Red had mounted the rungs, was fumbling above him. Now he called down, "It's a trapdoor of some kind, Doc. Just a minute and—Ouch! This damn catch is stuck. There it comes—oh-oh!"
Hastily he let drop back into place the yard-square sheet of metal he had pried open. Ramey looked at him anxiously. "What's the matter, Redhead?"
"This thing opens right smack into the main altar room," whispered Barrett. "There's a bunch of Japs up there snooping around. They almost seen me."
"Then we—we're trapped?" asked Sheila faintly.
Ramey's eyes narrowed. "Not yet! That trap door gives us a chance. When Tomasaki leads the Japs down here, emptying the courts above, we'll beat it out that way!"
He glanced at Dr. Aiken commiseratingly. "Tough luck, Doc! Just when you make the greatest find of your career, we have to duck out. But maybe someday we can come back and figure out this mystery. Meanwhile we ought to try to find some way to lock this door from the inside. Tomasaki's just clever and treacherous enough to have seen how Red opened it. We've got to try to stall the Japs for an hour or so to give us a head start. One of these levers might be the answer."
He stared at the wall panel dubiously. Dr. Ian Aiken said, "I don't know, Ramey. It's foolhardy to experiment with things we don't understand. I'd be careful if I were you."
"It's now or never," Ramey reminded him. "In a few minutes it'll be too late to experiment."
He stepped toward the largest of several levers. As he did so a shrill cry sounded behind him. A mournful cry of terror.