indicator, and was relieved to see that the needle went to seven.
The pyramids, fronted by giant staircases and topped by ornate structures that looked like tombs or altars, were looming closer. The boys passed complex carved slabs of stone. The crowd behind them seemed to be hesitating, falling back. But the Mayan boy led on confidently. He went within fifty metres of several of the biggest pyramids without looking at them. At last a possible destination was revealed to James by the focus of the boyâs eyes and the undeviating course of his walk. They seemed to be aiming at a smaller building at the edge of the plaza: again made of stone, and, windowless, resembling a couple of huge coffins of different sizes, piled on top of each other. As they came closer James realised that the building was beside a hole some ten metres in diameter. A few people stood at regular intervals around the hole, but no-one else seemed to be nearby. They were all men, dressed more elaborately than the people in the market. Their costumes were fuller around the waist and they wore spectacular headdresses, which, in their rich plumage of feathers and leaves, blended easily with the background of the dense green jungle that pressed so close to the end of the plaza.
The men, who had dark skin and large noses like Jamesâ guide, looked steadily and impassively at Jamesfor a minute, then, without moving from their places, began questioning the Indian boy. His answers were brief but given without hesitation. The men turned their attention to James again and indicated that he should stand on a certain spot, close to the edge of the hole. Feeling increasingly fearful he nevertheless obeyed. As he stepped to the new position one of the men moved in behind him and stood very close, up against his back. James could now see that the crowd had stopped some distance away and was hushed. All were watching. He was startled to see how many people there were.
Looking down, he saw that he was standing on the edge of some kind of natural well. A smell of mould and mildew filled it. He could see green water about twenty metres below. Although it was dim and in shadow he thought there were large objects, dark and bulky, breaking the surface of the water. A few metres away, to his left, a sudden clatter and shriek startled him horribly and he jerked and looked around, heart jumping. It was a bird, glaringly golden and black, but quite small. It flew rapidly out of some vines and across the pool in front of him, beating its wings noisily.
Before he had even looked away another startling and horrible cry came to him. This time it was unmistakeably human. It came from the well at his feet. Rigid with astonishment he looked down. He thought he saw a face in the water, perhaps looking up at him. Though he had never heard the shriek of a drowning man he had not a momentâs doubt as to the meaning of this cry.He became taller, and whiter, stretching and gazing down with open mouth at the green mysteries in the shadowy hole. He looked across at the face of his young guide, searching for a clue, a lead. The boy looked back at him guileless, interested, alert. James started to twist around to say something, though he was unsure of what the words would be, but the man behind him placed a heavy hand on each of his shoulders and kept him weighed down on the spot. The man spoke; clear, loud words in a deep and dark voice. It sounded like a proclamation. James, obscurely, felt obliged to play his part. He stood still, half-listening to the wise voice. Then, suddenly, the man pushed him hard in the back, and he fell.
Falling, jerking, falling, his stomach still up at the brink: he saw a circle of blue, and dark shapes, then dim soft green. He was dropping into smell. The whole thing was too astonishing to understand. The only emotion was fear. No thinking, just feeling, and the only feeling fear. He hit the water but it was not all water: he half-landed on something
The pyramids, fronted by giant staircases and topped by ornate structures that looked like tombs or altars, were looming closer. The boys passed complex carved slabs of stone. The crowd behind them seemed to be hesitating, falling back. But the Mayan boy led on confidently. He went within fifty metres of several of the biggest pyramids without looking at them. At last a possible destination was revealed to James by the focus of the boyâs eyes and the undeviating course of his walk. They seemed to be aiming at a smaller building at the edge of the plaza: again made of stone, and, windowless, resembling a couple of huge coffins of different sizes, piled on top of each other. As they came closer James realised that the building was beside a hole some ten metres in diameter. A few people stood at regular intervals around the hole, but no-one else seemed to be nearby. They were all men, dressed more elaborately than the people in the market. Their costumes were fuller around the waist and they wore spectacular headdresses, which, in their rich plumage of feathers and leaves, blended easily with the background of the dense green jungle that pressed so close to the end of the plaza.
The men, who had dark skin and large noses like Jamesâ guide, looked steadily and impassively at Jamesfor a minute, then, without moving from their places, began questioning the Indian boy. His answers were brief but given without hesitation. The men turned their attention to James again and indicated that he should stand on a certain spot, close to the edge of the hole. Feeling increasingly fearful he nevertheless obeyed. As he stepped to the new position one of the men moved in behind him and stood very close, up against his back. James could now see that the crowd had stopped some distance away and was hushed. All were watching. He was startled to see how many people there were.
Looking down, he saw that he was standing on the edge of some kind of natural well. A smell of mould and mildew filled it. He could see green water about twenty metres below. Although it was dim and in shadow he thought there were large objects, dark and bulky, breaking the surface of the water. A few metres away, to his left, a sudden clatter and shriek startled him horribly and he jerked and looked around, heart jumping. It was a bird, glaringly golden and black, but quite small. It flew rapidly out of some vines and across the pool in front of him, beating its wings noisily.
Before he had even looked away another startling and horrible cry came to him. This time it was unmistakeably human. It came from the well at his feet. Rigid with astonishment he looked down. He thought he saw a face in the water, perhaps looking up at him. Though he had never heard the shriek of a drowning man he had not a momentâs doubt as to the meaning of this cry.He became taller, and whiter, stretching and gazing down with open mouth at the green mysteries in the shadowy hole. He looked across at the face of his young guide, searching for a clue, a lead. The boy looked back at him guileless, interested, alert. James started to twist around to say something, though he was unsure of what the words would be, but the man behind him placed a heavy hand on each of his shoulders and kept him weighed down on the spot. The man spoke; clear, loud words in a deep and dark voice. It sounded like a proclamation. James, obscurely, felt obliged to play his part. He stood still, half-listening to the wise voice. Then, suddenly, the man pushed him hard in the back, and he fell.
Falling, jerking, falling, his stomach still up at the brink: he saw a circle of blue, and dark shapes, then dim soft green. He was dropping into smell. The whole thing was too astonishing to understand. The only emotion was fear. No thinking, just feeling, and the only feeling fear. He hit the water but it was not all water: he half-landed on something
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