“But, although we did not realize it, freedom for some of us was close at hand. Shortly before noon the sky became black as night. A screaming sort of wind arose, and suddenly we felt the ground under our feet beginning to rock. It didn’t take us long to catch on that the disturbance was caused by an earthquake of uncommon severity. The natives began to howl and yell, and rushed about like madmen. That wind suddenly picked up our prison and whisked it off, just as it might have dealt with an umbrella. And there we stood, in the middle of all this commotion, unbound and practically free to go where we would, for the natives were far too busy attending to their own affairs to worry about us. “In the middle of the uproar and the convulsions of the earth, a whole section of the cliff which upreared itself at the back of the settlement, slid down with a roar like a hundred Niagaras. It caught that village, just as a big rock would smash an anthill. We escaped by the skin of our teeth, but, as it was, we were showered with flying rocks and earth. Luckily, none of us was injured. “But those poor natives fared otherwise. Of the scores that had been rushing about an instant before hardly twenty remained. One of these was a big fellow, with a beautiful copper-colored skin, clad in a sort of garment made out of jaguar hide. He separated from the rest, and we saw that he carried under his arm a large box, or case, which gleamed dully in the gloom. “‘He’s making for the canoes!’ shouted MacDuffy suddenly, and then, sure enough, we saw what we hadn’t noticed before in all that hurly-burly, namely, that several dugouts were moored to the river bank. I guess we all caught the inspiration at the same instant. Anyhow, we began running for the bank at top speed. But suddenly that copper-colored giant faced about, and we now saw that he carried a whole quiver full of those poisoned darts that the Maya tribes use with deadly effect. “Before he could aim one, or shout to the rest of the villagers, who hadn’t noted our escape, Abner Jennings flew at him like a wildcat. Down he went, bowled over like a ninepin, under a crashing blow from Jennings’ fist. “‘Hurray, lads! Now for the boats!’ shouted Allworthy, and we scampered after him toward them. But at that instant a queer thing happened. A man came racing toward us from amidst the ruins of the village. “‘Get him!’ yelled Allworthy savagely, as Jennings stooped and picked up a big rock. “But the next instant his hand dropped to his side. The man was white! In spite of his half-naked condition and sun-browned skin, it was clear enough that he was as much of a Caucasian as any of us, and then came the wonderful part of it all. “‘In the name of heaven, white men, stop!’ he shouted, ‘take me with you. I am——’” “Jasper Jesson!” It was Tom Jesson who had uttered the exclamation. In a flash of intuition he had seen what was coming before Ned uttered it. The lad literally quivered with excitement as he spoke.