There was no difficulty, for in that fine climate the woodwork of the ladder was still dependable.

It was easy to see that in the years that had elapsed there had been other visitors to the tomb; and my heart sank within me when I thought that some of them might by chance have come across the secret place.

It would be a bitter discovery indeed to find that they had forestalled me; and that my journey had been in vain.
"The bitterness was realised when I lit my torches, and passed between the seven-sided columns to the Chapel of the tomb.
"There, in the very spot where I had expected to find it, was the opening of a serdab.

And the serdab was empty.
"But the Chapel was not empty; for the dried-up body of a man in Arab dress lay close under the opening, as though he had been stricken down.
I examined all round the walls to see if Trelawny's surmise was correct; and I found that in all the positions of the stars as given, the Pointers of the Plough indicated a spot to the left hand, or south side, of the opening of the serdab, where was a single star in gold.
"I pressed this, and it gave way.

The stone which had marked the front of the serdab, and which lay back against the wall within, moved slightly.