"The door!" roared Lake O'Brien. "It's closing!" Whirling, Ramey saw the unguarded metal shield swinging shut. With a hoarse cry he leaped toward it. His shoulder and that of Lake smashed it at the same time. But the bruising impact was in vain. Even as they struck it there came the _snick!_ of clasping locks. They were sealed in the metal cube. And Syd O'Brien's voice told why. "It didn't close!" roared Syd. "It was closed _on_ us--intentionally! Tomasaki!" Ramey, glancing about him, realized that of their number all were present but the little brown man. Suspicion, latent until now, flared into sudden understanding. "Then _he's_ the one! The one who showed the Japs the 'plane, told them who I was! He's been with them since the beginning. Sneaked around to betray us at the east gate, and probably shot Sirabhar himself when Sirabhar tried to warn us." Lake boomed, "By God! That's why he offered to go after supplies! So he could reveal our hiding place. He's probably gone to fetch the Japs now, the traitorous little--" As ever, Dr. Aiken's head was levelest in a crisis. "There are Quislings in all races," he said sadly. "It's too bad we discovered the enemy in our midst so late. But we have no time to waste in recriminations. We must get out of here before the soldiers come. The ladder--where does it go?" 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.