Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 189, No. 4 — page 109: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE SUN was meted out to any who dared to pro- fane the High Priestess by seeking to speak to her alone. Would it be the Sun test? Surely there could be nothing worse. In any event, Tench determined not to risk a dramatic revelation of this unknown punishment by seeking her in her pueblo, where the chances were all against his suc- cess. Her lonely venture into the rocky glen, however, seemed a propitious oppor- tunity; for the Mayans would religiously avoid her on that occasion. She would be accompanied by guards to the edge of the glen, and they would wait for her there while she went alone to her meeting with the moon. He was apprehensive of Huasco. He was well aware of the Aztec’s purpose in fre- quenting the hut next door. He strove to allay suspicion and to ward off the treacherous shadow which he knew was be- ing laid on him, by going nowhere alone, and by remaining as much as possible in his hut. To all appearances he had calmed every suspicion. He had-been wholeheart- edly accepted as a Mayan, with all tribal liberties and privileges. The first two nights of the new moon were a bit cloudy. The luminary was not clear. He knew that Za would not venture out then. The third night the stars were brilliant in the sky, and the moon was due to rise about eleven o’clock. It would re- main in the sky until after dawn, condi- tions ideal for his quest. The last daylight went out of the sky between eight thirty and nine. As the dark came down, Tench called cheerily to his neighbors in the Mayan fashion: “ May the god rest you to another dawn.” He saw Huasco sitting with them, and heard him respond monotonously and low with the others. He withdrew to his bench and lay down. After about an hour he slipped silently to the door and looked up and down the street. No one was in sight. Apparently all good Mayans had gone to bed. Those next door had retired. Evidently Huasco, too, had gone to his rest. Tench waited another hour and _ then, when the night was darkest with only the stars in the sky, he began his preparations. TEST. 579 For days he had been secreting maize cakes. These he packed around his waist. They would start him on his journey, although he had no fear of finding sus- tenance, for by this time he had learned the ways of jungle folk, and knew where to find herbs, and roots and berries sufficient to subsist on for any length of time, and espe- cially so in the height of summer. He knew that he would have probably only one chance to prevail on Za to flee with him. Over and over again in his mind he had cast up the possibilities of a meet- ing with her. He intended to use all the persuasion he could, but he had decided that, if necessary, he would use force—for her own good, of course, and as gently as possible. But she would have to come with him. It was a matter of life or death. He slipped like a wraith along the rocky street, bending low in the shadows, and hugging the lintels of the huts. No wild animal could have gone more softly. From time to time he looked about to be sure that Huasco was not following him. He saw no telltale form of man or beast. When he reached the jungle path he stood upright and breathed freely, stretched him- self, and rearranged the girdle which held the maize cakes, then pressed on toward the rocky glen. He reached it just as the first thin scimitar of the new moon was show- ing along the crest of the hills through the trees. Cicadas were chirping lustily throughout the forest, harbingers of a hot day to come. A faint breeze stirred. The night was only fairly cool, a warm summer night. His lack of clothing refreshed him. For a fleeting moment he said to himself that he would be sorry to get back where convention re- quired that the body be hidden at all times from the life-giving oxygen. He secreted himself at the edge of the glen and waited. In a short time he saw approaching a group of figures. Near by the group halted. One became detached, and went on alone into the glen. He wait- ed until the figure had disappeared around the corner of a rock. Then stealthily he crept after it. In fif- teen minutes he had traversed a mile with- out finding the object of his search. He be~ Comichboo (c cS (ECO) iL)