It is now about time that the mysterious disappearance of Dick Vincey and the Queen of Hez was explained.
The very instant the torches were extinguished in the magic chamber the two were seized and borne to the earth.
Before they could cry out, gags were thrust in their mouths, and then in the confusion that prevailed they were carried rapidly from the spot.
Dick strove manfully to free himself, but it was useless; a heavy cloth had been wound tightly around his body, rendering him powerless to use his arms.
The pair were carried swiftly along for about half an hour, through innumerable passages and tunnels, until at length they reached a spot where it was light.
But it was not the light made by burning torches—it looked more, to Dick, as though he was being carried through a street with a plentiful supply of electric lights in it.
However, his eyes were gladdened by the light but for a minute or so. The next instant their captors entered a cave, where all was in darkness, and came to a halt.
The two prisoners were deposited upon the hard ground as though they had been mere bundles of rags, and then those who had brought them thence took their departure.
For fully an hour the utmost silence reigned, and then it was suddenly broken by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Both Dick and his fair companion were beginning to suffer from their cramped positions, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they heard some one coming.