ple which constituted the
quarters of the priests? Huanacocha told himself that it was his lucky
star that was in the ascendant; for as he was passing the building the
door gently opened and the very man that he was so anxious to see
stepped into the roadway and quietly closed the door behind him. Then
he looked round and beheld Huanacocha, and a little ejaculation of
astonishment escaped him.

"This is a fortunate meeting indeed," he exclaimed as he stepped forward
to greet his friend; "most fortunate; for perhaps you will be astonished
to hear that I am thus early astir with the express object of seeking
you."

"Ah!" thought Huanacocha; "unless I am greatly mistaken that means that
I must prepare for the worst." But, having by this time shaken off his
panic to a considerable extent, and once more pulled himself together,
he decided to allow his friend to speak first, as by so doing he would
probably be better able to judge what he should himself say. He
therefore responded to Xaxaguana's greeting by remarking:

"Then it is lucky that I chose this direction for my morning ramble,
otherwise we should have missed each other. You look somewhat
astonished at seeing me astir so early; but the fact is, my friend, that
I was sleepless; I have therefore left my bed early, to take a walk in
the early morning air. But I understood you to say that you wished to
see me. Which way shall we go?"

"Let us go up the road toward the hills," answered Xaxaguana. "There
will be the less chance of our being seen; and it may be well for me to
mention, at the outset, that there may be several good reasons why you
and I should not be seen together at this juncture, my Lord Huanacocha."

"Ah! and wherefore so, my good friend?" demanded Huanacocha.

"Because," answered Xaxaguana, "last night you betrayed yourself into
the committal of a serious imprudence, namely that of presuming to
criticise unfavourably certain acts of our Lord the Inca, which, as you
are surely aware, is a crime punishable with death. Do you ask how I
happen to know this? I will tell you. It chanced that I was kept late
from my bed last night by certain business connected with the
approaching Feast of Raymi, and I was therefore astir when the Villac
Vmu and Motahuana returned from your banquet. You may possibly be aware
that it is a rule among us that nothing which transpires within the
precincts of the temple is ever to be referred to, or even so much as