"Perhaps it was a warning," commented Alfonso, in a solemn tone,
that left me in doubt whether it was purely superstitious dread or
in the nature of a prophecy of what might be expected from some
quarter of which we were ignorant.
"You have known of the existence of the dagger always, I presume,"
continued Kennedy. "Have you or any one you know ever sought to
discover its secret and search it out?"
"I think my mother told you we never dig for treasure," he
answered. "It would be sacrilegious. Besides, there is more
treasure buried by nature than that dedicated to the gods. There
is only one trouble that may hurt our natural resources--the get-
rich-quick promoter. I would advise looking out for him. He
flourishes in a newly opened country like Peru. That curse, I
suppose, is much better understood by Americans than the curse of
Mansiche. But as for me, you must remember that the curse is part
of my religion, as it were."
We had reached the campus by this time, and parted at the gate,
each to go his way.
"You will drop in on me if you hear anything?" invited Craig.
"Yes," promised Alfonso. "We shall see you at four."
With this parting reminder he turned toward the School of Mines
while we debouched off toward the Chemistry Building.
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