"Place them on the table," ordered Chefano.
"Lie down on the table," commanded Frenchy.
Both Harry and the major hesitated.
"Lie down," commanded Frenchy again. "Call Jupe, Chefano. He can take care of them."
Avoiding this threat of the ape-man, the prisoners obeyed. The table was barely wide enough for both of them. At Chefano's directions they placed their feet at the lower end, with their heads a few feet below the roller.
Chefano leered as he fastened their ankles to the bottom of the table and attached the chains of the roller to their wrists. Their arms were extended above them; they were stretched between the ends of the table.
"What's this idea?" questioned Frenchy.
"A rack," said Chefano, hanging the light from the ceiling. "The table was here when I came. So I constructed the posts and the roller. It's exactly like the racks they used in Italy years ago to make prisoners talk. When the roller is tightened, the chains stretch the body between. When the body begins to stretch, the tongue begins to wag.
"I had it ready in case we might need information from some one, but there was no occasion to use it. It was planned for one, but I altered it because of the width of the table."