1 66 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



sacrifice. Blood was shed, and the Cura had reason to think 

 — he dropped his voice, and bent across the little table to 

 whisper awfully in his brother's ear. 



' Why,' said Pablo, ' if you can prove that, the Govern- 

 ment will interfere fast enough. It's murder i ' 



' I am not quite certain. But give me authority to 

 arrest the Cacique — the head-man of the village — and some 

 others ! They held one of their impious festivals only last 

 week. I met them returning just after dawn, crowned with 

 flowers, all the men intoxicated. Oh no, it wasn't a mere 

 drinking bout. The Cacique and that vile Manuele — 

 whom I believe to be the priest — carried nosegays of the 

 accursed flower the demons give them. I know it ! They 

 used formerly — the sons of perdition ! — to bring it to my 

 church and offer it upon the holy altar. And I — Heaven 

 pardon me! — rejoiced in its beauty. With prayers and 

 thanksgivings I laid the Devil's Flower before the Blessed 

 Mother. I did not know ! It will not be counted against 

 me for a sin, brother ^ ' So he went on, bemoaning his un- 

 conscious offence. 



Pablo woke up instantly. What did the Cacique do 

 with his nosegay since he was not allowed to deposit it on 

 the altar .^ What sort of flower was h? All this seemed 

 trivial to the agitated Cura. With difficulty he was brought 

 to the statement that it resembled the Flor de San Lorenzo, 

 but snow-white. Then Pablo showed much concern. 

 These shocking practices must be made to cease ; but first 

 they must have evidence. That mysterious spot on the 

 hills ^ Did his brother know where it was ? No, he had 

 only pieced together hints and fragmentary observations. 

 They suggested a certain neighbourhood. It had never 

 occurred to him to look for it. If his conjectures were 

 sound, the place was desert. Indians always choose a barren 

 unpeopled site for their ancestral worship, as Pablo knew. 



