“Mammoths!” murmured the learned gentleman, and stumbled over a loose stone.
The people in the streets kept crowding round them as they went along, but the Captain always dispersed the crowd before it grew uncomfortably thick by saying—
“Children of the Sun God and their High Priest—come to bless the City.”
And then the people would draw back with a low murmur that sounded like a suppressed cheer.
Many of the buildings were covered with gold, but the gold on the bigger buildings was of a different colour, and they had sorts of steeples of burnished silver rising above them.
“Are all these houses real gold?” asked Jane.
“The temples are covered with gold, of course,” answered the Captain, “but the houses are only oricalchum. It’s not quite so expensive.”
The learned gentleman, now very pale, stumbled along in a dazed way, repeating:
“Oricalchum—oricalchum.”
“Don’t be frightened,” said Anthea; “we can get home in a minute, just by holding up the charm. Would you rather go back now? We could easily come some other day without you.”