They started back in surprise and wonder. Made of pure gold, with a jewel gleaming from his hand, the Maya god, an awesome creation, stood before them.
Determined that his adventure in the temple, which had come so near being a tragedy, should not be without its reward, Johnny had dared to take the god from the place of its long concealment. He had succeeded in bringing it from the corridor to the bush where he had hidden it until he could smuggle it safely through the darkness.
“That,” he said in an awed whisper, “is the only ancient Maya god ever discovered; he is the god of the rising sun. There are no such gods in the museums of the world. This one, aside from the gold and the jewel which seems to be a roughly cut diamond, is priceless as a curio and as an example of ancient art. And that,” he exclaimed as he wrapped the cloth about it and hid it in a dark corner, “makes me all the more anxious to get away from this hidden city of wild people.”
“You’re not thinking of taking the thing with you!” exclaimed Roderick in dismay.
“Of course we shall!” Jean looked at her brother in utter disgust. “What do you think?”
“Think!” exclaimed Roderick. “I think it will get us into a great deal of trouble.”
“Trouble? Who cares for trouble?”
“I am going to the chief the first thing in the morning,” said Johnny. “I’ll try to tell him or his daughter, by maps and signs, all about my camp on Rio Hondo and the urgent need of my getting back there. The princess likes us. She’ll do anything she can for us. Somehow we must escape.”
* * * * * * * *
To be drifting down a strange tropical stream at night is enchanting, haunting, and mysterious enough; but to be drifting down that same stream with your eyes so completely blindfolded that you only know it is night because you have been told so, surely this is the most mysterious of all.