anty
protection against the chill air, damp as they were. Also, I seemed to
feel a cold draft circling about me, and was convinced of the fact by
the flickering flames in the golden urns.

Desolate, indeed, for I gave Harry up as lost. The thought generated
no particular feeling in me; death, by force of contrast, may even
appear agreeable; and I told myself that Harry had been favored of the
gods.

And there I sat in the half-darkness, shrinking from a danger of whose
existence I was not certain, clinging miserably to the little that was
left of what the world of sunshine had known as Paul Lamar, gentleman,
scientist, and connoisseur of life; sans philosophy, sans hope,
and--sans-culotte.

But the senses remain; and suddenly I became aware of a movement in the
water of the lake. It was as though an immense trout had leaped and
split the surface. This was repeated several times, and was followed
by a rhythmic sound like the regular splash of many oars. Then silence.

I peered intently forth from my corner in the recess, but could see
nothing, and finally gave it up.

As the minutes passed by my discomfort increased and stiffness began to
take my joints. I realized the necessity of motion, but lacked the
will, and sat in a sort of dumb, miserable apathy. This, I should say,
for an hour; then I saw something that roused me.

I had before noticed that on the side of the cavern almost directly
opposite me, under the flaming urns, there was a ledge some ten or
twelve feet broad and easily a hundred in length. It met the surface
of the lake at an easy, gradual slope. In the rear, exactly between
the two urns, could be seen the dark mouth of a passage, evidently
leading directly away from the cavern.

Out of this passage there suddenly appeared the forms of two Incas. In
the hand of each was what appeared to be a long spear--I had evidently
been mistaken in my presumption of their ignorance of weapons.

They walked to one end of the long ledge and dragged out into the light
an object with a flat surface some six feet square. This they launched
on the surface of the lake; then embarked on it, placing their spears
by their sides and taking up, instead, two broad, short oars. With
these they began to paddle their perilous craft toward the center of
the lake with short, careful strokes.

About a hundred feet from the shore they ceased paddling and exchanged
the oars for their spears, and stood motionless and