The facade was ornamented profusely with carvings of men and
animals, some of them very well done, indeed.

"We realized that this building and its fellows must have been the
production of some highly developed form of civilization, and many were
the speculations as to who the ancient people could have been.

"But we soon got tired of looking at the outside, and were all seized
with a desire to explore the wonderful place. Its main entrance was
little obstructed, and there was nothing to prevent our going in. It was
as black as pitch inside, although the sun was shining brightly, and we
cast about for same means of lighting the interior. We secured some
resinous fagots from a great tree that had sprung up near by, and found
that they burned brightly and would serve our purpose perfectly.

"Each one of us armed himself with one of these, then, and took another
along in reserve. In this fashion we invaded the ancient temple, for
such we believed it to be, not without, it must be confessed, a rather
chilly feeling in the neighborhood of the spine. At least, I felt that
way, and I have no doubt the others did, too. However, we all carried
revolvers, and felt confident that if the mysterious 'demon' attacked us,
we would be able to give him a sharp argument.

"Nevertheless we kept closely together, and were inclined to believe
firmly in the old adage that 'in numbers there is strength.' We had no
difficulty in climbing over the fallen blocks encumbering the entrance,
and soon found ourselves fairly on the inside. The place had a damp,
earthy smell, and the air was very close and oppressive. It was black as
pitch, too, and the light from our improvised torches did little to
dispel the gloom.

"However, it would never do to back out now, so we advanced cautiously,
stumbling every once in a while over some fallen piece of masonry. Our
footsteps rang and echoed under the great vault that we could hardly see,
so lofty it was. It seemed almost sacrilege to disturb the silence of
this building, that had probably not echoed to human footsteps for
centuries.

"We kept on, nevertheless, until we were halted suddenly by an
exclamation from one of the men in front.

"Look, look!" he exclaimed, pointing with a trembling finger. We
followed its direction, and I distinctly felt my hair rise on my head.

For there, high up near the roof, two green eyes glared down at us with a
baleful sparkle! They glinted and glowed, a