LOOKED GLOOMILY INTO THE WATER
“Yes, the god Malinche. Slave of a slave! My friend,” said the chief speaker to the slave-dealer, “there is no such relation known to the law, and for that reason we cannot buy of you. Better go back with all you have, and let the wilderness have its own again.”
“But the goods of which you spoke; certainly they were paid for,” said the dealer, turning pale.
“No. There is nothing left of the royal revenue. Even the treasure which the last king amassed, and walled up in the old palace, has been given to Malinche. The empire is like a man in one respect, at least,—when beggared, it cannot pay.”
“And the king?”
“He is Malinche’s, too.”
“Yes,” added the bystander; “for nowadays we never see his signet, except in the hands of one of the strangers.”
The dealer in men drew a long breath, something as near a sigh as could come from one of his habits, and said, “I remember Mualox and his prophecy; and, hearing these things, I know not what to think.”