was a land old like Egypt came back to him most powerfully in the
presence of these ancient monuments, which were in fact the Pyramid of
the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. There they stood, desolate and of
untold age. The setting sun poured an intense red light upon them,
until they stood out vivid and enlarged.

So far as Ned knew, no other human being was anywhere near. The
loneliness in the presence of those tremendous ruins was overpowering.
He longed for human companionship. A peon, despite the danger otherwise,
would have been welcome. The whole land took on fantastic aspects. It
was not normal and healthy like the regions from which he came north of
the Rio Grande. Every nerve quivered.

Then he did the bravest thing that one could do in such a position,
forcing his will to win a victory over weirdness and superstition. He
crossed the shallow river and advanced boldly toward the Pyramid of the
Sun. His reason told him that there were no such things as ghosts, but
it told him also that Mexican peons were likely to believe in them.
Hence it was probable that he would be safer about the Pyramid than far
from it. The country bade fair to become too rough for night traveling
and he would stop there a while, refreshing his strength.

Although the sun was setting, the color of the skies promised a bright
night, and Ned approached boldly. As usual his superstitious fears
became weaker as he approached the objects that had called them into
existence. But before he reached the pyramids he found that he was among
many ruins. They stood all about him, stone fragments of ancient walls,
black basalt or lava, and, unless the twilight deceived him, there were
also traces of ancient streets. He saw, too, south of the larger
pyramids a great earthwork or citadel thirty or forty feet high