grass-covered roofs giving the city the appearance of a broken field of
turf hillocks supported upon walls of stone.

For the rest the place was laid out upon a slope, and at its head,
immediately beneath the sheer steps of the mountain side stood two
edifices very much larger in size than any of those below. One of these
resembled the other houses in construction, and was surrounded by a
separate enclosure; but the second, which was placed on higher ground,
so far as they could judge at that distance, was roofless, and had all
the characteristics of a Roman amphitheatre. At the far end of this
amphitheatre stood a huge mass of polished rock, bearing a grotesque
resemblance to the figure of a man.

"What are those buildings, Soa?" asked 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 the temple?"

"That, White Man, is the statue of the god who sits there for ever,
watching over the city of his people."

"He must be a great god," said Leonard, alluding to the size of the
statue.

"He _is_ great," she answered, "and my heart is afraid at the sight of
him."