initial commit of ebook 546HEADmain

1 files changed, 11781 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/546.txt b/546.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c4f373
--- /dev/null
+++ b/546.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11781 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Andes, by Rex Stout
+
+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: Under the Andes
+
+Author: Rex Stout
+
+Posting Date: August 3, 2008 [EBook #546]
+Release Date: June, 1996
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE ANDES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Judith Boss.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+UNDER THE ANDES
+
+
+by
+
+Rex Stout
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+Chapter
+
+     I.  THE SWEETHEART OF A KING.
+    II.  BEGINNING THE DANCE.
+   III.  A MODERN MARANA.
+    IV.  ALLONS!
+     V.  THE CAVE OF THE DEVIL.
+    VI.  CAPTURED.
+   VII.  THE FIGHT IN THE DARK.
+  VIII.  THE DANCE OF THE SUN.
+    IX.  BEFORE THE COURT.
+     X.  THE VERDICT.
+    XI.  A ROYAL VISITOR.
+   XII.  AT THE DOOR.
+  XIII.  INTO THE WHIRLPOOL.
+   XIV.  A FISHING PARTY.
+    XV.  THE RESCUE.
+   XVI.  THE ESCAPE.
+  XVII.  THE EYES IN THE DARK.
+ XVIII.  A VICTORY AND A CONVERSATION.
+   XIX.  AFLOAT.
+    XX.  AN INCA SPEAR.
+   XXI.  THE MIDST OF THE ENEMY.
+  XXII.  THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
+ XXIII.  WE ARE TWO.
+  XXIV.  CONCLUSION.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter I.
+
+THE SWEETHEART OF A KING.
+
+The scene was not exactly new to me.  Moved by the spirit of adventure,
+or by an access of ennui which overtakes me at times, I had several
+times visited the gaudy establishment of Mercer, on the fashionable
+side of Fifth Avenue in the Fifties.  In either case I had found
+disappointment; where the stake is a matter of indifference there can
+be no excitement; and besides, I had been always in luck.
+
+But on this occasion I had a real purpose before me, though not an
+important one, and I surrendered my hat and coat to the servant at the
+door with a feeling of satisfaction.
+
+At the entrance to the main room I met Bob Garforth, leaving.  There
+was a scowl on his face and his hand trembled as he held it forth to
+take mine.
+
+"Harry is inside.  What a rotten hole," said he, and passed on.  I
+smiled at his remark--it was being whispered about that Garforth had
+lost a quarter of a million at Mercer's within the month--and passed
+inside.
+
+Gaudy, I have said it was, and it needs no other word.  Not in its
+elements, but in their arrangement.
+
+The rugs and pictures and hangings testified to the taste of the man
+who had selected them; but they were abominably disposed, and there
+were too many of them.
+
+The room, which was unusually large, held two or three leather divans,
+an English buffet, and many easy chairs.  A smoking-table, covered,
+stood in one corner.
+
+Groups of men were gathered about each of the three roulette wheels
+ranged along the farther side.  Through a door to the left could be
+seen the poker tables, surrounded by grave or jocular faces.  Above the
+low buzz of conversation there sounded the continual droning voices of
+the croupiers as they called the winning numbers, and an occasional
+exclamation from a "customer."
+
+I made my way to the center wheel and stood at the rear of the crowd
+surrounding it.
+
+The ball rolled; there was a straining of necks amid an intense
+silence; then, as the little pellet wavered and finally came to a rest
+in the hole number twenty-four a fervent oath of disappointment came
+from some one in front of me.
+
+The next moment, rising on tiptoe to look over the intervening
+shoulders, I found myself looking into the white face of my younger
+brother Harry.
+
+"Paul!" he exclaimed, turning quickly away.
+
+I pushed my way through and stood at his side.  There was no sound from
+the group of onlookers; it is not to be wondered at if they hesitated
+to offend Paul Lamar.
+
+"My dear boy," said I, "I missed you at dinner.  And though this may
+occupy your mind, it can scarcely fill your stomach.  Haven't you had
+enough?"
+
+Harry looked at me.  His face was horribly pale and his eyes bloodshot;
+they could not meet mine.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, Paul, let me alone," he said, hardly above a
+whisper.  "I have lost ninety thousand."
+
+In spite of myself I started.  No wonder he was pale!  And yet--
+
+"That's nothing," I whispered back.  "But you are making a show of
+yourself.  Just now you were swearing like a sailor.  See how your hand
+trembles!  You were not made for this, Harry; it makes you forget that
+you're a gentleman.  They are laughing at you.  Come."
+
+"But I say I have lost ninety thousand dollars," said the boy, and
+there was wildness in his eye.  "Let me alone, Paul."
+
+"I will repay you."
+
+"No.  Let me alone!"
+
+"Harry!"
+
+"I say no!"
+
+His mouth was drawn tight and his eyes glared sullenly as those of a
+stubborn child.  Clearly it was impossible to get him away without
+making a scene, which was unthinkable.  For a moment I was at a
+complete loss; then the croupier's voice sounded suddenly in my ear:
+
+"You are interrupting us, sir."
+
+I silenced him with a glance and turned to my brother, having decided
+in an instant on the only possible course.
+
+"Here, let me have your chair.  I will get it back for you.  Come!"
+
+He looked at me for a moment in hesitation, then rose without a word
+and I took his place.
+
+The thing was tiresome enough, but how could I have avoided it?  The
+blood that rushes to the head of the gambler is certainly not food for
+the intellect; and, besides, I was forced by circumstances into an
+heroic attitude--and nothing is more distasteful to a man of sense.
+But I had a task before me; if a man lays bricks he should lay them
+well; and I do not deny that there was a stirring of my pulse as I sat
+down.
+
+Is it possible for a mind to directly influence the movements of a
+little ivory ball?  I do not say yes, but will you say no?  I watched
+the ball with the eye of an eagle, but without straining; I played with
+the precision of a man with an unerring system, though my selections
+were really made quite at random; and I handled my bets with the
+sureness and swift dexterity with which a chess-master places his pawn
+or piece in position to demoralize his opponent.
+
+This told on the nerves of the croupier.  Twice I corrected a
+miscalculation of his, and before I had played an hour his hand was
+trembling with agitation.
+
+And I won.
+
+The details would be tiresome, but I won; and when, after six hours of
+play without an instant's rest, I rose exhausted from my chair and
+handed my brother the amount he had lost--I pocketed a few thousands
+for myself in addition.  There were some who tried to detain me with
+congratulations and expressions of admiration, but I shook them off and
+led Harry outside to my car.
+
+The chauffeur, poor devil, was completely stiff from the long wait, and
+I ordered him into the tonneau and took the wheel myself.
+
+Partly was this due to pity for the driver, partly to a desire to leave
+Harry to his own thoughts, which I knew must be somewhat turbulent.  He
+was silent during the drive, which was not long, and I smiled to myself
+in the darkness of the early morning as I heard, now and then, an
+uncontrollable sigh break through his dry lips.  Of thankfulness,
+perhaps.
+
+I preceded him up the stoop and into the hall of the old house on lower
+Fifth Avenue, near Tenth Street, that had been the home of our
+grandfather and our father before us.  There, in the dim light, I
+halted and turned, while Evans approached from the inner rooms, rubbing
+eyes heavy with sleep.
+
+Good old Evans!  Yet the faithfulness of such a servant has its
+disadvantages.
+
+"Well?" said Harry in a thin, high voice.
+
+The boy's nerves were stretched tightly; two words from me would have
+produced an explosion.  So I clapped him on the shoulder and sent him
+off to bed.  He went sulkily, without looking round, and his shoulders
+drooped like those of an old man; but I reflected that that would all
+be changed after a few hours of sleep.
+
+"After all, he is a Lamar," I said to myself as I ordered Evans to
+bring wine and sandwiches to the library.
+
+It was the middle of the following afternoon before Harry appeared
+down-stairs.  He had slept eleven hours.  I was seated in the library
+when I heard his voice in the hall:
+
+"Breakfast!  Breakfast for five at once!"
+
+I smiled.  That was Harry's style of wit.
+
+After he had eaten his "breakfast for five" he came in to see me with
+the air of a man who was determined to have it out.
+
+I myself was in no mood for talk; indeed, I scarcely ever am in such a
+mood, unless it be with a pretty woman or a great sinner.  You may
+regard that sentence as tautological if you like; I sha'n't quarrel
+about it.
+
+What I mean to say is that it was with a real effort I set myself to
+the distasteful task before me, rendered necessary by the
+responsibility of my position as elder brother and head of the family.
+
+Harry began by observing with assumed indifference: "Well, and now
+there's the deuce to pay, I suppose."
+
+"As his representative I am not a hard creditor," I smiled.
+
+"I know, I know--" he began impetuously and stopped.
+
+I continued:
+
+"My boy, there is always the deuce to pay.  If not for one thing, then
+for another.  So your observation would serve for any other time as
+well as now.  The point is this: you are ten years younger than I, and
+you are under my care; and much as I dislike to talk, we must reach an
+understanding."
+
+"Well?" said Harry, lighting a cigarette and seating himself on the arm
+of a chair.
+
+"You have often thought," I continued, "that I have been trying to
+interfere with your freedom.  But you are mistaken; I have merely been
+trying to preserve it--and I have succeeded."
+
+"When our father and mother died you were fifteen years of age.  You
+are now twenty-two; and I take some credit for the fact that those
+seven years have left no stain, however slight, on the name of Lamar."
+
+"Do I deserve that?" cried Harry.  "What have I done?"
+
+"Nothing irremediable, but you must admit that now and then I have been
+at no small pains to--er--assist you.  But there, I don't intend to
+speak of the past; and to tell the truth, I suspect that we are of one
+mind.  You regard me as more or less of an encumbrance; you think your
+movements are hampered; you consider yourself to be treated as a child
+unjustly.
+
+"Well, for my part, I find my duty--for such I consider it--grows more
+irksome every day.  If I am in your way, you are no less in mine.  To
+make it short, you are now twenty-two years old, you chafe at
+restraint, you think yourself abundantly able to manage your own
+affairs.  Well--I have no objection."
+
+Harry stared at me.
+
+"You mean--" he began.
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"But, Paul--"
+
+"There is no need to discuss it.  For me, it is mostly selfishness."
+
+But he wanted to talk, and I humored him.  For two hours we sat,
+running the scale from business to sentiment, and I must confess that I
+was more than once surprised by a flash from Harry.  Clearly he was
+developing, and for the first time I indulged a hope that he might
+prove himself fit for self-government.
+
+At least I had given him the rope; it remained for time to discover
+whether or not he would avoid getting tangled up in it.  When we had
+finished we understood each other better, I think, than we ever had
+before; and we parted with the best of feeling.
+
+Three days later I sailed for Europe, leaving Harry in New York.  It
+was my first trip across in eighteen months, and I aimed at pleasure.
+I spent a week in London and Munich, then, disgusted with the actions
+of some of my fellow countrymen with whom I had the misfortune to be
+acquainted, I turned my face south for Madrid.
+
+There I had a friend.
+
+A woman not beautiful, but eminently satisfying; not loose, but
+liberal, with a character and a heart.  In more ways than one she was
+remarkable; she had an affection for me; indeed, some years previously
+I had been in a way to play Albert Savaron to her Francesca Colonna, an
+arrangement prevented only by my constitutional dislike for any
+prolonged or sustained effort in a world the slave of vanity and folly.
+
+It was from the lips of this friend that I first heard the name of
+Desiree Le Mire.
+
+It was late in the afternoon on the fashionable drive.  Long, broad,
+and shady, though scarcely cool, it was here that we took our daily
+carriage exercise; anything more strenuous is regarded with horror by
+the ladies of Spain.
+
+There was a shout, and a sudden hush; all carriages were halted and
+their occupants uncovered, for royalty was passing.  The coach, a
+magnificent though cumbersome affair, passed slowly and gravely by.  On
+the rear seat were the princess and her little English cousin, while
+opposite them sat the great duke himself.
+
+By his side was a young man of five and twenty with a white face and
+weak chin, and glassy, meaningless eyes.  I turned to my companion and
+asked in a low tone who he was.  Her whispered answer caused me to
+start with surprise, and I turned to her with a question.
+
+"But why is he in Madrid?"
+
+"Oh, as to that," said my friend, smiling, "you must ask Desiree."
+
+"And who is Desiree?"
+
+"What!  You do not know Desiree!  Impossible!" she exclaimed.
+
+"My dear," said I, "you must remember that for the past year and a half
+I have been buried in the land of pork and gold.  The gossip there is
+neither of the poet nor the court.  I am ignorant of everything."
+
+"You would not have been so much longer," said my friend, "for Desiree
+is soon going to America.  Who is she?  No one knows.  What is she?
+Well, she is all things to some men, and some things to all men.  She
+is a courtesan among queens and a queen among courtesans.
+
+"She dances and loves, and, I presume, eats and sleeps.  For the past
+two years she has bewitched him"--she pointed down the drive to where
+the royal coach was disappearing in the distance--"and he has given her
+everything.
+
+"It was for her that the Duke of Bellarmine built the magnificent
+chalet of which I was telling you on Lake Lucerne.  You remember that
+Prince Dolansky shot himself 'for political reasons' in his Parisian
+palace?  But for Desiree he would be alive to-day.  She is a witch and
+a she-devil, and the most completely fascinating woman in the world."
+
+I smiled.
+
+"What a reputation!  And you say she is going to America?"
+
+"Yes.  It is to be supposed that she has heard that every American is a
+king, and it is no wonder if she is tired of only one royal lover at a
+time.  And listen, Paul--"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"You--you must not meet her.  Oh, but you do not know her power!"
+
+I laughed and pressed her hand, assuring her that I had no intention of
+allowing myself to be bewitched by a she-devil; but as our carriage
+turned and started back down the long drive toward the hotel I found
+myself haunted by the white face and staring eyes of the young man in
+the royal coach.
+
+I stayed two weeks longer in Madrid.  At the end of that time, finding
+myself completely bored (for no woman can possibly be amusing for more
+than a month at a time), I bade my friend au revoir and departed for
+the East.  But I found myself just too late for an archeological
+expedition into the heart of Egypt, and after a tiresome week or so in
+Cairo and Constantinople I again turned my face toward the west.
+
+At Rome I met an old friend, one Pierre Janvour, in the French
+diplomatic service, and since I had nothing better to do I accepted his
+urgent invitation to join him on a vacation trip to Paris.
+
+But the joys of Paris are absurd to a man of thirty-two who has seen
+the world and tasted it and judged it.  Still I found some amusement;
+Janvour had a pretty wife and a daughter eight years old, daintily
+beautiful, and I allowed myself to become soaked in domestic sentiment.
+
+I really found myself on the point of envying him; Mme.  Janvour was a
+most excellent housekeeper and manager.  Little Eugenie and I would
+often walk together in the public gardens, and now and then her mother
+would join us; and, as I say, I found myself on the point of envying my
+friend Janvour.
+
+This diversion would have ended soon in any event; but it was brought
+to an abrupt termination by a cablegram from my New York lawyers,
+asking me to return to America at once.  Some rascality it was, on the
+part of the agent of my estate, which had alarmed them; the cablegram
+was bare of detail.  At any rate, I could not afford to disregard it,
+and arranged passage on a liner sailing from Cherbourg the following
+day.
+
+My hostess gave me a farewell dinner, which heightened my regret at
+being forced to leave, and little Eugenie seemed really grieved at my
+departure.  It is pleasant to leave a welcome behind you; that is
+really the only necessary axiom of the traveler.
+
+Janvour took me to the railroad station, and even offered to accompany
+me to Cherbourg; but I refused to tear him away from his little
+paradise.
+
+We stood on the platform arguing the matter, when I suddenly became
+aware of that indistinct flutter and bustle seen in public places at
+some unusual happening or the unexpected arrival of a great personage.
+
+I turned and saw that which was worthy of the interest it had excited.
+
+In the first place, the daintiest little electric brougham in the
+world, fragile and delicate as a toy--a fairy's chariot.  Then the
+fairy herself descended.  She cannot be described in detail.
+
+I caught a glimpse of glorious golden hair, softly massive; gray-blue
+eyes shot with lightning, restless, devouring, implacable,
+indescribably beautiful; a skin wondrously fine, with the purity of
+marble and the warmth of velvet; nose and mouth rather too large, but
+perfectly formed and breathing the fire and power of love.  Really it
+was rather later that I saw all this; at the time there was but a
+confused impression of elegance and beauty and terrible power.
+
+She passed from the brougham to her railway carriage supremely
+unconscious of the hundreds of eyes turned on her, and a general sigh
+of satisfaction and appreciation came from the throng as she
+disappeared within her compartment.  I turned to Janvour.
+
+"Who is she?"
+
+"What?" he exclaimed in surprise.  "But my dear Lamar, not to know her
+argues one a barbarian."
+
+"Nevertheless, I do not know her."
+
+"Well, you will have an opportunity.  She is going to America, and,
+since she is on this train, she will, of course, take the same boat as
+yourself.  But, my friend, beware!"
+
+"But who is she?"
+
+"Desiree Le Mire."
+
+
+
+Chapter II.
+
+BEGINNING THE DANCE.
+
+It developed, luckily for me, that my lawyers had allowed themselves to
+become unduly excited over a trifle.  A discrepancy had been discovered
+in my agent's accounts; it was clearly established that he had been
+speculating; but the fellow's excessive modesty and moderation had
+saved me from any serious inconvenience or loss.
+
+Some twenty thousand or so was the amount, and I did not even put
+myself to the trouble of recovering it.  I placed a friend of mine, a
+plodder and one of those chaps who are honest on account of lack of
+imagination, in the position thus vacated and sighed with mild relief.
+
+My experiment with Harry had proved a complete success.  Left to the
+management of his own affairs, he had shown a wisdom and restraint none
+the less welcome because unexpected.  He was glad to see me, and I was
+no less glad to see him.
+
+There was little new in town.
+
+Bob Garforth, having gambled away his entire patrimony, had shot and
+killed himself on the street; Mrs. Ludworth had publicly defied gossip
+and smiled with favor on young Driscoll; the new director of the
+Metropolitan Museum had announced himself an enemy to tradition and a
+friend of progress; and Desiree Le Mire had consented to a two weeks'
+engagement at the Stuyvesant.
+
+The French dancer was the favorite topic of discussion in all circles.
+
+The newspapers were full of her and filled entire columns with lists of
+the kings, princes, and dukes who had been at her feet.
+
+Bets were made on her nationality, the color of her eyes, the value of
+her pearls, the number of suicides she had caused--corresponding, in
+some sort, to the notches on the gun of a Western bad man.  Gowns and
+hats were named for her by the enterprising department stores.
+
+It was announced that her engagement at the Stuyvesant would open in
+ten days, and when the box-office opened for the advance sale every
+seat for every performance was sold within a few hours.
+
+In the mean time the great Le Mire kept herself secluded in her hotel.
+She had appeared but once in the public dining-room, and on that
+occasion had nearly caused a riot, whereupon she had discreetly
+withdrawn.  She remained unseen while the town shouted itself hoarse.
+
+I had not mentioned her name to Harry, nor had I heard him speak of
+her, until one evening about two weeks after my return.
+
+We were at dinner and had been discussing some commonplace subject,
+from which, by one of the freaks of association, the conversation
+veered and touched on classical dancing.
+
+"The Russians are preeminent," said I, "because they possess both the
+inspiration--the fire--and the training.  In no other nation or school
+are the two so perfectly joined.  In the Turkish dancers there is
+perfect grace and freedom, but no life.  In Desiree Le Mire, for
+example, there is indeed life; but she has not had the necessary
+training."
+
+"What?  Le Mire!  Have you seen her?" cried Harry.
+
+"Not on the stage," I answered; "but I crossed on the same ship with
+her, and she was kind enough to give me a great deal of her time.  She
+seems to understand perfectly her own artistic limitations, and I am
+taking her word for it."
+
+But Harry was no longer interested in the subject of dancing.  I was
+besieged on the instant with a thousand questions.
+
+Had I known Le Mire long?  What was she like?  Was it true that Prince
+Dolansky had shot himself in despair at losing her?  Was she beautiful?
+How well did I know her?  Would I take him to see her?
+
+And within half an hour the last question was repeated so many times
+and with such insistence that I finally consented and left Harry
+delighted beyond words.
+
+My own experience with Desiree Le Mire had been anything but exciting.
+The woman was interesting; there could be no doubt of that; but she
+possessed little attraction for me.  Her charms, on close inspection,
+were really quite too evident.
+
+I require subtlety in a woman, and so far as I could discover Le Mire
+knew not the meaning of the word.  We had spent many hours during the
+trip across in pleasant companionship; she had done me the honor to
+tell me that she found my conversation amusing; and, after all, she was
+undeniably a pretty woman.  She had invited me with evident sincerity
+to call on her in New York; but I had not as yet taken advantage of the
+invitation.
+
+I did not then think, and I do not now believe, that I acted foolishly
+when I took Harry to see her.  In any event, he would have seen her
+sooner or later, and since all temptations meet us at one time or
+another, it is best to have it out with them at as early a date as
+possible.  At the time, indeed, I gave the subject no thought whatever;
+but if I had I should not have hesitated.
+
+We took tea with her the following afternoon in her apartment, and I
+must confess that I myself was more than a little impressed when I
+entered.  I realized then that on the ship nothing had been in her
+favor; she had been completely out of her element, and she was not a
+good sailor.
+
+Here all was different.  The stiffly ostentatious hotel rooms, by her
+own genius or that of her maid, had been transformed into something
+very nearly approaching perfection.  I was amazed at the excellent
+taste displayed in her furniture and its arrangement, for it was clear
+that these were no hotel properties.  Certainly a woman is at her best
+only when she is able to choose or create her own surroundings.
+
+Harry was captivated, and I can scarcely blame him.  But the poor lad
+betrayed himself so frankly!  Though I suppose Le Mire was more or less
+accustomed to immediate surrender.
+
+On that day, at least, she had reason to expect it.  She satisfied the
+eye, which is saying a great deal and is the highest praise possible
+for a woman's beauty, when you consider the full strength of the word.
+
+She was radiant, adorable, irresistible; I had to own that my first
+impression of her had been far too weak.
+
+We talked for an hour.  Harry had little to say as he sat devouring Le
+Mire with his eyes, and whenever she turned to him for an answer to a
+question or confirmation of an opinion he stammered and kept his
+composure with difficulty.  Never, I suppose, did woman have clearer
+evidence of her power, nor sweeter, for Harry was by no means a fool to
+be carried away by the first pretty face that came in his way.
+
+She simply overwhelmed him, and I repeat that I do not wonder at it,
+for my own pulse was not exactly steady.  She asked us to dine with her.
+
+I pleaded an engagement at the club and signed to Harry to do likewise;
+but he was completely gone and paid no attention to me.
+
+He accepted the invitation gratefully, with frank delight, and I left
+them together.
+
+It was about ten o'clock when he came home that evening.  I was seated
+in the library and, hearing him enter the hall, called to him.
+
+What a face was his!  His lips trembled with nervous feeling, his eyes
+glowed like the eyes of a madman.  I half started from my chair in
+amazement.
+
+"I have no time," said he in answer to my invitation to join me with a
+bottle.  "I have a letter or two to write, and--and I must get some
+sleep."
+
+"Did you just leave Le Mire?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+I looked at my watch.
+
+"What under the sun did you find to talk about?"
+
+"Oh, anything--nothing.  I say, she's charming."
+
+His essay at indifference was amusing.
+
+"You find her so?"
+
+"Rather."
+
+"She seems to have taken a fancy to you."
+
+Harry actually grew red.
+
+"Hardly," he said; but there was hope in the word.
+
+"She is hardly your kind, Harry.  You know that.  You aren't going in
+for this sort of thing?"
+
+"This sort--I don't know what you mean."
+
+"Yes, you do, Hal.  You know exactly what I mean.  To put the thing
+plainly, Le Mire is a dangerous woman--none more so in all the world;
+and, Harry boy, be sure you keep your head and watch your step."
+
+He stood for a moment looking at me in silence with a half-angry frown,
+then opened his mouth as though to speak, and finally turned, without a
+word, and started for the door.  There he turned again uncertainly,
+hesitating.
+
+"I am to ride with Desiree in the morning," said he, and the next
+moment was gone.
+
+"Desiree!"
+
+He called her Desiree!
+
+I think I smiled for an hour over that; and, though my reflections were
+not free from apprehension, I really felt but little anxiety.  Not that
+I underrated Le Mire's fascination and power; to confess the truth, my
+ease of mind was the result of my own vanity.  Le Mire had flattered me
+into the belief that she was my friend.
+
+A week passed--a dull week, during which I saw little of Harry and Le
+Mire not at all.  At the time, I remember, I was interested in some
+chemical experiments--I am a dabbler with the tubes--and went out but
+little.  Then--this was on Friday--Harry sought me out in the
+laboratory to tell me he was going away.  In answer to my question,
+"Where?" he said, "I don't know."
+
+"How long will you be gone?"
+
+"Oh, a week--perhaps a month."
+
+I looked at him keenly, but said nothing.  It would have done no good
+to force him into an equivocation by questions.  Early the next morning
+he departed, with three trunks, and with no further word to me save a
+farewell.  No sooner was he gone than I started for the telephone to
+call up Le Mire; but thought better of it and with a shrug of the
+shoulders returned to the laboratory.
+
+It was the following Monday that was to see the first appearance of Le
+Mire at the Stuyvesant.  I had not thought of going, but on Monday
+afternoon Billy Du Mont telephoned me that he had an extra ticket and
+would like to have me join him.  I was really a little curious to see
+Le Mire perform and accepted.
+
+We dined at the club and arrived at the theater rather late.  The
+audience was brilliant; indeed, though I had been an ardent
+first-nighter for a year or two in my callow youth, I think I have
+never seen such a representation of fashion and genius in America,
+except at the opera.
+
+Billy and I sat in the orchestra--about the twelfth row--and half the
+faces in sight were well known to me.  Whether Le Mire could dance or
+not, she most assuredly was, or had, a good press-agent.  We were soon
+to receive an exemplification of at least a portion of the reputation
+that had preceded her.
+
+Many were the angry adjectives heaped on the head of the dancer on that
+memorable evening.  Mrs. Frederick Marston, I remember, called her an
+insolent hussy; but then Mrs. Frederick Marston was never original.
+Others: rash, impudent, saucy, impertinent; in each instance
+accompanied by threats.
+
+Indeed, it is little wonder if those people of fashion and wealth and
+position were indignant and sore.  For they had dressed and dined
+hastily and come all the way down-town to see Le Mire; they waited for
+her for two hours and a half in stuffy theater seats, and Le Mire did
+not appear.
+
+The announcement was finally made by the manager of the theater at a
+little before eleven-o'clock.  He could not understand, he said--the
+poor fellow was on the point of wringing his hands with agitation and
+despair--he could not understand why the dancer did not arrive.
+
+She had rehearsed in the theater on the previous Thursday afternoon,
+and had then seemed to have every intention of fulfilling her
+engagement.  No one connected with the theater had seen her since that
+time, but everything had gone smoothly; they had had no reason to fear
+such a contretemps as her nonappearance.
+
+They had sent to her hotel; she was gone, bag and baggage.  She had
+departed on Friday, leaving no word as to her destination.  They had
+asked the police, the hotels, the railroads, the steamship
+companies--and could find no trace of her.
+
+The manager only hoped--he hoped with all his heart--that his frank and
+unreserved explanation would appease his kind patrons and prevent their
+resentment; that they would understand--
+
+I made my way out of the theater as rapidly as possible, with Billy Du
+Mont at my side, and started north on Broadway.
+
+My companion was laughing unrestrainedly.
+
+"What a joke!" he exclaimed.  "And gad, what a woman!  She comes in and
+turns the town upside down and then leaves it standing on its head.
+What wouldn't I give to know her!"
+
+I nodded, but said nothing.  At Forty-Second Street we turned east to
+Fifth Avenue, and a few minutes later were at the club.  I took Du Mont
+to a secluded corner of the grill, and there, with a bottle of wine
+between us, I spoke.
+
+"Billy," said I, "there's the deuce to pay.  You're an old friend of
+mine, and you possess a share of discretion, and you've got to help me.
+Le Mire is gone.  I must find her."
+
+"Find Le Mire?" He stared at me in amazement.  "What for?"
+
+"Because my brother Harry is with her."
+
+Then I explained in as few words as possible, and I ended, I think,
+with something like this:
+
+"You know, Billy, there are very few things in the world I consider of
+any value.  She can have the lad's money, and, if necessary, my own
+into the bargain.  But the name of Lamar must remain clean; and I tell
+you there is more than a name in danger.  Whoever that woman touches
+she kills.  And Harry is only a boy."
+
+Billy helped me, as I knew he would; nor did he insist on unnecessary
+details.  I didn't need his assistance in the search, for I felt that I
+could accomplish that as well alone.
+
+But it was certainly known that Harry had been calling on Le Mire at
+her hotel; conjectures were sure to be made, leading to the assertions
+of busy tongues; and it was the part of my friend to counteract and
+smother the inevitable gossip.  This he promised to do; and I knew
+Billy.  As for finding Harry, it was too late to do anything that
+night, and I went home and to bed.
+
+The next morning I began by calling at her hotel.  But though the
+manager of the theater had gotten no information from them, he had
+pumped them dry.  They knew nothing.
+
+I dared not go to the police, and probably they would have been unable
+to give me any assistance if I had sought it.  The only other possible
+source of information I disliked to use; but after racking my brain for
+the better part of the day I decided that there was nothing else for
+it, and started on a round of the ticket offices of the railroads and
+steamship companies.
+
+I had immediate success.  My first call was at the office where Harry
+and I were accustomed to arrange our transportation.  As I entered the
+head clerk--or whatever they call him--advanced to greet me with a
+smile.
+
+"Yes," said he in response to my question; "Mr. Lamar got his tickets
+from me.  Let's see--Thursday, wasn't it?  No, Friday.  That's
+right--Friday."
+
+"Tickets!" I muttered to myself.  And in my preoccupation I really
+neglected to listen to him.  Then aloud: "Where were the--tickets for?"
+
+"Denver."
+
+"For Friday's train?"
+
+"Yes.  The Western Express."
+
+That was all I wanted to know.  I hurried home, procured a couple of
+hastily packed bags, and took the afternoon train for the West.
+
+
+
+Chapter III.
+
+A MODERN MARANA.
+
+My journey westward was an eventful one; but this is not a "History of
+Tom Jones," and I shall refrain from detail.  Denver I reached at last,
+after a week's stop-over in Kansas City.  It was a delightful
+adventure--but it had nothing to do with the story.
+
+I left the train at the Rocky Mountain city about the middle of the
+afternoon.  And now, what to do?  I think I am not a fool, but I
+certainly lack the training of a detective, and I felt perfectly
+rudderless and helpless as I ordered the taxi-driver to take me to the
+Alcazar Hotel.
+
+I was by no means sure that Harry had come to Denver.  He was traveling
+with a bundle of animated caprice, a creature who would have hauled him
+off the train at Rahway, New Jersey, if she had happened to take a
+fancy to the place.  At the moment, I reflected, they might be driving
+along Michigan Boulevard, or attending a matinee at the Willis Wood, or
+sipping mint juleps at the Planters'.
+
+Even if they were in Denver, how was I to find them?  I keenly
+regretted the week I had lost.  I was sure that Harry would avoid any
+chance of publicity and would probably shun the big hotels.  And Denver
+is not a village.
+
+It was the beauty of Le Mire that saved me.  Indeed, I might have
+foreseen that; and I have but poorly portrayed the force of her
+unmatchable fascination unless you have realized that she was a woman
+who could pass nowhere without being seen; and, seen, remembered.
+
+I made inquiries of the manager of the hotel, of course, but was
+brought up sharply when he asked me the names of my friends for whom I
+was asking.  I got out of it somehow, some foolish evasion or other,
+and regarded my task as more difficult than ever.
+
+That same evening I dined at the home of my cousin, Hovey Stafford, who
+had come West some years before on account of weak lungs, and stayed
+because he liked it.  I met his wife that evening for the first time;
+she may be introduced with the observation that if she was his reason
+for remaining in the provinces, never did man have a better one.
+
+We were on the veranda with our after-dinner cigars.  I was
+congratulating Hovey on the felicity of his choice and jocularly
+sympathizing with his wife.
+
+"Yes," said my cousin, with a sigh, "I never regretted it till last
+week.  It will never be the same again."
+
+Mrs. Hovey looked at him with supreme disdain.
+
+"I suppose you mean Senora Ramal," said she scornfully.
+
+Her husband, feigning the utmost woe, nodded mournfully; whereupon she
+began humming the air of the Chanson du Colonel, and was stopped by a
+smothering kiss.
+
+"And who is the Senora Ramal?" I asked.
+
+"The most beautiful woman in the world," said Mrs. Hovey.
+
+This from a woman who was herself beautiful!  Amazing!  I suppose my
+face betrayed my thought.
+
+"It isn't charity," she smiled.  "Like John Holden, I have seen
+fire-balloons by the hundred, I have seen the moon, and--then I saw no
+more fire-balloons."
+
+"But who is she?"
+
+Hovey explained.  "She is the wife of Senor Ramal.  They came here some
+ten days ago, with letters to one or two of the best families, and
+that's all we know about them.  The senora is an entrancing mixture of
+Cleopatra, Sappho, Helen of Troy, and the devil.  She had the town by
+the ears in twenty-four hours, and you wouldn't wonder at it if you saw
+her."
+
+Already I felt that I knew, but I wanted to make sure.
+
+"Byron has described her," I suggested, "in Childe Harold."
+
+"Hardly," said Hovey.  "No midnight beauty for hers, thank you.  Her
+hair is the most perfect gold.  Her eyes are green; her skin remarkably
+fair.  What she may be is unknowable, but she certainly is not Spanish;
+and, odder still, the senor himself fits the name no better."
+
+But I thought it needless to ask for a description of Harry; for I had
+no doubt of the identity of Senor Ramal and his wife.  I pondered over
+the name, and suddenly realized that it was merely "Lamar" spelled
+backward!
+
+The discovery removed the last remaining shadow of doubt.
+
+I asked in a tone of assumed indifference for their hotel, expressing a
+desire to meet them--and was informed by Hovey that they had left
+Denver two days previously, nor did he know where they had gone.
+
+Thus did I face another obstacle.  But I was on the track; and the
+perfume of a woman's beauty is the strongest scent in the world as well
+as the sweetest.  I thanked my cousin for a pleasant evening--though he
+did not know the extent of my debt to him--and declined his urgent
+invitation to have my luggage brought to his home.
+
+On my way to the hotel I was struck by a sudden thought: Senor Ramal
+could not be my brother or my cousin would have recognized him!  But I
+immediately reflected that the two had not seen each other for some ten
+years, at which time Harry had been a mere boy.
+
+The following morning, with little difficulty, I ascertained the fact
+that the Ramals had departed--at least ostensibly--for Colorado Springs.
+
+I followed.  That same evening, when I registered at the Antlers Hotel,
+a few minutes before the dinner hour, I turned over two pages of the
+book, and there before me was the entry, "Senor and Senora Ramal,
+Paris." It was in Harry's handwriting.
+
+After dinner--a most excellent dinner, with melons from La Junta and
+trout from the mountain streams--I descended on the hotel clerk with
+questions.  He was most obliging--a sharp, pleasant fellow, with
+prominent ears and a Rocky Mountain twang.
+
+"Senor and Senora Ramal?  Most assuredly, sir.  They have been here
+several days.  No, they are not now in the hotel.  They left this
+afternoon for Manitou, to take dinner there, and are going to make the
+night trip up the Peak."
+
+An idea immediately suggested itself to me.  They would, of course,
+return to the hotel in the morning.  All I had to do was to sit down
+and wait for them; but that would have been dull sport.  My idea was
+better.
+
+I sought out the hotel's wardrobe--there is nothing the Antlers will
+not do for you--and clothed myself in khaki, leggings, and boots.  Then
+I ordered a car and set out for Manitou, at the foot of the mountain.
+
+By ten o'clock I was mounted on a donkey, headed for the top, after
+having been informed by a guide that "the man and the beautiful lady"
+had departed an hour previous.
+
+Having made the ascent twice before, I needed no guide.  So I decided;
+but I regretted the decision.  Three times I lost the path; once I came
+perilously near descending on the village below--well, without
+hesitation.  It was well after midnight when I passed the Half-way
+House, and I urged my donkey forward with a continual rat-a-tat-tat of
+well-directed kicks in the effort to make my goal.
+
+You who have experienced the philosophical calm and superb indifference
+of the Pike's Peak donkey may imagine the vocabulary I used on this
+occasion--I dare not print it.  Nor did his speed increase.
+
+I was, in fact, a quarter of an hour late.  I was still several hundred
+yards from the summit when the sun's first rays shot through the thin
+atmosphere, creating colorful riot among the clouds below, and I
+stopped, holding my breath in awe.
+
+There is no art nor poetry in that wonderful sight; it is glorious war.
+The sun charges forth in a vast flame of inconceivable brilliance; you
+can almost hear the shout of victory.  He who made the universe is no
+artist; too often He forgets restraint, and blinds us.
+
+I turned, almost regretting that I had come, for I had been put out of
+tune with my task.  Then I mounted the donkey and slowly traversed the
+few remaining yards to the Peak.
+
+There, seated in the dazzling sunshine on the edge of a huge boulder
+near the eastern precipice, were the two I sought.
+
+Le Mire's head was turned from me as she sat gazing silently at the
+tumbling, gorgeous mass of clouds that seemed almost to be resting on
+her lap; Harry was looking at her.  And such a look!
+
+There was no rival even in nature that could conquer Le Mire; never, I
+believe, did woman achieve a more notable victory than hers of that
+morning.  I watched them for several minutes before I moved or spoke;
+and never once did Harry's eyes leave her face.
+
+Then I advanced a step, calling his name; and they turned and caught
+sight of me.
+
+"Paul!" cried Harry, leaping to his feet; then he stopped short and
+stared at me half defiantly, half curiously, moving close to Le Mire
+and placing his hand on her shoulder like a child clinging to a toy.
+
+His companion had not moved, except to turn her head; but after the
+first swift shadow of surprise her face brightened with a smile of
+welcome, for all the world as though this were a morning call in her
+boudoir.
+
+"Senor and Senora Ramal, I believe?" said I with a smile, crossing to
+them with an exaggerated bow.
+
+I could see Harry cocking his ear to catch the tone of my first words,
+and when he heard their friendliness a grin overspread his face.  He
+took his hand from Le Mire's shoulder and held it out to me.
+
+"How did you come here?  How did you find us?"
+
+"You forgot to provide Le Mire with a veil," said I by way of answer.
+
+Harry looked at me, then at his companion.  "Of course," he agreed--"of
+course.  By Jove!  that was stupid of us."
+
+Whereupon Le Mire laughed with such frank enjoyment of the boy's
+simplicity that I couldn't help but join her.
+
+"And now," said Harry, "I suppose you want to know--"
+
+"I want to know nothing--at present," I interrupted.  "It's nearly six
+o'clock, and since ten last night I've been on top of the most
+perfectly imbecile donkey ever devised by nature.  I want breakfast."
+
+Velvet lids were upraised from Le Mire's eyes.  "Here?" she queried.
+
+I pointed to the place--extreme charity might give it the title of
+inn--where smoke was rising from a tin chimney.
+
+Soon we were seated inside with a pot of steaming black coffee before
+us.  Harry was bubbling over with gaiety and good will, evidently
+occasioned by my unexpected friendliness, while Le Mire sat for the
+most part silent.  It was easy to see that she was more than a little
+disturbed by my arrival, which surprised me.
+
+I gazed at her with real wonder and increasing admiration.  It was six
+in the morning; she had had no sleep, and had just finished a most
+fatiguing journey of some eight hours; but I had never seen her so
+beautiful.
+
+Our host approached, and I turned to him:
+
+"What have you?"
+
+There was pity in his glance.
+
+"Aigs," said he, with an air of finality.
+
+"Ah!" said Le Mire.  "I want them--let's see--au beurre noire, if you
+please."
+
+The man looked at her and uttered the single word: "Fried."
+
+"Fried?" said she doubtfully.
+
+"Only fried," was the inexorable answer.  "How many?"
+
+Le Mire turned to me, and I explained.  Then she turned again to the
+surly host with a smile that must have caused him to regret his
+gruffness.
+
+"Well, then, fr-r-ied!" said she, rolling the "r" deliciously.  "And
+you may bring me five, if you please."
+
+It appeared that I was not the only hungry one.  We ate leisurely and
+smoked more leisurely still, and started on our return journey a little
+before eight o'clock.
+
+It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at the Antlers.  The trip
+was accomplished without accident, but Le Mire was thoroughly exhausted
+and Harry was anything but fresh.  That is the worst of mountain
+climbing: the exaltation at the summit hardly pays you for the reaction
+at the foot.  We entered the broad portico with frank sighs of relief.
+
+I said something about joining them at dinner and left for my own rooms.
+
+At dinner that evening Harry was in high spirits and took great delight
+in everything that was said, both witty and dull, while Le Mire
+positively sparkled.
+
+She made her impression; not a man in the well-filled room but sent his
+tribute of admiring glances as she sat seemingly unconscious of all but
+Harry and myself.  That is always agreeable; a man owes something to
+the woman who carries a room for him.
+
+I had intended to have a talk with Harry after dinner, but I postponed
+it; the morning would assuredly be better.  There was dancing in the
+salon, but we were all too tired to take advantage of it; and after
+listening to one or two numbers, during which Le Mire was kept busy
+turning aside the importunities of would-be partners, we said good
+night and sought our beds.
+
+It was late the next morning when the precious pair joined me in the
+garden, and when we went in for breakfast we found the dining-room
+quite empty.  We did not enjoy it as on the morning previous; the
+cuisine was of the kind usually--and in this case justly--described as
+"superior," but we did not have the same edge on our appetite.
+
+We were not very talkative; I myself was almost taciturn, having before
+me the necessity of coming to an understanding with Harry, a task which
+I was far from relishing.  But there were certain things I must know.
+
+"What do you say to a ride down the valley?" said Harry.  "They have
+excellent horses here; I tried one of 'em the other day."
+
+"I trust that they bear no resemblance to my donkey," said I with
+feeling.
+
+"Ugh!" said Le Mire with a shudder.  "Never shall I forget that ride.
+Besides," she added, turning to Harry, "this morning I would be in the
+way.  Don't you know that your brother has a thousand things to say to
+you?  He wants to scold you; you must remember that you are a very bad
+boy."
+
+And she sent me a glance half defiant, half indifferent, which plainly
+said: "If I fight you, I shall win; but I really care very little about
+it one way or the other."
+
+After breakfast she went to her room--to have her hair dressed, she
+said--and I led Harry to a secluded corner of the magnificent grounds
+surrounding the hotel.  During the walk we were both silent: Harry, I
+suppose, was wondering what I was going to say, while I was trying to
+make up my own mind.
+
+"I suppose," he began abruptly, "you are going to tell me I have acted
+like a fool.  Go ahead; the sooner it's over the better."
+
+"Nothing of the sort," said I, glad that he had opened it.
+
+He stopped short, demanding to know what I meant.
+
+"Of course," I continued, "Le Mire is a most amazing prize.  Not
+exactly my style perhaps, but there are few men in the world who
+wouldn't envy you.  I congratulate you.
+
+"But there were two things I feared for several reasons--Le Mire's
+fascination, your own youth and impulsive recklessness, and the rather
+curious mode of your departure.  I feared first and most that you would
+marry her; second, that you would achieve odium and publicity for our
+name."
+
+Harry was regarding me with a smile which had in it very little of
+amusement; it held a tinge of bitterness.
+
+"And so," he burst out suddenly, "you were afraid I would marry her!
+Well, I would.  The last time I asked her"--again the smile--"was this
+morning."
+
+"And--"
+
+"She won't have me."
+
+"Bah!" I concealed my surprise, for I had really not thought it
+possible that the lad could be such a fool.  "What's her game, Harry?"
+
+"Game the deuce!  I tell you she won't have me."
+
+"You have asked her?"
+
+"A thousand times.  I've begged her on my knees.  Offered
+her--anything."
+
+"And she refuses?"
+
+"Positively."
+
+"Refuses?"
+
+"With thanks."
+
+I stared at him for a moment in silence.  Then I said: "Go and get her
+and bring her here.  I'll find out what she wants," and sat down on a
+bench to wait.  Harry departed for the hotel without a word.
+
+In a few minutes he returned with Le Mire.  I rose and proffered her a
+seat on the bench, which she accepted with a smile, and Harry sat down
+at her side.  I stood in front of them.
+
+"Le Mire," said I, and I believe I frowned, "my brother tells me that
+you have been offered the name of Lamar in marriage."
+
+"I have thanked him for it," said she with a smile.
+
+"And declined it."
+
+"And--declined it," she agreed.
+
+"Well," said I, "I am not a man of half measures, as you will soon see,
+Le Mire.  Besides, I appreciate your power.  On the day," I continued
+with slow precision--"on the day that you give me a contract to adhere
+to that refusal you may have my check for one million dollars."
+
+She surprised me; I admit it.  I had expected a burst of anger, with a
+touch of assumed hauteur; the surrender to follow, for I had made the
+stake high.  But as I stood looking down at her, waiting for the flash
+of her eye, I was greeted by a burst of laughter--the frank laughter of
+genuine mirth.  Then she spoke:
+
+"Oh, you Americans!  You are so funny!  A million dollars!  It is
+impossible that I should be angry after such a compliment.  Besides,
+you are so funny!  Do you not know Le Mire?  Am I not a princess if I
+desire it--tomorrow--today?  Bah!  There is the world--is it not mine?
+Mrs. Lamar?  Ugh!  Pardon me, my friend, but it is an ugly name.
+
+"You know my ancestors?  De L'Enclos, Montalais, Maintenon, La Marana!
+They were happy--in their way--and they were great.  I must do nothing
+unworthy of them.  Set your mind at rest, Mr. Lamar; but, really, you
+should have known better--you who have seen the world and Le Mire in
+Paris!  And now our amusement is perhaps ended?  Now we must return to
+that awful New York?  Voila!"
+
+Indeed I had not understood her.  And how could I?  There is only one
+such woman in a generation; sometimes none, for nature is sparing of
+her favorites.  By pure luck she sat before me, this twentieth-century
+Marana, and I acknowledged her presence with a deep bow of apology and
+admiration.
+
+"If you will forgive me, madame," I said, "I will--not attempt to make
+reparation, for my words were not meant for you.  Consider them
+unspoken.  As for our amusement, why need it end?  Surely, we can
+forget?  I see plainly I am not a St.  Evremond, but neither am I a
+fool.  My brother pleases you--well, there he is.  As for myself, I
+shall either stay to take care of you two children, or I shall return
+to New York, as you desire."
+
+Le Mire looked at me uncertainly for a moment, then turned to Harry and
+with a fluttering gesture took his hand in her own and patted it gaily.
+Then she laughed the happy laugh of a child as she said:
+
+"Then it is well!  And, monsieur, you are less an American than I
+thought.  By all means, stay--we shall be so jolly!  Will we not, my
+little friend?"
+
+Harry nodded, smiling at her.  But there was a troubled look in his
+face.
+
+
+
+Chapter IV.
+
+ALLONS!
+
+The events of the month that followed, though exciting enough, were of
+a similarity that would make their narration tedious, and I shall pass
+over them as speedily as possible.
+
+We remained at Colorado Springs only two days after that morning in the
+garden.  Le Mire, always in search of novelty, urged us away, and,
+since we really had nothing in view save the satisfaction of her whims,
+we consented.  Salt Lake City was our next resting-place, but Le Mire
+tired of it in a day.
+
+"I shall see the Pacific," she said to Harry and me, and we immediately
+set out for San Francisco.
+
+Is it necessary for me to explain my attitude?  But surely it explains
+itself.  For one thing, I was disinclined to leave Harry in a position
+where he was so abundantly unable to take care of himself.  For
+another, I take amusement wherever it offers itself, and I was most
+certainly not bored.
+
+The vagaries and caprices of a beautiful woman are always interesting,
+and when you are allowed to study them at close range without being
+under the necessity of acting the part of a faithful lover they become
+doubly so.
+
+Le Mire managed Harry with wonderful tact and finesse; I sat back and
+laughed at the performance, now and then applying a check when her
+riotous imagination seemed likely to run away with us.
+
+At San Francisco she achieved a triumph, notorious to the point of
+embarrassment.  Paul Lamar, of New York, had introduced himself into
+the highest circle of society, and in turn had introduced his friends,
+Senor and Senora Ramal.  The senora captured the town in a single night
+at a reception and ball on Telegraph Hill.
+
+The day following there were several dozens of cards left for her at
+our hotel; invitations arrived by the score.  She accepted two or three
+and made the fortune of two drawing-rooms; then suddenly tired of the
+sport and insulted a most estimable lady, our hostess, by certain
+remarks which inadvertently reached the ears of the lady's husband.
+
+"You have done for yourself, Le Mire," I told her.
+
+She answered me with a smile--straightway proceeded to issue
+invitations for an "entertainment" at our hotel.  I had no idea what
+she meant to do; but gave the thing no thought, feeling certain that
+few, or none, of the invitations would be accepted--wherein I was badly
+mistaken, for not one was refused.
+
+Well, Le Mire danced for them.
+
+For myself it was barely interesting; I have passed the inner portals
+of the sacred temples of India, and the human body holds no surprises
+for me.  But the good people of San Francisco were shocked, astonished,
+and entranced.  Not a man in the room but was Le Mire's slave; even the
+women were forced to applaud.  She became at once a goddess and an
+outcast.
+
+The newspapers of the following morning were full of it, running the
+scale of eulogy, admiration, and wonder.  And one of the articles,
+evidently written by a man who had been considerably farther east than
+San Francisco, ended with the following paragraph:
+
+
+In short, it was sublime, and with every movement and every gesture
+there was a something hidden, a suggestion of a personality and
+mysterious charm that we have always heretofore considered the
+exclusive property of just one woman in the world.  But Desiree Le Mire
+is not in San Francisco; though we declare that the performance of last
+evening was more than enough to rouse certain suspicions, especially in
+view of Le Mire's mysterious disappearance from New York.
+
+
+I took the paper to Desiree in her room, and while she read the article
+stood gazing idly from a window.  It was about eleven in the morning;
+Harry had gone for a walk, saying that he would return in half an hour
+to join us at breakfast.
+
+"Well?" said Desiree when she had finished.
+
+"But it is not well," I retorted, turning to face her.  "I do not
+reproach you; you are being amused, and so, I confess, am I.  But your
+name--that is, Le Mire--has been mentioned, and discovery is sure to
+follow.  We must leave San Francisco at once."
+
+"But I find it entertaining."
+
+"Nevertheless, we must leave."
+
+"But if I choose to stay?"
+
+"No; for Harry would stay with you."
+
+"Well, then--I won't go."
+
+"Le Mire, you will go?"
+
+She sent me a flashing glance, and for a moment I half expected an
+explosion.  Then, seeming to think better of it, she smiled:
+
+"But where?  We can't go west without falling into the ocean, and I
+refuse to return.  Where?"
+
+"Then we'll take the ocean."
+
+She looked up questioningly, and I continued:
+
+"What would you say to a yacht--a hundred and twenty foot steamer, with
+a daredevil captain and the coziest little cabins in the world?"
+
+"Bah!" Le Mire snapped her fingers to emphasize her incredulity.  "It
+does not exist."
+
+"But it does.  Afloat and in commission, to be had for the asking and
+the necessary check.  Dazzling white, in perfect order, a second
+Antoine for a chef, rooms furnished as you would your own villa.  What
+do you say?"
+
+"Really?" asked Le Mire with sparkling eyes.
+
+"Really."
+
+"Here--in San Francisco?"
+
+"In the harbor.  I saw her myself this morning."
+
+"Then I say--allons!  Ah, my friend, you are perfection!  I want to see
+it.  Now!  May I?  Come!"
+
+I laughed at her eager enthusiasm as she sprang up from her chair.
+
+"Le Mire, you are positively a baby.  Something new to play with!
+Well, you shall have it.  But you haven't had breakfast.  We'll go out
+to see her this afternoon; in fact, I have already made an appointment
+with the owner."
+
+"Ah!  Indeed, you are perfection.  And--how well you know me." She
+paused and seemed to be searching for words; then she said abruptly:
+"M.  Lamar, I wish you to do me a favor."
+
+"Anything, Le Mire, in or out of reason."
+
+Again she hesitated; then:
+
+"Do not call me Le Mire."
+
+I laughed.
+
+"But certainly, Senora Ramal.  And what is the favor?"
+
+"That."
+
+"That--"
+
+"Do not call me Le Mire--nor Senora Ramal."
+
+"Well, but I must address you occasionally."
+
+"Call me Desiree."
+
+I looked at her with a smile.
+
+"But I thought that that was reserved for your particular friends."
+
+"So it is."
+
+"Then, my dear senora, it would be impertinent of me."
+
+"But if I request it?"
+
+"I have said--anything in or out of reason.  And, of course, I am one
+of the family."
+
+"Is that the only reason?"
+
+I began to understand her, and I answered her somewhat dryly: "My dear
+Desiree, there can be none other."
+
+"Are you so--cold?"
+
+"When I choose."
+
+"Ah!" It was a sigh rather than an exclamation.  "And yet, on the
+ship--do you remember?  Look at me, M.  Lamar.  Am I not--am I so
+little worthy of a thought?"
+
+Her lips were parted with tremulous feeling; her eyes glowed with a
+strange fire, and yet were tender.  Indeed, she was "worthy of a
+thought"--dangerously so; I felt my pulse stir.  It was necessary to
+assume a stoicism I was far from feeling, and I looked at her with a
+cynical smile and spoke in a voice as carefully deliberate as I could
+make it.
+
+"Le Mire," I said, "I could love you, but I won't." And I turned and
+left her without another word.
+
+Why?  I haven't the slightest idea.  It must have been my vanity.  Some
+few men had conquered Le Mire; others had surrendered to her; certainly
+none had ever been able to resist her.  There was a satisfaction in it.
+I walked about the lobby of the hotel till Harry returned, idiotically
+pleased with myself.
+
+At the breakfast table I acquainted Harry with our plans for a cruise,
+and he was fully as eager about it as Le Mire had been.  He wanted to
+weigh anchor that very afternoon.  I explained that it was necessary to
+wait for funds from New York.
+
+"How much?" said he.  "I'm loaded."
+
+"I've sent for a hundred thousand," said I.
+
+"Are you going to buy her?" he demanded with astonishment.
+
+Then we fell to a discussion of routes.  Harry was for Hawaii; Le Mire
+for South America.
+
+We tossed a coin.
+
+"Heads," said Desiree, and so it fell.
+
+I requested Le Mire to keep to the hotel as closely as possible for the
+days during which it was necessary for us to remain in San Francisco.
+She did so, but with an apparent effort.
+
+I have never seen a creature so full of nervous energy and fire; only
+by severe restraint could she force herself to even a small degree of
+composure.  Harry was with her nearly every minute, though what they
+found to talk about was beyond my comprehension.  Neither was exactly
+bubbling over with ideas, and one cannot say "I love you" for
+twenty-four hours a day.
+
+It was a cool, sunny day in the latter part of October when we weighed
+anchor and passed through the Golden Gate.  I had leased the yacht for
+a year, and had made alternative plans in case Le Mire should tire of
+the sport, which I thought extremely probable.
+
+She and Harry were delighted with the yacht, which was not surprising,
+for she was as perfect a craft as I have seen.  Sides white as
+sea-foam; everything above decks of shining brass, below mahogany, and
+as clean and shipshape as a Dutch kitchen.  There were five rooms
+besides the captain's, and a reception-room, dining-room, and library.
+We had provisioned her well, and had a jewel of a cook.
