And now high above them the thin wall of the palace roof was opened. Without, the great sun of this underworld poured down its radiance. Almost blinded, they could still dimly see, standing just on a level with this sun, Sajipona arrayed as became the last descendant of the zipas. At her side were the two priests; but these retreated as the scorching heat pierced them. For an instant she stood where they left her, a vision of majestic beauty that fascinated and held them spellbound. Then, chanting an Indian song of triumph, the pæan with which the ancient kings heralded their descent to the god beneath the waters of the Sacred Lake, she cast herself into the globe of fire. A wave of light flamed across the upturned face of the golden statue, a wail of mingled exultation and despair arose from the throng below. The Festival of the Gilded Man was ended. Transcriber's note Words in italics have been surrounded by _underscores_. The following corrections have been made, on page 6 , changed to . (had for her uncle.) 80 "Sapniards" changed to "Spaniards" (owing to the presence of the Spaniards) 95 "posssibility" changed to "possibility" (a possibility that filled him with dreams) 108 "ligting" changed to "lighting" (a glint of sympathy lighting his eyes) 122 "passsed" changed to "passed" (David had neither reached nor passed the inn) 143 "Roaul" changed to "Raoul" (darting an accusing glance at Raoul) 161 "betweeen" changed to "between" (the difference between his two impressions) 191 "jewerly" changed to "jewelry" (handle these pieces of jewelry without mishap) 296 "graden" changed to "garden" (advanced rapidly across the garden) 313 ' changed to " (do you mean?" she asked). Otherwise the original has been preserved, including inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation and accentuation. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gilded Man, by Clifford Smyth