“The seven kings must have fought for the scimitar that time,” I observed. “It was a fearful blow.”
Together we rolled the great body of the dead ape over, with the idea of getting together the remains of Mai Lo. But the nauseating heap of flesh, mingled with shreds of the broidered robes that had enveloped it, was so repulsive that we decided not to touch it.
“Leave him with the ancestors of Kai,” advised Joe. “We’ll be away from here before long.”
“I’ll never enter this place again!” I declared, with a shudder, for my nerves were still on edge.
“Nor I,” said Joe, hastily.
“Then let’s get all we want now,” suggested Archie.
We did. Without fear of further interruption we explored such alcoves as we had not previously visited and appropriated the best of the treasure they contained. We were all fairly well loaded when at last we returned to the scene of the recent tragedy, where we added the heap of jewels that Mai Lo had been examining. There was no time to assort them, so we took them all.
Archie seized the scimitar and hacked away a section of the tapestry, and while I wondered what he was going to do he picked up the severed head of Mai Lo by its queue and dropped it into the cloth, gathering up the corners to form a bag.
“What is that for?” I asked, wonderingly.
“Why, it’s proof that the governor is extinct,” he said, with a grin. “No one is allowed to enter this place, so we must establish the demise of our dearly detested enemy in the upper world. Are you fellows ready?”