iakan, when all whom we knew and loved are gone?"

"To you only, Semitzin, is known the place of concealment of the
treasure which, in the old times, you and I hid in the desert. I indeed
remember the event, and somewhat of the region of the hiding; but I
cannot put my hand upon the very spot. I have tried to discover it; but
when I approach it my mind becomes confused between the present and the
past, and I am lost."

"I remember it well," said Semitzin. "We rode across the desert,
carrying the treasure on mules. The air was still, and the heat very
heavy. The desert descended in a great hollow: you told me it was where,
in former days, the ocean had been. At last there were rocky hills
before us; we rode towards a great rock shaped like the pyramid on which
the sacrifices were held in Tenochtitlan. We passed round its base, and
entered a deep and narrow valley, that seemed to have been ploughed out
of the heart of the earth and to descend into it. Then---- But what is
it you wish to do with this treasure, Kamaiakan?"

"It belongs to your race, princess, and was hidden that the murderers
of Montezuma might not seize it. I was bound by an oath, after the peril
was past, to restore it to the rightful owners. But our country remained
under the rule of the conquerors; and my life went out. But now the
conquerors have been conquered in their turn, and Miriam is the last
inheritor of your blood. When I have delivered to her this trust, my
work will be done, and I can return to the world which you inhabit. The
time is come; and only by your help can the restitution be made."

"Was there, then, a time fixed?"

"The stars tell me so. And other events make it certain that there must
be no delay. The general has it in mind to discover the gates through
which the waters under-ground may arise and again form the sea which
flowed hereabouts in the ancient times. Now, this sea will fill the
ravine in which the treasure lies, and make it forever unattainable. A
youth has also come here who is skilled in the sciences, and whom the
general will ask to help him in the thing he is to attempt."

"Who is this youth?" asked Semitzin.

"He is of the new people who inherit this land: his name is Freeman."

"There is something in me--I know not what--that seems to tell me I have
been near such a one. Can it be so?"

"The other self, who now sleeps, knows of him," replied the ancient
Indian. "He is a well-looking youth, and I think he h