CHAPTERXIII
　　THEKISSOFQUILLA
　　HerwomenboreQuillaswooningfromthatill—fatedfield,andsickandsadsheremaineduntiloncemorewesawtheCityoftheChancas。Yetallthiswhilestrengthandsightwerereturningtohereyes,sothatintheendshecouldseeaswellasevershehaddone,forwhichI
　　thankedHeaven。
　　Messengershadgonebeforeus,sothatwhenwedrewnearallthepeopleoftheChancascameouttomeetus,amightymultitude,whospreadflowersbeforeusandsangsongsofjoy。OnthesameeveningI
　　wassummonedbyHuarachaandfoundhimdying。ThereinthepresenceofhischiefcaptainsQuillaandItoldhimallourstory,towhichhelistened,answeringnothing。Whenitwasfinishedhesaid:
　　"Ithankyou,Lord—from—the—Sea,whothroughgreatperilshavesavedmydaughterandbroughtherhometobidfarewelltome,untarnishedasshewent。IunderstandnowthatitwasanevilpolicywhichledmetopromiseherinmarriagetotheprinceUrco。ThroughyourvalourithascometonaughtandIamglad。Greatdangersstilllieaheadofyouandofmypeople。Dealwiththemasyouwillandcan,forhenceforward,Lord—from—the—Sea,theyareyourpeople,yoursandmydaughter'stogether,sinceitismydesireandcommandthatyoutwoshouldwedsosoonasIamlaidwithmyfathers。PerchanceithadbeenbetterifyouhadslaintheIncawhenhewasinyourhand,butmangoeswherehisspiritleadshim。Myblessingandtheblessingofmygodsbeonyoubothandonyourchildren。Leaveme,forIcansaynomore。"
　　ThatnightKingHuarachadied。
　　ThreedayslaterhewasburiedwithgreatpompbeneaththeflooroftheTempleoftheMoon,notbeingpreservedandkeptabovegroundafterthefashionoftheIncas。
　　Onthelastdayofthemourningacouncilwassummonedofallthegreatonesinthecountrytothenumberofseveralhundreds,towhichIwasbidden。ThiswasdoneinthenameofQuilla,whowasnownamedbyatitlewhichmeant,"HighLady,"or"Queen。"Iwenttoiteagerlyenoughwhohadseennothingofhersincethatnightofherfather'sdeath,for,accordingtothecustomofthispeople,shehadspentthetimeofmourningalonewithherwomen。
　　TomysurpriseIwasledbyanofficer,notintothegreathallwhereIknewthenotableswereassembling,buttothatsamelittlechamberwherefirstIhadtalkedwithHuaracha,Quilla'sfather。Heretheofficerleftmewondering。PresentlyIheardasoundandlookingup,sawQuillaherselfstandingbetweenthecurtains,liketoapictureinitsframe。Shewasroyallyarrayedandworeuponherbrowandbreasttheemblemofthemoon,sothatsheseemedtoglitterinthatduskyplace,thoughnothingabouthershonewithsuchalightasdidherlargeanddoe—likeeyes。
　　"Greeting,myLord,"shesaidinhersoftvoice,curtseyingtomeasshespoke。"HasmyLordaughttosaytome？Ifso,itmustbequick,sincetheGreatCouncilwaits。"
　　NowIgrewfoolishandtongue—tied,butatlengthstammeredout:
　　"Nothing,exceptwhatIhavesaidbefore——thatIloveyou。"
　　Shesmiledalittleinherslowfashion,thenasked:
　　"Istherenaughttoadd？"
　　"Whatcantherebetoaddtolove,Quilla？"
　　"Iknownot,"sheanswered,stillsmiling。"Yetinwhatdoestheloveofmanandwomanend？"
　　Ishookmyheadandanswered:
　　"Inmanythings,allofthemdifferent。Inhellsometimes,andmorerarelyinheaven。"
　　"Andonearthwhichliesbetweenthetwo,shouldthosewholoveescapedeathandseparation？"
　　"Well,onearth——inmarriage。"
　　ShelookedatmeagainandthistimeanewlightshoneinhereyeswhichIcouldnotmisinterpret。
　　"Doyoumeanthatyouwillmarryme,Quilla？"Imuttered。
　　"Suchwasmyfather'swish,Lord,butwhatisyours？Oh！havedone,"
　　shewentoninachangedvoice。"Forwhathavewesufferedallthesethingsandgonethroughsuchlongpartingsanddangerssodreadful？
