prisoner," concluded Huanacocha; "but I
am content that the case against him shall rest upon those which I have
already enumerated."
"It is well," commented Xaxaguana. "My Lord Huanacocha, the gratitude
of the community is due to you for the public spirit which has prompted
you to come forward and perform what we all recognise to be an
exceedingly disagreeable task, and doubtless the public generally will
be careful to see that your disinterestedness is suitably rewarded. Is
there anyone present who desires to support the charges preferred
against the prisoner by my lord?"
There was. The ball of high treason once set rolling, everybody seemed
anxious to add to its momentum, and man after man came forward, either
to support the charges made by Huanacocha, or to ventilate some petty
grievance, real or imaginary, of his own, until at length so much time
had been consumed that Xaxaguana, growing impatient, refused to listen
to any further evidence. He then turned to Escombe and said:
"Prisoner, you have heard the charges that have been brought against
you. What answer have you to them?"
"I might well answer," said Escombe, "that I am the Inca, and that no
one has the right to question my actions, and no one--not even the
Villac Vmu--has the right to bring me to trial, as you have dared to do;
for I am supreme and infinitely above and beyond you all. But I have no
desire to take refuge behind my dignity. If anyone considers that he
has a grievance against me, as appears to be the case, I prefer to
answer it.
"And first as to the charge which Huanacocha brings against me of being
an impostor. Let me remind you who were present of what took place in
the temple upon the memorable occasion when I was first brought here by
Tiahuana and Motahuana. Tiahuana was the man responsible for my
presence in this valley, and my elevation to the position of Inca. It
was he who, having heard certain particulars concerning me, sought me
out, satisfied himself and his colleague that I fulfilled in my person
all the conditions referred to in a certain prophecy, and brought me
hither without even going through the preliminary formality of asking my
consent. It was he who, when he presented me before you all here in the
temple, convinced you all, with two or three exceptions, of whom
Huanacocha was one, that I was the re-incarnated Manco Capac, the Inca
destined to restore the ancient Peruvian nation to its former power and
grandeur; and it was you who, convinced by his arguments, placed me on
the throne. I had nothing whatever to do with that; I made no claims or
pretensions of any kind; I was simply passive throughout. But when,
convinced by Tiahuana's arguments and proofs, you had placed me on the
throne, and I learned what was expected of me, I devoted all my energies
to the performance of the task which I felt had been laid upon me; and
you know how far I have succeeded. You know that those of pure Peruvian
blood are being daily gathered into this valley from every part of the
kingdom; you know that they are being trained to play their part as
fighting men; and you know also--at least Huanacocha does--that I am
even now engaged in making plans and arrangements for the secret
introduction into the country of an adequate supply of the most modern
weapons, in order that, when the proper moment comes, you may be able to
fight upon equal terms with your enemies.
"As to my having decreed an alteration in your religion, I did so
because when I came among you I found you to be idolaters, worshippers
of the Sun, which is but one of the many beneficent gifts which
Pachacamac--whom I call God--has given to His children. The sun can
only give you his light and heat according to God's will and pleasure;
and therefore it is God, and not the sun, whom you should worship. And
I tell you that until you transfer your adoration from the sun to Him
who made it, you will never be a prosperous and happy people; nor will I
consent to rule over you, or help to restore you as a nation to your
ancient power and glory. Choose, therefore, now, whether you will
worship God, or continue in idolatry; whether you will achieve the great
destiny which Titucocha, your prophet, foretold for you, or whether you
will remain the mere remnant of a once powerful and splendid nation,
lurking here in obscurity in this valley from which you dare not venture
forth lest those who now hold the land that once was yours fall upon and
destroy you. If you choose the latter fate, as you seem inclined to do,
then must I go forth from this valley, and leave you to your own
devices; for, as I have said, I will not rule a nation of idolaters.
But if you choose to obey me, and submit unquestioningly to such
ordinances as I shall promulgate from time to time for your advantage,
then will I undertake to make you all that Titucocha foretold you should
become."
