"Have you halted with any idea that it may be possible to carry anything off with us?" Cummings asked, speaking in a whisper, and Jake replied in the same cautious tone:
"That's the size of it. You brought us here with the promise that we could make ourselves rich, and when the first little thing goes wrong you run. Now I will do as I please."
"It is nothing less than suicide. We have before us a journey so long and difficult that however small a burden you may have to carry, it will seem all too heavy."
By this time Poyor turned back to learn the cause of the halt, and when it was explained he said gravely:
"Each instant we stand here brings death so much nearer. Even at this moment watchful eyes may be upon us, and once we are discovered flight will be almost impossible."
The little party stood directly in front of what was evidently the main entrance to the temple. It was formed of twenty slender shafts of white stone which in the moonlight looked translucent, and each column upheld a grotesque figure composed of what appeared to be silver.
"I am goin' to have one of them images, no matter what happens," Jake said doggedly. "I don't care how much of a tramp there is before us, and the more the thing weighs the better I'll be pleased, for it's the first chance I ever had to make myself rich."
"But think of us," Teddy whispered. "We all run the risk of being killed because of what you propose to do."
"There's no need of your waitin' here. Go on, an' I'll take care of myself. I ain't such a chump as not to be able to find my way out."
"It must be as he says. We can wait no longer," Poyor said peremptorily. "Better one should die than all," and, seizing Neal by the shoulder, he literally dragged him away.