Oviedo Runtu surrendered and saved his life by promising2 to quench3 the last embers of revolt. Tried by court-martial, he was sentenced to perpetual exile, but Natividad subsequently interceded4 and obtained his pardon. It was, moreover, the new Chief of Police of Lima who secured him a post at Punho, in a branch of the Franco-Belgian bank. There Natividad could watch him, and finally convinced himself that the bank-clerk King did nothing to resuscitate5 the marvelous fêtes of the Interaymi.
Oviedo Runtu died very prosaically6, after marrying a lady of Lima who had made the trip to Lake Titicaca specially7 to see the last King of the Incas. Of that journey was born a romance, and in after years travelers passing through Punho would have the royal couple pointed8 out to them. They were always very much amused when they heard that the King, working daily in a bank, earned just one hundred’ and fifty soles a month.
One day, when some charitable souls were chaffing the King’s widow about the mediocre9 state in which she lived, the Coya, as she was derisively10 called, retorted that had she and her husband so wished, they could have been the wealthiest couple on earth. But the treasures of the Incas, she added, belonged to the gods and the dead, and none might touch them.
Asked if she had ever seen those treasures, the Coya asserted that her husband had shown them to her once, and she told fabulous11 stories of the riches hidden in the Temple of Death. * Naturally, nobody believed her.
* The anonymous12 author of the MS. “Antiy y monumentos del
Peru” says:—
“It Is widely known, and generally admitted, that there
exists in the ancient fortress13 of the Cuzco a secret room In
which is hidden a vast treasure, consisting chiefly of
golden statues of all the Incas. A lady who has been in this
room is still living. This is Do?a Maria de Esquivel, wife
of the last Inca. I have heard her tell how she was taken
there.
“Don Carlos, husband of this lady, did not live in a manner
suited to his rank, and she often upbraided14 him, saying that
she had been cozened into marrying a poor Indian under the
pompous15 style of ‘Lord of the Incas.9 She said this so often
that Don Carlos grew angry, and one day retorted: ‘Madam, I
will show you whether I am rich or poor. Too will see that
no lord, no monarch16 on this earth, has a greater treasure
than I.’ Taking her to the ruined fortress, he bound her
eyes, and led her only a few steps before removing the
bandage again.
“She was in a great quadrangular hall, and ranged all about
it were the statues of the Incas, each about the size of a
twelve-year-old child, and all of massive gold. She saw also
many vases of gold and silver, the whole making one of the
most magnificent treasures in the world.”
Even so, none believed the soldiers of Pizarro when they said that in Peru their horses had been shod with silver!
THE END
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
lieutenants
|
|
| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
promising
|
|
| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
quench
|
|
| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
interceded
|
|
| v.斡旋，调解( intercede的过去式和过去分词 )；说情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
resuscitate
|
|
| v.使复活，使苏醒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
prosaically
|
|
| adv.无聊地；乏味地；散文式地；平凡地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
specially
|
|
| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
mediocre
|
|
| adj.平常的，普通的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
derisively
|
|
| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
fabulous
|
|
| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
anonymous
|
|
| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
fortress
|
|
| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
upbraided
|
|
| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
pompous
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |