“Here they found an amicable agreement between these brave men and the children of Atlantis,” continued Yermah, conscious of the under-current of feeling. “It makes my heart glad to tell how the Azes and the Monbas have always been friends.” “Haille! Haille!” shouted his hearers, with one voice. “Haille! Haille!” Satisfied that the ebullition of temper had safely spent itself, the Dorado boldly stated the point in dispute. “It pleased the leaders of the Azes to erect a new city on the ruins of an old abandoned temple site, and they re-surveyed the vicinity from Mount Hotara. Like the Monbas sages, they had counsel of the heavenly bodies, and found the degree of prophecy fulfilled in the markings. It were a wearisome task to hear all of the things done at that time, but the Monbas and the Azes feel that they were well done.” Again the unspoken words reached his ears and the upturned faces before him beamed with satisfaction. “The Monbas reckoned from The Twins to a smaller scale, but they took cognizance of the stars. Time has altered the bearings; but truth was in the beginning and must prevail in the end. Due allowance was then made for the failure of agreement between the new and the old reckonings, and for the difference in the point of view. The treaty following, whereby the Monbas gave eternal consent to the designs of the Azes, has been a source of joy to the Azes always.” “And to us,” assented the Monbas, with a clamorous noise. “Our friend and brother, Eko Tanga,” continued Yermah, bowing to the Ians as he spoke, “comes with a claim against the decision of our ancestors. He denies the right of the Monbas to cede land to the Azes, since the Monbas came under allegiance to Ian, after the treaty was promulgated, and before the solemn covenant had record. The patient skill and industry of Atlantis has made this a garden spot, and the Ians desire recognition of their pretentions. “The murmurings of the Monbas have softened the hearts of the Ians, and their king decrees that the Monbas shall be free from tribute and have dominion over the land claimed by them, provided they will release the princess and the high-priestess Kerœcia from bondage.” Here the Monbas laughed derisively. Even Kerœcia smiled. “It were unseemly of the Azes to interrupt their Servitor,” said Orondo, sternly, as he sprang to his feet and faced his people determinedly. The rebuke did not fail of effect. The undulating walls in different portions of Tlamco represented the gyrations of the cosmic serpent, which is matter, and quaintly sets forth man’s incomings to, and out-goings from, material life. On a grand scale, the three points symbolized man’s redemption by harmonizing the three planes of existence. Religious sentiment, as well as race prejudice, had something to do with the hostile feeling prevalent in the factions. “Sufficient purses have been exchanged to make trade even, but the boundaries still lie in dispute,” continued Yermah.