he had been quite helpless to prevent the accident,
Escombe somehow felt that it ought not to have been allowed to happen;
that he ought to have remembered in time, and taken steps to ensure that
a letter had been despatched by some means or other. What was the use
of being an Inca if he could not manage a simple little thing like that?
To summon Arima and enquire of that trusty henchman whether, in the
hurry of departure from the survey camp, he had remembered to pack up
and bring away his master's writing desk was naturally the next thing in
order. Upon learning that the desk had not been forgotten, Escombe at
once had it brought to him, and sat down and wrote a long letter,
addressed jointly to his mother and sister. This letter contained a
full account of his abduction and all that had followed thereupon,
together with an assurance that not only would he contrive henceforward
to communicate with them regularly, but also that if, after the lapse of
a certain length of time to allow the process of "settling down" to
become complete, it should appear that his scheme of government was
likely to prove a success, he would send for them to come out to him.
He added that, meanwhile, the enormous wealth represented by the
accumulations of more than three hundred years was at his absolute
disposal, and that he felt quite justified in awarding himself a salary
of one gold bar per calendar month for his services to the state; also,
that since under present circumstances he had no use for a private
purse, he should dispatch to them the monthly bar of gold for their own
personal use and enjoyment, and that he should expect them to employ it
for the purpose named. This somewhat lengthy epistle concluded by
giving instructions for the conversion of the gold bar into coin of the
realm. Harry also wrote to Sir Philip Swinburne, stating that he had
fallen into the hands of the Indians, but was being well-treated by
them, and believed he was in no immediate danger, also that at the
moment he saw no prospect of being permitted to return to civilisation;
he was therefore writing for the purpose of allaying any apprehension
that might be experienced on his account. Finally, he wrote to
Bannister in somewhat similar terms. Then he sent for Huatama, and gave
that functionary instructions to withdraw one gold bar from the treasury
vaults and have it securely packed in a suitable box for transmission to
Europe.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.