Lake grinned at him. "We sit," he said, "tight. And wait for them to get tired looking for us. We hightailed it down here so fast, Ramey, you probably didn't notice the passageway we came through was a veritable labyrinth. It took me months to locate this place, and then I only stumbled across it by accident. The Japs are nervous, impatient little devils. They'll never find us here. In a few hours, a day at the most, they'll decide we must have somehow escaped from the temple grounds, beat it back to ask their base commandant what they should do next. When we're sure they're gone, we'll lam out of here."
"Sounds good. Meanwhile, what do we do about food and drinking water?"
"We do without, I guess," admitted Lake.
For the first time since their flight from the room above, the little native spoke up.
"Excuse, please, Master sahib, sir. I will go topside. Bring back food and water."
Ramey stared at him in astonishment. A little while ago Tomasaki had been limp with terror. Now he was offering to take a foolhardy risk on their behalf. It didn't make sense. The little man had undergone a complete change of heart or—
Suddenly Ramey thought he understood. For his keen gaze detected jittering nerves in the native's hopeful offer. The rising intonation of Sheng-ti supplied the missing clue.
"Aiee! Doom!" the shaven bonze was crying. "Woe to all men when the chamber of change be violated; when the gods of the past shall walk!"
Lake, too, understood, and stopped the little man as he edged toward the doorway. "No, come back here, Tomasaki! It's too risky. They might see you." He grinned at his friends. "I don't know how the rest of you feel, but me, I'd rather have an empty belly than a full carcass."