The evening world., 1914-01-23

>aa|'!.T =
A. he sat specializing on ne nature
and uses OF this strange passaOs AM It,
terminal shaft, the moon TOPPED the
opening above. letting q Hood OF soft.
silvcry light into the shadowy place.
Instantly the nature Of the shaft became
Apparent to Tarzan. for far below him
he saw the shimmering surface OF water.
He had come upon An ancient We'll, ovs
what was the purpose Of the connec-
ton between the well and the dungeon
In which he had been hiddenr
As the moon crossed the OPENING OF
the shaft its light flooded the whole
interior. and then Tarzan saw directy
across from him another opening IN the
opposite wall. He wondered " this
might not be the mouth OF passaSs
leading to possible escape. II would be
worth investigating. at least and this
he determined to do.
Quickly returning to the wan ne had
demolished to explore what lay peyono
II. he carried the stones into the pas
saseway and replaced them from tnat
side. The deep deposits Of dust whieh
he had noticed upon the blocks - ne
had first removed them from the VAL
had convinced him that even the pres.
emit occupants Of the ancient pile nad
knowledge Of this hiddsn eassags they
had made no use OF 1t for perhaps ssn.
erations.
The wall replaced. Tarsan returned
10 the shaft. which was some neeeen
feet wide at this point. To leap across
the Intervening space was . small mat
ter TO the ape-man, and . momeme later
he was proceeding along . marrow tun-
mel, moving cautiously for rear OF De
ing precipitated into another smart ooen
as he had Just crossed.
He had advanced some hundred fset
when ne came to q night of steps lead
Ing downward into the StygiAn Gloom.
some twenty feet below. the lever moor
Of the tunnel recommended. and shortiy
asterwafd his progress was stopped ny
q heayyl wooden door which was So
ct,red BY massive wooden bars upon
the side Of Tarzan's approach. TINS
fact suggested to the ape-man tnat no
might surely be In passageway ienn-
ing to the outer world. FOR the ooits'
barring progress from the Opposite sue
tended to suhstantiate this hypothess
un,es- II were merely Q prison to which
It led.
Along the tops Of the wall were deep
LAYERS OF dust-a further Indication
that the passage had lain long unused.
Az no pushed the massive obstacle
aside its great hinges shrieked oW IN
weird protest against this unaccus-
TONED disturbance. For . moment TAR
Fan paused to listen for any responsive
note which might indicate that the un-
usual night noise had alarmed the IN.
mates OF the temple: but a. ne hearo
hAvnnA 600f.
way.
Carefully feeling about. ~ found
himself within a large chamber. along
the vans Of which. and down the length
of the floor, were piled many tiers OF
metal inRots Of an odd though Uniform
shape. TO his cropping hands they felt
not unlike double-headed boot1aclks.
The ingots were quite heavy. and but
for the enormous number or them no
would have been positive that they were
gold; but the thought of the fabulous
wealth these thousands Of pounds Of
metal would have represented were they
in reality gold almost convinced him
that they must be Of some easer metal
At the far END Of the chamber he dis
covered another bay~>d door. ana again
the bars upon the Dc renewed the
hope that he was trave.sing an ancient
and forgotten passagewsy to liberty:
Beyond the door the passage ran ecraieht
a. q war spear, and II soon became
evident 10 the ape-man mat IL had
already LED him beyond the outer walls
of the tenYble. II he but knew the d.
rection It was leading him! II toward
the west. then no must also b beyond
the city's outer walls.
With increasinE hopes ne forged ahead
~ rapidly a. he dared. until IT the
end OF half an hour he came to an
other night OF steps leading upward.
At the bottom this flight was OF con-
crete, but as he assembled his naked feet
felt a sudden change In the substance
they we're treading. The steps OF con-
crete had given place to steps OF gran
lite Feeling with hh hands. the ape
man discovered that these latter were
evidently hewed from rock. for theirs
was no crack to indicate . Joint.
For Q hundred feet the steps wound
splrally up, until at a sudden turning
Tarzan came into q narrow cleft Do
tween two rocky walls. Above MIN
shone the starry sky. and before MIN :
steep incline replaced the steps thar had
terminated at Its foot. Up ~ its upper
end he came out upon the rough TOP OF
huge granite bowlder.
A mile away lay the ruined city OF
Opar. Its domes and turrets bathed IN
the soft light OF the equatorial moon
Tarzan dropped his eyes to the ingot
he had brought away with him. For a
moment he examined II by the moon q
bright rays. then he raised his head IA
look out upon the ancient piles Of crum-
bling grandeur In the distance
"Opar." no unused. "OpAS. he q.
chanted city OF a dead and forgotten
past. the city of tho beauties and the
beasts. CITY OF horrors and death, bul
city Of 4abussn rtches." The ingo'
was OF virgin Go'd.
The bowlder on which Tarzan found
himself lay well out In tho plain be-
tween the city and the distant cliffs h
and his black warriors had scaled tho
mornins previous. To descend its rouxi