“Even so, why rely wholly upon plant life?” I inquired, curious to know why my diet in Atlantis had been strictly vegetarian. “Do you never--do you never eat meat?” “Eat meat?” The tutor’s tone was one of astonishment; and I observed half a dozen pairs of eyes staring at me in shocked surprise. For a moment I felt like one who has urged cannibalism or some other barbarous rite. And my discomfort was scarcely relieved when my informant sternly declared, “There has been no meat consumed in Atlantis since the Submergence; flesh-eating has been discarded along with the other uncivilized practices of the ancients. How could we feel ourselves to be superior to the beasts and yet live at the cost of blood?” “But are there no animals at all in Atlantis?” I found the courage to inquire. “Oh, yes, though naturally we couldn’t take care of many after the Submergence.” And my companion paused, and pointed to a little red-breasted feathered thing perched amid the dense green of the foliage. “There are birds of course--we could not dispense with them. Then there are a few insects, such as the butterflies--and the bees, which give us honey and are necessary for plant pollenization--though all harmful insects were long ago destroyed. Also, there are squirrels and chipmunks and other small creatures; and in the Salty River and the canals there are numerous fish. And in some places along the banks of the Salty River there are hundreds of bullfrogs.” “Bullfrogs!” I exclaimed. “Bullfrogs!” And suddenly I understood the meaning of those strange noises which had so terrified my shipmates and myself during our first night in Atlantis! * * * * * [Illustration: And along each side of the broad passageway, rising almost to meet the ceiling, was a series of what I took to be gigantic boilers. All of these were connected with innumerable wires and with pipes thicker than a man’s body, while at the further end of the gallery the tubes were interwoven in intricate loops, coils and convolutions like the exposed entrails of a Titan.] * * * * * CHAPTER XIX The Glass City For five or six hours we proceeded through the fruit-bearing jungles, which seemed limitless in extent and yet constantly displayed new and unexpected features. But the journey was by no means arduous, for twice we paused for rest and refreshments at little open-air inns that fronted the roads; at all times our pace was unhurried. And most of the party seemed still fresh and energetic when, toward the middle of the afternoon, we emerged suddenly from the thickets and saw a group of fairy-like towers gleaming straight ahead. “That is the city of Thalos,” I heard one of the tutors explaining. “It is there that we stay for the night.”