The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1898-02-10

await her." said Natal, then turned to
take his departure, adding, in a low
voice. Doubtless we shall meet at noon
upon the pyramid and there Won will
see | know not what, but whatc'cr be-
falls, be sure of this, STRANGERS. that |
will protect you il | can. Farewell I"
Presently the door opened and
through it came Maya, and looking
very sweet and beautiful in the shaded
light of the room.
directing, friends" she said. as we
bowed before her; Il have nv f,ther's
leave to show you sometime Of this
city that Won longed so much to sec.
These ladies here will aceon any us,
and guard, but we shall want no lit
ters until we have assembled The great
temple, for desire that YOU should see
the view from thence before the place
is numbered with the multitude. Come,
if you are ready"
Accordingly we set out, Maya walk
ing between us, while her guards and
ladies followed after Crossing the
square we came to the pyramid
ut is great building,' said Maya,
noting orr aStonishnicnt "and one
that could not be reared in these DAYS.
Tradition SAYS that five and twenty
thousand men worked or it Tor fiftv
years, twenty thousand of them cut
ting and carrying the stone and five
thousand layin.; the blocks.n
Where did the material come from,
then?" asked the senior.
Some of il was cut from beneath the
base of the temple itself" she answered,
but the most was borne in big canoes
from quarries on the mainland for
these quarries can still be SEEN"
Tc ba 7
asked.
eyes; in it are many chambers, for
the most part store and treasure houses,
and beneath its base lie crypts, the bury
ing places of the caciques, their wives
and children There also is the holy
sanctuary of the Heart, which you, be-
ing OF the brotherhood, may perhaps,
be permitted to visit, Come, let us
climb the stair"
And she led us across the COURTYARD
to the foot of a stairway forty feet or
more in breadth, which ran to the plat
form OF the pyramid in six fiphts, each
OF fifty steps linked together by resting
places
Up these flights we toiled slowly, fol-
lowed by the ladies and the Cuard, till
at length our labor was rewarded and
we stood upon the dizzy edge of the
pyramid.
s'LoolSl' said Maya.
The city beneath us was built upon n
low, heart-shapcl island, SO hollow in
its center that it might have been the
crater of some volcano, or, perhaps, a
mere ridge of land inclosing n lagoon.
This island measured some ten miles in
length by six across at its widest
Following the lines of the land upon
which it stood. the city was heart
shaped, heart of cold white marble
lying within heart of glowing green.
All about it ran moat filled with
water rom the lake, and on the hither
side of this mont stood wall fifty feet
or more in height, built of great blocks
OF the white limestone that formed the
bedrock of the island
Within the oblong of this wall Law
the city, n city of palaces, pyramids.
and temples, o., rather, the remains of
1t, for we could sec at q glance that the
population was unable to keep so many
streets and cdilecs in repair.
E7en in the great square beneath us
the signs of traffic were rare, and there
was little of the hustle of people en-
gaged in the business of life, although
TINS very place hal been the scene of
last nights fc1sting, and would again
soon be filed with men and women
Hooking to the pyramid.