midday
In a perfect ecstasy of pride and delight that it should have fallen to his lot to become the humble instrument whereby had been made known to his people the glorious fact of the great Inca 's reincarnation in the person of Escombe -- as he never for a moment doubted was the case -- Arima hurried out to where the remainder of the party lay patiently in ambush , briefly announced to them that all was well , and bade them follow him in perfect silence to the tent in which Harry still lay plunged in a deathlike yet quite harmless sleep . The litter -- a light but strong structure , framed of bamboos and covered with vicuna cloth , so arranged that it could be completely closed -- was carried right into the tent , the covering thrown back , and Escombe was lifted , on his mattress and still covered with the bedclothes , off the little iron camp bedstead and carefully placed in the litter , the jewel was replaced about his neck , the pillow under his head was comfortably arranged by Arima , the litter was closed , and then a little procession , consisting of the litter and its four bearers , with the eight other men who acted as reliefs , headed by the two priests , filed silently out into the darkness , leaving Arima , with six men , armed to the teeth with bows and arrows -- the latter tipped with copper -- lances of hardwood sharpened by fire , and short swords , the copper blades of which were hardened and tempered almost to the consistency of steel by a process known only to the Peruvians themselves . The duty of these men was to collect together and pack , under Arima 's supervision , the whole of Escombe 's private and personal belongings ; and this they did with such expedition that , in less than half an hour from the involuntary departure of its owner , the tent was almost entirely stripped of its contents and left deserted . Under the anaesthetic influence of the vapour which he had unconsciously inhaled , Escombe continued to sleep soundly until close upon midday , by which time the effect had almost entirely passed off , and he began to awake very gradually to the consciousness that something very much out of the ordinary course of things was happening . The first thing to impress itself upon his slowly awakening senses was the fact that the bed upon which he was lying was in motion , a gentle , easy , rhythmic , swaying motion , unlike any movement that he had ever before experienced . Yet the bed seemed to be the same as that upon which he had retired to rest upon the preceding night , so far as he could judge ; the mattress had the old familiar feel , and -- yes , certainly , he was still under the shelter of the bedclothes , and his head still rested upon the familiar pillow -- he could feel the lumps in it where the flock filling had become matted together . But why the mysterious motion ?