+
+Our first port was Santa Catalina.  We dropped anchor there at about
+five o'clock in the afternoon of such a day as only southern California
+can boast of, and the dingey was lowered to take us ashore.
+
+"What is there?" asked Le Mire, pointing to the shore as we stood
+leaning on the rail waiting for the crew to place the ladder.
+
+I answered: "Tourists."
+
+Le Mire shrugged her shoulders.  "Tourists?  Bah!  Merci, non.  Allons!"
+
+I laughed and went forward to the captain to tell him that madame did
+not approve of Santa Catalina.  In another minute the dingey was back
+on its davits, the anchor up, and we were under way.  Poor captain!
+Within a week he became used to Le Mire's sudden whims.
+
+At San Diego we went ashore.  Le Mire took a fancy to some Indian
+blankets, and Harry bought them for her; but when she expressed an
+intention to take an Indian girl--about sixteen or seventeen years
+old--aboard the yacht as a "companion," I interposed a firm negative.
+And, after all, she nearly had her way.
+
+For a month it was "just one port after another." Mazatlan, San Bias,
+Manzanillo, San Salvador, Panama City--at each of these we touched, and
+visited sometimes an hour, sometimes two or three days.  Le Mire was
+loading the yacht with all sorts of curious relics.  Ugly or beautiful,
+useful or worthless, genuine or faked, it mattered not to her; if a
+thing suited her fancy she wanted it--and got it.
+
+At Guayaquil occurred the first collision of wills.  It was our second
+evening in port.  We were dining on the deck of the yacht, with half a
+dozen South American generals and admirals as guests.
+
+Toward the end of the dinner Le Mire suddenly became silent and
+remained for some minutes lost in thought; then, suddenly, she turned
+to the bundle of gold lace at her side with a question:
+
+"Where is Guayaquil?"
+
+He stared at her in amazement.
+
+"It is there, senora," he said finally, pointing to the shore lined
+with twinkling lights.
+
+"I know, I know," said Le Mire impatiently; "but where is it?  In what
+country?"
+
+The poor fellow, too surprised to be offended, stammered the name of
+his native land between gasps, while Harry and I had all we could do to
+keep from bursting into laughter.
+
+"Ah," said Desiree in the tone of one who has made an important
+discovery, "I thought so.  Ecuador.  Monsieur, Quito is in Ecuador."
+
+The general--or admiral, I forget which--acknowledged the correctness
+of her geography with a profound bow.
+
+"But yes.  I have often heard of Quito, monsieur.  It is a very
+interesting place.  I shall go to Quito."
+
+There ensued immediately a babel.  Each of our guests insisted on the
+honor of accompanying us inland, and the thing would most assuredly
+have ended in a bloody quarrel on the captain's polished deck, if I had
+not interposed in a firm tone:
+
+"But, gentlemen, we are not going to Quito."
+
+Le Mire looked at me--and such a look!  Then she said in a tone of the
+utmost finality:
+
+"I am going to Quito."
+
+I shook my head, smiling at her, whereupon she became furious.
+
+"M.  Lamar," she burst forth, "I tell you I am going to Quito!  In
+spite of your smile!  Yes!  Do you hear?  I shall go!"
+
+Without a word I took a coin from my pocket and held it up.  I had come
+to know Le Mire.  She frowned for a moment in an evident attempt to
+maintain her anger, then an irresistible smile parted her lips and she
+clapped her hands gaily.
+
+"Very well," she cried, "toss, monsieur!  Heads!"
+
+The coin fell tails, and we did not go to Quito, much to the
+disappointment of our guests.  Le Mire forgot all about it in ten
+minutes.
+
+Five days later we dropped anchor at Callao.
+
+This historic old port delighted Le Mire at once.  I had told her
+something of its story: its successive bombardments by the liberators
+from Chile, the Spanish squadron, buccaneering expeditions from Europe
+and the Chilean invaders; not to mention earthquakes and tidal waves.
+We moored alongside the stone pier by the lighthouse; the old clock at
+its top pointed to the hour of eight in the morning.
+
+But as soon as Le Mire found out that Lima was but a few miles away,
+Callao no longer held any interest for her.  We took an afternoon train
+and arrived at the capital in time for dinner.
+
+There it was, in picturesque old Lima, that Le Mire topped her career.
+On our first afternoon we betook ourselves to the fashionable paseo,
+for it was a band day, and all Lima was out.
+
+In five minutes every eye in the gay and fashionable crowd was turned
+on Le Mire.  Then, as luck would have it, I met, quite by chance, a
+friend of mine who had come to the University of San Marcos some years
+before as a professor of climatology.  He introduced us, with an air of
+importance, to several of the groups of fashion, and finally to the
+president himself.  That night we slept as guests under the roof of a
+luxurious and charming country house at Miraflores.
+
+Le Mire took the capital by storm.  Her style of beauty was peculiarly
+fitted for their appreciation, for pallor is considered a mark of
+beauty among Lima ladies.  But that could scarcely account for her
+unparalleled triumph.  I have often wondered--was it the effect of a
+premonition?
+
+The president himself sat by her at the opera.  There were two duels
+attributed to her within a week; though how the deuce that was possible
+is beyond me.
+
+On society day at the bull-ring the cues were given by Le Mire; her
+hand flung the rose to the matador, while the eight thousand excited
+spectators seemed uncertain whether they were applauding her or him.
+Lima was hers, and never have I seen a fortnight so crowded with
+incidents.
+
+But Le Mire soon tired of it, as was to be expected.  She greeted me
+one morning at the breakfast table:
+
+"My friend Paul, let us go to Cerro de Pasco.  They have
+silver--thousands and thousands of tons--and what you call them?
+Ornaments."
+
+"And then the Andes?" I suggested.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"But, my dear Desiree, what shall we do with the yacht?"
+
+"Pooh!  There is the captain.  Come--shall I say please?"
+
+So we went to Cerro de Pasco.  I wrote to Captain Harris, telling him
+not to expect us for another month or so, and sending him sufficient
+funds to last till our return.
+
+I verily believe that every one of note in Lima came to the railroad
+station to see us off.
+
+Our compartment was a mass of flowers, which caused me to smile, for Le
+Mire, curiously enough, did not like them.  When we had passed out of
+the city she threw them out of the window, laughing and making jokes at
+the expense of the donors.  She was in the best of humor.
+
+We arrived at Oroya late in the afternoon, and departed for Cerro de
+Pasco by rail on the following morning.
+
+This ride of sixty-eight miles is unsurpassed in all the world.
+Snow-capped peaks, bottomless precipices, huge masses of boulders that
+seem ready to crush the train surround you on every side, and now and
+then are directly above or beneath you.
+
+Le Mire was profoundly impressed; indeed, I had not supposed her to
+possess the sensibility she displayed; and as for me, I was most
+grateful to her for having suggested the trip.  You who find yourselves
+too well-acquainted with the Rockies and the Alps and the Himalayas
+should try the Andes.  There is a surprise waiting for you.
+
+But for the story.
+
+We found Cerro de Pasco, interesting as its situation is, far short of
+our expectations.  It is a mining town, filled with laborers and
+speculators, noisy, dirty, and coarse.  We had been there less than
+forty-eight hours when I declared to Harry and Le Mire my intention of
+returning at once.
+
+"But the Andes!" said Le Mire.  "Shall we not see them?"
+
+"Well--there they are."
+
+I pointed through the window of the hotel.
+
+"Bah!  And you call yourself a traveler?  Look!  The snow!  My friend
+Paul, must I ask twice for a favor?"
+
+Once again we tossed a coin.
+
+Ah, if Le Mire had only seen the future!  And yet--I often
+wonder--would she have turned her back?  For the woman craved novelty
+and adventure, and the gameness of centuries was in her blood--well,
+she had her experience, which was shared only in part by Harry and
+myself.
+
+Those snow-capped peaks!  Little did we guess what they held for us.
+We were laughing, I remember, as we left behind us the edge of
+civilization represented by Cerro de Pasco.
+
+We found it impossible to procure a complete outfit in the mining town,
+and were forced to despatch a messenger to Lima.  He returned in two
+days with mules, saddles, saddle-bags, boots, leather leggings,
+knickerbockers, woolen ponchos, and scores of other articles which he
+assured us were absolutely necessary for any degree of comfort.  By the
+time we were ready to start we had a good-sized pack-train on our hands.
+
+The proprietor of the hotel found us an arriero, whom he declared to be
+the most competent and trustworthy guide in all the Andes--a long,
+loose-jointed fellow with an air of complete indifference habitually
+resting on his yellow, rather sinister-looking face.  Le Mire did not
+like him, but I certainly preferred the hotel proprietor's experience
+and knowledge to her volatile fancy, and engaged the arriero on the
+spot.
+
+Our outfit was complete, and everything in readiness, when Harry
+suddenly announced that he had decided not to go, nor to allow Le Mire
+to do so.
+
+"I don't like it," he said in troubled tones.  "I tell you, Paul, I
+don't like it.  I've been talking to some of the miners and arrieros,
+and the thing is foolhardy and dangerous."
+
+Then, seeing the expression on my face, he continued hastily: "Oh, not
+for myself.  You know me; I'll do anything that any one else will do,
+and more, if I can.  But Desiree!  I tell you, if anything happened to
+her I--well--"
+
+I cut him short:
+
+"My dear boy, the idea is Desiree's own.  And to talk of danger where
+she is concerned!  She would laugh at you."
+
+"She has," Harry confessed with a doubtful smile.
+
+I clapped him roughly on the shoulder.
+
+"Come, brace up!  Our caravan awaits us--and see, the fairy, too.  Are
+you ready, Desiree?"
+
+She came toward us from the inner rooms of the hotel, smiling, radiant.
+I shall never forget the picture she presented.  She wore white
+knickerbockers, a white jacket, tan-leather boots and leggings and a
+khaki hat.
+
+Her golden hair, massed closely about her ears and upon her forehead,
+shimmered in the bright sun dazzlingly; her eyes sparkled; her little
+white teeth gleamed in a happy, joyous smile.
+
+We lifted her to the back of her mule, then mounted our own.  Suddenly
+a recollection shot through my brain with remarkable clearness, and I
+turned to Le Mire:
+
+"Desiree, do you know the first time I ever saw you?  It was in an
+electric brougham at the Gare du Nord.  This is somewhat different, my
+lady."
+
+"And infinitely more interesting," she answered.  "Are you ready?  See
+that stupid arriero!  Ah!  After all, he knew what he was about.  Then,
+messieurs--allons!"
+
+The arriero, receiving my nod uttered a peculiar whistle through his
+teeth.  The mules pricked up their ears, then with one common movement
+started forward.
+
+"Adios!  Adios, senora!  Adios, senores!"
+
+With the cry of our late host sounding in our ears we passed down the
+narrow little street of Cerro de Pasco on our way to the snow-capped
+peaks of the Andes.
+
+
+
+Chapter V.
+
+THE CAVE OF THE DEVIL.
+
+You may remember that I made some remark concerning the difficulty of
+the ascent of Pike's Peak.  Well, that is mere child's play--a morning
+constitutional compared to the paths we found ourselves compelled to
+follow in the great Cordillera.
+
+Nor was it permitted us to become gradually accustomed to the danger;
+we had not been two hours out of Cerro de Pasco before we found
+ourselves creeping along a ledge so narrow there was scarcely room for
+the mules to place their hoofs together, over a precipice three
+thousand feet in the air--straight.  And, added to this was the
+discomfort, amounting at times to positive pain, caused by the soroche.
+
+Hardly ever did we find ground sufficiently broad for a breathing
+space, save when our arriero led us, almost by magic it seemed, to a
+camping place for the night.  We would ascend the side of a narrow
+valley; on one hand roared a torrent some hundreds of feet below; on
+the other rose an uncompromising wall of rock.  So narrow would be the
+track that as I sat astride my mule my outside leg would be hanging
+over the abyss.
+
+But the grandeur, the novelty, and the variety of the scenery repaid
+us; and Le Mire loved the danger for its own sake.  Time and again she
+swayed far out of her saddle until her body was literally suspended in
+the air above some frightful chasm, while she turned her head to laugh
+gaily at Harry and myself, who brought up the rear.
+
+"But Desiree!  If the girth should break!"
+
+"Oh, but it won't."
+
+"But if it should?"
+
+"Tra-la-la!  Come, catch me!"
+
+And she would try to urge her mule into a trot--a futile effort, since
+the beast had a much higher regard for his skin than she had for hers;
+and the mule of the arriero was but a few feet ahead.
+
+Thus we continued day after day, I can't say how many.  There was a
+fascination about the thing that was irresistible.  However high the
+peak we had ascended, another could be seen still higher, and that,
+too, must be scaled.
+
+The infinite variety of the trail, its surprises, its new dangers, its
+apparent vanishings into thin air, only to be found, after an all but
+impossible curve, up the side of another cliff, coaxed us on and on;
+and when or where we would have been able to say, "thus far and no
+farther" is an undecided problem to this day.
+
+About three o'clock one afternoon we camped in a small clearing at the
+end of a narrow valley.  Our arriero, halting us at that early hour,
+had explained that there was no other camping ground within six hours'
+march, and no hacienda or pueblo within fifty miles.  We received his
+explanation with the indifference of those to whom one day is like
+every other day, and amused ourselves by inspecting our surroundings
+while he prepared the evening meal and arranged the camp beds.
+
+Back of us lay the trail by which we had approached--a narrow, sinuous
+ribbon clinging to the side of the huge cliffs like a snake fastened to
+a rock.  On the left side, immediately above us, was a precipice some
+thousand feet in height; on the right a series of massive boulders, of
+quartzite and granite, misshapen and lowering.
+
+There were three, I remember, placed side by side like three giant
+brothers; then two or three smaller ones in a row, and beyond these
+many others ranged in a mass unevenly, sometimes so close together that
+they appeared to be jostling one another out of the way.
+
+For several days we had been in the region of perpetual snow; and soon
+we gathered about the fire which the arriero had kindled for our camp.
+Its warmth was grateful, despite our native woolen garments and heavy
+ponchos.
+
+The wind whistled ominously; a weird, senseless sound that smote the
+ear with madness.  The white of the snow and the dull gray of the rocks
+were totally unrelieved by any touch of green or play of water; a spot
+lonely as the human soul and terrifying as death.
+
+Harry had gone to examine the hoofs of his mule, which had limped
+slightly during the afternoon; Le Mire and I sat side by side near the
+fire, gazing at the play of the flames.  For some minutes we had been
+silent.
+
+"In Paris, perhaps--" she began suddenly, then stopped short and became
+again silent.
+
+But I was fast dropping into melancholy and wanted to hear her voice,
+and I said:
+
+"Well?  In Paris--"
+
+She looked at me, her eyes curiously somber, but did not speak.  I
+insisted:
+
+"You were saying, Desiree, in Paris--"
+
+She made a quick movement and laughed unpleasantly.
+
+"Yes, my friend--but it is useless.  I was thinking of you.  'Ah!  A
+card!  Mr. Paul Lamar.  Show him in, Julie.  But no, let him wait--I am
+not at home.' That, my friend, would be in Paris."
+
+I stared at her.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, Desiree, what nonsense is this?"
+
+She disregarded my question as she continued:
+
+"Yes, that is how it would be.  Why do I talk thus?  The mountains
+hypnotize me.  The snow, the solitude--for I am alone.  Your brother,
+what is he?  And you, Paul, are scarcely aware of my existence.
+
+"I had my opportunity with you, and I laughed it away.  And as for the
+future--look!  Do you see that waste of snow and ice, glittering, cold,
+pitiless?  Ha!  Well, that is my grave."
+
+I tried to believe that she was merely amusing herself, but the glow in
+her eyes did not proceed from mirth.  I followed her fixed gaze across
+the trackless waste and, shivering, demanded:
+
+"What morbid fancy is this, Desiree?  Come, it is scarcely pleasant."
+
+She rose and crossed the yard or so of ground between us to my side.  I
+felt her eyes above me, and try as I would I could not look up to meet
+them.  Then she spoke, in a voice low but curiously distinct:
+
+"Paul, I love you."
+
+"My dear Desiree!"
+
+"I love you."
+
+At once I was myself, calm and smiling.  I was convinced that she was
+acting, and I dislike to spoil a good scene.  So I merely said:
+
+"I am flattered, senora."
+
+She sighed, placing her hand on my shoulder.
+
+"You laugh at me.  You are wrong.  Have I chosen this place for a
+flirtation?  Before, I could not speak; now you must know.  There have
+been many men in my life, Paul; some fools, some not so, but none like
+you.  I have never said, 'I love you.' I say it now.  Once you held my
+hand--you have never kissed me."
+
+I rose to my feet, smiling, profoundly fatuous, and made as if to put
+my arm around her.
+
+"A kiss?  Is that all, Desiree?  Well--"
+
+But I had mistaken her tone and overreached.  Not a muscle did she
+move, but I felt myself repulsed as by a barrier of steel.  She
+remained standing perfectly still, searching me with a gaze that left
+me naked of levity and cynicism and the veneer of life; and finally she
+murmured in a voice sweet with pain:
+
+"Must you kill me with words, Paul?  I did not mean that--now.  It is
+too late."
+
+Then she turned swiftly and called to Harry, who came running over to
+her only to meet with some trivial request, and a minute later the
+arriero announced dinner.
+
+I suppose that the incident had passed with her, as it had with me;
+little did I know how deeply I had wounded her.  And when I discovered
+my mistake, some time later and under very different circumstances, it
+very nearly cost me my life, and Harry's into the bargain.
+
+During the meal Le Mire was in the jolliest of moods apparently.  She
+retold the tale of Balzac's heroine who crossed the Andes in the guise
+of a Spanish officer, performing wondrous exploits with her sword and
+creating havoc among the hearts of the fair ladies who took the dashing
+captain's sex for granted from his clothing.
+
+The story was a source of intense amusement to Harry, who insisted on
+the recital of detail after detail, until Desiree allowed her memory to
+take a vacation and substitute pure imagination.  Nor was the
+improvisation much inferior to the original.
+
+It was still light when we finished dinner, a good three hours till
+bedtime.  And since there was nothing better to do, I called to the
+arriero and asked him to conduct us on a tour of exploration among the
+mass of boulders, gray and stern, that loomed up on our right.
+
+He nodded his head in his usual indifferent manner, and fifteen minutes
+later we started, on foot.  The arriero led the way, with Harry at his
+heels, and Desiree and I brought up the rear.
+
+Thrice I tried to enter into conversation with her; but each time she
+shook her head without turning round, and I gave it up.  I was frankly
+puzzled by her words and conduct of an hour before; was it merely one
+of the trickeries of Le Mire or--
+
+I was interested in the question as one is always interested in a
+riddle; but I tossed it from my mind, promising myself a solution on
+the morrow, and gave my attention to the vagaries of nature about me.
+
+We were passing through a cleft between two massive rocks, some three
+or four hundred yards in length.  Ahead of us, at the end of the
+passage, a like boulder fronted us.
+
+Our footfalls echoed and reechoed from wall to wall; the only other
+sound was the eery moaning of the wind that reached our ears with a
+faintness which only served to increase its effect.  Here and there
+were apertures large enough to admit the entrance of a horse and rider,
+and in many places the sides were crumbling.
+
+I was reflecting, I remember, that the formation was undoubtedly one of
+limestone, with here and there a layer of quartzite, when I was aroused
+by a shout from Harry.
+
+I approached.  Harry and Desiree, with Felipe, the arriero, had halted
+and were gazing upward at the wall of rock which barred the exit from
+the passage.  Following their eyes, I saw lines carved on the rock,
+evidently a rude and clumsy attempt to reproduce the form of some
+animal.
+
+The thing was some forty feet or so above us and difficult to see
+clearly.
+
+"I say it's a llama," Harry was saying as I stopped at his side.
+
+"My dear boy," returned Desiree, "don't you think I know a horse when I
+see one?"
+
+"When you see one, of course," said Harry sarcastically.  "But who ever
+saw a horse with a neck like that?"
+
+As for me, I was really interested, and I turned to the arriero for
+information.
+
+"Si, senor," said Felipe, "Un caballo."
+
+"But who carved it?"
+
+Felipe shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Is it new--Spanish?"
+
+Another shrug.  I became impatient.
+
+"Have you no tongue?" I demanded.  "Speak!  If you don't know the
+author of that piece of equine art say so."
+
+"I know, senor."
+
+"You know?"
+
+"Si, senor."
+
+"Then, for Heaven's sake, tell us."
+
+"His story?" pointing to the figure on the rock.
+
+"Yes, idiot!"
+
+Without a sign of interest, Felipe turned twice around, found a
+comfortable rock, sat down, rolled a cigarette, lighted it, and began.
+He spoke in Spanish dialect; I shall preserve the style as far as
+translation will permit.
+
+"Many, many years ago, senor, Atahualpa, the Inca, son of Huayna-Capac,
+was imprisoned at Cajamarco.  Four, five hundred years ago, it was.  By
+the great Pizarro.  And there was gold at Cuzco, to the south, and
+Atahualpa, for his ransom, ordered that this gold be brought to Pizarro.
+
+"Messengers carried the order like the wind, so swift that in five days
+the priests of the sun carried their gold from the temples to save the
+life of Atahualpa."
+
+Felipe paused, puffing at his cigarette, glanced at his audience, and
+continued:
+
+"But Hernando Pizarro, brother of the great Pizarro, suspected a delay
+in the carriers of gold.  From Pachacamac he came with twenty horsemen,
+sowing terror in the mountains, carrying eighty loads of gold.  Across
+the Juaja River and past Lake Chinchaycocha they came, till they
+arrived at the city of Huanuco.
+
+"There were temples and gold and priests and soldiers.  But when the
+soldiers of the Inca saw the horses of the Spaniards and heard the
+guns, they became frightened and ran away like little children,
+carrying their gold.  Never before had they seen white men, or guns, or
+horses.
+
+"With them came many priests and women, to the snow of the mountains.
+And after many days of suffering they came to a cave, wherein they
+disappeared and no more were seen, nor could Hernando Pizarro and his
+twenty horsemen find them to procure their gold.
+
+"And before they entered the cave they scaled a rock near its entrance
+and carved thereon the likeness of a horse to warn their Inca brethren
+of the Spaniards who had driven them from Huanuco.  That is his story,
+senor."
+
+"But who told you all this, Felipe?"
+
+The arriero shrugged his shoulders and glanced about, as much as to
+say, "It is in the wind."
+
+"But the cave?" cried Desiree.  "Where is the cave?"
+
+"It is there, senora," said Felipe, pointing through a passage to the
+right.
+
+Then nothing would do for Desiree but to see the cave.  The arriero
+informed her that it was difficult of access, but she turned the
+objection aside with contempt and commanded him to lead.
+
+Harry, of course, was with her, and I followed somewhat unwillingly;
+for, though Felipe's history was fairly accurate, I was inclined to
+regard his fable of the disappearing Incas as a wild tradition of the
+mountains.
+
+He had spoken aright--the path to the cave was not an easy one.  Here
+and there deep ravines caused us to make a wide detour or risk our
+necks on perilous steeps.
+
+Finally we came to a small clearing, which resembled nothing so much as
+the bottom of a giant well, and in the center of one of the steep walls
+was an opening some thirty or forty feet square, black and rugged, and
+somehow terrifying.
+
+It was the entrance to the cave.
+
+There Felipe halted.
+
+"Here, senor.  Here entered the Incas of Huanuco with their gold."
+
+He shivered as he spoke, and I fancied that his face grew pale.
+
+"We shall explore it!" cried Desiree, advancing.
+
+"But no, senora!" The arriero was positively trembling.  "No!  Senor,
+do not let her go within!  Many times have my countrymen entered in
+search of the gold, and americanos, too, and never did they return.  It
+is a cave of the devil, senor.  He hides in the blackness and none who
+enter may escape him."
+
+Desiree was laughing gaily.
+
+"Then I shall visit the devil!" she exclaimed, and before either Harry
+or I could reach her she had sprung across the intervening space to the
+entrance and disappeared within.
+
+With shouts of consternation from Felipe ringing in our ears, we leaped
+after her.
+
+"Desiree!" cried Harry.  "Come back, Desiree!"
+
+There was no answer, but echoing back from the night before us came
+faint reverberations--could they be footsteps!  What folly!  For I had
+thought that she had merely intended to frighten poor Felipe, and now--
+
+"Desiree!" Harry called again with all the strength of his lungs.
+"Desiree!"
+
+Again there was no answer.  Then we entered the cave together.  I
+remember that as we passed within I turned and saw Felipe staring with
+white face and eyes filled with terror.
+
+A hundred feet and we were encompassed by the most intense darkness.  I
+muttered: "This is folly; let us get a light," and tried to hold Harry
+back.  But he pushed me aside and groped on, crying: "Desiree!  Come
+back, Desiree!"
+
+What could I do?  I followed.
+
+Suddenly a scream resounded through the cavern.  Multiplied and echoed
+by the black walls, it was inhuman, shot with terror, profoundly
+horrible.
+
+A tremor ran through me from head to foot; beside me I heard Harry gasp
+with a nameless fear.  An instant later we dashed forward into the
+darkness.
+
+How long we ran I could never tell; probably a few seconds, possibly as
+many minutes.
+
+On we rushed, blindly, impelled not by reason, but by the memory of
+that terrible cry, side by side, gasping, fearful.  And then--
+
+A step into thin air--a mighty effort to recover a footing--a wild
+instant of despair and pawing helpless agony.  Then blackness and
+oblivion.
+
+
+
+Chapter VI.
+
+CAPTURED.
+
+The fall--was it ten feet or a thousand?  I shall never know.  Hurtling
+headlong through space, a man can scarcely be expected to keep his wits
+about him.
+
+Actually, my only impression was of righteous indignation; my memory is
+that I cursed aloud, but Harry denies it.
+
+But it could not have been for long, for when we struck the water at
+the bottom we were but slightly stunned by the impact.  To this Harry
+has since agreed; he must have been as lucky as myself, for I took it
+headlong with a clean cleavage.
+
+I rose to the top, sputtering, and flung out my arms in the attempt to
+swim--or, rather, to keep afloat--and was overjoyed to find my arms and
+legs answer to the call of the brain.
+
+About me was blackest night and utter silence, save a low, unbroken
+murmur, unlike any other sound, hardly to be heard.  It was in my
+effort to account for it that I first became aware of the fact that the
+water was a stream, and a moving one--moving with incredible swiftness,
+smooth and all but silent.  As soon as I became convinced of this I
+gave up all attempt to swim, and satisfied myself with keeping my head
+above the surface and drifting with the current.
+
+Then I thought of Harry, and called his name aloud many times.  The
+reverberations throughout the cave were as the report of a thousand
+cannon; but there was no response.
+
+The echoes became fainter and fainter and died away, and again all was
+silence and impenetrable night, while I battled with the strong suction
+of the unseen current, which was growing swifter and swifter, and felt
+my strength begin to leave me.
+
+Terror, too, began to call to me as the long minutes passed endlessly
+by.  I thought, "If I could only see!" and strained my eyes in the
+effort till I was forced to close them from the dizzy pain.  The utter,
+complete darkness hid from me all knowledge of what I passed or what
+awaited me beyond.
+
+The water, carrying me swiftly onward with its silent, remorseless
+sweep, was cold and black; it pressed with tremendous power against me;
+now and then I was forced beneath the surface and fought my way back,
+gasping and all but exhausted.
+
+I forgot Desiree and Harry; I lost all consciousness of where I was and
+what I was doing; the silent fury of the stream and the awful blackness
+maddened me; I plunged and struggled desperately, blindly, sobbing with
+rage.  This could not have lasted much longer; I was very near the end.
+
+Suddenly, with a thrill of joy, I realized that the speed of the
+current was decreasing.  Then a reaction of despair seized me; I tried
+to strangle hope and resign myself to the worst.  But soon there was no
+longer any doubt; the water carried me slower and slower.
+
+I floated with little difficulty, wondering--could it be an approach to
+a smaller outlet which acted as a dam?  Or was it merely a lessening of
+the incline of the bed of the stream?  I cursed the darkness for my
+helplessness.
+
+Finally the water became absolutely still, as I judged by the absence
+of pressure on my body, and I turned sharply at a right angle and began
+to swim.  My weariness left me as by magic, and I struck out with bold
+and sweeping strokes; and by that lack of caution all but destroyed
+myself when my head suddenly struck against a wall of stone, unseen in
+the darkness.
+
+I was stunned completely and sank; but the ducking revived me; and when
+I returned to the surface I swam a few careful strokes, searching for
+the wall.  It was not there, and I had no idea of its direction.  But I
+had now learned caution; and by swimming a few feet first one way, then
+another, and taking care not to go far in any one direction, I finally
+discovered it.
+
+My hand easily reached the top, and, grasping the slippery surface with
+a grip made firm by despair, and concentrating every ounce of strength
+in one final effort, I drew myself out of the water and fell completely
+exhausted on the ground.
+
+Under such circumstances time has no place in a man's calculations; he
+is satisfied to breathe.  I believe that I lay barely conscious for
+several hours, but it may have been merely as many minutes.  Then I
+felt life stir within me; I stretched my arms and legs and sat up.
+Gradually entered my mind the thought of Desiree and Harry and the
+Andes above and Felipe shuddering with terror as he flew from the cave
+of the devil.
+
+First came Harry; but hope did not enter.  It was inconceivable that
+he, too, should have escaped that fearful torrent; stupendous luck
+alone had saved me from being dashed senseless against the rocks and
+guided me to the ledge on which I rested.
+
+Then he was gone!  I had no thought of my own peril.  I had gone
+through the world with but little regard for what it held; nothing had
+been sacred to me; no affection had been more than a day's caprice; I
+had merely sucked amusement from its bitter fruit.
+
+But I loved Harry; I realized it with something like astonishment.  He
+was dear to me; a keen, intense pain contracted my chest at the thought
+of having lost him; tears filled my eyes; and I raised up my voice and
+sang out wildly:
+
+"Harry!  Harry, lad!  Harry!"
+
+The cavern resounded.  The call went from wall to wall, then back
+again, floating through black space with a curious tremor, and finally
+died away in some dim, unseen corridor.  And then--then came an
+answering call!
+
+Owing to the conflicting echoes of the cavern, the tone could not be
+recognized.  But the word was unmistakable; it was "Paul."
+
+I sprang to my feet with a shout, then stood listening.  Out of the
+blackness surrounding me came the words, in Harry's voice, much lower,
+but distinct:
+
+"Paul!  Paul, where are you?"
+
+"Thank Heaven!" I breathed; and I answered:
+
+"Here, Harry boy, here."
+
+"But where?"
+
+"I don't know.  On a ledge of rock at the edge of the water.  Where are
+you?"
+
+"Same place.  Which side are you on?"
+
+"The right side," I answered with heartfelt emphasis.  "That is to say,
+the outside.  If it weren't for this infernal darkness--Listen!  How
+far away does my voice sound?"
+
+But the innumerable echoes of the cavern walls made it impossible to
+judge of distance by sound.  We tried it over and over; sometimes it
+seemed that we were only a few feet apart, sometimes a mile or more.
+
+Then Harry spoke in a whisper, and his voice appeared to be directly in
+my ear.  Never have I seen a night so completely black as that cavern;
+we had had several hours, presumably, for our eyes to adjust themselves
+to the phenomenon; but when I held my hand but six inches in front of
+my face I could not get even the faintest suggestion of its outline.
+
+"This is useless," I declared finally.  "We must experiment.  Harry!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Turn to your left and proceed carefully along the edge.  I'll turn to
+my right.  Go easy, lad; feel your way."
+
+I crawled on my hands and knees, no faster than a snail, feeling every
+inch of the ground.  The surface was wet and slippery, and in places
+sloped at an angle that made me hang on for dear life to keep from
+shooting off into space.
+
+Meantime I kept calling to Harry and he to me; but, on account of our
+painfully slow progress, it was half an hour or more before we
+discovered that the distance between us was being increased instead of
+lessened.
+
+He let fly an oath at this, and his tone was dangerous; no wonder if
+the lad was half crazed!  I steadied him as well as I could with word
+of encouragement, and instructed him to turn about and proceed to the
+right of his original position.  I, also, turned to the left.
+
+Our hope of meeting lay in the probability that the ledge surrounded a
+circular body of water and was continuous.  At some point, of course,
+was the entrance of the stream which had carried us, and at some other
+point there was almost certainly an outlet; but we trusted to luck to
+avoid these.  Our chances were less than one in a thousand; but,
+failing that, some other means must be invented.
+
+The simplest way would have been for me to take to the water and swim
+across to Harry, counting on his voice as a guide; but the conflicting
+echoes produced by the slightest sound rendered such an attempt
+dangerous.
+
+I crept along that wet, slimy, treacherous surface, it seemed, for
+hours.  I could see nothing--absolutely nothing; everything was black
+void; it was hard to appreciate reality in such a nightmare.  On the
+one side, nameless dangers; on the other, the unseen, bottomless lake;
+enough, surely, to take a man's nerve.  My fear for Harry killed
+anxiety on my own account.  We kept continually calling:
+
+"Harry!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Steady."
+
+"Yes.  I'm coming along.  I say, we're closer, Paul."
+
+I hesitated to agree with him, but finally there was no longer any
+doubt of it.  His voice began to reach me almost in natural tones,
+which meant that we were near enough for the vibrations to carry
+without interference from the walls.
+
+Nearer still it came; it was now only a matter of a few feet; Harry
+gave a cry of joy, and immediately afterward I heard his low gasp of
+terror and the sound of his wild scrambling to regain a foothold.  In
+his excitement he had forgotten caution and had slipped to the edge of
+the water.
+
+I dared not try to go to his assistance; so I crouched perfectly still
+and called to him to throw himself flat on his face.  How my eyes
+strained despairingly as I cursed the pitiless darkness!  Then the
+scrambling ceased and the boy's voice sounded:
+
+"All right, Paul!  All right!  Gad, I nearly went!"
+
+A minute later I held his hand in mine.  At that point the incline was
+at a sharp angle, and we lay flat on our backs.  For many minutes we
+lay silently gripping hands; Harry was trembling violently from nervous
+fatigue, and I myself was unable to speak.
+
+What strength is there in companionship!  Alone, either of us would
+probably have long before succumbed to the strain of our horrible
+situation; but we both took hope and courage from that hand-clasp.
+
+Finally he spoke:
+
+"In Heaven's name, where are we, Paul?"
+
+"You know as much as I do, Harry.  This cursed darkness makes it
+impossible even to guess at anything.  According to Felipe, we are
+being entertained by the devil."
+
+"But where are we?  What happened?  My head is dizzy--I don't know--"
+
+I gripped his hand.
+
+"And no wonder.  'Tis hardly an every-day occurrence to ride an
+underground river several miles under the Andes.  Above us a mountain
+four miles high, beneath us a bottomless lake, round us darkness.  Not
+a very cheerful prospect, Hal; but, thank Heaven, we take it together!
+It is a grave--ours and hers.  I guess Desiree knew what she was
+talking about."
+
+There came a cry from Harry's lips--a cry of painful memory:
+
+"Desiree!  I had forgotten, Desiree!"
+
+"She is probably better off than we are," I assured him.
+
+I felt his gaze--I could not see it--and I continued:
+
+"We may as well meet the thing squarely like men.  Pull yourself
+together, Harry; as for Desiree, let us hope that she is dead.  It's
+the best thing that could happen to her."
+
+"Then we are--no, it isn't possible."
+
+"Harry boy, we're buried alive!  There!  That's the worst of it.
+Anything better than that is velvet."
+
+"But there must be a way out, Paul!  And Desiree--Desiree--"
+
+His voice faltered.  I clapped him roughly on the shoulder.
+
+"Keep your nerve.  As for a way out--at the rate that stream descends
+it must have carried us thousands of feet beneath the mountain.  There
+is probably a mile of solid rock between us and the sunshine.  You felt
+the strength of that current; you might as well try to swim up Niagara."
+
+"But there must be an outlet at the other end."
+
+"Yes, and most probably forty or fifty miles away--that's the distance
+to the western slope.  Besides, how can we find it?  And there may be
+none.  The water is most probably gradually absorbed by the porous
+formation of the rocks, and that is what causes this lake."
+
+"But why isn't it known?  Felipe said that the cave had been explored.
+Why didn't they discover the stream?"
+
+Well, it was better to talk of that than nothing; at least, it kept
+Harry from his childish cries for Desiree.  So I explained that the
+precipice over which we had fallen was presumably of recent origin.
+
+Geologically the Andes are yet in a chaotic and formative condition;
+huge slides of Silurian slates and diorite are of frequent occurrence.
+A ridge of one of these softer stones had most probably been encased in
+the surrounding granite for many centuries; then, loosened by water or
+by time, had crumbled and slid into the stream below.
+
+"And," I finished, "we followed it."
+
+"Then we may find another," said Harry hopefully.
+
+I agreed that it was possible.  Then he burst out:
+
+"In the name of Heaven, don't be so cool!  We can't get out till we
+try.  Come!  And who knows--we may find Desiree."
+
+Then I decided it was best to tell him.  Evidently the thought had not
+entered his mind, and it was best for him to realize the worst.  I
+gripped his hand tighter as I said:
+
+"Nothing so pleasant, Harry.  Because we're going to starve to death."
+
+"Starve to death?" he exclaimed.  Then he added simply, with an oddly
+pathetic tone: "I hadn't thought of that."
+
+After that we lay silent for many minutes in that awful darkness.
+Thoughts and memories came and went in my brain with incredible
+swiftness; pictures long forgotten presented themselves; an endless,
+jumbled panorama.  They say that a drowning man reviews his past life
+in the space of a few seconds; it took me a little more time, but the
+job was certainly a thorough one.  Nor did I find it more interesting
+in retrospect than it had been in reality.
+
+I closed my eyes to escape the darkness.  It was maddening; easy enough
+then to comprehend the hysterics of the blind and sympathize with them.
+It finally reached a point where I was forced to grit my teeth to keep
+from breaking out into curses; I could lie still no longer, exhausted
+as I was, and Harry, too.  I turned on him:
+
+"Come on, Hal; let's move."
+
+"Where?" he asked in a tone devoid of hope.
+
+"Anywhere--away from this beastly water.  We must dry out our clothing;
+no use dying like drowned rats.  If I only had a match!"
+
+We rose to our hands and knees and crawled painfully up the slippery
+incline.  Soon we had reached dry ground and stood upright; then,
+struck by a sudden thought, I turned to Harry:
+
+"Didn't you drink any of that water?"
+
+He answered: "No."
+
+"Well, let's try it.  It may be our last drink, Hal; make it a good
+one."
+
+We crept back down to the edge of the lake (I call it that in my
+ignorance of its real nature), and, settling myself as firmly as
+possible, I held Harry's hand while he lowered himself carefully into
+the water.  He was unable to reach its surface with his mouth without
+letting go of my hand, and I shook off my poncho and used it as a line.
+
+"How does it taste?" I asked.
+
+"Fine!" was the response.  "It must be clear as a bell.  Lord.  I
+didn't know I was so thirsty!"
+
+I was not ignorant of the fact that there was an excellent chance of
+the water being unhealthful, possibly poisoned, what with the tertiary
+deposits of copper ores in the rock-basins; but the thought awakened
+hope rather than fear.  There is a choice even in death.
+
+But when I had pulled Harry up and descended myself I soon found that
+there was no danger--or chance.  The water had a touch of alkali, but
+nothing more.
+
+Then we crept back up the wet ledge, and once more stood on dry ground.
+
+The surface was perfectly level, and we set off at a brisk pace, hand
+in hand, directly away from the lake.  But when, about a hundred yards
+off, we suddenly bumped our heads against a solid wall of rock, we
+decided to proceed with more caution.
+
+The darkness was intensified, if anything.  We turned to the right and
+groped along the wall, which was smooth as glass and higher than my
+best reach.  It seemed to the touch to be slightly convex, but that may
+have been delusion.
+
+We had proceeded in this manner some hundred yards or more, advancing
+cautiously, when we came to a break in the wall.  A few feet farther
+the wall began again.
+
+"It's a tunnel," said Harry.
+
+I nodded, forgetting he could not see me.  "Shall we take it?"
+
+"Anything on a chance," he answered, and we entered the passage.
+
+It was quite narrow--so narrow that we were forced to advance very
+slowly, feeling our way to avoid colliding with the walls.  The ground
+was strewn with fragments of rock, and a hasty step meant an almost
+certain fall and a bruised shin.  It was tedious work and incredibly
+fatiguing.
+
+We had not rested a sufficient length of time to allow our bodies to
+recuperate from the struggle with the torrent; also, we began to feel
+the want of food.  Harry was the first to falter, but I spurred him on.
+Then he stumbled and fell and lay still.
+
+"Are you hurt?" I asked anxiously, bending over him.
+
+"No," was the answer.  "But I'm tired--tired to death--and I want to
+sleep."
+
+I was tempted myself, but I brought him to his feet, from some impulse
+I know not what.  For what was the use?  One spot was as good as
+another.  However, we struggled on.
+
+Another hour and the passage broadened into a clearing.  At least so it
+seemed; the walls abruptly parted to the right and left.  And still the
+impenetrable, maddening darkness and awful silence!
+
+We gave it up; we could go no farther.  A few useless minutes we
+wasted, searching for a soft spot to lie on--moss, reeds, anything.  We
+found none, of course; but even the hard, unyielding rock was grateful
+to our exhausted bodies.  We lay side by side, using our ponchos for
+pillows; our clothing at least was dry.
+
+I do not know how long I slept, but it seemed to me that I had barely
+dozed off when I was awakened by something--what?
+
+There was no sound to my strained ears.  I sat up, gazing intently into
+the darkness, shuddering without apparent reason.  Then I reflected
+that nothing is dangerous to a man who faces death, and I laughed
+aloud--then trembled at the sound of my own voice.  Harry was in sound
+sleep beside me; his regular breathing told of its depth.
+
+Again I lay down, but I could not sleep.  Some instinct, long
+forgotten, quivered within me, telling me that we were no longer alone.
+And soon my ear justified it.
+
+At first it was not a sound, but the mere shadow of one.  It was
+rhythmic, low, beating like a pulse.  What could it be?  Again I sat
+up, listening and peering into the darkness.  And this time I was not
+mistaken--there was a sound, rustling, sibilant.
+
+Little by little it increased, or rather approached, until it sounded
+but a few feet from me on every side, sinister and menacing.  It was
+the silent, suppressed breathing of something living--whether animal or
+man--creeping ever nearer.
+
+Then was the darkness doubly horrible.  I sat paralyzed with my utter
+helplessness, though fear, thank Heaven, did not strike me!  I could
+hear no footstep; no sound of any kind but that low, rushing breathing;
+but it now was certain that whatever the thing was, it was not alone.
+
+From every side I heard it--closer, closer--until finally I felt the
+hot, fetid breath in my very face.  My nerves quivered in disgust, not
+far from terror.
+
+I sprang to my feet with a desperate cry to Harry and swung toward him.
+
+There was no answering sound, no rush of feet, nothing; but I felt my
+throat gripped in monstrous, hairy fingers.
+
+I tried to struggle, and immediately was crushed to the ground by the
+overpowering weight of a score of soft, ill-smelling bodies.
+
+The grasp on my throat tightened; my arms relaxed, my brain reeled, and
+I knew no more.
+
+
+
+Chapter VII.
+
+THE FIGHT IN THE DARK.
+
+I returned to consciousness with a sickening sensation of nausea and
+unreality.  Only my brain was alive; my entire body was numb and as
+though paralyzed.  Still darkness and silence, for all my senses told
+me I might have been still in the spot where I had fallen.
+
+Then I tried to move my arms, and found that my hands and feet were
+firmly bound.  I strained at the thongs, making some slight sound; and
+immediately I heard a whisper but a few feet away:
+
+"Are you awake, Paul?"
+
+I was still half dazed, but I recognized Harry's voice, and I answered
+simply: "Yes.  Where are we?"
+
+"The Lord knows!  They carried us.  You have been unconscious for
+hours."
+
+"They carried us?"
+
+"Yes.  A thousand miles, I think, on their backs.  What--what are they,
+Paul?"
+
+"I don't know.  Did you see them?"
+
+"No.  Too dark.  They are strong as gorillas and covered with hair; I
+felt that much.  They didn't make a sound all the time.  No more than
+half as big as me, and yet one of them carried me as if I were a
+baby--and I weigh one hundred and seventy pounds."
+
+"What are we bound with?"
+
+"Don't know; it feels like leather; tough as rats.  I've been working
+at it for two hours, but it won't give."
+
+"Well, you know what that means.  Dumb brutes don't tie a man up."
+
+"But it's impossible."
+
+"Nothing is impossible.  But listen!"
+
+There was a sound--the swift patter of feet; they were approaching.
+Then suddenly a form bent over me close; I could see nothing, but I
+felt a pressure against my body and an ill-smelling odor,
+indescribable, entered my nostrils.  I felt a sawing movement at my
+wrists; the thongs pulled back and forth, and soon my hands were free.
+The form straightened away from me, there was a clatter on the ground
+near my head, and then silence.
+
+There came an oath from Harry:
+
+"Hang the brute!  He's cut my wrist.  Are your hands free, Paul?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then bind this up; it's bleeding badly.  What was that for?"
+
+"I have an idea," I answered as I tore a strip from my shirt and
+bandaged the wound, which proved to be slight.  Then I searched on the
+ground beside me, and found my surmise correct.
+
+"Here you go, Hal!  here's some grub.  But what the deuce is it?  By
+Jove, it's dried fish!  Now, where in the name of--"
+
+But we wasted no more time in talk, for we were half starved.  The
+stuff was not bad; to us who had been fasting for something like
+thirty-six hours--for our idea of time was extremely hazy--it was a
+gorgeous banquet.  And close by there was a basin full of water.
+
+"Pretty decent sort of beggars, I say," came Harry's voice in the
+darkness.  "But who are they?"
+
+"Ask Felipe," I answered, for by this time I was well convinced of the
+nature and identity of our captors.  "As I said, dumb brutes don't bind
+men with thongs, nor feed them on dried fish.  Of course it's
+incredible, but a man must be prepared to believe anything."
+
+"But, Paul!  You mean--"
+
+"Exactly.  We are in the hands of the Incas of Huanuco--or rather their
+descendants."
+
+"But that was four hundred years ago!"
+
+"Your history is perfect, like Desiree's geography," said I dryly.
+"But what then?  They have merely chosen to live under the world
+instead of on it; a rather wise decision, a cynic might say--not to
+mention the small circumstance that they are prisoners.
+
+"My dear Hal, never allow yourself to be surprised at anything; it is a
+weakness.  Here we are in total darkness, buried in the Andes,
+surrounded by hairy, degenerate brutes that are probably allowing us to
+eat in order that we may be in condition to be eaten, with no
+possibility of ever again beholding the sunshine; and what is the
+thought that rises to the surface of my mind?  Merely this: that I most
+earnestly desire and crave a Carbajal perfecto and a match."
+
+"Paul, you say--eat--"
+
+"Most probably they are cannibals.  The Lord knows they must have some
+sort of mild amusement in this fearful hole.  Of course, the idea is
+distasteful; before they cut us up they'll have to knock us down."
+
+"That's a darned silly joke," said Harry with some heat.
+
+"But it's sober truth, my boy.  You know me; I never pose.  There is
+nothing particularly revolting in the thought of being eaten; the
+disadvantage of it lies in the fact that one must die first.  We all
+want to live; Heaven knows why.  And we stand a chance.
+
+"We know now that there is food to be had here and sufficient air.  It
+is nearly certain that we won't get out, but that can come later.  And
+what an experience!  I know a dozen anthropologists that would give
+their degrees for it.  I can feel myself getting enthusiastic about it."
+
+"But what if they--they--"
+
+"Say it.  Eat us?  We can fight.  It will be strange if we can't outwit
+these vermin.  And now silence; I'm going to begin.  Listen hard--hard!
+The brutes are noiseless, but if they are near we can hear their
+breathing."
+
+"But, Paul--"
+
+"No more talk.  Listen!"
+
+We lay silent for many minutes, scarcely breathing.  Not the slightest
+sound reached our ears through the profound darkness; utter, intense
+silence.  Finally I reached over and touched Harry on the shoulder, and
+arose to my knees.
+
+"Good enough!  We're alone.  We'll have to crawl for it.  Keep close
+behind me; we don't want to get separated.  The first thing is to find
+a sharp stone to cut through these thongs.  Feel on the ground with
+your hands as we go."
+
+It was not easy to rise at all, and still harder to make any progress,
+for our ankles were bound together most effectively; but we managed
+somehow to drag ourselves along.  I was in front; suddenly I felt Harry
+pull at my coat, and turned.
+
+"Just the thing, Paul.  Sharp as a knife.  Look!"
+
+I groped for his hand in the darkness and took from it the object he
+held out to me--a small flat stone with a sharp-saw edge.
+
+"All right; let me work on you first."
+
+I bent down to the thongs which bound his ankles.  I was convinced that
+they were not of leather, but they were tough as the thickest hide.
+Twice my overeagerness caused the tool to slip and tear the skin from
+my hand; then I went about it more carefully with a muttered oath.
+Another quarter of an hour and Harry was free.
+
+"Gad, that feels good!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet.  "Here, Paul;
+where's the stone?"
+
+I handed it to him and he knelt down and began sawing away at my feet.
+
+What followed happened so quickly that we were hardly aware that it had
+begun when it was already finished.
+
+A quick, pattering rush of many feet warned us, but not in time.
+Hurtling, leaping bodies came at us headlong through the air and
+crushed us to the ground, buried beneath them, gasping for breath;
+there must have been scores of them.  Resistance was impossible; we
+were overwhelmed.
+
+I heard Harry give a despairing cry, and the scuffle followed; I myself
+was utterly helpless, for the thongs which bound my ankles had not been
+cut through.  Not a sound came from our assailants save their heavy,
+labored breathing.
+
+I remember that, even while they were sitting on my head and chest and
+body, I noted their silence with a sort of impersonal curiosity and
+wondered if they were, after all, human.  Nor were they unnecessarily
+violent; they merely subdued us, rebound our wrists and ankles more
+tightly than before, and departed.
+
+But--faugh!  The unspeakable odor of their hairy bodies is in my
+nostrils yet.
+
+"Are you hurt, Paul?"
+
+"Not a bit, Harry lad.  How do you like the perfume?"
+
+"To the deuce with your perfume!  But we're done for.  What's the use?
+They've lived in this infernal hole so long they can see in the dark
+better than we can in the light."
+
+Of course he was right, and I was a fool not to have thought of it
+before and practised caution.  The knowledge was decidedly unpleasant.
+No doubt our every movement was being watched by a hundred pairs of
+eyes, while we lay helpless in the darkness, bound even more tightly
+than before.
+
+"Look here," said Harry suddenly, "why can't we see their eyes?  Why
+don't they shine."
+
+"My dear boy," said I, "in this darkness you couldn't see the Kohinoor
+diamond if it were hanging on your nose, drawing-room travelers to the
+contrary notwithstanding.  We have one advantage--they can't understand
+what we say, but they even up for it by not saying anything."
+
+There was a short silence, then Harry's voice:
+
+"Paul--"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I wonder--do you think Desiree--" He hesitated, his voice faltering.
+
+"I think the same as you do," said I.
+
+"But I don't know--after all, there is a chance.  Just a bare chance,
+isn't there?"
+
+"You know as well as I do, Harry.  The chances are a million to one
+that Desiree--thank Heaven--has escaped all this!  And isn't that best!
+Would you have her here with us?"
+
+"No--no.  Only--"
+
+"Lying here, bound hand and foot?  She would make a dainty morsel for
+our friends."
+
+"For the Lord's sake, Paul--"
+
+"Well, let us forget her--for the present.  Nor do we want to make a
+dainty morsel if we can help it.  Come, brace up, Hal.  It's up to us
+to turn a trick."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I don't know why I didn't think of it before.  I guess we were both
+too dazed to have good sense.  What have you got strapped to your belt?"
+
+"A gun," said Harry.  "Of course I thought of that.  But what good is
+it after that ducking?  And I have only six cartridges."
+
+"Nothing else?"
+
+I could almost feel his silent gaze; then suddenly he cried out:
+
+"A knife!"
+
+"At last!" said I sarcastically.  "And so have I.  A six-inch,
+double-edged knife, sharp as a razor and pointed like a needle.  They
+didn't have sense enough to search us, and we didn't have sense enough
+to realize it.  I can feel mine under me now against the ground."
+
+"But they'll see us."
+
+"Not if we use a decent amount of caution.  The trouble is, I can't
+reach my knife with my wrists bound.  There's only one way.  Lie
+perfectly still; let them think we've given it up.  I'm going to try
+something."
+
+I drew up my knees, twisted over on the hard rock, and lay flat on my
+belly.  Then I drew up my hands and let my face rest on them, like a
+dog with his head on his paws.  And then, keeping my body perfectly
+still, and with as little movement of the jaws as possible, I sought
+the tough thongs with my teeth.
+
+That was a tedious job and a distasteful one.  For many minutes I
+gnawed away at those thick cords like a dog on a bone.  It was
+considerably later that I discovered what those cords were made of;
+thank Heaven, I was ignorant of it at the time!  All I knew was that
+they were, to use one of Harry's phrases, "tough as rats."
+
+I did not dare pull with my wrists, for fear they would fly suddenly
+apart and betray me to the unseen watchers.  It was necessary to cut
+clear through with my teeth, and more than once I was on the point of
+giving it up.  There was a nauseating, rancid taste to the stuff, but I
+dared not even raise my head to expectorate.
+
+Finally my teeth met; the cords were severed.  I felt carefully about
+with my tongue to make sure there were no others; then, without moving
+my hands in the slightest degree, carefully raised my head.
+
+It was then that I first noticed--not light, but a thinning out of the
+darkness.  It was, of course, merely the adjustment of my eyes to the
+new conditions.  I could make out no forms surrounding me, but, looking
+down, I could clearly distinguish the outline of my hands as they lay
+on the ground before me.
+
+And, again looking up, I fancied that I could see, some twenty or
+thirty feet to the right, that the darkness again became suddenly dense
+and impenetrable.
+
+"That must be a wall," I muttered, straining my eyes toward it.
+
+"What's that?" asked Harry sharply.
+
+Obedient to my instructions, the lad had lain perfectly motionless and
+silent for over an hour, for it must have taken me at least that long
+to gnaw through the cords.
+
+"I said that must be a wall.  Look, Harry, about thirty feet to the
+right.  Doesn't it appear to you that way?"
+
+"By Jove," he exclaimed after a moment of silence, "it's getting light!
+Look!"
+
+I explained that, instead of "it's getting light," his eyes were merely
+becoming accustomed to the darkness.
+
+"But what do you think of that?  Is it a wall?"
+
+After a moment's silence he answered: "Ye-es," and then more
+positively: "Yes.  But what good does that do us?"
+
+"That's what I am about to tell you.  Listen!  I've cut the cords on my
+wrists, and I'm going to get my knife--"
+
+"How the deuce did you manage that?" Harry interrupted.
+
+"With my teeth.  I've been rather busy.  I'm going to get my
+knife--cautiously, so they won't suspect if they are watching us.  We
+must lie close together on our sides, facing each other, so I can cut
+the thongs on your wrists without being seen.  Then you are to get your
+knife--carefully.  Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+For the first time there was fight in Harry's voice; the curious,
+barely perceptible tremor of the man of courage.
+
+"All right.  Go easy."
+
+We went about the thing slowly, turning but an inch at a time; a second
+mistake might prove fatal.  We heard no sound of any kind, and ten
+minutes later we were lying flat on our backs side by side, keeping our
+hands hidden between our bodies, that the absence of the thongs might
+not be discovered.  Each of us held in his right hand the hilt of a six
+inch knife.  Cold steel is by no means the favorite weapon of an
+American, but there are times--
+
+"Have you got your knife, Harry?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Good!  Now listen close and act quick.  When I give the word reach
+down and grasp the cords round your ankles in your left hand, then cut
+them through with one stroke.  Then to your feet; grasp my jacket, and
+together to the wall--that's for our backs.  And then--let 'em come!"
