es or tribes. On these shelves, also, were many quaintly
wrought vessels and some small square boxes, all of which were of
gold--together with a score or so of small idols moulded in clay or
roughly carved in stone, in which last the workmanship was so far
inferior to that of the earthen-ware pots and golden vessels as to show
at a glance that they were the product of a much earlier and ruder age;
but belonging to the same age as the gold-work, or to a period even
later, was a very beautiful Calendar Stone most delicately carved in
obsidian, that was identical, save in the matter of size, with the great
Calendar Stone that now is preserved in Mexico in the National Museum.
This was placed at one end of the room upon a carved pedestal; and at
the opposite end of the room, the end farthest removed from the
entrance, was a great stone image of the god Chac Mool. Lying upon the
Calendar Stone was what at first I took to be a cross-bow made of gold;
but more careful examination convinced me, especially in view of the
place where I had found it, that this certainly was an arbalest--called
also a Jacob's staff and a cross-staff--such as in no very ancient
times, until the invention of the quadrant, was used by Europeans in
taking the meridional altitude of the sun and stars.

At the moment that I made this last most curious and exceedingly
interesting discovery, Young, who had been investigating on his own
account, gave a yell of delight, and bounded towards me flourishing his
own brace of revolvers in his hands. "They're all here!" he cried. "All
our guns are here, an' th 'ca'tridges too! Now we _have_ got the bulge
on these devils for sure!"

As he spoke I also was thrilled with joy at the thought of the vengeance
which this recovery of our arms might enable us to take upon Fray
Antonio's murderers; but my joy was only momentary, for I could not but
reflect that, after all, these Aztlanecas had but acted in accordance
with their lights--excepting only the Priest Captain, for whom the most
cruel death would be all too merciful--and that our slaying them would
not be vengeance, but mere brutal revenge. Having which thoughts in
mind, I answered, "At least we can shoot ourselves with them, and so be
safe from death by sacrifice."

"Not much we won't shoot ourselves," Young replied, with great energy;
"an' nobody's goin' t' come monkeyin' 'round us with sacrifices, either.
Why, man alive, we ain't goin' t' stay here--not by a j