Nathan stared from the body of the dead man to the marble face of Firebird as she sat there—judge and executioner. They waited an hour and another man appeared. She killed him, too.
"I've saved his mother the agony of knowing him hung for treason. The police have been ready for a month to pull him in."
They waited until midday, but no one else appeared. At last Firebird turned and advanced cautiously along the passageway. Nathan felt now that killers lurked behind every stone. He didn't need Firebird's warning to keep a sharp lookout.
They crept along a mile of the tortuous trail beneath the copper sky, then dipped suddenly into the blackness of a cavern. The ghostly corona that hovered over the mountain provided a faint gleam in the darkness but scarcely enough to guide them.
"Take my arm," said Firebird. "I can make it in the dark."
Nathan felt the tremor that was in her slight body. Some emotion beyond the grasp of his senses was surging through her. But he felt that before they left the cavern he would know what it was.
After a time they came to a spiral ramp that seemed to be endless as it dropped them into the depths of the purple glow. Suddenly Firebird placed Nathan's hand on the Jewel pouch. It was faintly warm.
"The buried Jewel?" Nathan whispered.
"No—the Pink one. We're still not far enough in. Your father's murderer was waiting for us somewhere inside. He's following us now."