Then the particulars came to me, and immediately I recognized the
formula of the quipos before the throne. They were arranged for
adjudication--for the rendering of a verdict.
Harry and I were prisoners before the bar of the quipos! I turned
to him, but there was not time for talk. The king had risen and
stretched out his hand.
Immediately the vast assemblage rose from their stone seats and
fell flat on their faces. It was then that I noticed, for the
first time, an oval or elliptical plate of shining gold set in
the wall of the cavern just above the outer edge of the alcove.
This, of course, was the representation of Pachacamac, the
"unknown god" in the Inca religion. Well, I would as soon worship
a plate of gold as that little black dwarf.
For perhaps a minute the king stood with outstretched arm and the
Incas remained motionless on their faces. Then he resumed his
seat and they rose. And then the trial began.
The king turned on his throne and laid his hand on Desiree's arm;
we could see her draw away from his touch with an involuntary
shudder. But this apparent antipathy bothered his kingship not at
all; it was probably a most agreeable sensation to feel her soft,
white flesh under his black, hairy hand, and he kept it there,
while with the other arm he made a series of sweeping gestures
which I understood at once, but which had no meaning for Desiree.
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