lf. Now, if the usual guards were
lacking, surely it portended evil,--treachery, no doubt, at the bottom
of which the paba and the 'Tzin almost certainly lurked.

All this Ixtli contrived to convey to Bruno, who fairly well shared that
anxiety, but who was more for going ahead with a bold rush, to learn the
worst as quickly as might be.

Still, unfamiliar with the construction of the temple as he was, Bruno
felt helpless without his guide, and so timed his progress by that of
Ixtli, right hand tightly gripping the handle of his "hand-wood," or
maquahuitl, resolved to give a good account of either of those rascally
varlets in case trouble lay ahead.

The unwonted desolation which appeared to reign on all sides was plainly
troubling the Aztec brave, and he seemed to suspect a cunning ambuscade,
judging from his slow advance, pausing at nearly every step to bend ear
in keen listening.

Still, nothing was actually seen or heard until after the young men
reached the upper elevation, upon a portion of which the Sun Children
had been first sighted by the air-voyagers.

Here the first sound of human voices was heard, and Bruno stopped short
in obedience to the almost fierce grip which Ixtli closed upon his
nearest arm, listening for a brief space, then breathing, lowly:

"We see, first. Dat good! Him see first, dat bad! Eye, ear, two both.
You know, brother?"

"You mean that we are to listen and play spy, first, Ixtli?" asked
Bruno, scarcely catching the real meaning of those hurried words.

"Yes. Dat best. Come; step like snow falls, brother."

"Who is it, first?"

"Victo, she one. Odder man, not know sure, but think Huatzin. He bad;
all bad! Kill him, some day. Dat good; plenty good all over!"

This grim vow appeared to do the Aztec good from a mental point of view,
and then he led his white friend silently towards the covered part of
the teocalli, from whence those sounds emanated.

Curtains of thick stuff served to shut in the light and to partly
smother the sound of voices, but Ixtli cautiously formed a couple of
peepholes of which they quickly made good use.

A portion of the sacred fire was burning upon its special altar, while a
large lamp, formed of baked clay, was suspended from the roof, shedding
a fair light around, as well as perfuming the enclosure quite agreeably.

Almost directly beneath this hanging-lamp stood the two Children of
the Sun, one tall, stately, almost queenly of stature, and now loo