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Dr. Smith was still marching up and down muttering to himself when a warrior came into the antechamber and beckoned them to follow him up the candle-lit stairs to the temple. Once there, the warrior drew back the brocade curtain and stood to one side to let them pass. The temple had been transformed. The entire back wall, behind which was Nenetl's tomb, had been covered with a clear sea-blue curtain filigreed in gold and silver threads with fish, sea-shells and crabs, symbols of Tlaloc, the God of Water. In front of the curtain was a stone dais studded with pieces of jade, turquoise and emerald. On the dais stood a golden throne whose delicately worked trellis back was surmounted by a golden eagle with a coiled snake caught up in its beak. But the most remarkable transformation of all was Ann. She was seated on the throne, dressed in a knee-length silk skirt patterned with multicolored zig-zags. Her green lace blouse was decorated with sheave of corn and leaves woven in gold thread. Around her waist she wore a leather belt with an emerald buckle. Her necklace was jade, as were the bracelets she wore on her left arm; on her right wrist she wore the coiled snake from Nenetl's tomb and she held a posy of flowers. Her head-dress was a gold crown decked with brilliantly colored plumes, and her sandals were laced with gold thread. The Doctor, Penny and Don gaped at her in shock and awe.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqo4Jz2WRO
Ann glanced at the warrior who stood beside the brocade curtain. "Leave us," she commanded.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWl4jwqaEzC
The warrior bowed and removed himself from the temple.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6LbEaMjCo
"Ann, what on earth are you doing there?" Don's voice echoed his incredulity.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2T7hfUd7ZQ
Ann leaned her right elbow on the arm of the throne, held up her hand and shook her wrist, the posy and the snake.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23OGX08HlF
"They think I'm the reincarnation of the High Priest in the tomb."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUMSRFvrkr
"Because you had put on that bracelet and were caught wearing it by the High Priest of Knowledge," Dr. Smith concluded for her.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy82DcbG3bn
"That's right, Dr. Smith," said Ann. "Tetzal know that I had come out of Nenetl's tomb."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LmlMpTUMW
Penny looked puzzled. "But if Nenetl was a man," she asked, "how can they believe you are a reincarnation of him?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvGEOGXk4I
"The form his spirit takes isn't important to them, Penny," Ann pointed to the bracelet. "This is what counted."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPVqLWCNrO
"Tetzal called us Nentl's servants," Don said. "Is that who they think we are---your servants?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCYNb3qIM2
Ann nodded apologetically.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdY6TVoNI0
"Oh, the pain!" Dr. Smith snorted.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1qUoKjqEO
Ann turned on him. "But it's ideal, Dr. Smith. We can enter the tomb as soon as we like, get into the TARDIS and be on our way."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nJYOnE3Lq
Dr. Smith drily observed that although re-incarnations could come out of the tomb, human beings couldn't go into one.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWTTEYYyFg
"You're a god, Ann," Don said with a smile. "Find out how it opens."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaufTDtPvbS
Ann replied that she would ask, but Dr. Smith tut-tutted testily.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciYp5GTFqz
"That's the one thing you must not do." His voice was severe. "As Nenetl's spirit, you'll be expected to know everything. But if you go around asking questions and the Aztecs were to decide that you're not whom they think you are," Dr. Smith paused for effect, "then we won't last long." Dr. Smith sighed and walked around the throne. Penny and Don didn't move. They all realized there was an impenetrable wall between them and the solution to their problem.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjbRPffmi9
The two High Priests came into the temple and bowed to Ann.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBRAPWVZ6C
"Great Spirit of Nenetl," Ollin said, "the High Priest of Sacrifice salutes you."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsoynLDFel
Dr. Smith and Don exchanged a glance.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFipVLlkaK
"I acknowledge the High Priest's greeting," Ann replied.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8rx859MX3
Tetzal approached the throne. "For many days and many nights Tlaloc has looked away from us," he began, but Ann interrupted him.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡay3O2lY603
"The God of Water and Vegetation?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNvSVTGlGv
Tetzal nodded. "Our land withers and the people groan."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6P8MhDP9X
