rowded
through a narrower passage and again Rawson found himself in one of
the great, high-ceilinged caves like the others he had seen. But
unlike the others this was brightly lighted.

Massive limestone formation. His eyes squinted against the glare and
caught the character of the rock before he was able to distinguish
details, and in the black limestone big disks of gray mineral had been
set. Jets of flame played upon them and turned them to blazing,
brilliant white.

The big yellow Mole-man who had carried him dropped him roughly to the
floor and backed away. About him the red guard was grouped. Rawson
caught a glimpse of hundreds of other thronging figures. The crowd
about him separated. A space was cleared between him and the farther
end of the room, a lane lined on either side by solid masses of savage
Reds. And beyond them, more barbaric than any figure in the
foreground, was another group.

* * * * *

Across the full width of the room a low wall was raised three or four
feet from the floor. It was capped with rude carvings. The whole mass
gleamed dully golden in the bright light. Beyond the wall in
semicircular formation, resembling a grouping of bronze statues, were
men like the one with whom Rawson had fought. Priests, tenders of the
fires. He knew in an instant that here were more of the red one's holy
men. They stood erect, unmoving. At their center was another seated
man-shape that might have been cast from solid gold.

His naked body was yellow and glittering, contrasting strongly with
the black metal straps like those the warriors wore. On his head a
round, sharply-pointed cap was ablaze with precious stones.

Rawson took it all in in one quick glance. He knew that those copper
bodies were not encased in metal, for the flesh of the one he had
fought with had sunk under his blows. Their skin was coated with a
preparation, heat resistant without a doubt, and the golden one must
have been treated in somewhat the same way.

His thoughts flashed quickly over this. It was the face of that seated
figure that riveted his attention, a white face, milk-white, so white
it seemed almost chalky!

* * * * *

For one breathless second Rawson was filled with a wordless hope.
Those white ones of his dream had looked upon him with kindly eyes.
They were human--men of another race, but men. Then beneath the chalky
whiteness of the face he found the hi