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diff --git a/23142.txt b/23142.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..29327ca --- /dev/null +++ b/23142.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9253 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In Search of El Dorado, by Harry Collingwood + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In Search of El Dorado + +Author: Harry Collingwood + +Release Date: October 21, 2007 [EBook #23142] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN SEARCH OF EL DORADO *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +In Search of El Dorado, by Harry Collingwood. + +________________________________________________________________________ +Rather strangely the book starts off with an incident very closely +resembling the loss of the "Titanic", which had occurred a few years +before the publication of this book. This episode, the sinking due to +collision with ice of the "Everest", is well told, and must indeed give +a good picture of what had happened with the "Titanic". + +As a result of this our two heroes find themselves on an ice floe, from +which they are rescued, and become great friends. They decide to go +together to South America, to see what adventures befall them. Several +interesting episodes are described, but eventually they find themselves +outside what appears to be a city of gold, but down in a former crater +with no apparent means of access. Eventually they do find the way down, +and to their surprise, Earle, the American, who was wearing an amulet he +had found earlier in the trip, was treated with great reverence as a +God. All this is exceptionally well-told, and you will certainly enjoy +the book. + +________________________________________________________________________ +IN SEARCH OF EL DORADO, BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +ICE! + +The _Everest_, newly launched, the biggest and fastest boat in the +Trans-Atlantic services, was on her maiden voyage to New York. The +fortunes of that voyage concern our story simply from the fact that it +brought our two adventurers together and helped to show the manly stuff +of which they were made. Thereafter the sea was not for them, but the +far-off swamps and forests of the mighty Amazon Valley, where most +amazing adventures befel them. On the _Everest_ Dick Cavendish was +fifth officer. + +The run from Liverpool to Queenstown was made under easy steam in order +that the ship might arrive off the Irish port at a reasonable hour in +the morning; but no sooner were the Irish passengers and the +supplementary mails shipped than the word went quietly round among the +officers that the "Old Man" was bent upon breaking the best previous +record for the run across the herring pond and setting up a new one +unassailable by any other craft than the _Everest_ herself. And +certainly when, as the liner passed Daunt Rock lightship shortly after +nine o'clock on the Sunday morning following her departure from +Liverpool, and the moment was carefully noted by chronometer, the omens +were all most favourable for the weather was fine, though cold, with a +light northerly wind and smooth water, and with her turbines running at +top speed the chief engineer reported that the hands in the stokeholds +were keeping a full head of steam without difficulty. At noon the +patent log showed that the _Everest_ was within a fraction of eighty +miles from the lightship; and Captain Prowse already began to picture +himself as holding the blue ribbon of the Atlantic. + +And so things continued without a hitch or break of any description +until half the journey across the Atlantic had been accomplished; the +weather remained fine, with light winds, no sea, and very little swell +to speak of, while the ship ran as smoothly and steadily as though she +were travelling on land-locked waters instead of in mid-Atlantic. + +Meanwhile she kept in almost hourly touch with other ships going east or +west, reporting her position and progress and asking from time to time +for the latest news; but it was not until Tuesday afternoon, about three +o'clock, local time, that she got any intelligence of the slightest +moment, this being a message from the homeward bound liner _Bolivia_, to +the following effect-- + +"Warning! S.S. _Bolivia_, New York--Liverpool, Latitude 45 degrees, 7 +minutes North, Longitude 37 degrees, 57 minutes West. Just cleared +large area consisting of detached masses of field ice with several +bergs, through which we have been working for the last three hours. +Very dangerous. Advise ships approaching it to observe utmost caution, +particularly at night time." + +This message was duly handed to Captain Prowse in his own cabin by the +wireless operator, who waited while the skipper read it, to see whether +the latter desired to address any inquiry to the _Bolivia_. But after +cogitating over it for two or three minutes, the skipper crumpled up the +paper and thrust it into his pocket, saying-- + +"All right, `Sparks', that'll do. And--look here, youngster--just keep +this message strictly to yourself, d'ye see? Don't say a word to +anybody about it. I'll see that all necessary precautions are taken; +but I don't want the news of there being ice ahead to be talked about; +it'll only make the passengers unnecessarily nervous and uneasy; and I +don't want that. Besides, it will be easy enough to alter the course a +few degrees south if it should be found desirable. You understand me?" + +"Perfectly, sir," answered `Sparks,' lingering for a moment at the cabin +door. "Anything else, sir?" + +"No," answered the skipper, "nothing more at present, thank you. But +keep your ears open for any further messages." + +The operator saluted and vanished; whereupon the skipper produced the +chart of the North Atlantic, by the aid of which he was navigating the +ship, spread it open upon the table, and studied it intently. A pencil +mark consisting of a number of straight lines--the junction of each of +which with the next was indicated by a dot surrounded by a small circle, +against which was a note indicating the date, hour and moment of the +ship's arrival at each particular spot--showed the track of the ship +across the ocean from her point of departure abreast of Daunt Rock, and +a thinner, lighter pencil line extending on to New York marked the still +untravelled portion of the route. Taking a pencil, parallel ruler and +pair of dividers in his hand, Captain Prowse proceeded carefully to jot +down the position of the _Bolivia_, as indicated by her message; having +done which he gave vent to a sigh of relief; for he saw that the course +which he was pursuing would take the _Everest_ some sixty miles to the +north of that point. + +"Thank God! that's all right," he murmured. "There's nothing to fear. +That patch of drift ice is not in the least likely to extend as far +north as our track. Besides, with the precautions that we are +observing--taking the sea temperature every half-hour, and so on--and +the maintenance of a good look-out, we are perfectly safe. I suppose I +ought to tell Brown" (the chief officer) "about this message; but I +won't--no; I'll keep it to myself, for the chap's as nervous as a cat, +and would want to slow down as soon as the dusk comes. And I don't want +that; I mean to make this a record passage, and don't intend to be +frightened into losing several precious hours merely because a ship +sixty miles to the south'ard of my track reports a little floating ice. +No; I'll just issue instructions that everybody is to be on the alert +and keep a specially sharp look-out, and let it go at that." + +Having come to which conclusion, Captain Prowse left his cabin and +joined the officer of the watch on the bridge. + +"By Jove! What glorious weather we are having," he remarked genially, +as the officer came to his side. "I cannot remember such a spell of it +as we have had ever since leaving Queenstown. What's she doing, Mr +Dacre?" + +"Twenty-six point six, sir, at the last reading of the log, about half +an hour ago," answered the second officer; "and she hasn't slackened +down any. At this rate we ought to be berthed in New York by noon the +day after to-morrow, with a record passage to our credit." + +"Ay," agreed the skipper, "that's what I am hoping for in a quiet way. +It will be a feather in our caps if we can pull the thing off--and +please the owners, too. Have you seen any sign of ice yet?" + +"Not yet, sir," answered Dacre, "though I suppose we may expect to see +some at almost any moment, now. But the temperature of the water +remains quite steady. It is only half a degree colder than it was this +time yesterday, and that is no more than one would reasonably expect +about here." + +"Quite so," assented the skipper. "Well, let the temperature continue +to be taken every half-hour regularly, and keep the look-outs on the +alert. We don't want any accidents--or even any narrow escapes, on our +first trip. The officers of the fleet have a reputation for +carefulness, and we must live up to it. Let me know at once if any ice +is sighted." + +"Certainly, sir," replied the second officer, as the skipper turned away +and retired to his cabin. + +At half-past nine o'clock that night the ship's band was playing in the +grand lounge, and most of the first-class passengers who were not in the +smoke-room were promenading or sitting about in that spacious and +handsome apartment, listening to the music, or chatting together in +couples or little groups. The smoke-room, too, was pretty well +occupied, a few of the men reading while the rest were either seated at +the tables, playing poker, or standing round watching the play. + +At the same hour a little party of the ship's officers who were off +duty, of whom Dick Cavendish was one, were gathered in the ward-room, +engaged in the conduct of an informal smoking-concert, and Dick was +standing at the piano warbling "Dear Heart" to the doctor's +accompaniment--it is no longer the fashion for sailors to sing +sea-songs--when the proceedings were abruptly interrupted by a jolt--it +was scarcely severe enough to merit the term "shock"--instantly followed +by a perceptible lifting of the ship's bows and a slight list of her to +starboard, while to her smooth, steady, gliding progress succeeded a +rapid succession of jerks, accompanied by a sound of rending, distinctly +audible in the ward-room in the dead silence that suddenly fell upon the +party. Then the bows of the ship were felt to dip and her stern to +rise, while her speed slackened so abruptly that those who were standing +only retained their footing with difficulty; a final jar, succeeded by a +crash, came, and the ship once more settled to her bearings, floating +smoothly and tranquilly as before. + +By this time the occupants of the ward-room were all upon their feet, +staring at one another, speechless, with horrified eyes. But as the +stern of the ship settled and she again came to her bearings, Mr Brown, +the chief officer, who was one of the party, exclaimed: + +"Ice--by the Living Jingo!--and we've hit it! More than that she's torn +the bottom off herself, unless I'm very greatly mistaken; and in another +minute there'll be the deuce and all to pay--a panic, as likely as not. +To your stations, gentlemen, and remember--the first thing to be done is +to keep the boat deck clear. Come on!" And he led the way up the +companion-ladder to the deck. + +As Dick emerged into the open air, the first thing of which he became +conscious was a distinctly keener edge of chill in the atmosphere; next, +that the ship's engines had stopped; and third, that the second-class +passengers were swarming out of their quarters like angry bees, each +demanding of the other to be told what had happened. They were +evidently heading with one accord for the promenade deck, doubtless _en +route_ for the boat deck; and Dick only reached the foot of the ladder +in the nick of time to meet the rush of the foremost. + +"Hillo!" he cried, good-humouredly, planting himself square in front of +the ladder. "Whither away, good people? No, no; that is the +first-class quarters; you know that you have no right on the promenade +deck. Keep to your own part of the ship, please." + +The crowd checked at the cool authoritativeness of Dick's tones; but a +big, burly man elbowed his way through the crush until he came face to +face with the young officer. + +"Out of the way, youngster," he shouted. "Who are you, to talk of +`right' at a time like this? The ship is on the rocks and sinking, +and--" + +"Oh, my dear good man," interrupted Dick, wearily. "You make me tired. +Why do you start talking about things of which you know nothing, and try +to frighten your fellow passengers? You are the sort of chap who yells +blue murder if the lights in a picture theatre go out before you think +they ought, and starts a panic in which a lot of women and children get +badly hurt. Rocks! Why, we're hundreds of miles from the nearest land. +And as to the ship sinking, don't you know that she's unsinkable--that +she _can't_ sink? The fact is that we've hit a bit of ice in the +darkness, and all the bumping that you felt was just the ice being +broken up by the ship as she ran past it. Now, take my advice, all of +you; go back to your cabins and turn in, or some of you will be catching +bad colds. Where are the parents of those children in night-dresses? +Whoever they are, they ought to be ashamed of themselves for bringing +the poor little kiddies into the cold in that rig! Take 'em below and +put 'em to bed again, there's good people. And go to bed yourselves; +it's the most comfortable place in the ship on a night like this. I +wish I had the chance to go there." + +Dick's one idea in talking had been to subdue the tendency towards panic +which he had observed in the crowd before him, and to a certain extent +he had succeeded. That is to say, the parents of the children in +nightgowns had sheepishly herded their flock back into the deck-house, +while a few of the other passengers had followed them. But the majority +still lingered, waiting perhaps to hear further particulars. And these +the big, burly man--who, from his somewhat "loud" costume, might be +taken for a pugilist or a doubtful frequenter of race courses--seemed +determined to have. Dick's sarcasm had produced no more effect upon him +than rain does upon a duck, and he still stood staring aggressively at +the young officer. + +"That's all very well," he declared truculently; "but if there's no +danger, what are all them sailors so busy about the boats up there for?" + +The boat deck was by this time a scene of feverish but orderly activity, +every available seaman being mustered there, busily engaged, under the +supervision of the chief and second officers, on the task of stripping +the boats of their canvas, casting them loose, hoisting them out of +their chocks, and swinging them outboard ready for lowering. + +"Why, you chump," answered Dick, "they are doing that for the express +purpose of reassuring people like yourself, who always go badly scared +if they get half a chance. Besides, it is one of the standing orders of +the ship, and gives the men a bit of exercise in handling the boats. +They will hang there for a bit, and then they will be swung inboard and +stowed again. Now,--_please_ go back to your cabins, all of you, and +make yourselves comfortable. Or, if you don't care to do that--if you +are determined to hang about out here on deck in the cold, at least go +and put some warm clothes on. For I tell you candidly that it may be an +hour or more before those boats are swung in and stowed." + +"All right!" returned Dick's opponent, "I'll stay where I am until +that's done, and chance it. I'd rather have a cold than be drowned in +my cabin, like a rat in a trap." + +"Very well," retorted Dick. "Do as you please, by all means. It's your +look-out, not mine. Only you are setting a very bad example to the +others. And by this time to-morrow you will all be sorry that you did +not take my advice." + +Meanwhile, from where Dick stood, at the foot of the ladder leading to +the promenade deck, he could hear the purser up there suavely assuring a +crowd of first-class passengers that there was not the slightest +occasion for alarm, that the boats were merely being swung out as a +precautionary measure always adopted in such cases, and that if they +would kindly retire to the dining-saloon they would find a hot supper +awaiting them which he had taken it upon himself to order, just to +fortify his charges against any possible ill effects from the cold to +which they were so foolishly exposing themselves. And while he spoke, +the purser was busily but very politely shepherding the promenade deck +crowd toward the doorway giving access to the dining-saloon. + +But above the suavely jocular accents of the purser's voice Dick's quick +ears caught other and more sinister sounds, to wit, the persistent +crackling of the ship's wireless installation, and he very shrewdly +suspected that that meant something much more serious and important than +"Sparks" swapping good-nights with some other operator--that, in short, +it meant nothing less than that most urgent of all wireless calls, the +S.O.S. of a ship in dire distress summoning other ships to her aid. +Further than that, although the work of preparing the boats for lowering +was proceeding in a perfectly quiet and orderly manner, Dick was +conscious, even above the roar of escaping steam, of a strenuous haste +in the movements of the men engaged upon the task, as well as of a +certain note of sharpness and urgency in the tones of the officers who +were supervising the work, all of which combined to impress upon the +young officer the conviction that matters were taking a distinctly +serious turn for the _Everest_. + +In the brief interval during which the above impressions were printing +themselves upon Dick's consciousness, a few of the people confronting +him had turned, and, in a half-hearted, hesitant way, were drifting back +toward the entrance of the deck-house, although the greater part of them +seemed disposed to follow the burly man's example and remain where they +were until authoritatively assured that all was well with the ship. It +was during this momentary lull that a brass-buttoned steward came nimbly +down the ladder before which Cavendish was standing, and said to him: + +"Purser's compliments, sir, and would you be so good as to tell the +second-class passengers that, on account of their bein' disturbed by the +ship hittin' a lump of ice, and turnin' out in the cold, tea, coffee, +and hot soup is bein' served in the dinin'-room to warm 'em up a bit +before they goes to their beds." + +"Right-o!" answered Dick. "I will inform them at once. Ladies and +gentlemen," he continued, "lest you should not all have heard the +message which the steward has just delivered, let me repeat it. It is a +message from the purser to the effect that since so many of you have +unfortunately been scared out of your warm cabins by the collision of +the ship with a small piece of ice, tea, coffee, and hot soup are now +being served in the dining-room to those who care to have something to +warm them before turning in. If you take my advice, you will lose no +time in going below to get it, because only a limited quantity will be +served, and those who get below first will have the best chance. +Good-night, all of you. Turn in as soon as you have had your hot drink, +and get a good night's rest." + +And therewith the young man turned and with much deliberation ascended +the ladder, his intention in so doing being to convey the impression +that the scare was over and the entire incident ended. + +The ruse was brilliantly successful, for the moment at least, for when, +upon reaching the head of the ladder, he turned to see what was +happening on the deck which he had just left, he saw that the whole +crowd of second-class passengers was in full retreat, with the burly man +elbowing his way through it, that he might secure his full share of +whatever might happen to be going in the dining-room. + +Pausing for a moment to watch the gradual disappearance of the people +through the deck-house door, Dick waited until the last of them had +vanished, and then darted along the now deserted promenade deck and up +the ladder to the boat deck, where he found himself in the midst of a +scene of the most strenuous activity; the men still feverishly working +at the task of clearing and swinging out the boats, the officers +supervising and assisting in the work, as though every second of time +were more precious than gold, stewards hurrying up from below with +provisions with which to stock the boats, and the captain on the bridge +overlooking all, the whole deck brilliantly illuminated by every +available electric lamp, while overhead the steam still roared out of +the pipes, and the crackle of the wireless obtruded itself insistently +through all other sounds. + +Cavendish knew that Mr Brown, the chief officer, was up here somewhere, +and he presently found him and briefly reported what had happened down +on the main deck. + +"Good!" returned Brown. "But go back and guard the head of the ladder +leading from the main to the promenade deck. We're holed in nearly +every compartment, and the leaks are gaining upon us in spite of the +steam pumps. The ship's doomed--that's the long and the short of it; +nothing can save her; and as soon as all the boats are ready there will +be a call for the women and children. Your duty then will be to see +that no men from the second-class are allowed to slip past you until all +women and children have been safely got off. Likely enough some of the +men may try to rush you. Got a revolver?" + +"I have a pair down in my cabin, but--" + +"Good!" interrupted Brown. "Don't waste time going down to fetch them. +Collar a steward and tell him to get them for you. Now, off you go. +Those people down below may take the alarm again at any moment. One +word more. When all the women and children are up, don't let any men +pass you until you get word from me. Now--scoot!" + +Dick "scooted," dispatching a steward for his revolvers on the way, not +that he had the slightest intention of using them; but he knew how +efficacious a revolver--even though empty--is in stopping a rush, and he +decided that it would be a good thing to have them. A minute later--his +visit to the boat deck having occupied some ten minutes--he reached his +post at the head of the ladder which he was to guard--just in time. For +as he posted himself, the head of the burly man swung into view, wagging +from side to side as its owner climbed the ladder, with quite a little +crowd behind him, while others were streaming out on deck. + +"What! my friend, you here again?" exclaimed Dick as he planted himself +at the head of the ladder, with a hand grasping the rail on either side +of him, thus converting himself into a human closed gate. "Have you +come to tell me that there were not enough hot drinks to go round and +that you didn't get your fair share? No you don't"--as the man strove +to dislodge Cavendish from his position--"your place is down there on +the main deck, as I've told you before--ah! would you? Then take that, +as a little lesson that when you're aboard ship you must behave yourself +and obey orders!" + +"That" was a blow straight between the eyes, administered to the burly +man, who now seemed determined to fight his way up to the boat deck at +all costs. The fellow went reeling back under the impact of the blow, +and would undoubtedly have fallen some ten feet to the deck below had he +not been caught and supported by the people beneath him on the ladder. +These instantly raised a loud clamour, in which the words "Shame! +shame!" were distinctly audible, while some of the women began to cry +and manifest a disposition to become hysterical. Then another big man +suddenly started to elbow his way through the crowd now thickly grouped +about the foot of the ladder which Dick was guarding, shouting, as he +came-- + +"Here, let me get at him. Officer or no officer, I'll soon shift him!" + +"Yes, yes; that's right, governor," shouted others, also pressing +forward. "Let's get him out of the way. What right has he got to keep +us down here while the ship's sinking? Our lives are just as good as +other people's, and we've a right to save 'em if we can." + +Dick saw that a crisis was imminent and that unless he acted with +decision the people on the deck below would very quickly get out of +hand. Luckily for him, the steward whom he had dispatched for his +revolvers at this moment appeared, thrust the weapons into his hand, and +dashed off again without saying a word. The youngster was reluctant to +display the weapons, for he was by no means sure that the sight of them +would produce the desired effect. Yet there seemed to be no +alternative, for the little band of men below--some eight or ten in +number--were evidently determined to force the passage of the ladder. +He therefore pointed both weapons straight at the group as he shouted: + +"Halt there, you men! If you dare to move another step, I'll shoot. +What do you mean by your outrageous conduct, pushing and hustling your +way violently through a crowd of helpless women and children in that +brutal fashion? You wouldn't do it if any of them belonged to you, and +I am surprised that the husbands and fathers put up with it. Call +yourselves Englishmen? Pah! I'm ashamed of you. You make me sick!" + +Dick's appeal to the husbands and fathers of those whom the gang had +been hustling so roughly was a happy inspiration, and produced an +immediate effect, the said husbands and fathers at once raising their +voices in remonstrance, while the women also joined in, with the result +that a heated altercation quickly ensued which threatened to speedily +develop into a free fight. But that was only a shade less desirable +than the other, wherefore, slipping his revolvers into his pockets, Dick +intervened. + +"Now then, below there, none of that!" he shouted. "I'll allow no +fighting. The first man who strikes a blow shall be clapped in irons. +And just listen to me a moment, if you please," he continued, as the +faces below turned again toward him. "Will one of you men who seem so +extraordinarily anxious to come up here kindly explain _why_ you want to +come?" + +For a moment there was dead silence among the crowd, then the burly man +whom Dick had struck, and who had retired crestfallen to the foot of the +ladder, looked up and replied: + +"The ship's sinking--you can't deny it--and our lives are worth just as +much as other people's. We want to have a fair chance of saving 'em, +and--" + +"Stop a moment," interrupted Dick, thinking he saw a chance to create a +diversion and avert the inevitable rush for a few minutes. "You say +that the ship is sinking and that you want to save your lives by taking +to the boats. Have you all taken the precaution to put your money and +other valuables in your pockets? And have you all seen to it that you +are dressed in your warmest clothes? You know," he continued, +banteringly, "if you were at this moment called to get into the boats, +you would be very sorry when you afterwards remembered that in your +hurry you had left all your valuables behind you. And boating in this +weather is a most unpleasantly cold business, I assure you." + +A rather lengthy silence followed this speech of Dick's. Those whom he +had addressed were thinking very seriously about what he had said +touching money and valuables. Probably not one of them had dreamed of +adopting the precautionary measures suggested, and many of them were +painfully conscious at that moment that every penny they possessed was +locked up in the trunks in their cabins. Several of them began to move +hesitatingly towards the deck-house entrance. Then a man who was +leading the way, suddenly halted and shouted-- + +"Look here, mister. Tell us the plain truth, as man to man. Is this +ship going to sink, or isn't she? That's all that we want to know." + +The question set Dick's mind working at lightning speed. Should he or +should he not deny the dreadful truth? He felt that he could not +unreservedly deny it, yet, on the other hand, unreservedly to admit it +might precipitate a panic. He quickly decided that the proper thing to +do would be to prepare those people for the inevitable, but to do so in +such a fashion as to reassure them to the utmost possible extent. +Therefore he answered: + +"As man to man I tell you that we hope to take this ship safely into New +York harbour. But I will not attempt to conceal from you the fact that +she has sustained a certain amount of damage from her collision with a +mass of ice and she is leaking a bit--stop! Don't run away until I have +told you everything," he continued, as he saw the listening crowd below +bracing itself for a rush. "As I have said, the ship is leaking a bit, +but the steam pumps are at work--listen! you can hear the beat of them-- +and the water is pouring out of her almost, if not quite, as fast as it +is pouring in." (This was very far from being the truth, and Dick knew +it, but he considered that the circumstances justified the +prevarication). "But it is a rule with this company, as it is with many +others, that the moment a ship sustains any damage, however slight, the +first step taken is to provide for the safety of passengers, and that is +why you see the boats being got ready. If the leak should be found to +be gaining on the pumps, ample notice will be given you, and plenty of +time will be allowed for transferring everybody to the boats without +rush or confusion of any kind. So now you know all that there is to +know. If you take my advice you will all go to your cabins, dress +yourselves in your warmest clothes, secure money and valuables about +your persons, and then lie down and get a comfortable sleep. If it is +considered desirable that you should be transferred to the boats you +will be told so in good time. And don't hurry. It may be hours yet +before you will be summoned to the boats--if indeed you are summoned at +all." + +Again Dick's eloquence had triumphed, and this time the triumph was +distinctly of a more decisive character than on the previous occasion; +his candour--so far as it went--had convinced the people whom he +addressed that if there was any danger at all it was certainly not +imminent; and in a body they turned away, intent upon acting on his +advice. + +Within a minute of the disappearance of the last of the second-class +passengers, a loud hissing, shearing sound rent the air, heard +distinctly above the now somewhat moderated roar of the escaping steam, +and, leaning far out over the rail of the promenade deck, Dick was just +in time to mark the heavenward flight of a rocket--the first visible +signal of distress which the _Everest_ had thus far made--and to see it +burst, high up, into a shower of brilliant red stars. It was the light +shed by these stars as they floated downward that first revealed to the +young officer the fact that a thin veil of haze enveloped the ship, +through which, scattered here and there, were several small blocks of +field ice; while away on the starboard quarter, distant about half a +mile, was a much larger mass, standing perhaps two or three feet above +the water's surface, which might well be the berg that had done all the +mischief. But Dick was horrified, as he stared down into the water, to +note how much nearer was the surface than usual, as seen from the level +of the promenade deck--quite three feet nearer, he estimated. And the +ship had sunk to that extent within little more than half an hour! + +The lad glanced eagerly about him. The deck below, set apart for the +exclusive use of the second-class passengers, was now tenantless, but +the port of every cabin was aglow with light, showing pretty +conclusively that the people there were following Dick's advice. The +same held good with regard to the cabins on the promenade deck; every +window--and many doors as well--revealed the fact that the occupants +were busy within; but even while Cavendish looked, a few people emerged +from adjacent cabins, all of them warmly clad and evidently prepared as +well as they could be for the hardships of exposure in open boats. +Also, far away for'ard, Dick could just distinguish that the smoke-room +door was open and that men were passing in and out, their movements +suggesting uneasiness and expectancy. + +Again Dick glanced over the rail. The water was perfectly smooth, +unwrinkled by even the faintest zephyr of a breeze, and the great ship +lay almost as motionless and steady as though she were in dock. Thank +God! when the moment came there ought to be no difficulty in getting the +laden boats safely lowered and afloat. At the thought of the boats he +glanced upward and saw that the whole of them on the starboard side were +swung out and lowered sufficiently to permit of the people stepping +easily into them from the deck above. Then he ran across the deck to +the port side, and saw that all boats but one on that side were also +ready, while the last one was even at that moment being lowered to the +same level as the rest. + +As Dick walked back to his station at the head of the ladder another +rocket went screaming its way aloft into the black sky, and with the +bursting of it the lad became conscious of the fact that the wireless +was no longer insistently clamouring; there were moments now when it +remained silent for quite a minute or more, followed by a few sharp +cracklings, and again silence. The _Everest_ had evidently at last got +into touch with another ship and was exchanging confidences with her. + +Dick began to feel cold up there on the promenade deck, and to promote +warmth, proceeded to walk briskly to and fro athwart the broad space of +deck abaft the long range of cabins. And as he did so, he caught a +momentary view of one of the quartermasters entering the doorway which +led toward the main companion-way, and, incidentally, to the library, +ladies' boudoir, grand saloon, and dining-hall. The man held a small +slip of paper in his hand, and Dick instantly surmised that the slip +might be a communication from either the captain or the chief officer to +the purser. + +The lad paused in his walk, awaiting results. And they were not long in +coming, for a few minutes later the quartermaster emerged, quickly +followed by the purser, who, taking up a position midway between the +smoke-room and the block of cabins abaft it--which space Dick now saw +was occupied by several groups of men and women--cleared his voice and +then proclaimed in ringing accents: + +"Ladies and gentlemen, this paper which I hold in my hand is a message +which has just been brought to me from Captain Prowse, and it contains +news which I am sure will be very welcome to you all. It is to the +effect that our wireless operator has succeeded in getting into touch +with the _Bolivia_ and acquainting the captain of that vessel with our +somewhat unfortunate plight. The _Bolivia_, as some of you are +doubtless aware, is homeward bound, but upon learning the news of our +accident, her captain has unhesitatingly interrupted his voyage and is +at this moment heading for our position as rapidly as his powerful +engines will drive him. He expects to arrive alongside in about three +hours from now; you have therefore the assurance of perfect safety, let +what will happen. This is as gratifying news to Captain Prowse as I +expect it is to you; for I may now tell you that the _Everest_ is much +more seriously damaged than we at first anticipated, and--purely as a +measure of precaution, I assure you--the captain, in consultation with +his officers, has decided temporarily to transfer all passengers to the +boats, thus ensuring their safety, whatever may happen to the ship. And +if the worst should come to the worst and the leak continue to gain upon +us, the _Bolivia_ will receive you upon her arrival and convey you to +New York. It was in anticipation of some such contingency as this that +I advised you all, a little while ago, to change into warmer clothing, +and I am glad to see that you have taken my advice. A call for you to +enter the boats--women and children first--will shortly be made; +therefore, if any of you have any valuables in your cabins, let me +advise you to secure them at once. Several of you have deposited money +and jewels in my charge. I am now about to proceed to my office for the +purpose of delivering those deposits to their rightful owners; and I +shall be much obliged if you will all kindly bring your deposit notes +with you to facilitate the distribution." + +And, so saying, the purser, cool and imperturbable as ever, bowed and +withdrew, his departure being instantly followed by a hurried rush of +the passengers to their cabins. + +An interval of some twenty minutes now elapsed, during which nothing +particular happened, except that the second-class passengers began again +to emerge from their quarters in little groups and congregate about the +foot of the ladder, as though holding themselves in readiness to obey an +expected call. At regular intervals distress rockets continued to be +fired from the upper deck, each discharge being followed by a little +movement of restlessness on the part of the rapidly increasing crowd, +while Dick noticed that the ship's wireless was again insistently +calling. He also noticed that the burly man and a small group of +kindred spirits were quietly but unobtrusively edging their way through +the gathering crowd towards the foot of the ladder, and he decided to +check the movement forthwith. Therefore, raising his arm to attract +attention, and then pointing downward at the culprits, he said: + +"Now, look here, you men! Stop that at once, if you please. I see your +game; but it won't do. You are trying to get in front of all the +others, so as to be first in the boats if you are called to take to +them. But it won't do, my fine fellows. If it is decided to send away +the boats, the women and children will be the first to go; therefore the +men will be pleased to fall in in the rear. Let all the children come +forward, and their mothers with them--no, no; don't rush and crowd, for +there is not the least occasion for hurry; make a lane, there--a good +wide lane to the foot of the ladder--do you hear what I say? That's +better--open out wider yet. So! Good! Now, you mothers, come to the +front with your kiddies, and sit down on deck until further orders. Let +the youngsters come up the ladder and sit down on the steps. They may +come up as far as the top step, but no farther. That's right. Now, +little folks, sit close together and keep each other warm. That's +capital. Now you will do very well." + +As Dick finished, a quartermaster, accompanied by half-a-dozen seamen, +came along the deck, and while the latter ranged themselves immediately +behind Cavendish, the quartermaster murmured in the young man's ear: + +"They're goin' to begin launchin' the boats, sir, and the chief officer +wants you up on the boat deck to help. I'm to stay here with these men, +to see that there's no rush. You're to go at once, please, sir." + +"Right!" responded Dick, and turned to go. Then a thought suddenly +occurred to him, and he faced round to the people on the deck below, now +evidently all agog to learn what fresh development was impending. + +"Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "A message has just been brought to me +that the captain has decided to put you all into the boats, as a measure +of safety. But I see that none of you have as yet put on life belts. +You will find them in your cabins. Please go there and fetch them, and +two of these men will come to you and help you to put them on. There is +no hurry, so, when the call comes, please take your time, and let there +be no crowding. You will get away much quicker by behaving in a quiet +and orderly manner." + +Then, with a few words of warning to the quartermaster and the seamen, +Dick turned and made a dash for the boat deck. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +THE FOUNDERING OF THE "EVEREST." + +Upon reaching the ladder leading to the boat deck, which was the +uppermost deck of all, he found it packed with first-class passengers, +among whom the word had already been passed round, so, rather than +incommode them, he sprang up on the rail and swarmed up a stanchion. + +Arrived on the boat deck, he found the preparations for lowering the +boats complete, and he also found the captain and chief officer +preparing to supervise the embarkation. These he at once joined, and +upon reporting himself, was immediately stationed at the after end of +the deck on the starboard side, to supervise the dispatch of four boats. +The deck was now rapidly filling with passengers, who were coming up +from below, both fore and aft, men, women and children indiscriminately, +despite the efforts of those below to keep them apart. But they were +received upon their arrival by a number of quartermasters and seamen, +who firmly, but with rough courtsey, herded the men along the middle +part of the deck while the women and children were allowed to go to the +port and starboard sides of the deck, where the officers received them. + +Dick stationed himself abreast the aftermost of his quartette of boats, +and as the anxious mothers with their children came crowding up, he +quickly passed them through the opening in the rail and into the boat, +where the three men in charge of it received them and directed them +where to place themselves. So far, there was very little confusion, +except that a few women clamoured for their husbands to be allowed to go +with them, so causing a certain amount of delay; but on the whole +matters were going very well, and within forty minutes the whole of the +boats that had been swung out were safely lowered and dispatched, with +orders to lie off at least half a mile, and there wait for further +orders. These boats took not only all the women and children, but also +as many men as room could be found for. + +But all told there still remained nearly two thousand men aboard the +doomed ship, whose safety depended upon the possibility of launching the +collapsible boats and life rafts before the now rapidly sinking liner +foundered. And this possibility had become very questionable, for the +water had gained so much that the furnace fires had been extinguished +and steam was rapidly failing, with the result that the pumps were no +longer working at anything like full power. Moreover, although every +possible arrangement had been made to facilitate the launching of the +collapsible and other craft, much still remained to be done before they +would be ready to receive their complement of passengers and be +dispatched. Meanwhile the _Everest_ had settled so low in the water +that many of those still waiting were beginning to betray much +uneasiness, not to say restiveness, at the inevitable delay, this +restiveness being most apparent among the steerage passengers and, in a +lesser degree, among the second-class, while the first-class passengers, +almost to a man, not only displayed the most perfect coolness, but even +united with the officers of the ship in their efforts to allay the +rapidly growing impatience of the others. + +Dick saw that trouble was brewing, and stimulated his gang of workers +both by voice and example, with the result that very soon he had a big +collapsible boat hooked on to the davit tackles and swung outboard. But +she still needed a certain amount of preparation before she would be +ready to receive her living cargo, and to complete that preparation +Cavendish ordered four of his gang of six men into her. Instantly a +crowd of excited foreigners from the steerage, probably mistaking the +action for an indication that the boat was ready, made a rush for her +and, thrusting Dick and his remaining two assistants aside, hurled +themselves frantically into her, shrieking and jabbering like maniacs. +The result, of course, was that the boat promptly collapsed, and taking +the intruders entirely by surprise, precipitated the greater number of +them into the water beneath, while the four seamen in her only escaped a +like fate by making a spring for and seizing the tackles and guys. + +Dick, who with his two assistants had been knocked down and nearly +overboard by the rush, quickly scrambled to his feet and dropped +overboard every rope's end he could lay his hands upon, and by this +means contrived to rescue some twenty of the now thoroughly sobered and +frightened men; but, of course, this involved a most lamentable delay +and loss of time; and meanwhile it became apparent to all that the ship +was now fast settling in the water. Even worse than that, however, was +the effect which the conviction produced upon the ignorant foreigners +among the passengers. These were fast developing a tendency to panic, +which manifested itself in a determination to assist the seamen; and +since their efforts to assist were unaided for the most part by the +smallest glimmering of knowledge as to the proper thing to do, they +naturally hindered instead of helping, and not only Dick but the other +officers as well soon had all their work cut out to keep the zealous but +ignorant foreigners in anything like order. + +The worst characteristic of panic is that it is so horribly contagious. +Let a crowd of people once get the idea into their heads that they are +in peril, and they will fight together like wild beasts in their anxiety +to escape. And the officers of the _Everest_ knew this; therefore they +devoted the whole of their energies to the task of reassuring that great +crowd of men who now filled the boat deck of the sinking ship, arguing, +pleading, and even threatening, while the Dagos crowded around them ever +more menacingly, with eyes ablaze with mingled terror and ferocity, lips +contracted into savage snarls, and hands in many cases gripping long, +ugly-looking, dagger-like knives. + +Then suddenly there came, unceremoniously elbowing his way through the +excited crowd, the well-known form of the purser, his face wreathed with +smiles, and a paper in his hand. + +"Make way, there, make way, good people," he shouted. "I have good news +for you. The wireless operators have succeeded in getting into touch +with three more ships, and now not only the _Bolivia_, but also the +_Cotopaxi_, the _Platonic_, and the _Nigerian_ are hastening to our +rescue and will all be alongside us in the course of a few hours. +Therefore, cheer up, there is help and room for everybody on the way." + +"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! Three cheers for the purser and his good +news," shouted a man with a strong American accent; and all who +understood him heartily took up the cheering; while the foreigners, who +had failed to catch the meaning of the purser's remarks, at least +understood from the cheering that good news of some sort had come to +hand, and their attitude at once became less menacing. + +"Good for you, sir," exclaimed Dick to the men who had started the +cheering. "Those hurrahs of yours are worth more than diamonds to us +just now. Hurry up lads with that boat and let's get her afloat. Are +you ready, Simpson? Good! Now then, come along, good people, but don't +crowd, there's plenty of time. Jump in, sir--" to the man with the +American accent; "you deserve a place, if only in return for those +cheers." + +"Not I, my son," answered the man addressed--he was only about +twenty-eight to thirty years of age. "I have neither wife, child, nor +relative of any kind, as far as I know. Let the married folk go first. +Now then, you husbands and fathers, step out. Any more for the shore?" + +He spoke with a smile on his good-locking face, and that and the little +jest of "Any more for the shore?" were as comforting to many a man there +as all the assurances of the ship's officers had been; nay, more, for +they had been accompanied by a wave of the hand toward the boat and a +voluntary stepping aside that seemed to say as plain as words--"Pass +along, you who are afraid. I am not, and am entirely willing to wait my +turn." + +But although the peril of panic was less imminent than it had been, it +was by no means banished, and probably none recognised this more clearly +than the American, for while the boat just filled was being lowered, he +edged up to Dick and murmured: + +"Say, young man, unless you are looking for trouble I would advise you +to get all those Dagos out of the ship quick. I know their sort, sir, +and I can tell by the look in their eyes, that the smallest thing in the +way of an extra scare will just send the whole crowd jumping mad. So +get rid of them in a hurry. That's my advice." + +"And I believe you are right, too," answered Dick. "But I can't act on +your advice, all the same. There are others who are entitled to as good +a chance as the Dagos, and they must have it. There is yourself, for +instance--" + +"Nix! I guess not!" interrupted the American. "Of course, I know what +you mean," he continued, in a low tone; "the ship can't last much +longer, and a good few of us are in for a cold swim; but I guess I'll +take my chance with the rest of the bathers." + +The launching and the dispatch of the collapsibles was now proceeding +with frantic haste, for it was no longer possible to conceal the fact +that the ship's minutes were numbered, while there were still over a +thousand people aboard. But the discipline was perfect, the work was +going forward smoothly and with no more bustle than if the passengers +were being landed upon a wharf; and if it had not been for the horribly +nervous condition of the foreigners all might have been well. But they +were in just that state of "nerves" when, as the American had suggested, +the smallest scare would act upon them as a spark upon gunpowder; and +the scare presently came, in the form of a small explosion--which might +have been nothing more than the accidental discharge of a revolver +somewhere down in the depths of the ship. Whatever it may have been, it +was enough to turn the scale--to upset the state of delicate, unstable +equilibrium prevailing, and after a momentary glance around them, the +foreigners, nearly three-hundred in number, set up a yell of terror and +hurled themselves in a body upon those who were at work upon the boats. + +In a flash, Dick, the American, and half a dozen more were swept out +through the temporary gangway by the maddened crowd, and, before they +fully realised what was happening, found themselves floundering in the +water alongside, while others came hurtling down on all sides. Luckily +for himself, Dick went down straight--and consequently somewhat deep, +and before his descent was checked his presence of mind returned. He +pictured to himself exactly what was happening above him, and struck out +powerfully under water, so as to escape the shower of falling bodies +when he should reach the surface. + +The water was bitterly cold, but Dick kept under as long as he could, +swimming straight away from the ship; and when at length he rose he saw +with satisfaction that he was some ten yards distant from her, and well +clear of the struggling mass of men alongside, who were being added to +by dozens, even as he watched. + +The next moment another head broke water alongside him, and as it did so +a voice which Dick instantly recognised ejaculated, amidst a fusillade +of coughs and splutterings-- + +"B-r-r-ur! It's colder'n charity! Darn those Dagos, anyway! It was +cold enough up there on the hurricane deck, but here--ugh!" + +"You are right," returned Dick. "It _is_ cold, and no mistake. I hope +those fellows didn't hurt you in their mad rush." + +"Nary a hurt," replied Dick's companion. "So it's you, young man, is +it? Good! Say! although it is so tarnation cold down here, I guess +we're better off than the people up there on deck. For now we'll have a +chance to get clear of the ship before she sinks, if we hustle a bit. +See that star over there? I guess we'd better make a bee line for it +and swim for all we're worth; then, if we're lucky we may escape being +dragged down in the vortex; and perhaps we may find a boat to hang on to +until something comes along and picks us up." + +Dick agreeing, the pair struck out strongly in the direction of the +star. But, as they swam, their ears were assailed by a veritable +pandemonium of sound aboard the sinking steamer--shouts, yells, screams, +and a regular fusillade of pistol shots, bearing eloquent evidence of +the terrible scenes that were enacting aboard her. + +As the two swimmers proceeded the mingled sounds aboard the _Everest_ +seemed to swell rather than diminish, to such an extent indeed that +presently the American turned to Dick and gasped, through chattering +teeth-- + +"S-s-say! s-s-seems to m-me that there's a r-reg-ular pitched b-a-attle +going on aboard there--ugh! G-g-guess w-we're b-b-better off here +th-th-than there--eh?" + +"R-r-rather!" stammered Dick back, but he was suffering so intensely +from the icy nip of the water that he felt no disposition to talk, and +simply pushed ahead for all he was worth, hoping that by dint of violent +exertion he might be able to conquer the numbing sensation that was +gradually clogging his movements. + +For another ten minutes the pair pressed forward side by side. Then +suddenly Dick's companion ceased his exertions, and, with a groan, +turned over on his back. He managed to stammer a question whether there +were any boats at hand; and upon Dick replying in the negative the +American gasped: + +"Then I'm d-d-done. C-cramp all over. C-can't s-swim 'nother s-stroke. +G-good-bye!" + +"Good-bye be hanged!" shouted Dick, stirred to new life by his +companion's extremity. "Just y-you lie as y-you are--I'll l-l-look +after you." + +And flinging himself on his back, Cavendish gripped the other man firmly +by the collar, and, kicking out vigorously, towed him along. Some five +minutes later the youngster became conscious of a sudden and very +decided fall in the temperature of the water, and looking about in +search of the cause, found himself within a few yards of a large cake of +field ice. There, at all events, was a refuge of a sort--something that +would serve the purpose of a raft, and with a few vigorous strokes he +was alongside it. It was a great slab of field ice, its flat upper +surface not more than six inches above water; and after a tremendous +struggle Dick not only got upon the slab himself but also contrived to +drag his companion up also. Their combined weight seemed to have very +little effect upon the stability of the mass, merely depressing the +adjacent edge perhaps a couple of inches; and, this fact ascertained, +Dick lost no time, but set to work upon the body of the insensible +American, pounding, rubbing, and rolling it with such vigour that not +only did he at length feel the chill departing from his own limbs but +also felt his companion stir and heard him groan. + +"Feel better?" demanded Dick. Then, without waiting for a reply, he +added: "If you can only manage to get to your feet and walk about a bit, +we'll soon restore our circulation. Let me give you a lift." + +"Wait," gasped the American. "Breast pocket--br-r-randy flask. Take +nip and give me one." + +The brandy flask was found, and after applying it to the lips of its +owner, Dick took a mouthful himself before replacing the top. The +effect of the spirit upon their chilled bodies was almost miraculous, a +wave of warmth surged through them, and presently the American was on +his feet, and, with Dick's arm linked in his, was staggering to and fro +upon the surface of the ice. As the stiffness and cramp worked out of +their limbs they were able to increase their pace, until within a few +minutes they were trotting to and fro across the mass and feeling almost +warm once more. + +Meanwhile, although the sounds of conflict and confusion aboard the +_Everest_ still floated to the pair, horribly suggesting the awful +scenes that were being enacted on her deck, the ship herself had settled +so deeply in the water that only the lights in the cabins of the +promenade deck and the clusters illuminating the boat deck now marked +her whereabouts, and it soon became apparent that the end was very near. +As a matter of fact it was even nearer than the occupants of the floe +imagined, for as with one accord they paused to glance at the ship in +response to an exceptionally strident outburst of sound, they beheld the +line of lights suddenly incline from the horizontal, saw the slope grow +steadily steeper, and then, as the great mass of the vessel's stern hove +up, an indistinct blur of deeper blackness on the darkness of the night, +the line of lights slid forward and vanished one after another until all +had disappeared, while at the same moment a heartrending wail from +hundreds of throats pealed out across the water, punctuated by a +crackling volley of pistol shots. + +"Gone!" ejaculated Dick's companion--and the ejaculation was almost a +groan. "The unsinkable _Everest_, that triumph of human ingenuity which +was finally to insure travellers against every peril of the sea, is +gone, sent to the bottom by a chunk of ice so small that, we may assume, +the look-outs never saw it until it was too late. And with her she has +taken, I suppose, the best part of a thousand people--of whom you and I, +my friend, might have been two, if those tarnation cowardly Dagos had +not knocked us overboard, for which I am obliged to them, although I +wasn't by a long chalk, a quarter of an hour ago. Now I guess we're +just as well off here as those people are in the boats; better, maybe, +for we can at least move about and keep ourselves warm here, whereas-- +say! What's that? See, over there! Isn't it a rocket?" + +As Dick looked in the direction toward which his companion pointed, he +caught a momentary glimpse of a sudden faint irradiation in the sky, +followed by the appearance of a minute cluster of tiny falling stars. + +"Yes," he replied, "that's a rocket all right; and it means that the +_Bolivia_ or one of the other ships is coming up, and is firing rockets +to let us know that help is at hand. But whatever she is, she is a long +way off yet, and probably will not arrive for the next half-hour at +least. So let me recommend another sprint or two across the ice just to +keep the blood moving in our veins." + +"Correct again," returned the American, as they started off at a brisk +walk. "But--say!" he continued, turning to Dick and extending his hand, +"we've been so darned busy getting ourselves warm that I haven't yet +found time to thank you for saving my life. But I'll do it now--" + +"Saving your life?" ejaculated Dick. "I don't think I understand." + +"Oh yes, I guess you do," answered the American. "Or, if you don't, I +calculate I can easily enlighten you. You saved my life, young man, +when you took me in tow out there and navigated me to this desirable ice +floe, and don't you forget it. You may bet your bottom dollar that I +shall not, and there's my hand upon it, stranger. Now, let me introduce +myself. I know who you are all right; you're Mr Cavendish, late fifth +officer of the unsinkable steamship _Everest_, very recently gone to the +bottom. Isn't that right?" + +Dick acknowledged the truth of his companion's statement, whereupon the +latter resumed. + +"Very good," he said. "Now, I suppose you've never heard of Wilfrid +Earle, of New York, the man who undertook to hunt his way from Cairo to +the Cape--" + +"Oh! but of course I have," interrupted Dick. "I've read about you in +the papers--and, come to think of it, I've seen your photograph also in +the papers. Somehow your face seemed familiar when I noticed you a +while ago on the boat deck--" + +"Sure!" cut in the other. "That's me--Wilfrid Earle, the eccentric New +Yorker, all right, all right. Only arrived home from Cape Town little +more than a fortnight ago, with a whole caravan load of skins, horns, +tusks, and so on; and now I guess they're about half a mile down, in the +hull of the _Everest_. Gee! Guess you're thinking me a heartless brute +for talking so lightly about the awful thing that's just happened; but, +man, I've got to do it--or else go clean crazy with thinking about it. +Or, better still, not think about it at all, since thinking about it +won't mend matters the least little bit. Say! what are all those little +lights dotted about over there?" + +"Oh!" answered Dick, "they are the lights of the _Everest's_ boats. +Each boat was provided with a lantern, in order that they might keep +together, and be the more easily found when the rescuing ships come up." + +"Ah!" returned Earle. "A very excellent arrangement. But say! what +about us? We have no lantern. How are we going to make our whereabouts +known? Those boats are a good mile away, and--" + +"I don't think we need worry very greatly about that," answered Dick. +"Naturally, the _Bolivia_--or whatever the coming craft may be--will +pick up the people in the boats directly she arrives; but she'll lower +her own boats, too, and send them away to search the sea in the +immediate neighbourhood for people who may be floating about in +lifebuoys or cork jackets. There must be quite a number of them at no +great distance from us--though how long they are likely to survive, +drifting about in the ice-cold water, I should not like to say. But I +think we may take it for granted that, once they have arrived, the +rescuing ships will not quit the scene of the disaster until they have +made quite sure that they have got all the survivors. They will wait +about until daylight comes, without a shadow of doubt." + +"Good! it is comforting to hear you say that," returned Earle. "You +see, I don't know much about the sea and sailor ways, and it occurred to +me that those rescuing ships might take it for granted that when they +had recovered the people from the boats, they would have done all that +was possible--and quit. Gee! but it's cold here on this ice. Lucky +that there's no wind, or we should be frozen stiff in half an hour. +We'll have another nip of brandy each; it'll do us both good. Lucky +thing, too, that I had the sense to fill the flask and slip it into my +pocket when I knew what had happened to the ship. I sort of foresaw +some such experience as this, and concluded that a drop of brandy might +be a good thing to have about one's person." + +They had their nip and felt all the better for it; but it was necessary +for them to keep moving briskly in order to combat the numbing chill of +their wet clothes, and they resumed their pacing to and fro across their +narrow block of ice. + +For a time their conversation was of a desultory and fragmentary +character, for they were both intently watching the progress of the +approaching steamer, which continued to send up rockets until the glow +of the flames from her funnels became clearly visible. Then the display +of rockets suddenly ceased, no doubt because--as Dick surmised--the +lights of the boats had been sighted by the eager look-outs aboard her. +Then her mast-head light came into view, followed, a little later, by +her port and starboard side lights; and at length the dark, scarcely +discernible blotch that represented her hull lengthened out suddenly, +revealing a long triple tier of brightly gleaming ports; and a few +seconds later the roar of steam escaping as her engines stopped, reached +the two watchers on the ice. