t if I
were mistaken, then there was nothing for us but to take the chance of
life and death by going on blindly into that black cavern, after wedging
fast the under side of the statue in such a way that it no longer could
be swung open from above.

It was most necessary, therefore, that we should see what course our
enemies would take when they came into the oratory and found it empty
of us, and the idol broken, and the Priest Captain lying dead there;
and, that we might compass this end, Young and I returned into the
treasure-chamber and mounted upon a ledge that seemed to have been
provided for a standing-place--whence we had a clear view into the
oratory through the slits in the wall. And at the very moment that we
thus stationed ourselves there reverberated through those rock-hewn
chambers a deafening crash and a jingling clang of metal and a rattle of
falling stone; and with this came a yell of triumph and a rush of
footsteps--and then, in an instant, the oratory was full of soldiers and
priests, all yelling together like so many fiends.

But upon this violent hubbub there fell a hush of awe and wonder as
those who had thus tumultuously entered the oratory saw the Priest
Captain lying dead amid the fragments of the shattered idol, and
perceived that the prisoners who had been shut within these seemingly
solid walls had vanished utterly away; and then a sobbing murmur, that
presently swelled into moans and cries of terror, arose from the throng;
and in a moment more, seized by a common impulse, the whole company
bowed downward, in suppliant dread of the gods by whom such direful
wonders had been wrought.

Young gave a long sigh of relief, and with a most mouth-filling oath
whispered in my ear, "They haven't tumbled to it, an' we're all right!"

As we gazed at these terror-stricken creatures, a thought occurred to me
on which I promptly acted. "Get both of your revolvers pointed through
that hole," I whispered to Young. "Point high, so that the balls will
not hit anybody; and when I begin to shoot do you shoot also, and as
quickly as you can. Mind, you are not to hit anybody," I added; for I
saw by the look on Young's face that he longed to fire into the crowd
point-blank. For answer he gave me a rather sulky nod of assent; but I
saw by the way that he held his pistols that my order was obeyed. "Now,"
I said, "Fire!"--and as rapidly as self-acting revolvers would do it, we
poured twenty-four shots through the sl