“Say to the Brother of the Moon that what he did was well done,” went on Coheyogo to Noco. “If the draught which he made for the Great Sun gives life as surely as his silver wand brings death, then shall the shadow pass from our weeping race. Go, then, Noco, to the temple quickly, and bid four priests to hasten to me here. Answer no questions, but, as you go, inform the people that Coyocop has destroyed with flowers, brought to her cabin by the faithful, the evil spirit which strove to kill our king and bring destruction upon the City of the Sun. Say to them further, if they should whisper the name of yonder chief, that Manatte has gone to the foot-hills to offer prayers for the Great Sun’s life. Go at once, for the day grows old and we have much to do.”
Turning toward de Sancerre, who had been whispering to Doña Julia words of hope and cheer, Coheyogo pointed to the feet of the dead sun-prince, and then strode to the head of the corpse. The Frenchman and the chief priest raised the heavy body and placed it upon Doña Julia’s reed-plaited bed. With armfuls of magnolia blossoms Coheyogo covered Manatte’s face and shoulders, while de Sancerre, comprehending vaguely the scheme which the chief priest had in mind, strewed flowers upon the trunk of his sword’s gigantic prey.
“May God defend us!” he muttered. “I fear the keenness of this crafty priest! He has an agile mind. He turns a nightmare to a dream of spring with most exquisite skill. And, for some reason which I cannot find, he takes great pleasure in this gay youth’s death. I trust that Doña Julia has learned to read his mind. I dread him either as an ally or a foe!”
Before de Sancerre could find an opportunity for holding further converse with the Spanish maiden, whose presence in the City of the Sun had wellnigh restored his boyhood’s faith in miracles, Noco, followed by four silent elders from the temple of the sacred fire, had entered the hut. A few moments later the voiceless, expectant throng in the great square gazed with awe and wonder upon a picturesque procession which moved with slow and solemn tread from Coyocop’s abode to the outskirts of the town, beyond which point a word from the temple priests prevented the dusky crowd from following it.
At the head of the cortège walked the chief priest, accompanied by de Sancerre, whose drawn rapier gleamed like a sword of fire as the red rays of the setting sun made a plaything of the blade. Behind them came four white-robed bearers carrying a plaited bier, upon which lay the body of a tall man concealed from view by a trembling shroud of fragrant flowers. Following this strange funeral, upon which the sun-worshippers gazed with awe-stricken eyes, as if they looked upon a marvel wrought by spirits, hobbled the aged Noco, mumbling to herself as she grinned at a people for whose blind superstition she had no respect. Cabanacte had remained as sentry at Coyocop’s abode, to chafe under the useless task consigned to him; for to him it seemed more fitting that he should guard Katonah than stand as sentinel before a cabin upon which high heaven smiled.
When the cortège had reached the twilight shadows outside the city, the chief priest gave a few simple directions to the bearers of the corpse and, accompanied by de Sancerre and Noco, turned back toward the temple of the sun.
“Come with me, señora!” cried the Frenchman, when they had reached the square, pointing toward the Great Sun’s cabin. “Say to the chief priest, Doña Noco, that you and I must watch by the good King’s side to-night.”
“It is well,” answered Coheyogo, as he listened to the old crone’s words. “May the great spirit grant you the skill to save his life. ’Tis best for you that he should live.”
With this significant hint, the chief priest strode through the dusk toward the temple of the sacred fire.
Before de Sancerre and Noco had reached the cabin in which the Brother of the Sun lay tossing upon a feverish couch, the Frenchman, whose mind was filled with the vision of a pale, dark-eyed woman, garbed in black, with spring flowers upon her breast, recalled, for an instant, another face which seemed to accuse him in the twilight there of strange forgetfulness.