Show r r lIT ii iii ii ii ii ii ii ii iii ii ii ii ii I II sI 1 i. i BY BV ROB EDEN BEGIN HERE TODAY Blonde American Lillis Farnol Isto is iso isto to o Derek Derger the means of obtaining ob- ob taming a hidden native treasure in his lis mad quest for tor more wealth in inthe inthe the he the Brazilian jungles where he has his diamond mine He takes theirl the girl irl with a small party of ot native I servants to Mount Tiva where she is s to Impersonate Rca Rea legendary goddess of the Irac tribe If the accept her as Rca Rea they will reveal the hiding place of fabulous wealth Immediately after atter Derger's secret departure from his estate Rian Troy new engineer Cavanagh Derer's Derger's Der- Der I Der-I gers ger's ers er's secretary and Lulls Lillis' native I maid Manuela set out for Tiva fearful earful of the girls girl's once Derger's Derger's Derger's Der Der- gers ger's mad scheme is fulfilled LUlls Lillis is forced to don a white robe and wait for the Indian tribe on the he moonlit plateau before Tiva The rac leader accepts her as their goddess goddess goddess god god- dess and leads her through a secret stone tone door to their ancient temple and hiding place of the treasure While the are prostrate before her Lillis catches a glimpse o of Rian behind chind them and manages to find her way to him in the darkness Cavanagh fires some shots outside to o draw fire from Crom Derger's party Alarmed the rush outside The stone door closes and Rian and Lillis are prisoners The only OJ torch they hey can find is one at the tho temple throne hrone NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE THIRTY Lillis was sitting on the edge of the dais holding the torch Rian was lifting the lid of the third chest he ic had opened It was piled high as the others had been but the girl barely glanced over to it Gold some silver he said liftIng lift lift- tag Ing ng out a handful of heavy tarnished necklaces set with precious gems and then dropping them back The clink they made against the other metal rang through the lonely tem tern pie Derger was right about t the e treasure treasure treasure trea trea- sure sure sure- Rian continued as he closed the he heavy lid of the stone box and moved to the fourth chest There is a treasure here here here- He tried to put puta a little enthusiasm into his voice but failed It was getting to the point where he couldn't keep up LUlls Lillis' spirits any more more more nor his own own for that matter He had bad suggested opening the chests to see sec if it that would take their minds away from their predicament pre pre- The first chest had been interesting interesting fingering fingering the old jewelry jewelry jew jew- elry looking at the fine work of the Irac artisans exclaiming over the gold pitchers plates which they found in abundance The edge however however how how- ever had gone off at the second chest and the third third- Dont open it it it Lillis Lulls begged and he stopped his hand on the fourth lid and came over and sat Bat beside her I 1 cant can't bear to see sec any more gold gold- He took the torch from her am and examined it carefully It was no not as bright as a's as it had been Deen The peculiar pc pe- pe- pe culiar round like flint ball ban that held the flame lame was smaller smaller halt half the the- size of what it had been when he had taken it from the gold chair which was the throne The last trip t they ey had made to the door and ar around und the temple had been made especially to look for another torch torch but but Lulls Lillis didn't didn know that She thought he was looking for a break brenk in the walls walls- How long do you suppose weve we've been in here now Three hours perhaps four he answered quietly No watch o ot of course Impossible to tell teU the time In his heart he thought they had hat been in the temple more than four hours but he didn't have the nerve to tell teU Lillis better rest for awhile youre you're youre you're dead tired If Jf I do you oU you wont won't go back to the door and leave me here alone p I II wont won't Lillis Ill I'll stay right with you Nothing but the dais daisor for or her to lie Jie on or the floor which was the same the same the throne wasn't comfortable for sleeping Noth Nothing ng to throw over her or put under her hero herto herto I to o take lake the chill of the stone away If f he only had a coat coat coat- i Lillis Sleeps Sleep He pillowed her head on his lap and almost Immediately her eyes closed and she fell feU asleep Exhaust- Exhaust she ed-she d she was He was tired too The tramping on the stone got you you you- made your bare feet ache And they hey must have walked miles around the he temple to the door back to the throne hrone dozens of times Lillis beside him every moment because she he didn't want to be left alone Even when he had moved the body of the Irac Irae leader back into the shadows Lillis LUlls had been with him bearing the torch He touched the soft golden hair then took a lock of it to his lips and kissed it Brave girl brave girL jirL For a long time he sat the hair lair at his lips Ups held with his left lefthand lefthand lefthand hand and the torch balanced in his right the end of which was resting on t the e dais Five perhaps six hours in this tomb and nothing accomplished No WilY vay to swing the door that lc led lcd out of Tiva His hands were bruised from testing the carving carving feeling each minute little piece to find the II secret And no other outlet that he could find The temple had only the he one corridor which led into it from the plateau no plateau no long rambling caves Bare except for the eight pillars that ran down the center four on each side the four chests the dais and nd the golden throne Yes It was golden jolden He had scraped off oft the tarnish arnish Gold carved gold An ironical smile touched his lips and he dropped the tha lock of hair Gold Sold underneath the tarnish as was Lillis' Lillis hair Gold and jewels and silver in the chests too too but but no water in the temple No food His lips were dry his mouth dry and he was hungry but he wasn't worrying about himself He was concerned with Lillis She had had so little to eat and drink in the thelast thelast thelast last 24 hours hours practically practically nothing How she had stood up this long he couldn't i imagine agine She seemed so quiet as she lay barely breathing Was she breathing