It was evident that Harry's address had produced an exceedingly powerful
impression upon the bulk of his audience, for the moment that he ceased
to speak there arose a great hubbub among those who composed it, the
assembly almost instantly breaking up into little knots and groups, the
members of which at once proceeded to discuss eagerly the several points
of the speech. It was a result as unwelcome as unlooked for by the
prime movers of the conspiracy, and the glance which Huanacocha shot at
the Villac Vmu was full of dismay and apprehension. The latter,
however, who had noted something of the effect which Harry was
producing, saw also how to avail himself of that effect and at the same
time achieve his own and his friend's purpose. He therefore allowed the
commotion to continue unchecked for full ten minutes, before he rose and
held up his hand for silence. Then, when the disturbance had subsided
sufficiently to allow his voice to be heard, he said:
"My friends, I perceive that, like myself, you are in a difficulty, and
know not what to believe. You feel, as I do, that if this youth is in
very truth the re-incarnated Manco whose return to earth was promised by
the prophet Titucocha, it would not only be rankest folly but absolute
sacrilege to reject him. But how are we to know; how is this most
important, this vital point to be determined? There is but one way--a
way which I have already provided for: we must subject him to the ordeal
by fire! If he survives that ordeal, well and good; we shall then know
for certain who he is, and we will serve and obey him in all things.
But, if not--"
He got no further; for at the mention of the ordeal by fire Harry saw at
once, as in a lightning flash, the villainous trap into which he had
been betrayed, and the hideous fate to which it was intended to consign
him. Leaping to his feet, he snatched the drawn sword from the hand of
one of the astonished guards who surrounded him and, before any of them
could interpose to prevent him, had leapt upon the dais and seized the
terrified Xaxaguana by the throat with one hand, while with the sword
which he held in the other he threatened to run the quaking wretch
through the heart.
"Oh no, you don't," he cried, as he tightened his grip upon the
struggling priest's throat; "no fire ordeal for me, thank you! Sit
still and give over struggling, you villain, or I'll pin you to the back
of the chair you sit in. Do you hear me? Ah, that's better; put your
hands down by your sides and keep them there. And you other fellows
stand still where you are, and don't attempt to lift so much as a hand
against me, unless you wish to see me slay this man before your eyes!
Now, Villac Vmu, grasp the seat of your chair with both hands--just to
keep them out of mischief, you know--and do as I tell you. First order
those men of yours to lay down their arms and march out of the
building--see, I release your throat that you may draw breath to give
the order--ah! would you, you treacherous scoundrel? Then take that!"
For as Harry released his grip upon the priest's throat the latter
sprang to his feet and endeavoured to clasp the young Englishman round
the arms and body, at the same time shouting to the others to come to
his help. But Harry was too quick for his would-be captor; he sprang
back a single pace, thus just eluding the grip of the priest, and at the
same time lunged at him with the copper sword which he held, driving it
straight through the man's scheming, treacherous heart. Then, as a
great roar of dismay and execration arose from the assemblage, he
quickly withdrew his reeking weapon from the quivering body and, hastily
wrapping his cloak about his left arm, leaped to the wall, placed his
back to it, and prepared to sell his life as dearly as might be.
He gave himself about half a minute more to live; for what could he
single-handed do against the swordsmen, to say nothing of the rest of
that howling, bloodthirsty crowd who now came surging toward him. They
could overwhelm him in a moment, by sheer force of numbers! But as the
swordsmen sprang upon the dais, with gleaming eyes and threatening
points, the voice of Huanacocha rang through the chamber as he shouted:
"Take the young fool alive, and harm him not, as you value your lives!
He has slain the Villac Vmu; and for that reason, if for no other, he
must pass through the fire. Hem him in, take his weapon from him, and
then bind him hand and foot!"
It was, however, very much easier to give that order than to obey it;
for Escombe had always been passionately fond of sword-play--to such an
extent, indeed, that he had placed himself in the hands of a certain
well-known _maitre d'armes_ in Westminster, and had been pronounced by
that gentleman to be his most promising pupil--so now, with a tolerably
good weapon in his hand, and his back to a solid, substantial wall, he
felt quite in the mood and form to put up an excellent fight.
