Chapter XXVII: We Settle an Old Score

After three hours Ama came to us. She had exchanged her regal robes for a simple white toga, in which she appeared very charming in spite of her reddened eyelids and trembling lips. She was a brave girl, I willingly confess, and bore the terrible blow as well as any woman could have done.

Perhaps the bitterness of her disappointment and chagrin was lessened by the thought that her friendship for Paul had brought it upon her. Girls like to make sacrifices for the man they love, I’m told. Repudiated and scorned by the people she had so faithfully served, Ama naturally turned to those who had stood by her in her trouble, and she must have known that every one of us was a faithful friend and devoted to her cause.

Chaka’s conduct filled me with admiration. With all his heart and soul he loved this beautiful girl; yet when he saw that “his brother Paul” loved her, too, and that Ama turned more readily to Allerton than she did to him, he had never faltered in his steadfast affection for them both. The girl’s admission in the theatre that she would accept Paul as her husband settled Chaka’s chances for good and all, and he never whispered or wavered an eyelash. He was a savage, this handsome, dignified young fellow, born in savagery and even yet only half civilized. I wish there were more civilized whites as noble as he.

Ama was able to discuss the day’s events with a fair amount of composure.

“My heart is aching and my head whirls,” she said pitifully; “but one cannot die because an ungrateful people has bitterly wronged her.”

“We may all die soon,” remarked Archie, gruffly.

“Not all,” said Ama, with a wan smile. “When you, my friends, have made your escape from this valley, I will go out and deliver myself up to the cruel vengeance of the Tcha.”

“How can we escape?” asked Allerton.

“Can you not fly away, as you came?” she returned, as if surprised.

“Not without our flying clothes,” he said. “They were taken from us when first we arrived.”

“But they are here,” she exclaimed. “I had them brought to me so I might examine them, and discover the secret of their use. But it was too puzzling; I was stupid and did not understand.”

We listened to her with hearts beating high with hope for the first time.

“What do you mean by ‘here’? Where are these flying-clothes, Ama?” inquired Paul in a voice that trembled in spite of his effort to control it.

She reflected a moment.

“They were put in my wardrobe room. Come; I will show you.”

We all followed her through the gorgeous suite, extensive and magnificent enough for any queen, and at the end of a passage came to the room she had described. The gas-jackets were piled neatly upon a shelf, and with them were the cases containing the themlyne crystals.

I’m almost sure that was the happiest moment of my life. I felt like kissing everybody all around—even including Ama and her maidens. But none of us did anything so foolish and we accepted our good fortune like philosophers.

When we had carried the treasure back into the big reception room I noticed that Paul sat in a corner with Ama and held a lengthy conversation with her. He also held her hand, even though she needed no support at that time. Chaka gazed silently from the window, and thinking that perhaps the interview was of a personal nature we none of us interrupted the conversation, although after an hour or so the wait began to be tedious.

They finally came to us, however, hand in hand, and both their faces were radiant with bliss.

“Ama is coming with us,” announced Paul; “for whether Katalat’s story is true or not the Tcha believe him and this is no place for Ama hereafter. She will wear the extra gas-jacket and I’ll take care of her myself.”

Chaka approached and shook the hands of both very warmly.

“You will be happy, and I am glad,” he remarked simply, and the poor fellow was not to blame if his smile was a little sad and wistful.

“When shall we start?” I asked abruptly, to change the subject.

“At once,” replied our leader.

“Sorry we didn’t get more rubies,” said Archie.

“I’ve a few in my pocket yet, but most of them I left in my room over there,” indicating with a jerk of his thumb the palace of the priests.

Ama turned to him. “I have many of the red stones here, if you wish them,” she said.

“They will be very useful to us all in the world I am taking you to,” asserted Paul, being recalled to the practical side of our undertaking. Perhaps he had lost sight of the fact that Ama was not the only treasure he desired.

The girl led us to another room of the suite, a sort of storage place it seemed. Rubies? Well, well! There were quantities of them, lying loose in boxes or packed in stout sacks. All had been selected for their size and purity as the personal property of the Supreme Ruler. Ama bade us take all we wanted, and between us we managed to stow every stone upon our persons. They were not so very bulky, after all; but their value would make Paul independent for life and redeem his old homestead, as well as repay us all for the risk of this exciting adventure.

We fitted the extra gas-jacket to Ama and then donned our own. There was some question as to whether we had enough themlyne to carry us until we reached the _Seagull_, so I offered to drop down outside our old quarters, jump in the window and secure the large case of crystals from the chest. This was agreed to, and when we were ready to depart Ama bade good bye to her two faithful maidens and we went out upon a broad balcony that faced the temple. The jackets had already been partly inflated. We were roped together again, Ama between Paul and Chaka, the latter at the end of the string. I was left free for the present, so as to alight at the wing as I had proposed, but I took Ned’s hand and when the gas was turned on we all rose slowly from the balcony and, flopping our wings, made our aërial way over the ruins of the old temple.

Cries of anger greeted us from the populace who watched below, but we paid no heed to them. I saw the poor Waba Pagatka sitting on a bench with his head tied up in a bandage as the result of his encounter with the electrite, and he didn’t seem sorry to see us get away.

A moment later, as we approached the priests’ palace, I released Ned’s hand, let out some gas and dropped swiftly to the ground just beside the wing. Scrambling through the window I unlocked our supply chest and found the large case of themlyne. That was all I dared take and I leaped through the window and left more gas into my jacket, that it might float me again. This took a little time, of course, and my descent had been marked by some of the people nearest the building.

Before I could get away a big fellow rushed around the corner and came straight at me. I pulled my electrite and knocked him over. Another followed and met the same fate. I was now so buoyant that my toes scarcely touched the ground; but I could not rise yet, and here was a third Tcha after me. The electrite promptly settled him just as old Katalat himself appeared, running like a fiend to prevent my escape.

He was not afraid of the electrite, having had one dose of it and knowing that it did not kill; nevertheless I aimed it at the priest and pressed the button. Nothing happened. The storage battery had become exhausted.

The gas-valve was wide open. Slowly I left the ground and soared upward, and at that interesting moment Katalat grabbed my legs and held fast, shouting lustily for help. I remembered there was one cartridge left in my revolver.

I glanced upward and saw that my friends were too far away to be of any assistance to me. A dozen Tcha were rushing to help Katalat secure me and his wicked eyes glared triumphantly into mine as he held me in a vice-like grip.

There was no help for it. I got the muzzle of the revolver against his ear and pressed the trigger. With a cry he reeled backward and ended his career for good and all. Next moment I was in the air and out of danger.