Oriental ways run parallel in all the lands of the East.
Nevertheless, the passage offered a means of escaping from the crypt.
And there, with the dead Maghrabi mudirs, the Legionaries could not
stay. In a few minutes now, at most, the men of Jannati Shahr would be
upon them.
"Faith, what the devil now?" exclaimed Bohannan, now seeming quite
rational, as he peered into the cramped corridor. "Where to Hell does
this lead?"
"Just where you've said, to Hell, it's far more than likely," the
Master retorted. "Come, men, into it! Follow me!"
He stooped, lamp in one hand, simitar in the other, and in a most
cramped posture entered the passage. After him came Leclair, the
woman, Bohannan, and the others.
The air hung close and heavy. The oppression of that stooping
position, the lamp-smoke, the unusual strain on the muscles, the
realization of a whole world of gold above and all about them, seemed
to strangle and enervate them. But steadily they kept on and on.
The turning of the passage revealed a long, descending incline, that
sloped down at an angle of perhaps thirty degrees. A marked rise in
temperature grew noticeable. What might that mean? None could imagine,
but not one even thought of turning back.
Pages:
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474