Part 16 (1/2)
”Very well, Lord,” answered Umu; ”it shall be as you wish Meanwhile, I pray you to return to the palace, escorted by your bodyguard; while I, with a few men, attend to the safe disposal of these fellows”
Five minutes later, Esob found himself, he scarcely kne,his way back to the palace, surrounded by his devoted bodyguard, while the populace, quick to detect how , rent the air with their acclamations
An hour later Uress
”The prisoners, Lord,” he said, ”are, with the exception of Huanacocha, safely confined, and noait such punishment as you reat multitude I have caused the head of Huanacocha to be struck frorounds of his own palace, and have thrown head and body together upon the s ruins of the place I have likewise posted a notice upon the entrance gates forbidding anyone to interfere with the body or give it burial
It is to be left where it lies, for the dogs of the city to devour, as a warning and exaiously against the authority or person of the sovereign And I have left two arates, to ensure that my orders are obeyed”
”Two only,” ejaculated Harry in horrified tones ”My dear Ue by those hom I had to deal in the temple to-day, those two unfortunate men have been torn to pieces before now You must send supports at once to them I want no more bloodshed over this unfortunate business”
”There will be no rimly ”The sentries are as safe as if they were in barracks The people know n of disorder I would sack the city from end to end, and put every one of its inhabitants to the sword; and there will be no more crime of any sort for many a day to come, after what has befallen Huanacocha, as the most powerful noble in all the land”
”I am sure I hope not,” answered Harry ”And if you should prove to be right in your estimate of the salutary influence exercised by the example which you have made of that turbulent fellow, his death will not have been in vain And now, Umu, what about the palace servants? I see that an entirely new staff has been installed here, by your orders, Arima tells ed in prison Surely they had nothing to do with the conspiracy?”
Whereupon Umu, by way of reply, proceeded to recount to his royal master the whole history of the affair, so far as he had learned it And that included pretty nearly everything that orth repeating; for in the course of his investigations during that eventfulthe soldier had co into account what he then learned, and adding to it such stray hints as had previously reached hinificance, there was very little left to be learned relative to the conspiracy The result of it all was that, after thinking the matter over very carefully, Esob was driven to the conclusion that this curious people, into whose ht, were not ripe for those reforms which he, as their ruler, would have felt it his duty to introduce; that they did not want thely accept theovern theoverned, at the expense of his own conscience, or else abandon the idea of ruling the come to this conclusion, he summoned all the nobles to a conference, at which he put the case frankly before the them as frankly to express their opinion upon it, with the result that he was fully confirmed in the opinion which he had formed The day after the close of the conference he definitely announced to Umu his intention to abdicate and quit the valley; at the sa that officer's advice as to the best and ly delicate a business
”The affair can be arranged quite easily, Lord,” answered Uhtest need for you to abandon us After what has happened to the Villac Vmu and Huanacocha, ere the two chief conspirators, and the exah to listen to them, you will be troubled by no more conspiracies; and I will see that whatever laws you may choose to make are obeyed, whether they happen to be to the taste of the people or not
There are a feho, like nise that such laws as you have thus far e, and you will always be able to reckon upon their support; while, for the others, who have not sense enough to understand what is good for them, they must be compelled to bow to the decrees of those who are wiser than themselves
”But if, as you have intimated, you are quite resolved not to enforce your wishes upon the people against their will, I will issue a procla that, since the inhabitants of the valley have rejected the enores which you had desired to bestow upon them, you have decided to leave the valley and abandon theovernment and will henceforth rule them in your stead It is for you, Lord, to say which of these two alternatives shall be adopted”