Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/200

186 old man at the corner of the square, and put a hand on his shoulder. The stranger turned, looking at the young man fixedly.

"What do you desire, señor?" he asked in a toneless voice.

"I want to know why you are following that man." Dick pointed to Huascar, just disappearing at another corner.

"Do you not know, then? The great day of the Interaymi is near. I am following that man because he commands the Red Ponchos, who are taking my daughter to the Cuzco. She is the Bride of the Sun, you know. But this time I shall not let her die. I shall save her, and we will return together to Lima, where her fiancée is waiting. Adios, señor!"

He stalked away on his long legs, leaning on the crook. "Mad!" said Dick aloud. Then he clenched his fists, as if to hold his own reason. This inaction would drive him insane! To think that in the very heart of a supposedly civilized city there was nothing to do but to wait. And wait for what? Huascar's good pleasure; his good pleasure to keep his word or break it Could he force that house alone? He could at all events try, and fight his way to Maria-Teresa's feet, even if he was killed the minute afterwards.

He stopped, and pulled himself together.