n west of the village, was smaller than either,
with a front of Tuscan architecture.

What did these buildings mean? By whom were they erected, and for what
purpose were they intended? These were questions ever uppermost in the
minds of John and the boys.

CHAPTER XVII

THE MYSTERIOUS CAVE. RETURNING TO UNITY

"It may be there are some sort of records or tablets somewhere about the
buildings which will indicate what they were erected for; but my
investigations thus far leave me just as much in the dark as when I
first saw them," remarked John, as they were examining the structures.

"I wonder if they have corner stones? Sometimes they put records there,"
observed Harry.

"I made an examination in that direction also, but the character of the
underpinning is the same all around, and the corners have no
distinguishing stones."

"It must be a very old custom to have cornerstones for buildings."

"It was a custom to have cornerstones, or memorial stones, in all
buildings in ancient times. They were well known in the time of Job, and
buildings thousands of years prior to his day contained them. It is not
known from what the custom arose."

"Didn't you say that the treasure charts showed the existence of caves
to the southeast of the cave we found at the Tuolos' village?"

"Yes, and that is something that we shall have to investigate to-morrow.
To-day the patients still need our care, but they will be well enough to
enable us to be absent to-morrow."

"I think we ought to make sketches of the plan of this town. I have a
presentiment that we shall know something more about this place in the
future," said George.

[Illustration: _Fig. 20. The Peculiar Illya Village._]

"By all means have it prepared during the day. Later on I may be able to
give a pretty good guess what all this means." And the boys looked at
each other significantly.

If the chiefs, or any of the lower order, knew anything about the origin
of the town, they did not make it apparent.

"Do you notice one singular thing about this town and the people in it?"
asked John.

Neither of the boys could guess.

"Where are the medicine men, and those who perform the sacred rites at
their festivals?"

The boys again looked at each other for an answer. George replied: "I
think they are at the caves of which the charts give some indication,"
finally exclaimed Harry.

"That is the case, undoubtedly. That is where we shall have the
difficulty