“For the present we shall need food, water, and shelter,” he began, “and as soon as possible thereafter twenty of the most skilled workers in wood, who must bring with them their implements; also a dozen boards of the finest, hardest wood that grows in the valley, of these dimensions.” Here he threw to the priest a ball of cord, into which he had tied knots to show the required length, breadth, and thickness of the boards. “Let them bring an abundance of glue, also.” “But there is no shelter near by,” the spokesman of the Indians interposed. “Let the visitors accompany me to the villa at the baths where the Inca sojourns, and where there is comfort and refreshment.” “That is impossible. We shall remain here.” “The king will want to know to whom these supplies are to be given.” “Tell him they are for visitors from the sky who are disappointed and grieved at the suspicion with which they have been received, and who will therefore depart again after a short rest.” “The great king will be pained to receive such a message, for in addition to being terrible he is also generous and kind. He would welcome the visitors from the sky in his palace.” “Will you kindly convey our requests to him?” “With pleasure. And in the meantime tents and food will be provided without delay.” Then, after a moment’s silence: “The king will be sad and disappointed because you will not accept the hospitality of his villa. Will you not go, later perhaps, when you are rested?” “Later, perhaps.” “Possibly the king may consent to come here as a special favor to----” “No! It is not necessary. Urge him not to expose his sacred person to the hardships of the trail. Plead with him. We could fly to the palace later, so why subject the great Inca to any inconvenience.” Without a word the priest returned to his followers and immediately departed in the direction from which the column had come. “He is a shrewd old fellow,” Ted said when they were gone. “But he did not find out much. You don’t think he recognized our voices?” “I hope not. You should be an actor. You played your part very impressively. I almost forgot who was talking.” A number of soldiers arrived before nightfall. They brought tents and baskets of food. After putting up the shelters, two of their number volunteered to remain to do the cooking, but Stanley ordered all of them to depart. “We must use the greatest caution. We will be surrounded by spies. Instead of using the tents we had better take the blankets and sleep on the ground under the wings.” “I wish the carpenters would get here, although I doubt if they can make a usable propeller. There is nothing like trying, though, and we will pretend that they can; that will be more cheerful and will give us time to look for some other possible opening for escape.” “No telling! Something _may_ turn up sooner than we expect. That has always been the way here. New things happen suddenly every so often. Let’s eat.”