been a long accepted legend that tigers and leopards had
been driven out of the neighbourhood, and had not been seen for years
within a radius of twenty to thirty miles, it was still possible that a
stray leopard or tiger had lately found a refuge in the neglected
precincts of the ruins.

Honor was unarmed and terribly afraid. The fate that had overtaken her
friends might easily be hers a few steps further. Prudence and
self-preservation dictated immediate flight and a call for a
search-party. At the same time, having come so far it seemed her duty to
continue till she was convinced that she could do no more. There was the
possibility that Captain Dalton had met with an accident and Joyce,
unable to leave him, was in dire need of help. Honor felt she would
cease to respect herself forever if she deserted her friends at the
moment of their greatest need.

She hesitated no further, but stumbled forward over the uneven ground,
desperately anxious and frightened, yet nerved to face any danger.

Another bend of the track brought the palace into view--a dark
conglomerate pile of crumbling masonry which looked frowningly down upon
her, its walls weather-beaten and scarred by time, and with rank
vegetation sprouting from every crack. A pipal tree flourished aloft
above its dome, its roots buried in the concrete and clinging to the
walls; while festoons of wild convolvulus hung in profusion from the
lower branches.

Moisture still dripped from the leaves, and the earth was sodden
underfoot. Lofty arches yawned in the sunlight and a silence as of the
grave reigned, broken only by an occasional caw from an inquisitive
crow, or the intermittent chattering of apes.

Again Honor came upon signs of forcible penetration--wild creepers torn
aside to make a path, and jungle hacked out of the way; no easy task.
Her friends had evidently been determined not to accept defeat in their
effort to reach the interior of the ruin.

It was a year since Honor had visited the spot and it seemed to her that
the shape of the building had changed. One wing had partially collapsed;
whether recently, or some months ago, she could not tell, but it did not
look quite the same. Here and there, boulders of freshly fallen masonry
strewed the path. There was no doubt that the edifice was slowly falling
to pieces.

Raising her hands to her lips, she gave a loud, Australian "_coo-ee!_"
and listened while its echo called back to her....

Was it an echo