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"
Why not?" replied Turan. "We know not where we are, or the way from these pits;
for I know not east from west; but he doubtless knows and if we are shrewd we
may learn from him that which we would know. At least we cannot afford to
arouse his suspicions"; and so they followed him--followed along winding
corridors and through many chambers, until they came at last to a room in which
there were several marble slabs raised upon pedestals some three feet above the
floor and upon each slab lay a human corpse.
"
Here we are," exclaimed the old man. "These are fresh and we shall have to get to
work upon them soon. I am working now on one for The Gate of Enemies. He slew
many of our warriors. Truly is he entitled to a place in The Gate. Come, you shall
see him."
He led them to an adjoining apartment. Upon the floor were many fresh, human
bones and upon a marble slab a mass of shapeless flesh.
"You will learn this later," announced the old man; "but it will not harm you to
watch me now, for there are not many thus prepared, and it may be long before
you will have the opportunity to see another prepared for The Gate of Enemies.
First, you see, I remove all the bones, carefully that the skin may be damaged as
little as possible. The skull is the most difficult, but it can be removed by a skilful
artist. You see, I have made but a single opening. This I now sew up, and that
done, the body is hung so," and he fastened a piece of rope to the hair of the
corpse and swung the horrid thing to a ring in the ceiling. Directly below it was a
circular manhole in the floor from which he removed the cover revealing a well
partially filled with a reddish liquid. "Now we lower it into this, the formula for
which you shall learn in due time. We fasten it thus to the bottom of the cover,
which we now replace. In a year it will be ready; but it must be examined often in
the meantime and the liquid kept above the level of its crown. It will be a very
beautiful piece, this one, when it is ready.
"And you are fortunate again, for there is one to come out today." He crossed to
the opposite side of the room and raised another cover, reached in and dragged a
grotesque looking figure from the hole. It was a human body, shrunk by the
action of the chemical in which it had been immersed, to a little figure scarce a
foot high.
"
Ey! is it not fine?" cried the little old man. "Tomorrow it will take its place in The
Gate of Enemies." He dried it off with cloths and packed it away carefully in a
basket. "Perhaps you would like to see some of my life work," he suggested, and
without waiting for their assent led them to another apartment, a large chamber
in which were forty or fifty people. All were sitting or standing quietly about the
walls, with the exception of one huge warrior who bestrode a great thoat in the
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