CHAPTER II
BROTHERS OF THE BLOOD
I shall not weary you who perchance may some day read this story of mineby dwelling on the sorrow and shame that filled me as I entered thefoul, unlovely streets, and saw the filthy refuse in the squares of thecity that I remembered so pure and bright and beautiful; nor yet bytelling of the feelings that possessed me when I saw the poor remains ofour desecrated temples, the places where our vanished palaces had stood,and the dismantled ruins of that mighty fortress of Sacsahuaman, which Ihad last seen standing palace-crowned and throned in all its grandeurhigh up above the city.
All this and more you who read must picture for yourselves, for I havegreater things to tell of than the poor sorrows of a wanderer who hadleft his own age and his own kindred far behind him, and who had comeback into a strange world to find his country a wilderness, and thechildren of his people the slaves of strangers.
It had been settled amongst us that, for the purpose for which we hadcome, it would be necessary to hire a house that should be at oncecommodious 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 afterantiquities, and possessing, moreover, a special permit from theGovernment in Lima to travel and dwell in the interior, and make suchsearches as he thought fit, undertook the business of finding such ahouse. He made many journeys in quest of what he sought, and on thesejourneys Djama always accompanied him, since he had to see that thehouse chosen contained a chamber suitable for that precious work whichhe had undertaken to do in return for the share of treasure that I wasto give to him.
And while these two were absent I at times wandered about the city withJoyful Star and Francis Hartness, who, it was plain to see, alreadylooked with eyes of love and longing on her beauty, as in good truth Imyself could have done had I dared, and could I have forgotten thatolder love of mine who still lay cold in her death-sleep in the cave bythe lake yonder, over the mountains to the westward, whither I hadalready cast so many longing glances. But at other times I left them togo upon my own ways, for I had work on hand which, for the present, didnot concern them.
I had by this time met and conversed with many of my people in their ownlanguage, which was that of the labouring classes of my own times, andfrom them I had learned that at a village called San Sebastian, throughwhich we had passed, about two leagues to the south of the city, therestill dwelt many families of Ayllos--that is to say, the descendants ofthose of the old noble Inca lineage, who had been permitted by theirconquerors to settle here. So one morning I went to visit an oldIndian--as they now called all our people--named Ullullo, with whom Ihad made acquaintance, and at his house I dressed myself in the nativefashion--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 afaded poncho, and together we went on foot to San Sebastian, I lookingno different from the rest of the Indians who were passing to and froupon the road.
I had already seen, while riding through the village, that the peoplewere different to those of all other villages that we had come throughon the way. They were taller of stature, prouder of carriage, andfairer of face. The blood showed red in their cheeks through the lightbrown of their skin, and these signs had told me that if any remnant ofthe pure Inca race was left these must be they; and I was soon to haveproof that it was so, although the children of those who had lived inpalaces were now dwelling in huts of mud and reeds.
Ullullo led me first to the house of a man named Tupac Rayca, who waschief among the Indians of the town. He was great-grandson of thatill-fated Tupac-Amaru, who, as you know, had revolted many years beforeagainst the oppressors of his race, and for this, after being forced towatch the torture and murder of his wife in the square of Cuzco, hadhimself been torn limb from limb by horses.
We found him alone in a bare room in one of the better houses of thevillage. As he stood up to salute us it needed but a glance to tell methat in his veins at least the ancient blood of our race flowed wellnigh as purely as it did in my own. Had it not been for the meanness ofhis clothing and the dull, brooding look on his noble features--thestamp of generations of oppression--I could have pictured him with theyellow Llautu[A] on his brow, the golden image of the Sun on hisgirdled tunic, and the rainbow banner in his hand, standing amongst theguards of the great Huayna-Capac himself.
I asked Ullullo to leave us alone for a little while, and when he hadgone I stepped forward, and, drawing myself up to my full height, Ilooked him in the eyes, and said in the tongue that was spoken only bythose of the divine Inca race,--
'Tell me, Tupac-Rayca, does a remnant of the Children of the Sun stilldwell in the Land of the Four Regions, and are they still faithful tothe 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 handsclasped to his forehead, staring at me from under them as though--as invery 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, hewhispered in the same tongue--by the Lord of Light how those familiaraccents 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, toask me such a question in the tongue that may only be spoken when nonesave those of the Blood are present?'
