n these
three years."

"Tatho! Who followed him as viceroy of Yucatan?"

"There is no Yucatan. A vast nation of little hairy men, so the tale
goes, coming from the West overran the country. They had clubs of
wood tipped with stone as their only arm, but numbers made their chief
weapon. They had no desire for plunder, or the taking of slaves, or
the conquering of cities. To eat the flesh of Atlanteans was their only
lust, and they followed it prodigiously. Their numbers were like the
bees in a swarm.

"They came to each of the cities of Yucatan in turn, and though
the colonists slew them in thousands, the weight of numbers always
prevailed. They ate clean each city they took, and left it to the beasts
of the forest, and went on to the next. And so in time they reached the
coast towns, and Tatho and the few that survived took ship, and
sailed home. They even ate Tatho's wife for him. They must be curious
persevering things, these little hairy men. The Gods send they do not
get across the seas to Atlantis, or they would be worse plague to the
poor country than Phorenice."

Now I had heard of these little hairy creatures before, and though
indeed I had never seen them, I had gathered that they were a little
less than human and a little more than bestial; a link so to speak
between the two orders; and specially held in check by the Gods in
certain forest solitudes. Also I had learned that on occasion, when
punishment was needful, they could be set loose as a devastating army
upon men, devouring all before them. But I said nothing of this to the
nymph, she being but a vulgar woman, and indeed half silly, as is always
the case with these self-styled sorceresses who gull the ignorant,
common folk. But within myself I was bitterly grieved at the fate of
that fine colony of Yucatan, in which I had expended such an infinity of
pains to do my share of the building.

But it did not suit my purpose to have my name and quality blazoned
abroad till the time was full, and so I said nothing to the nymph about
Yucatan, but let the talk continue upon other matters. "What about
Egypt?" I asked.

"In its accustomed darkness, so they say. Who cares for Egypt these
latter years? Who cares for anyone or anything for that matter except
for himself and his own proper estate? Time was when the country folk
and the hunters hereabouts brought me offerings to this cave for sheer
piety's sake. But now they never come near unless they see a way