I can do it, senor. I know a track, a plan; over the
Llanos is the road; and I'll be Emperor of Manoa yet--possess the jewels
of all the Incas; and gold, gold! Pizarro was a beggar to what I will
be!"
Conceive, sir, he broke forth during another of these peacock fits,
as Amyas and he were riding along the hill-side; "conceive! with forty
chosen cavaliers (what need of more?) I present myself before the golden
king, trembling amid his myriad guards at the new miracle of the mailed
centaurs of the West; and without dismounting, I approach his throne,
lift the crucifix which hangs around my neck, and pressing it to my
lips, present it for the adoration of the idolater, and give him his
alternative; that which Gayferos and the Cid, my ancestors, offered
the Soldan and the Moor--baptism or death! He hesitates; perhaps
smiles scornfully upon my little band; I answer him by deeds, as Don
Ferdinando, my illustrious grandfather, answered Atahuallpa at Peru, in
sight of all his court and camp."
"With your lance-point, as Gayferos did the Soldan?" asked Amyas,
amused.
"No, sir; persuasion first, for the salvation of a soul is at stake. Not
with the lance-point, but the spur, sir, thus!"--
And striking his heels into his horse's flanks, he darted off at full
speed.
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