But his attention was distracted from us, who stood motionless with fear, toward the form of the governor, who was rising from the place where he had fallen. And Fo-Chu remembered that the great pain in his breast had been caused by the weapon of Mai Lo. So with a wild cry he leaped forward and swung the scimitar with tremendous power. It caught Mai Lo just above the shoulders, and the rarely tempered blade sheared through bone and muscle. The head toppled with a dreadful thud to the pavement, while for an instant the body stood erect and swaying. Then it fell in a heap, and with a screech that chilled my very blood with horror, the monster threw himself upon the body and rent it limb from limb with a fury that was absolutely devilish. The cracking bones and tearing flesh sickened me so that for the first time in my life I fainted, losing all sense of danger and surroundings as I sank limply to the floor.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE SEVERED HEAD.
“It’s all right, Sam,” said Archie, vigorously shaking me. “Sit up, old man.”
I obeyed, opening my eyes to gaze fearfully around me. The lamp on the taboret still burned steadily and crouching motionless upon the mangled remains of Mai Lo was the form of the giant ape. Joe and Archie supported me to my feet, peering into my face anxiously.
“Is—is he dead?” I asked in a faint voice.
“Dead as nails!” declared Archie, with a laugh. “Old Fo-Chu has saved us a lot of trouble, while the governor kindly saved us from the beast by giving Fo-Chu his quietus. It couldn’t have been better if we had planned it; but my! wasn’t it a jolly fight?”
“It was awful, boys!” I exclaimed.
Joe nodded.
“The horror of it nearly got me, too,” he admitted. “But, as Archie says, it was a fortunate thing for us, take it all in all.”
Feeling somewhat restored in strength I stooped down and picked up the scimitar, which lay where the ape had dropped it. The blade was reeking with warm blood, and I hastily wiped it clean with the rich tapestry that hung upon the wall of the room.