CHAPTER XI "CHASCA HAILLI!"
Before the peaks they had crossed were lit by the first hint of morninglight, Cliff and his fellows were busy. Already, during the day past,they had selected a sturdy tree with a stout bough projecting over thecliff edge. To this bough Tom and Nicky climbed before break of day onthis eventful morning and to the top of the limb, after making abeginning with a large nail, hammered in a little way, they began toscrew home a very strong pulley. Gripping the bough, steadying eachother, they twisted the screw home until the pulley was safely secured.
Cliff flung an end of the light, strong rope they had brought and as ithissed upward Tom caught it and thrust its end through the pulleysheaves, drew more of it through and then, with Nicky, descended to theground.
Their problem had been to be able to return to the top of this sheerprecipice when their mission would be accomplished. For that purposecareful plans had been made and were being carried out.
In a sort of harness of the rope, at one end, Bill and Mr. Whitleyaffixed a heavy slab of stone; this they lowered over the sheer wall andlet the rope pay out until the stone thudded to a stop far below them.
"That stone makes a counter-balance," Bill stated. "Now we make a largeloop at this upper end of our rope--so! Take your seat in it, John," toMr. Whitley, "we put the pack in your lap and you grip it with yourknees. Now the rock makes it easy for us to lower you. Going down!"
When the rock came slowly and easily into their reach, its weight makingit simple for them to control the descent of the other end, they waiteduntil a double tug on the rope told them that Mr. Whitley was safe andfree; they paid out and the rock slipped back into the darkness.
"You next, Nicky, with your pack!"
In that way they all descended, Bill being last. He judged the weight ofhis own load, combined with his weight, to be about a half as much againas that of the stone; so by paying out the other side of the rope upwardhe let himself downward to a point where the stone came level with him;then, holding both strands tightly in one mittened hand, he hooked aprepared hook on his pack to the rope under the stone, released thatside and with the stone balancing him, felt himself descending at aspeed sufficiently retarded to enable them to break his landing withouteven a jar.
Then they fixed a stout twine to the looped end of the rope and byletting the twine pay upward, lowered stone and pack.
They next tied a fairly small rock to the low end of their twine anddrew downward on the rope. In that way, they were able to recover theentire rope, having loosened its loops so that it passed through thepulley; and still they had the twine led through the upper pulley forfuture use. Braced against the sheer wall, Bill acted as a sort of"under-stander" for a human pillar, Cliff on his shoulders, Tom as thetop man; in that high position Tom let the twine run so that the smallrock's weight drew it up until the end was in his hand; he felt for, andfound, a crevice into which he wedged it with a sliver of stone.
In that way they left an end of the twine too high to be discovered andremoved; later they could secure it and by letting the stone at itsother end pull it down, could readily affix their rope and again reaveit through the pulley and get themselves back to the high point. Theyhid the rope carefully and began preparations for the day whose lightwas already dyeing the sky with vivid colors. Looking upward as thelight grew stronger they saw that against the neutral rock their dulltwine did not show up at all and only sharp eyes might detect the fineline high above leading over the bough. Their way of escape was quitelikely to remain undisturbed.
"I only hope our plans will work out," said Mr. Whitley, as they ate acold breakfast, not wishing to light a fire.
"If we were dealing with the Peruvians near the Pacific, or on theeastern slope, I wouldn't try it," Bill declared. "The Spaniards haveeducated them just a little too much to make it safe. But away off here,buried in the mountains for centuries--ever since about 1532--I feelsure that the old superstitions and beliefs still count in our favor."
They had not long to wait before discovering which way the hidden valleywould deal with the intruders.
Through the field glasses Bill reported that people were moving about indistant fields and that a group seemed to be moving slowly toward themon a road which seemed to end about half a mile away, at a low stonebuilding. To that the group proceeded.
"You had better get up on your rocks, Cliff," he suggested. "Don't payany attention, whatever happens; just look as if you were lost inmeditations."
Cliff took the position they had agreed upon and the others squatted ata little distance. Outwardly they paid no attention but Cliff saw, asdid Bill, whose position enabled him to report softly to the others,that his position was the focal point for groups and solitary figuresfrom every direction. About two hundred gathered at a respectfuldistance, murmuring in low tones, evidently fascinated as they watchedCliff.
"If I have figured right," Bill told Tom and Nicky, "in just about twominutes the sun will be high enough."
"High enough for what?" asked Nicky.
"I think I know," Tom told him; but Bill signed for quiet and from thecorners of their eyes they kept watch of Cliff. He stood without moving,a veritable statue of an Indian in his gaily colored robe which Cliffhad been assured by Bill was a garment of the sort worn by the nobles.
