whether this is the great Golden City, captain?"

"No, sir," said the captain gruffly; "don't you see it's all stone?"

"Yes, but--look, Brace. Those places farther on look more regular--
there where the trees are growing out of the cracks and the creepers are
hanging down like curtains. I can't make 'em out very well with the
naked eye, but those windows seem to have carving sculpt about them, and
underneath seems to be like a stone colonnade and terrace."

"And a great central doorway," said Brace eagerly. "Yes, you are right:
the walls are covered with curious figures and ornamentations. It must
be either a great temple or the Inca's palace."

"Inca?" said Briscoe. "Yes--why not? Yes; I suppose it would be an
Inca, something of the same kind as the Peruvians. But, I say, look
here: these must have been something of the same sort of race as the
Peruvians."

"No doubt," said Sir Humphrey.

"And the Peruvians were out and outers for getting gold."

"Look here!" cried the captain, banging his hand down upon the edge of
the boat: "if you say gold again, Mr Briscoe, you and me's going to
have a regular row."

"Then I won't say it," said the American good-humouredly. "I promised
you that I would hold myself in; but recollect what I said to you last
night about these cliffs. I felt sure that they contained--ahem!"

"Shall we row close up to the bank where those fires are, sir?" said the
captain, turning his back upon Briscoe.

"If you think there is no risk of any Indians lying in ambush among
those rock-chambers," Sir Humphrey replied.

"I think the place is quite deserted, sir," replied the captain, "and
that if there had been any Indians on shore they would have bolted when
these chaps yelled."

"Yes; that's right enough," said Briscoe. "They're canoe-folk, and
there's no sign of a single person anywhere along the landing-place.
You may depend upon it this is a good fishing-station, and they come up
here to camp, and we've frightened them away. It's safe enough."

The captain glanced at Sir Humphrey, who nodded, and the men took to
their oars, while Lynton steered the heavy boat right up to the remains
of a stone-encumbered wharf or pier that had been laboriously cut out of
the solid rock. Here the boats were held, and, well armed, half their
occupants sprang out to climb over the slippery stones, which had
evidently only lately bean covered by the flood-water, whose mark could
be plainly seen,