e answered. "The ruler
of our country is a monarch whose will is so absolute that he or she can
compel everyone, from prince to slave, to participate in any work. Thus
the Naya may have caused every male inhabitant of Mo to help in its
construction."

When, however, following the dwarfs we had hurried forward to the steps
cut in the black rock I bent to examine them. They were polished by the
wear of ages of feet and hands passing over them, and when I pointed out
this fact to Omar he agreed with me that this place must have been in
existence centuries ago, and had probably been re-discovered within the
last two or three years.

The dwarfs, in ascending, put their toes into holes and niches in the
rocks and kept talking all the while. Every now and then they would stop,
sway their heads about and sing a kind of low chant in not unmusical
tones. As we crept up slowly behind, with difficulty finding the rude
steps in the uncertain light, the last of the string of dwarfs kept
turning to us bowing and crooning. I confess I began to be anxious,
fearing that we might be going into a trap, but I noticed that my two
companions were calm as iron bars. This gave me renewed courage, and we
toiled up until at last we reached the great platform and stood beneath
the left-hand wing of the gigantic vampire of solid rock. The pillars
that had been left in the excavations to support it, were, like the
steps, worn smooth where crowds of human beings had jostled against them.
The manner in which they were sculptured was very remarkable, the faces
of all, both men, beasts, birds and fish, bearing hideous, uncanny
expressions, the fearful grimaces of those suffering the most
excruciating bodily tortures. It was here apparent, as everywhere, that
the gigantic figure had not been recently fashioned, but had for many
centuries past been visited by vast crowds of worshippers.

Beneath the outstretched wing under which we stood a large number of
people had assembled. Great blazing braziers here and there illuminated
the weird place with a red uncertain glare, which falling on the faces of
the crowd of devotees, showed that they had worked themselves into a
frenzy of religious fervour. Some were crying aloud to the Crocodile-god,
some were prostrate on their faces with their lips to the stones worn
smooth by the tramp of many feet, while many were going through all sorts
of ceremonies and antics.

At the end, where the colossal wing joined th