The sun was shining and， except for a few drifts， the snow had been almost completely washed away by the rain. Down below them， spread out like a map， lay the flat hill. top which they had struggled over yesterday afternoon； seen from the castle， it could not be mistaken for anything but the ruins of a gigantic city. It had been flat， as Jill now saw， because it was still， on the whole， paved， though in places the pavement was broken. The criss.cross banks were what was left of the walls of huge buildings which might once have been giants‘ palaces and temples. One bit of wall， about five hundred feet high， was still standing； it was that which she had thought was a cliff. The things that had looked like factory chimneys were enormous pillars， broken off at unequal heights； their fragments lay at their bases like felled trees of monstrous stone. The ledges which they had climbed down on the north side of the hill.and also， no doubt the other ledges which they had climbed up on the south side.were the remaining steps of giant stairs. To crown all， in large， dark lettering across the centre of the pavement， ran the words UNDER ME.
