re.
Neither man knew of the existence of this map. The priest fought to
preserve the idol because of its sacredness as guardian of what to him
was doubtless a consecrated offering to the Sun God; Sorez, acquiring
it with the tradition that the image held the secret, thought that
with the psychic gift of the girl he had solved the riddle. This much
seemed a reasonable explanation. But where was this treasure, and of
what did it consist? He turned to the second parchment. At the end of
an hour he had before him a half page of minute directions for
approaching the treasure from the starting-point of a hut in the
mountains. But where _were_ these mountains? He had two names which
might be good clues. One was "Quesada," the old Spanish adventurer, of
whom Wilson had a faint recollection. It was possible that in the
history of his day some mention might be made of this expedition. The
other name was "Guadiva," which appeared on the map as the name of a
lake. Many of the old Spanish names still remained. A good atlas might
mention it.

He investigated the latter hint first. He was rewarded at once.
"Guadiva" was a small lake located in the extinct volcanic cone of Mt.
Veneza, beyond the upper Cordilleras. It was remarkable chiefly for a
tradition which mentions this as one of the hiding places of a
supposed vast treasure thrown away by the Chibcas that it might escape
the hands of Quesada.

Starting with this, Wilson began a more detailed search through the
literature bearing upon these South American tribes, Spanish conquest,
and English treasure hunting. He was surprised to find a great deal of
information. Almost without exception, however, this particular
treasure which had sent Quesada to his grave a pauper, which had
lured from quiet England Raleigh, Drake, and Leigh was thought to be a
myth. The hours passed and Wilson knew nothing of their passing. It
was eight o'clock before he paused once more to summarize the result
of his reading. In the light of the key which lay before him, the
possibilities took away his breath. His quick imagination spanned the
gaps in the narrative until he had a picture before his eyes that
savored of the Arabian Nights. It was a glittering quest--this which
had tempted so many men, for the prize was greater than Cortez had
sought among the Aztecs, or Pizarro in his bloody conquest of the
Incas.

He saw many thousands of the faithful Chibcas, most powerful of all
the tribes upon the Alta