by Van Powell
CHAPTER X THE HIDDEN CITY
"There it is," Nicky repeated, "There's--"
"Incaville?" suggested Tom, smiling.
"No--wait! I know! Quichaka!"
"Quichaka it is," said Bill. "But don't make any noise. If anybody isdown below we don't want them to know about us until all our plans arecompleted."
They grew quiet, then, looking down for several hundred feet into thevalley. To the right and to the left, similar cliffs and steep dropsmade the valley inaccessible. It had been well chosen as a retreat bythe old tribe when the Spaniards came into their country; and it was notalone a safe retreat; it was a fertile valley also. Corn could be seenin great, green fields, and other spots were tilled and showed thebright colors of growing plants.
"The city is too far away to tell much about it, even with the fieldglasses," said Mr. Whitley. "But it is guarded by mountains even morerugged than those we have just passed through. We shall soon be in itsstreets, if all goes well."
They began to prepare at once for their descent into the valley.
It was their purpose to go in disguise. They had the clothing for theirdisguises and had carefully brought some herbs from which Bill had madea dye. They located a fairly deep depression in a rock, discovered astream and carried their buckets full of water from it to the stone, awilderness bathtub, as Cliff called it.
Nicky and Tom, just to be perverse, as an outlet for their enthusiasm,now that the real adventure was so near, declared: "It's a smalldepression in the rocks, selected by Bill!" Joking so, they created asmall pool, large enough for their purposes.
Into the water Bill emptied a preparation he had guarded carefully frommoisture and damage; it was a dye known to him, that turned the water adull, murky mud color at first; but when it cleared, it made a limpid,brown-red pool.
"Off with every shred of clothes, and in we go!" he said. "Every spot onyour bodies, even your hair, must be Indian."
The plan Cliff had suggested in Amadale, and which had been accepted byMr. Whitley, and, later, by Bill, depended upon a complete disguise sothat they could don the native garb, even the robes and ornaments ofInca nobles, later and not be suspected.
Into the turgid pool they plunged. Nicky, who rather hated cold water,was the only one who did not dive in, so to speak. He dipped a toe andthey all roared as he drew it out. "Red-toe!" Cliff shouted."Nicky-Nicky Red-toe!"
"Well, you needn't talk! Who ever saw an Inca with a white man's head."
They bantered and chaffed him as he gradually dipped in and then Tomcaught Nicky off his guard and dragged him in, all-over! He tried toduck Tom in return, and they made a game of it until Mr. Whitley warnedthem against the danger of their shouts being heard.
When, after carefully inspecting one another and being certain that noteven a part in their hair would show a break in the rich, deep,copper-brownish red of the vegetable dye which penetrated their poresbut had no ill effects, they stood around in the sunshine, drying.
The surprise to them all was the effect which the dye had on Cliff. Hislight, tow-colored hair had come out a rich, glistening and beautifulreddish golden color!
"Glory to gramma!" Nicky laughed. "Wouldn't that be lovely if you were agirl? Those curls! Those ringlets! Those golden red curlies!"
"At that," said Bill soberly, turning Cliff around as he inspected."This is going to turn out well for us."
"Turn out well? How?" inquired Mr. Whitley.
"We won't go as simple natives wandering in by mistake, as we hadplanned," Bill said. "Do you happen to remember anything about the Incareligion?"
"Why, yes," they all chorused, beginning to dress in the simple, butbright wool robes Bill had selected before they left Cuzco and whichlooked very well with their deeply toned skin.
"They worshipped the Sun," Tom said. "They built temples to the Sun."
"More than that," Bill added. "To them the Sun was the visible symbol ofthe god they worshipped, Raymi. But they also believed that the moon wasthe wife of the Sun, and that such stars as they could see were like aretinue or court of pages to wait on the royal Sun and his moon-wife."
"Yes," Cliff broke in, "I know, or I think I know, what you are about tosay. They called Venus--wait, now, let me get it!----"
Nicky was bouncing up and down on a rock. Finally he could containhimself no longer.
"Chasqui!" he said excitedly.
