Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/164

150 drawn away nearly the whole population. The few Indians they met received their questions with evident suspicion, and even hostility. Nor would money loosen their tongues.

Fortunately, there were half-breeds more ready to talk, and they learned that Huascar and his companions were riding hard. Nobody had seen Bed Ponchos; presumably the priests had concealed the ceremonial raiment imposed by their ritual for the reception of the Bride of the Sun. They were traveling so fast that nobody had had time to notice whether they had a native boy or young woman with them. At the questions on this score all their informants began to grow uneasy, and turned away with evasive sentences.

Huascar and his men had about two hours' start, but it soon became evident that they were gaining ground steadily. Natividad could not fathom the meaning of the Indians' sudden turn toward the sea, this riding into a town where, normally, everything must be against them if the alarm was given.

They reached Canete at nightfall, Dick still leading. There was a big fête on, with torch-light processions and the deafening noise of fireworks set off by delirious roisterers. Half the native population was under the influence of drink, and Natividad, trained to understand the