the urns refilled with
oil, and the skin cover of the granite couch was changed. It seemed
that another belief--in cleanliness--had refused to be dislodged from
the Inca breast.

When I managed, by dint of violent and expressive gestures, to convey
to our valet the idea that we desired a bath, he led us down the
corridor some two hundred feet to a stream of cool running water. We
took advantage of the opportunity to scrub our clothing, which was
sadly in need of the operation.

I had early made an examination of the urns which furnished our light.
They were of gold and perfect in form, which convinced me that they had
been brought by the fugitives from Huanuco, as, indeed, the quipos
also, and several other articles we found, including our golden table
service.

The urns were filled with an oil which I was unable to recognize.
There was no wick, but round the rim or lip of each was set a broad
ring carved of stone, which made the opening at the top only about two
inches in diameter. Through this the flame arose to a height of about
two feet.

Of smoke there was none, or very little, a circumstance which was
inexplicable, as there seemed to be no possibility of the generation of
gas within so small space. But the oil itself was strange to me, and
its properties may be charged to nature.

As I say, I had collected six of the golden platters, one at a time.
Together they weighed about twenty pounds--for they were small and
rather thin--which was near the amount required for my purpose. I
explained the thing to Harry, and we set to work.

We first procured a vessel of granite from the attendant on some
pretext or other--this for melting the gold. Then we pried a slab of
limestone from a corner of one of the seats; luckily for us it was very
soft, having been selected by the Incas for the purpose of inserting in
its face the crystal prisms. Then we procured a dozen or more of the
prisms themselves, and, using them as chisels, and small blocks of
granite as hammers, set to work at the block of limestone.

It was slow work, but we finally succeeded in hollowing out a groove in
its surface about eighteen inches long and two inches deep. That was
our mold.

Then to melt the golden platters. We took four of the urns, placing
them in a group on the floor, and just at the tip of the flames placed
the granite vessel, supported by four blocks of stone which we pried
loose from one of the seats. In the vessel we p