The sides of this gateway were wonderfully sharp and square, and the peculiarity of the opening was, that it opened at once upon a huge blank wall not above six feet away, completely screening the entrance to the great court, and going off to right and left.

So that, instead of going straight on to explore the exterior of the court, we had the choice of proceeding along one of two narrow passages open to the sky, but winding away just as if the court had originally been built with two walls for an enemy to batter down before they could reach the centre.
No enemy had battered down these walls, not even the outer one.

Time had been at work on the upper part some thirty or forty feet above our heads, where many stones had been loosened and others had fallen; but the greater part of the walls stood just as they had been built by the workmen when the world was much younger, possibly two or three thousand years ago.

Had time permitted, I for one should have liked to wander about and climb here and there, and try to build up in imagination a theory as to what race or age the old builders of the place belonged.
"It's a puzzle," said Denham, in answer to a remark of mine; "but they were not of the same race or kind of people as the tribes of niggers who have lived here since, and who have never built anything better than a kraal.

But look here, Val; we mustn't stop mooning over old history; we've got to find water for the horses, and there must be some about, for people couldn't have lived here without." I roused myself at once to my task, and we struck off to the left, walking and climbing over blocks of stone which had dropped in from the outer wall and encumbered the narrow passage, every now and then being saluted by one of the men, who, rifle in hand, was perched on high, watching the Boers, and ready, as Denham put it, to administer a blue pill to any one impudent enough to come too close.
After getting along for about a hundred feet we came to a big opening on our right--a wide gap where the huge stone wall had been broken down by man or through some convulsion of nature, and now forming a rugged slope full of steps, by which our men had mounted on either side of the opening to the top, where, as stated, they had ample space for moving and shelter from the enemy's bullets.
"What are you looking for ?" said one of the troopers from the top.
"There's no one here." "Water," said the Sergeant gruffly.
"Then you'll have to wait till it rains," said the sentry.
"Humph! we shall see about that," said Denham in a low tone, intended for my ears only; and we climbed on over a heap of debris, at the top of which we had a good view outward to where one of the Boer parties had dismounted and were resting their horses before retiring or making another attack.
Upon descending the farther side of the heap of broken stones, there was a continuation of the open passage, always about six feet wide, but winding probably in following the course of the rock upon which the place was built, so that we could not at any time look far along the passage.
"This doesn't seem like the way to find water," said Denham.
"One never knows," I said.