Part 9 (1/2)
Upon entering this anteroo one end of, and reaching across the entire width of the apartment In the centre of the dais, but close up to the front of it, was a throne of solid silver, with a footstool before it, and upon this throne Harry was directed by Tiahuana to seat hi themselves behind and on either side of it Before hihteen inches below the level of the dais, were arranged several rows of benches upon which the nobles were seated, the Council of Seven, which had governed in the absence of an Inca, with Huanacocha occupying theseated on the front bench, or that nearest the dais
The little stir which had been occasioned by the entrance of Harry and the priests having subsided, Arima--to Esob's amazement--was mysteriously produced by Tiahuana and led forward to the front of the dais, from which standpoint he was ordered to relate the circu Englishman; how his suspicions as to the identity of his employer with the expected Inca were first aroused; what steps he took to verify those suspicions, and how he proceeded after those suspicions were confire, not only with a total absence of embarrassment, but with a certain undertone of pride and exultation running through his narrative; for he felt that, as the first discoverer of the returned Manco, he was a person of very great consequence Then Harry was requested to state where and in what -lost emerald collar of Manco Capac, which he did in Spanish, Tiahuana afterwards interpreting his brief statean by res of that dreadful day when Atahuallpa, deceived by the treacherous Spaniards, unsuspectingly entered the city of Caxahtered, and to find himself a captive in the hands of the _Conquistadors_ Then he drew a graphic word picture of that still ht when Atahuallpa, chained hand and foot, was led out into the great square of the city and ignoled by his unscrupulous and bloodthirsty betrayers War to his subject, he next very briefly sketched the untoward fate of the Inca Manco, son of Huayna Capac, whom the Spaniards had installed, as their tool and puppet, on the throne vacated by the murder of Atahuallpa; and he concluded this portion of his address by briefly re his hearers of the sudden and draht of Atahuallpa's murder, and of the prophecy then uttered by hi fresh energy and fire as he proceeded, the High Priest told how, after waiting ireat Manco, foretold by titucocha, until he had begun to despair of living to see that happy day, he had been suddenly startled into new life and hope by the arrival of Arilad news that the divine Manco had actually returned to earth and was even then a the mountains of his beloved Peru He reminded them of how he, Tiahuana, had conducted Arima into the presence of the Council of Seven and caused him to relate his story to them; of the scepticism hich that story had been received, of the difficulty which he had encountered in persuading the Council that it was their duty to perh Priest, to sift the story and ascertain how far it was true; and how, having at length secured their somewhat reluctant consent, he had triumphantly accomplished his mission and now had the duty and pleasure to present them to the divine Manco, promised of Heaven as the deliverer and restorer of the Peruvian nation
”But how are we to be assured beyond all possibility of doubt that this young man is in very deed the reincarnated Manco, whose return was foretold by the prophet titucocha, and for whom the nation has looked these three hundred years and more?” demanded Huanacocha, the head of the Council of Seven ”He is a white in with; and for my part it has always been in n to return to us, he would come in the form of a full-blooded Peruvian Indian, even as we are”
A low murmur of concurrence and approval filled the room at these bold words of Huanacocha, and every eye was at once turned upon Tiahuana to see what reply he would give to this apparently unanswerable objection
”Why should you suppose any such thing?” demanded Tiahuana in a cold, level voice ”There is no word in titucocha's prophecy, as handed down to us in our records, to justify any such belief I am prepared to admit, if you like, that such an expectation was natural, but further than that I cannot go Nay, rather letinto consideration the careful minuteness hich titucocha particularised the several means of identification--every one of which has been literally fulfilled in him whom you now see before you--I am convinced that if our Lord the Sun had intended that his child should return to us as an Indian, born of us and a us, titucocha would have specifically said so But, as I have already reminded you, he did not What he said was that the re-incarnated Manco was to be the deliverer and restorer of the ancient Peruvian nation; and who so fit to undertake and successfully carry through this stupendous task as one born, and who has lived all his life in England, that great nation of which we have all heard, whose empire extends north and south, east and west, to the uttermost parts of the earth, so that it has been said of her that she is the empire upon which the sun never sets My Lords, I, who am full of years and of the wisdom that comes with many years, tell you that if ever we are to free ourselves from the yoke of the oppressor, and to restore Peru to its ancient position of power and glory, we reat, that almost impossible task, by one who unites within hie; and the crowning proof, to lorious promise is to be found in the fact that it has ordained our new Inca to be born an Englishe, that wisdohout the world I have spoken! And now, I pray you, come forward every one of you, from the first unto the last, and see with your own eyes the final proof that the great Manco has indeed returned to us Thus far you have merely been called upon to believe the testimony of Arima and myself; but now it is for you to look with your own eyes upon the collar which this young man wears, and to say whether in very truth it is or is not the emerald collar of the divine Manco, of which we have so perfect and co of which he was to be recognised in his re-incarnated for, another low murmur ran round the assembly, but whether of approval or of dissent it was not easy to judge Then Huanacocha, as chief of the Council of Seven, arose, and, stepping forward to the dais, took in his hand the e removed it from Harry's neck for the purposes of inspection--and examined it with the most scrupulous care He was about to return it to Tiahuana when the latter said:
”Has my Lord Huanacocha compared the features delineated on the pendant with those of hi-looked- for deliverer?”
