Helmor acted. "Ho, guardsmen, attend me! To the Temple of Bel!" he roared.
CHAPTER XI
THE TEMPLE OF BEL
To the Temple of Bel! To that ebon dark structure, where in its mighty enclosure crouched the figure of the unclean god. It was the one chance—the one remaining hope of a full success in his venture, and Jason knew it.
"To Avron—up and remain with him," he cried to Naia.
"Nay, Jason—nay, my beloved," she denied him, gasping. "With thee. Keep me in this at thy side."
"Come, then." He tightened the arm about her yielding waist and crushed her to him. There was scant time to argue. Already the guard were forming—massing a wall of their bodies about them. And there was a thing that demanded his attention. Swiftly he drew his signal-lamp and pointed it to the skies.
"To the Temple of Bel! Descend above it!" He sent a message with a hand that, despite his stern control, was not wholly steady. "To the Temple of Bel," he repeated, and lowered his eyes to find Helmor's eyes upon him.
"I but signed the airships to follow us to the temple," he voiced an explanation, lest the man misunderstand him, and found himself wondering if the huge craft would be able to identify and find it—decided there was naught he could do to aid them, that the carrying out of the order lay wholly in the hands of Robur.