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Dick, "she is among the boats at last and doubtless +picking them up. Now we must keep our ears open listening for the sound +of oars, or hailing, for I'll bet that the skipper will have had his +boats swung out ready for lowering, and their crews standing by, long +ago." + +But nearly half an hour elapsed before the welcome sound of oars working +in rowlocks faintly reached their ears, followed quickly by the shrill +note of an officer's whistle. + +"At last!" breathed Dick, in tones of profound relief. "Now is our +chance, Mr Earle. We will shout together: `Boat ahoy!' Take the time +from me. Now--one, two, three, Boat ahoy-y-oy!" + +The long drawn out "ahoy" had scarcely died on their lips before it was +answered by an equally long blast from the whistle, to which they +responded by repeating the hail at brief intervals, each answering blast +of the whistle telling them that the boat was drawing nearer, until at +length the faint loom of the boat showed in the darkness, and a lantern +was suddenly held high above a man's head. Then they heard a voice +exclaim: + +"There they are, sir--two of 'em--on that block of ice!" And a minute +later they were being carefully helped into the stern sheets of the +boat, which was already floating deep with a load of motionless forms +enwrapped in cork jackets. Whether they were living or dead it was +impossible just then to say. + +"Any more on the ice?" demanded the officer in charge of the boat. +Then, following Dick's reply in the negative, he continued: "Right! +shove off, bow! pull port! Give way all! Now it's us for the ship. +Put your backs into it, lads. A minute or two may make all the +difference between life and death for some of these poor chaps that +we've fished up. Here, have a sip of brandy, you two. You must be +frozen pretty nearly stiff." + +"No brandy, thanks--unless my friend here--Mr Cavendish, fifth officer +of the _Everest_--would care to have another nip. But we've already had +some--filled a flask and slipped it into my pocket when I realised that +the ship was going to sink--and I guess it saved our lives." + +Upon Dick also declining "another nip" the officer in charge held out +his hand. + +"Glad to make your acquaintance, Mr Cavendish, and to have picked you +up. My name is Urquhart--`chief' of the _Bolivia_. By the way, since +we got your S.O.S. and learned particulars of the smash-up, we've all +been wondering how the mischief you managed to pile up your ship on a +berg, after our warning of this afternoon. Was it thick at the time, +or--how was it?" + +"Your warning!" exclaimed Dick. "Did you warn us, then? If so, it is +the first that I've heard of it." + +"Oh! we warned you all right," answered Urquhart, "and got your +acceptance of the message." + +"The dickens!" ejaculated Dick. "That's very queer. Nobody said a word +to me of any warning having been received. Yet--no, I cannot understand +it. Mr Brown, our `chief,' you know, and some seven or eight more were +down in the ward-room when we hit the berg, and he seemed as much +astonished as any of us. If he had heard anything about it, I think he +would certainly have passed the word round, but--he didn't." + +"Ah!" remarked the _Bolivia's_ chief, with deep meaning. "Were you by +any chance trying to break the record?" + +"Well," answered Dick, "I believe the skipper had some such idea in his +mind. You see we've had the most perfect weather all the way; little or +no wind, and water like glass; the ship reeling off her +twenty-six-and-a-half knots as steadily as clockwork, and everything +going beautifully. I certainly did get a hint that Captain Prowse would +like to set up a new record--" + +"Exactly!" concurred Urquhart, dryly. "That, to my mind, explains +everything. Your skipper got our warning--and simply suppressed it. He +was out after a new record, and was willing to `take a chance,' as the +Americans say. And here is the result--a brand-new ship gone to the +bottom, and, I suppose, hundreds of lives lost. How many did you +muster, all told?" + +"I couldn't say, exactly," answered Dick, "but probably not far short of +three thousand." + +"Yes; there you are!" commented Urquhart. "Three thousand; and boats +for only about half of 'em. What became of your skipper? Went down +with his ship, I expect." + +"I'm afraid so," answered Dick. "In fact, I should not be very greatly +surprised if it should prove that I am the only surviving officer." + +"That so? And how did you manage to escape?" demanded Urquhart. + +Whereupon Dick launched forth into the full story of the disaster. But +before he had nearly finished, the boat arrived alongside the _Bolivia_, +and her freight, whether living or dead, was quickly passed up on deck +to the waiting doctor, who quickly distributed the units here and there +about the ship, while the boat departed upon a further quest. + +Dick and Earle, being both very little the worse for their adventure, +were first taken below and given a hot bath; then they were led to a +vacant passenger cabin, packed in hot blankets, and given a certain +nauseous draught which quickly threw them into a profuse perspiration +and a deep sleep, from which they emerged, some hours later, not a penny +the worse for their adventure. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +EARLE'S PROPOSITION TO DICK CAVENDISH. + +It was the rays of the newly risen sun shining in through the open port +that awakened Dick Cavendish on the morning following his great +adventure. He was occupying the upper bunk in the cabin, and the first +sound to greet his ears was the deep, regular breathing of the still +sleeping Earle in the bunk beneath. Dick, being a sailor, awoke with +all his senses completely about him; the occurrences of the previous +night came back to his memory in a flash, and even before he opened his +eyes he was fully aware that he was in the top berth of one of the +_Bolivia's_ cabins, and that it was the companion of his adventure who +was in the bunk beneath him. + +The next thing of which he was aware was the perfect stillness of the +ship, the complete absence of that peculiar tremor due to the throb of +the engines and the beat of the propellers when a ship is under way; and +the thought that the _Bolivia_ was still "standing by" caused him to +open his eyes, rise up in his bunk, and peer through the open port at +his elbow. The picture which then presented itself to his gaze was that +of a brilliant morning, with a sky of turquoise blue faintly streaked +here and there with the merest suggestion of a few mares' tails, a sea +of sapphire blue wrinkling and sparkling under the softest imaginable +breathing of a westerly air of wind, the horizon obscured by a thin veil +of haze that seemed to be already melting in the warmth of the sun, a +great two-funnelled steamer lying motionless about a mile away, with a +film of smoke issuing from her funnels and "feathers" of steam trembling +at the top of her waste pipes, a whole flotilla of boats pulling slowly +and apparently aimlessly hither and thither, and a few masses of ice of +varying dimensions, from small fragments of a square foot in area to a +great berg fully sixty feet high, thinly dotting the surface of the sea. + +Presently there came to Dick's ear the sound of a quietly spoken order +out on deck, followed by a subdued stir, accompanied by certain sounds +which the youngster's experience told him was the prelude to the +matutinal rite of scrubbing the decks, succeeded a few minutes later by +the gush and splash of water and the sound of scrubbing brushes +vigorously applied. Then the cabin door opened, and a steward entered +bearing on a tray two cups of steaming coffee and a plate of buttered +biscuits. + +"Mornin', sir--mornin', gen'lemen both," remarked this functionary as a +stir in the bottom berth announced that his entry had awakened its +occupant. "Hope you've both slep' well and ain't feelin' none the worse +for last night's happenin's." + +"Good morning, steward," answered Dick. "Thank you. Answering for +myself, I slept like a top, and am feeling A1 this morning. I see that +we have not moved during the night, and that the boats are still out. +What ship is that out there on our port beam?" + +"That's the _Platonic_, sir. Arrived 'bout three hours ago. And the +_Cotopaxi_--belongin' to your own company--and the _Nigerian_, they're +lyin' about half a mile off to starboard of us. They comed up pretty +near together, 'bout two hours ago, and all of 'em lowered their boats +straight away. Don't know exactly what luck they've had. They've +picked up a good many, I b'lieve, but I'm afraid very few of em'll be +alive after floatin' about so many hours in the cold. Clothes +genle'men? Yes, certainly. They're in the dryin' room. I dessay +they're quite dry by this time. I'll fetch 'em for ye in a brace of +shakes." + +"How are the others getting on, steward?" demanded Earle. "You picked +up everybody from the boats, I suppose? What with them and your regular +passengers, the ship must be like a rabbit warren!" + +"So she is, sir," grinned the steward. "They're scattered about all +over her. We make up shake-downs for 'em wherever we could find a +blessed inch of space. They're in the smoke-room, the ladies' boodwor, +the lib'ry, the drorin'-room, dinin' saloon, the officers' quarters, +and--why, some of the men is even down in the stokeholds. Oh yes, we +took 'em all aboard, of course. But I expect we shall thin 'em out a +good bit presently. Ye see they was all bound for Noo York, and the +_Platonic_ and _Nigerian_ are both goin' there, so I expect they'll take +the bulk of 'em between 'em. And if there's any as wants to go back +home, the _Cotopaxi_ and us'll take 'em. I haven't heard how they're +feelin' after their spell in the boats, but I reckon they're all right. +That wasn't no very great hardship for 'em, exceptin' for the kiddies. +They was a bit frightened, naterally. And now, if you'll excuse me, +gen'lemen, I'll go and get your clothes, for there'll be a lot to do +presen'ly." + +There was. For after the entire area of the surrounding sea had been +carefully swept by the boats until it was ascertained that no more +living or dead were to be found, there came the task of providing +breakfast for everybody, in itself a task of no small magnitude under +the circumstances. And while the meal was in progress, the officers of +the _Bolivia_ were going round among the rescued people, carefully +noting the names of the survivors for transmission to England and +America by wireless. Then followed the gruesome task of identifying +such of the dead as had been found; after which came the separation of +those who wished to go on to New York from those who wished to return to +England, this in turn being followed by the trans-shipment of the +rescued in accordance with the arrangement come to by a council composed +of the captains of the rescuing ships. + +As for Dick, it scarcely needed the interview which he had with Captain +Wilson, of the _Cotopaxi_, to decide him to return to England in that +ship. It was, indeed, the only thing for him to do; he had no business +in New York; while, on the other hand, there would, of course, be a +judicial inquiry into the circumstances connected with the loss of the +_Everest_, at which his presence, as the sole surviving officer of the +ship, would be imperatively required. He communicated his decision to +Earle immediately that the question was raised, and was surprised, and +not a little pleased, when the American announced his intention to also +return to England. + +"You see," the latter explained, "my only, or at least my principal, +reason for going to New York fizzled out when the _Everest_ took my +collection of hunting trophies with her to the bottom of the Atlantic. +If I went on to New York there would be nothing for me to do, while I +have a scheme in my head that can be worked out in Europe as well as, or +better than, in New York. Besides, to be quite frank with you, +Cavendish, I've taken a very strong liking for you altogether, apart +from the fact that you saved my life, and I guess I don't want to lose +sight of you. And I'll tell you why. If this scheme of mine--which I +have had in my mind for a long time--should eventuate, as I guess it +will, I shall want you to take a hand in it. You are exactly the sort +of young fellow that I have been looking for, and I guess I can make it +quite worth your while to chip in with me. But I won't say any more +about it just now--there will be plenty of time to talk matters over +later on. Now let us go ahead and get aboard the _Cotopaxi_." + +It was well on toward noon of that day before all the arrangements made +were completed, and the several ships proceeded towards their respective +destinations. But long before that the wireless operators had been +busily engaged in transmitting the intelligence of the disaster to the +two hemispheres; and by the time that the ships were dipping their +ensigns to each other in farewell the newsboys of Europe and America +were charging through the streets of hundreds of cities and towns, +yelling in a dozen different languages, "Spechul edition! Wreck of the +_Everest_! Fearful loss of life! Full partic'lars and list of the +saved! Spechul!" + +It was not until the Fastnet lighthouse showed above the horizon on the +_Cotopaxi's_ port bow that Earle reverted to the topic of his "scheme," +although there had been ample opportunity for him to do so during the +eastward run, he having privately so arranged matters with the purser +that he and Cavendish were berthed in the same cabin during the voyage. +But for reasons best known to himself he had devoted the opportunity +thus afforded him to elicit as much as he possibly could of Dick's +previous history; and Dick, open and candid as the day, and with nothing +to conceal, had told a great deal more than perhaps some people would +have considered quite prudent; so that when the Fastnet hove in sight, +Earle knew practically all that there was to know about Dick, including +even the fact that the latter had a sister, who, Earle gathered, from a +number of cursory and incidental remarks, must be a girl very well worth +knowing. + +On this particular morning, however, when, after breakfast, the pair +snugly ensconced themselves in a couple of deck chairs on the boat deck, +which just then happened to be clear of other occupants than themselves, +Earle suddenly broke ground with: + +"Say! Cavendish, have you ever heard of the city of Manoa?" + +"The _City of Manoa_!" repeated Dick. "Is she a steamer, or a sailing +ship? I know the _City of Paris_, of course, and the--" + +"No, no," interrupted Earle with a laugh. "Can't you get ships out of +your head anyway? I'm not talking now about a ship, but about a genuine +sure-'nough city, the Golden City of Manoa, to be precise. Ever heard +of it?" + +"Can't say I have," returned Dick, "excepting, of course, the fabled +city of that name, supposed to be ruled over by a certain El Dorado, who +was so enormously rich that he used to gild himself--" + +"Exactly," agreed Earle. "That's the guy. And it is his city that I am +trying to talk to you about. You--in common with almost everybody +else--speak of it as the `fabled' city, because, although it has been +much talked about and eagerly sought, the fact that it was actually +found has never been conclusively demonstrated. The story of its +existence originated of course with those old Spanish conquistadors who, +under that king of freebooters, Pizarro, conquered the Incas, and +thereby amassed incalculable wealth. You have, of course, heard the +story of his treacherous capture of the Inca Atahualpa, and of how the +latter, having noticed the Spaniard's greed of gold, offered to ransom +himself by filling with gold to as high as a man could reach, the room +in which he was confined. That offer it was that seems to have fully +opened the eyes of Pizarro and his followers to the enormous potential +wealth of the country; and when, through their treacherous murder of +Atahualpa, they had to a considerable extent cut off from themselves the +supply of further enormous contributions, they naturally began to hunt +about for the source of the wealth that had already fallen into their +hands. + +"It was through the inquiries thus instituted that the story of El +Dorado and his golden city first came to their ears. They were told +that far away in the north there lived a people called the Chibchas, a +people as civilised as, and far more wealthy than, the Incas. They were +given to understand that the Chibcha country abounded not only in gold +but also in gems, especially emeralds, and in illustration of the +bounteousness of this wealth certain customs of the Chibchas were +described. The particular custom which gave rise to the legend of El +Dorado was that which was observed on the occasion of the accession of a +new monarch to the throne; and it was carried out somewhat after this +fashion:-- + +"The proceedings began with elaborate religious ceremonies, including a +long and rigorous fast, which was observed by the entire nation. This +period of penance over, the inhabitants proceeded to the shores of Lake +Guatabita, where, upon the day arranged for his coronation, the new +ruler was brought forth from his place of penance, and, escorted by the +priests, was led down through the assembled multitude to the margin of +the lake, where the priests first smeared his body from head to foot +with a certain sticky kind of earth, powdered him all over with gold +dust, and then dressed him in his coronation robes, which were stiff +with golden decorations and gems. This done, the new monarch entered a +vessel loaded with costly ornaments of gold, emeralds, and other +precious stones, where he was received by the four most important +caciques, who were also clad in their most gorgeous dress, and the craft +was forthwith rowed out toward the middle of the lake. Arrived here, +the freight of gold and precious stones was solemnly thrown overboard as +an offering to the gods who were supposed to inhabit the depths of the +lake, the people ashore meanwhile celebrating the sacrifice by dancing +to the accompaniment of musical instruments until the monarch returned +to the shore. + +"Guatabita was a sacred lake, and was the recognised receptacle for +votive offerings of enormous value upon every possible occasion, and it +must therefore at this day contain wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, +several attempts to secure which have already been made; and it was on +the shore of this lake that the golden city of Manoa was at first +supposed to be situated. + +"Of course, we know now that such was not the case, for the lake has +been often visited, and no traces of the city have been found; but +Guatabita was the original objective of the seekers of El Dorado. + +"When at length it was conclusively demonstrated that Manoa was not +situated upon the shore of Lake Guatabita, its existence began to be +doubted for a while; but the belief, and the desire to discover it, were +revived somewhere about the middle of the 16th century by a +circumstantial story related by one Martinez, a lieutenant of Diego de +Ordaz, who declared that, having been shipwrecked, he was taken inland +to the city--which he called Omoa--and there entertained in regal +fashion by El Dorado himself. So circumstantial and full of gorgeous +detail was his story, that his chief Ordaz himself undertook the quest; +but the search resulted only in disappointment, as did that of many +others, including your own Sir Walter Raleigh. + +"Now, the mistake made by all those people was, to my mind, that they +did not look for Manoa in the right place. Their very eagerness misled +them. So hungry were they for wealth that any old story was good enough +to start them off upon a wild goose chase. I am not hungry for wealth; +I have more of it than, with my moderate desires, I know what to do +with. I am not a multi-millionaire, but I have quite enough to enable +me to gratify all my cravings, of which the predominant ones are +exploration and hunting. I also have a hankering to ferret out secrets; +and the secret, which has haunted me for years is that connected with +the city of Manoa. Did or did it not exist? That is what I want to +find out. For years I have been digging and delving after every scrap +of information that I could possibly get track of upon the subject; and +you would be surprised if you could see what a mass I have accumulated. +But it was not until about a fortnight ago that, in your British Museum, +I unearthed a certain manuscript which furnished me with the one +definite and decisive clue I wanted. I won't bore you with details, but +will just mention that with the help of this clue I have been able to +worry out the situation of the much sought city within a hundred miles +or so; and I have come to the definite conclusion that it lies within +the territory of Peru, on the eastern slope of the Andes. And, having +told you that much, I suppose you will not be greatly surprised to learn +that I have determined to seek for it; for by so doing I shall be able +at one and the same time to gratify my state for exploration and my love +of hunting. + +"You will remember, perhaps, that on the morning when we were picked up +by the _Bolivia_, I told you that I had a certain scheme in my head. +Well, that's the scheme. You will also probably remember that I said, +if the scheme should eventuate I should want you to take a hand in it. +The scheme is going to eventuate--I've taken time to think it over and +make up my mind--and the question now is: Will you take a hand in it? +Stop a bit, I don't want you to answer off-hand. Let me just tell you +the nature of my proposition first. + +"There will be plenty of danger attaching to the expedition, and that is +one reason why I want you to become a member of it, because I noted your +behaviour aboard the _Everest_ while she was sinking. I had my eye upon +you for some time before you became aware of my existence, and I could +not avoid being impressed by the coolness and firmness which you +displayed at a moment when those two qualities were essential to prevent +the breaking out of a desperate and disastrous panic. Then you saved my +life; and I confess to being a bit superstitious on that point. I have +the conviction that the individual who has saved one's life is a good +friend to have, and likely to bring one luck. Finally, what I have seen +of you since has caused me to conceive a strong admiration of and liking +for you--three good reasons, I think, for my desire that you should +become a member of my party. + +"Now, as to the terms which I am prepared to offer you. I shall, of +course, defray all the costs of the expedition, including outfit, so +that you will not be put to a cent of expense. And I will enter into a +contract with you, engaging you for a definite period of three years, +even though the expedition should, not last for so long as that; while, +should it last longer, you will be paid full salary for the whole of the +time. And I will pay you at the rate of one hundred and fifty dollars-- +or thirty British pounds, if you prefer it--per month, arranging with my +bankers to pay in that sum every month for three years, to any bank in +the United States or England that you choose to name. Now, my friend, +what do you say? Will you come?" + +"Do you require an answer at once?" demanded Dick. + +"No, I don't," answered Earle. "Take time to think it over, if you +like, between now and our arrival at Liverpool." + +"Yes," said Dick. "I should like a few hours to consider the matter. +For, you see, your proposal has come upon me quite unexpectedly; and it +involves a break of something like three years in my career as a sailor, +which may make it a bit difficult for me to take up the life again just +where I lay it down. And, quite apart from that, there is the matter of +the inquiry into the loss of the _Everest_. That may not come on for +some time, and when it does it may be a lengthy affair. That would +probably mean some months of delay; while, of course, you will be +anxious to start at once, now that you have made up your mind to go." + +"No," answered Earle. "I am in no hurry at all; on the contrary, two or +three months of delay would be welcome rather than otherwise to me, +because it would afford me time to extend my investigations a bit, with +the possibility of securing further and still more definite clues." + +"Then, in that case," said Dick, "I will give your proposal my most +careful consideration, and let you have a definite reply before we +land." + +And so the matter was left, for the moment. But the proposal appealed +very strongly to Dick for a variety of reasons, the chief of which was +that his acceptance of it would enable him to provide for his sister +Grace for at least three years. The flavour of adventure attached to +the enterprise also powerfully appealed to him, for adventure was the +very breath of life to him; and as for the rest--well, like all +adventurous spirits, he was disposed to let the future take care of +itself. Therefore, he did not wait for the arrival of the _Cotopaxi_ at +Liverpool, but, having thought the matter carefully over, informed +Earle, on the evening of the same day, that he gratefully and gladly +accepted his proposal. + +The following day saw the arrival of the _Cotopaxi_ at Liverpool, and +as, of course, it had been known for several days beforehand that +certain survivors from the _Everest_ were on board her, and as, thanks +to frequent wireless communications with her, the time of her arrival +was known almost to a minute, and had been made public, the landing +stage was packed with people when the ship drew alongside, most of them, +it is true, animated by nothing more than mere morbid curiosity to gaze +upon those who had recently passed through a very terrible experience, +but among them were a few who had come down to welcome back to life the +relatives or friends who had escaped. And among these were Mr James +McGregor, the manager of the Mount S.S. Company; and with him, Grace +Cavendish, the purpose of the latter being, of course, to welcome her +brother, while Mr Mcgregor's business was to see that Dick did not +prematurely fall into the hands of the reporters. Dick and Earle, being +both destitute of baggage, were among the first to cross the gang plank, +landing together; and thus it came about that Earle naturally saw Grace +Cavendish, and was introduced to her, with results that may hereafter be +disclosed. And it is significant that whereas Earle's original +intention had been to proceed direct to London he now somewhat surprised +Dick by informing him that he intended to take up his abode in the +Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, for the present. + +The events of the ensuing two months, during which period the judicial +inquiry into the loss of the _Everest_ was prepared for and carried out, +have very little to do with this story, and they may, therefore, be +dismissed in a few words. It was, of course, only natural that Mr +McGregor, in his capacity of manager to the company owning the lost +liner, should have frequent and long interviews with Dick and Earle, for +the purpose of eliciting information upon various points connected with +the disaster, as they were raised by the company's counsel, and those +interviews soon resulted in the development of a strong mutual +friendship between the trio, in consequence of which Dick and Earle +became frequent visitors at the manager's house overlooking Prince's +Park. And, quite as naturally, it soon came about that Dick informed +Mr McGregor of Earle's proposal, and invited the manager's opinion as +to the effect which his acceptance of it would have upon his future +prospects. The result was that, after the three had fully talked the +matter over together, the manager came to the conclusion that not only +was the proposal much too advantageous for Dick to refuse, but that his +acceptance of it would not very materially affect his maritime career, +should he determine to resume it upon the termination of the adventure, +ending up with the assurance that Dick might always count upon his (the +manager's) influence and help. + +For the rest, Dick arranged with Earle that the former's salary should +be paid in monthly to Grace's credit, in a Liverpool bank, so that his +sister might be effectively protected against any unforeseen reverse of +fortune; while Grace made it clear that she was so happy in her present +position that she would continue in it so long as the Mcgregors had any +need of her; thus, when at length the inquiry was over and Dick was once +more free, he was able to bid his sister farewell with the pleasant +consciousness that her future was as secure as human foresight could +make it. + +The first week of August witnessed the arrival of Dick and Earle in New +York, where the pair took up their abode in the latter's comfortable +home in Fifth Avenue during the progress of their preparations for the +great adventure. The precise nature of these preparations need not be +revealed at this point of the story, since the details will appear as +the narrative proceeds; the only fact that need now be mentioned being +that, after long and anxious consideration of the question, Earle had +finally determined that the starting point of the expedition should be +the junction of the river Tecuachy with the Javari, a tributary of the +Amazon, to which point he and Dick would proceed in the former's steam +yacht _Mohawk_, a comfortable little craft of two hundred and fifty tons +register. At this point, on the left, or northern, bank of the +tributary, stands, on Peruvian soil, a small town called Conceicao, and +abreast of this town the _Mohawk_ came to an anchor about mid-afternoon +of a certain day in the month of November, not so very many years ago. + +At the moment when the yacht came to an anchor, her deck was encumbered +with two long canoe-shaped craft, each measuring six feet beam by thirty +feet in length. They were practically flat-bottomed, to ensure light +draught, and were built in sections, to provide the maximum of +portability, which quality was further ensured by the fact that the +material of which they were constructed was an amalgam largely composed +of aluminium. They were completely decked from stem to stern with a +light covering of the same material, rendering them absolutely +watertight; but by an ingenious arrangement of wing nuts these decks +could be removed in a few minutes; while, by a similar arrangement, the +hulls could almost as quickly be taken apart. + +No sooner was the _Mohawk's_ anchor down and the craft riding stem-on to +the current than the crew proceeded to launch the two canoes overboard, +when proof of their extreme lightness became manifest in the fact that +it needed the strength of only ten men to lift each of them and heave +them bodily over the rail, after which they were passed astern and +secured by a painter. A number of beams and planks, all carefully cut, +fitted and marked, were then brought on deck, after which half a dozen +men descended to the two canoes; the beams and planks were passed down +to them as required, and within an hour the whole was fitted together in +the form of a double canoe, twenty feet broad, with a space of eight +feet between the two hulls--with a plank deck of twenty feet width in +the middle and twenty feet long. This curious looking craft was next +fitted with two masts and a bowsprit, arranged to carry two standing +lugs and a jib, and by the time that this was done the tropical night +was descending upon the workers, and their labours for the day came to +an end. + +Meanwhile, an official visit had been paid to the yacht by the Inspector +of Customs of Conceicao, who inquired into the reasons for the visit of +the yacht, inspected her papers, and--upon learning that hunting and +exploration were the objects of the expedition--levied a substantial +amount in the shape of duty upon the guns, ammunition and general +equipment of the party, notwithstanding the fact that the Tecuachy +flowed through Brazilian territory; after which he dropped his official +attitude and offered his services--for a consideration--in furthering +the objects of the expedition. All that Earle needed at the moment, +however, was to engage the services of a dozen natives possessing some +knowledge of the country to be traversed--and also a knowledge of the +Spanish language, of which the American was a fluent linguist--and these +the inspector faithfully promised to produce on the morrow. + +It was past the hour of noon on the following day when the inspector +turned up aboard the _Mohawk_ with his dozen recruits. Earle and Dick +were sitting down to luncheon on the after deck, beneath the awning when +they arrived; but subsequent inspection of the party seemed to justify +the delay, for, so far at least as physique was concerned, the men +appeared to be everything that could be desired. They were all +full-blooded Indians--which Earle pronounced to be infinitely preferable +to half-breeds--and seemed, so far as might be judged from appearances, +to be civil, capable, and fairly intelligent fellows. They all +understood Spanish, although they spoke the language but imperfectly; +but when it came to questioning them upon their knowledge of the country +which they would be called upon to pass through, they all frankly +confessed utter ignorance of it, beyond the fact that from hearsay they +understood it to be full of perils of every imaginable description. But +this, they explained, had not deterred them from enlisting when they +learned that their leaders were to be two white men, for they had heard +that white men were possessed of strange powers, enabling them to +conquer every conceivable kind of peril, while, as for themselves, they +were quite willing to work hard, and fight hard, too, provided that the +pay was good. + +By that time the fitting and equipment of the double canoe had been +completed and she was ready for an immediate start; as soon, therefore, +as the new hands had been paid three months' wages in advance, which +they entrusted to the inspector to transmit to their relatives, and as +soon also as the inspector had been paid a certain sum as head money for +his services in finding the men, the whole party quitted the yacht and +got under way, heading across the river for the mouth of the Tecuachy, +before entering which they saw the _Mohawk_ heave up her anchor and +start upon her return journey to New York. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE QUEST BEGINS. + +The expedition consisted of fifteen persons all told, namely, Wilfrid +Earle, the chief and leader; Dick Cavendish, his lieutenant; Peter, +Earle's negro cook and a _chef_ of surpassing skill, capable of +concocting appetising dishes out of the most meagre and unpromising +materials; and the twelve recruits from Conceicao, one of whom, named +Inaguy, at once the most masterful and intelligent of them, Earle +immediately appointed headman of the gang, with a small increase of pay, +at the same time making him responsible for the good behaviour of those +under him. + +There was a fresh easterly breeze blowing when the double canoe--or +raft, as they agreed to term her--cast off from alongside the _Mohawk_, +and under its influence the craft, with one leeboard down, slid across +the Javari at a speed that was as surprising as it was gratifying. And +when at length she slid in between the low, forest-clad banks of the +Tecuachy, the breeze was still fair for her, although the closer +proximity of the shores to each other caused it to come at times in +baffling flaws. Dick, as the sailor of the party, was naturally in +command, and when at length the sunlight vanished from the tree-tops on +the eastern shore of the stream, giving warning of the near approach of +night, he ran the raft into a convenient bight on the lee shore--that +the mosquitoes might not come off to them against the wind during the +night--and came to an anchor in the midst of what seemed to be an +unpeopled wilderness. + +But if the country round about them was empty of human inhabitants--and +even of this they could not be certain--it seemed to be full to +overflowing of life of another sort, for no sooner had the swift tropic +night descended upon the adventurers, than the hot, humid air became +vibrant with sound, the dominant note of which was the _chur_ and hum of +myriads of insects haunting the dense forest on either hand, and the +still more dense undergrowth which cumbered the soil between the trunks +of the trees. This great volume of indescribable sound--amazing because +of its intensity, coupled with the knowledge that it was created, for +the most part, by creatures of almost microscopic dimensions--was +continuous, merely rising and falling at irregular intervals, like the +sough of the wind through the tree-tops; but it was constantly broken in +upon by other sounds, the most prominent of which was perhaps the +croaking of innumerable frogs, sounding like the rapid whirr of wooden +rattles and lasting continuously for a period of several minutes, and +then ceasing abruptly, as though at a signal, to recommence as abruptly +a few minutes later. These sounds were commonplace enough, and after an +hour or two to allow the ear to become accustomed to them, would of +themselves have been soothing and conducive to somnolence rather than +the reverse, but they were constantly being broken into by others so +strange, and in some cases so weird, that the night threatened to be a +sleepless one for at least the two white men of the party. For +instance, at pretty frequent intervals there came from the depths of the +forest, now here, now there, what sounded like the notes of a bell, +followed perhaps by a weird unearthly scream, which would be taken up +and repeated on all hands until it needed but a small effort of the +imagination to convince the listener that some ghastly tragedy was being +enacted in his immediate vicinity. And the effect was further +heightened by strange moanings and groanings, as of people in mortal +agony, queer sobbing sounds, cries as of children in distress, and, +intermingled with these, savage grunts and snarlings, barking, as of +angry dogs, loud whistling, coughing, roaring, sudden and violent +rustlings among the underbush, an occasional loud crash proclaiming the +fall of some forest giant, and, nearer at hand, sudden rushes and +swirling sounds in the water about the raft. + +Immediately after coming to an anchor for the night Earle had drawn +forth from among the many bales and packages that were stowed on the +deck of the raft a long bundle, which, upon being cast loose, resolved +itself into the constituents of a double-skinned tent, the inner skin +being made of loosely woven cotton canvas, while the outer skin--with +six inches of air space between it and the inner--was made of light but +thoroughly waterproof material, warranted by its maker to withstand even +the assault of a tropical deluge. This tent the two white men quickly +set up on the deck of the raft, between the two masts, when it was seen +to be roomy enough to accommodate two camp beds with a table of +convenient size between them, high enough for even Dick to stand upright +in it, and with sufficient space between the table and the entrance to +accommodate two deck chairs. When the beds were made up on the folding +pallets, a lighted hurricane lamp suspended from the ridge pole of the +tent, and the table laid for dinner, the interior presented an eminently +cosy and comfortable appearance, and its two occupants sat down to the +meal provided for them by the inestimable Peter with excellent +appetites. + +But they did not linger long over the pleasures of the table, for there +was still work to be done before they could conscientiously seek the +beds that wooed them, that work consisting in the unpacking of their +weapons and ammunition, and making the former ready for instant service. +This task they undertook immediately after dinner, sitting side by side +just within the entrance of the tent. + +Earle had been, according to Dick's notion, lavishly extravagant in the +provision of firearms for the expedition, the total armoury amounting to +no less than twenty-one weapons; namely, three Westley-Richards +five-shot .318 repeating rifles; three Remington U.M.C. five-shot 35 +repeating rifles, firing soft-nosed bullets; two 12A Standard U.M.C. +fifteen-shot .22 repeating rifles--the last five being especially +intended for big game and fighting; three Westley-Richards double-barrel +12-gauge smooth-bores; two Smith hammerless 10-gauged ditto; two +Remington U.M.C. 12-gauge six-shot repeating smooth-bores; and six Colt +Government model seven-shot .45 calibre automatic pistols. But, as +Earle explained, "when you go exploring and hunting, you need a variety +of weapons for different purposes; and there is also the contingency of +possible loss to be considered; moreover, in a fight, with tremendously +heavy odds against you, a strong battery of weapons rapidly used, will +often put the enemy to flight before he has time to get to close +quarters." + +The two friends were busily engaged in unpacking, setting up and loading +their weapons, chatting animatedly together meanwhile, and pausing from +time to time to gaze contemplatively into the velvet darkness which +represented the forest-clad nearer bank of the river before them, when +suddenly Dick caught sight of what looked like two small greenish-yellow +lamps close together that had suddenly revealed themselves in the +blackness. They were quite motionless, and the lad scarcely knew what +to make of them. + +"Look, Earle," he murmured. "Do you see those two small lights over +there? What can they be, I wonder?" + +Earle, who was intent upon his work, looked up. + +"Lights!" he exclaimed. "Where? Oh, yes, I see. They are not lights, +my unsophisticated youth, they are the eyes of an animal--a carnivorous +animal, I judge, by the look of them--which has come down to the river +to drink, and is doubtless wondering who and what the dickens we are." + +He glanced eagerly about him for a moment, then pointed to one of the +weapons which Dick had already put together and loaded. + +"Just hand me that Remington U.M.C. rifle, old chap--it is loaded, isn't +it? Good! This will be a capital chance to try it." + +The eyes were still plainly visible, apparently staring steadily at the +lamp-lit entrance of the tent and the two figures seated therein. +Without rising from his seat, Earle slowly lifted the rifle to his +shoulder, and the next instant the whip-like report of it rang out, to +be instantly succeeded by a tremendous outburst of every imaginable +sound from the forest, amid which the cries of countless startled birds +and the sudden rush of their wings predominated. But Dick had kept his +gaze steadily riveted upon those two faintly shining orbs across there +in the blackness, and when the flash of the rifle lit up that blackness +for the fraction of a second he caught an instantaneous glimpse of a +foreshortened tawny-hided black-spotted form, with a rounded head and +short ears, standing at the very edge of the water, staring steadfastly +toward the raft. Then, as the vision vanished, a snarling sound, half +roar, half shriek, met his ears, followed by a few convulsive splashes-- +then stillness. + +"By Jove! I believe you've hit him," he exclaimed, excitedly starting +to his feet. "It was a leopard; I saw him by the flash of the rifle." + +"No; not a leopard, my son," answered Earle. "So far as I know, there +are no leopards in America--except in menageries. But it may have been +a panther or jaguar. Let's get into the canoe and investigate. We'll +take the lantern with us, and the rifle, to guard against possible +accidents." + +Part of the equipment of the expedition consisted of a very handsome +little fifteen-foot cedar-built canoe, intended to be towed astern of +the raft, and there it now floated, attached to the raft by a slender +painter. Unhooking the hurricane lamp, Dick led the way aft, followed +by Earle with the rifle in his hands, and presently they had both taken +their seats in the cockleshell of a craft. She was fitted with rowlocks +for use, with a short pair of sculls for the especial benefit of Dick, +who knew nothing as yet of how to handle a paddle. They were half way +to the shore when Earle, holding up the lantern on the end of a +boathook, caught sight of the motionless body of his victim lying half +in and half out of the water. + +"There he is, and stone dead, if I'm any judge!" he exclaimed. And even +as he spoke a great black head appeared close to the body, the sound of +snapping jaws was heard, and with a sudden swirl of water both head and +body disappeared in the black depths, to be seen no more. + +"Con-found it!" exclaimed Earle, savagely. "Now, if that isn't too bad! +My first jaguar, too, and a fine one at that; and a beastly 'gator has +stolen him from almost under my nose. Let up, Dick--or, rather, turn +back. It's no good. That darned 'gator has got my jaguar safe down +there in the mud, and we shall never see him again. Well, never mind, I +daresay we shall get plenty of other chances. But I'll watch out and +not be caught napping next time." + +What Earle said was true; the jaguar was gone beyond hope of recovery, +and the only thing to be done was to turn back. Back they accordingly +went, to resume their work of putting their battery in order; nor did +they cease their labours until every weapon had been unpacked, put +together, thoroughly cleaned, and loaded in readiness for any emergency. +Then they retired to their respective couches, and after Peter had +carefully closed the mosquito curtains round them and extinguished the +hurricane lamp, proceeded to "woo the drowsy god." + +But the novelty of their surroundings, the enervating heat, and the +multitudinous sounds that filled the night kept sleep at bay for several +hours, and it was not until the cool air that usually heralds morning in +the tropics blew in upon them through the open flap of the tent that +they actually sank into a sound slumber, from which they were awakened +only too soon by Peter with their matutinal cup of chocolate. + +"I suppose," mused Dick, as he stepped out of the tent, pyjama-clad, and +gazed down into the turbid waters of the river, "it would be hardly wise +to indulge in a swim, though I feel that it is just the one thing I need +above all others to freshen me up." + +"Swim!" retorted Earle, who stood beside him. "My dear chap, I don't +know the precise depth of water just here, but I would be prepared to +bet a substantial sum that if a man were foolish enough to take a header +off here, he would never come up again; for if he didn't stick in the +mud of the bottom, that alligator who stole my jaguar last night, or +some of his relations, would have him before he could come to the +surface again. No, no; no swimming for us at present, my boy; we shall +have to make out as best we can with our collapsible `tubs,' which I see +Peter has already filled for us, aft there. There! what did I tell you? +See that? What sort of a chance do you think you would have with a +chap like that?" And as he spoke he pointed to a spot not half a dozen +yards away, where the head of an alligator had suddenly broken water, +lazily swimming up against the current. The ripples which marked the +slight movements of the brute's tail showed that he must have measured +quite fifteen feet from end to end. + +They bathed and breakfasted at leisure; and then, as there was no wind, +and Earle did not wish to impose upon his crew the labour of sweeping +the raft up-stream against the current if it could be avoided, the two +white men took the canoe, a repeating rifle and a smooth-bore, and went +ashore, effecting a landing at the spot where the jaguar had been shot +on the previous night, and which they now saw had been formed into a +tiny bit of beach through the breaking down of the bank by the animals +which evidently came to that particular spot to drink. They had no +difficulty in finding the spoor of the lost jaguar, indeed it was the +first thing to attract their attention upon stepping ashore, and as +Earle gazed down upon the deep indentations in the plastic mud he +execrated the thieving alligator afresh, for the prints were as big as +the palm of his hand, indicating that the beast must have been a +particularly fine specimen. + +At first they experienced very little difficulty in making their way +through the dense undergrowth, their plan being simply to follow the +path beaten down by the animals; but after travelling about a hundred +yards this path became merged into a number of others, evidently not +quite so much used, and in these the going was much more difficult, the +scrub not being so completely beaten down. So difficult of passage did +they at length find it that they were seriously discussing the +advisability of giving up the attempt and turning back, when Earle, who +was leading the way, suddenly declared that he saw light ahead, and +pushing resolutely on, the explorers presently burst their way into a +wide open space of some ten or twelve acres extent, in which, for some +unknown reason, no trees were growing, save a few scattered saplings, +the tallest of which was not more than nine or ten feet high. + +As they emerged into the open the pair involuntarily came to a halt, +entranced by the extraordinary beauty of the scene that met their gaze. +The open space, roughly circular in shape, was completely hemmed in on +every side by trees, some of which were of enormous size, while the +tints of their foliage varied through every shade of green, from that of +the young bud to a depth of tone that was nearly black. Nor was green +by any means the only tint displayed; for some of the trees appeared to +be clothed with flowers of vivid flaming scarlet, instead of leaves, +while the leaves of others, instead of being green, were of a deep, rich +crimson hue, or a fine ruddy bronze, like that of the copper beech. +And, as though this were not in itself enough of beauty, many of the +more sombre foliaged trees were draped and festooned in riotous +profusion with parasitic creepers, the blooms upon which would have +driven a painter to distraction, so rich and varied were their tints, +while the shapes of some of them were fantastic enough to suggest that +Dame Nature must have been under the influence of a nightmare when she +formed them. A few of them were merely giant creepers, but Earle, who +possessed more than a smattering knowledge of botany, declared that most +of them were orchids, several of which were new to him. The air of the +place was heavy with mingled odours--one might almost have called them +perfumes, were it not for a certain smack of rankness and pungency in +them--and alive with birds, varying in size from that of a bumble bee up +to that of a carrion crow, a few specimens of which could be seen +perched here and there on the topmost branches of the tallest trees. +Several of the birds were of the humming bird or sunbird species, and +these, of course, gleamed and flashed in the sunlight like winged +jewels, while nearly all boasted plumage of pronouncedly vivid +colouring. + +The two friends were still standing together on the spot where they had +come to a halt when first entering the clearing, and Earle was +expatiating upon the beauty and rarity of some of the orchids in their +immediate neighbourhood, when they suddenly became aware of the presence +of a large deer on the opposite side of the clearing. So silently had +the creature come that neither of those who now stood watching him had +been aware of the moment of his coming, nor could they discern the spot +from which he had emerged. The animal was standing as motionless as a +statue, with head erect, and he seemed to be sniffing the air, searching +it for hostile odours, so to speak. He appeared to be quite unaware of +their presence, a fact not very difficult to account for, since the sun +was shining strongly in his eyes, while the two friends were not only +standing in deep shadow, but also chanced to have come to a halt +immediately behind a thick bush, which effectually hid all but their +heads from the deer. + +Instinctively, Earle began slowly to lift his rifle, but only to lower +it again, as he murmured to Dick: + +"Too far off--a good three-hundred yards if an inch. We'll wait a bit. +I believe he has not yet seen us, and if so, he may come a bit nearer. +I guess this is where he comes every day to graze. Ah! I thought so"-- +as the animal lowered his head and began to crop the rich grass. +"Crouch down and keep silent; with luck and patience we'll get him +before long." + +It was weary work, to Dick at least, crouching behind that bush, for the +grass was long, and full of ticks, ants and other minute pests, which +lost no time in insinuating themselves between his clothes and his skin, +until the torment of his itching became almost unendurable. But Earle +was, or seemed to be, inured to such trifling discomforts, and +continued, motionless as a graven image, to kneel on one knee behind the +bush, intently watching through its interstices the movements of the +unsuspecting deer. And those movements were exasperatingly deliberate, +for the grass was rich, luscious and abundant, enabling the animal to +secure several mouthfuls before it became necessary for it to move by so +much as a step, while, further to tax the patience of the watchers, the +movements were vexatiously erratic, now here, now there, and as often as +not away from rather than toward the spot where the two men crouched +behind the screen of shrub. + +At length Earle's patience began to show signs of giving out. He very +cautiously altered his position, changing from one knee to the other; a +little later he knelt upon both knees, and a little later he sat down. +Finally, finding this attitude unfavourable for shooting, he again got +upon one knee. By this time, however, the insect invaders of his person +were making their presence so distinctly felt that even his iron +self-control was beginning to succumb to their persistence, and at +length he murmured to Dick: + +"Guess I'll have to risk a long shot, after all. At this rate it may be +hours before the beast will draw appreciably nearer, and meanwhile, at +any moment something may happen to scare him away." And very slowly and +carefully he proceeded to raise the rifle to his shoulder. + +It was while he was doing this that the deer suddenly stopped feeding, +and, with his head still close to the ground, seemed gradually to +stiffen until his whole body became rigid. + +"What's the matter now?" grumbled Earle, becoming rigid in his turn. +"Wonder whether he has scented us. But I guess not--at this distance. +There is no wind, and--Gee! that explains it." And he excitedly sprang +to his feet, his example being instantly followed by Dick. + +What had happened was this. The deer had stood perfectly rigid for +perhaps half a minute, during which Earle had also suspended all +movement, under the impression that the quarry had caught a momentary +glimpse of something suspicious behind the screening bush. Then, while +the watchers waited tensely for the next development to occur, +something--for the moment it was impossible to say precisely what it +was--had flashed into view from out of the long grass, within a yard or +so of where the deer stood, and the next second the unfortunate creature +was enveloped in the coils of a huge python. As the watchers of the +unexpected tragedy sprang to their feet they distinctly heard the bones +of the deer crack as the serpent constricted its coils about its victim; +and then Earle, with an ejaculation of anger, sprang out from behind the +bush, and, with Dick at his elbow, started at a run towards the spot as +the deer sank with a groan into the long grass. + +A few seconds sufficed the pair to reach their goal, or at least near +enough to it for them to see that the unfortunate deer was not yet quite +dead, for its hind legs, which were not involved in the coils of the +python, were kicking out feebly, while its eyes gazed up at them +pitifully with an expression that might easily have been interpreted +into a prayer for deliverance from its sufferings. As for the python, +it was already relaxing its awful grip upon the body of its victim, and +had thrown off one coil as the two friends came into view. Earle, who +seemed to know something of the nature of the creature, warned Dick to +stand back, as the reptile was loosening itself in readiness to make a +spring. But he himself evidently had no fear of the snake, for as it +reared its great head and gave vent to an angry hiss, he threw up his +rifle, and, standing his ground, fired a shot that went crashing through +its right eye and out at the back of the skull. + +The next instant Dick received a blow across the chest that not only +knocked the breath out of him, but sent him to the ground with a crash, +while the threshing of the creature's body upon the earth, as it writhed +and twisted convulsively in its death agony, might have been heard from +one end of the glade to the other. Earle dashed forward and quickly +dragged Dick out of the way before assisting the lad to regain his feet, +and it was well that he did so, for the next moment the monster was +writhing and pounding upon the very spot from which Dick had been +dragged. And it was quite upon the cards that, but for Earle's prompt +action, the young Englishman might have been enveloped by those writhing +coils, and every bone in his body broken. As it was, no great harm was +done; and as soon as Earle saw that his friend was safe, and that in its +struggles the python was moving steadily away from the spot, he sprang +in, and whipping out his big hunting knife, quickly drew it across the +dying deer's throat, thus terminating its sufferings. + +"Poor brute!" he murmured, regarding the mangled body of the dead deer; +"if I had but made up my mind and pressed the trigger a few seconds +earlier, you would have been spared a good deal of terror and suffering. +As it is--well, let us get back to the raft, Dick, and send a couple of +men to bring in the deer. Its tongue and hind-quarters are untouched, +and will afford all hands a meal of fresh meat, if we can secure it +before the vultures come along. But we shall have to hurry, for unless +I am mistaken, there is the vanguard of their army already." And he +pointed upwards towards a few small dark dots in the sky that had +suddenly and mysteriously appeared. + +They hastened back to the raft and hurriedly explained to Inaguy, the +Indian headman, what had happened, and what Earle wanted done; and a few +minutes later two of the blacks sprang into the canoe and paddled away +to the shore, to return an hour later, with the head, hind-quarters, and +skin of the deer, but with the declaration that they had been wholly +unable to find the body of the python. + +By this time a little breeze had sprung up from a quarter which would +just enable the raft to lay her course up the reach of the river in +which it then was, and the sails were accordingly set and the craft got +under way. But the wind was so scant that the raft was able to do +little more than hold her own against the current; and when they +anchored that night, they estimated that they had covered little more +than eight miles of ground. + +For an entire week the journey up the stream progressed in pretty much +the same deliberate fashion, at the end of which time they were detained +for a whole day by a furious outburst of wind, rain, thunder and +lightning, in the course of which the raft broke adrift, and, but for +Dick's skilful handling of the situation, would probably have been lost, +with all the party's belongings, and, quite possibly, a few lives as +well. As it was, they were driven back some ten miles down stream +before a suitable refuge could be found and the raft again safely +anchored. It was the worst storm that Dick had experienced, and even +Earle admitted that it far surpassed the worst that he had ever +encountered, even in the interior of Africa. The wind blew with +hurricane force, stripping the trees of their leaves and even of some of +their branches, so that the air was full of flying debris, while the +lightning flashed and the thunder roared and boomed and crashed in a +continuous deafening medley of sound that might almost have excused the +belief that the foundations of the earth were being torn asunder. And +all the time the rain came pounding down out of the storm-riven clouds +in such a deluge that it was difficult to draw one's breath while +exposed to it. But even this does not convey any very clear idea of the +copiousness of the downpour, which will perhaps be more easily realised +from the statement that within the short space of twenty minutes it +completely filled and swamped the canoe. This storm burst upon the +travellers about eleven o'clock at night, and it continued with unabated +fury all through the next day until within about half an hour of sunset. + +For the following three days the weather continued unsettled; then it +cleared, and the raft resumed her journey. But her progress was slow, +owing to the scantness of the wind, and for the next ten days they were +able to accomplish only a few miles a day, the current running strong +against them. Then, late on a certain afternoon, they reached a point +where the bed of the river was obstructed by rapids, and the raft was +moored for the night so that the banks might be explored on the morrow +for portage facilities. And now it was that the real difficulties of +the journey began to reveal themselves; for upon attempting to find a +path through the forest, which grew right down to the water's edge on +both banks of the river, the explorers found the undergrowth to be so +absolutely impenetrable that, even to make their own way through it, it +was necessary to employ a gang of men to cut a path. And this was a +slow process, for not only had the tough tangle of creepers, of which +the underbush was chiefly composed, to be cut away, but it had to be +afterwards removed from the path, so that the better part of three days +was consumed in this way before a road was cleared to the upper end of +the rapids. + +Then followed the laborious task of carrying the various items of their +equipment up through the quarter of a mile of roughly cut pathway, which +consumed the whole of another day. And finally came the dismembering of +the raft itself, and the porterage of its component parts and the canoe +to the upper end of the rapids, where it was put together again. Thus, +altogether, the intervention of those rapids involved the travellers in +a loss of no less than five days. + +The four which followed were much more favourable, the raft covering a +distance of nearly sixty miles during that period. Then a stretch of +some four miles of river bed was encountered so cumbered and choked with +rocks that its navigation was impossible, and the raft had again to be +taken to pieces and transported overland. And when this obstacle was at +length surmounted, it was found that the channel of the stream had +become so contracted that the further use of the raft as a concrete +structure was out of the question; the wooden platform, with the masts +and sails, as also the metal decks of the two canoe-like pontoons, were +therefore abandoned, after carefully enveloping them in tarpaulins +brought along for the purpose; and after their place of concealment had +been marked, so that it might easily be found again in the event of the +expedition returning by that route, the journey was continued in the +open pontoons and the canoe. Finally, when at length the party had been +travelling for nearly five weeks upon the river, they reached a point +where navigation was no longer possible, even for the small canoe, and +it became necessary to take to the forest, still, however, keeping in +touch with the stream as nearly as possible, for the sake of the water. + +It is not necessary for the purposes of this story to enlarge upon the +difficulties with which the travellers now had to contend; they may be +left to the imagination of the reader, merely remarking that in many +places the trees grew so thickly together, and the undergrowth between +them was so dense, that to accomplish a march through it of three miles +between sunrise and sunset of a single day was regarded as a feat worthy +of especial note. Not, however, it must be understood, that these +conditions uniformly prevailed; very far from it indeed; for there were +days when, from circumstances difficult to account for, the going was so +comparatively easy that a distance of ten, or even twelve miles was +accomplished. But this did not occur until some time after they had +finally lost touch with the river and had got away from the vast plains +on to higher ground, where the forest was less dense, the undergrowth +much thinner--becoming in some places altogether non-existent--and where +open glades became increasingly frequent and of ever extending area. + +Thus far the travellers had met with no very remarkable experiences. +There is nothing exciting in the work of hewing a path for oneself +through miles of tough, tangled undergrowth, or in toiling thirstily +hour after hour in sweltering heat, wondering meanwhile how much longer +it will be before the welcome sound of trickling water will reach one's +ears; even crouching in concealment for hours at a stretch, rifle in +hand, in the hope that something eatable will come within shot, soon +grows monotonous; while, as for the multitudinous nocturnal sounds of +the forest, so weird and thrilling when first heard, the party soon +became accustomed to them, and slept soundly through them all. + +But, naturally, in the course of a long journey through the unexplored +wilds of South America, interesting incidents are by no means uncommon, +while others of a more weird and thrilling character occur occasionally, +as our friends were to learn in due time. It was, however, one of the +merely interesting kind that awaited them in an open glade which they +entered on a certain evening, after a long and toilsome journey, just as +the sun's last rays were gilding the tree-tops on the eastern side of +the clearing. + +The weary, sweat-drenched travellers celebrated their arrival in this +wide open space with shouts of joy, for a tiny streamlet meandered +through the middle of it, while in other respects it was ideal, not only +as a camping place for the coming night, but also as a spot upon which +to halt and recuperate for a few days--a relaxation which they had been +promising themselves during the past fortnight. It was the bone-weary +Indian carriers who were loudest in the expression of their rejoicing as +they stumbled through the tangled grass toward the margin of the tiny +stream, upon the bank of which their camp would be pitched; and as they +gladly flung down their burdens on the chosen spot, they emitted a final +yell of satisfaction which, to the astonishment of all, was answered, +from some distance on the opposite side of the stream, by a wailing cry, +as of some person--or, more probably, some creature--in extreme anguish. +The cry was so peculiar, so expressive of suffering, so piercing, yet +at the same time so feeble, that it instantly arrested the attention of +everybody, and all stood staring tensely in the direction from which it +had come. + +"Hillo!" exclaimed Dick, who was the first to find his voice after the +first moment of surprise had passed. "What on earth does that mean?" + +"Don't know," answered Earle, who was glancing about him in search of a +favourable spot upon which to pitch the tent; "but we'll soon find out. +Pitch the tent anywhere you like, Peter, so long as it is not too close +to the water. Where you are standing now will do quite well. Come on, +Dick, and bring your rifle with you. It was somewhere over in that +direction." + +The pair took the brook at a bound, and, despite their fatigue, set off +at a run in the direction from which the sound had proceeded. As they +went, the peculiar sound--half whine, half scream--pealed out again upon +the still air, thus guiding them afresh, so that in the course of a +couple of minutes they reached its source. + +And this was what they