The swordsmen closed in round him and, as by tacit consent, flung
themselves upon him in a huddled mob, with the evident intention of
bearing him to the ground by sheer preponderance of numbers. But the
next instant three of them recoiled, shrieking, with their faces slashed
open, as Harry met their charge with a sweeping circular cut from left
to right. Then a fourth man staggered and fell with a ghastly wound in
his throat, while the rest drew back in dismay and wonder at a feat of
swordsmanship that to their comparatively untrained minds seemed to
savour strongly of either magic or the supernatural. As to Escombe, he
took a long breath, and told himself that perhaps, with luck, he might
be able to hold out for as much as five minutes; for that first
encounter, brief though it was, showed him that these men had not the
remotest idea of how to handle a sword, while as for himself, he had no
sooner gripped the hilt of his weapon than he felt all the keen delight
of the practised fencer thrill through him at the prospect of an
encounter. Oh yes! he would put up a good fight, such a fight as these
people should remember to their dying day; though of course one of them
would get him, sooner or later, when his weapon happened to be plunged
in the body of an enemy.
These thoughts flashed through the young Englishman's mind in the
drawing of a breath. Then he braced himself afresh against the wall to
meet a second and much more wary attack--his enemies had learned caution
already, for instead of flinging themselves upon him pell-mell, as at
the first rush, they attacked him three at a time, one in front, and one
on either hand, thus allowing plenty of room for the play of their
blades. Also they strove, by every stratagem they could think of, to
entice him away from the wall, so that they might be able to slip round
and take him in the rear; but to keep one's back to the wall was one of
the fundamental rules of self defence that had been dinned into him
until it had become impossible to forget it, and Harry was not to be
tempted. Close to the wall he kept, allowing himself only just
sufficient room for the free play of his blade; and when at length the
attacking trio, losing patience, attempted to rush in upon him, his
point seemed to threaten all three at once, and the next moment two of
the three were _hors de combat_, one with his sword hand half severed at
the wrist, and the other with his right arm laid open from wrist to
elbow.
The ineffectiveness of the attack proved too much for Huanacocha, who
had thus far been looking on at the fray with a sardonic grin upon his
countenance. Now, as he saw the swordsmen hanging back, obviously
afraid to approach that charmed semicircle, the whole of which Escombe's
blade seemed to cover at the same moment, he lost patience, and, with an
angry roar, dashed forward, snatched a weapon from one of the disabled
fighters, and called upon all present to help him to capture the
audacious young foreigner who seemed determined to make fools of them
all. Then, as the others sprang at his call, an idea suddenly seized
him. Tearing the cloak off his shoulders, he flung the heavy garment
straight at Harry, whose blade became entangled in the folds for just
the fraction of a second. But it was enough; the others, seeing in an
instant what had happened, tossed away their weapons and, flinging
themselves upon Escombe before he could clear his sword, tore his weapon
from his grasp and bore him, still fighting savagely with his fists, to
the ground. In another minute it was all over; with men grasping each
of his limbs, and two or three more piled upon his prostrate body, poor
Harry was soon overcome and reduced to a condition of comparative
quiescence, after which it was not a very difficult matter to enwrap his
body with so many turns of a thin, tough, raw-hide rope that further
movement became an impossibility.
Immediately the whole place rang with howls and shouts of fiendish
rejoicing at the brilliance of the feat which had culminated in the
capture of this pestilent young foreigner, whose gallant resistance, so
far from exciting admiration in the breasts of his captors, seemed to
have filled them with the ferocity of wild beasts. As he was raised to
his feet preparatory to bearing him away to the place where a fiery
death even now awaited him, first one and then another fought and
struggled through the yelling crowd to glare into his face with
ferocious glee, and to hiss into his ear bloodcurdling hints of the doom
prepared for him.
The uproar was at its height when Escombe's preternaturally sharpened
ear detected a new note in it, a note of astonishment, consternation,
and terror that quickly overbore and drowned the tones of savage
exultation. The next instant the air was vibrant with shrieks and cries
for mercy as the crowd, scattering right and left, made way before the
levelled spears and whirling blades of the Inca's bodyguard; while the
voice of Umu, harsh and tense with concentrated fury, was heard high
above the din, exhorting his followers to let not one of those present
escape. Within a moment Umu himself, whirling a heavy battle mace about
him with savage freedom, had forced his way to Harry's side, and had
either beaten down or driven off those who had constituted themselves
his custodians.
"Are you hurt, Lord; have these sacrilegious beasts dared to harm a hair
of your head?" he panted, as he flung a supporting arm about Escombe's
bound and helpless body.
