A Princess of Chalco

Introduction

. A very important question has been agitating my brain for some time past. It is this. " Shall I, Frederick Wrenforth, be considered an officious scrib bler if I publish to the world an account of some strange adventures which befell me and my friend Dr. Gillett?" I trust that this very hesitation, which I thus frankly acknowledge, will be the means of redeeming me from the stigma of being thought a lineal descendant of Baron Munchausen, for it shows that, at least, I possess the bump of modesty, and he would be a bold man who would venture to assert that modesty could possibly coexist with the faculty of Ananiatical exaggeration ! Nevertheless, it is a serious matter for a man to rush into print upon the slightest provocation, and I verily believe that my record of the strange events I passed through would have remained for ever in its pen and pencil condition, had not Gillett persuaded me that, by locking up in my own mind the knowledge I possessed of an interesting country and its inhabitants, I was guilty of treachery to the world in general, and to the Geographical Society in particular. Thus egged on by the doctor, who, I imagine, has a hankering after publicity in the fond hope of attracting patients and

INTRODUCTION.

. VI fees (and his incomparable skill richly entitles him to them), I took up my pen and tried to make a con nected narrative out of the disjointed fragments of my notes. Gillett ought to have helped me in the produc tion of this work, but, when I suggested it to him, he flatly declined any responsibility in the matter, probably because he feared to have his name connected with such a dish of vile composition as he felt convinced I should serve up to the British Public. In revenge, I have carefully withheld the proof sheets from his inquisitive eyes, and, should he see anything in the book concerning his doings which he does not approve of, he has only himself to blame. Every one has heard of the golden country of El Dorado, supposed by the Spaniards to be situated somewhere in the interior of South America between the Orinoco and the Amazon ; and every one in the present day discredits its existence.

But to the men of the sixteenth century it was a reality, and many expeditions were fitted out to reach and ransack it of its priceless treasures. Gonzalo Pizarro, brother to Francisco the famous conqueror of Peru, was told by an Indian Cacique that there existed in the interior a fertile region teeming with gold and precious stones. Fired by the brilliant description, he equipped an expedition and sent it under the command of Orellana to discover the where abouts of this El Dorado. Although Orellana followed the course of the Amazon down to the sea, he was unable to find the treasure he sought. For many subsequent years, numerous attempts were made to penetrate to this auriferous region, yet all were doomed to utter failure. Sir Walter Raleigh however, so convinced himself of its existence that he

INTRODUCTION.

. VII persuaded Sir Ralph WTinwood to obtain for him a conditional release from the Tower (where he had been confined since 1603), in order that he might equip an expedition which would have for its result the filling to overflowing of the coffers of King James. Having obtained the consent of the avaricious monarch, Raleigh set sail with a fleet of thirteen vessels, and arrived off the coast of Guiana in Novem ber 1617. Being aware of the ill-success which had attended the explorers by the Amazon route, he deter mined to reach El Dorado by way of the Orinoco. But Fortune was not more favourable to him than to others, and he was forced to return home a disgraced and discredited man. Since the time of Raleigh, a host of minor adven turers have risked their lives to ransack the golden country of its treasures, but if any have ever succeeded in entering it, not one has ever returned to tell us the tale.

In fact every one, by common consent, regards El Dorado as an idle fable, and if any enthusiast, a couple of years ago, had ventured to assert a belief in its existence, I should have given him a smile of derisive incredulity. But I can do that no longer, and the reasons for my change of belief are duly set forth in the following pages. REFERENCES TO THE PLAN OF CHALCO, PAGE 181. 1. Palace of Cephren. 2. Temple of Ra-teotl at the north end of — S. The grand square. If. Palace of Ambouli. 5. Pyramid of Tlilcoatl. 6. Palace of Amu. 7. Pyramid of Xexuteotl. 8, 8, 8. Provision market and manufacturing quarter. 9. Statue of Olmethi in the centre of the grand square. a. The dotted Une indicates the course of the subterranean passage from the temple of Ra-teotl to Ambouli's palace. b. The underground tunnel from the temple of Ra to the outside of the city, and — c. A third one leading to Cephren's palace, and continued slightly beyond into the Deesmunxiatl quarter. d, d, d. Round towers defending each of the four gates of the city. c, e, e, e. Four circular towers at each angle of the walls. /,/,/,/.

