chosen by the
Villac Vmu as worthy the great honour of being offered in sacrifice upon
the altar of thanksgiving on this most memorable and auspicious
occasion. It is a great surprise to Umu, of course, to see his only
daughter occupying her present proud position, for by the order of
Tiahuana she was taken from her father's house within an hour of his
departure to meet my Lord and escort him to the city; and his duties
have probably not permitted him to visit his home since his return,
hence the sight of his daughter in the procession is the first
intimation which he has received of the honour conferred upon her--and
him."

The utter indifference to the anguish of those chiefly concerned which
Motahuana betrayed in this speech made Escombe fairly writhe with
disgust and abhorrence, which feelings were increased a hundredfold by
the knowledge that this young maiden was to be forced to lay down her
life, and her parent's home was to be made desolate, in order that his--
Harry Escombe's--accession to the throne of the Incas might be fitly
celebrated! He ground his teeth in impotent fury, and unrestrainedly
execrated the stupendous folly which had induced him to enter so light-
heartedly into an adventure fraught with elements of such unimaginable
horror. True, he had done so with the very best intentions; yes, but
how often, even in his comparatively brief experience of life, had he
known of actions instigated by "the very best intentions" that had
culminated in grim disaster! And now he was adding yet another to the
long list!

But stay; was this thing inevitable? He suddenly remembered that many
of the good intentions that had determined him to acquiesce passively in
the events that had placed him where he now was were based upon the fact
that, as Inca, he would be the possessor of absolute power, and would be
able to mould events to his will; that, as Inca, he would be superior to
everybody, even the priesthood, for the Inca was not only the head of
the priesthood but was actually credited with the possession of a
certain measure of divinity in his own person. If all this were really
true, now was the time to assert his authority and test his power. He
would forbid the sacrifice, and see what came of it.

As he arrived at this determination he glanced up, to find Umu's gaze
fixed fully upon him, and there was such intensity of unmistakable
anguish and entreaty in the gaze that Harry unhesitatingly answered it