was once a
priest of the Sun, in a temple which stood--and the ruins of which,
indeed, still stand--on an island in the midst of a great lake which,
lies among the mountains far away to the southward. This was when Peru
was at the zenith of its power and glory under an Inca named Atahuallpa,
whom the Spaniards under Pizarro decoyed into their power and murdered
most shamefully and cruelly; afterward seizing the country and making it
their own. Since then `gramfer' Vilcamapata has been a wanderer and a
fugitive, always fleeing from the Spaniards, who, it appears, are doing
their utmost to extirpate the Peruvians under the pretence of
converting--or trying to convert--them to the Christian faith. Thus it
was in the course of his aimless wanderings that he came to this
village, three days ago, and was seized by the inhabitants, who, after
much deliberation, decided to sacrifice him to one of their demons, and
were, indeed, about to do so when we appeared upon the scene and
interrupted them."

"Well," said Dick, "it seems to me that he stands a very good chance of
being sacrificed still, as soon as these Indians find that there are
only two of us to defend him. Pray heaven that they may not take it
into their heads to sacrifice us too, with a murrain on them!"

"Oh, I don't think they will do that, or even attempt to take gramfer
from us," replied Phil, cheerfully. "It seems that they have a very
great respect for white men--except Spaniards--and are ever on the
lookout for a paleface named Amalivaca to come across the Great Water
and unite all the Indians into one great and powerful nation which shall
utterly destroy the Spaniards and restore the country to its original
owners."

"I suppose they could not be persuaded to accept us as two of
Amalivaca's sons, come over as a sort of advance guard to prepare the
Indians for the arrival of the old boy himself?" suggested Dick. "But
then the difficulty is that we don't understand their lingo. Does
gramfer, think you? If so, he might be induced to act as our
interpreter, and inform the Indians that we are their friends. Perhaps
if they could be persuaded of that they might be induced to help us to
get the boat up above the rapids."

"Yes," agreed Phil, "they might; that is a very good idea, and I'll see
what can be done." Therewith he turned to the ancient, and again, with
much halting and stammering, contrived to explain what they desired to
accomplish.

The Pe