第20章

CHAPTERXIII

THEKISSOFQUILLA

HerwomenboreQuillaswooningfromthatill—fatedfield,andsickandsadsheremaineduntiloncemorewesawtheCityoftheChancas。Yetallthiswhilestrengthandsightwerereturningtohereyes,sothatintheendshecouldseeaswellasevershehaddone,forwhichI

thankedHeaven。

Messengershadgonebeforeus,sothatwhenwedrewnearallthepeopleoftheChancascameouttomeetus,amightymultitude,whospreadflowersbeforeusandsangsongsofjoy。OnthesameeveningI

wassummonedbyHuarachaandfoundhimdying。ThereinthepresenceofhischiefcaptainsQuillaandItoldhimallourstory,towhichhelistened,answeringnothing。Whenitwasfinishedhesaid:

"Ithankyou,Lord—from—the—Sea,whothroughgreatperilshavesavedmydaughterandbroughtherhometobidfarewelltome,untarnishedasshewent。IunderstandnowthatitwasanevilpolicywhichledmetopromiseherinmarriagetotheprinceUrco。ThroughyourvalourithascometonaughtandIamglad。Greatdangersstilllieaheadofyouandofmypeople。Dealwiththemasyouwillandcan,forhenceforward,Lord—from—the—Sea,theyareyourpeople,yoursandmydaughter\'stogether,sinceitismydesireandcommandthatyoutwoshouldwedsosoonasIamlaidwithmyfathers。PerchanceithadbeenbetterifyouhadslaintheIncawhenhewasinyourhand,butmangoeswherehisspiritleadshim。Myblessingandtheblessingofmygodsbeonyoubothandonyourchildren。Leaveme,forIcansaynomore。"

ThatnightKingHuarachadied。

ThreedayslaterhewasburiedwithgreatpompbeneaththeflooroftheTempleoftheMoon,notbeingpreservedandkeptabovegroundafterthefashionoftheIncas。

Onthelastdayofthemourningacouncilwassummonedofallthegreatonesinthecountrytothenumberofseveralhundreds,towhichIwasbidden。ThiswasdoneinthenameofQuilla,whowasnownamedbyatitlewhichmeant,"HighLady,"or"Queen。"Iwenttoiteagerlyenoughwhohadseennothingofhersincethatnightofherfather\'sdeath,for,accordingtothecustomofthispeople,shehadspentthetimeofmourningalonewithherwomen。

TomysurpriseIwasledbyanofficer,notintothegreathallwhereIknewthenotableswereassembling,buttothatsamelittlechamberwherefirstIhadtalkedwithHuaracha,Quilla\'sfather。Heretheofficerleftmewondering。PresentlyIheardasoundandlookingup,sawQuillaherselfstandingbetweenthecurtains,liketoapictureinitsframe。Shewasroyallyarrayedandworeuponherbrowandbreasttheemblemofthemoon,sothatsheseemedtoglitterinthatduskyplace,thoughnothingabouthershonewithsuchalightasdidherlargeanddoe—likeeyes。

"Greeting,myLord,"shesaidinhersoftvoice,curtseyingtomeasshespoke。"HasmyLordaughttosaytome？Ifso,itmustbequick,sincetheGreatCouncilwaits。"

NowIgrewfoolishandtongue—tied,butatlengthstammeredout:

"Nothing,exceptwhatIhavesaidbefore——thatIloveyou。"

Shesmiledalittleinherslowfashion,thenasked:

"Istherenaughttoadd？"

"Whatcantherebetoaddtolove,Quilla？"

"Iknownot,"sheanswered,stillsmiling。"Yetinwhatdoestheloveofmanandwomanend？"

Ishookmyheadandanswered:

"Inmanythings,allofthemdifferent。Inhellsometimes,andmorerarelyinheaven。"

"Andonearthwhichliesbetweenthetwo,shouldthosewholoveescapedeathandseparation？"

"Well,onearth——inmarriage。"

ShelookedatmeagainandthistimeanewlightshoneinhereyeswhichIcouldnotmisinterpret。

"Doyoumeanthatyouwillmarryme,Quilla？"Imuttered。

"Suchwasmyfather\'swish,Lord,butwhatisyours？Oh！havedone,"

shewentoninachangedvoice。"Forwhathavewesufferedallthesethingsandgonethroughsuchlongpartingsanddangerssodreadful？

