Part 10 (1/2)
The procession had by this ti up the second, the paean of triuly on the ear with every step of its progress
At length it reached the head of the aisle and wheeled to the right with the evident intention of turning into the third aisle, which would have caused it to brush close past the row of benches by which U But athe procession arrived at the wheeling point, Harry rose fro on his footstool, so that every person in that vast building ht hand and is, in response to which the procession caers and musicians almost as abruptly became silent Then Harry beckoned Tiahuana to his side, and said:
”Interpret for e for the people”
Then, as Tiahuana gazed aghast and speechless at the youngas to interrupt a cere and dramatic moment, Harry proceeded:
”Children of the ancient Peruvian nation, hearken unto me; for Pachacamac, the Supres, yea even unto the Sun, Moon, and Stars which you adore, each in their several seasons, has this e into my mouth and bid me deliver it unto you
”Thus saith Pachacamac, the Great and Only One 'In the days of old, when the Peruvians were but a few scattered tribes plunged in the depths of ignorance and barbarism, I took pity upon them and sent to theather together those scattered tribes and form them into communities, to instruct them in the mysteries of ht becos ith the Peruvians, for they listened to the voice ofin accordance with ly, and lorious and powerful nation, wise in the art of government, and invincible in the field of battle, so that as the years rolled on they conquered all the surrounding tribes and nations and absorbed theress of time my people fell into error They ceased to worshi+p and honour me, and transferred their adoration to the Sun, which I had iven unto them as the beneficent source of all their ht and warmth, which caused their strea forth abundant crops for the sustenance of man and beast, which caused their flocks to increase and reatly, and which is the source of all life, health, and beauty They gave their gratitude and devotion to that which I had created, and forgot s; they built hundreds of temples in honour of the Sun--and one only did they dedicate to me! Therefore was I displeased with theht of my countenance I perave them power to triumph over the Peruvians in battle, to destroy Atahuallpa, and to wrest their land froreat nation is this valley and the city that ye have built in it
”'But er burns not for ever, nor will I hide iven you another Inca, who shall guide your straying feet back into the right path, who shall point out to you the mistakes which you have made and teach you how to correct them And if ye will obey hireat and powerful nation, even as you were in the old days ere I hid my face from you and permitted calamity to overtake you
”'And now, listen, my people, unto this I have no pleasure in sorrow or suffering; the shedding of blood in sacrifice is an abomination unto me Therefore do I forbid now and henceforth the sacrifice in burnt offering of any creature that doth breathe the breath of life; for death is a curse that I have sent upon the earth, and not a blessing, as ye shall be taught in due time Ye may deck my altars with flowers, and make beautiful the houses in which ye worshi+p me, if ye will; but obedience to my laws and precepts is , and if ye render that unto me ye shall do well'”
As Harry uttered the last words, and sank back into his seat, it is safe to say that no individual in that great building was more astonished at his behaviour than hihost of a notion of what heihter and rescue a household frorief But the words had leapt to his lips, and he had spoken as one under the influence of inspiration, without thought, or pause, or hesitation In the very building devoted to the worshi+p of that object which, ever since Peru became a nation, had been the especial veneration of its inhabitants, he had stood up and boldly denounced the worshi+p of the Sun as idolatry; had told the, and had unceremoniously broken in upon and put a stop to the most impressive ceremony in their ritual, and had forbidden certain practices hallowed by ages of religious teaching! And noas to be the result?
Would the priests and the congregation rise up as oneinnovator limb from limb, or offer him up as a sacrifice on the altar from which he had essayed to snatch its destined victied deity? The sensation produced on all sides as Tiahuana had translated Esob's denunciation, sentence by sentence, was trerew in intensity as the denunciation proceeded
But whether the eer, or of blank astonish man could not deterreatly care, for he felt that he was doing his duty regardless of the possibility of the hastly peril to himself
Indeed there are few possibilitiesof aof the objects of their idolatry Everything, or al, would depend entirely upon the viehich Tiahuana and the priests took of Harry's conduct If, after that uncoly outspoken attack upon the worshi+p of the Sun--the fundaion--Tiahuana's belief in the theory that Esob was indeed the re-incarnation of the first Manco, foretold by the prophet titucocha, reht yet be well; but if not--!
