All-Story Weekly, Vol. 112, No. 1 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

56 Tomas. “Is there then a wild beast in the caverns?” Tomas regarded him steadily. “Enrique, que Dios haya, was slain by a ghost, patron. He killed it, and it lies down there. Myself I saw it. Much blood came from it—which is strange, seeing that it is a ghost. “That is the truth, patron. Valgame Dios! Now let us go from this place before the other spirits come to avenge their brother. Vamos!” Of this astounding statement Jones could make nothing. Something undoubtedly lurked in the subterranean chambers of the temple, and had attacked the Cholo; for Enrique was dead. To credit Tomas, was to presume that Enrique had killed it. Jones recalled the hissing which he had heard just before the death-shriek of the guide. It had sounded like serpent or ani- mal. “In what form Tomas?” he asked. “In the form of a corpse, patron—the long-dead momia of a Gentile.” Jones stood up, and translated the In- dian’s remarks to the others. ‘We will carry this body to the outer light, Tomas,” he said; ‘“‘ and then I shall go down and view this mummy of yours.” So they bore the corpse of Enrique to the portal of the temple and laid it behind a fallen rock. Katherine, after one horrified glance, had averted her eyes from the ghastly counte- mance of the dead guide. When she saw her husband making preparations to return to the interior of the temple, she caught him by the shoulder. ‘“‘ Bob, you are not going back into that terrible hole!’”’ she pleaded nervously. ‘Whatever fearful thing is there, Tomas says is dead. Let us leave it in peace and go away. I have had enough of the ruins of the Incas to last me for the remainder of our stay in Peru!” “Tf it is dead, Kate, all the less reason why we should fear it,’’ returned Jones. “A man who was my servant, and for whom I feel a certain responsibility, has .been killed. The least that I can do is to investi- gate the circumstances of his death. is this dead __the bridge. ghost, ALL-STORY WEEKLY. “The Martian will remain here with you; or, if you feel alarmed, you may wait across Tomas will go down with me, unless he is too scared. ‘““Do you fear to go back and show me the way, Tomas?” he asked the Aymara in Spanish. “T will go with the patron,” answered Tomas simply; but he said it without en- thusiasm. Jones noticed that inside his shirt the Indian had a firm clutch on his amulet, in whose powers of protection he now relied more than in those of rifle or machete. ‘IT will stay here,” decided Katherine. ‘““Don’t stay down there any longer than is necessary, Bob—and be careful.” “Best let me go, Robert,” interposed Kelly. ‘“No, Martian; I want to see this thing, if thing there is. Whatever we shall find down there, I will fetch back to the sur- face.”’ While the Martian, with drawn auto- ‘matic, stood with Katherine by the temple ‘gateway Jones and Tomas returned to the shaft and made ready their torches. Though the white man had no amulet to keep his soul from harm, he looked with particular care to the condition of his own pistol before he set foot-on the gloomy stairway. With the weapon ready for instant use, Jones went deliberately down the spiral. ‘Tomas held a decided opinion on this busi- ness, which coincided with Katherine’s; but he kept it to himself, and followed Jones ‘so Closely that he trod several times upon the patron’s heels. ‘Don’t crowd, Tomas,” advised Jones. ‘It is inconvenient; and, besides, if you keep back a little, you won’t have so far to run if the momia shows signs of life.” Behind him Jones heard the teeth of the big man click together; and he wisely said no more, fearing that Tomas might lose hold of his courage entirely, and desert. As they went down, the shaft widened, and at its bottom formed a circular cham- ber in which a dozen men might have stood at ease. Two passages of fair width and height led from it into the bowels of the plateau, one immediately beyond the foot of the stairs, the other a few feet farther. cCoOmiclbooks C©