Ollin limped closer to Ann. "Those who serve the temple have prayed that the land may again be bountified," he said, "and this day we shall honor Tlaloc's name."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxeUgYsJXI
"When the sun's fire touches the horizon to the west," the people will stand before the temple in obedience to our commands," said Tetzal and bowed again. "We humbly beg you, Great Spirit, at that time, to show yourself before the people so that they may know their suffering draws to an end."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWVKLKhW8W
Dr. Smith leaned over to Don and muttered gleefully that Ann would appear and down would fall the rain.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPnMmIpK7U
"How can he be so sure?" Don asked out of the corner of his mouth.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0m5QHoNTc
"He's not the High Priest of Knowledge for nothing, West," Dr. Smith replied.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fBCt7rBVT
Ollin was watching them.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkqPJtJLvE
"I shall do as the High Priest requests," Ann said.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAnDRkfYgL
"We also entreat you, Great Spirit, to permit your handmaiden and servants to perambulate among our people," Tetzal continued.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvY97mvqeJS
Dr. Smith saw the flicker of doubt in Ann's eyes. He stepped forward.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfoNb8ct0K
"O' Great Spirit, grant this request." He pointed to Ann and himself. "Thus may we be your eyes and ears and learn how best to serve all our interests."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUs091j8fY
"The aged servant of Nenetl speaks with wisdom," Tetzal remarked, looking at Dr. Smith with interest.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHs7Reh4a8
Dr. Smith bristled. Aged indeed, he thought.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFNjiVkC9k
Ann pointed to Penny. "My handmaiden remains with me." She waved her hand at Don and Dr. Smith. "But they may do as you request."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JUk2BLuhO
The High Priests bowed again to Ann, then Tetzal turned to Don and Dr. Smith. "We shall await you," he said, and they left the temple.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagwPhuJmbs
Once they had vanished behind the curtain, Dr. Smith rubbed his hands in delight.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMznVq4JYWB
"A beautiful performance, my dear," he enthused. "We've got exactly what we want. You and Penny here in perfect safety, West and myself out and about, trying to find a way to get back behind that wall, into the TARDIS, and off into the great darkness of space."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqowmipaSQ
Don wasn't convinced. "It sounds all right," he said, "but I don't think we should take our eyes off those two High Priests for a second."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ395hEO6CdP
"Oh, don't worry about them, West," Dr. Smith replied airily, "they'll be too busy timing their miracle."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6hpQ0726o
"What miracle?" Penny asked.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYSxj7tDXd
Dr. Smith turned to her. "Presenting the great spirit of Nenetl to the people, one second before there is a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder, and it buckets down."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkdbanPkPG
"I still don't see how they can be as accurate as that," Don said, shaking his head.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQJy7aLsBB
Dr. Smith wagged a forefinger at him. "You mustn't underestimate the Aztecs, West. They were a very civilized, cultured people."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImLwaBIK9H
"Not were----are, as far as we're concerned, anyway," Don interjected.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ585o97Z5Xj
Dr. Smith cleared his throat. "They know all about astronomy and the constellations, each of which has its own minor god; their agricultural policies and practices are centuries ahead of their time; and look a the workmanship on Ann's throne," he pointed dramatically to it. "A very advanced people, apart from one or two glaring shortcomings."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYKJ9sBBi9
"Like cutting out people's hearts, or chucking them off the temple steps," Penny suggested.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB2FZpj3B1
Dr. Smith dismissed her with a look. "I was speaking scientifically," he said haughtily. "For example, they've never heard of the wheel....."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtInDRKgWB
The two High Priests waited for Don and Dr. Smith in the antechamber below the temple. Tetzel was studying his posy of flowers while Ollin toyed with the obsidian knife he had extracted form under his priestly robe.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi64c7Sx6V
"Mr. Tetzel?" Smith asked suddenly. "You do serve Nenetl, don't you?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiPArSuFDY
"We do, as High Priests of the temple," Tetzel replied.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEGY2B0uqc
"How interesting. So, what purpose do the others serve?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMGG6d3HDK
"Nenetl has said that the...."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhJs9u4Ow5
Before Tetzel had finished speaking, Ollin pointed the knife at him and asked if it would not be better that one of the strangers should lead their force of arms. 383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeoGVYljdr
"Nentl's young servant should enjoy this honor. A warrior favored by the Gods."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbb1o5jb85Q
Tetzel considered this proposal for a moment, trying to guess what Ollin's ulterior motive might be. "But Yaotl is our chosen warrior," he replied finally.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezu3yDV1Oh
Ollin limped over to Tetzel's side. "Let Yaotl prove himself more worthy of command than the servant of Nenetl," he murmured, touching the tip of the knife with his finger.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6usPqkxY8
"But were the servant to lose the contest, it would bring down Nenetl's wrath upon us," Tetzel countered.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh7rZua1zi
Ollin almost smiled as he hinted that Nenetl would ensure that no harm came to her servant, as the Gods were all-powerful.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pAIYWdM7g
Tetzel was disquieted and tugged at a petal of a flower as he wondered again what Ollin's purpose really was.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetNrANRy9s
Dr. Smith and Don entered the antechamber.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTOfWXFaOS
Ollin sheathed the obsidian knife. "It has been decided that the aged servant may walk abroad," he announced, "but you," he said, turning to Don, "will train to command our armies."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMXypMjmNw
Don and Dr. Smith looked anxiously at each other. Don't argue with him, said the look on Dr. Smith's face.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOE67GkLQ9t
"The Great Spirit of Nenetl would not deny me such an honor," Don replied.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcERBTeJ8n
Ollin turned to Tetzal and asked him to conduct Dr. Smith to the garden at the temple's base. "There you may sit in comfort with others of advanced years," he added to an inwardly fuming Dr. Smith, whom Tetzal beckoned to follow him down the flights of stairs that would lead them to the ground level of the pyramid.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrUwcqVaXK
Then Ollin pointed to the jug of wine and one of the goblets. Don shook his head, but the High Priest picked up the jug, filled a goblet and drank the wine in a single draught. He put the goblet back on the table and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. He looked at Don for a few seconds with his intense, dark eyes.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA5ARA0FN7
"Come now with me to the barracks," he said, "where you shall encounter Yaotl."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnRcHWdgbl
"Yaotl? Is that someone's name?" Don asked.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOI0krPLeCK
"Yes. He is your rival for command," Ollin replied and limped toward the stairs.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdRb9qp4OI
Considerably taken aback, Don followed, rather wishing that he had accepted the proffered glass of wine.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPrtdk0luO
Dr. Smith was slightly out of breath when he and Tetzel came out of the temple. He looked up at the pyramid rising like Mt. Olympus above him and recalled Penny's remark concerning the faster way down and decided he was more than content to pant a bit. Tetzel led the way to the high-walled garden behind the temple. In one wall was a wooden door which Tetzel opened and let the two of them into the garden. It was enormous and beautifully laid out. The inside of the walls was trellised and covered with the rose and purple hues of bougainvillea vines. In the middle of the garden was a lake with an island of multicolored rocks in the middle. A mosaic path encircled the lake, with small paths radiating form it to the walls, and another three concentric paths divided the garden into segments, each one of them a trimmed lawn with beds of flowers and shrubs. There were stone benches along the edges of the lawns where older Aztecs sat. They bowed their heads respectfully to Tetzel, looked curiously at Dr. Smith's clothes and whispered amongst themselves.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ23t9eSxf
Dr. Smith surveyed the scene around him. Color abounded. "Ah! Such a pleasant venue for a reflective afternoon," he observed.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMZNEETndZ
"Many years ago, after the body of the High Priest Nenetl was sealed in the tomb, a law was introduced that all who attain their fifty-second year should pleasurably pass the remainder of their years, free from responsibility and care," Tetzel explained.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOy5NruSqjz
"That is highly commendable. But don't they sometimes become bored?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsi3nfnPOdT
"Often we seek the accumulated wisdom of their years."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANX53VVtBr
"What about?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQPbq81GOV
"All manner of things. Each person here served the community in one way or another." Tetzel began pointing them out. "He was a weaver of priestly robes; she was a woman of medicines; he, an artisan of gold and silver; she, a sculptress in obsidian stone; and that man, a leading architect in the modernization of our city."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNx19sDiBW
Dr. Smith noticed a gray-haired, pleasant-faced plumpish woman in her mid-fifties who was using a knife to prune a rose bush. "That lady was, and still is, a gardener, I can safely assume?" Dr. Smith asked.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEZeN3oqWd
Tetzel laughed. "Zuma's advice, of all those here, is the most sought after. She sold vegetables in the marketplace but her eyes were everywhere, missing nothing. You will find in her a companion of great wit and interest."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL89F2zJtlx
"Er, what did you say her name was? I must admit, names have never been my forte."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HZGkyyLdn
"Zuma," Tetzel replied and begged Dr. Smith's permission to return to the temple. 383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4izTaxzhVU
Dr. Smith acquiesced and Tetzel strode away.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMfb19PGm3
"Oh, yes---Zuma," Dr. Smith muttered to himself. He had already noticed her glancing furtively at him. He wandered along the path, holding a lapel of his jacket, and stopped beside her. Zuma concentrated on her pruning.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveGf6JDXUQ
"Despite the drought, there is water for flowers," he observed.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCDdqV5xZZ
"It is better to go hungry than starve for beauty," Zuma replied and snipped off two roses which she handed to Dr. Smith.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSWZ0T9pnm
"Thank you, my dear." He sniffed them appreciatively. "An aroma worthy of the gods." He looked around the garden. "Such a delightful place, this garden, though I imagine it must be quite a task to water it."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4n1kVT6TQd
Zuma smiled. "There is a tunnel under the garden," she explained, "and from it run small pipes which lead to the lawns and flower-beds." She pointed to a nozzle with a watering rose on it which stuck up just above the ground. "Water from the city's irrigation aqueducts fills a reservoir with a sluicegate near the back wall. When the sluicegate is opened the whole garden can be sprayed."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0W9ZaXjnt
"How ingenious," Dr. Smith remarked as he sat down on a stone bench. "I find it so restful here," he said, "so very restful."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFjtSBh5GH
"It is the garden of peace."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lJVulsRxq
"Aptly named."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqLvtXsCEy
"You speak the words of Atl."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLWNyZ1DN8
"Atl?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTspmqSkgV
"He built the temple."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5c3U1iES3
"And set out the garden as well?" But Dr. Smith's mind was clicking over in another direction.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZ9wJEQ026
"As a labor of love," Zuma replied.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjSY2mtEDQ
"One senses that immediately. Does he ever come here?" Dr. Smith was all innocence.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4ySsIGDLQ
"He watches over the garden constantly."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgUynYKlV3
"Really?" Dr. Smith's face lit up.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkm7V0o1mz
"In spirit."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WEPrGocg5
Dr. Smith's face fell.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡil07bSryvU
"As does his son," Zuma continued."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gmasgjIKE
"Dead as well, I suppose." Dr. Smith was despondent.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYpEwXraue
"His son still lives."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDSFMrhvTT
Dr. Smith cheered up a mite. "He's a builder?"383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeMLoVJRn3
"No. A warrior."383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK3ciMmcSn
"But maybe he knows something of his grandfather's work." Dr. Smith looked up at the pyramid. "I find the temple fascinating: the interior, the steps, the stairs, the antechambers." He stopped short of mentioning the tomb.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqssGi8C6MK
"A meeting between you can be arranged," Zuma said.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwu6F5IIuRH
Holding his roses, Dr. Smith stood up and bowed over her hand. "Dear lady, I would be eternally grateful," he said.383Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM44x7DZKI