'One who is of the Blood himself!' I answered, taking a stride towardshim, and stretching out my hand. 'Fear not, Tupac-Rayca, son of him thatsuffered, I am a friend, and have come from afar to work as a friendwith 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 hestepped back and looked at me again, murmuring,--
'Can it be so? Has the divine Manco come back from the Mansions of theSun to save the remnant of his children, or has Vilcaroya broken thebonds of his death-sleep and come to fulfil the oath he swore withGolden Star before the altar in the Sanctuary? I know all the Childrenof the Blood that are left in the land, and I have never seen your facebefore, yet you are of the Blood. Who are you--Lord?'
The last word seemed forced from his lips by some power other than hisown 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 hadrecognised the stamp of my divine ancestry, and this promised well forthe progress of the work I had in hand. I answered him kindly, and yetas 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 Imight 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 shallbe made plain and with ample proof. Are you willing to give me youraid?'
He picked up a rude hoe that stood in a corner of the room, and layingit across his shoulder after the manner of one who bears a burden, bowedhis head and answered,--
'The Son of the Sun has but to speak, and I and all his slaves willobey.'
What he had done was an act of homage, which, in the olden time, waspaid only to him who wore the imperial Llautu, and proved to me howfaithfully the old traditions had been preserved in secret.
'That is well said, Tupac,' I replied, speaking now as a sovereign mightspeak to a faithful subject, 'and in the days to come fear not that Ishall 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 faithfuland can be trusted even to the death?'
'There are five hundred here, Lord, and as many thousands within thevalley, whose blood has flowed pure from the olden times, unpolluted bya single stain of Spanish dirt. What would you with them?'
'I asked not for hundreds or thousands,' I said, right glad at heart tohear such good tidings. 'For the present I need but a score, so do youchoose me twenty of the noblest blood and the best judgment, an
d an hourbefore midnight let them be with you on the plain behind theSacsahuaman. Let them come well provided with torches or candles, andtools, levers, and hammers and spades. Tell them what has passed betweenus, but nothing of the guesses that you may have made in your own mindwhile 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 theshaft of the hoe across his shoulders, 'and we will wait and toil inpatience till the Son of the Sun shall please to reveal himself to theeyes of his servants.'
'Nor shall you have to wait long,' I said. 'Now put that off your backand take my hand again, for we are not Inca and servant yet, only twomen of the Blood, and brothers of a fallen race who are joined togetherto perform a holy work. Now farewell, Tupac, till to-night. Choose yourcompanions well, and fear not but that your services and yourfaithfulness 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 upuntil the door closed behind me. Then Ullullo and I went back into thecity, 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 thefountain in the centre. We passed close to them, and I heard my namespoken by Joyful Star to her brother, who answered her and said,--
'I daresay we shall find he is making friends again with some of thesefilthy Indian compatriots of his.'
I hated him from that moment for his bitter words, and swore in my heartthat some day he should pay for them, for I loved my people, and pitiedthem in their misery and degradation. I stopped beside them, and myheart was beating hard as I listened for what Joyful Star would say, andI have remembered her words, even as I have remembered his. She lookedat him with the light of anger in her eyes and said,--
'For shame, Laurens! I couldn't have believed that you would have saidsuch a thing. If you belonged to a race that had been enslaved andplundered by these brutes of Spaniards and Peruvians for three centuriesand a half, do you think you would be any better than these poorfellows? 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 sweetwords 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 myeyes 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 inSpanish countries, I went back to the house where we were lodging,wondering what they would think if they could have understood the wordsthat had passed between Tupac-Rayca and myself.
When I met them again I saw that they would willingly have learned whathad become of me during the day, but I answered their inquiries bytelling them nothing more and yet a great deal less than the truth, andsaying that I had spent the day revisiting old scenes, and learning whatI could of the present condition of my people. This satisfied themoutwardly at least, though I saw a look in Djama's eyes which told methat he suspected more of the truth than it suited my purpose to tellhim.