The Street of the Ramparts. g;g, a. Broad zigzag paths leading down to the river which surrounds Chalco on all sides but the northern. The river turns abruptly to the west at the north-western extremity of the hill's base. h,h, h, h. Level space beyond the city walls. CONTENTS. CHAP. PACE I. CONCERNING THAT RAUA AVIS, A FRIEND ... 1 II. THE DOCTOR LOSES HIS GRAVITY AND HIS IDEAS OF MEUM AND TWM / ... ... ... 16 III. A CRY FROM A VANISHED AGE... ... ... 31 IV. THE PASS OF THEGTHEG ... ... ... 50 V. CHEMISTRY VERSUS COURAGE ... ... ... 66 VI. WHO CAN WITHSTAND THE WRATH OF PILLAN 1 81 VII. FOLLOWING THE TRAIL ... ... ... ... 96 VIII. TEOTL OR OSIRIS? ... ... ... ... Ill IX. ACROSS THE RUBICON ... ... ... . . : 127 X. THE DOVE AND THE SERPENT ... ... ... 113 XI. THE WHITE MAN'S RELATIVES ... ... ... 160 XII.

THROUGH CHALCO, CITY OF GEMS ... ... 176 XIII. THE SACRED ANACONDA .. . ... ... ... 192 XIV. RECORDS OF THE PAST ... ... ... ... 209 XV. KINSMEN OR STRANGERS ... ... ... 224 XVI. SWEET LOVE-THOUGHTS ... ... ... ... 2-41 x contents. chap. page xvii. the cloud from the east ... ... ... 256 xviii. an awkward predicament ... ... ... 273 xix. the power of love ... ... ... ... 288 xx. prepared for sacrifice! ... ... ... 306 xxi. the serpent's fangs ... ... ... ... 324 xxii. væ victis ! ... ... ... ... ... 342 xxiii. the road of the hieroglyph ends in happiness... ... ... ... ... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE " Are you too much hurt to help yourself? " Frontispiece. "Look! It is even now commencing" ... ... 83 " B}' Jove, you are right ! " exclaimed Gillett excitedly 120 The mystic ceremony was terminated by a long speech from Gillett ... ... ... ' ... ... 131 A huge Anaconda was confronting Oosita ... ... 194 In this awful crisis I determined that my executioners should die with me, and accordingly by one final frantic effort encircled each with an arm that stubbornly refused to be dislodged from its embrace ... 272 All at once it flashed across me that this woman was about to attempt to leap over the yawning gulf! ... 292 The first was a miss, the result of over-excitement, but the second made him leap several feet into the air and brought him to the ground stone dead ... A PKINCESS OF CHALCO.

Chapter I. Concerning That Kara Avis

A FRIEND. November in the Highlands ! Nothing ought to inspire a keen sportsman with a greater sense of gratitude than the associations connected with this phrase, for it suggests at once a vast expanse of well-stocked moor, a comfortable shooting-box, and the companionship of one or two friends whose geniality makes the evening pass so pleasantly after the hard work of the day is over. Truly my lot had fallen in pleasant places, for a large income enabled me to gratify my every whim, and I should have deemed life an utter failure had I been prevented, even for one season, from letting loose my passion for slaughtering grouse. I had been settled here, in compauy with my two friends, Macpherson and Reay, for more than a month, but my intense ardour, whilst bracing me up to the highest perfec tion of health, had a contrary effect upon poor Reay.

