Prisoners of the Sun
Hergé
 In the previous adventure, The Seven Crystal Balls, seven explorers have been afflicted with a mysterious illness after unearthing the tomb of the mummified Inca, Rascar Capac. Professor Calculus has been kidnapped by a band of men including the Quechua native Peruvian Chiquito, one of the last descendants of the Incas. Tintin and Captain Haddock discover their friend is on board the cargo ship Pachacamac bound for Callao, Peru and are on a flight to rescue him. When Tintin and Haddock intercept the ship, Tintin encounters Chiquito and learns Calculus is to be put to death for wearing the bracelet belonging to the Inca mummy. Unable to rescue Calculus, Tintin and the Captain must set off on the trail of the natives who have taken him. It leads them through the small town of Santa Clara, to the mountain town of Jauga, where a train is sabotaged in an attempt to kill them. They find both the authorities and the locals extremely unwilling to help them track Calculus' kidnappers because of the wrath of the Inca. Tintin encounters a young Quechua native boy named Zorrino, whom he protects from two bullying men of white descent. For that, a mysterious Indian gives Tintin a medallion, telling him it will save him from danger. Zorrino then offers to take them to the Temple of the Sun, where he claims their friend is being held prisoner by the Inca. "The Inca, in these days?" asks Tintin. "White men not know, señor." replies Zorrino. "Only you know." The Temple lies deep in the Andes, and the journey there is long and eventful, involving hindrance from natives and the Captain being terrorised by local wildlife. Finally, Tintin, Haddock, and Zorrino come upon the Temple of the Sun—and stumble right into a group of Inca who have survived until modern-day times. They are brought before the noble Prince of the Sun; on the left stands Chiquito, on the right stands Huascar, the mysterious Quechua Tintin encountered in Jauga. Zorrino is saved from harm when Tintin gives him Huascar's medallion, but Tintin and Haddock are sentenced to death for their sacrilegious intrusion. The Inca prince tells them they may choose the hour that the Sun himself will set alight the pyre for which they are destined. Tintin and Haddock end up on the same pyre as Professor Calculus. Tintin has, however, chosen the hour of their death to coincide with a solar eclipse, and the terrified Inca believe Tintin can command Pachacamac, their god, the Sun. The Inca prince implores Tintin to make the Sun show his light again. At Tintin's command, the Sun obeys, and the three are quickly set free. Afterwards, the Prince of the Sun tells them the seven crystal balls used against the explorers who had excavated Rascar Capac's tomb contained a "mystic liquid" obtained from coca, which plunged the seven explorers into a deep sleep. Each time the Inca high priest cast his spell over seven wax figures he could use them as he willed, as punishment for their sacrilege. Tintin convinces the Inca prince the explorers wished only to make known to the world the splendours of their civilisation. The Inca prince orders Huascar to destroy the wax figures and at that moment in Europe the seven explorers awaken. After swearing on their own accord to keep the colony's existence secret, Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus are bestowed with a gift of gold and jewels, only a sample of the treasure of the Incas for which the Spanish conquerors searched in vain for so long. Zorrino decides to stay with the Incas; his new friends return safely to Europe.