saw. + +A young black panther--a somewhat rare animal--about three-parts grown, +lying stretched out upon its left side in the long grass, apparently in +a dying condition. There was a broad trail in the grass leading from +the spot where it lay toward the far edge of the timber; but the trail +was short, not more than a few yards long, growing less and less +distinct as it receded, showing that the miserable creature had been in +the clearing for several days, dragging itself slowly, and doubtless +with infinite suffering, toward the water, which it had thus far failed +to reach. Its coal-black coat, "watered" with the characteristic +markings of the panther, also in black, was dull and staring, the result +of neglect, and probably also of suffering; its tongue, dry and parched, +lolled out of its open jaws, which were lightly fringed with froth; and +its half-closed eyes were glassy yet burning with fever. It was in the +last stage of emaciation, its ribs and backbone showing clearly beneath +its skin. + +"Poor brute!" ejaculated Dick, whose sympathies were easily aroused. +"It's evidently dying, and in great pain, too. Better put it out of its +misery, hadn't we?" And he raised his rifle suggestively. + +"Not on your life," interposed Earle, hastily. "Yes, the poor beast is +pretty well pegged out; but I guess we can save him, with care and a +little trouble. He's dying of hunger and thirst, that's what is the +matter with him, and that"--pointing to the creature's enormously +swollen right forepaw--"is what has brought on all the trouble. An +exaggerated case of abscess, rendering it impossible for the beast to +hunt, or, finally, even to walk. But I guess I can fix him all right, +so far as the abscess is concerned, after which we will see if we can't +pull him round and tame him. I'm very fond of animals, and I guess he +would make a fine pet, and look mighty picturesque basking on one's +hearthrug winter nights. You stay here, and I'll bring along a hammock +and a couple of `boys' to tote him over to the camp. I shall be better +able to see what I am doing there than here. You stay and keep the poor +chap company. I believe he knows that we sympathise with him." With +which whimsical remark Earle started back hot foot for the camp, now in +process of being pitched, leaving Dick to keep the dying beast company. + +Now, whimsical as that idea of Earle's might at first seem, Dick came to +the conclusion that there really might be something in it; for not only +did the unhappy panther show no fear of his visitors or anger at their +close proximity, but there was a certain pitiful expression in his +fevered eyes that, to Cavendish's imagination at least, seemed to appeal +for compassion and help. Of course, it may have been that the creature +was too near dissolution to feel either anger or fear; but Dick decided +that that remained to be seen. He eagerly awaited the return of Earle, +and was unfeignedly relieved when, after a somewhat lengthy interval, he +saw his friend returning, accompanied by two Indians bearing a lighted +lantern and a hammock arranged as a stretcher. + +Rejoining Dick, Earle at once got to work, displaying a quiet activity +and sureness of himself that at once excited the young Englishman's +amazement and admiration. Bidding the Indians to stand back a few +paces, and taking the lighted lantern from them, the American deposited +a mahogany case upon the ground, which, upon being opened, proved to +contain a complete surgical outfit. Withdrawing from this a sponge and +a bottle, he rapidly saturated the former with the contents of the +latter, and then, stepping fearlessly up to the suffering beast, he +applied the sponge to its nostrils, holding it there for a short time +until the creature's eyes closed and it seemed to lapse into +unconsciousness. Then, beckoning the natives to approach with the +stretcher, he and Dick, with the help of the Indians, lifted the now +inanimate body of the panther and deposited it upon the stretcher, which +he then ordered the Indians carefully to convey to the camp, Dick +leading the way with the lantern while the American paused a moment to +replace the bottle and sponge and close the case. But he overtook the +little procession before it was half way to the camp, and hurried on to +complete his preparations for the operation which he contemplated. +These preparations were complete by the time that the stretcher-bearers +reached the camp, and the moment that the Indians laid down their +burden, Earle handed Dick the sponge, with instructions to hold it with +a gentle pressure against the panther's mouth and nostrils. This done, +the American seized a lancet, and, lifting the swollen paw, made a +quick, long incision in it, upon which an amazing quantity of +exceedingly offensive matter spurted out. With deft manipulations of +the member, the American quickly pressed all the matter out of it, after +which he carefully washed out the cavity with warm water, treated it +with an antiseptic, stitched up the wound, dressed it, and finally bound +it up tightly with a bandage enclosing a thick pad of cotton wool. + +"There!" he exclaimed, with a sigh of satisfaction, as he completed the +operation, "I guess that is fixed all right, and when the poor beast +comes round, he won't know himself, he will feel so easy and +comfortable. That will do with the sponge, Dick. Now, while I clean my +lancet and put matters generally straight, will you be good enough to +see that the beast has water and food placed handy, so that he can get +it without troubling to move? Thanks. Then we will get our supper. +Food and drink, and a good long sleep, ought to work wonders for our +patient, and we shall see how he shapes to-morrow. If he feels very +chipper, he may decide to give us the slip during the night; but somehow +I don't think he will." + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +THE GOD OF THE CATU INDIANS SPEAKS. + +That night, as the two friends sat together discussing supper, Dick +learned a few fresh facts concerning his companion. He expressed his +surprise and admiration at the skill and dexterity which Earle had +displayed when performing the operation upon the panther's foot; to +which the American replied: + +"Pooh! my dear chap, that was a mere nothing; one of the simplest +surgical operations it is possible to think of. You should have seen +some of the operations I have assisted at, and some in which I have been +the sole operator. Why, man--but I won't enter into details. Say! I +guess I've never told you that I am a full-fledged physician and +surgeon, have I? No. Well, I am. Been through my studentship, walked +the hospitals, was chief assistant-surgeon at a big hospital in New York +for nearly a year, took all my degrees--and then chucked it up and took +to travelling and exploration, which was the idea that led me to +qualify. Because, you see, when a man ventures beyond the pale of +civilisation and has to rely absolutely upon himself, a knowledge of +medicine and surgery is a big asset; indeed, had I not possessed such +knowledge I should have pegged out in Central Africa, for it was solely +by its means that I escaped death upon at least half-a-dozen different +occasions. And the same knowledge has enabled me to save the lives of +quite a number of natives. There are a few African tribes with whom I +am regarded as `some' medicine-man, and who would cheerfully have killed +their chief and elected me in his place if I would but have said the +word." + +Later on in the evening they went out together to visit their patient, +and found the poor beast manifestly much easier and more comfortable. +He had consumed all the water and a small portion of the food supplied, +but was evidently still partially stupefied by the after effect of the +anaesthetic, and showed no resentment at their approach; he even +submitted to be touched and gently stroked, seeming to be in that numb +and semi-conscious condition in which one cares nothing for whatever may +happen. But the fever of almost unendurable suffering had vanished from +his eyes, and Earle insisted that the poor brute recognised them, and +was in some vague fashion aware that he owed his relief to them. They +brought him more water, which he lapped greedily out of the enamelled +dish, even while Earle held it; and when at length they left him, the +poor brute was tentatively trifling with the remains of the food with +which they had supplied him. + +With the coming of dawn on the following morning, the two friends issued +from their tent, eager to enjoy the now rare luxury of a bath; and on +their way they paid another visit to their patient. The brute proved to +be markedly better, although still terribly weak from the long period of +starvation which he had evidently undergone. He revealed his knowledge +of their approach by partially baring his fangs in a sort of semi-snarl, +and even made some semblance of an effort to scramble to his feet, but +the attempt was clearly too much for his strength, and he subsided +again. But he was now lying in a more natural and comfortable position, +with his handsome head resting upon his outstretched forepaws, like a +great cat, and when Earle unhesitatingly approached, and, placing his +hand upon the creature's head, proceeded gently to caress it, the animal +not only endured the touch, but after a minute or two actually began to +purr. + +From that moment the process of taming the beast synchronised with the +progress of its recovery. On the second day of the halt at the rest +camp the interesting invalid was able to use his feet and limp the few +paces of distance from the camp to the rivulet as often as thirst +demanded, but after drinking, the creature always returned to his lair +near the tent, where Earle took care to feed him; and when, after a +sojourn of five days on the spot, the camp was "broken" and the march +was resumed, "King Cole," as the American had named his new pet, fell in +and plodded along between the two white men as naturally as though he +had been brought up with them from cubhood. + +Thus far, the party, greatly to their own surprise, had encountered no +Indians, though they had occasionally met with "signs," indicating that +the country was not absolutely a desert. But on the fifth day of their +resumed march they unexpectedly came upon a small party in a clearing, +who incontinently fled upon their approach. A halt was at once called, +and the party went temporarily into camp, while Earle, unpacking one of +his bales, produced therefrom certain small hand-mirrors, a string or +two of vari-coloured beads, two gaudy-looking bandanna handkerchiefs, +and three cheap pocket-knives. These treasures he entrusted to the care +of Inaguy, the headman, and furnishing him with an escort of two men, +dispatched him in search of the elusive natives, bidding him find them +and by means of the gifts which he carried, open up peaceful +communication with them. For up to this time the party had been +wandering more or less at random, and their leader was most anxious to +get into touch with the inhabitants, so that he might question them and +perchance extract some information from them which might aid him in his +quest. Then, the ambassador dispatched, the party sat down to await his +return with such patience as they possessed. + +It was not, however, until past noon on the following day that Inaguy +returned to camp alone, with a somewhat disquieting tale. From this it +appeared that, having got upon the retreating Indians' trail, he and his +companions had followed it up until close upon sunset, when, while +passing through a narrow opening between two high rocks, they had been +suddenly set upon from both front and rear, overpowered, and conveyed as +captives to a certain spot, where they found the tribe of which they +were in search established as dwellers in numerous rock caves in the +side of a cliff. + +Arrived here, they were at once taken into the presence of the chief and +closely questioned as to the why and the wherefore of their presence in +that region, how many in number their party were, and so on, the +questioning and answering being conducted with considerable difficulty +owing to Inaguy's very imperfect knowledge of the language in which he +was addressed. It appeared that the chief listened to Inaguy's +explanation, such as it was, with a good deal of impatience and +suspicion, and finally terminated the interview by appropriating the +gifts which the man bore, and condemning him and his comrades to be +sacrificed, on the following morning, to a certain stone god, by way of +propitiation, in the hope that the act might effect the cure of certain +persons belonging to the community who were then lying apparently at the +point of death, suffering from some mysterious sickness. And so +terrified had Inaguy been at the prospect of a sacrificial death, with +its accompanying tortures, that it had taken him the whole night to +think out an argument which might possibly save the lives of himself and +his companions. + +This argument he had advanced when, at sunrise, he and his two +companions had been led forth to die upon the altar before the great +stone god; and it had consisted, first, in the narrative of how the +Great White Chief in command of his party had miraculously cured a black +panther which had been discovered in the last stage of dissolution, and +subsequently tamed it, and secondly, in the confident assertion that the +man who could do this thing could likewise cure the sick of the village, +if he were approached in a becomingly humble spirit. The humble spirit, +Inaguy regretfully reported, had proved conspicuous by its absence; but +after much discussion a bargain had been eventually struck whereby the +two followers of Inaguy were to be retained as hostages while the +headman was to be released upon condition that he returned at once to +the Great White Chief, conveying a message that unless the latter and +his party turned up at the village before sunset, the hostages would be +put to death. + +It took Earle not a moment to decide what his action should be, when +Inaguy brought his narrative to a conclusion. The men's lives must be +saved at any cost; and since the village was situated at a considerable +distance from the camp, and it would mean quick marching for the party +to reach it within the stipulated time, the tent was immediately struck, +and the march was at once commenced. + +They arrived at the village with only a few minutes to spare, so few +indeed, that they found the villagers already assembling in preparation +for the sacrifice, while the sun's disc was within less than half of its +own apparent diameter from the summits of a range of hills that bounded +the horizon. + +The first object to attract the visitors' attention was an enormous +figure, some forty feet high, bearing a rude resemblance to that of a +seated man, which had evidently at some remote period, been sculptured +out of a solid block of black marble seemingly springing vertically out +of the ground. There was nothing artistic in the conception or +execution of the image, which was a mere travesty of the human figure, +every member being absurdly out of proportion, while the only features +upon the modelling of which any pains had been taken were those of the +face, the expression of which hideously suggested the extremes of +mingled cunning and ferocity. An altar of the same black marble, about +three feet high and ten feet long, stood at the feet of the figure, and +this was already piled with wood in preparation for the anticipated +sacrifice. + +At the precise moment when the party came within sight of this +extraordinary figure they also became conscious of a peculiar taint in +the air suggestive of mud and rotting vegetation; and as Earle sniffed +it he remarked: + +"Umph! Big swamp not far off, I guess, which, apart from anything else, +is enough to account for sickness in the village. Swamp fever, most +likely. Say, Dick, that's an ugly-looking guy, that idol, eh. Won't +these ginks get a startler when they hear him speak presently!" + +"Speak?" repeated Dick. "How do you mean?" + +"You just wait and see, sonny," returned Earle. "Oh, yes, he'll speak, +you bet. And what he is going to say is--But here comes the chief and +his principal headmen to meet us. Now, Inaguy, you be very careful in +your interpretation of everything that passes, for a good deal may +depend upon it. And let's hurry; I want to get up as close as possible +to that idol before the palaver begins." + +The chief of the tribe was easily distinguishable from all the rest, +from the fact that he walked some half a dozen paces in front of the +others, and also because of his garb, which consisted of a gaudy +head-dress of variously coloured feathers and an enormous jaguar's skin +thrown over his left shoulder, half of it covering the front of his +body--and the other half the rear, the two halves united at his right +hip by knotting the skin of the left foreleg to the left hinder one. He +was, like all the rest of his tribe, coal-black in colour, and, like his +followers, was armed with a sheaf of formidable-looking barbed spears, +the heads of which appeared to be made of bone or horn. They seemed to +be a fine race of men, standing nearly six feet high, and their carriage +was suggestive of great strength and agility, but they were undeniably +ugly and repulsive of feature, the expression being that of mingled +cunning and cruelty. As they drew nearer, King Cole, the black panther, +began to snarl and show his fangs in an exceedingly hostile fashion, +whereupon Dick hurriedly seized one of the tent ropes and deftly looped +it about the animal's neck in a standing bowline knot, at the same time +soothing him by word and touch. + +The two parties met and came to a halt at a point some thirty feet from +the altar; and as they did so Earle waved his hand in greeting toward +the figure, airily remarking as he did so: + +"How do, old chap! Glad to have the pleasure of seeing you at last." + +To which, to the stupefaction of everybody, Dick included, the figure +replied in a high, thin voice: + +"The pleasure is mine, oh wonderful medicine-man, who has come to heal +my people. Tell them that ye are my particular friends, and that they +must treat you and yours well during your stay among them, upon pain of +incurring my lasting anger." + +"Got that, Inaguy?" asked Earle, turning to his headman, who seemed so +paralysed with amazement that he could scarcely reply in the +affirmative. "Good! Then just translate to the chief and his followers +what I said, and what their god answered." + +With chattering teeth and lips that quivered with terror to such an +extent that he could scarcely articulate, the thoroughly frightened +Inaguy obeyed his master's order, and his astonishment and terror were +so obviously genuine that they only added to the already profound effect +produced upon the Indians by the seeming miracle of speech from their +hitherto dumb god. Had the chief been a little less astonished than he +was, it might have occurred to him to wonder why the idol had chosen to +express his will in a language that needed interpretation; but obviously +he was altogether too profoundly impressed by the marvellous happening +for the smallest shred of suspicion to enter his mind, and upon +receiving the message he immediately wheeled round, and prostrating +himself with his face to the ground--an example instantly followed by +those about him--mumbled a long statement which, upon being translated +by Inaguy, proved to be an emphatic assurance that nothing whatever +should be done that could provoke the god's displeasure. This done, he +rose to his feet and shouted an order for the immediate release of the +hostages; after which he turned to Earle and Dick and reverentially bade +them welcome to the village, at the same time requesting them to pitch +their camp wherever they pleased. + +Earle, having chosen a spot well out in the open, where anything in the +nature of a sudden surprise would be difficult--though he explained to +Dick that, after what had happened, he had little or no fear of anything +of the kind--intimated to the chief his desire to see the sick people at +once, and went off with that individual, leaving Dick to supervise the +arrangement of the camp. + +Meanwhile Dick, who was by no means a fool, had been thinking matters +over, and had come to the conclusion that he understood the apparent +mystery of the idol's speech, and chuckled to himself over Earle's +cleverness, which had been so wonderful as to mystify even the young +Englishman for the moment. + +By the time that Earle reached the camp, after paying his professional +visit to the sick, the camp was all in order, and supper was nearly +ready. Earle was in fine feather, for not only had he discovered that +the invalids were all down with swamp fever, which, severe as it was, he +was confident of his ability to cure, but upon questioning the chief +with regard to the great object of his quest, he had been informed that +a tribe of Indians known as the Mangeromas, occupying territory many +days' march toward the south-west, were believed to possess some +knowledge of a wonderful people answering to the description which Earle +had given, but that the Catus--the tribe whose guests the party now +were--had as little as possible to do with the Mangeromas, since the +latter were an exceedingly fierce, warlike and barbarous race, more than +suspected of cannibalism. This unsavoury reputation, however, affected +Earle not in the least, he was out for adventure, and was determined to +have it, moreover he wanted definite information concerning El Dorado +and the city of Manoa, and was prepared to take his chance, even among +cannibals in order to get it. + +"Well," remarked Dick, "that's all right; where you go, I go with you, +even if it should be into a country where cannibals are as common as +blackberries in August. And I have no doubt that, if need be, you can +scare them as effectually as you did those niggers this evening. And +let me tell you, while I think of it, that you did it remarkably well. +Why, you puzzled even me for the moment." + +"Did I, really?" demanded Earle, with every symptom of extreme +gratification. "I am glad of that, for, to tell you the truth, I am a +bit out of practice, and the idea did not occur to me until Inaguy +mentioned the idol this afternoon. Then I thought that if, by means of +ventriloquism, I could make the idol speak, it would cause our friends +here to sit up and take notice, as it did. Ventriloquism, Dick, is a +very useful accomplishment for a man who goes much among savages, as I +have done, and it has got me out of an extremely tight corner more than +once. It always appealed to me powerfully, from the time when, as a boy +of seven years old, I attended a ventriloquial entertainment and heard +the guy conversing with unseen people in mid-air, and heard remarks +addressed to him by obviously inanimate objects. There seemed to me to +be useful possibilities in it, and I started trying to do it at once, +finally taking lessons from a wonderfully clever guy, who told me that +my throat was specially well adapted for it. Ah! here comes Peter with +supper, for which I'm glad, for I happen to be possessed of a ten dollar +appetite to-night." + +The meal over, Earle unpacked, his medicine chest and mixed a sufficient +quantity of medicine to serve his patients through the night, and took +it up to the village, where he remained nearly three hours ministering +to the sick, and talking, through Inaguy, to Yahiti, the chief of the +Catus. When at length he returned to the camp he was in the highest +spirits, for the somewhat incomprehensible reason that Yahiti had +informed him that the country lying between the Catu and the Mangeroma +territories was extraordinarily difficult, and full of the most weird +and terrible perils. + +On the following morning the two friends were astir with the dawn, Earle +having expressed a desire to inspect the great swamp in the +neighbourhood, to which he attributed the epidemic of fever from which +the inhabitants of the village were suffering. This swamp was situated +at the distance of about a mile south-east from the village, and was of +such an extent that whenever the wind blew from either the east or the +south--these being the prevailing winds there--the pestiferous odours +arising from it were wafted directly toward the village; and Earle's +idea was to investigate, with the view of ascertaining whether anything +could be done to reclaim the swamp, failing which he proposed to +recommend the Catus to abandon the place and take up their abode +elsewhere. + +Upon reaching the swamp, it was found to lie in a shallow depression, +roughly circular in shape and some three miles in diameter, its deepest +part--about eight feet--being nearest the village, while at its upper +extremity it was fed by a small stream of a capacity just about +sufficient to neutralise the constant process of evaporation without +being enough to produce an overflow. Further than that, it occupied +such a position that a trench little more than a quarter of a mile in +length and averaging a depth of about nine feet was all that was needed +to drain the swamp by carrying off the water and discharging it into a +valley some three-hundred feet deep. + +An alternative scheme which Earle also investigated was the diversion of +the stream which supplied the swamp with water; and this was also found +possible by cutting a trench about two hundred yards long; but it was +open to the objection that, in order to do it, the workers would be +obliged to walk a distance of nearly twelve miles daily to and from +their work, and he doubted whether the Catus were energetic enough to do +it. + +The task of convincing the Catus that they must do away with the swamp +or abandon the village, unless they were prepared continually to suffer +from fever, was a long and troublesome one, the Indians having a strong +constitutional objection to anything in the nature of hard work; but +Earle succeeded at length, and actually got them started on the work of +cutting the drainage ditch, that scheme having been chosen as the one +promising the quickest results and involving the least labour. By the +time that this was done the invalids were all recovered from their +sickness; and ten days after their arrival at the Catu village the +exploring party resumed their march, to the loudly expressed regret of +the inhabitants, who urgently pressed them to remain, and would quite +possibly have detained them by force, but for fear of exciting the anger +of the stone god. + +The journey was resumed immediately after breakfast on a certain +morning, and before the hour for the first halt arrived the party began +to realise the truth of Yahiti's story that the route was full of +difficulties, if not of dangers; for it lay over rugged country so +thickly bestrewn with enormous boulders that Earle likened the journey +to the exploration of San Francisco immediately after the earthquake. +Of course, they went round the boulders when such a course was possible, +but it very frequently happened that long reefs of rock projected out of +the ground for miles on either hand, when, difficult though the task +might be, it became easier to climb up one side and down the other, than +to pass round. Two miles was the extent of their journey over that kind +of country which they were able to accomplish before sunset; and when at +length they camped they were little more than eight miles from the Catu +village. + +To travel over such country was wearisome in the extreme, but there was +nothing for it but to push on, or else make a detour of unknown extent; +and this idea Earle would not entertain for a moment. On the following +day, therefore, they resumed their journey, although with every yard of +advance the difficulties appeared to grow more formidable. + +It was about mid-morning when they reached the base of a cliff some +forty feet high that, being practically vertical, seemed to bar their +further progress, and after contemplating it for several minutes, Earle +decided to make the spot a halting place while he and Dick explored the +cliff in opposite directions in search of a practicable crossing. +Accordingly, while the natives were forming camp, the two white men, +taking their rifles and a few cartridges, set off along the foot of the +cliffs, Earle proceeding in a north-westerly direction, while Dick +proceeded toward the south-east. + +The rock of which the cliff was formed was, for some considerable +distance in the direction followed by Dick, quartzite; but at a point +about a mile from the spot where he had parted from Earle it changed to +a black, bituminous limestone, studded here and there with ammonites. +Dick, who knew little or nothing about geology, merely noticed the +change in the character of the rock, and sauntered on, eagerly scanning +its face, in the hope of finding a spot where it might be scalable by +men carrying moderately heavy burdens. And at length he reached, as he +believed, such a spot, where the black rock seemed to have been riven by +some mighty natural convulsion, the rift forming a steep and exceedingly +narrow gully leading to the summit. Naturally, he at once started to +climb this gully, with the object of testing its practicability; and he +had traversed nearly two-thirds of its length when, as he scrambled up, +his attention was suddenly attracted to a sort of pocket in the rock, +which had been laid open by a fall. What particularly attracted his +attention toward this pocket was the fact that it contained a +considerable number of bright green crystals, which struck him as being +peculiar not only from their rich colour, but also from the fact that +they were all of practically the same shape, namely hexagonal. So +greatly did he admire them that he put a couple of the largest in one of +his pockets, intending to show them to Earle and ask him whether +perchance they were of any value. Then he pushed on again and soon +reached the upper end of the gully, when he found himself, somewhat to +his amazement, on a vast tableland, stretching as far as could be seen, +with what looked like a big forest at a distance of some ten miles. + +Having completed his survey, Dick descended the gully and returned to +the camp, to find that Earle was still absent; he therefore set out to +seek him and report his success. Some two miles beyond the camp he met +the American returning, considerably disgusted, he having failed in his +search, and at once Dick reported his triumph, incidentally producing +the crystals and asking if Earle happened to know what they were. + +"Know what they are?" echoed Earle, after most carefully and +interestedly examining the stones. "Why, of course I do. Don't you?" + +"Haven't the least idea," answered Dick. "But they struck me as being +rather pretty, and I thought I would take them back to my sister as +souvenirs of my travels. There are dozens more where these came from." + +"Are there?" caustically remarked Earle. "Then, my dear Cavendish, +permit me to congratulate you; for these two crystals are remarkably +fine emeralds; and the probability is that you have accidentally +stumbled upon an emerald mine rich enough to make the fortunes of a +dozen men. Let's get back to camp and move on to this gully of yours. +We'll overhaul it at once, and if it should prove--as I strongly +suspect--to be a true emerald mine, we'll work it for a few days and +ascertain something like its probable worth." + +"But," protested Dick, "I didn't know that emeralds were found in South +America." + +"What!" ejaculated Earle, in amazement. "You ignorant sailorman! Why, +some of the most famous emeralds in the world have been unearthed in +this country. The Spaniards, under Pizarro, took enormous quantities of +them from the Peruvians, but were never able to learn exactly where they +were obtained; and the only mine now known in South America is, I +believe, situated near Bogota. But I have long been convinced that this +is the country, _par excellence_, for emeralds--ay, and possibly rubies +and sapphires as well. Come along, man; let's go and have a look at the +mine that's going to make a millionaire of you." + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +EMERALDS--AND THE DEATH FLOWER. + +The two friends reached their temporary camp in good time for the +mid-day meal; they therefore decided to have it before proceeding +farther. As soon as the meal was over the camp was struck, and the +entire party proceeded in the direction of the gully, or cleft, upon +their arrival at which preparations were at once made for a possible +sojourn of a few days; and while those preparations were being made, +Earle and Dick, carrying a pickaxe and shovel, as well as their rifles, +started to climb the cleft, bent upon examining the spot where the +emeralds had been found, and, if possible, settling the question as to +whether or not a mine had actually been discovered. + +Their open-air life, and the toil of their recent travels had put both +young men into the pink of condition; it was, therefore, not long before +they reached the spot where Dick had made his momentous find. Arrived +there, Earle's first act was to subject each of the crystals lying in +the exposed "pocket" to a careful examination. There were fifty-four in +all, of varying sizes; and when Earle had pronounced each of them to be +a genuine emerald--and most of them of the first water, they were all +deposited in a knapsack which they had taken with them for the purpose. +This done, the American seized a pickaxe and began to dig into the face +of the cliff, pausing at intervals to take a rest while Cavendish +shovelled away the debris. The rock was not at all difficult to work, +yielding readily to the blows of the pickaxe and coming away in lumps +the size of one's fist, or even bigger, consequently it was not very +long before, between them, they had excavated a cavity of considerable +size. But after nearly two hours of strenuous toil without result, they +retired from the hole for a time to rest, and were debating the question +whether or not it was worth while to pursue the investigation any +further, Earle being rather of opinion that Dick's find had been merely +an isolated pocket, and that they might seek for weeks or possibly +months, without finding any more emeralds, when, without the slightest +warning, the hole in which they had been working suddenly caved in, +laying bare a new face, some nine or ten square yards in area. And when +at length the face had ceased to crumble and the dust had subsided, the +first thing to attract their attention was an emerald nearly as big as a +duck's egg projecting from the newly exposed rock. This they carefully +dug out, afterwards proceeding to search among the fallen rock, in which +they eventually found two other very fine stones. + +"There!" exclaimed Earle, with a sigh of satisfaction, when at length +they had thoroughly examined and cleared away the fallen rock. "I guess +we've done enough; for we've demonstrated that this is a sure-'nough +mine. See that stuff round the place where we picked out the emerald? +That is calcite, and this rock is a black limestone; all the indications +are, therefore, in favour of this being a genuine emerald mine, which we +can work, if we choose, on our return journey. Now, we'll just dig out +that mass of calcite and carefully cover it up, so that in the +exceedingly unlikely event of any other prospector passing this way, +there will be little or nothing to attract his attention; and to-morrow, +before we resume our march, we will determine the exact position of this +spot by astronomical observations and make a note of it in our diaries, +so that we can find the place again. Meanwhile, we have not done at all +badly this afternoon, for I guess the contents of this knapsack are +worth a good many thousand dollars." + +It was nightfall by the time that the explorers got back to their camp, +and they were bone-weary from their extraordinary exertions; but they +had, as recompense, the knowledge that they had left their mine in such +a condition that no mere casual visitor would be in the least likely to +suspect its existence. + +Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the party struck +camp and proceeded to climb the cleft. It cost the Indian carriers half +an hour's severe toil to accomplish the ascent, and when at length they +reached the summit they were only too glad to lay down their burdens and +take a rest while the two leaders, with the assistance of their pocket +sextants and Earle's pocket chronometer, determined the position of the +head of the gully. This done, and the calculations worked out and +checked, the march was resumed; the outer edge of the forest through +which their route lay being reached shortly after noon. And when at +length they sat down to their mid-day meal, all hands enjoyed an unusual +luxury; for about an hour before pitching camp, Dick, who chanced to be +leading the way, saw and shot something as it attempted to make off +through the long grass, that something proving to be a strange creature +partaking, in about equal proportions, of the characteristics of a pig +and a deer. Dick, of course, not being a naturalist, was unable to name +the creature, and even Earle declared himself puzzled; but whatever it +may have been, its flesh proved to be exceptionally tender, juicy, and +delicious, and the Indians fairly gorged themselves with it. + +The forest into which the party plunged when the march was resumed +proved to be entirely different in character from that which they had +previously traversed. To begin with, the trees were all of new and +strange species, mostly bearing foliage of dark and gloomy tints; they +stood much farther apart; the undergrowth was sparse, or absent +altogether; and there were no orchids, or long, trailing garlands of +lovely parasitic growth which had rendered the forests already traversed +so strangely beautiful. Another peculiarity of the forest was that +scarcely a bird was to be seen, excepting an occasional vulture or +carrion crow perched upon some lightning-blasted stump. Moreover, there +was a strange silence pervading the place, a silence that seemed almost +uncanny, as though insects as well as birds shunned the place. +Altogether, the effect of the silence, the sombre tints of the foliage, +the absence of brilliant-hued blooms, and a certain subtle something in +the atmosphere, was distinctly depressing. There was one redeeming +feature about it, however, which was that the sparseness of the +underbush and the greater space between the trunks of the trees rendered +travelling comparatively easy, and the party made good progress. + +As they plunged farther into the depths of the forest, however, they +began to realise that its gloomy aisles were by no means so devoid of +life as they had at first imagined. The first intimation of this fact +came to them in the form of a sudden yell from one of the Indian +carriers, who declared that he had been bitten on the leg by something; +and upon investigation this proved to be the case, for the calf of his +bare leg showed two tiny punctures, not more than one-eighth of an inch +apart, the flesh around which, even as Earle and Dick examined the +wounds, began to swell and turn a curious blue tint, while the injured +man rapidly lost the power of speech and voluntary movements, though his +body began to be shaken by violent tremors. + +Earle now showed himself to be a man of prompt action. Whipping his +keen hunting knife out of its sheath, he slashed open the flesh athwart +the two punctures and then, kneeling down, applied his lips to the wound +and sucked it strongly until the blood began to come, at first +sluggishly and in coagulated clots, but eventually more freely. It was +noticeable, too, that at first the blood was almost black in colour, but +by dint of vigorous sucking it at length came freely and changed to its +normal colour. Meanwhile, Dick, recalling conversations which he had +had with Earle, in which the latter had described certain rough and +ready methods which he had successfully adopted in treating venomous +snake bites, opened a shot cartridge, extracted the powder therefrom, +and with it made a squib. This he had ready long before Earle was +prepared to use it; but when at length the blood was flowing freely and +naturally from the wound, they laid the now comatose victim prone upon +the ground, and, while Dick held the wounded limb in position, Earl +applied the squib to the wound and fired it. The result was that the +wound was quickly and very effectively cauterised, apparently without +inflicting the slightest suffering upon the victim, who never moved a +muscle while the squib spluttered and burned upon his raw flesh. Earle +then quickly and deftly dressed the wound and bound it up, after which +he proceeded to revive his patient by moistening his lips with raw +whiskey, with which he finally drenched the man internally as soon as +the unfortunate fellow was able to swallow. + +But, of course, there was no more marching for the party that day, and +preparations were at once made for pitching the camp. The first task +was to beat the long, dry grass thoroughly, in order to drive away the +snake which had bitten the man, or any other snakes which might be +lurking therein. But this procedure, while it may possibly have had the +desired effect, had also another, by no means desirable; for it was soon +discovered that the threshing had aroused the anger of a legion of +enormous black ants--fierce, venomous creatures nearly an inch long-- +which came swarming by thousands up out of holes in the ground, and +attacked the intruders with indescribable ferocity. The unfortunate +semi-naked Indians instantly scattered in ignominious flight, leaving +the two white men to deal with the situation as best they could. And +although Earle and Dick were, of course, fully clothed, and their bodies +were therefore reasonably well protected, they were both severely bitten +before, by setting fire to the grass and allowing it to blaze for a few +seconds before beating it out, they were able to put the foe to flight. +The burning of the grass, however, revealed the fact that the soil was +everywhere honeycombed with holes, into which the creatures had +doubtless retreated, ready to sally forth again upon the smallest +provocation; therefore, in order to protect themselves from further +attack, they cut an immense quantity of grass, strewed it over the +central portion of the already burnt area, and burned it over again; +after which, the ashes being first swept away with branches, they +ventured to go into camp, the Indians slinking back by twos and threes +as soon as they perceived that the risk of renewed hostilities was over. +As for the two white men, although they bathed their hurts with dilute +ammonia as quickly as they could, they both suffered acutely, to such an +extent, indeed, that they were both in a high state of fever, bordering +on delirium, before midnight. Earle, however, foreseeing what was +impending, mixed for himself and Dick a strong draught, which no doubt +helped to avert even worse consequences, and by dawn of the following +morning the fever was conquered and the sufferers sank into a somewhat +troubled sleep, from which the faithful Peter would not permit them to +be aroused upon any pretext whatsoever. As for the bitten man, he +suffered severely for several hours, the wounded limb swelling to about +three times its normal size, while acute pains shot through the whole of +his tortured body; but at length these gradually grew less, until he +sank into a state of coma which eventually became natural sleep, during +which the swollen limb gradually resumed its normal dimensions. When he +at length awoke, beyond being troubled with a dazed feeling and, of +course, a considerable amount of pain arising from the cauterisation of +the wound, he seemed to be little the worse for his adventure; and when +at length the party struck camp and resumed their march shortly after +mid-day, he was able to hobble along with the rest, although it was +found necessary to relieve him of all work during that day. + +Such was the first adventure of the party in that terrible forest; but +there were others still worse to follow, as they soon found. Nothing +very particular, however, befell them on that second day's march, for +after their experiences of the previous day they were careful to conduct +their march with all due precaution, Inaguy leading the way and +industriously beating the grass before him with a long, slender switch, +while Dick and Earle, following him on either flank, did likewise. And +the wisdom of this method of procedure was manifested a dozen times or +more during the afternoon's march by sudden, quick scurrying sounds in +the grass immediately ahead, bearing witness to the fact that a lurking +snake had been startled and was effecting a hasty retreat. + +When at length the time came to pitch camp for the night, the tactics of +the previous day were repeated, the grass being thoroughly burnt away +over an area spacious enough to accommodate the party. And here again +the wisdom of their action was made manifest; for when the ashes were +swept up for removal the shrivelled remains of several centipedes and +scorpions--some of them of quite unusual size--were found, which would +doubtless have given trouble had not the flames rendered them harmless. + +It was well on toward mid-afternoon of their third day's march through +the forest when the explorers met with their next adventure. The total +absence of flowers in this forest has already been remarked upon, but +about the time named above it appeared as though this reproach was no +longer to apply. For, after pressing through a part where both the +timber and the undergrowth had been found thicker than usual, the party +entered a wide open glade of considerable extent without a single tree +in it. To make up for the absence of trees, however, there were, dotted +about here and there in the midst of the long grass, several clumps of +perfectly white flowers, ten or a dozen flowers in each clump. And as +these clumps of flowers came into view, the whole party halted +involuntarily, struck with amazement; for the sight was, beyond all +question, the most wonderful that any of them had ever beheld. The +blooms, shaped somewhat like the familiar Canterbury bell, were of +absolutely gigantic proportions, some certainly not less than six feet +in height, exclusive of the short, thick stem, while many were even +larger than this. Each clump was surrounded by a kind of spray of still +more enormous leaves, each leaf being about twelve feet long by some +eight feet broad, lying almost flat upon the grass and forming a +complete barricade round the clump. The air was charged with a peculiar +but exceedingly pleasant fragrance, which no doubt emanated from these +wonderful botanical curiosities; and after a short halt to take in the +details of the extraordinary picture, Earle announced his determination +to halt for the remainder of the day in the glade, in order that he +might examine the flowers at leisure. Accordingly, a wide, clear space +in about the centre of the glade was chosen, and preparations for +pitching the camp were briskly proceeded with. + +The discovery of these gigantic flowers threw Earle into a condition of +quite pleasant excitement. He was a man of method, and, as such, had +naturally kept a diary of the proceedings of the party from the moment +of its departure from New York. Hitherto, however, the diary had been +kept solely as a future aid to memory, and for his own individual +purposes alone; but now the discovery of what at the moment he believed +to be an entirely new species of plant, suddenly inspired him with the +ambition to become enrolled in the ranks of those scientific explorers +who have become famous by virtue of the remarkable character of their +discoveries, and it began to dawn upon him that there were possibilities +in this journey of his which might enable him to become one of the +immortals of scientific discovery. So elated was he at the prospect +that he could not resist the temptation to communicate his hopes to +Dick, who, somewhat matter-of-fact individual though he was, +nevertheless heartily sympathised with his friend's ambition, and +cheerfully undertook to assist in every way possible, if Earle would but +indicate the direction in which assistance might be valuable. + +"I guess you can help me very shortly then," said Earle. "First of all, +I am going to take a photograph from somewhere over there, showing a +general view of this glade, with especial reference to the arrangement +and distribution of those clusters of gigantic flowers; and when I have +done that I propose to select the cluster containing the finest blooms, +station myself on one of the leaves--I guess they'll bear my weight +easily enough--and stand upright against a flower, so that my figure +will serve as a sort of scale by which a correct idea of its size may be +conveyed. And that is where you will come in. I shall want you to take +the photograph of me as I stand there. I will select the spot from +which the photograph is to be taken, and will focus the camera, stop +down the lens to the extent required to get satisfactory definition, and +generally arrange the picture; and all that you will need to do will be +to remove the cap and give the proper exposure when I am ready. The +light is not too good, and I intend to use the orange screen, so I guess +the exposure will be rather a lengthy one, but I will determine its +correct duration by means of the exposure metre; so all that you will +have to do will be to remove the cap and carefully note the time. See?" + +"Certainly," replied Dick, "and you may depend upon me to carry out your +instructions." + +The camera--a compact quarter-plate instrument, adapted for use either +in the hand or mounted upon a tripod--was routed out, the fact that +there were four unexposed films still in it ascertained, and the pair +went off together, intent upon taking the proposed photographs. + +The determination of the precise position from which to take the first +picture was a rather lengthy process, for Earle had the eye of an artist +and was anxious that the result should be not only a photograph, but +also a picture. A suitable spot was, however, at length found, and the +photograph was taken, the correct exposure involving the uncapping of +the lens for no less than forty-five seconds. Fortunately, there was no +wind, consequently there was no movement, and Earle was sanguine that he +had secured a thoroughly satisfactory picture. + +Then came the choice of the particular clump of blooms to be +photographed at close quarters, with Earle standing in the midst of them +to show their enormous size. This was an even more lengthy process than +the other; but at length everything was ready, and Earle, leaving Dick +standing by the camera, strode across the few yards of intervening +space, and proceeded to climb upon one of the monster leaves preparatory +to posing himself. He did this by pressing the point of the leaf down +to the ground and then stepping on it and walking up its centre, +intending to pose himself at the junction of the leaf with its massive +stalk, in which position he would be able to stand quite close to the +enormous flower which was to be the principal object in the proposed +picture. + +But when Earle had traversed a little more than half the length of the +huge leaf, it suddenly curled up and, to Dick's horror, completely +enveloped the adventurous American's form, round which it tightly +enfolded itself, while a half-smothered cry for help issued from its +folds. + +Leaving the camera where it was, Dick rushed forward, drawing his heavy +hunting knife from its sheath as he did so, and dashing in, began to +hack desperately at the stem of the leaf, believing that if he could +sever it from its parent plant, he would be able to deliver his friend +from its stifling embrace. But he soon found that, stout as was the +blade he was wielding, and strong as was the arm that wielded it, he +could do little or nothing against the marvellously tough stem which he +was attempting to sever. It was as thick as his own leg and so hard and +slippery that the keen blade simply slithered along it instead of biting +into it; and realising his helplessness, he rushed out into the open, +where he could be seen and heard from the camp, and yelled to Inaguy and +Peter to bring axes, and for the rest of the men to bring along +machetes. + +There was a note of urgency in Dick's stentorian tones which caused all +hands instantly to drop what they were doing and rush to his call; but +it was nearly ten minutes before the stubborn stalk yielded to the +desperate onslaught made upon it; and when at length it drooped to the +ground and the party threw themselves upon it, it cost them another +arduous five minutes to slit the tough, leather-like fibre of the leaf +apart and haul out the imprisoned and, by that time, insensible body of +their leader. + +By Dick's direction they carried Earle's body to the camp, and, +stripping it, laid it upon one of the camp beds already arranged in the +tent. This done, Dick carefully examined the inanimate form in search +of wounds or other injuries, but found nothing. The heart was beating +strongly and steadily, the pulse was firm, though a trifle rapid, and +the breathing was somewhat irregular; otherwise Earle's aspect was that +of a man plunged in profound sleep. So completely, indeed, was this the +case that after Dick had ineffectually striven by every means in his +power to arouse his friend, he was fain to leave him as he was, +contenting himself by remaining by the side of the bed, keeping his +fingers on Earle's pulse so that he might at once become aware of any +fluctuations in its beat, and awaiting the moment when a change of some +sort should occur. + +Hour after hour dragged its slow length along and still the American lay +plunged deep in that strange slumber, the only changes in his condition +being that from time to time his pulse and his heart quickened their +beats and his breath came more heavily, as though the sleeper laboured +under some strong excitement; until at length, about eleven o'clock, +when the camp was wrapped in silence and all its members, except Dick, +fast asleep, Earle suddenly opened his eyes and stared first at the +lantern and then at Dick, with a puzzled and distinctly annoyed +expression. At length he exclaimed: + +"Hello, Dick! What the mischief are you sitting there for, looking as +glum as an owl? And why on earth did you wake me? Man alive, I--" + +"I didn't wake you," answered Dick, "but, all the same, I am profoundly +thankful to see you awake once more, and apparently in the possession of +all your senses. Do you remember what happened to you?" + +"You bet I do!" answered Earle emphatically. "Shall I ever forget it? +Why, man, I've been in Elysium. I've been--oh! dash it all, there are +no words to describe the delights of the last few--Say! how long have I +been asleep?" + +Dick looked at his watch. "Getting well on for eight hours," he +answered. + +"Eight _hours_!" reiterated Earle, in tones of intense disgust. "Only +eight _hours_, did you say? Why, man alive, if what you say be true, in +those measly eight hours I have lived _years_ of joy and delight +unspeakable. I have beheld scenes of unearthly indescribable beauty; I +have participated in pageants glorious and magnificent beyond +conception; I have--oh! what's the use? If I were to talk from now +until doomsday I couldn't even begin to convey to your gross mind the +most feeble and shadowy notion of the joys and delights which have been +mine." + +He spoke rapidly in tones of feverish excitement, and his eyes were +almost as luminous as those of King Cole, who sat up on his haunches, +alert and quivering, on the other side of the pallet. + +"Look here, old chap," said Dick anxiously, "easy on. Don't get +excited, whatever you do. Your adventure of this afternoon has given +you a rather bad shaking up. You've had a pretty severe shock, both +mental and physical, if I'm any judge, and it looks to me very much as +though you are going to be ill. Better let me mix you a soothing +draught, hadn't you? Just tell me what ingredients to take, and how +much of each, and I'll mix them in a brace of shakes--" + +But by the time that Dick got thus far, Earle had begun to talk again, +loudly and excitedly, and was sitting up on the pallet, waving his arms +wildly. And when Dick attempted to force him back into a reclining +position the American suddenly developed a kind of frenzy, seizing +Cavendish by the throat and doing his utmost to throttle him, while King +Cole, sorely puzzled at such extraordinary behaviour on the part of his +two especial friends, snarled angrily and bolted out of the tent into +the velvety star-lit darkness. + +So violent did Earle become, and such extraordinary strength did he +develop under the influence of the delirium which had now seized him +that Dick was compelled in self-defence to shout for help; and presently +Peter, Inaguy, and some three or four others came rushing in, and, under +the impression that the two leaders were fighting, separated them. But +a few hurried words of explanation from Cavendish "put them wise" to the +situation, and while by main force they restrained Earle from rising and +rushing naked into the night, Dick routed out the medicine chest and, +hurriedly consulting the pages of the accompanying book of instructions, +prepared a strong sleeping draught, which, among them, they compelled +the now violently crazy patient to swallow. + +But it was nearly an hour before the potion became fully effective, and +even then Earle's sleep was fitful and disturbed, his semi-coherent +mutterings showing that his mind was still unhinged. To be brief, the +outbreak of delirium was followed by a period of extreme weakness and +profound dejection, during which the patient lost all memory of his +splendid dream, and, at least temporarily, of several other things as +well, so that nearly a fortnight elapsed before Earle was again well +enough for the party to resume their journey. + +It was while Earle was still an invalid, and before their march was +resumed, that on a certain occasion, while Dick was sitting at his +bedside, he besought the latter to tell him exactly what had happened on +the memorable afternoon which witnessed their arrival in the glade, he +apparently having forgotten everything about it. With some reluctance, +after much earnest entreaty, Dick consented; and after he had related +all, Earle became very thoughtful for some time. At length, however, he +looked up and said: + +"Yes; I am beginning to remember; it is all coming back to me--the +occurrences of that afternoon, I mean. I suppose you haven't attempted +to develop that negative giving the general view of the glade, have +you?" + +"Not I," answered Dick, "I've had too many other things to think about. +But I'll do so to-night, if you like." + +"I wish you would, old chap," said Earle. "If my suspicion is correct, +that negative should be peculiarly interesting, and I should like it +developed before we leave here, in order that if it should be imperfect, +we may take another, as well as a near view of one of the clumps of +blooms. By the way, did you ever happen to have heard of the Death +Flower?" + +"N-o, I can't say that I have," answered Dick. "Is there such a +flower?" + +"So it is said," responded Earle. "I remember having read somewhere of +such a flower, which, it is asserted, blooms in a certain island in the +Pacific. The flower is said to be big enough to allow a man to stand +upright in it; but if anyone chances to be so ill-advised as to try the +experiment, the experimenter falls asleep, lulled to slumber by the +peculiar fragrance of the flower, and is at once favoured with the most +glorious dreams, in the midst of which the flower closes its petals and +suffocates him. Now, that was very much my own experience, except that +I was enveloped by the leaf instead of the flower; you dug me out +instead of leaving me to die; and my gorgeous dream came afterwards--at +least, so I suppose--instead of while I was enveloped. It will be +exceedingly interesting if it should prove that the flowers in this +glade are Death Flowers, for I believe it has hitherto been understood +that they flourish only in one spot in the world, namely, that small +island in the Pacific, the name of which I have for the moment +forgotten." + +Accordingly, as soon as it was dark that night, Dick lighted the ruby +lamp and proceeded very carefully to develop the precious negative, +which proved to be absolutely flawless, to Earle's great delight. And +on the following morning, at Earle's urgent request, Dick took out the +camera and photographed at close quarters the identical clump of flowers +that had so nearly proved fatal to his friend, taking care to include in +the picture the severed stem and the shredded leaf which had done the +mischief. And this negative also proved eminently satisfactory. + +As they sat together, on that particular afternoon, examining the two +negative films, Earle suddenly looked up and remarked: + +"That is three times that you have saved my life, Dick; and if I have +not said anything about it up to the present, you mustn't think that I +am not profoundly grateful to you--" + +"Oh, yes, of course, I know, old chap," interrupted Dick, who had an +intense dislike to being effusively thanked for any little service that +it might be in his power to render a friend. "Please oblige me by +saying no more about it. At the same time, let me remark that I have +not the slightest notion of what you are talking about. How do you +reason it out that I've saved your life three times? I only know of--" + +"Three times, I said; and three times I mean," returned Earle. "The +first time was when the _Everest_ sank; the second time was when you got +me out of the fatal embrace of that enveloping leaf; and the third time +was when you gave me that draught that sent me to sleep while I was +delirious. For now that I am again in my right mind, and the danger is +all over, I may as well admit that, while the delirium held me, the +paramount idea in my mind was to get away from you, by hook or by crook, +slip away to the flowers, and throw myself upon another leaf, so that I +might enjoy a repetition of those glorious dreams and sensations that I +told you of. In which case, of course, I should have died. So there +you are." + +"Thanks!" said Dick grimly. "I'm glad you have told me, for I shall now +know exactly what to do, if anything similar should happen." + +Earle's strength was slow to return to him, for there were two adverse +influences with which to contend, one being the depressing influence of +the forest itself in the midst of which they were encamped, while the +other was the total absence of game, which necessitated their falling +back upon the stock of canned and preserved food provided for such an +emergency, in order to sustain the invalid and restore him to perfect +health. At length, however, Earle pronounced himself so far +convalescent as to be capable of resuming the march; and one morning the +party broke camp and continued their journey. The length of the marches +was of course greatly curtailed, especially during the first two or +three days, to fit them to the diminished powers of the invalid, and at +the expiration of that time the party were fortunate enough to pass into +a belt of forest of a totally different character, where game was again +to be found, and from that moment Earle's progress toward complete +recovery was rapid. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +THE GREAT SWAMP AND ITS WEIRD DENIZENS. + +It was on the eleventh day after the resumption of their march that, +quite early in the afternoon, they finally emerged from the forest and +found themselves upon the edge of a swamp, which stretched away ahead +and on either side of them as far as the eye could reach, except that, +in the extreme distance, and in the direction in which they wished to +travel, there was the suggestion of firm and somewhat hilly ground which +might be about thirty miles distant. + +"Gee!" ejaculated Earle, as the party came to a halt by the margin of +the morass-like expanse, "this promises to be a corker, Dick. Eh, what? +Guess we'll have to go into camp for a bit, and explore. I don't at +all like the notion of attempting to force our way across that swamp, if +there is a method of working round it--as of course there is if we are +prepared to travel far enough. This reminds me of Florida, where I once +spent a month shooting 'gators--and other things. I guess there'll be +all the 'gators we want in there, to say nothing of snakes, mosquitos, +scorpions, centipedes, and other `varmint.' No; I guess we'll go round, +if we can; and if we can't, we must make dugouts, and effect the +crossing in them. We'll never be able to do it any other way." + +It was indeed a formidable-looking barrier, this vast expanse of swamp, +that stretched itself, mile after mile, right athwart the party's +course, and its aspect was as dreary and depressing as one could well +imagine. All along its margin the soil was soft, boggy and treacherous, +to such an extent, indeed, that while making a preliminary investigation +of the ground before definitely deciding upon a location for the camp, +Dick suddenly sank in to above his knees, and only succeeded in +extricating himself with the utmost difficulty, assisted though he was +by Earle and some half a dozen Indians, who formed themselves into a +human chain and dragged him out by main force. + +The entire expanse of swamp appeared to be level, with the exception of +a few very trifling elevations here and there, and seemed to consist of +boggy soil covered with a rank growth of coarse grass, reeds, and +stunted bush, sparsely dotted here and there with a few gnarled and +unwholesome-looking trees, the whole intersected by a labyrinth of +canals filled with stagnant water, which wound hither and thither in a +most purposeless and bewildering fashion. That insect life abounded +there was manifest at the most cursory glance, for great clouds of +midges or flies could be seen hovering in the air in every direction, +while Earle's surmise as to the presence of alligators was abundantly +confirmed by the frequent roaring of the creatures. The forest seemed +to grow close up to the margin of the swamp everywhere, a mere narrow +strip of open ground some twenty to thirty yards wide, dividing the two. + +A fairly satisfactory site for the camp having at length been found, +Earle and Dick, armed with rifle and automatic, and each accompanied by +an Indian carrying a machete, set off in opposite directions to explore +the margin of the swamp, in the hope of discovering a spot from which a +promising start to cross might be made; while King Cole, quite unable to +decide which of his masters he would accompany, finally laid down with +his head between his paws and whined pitifully, refusing to be comforted +by anybody. + +Warned by his recent mishap, Dick was careful to give the treacherous +margin of the swamp a wide berth. The route he was pursuing led about +due south; and for nearly an hour he pursued his way at a good brisk +pace, uneventfully and without finding anything like that of which he +was in search. Eventually, however, he arrived at a point where the +edge of the forest abruptly receded toward the east, leaving a wide +expanse of bare soil, beyond which, at a distance of a short quarter of +a mile, the swamp again appeared, stretching away limitlessly toward the +south and east. Apparently, the only thing to do was to follow the +northerly margin of solid ground, which seemed to trend away in a +westerly direction, the direction namely in which Earle wished to +travel, and this Dick accordingly did. He followed this course for +about half an hour, finding the tongue of firm ground which he was +traversing vary in width, from time to time, from several yards to, in +places, merely enough for a man conveniently to walk upon, while it +twisted hither and thither in the most erratic fashion, although on the +whole it continued to push its way steadily westward toward the heart of +the swamp. Then, glancing at the declining sun, he decided that he must +retrace his steps if he desired to get back to camp before dark. + +Thus far, the afternoon's journey had been wholly uneventful, excepting +for the persistent attacks of the myriads of mosquitoes and flies which +swarmed in great clouds about the two adventurers to such an extent that +there were times when they were compelled to halt and beat the pests off +their bodies. But now they had something else than flies and mosquitoes +to think about, for they had scarcely progressed a quarter of a mile on +their return when, as they approached a spot where the firm soil +narrowed to a mere causeway, scarcely two feet in width, Dick, who was +leading, suddenly became aware of a strange and formidable-looking +creature squatting at the far extremity of the causeway, apparently +awaiting their approach. + +As his eyes fell upon it Cavendish came to a halt so suddenly that the +Indian in his rear cannoned into him, nearly knocking him into the black +water alongside. + +"Steady, Moquit!" exclaimed Dick, addressing his follower in the Indian +tongue, in which he was rapidly acquiring a considerable degree of +proficiency. "Look ahead, Moquit. What is that thing? Have you ever +seen anything like it before?" + +"Never, master," answered Moquit, staring with bulging eyes at the +apparition, which in its turn was staring back at them. "I like it not. +Toqui preserve us!"--(Toqui was the name of Moquit's most revered +god)--"it looks like a slayer of men. Had not master better destroy it +with his fire tube, lest it cross over and devour us?" + +"I do not think we need greatly fear that," answered Dick, holding his +rifle in readiness nevertheless. "The causeway is too narrow for the +brute to cross. What, in the name of Fortune, can the beast be?" he +concluded in his own tongue. + +He might well wonder; for never in his life before had he seen such a +creature, either alive, dead, or even in a picture. And yet--stay! As +he looked at the thing more intently, there seemed to gradually float +into his memory a hazy sort of recollection that he _had_ seen a picture +or representation of the creature which squatted there stolidly some +thirty yards before him. + +According to Cavendish's own subsequent description, which was confirmed +in every particular by Moquit, the general impression conveyed was that +of a gigantic frog, as big as an ox, but with several important +modifications, one of which was that its capacious mouth was furnished +with a most formidable set of sharp, curved, dagger-like teeth, of which +the observers gained an excellent view, since the creature opened its +mouth several times. It was a quadruped; that is to say, it was +provided with four legs, but while its front legs were so short as to be +little more than rudimentary, its hind legs were as long and apparently +as powerful, proportionately, as those of a kangaroo. And, like a +kangaroo, it was provided with a long tail, as thick at the root as its +own body, tapering away to a blunt point. Indeed, as Dick remarked, he +could scarcely describe the creature better than by likening it to what +he conceived might be the appearance of a cross between a frog and a +kangaroo. It had a pair of big, staring eyes, its toes were armed with +long, murderous-looking claws, and its brownish-yellow skin was mottled +all over with wart-like protuberances. + +For fully five minutes, Dick supposes, he stood intently studying the +peculiarities of the extraordinary creature, animated much more by +curiosity than by any sense of fear, for he had somehow fully persuaded +himself that the beast would not hazard the passage of that narrow +causeway, while in any case a shot or two from the U.M.C. Remington, +which the young Englishman carried, would of a surety put an end to the +creature's career. Then, as Dick still stood watching and perhaps +waiting for developments of some sort, the great brute suddenly rose +upon its hind legs and, uttering a curious squealing sound, launched +itself into the air with a terrific spring which Cavendish saw with +consternation would bring the beast right upon him. Quick and +unexpected as was the action, however, it did not take Dick wholly by +surprise; on the contrary, as though by instinct, he threw up the muzzle +of his rifle, pressed the trigger, and heard the bullet thud as it +struck the leaping body. A loud, horrible scream escaped the brute as +the bullet smote it. It writhed in mid-air, and that writhe caused it +to fall into the water instead of landing upon Dick's body, as it must +otherwise have done. It fell with a terrific splash which drenched Dick +and Moquit, and still writhing with pain, instantly turned, with the +evident intention of climbing out and attacking the two men. But by +this time Dick had begun to realise the dangerous character of the +creature, and, rapidly levelling his rifle again, shot it through the +head as it laid its two front paws upon the bank preparatory to climbing +out. With a moaning gasp, the great body relaxed and slowly settled +back into the water, where it presently turned over on its back and +floated, dead. Less than a minute later, while Dick and Moquit still +stood staring in amazement at the weird creature, there came a sudden, +violent swirling in the black water, and the heads of some six or seven +enormous alligators appeared round the body. The great jaws of the +reptiles opened, and the carcass was violently dragged hither and +thither as the huge saurians tugged fiercely at it. Dick did not wait +to see the issue of the struggle, but skipped nimbly across the +causeway, with Moquit close upon his heels, and made the best of his way +back to camp, where he found Earle already anxiously awaiting him. + +"Well," demanded the American, as Cavendish came within hail, "have you +met with any luck? I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy about you, for +we seem to have struck a rather dangerous streak of country here." + +"What!" exclaimed Dick. "Have you, too, been meeting with adventures, +then?" + +"Of a sort, yes; though nothing worth speaking about," answered Earle. +"Simply met the biggest python I've ever seen; and as the beggar seemed +in a quarrelsome humour and spoiling for a fight, I shot him. And you? +I sort of gather from your last remark that you have met with an +adventure of some sort. Is that so?" + +"You bet!" answered Dick, who was almost unconsciously adopting many of +Earle's expressive idioms. And he proceeded to relate in detail the +occurrences of the afternoon. + +"Gee!" exclaimed Earle, when his companion had finished. "That sounds +interesting. I wonder what the brute can have been." (He was referring +to the strange beast which Dick had shot). "Do you think you could draw +a picture of him?" + +"Oh yes, after a fashion," answered Dick, who was really rather clever +with his pencil and brush in an amateurish fashion. "He was something +like this." And, whipping out his pocket-book, he rapidly produced a +very spirited pencil sketch of the unknown creature. + +"Gee!" repeated Earle, studying the sketch. "Say, Dick, this is +intensely interesting. The thing looks absolutely new to me. And yet-- +I don't quite know. Seems to me that I've somewhere seen something a +bit like it before--" + +"That's what I thought," said Dick; "though I'm quite prepared to swear +that I never before saw the actual thing itself. I should have +remembered it if I had." + +"Y-e-s, I guess you would," returned Earle, still thoughtfully +considering the sketch. At length he returned the book to Dick, +remarking: + +"Then you think there is just a possibility that we may be able to cross +the swamp by way of that tongue of firm ground that you explored this +afternoon? In that case, I guess we'll try it. We may succeed; and if +we do, it will save us a long journey round; for I was unable to find +the northern end of the swamp this afternoon, although, before turning +back I climbed the highest tree in the neighbourhood and carefully +searched the whole of the visible country through my Goertz prismatics. +We will try that tongue of land of yours to-morrow, Dick. And as for +the flies and things, I guess we can beat them by enveloping our heads +in gauze veils and wearing gloves. I brought some green gauze along +expressly to meet such a contingency. Learned the wrinkle in Africa, +where the flies and mosquitoes used to drive me pretty nearly crazy." + +An hour after sunrise on the following morning found the expedition en +route, and in due time it reached the tongue of firm ground which Dick +had discovered during the preceding afternoon. Here the two leaders +enveloped their heads, helmets and all, in capacious veils of green +gauze which Earle had produced during the preceding evening. + +Earle was in exceptionally high spirits that morning. The story of +Dick's encounter with the strange beast had intensely interested him, +for he was by way of being a naturalist, as well as a good many other +things, and he was naturally eager to get a sight of another creature of +the same species. Then a view at close quarters of the swamp added +further to his excitement, for even then, in the dazzling glare of the +morning sun, there was a certain suggestion of weirdness and uncanniness +about the place that appealed very strongly to his imagination. To +young, prosaic Dick Cavendish, a sailor pure and simple, whose only +knowledge of science was that connected with navigation, the swamp was +just--well, a swamp, and nothing more; but, to Earle's higher scientific +intelligence it was an absorbingly interesting mystery. For they had +scarcely penetrated it to the depth of a mile before the American began +to be aware that the character of his surroundings was undergoing a +subtle change, the herbage underfoot, the rushes that edged the lagoons +and water channels, the plants that here and there in wide patches hid +the surface of the water, the ferns that decked the banks of the +water-courses, were all new and strange to him; and this, in conjunction +with Dick's adventure here, less than twenty-four hours ago, generated +within him a thrilling conviction that he was on the brink of great and +important discoveries. + +Presently Dick turned to him and said, pointing: "You see where the +ground narrows away to a mere ridge, ahead there? It was just on this +side of it that the queer beast was squatting when I first caught sight +of him." + +"That so?" responded Earle, coming to a sudden standstill. "Halt there, +men; don't advance another step until I tell you," he ordered, wheeling +round and holding up his hand. + +"Now then, Dick," he continued, "you and I will go forward, carefully +examining the soil for footprints. Perhaps, if we are in luck, we may +succeed in finding an impression, though I am afraid the ground is +rather too dry--stay, what is this?" + +Stretching out his hand to stay Dick's incautious advance, Earle went +down on one knee and carefully examined a faint impression on the +ground. It consisted of a slight depression in the thin dust overlaying +the hard earth, practically circular in shape and about the size of the +palm of a man's hand, and beyond it, at a distance of about three feet +six inches, there were three somewhat deeper impressions, about a foot +apart, such as might be made by the sharp claws of an animal. + +"I guess this looks very much as though it might be one of the +footprints of your friend," remarked Earle, after he had intently +studied the impression for a full minute or more; "but it is very +imperfect and indistinct; not nearly clear enough to be satisfactory. +Let's go on a bit; perhaps we may find others. If not, we'll come back +and examine this again. Go carefully, old chap, and if you see any +other marks, don't tread on them, for goodness' sake." + +Crouching low and advancing a single step at a time, as they carefully +scanned the ground before them, the two friends had covered a distance +of some five yards when they came upon two more impressions, a little +more distinctly marked than the first. They were about six feet apart, +but in line athwart the path, and suggested the idea of having been made +by the landing of the creature upon the ground after a forward jump. +These, too, Earle carefully examined before proceeding, and then the two +friends went on to the spot where Dick had seen the thing squatting. +And here, the soil being considerably more moist and clayey, they found, +to Earle's intense delight, some half a dozen deep and perfectly clear +imprints, only two of which had been partially obliterated by the feet +of Dick and Moquit on their return after killing the beast. The +imprints somewhat resembled those of a thick-toed bird, but were +immensely larger than the spoor of any known bird, measuring exactly +three feet nine and a quarter inches from the back of the heel to the +front of the middle claw--which seemed to be some six inches longer than +the two others--and two feet two inches across from one outer claw to +the other; the indent showing that the middle claw was fourteen inches +long. + +"Gosh!" exclaimed Earle excitedly, as he rose to his full height after +having made a careful figured drawing of the impression in his +pocket-book--"what would I not give for enough plaster of paris to make +a cast of that footprint! Guess it will make some of the professors at +home sit up and take notice when they see this drawing in the book, +which I mean to publish when I get back. Most of 'em won't believe it, +I expect. They'll denounce it as a traveller's tale. Hold on, though, +I'll take a photograph--two or three photographs--of the impressions; +perhaps that will convince them. You shall stand just there, Dick, and +I'll include you in one of the pictures, to act as a sort of scale." + +The photographs were duly taken; and then Earle expressed the utmost +anxiety to secure the carcass of the creature itself. But, as Dick +reminded his companion, the creature had no sooner been killed than it +became a prey to several alligators of formidable size, therefore any +attempt to fish up the remains from the bottom of the canal would be +certain to result in failure. And when Dick, pressing home his point, +inquired whether Earle proposed to dive to the bottom in search of the +body, the American reluctantly admitted that even his scientific ardour +was scarcely equal to the adoption of such a course. The march was +therefore resumed, after about an hour's delay, Earle consoling himself +with the hope that one specimen of the unknown monster having been found +in the swamp, others might also exist there, and they might be fortunate +enough to encounter one or more of them. + +Naturally, the party's rate of travelling was slow; for not only was +Earle now constantly engaged in searching the ground for further "sign" +of creatures possibly peculiar to the swamp, but halts were frequently +being called while suspicious indications were carefully investigated; +consequently when the mid-day halt was at length called, it was +estimated that the party had not penetrated the swamp to a distance of +more than some six or seven miles as the crow flies, though, of course, +they had actually traversed a distance nearly half as much again. But, +even so, Earle was quite satisfied with what had been done so far; while +there was still no sign of a break in the continuity of the firm soil +upon which they had been travelling. + +The camp was pitched at a point where it widened out until there was +fully a hundred yards of it between the two stretches of water to right +and left, while on the right hand, or northern side of this wide space, +the canal-like watercourse had given place to a sort of lagoon, nearly a +mile long by about half that width. The water in this lagoon was much +cleaner and more wholesome-looking than that in the canals, yet Earle +considered that it would be unwise to use it for drinking purposes; he +therefore selected a spot and set a couple of Indians to work to dig a +pit in search of water, which he expected to find at a depth of two or +three feet, such water to be first filtered and then boiled before use. +And while the digging was proceeding, Earle and Dick took up a position +on the summit of a low knoll a few yards away, and examined their +surroundings through their prismatic glasses. + +Suddenly Dick turned to his companion and pointed. + +"I say, Earle," he exclaimed, "what sort of an anima is that? Surely it +is not a wild boar, though it looks a bit like the pictures I have seen +of them." + +"Where?" demanded Earle, who had been looking in another direction. +"Oh! I see," he continued, catching sight of the creature at which Dick +was pointing, and which was standing at the edge of a little strip of +beach, about a quarter of a mile away, on the opposite side of the +water. + +The two raised their glasses to their eyes and proceeded to watch the +animal, which seemed to have a desire to drink, but was debating within +itself the question of how far it would be prudent to enter the water +even as far as would be necessary to enable it to do so. It was +standing quite still, staring down into the water, and thus afforded an +excellent opportunity for careful inspection. + +"N-o," answered Earle slowly, after he had studied the appearance of the +creature for nearly a minute--"it certainly is not a boar, though it is +not altogether unlike one. But it is too big for a boar. Looks to me +more like a hyaena--though of course I know there are no such creatures +in this country. Also it is far too big to be a hyaena--unless it is an +entirely new species. And the thing has tusks, just like a wild boar. +Now, what the mischief can it be? It is rather too far off for a dead +shot, or I would have a try at it; but it would be a pity to merely +wound it and scare it away. Say! is there any way of getting across to +the other side, short of swimming?" + +"I'm afraid not," answered Dick. "And after what I saw yesterday I +wouldn't give a farthing for the chance of anybody who should attempt to +swim in these waters." + +Dick still had his glasses to his eyes as he spoke; and even as the last +words left his lips he had an impression of something stealthily moving +in the long herbage some distance to the rear of the strange animal +which they were watching. He was about to direct Earle's attention to +the circumstance when, from the spot where he had observed the stealthy +movement, a great body rose into the air with a tremendous leap and +hurtling through the intervening space, descended fair and square upon +the body of the creature standing by the water's edge. + +"Gee-rusalem!" shouted Earle, as the harsh scream of the stricken animal +pealed out on the stagnant air. "See that, Cavendish?" + +"Sure!" responded Dick. "Take particular notice of that last brute, +Earle; for as sure as my name is Cavendish, it is another of the same +kind that I killed yesterday." + +"My revered ancestors! You don't say so!" gasped Earle. "Sure?" + +"Absolutely certain," averred Dick. + +"But--but--man alive--" stammered Earle in his excitement, "you told me +that the thing you shot yesterday was a sort of cross between a frog and +a kangaroo, and that beast doesn't suggest at all that sort of idea to +me. What a ferocious beast it is! He is literally tearing the other +poor brute to pieces." + +"Yes," agreed Dick. "And I am just now beginning to understand what a +narrow squeak I had yesterday. For that fellow is exactly like the +thing I killed yesterday, though, now that I see him broadside-on, the +resemblance, whether to a frog or a kangaroo, is not so strong as it was +when I was facing him. But there are the same long, powerful hind legs, +the same almost invisible front ones, the same gaping mouth filled with +strong, dagger-like teeth, the same long, thick, pointed tail--in short, +the same creature from stem to stern." + +"But the head of that thing is more like an alligator's than a frog's," +objected Earle. "And then, look at that serrated arrangement of the +skin--I suppose it is--from the back of the head to the extremity of the +tail. You never said anything about that." + +"No," admitted Dick, "I believe I didn't; but the other thing had it, +all the same. I remember noticing it, now that you call my attention to +it. I tell you that the two creatures are identical in every respect, +except that this one looks to be a bit bigger than the other. Do you +happen to know what the thing is called?" + +"N-o, I am not sure that I do," answered Earle, "but I'll find out as +soon as ever I get back to New York. I shall remember the appearance of +the beast all right, now that I've actually seen it, and I guess there +will be somebody who can tell me. Say! Dick, I wouldn't have missed +this sight for a thousand dollars; and I'd give ten thousand to get the +skin and skeleton of the brute. If I could but secure them, I'd go +straight back to New York at once, and leave Manoa for another time. +Isn't there _any_ way by which we could get across that insignificant +strip of water?" + +"Not without a boat or a raft of some sort, I'm afraid," answered Dick. +"And there is nothing hereabout from which we could construct even the +most elementary sort of raft. Besides, before we could put anything +together, even if we had the material, the brute would be gone. See, he +has almost gorged the whole of his prey already." + +"I've a mind to try a shot at him--and I will, too," said Earle. "Hi, +there, Peter, bring me my point-three-five Remington and some +cartridges. Hurry, you black angel! Perhaps if the brute is very +savage, and we can attract his attention, or hurt him a bit, he may take +it into his head to attack us. He could jump across the stream a little +lower down, easily enough. Or he may be a swimmer. He looks a good +deal more like a reptile than a beast, anyhow." + +Peter, the black cook, came running up at this juncture with the +Remington, and Earle, snatching it from him, quickly adjusted the back +sight and throwing himself prone upon the ground, took careful aim at +the formidable-looking brute, which had ceased to feed and was now +squatting on its haunches, facing toward the two men. A few seconds of +suspense and the rifle flashed, the hum of the bullet was heard, and +then a thud as it struck. Coincident with the thud of the bullet, the +great body sprang high into the air, a loud, blood-curdling scream +pealed out, and then, with a succession of prodigious leaps, it +disappeared among the rank herbage. + +The result was a bitter disappointment for Earle, who declared that he +would not move from the spot until he had satisfied himself that it was +impossible to cross to the other side of the water. But, short of +swimming, there was no means of crossing, for there was nothing +wherewith to make a raft of even the most flimsy description. This fact +being at length conclusively established, the march was resumed +immediately after the conclusion of the mid-day meal. + +About an hour before sunset that day, they were rather unexpectedly +brought to a halt by finding themselves on a small peninsula of some +five acres in extent, thrusting itself forward into a great lagoon, the +waters of which stretched away on either hand for many miles, while in +the direction toward which they wished to travel, the nearest point of +land was distant about a mile and a half. After surveying their +surroundings for some time, the two leaders agreed that it was too late +in the day to retrace their steps across the narrow isthmus by which +they had arrived and seek some other route; the camp was therefore +pitched on the south-westerly slope of the peninsula, quite close to a +little strip of sandy beach, with a background consisting of a hummock +some fifteen feet high crowned by an extensive clump of strange-looking +shrubs, the nature of which Earle was anxious to investigate. + +The day had been overpoweringly hot, the sun blazing down upon them +unintermittently out of a cloudless sky; but now, while the camp was +being pitched, a thin haze began insidiously to overspread the blue, +while away toward the south-west a great bank of slatey blue cloud +appeared above the ridge of the distant hills, working up against the +wind and seeming to portend a thunderstorm. + +Now that they had come to a halt, the leaders mutually confessed to a +feeling of great fatigue, while the listless manner in which the Indians +were going about their duties showed that they, too, were longing for an +opportunity to rest their weary limbs. Earle flung himself down upon +the short moss-like turf bordering the strip of beach and gazed +longingly at the rippling waters of the lagoon as they sparkled in the +slanting rays of the declining sun. Unlike the turbid, black and almost +stagnant water in the canals which they had been passing during the +day's march, the tiny wavelets which rippled in upon the adjacent beach +were crystal clear, and gave off the fresh, wholesome smell of pure +water; and when, a little later, Earle rose languidly to his feet, and +advancing a few paces to the water's edge, scooped up a handful of the +liquid and tasted it, he expressed the opinion that it was quite +wholesome enough for drinking purposes. + +"And it is deliciously cool, too," he remarked to Dick. "For two pins I +would strip and have a swim." + +"Not if I know it, my friend," retorted Dick. "I grant you that the +water looks almost irresistibly tempting, and I have no doubt that a +swim would be amazingly refreshing--if we could only be sure of going in +and coming out again unharmed. But who knows what dangers may be +lurking beneath that sparkling surface? The place may be swarming with +alligators, for aught that we know, and--" + +"Why, you surely don't mean to say that you are afraid, Dick?" + +"No, I don't," returned Dick, "and if there were any real necessity to +do so, I would not hesitate a moment to plunge in and swim across to the +other side. But when one knows that there is a possibility of being +seized and pulled down by an alligator, I contend that it would be folly +to risk one's life merely for the pleasure of a swim. I once saw a man +seized by a shark. We were becalmed in the Indian Ocean, and the fellow +determined to avail himself of the opportunity to go overboard and +indulge in the luxury of a salt-water bath; so he got a chum to go up +into the foretopmast crosstrees and have a look round. The chum +signalled all clear, and the would-be bather slipped surreptitiously +over the bows, passed along the martingale stays, dropped quietly into +the water, and struck out. And before he had swum three strokes a shark +darted from under the ship's bottom and--that was the end of him. No, +sir--look there! See that swirl? That means something big--an +alligator, or a big fish of some sort, which is as likely as not to be +dangerous. No; no swimming for me--or for you, either, thank you. But +it wouldn't be at all a bad idea to have our portable bath-tubs set up +on the sand, and have a good dip in them." + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE GREAT SWAMP. + +With the setting of the sun, the gentle zephyr of a breeze that had been +blowing all day dropped, and the night fell, close and suffocatingly +hot. A young moon hung low over the western horizon, but the bank of +thunder cloud was rising fast, and by the time that the two friends had +finished their evening meal, the silver sickle of the moon had become +effaced, as had the stars, by the thickening of the veil of haze which +had been gradually over-spreading the heavens. + +So close and breathless was the atmosphere that the two friends declared +the interior of the tent to be insupportable, they therefore walked down +to near the inner margin of the beach and flung themselves down upon the +curious moss-like turf, to indulge in their usual after-dinner chat and +watch the gathering of the storm that now seemed inevitable, while Earle +smoked. For a wonder, there were neither flies, mosquitoes, nor midges +on this little peninsula; there was therefore nothing but the excessive +heat and the closeness of the atmosphere to interfere with their +comfort. The Indians were camped on the summit of the mound, grouped as +usual round a small fire, the materials for which they had collected +during the day's march, and were conversing in low tones, while they, +too, smoked. King Cole, who had dined luxuriously and to repletion upon +a big bustard-like bird which Earle had shot an hour or two earlier, +crouched at the feet of his two masters, purring contentedly. + +The conversation between the two friends, which was of a desultory and +discursive character, ebbed and flowed in unison with the interest of +the speakers, and was punctuated with many spells of silence while the +two gazed dreamily out across the glass-like surface of the lagoon, +indistinguishable now in the velvet blackness, save when a faint flicker +of sheet lightning momentarily illuminated it. At the beginning the +night was intensely still and silent; there was not even the customary +hum of insects or rolling clatter of frogs to accentuate the silence, +under the influence of which the white men first, and finally the +Indians, fell silent. Then the fatigue consequent upon the day's toil +began to make itself felt, and after a somewhat longer spell of silence +than usual, Earle allowed his body to settle back luxuriously upon the +soft sward and soon gave audible evidence that he was fast asleep, +whereupon Dick promptly followed his companion's example. + +Their sleep was, however, destined to be of brief duration. They were +both by this time so thoroughly accustomed to the ordinary nocturnal +sounds of the wild that, although so fully aware of them as to be able +instantly to detect anything unusual in their character, and to start up +awake in a moment if the unusual note seemed to portend danger, they +could still sleep soundly and refreshingly through them all. But the +nocturnal sounds of this particular night were of so startling a +character that sleep soon became an impossibility. + +They began with a low, melancholy, distant howl which, while it +penetrated the consciousness of the sleepers, failed to disturb them, +because its remoteness was a guarantee against imminent danger, and +nothing less than imminent danger now had the power to chase sleep from +those seasoned wanderers. Nor were the howls any more effective as +disturbers of the party's rest after several repetitions in varying +keys. But when a weird, unearthly, blood-curdling scream rang out upon +the startled air it awoke the entire party upon the instant, though the +sound seemed to emanate from a considerable distance. + +"What the dickens was that?" demanded Dick, sitting up and instinctively +groping for his rifle. + +"Give it up," returned Earle. "No, I don't though," he quickly added. +"I guess it's that thing I shot at and wounded during the mid-day halt, +or another of the same species." + +"Y-e-s, very possibly," agreed Dick. "Look at King Cole. What is the +matter with him now, I wonder?" + +By the declining light of the fire on the summit of the hillock the +panther could be seen, in a half-standing, half-crouching attitude, a +few paces away, staring intently out across the black water, his black +fur all a-bristle, and his body visibly quivering with either excitement +or fear. + +"King--King Cole, come here, sir! What's the matter with you, anyway?" +called Earle. And the animal at once turned and crept cowering to the +feet of the pair, his eyes glowing like a pair of green lamps, and his +lips drawn into a silent snarl. + +That the weird cry was not repeated in no wise detracted from its +startling character; but although profound silence followed, it did not +remain long unbroken, for a few minutes later there came the sound as of +great wings sweeping hither and thither. And scarcely had this sound +died away when it was succeeded by others--low moans, sighs, whistlings, +grunts, bellowings, rustlings, splashings--some from a considerable +distance, others apparently close at hand; some obviously from the land +to the rear of the party, and others quite as obviously from the water +in their front. And, most disturbing consideration of all, every one of +them was absolutely unfamiliar, therefore in some vague, undefinable +fashion, the more alarming. This effect was quickly made manifest by +the agitated murmurings of the Indians, and the haste with which they +replenished the dying fire, heaping on fuel with such a lavish hand +that, for the space of a few yards all round the blaze, the light was +almost as brilliant as that of day. + +"Gee!" exclaimed Earle, as the weird sounds multiplied on all sides, +"what would I not give for a full moon and a clear sky, just now. Bet +your life, Dick, there are some very queer scenes being enacted all +round us at this moment, had we but light to reveal them. I have come +to the conclusion that this swamp is unique in many respects. By some +freak of nature, things here are entirely different from what they are +elsewhere. Even the vegetation is new and strange to me; and I am +convinced that it is also the home of many forms of animal life unknown +elsewhere. The exasperating part of the whole thing is that most of the +creatures inhabiting it seem to be of nocturnal habit, hiding themselves +during the day, and only emerging into the open at night. Just listen +now to the hubbub of sound all about us. Why, the place must be fairly +teeming with life! And, by a perverse combination of circumstances, we +can see nothing of it--Ah! thank goodness, the lightning is becoming +more vivid. I would give a good round sum for a real first-class +thunderstorm; and, by ginks! I believe we are going to have it." + +It seemed quite probable, for as though in response to Earle's ardently +expressed desire, a brilliant flash of sheet lightning flickered out of +the now rapidly rising bank of cloud over the distant hills, illumining +the landscape for the fraction of a second, during which a momentary +glimpse was afforded of certain strange forms dotting the waters of the +lagoon; but the illumination was too brief to leave anything more than +the most vague impression of those forms upon the retina of the +observers. The glimpse, however, transient as it was, revealed enough +to stimulate their interest and curiosity to the highest pitch, and the +two friends, with their rifles grasped ready for instant action, sprang +to their feet and stood eagerly awaiting further revelation with the +next flash of lightning, while the Indians, cowering round the roaring +fire on the summit of the knoll, were visibly suffering the extremity of +terror. + +Then, while the two friends stood together awaiting the coming of +another lightning flash, with King Cole quivering and shivering at their +feet, a huge shape, elusively revealed in the flickering firelight, +slowly emerged from the intense darkness overshadowing the lagoon, +ponderously splashing through the shallows toward the beach--and toward +the two white men, a pair of enormous eyes, glistening in the uncertain +light of the flames, being all that could be distinctly seen. The +thing--whatever it may have been--was not more than ten yards distant +when first seen, and there was a gleam of such deadly malignancy in +those two glistening eyes, and a suggestion of such implacable purpose +in the ponderous movement of the imperfectly seen bulk, that Earle and +Dick, taken completely unawares by its sudden appearance, incontinently +flung up their rifles and fired, at the precise moment that King Cole, +utterly demoralised by the weird apparition, sprang to his feet and +fled, snarling, to the rear. The two rifles spoke as one, and instantly +following the whip-like reports, the double clap of the bullets was +heard--not a dull sound like that of a bullet striking yielding flesh, +but a sharp crack, suggesting the impingement of lead upon unyielding +bone; there was a frightful bellowing roar, a terrific splash, the spray +of which flew over and far beyond the two white men, and the thing was +gone. + +"Well, `shiver my timbers!' as you sailors are supposed to remark," +exclaimed Earle in tones of ineffable disgust. "If that doesn't beat +the band! Oh, Dick Cavendish--and Wilfrid Earle, you--you twenty-volume +unabridged fools, why on earth couldn't you have waited another two or +three seconds before shootin' and so have made sure of getting the +brute? Kick me, Dick, and I'll kick you, for we both deserve it! It +was the chance of a lifetime, and we flung it away by being over-eager. +I'm ashamed of you, Dick--and a blamed sight more ashamed of myself; for +I am an old hand at this sort of thing, while you are comparatively +fresh at it, and therefore there is some sort of excuse for you, while +there is none for me." + +"But we hit him," remonstrated Dick. "What more do you want?" + +"Hit him!" retorted Earle, disgustedly. "Of course we hit him; we +couldn't help hitting him. He was as big as a house! But, my gentle +boy, that wasn't enough. We wanted to kill him, so that we might have a +chance to see what he looked like. Hit him! Yes; we hit him on his +skull, and the blows sounded as though his head was encased in five-inch +Harveyized armour plate! If we had waited five seconds longer, we +should have had a good view of him and been able to shoot him through +the heart--if he happens to possess such an organ." + +"That's all very fine," retorted Dick. "But I'll bet that if we had +waited the extra five seconds, you would still have aimed to hit him +fair between the eyes--as I did." + +"Well--yes, I guess I should," returned Earle, his vexation suddenly +evaporating. "As a matter of fact, that is the precise spot I aimed at. +And as you say that you did also, we will hope that one at least of our +bullets got home, and that to-morrow morning, we shall find him floating +dead out there in the offing waiting to be inspected. Anyway, there is +no sense in crying over spilt milk; and who knows what chances may still +be in store for us. And now, Dick, while your memory is still fresh, +have the goodness to describe to me exactly the impression left upon +your mind by what you saw. Gee! what a time the inhabitants of this +swamp seem to be having. The row is growing worse than ever." + +Dick dutifully responded to his friend's request, but alas! his +description amounted to very little more than the bald statement that +the thing struck him as possessing a body about as bulky as an elephant, +standing upon disproportionately short legs; that the eyes were as big +round as dinner-plates; that they glared with a most unholy malevolence; +and that they were spaced about thirty inches apart. These details, +such as they were, corresponded with the impression produced upon Earle, +who forthwith proceeded to jot down the meagre facts in his notebook by +the light of the fire. + +Meanwhile the "row," as Earle had observed, seemed to be growing worse +than ever, and it was presently added to by the low mutterings of +distant thunder, the precursor of what threatened to be a thunderstorm +of unusual violence. The flickering of sheet lightning became more +frequent, while occasional flashes of forked lightning emanating from a +point low down upon the south-western horizon, began to light up the +surroundings for a fraction of a second with their transient glare. +Soon low moaning sounds became fitfully audible far aloft, and little +scurrying gusts of hot wind came sweeping across the lagoon, causing the +fire on the knoll to roar and blaze with sudden intensity, while the +sparks flew far inland. + +"Stand by the topsail halliards!" remarked Dick, with a grin. "We are +going to have it hot and heavy in a minute or two, or I'm a Dutchman!" +And the words were hardly out of his mouth when, with a shrieking roar, +the tempest swooped down upon them, and they abruptly sat down, to avoid +being swept off their feet, while the blazing embers of the fire, +snatched up by the wind, went whirling far and wide. At the same +instant a flash of blindingly vivid lightning leapt from the zenith and +seemed to strike the waters of the lagoon only a few yards away, while +simultaneously there came a crash of thunder that caused their ears to +ring and tingle, and effectually deafened them for several minutes. +This was the outburst of the storm, which thereafter raged with +indescribable fury for a full hour, the lightning incessantly flashing +all round the little knoll with such dazzling brilliancy that the entire +landscape, almost to its uttermost confines, was nearly as fully +revealed as at noonday, while the thunder crashed and rattled and boomed +with a nerve-shattering violence that effectually drowned all other +sounds. And, to add still further to the weird impressiveness of the +scene, the storm had scarcely been raging ten minutes when the swamp was +seen to be on fire in several places immediately to leeward of the +knoll, the dry herbage having been undoubtedly kindled by the flying +embers and sparks of the fire, which had been completely swept away by +the wind. For the first half-hour of its duration the storm was a dry +one, that is to say, it was unaccompanied by rain; and while the tempest +raged about them Dick and Earle lay prone, side by side, watching the +marvellous scene revealed by the incessant lightning flashes. And Earle +afterwards confided to Dick--and, still later, to many others--that what +he then beheld more than repaid him for all that the entire journey cost +him, not only in money, but also in toil and privation. For although +the flickering of the lightning and its almost blinding vividness were +by no means conducive to accuracy of observation, he saw enough to fully +confirm his previous conviction that the swamp was the habitat of +several forms of life hitherto unknown and unsuspected by naturalists. +True, most of the creatures seen were apparently amphibious, their forms +only partially revealed as they sported or fought in the waters of the +lagoon; but transient glimpses were occasionally caught of others +roaming about the patches of dry ground; while all were too distant for +the watchers to obtain any very clear impression of their shapes and +proportions. Then the wind and the lightning suddenly ceased, pitchy +darkness fell upon the scene, and the rain descended in such a deluge as +is known only to those who have dwelt in the tropics, lasting until +within half-an-hour of sunrise. + +The appearance of the sun was hailed with feelings of unqualified +delight by the entire party, for not only did the remaining clouds +vanish with his uprising, but he brought what was, for once, welcome +warmth with him, to the relief of the drenched and thoroughly chilled +occupants of the camp, who had lain exposed for hours to the pitiless +pelting of the rain--Dick and Earle suffering equally with the rest, the +wind having temporarily wrecked their tent. They felt that a hot +breakfast would have been indescribably welcome that morning; but such a +meal was impossible, for the rain had saturated everything and rendered +a fire out of the question; they were consequently obliged to content +themselves with cold viands, which they consumed in haste, for they had +the prospect of a busy day before them. + +The problem which confronted them was, how were they to transport +themselves and their belongings across the lagoon? For it was on the +opposite side of it that their road lay, and if they would proceed, only +two alternatives seemed open to them; one to find some means by which +they could ferry themselves across, while the other was to pass round +one or the other of the extremities of the lagoon. And this last meant +the retracing of their steps for a considerable distance, with the +prospect of a long march to follow, the lagoon extending to right and +left as far as the eye could see. + +It was at this crisis that Huanami, one of the bearers, a Peruvian +half-breed, came to the rescue with a suggestion. During the march of +the previous day, this man, it appeared, had taken note of vast +quantities of a particular kind of reed growing some three or four miles +back, upon the opposite side of a canal-like watercourse, along the +margin of which the party had been travelling, and he was of opinion +that those reeds could be used in the construction of excellent +_balsas_, if they could only be got at. And he believed that it would +be possible to get at them if the white lords would permit him and two +or three of his comrades to go still further back to a point where, on +the near side of the canal, he had noted a sufficient growth of reeds to +construct a single _balsa_ of a capacity which would enable him to float +himself across the canal to the opposite side, where the reeds were +growing in profusion. The suggestion found immediate favour with the +"white lords," for it appeared to indicate the shortest way out of the +difficulty; and orders were at once given to carry it into effect. + +But Earle made one important modification in Huanami's proposal. After +the experiences of the previous day--and, still more, of the past +night--he was not at all disposed to permit two or three unarmed men to +retrace their steps, unaccompanied, with the possibility that they might +be set upon and destroyed by some unknown monster inhabitant of the +swamp; he therefore gave orders for the entire party to countermarch, +and five minutes later they were under way. + +Somewhere about an hour later they reached the spot where the rushes +grew on the opposite side of the canal; and it was at once apparent that +there was a sufficiency to meet the requirements of the party; while at +a further distance of about a mile they came to a bed containing enough +rashes to construct a _balsa_ capable of supporting a single man, or +possibly two men. Huanami cut one of the rushes for Earle's inspection, +and dividing it up into short lengths, showed that it was a bamboo-like +growth, hollow in structure and divided into a series of watertight +compartments by partitions occurring at every notch, rendering it +exceedingly light and buoyant. The average length of the rushes was +about twelve feet, but by a kind of interlacing system a raft, or +_balsa_, of almost any required dimensions could be constructed. + +No time was lost by the party in getting to work upon the first _balsa_, +Huanami cutting great quantities of long, tough bents and plaiting them +up into a kind of rope, while the rest of the Indians cut the reeds. It +was necessary for them to get into the water to do this; but luckily, +the reeds first attacked grew in shallow water, only up to the men's +knees, and while they all worked together, shouting and splashing +vigorously the while, Dick and Earle, armed with repeating rifles, +mounted guard on the bank, holding themselves ready to open fire upon +any marauding alligator or other creature that might threaten to +interrupt the work. No interruption occurred, however, and in less than +an hour the reeds were all cut and the construction of the first _balsa_ +was begun. Huanami proved himself an adept in the art of _balsa_ +construction, and when noon arrived, and with it the hour for the +mid-day meal, the first _balsa_ was complete and ready for service, +including a pair of paddles, also ingeniously made of reeds. + +When at the conclusion of the meal the _balsa_ came to be tried, it was +found to possess buoyancy enough to carry two men safely and +comfortably; the return march along the bank to the spot where the +remainder of the fleet was to be built was therefore immediately +commenced, the builder and his load of impedimenta proceeding by water +at the same time. The _balsa_, it may here be explained, was a very +simple affair indeed, consisting merely of a flat bundle of reeds, +firmly bound together in such a way as to form a sort of raft. The one +already built was about ten feet long and about five feet broad, by +about a foot in depth; but while strong enough for its purpose, it was, +after all, very light, and quite capable of being capsized should an +enterprising alligator take it into his head to attack it; during the +short march to the big reed bed, therefore, Dick and Earle decided that +the next _balsa_ should be constructed of a capacity to accommodate the +entire party, and therefore be heavy and bulky enough to resist anything +short of a concerted attack by a herd of alligators. The construction +of such a craft was of course a somewhat formidable undertaking, though +the other Indians showed themselves apt pupils of Huanami, and the task +was only completed when the sun had already disappeared and darkness was +closing down upon the scene. + +On the following morning the voyage across the lagoon was begun +immediately after breakfast, and accomplished not only without mishap +but without adventure of any kind; for, strangely enough, not one of the +creatures which had been observed disporting themselves in the water +during the preceding night was now visible; indeed, so far as +appearances went, there might not even have been so much as a fish in +the lagoon. A sharp look-out was maintained for the beast that had been +shot at during the night, but neither alive or dead was anything seen of +him. One fact, however, was established during the passage across, and +that was, that the depth of water in the lagoon was far greater than had +hitherto been suspected, a depth of no less than thirty fathoms being +found nearly all the way across except quite close to the margin. + +The journey across consumed close upon two hours, for the _balsa_, while +buoyant enough to support the whole party and their belongings, was, +from the very character of her construction, unwieldy and difficult to +propel; but she arrived safely at last on the south-western shore of the +lagoon. Then a number of canal-like channels being found penetrating +the firm ground, as on the side already traversed, the question arose +whether the journey should be resumed on foot, or an attempt should be +made to continue it on the _balsa_, through the medium of the water +channels. Dick was of opinion that the latter would be the more +expeditious way, it being far easier for the Indians to tow the _balsa_ +loaded with all the belongings of the party, than it would be for them +to carry their loads as heretofore; and this plan was accordingly +adopted. + +Unfortunately, perhaps, they were obliged to abandon the _balsa_ about +mid-afternoon, the water channel abruptly coming to an end, and thus +necessitating a return to their original mode of travel. + +Earle was profoundly disappointed that during practically the entire +day's journey none of the denizens of the swamp had chosen to reveal +themselves, for he had all the naturalist's enthusiasm for the discovery +of new and strange creatures, and was especially anxious to secure a +specimen of the "cross between a frog and a kangaroo" seen and shot by +Dick, and, later, shot at by himself; but, so far as appearances went, +the part of the swamp which they were now traversing might be +tenantless. At length, however, just as the day's journey was drawing +to a close, a bit of luck came his way. For while he and Dick were +glancing about them in search of a suitable spot upon which to camp for +the night, an animal suddenly made its appearance in the open, not more +than fifty yards away, and Earle instantly flung up his rifle and shot +it. It was as big as a donkey and resembled a hare in every respect, +except that it had ears shaped like those of a mouse, while its coat was +of short hair instead of fur. It was entirely new to Earle, and he was +much gratified at securing it, as were the others of the party, for its +flesh proved to be very juicy and palatable. + +Their next adventure occurred during the afternoon of the following day. +They had just passed beyond the confines of the swamp, and were +travelling over somewhat rising ground toward a line of forest +stretching right athwart their path, when, during a temporary halt, +which Dick was utilising to scan the surrounding country through his +field-glasses, he caught a momentary glimpse of what he imagined to be +Indians, moving stealthily about among the boles of the trees, +apparently reconnoitring the party. He directed Earle's attention to +them, and after an eager search with his glasses, the American also +caught sight of them, and agreed with Dick that their movements were +suspicious, and that it would be wise to be prepared for a sudden +attack. They loaded their repeating rifles, each stuck a pair of +automatic pistols in his belt, and when the march was resumed, went on +ahead, accompanied by Inaguy, with the object of establishing a parley +with the strangers. + +But when, some ten minutes later, they arrived at the outskirts of the +forest, there was no sign of them, and no response to Inaguy's repeated +calls in several different Indian dialects. It was not only a puzzling +but also a disconcerting circumstance; for the failure of the strangers +to reply seemed to indicate a hostile disposition; and for the party to +plunge into the depths of the forest with a band of hostile Indians +dogging their footsteps, or perhaps preparing to ambush them, seemed to +Earle the opposite of good generalship; after considering the matter, +therefore, it was decided to camp for the remainder of the day, at a +sufficient distance from the forest to render a surprise attack +impossible, and there await developments. + +This was done, and for about an hour after the camp was pitched, +sentinels being posted about halfway between it and the border of the +forest to give timely notice of a threatened attack, nothing happened. + +Then one of the sentinels shouted that there were people moving among +the trees, upon which Dick and Earle, fully armed, moved out to +reconnoitre, with King Cole as usual at their heels. + +The sentinel was right, as the pair ascertained immediately that they +brought their field-glasses to bear upon the part of the forest +indicated by the Indian. The undergrowth, consisting mostly of bushes +and shrubs, was fairly dense, rendering it impossible to see beyond a +yard or two into the forest, but by diligent and patient search the two +leaders were able to discern certain dark objects, which they identified +as heads, moving hither and thither, and pausing from time to time to +peer out at them through parted boughs. Then suddenly a frightful roar +was heard, immediately taken up and answered by many others, the bushes +swayed as heavy bodies irresistibly forced a way through them, and some +twenty monstrous figures bounded into the open and came charging down +upon the little group, emitting loud, savage roars as they came, with +the foam flying from their champing jaws. + +"G-r-r-eat Caesar's ghost!" exclaimed Earle in amazement, as the +creatures broke cover; "what have we here, anyway? Whatever they may +be, they are certainly not human. And savage--they're as full of gall +as a wagon-load of catamounts! This is where we have to shoot to kill, +Dick, and don't you forget it. We can't begin too soon either, so get +busy, my lad. Darn that Indian! he's scooted. Well, I guess he's +better out of the way after all." + +Earle might well be excused for the astonishment he betrayed at the +sight of the enemy. As he had said, they were certainly not human; they +were, in fact, gigantic apes, somewhat resembling gorillas in their +general appearance, though considerably bigger, their stature being, on +Earle's first hasty estimate, quite six feet. They were covered with +rather long, coarse, shaggy hair, of so dark a brown as to appear almost +black, the hair of the head and face being much longer than on the rest +of the body. Their arms were immensely long in proportion to their +lower limbs; from their build they appeared to be endowed with amazing +strength, a suggestion which was fully confirmed by the consummate ease +with which they flourished boughs of trees of formidable size with which +they had armed themselves. + +They came charging down upon the two white men and the now madly raging +King Cole in a series of long bounds, springing from the ground and +landing upon it with both feet together, each leap being accompanied by +a deep, bellowing roar, the volume of which testified to immense power +of lung, while their small, deeply set eyes blazed with fury. + +"Shoot from the wings, inward," ordered Earle, "then we shall not waste +two bullets upon the same beast. You begin with the one on your extreme +left." + +As Earle spoke he threw up his rifle, and pressing the trigger, neatly +dropped the beast on the extreme right of the advancing line, while Dick +brought down his mark with a broken leg. But these casualties had not +the slightest effect upon the others, who continued their charge without +the smallest sign of a check. + +"Keep cool and shoot straight," admonished Earle, as his rifle spoke a +second time and another foe crashed to earth with a .35 soft-nosed +bullet through his brain. Dick, on the other hand, very much less +hardened than Earle for such a nerve-trying experience as this, grew a +little flurried, and caught his next mark in the shoulder, shattering +the bone and goading the beast to a condition of absolutely maniacal +fury, but failing to stop him until he had sent a bullet through the +brute's lungs, when he halted, coughing up a torrent of blood. And so +matters proceeded until the two men had emptied their Remingtons, the +ten shots accounting for seven dead and two put _hors de combat_. + +There was no time to reload, for the monsters still continued the +charge, apparently quite unconscious of, or supremely indifferent to, +what had happened to their companions; the two men therefore dropped +their empty rifles, and each whipped a seven-shot Colt automatic from +his belt, and continued his fusillade. Those Colt pistols were +formidable weapons, of .45 calibre, at close quarters quite as effective +as the rifles; and before the beasts succeeded in closing, all but four +were down. + +Of those four, King Cole tackled one, launching himself like an arrow at +the creature's throat, with a low snarl of concentrated rage, and +sinking his fangs deeply in the muscular, hairy neck, the claws of his +two fore feet firmly gripping the huge shoulders of the beast while the +strong claws of his powerful hind feet tore open the abdomen and +practically disembowelled his adversary. And as the pair went down, +roaring, snarling, and fighting desperately, Earle thrust the muzzle of +his Colt into the yawning jaws of another and sent the heavy bullet +crashing upward through the brute's skull at the precise instant that +the powerful jaws snapped like a trap upon the barrel of the weapon. + +Meanwhile, the remaining two hurled themselves upon Dick. One of them +he shot clean through the heart as the brute sprang upon him, and +although there can be no doubt that the creature instantly died, the +momentum of his spring was sufficient to dash the lad to the ground and +send his pistol flying. And before he could regain his feet or draw his +remaining pistol, the last survivor was upon him, with a ponderous club +upraised to dash out the youngster's brains. Like lightning the blow +fell; but instinctively and without premeditation Dick just managed to +dodge it; and such was the force of the blow that the club snapped short +off in the brute's great hairy hand. And now the knowledge of boxing +that the young sailor had aforetime somewhat painfully acquired, came to +his aid, for as his ferocious antagonist crouched over him, his great +tusks bared and dripping foam, while the little eyes burnt red with +deadly hate, Dick threw his whole strength into a right-hander, which +caught the beast fair and square on the point of the chin with a crash +that sent the head violently back and caused the vertebrae of the neck +to crack, following up the blow with a punch in the wind that fairly +knocked the beast out of time for the moment. That moment proved +sufficient to save Cavendish's life, for it afforded him time to whip +the remaining pistol from his belt and discharge it full in the brute's +face as it gathered itself together for what would in all probability +have proved a fatal leap, so far as Dick was concerned. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +THE SCULPTURED ROCKS. + +"Bravo! Dick, old chap," exclaimed Earle, turning to his friend, with +one hand outstretched in offered help while the other grasped a smoking +pistol--"well fought! Are you hurt at all?" + +"N-o, I think not," replied Dick, a little doubtfully, as with the help +of the other's proffered hand he scrambled to his feet. "That fellow, +there"--pointing to the body of the ape that had hurled him to the +ground--"pretty nearly knocked the wind out of me, while the other did +his level best to dash my brains out, and I've barked my knuckles rather +badly against his chin; but otherwise I think I'm all right, thanks. +And you?" + +"I?" returned Earle. "Oh, I'm as right as rain. Say, Dick, that was +something like a scrap at the last. What? Guess if it hadn't been for +old King Cole, we'd have been in rather a tight place. Look at the +beggar. Ugh! he is not pleasant to look at when he's real riled, is he? +He has brought off his kill all right, and I guess we'd better leave +him to it a bit. I believe I don't particularly want to interfere with +him just now. Let's draw off a bit and have a look at one of those dead +brutes out yonder. I rather want to examine one; for I guess this is an +entirely new species of monkey." + +"They look to me very much like gorillas," remarked Dick. + +"They do," agreed Earle. "But, all the same, they are not gorillas. +There are no gorillas on this continent, so far as is known. The +gorilla is, I believe, peculiar to Africa. And these creatures, though +they certainly somewhat resemble gorillas in a general way, have certain +points of difference, the most important of which is the shape of the +skull, while another is their much greater bulk. I have shot several +gorillas; but I never saw one to come near any of these brutes in point +of size. By the way, where is the one you stopped with a broken leg? +We may as well put him out of his misery." + +The creature in question was nowhere to be seen; but they eventually got +upon his trail and followed him up to the border of the forest, into +which he had evidently retreated; and they came to the conclusion that, +as he had contrived to get thus far, they would leave him alone and give +him a chance to recover. Then they found one of the dead apes, and +Earle subjected the carcass to a long and exhaustive examination, making +copious notes and discoursing learnedly meanwhile, though it is to be +feared that his remarks and explanations left Dick but little the wiser. +It was close upon sunset when at length they returned to the camp, +where they were shortly afterward joined by King Cole, once more calm +and in his right mind. + +They took the precaution to surround the camp with a circle of fires +that night, to ward off a possible attack, posting a sentinel at each +fire for the double purpose of keeping it going and maintaining a watch. + +The belt of forest which the explorers entered on the following day +proved to be of no very great extent, the passage through it occupying +but a day and a half. Emerging from it, the party crossed a splendid +savannah, abounding in game, chiefly of the antelope variety, and large +birds somewhat resembling bustard, the tameness of which seemed to +indicate that man was practically unknown to them, while it enabled them +to replenish their larder with the utmost ease. This savannah extended +for a distance of about ten miles, and terminated among the foothills of +a range of mountains of very moderate height stretching right athwart +the path of the explorers. Among those foothills the party pitched +their camp at the end of the day's journey. + +The next day's march conducted them into country the character of which +was different from any hitherto traversed by them. It was exceedingly +rugged and broken, treeless, the soil covered with a short, rich grass, +which would have rendered it ideal as grazing country, dotted here and +there with small clumps of bush, some of which were fruit-bearing, while +at frequent intervals great outcrops of metamorphic rock were met with, +which time and weather had in many cases wrought into extraordinary +shapes. + +It was near noon when the party entered a narrow ravine bordered on +either side by vertical sandstone cliffs of about a hundred feet high, +and here they came to a halt and pitched their camp; for no sooner had +they fairly entered the ravine than they found themselves confronted by +a splendid example of those extraordinary sculptured rocks which have +excited the wonder and admiration of the few travellers in South America +who have been fortunate enough to find them. + +In the present case the sculptured rock consisted of a stretch of +sandstone cliff about two hundred and fifty feet in length by about a +hundred feet in height, practically vertical, the entire surface of +which was covered with panels presenting a series of pictures portraying +what appeared to be a genealogical record of certain customs and +ceremonies, mostly of a religious character, of some gone and forgotten +race of people. The work was executed in fairly high relief, and the +drawing of the figures, of which there were thousands on the entire +sculptured surface, evidenced artistic ability of a truly remarkable +character, including a considerable knowledge of perspective. The +panels portraying religious ceremonies indicated that the sun and fire +were, or symbolised, the principal deities worshipped; and there was +abundant evidence that human sacrifice was common. All this was, of +course, absorbingly interesting to Earle, as was the light which the +sculptures threw upon the personal appearance and costumes of the people +portrayed. If the artist--or artists, for there must have been +thousands of them to have produced such a magnificent and colossal piece +of work--could be believed, the departed race boasted some exceptionally +fine examples of male and female beauty, while the costumes bore more +than a casual resemblance to those pictured on the ancient monuments of +Egypt. Earle announced with finality that he intended to remain in camp +on the spot, not only until he had minutely and exhaustively examined +the sculptures, but also until he had photographed them as a whole and +some separately. That probably meant at least a week's sojourn where +they then were. + +The proposed arrangement suited Dick Cavendish admirably, for the +prolonged halt appealed to him as something very much in the nature of a +holiday, especially when Earle declared that he would need no assistance +in his photographic operations, so that Dick would be free to amuse +himself in any way he pleased. Dick was rapidly becoming as keen a +naturalist, in a way, as Earle; once or twice, during the morning's +march, he had observed some particularly gorgeous butterflies flitting +about, and he promised himself that he would spend at least a portion of +his sojourn in the ravine in an endeavour to secure a few specimens. +There was one duty, however, which he at once recognised must fall upon +him, which was the supply of the camp with meat, and accordingly, upon +the conclusion of the mid-day meal, when Earle started to get his +photographic gear ready for the campaign among the sculptures, Dick took +his rifle and, accompanied by two of the Indians, proceeded up the +ravine in search of game. The country rapidly became wilder and more +picturesque as they went, to such an extent indeed that Dick quickly +made up his mind to pay it another and more leisurely visit; and after +about an hour's tramp, which carried him into a labyrinth of rocks, he +got a splendid shot at a creature strongly resembling a bighorn, which +he neatly bowled over and with it triumphantly returned to camp. + +On the fourth morning of the party's sojourn in the ravine, Dick, +accompanied as usual by two Indians, set out, immediately after +breakfast, in search of meat for the day. Game was not particularly +plentiful in that region, but the lad preferred to take his chance of +finding something in his accustomed haunts, rather than tramp all the +way back to the savannah, and accordingly he proceeded, as usual, right +up the ravine, until he arrived at a point where a branch route led off +toward the left. Hitherto he had not tried his luck in that particular +direction, but he decided to do so now; and after about half an hour's +tramp, upon surmounting the crest of a ridge, he found himself looking +down into a small circular basin, surrounded by rocky cliffs, the bottom +of which was a smooth, grassy plain, in which, as luck would have it, +several antelopes were grazing. The nearest of these, a fine fat buck +to all appearance, was at least a thousand yards away, which was much +too long a shot for Dick to risk; and he therefore set out to stalk the +animal, leaving the Indians where they were to follow as soon as the +buck should fall. + +There were clumps of bush growing quite close up to the base of the +encircling cliffs, offering admirable cover for stalking, as well as a +certain amount of shelter from the sun's scorching rays, and of these +Dick gladly availed himself, ultimately succeeding in bringing down the +buck with a three-hundred yard shot. Then, while waiting for the +Indians to come and break up the quarry, the young man flung himself +down in the shadow of a clump of bush to rest. + +Stretched there at length in the cool, lush grass, with the great wall +of sandstone cliff towering before him, it gradually dawned upon Dick +that the enormous mass of rock upon which he was gazing must be that +upon the opposite face of which were those wonderful sculptured pictures +which Earle was doubtless at that moment busily engaged in +photographing, and the thought caused him to regard the cliff with some +interest. There were no sculptures upon it, but as Dick allowed his +gaze to wander over the face of the cliff his quick eye detected a sort +of crack some twenty feet above the surface of the ground, out of which, +as he lay regarding it, there came fluttering one of those splendid +butterflies, a specimen or two of which he was so eager to obtain; and +he at once made up his mind that as soon as the Indians had broken up +the buck and carried it away, he would explore that crack, which looked +wide enough to allow him to squeeze his body through, and access to +which seemed possible by way of a number of narrow ridges and +projections in the face of the rock. Accordingly, as soon as the +Indians had done their work and departed--Dick having informed them that +he proposed to remain in the basin for a while and examine it +thoroughly--he slung his rifle over his shoulder and started to climb +the rock, reaching the crack with but little difficulty. + +He found that the aperture was considerably larger than it had appeared +to be when viewed from below and squeezed through it with ease, to find +himself in the mouth of what looked like a cave, the dimensions of +which, however, it was not possible to ascertain, for within a couple of +yards of the entrance he found himself in darkness. But he saw enough +to stimulate his curiosity and determine him to see more; and with this +object he descended to the plain and, hunting about among the bushes, +soon secured a sufficiency of dry twigs and branches to serve as +torches. With these and a bit of dry moss he returned to the aperture +in the face of the cliff, where, before entering, he ignited the moss +with the aid of a powerful burning-glass which he habitually carried +about in his pocket, and then, blowing the moss into flame, kindled one +of his torches. + +At first sight the cave appeared to be of very circumscribed dimensions, +being only just high enough for Dick to stand upright in it, while he +could touch both its sides at the same moment with his outstretched +hands. But it extended back toward the heart of the cliff, and as the +lad cautiously groped his way inward the crack gradually widened until +at length he found himself traversing a spacious tunnel, piercing +steadily deeper and deeper into the heart of the cliff. Determined now +to see the full extent of the cave, and beginning to wonder whether +perchance it pierced right through the rock, Dick pushed steadily on, +oblivious of the fact that his stock of torches was rapidly diminishing; +and when at length this fact was forced upon his attention by the +necessity to kindle the last torch, it was far too late for him to think +of returning, and feeling by this time convinced that there must surely +be another outlet at no great distance, he set his teeth and pushed on, +hoping to reach that other outlet before his last torch should be +consumed. But the hope was vain, for in less than ten minutes Dick +found himself in profound darkness, with still no indication of any +other outlet than that by which he had entered. + +Thus far the lad had gone without any difficulty; the tunnel-like +passage which he had traversed for a distance of, as he estimated, +nearly a mile, had been without pitfalls or complications of any kind, +and he believed it would be possible for him to return by the way he had +come without difficulty, even in the dark. He halted to consider the +matter, debating within himself whether he should risk everything by +pushing on, or whether he should go groping his way back over that long +stretch of rough, rocky road in the darkness. There could be no +question as to which was the more prudent of the two plans; but there +was a vein of obstinacy in Cavendish's character; he hated to confess +himself beaten, and a light draught of warm air coming from the +direction toward which he had been heading decided him to take the more +risky course of pressing onward. + +Accordingly, he resumed his course, holding his rifle horizontally +before him to guard himself against the chance of collision with unseen +obstacles, while he carefully felt the ground before him with one foot +before throwing his weight upon it. Proceeding thus cautiously, in +about a quarter of an hour he became aware of a faint glimmer of +greenish light on the walls of the tunnel on either hand, and a few +minutes later emerged into what appeared to be a great chamber, or +cavern, the interior of which was just sufficiently illuminated by the +light entering through another tunnel on its opposite side, to reveal +the fact that the vertical walls of the chamber were, like the cliff +which was occupying Earle's attention, covered with sculptures from the +floor upward as high as the light had power to reach. But it was +altogether too feeble to reveal anything of the details of the +sculptures, and with a mere glance about him Dick crossed the floor of +the cavern--mechanically noting as he did so, that it was smooth and +level--and passed into the opposite tunnel, entering which, he at once +became aware that his journey was practically ended, for at a distance +of but a few yards there appeared before him an irregular opening, into +which, through a thick, screen of shimmering foliage, the light of day +was streaming. A minute later, and he was once more in the open air, +forcing his way through a tangle of bushes which effectually masked the +opening from which he had just emerged. + +Dick's first act, after forcing a passage for himself through the screen +of bushes, was to look about him, when he found, not very greatly to his +surprise, that he was within a short half-mile of the camp, the tunnel +through which he had journeyed piercing the great mass of sandstone from +one side to the other. Then, knowing that Earle would wish to examine +the sculptured chamber, he sought some means of identifying the position +of the opening, and soon found it in a peculiarly shaped projection in +the face of the rock almost immediately above. This done, he made the +best of his way to Earle, who was busy with his camera, and informed the +American of his morning's adventure. + +As Dick had anticipated, Earle manifested the utmost interest in the +story of the cavern with sculptured walls, going even to the length of +announcing his determination to visit it immediately after lunch. Dick +accordingly proceeded to the camp and, summoning four of the Indians, +instructed them to prepare a goodly supply of torches for the occasion. + +When, some two hours later, the friends, accompanied by a couple of +Indians--one to hold a pair of blazing torches aloft, and the other to +carry the reserve supply--stood in the cavern and glanced about them, +they at once became aware that they had stumbled upon a very remarkable +and interesting monument. For the cavern, a great circular chamber, +measuring forty-three paces in diameter--was, beyond all doubt, an +ancient temple, as was made clearly manifest by the character of the +sculptures on the walls. These depicted a number of different religious +ceremonies, intermingled with subjects which seemed to be allegorical, +but apart from the exceedingly curious scenes depicted, the most +remarkable circumstance connected with the sculptures was that they were +of a totally different character from those on the cliff outside, being +much more crude in design and execution, and apparently of far earlier +date. The fact, however, above all others, which stamped the cavern as +a temple, was the presence of a hideously carved life-size idol, +enshrined in a most elaborately carved niche, with a great block of +stone before it which had evidently served as an altar. + +The idol was a nude male figure, squatted cross-legged on a bench in the +niche, its only decoration being a necklace with pendant attached. This +ornament escaped the notice of the observers until they came to study +the detail of the sculptured niche, when the glint of metal and a sheen +of green rays attracted their attention and caused them to inspect it +closely. The inspection ended in Earle taking possession of the thing, +and subsequent examination revealed the fact that the chain was wrought +out of pure gold, while the pendant consisted of a lozenge-shaped plate +of gold nearly a quarter of an inch thick, chased all over both surfaces +with strangely shaped markings or characters surrounding a great +emerald. It was an unique ornament, if only from the barbaric character +of its design and execution, while the emerald rendered it valuable, and +Earle at once placed it round his own neck for safe keeping, voluntarily +proposing to pay Dick its intrinsic value upon their return to +civilisation, as his share in the profits of the discovery. He would +fain have photographed the interior of the cavern but was reluctantly +forced to forgo the gratification of this desire, from inability to +produce artificial light of the necessary actinic value. But, to +compensate for this disappointment, he spent no less than three days in +the cavern, making sketches and voluminous notes. + +At length, Earle having completed his photographs of the cliff, and +provided against future disappointment by developing and fixing his +negatives on the spot, the party moved on up the ravine, and came out +upon the lower slopes of the mountain range toward which they had been +steadfastly travelling from the moment when they first entered the great +swamp. Two evenings later, greatly fatigued by a long day's march, they +encamped near the head of a rocky pass, the steep sides of which were +shaggy with bush and trees, among which a number of small monkeys +gambolled and chattered incessantly until darkness fell, staring down +curiously from the branches at the intruders upon their domain. + +The place looked as solitary as though it had never before been trodden +by the foot of man, but watch-fires were lighted and sentinels posted +about the camp as usual; and in due time the party retired to rest with +that feeling of perfect security which the observance of every proper +precaution, coupled with a conviction of perfect immunity from danger, +is wont to inspire. + +Excessive fatigue, aided doubtless by the cooler air of the mountains, +caused the leaders at least to sleep heavily until the early hours of +the following morning, when they were suddenly awakened by a savage +snarl from King Cole, ending in a doleful moan, and they started up on +their pallets, instinctively groping for their weapons, only to find +themselves instantly thrust back again and their limbs pinioned by an +overwhelming crowd of assailants, so many in number that the tent was +packed with them. Before they fully comprehended what had happened, or, +still less, realised the completeness of the disaster which had befallen +them, they were so effectually bound with raw-hide thongs that they +could scarcely move a finger, and in that condition were dragged forth +into the open air, over the dead and mangled body of poor King Cole, to +find the camp in the possession of a band of some eighty stalwart and +ferocious-looking Indians, with every one of their followers, save four, +like themselves, bound hand and foot. The four exceptions were the +unfortunate sentinels, the corpses of whom, transfixed by spears, could +be seen lying close to the smouldering watch-fires. + +The captors wasted no time in any attempt to rummage the contents of the +camp; on the contrary, they took each prisoner, and while half-a-dozen +hemmed him in and threatened him with instant death upon the points of +their spears, a seventh cast loose the thongs that bound him. Then, +still threatening him, they indicated certain portions of the camp +equipment and signed to him to pick it up and carry it, thus +distributing the entire contents among the eleven survivors, Dick and +Earle being each assigned a load like the other captives. The only +exception made was in the matter of the firearms, which the captors +seemed to recognise as weapons of some sort, and distributed among +themselves; though from the carelessness with which they were handled, +it seemed doubtful whether the method of using them was understood. +This done, the leader of the marauders gave the word to march, and the +entire party of captors and captives set off up the pass, each prisoner +still surrounded by half a dozen Indians with spears held ever ready to +strike upon the least provocation; thus it was impossible for any of +them to hold converse with the others, the whites, in particular, being +kept as far apart as possible, Dick being stationed with the head of the +column, while Earle was compelled to march with the rearguard. + +Luckily, as it at first seemed, for the captives, their march was not a +long one; for upon surmounting the crest of the pass they found +themselves only a short two miles from a native village, the inhabitants +of which no sooner perceived the approach of the party than they turned +out and greeted it with songs and dances of rejoicing, the fervour of +which became almost frantic when, a little later, the presence of the +two white men became known. The language of the strangers was utterly +incomprehensible to Dick and Earle, and so jealously was every movement +of the two watched that they found it impossible to communicate with +Inaguy; but after observing their captors for some time, while they +seemed to be explaining matters to the villagers, Earle gradually got +the impression that the strangers had somehow obtained knowledge of the +presence of the explorers in the country and had been watching them for +perhaps a day or two, waiting for a favourable opportunity to fall upon +the camp and take it by surprise. + +Upon their arrival at the village the entire plunder of the camp was +deposited in a large hut which was hastily prepared for its reception, +and this done, the prisoners were once more securely bound and +distributed among the huts of the village, one prisoner to a hut, the +owner of which, with the several members of his family, was held +responsible for his safe keeping. + +The ensuing three days were spent by the captives in this village, +during which nothing of moment happened except that they were kept in +such rigorous confinement that none was permitted to obtain even a +momentary glimpse of another, otherwise they had not much to complain +about, being kindly treated, according to savage ideas of kindness. But +although, during those three days, the inhabitants of the village seemed +to go about their business pretty much as usual, there appeared to be an +undercurrent of subdued excitement, coupled with a condition of eager +expectancy, which was plain to both Earle and Dick, and which somehow +produced in both a considerable amount of apprehension as to their +ultimate fate. + +Then, well on toward evening of the third day, a runner, hot, tired, and +dusty, wearing every appearance of having travelled far and fast, +arrived in the village, evidently bearing an important message or +communication of some sort; for within a few minutes of his arrival the +entire population of the village became imbued with a spirit of the +wildest rejoicing and excitement, which lasted far into the night; and +early on the following morning the prisoners were brought forth, loaded +up with the baggage belonging to the explorers and, surrounded by an +armed guard of sixty men, they set out upon a forward march, accompanied +by the entire populace of the village, who beguiled the tedium of the +journey by continually singing what seemed to be songs of a highly +jubilant character. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +IN THE HANDS OF THE MANGEROMAS. + +For five weary days did that company tramp up hill and down dale through +rugged, mountainous country, the Indian women carrying their meagre +belongings in small bundles wrapped in matting upon their bowed +shoulders, while their lords and masters strode blithely along, +encumbered only with the weapons they carried, making the air vibrate +with their barbarous songs, the unhappy captives meanwhile, staggering +under their heavy loads, being compelled to keep pace with their +light-footed guard. It was not so bad for Dick and Earle as it was for +their unfortunate servants, for the two white men were by this time in +the very perfection of training, and capable of an amount of physical +exertion that, six months earlier, they would have regarded as +impossible; moreover, they were both highly endowed with that +inestimable quality known as "grit," while the miserable bearers were, +in addition to their heavy loads, weighed down by a premonition that +their present misery was but the prelude to an inconceivably horrible +and lingering death. + +Late in the evening of the fifth day, after an exceptionally long and +fatiguing march, the company reached what was without doubt the capital +of the country, for it covered some two hundred acres of ground, and +contained dwellings capable of accommodating, at a moderate estimate, at +least five thousand persons. It is true the dwellings were of the most +primitive description, consisting of huts, for the most part built of +wattles and palm thatch, with here and there a more pretentious +structure, the walls of which were adobe, and it was indescribably +filthy; yet the place was laid out with some pretension to regularity, +being divided up into several wide streets, while in the centre of the +town there was a wide, open space, or square, one side of which was +occupied by a hideous and ungainly idol of gigantic proportions, with a +long sacrificial altar at its feet, while on the other three sides stood +dwellings of such pretentious character that they could only belong to +the chief dignitaries of the place. + +The arrival of the captives in this town--the name of which, it +subsequently transpired, was Yacoahite--was the signal for an outburst +of most extravagant rejoicing on the part of the inhabitants, who turned +out _en masse_ to witness the event, crowding about the party so +persistently that it was only with the utmost difficulty that the +guards, reinforced by a strong body from the town, were able by a free +use of the butts of their spears, to force a passage along the streets. +The delight of the populace, it appeared, was almost wholly due to the +capture of the white men, who were the objects of their unquenchable +curiosity, to such an extent, indeed, that it looked very much as though +they had never before seen a white man. At length, however, the +procession reached the central square, and after having, in obedience to +signs, deposited their burdens in one of the biggest of the buildings, +the prisoners were divided up and marched away, Dick and Earle, to their +mutual delight, being placed together in a small hut, which was at once +surrounded by an armed guard of such strength as to render escape +impossible. + +Fortunately, their limbs were not bound, or their movements hampered in +any way, therefore the moment that the wattle door of their prison was +slammed upon them and barred on the outside, the pair joyously shook +hands as they exchanged greetings. + +"Well, Dick, how goes it, old son?" demanded Earle, as he wrung his +friend's hand. "Tired?" + +"Yes, I am, a bit," admitted Dick; "tired, and thirsty too. And just +look at me. Jove! I'm ashamed to be seen. I feel as though I hadn't +washed for a month. And you don't look very much better, old chap. +Say! what would you give for a swim in a good, deep river, free from +alligators, at this moment?" + +"What would I give?" repeated Earle. "Why, a thousand good American +dollars, willingly. And I'm not sure that I should worry very much as +to whether there were any 'gators in it, or not. By the way, how did +you come off that morning when those ginks rushed the camp? Did you get +hurt any?" + +"Not a scratch," answered Dick. "Hadn't a chance to. The beggars were +upon me and had me trussed up so that I couldn't move hand or foot, +before my eyes were fairly open. Hadn't even time to make a snatch for +my revolver. Did you get hurt at all?" + +"Nope," replied Earle. "I was just as completely taken by surprise as +you were. And I am not at all sure, Dick, but that it was as well. If +we--you and I--had been able to put up a fight, we could never have +beaten them off, there were too many of them. We should no doubt have +killed a few, but it would have ended eventually in our meeting the same +fate as poor old King Cole. Poor chap! I'm sorry they killed him." + +"So am I," agreed Dick. "But I suppose it was bound to be. He would +never have allowed them to lay hands upon either of us, so they would be +compelled to kill him, sooner or later. And I believe he did not suffer +much. They must have killed him on the spot, I think. Peace to his +ashes! And now, what do you think is going to happen to us?" + +"I don't know," answered Earle, suddenly adopting a much graver tone. +"My motto is, `Never say die,' for I have been in a good many tight +places and have always managed somehow to get out of them. But there is +a proverb to the effect that `the pitcher which goes oft to the well +gets broken at last,' and it may be that here is where I get `broken.' +I don't know; I don't care to hazard an opinion. But I wish to heaven, +now, that I had not brought you along with me, Dick." + +"Do you really think it as serious as all that, then?" demanded Dick. + +"What do you think yourself?" retorted Earle. "What does the capture of +us at all mean? Friendly disposed natives don't do that sort of thing, +you know. And why, having captured us, are they taking such extreme +care that we shall get no chance to escape? I'm afraid, Dick, it means +that they want us for some particular purpose, of which, probably, we +shall very strongly disapprove." + +"You mean--?" began Dick. + +"Yes," answered Earle. "Something like that. But say! don't you take +what I'm saying too seriously. I give you credit for being no more +afraid of death than I am, therefore I think it only right you should +have an inkling of what may possibly be in store for us. But don't +believe that I am going to take lying down what may be coming to us. I +shall do everything I know to persuade these savages that they could not +do a more unwise thing than hurt either of us. If we should by any +chance be brought within earshot of that idol on the opposite side of +the compound, I shall try the ventriloquial dodge again, among other +things. The worst of it is that I can't speak these beggars' language; +and for a man's own idol to address him in a foreign tongue is not +altogether convincing, is it?" + +"It is not," admitted Dick, "although it worked away back there, and it +may again. Poor Grace! If it were not for her, I should not mind so +much." + +"What's that about Grace?" demanded Earle. + +"My sister, you know," explained Dick. "I have been hoping that, in one +way or another, this expedition would enable me to provide for her, so +that she would not be compelled to go on very much longer earning her +own living. She is all right so long as she can remain with the +Mcgregors; but if anything should happen necessitating her leaving +them--" + +"Say, Dick, don't you worry about that," interrupted Earle. "Your +sister is all right for three years from the signing of our contract, +anyway, for she will have your pay to fall back upon if anything should +go wrong during that time. And for the rest, I may as well tell you for +your comfort that although, in view of this confounded expedition, I did +not think it right to bind Grace to me by a definite engagement, she and +I understand each other to the extent that if I should return to England +within three years, she will do me the honour to become my wife. And-- +this of course is strictly between you and me and my lawyer in New +York--if I should _not_ turn up in three years, I am to be presumed to +be dead, and my will is to be executed forthwith. That will was made on +the day before we left New York, and by its provisions your sister +inherits everything that I possess." + +"What is that you say?" demanded Dick, utterly bewildered. "My sister-- +Grace--inherits everything you possess?" + +"Guess that's what I said," replied Earle, composedly. + +"But--but--" stammered Dick, "I can't understand it. Why should you +leave Grace all your property?" + +"For two very excellent reasons," answered Earle, "the first of which I +have already explained to you, namely, that I love her--and mean to make +her my wife, please God, if we should by any chance get out of this fix. +And the second is, that if we don't and I die, I have nobody else to +whom to leave my property. You look astonished, Dick; and, come to +think of it, I suppose it is only natural. For while you were kept +busy, way back there in Liverpool, over the inquiry into the loss of the +_Everest_, I saw a good deal of your sister, with, I believe, the full +approval of your friends, McGregor and his wife. I was attracted to +Grace from the very first, and the more I saw of her, the greater grew +my admiration of her. McGregor saw what was happening, I guess, and at +length he brought me to book upon the matter, pointing out that my +attentions to Grace were such as threatened ultimately to engage her +affections. I was glad that he did so, for it enabled me to come to a +clear understanding with myself. It enabled me to realise that your +sister was the one woman in all the world for me; and the upshot was +that, after a very frank exchange of views, I was able to satisfy +McGregor, and ultimately to come to an understanding with Grace. But, +of course, she knows nothing about my will, although I made up my mind +what I would do immediately that she consented to wait for me. And the +reason why I have not mentioned this matter to you before is that I +preferred we should, for a time at least, remain upon our original +footing as simple comrades and co-adventurers. But, say, Dick, now that +I have told you, are you agreeable to accept me as your brother-in-law?" + +"My dear chap," exclaimed Dick, grasping Earle's outstretched hand with +a strength which made the latter wince--"of course I am. I have seen +enough of you and your character to convince me that you will be good to +Grace--if we survive long enough to return to her. And if she loves +you--and I know that she would never have encouraged you if she didn't-- +why--that's all that really matters. But--poor girl, it will be worse +than ever for her if we should both be wiped out." + +"It will," agreed Earle, gloomily. There was silence in the hut for a +few moments as the two friends faced the doom that seemed to be +impending; but neither of them was of a pessimistic nature, and +presently Earle turned to his companion and said: + +"Look here, Dick, you and I have got to buck up, for Grace's sake as +well as for our own. We are not going to take it for granted that we're +down and out, just because we happen to have fallen into the hands of a +lot of savages. We're not going to take, lying down, anything and +everything that they choose to hand out to us. I guess I am going to +have a chance to make these ginks sit up and take notice before they +have done with me, and you bet I mean to do it. Give me a quarter of an +hour's talk with them, and I'll make them believe I'm the boss +medicine-man of South America. If only we could get into touch with +Inaguy and prompt him what to say, I would soon make it all right. But, +anyway, I'm some conjurer as well as a ventriloquist, and it will be +strange if I can't get a chance to astonish them before the end comes." + +The two friends continued to chat far into the night, discussing various +schemes of escape; but the difficulty in every case was their Indian +servants, whom neither of them for a moment dreamed of deserting; and at +length, quite unable to hit upon any practicable plan, they composed +themselves to sleep in preparation for the possible ordeal of the +morrow. + +Nine days passed, however, and nothing happened, except that--as the +prisoners discovered, by peeping through a small chink in the wail of +the hut, by way of beguiling the time--day after day the town became +more crowded with people, who seemed to be pouring into it from all +directions, as though mustering for some great event; while singing, +hideous blasts from trumpets made of burnt clay, and the pounding of +drums made from hollowed sections of trees, created a deafening din that +lasted from early dawn until far into the night. On the ninth day this +state of things reached its climax, for the din lasted all through the +night without intermission, raging with especial fury in the great +square, in the centre of which an enormous fire was kindled, round which +multitudes of people, mostly naked, danced furiously, shouting and +yelling themselves hoarse, while the trumpeters and drummers seemed to +vie with each other in the effort to drown all other sounds. + +"I guess," yelled Earle into Dick's ear, when the babel of sound was at +its height--"this is the eve of some great festival; and before +twenty-four hours more have passed, you and I will know our fate. Now, +there is just one thing that I want to say, Dick. You and I have done +our level best to devise some scheme by which we might save the lives of +not only ourselves, but also of Inaguy and the rest of our followers; +and we have failed. + +"Now, if the worst should come to the worst, there will be no sense in +throwing away our own lives because we can't save those of the others-- +that would be carrying sentiment to a perfectly ridiculous extreme; +therefore, in the last extremity, and if all other efforts should fail, +you and I must endeavour to break away, make a sudden dash for the hut +where all our belongings are stored, and get hold of a weapon or two. +And if we should succeed in that, we must then be guided by +circumstances, fight our way out, if there is a ghost of a chance; and +if not, shoot ourselves rather than go tamely to the torture stake. How +does that strike you?" + +"I'm with you," shouted Dick in reply. "I shall watch for your signal, +and act directly you give the word." + +"Good!" returned Earle. And with a grip of the hand the two parted and +made their way to opposite corners of the hut where, seating themselves, +each in his own way proceeded to prepare himself for the anticipated +tremendous ordeal of the morrow. + +That ordeal seemed very near when, about an hour after dawn, the door of +the hut in which Dick and Earle were confined was flung open, and a +gigantic Indian, fully armed, and arrayed in a gorgeous mantle composed +of the skins of brilliant plumaged birds, and with a narrow band of gold +around his head, clasped to which, one above either ear, was a great +scarlet and black wing, like that of a flamingo, beckoned the two +prisoners forth. Hitherto they had been treated fairly well, having +been supplied with three good meals per day; but no food was now offered +them, and both thought the omission tragically ominous. + +With a quick grip of the hand, which each felt might be his farewell to +the other, the two stepped into the blazing sunlight, and, surrounded by +a numerous guard, were led across the square and halted before the +altar, which stood at the foot of the idol. But what a change had taken +place within the last hour. The great square, as well as the streets +leading to it was, with the exception of a small space, packed with +people, as were the roofs of the buildings abutting on the square, yet +the silence was so profound that, to use the hackneyed expression, one +might have heard a pin drop. The small space left vacant consisted of +an area some thirty feet square, bounded on one side by the sacrificial +altar, and on the other by the front row of spectators, squatting on the +ground, these evidently being, from the magnificence of their feather +robes and the splendour of their barbaric ornaments, chiefs, to the +number of about sixty, in the middle of whom sat an Indian who, by the +superlative richness of his garb, the two white men at once decided must +be the paramount chief, or king. The third side of this small open +space was occupied by a front row of fantastically garbed men who +eventually proved to be priests, behind whom stood a dense mass of +ordinary spectators, while the fourth side was bounded by a row of nine +massive posts, or stakes, to which--ominous sight--were securely bound +Inaguy and the remaining eight of Earle's followers. + +Arrived at a spot some five paces from the altar, the two white men were +turned with their backs to the altar and the idol, and their faces +toward the long array of chiefs, and then the armed guard stationed +themselves to the right and left of the prisoners, while the silence +hovering over the scene seemed to become more intense than ever. + +It was broken by Earle, who turned to Dick and murmured in a low voice: + +"That scheme of mine for making a dash at the hut containing our weapons +won't work, Dick. We could never force our way through this crowd. I +must try another stunt." + +"All right," murmured Dick in return. "Go ahead. But I'm afraid it's +all up with us. I don't see how--" + +"You wait," interrupted Earle, and fell silent again. + +Meanwhile, all eyes were intently fixed upon the line of priests who, +presently, at a signal from him who seemed to be their chief, prostrated +themselves with their faces to the earth, and so remained. + +For the space of some thirty seconds nothing happened. Then that vast +assemblage was suddenly electrified by a loud voice, issuing apparently +from the mouth of the idol, saying, in the Indian language: + +"Inaguy, son of Mali, and servant of my son Toqui, speak to this people +and say that if they dare to hurt so much as a hair of the heads of the +white men, or of you and the others, those white men's servants, I will +visit them in my wrath and pour out upon them pestilence and famine, +drought and fire, until not one remains alive. For the white man with +black hair is a great medicine-man, capable of working wonders; he has +come into this land to do good to my people, and it is my will that no +harm shall come to him or his." + +The incredible wonder of the thing, the marvel that their god, who had +never before been known to speak, should at this particular and solemn +moment see fit to break his long silence, absolutely paralysed the +thousands who heard the voice. They could do nothing but stare, +open-mouthed, at the gigantic figure, afraid almost to breathe, lest +something frightful should happen to them. There were many present who +comprehended the meaning of the words, although they were spoken in a +different tongue from that generally in use among them, and these began +to question themselves: + +"Inaguy, son of Mali! Who is he? We know no priest of that name. Is +he one of us? Why does he not speak?" + +Meanwhile Inaguy, who had once before witnessed such a phenomenon, was +not altogether surprised that a god should again intervene to save his +master; and turning his face to the idol, he cried: + +"Lord, first bid them to release me. It is not meet that I, thy +servant, should deliver thy message, bound here to the torture stake." + +"Nay, the man is right," murmured Jiravai, the king, who understood +Inaguy's speech, and who began to fear that he was like to get into very +serious trouble if he was not exceedingly careful. And, rising to his +feet, he looked toward Inaguy and demanded: + +"Art thou Inaguy, son of Mali?" + +"Lord, it is even so," answered Inaguy. + +"Then, release him," ordered the king. Turning toward the idol and +prostrating himself, he continued: + +"Great Anamac, god of the Mangeromas, forgive us, thy servants. What we +have done was in ignorance--" + +"Tell him, Inaguy, that I am displeased with him and his people, for +acting as he has done without first consulting me, and that I refuse to +listen to him or communicate with him, save through thee," interrupted +the idol sternly. + +At the king's command a crowd of officious guards dashed forward, and +with the hardened copper blades of their spears quickly severed Inaguy's +bonds, whereupon the latter strode forward and, puffed up with pride at +again being made the mouthpiece of a god, stood before the grovelling +figure of Jiravai, haughtily awaiting the moment when it should please +his Majesty to rise and receive Anamac's message. And presently the +king, realising perhaps that his grovelling was not doing any good, rose +to his feet, and the message was duly delivered. + +"It is well," returned Jiravai. "It must be as the Great Anamac +pleases. Yet, say to him, good Inaguy, that if I have erred, it was +through ignorance. To-day is his festival, and when the news was +brought to me that two white men had been taken alive in my country, I +rejoiced, and bade them and their followers be brought hither; for I +thought that to sacrifice them upon the altar would be pleasing to him; +while as for you and those with you, it was a great opportunity for--But +it is as our great Lord Anamac pleases. And now, I would fain know what +is his will toward the white men and you, their followers." + +Facing round, Inaguy shouted to the idol, repeating the words of the +king's apology. Whereupon the idol graciously replied: + +"It is well. I know that the Mangeromas have erred through ignorance, +therefore I forgive them. But it must never be permitted to happen +again, for I do not forgive twice. There must be no more human +sacrifices offered to me; nor must the Mangeromas ever again eat men; +for both are offences in my sight. And touching these white men and +their servants, it is my will that the king and his people shall make +them welcome in Mangeroma, treating them as honoured guests and doing +all things to help them; so shall the Mangeromas derive great profit and +happiness from their visit. I have spoken." + +This message Inaguy repeated in the tongue commonly used among the +Mangeromas, shouting it in tones which were distinctly audible all over +the square, and for some distance beyond it. + +"It is good," answered the king. "Say to our Lord Anamac that his will +shall be obeyed in all things, and the white men, ay, and ye, too, his +servants, are henceforth my brothers, the sons of my father's house." +Then, turning to the armed guards, he added, pointing to the eight +figures still bound to the stakes: + +"Release those men and take them to my guest house until my white +brother with the black hair shall be pleased to express his wishes +concerning them. As for my brothers, the white men"--he turned to the +chiefs immediately about him--"make ye room for them that they may sit, +the one on my right hand and the other on my left." + +These orders having been carried out, Jiravai appeared to be somewhat at +a loss what to do next. For to-day was the annual festival of the Great +God Anamac, and an elaborate programme of proceedings had been prepared, +the chief items of which had been the offering up of the white men as a +sacrifice to the god, and the torturing to death of the white men's +followers, to which festivity all the people of note throughout +Mangeroma had been invited; and now, by the omission of these two "star" +turns, so to speak, the whole affair was likely to fall woefully flat. +In his perplexity, the king faced round toward the array of priests on +the left side of the open space and, addressing the chief of them, said: + +"Since the offering of human sacrifices is displeasing to our Lord +Anamac, say now, O Macoma, in what other manner shall we fittingly and +acceptably do honour to him on this day which is especially dedicated to +his service?" + +But Macoma, the chief of the priests, was in no humour just then to help +his illustrious master out of a difficulty. He was an exceedingly proud +and haughty man, the greatest man in Mangeroma, next to King Jiravai +himself, and he felt slighted and humiliated to an intolerable extent +that, before all that vast assemblage, consisting of the pick of the +Mangeroma nation, Anamac should have absolutely ignored him, the chief +priest, and have chosen instead to make his wishes known by the mouth of +an obscure stranger, coming from heaven only knew where. Therefore, in +response to the king's question, he rose to his feet and said: + +"Nay, Lord, ask me not, for I cannot answer thee. Ask rather the man +Inaguy, whom it has pleased our Lord Anamac so signally to honour this +day before thee and all the people. Doubtless he will be able to tell +thee all that thou may'st desire to know." + +And in high dudgeon Macoma resumed his seat. + +The king frowned. There was a hint of veiled insolence in Macoma's +manner that at once set his majesty's easily kindled anger aflame; and +it was not the first time that the chief of the priests had so offended, +though never until now had the man dared to flout the supreme ruler of +the Mangeroma nation in public, much less in the presence of all +Mangeroma's nobility. The fellow threatened to get out of hand if he +were not checked, and the present moment seemed to offer an excellent +opportunity not only to check Macoma's growing insubordination, but also +that of the priesthood in general, which had for some time past +manifested a disposition to claim for itself rights and privileges which +Jiravai was by no means willing to concede. Therefore he said to +Macoma: + +"Thou can'st not answer me, Macoma? Then will I act as seems good to +myself. A sacrifice of some sort has always been offered to Anamac on +this day, and he shall have one now. And what better sacrifice can we +offer him than those who have devoted their lives to his service? +Therefore, stand forth, Macoma; we will offer thee and ten other +priests, to be chosen by lot, in the place of these strangers whom our +Lord Anamac has forbidden us to sacrifice." + +In a paroxysm of mingled anger and consternation Macoma sprang to his +feet--as did all the rest of the priests--and for several seconds the +king and the chief priest faced each other, the one smiling sardonically +at the effect of the bomb which he had hurled into the enemy's camp, +while the other stood clenching and unclenching his hands as he racked +his brain in the effort to find an answer to what he had sense enough to +understand was a personal challenge on the part of the king, and a +challenge, moreover, which, unless he could quickly find the right +answer to it, might very easily result in utter disaster to himself. +For Jiravai, like most savage kings, was an absolute monarch whom none +might beard with impunity, and now, when it seemed too late, the chief +of the priests heartily execrated that sudden ebullition of ill-humour +which had in a moment brought him and ten of his following to the brink +of the grave. Then, suddenly, in a flash of memory and inspiration, the +right answer came to him and, lifting his head, he said: + +"Be it so, as my lord the king has said. Let him sacrifice us to +Anamac, if he will. Doubtless, the man Inaguy was speaking only idle +words when he said that our Lord Anamac forbade human sacrifice +henceforth. Sacrifice us then, O my Lord Jiravai; and let all Mangeroma +see what will happen, and whether any dependence is to be placed on the +words of Inaguy." + +The battle was won, and Macoma knew it. So also did the king; for +absolute monarch though he was, there were certain things which he dared +not do, and to go against the directly spoken word of the god Anamac, +and that, too, when the word was the first which the god had ever +condescended to utter--was one of them. Therefore, making the best of +what he now perceived to have been a serious mistake, King Jiravai +smiled across the open space at the now triumphant Macoma, and said: + +"It is well, Macoma, I did but try thee. But now, perhaps, having had +time to think, thou may'st be able to say what sacrifice, other than +human, we may acceptably offer to Anamac." + +Macoma shook his head. The king had given him, to say nothing of the +other priests, a very nasty five minutes, and even now, when the danger +was past, his nerves were all a-quiver from the shock of finding himself +suddenly looking into the eyes of death; moreover he was a man who did +not easily forgive; he was unwilling to abate one jot of his triumph, +therefore he answered: + +"Nay, Lord, I am still unable to answer thee, excepting in so far as +this. Let Inaguy be recalled, and let him put thy question to our Lord +Anamac, and if the god refuses to reply, then I say let Inaguy be +sacrificed as a deceiver." + +"Thou hast answered well, Macoma," retorted the king. "It shall be as +thou sayest; and if our lord replies through his mouth it shall be a +sign that Anamac prefers Inaguy to thee, and Inaguy shall be chief +priest in thy stead." + +Thus neatly did Jiravai turn the tables upon the man who, a moment +before, had been congratulating himself upon having got the best of the +king in a public battle of wits. + +Meanwhile, Dick and Earle had been interested watchers of the scene; and +although the language in which the king and the chief priest had been +sparring was strange to them, they caught a word here and there which +sounded so nearly like words with the same meaning in the language with +which they were by this time becoming fairly conversant, that they were +able to follow, without very much difficulty the general trend of the +conversation, including that portion of it in which Macoma had ventured +to cast a doubt upon Inaguy's _bona fides_. And although Earle had no +great liking for the task of exercising his ventriloquial powers while +seated in such close proximity to the king, he felt that he must make +the effort, and make it successfully, too, if Inaguy's life was to be +saved. Therefore, when a few minutes later, Inaguy was led forth, and +the king put to him the question which Macoma had declared himself +unable to answer, and Inaguy had in turn passed it on to the idol, the +latter was heard to reply, sharply: + +"Let a young bull be found, without blemish, and let him be slain upon +the altar and his carcass be burned before me, and I shall be satisfied; +for ye can offer me no more acceptable sacrifice than this and your +obedience to my commands. It is enough. I have spoken. Henceforth, +trouble me not, for I will speak no more." + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A DEFINITE CLUE AT LAST. + +This final communication from the god Anamac was received by the vast +multitude with great shouts of rejoicing, for it was accepted as putting +an end finally and for ever to the practice of offering annually human +sacrifices to him. And upon those occasions the choice of victims was +usually made jointly by the king and the chief priest; and the choice +was always of so capricious a character that, when invited to attend the +festival, no man could ever know whether he would survive to return from +it. Therefore the substitution of a single animal for several human +victims--seldom less in number than half a dozen--was regarded as a +national boon; and never, perhaps, was Anamac worshipped with more +sincerity, or with more gratitude, than he was upon the day when Dick +Cavendish and Wilfrid Earle so narrowly escaped dying upon his altar. + +The festivities not only lasted through the entire day, but were +continued far into the night, some fifty oxen being slaughtered and +roasted to provide a feast for the numerous visitors whom King Jiravai +had invited to Yacoahite to participate in the great annual festival; +and when at length it was all over, and the guests had departed to their +respective homes, everybody agreed in the opinion that it had been the +most joyous and successful festival within living experience. As for +Dick and Earle, they were lodged in the king's own house, with Inaguy to +act as their interpreter--that astute individual having soon made up his +mind that service with the white men was safer, and likely to be more +profitable in the end, than even the position of chief of the Mangeroma +priests. And on the night of the festival, when the great square of +Yacoahite was given up to the populace, and all the great chiefs were +being entertained at a banquet given by the king, Earle, "the white man +with the black hair," availed himself of the opportunity to demonstrate +his capabilities as a great medicine-man by performing a few very clever +conjuring tricks before the king and his guests, which the simple +Mangeromas regarded as absolute miracles. It was a stroke of sound +policy on Earle's part; for after seeing him cause a pack of cards to +vanish into thin air, extract coins--a few of which he still had in his +pocket--from the hair, ears and noses of great warriors, and perform +sundry other marvels, there was not a Mangeroma in all that great +assemblage who did not regard the American as something superhuman, or +who would have ventured, even in the most secret recesses of his soul, +to meditate treachery to him or anybody connected with him. + +Taken altogether, the day had been a rather trying one for both Dick and +Earle, for, to start with, neither of them had slept at all during the +previous night, their minds having been in a state of extreme tension +with regard to the events of the coming hours; and when at length the +suspense was over and they knew that they had escaped a terrible fate by +the bare skin of their teeth, the reaction, combined with the necessity +to preserve during several hours a perfectly calm and unruffled +demeanour in the presence of those about them, had told upon both rather +severely, and especially upon Earle, upon whose cleverness and readiness +of resource the safety of the entire party depended. Therefore it was +with a sense of profound relief that the two friends at length found +themselves alone together and free to throw off the strain to which they +had been obliged to subject themselves all day. + +It was well past midnight when the king's banquet having come to an end, +the two white men were conducted with much deference and ceremony to an +apartment in the king's house, in which, to their great delight, they +found the whole of their belongings, including their two camp beds, +which some thoughtful individual--who afterwards proved to have been +Peter--had fixed up and prepared for their occupation. They lost no +time in discarding their clothing and flinging themselves upon their +pallets, for both were feeling utterly exhausted; but before +surrendering themselves to sleep they exchanged a few remarks relative +to the events of the past day. + +"Yes," agreed Earle, in response to an observation of Dick's, "we have +had an exceedingly narrow escape, Dick, and don't you forget it, a more +narrow escape, indeed, than you probably realise. For example, do you +know the name of this tribe of Indians?" + +"Certainly," answered Dick. "I heard the king call the idol, this +morning, `Anamac, god of the Mangeromas,' so I suppose these johnnies +are the Mangeromas." + +"Correct, my son; they are," returned Earle. "Remember ever hearing +anything about the Mangeromas?" + +"Of course," returned Dick. "They are the tribe with the bad name that +those Catu Indians told us about, and whom we have been looking for ever +since, because they are supposed to know something of the whereabouts of +the city of Manoa. Isn't that it?" + +"That is it, Dick," assented Earle. "And you knew it? Well, you were +so cool, so apparently unconcerned, during the whole time that our fate +was hanging in the balance, that I thought you had missed the point of +the king's remark." + +"Not much," retorted Dick. "But why shouldn't I keep cool? What would +have been the use of getting excited and anxious? That would only have +given our show away and spoiled everything. But, although I may not +have shown it, I don't mind admitting now, old chap, that I _was_ most +confoundedly anxious. For I knew that if your ventriloquial trick had +been discovered, it would have been all up with us." + +"You bet it would," agreed Earle. "And that was just where our narrow +escape came in; for I was so nervous that, when the critical moment +came, it was only by an almost superhuman effort that I was able to +control my voice. However, here we are, still alive and well, thank +God! And--Dick--after all, I'm glad that you are with me. A chap with +a nerve like yours is worth a whole regiment of soldiers. Good-night!" + +The two white men slept the sleep of exhaustion that night, to awake +refreshed and re-invigorated on the following morning, with scarcely a +trace remaining of the stress and strain through which they had passed +on the preceding day. Inaguy and Peter presented themselves at daylight +with the accustomed morning cup of chocolate; and the former, who was by +this time well acquainted with his master's habits, mentioned that he +had learned by inquiry, that there was a stream just outside the town in +which the white lords might safely venture to bathe. Whereupon the pair +sallied forth and enjoyed the now rare luxury of a swim, receiving, as +they went and returned, the respectful salutations of the populace. +Upon their return they found an excellent breakfast awaiting them, +prepared by the indefatigable Peter from viands supplied by the king's +especial order. + +Earle announced his intention of accepting the king's proffered +hospitality and remaining several days in Yacoahite, not only to afford +his men time to recover from the hardships and sufferings which they had +experienced while filling the _role_ of prisoners doomed to the +sacrifice, but also to enable him to prosecute the inquiries which he +wished to make regarding the whereabouts of the city of Manoa. And he +was not less anxious to stay than the king was to entertain him and get +the benefit of his advice and guidance upon several burning questions +which had of late been causing him uneasiness. For now that the great +god Anamac had made it clear that the white strangers enjoyed his +especial favour and protection, and were therefore not to be molested, +but, on the contrary, were to be treated with the utmost honour and +distinction, the astute Jiravai immediately arrived at the conclusion +that they must certainly be something more than mere ordinary men--as +witness the marvels which Earle had performed during the progress of the +feast--and that consequently their advice and assistance must be of more +than ordinary value, and well worth securing. Therefore the king took +Earle and Dick unreservedly into his confidence and, with the help of +Inaguy as interpreter, fully laid before the pair a number of +exceedingly delicate and difficult problems which were just then +confronting him. And Earle, being a born diplomatist, entered into the +thing with keen zest, taking the problems one by one and asking question +after question until, as he put it, he had fairly "got the hang of the +thing," when, by a judicious admixture of his own diplomatic instinct +with Dick's shrewd common sense, it became not very difficult to find +solutions of the several problems, which not only effected a general +clearing of the air, but also ultimately added considerable lustre to +Jiravai's name as that of a wise and powerful monarch. + +The settlement of these matters of high and intricate policy took time; +so that it was not until some ten days after the festival of Anamac that +Earle was able to introduce to the king's notice the subject of Manoa, +to ask what his majesty knew about it and its precise situation, and to +request his assistance to enable the expedition to find the place. + +But no sooner was Earle's project mentioned than Jiravai began to throw +cold water upon it. First of all, he denied all knowledge whatsoever of +any city named Manoa; and when Earle met this denial with the admission +that there might possibly be some mistake in the matter of the name, +explaining that it was not this that was of importance, but the fact +that there was a city distinguished by certain curious and remarkable +characteristics that he was anxious to find and visit, the king, while +reluctantly admitting that he had certainly heard of such a city, most +earnestly besought Earle at once and for ever to abandon his intention +of visiting the place, since rumour had it that the inhabitants so +strongly objected to the intrusion of strangers among them that, of the +few who had been known to force a way in, not one had ever been known to +come out again. Jiravai asserted that he knew nothing whatever about +the city, beyond the above-named peculiarity, and the fact that its +actual name was Ulua--bluntly adding that he desired to know no more-- +and he greatly doubted whether there was any Mangeroma now living who +possessed more information on the subject than himself; yet, if the +white lords very particularly desired it, he would cause immediate +inquiries to be made. To which statement Earle replied that the white +lords desired the information in question more than anything else, +except to find themselves within the walls of Ulua itself; and that the +king could not more conclusively demonstrate his friendship than by +causing the most exhaustive inquiries to be made forthwith. And there +the matter rested for nearly a fortnight, during which Earle and Dick +wandered about the district together, shooting, but finding very little +game; for they soon discovered that the Mangeroma country was pretty +thickly inhabited, and that, between hunting and the clearing of the +land for cultivation, the game had been nearly all driven away or +exterminated. + +At length, however, in response to the inquiries which the king caused +to be made, an old man was found who asserted that, many years ago, when +he was but a lad, he had been lost while engaged in a hunting +expedition, and in his wanderings had actually seen, from the summit of +a high hill, a great city of palaces, which he believed could be none +other than the legendary city of Ulua, but that he had made no attempt +to approach it, being afraid that, if he did so, he would fall into the +hands of the inhabitants, and never more see his kith and kin. Asked +whether he believed it possible, after all those years, to find his way +back to the spot from which he had beheld the city, he replied in the +affirmative, provided that he could be carried thither and back again, +but not otherwise, the way being altogether too long and rough for his +old limbs to traverse unaided. Arrangements were accordingly made for +the construction of a litter for the accommodation of the old man, and +on a certain morning the expedition set out from Yacoahite, the party +now consisting of thirty men all told, including the old man, Busa, who +was to serve as guide, his eight bearers, and ten additional bearers to +assist in the transport of the white men's baggage. + +As Busa had warned them, the way proved both long and difficult, leading +as it did up and down wild ravines, along the dry and stony beds of +mountain torrents, through rough and narrow passes, and by the edge of +dizzy precipices where a single false step would have meant a fall of +hundreds of feet through space; but after ten days of arduous travel the +journey was accomplished without accident, and without any very +startling adventure, the party arriving, late in a certain afternoon at +a "divide," from which they looked down upon a vast basin containing a +lake some thirty miles long