"I heard shots. Is it all over?"
But we paid no attention to Burke.
There was Whitney, considerably banged up by the fall, but lucky
to be alive.
"I tried to shake him," he explained, catching sight of Norton.
"But he stuck to us, even on our detours. Finally he grew
desperate--forced my car off the road. What happened after that, I
don't know. He must have carried me some miles, insensible, and
dumped me in the bushes again. I was several miles up the hill,
tramping along, looking for a road-house, when this gentleman
found me and said I had gone too far."
Senora de Moche turned from Lockwood and Inez who were standing,
oblivious to the rest of us, and stared at Whitney's bruised and
battered face.
"It is the curse," she muttered. "It will never--
"Just a moment," interrupted Craig, drawing the dagger from his
pocket, and turning toward Inez. "It was to your ancestor that the
original possessor of the secret promised to give the 'big fish,'
when he was killed."
He paused and handed the dagger to her. She touched it shuddering,
but as though it were a duty.
"Take it," he said simply. "The secret is yours. Only love can
destroy the curse on the Gold of the Gods.
Pages:
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308