"Come up, come up—I wish to show my men what a real Bradhinak of the Karnala looks like. A little befouled, perhaps—I  am  sorry my  accommodation is not quite what you are accustomed to."

"I'd rather stay here than be subjected to your insults, you scum," Darnad replied levelly.

"And what of your friend—the strange one? Perhaps he would like a little respite. Where is he?"

"I do not know."

"You do not know! But he was put down there with you. Do not lie, boy—where is your companion?"

"I do not know."

The light increased, probably because Chinod Sai was peering into his horrible crypt, using a torch for illumination.

His voice rose querulously. "He must be down there!"

Darnad's tone seemed lighter now. "You can see he is not—unless one of these skeletons is his."

"Impossible! Guards!"

I heard the faint sound of feet above me.

Chinod Sai continued: "Take up some more of these stones—see if the other prisoner is hiding in a corner. He is down here somewhere. Meanwhile, bring up the Karnala."

More sounds, and I gathered that Darnad had been escorted away.

Then I heard the guards beginning to tear up other slabs and I grinned to myself, hoping that they would not think of looking in the pipe. Then something occurred to me. It was not a pleasant thought but it might save me and give me, in turn, a chance to save Darnad.

I wriggled up the pipe again and reached up to take hold of some of the bones of the unfortunate who had been there before me. He had not been lucky but, even though dead some years, he might be able to help me now—and help me avenge him if and when the opportunity came.

Squeezing myself up against one section of the pipe as tightly as I could, I began to pass bones down in front of me until quite a heap lay below my feet. I did this as soundlessly as possible, and any noise I did make was probably drowned by the racket the desperate guards were making pulling up flagstones and crawling around in the semidarkness trying to find me.

"He isn't here," I heard one of them say. "You are a fool," answered another. "He must be here!"

"Well, I tell you he isn't. Come and look for yourself."

Another guard joined the first and I heard him stumbling around, too.

"I don't understand—there is no way out of here. We've put enough of them down here one time or another. Hey—what's this?"

The guard had found the pipe. The light increased.

"Could he have gone up here? If he did it won't do him any good. It's blocked at the other end!"

Then the guard found the bones. "Ugh! He didn't go up, but someone else tried to. These bones are old."