Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/142

128 Marquis de la Torre had been chosen as the victim of the Interaymi at least two months before the festival. That was as clear as the wonderful tropical night without.

Two months before, Libertad had first been sounded, and he had not long resisted the temptation of the money offered him. All he was asked to do was to drive the motor to a certain spot on a certain day, without looking to see what was happening behind him. For this, he was to receive two hundred silver soles, of which fifty were paid to him in advance.

"And who did you make the bargain with?" demanded Natividad.

"With a clerk from the Franco-Belgian bank who sometimes came to see the señorita. His name was Oviedo."

Don Christobal started. Oviedo Huayna Runtu, the intruder of the Cajamarca trip! If he had planned to kidnap Maria-Teresa at Callao, that voyage must have been particularly disagreeable to him. That would explain his close watch over them, and perhaps also the hint to the police at Cajamarca, which resulted in their hasty return to Lima.

"When did you first know the date chosen?" questioned Natividad, holding up the negro, who was choking.

"This morning. Oviedo came to see me. He