Part 39 (2/2)

In five minutes the mouth of the lane was choked with their bodies; soet at us, but we made them sick of their job I saw that Harry could hold it alone then, and calling to him to stand firm till I called, I ran to Desiree

I letby round below It was even further than I had thought;

I grittedto Desiree She was already hanging to the edge of the cliff,else for it, and I shouted: ”All right, come on!”

She came, and knocked me flat onher fall, at no little cost to ain I struggled to my feet and shouted at the top of my voice:

”Harry! Come!”

He did not couarded the Incas poured in after hi on top of each other in an indistinguishable mass

So from above, promptly knocked them flat on their backs

Harry and Desiree and I werefor the exit, which was not but a few feet away As I have said, the thing was choked up till it was almost impassable We squeezed in between two rocks, with Desiree between us Harry was in front, and I brought up the rear

Once through that lane and we ht hold our own

”In Heaven's name, coazing back at the Incas tu toward theon the top of the cliff, waving his ar

He was less than thirty feet away

With cries fro in my ears, I braced my feet as firmly as possible on the uneven rock and poised my spear above my head The Incas sawmust also have seen ed forward; the spear left ht for his breast

But it failed to reach the mark A shout of triumph was onnear the king sprang forward and hurled himself in the path of the spear just as its point was ready to take our revenge The Inca fell to the foot of the cliff with the spear buried deep in his side The king stood as he had before, without

Then there was a wild rush into the mouth of the exit, and I turned to follow Harry and Desiree With extreme difficulty we scrambled forward over the rocks and around theasps, and we had to support her on either side The Incas approached closer at our rear; I felt one of therasp me from behind, and in an excess of fury I shook hiainst the rocks We were able toto the exit we appeared to have set our own death-trap

Harry went on with Desiree, and I stayed behind in the attempt to check the attack They ca, and barely able to wieldbackward step by step, fighting with the very end ofthat they had reached the end of the passage I turned then and sprang desperately fro close afterand staggered on

And suddenly the mass of rocks ended abruptly, and I fell forward onto flat, level ground by the side of Desiree and Harry

”Your spear!” I gasped ”Quick--they are upon us!”

But they grasped e to one side I was half fainting from exhaustion and loss of blood, and scarcely knehat they did They laid asped

”They are gone,” Harry answered

At that I struggled to rise and rested e It was so; the Incas were not to be seen!

Not one had issued froe