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would not be difficult to learn it. Naturally, you will be as surprised as me: how it is possible
that they were waiting for us, when only the Gods knew that we would come? And who are
these Initaites, who in such far and unknown lands talk a Germanic language? For the moment
I have no answers.
–But what will we do now? –Asked Roque.
–Well, it seems that the amautas of the Black Bonnet must guide us to some place. I
guess that the guards of this fortress will be satisfy with our promt departure, due to the
presence of the aforementioned is not pleasantness for them, and ours, after the slaughter we
have done neither. I propose to go out to the square, and to maintain us as closer as we can to
the Amautas.
So, they took the equipment and, taking the horses by the bridl, they were leaving slowly
towards the large courtyard where the Amautas were waiting, accommodated in the seats of the
litters. Lito went to the other house and he realized with regretfully that the Noyo was burning
in fever and that the wounded leg was severely swollen. Taking him by the arms, he joined to
the Men of Stone and told to them:
–We can’t leave without curing Guillermo. We will clean his wound with hot water and
vinegar, from which some drops still remained.
So, he proceeded to ask for water, trying to talk with the Amautas, but they, once
warned about the state of the Noyo, gave many instructions to the musician and they were
dedicated to cure him: in a stone brazier, they put a recipient with water to which they added
the enormous leaves of a very green plant; after boiling the potage, they clean the wound with
its juice, to which they covered with leaves of the same sort; and after bandaging it, they
brought some kind of stretcher compsed with two large rods and transversal cloth, laid the
Noyo, and two warriors of the royal guard charged him towards the door of the forstress: the
Muscian didn’t hide the urgency that they had to see the foreigners out from their walls.

Fifty-Eighth Day

The Amautas were guarded by sixteen warriors who turned, by eight, to charge the
litters. To them were added the six Lords of Tharsis and the four Catalan survivors: the path
guider Indian was not allowed to travel and he remained with the Muscians. From the last
skirmish they have saved eight horses and the two Spaniard dogos, apart from the chicken’s
cage of Castille and the entire equiptment.
They were following the Amautas through a narrow straight path towards the East,
ascending permanently through the Eastern Mountain Range. One day later, after they
overnighted in a gelid cavern at 3.500 metres of altitude, they arrived to the peak of a
mountain that started as arm of the main chain. All indicated that the descent would start
thence, but the immediate events would disprove such presumption. Suddenly, after a bend the
path ended abruptly in front of an unpenetrable stone wall: the mountain arose before the
caravan preventing it pass. In such situation, any European would have turned back a searched

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