CHAPTER X
ON THE RODADERO
Francis Hartness and I came last out of the passage, and I asked him tolead the soldiers out of the hollow and across the plain to the wall ofthe Sacsahuaman, where I would join them, and as soon as they had goneout of the hollow and were lost to sight I went to the hole among thebushes where the hidden stone was and released the chain and let thewater flow back into its old place, till the entrance to the Hall ofGold was only the same dark, stagnant pool that any wanderer might findat the bottom of the cloven stairway.
Then I strewed the earth over the hole, and piled the stones andbrushwood 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 greatfortress, and there I spoke to the soldiers again, and told them howmuch depended, both for themselves and for the country, on theirfidelity, promising them peace and prosperity and freedom if they werefaithful, and a speedy death if they betrayed me.
After this I told them what story they should tell when they went backto the city--how their Indian guide had led them into the entrance to acavern in the mountain, their officer going first and he following, andhow, when these two were going on with a single light, some two or threeyards ahead of them a great slab of stone had suddenly fallen downbetween them, closing the passage, and how water had risen up and filledthe passage at its lower end, forcing them to run back out of it forfear of being drowned; and I further gave them permission to bring anywho disbelieved them to the mouth of the cleft under the Sayacusca andshow them the water that they would find at the bottom of it, but totake good care to send me warning of anyone going there.
This they promised to do, and still full of wonder, and yet pleased withthe gold they had got and the promises I had made to them, they made aloyal farewell, and marched down through the Gate of Sand, and went backto the city to tell their story and do the work that I had bidden themdo.
When they had gone I sent some of my men to see that none of them turnedback, and dismissed the rest to their homes, saving only Tupac, Anahuac,and Ainu and three others who could be trusted in all things; and withthese we went back into the underground chambers of the fortress by theway that we had left them.
When we got back to the throne-room I sent all but Tupac away to removethe beasts from the stables and take them to the hacienda, so that thenext night, under cover of the darkness, they could return and bring usfood and drink and clothing and other things that we needed, for nowthat matters had gone so far it would not be safe for us to live at thehacienda or be seen in any place known to the Spaniards until the timewas ripe for the striking of the first blow.
When they were gone we ate and drank a little of what we had broughtwith us in the morning, and then lay down, either to sleep or to thinkof the strange things that had happened and of what was now quicklycoming to pass.
As for me, no sleep came to my eyes, for I knew that when Joyful Starawoke I should have to tell her at least something of what her brotherhad 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 hoursafterwards.
The first thing she asked me when she found that Djama was not with uswas what had become of him, and then, knowing that sooner or later thebitter truth had to be told, I told her as gently as I was able, andhiding from her all that I could without lying to her. My words struckher dumb with horror and amazement, and if it had not been that FrancisHartness and the professor were there, and told her that they had seenand heard with their own eyes and ears the truth of all that I said, Ido not think she would have believed me. But when at last she could nolonger doubt the story of her brother's crime and treachery, she came tome and laid her hand upon my arm, and looked up at me with tearful eyesand said,--
'But you will not kill him, Vilcaroya, for my sake, will you? He is mybrother, you know, after all, though he has made me almost ashamed tosay so. You must protect yourself, of course, and your people fromtreachery, but you will not kill him, will you?'
'He is alive now,' I said, 'because he is Joyful Star's brother, notbecause I think he is worthy to live, for he would have betrayed onelife that he gave back, and stained the other with infamy. But I havegiven my word, and he shall live, and when he can do no more harm I willpardon him, and he shall go back to his own country in safety. More thanthat I cannot promise even to you.'
'It is all that I can ask for,' she said, 'and more than he could expectafter what he has done. But, oh! why should he have brought such a shameas this upon us?'
'Upon himself only,' I said. It would not be possible for such a thingas shame to touch you.'