WasitnotthatifFateshouldspareuswemightcometogetheratlast？AndhasnotFatesparedus——forawhile？WhatsaidtheprophecyofmeintheTempleofRimac？WasitnotthattheSunshouldbemyrefugeand——Iforgettherest。"

"Irememberit,"Isaid。"Thatinthebelovedarmsyoushouldsleepatlast。"

"Yes,"shewenton,thebloodmountingtohercheeks,"thatinthebelovedarmsIshouldsleepatlast。So,thefirstpartoftheprophecyhascometrue。"

"Astherestshallcometrue,"Ibrokein,awaking,andswepthertomybreast。

"Areyousure,"shemurmuredpresently,"thatyouloveme,awomanwhomyouthinksavage,wellenoughtowedme？"

"Aye,morethansure,"Ianswered。

"Hearken,Lord。Iknewitalways,butbeingwomanIdesiredtohearitfromyourownlips。Ofthisbecertain:thatthoughIambutwhatI

am,amaiden,wild—heartedanduntaught,nomanshalleverhaveatruerandmorelovingwife。Itismyhope,eventhatmylovewillbesuchthatinitatlastyoumaylearntoforgetthatotherladyfarawaywhooncewasyours,ifonlyforanhour。"

NowIshrankasfromaswordprick,sincefirstloves,whateverthetaleofthem,asQuillaguessedorNaturetaughther,arenoteasilyforgot,andevenwhentheyaredeadtheirghostswillriseandhauntus。

"Andmyhope,mostdear,isthatyouwillbemine,notforanhourbutforallourlife\'sdays,"Ianswered。

"Aye,"shesaid,sighing,"butwhoknowshowmanythesewillbe？

Thereforeletusplucktheflowersbeforetheywither。Ihearsteps。

Thelordscometosummonus。BepleasedtoentertheCouncilatmysideandholdingmebythehand。ThereIhavesomewhattosaytothepeople。TheshadowoftheIncaKari,whomyouspared,stillliescolduponusandthem。"

BeforeIcouldaskhermeaningthelordsentered,threeofthem,andglancingatuscuriously,saidthatallweregathered。Thentheyturnedandwentbeforeustothegreathallwhereeveryplacewasfilled。Handinhandwemountedthedais,andaswecamealltheaudienceroseandgreeteduswitharoarofwelcome。

Quillaseatedherselfuponathroneandmotionedtometotakemyplaceuponanotherthroneatherside,whichInotedstoodalittlehigherthanthatonwhichshesat,andthis,asIlearnedafterwards,notbychance。Itwasplannedsototellthepeople,oftheChancasthathenceforthIwastheirkingwhileshewasbutmywife。

WhentheshoutinghaddiedawayQuillarosefromherthroneandbegantospeak,whichlikemanyofthehigherclassofthispeopleshecoulddowellenough。

"LordsandCaptainsoftheChancanation,"shesaid,"myfather,thekingHuaracha,beingdead,leavingnolawfulson,Ihavesucceededtohisdignities,andsummonedyouheretotakecounselwithme。

"First,learnthis,thatI,yourQueenandLady,havebeenchosenaswifebyhimwhositsatmyside。"

Herethecompanyshoutedagain,thusannouncingthatthistidingspleasedthem。Forthoughbynowonlythecommonpeoplestillbelievedmetobeagodrisenfromthesea,allheldthatIwasagreatgeneralandagreatman,onewhoknewmuchthattheydidnotknow,andwhocouldbothleadandfightbetterthanthebestofthem。Indeed,sinceIhadslainUrcowithmyhandsandovercomeKari,whoasIncawasbelievedtobeclothedwiththestrengthoftheSunandthereforeunconquerable,IwasheldtobeunmatchedthroughoutTavantinsuyu。

Moreover,thearmythathadfoughtundermycommandlovedmeasthoughIweretheirfatheraswellastheirgeneral。Thereforeallgreetedthistidingswellenoughwithoutastonishment,fortheyknewitwastheirdeadking\'swishthatIshouldwedhisdaughterandthattowinherIhadgonethroughmuch。

InanswertotheirshoutingsI,too,rosefrommyseat,anddrawingtheswordWave—Flame,whichIworegirtaboutmydintedarmour,withitIsalutedfirstQuillaandthenthegatherednobles,saying:

