He feared there might be some rear entrance to the temple, by which their foes would steal a march on them. The only way of satisfying himself on this point was by an examination of the exterior.
"I am going, sahibs," he quietly remarked a few minutes later, "and you will not forget to keep close watch while I am away."
They assured him that he need have no fears in that respect.
A minute later he had vanished.
This was comparatively an easy task, for, instead of venturing out upon the moonlit plain, he clambered up the shaded archway, where he could not be seen from the outside. His friends saw him make a leap upward, catch hold of the stone above his head, his long legs beating the air for a moment, and then he was gone.
"There are some things which cannot be done," remarked Harkins, "and I have a fear that he means to try them. If he undertakes to get down the stream or to the jungle or ventures away from the ruins at all, he will lose his life. Wana Affghar would like nothing better than to have him make such an attempt."
"He will take no advice from us, and perhaps it is as well that he will not; but he is a shrewd fellow, and I have great faith in him."
"I wonder what scheme he has in his head."
"He has formed some plan, and he wants to see whether it will do to try it."
The two began pacing back and forth through the arched passage, alternating in such a way that one was always facing outward. This was continued for a half hour, during which the stillness of the tomb reigned about them. At the end of that time the sound of voices from within showed that the ladies had come into the larger room, where the missionary was talking to them.