BRITISH MYSTERIES - Fergus Hume Collection: 21 Thriller Novels in One Volume. Fergus Hume
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to the forests.”
“I trust this may be so,” said Maraquando, addressing himself to Jack, not unimpressed by the Indian’s speech; “but where, Señor Duval, do you propose to let them see the opal?”
“In the chapel of Padre Ignatius, outside the walls,” replied Jack, promptly. “Cocom knows where there is an image of the war-god. He will set it up on the altar of the chapel. Before it, by a thread, we will hang the sacred stone. At dawn all will be ready, and Cocom can so twist the thread that when the opal hangs motionless it will glow blue. The Indians will arrive during the night. At dawn they will spread themselves through the suburbs, and enter the chapel of the good Padre. There they will see the image of their god, the sacred splendour of the opal. They will kneel down and worship, watching the twisting of the gem. When it stops and glows blue, then will they know Huitzilopochtli is satisfied with the sacking of the two towns, and now commands peace. Before noon, Excelencia, there will not be a single Indian left before the walls. They will retire into the forests, to the sacred city of Totatzine, and thus will Xuarez lose his allies.”
Maraquando listened to this proposal in silence, his cheek resting in the palm of his right hand, nor when Jack had concluded did he alter his position. He mused long and deeply, neither of his guests attempting to interrupt his meditations. This idea of detaching the Indians from Xuarez, by means of the opal, seemed to him to be childish. That an army of six thousand untutored savages flushed with victory should voluntarily retire at the bidding of Huitzilopochtli spoken through the stone, seemed improbable. But then Maraquando had never been to Totatzine, he did not know in what extreme veneration the opal was held by the Indians, and thus deemed Jack’s proposition weak, when in reality it could scarcely have been stronger. Nothing is so powerful as superstition, and to work on the minds of the Indians through their abject belief in the virtues of the shining precious stone was a master-stroke on the part of Duval.
“It seems to me,” said Maraquando, at length raising his eyes, “that the carrying out of this scheme will entail the loss of the opal.”
“Without doubt, Señor,” replied Duval, coolly; “but by such a sacrifice you gain more than you lose. The Indians will desert Xuarez, you will be able to march your army south, and conquer him in the neighbourhood of Centeotl before he has time to approach nearer to the capital. Then you can crush his nest of traitors in Acauhtzin. Better lose the opal than Tlatonac, and if we do not succeed in getting rid of the Indians it may be that the city will fall.”
“What says my niece Doña Dolores?”
“I have spoken to her, Señor, and for the sake of the city, she is willing to run the risk of losing the jewel.”
Don Miguel smiled approvingly. He was patriotic himself, and liked to see the same quality displayed by all his family. At the same time, he was a just man, and knowing how Dolores loved the gem, did not care about taking advantage of her offer to sacrifice the same, unless she voluntarily consented to surrender the sacred stone.
“We will ask the lady herself,” he said, rising from his chair. “One moment, Señor; I shall return with my niece.”
He disappeared down the staircase leading to the patio, and Jack was left alone with Cocom.
“It may be that the Indians will not dare to take the jewel,” said Jack, looking at the old man.
Cocom uttered a grunt which might have meant anything.
“Rest content, Don Juan. Once the Chalchuih Tlatonac leaves the walls of the city, it will never return again. Back to the sacred shrine of Totatzine shall it go. The high priest has ordered it be sought for far and wide, lest the god afflict the people with plagues for its loss.”
“Still, if I remained in the chapel, and watched it.”
“You, Señor? Nay, that, indeed, would be rash. The Indians would slay you. Only one will watch the jewel; but that one cannot prevent the worshippers seizing it.”
“You mean yourself?”
“It is said. I speak of Cocom. He shall sit by the image of the god, when the Indians enter the chapel of the good father.”
“But the Indians might slay you, Cocom.”
“That which is to be must be,” replied the old man, stolidly. “Cocom must watch the sacred gem, so that it sends the blue ray of peace from its breast. The tribes have been told by Ixtlilxochitli that Cocom is a traitor, and false to the worship of the old gods. When he is seen, he must die.”
“But my friend, I——”
“Be silent, Señor. Not you nor any man can turn aside the spear of Teoyamiqui. Why should I murmur if death be my portion? I am old, I am mutilated, I am weary of life. If I die I die, and for the safety of the white people. It may be, Señor, that, as says the good Padre, Cocom shall go to the heaven of the Christians. With the Virgin such going rests.”
Jack found no words to reply to this speech, and remained silently thinking of how he could save the old man from death. He had as yet arrived at no conclusion, when Don Miguel appeared with his niece on the floor of the azotea. Dolores ran towards Jack and threw herself into his arms.
“Querido,” she said in a tender voice, “my good uncle tells me of your scheme. It is that of which you spoke to me. It may save Tlatonac from savage foes, and thus do I aid you to the extent of my powers.”
She held out the opal towards him.
“You may lose it altogether, Dolores.”
“No matter, Juanito. It may save the city.”
“And you consent to this sacrifice, Don Miguel?”
“Yes, Señor. I think it will turn aside this host of savages. With them away, we can hope to conquer Xuarez. Otherwise——” Maraquando stopped suddenly, and made a gesture of despair.
“Of course it is merely an experiment,” said Jack, doubtfully.
“But one which must be successful,” cried Dolores, quickly. “Querido, can you doubt that, after what we saw in the sacred city? As the god speaks through the opal, so will the Indians act. Let it dart, then, its blue ray, and drive them back to their forests.”
“You are sure you can make it shine blue, Cocom?”
“Señor,” said the old man, with great dignity, “I give my life to prove that this shall be so.”
Jack took the opal from the outstretched hand of Dolores.
“So be it!” he cried, fervently. “The opal has brought the Indians to Tlatonac; the opal shall send them back again to Totatzine.”
Tim suddenly made his appearance with a face full of excitement.
“Jack! Señor Maraquando!” he said, quickly, in Spanish, “the messenger you sent to spy on the Indians at Chichimec has returned.”
“What does he say, Señor Correspoñsal?”
“That the whole host of Indians are marching from Chichimec, and will be camped round the walls at dawn. Dios! We are lost!”
“No,” cried Jack, brightly, “we are saved!”
“What the deuce will save us, Jack?” asked Tim, in English.
“This!”
Duval held up the harlequin opal. A ray of sunlight struck the jewel, and a blue ray darted out like a tongue of steel.
“Bueno!” said Cocom, stolidly, “the Chalchuih Tlatonac prophesies peace.”
Chapter VI.
The Luck of the Opal
The red ray dies