I knew that there must be some entrance to the building beside thedoorways in the roof, for it did not seem reasonable to believethat the thousands of slaves which were brought here to feed theMahars the human flesh they craved would all be carried throughthe air, and so I continued my search until at last it was rewardedby the discovery of several loose granite blocks in the masonry atone end of the temple.

A little effort proved sufficient to dislodge enough of these stonesto permit me to crawl through into the clearing, and a moment laterI had scurried across the intervening space to the dense junglebeyond.

Here I sank panting and trembling upon the matted grasses beneaththe giant trees, for I felt that I had escaped from the grinningfangs of death out of the depths of my own grave. Whatever dangerslay hidden in this island jungle, there could be none so fearsomeas those which I had just escaped. I knew that I could meet deathbravely enough if it but came in the form of some familiar beastor man--anything other than the hideous and uncanny Mahars.