The song ceased, and a tall man, arrayed in white garments, came from behind the shrine, holding a blue cloak full length in his arms. This was the ritual prescribed at the shrine of Huitzilopochtli when the god spoke through the opal.
"The god proclaims peace!"
His voice broke the spell. The Indians dashed forward, and strove to seize him, but he eluded their grip, and vanished.
"Peace! Peace! Peace!" they heard him cry three times. Their attention was fixed on the opal, and they did not pursue him.
"The sacred stone!" cried the supreme chief; "we must bear it back to the shrine of the god. Forgive us, oh, holy one."
He snapped the stone off the string, and darted out of the door, followed by his four companions. At the door an old Indian, now divested of his sacerdotal garments, met them, and rushed on their principal with a cry of anger.
"The opal! Give me back the sacred gem!"
"Cocom!" cried the chief, raising his tomahawk. "It was thou who thieved the gem! Die, vile wretch, who desecrated the shrine of the god."
His companions restrained his wrath. The fear of the opal was on them.
"Nay, Tezuco. The god says peace! The stone burns blue rays."