Heart pounding, Burke walked with her towards the doorway.... CHAPTER II There was a guard in the corridor beyond the Queen's Megaron. Wordless, Burke flicked a glance at Ariadne. Her dark eyes flashed a daredevil acceptance of the challenge. Sliding past him, she swung the heavy door back so it hid him, then leaned against it, body arched in practiced coquetry. The spearman outside straightened just a fraction. His chest swelled and his belly drew in. Slowly, Ariadne's full lips curved in a smile that was all invitation. Her hand came up to smooth her hair as she turned, twisting and preening. Then, still unspeaking, and with one last lingering glance over her shoulder, she drew back into her own apartment. The guard's head swiveled as his eyes followed her. Ariadne laughed softly from the shadows. Her long skirt swirled and rustled. The guard's breath rasped in the stillness. For an instant he hesitated, peering down the hall in both directions. Then, eagerly, he crossed the threshold and moved with swift steps towards the princess. Burke waited till the man was clear of the door. Then, savagely, the Smith & Wesson flat on the palm of his hand, he stepped forth from his hiding place and smashed a blow to the back of the other's neck. The guard's knees hinged. He spilled to the floor. Burke snapped, "Quick! Cords! A gag!" The shrill, nerve-jangling squeal of cloth tearing echoed. Deftly, Ariadne thrust strips from a drape into his hands. Burke bound and gagged the guard, then straightened and strode across the room to where bull-necked, snoring Theseus lay, the stench of sour wine still thick about him. Ariadne came close. "More cloth, my lord?" Burke prodded the Greek ungently with his toe, without response; then once more glanced at his watch. Ten forty-five now. And that left only an hour-and-a-quarter more, at best. The back of Burke's neck prickled. "Forget it," he clipped. "The Hero of Athens is too drunk to turn over, even, let alone give us trouble." "This way, then," the girl said. Her voice all at once was not too steady, and the hand that gripped Burke's showed a tendency to tremble. Together, they made their way from the apartment, down the corridor past a row of great painted jars and, finally, out onto the long ascending ramp that led to the palace's central court. Now Ariadne turned right, keeping to the shadows of the colonnaded buildings past which they moved. Close behind her, gun in hand, Burke tried to watch all ways at once. Every rattling stone, every wind-tossed branch against the cloud-blocked sky, became for him a trigger for new tension. Once, when the shadows behind him flickered, he almost persuaded himself that Theseus must be on their heels. Or perhaps, somehow, they'd caught the attention of another of old Minos' guards.... Again Ariadne veered right. A door creaked as she put her shoulder to it. This corridor was so black Burke had to grip the girl's hand to keep contact with her.