At length the last nail was driven, and seated on the box he put his hand into an inner pocket to find his note-book, then incontinently fainted.  I struggled to my feet and sprinkled water over his face till he revived and rolled on to the floor, where presently he sank into sleep or torpor.  As he did so the first lamp gave out.

“Light it, Japhet,” said Maqueda, “it is dark in this place.”

“O Child of Kings,” answered the man, “I would obey if I could, but there is no more oil.”

Half-an-hour later the second lamp went out.  By the light that remained we made such arrangements as we could, knowing that soon darkness would be on us.  They were few and simple:  the fetching of a jar or two of water, the placing of arms and ammunition to our hands, and the spreading out of some blankets on which to lie down side by side upon what I for one believed would be our bed of death.

While we were thus engaged, Japhet crawled into our circle from the outer gloom.  Suddenly I saw his haggard face appear, looking like that of a spirit rising from the grave.

“My lamp is burned out,” he moaned; “it began to fail whilst I was on watch at the tunnel mouth, and before I was half-way here it died altogether.  Had it not been for the wire of the ‘thing-that-speaks’ which guided me, I could never have reached you.  I should have been lost in the darkness of the city and perished alone among the ghosts.”

“Well, you are here now,” said Oliver.  “Have you anything to report?”

“Nothing, lord, or at least very little.  I moved some of the small rocks that we piled up, and crept down the hole till I came to a place where the blessed light of day fell upon me, only one little ray of it, but still the light of day.  I think that something has fallen upon the tunnel and broken it, perhaps one of the outer walls of the palace.  At least I looked through a crack and saw everywhere ruins—­ruins that still smoke.  From among them I heard the voices of men shouting to each other.

“One of them called to his companion that it was strange, if the Gentiles and the Child of Kings had perished in the fire, that they had not found their bones which would be known by the guns they carried.  His friend answered that it was strange indeed, but being magicians, perhaps they had hidden away somewhere.  For his part he hoped so, as then sooner or later they would be found and put to death slowly, as they deserved, who had led astray the Child of Kings and brought so many of the heaven-descended Abati to their death.  Then fearing lest they should find and kill me, for they drew near as I could tell by their voices, I crept back again, and that is all my story.”

We said nothing; there seemed to be nothing to say, but sat in our sad circle and watched the dying lamp.  When it began to flicker, leaping up and down like a thing alive, a sudden panic seized poor Japhet.