e to the false heart of false prince; grinding through skin and flesh
and bones, cleaving that hot organ with broad blade of tempered copper,
forcing one vicious screech from those tortured lungs, then causing that
bulk to measure its length upon the blood-sprinkled sands.

Once again the heathen involuntarily recoiled, as death claimed a high
victim. Once more the band of true-hearts slightly quickened their pace
towards the temple, now nigh at hand. Yet those lessened numbers never
once betrayed fear, or doubt, or faltering. Grimly true to their trust,
they fell back in the best of order, fighting as they moved, beating
back the heathen hosts, as though each man was a god, and their strong
arms a wall of steel.

Here and there a true-heart sank to earth with the hand of death veiling
his eyes, but he died in silence; no cry of fear, no moan of pain, no
pitiful appeal for mercy at the hands of his maddened people. They knew
their sworn duty, and like true hearts they trod that narrow path unto
the very end.

Although with gradually lessening numbers, the body-guard remained
practically the same. Still in a hollow square, with the Children of the
Sun God in the centre, they slowly, doggedly fell back, ever facing the
ravening foe, ever moving shoulder to shoulder as a single man.

Then, just as Bruno Gillespie was refilling his emptied revolver, the
base of the tall pyramidal temple was won, and still protecting their
fair-haired charge, the body-guard ascended to the second terrace,
beating back such of the wild rabble as pressed them too closely.

Again that wonderful barking-death came into play, and Bruno felt
a strangely savage joy gnawing at his heart as he saw more than one
stalwart warrior reel dizzily back from his hot hail.

"For Ixtli, you curs! That for Ixtli! Down,--and eat dirt, dogs!"

Scarcely could his own ears catch those sounds, although he shouted with
the full power of his strong young lungs, so indescribably horrid was
the din and tumult.

Up another flight of steps, then yet another, although the crazed
rabble was not pressing them so very hard, just now. Still, their
number forbade a fourfold division as yet, and Aztotl feared lest the
blood-ravening mob attempt to head off their flight by taking possession
of the other stairs, thus being first to occupy yonder flat arena high
above the earth, whereupon he hoped to still protect the Sun Children,
even though he must lay down his life to m