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He stopped swaying to and fro and appeared to be startled into an attempt to master his faculties of concentration and thought. Bradley repeated his questions sharply. "I am An-Tak, the Galu," replied the man. "Luata alone knows how long I have been here maybe ten moons, maybe ten moons three times" it was the Caspakian equivalent of thirty. "I was young and strong when they brought me here.
"When you sleep, An-Tak will eat." It was horrible. Bradley shuddered. For a long time each sat in silence. The Englishman could guess why the other made no sound he awaited the moment that sleep should overcome his victim. In the long silence there was born upon Bradley's ears a faint, monotonous sound as of running water. He listened intently. It seemed to come from far beneath the floor.
For several minutes after An-Tak ceased speaking, his voice having trailed off weakly into silence, neither spoke again. Then the Galu recommenced his, "Food! Food! There is a way out!" Bradley tossed him another bit of dried meat, waiting patiently until he had eaten it, this time more slowly. "What do you mean by saying there is a way out?" he asked.
The monotony of the blind trail was increased by the fact that from the moment he had started from the foot of the ladder he had counted his every step. He had promised to return for An-Tak if it proved humanly possible to do so, and he knew that in the blackness of the tunnel he could locate the foot of the ladder in no other way.
"What is that noise?" he asked. "That sounds like water running through a narrow channel." "It is the river," replied An-Tak. "Why do you not go to sleep? It passes directly beneath the Blue Place of Seven Skulls. It runs through the temple grounds, beneath the temple and under the city. When we die, they will cut off our heads and throw our bodies into the river.
For only an instant he hesitated weighing his chances. Behind him lay almost certainly the horrid fate of An-Tak; before him nothing worse than a comparatively painless death by drowning. Holding his haversack above his head with one hand he lowered his feet slowly over the edge of the narrow platform.
I wanted to go back to An-Tak, who must be very lonely without me; but I know that it can never be. It is difficult to kill hope, though mine is nearly dead. Do not leave me." "An-Tak!" Bradley repeated. "You loved a man called An-Tak?" "Yes," replied the girl. "An-Tak was away, hunting, when the Wieroo caught me. How he must have grieved for me!
"What is cos-ata-lu?" insisted Bradley again. An-Tak tried to explain.
Take me with you! Take me with you!" "Shut up!" admonished Bradley. "You will have the whole flock of birds around our heads in a minute, and neither of us will escape. Be quiet, and I'll go ahead. If I find a way out, I'll come back and help you, if you'll promise not to try to eat me up again." "I promise," cried An-Tak. "Oh, Luata! How could you blame me?
A moment later another headless body floated past, recalling what An-Tak had told him of the skull-collecting customs of the Wieroo. Bradley wondered how it happened that the first corpse he had encountered in the stream had not been similarly mutilated. The farther he advanced now, the lighter it became.
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