　　WasitnotthatifFateshouldspareuswemightcometogetheratlast？AndhasnotFatesparedus——forawhile？WhatsaidtheprophecyofmeintheTempleofRimac？WasitnotthattheSunshouldbemyrefugeand——Iforgettherest。"
　　"Irememberit,"Isaid。"Thatinthebelovedarmsyoushouldsleepatlast。"
　　"Yes,"shewenton,thebloodmountingtohercheeks,"thatinthebelovedarmsIshouldsleepatlast。So,thefirstpartoftheprophecyhascometrue。"
　　"Astherestshallcometrue,"Ibrokein,awaking,andswepthertomybreast。
　　"Areyousure,"shemurmuredpresently,"thatyouloveme,awomanwhomyouthinksavage,wellenoughtowedme？"
　　"Aye,morethansure,"Ianswered。
　　"Hearken,Lord。Iknewitalways,butbeingwomanIdesiredtohearitfromyourownlips。Ofthisbecertain:thatthoughIambutwhatI
　　am,amaiden,wild—heartedanduntaught,nomanshalleverhaveatruerandmorelovingwife。Itismyhope,eventhatmylovewillbesuchthatinitatlastyoumaylearntoforgetthatotherladyfarawaywhooncewasyours,ifonlyforanhour。"
　　NowIshrankasfromaswordprick,sincefirstloves,whateverthetaleofthem,asQuillaguessedorNaturetaughther,arenoteasilyforgot,andevenwhentheyaredeadtheirghostswillriseandhauntus。
　　"Andmyhope,mostdear,isthatyouwillbemine,notforanhourbutforallourlife'sdays,"Ianswered。
　　"Aye,"shesaid,sighing,"butwhoknowshowmanythesewillbe？
　　Thereforeletusplucktheflowersbeforetheywither。Ihearsteps。
　　Thelordscometosummonus。BepleasedtoentertheCouncilatmysideandholdingmebythehand。ThereIhavesomewhattosaytothepeople。TheshadowoftheIncaKari,whomyouspared,stillliescolduponusandthem。"
　　BeforeIcouldaskhermeaningthelordsentered,threeofthem,andglancingatuscuriously,saidthatallweregathered。Thentheyturnedandwentbeforeustothegreathallwhereeveryplacewasfilled。Handinhandwemountedthedais,andaswecamealltheaudienceroseandgreeteduswitharoarofwelcome。
　　Quillaseatedherselfuponathroneandmotionedtometotakemyplaceuponanotherthroneatherside,whichInotedstoodalittlehigherthanthatonwhichshesat,andthis,asIlearnedafterwards,notbychance。Itwasplannedsototellthepeople,oftheChancasthathenceforthIwastheirkingwhileshewasbutmywife。
　　WhentheshoutinghaddiedawayQuillarosefromherthroneandbegantospeak,whichlikemanyofthehigherclassofthispeopleshecoulddowellenough。
　　"LordsandCaptainsoftheChancanation,"shesaid,"myfather,thekingHuaracha,beingdead,leavingnolawfulson,Ihavesucceededtohisdignities,andsummonedyouheretotakecounselwithme。
　　"First,learnthis,thatI,yourQueenandLady,havebeenchosenaswifebyhimwhositsatmyside。"
　　Herethecompanyshoutedagain,thusannouncingthatthistidingspleasedthem。Forthoughbynowonlythecommonpeoplestillbelievedmetobeagodrisenfromthesea,allheldthatIwasagreatgeneralandagreatman,onewhoknewmuchthattheydidnotknow,andwhocouldbothleadandfightbetterthanthebestofthem。Indeed,sinceIhadslainUrcowithmyhandsandovercomeKari,whoasIncawasbelievedtobeclothedwiththestrengthoftheSunandthereforeunconquerable,IwasheldtobeunmatchedthroughoutTavantinsuyu。
　　Moreover,thearmythathadfoughtundermycommandlovedmeasthoughIweretheirfatheraswellastheirgeneral。Thereforeallgreetedthistidingswellenoughwithoutastonishment,fortheyknewitwastheirdeadking'swishthatIshouldwedhisdaughterandthattowinherIhadgonethroughmuch。
　　InanswertotheirshoutingsI,too,rosefrommyseat,anddrawingtheswordWave—Flame,whichIworegirtaboutmydintedarmour,withitIsalutedfirstQuillaandthenthegatherednobles,saying:
