“Will he live, Bry?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Can’t say Mars’ Sam,” was the reply. “But he’s alive now, shore ’nuf!”
CHAPTER XX
WE FIND THE TCHA GRATEFUL
Allerton said that he seemed to live an hour during the time the rock was falling. He saw plainly that he could not save both himself and Ama, so he threw the girl to Chaka and at the same time tripped and fell to the ground just beside the throne. That trip alone saved him, as the fragment that broke from the main portion struck in such a way that a small space was left, in which his body lay. He was considerably bruised and cut, but with the exception of two broken ribs and a sprained arm escaped any other important injury. We had him sitting up in an hour, and under Bry’s skillful manipulation, assisted by a Tcha priest who was fairly proficient in surgery, his broken ribs quickly mended. But the shock to his nervous system had been severe and Paul became an interesting invalid for several days after the accident.
Being an ancient people, the Tcha have a code of laws that seems to cover every possible happening; but some of them, perhaps evolved centuries ago, are quite extraordinary. One law declares that if any person performs an exceptional service for the High Priestess, such as “preserving her life or preventing her from suffering physical injury,” he shall become immune from any punishment he may have incurred by any previous act, and all edicts against him shall be annulled.
The Tribunal was aware of this law and promptly acted upon it; but the august body, during its conference, encountered a puzzling and unexampled difficulty. Who had saved the life of the High Priestess? Either it was Paul, who had removed Ama from beneath the falling stone, or Chaka, who had caught her and carried her to a safe distance, or myself, whose cry had called attention to her danger.
To my mind Paul alone had accomplished the salvation of the Supreme Ruler; but the aged Tribunal could not see it exactly in that light. They argued the case among themselves until they were in despair of being able to settle it conclusively. One voted for me, one for Chaka and one for Paul, and being very conscientious and eminently just none would alter his decision. So the matter was laid before the High Priest, as provided for by law when the Tribunal could not agree. As usual the old sleepyhead revoked; he said he didn’t know and didn’t care who had saved Ama; it was sufficient for him that she had been saved; let the High Priestess herself solve the knotty problem. And then he fell asleep again.
Therefore the case came to Ama herself for solution, and she appeared as perplexed as the others. Finally she took it under advisement and said she would come to a decision some day in the near future.
I am sure the incident considerably improved our standing in the community. It must have humiliated the Tcha, who are really brave and energetic, that they all sat in paralyzed terror while the condemned strangers saved their High Priestess from sudden death. A careful investigation was now made of the cliff to see if any more stones were loose, on the principle of locking the barn door after the horse is stolen; but no one was ever accused of negligence for not having inspected the cliff before. Occasionally a rock had been known to drop into the valley, but it was a rare occurrence and seldom did much harm. The Tcha considered this accident a mere fatality, and therefore unavoidable.
The sensations of the lovely and sedate Ama when seized and hurled about like a ball were not subject to popular discussion. For a day or two following we heard indirectly that the girl was nervous and unstrung, as well she might be; but on the third day she sent for Paul, Chaka and me, and thanked us all very prettily and impartially.