For soned supre approaching tumult or disorder in the behaviour of the people; the points raised by the young Inca's e were evidently of such tremendous import that they felt thenised, almost from the first moment, that these were matters which must be left in the hands of the priests, and presently the excitean to die down, and everybody waited to see ould next happen As for Tiahuana, the denunciation had fallen upon hi effect that he had sie as nearly word for word as the Quichua language would per under the influence of some fantastically horrible dream But by the tined in the great building, he had pulled hi to Harry, said:
”Is my Lord quite certain, beyond all possibility of doubt, that the e which he has just delivered has been put into his nant spirit?”
”Yes,” answered Esob with conviction; ”I am What evil spirit would instruct the Peruvians to worshi+p and adore the Great Pachacamac Himself instead of one of the works of His hands? The very i testimony of the source from which it comes”
”It may be; it may be; I cannot tell,” answered Tiahuana wearily ”If the e comes in very truth froht path, andus can be accounted for It would also explain why our forefathers were so blind as to permit the _Conquistadors_ to enter their country, and so weak as to be conquered by them! Yes, methinks there are e; but they cannot be discussed here and now Is it my Lord's will that the people be dismissed?”
”Yes,” answered Harry, almost breathless with astonishment at the complete success of his intervention ”Tell the people that reat and e, one of the most important of which will be that, henceforth, Pachacamac Himself--the Supreme, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, and all that are therein, and only He, is to be worshi+pped in this building Ye have wandered far astray; but be of good comfort, I--and, later on, others whom Pachacamac will send to you--will point the way of return, and all shall be ith you”
”And the maiden, Lord, as to have been offered as a thank- offering--what is to be done with her?” demanded Tiahuana
”Let her be returned with all honour to her home and parent,” answered Harry ”Henceforth there are to be no burnt sacrifices, whether hu before the central altar, where he could be seen by all, and heard by perhaps about half of the congregation, raising his hand to command the attention of his audience, interpreted Esob's secondboth hands in a gesture of blessing, which he h the great eastern door Meanwhile Maia, the daughter of U not only heard but also understood everything that had transpired, had fainted fro from that of lofty exaltation to relief and joy at her reprieve froe, to be regarded asthat this life had to offer--and had been delivered to her father, who had lost not aher back to the shelter of his roof
”And now, Lord,” said Tiahuana, ”tellthe ceree seeion, and until I am more fully instructed I know not what to do, or how to proceed”
”Nay,” said Harry reassuringly, for he saw that the old man was intensely worried and distressed, ”the matter is surely very simple
All that you have to do is to transfer your adoration fro to hi them to the Sun Surely it is wiser and s, than it is to worshi+p one of the things that He has made? Do this, and ye shall do well And if any doubts should arise in your minds, come to me and I will resolve them Also I will instruct you fro Pachacao in peace; for ye have but to be obedient, and to instruct the people in the truth, even as you yourselves shall be instructed, and all will be well”
Then Harry rose, and, escorted by the nobles,to the place where his litter and his guard awaited hi into his seat, he was rapidly borne back to the palace amid the enthusiastic acclamations of the populace which lined the streets But as the bearers trotted s the road Esob detected--or thought that he did--a new note in those acclamations; a note which he could not for the life of him interpret
It was not that the acclamations were less hearty than before On the contrary, they seeled with their enthusiasm and joy there seemed to be a certain subtle undertone that thrilled hiuely wonder whether that ”ht on the spur of the enius--or an irreparable mistake Anyhow, he had delivered it, and that was theHe had quite deter and convenient opportunity; he had, therefore, no regrets on that score, and the only thing that worried him was the question whether it had been delivered prematurely; whether, in fact, it would have been more powerful and effective if he had deferred its deliverance until he had taken time to prepare the minds of the people for its reception