dmit that so far you have won the
trick. Let me down easily if you can. I can neither pass nor follow
suite. I am right out of my reckoning. Now what do you propose to do?"

"Get one of those torches we brought with us, and find out what there is
in that hole," Kitwater answered.

They waited while the latter went back to the camp, and when he
reappeared, and had lighted the torch, they prepared to follow him down
the steps into the mysterious depths below. The former, they soon
discovered, were as solidly built as the rest of the palace, and were
about thirty in number. They were, moreover, wet and slimy, and so
narrow that it was only possible for one man to descend them at once.
When they reached the bottom they found themselves standing in a narrow
passage, the walls of which were composed of solid stone, in many places
finely carved. The air was close, and from the fact that now and again
bats dashed past them into the deeper darkness, they argued that there
must be some way of communicating with the open air at the further end.

"This is just what the Frenchman told me," said Kitwater, and his voice
echoed away along the passage like distant thunder. "He said we should
find a narrow corridor at the foot of the steps, and then the Treasure
Chamber at the further end. So far it looks all right. Let us move on,
my friends."

There was no need for him to issue such an invitation. They were more
than eager to follow him.

Leaving the first room, or ante-chamber, as it might more properly be
called, they continued their way along the narrow passage which led from
it. The air was growing perceptibly closer every moment, while the light
of the torch reflected the walls on either side. Hayle wondered for a
moment as he followed his leader, what would happen to them if the
Chinese, of whom the old Frenchman had spoken to Kitwater, should
discover their presence in the ruins, and should replace the stone upon
the hole. In that case the treasure would prove of small value to them,
for they would be buried alive. He did not allow his mind, however, to
dwell very long upon this subject, for Kitwater, who was pushing on
ahead with the torch, had left the passage, and was standing in a large
and apparently well vaulted chamber. Handsomely carved pillars supported
the roof, the floor was well paved, while on either side there were
receptacles, not unlike the niches in the Roman catacombs, though for
what purpose they were int