I literally walked him off his legs until his strength and courage gave way together, and he candidly confessed that he had had enough of it, and would travel southwards to recruit himself. On the afternoon before the day of his departure, a telegram arrived for Macpherson summoning him at once to his father, who had been suddenly seized B with a serious illness. I was considerably put out at this unexpected contretemps, which would deprive me of all society, and was half inclined to join them in their retreat from the Highlands ; but I gave up the idea as I reflected that there were many more birds to be killed, and that there were dozens of men in London who would not delay a minute in coming to me directly they received an invitation. Thus comforted by the certainty that I should not remain a hermit for more than a few days, I drove my friends a distance of fifteen miles to the nearest railway station, saw them safely en route with a considerable amount of regret, loitered about the village and made a few purchases, and then drove back to a dinner which I should have thoroughly enjoyed, had I had but a companion to share it with.

" Man is a gregarious animal." No wiseacre ever perpetrated a truer saw, for so intense was the burden of solitude upon me, that I was constrained to call in my gillie, and extract from his humble talk some consolation for the absence of the refined tittle-tattle of men in my own sphere of life. The next morning, a heavy mist, enveloping the wide stretch of heather in its gray shroud, effectually stopped my shooting. There was nothing else to be done but to stay at home and idle away the hours in the most enjoyable manner possible. But how can enforced leisure be pleasant when a man's whole resources are wrapped up in outdoor exercise t I devoured a sensational novel and a host of cigars between breakfast and midday, and then found myself eaten up with ennui ! Perhaps this restless weari ness which so soon invaded my solitude did me some good, for I began to perceive the danger of a limited education, and mentally vowed that if Providence should ever bless me with a son, I would so train him that every minute and hour of the day should have some attraction for him, and that ennui should be an unknown quantity.

CONCERNING THAT RARA AVIS, A FRIEND. 3 After lunch I became desperate, and seized my gun with the intention of sallying forth. Old Sandy, my gillie, warned me that the mist was thicker than ever, and made the moor a dangerous place to roam over. " Ye'd best keep on the road by the kirk, sir," he added. In my irritable condition, good advice was worse than thrown away, for it promptly induced me to follow the course which Sandy had pronounced hazardous. With an impatient exclamation, I passed through the doorway, and was soon striding rapidly over the soft and springy heather. The quick, energetic motion gradually restored my mind to its even balance, and then I began to enjoy the walk, although the rolling mist hid every object and obtruded its watery vapour into my skin. But action always destroyed any sense of physical discomfort ; like Gallio, I " cared for none of these things," and revelled in the idea of being free to move whithersoever I pleased beneath the wide canopy of heaven.

Thus, like a giant refreshed, I strode aimlessly onward, conscious only of a keen exhilaration of mind and body which increased as the dull roar of waves dashing against the rocks suddenly broke upon my ears. I had walked very much farther than I originally intended, but the brine laden sea-breeze tempted me to continue my course until I could stand on the shore and watch the big breakers hurl themselves defiantly against the crags, and then shoot upwards in a tower of foam and spray. As the sound of the sea became more and more distinct, I noticed I had walked into such a thick bank of fog that I was in almost total darkness. Self-preservation dominated my animal spirits ; I brought myself to a stand still, and took counsel for my safety. To go forward might involve my tumbling over the cliffs, which varied from two to three hundred feet in height ; to go backwards was equally dangerous, for I thoroughly believed that people with no landmarks to guide them revolved in a kind of circle ; and if I were to do the same, one of the points in my circum ference might lie just a little to seaward of terra firma.

My wisest plan, of course, would have been to sit down and wait patiently until the fog lifted ; but the restless love of movement made me scout the idea, and I ultimately determined to go cautiously forward, and guess my position by the sounds of the sea. I also observed, at some distance to my left, what I imagined to be a faint flicker of light ; and if this proceeded from some fisherman's cottage, I felt sure of shelter until the weather permitted me to retrace my way in security. With slow and careful steps I advanced in the direction of the light, which had now become invisible. In a few moments it glimmered out again slightly to the left of its former position, and I fancied I could distinguish the sound of voices. Evidently I had stumbled upon a group of cottages, and my only object now was to get to them as soon as possible.

