“Quiet, you fool! We can’t save the child now, and if you make a sign we shan’t save her either. If you can’t stand it, get out!”
The young engineer controlled himself.
“It’s too horrible! Poor little Christobal! My God, why can’t they kill us all and have done with it!”
“You should be ashamed of yourself, talking like that,” said the madman. “When a man has nerves like a woman he shouldn’t come to the Temple of Death.”
After that one terrible cry, all was silence again. Nobles, virgins2, young men and curacas continued their slow progress round the Temple. Behind them entered the amautas, sages4 who teach the children of the Incas; the Red Ponchos5, who surrounded the altar like a sacred guard. None of them carried visible arms. The high dignitaries of the court followed, wearing the blanchana, a flowing tunic7 of light bark, painted in vivid colors. Each man carried a barbaric emblem8 with wide-open jaws9, destined10 to frighten away all evil spirits.
Dick thought that Maria-Teresa was entering, but then saw that the litter borne on the shoulders of nobles was occupied by a figure which he did not at first recognize. His robe and sandals seemed of solid gold, and his ears were weighted down with enormous ear-rings, reaching almost to the shoulders. About his head was the royal llantu, a multi-colored turban of delicate tissue, and his forehead was further adorned11 by the kingly borla, the heavy scarlet12 and gold fringe of which partly hid his eyes. Two coraquenque plumes13 towered above the crown.
As he descended14 from his litter, aided by two pages, and slowly mounted the steps of the golden pyramid, the assembly bent15 to its knees. At the summit of the pyramid, he paused gravely, took his seat on the golden throne, and gave the Aimara greeting:—“Dios anki tiourata.”
Then all rose to their feet, while he sat motionless, like a graven image.
“The bank-clerk!” exclaimed Dick, as he faced toward the hidden watchers.
They had before them Huayna Gapac Runtu, King of the Incas.
“The god is seated in all his light!” chanted the assembly in unison16, repeating the words three times. Then the wail17 of the quenias filled the air, and the religious cortège entered the temple, led by the four Guards of the Sacrifice, their heads erect18 now, for the sacred bonnets19 hid no secret Behind them walked another Red Poncho6, bearing in his hands a mass of knotted cords. Dick recognized the Preacher of Caja-marca, head of the quipucamyas, or Keepers of the Historic Word. Then came Huascar, in the saffron-colored vestments of the high-priest, preceded by lesser20 dignitaries of the church, while four curacas held over him a canopy21 of brilliant-hued plumes. All bowed before Huascar; the Inca alone was above him.
From the high-priest’s stern face and somber22 eyes, Dick looked to his hands, to see if they were red with the blood of sacrifice. He felt a wild desire to shoot him down there, to kill him like a mad dog among his priests and servitors.
The mammaconas advanced, chanting. He could not at first see Maria-Teresa, hidden from view by black veils, rhythmically23 waved about her. The movement ceased and the women parted, leaving the way clear for the two among them who were to die and who advanced with uncovered faces, smiling like happy children.
The quenias ceased their song, and the second litter was brought forward in solemn silence. Dick shivered. Was Maria-Teresa dead or alive? He hoped vainly that her litter might pass close to him, as had Huascar’s canopy. From where he was, she seemed as inert24 and lifeless as the mummy monarch25 beside her, and little Christobal was no longer in her arms. That part of her face left uncovered by the golden robe and head-dress was tomb-like in its pallor, and her eyes were closed.
The double throne was set down between the altar and the pyres; Huascar took his seat on the right of the altar, and the chief of the qui-pucamyas on the left; the mammaconas stood on the altar-steps. The two who were to die, their black veils discarded for dainty holiday attire26, with flowers in their tresses, knelt at Maria-Teresa’s feet. The nobles and the curacas were ranged round the temple with the virgins and young men. The three Guardians27 of the Temple closed the doors. No others might enter, for the common people, forbidden the sight of these mysteries, waited far away, in the Corridors of Night, until the priests should return to lead them back through the labyrinth29 to the light of day.
