Cummings did the same by Teddy, and as the boys were thus forced from the place they saw Jake trying to make his way up one of the smooth shafts.
"It is cruel to leave him when you know he will be killed," Neal said as he struggled in vain to release himself from the Indian's grasp.
"He knows the danger, and will not come. We must care for ourselves. Now remain quiet; there has been too much noise and too long a delay."
Poyor was walking at a pace so rapid that the boys were forced to run; but before they reached the next intersecting street a loud crash was heard from the direction of the temple, and Cummings whispered:
"He has toppled over one of the columns, and discovery is now certain. He has insured our destruction as well as his own."
The words had hardly been uttered when shouts were heard from different portions of the city, and, as if he had sprung from the ground, a man appeared directly in their path.
A second's delay would have been fatal. Poyor, releasing his hold of Neal, dashed forward with the agility of a cat, and springing upon the stranger bore him to the ground.
There was a short, sharp struggle which lasted while one might possibly have counted ten, and then the man lay motionless while Poyor, grasping Neal by the arm once more, darted on down the street.
Now it seemed as if the entire city had been aroused. On every hand could be heard shouts as if of command and cries of surprise and anger. The sound of footsteps in the rear told that the pursuit had already begun, and it was a race for life with the odds fearfully against the fugitives.
"You must run now as you never did before," Cummings said sharply to Teddy. "There can be no thought of fatigue until we reach some shelter where it will be possible to make a stand."