ties."

He flashed her a merry look. "You ought not to be afraid with Master
Overbold by your side. As for the tiger, we may meet him yet."

"Oh, no, we shan't!" she asserted with confidence. "It would be too
ludicrously like a fairy-tale."

"Horribly ludicrous!" said Noel. "Well, come along and look for him!"

So side by side they started.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SOUL OF A HERO

The way was exceedingly rough and here and there almost overgrown with
coarse weeds. Near the temple, the ground ascended fairly steeply, and
the path narrowed so that it was impossible to walk abreast.

"Wonder if there are any of those jolly little _karaits_ about,"
speculated Noel. "If you don't mind, I'll go first."

"I believe I saw a scorpion!" said Olga, as he took the lead.

He laughed at her over his shoulder. "Or a lizard! Stick to it, Mistress
Timorous! You'll develop a taste for adventure soon."

"Oh, I'm not a coward really," she protested. "At least I never used to
be!"

"You are the sweetest girl in the world," said Noel, in a tone that
reduced Olga to instant and uncompromising silence.

She could not refuse his hand, however, when he paused to help her over
the rough places. It was an utter impossibility to be ungracious to Noel
for long. He was far too seductive.

They reached the top of the ascent and found themselves close to the
temple. The place was a ruin. Blocks of stone, that once had been part
of its structure, were scattered in all directions; and, advancing, they
presently stumbled upon the monstrous head of a broken idol.

"This is the temple of Dagon," said Noel dramatically. "I don't think
it's a very suitable place for a picnic. One might find bits of human
sacrifices about and that would spoil the appetite."

"Oh, don't be gruesome!" Olga besought him. "Let's go in, as we are
here."

They crossed the stone-strewn space through the shadowy cypresses, and
entered under the dome. The place was dark and very eerie. Their
footsteps echoed weirdly, and instantly there ensued a wild commotion
overhead of owls and flying-foxes.

Olga started violently, and Noel looked upwards with a laugh that echoed
and echoed in sinister repetition.

"What a ghastly place!" whispered Olga, as it died away at last.

The whisper was taken up and repeated from wall to wall till the further
darkness swallowed it. Olga's hand went out instinctively and closed
upon Noel's arm. Her nerves were not strung to this.