-Anstice took it for granted that
his hearer knew the details of the occasion--"Miss Ryder and I went on
ahead. We were both well mounted, and she was, as you know, a fearless
horsewoman. We very soon out-distanced the others, and had gone a good
way when Miss Ryder suggested we should visit a certain Temple of which
it seems she had heard a great deal from a native servant. Had I known
then, as I know now, the reputation of the place, and the intense hatred
which the priests felt for any of the white races since that unlucky
American affair"--he realized suddenly that he appeared to be excusing
himself, and his manner hardened--"well, I can only regret that I
allowed Miss Ryder to set foot in the place."

"You went?"

"Yes. It was only a few miles off the track, and we were so far ahead of
the party that we should easily have had time to get to our original
destination for lunch. Well, we went on, found the Temple, apparently
deserted----"

"Apparently?" The question shot out like steel. "There was someone
there?"

"Yes. We both realized at the same moment that we were not alone. You
must understand that the place is half in ruins--it's a clever
subterfuge of the priests to keep out intruders by pretending there is
nothing there of interest. Most people turn back after a perfunctory
look round; but in reality if one penetrates through one or two passages
one comes to the Temple proper, where Heaven knows what rites go on."

"You reached it?"

"Yes. Thinking the place was merely a ruin I went on quite
comfortably ... and suddenly we found ourselves in a sort of Holy of
Holies ... a queer, pillared place with an enormous idol in a kind of
recess--an altar, I suppose." His voice was tense. "It was at that moment
we both realized someone was watching us, malignantly, from some unseen
vantage-point. I turned to Miss Ryder to suggest, as quietly as
possible, that we should retrace our steps, and found her, very pale,
staring ahead of her with horror in her face."

"She had seen--something?"

"Yes. Afterwards she told me it was the glitter of the man's eyes ... he
was looking through a kind of hole in the embroidered drapery behind the
idol ... that had attracted her attention; and she was only too ready to
fall in with my suggestion."

"You were--prevented?"

"Yes. As we turned towards the opening we found we were too late. Three
tall fellows--priests, I suppose they were--had come up behind us, and
as we moved