THE MONSTERS THAT HAUNTED THE LAKE.

These matters attended to, Escombe summoned the Council of Seven to the
palace, and held what might be considered his first official conference.
He began by laying before them his views as to the steps necessary to
be taken in order to carry out successfully the desire of the people to
become a regenerated nation, instructing them to cause several different
kinds of information to be obtained for him, and finally pointing out to
them the necessity for free communication with the outside world, and
the consequent establishment of something in the nature of a regular
postal and transport service between the valley and two or three points
on the railway system.

Long before he had finished all that he had to say it was perfectly
evident to the young Inca that the members of the Council--or at least
some of them--were entirely out of sympathy with many of his views and
ideas, and that he would have to contend with a vast amount of ignorance
and prejudice. To indicate a few out of many points where this lack of
sympathy most strongly manifested itself, Harry had commented upon the
necessity for establishing an army and providing it with the most modern
and efficient weapons and equipment. To this Huanacocha and his
supporters strongly objected, arguing that the State already possessed
an army in the shape of the Inca's bodyguard, horse and foot, which, in
their opinion, ought to be amply sufficient to reconquer the country in
view of the fact that Pizarro's army numbered less than two hundred men
when he captured Atahuallpa and thus achieved the conquest of Peru.
And, as to the importation of modern weapons, they were altogether
opposed to the proposal for many reasons, the chief of which were the
difficulty and delay attendant upon the procuring of them and of their
introduction into the country, and the further delay involved in
training the troops to use them. Moreover, the weapons with which the
existing troops were armed were such as they had always been accustomed
to, and in the use of which they were already thoroughly skilled. Such
a radical change as was proposed must of necessity involve an enormous
delay, and for their part they were unable to see any advantage in the
proposal. They looked with equal disfavour upon the proposal to
establish a postal and transport service, arguing that there was no need
for anything of the kind, the fundamental idea governing the settleme