, with staring eyes and swollen bodies; but as, at present,
they must know well that neither we nor those outside are searching
for treasure, they may not interfere."

"Then you think that there are treasures buried here, somewhere?"

"I cannot say, master; everyone says so. The story has been handed
down that this was once the greatest of the temples of the old
people; and that, when they were defeated by tribes from the
east--I know not whether it was us, or some people before us--the
priests from all the other temples came here. The remains of their
army came here, too, and fought outside the temple until all were
killed.

"When the conquerors entered, they found the priests all lying, in
regular lines, on the pavements. All were dead. One story is that
they had stabbed themselves; another, that they had taken poison.
At any rate, no treasures were found; although it was known that
the riches of the temple were great, and that all the other priests
that had come here had brought the treasures from their temples
with them. That was the beginning of the destruction of the place;
for the pavement was torn up, and the walls in some places
levelled, and the images of the gods broken up in search for the
treasures.

"The work of the guardian spirits had already begun. They say that
all who took part in the search died, of a terrible pestilence that
broke out. Since that time, the place has been accursed. Once or
twice, kings have sent bodies of troops to search; and they say
that some could never find the temple, but wandered about the
forest for days, searching in vain for it. Others found so thick a
darkness, like the blackest of smoke, filling the forest, that even
the bravest dare not enter. I say not that those things were so; I
only say that these are the stories that have come down to us."

"Well, Meinik, we are not going to search for the treasure; and it
is evident that the spirits bear us no ill will; indeed, I feel
obliged to them, for it is likely enough that the soldiers will put
down their misfortune to their influence, and that even the
governor may feel that it would be useless to try to get them to
renew the assault. This evening we will go up, and have another
look at the stairs; and see how we can best set to work to clear
them. There is no great hurry about it, but the sooner we set to
work, the better."

All day long a dropping fire was maintained on the entrance, by the
troops behind the firs