+
+"All right, old man."
+
+"Don't waste any time; they'll probably start for us the instant we sit
+up.  Be sure you get your feet free at the first stroke; feel them well
+with your left hand first.  Are you ready?"
+
+"Yes." And his voice was now calm and perfectly steady.
+
+"Then--one, two, three--go!"
+
+We bent and cut and sprang to our feet, and dashed for the wall.  There
+was a sound of rushing feet--our backs hugged the kindly rock--I heard
+Harry's shout, "Here they come!"--dim, rushing forms--fingers clutching
+at my throat.
+
+I felt the blade of my knife sink into soft and yielding flesh, and a
+warm, thick liquid flow over my hand and arm.
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII.
+
+THE DANCE OF THE SUN.
+
+It seemed to me then in the minutes that followed that there were
+thousands of black demons in that black hole.  At the first rushing
+impact I shouted to Harry: "Keep your back to the wall," and for
+response I got a high, ringing laugh that breathed the joy of battle.
+
+The thing was sickening.  Harry is a natural fighting man; I am not.
+Without the wall at our backs we would have been overpowered in thirty
+seconds; as it was, we were forced to handle half a dozen of them at
+once, while the others surged in from behind.  They had no weapons, but
+they had the advantage of being able to see us.
+
+They clutched my throat, my arms, my legs, my body; there was no room
+to strike; I pushed the knife home.  They fastened themselves to my
+legs and feet and tried to bring me down from beneath; once, in
+slashing at the head of one whose teeth were set in my calf, I cut
+myself on the knee.  It was difficult to stand in the wet, slippery
+pool that formed at my feet.
+
+Suddenly I heard a sound that I understood too well--the curious,
+rattling sound of a man who is trying to call out when he is being
+strangled.
+
+"Harry!" I cried, and I fought like a wild man to get to him, with
+knife, feet, hands, teeth.  I reached his coat, his arm; it was
+dangerous to strike so near him in the dark, but I felt him sinking to
+the ground.
+
+Then I found the taut, straining fingers about his throat, and lunged
+forward with the knife--and the fingers relaxed.
+
+Again we were fighting together side by side.
+
+As their bodies fell in front of us we were pressed harder, for those
+behind climbed up on the corpses of their fellows and literally
+descended on our heads from the air.  We could not have held out much
+longer; our breath was coming in quick, painful gasps; Harry stumbled
+on one of the prostrate brutes and fell; I tried to lift him and was
+unequal to the task.
+
+It appeared to be the end.
+
+Suddenly there rang throughout the cavern a sound as of a gigantic,
+deep-toned bell.  The walls sent it back and forth with deafening
+echoes; it was as though the mountain had descended with one tremendous
+crash into its own bowels.
+
+As though by magic, the assault ceased.
+
+The effect was indescribable.  We could see nothing; we merely became
+suddenly aware that there were no longer hands clutching at our throats
+or hairy bodies crushing us to the ground.  It was as though the horde
+of unseen devils had melted into thin air.  There were movements on the
+ground, for many of them had been wounded; a man cannot always reach
+the spot in the dark.  This lasted for two or three minutes; they were
+evidently removing those who still had life in them, for the straining
+breath of men dragging or lifting burdens was plainly audible.
+
+Gradually that, too, died away with the last reverberations of the
+mysterious sound that had saved us, and we found ourselves alone--or at
+least unmolested--for in the darkness we could see nothing, except the
+dim outlines of the prostrate forms at our feet.
+
+The cavern was a shambles.  The smell was that of a slaughter-house.  I
+had had no idea of the desperateness of our defense until I essayed to
+scramble over the heap of bodies to dry ground; I shuddered and grew
+faint, and Harry was in no better case.
+
+Worse, he had dropped his knife when we stumbled, and we were forced to
+grope round in that unspeakable mess for many minutes before we found
+it.
+
+"Are you hurt, lad?" I asked when once we stood clear.
+
+"Nothing bad, I think," he answered.  "My throat is stiff, and two or
+three of the brutes got their teeth in me.  In the name of Heaven,
+Paul, what are they?  And what was that bell?"
+
+These were foolish questions, and I told him so.  My leg was bleeding
+badly where I had slashed myself, and I, too, had felt their teeth.
+But, despite our utter weariness and our wounds, we wanted nothing--not
+even rest--so badly as we wanted to get away from that awful heap of
+flesh and blood and the odor of it.
+
+Besides, we did not know at what moment they might return.  So I spoke,
+and Harry agreed.  I led the way; he followed.
+
+But which way to turn?  We wanted water, both for our dry and burning
+throats and for our wounds; and rest and food.  We thought little of
+safety.  One way seemed as likely as another, so we set out with our
+noses as guides.
+
+A man encounters very few misfortunes in this world which, later in
+life, he finds himself unable to laugh at; well, for me that endless
+journey was one of the few.
+
+Every step was torture.  I had bandaged the cut on my leg as well as
+possible, but it continued to bleed.  But it was imperative that we
+should find water, and we struggled on, traversing narrow passages and
+immense caverns, always in complete darkness, stumbling over unseen
+rocks and encountering sharp corners of cross passages.
+
+It lasted I know not how many hours.  Neither of us would have survived
+alone.  Time and again Harry sank to the ground and refused to rise
+until I perforce lifted him; once we nearly came to blows.  And I was
+guilty of the same weakness.
+
+But the despair of one inspired the other with fresh strength and
+courage, and we struggled forward, slower and slower.  It was
+soul-destroying work.  I believe that in the last hour we made not more
+than half a mile.  I know now that for the greater part of the time we
+were merely retracing our steps in a vicious circle!
+
+It was well that it ended when it did, for we could not have held out
+much longer.  Harry was leading the way, for I had found that that
+slight responsibility fortified him.  We no longer walked, we barely
+went forward, staggering and reeling like drunken men.
+
+Suddenly Harry stopped short, so suddenly that I ran against him; and
+at the same time I felt a queer sensation--for I was too far gone to
+recognize it--about my feet.
+
+Then Harry stooped over quickly, half knocking me down as he did so,
+and dropped to his knees; and the next instant gave an unsteady cry of
+joy:
+
+"Water!  Man, it's water!"
+
+How we drank and wallowed, and wallowed and drank!  That water might
+have contained all the poisons in the world and we would have neither
+known nor cared.  But it was cool, fresh, living--and it saved our
+lives.
+
+We bathed our wounds and bandaged them with strips from our shirts.
+Then we arranged our clothing for cushions and pillows as well as
+possible, took another drink, and lay down to sleep.
+
+We must have slept a great many hours.  There was no way to judge of
+time, but when we awoke our joints were as stiff as though they had
+gotten rusty with the years.  I was brought to consciousness by the
+sound of Harry's voice calling my name.
+
+Somehow--for every movement was exquisite pain--we got to our feet and
+reached the water, having first removed our clothing.  But we were now
+at that point where to drink merely aggravated our hunger.  Harry was
+in a savage humor, and when I laughed at him he became furious.
+
+"Have some sense.  I tell you, I must eat!  If it were not for your--"
+
+"Go easy, Hal.  Don't say anything you'll be sorry for.  And I refuse
+to consider the sordid topic of food as one that may rightfully contain
+the elements of tragedy.  We seem to be in the position of the king of
+vaudeville.  If we had some ham we'd have some ham and eggs--if we had
+some eggs."
+
+"You may joke, but I am not made of iron!" he cried.
+
+"And what can we do but die?" I demanded.  "Do you think there is any
+chance of our getting out of this?  Take it like a man.  Is it right
+for a man who has laughed at the world to begin to whine when it
+becomes necessary to leave it?
+
+"You know I'm with you; I'll fight, and what I find I'll take; in the
+mean time I prefer not to furnish amusement for the devil.  There comes
+a time, I believe, when the stomach debases us against our wills.  May
+I die before I see it."
+
+"But what are we to do?"
+
+"That's more like it.  There's only one hope.  We must smell out the
+pantry that holds the dried fish."
+
+We talked no more, but set about bathing and dressing our wounds.  Gad,
+how that cold water took them!  I was forced to set my teeth deep into
+my lip to keep from crying out, and once or twice Harry gave an
+involuntary grunt of pain that would not be suppressed.
+
+When we had finished we waded far to the right to take a last deep
+drink; then sought our clothing and prepared to start on our all but
+hopeless search.  We had become fairly well limbered up by that time
+and set out with comparative ease.
+
+We had gone perhaps a hundred yards, bearing off to the right, when
+Harry gave a sudden cry: "My knife is gone!" and stopped short.  I
+clapped my hand to my own belt instinctively, and found it empty both
+of knife and gun!  For a moment we stood in silence; then:
+
+"Have you got yours?" he demanded.
+
+When I told him no he let out an oath.
+
+His gun was gone, also.  We debated the matter, and decided that to
+attempt a search would be a useless waste of time; it was next to
+certain that the weapons had been lost in the water when we had first
+plunged in.  And so, doubly handicapped by this new loss, we again set
+out.
+
+There was but one encouragement allowed to us: we were no longer in
+total darkness.  Gradually our eyes were becoming accustomed to the
+absence of light; and though we could by no means see clearly, nor even
+could properly be said to see at all, still we began to distinguish the
+outlines of walls several feet away; and, better than that, each of us
+could plainly mark the form and face of the other.
+
+Once we stood close, less than a foot apart, for a test; and when Harry
+cried eagerly, "Thank Heaven, I can see your nose!" our strained
+feelings were relieved by a prolonged burst of genuine laughter.
+
+There was little enough of it in the time that followed, for our
+sufferings now became a matter not of minutes or hours, but of days.
+The assault of time is the one that unnerves a man, especially when it
+is aided by gnawing pain and weariness and hunger; it saps the courage
+and destroys the heart and fires the brain.
+
+We dragged ourselves somehow ever onward.  We found water; the mountain
+was honeycombed with underground streams; but no food.  More than once
+we were tempted to trust ourselves to one of those rushing torrents,
+but what reason we had left told us that our little remaining strength
+was unequal to the task of keeping our heads above the surface.  And
+yet the thought was sweet--to allow ourselves to be peacefully swept
+into oblivion.
+
+We lost all idea of time and direction, and finally hope itself
+deserted us.  What force it was that propelled us forward must have
+been buried deep within the seat of animal instinct, for we lost all
+rational power.  The thing became a nightmare, like the crazy
+wanderings of a lost soul.
+
+Forward--forward--forward!  It was a mania.
+
+Then Harry was stricken with fever and became delirious.  And I think
+it was that seeming misfortune that saved us, for it gave me a spring
+for action and endowed me with new life.  As luck would have it, a
+stream of water was near, and I half carried and half dragged him to
+its edge.
+
+I made a bed for him with my own clothing on the hard rock, and bathed
+him and made him drink, while all the time a string of delirious drivel
+poured forth from his hot, dry lips.
+
+That lasted many hours, until finally he fell into a deep, calm sleep.
+But his body was without fuel, and I was convinced he would never
+awaken; yet I feared to touch him.  Those were weary hours, squatting
+by his side with his hand gripped in my own, with the ever-increasing
+pangs of hunger and weariness turning my own body into a roaring
+furnace of pain.
+
+Suddenly I felt a movement of his hand; and then came his voice, weak
+but perfectly distinct:
+
+"Well, Paul, this is the end."
+
+"Not yet, Harry boy; not yet."
+
+I tried to put cheer and courage into my own voice, but with poor
+success.
+
+"I--think--so.  I say, Paul--I've just seen Desiree."
+
+"All right, Hal."
+
+"Oh, you don't need to talk like that; I'm not delirious now.  I guess
+it must have been a dream.  Do you remember that morning on the
+mountain--in Colorado--when you came on us suddenly at sunrise?  Well,
+I saw her there--only you were with her instead of me.  So, of course,
+she must be dead."
+
+His logic was beyond me, but I pressed his hand to let him know that I
+understood.
+
+"And now, old man, you might as well leave me.  This is the end.
+You've been a good sport.  We made a fight, didn't we?  If only
+Desiree--but there!  To Hades with women, I say!"
+
+"Not that--don't be a poor loser, Hal.  And you're not gone yet.  When
+a man has enough fight in him to beat out an attack of fever he's very
+much alive."
+
+But he would not have it so.  I let him talk, and he rambled on, with
+scarcely an idea of what he was saying.  The old days possessed his
+mind, and, to tell the truth, the sentiment found a welcome in my own
+bosom.  I said to myself, "This is death."
+
+And then, lifting my head to look down the dark passage that led away
+before us, I sprang to my feet with a shout and stood transfixed with
+astonishment.  And the next instant there came a cry of wonder from
+Harry:
+
+"A light!  By all the gods, a light!"
+
+So it was.  The passage lay straight for perhaps three hundred yards.
+There it turned abruptly; and the corner thus formed was one blaze of
+flickering but brilliant light which flowed in from the hidden corridor.
+
+It came and went, and played fitfully on the granite walls; still it
+remained.  It was supernaturally brilliant; or so it seemed to us, who
+had lived in utter darkness for many days.
+
+I turned to Harry, and the man who had just been ready to die was
+rising to his feet!
+
+"Wait a minute--not so fast!" I said half angrily, springing to support
+him.  "And, for Heaven's sake, don't make any noise!  We're in no
+condition to fight now, and you know what that light means."
+
+"But what is it?" demanded the boy excitedly.  "Come on, man--let's go!"
+
+To tell the truth, I felt as eager as he.  For the first time I
+understood clearly why the Bible and ancient mythology made such a fuss
+about the lighting up of the world.  Modern civilization is too far
+away from its great natural benefits to appreciate them properly.
+
+And here was a curious instance of the force of habit--or, rather,
+instinct--in man.  So long as Harry and I had remained in the dark
+passage and byways of the cavern we had proceeded almost entirely
+without caution, with scarcely a thought of being discovered.
+
+But the first sight of light made us wary and careful and silent; and
+yet we knew perfectly well that the denizens of this underworld could
+see as well in the darkness as in the light--perhaps even better.  So
+difficult is it to guide ourselves by the human faculty of pure reason.
+
+Harry was so weak he was barely able to stand, even in the strength of
+this new excitement and hope, and we were forced to go very slowly; I
+supported him as well as I was able, being myself anything but an
+engine of power.  But the turn in the passage was not far away, and we
+reached it in a quarter of an hour or less.
+
+Before we made the turn we halted.  Harry was breathing heavily even
+from so slight an exertion, and I could scarcely suppress a cry of
+amazement when, for the first time in many days, the light afforded me
+a view of his face.
+
+It was drawn and white and sunken; the eyes seemed set deep in his
+skull as they blinked painfully; and the hair on his chin and lip and
+cheeks had grown to a length incredible in so short a space of time.  I
+soon had reason to know that I probably presented no better an
+appearance, for he was staring at me as though I were some strange
+monster.
+
+"Good Heavens, man, you took like a ghost!" he whispered.
+
+I nodded; my arm was round his shoulder.
+
+"Now, let's see what this light means.  Be ready for anything,
+Harry--though Heaven knows we can find nothing worse than we've had.
+Here, put your arm on my shoulder.  Take it easy."
+
+We advanced to the corner together within the patch of light and turned
+to the right, directly facing its source.
+
+It is impossible to convey even a faint idea of the wild and hugely
+fantastic sight that met our gaze.  With us it was a single, vivid
+flash to the astonished brain.  These are the details:
+
+Before us was an immense cavern, circular in shape, with a diameter of
+some half a mile.  It seemed to me then much larger; from where we
+stood it appeared to be at least two miles to the opposite side.  There
+was no roof to be seen; it merely ascended into darkness, though the
+light carried a great distance.
+
+All round the vast circumference, on terraced seats of rock, squatted
+row after row of the most completely hideous beings within possibility.
+
+They were men; I suppose they must have the name.  They were about four
+feet tall, with long, hairy arms and legs, bodies of a curious, bloated
+appearance, and eyes--the remainder of the face was entirely concealed
+by thick hair--eyes dull and vacant, of an incredibly large size; they
+had the appearance of ghouls, apes, monsters--anything but human beings.
+
+They sat, thousands of them, crouched silently on their stone seats,
+gazing, motionless as blocks of wood.
+
+The center of the cavern was a lake, taking up something more than half
+of its area.  The water was black as night, and curiously smooth and
+silent.  Its banks sloped by degrees for a hundred feet or so, but at
+its edge there was a perpendicular bank of rock fifteen or twenty feet
+in height.
+
+Near the middle of the lake, ranged at an equal distance from its
+center and from each other, were three--what shall I call
+them?--islands, or columns.  They were six or eight feet across at
+their top, which rose high above the water.
+
+On top of each of these columns was a huge vat or urn, and from each of
+the urns arose a steady, gigantic column of fire.  These it was that
+gave the light, and it was little wonder we had thought it brilliant,
+since the flames rose to a height of thirty feet or more in the air.
+
+But that which left us speechless with profound amazement was not the
+endless rows of silent, grinning dwarfs, nor the black, motionless
+lake, nor the leaping tongues of flame.  We forgot these when we
+followed the gaze of that terrifying audience and saw a sight that
+printed itself on my brain with a vividness which time can never erase.
+Closing my eyes, I see it even now, and I shudder.
+
+Exactly in the center of the lake, in the midst of the columns of fire,
+was a fourth column, built of some strangely lustrous rock.  Prisms of
+a formation new to me--innumerable thousands of them--caused its sides
+to sparkle and glisten like an immense tower of whitest diamonds,
+blinding the eye.
+
+The effect was indescribable.  The huge cavern was lined and dotted
+with the rays shot forth from their brilliant angles.  The height of
+this column was double that of the others; it rose straight toward the
+unseen dome of the cavern to the height of a hundred feet.
+
+It was cylindrical in shape, not more than ten feet in diameter.  And
+on its top, high above the surface of the lake, surrounded by the
+mounting tongues of flame, whirled and swayed and bent the figure of a
+woman.
+
+Her limbs and body, which were covered only by long, flowing strands of
+golden hair, shone and glistened strangely in the lurid, weird light.
+And of all the ten thousand reflections that shot at us from the length
+of the column not one was so brilliant, so blinding, as the wild glow
+of her eyes.
+
+Her arms, upraised above her head, kept time with and served as a key
+to every movement of her white, supple body.  She glided across, back
+and forth, now this way, now that, to the very edge of the dizzy
+height, with wild abandon, or slow, measured grace, or the rushing
+sweep of a panther.
+
+The thing was beauty incarnate--the very idea of beauty itself realized
+and perfected.  It was staggering, overwhelming.  Have you ever stood
+before a great painting or a beautiful statue and felt a thrill--the
+thrill of perception--run through your body to the very tips of your
+fingers?
+
+Well, imagine that thrill multiplied a thousandfold and you will
+understand the sensation that overpowered me as I beheld, in the midst
+of that dazzling blaze of light, the matchless Dance of the Sun.
+
+For I recognized it at once.  I had never seen it, but it had been
+minutely described to me--described by a beautiful and famous woman as
+I sat on the deck of a yacht steaming into the harbor of Callao.
+
+She had promised me then that she would dance it for me some day--
+
+I looked at Harry, who had remained standing beside me, gazing as I had
+gazed.  His eyes were opened wide, staring at the swaying figure on the
+column in the most profound astonishment.
+
+He took his hand from my shoulder and stood erect, alone; and I saw the
+light of recognition and hope and deepest joy slowly fill his eyes and
+spread over his face.  Then I realized the danger, and I endeavored
+once more to put my arm round his shoulder; but he shook me off with
+hot impatience.  He leaped forward with the quickness of lightning,
+eluding my frantic grasp, and dashed straight into the circle of
+blazing light!
+
+I followed, but too late.  At the edge of the lake he stopped, and,
+stretching forth his arms toward the dancer on the column, he cried out
+in a voice that made the cavern ring:
+
+"Desiree!  Desiree!  Desiree!"
+
+
+
+Chapter IX.
+
+BEFORE THE COURT.
+
+I expected I know not what result from Harry's hysterical rashness:
+confusion, pandemonium, instant death; but none of these followed.
+
+I had reached his side and stood by him at the edge of the lake, where
+he had halted.  Desiree Le Mire stopped short in the midst of the mad
+sweep of the Dance of the Sun.
+
+For ten silent, tense seconds she looked down at us from the top of the
+lofty column, bending dangerously near its edge.  Her form straightened
+and was stretched to its fullest height; her white, superb body was
+distinctly outlined against the black background of the upper cavern.
+Then she stepped backward slowly, without taking her eyes from us.
+
+Suddenly as we gazed she appeared to sink within the column itself and
+in another instant disappeared from view.
+
+We stood motionless, petrified; how long I know not.  Then I turned and
+faced our own danger.  It was time.
+
+The Incas--for I was satisfied of the identity of the creatures--had
+left their seats of granite and advanced to the edge of the lake.  Not
+a sound was heard--no command from voice or trumpet or reed; they moved
+as with one impulse and one brain.
+
+We were utterly helpless, for they numbered thousands.  And weak and
+starving as we were, a single pair of them would have been more than a
+match for us.
+
+I looked at Harry; the reaction from his moment of superficial energy
+was already upon him.  His body swayed slightly from side to side, and
+he would have fallen if I had not supported him with my arm.  There we
+stood, waiting.
+
+Then for the first time I saw the ruler of the scene.  The Incas had
+stopped and stood motionless.  Suddenly they dropped to their knees and
+extended their arms--I thought--toward us; but something in their
+attitude told me the truth.  I wheeled sharply and saw the object of
+their adoration.
+
+Built into the granite wall of the cavern, some thirty feet from the
+ground, was a deep alcove.  At each side of the entrance was an urn
+resting on a ledge, similar to those on the columns, only smaller, from
+which issued a mounting flame.
+
+On the floor of the alcove was a massive chair, or throne, which seemed
+to be itself of fire, so brilliant was the glow of the metal of which
+it was constructed.  It could have been nothing but gold.  And seated
+on this throne was an ugly, misshapen dwarf.
+
+"God save the king!" I cried, with a hysterical laugh; and in the
+profound silence my voice rang from one side of the cavern to the other
+in racing echoes.
+
+Immediately following my cry the figure on the throne arose; and as he
+did so the creatures round us fell flat on their faces on the ground.
+For several seconds the king surveyed them thus, without a sound or
+movement; then suddenly he stretched forth his hand in a gesture of
+dismissal.  They rose as one man and with silent swiftness disappeared,
+seemingly melting away into the walls of rock.  At the time the effect
+was amazing; later, when I discovered the innumerable lanes and
+passages which served as exits, it was not so difficult to understand.
+
+We were apparently left alone, but not for long.  From two stone
+stairways immediately in front of us, which evidently led to the alcove
+above, came forth a crowd of rushing forms.  In an instant they were
+upon us; but if they expected resistance they were disappointed.
+
+At the first impact we fell.  And in another moment we had been raised
+in their long, hairy arms and were carried swiftly from the cavern.
+Scarcely five minutes had elapsed since we had first entered it.
+
+They did not take us far.  Down a broad passage directly away from the
+cavern, then a turn to the right, and again one to the left.  There
+they dropped us, quite as though we were bundles of merchandise,
+without a word.
+
+By this time I had fairly recovered my wits--small wonder if that
+amazing scene had stunned them--and I knew what I wanted.  As the brute
+that had been carrying me turned to go I caught his arm.  He hesitated,
+and I could feel his eyes on me, for we were again in darkness.
+
+But he could see--I thanked Heaven for it--and I began a most
+expressive pantomime, stuffing my fingers in my mouth and gnawing at
+them energetically.  This I alternated with the action of one drinking
+from a basin.  I hadn't the slightest idea whether he understood me; he
+turned and disappeared without a sign--at least, without an audible one.
+
+But the creature possessed intelligence, for I had barely had time to
+turn to Harry and ascertain that he was at least alive, when the patter
+of returning footsteps was heard.  They approached; there was the
+clatter of stone on the ground beside us.
+
+I stood eagerly; a platter, heaped, and a vessel, full!  I think I
+cried out with joy.
+
+"Come, Harry lad; eat!"
+
+He was too weak to move; but when I tore some of the dried fish into
+fragments and fed it to him he devoured it ravenously.  Then he asked
+for water, and I held the basin to his lips.
+
+We ate as little as it is possible for men to eat who have fasted for
+many days, for the stuff had a sharp, concentrated taste that
+recommended moderation.  And, besides, we were not certain of getting
+more.
+
+I wrapped the remainder carefully in my poncho, leaving the platter
+empty, and lay down to rest, using the poncho for a pillow.  I had
+enough, assuredly, to keep me awake, but there are bounds beyond which
+nature cannot go.  I slept close by Harry's side, with my arm across
+his body, that any movement of his might awaken me.
+
+When I awoke Harry was still asleep, and I did not disturb him.  I
+myself must have slept many hours, for I felt considerably refreshed
+and very hungry.  And thirsty; assuredly the provender of those hairy
+brutes would have been most excellent stuff for the free-lunch counter
+of a saloon.
+
+I unwrapped the poncho; then, crawling on my hands and knees, searched
+about the ground.  As I had expected, I found another full platter and
+basin.  I had just set the latter down after taking a hearty drink when
+I heard Harry's voice.
+
+"Paul."
+
+"Here, lad."
+
+"I was afraid you had gone.  I've just had the most devilish dream
+about Desiree.  She was doing some crazy dance on top of a mountain or
+something, and there was fire, and--Paul!  Paul, was it a dream?"
+
+"No, Hal; I saw it myself.  But come, we'll talk later.  Here's some
+dried fish for breakfast."
+
+"Ah!  That--that--now I remember!  And she fell!  I'm going--"
+
+But I wanted no more fever or delirium, and I interrupted him sternly:
+
+"Harry!  Listen to me!  Are you a baby or a man?  Talk straight or shut
+up, and don't whine like a fool.  If you have any courage, use it."
+
+It was stiff medicine, but he needed it, and it worked.  There was a
+silence, then his voice came, steady enough:
+
+"You know me better than that, Paul.  Only--if it were not for
+Desiree--but I'll swallow it.  I think I've been sick, haven't I?"
+
+Poor lad!  I wanted to take his hand in mine and apologize.  But that
+would have been bad for both of us, and I answered simply:
+
+"Yes, a little fever.  But you're all right now.  And now you must eat
+and drink.  Not much of a variety, but it's better than nothing."
+
+I carried the platter and basin over to him, and sat down by his side,
+and we fell to together.
+
+But he would talk of Desiree, and I humored him.  There was little
+enough to say, but he pressed my hand hopefully and gratefully when I
+expressed my belief that her disappearance had been a trick of some
+sort and no matter for apprehension.
+
+"We must find her, Paul."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"At once."
+
+But there I objected.
+
+"On the contrary, we must delay.  Right now we are utterly helpless
+from our long fast.  They would handle us like babies if it came to a
+fight.  Try yourself; stand up."
+
+He rose to his hands and knees, then sank back to the ground.
+
+"You see.  To move now would be folly.  And of course they are watching
+us at this minute--every minute.  We must wait."
+
+His only answer was a groan of despair.
+
+In some manner the weary hours passed by.
+
+Harry lay silent, but not asleep; now and then he would ask me some
+question, but more to hear my voice than to get an answer.  We heard or
+saw nothing of our captors, for all our senses told us we were quite
+alone, but our previous experience with them had taught us better than
+to believe it.
+
+I found myself almost unconsciously reflecting on the character and
+nature of the tribe of dwarfs.
+
+Was it possible that they were really the descendants of the Incas
+driven from Huanuco by Hernando Pizarro and his horsemen nearly four
+hundred years before?  Even then I was satisfied of it, and I was soon
+to have that opinion confirmed by conclusive evidence.
+
+Other questions presented themselves.  Why did they not speak?  What
+fuel could they have found in the bowels of the Andes for their vats of
+fire?  And how did sufficient air for ten thousand pairs of lungs find
+its way miles underground?  Why, in the centuries that had passed, had
+none of them found his way to the world outside?
+
+Some of these questions I answered for myself, others remained unsolved
+for many months, until I had opportunity to avail myself of knowledge
+more profound than my own.  Easy enough to guess that the hidden
+deposits of the mountain had yielded oil which needed only a spark from
+a piece of flint to fire it; and any one who knows anything of the
+geological formation of the Andes will not wonder at their supply of
+air.
+
+Nature is not yet ready for man in those wild regions.  Huge upheavals
+and convulsions are of continual occurrence; underground streams are
+known which rise in the eastern Cordillera and emerge on the side of
+the Pacific slope.  And air circulates through these passages as well
+as water.
+
+Their silence remains inexplicable; but it was probably the result of
+the nature of their surroundings.  I have spoken before of the
+innumerable echoes and reverberations that followed every sound of the
+voice above a whisper.  At times it was literally deafening; and time
+may have made it so in reality.
+
+The natural effect through many generations of this inconvenience or
+danger would be the stoppage of speech, leading possibly to a complete
+loss of the faculty.  I am satisfied that they were incapable of
+vocalization, for even the women did not talk!  But that is ahead of
+the story.
+
+I occupied myself with these reflections, and found amusement in them;
+but it was impossible to lead Harry into a discussion.  His mind was
+anything but scientific, anyway; and he was completely obsessed by fear
+for the safety of Desiree.  And I wasn't sorry for it; it is better
+that a man should worry about some one else than about himself.
+
+Our chance of rescuing her, or even of saving ourselves, appeared to me
+woefully slim.  One fear at least was gone, for the descendants of
+Incas could scarcely be cannibals; but there are other fates equally
+final, if less distasteful.  The fact that they had not even taken the
+trouble to bind us was an indication of the strictness of their watch.
+
+The hours crept by.  At regular intervals our food was replenished and
+we kept the platter empty, storing what we could not eat in our ponchos
+against a possible need.
+
+It was always the same--dried fish of the consistency of leather and a
+most aggressive taste.  I tried to convey to one of our captors the
+idea that a change of diet would be agreeable, but either he did not
+understand me or didn't want to.
+
+Gradually our strength returned, and with it hope.  Harry began to be
+impatient, urging action.  I was waiting for two things besides the
+return of strength; first, to lay in a supply of food that would be
+sufficient for many days in case we escaped, and second, to allow our
+eyes to accustom themselves better to the darkness.
+
+Already we were able to see with a fair amount of clearness; we could
+easily distinguish the forms of those who came to bring us food and
+water when they were fifteen or twenty feet away.  But the cavern in
+which we were confined must have been a large one, for we were unable
+to see a wall in any direction, and we did not venture to explore for
+fear our captors would be moved to bind us.
+
+But Harry became so insistent that I finally consented to a scouting
+expedition.  Caution seemed useless; if the darkness had eyes that
+beheld us, doubly so.  We strapped our ponchos, heavy with their food,
+to our backs, and set out at random across the cavern.
+
+We went slowly, straining our eyes ahead and from side to side.  It was
+folly, of course, in the darkness--like trying to beat a gambler at his
+own game.  But we moved on as noiselessly as possible.
+
+Suddenly a wall loomed up before us not ten feet away.  I gave a tug at
+Harry's arm, and he nodded.  We approached the wall, then turned to the
+right and proceeded parallel with it, watching for a break that would
+mean the way to freedom.
+
+I noticed a dark line that extended along the base of the wall,
+reaching up its side to a height of about two feet and seemingly
+melting away into the ground.  At first I took it for a separate strata
+of rock, darker than that above.  But there was a strange brokenness
+about its appearance that made me consider it more carefully.
+
+It appeared to be composed of curious knots and protuberances.  I
+stopped short, and, advancing a step or two toward the wall, gazed
+intently.  Then I saw that the dark line was not a part of the wall at
+all; and then--well, then I laughed aloud in spite of myself.  The
+thing was too ludicrous.
+
+For that "dark line" along the bottom of the wall was a row of
+squatting Incas!  There they sat, silent, motionless; even when my
+laugh rang out through the cavern they gave not the slightest sign that
+they either heard or saw.  Yet it was certain that they had watched our
+every move.
+
+There was nothing for it but retreat.  With our knives we might have
+fought our way through; but we were unarmed, and we had felt one or two
+proofs of their strength.
+
+Harry took it with more philosophy than I had expected.  As for me, I
+had not yet finished my laugh.  We sought our former resting-place,
+recognizing it by the platter and basin which we had emptied before our
+famous and daring attempt to escape.
+
+Soon Harry began:
+
+"I'll tell you what they are, Paul; they're frogs.  Nothing but frogs.
+Did you see 'em?  The little black devils!  And Lord, how they smell!"
+
+"That," I answered, "is the effect of--"
+
+"To the deuce with your mineralogy or anthromorphism or whatever you
+call it.  I don't care what makes 'em smell.  I only know they do--as
+Kipling says of the oonts--'most awful vile.' And there the beggars
+sit, and here we sit!"
+
+"If we could only see--" I began.
+
+"And what good would that do us?  Could we fight?  No.  They'd smother
+us in a minute.  Say, wasn't there a king in that cave the other day?"
+
+"Yes; on a golden throne.  An ugly little devil--the ugliest of all."
+
+"Sure; that why he's got the job.  Did he say anything?"
+
+"Not a word; merely stuck out his arm and out we went."
+
+"Why the deuce don't they talk?"
+
+I explained my theory at some length, with many and various scientific
+digressions.  Harry listened politely.
+
+"I don't know what you mean," said he when I had finished, "but I
+believe you.  Anyway, it's all a stupendous joke.  In the first place,
+we shouldn't be here at all.  And, secondly, why should they want us to
+stay?"
+
+"How should I know?  Ask the king.  And don't bother me; I'm going to
+sleep."
+
+"You are not.  I want to talk.  Now, they must want us for something.
+They can't intend to eat us, because there isn't enough to go around.
+And there is Desiree.  What the deuce was she doing up there without
+any clothes on?  I say, Paul, we've got to find her."
+
+"With pleasure.  But, first, how are we going to get out of this?"
+
+"I mean, when we get out."
+
+Thus we rattled on, arriving nowhere.  Harry's loquacity I understood;
+the poor lad meant to show me that he had resolved not to "whine." Yet
+his cheerfulness was but partly assumed, and it was most welcome.  My
+own temper was getting sadly frayed about the edge.
+
+We slept through another watch uneventfully, and when we woke found our
+platter of fish and basin of water beside us.  I estimated that some
+seventy-two hours had then passed since we had been carried from the
+cavern; Harry said not less than a hundred.
+
+However that may be, we had almost entirely recovered our strength.
+Indeed, Harry declared himself perfectly fit; but I still felt some
+discomfort, caused partly by the knife-wound on my knee, which had not
+entirely healed, and partly, I think, by the strangeness and monotony
+of our diet.  Harry's palate was less particular.
+
+On awaking, and after breaking our fast, we were both filled with an
+odd contentment.  I really believe that we had abandoned hope, and that
+the basis of our listlessness was despair; and surely not without
+reason.  For what chance had we to escape from the Incas, handicapped
+as we were by the darkness, and our want of weapons, and their
+overwhelming numbers?
+
+And beyond that--if by some lucky chance we did escape--what remained?
+To wander about in the endless caves of darkness and starve to death.
+At the time I don't think I stated the case, even to myself, with such
+brutal frankness, but facts make their impression whether you invite
+them or not.  But, as I say, we were filled with an odd contentment.
+Though despair may have possessed our hearts, it was certainly not
+allowed to infect our tongues.
+
+Breakfast was hilarious.  Harry sang an old drinking-song to the
+water-basin with touching sentiment; I gave him hearty applause and
+joined in the chorus.  The cavern rang.
+
+"The last time I sang that," said Harry as the last echoes died away,
+"was at the Midlothian.  Bunk Stafford was there, and Billy Du Mont,
+and Fred Marston--I say, do you remember Freddie?  And his East Side
+crocodiles?
+
+"My, but weren't they daisies?  And polo?  They could play it in their
+sleep.  And--what's this?  Paul!  Something's up!  Here they come--Mr.
+and Mrs. Inca and all the children!"
+
+I sprang hastily to my feet and stood by Harry's side.  He was right.
+
+Through the half darkness they came, hundreds of them, and, as always,
+in utter silence.  Dimly we could see their forms huddled together
+round us on every side, leaving us in the center of a small circle in
+their midst.
+
+"Now, what the deuce do they want?" I muttered.  "Can't they let us eat
+in peace?"
+
+Harry observed: "Wasn't I right?  'Most awful vile!'"
+
+I think we both felt that we were joking in the face of death.
+
+The forms surrounding us stood silent for perhaps ten seconds.  Then
+four of their number stepped forward to us, and one made gestures with
+a hairy arm, pointing to our rear.  We turned and saw a narrow lane
+lined on either side by our captors.  Nothing was distinct; still we
+could see well enough to guess their meaning.
+
+"It's up to us to march," said Harry.
+
+I nodded.
+
+"And step high, Hal; it may be our last one.  If we only had our
+knives!  But there are thousands of 'em."
+
+"But if it comes to the worst--"
+
+"Then--I'm with you.  Forward!"
+
+We started, and as we did so one of the four who had approached darted
+from behind and led the way.  Not a hand had touched us, and this
+appeared to me a good sign, without knowing exactly why.
+
+"They seem to have forgotten their manners," Harry observed.  "The
+approved method is to knock us down and carry us.  I shall speak to the
+king about it."
+
+We had just reached the wall of the cavern and entered a passage
+leading from it, when there came a sound, sonorous and ear-destroying,
+from the farther end.  We had heard it once before; it was the same
+that had ended our desperate fight some days before.  Then it had saved
+our lives; to what did it summon us now?
+
+The passage was not a long one.  At its end we turned to the right,
+following our guide.  Once I looked back and saw behind us the crowd
+that had surrounded us in the cave.  There was no way but obedience.
+
+We had advanced perhaps a hundred, possibly two hundred yards along the
+second passage when our guide suddenly halted.  We stood beside him.
+
+He turned sharply to the left, and, beckoning to us to follow, began to
+descend a narrow stairway which led directly from the passage.  It was
+steep, and the darkness allowed a glimpse only of black walls and the
+terrace immediately beneath our feet; so we went slowly.  I counted the
+steps; there were ninety-six.
+
+At the bottom we turned again to the right.  Just as we turned I heard
+Harry's voice, quite low:
+
+"There are only a dozen following us, Paul.  Now--"
+
+But I shook my head.  It would have been mere folly, for, even if we
+had succeeded in breaking through, we could never have made our way
+back up the steps.  This I told Harry; he admitted reluctantly that I
+was right.
+
+We now found ourselves in a lane so low and narrow that it was
+necessary for us to stoop and proceed in single file.  Our progress was
+slow; the guide was continually turning to beckon us on with gestures
+of impatience.
+
+At length he halted and stood facing us.  The guard that followed
+gathered close in the rear, the guide made a curious upward movement
+with his arm, and when we stood motionless repeated it several times.
+
+"I suppose he wants us to fly," said Harry with so genuine a tone of
+sarcasm that I gave an involuntary smile.
+
+The guide's meaning was soon evident.  It took some seconds for my eye
+to penetrate the darkness, and then I saw a spiral stair ascending
+perpendicularly, apparently carved from the solid rock.  Harry must
+have perceived it at the same moment, for he turned to me with a short
+laugh:
+
+"Going up?  Not for me, thank you.  The beggar means for us to go
+alone."
+
+For a moment I hesitated, glancing round uncertainly at the dusky forms
+that were ever pressing closer upon us.  We were assuredly between the
+devil and the deep sea.
+
+Then I said, shrugging my shoulders: "It's no good pulling, Harry.
+Come on; take a chance.  You said it--going up!"
+
+I placed my foot on the first step of the spiral stair.
+
+Harry followed without comment.  Up we went together, but slowly.  The
+stair was fearfully steep and narrow, and more than once I barely
+escaped a fall.
+
+Suddenly I became aware that light was descending on us from above.
+With every step upward it became brighter, until finally it was as
+though a noonday sun shone in upon us.
+
+There came an exclamation from Harry, and we ascended faster.  I
+remember that I counted a hundred and sixty steps--and then, as a
+glimmering of the truth shot through my brain into certainty, I counted
+no more.
+
+Harry was crowding me from below, and we took the last few steps almost
+at a run.  Then the end, and we stumbled out into a blaze of light and
+surveyed the surrounding scene with stupefaction and wonder.
+
+It was not new to us; we had seen it before, but from a different angle.
+
+We were on the top of the column in the center of the lake; on the spot
+where Desiree had whirled in the dance of the sun.
+
+
+
+Chapter X.
+
+THE VERDICT.
+
+For many seconds we stood bewildered, too dazed to speak or move.  The
+light dazzled our eyes; we seemed surrounded by an impenetrable wall of
+flame.  There was no sensation of heat, owing, no doubt, to the immense
+height of the cavern and our comparatively distant removal from the
+flames, which mounted upward in narrow tongues.
+
+Then the details began to strike me.
+
+I have said the scene was the same as that we had previously beheld.
+Round the walls of the immense circular cavern squatted innumerable
+rows of the Incas on terraced seats.
+
+Below, at a dizzy distance, was the smooth surface of the lake, black
+and gloomy save where the reflections from the blazing urns pierced its
+depths.  And directly facing us, set in the wall of the cavern, was the
+alcove containing the throne of gold.
+
+And on the throne was seated--not the diminutive, misshapen king, but
+Desiree Le Mire!
+
+She sat motionless, gazing directly at us.  Her long gold hair streamed
+over her shoulders in magnificent waves; a stiffly flowing garment of
+some unknown texture covered her limbs and the lower part of her body;
+her shoulders and breasts and arms were bare, and shone with a dazzling
+whiteness.
+
+Beside her was a smaller seat, also of gold, and on this crouched the
+form of an Inca--the king.  About them, at a respectful distance, were
+ranged attendants and guards--a hundred or more, for the alcove was of
+an impressive size.  The light from the four urns shone in upon it with
+such brightness that I could clearly distinguish the whites of
+Desiree's eyes.
+
+All this I saw in a single flash, and I turned to Harry:
+
+"Not a word, on your life!  This is Desiree's game; trust her to play
+it."
+
+"But what the deuce is she doing there?"
+
+I shrugged my shoulders.
+
+"She seems to have found another king.  You know her fondness for
+royalty."
+
+"Paul, for Heaven's sake--"
+
+"All right, Hal.  But we're safe enough, I think.  Most probably our
+introduction to court.  This is what they call 'the dizzy heights of
+prominence.' Now keep your eyes open--something is going to happen."
+
+There was a movement in the alcove.  Four of the attendants came
+forward, carrying a curious framework apparently composed of reeds and
+leather, light and flexible, from the top bar of which hung suspended
+several rope-like ribbons, of various lengths and colors and tied in
+curious knots.  They placed it on the ground before the double throne,
+at the feet of Desiree.
+
+All doubt was then removed from my mind concerning the identity of our
+captors and their king.  For these bundles of knotted cords of
+different sizes and colors I recognized at once.
+
+They were the famous Inca quipos--the material for their remarkable
+mnemonic system of communication and historical record.  At last we
+were to receive a message from the Child of the Sun.
+
+But of what nature?  Every cord and knot and color had its meaning--but
+what?  I searched every avenue of memory to assist me; for I had
+latterly confined my studies exclusively to Eastern archeology, and
+what I had known of the two great autochthonous civilizations of the
+American Continent was packed in some dim and little used corner of my
+brain.  But success came, with an extreme effort.
+
+I recollected first the different disposition of the quipos for
+different purposes--historical, sacred, narrative, et cetera.  Then the
+particulars came to me, and immediately I recognized the formula of the
+quipos before the throne.  They were arranged for adjudication--for the
+rendering of a verdict.
+
+Harry and I were prisoners before the bar of the quipos!  I turned to
+him, but there was not time for talk.  The king had risen and stretched
+out his hand.
+
+Immediately the vast assemblage rose from their stone seats and fell
+flat on their faces.  It was then that I noticed, for the first time,
+an oval or elliptical plate of shining gold set in the wall of the
+cavern just above the outer edge of the alcove.
+
+This, of course, was the representation of Pachacamac, the "unknown
+god" in the Inca religion.  Well, I would as soon worship a plate of
+gold as that little black dwarf.
+
+For perhaps a minute the king stood with outstretched arm and the Incas
+remained motionless on their faces.  Then he resumed his seat and they
+rose.  And then the trial began.
+
+The king turned on his throne and laid his hand on Desiree's arm; we
+could see her draw away from his touch with an involuntary shudder.
+But this apparent antipathy bothered his kingship not at all; it was
+probably a most agreeable sensation to feel her soft, white flesh under
+his black, hairy hand, and he kept it there, while with the other arm
+he made a series of sweeping gestures which I understood at once, but
+which had no meaning for Desiree.  By her hand he meant the quipos to
+speak.
+
+We had a friend in court, but she was dumb, and I must give her voice.
+There was no time to be lost; I stepped to the edge of the column and
+spoke in a voice loud enough to carry across the cavern--which was not
+difficult in the universal silence.
+
+"He means that you are to judge us by the quipos.  The meaning is
+this--yellow, slavery, white, mercy; purple, reward; black, death.  The
+lengths of the cords and the number of knots indicate the degree of
+punishment or reward.  Attached to the frame you will find a knife.
+With that detach the cord of judgment and lay it at the feet of the
+king."
+
+Again silence; and not one of the vast throng, nor the king himself,
+appeared to pay the slightest attention to my voice.  The king
+continued his gestures to Desiree.
+
+She rose and walked to the frame of quipos and took in her hand the
+knife which she found there suspended by a cord.  There she hesitated,
+with the knife poised in the air, while her eyes sought mine--and found
+them.
+
+I felt a tug at my arm, but I had no time for Harry then.  I was
+looking at Desiree, and what I saw caused a cold shudder to flutter
+through my body.  Not of fear; it was the utter surprise of the
+thing--its incredible horror.  To die by the hands of those hairy
+brutes was not hard, but Desiree to be the judge!
+
+For she meant death for us; I read it in her eyes.  One of the old
+stale proverbs of the stale old world was to have another
+justification.  I repeat that I was astounded, taken completely by
+surprise; and yet I had known something of "the fury of a woman
+scorned."
+
+It was as though our eyes shot out to meet each other in an embrace of
+death.  She saw that I understood and she smiled--what a smile!  It was
+triumphant, and yet sad; a vengeance, and a farewell.  She put forth
+her hand.
+
+It wavered among the quipos as though uncertainly, then closed firmly
+on the black cord of death.
+
+A thought flashed through my mind with the speed of lightning.  I
+raised my voice and sang out:
+
+"Desiree!"
+
+She hesitated; the hand which held the knife fell to her side and again
+her eyes sought mine.
+
+"What of Harry?" I called.  "Take two--the white for him, the black for
+me."
+
+She shook her head and again raised the knife; and I played my last
+card.
+
+"Bah!  Who are you?  For you are not Le Mire!" I weighted my voice with
+contempt.  "Le Mire is a child of fortune, but not of hell!"
+
+At last she spoke.
+
+"I play a fair hand, monsieur!" she cried, and her voice trembled.
+
+"With marked cards!" I exclaimed scornfully.  "The advantage is yours,
+madame; may you find pleasure in it."
+
+There was a silence, while our eyes met.  I thought I had lost.  Le
+Mire stood motionless.  Not a sound came from the audience.  I felt
+Harry pulling at my arm, but shook myself free, without taking my eyes
+from Le Mire's face.
+
+Suddenly she spoke:
+
+"You are right, my friend Paul.  I take no advantage.  Leave it to
+Fortune.  Have you a coin?"
+
+I had won my chance.  That was all--a chance--but that was better than
+nothing.  I took a silver peseta from my pocket--by luck it had not
+been lost--and held it in the air above my head.
+
+"Heads!" cried Desiree.
+
+I let the coin fall.  It rolled half-way across the top of the column
+and stopped at the very edge.  I crossed and stooped over it.  It lay
+heads up!
+
+Harry was behind me; as I straightened up I saw his white, set face and
+eyes of horror.  He, too, had seen the verdict; but he was moved not by
+that, but by the thought of Desiree, for Harry was not a man to flinch
+at sight of death.
+
+I stood straight, and my voice was calm.  It cost me an effort to clear
+it of bitterness and reproach.  I could not avoid the reflection that
+but for Desiree we would never have seen the cave of the devil and the
+Children of the Sun; but I said simply and clearly:
+
+"You win, madame."
+
+Desiree stared at me in the most profound surprise.  I understood her,
+and I laughed scornfully aloud, and held my head high; and I think a
+voice never held so complete a disdain as did mine as I called to her:
+
+"I am one who plays fair, even with death, Le Mire.  The coin fell
+heads--you win your black cord fairly."
+
+She made no sign that she had heard; she was raising the knife.
+Suddenly she stopped, again her hand fell, and she said:
+
+"You say the purple for reward, Paul?"
+
+I nodded--I could not speak.  Her hand touched the white cord and
+passed on; the yellow, and again passed on.  Then there was a flash of
+the knife--another--and she approached the king and laid at his feet
+the purple cord.
+
+Then, without a glance toward us, she resumed her seat on the golden
+throne.
+
+A lump rose to my throat and tears to my eyes.  Which was very foolish,
+for the thing had been completely theatrical.  It was merely a tribute
+from one of nature's gamblers to the man who "played fair, even with
+death"; nevertheless, there was feeling in it, and the eternal mercy of
+woman.
+
+For all that was visible to the eye the verdict made not the slightest
+impression on the rows of silent Incas.  Not a movement was seen; they
+might have been carved from the stone on which they were seated.
+
+Their black, hairy bodies, squat and thick, threw back the light from
+the flaming torches as though even those universal rays could not
+penetrate such grossness.
+
+Suddenly they rose--the king had moved.  He picked the purple cord from
+the ground, and, after passing his hand over it three times, handed it
+to an attendant who approached.
+
+Then he stretched out his hand, and the Incas, who had remained
+standing, turned about and began to disappear.  As before, the cavern
+was emptied in an incredibly short space of time; in two minutes we
+were alone with those in the alcove.
+
+There was a sound behind us.  We turned and saw a great slab of stone
+slowly slide to one side in the floor, leaving an aperture some three
+feet square.  Evidently it had been closed behind us when we had
+ascended; we had had no time to notice it then.  In this hole presently
+appeared the head and shoulders of our guide, who beckoned to us to
+follow and then disappeared below.
+
+I started to obey, but turned to wait for Harry, who was gazing at
+Desiree.  His back was toward me and I could not see his face; his eyes
+must have held an appeal, for I saw Desiree's lips part in a smile and
+heard her call:
+
+"You will see me!"
+
+Then he joined me, and we began the descent together.
+
+I found myself wondering how these half-civilized brutes had possibly
+managed to conceive the idea of the spiral stair.  It was known to
+neither the Aztecs nor the Incas, in America; nor to any of the
+primitive European or Asiatic civilizations.  But they had found a
+place where nothing else would do--and they made it.  Another of the
+innumerable offspring of Mother Necessity.
+
+I took time to note its construction.  It was rude enough, but a good
+job for all that.  It was not exactly circular; there were many angles,
+evidently following the softer strata in the rock; they had bowed to
+their material--the way of the artist.
+
+Even the height of the steps was irregular; some were scarcely more
+than three inches, while others were twelve or fourteen.  You may know
+we descended slowly and with care, especially when we had reached the
+point where no light came from above to aid us.  We found our guide
+waiting for us at the bottom, alone.
+
+We followed him down the low and narrow passage through which we had
+previously come.  But when we reached the steps which led up to the
+passage above and to the cave where we had formerly been confined, he
+ignored them and turned to the right.  We hesitated.
+
+"He's alone," said Harry.  "Shall we chuck the beggar?"
+
+"We shall not, for that very reason," I answered.  "It means that we
+are guests instead of captives, and far be it from us to outrage the
+laws of hospitality.  But seriously, the safest thing we can do is to
+follow him."
+
+The passage in which we now found ourselves was evidently no work of
+nature.  Even in the semidarkness the mark of man's hand was apparent.
+And the ceiling was low; another proof, for dwarfs do not build for the
+accommodation of giants.  But I had some faint idea of the pitiful
+inadequacy of their tools, and I found myself reflecting on the
+stupendous courage of the men who had undertaken such a task, even
+allowing for the fact that four hundred years had been allowed them for
+its completion.
+
+Soon we reached a veritable maze of these passages.  We must have taken
+a dozen or more turns, first to the right, then to the left.  I had
+been marking our way on my memory as well as possible, but I soon gave
+up the attempt as hopeless.
+
+Several times our guide turned so quickly that we could scarcely follow
+him.  When we signified by gestures our desire to go slower he seemed
+surprised; of course, he expected us to see in the dark as well as he.
+
+Then a dim light appeared, growing brighter as we advanced.  Soon I saw
+that it came through an opening in the wall to our left, which we were
+approaching.  Before the opening the guide halted, motioning us to
+enter.
+
+We did so, and found ourselves in an apartment no less than royal.
+
+Several blazing urns attached to the walls furnished the light,
+wavering but brilliant.  There were tables and rude seats, fashioned
+from the same prismatic stones which covered the column in the lake,
+and from their surfaces a thousand points of color shone dazzlingly.
+
+At one side was a long slab of granite covered with the skins of some
+animal, dry, thick, and soft.  The walls themselves were of the hardest
+granite, studded to a height of four or five feet with tiny,
+innumerable spots of gold.
+
+Harry crossed to the middle of the apartment and stood gazing curiously
+about him.  I turned to the door and looked down the outer passage in
+both directions--our guide had disappeared.
+
+"We appear to be friends of the family," said Harry with a grin.
+
+"Thanks to Desiree, yes."
+
+"Thanks to the devil!  What did she mean--what could she mean?  Was it
+one of her jokes?  For I can't believe that she would--would--"
+
+"Have sent us to death?  Well--who knows?  Yes, it may have been one of
+her jokes," I lied.
+
+For, of course, Harry knew nothing of the cause of Desiree's desire for
+revenge on me, and it would have served no good purpose to tell him.
+
+We talked for an hour or more, examining our apartment meanwhile with
+considerable curiosity.
+
+The gold excited our wonder; had it come from Huanuco four hundred
+years ago, or had they found it here in the mountain?
+
+I examined the little blocks of metal or gems with which the tables and
+seats were inlaid, but could make nothing of them.  They resembled a
+carbon formation sometimes found in quartzite, but were many times more
+brilliant than anything I had ever seen, excepting precious stones.
+
+The hides which covered the granite couch were also unknown to me; they
+were of an amazing thickness and incredibly soft.
+
+We were amusing ourselves with an attempt to pry one of the bits of
+gold from the wall when we heard a sound behind us.
+
+We turned and saw Desiree.
+
+She stood in the entrance, smiling at us as though we had been caught
+in her boudoir examining the articles on her dressing-table.  She was
+clothed as she had been on the throne; a rope girdle held her single
+garment, and her hair fell across her shoulders, reaching to her knees.
+Her arms and shoulders appeared marvelously white, but they may have
+been by way of contrast.
+
+Harry sprang across to her with a single bound.  In another moment his
+arms were round her; she barely submitted to the embrace, but she gave
+him her lips, then drew herself away and crossed to me, extending her
+hands in a sort of wavering doubt.
+
+But that was no time for hostilities, and I took the hands in my own
+and bent over them till my lips touched the soft fingers.
+
+"A visit from the queen!" I said with a smile.  "This is an honor, your
+majesty."
+
+"A doubtful one," said Desiree.  "First of all, my friend, I want to
+congratulate you on your savoir faire.  Par Bleu, that was the part of
+a man!"
+
+"But you!" cried Harry.  "What the deuce did you mean by pretending to
+play the black?  I tell you, that was a shabby trick.  Most unpleasant
+moment you gave us."
+
+Desiree sent me a quick glance; she was plainly surprised to find Harry
+in ignorance of what had passed between us that evening in the camp on
+the mountain.  Wherein she was scarcely to be blamed, for her surprise
+came from a deep knowledge of the ways of men.
