Go willingly. Thou hast no further mission in Tlamco. Fear not.
I have been before thee—and am with thee even unto the end of time.
Akaza.
The eagles led them southward by sea for many days after leaving Monterey Bay, but on coming ashore they traveled inland until they reached the pueblos of the Colorado.
Here they were evidently expected by the Brotherhood, who reprovisioned and sent them forward.
“Thou art the forerunners of an exodus which will strip this fair land of the white race for ages to come. Ice imprisons every vestige of life to the north, and the seeds of total destruction are already planted in the Llama city. Whither thou goest, we, too, will follow. Peace be thy portion!” solemnly spoke the high-priest in adieu.
It would not have been a very difficult journey down the singularly even plateau stretching beyond the Colorado to far Anahuac, had it not been for the dread scourge of waters flooding the plains and settling in the deep cup now known as Tezcuco Lake.
Nature’s tropic prodigality had done much to hide the ugly scars earned in a life and death struggle between the raging water courses and the still smoking mountain peaks muttering curses to the clouds.
It looked as if the earth in trembling fright had shaken everything down, ready for the receding waves to wash into the sea.
Forty long, weary days, the little party pushed ahead.