The Bride of the Sun

into the sea, and yet it was there on her arm again when she woke up. What could it all mean? He could find nothing to say, and in spite of hims

Don Christobal’s sharp voice drove the servants from the room and brought out the whole story. Dick

by the strange story told him than by the state in which his daughter was. He had always seen

ng story for his next book, he could only repeat:—

nto the beach in the morning, she had seen something glitter in the sand. She picked the object up, and found that it was a bracelet, which she recognized as one worn by her mistress on the previous day. Thinking that it had been lost from t

all getting a little

ive one to a lunatic asylum,” added Dic

of scenery.... We ought to go for a little trip in the mountains, Father, and show a little of our country to Mr. Montgomery and Dick.... Suppose we start to-night?... Back to L

to the m

ther... to get

know it Our liner put in there for four hours. There’s n

know where one goes to from Pacasm

himself up:—“Cajamarca!...

very

he dream of my

e same time, Father, we can find out the name of the mysterious

hristobal. “We really must find a

” said Maria-Teresa, who was now toying with t

she brought back a lost bracelet. Concha, unused to such treatment, burst into tears, and Maria-Teresa, ashamed of herself, filled the little maid’s hands with chocolates to make her smile

ivia to the capital of Ecuador, and in comparison with which the finest monuments of the Gallo-Roman period are not so very remarkable, after all. It is for this reason that t

rra, half mountain and half plateau, with altitudes varying between 2,000 and 4,000 meters. Finally the Monta?a, with its forests, which sweeps down to the east of the Cordilleras, stretching toward the Amazon in long slopes which, from 2

, one travels through districts where trees of all latitudes and plants of all climates grow and are cultivated side by side. Walnut-trees neighbor with waving palms; beetroot and sugar-cane grow in adjoining plantations; here, an orchard full of splendid ap

hiding of his fountain-pen at a moment when the taking of notes was urgent made him nearly frantic. All, in short, were in the best of spirits, and seemed to have completely forgotten the

, rising and falling with the waves alongside the liner. This raft they reached by means of a cradle swung out

Uncle Francis, thinking hard of something else, arranged his own descent so badly that raft and cradle met with a crash which nearly jerked him into the sea. The shock was forg

Pacasmayo, without any untoward incident to disturb the pea

which Huascar was certainly the finest representative. On the other hand, he wore his lounge suit with ease, and during the voyage evidenced his civilized upbringing by rendering to Maria-Teresa several of those little services which a man may a

first notice his presence in their own carriage. He drew their notice to himself in such an unex

variety of the panorama before them, and they had just entered th

is where Pizarro’s first messengers

to see nobody; with arms crossed, he stared out toward the rocky fastnesses at the foot of which

s there!” exclaimed the

voice that the others exchanged astonished glances. His statuesque immobil

rew his sword and with the point drew a line in the sand, from east to west. Then, turning toward the south, he said: ‘Comrades, on this side are danger, privation, hunger, nakedness, ruin and death; behind us, comfort and mediocrity. But to the south are also Peru and its riches, glory and immortality. Let each one decide for himself which is best for a hi

uis brutally, exasperated by the stranger’s manner

ng homage to the exploits of those dea

on an expedition as wild as the wildest deeds of their knights-errant, a handful of men, se?ores, without clothes or food, almost wi

rk of the Franco-Belgian Bank of Lima.... But we may fittingly travel in company, se?or, for I am of royal blood. Huayna Capac, King of the Incas, who succeeded his father at the age of sixt

bank?” queried the Mar

the Indian’s eyes as

ave, for th

ranger. She now remembered him quite clearly as a clerk with whom she had had dealings over a consignment of phosphates for Antwerp. An insignificant little body, she had thought—not at all the haughty Indian of to-day, disc

great festival. Is it to be part

ill be particularly celebr

at a pity.... I should so like to s

: “There is a lot of nonsense talked.... Human sacrifices, and so forth.... Do I look as if I were going to such a ceremony?... I and my clothes by Zarate?... No, se?orita, just a few little ceremonies to keep alive