Then our conversation turned to the matter of procuring a house, such asI have spoken of, and the professor told me that he had heard of ahacienda, well built and solid, and standing in its own domain, aboutthree leagues across the valley to the westward, on a secluded littleplain among the hills, which would serve our purpose excellently; butthe owner of it wished to sell it, and 'with the stupidity of thesePeruvians,' as he said, would not hire it out to us but would only sellit, and the price was twenty thousand soles, or dollars of Peru, whichwas two thousand pounds in English money.
'It is a great pity,' said the professor, when he had finished tellingme about it, 'for it doesn't seem as though there was another house inthe neighbourhood of Cuzco that would suit our purpose, and this onewould do perfectly.'
'Of course, if the fellow won't let it there's no use thinking any moreabout the matter, for two thousand pounds is entirely out of thequestion. It seems to me that the expedition will be quite expensiveenough without the luxury of buying houses at fancy prices.'
It was Djama who spoke. No one else at our table could have spoken likethat. I heard him in silence, for I could not trust myself to speak forthe anger that was rising within me. I saw Joyful Star raise her eyelidsand look at him with a swift glance that meant much; but she, too, saidnothing; and then, looking at me, he spoke again and said,--
'Of course, if His Highness'--for so he always spoke of me when nostrangers were present--'would just unlock one of those treasure-housesof his, the matter would be easy enough, but I suppose that's outsidethe contract.'
I still kept silence, knowing as I did what the night was to bringforth. But Francis Hartness answered for me, and said,--
'I don't think you can quite put it that way, Djama, if you'll excuse mesaying so. If I am not mistaken, it has been clearly understood that thefirst treasure-house to be unlocked is the one that holds Vilcaroya'sgreatest treasure--his wife--and what you say seems to suggest--'
'It is enough!' I said, unconsciously speaking in my growing anger inthe 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 willbe the debtor of my friends no longer.'
They stared at me as I spoke, for hitherto I had spoken to them as achild rather than as a man; as an inferior, rather than as an equal. Isaw a smile that was not pleasant to look upon pass swiftly over Djama'smouth, but he kept silence, and the professor said to me,--
'Are you really in earnest, Vilcaroya? You know, according to ourbargain, 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, 'andone of my race does not speak to make a liar of himself. What I say Ican do and will, for I wish the work to begin at once. Do you think Ihave not waited long enough for my beloved, my sister and my wife?'
'Your what!' cried Joyful Star, rising suddenly from her seat, andstaring at me with fixed and wide-opened eyes. 'Your sister! Oh,Vilcaroya, surely this is not true!' and as she said this I saw hercheeks grow pale and her lips tremble.
'Yes,' I answered, 'it is true. Why should I lie to my new sister andfriend, Joyful Star? Golden Star was the daughter of my father, thegreat Huayna-Capac, though our mothers were not the same.'
I had no time to finish my speech, for with a look of unutterable horrorin her eyes, which pierced me to the heart and seemed to sever it intwain, she cried,--
'Oh, no, no! that is too horrible! I don't want to hear any more. I willgo back to England to-morrow. Laurens, come to my room; I want to speakto you at once.'
So saying, she went to the door and opened it and went out, followed byher brother, who looked at me as he passed me with a look which I neverforgot or forgave, for it was like the words that I had heard him say toher in the square.
'What is this?' I said to the professor when the door had closed behindthem. 'What have I said or done that Joyful Star should look withhorror upon me and say such cruel words?'
