upon him. Bradley lay slightly raised upon his left elbow, his
right arm free, and as the thing came close, he cut at the hideous
face with all the strength that lay within him. The blade struck
at the junction of the neck and torso and with such force as to
completely decapitate the Wieroo, the hideous head dropping to
the floor and the body falling forward upon the Englishman.
Pushing it from him he rose to his feet and faced the wide-eyed girl.

"Luata!" she exclaimed. "How came you here?"

Bradley shrugged. "Here I am," he said; "but the thing now is to
get out of here--both of us."

The girl shook her head. "It cannot be," she stated sadly.

"That is what I thought when they dropped me into the Blue Place
of Seven Skulls," replied Bradley. "Can't be done. I did it.--
Here! You're mussing up the floor something awful, you." This last
to the dead Wieroo as he stooped and dragged the corpse to the
central shaft, where he raised it to the aperture and let it
slip into the tube. Then he picked up the head and tossed it
after the body. "Don't be so glum," he admonished the former as
he carried it toward the well; "smile!"

"But how can he smile?" questioned the girl, a half-puzzled,
half-frightened look upon her face. "He is dead."

"That's so," admitted Bradley, "and I suppose he does feel a bit
cut up about it."