The Rajah's Fortress — page 159: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

148 THE RAJAIH’S FORTRESS. Not a word was spoken as all turned and followed him. Guy realized, with a grave feeling, that the Rubicon was passed. There was no backward course possible now. It was imperative to go on. Then his somber reflections gave way to a buoy- ancy of spirit that was new to him since the start of the expedition. All doubt and uncertainty was gone now. He was no longer harassed by a state of indecision, but must devote all his energy, all his ability, to lead the little band safely through their perils, and to accomplish a mission that had grown sacred in his eyes. Presently he perceived that they were moving slightly upward, and about the time he reached this conclusion he became conscious of a faint red glow that danced before his eyes in the darkness. He gave it no second thought, though Topee came to a full halt, and then moved on more slowly. It was only imagination, he supposed—a strange effect produced by the intensity of the darkness. But presently, to his amazement, the glow grew more vivid, and assumed a lighter and more glar- ing hue. Topee quickened his steps without a word, and, as Guy hurried on behind him, a sight burst on their view that chilled them with horror. They had reached the crest of a slight ridge in the tunnel and down the slope before them blazed a mass of torches that seemed to fill the cavern, radiating in glaring streaks of flame along the CONMUC WOO SS co