huskily gasped the professor, intensely excited, yet still
able to control the field-glass through which he was eagerly scanning
yonder marvels. "The temple of the gods! And, yonder, the temple of
sacrifice, unless my memory is--and look! The people are--they wear
just such garb as--Oh, marvellous! Amazing! Astounding! Incredible--yet
true!"

Although their uncle could thus take in the various details to better
advantage, still the intervening distance was not so great as to
entirely debar the brothers from finding no little to interest them, as
was readily proven by their various exclamations.

"Just look at the people, will ye, now? Flopping around like they hadn't
any bigger business than to--Reckon they're looking for us to come back,
Bruno?"

"Or watching for the monster bird of prey, rather," suggested the elder
Gillespie. "Of course they couldn't distinguish our faces, and our
bodies were fairly well hidden. And, even more, of course, they must be
totally ignorant of all such things as flying-machines and the like."

"Poor, ignorant devils!" sympathetically sighed the youngster. "Well,
we'll have to do a little missionary work in this quarter, before taking
our departure, eh, uncle Phaeton?"

With a start, Featherwit descended out of the clouds in which he had
been lost ever since winning a fair view of the secret city; and
now, rallying his wits and fairly aglow with eager interest in this
marvellous discovery, he began pointing out the various objects of
special importance, naming them with glib assurance, then reminding the
boys how wonderfully similar all was to what had existed in Old Mexico
before the conquest.

Bruno listened with greater interest than his brother could summon at
will. For one thing, he had long been a lover of the genial Prescott,
and, now that his memory was freshened in part, was able to closely
follow the course of that little lecture, noting each strong point made
by the professor in bolstering up his delightful theory.

That monologue, however, was abruptly broken in upon by Waldo, who gave
an eager exclamation, as he reached forth a pointing finger:

"Look! There's a white woman yonder,--two of 'em, in fact!"

CHAPTER XVI. CAN IT BE TRUE?

That announcement came with all the force of a bolt from the blue, and
even the professor dropped his glasses with a gasp of amazement, while
Bruno would have leaped to his feet, only for the hasty grab which his
brother made at t