+
+"I am beginning to know you, Paul," she said, looking into my eyes.
+
+"Now what's up?" demanded Harry, looking from her to me and back again.
+"For Heaven's sake, don't talk riddles.  What does that mean?"
+
+But Desiree silenced him with a gesture, placing her fingers playfully
+on his lips.  They were seated side by side on the granite couch; I
+stood in front of them, and there flitted across my memory a picture of
+that morning scene in the grounds of the Antlers at Colorado Springs,
+when Desiree and I had had our first battle.
+
+We talked; or, rather, Harry and Desiree talked, and I listened.  First
+he insisted on a recital of her experiences since her reckless dash
+into the "cave of the devil," and she was most obliging, even eager,
+for she had had no one to talk to for many days, and she was a woman.
+She found in Harry a perfect audience.
+
+Her experience had been much the same as our own.  She, too, had fallen
+down the unseen precipice into the torrent beneath.
+
+She asserted that she had been carried along by its force scarcely more
+than a quarter of an hour, and had been violently thrown upon a ledge
+of rock.  It was evident that this must have been long before the
+stream reached the lake where Harry and I had found each other, for we
+had been in the water hardly short of an hour.
+
+She had been found on the ledge by our hairy friends, who had carried
+her on their backs for many hours.  I remembered the sensations of
+Harry and myself, who were men, and together, and gave a shudder of
+sympathy as Desiree described her own horror and fear, and her one
+attempt to escape.
+
+Still the brutes had shown her no great violence, evidently recognizing
+the preciousness of their burden.  They had carried her as gently as
+possible, but had absolutely refused to allow her to walk.  At regular
+intervals they gave her an opportunity to rest, and food and water.
+
+"Dried fish?" I asked hopefully.
+
+Desiree nodded, with a most expressive grimace, and Harry burst into
+laughter.
+
+Then of the elevation to her evident authority.  Brought before the
+king, she had inspired the most profound wonder and curiosity.  Easy,
+indeed, to understand how the whiteness of her skin and the beauty of
+her form and face had awakened the keenest admiration in the breast of
+that black and hairy monarch.  He had shown her the most perfect
+respect; and she had played up to the role of goddess by displaying to
+the utmost her indifferent contempt for royalty and its favors.
+
+Here her remarks grew general and evasive, and when pressed with
+questions she refused details.  She declared that nothing had happened;
+she had been fed and fawned upon, nor been annoyed by any violence or
+unwelcome attentions.
+
+"That is really too bad," said I, with a smile.  "I was, then, mistaken
+when I said 'your majesty'?"
+
+"Faugh!" said Desiree.  "That is hardly witty.  For a time I was
+amused, but I am becoming bored.  And yet--"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I--don't--know.  They are mine, if you know what I mean.  Eh, bien,
+since you ask me--for I see the question in your eye, friend Paul--I am
+content.  If the world is behind me forever, so be it.  Yes, they are
+unattractive to the eye, but they have power.  And they worship me."
+
+"Desiree!" cried Harry in astonishment; and I was myself a little
+startled.
+
+"Why not?" she demanded.  "They are men.  And besides, it is impossible
+for us to return.  With all your cleverness, M.  Paul, can you find the
+sunlight?  To remain is a necessity; we must make the best of it; and I
+repeat that I am satisfied."
+
+"That's bally rot," said Harry, turning on her hotly.  "Satisfied?  You
+are nothing of the sort.  I'll tell you one thing--Paul and I are going
+to find our way out of this, and you are coming with us."
+
+For reply Desiree laughed at him--a laugh that plainly said, "I am my
+own mind, and obey no other." It is one of the most familiar cards of
+the woman of beauty, and the most effective.  It conquered Harry.
+
+He gazed at her for a long moment in silence, while his eyes filled
+with an expression which one man should never show to another man.  It
+is the betrayal of the masculine sex and the triumph of the feminine.
+
+Suddenly he threw himself on his knees before her and took her hands in
+his own.  She attempted to withdraw them; he clasped her about the
+waist.
+
+"Do you not love me, Desiree?" he cried, and his lips sought hers.
+
+They met; Desiree ceased to struggle.
+
+At that moment I heard a sound--the faintest sound--behind me.
+
+I turned.
+
+The king of the Incas was standing within the doorway, surveying the
+lovers with beadlike, sparkling eyes.
+
+
+
+Chapter XI.
+
+A ROYAL VISITOR.
+
+If it had not been for the manifest danger, I could have laughed aloud
+at what I read in the eyes of the king.  Was it not supremely
+ridiculous for Desiree Le Mire, who had been sought after by the great
+and the wealthy and the powerful of all Europe, to be regarded with
+desire by that ugly dwarf?  And it was there, unmistakably.
+
+I sang out a sharp warning, but it was unnecessary; Desiree had already
+caught sight of the royal visitor.  She pushed Harry from her bodily.
+He sprang to his feet in angry surprise; then, enlightened by the
+confusion in her face, turned quickly and swore as he, too, saw the
+intruder.
+
+How critical the situation was I did not know, despite Desiree's
+assertions.  His eyes were human and easily read; they held jealousy;
+and when power is jealous there is danger.
+
+But Desiree proved herself equal to the occasion.  She remained seated
+on the granite couch for a long minute without moving; confusion left
+her eyes as she gazed at us apparently with the utmost composure; but I
+who knew her could see that her brain was working with the rapidity of
+lightning.  Then her glance passed to the figure at the doorway, and
+with a gesture commanding and truly royal in its simplicity, she held
+her hand forth, palm down, to the Inca king.
+
+Like an obedient trained monkey he trotted across the intervening
+space, grasped her soft white hand in his monstrous paw, and touched
+his lips to her fingers.
+
+That was all, but it spoke volumes to one who could divine the springs
+of action.  I remember that at the time there shot through my mind a
+story I had heard concerning Desiree in Paris.  The Duke of Bellarmine,
+then her protector, had one evening entered her splendid apartment on
+the Rue Jonteur--furnished, of course, by himself--and had found his
+divinity entertaining one Jules Chavot, a young and beautiful poet.
+Whereupon he had launched forth into the most bitter reproaches and
+scornful denunciations.
+
+"Monsieur," Desiree had said, with the look of a queen outraged, when
+he had finished, "you are annoying.  Little Chavot amuses me.  You are
+aware that I never refuse myself anything which I consider necessary to
+my amusement, and just now I find you very dull."
+
+And the noble duke, conquered by that glance of fire and those terrible
+words, had retired with humble apologies, after receiving a gracious
+permission to call on the following day!
+
+In short, Desiree was irresistible; the subjection of the Inca king was
+but another of her triumphs, and not the most remarkable.
+
+And then I looked at Harry, and was aware of a new danger.  He was
+glaring at the Inca with eyes which told their own story of the fire
+within, and which were waiting only for suspicion to become certainty.
+I called to him:
+
+"Harry!  Hold fast!"
+
+He glanced at me, gave a short laugh, and nodded.
+
+Then came Desiree's voice, in a low tone of warning:
+
+"On your knees!"
+
+Her meaning was clear; it was to us she spoke.  The king had turned
+from her and was regarding us steadily with eyes so nearly closed that
+their meaning was impenetrable.  Harry and I glanced at each other and
+remained standing.  Then Desiree's voice again:
+
+"Harry!  If you love me!"
+
+It was the appeal to a child; but love is young.  Immediately Harry
+dropped to his knees, facing the king; and I followed him, wondering at
+myself.  To this day I do not know what the compelling force was that
+pulled me down.  Was it another instance of the power of Desiree?
+
+For perhaps a minute we remained motionless on our knees while the king
+stood gazing at us, it seemed to me with an air of doubt.  Then slowly,
+and with a gait that smacked of majesty despite his ungainly appearance
+and diminutive stature, he stalked across to the doorway and
+disappeared in the corridor without.
+
+Harry and I looked at each other, kneeling like two heathen idols, and
+burst into unrestrained laughter.  But with it was mixed a portion of
+anger, and I turned to Desiree.
+
+"In the name of Heaven, was that necessary?"
+
+"You do it very prettily," said she, with a smile.
+
+"That is well, but I don't care to repeat it.  Harry, for the sake of
+my dignity, employ a little discretion.  And what do you suppose the
+beggar will do about it?"
+
+"Nothing," said Desiree, shrugging her shoulders.  "Only he must be
+pacified.  I must go.  I wonder if you know you are lodged in the royal
+apartments?  His majesty's room--he has but one--is in the corridor to
+the left of this.
+
+"Mine is on the right--and he is probably stamping the place to pieces
+at this moment." She left the granite couch and advanced half way to
+the door.  "Au revoir, messieurs.  Till later--I shall come to see you."
+
+The next moment she was gone.
+
+Harry and I, left alone, had enough to think and talk about, but there
+was ten minutes of silence before we spoke.  I sat on one of the stone
+seats, wondering what the result would be--if any--of the king's visit
+and his discovery.
+
+Harry paced up and down the length of the apartment with lowered head.
+Presently he spoke abruptly:
+
+"Paul, I want to know exactly what you think of our chances for getting
+out of this."
+
+"Why--" I hesitated.  "Harry, I don't know."
+
+"But you've thought about it, and you know something about these
+things.  What do you think?"
+
+"Well, I think they are slim."
+
+"What are they?"
+
+"Nothing less than miracles.  There are just two.  First--and I've
+spoken of this before--we might find an underground stream that would
+carry us to the western slope."
+
+"That is impossible--at least, for Desiree.  And the second?"
+
+"Nature herself.  She plays queer tricks in the Andes.  She might turn
+the mountain upside down, in which case we would find ourselves on top.
+Seriously, the formation here is such that almost anything is possible.
+Upheavals of vast masses of rock are of ordinary occurrence.  A passage
+might be opened in that way to one of the lower peaks.
+
+"We are surrounded by layers of limestone, granite, and quartzite,
+which are of marked difference both in the quality of hardness and in
+their ability to withstand the attacks of time.  When one finds itself
+unable to support the other, something happens."
+
+"But it might not happen for a hundred years."
+
+"Or never," I agreed.
+
+Again silence.  Harry stood gazing at one of the flaming urns, buried
+in thought--easy to guess of what nature.  I did not think fit to
+disturb him, till presently he spoke again.
+
+"What do you suppose that ugly devil will do about--what he saw in
+here?"
+
+I smiled.  "Nothing."
+
+"But if he should?  We are helpless."
+
+"Trust Desiree.  It's true that she can't even talk to him, but she'll
+manage him somehow.  You saw what happened just now."
+
+"But the creature is no better than a dumb brute.  He is capable of
+anything.  I tell you, we ought to get her away from here."
+
+"To starve?"
+
+"And we're none too safe ourselves.  As for starving, we could carry
+enough of their darned fish to last a year.  And one thing is sure: we
+won't get back to New York lying round here waiting for something to
+turn up--even a mountain."
+
+"What do you want to do?"
+
+"Clear out.  Get Desiree away from that ugly brute.  If we only had our
+knives!"
+
+"Where would we go?"
+
+In that question was the whole matter.  To escape with Desiree was
+possible--but then what?  We knew by experience what it meant to wander
+hopelessly about in the darkness of those desolate caverns, without
+food, and depending on Providence for water.  Neither of us cared to
+repeat that trial, especially with the added difficulty of a woman to
+care for.  But what to do?
+
+We decided to wait for the future, and in the mean time lay in a supply
+of provisions, and, if possible, devise some sort of weapons.
+
+It is worth remarking here that the Incas, so far as we had seen, used
+no weapons whatever.  This was most probably the result of their total
+isolation and consequent freedom from foreign hostility.
+
+In the matter of food we were soon to receive an agreeable surprise.
+It was about an hour after Desiree had left us that the royal
+steward--I give him the title on my own responsibility--arrived, with
+pots and pans on a huge tray.
+
+In the first place, the pots and pans were of solid gold.  Harry stared
+in amazement as they were placed in brilliant array on one of the stone
+tables; and when we essayed to lift the empty tray from another table
+on which it had been placed we understood why the steward had found it
+necessary to bring four assistants along as cup-bearers.
+
+There was a king's ransom on that table, in sober truth, for there
+could be no doubt but that this was part of the gold which had been
+carried from Huanuco when it had been demanded by Pizarro as payment
+for the life of Atahualpa.
+
+But better even than the service was that which it contained.  It may
+not have been such as would enhance the reputation of a French chef,
+but to us then it seemed that the culinary art could go no farther.
+
+There was a large platter; Harry lifted its cover in an ecstasy of
+hope; but the next instant his face fell ludicrously.
+
+"Our old friend, Mr. Dried Fish," he announced sadly, and gave it up.
+
+Then I tried my luck, and with better success.
+
+First I uncovered a dish of stew, steaming hot!  To be sure, it was
+fish, but it was hot.  Then a curious, brittle kind of bread; I call it
+that, though on trial it appeared to be made from the roe of some kind
+of fish.  Also there was some excellent fish-soup, also hot, and quite
+delicious.
+
+Four hundred years of development had taught the royal chefs to prepare
+fish in so many different ways that we almost failed to recognize them
+as of the same family.
+
+"Couldn't be better," said Harry, helping himself liberally to the
+stew.  "We can eat this, and cache the dried stuff.  We'll have enough
+for an army in a week."
+
+"As for me, I saw before me the raw material for our weapons.  When we
+had emptied the golden platter that held our bread," I secreted it
+under the cover of the granite couch.  When the serving-men called to
+remove the dishes they apparently did not notice its absence.  So far,
+success.
+
+Some hours later Desiree paid us a second call.  She appeared to be in
+the gayest of spirits, and I eyed her curiously from a seat in the
+corner as she and Harry sat side by side, chatting for all the world as
+though they had been in her own Paris drawing-room.
+
+Was it possible that she was really satisfied, as she had said?  What
+imaginable food could these black dwarfs find to appease her tremendous
+vanity?  Or was she merely living the motto of the French philosopher?
+
+Harry was demanding that he be allowed to visit her apartment; this she
+refused, saying that if he were found there by the king nothing could
+avert a catastrophe.  Harry's brow grew black; I could see his effort
+to choke back his anger.  Then Desiree led him away from the topic, and
+soon they were both again laughing merrily.
+
+Some forty-eight hours passed; in that perpetual blackness there was no
+such thing as day.  We saw no one save Desiree and the serving men.
+Once a messenger appeared carrying a bundle of quipos; I was able to
+decipher their meaning sufficiently to understand that we were invited
+to some religious ceremony in the great cavern.  But I thought it
+injudicious to allow a meeting between Harry and the king, and returned
+a polite refusal.
+
+It may be of interest to some to know the method, which was extremely
+simple, as in ordinary communications the quipos are easy to read.  I
+removed two knots from the white cord--the sign of affirmative--and
+placed two additional ones on the black cord--the sign of negative.
+Then on the yellow cord--the sign of the Child of the Sun and
+submission to him--I tied two more knots to show that our refusal meant
+no lack of respect to their deity.
+
+Which, by the way, was not a little curious.
+
+Here were the descendants of the subjects of Manco-Capac, himself a son
+of the orb of day, still holding to their worship of the sun, though
+they had not seen its light for four centuries.  Deserted by their god,
+they did not abandon him; an example from which the followers of
+another and more "civilized" religion might learn something of the
+potency of faith.
+
+But to the story.
+
+As I say, I was anxious to avoid a meeting between Harry and the king,
+and subsequent events proved my wisdom.  Harry was acting in a manner
+quite amazing; it was impossible for me to mention the king even in
+jest without him flying into a violent temper.
+
+As I look back now I am not surprised; for our harrowing experiences
+and the hopelessness of our situation and the wilfulness of Desiree
+were enough, Heaven knows, to jerk his nerves; but at the time I
+regarded his actions as those of a thoughtless fool, and told him so,
+thinking to divert his anger to myself.  He took no notice of me.
+
+We were left entirely to ourselves.  At regular intervals our food was
+brought to us, and within a week we had accumulated a large supply of
+the dried fish against necessity, besides my collection of six golden
+platters, of which more later.
+
+Once in about twenty-four hours two Incas, who appeared to be our
+personal attendants--for we were actually able to recognize them after
+half a dozen visits--arrived to perform the offices of chambermaid and
+valet.  The floor of the apartment was scrubbed, the urns refilled with
+oil, and the skin cover of the granite couch was changed.  It seemed
+that another belief--in cleanliness--had refused to be dislodged from
+the Inca breast.
+
+When I managed, by dint of violent and expressive gestures, to convey
+to our valet the idea that we desired a bath, he led us down the
+corridor some two hundred feet to a stream of cool running water.  We
+took advantage of the opportunity to scrub our clothing, which was
+sadly in need of the operation.
+
+I had early made an examination of the urns which furnished our light.
+They were of gold and perfect in form, which convinced me that they had
+been brought by the fugitives from Huanuco, as, indeed, the quipos
+also, and several other articles we found, including our golden table
+service.
+
+The urns were filled with an oil which I was unable to recognize.
+There was no wick, but round the rim or lip of each was set a broad
+ring carved of stone, which made the opening at the top only about two
+inches in diameter.  Through this the flame arose to a height of about
+two feet.
+
+Of smoke there was none, or very little, a circumstance which was
+inexplicable, as there seemed to be no possibility of the generation of
+gas within so small space.  But the oil itself was strange to me, and
+its properties may be charged to nature.
+
+As I say, I had collected six of the golden platters, one at a time.
+Together they weighed about twenty pounds--for they were small and
+rather thin--which was near the amount required for my purpose.  I
+explained the thing to Harry, and we set to work.
+
+We first procured a vessel of granite from the attendant on some
+pretext or other--this for melting the gold.  Then we pried a slab of
+limestone from a corner of one of the seats; luckily for us it was very
+soft, having been selected by the Incas for the purpose of inserting in
+its face the crystal prisms.  Then we procured a dozen or more of the
+prisms themselves, and, using them as chisels, and small blocks of
+granite as hammers, set to work at the block of limestone.
+
+It was slow work, but we finally succeeded in hollowing out a groove in
+its surface about eighteen inches long and two inches deep.  That was
+our mold.
+
+Then to melt the golden platters.  We took four of the urns, placing
+them in a group on the floor, and just at the tip of the flames placed
+the granite vessel, supported by four blocks of stone which we pried
+loose from one of the seats.  In the vessel we placed the golden
+platters.
+
+But we found, after several hours, that we did not have sufficient
+heat--or rather that the vessel was too thick to transmit it.  And
+again we set to work with our improvised chisels and hammers, to shave
+off its sides and bottom.  That was more difficult and required many
+hours for completion.
+
+Finally, with the profane portion of our vocabularies completely
+exhausted and rendered meaningless by repetition, and with bruised and
+bleeding hands, we again arranged our furnace and sat down to wait.  We
+had waited until the dishes from our dinner had been removed, and we
+were fairly certain to be alone for several hours.
+
+Finally the gold was melted, stubbornly but surely.  We took the thick
+hide cover from the couch and, one on each side, lifted the vessel of
+liquid metal and filled our mold.  In an hour it was hardened into a
+bar the shape of a half-cylinder.  We removed it and poured in the
+remainder of the gold.
+
+It would appear that the gain was hardly worth the pains, and I admit
+it.  But at the least I had kept Harry occupied with something besides
+his amatory troubles, and at the best we had two heavy, easily handled
+bars of metal that would prove most effective weapons against foes who
+had none whatever.
+
+We had just removed the traces of our work as completely as possible
+and secreted the clubs of yellow metal in a corner of the apartment
+when the sound of pattering footsteps came from the corridor.
+
+Harry gave me a quick glance; I moved between him and the door.  But it
+was Desiree.
+
+She entered the room hurriedly and crossed to the farther side, then
+turned to face the door.  Her cheeks were glowing brightly, her eyes
+flashed fire, and her breast heaved with unwonted agitation.  Before
+either she or I had time to speak Harry had sprung to her side and
+grasped her arm.
+
+"What has he done now?" he demanded in a tone scarcely audible in its
+intensity.
+
+"I--don't--know," said Desiree without removing her eyes from the door.
+"Let me go, Harry; let me sit down.  Paul!  Ah!  I was afraid."
+
+"For us?" I asked.
+
+"Yes--partly.  The brute!  But then, he is human, and that is his way.
+And you--I was right--you should have gone to the Cave of the Sun when
+he required your presence."
+
+"But it was merely an invitation.  Cannot one refuse an invitation?" I
+protested.
+
+"But, my dear Paul, the creature is royal--his invitations are
+commands."
+
+"Well, we were busy, and we've already seen the Cave of the Sun."
+
+"Still it was an error, and I think you will pay for it.  There have
+been unusual preparations under way for many hours.  The king has been
+in my apartment, and messengers and guards have been arriving
+constantly, each with his little bundle of quipos, as you call them."
+
+"Did you see the quipos?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Did any of them contain a red cord, suspended alone, with a single
+knot at either end?"
+
+"Yes, all of them," said Desiree without an instant's hesitation.
+
+"That means Harry and me," I observed.  "But the message!  Can you
+remember any of them?"
+
+She tried, but without success.  Which will not surprise any one who
+has ever seen the collection at the museum at Lima.
+
+Then Harry broke in:
+
+"Something else has happened, Desiree.  No bunch of cords tied in silly
+knots ever made you look as you did just now.  What was it?"
+
+"Nothing--nothing, Harry."
+
+"I say yes!  And I want to know!  And if it's what I think it is we're
+going to clear out of here now!"
+
+"As though we could!"
+
+"We can!  We have enough provisions to last for weeks.  And see here,"
+he ran to the corner where he had hidden the golden clubs and returned
+with them in his hands, "with these we could make our way through them
+all.  Tell me!"
+
+There was a strange smile on Desiree's lips.
+
+"And so you would fight for me, Harry?" she said half-wistfully,
+half--I know not what.  Then she continued in a tone low but quite
+distinct: "Well, it is too late.  I am the king's."
+
+She lied--I saw it in her eyes.  Perhaps she meant to save Harry from
+his folly, to quiet him by the knowledge that he need not fight for
+what was no longer his own; but she was mistaken in her man.
+
+Harry did not stop to read her eyes--he heard her words.  He took two
+slow steps backward, then stood quite still, while his face grew deadly
+white and his eyes were fastened on hers with a look that made me turn
+my own away.  His soul looked out from them--how he loved the
+woman--and I could not bear it!
+
+Nor, after a moment, could Desiree.  She took a step forward, extending
+her arms to him and cried out:
+
+"Harry!  No!  It was a lie, Harry!  Don't--don't!"
+
+And they gazed at each other, and I at Desiree, and thus we were
+unaware that a fourth person had entered the room, until he had crossed
+its full length and stood before me.  It was the Inca king.
+
+I took no time for thought, but jumped straight for Harry and threw my
+arms round him, dragging him back half-way across the room.  Taken
+completely by surprise, he did not struggle.  I noticed that he still
+held in his hands the bars of gold he had shown to Desiree.
+
+The king regarded us for a second with a scowl, then turned to her.
+
+She stood erect, with flashing eyes.  The king approached; she held out
+her hand to him with an indescribable gesture of dignity.
+
+For a moment he looked at her, then his lips curled in an ugly snarl,
+and, dashing her hand aside, he leaped forward in swift fury and
+grasped her white throat with his fingers.
+
+There was a strangled scream from Desiree, a frantic cry from
+Harry--and the next instant he had torn himself free from my arms,
+dropping the bars of gold at my feet.
+
+A single bound and he was across the room; a single blow with his fist
+and the king of the Incas dropped senseless to the floor.
+
+
+
+Chapter XII.
+
+AT THE DOOR.
+
+Desiree shrank back against the wall, covering her face with her hands.
+Harry stood above the prostrate figure of the king, panting and furious.
+
+As for me, I gave no thought to what had been done--the imminent peril
+of the situation possessed my mind and stung my brain to action.
+
+I ran to the figure on the floor and bent over him.  There was no
+movement--his eyes were closed.  Calling to Harry to watch the corridor
+without, I quickly tore my woolen jacket into strips--my fingers seemed
+to be made of steel--and bound the wrists and ankles of the Inca
+firmly, trussing him up behind.
+
+Then with another strip I gagged him, thinking it best to err on the
+side of prudence.  In another moment I had dragged him to the corner of
+the room behind the granite couch and covered him with its hide-cover.
+
+Then I turned to Harry:
+
+"Is the coast clear?"
+
+"Yes," he answered from the doorway.
+
+"Then here--quick, man!  Get the clubs and the grub.  Desiree--come!
+There's not a second to lose."
+
+"But, Paul--" she began; then, seeing the utter folly of any other
+course than instant flight, she sprang to Harry's side to assist him
+with the bundles of provisions.
+
+There was more than we could carry.  Harry and I each took a bundle
+under our left arm, carrying the clubs in the other hand.  Desiree
+attempted to take two bundles, but they were too heavy for her, and she
+was forced to drop one.
+
+With a last hasty glance at the motionless heap in the corner we
+started, Harry leading and myself in the rear, with Desiree between us.
+
+But it was not to be so easy.  We were nearly to the door when there
+came a grating, rumbling sound from above, and a huge block of granite
+dropped squarely across the doorway with a crash that made the ground
+tremble beneath our feet.
+
+Stupefied, we realized in a flash that the cunning of the Incas had
+proved too much for us.  Harry and I ran forward, but only to invite
+despair; the doorway was completely covered by the massive rock, an
+impenetrable curtain of stone weighing many tons, and on neither side
+was there an opening more than an inch wide.  We were imprisoned beyond
+all hope of escape.
+
+We stood stunned; Desiree even made no sound, but gazed at the blocked
+doorway in a sort of stupid wonder.  It was one of those sudden and
+overwhelming catastrophes that deprive us for a moment of all power to
+reason or even to realize.
+
+Then Harry said quietly:
+
+"Well, the game's up."
+
+And Desiree turned to me with the calm observation:
+
+"They must have been watching us.  We were fools not to have known it."
+
+"Impossible!" Harry asserted; but I agreed with Desiree; and though I
+could see no opening or crevice of any sort in the walls or ceiling, I
+was convinced that even then the eyes of the Incas were upon us.
+
+Our situation was indeed desperate.  With our every movement spied
+upon, surrounded by four solid walls of stone, and beyond them ten
+thousand savage brutes waiting to tear us to pieces--what wildest fancy
+could indulge in hope?
+
+Then, glancing up, my eye was arrested by the heap under the cover in
+the corner.  There, in the person of the Inca king, lay our only
+advantage.  But how could we use it?
+
+Desiree's voice came in the calm tones of despair:
+
+"We are lost."
+
+Harry crossed to her and took her in his arms.
+
+"I thank Heaven," he said, "that you are with us." Then he turned to
+me: "I believe it is for the best, Paul.  There never was a chance for
+us; we may as well say it now.  And it is better to die here, together,
+than--the other way."
+
+I smiled at his philosophy, knowing its source.  It came not from his
+own head, but from Desiree's arms.  But it was truth.
+
+We sat silent.  The thing was beyond discussion; too elemental to need
+speech for its explanation or understanding.  I believe it was not
+despair that kept back our words, but merely the dumb realization that
+where all hope is gone words are useless--worse, a mockery.
+
+Finally I crossed the room and removed the cover from the body of the
+Child of the Sun.  He had recovered consciousness; his little wicked
+eyes gleamed up at me with an expression that would have been
+terrifying in the intensity of its malignant hatred if he had not been
+utterly helpless.  I turned to Harry:
+
+"What are we going to do with him?"
+
+"By Jove, I had forgotten!" exclaimed the lad.  "Paul, perhaps if we
+could communicate with them--" He stopped, glancing at the closed
+doorway; then added: "But it's impossible."
+
+"I believe it is possible," I contradicted.  "If the Incas were able to
+lower that stone at any moment you may be sure they are prepared to
+raise it.  How, Heaven only knows; but the fact is certain.  Do you
+think they would have condemned their precious king to starvation?"
+
+"Then the king can save us!"
+
+"And how?"
+
+"Our lives for his.  We'll give him nothing to eat, and if, as you say,
+they have some way of watching us, they'll be forced to negotiate.  You
+can talk with the quipos, and tell them that unless they give us our
+freedom and let us go in safety they'll have a dead king.  From the way
+they seem to worship him they'd come through in a minute."
+
+"Oh, they'd promise, all right," I agreed; "but how could we hold them
+to it?"
+
+"Well, a promise is a promise.  And it's our only chance."
+
+"No, Harry; to trust them would be folly.  The minute we stepped
+through that doorway they would be on us--the whole beggarly, smelly
+lot of them."
+
+"Then there is no chance--none whatever?" put in Desiree.
+
+"None.  We may as well admit the worst.  And the worst is best for us
+now.  Really, we are in luck; we die in our own way and at our own
+time.  But there is one difficulty."
+
+Then, in answer to their glances of inquiry, I added significantly: "We
+have no weapons.  We cannot allow ourselves to starve--the end must
+come before that, for as soon as they saw us weakening we would be at
+their mercy."
+
+There was comprehension and horror in Desiree's eyes, but she looked at
+me with a brave attempt to smile as she took from her hair something
+which gleamed and shone in the light from the flaming urns.  It was a
+tiny steel blade with a handle of pearl studded with diamonds.
+
+I had seen it before many times--a present, Desiree had told me, from
+the young man I had seen in the royal coach on that day in Madrid when
+I had first heard the name of Le Mire.
+
+"Will that do?" she asked calmly, holding it out to me with a firm hand.
+
+Brave Le Mire!  I took the dagger and placed it in my pocket, and,
+looking at Harry, exchanged with him a nod of understanding.  No words
+were necessary.
+
+"But I must confess I am a coward," said Desiree.  "When the time comes
+I--I could not bear to see--to wait--"
+
+I looked at her and said simply: "You shall be first," and she gave me
+a smile of thanks that spoke of a heart that would not fail when the
+final moment arrived.  And in my admiration of her high courage I
+forgot the horror of the task that must be mine.
+
+It was a relief to have admitted the worst and discussed it calmly;
+there is no torment like suspense, and ours was at an end.  A load was
+lifted from our hearts, and a quiet sympathy created between us,
+sincere as death itself.  And it was in our power to choose for
+ourselves the final moment--we were yet masters of our fates.
+
+All action seems useless when hope is dead, but certain things needed
+to be done, and Harry and I bestirred ourselves.  We extinguished the
+flame in all the urns but one to save the oil, not caring to depart in
+darkness.
+
+Our supply of water, we found, was quite sufficient to last for several
+days, if used sparingly; for we intended to support life so long as we
+had the fuel.  Then responsibility ceases; man has a right to hasten
+that which fortune has made inevitable.
+
+The hours passed by.
+
+We talked very little; at times Desiree and Harry conversed in subdued
+tones which I did not overhear; I was engaged with my own thoughts.
+And they were not unpleasant; if, looking death in the face, a man can
+preserve his philosophy unchanged, he has made the only success in life
+that is worth while.
+
+We ate and drank, but gave neither water nor food to our fellow
+prisoner.  Not because I really expected to force negotiations with the
+Incas--but the thing was possible and was worth a trial.  I knew them
+well enough to appraise correctly the value of any safe-conduct they
+might give us.
+
+I was a little surprised to find in Desiree no levity, the vulgar prop
+for courage based on ignorance.  There was a tenderness in her manner,
+especially toward Harry, that spoke of something deeper and awoke in my
+own breast a deeper respect for her.  The world had not known Desiree
+Le Mire--it had merely been fascinated and amused by her.
+
+Many hours had passed in this tomblike apathy.  Two or three times I
+had advised Desiree to lie down to rest and, if possible, to sleep.
+She had refused, but I became insistent, and Harry added his voice to
+my own.  Then, to please us, she consented; we arranged the cover on
+the granite couch and made her as comfortable as possible.
+
+In five minutes she was fast asleep.  Harry stood a few feet away from
+the couch, looking down at her.  I spoke to him, in a low tone:
+
+"And you must rest too, Hal.  One of us must remain on watch; I'll take
+it first and call you when I feel drowsy.  It may be a needless
+precaution, but I don't care to wake up and find myself in the
+condition of our friend yonder."
+
+He wanted to take the first watch himself, but I insisted, and he
+arranged our ponchos on the ground, and soon he too was sleeping easily
+and profoundly.  I looked from him to Desiree with a smile, and
+reflection that Socrates himself could not have met misfortune with
+more sublime composure.
+
+It was possible that the stone curtain across the doorway could be
+raised noiselessly, and that made it necessary to keep my eyes fastened
+on it almost continuously.  This became irksome; besides, twice I awoke
+to the fact that my thoughts had carried me so far away from my
+surroundings that the stone could have been raised to the roof and I
+would not have noticed it.
+
+So, using my jacket for a cushion, I seated myself on the ground in the
+threshold, leaning my back against the stone, and gave myself up to
+meditation.
+
+I had sat thus for three hours or more, and was thinking of calling
+Harry to relieve me, when I felt a movement at my back.  I turned
+quickly and saw that the stone was moving upward.
+
+Slowly it rose, by little frequent jerks, not more than an eighth of an
+inch at a time.  In fifteen minutes it was only about four inches from
+the ground.  There was no sound save a faint grating noise from above.
+
+I stood several feet away, holding one of the golden clubs in my hand,
+thinking it unnecessary to rouse Harry until the space was wide enough
+to cause apprehension.  Or rather, because I had no fear of an
+assault--I was convinced that our ruse had succeeded, and that they
+were about to communicate with us by means of the quipos.
+
+The stone was raised a little over a foot, then became stationary.  I
+waited, expecting to see a bundle of quipos thrust through the opening,
+but they did not appear.
+
+Instead, five golden vessels were pushed across the ground until they
+were inside, clear of the stone; I could see the black, hairy hands and
+arms, which were immediately withdrawn.
+
+Then the granite curtain fell with a crash that caused me to start with
+its suddenness and awakened both Harry and Desiree.
+
+Two of the vessels contained water, two oil, and the other dried fish.
+Harry, who had sprung to his feet excitedly, grumbled in disgust.
+
+"At least, they might have sent us some soup.  But what's their idea?"
+
+"It means that Desiree was right," I observed.  "They have some way of
+watching us.  And, seeing that we refused to provide their beloved
+monarch with provender, they have sent him an allowance from the
+pantry."
+
+Harry grinned.
+
+"Will he get it?"
+
+"Hardly," said I with emphasis.  "We'll make 'em treat with us if it's
+only to observe their diplomacy.  There'll be a message from them
+within twenty-four hours.  You'll see."
+
+"Anyway, we know now that they can raise that stone whenever they feel
+like it.  But in the name of Archimedes, how?"
+
+He advanced to the doorway and examined the block of granite curiously,
+but there was no clue to its weight or thickness from the inside.  I
+explained that there were several ways by which the thing could be
+raised, but that the most probable one was by means of a rolling
+pulley, which required merely some rounded stones and a flat surface
+above, with ropes of hide for stays.
+
+It had been several hours since we had last eaten, and we decided to at
+once convey to the spies without our intentions concerning our
+prisoner.  So we regaled ourselves with dried fish and water, taking
+care not to approach the king, who had rolled over on his side and lay
+facing us, looking for all the world, in the dim light, like a black
+dog crouched on the floor.
+
+Harry relieved me at my post against the door, and I lay down to sleep.
+Desiree had seated herself beside him, and the low tones of their
+voices came to me as I lay on the couch (which Desiree had insisted I
+should occupy) in an indistinct, musical murmur.  This for perhaps ten
+minutes; then I slept.
+
+That became our routine.  During the many weary hours that followed
+there was never a moment when one of us was not seated with his back
+against the stone across the doorway; we dared not trust our eyes.
+Usually Harry and Desiree watched together, and, when I relieved them,
+slept side by side on the couch.
+
+Sometimes, when we were all awake, Desiree was left on guard alone; but
+Harry and I were never both asleep at the same time.
+
+An estimate of the time we spent thus would be the wildest guess, for
+time was heavy and passed on leaden feet.  But I should say we had been
+imprisoned for something like four days, possibly five, when the
+monotony came to an abrupt end.
+
+I had come off watch, and Harry and Desiree had taken my place.  Before
+I lay down I had taken some water to the prisoner, for we had some time
+before admitted the necessity of giving him drink.  But of food he had
+had none.
+
+Harry told me afterward that I had slept for two or three hours, but it
+seemed to me rather as many minutes, when I was awakened by the sound
+of his voice calling my name.  Glancing at the doorway, I sprang to my
+feet.
+
+The stone was slowly rising from the floor; already there was a space
+of a foot or more.  Desiree and Harry stood facing it in silence.
+
+"You have seen nothing?" I asked, joining them.
+
+"Nothing," said Harry.  "Here, take one of these clubs.  Something's
+up."
+
+"Of course--the stone," I observed facetiously, yawning.  "Probably
+nothing more important than a bundle of quipos.  Lord, I'm sleepy!"
+
+Still the stone moved upward, very slowly.  It reached a height of two
+feet, yet did not halt.
+
+"This is no quipos" said Harry, "or if it is, they must be going to
+send us in a whole library.  Six inches would have been enough for
+that."
+
+I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ever-widening space at our feet.
+
+"This means business, Hal.  Stand ready with your club.  Desiree, go to
+the further corner, behind that seat."
+
+She refused; I insisted; she stamped her foot in anger.
+
+"Do you think I'm a child, to run and hide?" she demanded obstinately.
+
+I wasted no time in argument.
+
+"You will go", I said sternly, "or I shall carry you and tie you.  This
+is not play.  We must have room and know that you are safe."
+
+To my surprise, she made no reply, but quietly obeyed.  Then, struck by
+a sudden thought, I crossed to where she stood behind a stone seat in
+the corner.
+
+"Here," I said in a low tone, taking the little jeweled dagger from my
+pocket and holding it out to her, "in case--"
+
+"I understand," she said simply, and her hand closed over the hilt.
+
+By that time the stone was half-way to the top of the doorway, leaving
+a space over three feet high, and was still rising.  I stood on one
+side and Harry on the other, not caring to expose ourselves immediately
+in front.
+
+Suddenly he left his post and ran to one of the stone seats and began
+prying at the blocks of granite.  I saw at once his intention and our
+mistake; we should have long before barricaded the door on the inside.
+But it was too late now; I knew from experience the difficulty of
+loosening those firmly wedged blocks, and I called out:
+
+"No good, Hal.  We were fools not to have thought of it before, but
+there is no time for it now.  Come back; I couldn't stop 'em alone."
+
+Nevertheless, he continued his exertions, and succeeded in getting one
+of the blocks partially free; but by that time the doorway was almost
+completely uncovered, and he saw the folly of attempting further.
+
+He resumed his post on the right of the door--I was on the left.
+
+The stone appeared to be going faster.  It reached the top--passed
+it--and quickly swung in toward the wall and disappeared, probably to
+rest on a ledge above.
+
+We stood waiting, tense and alert.  The open doorway gaped on the
+black, empty corridor, into which the light from our single urn shone
+dimly.  We could see or hear nothing, no indication that any one was in
+the passage, but we dared not look out in that darkness.  The suspense
+was trying enough; Harry ripped out an impatient oath and made a
+movement as though to step in the entrance, but I waved him back.
+
+Then came the avalanche, with a suddenness and fury that nigh
+overwhelmed us.
+
+Crouching, rushing forms filled the doorway from both directions and
+leaped savagely at us.  After so many weary days of dull inaction and
+helpless, hopeless apathy, a mad joy fired my brain and thrilled my
+heart as I raised my club on high and struck a blow for freedom and
+life.
+
+That blow crushed the skull of one whose fingers were at my throat, and
+he dropped like a log at my feet; but his place was already filled.
+Again I swung the club; another swayed, toppling against the doorway
+and leaning there with the blood streaming from his broken head, quite
+dead, but held erect by the pressure of his fellows from behind.
+
+If the doorway had been but a foot wider we would have been overwhelmed
+almost instantly.  As it was, but three or four could get to us at
+once, and they found the gold which their ancestors had carried from
+the temples of Huanuco waiting for them.  My arm seemed to have the
+strength of a hundred arms; it swung the heavy club as though it had
+been a feather, and with deadly accuracy.
+
+Harry fought like a demon.  I think I did all that a man could do, but
+he did more, and withal more coolly.  I brought down my club on heads,
+shoulders, chests, and rarely failed to get my man.
+
+But the impact of Harry's blows was like the popping of a Maxim.  I saw
+him reach over and grasp the throat of one who had his teeth set in my
+shoulder, and, holding him straight before him with his arm extended,
+break his neck with one blow.  Again, his club descended on one black
+skull with a glancing blow and shot off to the head of another with the
+force of a sledge-hammer.
+
+At the time I did not know that I saw these things; it was all one
+writhing, struggling, bloody horror; but afterward the eyes of memory
+showed them to me.
+
+Still they came.  My arm rose and fell seemingly without order from the
+brain; I was not conscious that it moved.  It seemed to me that ever
+since the beginning of time I had stood in that butcher's doorway and
+brought down that bar of gold on thick, black skulls and distorted,
+grinning faces.  But they would not disappear.  One fell; another took
+his place; and another, and another, and another.
+
+The bodies of those who fell were dragged away from underneath.  I did
+not see it, but it must have been so, or soon we would have raised our
+own barricade for defense--a barricade of flesh.  And there was none.
+
+I began to weaken, and Harry saw it, for he gasped out: "Steady--Paul.
+Take it--easy.  They can't--last--forever."
+
+His blows were redoubled in fury as he moved closer to me, taking more
+than his share of the attack, so that I almost had time to breathe.
+
+But we could not have held out much longer.  My brain was whirling
+madly and a weight of a thousand tons seemed dragging me remorselessly,
+inevitably to the ground.  I kept my feet through the force of some
+crazy instinct, for will and reason were gone.
+
+And then, for an instant, Harry's eyes met mine, and I read in them
+what neither of us could say, nor would.  With the fury of despair we
+struck out together in one last effort.
+
+Whether the Incas saw in that effort a renewed strength that spoke of
+immortality, or whether it happened just at that moment that the
+pressure from behind was removed, no longer forcing them to their
+death, I do not know.  It may have been that, like some better men,
+they had merely had enough.
+
+From whatever cause, the attack ceased almost with the suddenness with
+which it had begun; they fell back from the doorway; Harry lunged
+forward with raised club, and the forms melted away into the darkness
+of the corridor.
+
+Harry turned and looked at me as I stood swaying from side to side in
+the doorway.  Neither of us could speak.  Together we staggered back
+across the room, but I had not gone more than half way when my legs
+bent under me and I sank to the floor.  Dimly I saw Harry's face above
+me, as though through a veil--then another face that came close to my
+own--and a voice:
+
+"Paul!  My love!  They have killed him!"
+
+Soft white arms were about my neck, and a velvet cheek was pressed
+against my own.
+
+"Desiree!" I gasped.  "Don't!  Harry!  No, they have not killed me--"
+
+Then Harry's voice:
+
+"That's all right, old fellow.  I know--I have known she loves you.
+This is no time to talk of that.  Listen, Paul--what you were going to
+do for Desiree--if you can--they will be back at any moment--"
+
+That thought kindled my brain; I raised myself onto my elbow.
+
+"I haven't the strength," I said, hardly knowing how I spoke.  "You
+must do it, Harry; you must.  And quick, lad!  The dagger!
+Desiree--the dagger!"
+
+What followed came to me as in a dream; my eyes were dim with the
+exhaustion that had overcome my body.  Desiree's face disappeared from
+before my face--then a silence--then the sound of her voice as though
+from a distance:
+
+"Harry--come!  I can't find it!  I dropped it when I ran across--it
+must be here--on the floor--"
+
+And then another sound came that I knew only too well--the sound of
+rushing, pattering feet.
+
+I think I tried to rise to my own feet.  I heard Harry's voice crying
+in a frenzy: "Quick--here they come!  Desiree, where is it?"
+
+There was a ringing cry of despair from Desiree, a swinging oath from
+Harry, and the next instant I found myself pinned to the floor by the
+weight of a score of bodies.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII.
+
+INTO THE WHIRLPOOL.
+
+I hardly know what happened after that.  I was barely conscious that
+there was movement round me, and that my wrists and ankles were being
+tightly bound.  Harry told me afterward that he made one last desperate
+stand, and was halted by a cry from Desiree, imploring him to employ
+the club in the intended office of the dagger.
+
+He wheeled about and raised it to strike; then his arm dropped, unable
+to obey for the brutal horror of it.  In another instant he and
+Desiree, too, had been overpowered and carried to the floor by the
+savage rush.
+
+This he told me as we lay side by side in a dark cavern, whither we had
+been carried by the victorious Incas.  I had expected instant death;
+the fact that our lives had been spared could have but one meaning, I
+thought: to the revenge of death was to be added the vindictiveness of
+torture.
+
+We knew nothing of Desiree's fate.  Harry had not seen her since he had
+been crushed to the floor by that last assault.  And instead of fearing
+for her life, we were convinced that a still more horrible doom was to
+be hers, and hoped only that she would find the means to avoid it by
+the only possible course.
+
+I have said that we again found ourselves in darkness, but it was much
+less profound than it had been before.  We could distinctly see the
+four walls of the cavern in which we lay; it was about twelve feet by
+twenty, and the ceiling was very low.  The ground was damp and cold,
+and we had neither ponchos nor jackets to protect us.
+
+A description of our state of mind as we lay exhausted, wounded, and
+bound so tightly that any movement was impossible, would seem to betray
+a weakness.  Perhaps it was so; but we prayed for the end--Harry with
+curses and oaths, myself in silence.  There is a time when misery
+becomes so acute that a man wants only deliverance and gives no thought
+to the means.
+
+That was reaction, and gradually it lessened.  And when, after we had
+lain unconscious for many hours (we can hardly be said to have slept)
+they came to bathe our wounds and bruises and bring us food and drink,
+the water was actually grateful to our hot, suffering flesh, and we ate
+almost with relish.  But before they left they again bound our wrists
+firmly behind us, and tightened the cords on our ankles.
+
+If they meditated punishment they certainly seemed to be in no hurry
+about it.  The hours passed endlessly by.  We were cared for as
+tenderly as though we had been wounded comrades instead of vanquished
+foes, and though we were allowed to remain on the damp, hard rock of
+the cavern, we gradually recovered from the effects of that gruesome
+struggle in the doorway, and our suffering bodies began to feel
+comparative comfort.
+
+"What the deuce are they waiting for?" Harry growled, after one of
+their visits with food and water.  "Why don't they end it?"
+
+"Most likely because a well man can appreciate torture better than a
+sick one," I answered, not having seen fit to speak of it before.  "You
+may be sure we'll get all that's coming to us."
+
+"But what will they do?"
+
+"Heaven knows.  They are capable of anything.  We'll get the worst."
+
+There was a silence; then Harry said slowly, hesitating:
+
+"Paul--do you think--Desiree--"
+
+"I don't think--I dare not think about her," I interrupted.  "And it is
+our fault; we failed her.  I should have put her beyond their reach, as
+I promised.  I have reproached myself bitterly, Hal; you need add
+nothing."
+
+"Do you think I would?  Only--there is something else.  About what she
+said to you.  I knew that, you know."
+
+I was silent; he continued:
+
+"I knew it long ago.  Do you think I am blind?  And I want to say this
+while I have a chance--it was uncommon good of you.  To take it the way
+you did, I mean."
+
+His simplicity made me uncomfortable, and I made no answer.  Indeed,
+the thing was beyond discussion; it was merely a bare fact which, when
+once stated, left nothing to be said.  So I refused to humor Harry's
+evident desire to thrash out the topic, and abruptly changed the
+subject.
+
+We must have lain bound in that cavern little short of a week.  Our
+wounds and bruises were completely healed, save one gash on Harry's
+side where he had been hurled against the sharp edge of one of the
+stone seats as he had been borne to the floor.  But it was not painful,
+and was nearly closed.  And we could feel the return of strength even
+through the stiffness caused by the inactivity of our muscles.
+
+We had given up wondering at the delay by the time it came to an end.
+When they finally came and cut our bonds and led us from the cavern we
+felt nothing keener than a mere curiosity as to what awaited us at the
+end of our journey.  For myself, there was a distinct sensation of
+thankfulness that uncertainty was to end.
+
+They took no chances with us, but paid us the compliment of a truly
+royal escort--at least, in number.  There could not have been less than
+two hundred of them in front, behind, and on either side, as we left
+the cavern and proceeded along a narrow, winding passage to the left.
+
+Once, as we started, we stretched our arms high and stood on tiptoe to
+relieve the stiffness of our joints; and immediately found ourselves
+clutched on every side by a score of hands.
+
+"Gad!  We seem to have made an impression!" Harry grinned.  On the way
+down the passage we marched with the Prussian goose-step, and felt the
+blood quickening to life in our legs and arms.
+
+We had proceeded in this manner for some ten minutes when we rounded a
+corner which I recognized at once by the peculiar circular formation of
+the walls.  We were on our way to the great cavern--the cavern where we
+had first seen Desiree, and where later she had won the toss for our
+lives and then preserved them.
+
+Another minute and we had reached the steps leading to the tunnel under
+the lake.  Here our guards seemed in doubt as to just what to do; those
+in front halted and stood hesitant, and it seemed to me that as they
+gazed below down the stone stair their eyes held a certain shrinking
+terror.  Then one came up from behind and with a commanding gesture
+ordered them to descend, and they obeyed.
+
+Harry and I still found ourselves surrounded by a full company; there
+were fifty or sixty ahead of us and at least twice that number behind.
+The idea of a successful struggle was so patently impossible that I
+believe it never entered our minds.
+
+There was further delay at the bottom of the stairs, for, as I have
+said before, the tunnel was extremely narrow and it was barely possible
+to walk two abreast.  None of them turned back, but Harry and I could
+scarcely restrain a laugh at the sight of those immediately in front of
+us treading on the toes of their fellows to keep out of our way.  With
+all their savage brutality I believe they possessed little real bravery.
+
+Five minutes more and we had reached the end of the tunnel and found
+ourselves at the foot of the spiral stairway.  The passage was so
+blocked by those ahead that we were unable to approach it; they
+flattened their squatty bodies against the wall and we were forced to
+squeeze our way past them.
+
+There we stood, barely able to make out their black forms against the
+blacker wall, when the one who appeared to be the leader approached and
+motioned to us to ascend.  We hesitated, feeling instinctively that
+this was our last chance to make a stand, weighing our fate.
+
+That was a dark moment, but though I did not know it, Providence was
+with us.  For, happening to glance downward, beneath the spiral
+stair--for there was no ground immediately beneath it--I saw a faint
+glimmer and a movement as though of a dim light in the black, yawning
+space at my feet.  (You must understand that we were now inside the
+base of the column in the center of the great cavern.)
+
+Moved either by curiosity or a command of Providence, I stooped and
+peered intently downward, and saw that the movement was the almost
+imperceptible reflection of a stray ray of light from above on the
+surface of water.  At the time I merely wondered idly if the water came
+from the same source as that in the lake outside, not thinking it
+sufficiently important to mention to Harry.
+
+Then a question came from him:
+
+"No good, Paul.  They are a hundred to one, and we are empty-handed.
+Do we go?"
+
+"There is nothing else to do," I answered, and I placed my foot on the
+first step of the spiral stair.
+
+Behind us came the guide, with a dozen others at his heels.
+
+The ascent seemed even longer and more arduous than before, for then we
+had been propelled by keen curiosity.  Twice I stumbled in the
+darkness, and would have fallen if it had not been for Harry's
+supporting hand behind me.  But finally we reached the top and stepped
+out into the glare of the great cavern.  I saw the stone slab close to
+behind us, noiselessly, and wondered if I should ever see it open again.
+
+We looked about us, and as our eyes sought the alcove in the wall
+opposite, we gave a simultaneous start of surprise, and from Harry's
+lips came a cry, half of gladness, half of wonder.  For, seated on the
+golden throne, exactly as before, was Desiree.  By her side was seated
+the Inca king; round them, guards and attendants.
+
+We gazed at her in astonishment, but she did not look at us; even at
+that distance we could see that her eyes were lowered to the ground.
+Harry called her name--there was no answer.  Again he called, and I
+caught him by the arm.
+
+"Don't, Hal!  She can't possibly do us any good, and you may do her
+harm.  If she doesn't answer, it is because she has a reason."
+
+He was silent, but not convinced, and would probably have argued the
+matter if our attention had not been arrested by a movement in the
+alcove.
+
+The king rose and extended an arm, and the Incas who filled the seats
+surrounding the cavern fell flat on their faces.
+
+"We don't seem to have thinned them out any," I observed.  "I believe
+there are actually more than before.  Where do they all come from?"
+
+"The Lord knows!"
+
+"And, by the way, it is now apparent why they waited so long to attend
+to us.  The king naturally wanted to be present at the entertainment,
+and he had to take time to recover from his little fasting operation.
+But now, what in the name of--my word, the thing is to be done in all
+propriety!  Look!"
+
+The king had dropped his arm, and the Incas were again sitting as
+Nature had intended they should sit, instead of on their noses.  And
+four attendants had approached the throne, bearing a frame of quipos.
+
+"So we are to have a fair trial," Harry observed.
+
+"With the king for judge."
+
+"And a hundred dead rats as evidence."
+
+"Right; they can't get even with us, anyway; there are only two of us.
+And as far as the other is concerned, I have an idea."
+
+The king had left his throne and approached the outer edge of the
+alcove, until he stood almost directly under the oval plate of gold
+representing Pachacamac or the unknown god.
+
+To this he knelt and made a succession of weird, uncouth gestures that
+suggested a lunatic or a traveling hypnotist.  Evidently the good
+Pachacamac approved whatever suggestions the royal priest communicated,
+for he rose to his feet with a solemn grin and strutted majestically to
+the rear, facing the frame of quipos.
+
+It was evident that he no longer had faith in Desiree's interpretation
+of the divine will of the great Pachacamac.  It is a royal privilege to
+be able to judge your own enemies.
+
+The hand of the Child of the Sun passed slowly up and down the frame of
+quipos, betraying a commendable reluctance.  It touched the yellow cord
+and passed on; grasped the white and dropped it.
+
+"The old hypocrite!" exclaimed Harry in disgust.  "Does he imagine he
+is playing with us?"
+
+Then there was an imperceptible movement, rather felt than seen,
+throughout the vast assemblage, and Desiree sank back on her throne of
+gold with a shudder as the king severed with the knife the black cord
+of death and laid it on the ground at her feet.
+
+I looked at Harry; his face became slightly pale, but his eyes met mine
+firmly, speaking of a fortitude unconquerable.  Then we again riveted
+our gaze on the alcove opposite.
+
+An attendant approached from the rear and stood before the golden
+throne, while the king motioned to Desiree to take up the black cord.
+For a moment she did not understand him, then she drew back, shaking
+her head firmly.
+
+The king did not wait to argue the matter, but stooped himself and
+picked up the cord and handed it to the attendant, who received it with
+a great show of respect and retired to the rear, where a commotion was
+created by its appearance.
+
+The judgment was passed, but what was to be the nature of the
+execution?  That uncertainty and the weirdness of the scene gave to the
+thing an air of unreality that shut out the tragic and admitted only
+the grotesque.
+
+I have many times in my life felt nearer to death than when I stood on
+the top of that lofty column, surrounded by the thousands of squatting
+dwarfs, whose black bodies reflected dully the mounting light from the
+flaming urns.
+
+I cannot say what we expected, for we knew not what to expect.  Many
+conjectures entered my mind, but none of them approached the fact.
+But, thinking that our guide might now return at any moment to lead us
+below, and not caring to be surprised by an attack from behind on that
+narrow precipice, I moved across to the rear, where I could keep my
+eyes on the alcove opposite, and at the same time watch the stone slab
+which closed the opening to the spiral stairway.  A word to Harry and
+he joined me.
+
+"Perhaps we can open it from above," he suggested.
+
+"Not likely," I answered, "and, anyway, what's the use?"
+
+He knelt down and tugged at it, but there was no edge on which to
+obtain a purchase.  The thing was immovable.
