We cannot even say whether this place is natural, as I think, or hollowed out by men." "Both, I expect," I answered.

"But tell me, Lady, do the Abati make any use of this great cave ?" "Some corn is still stored here in pits in case of siege," she replied, adding sadly, "but it is not enough to be of real service, since almost all of it comes from the estates of the Child of Kings.

In vain have I prayed the people to contribute, if only a hundredth part of their harvest, but they will not.

Each says that he would give if his neighbour gave, and so none give.

And yet a day may come when a store of corn alone would stand between them and death by hunger--if the Fung held the valley, for instance," and she turned impatiently and walked forward to show us the stables where the ancients kept their horses and the marks of their chariot wheels in the stone floor.
"Nice people, the Abati, sir," said Quick to me.