“Where have you been?” as they walked fast toward camp. “What happened?”
“They tried us, and the Voice of Doom sentenced us, and they put us in the chamber behind the image. But we can’t stop to talk.”
“Are you all right? Is Potts safe?”
“Yes. Yes. Hurry!”
“Let me go with you.”
“Only hurry, and bring the Eye.”
Dashing into the tent, scattering explanations to befuddled Doctor Ryder as he broke apart the small secret compartment in a bedroll and got the gem, Clark met Roger and handed him the stone.
Instantly Roger fled into the darkness.
When Clark overtook him he saw Potts holding two ponies. Sending Tip to camp, the pair mounted and galloped away.
“It was easy to find the secret,” Roger said as they made a quick ride toward the distant cliffs, “Tip helped me keep my head. We figured out that somebody worked the Voice, and it was louder than human sound. We were in a tunnel. It sloped downwards. It seemed as though the Buddha image had howled. That meant a way to get into the image or open a port from the tunnel to it. Phonograph records wouldn’t have been their way.