Several minutes passed and then the sun topped the rim of the ledge andflung its rays downward; slowly the shadow crept back until, almost asif a curtain had been drawn away, the sun shaft fell upon Cliff's head.It lighted up the reddish gold that the dye had made of his hair, and atthe sight, from the clustered natives came a deep murmur.
"Chasca--Chasca--as the prophecy told!--the youth with bright andflowing locks!" And then a roar, "Chasca--Hailli! Hailli!" It was a cryof mingled triumph and respect.
"It works well," Bill said, and slowly rose.
He stepped forward slowly. The natives melted into a more compact massand gave ground a pace; but Bill made a sign that they seemed tounderstand. He made a brief oration; the others listened silently. Thenseveral detached themselves and with incredibly swift legs, sped awaytoward the distant city.
"Turn as though you were in a dream and stroll into the tent," Bill toldCliff. He obeyed.
"No use letting the novelty wear off," Bill grinned to Mr. Whitley."And, besides, I want him ready to make a grand entrance, sort of theway they do in the circus."
"Grand entry? To what?" Nicky was still lost in the mazes of thisunusual procedure.
"To ride to town with the Inca!" Bill chuckled.
Sure enough, about noon, by which time the crowd around their locationhad trebled in numbers, a procession was seen on the road.
When it reached them the young fellows stared, hiding their surprise atBill's muttered warning. Many soldiers, with bows and arrows, some withcurious looking swords, came first; they separated into two lines, tothe right and to the left; through the lane advanced many tall, erectmen in colorful garments.
These advanced and stopped in a little group. Behind them other mencarrying two gorgeous litters, one a little more gaudy than the other,set down their shafts and rested.
What Bill said as he advanced to parley with several men who came a fewsteps toward him, the other members of the party could not hear.Presently he returned.
"I told them we are servants of the royal and heaven-sent Chasca, whohas been sent to bless their land; they seemed to like it. That second'hamaca' is for Cliff."
He moved close to the tent.
While he pretended to bow and to remove his shoes, and to go throughsome sort of rites which made Nicky want to laugh, Bill whispered toCliff.
"Can you hear me, Cliff?"
"Yes."
"When I say 'Hailli, Chasca' the third time, open the tent flap. Pay noattention to anybody. Don't answer if anybody speaks. Keep yourselferect and act as though everybody here was dirt under your feet. Got allthat?"
"Yes, Bill."
"Pick ou
t the biggest of the two litters and walk right to it as if youknew all about it. Stop by it and just bow your head forward a littleand say, 'Hailli, Inca!' and then turn and let the bearers help you intothe other hamaca. Don't talk, and don't notice anything. I'll doeverything--with John."
Presently the tent flaps separated and out came the counterfeit of thesupposed celestial visitor. He did as Bill had instructed him. To thelitter, which was covered with gold, or gold leaf, and heavilyornamented with green stones and other glittering gems, he made hissolemn, unhurried way.
"Hailla, Inca!"
"Chasca, Hailli," answered a deep voice from within. Cliff saw a manreclining, in royal robes, of texture even finer than the robes worn bythose around him; on his head was a circle of fringed wool, the scarlet"borla" or sign of the Inca, with its two feathers from the sacred birdswhich were kept to supply those feathers alone-two of them to be worn bythe Inca in his headgear. Huge golden ornaments hung so heavily from theman's ears that they had dragged his earlobes down practically to hisshoulders. He was a strange looking person and yet there was dignity andsolemn power in his face.
While Cliff was helped to ascend to the floor of his own litter, Nickyhad a little experience of his own.
Several llamas, the native sheep, that is the largest of the fourvarieties, whose wool was the most coarse and used only for the garmentsof the subjects--the nobles got the finer wools!--had been brought up.They were the only beasts the Incas knew for burdens.
But Nicky thought they were there to be ridden!
Now a llama is a curious animal; he will carry a light burden withoutcomplaint; but if the load is heavier than he likes he will lie down andhe won't get up until the load is lightened.
Nicky flung the strap which was fastened between two small packs overthe llama's back and then, with a hop, was up there himself.
Thereupon the beast lay down promptly. Nicky shouted and slapped itswoolly side, but it made a queer little grunt and lay still. The nativesbroke into shouts of laughter, as also did Tom and Bill as the latterhastened to explain to Nicky that he must walk.
Cliff had seen the little incident and he had hard work to avoidlaughing; but he maintained sober gravity and soon the caravan was readyand moved slowly toward the road; first the soldiers, then the nobles,or priests perhaps; then came Bill and John Whitley walking at eitherside of Cliff's litter; after them were Nicky and Tom, and then aregular throng of natives chanting and singing.
"Don't ask about the white man--your father--too soon," Bill warnedCliff softly. "It might arouse suspicion. But we're on our way toQuichaka and I hope we find your pa well and wise."
"So do I," muttered Cliff, "I can hardly wait!"
