It was almost finished. The groove encircled the rim and Dr. Smith had bored a round hole through the middle of the wood, both sides of which he beveled on the corner of the stone bench. He put his forefinger through the hole to check the smoothness and then spun it with the other hand. It rotated freely and was well-balanced. He took it off his finger and looked at it with a certain pride. He had never made a pulley-wheel before.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgw7puO9IU
He became aware of being watched and looked up. Zuma was standing a few yards away. He stood up and she came over to him.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcGgEaafZe
"I have spoken to Tetzal and he went to see Nenetl," she said.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTd8MyOJlJO
"Thank you, my dear," Dr. Smith replied.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoi5QO7sqX
Zuma looked at the pulley-wheel. "Is it finished?" she asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHdRD7vtc4
"Almost."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2Z5BRdBkQ
"As is our time together, beloved." Tentatively she touched the pulley-wheel. "I do not understand its purpose but I have always known that it would take you away from me."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0RB0hnEXQ
Dr. Smith put it in his pocket and took her hands in his. "I am very sorry, my dear," was all he could say, and to ignore it would be to deny that which I was; the High Priest of Knowledge."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghpEGgqoyN
Zuma looked at him sharply. "You are no longer that?" she asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JadnTgwEg
He shook his head. "I have lost faith in Huitzilopochtli and in our traditions."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8doMxDFQGB
"Then your tragedy is far greater than mind," Zuma said. "Your whole life has been devoted to the temple. Mine has encompassed but a few days." They walked along the path leading to the garden door.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DPiGLxxIL
"We have known each other in trust for many years and I have sought your counsel frequently, Zuma," he admitted. "Maybe in another nation you would have been the High Priest of Knowledge and I, a seller of vegetables."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0PumHVbxp
She smiled at the concept.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaj0zDY4GS
"Now, I with you to do something for me to assist them," he continued and took a gold medallion and chain from around his neck. "Behold, the title to my dwelling-place and all I own therein." He put it in her hand. "Tomorrow, while Yaotl prepares the Perfect Victim for sacrifice, the handmaiden and the warrior, Don, will be brought together under guard before they are escorted to the temple for their punishment." 369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYae1HNKFIn
He squeezed the medallion in her hand. "Give that to the guard so that he turns his head away while you conduct the girl, as if for punishment, to the temple.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsut5Jbgxv
"And Don, the warrior?" Zuma asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lMKpBQHvn
Tetzal smiled. "I am sure he will accompany you," he said.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBh3Qyu41cO
"I shall do it," Zuma relied, and then asked Tetzal about himself.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3uBLGXu0J
"You have nothing. What will you do? Where will you go?"369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRz8g7qUux
"Into the wilderness, Zuma," he said. "There I will seek the truth of Quetzalcoatl."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9fKLewGf0
"When?"369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTT6nlaPkOH
"Now," he replied. "What better time?" He laid his posy of flowers on a bench and walked out of the garden.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaWVrcVFJY
Zuma thought to return to Dr. Smith and tell him about the medallion but decided that had that been Tetzal's wish, he would have spoken to her in Dr. Smith's presence. So she picked up Tetzal's posy as a memento and went home.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOyzayRhqP
With the dawn came tension as the Aztecs watched the sun begin the journey across the clear blue sky to its zenith, when all knew day would become night. In their minds was one question, would Huitzilopochtli accept the sacrifice of the Perfect Victim and give them back his light, which was their life, or would they be left to die in eternal darkness? Families stayed in their homes until the appointed hour when they would be summoned to the temple square to pay reverence to the Perfect Victim and, in fear and trembling, worship their sun god.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGfOy0AmMd
The door of Don's dark, cramped barracks cell was opened by an armed warrior and the daylight flooded in. Don blinked several times when went outside where a second warrior pointed with his cudgel towards the Chosen Warrior's courtyard. Don walked through the passageway and wondered if this would be his final encounter with Yaotl, if he would have a small red circle painted over his heart and have a javelin hurled at it as if he were a life-size clay model. To his shock he was directed to his old quarters where two warriors stood at either side of the entrance. He went inside and Penny, guarded by another warrior, threw herself into his arms.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwFAvkfytP
"What's going to happen to us, Don?" she asked in desperation.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9X5QOmEPw5
"They're going to take us to the temple,' Don replied, "and you know what that means, don't you?"369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuWLB6VtqP
"Horrible things!" She sounded terrified.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RMHTUH4RK
"No, the four of us will be together again," Don said reassuringly, "and thinking about it overnight I've come to the conclusion that Ollin and his friends are no match for Dr. Smith."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9MCGAFQSj
Across the courtyard in Yaotl's quarters the Perfect Victim waited in impatient, drugged euphoria for his deification. His body had been washed and perfumed, his garments were radiantly white, his plumed helmet extravagantly colorful and in his hands he held an exotic posy of flowers and a fly-swatter.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCj5IWwBIv
Yaotl came from his bedroom wearing the Chosen Warrior's full ceremonial dress. "It will be my privilege as leader of our armies to escort you, O' Perfect Victim, to your glory," he intoned.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8E5NWhbmJW
The Perfect Victim smiled. "May victory always sit upon your shoulders," he replied.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUfA2IBPP5
Tlaqui waddled in. "Let the procession begin," he said. "The avenues are lined."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CEWb9fbXG
Yaotl looked at Tlaqui sharply. "And what of the girl and my challenger?" he asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBV3vFy4Fp
