“This does not concern me,” broke in Nick Carter. “What are you going to do with us now?”
“Those other empty recesses on the wall are for certain nobles who will die this afternoon, and for you, my stranger guests. It will be an honor to you, and especially to the dark men you have with you. But you do not belong to Bolongu, and the people will be told that you are all noble in your own countries.”
He turned away. As he did so, several of the guards led them through a low archway, down a flight of steps, and into a cell beneath the floor of the temple.
They were bolted in, and left in pitch darkness. Moreover, the air was hot and oppressive.
The first silence was broken by Patsy.
“Well, chief, what now?” he asked. “Of course, we have to get out of this somehow.”
“Keep quiet, Patsy,” admonished Chick. “Be ready to take orders.”
“That’s what I always am,” retorted Patsy. “I’m only asking.”
“If we could get our hands free!” muttered Nick Carter, as he struggled with his bonds. “There would be a few less priests of the Golden Scarab in the world the next time any of them came.”
“Bully!” broke out Patsy.