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 severaltimes visited the gaudy establishment of Mercer, on the fashionableside of Fifth Avenue in the Fifties. In either case I had founddisappointment; where the stake is a matter of indifference there canbe no excitement; and besides, I had been always in luck. 

But on this occasion I had a real purpose before me, though not animportant one, and I surrendered my hat and coat to the servant at thedoor with a feeling of satisfaction. 

At the entrance to the main room I met Bob Garforth, leaving. Therewas a scowl on his face and his hand trembled as he held it forth totake mine. 

"Harry is inside. What a rotten hole, " said he, and passed on. Ismiled at his remark--it was being whispered about that Garforth hadlost a quarter of a million at Mercer's within the month--and passedinside. 

Gaudy, I have said it was, and it needs no other word. Not in itselements, but in their arrangement. 

The rugs and pictures and hangings testified to the taste of the manwho had selected them; but they were abominably disposed, and therewere 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 wheelsranged along the farther side. Through a door to the left could beseen the poker tables, surrounded by grave or jocular faces. Above thelow buzz of conversation there sounded the continual droning voices ofthe croupiers as they called the winning numbers, and an occasionalexclamation from a "customer. "

I made my way to the center wheel and stood at the rear of the crowdsurrounding it. 

The ball rolled; there was a straining of necks amid an intensesilence; then, as the little pellet wavered and finally came to a restin the hole number twenty-four a fervent oath of disappointment camefrom some one in front of me. 

The next moment, rising on tiptoe to look over the interveningshoulders, I found myself looking into the white face of my youngerbrother Harry. 

"Paul!" he exclaimed, turning quickly away. 

I pushed my way through and stood at his side. There was no sound fromthe group of onlookers; it is not to be wondered at if they hesitatedto offend Paul Lamar. 

"My dear boy, " said I, "I missed you at dinner. And though this mayoccupy your mind, it can scarcely fill your stomach. Haven't you hadenough?"

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 awhisper. "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 ofyourself. Just now you were swearing like a sailor. See how your handtrembles! You were not made for this, Harry; it makes you forget thatyou're a gentleman. They are laughing at you. Come. "

"But I say I have lost ninety thousand dollars, " said the boy, andthere 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 astubborn child. Clearly it was impossible to get him away withoutmaking a scene, which was unthinkable. For a moment I was at acomplete 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 decidedin 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 wordand I took his place. 

The thing was tiresome enough, but how could I have avoided it? Theblood that rushes to the head of the gambler is certainly not food forthe intellect; and, besides, I was forced by circumstances into anheroic 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 themwell; and I do not deny that there was a stirring of my pulse as I satdown. 

Is it possible for a mind to directly influence the movements of alittle ivory ball? I do not say yes, but will you say no? I watchedthe ball with the eye of an eagle, but without straining; I played withthe precision of a man with an unerring system, though my selectionswere really made quite at random; and I handled my bets with thesureness and swift dexterity with which a chess-master places his pawnor piece in position to demoralize his opponent. 

This told on the nerves of the croupier. Twice I corrected amiscalculation of his, and before I had played an hour his hand wastrembling with agitation. 

And I won. 

The details would be tiresome, but I won; and when, after six hours ofplay without an instant's rest, I rose exhausted from my chair andhanded my brother the amount he had lost--I pocketed a few thousandsfor myself in addition. There were some who tried to detain me withcongratulations and expressions of admiration, but I shook them off andled Harry outside to my car. 

The chauffeur, poor devil, was completely stiff from the long wait, andI ordered him into the tonneau and took the wheel myself. 

Partly was this due to pity for the driver, partly to a desire to leaveHarry to his own thoughts, which I knew must be somewhat turbulent. Hewas silent during the drive, which was not long, and I smiled to myselfin the darkness of the early morning as I heard, now and then, anuncontrollable sigh break through his dry lips. Of thankfulness, perhaps. 

I preceded him up the stoop and into the hall of the old house on lowerFifth Avenue, near Tenth Street, that had been the home of ourgrandfather and our father before us. There, in the dim light, Ihalted and turned, while Evans approached from the inner rooms, rubbingeyes heavy with sleep. 

Good old Evans! Yet the faithfulness of such a servant has itsdisadvantages. 

"Well?" said Harry in a thin, high voice. 

The boy's nerves were stretched tightly; two words from me would haveproduced an explosion. So I clapped him on the shoulder and sent himoff to bed. He went sulkily, without looking round, and his shouldersdrooped like those of an old man; but I reflected that that would allbe changed after a few hours of sleep. 

"After all, he is a Lamar, " I said to myself as I ordered Evans tobring wine and sandwiches to the library. 

It was the middle of the following afternoon before Harry appeareddown-stairs. He had slept eleven hours. I was seated in the librarywhen 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 withthe 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 amood, unless it be with a pretty woman or a great sinner. You mayregard that sentence as tautological if you like; I sha'n't quarrelabout it. 

What I mean to say is that it was with a real effort I set myself tothe distasteful task before me, rendered necessary by theresponsibility of my position as elder brother and head of the family. 

Harry began by observing with assumed indifference: "Well, and nowthere'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, thenfor another. So your observation would serve for any other time aswell as now. The point is this: you are ten years younger than I, andyou are under my care; and much as I dislike to talk, we must reach anunderstanding. "

"Well?" said Harry, lighting a cigarette and seating himself on the armof a chair. 

"You have often thought, " I continued, "that I have been trying tointerfere with your freedom. But you are mistaken; I have merely beentrying to preserve it--and I have succeeded. "

"When our father and mother died you were fifteen years of age. Youare now twenty-two; and I take some credit for the fact that thoseseven 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 beenat no small pains to--er--assist you. But there, I don't intend tospeak of the past; and to tell the truth, I suspect that we are of onemind. You regard me as more or less of an encumbrance; you think yourmovements are hampered; you consider yourself to be treated as a childunjustly. 

"Well, for my part, I find my duty--for such I consider it--grows moreirksome every day. If I am in your way, you are no less in mine. Tomake it short, you are now twenty-two years old, you chafe atrestraint, you think yourself abundantly able to manage your ownaffairs. 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 Iwas more than once surprised by a flash from Harry. Clearly he wasdeveloping, and for the first time I indulged a hope that he mightprove himself fit for self-government. 

At least I had given him the rope; it remained for time to discoverwhether or not he would avoid getting tangled up in it. When we hadfinished we understood each other better, I think, than we ever hadbefore; and we parted with the best of feeling. 

Three days later I sailed for Europe, leaving Harry in New York. Itwas my first trip across in eighteen months, and I aimed at pleasure. I spent a week in London and Munich, then, disgusted with the actionsof some of my fellow countrymen with whom I had the misfortune to beacquainted, I turned my face south for Madrid. 

There I had a friend. 

A woman not beautiful, but eminently satisfying; not loose, butliberal, with a character and a heart. In more ways than one she wasremarkable; she had an affection for me; indeed, some years previouslyI had been in a way to play Albert Savaron to her Francesca Colonna, anarrangement prevented only by my constitutional dislike for anyprolonged 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 ofDesiree 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 dailycarriage exercise; anything more strenuous is regarded with horror bythe ladies of Spain. 

There was a shout, and a sudden hush; all carriages were halted andtheir occupants uncovered, for royalty was passing. The coach, amagnificent though cumbersome affair, passed slowly and gravely by. Onthe rear seat were the princess and her little English cousin, whileopposite them sat the great duke himself. 

By his side was a young man of five and twenty with a white face andweak chin, and glassy, meaningless eyes. I turned to my companion andasked in a low tone who he was. Her whispered answer caused me tostart 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 halfI have been buried in the land of pork and gold. The gossip there isneither of the poet nor the court. I am ignorant of everything. "

"You would not have been so much longer, " said my friend, "for Desireeis 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. Sheis a courtesan among queens and a queen among courtesans. 

"She dances and loves, and, I presume, eats and sleeps. For the pasttwo years she has bewitched him"--she pointed down the drive to wherethe royal coach was disappearing in the distance--"and he has given hereverything. 

"It was for her that the Duke of Bellarmine built the magnificentchalet of which I was telling you on Lake Lucerne. You remember thatPrince Dolansky shot himself 'for political reasons' in his Parisianpalace? But for Desiree he would be alive to-day. She is a witch anda 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 aking, and it is no wonder if she is tired of only one royal lover at atime. 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 ofallowing myself to be bewitched by a she-devil; but as our carriageturned and started back down the long drive toward the hotel I foundmyself haunted by the white face and staring eyes of the young man inthe royal coach. 

I stayed two weeks longer in Madrid. At the end of that time, findingmyself completely bored (for no woman can possibly be amusing for morethan a month at a time), I bade my friend au revoir and departed forthe East. But I found myself just too late for an archeologicalexpedition into the heart of Egypt, and after a tiresome week or so inCairo and Constantinople I again turned my face toward the west. 

At Rome I met an old friend, one Pierre Janvour, in the Frenchdiplomatic service, and since I had nothing better to do I accepted hisurgent 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 seenthe world and tasted it and judged it. Still I found some amusement;Janvour had a pretty wife and a daughter eight years old, daintilybeautiful, and I allowed myself to become soaked in domestic sentiment. 

I really found myself on the point of envying him; Mme. Janvour was amost excellent housekeeper and manager. Little Eugenie and I wouldoften walk together in the public gardens, and now and then her motherwould join us; and, as I say, I found myself on the point of envying myfriend Janvour. 

This diversion would have ended soon in any event; but it was broughtto an abrupt termination by a cablegram from my New York lawyers, asking me to return to America at once. Some rascality it was, on thepart of the agent of my estate, which had alarmed them; the cablegramwas bare of detail. At any rate, I could not afford to disregard it, and arranged passage on a liner sailing from Cherbourg the followingday. 

My hostess gave me a farewell dinner, which heightened my regret atbeing forced to leave, and little Eugenie seemed really grieved at mydeparture. It is pleasant to leave a welcome behind you; that isreally the only necessary axiom of the traveler. 

Janvour took me to the railroad station, and even offered to accompanyme to Cherbourg; but I refused to tear him away from his littleparadise. 

We stood on the platform arguing the matter, when I suddenly becameaware of that indistinct flutter and bustle seen in public places atsome 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 theworld, fragile and delicate as a toy--a fairy's chariot. Then thefairy herself descended. She cannot be described in detail. 

I caught a glimpse of glorious golden hair, softly massive; gray-blueeyes shot with lightning, restless, devouring, implacable, indescribably beautiful; a skin wondrously fine, with the purity ofmarble and the warmth of velvet; nose and mouth rather too large, butperfectly formed and breathing the fire and power of love. Really itwas rather later that I saw all this; at the time there was but aconfused impression of elegance and beauty and terrible power. 

She passed from the brougham to her railway carriage supremelyunconscious of the hundreds of eyes turned on her, and a general sighof satisfaction and appreciation came from the throng as shedisappeared within her compartment. I turned to Janvour. 

"Who is she?"

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise. "But my dear Lamar, not to know herargues 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 asyourself. 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 tobecome unduly excited over a trifle. A discrepancy had been discoveredin my agent's accounts; it was clearly established that he had beenspeculating; but the fellow's excessive modesty and moderation hadsaved me from any serious inconvenience or loss. 

Some twenty thousand or so was the amount, and I did not even putmyself to the trouble of recovering it. I placed a friend of mine, aplodder and one of those chaps who are honest on account of lack ofimagination, in the position thus vacated and sighed with mild relief. 

My experiment with Harry had proved a complete success. Left to themanagement of his own affairs, he had shown a wisdom and restraint nonethe less welcome because unexpected. He was glad to see me, and I wasno less glad to see him. 

There was little new in town. 

Bob Garforth, having gambled away his entire patrimony, had shot andkilled himself on the street; Mrs. Ludworth had publicly defied gossipand smiled with favor on young Driscoll; the new director of theMetropolitan Museum had announced himself an enemy to tradition and afriend 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 ofthe kings, princes, and dukes who had been at her feet. 

Bets were made on her nationality, the color of her eyes, the value ofher pearls, the number of suicides she had caused--corresponding, insome sort, to the notches on the gun of a Western bad man. Gowns andhats were named for her by the enterprising department stores. 

It was announced that her engagement at the Stuyvesant would open inten days, and when the box-office opened for the advance sale everyseat 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 thatoccasion had nearly caused a riot, whereupon she had discreetlywithdrawn. She remained unseen while the town shouted itself hoarse. 

I had not mentioned her name to Harry, nor had I heard him speak ofher, 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 conversationveered and touched on classical dancing. 

"The Russians are preeminent, " said I, "because they possess both theinspiration--the fire--and the training. In no other nation or schoolare the two so perfectly joined. In the Turkish dancers there isperfect grace and freedom, but no life. In Desiree Le Mire, forexample, there is indeed life; but she has not had the necessarytraining. "

"What? Le Mire! Have you seen her?" cried Harry. 

"Not on the stage, " I answered; "but I crossed on the same ship withher, and she was kind enough to give me a great deal of her time. Sheseems to understand perfectly her own artistic limitations, and I amtaking her word for it. "

But Harry was no longer interested in the subject of dancing. I wasbesieged on the instant with a thousand questions. 

Had I known Le Mire long? What was she like? Was it true that PrinceDolansky 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 timesand with such insistence that I finally consented and left Harrydelighted 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 shepossessed 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 Mireknew not the meaning of the word. We had spent many hours during thetrip across in pleasant companionship; she had done me the honor totell me that she found my conversation amusing; and, after all, she wasundeniably a pretty woman. She had invited me with evident sincerityto call on her in New York; but I had not as yet taken advantage of theinvitation. 

I did not then think, and I do not now believe, that I acted foolishlywhen I took Harry to see her. In any event, he would have seen hersooner or later, and since all temptations meet us at one time oranother, it is best to have it out with them at as early a date aspossible. 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 Imust confess that I myself was more than a little impressed when Ientered. I realized then that on the ship nothing had been in herfavor; she had been completely out of her element, and she was not agood sailor. 

Here all was different. The stiffly ostentatious hotel rooms, by herown genius or that of her maid, had been transformed into somethingvery nearly approaching perfection. I was amazed at the excellenttaste displayed in her furniture and its arrangement, for it was clearthat these were no hotel properties. Certainly a woman is at her bestonly when she is able to choose or create her own surroundings. 

Harry was captivated, and I can scarcely blame him. But the poor ladbetrayed himself so frankly! Though I suppose Le Mire was more or lessaccustomed to immediate surrender. 

On that day, at least, she had reason to expect it. She satisfied theeye, which is saying a great deal and is the highest praise possiblefor a woman's beauty, when you consider the full strength of the word. 

She was radiant, adorable, irresistible; I had to own that my firstimpression of her had been far too weak. 

We talked for an hour. Harry had little to say as he sat devouring LeMire with his eyes, and whenever she turned to him for an answer to aquestion or confirmation of an opinion he stammered and kept hiscomposure with difficulty. Never, I suppose, did woman have clearerevidence of her power, nor sweeter, for Harry was by no means a fool tobe 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 leftthem together. 

It was about ten o'clock when he came home that evening. I was seatedin the library and, hearing him enter the hall, called to him. 

What a face was his! His lips trembled with nervous feeling, his eyesglowed like the eyes of a madman. I half started from my chair inamazement. 

"I have no time, " said he in answer to my invitation to join me with abottle. "I have a letter or two to write, and--and I must get somesleep. "

"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 infor 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 thingplainly, 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 aword, and started for the door. There he turned again uncertainly, hesitating. 

"I am to ride with Desiree in the morning, " said he, and the nextmoment was gone. 

"Desiree!"

He called her Desiree!

I think I smiled for an hour over that; and, though my reflections werenot free from apprehension, I really felt but little anxiety. Not thatI underrated Le Mire's fascination and power; to confess the truth, myease of mind was the result of my own vanity. Le Mire had flattered meinto the belief that she was my friend. 

A week passed--a dull week, during which I saw little of Harry and LeMire not at all. At the time, I remember, I was interested in somechemical experiments--I am a dabbler with the tubes--and went out butlittle. Then--this was on Friday--Harry sought me out in thelaboratory 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 goodto force him into an equivocation by questions. Early the next morninghe departed, with three trunks, and with no further word to me save afarewell. No sooner was he gone than I started for the telephone tocall up Le Mire; but thought better of it and with a shrug of theshoulders returned to the laboratory. 

It was the following Monday that was to see the first appearance of LeMire at the Stuyvesant. I had not thought of going, but on Mondayafternoon Billy Du Mont telephoned me that he had an extra ticket andwould like to have me join him. I was really a little curious to seeLe Mire perform and accepted. 

We dined at the club and arrived at the theater rather late. Theaudience was brilliant; indeed, though I had been an ardentfirst-nighter for a year or two in my callow youth, I think I havenever 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 thefaces in sight were well known to me. Whether Le Mire could dance ornot, she most assuredly was, or had, a good press-agent. We were soonto receive an exemplification of at least a portion of the reputationthat had preceded her. 

Many were the angry adjectives heaped on the head of the dancer on thatmemorable evening. Mrs. Frederick Marston, I remember, called her aninsolent hussy; but then Mrs. Frederick Marston was never original. Others: rash, impudent, saucy, impertinent; in each instanceaccompanied by threats. 

Indeed, it is little wonder if those people of fashion and wealth andposition were indignant and sore. For they had dressed and dinedhastily and come all the way down-town to see Le Mire; they waited forher for two hours and a half in stuffy theater seats, and Le Mire didnot appear. 

The announcement was finally made by the manager of the theater at alittle before eleven-o'clock. He could not understand, he said--thepoor fellow was on the point of wringing his hands with agitation anddespair--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 herengagement. No one connected with the theater had seen her since thattime, but everything had gone smoothly; they had had no reason to fearsuch a contretemps as her nonappearance. 

They had sent to her hotel; she was gone, bag and baggage. She haddeparted on Friday, leaving no word as to her destination. They hadasked the police, the hotels, the railroads, the steamshipcompanies--and could find no trace of her. 

The manager only hoped--he hoped with all his heart--that his frank andunreserved explanation would appease his kind patrons and prevent theirresentment; that they would understand--

I made my way out of the theater as rapidly as possible, with Billy DuMont 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 andturns 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 toFifth Avenue, and a few minutes later were at the club. I took Du Montto a secluded corner of the grill, and there, with a bottle of winebetween us, I spoke. 

"Billy, " said I, "there's the deuce to pay. You're an old friend ofmine, 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 ofany value. She can have the lad's money, and, if necessary, my owninto the bargain. But the name of Lamar must remain clean; and I tellyou there is more than a name in danger. Whoever that woman touchesshe kills. And Harry is only a boy. "

Billy helped me, as I knew he would; nor did he insist on unnecessarydetails. I didn't need his assistance in the search, for I felt that Icould accomplish that as well alone. 

But it was certainly known that Harry had been calling on Le Mire ather hotel; conjectures were sure to be made, leading to the assertionsof busy tongues; and it was the part of my friend to counteract andsmother the inevitable gossip. This he promised to do; and I knewBilly. As for finding Harry, it was too late to do anything thatnight, and I went home and to bed. 

The next morning I began by calling at her hotel. But though themanager of the theater had gotten no information from them, he hadpumped them dry. They knew nothing. 

I dared not go to the police, and probably they would have been unableto give me any assistance if I had sought it. The only other possiblesource of information I disliked to use; but after racking my brain forthe better part of the day I decided that there was nothing else forit, and started on a round of the ticket offices of the railroads andsteamship companies. 

I had immediate success. My first call was at the office where Harryand I were accustomed to arrange our transportation. As I entered thehead clerk--or whatever they call him--advanced to greet me with asmile. 

"Yes, " said he in response to my question; "Mr. Lamar got his ticketsfrom me. Let's see--Thursday, wasn't it? No, Friday. That'sright--Friday. "

"Tickets!" I muttered to myself. And in my preoccupation I reallyneglected 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 ofhastily 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 ofTom Jones, " and I shall refrain from detail. Denver I reached at last, after a week's stop-over in Kansas City. It was a delightfuladventure--but it had nothing to do with the story. 

I left the train at the Rocky Mountain city about the middle of theafternoon. And now, what to do? I think I am not a fool, but Icertainly lack the training of a detective, and I felt perfectlyrudderless and helpless as I ordered the taxi-driver to take me to theAlcazar Hotel. 

