A. Merritt

“ From where they crouched Suarra’s tent was hidden—as they were hidden to any watchers in that little silken pavilion looking now like a great golden moth at rest under the moonlight.
“Graydon,” began the New Englander, “we’ve made up our minds on this thing. We’re goin’ to do it a little different. We’re willin’ and glad to let by-gones be by-gones. Hell! Here we are, four white men in a bunch of God knows what. White men ought to stick together. Ain’t that so?”
Graydon nodded, waiting.
“All right,” went on Soames. ”

“ Soames’s next words brought him back to reality.
“There’s enough stuff on that llama and the girl to set us all up right, yeah. But there’s also enough to finance the greatest little expedition that ever struck the trail for treasure,” he was saying. “And that’s what we plan doin’, Graydon. Get those hampers and all that’s in ’em. Get the stuff on the girl. Beat it. An’ come back. I’ll bet those hissin’ devils wouldn’t stand up long under a couple of machine guns and some gas bombs! And when the smoke’s cleared away we can lift all we want and go back and sit on the top of the world. ”

“ Nobody knows where she is, and she don’t want nobody to know where she is. The only ones that might raise trouble is the two old devils. And a quick knife in their ribs’ll put them out of the runnin’ soon enough. Then there’s only the girl. She’ll be damned glad to show us the way out if chance we do get lost again. But me and Sterrett know that peak. We’ll carry her along and when we get where we know we are we’ll turn her loose to go home. None the worse off, eh, boys?”
Sterrett and Dancre nodded.
Graydon seemed to consider, fighting still for time. ”

“ I don’t deny we’re up against somethin’ I don’t know much about. We ain’t equipped to go up against anything like that pack of hissin’ devils we saw to-day. But—we can come back!”
Again Graydon nodded. They had decided then to go no farther. The lesson of the afternoon had not been lost. Soames would ask Suarra to lead them out of the haunted Cordillera. As for coming back—that was another matter. He would return. But he would come, back alone—seek Suarra. Since well he knew no mysterious peril either to life or soul could keep him from her. ”

“ But first he must see these men safe, wipe off the debt that he believed as one man of his race to another he owed them. He was glad—but the gladness was tempered with sudden doubt. Could the game be finished thus? Would Suarra and that pair of strange old men let them—go? ”

“ Its floor was clean white sand and dotted with hillocks, mounds flat topped as though swept by constant brooms of wind. Upon the round ed slopes of these mounds a tall grass grew sparsely. The mounds arose about a hundred feet apart with curious regularity ”