“How do you know the shadow is that of a savage?” asked Sam.
The prisoner pointed to the wide doorway and crowded back behind his captor. There, plainly revealed in the moonlight, were the figures of two brawny native Indians! Felix was approaching the entrance with a confident step, and the two watchers saw him stop for an instant and address a few words to one of the Indians. The next moment the smile on the fellow’s face shifted to a set expression of terror.
Before he could utter another word, he received a blow on the head which stretched him senseless on the smooth marble. Then a succession of threatening cries came from the angle of the cliff, and half a dozen Indians swarmed up to where the unconscious man lay!
The prisoner now crouched behind his captor, his body trembling with fear, his lips uttering almost incoherent appeals for protection.
The savages glanced curiously into the temple for a moment and drew their spears and bludgeons. Sam turned his eyes away with a shudder. He heard blows and low hisses of enmity, but there came no outcry.
When he looked again the moonlight showed a dark splotch on the white marble, and that alone! The Indians and their victim had disappeared.
“Mother of Mercy!” shouted the prisoner in a faltering tone.
“Where did they take him?” asked Sam.
The prisoner shuddered and made no reply. The mute answer, however, was sufficient. The young man understood that Felix had been murdered by the savages within sound of his voice.
“Why?” he asked the trembling prisoner.