I was by no means sure that Harry had come to Denver. He was travelingwith a bundle of animated caprice, a creature who would have hauled himoff the train at Rahway, New Jersey, if she had happened to take afancy to the place. At the moment, I reflected, they might be drivingalong Michigan Boulevard, or attending a matinee at the Willis Wood, orsipping mint juleps at the Planters'. 

Even if they were in Denver, how was I to find them? I keenlyregretted the week I had lost. I was sure that Harry would avoid anychance of publicity and would probably shun the big hotels. And Denveris not a village. 

It was the beauty of Le Mire that saved me. Indeed, I might haveforeseen that; and I have but poorly portrayed the force of herunmatchable fascination unless you have realized that she was a womanwho could pass nowhere without being seen; and, seen, remembered. 

I made inquiries of the manager of the hotel, of course, but wasbrought up sharply when he asked me the names of my friends for whom Iwas 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, whohad come West some years before on account of weak lungs, and stayedbecause 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 reasonfor remaining in the provinces, never did man have a better one. 

We were on the veranda with our after-dinner cigars. I wascongratulating Hovey on the felicity of his choice and jocularlysympathizing with his wife. 

"Yes, " said my cousin, with a sigh, "I never regretted it till lastweek. 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 shebegan humming the air of the Chanson du Colonel, and was stopped by asmothering 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 myface betrayed my thought. 

"It isn't charity, " she smiled. "Like John Holden, I have seenfire-balloons by the hundred, I have seen the moon, and--then I saw nomore fire-balloons. "

"But who is she?"

Hovey explained. "She is the wife of Senor Ramal. They came here someten days ago, with letters to one or two of the best families, andthat's all we know about them. The senora is an entrancing mixture ofCleopatra, Sappho, Helen of Troy, and the devil. She had the town bythe ears in twenty-four hours, and you wouldn't wonder at it if you sawher. "

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. Herhair is the most perfect gold. Her eyes are green; her skin remarkablyfair. 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 hadno doubt of the identity of Senor Ramal and his wife. I pondered overthe name, and suddenly realized that it was merely "Lamar" spelledbackward!

The discovery removed the last remaining shadow of doubt. 

I asked in a tone of assumed indifference for their hotel, expressing adesire to meet them--and was informed by Hovey that they had leftDenver two days previously, nor did he know where they had gone. 

Thus did I face another obstacle. But I was on the track; and theperfume of a woman's beauty is the strongest scent in the world as wellas the sweetest. I thanked my cousin for a pleasant evening--though hedid not know the extent of my debt to him--and declined his urgentinvitation to have my luggage brought to his home. 

On my way to the hotel I was struck by a sudden thought: Senor Ramalcould not be my brother or my cousin would have recognized him! But Iimmediately reflected that the two had not seen each other for some tenyears, at which time Harry had been a mere boy. 

The following morning, with little difficulty, I ascertained the factthat 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 thebook, 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 andtrout from the mountain streams--I descended on the hotel clerk withquestions. He was most obliging--a sharp, pleasant fellow, withprominent ears and a Rocky Mountain twang. 

"Senor and Senora Ramal? Most assuredly, sir. They have been hereseveral days. No, they are not now in the hotel. They left thisafternoon for Manitou, to take dinner there, and are going to make thenight 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 downand wait for them; but that would have been dull sport. My idea wasbetter. 

I sought out the hotel's wardrobe--there is nothing the Antlers willnot do for you--and clothed myself in khaki, leggings, and boots. ThenI 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, afterhaving 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 cameperilously near descending on the village below--well, withouthesitation. It was well after midnight when I passed the Half-wayHouse, and I urged my donkey forward with a continual rat-a-tat-tat ofwell-directed kicks in the effort to make my goal. 

You who have experienced the philosophical calm and superb indifferenceof the Pike's Peak donkey may imagine the vocabulary I used on thisoccasion--I dare not print it. Nor did his speed increase. 

I was, in fact, a quarter of an hour late. I was still several hundredyards from the summit when the sun's first rays shot through the thinatmosphere, creating colorful riot among the clouds below, and Istopped, 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; youcan almost hear the shout of victory. He who made the universe is noartist; too often He forgets restraint, and blinds us. 

I turned, almost regretting that I had come, for I had been put out oftune with my task. Then I mounted the donkey and slowly traversed thefew remaining yards to the Peak. 

There, seated in the dazzling sunshine on the edge of a huge bouldernear the eastern precipice, were the two I sought. 

Le Mire's head was turned from me as she sat gazing silently at thetumbling, gorgeous mass of clouds that seemed almost to be resting onher lap; Harry was looking at her. And such a look!

There was no rival even in nature that could conquer Le Mire; never, Ibelieve, did woman achieve a more notable victory than hers of thatmorning. 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 caughtsight of me. 

"Paul!" cried Harry, leaping to his feet; then he stopped short andstared at me half defiantly, half curiously, moving close to Le Mireand 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 thefirst swift shadow of surprise her face brightened with a smile ofwelcome, for all the world as though this were a morning call in herboudoir. 

"Senor and Senora Ramal, I believe?" said I with a smile, crossing tothem 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. Hetook 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--"ofcourse. By Jove! that was stupid of us. "

Whereupon Le Mire laughed with such frank enjoyment of the boy'ssimplicity 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 sixo'clock, and since ten last night I've been on top of the mostperfectly 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 ofinn--where smoke was rising from a tin chimney. 

Soon we were seated inside with a pot of steaming black coffee beforeus. Harry was bubbling over with gaiety and good will, evidentlyoccasioned by my unexpected friendliness, while Le Mire sat for themost part silent. It was easy to see that she was more than a littledisturbed by my arrival, which surprised me. 

I gazed at her with real wonder and increasing admiration. It was sixin the morning; she had had no sleep, and had just finished a mostfatiguing journey of some eight hours; but I had never seen her sobeautiful. 

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 youplease. "

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 thesurly host with a smile that must have caused him to regret hisgruffness. 

"Well, then, fr-r-ied!" said she, rolling the "r" deliciously. "Andyou may bring me five, if you please. "

It appeared that I was not the only hungry one. We ate leisurely andsmoked more leisurely still, and started on our return journey a littlebefore eight o'clock. 

It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at the Antlers. The tripwas accomplished without accident, but Le Mire was thoroughly exhaustedand Harry was anything but fresh. That is the worst of mountainclimbing: the exaltation at the summit hardly pays you for the reactionat 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 delightin everything that was said, both witty and dull, while Le Mirepositively sparkled. 

She made her impression; not a man in the well-filled room but sent histribute of admiring glances as she sat seemingly unconscious of all butHarry and myself. That is always agreeable; a man owes something tothe woman who carries a room for him. 

I had intended to have a talk with Harry after dinner, but I postponedit; the morning would assuredly be better. There was dancing in thesalon, but we were all too tired to take advantage of it; and afterlistening to one or two numbers, during which Le Mire was kept busyturning aside the importunities of would-be partners, we said goodnight and sought our beds. 

It was late the next morning when the precious pair joined me in thegarden, and when we went in for breakfast we found the dining-roomquite empty. We did not enjoy it as on the morning previous; thecuisine 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 beforeme the necessity of coming to an understanding with Harry, a task whichI 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 haveexcellent horses here; I tried one of 'em the other day. "

"I trust that they bear no resemblance to my donkey, " said I withfeeling. 

"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 theway. Don't you know that your brother has a thousand things to say toyou? He wants to scold you; you must remember that you are a very badboy. "

And she sent me a glance half defiant, half indifferent, which plainlysaid: "If I fight you, I shall win; but I really care very little aboutit one way or the other. "

After breakfast she went to her room--to have her hair dressed, shesaid--and I led Harry to a secluded corner of the magnificent groundssurrounding the hotel. During the walk we were both silent: Harry, Isuppose, was wondering what I was going to say, while I was trying tomake up my own mind. 

"I suppose, " he began abruptly, "you are going to tell me I have actedlike 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. Notexactly my style perhaps, but there are few men in the world whowouldn't envy you. I congratulate you. 

"But there were two things I feared for several reasons--Le Mire'sfascination, your own youth and impulsive recklessness, and the rathercurious mode of your departure. I feared first and most that you wouldmarry her; second, that you would achieve odium and publicity for ourname. "

Harry was regarding me with a smile which had in it very little ofamusement; 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 thismorning. "

"And--"

"She won't have me. "

"Bah!" I concealed my surprise, for I had really not thought itpossible 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. Offeredher--anything. "

"And she refuses?"

"Positively. "

"Refuses?"

"With thanks. "

I stared at him for a moment in silence. Then I said: "Go and get herand bring her here. I'll find out what she wants, " and sat down on abench to wait. Harry departed for the hotel without a word. 

In a few minutes he returned with Le Mire. I rose and proffered her aseat on the bench, which she accepted with a smile, and Harry sat downat her side. I stood in front of them. 

"Le Mire, " said I, and I believe I frowned, "my brother tells me thatyou 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 continuedwith slow precision--"on the day that you give me a contract to adhereto 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 atouch of assumed hauteur; the surrender to follow, for I had made thestake high. But as I stood looking down at her, waiting for the flashof her eye, I was greeted by a burst of laughter--the frank laughter ofgenuine mirth. Then she spoke:

"Oh, you Americans! You are so funny! A million dollars! It isimpossible 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 Idesire 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 nothingunworthy of them. Set your mind at rest, Mr. Lamar; but, really, youshould have known better--you who have seen the world and Le Mire inParis! And now our amusement is perhaps ended? Now we must return tothat awful New York? Voila!"

Indeed I had not understood her. And how could I? There is only onesuch woman in a generation; sometimes none, for nature is sparing ofher favorites. By pure luck she sat before me, this twentieth-centuryMarana, and I acknowledged her presence with a deep bow of apology andadmiration. 

"If you will forgive me, madame, " I said, "I will--not attempt to makereparation, for my words were not meant for you. Consider themunspoken. As for our amusement, why need it end? Surely, we canforget? I see plainly I am not a St. Evremond, but neither am I afool. My brother pleases you--well, there he is. As for myself, Ishall either stay to take care of you two children, or I shall returnto New York, as you desire. "

Le Mire looked at me uncertainly for a moment, then turned to Harry andwith 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 Ithought. By all means, stay--we shall be so jolly! Will we not, mylittle friend?"

Harry nodded, smiling at her. But there was a troubled look in hisface. 

Chapter IV. 

ALLONS!

The events of the month that followed, though exciting enough, were ofa similarity that would make their narration tedious, and I shall passover them as speedily as possible. 

We remained at Colorado Springs only two days after that morning in thegarden. 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 Miretired of it in a day. 

"I shall see the Pacific, " she said to Harry and me, and we immediatelyset out for San Francisco. 

Is it necessary for me to explain my attitude? But surely it explainsitself. For one thing, I was disinclined to leave Harry in a positionwhere he was so abundantly unable to take care of himself. Foranother, I take amusement wherever it offers itself, and I was mostcertainly 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 beingunder the necessity of acting the part of a faithful lover they becomedoubly so. 

Le Mire managed Harry with wonderful tact and finesse; I sat back andlaughed at the performance, now and then applying a check when herriotous imagination seemed likely to run away with us. 

At San Francisco she achieved a triumph, notorious to the point ofembarrassment. Paul Lamar, of New York, had introduced himself intothe highest circle of society, and in turn had introduced his friends, Senor and Senora Ramal. The senora captured the town in a single nightat a reception and ball on Telegraph Hill. 

The day following there were several dozens of cards left for her atour hotel; invitations arrived by the score. She accepted two or threeand made the fortune of two drawing-rooms; then suddenly tired of thesport and insulted a most estimable lady, our hostess, by certainremarks 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 issueinvitations for an "entertainment" at our hotel. I had no idea whatshe meant to do; but gave the thing no thought, feeling certain thatfew, or none, of the invitations would be accepted--wherein I was badlymistaken, for not one was refused. 

Well, Le Mire danced for them. 

For myself it was barely interesting; I have passed the inner portalsof the sacred temples of India, and the human body holds no surprisesfor 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 thewomen were forced to applaud. She became at once a goddess and anoutcast. 

The newspapers of the following morning were full of it, running thescale of eulogy, admiration, and wonder. And one of the articles, evidently written by a man who had been considerably farther east thanSan Francisco, ended with the following paragraph:

In short, it was sublime, and with every movement and every gesturethere was a something hidden, a suggestion of a personality andmysterious charm that we have always heretofore considered theexclusive property of just one woman in the world. But Desiree Le Mireis not in San Francisco; though we declare that the performance of lastevening was more than enough to rouse certain suspicions, especially inview of Le Mire's mysterious disappearance from New York. 

I took the paper to Desiree in her room, and while she read the articlestood 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 hourto join us at breakfast. 

"Well?" said Desiree when she had finished. 

"But it is not well, " I retorted, turning to face her. "I do notreproach you; you are being amused, and so, I confess, am I. But yourname--that is, Le Mire--has been mentioned, and discovery is sure tofollow. 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 anexplosion. Then, seeming to think better of it, she smiled:

"But where? We can't go west without falling into the ocean, and Irefuse 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, witha daredevil captain and the coziest little cabins in the world?"

"Bah!" Le Mire snapped her fingers to emphasize her incredulity. "Itdoes not exist. "

"But it does. Afloat and in commission, to be had for the asking andthe necessary check. Dazzling white, in perfect order, a secondAntoine for a chef, rooms furnished as you would your own villa. Whatdo 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 seeit. 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 outto see her this afternoon; in fact, I have already made an appointmentwith the owner. "

"Ah! Indeed, you are perfection. And--how well you know me. " Shepaused 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 oneof the family. "

"Is that the only reason?"

I began to understand her, and I answered her somewhat dryly: "My dearDesiree, there can be none other. "

"Are you so--cold?"

"When I choose. "

"Ah!" It was a sigh rather than an exclamation. "And yet, on theship--do you remember? Look at me, M. Lamar. Am I not--am I solittle worthy of a thought?"

Her lips were parted with tremulous feeling; her eyes glowed with astrange fire, and yet were tender. Indeed, she was "worthy of athought"--dangerously so; I felt my pulse stir. It was necessary toassume a stoicism I was far from feeling, and I looked at her with acynical smile and spoke in a voice as carefully deliberate as I couldmake it. 

"Le Mire, " I said, "I could love you, but I won't. " And I turned andleft her without another word. 

Why? I haven't the slightest idea. It must have been my vanity. Somefew men had conquered Le Mire; others had surrendered to her; certainlynone had ever been able to resist her. There was a satisfaction in it. I walked about the lobby of the hotel till Harry returned, idioticallypleased 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 toweigh anchor that very afternoon. I explained that it was necessary towait 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 Mirefor 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 thedays 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; onlyby severe restraint could she force herself to even a small degree ofcomposure. Harry was with her nearly every minute, though what theyfound to talk about was beyond my comprehension. Neither was exactlybubbling over with ideas, and one cannot say "I love you" fortwenty-four hours a day. 

It was a cool, sunny day in the latter part of October when we weighedanchor and passed through the Golden Gate. I had leased the yacht fora year, and had made alternative plans in case Le Mire should tire ofthe 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 assea-foam; everything above decks of shining brass, below mahogany, andas clean and shipshape as a Dutch kitchen. There were five roomsbesides 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 aboutfive o'clock in the afternoon of such a day as only southern Californiacan boast of, and the dingey was lowered to take us ashore. 

"What is there?" asked Le Mire, pointing to the shore as we stoodleaning 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 didnot approve of Santa Catalina. In another minute the dingey was backon 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 Indianblankets, and Harry bought them for her; but when she expressed anintention to take an Indian girl--about sixteen or seventeen yearsold--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, andvisited sometimes an hour, sometimes two or three days. Le Mire wasloading the yacht with all sorts of curious relics. Ugly or beautiful, useful or worthless, genuine or faked, it mattered not to her; if athing suited her fancy she wanted it--and got it. 

At Guayaquil occurred the first collision of wills. It was our secondevening in port. We were dining on the deck of the yacht, with half adozen South American generals and admirals as guests. 

Toward the end of the dinner Le Mire suddenly became silent andremained for some minutes lost in thought; then, suddenly, she turnedto 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 linedwith twinkling lights. 

"I know, I know, " said Le Mire impatiently; "but where is it? In whatcountry?"

The poor fellow, too surprised to be offended, stammered the name ofhis native land between gasps, while Harry and I had all we could do tokeep from bursting into laughter. 

"Ah, " said Desiree in the tone of one who has made an importantdiscovery, "I thought so. Ecuador. Monsieur, Quito is in Ecuador. "

The general--or admiral, I forget which--acknowledged the correctnessof her geography with a profound bow. 

"But yes. I have often heard of Quito, monsieur. It is a veryinteresting place. I shall go to Quito. "

There ensued immediately a babel. Each of our guests insisted on thehonor of accompanying us inland, and the thing would most assuredlyhave ended in a bloody quarrel on the captain's polished deck, if I hadnot 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 theutmost 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! Inspite 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 cometo know Le Mire. She frowned for a moment in an evident attempt tomaintain her anger, then an irresistible smile parted her lips and sheclapped her hands gaily. 

"Very well, " she cried, "toss, monsieur! Heads!"

The coin fell tails, and we did not go to Quito, much to thedisappointment of our guests. Le Mire forgot all about it in tenminutes. 

Five days later we dropped anchor at Callao. 

This historic old port delighted Le Mire at once. I had told hersomething of its story: its successive bombardments by the liberatorsfrom Chile, the Spanish squadron, buccaneering expeditions from Europeand the Chilean invaders; not to mention earthquakes and tidal waves. We moored alongside the stone pier by the lighthouse; the old clock atits 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 trainand 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 turnedon Le Mire. Then, as luck would have it, I met, quite by chance, afriend of mine who had come to the University of San Marcos some yearsbefore as a professor of climatology. He introduced us, with an air ofimportance, to several of the groups of fashion, and finally to thepresident himself. That night we slept as guests under the roof of aluxurious and charming country house at Miraflores. 

Le Mire took the capital by storm. Her style of beauty was peculiarlyfitted for their appreciation, for pallor is considered a mark ofbeauty among Lima ladies. But that could scarcely account for herunparalleled triumph. I have often wondered--was it the effect of apremonition?

The president himself sat by her at the opera. There were two duelsattributed to her within a week; though how the deuce that was possibleis beyond me. 

On society day at the bull-ring the cues were given by Le Mire; herhand flung the rose to the matador, while the eight thousand excitedspectators seemed uncertain whether they were applauding her or him. Lima was hers, and never have I seen a fortnight so crowded withincidents. 

But Le Mire soon tired of it, as was to be expected. She greeted meone morning at the breakfast table:

"My friend Paul, let us go to Cerro de Pasco. They havesilver--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 himnot to expect us for another month or so, and sending him sufficientfunds to last till our return. 

I verily believe that every one of note in Lima came to the railroadstation to see us off. 

Our compartment was a mass of flowers, which caused me to smile, for LeMire, curiously enough, did not like them. When we had passed out ofthe city she threw them out of the window, laughing and making jokes atthe expense of the donors. She was in the best of humor. 

We arrived at Oroya late in the afternoon, and departed for Cerro dePasco 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 thatseem ready to crush the train surround you on every side, and now andthen are directly above or beneath you. 

Le Mire was profoundly impressed; indeed, I had not supposed her topossess the sensibility she displayed; and as for me, I was mostgrateful to her for having suggested the trip. You who find yourselvestoo well-acquainted with the Rockies and the Alps and the Himalayasshould 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 ofour expectations. It is a mining town, filled with laborers andspeculators, noisy, dirty, and coarse. We had been there less thanforty-eight hours when I declared to Harry and Le Mire my intention ofreturning 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 friendPaul, 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 oftenwonder--would she have turned her back? For the woman craved noveltyand adventure, and the gameness of centuries was in her blood--well, she had her experience, which was shared only in part by Harry andmyself. 

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 ofcivilization 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 twodays with mules, saddles, saddle-bags, boots, leather leggings, knickerbockers, woolen ponchos, and scores of other articles which heassured us were absolutely necessary for any degree of comfort. By thetime 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 bethe most competent and trustworthy guide in all the Andes--a long, loose-jointed fellow with an air of complete indifference habituallyresting on his yellow, rather sinister-looking face. Le Mire did notlike him, but I certainly preferred the hotel proprietor's experienceand knowledge to her volatile fancy, and engaged the arriero on thespot. 

