Presently it became clear that "had been" was the correct term. Nothing
but wild life appeared. Rolla looked closely for any signs of human
occupancy, but saw none. To all appearances the place was deserted; and
it was just as easy to say that it had been so for ten centuries as for
one.
"There seems no good reason why I should not go farther," commented
Rolla aloud, to boost her courage. "Perchance I shall find the magic
stone in this queer place."
It speaks well for her self-confidence that, despite the total
strangeness of the whole affair--a city was as far out of her line as
aviation to a miner--she went forward with very little hesitation. None
of the wild creatures that scuttled from her sight alarmed her at all;
the only things she looked at closely were such bees as she met. The
insects ignored her altogether, except to keep a respectful distance.
"These masters," observed Rolla with satisfaction, "know nothing of me.
I shall not obey them till they threaten me." But there was no
threatening.
For the most part the buildings were in ruins. Here and there a
structure showed very little damage by the elements. In more than one
case the roof was quite intact. Clearly the materials used were
exceptional, or else the place had not been deserted very long.
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