Huascar rose, and his sonorous30 voice opened the ceremony.
“At the beginning was Pacahuamac, the Pure Spirit, who reigned31 in the darkness; then came his son, the Sun, and his daughter, the Moon; and Paeahuamac gave them armies, which are the Stars.
“Unto the Sun and Moon were born children. First were the Pirhuas, king-pontiffs; then the Amautas, pontiff-kings; and then the Incas, kings of kings, sent on earth to rule mankind.”
The assembly repeated Huascar’s words like a litany. When it was ended, young men brought a llama to the altar, and the Guardians of the Temple offered up the sacrifice. Huascar bent over the entrails.
“The gods are propitious,” he announced to the King.
At a sign from the throne, the chief of the quipucamyas rose to his feet, and in a few verses recalled the chief terrestrial episodes of the history of the Incas, the assembly chanting other verses in reply in the same monotonous32 rhythm, while the priest slipped the knots of the quipus through his fingers like a monk33 telling his beads34.
When he reached the verse recounting Atahualpa’s martyrdom, a great shout went up in the temple. The King, from his throne, raised a sceptered hand, and spoke35. The end of the bondage36 placed upon his people by the gods was near; he, Huayna Gapac Runtu, had been chosen by the Sun to drive out the strangers; and as a gage37 of his reconciliation38 with the faithful, the god had permitted them to offer him in sacrifice the noblest and most beautiful virgin3 of the hated race, a descendant of one of those who had murdered Atahualpa.
At the King’s words, all eyes were carried to Maria-Teresa, and a roar of “Muera la Coya!” beat round her. Was she not already dead, then? The savage39 cries did not even make her eyelids40 quiver. If she was still alive, she must be unconscious. Dick, falling to his knees, thanked heaven for that.
Again the King’s voice rose, telling the people that the day of deliverance was near; that their empire would be re-born in all its splendor41. The altars of their god, served for centuries in the darkness, would soon smoke anew in his light Once again would they be the Free Children of the Sun.
“Let the Children of the Sun advance!”
The young men approached the royal throne. For thirty days they had gone through the tests of yore; they had fasted, fought, displayed their skill in wrestling and with arms; they had worn coarse clothing, walked barefoot, and slept on the hard floor. Now they advanced in their white robes, the cross on their breasts, like young knights42 of the Middle Ages in the Gothic cathedrals of another faith and land.
They surrounded the golden pyramid and
Huascar, taking evergreen43 branches from a golden vase held by two virgins, bound them in their hair as a sign that the virtues44 they had acquired must last for all time. Then, one by one, he called their names to the King, who, as each young man knelt before him, pierced his ears with a golden awl45. They descended, their white robes smeared46 with blood, while Huascar, from another vase, took heavy ear-rings, with which he adorned them. Nothing in the young faces betrayed their suffering. Then all raised their hands and took the oath of bravery and of fealty47 to the Inca.
“That is well,” said the King. “Let them now put on their sandals.”
This part of the ceremony was performed by the quipucamyas, the most venerable among them strapping48 on the young men’s feet the sandals of the Order of the Incas.
“That is well,” repeated the King. “Let them be given their girdles.” Again the old men passed down the ranks, buckling49 on the heavy war-belts.
“That is well,” said the King for the third time. “And I say unto you before the dead King and the Goya who is to die, that they may repeat it to your ancestors, that our race is still the first of all living races, for you are the pure Children of the Sun, without earthly leaven50, the brother having always drunk the blood of the sister!”
The virgins advanced, taking the places of the young men on the steps of the throne, while fathers and brothers intoned the A?mara Song of Triumph.
“The savages51! The savages!” raged Dick, thinking only of vengeance52 now that he thought Maria-Teresa was dead. He balanced the revolver in his palm, hesitating. There were at all events Huascar and the King he could bring down; that would be some satisfaction. But suppose Maria-Teresa was not dead after all? He might still save her. For a moment he thought she had moved. He questioned Orellana in a whisper. “My daughter is very tired, and must be sleeping,” replied the madman.
