CHAPTER XXVI INTO THE DUNGEONS
Within the rear chamber of the Sun Temple Cliff, his father and Mr.Whitley heard the roar of the furious people. The Coya had discoveredher husband, the Inca, and soldiers had released him: from them the newshad spread swiftly among the populace. The chief priest and other nobleshad been summoned.
In the passages Bill and Nicky finally reached the golden room, ignorantof this failure of all their carefully laid plans.
In the square Tom, with Caya's brother, saw the procession going towardthe Sun Temple. Only the Inca and his highest priests had the privilegeof entering there--and they were going in!
"There is but one place we have not sought," Huamachaco had said. "Thattemple so sacred! Those men and youths with dyed skins, as the Spaniardhas told us--they would profane its very sanctuary with their vilepresence. Come--you shall see!"
Tom proposed, in his halting quichua, that he and Caya's brother pressthrough the throng; but the young soldier had a better plan. "No," hesaid. "I have learned the way. We go to the lower level from the Inca'spalace--even that I dare for you!--and then we shall see if the way isclear to the old water way. I will wait there and you shall bring yourfriends. Come. I show the way."
The palace was deserted: all minds and all eyes were focused on thetemple.
"Let's lose no time!" whispered Tom, and the two youths made all thehaste they could. They were already in the passages when from the mobaround the Sun Temple came a deep, throaty roar--the throaty, deeplust-cry of a mob thirsting for vengeance for a seeming insult to theirtemple!
The Inca had gone in with his aide and then had hurried to the doorwayagain to signal that they had found their prey.
At the foot of the steps in the treasure room Bill sent Nicky up to tellhis friends to be ready, to see if Cliff had returned to them safely andto learn what they knew of Tom.
Nicky walked up the steps, cautiously, and found himself facing the Incaand his chief priest and the Spaniard. In their fury the nobles hadoverlooked the insult of the Spaniard's entry into the sacred chamber.
Nicky saw at once that he had blundered into a trap. John Whitley, Mr.Gray, and Cliff faced the angry noble and the Inca, desperately, notknowing what to do. The crowd in the square gave them no chance toescape that way. They could not know that the passages were not alreadyinvaded by soldiers. Indeed, there were detachments already coming fromthe palace.
Far away down a lateral passageway Caya's brother showed Tom the placewhere, when the tunnels were made, an opening had been left into an oldwaterway; in case of menace to the treasures, a former Inca had provideda way to flood the tunnels.
The young soldier began as quietly as he could to tear away the olddebris that had collected, while Tom hurried back along the tunnel,making careful note of the way, planning to tell his friends to hurry,that the way for escape was found!
At the foot of the steps he found Bill.
"Something has gone wrong!" Bill whispered. "Nicky went up the stepsfive minutes since. He hasn't come down. I haven't heard from anybody.But I think I hear sounds in the tunnels. Don't you?"
Tom listened.
"Yes, I do," he said, under his breath. "Bill, I'll slip up thestairs--and see what's what!"
"Too late!" Bill whispered.
Far away down the passages came shouts. Once they saw a light flash.They were being cornered, surrounded. If there was no way from thetemple they were helpless.
Tom told his story in hurried words.
Yet the news had come too late, it seemed. Unless quick thinking couldget them out of the toils, they were doomed.
Up above, in the temple, the Inca was delivering his words of doom. "Youcan no longer be free!" he said sharply. "Escape is not possible. Youhave profaned our temples! You have deceived us! You shall go to thedungeons."
Cliff looked from one to the other of his friends. If only Tom wasthere--he knew from Nicky where Bill was!--they could make one desperateeffort! Perhaps they might use his remaining smoke pot. But Tom was notthere!
Nicky gripped his arm.
From the lower levels came a muffled report! Bill had fired into the airas a body of soldiers came, in their light cotton quilted armor,carrying bows and arrows and short spears; they had to stop in face ofhis "magic stick" that spat out fire and sudden death.
"We must go to Bill!" whispered Cliff. "We can't get out through thesquare! If we can get through the passages we may be able to hide." Theothers agreed. With the Inca, Huamachaco and Pizzara in hot pursuit, butunarmed, they almost leaped down the curving steps.
Bill stood at their foot, his back to them, his weapon leveled. Beforehim half a dozen soldiers hesitated.
"We're here!" cried Cliff. Then he saw Tom, just around the edge of thewall, tense and alert, his own light, and in this emergency almostuseless weapon held ready.
If only they had known Tom was there, two minutes sooner!
Before they could make any concerted plan Pizzara, with his quickcunning serving him, caught old, weakened Mr. Gray by an arm: he sawthat Bill could possibly daunt the soldiers; with merciless cruelty hedragged the old scholar past Bill before the others quite knew what hemeant to do. Immediately he swung Mr. Gray, who was not strong enough toresist the surprise attack: Pizzara swung him so that his own body wasshielded.
Bill saw, too late, the ruse. His weapon was useless: in that narrowplace he could not fire without endangering the old student of ancientcivilizations.
"Down, Father!" Cliff cried. "Drop down!"
The old man had recovered his balance. With all his small strength hetried to fling off Pizzara's grip, to lower his body. At the sameinstant the high priest and the Inca caught hold of Mr. Whitley andBill. Cliff and Nicky in turn grasped them. Tom broke past Bill andcaught a tackle around Pizzara's legs. His balance thus disturbed theSpaniard lost his grip on Mr. Gray.
Cliff tripped his adversary and with Mr. Whitley fighting with all hisskill and science, soon was free to go to Tom's side.
Bill was there already, and a short-arm blow dazed the Spaniard. Down hewent. But in that brief scuffle the soldiers had leaped forward.
Outnumbered, there was little that the desperate party could do. Pizzarashielded himself; a soldier wrestled with Bill for possession of themagic stick. It exploded once, but its muzzle was pointed toward theroof and no one suffered. During a lull in the scrimmage, for Cliffthought, in a passing flash, how like a football game was thisscrimmage, the youth thought he saw Caya's brother holding a torch. Buthe was not sure.
Panting, perspiring, choked by the resinous smoke of the torches, thethree men and their three youthful companions were soon overpowered.Bill's, and Tom's weapons, as well as those of Mr. Whitley--their onlythree pistols--had been flung to the floor.
Cliff made one valiant effort, rolling about with a soldier on his back,to grasp a revolver. But Pizzara kicked it aside.
"Into the dungeons!" cried the Inca.
Held by a soldier at either side, the six captives had no chance to tryto make a break for liberty, even if such a try could have succeeded:with soldiers everywhere there was no chance for success.
Sombre and dejected, they were led to a place where guards moved asidegreat stones.
Into blackness, all together, they were flung!