She looked up at me again and smiled through her tears, as if my wordshad pleased her well, and that smile of hers was more to me than evenher 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 allsat down in the silver seats and talked of the wonderful things that hadhappened, 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 worldsince she and I had said our last words to each other in the Sanctuaryof the Sun; and then I set her talking with the others, translating forher and for them as well as I could, and she, knowing nothing of whathad happened in the night, and being glad that Evil Eyes, as she calledDjama in our own speech, had gone away for a long time, was as happy asa child amongst us, and soon even Ruth became more cheerful and began totry and make her say words of English and repeat her name and theprofessor's and Francis Hartness's after her, for she already loved herdearly, and, even in the midst of her own sorrow, she was rejoiced thatthe 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 allcommunication between the valley and the rest of the country until ourwork was finished there, for I was determined that the first part of theempire of my fathers' that I would re-take should be the City of the Sunitself and the region that it commanded, since I knew that my peoplestill looked upon it as the most sacred spot on earth, and would fightbetter to take it than any other place. And in this plan FrancisHartness, looking at the matter as a soldier, also agreed with me.
We thought it best that none of us should show ourselves in the openthat day, for we knew not what the effect of the soldiers' story andtheir return without their officer might be in Cuzco, for if it hadbecome widely known, it would certainly bring many people up to theRodadero to behold the scene of so strange an occurrence. So we spentthe day in conversation, and, which was more interesting to mycompanions, in exploring the maze of chambers and passages and windinggalleries which the labour of many thousands of men had wrought out ofthe solid rock in the days of my ancestors, for you must know that inthose days the fortress of the Sacsahuaman was crowned with a greatpalace, which was the strongest place in all the Land of the FourRegions, and so here were stored very great treasures, not only of goldand silver and precious stones, but also weapons and armour and mostfinely-woven cloths of the purest wool of the Vicuna, which is softerthan silk, brilliantly dyed and embroidered with gems and threads ofgold, and the imperial robes that had been worn by twenty generations ofIncas, many sets of each, since nothing that had belonged to one Incamight ever be used by another after his death.
Among these were found many sets of the royal robes of the Coyas orqueen-wives of the Incas, and I took Golden Star aside and told her totake two of these and to clothe herself in one and Joyful Star in theother, so that we might see our two Inca princesses side by side asthey might have looked in the days of the past, and she fell in with myhumour, laughing and clapping her hands like a delighted child.
So she took the robes and led Joyful Star away with her to their ownchamber, talking to her in her soft, musical speech, though she knew shecould not understand her, and yet maki
ng so many pretty signs andeloquent gestures that Ruth, forgetting her sorrow for the time,comprehended her, and entered into the spirit of the play, and soon theycame back to us into the throne-room, clad exactly alike, and soperfectly resembling each other, save for the contrast of the blue eyesand the brown, and the bright hair and the dark, that they could havebeen taken for nothing save twin daughters of the Sun and the fairest ofhis children; and Tupac and the two men that I had kept in the fortressto 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 thisfashion, that Golden Star did something that gave me great joy and abright hope for the future. I had been telling her of the wonderfulcountry that I had returned to life in, and of the marvellous thingsthat I had seen there, and this, she knew already, was the country ofFrancis Hartness. So, as he came from such a wonderful land, shethought, in the innocence of her old-world simplicity, that he was oneof a new race of beings that came on to the earth since our days, andwhen I told her he was but human like ourselves, though very strong andlearned and skilled in many things that we knew nothing of, she said tome, just as a sister might say to a brother from whom she had nosecrets,--
'He is rather, in my eyes, like a son of our Father who has come toearth 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 Starhas taught me the speech of her people I will talk with him, and then Ithink life will be better for me, for even now, though I cannotunderstand his words, his voice sounds like music to me, and when helooks at me he makes me try to remember something that was in my otherlife, and I have forgotten. What is it, I wonder?'
I looked down into her eyes and saw the untroubled serenity of her soulreflected in them. There was no flush on her cheeks, and her lips weresmiling as they could not have smiled had she known how I could haveanswered that question for her. I stooped and kissed her brow andsaid,--
'I might guess what it is, Golden Star, but I could not tell you. Yet Ipray that our Father the Sun may put it into the heart of my friend toteach 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 shelooked up at him, and a little flush came to her cheeks, and a smile toher lips, and I saw his eyes brighten, and the colour deepen ever solittle 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 Ihad finished speaking for him,--
'Vilcaroya is an excellent interpreter, I've no doubt; but don't youthink, Captain Hartness, it would be very much more interesting if youcould talk directly with Her Highness? You know I'm teaching Golden StarEnglish, and Vilcaroya is teaching you Quichua--now, I wonder which ofyou 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 thefreshest, and I daresay the brightest intellect, but probably for allthat we shall begin with some delightful jargon of both languages, andleave them to sort themselves out as we go on. Still, as you say, itwill be more interesting than talking through an interpreter.'
