The wailing and clamor died away to a faint murmur behind us as we wound in and out by intricate paths between stately trees and beside beds of brilliant flowers; but from afar at moments we still heard the sounds of grief, which were continued in the city until midnight.
The gardens were of astonishing extent and were artistically planned and carefully tended. The trees and shrubbery were thick in places. We emerged from their shade to find beautiful gardens of flowers surrounding us. Once in a while I caught glimpses of the buildings, which seemed very ornate and constructed mainly of teak, mahogany and dressed stone, all with tiled roofs, curved and serrated.
At last we deployed into a broad space at the foot of a green mound, upon which stood the palace and outbuildings, rambling structures so numerous and extensive that they presented almost the appearance of a village.
The main building was a splendid one. Polished stone formed the walls, and blue tiles the many gabled, turreted and curved intricacies of the roof. Carved teakwood covered the face of the stone in many places. At the great portico of the entrance the carving was elaborate almost beyond relief.
From the mound to the broad space where we had halted were terraces with many steps leading up to the palace, and at intervals on these steps were urns of graceful design, statues of wood and bronze and lamps of artistic ironwork.
We all dismounted here, and the mahouts led away the elephants. Some of the eunuchs bore the casket of the Prince up the broad steps of the terrace, while Wi-to bowed low, first to the Governor and then to us, and welcomed us to the Royal House of Kai.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GOVERNOR SHOWS HIS TEETH.
Followed by Nux and Bryonia, who never relaxed their vigilance over us, we three boys attended the governor and the Chief Eunuch to the entrance of the palace—the first foreigners to step foot in this retired stronghold of an ancient race.
At the carved portico Mai Lo turned and regarded us intently, and then began a long lingo in Chinese to which the eunuch listened carefully.
The casket had disappeared through the entrance; the army of eunuchs had melted away and disappeared; we seemed quite alone with these two natives, one of whom we knew distrusted and hated us.