A moment later his head disappeared within; then his
shoulders, and his lithe body, and the hangings dropped quietly into
place again. A moment later there filtered to the vacant corridor
without a brief, gasping gurgle and again silence. A minute passed;
a second, and a third, and then the hangings were thrust aside and
a grimly masked priest of the temple of Jad-ben-Otho strode into
the passageway.
With bold steps he moved along and was about to turn into a
diverging gallery when his attention was aroused by voices coming
from a room upon his left. Instantly the figure halted and crossing
the corridor stood with an ear close to the skins that concealed
the occupants of the room from him, and him from them. Presently
he leaped back into the concealing shadows of the diverging gallery
and immediately thereafter the hangings by which he had been listening
parted and a priest emerged to turn quickly down the main corridor.
The eavesdropper waited until the other had gained a little distance
and then stepping from his place of concealment followed silently
behind.
The way led along the corridor which ran parallel with the face
of the cliff for some little distance and then Pan-sat, taking a
cresset from one of the wall niches, turned abruptly into a small
apartment at his left. The tracker followed cautiously in time to
see the rays of the flickering light dimly visible from an aperture
in the floor before him.
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