Down the corridor, along the big hall and through the door we marched, and not a soldier appeared to guard us. It was not necessary.
Now we had our first daylight view of the magnificent valley and the city of Tcha.
From the level where we stood the mountain sides rose almost perpendicularly to a height of two hundred feet or more; not in smooth cliffs, but rugged, irregular and picturesque. At the base of these sides had been built the largest and most important of the palaces and dwellings; but these were all at the south end of the oval valley. The north end was fitted with huge buildings more substantial than ornate, and here we afterward learned were located the manufactories and warehouses. A broad boulevard ran before this unbroken circle of buildings, and it was bordered by parkings of close cropped grass, drinking fountains and broad-spreading palms. Then came a circle of less imposing dwellings, in two rows, one facing the first or Great Boulevard, the other row facing the valley on a second boulevard, this of course being of less extent, as it formed the inner circle. The same arrangement was repeated five times, thus carrying the city proper in a vast belt around the outer edge of the valley.
All of the central space was devoted to agriculture, and except for a few public buildings only granaries and storehouses were built there. Yet it was all as elaborately laid out as a public park, and the soil must have been wonderfully fertile.
One or two natural brooks that flowed through the place fed several canals used for irrigation and boating; and although the Vale of Tcha was really extensive, without an inch of waste space, it was so hemmed in by the mountain that it looked like a toy kingdom.
Escorted by the officer we traversed paths bordered with gay flowers which led through the pasture lands and grain fields, making indirectly toward a large enclosure near the north end of the valley. I could not imagine what this place was, at first, but saw many white-robed figures flocking to it from various parts of the town. When we drew nearer it resolved itself into a great outdoor hall, built much like the ancient Greek theatres, although it was probably much older than the Greek nation.
All unguarded we followed our conductor to the entrance of this theatre. There was no possible chance to escape. While we were in the Vale of Tcha and unarmed we were virtually in a prison, with ten thousand native inhabitants for jailors.
CHAPTER XVII
WE ARE CONDEMNED BY THE TRIBUNAL
The theatre, or rather assembly hall, was built so that a small stage or platform faced row after row of circular marble seats which rose in tiers, one slightly elevated above another, until the highest tier was some sixty feet above the ground. As we were led in I noticed that the seats were nearly filled with men, women and children. All wore the staple white toga, often over finer garments which fitted the body loosely and were more or less embroidered and decorated according to the fancy or the station of the wearer. Sometimes these togas were solid white throughout, but more usually there was a plain or figured band of a different color around the hem and the neck. The women affected wider borders and more color on their garments than the men.
Every inhabitant of Tcha, male or female, had red hair. There were many shades from deep auburn to brick red; but it was all undeniably red. Eyes, too, were invariably blue, being likewise of many graduations of shade, from dark violet to light watery azure. The complexions of the people, as I have said, were dazzingly fair, with few freckles, and this despite the warm latitude in which they lived. However, I never knew it uncomfortably warm in Tcha.