“All things he hears,” he muttered––“all things! Under the trees we spoke words––far off they reached his ears! He waited to show us that his eyes were for the dark or the day––or––the dead! The spirit men were Navahu. Holy Father, he can bring all the men who ever died to tramp us into the sand! Holy Father, my heart is very sick!”
The others were silent. All were awed, and Padre Vicente was thinking what was most wise to say. There were enough in the group for strong witness that Tahn-té had shown them a thing which did not exist;––only a sorcerer could call up men out of the earth and send them away on the wind!
“In the sorcery we had no part, my children,” he said at last. “The man who raised those demons fled, as you see, at the sign of the cross! To-morrow morning we have a mass. It is well to walk in prayer, when Satan works with his chosen helpers.”
Don Ruy looked at him sharply––for the mirage could not be a thing of wonder for so travelled a man. But his was not the task to correct eminence as to natural or infernal agencies, and the effect on the 236 minds of the two interpreters might prove a thing of grace!
Therefore he bent his head, and rode onward, and smiled at the secretary, who was careful to ride close, and showed none too much of courage at this glimpse of the magic of the barbarian who clasped hands with the gods––or the demons!
“What dare be written in the ‘Relaciones’ of a thing like that?” he queried.––“You smile, Excellency, as if you carried a magic shield, or enchanted sword lifted from pages of old romance, but what think you Señor Brancadori will say to this thing of wonder? It does not belong to the living world we know.”
“Let it not get into your dreams,” suggested Don Ruy––“or if you do, content yourself with the fancy that I indeed bear a magic shield and am ever near enough for you to hide behind it.”
“I am not so much a coward!” retorted the lad,––“to die for a good cause in any human way is not a thing to fear––but these magical works––”
“Without doubt they do belong to the sorcery of Satan,” said Don Ruy soberly, yet with an eye on the padre––“and yon supple racer is of course one of his heirs. Stay you close to me, lad, and forget not your orisons.”
When they reached the camp, a herald was calling to the people from the terraces. He was calling for all the men to prepare for battle. In a vision of the bright day had Tahn-té seen the coming of the Navahu. The medicine of Tahn-té was strong. Not at home would they wait for battle. To steal women had the enemy taken the trail to the dwellings of the Ancient ruins in the hills, and there must the warriors prepare to meet them on the trail.