directly within the light which came from an apartment adjoining the
passage. It was not that which we sought, however, and we gave it
barely a glance before we turned to the right down a cross passage,
finding ourselves again in darkness.

Soon another light appeared. We approached. It came from a doorway
leading into an apartment some twenty feet square. It was empty, and
we entered.

There were two flaming urns fastened to the wall above a granite couch.
Stone seats were placed here and there about the room. The walls were
studded with spots of gold to a height of four or five feet.

We stopped short, gazing about us.

"It looks like--" Harry whispered, and then exclaimed: "It is! See,
here is where we took the blocks from this seat!"

So it was. We were in the room where we had imprisoned the Inca king
and where we ourselves had been imprisoned with Desiree.

"She said her room was to the right of this," whispered Harry
excitedly. "What luck! If only--"

He left the sentence unfinished, but I understood his fear. And with
me there was even no doubt; I had little hope of finding Desiree, and
was sorry, for Harry's sake, that we had been so far successful.

Again we sought the passage. A little farther on it was crossed by
another, running at right angles in both directions. But to the right
there was nothing but darkness, and we turned to the left, where, some
distance ahead, we could see a light evidently proceeding from a
doorway similar to the one we had just left.

We went rapidly, but our feet made scarcely any sound on the granite
floor. Still we were incautious, and it was purely by luck that I
glanced ahead and discovered that which made me jerk Harry violently
back and flatten myself against the wall.

"What is it?" he whispered.

In silence I pointed with my finger to where two Incas stood in the
passage ahead of us, just without the patch of light from the doorway,
which they were facing. They made no movement; we were as yet
undiscovered. They were about a hundred feet away from where we stood.

"Then she's here!" whispered Harry. "They are on guard."

I nodded; I had had the same thought.

There was no time to lose; at any moment that they should chance to
glance in our direction they were certain to see us. I whispered
hastily and briefly to Harry. He nodded.

The next instant we were advancing slowly and noiselessly, hugging the
wall. We carried our spears ready, th