The leopards lay gasping their last breath. All along the line the others lay in the same condition. Some had fallen exhausted, others the amazons had slain with their arrows, to prevent the maddened beasts from dashing against the rocks.
The drivers and passengers were running full speed for the archway, carrying their loads with them. From the desert came a hoarse roar like the sound of waves breaking on shingle.
It was the army of Karnadama urging on their lions and leopards.
“Quick!” panted Pylea, no longer calm.
Ned got up and ran, as he had never done before, through the hall, and up the long stairway that led to freedom.
“Run on for your lives, and look not back; we will follow,” cried Pylea, as she ranged her warriors in front of the stairs.
Up they went, one after the other, as fast as they could scramble, those thousands of steps. Exhausted at last, they reached the chamber of the pythons.
Here they sank down breathless to wait on Pylea and her regiment.
Not a sound could be heard from below. Had the brave girls remained there to face their infuriated queen? For the second time in their lives our heroes felt themselves to be mean cowards. The first time had been when they killed the baby gorilla.
“We can never leave these brave girls in the lurch like this, lads. We must return and save them, or die with them,” cried Ned, in sharp tones of agony.