t columns, upon which the moon was
pouring a flood of beams. What were these outlaws to those mighty
builders whom the past had swallowed up so completely?

The brigands were already lighting a fire beside one of the huge
monoliths, and Carossa lay down on a serape. The fire blazed up, but it
did not detract from the weird effect of the Hall of Pillars. One of the
men warmed food which he brought from another of the ruined houses, and
Carossa told his prisoners to eat.

"What I give you to-night, and what I shall give you to-morrow morning
may be the last food that you will have for some time," he said, "so
enjoy it as best you may."

He smiled, his lips drawing back from his white teeth, and in some
singular way he made Ned think of the black jaguar and his black lips
writhing back from his great fangs. Why had Obed spoken of coming with
them? Better to have been stripped in the path, and to have gone on
alone. But he ate the food, as the long marching had made him hungry,
and lay down within the rim of the firelight.

The men also ate, and Ned saw that they were surly. Doubtless they had
endured much hardship recently and had secured little spoil. He heard
muttered sounds which he knew were curses. He became more uneasy than
ever. Certainly little human kindness lurked in the hearts of such as
these, and he believed that Carossa was playing with them for his own
amusement, just as a trainer with a steel bar makes the animals in a
cage do their tricks.

The mutterings among the men increased. Carossa spoke to one of them,
who brought forth a stone jar from a recess in the wall. Tin cups were
produced and all, including Carossa, drank pulque made from the maguey
plant. They offered it also to Ned and Obed, but both declined.

The pulque did not make the men more quarrelsome, but seemed to plunge
them into a lethargy. Two or three of them hummed doleful songs, as if
they were thinking of homes to which they could not go. One began to
weep, but finally spread out his serape, lay down on it and went to
sleep. Three or four others soon did the same. Two sat near the great
monolithic doorway, with muskets across their knees. Undoubtedly they
were intended to be sentinels, but Ned noted that their heads drooped.

"I shall sleep now, my Gringo guests," said Carossa, "and I advise you
to do the same. You cannot alter anything, and you will need the
strength that sleep brings."

"Your advice is good," said Obed, "and we