“But they shall not die the easy death of Sarrak,” he shouted. “Horrible though that was, it is still too good for them, and not edifying enough for your eyes. So I would have it arranged thus. Chain the two prisoners to a wall, their backs to the cold stones; and to stakes driven into the ground in front of them tie the great serpents—but just a hair’s breadth out of reach of their victims. There let them remain, the men to gaze in terror into the green eyes of the merciless monsters, and the snakes to glare with impatience and increasing rage at the victims who cannot escape them. Hour after hour you shall witness this glorious spectacle. The heat of the midday sun and hunger and thirst will add to the suffering of the captives. But human nature can endure only so much, and then at last their limbs will grow numb and sag, and they will crumple and fall to the ground. The great moment will have arrived; they will be in reach of the snakes. You shall see the gleam of white fangs and the lightning thrusts of arrow-shaped heads, and hear the cries of the doomed ones. It will be a sight for the gods, and—your revenge will be complete.”
“But, good Villac,” Quizquiz protested mildly and hypocritically, “is the venom of these serpents really so deadly? May not the white men possess some antidote or some magic charm to counteract its effect?”
“There is no antidote known to god or man effective against the poison of these snakes. Upon that point I will stake my life.”
“Now only does my mind feel relieved, and I shall sleep again, for at last I have heard words of real wisdom. Your description, dear Villac Umu, has aroused my interest and curiosity; I can picture the grandeur of the spectacle—it unfolds itself like a vision before my eyes. And the plan shall be carried into execution with the least possible delay. To-morrow we begin the return journey to the plain beside the river. I shall allow two days after our arrival for the preparations. On the following morning the festivities shall begin. Look well to the prisoners—the eleven who condemned themselves by their own stupidity, and these two enemies of the common good, who stop at nothing to attain their evil end, not even at invading the temple and scoffing at the Sun-God.”
“Quizquiz”—Stanley took a step forward, with clinched fists and blanched face—“King though you are of a nation of ignorant, cringing people, you are a coward at heart, and you know it. What is more important still, your subjects know it too, and the day is coming when your tyranny and abuse will bring them to their senses. They will cast off their superstitious reverence for you, for they will see in you the weakling you are, dominated by a cunning hypocrite who calls himself high priest, but who is, in reality, lower than the snakes in the temple.”
“Speech shall not be denied you,” the Inca mocked. “The more you talk the surer I am that your anguish has commenced. What next?”
“Do you not fear our friends in the outer world, whose number is greater than the grains of sand in the desert? They will avenge our death. You and your people will be reduced to slavery and destroyed!”
“Should other men from the outer world invade my kingdom they shall receive the same welcome that has been prepared for you. But they will not come. Your greed for gold is so great that you kept to yourselves the knowledge gained during your previous visit here; if others were informed of your secret they too would come to share the spoils; so you have told no one. I know that.”
“Our promise to Huayna Capac has been kept, for we are men of honor. But a letter has been left behind. If we fail to return within a given time, that letter will be opened. Others will learn of our whereabouts, and how to get here, for we included a map and full directions for reaching the valley. Your existence will be known. Men in great numbers will enter your hiding-place armed with contrivances against which you will be powerless. They will annihilate you, carry away everything of value, and leave your cities masses of deserted ruins.”
“You cannot frighten me. The Sun-God will protect his children. He demands vengeance upon you particularly because you profaned his temple; he never forgets. Perhaps you too have a god? Why not appeal to him? Of what use is any god if he will not help you?”