_Akaza._ The Dorado was so astonished that he held the parchment on his knee and made no further effort to examine the tissue message for himself. “Well do I remember how anxious Kerœcia was about this ring. She went every day to superintend its making.” Alcyesta’s words aroused Yermah. Unrolling the tissue, he saw a finely traced map, with a few lines written on the margin: _Yermah, Beloved of the Brotherhood_: _Follow the way marked out before thee._ _When one bird hovers in the air while the other sits on a rock with cactus flowering at its base, halt thou and receive thy future task from him who was appointed to aid thee._ _Go willingly. Thou hast no further mission in Tlamco. Fear not._ _I have been before thee—and am with thee even unto the end of time._ _Akaza._ The eagles led them southward by sea for many days after leaving Monterey Bay, but on coming ashore they traveled inland until they reached the pueblos of the Colorado. Here they were evidently expected by the Brotherhood, who reprovisioned and sent them forward. “Thou art the forerunners of an exodus which will strip this fair land of the white race for ages to come. Ice imprisons every vestige of life to the north, and the seeds of total destruction are already planted in the Llama city. Whither thou goest, we, too, will follow. Peace be thy portion!” solemnly spoke the high-priest in adieu. It would not have been a very difficult journey down the singularly even plateau stretching beyond the Colorado to far Anahuac, had it not been for the dread scourge of waters flooding the plains and settling in the deep cup now known as Tezcuco Lake. Nature’s tropic prodigality had done much to hide the ugly scars earned in a life and death struggle between the raging water courses and the still smoking mountain peaks muttering curses to the clouds. It looked as if the earth in trembling fright had shaken everything down, ready for the receding waves to wash into the sea. Forty long, weary days, the little party pushed ahead. Cibolo, the gallant, was as resolute and brave as any man among them; but even the eagles seemed to lose their bearings occasionally, and then Yermah called aloud to Akaza: “Make me to know thy wishes. Humbly and obediently will I follow them.” Instantly, Cibolo’s ears would go forward, and with a start he would shy at a dim, hazy outline directly in front of him. First it took the form of Akaza; then, gradually it changed into the beatific countenance of Kerœcia. In the beginning only Yermah could discern them, but before the journey was completed every member of the party saw and recognized them. “Thou art under Divine guidance,” they said to Yermah, and held him in higher esteem than ever. On the last day, the eagles circled in the air, screaming uneasily, and refusing to go forward.