Thoroughly reassured by these signs of the proximity of my fellow-men, I put all precautions aside, and went hurrying on to my haven of shelter, luxuriating in the thought that a stiff glass of " mountain-dew " would reward me for my long walk and drive away any lurking germs of rheu matism. Again the light flickered, and the voices sounded. AVith a sensation of pleasure, I stepped out more quickly, caught my foot against a boulder, and rolled headlong over it. My gun at that moment went off, and an audible shout answered the report. I groped about for the gun, but night had come on and mingled its pitchy darkness with the fog, so that it seemed a search very similar to that of looking for a needle in a haystack. I was groping about on all fours, moving now in one direction, now in another, when, without warning, I felt the earth crumbling away from my feet, and in an instant I was sliding slowly and surely downwards.

I made frantic efforts to grasp at something which would save my falling, CONCERNING THAT RARA AVLS, A FRIEND. 5 but only loose stones came in contact with my hands ; there was nothing — absolutely nothing — to rescue me from the horrible death of being pounded out of all semblance to humanity by rebounding from rock to rock until my corpse reached the shore beneath. At last my aching arms gave up their hold on earth, and with a wild, despairing cry, I shot downwards into the horrible black void beneath me, and, as I fell, insensibility mercifully put an end to the awful feeUng of horror which would have overwhelmed my reason long before the rocks could have crushed life out of my body. A confused jargon of voices over my head, and little glimmers of light swaying to and fro above and around me, greeted my return to consciousness, and whilst I was wondering in an apathetic kind of way what it all meant, the recollection of my perilous fall flashed over me.

I realized with a shudder, which made my bruised body ache all over, that I was jammed between a tree and the face of the rock in such a position that the least movement might precipitate me once more on a downward aerial flight. The dense fog which was the cause of my catastrophe had rolled away into the Atlantic, leaving the night dark, but clear enough to permit me to faintly distinguish objects at no great distance. A loud shout, mingled with cries of " There he is," arrested my attention, and presently I saw a figure slowly swinging in mid-air above me. Some brave fellow was making a perilous effort to release me from my precarious resting-place, and I vowed, as I watched him coming nearer and nearer, that he should be rewarded with the best fishing-boat money could procure. As he approached, numerous lanterns were let down to guide him in his search, and by their light I could now distinguish the set, determined features of my deliverer.

It seemed strange afterwards that in my moment of peril I could find time to speculate upon the character of the man, as delineated in the face which he bent over me. As he rested his feet upon a narrow ledge of rock, and steadied himself by grasping a bough of the tree which had so providentially broken my fall, I fancied that he was deadly pale, but that his mouth was set in all the firmness of indomitable resolution. I at once recognized a being possessed of an iron wdl coupled with enormous moral courage — a being who would allow no obstacle to drive him away from a course he had marked out for himself as right. Then the few words he addressed to me proved him to be a man of decision. "Are you too much hurt to help yourself V was his question. " I am afraid my leg is broken, but I will try my best."

" No," he answered abruptly. " Keep quiet, and don't attempt to move until I give you leave. Do you under stand 1 " " Yes," I answered, forced into obedience by the peremp toriness of his tones. My deliverer relapsed into silence, which he occupied by busily cutting a number of branches from the tree. When he had gathered sufficient for his purpose, he signalled to his friends above, who responded by slightly lowering him until his shoulders were on a level with my knees. I was helplessly staring at these extraordinary preparations, and wondering what they all meant, when he again spoke. " Which leg is broken 1 " "The right," I answered, taking a lesson from him in brevity. His next proceeding showed that he possessed foresight as well as resolution and courage, for he gently placed his bundle of twigs around the fractured limb and fixed them firmly in position with his handkerchief, which he had already torn into strips for the purpose.