+
+Five minutes passed, during which there was no movement, either in the
+audience on the stone seats or in the alcove.  But there was an
+indefinable air of expectancy on the faces of the king and those
+surrounding him, and I kept a sharp eye on the stone slab.
+
+Another five minutes and still nothing happened.  Harry called across
+to Desiree, or rather began to call, for I stopped him with a jerk.  It
+was impossible for her to aid us, and her situation was already
+sufficiently perilous.
+
+Then, becoming impatient, I decided to try to move the stone slab
+myself.  Kneeling down, I placed the palms of my hands firmly against
+its surface and pressed with all my weight.
+
+And then I knew.  Complete comprehension flashed through my brain on
+the instant.  I sprang to my feet, and my thought must have shown on my
+face, for Harry looked at me in surprise, demanding:
+
+"What is it?  What is it, Paul?"
+
+And I answered calmly:
+
+"We're caught, Hal.  Like rats in a trap.  Oh, the black devils!
+Listen!  We have no time to lose.  Bend over and touch the palm of your
+hand to the ground."
+
+He did so, plainly puzzled.  Then he drew his hand hastily away,
+exclaiming: "It's hot!"
+
+"Yes." I spoke quickly.  "Our boots kept us from feeling it before, and
+the stone doesn't throw out enough heat to feel it in the air.  They've
+built a fire under us in the column.  The stone is thick and heats
+slowly."
+
+"But what--that means--"
+
+"It means one of two things.  In a few minutes this floor will be
+baking hot.  Then we either fry on their stone griddle or drown in the
+lake.  You see the distance below--only a man crazed by suffering or
+one incredibly brave would take that leap.  This is their little
+entertainment--they expect us to dance for them."
+
+"But the lake!  If we could take it clean--"
+
+I saw that the lake was our only chance, if there could be said to be
+any in so desperate a situation.  To be sure, there seemed to be no
+possibility of escaping, even if we took the water without injury.  On
+every side its bank was lined with the watching Incas, and the bank
+itself was so steep that to ascend it would have required wings.
+
+The heat began to be felt even through the soles of our heavy boots;
+involuntarily I lifted one foot, then the other.  I saw the Child of
+the Sun in the alcove lean forward with an appreciative grin.  Another
+minute--
+
+I jerked my wits together--never did my brain answer with better speed.
+And then I remembered that flash of water I had seen under the spiral
+stairway at the base of the column.  I had thought at the time that it
+might be connected with the lake itself.  If that were so--
+
+I turned to Harry and conveyed my idea to him in as few words as
+possible as we walked up and down, side by side.  It was impossible
+longer to stand still--the stone was so hot that the bare hand could
+not be held against it for an instant.  I saw that he did not
+comprehend what I said about the water in the column, but he did
+understand my instructions, and that was all that was necessary.
+
+We ran to the edge of the column nearest the alcove.
+
+Removing our woolen knickerbockers--for better ease in the water--we
+placed them on the hot stone, and on top of them our boots, which we
+had also removed.  Thus our feet were protected as we stood on the
+extreme edge of the column, taking a deep breath for strength and nerve.
+
+I saw the thousands of black savages--who had been cheated of their
+dance--crane their necks forward eagerly.
+
+I saw the king gesture excitedly to an attendant, who turned and flew
+from the alcove.
+
+I saw Desiree spring up from the golden throne and run to the edge of
+the alcove, crying to us in a tone of despair.  But I did not hear her
+words, for I myself was calling:
+
+"Take it clean, Hal.  Ready--go!"
+
+The next instant we were flying headlong through the air toward the
+surface of the lake a hundred feet below.
+
+Men have told me since that I never made that dive, or that I greatly
+overestimated the distance, and I admit that as I look back at it now
+it appears incredible.  Well, they are welcome to their opinion, but I
+would not advise them to try to argue the matter with Harry.
+
+The impact with the water all but completely stunned me; as I struck
+the surface it seemed that a thousand cannons had exploded in my ears.
+Down, down I went--lucky for us that the lake was apparently bottomless!
+
+I seemed to have gone as far below the water as I had been above it
+before I was able to twist myself about and meet it with my belly.
+Then, striking out with every ounce of strength in me, I made for the
+surface as rapidly as possible.  I had started with my lungs full of
+air, but that headlong plunge had emptied them.
+
+I made the surface at last and looked round for Harry, calling his
+name.  For perhaps thirty seconds I called in vain, then there came an
+unanswering shout off to the left.  The urns were far above us now, and
+the light on the surface of the lake was very dim, but soon I made out
+Harry's head.  He was swimming easily toward me, apparently unhurt.
+
+"All right, Hal?"
+
+"Right.  And you?"
+
+"Sound as a whistle.  Now make for the column."
+
+At the instant that we turned to swim toward the column I became aware
+of a strong current in the water carrying us off to the right.  It was
+inexplicable, but there was no time then for speculation, and we struck
+out with bold, sweeping strokes.
+
+The Incas had left the stone seats and advanced to the water's edge.  I
+could see their black, sinister faces, thousands of them, peering
+intently at us through the dim light, but they made no sound.
+
+Once I cast a glance over my shoulder and saw Desiree standing at the
+edge of the alcove with her clenched fists pressed to her throat.
+Beside her stood the Child of the Sun.  Harry, too, saw her and sent
+her a shout of farewell, but there was no answer.
+
+We were now less than thirty feet from the column.  Its jeweled sides
+sparkled and shone before us; looking up, our eyes were dazzled.
+Something struck the water near me.  I glanced to the right and saw
+what moved me to hasten my stroke and call to Harry to do likewise.
+
+The black devils were increasing the fun by hurling stones at us from
+the bank--apparently with the kind approval of Pachacamac.
+
+As we neared the column the current which tended to carry us to the
+right became stronger, but still we seemed not to be approaching the
+bank.  What could it mean?  The struggle against it was fast taking our
+strength.
+
+Looking up, I saw that we had swung round to the other side of the
+column--it was between us and the alcove.  Then I understood.  We were
+in a whirlpool, ever increasing in force, which was carrying us swiftly
+in a circle from left to right and approaching the column.
+
+I called a swift warning to Harry, who was some ten feet to my left,
+and he answered that he understood.  The stones from the bank were
+falling thick about us now; one struck me on the shoulder, turning me
+half round.
+
+The current became swifter--so swift that we were almost helpless
+against it and were carried around and around the column, which was but
+a few feet away.  And always complete silence.
+
+Nearer and nearer we were carried, till, thrusting out my arm, the tips
+of my fingers brushed against the side of the column.  The water
+whirled with the rapidity of a mill-stream; ten more seconds and our
+brains would have been dashed against the unyielding stone.  It was now
+but half an arm's length away.  I kept thrusting out my arm in a wild
+endeavor to avoid it.
+
+Suddenly my outstretched hand found a purchase in a break in the wall,
+but the force of the water tore it loose and swept me away.  But when I
+reached the same spot again I thrust out both hands, and, finding the
+edge, held on desperately.  The next instant Harry's body was swept
+against mine, doubling the strain on my fingers.
+
+"The column!" I gasped.  "Inside--through the wall--opening--I am
+holding--"
+
+He understood, and the next moment he, too, had grasped the edge.
+Together we pulled ourselves, little by little, toward the opening; for
+our strength was nearly spent, and the force of the maelstrom was nigh
+irresistible.
+
+It was as I had thought.  The base of the column consisted merely of
+two massive pillars, some twelve feet in length and circular in shape.
+The water rushed in through each of the two openings thus left, and
+inside of the column was the center of the whirlpool, sucking the water
+from both sides.  The water I had seen; I had not counted on the
+whirlpool.
+
+We had pulled ourselves round till our bodies rested against the edge
+of the opening, clinging to either side.  Inside all was blackness, but
+we could judge of the fury of the maelstrom by the force of the current
+outside.  Stones hurled by the Incas were striking against the sides of
+the column and in the water near us.
+
+We were being hunted from life like dogs, and a hot, unreasoning anger
+surged through my brain--anger at the grinning savages on the bank, at
+the whirling black water, at Harry, at myself.
+
+Whichever way we looked was death, and none worth choosing.
+
+"I can't hold--much longer," Harry gasped.  "What's the use--old
+man--Paul--come--I'm going--"
+
+He disappeared into the black, furious whirlpool with that word.  The
+next instant my own fingers were torn from their hold by a sudden jerk
+of the water, and I followed.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV.
+
+A FISHING PARTY.
+
+Water, when whirling rapidly, has a keen distaste for any foreign
+object; but when once the surface breaks, that very repulsion seems to
+multiply the indescribable fury with which it endeavors to bury the
+object beneath its center.
+
+Once in the whirlpool, I was carried in a swift circle round its
+surface for what seemed an age, and I think could not have been less
+than eight or ten seconds in reality.  Then suddenly I was turned
+completely over, my limbs seemed to be torn from my body, there was a
+deafening roar in my ears, and a crushing weight pressed against me
+from every side.
+
+Any effort of any kind was worse than useless, as well as impossible;
+indeed, I could hardly have been said to be conscious, except for the
+fact that I retained sufficient volition to avoid breathing or
+swallowing the water.
+
+The pressure against my body was terrific; I wondered vaguely why life
+had not departed, since--as I supposed--there was not a whole bone left
+in my body.  My head was bursting with dizziness and pain; my breast
+was a furnace of torture.
+
+Suddenly the pressure lessened and the whirling movement gradually
+ceased, but still the current carried me on.  I struck out wildly with
+both arms--in an effort, I suppose, to grasp the proverbial straw.
+
+I found no straw, but something better--space.  Instinct led the fight
+to reach it with my head to get air, but the swiftness of the current
+carried me again beneath the surface.  My arms seemed powerless; I was
+unable to direct them.
+
+I hardly know what happened after that.  A feeling of most intense
+suffocation in my chest; a relaxation of all my muscles; a sensation of
+light in my smarting eyes; a gentle pressure from the water beneath,
+like the rising gait of a saddle-horse; and suddenly, without knowing
+why or when or how, I found myself lying on hard ground, gasping,
+choking, sputtering, not far from death, but nearer to life than I had
+thought ever to be again.
+
+I lay for several minutes unable to move; then my brain awoke and
+called for life.  I twisted over on my face, and moved my arms out and
+in with the motion of a swimmer; the most exquisite pains shot through
+my chest and abdomen.  My head weighed tons.
+
+Water ran from my nose and mouth in gurgling streams.  The roaring,
+scarcely abated, pounded in my ears.  I was telling myself over and
+over with a most intense earnestness: "But if I were really dead I
+shouldn't be able to move." It appears that the first sense to leave a
+drowning man, and the last to return, is the sense of humor.
+
+In another ten minutes, having rid my lungs of the water that had
+filled them, I felt no pain and but little fatigue.  My head was dizzy,
+and there was still a feeling of oppression on my chest; but otherwise
+I was little the worse for wear.  I twisted carefully over on my side
+and took note of my surroundings.
+
+I lay on a narrow ledge of rock at the entrance to a huge cavern.  Not
+two feet below rushed the stream which had carried me; it came down
+through an opening in the wall at a sharp angle with tremendous
+velocity, and must have hurled me like a cork from its foaming surface.
+Below, it emptied into a lake which nearly filled the cavern, some
+hundreds of yards in diameter.  Rough boulders and narrow ledges
+surrounded it on every side.
+
+This I saw in time, but the first thing that caught my eye was no work
+of nature.  Fastened to the wall on the opposite side of the cavern,
+casting a dim, flickering light throughout its vast space, were two
+golden, flaming urns.
+
+It was not fear, but a sort of nausea, that assailed me as I realized
+that I was still in the domain of the Incas.
+
+The ledge on which I lay was exposed to view from nearly every point of
+the cavern, and the sight of those urns caused me to make a swift
+decision to leave it without delay.  It was wet and slippery and not
+over three feet in width; I rose to my feet cautiously, having no
+appetite for another ducking.
+
+At a distance of several feet lay another ledge, broad and level, at
+the farther end of which rose a massive boulder.  I cleared the gap
+with a leap, barely made my footing, and passed behind the boulder
+through a crevice just wide enough to admit my body.
+
+Then through a narrow lane onto another ledge, and from that I found my
+way into a dark recess which gave assurance at least of temporary
+safety.  The sides of the cavern were a veritable maze of boulders,
+sloping ledges, and narrow crevices.  Nature here scarcely seemed to
+have known what to do with herself.
+
+I seated myself on a bit of projecting limestone, still wet and
+shivering.  I had no boots nor trousers; my feet were bruised and
+swollen, and my flannel shirt and woolen underwear were but scanty
+protection against the chill air, damp as they were.  Also, I seemed to
+feel a cold draft circling about me, and was convinced of the fact by
+the flickering flames in the golden urns.
+
+Desolate, indeed, for I gave Harry up as lost.  The thought generated
+no particular feeling in me; death, by force of contrast, may even
+appear agreeable; and I told myself that Harry had been favored of the
+gods.
+
+And there I sat in the half-darkness, shrinking from a danger of whose
+existence I was not certain, clinging miserably to the little that was
+left of what the world of sunshine had known as Paul Lamar, gentleman,
+scientist, and connoisseur of life; sans philosophy, sans hope,
+and--sans-culotte.
+
+But the senses remain; and suddenly I became aware of a movement in the
+water of the lake.  It was as though an immense trout had leaped and
+split the surface.  This was repeated several times, and was followed
+by a rhythmic sound like the regular splash of many oars.  Then silence.
+
+I peered intently forth from my corner in the recess, but could see
+nothing, and finally gave it up.
+
+As the minutes passed by my discomfort increased and stiffness began to
+take my joints.  I realized the necessity of motion, but lacked the
+will, and sat in a sort of dumb, miserable apathy.  This, I should say,
+for an hour; then I saw something that roused me.
+
+I had before noticed that on the side of the cavern almost directly
+opposite me, under the flaming urns, there was a ledge some ten or
+twelve feet broad and easily a hundred in length.  It met the surface
+of the lake at an easy, gradual slope.  In the rear, exactly between
+the two urns, could be seen the dark mouth of a passage, evidently
+leading directly away from the cavern.
+
+Out of this passage there suddenly appeared the forms of two Incas.  In
+the hand of each was what appeared to be a long spear--I had evidently
+been mistaken in my presumption of their ignorance of weapons.
+
+They walked to one end of the long ledge and dragged out into the light
+an object with a flat surface some six feet square.  This they launched
+on the surface of the lake; then embarked on it, placing their spears
+by their sides and taking up, instead, two broad, short oars.  With
+these they began to paddle their perilous craft toward the center of
+the lake with short, careful strokes.
+
+About a hundred feet from the shore they ceased paddling and exchanged
+the oars for their spears, and stood motionless and silent, waiting,
+apparently, for nothing.
+
+I, also, remained motionless, watching them in dull curiosity.  There
+was little danger of being seen; for, aside from the darkness of my
+corner, which probably would have been no hindrance to them, a
+projecting ledge partly screened my body from view.
+
+The wait was not a long one, and when it ended things happened with so
+startling a suddenness that I scarcely grasped the details.
+
+There was a loud splash in the water like that I had heard before, a
+swift ripple on the surface of the lake, and simultaneously the two
+Indians lunged with their spears, which flew to their mark with deadly
+accuracy.  I had not before noticed the thongs, one end of which was
+fastened to the shaft of the spear and the other about the waist of the
+savage.
+
+There followed a battle royal.  Whatever the thing was that had felt
+the spears, it certainly lost no time in showing its resentment.  It
+thrashed the water into furious waves until I momentarily expected the
+raft to be swamped.
+
+One Inca stood on the farther edge of the craft desperately plying an
+oar; the other tugged lustily at the spear-thongs.  I could see a
+black, twisting form leap from the water directly toward the raft, and
+the oarsman barely drew from under before it fell.  It struck the
+corner of the raft, which tipped perilously.
+
+That appeared to have been a final effort, for there the battle ended.
+The oarsman made quickly for the shore, paddling with remarkable
+dexterity and swiftness, while the other stood braced, holding firmly
+to the spear-thongs.  Another minute and they had leaped upon the
+ledge, drawing the raft after them, and, by tugging together on the
+lines, had landed their victim of the deep.
+
+It appeared to be a large black fish of a shape I had never before
+seen.  But it claimed little of my attention; my eye was on the two
+spears which had been drawn from the still quivering body and which now
+lay on the ground well away from the water's edge, while the two Incas
+were dragging their catch toward the mouth of the passage leading from
+the cavern.
+
+I wanted those spears.  I did not stop to ask myself what I intended to
+do with them; if I had I would probably have been hard put to it for an
+answer.  But I wanted them, and I sat in my dark corner gazing at them
+with greedy eyes.
+
+The Incas had disappeared in the passage.
+
+Finally I rose and began to search for an exit from the recess in which
+I had hidden myself.  At first there appeared to be none, but at length
+I found a small crevice between two boulders in the rear.  Into this I
+squeezed my body with some difficulty.
+
+The rock pressed tightly against me on both sides, and the sharp
+corners bruised my body, but I wormed my way through for a distance of
+fifteen or twenty feet.  Then the crevice opened abruptly, and I found
+myself on a broad ledge ending apparently in space.  I advanced
+cautiously to its edge, but intervening boulders shut off the light,
+and I could see no ground below.
+
+Throwing prudence to the winds, I let myself over the outermost corner,
+hung for a moment by my hands, and dropped.  My feet touched ground
+almost instantly--the supposedly perilous fall amounted to something
+like twelve inches.
+
+I turned round, feeling a little foolish, and saw that from where I
+stood the ledge and part of the lake were in full view.  I could see
+the spears still lying where they had been thrown down.
+
+But as I looked the two Incas emerged from the passage.  They picked up
+the spears, walked to the raft, and again launched it and paddled
+toward the center of the lake.
+
+I thought, "Here is my chance; I must make that ledge before they
+return," and I started forward so precipitately that I ran head on into
+a massive boulder and got badly stunned for my pains.  Half dazed, I
+went on, groping my way through the semidarkness.
+
+The trail was one to try a llama.  I climbed boulders and leaped across
+chasms and clung to narrow, slippery edges with my finger-nails.
+Several times I narrowly escaped dumping myself into the lake, and half
+the time I was in plain view of the Incas on the raft.
+
+My hands and feet were bruised and bleeding, and I had bumped into
+walls and boulders so often that I was surprised when I took a step
+without getting a blow.  I wanted those spears.
+
+I found myself finally within a few yards of my destination.  A narrow
+crevice led from where I stood directly to the ledge from which the
+Incas had embarked.  It was now necessary to wait till they returned to
+the shore, and I drew back into the darkness of a near-by corner and
+stood motionless.
+
+They were still on the raft in the middle of the lake, waiting, spear
+in hand.  I watched them in furious impatience, on the border of mania.
+
+Suddenly I saw a dark, crouching form outlined against a boulder not
+ten feet away from where I stood.  The form was human, but in some way
+unlike the Incas I had seen.  I could not see its face, but the
+alertness suggested by its attitude made me certain that I had been
+discovered.
+
+Vaguely I felt myself surrounded on every side; I seemed to feel eyes
+gazing unseen from every direction, but I could not force myself to
+search the darkness; my heart rose to my throat and choked me, and I
+stood absolutely powerless to make a sound or movement, gazing in a
+sort of dumb fascination at that silent, crouching figure.
+
+Suddenly it crouched lower still against the black background of the
+boulder.
+
+"Another second and he will be at my throat," I thought--but I stood
+still, unable to move.
+
+But the figure did not spring.  Instead, it suddenly straightened up to
+almost twice the height of an Inca, and I caught a glimpse of a white
+face and ragged, clinging garments.
+
+"Harry!" I whispered.  I wonder yet that it was not a shout.
+
+"Thank God!" came his voice, also in a whisper; and in another moment
+he had reached my side.
+
+A hurried word or two--there was no time for more--and I pointed to the
+Incas on the raft, saying: "We want those spears."
+
+"I was after them," he grinned.  "What shall we do?"
+
+"There's no use taking them while the Incas are away," I replied,
+"because they would soon return and find them gone.  Surely we can
+handle two of them."
+
+As I spoke there came a sound from the lake--a sudden loud splash
+followed by a commotion in the water.  I looked around the corner of
+the boulder and saw that the spears again found their mark.
+
+"Come," I whispered, and began to pick my way toward the ledge.
+
+Harry followed close at my heels.  It was easier here, and we soon
+found ourselves close to the shore of the lake, with a smooth stretch
+of rock between us and the fisherman's landing-place.  The urns, whose
+light was quite sufficient here, were about fifty feet to the right and
+rear.
+
+The Incas had made their kill and were paddling for the shore.  As they
+came near, Harry and I sank back against the boulder, which extended to
+the boundary of the ledge.  Soon the raft was beached and pulled well
+away from the water, and the fish--I was amazed at its size--followed.
+
+They drew forth the spears and laid them on the ground, as they had
+done formerly; and, laying hold on the immense fish, still floundering
+ponderously about, began to drag it toward the mouth of the passage.
+
+"Now," whispered Harry, and as he stood close at my side I could feel
+his body draw together for the spring.
+
+I laid a hand on his arm.
+
+"Not yet.  Others may be waiting for them in the passage.  Wait till
+they return."
+
+In a few minutes they reappeared in the light of the flaming urns.  I
+waited till they had advanced half-way to the water's edge, some thirty
+feet away.  Then I whispered to Harry: "You for the left, me for the
+right," and released my hold on his arm, and the next instant we were
+bounding furiously across the ledge.
+
+Taken by surprise, the Incas offered no resistance whatever.  The
+momentum of our assault carried them to the ground; their heads struck
+the hard granite with fearful force and they lay stunned.
+
+Harry, kneeling over them, looked up at me with a question in his eyes.
+
+"The lake," said I, for it was no time for squeamishness.
+
+Our friend the king thought us dead, and we wanted no witnesses that we
+had returned to life.  We laid hold of the unconscious bodies, dragged
+them to the edge of the lake, and pushed them in.  The shock of the
+cold water brought one of them to life, and he started to swim, and
+we--well, we did what had to be done.
+
+We had our spears.  I examined them curiously.
+
+The head appeared to be of copper and the shaft was a long, thin rod of
+the same material.  But when I tried it against a stone and saw its
+hardness I found that it was much less soft, and consequently more
+effective, than copper would have been.  That those underground savages
+had succeeded in combining metals was incredible, but there was the
+evidence; and, besides, it may have been a trick of nature herself.
+
+The point was some six inches long and very sharp.  It was set on the
+shaft in a wedge, and bound with thin, tough strips of hide.
+Altogether, a weapon not to be laughed at.
+
+We carried the spears, the raft, and the oars behind a large boulder to
+the left of the ledge with considerable difficulty.  The two latter not
+because we expected them to be of any service, but in order not to
+leave any trace of our presence, for if any searchers came and found
+nothing they could know nothing.
+
+We expected them to arrive at any moment, and we waited for hours.  We
+had about given up watching from our vantage point behind the boulder
+when two Incas appeared at the mouth of the passage.  But they brought
+only oil to fill the urns, and after performing this duty departed,
+without a glance at the lake or any exhibition of surprise at the
+absence of their fellows.
+
+Every now and then there was a commotion in some part of the lake, and
+we could occasionally see a black, glistening body leap into the air
+and fall again into the water.
+
+"I'm hungry," Harry announced suddenly.  "I wonder if we couldn't turn
+the trick on that raft ourselves?"
+
+The same thought had occurred to me, but Harry's impulsiveness had made
+me fearful of expressing it.  I hesitated.
+
+"We've got to do something," he continued.
+
+I suggested that it might be best to wait another hour or two.
+
+"And why?  Now is as good a time as any.  If we intend to find
+Desiree--"
+
+"In the name of Heaven, how can we?" I interrupted.
+
+"You don't mean to say you don't intend to try?" he exclaimed.
+
+"Hal, I don't know.  In the first place, it's impossible.  And where
+could we take her and what could we do--in short, what's the use?  Why
+the deuce should we prolong the thing any further?
+
+"In the world I refused to struggle because nothing tempted me; in this
+infernal hole I have fought when there was nothing to fight for.  If
+civilization held no prize worth an effort, why should I exert myself
+to preserve the life of a rat?  Faugh!  It's sickening!  I wondered why
+I wanted those spears.  Now I know.  I have an idea I'm going to be
+coward enough to use one--or enough of a philosopher."
+
+"Paul, that isn't like you."
+
+"On the contrary, it is consistent with my whole life.  I have never
+been overly keen about it.  To end it in a hole like this--well, that
+isn't exactly what I expected; but it is all one--after.  Understand
+me, Hal; I don't want to desert you; haven't I stuck?  And I would
+still if there were the slightest possible chance.  Where can we go?
+What can we do?"
+
+There was a long silence; then Harry's voice came calmly:
+
+"I can stay in the game.  You call yourself a philosopher.  I won't
+quarrel about it, but the world would call you a quitter.  Whichever it
+is, it's not for me.  I stay in the game.  I'm going to find Desiree if
+I can, and, by the Lord, some day I'm going to cock my feet up on the
+fender at the Midlothian and make 'em open their mouths and call me a
+liar!"
+
+"A worthy ambition."
+
+"My own.  And, Paul, you can't--you're not a quitter."
+
+"Personally, yes.  If I were here alone, Hal"--I picked up one of the
+spears and passed my palm over its sharp point--"I would quit cold.
+But not--not with you.  I can't share your enthusiasm, but I'll go
+fifty-fifty on the rest of it, including the fender--when we see it."
+
+"That's the talk, old man.  I knew you would."
+
+"But understand me.  I expect nothing.  It's all rot.  If by any wild
+chance we should pull out in the end I'll admit you were right.  But I
+eat under compulsion, and I fight for you.  You're the leader unless
+you ask my advice."
+
+"And I begin right now," said Harry with a grin.  "First, to get
+Desiree.  What about it?"
+
+We discussed plans all the way from the impossible to the miraculous
+and arrived nowhere.  One thing only we decided--that before we tried
+to find our way back to the great cavern and the royal apartments we
+would lay in a supply of food and cache it among the boulders and
+ledges where we then were.  For if ever a place were designed for a
+successful defense by two men against thousands it was that one.  And
+we had the spears.
+
+Still no one had appeared in the cavern, and we decided to wait no
+longer.  We carried the raft back to the ledge.  It was fairly light,
+being made of hide stretched tightly across stringers of bone, but was
+exceedingly clumsy.  Once Harry fell, and the thing nearly toppled over
+into the lake with him on top of it; but I caught his arm just in time.
+
+Another trip for the oars and spears, and everything was ready.  We
+launched the raft awkwardly, nearly shipping it beneath; but finally
+got it afloat with ourselves aboard.  We had fastened the loose ends of
+the spear-thongs about our waists.
+
+I think that raft was the craziest thing that ever touched water.  It
+was a most excellent diver, but was in profound ignorance of the first
+principle of the art of floating.
+
+After a quarter of an hour of experimentation we found that by standing
+exactly in a certain position, one on each side and paddling with one
+hand, it was possible to keep fairly level.  If either of us shifted
+his foot a fraction of an inch the thing ducked like a stone.
+
+We finally got out a hundred feet or so and ceased paddling.  Then,
+exchanging our oars for the spears, we waited.
+
+The surface of the lake was perfectly still, save for a barely
+perceptible ripple, caused no doubt by the undercurrent which was fed
+by the stream at the opposite side.  The urns were so far away that the
+light was very dim; no better than half darkness.  The silence was
+broken by the sound of the rushing stream.
+
+Suddenly the raft swayed gently; there was a parting of the water not a
+foot away toward the front, and then--well, the ensuing events happened
+so quickly that their order is uncertain.
+
+A black form arose from the water with a leap like lightning and landed
+squarely on the raft, which proceeded to perform its favorite dive.  It
+would have done so with much less persuasion, for the fish was a
+monster--it appeared to me at that moment to be twenty feet long.
+
+On the instant, as the raft capsized, Harry and I lunged with our
+spears, tumbling forward and landing on each other and on top of the
+fish.  I felt my spear sinking into the soft fish almost without
+resistance.
+
+The raft slipped from under, and we found ourselves floundering in the
+water.
+
+I have said the spear-thongs were fastened about our waists.
+Otherwise, we would have let the fish go; but we could hardly allow him
+to take us along.  That is, we didn't want to allow it; but we soon
+found that we had nothing to say in the matter.  Before we had time to
+set ourselves to stroke we were being towed as though we had been corks
+toward the opposite shore.
+
+But it was soon over, handicapped as he was by four feet of spears in
+his body.  We felt the pull lessen and twisted ourselves about, and in
+another minute had caught the water with a steady dog-stroke and were
+holding our own.  Soon we made headway, but it was killing work.
+
+"He weighs a thousand tons," panted Harry, and I nodded.
+
+Pulling and puffing side by side, we gradually neared the center of the
+lake, passed it, and approached the ledge.  We were well-nigh exhausted
+when we finally touched bottom and were able to stand erect.
+
+Hauling the fish onto the ledge, we no longer wondered at his strength.
+He could not have been an ounce under four hundred pounds, and was
+fully seven feet long.  One of the spears ran through the gills; the
+other was in his middle, just below the backbone.  We got them out with
+some difficulty and rolled him up high and dry.
+
+We straightened to return for the spears which we had left at the edge
+of the water.
+
+"He's got a hide like an elephant," said Harry.  "What can we skin him
+with?"
+
+But I did not answer.
+
+I was gazing straight ahead at the mouth of the passage where stood two
+Incas, spear in hand, returning my gaze stolidly.
+
+
+
+Chapter XV.
+
+THE RESCUE.
+
+I was quick to act, but the Incas were quicker still.  I turned to run
+for our spears, and was halted by a cry of warning from Harry, who had
+wheeled like a flash at my quick movement.  I turned barely in time to
+see the Incas draw back their powerful arms, then lunge forward, the
+spears shooting from their hands.
+
+I leaped aside; something struck my leg; I stooped swiftly and grasped
+the spear-thong before there was time for the Inca to recover and jerk
+it out of my reach.  The other end was fastened about his waist; I had
+him, and giving an instant for a glance at Harry, saw that he had
+adopted the same tactics as myself.
+
+Seeing that escape was impossible, they dashed straight at us.
+
+It wasn't much of a fight.  One came at me with his head lowered like a
+charging bull; I sidestepped easily and floored him with a single blow.
+He scrambled to his feet, but by that time I had recovered the spear
+and had it ready for him.
+
+I waited until he was quite close, then let him have it full in the
+chest.  The fool literally ran himself through, hurling himself on the
+sharp point in a brutal frenzy.  He lay on his back, quite still, with
+the spear-head buried in his chest and the shaft sticking straight up
+in the air.
+
+I turned to Harry, and in spite of myself smiled at what I saw.  He
+stood with his right arm upraised, holding his spear ready.  His left
+foot was placed well and gracefully forward, and his body bent to one
+side like the classic javelin-thrower.  And ten feet in front of him
+the other Inca had fallen flat on his face on the ground with arms
+extended in mute supplication for quarter.
+
+"What shall I do?" asked Harry.  "Let him have it?"
+
+"Can you?"
+
+"The fact is, no.  Look at the poor beggar--scared silly.  But we can't
+let him go."
+
+It was really a question.  Mercy and murder were alike impossible.  We
+finally compromised by binding his wrists and ankles and trussing him
+up behind, using a portion of one of the spear-thongs for the purpose,
+and gagging him.  Then we carried him behind a large boulder some
+distance from the ledge and tucked him away in a dark corner.
+
+"And when we get back--if we ever do--we can turn him loose," said
+Harry.
+
+"In that case I wouldn't give much for his chances of a happy
+existence," I observed.
+
+We wasted no time after that, for we wanted no more interruptions.
+Some fifteen precious minutes we lost trying to withdraw the spear I
+had buried in the body of the Inca, but the thing had become wedged
+between two ribs and refused to come out.  Finally we gave it up and
+threw the corpse in the lake.
+
+We then removed the oars and spears and raft--which had floated so near
+to the ledge that we had no difficulty in recovering it--to our
+hiding-place, and last we tackled our fish.
+
+It was a task for half a dozen men, but we dared not remain on the
+ledge to skin him and cut him up.  After an hour of exertion and toil
+that left us completely exhausted, we managed to get him behind a large
+boulder to the left of the ledge, but it was impossible to carry him to
+the place we had selected, which could be reached only by passing
+through a narrow crevice.
+
+The only knives we had were the points of the spears, but they served
+after a fashion, and in another hour we had him skinned and pretty well
+separated.  He was meaty and sweet.  We discovered that with the first
+opportunity, for we were hungry as wolves.  Nor did we waste much time
+bewailing our lack of a fire, for we had lived so long on dried stuff
+that the opposite extreme was rather pleasant than otherwise.
+
+We tore him into strips as neatly as possible, stowing them away
+beneath a ledge, a spot kept cool by the water but a foot below.
+
+"That'll be good for a month," said Harry.  "And there's more where
+that came from.  And now--"
+
+I understood, and I answered simply: "I'm ready."
+
+We had but few preparations to make.  The solidest parts of the fish
+which we had laid aside we now strapped together with one of the extra
+spear-thongs and slung them on our backs.  We secreted the oars and
+raft and the extra spear as snugly as possible.
+
+Then, having filled ourselves with raw fish and a last hearty drink
+from the lake, we each took a spear and started on a search wilder than
+any ever undertaken by Amadis of Gaul or Don Quixote himself.  Even the
+Bachelor of Salamanca, in his saddest plight, did not present so
+outrageous an appearance to the eye as we.  We wore more clothing than
+the Incas, which is the most that can be said for us.
+
+We were unable to even guess at the direction we should take; but that
+was settled for us when we found that there were but two exits from the
+cavern.  One led through the boulders and crevices to a passage full of
+twists and turns and strewn with rocks, almost impassable; the other
+was that through which the Incas had entered.  We chose the latter.
+
+Fifty feet from the cavern we found ourselves in darkness.  I stopped
+short.
+
+"Harry, this is impossible.  We cannot mark our way."
+
+"But what can we do?"
+
+"Carry one of those urns."
+
+"Likely!  They'd spot us before we even got started."
+
+"Well--let them."
+
+"No.  You're in for the finish.  I know that.  I want to find Desiree.
+And we'll find her.  After that, if nothing else is left, I'll be with
+you."
+
+"But I don't want a thousand of those brutes falling on us in the dark.
+If they would end it I wouldn't care."
+
+"Keep your spear ready."
+
+I had given him my promise, so I pushed on at his side.  I had no
+stomach for it.  In a fight I can avoid disgracing myself, because it
+is necessary; but why seek it when there is nothing to be gained?  Thus
+I reflected, but I pushed on at Harry's side.
+
+As he had said, I was in for the finish.  What I feared was to be taken
+again by the Incas unseen in the darkness.  But that fear was soon
+removed when I found that we could see easily some thirty or forty feet
+ahead--enough for a warning in case of attack.
+
+Our flannel shirts and woolen undergarments hung from us in rags and
+tatters.  Our feet were bare and bruised and swollen.  Our faces were
+covered with a thick, matted growth of hair.  Placed side by side with
+the Incas it is a question which of us would have been judged the most
+terrifying spectacles by an impartial observer.
+
+I don't think either of us realized the extreme foolhardiness of that
+expedition.  The passage was open and unobstructed, and since it
+appeared to be the only way to their fishing-ground, was certain to be
+well traveled.  The alarm once given, there was no possible chance for
+us.
+
+We sought the royal apartments.  Those we knew to be on a level some
+forty or fifty feet below the surface of the great cavern, at the foot
+of the flight of steps which led to the tunnel to the base of the
+column.  I had counted ninety-six of those steps, and allowing an
+average height of six inches, they represented a distance of
+forty-eight feet.
+
+How far the whirlpool and the stream which it fed had carried us
+downward we did not know, but we estimated it at one hundred feet.
+That calculation left us still fifty feet below the level of the royal
+apartments.
+
+But we soon found that in this we were mistaken.  We had advanced for
+perhaps a quarter of an hour without incident when the passage came to
+an abrupt end.  To the right was an irregular, twisting lane that
+disappeared around a corner almost before it started; to the left a
+wide and straight passage, sloping gently upward.  We took the latter.
+
+We had followed this for about a hundred yards when we saw a light
+ahead.  Caution was useless; the passage was straight and unbroken and
+only luck could save us from discovery.  We pushed on, and soon stood
+directly within the light which came from an apartment adjoining the
+passage.  It was not that which we sought, however, and we gave it
+barely a glance before we turned to the right down a cross passage,
+finding ourselves again in darkness.
+
+Soon another light appeared.  We approached.  It came from a doorway
+leading into an apartment some twenty feet square.  It was empty, and
+we entered.
+
+There were two flaming urns fastened to the wall above a granite couch.
+Stone seats were placed here and there about the room.  The walls were
+studded with spots of gold to a height of four or five feet.
+
+We stopped short, gazing about us.
+
+"It looks like--" Harry whispered, and then exclaimed: "It is!  See,
+here is where we took the blocks from this seat!"
+
+So it was.  We were in the room where we had imprisoned the Inca king
+and where we ourselves had been imprisoned with Desiree.
+
+"She said her room was to the right of this," whispered Harry
+excitedly.  "What luck!  If only--"
+
+He left the sentence unfinished, but I understood his fear.  And with
+me there was even no doubt; I had little hope of finding Desiree, and
+was sorry, for Harry's sake, that we had been so far successful.
+
+Again we sought the passage.  A little farther on it was crossed by
+another, running at right angles in both directions.  But to the right
+there was nothing but darkness, and we turned to the left, where, some
+distance ahead, we could see a light evidently proceeding from a
+doorway similar to the one we had just left.
+
+We went rapidly, but our feet made scarcely any sound on the granite
+floor.  Still we were incautious, and it was purely by luck that I
+glanced ahead and discovered that which made me jerk Harry violently
+back and flatten myself against the wall.
+
+"What is it?" he whispered.
+
+In silence I pointed with my finger to where two Incas stood in the
+passage ahead of us, just without the patch of light from the doorway,
+which they were facing.  They made no movement; we were as yet
+undiscovered.  They were about a hundred feet away from where we stood.
+
+"Then she's here!" whispered Harry.  "They are on guard."
+
+I nodded; I had had the same thought.
+
+There was no time to lose; at any moment that they should chance to
+glance in our direction they were certain to see us.  I whispered
+hastily and briefly to Harry.  He nodded.
+
+The next instant we were advancing slowly and noiselessly, hugging the
+wall.  We carried our spears ready, though we did not mean to use them,
+for a miss would have meant an alarm.
+
+"If she is alone!" I was saying within myself, almost a prayer, when
+suddenly one of the Incas turned, facing us squarely, and gave a start
+of surprise.  We leaped forward.
+
+Half a dozen bounds and we were upon them, before they had had time to
+realize their danger or move to escape it.  With a ferocity taught us
+by the Incas themselves we gripped their throats and bore them to the
+floor.
+
+No time then for the decencies; we had work to do, and we crushed and
+pounded their lives out against the stone floor.  There had not been a
+sound.  They quivered and lay still; and then, looking up at some
+slight sound in the doorway, we saw Desiree.
+
+She stood in the doorway, regarding us with an expression of terror
+that I did not at first understand; then suddenly I realized that,
+having seen us disappear beneath the surface of the take after our dive
+from the column, she had thought us dead.
+
+"Bon Dieu!" she exclaimed in a hollow voice of horror.  "This, too!  Do
+you come, messieurs?"
+
+"For you," I answered.  "We are flesh and bone, Desiree, though in ill
+repair.  We have come for you."
+
+"Paul!  Harry, is it really you?"
+
+Belief crept into her eyes, but nothing more, and she stood gazing at
+us curiously.  Harry had sprung to her side; she did not move as he
+embraced her.
+
+"Are you alone?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Good.  Here, Harry--quick!  Help me.  Stand aside, Desiree."
+
+We carried the bodies of the two Incas within the room and deposited
+them in a corner.  Then I ran and brought the spears, which we had
+dropped when we attacked the Incas.  Desiree stood just within the
+doorway, seemingly half dazed.
+
+"Come," I said; "there is no time to be lost.  Come!"
+
+"Where?" She did not move.
+
+"With us.  Isn't that enough?  Do you want to stay here?"
+
+She shuddered violently.
+
+"You don't know--what has happened.  I want to die.  Where are you
+going to take me?"
+
+"Desiree," Harry burst out, "for Heaven's sake, come!  Must we carry
+you?"
+
+He grasped her arm.
+
+Then she moved and appeared to acquiesce.  I started ahead; Harry
+brought up the rear, with an arm round Desiree's shoulders.  She
+started once more to speak, but I wheeled sharply with a command for
+silence, and she obeyed.
+
+We reached the turn in the corridor and passed to the right, moving as
+swiftly and noiselessly as possible.  Ahead of us was the light from
+the doorway of the room in which we had formerly been imprisoned.
+
+We had nearly reached it when I saw, some distance down the corridor,
+moving forms.  The light was very dim, but there appeared to be a great
+many of them.
+
+I turned, with a swift gesture to Harry and Desiree to follow, and
+dashed forward to the light and through the doorway into the room.
+Discovery was inevitable, I thought, in any event, but it was better to
+meet them at the door to the room than in the open passage.  And we had
+our spears.
+
+But by a rare stroke of luck we had not been seen.  As we stood within
+the room on either side of the doorway, out of the line of view from
+the corridor, we heard the patter of many footsteps approaching.
+
+They neared the doorway, and I glanced at Harry, pointing to his spear
+significantly.  He gave me a nod of understanding.  Let them come; we
+would not again fall into their hands alive.
+
+The footsteps sounded just without the doorway; I stood tense and
+alert, with spear ready, expecting a rush momentarily.  Then they
+passed, passed altogether, and receded down the corridor in the
+direction whence we had come.  I wanted to glance out at their number,
+but dared not.  We stood still till all was again perfectly silent.
+
+Then Desiree spoke in a whisper:
+
+"It is useless; we are lost.  That was the king.  He is going to my
+room.  In ten seconds he will be there and find me gone."
+
+There was only one thing to do, and I wasted no time in discussing it.
+A swift command to Harry, and we dashed from the doorway and down the
+corridor to the left, each holding an arm of Desiree.  But she needed
+little of our assistance; the presence of the Inca king seemed to have
+inspired her with a boundless terror, and she flew, rather than ran,
+between us.
+
+We reached the bend in the passage, and just beyond it the light--the
+first one we had seen on our way in.  I had our route marked on my
+memory with complete distinctness.  Soon we found ourselves in the
+wide, sloping passage that carried us to the level below, and in
+another five seconds had reached its end and the beginning of the last
+stretch.
+
+At the turn Harry stumbled and fell flat, dragging Desiree to her
+knees.  I lifted her, and he sprang to his feet unhurt.
+
+She was panting heavily.  Harry had dropped his spear in the fall, and
+we wasted a precious minute searching for it in the darkness, finally
+finding it where it had slid, some twenty feet ahead.  Again we dashed
+forward.
+
+A light appeared ahead in the distance, dim but unmistakable--the light
+of the urns in the cavern for which we were headed.  Suddenly Desiree
+faltered and would have fallen but for our supporting arms.
+
+"Courage!" I breathed.  "We are near the end."
+
+She stopped short and sank to the ground.
+
+"It is useless," she gasped.  "I hurt my ankle when I fell.  I can go
+no farther.  Leave me!"
+
+Harry and I with one impulse stooped over to pick her up, and as we did
+so she fainted away in our arms.  We were then but a few hundred feet
+from our goal; the light from the urns could be plainly seen gleaming
+on the broad ledge by the lake.
+
+Suddenly the sound of many footsteps came from behind.  I turned
+quickly, but the passage was too dark.  I could see nothing.  The sound
+came closer and closer; there seemed to be many of them, advancing
+swiftly.  I straightened and raised my spear.
+
+Harry grasped my arm.
+
+"Not yet!" he cried.  "One more try; we can make it."
+
+He thrust his spear into my hand, and in another instant had thrown
+Desiree's unconscious body over his shoulder and was staggering forward
+toward the cavern.  I followed, while the sound of the footsteps behind
+grew louder and louder.
+
+We neared the end of the passage; we reached it; we were on the ledge.
+Even with Desiree for a burden, Harry moved so swiftly that I found it
+difficult to keep up with him.  The strength of a god was in him, which
+was but just, since he had his goddess in his arms.
+
+On the ledge, near the edge of the water, stood two Incas.  They turned
+at our approach and rushed at us.  Unlucky for them, for Harry's
+example had fired my brain and put the strength of a giant in me.
+
+To this day I don't know what followed--whether I used my spear or my
+fists or my head.  I know only that I leaped at them in irresistible
+fury and left them stretched on the ground before they had reached
+Harry or halted him.
+
+We crossed the ledge and made for the boulders to the left.  The
+crevice which led to our hiding-place was too narrow for Harry and his
+burden.  I sprang forward and grasped Desiree's shoulders; he held her
+ankles, and we got her through to the ledge beyond.
+
+Then I leaped back through the crevice, and barely in time.  As I
+looked out a black, rushing horde emerged from the passage and dashed
+across the ledge toward us.  I stood at the entrance to the narrow
+crevice, spear in hand.
+
+They appeared to have no sense of the fact that my position was
+impregnable, but dashed blindly at me.  The crevice in which I stood
+and which was the only way through to the ledge where Harry had taken
+Desiree, was not more than two feet wide.  With unarmed savages for
+foes, one man could have held it against a million.
+
+But they came and I met them.  I stood within the crevice, some three
+or four feet from its end, and when one appeared in the opening I let
+him have the spear.  Another rushed in and fell on top of the first.
+
+As I say, they appeared to be deprived of the power to reason.  In five
+minutes the mouth of the crevice was completely choked with bodies,
+some, who were merely wounded, struggling and squirming to extricate
+themselves from the bloody tangle.
+
+I heard Harry's voice at my back:
+
+"How about it?  Want some help?"
+
+"Not unless they find some gunpowder," I answered.  "The idiots eat
+death as though it were candy.  We're safe; they can never break
+through here."
+
+"Are they still coming?"
+
+"They can't; they've blocked the way with their smelly black carcasses.
+How is Desiree?"
+
+"Better; she's awake.  I've been bathing her ankle with cold water.
+She has a bad sprain; how the deuce she ever managed to hobble on it
+even two steps is beyond me."
+
+"A sprain?  Are you sure?"
+
+"I think so; it's badly swollen.  Maybe only a twist; a few hours will
+tell."
+
+I heard him return to the ledge back of me; I dared not turn my head.
+
+Thinking I heard a sound above, I looked up; but there was nothing to
+fear in that direction.  The boulders which formed the sides of the
+crevice extended straight up to the roof of the cavern.  We appeared,
+in fact, to be fortified against any attack.
+
+With one exception--hunger.  But there would be plenty of time to think
+of that; for the present we had our fish, which was sufficient for the
+three of us for a month, if we could keep it fresh that long.  And the
+water was at our very feet.
+
+The bodies wedged in the mouth of the crevice began to disappear,
+allowing the light from the urns to filter through; they were removing
+their dead.  I could see the black forms swaying and pulling not five
+feet away.  But I stood motionless, saving my spear and my strength for
+any who might try to force an entrance.
+
+Soon the crevice was clear, and from where I stood I commanded a view
+of something like three-quarters of the ledge.  It was one mass of
+black forms, packed tightly together, gazing at our retreat.
+
+They looked particularly silly and helpless to me then, rendered
+powerless as they were by a little bit of rock.  Brute force was all
+they had; and nature, being the biggest brute of all, laughed at them.
+
+But I soon found that they were not devoid of resource.  For perhaps
+fifteen minutes the scene remained unchanged; not one ventured to
+approach the crevice.  Then there was a sudden movement and shifting in
+the mass; it split suddenly in the middle; they pressed off to either
+side, leaving an open lane between them leading directly toward me.
+
+Down this lane suddenly dashed a dozen or more of the savages, with
+spears aloft in their brawny arms.  I was taken by surprise and barely
+had time to cut and run for the ledge within.
+
+As it was I did not entirely escape; the spears came whistling through
+the crevice, and one of them lodged in my leg just below the thigh.
+
+I jerked it out with an oath and turned to meet the attack.  I was now
+clear of the crevice, standing on the ledge inside, near Harry and
+Desiree.  I called to them to go to one side, out of the range of the
+spears that might come through.  Harry took Desiree in his arms and
+carried her to safety.
+
+As I expected, the Incas came rushing through the crevice--that narrow
+lane where a man could barely push through without squeezing.  The
+first got my spear full in the face--a blow rather than a thrust, for I
+had once or twice had difficulty in retrieving it when I had buried it
+deep.
+
+As he fell I struck at the one behind.  He grasped the spear with his
+hand, but I jerked it free and brought it down on his head, crushing
+him to the ground.  It was mere butchery; they hadn't a chance in the
+world to get at me.  Another fell, and the rest retreated.  The crevice
+was again clear, save for the bodies of the three who had fallen.
+
+I turned to where Harry and Desiree were seated on the further edge of
+the ledge.  Her body rested against his; her head lay on his shoulder.
+
+As I looked at them, smiling, her eyes suddenly opened wide and she
+sprang to her feet and started toward me.
+
+"Paul!  You are hurt!  Harry, a bandage--quick; your shirt--anything!"
+
+I looked down at the gash on my leg, which was bleeding somewhat freely.
+
+"It's nothing," I declared; "a mere tear in the skin.  But your ankle!
+I thought it was sprained?"
+
+She had reached my side and bent over to examine my wound; but I raised
+her in my arms and held her before me.
+
+"That," I said, "is nothing.  Believe me, it isn't even painful.  I
+shall bandage it myself; Harry will take my place here.  But your foot?"
+
+"That, too, is nothing," she answered with a half-smile.  "I merely
+twisted it; it is nearly well already.  See!"
+
+She placed her weight on the injured foot, but could not suppress a
+faint grimace of pain.
+
+Calling to Harry to watch the crevice, I took Desiree in my arms and
+carried her back to her seat.
+
+"Now sit still," I commanded.  "Soon we'll have dinner; in the mean
+time allow me to say that you are the bravest woman in the world, and
+the best sport.  And some day we'll drink to that--from a bottle."
+
+But facts have no respect for sentiment and fine speeches.  The last
+words were taken from my very mouth by a ringing cry from Harry:
+
+"Paul!  By gad, they're coming at us from the water!"
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI.
+
+THE ESCAPE.
+
+The ledge on which we rested was about forty feet square.  Back of us
+was a confused mass of boulders and chasms, across which I had come
+when I first encircled the cavern and found Harry.
+
+In front was the crevice, guarded by the two massive boulders.  On the
+right the ledge met the solid wall of the cavern, and on the left was
+the lake itself, whose waters rippled gently at our very feet.
+
+At sound of Harry's warning cry I ran to the water's edge and peered
+round the side of the boulder.  He was right; but what I saw was not
+very alarming.
+
+Two rafts had been launched from the enemy's camp.  Each raft held
+three Incas--more would have sunk them.  Two were paddling, while the
+third balanced himself in the center, brandishing a spear aloft.
+
+Turning to Desiree, I called to her to move behind a projecting bit of
+rock.  Then, leaving Harry to guard the crevice in case of a double
+attack, I took three of our four spears--one of which had made the
+wound in my leg--and stood at the water's edge awaiting the approach of
+the rafts.
+
+They came slowly, and their appearance was certainly anything but
+terrifying.
+
+"Not much of a navy," I called to Harry; and he answered, with a laugh:
+"Lucky for us!  Look at our coast defense!"
+
+One of the rafts was considerably ahead of the other, and in another
+minute it had approached within fifty feet of the ledge.  The Inca in
+the center stood with legs spread apart and his spear poised above his
+head; I made no movement, thinking that on such precarious footing he
+would have difficulty to hurl the thing at all.  Wherein I underrated
+his skill, and it nearly cost me dear.
+
+Suddenly, with hardly a movement of his body, his arm snapped forward.
+I ducked to one side instinctively and heard the spear whistle past my
+ear with the speed of a bullet, so close that the butt of the shaft
+struck the side of my head a glancing blow and toppled me over.
+
+I sprang quickly to my feet, and barely in time, for I saw the Inca
+stoop over, pick up another spear from the raft, and draw it back above
+his head.  At the same moment the second raft drew up alongside, and as
+I fell to the ground flat on my face I heard the two spears whistle
+shrewdly over me.
+
+At that game they were my masters; it would have been folly to have
+tried conclusions with them with their own weapons.  As the spears
+clattered on the ground thirty feet away I sprang to my feet and ran to
+the farther side of the ledge, where I had before noticed some loose
+stones in a corner.
+
+With two or three of these in my hands I ran back to the water's edge,
+meeting two more of the spears that came twisting at me through the
+air, one of which tore the skin from my left shoulder.
+
+A quick glance at the crevice as I passed showed me Harry fighting at
+its entrance; they were at us there, too.  I heard Desiree shout
+something at me, but didn't catch the words.
+
+My first stone found its goal.  The two rafts, side by side not forty
+feet away, were a fair mark.  The stone was nearly the size of a man's
+head and very heavy; I had all I could do to get the distance.
+
+It struck the raft on the right fairly; the thing turned turtle in a
+flash, precipitating its occupants onto the other raft.  The added
+weight carried that, too, under the surface, and the six Incas were
+floundering about in the water.
+
+I expected to see them turn and swim for the landing opposite; but,
+instead, they headed directly toward me!
+
+The light from the urns was but faint, and it was not easy to
+distinguish their black heads against the black water; still, I could
+see their approach.  Two of them held spears in their hands; I saw the
+copper heads flash on high.
+
+I stood at the edge of the lake, wondering at their folly as I waited;
+they were now scarcely ten feet away.  Another few strokes and the
+foremost stretched out his hand to grasp the slippery ledge; my spear
+came down crushingly on his head and he fell back into the water.
+
+By that time another had crawled half onto the ledge, and another; a
+blow and a quick thrust, and they, too, slipped back beneath the
+surface, pawing in agony, not to rise again.
+
+Just in time I saw that one of the remaining three had lifted himself
+in the water not five feet away, with his spear aimed at my breast.
+But the poor devil had no purchase for his feet and the thing went wide.
+
+The next instant he had received a ten-pound stone full in the face and
+went down with a gurgle.  At that the remaining two, seeming to acquire
+a glimmering of intelligence, turned and swam hastily away.  I let them
+go.
+
+Turning to Harry, I saw that the crevice also was clear.  He had left
+his post and started toward me, but I waved him back.
+
+"All right here, Hal: have they given it up?"
+
+There was an expression of the most profound disgust on his face.
+
+"Paul, it's rank butchery.  I'm wading in blood.  Will this thing never
+stop?"
+
+I looked at him and said merely: "Yes."
+
+No need to ask when; he understood me; he sent me the glance of a man
+who has become too familiar with death to fear it, and answered:
+
+"Another hour of this, and--I'm ready."
+
+I told him to keep an eye on both points of attack and went across to
+where Desiree sat crouched on the ground.  I hadn't many words.
+
+"How is your foot?"
+
+"Oh, it is better; well.  But your leg--"
+
+"Never mind that.  Could you sleep?"
+
+"Bon Dieu--no!"
+
+"We have only raw fish.  Can you eat?"
+
+"I'll try," she answered, with a grimace.
+
+I went to the edge of the ledge where we had the fish stowed away near
+the water and took some of it both to her and Harry.  We ate, but with
+little relish.  The stuff did not seem very fresh.
+
+I remained on guard at the mouth of the crevice while Harry went to the
+lake for a drink, having first helped Desiree to the water and back to
+her seat.  Her foot gave her a great deal of pain, but instead of a
+sprain it appeared that there had been merely a straining of the
+ligaments.  After bathing it in the cold water she was considerably
+relieved.
+
+I remained on watch at the mouth of the crevice, from where I could
+also obtain a pretty fair view of the lake, and commanded Harry to
+rest.  He demurred, but I insisted.  Within two minutes he was sleeping
+like a log, completely exhausted.
