Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-12-26
CHAPTER NJ

them upon its farther SIDE.
CHAPTER NJ.
The next morning they began the ascent
OF the wall of rock. x.Ii, II proved to b. an
even more difficult business than they had
anticipated. ThcIc was mo- path. for those
who lived beyond this natural barrier
never came down it, and few OF the dwell
ers in the plains had ever venturcd To go
up. II was possible, for Soa herself had
descended here in bygone years, and this
was all that could be said for IL. Day aft
CT day they toilcd through cold and mist
until one morning Otter stopped and
pointed.
Look yonder, haas; the old bag has not
lied to Us. There is the city of the People
of the Mist
Following the line of the dwarfs out
stretched hand Leonard saw what had at
first escaped hin-that standing back in n
wide bcnd at the foot of the great noun
tain in front of them were a multitude of
houses built of some gray stone and rooted
with green turf. Indeed, had not his at
tention been called to it, the town might
we'll have missed observation until he was
quito close to its walls. for the materials
of which il was constructed rescmbleIl
those of the powders that lay around
them in thousands and the vivid green of
its roofs gave il the appearance OF n dis
tant space Of grassy land.
Yes, there il the kraal of the great
people, slid Otter nEain, land it is n
strong kraal Look, bans; they know how
TO defend themselves The mountain is
behind them that none can climb, and
around their walls the river runs in n
loop on either side, joining itself together
again on the plain beyond. IL would go
ill with the 'imDi' which tried TO take
that kraal
For awhile they all stood still and starcd
amazed. 1t seemed strange that they
should have reached this fabled city. and.
now they werr there, how would they In
received within its walls: That was the
question which each Of them was asking
of himself. There was but one way tn
find out-thcy must z" and see. No ro-
treat was now possible. Even the settle
ment men felt this. Better to die Mt the
hands of the great men. ." said one of them
aloud, than tn perish miserably in tho
mist and cold.
BE of good cheer, - Leonard answered.
You are not yet dead. The sun shines
once more. II is a good omen
When they had rested and dried their
clothes they marched ON with a certain
sense Of relief. There before them was the
goal they had travelled far To win. soon
fall them, and anything was better than
this long suspense.
BY midday they had covered about Ii
miles of ground and could now sec the
city clearly. Ii WAS great town, sur
rounded by cyclupcan wall of powders,
about which the river ran ON every side.
forming a natural muat. The buildings
within the wall seemed tn be arranged in
streets and {" br built ON a plan similar
-.
slept two nights before, the vast con.
glomcratiOn at grass covered roof giving
the city the appearance OF broken field
of turf hillocks supported upon walls of
stone.
For the rest IL was laid out upon IA slope,
and at its head Immediately beneath the
sheer prcCipiccs of the mountain side
stood two ciificcs very much larger in size
than any of those below. Ono of these re-
sembled the other houses in construction
and was surrounded by n separate inclo-
sure, but the second, which was placed on
higher ground, So far rs they could judge
ut that distance, was roolless and had all
the characteristics of n Roman amphithca-
ter. At the far end of this amphithcatcr
stood a huge mass of polished rock bear
ing n grotesauc resemblance To a figure uf
n man.
What are those buildings, Soa''' ask
cd Leonard.
The lower one is the house of the king
white man. and that above is the Temple
of Deep Waters, where the river rises
from the bowels of the mountain"
And what is the black stone beyond tho
tcmple:''
That, white man, is the statue of the
god who sits there forever, watching owes
the city of his people,
He must he a great god, - said Leon
ard, alluding tn the size of the statue.
HE is great, she answered, and my
heart Is afraid Mt the sight of him."
After resting for two hours they march.
cd on again, and soon 1t became apparent
that their movements were watched. The
roadway which they were following-if a
track beaten fiat by tho feet of men and
cattle could be called n road-wound to
and fro between powders of rock and herr
and there standing upon the bowldcrs
were men clad in goatskins, each of them
carrying a spear, a bow and n horn. &c
soon as their party came within 500 or COO
yards of one of these men he would shoot
an arrow in their direction, which, when
picked up, proved To he barbed with iron
| and highted with red feathers like the
| first that they had seen. Then he would
blow his horn either rs signal or in
token of defiance. bound from the rock
| and vanish. This did not look encourag.
| ing, but there was worse TO come.
! Presently as they drew near TO the city
they deserted large bodies of armed men
crossing the river that surrounded it in
boats and on RATS and mastering on the
hither side. At length all of them were
across, and the regiment, which appeared
i to number moro than ], 200 men, formed
up In n hollow square and advanced upon
them at the double.
+, The crisis was Mt hand.
/ Leonard turned and looked at his com.
panions with something like dismay writ
i ten ON his face.
what is to be done nowf" he said.
1--WE must wait for them until they
come near" answered Juanna- "Ther
Otter aud must go to them alone, and
viii sing the song which Soa has taught
me. Then IL the thing comes of they viii
think that we are their lost gods, or a
least so Soa says
/ Yes, II IL comes of But II 1t doesn'tf'
Then good night" answered Juanna
with a shrug Of her shoulders. AT an,
rate, must get ready for the experiment
hrinS - G'~sie to thos