care for underground localities," remarked Bastin, his gruff
voice echoing strangely in that terrible silence, "but it does seem a
pity that all these fine buildings should be wasted. I suppose their
inhabitants left them in search of fresh air."

"Why did they leave them?" I asked of Yva.

"Because death took them," she answered solemnly. "Even those who live a
thousand years die at last, and if they have no children, with them dies
the race."

"Then were you the last of your people?" I asked.

"Inquire of my father," she replied, and led the way through the massive
arch of a great building.

It led into a walled courtyard in the centre of which was a plain cupola
of marble with a gate of some pale metal that looked like platinum mixed
with gold. This gate stood open. Within it was the statue of a woman
beautifully executed in white marble and set in a niche of some black
stone. The figure was draped as though to conceal the shape, and the
face was stern and majestic rather than beautiful. The eyes of the
statue were cunningly made of some enamel which gave them a strange and
lifelike appearance. They stared upwards as though looking away from the
earth and its concerns. The arms were outstretched. In the right hand
was a cup of black marble, in the left a similar cup of white marble.
From each of these cups trickled a thin stream of sparkling water, which
two streams met and mingled at a distance of about three feet beneath
the cups. Then they fell into a metal basin which, although it must have
been quite a foot thick, was cut right through by their constant impact,
and apparently vanished down some pipe beneath. Out of this metal basin
Tommy, who gambolled into the place ahead of us, began to drink in a
greedy and demonstrative fashion.

"The Life-water?" I said, looking at our guide.

She nodded and asked in her turn:

"What is the statue and what does it signify, Humphrey?"

I hesitated, but Bastin answered:

"Just a rather ugly woman who hid up her figure because it was bad.
Probably she was a relation of the artist who wished to have her
likeness done and sat for nothing."

"The goddess of Health," suggested Bickley. "Her proportions are
perfect; a robust, a thoroughly normal woman."

"Now, Humphrey," said Yva.

I stared at the work and had not an idea. Then it flashed on me with
such suddenness and certainty that I am convinced the answer to the
riddle was passed to me from her and did not orig