whose heart is fed with the wisdom of the Moon?"

"I believe that I can show you such a way," she answered. "You know the
legend of our people--that in the old days, a thousand years ago--we
came to this country out of the forests.

"You know, too, the legend tells that once far away, beyond the forest,
there was a mighty empire of which the king sat in a City of Gold hidden
within a ring of mountains. That king, it is said, had two sons, and
when he died these sons made war upon each other, and one of them, my
forefather, was defeated and driven away into the forests by those who
clung to him. By boats he descended the river that runs through the
forest, and at length with those who remained to him came to this land
and there once more grew to be a king. Is it not so?"

"It is so," answered the aged chief. "The tale has come down to me
through ten generations, and with it the prophecy that in a day to come
the Chancas would return to that City of Gold whence they came and be
welcomed of its people."

"I have heard that prophecy," said Quilla. "Moreover, of it I have
something to tell you. While I sat in despair and blindness in the
Convent of the Sun at Cuzco it came into my mind and I brooded upon
it much, who was always sure that the war between the Chancas and the
armies of the Incas was but begun. In my darkness I prayed to my Mother,
the Moon, for light and help. Long and often I prayed, and at length an
answer came. One night the Spirit of the Moon appeared to my soul as a
beautiful and shining goddess, and spoke to me.

"'Be brave, Daughter,' she said, 'for all that seems to be lost shall
yet be found again, and the light of a certain flashing sword shall
pierce the blackness and give back vision to your eyes.' This, indeed,
happened, my people, since it was when the sword of my Lord saved me
from death at the hands of Urco that the first gleam of light returned
to my darkened eyes.

"'Be not afraid, moreover, for the Children of the Chancas who bow to
me,' went on the shining Spirit of the Moon, 'since in the day of their
danger I will show them a path towards my place of resting in the west.
Yea, I will lead them far from wars and tyrannies back to that ancient
city whence they came, and there they shall sleep in peace till all
things are accomplished. Moreover, you shall be their ruler during your
appointed days, you and another whom I led to you out of the deeps of
the sea and showed to you sleeping i