Leaving the jungle behind them, they found themselves face to face with a curious stone bridge, spanning the lake or moat which surrounded the city, and in which the lotus flower bloomed luxuriantly.  When they had crossed the bridge, they stood in the precincts of the city itself.  On either hand rose the ruins in all their solitary grandeur—­palaces, temples, market-places, and houses in endless confusion; while, at the end of the bridge, and running to right and left as far as the eye could reach, was a high wall, constructed of large stones, each one of which would have required the efforts of at least four men to lift it.  These, with a few exceptions, were in an excellent state of preservation.  Passing through the massive gateway the travellers found themselves in an open square, out of which streets branched off the right and left, while the jungle thrust in its inquisitive nose on every possible occasion.  The silence was so impressive that the men found themselves speaking in whispers.  Not a sound was to be heard save the fluttering of birds’ wings among the trees, and the obscene chattering of the monkeys among the leaves.  From the first great square the street began gradually to ascend; then another moat was crossed, and the second portion of the city was reached.  Here the buildings were larger, and the sculpture upon the walls more impressive even than before.  The same intense silence, however, hung over everything.  In the narrower streets creepers trailed from side to side, almost shutting out the light, and adding a twilight effect to the already sufficiently mysterious rooms and courtyards to be seen within.

“This is by no means the most cheerful sort of place,” said Hayle to Kitwater, as they passed down a paved street side by side.  “Where do you expect to find the great temple and the courtyard of the Three Elephants’ Heads?”

“Straight on,” said little Codd, who was behind, and had been comparing the route they were following with the plan he held in his hand.

As he spoke they entered another square, and saw before them a mighty flight of steps, worn into grooves in places by the thousands of feet that had ascended and descended them in days gone by.  At the top was a sculptured gateway, finer than anything either of them had ever seen, and this they presently entered.  Above them, clear of the trees, and towering up into the blue, were the multitudinous domes and spires of the king’s palace, to which the gateway above the steps was the principal entrance.  Some of the spires were broken, some were covered with creepers, others were mutilated by time and by stress of weather, but the general effect was grand in the extreme.  From courtyard to courtyard they wandered, but without finding the particular place of which they were in search.  It was more difficult to discover than they had expected; indeed, they had walked many miles through deserted streets, and the afternoon was well advanced, before a hail from Codd, who had gone on ahead of them, informed them that at last some sort of success had crowned their efforts.  When they came up with him they found themselves in a courtyard somewhat larger than those they had previously explored, the four corners of which were decorated with three united elephants’ heads.