."

For a moment Roger turned the matter rapidly over in his mind, and
saw that, even were he disposed to refuse Amenche's hand, which
indeed he was not, it would be almost impossible for him to do so.
It would be a deep offense to this friendly prince. It would be a
cruel blow to the girl, who had confessed her devotion for him. As
to Dorothy, she would have deemed him dead years ago; and should he
ever return, he would find that she had long since been married;
for the daughters of the wealthy merchant, Diggory Beggs, would not
want for suitors.

He held out his hand to the prince.

"I accept most gratefully your offer, Cacama, and promise that, so
far as in me lies, I will do my best to render your sister happy,
and to prove myself worthy of her choice."

"I am heartily glad," the prince said warmly. "I love my sister,
and I have watched you closely. I believe you to be worthy of her,
and I am sure that in you I shall find, not only a friend and a
brother, but a wise counselor and a valiant leader of my troops;
and that, with your advice, I shall be able to advance my people in
the arts of peace as well as war, and perhaps to win back my
father's possessions.

"As to the question of religion, of which you spoke, there is
indeed no difficulty. My grandfather, the great Nezahualcoyotl, the
wisest and most powerful of our monarchs, did not believe in the
Aztec gods. He built a great temple which he dedicated to the
Unknown God. Here he worshiped, himself, and did his utmost to
induce his subjects to abandon the cruel worship of the Aztec gods.
He forbade all sacrifices, even of animals, and permitted only
flowers and sweet-scented perfumes to be offered up on the altars.
When, after his death, the Aztec power increased, and that of
Tezcuco diminished, the people again embraced the cruel faith of
the Aztecs. Neither my father nor myself have been strong enough to
set ourselves against the priests; but he, as well as I, believed
that my grandfather was right, and that the Unknown God is the
ruler of the world. My sister has of course, been educated by the
priests; but she knows my father's opinions, and my own. She has a
horror of the human sacrifices, and believes that there must be a
greater and better God than those who are said to delight in blood.
So you need not fear that she will make any difficulty as to
accepting what you tell her of the white man's God.

"Now I will fetch her in to you. I think it will