trees which formed them rose little if any above the general level. The whole hilltop, however, suggested something to every man who saw it. The archaeologist was the first to give voice to the impression.

"That was a city!"

No one answered. Some of the scientists must have thought that he was jumping from one opinion to its direct opposite on the strength of some rather feeble evidence; but the thought went unvoiced. They simply looked—except for Sulewayo, who moved to turn a camera on the scene.

"Rob! Can we land there? Now?" Lampert had anticipated this question, but could have answered it without hesitation in any case.

"Sure—if you don't mind using String's method of folding the blades and falling in." The archaeologist turned to the guide.

"Will it be hard to get there on foot from this hill we're heading for?" McLaughlin shrugged.

"From two hours to a day, depending on undergrowth."

"We have torches. We can burn our way if the vegetation is dense."

"Half a day, then. You'll still have to let the steam clear pretty often. There's little wind below the trees, and the air is saturated."

"Well, that place will be worth more than a day of anyone's time. Maybe tomorrow we can—"

"Hold up a moment, Take!" Lampert cut in, before Mitsuitei could develop his plan further. "If you take String out to that hill before take-off tomorrow, what do the rest of us do for the day—or week—before you get back? What we'd better do is note this place, go on to the canyon, set up camp, get the fossil hunting going, and after our routine is set up and we know the more common dangers of the neighborhood, perhaps we can spare McLaughlin for a day or two so that you can look over your city—if that's what it is."

Lampert's last few words banished the hurt expression from the little man's face.

"What do you mean—if? What else could make a pattern like that? It must have been streets."

"Or a joint system in the rock below, trapping enough water—or draining enough off—to permit superior growth along the joint lines. Or a system of tilted strata doing the same thing—"

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