his foot was suddenly seized, and he was yanked violently from
beneath the hides to find himself surrounded by menacing blades.
They would have slain him on the spot had not one clothed all in
red held them back, saying that He Who Speaks for Luata desired
to see this strange creature.

As they led Bradley away, he caught an opportunity to glance back
toward the hides to see what had become of the girl, and, to his
gratification, he discovered that she still lay concealed beneath
the hides. He wondered if she would have the nerve to attempt
the river trip alone and regretted that now he could not
accompany her. He felt rather all in, himself, more so than
he had at any time since he had been captured by the Wieroo,
for there appeared not the slightest cause for hope in his
present predicament. He had dropped the curved blade beneath the
hides when he had been jerked so violently from their fancied security.
It was almost in a spirit of resigned hopelessness that he quietly
accompanied his captors through various chambers and corridors
toward the heart of the temple.



Chapter 4


The farther the group progressed, the more barbaric and the more
sumptuous became the decorations. Hides of leopard and tiger
predominated, apparently because of their more beautiful
markings, and decorative skulls became more and more numerous.
Many of the latter were mounted in precious metals and set with