A. Merritt

“ And if they don’t come to terms, well, Graydon, the first bullet out of this gun goes through your guts. That’ll give you time to see what goes on before you die!”
Graydon did not answer him. Nothing that he might say, he knew, would change them from their purpose. He closed his eyes, reviewing that strange dream of his—for dream he now believed it, thrust back among the realities of the camp. A dream borne of Suarra’s words and that weird bracelet of the dinosaurs from which gleamed the purple orbs of the serpent woman. ”

“ Graydon’s temper awakened under the insult, his anger flared up.
“All right, Soames,” he said. “I’ll tell you. What I’ve said about freeing her for our own safety is true. But outside of that I would as soon have thought of trusting a child to a bunch of hyenas as I would of trusting that girl to you three. I let her go a damned sight more for her sake than I did for our own. Does that satisfy you?”
“Aha!” jeered Dancre. “Now I see. Here is this strange lady of so much wealth and beauty. She is too pure and good for us to behold. He tell her so and bids her fly. ”

“ What you do to Sterrett, eh?”
Graydon had made up his mind; was ready to answer.
“Dancre,” he said, “Soames—we’re in a bad box. I came in from hunting less than an hour ago and found Sterrett wrestling with a girl. That’s bad medicine down here—the worst, and you two know it. I had to knock Sterrett out before I could get the girl away from him. Her people will probably be after us in the morning. There’s no use trying to get away. They’ll soon enough find us in this wilderness of which we know nothing and they presumably know all. This place is as good as any other to meet them. ”

“ A city rushed up to meet him, a city ruby roofed and opal turreted and fantastic as though built by jinn out of the stuff of dreams.
And then it seemed to him that he came to rest within a vast and columned hall from whose high roof fell beams of soft and dimly azure light. High arose those columns, unfolding far above into wide wondrous petalings of opal and of emerald and turquoise flecked with gold. ”

“ Her face was ageless, neither young nor old; it came to him that it was free from time forever, free from the etching acid of the years. She might have been born yesterday or a million years agone. Her eyes, set wide apart, were round and luminous; they were living jewels filled with purple fires. Above them rose her forehead, wide and high and sloping sharply back. The nose was long and delicate, the nostrils dilated; the chin small and pointed.
The mouth was small, too, and heart shaped and the lips a scarlet flame. ”

“ And now the Frenchman nudged the lank New Englander.
“Somet’ing funny is right, Soames,” he said. “Look at this.”
He handed the gleaming object over. Graydon saw that it was a thin golden bracelet, and as Soames turned it over in his hand he caught the green glitter of emeralds. It had been torn from Suarra’s arm, he realized, in her struggle with Sterrett.
“Yes, somet’ing funny!”, repeated Dancre. He glared at Graydon venomously, through slitted lids. “What that girl give you to let her go, Graydon, eh?” he spat. “What she tell you, eh?” ”

“ He pointed the pistol at Graydon, Sterrett and Dancre went into the tent, returned with ropes from the pack saddles. Unresisting, Graydon let them bind his wrists. They pushed him over to one of the trees and sat him on the ground with his back against its bole. They passed a rope under his arms and hitched it securely around the trunk. Then they tied his feet,
“Now,” said Soames, “if her gang show up in the morning, we’ll let ’em see you and find out how much you’re worth. They won’t rush us; there’s bound to be a palaver. ”

“ Soames’s hand dropped to his automatic.
“She gave me nothing, I took nothing,” answered Graydon.
“I t’ink you damned liar!” said Dancre, viciously. “We get Sterrett awake,” he turned to Soames. “We get him awake quick. I t’ink he tell us more about this, oui. A girl who wears stuff like this—and he lets her go! Lets her go when he knows there must be more where this come from, eh, Soames. Damned funny is right, eh? Come, now, we see what Sterrett tell us.”
Graydon watched them go into the tent. Soon Soames come out, went to a spring that bubbled up from among the trees ”

“ The pair stared at him, then at each other.
“There’s something damned funny about this,” growled Soames, at last. “But what I want to know is why you let her go, whatever the hell she was?”
“Because I thought we’d have a better chance if I did than if I didn’t.” Graydon’s own wrath was rising. “I want to tell you two that we’re up against something mighty bad; something none of us knows anything about. And we’ve got just once chance of getting out of the mess. If I’d kept her here we wouldn’t have even that chance.”
He halted. Dancre had stooped ”