“We must get out of this! Steady, and forward all!”
The Marquis, superbly cool, followed as if reluctant to show his back to any horde1 of Indians. The menace in the voices grew clearer. He looked round him, and drove his spurs home, till his mount reared and plunged2 into the crowd, clearing a space around it.
The mob was howling now, and knives were being drawn3 on all sides, when a giant Indian pushed his way toward the Spaniards. Maria-Teresa, Don Christobal and Dick recognized Huascar, before whom his countrymen made way with evident respect and dread4.
“Back!” he shouted, taking the young girl’s mule5 by the bridle6. “Who touches the Virgin7 of the Sun is a dead man!”
At these words, the crowd parted. Silence succeeded the tumult8 of a moment before.
“Let the strangers pass,” ordered Huascar, and himself escorted them to the ancient palace gates.
Outside, on the plaza9, they met a police patrol. The sergeant10, in undertaking11 to escort them to the inn, was eloquent12 on their imprudence in coming into a quarter peopled by fanatical Indians on the eve of the Interaymi.
The Marquis wished to thank Huascar, but the Indian had vanished. Maria-Teresa and Dick, both very white, had not a word to say. Uncle Francis was also dumb, and did not take a single note.
At the inn they found only one vacant room, in which they all gathered. Dick was the first to utter the thought which was worrying them all.
“Suppose it was true!”
“Yes, suppose it was true!” repeated Maria-Teresa,
“What? Suppose what was true?” demanded the Marquis, refusing to understand.
“The Virgin of the Sun!”
They were all silent for a moment, bent13 under the weight of one amazing, absurd, monstrous14 thought. And they exchanged anxious, frightened looks, like children who are being told some terrifying fairy-tale. Dick broke the spell:
“You heard what Huascar said. ‘Who touches the Virgin of the Sun is a dead man!’ Those were his own words!”
“Just a manner of speech,” hesitated Uncle Francis. “It cannot be anything else.”
“Anything else? What do you mean?” demanded the Marquis violently.
“Well, it could not be... the other thing. If Maria-Teresa was... was the Virgin of the Sun, they would not have let her pass out.”
“Are we all going mad! After all, we are masters here!” burst out Don Christobal. “There are the police, and the troops. All those rascals15 out there are our slaves. ‘Pon my soul, we are all raving16!”
“Of course!” exclaimed Maria-Teresa.
“All the same, I think we ought to get out of Cajamarca as soon as we can,” said Dick, going to the window and looking out Night had fallen, and with it silence. The square outside was deserted17.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and a servant brought in a letter addressed to Maria-Teresa. She tore it open and read aloud:—“Return to Lima at once. Leave Cajamarca tonight.”
“It is not signed,” she said, “but this warning comes from Huascar.”
“And we should follow his advice,” said Dick. There was another knock at the door. This time, it announced the arrival of the Chief of Police, who was anxious to know what had happened.
He had heard of the incident at Atahualpa’s palace, and had moreover been warned by an Indian, an employee at the Franco-Belgian bank at Lima, that it might be dangerous for the Marquis and his companions to show themselves in the streets on the following day.
It was obvious that the man feared trouble, and would have given anything to see the party a hundred miles away. When he learned that they were ready to leave at once, he busied himself about finding them fresh mules18 and a guide, and furthermore detailed19 four troopers to escort the party as far as the railway.
Cajamarca was left at eleven o’clock that night, and the return journey was made at double the speed at which they had come. Dick would let nobody rest, and forced the pace throughout. It was not until the following night, safe in the train for Pascamayo, that they realized the ridicule20 that attached to their hasty flight. “Just like a pack of children frightened out of their lives by Agnes’ stories,” said the Marquis.
Back in civilized21 life again, they were all surprised at their panic. After all, the whole thing could be so naturally explained—fanatics resenting the presence of strangers at a religious festival, and nothing more. The best thing they could do was to forget it as soon as possible. Uncle Francis restored the party’s gaiety by going through the same performance which he had rehearsed on landing.
Forty-eight hours in Lima completely dispelled22 the cobwebs. Maria-Teresa found a great deal of work awaiting her, and forgot her fears in a maze23 of figures which took her to Callao early, and kept her busy at the offices until late in the afternoon, when Dick came to fetch her.
One afternoon, about eight days after the adventure at Cajamarca, the tap at her window which announced Dick’s arrival came earlier than usual. Maria-Teresa got up, and threw open the shutters24. Dick was not there.... Then she retreated with a half-strangled scream. Was it possible? In the rapidly gathering25 darkness, she could not be sure, and leaned out of the window to see better.... That thing, swaying in the darkness, looked just like the sugar-loaf skull26.... She retreated into the room, trembling in every limb, and turned round. From the dark corners of the chamber27 two other shadows, the valise and cap skulls28, were advancing slowly, swaying as they came.
For a moment, Maria-Teresa thought she had lost her reason. Then she made a violent effort to regain29 control of herself. Dead skulls could not come to life like this. And yet, they were coming toward her, swaying horribly, above shadowy bodies! A desperate scream for help was choked in her throat. “Dick!...” and nothing more. The three living skulls had hurled30 themselves upon her, gagged her, and now, throwing the inanimate girl over their shoulders, hurried through the black hole of the open window. Maria-Teresa’s own motor was waiting there, her negro boy at the wheel, smiling strangely.
Their mummy hands, horribly living, lifted the girl into the tonneau, and the three monsters, like three larvae31, climRed in after her. Then the car shot down the street.
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1
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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3
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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7
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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8
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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plaza
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| n.广场，市场 | |
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10
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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13
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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14
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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15
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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16
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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17
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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18
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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22
dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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24
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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25
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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28
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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29
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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30
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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larvae
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| n.幼虫 | |
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