“Of the wild animals!” was the reply. “I catch them here for the American shows. And now they are killed!” he complained.
“So that contraption, the masked entrance, the iron gate, and all that, was arranged to hold wild animals in captivity until they could be transferred to the coast?” asked Sam.
“Exactly!” answered the prisoner. “The natives helped me catch the jaguars and I kept them for a large payment. Then, yesterday, a runner told me that a strange white man sought my presence in the forest at the top of the valley. It was Felix. I met him there, and he arranged with me for the use of the wild-animal cage for only one night.”
“And you knew the use to which he intended to put it?” asked Sam angrily. “You knew that he meant murder?”
“I did not!” was the reply. “He told Miguel what to do if any of you entered and did not tell me. I was not to enter the temple to-night!”
“And where’s Miguel?” demanded the young man.
The captive pointed to the broken roof of the temple.
“Miguel remained here,” he said, “to let down the gate to the passage and lift the grate which kept the jaguars in their den.”
“Do you think he’s up there now?” asked Jimmie. “I’d like to see this person called Miguel. I have a few words to say to him.”
“No, indeed!” answered the prisoner. “Miguel is a coward. He probably took to his heels when the shots were fired.”