It was lucky that they did swing in, for at that instant an arrow whizzed by them and struck with a sharp ring of metal against the face of the rock.
“The people of the Golden Scarab use the weapons of their fathers,” remarked Jai Singh calmly. “Their arrows kill when they strike.”
“Poisoned?” asked Nick.
The tall Hindu shrugged his shoulders, as he repeated, in a significant tone:
“I have said that they kill.”
Nick Carter, Chick, and Patsy had all thrown up their rifles almost simultaneously with the passing of the arrow. But Jai Singh called out:
“Don’t shoot! There may be more of them. Keep under cover! If you shoot, the sound would carry far, and would bring the others down on us. I saw the one who sent the arrow. Leave him to me.”
“I’d like to get that fellow myself,” grumbled Patsy.
Nick Carter motioned him to lie down close against the rock, where the others had already thrown themselves, and Patsy had to obey.
But Chick broke through restraint. He simply could not lie there while an exciting incident was in progress in which he felt he could take a useful part. So, while Nick Carter was holding Patsy down, Chick followed Jai Singh over the rocks and into the heart of the mountain.