"No," he replied, "I know not this place. I have never before penetrated it."
"Then let us return by the way we came," I urged.
"Courage, lad," said the sheik; "we will go on."
The rebuke, uttered a second time, stung me, although I knew that it was meant kindly. I had always thought that I possessed an ordinary amount of courage, but it seemed now to have deserted me.
"Well, which way shall we go?" I asked in desperation.
"We will try this one," said Faris, moving to the nearest entrance on his right.
I followed him closely along the new passage, just able to see the way by the glimmer of daylight falling through the occasional narrow loopholes, which slanted upwards towards the heavens. That the walls were thick and solid we could see from the depth of the loopholes—four feet they must have been, at the least. For some thirty yards or so the tunnel was straight; then it took a sudden turn to the left; then, after a few yards, a sudden turn to the right; again to the left, and twice more in succession to the left; after which we turned at right angles to the right, and going for a short distance, found ourselves in another circular chamber, alike in all respects to the first one. There was again the hole in the vaulted roof, and there were the nine passages leading out of it.
I sighed audibly, and the sheik looked at me and laughed.
"You are a magician," he said, "come, try your magic. Divine for us which path we had better take."
"I know no magic that could avail us in this accursed spot," I replied. "Let us take the way that we came, and retrace our steps out of these underground dungeons; or shall we cast lots as to the road we shall follow?"