"No," said Tom with contempt, "'Chasqui' means a runner--like the chapwho carried that quipu."
Nicky looked crestfallen, but Cliff smiled.
"You were close," he admitted, "and you reminded me of what I wanted tosay.
"Venus was the favorite star of the Incas and they called her'Chaska'--that was like saying 'Page of the Sun' but I guess that is apretty free translation." He turned to Bill.
"Not too free," Bill grinned. "But it really meant just exactly what youare at this moment--'the youth with the flowing and shining locks!'"
"Why, yes," said Mr. Whitley, "I remember that. And it will fit insplendidly. Cliff, from now on, if all goes well, you shall be'Chaska--Page of the Sun!'"
And, as they made final plans, on their rock, the rush-roofed quartersof Huascar Inca Capac, ruler of hidden Quichaka, were invaded by twounshod men--none wore sandals in the presence of their ruler!--who bowedto the floor.
"We make report," said the taller man. "Oh, Inca--" and a stream oftitles and words of praise followed.
"Let it be spoken from the tongues of truth," said the Inca.
They bowed again and the story of the exodus into the strange outerworld was told. He who had been silent related his experiences on ajourney to that strange continent where all men were pale and where manymonsters with hot breath and coughing voices dragged great rollinghouses along on hard roads of shining metal; where houses were, oh!piled one upon another until one could not count them to the top; wheremen had even trained huge birds whose wings did not move but whosevoices were as the roar of an avalanche, so that these birds did risefrom earth to carry the men through the air. Thus, and with many otherstrange stories he explained to the wondering ruler the sights he hadseen but that he did not understand. How could he, buried in hismountain retreat, explain a railway train, or the high skyscrapers ofAmerica, or its aeroplanes?
"And the letter of the captive?" demanded the Inca.
Its story also was told up to the arrival of the party among the snowsof the white pass.
"There we flung rocks upon them, and we believe that all ran back exceptone who lay still until new snow covered him."
The Inca commended their splendid work.
"But this I do not understand," said he who had been to America, and hedisplayed the quipu of Bill Sanders. "I sent a message to my brother inthe hills and on the way it changed from a message of warning, that mencame, to this."
"Read it, quipucamayu," the Inca commanded of the other.
"It tells, oh Inca, of the coming of one from the stars, yes, even ofChasca, Page of the Sun, himself, as our fathers prophecied so many agesago."
"Strange," mused the ruler. "And last night a star flew from the East tothe West and fell into darkness." The natives of many lands are assuperstitious about the marvels of nature as were the Incas. "Is it agood omen, think you?"
"Royal Inca, son of the Sun," answered his priest, "when the royalAtahualpa was on the eve of capture by the men of white faces, it istold by our haravecs--poets, minstrels--that a star fell!"
"Even so," growled the Inca, "if Chasca comes to spell my doom, I carenot whether he come from the Sun or from Cupay--the god of evil--I willsink an arrow into his flesh!"
"Not so!" the priest of the Sun was shaking with suppressed dismay. "Oh,Inca, royal though you be, say not thus."
"How be, if I am of the Sun a son--shall I then fear one of hisvassals--a page?"
The other noble, a high councillor, spoke softly.
"Fear not, Inca, neither anger the messenger. When gods begi
n to flingarrows other gods may be stronger--or weaker."
That evening, just before the moon rose from behind the cliff on whichthey camped, Tom and Nicky crouched over a tiny electric battery.
"There's Bill's signal," whispered Tom. Nicky closed a switch.
"Come, Incas, come and watch your first fireworks display!" chuckledNicky. "I hope it works!" he added.
In the far city, as the ruddy glow grew on the hilltop, men watching thestars sent word to the Inca of the strange sight. The populace was flaton its collective faces, half terrified, half awed at the red fireshining brightly far to the East; as it died down they saw the silvermoon peep at them.
And late that night came runners to gasp out their news: in thatterror-fire they had seen outlined a figure of black, its arms stretchedwide, and on its head a glory of shining hair!
Through the city the news fled from the nobles to their subjects!
"Chasca! Page of the Sun! He has come!"
And at least one Chasca was sound asleep that that very moment.