It was bad enough to confess defeat without the fear of capture.
Wu frowned. "We must work quickly, then," he muttered.
He picked up a dark lantern near-by, indicating another to Long Sin.
They entered the cave, flashing the lights ahead of them.
"Be careful," ordered Wu, proceeding gingerly from one stepping-stone to another. "We shall be followed no further than this."
He paused a moment and pointed his finger at the earth. Everywhere, except here and there where a stone projected, was a sticky, slimy substance. It was an old trick of primitive races.
"Bird lime," hissed Wu, pointing at the viscid substance made of the juice of the holly bark, extracted by boiling, and mixed with a third part of nut oil and grease.
They passed on from stone to stone until they came to the subterranean chamber itself. Without a moment's hesitation, Wu made his way toward the rock in which they had found the slot with its cryptic inscription.
Long Sin watched his master in silent admiration as, at last, he drew forth the mystic ring for which they had dared all.
Without a word, Wu dropped it in the slot. It tinkled down the runway, a protuberance hit a trigger and pushed it a hair's breadth.
A noise behind them caused the two to turn startled. Even Wu had not expected it.