"They shall follow at a distance and by another way so that the Perfect Victim's path to the temple is not defiled before the sacrifice," Tlaqui replied.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYPCF0mH0e
"They should go first," Yaotl argued.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp0hdVla9c
"The High Priest of Sacrifice does not wish it," Tlaqui said. "They follow the Perfect Victim, but will be punished first. I shall instruct the guard," he added and made his way across the courtyard to give explicit instructions to the warrior accompanying Penny and Don about the route he should take to the temple. Then Tlaqui hurried away so as not to miss his moment of reflected glory.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bj6aXokww
The Aztecs watched in awed silence as the Perfect Victim walked slowly along the broad, warrior-lined avenue towards the pyramid and the temple. On one side of him was Tlaqui, supposedly gazing intently at his posy but his eyes flicked from side to side at the crowd as he tried to gauge the impression that he was making. On the other side of the Perfect Victim was Yaotl, proudly carrying a gold-studded cudgel, the insignia of the commander of the Aztec armies. But despite the solemnity of the moment, every few seconds someone in the crowd would shield their eyes and look up apprehensively at the sun blazing down on them.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFKLnxmG6U
Zuma hurried across the deserted barracks courtyard and went through the passageway. The two warriors outside Don's quarters saluted her as she passed them as did the third one inside.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtwi64DuXw
"What brings you here, Zuma?" he asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0H4EB5RKx
"I have been instructed by the High Priests to escort Nenetl's handmaiden to the temple," she answered.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qv8IKk6Yy
The warrior glanced at Don. "What of him?"369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaCBhqX9ka
"You, alone, will escort him. So dismiss the others," she replied.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOqPrnUPpj
"That I cannot do," the warrior said warily. "It would exceed my authority."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzEE2aDG6p
Zuma explained that on the day of a perfect sacrifice the High Priests wanted as little attention as possible drawn to them on the streets. The warrior conceded that 369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpn9tFucW0d
Tlaqui had ordered him to take a different route to the temple. Zuma held up the medallion.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7eE6Z7tCv
"Tetzal himself told me to give you this proof that I express his wishes."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4kHcFHsfn
The warrior took it from her and studied both sides.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhO3OeTCOA
"It is the title to his dwelling and all his possessions," he exclaimed.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhMJX0uSCR
"Who holds it, owns them," Zuma hesitated and then pointed at Don. "Well, until you deliver him to the temple."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYPTsK9L9m
The warrior chuckled, went outside and sent the other two warriors off to watch the sacrifice. Don gave Zuma a thumbs-up sign and had the impression that she understood.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqJQhWOAUC
"Mine until we reach the temple," the warrior repeated, shaking his head in amusement as he came back inside. It was the final coherent thought he was to have for some considerable time, as Don laid him out cold with a devastating chop on the base of his neck.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmRB6dsqtz
"I shall escort you to the temple," Don said. He went into the bedroom, took a warrior's half-masks and put it on his head. "We overheard the route to take, didn't we, Penny?" he added as he came back to them.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1XshAooiU
Penny picked up the medallion. "We must take this back to Tetzal."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXxWnRf6BX
"Leave it," said Zuma. "Tetzal has gone."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MWaibL8Zc
Dr. Smith had placed his pulley-wheel beside the strip of silk behind the curtain and made Ann stand on the throne, her arms stretched up above her head with the coiled snake bracelet held between her hands. He made a few mental calculations.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RAelpvKVL
"Exemplary, my dear," he said. "You may come down now."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArUjHG7B6e
Ann, with less than godlike grace, clambered off the throne, though in the final stages Dr. Smith did offer her his hand. "As soon as Don and Penny are here," he said, "you must insist that Tetzal has them released."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq37XAFWMG1
"Dr. Smith, this temple will soon be lined with warriors and Ollin will be present," Ann replied. "Do you believe Tetzal will be on our side?"369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDvXbi2CIQ
"I'm not a bad judge of character," Dr. Smith said haughtily, "and Tetzal will do all he can to help us. I will do the rest."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aIPDVr8K7
"But your plan can't work," Ann protested. "We won't escape. They'll stop us."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM12J2t8PTG
Dr. Smith was aggrieved. "My dear Miss MacGregor, the Aztecs will be preoccupied with their God, their human sacrifice, and an eclipse," he said. "What we do will be of no consequence to them."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCYUotFvou
"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Ann replied without conviction.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFV8YH4tkN
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibjKXMBlQ5
"Hide!" said Ann and Dr. Smith ducked behind the brocade curtain of the alcove.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ujv07WtJ8
Ollin limped into the temple, a razor-sharp obsidian knife in his hand. Behind him came twenty warriors armed with javelins. Ann watched them from the throne as they took up their positions along the walls. Olln sidled over to her.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtuDC2HGcE
"The procession has started," he snarled. "The sacrifice awaits you."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4eqHeuVS4
"Where is the High Priest of Knowledge," Ann asked.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RPLuki5Ow
"He is gone." Ollin spat out the sentence.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfL6548pSEd
"Where to?" Ann snapped back.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dIcgBh4LC
"Who can say?" Ollin waved his arms. "Into the wilderness, perhaps."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGgPeKdTF5
"You've killed him." Ann's voice was cold and accusing.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTHOkdVgM0
Olln shok his head. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "You destroyed his faith in Huitzilopochtli. Tetzal will never return."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79ksj1fCQh
369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0F7cUlk97