Our outfit was complete, and everything in readiness, when Harrysuddenly announced that he had decided not to go, nor to allow Le Mireto do so. 

"I don't like it, " he said in troubled tones. "I tell you, Paul, Idon'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, notfor 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 toher I--well--"

I cut him short:

"My dear boy, the idea is Desiree's own. And to talk of danger whereshe 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. Areyou 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 whiteknickerbockers, a white jacket, tan-leather boots and leggings and akhaki hat. 

Her golden hair, massed closely about her ears and upon her forehead, shimmered in the bright sun dazzlingly; her eyes sparkled; her littlewhite teeth gleamed in a happy, joyous smile. 

We lifted her to the back of her mule, then mounted our own. Suddenlya recollection shot through my brain with remarkable clearness, and Iturned to Le Mire:

"Desiree, do you know the first time I ever saw you? It was in anelectric brougham at the Gare du Nord. This is somewhat different, mylady. "

"And infinitely more interesting, " she answered. "Are you ready? Seethat stupid arriero! Ah! After all, he knew what he was about. Then, messieurs--allons!"

The arriero, receiving my nod uttered a peculiar whistle through histeeth. The mules pricked up their ears, then with one common movementstarted forward. 

"Adios! Adios, senora! Adios, senores!"

With the cry of our late host sounding in our ears we passed down thenarrow little street of Cerro de Pasco on our way to the snow-cappedpeaks of the Andes. 

Chapter V. 

THE CAVE OF THE DEVIL. 

You may remember that I made some remark concerning the difficulty ofthe ascent of Pike's Peak. Well, that is mere child's play--a morningconstitutional compared to the paths we found ourselves compelled tofollow 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 foundourselves creeping along a ledge so narrow there was scarcely room forthe mules to place their hoofs together, over a precipice threethousand feet in the air--straight. And, added to this was thediscomfort, amounting at times to positive pain, caused by the soroche. 

Hardly ever did we find ground sufficiently broad for a breathingspace, save when our arriero led us, almost by magic it seemed, to acamping place for the night. We would ascend the side of a narrowvalley; on one hand roared a torrent some hundreds of feet below; onthe other rose an uncompromising wall of rock. So narrow would be thetrack that as I sat astride my mule my outside leg would be hangingover the abyss. 

But the grandeur, the novelty, and the variety of the scenery repaidus; and Le Mire loved the danger for its own sake. Time and again sheswayed far out of her saddle until her body was literally suspended inthe air above some frightful chasm, while she turned her head to laughgaily 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, sincethe 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 afascination about the thing that was irresistible. However high thepeak 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, itsapparent vanishings into thin air, only to be found, after an all butimpossible 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 nofarther" is an undecided problem to this day. 

About three o'clock one afternoon we camped in a small clearing at theend 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 hisexplanation with the indifference of those to whom one day is likeevery other day, and amused ourselves by inspecting our surroundingswhile he prepared the evening meal and arranged the camp beds. 

Back of us lay the trail by which we had approached--a narrow, sinuousribbon clinging to the side of the huge cliffs like a snake fastened toa rock. On the left side, immediately above us, was a precipice somethousand feet in height; on the right a series of massive boulders, ofquartzite and granite, misshapen and lowering. 

There were three, I remember, placed side by side like three giantbrothers; then two or three smaller ones in a row, and beyond thesemany others ranged in a mass unevenly, sometimes so close together thatthey appeared to be jostling one another out of the way. 

For several days we had been in the region of perpetual snow; and soonwe gathered about the fire which the arriero had kindled for our camp. Its warmth was grateful, despite our native woolen garments and heavyponchos. 

The wind whistled ominously; a weird, senseless sound that smote theear with madness. The white of the snow and the dull gray of the rockswere totally unrelieved by any touch of green or play of water; a spotlonely as the human soul and terrifying as death. 

Harry had gone to examine the hoofs of his mule, which had limpedslightly during the afternoon; Le Mire and I sat side by side near thefire, gazing at the play of the flames. For some minutes we had beensilent. 

"In Paris, perhaps--" she began suddenly, then stopped short and becameagain 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. Iinsisted:

"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! Acard! Mr. Paul Lamar. Show him in, Julie. But no, let him wait--I amnot 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 mountainshypnotize 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 thefuture--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 inher eyes did not proceed from mirth. I followed her fixed gaze acrossthe 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. Ifelt her eyes above me, and try as I would I could not look up to meetthem. 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 wasacting, 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 aflirtation? Before, I could not speak; now you must know. There havebeen many men in my life, Paul; some fools, some not so, but none likeyou. I have never said, 'I love you. ' I say it now. Once you held myhand--you have never kissed me. "

I rose to my feet, smiling, profoundly fatuous, and made as if to putmy arm around her. 

"A kiss? Is that all, Desiree? Well--"

But I had mistaken her tone and overreached. Not a muscle did shemove, but I felt myself repulsed as by a barrier of steel. Sheremained standing perfectly still, searching me with a gaze that leftme naked of levity and cynicism and the veneer of life; and finally shemurmured in a voice sweet with pain:

"Must you kill me with words, Paul? I did not mean that--now. It istoo late. "

Then she turned swiftly and called to Harry, who came running over toher only to meet with some trivial request, and a minute later thearriero 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 discoveredmy mistake, some time later and under very different circumstances, itvery nearly cost me my life, and Harry's into the bargain. 

During the meal Le Mire was in the jolliest of moods apparently. Sheretold the tale of Balzac's heroine who crossed the Andes in the guiseof a Spanish officer, performing wondrous exploits with her sword andcreating havoc among the hearts of the fair ladies who took the dashingcaptain's sex for granted from his clothing. 

The story was a source of intense amusement to Harry, who insisted onthe recital of detail after detail, until Desiree allowed her memory totake a vacation and substitute pure imagination. Nor was theimprovisation much inferior to the original. 

It was still light when we finished dinner, a good three hours tillbedtime. And since there was nothing better to do, I called to thearriero and asked him to conduct us on a tour of exploration among themass of boulders, gray and stern, that loomed up on our right. 

He nodded his head in his usual indifferent manner, and fifteen minuteslater we started, on foot. The arriero led the way, with Harry at hisheels, and Desiree and I brought up the rear. 

Thrice I tried to enter into conversation with her; but each time sheshook her head without turning round, and I gave it up. I was franklypuzzled by her words and conduct of an hour before; was it merely oneof the trickeries of Le Mire or--

I was interested in the question as one is always interested in ariddle; but I tossed it from my mind, promising myself a solution onthe morrow, and gave my attention to the vagaries of nature about me. 

We were passing through a cleft between two massive rocks, some threeor four hundred yards in length. Ahead of us, at the end of thepassage, a like boulder fronted us. 

Our footfalls echoed and reechoed from wall to wall; the only othersound was the eery moaning of the wind that reached our ears with afaintness which only served to increase its effect. Here and therewere 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 oflimestone, with here and there a layer of quartzite, when I was arousedby a shout from Harry. 

I approached. Harry and Desiree, with Felipe, the arriero, had haltedand were gazing upward at the wall of rock which barred the exit fromthe passage. Following their eyes, I saw lines carved on the rock, evidently a rude and clumsy attempt to reproduce the form of someanimal. 

The thing was some forty feet or so above us and difficult to seeclearly. 

"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 Isee one?"

"When you see one, of course, " said Harry sarcastically. "But who eversaw a horse with a neck like that?"

As for me, I was really interested, and I turned to the arriero forinformation. 

"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 theauthor 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 acomfortable rock, sat down, rolled a cigarette, lighted it, and began. He spoke in Spanish dialect; I shall preserve the style as far astranslation 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. Bythe great Pizarro. And there was gold at Cuzco, to the south, andAtahualpa, for his ransom, ordered that this gold be brought to Pizarro. 

"Messengers carried the order like the wind, so swift that in five daysthe priests of the sun carried their gold from the temples to save thelife of Atahualpa. "

Felipe paused, puffing at his cigarette, glanced at his audience, andcontinued:

"But Hernando Pizarro, brother of the great Pizarro, suspected a delayin the carriers of gold. From Pachacamac he came with twenty horsemen, sowing terror in the mountains, carrying eighty loads of gold. Acrossthe Juaja River and past Lake Chinchaycocha they came, till theyarrived at the city of Huanuco. 

"There were temples and gold and priests and soldiers. But when thesoldiers of the Inca saw the horses of the Spaniards and heard theguns, they became frightened and ran away like little children, carrying their gold. Never before had they seen white men, or guns, orhorses. 

"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 theydisappeared and no more were seen, nor could Hernando Pizarro and histwenty horsemen find them to procure their gold. 

"And before they entered the cave they scaled a rock near its entranceand carved thereon the likeness of a horse to warn their Inca brethrenof 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 tosay, "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 theright. 

Then nothing would do for Desiree but to see the cave. The arrieroinformed her that it was difficult of access, but she turned theobjection 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 toregard his fable of the disappearing Incas as a wild tradition of themountains. 

He had spoken aright--the path to the cave was not an easy one. Hereand there deep ravines caused us to make a wide detour or risk ournecks on perilous steeps. 

Finally we came to a small clearing, which resembled nothing so much asthe bottom of a giant well, and in the center of one of the steep wallswas an opening some thirty or forty feet square, black and rugged, andsomehow 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 insearch of the gold, and americanos, too, and never did they return. Itis a cave of the devil, senor. He hides in the blackness and none whoenter may escape him. "

Desiree was laughing gaily. 

"Then I shall visit the devil!" she exclaimed, and before either Harryor I could reach her she had sprung across the intervening space to theentrance and disappeared within. 

With shouts of consternation from Felipe ringing in our ears, we leapedafter her. 

"Desiree!" cried Harry. "Come back, Desiree!"

There was no answer, but echoing back from the night before us camefaint reverberations--could they be footsteps! What folly! For I hadthought 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. Iremember that as we passed within I turned and saw Felipe staring withwhite face and eyes filled with terror. 

A hundred feet and we were encompassed by the most intense darkness. Imuttered: "This is folly; let us get a light, " and tried to hold Harryback. But he pushed me aside and groped on, crying: "Desiree! Comeback, Desiree!"

What could I do? I followed. 

Suddenly a scream resounded through the cavern. Multiplied and echoedby the black walls, it was inhuman, shot with terror, profoundlyhorrible. 

A tremor ran through me from head to foot; beside me I heard Harry gaspwith a nameless fear. An instant later we dashed forward into thedarkness. 

How long we ran I could never tell; probably a few seconds, possibly asmany minutes. 

On we rushed, blindly, impelled not by reason, but by the memory ofthat terrible cry, side by side, gasping, fearful. And then--

A step into thin air--a mighty effort to recover a footing--a wildinstant of despair and pawing helpless agony. Then blackness andoblivion. 

Chapter VI. 

CAPTURED. 

The fall--was it ten feet or a thousand? I shall never know. Hurtlingheadlong through space, a man can scarcely be expected to keep his witsabout him. 

Actually, my only impression was of righteous indignation; my memory isthat I cursed aloud, but Harry denies it. 

But it could not have been for long, for when we struck the water atthe bottom we were but slightly stunned by the impact. To this Harryhas since agreed; he must have been as lucky as myself, for I took itheadlong with a clean cleavage. 

I rose to the top, sputtering, and flung out my arms in the attempt toswim--or, rather, to keep afloat--and was overjoyed to find my arms andlegs answer to the call of the brain. 

About me was blackest night and utter silence, save a low, unbrokenmurmur, unlike any other sound, hardly to be heard. It was in myeffort to account for it that I first became aware of the fact that thewater was a stream, and a moving one--moving with incredible swiftness, smooth and all but silent. As soon as I became convinced of this Igave up all attempt to swim, and satisfied myself with keeping my headabove the surface and drifting with the current. 

Then I thought of Harry, and called his name aloud many times. Thereverberations throughout the cave were as the report of a thousandcannon; but there was no response. 

The echoes became fainter and fainter and died away, and again all wassilence and impenetrable night, while I battled with the strong suctionof the unseen current, which was growing swifter and swifter, and feltmy strength begin to leave me. 

Terror, too, began to call to me as the long minutes passed endlesslyby. I thought, "If I could only see!" and strained my eyes in theeffort 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 whatawaited me beyond. 

The water, carrying me swiftly onward with its silent, remorselesssweep, 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 andwhat I was doing; the silent fury of the stream and the awful blacknessmaddened me; I plunged and struggled desperately, blindly, sobbing withrage. 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 thecurrent was decreasing. Then a reaction of despair seized me; I triedto strangle hope and resign myself to the worst. But soon there was nolonger any doubt; the water carried me slower and slower. 

I floated with little difficulty, wondering--could it be an approach toa smaller outlet which acted as a dam? Or was it merely a lessening ofthe incline of the bed of the stream? I cursed the darkness for myhelplessness. 

Finally the water became absolutely still, as I judged by the absenceof pressure on my body, and I turned sharply at a right angle and beganto swim. My weariness left me as by magic, and I struck out with boldand sweeping strokes; and by that lack of caution all but destroyedmyself when my head suddenly struck against a wall of stone, unseen inthe darkness. 

I was stunned completely and sank; but the ducking revived me; and whenI returned to the surface I swam a few careful strokes, searching forthe wall. It was not there, and I had no idea of its direction. But Ihad now learned caution; and by swimming a few feet first one way, thenanother, and taking care not to go far in any one direction, I finallydiscovered it. 

My hand easily reached the top, and, grasping the slippery surface witha grip made firm by despair, and concentrating every ounce of strengthin one final effort, I drew myself out of the water and fell completelyexhausted on the ground. 

Under such circumstances time has no place in a man's calculations; heis satisfied to breathe. I believe that I lay barely conscious forseveral hours, but it may have been merely as many minutes. Then Ifelt life stir within me; I stretched my arms and legs and sat up. Gradually entered my mind the thought of Desiree and Harry and theAndes above and Felipe shuddering with terror as he flew from the caveof the devil. 

First came Harry; but hope did not enter. It was inconceivable thathe, too, should have escaped that fearful torrent; stupendous luckalone had saved me from being dashed senseless against the rocks andguided me to the ledge on which I rested. 

Then he was gone! I had no thought of my own peril. I had gonethrough the world with but little regard for what it held; nothing hadbeen sacred to me; no affection had been more than a day's caprice; Ihad merely sucked amusement from its bitter fruit. 

But I loved Harry; I realized it with something like astonishment. Hewas dear to me; a keen, intense pain contracted my chest at the thoughtof having lost him; tears filled my eyes; and I raised up my voice andsang out wildly:

"Harry! Harry, lad! Harry!"

The cavern resounded. The call went from wall to wall, then backagain, floating through black space with a curious tremor, and finallydied away in some dim, unseen corridor. And then--then came ananswering call!

Owing to the conflicting echoes of the cavern, the tone could not berecognized. But the word was unmistakable; it was "Paul. "

I sprang to my feet with a shout, then stood listening. Out of theblackness 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 areyou?"

"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! Howfar away does my voice sound?"

But the innumerable echoes of the cavern walls made it impossible tojudge of distance by sound. We tried it over and over; sometimes itseemed 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 inmy ear. Never have I seen a night so completely black as that cavern;we had had several hours, presumably, for our eyes to adjust themselvesto the phenomenon; but when I held my hand but six inches in front ofmy 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 tomy right. Go easy, lad; feel your way. "

I crawled on my hands and knees, no faster than a snail, feeling everyinch of the ground. The surface was wet and slippery, and in placessloped at an angle that made me hang on for dear life to keep fromshooting off into space. 

Meantime I kept calling to Harry and he to me; but, on account of ourpainfully slow progress, it was half an hour or more before wediscovered that the distance between us was being increased instead oflessened. 

He let fly an oath at this, and his tone was dangerous; no wonder ifthe lad was half crazed! I steadied him as well as I could with wordof encouragement, and instructed him to turn about and proceed to theright of his original position. I, also, turned to the left. 

Our hope of meeting lay in the probability that the ledge surrounded acircular body of water and was continuous. At some point, of course, was the entrance of the stream which had carried us, and at some otherpoint there was almost certainly an outlet; but we trusted to luck toavoid 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 swimacross to Harry, counting on his voice as a guide; but the conflictingechoes produced by the slightest sound rendered such an attemptdangerous. 

I crept along that wet, slimy, treacherous surface, it seemed, forhours. I could see nothing--absolutely nothing; everything was blackvoid; it was hard to appreciate reality in such a nightmare. On theone side, nameless dangers; on the other, the unseen, bottomless lake;enough, surely, to take a man's nerve. My fear for Harry killedanxiety 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 anydoubt of it. His voice began to reach me almost in natural tones, which meant that we were near enough for the vibrations to carrywithout interference from the walls. 

Nearer still it came; it was now only a matter of a few feet; Harrygave a cry of joy, and immediately afterward I heard his low gasp ofterror and the sound of his wild scrambling to regain a foothold. Inhis excitement he had forgotten caution and had slipped to the edge ofthe water. 

I dared not try to go to his assistance; so I crouched perfectly stilland called to him to throw himself flat on his face. How my eyesstrained despairingly as I cursed the pitiless darkness! Then thescrambling 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 wasat a sharp angle, and we lay flat on our backs. For many minutes welay silently gripping hands; Harry was trembling violently from nervousfatigue, and I myself was unable to speak. 

What strength is there in companionship! Alone, either of us wouldprobably have long before succumbed to the strain of our horriblesituation; 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 itimpossible even to guess at anything. According to Felipe, we arebeing 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 anunderground river several miles under the Andes. Above us a mountainfour miles high, beneath us a bottomless lake, round us darkness. Nota very cheerful prospect, Hal; but, thank Heaven, we take it together!It is a grave--ours and hers. I guess Desiree knew what she wastalking 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 yourselftogether, Harry; as for Desiree, let us hope that she is dead. It'sthe 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 descendsit must have carried us thousands of feet beneath the mountain. Thereis probably a mile of solid rock between us and the sunshine. You feltthe 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 distanceto the western slope. Besides, how can we find it? And there may benone. The water is most probably gradually absorbed by the porousformation 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 keptHarry from his childish cries for Desiree. So I explained that theprecipice 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 inthe surrounding granite for many centuries; then, loosened by water orby 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 wetry. Come! And who knows--we may find Desiree. "

Then I decided it was best to tell him. Evidently the thought had notentered his mind, and it was best for him to realize the worst. Igripped 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 oddlypathetic 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 incredibleswiftness; pictures long forgotten presented themselves; an endless, jumbled panorama. They say that a drowning man reviews his past lifein the space of a few seconds; it took me a little more time, but thejob was certainly a thorough one. Nor did I find it more interestingin retrospect than it had been in reality. 

I closed my eyes to escape the darkness. It was maddening; easy enoughthen 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 keepfrom breaking out into curses; I could lie still no longer, exhaustedas 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 slipperyincline. 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 goodone. "

We crept back down to the edge of the lake (I call it that in myignorance of its real nature), and, settling myself as firmly aspossible, I held Harry's hand while he lowered himself carefully intothe water. He was unable to reach its surface with his mouth withoutletting 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. Ididn't know I was so thirsty!"

I was not ignorant of the fact that there was an excellent chance ofthe water being unhealthful, possibly poisoned, what with the tertiarydeposits of copper ores in the rock-basins; but the thought awakenedhope rather than fear. There is a choice even in death. 

But when I had pulled Harry up and descended myself I soon found thatthere was no danger--or chance. The water had a touch of alkali, butnothing 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, handin hand, directly away from the lake. But when, about a hundred yardsoff, we suddenly bumped our heads against a solid wall of rock, wedecided to proceed with more caution. 

The darkness was intensified, if anything. We turned to the right andgroped along the wall, which was smooth as glass and higher than mybest reach. It seemed to the touch to be slightly convex, but that mayhave been delusion. 

We had proceeded in this manner some hundred yards or more, advancingcautiously, when we came to a break in the wall. A few feet fartherthe 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 veryslowly, feeling our way to avoid colliding with the walls. The groundwas strewn with fragments of rock, and a hasty step meant an almostcertain fall and a bruised shin. It was tedious work and incrediblyfatiguing. 