+
+Several hundred of the Incas remained huddled together on the ledge
+without, but they made no effort to attack us.  I had been watching
+perhaps three hours when they began to melt away into the passage.
+Soon but a scant dozen or so remained.  These squatted along the wall
+just under the lighted urns, evidently in the capacity of sentinels.
+
+Soon I became drowsy--intolerably so; I was scarcely able to stand.  I
+dozed off once or twice on my feet; and, realizing the danger, I called
+Harry to take my place.
+
+Desiree also had been asleep, lying on the raft which Harry and I had
+concealed along with our fish.  At sound of my voice she awoke and sat
+up, rubbing her eyes; then, as I assured her that all was quiet, she
+fell back again on her rude bed.
+
+I have never understood the delay of the Incas at this juncture;
+possibly they took time to consult the great Pachacamac and found his
+advice difficult to understand.  At the time I thought they had given
+up the attack and intended to starve us out, but they were incapable of
+a decision so sensible.
+
+Many hours had passed, and we had alternated on four watches.  We had
+plenty of rest and were really quite fit.  The gash on my leg had
+proven a mere trifle; I was a little stiff, but there was no pain.
+
+Desiree's foot was almost entirely well; she was able to walk with
+ease, and had insisted on taking a turn at watch, making such a point
+of it that we had humored her.
+
+Something had to happen, and I suppose it was as well that the Incas
+should start it.  For we had met with a misfortune that made us see the
+beginning of the end.  Our fish was no longer fit to eat, and we had
+been forced to throw the remainder of it in the lake.
+
+Then we held a council of war.  The words we uttered, standing together
+at the mouth of the crevice, come to me now as in a dream; if my memory
+of them were not so vivid I should doubt their reality.  We discussed
+death with a calmness that spoke eloquently of our experience.
+
+Desiree's position may be given in a word--she was ready for the end,
+and invited it.
+
+I was but little behind her, but advised waiting for one more watch--a
+sop to Harry.  And there was one other circumstance that moved me to
+delay--the hope for a sight of the Inca king and a chance at him.
+
+Desiree had refused to tell us her experiences between the time of our
+dive from the column and our rescue of her; but she had said enough to
+cause me to guess at its nature.  There was a suppressed but ever
+present horror in her eyes that made me long to stand once more before
+the Child of the Sun; then to go, but not alone.
+
+Harry advised retreat.  I have mentioned that when he and I had started
+on our search for Desiree we had found two exits from the cavern--the
+one which we had taken and another which led through the maze of
+boulders and chasms back of us to a passage full of twists and turns
+and choked with massive rocks, almost impassable.
+
+Through this he advised making our way to whatever might await us
+beyond.
+
+The question was still undecided when our argument was brought to a
+halt and the decision was taken away from us.  Through the crevice I
+saw a band of Incas emerge from the passage opposite and advance to the
+water's edge.  At their head was the Inca king.
+
+Soon the landing was completely covered with them--probably three
+hundred or more--and others could be seen in the mouth of the passage.
+Each one carried a spear; their heads of copper, upraised in a
+veritable forest, shone dully in the light of the urns on the wall
+above.
+
+Harry and Desiree stood close behind me, looking through at the
+fantastic sight.  I turned to him:
+
+"This time they mean business."
+
+He nodded.
+
+"But what can they do?  Except get knocked on the head, and I'm sick of
+it.  If we had only left an hour ago!"
+
+"For my part," I retorted, "I'm glad we didn't.  Desiree, I'm going to
+put you in my debt, if fortune will only show me one last kindness and
+let me get within reach of him."
+
+I pointed to where the Inca king stood in the forefront, at the very
+edge of the lake.
+
+She shuddered and grew pale.
+
+"He is a monster," she said in a voice so low that I scarcely heard,
+"and--I thank you, Paul."
+
+Harry seemed not to have heard.
+
+"But what can they do?" he repeated.
+
+They did not leave us long in doubt.  As he spoke there was a sudden
+sharp movement in the ranks of the Incas.  Those in front leaped in the
+water, and others after them, until, almost before we had time to
+realize their purpose, hundreds of the hairy brutes were swimming with
+long, powerful strokes directly toward the ledge on which we stood.
+Between his teeth each man carried his spear.
+
+I left Harry to guard the crevice, and ran to repel the attack at the
+water.  Desiree stood just behind me.  I called to her to go back, but
+she did not move.  I grasped her by the arm and led her forcibly to a
+break in the rock at our rear, and pointed out a narrow ascending lane
+in the direction of the other exit.
+
+When I returned to the ledge of the water the foremost of the Incas
+were but a few feet away.  But I looked in vain for the one face I
+wanted to see and could recognize; the king was not among them.  A
+hasty glance across the landing opposite discovered him standing
+motionless with folded arms.
+
+The entire surface of the lake before me was one mass of heads and arms
+and spears as far as I could see.  There were hundreds of them.  I saw
+at once that the thing was hopeless, but I grasped my spear firmly and
+stood ready.
+
+The first two or three reached the ledge.  At the same instant I heard
+Harry call:
+
+"They're coming through, Paul!  It's you alone!"
+
+I did not turn my head, for I was busy.  My spear was whirling about my
+head like a circle of flame.  Black, dusky forms swam to the ledge and
+grasped its slippery surface, but they got no farther.  The shaft of
+the spear bent in my hand; I picked up another, barely losing a second.
+
+A wild and savage delight surged through me at the sight of those
+struggling, writhing, slipping forms.  I swung the spear in vicious
+fury.  Not one had found footing on the ledge.
+
+Something suddenly struck me in the left arm and stuck there; I shook
+it loose impatiently and it felt as though my arm went with it.
+
+I did not care to glance up even for an instant; they were pressing me
+closer and closer; but I knew that they had begun to hurl their spears
+at me from the water, and that the game was up.  Another struck me on
+the leg; soon they were falling thick about me.
+
+Calling to Harry to follow, I turned and ran for the opening in the
+rock to which I had led Desiree.  In an instant he had joined me.
+
+By that time scores of the Incas had scrambled out of the water onto
+the ledge and started toward us, and as many more came rushing through
+the crevice, finding their way no longer contested.
+
+Harry carried three spears.  I had four.  We sprang up a lane
+encircling the rock to the rear and at its top found Desiree.
+
+A projecting bit of rock gave us some protection from the spears that
+were being hurled at us from below, but they came uncomfortably close,
+and black forms began to appear in the lane through which we had come.
+
+Harry shouted something which I didn't hear, and, taking Desiree in his
+arms, sprang from the rock to another ledge some ten feet below.
+
+I followed.  At the bottom he stumbled and fell, but I helped him to
+his feet and then turned barely in time to beat back three or four of
+the Incas who had tumbled down almost on our very heads.
+
+Immediately in front of us was a chasm several feet across.  Harry
+cried to Desiree, "Can you make it?" and she shook her head, pointing
+to her injured foot.
+
+"To me!" I shouted desperately; they were coming down from above
+despite my efforts to hold them back.
+
+Then, in answer to a call from Harry, I turned and leaped across the
+chasm, throwing the spears ahead of me.  Harry took Desiree in his arms
+and swung her far out; I braced myself for the shock and caught her on
+my feet.
+
+I set her down unhurt, and a minute later Harry had joined us and we
+were scrambling up the face of a boulder nearly perpendicular, while
+the spears fell thick around us.
+
+Desiree lost her footing and fell against Harry, who rolled to the
+bottom, pawing for a hold.  I turned, but he shouted: "Go on; I'll make
+it!" Soon he was again at my side, and in another minute we had gained
+the top of the boulder, quite flat and some twenty feet square.  We
+commanded Desiree to lie flat on the ground to avoid the spears from
+below, and paused for a breath and a survey of the situation.
+
+It can be described only with the word chaotic.
+
+The light of the urns were now hidden from us, and we were in
+comparative darkness, though we could see with a fair amount of
+clearness.  Nothing could be made of the mass of boulders, but we knew
+that somewhere beyond them was the passage from the cavern which we
+sought.
+
+The Incas came leaping across the chasm to the foot of the rock.
+Several of them scrambled up the steep surface, but with our spears we
+pushed them back and they tumbled onto the heads of their fellows below.
+
+But we were too exposed for a stand there, and I shouted to Harry to
+take Desiree down the other side of the rock while I stayed behind to
+hold them off.  He left me, and in a moment later I heard his voice
+crying to me to follow.  I did so, sliding down the face of the rock
+feet first.
+
+Then began a wild and desperate scramble for safety, with the Incas
+ever at our heels.  Without Desiree we would have made our goal with
+little difficulty, but half of the time we had to carry her.
+
+Several times Harry hurled her bodily across a chasm or a crevice,
+while I received her on the other side.
+
+Often I covered the retreat, holding the Incas at bay while Harry
+assisted Desiree up the steep face of a boulder or across a narrow
+ledge.  There was less danger now from their spears, protected as we
+were by the maze of rocks, but I was already bleeding in a dozen places
+on my legs and arms and body, and Harry was in no better case.
+
+Suddenly I saw ahead of us an opening which I thought I recognized.  I
+pointed it out to Harry.
+
+"The exit!" he cried out, and made for it with Desiree.  But they were
+brought to a halt by a cliff at their very feet, no less than twenty
+feet high.
+
+I started to join them, but hearing a clatter behind, turned just in
+time to see a score of Incas rush at us from the left, through a narrow
+lane that led to the edge of the cliff.
+
+I sprang toward them, calling to Harry for assistance.  He was at my
+side in an instant, and together we held them back.
+
+In five minutes the mouth of the lane was choked with their bodies;
+some behind attempted to scramble over the pile to get at us, but we
+made them sick of their job.  I saw that Harry could hold it alone
+then, and calling to him to stand firm till I called, I ran to Desiree.
+
+I let myself over the edge of the cliff and hung by my hands, then
+dropped to the ground below.  It was even further than I had thought;
+my legs doubled up under me and I toppled over, half fainting.
+
+I gritted my teeth and struggled to my feet, calling to Desiree.  She
+was already hanging to the edge of the cliff, many feet above me.  But
+there was nothing else for it, and I shouted: "All right, come on!"
+
+She came, and knocked me flat on my back.  I had tried to catch her,
+and did succeed in breaking her fall, at no little cost to myself.  I
+was one mass of bruises and wounds.  But again I struggled to my feet
+and shouted at the top of my voice:
+
+"Harry!  Come!"
+
+He did not come alone.  I suppose the instant he left the lane
+unguarded the Incas poured in after him.  They followed him over the
+edge of the cliff, tumbling on top of each other in an
+indistinguishable mass.
+
+Some rose to their feet; their comrades, descending from above,
+promptly knocked them flat on their backs.
+
+Harry and Desiree and I were making for the exit, which was not but a
+few feet away.  As I have said, the thing was choked up till it was
+almost impassable.  We squeezed in between two rocks, with Desiree
+between us.  Harry was in front, and I brought up the rear.
+
+Once through that lane and we might hold our own.
+
+"In Heaven's name, come on!" Harry shouted suddenly; for I had turned
+and halted, gazing back at the Incas tumbling over the cliff and
+rushing toward the mouth of the exit.
+
+But I did not heed him, for, standing on the top of the cliff, waving
+his arms wildly at those below, I had seen the form of the Inca king.
+He was less than thirty feet away.
+
+With cries from Harry and Desiree ringing in my ears, I braced my feet
+as firmly as possible on the uneven rock and poised my spear above my
+head.  The Incas saw my purpose and stopped short.
+
+The king must also have seen me, but he stood absolutely motionless.  I
+lunged forward; the spear left my hand and flew straight for his breast.
+
+But it failed to reach the mark.  A shout of triumph was on my lips,
+but was suddenly cut short when an Inca standing near the king sprang
+forward and hurled himself in the path of the spear just as its point
+was ready to take our revenge.  The Inca fell to the foot of the cliff
+with the spear buried deep in his side.  The king stood as he had
+before, without moving.
+
+Then there was a wild rush into the mouth of the exit, and I turned to
+follow Harry and Desiree.  With extreme difficulty we scrambled forward
+over the rocks and around them.
+
+Desiree's breath was coming in painful gasps, and we had to support her
+on either side.  The Incas approached closer at our rear; I felt one of
+them grasp me from behind, and in an excess of fury I shook him off and
+dashed him backward against the rocks.  We were able to make little
+headway, or none; by taking to the exit we appeared to have set our own
+death-trap.
+
+Harry went on with Desiree, and I stayed behind in the attempt to check
+the attack.  They came at me from both sides.  I was faint and
+bleeding, and barely able to wield my spear--my last one.  I gave way
+by inches, retreating backward step by step, fighting with the very end
+of my strength.
+
+Suddenly Harry's voice came, shouting that they had reached the end of
+the passage.  I turned then and sprang desperately from rock to rock
+after them, with the Incas crowding close after me.
+
+I stumbled and nearly fell, but recovered my footing and staggered on.
+And suddenly the mass of rocks ended abruptly, and I fell forward onto
+flat, level ground by the side of Desiree and Harry.
+
+"Your spear!" I gasped.  "Quick--they are upon us!"
+
+But they grasped my arms and dragged me away from the passage to one
+side.  I was half fainting from exhaustion and loss of blood, and
+scarcely knew what they did.  They laid me on the ground and bent over
+me.
+
+"The Incas!" I gasped.
+
+"They are gone," Harry answered.
+
+At that I struggled to rise and rested my body on my elbows, gazing at
+the mouth of the passage.  It was so; the Incas were not to be seen!
+Not one had issued from the passage.
+
+It was incomprehensible to us then; later we understood.  And we had
+not long to wait.
+
+Harry and Desiree were bending over me, attempting to stop the flow of
+blood from a cut on my shoulder.
+
+"We must have water," said Desiree.  Harry straightened up to look
+about the cavern, which was so dark that we could barely see one
+another's faces but a few feet away.
+
+Suddenly an exclamation of wonder came from his lips.
+
+Desiree and I followed the direction of his gaze, and saw the huge,
+black, indistinct form of some animal suddenly detach itself from the
+wall of the cavern and move slowly toward us through the darkness.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII.
+
+THE EYES IN THE DARK.
+
+The thing was at a considerable distance; we could barely see that it
+was there and that it was moving.  It was of an immense size; so large
+that it appeared as though the very side of the cavern itself had moved
+noiselessly from its bed in the mountain.
+
+At the same moment I became aware of a penetrating, disagreeable odor,
+nauseating and horrible.  I had risen to my knees and remained so,
+while Harry and Desiree stood on either side of me.
+
+The thing continued to move toward us, very slowly.  There was not a
+sound.  The strength of the odor increased until it was almost
+suffocating.
+
+Still we did not move.  I could not, and Harry and Desiree seemed
+rooted to the spot with wonder.  The thing came closer, and we could
+see the outlines of its huge form looming up indistinctly against the
+black background of the cavern.
+
+I saw, or thought I saw, a grotesque and monstrous slimy head stretched
+toward us from about the middle of its bulk.
+
+That doubt became a certainty when suddenly, as though they had been
+lit by a fire from within, two luminous, glowing spots appeared about
+three feet apart.  The creature's eyes--if eyes they were--were turned
+full on us, growing more brilliant as the thing came closer.  It was
+now less than fifty feet away.  The massive form blocked our view of
+the entire cavern.
+
+I pinched my nostrils to exclude the horrible odor which, like the
+fumes of some deadly poison, choked and smothered me.  It came now in
+puffs, like a draft of a fetid wind, and I realized that it was the
+creature's breath.  I could feel it against my body, my neck and face,
+and knew that if I breathed it full into my lungs I should be overcome.
+
+But still more terrifying were the eyes.  There was something
+compelling, supernaturally compelling, about their steadfast and
+brilliant gaze.  A mysterious power seemed to emanate from them; a
+power that hypnotized the mind and deadened the senses.  I closed my
+eyes to avoid it, but was unable to keep them closed.  They opened
+despite my extreme effort, and again I met that gaze of fire.
+
+There was a movement at my side.  I turned and saw that it came from
+Desiree.  Her hands were raised to her face; she was holding them
+before her as though in a futile attempt to cover her eyes.
+
+The thing came closer and closer; it was but a few feet away, and still
+we did not move, as though rooted to the spot by some power beyond our
+control.
+
+Suddenly there came a cry from Desiree's lips--a scream of terror and
+wild fear.  Her entire form trembled violently.
+
+She extended her arms toward the thing, now almost upon us, and took a
+step forward.  Her feet dragged unwilling along the ground, as though
+she were being drawn forward by some irresistible force.
+
+I tried to put out my hand to pull her back, but was absolutely unable
+to move.  Harry stood like a man of rock, immovable.
+
+She took another step forward, with arms outstretched in front of her.
+A low moan of terror and piteous appeal came from between her slightly
+parted lips.
+
+Suddenly the eyes disappeared.  The huge form ceased to advance and
+stood perfectly still.  Then it began to recede, so slowly that I was
+barely conscious of the movement.
+
+I was gasping and choking for air; my chest seemed swelling with the
+poisonous breath.  Still slowly the thing receded into the dimness of
+the cavern; the eyes were no longer to be seen--merely the huge,
+formless bulk.  Desiree had stopped short with one foot advanced, as
+though hesitating and struggling with the desire to go forward.
+
+The thing now could barely be seen at a distance; it would have been
+impossible if we had not known it was there.  Finally it disappeared,
+melting away into the semi-darkness; no slightest movement was
+discernible.  I breathed more freely and stepped forward.
+
+As I did so Desiree threw her hands gropingly above her head and fell
+fainting to the ground.
+
+Harry sprang forward in time to keep her head from striking on the rock
+and knelt with his arms round her shoulders.  We had nothing, not even
+water, with which to revive her; he called her name aloud appealingly.
+Soon her eyes opened; she raised her hand and passed it across her brow
+wonderingly.
+
+"God help me!" she murmured in a low voice, eloquent of distress and
+pain.
+
+Then she pushed Harry aside and rose slowly to her feet, refusing his
+assistance.
+
+"In the name of Heaven, what is it?" Harry demanded, turning to me.
+
+"We have found the devil at last," I answered, with an attempt to
+laugh, which sounded hollow in my own ears.
+
+Desiree could tell us nothing, except that she had felt herself drawn
+forward by some strange power that had seemed to come from the baneful,
+glittering eyes.  She was bewildered and stunned and unable to talk
+coherently.  We assisted her to the wall, and she sat there with her
+back propped against it, breathing heavily from the exhaustion of
+terror.
+
+"We must find water," I said, and Harry nodded, hesitating.
+
+I understood him.  Danger could not have stayed him nor fear, but the
+horror of the thing which roamed about the cavern, dark as darkness
+itself and possessed of some strange power that could not be withstood,
+was enough to make him pause.  For myself it was impossible; I was
+barely able to stand.  So Harry went off alone in search of water and I
+stayed with Desiree.
+
+It was perhaps half an hour before he returned, and we were shaken with
+fear for him long before he appeared.  When he did so it was with a
+white face and trembling limbs, in spite of his evident effort at
+steadiness.
+
+"There is water over there," said he, pointing across the cavern.  "A
+stream runs across the corner and disappears beneath the wall.  There
+is nothing to carry it in.  You must come with me."
+
+"What has happened?" I asked, for even his voice was unsteady.
+
+"I saw it," he replied simply, but expressing enough in those three
+words to cause a shudder to run through me.
+
+Then, speaking in a low tone that Desiree might not hear, he told me
+that the thing had confronted him suddenly as he was following the
+opposite wall, and that he, too, had been drawn forward, as it were, by
+a spell impossible to shake off.  He had tried to cry aloud, but had
+been unable to utter a sound.  And suddenly, as before, the eyes had
+disappeared, leaving him barely able to stand.
+
+"No wonder the Incas wouldn't follow us in here," he finished.  "We
+must get out of this.  I'm not a coward, but I wouldn't go through that
+again for my life."
+
+"You take Desiree," said I.  "I want that water."
+
+He led us around the wall several hundred feet.  The ground was level
+and clear of obstruction; but we went slowly, for I could scarcely
+move.  Harry kept his eyes strained intently on all sides; his
+experience had left him more profoundly impressed even than he had been
+willing to admit to me.
+
+Soon we heard the low music of running water, and a minute later we
+reached the stream Harry had found.
+
+The fact that there was something to be done seemed to infuse a new
+spirit into Desiree, and soon her deft fingers were bathing my wounds
+and bandaging them as well as her poor material would allow.
+
+The cold water took the heat from my pumping veins and left me almost
+comfortable.  Harry had come off much easier than I, since I had so
+often sent him ahead with Desiree, and myself brought up the rear and
+withstood the brunt of the attack.
+
+As Harry had said, the stream cut across a corner of the cavern,
+disappearing beneath the opposite wall, forming a triangle bound by two
+sides of the cavern and the stream itself.  I saw plainly that it would
+be impossible for me to move any distance for at least a few days, and
+that triangle appeared to offer the safest and most comfortable retreat.
+
+I spoke to Harry, and he waded across the stream to try its depth.
+From the other side he called that the water was at no point more than
+waist-high, and Desiree and I started to cross; but about the middle I
+felt the current about to sweep me off my feet.  Harry waded in and
+helped me ashore.
+
+On that hard rock we lay for many weary hours.  We had no food; but for
+that I would soon have been myself again, for, though my wounds were
+numerous, they were little more than scratches, with the exception of
+the gash on my shoulder.  Weakened as I was by loss of blood, and
+lacking nourishment, I improved but slowly, and only the cold water
+kept the fever from me.
+
+Twice Harry went out in search of food and of an exit from the cavern.
+The first time he was away for several hours, and returned exhausted
+and empty-handed and without having found any exit other than the one
+by which we had entered.
+
+He had ventured through that far enough to see a group of Incas on
+watch at the other end.  They had seen him and sprung after him, but he
+had returned without injury, and at the entrance into the cavern where
+we lay they had halted abruptly.
+
+The second time he was gone out more than half an hour, and the instant
+I saw his face when he returned I knew what had happened.
+
+But I was not in the best of humor; his terror appeared to me to be
+ridiculously childish, and I said so in no uncertain terms.
+
+But he was too profoundly agitated to show any anger.
+
+"You don't know, you don't know," was all he said in answer to me; then
+he added; "I can't stand this any longer.  I tell you we've got to get
+out of here.  You don't know how awful--"
+
+"Yes," said Desiree, looking at me.
+
+"But I can scarcely walk," I objected.
+
+"True," said Harry.  "I know.  But we can help you.  There must be
+another exit, and we'll start now."
+
+"Very well," I said quite calmly; and I picked up one of the spears
+which we had carried with us, and, rising to my knees, placed the butt
+of the shaft against the wall near which I lay.
+
+But Harry saw my purpose, and was too quick for me.  He sprang across
+and snatched the spear from my hand and threw it on the ground a dozen
+feet away.
+
+"Are you crazy?" he shouted angrily.
+
+"No," I answered; "but I am little better, and I doubt if I shall be.
+Come--why not?  I hinder you and become bored with myself."
+
+"You blame me," he said bitterly; "but I tell you you don't know.  Very
+well--we stay.  You must give me your promise not to act the fool."
+
+"In any event, you must go soon," I answered, "or starve to death.
+Perhaps in another twenty-four hours I shall be stronger.  Come,
+Desiree; will that satisfy you?"
+
+She did not answer; her back was turned to us as she stood gazing
+across the stream into the depths of the cavern.  There was a curious
+tenseness in her attitude that made me follow her gaze, and what I saw
+left me with no wonder at it--a huge, black, indistinct form that moved
+slowly toward us through the darkness.
+
+Harry caught sight of it at the same moment as myself, and on the
+instant he turned about, covering his face with his hands, and called
+to Desiree and me to do likewise.
+
+Desiree obeyed; I had risen to my knees and remained so, gazing
+straight ahead, ready for a combat if it were not a physical one.  I
+will not say that a certain feeling of dread did not rise in my heart,
+but I intended to show Desiree and Harry the childishness of their
+terror.
+
+Nothing could be seen but the uncertain outline of the immense bulk;
+but the same penetrating, sickening odor that had before all but
+suffocated me came faintly across the surface of the stream, growing
+stronger with each second that passed.  Suddenly the eyes appeared--two
+glowing orbs of fire that caught my gaze and held it as with a chain.
+
+I did not attempt to avoid it, but returned the gaze with another as
+steadfast.  I was telling myself: "Let us see this trick and play one
+stronger." My nerves centered throbbingly back of my eyes, and I gave
+them the whole force of my will.
+
+The thing came closer and the eyes seemed to burn into my very brain.
+With a great effort I brought myself back to control, dropping to my
+hands and knees and gripping the ground for strength.
+
+"This is nothing, this is nothing," I kept saying to myself
+aloud--until I realized suddenly that my voice had risen almost to a
+scream, and I locked my teeth tight on my lip.
+
+I no longer returned the gaze from my own power; it held me of itself.
+I felt my brain grow curiously numb and every muscle in my body
+contracted with a pain almost unbearable.  Still the thing came closer
+and closer, and it seemed to me, half dazed as I was, that it advanced
+much faster than before.
+
+Then suddenly I felt a sensation of cold and moisture on my arms and
+legs and a pressure against my body, and I realized, as in a dream,
+that I had entered the stream of water!
+
+I was crawling toward the thing on my hands and knees, without having
+even been conscious that I had moved.
+
+That brought despair and a last supreme struggle to resist whatever
+mysterious power it was that dragged me forward.
+
+Cold beads of sweat rolled from my forehead.  Beneath the surface of
+the water my hands gripped the rocks as in a vise.  My teeth had sunk
+deep into my lower lip and covered my chin with blood, though I did not
+know that till afterward.
+
+But I was pulled loose from my hold, and forward.  I bent the whole
+force of my will to the effort not to move, but my hand left the rock
+and crept forward.  I was fully conscious of what I was doing.  I knew
+that if I could once draw my eyes away from that compelling gaze the
+spell would be broken, but the power to do so was not in me.
+
+The thing had halted on the farther bank of the stream.  Still I moved
+forward.  The water now lapped against my chest; soon it was about my
+shoulders.
+
+I was fully conscious of the fact that in another ten feet the surface
+would close over my head, and that I had not the strength to swim or
+fight the current; but still I went forward.  I tried to cry out, but
+could force no sound through my lips.
+
+Then suddenly the eyes began to disappear.  But that at least was
+comprehensible, for I could distinctly see the black and heavy lids
+closing over them, like the curtain on a stage.  They fell slowly.
+
+The eyes became half moons, then narrowed to a thin slit.  I rose,
+panting like a man exhausted with extreme and prolonged physical
+exertion.
+
+The eyes were gone.
+
+A mad impulse rushed into my brain to dash forward and touch the
+monster, to see if that dim, black form were really a thing of flesh
+and blood or some contrivance of the devil.  I smile at that phrase as
+I write it now in my study, but I did not smile then.  I was standing
+above my knees in the water, trembling from head to foot, divided
+between the impulse to go forward and the inclination to flee in terror.
+
+I did neither; I stood still.  I could see the thing with a fair amount
+of distinctness and forced my brain to take the record of my eyes.  But
+I could make nothing of it.
+
+I guessed at rather than saw a hideous head rolling from side to side
+at the end of a long and sinuous neck, and writhing, reptilian coils
+lashing the rock at the edge of the water, like the tentacles of an
+octopus, only many times larger.  The body itself was larger than that
+of any animal I had ever seen, and blacker even than the darkness.
+
+Suddenly the huge mass began to move slowly backward.  The sharpness of
+the odor had ceased with the opening of the eyes, which did not
+reappear.  I could dimly see its huge legs slowly rise and recede and
+again meet the ground.  Soon the thing was barely discernible.
+
+I took a step forward as though to follow; but the strength of the
+current warned me of the danger of proceeding farther, and, besides, I
+feared every moment to see the lids again raised from the terrible
+eyes.  The thought attacked my brain with horror, and I turned and fled
+in a sudden panic to the rear, calling to Harry and Desiree.
+
+They met me at the edge of the stream, and their eyes told me that they
+read in my face what had happened, though they had seen nothing.
+
+"You--you saw it--" Harry stammered.
+
+I nodded, scarcely able to speak.
+
+"Then--perhaps now--"
+
+"Yes," I interposed.  "Let's get out of here.  It's horrible.  And yet
+how can we go?  I can hardly stand."
+
+But Harry was now the one who argued for delay, saying that our retreat
+was the safest place we could find, and that we should wait at least
+until I had had time to recover from the strain of the last half-hour.
+Realizing that in my weakened condition I would be a hindrance to them
+rather than a help, I consented.  Besides, if the thing reappeared I
+could avoid it as Harry and Desiree had done.
+
+"What is it?" Harry asked presently.
+
+We were sitting side by side, well up against the wall.  It was an
+abrupt question, with no apparent pertinence, but I understood.
+
+"Heaven knows!" I answered shortly.  I was none too pleased with myself.
+
+"But it must be something.  Is it an animal?"
+
+"Do you remember," I asked by way of answer, "a treatise of Aristotle
+concerning which we had a discussion one day?  Its subject was the
+hypnotic power possessed by the eyes of certain reptiles.  I laughed
+the idea to scorn; you maintained that it was possible.  Well, I agree
+with you; and I'd like to have about a dozen of our modern skeptical
+scientists in this cave with me for about five minutes."
+
+"But what is it?  A reptile!" Harry exclaimed.  "The thing is as big as
+a house!"
+
+"Well, and why not?  I should guess that it is about thirty feet in
+height and forty or fifty in length.  There have been species, now
+extinct, several times as large."
+
+"Then you think it is just--just an animal?" put in Desiree.
+
+"What did you think it was?" I nearly smiled.  "An infernal machine?"
+
+"I don't know.  Only I have never before known what it was to fear."
+
+A discussion which led us nowhere, but at least gave us the sound of
+one another's voices.
+
+We passed many hours in that manner.  Utterly blank and wearisome, and
+all but hopeless.  I have often wondered at the strange tenacity with
+which we clung to life in conditions that made of it a burden almost
+insupportable; and with what chance of relief?
+
+The instinct of self-preservation, it is called by the learned, but it
+needs a stronger name.  It is more than an instinct.  It is the very
+essence of life itself.
+
+But soon we were impelled to action by something besides the desire to
+escape from the cavern: the pangs of hunger.  It had been many hours
+since we had eaten; I think we had fasted not less than three or four
+days.
+
+Desiree began to complain of a dizziness in her temples, and to weaken
+with every hour that passed.  My own strength did not increase, and I
+saw that it would not unless I could obtain nourishment.  Harry did not
+complain, but only because he would not.
+
+"It is useless to wait longer," I declared finally.  "I grow weaker
+instead of stronger."
+
+We had little enough with which to burden ourselves.  There were three
+spears, two of which Harry had brought, and myself the other.  Harry
+and I wore only our woolen undergarments, so ragged and torn that they
+were but sorry covering.
+
+Desiree's single garment, made from some soft hide, was held about her
+waist by a girdle of the same material.  The upper half of her body was
+bare.  Her hair hung in a tangled mass over her shoulders and down her
+back.  None of us had any covering for our feet.
+
+We crossed the stream, using the spears as staffs; but instead of
+advancing across the middle of the cavern we turned to the left,
+hugging the wall.  Harry urged us on, saying that he had already
+searched carefully for an exit on that side, but we went slowly,
+feeling for a break in the wall.  It was absolutely smooth, which led
+me to believe that the cavern had at one time been filled with water.
+
+We reached the farther wall and, turning to the right, were about to
+follow it.
+
+"This is senseless," said Harry impatiently.  "I tell you I have
+examined this side, too; every inch of it."
+
+"And the one ahead of us, at right angles to this?" I asked.
+
+"That too," he answered.
+
+"And the other--the one to the right of the stream?"
+
+"No.  I--I didn't go there."
+
+"Why didn't you say so?" I demanded.
+
+"Because I didn't want to," he returned sullenly.  "You can go there if
+you care to; I don't.  It was from there that--it came."
+
+I did not answer, but pushed forward, not, however, leaving the wall.
+Perhaps it was cowardly; you are welcome to the word if you care to use
+it.  Myself, I know.
+
+Another half-hour and we reached the end of the lane by which we had
+first entered the cavern.  We stood gazing at it with eyes of desire,
+but we knew how little chance there was of the thing being unguarded at
+the farther end.  We knew then, of course, and only too well, why the
+Incas had not followed us into the cavern.
+
+"Perhaps they are gone," said Harry.  "They can't stay there forever.
+I'm going to find out."
+
+He sprang on the edge of a boulder at the mouth of the passage and
+disappeared on the other side.  In fifteen minutes he returned, and I
+saw by the expression on his face that there was no chance of escape in
+that direction.
+
+"They're at the other end," he said gloomily; "a dozen of 'em.  I
+looked from behind a rock; they didn't see me.  But we could never get
+through."
+
+We turned then, and proceeded to the third wall and followed it.  But
+we really had no hope of finding an exit since Harry had said that he
+had previously explored it.  We were possessed, I know, by the same
+thought: should we venture to follow the fourth wall?  Alone, none of
+us would have dared; but the presence of the others lessened the fear
+of each.
+
+Finally we reached it.  The corner was a sharp right angle, and there
+were rifts and crevices in the rock.
+
+"This is limestone," I said, "and if we find an exit anywhere it will
+be here."
+
+I turned to the right and proceeded slowly along the wall, feeling its
+surface with my hand.
+
+We had advanced in this manner several hundred yards when Desiree
+suddenly sprang forward to my side.
+
+"See!" she cried, pointing ahead with her spear.
+
+I followed the direction with my eye, and saw what appeared to be a
+sharp break in the wall.
+
+It was some fifty feet away.  We reached it in another moment, and I
+think none of us would have been able to express the immeasurable
+relief we felt when we saw before us a broad and clear passage leading
+directly away from the cavern.  It was very dark, but we entered it
+almost at a run.
+
+I think we had not known the extent of our fear of that thing in the
+cavern until we found the means of escape from it.
+
+We had gone about a hundred feet when we came to a turn to the left.
+Harry stumbled against the corner, and we halted for an instant to wait
+for him.
+
+Then we made the turn, side by side--and then we came to a sudden and
+abrupt stop, and a simultaneous gasp of terror burst from our lips.
+
+Not three feet in front of us, blocking the passage completely, stood
+the thing we thought we had escaped!
+
+The terrible, fiery eyes rolled from side to side as they stared
+straight into our own.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII.
+
+A VICTORY AND A CONVERSATION.
+
+We stood for a long moment rooted to the spot, unable to move.  Then,
+calling to Harry and grasping Desiree by the arm, I started to turn.
+
+But too late.  For Desiree, inspired by a boundless terror, suddenly
+raised her spear high above her head and hurled it straight at the
+glowing, flashing eyes.
+
+The point struck squarely between them with such force that it must
+have sunk clear to the shaft.  The head of the monster rolled for an
+instant from side to side, and then, before I was aware of what had
+happened, so rapid was the movement, a long, snakelike coil had reached
+out through the air and twisted itself about Desiree's body.
+
+As she felt the thing tighten about her waist and legs she gave a
+scream of terror and twisted her face round toward me.  The next
+instant the snaky tentacle had dragged her along the ground and lifted
+her to the head of the monster, where her white body could be seen in
+sharp outline sprawling over its black form, between the terrible eyes.
+
+Harry and I sprang forward.
+
+As we did so the eyes closed and the reptile began to move backward
+with incredible swiftness, lashing about on the ground before us with
+other tentacles similar to the one that had captured Desiree.
+
+I cried out to Harry to avoid them.  He did not answer, but rushed
+blindly forward.
+
+Desiree's agonized shrieks rose to the pitch of madness.
+
+The eyes were closed, leaving but a vague mark for our spears, and
+besides, there was the danger of striking Desiree.  We were barely able
+to keep pace with the thing as it receded swiftly down the broad
+passage.  Desiree had twisted her body half round, and her face was
+turned toward us, shadowy as a ghost.  Then her head fell forward and
+hung loosely and her lips were silent.  She had fainted.
+
+The thing moved swifter than ever; we were barely able to keep up with
+it.  Harry made a desperate leap forward.
+
+I cried out a warning, but one of the writhing tentacles swept against
+him and knocked him to the ground.  He was up again on the instant and
+came rushing up from behind.
+
+Suddenly the passage broadened until the walls were no longer visible;
+we had entered another cavern.  I heard the sound of running water
+somewhere ahead of us.  The pace of the reptile had not slackened for
+an instant.
+
+Harry had again caught up with us, and as he ran at my side I saw him
+raise his spear aloft; but I caught his arm and held it.
+
+"Desiree!" I panted.
+
+Her body covered the only part of the thing that presented a fair mark.
+Harry swore, but his arm fell.
+
+"To the side!" he gasped.  "We can't get at it here!"
+
+I saw his meaning and followed at his heels as he swerved suddenly to
+the right and sprang forward in an attempt to get past the reptile's
+head.
+
+But in our eagerness we forgot caution and went too close.  I felt one
+of the snaky tentacles wrap itself round my legs and body, and raised
+my voice in a warning to Harry, but too late.  He, too, was ensnared,
+and a moment later we had both been lifted bodily from the ground and
+swung through the air to the side of Desiree.  She was still
+unconscious.
+
+I writhed and twisted desperately, but that muscular coil held me
+firmly as a band of steel, tight against the huge and hideous head.
+
+Harry was on the other side of Desiree, not three feet from me.  I
+could see his muscles strain and pull in his violent efforts to tear
+himself free.  I had given it up.
+
+But suddenly, quite near my shoulder, I saw the lid suddenly begin to
+raise itself from one of the terrible eyes.  I was almost on top of the
+thing and a little above it.  I turned my head aside and called to
+Harry.
+
+"The eye!" I gasped.  "To your right!  The spear!  Are your arms free?"
+
+Then as I saw he understood, I turned a quarter of the way round--as
+far as I could get--and raised my spear the full extent of my arm, and
+brought it down with every ounce of my strength into the very center of
+the glowing eye beneath me.
+
+At the same moment I saw Harry's arm descend and the flash of his
+spear.  The point of my own had sunk until the copper head was
+completely buried.
+
+I grasped the shaft and pulled and twisted it about until it finally
+was jerked forth.  From the opening it had made there issued a black
+stream.
+
+Suddenly the body of the reptile quivered convulsively.  The head
+rolled from side to side.  There was a quick tightening of the tentacle
+round my body until my bones felt as though they were being crushed
+into shapelessness; and as suddenly it loosened.
+
+Other tentacles lashed and beat on the ground furiously.  The reptile's
+swift backward movement halted jerkily.  I made a desperate effort to
+tear myself free.  The tentacle quivered and throbbed violently, and
+suddenly flew apart like a released spring, and I fell to the ground.
+
+In an instant Harry was at my side, and we both leaped forward with our
+spears, slashing at the tentacle which still held Desiree in its grasp.
+Others writhed on the ground about our feet, but feebly.  There came a
+sudden cry from Harry, and his spear clattered on the ground as he
+opened his arms to receive Desiree's unconscious body, which came
+tumbling down with the severed coil still wrapped about it.
+
+But there was life in the reptile's immense body.  It staggered and
+swayed from side to side in drunken agony.  Its monstrous head rolled
+about, sweeping the air in a prodigious circle.  The poison of its
+breath came to us in great puffs.  There was something supremely
+horrible about the thing in its very helplessness, and I was shuddering
+violently as I stooped to help Harry lift Desiree from the ground and
+carry her away.
+
+We did not go far, for we were barely able to carry her.  We laid her
+on the hard rock with her head in Harry's lap.  Her body was limp as a
+rag.
+
+For many minutes we worked over her, rubbing her temples and wrists,
+and pressing the nerve centers at the back of the neck, but without
+effect.
+
+"She is dead," said Harry with a curious calm.
+
+I shook my head.
+
+"She has a pulse--see!  But we must find that water.  I think she isn't
+injured; it is her weakened condition from the lack of food that keeps
+her so.  Wait for me."
+
+I started out across the cavern in the direction from which the sound
+of the water appeared to come, bearing off to the right from the huge,
+quivering form of the monster whose gigantic body rose and fell on the
+ground with a force that seemed to shake the very walls of the cavern.
+
+I found the stream with little difficulty, not far away, and returned
+to Harry.  Together we carried Desiree to its edge.  The blood was
+stubborn, and for a long time refused to move, but the cold water at
+length revived her; her eyes slowly opened, and she raised her hand to
+her head with a faltering gesture.
+
+But she was extremely weak, and we saw that the end was near unless
+nourishment could be found for her.
+
+I stayed by her side, with my arms round her shoulders, and Harry set
+out with one of the spears.  He bore off to the left, toward the spot
+where the body of the immense reptile lay; I was too far away to see it
+in the darkness.
+
+"It isn't possible that the thing is fit to eat," I had objected, and
+he had answered me with a look which I understood, and was silenced.
+
+Soon a sound as of a scuffle on the rocks came through the darkness
+from the direction he had taken.  I called out to ask if he needed me,
+but there was no answer.  Ten minutes longer I waited, while the sound
+continued unabated.  Once I heard the clatter of his spear on the rock.
+
+I was just rising to my feet to run to the scene when suddenly he
+appeared in the semidarkness.  He was coming slowly, and was dragging
+along the ground what appeared to be the form of some animal.  Another
+minute and he stood at my side as I sat holding Desiree.
+
+"A peccary!" I cried, bending over the body of the four-footed creature
+that lay at his feet.  "How the deuce did it ever get down here?"
+
+"Peccary--my aunt!" observed Harry, bending down to look at Desiree.
+"Do peccaries live in the water?  Do they have snouts like catfish?
+This animal is my own invention.  There's about ten million more of 'em
+over there making a gorgeous banquet off our late lamented friend.  And
+now, let's see."
+
+He knelt down by the still warm body and with the point of his spear
+ripped it open from neck to rump.  Desiree stirred about in my arms.
+
+"Gad, that smells good!" cried Harry.
+
+I shuddered.
+
+He dragged the thing a few feet away, and I heard him slashing away at
+it with his spear.  A minute later he came running over to us with his
+hands full of something.
+
+That was not exactly a pretty meal.  How Desiree, in her frightfully
+weakened condition, ever managed to get the stuff down and keep it
+there is beyond me.  But she did, and I was not behind her.  And, after
+all, it was fresh.  Harry said it was "sweet." Well, perhaps it was.
+
+We bathed Desiree's hands and face and gave her water to drink, and
+soon after she passed into a seemingly healthy sleep.  There was about
+ten pounds of meat left.  Harry washed it in the stream and stowed it
+away on a rock beneath the surface of the water.  Then he announced his
+intention of going back for more.
+
+"I'm going with you," I declared.  "Here--help me fix Desiree."
+
+"Hardly," said Harry.  "Didn't I say there are millions of those things
+over there?  Anyway, there are hundreds.  If they should happen to
+scatter in this direction and find her, she wouldn't stand a chance.
+You take the other spear and stay here."
+
+So I sat still, with Desiree's body in my arms, and waited for him.  My
+sensations were not unpleasant.  I could actually feel the blood
+quicken in my veins.
+
+Civilization places the temple of life in the soul or the heart, as she
+speaks through the mouth of the preacher or the poet; but let
+civilization go for four or five days without anything to eat and see
+what happens.  The organ is vulgar, but its voice is loud.  I need not
+name it.
+
+In five minutes Harry returned, dragging two more of the creatures at
+his heels.  In half an hour there were a dozen of them lying in a heap
+at the edge of the water.
+
+"That's all," he announced, panting heavily from his exertions.  "The
+rest have taken to the woods, which, I imagine, is quite a journey from
+here.  You ought to see our friend--the one who couldn't make his eyes
+behave.  They've eaten him full of holes.  He's the most awful
+mess--sickening beast.  He didn't have a bone in him--all crumpled up
+like an accordion.  Utterly spineless."
+
+"And who, in the name of goodness, do you think is going to eat all
+that?" I demanded, pointing to the heap of bodies.
+
+Harry grinned.
+
+"I don't know.  I was so excited at the very idea of a square meal that
+I didn't know when to stop.  I'd give five fingers for a fire and some
+salt.  Just a nickel's worth of salt.  Now, you lie down and sleep
+while I cut these things up, and then I'll take a turn at it myself?"
+
+He brought me one of the hides for a pillow, and I lay back as gently
+as possible that I might not awaken Desiree.  Her head and shoulders
+rested against my body as she lay peacefully sleeping.
+
+I was awakened by Harry's hand tugging at my arm.  Rising on my elbows,
+I demanded to know how long I had slept.
+
+"Six or seven hours," said Harry.  "I waited as long as I could.  Keep
+a lookout."
+
+Desiree stirred uneasily, but seemed to be still asleep.  I sat up,
+rubbing my eyes.  The heap of bodies had disappeared; no wonder Harry
+was tired!  I reproached myself for having slept so long.
+
+Harry had arranged himself a bed that was really comfortable with the
+skins of his kill.
+
+"That is great stuff," I heard him murmur wearily; then all was still.
+
+I sat motionless, stiff and numb, but afraid to move for fear of
+disturbing Desiree.
+
+Presently she stirred again, and, bending over her, I saw her eyes
+slowly open.  They met my own with a curious, steadfast gaze--she was
+still half asleep.
+
+"Is that you, Paul?" she murmured.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I am glad.  I seem to feel--what is it?"
+
+"I don't know, Desiree.  What do you mean?"
+
+"Nothing--nothing.  Oh.  it feels so good--good--to have you hold me
+like this."
+
+"Yes?" I smiled.
+
+"But, yes.  Where is Harry?"
+
+"Asleep.  Are you hungry?"
+
+"Yes--no.  Not now.  I don't know why.  I want to talk.  What has
+happened?"
+
+I told her of everything that had occurred since she had swooned; she
+shuddered as memory returned, but forgot herself in my attempt at a
+humorous description of Harry's valor as a hunter of food.
+
+"You don't need to turn up your nose," I retorted to her expressive
+grimace; "you ate some of the stuff yourself."
+
+There was a silence; then suddenly Desiree's voice came:
+
+"Paul--" She hesitated and stopped.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What do you think of me?"
+
+"Do you want a lengthy review?" I smiled.
+
+What a woman she was!  Under those circumstances, and amid those
+surroundings, she was still Desiree Le Mire.
+
+"Don't laugh at me," she said.  "I want to know.  I have never spoken
+of what I did that time in the cavern--you know what I mean.  I am
+sorry now.  I suppose you despise me."
+
+"But you did nothing," I objected.  "And you wouldn't.  You were merely
+amusing yourself."
+
+She turned on me quickly with a flash of her old fire.
+
+"Don't play with me!" she burst out.  "My friend, you have never yet
+given me a serious word."
+
+"Nor any one else," I answered.  "My dear Desiree, do you not know that
+I am incapable of seriousness?  Nothing in the world is worth it."
+
+"At least, you need not pretend," she retorted.  "I meant once for you
+to die.  You know it.  And since you pretend not to understand me, I
+ask you--these are strange words from my lips--will you forgive me?"
+
+"There is nothing to forgive."
+
+"My friend, you are becoming dull.  An evasive answer should always be
+a witty one.  Must I ask you again?"
+
+"That--depends," I answered, hardly knowing what to say.
+
+"On--"
+
+"On whether or not you were serious, once upon a time, when you made
+a--shall we call it a confession?  If you were, I offended you in my
+own conceit, but let us be frank.  I thought you were acting, and I
+played my role.  I do not yet believe that you were; I am not conceited
+enough to think it possible."
+
+"I do not say," Desiree began; then she stopped and added hastily: "But
+that is past.  I shall not tell you that again.  Perhaps I forgot
+myself.  Perhaps it was a pretty play.  You have not answered me."
+
+I looked at her.  Strange and terrible as her experiences and
+sufferings had been, she had lost little of her beauty.  Her face was
+rendered only the more delicate by its pallor.  Her white and perfect
+body, only half seen in the half-darkness, conveyed a sense of the
+purest beauty with no hint of immodesty.
+
+But I was moved not by what I saw, but by what I knew.  I had admired
+her always as Le Mire; but her bravery, her hardihood, her sympathy for
+others under circumstances when any other woman would have been
+thinking only of herself--had these awakened in my breast a feeling
+stronger than admiration?
+
+I did not know.  But my voice trembled a little as I said: "I need not
+answer you, Desiree.  I repeat that there is nothing to forgive.  You
+sought revenge, then sacrificed it; but still revenge is yours."
+
+She looked at me for a moment in silence, then said slowly: "I do not
+understand you."
+
+For reply I took her hand in my own from where it lay idly on my knee,
+and, carrying it to my lips, pressed a long kiss on the top of each of
+the slender white fingers.  Then I held the hand tight between both of
+mine as I asked simply, looking into her eyes:
+
+"Do you understand me now?"
+
+Another silence.
+
+"My revenge," she breathed.
+
+I nodded and again pressed her hand to my lips.
+
+"Yes, Desiree.  We are not children.  I think we know what we mean.
+But you have not told me.  Did you mean what you said that day on the
+mountain?"
+
+"Ah, I thought that was a play!" she murmured.
+
+"Tell me!  Did you mean it?"
+
+"I never confess the same sin twice, my friend."
+
+"Desiree, did you mean it?"
+
+Then suddenly, with the rapidity of lightning, her manner changed.  She
+bent toward me with parted lips and looked straight into my eyes.
+There was passion in the gaze; but when she spoke her voice was quite
+even and so low I scarcely heard.
+
+"Paul," she said, "I shall not again say I love you.  Such words should
+not be wasted.  Not now, perhaps; but that is because we are where we
+are.  And if we should return?
+
+"You have said that nothing is worth a serious word to you; and you are
+right.  You are too cynical; things are bitter in your mouth, and
+doubly so when they leave it.  Just now you are amusing yourself by
+pretending to care for me.  Perhaps you do not know it, but you are.
+Search your heart, my friend, and tell me--do you want my love?"
+
+Well, there was no need to search my heart, she had laid it open.  I
+hated myself then; and I turned away, unable to meet her eyes, as I
+said:
+
+"Bon Dieu!" she cried.  "That is an ugly speech, monsieur!" And she
+laughed aloud.
+
+"But we must not awaken Harry," she continued with sudden softness.
+"What a boy he is--and what a man!  Ah, he knows what it is to love!"
+
+That topic suited me little better, but I followed her.  We talked of
+Harry, Le Mire with an amount of enthusiasm that surprised me.
+Suddenly she stopped abruptly and announced that she was hungry.
+
+I found Harry's pantry after a few minutes' search and took some of its
+contents to Desiree.  Then I returned to the edge of the water and ate
+my portion alone.  That meal was one scarcely calculated for the
+pleasures of companionship or conviviality.
+
+It was several hours after that before Harry awoke, the greater part of
+which Desiree and I were silent.
+
+I would have given something to have known her thoughts; my own were
+not very pleasant.  It is always a disagreeable thing to discover that
+some one else knows you better than you know yourself.  And Desiree had
+cut deep.  At the time I thought her unjust; time alone could have told
+which of us was right.  If she were here with me now--but she is not.
+
+Finally Harry awoke.  He was delighted to find Desiree awake and
+comparatively well, and demonstrated the fact with a degree of effusion
+that prompted me to leave them alone together.  But I did not go far; a
+hundred paces made me sit down to rest before returning, so weak was I
+from wounds and fasting.
+
+Harry's spirits were high, for no apparent reason other than that we
+were still alive, for that was the best that could be said for us.  So
+I told him; he retorted with a hearty clap on the back that sent me
+sprawling to the ground.
+
+"What the deuce!" he exclaimed, stooping to help me up.  "Are you as
+weak as that?  Gad, I'm sorry!"
+
+"That is the second fall he has had," said Desiree, with a meaning
+smile.
+
+Indeed, she was having her revenge!
+
+But my strength was not long in returning.  Over a long stretch our
+diet would hardly have been conducive to health, but it was exactly
+what I needed to put blood and strength in me.  And Harry and Desiree,
+too, for that matter.
+
+Again I had to withstand Harry's eager demands for action.  He began
+within two hours to insist on exploring the cave, and would hardly take
+a refusal.
+
+"I won't stir a foot until I am able to knock you down," I declared
+finally and flatly.  "Never again will I attempt to perform the feats
+of a Hercules when I am fit only for an invalid's chair." And he was
+forced to wait.
+
+As I say, however, my strength was not long in returning, and when it
+started it came with a rush.  My wounds were healing perfectly; only
+one remained open.  Harry, with his usual phenomenal luck, had got
+nothing but the merest scratches.
+
+Desiree improved very slowly.  The strain of those four days in the
+cavern had been severe, and her nerves required more pleasant
+surroundings than a dark and damp cavern and more agreeable diet than
+raw meat, to adjust themselves.
+
+Thus it was that when Harry and I found ourselves ready to start out to
+explore the cavern and, if possible, find an exit on the opposite side
+from the one where we had entered, we left Desiree behind, seated on a
+pile of skins, with a spear on the ground at her side.
+
+"We'll be back in an hour," said Harry, stooping to kiss her; and the
+phrase, which might have come from the lips of a worthy Harlem husband
+leaving for a little sojourn with friends on the corner, brought a
+smile to my face.
+
+We went first toward the spot where lay the remains of "our friend with
+the eyes," as Harry called him, and we were guided straight by our
+noses, for the odor of the thing was beginning to be--to use another
+phrase of Harry's--"most awful vile."
+
+There was little to see except a massive pile of crumpled hide and
+sinking flesh.  As we approached, several hundred of the animals with
+which Harry had filled our larder scampered away toward the water.
+
+"They're not fighters," I observed, turning to watch them disappear in
+the darkness.
+
+"No," Harry agreed.  "See here," he added suddenly, holding up a piece
+of the hide of the reptile; "this stuff is an inch thick and tough as
+rats.  It ought to be good for something."
+
+But by that time I was pinching my nostrils with my fingers, and I
+pulled him away.
+
+Several hundred yards farther on we came to the wall of the cavern.  We
+followed it, turning to the right; but though it was uneven and marked
+by projecting boulders and deep crevices, we found no exit.  We had
+gone at least half a mile, I think, when we came to the end.  There it
+turned in a wide circle to the right, and we took the new direction,
+which was toward the spot where we had left Desiree, only considerably
+to the left.
+
+Another five minutes found us at the edge of the stream, which at that
+point was much swifter than it was farther up.  We waded in and
+discovered that the cause was its extreme narrowness.
+
+"But where does the thing go to?" asked Harry, taking the words from my
+mouth.
+
+We soon found out.  Proceeding along the bank to the left, within fifty
+feet we came to the wall.  There the stream entered and disappeared.
+But, unlike the others we had seen, above this there was a wide and
+high arch, which made it appear as though the stream were passing under
+a massive bridge.  The current was swift but not turbulent, and there
+was something about the surface of that stream flowing straight through
+the mountain ahead of us--
+
+Harry and I glanced at each other quickly, moved by the same thought.
+There was an electric thrill in that glance.
+
+But we did not speak--then.
+
+For suddenly, startlingly, a voice sounded throughout the
+cavern--Desiree's voice, raised in a shrill cry of terror.
+
+It was repeated twice before our startled senses found themselves; then
+we turned with one impulse and raced into the darkness toward her.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIX.
+
+AFLOAT.
+
+As we ran swiftly, following the edge of the stream, the cries
+continued, filling the cavern with racing echoes.  They could not
+quicken our step; we were already straining every muscle as we bounded
+over the rock.  Luckily, the way was clear, for in the darkness we
+could see but a few feet ahead.  Desiree's voice was sufficient guide
+for us.
+
+Finally we reached her.  I don't know what I expected to see, but
+certainly not that which met our eyes.
+
+"Your spear!" cried Harry, dashing off to the right, away from the
+stream.
+
+My spear was ready.  I followed.
+
+Desiree was standing exactly in the spot where we had left her,
+screaming at the top of her voice.