"No," answered Harry, smiling rather wanly upon him; "I am as sound as
ever I was, thank God! But you have only arrived in the very nick of
time, Umu. In another five minutes you would have been too late, my
good and trusty friend. How did you know where I was, and what was
happening?"
"The tale is too long to tell just now, Lord," answered Umu, as he
busied himself in freeing Harry from his bonds; "it shall be told later,
when I have disposed of these vile wretches. It was Arima who brought
me the first hint of what was afoot. Pachacamac be praised that I was
able to get here in time! What were they about to do with you, Lord?"
"They talked of putting me to the fire ordeal," answered Harry; "but I
had a word to say against that, as you may see. Xaxaguana, one of the
chief conspirators, has already paid the penalty of his perfidy, and
lies there dead."
"Truly, Lord, you fought well," exclaimed Umu admiringly, as he glanced
about him at the dead and wounded. "And Huanacocha--is he among this
rabble?"
"He is--unless he has escaped," answered Harry.
"If he has, every tenth man of your bodyguard shall lose his hands and
feet," snarled Umu savagely. And then his brow cleared as, glancing at
the mob of prisoners which the troopers were now forming up, he detected
Huanacocha alive, and apparently unhurt, among them. "Ah, no! he is
there, I see," he continued. "Very well; this plot was of his hatching.
He shall undergo the fire ordeal himself."
"Nay, not that, good Umu; not that," protested Harry. "Such a fate is
too horrible to be thought of. Punish him by all means, if you will,
for indeed he deserves punishment; but not in that way."
"Very well, Lord," answered Umu; "it shall be as you wish. Meanwhile, I
pray you to return to the palace, escorted by your bodyguard; while I,
with a few men, attend to the safe disposal of these fellows."
Five minutes later, Escombe found himself, he scarcely knew how, mounted
on a trooper's horse, wending his way back to the palace, surrounded by
his devoted bodyguard, while the populace, quick to detect how matters
were going, rent the air with their acclamations.
An hour later Umu bowed himself into Escombe's presence to report
progress.
"The prisoners, Lord," he said, "are, with the exception of Huanacocha,
safely confined, and now await such punishment as you may be pleased to
inflict upon them. In the presence of a great multitude I have caused
the head of Huanacocha to be struck from his body in the grounds of his
own palace, and have thrown head and body together upon the smoking
ruins of the place. I have likewise posted a notice upon the entrance
gates forbidding anyone to interfere with the body or give it burial.
It is to be left where it lies, for the dogs of the city to devour, as a
warning and example to others of the fate of those who conspire
sacrilegiously against the authority or person of the sovereign. And I
have left two armed troopers to mount sentry at the gates, to ensure
that my orders are obeyed."
"Two only," ejaculated Harry in horrified tones. "My dear Umu, if I may
judge of the temper of the people at large by those with whom I had to
deal in the temple to-day, those two unfortunate men have been torn to
pieces before now. You must send supports at once to them. I want no
more bloodshed over this unfortunate business."
"There will be no more, Lord," answered Umu grimly. "The sentries are
as safe as if they were in barracks. The people know me. They know
that at the first sign of disorder I would sack the city from end to
end, and put every one of its inhabitants to the sword; and there will
be no more crime of any sort for many a day to come, after what has
befallen Huanacocha, who was the most powerful noble in all the land."
"I am sure I hope not," answered Harry. "And if you should prove to be
right in your estimate of the salutary influence exercised by the
example which you have made of that turbulent fellow, his death will not
have been in vain. And now, Umu, what about the palace servants? I see
that an entirely new staff has been installed here, by your orders,
Arima tells me; and he also tells me that the others are safely lodged
in prison. Surely they had nothing to do with the conspiracy?"
