in the cliff above to open in the roof of this chamber a
small aperture, whence a pale light entered in long fine rays which
gleamed through the shadows, and gleamed again more faintly in
reflections from the golden walls. In this oratory--for such it
evidently was--stood a statue, smaller than that in the temple yet still
more magnificently arrayed, of the god Huitzilopochtli; before which
odious image we were thrown upon our faces by our guards. When this
ceremony was ended we were led forth once more into the passage, and so
into two of the little cells which had been meagrely prepared for us by
tossing into each of them a bundle of mats; and there our guards left us
to shift for ourselves--shutting the grating behind them with a sharp
ringing of metal on stone that echoed dismally through the rock-hewn
chambers wherein we were held fast.

For a while we stood in melancholy silence about the stretcher on which
poor Rayburn lay; and very pale and worn he looked after his great loss
of blood and heavy fatigue and the pain and excitement of the last few
hours. Pablo had taken up his quarters with El Sabio in a cell on the
opposite side of the passage--for within the limits of our prison we
were left to arrange ourselves as we pleased--and we could hear him
talking to the ass in a fashion that at any other time we should have
laughed at; for by turns he upbraided him for his rash acts, and
complimented him upon his bravery, and expressed dread of the punishment
that might be visited upon him, and told him of his very tender
love--all of which, so far as we could judge, El Sabio took in equally
good part.

"There ain't no good in standin' 'round here doin' nothin'," Young said,
at last. "This don't look like much of a place t' break out of, but we
may as well see how things are, anyway. Th' Padre'd better take a
squint at Rayburn's busted leg an' set th' bandages straight; an' while
he's attendin' t' that, me an' you, Professor, can do a little
prospectin'. This is th' Treasure-house, for sure, an' it'll be some
satisfaction t' see what it amounts to. I'll bet a hat there ain't
anything worth havin' in th' whole place, after all."

I was glad enough to have any occupation that would change even a little
the sad current of my thoughts, and I therefore very willingly acted on
Young's suggestion--after first making sure that Fray Antonio had no
need of help in his work of dressing Rayburn's wound--and together we
set abou