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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ly5a9q5N7
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0juQwzHnF
"I have spoken to Tetzal and he went to see Nenetl," she said.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE24RRK0Kje
"Thank you, my dear," Dr. Smith replied.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsZFxEufzJ
Zuma looked at the pulley-wheel. "Is it finished?" she asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NaUtmwpsG
"Almost."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4PQZhNtZv
"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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYW3ObhuEbN
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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvL4Nz0d5Cl
Zuma looked at him sharply. "You are no longer that?" she asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwR9JSS5tQ
He shook his head. "I have lost faith in Huitzilopochtli and in our traditions."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpGShTHObk
"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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwY0HP5sGl
"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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtu2AgpMDvO
She smiled at the concept.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkC9xYwC5j
"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." 378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnYRgewUNa
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4497uwefvg
"And Don, the warrior?" Zuma asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHFQfE5wJv
Tetzal smiled. "I am sure he will accompany you," he said.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU1uFzrtYT
"I shall do it," Zuma relied, and then asked Tetzal about himself.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10rpSVfFpZ
"You have nothing. What will you do? Where will you go?"378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsS1iiSSTRL
"Into the wilderness, Zuma," he said. "There I will seek the truth of Quetzalcoatl."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRaWH9qB0Qf
"When?"378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslOQfvqUBd
"Now," he replied. "What better time?" He laid his posy of flowers on a bench and walked out of the garden.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qmWu5nylh
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCrAASGOCh
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2EBDZXiCp
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoKM9MOl8W
"What's going to happen to us, Don?" she asked in desperation.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHEPJSbH1t
"They're going to take us to the temple,' Don replied, "and you know what that means, don't you?"378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2A4uC1l4m7
"Horrible things!" She sounded terrified.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM73pz9r5lL
"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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVmne9AxtI
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLBt8gjCtb
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jvJoTkN91
The Perfect Victim smiled. "May victory always sit upon your shoulders," he replied.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaoOBbA8FA
Tlaqui waddled in. "Let the procession begin," he said. "The avenues are lined."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnyLk06t3c
Yaotl looked at Tlaqui sharply. "And what of the girl and my challenger?" he asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhjinvN2WZ
"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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gd28EPjIj
"They should go first," Yaotl argued.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqpXO3KOdQ
"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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgq1sm2gnL
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfIumGYaWd
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyyyK3TznO
"What brings you here, Zuma?" he asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2h50BnEOCu
"I have been instructed by the High Priests to escort Nenetl's handmaiden to the temple," she answered.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4YLqTREGl
The warrior glanced at Don. "What of him?"378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYDprbRk8u
"You, alone, will escort him. So dismiss the others," she replied.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca85NpEbhW
"That I cannot do," the warrior said warily. "It would exceed my authority."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRXpsl1guS
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 378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWMOhumy30
Tlaqui had ordered him to take a different route to the temple. Zuma held up the medallion.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKGLeoGVnA
"Tetzal himself told me to give you this proof that I express his wishes."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJ2NuYTN1W
The warrior took it from her and studied both sides.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsOENMFTYk
"It is the title to his dwelling and all his possessions," he exclaimed.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kEoIxGr6x
"Who holds it, owns them," Zuma hesitated and then pointed at Don. "Well, until you deliver him to the temple."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyiNlaonZ7
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxddN2OqtL
"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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZHBoOOBZY
"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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfBhu3xBRW
Penny picked up the medallion. "We must take this back to Tetzal."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPMXcLFapY
"Leave it," said Zuma. "Tetzal has gone."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3TBhC1vnu
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFgh0vbWHC
"Exemplary, my dear," he said. "You may come down now."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUT3FvREaI
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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAxGC9IHFU
"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?"378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jDtS9gPpo
"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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25x2cQP9fH
"But your plan can't work," Ann protested. "We won't escape. They'll stop us."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMkx2b1Zv5
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."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNr6tI36bt
"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Ann replied without conviction.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2gKhNsfXG
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8M48bx0jN
"Hide!" said Ann and Dr. Smith ducked behind the brocade curtain of the alcove.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuqmEevYP0
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.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkfWdb1l2k
"The procession has started," he snarled. "The sacrifice awaits you."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJv5WqJw1l
"Where is the High Priest of Knowledge," Ann asked.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a9Q0IrHte
"He is gone." Ollin spat out the sentence.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEx4rvlNx0l
"Where to?" Ann snapped back.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwz1WkrJWC
"Who can say?" Ollin waved his arms. "Into the wilderness, perhaps."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjF0f9EOgtn
"You've killed him." Ann's voice was cold and accusing.378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkaG4WPrXh
Olln shok his head. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "You destroyed his faith in Huitzilopochtli. Tetzal will never return."378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXeKK67vYw
378Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyfejVVcqL
