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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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tJaqBqOoi
Ann glanced at the warrior who stood beside the brocade curtain. "Leave us," she commanded.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFxI98oeYP
The warrior bowed and removed himself from the temple.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAT7Zbsbe9S
"Ann, what on earth are you doing there?" Don's voice echoed his incredulity.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiA1NEUAP1
Ann leaned her right elbow on the arm of the throne, held up her hand and shook her wrist, the posy and the snake.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RFnv97mdZ
"They think I'm the reincarnation of the High Priest in the tomb."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7fIOtEIJJ
"Because you had put on that bracelet and were caught wearing it by the High Priest of Knowledge," Dr. Smith concluded for her.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgox0Fvc1e
"That's right, Dr. Smith," said Ann. "Tetzal know that I had come out of Nenetl's tomb."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYExJ3iDd1
Penny looked puzzled. "But if Nenetl was a man," she asked, "how can they believe you are a reincarnation of him?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUh0tluzyn
"The form his spirit takes isn't important to them, Penny," Ann pointed to the bracelet. "This is what counted."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiz4uEyrTeO
"Tetzal called us Nentl's servants," Don said. "Is that who they think we are---your servants?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPJyyMknv4
Ann nodded apologetically.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkI1JaUDPe
"Oh, the pain!" Dr. Smith snorted.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHYaJK8Zco
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlyCaikNS5
Dr. Smith drily observed that although re-incarnations could come out of the tomb, human beings couldn't go into one.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFyF2eWaps
"You're a god, Ann," Don said with a smile. "Find out how it opens."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1CzH2W8lo
Ann replied that she would ask, but Dr. Smith tut-tutted testily.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8i7iGXqiV
"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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZBVPZ5qEd
The two High Priests came into the temple and bowed to Ann.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNAJ5LMx4g
"Great Spirit of Nenetl," Ollin said, "the High Priest of Sacrifice salutes you."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNGgGqhaA1
Dr. Smith and Don exchanged a glance.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktpTLOSaUQ
"I acknowledge the High Priest's greeting," Ann replied.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5CtSGROOl
Tetzal approached the throne. "For many days and many nights Tlaloc has looked away from us," he began, but Ann interrupted him.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxzGbE2kcO
"The God of Water and Vegetation?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlAo72wvnT
Tetzal nodded. "Our land withers and the people groan."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g546OJuPG
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SEEiOmyGK
"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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXpxpxzsp1
Dr. Smith leaned over to Don and muttered gleefully that Ann would appear and down would fall the rain.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsylwWsX83
"How can he be so sure?" Don asked out of the corner of his mouth.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrQ6tQ9B5f
"He's not the High Priest of Knowledge for nothing, West," Dr. Smith replied.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW7ZX4qLdJ
Ollin was watching them.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifaAWJQc4b
"I shall do as the High Priest requests," Ann said.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hAyLzzCbG
"We also entreat you, Great Spirit, to permit your handmaiden and servants to perambulate among our people," Tetzal continued.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwAbmkOFWW
Dr. Smith saw the flicker of doubt in Ann's eyes. He stepped forward.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXltCBkxmnH
"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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfShDPz5oA
"The aged servant of Nenetl speaks with wisdom," Tetzal remarked, looking at Dr. Smith with interest.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB7RIBRfr7
Dr. Smith bristled. Aged indeed, he thought.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6cLNrOuD4
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSD9c3KvqUQ
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ327Rq0ZrvN
Once they had vanished behind the curtain, Dr. Smith rubbed his hands in delight.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmnPlO4kuF
"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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPaGwvKEzi
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiSCMCbmpb
"Oh, don't worry about them, West," Dr. Smith replied airily, "they'll be too busy timing their miracle."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObgZme7f73
"What miracle?" Penny asked.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtb0BL8uxc
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmGSia2QEK
"I still don't see how they can be as accurate as that," Don said, shaking his head.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbg377SZ0V
Dr. Smith wagged a forefinger at him. "You mustn't underestimate the Aztecs, West. They were a very civilized, cultured people."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMBN4s8sjB
"Not were----are, as far as we're concerned, anyway," Don interjected.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHryu8FTci1
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1tkAOvDQo
"Like cutting out people's hearts, or chucking them off the temple steps," Penny suggested.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6fVOYGXyx
Dr. Smith dismissed her with a look. "I was speaking scientifically," he said haughtily. "For example, they've never heard of the wheel....."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFyfaWTOCF
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlznKtQ1Bu
"Mr. Tetzel?" Smith asked suddenly. "You do serve Nenetl, don't you?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfPkFAKhY8
