crowned a large and beautiful fountain which occupied the
centre of the square, and it was noticeable that every individual who
passed this figure halted and bowed profoundly to it, from which the two
white men inferred that the winged serpent was a sacred symbol,
evidently held in the highest veneration. This surmise ultimately
proved to be correct, the winged serpent being the figure of the Uluan
god Kuhlacan, who was believed to dwell at the bottom of the lake, in
its centre, and at whose annual festival sacrifices of jewels of immense
value were made by casting them with much ceremony into the lake, from
richly decorated boats. The building with the five golden domes was, of
course, the temple, sacred to Kuhlacan, in which the god was daily
worshipped. Earle, whose aesthetic sense was stirred by the beauty of
the fountain and the wonderful workmanship of the figure surmounting it,
directed Dick's particular attention to it and descanted at some length
upon the taste of the design; and Dick, while listening to his
companion, could not fail to observe that Acor, the officer in charge of
the escort, as well as the members of the escort, and indeed all who
were gathered in the square at the moment, regarded Earle intently, with
an expression of mingled wonder and satisfaction. Acor waited
respectfully while Earle was speaking and, when the latter had finished,
gave the order to dismount.

At a signal from one of the officers, two troopers advanced and took
charge of the horses which Earle and Dick had been riding, and then
Acor, bowing respectfully to the pair, invited them by word and gesture
to follow him into a building on the opposite side of the square from
the temple.

This building, which, like the temple, occupied an entire side of the
square, was much more elaborate, from an architectural point of view
than the sacred edifice, the design of which was chaste, majestic, and
rather severe, while its _vis-a-vis_--which proved to be the royal
palace--was ornate and decorative in effect. It consisted of an immense
block of buildings, arranged in the form of a hollow square enclosing a
magnificent garden, adorned with many beautiful fountains and statues,
access to which was gained through a wide and lofty archway closed by a
pair of immense and beautiful gates, modelled apparently in bronze, the
archway and gates being so treated as to form a distinctive feature in
the general design of the building.

As Aco