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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0WuRYGfJR
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIF5BsRpfp
"I have spoken to Tetzal and he went to see Nenetl," she said.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAPRQ7YM4c
"Thank you, my dear," Dr. Smith replied.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJelc86tfpN
Zuma looked at the pulley-wheel. "Is it finished?" she asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AKeFHS9uu
"Almost."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOwhVjmIQ6
"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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20ip4oC0Cn
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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSalpYt9Uoi
Zuma looked at him sharply. "You are no longer that?" she asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQazYJgrI4
He shook his head. "I have lost faith in Huitzilopochtli and in our traditions."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmmSE13xES
"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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCEl8pEzYo
"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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFTV8eLRxx
She smiled at the concept.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0dZntKsjB
"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." 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtyULFbM9f
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0RFzXIHC3
"And Don, the warrior?" Zuma asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFcgURO2bY
Tetzal smiled. "I am sure he will accompany you," he said.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKK68BZ93m
"I shall do it," Zuma relied, and then asked Tetzal about himself.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVAMit98NC
"You have nothing. What will you do? Where will you go?"337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvHNThFMrN
"Into the wilderness, Zuma," he said. "There I will seek the truth of Quetzalcoatl."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGU525NgBAu
"When?"337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSyvNg3DmO
"Now," he replied. "What better time?" He laid his posy of flowers on a bench and walked out of the garden.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HdudqakXQ
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEXBcnCg16
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qwECyjFRS
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhR1V3pkKcu
"What's going to happen to us, Don?" she asked in desperation.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8jc0CGdHU
"They're going to take us to the temple,' Don replied, "and you know what that means, don't you?"337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT26e2rkhTS
"Horrible things!" She sounded terrified.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOcKS55LIP
"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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpMY6VWNq1
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ7woNDqYC
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEySNaH6ma
The Perfect Victim smiled. "May victory always sit upon your shoulders," he replied.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6SZTf6rcP
Tlaqui waddled in. "Let the procession begin," he said. "The avenues are lined."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qbEGYyQ75
Yaotl looked at Tlaqui sharply. "And what of the girl and my challenger?" he asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojQZMeXdgb
"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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDfJS44M6Y
"They should go first," Yaotl argued.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeuXvnEESG
"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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi95Yvb0jmF
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6u62ItsHU
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmZrdMgM3Y
"What brings you here, Zuma?" he asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJlvrVVbJy
"I have been instructed by the High Priests to escort Nenetl's handmaiden to the temple," she answered.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSo2mE0SxV
The warrior glanced at Don. "What of him?"337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mGg2m2uL5
"You, alone, will escort him. So dismiss the others," she replied.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzzr7nbiwY
"That I cannot do," the warrior said warily. "It would exceed my authority."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENy5nQSjL0
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 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvf8dWXjiB
Tlaqui had ordered him to take a different route to the temple. Zuma held up the medallion.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxOhcDJunJ
"Tetzal himself told me to give you this proof that I express his wishes."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJaCQqEKll
The warrior took it from her and studied both sides.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFqcF4rjnh
"It is the title to his dwelling and all his possessions," he exclaimed.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpea1QrIVV
"Who holds it, owns them," Zuma hesitated and then pointed at Don. "Well, until you deliver him to the temple."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkA777RICK
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yUHq3XTge
"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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQafSWzvHJQ
"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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJefnABOxB
Penny picked up the medallion. "We must take this back to Tetzal."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXSz180Vlp
"Leave it," said Zuma. "Tetzal has gone."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfj3tGCKl9
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQRDVk3w6H
"Exemplary, my dear," he said. "You may come down now."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65PECv5gqT
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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Zl4v5NS5w
"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?"337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiavfOloGc
"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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ618omo5V7l
"But your plan can't work," Ann protested. "We won't escape. They'll stop us."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiTai9vRnE
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."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBfVCPOeMK
"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Ann replied without conviction.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYftQ43jPcL
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSi5f3qlIKR
"Hide!" said Ann and Dr. Smith ducked behind the brocade curtain of the alcove.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfs2rEWwDIo
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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3PzUejjP3
"The procession has started," he snarled. "The sacrifice awaits you."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnD4cJh8ag
"Where is the High Priest of Knowledge," Ann asked.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlqgCuXiO4
"He is gone." Ollin spat out the sentence.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCshnIAikDG
"Where to?" Ann snapped back.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaL50W2LxKO
"Who can say?" Ollin waved his arms. "Into the wilderness, perhaps."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiZj6mPqUC
"You've killed him." Ann's voice was cold and accusing.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGb4rQIQ9t
Olln shok his head. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "You destroyed his faith in Huitzilopochtli. Tetzal will never return."337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpU3wwXjTbl
337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNmniwdxpF
