Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/278



" devils!" Dick wrenched out his revolver, but the old man gripped his wrist. "Quiet, you fool! We can't save the child now, and if you make a sign we shan't save her either. If you can't stand it, get out!"

The young engineer controlled himself.

"It's too horrible! Poor little Christobal! My God, why can't they kill us all and have done with it!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, talking like that," said the madman. "When a man has nerves like a woman he shouldn't come to the Temple of Death."

After that one terrible cry, all was silence again. Nobles, virgins, young men and curacas continued their slow progress round the Temple. Behind them entered the amautas, sages who teach the children of the Incas; the Red Ponchos, who surrounded the altar like a sacred guard. None of them carried visible arms. The high dignitaries of the court followed, wearing the blanchana, a flowing tunic of light bark, painted in vivid colors. Each man carried a 264