　　"LordsoftheChancas,whenonanislandinthesea,myeyesfelluponthisladywhoto—dayisyourqueen,IlovedherandsworethatIwouldwedherifImight。Betweenthatdayandthismuchhasbefallen。ShewassnatchedawaytobemadethewifeofUrco,heirtotheIncathrone,andafterwards,toescapehimwhomshehated,shetookrefugeintheHouseoftheIncagod。Then,peopleoftheChancas,camethegreatwarwhichwesharedtogether,andintheendIrescuedherfromthathouseofbondage,andslewUrcowhilehestrovetostealorstabher。Thisdone,IconqueredKaritheInca,whowasasmybrother,yetbecauseIsavedyourladyfromhisgodtheSun,becamemyenemy,andtogethersheandIreturnedtothis,herland。Nowitisherwilltowedme,asithasalwaysbeenminetowedher,andhereinfrontofallofyouItakehertowife,asshetakesmetohusband,hopingthatformanyyearsitmaybegiventoustoruleoveryou,andtoourchildrenafterus。YetIwarnyouthatalthoughinthegreatwarthathasbeen,ifwithmuchloss,wehaveheldourownagainstallthehostsofCuzcoandwonanhonourablepeace,bythismarriageofours,whichrobstheIncagodofoneofathousandbrides,thatpeaceisbroken。Thereforeinthefuture,asinthepast,therewillbewarbetweentheQuichuaandtheChancapeoples。"
　　"Weknowit,"shoutedthenobles。"Warisdecreed,letwarcome！"
　　"Whatwouldyouhavehadmedo？"Iwenton。"LeaveyourqueentolanguishintheHouseoftheSun,wedtonothingness,orsufferhertobedraggedawaytobeoneofUrco'swomen,orhandherbacktoKaritobeslainasasacrificetoagodwhomyoudonotaccept？"
　　"Nay！"theycried。"Wewouldhaveherwedyou,WhiteLord—from—the—
　　Sea,thatshemaybecomeamotherofkings。"
　　"SoIthought,Chancas。YetIwarnyouthatthereistroublenear。Thestormgathersandsoonitwillburst,sinceKariisnotonewhobreakshisoaths。"
　　"Whydidyounotkillhimwhenhewasinyourhand,andtakehisthrone？"askedone。
　　"BecauseIcouldnot。BecauseitwouldnothavebeenpleasingtoHeaventhatIshouldslayamanwhoforyearshadbeenasmybrother。
　　Becauseinthiswayorinthatthedeedwouldhavefallenbackuponmyhead,upontheheadoftheladyQuilla,anduponyourheadsalso,O
　　peopleoftheChancas,because————"
　　Atthismomenttherewasdisturbanceattheendofthehall,andaheraldcried:
　　"Anembassy！AnembassyfromKari,theInca。"
　　"Letitbeadmitted,"saidQuilla。
　　Presentlyupthecentralpassagemarchedtheembassywithpomp,greatlordsand"earmen,"everymanofthem,andbowedbeforeus。
　　"Yourwords？"saidQuillaquietly。
　　"Theyarethese,Lady,"answeredthespokesmanoftheparty。"ForthelasttimetheIncademandsthatyoushouldsurrenderyourselftobesacrificedasonewhohasbetrayedtheSun。HeasksitofyousincehehaslearnedthatyourfatherHuarachaisnomore。"
　　"AndifIrefusetosurrendermyself,whatthen,OAmbassador？"
　　"TheninthenameoftheEmpireandinhisownnametheIncadeclareswaruponyou,wartotheend,untilnotoneofChancabloodisleftlivingbeneaththesunandnotonestonemarkswhereyourcitystood。
　　Itmaybethatawhilewillpassbeforethisswordofwarfallsuponyourhead,sincetheIncamustgatherhisarmiesandgiveabreathingspacetohispeoplesafterallthetroublesthathavebeen。Yetifnotthisyear,thennextyear,andifnotnextyear,thentheyearafter,thatswordshallfall。"
　　Quillalistenedandturnedpale,thoughmore,Ithink,withwraththanfear。Thenshesaid:
　　"Youhaveheard,Chancas,andknowhowstandsthiscase。IfI
　　surrendermyselftobesacrificed,theIncainhismercywillspareyou;ifIdonotsurrendermyself,soonorlatehewilldestroyyou——
　　ifhecan。Say,then,shallIsurrendermyself？"
　　Noweverymaninthatgreathallleaptupandfromeverythroattherearoseashoutof"Never！"
　　Whenithaddiedawayanagedchiefandcouncillor,anuncleofHuaracha,thedeadKing,cameforwardandstaredattheenvoyswithhishornyeyes。