+
+Around her, on every side, was a struggling, pushing mass of the
+animals we had frightened away from the carcass of the reptile.  There
+were hundreds of them packed tightly together, crowding toward her,
+some leaping on the backs of others, some trampled to the ground
+beneath the feet of their fellows.  They did not appear to be actually
+attacking her, but we could not see distinctly.
+
+This we saw in a flash and an instant later had dashed forward into the
+mass with whirling spears.  It was a farce, rather than a fight.
+
+We brought our spears down on the swarm of heads and backs without even
+troubling to take aim.  They pressed against our legs; we waded through
+as though it were a current of water.  Those we hit either fell or ran;
+they waited for no second blow.
+
+Desiree had ceased her cries.
+
+"They won't hurt you!" Harry had shouted.  "Where's your spear?"
+
+"Gone.  They came on me before I had time to get it."
+
+"Then kick 'em, push 'em--anything.  They're nothing but pigs."
+
+They had the senseless stubbornness of pigs, at least.  They seemed
+absolutely unable to realize that their presence was not desired till
+they actually felt the spear--utterly devoid even of instinct.
+
+"So this is what you captured for us at the risk of your life!" I
+shouted to Harry in disgust.  "They haven't even sense enough to
+squeal."
+
+We finally reached Desiree's side and cleared a space round her.  But
+it took us another fifteen minutes of pushing and thrusting and
+indiscriminate massacre before we routed the brutes.  When they did
+decide to go they lost no time, but scampered away toward the water
+with a sliding, tumbling rush.
+
+"Gad!" exclaimed Harry, resting on his spear.  "And here's a pretty
+job.  Look at that!  I wish they'd carry off the dead ones."
+
+"Ugh!  The nasty brutes!  I was never so frightened in my life," said
+Desiree.
+
+"You frightened us, all right," Harry retorted.  "Utterly fungoed.  I
+never ran so fast in my life.  And all you had to do was shake your
+spear at 'em and say boo!  I thought it was the roommate of our friend
+with the eyes."
+
+"Have I been eating those things?" Desiree demanded.
+
+Harry grinned.
+
+"Yes, and that isn't all.  You'll continue to eat 'em as long as I'm
+the cook.  Come on, Paul; it's a day's work."
+
+We dragged the bodies down to the edge of the stream and tossed them
+into the current, saving three or four for the replenishment of the
+larder.
+
+I then first tried my hand at the task of skinning and cleaning them,
+and by the time I had finished was thoroughly disgusted with it and
+myself.  Harry had become hardened to it; he whistled over the job as
+though he had been born in a butcher's shop.
+
+"I'd rather go hungry," I declared, washing my hands and arms in the
+cool water.
+
+"Oh, sure," said Harry; "my efforts are never appreciated.  I've fed
+you up till you've finally graduated from the skeleton class, and you
+immediately begin to criticize the table.  I know now what it means to
+run a boarding-house.  Why don't you change your hotel?"
+
+By the time we had finished we were pretty well tired out, but Harry
+wouldn't hear of rest.  I was eager myself for another look at the exit
+of that stream.  So, again taking up our spears, we set out across the
+cavern, this time with Desiree between us.  She swallowed Harry's
+ridicule of her fear and refused to stay behind.
+
+Again we stood at the point where the stream left the cavern through
+the broad arch of a tunnel.
+
+"There's a chance there," said Harry, turning to me.  "It looks good."
+
+"Yes, if we had a boat," I agreed.  "But that's a ten-mile current, and
+probably deep."
+
+I waded out some twenty feet and was nearly swept beneath the surface
+as the water circled about my shoulders.
+
+"We couldn't follow that on our feet," I declared, returning to the
+shore.  "But it does look promising.  At ten miles an hour we'd reach
+the western slope in four hours.  Four hours to sunshine--but it might
+as well be four hundred.  It's impossible."
+
+We turned then and retraced our steps to our camp, if I may give it so
+dignified a title.  I hated to give up the idea of following the bed of
+the stream, for it was certain that somewhere it found the surface of
+the earth, and I revolved in my brain every conceivable means to do so.
+The same thought was in Harry's mind, for he turned to me suddenly:
+
+"If we only had something for stringers, I could make a raft that would
+carry us to the Pacific and across it.  The hide of that thing over
+yonder would be just the stuff, and we could get a piece as big as we
+wanted."
+
+I shook my head.
+
+"I thought of that.  But we have absolutely nothing to hold it.  There
+wasn't a bone in his body; you know that."
+
+But the idea was peculiarly tempting, and we spent an hour discussing
+it.  Desiree was asleep on her pile of skins.  We sat side by side on
+the ground some distance away, talking in low tones.
+
+Suddenly there was a loud splash in the stream, which was quite close
+to us.
+
+"By gad!" exclaimed Harry, springing to his feet.  "Did you hear that?
+It sounded like--remember the fish we pulled in from the Inca's raft?"
+
+"Which has nothing to do with this," I answered.  "It's nothing but the
+water-pigs.  I've heard 'em a thousand times in the last few days.  And
+the Lord knows we have enough of them."
+
+But Harry protested that the splash was much too loud to have been
+caused by any water-pig and waded into the stream to investigate.  I
+rose to my feet and followed him leisurely, for no reason in
+particular, but was suddenly startled by an excited cry from his lips:
+
+"Paul--the spear!  Quick!  It's a whale!"
+
+I ran as swiftly as I could to the shore and returned with our spears,
+but when I reached Harry he greeted me with an oath of disappointment
+and the information that the "whale" had disappeared.  He was greatly
+excited.
+
+"I tell you he was twenty feet long!  A big black devil, with a head
+like a cow."
+
+"You're sure it wasn't like a pig?" I asked skeptically.
+
+Harry looked at me.
+
+"I have drunk nothing but water for a month," he said dryly.  "It was a
+fish, and some fish."
+
+"Well, there's probably more like him," I observed.  "But they can
+wait.  Come on and get some sleep, and then--we'll see."
+
+Some hours afterward, having filled ourselves with sleep and food (I
+had decided, after mature deliberation, not to change my hotel), we
+started out, armed with our spears.  Desiree accompanied us.  Harry
+told her bluntly that she would be in the way, but she refused to stay
+behind.
+
+We turned upstream, thinking our chances better in that direction than
+toward the swifter current, and were surprised to find that the cavern
+was much larger than any we had before seen.  In something over a mile
+we had not yet reached the farther wall, for we walked at a brisk pace
+for a quarter of an hour or more.
+
+At this point the stream was considerably wider than it was below, and
+there was very little current.  Desiree stood on the bank while Harry
+and I waded out above our waists.
+
+There was a long and weary wait before anything occurred.  The water
+was cold, and my limbs became stiff and numb; I called to Harry that it
+was useless to wait longer, and was turning toward the shore when there
+was a sudden commotion in the water not far from where he stood.
+
+I turned and saw Harry plunge forward with his spear.
+
+"I've got him!" he yelled.  "Come on!"
+
+I went.  But I soon saw that Harry didn't have him.  He had Harry.
+They were all of ten yards away from me, and by the time I reached the
+spot there was nothing to be seen but flying water thrashed into foam
+and fury.
+
+I caught a glimpse of Harry being jerked through the air; he was
+holding on for dear life with both hands to the shaft of his spear.
+The water was over my head there; I was swimming with all the strength
+I had.
+
+"I've got him--through the belly," Harry gasped as I fought my way
+through the spray to his side.  "His head!  Find his head!"
+
+I finally succeeded in getting my hand on Harry's spear-shaft near
+where it entered the body of the fish; but the next instant it was
+jerked from me, dragging me beneath the surface.  I came up puffing and
+made another try, but missed it by several feet.
+
+Harry kept shouting: "His head!  Get him in the head!"
+
+For that I was saving my spear.  But I could make nothing of either
+head or tail as the immense fish leaped furiously about in the water,
+first this way, then that.
+
+Once he came down exactly on top of me and carried me far under; I felt
+his slippery, smooth body glide over me, and the tail struck me a heavy
+blow in the face as it passed.  Blinded and half choked, I fought my
+way back to the surface and saw that they had got fifty feet away.
+
+I swam to them, breathing hard and nearly exhausted.  The water foamed
+less furiously about them now.  As I came near the fish leaped half out
+of the water and came down flat on his side; I saw his ugly black head
+pointed directly toward me.
+
+"He's about gone!" Harry gasped.
+
+He was still clinging to the spear.
+
+I set myself firmly against the water and waited.  Soon it parted
+violently not ten feet in front of me, and again the head appeared; he
+was coming straight for me.  I could see the dull beady eyes on either
+side, and I let him have the spear right between them.
+
+There was little force to the blow, but the fish himself furnished
+that; he was coming like lightning.  I hurled my body aside with a
+great effort and felt him sweep past me.
+
+I turned to swim after them and heard Harry's great shout: "You got
+him!"
+
+By the time I reached him the fish had turned over on his back and was
+floating on the surface, motionless.
+
+We had still to get him ashore, and, exhausted as we were, it was no
+easy task.  But there was very little current, and after half an hour
+of pulling and shoving we got him into shallow water, where we could
+find the bottom with our feet.  Then it was easier.  Desiree waded out
+to us and lent a hand, and in another ten minutes we had him high and
+dry on the rock.
+
+He was even larger than I had thought.  No wonder Harry had called
+him--or one like him--a whale.  It was all of fifteen feet from his
+snout to the tip of his tail.  The skin was dead black on top and
+mottled irregularly on the belly.
+
+As we sat sharpening the points of our spears on the rock, preparatory
+to skinning him, Desiree stood regarding the fish with unqualified
+approval.  She turned to us:
+
+"Well, I'd rather eat that than those other nasty things."
+
+"Oh, that isn't what we want him for," said Harry, rubbing his finger
+against the edge of his spear-point.  "He's probably not fit to eat."
+
+"Then why all this trouble?" asked Desiree.
+
+"Dear lady, we expect to ride him home," said Harry, rising to his feet.
+
+Then he explained our purpose, and you may believe that Desiree was the
+most excited of the lot as we ripped down the body of the fish from
+tail to snout and began to peel off the tough skin.
+
+"If you succeed you may choose the new hangings for my boudoir," she
+said, with an attempt at lightness not altogether successful.
+
+"As for me," I declared, "I shall eat fish every day of my life out of
+pure gratitude."
+
+"You'll do it out of pure necessity," Harry put in, "if you don't get
+busy."
+
+It took us three hours of whacking and slashing and tearing to pull the
+fish to pieces, but we worked with a purpose and a will.  When we had
+finished, this is what we had to show: A long strip of bone, four
+inches thick and twelve feet long, and tough as hickory, from either
+side of which the smaller bones projected at right angles.  They were
+about an inch in thickness and two inches apart.  The lower end of the
+backbone, near the tail, we had broken off.
+
+We examined it and lifted it and bent it half double.
+
+"Absolutely perfect!" Harry cried in jubilation.  "Three more like this
+and we'll sail down the coast to Callao."
+
+"If we can get 'em," I observed.  "But two would do.  We could make it
+a triangle."
+
+Harry looked at me.
+
+"Paul, you're an absolute genius.  But would it be big enough to hold
+us?"
+
+We discussed that question on our way back to camp, whither we carried
+the backbone of our fish, together with some of the meat.  Then, after
+a hearty meal, we slept.  After seven hours of the hardest kind of work
+we were ready for it.
+
+That was our program for the time that followed--time that stretched
+into many weary hours, for, once started, we worked feverishly, so
+impatient had we become by dint of that faint glimmer of hope.  We were
+going to try to build a raft, on which we were going to try to embark
+on the stream, by which we were going to try to find our way out of the
+mountain.  The prospect made us positively hilarious, so slender is the
+thread by which hope jerks us about.
+
+The first part of our task was the most strenuous.  We waited and waded
+round many hours before another fish appeared, and then he got away
+from us.  Another attempt was crowned with success after a hard fight.
+The second one was even larger than the first.
+
+The next two were too small to be of use in the raft, but we saved them
+for another purpose.  Then, after another long search, lasting many
+hours, we ran into half a dozen of them at once.
+
+By that time we were fairly expert with our spears, besides having
+discovered their vulnerable spot--the throat, just forward from the
+gills.  To this day I don't know whether or not they were man-eaters.
+Their jaws were roomy and strong as those of any shark; but they never
+closed on us.
+
+Thus we had four of the large backbones and two smaller ones.  Next we
+wanted a covering, and for that purpose we visited the remains of the
+reptile which had first led us into the cavern.
+
+Its hide was half an inch thick and tough as the toughest leather.
+There was no difficulty in loosening it, for by that time the flesh was
+so decayed and sunken that it literally fell off.  That job was the
+worst of all.
+
+Time and again, after cutting away with the points of our spears--our
+only tools--until we could stand it no longer, we staggered off to the
+stream like drunken men, sick and faint with the sight and smell of the
+mess.
+
+But that, too, came to an end, and finally we marched off to the camp,
+which we had removed a half-mile upstream, dragging after us a piece of
+the hide about thirty feet long and half as wide.  It was not as heavy
+as we had thought, which made it all the better for our purpose.
+
+The remainder of our task, though tedious, was not unpleasant.
+
+We first made the larger bones, which were to serve as the beams of our
+raft, exactly the same length by filing off the ends of the longer ones
+with rough bits of granite.  I have said it was tedious.  Then we filed
+off each of the smaller bones projecting from the neural arch until
+they were of equal length.
+
+They extended on either side about ten inches, which, allowing four
+inches for the width of the larger bone and one inch for the covering,
+would make our raft slightly over a foot in depth.
+
+To make the cylindrical column rigid, we bound each of the vertebrae to
+the one in direct juxtaposition on either side firmly with strips of
+hide, several hundred feet of which we had prepared.
+
+This gave us four beams held straight and true, without any play in
+either direction, with only a slight flexibility resulting from the
+cartilages within the center cord.
+
+With these four beams we formed a square, placing them on their edges,
+end to end.  At each corner of the square we lashed the ends together
+firmly with strips of hide.  It was both firm and flexible after we had
+lashed the corners over and over with the strips, that there might be
+no play under the strain of the current.
+
+Over this framework we stretched the large piece of hide so that the
+ends met on top, near the middle.  The bottom was thus absolutely
+watertight.  We folded the corners in and caught them up with strips
+over the top.  Then, with longer strips, we fastened up the sides,
+passing the strips back and forth across the top, from side to side,
+having first similarly secured the two ends.  As a final precaution, we
+passed broader strips around both top and bottom, lashing them together
+in the center of the top.  And there was our raft, twelve feet square,
+over a foot deep, water-tight as a town drunkard, and weighing not more
+than a hundred pounds.  It has taken me two minutes to tell it; it took
+us two weeks to do it.
+
+But we discovered immediately that the four beams on the sides and ends
+were not enough, for Desiree's weight alone caused the skin to sag
+clear through in the center, though we had stretched it as tightly as
+possible.  We were forced to unlash all the strips running from side to
+side and insert supports, made of smaller bones, across the middle each
+way.  These we reinforced on their ends with the thickest hide we could
+find, that they might not puncture the bottom.  After that it was
+fairly firm; though its sea-worthiness was not improved, it was much
+easier to navigate than it would have been before.
+
+For oars we took the lower ends of the backbones of the two smaller
+fish and covered them with hide.  They were about five feet long and
+quite heavy; but we intended to use them more for the purpose of
+steering than for propulsion.  The current of the stream would attend
+to that for us.
+
+Near the center of the raft we arranged a pile of the skins of the
+water-pigs for Desiree; a seat by no means uncomfortable.  The strips
+which ran back and forth across the top afforded a hold as security
+against the tossing of the craft; but for her feet we arranged two
+other strips to pass over her ankles what time she rested.  This was an
+extreme precaution, for we did not expect the journey to be a long one.
+
+Finally we loaded on our provisions--about thirty pounds of the meat of
+the fish and water-pigs, wrapping it securely in two or three of the
+skins and strapping them firmly to the top.
+
+"And now," said I, testing the strips on the corners for the last time,
+"all we need is a name for her and a bottle of wine."
+
+"And a homeward-bound pennant," put in Harry.
+
+"The name is easy enough," said Desiree.  "I hereby christen her Clarte
+du Soleil."
+
+"Which means?" asked Harry, whose French came only in spots.
+
+"Sunshine," I told him.  "Presumably after the glorious King of the
+Incas, who calls himself the Child of the Sun.  But it's a good name.
+May Heaven grant that it takes us there!"
+
+"I think we ought to take more grub," said Harry--an observation which
+he had made not less than fifty times in the preceding fifty minutes.
+He received no support and grumbled to himself something about the
+horrible waste of leaving so much behind.
+
+Why it was I don't know, but we were fully persuaded that we were about
+to say good-by forever to this underground world and its dangers.
+Somehow, we had coaxed ourselves into the belief that success was
+certain; it was as though we had seen the sunlight streaming in from
+the farther end of the arched tunnel into which the stream disappeared.
+There was an assurance about the words of each that strengthened this
+feeling in the others, and hope had shut out all thought of failure as
+we prepared to launch our craft.
+
+It took us some time to get it to the edge of the water, though it was
+close by, for we handled it with extreme care, that it might not be
+torn on the rocks.  Altogether, with the provisions, it weighed close
+to one hundred and fifty pounds.
+
+We were by no means sure that the thing would carry us, and when once
+we had reached the water we forgot caution in our haste to try it.  We
+held it at the edge while Desiree arranged herself on the pile of
+skins.  The spears lay across at her feet, strapped down for security.
+
+Harry stepped across to the farther edge of the raft.
+
+"Ready!" he called, and I shoved off, wading behind.  When the water
+was up to my knees I climbed aboard and picked up my oar.
+
+"By all the nine gods, look at her!" cried Harry in huge delight.  "She
+takes about three inches!  Man, she'd carry an army!"
+
+"Allons!" cried Desiree, with gay laughter.  "C'est Perfection!"
+
+"Couldn't be better," I agreed; "but watch yourself, Hal.  When we get
+into the current things are going to begin to happen.  If it weren't
+for the beastly darkness 'twould be easy enough.  As it is, one little
+rock the size of your head could send us to the bottom."
+
+We were still near the bank, working our way out slowly.  Harry and I
+had to maintain positions equidistant from the center in order to keep
+the raft balanced; hence I had to push her out alone.
+
+Considering her bulk, she answered to the oar very well.
+
+Another five minutes and we were near the middle of the stream.  At
+that point there was but little current and we drifted slowly.  Harry
+went to the bow, while I took up a position on the stern--if I may use
+such terms for such a craft--directly behind Desiree.  We figured that
+we were then about a mile from the Point where the stream left the
+cavern.
+
+Gradually, as the stream narrowed, the strength of the current
+increased.  Still it was smooth, and the raft sailed along without a
+tremor.  Once or twice, caught by some trick of the current, she turned
+half round, poking her nose ahead, but she soon righted herself.
+
+The water began to curl up on the sides as we were carried more and
+more swiftly onward, with a low murmur that was music to us.  The
+stream became so narrow that we could see the bank on either side,
+though dimly, and I knew we were approaching the exit.
+
+I called to Harry: "Keep her off to the right as we make the turn!" and
+he answered: "Aye, aye, sir!" with a wave of the hand.  This, at least,
+was action with a purpose.
+
+Another minute and we saw the arch directly ahead of us, round a bend
+in the stream.  The strength of the current carried us toward the off
+bank, but we plied our oars desperately and well, and managed to keep
+fairly well in to the end of the curve.
+
+We missed the wall of the tunnel--black, grim rock that would have
+dashed out our brains--by about ten feet, and were swept forward under
+the arch, on our way--so we thought--to the land of sunshine.
+
+
+
+Chapter XX.
+
+AN INCA SPEAR.
+
+Here I might most appropriately insert a paragraph on the vanity of
+human wishes and endeavor.  But events, they say, speak for themselves;
+and still, for my own part, I prefer the philosopher to the historian.
+Mental digestion is a wearisome task; you are welcome to it.
+
+To the story.  As I have said, we missed the wall of the tunnel by a
+scant ten feet, and we kept on missing it.  Once under the arch, our
+raft developed a most stubborn inclination to bump up against the rocky
+banks instead of staying properly in the middle of the current, as it
+should.
+
+First to one side, then to the other, it swung, while Harry and I kept
+it off with our oars, often missing a collision by inches.  But at
+least the banks were smooth and level, and as long as the stream itself
+remained clear of obstruction there was but little real danger.
+
+The current was not nearly so swift as I had expected it would be.  In
+the semidarkness it was difficult to calculate our rate of speed, but I
+judged that we were moving at about six or seven miles an hour.
+
+We had gone perhaps three miles when we came to a sharp bend in the
+stream, to the left, almost at a right angle.  Harry, at the bow, was
+supposed to be on the lookout, but he failed to see it until we were
+already caught in its whirl.
+
+Then he gave a cry of alarm, and together we swung the raft to the
+left, avoiding the right bank of the curve by less than a foot.  Once
+safely past, I sent Harry to the stern and took the bow myself, which
+brought down upon him a deal of keen banter from Desiree.
+
+There the tunnel widened, and the raft began to glide easily onward,
+without any of its sudden dashes to right or left.  I rested on my oar,
+gazing intently ahead; at the best I could make out the walls a hundred
+yards ahead, and but dimly.  All was silence, save the gentle swish of
+the water against the sides of the raft and the patter of Harry's oar
+dipping idly on one side or the other.
+
+Suddenly Desiree's voice came through the silence, soft and very low:
+
+     "Pendant une anne' toute entiere,
+     Le regiment na Pas r'paru.
+     Au Ministere de la Guerre
+     On le r'porta comme perdu.
+
+     "On se r'noncait a r'trouver sa trace,
+     Quand un matin subitement,
+     On le vit r'paraitre sur la place,
+     L'Colonel toujours en avant."
+
+
+I waited until the last note had died away in the darkness.
+
+"Are those your thoughts?" I asked then, half turning.
+
+"No," said Desiree, "but I want to kill my thoughts.  As for them--"
+
+She hesitated, and after a short pause her voice again broke into
+melody:
+
+  "Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail
+  That brings our friends up from the underworld;
+  Sad as the last which reddens over one
+  That sinks with all we love below the verge;
+  So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more."
+
+
+Her voice, subdued and low, breathed a sweetness that seemed almost to
+be of another world.  My ear quivered with the vibrations, and long
+after she was silent the last mellow note floated through my brain.
+
+Suddenly I became conscious of another sound, scarcely less musical.
+It, too, was low; so low and faint that at first I thought my ear
+deceived me, or that some distant echo was returning Desiree's song
+down the dark tunnel.
+
+Gradually, very gradually, it became louder and clearer, until at
+length I recognized it.  It was the rush of water, unbroken, still low
+and at a great distance.  I turned to remark on it to Harry, but
+Desiree took the words from my mouth.
+
+"I seem to hear something--like the surf," she said.  "That isn't
+possible, is it?"
+
+I could have smiled but for the deep note of hope in her voice.
+
+"Hardly," I answered.  "I have heard it for several minutes.  It is
+probably some shallows.  We must look sharp."
+
+Another fifteen minutes, and I began to notice that the speed of the
+current was increasing.  The sound of the rushing water, too, was quite
+distinct.  Still the raft moved more and more swiftly, till I began to
+feel alarmed.  I turned to Harry:
+
+"That begins to sound like rapids.  See that the spears are fastened
+securely, and stand ready with your oar.  Sit tight, Desiree."
+
+One thing was certain: there was nothing to do but go ahead.  On both
+sides the walls of the tunnel rose straight up from the surface of the
+water; there was nowhere room for a landing-place--not even a foot for
+a purchase to stay our flight.  To go back was impossible; at the rate
+the current was now carrying us we could not have held the raft even
+for a moment without oars.
+
+Soon we were gliding forward so swiftly that the raft trembled under
+us; from the darkness ahead came the sound of the rapids, now increased
+to a roar that filled the tunnel and deafened us.  I heard Harry
+shouting something, but could not make out the words; we were shooting
+forward with the speed of an express train and the air about us was
+full of flying water.
+
+The roar of the rapids became louder and louder.  I turned for an
+instant, shouting at the top of my voice: "Flat on your faces, and hold
+on for dear life!" Then I dropped down with my oar under me, passing my
+feet under two of the straps and clinging to two others with my hands.
+
+Another few seconds passed that seemed an hour.  The raft was swaying
+and lurching with the mad force of the current.  I called out again to
+Harry and Desiree, but my words were completely drowned by the
+deafening, stunning roar of the water.  All was darkness and confusion.
+I kept asking myself: "Why doesn't it come?" It seemed an age since I
+had thrown myself on my face.
+
+Suddenly the raft leaped up under me and away.  It seemed as though
+some giant hand had grasped it from beneath and jerked it down with
+tremendous force.  The air was filled with water, lashing my face and
+body furiously.  The raft whirled about like a cork.  I gripped the
+straps with all the strength that was in me.  Down, down we went into
+the darkness; my breath was gone and my brain whirled dizzily.
+
+There was a sudden sharp lurch, a jerk upward, and I felt the surface
+of the water close over me.  Blinded and dazed, I clung to my hold
+desperately, struggling with the instinct to free myself.  For several
+seconds the roar of the cataract sounded in my ears with a furious
+faintness, as though it were at a great distance; then I felt the air
+again and a sudden cessation of motion.
+
+I opened my eyes, choking and sputtering.  For a time I could see
+nothing; then I made out Desiree's form, and Harry's, stretched behind
+me on the raft.  At the same instant Harry's voice came:
+
+"Paul!  Ah, Desiree!"
+
+In another moment we were at her side.  Her hands held to the straps on
+each side with a grip as of death; we had to pry off each of her
+fingers separately to loosen them.  Then we bent her over Harry's knee
+and worked her arms up and down, and soon her chest heaved convulsively
+and her lungs freed themselves of the water they had taken.  Presently
+she turned about; her eyes opened and she pressed her hands to her head.
+
+"Don't say 'Where am I?'" said Harry, "because we don't know.  How do
+you feel?"
+
+"I don't know," she answered, still gasping for breath.  "What was it?
+What did we do?"
+
+I left them then, turning to survey the extent of our damage.  There
+was absolutely none; we were as intact as when we started.  The
+provisions and spears remained under their straps; my oar lay where I
+had fallen on it.  The raft appeared to be floating easily as before,
+without a scratch.
+
+The water about us was churned into foam, though we had already been
+carried so far from the cataract that it was lost behind us in the
+darkness; only its roar reached our ears.  To this day I haven't the
+faintest idea of its height; it may have been ten feet or two hundred.
+Harry says a thousand.
+
+We were moving slowly along on the surface of what appeared to be a
+lake, still carried forward by the force of the falls behind us.  For
+my part, I found its roar bewildering and confusing, and I picked up my
+oar and commenced to paddle away from it; at least, so I judged.
+
+Harry's voice came from behind:
+
+"In the name of goodness, where did you get that oar?"
+
+I turned.
+
+"Young man, a good sailor never loses an oar.  How do you feel,
+Desiree?"
+
+"Like a drowned rat," she answered, but with a laugh in her voice.
+"I'm faint and sick and wet, and my throat is ready to burst, but I
+wouldn't have missed that for anything.  It was glorious!  I'd like to
+do it again."
+
+"Yes, you would," said Harry skeptically.  "You're welcome, thank you.
+But what I want to know is, where did that oar come from?"
+
+I explained that I had taken the precaution to fall on it.
+
+"Do you never lose your head?" asked Desiree.
+
+"No, merely my heart."
+
+"Oh, as for that," she retorted, with a lightness that still had a
+sting, "my good friend, you never had any."
+
+Whereupon I returned to my paddling in haste.
+
+Soon I discovered that though, as I have said, we appeared to be in a
+lake--for I could see no bank on either side--there was still a
+current.  We drifted slowly, but our movement was plainly perceptible,
+and I rested on my oar.
+
+Presently a wall loomed up ahead of us and I saw that the stream again
+narrowed down as it entered the tunnel, much lower than the one above
+the cataract.  The current became swifter as we were carried toward its
+mouth, and I called to Harry to get his spear to keep us off from the
+walls if it should prove necessary.  But we entered exactly in the
+center and were swept forward with a rush.
+
+The ceiling of the tunnel was so low that we could not stand upright on
+the raft, and the stream was not more than forty feet wide.  That was
+anything but promising; if the stream really ran through to the western
+slope, its volume of water should have been increasing instead of
+diminishing.  I said nothing of that to Harry or Desiree.
+
+We had sailed along thus without incident for upward of half an hour,
+when my carelessness, or the darkness, nearly brought us to grief.
+Suddenly, without warning, there was a violent jar and the raft
+rebounded with a force that all but threw us into the water.  Coming to
+a bend in the stream, the current had dashed us against the other bank.
+
+But, owing to the flexibility of its sides, the raft escaped damage.  I
+had my oar against the wall instantly, shoving off, and we swung round
+and caught the current again round the curve.
+
+But that bend was to the left, as the other had been, which meant that
+we were now going in exactly the opposite direction of that in which we
+had started!  Which, in turn, meant the death of hope; we were merely
+winding in and out in a circle and getting nowhere.  Harry and Desiree
+had apparently not noticed the fact, and I said nothing of it.  Time
+enough when they should find out for themselves; and besides, there was
+still a chance, though a slim one.
+
+Soon the bed of the stream became nearly level, for we barely moved.
+The roof of the tunnel was very low--but a scant foot above our heads
+as we sat or crouched on the raft.  It was necessary to keep a sharp
+lookout ahead; a rock projecting from above would have swept us into
+the water.
+
+The air, too, was close and foul; our breath became labored and
+difficult; and Desiree, half stifled and drowsy, passed into a fitful
+and broken sleep, stirring restlessly and panting for air.  Harry had
+taken the bow and I lay across the stern.  Suddenly his voice came,
+announcing that we had left the tunnel.
+
+I sat up quickly and looked round.  The walls were no longer to be
+seen; we had evidently entered a cavern similar to the one in which we
+had embarked.
+
+"Shall we lay off?" I asked, stepping across to Harry's side.
+
+He assented, and I took the oar and worked the raft over to the left.
+There was but little current and she went well in.  In a few minutes we
+were in shallow water, and Harry and I jumped off and shoved her to the
+bank.
+
+Desiree sat up, rubbing her eyes.
+
+"Where are we?" she asked.
+
+Harry explained while we beached the raft.  Then we broke out our
+provisions and partook of them.
+
+"But why do we stop?" asked Desiree.
+
+The words "Because we are not getting anywhere" rose to my lips, but I
+kept them back.
+
+"For a rest and some air," I answered.
+
+Desiree exclaimed: "But I want to go on!"
+
+So as soon as we had eaten our fill we loaded the stuff again and
+prepared to shove off.  By that time I think Harry, too, had realized
+the hopelessness of our expedition, for he had lost all his enthusiasm;
+but he said nothing, nor did I.  We secured Desiree on her pile of
+skins and again pushed out into the current.
+
+The cavern was not large, for we had been under way but a few minutes
+when its wall loomed up ahead and the stream again entered a tunnel, so
+low and narrow that I hesitated about entering at all.  I consulted
+Harry.
+
+"Take a chance," he advised.  "Why not?  As well that as anything."
+
+We slipped through the entrance.
+
+The current was extremely sluggish, and we barely seemed to move.
+Still we went forward.
+
+"If we only had a little speed we could stand it," Harry grumbled.
+
+Which shows that a man does not always appreciate a blessing.  It was
+not long before we were offering up thanks that our speed had been so
+slight.
+
+To be exact, about an hour, as well as I could measure time, which
+passed slowly; for not only were the minutes tedious, but the foulness
+of the air made them also extremely uncomfortable.  Desiree was again
+lying down, half-unconscious but not asleep, for now and then she spoke
+drowsily.  Harry complained of a dizziness in the head, and my own
+seemed ready to burst through my temples.  The soroche of the mountains
+was agreeable compared to that.
+
+Suddenly the swiftness of the current increased appreciably on the
+instant; there was a swift jerk as we were carried forward.  I rose to
+my knees--the tunnel was too low to permit of standing--and gazed
+intently ahead.  I could see nothing save that the stream had narrowed
+to half its former width, and was still becoming narrower.
+
+We went faster and faster, and the stream narrowed until the bank was
+but a few feet away on either side.
+
+"Watch the stern!" I called to Harry.  "Keep her off with your spear!"
+
+Then a wall loomed up directly ahead.  I thought it meant another bend
+in the stream, and I strained my eyes intently in the effort to
+discover its direction, but I could see nothing save the black wall.
+We approached closer; I shouted to Harry and Desiree to brace
+themselves for a shock, praying that the raft would meet the rock
+squarely and not on a corner.
+
+I had barely had time to set myself and grasp the straps behind when we
+struck with terrific force.  The raft rebounded several feet, trembling
+and shaking violently.  The water was rushing past us with noisy
+impetuosity.
+
+There was a cry from Desiree, and from Harry, "All right!" I crawled to
+the bow.  Along the top the hide covering had been split open for
+several feet, but the water did not quite reach the opening.
+
+And we had reached the end of our ambitious journey.  For that black
+wall marked the finish of the tunnel; the stream entered it through a
+narrow hole, which accounted for the sudden, swift rush of the current.
+Above the upper rim of the hole the surface of the water whirled about
+in a widening circle; to this had we been led by the stream that was to
+have carried us to the land of sunshine.
+
+When I told Desiree she stared at me in silence!  I had not realized
+before the strength of her hope.  Speechless with disappointment, she
+merely sat and stared straight ahead at the black, unyielding rock.
+Harry knelt beside her with his arm across her shoulders.
+
+I roused him with a jerk of the arm.
+
+"Come--get busy!  A few hours in this hole and we'd suffocate.  Do you
+realize that we've got to pull this raft back against the current?"
+
+First it was necessary to repair the rent in the hide covering.  This
+we did with strips of hide; and barely in time, for it was becoming
+wider every minute, and the water was beginning to creep in over the
+edge.  But we soon had the ends sewed firmly together and turned our
+hands to the main task.
+
+It appeared to be not only difficult, but actually impossible to force
+the raft back up-stream against the swift current.  We were jammed
+against the rock with all the force of many tons of water.  The oar was
+useless.
+
+Getting a purchase on the wall with our hands, we shoved the raft to
+one side; but as soon as we got to the wall on the left the whirling
+stream turned us around again, and we found ourselves back in our
+original position, only with a different side of the raft against the
+rock.  That happened three times.
+
+Then we tried working to the right instead of the left, but with no
+better success.  The force of the current, coming with all its speed
+against the unwieldy raft, was irresistible.  Time and again we shoved
+round and started upstream, after incredible labor, only to be dashed
+back again against the rock.
+
+We tried our spears, but their shafts were so slender that they were
+useless.  We took the oar and, placing its end against the wall, shoved
+with all our strength.  The oar snapped in two and we fell forward
+against the wall.  We tore off some of the strips of hide from the raft
+and tried to fasten them to the wall on either side, but there was no
+protuberance that would hold them.  Nothing remained to be done.
+
+Harry and I held a consultation then and agreed on the only possible
+means of escape.  I turned to Desiree:
+
+"Can you swim?"
+
+"Parfaitement," she replied.  "But against that"--pointing to the
+whirling water--"I do not know.  I can try."
+
+I, who remember the black fury of that stream as it swept past us, can
+appreciate the courage of her.
+
+We lost no time, for the foulness of the air was weakening us with
+every breath we took.  Our preparations were few.
+
+The two spears and about half of the provisions we strapped to our
+backs--an inconsiderable load which would hamper us but little.  We
+discarded all our clothing, which was very little.  I took the heavy
+skin which Desiree had worn and began to strap it also on top of my
+bundle, but she refused to allow it.
+
+"I will not permit you to be handicapped with my modesty," she observed.
+
+Then, with Desiree between us, we stepped to the edge of the raft and
+dived off together.
+
+Driven as we were by necessity, we would have hesitated longer if we
+had known the full force of the undercurrent that seized us from
+beneath.  Desiree would have disappeared without a struggle if it had
+not been for the support which Harry and I rendered her on either side.
+
+But we kept on top--most of the time--and fought our way forward by
+inches.  The black walls frowning at us from either side appeared to me
+to remain exactly the same, stationary, after a long and desperate
+struggle; but when I gave a quick glance behind I saw that we had
+pulled so far away from the raft that it was no longer in sight.  That
+gave me renewed strength, and, shouting assurance to Harry and Desiree,
+I redoubled my efforts.  Desiree was by now almost able to hold her
+own, but we still supported her.
+
+Every stroke made the next one easier, carrying us away from the
+whirlpool, and soon we swam smoothly.  Less and less strong became the
+resistance of the current, until finally it was possible to float
+easily on our backs and rest.
+
+"How far is it to the cavern?" Harry panted.
+
+"Somewhere between one and ten miles," was my answer.  "How the deuce
+should I know?  But we'll make it now, I think.  Can you hold out,
+Desiree?"
+
+"Easily," she answered.  "If only I could get some air!  Just one good,
+long breath."
+
+There was the danger, and on that account no time was to be lost.
+Again we struck out into the blackness ahead.  I felt myself no longer
+fresh, and began to doubt seriously if we should reach our goal.
+
+But we reached it.  No need to recount our struggles, which toward the
+end were inspired by suffering amounting to agony as we choked and
+gasped for sufficient air to keep us up.
+
+Another hundred yards would have been too much for us; but it is enough
+that finally we staggered onto the bank at the entrance to the cavern
+in which we had previously rested, panting, dizzy, and completely
+exhausted.
+
+But an hour in the cavern, with its supply of air, revived us; and then
+we sat up and asked ourselves: "What for?"
+
+"And all that brings us--to this," said Harry, with a sweeping gesture
+round the cavern.
+
+"At least, it is a better tomb," I retorted.  "And it was a good fight.
+We still have something in us.  Desiree, a good man was lost in you."
+
+Harry rose to his feet.
+
+"I'm going to look round," he announced.  "We've got to do something.
+Gad, and it took us a month to build that raft!"
+
+"The vanity of human endeavor," said I, loosening the strap round my
+shoulders and dropping my bundle to the ground.  "Wait a minute; I'm
+going with you.  Are you coming, Desiree?"
+
+But she was too tired to rise to her feet, and we left her behind,
+arranging what few skins we had as well as possible to protect her from
+the hard rock.
+
+"Rest your weary bones," said Harry, stooping to kiss her.  "There's
+meat here if you want it.  We'll be back soon."
+
+So we left her, with her white body stretched out at its full length on
+the rude mat.
+
+Bearing off to the left, we soon discovered that we would have no
+difficulty to leave the cavern; we had only to choose our way.  There
+was scarcely any wall at all, so broken was it by lanes and passages
+leading in all directions.
+
+We followed some of them for a distance, but found none that gave any
+particular promise.  Most of them were choked with rocks and boulders
+through which it was difficult to force a passage.  We spent an hour or
+more in these futile explorations, then followed the wall some distance
+to the right.
+
+Gradually the exits became less numerous.  High on a boulder near the
+entrance of one we saw the head of some animal peering down at us.  We
+hurled our spears at it, but missed; then were forced to climb up the
+steep side of the boulder to recover our weapons.
+
+"We'd better go back to Desiree," said Harry when we reached the ground
+again.  "She'll wonder what's become of us.  We've been gone nearly two
+hours."
+
+After fifteen minutes' search we found the stream, and followed it to
+the left.  We had gone farther than we thought, and we were looking for
+the end, where we had left Desiree, long before we reached it.  Several
+times we called her name, but there was no answer.
+
+"She's probably asleep," said Harry.  And a minute later: "There's the
+wall at last!  But where is she?"
+
+My foot struck something on the ground, and I stooped over to examine
+it.
+
+It was the pile of skins on which Desiree had lain!
+
+I called to Harry, and at the same instant heard his shout of
+consternation as he came running toward me, holding something in his
+hand.
+
+"They've got her!  Look!  Look at this!  I found it on the ground over
+there."
+
+He held the thing in his hand out before me.
+
+It was an Inca spear.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXI.
+
+THE MIDST OF THE ENEMY.
+
+Harry and I stood gazing at each other blankly in the semidarkness of
+the cavern.
+
+"But it isn't possible," I objected finally to my own thoughts.  "She
+would have cried out and we would have heard her.  The spear may have
+been there before."
+
+Then I raised my voice, calling her name many times at the top of my
+lungs.  There was no answer.
+
+"They've got her," said Harry, "and that's all there is to it.  The
+cursed brutes crept up on her in the dark--much chance she had of
+crying out when they got their hands on her.  I know it.  Why did we
+leave her?"
+
+"Where did you find the spear?" I asked.
+
+Harry pointed toward the wall, away from the stream.
+
+"On the ground?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is there an exit from the cavern on that side?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"Well, that's our only chance.  Come on!"
+
+We found the exit, and another, and a third.  Which to take?  They were
+very similar to one another, except that the one in the middle sloped
+upward at a gentle incline, while the others were level.
+
+"One is as good as another," I observed, and entered the one on the
+left.
+
+Once started, we advanced with a rush.  The passage was straight and
+narrow, clear of obstruction, and we kept at a steady run.
+
+"They may have an hour's start of us," came Harry's voice at my side.
+
+"Or five minutes," I returned.  "We have no way of knowing.  But I'm
+afraid we're on the wrong trail."
+
+Still as I had said, one chance was as good as another, and we did not
+slacken our pace.  The passage went straight forward, without a bend.
+The roof was low, just allowing us to pass without stooping, and the
+walls were rough and rugged.
+
+It was not long before we found that we had taken the wrong chance,
+having covered, I think, some two or three miles when a wall loomed up
+directly in our path.
+
+"At last, a turn!" panted Harry.
+
+But it was not a turn.  It was the end of the passage.  We had been
+following a blind alley.
+
+Harry let out a string of oaths, and I seconded him.  Twenty minutes
+wasted, and another twenty to return!
+
+There was nothing else for it.  We shouldered our spears and started to
+retrace our steps.
+
+"No use running now," I declared.  "We can't keep it up forever, and we
+may as well save our strength.  We'll never catch up with 'em, but we
+may find 'em."
+
+Harry, striding ahead two or three paces in front, did not answer.
+
+Finally we reached the cavern from which we had started.
+
+"And now what?" asked Harry in a tone of the most utter dejection.
+
+I pointed to the exit in the middle.  "That!  We should have taken it
+in the first place.  On the raft we probably descended altogether
+something like five hundred feet from the level where we
+started--possibly twice that distance.  And this passage which slopes
+upward will probably take us back."
+
+"At least, it's as good as the other," Harry agreed; and we entered it.
+
+We had not proceeded far before we found ourselves in difficulties.
+The gentle slope became a steep incline.  Great rocks loomed up in our
+path.
+
+In spots the passage was so narrow that two men could hardly have
+walked abreast through it, and its walls were rough and irregular, with
+sharp points projecting unexpectedly into our very faces.
+
+Still we went forward and upward, scrambling over, under, round,
+between.  At one point, when Harry was a few yards in front of me, he
+suddenly disappeared from sight as though swallowed by the mountain.
+
+Rushing forward, I saw him scrambling to his feet at the bottom of a
+chasm some ten feet below.  Luckily he had escaped serious injury, and
+climbed up on the other side, while I leaped across--a distance of
+about six feet.
+
+"They could never have brought her through this," he declared, rubbing
+a bruised knee.
+
+"Do you want to go back?" I asked.
+
+But he said that would be useless, and I agreed with him.  So we
+struggled onward, painfully and laboriously.  The sharp corners of the
+rocks cut our feet and hands, and I had an ugly bruise on my left
+shoulder, besides many lesser ones.  Harry's injured knee caused him to
+limp and thus further retarded our progress.
+
+At times the passage broadened out until the wall on either side was
+barely visible, only to narrow down again till it was scarcely more
+than a crevice between the giant boulders.  The variation of the
+incline was no less, being at times very nearly level, and at others
+mounting upward at an angle whose ascent was all but impossible.
+Somehow we crawled up, like flies on a wall.
+
+When we came to a stream of water rushing directly across our path at
+the foot of a towering rock Harry gave a cry of joy and ran forward.  I
+had not known until then how badly his knee was hurt, and when I came
+up to where he was bathing it in the stream and saw how black and
+swollen it was, I insisted that he give it a rest.  But he absolutely
+refused, and after we had quenched our thirst and gotten an easy breath
+or two we struggled to our feet and on.
+
+After another hour of scrambling and failing and hanging on by our
+finger nails, the way began to be easier.  We came to level, clear
+stretches with only an occasional boulder or ravine, and the rock
+became less cruel to our bleeding feet.  The relief came almost too
+late, for by that time every movement was painful, and we made but slow
+progress.
+
+Soon we faced another difficulty when we came to a point where a split
+in the passage showed a lane on either side.  One led straight ahead;
+the other branched off to the right.  They were very similar, but
+somehow the one on the right looked more promising to us, and we took
+it.
+
+We had followed this but a short distance when it broadened out to such
+an extent that the walls on either side could be seen but dimly.  It
+still sloped upward, but at a very slight angle, and we had little
+difficulty in making our way.  Another half-hour and it narrowed down
+again to a mere lane.
+
+We were proceeding at a fairly rapid gait, keeping our eyes strained
+ahead, when there appeared an opening in the right wall at a distance
+of a hundred feet or so.  Not having seen or heard anything to
+recommend caution, we advanced without slackening our pace until we had
+reached it.
+
+I said aloud to Harry, "Probably a cross-passage," and then jerked him
+back quickly against the opposite wall as I saw the real nature of the
+opening.
+
+It led to a small room, with a low ceiling and rough walls, dark as the
+passage in which we stood, for it contained no light.
+
+We could see its interior dimly, but well enough to discover the form
+of an Inca standing just within the doorway.  His back was toward us,
+and he appeared to be fastening something to the ceiling with strips of
+hide.
+
+It was evident that we had not been seen, and I started to move on,
+grasping Harry's arm.  It was then that I became aware of the fact that
+the wall leading away in front of us--that is, the one on the
+right--was marked as far as the eye could reach with a succession of
+similar openings.
+
+They were quite close together; from where we stood I could see thirty
+or forty of them.  I guessed that they, too, led to rooms similar to
+the one in front of us, probably likewise occupied; but it was
+necessary to go on in spite of the danger, and I pulled again at
+Harry's arm.
+
+Then, seeing by his face that something had happened, I turned my eyes
+again on the Inca in the room.  He had turned about, squarely facing
+us.  As we stood motionless he took a hasty step forward; we had been
+discovered.
+
+There was but one thing to do, and we didn't hesitate about doing it.
+We leaped forward together, crossing the intervening space in a single
+bound, and bore the Inca to the floor under us.
+
+My fingers were round his throat, Harry sat on him.  In a trice we had
+him securely bound and gagged, using some strips of hide which we found
+suspended from the ceiling.
+
+"By gad!" exclaimed Harry in a whisper.  "Look at him!  He's a woman!"
+
+It was quite evident--disgustingly so.  Her eyes, dull and sunken,
+appeared as two large, black holes set back in her skull.  Her hair,
+matted about her forehead and shoulders, was thick and coarse, and
+blacker than night.  Her body was innocent of any attempt at covering.
+
+Altogether, not a very pleasant sight; and we bundled her into a corner
+and proceeded to look round the room, being careful to remain out of
+the range of view from the corridor as far as possible.
+
+The room was not luxuriously furnished.  There were two seats of stone,
+and a couch of the same material covered with thick hides.  In one
+corner was a pile of copper vessels; in another two or three of stone,
+rudely carved.  Some torn hides lay in a heap near the center of the
+room.  From the ceiling were suspended other hides and some strips of
+dried fish.
+
+Some of the latter we cut down with the points of our spears and
+retired with it to a corner.
+
+"Ought we to ask our hostess to join us?" Harry grinned.
+
+"This tastes good, after the other," I remarked.
+
+Hungry as we were, we made sad havoc with the lady's pantry.  Then we
+found some water in a basin in the corner and drank--not without
+misgivings.  But we were too thirsty to be particular.
+
+Then Harry became impatient to go on, and though I had no liking for
+the appearance of that long row of open doorways, I did not demur.
+Taking up our spears, we stepped out into the corridor and turned to
+the right.
+
+We found ourselves running a gantlet wherein discovery seemed certain.
+The right wall was one unbroken series of open doorways, and in each of
+the rooms, whose interiors we could plainly see, were one or more of
+the Inca Women; and sometimes children rolled about on the stony floor.
+
+In one of them a man stood; I could have sworn that he was gazing
+straight at us, and I gathered myself together for a spring; but he
+made no movement of any kind and we passed swiftly by.
+
+Once a little black ball of flesh--a boy it was, perhaps five or six
+years old--tumbled out into the corridor under our very feet.  We
+strode over him and went swiftly on.
+
+We had passed about a hundred of the open doorways, and were beginning
+to entertain the hope that we might, after all, get through without
+being discovered, when Harry suddenly stopped short, pulling at my arm.
+At the same instant I saw, far down the corridor, a crowd of black
+forms moving toward us.
+
+Even at that distance something about their appearance and gait told us
+that they were not women.  Their number was so great that as they
+advanced they filled the passage from wall to wall.
+
+There was but one way to escape certain discovery; and distasteful as
+it was, we did not hesitate to employ it.  In a glance I saw that we
+were directly opposite an open doorway; with a whispered word to Harry
+I sprang across the corridor and within the room.  He followed.
+
+Inside were a woman and two children.  As we entered they looked up,
+startled, and stood gazing at us in terror.  For an instant we held
+back, but there was nothing else for it; and in another minute we had
+overpowered and bound and gagged them and carried them to a corner.
+
+The children were ugly little devils and the woman very little above a
+brute; still we handled them as tenderly as possible.  Then we crouched
+against the wall where we could not be seen from the corridor, and
+waited.
+
+Soon the patter of many footsteps reached our ears.  They passed;
+others came, and still others.  For many minutes the sound continued
+steadily, unbroken, while we sat huddled up against the wall, scarcely
+daring to breathe.
+
+Immediately in front of me lay the forms of the woman and the children;
+I could see their dull eyes, unblinking, looking up at me in abject
+terror.  Still the patter of footsteps sounded from without, with now
+and then an interval of quiet.
+
+Struck by a sudden thought, I signaled to Harry; and when he had moved
+further back into his corner I sprang across the room in one bound to
+his side.  A word or two of whispering, and he nodded to show that he
+understood.  We crouched together flat against the wall.
+
+My thought had come just in time, for scarcely another minute had
+passed when there suddenly appeared in the doorway the form of an Inca.
+He moved a step inside, and I saw that there was another behind him.  I
+had not counted on two of them!  In the arms of each was a great copper
+vessel, evidently very heavy, for their effort was apparent as they
+stooped to place the vessels on the ground just within the doorway.
+
+As they straightened up and saw that the room before them was empty,
+their faces filled with surprise.  At the same moment a movement came
+from the woman in the corner; the two men glanced at them with a start
+of wonder; and as I had foreseen, they ran across and bent over the
+prostrate forms.
+
+The next instant they, too, were prone on the floor, with Harry and me
+on top of them.  They did not succumb without a struggle, and the one I
+had chosen proved nearly too much for me.
+
+The great muscles of his chest and legs strained under me with a power
+that made me doubtful for a moment of the outcome; but the Incas
+themselves had taught us how to conquer a man when you attack him from
+behind, and I grasped his throat with all the strength there was in my
+fingers.
+
+With a desperate effort he got to his knees and grasped my wrists in
+his powerful black hands and tore my own grip loose.  He was half-way
+to his feet, and far more powerful than I; I changed my tactics.
+Wrenching myself loose, I fell back a step; then, as he twisted round
+to get at me, I lunged forward and let him have my fist squarely
+between the eyes.
+
+The blow nearly broke my hand, but he dropped to the floor.  The next
+instant I was joined by Harry, who had overcome the other Inca with
+little difficulty, and in a trice we had them both bound and gagged
+along with the remainder of the family in the corner.
+
+Owing to my strategy in withholding our attack until the Incas had got
+well within the room and to one side, we had not been seen by those
+constantly passing up and down in the corridor without; at least, none
+of them had entered.  We seemed by this stroke to have assured our
+safety so long as we remained in the room.
+
+But it was still necessary to remain against the wall, for the soft
+patter of footsteps could still be heard in the corridor.
+
+They now came at irregular intervals, and there were not many of them.
+Otherwise the silence was unbroken.
+
+"What does it all mean?" Harry whispered.
+
+"The Incas are coming home to their women," I guessed.  "Though, after
+seeing the women, it is little wonder if they spend most of their time
+away from them.  He is welcome to his repose in the bosom of his
+family."
+
+There passed an uneventful hour.  Long before it ended the sound of
+footsteps had entirely ceased; but we thought it best to take no
+chances, and waited for the last minute our impatience would allow us.
+Then, uncomfortable and stiff from the long period of immobility and
+silence, we rose to our feet and made ready to start.
+
+Harry was for appropriating some of the strips of dried fish we saw
+suspended from the ceiling, but I objected that our danger lay in any
+direction other than that of hunger, and we set out with only our
+spears.
+
+The corridor was deserted.  One quick glance in either direction
+assured us of that; then we turned to the right and set out at a rapid
+pace, down the long passage past a succession of rooms exactly similar
+to the one we had just left--scores, hundreds of them.
+
+Each one was occupied by from one to ten of the Incas lying on the
+couch which each contained, or stretched on hides on the floor.  No one
+was stirring.  Everywhere was silence save the patter of our own feet,
+which we let fall as noiselessly as possible.
+
+"Will it never end?" whispered Harry at length, after we had traversed
+upward of a mile without any sign of a cross-passage or a termination.
+
+"Forward, and silence!" I breathed for a reply.
+
+The end--at least, of the silence--came sooner than we had expected.
+Hardly were the last words out of my mouth when a whirring noise
+sounded behind us.  We glanced over our shoulders as we ran, and at the
+same instant an Inca spear flew by not two inches from my head and
+struck the ground in front.
+
+Not a hundred feet to the rear we saw a group of Incas rushing along
+the passage toward us.  Harry wheeled about, raising his spear, but I
+grasped him by the arm, crying, "Run; it's our only chance!" The next
+moment we were leaping forward side by side down the passage.
+
+It would have fared ill with any who appeared to block our way in that
+mad dash; but it remained clear.  The corridor led straight ahead, with
+never a turn.  We were running as we had never run before; the black
+walls flashed past us an indistinguishable blur, and the open doorways
+were blended into one.
+
+Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that the small group of Incas was
+no longer small.  Away to the rear the corridor was filled with rushing
+black forms.  But I saw plainly that we were gaining on them; the
+distance that separated us was twice as great as when we had first
+started to run.
+
+"How about it?" I panted.  "Can you hold out?"
+
+"If it weren't for this knee," Harry returned between breaths and
+through clenched teeth.  "But--I'm with you." He was limping painfully,
+and I slackened my pace a little, but he urged me forward with an oath,
+and himself sprang to the front.  His knee must have been causing him
+the keenest agony; his face was white as death.
+
+Then I uttered a cry of joy as I saw a bend in the passage ahead.  We
+reached it, and wheeled to the right.  There was solid wall on either
+side; the series of doors was ended.
+
+"We'll shake 'em off now," I panted.
+
+Harry nodded.
+
+A short distance ahead we came to another cross-passage, and turned to
+the left.  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that our pursuers had not
+yet reached the first turn.  Harry kept in the lead, and was giving me
+all I could do to keep up with him.
+
+We found ourselves now in a veritable maze of lanes and cross-passages,
+and we turned to one side or the other at every opportunity.  At length
+I grasped Harry by the arm and stopped him.  We stood for two full
+minutes listening intently.  There was absolutely no sound of any kind.
+
+"Thank Heaven!" Harry breathed, and would have fallen to the ground if
+I had not supported him.
+
+We started out then in search of water, moving slowly and cautiously.
+But we found none, and soon Harry declared that he could go no further.
+We sat down with our backs against the wall of the passage, still
+breathing heavily and all but exhausted.
+
+In that darkness and silence the minutes passed into hours.  We talked
+but little, and then only in whispers.  Finally Harry fell into a
+restless sleep, if it may be called that, and several times I dozed off
+and was awakened by my head nodding against the stone wall.