I saw him exchange glances full of meaning with the English soldierbefore he answered me; and then, leaning his arms on the table in frontof him, he said, in that quiet, calm voice of his,--
'My dear Vilcaroya, it is a very strange thing, and, as far as MissDjama is concerned, perhaps, a very great pity that this has never comeout before, for without knowing it you have given her a shock that mayhave very painful consequences. No, don't interrupt me now, for thesooner I can make you understand the meaning of your words to her thebetter. It is this way: we know, of course, that in your day and amongyour people sister-marriage was held to be the most sacred of allmarriages. We know that from such a marriage only might spring thewearer of the imperial Borla, but to us the idea is so unutterablyhorrible and revolting that of all the crimes that could be committed byone of our race that would be the most fearful. It c
annot even bediscussed amongst us, and yet you, in the most perfect innocence, havespoken of it in the presence--Good Heavens, Hartness! what is to bedone? Do you think Miss Djama was really in earnest when she talked ofgoing back to England to-morrow? It is impossible--it would ruineverything!'
I kept silence, for my sorrow and wonder were too great for words, but Ilistened eagerly for what Francis Hartness would say in reply.
'She was in earnest when she spoke,' he said, as quietly as theprofessor had spoken; 'but, if the doctor has as much sense as I givehim credit for, she will have seen the thing in a different light bythis time. Of course, she has read Prescott, and she really knows asmuch 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 anangry light came into his eyes that I had never seen in them before--'Ireally can hardly understand how, knowing that as she does know it, shecan have been as horrified as she certainly was. She knows perfectlywell that Vilcaroya has come at a single step, as it were, from his ageinto ours, and so must have brought all the ideas and beliefs of histime and his people with him. Depend upon it, a little reflection willvery soon show her that, horrible and all as the idea must naturallyhave appeared to her at the first shock of hearing it, from Vilcaroya'spoint of view there is nothing in it but what is perfectly natural andproper. Now, to my mind, the matter is much more sad and serious forVilcaroya 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 Ilooked upon him as my friend and my brother,--
'It's not a pleasant thing for me to say, and it must, of course, be avery painful one for you to hear; still, it has got to be said some timeor other, and, unless I am wrong in what I think of you, I believe youare man enough to hear it and to agree with me that it had better besaid now than later on, when the saying of it might be tenfold morepainful both to you and us.'
'Say on,' I said shortly. 'Your tongue is straight and your eyes lookinto mine as those of a friend should look. I am listening.'
'I would wish for no better friend than you, Vilcaroya, after that, forI know what you mean. Now, what I have to say is this. We know, ofcourse, that you look upon yourself as doubly married to this love ofyours, who is dead and, like you, may yet be alive again. You are boundto 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 tooktogether. But you have come back to the world in another age and amonganother people, and now that form of marriage is looked upon by allcivilised humanity, not only as unlawful, but, as the professor has justsaid, 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 havetold us, began and ended before the altar of the Sun, would be to makenot only yourself, but your--your sister, Golden Star, as well, lookedupon with horror and loathing by every civilised man and woman who knewyour story. I am speaking strongly, because it is necessary.
'You might succeed in all your aims, you might realise every ambition ofyour life, and yet I tell you it is Heaven's own truth, that if you tookGolden Star to sit beside you on the throne of the Incas as your wifeand queen, you would place her upon a pinnacle of infamy which men wouldspit 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 athousand times more heavily on the woman whom you have loved best in allthe world.'
He stopped, and they both sat and looked at me in silence, awaiting forme to answer him. As for me, I felt my spirit wandering over a barewilderness where all was dark.
I knew that he had spoken truth, strange as the truth seemed to me, forno man could have heard his voice and seen the steady light in hiseyes, 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 thesilence was broken by the opening of the door, and Djama came in andsaid,--
'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 adifferent light, but for some reason or other she seems strangelyshaken. 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 tocome back after what has happened, and a night's rest will be the bestthing in the world for her. I suppose you two have explained things toHis Highness as well, eh?'
'Yes,' I said, rising from my seat. 'It has been explained to me. I donot understand all now, but I must think, and think alone, so I willgo.'
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 yourwords, yet you have spoken them as only a friend could speak them. Fromnow 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, walkedswiftly out of the room and got my cloak, and went out into the city tothink in silence by myself over the strange and terrible things that Ihad heard, and to calm my spirit before I went to do the work which, ina 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, wasthe distinguishing mark of the sacred Inca race. The scarlet was wornonly by the reigning Inca--'Son of the Sun.' Its fringe, called the'borla,' was mingled with threads of gold.