We had not rested a sufficient length of time to allow our bodies torecuperate from the struggle with the torrent; also, we began to feelthe 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 tosleep. "

I was tempted myself, but I brought him to his feet, from some impulseI know not what. For what was the use? One spot was as good asanother. However, we struggled on. 

Another hour and the passage broadened into a clearing. At least so itseemed; the walls abruptly parted to the right and left. And still theimpenetrable, maddening darkness and awful silence!

We gave it up; we could go no farther. A few useless minutes wewasted, searching for a soft spot to lie on--moss, reeds, anything. Wefound none, of course; but even the hard, unyielding rock was gratefulto our exhausted bodies. We lay side by side, using our ponchos forpillows; our clothing at least was dry. 

I do not know how long I slept, but it seemed to me that I had barelydozed off when I was awakened by something--what?

There was no sound to my strained ears. I sat up, gazing intently intothe darkness, shuddering without apparent reason. Then I reflectedthat nothing is dangerous to a man who faces death, and I laughedaloud--then trembled at the sound of my own voice. Harry was in soundsleep beside me; his regular breathing told of its depth. 

Again I lay down, but I could not sleep. Some instinct, longforgotten, 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 wasrhythmic, low, beating like a pulse. What could it be? Again I satup, listening and peering into the darkness. And this time I was notmistaken--there was a sound, rustling, sibilant. 

Little by little it increased, or rather approached, until it soundedbut a few feet from me on every side, sinister and menacing. It wasthe silent, suppressed breathing of something living--whether animal orman--creeping ever nearer. 

Then was the darkness doubly horrible. I sat paralyzed with my utterhelplessness, though fear, thank Heaven, did not strike me! I couldhear 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 thehot, fetid breath in my very face. My nerves quivered in disgust, notfar 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 mythroat gripped in monstrous, hairy fingers. 

I tried to struggle, and immediately was crushed to the ground by theoverpowering weight of a score of soft, ill-smelling bodies. 

The grasp on my throat tightened; my arms relaxed, my brain reeled, andI knew no more. 

Chapter VII. 

THE FIGHT IN THE DARK. 

I returned to consciousness with a sickening sensation of nausea andunreality. Only my brain was alive; my entire body was numb and asthough paralyzed. Still darkness and silence, for all my senses toldme 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 werefirmly bound. I strained at the thongs, making some slight sound; andimmediately 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 answeredsimply: "Yes. Where are we?"

"The Lord knows! They carried us. You have been unconscious forhours. "

"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; Ifelt that much. They didn't make a sound all the time. No more thanhalf as big as me, and yet one of them carried me as if I were ababy--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 workingat 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 Ifelt a pressure against my body and an ill-smelling odor, indescribable, entered my nostrils. I felt a sawing movement at mywrists; the thongs pulled back and forth, and soon my hands were free. The form straightened away from me, there was a clatter on the groundnear 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 andbandaged the wound, which proved to be slight. Then I searched on theground beside me, and found my surmise correct. 

"Here you go, Hal! here's some grub. But what the deuce is it? ByJove, it's dried fish! Now, where in the name of--"

But we wasted no more time in talk, for we were half starved. Thestuff was not bad; to us who had been fasting for something likethirty-six hours--for our idea of time was extremely hazy--it was agorgeous banquet. And close by there was a basin full of water. 

"Pretty decent sort of beggars, I say, " came Harry's voice in thedarkness. "But who are they?"

"Ask Felipe, " I answered, for by this time I was well convinced of thenature and identity of our captors. "As I said, dumb brutes don't bindmen with thongs, nor feed them on dried fish. Of course it'sincredible, 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 theirdescendants. "

"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 worldinstead of on it; a rather wise decision, a cynic might say--not tomention the small circumstance that they are prisoners. 

"My dear Hal, never allow yourself to be surprised at anything; it is aweakness. Here we are in total darkness, buried in the Andes, surrounded by hairy, degenerate brutes that are probably allowing us toeat in order that we may be in condition to be eaten, with nopossibility of ever again beholding the sunshine; and what is thethought that rises to the surface of my mind? Merely this: that I mostearnestly desire and crave a Carbajal perfecto and a match. "

"Paul, you say--eat--"

"Most probably they are cannibals. The Lord knows they must have somesort of mild amusement in this fearful hole. Of course, the idea isdistasteful; 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 isnothing particularly revolting in the thought of being eaten; thedisadvantage of it lies in the fact that one must die first. We allwant to live; Heaven knows why. And we stand a chance. 

"We know now that there is food to be had here and sufficient air. Itis nearly certain that we won't get out, but that can come later. Andwhat an experience! I know a dozen anthropologists that would givetheir 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 outwitthese vermin. And now silence; I'm going to begin. Listen hard--hard!The brutes are noiseless, but if they are near we can hear theirbreathing. "

"But, Paul--"

"No more talk. Listen!"

We lay silent for many minutes, scarcely breathing. Not the slightestsound reached our ears through the profound darkness; utter, intensesilence. Finally I reached over and touched Harry on the shoulder, andarose to my knees. 

"Good enough! We're alone. We'll have to crawl for it. Keep closebehind me; we don't want to get separated. The first thing is to finda sharp stone to cut through these thongs. Feel on the ground withyour 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 managedsomehow to drag ourselves along. I was in front; suddenly I felt Harrypull 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 heheld 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 thatthey were not of leather, but they were tough as the thickest hide. Twice my overeagerness caused the tool to slip and tear the skin frommy 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 hadbegun 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 andcrushed us to the ground, buried beneath them, gasping for breath;there must have been scores of them. Resistance was impossible; wewere overwhelmed. 

I heard Harry give a despairing cry, and the scuffle followed; I myselfwas utterly helpless, for the thongs which bound my ankles had not beencut 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 andbody, I noted their silence with a sort of impersonal curiosity andwondered if they were, after all, human. Nor were they unnecessarilyviolent; they merely subdued us, rebound our wrists and ankles moretightly than before, and departed. 

But--faugh! The unspeakable odor of their hairy bodies is in mynostrils 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 darkbetter than we can in the light. "

Of course he was right, and I was a fool not to have thought of itbefore and practised caution. The knowledge was decidedly unpleasant. No doubt our every movement was being watched by a hundred pairs ofeyes, while we lay helpless in the darkness, bound even more tightlythan before. 

"Look here, " said Harry suddenly, "why can't we see their eyes? Whydon't they shine. "

"My dear boy, " said I, "in this darkness you couldn't see the Kohinoordiamond if it were hanging on your nose, drawing-room travelers to thecontrary notwithstanding. We have one advantage--they can't understandwhat 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 onethat 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 forour friends. "

"For the Lord's sake, Paul--"

"Well, let us forget her--for the present. Nor do we want to make adainty morsel if we can help it. Come, brace up, Hal. It's up to usto turn a trick. "

"Well?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I guess we were bothtoo 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 isit 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. Theydidn't have sense enough to search us, and we didn't have sense enoughto 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'treach my knife with my wrists bound. There's only one way. Lieperfectly still; let them think we've given it up. I'm going to trysomething. "

I drew up my knees, twisted over on the hard rock, and lay flat on mybelly. Then I drew up my hands and let my face rest on them, like adog with his head on his paws. And then, keeping my body perfectlystill, and with as little movement of the jaws as possible, I soughtthe tough thongs with my teeth. 

That was a tedious job and a distasteful one. For many minutes Ignawed away at those thick cords like a dog on a bone. It wasconsiderably later that I discovered what those cords were made of;thank Heaven, I was ignorant of it at the time! All I knew was thatthey were, to use one of Harry's phrases, "tough as rats. "

I did not dare pull with my wrists, for fear they would fly suddenlyapart and betray me to the unseen watchers. It was necessary to cutclear through with my teeth, and more than once I was on the point ofgiving it up. There was a nauseating, rancid taste to the stuff, but Idared not even raise my head to expectorate. 

Finally my teeth met; the cords were severed. I felt carefully aboutwith my tongue to make sure there were no others; then, without movingmy hands in the slightest degree, carefully raised my head. 

It was then that I first noticed--not light, but a thinning out of thedarkness. It was, of course, merely the adjustment of my eyes to thenew conditions. I could make out no forms surrounding me, but, lookingdown, I could clearly distinguish the outline of my hands as they layon the ground before me. 

And, again looking up, I fancied that I could see, some twenty orthirty feet to the right, that the darkness again became suddenly denseand 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 andsilent for over an hour, for it must have taken me at least that longto gnaw through the cords. 

"I said that must be a wall. Look, Harry, about thirty feet to theright. 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 merelybecoming 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 morepositively: "Yes. But what good does that do us?"

"That's what I am about to tell you. Listen! I've cut the cords on mywrists, 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 myknife--cautiously, so they won't suspect if they are watching us. Wemust lie close together on our sides, facing each other, so I can cutthe thongs on your wrists without being seen. Then you are to get yourknife--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 secondmistake might prove fatal. We heard no sound of any kind, and tenminutes later we were lying flat on our backs side by side, keeping ourhands hidden between our bodies, that the absence of the thongs mightnot be discovered. Each of us held in his right hand the hilt of a sixinch knife. Cold steel is by no means the favorite weapon of anAmerican, but there are times--

"Have you got your knife, Harry?"

"Yes. "

"Good! Now listen close and act quick. When I give the word reachdown and grasp the cords round your ankles in your left hand, then cutthem through with one stroke. Then to your feet; grasp my jacket, andtogether 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 situp. Be sure you get your feet free at the first stroke; feel them wellwith 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. Therewas a sound of rushing feet--our backs hugged the kindly rock--I heardHarry's shout, "Here they come!"--dim, rushing forms--fingers clutchingat my throat. 

I felt the blade of my knife sink into soft and yielding flesh, and awarm, 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 werethousands of black demons in that black hole. At the first rushingimpact I shouted to Harry: "Keep your back to the wall, " and forresponse 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 thirtyseconds; as it was, we were forced to handle half a dozen of them atonce, while the others surged in from behind. They had no weapons, butthey had the advantage of being able to see us. 

They clutched my throat, my arms, my legs, my body; there was no roomto strike; I pushed the knife home. They fastened themselves to mylegs and feet and tried to bring me down from beneath; once, inslashing at the head of one whose teeth were set in my calf, I cutmyself on the knee. It was difficult to stand in the wet, slipperypool 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 beingstrangled. 

"Harry!" I cried, and I fought like a wild man to get to him, withknife, feet, hands, teeth. I reached his coat, his arm; it wasdangerous to strike so near him in the dark, but I felt him sinking tothe ground. 

Then I found the taut, straining fingers about his throat, and lungedforward 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 thosebehind climbed up on the corpses of their fellows and literallydescended on our heads from the air. We could not have held out muchlonger; our breath was coming in quick, painful gasps; Harry stumbledon one of the prostrate brutes and fell; I tried to lift him and wasunequal 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 deafeningechoes; it was as though the mountain had descended with one tremendouscrash into its own bowels. 

As though by magic, the assault ceased. 

The effect was indescribable. We could see nothing; we merely becamesuddenly aware that there were no longer hands clutching at our throatsor hairy bodies crushing us to the ground. It was as though the hordeof unseen devils had melted into thin air. There were movements on theground, for many of them had been wounded; a man cannot always reachthe spot in the dark. This lasted for two or three minutes; they wereevidently removing those who still had life in them, for the strainingbreath of men dragging or lifting burdens was plainly audible. 

Gradually that, too, died away with the last reverberations of themysterious sound that had saved us, and we found ourselves alone--or atleast unmolested--for in the darkness we could see nothing, except thedim outlines of the prostrate forms at our feet. 

The cavern was a shambles. The smell was that of a slaughter-house. Ihad had no idea of the desperateness of our defense until I essayed toscramble over the heap of bodies to dry ground; I shuddered and grewfaint, and Harry was in no better case. 

Worse, he had dropped his knife when we stumbled, and we were forced togrope round in that unspeakable mess for many minutes before we foundit. 

"Are you hurt, lad?" I asked when once we stood clear. 

"Nothing bad, I think, " he answered. "My throat is stiff, and two orthree 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 bleedingbadly where I had slashed myself, and I, too, had felt their teeth. But, despite our utter weariness and our wounds, we wanted nothing--noteven rest--so badly as we wanted to get away from that awful heap offlesh 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 burningthroats and for our wounds; and rest and food. We thought little ofsafety. One way seemed as likely as another, so we set out with ournoses as guides. 

A man encounters very few misfortunes in this world which, later inlife, he finds himself unable to laugh at; well, for me that endlessjourney was one of the few. 

Every step was torture. I had bandaged the cut on my leg as well aspossible, but it continued to bleed. But it was imperative that weshould find water, and we struggled on, traversing narrow passages andimmense caverns, always in complete darkness, stumbling over unseenrocks and encountering sharp corners of cross passages. 

It lasted I know not how many hours. Neither of us would have survivedalone. Time and again Harry sank to the ground and refused to riseuntil I perforce lifted him; once we nearly came to blows. And I wasguilty of the same weakness. 

But the despair of one inspired the other with fresh strength andcourage, and we struggled forward, slower and slower. It wassoul-destroying work. I believe that in the last hour we made not morethan half a mile. I know now that for the greater part of the time wewere merely retracing our steps in a vicious circle!

It was well that it ended when it did, for we could not have held outmuch longer. Harry was leading the way, for I had found that thatslight responsibility fortified him. We no longer walked, we barelywent forward, staggering and reeling like drunken men. 

Suddenly Harry stopped short, so suddenly that I ran against him; andat the same time I felt a queer sensation--for I was too far gone torecognize 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 ofjoy:

"Water! Man, it's water!"

How we drank and wallowed, and wallowed and drank! That water mighthave contained all the poisons in the world and we would have neitherknown nor cared. But it was cool, fresh, living--and it saved ourlives. 

We bathed our wounds and bandaged them with strips from our shirts. Then we arranged our clothing for cushions and pillows as well aspossible, took another drink, and lay down to sleep. 

We must have slept a great many hours. There was no way to judge oftime, but when we awoke our joints were as stiff as though they hadgotten rusty with the years. I was brought to consciousness by thesound of Harry's voice calling my name. 

Somehow--for every movement was exquisite pain--we got to our feet andreached the water, having first removed our clothing. But we were nowat that point where to drink merely aggravated our hunger. Harry wasin 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 refuseto consider the sordid topic of food as one that may rightfully containthe elements of tragedy. We seem to be in the position of the king ofvaudeville. If we had some ham we'd have some ham and eggs--if we hadsome 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 anychance of our getting out of this? Take it like a man. Is it rightfor a man who has laughed at the world to begin to whine when itbecomes necessary to leave it?

"You know I'm with you; I'll fight, and what I find I'll take; in themean time I prefer not to furnish amusement for the devil. There comesa time, I believe, when the stomach debases us against our wills. MayI 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 thepantry 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 intomy lip to keep from crying out, and once or twice Harry gave aninvoluntary grunt of pain that would not be suppressed. 

When we had finished we waded far to the right to take a last deepdrink; then sought our clothing and prepared to start on our all buthopeless search. We had become fairly well limbered up by that timeand set out with comparative ease. 

We had gone perhaps a hundred yards, bearing off to the right, whenHarry gave a sudden cry: "My knife is gone!" and stopped short. Iclapped my hand to my own belt instinctively, and found it empty bothof 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 toattempt a search would be a useless waste of time; it was next tocertain that the weapons had been lost in the water when we had firstplunged in. And so, doubly handicapped by this new loss, we again setout. 

There was but one encouragement allowed to us: we were no longer intotal darkness. Gradually our eyes were becoming accustomed to theabsence of light; and though we could by no means see clearly, nor evencould properly be said to see at all, still we began to distinguish theoutlines of walls several feet away; and, better than that, each of uscould plainly mark the form and face of the other. 

Once we stood close, less than a foot apart, for a test; and when Harrycried eagerly, "Thank Heaven, I can see your nose!" our strainedfeelings were relieved by a prolonged burst of genuine laughter. 

There was little enough of it in the time that followed, for oursufferings 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 itis aided by gnawing pain and weariness and hunger; it saps the courageand destroys the heart and fires the brain. 

We dragged ourselves somehow ever onward. We found water; the mountainwas honeycombed with underground streams; but no food. More than oncewe were tempted to trust ourselves to one of those rushing torrents, but what reason we had left told us that our little remaining strengthwas unequal to the task of keeping our heads above the surface. Andyet the thought was sweet--to allow ourselves to be peacefully sweptinto oblivion. 

We lost all idea of time and direction, and finally hope itselfdeserted us. What force it was that propelled us forward must havebeen buried deep within the seat of animal instinct, for we lost allrational power. The thing became a nightmare, like the crazywanderings of a lost soul. 

Forward--forward--forward! It was a mania. 

Then Harry was stricken with fever and became delirious. And I thinkit was that seeming misfortune that saved us, for it gave me a springfor action and endowed me with new life. As luck would have it, astream of water was near, and I half carried and half dragged him toits edge. 

I made a bed for him with my own clothing on the hard rock, and bathedhim and made him drink, while all the time a string of delirious drivelpoured 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 neverawaken; yet I feared to touch him. Those were weary hours, squattingby his side with his hand gripped in my own, with the ever-increasingpangs of hunger and weariness turning my own body into a roaringfurnace of pain. 

Suddenly I felt a movement of his hand; and then came his voice, weakbut 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 poorsuccess. 

"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 guessit must have been a dream. Do you remember that morning on themountain--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 Iunderstood. 

"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 onlyDesiree--but there! To Hades with women, I say!"

"Not that--don't be a poor loser, Hal. And you're not gone yet. Whena man has enough fight in him to beat out an attack of fever he's verymuch alive. "

But he would not have it so. I let him talk, and he rambled on, withscarcely an idea of what he was saying. The old days possessed hismind, and, to tell the truth, the sentiment found a welcome in my ownbosom. I said to myself, "This is death. "

And then, lifting my head to look down the dark passage that led awaybefore us, I sprang to my feet with a shout and stood transfixed withastonishment. And the next instant there came a cry of wonder fromHarry:

"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 offlickering but brilliant light which flowed in from the hidden corridor. 

It came and went, and played fitfully on the granite walls; still itremained. It was supernaturally brilliant; or so it seemed to us, whohad lived in utter darkness for many days. 

I turned to Harry, and the man who had just been ready to die wasrising to his feet!

"Wait a minute--not so fast!" I said half angrily, springing to supporthim. "And, for Heaven's sake, don't make any noise! We're in nocondition 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 Iunderstood clearly why the Bible and ancient mythology made such a fussabout the lighting up of the world. Modern civilization is too faraway 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 darkpassage and byways of the cavern we had proceeded almost entirelywithout caution, with scarcely a thought of being discovered. 

But the first sight of light made us wary and careful and silent; andyet we knew perfectly well that the denizens of this underworld couldsee as well in the darkness as in the light--perhaps even better. Sodifficult 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 ofthis new excitement and hope, and we were forced to go very slowly; Isupported him as well as I was able, being myself anything but anengine of power. But the turn in the passage was not far away, and wereached it in a quarter of an hour or less. 

Before we made the turn we halted. Harry was breathing heavily evenfrom so slight an exertion, and I could scarcely suppress a cry ofamazement when, for the first time in many days, the light afforded mea view of his face. 

It was drawn and white and sunken; the eyes seemed set deep in hisskull as they blinked painfully; and the hair on his chin and lip andcheeks had grown to a length incredible in so short a space of time. Isoon had reason to know that I probably presented no better anappearance, for he was staring at me as though I were some strangemonster. 

"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 turnedto the right, directly facing its source. 

It is impossible to convey even a faint idea of the wild and hugelyfantastic sight that met our gaze. With us it was a single, vividflash to the astonished brain. These are the details:

Before us was an immense cavern, circular in shape, with a diameter ofsome half a mile. It seemed to me then much larger; from where westood it appeared to be at least two miles to the opposite side. Therewas no roof to be seen; it merely ascended into darkness, though thelight carried a great distance. 

All round the vast circumference, on terraced seats of rock, squattedrow after row of the most completely hideous beings within possibility. 

