“So much the worse for you,” growled Umu savagely, for the delay was beginning to tell upon his patience. “Is there any man here,” he continued, “who can tell me where my Lord Huanacocha is to be found?”
He glared round upon the assembled servants, the whole of whom had by this time been quietly herded together by the soldiers. There was no answer.
“Very well,” continued Umu, addressing his men. “Take these people down to the cellars below; lock them in securely; and then set fire to the house and burn it over their heads! I can waste no more time here.”
As the troopers, in obedience to this order, closed round the prisoners, and with coarse jests began to hustle them unceremoniously toward the head of the flight of steps leading down to the basement of the building, the steward, suddenly realising the desperate nature of his own and his fellow servants’ predicament, turned to Umu and cried:
“Stay, Lord, I pray you, and visit not upon us the misdeeds of our lord. When I said just now that I knew not the whereabouts of my Lord Huanacocha, I spoke only the truth, for indeed I cannot tell for certain where he is—nay, Lord, have patience, and hear what I have to say ere you condemn me to a frightful death for a fault which is not mine. It is indeed true that I know not where my Lord Huanacocha is to be found, for he did not deign to tell me his business when he went out last night; but I believe I can form a very good guess as to where he now is.”
“You can?” ejaculated Umu. “Then say on, and that right quickly. For within the next five minutes this house will be ablaze, and you within it, if you have not by then told me what I want to know.” Then, turning to a sergeant, he said: “Take with you a dozen men; bring everything in the house that will burn, pile it in this hall, and pour on it all the oil you can find. Now, sirrah, proceed with your tale.”
“Then, Lord, in brief, it is this,” answered the wretched steward, speaking as well as his chattering teeth would allow. “From words which I have overheard from time to time of late passing between my Lord Huanacocha and others, especially the new Villac Vmu, I believe that when my master left this house last night he did so with the purpose of accompanying the High Priest and an armed party to the palace in order to seize the person of our Lord the Inca and convey him to the temple, that he might be subjected to the fire ordeal, to prove whether or no—”
“The fire ordeal, say you?” roared Umu in a paroxysm of fury, as the full horror of the situation at last dawned upon him.
“Even so, Lord,” answered the quaking steward. “I heard my—”
“You had reason to believe that your master had conspired with the Villac Vmu to seize the Inca and subject him to the fire ordeal, yet you never took the trouble to come and report the matter to me?” roared Umu.