When they again came to the surface, Bertha Kircher saw that they
were in a large lagoon and that the bright stars were shining high
above them, while on either hand domed and minareted buildings were
silhouetted sharply against the starlit sky. Metak swam swiftly to
the north side of the lagoon where, by means of a ladder, the two
climbed out upon the embankment. There were others in the plaza
but they paid but little if any attention to the two bedraggled
figures. As Metak walked quickly across the pavement with the girl
at his side, Bertha Kircher could only guess at the man's intentions.
She could see no way in which to escape and so she went docilely
with him, hoping against hope that some fortuitous circumstance
might eventually arise that would give her the coveted chance for
freedom and life.
Metak led her toward a building which, as she entered, she recognized
as the same to which she and Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick had been led
when they were brought into the city. There was no man sitting
behind the carved desk now, but about the room were a dozen or more
warriors in the tunics of the house to which they were attached, in
this case white with a small lion in the form of a crest or badge
upon the breast and back of each.
As Metak entered and the men recognized him they arose, and in answer
to a query he put, they pointed to an arched doorway at the rear
of the room.
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