I had come gradually to feel that this new world, at least,
had attained the golden age of security, and that fear, hate, and
wrongdoing had long since passed away, or had never been born.

"Yet, here before my very eyes, made wholesome by the fires of
patriotism, stalked the grim God of War. Knowing nothing yet of the
motive that inspired these people, I could feel no enthusiasm, but only
disillusionment at this discovery of the omnipotence of strife.

"For some time I must have stood in silence. Lylda, too, seemed to
divine my thoughts, for she did not applaud, but pensively watched the
cheering throng below. All at once, with an impulsively appealing
movement, she pulled me down towards her, and pressed her pretty cheek
to mine. It seemed almost as if she was asking me to help.

"The line of marching men seemed now to have passed, and the crowd
surged over into the open space and began to disperse. As the men upon
the platform with us prepared to leave, Lylda led me over to one of
them. He was nearly as tall as I, and dressed in the characteristic
tunic that seemed universally worn by both sexes. The upper part of his
body was hung with beads, and across his chest was a thin, slightly
convex stone plate.

"After a few words of explanation from Lylda, he laid his hands on my
shoulders near the base of the neck, smiling with his words of greeting.
Then he held one hand before me, palm up, as Lylda had done, and I laid
mine in it, which seemed the correct thing to do.

"I repeated this performance with two others who joined us, and then
Lylda pulled me away. We descended the steps and turned into the broader
tunnel, finding near at hand a sort of sleigh, which Lylda signed me to
enter. It was constructed evidently of wood, with a pile of leaves, or
similar dead vegetation, for cushions. It was balanced upon a single
runner of polished stone, about two feet broad, with a narrow, slightly
shorter outrider on each side.

"Harnessed to the shaft were two animals, more resembling our reindeers
than anything else, except that they were gray in color and had no
horns. An attendant greeted Lylda respectfully as we approached, and
mounted a seat in front of us when we were comfortably settled.

"We drove in this curious vehicle for over an hour. The floor of the
tunnel was quite smooth, and we glided down its incline with little
effort and at a good rate. Our driver preserved the balance of the
sleigh by shifting his bod