wn the gallery
came a swarm of the strangest beings any of them had ever seen.

They were short, thin, almost emaciated, with pale, pinched faces and
pasty, half-naked bodies. But they shimmered with ornaments of gold
and jade, like some strange princes from the realm of Neptune--or
rather, like Aztec chieftains of the days of Cortes, thought Larry.

Blinking in the glare of the searchlights, they clamored around their
captives, touching their pressure-suits half in awe and chattering
among themselves.

* * * * *

Then one of them, larger and more regally clad than the rest, stepped
up and gestured toward the balcony.

"They obviously desire us to accompany them above," said the
professor, "and quite as obviously we have little choice in the
matter, so I suggest we do so."

"Check!" said Larry.

"And double-check!" added Diane.

So they started up, preceded by a handful of their captors and
followed by the main party.

The gallery seemed to be leading toward the center of the pyramid, but
after a hundred feet or so it turned and continued up at a right
angle, turning twice more before they arrived at length in another
stone chamber, smaller than the one below.

Here their guides paused and waited for the main party.

There followed another conference, whereupon their leader stepped up
again, indicating this time that they were to remove their suits.

At this, Professor Stevens balked.

"It is suicide!" he declared. "The air to which they are accustomed
here is doubtless at many times our own atmospheric pressure."

"But I don't see that there's anything to do about it," said Larry, as
their captors danced about them menacingly. "I for one will take a
chance!"

And before they could stop him, he had pressed the release-valve,
emitting the air from his suit--slowly, at first, then more and more
rapidly, as no ill effects seemed to result.

Finally, flinging off the now deflated suit, he stepped before them in
his ordinary clothes, calling with a smile:

"Come on out, folks--the air's fine!"

* * * * *

This statement was somewhat of an exaggeration, as the air smelt dank
and bad. But at least it was breathable, as Diane and her father found
when they emerged from their own suits.

They discovered, furthermore, now that their flashlights were no
longer operating, that a faint illumination lit the room, issuing from
a number of small cr