"LordsoftheChancas,whenonanislandinthesea,myeyesfelluponthisladywhoto—dayisyourqueen,IlovedherandsworethatIwouldwedherifImight。Betweenthatdayandthismuchhasbefallen。ShewassnatchedawaytobemadethewifeofUrco,heirtotheIncathrone,andafterwards,toescapehimwhomshehated,shetookrefugeintheHouseoftheIncagod。Then,peopleoftheChancas,camethegreatwarwhichwesharedtogether,andintheendIrescuedherfromthathouseofbondage,andslewUrcowhilehestrovetostealorstabher。Thisdone,IconqueredKaritheInca,whowasasmybrother,yetbecauseIsavedyourladyfromhisgodtheSun,becamemyenemy,andtogethersheandIreturnedtothis,herland。Nowitisherwilltowedme,asithasalwaysbeenminetowedher,andhereinfrontofallofyouItakehertowife,asshetakesmetohusband,hopingthatformanyyearsitmaybegiventoustoruleoveryou,andtoourchildrenafterus。YetIwarnyouthatalthoughinthegreatwarthathasbeen,ifwithmuchloss,wehaveheldourownagainstallthehostsofCuzcoandwonanhonourablepeace,bythismarriageofours,whichrobstheIncagodofoneofathousandbrides,thatpeaceisbroken。Thereforeinthefuture,asinthepast,therewillbewarbetweentheQuichuaandtheChancapeoples。"

"Weknowit,"shoutedthenobles。"Warisdecreed,letwarcome！"

"Whatwouldyouhavehadmedo？"Iwenton。"LeaveyourqueentolanguishintheHouseoftheSun,wedtonothingness,orsufferhertobedraggedawaytobeoneofUrco\'swomen,orhandherbacktoKaritobeslainasasacrificetoagodwhomyoudonotaccept？"

"Nay！"theycried。"Wewouldhaveherwedyou,WhiteLord—from—the—

Sea,thatshemaybecomeamotherofkings。"

"SoIthought,Chancas。YetIwarnyouthatthereistroublenear。Thestormgathersandsoonitwillburst,sinceKariisnotonewhobreakshisoaths。"

"Whydidyounotkillhimwhenhewasinyourhand,andtakehisthrone？"askedone。

"BecauseIcouldnot。BecauseitwouldnothavebeenpleasingtoHeaventhatIshouldslayamanwhoforyearshadbeenasmybrother。

Becauseinthiswayorinthatthedeedwouldhavefallenbackuponmyhead,upontheheadoftheladyQuilla,anduponyourheadsalso,O

peopleoftheChancas,because————"

Atthismomenttherewasdisturbanceattheendofthehall,andaheraldcried:

"Anembassy！AnembassyfromKari,theInca。"

"Letitbeadmitted,"saidQuilla。

Presentlyupthecentralpassagemarchedtheembassywithpomp,greatlordsand"earmen,"everymanofthem,andbowedbeforeus。

"Yourwords？"saidQuillaquietly。

"Theyarethese,Lady,"answeredthespokesmanoftheparty。"ForthelasttimetheIncademandsthatyoushouldsurrenderyourselftobesacrificedasonewhohasbetrayedtheSun。HeasksitofyousincehehaslearnedthatyourfatherHuarachaisnomore。"

"AndifIrefusetosurrendermyself,whatthen,OAmbassador？"

"TheninthenameoftheEmpireandinhisownnametheIncadeclareswaruponyou,wartotheend,untilnotoneofChancabloodisleftlivingbeneaththesunandnotonestonemarkswhereyourcitystood。

Itmaybethatawhilewillpassbeforethisswordofwarfallsuponyourhead,sincetheIncamustgatherhisarmiesandgiveabreathingspacetohispeoplesafterallthetroublesthathavebeen。Yetifnotthisyear,thennextyear,andifnotnextyear,thentheyearafter,thatswordshallfall。"

Quillalistenedandturnedpale,thoughmore,Ithink,withwraththanfear。Thenshesaid:

"Youhaveheard,Chancas,andknowhowstandsthiscase。IfI

surrendermyselftobesacrificed,theIncainhismercywillspareyou;ifIdonotsurrendermyself,soonorlatehewilldestroyyou——

ifhecan。Say,then,shallIsurrendermyself？"

Noweverymaninthatgreathallleaptupandfromeverythroattherearoseashoutof"Never！"

Whenithaddiedawayanagedchiefandcouncillor,anuncleofHuaracha,thedeadKing,cameforwardandstaredattheenvoyswithhishornyeyes。

