Chapter 20 EXPLORING THE TREASURE-ROUTE
　　EVERYONE was amazed. Steps! Stone steps leading downwards² at the base of the hollow stonecolumn? Jack³ gave a loud whoop⁴.
　　"I bet they go to the vaults⁶!"
　　"What vaults?" asked Dinah, in astonishment⁷. But Jack was too excited to tell her.
　　"Bill — let's go down. Come on. We're on the track of the treasure. Didn't the map say 'Bell.' Well,the temple must have had a bell. I bet the treasure's somewhere underneath⁸!""You're talking double Dutch," said Bill, not following this at all. "Philip — come down. Don'tattempt any scatter-brained exploration till we get the lanterns, and till I have a look myself. Do youhear me?"
　　"Yes, right, Bill," said Philip reluctantly, and jumped down. "Micky's down there somewhere — hemust have fallen on the steps and gone bumping down. I can still hear him whimpering.""I expect he got a bit of a shock," said Bill. "Go and get the lanterns and also the food, you boys. Ifwe are going underground, we'd better prepare ourselves!"Before the boys returned, Micky had come back, a Micky very frightened and sorry for himselfindeed. He looked for his beloved Philip but he wasn't there, so he went to Lucy-Ann, and let hernurse him like a baby. He whimpered all the time, and Lucy-Ann was very distressed⁹.
　　"Now, now — you haven't really hurt yourself," she consoled him. "Just a bruise¹⁰ or two, I expect. Itwas very very naughty of Kiki. Still, you've made a wonderful find, Micky. Really wonderful!"Kiki was very ashamed of herself. She went into a corner and put her head under her wing. Nobodytook any notice of her at all.
　　The boys came back. Bill had had a good look down the hollow column with his torch. It puzzledhim how the ancient folk, who had used the column as a way of getting underground, had made anentry in it. He could see no way of entry at all — except, of course, through the great hole broken inthe column.

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