“It’s the village well,” Bud told her.
“Actually, it’s called a cenote,” Hutchcraft corrected him. “You see, Yucatan is a parched country, in spite of all this tropical vegetation. There are no lakes or rivers. The only water is the rain which soaks below the surface and is held in the limestone rock. The wells occur at points where the limestone crust has caved in.
The Mayas usually build their villages close to a cenote so as to have a water supply.”
As the group strolled closer to peer into the well, Bud muttered to Tom, “Listen to that guy spout off-he knows it all! I’ll bet he just boned up on this stuff to impress Sandy!”
Tom grinned but said nothing, lest Hutchcraft overhear them.
The well was as large as a good-sized pond. Its water, cool, sparkling, and deep, lay about ten feet below ground surface. Hutchcraft, who obviously enjoyed showing off his knowledge, continued his lecture.
“At the ancient Mayan capital of Chichen Itza, there are two cenotes,” he said. “One was used for human sacrifice. But this was due to the influence of the Toltecs.”
The girls were horrified. “You mean they drowned people in them?” Sandy exclaimed.
Hutchcraft nodded. “As a gesture to their rain 136 ELECTRONIC RETROSCOPE
god, beautiful maidens who were going to be married were shoved in. They were so weighted with heavy jewelry that they invariably sank at once.
Sometimes the grooms-to-be jumped in too. What say we re-enact the custom and get cooled off?”
“No thanks!” said Sandy.
Hutchcraft advanced on her jokingly, as if to carry out his playful suggestion.