ret passages in the
palace, of which the openings were known only to the priests, and that
possibly the men had been let down them--terrible information enough for
people in their position.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE LAST OF THE SETTLEMENT MEN

On that day of the vanishing of the three Settlement men, Nam paid his
weekly visit to "do honour to the gods," and Leonard, who by this time
could make himself understood in the tongue of the People of the Mist,
attacked him as to the whereabouts of their lost servants.

When he had finished, the priest answered with a cruel smile that
he knew nothing of the matter. "Doubtless," he said, "the gods had
information as to the fate of their own servants--it was not for him to
seek those whom the gods had chosen to put away."

Then turning the subject, he went on to ask when it would please the
Mother to intercede with the Snake that he might cause the sun to shine
and the corn to spring, for the people murmured, fearing a famine in the
land.

Of course Juanna was able to give no satisfactory answer to the priest's
questions, and after this the quarters of the Settlement men were
changed, and for a few days the survivors slept in safety. On the third
night, however, two more of them were taken in the same mysterious
manner, and one of those who remained swore that, hearing something
stir, he woke and saw the floor open and a vision of great arms dragging
his sleeping companions through the hole in it, which closed again
instantly. Leonard hurried to the spot and made a thorough examination
of the stone blocks of the pavement, but could find no crack in them.
And yet, if the man had dreamed, how was the mystery to be explained?

After this, with the exception of Otter, who, sure of the fate that
awaited them, took little heed of how or when it might fall, none of
the party could even sleep because of their terror of the unseen foe who
struck in silence and in darkness, dragging the victim to some unknown
awful end. Leonard and Francisco took it in turns to watch each other's
slumbers, laying themselves to rest outside the curtain of Juanna's
room. As for the survivors of the Settlement men, their state can
scarcely be described. They followed Leonard about, upbraiding him
bitterly for leading them into this evil land and cursing the hour when
first they had seen his face. It would have been better, they said,
that he should have left them to their fate in the slave camp than have