psed before he returned. When he did so
he said something to Pharos in a low voice, who immediately descended
from his camel and signed to me to do the same. Then we, in our turn,
approached the gigantic pylon, at the entrance of which we were met by a
man carrying a lighted torch. Viewed by this dim and uncertain light the
place appeared indescribably mysterious. Overhead the walls towered up
and up until I lost sight of them in the darkness. Presently we entered
a large court--so large indeed that even with the assistance of the
guide's torch we could not see the farther end of it. Then passing
through a doorway formed of enormous blocks of stone, the architrave of
which could scarcely have been less than a hundred feet from the ground,
we found ourselves standing in yet another and even greater hall. Here
we paused, while Pharos went forward into the darkness alone, leaving me
in the charge of the tall Arab and the man who carried the torch. Where
he had gone, and his reason for thus leaving me, I could not imagine,
and my common sense told me it would only be waste of time on my part to
inquire. Minutes went by until perhaps half an hour had elapsed, and
still he did not return. I was about to make some remark upon this, when
I noticed that the man holding the torch, who had hitherto been leaning
against a pillar, suddenly drew himself up and looked toward another
side of the great hall. I followed the direction of his eyes and saw an
old man approaching me. He was clad in white from head to foot, and with
a long white beard descending to within a few inches of his waist. He
signed to me to follow him, and then turning, led me across the hall in
the direction he had come. I followed close at his heels, threaded my
way among the mighty pillars carved all over with hieroglyphics, and so
passed into yet another court. Here it was all black darkness, and so
lonely that I found my spirits sinking lower and lower with every step I
took. Reaching the centre of my court my guide stopped and bade me
pause. I did so, whereupon he also departed, but in what direction he
went I could not tell.

Had it been possible, I think at this stage of the proceedings I should
have left Pharos to his own devices, and have made my way out of the
ruins and back to the steamer without waste of time. Under the
circumstances I have narrated, however, I had no option but to remain
where I was, and in any case I doubt whether I should have had tim