counted, each lying as the dead man had fallen
long, long ago. In the houses of the city, where roofs had fallen in,
where wild beasts had devoured the flesh, and where sun and rain and
wind had worked their will upon the bones, all trace of the citizens
of that long bygone day had utterly disappeared, but here, where the
secret chamber had protected their remains, the skeletons were
perfect.

"These are some of the men who fell in the sack of the city," said
Jack.

His father bent and carefully examined them by the light of the torch.

"I scarcely think so, Jack," he said. "The bones are perfect and bear
no sign of injury. It is more likely that they were priests of the
pagoda who took refuge here, and perhaps died of famine, not daring to
leave their hiding-place."

Jack moved a little, and started. In his new position a ray of red
fire darted at him from one of the heaps of white bones. He stepped
forward, bent, and picked up the glittering object.

"Look here," he said to his father, "this is something in your line,
if I'm not very much mistaken."

His father turned it over, rubbed the dirt off it, and held it up to
the light. It lay in his palm and winked in the light of the torch
with dancing gleams of deep scarlet fire.

"Whew!" whistled Mr. Haydon, "a magnificent ruby, large, and of the
purest water. Where did you get it, my boy?"

Jack pointed to the skeleton at his feet, among whose bones it had
lain.

"Could this have been their secret treasure-room?" said Mr. Haydon,
looking round. "Yet it is very unlikely. It is too large, and hardly
in the place where they would have built it."

At this moment they heard a murmur at their shoulders. The woman had
followed them, and they turned to see that she had picked up a couple
of rubies from among the bones of another skeleton, and was holding
them out to Mr. Haydon.

The great expert took them and examined them swiftly.

"Finer than the one you found in point of size," he said to his son.
"As to purity, they are all of the highest quality. These three stones
in my palm represent a substantial fortune."

Jack had never before seen such magnificent stones. He gazed in wonder
at the three gleaming splendours, and turned them over with his
finger.

"They are true oriental rubies," said his father, "of the finest
colour and without flaw. Any one of them is ten times as valuable as a
diamond of the same weight."

The native woman was turning over the