Whereupon Umu, by way of reply, proceeded to recount to his royal master
the whole history of the affair, so far as he had learned it. And that
included pretty nearly everything that was worth repeating; for in the
course of his investigations during that eventful morning the soldier
had come upon thread after thread, until, taking into account what he
then learned, and adding to it such stray hints as had previously
reached him, and to which he had, up to that morning, attached no
significance, there was very little left to be learned relative to the
conspiracy. The result of it all was that, after thinking the matter
over very carefully, Escombe was driven to the conclusion that this
curious people, into whose midst he had been so strangely brought, were
not ripe for those reforms which he, as their ruler, would have felt it
his duty to introduce; that they did not want them, and would never
willingly accept them; and that, consequently, he must either govern
them as they desired to be governed, at the expense of his own
conscience, or else abandon the idea of ruling them at all:
Having come to this conclusion, he summoned all the nobles to a
conference, at which he put the case frankly before them, inviting them
as frankly to express their opinion upon it, with the result that he was
fully confirmed in the opinion which he had formed. The day after the
close of the conference he definitely announced to Umu his intention to
abdicate and quit the valley; at the same time asking that officer's
advice as to the best and most desirable mode of procedure in so
exceedingly delicate a business.
"The affair can be arranged quite easily, Lord," answered Umu. "There
is not the slightest need for you to abandon us. After what has
happened to the Villac Vmu and Huanacocha, who were the two chief
conspirators, and the example which I shall make of all those who were
foolish enough to listen to them, you will be troubled by no more
conspiracies; and I will see that whatever laws you may choose to make
are obeyed, whether they happen to be to the taste of the people or not.
There are a few, who, like myself, are able to recognise that such laws
as you have thus far made are for our advantage, and you will always be
able to reckon upon their support; while, for the others, who have not
sense enough to understand what is good for them, they must be compelled
to bow to the decrees of those who are wiser than themselves.
"But if, as you have intimated, you are quite resolved not to enforce
your wishes upon the people against their will, I will issue a
proclamation declaring that, since the inhabitants of the valley have
rejected the enormous benefits and advantages which you had desired to
bestow upon them, you have decided to leave the valley and abandon them
to their fate, and that I have assumed the reins of government and will
henceforth rule them in your stead. It is for you, Lord, to say which
of these two alternatives shall be adopted."
"Very well, Umu," said Escombe, "I have already quite made up my mind.
I will not remain here to force upon the people laws and ordinances
which are unacceptable to them; therefore issue your proclamation as
soon as you please, and I will make arrangements to leave forthwith. I
presume I may depend upon you to furnish me with guides and an escort as
far as Santa Rosa, from which I will take the train to Islay. Also, as
I shall require money to defray my expenses back to England, I shall
take the liberty of withdrawing one bar of gold from the palace treasure
chamber for that purpose."
"Assuredly, Lord," answered Umu. "You shall be furnished with a
reliable guide--you can have none better than Arima--and also such an
escort as will enable you to perform your journey in perfect safety and
comfort. As to the gold, it must of course be for you to determine how
much you will need to defray your expenses back to your own country; but
what of the remainder of the treasure? You will scarcely be able to
take the whole of it with you; for to transport it across the mountains
would need the services of every man in the valley, and so large a
following as that would be apt to attract undue and unwelcome
attention."
"Ay, that it would," laughed Harry. "But I have no intention of robbing
you of all your treasure, Umu; very far from it. A single bar of gold
will suffice for all my needs, thanks!"
"But the whole of the treasure is yours, Lord, to do what you will with
it," answered Umu. "It was given to you on the day when you were
proclaimed Inca; and--"
"Oh, yes, I know!" interrupted Harry; "it was given me for a certain
purpose, to wit, the reconquest of the country and its restoration to
its former owners. But since the people are too indolent and too self-
indulgent to allow me to do this for them, of course I have no claim
upon the treasure, and could not possibly dream of appropriating it to
my own uses."
"So let it be then, Lord," answered Umu. "Take what you require; and,
for the rest, I will deal with the matter."
A week later witnessed Escombe's departure from the Valley of the Sun,
with Arima as his guide, and a troop of the Inca's bodyguard as his
escort. As Umu had promised, every possible arrangement had been made
for his safety and comfort on the journey; and that portion of it which
lay between the valley and Santa Rosa was accomplished far more
agreeably than was that which lay between Santa Rosa and the sea. The
bodyguard escorted him to within twenty miles of Santa Rosa, which was
as close to the city as it was prudent for them to approach, and then
left him to complete the journey in the company of Arima and the porters
who bore his baggage for him. There was not very much of the latter now
remaining; nevertheless his following amounted to some twenty-five men;
for in addition to Escombe's personal belongings, tent, etcetera, there
were three stout wooden cases measuring about eighteen inches each way,
containing, as Umu, at parting, informed Harry, the smallest possible
share of the treasure which he could be permitted to leave with. When
these were ultimately opened, they proved to contain gems--diamonds,
rubies, and emeralds--of such enormous value as to constitute their
owner a multi-millionaire. It is not to be supposed that Escombe
succeeded in conveying all this treasure down to the coast and getting
it safely embarked upon the mail boat for England without tremendous
difficulty and trouble. But by the exercise of immense ingenuity and
tact, and the expenditure of a very considerable amount of time, he
ultimately managed it.
