Sam hesitated, but the boys seized him by the arms and almost forced him along. In a moment, however, he was as eager as the others.
“Do you mean to say,” asked Jimmie, as they paused for a moment on a broad stone slab which lay before the portal of the ruined temple, “that you went inside on your former visit?”
“I certainly did!” was the reply.
“Then why are you backing up now?” asked Carl.
“On my previous visit,” Sam explained, standing with his back against the western wall of the entrance, “there were no such demonstrations as we have seen to-night. Now think that over, kiddies, and tell me what it means. It’s mighty puzzling to me!”
“Oh, we’ve got the answer to that!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Did you come here in an aeroplane, or did you walk in?”
“We came in on an aeroplane, early in the morning,” was the reply.
“That’s the answer!” exclaimed Jimmie. “The people who are operating these ghost stunts did not know you were coming because they saw no lights in the sky. Now we came down with a noise like an express train and a great big acetylene lamp burning full blast. Don’t you see?”
“That’s the idea!” Carl cried. “The actors and stage hands all disappeared as soon as you showed around the angle of the cliff.”
“But why should they go through what you call their stunts at this time, and not on the occasion of my former visit?” asked Sam.