They were men; I suppose they must have the name. They were about fourfeet tall, with long, hairy arms and legs, bodies of a curious, bloatedappearance, and eyes--the remainder of the face was entirely concealedby thick hair--eyes dull and vacant, of an incredibly large size; theyhad 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 halfof its area. The water was black as night, and curiously smooth andsilent. Its banks sloped by degrees for a hundred feet or so, but atits edge there was a perpendicular bank of rock fifteen or twenty feetin height. 

Near the middle of the lake, ranged at an equal distance from itscenter and from each other, were three--what shall I callthem?--islands, or columns. They were six or eight feet across attheir top, which rose high above the water. 

On top of each of these columns was a huge vat or urn, and from each ofthe urns arose a steady, gigantic column of fire. These it was thatgave 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 theendless rows of silent, grinning dwarfs, nor the black, motionlesslake, nor the leaping tongues of flame. We forgot these when wefollowed the gaze of that terrifying audience and saw a sight thatprinted 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 ofa formation new to me--innumerable thousands of them--caused its sidesto sparkle and glisten like an immense tower of whitest diamonds, blinding the eye. 

The effect was indescribable. The huge cavern was lined and dottedwith the rays shot forth from their brilliant angles. The height ofthis column was double that of the others; it rose straight toward theunseen dome of the cavern to the height of a hundred feet. 

It was cylindrical in shape, not more than ten feet in diameter. Andon its top, high above the surface of the lake, surrounded by themounting tongues of flame, whirled and swayed and bent the figure of awoman. 

Her limbs and body, which were covered only by long, flowing strands ofgolden hair, shone and glistened strangely in the lurid, weird light. And of all the ten thousand reflections that shot at us from the lengthof the column not one was so brilliant, so blinding, as the wild glowof her eyes. 

Her arms, upraised above her head, kept time with and served as a keyto every movement of her white, supple body. She glided across, backand forth, now this way, now that, to the very edge of the dizzyheight, with wild abandon, or slow, measured grace, or the rushingsweep of a panther. 

The thing was beauty incarnate--the very idea of beauty itself realizedand perfected. It was staggering, overwhelming. Have you ever stoodbefore a great painting or a beautiful statue and felt a thrill--thethrill of perception--run through your body to the very tips of yourfingers?

Well, imagine that thrill multiplied a thousandfold and you willunderstand the sensation that overpowered me as I beheld, in the midstof 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 beenminutely described to me--described by a beautiful and famous woman asI 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 hadgazed. His eyes were opened wide, staring at the swaying figure on thecolumn in the most profound astonishment. 

He took his hand from my shoulder and stood erect, alone; and I saw thelight of recognition and hope and deepest joy slowly fill his eyes andspread over his face. Then I realized the danger, and I endeavoredonce more to put my arm round his shoulder; but he shook me off withhot impatience. He leaped forward with the quickness of lightning, eluding my frantic grasp, and dashed straight into the circle ofblazing 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 outin 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, wherehe had halted. Desiree Le Mire stopped short in the midst of the madsweep of the Dance of the Sun. 

For ten silent, tense seconds she looked down at us from the top of thelofty column, bending dangerously near its edge. Her form straightenedand was stretched to its fullest height; her white, superb body wasdistinctly 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 andin another instant disappeared from view. 

We stood motionless, petrified; how long I know not. Then I turned andfaced our own danger. It was time. 

The Incas--for I was satisfied of the identity of the creatures--hadleft their seats of granite and advanced to the edge of the lake. Nota sound was heard--no command from voice or trumpet or reed; they movedas with one impulse and one brain. 

We were utterly helpless, for they numbered thousands. And weak andstarving as we were, a single pair of them would have been more than amatch for us. 

I looked at Harry; the reaction from his moment of superficial energywas already upon him. His body swayed slightly from side to side, andhe would have fallen if I had not supported him with my arm. There westood, waiting. 

Then for the first time I saw the ruler of the scene. The Incas hadstopped and stood motionless. Suddenly they dropped to their knees andextended their arms--I thought--toward us; but something in theirattitude told me the truth. I wheeled sharply and saw the object oftheir adoration. 

Built into the granite wall of the cavern, some thirty feet from theground, was a deep alcove. At each side of the entrance was an urnresting on a ledge, similar to those on the columns, only smaller, fromwhich issued a mounting flame. 

On the floor of the alcove was a massive chair, or throne, which seemedto be itself of fire, so brilliant was the glow of the metal of whichit was constructed. It could have been nothing but gold. And seatedon this throne was an ugly, misshapen dwarf. 

"God save the king!" I cried, with a hysterical laugh; and in theprofound silence my voice rang from one side of the cavern to the otherin racing echoes. 

Immediately following my cry the figure on the throne arose; and as hedid so the creatures round us fell flat on their faces on the ground. For several seconds the king surveyed them thus, without a sound ormovement; then suddenly he stretched forth his hand in a gesture ofdismissal. They rose as one man and with silent swiftness disappeared, seemingly melting away into the walls of rock. At the time the effectwas amazing; later, when I discovered the innumerable lanes andpassages which served as exits, it was not so difficult to understand. 

We were apparently left alone, but not for long. From two stonestairways immediately in front of us, which evidently led to the alcoveabove, came forth a crowd of rushing forms. In an instant they wereupon us; but if they expected resistance they were disappointed. 

At the first impact we fell. And in another moment we had been raisedin 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 thecavern, then a turn to the right, and again one to the left. Therethey 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 thatamazing scene had stunned them--and I knew what I wanted. As the brutethat 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 mostexpressive pantomime, stuffing my fingers in my mouth and gnawing atthem energetically. This I alternated with the action of one drinkingfrom a basin. I hadn't the slightest idea whether he understood me; heturned and disappeared without a sign--at least, without an audible one. 

But the creature possessed intelligence, for I had barely had time toturn to Harry and ascertain that he was at least alive, when the patterof returning footsteps was heard. They approached; there was theclatter of stone on the ground beside us. 

I stood eagerly; a platter, heaped, and a vessel, full! I think Icried out with joy. 

"Come, Harry lad; eat!"

He was too weak to move; but when I tore some of the dried fish intofragments and fed it to him he devoured it ravenously. Then he askedfor water, and I held the basin to his lips. 

We ate as little as it is possible for men to eat who have fasted formany days, for the stuff had a sharp, concentrated taste thatrecommended moderation. And, besides, we were not certain of gettingmore. 

I wrapped the remainder carefully in my poncho, leaving the platterempty, and lay down to rest, using the poncho for a pillow. I hadenough, assuredly, to keep me awake, but there are bounds beyond whichnature cannot go. I slept close by Harry's side, with my arm acrosshis body, that any movement of his might awaken me. 

When I awoke Harry was still asleep, and I did not disturb him. Imyself must have slept many hours, for I felt considerably refreshedand very hungry. And thirsty; assuredly the provender of those hairybrutes would have been most excellent stuff for the free-lunch counterof a saloon. 

I unwrapped the poncho; then, crawling on my hands and knees, searchedabout the ground. As I had expected, I found another full platter andbasin. I had just set the latter down after taking a hearty drink whenI heard Harry's voice. 

"Paul. "

"Here, lad. "

"I was afraid you had gone. I've just had the most devilish dreamabout Desiree. She was doing some crazy dance on top of a mountain orsomething, 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 somedried 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 shutup, 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 asilence, then his voice came, steady enough:

"You know me better than that, Paul. Only--if it were not forDesiree--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 thatwould 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 eatand 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 littleenough to say, but he pressed my hand hopefully and gratefully when Iexpressed my belief that her disappearance had been a trick of somesort 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 helplessfrom our long fast. They would handle us like babies if it came to afight. 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 watchingus 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 somequestion, but more to hear my voice than to get an answer. We heard orsaw nothing of our captors, for all our senses told us we were quitealone, but our previous experience with them had taught us better thanto believe it. 

I found myself almost unconsciously reflecting on the character andnature of the tribe of dwarfs. 

Was it possible that they were really the descendants of the Incasdriven from Huanuco by Hernando Pizarro and his horsemen nearly fourhundred years before? Even then I was satisfied of it, and I was soonto have that opinion confirmed by conclusive evidence. 

Other questions presented themselves. Why did they not speak? Whatfuel could they have found in the bowels of the Andes for their vats offire? And how did sufficient air for ten thousand pairs of lungs findits way miles underground? Why, in the centuries that had passed, hadnone of them found his way to the world outside?

Some of these questions I answered for myself, others remained unsolvedfor many months, until I had opportunity to avail myself of knowledgemore profound than my own. Easy enough to guess that the hiddendeposits of the mountain had yielded oil which needed only a spark froma piece of flint to fire it; and any one who knows anything of thegeological formation of the Andes will not wonder at their supply ofair. 

Nature is not yet ready for man in those wild regions. Huge upheavalsand convulsions are of continual occurrence; underground streams areknown which rise in the eastern Cordillera and emerge on the side ofthe Pacific slope. And air circulates through these passages as wellas water. 

Their silence remains inexplicable; but it was probably the result ofthe nature of their surroundings. I have spoken before of theinnumerable echoes and reverberations that followed every sound of thevoice above a whisper. At times it was literally deafening; and timemay have made it so in reality. 

The natural effect through many generations of this inconvenience ordanger would be the stoppage of speech, leading possibly to a completeloss of the faculty. I am satisfied that they were incapable ofvocalization, for even the women did not talk! But that is ahead ofthe story. 

I occupied myself with these reflections, and found amusement in them;but it was impossible to lead Harry into a discussion. His mind wasanything but scientific, anyway; and he was completely obsessed by fearfor the safety of Desiree. And I wasn't sorry for it; it is betterthat a man should worry about some one else than about himself. 

Our chance of rescuing her, or even of saving ourselves, appeared to mewoefully slim. One fear at least was gone, for the descendants ofIncas could scarcely be cannibals; but there are other fates equallyfinal, if less distasteful. The fact that they had not even taken thetrouble to bind us was an indication of the strictness of their watch. 

The hours crept by. At regular intervals our food was replenished andwe kept the platter empty, storing what we could not eat in our ponchosagainst a possible need. 

It was always the same--dried fish of the consistency of leather and amost aggressive taste. I tried to convey to one of our captors theidea that a change of diet would be agreeable, but either he did notunderstand me or didn't want to. 

Gradually our strength returned, and with it hope. Harry began to beimpatient, urging action. I was waiting for two things besides thereturn of strength; first, to lay in a supply of food that would besufficient for many days in case we escaped, and second, to allow oureyes to accustom themselves better to the darkness. 

Already we were able to see with a fair amount of clearness; we couldeasily distinguish the forms of those who came to bring us food andwater when they were fifteen or twenty feet away. But the cavern inwhich we were confined must have been a large one, for we were unableto see a wall in any direction, and we did not venture to explore forfear our captors would be moved to bind us. 

But Harry became so insistent that I finally consented to a scoutingexpedition. Caution seemed useless; if the darkness had eyes thatbeheld 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 wasfolly, of course, in the darkness--like trying to beat a gambler at hisown game. But we moved on as noiselessly as possible. 

Suddenly a wall loomed up before us not ten feet away. I gave a tug atHarry's arm, and he nodded. We approached the wall, then turned to theright and proceeded parallel with it, watching for a break that wouldmean 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 seeminglymelting away into the ground. At first I took it for a separate strataof rock, darker than that above. But there was a strange brokennessabout its appearance that made me consider it more carefully. 

It appeared to be composed of curious knots and protuberances. Istopped short, and, advancing a step or two toward the wall, gazedintently. Then I saw that the dark line was not a part of the wall atall; and then--well, then I laughed aloud in spite of myself. Thething was too ludicrous. 

For that "dark line" along the bottom of the wall was a row ofsquatting Incas! There they sat, silent, motionless; even when mylaugh rang out through the cavern they gave not the slightest sign thatthey either heard or saw. Yet it was certain that they had watched ourevery move. 

There was nothing for it but retreat. With our knives we might havefought our way through; but we were unarmed, and we had felt one or twoproofs of their strength. 

Harry took it with more philosophy than I had expected. As for me, Ihad not yet finished my laugh. We sought our former resting-place, recognizing it by the platter and basin which we had emptied before ourfamous 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 youcall it. I don't care what makes 'em smell. I only know they do--asKipling says of the oonts--'most awful vile. ' And there the beggarssit, and here we sit!"

"If we could only see--" I began. 

"And what good would that do us? Could we fight? No. They'd smotherus 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 scientificdigressions. Harry listened politely. 

"I don't know what you mean, " said he when I had finished, "but Ibelieve 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 tostay?"

"How should I know? Ask the king. And don't bother me; I'm going tosleep. "

"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 withoutany 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. " Yethis cheerfulness was but partly assumed, and it was most welcome. Myown temper was getting sadly frayed about the edge. 

We slept through another watch uneventfully, and when we woke found ourplatter of fish and basin of water beside us. I estimated that someseventy-two hours had then passed since we had been carried from thecavern; 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 somediscomfort, caused partly by the knife-wound on my knee, which had notentirely healed, and partly, I think, by the strangeness and monotonyof our diet. Harry's palate was less particular. 

On awaking, and after breaking our fast, we were both filled with anodd contentment. I really believe that we had abandoned hope, and thatthe basis of our listlessness was despair; and surely not withoutreason. For what chance had we to escape from the Incas, handicappedas we were by the darkness, and our want of weapons, and theiroverwhelming 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 suchbrutal frankness, but facts make their impression whether you invitethem or not. But, as I say, we were filled with an odd contentment. Though despair may have possessed our hearts, it was certainly notallowed to infect our tongues. 

Breakfast was hilarious. Harry sang an old drinking-song to thewater-basin with touching sentiment; I gave him hearty applause andjoined 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 Sidecrocodiles?

"My, but weren't they daisies? And polo? They could play it in theirsleep. 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 togetherround us on every side, leaving us in the center of a small circle intheir midst. 

"Now, what the deuce do they want?" I muttered. "Can't they let us eatin 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. Thenfour of their number stepped forward to us, and one made gestures witha hairy arm, pointing to our rear. We turned and saw a narrow lanelined on either side by our captors. Nothing was distinct; still wecould 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 ourknives! 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 dartedfrom behind and led the way. Not a hand had touched us, and thisappeared to me a good sign, without knowing exactly why. 

"They seem to have forgotten their manners, " Harry observed. "Theapproved method is to knock us down and carry us. I shall speak to theking about it. "

We had just reached the wall of the cavern and entered a passageleading from it, when there came a sound, sonorous and ear-destroying, from the farther end. We had heard it once before; it was the samethat had ended our desperate fight some days before. Then it had savedour 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 crowdthat had surrounded us in the cave. There was no way but obedience. 

We had advanced perhaps a hundred, possibly two hundred yards along thesecond passage when our guide suddenly halted. We stood beside him. 

He turned sharply to the left, and, beckoning to us to follow, began todescend a narrow stairway which led directly from the passage. It wassteep, and the darkness allowed a glimpse only of black walls and theterrace immediately beneath our feet; so we went slowly. I counted thesteps; there were ninety-six. 

At the bottom we turned again to the right. Just as we turned I heardHarry'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 wehad succeeded in breaking through, we could never have made our wayback up the steps. This I told Harry; he admitted reluctantly that Iwas right. 

We now found ourselves in a lane so low and narrow that it wasnecessary for us to stoop and proceed in single file. Our progress wasslow; the guide was continually turning to beckon us on with gesturesof impatience. 

At length he halted and stood facing us. The guard that followedgathered close in the rear, the guide made a curious upward movementwith 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 ofsarcasm that I gave an involuntary smile. 

The guide's meaning was soon evident. It took some seconds for my eyeto penetrate the darkness, and then I saw a spiral stair ascendingperpendicularly, apparently carved from the solid rock. Harry musthave perceived it at the same moment, for he turned to me with a shortlaugh:

"Going up? Not for me, thank you. The beggar means for us to goalone. "

For a moment I hesitated, glancing round uncertainly at the dusky formsthat were ever pressing closer upon us. We were assuredly between thedevil 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. Thestair was fearfully steep and narrow, and more than once I barelyescaped 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 asthough a noonday sun shone in upon us. 

There came an exclamation from Harry, and we ascended faster. Iremember that I counted a hundred and sixty steps--and then, as aglimmering of the truth shot through my brain into certainty, I countedno more. 

Harry was crowding me from below, and we took the last few steps almostat a run. Then the end, and we stumbled out into a blaze of light andsurveyed 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 spotwhere 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. Thelight dazzled our eyes; we seemed surrounded by an impenetrable wall offlame. There was no sensation of heat, owing, no doubt, to the immenseheight of the cavern and our comparatively distant removal from theflames, 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 innumerablerows of the Incas on terraced seats. 

Below, at a dizzy distance, was the smooth surface of the lake, blackand gloomy save where the reflections from the blazing urns pierced itsdepths. And directly facing us, set in the wall of the cavern, was thealcove containing the throne of gold. 

And on the throne was seated--not the diminutive, misshapen king, butDesiree Le Mire!

She sat motionless, gazing directly at us. Her long gold hair streamedover her shoulders in magnificent waves; a stiffly flowing garment ofsome unknown texture covered her limbs and the lower part of her body;her shoulders and breasts and arms were bare, and shone with a dazzlingwhiteness. 

Beside her was a smaller seat, also of gold, and on this crouched theform of an Inca--the king. About them, at a respectful distance, wereranged attendants and guards--a hundred or more, for the alcove was ofan impressive size. The light from the four urns shone in upon it withsuch brightness that I could clearly distinguish the whites ofDesiree'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 playit. "

"But what the deuce is she doing there?"

I shrugged my shoulders. 

"She seems to have found another king. You know her fondness forroyalty. "

"Paul, for Heaven's sake--"

"All right, Hal. But we're safe enough, I think. Most probably ourintroduction to court. This is what they call 'the dizzy heights ofprominence. ' Now keep your eyes open--something is going to happen. "

There was a movement in the alcove. Four of the attendants cameforward, carrying a curious framework apparently composed of reeds andleather, light and flexible, from the top bar of which hung suspendedseveral rope-like ribbons, of various lengths and colors and tied incurious 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 ourcaptors and their king. For these bundles of knotted cords ofdifferent sizes and colors I recognized at once. 

They were the famous Inca quipos--the material for their remarkablemnemonic system of communication and historical record. At last wewere to receive a message from the Child of the Sun. 

But of what nature? Every cord and knot and color had its meaning--butwhat? I searched every avenue of memory to assist me; for I hadlatterly confined my studies exclusively to Eastern archeology, andwhat I had known of the two great autochthonous civilizations of theAmerican Continent was packed in some dim and little used corner of mybrain. But success came, with an extreme effort. 

I recollected first the different disposition of the quipos fordifferent purposes--historical, sacred, narrative, et cetera. Then theparticulars came to me, and immediately I recognized the formula of thequipos before the throne. They were arranged for adjudication--for therendering of a verdict. 

Harry and I were prisoners before the bar of the quipos! I turned tohim, but there was not time for talk. The king had risen and stretchedout his hand. 

Immediately the vast assemblage rose from their stone seats and fellflat 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 thecavern just above the outer edge of the alcove. 

This, of course, was the representation of Pachacamac, the "unknowngod" in the Inca religion. Well, I would as soon worship a plate ofgold as that little black dwarf. 

For perhaps a minute the king stood with outstretched arm and the Incasremained motionless on their faces. Then he resumed his seat and theyrose. And then the trial began. 

The king turned on his throne and laid his hand on Desiree's arm; wecould see her draw away from his touch with an involuntary shudder. But this apparent antipathy bothered his kingship not at all; it wasprobably a most agreeable sensation to feel her soft, white flesh underhis black, hairy hand, and he kept it there, while with the other armhe made a series of sweeping gestures which I understood at once, butwhich had no meaning for Desiree. By her hand he meant the quipos tospeak. 

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 andspoke in a voice loud enough to carry across the cavern--which was notdifficult in the universal silence. 

"He means that you are to judge us by the quipos. The meaning isthis--yellow, slavery, white, mercy; purple, reward; black, death. Thelengths of the cords and the number of knots indicate the degree ofpunishment 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 theking. "

Again silence; and not one of the vast throng, nor the king himself, appeared to pay the slightest attention to my voice. The kingcontinued his gestures to Desiree. 

She rose and walked to the frame of quipos and took in her hand theknife which she found there suspended by a cord. There she hesitated, with the knife poised in the air, while her eyes sought mine--and foundthem. 

I felt a tug at my arm, but I had no time for Harry then. I waslooking at Desiree, and what I saw caused a cold shudder to flutterthrough my body. Not of fear; it was the utter surprise of thething--its incredible horror. To die by the hands of those hairybrutes was not hard, but Desiree to be the judge!

For she meant death for us; I read it in her eyes. One of the oldstale proverbs of the stale old world was to have anotherjustification. I repeat that I was astounded, taken completely bysurprise; and yet I had known something of "the fury of a womanscorned. "

It was as though our eyes shot out to meet each other in an embrace ofdeath. She saw that I understood and she smiled--what a smile! It wastriumphant, and yet sad; a vengeance, and a farewell. She put forthher hand. 

It wavered among the quipos as though uncertainly, then closed firmlyon the black cord of death. 

A thought flashed through my mind with the speed of lightning. Iraised my voice and sang out:

"Desiree!"

She hesitated; the hand which held the knife fell to her side and againher eyes sought mine. 

"What of Harry?" I called. "Take two--the white for him, the black forme. "

She shook her head and again raised the knife; and I played my lastcard. 

"Bah! Who are you? For you are not Le Mire!" I weighted my voice withcontempt. "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. LeMire stood motionless. Not a sound came from the audience. I feltHarry pulling at my arm, but shook myself free, without taking my eyesfrom Le Mire's face. 

Suddenly she spoke:

"You are right, my friend Paul. I take no advantage. Leave it toFortune. Have you a coin?"

I had won my chance. That was all--a chance--but that was better thannothing. I took a silver peseta from my pocket--by luck it had notbeen 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 columnand stopped at the very edge. I crossed and stooped over it. It layheads up!

Harry was behind me; as I straightened up I saw his white, set face andeyes of horror. He, too, had seen the verdict; but he was moved not bythat, but by the thought of Desiree, for Harry was not a man to flinchat sight of death. 

I stood straight, and my voice was calm. It cost me an effort to clearit of bitterness and reproach. I could not avoid the reflection thatbut for Desiree we would never have seen the cave of the devil and theChildren 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 avoice 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 fellheads--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 andpassed on; the yellow, and again passed on. Then there was a flash ofthe knife--another--and she approached the king and laid at his feetthe purple cord. 

Then, without a glance toward us, she resumed her seat on the goldenthrone. 

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 tributefrom one of nature's gamblers to the man who "played fair, even withdeath"; nevertheless, there was feeling in it, and the eternal mercy ofwoman. 

For all that was visible to the eye the verdict made not the slightestimpression on the rows of silent Incas. Not a movement was seen; theymight have been carved from the stone on which they were seated. 

Their black, hairy bodies, squat and thick, threw back the light fromthe flaming torches as though even those universal rays could notpenetrate such grossness. 

Suddenly they rose--the king had moved. He picked the purple cord fromthe ground, and, after passing his hand over it three times, handed itto an attendant who approached. 

Then he stretched out his hand, and the Incas, who had remainedstanding, turned about and began to disappear. As before, the cavernwas emptied in an incredibly short space of time; in two minutes wewere alone with those in the alcove. 

There was a sound behind us. We turned and saw a great slab of stoneslowly slide to one side in the floor, leaving an aperture some threefeet square. Evidently it had been closed behind us when we hadascended; we had had no time to notice it then. In this hole presentlyappeared the head and shoulders of our guide, who beckoned to us tofollow and then disappeared below. 

I started to obey, but turned to wait for Harry, who was gazing atDesiree. His back was toward me and I could not see his face; his eyesmust have held an appeal, for I saw Desiree's lips part in a smile andheard 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 possiblymanaged to conceive the idea of the spiral stair. It was known toneither the Aztecs nor the Incas, in America; nor to any of theprimitive European or Asiatic civilizations. But they had found aplace where nothing else would do--and they made it. Another of theinnumerable offspring of Mother Necessity. 

I took time to note its construction. It was rude enough, but a goodjob for all that. It was not exactly circular; there were many angles, evidently following the softer strata in the rock; they had bowed totheir material--the way of the artist. 

Even the height of the steps was irregular; some were scarcely morethan three inches, while others were twelve or fourteen. You may knowwe descended slowly and with care, especially when we had reached thepoint where no light came from above to aid us. We found our guidewaiting for us at the bottom, alone. 

We followed him down the low and narrow passage through which we hadpreviously come. But when we reached the steps which led up to thepassage above and to the cave where we had formerly been confined, heignored 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 weare guests instead of captives, and far be it from us to outrage thelaws of hospitality. But seriously, the safest thing we can do is tofollow him. "

The passage in which we now found ourselves was evidently no work ofnature. 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 theaccommodation of giants. But I had some faint idea of the pitifulinadequacy of their tools, and I found myself reflecting on thestupendous courage of the men who had undertaken such a task, evenallowing for the fact that four hundred years had been allowed them forits completion. 

Soon we reached a veritable maze of these passages. We must have takena dozen or more turns, first to the right, then to the left. I hadbeen marking our way on my memory as well as possible, but I soon gaveup the attempt as hopeless. 

Several times our guide turned so quickly that we could scarcely followhim. When we signified by gestures our desire to go slower he seemedsurprised; 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 sawthat it came through an opening in the wall to our left, which we wereapproaching. Before the opening the guide halted, motioning us toenter. 

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, fashionedfrom 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 someanimal, dry, thick, and soft. The walls themselves were of the hardestgranite, 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 curiouslyabout him. I turned to the door and looked down the outer passage inboth 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 itone 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 ofher jokes, " I lied. 

For, of course, Harry knew nothing of the cause of Desiree's desire forrevenge on me, and it would have served no good purpose to tell him. 

We talked for an hour or more, examining our apartment meanwhile withconsiderable curiosity. 

The gold excited our wonder; had it come from Huanuco four hundredyears ago, or had they found it here in the mountain?

I examined the little blocks of metal or gems with which the tables andseats were inlaid, but could make nothing of them. They resembled acarbon formation sometimes found in quartzite, but were many times morebrilliant than anything I had ever seen, excepting precious stones. 

The hides which covered the granite couch were also unknown to me; theywere of an amazing thickness and incredibly soft. 

We were amusing ourselves with an attempt to pry one of the bits ofgold 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 caughtin her boudoir examining the articles on her dressing-table. She wasclothed as she had been on the throne; a rope girdle held her singlegarment, and her hair fell across her shoulders, reaching to her knees. Her arms and shoulders appeared marvelously white, but they may havebeen by way of contrast. 

Harry sprang across to her with a single bound. In another moment hisarms were round her; she barely submitted to the embrace, but she gavehim her lips, then drew herself away and crossed to me, extending herhands in a sort of wavering doubt. 

But that was no time for hostilities, and I took the hands in my ownand bent over them till my lips touched the soft fingers. 

"A visit from the queen!" I said with a smile. "This is an honor, yourmajesty. "

"A doubtful one, " said Desiree. "First of all, my friend, I want tocongratulate you on your savoir faire. Par Bleu, that was the part ofa man!"

"But you!" cried Harry. "What the deuce did you mean by pretending toplay the black? I tell you, that was a shabby trick. Most unpleasantmoment you gave us. "

Desiree sent me a quick glance; she was plainly surprised to find Harryin ignorance of what had passed between us that evening in the camp onthe mountain. Wherein she was scarcely to be blamed, for her surprisecame 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 playfullyon his lips. They were seated side by side on the granite couch; Istood in front of them, and there flitted across my memory a picture ofthat 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. Firsthe insisted on a recital of her experiences since her reckless dashinto 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 fallendown the unseen precipice into the torrent beneath. 

She asserted that she had been carried along by its force scarcely morethan a quarter of an hour, and had been violently thrown upon a ledgeof rock. It was evident that this must have been long before thestream reached the lake where Harry and I had found each other, for wehad been in the water hardly short of an hour. 

She had been found on the ledge by our hairy friends, who had carriedher on their backs for many hours. I remembered the sensations ofHarry and myself, who were men, and together, and gave a shudder ofsympathy as Desiree described her own horror and fear, and her oneattempt to escape. 

Still the brutes had shown her no great violence, evidently recognizingthe preciousness of their burden. They had carried her as gently aspossible, but had absolutely refused to allow her to walk. At regularintervals 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 intolaughter. 

Then of the elevation to her evident authority. Brought before theking, she had inspired the most profound wonder and curiosity. Easy, indeed, to understand how the whiteness of her skin and the beauty ofher form and face had awakened the keenest admiration in the breast ofthat black and hairy monarch. He had shown her the most perfectrespect; and she had played up to the role of goddess by displaying tothe utmost her indifferent contempt for royalty and its favors. 

Here her remarks grew general and evasive, and when pressed withquestions she refused details. She declared that nothing had happened;she had been fed and fawned upon, nor been annoyed by any violence orunwelcome attentions. 

"That is really too bad, " said I, with a smile. "I was, then, mistakenwhen I said 'your majesty'?"

"Faugh!" said Desiree. "That is hardly witty. For a time I wasamused, 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 amcontent. If the world is behind me forever, so be it. Yes, they areunattractive to the eye, but they have power. And they worship me. "

"Desiree!" cried Harry in astonishment; and I was myself a littlestartled. 

"Why not?" she demanded. "They are men. And besides, it is impossiblefor us to return. With all your cleverness, M. Paul, can you find thesunlight? To remain is a necessity; we must make the best of it; and Irepeat that I am satisfied. "

"That's bally rot, " said Harry, turning on her hotly. "Satisfied? Youare nothing of the sort. I'll tell you one thing--Paul and I are goingto 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 myown mind, and obey no other. " It is one of the most familiar cards ofthe woman of beauty, and the most effective. It conquered Harry. 

He gazed at her for a long moment in silence, while his eyes filledwith an expression which one man should never show to another man. Itis 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 inhis own. She attempted to withdraw them; he clasped her about thewaist. 

"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 thelovers with beadlike, sparkling eyes. 

Chapter XI. 

A ROYAL VISITOR. 

If it had not been for the manifest danger, I could have laughed aloudat what I read in the eyes of the king. Was it not supremelyridiculous for Desiree Le Mire, who had been sought after by the greatand the wealthy and the powerful of all Europe, to be regarded withdesire by that ugly dwarf? And it was there, unmistakably. 

I sang out a sharp warning, but it was unnecessary; Desiree had alreadycaught sight of the royal visitor. She pushed Harry from her bodily. He sprang to his feet in angry surprise; then, enlightened by theconfusion in her face, turned quickly and swore as he, too, saw theintruder. 

How critical the situation was I did not know, despite Desiree'sassertions. 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 seatedon the granite couch for a long minute without moving; confusion lefther eyes as she gazed at us apparently with the utmost composure; but Iwho knew her could see that her brain was working with the rapidity oflightning. Then her glance passed to the figure at the doorway, andwith a gesture commanding and truly royal in its simplicity, she heldher hand forth, palm down, to the Inca king. 

Like an obedient trained monkey he trotted across the interveningspace, grasped her soft white hand in his monstrous paw, and touchedhis lips to her fingers. 

That was all, but it spoke volumes to one who could divine the springsof action. I remember that at the time there shot through my mind astory I had heard concerning Desiree in Paris. The Duke of Bellarmine, then her protector, had one evening entered her splendid apartment onthe Rue Jonteur--furnished, of course, by himself--and had found hisdivinity entertaining one Jules Chavot, a young and beautiful poet. Whereupon he had launched forth into the most bitter reproaches andscornful denunciations. 

"Monsieur, " Desiree had said, with the look of a queen outraged, whenhe had finished, "you are annoying. Little Chavot amuses me. You areaware that I never refuse myself anything which I consider necessary tomy amusement, and just now I find you very dull. "

And the noble duke, conquered by that glance of fire and those terriblewords, had retired with humble apologies, after receiving a graciouspermission to call on the following day!

In short, Desiree was irresistible; the subjection of the Inca king wasbut another of her triumphs, and not the most remarkable. 

And then I looked at Harry, and was aware of a new danger. He wasglaring at the Inca with eyes which told their own story of the firewithin, 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 turnedfrom her and was regarding us steadily with eyes so nearly closed thattheir meaning was impenetrable. Harry and I glanced at each other andremained standing. Then Desiree's voice again:

"Harry! If you love me!"

It was the appeal to a child; but love is young. Immediately Harrydropped to his knees, facing the king; and I followed him, wondering atmyself. To this day I do not know what the compelling force was thatpulled me down. Was it another instance of the power of Desiree?

For perhaps a minute we remained motionless on our knees while the kingstood 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 appearanceand diminutive stature, he stalked across to the doorway anddisappeared in the corridor without. 

Harry and I looked at each other, kneeling like two heathen idols, andburst into unrestrained laughter. But with it was mixed a portion ofanger, 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 ofmy dignity, employ a little discretion. And what do you suppose thebeggar will do about it?"

"Nothing, " said Desiree, shrugging her shoulders. "Only he must bepacified. I must go. I wonder if you know you are lodged in the royalapartments? His majesty's room--he has but one--is in the corridor tothe left of this. 

"Mine is on the right--and he is probably stamping the place to piecesat this moment. " She left the granite couch and advanced half way tothe 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 therewas ten minutes of silence before we spoke. I sat on one of the stoneseats, wondering what the result would be--if any--of the king's visitand 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 gettingout of this. "

"Why--" I hesitated. "Harry, I don't know. "

"But you've thought about it, and you know something about thesethings. What do you think?"

"Well, I think they are slim. "

"What are they?"

"Nothing less than miracles. There are just two. First--and I'vespoken of this before--we might find an underground stream that wouldcarry 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 turnthe 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 passagemight 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 intheir ability to withstand the attacks of time. When one finds itselfunable 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, buriedin thought--easy to guess of what nature. I did not think fit todisturb him, till presently he spoke again. 

"What do you suppose that ugly devil will do about--what he saw inhere?"

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'llmanage him somehow. You saw what happened just now. "

"But the creature is no better than a dumb brute. He is capable ofanything. 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 carryenough of their darned fish to last a year. And one thing is sure: wewon't get back to New York lying round here waiting for something toturn up--even a mountain. "

"What do you want to do?"

"Clear out. Get Desiree away from that ugly brute. If we only had ourknives!"

"Where would we go?"

In that question was the whole matter. To escape with Desiree waspossible--but then what? We knew by experience what it meant to wanderhopelessly about in the darkness of those desolate caverns, withoutfood, and depending on Providence for water. Neither of us cared torepeat that trial, especially with the added difficulty of a woman tocare for. But what to do?

We decided to wait for the future, and in the mean time lay in a supplyof provisions, and, if possible, devise some sort of weapons. 

It is worth remarking here that the Incas, so far as we had seen, usedno weapons whatever. This was most probably the result of their totalisolation 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 royalsteward--I give him the title on my own responsibility--arrived, withpots and pans on a huge tray. 

In the first place, the pots and pans were of solid gold. Harry staredin amazement as they were placed in brilliant array on one of the stonetables; and when we essayed to lift the empty tray from another tableon which it had been placed we understood why the steward had found itnecessary to bring four assistants along as cup-bearers. 

There was a king's ransom on that table, in sober truth, for therecould be no doubt but that this was part of the gold which had beencarried from Huanuco when it had been demanded by Pizarro as paymentfor the life of Atahualpa. 

But better even than the service was that which it contained. It maynot 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 ofhope; 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 wasfish, but it was hot. Then a curious, brittle kind of bread; I call itthat, though on trial it appeared to be made from the roe of some kindof fish. Also there was some excellent fish-soup, also hot, and quitedelicious. 

Four hundred years of development had taught the royal chefs to preparefish in so many different ways that we almost failed to recognize themas of the same family. 

"Couldn't be better, " said Harry, helping himself liberally to thestew. "We can eat this, and cache the dried stuff. We'll have enoughfor an army in a week. "

"As for me, I saw before me the raw material for our weapons. When wehad emptied the golden platter that held our bread, " I secreted itunder the cover of the granite couch. When the serving-men called toremove 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 inthe gayest of spirits, and I eyed her curiously from a seat in thecorner as she and Harry sat side by side, chatting for all the world asthough they had been in her own Paris drawing-room. 

Was it possible that she was really satisfied, as she had said? Whatimaginable food could these black dwarfs find to appease her tremendousvanity? Or was she merely living the motto of the French philosopher?

Harry was demanding that he be allowed to visit her apartment; this sherefused, saying that if he were found there by the king nothing couldavert a catastrophe. Harry's brow grew black; I could see his effortto choke back his anger. Then Desiree led him away from the topic, andsoon they were both again laughing merrily. 

Some forty-eight hours passed; in that perpetual blackness there was nosuch 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 todecipher their meaning sufficiently to understand that we were invitedto some religious ceremony in the great cavern. But I thought itinjudicious to allow a meeting between Harry and the king, and returneda polite refusal. 

It may be of interest to some to know the method, which was extremelysimple, as in ordinary communications the quipos are easy to read. Iremoved two knots from the white cord--the sign of affirmative--andplaced two additional ones on the black cord--the sign of negative. Then on the yellow cord--the sign of the Child of the Sun andsubmission to him--I tied two more knots to show that our refusal meantno 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 sonof the orb of day, still holding to their worship of the sun, thoughthey had not seen its light for four centuries. Deserted by their god, they did not abandon him; an example from which the followers ofanother and more "civilized" religion might learn something of thepotency 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 mannerquite amazing; it was impossible for me to mention the king even injest without him flying into a violent temper. 

As I look back now I am not surprised; for our harrowing experiencesand the hopelessness of our situation and the wilfulness of Desireewere enough, Heaven knows, to jerk his nerves; but at the time Iregarded 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 wasbrought to us, and within a week we had accumulated a large supply ofthe dried fish against necessity, besides my collection of six goldenplatters, of which more later. 

Once in about twenty-four hours two Incas, who appeared to be ourpersonal attendants--for we were actually able to recognize them afterhalf a dozen visits--arrived to perform the offices of chambermaid andvalet. The floor of the apartment was scrubbed, the urns refilled withoil, and the skin cover of the granite couch was changed. It seemedthat another belief--in cleanliness--had refused to be dislodged fromthe Inca breast. 

When I managed, by dint of violent and expressive gestures, to conveyto our valet the idea that we desired a bath, he led us down thecorridor some two hundred feet to a stream of cool running water. Wetook advantage of the opportunity to scrub our clothing, which wassadly 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 hadbeen brought by the fugitives from Huanuco, as, indeed, the quiposalso, and several other articles we found, including our golden tableservice. 

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 broadring carved of stone, which made the opening at the top only about twoinches in diameter. Through this the flame arose to a height of abouttwo feet. 

Of smoke there was none, or very little, a circumstance which wasinexplicable, as there seemed to be no possibility of the generation ofgas within so small space. But the oil itself was strange to me, andits 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 andrather thin--which was near the amount required for my purpose. Iexplained the thing to Harry, and we set to work. 

We first procured a vessel of granite from the attendant on somepretext or other--this for melting the gold. Then we pried a slab oflimestone from a corner of one of the seats; luckily for us it was verysoft, having been selected by the Incas for the purpose of inserting inits face the crystal prisms. Then we procured a dozen or more of theprisms themselves, and, using them as chisels, and small blocks ofgranite as hammers, set to work at the block of limestone. 

It was slow work, but we finally succeeded in hollowing out a groove inits surface about eighteen inches long and two inches deep. That wasour mold. 

Then to melt the golden platters. We took four of the urns, placingthem in a group on the floor, and just at the tip of the flames placedthe granite vessel, supported by four blocks of stone which we priedloose from one of the seats. In the vessel we placed the goldenplatters. 

But we found, after several hours, that we did not have sufficientheat--or rather that the vessel was too thick to transmit it. Andagain we set to work with our improvised chisels and hammers, to shaveoff its sides and bottom. That was more difficult and required manyhours for completion. 

Finally, with the profane portion of our vocabularies completelyexhausted and rendered meaningless by repetition, and with bruised andbleeding hands, we again arranged our furnace and sat down to wait. Wehad waited until the dishes from our dinner had been removed, and wewere fairly certain to be alone for several hours. 

Finally the gold was melted, stubbornly but surely. We took the thickhide cover from the couch and, one on each side, lifted the vessel ofliquid metal and filled our mold. In an hour it was hardened into abar the shape of a half-cylinder. We removed it and poured in theremainder of the gold. 