+
+At length, finding Harry awake, I urged him to his feet.  His knee
+barely supported his weight, but he gritted his teeth and told me to
+lead on.
+
+"We can wait--" I began; but he broke in savagely:
+
+"No!  I want to find her, that's all--and end it.  Just one more
+chance!"
+
+We searched for an hour before we found the stream of water we sought.
+After Harry had bathed his knee and drunk his fill he felt more fit,
+and we pushed on more rapidly, but still quite at random.
+
+We turned first one way, then another, in the never-ending labyrinth,
+always in darkness and silence.  We seemed to get nowhere; and I for
+one was about to give up the disheartening task when suddenly a sound
+smote our ears that caused us first to start violently, then stop and
+gaze at each other in comprehension and eager surprise.
+
+"The bell!" cried Harry.  "They are being summoned to the great cavern!"
+
+It was the same sound we had heard twice before; a sound as of a great,
+deep-toned bell ringing sonorously throughout the passages and caverns
+with a roar that was deafening.  And it seemed to be close--quite close.
+
+"It came from the left," said Harry; but I disagreed with him and was
+so sure of myself that we started off to the right.  The echoes of the
+bell were still floating from wall to wall as we went rapidly forward.
+I do not know what we expected to find, and the Lord knows what we
+intended to do after we found it.
+
+A short distance ahead we came to another passage, crossing at right
+angles, broad and straight, and somehow familiar.  As with one impulse
+we took it, turning to the left, and then flattened ourselves back
+against the wall as we saw a group of Incas passing at its farther end,
+some two hundred yards away.
+
+There we stood, motionless and scarcely breathing, while group after
+group of the savages passed in the corridor ahead.  Their number
+swelled to a continuous stream, which in turn gradually became thinner
+and thinner until only a few stragglers were seen trotting behind.
+Finally they, too, ceased to appear; the corridor was deserted.
+
+We waited a while longer, then as no more appeared we started forward
+and soon had reached the corridor down which they had passed.  We
+followed in the direction they had taken, turning to the right.
+
+We had no sooner turned than we saw that which caused us to glance
+quickly at each other and hasten our step, while I smothered the
+ejaculation that rose to my lips.  The corridor in which we now found
+ourselves stretched straight ahead for a distance, then turned to one
+side; and the corner thus formed was flooded with a brilliant blaze of
+light!
+
+There was no longer any doubt of it: we were on our way to the great
+cavern.  For a moment I hesitated, asking myself for what purpose we
+hastened on thus into the very arms of our enemies; then, propelled by
+instinct or premonition--I know not what--I took a firmer grasp on my
+spear and followed Harry without word, throwing caution to the winds.
+
+Yet we avoided foolhardiness, for as we approached the last turn we
+proceeded slowly, keeping an eye on the rear.  But all the Incas
+appeared to have assembled within, for the corridor remained deserted.
+
+We crept silently to the corner, avoiding the circle of light as far as
+possible, and, crouching side by side on the rock, looked out together
+on a scene none the less striking because we had seen it twice before.
+
+It was the great cavern.  We saw it from a different viewpoint than
+before; the alcove which held the golden throne was far off to our
+left, nearly half-way round the vast circumference.  On the throne was
+seated the king, surrounded by guards and attendants.
+
+As before, the stone seats which surrounded the amphitheater on every
+side were filled with the Incas, crouching motionless and silent.  The
+flames in the massive urns mounted in steady tongues, casting their
+blinding glare in every direction.
+
+All this I saw in a flash, when suddenly Harry's fingers sank into the
+flesh of my arm with such force that I all but cried out in actual
+pain.  And then, glancing at him and following the direction of his
+gaze, I saw Desiree.
+
+She was standing on the top of the lofty column in the center of the
+lake.
+
+Her white body, uncovered, was outlined sharply against the black
+background of the cavern above.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXII.
+
+THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
+
+Neither Harry nor I spoke; our eyes were concentrated on the scene
+before us, trying to comprehend its meaning.
+
+It was something indefinable in Desiree's attitude that told me the
+truth--what, I cannot tell.  Her profile was toward us; it could not
+have been her eyes or any expression of her face; but there was a
+tenseness about her pose, a stiffening of the muscles of her body, an
+air of lofty scorn and supreme triumph coming somehow from every line
+of her motionless figure, that flashed certainty into my brain.
+
+And on the instant I turned to Harry.
+
+"Follow me," I whispered; and he must have read the force of my
+knowledge in my eyes, for he obeyed without a word.  Back down the
+passage we ran, halting at its end.  Harry opened his lips to speak,
+but I took the words from his mouth; seconds were precious.
+
+"They have fired the column--you remember.  Follow me; keep your spear
+ready; not a sound, if you love her."
+
+I saw that he understood, and saw too, by the expression that shot into
+his face, that it would go ill with any Incas who tried to stop us then.
+
+We rushed forward side by side, guessing at our way, seeking the
+entrance to the tunnel that led to the foot of the column.  A prayer
+was on my lips that we might not be too late; Harry's lips were
+compressed together tightly as a vise.  Death we did not fear, even for
+Desiree; but we remembered the horror of our own experience on the top
+of that column, and shuddered as we ran.
+
+As I have said, we had entered the great cavern at a point almost
+directly opposite the alcove, and therefore at a distance from the
+entrance we sought.  It was necessary to half encircle the cavern, and
+the passages were so often crossed by other passages that many times we
+had to guess at the proper road.
+
+But not for an instant did we hesitate; we flew rather than ran.  I
+felt within me the strength and resolve of ten men, and I knew then
+that there was something I must do and would do before I died, though a
+thousand devils stood in my way.
+
+I do not know what led us; whether a remorseful Providence, who
+suddenly decided that we had been played with long enough, or the mere
+animal instinct of direction, or blind luck.  But so fast did we go
+that it seemed to me we had left the great cavern scarcely a minute
+behind us when I suddenly saw the steps of a steep stairway leading
+down from an opening on our right.
+
+How my heart leaped then!  Harry uttered a hoarse cry of exultation.
+The next instant we were dashing headlong down the steps, avoiding a
+fall by I know not what miracle.  And there before us was the entrance
+to the tunnel.
+
+I held Harry back, almost shouting: "You stay here; guard the entrance.
+I'll get her."
+
+"No," he cried, pushing forward.  "I can't stay."
+
+"Fool!" I cried, dashing him back.  "We would be caught like rats in a
+trap.  Defend that entrance--with your life!"
+
+I saw him hesitate, and, knowing that he would obey, I dashed forward
+into the tunnel.  When nearly to its end I made a misstep on the uneven
+ground and precipitated myself against the wall.  A sharp pain shot
+through my left shoulder, but at the time I was scarcely conscious of
+it as I picked myself up and leaped forward.  The end was in sight.
+
+Just as I reached the foot of the spiral stairway I saw a black form
+descending from it.  That Inca never knew what hit him.  I did not use
+my spear; time was too precious.  He disappeared in the whirlpool
+beneath the base of the column through which Harry and I had once
+miraculously escaped.
+
+But despair filled my heart as, with my feet on the first step of the
+spiral stairway, I cast a quick glance upward.  The upper half of the
+inside of the column was a raging furnace of fire.  How or from what it
+came I did not stop to inquire; I bounded up the stairway in desperate
+fury.
+
+I did not know then that the stone steps were baking and blistering my
+feet; I did not know, as I came level with the base of the flames, that
+every hair was being singed from my head and body--I only knew that I
+must reach the top of the column.
+
+Then I saw the source of the flames as I reached them.  Huge vats of
+oil--six, a dozen, twenty--I know not how many--were ranged in a circle
+on a ledge of stone encircling the column, and from their tops the fire
+leaped upward to a great height.  I saw what must be done; how I did it
+God only knows; I shut my eyes now as I remember it.
+
+Hooking the rim of the vat nearest me with the point of my spear, I
+sent it tumbling down the length of the column into the whirlpool, many
+feet below.  Then another, and another, and another, until the ledge
+was empty.
+
+Some of the burning oil, flying from the overturned vats, alighted on
+the stairway, casting weird patches of light up and down the whole
+length of the column.  Some of it landed on my body, my face, my hands.
+It was a very hell of heat; my lungs, all the inside of me, was on fire.
+
+My brain sang and whirled.  My eyes felt as though they were being
+burned from their sockets with red-hot irons.  I bounded upward.
+
+A few more steps--I could not see, I could hardly feel--and my head
+bumped against the stone at the top of the column.  I put out my hand,
+groping around half crazily, and by some wild chance it came in contact
+with the slide that moved the stone stab.  I pushed, hardly knowing
+what I did, and the stone flew to one side.  I stuck my head through
+the opening and saw Desiree.
+
+Her back was toward me.  As I emerged from the opening the Incas seated
+round the vast amphitheater and the king, seated on the golden throne
+in the alcove, rose involuntarily from their seats in astonished wonder.
+
+Desiree saw the movement and, turning, caught sight of me.  A sudden
+cry of amazement burst from her lips; she made a hasty step forward and
+fell fainting into my arms.
+
+I shook her violently, but she remained unconscious, and this added
+catastrophe all but unnerved me.  For a moment I stood on the upper
+step with the upper half of my body, swaying from side to side,
+extending beyond the top of the column; then I turned and began to
+descend with Desiree in my arms.
+
+Every step of that descent was unspeakable agony.  Feeling was hardly
+in me; my whole body was an engine of pain.  Somehow, I staggered and
+stumbled downward; at every step I expected to fall headlong to the
+bottom with my burden.  Desiree's form remained limp and lifeless in my
+arms.
+
+I reached the ledge on which the vats had been placed and passed it;
+air entered my burning lungs like a breeze from the mountains.  Every
+step now made the next one easier.  I began to think that I might,
+after all, reach the bottom in safety.  Another twenty steps and I
+could see the beginning of the tunnel below.
+
+Desiree's form stirred slightly in my arms.  A glance showed me her
+eyes looking up into mine as her head lay back on my shoulder.
+
+"Why?" she moaned.  "In the name of Heaven above us, why?" I had no
+time for answer; my lips were locked tightly together as I sought the
+step below with a foot that had no feeling even for the stone.  We were
+nearly to the bottom; we reached it.
+
+I placed Desiree on her feet.
+
+"Can you stand?" I gasped; and the words were torn from my throat with
+a great effort.
+
+"But you!" she cried, and I saw that her eyes were filled with horror.
+No doubt I was a pitiful thing to look at.
+
+But there was no time to be lost, and, seeing that her feet supported
+her, I grasped her arm and started down the tunnel just as Harry's
+voice, raised in a great shout, came to us from its farther end.
+
+"No!" cried Desiree, shrinking back in terror.  "Paul--" I dragged her
+forward.
+
+Then, as Harry's cry was repeated, she seemed to understand and sprang
+forward beside me.
+
+Another second wasted and we would have been too late.  Just as we
+reached Harry's side, at the end of the tunnel, the Incas, warned by my
+appearance at the top of the column, appeared above on the stairway, at
+the foot of which Harry had made his stand.
+
+At the sight of Desiree Harry uttered a cry of joy, then gazed in
+astonishment as I appeared behind her.
+
+"Run for your lives!" he shouted, pointing down the passage leading to
+the apartments beyond.  As he spoke a shower of spears descended from
+above, rattling on the steps and on the ground beside us.  I stooped to
+pick up two of them, and as Desiree and I darted forward into the
+passage, with Harry bringing up the rear, the Incas dashed down the
+stairway after us.
+
+We found ourselves at once in the maze of lanes and passages leading to
+the royal apartments.  That, I thought, was as good a goal as any; and,
+besides, the way led to the cavern where we had once before
+successfully withstood our enemies.  But the way was not so easy to
+find.
+
+Turn and twist about as we would, we could not shake off our pursuers.
+Harry kept urging me forward, but I was using every ounce of strength
+that was left to me.  Desiree, too, was becoming weaker at every step,
+and I could hear Harry's cry of despair as she perceptibly faltered and
+slackened her pace.
+
+I soon realized that we were no longer in the passage or group of
+passages that led to the royal apartments and the cavern beyond.  But
+there was no time to seek our way; well enough if we went forward.  We
+found ourselves in a narrow lane, strewn with rocks, crooked and
+winding.
+
+Desiree stumbled and would have fallen but for my outstretched arm.  A
+spear from behind whistled past my ear as we again bounded forward.
+Harry was shouting to us that the Incas were upon us.
+
+I caught Desiree's arm and pulled her on with a last great effort.  The
+lane became narrower still; we brushed the wall on either side, and I
+pushed Desiree ahead of me and followed behind.  Suddenly she stopped
+short, turning to face me so suddenly that I was thrown against her,
+nearly knocking her down.
+
+"Your spear!" she cried desperately.  "I can go no farther," and she
+sank to the ground.
+
+At the same moment there came a cry from Harry in the rear--a cry that
+held joy and wonder--and I turned to see him standing some distance
+away, gazing down the lane through which we had come.
+
+"They've given up!" he called.  "They're gone!"
+
+And I saw that it was true.  No sound came, and no Inca was to be seen.
+
+Then, seeing Desiree on the ground, Harry ran to us and sprang to her
+side.  "Desiree!" he cried, lifting her in his arms.  She opened her
+eyes and smiled at him, and he kissed her many times--her hair, her
+lips, her eyes.  Then he placed her gently on her feet, and, supporting
+her with his arm, moved forward slowly.  I led the way.
+
+The lane ahead of us was scarcely more than a crevice between the
+rocks; I squeezed my way through with difficulty.  Then the walls ended
+abruptly, just when I had begun to think we could go no farther, and we
+found ourselves at the entrance to a cavern so large that no wall was
+to be seen on any side save the one behind us.
+
+On the instant I guessed at the reason why the Incas had ceased their
+pursuit so abruptly, and I turned to Harry:
+
+"I'm afraid we've jumped from the frying-pan into the fire.  If this
+cavern holds anything like that other--you remember--"
+
+"If it does, we shall see," he replied.
+
+Supporting Desiree on either side, we struck out directly across the
+cavern, halting every few steps to listen for a sound, either of the
+Incas, which we feared, or of running water, which we desired.  We
+heard neither.  All was blackness and the most complete silence.
+
+Then I became aware, for the first time, of intolerable pains shooting
+up through my legs into my body.  The danger past, reason returned and
+feeling.  I could not suppress a low cry, wrung inexorably from my
+chest, and I halted, leaning my whole weight on Desiree's shoulder.
+
+"What is it?" she cried, and for answer--though I strained every atom
+of my will and strength to prevent it--I toppled to the ground,
+dragging her with me.
+
+What followed came to me as in a dream, though I was not wholly
+unconscious.  I was aware that Harry and Desiree were bending over me;
+then I felt my head and shoulders being lifted from the ground, and a
+soft, warm arm supporting me.
+
+A minute passed, or an hour--I did not know--and I felt hot drops of
+moisture fall on my cheek.  I struggled to open my eyes, and saw
+Desiree's face quite near my own; my head was resting on her shoulder.
+She was weeping silently, and great tears rolled down her cheeks
+unrestrained.
+
+To have seen the sun or stars shining down upon me would not have
+astonished me more.  I gazed at her a long moment in silence; she saw
+that I did so, but made no effort to turn her head or avoid my gaze.
+Finally I found my tongue.
+
+"Where is Harry?" I asked.
+
+"He is gone to look for water," she replied; and, curiously enough, her
+voice was quite steady.
+
+I smiled.
+
+"It is useless.  I am done for!"
+
+"That isn't true," she denied, in a voice almost of anger.  "You will
+get well.  You are--injured badly--" After a short pause she added,
+"for me."
+
+There was a long silence--I thought it hardly worth while to contradict
+her--and then I said simply, "Why are you crying, Desiree?"
+
+She looked at me as though she had not heard; then, after another
+silence, her voice came, so low that it barely reached my ears:
+
+"For this--and for what might have been, my friend."
+
+"But you have said--"
+
+"I know!  Would you make me doubt again?  Do not!  Ah"--she passed her
+hand gently over my forehead and touched the tips of her fingers to my
+burning eyes--"you must have cared for me in that other world.  I will
+not doubt it; unless you speak, and you must not.  Nothing would have
+been too high for us.  We could have opened any door--even the door to
+happiness."
+
+"But you said once--forgive me if I remind you of it now--you said that
+you are--you called yourself 'La Marana.'"
+
+She shrank back, exclaiming: "Paul!  Indeed, I need to forgive you!"
+
+"Still, it is true," I persisted, turning to look at her.  The movement
+caused me to halt, closing my eyes, while a great wave of pain swept
+over me from head to foot.  Then I went on: "Could you expect to
+confine your heart?  You say we could have opened any door--well, tell
+me, what could we have done, you and I?"
+
+"But that is what I do not think of!" cried Desiree impatiently.  "I
+would perhaps have placed my hand on your heart, as I do now; you would
+perhaps have fought for me, as you have done.  I might even--" She
+hesitated, while the ghost of a smile that had died before it reached
+the light appeared on her lips, as her head was lowered close, quite
+close, to mine.
+
+A long moment, and then, "Must I ask for it?" I breathed.
+
+She jerked her head up sharply.
+
+"You do not want it," she said dryly.
+
+I raised my hand, groping for her fingers, but could not find them.
+She saw, and slowly, very slowly, her hand crept to mine and was caught
+and held there.
+
+"Desiree--I want it," I said half fiercely, and I forgot my pain and
+our danger--forgot everything but her white face in dim outline above
+me, and her eyes, glowing and tender against her wish, and her hand
+that nestled in my hand.  "Be merciful to me--I want it as I have never
+wanted anything in my life.  Desiree, I love you."
+
+At that I felt her hand move quickly, as for freedom, but I held it
+fast.  And then slowly her head was lowered.  I waited breathlessly.  I
+felt her quick breath on my face, and the next moment her lips had
+found my lips, hot and dry, and remained there.
+
+Then she raised her head, saying tremulously:
+
+"That was my soul, and it is the first time it has ever escaped me."
+
+At the same instant we were startled by the sound of Harry's voice in
+the darkness:
+
+"Desiree!  Where are you?"
+
+I waited for her to answer, but she was silent, and I called out to him
+our direction.  A moment later his form appeared at a distance, and
+soon he had joined us.
+
+"How about it, old man?" he asked, bending over me.
+
+Then he told us that he had found no water.  He had explored two sides
+of the cavern, one at a distance of half a mile or more, and was
+crossing to find the third when he had called to us.
+
+"But there is little use," he finished gloomily.  "The place is silent
+as the grave.  If there were water we would hear it.  I can't even find
+an exit except the crevice that let us in."
+
+Desiree's hand was still in mine.
+
+"It may be--perhaps I can go with you," I suggested.  But he would not
+hear of it, and set out again alone in the opposite direction to that
+which he had taken previously.
+
+In a few minutes he returned, reporting no better success than before.
+On that side, he said, the wall of the cavern was quite close.  There
+was no sign anywhere of water; but to the left there were several
+narrow lanes leading at angles whose sides were nearly parallel to each
+other, and some distance to the right there was a broad and clear
+passage sloping downward directly away from the cavern.
+
+"Is the passage straight?" I asked, struck with a sudden idea.  "Could
+you see far within?"
+
+"A hundred feet or so," was the answer.  "Why?  Shall we follow it?
+Can you walk?"
+
+"I think so," I answered.  "At any rate, I must find some water soon or
+quit the game.  But that isn't why I asked.  Perhaps it explains the
+sudden disappearance of the Incas.  They knew they couldn't follow us
+through that narrow crevice; what if they have made for the passage?"
+
+Harry grumbled that we had enough trouble without trying to borrow more.
+
+We decided to wait a little longer before starting out from the cavern;
+Harry helped me to my feet to give them a trial, and though I was able
+to stand it was only by a tremendous effort and exertion of the will.
+
+"Not yet," I murmured between clenched teeth, and again Desiree sat on
+the hard rock and supported my head and shoulders in her arms, despite
+my earnest remonstrances.  Harry stood before us, leaning on his spear.
+
+Soon he left us again, departing in the direction of the crevice by
+which we had entered; I detected his uneasiness in the tone with which
+he directed us to keep a lookout around in every direction.
+
+"We could move to the wall," I had suggested; but he shook his head,
+saying that where we were we at least had room to turn.
+
+When he had gone Desiree and I sat silent for many minutes.  Then I
+tried to rise, insisting that she must be exhausted with the long
+strain she had undergone, but she denied it vehemently, and refused to
+allow me to move.
+
+"It is little enough," she said; and though I but half understood her,
+I made no answer.
+
+I myself was convinced that we were at last near the end.  It was
+certain that the Incas had merely delayed, not abandoned, the pursuit,
+and our powers and means of resistance had been worn to nothing.
+
+Our curious apathy and half indifference spoke for itself; it was as
+though we had at length recognized the hand of fate and seen the
+futility of further struggle.  For, weak and injured as I was, I still
+had strength in me; it was a listlessness of the brain and hopelessness
+of the heart that made me content to lie and wait for whatever might
+come.
+
+The state of my feelings toward Desiree were even then elusive; they
+are more so now.  I had told her I loved her; well, I had told many
+women that.  But Desiree had moved me; with her it was not the
+same--that I felt.  I had never so admired a woman, and the thrill of
+that kiss is in me yet; I can recall it and tremble under its power by
+merely closing my eyes.
+
+Her warm hand, pressed tightly in my own, seemed to send an electric
+communication to every nerve in my body and eased my suffering and
+stilled my pain.  That, I know, is not love; and perhaps I was mistaken
+when I imagined that it was there.
+
+"Are you asleep?" she asked presently, after I had lain perfectly quiet
+for many minutes.  Her voice was so low that it entered my ear as the
+faintest breath.
+
+"Hardly," I answered.  "To tell the truth, I expect never to sleep
+again--I suppose you understand me.  I can't say why--I feel it."
+
+Desiree nodded.
+
+"Do you remember, Paul, what I said that evening on the mountain?"
+Then--I suppose my face must have betrayed my thought--she added
+quickly: "Oh, I didn't mean that--other thing.  I said this mountain
+would be my grave, do you remember?  You see, I knew."
+
+I started to reply, but was interrupted by Harry, calling to ask where
+we were.  I answered, and soon he had joined us and seated himself
+beside Desiree on the ground.
+
+"I found nothing," was all he said, wearily, and he lay back and closed
+his eyes, resting his head on his hands.
+
+The minutes passed slowly.  Desiree and I talked in low tones; Harry
+moved about uneasily on his hard bed, saying nothing.  Finally, despite
+Desiree's energetic protests, I rose to my knees and insisted that she
+rest herself.  We seemed none of us to be scarcely aware of what we
+were doing; our movements had a curious purposelessness about them that
+gave the thing an appearance of unreality--I know not what; it comes to
+my memory as some indistinct and haunting nightmare.
+
+Suddenly, as I sat gazing dully into the semidarkness of the cavern, I
+saw that which drove the apathy from my brain with a sudden shock, at
+the same time paralyzing my senses.  I strained my eyes ahead; there
+could be no doubt of it; that black, slowly moving line was a band of
+Incas creeping toward us silently, on their knees, through the
+darkness.  Glancing to either side I saw that the line extended
+completely around us, to the right and left.
+
+The sight seemed to paralyze me.  I tried to call to Harry--no sound
+came from my eager lips.  I tried to put out my hand to rouse him and
+to pick up my spear; my arms remained motionless at my side.
+
+Desiree lay close beside me; I could not even turn my head to see if
+she, too, saw, but kept my eyes, as though fascinated, on that silent
+black line approaching through the darkness.
+
+"Will they leap now--now--now?" I asked myself with every beat of my
+pulse.
+
+It could not be much longer--they were now so close that each black,
+tense form was in clear outline not fifty feet away.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIII.
+
+WE ARE TWO.
+
+Whether I would have been able to rouse myself to action before the
+shock of the assault was actually upon us, I shall never know.
+
+It was not fear that held me, for I felt none; I think that dimly and
+half unconsciously I saw in that black line, silently creeping upon us,
+the final and inexorable approach of the remorseless fate that had
+pursued us ever since we had dashed after Desiree into the cave of the
+devil, rendering our every effort futile, our most desperate struggles
+the laughing-stock of the gods.
+
+I was not even conscious of danger.  I sat as in a stupor.
+
+But action came, though not from me, so suddenly that I scarcely knew
+what had happened.  There was a cry from Desiree.  Harry sprang to his
+feet.  The Incas leaped forward.
+
+I felt myself jerked violently from the ground, and a spear was thrust
+into my hand.  Harry's form flashed past me, shouting to me to follow.
+Desiree was at his heels; but I saw her halt and turn to me, and I,
+too, sprang forward.
+
+Harry's spear whirled about his head, leaving a gap in the black line
+that was now upon us.  Through it we plunged.  The Incas turned and
+came at us from behind; one whose hands were upon Desiree got my spear
+in his throat and sank to the ground.
+
+"Cross to the left!" Harry yelled.  He was fighting them off from every
+direction at once.
+
+I turned, calling to Desiree to follow, and dashed across the cavern.
+We saw the wall just ahead, broken and rugged.  Again turning I called
+to Harry, but could not see him for the black forms on every side, and
+I was starting to his rescue when I saw him plunge toward us, cutting
+his way through the solid mass of Incas as though they had been stalks
+of corn.  He was not a man, but a demon possessed.
+
+"Go on," he shouted.  "I'll make it!"
+
+Then I turned and ran with Desiree to the wall.  We followed it a short
+distance before we reached one of the lanes of which Harry had spoken;
+at its entrance he joined us, still bidding us to leave him to cover
+our retreat.
+
+Once within the narrow lane his task was easier.  Boulders and
+projecting rocks obstructed our progress, but they were even greater
+obstacles to those who pursued us.  Still they rushed forward, only to
+be hurled back by the point of Harry's spear.  Once, turning, I saw him
+pick one of them up bodily and toss him whirling through the air into
+the very faces of his comrades.
+
+I had all I could do with Desiree and myself.  Many times I scrambled
+up the steep face of some boulder and, after pulling her up safely
+after me, let her down again on the other side.  Then I returned to see
+that Harry got over safely, and often he made it barely by inches,
+while flying spears struck the rock on every side.
+
+It is a wonder to me now that I was able even to stand, after my
+experience on the spiral stairway in the column.  The soles of my feet
+and the palms of my hands were baked black as the Incas themselves.
+Blisters covered my body from head to foot, swelling, indescribably
+painful.
+
+Every step I took made me clench my teeth to keep from sinking in a
+faint to the ground; I expected always that the next would be my
+last--but somehow I struggled onward.  It was the thought of Desiree, I
+think, that held me up, and Harry.
+
+Suddenly a shout came from Harry that the Incas had abandoned the
+pursuit.  It struck me almost as a matter of indifference; nor was I
+affected when almost immediately afterward he called that he had been
+mistaken and that they had rushed forward with renewed fury and in
+greater numbers.
+
+"It is only a matter of time now," I said to Desiree, and she nodded.
+
+Still we went forward.  The land had carried us straight away from the
+cavern, without a turn.  Its walls were the roughest I had seen, and
+often a boulder which lay across our path presented a serrated face
+that looked as though it had but just been broken from the wall above.
+Still the stone was comparatively soft--time had not yet worked its
+leveling finger on the surfaces that surrounded us.
+
+We were standing on one of these boulders when Harry came running
+toward us.
+
+"They're stopped," he cried gleefully, "at least for a little.  A piece
+of rock as big as a house gently slid from above onto their precious
+heads.  It may have blocked them off completely."
+
+We hurried forward then; Harry helped Desiree, while I painfully
+brought up the rear.  At every few steps they were forced to halt and
+wait for me, though I did my utmost to keep up with them.  Harry had
+taken my spear that I might have both hands to help me over the rocks.
+
+Climbing, sliding, jumping, we left the Incas behind; no sound came
+from the rear.  I began to think that they had really been completely
+shut off, and several times opened my mouth to call to Harry to ask him
+if it would not be safe to halt; for every movement I made was torture.
+But each time I choked back the cry; he thought it was necessary to go
+on and I followed.
+
+This lasted I know not how long; I was staggering and reeling forward
+like a drunken man, so little aware of what I was doing that when Harry
+and Desiree finally stopped at the beginning of a level, unbroken
+stretch in the lane, I stumbled directly against them before I knew
+they had halted.
+
+"Go on!" I gasped, struggling to my feet in a mania.
+
+Harry stooped over to assist me and set me with my back resting against
+the wall.  Desiree supported herself near by, scarcely able to stand.
+
+"We can go no farther," said Harry.  "If they come--"
+
+As he spoke I became aware of a curious movement in the wall
+opposite--a movement as of the wall itself.  At first I thought it a
+delusion produced by my disordered brain, but when I saw Desiree's
+astonished gaze following mine, and heard Harry's cry of wonder as he
+turned and saw it also, I knew the thing was real.
+
+A great portion of the wall, the entire side of the passage for a
+length of a hundred feet or more, was sliding slowly downward.
+Glancing above I saw a space of several feet where the rock had
+departed from its bed.  The only noise audible was a low, grating sound
+like the slow grinding of a gigantic millstone.
+
+None of us moved--if there were danger we would seem to have welcomed
+it.  Suddenly the great mass of rock appeared to halt in its downward
+movement and hang as though suspended; then with a sudden jerk it
+seemed to free itself, swaying ponderously toward us; and the next
+moment it had fallen straight down into some abyss below, thundering,
+tumbling, sliding with terrific velocity.
+
+There was a deafening roar under our feet, the ground rocked as from an
+earthquake, and it seemed as though the wall against which we stood was
+about to fall in upon us.  Dust and fragments of rock filled the air on
+every side, and one huge boulder, detached from the roof above, came
+tumbling at our feet, missing us by inches.
+
+We were completely stunned by the cataclysm, but in a moment Harry had
+recovered and run to the edge of the chasm opposite thus suddenly
+formed.  Desiree and I followed.
+
+There was nothing to be seen save the blackness of space.  Immediately
+before us was an apparently bottomless abyss, black and terrifying; the
+side descended straight down from our feet.  Looking across we could
+see dimly a wall some distance away, smooth and with a faint whiteness.
+On either side of us other walls extended to meet the farther wall,
+smooth and polished as glass.
+
+"The Incas didn't do that, I hope," said Harry, turning to me.
+
+"Hardly," I answered; and in my absorbing interest in the phenomenon
+before me I half forgot my pain.
+
+I moved to the edge of one of the walls extending at right angles to
+the passage, but there was little to be made of it.  It was of soft
+limestone, and most probably the portion that had disappeared was
+granite, carried away by the force of its own weight.
+
+"We are like to be buried," I observed, returning to Harry and Desiree.
+"Though for that matter, even that can hardly frighten us now."
+
+"For my part," said Harry, with a curious gravity beneath the apparent
+lightness of his words, "I have always admired the death of Porthos.
+Let it come, and welcome."
+
+"Are we to go further?" put in Desiree.
+
+Just as Harry opened his mouth to reply a more decisive answer came
+from another source.  The rock that had fallen, obstructing the path of
+the Incas, must have left an opening that Harry had missed; or they had
+removed it--what matter?
+
+In some way they had forced a passage, for as Desiree spoke a dozen
+spears whistled through the air past our heads and we looked up to see
+a swarm of Incas climbing and tumbling down the face of a boulder over
+which we had passed to reach our resting-place.
+
+I have said that we had halted in a level, unbroken stretch that still
+led some distance ahead of us.  At its farther end could be seen a
+group of rocks and boulders completely choking the lane, Beyond, other
+rocks arose to a still greater height--the way appeared to be
+impassable.
+
+But there was no time for deliberation or the weighing of chances, and
+we turned and made for the pile of rocks, with the Incas rushing after
+us.
+
+There Desiree and I halted in despair, but with a great oath Harry
+brushed us aside and leaped upon a rock higher than his head with
+incredible agility.  Then, lying flat on his face and extending his
+arms downward over the edge, he pulled first Desiree, then myself, up
+after him.  The whole performance had occupied a scant two seconds,
+and, waiting only to pick up the three spears he had thrown up the
+sloping surface of the rock to another yet higher and steeper.
+
+"Why don't we hold them here?" I demanded.  "They could never come up
+that rock with us on top."
+
+Harry looked at me.
+
+"Spears," he said briefly; and, of course, he was right.  They would
+have picked us off like birds on a limb.
+
+We scaled the second rock with extreme difficulty, Harry assisting both
+Desiree and me; and as we stood upright on its top I saw the Incas
+scrambling over the edge of the one below.  Two or three of them had
+already started to cross; many more were coming up from behind; and
+one, as he made the top and arose to his feet, braced himself on the
+sloping rock and raised a spear high above his head.
+
+At sight of him I started, crying to Harry and Desiree.  They turned.
+
+"The king!" I shouted; and I saw a shudder of terror run over Desiree's
+face as she, too, recognized the black form below.  At the same instant
+the spear darted forward from the hand of the Child of the Sun, but it
+landed harmlessly against the rock several feet away.
+
+The next moment the Inca king had bounded across the rock toward us,
+followed by a score of others.
+
+I was minded to try my luck with his own weapon, but we had no spears
+to waste, and Harry was dragging Desiree forward and shouting to me to
+follow.  I turned and ran after them, and just as we let ourselves down
+into a narrow crevice below the Incas appeared over the edge of the
+rock behind.
+
+Somehow we scrambled forward, with the Incas at our heels.  Sharp
+corners of projecting rocks bruised our faces and bodies; once my leg
+bent double under me as I fell from a ledge onto a boulder below, and I
+thought it was broken; but Harry jerked me to my feet and I struggled
+on.
+
+Harry seemed possessed of the strength of ten men and the heart of a
+thousand.  He pulled Desiree and me up and over boulders and rocks as
+though we had been feathers; the Lord knows how he got there himself!
+Half of the time he carried Desiree; the other half he supported me.
+His energy and exertions were titanic; even in the desperate excitement
+of our retreat I found time to marvel at it.
+
+We did not gain an inch; our pursuers kept close behind us; but we held
+our own.  Now and then a stray spear came hurtling through the air or
+struck the rock near us, but they were infrequent and we were not hit.
+
+One, flying past my head, stuck in a crevice of the rock and I grasped
+the shaft to pull it out, but abandoned my effort when I heard Harry
+shouting to me from the front to come to his aid.
+
+He and Desiree were standing on the rim of a ledge that stood high
+above the ground of the passage.  At its foot began a level stretch
+leading straight ahead as far as we could see.
+
+"We must lift her down," Harry was saying.
+
+He let himself over the ledge, hung by his hands, and dropped.  "All
+right!" he called from below; and I lay flat on the rock while Desiree
+scrambled over the edge, holding to my hands.  For a moment I held her
+suspended in my outstretched arms; then, at a word from Harry, I let
+her drop.  Another moment and I was over myself, knocking Harry to the
+ground and tumbling on top of him as he stood beneath to break my fall.
+
+By then the Incas had reached the top of the ledge above us, and we
+turned and raced down the long stretch ahead.  I was in front; Harry
+came behind with Desiree.
+
+Suddenly, as I ran, I felt a curious trembling of the ground beneath my
+feet, similar to the vibrations of a bridge at the passing of a heavy
+load.
+
+Then the ground actually swayed beneath me; and, realizing the danger,
+I sent a desperate shout to Harry over my shoulder and bounded forward.
+He was at my side on the instant, with Desiree in his arms.
+
+The ground rocked beneath our feet like a ship in a storm; and, just as
+I thought we were gone, my foot touched firm rock as I passed a yawning
+crevice a foot wide under me.
+
+One more leap to safety, and we turned just in time to see the floor of
+the passage which we had traversed disappear into some abyss beneath
+with a shattering roar.
+
+We stood at the very edge of the chasm thus suddenly formed, gazing at
+each other in silent wonder and awe.
+
+"The beggars are stopped now," said Harry finally.  "That break in the
+game is ours."
+
+Looking back across the chasm, we saw the Incas tumbling by twos and
+threes over the boulder on the other side.  As they saw the yawning
+abyss that separated them from their prey they stopped short and gazed
+across in profound astonishment.
+
+Others came to join them, until there were several hundred of the
+black, ugly forms huddled together on the opposite rim of the chasm, a
+hundred feet away.
+
+I ran over the group with a keen eye, seeking the figure of the Inca
+king, and soon my search was successful.  He stood a step in front of
+the others, a little to the right.  I pointed him out to Harry and
+Desiree.
+
+"It's up to him to walk right out again," said Harry.
+
+Desiree shivered, and proceeded to send her last invitation to the
+devil.
+
+Turning suddenly, she grasped Harry's spear and tore it from his hand.
+Before we realized her purpose, she stepped forward until her foot
+rested on the very edge of the chasm, and had hurled the spear across
+straight at the Inca king.
+
+It missed him, but struck another Inca standing near full in the
+breast.  Quick as lightning the king turned, grasped the shaft of the
+spear, and pulled it forth, and with his white teeth gleaming in a
+snarl of furious hate, sent it whistling through the air straight at
+Desiree.
+
+Harry and I sprang forward with a shout of warning; Desiree stood
+motionless as a statue.  We grasped her frantically and pulled her
+back, but too late.
+
+She came, but only to fall lifeless into our arms with the spear buried
+deep in her white throat.
+
+We laid her on the ground and knelt beside her for a moment, then Harry
+arose to his feet with a face white as death; and I uttered a silent
+and vengeful prayer as I saw him level a spear at the Inca king across
+the chasm.  But it went wide of its mark, striking the ground at his
+feet.
+
+"There was another!" cried Harry, and soon he had found it where it lay
+on the ground and sent it, too, hurtling across.
+
+This time he missed by inches.  The spear flew just past the shoulder
+of the king and caught one who stood behind him full in the face.  The
+stricken savage threw his arms spasmodically above his head, reeling
+forward against the king.
+
+There was a startled movement along the black line; hands were
+outstretched in a vain effort at rescue; a savage cry burst from
+Harry's lips, and the next instant the king had toppled over the edge
+of the chasm and fallen into the bottomless pit below.
+
+Harry turned, quivering from head to foot.
+
+"Little enough," he said between his teeth, and again he knelt beside
+the body of Desiree and took her in his arms.
+
+But her fate spoke eloquently of our own danger, and I roused him to
+action.  Together we picked up the form of our dead comrade and carried
+it to the rear.  I hesitated to pull forth the barbed head of the
+spear, and instead broke off the shaft, leaving the point buried in the
+soft throat, from which a crimson line extended over the white shoulder.
+
+A short distance ahead we came to a projecting boulder, and behind that
+we gently laid her on the hard rock.  Neither of us had spoken a word.
+Harry's lips were locked tightly together; a lump rose in my throat,
+choking all utterance and filling my eyes with tears.
+
+Harry knelt beside the white form and, gathering it gently in his arms,
+held it against his breast.  I stood at his side, gazing down at him in
+mute sympathy and sorrow.
+
+For a long minute there was silence--a most intense silence throughout
+the cavern, during which the painful throbbing of my heart was plainly
+audible; then Harry murmured, in a voice of the utmost tenderness:
+"Desiree!" And again, "Desiree!  Desiree!" until I half expected the
+very strength and sweetness of his emotion to bring our comrade back to
+life.
+
+Suddenly, with a quick, impulsive movement, he raised his head to
+glance at me.
+
+"She loved you," he said; and though there was neither jealousy nor
+anger in his voice, somehow I could not meet his gaze.
+
+"She loved you," he repeated in a tone half of wonder.  "And you--you--"
+
+I answered his eyes.
+
+"She was yours," I said, with a touch of bitterness that persuaded him
+of the truth.  "All her beauty, all her loveliness, all her charm, to
+be buried--Ah!  God help us--"
+
+My voice broke, and I knelt on the ground beside Harry and pressed my
+lips to the white forehead and golden hair of what had been Le Mire.
+
+Thus we remained for a long time.
+
+It was hard to believe that death had in reality taken possession of
+the still form stretched as in repose before us.  Her body, still warm,
+seemed quivering with the instinct of life; but the eyes were not the
+eyes of Desiree.  I closed them, and arranged the tangled mass of hair
+as well as possible over her shoulders.  As I did so the air, set in
+motion by my hand, caused some of the golden strands to tremble gently
+across her lips; and Harry bent forward with a painful eagerness,
+thinking that she had breathed.
+
+"Dearest," he murmured, "dearest, speak to me!"
+
+His hand sought her swelling bosom gropingly; and his eyes, as they
+looked pleadingly even into mine, shot into my heart and unnerved me.
+
+I rose to my feet, scarcely able to stand, and moved away.
+
+But the fate that had finally intervened for us--too late, alas!  for
+one--did not leave us long with our dead.  Even now I do not know what
+happened; at the time I knew even less.  Harry told me afterward that
+the first shock came at the instant he had taken Desiree in his arms
+and pressed his lips to hers.
+
+I had crossed to the other side of the passage and was gazing back
+toward the chasm at the Incas on the other side, when again I felt the
+ground, absolutely without warning, tremble violently under my feet.
+At the same moment there was a low, curious rumble as of the thundering
+of distant cannon.
+
+I sprang toward Harry with a cry of alarm, and had crossed about to the
+middle of the passage, when a deafening roar smote my ear, and the
+entire wall of the cavern appeared to be failing in upon us.  At the
+same time the ground seemed to sink directly away beneath my feet with
+an easy, rocking motion as of a wave of the ocean.  Then I felt myself
+plunging downward with a velocity that stunned my senses and took away
+my breath; and then all was confusion and chaos--and oblivion.
+
+When I awoke I was lying flat on my back, and Harry was kneeling at my
+side.  I opened my eyes, and felt that it would be impossible to make a
+greater exertion.
+
+"Paul!" cried Harry.  "Speak to me!  Not you, too--I shall go mad!"
+
+He told me afterward that I had lain unconscious for many hours, but
+that appeared to be all that he knew.  How far we had fallen, or how he
+had found me, or how he himself had escaped being crushed to pieces by
+the falling rock, he was unable to say; and I concluded that he, too,
+had been rendered unconscious by the fall, and for some time dazed and
+bewildered by the shock.
+
+Well!  We were alive--that was all.
+
+For we were weak and faint from hunger and fatigue, and one mass of
+bruises and blisters from head to foot.  And we had had no water for
+something like twenty-four hours.  Heaven only knows where we found the
+energy to rise and go in search of it; it is incredible that any
+creatures in such a pitiable and miserable condition as we were could
+have been propelled by hope, unless it is indeed immortal.
+
+Half walking, half crawling, we went forward.
+
+The place where we had found ourselves was a jumbled mass of boulders
+and broken rock, but we soon discovered a passage, level and straight
+as any tunnel built by man.
+
+Down this we made our way.  Every few feet we stopped to rest.  Neither
+of us spoke a word.  I really had no sense of any purpose in our
+progress; I crept on exactly as some animals, wounded to death, move on
+and on until there is no longer strength for another step, when they
+lie down for the final breath.
+
+We saw no water nor promise of any; nothing save the long stretch of
+dim vista ahead and the grim, black walls on either side.  That, I
+think, for hours; it seemed to me then for years.
+
+I dragged one leg after the other with infinite effort and pain; Harry
+was ahead, and sometimes, glancing back over his shoulder to find me at
+some distance behind, he would turn over and lie on his back till I
+approached.  Then again to his knees and again forward.  Neither of us
+spoke.
+
+Suddenly, at a great distance down the passage, much further than I had
+been able to see before, I saw what appeared to be a white wall
+extending directly across our path.
+
+I called to Harry and pointed it out to him.  He nodded vaguely, as
+though in wonder that I should have troubled him about so slight an
+object of interest, and crawled on.
+
+But the white wall became whiter still, and soon I saw that it was not
+a wall.  A wild hope surged through me; I felt the blood mount dizzily
+to my head, and I stilled the clamor that beat at my temples by an
+extreme effort of the will.  "It can't be," I said to myself aloud,
+over and over; "it can't be, it can't be."
+
+Harry turned, and his face was as white as when he had knelt by the
+body of Desiree, and his eye was wild.
+
+"You fool," he roared, "it is!"
+
+We went faster then.  Another hundred yards, and the thing was certain;
+there it was before us.  We scrambled to our feet and tried to run; I
+reeled and fell, then picked myself up again and followed Harry, who
+had not even halted as I had fallen.  The mouth of the passage was now
+but a few feet away; I reached Harry's side, blinking and stunned with
+amazement and the incredible wonder of it.
+
+I tried to shout, to cry aloud to the heavens, but a great lump in my
+throat choked me and my head was singing dizzily.
+
+Harry, at my side, was crying like a child, with great tears streaming
+down his face, as together we staggered forth from the mouth of the
+passage into the bright and dazzling sunshine of the Andes.
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIV.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+Never, I believe, were misery and joy so curiously mingled in the human
+breast as when Harry and I stood--barely able to stand--gazing
+speechlessly at the world that had so long been hidden from us.
+
+We had found the light, but had lost Desiree.  We were alive, but so
+near to death that our first breath of the mountain air was like to be
+our last.
+
+The details of our painful journey down the mountain, over the rocks
+and crags, and through rushing torrents that more than once swept us
+from our feet, cannot be written, for I do not know them.
+
+The memory of the thing is but an indistinct nightmare of suffering.
+But the blind luck that seemed to have fallen over our shoulders as a
+protecting mantle at the death of Desiree stayed with us; and after
+endless hours of incredible toil and labor, we came to a narrow pass
+leading at right angles to our course.
+
+Night was ready to fall over the bleak and barren mountain as we
+entered it.  Darkness had long since overtaken us, when we saw at a
+distance a large clearing, in the middle of which lights shone from the
+windows of a large house whose dim and shadowy outline appeared to us
+surrounded by a halo of peace.
+
+But we were nearly forced to fight for it.  The proprietor of the
+hacienda himself answered our none too gentle knock at the door, and he
+had no sooner caught sight of us than he let out a yell as though he
+had seen the devil in person, and slammed the door violently in our
+faces.  Indeed, we were hardly recognizable as men.
+
+Naked, black, bruised, and bleeding, covered with hair on our faces and
+parts of our bodies--mine, of recent growth, stubby and stiff--our
+appearance would have justified almost any suspicion.
+
+But we hammered again on the door, and I set forth our pedigree and
+plight in as few words as possible.  Reassured, perhaps, by my
+excellent Spanish--which could not, of course, be the tongue of the
+devil--and convinced by our pitiable condition of our inability to do
+him any harm, he at length reopened the door and gave us admittance.
+
+When we had succeeded in allaying his suspicions concerning our
+identity--though I was careful not to alarm his superstitions by
+mentioning the cave of the devil, which, I thought, was probably well
+known to him--he lost no time in displaying his humanity.
+
+Calling in some hombres from the rear of the hacienda, he gave them
+ample instructions, with medicine and food, and an hour later Harry and
+I were lying side by side in his own bed--a rude affair, but infinitely
+better than granite--refreshed, bandaged, and as comfortable as their
+kindly ministrations could make us.
+
+The old Spaniard was a direct descendant of the good Samaritan--despite
+the slight difference in nationality.  For many weeks he nursed us and
+fed us and coaxed back the spark of life in our exhausted and wounded
+bodies.
+
+Our last ounce of strength seemed to have been used up in our desperate
+struggle down the side of the mountain; for many days we lay on our
+backs absolutely unable to move a muscle and barely conscious of life.
+
+But the spark revived and fluttered.  The day came when we could
+hobble, with his assistance, to the door of the hacienda and sit for
+hours in the invigorating sunshine; and thenceforward our convalescence
+proceeded rapidly.  Color came to our cheeks and light to our eyes; and
+one sunny afternoon it was decided that we should set out for Cerro de
+Pasco on the following day.
+
+Harry proposed a postponement of our departure for two days, saying
+that he wished to make an excursion up the mountain.  I understood him
+at once.
+
+"It would be useless," I declared.  "You would find nothing."
+
+"But she was with us when we fell," he persisted, not bothering to
+pretend that he did not understand me.  "She came--it must be near
+where we landed."
+
+"That isn't it," I explained.  "Have you forgotten that we have been
+here for over a month?  You would find nothing." As he grasped my
+thought his face went white and he was silent.  So on the following
+morning we departed.
+
+Our host furnished us with food, clothing, mules, and an arriero, not
+to mention a sorrowful farewell and a hearty blessing.  From the door
+of the hacienda he waved his sombrero as we disappeared around a bend
+in the mountain-pass; we had, perhaps, been a welcome interruption in
+the monotony of his lonely existence.
+
+We were led upward for many miles until we found ourselves again in the
+region of perpetual snow.  There we set our faces to the south.  From
+the arriero we tried to learn how far we then were from the cave of the
+devil, but to our surprise were informed that he had never heard of the
+thing.
+
+We could see that the question made him more than a little suspicious
+of us; often, when he thought himself unobserved, I caught him eyeing
+us askance with something nearly approaching terror.
+
+We journeyed southward for eleven days; on the morning of the twelfth
+we saw below us our goal.  Six hours later we had entered the same
+street of Cerro de Pasco through which we had passed formerly with
+light hearts; and the heart which had been gayest of all we had left
+behind us, stilled forever, somewhere beneath the mountain of stone
+which she had herself chosen for her tomb.
+
+Almost the first person we saw was none other than Felipe, the arriero.
+He sat on the steps of the hotel portico as we rode up on our mules.
+Dismounting, I caught sight of his white face and staring eyes as he
+rose slowly to his feet, gazing at us as though fascinated.
+
+I opened my mouth to call to him, but before the words left my lips he
+had let out an ear-splitting yell of terror and bounded down the steps
+and past us, with arms flying in every direction, running like one
+possessed.  Nor did he return during the few hours that we remained at
+the hotel.
+
+Two days later found us boarding the yacht at Callao.  When I had
+discovered, to my profound astonishment, at the hacienda, that another
+year had taken us as far as the tenth day of March, I had greatly
+doubted if we should find Captain Harris still waiting for us.  But
+there he was; and he had not even put himself to the trouble of
+becoming uneasy about us.
+
+As he himself put it that night in the cabin, over a bottle of wine, he
+"didn't know but what the senora had decided to take the Andes home for
+a mantel ornament, and was engaged in the little matter of
+transportation."
+
+But when I informed him that "the senora" was no more, his face grew
+sober with genuine regret and sorrow.  He had many good things to say
+of her then; it appeared that she had really touched his salty old
+heart.
+
+"She was a gentle lady," said the worthy captain; and I smiled to think
+how Desiree herself would have smiled at such a characterization of the
+great Le Mire.
+
+We at once made for San Francisco.  There, at a loss, I disposed of the
+remainder of the term of the lease on the yacht, and we took the first
+train for the East.
+
+Four days later we were in New York, after a journey saddened by
+thoughts of the one who had left us to return alone.
+
+It was, in fact, many months before the shadow of Desiree ceased to
+hover about the dark old mansion on lower Fifth Avenue, incongruous
+enough among the ancient halls and portraits of Lamars dead and gone in
+a day when La Marana herself had darted like a meteor into the hearts
+of their contemporaries.
+
+
+That is, I suppose, properly the end of the story; but I cannot refrain
+from the opportunity to record a curious incident that has just
+befallen me.  Some twenty minutes ago, as I was writing the last
+paragraph--I am seated in the library before a massive mahogany table,
+close to a window through which the September sun sends its golden
+rays--twenty minutes ago, as I say, Harry sauntered into the room and
+threw himself lazily into a large armchair on the other side of the
+table.
+
+I looked up with a nod of greeting, while he sat and eyed me
+impatiently for some seconds.
+
+"Aren't you coming with me down to Southampton?" he asked finally.
+
+"What time do you leave?" I inquired, without looking up.
+
+"Eleven-thirty."
+
+"What's on?"
+
+"Freddie Marston's Crocodiles and the Blues.  It's going to be some
+polo."
+
+I considered a moment.  "Why, I guess I'll run down with you.  I'm
+about through here."
+
+"Good enough!" Harry arose to his feet and began idly fingering some of
+the sheets on the table before me.  "What is all this silly rot,
+anyway?"
+
+"My dear boy," I smiled, "you'll be sorry you called it silly rot when
+I tell you that it is a plain and honest tale of our own experiences."
+
+"Must be deuced interesting," he observed.  "More silly rot than ever."
+
+"Others may not think so," I retorted, a little exasperated by his
+manner.  "It surely will be sufficiently exciting to read of how we
+were buried with Desiree Le Mire under the Andes, and our encounters
+with the Incas, and our final escape, and--"
+
+"Desiree what?" Harry interrupted.
+
+"Desiree Le Mire," I replied very distinctly.  "The great French
+dancer."
+
+"Never heard of her," said Harry, looking at me as if he doubted my
+sanity.
+
+"Never heard of Desiree, the woman you loved?" I almost shouted at him.
+
+"The woman I--piffle!  I say I never heard of her."
+
+I gazed at him, trembling with high indignation.  "I suppose," I
+observed with infinite sarcasm, "that you will tell me next that you
+have never been in Peru?"
+
+"Guilty," said Harry.  "I never have."
+
+"And that you never climbed Pike's Peak to see the sunrise?"
+
+"Rahway, New Jersey, is my farthest west."
+
+"And that you never dived with me from the top of a column one hundred
+feet high?"
+
+"Not I.  I retain a smattering of common sense."
+
+"And that you did not avenge the death of Desiree by causing that of
+the Inca king?"
+
+"So far as that Desiree woman is concerned," said Harry, and his tone
+began to show impatience, "I can only repeat that I have never heard of
+the creature.  And"--he continued--"if you're trying to bamboozle a
+gullible world by concocting a tale as silly as your remarks to me
+would seem to indicate, I will say that as a cheap author you are
+taking undue liberties with your family, meaning myself.  And what is
+more, if you dare to print the stuff I'll let the world know it's a
+rank fake."
+
+This threat, delivered with the most awful resolution and sincerity,
+unnerved me completely, and I fell back in my chair in a swoon.
+
+When I recovered Harry had gone to his polo game, leaving me behind,
+whereupon I seized my pen and hastened to set down in black and white
+that most remarkable conversation, that the reader may judge for
+himself between us.
+
+For my part, I do swear that the story is true, on my word of honor as
+a cynic and a philosopher.
+
+
+
+
+
+[end of text]
+
+
+ Note:  I have made the following changes to the text:
+
+ PAGE  PARA.   LINE  ORIGINAL          CHANGED TO
+    2     1      2  sursounding       surrounding
+   22     6      2  hunderd           hundred
+   24     9      1  La Mire           Le Mire
+   32     1      1  ager              eager
+   36     4      5  earthqakes        earthquakes
+   45     5      2  tossd             tossed
+   56    10      1  then              than
+   58     8      1  or                our
+   69     8      2  geting            getting
+   74     1      3  unstead           unsteady
+   87    13      1  Whey              Why
+  106     5      1  placng            placing
+  112     4      2  aggreeable        agreeable
+  115            1  to some           some
+  123     1      2  Desiree arms      Desiree's arms
+  125     3      5  had made          has made
+  129    11      4  But was           But it was
+  140     4      1  Lords knows       Lord knows
+  158     5      6  begin towed       being towed
+  168     6      2  dicussing         discussing
+  178     6      3  Pachacamas        Pachacamac
+  179     7      3  cabin             cavern
+  185     2      1  was wild          was a wild
+  192     8      3  carvern           cavern*
+  196     8      1  perservation      preservation
+  196     9      4  dour days         four days
+  204     6      1  litte             little
+  208     2      1  on my             on me
+  209     3      4  aked              asked
+  210     5      2  retuned           returned
+  211     8      3  said              side
+  212     3      3  touch             tough
+  224     6      2  Soliel            Soleil
+  226     5      5  aproaching        approaching
+  243     1      3  serius            serious
+  247     5      5  forseen           foreseen
+  247     6      1  They              The
+  259     4      5  peceptibly        perceptibly
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Andes, by Rex Stout
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE ANDES ***
+
+***** This file should be named 546.txt or 546.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/546/
+
+Produced by Judith Boss.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.