by twenty broad, on the northern shore of +which stood a city which Busa had not misrepresented when he spoke of it +as a city of palaces. For a city it certainly was, covering an area of +ground about four miles long by three broad, and many of its buildings +seemed palatial, if one might judge by their lofty white walls and +glittering roofs, shining like gold in the rays of the declining sun. +Of course, it was not possible to judge very accurately the character of +the buildings, or to see much detail, for the city was some twenty miles +distant from the spot to which Busa had conducted the party, while the +rarefaction of the atmosphere rendered even the field-glasses of little +use. But that the city was actually there before their eyes was +indisputable, and it was a city consisting not of a mere agglomeration +of mud huts with thatched roofs, but of stately buildings of solid +masonry, possessing such architectural adornments as towers, pinnacles, +and domes, evidencing on the part of the inhabitants a condition of high +civilisation and refinement. + +From his knapsack Earle produced a folded map of the northern portion of +South America which he opened and spread out on a rock. It was the most +modern and up-to-date map that he had been able to procure, and it was +drawn to a scale large enough to show not only every town of any +importance but also innumerable villages, some of them so small that, as +the party had themselves proved, they contained less than a hundred +inhabitants. Yet on the part of the map upon which Earle now placed his +finger, and for hundreds of miles in every direction therefrom, there +was no indication of town or village, and only a mere suggestion of the +mountain range through which they had lately been travelling, while even +the courses of rivers were merely indicated by dotted lines; in short, +the party were now, and had been for several weeks, in a region which +had not been explored. But by means of astronomical observations made +and worked out by Dick, the track of the party had each day been plotted +upon the map, and such details as the forests they had passed through, +the rivers they had crossed, the Indian villages they had met with, the +great swamp, and the mountain ranges, had all been carefully plotted. + +"Now," remarked Earle, pointing to a pencil mark on the map, "that is +where we were at noon to-day, and we are somewhere about here now. +There is no indication of a town or village of any sort anywhere near, +yet just about there"--laying his finger on another point of the +map--"stands yonder city on the shore of a lake, in a great basin +surrounded on all sides by mountains, of the existence of which this map +affords no indication. What do I deduce from that? you will ask. I +will tell you, Dick. I deduce from it that yonder city is the one +which, though our friend Jiravai says it is named Ulua, has been spoken +of ever since the Spanish conquest, and diligently sought, as the city +of Manoa; and to us has fallen the honour and glory of having actually +found it! Just think of the wonder of it, Dick. For over three and a +half centuries the legend of the existence of that city has persisted, +yet there is no absolutely authentic account of it having ever been +reached, although hundreds, possibly thousands--if one could but know +the whole truth--have most diligently and painfully sought it. And at +last its discovery falls to the lot of two very undistinguished people, +an Englishman and an American, as is quite in accordance with the +fitness of things. Now let us make use of our remaining daylight to get +down to a lower level, for, with the setting of the sun, it will be +bitterly cold up here, and I have no fancy for spending the night in a +temperature that will probably fall below freezing point." + +So saying, Earle folded up his map and, replacing it in his knapsack, +gave the word for the party to proceed, Dick and himself taking the +lead. Picking their way among towering rocks and along narrow ledges, +they travelled a distance of some three miles and effected a descent of +about two thousand feet before night overtook them, finally pitching +their camp on a little rocky plateau under the lee of an enormous +vertical cliff, which effectually sheltered them from the icy wind which +sprang up and roared overhead with the force of a gale almost +immediately after sunset. + +Notwithstanding the shelter afforded by the cliff, however, the cold was +intense, and the party, acclimatised by this time to the hot, humid +atmosphere of the plains, suffered severely, the more so that they were +camped among bare rocks without a vestige of vegetation of any kind, and +were therefore without the materials for a fire; the return of daylight +therefore found them more than ready to resume the march, in the hope +that before long they would reach a region where fuel of some sort would +allow them to kindle a fire and prepare a much-needed hot breakfast. + +They reached such a spot after about an hour's march, camping in the +shelter of a small clump of stunted pines; and here, after breakfast, +Busa approached the two white men with the request that, having +performed his task of guiding the party to a spot from which the "city +of palaces," could be seen, he and his bearers might now be permitted to +set out upon the return journey, he and they being anxious to recross +the divide during the hours of daylight, and so escape the bitter cold +from which they had suffered so severely during the preceding night. +The request seemed a reasonable one, for the old man's services were no +longer needed; Earle therefore liberally rewarded the old fellow and his +eight bearers, and dismissed them with a message of greeting and thanks +to the king. + +The two parties broke camp simultaneously, Busa and his bearers taking +the back trail up the path which they had all descended an hour earlier, +while the others, under Earle's leadership, proceeded down the mountain +side at their best speed, being impatient to reach the fertile, +cultivated country bordering the lake below. + +But the task was not by any means so easy as it had first appeared, for +they had scarcely gone a mile when they unexpectedly found themselves at +the verge of a long line of precipitous cliffs overlooking the great +basin in which lay the lake and the city. It was by no means a pleasant +situation in which they found themselves, for they were standing upon a +steep slope, clad with short, dry grass, almost as slippery as ice to +walk upon, and this steep slope ended abruptly in a precipice which +Earle, going down upon his stomach and peering cautiously over the edge, +declared could be not less than six or seven thousand feet high. So +terrible was the shock it gave him to find himself overhanging and +gazing down into that dizzy void, that it induced a violent attack of +vertigo, causing him to scream out that he was falling, and to beg those +who were holding him to pull him back. They, of course, did so at once; +but several minutes elapsed before the adventurous gazer sufficiently +recovered his nerve to stand, and when he did so he was bathed in a cold +perspiration, while his teeth chattered to such an extent that it was +some time before he could distinctly articulate. + +"Never had such a fearful shock in my life," he afterwards explained to +Dick. "Of course, I knew that the valley was an enormous depth below +us, but when I undertook to peer over the edge of the cliff I did not +for a moment anticipate that I was going to find myself hanging over a +sheer void, thousands of feet deep. I expected to find below me a +precipitous cliff seamed and scarred with innumerable irregularities and +projections, by means of which an ordinarily active man might easily +make his way down; but, man alive, this precipice is sheer, from top to +bottom like the wall of a house, without a single projection, so far as +I could see, big enough for a fly to settle upon. It was awful to find +myself lying there, with my heels higher than my head, gazing down into +that dizzy hollow, at the bottom of which tall trees looked no higher +than pins, and to feel that if I dared to move a muscle I should +inevitably go sliding over, head first!" + +"Ay," assented Dick. "I think I know the kind of feeling. I +experienced something very like it myself the first time I climbed to +the height of the royal yard. The hull of the ship below me looked so +small, and so utterly inadequate to sustain the substantial spars about +me, that, quite unconsciously, I found myself moving with the utmost +precaution, lest my additional weight should capsize the ship." + +"Yes," assented Earle. "I guess that was something like what I felt, +except that, in my case, I was convinced I should never be able to get +back to safety. Nevertheless, here I am, safe and sound. And now the +question arises: How are we going to get down into that valley? So far +as I can see the cliffs are everywhere vertical, like this one; yet +there must be a way down somewhere; else how did the inhabitants of the +city get there?" + +"Oh yes, of course there is a way down, somewhere," agreed Dick. "We'd +better camp, hadn't we, and pursue our usual tactics, you going one way, +and I the other, exploring?" + +"Yes," assented Earle. "But we won't camp just here, thank you. I +should be afraid that some of us would go sliding over that cliff edge +before we knew it. We will go along yonder, to the eastward, a bit. +The ground looks less steep in that direction, and probably we shall +find a suitable camping place before long." + +They did, about a mile and a half to the eastward; and the camp having +been pitched, Earle accompanied by Inaguy, set off in one direction, +while Dick, accompanied by another Indian, named Moquit, went in the +other, in search of a practicable route down to the plain and the shore +of the lake, the two white men taking their rifles, as usual, and each +carrying a pair of powerful binoculars slung over his shoulder. + +The way taken by Dick led him back along the edge of the cliff by the +route which they had traversed shortly before; and having reached the +spot where Earle had taken his thrilling peep down into the abyss, the +young man continued on, eventually entering a fir wood, through which he +passed, bagging two brace of a species of pheasant as he went. Emerging +from the wood, which was about a mile long, he found himself approaching +a spot where the cliff seemed to dip somewhat, and halting for a moment +to reconnoitre the prospect through his field-glasses, he became aware +of the fact that work in the valley had begun for the day; for he +observed smoke issuing from the chimneys of a number of detached +buildings which he took to be farmhouses; while, studying the scene more +intently, he was presently able to pick out the forms of numerous people +apparently engaged in tilling the wide fields and at work in the +orchards--as he took them to be--dotted here and there in the valley far +below. Farther away, he perceived a number of small dots on the bosom +of the lake, carefully watching which he at length became convinced that +they were canoes, or some similar kind of craft, crossing the lake, some +heading towards the city and others from it. + +Some two hours later, Dick called a halt in a small pine wood, and +ordered Moquit to kindle a fire and prepare a brace of the shot birds +for their mid-day meal; and while this was being done the young +Englishman sauntered off a little way in search of another spot from +which he might advantageously effect a further reconnaissance of the +valley. He found such a spot at no great distance and, unslinging his +glasses, proceeded to search the valley and the face of the neighbouring +cliffs from his new view point. But, look where he would, it everywhere +seemed the same: vertical unscalable precipices of appalling height, and +nowhere anything suggesting the existence of a road by means of which +the valley might be reached. + +Yet stay! As he was in the very act of removing the binoculars from his +eyes his keen sight detected what appeared to be an infinitesimally +small moving dot against the bare drab face of the cliff, some two miles +away. Focussing his glasses afresh upon the spot, Dick watched it +steadily for two or three minutes until he became certain that it was +moving. Yes, moving downward along the cliff face toward the valley. +Precisely what it was, he could not determine with any certainty, but he +judged it to be a vehicle of some sort, a slow moving vehicle; and if +so, it was of necessity travelling over a road, and that road, although +it was indistinguishable from where Dick stood, was one of very easy +gradient, judging from the movements of the object upon it. Satisfied +now that he had made an important discovery, the lad carefully noted his +surroundings, noted with equal care a number of objects which would +enable him to fix the position of the road, and closing his glasses, +walked briskly back to his temporary camp, where he found Moquit +anxiously awaiting his return, with the birds cooked to a turn and just +ready for eating. + +Hurriedly dispatching his meal, Dick, with Moquit at his heels, resumed +his task of exploration, proceeding first to the spot from which he had +just observed the moving object, and there treating the face of the +cliff to a further close scrutiny. But the object, whatever it may have +been, was no longer to be seen; and, satisfied of this, Dick pressed on. +Two miles farther on, still following the edge of the cliff as closely +as was prudent, he halted, arrested by the sight of what, at the +distance of about half a mile, had the appearance of a structure of some +sort, clinging to the very verge of the cliff; and inspecting it through +his binoculars, he saw that he was right in his surmise. It was a +building, something in the nature of a wall, with what looked like a +closed gateway in its centre. And on the parapet immediately above the +gateway, there was a figure, apparently that of a sentinel, stalking +slowly to and fro! + +It was enough; the structure before him was undoubtedly the gateway at +the head of the road giving access to the valley, and his mission was +accomplished. His first impulse was to go on and view the gateway, or +whatever it might be, at close quarters; but the inhabitants of the +valley were evidently jealous of the intrusion of strangers, as was +clear from the presence of the sentinel on the parapet; and giving the +matter a few moments' consideration, Dick came to the conclusion that, +before revealing his presence, it would be well to return to Earle and +report. He therefore faced about forthwith and, keeping under cover as +well as he could, retired in good order, pretty confident that, up to +that moment, he and his follower had not been seen. + +The sun was just sinking behind the mountain ridges to the westward of +the mysterious city when Dick reached the camp. Earle, he found, had +not yet returned, but he arrived some ten minutes later, greatly +disgusted at his own want of success. He had searched the northern +cliffs for a distance of some twelve miles, it appeared, and nowhere had +found a spot where even a goat or a monkey might have passed up or down +them. But he had penetrated to within some eight or nine miles of the +city, and having viewed it at that distance and from a great height +through the lenses of his powerful glasses, was fully persuaded that, +let the name of the city be what it might, it was none other than that +which, crowned with the halo of legend and romance, had been spoken and +written of and sought for as "Manoa." + +"It is a magnificent city, Dick," he exclaimed, enthusiastically; "a +city of palaces embowered in gardens; and the roofs of many of its +buildings are covered with gold. They _must_ be," he insisted, in reply +to Dick's incredulous shrug of the shoulders, "otherwise they would not +gleam so brilliantly in the sun as they do. And to-morrow night, please +God, we will rest our weary limbs in that same city, and perhaps, if +luck is with us, make the acquaintance of El Dorado himself, or at all +events, his successor." + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +GUESTS--OR PRISONERS? + +The camp was astir with the coming of dawn on the following morning; and +after an early breakfast the expedition started, under Dick's guidance, +for the gateway, which was reached shortly before noon. As the party +approached, the sentinel was seen pacing to and fro across the parapet, +as on the preceding afternoon; and that he was keeping a sharp look-out +was manifest, for the little band had scarcely emerged from the pine +wood in which Dick had halted for his mid-day meal on the preceding day, +when the man was seen to pause in his monotonous march to and fro and +gaze toward them under the shadow of his hand. Then, apparently +satisfied that the party were bound for the gateway, he was seen to move +a few paces and bend over, with his hand to his mouth, as though +shouting to someone below, after which he resumed his march as before, +occasionally eyeing the strangers as they approached. + +Arrived at length at the gateway, it was seen that the structure +consisted of a wall, some thirty feet high, very solidly built of great +blocks of masonry dressed to a perfectly smooth face, and so accurately +jointed that, even at the distance of a few paces, the joints were +scarcely perceptible. The wall was built with a vertical face to a +height of some twenty feet, above which it swelled outward in the form +known as a "bull-nose," the upper surface of which sloped so steeply +upward as to render it unclimbable; so that, even if a man, or men, +should climb as far as the swell of the bull-nose by means of a pole or +ladder, the would-be intruders could get no farther. The wall was +semi-circular in plan, jutting out from the edge of the cliff for a +distance of some fifteen feet at either end and descending the face of +the cliff, diminishing as it went, until it died away to nothing, some +fifty feet below, rendering it an impossibility for anyone to pass round +either end of it. The middle of the wall was so constructed as to form +a watch-tower, some thirty feet square, with a flat roof, upon which it +appeared a sentinel was always posted; and it was in the base of the +watch-tower that the gateway, about ten feet wide, was pierced, the +opening being filled with a pair of wooden doors of exceedingly solid +construction. + +As the party halted, the sentinel, who wore a burnished helmet and +corselet that flashed in the sun like gold and was the colour of gold, +leaned over the parapet and shouted to them what seemed to be an +inquiry; but the words, though quite distinctly pronounced, were utterly +unintelligible to all. + +"Wants to know our business, I guess," remarked Earle. "Step forward, +Inaguy, and explain that we wish to pay our respects to his majesty, El +Dorado. Try him in all the dialects you happen to be acquainted with." + +Inaguy accordingly stepped forward and did his best, but without avail; +the sentinel, though he listened attentively to all that was said, could +evidently make nothing of it, replying only with shakes of the head. + +"It is the usual fate of the explorer who enters a new country," +remarked Earle. "He is unable to understand or make himself understood. +But there is always the language of signs to fall back upon. Let me +see what I can do in that way." + +Stepping forward and thus claiming the sentinel's attention, he pointed +first to himself, then to Dick, then, with a comprehensive wave of the +hand, to the Indian carriers, and finally to the door, motioning with +his hands as though opening it. This seemed to be intelligible to the +sentinel, for he nodded, and stepping aside a few paces, shouted a few +words to someone below in the interior of the tower. A few moments +later a second man appeared on the top of the tower and, approaching the +parapet, regarded the would-be visitors intently. The inspection +appeared to result satisfactorily, for a few moments later he +disappeared; a short interval of waiting ensued, then the gate swung +open, and he came fearlessly forward, while the gates swung to behind +him, and there was a sound of ponderous bars being shot into their +sockets. + +Judging from the richness of his dress and the quiet dignity of his +manner, the man was probably an officer. He was apparently about thirty +years of age, some five feet ten inches in height, and was well-made +though perhaps a trifle slight in build. In complexion he was somewhat +sallow, but he was distinctly good-looking, with a somewhat Hebrew cast +of features, and with coal-black hair, eyebrows, beard and moustache, +the beard trimmed square, and the hair worn rather long, trimmed square +across the nape of the neck, with a short fringe trimmed square across +the forehead. His eyes were black and piercing, but there was a +straightforward honest look in them that instantly created a favourable +impression. He was attired in helmet and corselet, apparently of gold, +like those worn by the sentinel, but with the addition of a splendid +plume of long black feathers surmounting his helmet. Beneath his +corselet appeared a sort of skirt of fine chain mail reaching to just +below the knees, and his legs were protected by greaves made of the same +metal as the rest of his armour. His feet were encased in buskins, a +sash of black and yellow passed over his left shoulder and was knotted +upon his right hip, while at his left dangled a short sword encased in a +jewelled scabbard, supported by a jewelled belt or chain of broad links, +all made of the same gold-like metal. As he strode forward, his eyes +glancing questioningly from Earle to Dick and back again, he threw up +his open right hand, palm forward, and said a few words, which sounded +like a greeting, in a full but very pleasant tone of voice. Like the +speech of the sentinel, his words were quite unintelligible to those +addressed, but his action seemed easily interpretable as the sign of +peace, and Earle instantly imitated it. + +"Thanks, old chap," the American replied, beaming amiably upon the +soldier; "it is good of you to say so; but I'm awfully sorry that I +can't understand you. The fact is, you know, that I and my friend +Cavendish"--he indicated Dick with a wave of his hand--"have come all +the way from New York expressly to discover your city--which I learn is +called Ulua--" + +The officer instantly caught the name Ulua and repeated it, smilingly +pointing in the direction of the city. + +"Yes," proceeded Earle, "that is so. I guess you get me all right. We +want to go in through that gate and make the acquaintance of your king, +El Dorado, or whatever his name may be. Do you get that?" + +All this was accompanied by much gesture, but it did not seem to be very +illuminating to the officer, who merely repeated the word Ulua, pointing +again toward the city. Then, pointing to himself, he pronounced the +word "Adoni," following it up by pointing at Earle, and uttering a word +that sounded like "Hu." + +"Yes, sirree, I get you all right," was Earle's reply as he gripped the +astonished man's right hand and shook it heartily, smiling in his eyes +as he did so. "Gee!" he exclaimed, turning to Dick, "we're getting on +like a house afire. He says his name is Adoni, and he asks who I am. +Isn't that right, old golden image?" + +The "old golden image" looked a trifle nonplussed for a moment, but +presently repeated his last performance; upon which Earle remarked: + +"Of course, I knew I wasn't mistaken. You sir," pointing, "are named +Adoni--" The officer nodded. "And I," he continued pointing to himself, +"am named Earle--_Earle_. You get that?" + +"Adoni," replied the officer, pointing to himself, "Earle"--pointing to +the owner of the name. + +"Right!" agreed Earle. "You are a quite intelligent guy, if I may be +permitted to say so. And this youngster's name is Dick--Dick. That's +easy enough to remember, isn't it?" + +"Adoni," replied the officer, again pointing to himself. "Earle--Dick," +pointing first to one and then the other. + +"Sure!" exclaimed Earle, delighted with the progress which he considered +he was making. "I knew there must be a way of making you understand." +And he proceeded to explain all over again, and speaking very slowly, +with plenty of gesture, his desire that he and his party might be +allowed to pass through the gate and visit the city of Ulua. It was a +tedious and lengthy process, but apparently it was in the end attended +with a certain measure of success, for eventually the officer shouted an +order, the gate was thrown open, and, taking Dick and Earle each by an +arm, Adoni led the pair through. Inaguy and the other Indians, who had +grounded their burdens while the long colloquy was proceeding, hastened +to resume them and follow the white men, but before they could do so +their leaders were inside, and the gate was bolted and barred upon them. + +Taken by surprise for the moment, Earle did not realise what was +happening until it was too late; but the instant that he did so he broke +free from Adoni's grasp and dashed up a flight of steps, which he saw a +little ahead of him, and which he rightly guessed led up to the parapet. +Arrived there he brushed aside the sentinel, who half-heartedly sought +to bar his way and, rushing to the parapet, ordered Inaguy and the rest +to remain where they were, and on no account to think of departing, for +he would certainly arrange, sooner or later, for their admission. Then +he calmly descended and surrendered himself to the astonished and +somewhat amused Adoni, who said a few words which sounded as though they +were intended to be reassuring. + +Resuming the _role_ of guide, Adoni now conducted the pair into a room +in the rear portion of the tower, in which was a window opening, +unglazed, affording a delightful view of the valley and lake, with the +road leading thereto; and here they were turned over to another officer, +who by signs, indicated a request that the strangers should remove their +outer garments. Earle at first evinced a disposition to refuse this +request, but Dick was less fastidious, and stripped to the waist without +demur, whereupon the unnamed officer, who was evidently a physician of +sorts, after glancing admiringly at the young Englishman's stalwart +proportions and magnificent muscular development--to which he +particularly drew Adoni's attention--proceeded to tap Dick on the chest +and between the shoulders, listen to the action of his heart and lungs, +punch him in the ribs, and act generally as though he were examining the +lad on behalf of a life insurance company; finally expressing his +approval of the youngster's physical condition in a manner which there +was no possibility of mistaking. + +Then Earle was again invited to subject himself to the same ordeal, and +this time he did so without demur, stripping off first his thin linen +jacket, and next the light woollen singlet which he was wearing as a +substitute for a shirt. + +And now came a startling surprise. For the removal of Earle's singlet +revealed the curious lozenge-shaped jewel with its inset emerald, which +he had removed from the neck of the idol in the sculptured cave +discovered by Dick, and which the American had ever since worn round his +neck for safe keeping. No sooner did the eyes of the examining officer +glimpse the jewel than he uttered a strange cry, suggestive of the +utmost astonishment. He gazed upon it with awe-struck eyes, drew +cautiously near to inspect it more closely, half stretched forth a hand, +seemingly to touch it, and then, suddenly, saying something to Adoni +which seemed to suggest that a most wonderful and amazing thing had +happened, prostrated himself at Earle's feet, an example which Adoni +instantly followed. + +"Now, what in the nation does this mean?" demanded Earle in a low voice +of Dick. "Why are these two guys kowtowing to me in this fashion? Gee! +They surely don't think that I'm some fancy god of theirs, come down +from Olympus to visit them, as a special mark of favour, do they?" + +"Well, it looks very much like it, by the way that they are carrying +on," returned Dick. "I think that it might help matters a bit, both now +and in the future, if you were to play up to the idea and infuse a +general air of benevolent condescension into your intercourse with them. +I don't see that it could possibly do any harm. Do you?" + +"Don't know," answered Earle. "It might if, later on, they were to come +to me and demand that I do some impossible thing for them. But, on the +other hand, I guess it would be up to me to refuse, if I chose. On the +whole, perhaps--and yet, I don't know--Yes, I guess I'll try it, and see +how it works." + +Bending down, he lightly touched the two officers upon the shoulder and, +when they ventured to glance up at him, graciously signed to them to +rise, which they did, with every mark of the most profound reverence. +From that moment there was no further trouble. Without waiting for +permission from the examining officer, Earle calmly resumed his singlet +and coat, taking care now, however, to leave fully exposed the jewel, or +amulet, or whatever it was, that had produced such a wonderful effect; +and this done, he signed to Adoni to open the gate and admit Inaguy and +the rest of the Indians, which was instantly done. In the meantime, +while the Indians were with much deliberation gathering up their loads +and adjusting them upon their shoulders, in response to Earle's +reassuring call, Adoni and the other officer had withdrawn to a little +distance and were plunged into an earnest, anxious consultation, the +result of which was that, a few minutes later, a man, naked save for a +sort of breech cloth wrapped about his loins, started out from the guard +house and set off down the road leading to the city, as though running +for his life. + +As the last of the Indians passed through the gateway, the massive +timber gates were closed and securely barred behind them, and Earle and +Dick stepped forward to place themselves at their head, intending to +resume their march toward Ulua. But Adoni, perceiving their intention, +at once intervened and, firmly yet with the utmost reverence of manner, +intimated by signs an earnest desire that the party would postpone their +departure. He did this by standing before them in the middle of the +road, with his arms outstretched as though to bar the way; then he +signed to the Indians to remove themselves to a wide plot of grass by +the side of the road and deposit their burden there; and finally +beckoned the two white men to accompany him into the guard house, where +he conducted them into a plainly but comfortably furnished room, and +signed to them a request to rest themselves upon a couple of couches +which he indicated, at the same time giving them to understand that a +meal would presently be served to them. + +Earle, well pleased at the success which had attended his effort to +penetrate to the interior of the forbidden country, signified his +acquiescence by seating himself on one of the couches, whereupon Adoni, +equally well pleased, withdrew, with a profound bow, leaving the two +friends to themselves. + +"Well," remarked Earle, rising from the couch and gazing with +satisfaction upon the glorious prospect of lake and valley revealed by +the window opening before which he placed himself, "we are inside the +gate, and that is something achieved, anyway. For, at first, I feared +that they were going to refuse us admission, and if they had done so I +guess we should have found it a pretty difficult matter to get in. But +our friend Adoni has evidently no authority to allow us to go on without +first referring to the boss, whoever he may be; and I guess that naked +runner was the bearer of a report and a request for further +instructions. Now of course our line of conduct will be to conform to +the manners and customs of the natives, so far as may be, and give no +trouble; for our only object in coming here is to see the country and +the people, and that can best be accomplished by keeping on good terms +with everybody; therefore we will just let them make all the +arrangements, and we will fall in with them. But I have great hopes +from the possession of this jewel, which evidently has some powerful +mystic significance in the eyes of these people. Adoni and the other +fellow appeared to recognise it at once, and there can be no question as +to the reverence with which they regard it. Judging from the behaviour +of those two, the thing ought to secure us a very favourable reception +at headquarters. I wish I knew the history of it." + +"We shall perhaps learn that later on," returned Dick. "And I +anticipate that when we do, it will prove both curious and romantic. +The mere finding of it in that wonderful cavern was remarkable enough, +but the astonishment and delight of Adoni at recognising it were still +more remarkable, to my mind. To me, their behaviour was that of men +suddenly brought face to face with something that they had almost +despaired of ever seeing again." + +"Yes, I guess you are right," agreed Earle. "Not that either of those +two could ever have actually seen the thing, for it must have lain +hidden in that cave for--well, a hundred years or more, I should say. +But be that as it may, it is evidently in their eyes an object of +extraordinary sanctity, and should--indeed, most probably does--confer +some very special privileges upon its possessor, of which I shall feel +justified in making the fullest use." + +The pair were still chatting in a somewhat desultory fashion when two +men, evidently servants, entered the room, bearing a table already set +for a meal, and they were immediately followed by others who brought in +several smoking dishes of food, a jar of a light kind of wine, an +open-work metal tray heaped with small cakes, and a piled-up basket of +fruit, consisting of oranges, grapes, nectarines, and one or two other +kinds which neither Earle nor Dick was able to identify. The plates, +dishes, and drinking-cups were unmistakably of gold, but quite plain, as +were the dagger-like knives and a kind of skewer which was evidently +intended to serve as a fork. The food consisted of a stew, apparently +of kid's flesh, a roasted bird about the size of, and somewhat similar +in flavour to, a duck, roasted yams, ears of green maize, boiled, and a +dish of some kind of bean which both pronounced delicious; indeed the +meal as a whole was excellent, and was done full justice to by both +participants. The wine, too, if wine it was, was almost icy cold, and +of exceedingly agreeable though somewhat peculiar flavour, and was +apparently unfermented, for although both drank freely of it, it might +have been pure water, so far as its intoxicant effect was concerned. At +the conclusion of the meal Earle produced his pipe and, lighting up, +sallied forth with Dick, to see how the Indian bearers were faring; his +appearance, with smoke issuing from his mouth and nostrils, again so +profoundly impressing the beholders that they were once more impelled to +prostrate themselves as he passed by. The Indians, with characteristic +philosophy, had camped on the grass plot at the side of the guard house, +and had been as well cared for in their way as had their masters, and +were evidently quite satisfied with the state of affairs in general. + +The afternoon was well advanced when, as Dick and Earle sat in the +embrasure of the window, looking out over the lake and valley, and +chatting together upon the sort of reception which they might expect +from the Uluans, they observed a light yellow cloud-like appearance +across the lake, on that side of it upon which the city was built, and +bringing their glasses to bear upon it, they perceived that it was dust, +in the midst of which could be perceived the forms of horsemen and the +glitter of accoutrements. After careful scrutiny, Earle pronounced the +troop to be about a hundred strong, and it appeared to be advancing at a +fairly rapid pace. + +While the American kept his glasses bearing upon the cavalcade, Dick +permitted his gaze to search the nearer landscape; and it was while he +was thus engaged that he detected another and much smaller dust cloud, +almost immediately beneath the guard house, on the road which wound +round the south-eastern extremity of the lake toward that part of the +valley where the cliff road leading to the guard house began. Focussing +his glasses on this smaller dust cloud, he saw that it was caused by a +group of three horsemen who were riding as if for their lives. Judging +from the richness of their garb and the sumptuous trappings of their +horses, they were persons of considerable consequence, and Dick, who +always had an eye for detail, noticed that two of them, who rode a +horse's length in the rear of the third, carried each a capacious roll +or bundle of some sort strapped to the bow of his saddle. He directed +Earle's attention to the little group; and together they watched it +until it disappeared round a bend in the road. + +"Coming here, I guess," pronounced Earle. And half an hour later his +surmise proved to be correct, for, still watching from the window, the +pair again sighted the trio of horsemen urging their animals at top +speed up the gentle slope of the cliff road toward the guard house. + +A few minutes later the trio reined up their winded and sweat-lathered +steeds and dismounted at the door of the guard house, where they were +met and greeted with profound respect by Adoni; and while the leader, +accompanied by Adoni, entered the building, the other two busied +themselves unstrapping from their saddle bows the bundles which Dick had +noticed, and bearing which they presently followed their leader. + +For fully twenty minutes the newcomers remained in close conference with +Adoni and the officer who had acted the part of medical examiner--and +whose name, it transpired, was Camma--and at the end of the conference +they were conducted by the two officers into the presence of Earle and +Dick. It was Adoni who presented them, naming them respectively, Acor-- +who subsequently proved to be the captain of King Juda's guard--Tedek +and Kedah, the two latter being lieutenants in Acor's corps. They were +all fine, upstanding men, of distinctly imperious and haughty bearing-- +Acor perhaps exhibiting those characteristics most markedly, as was only +natural, considering the exalted position which he occupied at Court, +and the almost autocratic authority which he wielded; nevertheless, at +the sight of Earle's talisman, they suddenly subdued their haughty +demeanour to one of deep reverence, and bowed low before the American, +with their hands crossed upon their breasts, while they murmured a few +words, which sounded like something in the nature of an invocation. +Then they turned to Dick and, with a glance of admiration at his +stalwart frame, bowed again, though with somewhat less of deference than +they had manifested toward Earle. As for Earle, he did his best to act +up to the distinguished position into which Fate seemed to have +pitch-forked him, returning the bows of the officers with a slight +inclination of the head and a still slighter flexure of the body, while +he gazed upon them with a kind of bland abstraction; Dick imitating his +friend's deportment as closely as possible, though there was a gleam of +frankness and friendliness in his eyes which Earle had not permitted to +appear in his. + +Notwithstanding a certain suggestion of reserve in the demeanour of the +new arrivals, they could not altogether conceal the astonishment they +evidently felt at the style and cut of the white men's clothes--by this +time very much the worse for wear and travel stains--which afforded so +marked a contrast to their own splendid habiliments. The three officers +were attired alike in helmets, corselets, greaves, and gauntlets of gold +plate worn over a shirt of fine chain mail, also made of gold, and were +armed with short swords, encased in golden scabbards suspended from +belts consisting of gold plaques linked together. But there were +certain differences in the uniform of the three; for whereas the plumes +which adorned the helmets of the two lieutenants were black, those of +their chief were red; and whereas their helmets were perfectly plain, +Acor's was richly decorated with embossed ornamentation. Also the arms +of the two lieutenants were bare from corselet to gauntlet, while Acor's +were clad in sleeves of thin red silk. The lieutenants' sashes were +black and yellow; that of the captain red; they wore buskins of white +leather, while his feet and legs were encased in golden armour to just +below the knee; and lastly, his sword hilt, belt and scabbard were much +more richly ornamented than theirs. + +The introduction having been effected, Acor addressed himself at some +length and with much gesture to Earle. Precisely what he said was of +course unintelligible to the white men; but they gathered some hint of +meaning from his gestures, which they interpreted--rightly, as +afterwards transpired--as a sort of qualified welcome to Ulua, founded +entirely upon Earle's possession of the mysterious amulet. Acor +concluded his address by beckoning forward his two lieutenants and +directing the attention of the white men to the contents of the bundles, +which, when unrolled, proved to be two dresses made of an exceedingly +fine, silky sort of woollen material. The dresses consisted of a sort +of singlet without sleeves, a pair of short pants somewhat like those +worn by football players, and an outer garment, cut somewhat like a +shirt, but rather longer, the hem reaching to just below the knee. This +garment, made quite loose, was confined at the waist by a belt. The +costumes were completed by the addition of sandals and a kind of turban. +But the two costumes, although similar in cut, were different in +appearance; for while that which was offered for Earle's acceptance was +decorated with turquoise blue braid sewn round the edges of the outer +garment in a broad pattern very similar to the Greek "key" pattern, with +an edging of bead fringe of the same colour, the ornamentation of the +costume offered to Dick consisted of an elaborate pattern beautifully +worked in red braid, with a fringe of red beads. The turbans, too, were +somewhat different in shape, Earle's being considerably the higher of +the two, intertwined with a rope of large blue beads, while Dick's was +perfectly plain. Recognising that Acor was inviting them to accept +these garments and don them, the two white men bowed their assent and +took the garments, whereupon Acor and his lieutenants retired, leaving +Earle and Dick to themselves. Truth to tell, the presented garments +were most acceptable gifts, for not only were the clothes which the +explorers were wearing grimy and tattered, but, having been originally +designed for hard service, they were also unpleasantly heavy and hot, so +that their owners were only too glad to discard them in favour of others +much more suited to the climate, and the pair lost no time in effecting +the change. + +They had scarcely done so when the sound of horses' hoofs approaching up +the road attracted their attention, and going to the window, they +perceived a dozen horsemen, with two led horses, galloping toward the +guard house. A few minutes later, these having arrived, Acor presented +himself, and by signs invited the two white men to follow him. This +they did, passing out of the guard house just as three servants led +forth the horses of Acor and his two lieutenants, which meanwhile had +been groomed and fed. Then, as the two white men stepped forth into the +open, each of the newly-arrived horsemen flung up his right hand in +salute and shouted a word that sounded remarkably like "Hail!" The two +led horses were then brought forward, and with a gesture of deference, +Acor invited his two guests--or were they prisoners?--to mount. + +The horses were beautiful animals, full of mettle and fire, +notwithstanding the journey which they had just performed, and they were +most sumptuously caparisoned, the saddles, though differently shaped +from the European or American article, being made of soft leather, +thickly padded, with a handsome saddle cloth beneath, under which again +was a fine net made of thin silk cord, reaching from the animal's +withers to his tail, the edges of the net being fringed with small +tassels. + +Earle was of course an accomplished horseman, riding indeed like a +cowboy, and therefore, out of a feeling of compassion for his companion, +he chose what appeared to be the most mettlesome of the two proffered +horses; but Dick, although a sailor, had also learned how to keep his +seat upon a horse's back, and the manner in which the pair lightly swung +themselves up into the saddle, and the easy grace with which they +retained their seats, despite the curvetting and prancing of their +steeds, evoked a low murmur of admiration from the beholders as the +latter formed up round the white men. + +Then, just as Adoni and Camma were bidding their strange guests a +respectful farewell, Earle noticed that his Indian followers and all his +goods had disappeared. + +"Say!" he exclaimed, seizing Acor by the arm and pointing to the spot +where the Indians had been camped a couple of hours earlier--"where are +my Indians? Surely, you haven't turned them out, have you?" + +The tone of voice in which the question was put and the gesture which +accompanied it were evidently quite intelligible, for Acor instantly +replied in deferential tones, at the same time pointing down the road; +and, sure enough, after the cavalcade had proceeded about two miles, +Inaguy and his companions were overtaken, trudging cheerfully along +under the escort of a man who both Dick and Earle remembered having seen +about the guard house earlier in the day. + +The two friends, with their escort, reached the foot of the cliff road, +after a ride of some six miles, shortly after the sun had disappeared +behind the mountains at the western end of the valley. They were now in +the valley itself, with mountains hemming them in on every hand; and as +they gazed upward in wonder at the high, vertical cliffs all round them, +they realised at last that they were inside an absolutely impregnable +fortress, hewn out of the mountain range by the hand of Nature herself, +and accessible only by air, or by the road which they had just +traversed. After a thoroughly comprehensive survey of their +surroundings, Earle explained to Dick that the only theory upon which he +could account for so extraordinary a formation was, that thousands, or +possibly even millions, of years ago the valley had been the crater of a +gigantic volcano which, after the volcano had become extinct, had +gradually filled with debris, leaving a depression in the middle, which +in process of time, had become a lake. And, indeed, if the theory of a +volcano upon so gigantic a scale could but be accepted, it looked very +much as though Earle's explanation might be correct; for the soil of the +valley--a belt of flat land some two miles wide, extending all round the +lake--was light and friable, but extraordinarily rich, as is apt to be +the case with volcanic soil, while the vertical cliffs which hemmed it +in all round bore a striking resemblance to the interior of certain +well-known craters. + +Just clear of the foot of the cliff road the party came upon an +encampment, easily recognisable as that of the body of soldiers seen +advancing from the city earlier in the day; and here the night was +spent, the two white men being housed in a capacious tent, most +luxuriously furnished and adorned, in which, shortly after their +arrival, a meal of so elaborate a description, that it might almost be +termed a banquet, was served to them by a staff of reverentially +obsequious servants, and in which they subsequently slept the sleep of +the just, on great piles of soft rugs spread upon the short grass. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THEIR FIRST DAY IN ULUA. + +With the rising of the sun on the following morning, the camp became a +scene of bustling activity, the soldiers grooming, feeding, and watering +their horses, while a little army of servitors bestirred themselves in +the kindling of fires and the preparation of a meal, prior, as the two +white men surmised, to a start for the city. + +Whatever might be the climatic conditions in the valley later on in the +day, the early morning air was fresh, cool, and fragrant, with the +mingled odours of rich pastures, luxuriant cornfields, orchards, and +gardens, brilliant with many-hued flowers. + +As Earle and Dick emerged from their tent, fresh and buoyant after a +sound night's sleep, the troopers, very lightly clad, were mounting +their horses, bare-backed, with the evident intention of taking the +animals down to the lake; and the idea occurred to Dick and Earle +simultaneously, that there was nothing in the world they so ardently +desired at that moment as a dip in the lake, which, gently ruffled by +the lightest and most balmy of zephyrs, lay shimmering invitingly in the +sunshine some two miles away. With one accord, therefore, they advanced +toward where the horsemen, now mounted, awaited the word of command to +march. Most of the troopers had only their own individual horses to +look after, but there were some twenty or so who were each also in +charge of a led horse, and walking up to a couple of these, the two +white men took from the somewhat surprised but submissive soldiers a +horse apiece, and vaulting upon the animals' bare backs, lined up +alongside the officer in command, who received them with a respectful +salute. Half an hour later, Dick and Earle were sporting in the lake +like a couple of mermen, to the amazement and admiration of the Uluans, +not one of whom appeared to possess the most elementary knowledge of +swimming. The temperature of the water was just right to render a swim +both invigorating and enjoyable, and when at length the two friends +returned to camp, they were in excellent form to do justice to the +breakfast which they found awaiting them. + +The journey from the foot of the cliff road where the camp had been +pitched, round the south-eastern extremity of the lake and so to the +city, was taken at an easy pace, to spare the cattle which drew the camp +carts, in which room had been found for Earle's impedimenta as well as +for a few of the Indians, while those not so accommodated made no +difficulty of running or walking beside the carts. The journey was +devoid of incident, but the ride was an exceedingly pleasant one, since +the road wound its way for the whole distance through fields and +orchards, the flourishing condition of which bore eloquent testimony to +the richness of the soil and the agricultural skill of the inhabitants. +Here and there farms were passed which were devoted to the raising of +horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and the splendid condition of the +animals was a source of constant admiration to the two white men. + +The city was reached about noon, but long before then the strangers had +begun to realise the splendour and magnificence of it. A peculiarity of +it was that it had no suburbs, the farm lands coming right up to the +gardens of the outermost houses of the city, which clustered as thickly +on its outskirts as in its heart. A further peculiarity was that there +were no rows of houses; each was completely detached and stood in its +own grounds, the only difference being that some of the buildings were +larger, more ornate, and had more extensive gardens than others. The +buildings, though by no means overloaded with ornament, were exceedingly +handsome in a quiet, chaste style, which Earle said reminded him very +forcibly of certain Pompeiian houses; much of the ornamentation +consisting of painted designs upon the white walls. All the houses +appeared to be flat-roofed, and many of them had gardens on the roofs, +the shrubs and trees showing over the low parapets. Others were covered +with gay awnings, beneath which some of the occupants could be seen +taking their ease in hammocks. The Uluans appeared to be passionately +fond of flowers, the gardens being full of them, while their condition +evidenced the care with which they were tended. Fountains, too, +abounded, some of those adorning the public squares being of very +curious and elaborate design. The streets were very wide, few being +less than a hundred feet in width, while some were considerably wider, +with narrow strips of garden running down the centre, full of the most +exquisite flowers interspersed with umbrageous trees. Trees also +overshadowed the rather narrow sidewalks. + +Ulua, however, was by no means a city devoted exclusively to luxury. +There was evidently a considerable amount of business done there also, +for some of the streets were occupied entirely by shops, though who, +except the inhabitants, patronised them, was a question, since all the +indications pointed to the fact that there was no trade done with the +outside world. The commodities exposed for sale seemed to consist +mainly of fruit, vegetables, flowers, confectionery, what looked like +bread in various fanciful shapes, embroideries, jewellery, silks, soft +woollen materials, paintings, lamps and lanterns, harness, and other +goods too numerous to mention. + +What surprised the visitors most of all, perhaps, in this wonderful city +was the extraordinarily lavish use made of gold; to them it appeared +that everything that could possibly be made of gold was of that metal; +and it was not until some time afterwards that they learned that gold +was the most common of the metals with the Uluans, who valued it only +because of its untarnishability and beauty of colour. + +The wider thoroughfares, squares, and the spacious public gardens +through which the cavalcade passed contained a fair number of people, +although the visitors discovered, later on, that this was the hour when +most of the inhabitants who were not called abroad by business preferred +to remain in the seclusion of their own houses and gardens, this being +the hottest hour of the day. Naturally, Earle and Dick regarded with +some curiosity the people who paused to regard them as they passed, and +they came to the conclusion that, on the whole, the Uluans were a +distinctly attractive-looking people, the women especially reminding +Earle of the Italians, not only as regarded the regularity of their +features, but also in the grace of their form and carriage. + +At length the cavalcade came to a halt in a spacious and beautiful +square, situated, as the visitors judged, in about the centre of the +city. One side of this square was entirely occupied by an enormous, +lofty, and handsome building, the central portion of which was +surmounted by an immense dome, covered with plates of gold, arranged in +tiers or bands of different shapes among which that of the lozenge was +the most conspicuous, while each corner of the building was crowned with +a smaller dome, similarly covered and ornamented. Each of the five +domes bore on its summit, as a sort of finial, the figure of a winged +serpent, half of its body being arranged in a coil, while the other +half, with outstretched wings, was upreared in a graceful curve. A +similar figure crowned a large and beautiful fountain which occupied the +centre of the square, and it was noticeable that every individual who +passed this figure halted and bowed profoundly to it, from which the two +white men inferred that the winged serpent was a sacred symbol, +evidently held in the highest veneration. This surmise ultimately +proved to be correct, the winged serpent being the figure of the Uluan +god Kuhlacan, who was believed to dwell at the bottom of the lake, in +its centre, and at whose annual festival sacrifices of jewels of immense +value were made by casting them with much ceremony into the lake, from +richly decorated boats. The building with the five golden domes was, of +course, the temple, sacred to Kuhlacan, in which the god was daily +worshipped. Earle, whose aesthetic sense was stirred by the beauty of +the fountain and the wonderful workmanship of the figure surmounting it, +directed Dick's particular attention to it and descanted at some length +upon the taste of the design; and Dick, while listening to his +companion, could not fail to observe that Acor, the officer in charge of +the escort, as well as the members of the escort, and indeed all who +were gathered in the square at the moment, regarded Earle intently, with +an expression of mingled wonder and satisfaction. Acor waited +respectfully while Earle was speaking and, when the latter had finished, +gave the order to dismount. + +At a signal from one of the officers, two troopers advanced and took +charge of the horses which Earle and Dick had been riding, and then +Acor, bowing respectfully to the pair, invited them by word and gesture +to follow him into a building on the opposite side of the square from +the temple. + +This building, which, like the temple, occupied an entire side of the +square, was much more elaborate, from an architectural point of view +than the sacred edifice, the design of which was chaste, majestic, and +rather severe, while its _vis-a-vis_--which proved to be the royal +palace--was ornate and decorative in effect. It consisted of an immense +block of buildings, arranged in the form of a hollow square enclosing a +magnificent garden, adorned with many beautiful fountains and statues, +access to which was gained through a wide and lofty archway closed by a +pair of immense and beautiful gates, modelled apparently in bronze, the +archway and gates being so treated as to form a distinctive feature in +the general design of the building. + +As Acor and his two companions approached the archway the great gates +swung open, actuated by some unseen agency, and the trio passed through, +saluted, as they went, by the two impassive sentries who stood on guard. + +Wheeling sharply round to the left as soon as they had passed through +the archway, Acor conducted his charges along a wide pathway paved with +slabs of variegated marble, until they reached a lofty doorway, entering +which, Earle and Dick found themselves in a spacious lofty hall, the +temperature of which was delightfully cool compared with the blazing +sunshine outside. They appeared to be expected, for upon their +entrance, a little group of men, whose rich attire seemed to proclaim +them palace officials, came forward and bowing low, were introduced by +Acor, who simply pointed to each man and pronounced his name. This +done, the captain of the guard gravely and respectfully saluted his +charges and retired, leaving them in the hands of the little group of +supposed officials. + +One of these, an elderly man of very dignified mien and presence, whom +Acor had named Bahrim, and who afterward turned out to be the major-domo +of the palace, at once stepped forward and with a low bow, signed the +two white men to follow him. He led the way to one side of the hall, +where a noble staircase of elaborately sculptured marble swept upward to +a wide gallery running round three of the walls, and ascending this, +Earle and Dick were presently inducted into a suite of three lofty and +luxurious rooms, two of which were furnished as sleeping-chambers, while +the third, lighted by two lofty window openings, shaded by sun blinds, +looked out over the garden. The rooms were all most sumptuously +furnished, the furniture, of quaint but graceful design, being made, for +the most part, of rare and beautiful woods, richly carved. In each of +the sleeping-chambers there was a large marble bath, already filled with +water, and on each of the couches was set out a change of apparel. + +With a wave of the hand, Bahrim indicated the rooms and their contents +generally, and said a few words, from the tone of which Earle judged him +to be asking whether they were satisfactory; for when Earle carelessly +nodded an affirmative, Bahrim smiled, as though with gratification, and +clapped his hands. This proved to be a summons to two attendants, who +instantly entered and made their obeisances to the white men. These +Bahrim introduced by the simple process of pointing to one and saying, +"Shan," and to the other, saying, "Raba." + +"Thanks," said Earle; "that will do nicely." Then, as Bahrim +respectfully bowed himself out, the American turned to his friend and +remarked: + +"Say, Dick, how is this for high? Some lodging, this. What? I wonder +how long it is to lunch time? That ride has proved a fine appetiser in +my case. But those baths look good. Guess I'll have a dip now. I +suppose these two guys are to be our servants. Which one will you +have?" + +"Oh," answered Dick, "either of them will do for me. They both look +reasonably decent chaps. Take your choice." + +"Right!" said Earle. "Then I guess I'll have Shan, because I think his +name is the easiest to remember. Come along, Shan, and help me to get +out of these togs. I'm going to have a bath. See?" + +Shan apparently saw, which indeed was not difficult, since Earle pointed +toward the bath as he spoke. The man bowed and turned to help Earle rid +himself of his clothes, while Dick, beckoning to Raba, retired to the +other sleeping-chamber, and a few minutes later was also luxuriating in +the coolness of the bath. + +Refreshed by their dip and a delicious luncheon, the two friends were +seated in the deep embrasure of one of the unglazed windows of their +sitting-room, Earle lazily smoking as he and Dick discussed the +advisability of sallying forth, a little later, to learn the geography +of the town, when they were interrupted by the appearance of Bahrim, the +major-domo, accompanied by two other men, whom he introduced +respectively as Zorah and Kedah. + +The former was a tall, thin, ascetic-looking man of probably sixty or +sixty-five years of age. He had doubtless been, in his prime, an +exceedingly handsome man, for, even now, his features were well modelled +and clean cut, but his sallow skin was deeply wrinkled about the +forehead, eyes, and the wings of his nostrils--his mouth and chin were +hidden by a thick moustache and long, straggling grey, almost white +beard. A few thin wisps of long white hair escaped from the back part +of the turban which covered his head, and fell to the level of his +shoulders. But perhaps the most striking feature of him after his thin, +hawk-like nose, was his eyes, which were large, black and piercing. He +was attired in a dress which was a replica in every respect of that +which had been provided for Earle, and his carriage, as he entered the +apartment, was assured, haughty, almost arrogant, that of a man of high +and assured position who possessed a profound faith in himself. + +He bowed to Earle with a gesture of restrained humility which contrasted +oddly with the hauteur of his expression, and striding up to the +American, laid his two thin, talon-like hands upon the other's +shoulders, and turned him round until Earle fully faced the light. +Then, bending forward, he intently scrutinised the queer jewel, or +talisman, which Earle now wore fully exposed to view. And as he did so, +the expression of almost defiant pride which his features had worn upon +his entrance, gradually relaxed until it vanished and gave place to one +of humble conviction. Then, laying the extremities of his fingers to +his forehead, he bowed very low and backing away from Earle, gradually +bowing himself out of the chamber. + +Meanwhile, the other man, Kedah, had stood, a profoundly interested and +impressed spectator of the short scene. He, too, was an elderly man, +short, rather inclined to be stout, and bald-headed save for two thick +tufts of white hair that sprouted over his ears. He was attired very +much like Earle, except that the garniture of his robe was emerald +green, instead of turquoise blue; also, instead of a turban, he usually +wore a small, close-fitting skull cap of green silk, which he had +removed upon entering the apartment. In one hand he carried, as well as +his skull cap, a rather clumsy-looking umbrella of green silk, modelled +somewhat after the pattern of the Japanese article, while the other hand +grasped a roll of what looked like thin parchment. + +Upon the departure of Zorah, Kedah laid aside his umbrella and skull cap +and, respectfully motioning the two white men to be seated, drew forward +a small table, upon which he unrolled the parchment, revealing the fact +that its inner surface was covered with small but beautifully executed +drawings of a multitude of objects, such as men, women, boys, girls, +infants, horses, cattle, sheep, etc. To several of these he pointed in +turn, giving each its proper designation in the Uluan tongue, making his +pupils--for such they were--repeat the words several times after him +until they had caught the correct accent. Then, after he had named some +twenty objects, he harked back to the beginning again, pointing to each +object and then, by expressive motions of his hands and bushy eyebrows, +requiring them to repeat as many of the names as they could remember. +In this fashion they proceeded for about an hour and a half, by which +time the two white men had mastered the designations of some fifty +objects and were enabled to repeat them when pointed at haphazard. +Kedah graciously expressed his satisfaction at their progress in a flow +of words accompanied by so much action and spoken in such a tone that +there was little difficulty in understanding his general meaning. This +system of tuition was continued day after day, accompanied by a gradual +extension of the hours of study, and, after the first week, by the +introduction of short sentences, such as: "This is a table. That is a +picture. There is a man. Yonder go a woman and child. Observe that +crowd of people," and so on, the sentences gradually