Many an eye followed my direction and although I had spoken in English they all understood the terrible danger that threatened their Priestess. Yet not a soul moved; abject horror seemed to have paralyzed them. Ama alone was unconscious of her impending death and stared wonderingly at the startled faces before her.
Suddenly Paul gave a leap and bounded straight for the throne. Swift as an arrow he flew and caught the girl in his arms. At the same time the huge rock broke away and came hurtling to the ground. Paul saw it, and, acting instinctively, exerted all his strength and threw the girl bodily from him. Chaka, rushing forward, caught her just as the crash came and the great mass—I think it must have weighed two tons—fell full upon the throne of the High Priestess.
Trying to stifle the sob that rose in my throat I dashed to the spot, knowing that my dear friend—I had come to be very fond of Allerton—was buried beneath that massive fragment. His had been a noble deed, I fully realized, but it seemed so hard to have him crushed and mangled, to have him swept suddenly from life, for the sake of a paltry Tcha girl, Supreme Ruler though she might be.
The people had awakened now and were clustering anxiously around their Priestess, who lay half fainting in Chaka’s arms. The young atkayma did not look at her; he stared straight ahead at the spot where his “brother Paul” lay buried.
“Here! Lend a hand!” I shouted, first in English and then in Maya. Nux and Bryonia, Ned, Pedro, Archie and Joe were all with me by that time. The great rock had split half over the throne, and one fragment—that which lay above Paul—rested with its edge partly supported by the arm of the seat.
We seized it and pulled all together, trying to pry it upward. Several of the Tchas now came to our assistance, and in desperation we tugged again, this time succeeding in forcing the fragment backward. Then Joe stooped down and drew Paul out, handing his bruised and bleeding form to Nux, who held it tenderly in his strong arms as a mother might cuddle a child.
Chaka, having resigned his burden, came to us with features drawn and tense with agony. The poor fellow did not sob nor weep; he merely leaned over and kissed his friend’s forehead. Then without awaiting permission we all retired, following Nux and his burden back to our luxurious rooms in the priests’ palace.
We laid Allerton tenderly on a couch and cut away his clothing. Bry was a very expert surgeon, of the uneducated but intelligent sort, having had a lot of practical experience with wounds and bruises in his day. He now assumed command of the situation.
With his ear to the injured man’s heart the black gave a grunt of satisfaction and then turned to take the water I had brought in a basin to wash away the blood stains.
My own heart was thumping like a trip hammer.