"Oh no; for after the image had done its mission, which was to intimate who had slain the victim, it was recovered in some way, and restored to the society. For instance, when Mendoza died--by the way, he had been killed for betraying some secrets of the society--well, sir," pursued Blake, "when he died I kept the Blue Mummy, and it nearly cost me my life."
"How so?"
"After the death of Mendoza the society became aware--I don't know how--that I, who had rescued him, was possessed of the symbol of death. Henceforth I was nearly always in danger of death, and several times I ran the risk of stabbing, drowning, poisoning, and many other ways of being got rid of. A friend of mine, who knew about the society, advised me to get rid of the Blue Mummy, so one night I placed it in a niche outside my door. It disappeared within an hour, so after that I had no further trouble."
"But what is the object of this society?"
"To restore native Indian rule; and, like the Anarchists, it works by secret assassination, in order to startle and intimidate those in power."
"Has the society any money?"
"Oh, yes; I believe it is well supplied with funds. You see, the Indians know of many buried and hidden treasures, concealed at the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru; so I suppose they devote those riches to the plots for reconstructing the Empire of the Incas."
"All this is very clear and plausible so far as Peru is concerned," said Frank after a pause, "but I don't see how this system of political plotting and wholesale murder comes to exist in England."
"I can tell you, Darrel. About a year ago the Peruvian Government resolved to put an end to the society, and many people were arrested. They tried to get hold of the money owned by the society, but those who had charge of it fled with it to England and took up their abode in London."
"Is Captain Manuel one of these people?"