'And I hope,' she said, with more meaning in her voice than in herwords, 'that you will both of you find it as pleasant as it will beinteresting.'
'Who knows!' he said, catching her meaning and laughing again. 'She ismost wonderfully like you, Miss Ruth, isn't she?'
'Yes, but--but I am not without hope that you may some day compare us alittle, just a little, to my disadvantage.'
What Francis Hartness would have said to this I cannot say, though I donot think he was displeased by Joyful Star's words, and yet his facegrew very serious as she spoke. But just then Tupac came and told methat Anahuac and Ainu had returned with the beasts, and were now waitingoutside 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 forone thought that it was little more than late afternoon.
Now, as I have said, I was the only one who knew the secret of thebronze doors, and so I went back with Tupac and opened them, and, whenthe men had entered, closed them again.
There were twelve of them beside Ainu and Anahuac, and all were ladenwith food and drink and clothing, and our arms and ammunition, tworepeating rifles and two revolvers for each of us. When the men had laidtheir burdens down, I called Anahuac to me, and asked him if he had anynews. He bowed himself before me, and then, standing in front of me as Isat in one of the seats, he said,--
'Yes, Lord. If the ears of the Son of the Sun are open, his servant willfill them with tidings of some moment.'
'Say on,' I said, 'and meanwhile let a meal be prepared for us, for weare hungry.'
This I said to Tupac, and Golden Star, hearing it, smiled, and tookRuth's hand and led her to the boxes, making signs that they shouldperform the housewife's duties together. Then Anahuac began, and said,--
'The ears of the Children of the Blood have not been closed, nor havetheir eyes slept throughout the Holy City and the Valley of the Sun, andthey have seen and heard much, and the courage of their hearts has risenhigh, and they are longing for the word of their Lord to break the yokethat is upon their necks.
'When the soldiers returned last night and told the story that my Lordhad put into their mouths, there was great wonder among all the othersoldiers, 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 setover the soldiers there was great anger, and they sought, but withoutavail, to keep the news from being made public in the city; but the Menof the Blood took care that this should not be so, and to-day all Cuzcohas been talking of the strange fate of the Coronel Prada, the son ofDon Antonio Prada, the governor. But Don Antonio himself had gone theday before to a hacienda near Oropesa, and messengers have been sent tohim to tell him the story, and this evening he rode back with all hasteto the city.
'He has ordered that to-night sentries shall be posted at all theapproaches to the Rodadero and round the Sayacusca, so that none maycome or go without his knowledge, and to-morrow he will come himselfwith many officers and two hundred soldiers, and the thing they calldynamite, that he may rend the Sayacusca in pieces, and find, as hethinks, the place where his son has been hidden.'
'And the soldiers--what of them?' I asked. 'Will they be for us oragainst us?'
'There will be many in the service of my Lord, and if it shall bepossible there shall be more of these than of the others, for those whowere in the Hall of Gold last night have been busy in the hope of myLord's further bounty, and many have been tempted with the promise ofgold 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, andstood waiting for me to speak.
I told Francis Hartness at once what Anahuac had said, and we debatedfor a short time on what we should do. Then I called Tupac, and he cameand stood beside Anahuac, and I said to them,--
'These things have happened well for us, and now we must act quickly, sothat we may take the best advantage of them. When you go hence, takewith 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 letthem go with all speed and silence through the towns and villages of thevalley, and say that the Son of the Sun has come, and is about tostretch forth his hand and take that which was his again. Further, letevery entrance to the valley be closed. Let the bridge over the GreatSpeaker be cut with all speed that may be. Let none pass in or out ofthe gateway of Piquillacta, and let all the mountain paths be brokendown or blocked, so that none may know what is happening in the valley,nor any news be carried hence into the country. r />
'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, andlet their goods be sacred. Let all of the sentries who will not serve usbe disarmed or slain silently by the others, and this before midnight,and let those who are for us--who shall come with the Governorto-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 Iwill do with my own hands and the help of my friend. I have spoken--letme be obeyed quickly!'
Then they bent low before me and went to make ready to do what I hadbidden them.
