At last, though, the guards had thrust in their villainous faces for the
last time, according to their custom, and all had lain down as if to
sleep.

An hour must have passed, and Lawrence lay with his heart beating,
waiting for a summons from Yussuf; but it seemed as if one would never
come, and the lad was about to give up and conclude that their guide had
decided not to go that night, when a hand came out of the darkness and
touched his face, while a pair of lips almost swept his ear, and a voice
whispered:

"Rise softly, and follow me."

Lawrence needed no second invitation, and, rising quickly, he followed
Yussuf to where the rug hung over the door.

"Bend down low, and follow me," whispered the Turk. "The guards are
nearly asleep."

He drew the rug a little on one side, and Lawrence saw where the two men
were huddled up in their sheepskin cloaks.

"Do as I do," whispered Yussuf.

The moon was shining, and the part where the guards sat was well in the
light; but a black shadow was cast beneath the walls of the great
building, and by stooping down and keeping in this, the evading pair
were able to get beyond the ken of the guards, and though lights shone
out from one ruined building, whether from fire or lamp could not be
told, not a soul was about, and they were able to keep on till the
inhabited part was left behind and the old temple reached.

"It was a dangerous thing to do, Lawrence effendi," said the guide. "I
repented promising to bring you, for the men might have fired."

"Never mind that," whispered Lawrence. "We are safe now. Have you
brought a light?"

"Yes," was the reply; and, by the moonlight which shone through a gap,
Yussuf led the way among the broken stones to the back of the old altar,
where, after feeling about, he found the side of the stone, lifted it
right up, and leaned it against a broken column.

Then, after a word of warning, he stooped down and struck a match, but
the draught that blew up the opening extinguished it on the instant.

Another and another shared the same fate, after giving them a glimpse of
a ragged set of stone steps; and as it was evident that no light could
be obtained that way, Yussuf took the little lamp he had brought into a
corner of the building, lit it, and sheltering it inside his loose
garment, he came back to where Lawrence waited listening.

"I'll go first," said Yussuf. "Mind how you come."

He lowered himself into the hole, and descend