Meanwhile the cap-skulled Guardian28 of the Temple had made a little incision53 on the throat of each virgin, gathering54 their blood in a gold ewer55. When the cup was full, he touched it with his lips and handed it to the young men, among whom it passed from hand to hand, while the girls, proud of their light wounds, cried, “Glory to the Children of the Sun!”
“The cup is empty,” announced Huascar.
At his words the King rose, and holding up both arms to the heavens, implored56 the Sun to give the signal for the sacrifice.
Clouds of pungent58 incense59 rose from the burners, and gradually hid from view the azure60 disc overhead. The mammaconas who were to die, obeying the ritual, ran forward to the King’s feet.
“We implore57 you, O King, to stop all the smokes of the earth. They hide his face, and the Sun cannot give the signal for the sacrifice.”
At a sign from the figure on the golden pyramid, the burners were extinguished, and the spot of blue gradually reappeared. The Guardians of the Temple, by the pyres, held in their hands metal mirrors, drawing the sun to a little heap of cotton in the center of each resinous61 pile. Thus did the god, of his own will, give the signal for the sacrifice! There were no stakes on the pyres, no chains; the victims must die willingly.
While the throng62 about them chanted prayers, the two mammaconas watched the pyres. They feared that the god might reject them; then they would live, shunned63 by all, until they disappeared. Their eyes, large with hope in the mercy of the divinity, anxiously awaited the first flicker64 of flame.
If the pyre destined to the thousand-year-old Coya did not take fire, it did not mean that the new one was distasteful to the god. It meant merely that the old one had not known how to please him, that she was not worthy65 of the sepulcher66 of fire, and that her body must be thrown to the black vultures in the mountains.
On this day, the first pyre to blaze up was that of the long-dead Coya. She was waiting. Songs rang out in her honor, and a purple veil which Dick had not yet noticed fell to the ground. A black gap showed in the wall, and in it could be seen the shadowy figure of the thousand-year-old queen, stiff in her scented67 wrappings.
点击收听单词发音
1 wrenched | |
v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 virgins | |
处女,童男( virgin的名词复数 ); 童贞玛利亚(耶稣之母) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 sages | |
n.圣人( sage的名词复数 );智者;哲人;鼠尾草(可用作调料) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 ponchos | |
n.斗篷( poncho的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 poncho | |
n.斗篷,雨衣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 tunic | |
n.束腰外衣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 emblem | |
n.象征,标志;徽章 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 scarlet | |
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 plumes | |
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 unison | |
n.步调一致,行动一致 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 wail | |
vt./vi.大声哀号,恸哭;呼啸,尖啸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 bonnets | |
n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 );(烟囱等的)覆盖物;(苏格兰男子的)无边呢帽;(女子戴的)任何一种帽子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 canopy | |
n.天篷,遮篷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 somber | |
adj.昏暗的,阴天的,阴森的,忧郁的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 rhythmically | |
adv.有节奏地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 inert | |
adj.无活动能力的,惰性的;迟钝的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 attire | |
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 guardians | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 labyrinth | |
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 sonorous | |
adj.响亮的,回响的;adv.圆润低沉地;感人地;n.感人,堂皇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 bondage | |
n.奴役,束缚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 gage | |
n.标准尺寸,规格;量规,量表 [=gauge] | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 eyelids | |
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 evergreen | |
n.常青树;adj.四季常青的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 awl | |
n.尖钻 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 smeared | |
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 fealty | |
n.忠贞,忠节 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 strapping | |
adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 buckling | |
扣住 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 leaven | |
v.使发酵;n.酵母;影响 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 incision | |
n.切口,切开 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 ewer | |
n.大口水罐 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 implored | |
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 implore | |
vt.乞求,恳求,哀求 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 pungent | |
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 incense | |
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 resinous | |
adj.树脂的,树脂质的,树脂制的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 shunned | |
v.避开,回避,避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 flicker | |
vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 sepulcher | |
n.坟墓 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 scented | |
adj.有香味的;洒香水的;有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |