Kitabı oku: «In the Wonderful Land of Hez: or, The Mystery of the Fountain of Youth», sayfa 4
CHAPTER IX.
THE DEVIL’S KINGDOM
Dick at once made his way to the side of Leo, who was just coming from the house, followed by Haypole and the professor.
“Great Scott!” exclaimed Dick. “Owens seems to be very savage against that ragged stranger. What shall we do – help him catch him?”
“No,” returned his cousin. “It is no affair of ours; let them settle their own difficulty.”
“That’s right,” nodded Prof. Easy. “We do not understand their case, and should, therefore, let them alone.”
“Ter tell ther truth, I don’t like either one of them fellers,” observed the Yankee. “They be too blamed mysterious for me.”
But if our friends did not attempt to assist Philander Owens in catching Reginald Lacy, the men of Hez were not going to allow him to roam about their haunts without first taking the oath of allegiance to the tribe.
Roderique de Amilo quickly called a score of men together and started in pursuit after Owens, who was doing his best to overtake his enemy.
All soon disappeared, and then our friends set about to fix up their home to suit their tastes.
They arose soon after daylight, and after they had eaten a light breakfast, prepared to look around a bit.
Then it struck Leo that it was about time he saw something of Azurma, the girl who had conducted them from the magic cave. From the strain in which she had conversed to him, he thought she would again seek his presence long before this.
Prof. Easy was bent on seeing what kind of place Hez was, and, at his request, a party was formed to make a tour of the place.
The party was formed of but seven – Leo, Dick, Prof. Easy, Martin Haypole, Lucky, the darky, and the American known as Andrew Jones, and Roderique de Amilo.
They set out in the direction taken by Reginald Lacy and his persistent pursuer.
“A wonderful land is this,” remarked De Amilo, as they walked along. “I have never fully explored it myself in all the years I have lived here. Nearly everything you will meet and see that interests you will be found to be mysterious. In fact, this whole country is a land of mystery.”
“It was a dod-rotted mystery how we ever come ter git in here, anyhow,” said the Yankee.
“That reminds me,” put in Andrew Jones, suddenly. “How did you get the door in the obelisk open, anyway?”
The professor quickly explained how they had found the stone cube, and the use they had put it to.
“By Jove!” exclaimed Jones. “The very identical way that I got in myself. How can it be that the cube was missing from the hole in which it fitted, and found so many yards from the obelisk?”
“That’s where the mystery comes in,” said Leo.
“Yes, that’s so. I forgot what kind of place I was in. Talking to my own countrymen made me think I was back in civilization again.”
They had by this time entered one of the many passages, and torches were put in use.
At the suggestion of Dick, Roderique de Amilo led them to the fountain and pool, and Leo and the professor were surprised beyond measure at what they saw.
The Spaniard pointed to what was inscribed upon the stone tablet, and said:
“I did that; and I am the living proof that what it means is true.”
Then he again went over the legend of Hez, and wound up by pointing to the identical spot in the pool where the beautiful woman, whom he afterward made his wife, arose so mysteriously.
De Amilo told his story in such a solemn way that his hearers were more or less impressed with it.
“I believe that in some manner that man has become satisfied that yarn is true himself,” said Leo, in a whisper to his cousin.
“Yes,” assented Dick; “either that or else the legend is true, after all.”
Leo smiled.
“Why, you don’t believe it, do you, old fellow? Has the beautiful queen told you the same thing?”
“She did tell me the same story, and I am not prepared to say whether I believe it or not.”
At this juncture their conductors signified that they were going to leave the pool in the strangely lighted cavern, and the conversation ended for the time.
“We will now show you the devil’s kingdom, which is one of the most wonderful sights to be seen in this land,” observed Jones, as they entered the passage again.
It was here that De Amilo came to a halt. Turning to those who were following him, he said:
“Is there anybody among you who desires to live forever? If so, bathe in the pool beneath the spray of the fountain.”
But all hands, even to Jones, shook their heads, and they went on their way, the Spaniard leading them in silence.
When they arrived at the point where the four passages met, they again came to a halt.
A moment later they started through the mouth of one of these, and presently found themselves going down a sort of winding stairs.
Down, down they went for many feet, and then they came to a vast, shell-like cavern of what appeared to be almost unlimited size.
It was illumined by a strange, flickering, red light, and a purple mist pervaded the atmosphere.
Full of curiosity, our friends followed their conductors until they came to a broad roadway, that certainly looked as though it had been built with human hands.
Along this, for perhaps a quarter of a mile, they went, and then they saw that it suddenly shot downward at an angle of forty-five degrees.
As they rounded a cleft of rock, Andrew Jones came to a halt, and, pointing downward, exclaimed:
“Look there! Did you ever see anything to beat that?”
The swamp explorers followed the direction his finger pointed, and beheld a truly marvelous sight.
Beneath them was a rift of many feet in length, and in the sides, at irregular intervals, were small apertures resembling the portholes of a war ship, through which, ever and anon, came puffs of flame and smoke.
To look at the scene in a certain way, one could almost imagine that a pair of immense ironclads were engaged in battle.
But no noise, beyond a fizzing sound, could be heard when the puffs came.
Through the center of the rift, or ravine, as it might properly be called, a stream of water flowed, and this glittered and flashed in all the colors of the rainbow as the lurid streaks of flame belched over it.
On either side the walls sloped down in the form of a very steep hill, passing directly over the portholes from which the puffs of flame came.
“So that’s what you call the Devil’s Kingdom, is it?” remarked the professor, addressing Jones.
“Yes; that is the name Señor de Amilo gave it,” was the reply.
“Well, I’ll be ding-wizzened, if it ain’t a good name for it!” exclaimed Haypole, shrugging his shoulders. “Now, if ther old boy was ter come out of one of them streams of fire, an’ walk up an’ down ther middle of that stream, with a pitchfork over his shoulder, ther scene would be complete.”
“Great Scott!” cried Dick and Leo in a breath; “there he is, now!”
Ejaculations of surprise went up from all hands, as with distended eyes they saw a log go shooting down the stream with a figure clinging to it.
“That’s Philander Owens, or I’m a sinner!” exclaimed the Yankee.
“That’s so,” said Leo, taking a step forward to get a better view of the startling scene.
As he did so he stepped upon a small stone, which, rolling under his foot, caused him to slip and lose his balance.
The next instant he went shooting down the smooth decline with the velocity of the wind!
CHAPTER X.
IN THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH
When Leo Malvern felt himself sliding down the slippery wall of rock he closed his eyes and uttered a silent prayer, thinking that all was up with him.
In vain he strove to seize upon something to stay his progress; there was naught but the smooth surface, and his speed kept on increasing.
Luckily he was sliding feet foremost, and had it not been for the fact that death stared him in the face, he would almost have imagined that he was coasting down an icy hill without a sled.
He had a recollection of hearing a cry of horror escape the lips of his friends, and then nothing save the roaring sound of the belching flames below him reached his ears.
Leo was but a few seconds in making the descent, and yet it seemed to be as many hours to him.
Just as he slid over the edge of the decline there came a puff of smoke and flame which completely enveloped his form and screened him from the view of his companions above. Blinded and scorching from the heat, he fell, with a splash, into the cooling waters of the rushing stream.
When he found that he was not dead, nor yet materially injured, he made a mighty effort and struggled to the surface.
He found he could keep his head above the water with little or no difficulty, and with a feeling of relief he endeavored to look ahead and see whither he was being carried by the rushing stream.
Puff! puff! The terrible cross fire of flame and smoke kept shooting over him a few feet above his head, making it one of the most fearful experiences he had ever undergone.
“My God!” thought the boy, “will I ever get out of this alive?”
But on swept the rushing current, and on went Leo, while the fire and flame roared over his head, ever and anon scorching his defenseless face.
But suddenly the flashes of fire ceased as if by magic, and all was in darkness.
The stream flowed through a tunnel, and it was this that the boy had reached.
Whizz! whirr! Away he sped, expecting every moment to strike upon a sharp rock and be dashed to pieces.
But no such thing occurred. Scarcely more than a minute had elapsed before he again suddenly whirled into the light.
Leo was now nearly exhausted from his frantic efforts to reach the shore, and it was fast telling upon him now.
The continual splashing of the water upon his face made it difficult for him to breathe, and he felt soon that he must give up.
But he made one more mighty effort and half arose in the water to see what sort of a place he had entered.
He noticed that the stream had widened considerably, and that there were no more signs of any fire.
A few seconds later he heard a dull, roaring sound, which caused him to turn a shade paler.
A rapids was close at hand!
Of this Leo felt certain. He had often before heard the noise made by the falling of a large body of water.
Although the stream was quite wide at this point it was running like a mill race.
Nearer and nearer the sound of the roaring waters came to the helpless boy, and his last hopes sunk.
What chance of life had he in being washed over a falls, at the bottom of which, in all probability, was an endless amount of sharp, jagged rocks, as is invariably the case?
Folding his arms, Leo threw himself upon his back, and allowed himself to float along at the mercy of the powerful current.
The roaring sound now became deafening, and he felt that the end was near.
But stay! The sharp bark of a dog is heard, and there is a splash close at hand.
Half a minute later a pair of jaws close upon the collar of Leo’s coat, and he comes to a standstill with a sudden jerk.
What had happened now? was the thought that entered his brain as he opened his eyes.
A dog had him gripped firmly by the collar, and both were being towed slowly toward the left bank of the stream.
As soon as Leo became aware of this he threw himself over, and caught hold of the rope, which was secured about the intelligent animal’s neck, thus lessening the strain upon him.
A cry of satisfaction went up from some one on the shore as this action was perceived, and both boy and dog were towed faster through the rushing water.
Two minutes more, and Leo felt his feet strike the bottom.
It was then but the work of a moment for his preserver to pull him ashore.
Leo was so exhausted that he fell to the ground in a semi-unconscious state.
It was several minutes before he recovered himself, and when he did so his first thought was to see who it was that had thus saved him in the nick of time.
A man stood before him, patting a huge mastiff on the head, and the young fellow could but give a start of surprise when he saw that it was Reginald Lacy, the man whose life was sought by Philander Owens.
“So you have recovered, young fellow?” said Lacy, as he coiled the rope which had been attached to the dog’s neck.
“Yes,” returned Leo, rising to his feet, “and I thank you a thousand times for saving my life!”
“Don’t mention it. I could not stand by and see a man whom I had nothing against go over the falls, and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Had you been my enemy, I would not have raised a hand to help you.”
Then the thought struck the young swamp explorer that Philander Owens, clinging to a log, had preceded him down the turbulent stream but a minute before. Had Reginald Lacy stood upon the shore and watched him go whirling to his death?
As he looked at the man and saw the satisfied expression that gleamed from his eyes, he made up his mind that such indeed was the case.
“That is a splendid dog you have,” remarked Leo. “Had it not been for him all would have been up with me.”
“Yes,” assented Lacy. “There are few better dogs than Jupiter. He is the best friend I have got in the whole world.”
As he spoke a far-away look came into his eyes, and his lips twitched nervously.
“How did you get away down here, anyhow?” asked Leo.
“Through a network of passages. I was pursued, as you know, by a man who desired to take my life; but he will never do it now.”
“Why, is he dead?”
Lacy gave a start.
“Who said he was dead?” he asked.
“Oh! no one. I only thought as much. I saw him go rushing down the stream a few minutes ago. That was the cause of my falling into it.”
“Well, if he is dead I didn’t kill him,” was the vague reply.
“Let us find our way back to the village,” suggested Leo.
“Do you think I will not be harmed if I go there?”
“I am sure you will not.”
“All right; I’ll go, that is, if I can find the way.”
“Why, don’t you think you can lead the way back over the same route you came?”
An anxious expression came over the boy’s face as he asked the question.
“I don’t know for sure. I came in such a hurry, being pursued by a human sleuthhound as I was. But I ought to be able to find the way without much trouble. Anyhow, we will try. If I can’t, probably Jupiter can. Come – we may as well start at once.”
But here an unforeseen obstacle presented itself.
The opening of this passage, which ran upward in a steep ascent, was very small – not over four feet in diameter.
They had not gone into this more than a dozen feet before they came to a halt, and saw that they could go no further.
A monster bowlder of iron stone had slipped or been pushed into the passage from above, and it would have taken at least a score of men to remove it.
“Some of my hated enemy’s work,” said Lacy, as he played with his beard nervously. “This is as far as he followed me. He must have pushed this bowlder from above and then went back and fallen into the stream. Well, we must find some other way of getting out, or else we can stay here in this wonderful underground place and starve!”
CHAPTER XI.
AZURMA’S SEARCH
Dick Vincey gave an agonizing cry as he saw his cousin disappear in the flame and smoke below them.
“He’s lost – he’s lost!” he almost wailed. “What will his parents say when I return without him?”
“It’s too bad,” said Martin Haypole, consolingly, “but I wouldn’t take on so much, if I was you. You know none of us won’t ever git back ter home, anyway – we have took our oaths that we won’t never leave this dod-rotted country.”
“Come,” remarked the professor, “let us get away from this place. Leo is dead long before this – no earthly power could save him.”
“You are right,” assented Andrew Jones. “I am sorry, but it can’t be helped.”
“There is a possibility of his having passed through the flame and smoke alive,” said De Amilo, the Spaniard; “but the rushing stream – if he is not drowned in that, he will be carried over a falls a few hunderd yards further down, and be dashed to pieces on the rocks.”
No one in the party had the least doubt but that Leo Malvern was dead, and with a feeling of sorrow they turned from the spot and started for the village.
“May de good Lor’ save him!” whined Lucky, the darky, wringing his hands. “Massa Leo was de bestest friend dis poor darky eber had, an’ now him done gone an’ got killed. Oh, why did us eber come to de Eberglades, anyhow?”
“It is my fault,” said Prof. Easy; “I had no business to induce him to accompany me on my exploring tour. We have made many discoveries, but this fearful accident spoils all the pleasure there is in it.”
“I don’t blame you, professor,” returned Dick. “It was our own free wills that brought both Leo and myself to the Land of Hez. Say no more about it, please.”
As soon as the village was reached, Dick at once apprised Queen Olive of what had happened.
She sympathized with him, and tried to comfort him, at the same time saying:
“There is a possibility that your cousin is not dead. If that is the case, there is but one who could seek him out in the earth’s bowels and find him.”
“Who is that one?” asked Dick, his hopes arising.
“Azurma,” was the reply. “She has claimed him for her husband, and if sent to look for him, she would never come back without him.”
“Send her, then.”
“There will be no need of me sending her. When she hears what has happened she will start at once on her own hook. She has been unable to see Leo since she left him in the dark cavern, the reason being that I ordered her not to do so, in punishment for leading you and your companions from the magic chamber.”
The queen blew a tiny whistle, and a servant appeared.
“Send Azurma here,” said she, in Spanish.
The servant bowed and retired, and a few minutes later the beautiful Hez girl appeared.
“What is it, O queen?” she asked. “Can I now be permitted to see my future lord and master?”
“You can; but you must first seek him out. He is lost, having fallen into the stream that flows through the Devil’s Kingdom. You are at liberty to go where you please in the Land of Hez.”
An expression of gratefulness, intermingled with fear, came over the girl’s face, and then, without noticing Dick in the least, she bowed and retired.
The brave girl plodded on her way until she came to the point where the four passages met, and here she came to a pause.
“He went down the stream that flows through the Devil’s Kingdom,” she murmured, “and so must I, if I would find him. If he perished, then so shall I! I have said it, and my word shall not be broken!”
Then with an expression of determination upon her face, she started down the passage.
She only stopped for a moment to view the scene that had seemed such a wonder to our friends, and then started off at right angles, with an idea of picking her way to the shores of the stream below, beyond the smoke and fire.
That Azurma knew what she was doing was plainly evident, for after a tedious descent of probably a mile, she came to the point she desired to reach.
The roaring of the flames was behind her, and the swiftly rushing tide was within a few feet of her on the right.
Eagerly she scanned the shores on either side of the subterranean stream for a sign of Leo Malvern.
But not the least trace of him could she see.
But Azurma had not given up all hope yet.
With a resolute air she started along the shore in the direction the water flowed.
She now could hear the roaring of the water as it dashed over the falls, and her face paled.
Had the one she loved been swept over this?
The thought was a sickening one to her, and for a moment she tottered and almost fell to the ground.
Just then the girl caught sight of a number of footprints in the sand.
In a moment she was kneeling upon the ground examining them.
As soon as she saw that they were not made by her own people, a cry of joy escaped her lips.
As the reader has already surmised, they were the footprints of Leo Malvern and Reginald Lacy.
Full of hope now, that her mission would prove successful, Azurma followed the tracks.
She reached the mouth of the passage and was just about to enter it when a warning hiss told her that there was danger ahead.
The girl drew back with a half-smothered cry of alarm.
“The picuasus!” she cried, in her own tongue. “Oh! what shall I do now?”
She hastily withdrew from the mouth of the passage and looked about for a safe place of retreat.
As she did so an immense turtle appeared through the opening, and thrusting a horrible-looking head from its shell, peered around to find the one who had disturbed it.
The moment the creature’s beadlike eyes rested upon Azurma a transformation took place.
From the appearance of a huge turtle, it suddenly changed to a spider of the most gigantic proportions.
Long legs stretched out in every direction, and it began walking toward the poor girl, with its body at least two feet from the ground.
Azurma stood as though petrified, her face the color of ashes.
With rapid strides the many-legged creature neared her.
When it had approached to within ten feet of her she seemed to regain her senses.
Uttering a wild shriek, she started to flee from the spot with all her might.
An ominous hiss came from the picuasus, as Azurma called it, and the horrible thing increased its speed.
Straight for the river the girl ran, and it was evident that rather than be torn to pieces by the underground denizen she would throw herself into the rushing water.
When within ten yards of the water’s edge Azurma stumbled and fell, and the next instant the picuasus stretched forth its long tentacles to seize her.
But they did not reach. At that moment the report of a rifle rang out, and it tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Azurma was saved!
