d room after room with doorway and
window all cut out of the soft limestone, and Sir Humphrey and Briscoe
were not long in giving it as their opinion that these single rooms, all
separate and with their doorways opening upon the terrace, were really
the modest little houses of the old dwellers in this hivelike
arrangement. There they were, side by side, all opening upon the long
terrace, and, after examining many, they found relics of the old
inhabitants in the shape of clay-baked rough pots or their broken
sherds; and in several, roughly-formed querns or mill-stones, made, not
of the rock in which the houses were cut, but of a hard grit that would
act better upon the grain they were used to grind.

These remains, though, were very scarce, and scarcely anything else was
found, though search was made in the expectation of finding skeletons;
but not so much as a skull was discovered in either of the stone rooms
they reached: nothing to show how the ancient inhabitants came to an
end. Apparently it was by no sudden catastrophe, and probably only by
dying slowly away.

"It might have been a couple of thousand years ago for aught we can
tell," said Sir Humphrey.

"Yes," said Brace; "but we have done nothing yet. There are hundreds
more of these cells, floor above floor, right to the top."

"Well, let's try another floor or terrace, if we can," said Sir
Humphrey. "Has anyone discovered a way up?"

"Yes, sir there's a hole yonder," said one of the men, "and it isn't
stopped up."

"Well, let's try it," said Sir Humphrey.

"Hadn't we better get to the end here, and see what that better part is
like?" said Briscoe. "It seems to me that we shall find behind those
carved stones the best part of the place."

"Very well," said Sir Humphrey: "let's try that first; but we have a
month's work before us to explore all this. Now then."

Briscoe eagerly took the lead and went on along the terrace, with the
little metallic-looking lizards darting away in the sunshine amidst the
fallen stones; and cell after cell was passed till the end of their
journey was reached in the shape of a blank mass of rock, beyond which
they felt certain that the temple or palace remains must be. But there
was no means of passing farther, and nothing remained but to ascend to
the next terrace.

This was done, with similar experiences, and another step was gained,
from which, after looking down to where the boats were moored, they
again climbed