ster and himself. Leith's
voice rose to a roar as he made another threat regarding what he would
do if the youngster did not hold his tongue, but Holman was defiant, and
an immediate conflict was only averted by the tact of Edith Herndon.

The afternoon closed in with us still tramping on. The blood-red sun
slipped hurriedly toward the basalt barriers that encircled the valley,
and as I glanced at the cliffs the picture of the creepy ledge, that was
our only way back to the outer world, was continually in my mind. The
knowledge that the velvety polish upon the block of porphyry was brought
there by the hands of thousands who had once peopled the island or
visited it from the adjacent groups was not provocative of mirth, and I
knew that the feeling that they were journeying in a place that had been
of special veneration in long past centuries was producing a depressing
effect upon the two girls.

As the tropical twilight fell upon the valley we came to one of the
strange stone structures that are to be found in the Tongan and Cook
groups, and which have puzzled explorers who have sought in vain to find
a reason for their construction or an explanation of the methods by
which a savage people lifted the huge blocks of rock into position.

The one that suddenly appeared before us was situated on a small slope
that was free from trees and creepers, and as it stood there, black and
massive, one could fancy it part of the ruins of Karnak instead of a
relic left by a people that were much below the intelligence of those
who raised the wonders in the land of the Nile. The four supporting
piers of stone were about four feet square and fully fifteen feet in
height, while the immense flat rock that was laid upon them was more
than twelve feet in length and breadth, with a six-foot thickness. It
was moss-grown and gray, but the supporting pillars had not deviated one
inch from the perpendicular, although the weight upon them was
tremendous. The bed of coral rock on which they rested had proved a
reliable foundation, and the singular structure had scoffed at time.

The Professor started a lengthy discourse on sacrificial altars the
moment we halted, ranging from Stonehenge to Toluca in search of
comparisons, but we were too tired to give it much attention. Holman
remarked in a whisper that Soma could probably outpoint the Professor if
it came to an array of facts concerning the probable uses of the
gigantic table, and when I glanc