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broken only by the noise of the motor, did the gold-seekers approach the temple. As they neared it they could see its vast proportions, and they noted that it was made of some white stone, something like marble. Then, too, as they drew closer, they could see the desolate ruin into which it had fallen.

"Looks as if a dynamite explosion had knocked it all apart," observed Ned

"It certainly does," agreed Mr. Damon.

"Maybe Cortez, or some of those early explorers, blew it up with gunpowder after fighting the Aztecs, or whatever the natives were called in those days," suggested Tom.

"Bless my bookcase! You don't mean to say you think this temple goes back to those early days," spoke Mr. Damon.

"Yes, and probably farther," declared Tom. "It must be very ancient, and the whole country about here is desolate. Why, the way the woods