It was a slow but interesting journey to Quichaka. The youths feastedtheir eyes on strange scenes. The valley was laid out in splendid farms,with many vegetables that were not easy to recognize, although greatfields of maize or corn could easily be identified. The road wasbeautifully smooth, of great flat stones laid straight and level. Oncethey passed over a bridge of huge stonework piles, with heavy timberslaid across to support the flat slabs of the roadway.
Finally they came into the city. It was spread out widely, and, as Billestimated later, probably had a population of some eight or tenthousand. In the poorer quarters the houses were of a rude clay-likecomposition, much like the _adobe_ of Mexico; the finer homes were ofstones, large and small, rough for the most part, but with their edges,where they joined, smooth and so closely matched that the joints werehard to detect; they had no windows; the Incas did not know about glass.The doors were open in the temperate noonday and early afternoon warmth;within there was too much gloom to show the furnishings.
Straight streets, laid out in perfect parallels and with exactly rightangled cross streets, finally took them to a great square in the centerof the city; there were massive, but only single-story buildings allabout. At one side were what appeared to be the quarters of the rulerand of his chief nobles. On the other were public buildings whose naturewas not readily seen.
At the far end of the square was a massive building which could bediscerned as the temple. It was almost a duplicate of the descriptionthat histories gave of the Sun Temple in Cuzco, once capital of the Incaempire; the one in Quichaka had the same ornamented exterior with acornice of shining gold plates.
Groups had lined the farmland along the road; in the suburbs the crowdshad been greater.
In the square there seemed to be almost the whole population of thecity, massed at either side. They took up the chant as the partyprogressed and the sound grew to a roar.
At the open space before the temple to the Sun they all stopped and theInca descended.
Mounting the steps of a smaller building, which Bill whispered was, asits silver ornaments showed, the temple to the Moon, he made adeclamation which the youths' understanding of the dialect calledquichua enabled them to understand partly; he welcomed Chasca, messengerof the Sun, come to earth to give plenty and happiness to their land.
"See that small temple at one side," Bill muttered to Cliff. There wereabout five of the smaller buildings around the greater temple; one forpriests, one dedicated to the stars, another to Illapa--general term forthunder, lightning, all the forces of nature which they alsoreverenced--as well as the larger one dedicated to the Moon. Bill noddedtoward that which was sacred to Venus and other stars. Cliff agreed. "Ifthey ask us or give us a chance to choose, pick that one," Billmuttered. "It fits the part you are playing--it is the star temple."
The populace greeted the Inca's talk with shouts and cries of delight.Then a priest, in finely wrought robes, advanced and spoke to Bill; theyall seemed to maintain a reverent air and hesitated to address Cliffdirectly. Bill nodded and told his comrades they were to be housed inthe temple of the stars.
There they were led and young girls of a pretty red-bronze, with longblack hair, came to attend to their wants while the crowds outsideshouted and applauded until the door was shut.
"You have come at a good time," said the priest who had come in withBill, "He-Who-Comes-From-the-Stars can destroy the crawling things thateat up our corn."
"Is it, then, blighted?" Bill asked. The priest stared at him and Billread his mind: celestial messengers should know everything. Bill smiledgrimly and corrected his blunder.
"You must know, O, noble of the High-and-Sacred-Order, we who come toearth to serve Chasca must lose the wisdom of the stars and the youthwith the bright and shining locks has not chosen to tell us of hispurpose among you."
He glanced toward Cliff who was keeping apart from them and added: "Nowwe would have food and then we would be alone and I will speak of thismatter of the corn to Chasca."
"It shall be so," replied the priest and issued orders to the girls whobegan to busy themselves bringing rude tables and utensils into thesmall antechamber of the temple where they were to be quartered.
"And if there are those who are sick," went on Bill, "name them to methat Chasca may be asked to smile toward them and, if it is his purpose,lift them from the ground."
"There is one--but he is only a pale and worthless one, not of ourtribe, though quite a scholar. But first, O, servant speak of our corn."
"It shall be so," said Bill. "Now--leave us."
While they ate strange meats and other food from dishes of silver andgold, served by the maidens, Bill told Cliff that he knew that thefather they had come to help was alive. They were all glad and anxiousto find a way to see him.
"I wonder why those girls keep tittering, and looking at Nicky," saidTom as the dishes were cleared away.
Bill, smiling to himself, beckoned to one and said a few words inquichua. The girl giggled, quite like any girl, put her finger to herlips shyly and then whispered a swift word and fled.
Bill broke into a hearty laugh.
"All right for you!" grumbled Nicky. "They have some joke about me. Ifyou don't want to tell----"
"They have a name for you," Bill chuckled. "Never mind the exact word,but it mea
ns He-Who-Sits-Down-Upon-Llamas!"