Manu, East Indian servant of William Worthing, an old collector of curios, telephones the police that he cannot open the door of his master's room. Jack Forrest, a young reporter, is at headquarters when the message is received. He tells the sergeant that Worthing's son, Fred, in India, is his best friend. Jack accompanies the police to the house, and entrance is forced. Worthing lies upon the floor, having been killed by a sword. Circumstantial evidence is found against Manu. He is tried and acquitted. Worthing's son, Fred, arrives from India and Jack tells him of the crime. Fred finds a clue in the fact that the sword was standing upright, and searches the attic. He finds some rope lint on a post, and notes that the attic window is directly above the bedroom window. Then he finds a little image of Buddha among his father's effects. The last time he saw the little Buddha it was in an Indian temple with his father. It then contained a sacred bit of parchment, and old Worthing evidently had stolen it, and the Hindu servant murdered him as a result. The servant made his escape from the room by climbing out of the window on a rope to the attic. He had slid the bolt of the window with the sword through the transom, when the sword fell, it remained standing in the floor. These deductions prove correct, for Fred and Jack see Manu return stealthily that night to obtain the parchment from its hiding place under the steps. Fred and Jack follow him to a tenement and discover that the Hindus have a temple there. When they peep through a crevice in the door, they hear Adaba, the high priest, promise Manu that as a reward for recovering the sacred parchment, he shall marry Lukora, the priestess of the temple. Jack wants to call a policeman, but Fred tells him that as Manu has been acquitted he cannot be tried again. Fred determines to seek vengeance himself. He is a student and knows that this sect of Buddhists greatly fear the curse of their God. The next day he steals into the temple with Jack. He rubs some phosphorous on the idol of Buddha, substitutes powder for the incense, and on the slat where Manu is to place his head through the marriage ceremony, he places another chemical. He hides behind the altar with Jack. The Hindus come in and the ceremony is starts. The priest throws incense on the sacred fire and all is darkness, and a voice says: "The curse of Buddha lies upon the murderer in this temple." When the fire leaps up again and Manu raises his head a mystic sign is upon his forehead. The Hindus flee from him in horror. The priest hands him a sword with a significant gesture. As Jack and Fred gaze at the lifeless body in the deserted temple, Fred feels that his father has been avenged.