　　"GobacktotheInca,"hesaid,"andtellhimthatthethreatsofthemouthareonethingandthedeedsofthehandareanother。Inthelatewarthathasbeenhehaslearnedsomethingofourquality,bothasfoesandfriends,andperchancemoreremainsforhimtolearn。Yonderisone"——andhepointedtomyself——"whoisabouttobecomeourKingandthehusbandofourQueen。BythehelpofthatoneandofsomeofustheIncawonhisthrone。Fromthemercyofthatone,also,butalittlewhileagotheIncawonhislife。Lethimbecarefullestthroughthemightofthatone,behindwhomstandseveryChancathatbreathes,theIncaKariUpanquishouldyetloseboththroneandlife,andwiththemtheancientempireoftheSun。Thussayweall。"
　　"Thussayweall！"repeatedthegreatcompanywitharoarthatshookthewalls。
　　InthesilencethatfollowedQuillaasked:
　　"Haveyouaughttoadd,OAmbassadors？"
　　"Ay,this,"saidthefirstofthem。
　　"TheChancatreeisabouttobecutdown,buttheIncastilloffersarefugetotheLionthathidesamongitsbranchesbecausehehaslovedthatLionfromofold。LettheWhiteLord—from—the—Seaoverwhomyouhavecastthenetofyourwitcheriesreturnwithusandheshallbesavedandgivenplaceandpower,andwiththemabrother'slove。"
　　NowQuillalookedatme,andIrosetospeakbutcouldnot,sinceallthatcamefrommylipswaslaughter。AtlengthIsaid:
　　"ButtheotherdaywhenIgavehimhislife,theIncanamedmenoble。
　　WhatwouldhethinkofmeifIsaidyestothisoffer？WouldhecallmenoblethenandtheLionthatdwellsintheChancatree？Or,whateverhislipsmightspeak,wouldnothisheartnamemethebasestofslavesandnolionofthetree,butratherasnakethatcreepsatitsroots？Getyougone,mylords,andsaythathereIbidehappywithherwhomIhavewon,andthattheancientswordWave—Flame,onwhichKarihaslookedoflate,isstillsharpandthearmthatwieldsitisstillstrong,andthathewilldowellnowthatithasservedhisturn,tolookonitnomore,"andagainIdrewthegreatbladeandflasheditbeforetheireyesthereinthatduskyhall。
　　Then,bowingcourteously,foreverymanofthemknewmeandsomeofthemlovedmewell,theyturnedandwent。ThatwasthelastthateverI,HubertofHastings,sawofnoblesoftheIncablood,thoughperchance,erelong,Ishallmeetthemagaininwar。
　　"Letthembeescortedsafelyfromthecity,"commandedQuilla,andsoldierswenttodoherbidding。
　　Whentheyhadgonesheissuedanotherorder,thatthedoorshouldbeclosedandwatchmensetaboutthehall,sothatnonecouldapproachitunseen。Thenafterapausesheroseandspoke:
　　"MyLord,"shesaid,"whosoon,asItrust,willbemyhusbandandmyking,andyou,thechosenofmypeople,hearkentomeforIhaveamattertolaybeforeyou。YouhaveheardtheInca'smessageandyouknowthathiswordsarenotvain。Hewhoisgreatinmanyways,inoneissmallandnarrow。Hesetshisgodbeforehishonour,andtosatisfyhisgod,whomhethinksthatIhaveoutraged,ispreparedtosacrificehishonour,andeventokillonetowhomheowesall,"andshetouchedmewithherhand。"Moreover,thesethingshecando,notatoncebutintimetocome,becauseforeverymanofoursheisabletogatherten。Thereforewestandthus;deathanddestructionstareusintheface。"
　　Shepaused,andthatoldchiefofwhomIhavespoken,askedinthemidstofasilence,asIthinkwasplannedthatheshouldask:
　　"Youhavesetourteethinthebitterrindoftruth。Istherenosweetfruitwithin？Canyounotshowusawayofescape,OQuilla,DaughteroftheMoon,whoseheartisfedwiththewisdomoftheMoon？"
　　"IbelievethatIcanshowyousuchaway,"sheanswered。"Youknowthelegendofourpeople——thatintheolddays,athousandyearsago——
　　wecametothiscountryoutoftheforests。
　　"Youknow,too,thelegendtellsthatoncefaraway,beyondtheforest,therewasamightyempireofwhichthekingsatinaCityofGoldhiddenwithinaringofmountains。Thatking,itissaid,hadtwosons,andwhenhediedthesesonsmadewaruponeachother,andoneofthem,myforefather,wasdefeatedanddrivenawayintotheforestsbythosewhoclungtohim。Byboatshedescendedtheriverthatrunsthroughtheforest,andatlengthwiththosewhoremainedtohimcametothislandandthereoncemoregrewtobeaking。Isitnotso？"
