birds' wings among the trees, and the obscene chattering of the monkeys
among the leaves. From the first great square the street began gradually
to ascend; then another moat was crossed, and the second portion of the
city was reached. Here the buildings were larger, and the sculpture upon
the walls more impressive even than before. The same intense silence,
however, hung over everything. In the narrower streets creepers trailed
from side to side, almost shutting out the light, and adding a twilight
effect to the already sufficiently mysterious rooms and courtyards to be
seen within.

"This is by no means the most cheerful sort of place," said Hayle to
Kitwater, as they passed down a paved street side by side. "Where do you
expect to find the great temple and the courtyard of the Three
Elephants' Heads?"

"Straight on," said little Codd, who was behind, and had been comparing
the route they were following with the plan he held in his hand.

As he spoke they entered another square, and saw before them a mighty
flight of steps, worn into grooves in places by the thousands of feet
that had ascended and descended them in days gone by. At the top was a
sculptured gateway, finer than anything either of them had ever seen,
and this they presently entered. Above them, clear of the trees, and
towering up into the blue, were the multitudinous domes and spires of
the king's palace, to which the gateway above the steps was the
principal entrance. Some of the spires were broken, some were covered
with creepers, others were mutilated by time and by stress of weather,
but the general effect was grand in the extreme. From courtyard to
courtyard they wandered, but without finding the particular place of
which they were in search. It was more difficult to discover than they