But treat him with respect; he was nearly my husband." And then Mamcuna, sinking back into her _chinchura_, covered her face with her hands; but she showed no sign of relenting, and I was bound with ropes and hurried from the room.
The man-killer was a nandu[1] belonging to the queen, and had gained his name by killing one man and maiming several others who unwisely approached him when he was in an evil temper.

Save for an occasional outburst of homicidal mania and his abnormal size and strength, the man-killer did not materially differ from the other nandus of Mamcuna's flock.

His keeper controlled the bird without difficulty, and I had several times seen him mount and ride it round an inclosure.
[1] The American ostrich.
The desert, as I have already mentioned, lies between the Cordillera and the Pacific Ocean, stretching almost the entire length of the Peruvian coast, with here and there an oasis watered by one or other of the few streams which do not lose themselves in the sand before they reach the sea.

It is a rainless, hideous region of naked rocks and whirling sands, destitute of fresh water and animal life, a region into which, except for a short distance, the boldest traveller cares not to venture.
After leaving the queen's house I was placed in charge of a party of braves commanded by a cacique, and we set out for the place where my expiation was to begin.

The nandu, led by his keeper and another man, of course went with us.