“It is nothing,” he said; “a mere flesh wound, which I shall soon recover from.”
I beckoned Pedro, who went up to him and walked by his side. I was afraid lest a sudden faintness should make him fall from his horse.
“What do you propose doing?” I asked of Manco as soon as, having got beyond range of the Spaniards’ muskets, we came to a halt.
“Proscribed and hunted, we must henceforth, like beasts of prey, seek for safety in the caves and recesses of the mountains,” he answered gloomily.
“You say well we must settle what is to be done. There is a cavern high up the mountains some way from this, where some hundred men may take shelter. Few know of it, and if any traitors were to lead the Spaniards to it, they would find it cost them dear to attack us there. I will show the way. On, on, my friends, on!”
I saw that the chief was in no mood for conversation. That day all his brightest hopes had faded away for ever. The liberty of Peru was lost; his friends had been slaughtered round him; and his Inca was a prisoner in the hands of his bitterest foes. We pushed on as fast as the rugged nature of the country would allow us to move; crossing valleys and streams, and climbing mountains, till we arrived at the foot of a lofty and perfectly perpendicular precipice, along the foot of which we moved for some distance. As I looked up, I saw that stones hurled from the summit would completely have annihilated us. Almost at right angles from the cliff arose another hill, up which we now began to climb. On reaching the summit, we turned once more in the direction of the cliffs, which we found were connected with the hill by a natural bridge of rock thrown across a dark and frightful gorge. Ordering the horses to be turned adrift on the hill, Manco, with his child in his arms, led the way across the bridge, and along a narrow ledge, which now appeared as if cut by natural labour in the side of the cliff. I kept close to him to assist him if required; Ned followed, supporting Nita; Pedro, leading Don Gomez, went next; and the Indians in single file after us. A couple of hundred yards along a ledge, where a single false step would have proved certain death, brought us to a hollow in the face of the rock, entering which, we found ourselves in a cavern of very extensive dimensions.
The ground was perfectly level, and the roof dry; and from the appearance I judged that art had been employed to render it habitable. Near the mouth were several pieces of wood which served for torches; and fire being produced by some of the Indians, the cavern was soon sufficiently lit up to show us its extent. On one side, a fountain of pure water spouted from the rock; on the other, a quantity of wood was piled up; and in some oven-shaped buildings, I found was stored a quantity of corn.
It is impossible to conceive a place more impregnable by nature. The summit of the cliffs, I afterwards found, was perfectly inaccessible; while below they extended in a perpendicular wall to a depth of four hundred feet at least. In front the valley widened out to a considerable extent, the opposite cliff being also almost inaccessible, so that the only possible approach was by the narrow ledge along which we had come. Indeed it seemed capable of holding out against any besiegers, as long as the provisions within might last.
As soon as we entered, Ned placed Nita on the ground, and Manco, faint with loss of blood, as well as with fatigue and agitation, sunk down by her side. Taking the infant from him, she handed it to Ned, whose honest countenance had won her confidence. She then placed her husband’s head in her lap, and bent over him in silence, expressing her grief neither in tears nor cries.
“Come, don’t be cast down, Missus,” said Ned, his kind heart moved by her sorrow. “Better times may come, and your good man isn’t going to slip his cable, I hope. I say, mate, she don’t understand my lingo,” he continued, turning to me; “just you tell her what I say. It’ll cheer her up a bit.”