ould have gone also had we not hindered him," interposed
Chimu's kinsman. "We saw him lift the woman into the saddle, and he was
turning to follow her when Lurin caught him with the lasso."

"Is this true; would you have gone with the woman?" asked the queen,
sternly, her smile changing into an ominous frown.

"It is true; but let me explain--"

"Enough; I will not hear another word. So you would have left me, a
daughter of the Incas, who have honored you above all other men, and gone
away with a woman you say you do not love! Your heart is full of deceit,
your mouth runs over with lies. You shall die; so shall the white woman
and the black slave. Where are they? Bring them hither."

The caciques and braves who were present stared at each other in
consternation. In their exultation and excitement over my capture the
fugitives had been forgotten.

"Mules! Idiots! Old women! Follow them and bring them back. They shall be
burned in the same fire. As for you, senor, because you cured me of my
sickness and were to have been my husband I will let you choose the method
of your death. You may either be roasted before a slow fire, hacked to
pieces with _machetes_, or fastened on the back of the man-killer and sent
to perish in the desert. Choose."

"Just one word of explanation, Mamcuna. I would fain--"

"Silence! or I will have your tongue torn out by the roots. Choose!"

"I choose the man-killer."

"You think it will be an easier death than being hacked to pieces. You are
wrong. The vultures will peck out your eyes, and you will die of hunger
and thirst. But as you have said so let it be. Tie him to the back of the
man-killer, men, and chase it into the desert. If you let him escape you
die in his place. But treat him with respect; he was nearly my husband."

And then Mamcuna, sinking back into her _chinchura_, covered her face with
her hands; but she showed no sign of relenting, and I was bound with ropes
and hurried from the room.

The man-killer was a nandu[1] belonging to the queen, and had gained his
name by killing one man and maiming several others who unwisely approached
him when he was in an evil temper. Save for an occasional outburst of
homicidal mania and his abnormal size and strength, the man-killer did not
materially differ from the other nandus of Mamcuna's flock. His keeper
controlled the bird without difficulty, and I had several times seen him
mount and ride it round an inclosure.

[1] The A