"GobacktotheInca,"hesaid,"andtellhimthatthethreatsofthemouthareonethingandthedeedsofthehandareanother。Inthelatewarthathasbeenhehaslearnedsomethingofourquality,bothasfoesandfriends,andperchancemoreremainsforhimtolearn。Yonderisone"——andhepointedtomyself——"whoisabouttobecomeourKingandthehusbandofourQueen。BythehelpofthatoneandofsomeofustheIncawonhisthrone。Fromthemercyofthatone,also,butalittlewhileagotheIncawonhislife。Lethimbecarefullestthroughthemightofthatone,behindwhomstandseveryChancathatbreathes,theIncaKariUpanquishouldyetloseboththroneandlife,andwiththemtheancientempireoftheSun。Thussayweall。"

"Thussayweall！"repeatedthegreatcompanywitharoarthatshookthewalls。

InthesilencethatfollowedQuillaasked:

"Haveyouaughttoadd,OAmbassadors？"

"Ay,this,"saidthefirstofthem。

"TheChancatreeisabouttobecutdown,buttheIncastilloffersarefugetotheLionthathidesamongitsbranchesbecausehehaslovedthatLionfromofold。LettheWhiteLord—from—the—Seaoverwhomyouhavecastthenetofyourwitcheriesreturnwithusandheshallbesavedandgivenplaceandpower,andwiththemabrother\'slove。"

NowQuillalookedatme,andIrosetospeakbutcouldnot,sinceallthatcamefrommylipswaslaughter。AtlengthIsaid:

"ButtheotherdaywhenIgavehimhislife,theIncanamedmenoble。

WhatwouldhethinkofmeifIsaidyestothisoffer？WouldhecallmenoblethenandtheLionthatdwellsintheChancatree？Or,whateverhislipsmightspeak,wouldnothisheartnamemethebasestofslavesandnolionofthetree,butratherasnakethatcreepsatitsroots？Getyougone,mylords,andsaythathereIbidehappywithherwhomIhavewon,andthattheancientswordWave—Flame,onwhichKarihaslookedoflate,isstillsharpandthearmthatwieldsitisstillstrong,andthathewilldowellnowthatithasservedhisturn,tolookonitnomore,"andagainIdrewthegreatbladeandflasheditbeforetheireyesthereinthatduskyhall。

Then,bowingcourteously,foreverymanofthemknewmeandsomeofthemlovedmewell,theyturnedandwent。ThatwasthelastthateverI,HubertofHastings,sawofnoblesoftheIncablood,thoughperchance,erelong,Ishallmeetthemagaininwar。

"Letthembeescortedsafelyfromthecity,"commandedQuilla,andsoldierswenttodoherbidding。

Whentheyhadgonesheissuedanotherorder,thatthedoorshouldbeclosedandwatchmensetaboutthehall,sothatnonecouldapproachitunseen。Thenafterapausesheroseandspoke:

"MyLord,"shesaid,"whosoon,asItrust,willbemyhusbandandmyking,andyou,thechosenofmypeople,hearkentomeforIhaveamattertolaybeforeyou。YouhaveheardtheInca\'smessageandyouknowthathiswordsarenotvain。Hewhoisgreatinmanyways,inoneissmallandnarrow。Hesetshisgodbeforehishonour,andtosatisfyhisgod,whomhethinksthatIhaveoutraged,ispreparedtosacrificehishonour,andeventokillonetowhomheowesall,"andshetouchedmewithherhand。"Moreover,thesethingshecando,notatoncebutintimetocome,becauseforeverymanofoursheisabletogatherten。Thereforewestandthus;deathanddestructionstareusintheface。"

Shepaused,andthatoldchiefofwhomIhavespoken,askedinthemidstofasilence,asIthinkwasplannedthatheshouldask:

"Youhavesetourteethinthebitterrindoftruth。Istherenosweetfruitwithin？Canyounotshowusawayofescape,OQuilla,DaughteroftheMoon,whoseheartisfedwiththewisdomoftheMoon？"

