The Gold of the Gods

a few minutes later, one of the ne

ries, Craig gave a hast

e my arm and draw me ov

e direction of his eyes

king to a woman much

. "You can see the resemblance. Let's sit

ut, it was evident that Alfonso was dearer than life to the woman and that the young man was a model son. Though I felt that I must

ontrasting full, red lips. Her face, in marked contradiction to her Parisian costume and refi

ere could be no mistake about the almost hypnotic power that their owner possessed. I could not help wondering whether she might not have e

point, we could see without be

I heard Craig mutte

fancied that not for an instant did she allow the gaze of any one else to distract her in the projection of whatever weird ocular power nature had endowed her with. If it were a battle of eyes, I recollected the strange

me time, young de Moche appeared to be ill at ease. Perhaps he did not approve of the intimacy with Whitney. At any rate, he s

marked Kennedy, rising. "Let us take a tur

and laughing. As we passed the woman and her son, I was conscious again of that strange feelin

so's back was toward us now. Again we passed them, just in time to catch the words, in a low ton

ifficult to reconstruct. It referred undoubtedly to

sted, "that they know that we

ing them further from under cover. I wanted them

sen and were making their way slowly to the elevators, still talking earnestly. The lifts were arou

observed Craig. "The marks that I found in the dust of the sarcophagus in the

Moches and Whitney. Each had a suite on the eighth floor,

nedy finally, drawing a card from his case. "Besides, we came here to see them

must say that it was somewhat to my surprise that the Senora teleph

m into the elevator. "It saves planning some roundabo

ed out into the heavily carpeted hallway, passing down to Room 810,

ith his mother, after all, but had gone out through ano

and I have heard that you are a Peruvian. Your son, Alfonso, I have already met, once. I thought that perhaps you might be able to give me some advice." She looked at us keenly, but said nothin

health and energy, eyes that were full of what the old character readers used to call "amativeness," denoting a nature capable of intense passion,

nted furnished, but she had rearranged it, adding some touches of her own which gave it quite a Peruvian appe

us as if she would bore right through into our minds, "I s

their schemes, too," he replied noncommittally. "Peru seem

uried treasure." "I suppose you know that the old Chimu tribes in the

their dead all their movable property. Graves were not dug separately. Therefore, you see, sometimes a common grave, or huaca, as it is calle

r modern civilization had done for her, it had no

iard opened a Chimu huaca and found gold that is said to have been worth more than a million dollars. An Indian told him about

ised look on our faces at finding that she wa

e Spaniard that he had given him only the little fish, the peje chica, but that some day he would giv

t. But I should rather get it more accurately from

r heavily with pure gold. That gold, as well as what had been buried in the huacas, was sacred. Mansiche, the supreme ruler, laid a curse on it, on any Indian who would tell of it, on any Spaniard w

her brain some of the primitive impulses, as well as beliefs. Either the curse of Mansiche on the treasure was as re

cret. He died," she said solemnly, flashing a glance at Craig from her wonderful eyes to stamp the idea indelibly. "He

made a great priestess of the heathen god

added, "That is m

ther down in Peru. The tradition and the dagger had been intrusted to him. I don't know how it happened. Somehow he seemed to gro

as followed it. After my brother had told the secret of the dagger and l

te outpouring of the tragedies that had foll

he gold or not. At any rate, he must have thought he had it. He has been killed suddenly, in his own home. That is my answer to your inquiry abou

ignificance? I had not been able to convince myself that they were the work of a crank, alone. There must be some one to whom the execution of vengeance of the gods was an imperative duty. Unsuperstitious as I was

every word. "You know, I suppose, that the treasure has always been believed to be in a large mound, a tumulus I think you call it, visib

umbled on the secre

e point just where to bore into the mounds. If they could find it, they plan to construct a well-tim

nveyed the idea, without her saying it directly, that any such venture was

asp. Was there still to be vengeance for his downfall? Surely, I thought to myself, Don Luis de Mendoza could not have been in possession of the secret, unless he had arrived at

the table, the property of Alfonso. She saw me looking at them, and he

ineering to do so. It is a sort of sacrilege to us to do that. The gold was not our gold, you see. Some of it belongs to the spirits of the departed.

ed with the authenticated secret. She continued to gaze at the books. "There

hinking of her son a

hey affected hi

he treasure, to the books, to her son, and, finally, to the

er races. We are as proud as Senor Mendoza was of his Castilian descent

quiet dignity which left no doubt in m

e fear of the curse and tragedy of the treasu

when he saw that Alfonso was in love with his daughter, that she might return that

that the cross-currents of superstition, avarice, and race

er just then. She had remained standing, as a gentl

one to," he bowed, after we, too, had risen. "You have told me quite e

rating our rather clumsy excuse for seeing her, or that she felt th

g a few moments about the hotel without s

is only comment. "A most