“Well,” Barry explained, laughing, “I knew we shouldn’t find you in the camp, and some sort of explanation had to be offered. I spoke loudly enough for you to hear me behind the screen, so that if he insisted upon staying till you returned, your story would correspond with mine.” “Unfortunately,” said John Cumberland, “he must have heard the whistle.” “He did!” declared the Professor--“although he never once mentioned it.” “That is why I know he didn’t believe you,” Danbazzar added. “I shall go into Luxor on Monday and talk business to Mr. Tawwab.” He turned to Barry. “You haven’t heard the good news yet! Can you imagine that I was forced to stop work last year within a matter of hours of breaking through that portcullis?” “What do you mean?” Barry cried. “They cleared the entrance,” his father replied excitedly, “which Danbazzar had reclosed, without difficulty. You see, Barry, we are provided with the very best and latest gear. They set about the portcullis, and Hassan found a flaw in the rock itself beside this otherwise immovable stone door.” “Why didn’t we find it last year!” boomed Danbazzar. “I figured that portcullis was a long, tough job!” “They worked on it all night,” John Cumberland went on, “enlarging it----” “Have you actually been in!” cried Barry. “No,” was the reply; “the opening isn’t big enough. But Danbazzar and I were looking along the passage when we heard the whistle!” “Hassan has been down,” said Danbazzar. “There’s an obstruction twenty feet below, but he reports the air is fairly good.” “But what’s the obstruction?” Barry asked. “I fear another portcullis,” said Danbazzar. “But the roof of the shaft seems to have collapsed at this point, or partly collapsed, and Hassan is uncertain whether there’s another portcullis or not. It may be a month’s work, or our job may be nearly finished. Remembering the purpose for which it was constructed, I look for a simple tomb. I should be surprised to find wells or dummy passages.” “Could I possibly get through?” Danbazzar looked him over briefly; and: “No!” he replied, “but we have dropped a light into the shaft and you can look down. The men are at work again now.” Excitement rose to fever pitch. Constant relays of skilled excavators could not work fast enough for John Cumberland or for Barry. By nightfall, the hole beside the mighty stone door which closed the passage had been appreciably enlarged. But whereas their first success had been due principally to a flaw in the rock tunnel itself, progress beyond this stage was a matter of patient drilling and chipping.