It was then about eight o'clock at night, and after we had had ourevening meal we waited until it was nearly eleven, making perfect ourplans, and then, when Ruth and Golden Star had gone to rest withoutknowing of the work which we had in hand--for we had kept it from themlest they should be anxious for us--Francis Hartness and I armedourselves, after I had disguised him as well as I could to make him looklike an Indian, and we said good-night to the professor and left thefortress 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 backtowards the Rodadero, until I caught sight of a sentry standing near oneof 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 youhear me whistle.'
'Very well,' he said; 'but take care of yourself, for those Mannlicherbullets 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 along, heavy-bladed knife, and this I loosened in the sheath as I camenear to him. I got within earshot of him unseen, and then, rising to myfeet behind him, I said in a low voice, but loud enough for him tohear,--
'Vilcaroya--friend or foe?'
'_Halta! quien va?_'
The words in the hated Spanish speech told me that he was a foe. As hefaced about, bringing his rifle to the ready, I drew my knife and,before he could take aim, sent it whistling through the air with suchforce and so true an aim that it took him in the windpipe and halfburied its blade in his neck. That was one of the tricks of our oldwarfare which, with many others, I had taken good care not to forget.
He dropped his rifle and clasped his hands to his throat and fellwithout a sound. I crept swiftly forward, pulled the knife out of histhroat and drove it into his heart. Then I quickly took off hiscartridge-belt and long coat and cap, and put them on. After that I tookhis rifle and stood in his place for a little while, so that the othersmight see me, and then walked back to where I had left Hartness. When hesaw me coming, his rifle-barrel moved till it covered me, and he said inEnglish,--
'Is that you, Vilcaroya?'
'Yes,' I said. 'The sentry was an enemy, and I have killed him. Now I amgoing to take you prisoner, as though I were the sentry, and so we cango together and find the officer who commands the sentries, and take himprisoner or kill him.'
'All right,' he said with a laugh. 'I surrender. This isn't quite whatwe call civilised warfare, but I suppose it can't be helped.'
We went back together to the place where the sentry that I had killedhad stood, and then we saw two or three others coming in towards theplace, no doubt to see why the other sentry should have left his post. Itook Hartness's rifle out of his hand, and, catching him by the arm, ledhim 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 dialectin which I had addressed him.
'Then we are friends,' I said, taking off the peaked cap that hadbelonged to the other sentry, and showing him the long, straight, brownhair that betokened my race. 'I am he who has come back from the daysthat are dead--Vilcaroya, the son of Huayna-Capac.'
'And I am thy servant, Lord,' he said, bringing his rifle-butt downbetween his feet, and bending his head over the muzzle. 'I am one ofthose 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 thesecret or earned the swift death that would have been theirs had theydone so. Now tell me, how many of those who are on guard here to-nightmay be trusted?'
'There are twenty of us here, Lord, not counting the officer incommand.'
'Nay,' I said, interrupting him, 'there are but nineteen, for he whowore this coat and carried this rifle was an enemy, and I have killedhim, as I would have killed thee hadst thou been an enemy. Now, of thesenineteen, 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 lastwords 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 sideof him, and we will take him as a prisoner to the officer. Then thoushalt see how Vilcaroya deals with his enemies.'
He bent his head in assent, and took his place beside Hartness, and aswe 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 kindof thing.'
'It is not like what you have told me of the warfare of the English,' Isaid, '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 betweenthe wall of the fortress and the carved stone that they called theInca's Seat, we saw the officer who was in command of the sentrieswalking, with two soldiers beside him, from post to post, seeing thatthe 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 toreply for me, and he answered the officer's hail and said,--
'Vilcaroya!--a prisoner.'
It had smitten him to the heart.
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As the first words left his lips the two soldiers repeated the passwordand made with their rifles the movement that is called the salute. Myknife was already in my hand, and as the officer gave a command inSpanish, it flashed once in the starlight and the next instant wasburied 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 hehad been struck by a lightning bolt. The others stared at his fallenbody, dumb with amazement, and I heard Hartness utter a sound that mighthave been one either of horror or of wonder; but I had no time to takeheed of this, so I instantly ordered the two soldiers to take theofficer's uniform off his body, and then I said to Hartness,--
'Now, you can speak Spanish and I cannot. Take this Spaniard's uniformand his weapons, and make yourself the officer of the guard, and thenyou shall help me to set a trap that the Governor shall find it a hardmatter to escape from.'