The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1915-12-24

! ing red robes d0rted Forward ana helu
out quivering hands toward Annette
Give her TO them" cried the priest
Give her TO them." commanded
Hernandez,
But the brute, his feet planted wide
apart stood his ground,
Hernandez sprang toward him, an
grily seized the everready whip from
Ponto's hand and lashed the brute
fiercely. lie nodded to the four Grim
son-clad men and they tore Annette
roughly away and dragged her TO the
temple. Neal hurled himself at the
four acolytes, but Hernandez dragged
him back.
Neal was then thrust into a dungeon
and its door was locked
Meantime within the temple things
we're happening Annette found her
self in an apartment gorgeously fur
nished with Aztec tapestries. Two
old women-toothess ugly-women
with boards, attended Annette chuck,
ling and mumbling TO themselves in
glee. They produced from the re-
cesses OF the temple a dress, gorgeous,
bizarre. They draped il upon Annette S
slender form. They hung her head,
neck and arms with glttering orna-
ments. and then they beckoned to her
and led her TO a window, and pointed
chuekling, through II.
Annette knew not what they said,
but Ponto without distinguished easily
the meaning Of the high shrill tones.
THE sun god waists waiting for
his bride"
Annette's glance Travelled past the
sun god. She started back in horror.
Into that soething pit beyond the
acolytes were casting huge quantities
of fuel-pouring the contents of huge
Jars OF oil upon the flames. Her glance
travelled still beyond, and across an
intervening space she saw a dungeon
window and the white face of Neal
He waved his hand And then strong
hands were placed upon'her shoulders
and she was lifted from her feet and
half dragged, half carried out Of the
temple into the center of the clear
space before the sun god. The cere-
mony had begun.
Neal tore his glance for a moment
from this scene and examined his cell.
There was a window at his back
a heavily barred window. He seized
the bars in desperation and found to
his surprise that they we're loose.
With a superhuman effort, he thrust
the bars outward, leaped through the
aperture and darted swiftly into the
Jungle: then he looked about him for
a tree and found the one he wanted.
II was a high tree, very high. lie
climbed it swiftly-climbed it to its
topmost branches. Cruising slowly
off the shore-and the shore was not
very far away-was his cruiser Al
bany.
He braced himself among the
branches with his feet, ripped off
his shirt, tied it by the arms about
broken branch and signaled to the
ship.
Within the walls Ponto, still terror
stricken with the sun gods anger,
turned his back for a moment upon
that deity and upon that deity's high
priest. Then suddenly he saw some
thing. In the top of high tree without
the walls there was a white rag iiut-
tering to and fro-and something
more. A man.
POnto gripped Hernandez's arm and
pointed upward. The face Of Herman
dez froZe. He darted toward the
dungeon, saw that it was empty, then
beckoning Ponto and the brute he
darted to the stone wall and with their
aid clambered over it.
Ponto, with considerably less agil.
ity and with the assistance of the brute,
followed his companion over, and
the brute in turn, his head and shoul-
ders lashed with Ponto's whip WELD
ed over the top of the wall, swung
himself over and followed them.
Annette noticed the confusion-was
the first to see it. Suddenly striking
an attitude she raised her hand and
arm and pointed toward the white flag
futtering from the tree top. The high
priest stopped his droning and fol-
lowed the direction of her hand with
his glance. His acolytes stopped and
stared-so did everybody else.
Annette saw her opportunity. Upon
a standard by her side lay heavy
copper scepter. She seized it. 1.-the
as her body was she had inherited
great trength-wonderful agility.
Without a moments hesitation she
swung the scepter vigiously about her
head, dashing the high priest and his
acolytes to the ground, knocking the
Aztec warriors to right and left. Like
whirlwind she fought her way to-
ward the gate, slammed it behind her
and sped away.