“Well, if he is determined to pay his respects to us, we shall return the compliment in due time, count on that.”
“I have just thought of something,” Ted said solemnly. “The way Pizarro conquered the whole Incan nation of many millions was to capture the king. Without a leader they were like so many sheep. We will capture Quizquiz.”
“I should like to lay my hands on him for a few minutes at least. But how are we going to do it?”
“Induce him to take a ride after the ship is repaired.”
“He would never do it. He’s too big a coward.”
“We will tell him he can soar above the clouds and absorb some of the radiance of the sun. That will flatter his vanity and he will accept eagerly in spite of his fears. Then we can land him outside the valley and hold him prisoner while we come back to continue our search for the gold. His people will do anything to help us and will give us everything they have if we will but give them back their king.”
CHAPTER VIII
THE INCA’S THREAT
When the Inca hove in sight the following morning Ted and Stanley were filled with wonder and dismay. It seemed as if the whole population of the valley had come with him. Long lines of soldiers marched in advance and at the rear of the procession. In the centre were the members of his court, the nobles, and a numerous body of the clergy. The pomp and splendor affected by the youthful monarch were surprising to the two Americans, who on their previous visit had become accustomed to the gorgeous attire of Huayna Capac and to the lavish display of wealth with which he surrounded himself.
A horde of menials swept the roadway in advance of the royal party; youths in snowy garments sprinkled it with scented water and strewed the petals of orchids and other rare flowers over the way the ruler must pass.
The golden litter in which the king rode was not the one used by his father, for, according to custom, upon the death of an Inca, all those things connected intimately with his use accompanied his remains to their final resting-place or were destroyed. Quizquiz had a more massive one, encrusted with emeralds, which were ingeniously mounted in the pale, pure gold, so as to form figures of the sun rising above the mountain tops, of llamas and of condors. And while fifty of his subjects of the highest rank trudged along under the oppressive weight of the litter and its occupant, Quizquiz, reclining on soft cushions, amused himself by striking at them with a long-lashed whip. The carriers seemed not to resent this abuse; they deemed it an honor thus to serve their sovereign, knowing all the while that to trip or fall while bearing the sacred burden would constitute a crime punishable by death.