It would appear that the gain was hardly worth the pains, and I admitit. But at the least I had kept Harry occupied with something besideshis amatory troubles, and at the best we had two heavy, easily handledbars of metal that would prove most effective weapons against foes whohad none whatever. 

We had just removed the traces of our work as completely as possibleand secreted the clubs of yellow metal in a corner of the apartmentwhen the sound of pattering footsteps came from the corridor. 

Harry gave me a quick glance; I moved between him and the door. But itwas Desiree. 

She entered the room hurriedly and crossed to the farther side, thenturned to face the door. Her cheeks were glowing brightly, her eyesflashed fire, and her breast heaved with unwonted agitation. Beforeeither she or I had time to speak Harry had sprung to her side andgrasped her arm. 

"What has he done now?" he demanded in a tone scarcely audible in itsintensity. 

"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 whenhe required your presence. "

"But it was merely an invitation. Cannot one refuse an invitation?" Iprotested. 

"But, my dear Paul, the creature is royal--his invitations arecommands. "

"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 havebeen unusual preparations under way for many hours. The king has beenin my apartment, and messengers and guards have been arrivingconstantly, 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 singleknot 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 youremember any of them?"

She tried, but without success. Which will not surprise any one whohas ever seen the collection at the museum at Lima. 

Then Harry broke in:

"Something else has happened, Desiree. No bunch of cords tied in sillyknots 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'regoing 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 returnedwith them in his hands, "with these we could make our way through themall. 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 quitedistinct: "Well, it is too late. I am the king's. "

She lied--I saw it in her eyes. Perhaps she meant to save Harry fromhis folly, to quiet him by the knowledge that he need not fight forwhat 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 twoslow steps backward, then stood quite still, while his face grew deadlywhite and his eyes were fastened on hers with a look that made me turnmy own away. His soul looked out from them--how he loved thewoman--and I could not bear it!

Nor, after a moment, could Desiree. She took a step forward, extendingher 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 wereunaware that a fourth person had entered the room, until he had crossedits full length and stood before me. It was the Inca king. 

I took no time for thought, but jumped straight for Harry and threw myarms round him, dragging him back half-way across the room. Takencompletely by surprise, he did not struggle. I noticed that he stillheld 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 outher 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 andgrasped her white throat with his fingers. 

There was a strangled scream from Desiree, a frantic cry fromHarry--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 fistand 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 perilof 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 nomovement--his eyes were closed. Calling to Harry to watch the corridorwithout, I quickly tore my woolen jacket into strips--my fingers seemedto be made of steel--and bound the wrists and ankles of the Incafirmly, trussing him up behind. 

Then with another strip I gagged him, thinking it best to err on theside of prudence. In another moment I had dragged him to the corner ofthe 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 othercourse than instant flight, she sprang to Harry's side to assist himwith the bundles of provisions. 

There was more than we could carry. Harry and I each took a bundleunder our left arm, carrying the clubs in the other hand. Desireeattempted to take two bundles, but they were too heavy for her, and shewas forced to drop one. 

With a last hasty glance at the motionless heap in the corner westarted, 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 therecame a grating, rumbling sound from above, and a huge block of granitedropped squarely across the doorway with a crash that made the groundtremble beneath our feet. 

Stupefied, we realized in a flash that the cunning of the Incas hadproved too much for us. Harry and I ran forward, but only to invitedespair; the doorway was completely covered by the massive rock, animpenetrable curtain of stone weighing many tons, and on neither sidewas there an opening more than an inch wide. We were imprisoned beyondall hope of escape. 

We stood stunned; Desiree even made no sound, but gazed at the blockeddoorway in a sort of stupid wonder. It was one of those sudden andoverwhelming catastrophes that deprive us for a moment of all power toreason 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 Icould see no opening or crevice of any sort in the walls or ceiling, Iwas convinced that even then the eyes of the Incas were upon us. 

Our situation was indeed desperate. With our every movement spiedupon, surrounded by four solid walls of stone, and beyond them tenthousand savage brutes waiting to tear us to pieces--what wildest fancycould indulge in hope?

Then, glancing up, my eye was arrested by the heap under the cover inthe corner. There, in the person of the Inca king, lay our onlyadvantage. 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 tome: "I believe it is for the best, Paul. There never was a chance forus; 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 hisown head, but from Desiree's arms. But it was truth. 

We sat silent. The thing was beyond discussion; too elemental to needspeech for its explanation or understanding. I believe it was notdespair that kept back our words, but merely the dumb realization thatwhere all hope is gone words are useless--worse, a mockery. 

Finally I crossed the room and removed the cover from the body of theChild of the Sun. He had recovered consciousness; his little wickedeyes gleamed up at me with an expression that would have beenterrifying in the intensity of its malignant hatred if he had not beenutterly helpless. I turned to Harry:

"What are we going to do with him?"

"By Jove, I had forgotten!" exclaimed the lad. "Paul, perhaps if wecould communicate with them--" He stopped, glancing at the closeddoorway; then added: "But it's impossible. "

"I believe it is possible, " I contradicted. "If the Incas were able tolower that stone at any moment you may be sure they are prepared toraise it. How, Heaven only knows; but the fact is certain. Do youthink 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. Youcan talk with the quipos, and tell them that unless they give us ourfreedom and let us go in safety they'll have a dead king. From the waythey seem to worship him they'd come through in a minute. "

"Oh, they'd promise, all right, " I agreed; "but how could we hold themto it?"

"Well, a promise is a promise. And it's our only chance. "

"No, Harry; to trust them would be folly. The minute we steppedthrough that doorway they would be on us--the whole beggarly, smellylot 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 usnow. Really, we are in luck; we die in our own way and at our owntime. But there is one difficulty. "

Then, in answer to their glances of inquiry, I added significantly: "Wehave no weapons. We cannot allow ourselves to starve--the end mustcome before that, for as soon as they saw us weakening we would be attheir mercy. "

There was comprehension and horror in Desiree's eyes, but she looked atme with a brave attempt to smile as she took from her hair somethingwhich gleamed and shone in the light from the flaming urns. It was atiny steel blade with a handle of pearl studded with diamonds. 

I had seen it before many times--a present, Desiree had told me, fromthe young man I had seen in the royal coach on that day in Madrid whenI 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 wordswere necessary. 

"But I must confess I am a coward, " said Desiree. "When the time comesI--I could not bear to see--to wait--"

I looked at her and said simply: "You shall be first, " and she gave mea smile of thanks that spoke of a heart that would not fail when thefinal moment arrived. And in my admiration of her high courage Iforgot 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 waslifted from our hearts, and a quiet sympathy created between us, sincere as death itself. And it was in our power to choose forourselves the final moment--we were yet masters of our fates. 

All action seems useless when hope is dead, but certain things neededto be done, and Harry and I bestirred ourselves. We extinguished theflame in all the urns but one to save the oil, not caring to depart indarkness. 

Our supply of water, we found, was quite sufficient to last for severaldays, if used sparingly; for we intended to support life so long as wehad the fuel. Then responsibility ceases; man has a right to hastenthat which fortune has made inevitable. 

The hours passed by. 

We talked very little; at times Desiree and Harry conversed in subduedtones 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 canpreserve his philosophy unchanged, he has made the only success in lifethat is worth while. 

We ate and drank, but gave neither water nor food to our fellowprisoner. Not because I really expected to force negotiations with theIncas--but the thing was possible and was worth a trial. I knew themwell enough to appraise correctly the value of any safe-conduct theymight give us. 

I was a little surprised to find in Desiree no levity, the vulgar propfor courage based on ignorance. There was a tenderness in her manner, especially toward Harry, that spoke of something deeper and awoke in myown breast a deeper respect for her. The world had not known DesireeLe Mire--it had merely been fascinated and amused by her. 

Many hours had passed in this tomblike apathy. Two or three times Ihad advised Desiree to lie down to rest and, if possible, to sleep. She had refused, but I became insistent, and Harry added his voice tomy own. Then, to please us, she consented; we arranged the cover onthe granite couch and made her as comfortable as possible. 

In five minutes she was fast asleep. Harry stood a few feet away fromthe 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 takeit first and call you when I feel drowsy. It may be a needlessprecaution, but I don't care to wake up and find myself in thecondition of our friend yonder. "

He wanted to take the first watch himself, but I insisted, and hearranged our ponchos on the ground, and soon he too was sleeping easilyand profoundly. I looked from him to Desiree with a smile, andreflection that Socrates himself could not have met misfortune withmore sublime composure. 

It was possible that the stone curtain across the doorway could beraised noiselessly, and that made it necessary to keep my eyes fastenedon it almost continuously. This became irksome; besides, twice I awoketo the fact that my thoughts had carried me so far away from mysurroundings that the stone could have been raised to the roof and Iwould not have noticed it. 

So, using my jacket for a cushion, I seated myself on the ground in thethreshold, leaning my back against the stone, and gave myself up tomeditation. 

I had sat thus for three hours or more, and was thinking of callingHarry to relieve me, when I felt a movement at my back. I turnedquickly and saw that the stone was moving upward. 

Slowly it rose, by little frequent jerks, not more than an eighth of aninch at a time. In fifteen minutes it was only about four inches fromthe 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 enoughto cause apprehension. Or rather, because I had no fear of anassault--I was convinced that our ruse had succeeded, and that theywere about to communicate with us by means of the quipos. 

The stone was raised a little over a foot, then became stationary. Iwaited, 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 theywere inside, clear of the stone; I could see the black, hairy hands andarms, which were immediately withdrawn. 

Then the granite curtain fell with a crash that caused me to start withits 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 ofwatching us. And, seeing that we refused to provide their belovedmonarch with provender, they have sent him an allowance from thepantry. "

Harry grinned. 

"Will he get it?"

"Hardly, " said I with emphasis. "We'll make 'em treat with us if it'sonly to observe their diplomacy. There'll be a message from themwithin twenty-four hours. You'll see. "

"Anyway, we know now that they can raise that stone whenever they feellike 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. Iexplained that there were several ways by which the thing could beraised, but that the most probable one was by means of a rollingpulley, which required merely some rounded stones and a flat surfaceabove, with ropes of hide for stays. 

It had been several hours since we had last eaten, and we decided to atonce convey to the spies without our intentions concerning ourprisoner. So we regaled ourselves with dried fish and water, takingcare not to approach the king, who had rolled over on his side and layfacing us, looking for all the world, in the dim light, like a blackdog 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 theirvoices came to me as I lay on the couch (which Desiree had insisted Ishould occupy) in an indistinct, musical murmur. This for perhaps tenminutes; then I slept. 

That became our routine. During the many weary hours that followedthere was never a moment when one of us was not seated with his backagainst 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; butHarry and I were never both asleep at the same time. 

An estimate of the time we spent thus would be the wildest guess, fortime was heavy and passed on leaden feet. But I should say we had beenimprisoned for something like four days, possibly five, when themonotony came to an abrupt end. 

I had come off watch, and Harry and Desiree had taken my place. BeforeI lay down I had taken some water to the prisoner, for we had some timebefore admitted the necessity of giving him drink. But of food he hadhad none. 

Harry told me afterward that I had slept for two or three hours, but itseemed to me rather as many minutes, when I was awakened by the soundof his voice calling my name. Glancing at the doorway, I sprang to myfeet. 

The stone was slowly rising from the floor; already there was a spaceof 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'sup. "

"Of course--the stone, " I observed facetiously, yawning. "Probablynothing more important than a bundle of quipos. Lord, I'm sleepy!"

Still the stone moved upward, very slowly. It reached a height of twofeet, yet did not halt. 

"This is no quipos" said Harry, "or if it is, they must be going tosend us in a whole library. Six inches would have been enough forthat. "

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ever-widening space at our feet. 

"This means business, Hal. Stand ready with your club. Desiree, go tothe 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. Thisis not play. We must have room and know that you are safe. "

To my surprise, she made no reply, but quietly obeyed. Then, struck bya sudden thought, I crossed to where she stood behind a stone seat inthe corner. 

"Here, " I said in a low tone, taking the little jeweled dagger from mypocket 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, leavinga space over three feet high, and was still rising. I stood on oneside and Harry on the other, not caring to expose ourselves immediatelyin front. 

Suddenly he left his post and ran to one of the stone seats and beganprying at the blocks of granite. I saw at once his intention and ourmistake; we should have long before barricaded the door on the inside. But it was too late now; I knew from experience the difficulty ofloosening those firmly wedged blocks, and I called out:

"No good, Hal. We were fools not to have thought of it before, butthere is no time for it now. Come back; I couldn't stop 'em alone. "

Nevertheless, he continued his exertions, and succeeded in getting oneof the blocks partially free; but by that time the doorway was almostcompletely 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--passedit--and quickly swung in toward the wall and disappeared, probably torest on a ledge above. 

We stood waiting, tense and alert. The open doorway gaped on theblack, empty corridor, into which the light from our single urn shonedimly. We could see or hear nothing, no indication that any one was inthe passage, but we dared not look out in that darkness. The suspensewas trying enough; Harry ripped out an impatient oath and made amovement as though to step in the entrance, but I waved him back. 

Then came the avalanche, with a suddenness and fury that nighoverwhelmed us. 

Crouching, rushing forms filled the doorway from both directions andleaped savagely at us. After so many weary days of dull inaction andhelpless, hopeless apathy, a mad joy fired my brain and thrilled myheart as I raised my club on high and struck a blow for freedom andlife. 

That blow crushed the skull of one whose fingers were at my throat, andhe dropped like a log at my feet; but his place was already filled. Again I swung the club; another swayed, toppling against the doorwayand leaning there with the blood streaming from his broken head, quitedead, but held erect by the pressure of his fellows from behind. 

If the doorway had been but a foot wider we would have been overwhelmedalmost instantly. As it was, but three or four could get to us atonce, and they found the gold which their ancestors had carried fromthe temples of Huanuco waiting for them. My arm seemed to have thestrength of a hundred arms; it swung the heavy club as though it hadbeen a feather, and with deadly accuracy. 

Harry fought like a demon. I think I did all that a man could do, buthe 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 sawhim reach over and grasp the throat of one who had his teeth set in myshoulder, and, holding him straight before him with his arm extended, break his neck with one blow. Again, his club descended on one blackskull with a glancing blow and shot off to the head of another with theforce of a sledge-hammer. 

At the time I did not know that I saw these things; it was all onewrithing, struggling, bloody horror; but afterward the eyes of memoryshowed them to me. 

Still they came. My arm rose and fell seemingly without order from thebrain; I was not conscious that it moved. It seemed to me that eversince the beginning of time I had stood in that butcher's doorway andbrought down that bar of gold on thick, black skulls and distorted, grinning faces. But they would not disappear. One fell; another tookhis place; and another, and another, and another. 

The bodies of those who fell were dragged away from underneath. I didnot see it, but it must have been so, or soon we would have raised ourown 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 morethan 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 whirlingmadly and a weight of a thousand tons seemed dragging me remorselessly, inevitably to the ground. I kept my feet through the force of somecrazy instinct, for will and reason were gone. 

And then, for an instant, Harry's eyes met mine, and I read in themwhat neither of us could say, nor would. With the fury of despair westruck out together in one last effort. 

Whether the Incas saw in that effort a renewed strength that spoke ofimmortality, or whether it happened just at that moment that thepressure from behind was removed, no longer forcing them to theirdeath, 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 withwhich it had begun; they fell back from the doorway; Harry lungedforward with raised club, and the forms melted away into the darknessof the corridor. 

Harry turned and looked at me as I stood swaying from side to side inthe doorway. Neither of us could speak. Together we staggered backacross the room, but I had not gone more than half way when my legsbent under me and I sank to the floor. Dimly I saw Harry's face aboveme, as though through a veil--then another face that came close to myown--and a voice:

"Paul! My love! They have killed him!"

Soft white arms were about my neck, and a velvet cheek was pressedagainst 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 todo 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. "Youmust 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 theexhaustion that had overcome my body. Desiree's face disappeared frombefore my face--then a silence--then the sound of her voice as thoughfrom a distance:

"Harry--come! I can't find it! I dropped it when I ran across--itmust be here--on the floor--"

And then another sound came that I knew only too well--the sound ofrushing, pattering feet. 

I think I tried to rise to my own feet. I heard Harry's voice cryingin a frenzy: "Quick--here they come! Desiree, where is it?"

There was a ringing cry of despair from Desiree, a swinging oath fromHarry, and the next instant I found myself pinned to the floor by theweight of a score of bodies. 

Chapter XIII. 

INTO THE WHIRLPOOL. 

I hardly know what happened after that. I was barely conscious thatthere was movement round me, and that my wrists and ankles were beingtightly bound. Harry told me afterward that he made one last desperatestand, and was halted by a cry from Desiree, imploring him to employthe club in the intended office of the dagger. 

He wheeled about and raised it to strike; then his arm dropped, unableto obey for the brutal horror of it. In another instant he andDesiree, too, had been overpowered and carried to the floor by thesavage rush. 

This he told me as we lay side by side in a dark cavern, whither we hadbeen carried by the victorious Incas. I had expected instant death;the fact that our lives had been spared could have but one meaning, Ithought: to the revenge of death was to be added the vindictiveness oftorture. 

We knew nothing of Desiree's fate. Harry had not seen her since he hadbeen crushed to the floor by that last assault. And instead of fearingfor her life, we were convinced that a still more horrible doom was tobe hers, and hoped only that she would find the means to avoid it bythe only possible course. 

I have said that we again found ourselves in darkness, but it was muchless profound than it had been before. We could distinctly see thefour walls of the cavern in which we lay; it was about twelve feet bytwenty, 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, andbound so tightly that any movement was impossible, would seem to betraya weakness. Perhaps it was so; but we prayed for the end--Harry withcurses and oaths, myself in silence. There is a time when miserybecomes so acute that a man wants only deliverance and gives no thoughtto the means. 

That was reaction, and gradually it lessened. And when, after we hadlain 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 atealmost with relish. But before they left they again bound our wristsfirmly behind us, and tightened the cords on our ankles. 

If they meditated punishment they certainly seemed to be in no hurryabout it. The hours passed endlessly by. We were cared for astenderly as though we had been wounded comrades instead of vanquishedfoes, and though we were allowed to remain on the damp, hard rock ofthe cavern, we gradually recovered from the effects of that gruesomestruggle in the doorway, and our suffering bodies began to feelcomparative comfort. 

"What the deuce are they waiting for?" Harry growled, after one oftheir visits with food and water. "Why don't they end it?"

"Most likely because a well man can appreciate torture better than asick one, " I answered, not having seen fit to speak of it before. "Youmay 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 isour fault; we failed her. I should have put her beyond their reach, asI promised. I have reproached myself bitterly, Hal; you need addnothing. "

"Do you think I would? Only--there is something else. About what shesaid 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 thiswhile I have a chance--it was uncommon good of you. To take it the wayyou 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, whenonce stated, left nothing to be said. So I refused to humor Harry'sevident desire to thrash out the topic, and abruptly changed thesubject. 

We must have lain bound in that cavern little short of a week. Ourwounds and bruises were completely healed, save one gash on Harry'sside where he had been hurled against the sharp edge of one of thestone 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 eventhrough 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 wefelt nothing keener than a mere curiosity as to what awaited us at theend of our journey. For myself, there was a distinct sensation ofthankfulness that uncertainty was to end. 

They took no chances with us, but paid us the compliment of a trulyroyal escort--at least, in number. There could not have been less thantwo hundred of them in front, behind, and on either side, as we leftthe cavern and proceeded along a narrow, winding passage to the left. 

Once, as we started, we stretched our arms high and stood on tiptoe torelieve the stiffness of our joints; and immediately found ourselvesclutched on every side by a score of hands. 

"Gad! We seem to have made an impression!" Harry grinned. On the waydown the passage we marched with the Prussian goose-step, and felt theblood quickening to life in our legs and arms. 

We had proceeded in this manner for some ten minutes when we rounded acorner which I recognized at once by the peculiar circular formation ofthe walls. We were on our way to the great cavern--the cavern where wehad first seen Desiree, and where later she had won the toss for ourlives and then preserved them. 