lengthening and +becoming more intricate, so that by the end of two months, Kedah's +pupils were not only able to gather the general sense of most of what +was said to them, but also intelligibly to ask for almost anything they +required. + +Meanwhile, during the progress of that first lesson, certain muffled +exclamations, accompanied by the sounds of heavy breathing and scuffling +feet, reached the ears of the pupils from the adjoining apartments; and +when, upon the conclusion of the lesson they entered those apartments, +Dick and Earle had the satisfaction of finding that all their belongings +had been brought up and were neatly stowed away; also that Inaguy and +Moquit, two of their Indian followers, had been added to their staff of +servants. And from these men they also received the satisfactory +information that the rest of the Indians were lodged together and being +well cared for in a chamber beneath the palace. + +The afternoon was by this time so far advanced that the two white men +felt they might safely venture to sally forth and see something of the +city, without much fear of being unduly incommoded by the heat, and they +were also curious to ascertain how far they were free agents to come and +go as they pleased; they resolved, therefore, to put the matter to the +test without further ado. Accordingly, each thrusting a pair of fully +loaded automatics into his belt, as a measure of precaution against +possible contingencies, they left their apartments and, descending the +stairs, made their way to the garden quadrangle, from whence they +passed, without interference, into the grand square, receiving the +salute of the sentry at the gates as they went. + +The temple, situate on the opposite side of the square, was naturally +the first object to claim their attention, and observing that its great +main entrance doors stood wide open, the pair sauntered across the +square, reverentially saluted as they went by everyone they met, and +passing up the long flight of steps leading to the open doorway, they +boldly entered the building. + +It was a magnificent structure, the rich and lavish ornamentation of its +interior making ample amends for the severity of its exterior design. +The four corners of the building were occupied by spacious rooms, or +possibly subsidiary chapels, the doors of which were closed, but the +main or principal temple was open, and into this the two friends boldly +made their way, Earle declaring to Dick that he was determined to put to +the test the exact measure of independence and power which the +possession of the talisman conferred upon him, which he believed to be +almost supreme, judging by the extraordinary reverence and veneration +with which it had thus far been regarded by the Uluans. + +The main temple was far and away the most spacious interior which either +of them had thus far seen, Earle, after running his eye over it, +expressing the opinion that its floor would accommodate at least twenty +thousand persons comfortably. It was rectangular in shape, its longest +dimension running east and west. Its main walls were about sixty feet +high, tinted turquoise blue--as was the ceiling--with decorative designs +in white. It was lighted by windows in the sides, fitted with slats +instead of glass, so carefully adjusted that while admitting a +sufficiency of light--when one's eyes became accustomed to the +semi-obscurity--they effectually excluded rain. The centre of the +ceiling was pierced by a circular aperture about one hundred feet in +diameter, above which rose the majestic dome which, from the outside, +had already attracted their admiring attention. This dome was supported +by four enormous columns connected by arches, and its interior, while +shrouded in gloom, was a mass of subdued scintillating colour, as though +it were encrusted with innumerable gems and glowing enamels. The +eastern wall of the interior was remarkable from the circumstance that +it bore a gigantic replica of the jewel, or talisman, which Earle wore-- +a fact which finally and definitely confirmed the conviction already +arrived at by the American that the possession of the ornament conferred +upon him almost supernatural powers and authority. At a distance of +some twenty feet from this eastern wall there was an immense figure--or +statue--of the Winged Serpent, reproduced in the middle of the square +and on the domes of the temple, and before it stood a very large altar +which bore evidences that sacrifices were continually offered upon it. + +Upon entering the building the two friends were under the impression +that it was empty; but they had scarcely been in it ten minutes, and +were standing before the altar, studying the marvellous modelling of the +Winged Serpent, when a strain of music smote upon their ears, and the +next moment a curtain parted and a company of priests, some sixty in +number, of whom about a third were playing upon quaint-looking musical +instruments, filed into the building, headed by Zorah, their +acquaintance of an hour or two earlier. Advancing with slow and solemn +steps they halted before the two friends and, after bowing profoundly to +Earle, broke into a slow and solemn chant, which gradually changed into +a kind of triumphal hymn, at the conclusion of which they again bowed +until their foreheads almost touched the pavement, and then filed out +again. + +The two white men, completely taken aback by the solemnity and +unexpectedness of this apparently impromptu ceremony, knew not what to +do, and therefore did nothing, which, as afterwards transpired, was the +wisest course they could possibly have adopted. For, although they were +quite unaware of it at the moment, their every movement was being +carefully watched, and when they entered the temple, Zorah, the high +priest, was instantly informed of the fact; whereupon he marshalled his +subordinate priests and carried out the ceremony above recorded, in +order to do honour to the individual who, in virtue of his possession of +the mysterious jewel bearing the "sign" of Kuhlacan, the Winged Serpent, +was implicitly believed to be either Kuhlacan's special ambassador to +the Uluans, or, possibly, a human incarnation of Kuhlacan himself. The +ceremony brought home a vague inkling of this state of affairs to both +of the individuals most intimately concerned, and Earle, while +expressing some embarrassment and dislike of the position in which he +found himself placed, announced to Dick his determination to accept it, +in the hope and belief that, before leaving Ulua, it might be his good +fortune to wield the authority with which he was endowed for the benefit +and advantage of the people, and quite possibly, the correction of +abuses. + +Leaving the temple, the two friends passed out of the square and entered +a road which attracted them because of its extraordinary width, the +magnificence of its shade trees, the beauty of its central strip of +garden, the sumptuous character of its buildings, and the air of dignity +and well-being which seemed to characterise the people who were +promenading it. Taken altogether, it appeared to be Ulua's most +aristocratic quarter, or at least its most fashionable promenade, for +the men and women who thronged it were all elegantly dressed, and all +had the air of belonging to the leisured class, while the roadway was +thickly sprinkled with elegant and beautifully decorated chariots, drawn +by teams of two, or sometimes three, handsome horses, driven by young +men who appeared to be inviting the admiration of Ulua's fair ones. + +Still unobtrusively followed by a palace official, the two friends +wended their way down the street, receiving the respectful homage of all +who passed them. They had traversed about half the length of the +street, which was about two miles long, when suddenly loud and excited +cries arose behind them, punctuated by the quick clatter of galloping +hoofs, and wheeling round, they beheld a beautiful chariot, the body, +wheels, and pole of which were entirely covered with plates of embossed +gold, coming careering along the road toward them at full speed, and +swerving wildly from side to side of the road as it came, the two cream +stallions which drew it having evidently bolted. + +The man who drove was doing his best to regain control of his terrified +and mettlesome animals, and at the same time to avoid the chariots ahead +of him, the drivers of which hurriedly drew in towards the sides of the +road to give the runaways a free passage; but the lad--for he was +apparently still in his teens--might as well have attempted to control +the elements; the horses had got their heads and seemed determined not +to stop until they were tired, while it was evident that a very serious +accident was inevitable, the road being thronged with vehicles, horsemen +and pedestrians--the latter seeming to use the roadway quite as much as +the footpaths. + +And even as Dick and Earle halted and turned to ascertain the cause of +the commotion, the wildly careering chariot collided with another, a +wheel of which it sheared off, while the impact of the two vehicles +jolted the driver of the runaways off his feet and flung him violently +into the road, where he lay motionless. + +"Good heavens!" exclaimed Dick, as the two creams came tearing along, +with the reins trailing in the roadway, "the brutes will not only kill +themselves, but dozens of people as well, if they are not stopped!" And +before Earle could reply, or do anything to restrain him, the lad sprang +into the roadway, close to the path of the runaways, and braced himself +for a spring. The next instant the frantic horses were upon him; but +meanwhile, with a leap, Dick had started to run in the same direction as +the horses, and as they tore past, with one hand he snatched at the +reins and got them, while with the other, he gripped the rear of the +chariot and swung himself into it. Then, gripping the reins with a firm +hand, and shouting all the time to warn those ahead, he brought a steady +strain to bear upon the horses' mouths, guiding them meanwhile as best +he could. And almost immediately his pull upon the reins began to tell, +for his thews and sinews, hardened and tempered to the strength of steel +by his long tramp from the banks of the Amazon, were very different from +those of the effeminate youth who had been thrown out; and after +traversing a couple of hundred yards, the animals acknowledged +themselves beaten and came to a standstill without having done further +damage. Then, turning the sweat-lathered animals gently round, Dick +drove them at a foot pace, snorting and curvetting, back to the spot +where the owner, still insensible, lay upon the footpath, being tended +by sympathisers, of whom Earle was one. As Dick came up and dismounted +from the chariot, which he surrendered to an official, he was greeted +with loud plaudits, the people clapping their hands and shouting "Aha! +aha!" + +They made way for him as he came up and joined Earle, who was already +bending over the insensible charioteer, feeling the youth's body and +limbs. + +"Any damage done?" he inquired, as he came to a stand and looked down on +his friend. + +"Hillo! you back?" returned Earle. "You've soon done the trick, Dick. +Did you manage to stop 'em without hurting anybody else?" + +"Yes, luckily," answered Dick. "Pulled 'em up, and brought 'em back +again. They're in the road there, now, in charge of a fellow who, I +suppose, is a sort of policeman. Is that dude hurt at all?" + +"Left arm broken; but that seems to be the full extent of the damage," +answered Earle. "If I could get a couple of sticks and a bandage, I'd +set it while he is still insensible. Just see if you can find anything +that will do, Dick, there's a good chap." + +Dick looked about him, but could see nothing at all suitable until his +gaze happened to fall upon the window of a house opposite him, which was +closed by a kind of jalousie shutter. A couple of slats from this +shutter would serve excellently, and without ceremony he wrenched two of +them out and, breaking them into suitable lengths, handed them to Earle. +Then, while the latter brought the ends of the fractured bone into +position and held them there, Dick adjusted the splints, as directed by +Earle, afterwards assisted by a bystander, binding them firmly into +position with the folds of his turban, which he unwound for the purpose. + +By the time that this was done the friends of the injured man had been +summoned and were on the spot; and to them Earle handed over his +patient, directing them by signs what to do, after which the two friends +returned to the palace, amid the admiring murmurs of all whom they +encountered. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +EARLE SETTLES A DELICATE MATTER. + +The following day was marked by two incidents, namely, a visit to Earle +and Dick from the parents of Mishail, the young man who had been injured +by being thrown out of his chariot, and the presentation of the two +friends to Juda, the King of Ulua, and his granddaughter, the Princess +Myrra. + +The visit occurred shortly after the friends had finished breakfast, and +the visitors were accompanied and introduced by Kedah, the individual +who, on the previous day, had begun the task of instructing the two +white men in the Uluan tongue. + +Kedah introduced the visitors by simply indicating them and pronouncing +their names, that of the man whom he introduced first being Hasca, while +he named the lady Tua. + +Judging by the deference which Kedah displayed toward them the visitors +were people of high degree; an inference which was borne out in the +first instance by the stately dignity of their manner and the richness +of their garb, and afterwards by the sumptuousness of their abode, which +was almost palatial in its spaciousness and the magnificence of its +furnishing. Hasca was, in fact, one of the most powerful and +influential nobles of Ulua, and the acquaintance which began with this +visit was destined to have important results. + +Hasca was a very fine specimen of Uluan manhood, some forty years of +age, standing about five feet ten inches in his sandals, of swarthy +complexion, with coal-black hair, beard and eyes, the latter very keen +and piercing. There was a distinct touch of hauteur in his manner to +Kedah; but to Dick he and his wife were friendliness itself, while to +Earle they showed that deep reverence which seemed to be the invariable +rule with the Uluans. + +The lady Tua seemed to be some five years younger than her husband, +dark, and decidedly handsome, but, like all the Uluan women of mature +age, she displayed a distinct tendency to become stout. + +Kedah undertook the task of explaining to his two pupils the object of +the visit, and to do the old gentleman justice, he succeeded fairly +well, considering the difficulties which confronted him. He talked a +good deal, but speech, of itself, naturally did not count for much. He +supplemented his words, however, with such a wonderful wealth of +gesture, accent and tone, that the two white men found it by no means +difficult to guess the general drift of his speech, especially as he +adopted the novel method of further elucidating his meaning by a number +of amazingly clever sketches produced upon a kind of papyrus, with the +aid of a very fine brush and a small bottle of some kind of ink, which +he had taken the precaution to bring with him. + +With these aids, then, he managed to make Earle and Dick understand that +the visit was, first, one of thanks for the assistance rendered to the +unfortunate Mishail on the preceding day, and next, a request that one, +or both, would be so very obliging as to visit the patient, who was +either very ill, or suffering much pain--they could not quite make out +which was meant--and see what could be done for him. + +To this request the comrades at once willingly assented, the more +readily because, having, by a piece of extraordinarily good luck, +obtained entrance to what they understood was, to all intents and +purposes, a forbidden city, so far as outsiders were concerned, it was +now good policy on their part to establish the best possible relations +with its people. Accordingly, Earle routed out his medicine case and, +tucking it under his arm, signified his readiness to go at once. + +As it chanced, they had not very far to go, the Hasca residence being +situated less than a mile from the palace, in an even more aristocratic +looking avenue than the one in which the accident had occurred. They +found Mishail, the patient, lodged in a sumptuous chamber, attended by +his sister Lissa, a remarkably pretty girl, some sixteen years of age. + +The patient appeared to be suffering great pain, was in a high state of +fever, and in a condition bordering on delirium, which indeed was not +surprising, since the unhappy youth was in a room upon the outer wall of +which the sun beat all day, while the shutters of the two windows were +closed and heavy curtains drawn across them. The room, in fact, was as +stifling as an oven, and Earle's first act was to draw apart the heavy +curtains and throw wide the shutters, thus letting in both air and +light. Then he looked at the injured arm, which he expected to find +properly dressed, naturally supposing that upon the arrival of the lad +at his home, the family physician would be summoned and the fracture +carefully attended to. To his great surprise, however, he found the +limb in exactly the same state as when he had left it, with the +makeshift splints still there, but shifted out of position by the +restless movements of the patient, and he afterwards learned that this +was because they had not dared to tamper or in any way interfere with +the work of the illustrious representative of Kuhlacan! + +Upon the arm being unstrapped, Earle found, as he fully expected, that +the bone had become displaced and needed re-setting; and this he at once +proceeded to do, having first secured all that he needed in the way of +effective splints and bandages, and put his patient under chloroform. +He took care that this time the job was properly done, and the patient's +arm so securely strapped to his body that it could not be moved; and as +soon as Mishail had recovered from his state of anaesthesia, Earle +administered a draught designed to reduce the fever, and, having made +his patient as comfortable as possible, left him, promising to call +again some time during the evening. And, not to dwell at undue length +upon the incident, it may here be said that, under Earle's skilful +treatment the patient made a rapid and perfectly satisfactory recovery, +to the admiration, delight, and gratitude of the entire family. + +Upon leaving Hasca's house, the two friends indulged in a walk through a +few of the streets that they had not yet visited; consequently it was +after noon when at length they got back to the palace. Here they found +Bahrim, the major-domo, in their suite anxiously awaiting their return. +The poor man was evidently in a state of great excitement concerning +some matter which he found himself wholly unable to explain; but by dint +of signs he at length contrived to make them both understand that he +desired them to bathe, and afterwards don certain festive garments, to +which he respectfully directed their attention. Understanding at last +what the old fellow required of them, and also that he was in a most +desperate hurry, the two friends disappeared, to re-appear, about a +quarter of an hour later, bathed, perfumed--by their assiduous servants, +who insisted upon the process--and clad in garments of so sumptuous a +character that there could be no doubt the wearers were booked for some +exceedingly important ceremony. + +They were immediately taken in charge by the obsequious Bahrim, who, by +expressive signs, invited them to follow him. Led by the major-domo, +the two friends rapidly traversed several corridors until they reached +another wing of the palace, finally halting before a closed door, +outside which two soldiers, clad in golden armour and armed with sword +and spear, stood on guard. Signing to the white men to remain where +they were, Bahrim opened the door, disclosing a drawn curtain beyond it, +and closed the door behind him, only to re-appear, some two minutes +later, beckoning his charges to follow him. + +Not until having received the salute of the guards as they passed +through the re-opened doorway, and the door was closed behind them, was +the shrouding curtain withdrawn, and then Earle and Dick found +themselves in a small but most sumptuously furnished apartment, at the +far extremity of which were seated two people, a man and a girl. + +The man was apparently between fifty and sixty years of age--and a very +fine specimen of Uluan manhood, as the visitors presently discovered +when he rose to his feet. Like most Uluans, he was dark complexioned, +his hair, beard and moustache, all of which he wore of patriarchal +length, having been originally black, though now thickly streaked with +grey. His features were well formed, clean cut, and aristocratic +looking, as they might well be, seeing that the man was none other than +Juda, the King of Ulua, and direct descendant of a long line of kings +whose origin was lost in the mists of antiquity. He wore a long sleeved +garment, which reached from his throat to his feet, the colour of it +being red, with a wide border containing an intricate pattern wrought in +black, white and gold braid. On his head he had a kind of turban of +red, black and gold, surrounded by a coronet that appeared to be made of +iron, set with many beautiful stones, while its front was adorned with +an aigrette of crimson feathers, fastened by a brooch which also +appeared to be made of iron. A broad belt, embroidered in red, black +and gold, encircled his waist, attached to which was a great +cross-hilted sword which looked as though it might have originally +belonged to a crusader. His feet were shod with sandals of crimson +leather, and his fingers decorated with several rings, apparently of +wrought iron, each of which was set with a very fine stone, either +emerald, sapphire, ruby, or diamond. + +Taken altogether, Juda was a remarkably imposing specimen of manhood, +and a worthy progenitor of his handsome granddaughter, Myrra. She, +however, unlike her grandfather, was fair as a summer's dawn, of medium +height, with violet eyes, and an extraordinary wealth of ruddy-golden +hair which, confined to her head by a fillet of what looked like red +velvet set with precious stones, rolled thence to far below her waist in +great waves. Her outer garment, sleeveless, might have been copied from +those depicted on the Greek vases in the British Museum and, like her +grandfather's, was red in colour, adorned with braiding in the same +colours as his. Her sandals were of white leather, and she wore armlets +and bracelets of beautifully worked iron encrusted with precious stones. + +As the two white men, intuitively guessing the identity of those in +whose presence they found themselves, walked slowly up the room, Juda +and Myrra rose to their feet and stood gazing with the utmost interest +at their visitors. Juda's eyes were intently fixed upon the amulet +which Earle now habitually wore fully exposed to view; but after the +first glance, Myrra seemed far more interested in Dick, with his +stalwart frame and good-looking features. + +Arrived within some half-a-dozen paces of the two august figures, Earle +and Dick came to a halt and bowed, while Bahrim, who had been bowing +almost to the earth during his progress up the hall, now knelt down, +touched the marble pavement three times with his forehead, and then, +rising to his feet, introduced the visitors in a long speech, which was +of course utterly unintelligible to the white men, though they gathered +from certain of Bahrim's movements and gestures that the incident of the +runaway horses, of Dick stopping them, and of Earle's attentions to +Mishail, the injured charioteer, formed part of the speech. + +The two royal personages listened with the closest attention to Bahrim's +long speech, the king nodding emphatic approval as the major-domo, with +much appropriate gesture, described Dick's dash into the road and +stoppage of the runaway horses, while the eyes of the princess flashed +and sparkled with excitement and undisguised admiration at what, from +the expression of the listeners, seemed to be a deed of most +unparalleled heroism. The speech came to an end at last; and then, as +Bahrim stepped back with the air of a man who has performed his duty +well, Juda advanced to Earle and fixed his eyes upon the amulet, +intently examining its every detail. Then, to the amazement of the two +white men, he turned to the princess, addressed a few words to her, +beckoned her to his side, and the next moment the royal pair had +prostrated themselves at Earle's feet, with their foreheads humbly bowed +to the pavement. They remained thus for nearly five minutes, until +Earle, fearing that they were never going to rise from their humble +posture, bent forward, touched each lightly upon the shoulder and, +extending his hands, raised them gently to their feet, when, first Juda, +and then the princess, reverently took the amulet in their hands, raised +it to their foreheads, and bowing low, backed to their seats. The king +then drew a handsome ring from his finger and, beckoning to Dick to draw +near, slipped it on to the corresponding finger of the young +Englishman's hand, while the princess, following suit, transferred one +of her bracelets to Dick's wrist, each with a polite little speech, +which Cavendish greatly regretted his inability to understand. This +little ceremony performed, Juda bowed his dismissal of his visitors, +and, led by Bahrim, the pair retired to their own quarters, a good deal +puzzled by, yet very much pleased with, all that had passed. + +As they went Earle turned to Dick and remarked: + +"Gee! Dick, I guess this is some amulet, eh, when even a king and a +princess of the blood royal do homage to it. Seems to me that I'm the +most important personage in this realm; and as soon as we are able to +understand the language a bit, and get the hang of things, I mean to use +the power and influence which it bestows for the abolition of a few of +the evils which are sure to exist, either in the religion or the +government of the country." + +"If you take my advice, you will leave this people's religion and +politics alone," remarked Dick. + +"I will," agreed Earle, "if there is nothing to find fault with, but not +otherwise. Gee! What's the good of possessing such power as mine, if I +don't make use of it? And, civilised as these people are in some +respects, they are centuries behind the rest of the world in others; and +I'm prepared to bet that, when we begin to understand things a bit, we +shall find that there is plenty of room for improvement in a good many +directions. And it is entirely against my principles not to do good +when the opportunity offers. But--well, we shall see." + +And now, something like a month passed without anything occurring worthy +of detailed record. Kedah, the instructor told off to teach the two +white men the Uluan language, was indefatigable in the execution of his +rather difficult task, while his pupils were equally indefatigable in +their efforts to master the tongue spoken by all around them, with the +result that they made excellent progress and were no longer obliged to +remain dumb when addressed. They made a good many acquaintances, and +not a few friends, chief among whom were the king and the princess, +whose demeanour toward the white men was, like that of everybody else, +indeed, a curious mingling of reverence and friendliness. They spent a +good deal of time walking and riding about the city and its outskirts, +thus in the course of time becoming intimately acquainted with every +street, road, alley and by-way; while Dick early found an outlet for his +superabundant energies among the shipbuilders, whose ideas concerning +the most desirable model for their craft were of the crudest possible +character. He also discovered that they knew nothing about sails and +how to use them, and he enjoyed himself immensely in rigging one of +their most suitable lighters as a fore-and-aft schooner, and then +watching the crew's amazement and delight as he navigated her across the +lake and back in about a quarter of the time usually occupied upon the +trip. + +It was about this time, when their progress under the tuition of Kedah +was so far advanced that they were able to catch a glimmer of the +meaning of what was said to them or in their hearing, that the two white +men began to sense a suggestion of steadily growing excitement among the +populace generally, accompanied, on the part of those with whom they +were more intimately acquainted, by a continually increasing curiosity, +not unmingled with anxiety, concerning themselves and something with +which, in some mysterious manner, they (Dick and Earle) seemed to be +intimately connected. They became aware that they were being keenly +watched, and their slightest words and actions carefully noted, as +though some word or action of extreme significance or importance on +their part was being eagerly expected and watched for. More +particularly was this the case with regard to Earle; but although the +two friends frequently exchanged ideas upon the subject, neither of them +caught the slightest clue to the mystery until Zorah, the high priest, +one day sought Earle and, with the assistance of Kedah, the tutor, +broached the subject of the approaching great Septennial Festival in +honour of Kuhlacan, the Winged Serpent, god of the Uluans, who was +supposed to have his abode at the bottom of the lake. + +This was the first that either Earle or Dick had heard of the festival, +but bearing in mind the fact that the amulet which he wore bore the +"sign" of Kuhlacan, and that it was undoubtedly the possession of this +amulet which, from the first, had inspired the Uluans with that profound +reverence which had everywhere been shown him, the American at once +began to suspect that the Uluans were in some way connecting his +presence in the country with the approaching festival, and possibly +expecting him either to take a leading part in it, or it might be, to +issue some definite pronouncement in connection with it. Therefore, as +soon as Earle clearly realised the attitude of the people toward him, +and realised also that one or more important, perhaps vital, issues hung +in the balance awaiting his pronouncement, he assumed what he deemed to +be the correct oracular pose, in accordance with which he now bade Zorah +set forth his statement, or propound his questions, without +circumlocution. + +Then the whole terrible truth came out, though it had to be wrung from +Zorah bit by bit, the high priest using his utmost endeavours to induce +Earle to endorse certain generalities put forward by the wily +ecclesiastic. But Zorah, clever and astute as he was, was no match for +the American, who simply listened to the priest's statements as he made +them, one by one, and then, without comment, bade the man pass on to the +next point. Earle's imperfect knowledge of the Uluan language, coupled +with Zorah's rapid, excited speech, made anything like a clear +understanding of the case exceedingly difficult. But Earle was in no +hurry; no sooner did he get an inkling of the actual object of the high +priest's visit than he determined to arrive at a perfectly clear and +definite understanding of the whole case; and in this he was ably +seconded by Kedah, who spared no pains to make every point advanced by +Zorah intelligible. + +Condensed into a few words the issue raised was as follows: + +On a certain date, the anniversary of which was now rapidly approaching, +an annual festival was held in honour of Kuhlacan, in the course of +which offerings were made to the god by every Uluan, who, embarking in a +gaily-decorated boat, proceeded to the middle of the lake and there cast +into the depths the most precious thing in his possession, usually some +costly article of jewellery made especially for the purpose. But every +seventh year the festival assumed a much more serious and important +character, inasmuch as that, in addition to the offerings above referred +to, the nation as a whole was accustomed to make a joint offering; such +offering consisting of the seven most beautiful maidens, between the +ages of twelve and twenty, in Ulua, who, on this great day, were dressed +in magnificent garments, loaded with jewels, until they could scarcely +stand for the weight of them, and then taken to the middle of the lake, +where, with much ceremony, and to the accompaniment of prayers and hymns +chanted by the priests, they plunged into the lake, one by one, and were +of course never again seen. + +This ceremony, known as the Sacrifice of the Maidens, had been observed, +it appeared, from time immemorial, and was regarded by the priests--who, +being celibates, had no daughters to lose--as of the utmost importance +and sanctity, to such an extent, indeed, that even the slightest +approach to a murmur or protest against it was denounced as an +unpardonable sin. Yet, as may be easily understood, the approach of +every Septennial Festival was a time of infinite anxiety to all those +who happened to have daughters eligible for the sacrifice, the more so +that no family, not even royalty itself, was exempt, while the choice of +the maidens rested with the priests, from whose decision there was no +appeal. And the barbarity of the custom was accentuated in this +particular year, from the fact that Princess Myrra was both by age and +her remarkable beauty, to be certainly reckoned among the eligibles, +while an impression had arisen, rightly or wrongly, that the priesthood, +in order to manifest and assert their power, would assuredly so arrange +matters that she should be included among the fatal seven. + +It is supposed that the king's opposition to the immemorial custom +really took definite shape on the day upon which his orphan +granddaughter entered upon her thirteenth year. Be this as it may, it +was not long afterwards that Juda, pious monarch as he was, ventured to +hint to Zorah his opinion that the time had arrived when the Sacrifice +of the Maidens might very well be abolished. But Zorah, a zealot of +zealots, would not hear of such a thing, possibly because, among other +reasons, the abolition would rob him of an appreciable amount of the +power which he now possessed, and which power, it was hinted, had been +more than once wielded to secure--for a substantial consideration--the +elimination of a name from the list of the chosen. Juda, of course, +might have approached the high priest with a similar proposal on behalf +of his granddaughter; but there were several reasons against it, one of +which was that the king was, according to his lights, a just monarch, +and would have scorned to secure the princess's exemption by any such +means, while another was that he shrewdly suspected Zorah would refuse +to forgo such a marked demonstration of his power and, in addition, give +himself away even at the cost of an enormous bribe. + +Under these circumstances the king, while not actually revolting openly +from the dictum of the high priest, had instituted among the people a +practice of private prayer that the Septennial Sacrifice of the Maidens +might be dispensed with; and when during the actual year of the +Septennial Festival Earle had unexpectedly appeared, wearing an amulet +bearing the "sign" of Kuhlacan, and demanding admission to Ulua, it is +not to be wondered at if all who were in any way interested in the +burning question should regard his appearance as, in one form or +another, an answer to their petition. Whether that answer was to be in +the affirmative or the negative was what everybody, and especially +Zorah, were now particularly anxious to learn. + +For Earle, with his as yet imperfect knowledge of the Uluan tongue to +get a clear comprehension of a somewhat intricate case, took some time, +and taxed Kedah's ingenuity to its utmost extent; but Kedah happened to +be a vitally interested party, and believing, in common with everybody +else, that Earle was in some mysterious fashion, either the incarnation +of Kuhlacan, or an ambassador and representative of the god, he +determined that, by hook or by crook, the white man should be made +clearly to understand every point of the case, and he succeeded. + +On the other hand, as point after point was unfolded and made clear to +him, the quick-witted American began to realise that there was far more +in the case than, at a first glance, met the eye; it quickly resolved +itself, in fact, into a struggle between the priesthood and the laity; +and it needed but a single glance at the fanatical high priest's stern, +inflexible expression to assure oneself that he was not at all the sort +of person to yield without a struggle. To add to the difficulty, Earle +had no means of knowing what sort of a backing the priests would be +likely to have, should the struggle for supremacy become an open one, +which was by no means improbable. There was one point, however, upon +which Earle's mind was very quickly made up, since the decision seemed +to be left in his hands; let the consequences be what they might, the +barbarous custom of human sacrifice must be abolished. Other +developments must be left to take their course; but naturally, his +influence, whatever it might amount to, would be thrown into the scale +on the side of right and justice. + +Therefore when at length Zorah, the high priest, had fully stated his +case, and was expectantly awaiting an answer, Earle turned to him and +said: + +"Know, O Zorah, high priest of the god whom the people of Ulua call +Kuhlacan, that to settle this important question of human sacrifice is +one of the reasons for my presence in this country; and it was my +purpose to have made the Divine Will known as soon as I had sufficiently +mastered the intricacies of your tongue to render myself intelligible; +but ye have forestalled me. The matter is urgent, I know, seeing that +the Septennial Festival is at hand; yet, in virtue of the `sign' which I +bear"--here he lightly touched the amulet--"it would have been better +had ye abided in patience until it was convenient for me to speak. Let +that pass, however; your impatience was the outcome of your zeal, and it +is therefore forgiven. + +"Now in the olden time the Deity whom all worship ordained that a +portion of His worship should consist in the offering of sacrifices +involving the shedding of blood; and, for a time, such sacrifices, +accompanied of course with prayer and praise, and the living of an +upright life sufficed. + +"But the sacrifices of which I have just spoken were merely the figure, +reminder of, and substitute for, a still greater sacrifice which in the +fulness of time was made, but news of which I am the first to bring ye; +and that sacrifice has rendered all others involving the shedding of +blood and the destruction of life unnecessary; hence it is the will of +Him whom all worship, that the Sacrifice of the Maidens shall cease for +ever. I have spoken." + +Evidently this was not at all the kind of pronouncement which Zorah had +anticipated; he looked not only greatly surprised, but also profoundly +disappointed; and there was also something in the expression of his +strongly marked features which seemed to indicate that he was by no +means prepared to accept Earle's dictum unless supported by proof of +some sort. For a minute or more he stood silent and thoughtful, turning +over the problem which presented itself to him. Then, looking up, he +propounded his question. + +"Lord," he said, "thou sayest that sacrifice is no longer necessary. +How then shall we henceforth worship, seeing that the very essence of +our worship is sacrifice?" + +"Nay," answered Earle; "ye mistake me, Zorah. I said not that sacrifice +is no longer necessary; but that sacrifices involving the taking of life +are no longer required. Ye are accustomed to slay and burn animals upon +your altars; but that is an easy thing for ye to do, involving no real +sacrifice indeed, since it is only the animals who suffer. And ye make +annual sacrifice by casting into the lake the most precious thing ye +possess. But even that is not sufficient; ye must make sacrifices that +are still more difficult, and cost ye more than that. Ye must +steadfastly resist every temptation to do evil, to injure an enemy, to +rob, defraud, to utter untruths, to do anything which ye know to be +wrong. And ye must do this, not only at stated times set apart for +worship, but ye must do it always, whenever the impulse to do evil +comes. So shall ye offer the most acceptable sacrifice which it is +possible for man to render to his God." + +Again Zorah bent his mind to the full comprehension of all that Earle's +words meant. + +"Then," said he at length, "the festivals will be as heretofore, +excepting that the Sacrifice of the Maidens is forbidden?" + +"Even so," agreed Earle, "but with a further difference. Ye are +accustomed every year to cast some very precious thing into the lake. +That sacrifice also is unnecessary, since Kuhlacan has no need of jewels +or ornaments of any kind. Yet, sacrifice, being an act of worship and +an expression of gratitude for mercies and benefits received, is good, +and therefore shall be continued, but in a different form. Here in +Ulua, as elsewhere, ye have poor and sick; and henceforth your sacrifice +shall take the form of ministering to them and providing them with those +things necessary to their comfort and welfare which, by reason of their +poverty, they are unable to provide for themselves. Therefore, +henceforward it shall be that every person desiring to offer sacrifice +shall, instead of casting some precious thing into the waters of the +lake, take its value in money to the temple, and present it to the +priests, who in their turn shall expend it in the manner which I have +indicated." + +Zorah nodded. "The plan seems good," he said; "yet I foresee many +difficulties in the way. We shall need continual guidance from thee, +lord, if the innovation is to be successfully accomplished." + +"True," assented Earle. "And ye shall have all the guidance that ye +need. I will speak to thee again of this. Now go in peace." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +DICK CAVENDISH LOSES HIS TEMPER. + +Earle thought he had good reason to congratulate himself upon the +success with which he had grappled the problem of human sacrifice in +connection with the septennial festival in honour of Kuhlacan; for, at +the first, his pronouncement seemed to meet with universal approval. +Yet but a few days elapsed before it was apparent that even so +humanitarian an edict as Earle's, one which, it might have been +supposed, would appeal more or less directly to everybody, was not +without its objectors. True, those objectors were only to be found +among those who had not, and were not in the least likely to have, +daughters who might be reckoned as "eligible"; yet it was really +surprising to find how many of these there were. Precisely _why_ they +objected it was very difficult to ascertain; but it was thought that the +reason was that the "sacrifice" afforded an exciting spectacle to +persons of a cruel, morbid and vicious disposition. Also, it soon began +to be hinted that although Zorah, the high priest, had seemed to +acquiesce in the innovation, the priesthood were in reality opposed to +and were secretly stirring up the people to rebel against it. + +Meanwhile, however, Earle had earned the undying gratitude of the king, +the princess, and several of the most powerful and influential of the +nobles, who treated him and Dick with greater respect and reverence than +ever. The preparations for the festival proceeded apace; and to +compensate the masses for the loss of the most spectacular feature of +the event, Earle and Dick inaugurated a series of games and sports, with +valuable prizes for those successful in them, sufficient in number to +occupy the entire day; so that when that day arrived, it not only passed +without any marked demonstration of dissatisfaction, but was pronounced +to be a distinct improvement upon the old order of things. + +True, it was not possible for those who keenly watched the demeanour of +the crowd to avoid noticing that the satisfaction was by no means +general; and another disconcerting fact in connection with the festival +was that, when it was over and Zorah was requested to report to Earle +the amount presented in the temple on that day, in lieu of the usual +offerings cast into the lake, the sum named by the high priest was +disappointingly meagre, amounting to less than a tenth of what had been +anticipated. Earle mentioned privately to Dick his suspicion that there +had been a tremendous amount of leakage somewhere, and expressed his +determination to look into the matter at the earliest possible +opportunity; but before he could do so his attention was distracted from +it by other and more important happenings. + +The first of these happenings was the sudden and wholly unexpected death +of the king. When he retired to rest on the preceding night, Juda +appeared to be in the enjoyment of perfect health; but when his servants +entered the royal sleeping-apartment on the following morning to arouse +his Majesty and attend him to the bath, he was found lying dead upon his +couch, with every indication that dissolution had taken place several +hours previously. Of course, the court physicians were instantly +summoned; but they could do nothing except pronounce that death had +actually occurred, and that it was due to natural causes. To the great +surprise of Earle and Dick, no attempt was made to hold a _post mortem_, +with the object of ascertaining the actual cause of death; but a little +judicious inquiry soon elicited the fact that such investigations were +unknown in Ulua, the skill and knowledge of the physicians not having +advanced so far. With the permission of the princess, Earle was present +when the physicians viewed the body, and he was compelled to admit that +there was nothing in its appearance to justify the slightest suspicion +of foul play, which indeed nobody so much as hinted at. Earle gave it +as his opinion that the cause of death was some obscure and unsuspected +affection of the heart. + +Simultaneously with the summoning of the physicians upon the discovery +of the royal demise, the "Council of Nobles"--a council, the functions +of which correspond in some measure with those of the British Cabinet-- +was summoned to the palace; and it was to the members of this that the +physicians formally reported the death of the king. Thereupon steps +were immediately taken for the public announcement of the event, which +took place at noon of the same day, the heralds proclaiming the death of +the king and the accession of the Princess Myrra to the throne, first in +the square before the palace, and next in four other squares situated +respectively in the northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters of +the city. And at the same time the state embalmers were called in and +the body was handed over to them that they might at once begin the long +and elaborate process by means of which the subject is rendered +practically impervious, for all time, to the influences of decay. + +The young queen was now allowed a clear week of complete retirement, in +order that she might give free vent to her natural grief at the loss of +her grandfather, and prepare herself for the discharge of the important +duties which would now devolve upon her, during which period she was +left entirely to herself, and was not asked to transact business of any +sort whatsoever. At the expiration of the week she emerged from her +seclusion, a little pale and worn-looking, but to all appearance +perfectly calm, as the two white men were rejoiced to see, for it now +transpired that the religious beliefs of the Uluans were such as to +preclude anything in the nature of deep or lasting sorrow at the loss of +relatives, an article of their faith being that the departed, unless +they happened to be notoriously evil livers, found everlasting peace and +happiness in a sort of Elysium, and that therefore there was no occasion +for prolonged grief. + +No sooner, however, did the young queen emerge from her temporary +seclusion than she found herself face to face with a problem which, +unless all the conditions are favourable, may easily resolve itself into +one of the most unpleasant which a young woman so placed can be called +upon to solve. + +For it now appeared that Myrra occupied a position unique in the annals +of Uluan sovereignty, being the only female who had ever succeeded to +the throne. All the past monarchs had been male, from time immemorial; +and the fact that a female had now succeeded, and she only a young girl, +filled the Council of Nobles with consternation, which is easily to be +comprehended, when it is remembered that in Ulua women are regarded as +being so far inferior to men that they are considered as mere chattels +and but little better than domestic animals. A Council of Nobles had +already been convened to discuss so novel and disconcerting a situation, +at which one more than usually daring spirit had actually ventured to +suggest the election of one of themselves to fill the vacated throne. +But this suggestion had been promptly vetoed by Lyga, the "Keeper of +Statutes," who, referring to the musty tome in which were the laws +relating to the government of Ulua, reminded the council that the law of +succession explicitly provides that, upon the death of the sovereign, +his next immediate successor becomes monarch. Or, failing an immediate +successor, through pre-decease--as in the present case--then, the +immediate successor of him who should have succeeded comes to the +throne. The title of Princess Myrra to the throne was thus indubitably +established, and the only question really before the council was how so +unique a situation was to be met. A long and heated discussion +followed, in the course of which two facts were clearly established, the +first of which was that, by the law of succession, Myrra was now the +Queen of Ulua; and the second, that the idea of being governed by a +woman was utterly distasteful to the members of the Council of Nobles. +Finally, it was decided that, since by immemorial custom, the Uluan wife +was the subject of her husband, the only thing to be done was to request +the queen to marry, when her husband would become virtually king. This +decision was regarded as a quite satisfactory solution of the +difficulty; and it was immediately proposed that a list of approved +names should be there and then prepared for submission to her Majesty, +and that she should be invited to select from that list the person whom +she would accept as her spouse. + +So far, so good. But now, at the very moment when the great difficulty +appeared to have been surmounted, other and equally awkward difficulties +at once began to arise. The position of husband to the queen was one +which naturally appealed to every member of the council, and equally +naturally, each member claimed the right to have his name included in +the list. Sachar, the most powerful of the nobles--he who had suggested +the election of one of themselves to fill the throne--seized a parchment +and, with the air of an autocrat, at once inscribed his own name at the +head of the list, without deigning to inquire whether such action was or +was not acceptable to his colleagues. Then, still retaining the pen in +his hand, he glanced round at the assemblage and said: + +"I propose that the next name upon the list shall be that of Lyga, the +Keeper of Statutes." + +For a moment the members regarded each other in amazement; then, under +the impression that Sachar was perpetrating an ill-timed jest of more +than questionable taste, they broke into a storm of protest; for Lyga +was a little wizened, dried-up man, close upon eighty years of age. + +But Sachar answered their protests with a stare of haughty surprise that +quickly silenced them, for not only was he the most powerful man among +them, but he was also of a headstrong, domineering disposition, +impatient of opposition and quick to resent anything that in the least +degree savoured of it. He was by no means popular, either with his +colleagues or with the people at large; but he was greatly feared, +because of the immense power and influence which he commanded, and the +unscrupulous manner in which he wielded it. + +"What mean ye?" he fiercely demanded. "Am I to understand that ye +object to Lyga as unsuitable? And if so, upon what grounds? Is he not +the `Keeper of Statutes,' and as such, the most suitable man for the +position of virtual ruler of Ulua? For who among ye knows a tithe so +much as he of the laws by which we are governed; or who so likely to see +that those laws are maintained in perfect integrity?" + +"So far, perhaps ye are right, Sachar," retorted Lyga, who was the only +man present entirely devoid of fear of the formidable noble. "But is my +age to be counted as nothing? Am I a suitable consort for a girl of +sixteen? Ye know that I am not; and ye know, too, that if the choice +rested between me and thee, thou would'st be the chosen one. Go to! Ye +are astute, Sachar, but not astute enough to deceive old Lyga. If ye +are taking it upon yourself to propose names, propose those of men who +shall not only be capable of efficiently discharging the duties of their +exalted position, but who shall also be acceptable to her Majesty in +point of age and disposition. I say that, in nominating such a man as +myself, ye are lacking in respect and consideration to your sovereign." + +There was a low murmur of approval at this fearless, straightforward +speech from the old man, hearing which, Sachar, who perceived that his +ruse had been seen through, savagely dashed down the pen and, wheeling +round upon his colleagues, exclaimed: + +"So ye approve of and endorse the unworthy insinuation which Lyga has +preferred against me? It is well! Proceed ye with your nominations, +uninfluenced by me. My aim was to nominate those who, by wisdom and +experience, are most suited to rule over us, irrespective of age or +other considerations. But since ye have seen fit to suspect my motives, +nominate whom ye will. Understand this, however, I demand that my name +shall be included, for I am at least as capable of governing as any man +among ye; and understand this also, that I retain my right to vote +against those nominated whom I may regard as unsuitable." + +And therewith Sachar bowed to the assembly, a bow in which scorn and +contempt were about equally expressed, and stalked out of the chamber. + +For a few moments consternation reigned supreme among those who +remained, for they knew Sachar well, and clearly understood that, quite +unwittingly, they had made a bitter and implacable enemy of the most +powerful and unscrupulous man in Ulua. But presently Lyga grappled with +the situation and, with a few carefully chosen words, rallied his +colleagues upon their alarm, which he assured them was altogether +disproportioned and uncalled for, and brought them back to the business +in hand, with the result that, after a long and acrimonious discussion, +a list was drafted, containing some twenty names, for submission to her +Majesty. + +In due course the list was presented, with all the state and ceremony +which so momentous an occasion demanded. And then consternation again +reigned; for the young queen, after carefully perusing the list, handed +it back to Sachar, who had presented it, with the calm pronouncement +that none of the names therein was acceptable to her! + +Thereupon the council retired in confusion; another meeting was held, +another list prepared--in which Sachar insisted that his name should be +included, notwithstanding the queen's previous rejection; and her +Majesty was requested to name an early date for its presentation, which +she did. + +The second presentation took place at about half-past nine o'clock in +the morning, a few minutes prior to which the Council of Nobles, having +previously assembled in the antechamber, filed in and took their places. +These were immediately followed by a squadron of the queen's bodyguard, +fully armed, under the command of their officer, who drew them up across +the lower end of the chamber, completely blocking all means of exit or +entrance, except through the doorway at the upper end of the chamber, +used exclusively by the monarch and his or her personal attendants. +This done, a court messenger was dispatched to acquaint the queen that +the council had assembled; and a few minutes later her Majesty entered, +heralded by a flourish of trumpets moulded out of a sort of terra-cotta, +and, accompanied by the ladies and officers of her household, among whom +were Earle and Dick. + +With slow and dignified step her Majesty moved to the throne and, bowing +to the assembled council, seated herself, at the same time signing to +the two white men to stand one on either side of her, to the undisguised +astonishment of the nobles and the scarcely concealed indignation of +Sachar. + +A short pause now ensued while the members of council, who had risen +upon the queen's entrance, seated themselves. Then Sachar, who occupied +the place at the head of the table on the queen's right hand, rose to +his feet and, addressing her Majesty, made a lengthy speech, in which he +set forth, in considerable detail, all the reasons which had led up to +the present action of the council, reminded her of her rejection of the +first list presented, and in veiled dictatorial tones, ventured to +express the hope that her Majesty would experience no difficulty in +selecting a name from the list now about to be laid before her. Then he +unrolled the parchment and, with a bow which seemed to say: "This is +your last chance, so make the best of it," laid it upon the table before +her. + +Bowing in return, and with just the faintest suggestion of a smile +lurking about her lips and in her eyes, Myrra stretched forth her hand +and, taking the parchment began to read it. But no sooner had her eyes +rested upon it than she laid it down again. + +"How now, my Lord Sachar!" she exclaimed. "What means this?" And she +laid her finger upon the place where his name again occupied the head of +the list. "Have ye here the list which was first submitted to me?" + +"No, your Majesty, we have it not here," answered Sachar. +"Understanding that the names therein were unacceptable, we thought it +unnecessary to produce it. But it can be procured in a very brief space +of time, if your Majesty so desires." + +"I do so desire," remarked the queen. "Let it be brought forthwith." +And she sank back in her seat to await the arrival of the document. + +A few minutes later Lyga, in whose charge it was, appeared with the +first list, which he laid open upon the table before the queen. He wore +a smile of amusement as he hobbled back to his place, for in common with +most of the members of council, he pretty shrewdly guessed what was +impending, and he would very cordially welcome anything that savoured of +a snub administered to the haughty and domineering Lord Sachar. + +"So!" continued the queen, placing a slim forefinger upon each of the +documents. "I felt sure I was not mistaken. The name of my Lord Sachar +heads each of these documents. Yet I think it will be remembered that, +only a few days agone, I distinctly stated that _none_ of the names in +this list"--tapping Number 1 with her left forefinger--"was acceptable +to me. How comes it, then, that a name once rejected by me is again +submitted for my approval?" + +And, so saying, Myrra stretched forth her hand and, taking the reed pen +which Lyga smilingly handed to her, drew it firmly and deliberately +through Sachar's sprawling signature. + +For a moment there was a breathless hush, while the very atmosphere +seemed to shudder in anticipation of that tempestuous and irreparable +outbreak on the part of Sachar which the queen's deliberate snub might +be expected to provoke. The man's sallow visage grew black with fury, +his eyes blazed lightnings down upon the head of the girl who was +smilingly erasing his name, his fists clenched until the knuckles showed +white, and his beard and moustache bristled like the mane of an angry +lion. Indeed, so menacing was his aspect that Dick Cavendish, with a +single stride, interposed his own bulky form between that of the queen +and the infuriated Sachar, into whose flashing eyes he stared so +threateningly that the noble suddenly found a new object for the vials +of his wrath. But Dick simply did not care a fig for Sachar or his +anger; he already knew the man pretty well by reputation, and +instinctively understood that there was but one way to deal with a +bully, therefore he laid a heavy hand upon the noble's shoulder, glared +as savagely at him as he knew how, and whispered--a whisper which +reached the ears of every occupant of the table: + +"Have a care, my lord; have a care! Restrain yourself, sit down if you +don't want me to wring your neck for you!" + +And Sachar, who had never in his life before been cautioned, much less +threatened, sank into his seat, speechless and utterly overwhelmed with +amazement, for the moment, at the discovery that there actually existed +an individual who was not afraid of him. + +Meanwhile, the queen, with the pen still in her hand, was thoughtfully +considering the list before her and calmly and deliberately erasing name +after name, until not one remained. Then, with a smile, Myrra glanced +at the faces turned toward her, and remarked: + +"I am sorry, my lords, that you should have been put to so much trouble +to no purpose, but the names in this list are no more acceptable to me +than were those in the first." + +Sachar had been watching the steady process of erasure with fast growing +anger. He believed he began to see the full meaning of the queen's +action. She did not intend to wed at all if she could help it, and +unless she could be compelled to do so, his chance of becoming king was +gone. If she could only be induced to name some person as acceptable, +he believed he could find means to persuade that person to waive the +honour in his (Sachar's) favour; but if she would not do so, what was to +be done? Therefore, when the queen lightly pushed the rejected list +from before her, Sachar sprang to his feet and, addressing the assembly +at large, said: + +"My lords, we seem to be singularly unfortunate in our endeavours to +find a consort in every way acceptable to her Majesty. To me it seems +possible that we may compile list after list of names regarded by +ourselves as in every respect eligible, and every list shall meet with a +fate like unto that now upon the table. I would therefore venture to +suggest that the process be reversed, and that instead of our drafting a +list and presenting it for her Majesty's approval, the Queen be +requested to prepare a list of persons acceptable to her, and submit it +to us. Then we, in council assembled, will take that list, give it our +most careful consideration, and decide whether there be any names in it +of which we can all conscientiously approve. What say you, my lords; +does my proposal seem acceptable to you?" + +A momentary silence followed this proposal; then, one after another, the +assembled nobles briefly expressed their acquiescence, finishing up with +old Lyga, who pithily remarked: + +"If her Majesty approves your proposal, my Lord Sachar, I see not why +any of us should disapprove." + +"That being the case--" began Sachar. But the queen stopped him with +uplifted hand. + +"One moment, if you please," she said. "If I understand the council +aright, their purpose in all this talk about lists, is to hurry me into +marriage, irrespective of my own inclinations. Now, my Lord Lyga, +before we proceed farther into this matter, I wish to ask you, as Keeper +of Statutes: Is there in existence a law compelling me to wed at the +bidding of my Council of Nobles?" + +"I am not aware of any such law, your Majesty," answered Lyga. "Nay, I +will go farther than this, and say that, knowing the statutes intimately +as I do, there is no such law." + +"Good!" answered the queen. "I have never heard of any such law, but in +view of my council's somewhat high-handed action, I thought it possible +such a law might exist, of which I had not heard. You say that there is +no such law; and I trust my council will accept your assurance as proof +of its non-existence. Now, one more question. Is there a law +prohibiting an unmarried woman from ruling Ulua?" + +"No, your Majesty, there is no such law," answered Lyga. And the glance +of triumph which he flashed at Sachar seemed to say that he was glad of +it. + +"Again, good!" remarked the queen. "My thanks to you, my Lord Lyga, for +making this matter perfectly clear. And my thanks to you also, the +members of my council, for the keen interest which you have been pleased +to manifest in a matter which, now that it comes to be investigated, +seems to concern me alone. Believe me, I appreciate that interest at +its true and full value; but I beg that you will not trouble yourselves +further in the matter, for the thought of marriage has not yet occurred +to me, and at the present moment I am not prepared to entertain a +proposal from anyone. When I am, I will let you know, and the matter +can be re-opened. Meanwhile, I will seize this opportunity to say that +I believe I, though unmarried, shall be able, with your wise advice and +assistance, to govern Ulua as efficiently as though I enjoyed the help +of a husband." + +For a moment the members of council were stricken dumb with amazement +and consternation at the quiet, self-possessed firmness with which this +young girl deliberately