breathing breath breath- ing tag He Ho bent down and put his ear to her heart Yes a little flut hut ter How lovely she was with her lashes brushing her checks her full ful lips barely closed her cheeks so pale Lovely Lovely- The bat made a whirring so sound nd above and andRian Rian looked up frowning glad that Lillis couldn't hear it for he knew It frightened her He might shoot it of course but he didn't want to waste a bullet on it They might be precious later later later- Later Again the smile came on his face How much longer were they going to be bein in here Not forever for for- ever not ever not to die here The girls girl's body moved a little and her lips tightened as if in her sleep she had read his his' thoughts Chances of Rescue lUau Rian went ov ovir over r again in his mind mint their chances of rescue Cavanagh on the outside Derger The Irac tribesmen If Derger's guns hadn't hadn mowed them down by this time The Thedoor Thedoor Thedoor door to the temple could be blasted open if the secret outside lock couldn't be found Cavanagh knew knew knew-he he must know they were inside He would think of blasting the door With a small smal stick of dynamite there would be beno beno beno no danger that danger that is if the blasting were done right Rian felt himsel himself that if he were superintending the job he could do it right and he longed to be on the outside giving orders doing it himself Cavanagh knew whore the do door r. r S was I in the solid side of Tiva They had md been standing together among the he when the door had swung open for the leader Derger knew too oo for Derger must have been close I For the last couple couple of of hours Rian had been listening for the muffled i noises that might be dynamite surey sure- sure ly y those noises should get into Tiva I but but he had heard nothing Nothing Noth Noth- ing ng but the bat flying overhead and andl the he sound of their own voices a as ashey I they hey talked I To wait was all they could do To wait and wait walt and wait and not think hink too much about what might happen if Cavan Cavanagh gh had been killed by Derger's guns That was another er possibility he was was keeping to himself although it was in his mind constantly He balanced the torch carefully on the edge of the dais and let it stand there by itself Then he reached into his belt and felt for forthe forthe forthe the knife he had taken from the dead Irac leaders leader's heart Lillis hadn't seen him take it out neither had she seen him clean it on the theman's theman's theman's mans man's loin cloth for cloth for he was stoopIng stooping stoop- stoop Ing ng over the body when he did it it his lis back to her He was glad that thai they had the knife In a pinch Lillis could have the gun jun and he ho could manage the knife The wa the fh I b body Dody dY h he ha had tak taken something ethi g ge e else too The peculiar round greenish stone the man was wearing on a achain achain achain chain around his neck Pierced for the chain It was smooth from long wear A symbol of leadership he imagined because the other tribesmen wore nothing around their necks The chain was as made nade of heavy links of gold much like a good many chains in the chests he had opened Under the torch light he examined examined exam exam- ined med it again The carving was hard to make out because the stone was so worn B But t on one side he and Lillis decided there were five lea leaves es spread in the form torm of five fhe fingers from a central branch The other side held nothing nothing or or orif if it had at one time th the thc figures had been rubbed away against the chests of Irac chieftains He looked far Car to the left where he had carried the dead man ant and placed him against the thc wa wall folding folding folding fold fold- ing his hands over his chest He could not see the thc body for 1 it was lost far away in the Ule darkness buhe but bu buthe buthe he wondered why the man had been killed Killed be he must have been for hi his body was bruised with many blows and that one clean knife wound had been a true one Killed because the goddess Rca Rea had dIsappeared disappeared S Rian remembered that at the first when he had come out of the underground passage with Manuela he had scoffed at Cavanagh's story Laughed too Scoffed that an in in- in twentieth century man should believe a legend He wasn't scoffing now He had seen too much in these last 10 hours He had seen the door into Tiva open ho he had seen the kneel knee to Lillis he LUlls he had seen the treasure in three of the four tour chests chests and anc there W was 3 that body by the wall aa as asmore 3 more mute evidence that legend had become truth Treasure in three chests There were four of them Had he made madea a mistake not lifting the lid on the fourth A chance that there might be another torch something he didn't know what what what- Gently he moved the girls girl's head from his lap and laid it reluctantly on the stone He hated to do it It- It but he lie didn't want to awaken her when she needed the rest so badly and the chest wasn't far tar away 15 feet She wouldn't know he wa was gone When she was lying on the stone he picked up the torch and tiptoed tiptoe awn away although there was no need of ot that because she sho ho was sleeping fI I soundly The two chests on his left le he ic had opened and the one nearest the he dais to the right too almost at his feet The other was farther ba back ack k to the right The lids were swung on on rock hinges so it wasn't ha hard d work to get them op open n. n Indeed h he had been surprised at the ease with which the he first lid had come up in his hands He remembered remarking to o Lillis about the fine hinges as ashe she he stood above him The torch he placed against the first chest and going to the other directly behind it grasped the lid Ud and lifted it ITh There re was hardly a creak as it raised in his hands When he looked into it he thought the shadows were playing a trick on him so so- he reached back of him for the light f I At the first glance the chest seemed empty At the second with the he torch playing into the coffin- coffin like interior he knew it was vas empty but but he saw something else too 00 oo The chest was bottomless and what seemed to be a narrow staircase of stone led down as far as he could see To be continued Saturday C Copyright 1935 for The Salt Lake Telegram |