" There ! " he exclaimed, when he had finished his work. " We can now drag you over the rocks without much fear of converting a simple fracture into a compound." CONCERNING THAT RASA AVIS, A FRIEND. A few more minutes were expended in fixing me safely to a rope, and then a cheer from above announced the fact that willing hands were hauling us up to terra firma. When my head appeared above the cliff, the cheers redoubled, and the honest fishermen gently and tenderly helped to lay my exhausted body upon the ground. For a short time a kind of faintness overcame me, which my rescuer conquered by administering a dose of whiskey. As the dizziness cleared away, I recognized my gillie, Sandy, bending over me. " How did you get here 1 " I inquired. " I've been following you nearly ever since you went out," he answered.

" I knew you were bound to come to grief if you went wandering over the moors, so I called a few men together, took our lanterns, and had been seeking you for hours until your gun going off told us where you were. Fortunately there was a fishing hamlet close by, and, as it was our firm conviction that you had stumbled over the precipice, I sent there for ropes and help. These came quickly, accompanied by the doctor who happened to be in the place." " The doctor ! " I ejaculated. Then it struck me that the man who had so courageously rescued me from death, and minimized the danger I incurred from a broken limb, was this self-same doctor. I turned round to look for him, but he was busily engaged some distance away. Presently he came towards me in his shirt-sleeves, and I perceived that his kind heart had prompted him to go coatless on this bitterly cold night, in order that he might extemporize a comfortable stretcher for his wounded patient.

The man's whole conduct seemed to be actuated by such a wealth of tenderness and thought fulness for others, that it forced me to contrast it with my own wasted and selfish existence, and the comparison over whelmed me with shame. After a long and painful journey, I finally passed through my doors again, and was carried to bed, where I knew I should have to remain for many weary weeks. Dr. Gillett put my leg up into proper splints, administered a sleeping draught, and, after promising to see me again early in the morning, took his departure. Day succeeded day with wearisome persistency, and each so exactly resembled the other in its monotonous sameness, that I should have hailed an earthquake as a welcome relief to this horrible life of inactivity. I am afraid poor Sandy had a hard time of it with me, and on one occasion his mere appearance at the door threw me into a state of violent irritability.

He had not opened his mouth, but I knew that he was going to repeat the same eternal, stereotyped ques tion, " What will your honour please to have for breakfast this morning 1 " Had the dolt had the sense to vary the words of his formula, all would have been well, but as he was foolish enough to make himself part of the endless monotony, I could stand it no longer. The moment he entered the room, and uttered his preliminary cough, I seized a pile of books and hurled them, together with numerous objurgations, at his devoted head. The poor man dodged them in a most ludicrous manner, and finally escaped from my presence, shouting to the other servants that he was going to fetch the doctor, as " Master had gone mad ! " This brought me to my senses. I rang the bell, and no answer coming to my impatient summons, I rang again violently.

Finally, three shivering men appeared at the door, and tremblingly begged me to keep calm ! I saw at once that they thoroughly believed that rascal Sandy's report respecting my mental condition, and their terror so amused me that I burst into a hearty laugh, and for a few minutes managed to extract some real enjoyment out of my life. But Sandy had been so impressed by my maniacal violence, that he had saddled a horse and gone to fetch CONCERNING THAT FARA AVIS, A FRIEND. Gillett. I only became aware of this when they both entered my room together. "Be careful, doctor," muttered Sandy. "He may have his gun with him." " Get out of the place, you idiot," I roared, with a con siderable amount of real anger. Sandy vanished without any further persuasion, and I was left alone with Gillett. I apologized to him for my servant's stupidity in fetching him unnecessarily, and explained the scene which had induced Sandy to think I had taken leave of my senses.

" Now that I am here, I will stay and have a chat with you," replied Gillett. " You are very good," I answered. " But should I not be keeping you from your other patients? " " Patients ! " he retorted with a grim laugh. " I have exactly six, counting you, so you may guess that my time is not too heavily occupied." " For my own sake, I am glad to hear you say so, as I hope to be able to lay your society under contribution ; but with such a small practice, you must suffer a great deal of anxiety?" " You are right," said Gillett. " My means are dwindling to such infinitesimal proportions that I am meditating a move to one of the colonies." " Whatever induced you to set up in this outlandish district? " I asked. " Because I was promised an appointment worth three hundred a year. I daresay you have seen the Sanatorium just on the outskirts of the town of X — ?

