And then the voice of the Ho-don warrior rang clear upon the ears of
the silent throng. "Thus speaks the true Jad-ben-Otho," he cried,
"through this his Messenger of Death. Cut the bonds of the prisoners.
Cut the bonds of the Dor-ul-Otho and of Ja-don, King of Pal-ul-don,
and of the woman who is the mate of the son of god."
Pan-sat, filled with the frenzy of fanaticism saw the power and
the glory of the regime he had served crumpled and gone. To one
and only one did he attribute the blame for the disaster that had
but just overwhelmed him. It was the creature who lay upon the
sacrificial altar who had brought Lu-don to his death and toppled
the dreams of power that day by day had been growing in the brain
of the under priest.
The sacrificial knife lay upon the altar where it had fallen from
the dead fingers of Obergatz. Pan-sat crept closer and then with
a sudden lunge he reached forth to seize the handle of the blade,
and even as his clutching fingers were poised above it, the strange
thing in the hands of the strange creature upon the temple wall
cried out its crashing word of doom and Pan-sat the under priest,
screaming, fell back upon the dead body of his master.
"Seize all the priests," cried Ta-den to the warriors, "and let
none hesitate lest Jad-ben-Otho's messenger send forth still other
bolts of lightning.
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