But I did not heed him, for, standing on the top of the cliff,
waving his arms wildly at those below, I had seen the form of the
Inca king. He was less than thirty feet away.
With cries from Harry and Desiree ringing in my ears, I braced my
feet as firmly as possible on the uneven rock and poised my spear
above my head. The Incas saw my purpose and stopped short.
The king must also have seen me, but he stood absolutely
motionless. I lunged forward; the spear left my hand and flew
straight for his breast.
But it failed to reach the mark. A shout of triumph was on my
lips, but was suddenly cut short when an Inca standing near the
king sprang forward and hurled himself in the path of the spear
just as its point was ready to take our revenge. The Inca fell to
the foot of the cliff with the spear buried deep in his side. The
king stood as he had before, without moving.
Then there was a wild rush into the mouth of the exit, and I
turned to follow Harry and Desiree. With extreme difficulty we
scrambled forward over the rocks and around them.
Desiree's breath was coming in painful gasps, and we had to
support her on either side.
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