Part 14 (2/2)
At this point Maia, who had been betraying rapidly increasing signs of anxiety and impatience, cut in with:
”My father, to me it seems of the utmost i what has become of the Inca, whose life may at this moment be in the uth to carry him off would probably not hesitate to kill him, if need were: indeed that may be their purpose Your task, therefore, must be to rescue him without an instant's unnecessary delay, which you should be easily able to do with the aid of your troops
Probably if the officials of the palace were carefully questioned they could be persuaded to tell you what has become of the Inca, for doubtless they know, since he could not have been carried off without their knowledge and acquiescence”
”Yes, you are right, Maia I see exactly what youthe palace people tell what they know,” answered Uuard to turn out in readiness to proceed wherever required; after which I will proceed to the palace with a squadron, and it will be strange if I do not find means to make somebody tell o to the barracks and await my return there froo; for, as Maia has said, even moments may now be of importance”
Souard, led by Uardens, and, at a word fro, a party of a dozen of the their leader into the palace, to the consternation of all who encountered them This dozen constituted a search party, which, with draords, systeathering together every official and individual of the palace staff that could be found, until the whole, with the exception of sos, had been captured
Then all were arden and surrounded by the now dismounted troopers, who meanwhile had made prisoners of four of the chief officials as they were endeavouring to slink out of the palace andthe whole of the captives off to a secluded part of the gardens, where nothing which ht happen could be seen save by those immediately concerned, Umu ordered the chaht to him, and said to them:
”Now, sirs, my business here is to ascertain from you what has becohtest doubt that you can tell me; but whether you will tell me the truth or not is quite another matter
I intend to arrive at the truth, however, either by persuasion or force, and I will try the former first: let me very earnestly advise you not to compel me to resort to the latter And to make as certain as I can that the information hich you are about to furnish me is true, you will each withdraw from your comrades to a distance at which it will be impossible for you to communicate with each other, and where you will each inform the officer--ith a file ofthat you know concerning the mysterious disappearance of the Inca--where he has been taken, by whom, and for what purpose If your stories, when coree at all points, I shall consider that I a them to be true; if they do not--” He turned to the other captives and said: ”Go to work at once, collect tie fire in this open space” Then, turning to the officers who had been deputed to examine the four prisoners, Umu concluded: ”Take the them back to me, that each man's tale may be compared with those of the others”
Umu knew his fellow countrymen well He was fully aware that while the South American Indian, like his brother of the northern continent, will endure thetortures with stoical fortitude if the occasion happens to dely subject hi for the sake of shi+elding those who He felt pretty well convinced that these craven wretches who had allowed the theirtheir corrupters, especially as theytaken the matter in hand, those corrupters would henceforth have scant power or opportunity either to reward or to punish The hint conveyed by the building of a large fire therefore proved quite sufficiently persuasive In little uard found himself in possession of all the information which the palace officials had it in their power to communicate This information, in brief, was to the effect that they had, one and all, frohest to the lowest, been heavily bribed by the euana to allow those terful nobles, with a strong party of followers, to enter the palace in the dead of night and abduct the person of the Inca, and to hold their peace upon the uana should personally give them leave to speak and tell them what to say As the stories of all four of the officials happened to agree, even down to the sht venture to accept them as true; whereupon the whole of the prisoners were hustled back into the palace by way of the back entrance, driven down into one of the basement chauard in the passage outside The palace then being locked up, the troop allop for the house of Huanacocha
This house, or palace as it ht be more appropriately terreat Peruvian lords, a large and surounds U it were si the palace; that is to say, upon entering the grounds he caused his , which he then entered, accoe of a squad of troopers As he uncerereat entrance hall he found himself confronted by the chief steward of the establishment, who, followed by the entire staff of terrified servants, was hurrying to the garden, anxious to ascertain theof this unwonted invasion of his master's privacy
”Where is your lord, sirrah?” thundered U functionary
”I know not, Lord U teeth would allow; ”indeed I was about to send out the servants to seek news of hi to fear that evil has befallen hiht, less than an hour beforethat he knew not when he should return; and he has not since been seen”
”Then, if he told you that he knew not when he would return, why do you fear that evil has befallen him?” demanded Umu
”Because, Lord--nay, I know not, except that--that--well, it is a most unusual--for my Lord Huanacocha to absent hi whither he intended to go,” stammered the steward
”Say you so?” sneered Ue indeed; for it is not the usual custom of a noble to acquaint his steith his business Nay, friend, I cannot believe your story: you iven me for your anxiety as to your lord's safety, and it will be to your great advantage to acquaint me with it forthwith”
”Lord, I have told you the truth; indeed I have,” protested the unfortunate h he would throw himself upon his knees before Uely, for the delay was beginning to tell upon his patience ”Is there any man here,” he continued, ”who can tell lared round upon the assembled servants, the whole of whoether by the soldiers There was no answer
”Very well,” continued U his men ”Take these people down to the cellars below; lock them in securely; and then set fire to the house and burn it over their heads! I can waste no more time here”
As the troopers, in obedience to this order, closed round the prisoners, and with coarse jests began to hustle theht of steps leading down to the base the desperate nature of his own and his fellow servants' predicament, turned to Umu and cried:
”Stay, Lord, I pray you, and visit not upon us the misdeeds of our lord
When I said just now that I knew not the whereabouts of my Lord Huanacocha, I spoke only the truth, for indeed I cannot tell for certain where he is--nay, Lord, have patience, and hear what I have to say ere you condehtful death for a fault which is not mine It is indeed true that I know not where n to tell ht; but I believe I can foruess as to where he now is”
”You can?” ejaculated Uht quickly For within the next five minutes this house will be ablaze, and you within it, if you have not by then told eant, he said: ”Take with you a dozenin the house that will burn, pile it in this hall, and pour on it all the oil you can find Now, sirrah, proceed with your tale”
”Then, Lord, in brief, it is this,” answered the wretched steward, speaking as well as his chattering teeth would allow ”From words which I have overheard fro between my Lord Huanacocha and others, especially the new Villac Vht he did so with the purpose of accoh Priest and an armed party to the palace in order to seize the person of our Lord the Inca and convey hiht be subjected to the fire ordeal, to prove whether or no--”
”The fire ordeal, say you?” roared Umu in a paroxysm of fury, as the full horror of the situation at last dawned upon hi steward ”I heard my--”