"IbelievethatIcanshowyousuchaway,"sheanswered。"Youknowthelegendofourpeople——thatintheolddays,athousandyearsago——

wecametothiscountryoutoftheforests。

"Youknow,too,thelegendtellsthatoncefaraway,beyondtheforest,therewasamightyempireofwhichthekingsatinaCityofGoldhiddenwithinaringofmountains。Thatking,itissaid,hadtwosons,andwhenhediedthesesonsmadewaruponeachother,andoneofthem,myforefather,wasdefeatedanddrivenawayintotheforestsbythosewhoclungtohim。Byboatshedescendedtheriverthatrunsthroughtheforest,andatlengthwiththosewhoremainedtohimcametothislandandthereoncemoregrewtobeaking。Isitnotso？"

"Itisso,"answeredtheagedchief。"Thetalehascomedowntomethroughtengenerations,andwithittheprophecythatinadaytocometheChancaswouldreturntothatCityofGoldwhencetheycameandbewelcomedofitspeople。"

"Ihaveheardthatprophecy,"saidQuilla。"Moreover,ofitIhavesomethingtotellyou。WhileIsatindespairandblindnessintheConventoftheSunatCuzcoitcameintomymindandIbroodeduponitmuch,whowasalwayssurethatthewarbetweentheChancasandthearmiesoftheIncaswasbutbegun。InmydarknessIprayedtomyMother,theMoon,forlightandhelp。LongandoftenIprayed,andatlengthananswercame。OnenighttheSpiritoftheMoonappearedtomysoulasabeautifulandshininggoddess,andspoketome。

"\'Bebrave,Daughter,\'shesaid,\'forallthatseemstobelostshallyetbefoundagain,andthelightofacertainflashingswordshallpiercetheblacknessandgivebackvisiontoyoureyes。\'This,indeed,happened,mypeople,sinceitwaswhentheswordofmyLordsavedmefromdeathatthehandsofUrcothatthefirstgleamoflightreturnedtomydarkenedeyes。

"\'Benotafraid,moreover,fortheChildrenoftheChancaswhobowtome,\'wentontheshiningSpiritoftheMoon,\'sinceinthedayoftheirdangerIwillshowthemapathtowardsmyplaceofrestinginthewest。Yea,Iwillleadthemfarfromwarsandtyranniesbacktothatancientcitywhencetheycame,andtheretheyshallsleepinpeacetillallthingsareaccomplished。Moreover,youshallbetheirrulerduringyourappointeddays,youandanotherwhomIledtoyououtofthedeepsoftheseaandshowedtoyousleepinginmybeams。\'

"ThusthatSpiritspoketome,Councillors,thoughatthetimeIdidnotknowwhetherthevisionweremorethanahappydream。ButnowIdoknowthatitwasnodream,butthetruth。

"FordidnotmysightbegintoreturntomeintheflashingoftheswordthatisnamedFlame—of—the—Wave？Andifthisweretrue,whyshouldnottherestbetruealso？PeopleoftheChancas,IamyourQueento—dayandmycounseltoyouisthatwefleefromthislandbeforetheInca\'snetclosesroundusandtheInca\'sspearspierceourheart,toseekourancienthomefarinthedepthsofthewesternforestwhere,asItrust,hisarmiescannotcome。Isthatyourwill,O

myPeople？Ifso,bythetonguesofyourLordsandCaptainsdeclareithereandnowbeforeitbetoolate。"

Backthunderedtheanswer:

"Itisourwill,ODaughteroftheMoon！"

WhenitsechoeshaddiedawayQuillaturnedtome,lovelytolookonastheeveningstarandwitheyesthatshonelikestars,andasked:

"Isityourwillalso,OLord—from—the—Sea？"

"Yourwillismywill,Quilla,"Ianswered,"andyourheartismyhome。Leadon;whereyougoIfollow,eventotheedgeoftheworldandbeyondtheworld。"

"Sobeit！"shecriedinatriumphantvoice。"Nowtheevilpastisfinishedwithitsfearsandbattlesandbeforeourfeet,litbymoonbeams,stretchestheFuture\'sshiningroadleadingustothemysteryinwhichallroadsbeginandforanhourarelostagain。Now,too,ourseparationsendinaperfectunitythatperchancewehaveknownbeforeandshallknowagaininagestobebornandlandsrevisited。Now,Lord—from—the—Sea,atwhosecomingmysleepingheartawoketoloveandwhoseswordsavedmefromshameanddeath,givingmebacktolifeandlight,here,beforethiscompanyofourpeople,I,theDaughteroftheMoon,defyingtheSunwhoheldmecaptive,andallhisservants,takeyoutohusbandwiththiskiss,"andleaningforwardQuillapressedherlipsuponmyown……

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Editor。