Part 26 (1/2)

”I don't believe there's another city like it in all the world,”

spoke Tom in awed accents, ”there never was, and never will be again. Those Aztecs must have brought all their treasures of gold here.”

”Bless my cake box! that's so,” agreed Mr. Damon.

”Let's take a look around,” advised Ned, ”and then we can decide on what will be best to take away.”

”It won't take me long t' make up mah mind,” spoke Eradicate. ”I's goin' t' take all dem images I kin find.”

”I was going to say we'd have plenty of time to look about and pick what we wanted,” said Tom, ”but I think perhaps we'd better hurry.”

”Why?” asked Mr. Damon.

”There's no telling when Delazes and his gang may find this place, and even the Fogers may be nearer than we think. But I believe our best plan would be this: To take some gold now, and several of the statues, go back to our balloon, and make some kind of big lamps, so we can light this place up. Then, too, I think we'd better move the balloon into the old temple. It will be safer there. Then we can come back here, pack up as much gold as we can carry, and be off. I don't like to think of being underground when Delazes and the Fogers are on the surface. It might not be altogether safe for us.”

”Bless my insurance policy!” cried the odd man. ”Now YOU'RE giving me the cold s.h.i.+vers, Tom. But I believe you're right. We must look ahead a bit.”

With all their electric flash lamps turned on, the four advanced farther into the underground city of gold. As they went on they saw the precious yellow metal on every side of them. It was used lavishly, showing that to the ancients it was as common as iron or steel is to-day. But they did not use the gold merely as common material in the construction of buildings or objects of use.

Instead, the gold seemed to be brought into play to beautify the city. An artistic scheme was carried out, and while it was true that in many buildings common objects were made of gold, yet each one was beautiful in itself.

”What a wonderful place this must have been when it was lighted up,”

spoke Tom.

”Do you think it was ever lighted up?” asked his chum.

”It must have been,” declared the young inventor. ”My idea is that this city was the home of the priests of the temple, and their friends. I don't believe the common people ever came here. Perhaps the officers of the army, the rulers and the royal family were admitted, but not the ordinary people. That's why it's so far underground, and so well guarded by the river.”

”Probably the priests and others collected so much gold they didn't know what to do with it, and built this city to use it up, and, at the same time have a safe place to store it. And they must have had some means of lighting the place, for they couldn't go about in darkness--they couldn't have seen the gold if they did. Yes, this must have been wonderfully beautiful then. The priests probably came here to study, or perhaps to carry out some of their rites. Of course it's only guesswork, but it seems true to me.”

”I believe you're right, Tom,” said Mr. Damon.

As our friends walked about they saw that the city, while smaller than they had at first supposed, was laid out with regular streets.

Each one was straight, and at certain places in the stone pavement plates of gold were set, so that literally the streets were paved with gold. There were houses or buildings on each side of the streets, and most of these were open at the doors or windows, for there was no need of heat in that buried city.

All about were the golden images such as they had seen in the Mexican's house, and like the one in far off Africa. Some of the images were almost life size, and others were only an inch or two inches in height. Not a house but had half a dozen or more in various places, and there were also the images on golden pedestals about the streets.

”This must have been their chief G.o.d, or else a representation of some great personage to whom they paid the highest honor,” said Mr.

Damon. ”Perhaps he was the reigning king or ruler, and he, himself, might have ordered the images made out of vanity, like some men of to-day.”

The boys agreed that this was a natural theory. As for Eradicate he was busy collecting numbers of the small golden statues, and stuffing them in his pockets.

”Why don't you take bigger ones, and not so many of them?” asked Tom.

”'Case as how I doan't want all mah eggs in one basket,” replied the colored man. ”I kin carry mo' ob de little fellers,” and he persisted in this plan.

They found in some of the houses utensils of solid gold, but there appeared to be no way of cooking food, and that was probably done outside, or in the great temple. In many houses were articles evidently used in the sacrificial rites or in wors.h.i.+p of strange G.o.ds. They did not stay to half examine the wonderful city of gold, for it would have taken several days. But on Tom's advice, they took up a considerable quant.i.ty of the precious metal in the most convenient form to carry, including a number of the statues and art objects and started back along the tunnel.

”We'll rig up some sort of lamps,” Tom explained, ”and come back to make a thorough examination of this place. I think the scientific men and historians will be glad to know about this city, and I'm going to make some notes about it.”