Harry is now safe at home, and settled down very comfortably, with his
mother and sister, in the most lovely part of Devonshire, where he
divides his time pretty evenly between enjoying himself, converting his
store of gems into coin of the realm, and seeking opportunities to
employ his enormous wealth for the benefit and advantage of his less-
fortunate fellow men.
Let it not be thought, however, that Harry's adventures in the City of
the Sun had banished from his mind the fact that he still owed a very
important duty to Sir Philip Swinburne. On the contrary, it was the
subject which became the most important one in his thoughts after he had
finally completed his arrangements for the safe transport of his
treasure to England. Indeed it claimed his attention immediately upon
his arrival at the coast, and one of his first acts was to write to Sir
Philip, acquainting that gentleman with the fact of his escape from the
Indians--for so he put it--and his impending departure for England,
adding that he would afford himself the pleasure of calling at the
office in Westminster at the earliest possible moment after his arrival
home. He had already ascertained that the survey party had completed
its operations, and that Bannister had left for England some two months
prior to the date of his own arrival upon the coast. He knew that there
were many points in connection with that portion of the survey which had
been executed prior to Bannister's arrival upon the scene which nobody
but himself could make clear, and accordingly he had no sooner started
upon the long homeward voyage than he betook himself to the task of
preparing voluminous explanatory notes on those points, so far as his
memory served him, in order that he might have all his information cut
and dried for submission upon his arrival home.
In conformity with his promise, he duly presented himself in Westminster
within twenty-four hours of his return to English soil, receiving an
enthusiastic welcome from his former confreres, and especially from
Bannister, whom he found busily engaged in plotting the result of the
soundings taken at Lake Titicaca. He was also effusively welcomed by
Mr Richards, who had already wrought himself into a state of
distraction in his futile endeavours to clear up those very obscurities
which formed the subject of Harry's notes. But with the return of
Escombe to the office the troubles of the chief draughtsman on that
account ceased, and he found himself once more able to sleep at night;
for Harry promptly made it clear that he held himself absolutely at Sir
Philip's disposal until the whole of the plans relating to the survey
should be completed. He presented himself at the office punctually at
ten o'clock every morning, and worked diligently throughout the day for
the succeeding two months until the entire work had been brought to a
satisfactory conclusion, and Sir Philip had written his report and
dispatched it with his proposals to the Chairman of the Peruvian
Corporation.
Whether those proposals will be carried into effect the future only can
tell, for they involve the expenditure of a formidable number of
millions. But it is safe to say that, if they are, Harry will take no
part in the work, his view being that, since he has no need to earn his
living, it would be wrong of him to accept a post and thus shut out
someone who has that need.
Still, he has the satisfaction of knowing that, although his future is
independent of the goodwill of any man, he so conducted himself during
the trying time of his service under Butler, and afterwards, while
working singlehanded, as to win the warmest approval and esteem of Sir
Philip Swinburne and the worthy Richards, the latter of whom is now wont
to quote Harry Escombe as the pattern and model of all engineering
pupils.
It is also due to Harry to mention that he made an early opportunity to
call upon Butler's widow for the purpose of personally acquainting her
with the details of the surveyor's unhappy end. But in doing this he
contrived so to modify the particulars of the story that, by judicious
omissions here and there, without any sacrifice of truth, he succeeded
in conveying an impression that was very comforting and consoling to the
unfortunate lady in the midst of her grief. As he found that the poor
soul had been left in very straitened circumstances, he made it his
business promptly to arrange with his lawyers that she should be paid
anonymously a sufficient sum quarterly to place her beyond the reach of
want.