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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq38LDoacQM
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDxCPfw1Cg
"I have spoken to Tetzal and he went to see Nenetl," she said.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIPxgJmvvl
"Thank you, my dear," Dr. Smith replied.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLzLxNtjUB
Zuma looked at the pulley-wheel. "Is it finished?" she asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ka27Njg5f
"Almost."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LXWZnMyZy
"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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW82bQ6pL6v
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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLH8anOxNV
Zuma looked at him sharply. "You are no longer that?" she asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqC7cquB2v
He shook his head. "I have lost faith in Huitzilopochtli and in our traditions."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UWMcip6u4
"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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XtBG5GCZv
"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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTrjfAd1Nb
She smiled at the concept.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuma7BUWToc
"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." 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfTZ7ncswy
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uypiPaKcH
"And Don, the warrior?" Zuma asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryFSYDZkBR
Tetzal smiled. "I am sure he will accompany you," he said.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7y2yGhn8F
"I shall do it," Zuma relied, and then asked Tetzal about himself.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1C5dYkpQw
"You have nothing. What will you do? Where will you go?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wQIn8HUPE
"Into the wilderness, Zuma," he said. "There I will seek the truth of Quetzalcoatl."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSS7yJVSDRK
"When?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiP6DYzL0Fb
"Now," he replied. "What better time?" He laid his posy of flowers on a bench and walked out of the garden.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mUOxUPRsz
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkzLxsroNV
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNqALCen6Q
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2nJMcOGxx
"What's going to happen to us, Don?" she asked in desperation.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDzWxAXuT9
"They're going to take us to the temple,' Don replied, "and you know what that means, don't you?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqiT37i8OY
"Horrible things!" She sounded terrified.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZnHKY0uMT
"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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIh7SKKH4w
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5F66WAhGT
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgWopRPI3y
The Perfect Victim smiled. "May victory always sit upon your shoulders," he replied.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghdD5FKwMn
Tlaqui waddled in. "Let the procession begin," he said. "The avenues are lined."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YsoEhJegP
Yaotl looked at Tlaqui sharply. "And what of the girl and my challenger?" he asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9LLgOKbjB
"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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMexnIL9XU
"They should go first," Yaotl argued.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCsJqw9aYV
"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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiogvIBYXD
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fSbFGFRIL
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhI0zYufmUV
"What brings you here, Zuma?" he asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiV9UuwFRP
"I have been instructed by the High Priests to escort Nenetl's handmaiden to the temple," she answered.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclVynBaLYa
The warrior glanced at Don. "What of him?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEqaYrlA6X
"You, alone, will escort him. So dismiss the others," she replied.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7KD1DvQir
"That I cannot do," the warrior said warily. "It would exceed my authority."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNu8OBMjOAB
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 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUZLWeEL0m
Tlaqui had ordered him to take a different route to the temple. Zuma held up the medallion.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZ8dB6PH1S
"Tetzal himself told me to give you this proof that I express his wishes."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUA0GFBZXI
The warrior took it from her and studied both sides.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpZVJzRPwH
"It is the title to his dwelling and all his possessions," he exclaimed.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyK5CumfoS
"Who holds it, owns them," Zuma hesitated and then pointed at Don. "Well, until you deliver him to the temple."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22X3Gvthq8
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVgm4wjhAi
"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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqJD0BSqok
"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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlG7JK2rzzm
Penny picked up the medallion. "We must take this back to Tetzal."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEm2wSPee1
"Leave it," said Zuma. "Tetzal has gone."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nIAKciYDn
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EGQO0RXko
"Exemplary, my dear," he said. "You may come down now."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhozvjxdER
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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGUyU7F9r2
"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?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxtD0D4873
"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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mFgXaFCwJ
"But your plan can't work," Ann protested. "We won't escape. They'll stop us."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpc9NkyZ9m
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."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIC2V63Z66
"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Ann replied without conviction.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvHcm6kOPX
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECLZX8VNu5
"Hide!" said Ann and Dr. Smith ducked behind the brocade curtain of the alcove.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbULVC3xIsV
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.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkkfZzLBpx
"The procession has started," he snarled. "The sacrifice awaits you."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iV1DrwpsA
"Where is the High Priest of Knowledge," Ann asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xdLadqg7a
"He is gone." Ollin spat out the sentence.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQdOEerAqc
"Where to?" Ann snapped back.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwP43rV3fA
"Who can say?" Ollin waved his arms. "Into the wilderness, perhaps."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTNvwnO8w4
"You've killed him." Ann's voice was cold and accusing.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGrVKqlxUt
Olln shok his head. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "You destroyed his faith in Huitzilopochtli. Tetzal will never return."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrKXWMKN0J
449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFDkH0ybT4
