"What is it?" asked Sir Frank curiously.
Don Pedro restored the manuscript to his pocket.
"It is an account of the embalming of Inca Caxas, written by his son,
who was my ancestor."
"Then you are descended from this Inca?" said Mrs. Jasher eagerly.
"I am. Had I my rights I should rule Peru. As it is, I am a poor
gentleman with very little money. That," added Don Pedro with emphasis,
"is why I wish to recover the mummy of my great ancestor."
"Is it then so valuable?" asked Archie suddenly. He was thinking of some
reason why the mummy should have been stolen.
"Well, in itself it is of no great value, save to an archaeologist," was
Don Pedro's reply; "but I had better tell you the story of how it was
stolen from my father."
"Go on, go on," cried Mrs. Jasher. "This is most interesting."
Don Pedro plunged into his story without further preamble.
"Inca Caxas held his state amidst the solitudes of the Andes, away from
the cruel men who had conquered his country. He died and was buried.
This manuscript,"--he touched his pocket--"was written by his son, and
details the ceremonies, the place of sepulchre, and also gives a list of
the jewels with which the mummy was buried."
"Jewels," murmured Hope under his breath. "I thought as much."
"The son of Inca Caxas married a Spanish lady and made peace with the
Spaniards. He came to live at Cuzco, and brought with him, for some
purpose which the manuscript does not disclose, the mummy of his father.
But the manuscript was lost for years, and although my family--the De
Gayangoses--became poor, no member of it knew that, concealed in the
corpse of Inca Caxas, were two large emeralds of immense value. The
mummy of our royal ancestor was treated as a sacred thing and venerated
accordingly. Afterwards my family came to live at Lima, and I still
dwell in the old house."
"But how was the mummy stolen from you?" asked Random curiously.
"I am coming to that," said Don Pedro, frowning at the interruption.
"I was not in Lima at the time; but I had met the man who stole the
precious mummy."
"Was he a Spaniard?"
"No," answered Don Pedro slowly, "he was an English sailor called Vasa."
"Vasa is a Swedish name," observed Hope critically.
"This man said that he was English, and certainly spoke like an
Englishman, so far as I, a foreigner, can tell. At that time, when I was
a young man, civil war raged in Peru. My father's house was sacked, and
this Vasa, who had been received hospitably by my father when he was
shipwrecked at Callao, stole the mummy, of Inca Caxas. My father died of
grief and charged me to get the mummy back. When peace was restored to
my unhappy country I tried to recover the venerated body of my ancestor.
But all search proved vain, as Vasa had disappeared, and it was supposed
that, for some reason, he had taken the embalmed body out of the
country. It was when the mummy was lost that I unexpectedly came across
the manuscript, which detailed the funeral ceremonies of Inca Caxas,
and on learning about the two emeralds I was naturally more anxious than
ever to discover the mummy and retrieve my fallen fortunes by means
of the jewels. But, as I said, all search proved vain, and I afterward
married, thinking to settle down on what fortune remained to me. I did
live quietly in Lima for years until my wife died. Then with my daughter
I came to Europe on a visit."