he knows no more than the talkers in the city who swear by their lord's
treasure. You and I are the sole living beings who know the secret."

Gerrard remembered a certain grim tale he had heard, according to which
every man who had taken part in the construction of the treasury had
been put to death on the completion of the work, and the piled gold
before him became hateful. "Is there any other entrance to this
labyrinth, Maharaj-ji?" he asked abruptly.

"Surely, my friend. The passage continues until it reaches the old
outer wall of the palace, and there ends with another turning stone,
concealed from those without by a tree that has struck its roots into
the masonry."

"But if that tree should be destroyed, the entrance would become
visible."

"It must not be destroyed. You must see to that, as I have done. I
gave large gifts to a fakir of great sanctity to declare that a spirit
had taken up his abode in the tree, and must on no account be
disturbed, though the people might bring offerings and venerate it from
below. Should it fall, or be thrown down by a storm, you must at once
plant a seedling or a shoot from it in the same place, sheltering the
tender plant by mats let down from the top of the wall until it has
grown sufficiently to conceal the stone. And now let us return. Stay!
my friend has refused all the gifts that I would fain have heaped upon
him, until I offer him no more in the sight of men for fear of courting
further rebuffs. Here no man sees us. Will he then take with him one
of these bags of pearls, such as any prince might desire in vain to
buy, and any queen might wear? What! I have offended him again? Say
no more, my friend; your ways are not as ours. Even to my friend I
will not offer twice what he is too proud to take. But come, for there
is more to be done to-night."

Gerrard rather wished it was not so as they retraced their steps
through the long passage and the lions' den back to the quiet garden
and the lotus-covered tank. The deaf and dumb man was waiting, and
ferried them over, and on the terrace below the tower the Rajah bade
Gerrard leave the turban and robe he had been wearing, which he did
thankfully, for the night was hot. Then, as he stood erect in his
white mess uniform in the moonlight, the old man laid his hands upon
his shoulders.

"O my friend, I have tried you with gold and with fear and with the
lust of power, and you have stood the test. Now I am abou