　　"Itisso,"answeredtheagedchief。"Thetalehascomedowntomethroughtengenerations,andwithittheprophecythatinadaytocometheChancaswouldreturntothatCityofGoldwhencetheycameandbewelcomedofitspeople。"
　　"Ihaveheardthatprophecy,"saidQuilla。"Moreover,ofitIhavesomethingtotellyou。WhileIsatindespairandblindnessintheConventoftheSunatCuzcoitcameintomymindandIbroodeduponitmuch,whowasalwayssurethatthewarbetweentheChancasandthearmiesoftheIncaswasbutbegun。InmydarknessIprayedtomyMother,theMoon,forlightandhelp。LongandoftenIprayed,andatlengthananswercame。OnenighttheSpiritoftheMoonappearedtomysoulasabeautifulandshininggoddess,andspoketome。
　　"'Bebrave,Daughter,'shesaid,'forallthatseemstobelostshallyetbefoundagain,andthelightofacertainflashingswordshallpiercetheblacknessandgivebackvisiontoyoureyes。'This,indeed,happened,mypeople,sinceitwaswhentheswordofmyLordsavedmefromdeathatthehandsofUrcothatthefirstgleamoflightreturnedtomydarkenedeyes。
　　"'Benotafraid,moreover,fortheChildrenoftheChancaswhobowtome,'wentontheshiningSpiritoftheMoon,'sinceinthedayoftheirdangerIwillshowthemapathtowardsmyplaceofrestinginthewest。Yea,Iwillleadthemfarfromwarsandtyranniesbacktothatancientcitywhencetheycame,andtheretheyshallsleepinpeacetillallthingsareaccomplished。Moreover,youshallbetheirrulerduringyourappointeddays,youandanotherwhomIledtoyououtofthedeepsoftheseaandshowedtoyousleepinginmybeams。'
　　"ThusthatSpiritspoketome,Councillors,thoughatthetimeIdidnotknowwhetherthevisionweremorethanahappydream。ButnowIdoknowthatitwasnodream,butthetruth。
　　"FordidnotmysightbegintoreturntomeintheflashingoftheswordthatisnamedFlame—of—the—Wave？Andifthisweretrue,whyshouldnottherestbetruealso？PeopleoftheChancas,IamyourQueento—dayandmycounseltoyouisthatwefleefromthislandbeforetheInca'snetclosesroundusandtheInca'sspearspierceourheart,toseekourancienthomefarinthedepthsofthewesternforestwhere,asItrust,hisarmiescannotcome。Isthatyourwill,O
　　myPeople？Ifso,bythetonguesofyourLordsandCaptainsdeclareithereandnowbeforeitbetoolate。"
　　Backthunderedtheanswer:
　　"Itisourwill,ODaughteroftheMoon！"
　　WhenitsechoeshaddiedawayQuillaturnedtome,lovelytolookonastheeveningstarandwitheyesthatshonelikestars,andasked:
　　"Isityourwillalso,OLord—from—the—Sea？"
　　"Yourwillismywill,Quilla,"Ianswered,"andyourheartismyhome。Leadon;whereyougoIfollow,eventotheedgeoftheworldandbeyondtheworld。"
　　"Sobeit！"shecriedinatriumphantvoice。"Nowtheevilpastisfinishedwithitsfearsandbattlesandbeforeourfeet,litbymoonbeams,stretchestheFuture'sshiningroadleadingustothemysteryinwhichallroadsbeginandforanhourarelostagain。Now,too,ourseparationsendinaperfectunitythatperchancewehaveknownbeforeandshallknowagaininagestobebornandlandsrevisited。Now,Lord—from—the—Sea,atwhosecomingmysleepingheartawoketoloveandwhoseswordsavedmefromshameanddeath,givingmebacktolifeandlight,here,beforethiscompanyofourpeople,I,theDaughteroftheMoon,defyingtheSunwhoheldmecaptive,andallhisservants,takeyoutohusbandwiththiskiss,"andleaningforwardQuillapressedherlipsuponmyown……
　　TheremainingparchmentsheetsoftheancientManuscriptarerottedwiththedampofthetombinwhichitlayforcenturiesandquiteundecipherable。
　　Editor。