set herself in opposition to their combined +wishes. And the worst of it was that, as they now fully realised, she +was acting entirely within her rights. + +They were still struggling with their emotions when Sachar, always +bitterly impatient of opposition, and always accustomed to act upon the +impulse of the moment, sprang to his feet, his eyes ablaze with fury, +and shouted: + +"My lords, fellow members of the Council of Nobles, are you going to +submit without protest to this most monstrous disregard of our wishes? +Because, if you are, I am not. I say that, law or no law, we will not +be governed by a woman. The queen _must_ and _shall_ marry forthwith; +and if she will not choose for herself a husband, acceptable to us all, +we will choose one for her and compel her to marry him, by force, if +necessary--" + +He stopped suddenly and sank helplessly back into his seat, forced +thereto by the irresistible pressure of Dick's hands upon his shoulders, +the grip of which threatened to crush his shoulder-blades together. +And, looking up, he found Dick Cavendish towering over him with a look +in his eyes that seemed to spell sudden death to the rash offender. For +three or four seconds Dick, still retaining that frightful and agonising +grip upon Sachar's shoulders, glowered at the now writhing noble; then +he shook the unfortunate man with such furious violence that Sachar's +teeth not only clicked together like castanets, but they also bit his +tongue through as he attempted to speak. + +By this time the whole chamber was in an uproar, _every_ man having +started to his feet in terror of what should happen next. A few of the +more timid ones were hastily leaving their seats and beating a +precipitate retreat toward the door, only to be stopped, however, by the +crossed halberds of the guard. Lyga was the only noble who seemed in +nowise disconcerted by so extraordinary a happening, and he stood +smiling benevolently on Dick while the latter was manhandling the +enraged yet terrified Sachar. Several of the other nobles, however, +anxious to curry favour with Sachar, hastened to his assistance, and +strove unavailingly to break Dick's grip, while the captain of the +guard, accompanied by a file of soldiers, having responded to Dick's +call, now stood uncertainly by, at a loss to know whether or not he +ought to obey the young Englishman's order to arrest a noble and member +of the council. + +This state of uncertainty on the part of the captain of the guard did +not pass wholly unnoticed by those present, a few of whom loudly +protested against the arrest as illegal, in that it had been ordered by +one without authority. + +"Ha! say you so?" cried the queen, also rising to her feet. "Then that +is a matter to be easily remedied." Turning to Dick, she added: + +"My Lord Dick, I appoint you Captain-General of my bodyguard, here and +now. And I authorise you to arrest my Lord Sachar and lodge him in +prison." + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +AN OMINOUS DISAPPEARANCE. + +The startling character of the entire episode, coupled with the +suddenness and utter unexpectedness of its development, and the equally +unexpected firmness and decision of character manifested by the young +queen, exercised such a paralysing effect upon the members of council +that, as with one accord, they sank back into their seats and in silence +watched the arrest and removal of Sachar from the Council Chamber. And +before any of them could pull themselves together to take any definite +action, the queen rose to her feet and, bowing to the assembly with a +serene and most engaging smile, said: + +"My lords of the council, you are dismissed." + +Then, turning to the two white men, she murmured, in a voice so low that +only they two caught the words: + +"My lords Dick and Earle, give me the favour of your company to my own +apartments. I desire to consult with ye both." And, accepting the +support of Dick's proffered hand, she passed out of the Council Chamber +through the doorway by which she had entered, and, followed by her +retinue, made her way to the small but beautiful chamber where she and +her grandfather had first received the two white men. + +Arrived here, she seated herself on a dais at the upper end of the +apartment and, directing her ladies to retire to the other end of the +room, where they would be out of earshot, she rested her chin upon her +hand, as though in deep thought, and so remained for the space of nearly +five minutes. + +Then, raising her eyes, she glanced first at Dick and then at Earle, who +stood respectfully before her, and said: + +"My lords, I am in a strait, and desire the benefit of your advice. Ye +are from the great world without, and have doubtless mingled freely with +the teeming millions of whom ye have spoken to the late king, my beloved +grandfather. Ye have told him of the marvellous doings of those +millions, of their wonderful enterprises and inventions, and of the +rivalry that exists between them; and I doubt not that, mingling with +them, as ye must have done, ye have acquired wisdom, beside which the +wisdom of the wisest of us in Ulua will seem foolishness. + +"You did right, my Lord Dick, in ordering Sachar's arrest for his +arrogant and insulting speech, but I doubt whether I should have had the +courage to take so bold a step. For I know that it will mean war +between him and me--a war of plotting and scheming, if not of actual +bloodshed--and I now wish to know whether, in the contest which I feel +to be inevitable, I may depend upon your advice and, if necessary, your +active co-operation?" + +"You may, your Majesty," answered Dick and Earle in the same breath. + +"I thank you with all my heart," returned the queen, glancing up at them +with a bright smile. "I feel," she continued, "that in the struggle +which I foresee, I shall have to rely upon you almost entirely, for I +believe that the members of my council will, with very few exceptions, +be against me. Go, therefore, and consult together as to the steps +which ye would recommend me to take; and then come to me again." + +She presented her hand, which Dick and Earle bent over and kissed +respectfully before retiring from the presence. + +Upon reaching their own suite of apartments, the two friends were +surprised to find Lyga, the Keeper of Statutes, awaiting them. There +was a look of concern, not altogether unmingled with amusement, in his +expression as he rose and advanced to meet them. + +"My lords," he said, "it has just come to my ears--and I thought that +ye, and you in especial, my Lord Dick, in your capacity of +Captain-General of the Queen's Bodyguard, ought to know--that Sachar, +together with the officer and the file of soldiers into whose custody ye +delivered him, has disappeared." + +"Disappeared!" echoed Dick. "How mean ye, my Lord Lyga?" + +"Exactly as I have said," replied Lyga. "Sachar has not been lodged in +prison, as ye ordered, and the officer and file of soldiers are not in +their quarters, as they should be. I rather anticipated some such +occurrence, and because my sympathies are wholly with the Queen, and I +am on her side, I made it my business to leave the Council Chamber +immediately upon her Majesty's departure, and follow the route that +Sachar should have taken. I ascertained that he left the palace, +accompanied by the officer and soldiers; but he had not reached the +prison when I arrived there, and it is certain that now he will not do +so. My own conviction is that, being a man of known power and almost +unlimited wealth, he found no difficulty in bribing the officer and +soldiers to allow him to escape, and has very possibly carried them away +with him to protect them from the consequences of their treachery." + +Dick and Earle regarded each other intently for a moment, and then +nodded with understanding. + +"My Lord Lyga," said Dick, "I thank you for your promptitude in bringing +me this information, and also for the assurance of your sympathy with +the cause of the Queen. Doubtless ye have already recognised that we, +too, are wholly and unreservedly on her side, to such an extent, indeed, +that we are resolved not to depart from Ulua until her Majesty and her +authority are firmly established. Not only so, but we intend to do +everything in our power to bring that consummation to pass. I speak for +my Lord Earle as well as myself. You corroborate me, don't you?" he +added, turning to Earle. + +Earle nodded emphatic assent, and Dick resumed: + +"Is your sympathy with her Majesty strong enough to induce you to +co-operate with us in her cause, my lord?" + +"Assuredly," assented Lyga, "else had I left ye to learn of Sachar's +escape at your leisure." + +"Good!" approved Dick. "Being strangers among you, we are naturally to +a very great extent ignorant of the characters of Sachar and those who +are likely to take part with him against the Queen; therefore we shall +be glad to hear your opinion as to the probable outcome of Sachar's act +of defiance. How, think ye, will it end?" + +"I will tell you," answered Lyga. "Knowing Sachar and his ambitions so +intimately as I do, I think this is what has happened and will happen. +Sachar doubtless went direct from the Council Chamber to his own home, +provided himself with all the money he could lay his hands upon at the +moment, and then probably proceeded to the house of Nimri, the husband +of his sister, where, having explained the happenings of this morning, +he has arranged with Nimri to manage his affairs for him, collect his +moneys, and provide him with such funds as he may need, from time to +time. These arrangements made, Sachar will almost certainly go into +hiding, and, from his place of concealment, endeavour to organise a +revolt against the Queen's authority, with the object of either +dethroning her, or--if the people will not permit that--compelling her +to marry him." + +"So," said Dick, "that means something very like civil war, does it +not?" + +"It does," agreed Lyga, tersely. + +"And, in such an event, how think ye will it go?" demanded Earle. + +Lyga considered deeply. "It is a difficult matter to forecast," he +presently replied. "On the one hand, such a thing as a revolt against +the royal house has never yet occurred in Ulua, and, broadly speaking, +the Uluans, as a people, will be opposed to it. For it would be an +upsetting of one of Ulua's fundamental laws, and the people at large +will naturally argue that if it is possible to upset one law, it will be +possible to upset others, with consequences which no man can foresee. +On the other hand, Sachar is, far and away, the most powerful and +influential man in the kingdom. There are few, if any, who love him, +but there are many who, believing in his power, may be prepared to help +him in the hope of being lavishly rewarded in the event of his being +successful, while there are many more--probably thousands--who, directly +or indirectly, are so dependent upon his favour that they will feel they +have no choice but to help him, if called upon. And you may rest +assured that he _will_ call upon every man who is in the least degree +under his influence. I fear it will be found that he will have a very +large following." + +"In that case," said Dick, "it appears to me that prompt and energetic +action is called for. And right here, my Lord Lyga, is where you can be +of the utmost service. I know little or nothing of the laws by which +Ulua is governed, while you, I understand, have them at your fingers' +ends. Tell me, therefore, how far does my authority, as Captain-General +of the Queen's Bodyguard, extend?" + +"It extends just as far as her Majesty may be pleased to permit," +answered Lyga. "You are entitled, even without obtaining her Majesty's +express permission, to take whatever steps you may deem necessary for +the protection of the Queen's person; and, beyond that, you have only to +obtain her Majesty's permission to render lawful any act performed by +you in the maintenance of law and order." + +"I see," returned Dick. "It would appear, then, that my powers are +tolerably wide. Are they wide enough, think you, to justify me in +seizing, on behalf of the Queen, all property belonging to Sachar?" + +"With what object?" demanded Lyga. + +"Primarily, to deprive him of what we English term `the sinews of war,'" +replied Dick, "or, in other words, the means to organise a campaign; and +secondarily, with the object of impressing upon all whom it may concern +that we who are taking the side of the Queen are fully prepared to +suppress with a strong hand any attempt to deprive her of any of her +rights or of her liberty." + +"By Kuhlacan!" ejaculated Lyga. "Are ye prepared to adopt such +stringent measures? We Uluans are a little apt to deprecate force, a +little apt to parley and bargain, to compromise. I think that, as a +people, we are so timorous that we would concede almost anything in +order to avoid strong measures. And that is where Sachar has already +the advantage. He is not timorous; on the contrary, he is bold, +courageous, overbearing--he frightens people into surrendering to his +will. And if ye also are prepared to be firm, resolute, fearless, I +believe ye will conquer; for if once the people can be brought to +realise that your determination is as strong and unshrinking as that of +Sachar, there are many who will fear to join him, lest he fall and they +fall with him. But it will not be well that the Queen shall be +personally involved in the struggle which I foresee. She must remain +personally aloof, passive and detached from it. The issues will be of +too grim and strenuous a character for her to be brought into personal +contact with them. She is too young, too inexperienced, too +tender-hearted to grapple successfully with them; at a critical moment +when perhaps her throne, her liberty, possibly even her very life, may +be hanging in the balance, she might be tempted to yield, rather than +fight for what is rightfully her own, in order to avert bloodshed. That +is a trait of her character upon which Sachar will confidently reckon, +therefore we who have her interests at heart must safeguard her from the +effects of untimely weakness by inducing her to invest you with full +power and authority to act in her behalf as may seem to you best, +without being obliged first to submit the point to her. Thus, you and +Sachar, not she, will be responsible for what may happen. Does such a +prospect make you shrink?" + +"It does not, friend Lyga," answered Dick. + +"I am glad to hear you say so," returned Lyga, "for your view accurately +coincides with my own. Would that I were young enough actively to +support you! But what matters? My brain will be worth more to you than +thews and sinews, and I tell you, my Lord Dick, that the best my brain +can offer is and shall be at all times freely yours. I am ready, if +need be, to back my wisdom and cunning against Sachar's courage and +strength. And now, see ye, I advise that ye take immediate steps to +seize every item of Sachar's property and goods that ye can lay hands +upon. Give the matter into the hands of Acor, who met ye at the gate +when ye first entered Ulua; he is a good man, staunch and--I believe-- +faithful, and such orders as ye may give him he will execute. +Meanwhile, I will retire to mine own quarters and will there prepare a +parchment investing you with full power to act as you may deem necessary +in defence of the Queen's peace. And to-morrow you and I will go +together and beseech her Majesty to sign it." + +"Jove! the plot is thickening, with a vengeance," exclaimed Dick, when +Lyga had left them. "But," he continued, "what puzzles me is, how it +comes that _I_ am suddenly boosted to the front and the top in such an +extraordinary manner. What I mean is, that up to the present _you_ have +been _persona grata_ here, and now, without rhyme or reason, it seems to +me, I am pitch-forked--" + +Earle smiled as he laid his hand on Dick's shoulder. + +"My dear chap," he said, "if, as you say, I have thus far been the more +important individual of the two here in Ulua, you know as well as I do +that it has been solely by virtue of this Kuhlacan amulet that I wear. +But you have only to glance into one of those mirrors which reflect our +images to understand in a moment why a young girl like Queen Myrra +should instinctively turn to you, rather than to me when--" + +"Oh, I say! that's the most utter rot, you know--" began Dick, blushing +furiously. But Earle again interrupted him. + +"Rot, or not, my young friend," he said, "it is human nature, which, +take my word for it, is pretty much the same all the world over. +Besides, you must remember that it was you who intervened so vigorously +when that bounder, Sachar, threatened the Queen; therefore it was but +natural that when those other johnnies began to protest against the +illegality of your order for Sachar's arrest, her Majesty should at once +invest you with the necessary authority to legalise your order. And, +having made you Captain-General of her bodyguard, she will of course +look to you to discharge the functions of the post. And as for me, I +tell you frankly that I think, in choosing you, she showed herself to be +a very wise little woman; for you are accustomed to responsibility and +command. You go ahead, youngster, and fear nothing. I'll back you up +to the last cent, whatever you do; and always remember that whenever you +feel in need of information or advice, you have wise old Lyga to fall +back upon, and he is a host in himself." + +Thus reassured, Dick Cavendish summoned a servant and forthwith +dispatched him to the adjacent barracks in which the officers and men of +the bodyguard were lodged, with a message requesting Captain Acor's +immediate attendance. And when, about a quarter of an hour later, Acor +put in an appearance, Dick briefly recounted to him the morning's +happenings, and wound up by directing him to tell off a sufficient +number of men and with them proceed to search for and arrest Sachar, to +take possession of and occupy not only Sachar's residence, but every +other building belonging to the man, and to seize and lodge in a place +of security all Sachar's horses, slaves, and other property capable of +being moved. Acor readily undertook to do this, assuring Dick that he +believed he could enumerate every item of property belonging to Sachar, +and that he would permit nothing to escape him. But he expressed some +doubt as to his ability to arrest Sachar, who, he doubted not, had +already found a secure hiding place. Dick was greatly gratified to +observe that Acor seemed ready to take orders from him without evincing +the slightest symptom of envy or jealousy at the fact of Dick being put +over him, for he had rather feared something of the kind from all the +officers of the bodyguard. + +Late in the evening, Acor returned to the palace and reported that he +had seized every particle of Sachar's property, but had been unable to +discover the slightest clue to the whereabouts of the man himself, all +his inquiries being met with the assurance that none of his relatives +had seen anything of him since his departure from his house, that +morning, to attend the meeting of the Council of Nobles. Acor added +that, while he had not the slightest doubt that this statement was in +the main true, he had just as little doubt that certain of the persons +whom he questioned had lied, and among them he strongly suspected +Sachar's major-domo, and the Lord Nimri, Sachar's brother-in-law. The +former of these, however, as Acor pointed out, could render no further +assistance to his master, since he and his fellow servants were now +under the strict surveillance of the officer who had been put in +possession of Sachar's principal dwelling; while, as for Nimri, he too +was under surveillance, Acor having instructed two smart, keen servants +of his own to relieve each other in maintaining a strict watch upon the +noble's movements and to follow him whithersoever he might go, reporting +to Acor regularly as they went off duty. + +At the moment it appeared to both Dick and Earle that these precautions +would prove sufficient, and would doubtless lead, in the course of a day +or two, to the arrest of the recalcitrant noble; but when three days had +passed bringing no news of Sachar, they decided upon the adoption of +further measures and, having in the meantime, with Lyga's assistance, +obtained the Queen's signature to the document giving Dick _carte +blanche_ to act in any manner that he might deem fit, Cavendish +published a Proclamation declaring Sachar an outlaw, offering a +substantial reward for such information as should lead to his arrest, +and pronouncing outlawry against any and all who might be found to have +afforded him refuge or succour of any kind. + +This drastic step, they fully believed, would result in Sachar's +discovery and arrest, especially as every house belonging to Sachar, and +every person suspected of being in the slightest degree likely to help +or even sympathise with him, was being strictly watched; but day after +day went by with no discovery made, no smallest scrap of information +coming to hand; and meanwhile the preparations for the state obsequies +of the late king were so far advanced that at length the date was fixed +for the ceremonial, which was to be of unparalleled pomp and +magnificence. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +THE FIGHT IN THE ROAD. + +The morning of the day which was to witness the imposing ceremonial of +the obsequies of the late King Juda dawned brilliantly bright and fair, +to the unqualified satisfaction of the Uluans, every one of whom counted +upon witnessing some portion at least of the pageant, while the greater +number were resolved to see practically the whole of it, and, with that +intention, arose about midnight and betook themselves along the road +leading to the royal sepulchre, which was a great cavern, situate some +eight miles from the city, in the interior of which the bodies of the +monarchs of Ulua had been deposited from time immemorial. + +With the first appearance of dawn the streets of the city had begun to +assume a festive appearance, which, to Dick and Earle at least, seemed +distinctly incongruous until it was explained to them by Lyga--who came +to them early--that the pageant was in nowise intended to be typical of +a nation mourning the loss of its monarch (the theory being that the +monarch never dies), but rather of the nation doing honour to one who, +after ruling them wisely and well, has laid him down to enjoy a +well-earned rest. + +It was not, however, to furnish this explanation that Lyga had presented +himself at such an early hour, but rather to inquire what progress, if +any, had been made in the quest for the missing Sachar. + +Dick was obliged to reply to this that, notwithstanding his utmost +efforts, and in the following up of innumerable clues which had proved +to be false, he had been unable to discover the whereabouts of the +missing man, who indeed had disappeared as effectually as though the +earth had swallowed him up. + +"I feared so; I feared so," commented Lyga, in response to Dick's +explanation. "I am inclined to the belief that he is being harboured by +some friend whose power and influence are so great that he believes +himself strong enough to defy you. And I fear that, all this time, +Sachar has been using his own influence and that of his friend to plot +some scheme whereby he may secure possession of the Queen's person for a +sufficient length of time to compel her to marry him. Hitherto this has +been impossible, for the simple reason that, thus far, her Majesty has +never left the precincts of the palace, where of course she is safe. +But to-day her Majesty goes forth to render the last honours to her +beloved grandfather, and to witness, according to custom, the deposition +of his body in the royal sepulchre; to-day, therefore, an opportunity +may arise for the conspirators to attempt to secure possession of the +Queen's person, if they deem themselves strong enough. And if not +to-day, the opportunity must soon present itself; for it is manifestly +out of the question that her Majesty shall become virtually a prisoner +in her own palace. She must of necessity frequently go abroad and show +herself to the people, otherwise they would soon begin to think, and to +say, that she is afraid of Sachar; and that would but strengthen +Sachar's hands and weaken her own. + +"But mark ye this, my lords. It is in my mind that if, as I very +strongly suspect, it is Sachar's intention to secure possession of the +Queen's person, the attempt is likely enough to be made to-day, for the +reason that to-day all Ulua will be abroad, and therefore it will be the +easier for a large body of Sachar's adherents to assemble together, and +maybe form part of the funeral procession, without exciting comment or +suspicion." + +It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when, the great wrought +copper gates at the main entrance of the palace having been swung open, +the queen's chariot emerged therefrom and was carefully piloted to its +station immediately in the rear of the funeral car, to which, in the +meantime, twelve magnificently caparisoned white horses had been yoked, +the great cloths which covered the animals from head to heel being made +of purple silk, lavishly embroidered in silver thread and weighted at +the edges with heavy silver tassels. Their heads were decorated with +long plumes of the royal colours, and their bridles were fringed with +purple silk bands, scalloped and heavily embroidered in silver. All the +horses taking part in the procession, from those in the queen's chariot +down to the humble vehicle drawn by a single animal, were caparisoned +exactly alike, by strict regulation. And after the chariots, some of +which were drawn by six horses, yoked three abreast, came those who, not +being wealthy enough to own a chariot, must follow on foot. + +The horses having been yoked to the funeral chariot, Dick Cavendish +mounted his powerful charger and gave the order for the bodyguard to +form round it and the queen's chariot, which was at once done, the +troopers forming a cordon six deep, which completely enveloped the two +chariots. At the same moment the great doors of the temple were thrown +open, and the priests, to the number of about one hundred and fifty, +clad in white robes and turbans edged with turquoise blue, filed out +through the portals of the building, walking with slow and measured +steps, and playing a kind of dirge upon their queer-looking musical +instruments, of which the most numerous consisted of long curved +trumpets formed of a kind of terra-cotta. Zorah, the high priest, +marched in the van bearing aloft a pole surmounted by an effigy of +Kuhlacan, the Winged Serpent, while on either side of him walked +acolytes swinging censers charged with certain aromatic substances, +smouldering and throwing off thin wisps of perfumed smoke. + +Down the great flight of the temple steps came the priests, and across +the square, until they reached the foremost files of the bodyguard, when +they wheeled to the left and proceeded along the appointed route, the +funeral car and the rest of the procession getting into motion close +behind. + +Proceeding at the solemn pace which had been set by the priests at the +outset, the funeral procession slowly wended its way along the road +toward the place of sepulture, the route being lined on either hand by a +continuous crowd of people of the humbler classes, who knew that it +would be hopeless for them to attempt to file past the bier while it +stood in the great square before the palace, the time allowed for this +being only sufficient to permit the nobles and the more affluent classes +to pay this last tribute to their dead king; those, therefore, who could +not do this adopted the alternative of assembling along the highway and +casting their little bouquets of flowers upon the road when the head of +the procession approached. + +The journey from the square to the great plain before the rocky cliff +which contained the royal sepulchre occupied practically four hours, and +another two hours elapsed before the tail end of the procession arrived +and was arranged in position to witness the elaborate ceremony attending +the consignment of the body to its last resting place; thus it was after +sunset and the brief dusk of the tropics was falling upon the plain, +enveloping it in a veil of mystery and cloaking many of the movements of +the enormous crowd assembled, when at length, after the observance of +the final rites, the queen, followed by such nobles as were entitled to +be present, and the priests emerged from the great cavern. The funeral +ceremonies were over, and it now only remained for those who had taken +part in them to get back to their homes as speedily as might be. + +Dick, in his capacity as Captain-General of the Queen's Bodyguard, and +Earle, in the character of a highly distinguished individual closely +connected in some mysterious fashion with the god Kuhlacan, were +awaiting her Majesty at the entrance of the cave, and immediately upon +her emergence they each offered her a hand and proceeded to lead her to +a chariot, which was awaiting her at some little distance, the troopers +of the bodyguard closing up in the rear of the trio and thus cutting +them off from everybody outside the cordon. + +No sooner was this accomplished than Earle began hurriedly to address +the queen in a low voice: + +"Your Majesty," he said, "we have the strongest reason for suspecting +that a very formidable and determined attempt will be made to secure +possession of your person to-night, during the progress of our journey +toward the city. There is no time to enter into even the most brief of +explanations, but the point is this: My Lord Dick and I have devised a +plan to frustrate this atrocious plot, and all that we need is your +Majesty's immediate and unqualified assent to enable us to put the plan +into effect. It involves your trusting yourself alone with me while I +take you back to the city and the palace by a shorter but very lonely +route. Will you do it? It is the joint plan of my Lord Dick and +myself, and it is our earnest desire and entreaty that you will be +graciously pleased to assent to it." + +"Of course," agreed the queen, with the utmost readiness. "I will trust +myself with my Lord Dick and you anywhere." + +"I greatly appreciate the confidence which your Majesty is pleased to +put in me," remarked Earle. "But I fear that I have not succeeded in +making myself quite understood. The success of our plan demands that +you come with me _alone_. My Lord Dick cannot come with us. It is +necessary that he shall remain with the bodyguard." + +"Necessary that he should remain?" objected the queen. "Nay, surely +not. Let him turn over the command for the moment, to Acor, and come +with us. It is not that I am afraid to trust myself alone with you, my +lord," she added, in response to a sigh and a gesture of disappointment +from Earle, "but--but--" + +"Oh yes, your Majesty, of course I know," responded Earle wearily, "but +what you suggest simply cannot be done. You see--Oh! hang it all," he +continued, breaking into English, "tell the child that she simply _must_ +do as we ask; that you wish it; or she'll stand here arguing until +further orders." + +The unmistakable tone of annoyance and impatience with which Earle ended +his speech caused the queen to glance at him with big, startled eyes; +but when Dick bent over her and whispered an entreaty that she would +fall in with the plan, so that he might thus be relieved of a very heavy +load of anxiety, she acquiesced without further ado, while Earle +triumphantly chortled, in English: + +"I told you so!" + +They were by this time close to the royal chariot, near which stood a +dismounted trooper, holding his horse by the bridle with one hand, while +over his other arm he held unfolded the long, black military cloak in +which officers and men alike were wont to envelop themselves at night +time to protect their armour and accoutrements from the drenching night +dews. + +Without saying a word, Dick at once took the cloak from the man and +wrapped it round the queen, enveloping her from head to foot; next he +drew the hood over her head and so arranged it that while the girl could +see clearly, her features were hidden in the deep shadow cast by the +overhanging hood. And, this done, he seized her beneath the arms and +tossed her light as a feather, into the saddle, carefully set her feet +in the stirrups, and afterwards arranged the voluminous folds of the +cloak in such a fashion that the rich dress which she wore was +completely concealed. Then, one on each side of the horse's head, Dick +and Earle led the animal to the head of the troop, while at a sign from +Dick, the dismounted trooper entered the royal chariot and drew the +curtains close. + +It was by this time quite dark, save for the illumination afforded by +the stars, which brilliantly studded the heavens and just shed a bare +sufficiency of soft, sheeny light to reveal the white road, and the +nearer trees and clumps of bush standing out against the opaque black +background of the surrounding hills. So far as could be seen, there was +nothing on the road ahead of the royal chariot and its escorting +squadrons of horsemen, for to precede them was contrary to etiquette; +therefore as soon as Dick and Earle reached the head of the returning +procession they mounted their horses and gave the word to march at a +trot, the two white men leading, with the queen riding between them, +while the nobles, accompanied by their retinues, came closely behind, +for all now seemed anxious to reach the city with as little delay as +possible. In this fashion about a mile and a half of the return journey +was accomplished, and a bend of the road was reached where a sort of +bridle path bore sharply off to the right, forming a short cut to the +city, but practicable only for horsemen or pedestrians, because of its +narrowness, the road through the scrub being only wide enough to permit +the passage of a single horseman. Here Earle left the escort and, +closely followed by the queen, plunged into the by-path, where their +forms instantly became merged in the deep shadow of the surrounding +bush, while the soft, sandy character of the soil so muffled the +hoof-beats of their horses as to render them inaudible above the sounds +caused by the passage of the horses and chariots along the high road. +Ten seconds after they had parted from the main body, Earle and his +companion had vanished as completely as though the earth had swallowed +them up, while none but the leading files of the escort had witnessed +their going. Five minutes later, Dick uttered a low word of command, +and a sergeant, accompanied by four files of troopers, separated +themselves from the main body and pushed forward along the main road at +a canter acting as scouts. + +Scarcely had these men vanished in the distance when the sky on the left +assumed an appearance as though being overspread by a soft golden +radiance, throwing the outline of the encircling cliffs in that +direction into sharp relief, the stars thereabout paled into +insignificant pin points of light ere they vanished altogether, and +presently up sailed the full moon into view above the hill tops, +instantly flooding the valley with her soft, mysterious effulgence, +until in the course of a few minutes objects were almost as clearly +visible as in the light of day, while the multitudinous polished metal +domes and roofs, of the distant city shimmered under the clear rays like +the waters of another lake. + +Some ten minutes later, a clear, shrill whistle sounded far ahead, which +was the preconcerted signal announcing that the scouts had come into +touch with an opposing body of some description, and Dick immediately +gave the order for the bodyguard to roll up their cloaks and hold +themselves ready for action. Scarcely had this been executed when the +sergeant in command of the scouts came thundering back, with the +intimation that a dense mass of footmen, armed with bow, spear and +sword, occupied the road about half-a-mile ahead, completely blocking +it, and that the officer in command--no less a personage than the +missing Lord Sachar--contemptuously refused to budge an inch, and +insolently demanded immediate speech with the Captain-General. + +"He does, does he?" ejaculated Dick. "All right, he shall have it; and +much good may it do him!" + +The incident of the sergeant's return had not for a moment interrupted +the progress of the bodyguard, that official having simply wheeled his +horse in the road and drawn in alongside Dick as the latter came up, +riding a few paces in advance. Then, keeping pace with the +Captain-General, the sergeant made his brief report, before falling back +into his proper place in the troop. Five minutes later, upon rounding a +bend in the road, Dick found himself within fifty yards of the opposing +force, which had been posted with some skill right across the road, at a +point where the growth of scrub on either hand was so dense as to render +it impossible for either infantry or cavalry to pass through it and so +execute an outflanking movement. + +"Halt!" shouted Dick to the troopers in his rear; and as the horsemen +reined in and came to a standstill, he allowed his hand to drop to the +butt of one of the four automatic pistols which he had taken the +precaution to thrust into his belt before setting out from the palace in +the morning. Drawing forth the weapon and allowing the hand which held +it to drop to his side, he urged his horse forward until he was within a +few yards of the front rank of the opposing force, when he drew rein, +and demanded: + +"Who are ye, and where is your leader? Let him stand forth and explain +the meaning of this outrage. Know ye that ye are opposing the passage +of the chariot of the Queen's most excellent Majesty?" + +"Ay, right well do we know it, since that is our purpose," replied a +man, stepping forth in response to Dick's challenge. He was dressed in +a suit of complete gold armour; but since the Uluan helmet has no visor, +and the light of the moon, now almost as brilliant as that of day, fell +full upon his face, Dick at once recognised him as the recalcitrant +Sachar. + +"So it is thou, my Lord Sachar," remarked Dick. "Hast heard that there +is a reward set upon thy head, and art come forth at this untimely hour +to surrender thyself?" + +"Nay, not so," answered Sachar, "but to make two demands have I come, +bringing with me these my faithful followers and servitors, that I may +have the power to enforce my demands. + +"I demand, first, the surrender of the Queen's person into my care and +keeping; and second, I demand the surrender of yourself and the other +stranger, your companion, in order that ye may be brought to trial for +the crimes of exercising undue and pernicious influence upon the mind of +the Queen, and the abolition of certain ancient rites and customs +connected with the worship and honour of the great god Kuhlacan. And I +warn ye beforehand, oh insolent white stranger, that it will be useless +for ye to resist my demands; for though ye have some five hundred +soldiers at your back, I have here as many thousands to support me, +while in your rear there are thousands more who are pledged to help me. +Therefore, seeing that ye are hemmed in, front and rear, and cannot +possibly escape, I call upon the soldiers of the Queen's bodyguard to +surrender at discretion, and thus avert the shedding of much innocent +blood." + +"Have ye finished?" demanded Dick. "Then--" as Sachar made no +reply--"now hearken all of you unto me. Ye know that this man Sachar, +once a Uluan noble, is now outlawed and a price set upon his head for +threatening her most gracious Majesty, Queen Myrra--whom may God grant a +long and prosperous reign--" Here the soldiers of the bodyguard broke in +with loud and enthusiastic cheers. "And," continued Dick, when silence +was once more restored, "ye have also now heard his audacious and +treasonable demand that the Queen shall be surrendered, a prisoner, into +his keeping, that he may work his wicked will upon her. Know, +therefore, that, rather than concede this outlaw's treasonable demands, +I will die here in the road fighting in defence of the Queen's person +and liberty, and so will every man who wears her Majesty's uniform--" +Here fresh cheers from the bodyguard again interrupted him. "Ye hear +those cheers?" resumed Dick, as the shouts died into silence. "And know +ye what they mean, oh misguided adherents of the outlawed Sachar? They +mean death to you! For your own sakes, therefore, I counsel you to +return to your allegiance to the Queen, surrendering Sachar to me, a +prisoner, to be tried and dealt with for his offence as the law of Ulua +directs. Those of you who are willing to save your lives, face about +and retire with all speed, lest evil befall you." + +"So!" roared Sachar, advancing upon Dick with uplifted sword, "ye would +pervert my followers and terrify them into deserting me!" And he aimed +a mighty blow at Dick as the pair rushed at each other. But Dick, +anticipating something of the sort, had already dropped the bridle upon +his charger's neck, thrust his automatic back into his belt, and whipped +out the good steel sword that he had that morning deemed it advisable to +substitute for the handsome but comparatively useless weapon that went +with his uniform, and the next instant the two blades clashed together. +The result was precisely what Dick had anticipated, the steel shattered +the hardened and toughened copper blade as though the latter had been +glass, and before Sachar in the least realised what had happened Dick +had driven his sword hilt into his antagonist's face, causing the Uluan +noble to stagger so that he would have fallen, had not Dick leaned +forward in his saddle and gripped the man by the arm. + +"Sergeant Mato," he called, "take this man back to the centre of the +troop, bind him hand and foot, and see to it that he does not escape +you. Now, followers of Sachar," he continued, "your leader is a +prisoner. Will ye--" + +But at that moment he was interrupted by a confused din of angry +shouting, the trampling of horses, and the clinking of blade upon blade +coming from the rear, showing that the armed retainers of some at least +of the nobles who had attended the interment had fallen upon the +bodyguard. The sounds also reached the ears of Sachar's followers and, +encouraged thereby, they in their turn raised a great shout and rushed +forward, with the result that in a moment a fierce battle was raging in +the road, with the bodyguard attacked front and rear, while it soon +became evident that the aim of the assailants was to reach the queen's +chariot, doubtless in the hope of being able to secure possession of it +and drive it off through the melee. + +For a few minutes the bodyguard were fighting at a serious disadvantage, +being all jammed up tightly together round the queen's chariot, so that +only a dozen or so in front and rear were able to strike a blow. But +Dick and Earle, while discussing the probabilities of attack, had +foreseen just such a state of affairs as now obtained, and had issued +their orders accordingly. These orders were now being faithfully +executed by the several officers, with the result that the troopers were +gradually forcing their powerful horses through the foremost ranks of +the attacking bodies, both front and rear, while other troopers closely +followed them up, sabreing right and left with a full determination to +make the traitors pay dearly for their treachery. As for Dick, what +with his sword of steel, which sheared through copper weapons and golden +armour as though they had been paper, his snapping automatics which slew +people at a distance, and his fiercely plunging horse, goaded forward by +an unsparing use of the spur, he seemed to the simple Uluans like the +incarnation of the god of death and destruction, and after beholding +some eight or ten luckless wights go down beneath his sword, they simply +turned and fled from him, shrieking with terror. This, added to the +confusion occasioned by the fierce onslaught of the troopers who +followed closely in his rear, presently proved too much for Sachar's own +particular body of retainers, and after some ten minutes of fierce +fighting they broke and fled, hotly pursued by the two leading squadrons +of the bodyguard. + +Nor were those who attacked the bodyguard from the rear in much better +case; for although they outnumbered the soldiers by something like ten +to one, the cramped width of the road in which they fought nullified +this advantage, while their untrained methods of fighting allowed the +trained soldiers to ride and mow them down like grass, with the result +that after a few minutes of strenuous fighting their courage evaporated +and they, too, were seized with such overpowering panic that, to escape +the vengeful sabres of the bodyguard, they sought to fly, and finding no +way of escape, turned their weapons upon their own comrades and leaders, +speedily inducing a state of abject panic in them also. The result was +that very soon the rear attack, like that in front, ceased and became +converted into a headlong flight, leaving the bodyguard victorious. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS. + +Dick's first act on the following morning, was to dispatch to the scene +of the fight a strong body of men, whose duty it would be to collect the +slain and bury them in a common grave by the roadside, after the officer +in command of the party had ascertained, by means of the dead men's +uniforms, the names of their chiefs. Then he proceeded in person to the +large building which had been hastily converted into a temporary +hospital, to which the wounded had been conveyed, and took the necessary +steps to discover the names of their chiefs also. The final result of +this investigation was the discovery that at least five of the Council +of Nobles, in addition to Sachar, had been implicated in the previous +night's attack upon the Queen's Bodyguard, in the attempt to secure +possession of the queen's person. Dick's next act was to dispatch to +the houses of the implicated five a sergeant's guard, with instructions +to the officer in command to arrest the owner--if he could be found, and +to seize his property. To do the last was simple enough, but Dick was +not greatly surprised to learn that, in each case, the "wanted" noble +had failed to return home on the previous night, and that nobody was +able to give the slightest hint as to his probable whereabouts. This, +however, did not very greatly trouble the young captain-general; Sachar, +the instigator and leader of the whole treasonable conspiracy, was +safely lodged in durance vile, under conditions which rendered his +escape a practical impossibility, the victory of the queen's troops over +the rebels had been signal and complete, the queen herself was safe and +sound, and Dick was disposed to think that, under the circumstances, he +would have no great difficulty in stamping out the smouldering remains +of the rebellion. + +Nor was he mistaken, as circumstances soon proved. He proclaimed the +missing nobles outlaws, announced the confiscation of their property, +and offered a substantial reward for their persons, dead or alive, +which, with the terrible threats against all who should dare to harbour +or help them directly or indirectly, produced such a wholesome effect +that, within four days, every one of the missing men had been +ignominiously brought in and surrendered. And now, each man anxious +only to save his own skin, not only did the five--of whom Nimri, +Sachar's brother-in-law was one--proceed to lay the blame of the whole +affair upon Sachar, accusing him of influencing them by alternate bribes +and threats, but they also testified against certain other nobles who, +but for this, might have gone scot free and unsuspected; so that +ultimately no less than eleven of Ulua's most powerful and ambitious +nobles found themselves in danger of losing their heads in consequence +of their ambition having o'erleaped itself. + +And now, Dick and Earle found themselves confronted with a difficulty, +for there were no such things as civil or criminal courts of justice in +Ulua, criminals being in the usual course haled before the _shiref_ of +the particular district in which the crime was committed, and summarily +sentenced by him to such punishment as he, in his wisdom, might deem +meet and adequate; while, if the crime was of a specially serious +character--as in the present case--it was the monarch who pronounced +judgment and determined the nature of the punishment. + +But the two white men felt that it would never do to permit the young +queen to be saddled with the responsibility of judging eleven rebels +against her sovereign authority, and with the onus of personally +determining what amount of punishment they should receive; they +therefore put their heads together and, without very much difficulty, +drafted a scheme for the establishment of courts of justice, somewhat +similar in character to those in England, wherein criminals could be +tried and sentenced by duly qualified judges; though they decided that +the Uluans were not yet ripe for the introduction of the jury system. +This scheme they first submitted to Lyga, who, after suggesting certain +modifications calculated to adapt it more closely to the requirements +and peculiarities of the Uluan character, fully approved of it and +agreed to recommend it to the queen for acceptance and embodiment upon +the Statute Book. This was done, and, the idea having been fully +explained to the queen by Lyga, was approved by her and in due course +became one of the laws of the land. Then, a court having been +established, and men of suitable attainments found to serve as judges, +the prisoners were in due course tried, found guilty, and sentenced. No +attempt was made to clear any of the prisoners by means of clever +advocacy or specious argument, the questions before the court were the +straightforward ones whether or not the accused were guilty of +conspiracy, and, if guilty, to what extent; and in every case the +verdict was the same, every prisoner was found guilty, but not all to +the same extent, some of them being able to show that, owing to the +power and influence wielded by Sachar, they were practically compelled +to throw in their lot with him, whether or not they approved of his +designs. The result of the trial was, under the circumstances, +eminently satisfactory, considering that it was the first of the kind +ever held in Ulua; for the judges, instructed by Earle and Dick, devoted +themselves wholeheartedly to the task of administering strict justice, +without regard to the position or personality of the accused; and the +trial terminated with the condemnation of Sachar, Nimri, and two others +to death, with the confiscation of all their property, while the +remaining seven were punished in varying degrees, some by heavy fines, +and others by more or less lengthy periods of penal labour. + +It was with considerable anxiety that Dick and Earle awaited and watched +for the effect upon the populace of this innovation in the judicial +methods of Ulua; but they had not long to wait before it became apparent +that the formality and solemnity of public trial were far more effective +as a deterrent than the former rough and ready methods, under which a +culprit was haled before a _shiref_ and summarily punished, with nobody +but himself and his immediate connections being a penny the wiser; +publicity and its attendant disgrace soon became more wholesomely +dreaded than even fine or imprisonment, and when a period of three +months had elapsed without the smallest sign of any recurrent +restiveness on the part of the Council of Nobles, the two white men felt +that Queen Myrra was firmly enough established upon her throne to be in +no further need of their services; they therefore announced their +intention to make an early departure, and proceeded to make their +preparations for the return journey. + +It is not putting the matter any too strongly to say that the +announcement of the impending departure of the two white men from Ulua +was productive of the utmost consternation and dismay. So thoroughly +had the two identified themselves with every movement having for its +object the improvement of previous conditions, and so far-reaching and +wholesome had been their influence generally, that the inhabitants of +the city had insensibly grown to regard them as heaven-sent reformers, +permanently settled among them for their benefit and advantage by the +especial favour of Kuhlacan, and the news that the pair were about to +leave them fell upon the Uluans with something of the effect of a bolt +from the blue. + +And upon no one did the intelligence seem to produce so stunning and +grievous an effect as upon the young queen. When, upon a certain +morning, Dick and Earle, having craved audience of her Majesty, made the +momentous announcement and asked her permission to depart, they were +shocked and astounded at the manner in which she received the +intimation. She went as white as death, sank back in the throne-like +chair upon which she was seated, closed her eyes, and for a moment it +looked as though she had fainted. + +And then, at the sight of the queen's manifest distress, a most +extraordinary revulsion of feeling swept over Dick Cavendish. Up to +that moment he had regarded the projected return to civilisation as +merely part and parcel of the fulfilment of his contract with Earle, as +something which he had undertaken and must therefore of necessity carry +out; yet now he was fully conscious for the first time that it was +Earle, and not he, who had broached the subject of return, and he was +conscious, moreover, of the fact that he had viewed the prospect of +departure from Ulua with a singular lack of enthusiasm. + +This illumination, however, remained with him only long enough to +impress itself upon his mind as a flash of lightning impresses itself +upon the sight, and was instantly succeeded by a rush of most +extraordinary and tumultuous emotion at the young queen's extreme +distress. An overwhelming sense of her utter isolation and +friendlessness, a sudden realisation of her as the centre and victim of +a thousand ambitious plots by unscrupulous nobles like Sachar, and of +her bitter need of a strong arm and a cool head to keep and protect her +in the multitudinous trials incidental to her exalted position, a quick +appreciation of her extraordinary beauty, physical and mental, and--some +other exquisitely sweet and tender feeling which he had no time to +analyse, swept over him like a flood, causing him to forget everything +but the utterly irresistible desire to comfort her and alleviate her +distress; and, acting as irresponsibly as though he were in a dream, +forgetful alike of Earle's presence and that of the ladies-in-waiting at +the far end of the room, he sprang forward, flung himself upon his knees +beside the girl, took her in his arms, and proceeded to pour forth a +flood of tender incoherences, mingled with caresses, that very speedily +brought back the colour to her Majesty's lips and cheeks and the light +into her eyes. + +"Oh, my Lord Dick," she murmured, placing her hands upon Dick's +shoulders as she gazed with dilated eyes into his, "What is this you +say? That you are about to leave me? Why? What have I done, and +wherein have I failed in hospitality, that you should desire to go from +me?" + +"Nay, your Majesty," answered Dick, "nay, it is not that at all, on my +soul. It is simply that we have done what we came to do in Ulua, and +now, I suppose--I fear--we must--Earle and I--" + +"My dear chap, don't worry about me," broke in Earle, in English, with a +grin. "I am quite capable of making the return journey alone, if that +is what you are thinking about; indeed, to be candid, I have for some +time been contemplating such a possibility, for I foresaw all this. +Why, can't you see what is the matter with the Queen? She has fallen in +love with you--and you with her, though perhaps you scarcely realise it +as yet--" + +"By Jove! I do, though," retorted Dick, "and if I thought there was the +slightest chance of what you say being true, I'll be hanged if I +wouldn't stay behind and--" + +"Well, ask her, man; ask her, and see what she says," returned Earle. + +And Dick _did_ ask her, there and then; and very simply, very sweetly, +and very frankly, Myrra confessed that the idea of Dick ever leaving her +was intolerable, and that if he would only consent to remain, she would +gladly marry him, and defy all the nobles of Ulua to say her nay, if +need be. + +This understanding of course involved a considerable delay of Earle's +departure, for he at once announced his determination not to leave Ulua +until he had seen all prospective difficulties removed, and Dick, as +Myrra's husband, securely seated upon the throne of Ulua. + +And difficulties to overcome there certainly were, for to the more +ambitious among the Uluan nobles the idea of the queen's marriage to an +alien was distasteful in the extreme, and a very determined effort was +made to stir up a popular demonstration against it. But Lyga, the +Keeper of Statutes, pronounced unreservedly in favour of it, and his +influence was far-reaching. The populace generally also looked upon the +project with undisguised favour, for Dick had contrived in a quiet way +to become exceedingly popular by the frank warmth and geniality of his +manner, no less than by his conspicuous gallantry upon the occasion of +the fight on the night of the late king's interment. Lastly, the +nobles, finding that opposition would have no chance of success, +reconciled themselves to the inevitable, each consoling himself with the +reflection that although the queen had had the bad taste to reject him, +she had at least had the good taste not to accept either of his rivals. + +When, having come to an understanding with the queen, Dick and Earle +withdrew from her Majesty's presence, Cavendish scarcely knew whether he +was standing on his head or his feet; for with a few impetuous words he +had completely altered his entire outlook upon life, and changed his +worldly prospects to an extent which he had never thought possible, even +in his wildest dreams. No more of the sea life for him; he must bid a +definite and final good-bye to that once cherished hope of one day +commanding another such ship as the _Everest_; and--worst of all--there +was now the possibility that he might never more set eyes upon his +beloved sister, Grace. In the whirlwind of tumultuous feeling that had +temporarily swept him off his feet, he had momentarily forgotten her, +and, but for what Earle had once in a burst of confidence confided to +him upon that subject, he would now have suffered several very severe +qualms of conscience. But he knew Earle by this time, knew him +thoroughly, not only as the soul of honour, but as the man to whom, +above all others, he would and could most safely confide Grace's +happiness, and although the dear girl would doubtless shed a few tears +for her lost brother, Dick felt he could trust Earle to quickly dry +them. + +Then again, as to the abandonment of his most cherished ambitions, Dick +felt that he was but exchanging them for others of an even more +important character. For he had not dwelt among the Uluans for so long +without perceiving that, young and comparatively inexperienced though he +was, his knowledge of the outer world fitted him to rule and govern the +remarkable people among whom he had mingled, far better and more wisely +than any of the ignorant, bigoted, and narrow-minded nobles whom he had +met. + +Something of all this he confided to Earle when at length the two found +themselves once more in the seclusion of their own apartments. But +Earle soon put the youngster upon better terms with himself; he stoutly +maintained that, in acting as Dick had acted, he had done the right +thing, not only for the queen, but for himself as well. He pointed out +at length the immense power for good which Dick, as King of the Uluans, +would wield, the many reforms which it would be possible for him to +introduce, the many evils which he could abolish, and, with the instinct +for business characteristic of the American, he rapidly sketched out the +numerous advantages to the Uluans which must result from the opening of +communication between them and the outer world--an easy matter to +accomplish, with the vast wealth at their command. And, as to Grace, he +pooh-poohed the idea that she and Dick were never again to meet; indeed, +in his enthusiasm, he more than half promised that his and Grace's +honeymoon tour should include a visit to Ulua. And lastly, he touched, +with the warmth and delicacy of a true friend and gentleman, upon the +manifold perfections and virtues of the girl queen, and especially upon +her frank and whole-hearted affection for Dick--to say nothing of his +for her; so that, before their chat was over, every one of Dick's doubts +and fears was dissipated and he felt free to regard himself, as indeed +he was, one of the most fortunate young men in the world. + +"Come to think of it, you know, Dick," remarked Earle, when at length +they were able to get back naturally to more mundane matters, "this is +the most lucky thing that could possibly have happened for both of us. +For I have had that emerald mine of ours upon my mind for some time, and +have felt a bit puzzled as to how it was to be worked to our mutual +advantage. But with you as King of Ulua, the thing will be as simple as +falling off a log. You will be on the spot, so to speak--for, after +all, in actual mileage, the mine is really not very far from here--and +it will be an easy matter for you to arrange with our friends, the +Mangeromas, to work the mine and bring in the emeralds to you. Then, I +have been studying my map, and according to it and our observations, I +calculate that we are here only some four hundred miles from the town of +Cerro de Pasco, in Peru, which appears to be connected by railway with +Lima and Callao. I propose to return home by that route, roughly +surveying the ground as I go, and I think it not improbable that I may +discover a practicable road between the two places, by means of which +you may be able to communicate with the outer world and perhaps +establish a profitable trade with it. With your permission, I will take +along half-a-dozen or so of good, reliable Uluans with me, sending them +back to you with a detailed report of the results of my exploration as +soon as I reach civilisation; then, if you think it worth while, you can +get to work to make a proper road. But we can discuss all these little +business matters more at length, later on. There will be plenty of +time, now, before I go." + +This is not a love story, but a yarn of adventure, pure and simple; all +that need be said, therefore, in connection with Cavendish's wedding, is +that the preparations for it, upon a scale of unusual magnificence, even +for Ulua--the circumstances connected with it being in themselves very +unusual--went smoothly forward, and in due time culminated, as such +preparations should, in a ceremony, the splendour of which will linger +long in the memory of those who were privileged to witness it. The +wedding ceremony, which was performed in the temple, was immediately +followed by the crowning of Dick as King, in strict accordance with +Uluan precedent and usage; and thereupon Dick entered upon his new +duties as a practically despotic monarch with the zest and thoroughness +which had always characterised his actions, yet with a discretion and +moderation which speedily lifted him to the zenith of popularity with +his subjects. + +Earle remained on in Ulua for a full month after the celebration of the +royal wedding, and then, satisfied that all was going well with his +chum, completed his preparations for departure, and finally bade +farewell to Ulua and his many friends therein on the anniversary--as it +happened--of the departure of himself and Dick from New York on the +expedition which was destined to produce such extraordinary and +far-reaching results. + +He departed, laden with costly gifts from Dick, Myrra, and numerous +other friends, for it turned out that the mountains which hemmed in the +valley and lake of Ulua were fabulously rich in gold and precious +stones, and the value of those which he took away with him amounted in +itself to a princely fortune. Also he took a long letter from Dick to +Grace, containing, among other items, a cordial invitation from the +royal pair to visit Ulua as often and for as long a time as she pleased, +together with a parcel of priceless rubies as a joint wedding gift from +Dick and Myrra. A dozen, instead of half-a-dozen, Uluans accompanied +Earle as far as Cerro de Pasco, in addition to Peter and the Indians who +had formed part of the original expedition. The Uluans returned to the +city after an absence of a trifle over three months, bringing with them +a long and detailed report, accompanied by a map, from Earle, from which +it appeared that the American, during an eventful journey, packed with +adventure, had discovered a practicable route from Ulua into Peru; and +when last heard from, Dick was busily engaged upon the task of improving +this route, with a view to establishing regular communication between +Ulua and the sea. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's In Search of El Dorado, by Harry Collingwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN SEARCH OF EL DORADO *** + +***** This file should be named 23142.txt or 23142.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/1/4/23142/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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