"They speak of mysteries too holy for humble ears," groaned the priest. "They tell the Mighty One the idol has spoken. He laughs and says it is untrue. But they insist. Now he mocks them, calls them fearful fools."
Red Barrett snorted.
"Oh! A wise guy, huh? A know-it-all? Well, watch me take him down a peg!" And again his lips found the tube. His voice rolled in a hollow roar. "Tally-ho, smart-aleck! Brooklyn-dodgers ... officeofproductionmanagement ... gadzooks.... How do you like them apples?" He fell away from the opening, chuckling, as the giant's blanched face whirled toward the idol. "Guess that'll hold His Nibs for a while! What's he saying now, Sheng-ti?"
The bonze listened intently as again the saffron-hued commander spoke. But Red's gag had backfired. For—
"The Great One admits," relayed Sheng-ti, "that the idol did speak. Now he is affrighted lest the god may have been offended. He would make atonement. Lo, he bids his warriors seize a virgin, and bear her to the altar."
At their leader's command, two of the giant yoemen had thrust forward into the throng, striking with the flat of their swords any who would hinder them. Now they tore from the arms of an aged man a young, white-skinned girl, and bore her, struggling and screaming, to the dais beneath Ramey.
And:
"Ramey!" cried Sheila in sudden horror. "We've got to stop them! They're going to sacrifice her—to us!"
Red Barrett gasped, "Omi-gawd!" in a stricken voice, and spun to Ramey. "Why can't I learn to keep my big feeder shut? What—what'll we do, Ramey?"