bsurd fears. A smile from Maria-Teresa and a grumbled comment on kings and bank clerks

n by dizzying heights. High up above, in a band of blazing blue s

!” exclaimed Dick. “How on earth was it that

ends, se?or,” ans

ot explain it How many men were there wi

the Marquis, twisting his mustache, “and there

,” correcte

a hundred and sixty-eight,” put in Un

e?” questioned

ebusiers, and a few crossbowmen—not more than twenty altogether. And with this band Pizarro was marching against an army of 50,000 men and against a nation of twenty millions! For, under the Incas, Peru included what are to-day called Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chili. At this point, se?ores, he decided that his soldiers were still too many. He had noticed that some faces were dissatisfied, and, fearing that the discontent might spread, he decided to cut away the weak limbs before

hristobal de la Torre, who served the Conquis

ated the clerk. His tone

sed to recall all these things?”

eir country even better than the conquerors,” retorted Runtu with a

Maria-Teresa, anxious to divert

on peak. On one side, a rent in the ridges opened onto green forests, broken by little cultivated plateaus, each with its rustic cottage clinging to the rugged moun

yss after abyss over quivering bridges, Maria-Teresa, clinging to Dick’

the stranger, who took up the broken

rushed them easi

liously, flicked the questio

hy did you no

sir, were n

n. Maria-Teresa, knowing her father’s pride, calmed him in a moment by urging in an undertone that

tood motionless as a statue. He had not been without guessing the sense of Maria-Teresa’s rema

he remaining thirty miles to Cajamarca had to be covered on mule-back, for

in which were lodged the men working on the line. Near by, surrounding a canteen, stood a dozen fairly comfortable tents, in which they themselves were to pass

htfall, when Maria-Teresa met him near her tent. He was very apologetic, and, hat in hand, excused himself for the incident in the train. He had had no intentio

r and Dick, who were vastly amused. Then they all went to Red, with the exception of Uncle Francis, who passed the greater part of the night putting his notes in order and writing an article for a reverend monthly

hough tired by the journey, she tossed restlessly on her narrow camp-Red. Suddenly, in the dead of night, she sat up, listening. A

she recognized immediately for the Indian bank-clerk. Who was the o

again.... Then the peace of the night was broken by a neigh, and the young girl saw a picketed horse stamping in the shadow beyond. Huascar vaulted into the saddle, wh

s in no way calculated to calm the half-expressed terror which haunted her,

e well that the Indian loved her, but as a faithful dog does, she thought; and

d ladies with their crazy legends! With that, she decided not to say a word to either Dick or her father. She was not going to b

th the prospect of a mule-ride, soon determined to get off again. Riding along the very edge of precipices, his mount felt ten times too high, and he was sure that he would be safer

ng to discover the best way to get off. Immediate action of the Indian bank-clerk saved the situation, and probably Uncle Francis’ neck. Getting off his own mule, Runtu squeeze

a-Teresa and the Indian

na Capae Runtu?”

d with my ancestors. The only one I have a right to now is that by

me from the bank.... Well, se?or Oviedo, can you tell me now what you

not budge, but his mule swer

d knowing I was at the camp, halted here a minute to see me. I remember now, we did stop outside your tents

keep watch over me, the

a saddle may slip off. In either case, it spells death. That is what Huascar m

ind,” said Mar

em. He had recovered his equanimity with the wid

nder how Pizarro managed to bri

would have toppled the clumsy scientist into a ravine

ismount and almost drag their chargers after them. A single false step would have hurled them thousands of feet below. The defiles were then

oing all this time?” asked D

ting a visitor, not a foe.... Mes

imagined his 50,000 men were incapable of defending him against a hundred and fifty Spaniards, that

lf again, he pointed to a peak towering above. “He should have appeared in those defiles, like the horseman yo

gesture took in the whole huge mass of the Andes, making of it a pedestal for th

exclaimed M

ehind them, that silhouette of horse and man dominated and haunted them—sometimes behind, so