Part 23 (1/2)

I foundhow these half-civilized brutes had possibly ed to conceive the idea of the spiral stair It was known to neither the Aztecs nor the Incas, in America; nor to any of the primitive European or Asiatic civilizations But they had found a place where nothing else would do--and theyof Mother Necessity

I took tiood job for all that It was not exactly circular; there werethe softer strata in the rock; they had bowed to their ht of the steps was irregular; some were scarcely more than three inches, while others were twelve or fourteen You may knoe descended slowly and with care, especially e had reached the point where no light ca for us at the bottom, alone

We followed hih which we had previously coe above and to the cave where we had forht We hesitated

”He's alone,” said Harry ”Shall we chuck the beggar?”

”We shall not, for that very reason,” I answered ”It uests instead of captives, and far be it froe the laws of hospitality But seriously, the safest thing we can do is to follow hie in whichfound ourselves was evidently no work of nature Even in the semidarkness thewas low; another proof, for dwarfs do not build for the accoiants But I had some faint idea of the pitiful inadequacy of their tools, and I found e of thefor the fact that four hundred years had been allowed them for its completion

Soon we reached a veritable es We ht, then to the left I had been ave up the atteuide turned so quickly that we could scarcely follow hio slower he seemed surprised; of course, he expected us to see in the dark as well as he

Then a dihter as we advanced Soon I saw that it ca in the wall to our left, which ere approaching Before the opening the guide halted,us to enter

We did so, and found ourselves in an apart urns attached to the walls furnished the light, wavering but brilliant There were tables and rude seats, fashi+oned from the same prismatic stones which covered the column in the lake, and froly

At one side was a long slab of granite covered with the skins of some animal, dry, thick, and soft The walls theht of four or five feet with tiny, innuold

Harry crossed to thecuriously about hie in both directions--our guide had disappeared

”We appear to be friends of the farin

”Thanks to Desiree, yes”

”Thanks to the devil! What did she mean--what could she mean? Was it one of her jokes? For I can't believe that she would--would--”

”Have sent us to death? Well--who knows? Yes, it may have been one of her jokes,” I lied

For, of course, Harry knew nothing of the cause of Desiree's desire for revenge on ood purpose to tell hi our apartold excited our wonder; had it coo, or had they found it here in the ems hich the tables and seats were inlaid, but couldof them They resembled a carbon formation sometimes found in quartzite, but wereI had ever seen, excepting precious stones

The hides which covered the granite couch were also unknown tothickness and incredibly soft

We were aold from the e heard a sound behind us

We turned and saw Desiree