"We do, as High Priests of the temple," Tetzel replied.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh16k3aLXZk
"How interesting. So, what purpose do the others serve?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnujtfv9Vz
"Nenetl has said that the...."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMA5coEAm1
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. 416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7Ml0NpV70
"Nentl's young servant should enjoy this honor. A warrior favored by the Gods."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SnjDyG6I0
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYrgE7QSRL
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYWz4COnOx
"But were the servant to lose the contest, it would bring down Nenetl's wrath upon us," Tetzel countered.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VNyQYXjyQ
Ollin almost smiled as he hinted that Nenetl would ensure that no harm came to her servant, as the Gods were all-powerful.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWOrk0Hxt7
Tetzel was disquieted and tugged at a petal of a flower as he wondered again what Ollin's purpose really was.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir2Hjltu4h
Dr. Smith and Don entered the antechamber.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIkaNareaw
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKj8BWsZRn
Don and Dr. Smith looked anxiously at each other. Don't argue with him, said the look on Dr. Smith's face.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuEsaanlr9
"The Great Spirit of Nenetl would not deny me such an honor," Don replied.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB92sauvWh
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3w52ZcCbi
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G322lcrjk
"Come now with me to the barracks," he said, "where you shall encounter Yaotl."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp5iQcbcmp
"Yaotl? Is that someone's name?" Don asked.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqU0KUdKnYp
"Yes. He is your rival for command," Ollin replied and limped toward the stairs.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cI63Bzaaf
Considerably taken aback, Don followed, rather wishing that he had accepted the proffered glass of wine.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2S3iz8US7
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyor7dro4nq
Dr. Smith surveyed the scene around him. Color abounded. "Ah! Such a pleasant venue for a reflective afternoon," he observed.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqXtZcZgsL
"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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFmUwHQwI3
"That is highly commendable. But don't they sometimes become bored?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2dV0qYX7M
"Often we seek the accumulated wisdom of their years."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvWHcloNjs
"What about?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31VbuKtUsY
"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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZniPgjauK
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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDAJ5Gxo69
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZLVr6YnyY
"Er, what did you say her name was? I must admit, names have never been my forte."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mfpc7XUfh
"Zuma," Tetzel replied and begged Dr. Smith's permission to return to the temple. 416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7chKtWqWuH
Dr. Smith acquiesced and Tetzel strode away.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmN0ddhW5SX
"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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpCLLCnOOU
"Despite the drought, there is water for flowers," he observed.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QgTo4G4yc
"It is better to go hungry than starve for beauty," Zuma replied and snipped off two roses which she handed to Dr. Smith.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0LypcDMy9
"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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5uIA7ZMHR
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."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mvg1Am6Sp
"How ingenious," Dr. Smith remarked as he sat down on a stone bench. "I find it so restful here," he said, "so very restful."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuBfRivatZ
"It is the garden of peace."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjD96WNNON
"Aptly named."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKUhyquRxd
"You speak the words of Atl."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1xfro4FQy
"Atl?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwvo68zITp
"He built the temple."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mSTZQRalk
"And set out the garden as well?" But Dr. Smith's mind was clicking over in another direction.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UmdIGNMnQ
"As a labor of love," Zuma replied.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSgysEhCqQ
"One senses that immediately. Does he ever come here?" Dr. Smith was all innocence.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDefkngFuQy
"He watches over the garden constantly."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uuiPjptmP
"Really?" Dr. Smith's face lit up.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSbITFPQ1d
"In spirit."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDm2c2v24e
Dr. Smith's face fell.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82lFqYaKhe
"As does his son," Zuma continued."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0gKEp4LVN
"Dead as well, I suppose." Dr. Smith was despondent.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoNGO0hWTy
"His son still lives."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHjirH1mVI
Dr. Smith cheered up a mite. "He's a builder?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNWYfYIEkS
"No. A warrior."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZCy6JtxWG
"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.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FYvapKMAT
"A meeting between you can be arranged," Zuma said.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bT3GqakPA
Holding his roses, Dr. Smith stood up and bowed over her hand. "Dear lady, I would be eternally grateful," he said.416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B721YmaVD