Huanacocha had not, it see the pendant in his hand, he studied it intently, and then gazed long and steadily at Harry's features
”I admit that there certainly is some resemblance,” he said coldly, as he handed back the jewel
Then, one after the other, the re members of the assembly came forward one by one, scrutinised the jeith more or less deliberation, and returned to their seats, until every one in the rooh Priest stepped forward to the edge of the dais, and said:
”nobles of the ancient Peruvian blood-royal, I have now submitted to you the last piece of evidence upon which I base ht into your h a sequence of events that can only be described as miraculous--is in very truth he for whose appearance we and our forefathers have been anxiously looking during a period of more than three hundred years You are all perfectly acquainted with the words of the prophecy which foretold his appearance; for so important, so vital to the interests of the nation, were those words regarded that it has been our rule throughout the ages to teach them to every child until that child can repeat thenisant of all the signs and tokens of identification by which the re- incarnated Manco was to be recognised when in the fulness of tireat eneration It now rests with you to decide whether those signs and tokens have been fulfilled in the case of this young man so clearly and un whoh it is perhaps hardly necessary for me to do so, it is my duty to remind you that never in the history of our nation have the Peruvian nobility been called upon to decide a more momentous question I now ask you to rise in your places, one by one, beginning with my Lord Huanacocha, and say whether or not you are satisfied that this young man is in very truth the divine Manco returned to earth”
A very perceptible pause followed this appeal, and then Huanacocha rose to his feet
”Before replying to your question,man to tell us what he can remember of his former existence The history of Manco Capac, our first Inca and the founder of our nation, is well known to all of us, and if your claim be indeed justified there must be many incidents in his career, well known to us but quite unknown to the outer world, which the claimant can recall
Let hi a us will be satisfied”
This speech was delivered in the Quichua language, and it was necessary for Tiahuana to translate to Harry, who at once replied:
”I have already told you, I believe, that I have no recollection whatever of any former state of existence”
”My Lords,” said Tiahuana, ”the young man asserts, with perfect candour, that he has no recollection whatever of any former state of existence; therefore he is unable to furnish those further proofs demanded by the Lord Huanacocha But what of that? Does this absence of recollection invalidate all the other proofs that have been given? How many of us reh to recall any of their happenings? I confess that I do not Doesand profound silence followed this pointed question So prolonged, indeed, was it that it at length became evident that no one in that asse with triumph, once more stepped forward and said:
”My Lords, your silence is a complete and sufficient answer to my question, and proves that the objection raised by my Lord Huanacocha was an unreasonable one I ain call upon him to say whether he is or is not satisfied with the other proofs advanced”
There was no pause or hesitation this time; Huanacocha at once rose and said:
”I have no fault to find with the other proofs; but I contend that they do not go far enough I aly of opinion that when the divine Manco returns to us he will couise of one of ourselves, an Indian of the blood-royal; and therefore I must refuse to accept the dictu white man is the re-incarnation of the first Manco, the founder of our nation” And he resumed his seat
This bold and defiant speech created, asthe other occupants of the hall; but Tiahuana, with a slight gesture of impatience, at once threw up his hand to demand silence, and said:
”You have all heard the objections raised by h and judge their value Let now the other lords arise, each in his turn, and express his opinion”
The ht at once arose, and said: