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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡva1UE02ugk
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3CrYb6tCh
"I have spoken to Tetzal and he went to see Nenetl," she said.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYocVDXMpa
"Thank you, my dear," Dr. Smith replied.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0ONtoqltK
Zuma looked at the pulley-wheel. "Is it finished?" she asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhsrigPOom
"Almost."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwTjgRIgPH
"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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP36rHTUmna
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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkekxVPvG3Q
Zuma looked at him sharply. "You are no longer that?" she asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZ35eL3613
He shook his head. "I have lost faith in Huitzilopochtli and in our traditions."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsaEo5UZ0O
"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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPl19N8xdz
"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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLMReu0HEJ
She smiled at the concept.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82INR2FS36
"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." 387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEEGV9vMcv
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdunn5MN3BW
"And Don, the warrior?" Zuma asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4VCqodPTs
Tetzal smiled. "I am sure he will accompany you," he said.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3S0olgdVZS
"I shall do it," Zuma relied, and then asked Tetzal about himself.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdiKQbfcsm
"You have nothing. What will you do? Where will you go?"387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiz3odW0RiP
"Into the wilderness, Zuma," he said. "There I will seek the truth of Quetzalcoatl."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuV81L4goDJ
"When?"387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsV1N0P3SQH
"Now," he replied. "What better time?" He laid his posy of flowers on a bench and walked out of the garden.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBiKrRbUfw
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSAwELhFgO
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx1XREzvi9
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmzy8SOp5c
"What's going to happen to us, Don?" she asked in desperation.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpkmqAy51C
"They're going to take us to the temple,' Don replied, "and you know what that means, don't you?"387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdOTXWtR95
"Horrible things!" She sounded terrified.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXd6lTerCV
"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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5DV3xvSjX
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVFv3doRsv
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqptVd5w6f
The Perfect Victim smiled. "May victory always sit upon your shoulders," he replied.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ljkZJMLp7
Tlaqui waddled in. "Let the procession begin," he said. "The avenues are lined."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpayI9dLLv
Yaotl looked at Tlaqui sharply. "And what of the girl and my challenger?" he asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yXGqUCCnR
"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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHsR9NOFKK
"They should go first," Yaotl argued.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uNCEduNNi
"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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthnvyeN3se
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONXvr0nwDh
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh91aPWMK4s
"What brings you here, Zuma?" he asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPvtKeE9Se
"I have been instructed by the High Priests to escort Nenetl's handmaiden to the temple," she answered.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhTd9W0MMf
The warrior glanced at Don. "What of him?"387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEIWOYLQbh
"You, alone, will escort him. So dismiss the others," she replied.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzXtN9rzCe
"That I cannot do," the warrior said warily. "It would exceed my authority."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfRV4ixlx9
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 387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJcxHzGVVx
Tlaqui had ordered him to take a different route to the temple. Zuma held up the medallion.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CXiVkRm5s
"Tetzal himself told me to give you this proof that I express his wishes."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJBpyn0Yjw
The warrior took it from her and studied both sides.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGnvjuw0gQ
"It is the title to his dwelling and all his possessions," he exclaimed.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6d4DKCQ7QO
"Who holds it, owns them," Zuma hesitated and then pointed at Don. "Well, until you deliver him to the temple."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdXyX4Soy7
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjaEnqXy9I
"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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDYjufytuL
"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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tLErmglkq
Penny picked up the medallion. "We must take this back to Tetzal."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeInHDwvEq
"Leave it," said Zuma. "Tetzal has gone."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFPThtq9nL
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbchc4P7md
"Exemplary, my dear," he said. "You may come down now."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxQTDIiRni
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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiG3IEAMmel
"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?"387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjs2zQzhof
"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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdf4ZbzyKy
"But your plan can't work," Ann protested. "We won't escape. They'll stop us."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8ZlhtnBE3
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."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfcNYQGjLT
"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Ann replied without conviction.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmdg4Col0O
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl3MGmiWBl
"Hide!" said Ann and Dr. Smith ducked behind the brocade curtain of the alcove.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyRKXg6HOx
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.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8I3Z06I3x
"The procession has started," he snarled. "The sacrifice awaits you."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwolUyAMJ1M
"Where is the High Priest of Knowledge," Ann asked.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmw714medkn
"He is gone." Ollin spat out the sentence.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9roV3patoa
"Where to?" Ann snapped back.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QaTj4n42H
"Who can say?" Ollin waved his arms. "Into the wilderness, perhaps."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe0Q7MrlJj
"You've killed him." Ann's voice was cold and accusing.387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRyPJGBoqb
Olln shok his head. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "You destroyed his faith in Huitzilopochtli. Tetzal will never return."387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpxVWOBOhi
387Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dgIT2AN3m
