All was a
model--_exact to the minutest particular_--of the device on the
papyrus! The first long-waved line was the river itself; the three
short-waved lines were the arm of the river and the two pools; the
three snakes were the three winding roads; the two triangles
representing the letter #A# were the two high-roofed round houses; the
heart was the rock! I sprang, now thoroughly excited, from the boat,
and ran in headlong haste to the end of the last lake. Here there was a
rather thick and high growth of bushes, but peering among them, my eye
at once caught a white oblong board supported on a stake: on this, in
black letters, was marked the words, "DESCENSUS AESOPI." It was
necessary, therefore, to go _down_: the meeting-place was subterranean.
It was without difficulty that I discovered a small opening in the
ground, half hidden by the underwood; from the orifice I found that a
series of wooden steps led directly downwards, and I at once boldly
descended. No sooner, however, had I touched the bottom than I was
confronted by an ancient man in Hellenic apparel, armed with the Greek
_ziphos_ and _pelte_. His eyes, accustomed to the gloom, pierced me
long with an earnest scrutiny.
'"You are a Spartan?" he asked at length.
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