“Could you send these men as if to hunt or to fish,––could you have them find the way past the Te-hua sentinels to the place where they camped in the pines?” and she made a gesture towards Pu-yé. “Could you secretly find your way there in the dark before the Mother Moon looks full on the face of the earth?”
“I can do this––and I can do more than this.”
“Can you win for your people the good heart of the council that they show you the sun symbol?” she asked. “Only Tahn-té closes the door to you, and they fear Tahn-té. Tell me why your hate of him is strong.”
“His father was the Devil. Through the devil soul he learns magic things.”
“Good! You hear the wise men tell of a maid of evil who brought the tornado and the battle––and now brings this shake of the world?”
“The witch maid,” and Gonzalvo crossed himself––“Yes––the men speak of her in whispers––and the Indians say a sacrifice must be made.”
“It must be made,” said Yahn Tsyn-deh, and her white teeth shut tight in decision. “Maybe it happens that you can make it, and win the council––how then?”
“I––make the sacrifice––I?”
“Not where the altar is,” soothed Yahn as he recoiled from the thought. “But listen you!––maybe I dream––but listen!––maybe the witch maid is a human thing with the heart of magic like Tahn-té,––maybe I can find them together for you in the sacred place of the stars in Pu-yé. Maybe the spirit of Tahn-té has been traded into her keeping, and with the double strength of evil she will destroy the earth in this place. The stars say so;––a great evil is coming! The medicine men see it in the sacred vessels of water and in the clear stone of the ancient prophets––they say so! You are a brave heart––you can save these people and win the gold secret from the council. If you want Yahn Tsyn-deh for love you will do this thing!”