The Mistery of Belicena Villca the royal guard accompanying the bunks remained in the vicinity of the house .
– What happened ? – Inquired Violante without being able to contain herself , just as Lito went through the door . Have you managed to make yourself understood by the natives ?
– Apparently the danger has passed , --said Lito , whose face still reflected the stupefaction that engulfed him-- . Lords of Tharsis : we face a Great Mystery . From what I have come to understand , these beings in black robes have been waiting for us for many months , maybe a year or more . The words that I have spoken yesterday belong to a rather profane language , typical of the Empire that Pizarro has conquered . For that , at first we could not understand each other . But then , and listen well what I ' m going to say because although it seems fantasy it is not , they spoke in a language that is exclusive to the Amautas of the Black Bonnet , a species of Initiates of the Cult of the Cold Moon , or decreasing , Aty , that is , to the Cold Death ; and here comes what is incomprehensible : that language is an old variant of Low German or Danish . I still don ' t know for sure because of the barbaric way in which they speak it , but believe me it won ' t be difficult to learn . Naturally , you will be so surprised as me : how could it be that they were waiting for us , when only the Gods knew we would come ? and , who are these Initiates , who in lands so distant and unknown speak a Germanic language ? At the moment I don ' t have the answers . – But what will we do now ? --asked Roque . – Well , it seems that the Amautas of the Black Bonnet should lead us to somewhere . I suppose the custodians of this fortress will be satisfied that we leave as soon as possible , since the presence of those named they do not like it at all , and ours , after the slaughter we ' ve done , must be at all sympathetic for them . I propose that we go out to the square , and we keep as close as possible to the Amautas .
Thus they collected the luggage , and , taking the horses by the bridle , they went slowly going out into the vast courtyard where the Amautas were waiting , settled in the bunk seats . Lito went to the other house , and checked with regret that the Noyo was burning with fever and that his injured leg was severely swollen . Carrying him in his arms , he joined the Men of Stone and he said to them :
– We cannot leave without curing Guillermo . We will wash his wound with hot water and vinegar , of which we still have a few drops .
He then proceeded to request water , trying to make himself understood by the Amautas , but these , as soon as they noticed the state of the Noyo , gave several instructions to the Muiscas and those dedicated to the healing : in a stone brazier , they placed a container with water to which they added the huge leaves of a very green plant ; after boiling the pottage , they washed the wound with its juice , which they covered with leaves of the same kind ; and after bandaging carefully they brought a kind of stretcher made up of two long poles and transversal cloth , they laid the Noyo , and two warriors of the royal guard charged him towards the gate of the fortress : the Muiscas did not disguise the urgency they had to see foreigners outside their walls .
Fifty-Eighth Day
The Amautas were guarded by sixteen warriors who alternated , by eight , to load the bunks . They were joined by the six Lords of Tharsis and the four surviving Catalans : the Baqueano indian was not allowed to travel and had to be left with the Muiscas . From the last skirmish they had saved eight horses and two of the Spanish bullmastiffs , in addition to the cages with the chickens of Castilla and all the luggage .
They followed the Amautas down a narrow path that led in a straight line to the East , permanently ascending the Eastern Cordillera . A day later , after spending the night in a frozen cavern at 3,500 meters of altitude , they gained
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