Well, the senior physician of my hospital in London pledged himself to get me appointed Surgeon to it, and on the strength of his word I came to X — , and complied with the etiquette of the profession by calling upon the three doctors who were practising there. I must tell you that the Surgeon to the Sanatorium has the privilege of being allowed to see private patients, otherwise there would have been no necessity for me to call upon my medical confreres. The first I visited was Dr. McSelkirk, reputed to be the leading practitioner in the town. " ' Ah, Dr. Gillett ! ' he exclaimed. ' I hear that you intend to increase the medical force of the town ! Have you well considered the gravity of such a step ? Unless your private means are ample, I am afraid your chances are very small indeed. There are only about six good families in the district from whom really remunerative fees can be earned ; the tradespeople of the town are poverty-stricken, and as for the fisher-folk, they are generally on the verge of starvation.

Think it over carefully, Dr. Gillett, otherwise you may starve before you can earn a pittance.' " ' But I shall derive a fair income from the Sanatorium appointment,' I replied. " Dr. McSelkirk pursed his lips, and looked at me with a distinctly malignant glare. ' Is that the way they arrange these affairs in London?' he inquired. 'I imagine that our Scotch Committee may have a word or two to say in the matter first.' " ' Do not misunderstand me,' I replied, seeing that I had aroused the jealousy of this local magnate. ' I am simply promised the support of the London Committee.' " The second doctor I called on gave me much the same advice and evinced just the same jealousy as did Dr. McSelkirk. The third doctor was an original, who burst out into furious invectives against the other two, and begged me to set up against them.

He informed me that I could live by selling Gillett's elixirs or Gillett's cordials to the poor paople who could not afford to pay for advice. I thanked him and went my way, feeling that this strug gling man was much more of a gentleman at heart than either of his two more prosperous brethren. " When I received the Medical Journals the following week, I found that they all contained anonymous letters CONCERNING THAT KARA AVIS, A FRIEND. complaining of the contemplated nepotism of the X — Sana torium Committee. For some time a furious paper warfare went on, and when at last the day of election arrived, Dr. McSelkirk headed the poll ! Thus, you see, I have no longer any raison d'etre for remaining here, and had it not been for your accident I should have been in London three weeks ago." " That McSelkirk deserves to be kicked," I exclaimed indignantly.

" I can see plainly that it was he who wrote to the papers to prevent an interloper from interfering with local affairs. I should like to start you with a carriage and pair, and pit you against him. Come, you saved my life, and I owe you a deep debt of grati tude, and this would only be a small way of showing it." " No, no, I will not enter the lists with such little-minded carrion as that," said Gillett. " But I am deeply sensible of your kindness, and only regret that I cannot accept it. The Colonies want able-bodied Englishmen, and somewhere out in Australia or New Zealand I may make a comfortable home with less trouble and heart-burnings than I can here in England. There is but one drawback to expatriation, and it is the long, perhaps final, separation from all one's relations." A few days after this conversation, I prevailed upon Gillett to take up his quarters with me, and I became so delighted with his companionship that I made up my mind to keep the house free from visitors, and give the birds a respite from slaughter.

Time no longer hung wearily on my hands, for the doctor wTell knew how to soothe the irritability of ennui, and how to keep my mind constantly employed. He even succeeded in interesting me in Egyptian antiquities, and out of the dry dust of thousands of years ago raised up such a realistic picture of earth's early inhabitants, their ways and methods, that I took to the study with absorbing interest, and began to complain of the shortness of the days ! If ever there was a magician, Gillett was one. His calm, grave countenance and his kindly gray eyes would inspire the most hopeless with confidence ; whilst his quiet way of leading the thoughts of his patient from irritability to cheerfulness, was one of the mysteries of psychology which I imagine he alone had fathomed. Under his care I became a different man.