Stan edged forward. He had discovered a shallow depression running across the guard line. This low ground was deep in shadows. The sentry paced back and forth, his rifle over his shoulder. He met his fellow guards and they exchanged gruff words but never halted to talk.
Using Indian tactics Stan wormed his way along the hollow. He moved a few feet, then lay still for a space, then wiggled ahead a little more. When the sentry had his back turned, Stan slithered across his path and on as far as he could get. When the sentry faced about, Stan lay flattened against the ground. He was able to time his movements by the voices of the Japs when they met and challenged each other.
The guard moved toward Stan and halted. He seemed to be peering into the night. Stan held his breath. He suddenly appreciated the danger a scout faced in filtering through enemy lines. The sentry lowered his rifle and leaned on it. With a low grunt he lifted the rifle and moved on across the hollow, passing less than ten feet from Stan. A bush loomed ahead and Stan wiggled toward it. He slipped behind the low clump of brush and sat up.
Crouching in the shadows he listened. The sentry was standing still. Suddenly a slim pencil of light poked toward the bush. Stan did not move. To dive flat would have caused a movement the sentry would have seen. The light poked into the dense foliage, revealing red flowers and green leaves. Then the light snapped off and the sentry moved on.
Stan crawled away as fast as he could. His objective was two big trees with low-hanging branches. Reaching the trees he seated himself against the trunk of one of them. Ahead, the ground was fairly open. He could see the temple and the grounds through the trees. The road had led him directly to the spot where he had been made prisoner by the little yellow men on his first visit to the village.
His map was in his pocket but he did not dare flash a light to look at it. He would have to work from memory. What he could see of the temple showed that the bombs from the Hudsons had done considerable damage. A pile of rocks and debris lay to the left of the building and he could make out two big craters where the parking space had been.
Rising to his feet he walked to the left. By going around the temple grounds he should reach a grove of trees. He hoped there would be underbrush in the grove, but he did not remember Kirby having shown anything of the sort on his map.