Another minute and we had reached the steps leading to the tunnel underthe lake. Here our guards seemed in doubt as to just what to do; thosein front halted and stood hesitant, and it seemed to me that as theygazed below down the stone stair their eyes held a certain shrinkingterror. Then one came up from behind and with a commanding gestureordered them to descend, and they obeyed. 

Harry and I still found ourselves surrounded by a full company; therewere fifty or sixty ahead of us and at least twice that number behind. The idea of a successful struggle was so patently impossible that Ibelieve it never entered our minds. 

There was further delay at the bottom of the stairs, for, as I havesaid before, the tunnel was extremely narrow and it was barely possibleto walk two abreast. None of them turned back, but Harry and I couldscarcely restrain a laugh at the sight of those immediately in front ofus treading on the toes of their fellows to keep out of our way. Withall their savage brutality I believe they possessed little real bravery. 

Five minutes more and we had reached the end of the tunnel and foundourselves at the foot of the spiral stairway. The passage was soblocked by those ahead that we were unable to approach it; theyflattened their squatty bodies against the wall and we were forced tosqueeze our way past them. 

There we stood, barely able to make out their black forms against theblacker wall, when the one who appeared to be the leader approached andmotioned to us to ascend. We hesitated, feeling instinctively thatthis was our last chance to make a stand, weighing our fate. 

That was a dark moment, but though I did not know it, Providence waswith us. For, happening to glance downward, beneath the spiralstair--for there was no ground immediately beneath it--I saw a faintglimmer and a movement as though of a dim light in the black, yawningspace at my feet. (You must understand that we were now inside thebase of the column in the center of the great cavern. )

Moved either by curiosity or a command of Providence, I stooped andpeered intently downward, and saw that the movement was the almostimperceptible reflection of a stray ray of light from above on thesurface of water. At the time I merely wondered idly if the water camefrom the same source as that in the lake outside, not thinking itsufficiently 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 thefirst 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 wehad been propelled by keen curiosity. Twice I stumbled in thedarkness, and would have fallen if it had not been for Harry'ssupporting hand behind me. But finally we reached the top and steppedout into the glare of the great cavern. I saw the stone slab close tobehind 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 wallopposite, we gave a simultaneous start of surprise, and from Harry'slips came a cry, half of gladness, half of wonder. For, seated on thegolden throne, exactly as before, was Desiree. By her side was seatedthe Inca king; round them, guards and attendants. 

We gazed at her in astonishment, but she did not look at us; even atthat distance we could see that her eyes were lowered to the ground. Harry called her name--there was no answer. Again he called, and Icaught him by the arm. 

"Don't, Hal! She can't possibly do us any good, and you may do herharm. If she doesn't answer, it is because she has a reason. "

He was silent, but not convinced, and would probably have argued thematter if our attention had not been arrested by a movement in thealcove. 

The king rose and extended an arm, and the Incas who filled the seatssurrounding the cavern fell flat on their faces. 

"We don't seem to have thinned them out any, " I observed. "I believethere 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 attendto 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 allpropriety! Look!"

The king had dropped his arm, and the Incas were again sitting asNature had intended they should sit, instead of on their noses. Andfour 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 thealcove, until he stood almost directly under the oval plate of goldrepresenting Pachacamac or the unknown god. 

To this he knelt and made a succession of weird, uncouth gestures thatsuggested a lunatic or a traveling hypnotist. Evidently the goodPachacamac approved whatever suggestions the royal priest communicated, for he rose to his feet with a solemn grin and strutted majestically tothe rear, facing the frame of quipos. 

It was evident that he no longer had faith in Desiree's interpretationof the divine will of the great Pachacamac. It is a royal privilege tobe able to judge your own enemies. 

The hand of the Child of the Sun passed slowly up and down the frame ofquipos, betraying a commendable reluctance. It touched the yellow cordand passed on; grasped the white and dropped it. 

"The old hypocrite!" exclaimed Harry in disgust. "Does he imagine heis playing with us?"

Then there was an imperceptible movement, rather felt than seen, throughout the vast assemblage, and Desiree sank back on her throne ofgold with a shudder as the king severed with the knife the black cordof death and laid it on the ground at her feet. 

I looked at Harry; his face became slightly pale, but his eyes met minefirmly, speaking of a fortitude unconquerable. Then we again rivetedour gaze on the alcove opposite. 

An attendant approached from the rear and stood before the goldenthrone, while the king motioned to Desiree to take up the black cord. For a moment she did not understand him, then she drew back, shakingher head firmly. 

The king did not wait to argue the matter, but stooped himself andpicked up the cord and handed it to the attendant, who received it witha great show of respect and retired to the rear, where a commotion wascreated by its appearance. 

The judgment was passed, but what was to be the nature of theexecution? That uncertainty and the weirdness of the scene gave to thething an air of unreality that shut out the tragic and admitted onlythe grotesque. 

I have many times in my life felt nearer to death than when I stood onthe top of that lofty column, surrounded by the thousands of squattingdwarfs, whose black bodies reflected dully the mounting light from theflaming urns. 

I cannot say what we expected, for we knew not what to expect. Manyconjectures entered my mind, but none of them approached the fact. But, thinking that our guide might now return at any moment to lead usbelow, and not caring to be surprised by an attack from behind on thatnarrow precipice, I moved across to the rear, where I could keep myeyes on the alcove opposite, and at the same time watch the stone slabwhich closed the opening to the spiral stairway. A word to Harry andhe 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 toobtain a purchase. The thing was immovable. 

Five minutes passed, during which there was no movement, either in theaudience on the stone seats or in the alcove. But there was anindefinable air of expectancy on the faces of the king and thosesurrounding him, and I kept a sharp eye on the stone slab. 

Another five minutes and still nothing happened. Harry called acrossto Desiree, or rather began to call, for I stopped him with a jerk. Itwas impossible for her to aid us, and her situation was alreadysufficiently perilous. 

Then, becoming impatient, I decided to try to move the stone slabmyself. Kneeling down, I placed the palms of my hands firmly againstits surface and pressed with all my weight. 

And then I knew. Complete comprehension flashed through my brain onthe instant. I sprang to my feet, and my thought must have shown on myface, 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 yourhand 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, andthe stone doesn't throw out enough heat to feel it in the air. They'vebuilt a fire under us in the column. The stone is thick and heatsslowly. "

"But what--that means--"

"It means one of two things. In a few minutes this floor will bebaking hot. Then we either fry on their stone griddle or drown in thelake. You see the distance below--only a man crazed by suffering orone incredibly brave would take that leap. This is their littleentertainment--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 beany in so desperate a situation. To be sure, there seemed to be nopossibility of escaping, even if we took the water without injury. Onevery side its bank was lined with the watching Incas, and the bankitself 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 ofthe Sun in the alcove lean forward with an appreciative grin. Anotherminute--

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 spiralstairway at the base of the column. I had thought at the time that itmight be connected with the lake itself. If that were so--

I turned to Harry and conveyed my idea to him in as few words aspossible as we walked up and down, side by side. It was impossiblelonger to stand still--the stone was so hot that the bare hand couldnot be held against it for an instant. I saw that he did notcomprehend what I said about the water in the column, but he didunderstand 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--weplaced them on the hot stone, and on top of them our boots, which wehad also removed. Thus our feet were protected as we stood on theextreme edge of the column, taking a deep breath for strength and nerve. 

I saw the thousands of black savages--who had been cheated of theirdance--crane their necks forward eagerly. 

I saw the king gesture excitedly to an attendant, who turned and flewfrom the alcove. 

I saw Desiree spring up from the golden throne and run to the edge ofthe alcove, crying to us in a tone of despair. But I did not hear herwords, for I myself was calling:

"Take it clean, Hal. Ready--go!"

The next instant we were flying headlong through the air toward thesurface of the lake a hundred feet below. 

Men have told me since that I never made that dive, or that I greatlyoverestimated the distance, and I admit that as I look back at it nowit appears incredible. Well, they are welcome to their opinion, but Iwould not advise them to try to argue the matter with Harry. 

The impact with the water all but completely stunned me; as I struckthe 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 itbefore 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 thesurface as rapidly as possible. I had started with my lungs full ofair, but that headlong plunge had emptied them. 

I made the surface at last and looked round for Harry, calling hisname. For perhaps thirty seconds I called in vain, then there came anunanswering shout off to the left. The urns were far above us now, andthe light on the surface of the lake was very dim, but soon I made outHarry'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 awareof a strong current in the water carrying us off to the right. It wasinexplicable, but there was no time then for speculation, and we struckout with bold, sweeping strokes. 

The Incas had left the stone seats and advanced to the water's edge. Icould see their black, sinister faces, thousands of them, peeringintently at us through the dim light, but they made no sound. 

Once I cast a glance over my shoulder and saw Desiree standing at theedge of the alcove with her clenched fists pressed to her throat. Beside her stood the Child of the Sun. Harry, too, saw her and senther a shout of farewell, but there was no answer. 

We were now less than thirty feet from the column. Its jeweled sidessparkled and shone before us; looking up, our eyes were dazzled. Something struck the water near me. I glanced to the right and sawwhat 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 fromthe bank--apparently with the kind approval of Pachacamac. 

As we neared the column the current which tended to carry us to theright became stronger, but still we seemed not to be approaching thebank. What could it mean? The struggle against it was fast taking ourstrength. 

Looking up, I saw that we had swung round to the other side of thecolumn--it was between us and the alcove. Then I understood. We werein a whirlpool, ever increasing in force, which was carrying us swiftlyin 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 werefalling thick about us now; one struck me on the shoulder, turning mehalf round. 

The current became swifter--so swift that we were almost helplessagainst it and were carried around and around the column, which was buta few feet away. And always complete silence. 

Nearer and nearer we were carried, till, thrusting out my arm, the tipsof my fingers brushed against the side of the column. The waterwhirled with the rapidity of a mill-stream; ten more seconds and ourbrains would have been dashed against the unyielding stone. It was nowbut half an arm's length away. I kept thrusting out my arm in a wildendeavor 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 Ireached the same spot again I thrust out both hands, and, finding theedge, held on desperately. The next instant Harry's body was sweptagainst mine, doubling the strain on my fingers. 

"The column!" I gasped. "Inside--through the wall--opening--I amholding--"

He understood, and the next moment he, too, had grasped the edge. Together we pulled ourselves, little by little, toward the opening; forour strength was nearly spent, and the force of the maelstrom was nighirresistible. 

It was as I had thought. The base of the column consisted merely oftwo massive pillars, some twelve feet in length and circular in shape. The water rushed in through each of the two openings thus left, andinside of the column was the center of the whirlpool, sucking the waterfrom both sides. The water I had seen; I had not counted on thewhirlpool. 

We had pulled ourselves round till our bodies rested against the edgeof the opening, clinging to either side. Inside all was blackness, butwe could judge of the fury of the maelstrom by the force of the currentoutside. Stones hurled by the Incas were striking against the sides ofthe column and in the water near us. 

We were being hunted from life like dogs, and a hot, unreasoning angersurged through my brain--anger at the grinning savages on the bank, atthe 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--oldman--Paul--come--I'm going--"

He disappeared into the black, furious whirlpool with that word. Thenext instant my own fingers were torn from their hold by a sudden jerkof the water, and I followed. 

Chapter XIV. 

A FISHING PARTY. 

Water, when whirling rapidly, has a keen distaste for any foreignobject; but when once the surface breaks, that very repulsion seems tomultiply the indescribable fury with which it endeavors to bury theobject beneath its center. 

Once in the whirlpool, I was carried in a swift circle round itssurface for what seemed an age, and I think could not have been lessthan eight or ten seconds in reality. Then suddenly I was turnedcompletely over, my limbs seemed to be torn from my body, there was adeafening roar in my ears, and a crushing weight pressed against mefrom 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 thefact that I retained sufficient volition to avoid breathing orswallowing the water. 

The pressure against my body was terrific; I wondered vaguely why lifehad not departed, since--as I supposed--there was not a whole bone leftin my body. My head was bursting with dizziness and pain; my breastwas a furnace of torture. 

Suddenly the pressure lessened and the whirling movement graduallyceased, but still the current carried me on. I struck out wildly withboth arms--in an effort, I suppose, to grasp the proverbial straw. 

I found no straw, but something better--space. Instinct led the fightto reach it with my head to get air, but the swiftness of the currentcarried me again beneath the surface. My arms seemed powerless; I wasunable to direct them. 

I hardly know what happened after that. A feeling of most intensesuffocation in my chest; a relaxation of all my muscles; a sensation oflight in my smarting eyes; a gentle pressure from the water beneath, like the rising gait of a saddle-horse; and suddenly, without knowingwhy or when or how, I found myself lying on hard ground, gasping, choking, sputtering, not far from death, but nearer to life than I hadthought ever to be again. 

I lay for several minutes unable to move; then my brain awoke andcalled for life. I twisted over on my face, and moved my arms out andin with the motion of a swimmer; the most exquisite pains shot throughmy 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 andover with a most intense earnestness: "But if I were really dead Ishouldn't be able to move. " It appears that the first sense to leave adrowning man, and the last to return, is the sense of humor. 

In another ten minutes, having rid my lungs of the water that hadfilled 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 otherwiseI was little the worse for wear. I twisted carefully over on my sideand took note of my surroundings. 

I lay on a narrow ledge of rock at the entrance to a huge cavern. Nottwo feet below rushed the stream which had carried me; it came downthrough an opening in the wall at a sharp angle with tremendousvelocity, and must have hurled me like a cork from its foaming surface. Below, it emptied into a lake which nearly filled the cavern, somehundreds of yards in diameter. Rough boulders and narrow ledgessurrounded it on every side. 

This I saw in time, but the first thing that caught my eye was no workof nature. Fastened to the wall on the opposite side of the cavern, casting a dim, flickering light throughout its vast space, were twogolden, flaming urns. 

It was not fear, but a sort of nausea, that assailed me as I realizedthat I was still in the domain of the Incas. 

The ledge on which I lay was exposed to view from nearly every point ofthe cavern, and the sight of those urns caused me to make a swiftdecision to leave it without delay. It was wet and slippery and notover three feet in width; I rose to my feet cautiously, having noappetite for another ducking. 

At a distance of several feet lay another ledge, broad and level, atthe farther end of which rose a massive boulder. I cleared the gapwith a leap, barely made my footing, and passed behind the boulderthrough a crevice just wide enough to admit my body. 

Then through a narrow lane onto another ledge, and from that I found myway into a dark recess which gave assurance at least of temporarysafety. The sides of the cavern were a veritable maze of boulders, sloping ledges, and narrow crevices. Nature here scarcely seemed tohave known what to do with herself. 

I seated myself on a bit of projecting limestone, still wet andshivering. I had no boots nor trousers; my feet were bruised andswollen, and my flannel shirt and woolen underwear were but scantyprotection against the chill air, damp as they were. Also, I seemed tofeel a cold draft circling about me, and was convinced of the fact bythe flickering flames in the golden urns. 

Desolate, indeed, for I gave Harry up as lost. The thought generatedno particular feeling in me; death, by force of contrast, may evenappear agreeable; and I told myself that Harry had been favored of thegods. 

And there I sat in the half-darkness, shrinking from a danger of whoseexistence I was not certain, clinging miserably to the little that wasleft 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 thewater of the lake. It was as though an immense trout had leaped andsplit the surface. This was repeated several times, and was followedby a rhythmic sound like the regular splash of many oars. Then silence. 

I peered intently forth from my corner in the recess, but could seenothing, and finally gave it up. 

As the minutes passed by my discomfort increased and stiffness began totake my joints. I realized the necessity of motion, but lacked thewill, 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 directlyopposite me, under the flaming urns, there was a ledge some ten ortwelve feet broad and easily a hundred in length. It met the surfaceof the lake at an easy, gradual slope. In the rear, exactly betweenthe two urns, could be seen the dark mouth of a passage, evidentlyleading directly away from the cavern. 

Out of this passage there suddenly appeared the forms of two Incas. Inthe hand of each was what appeared to be a long spear--I had evidentlybeen mistaken in my presumption of their ignorance of weapons. 

They walked to one end of the long ledge and dragged out into the lightan object with a flat surface some six feet square. This they launchedon the surface of the lake; then embarked on it, placing their spearsby their sides and taking up, instead, two broad, short oars. Withthese they began to paddle their perilous craft toward the center ofthe lake with short, careful strokes. 

About a hundred feet from the shore they ceased paddling and exchangedthe oars for their spears, and stood motionless and silent, waiting, apparently, for nothing. 

I, also, remained motionless, watching them in dull curiosity. Therewas little danger of being seen; for, aside from the darkness of mycorner, which probably would have been no hindrance to them, aprojecting ledge partly screened my body from view. 

The wait was not a long one, and when it ended things happened with sostartling a suddenness that I scarcely grasped the details. 

There was a loud splash in the water like that I had heard before, aswift ripple on the surface of the lake, and simultaneously the twoIndians lunged with their spears, which flew to their mark with deadlyaccuracy. I had not before noticed the thongs, one end of which wasfastened to the shaft of the spear and the other about the waist of thesavage. 

There followed a battle royal. Whatever the thing was that had feltthe spears, it certainly lost no time in showing its resentment. Itthrashed the water into furious waves until I momentarily expected theraft to be swamped. 

One Inca stood on the farther edge of the craft desperately plying anoar; the other tugged lustily at the spear-thongs. I could see ablack, twisting form leap from the water directly toward the raft, andthe oarsman barely drew from under before it fell. It struck thecorner 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 remarkabledexterity and swiftness, while the other stood braced, holding firmlyto the spear-thongs. Another minute and they had leaped upon theledge, drawing the raft after them, and, by tugging together on thelines, had landed their victim of the deep. 

It appeared to be a large black fish of a shape I had never beforeseen. But it claimed little of my attention; my eye was on the twospears which had been drawn from the still quivering body and which nowlay on the ground well away from the water's edge, while the two Incaswere dragging their catch toward the mouth of the passage leading fromthe cavern. 

I wanted those spears. I did not stop to ask myself what I intended todo with them; if I had I would probably have been hard put to it for ananswer. But I wanted them, and I sat in my dark corner gazing at themwith greedy eyes. 

The Incas had disappeared in the passage. 

Finally I rose and began to search for an exit from the recess in whichI had hidden myself. At first there appeared to be none, but at lengthI found a small crevice between two boulders in the rear. Into this Isqueezed my body with some difficulty. 

The rock pressed tightly against me on both sides, and the sharpcorners bruised my body, but I wormed my way through for a distance offifteen or twenty feet. Then the crevice opened abruptly, and I foundmyself on a broad ledge ending apparently in space. I advancedcautiously 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 groundalmost instantly--the supposedly perilous fall amounted to somethinglike twelve inches. 

I turned round, feeling a little foolish, and saw that from where Istood the ledge and part of the lake were in full view. I could seethe spears still lying where they had been thrown down. 

But as I looked the two Incas emerged from the passage. They picked upthe spears, walked to the raft, and again launched it and paddledtoward the center of the lake. 

I thought, "Here is my chance; I must make that ledge before theyreturn, " and I started forward so precipitately that I ran head on intoa massive boulder and got badly stunned for my pains. Half dazed, Iwent on, groping my way through the semidarkness. 

The trail was one to try a llama. I climbed boulders and leaped acrosschasms and clung to narrow, slippery edges with my finger-nails. Several times I narrowly escaped dumping myself into the lake, and halfthe time I was in plain view of the Incas on the raft. 

My hands and feet were bruised and bleeding, and I had bumped intowalls and boulders so often that I was surprised when I took a stepwithout getting a blow. I wanted those spears. 

I found myself finally within a few yards of my destination. A narrowcrevice led from where I stood directly to the ledge from which theIncas had embarked. It was now necessary to wait till they returned tothe shore, and I drew back into the darkness of a near-by corner andstood motionless. 

They were still on the raft in the middle of the lake, waiting, spearin hand. I watched them in furious impatience, on the border of mania. 

Suddenly I saw a dark, crouching form outlined against a boulder notten feet away from where I stood. The form was human, but in some wayunlike the Incas I had seen. I could not see its face, but thealertness suggested by its attitude made me certain that I had beendiscovered. 

Vaguely I felt myself surrounded on every side; I seemed to feel eyesgazing unseen from every direction, but I could not force myself tosearch the darkness; my heart rose to my throat and choked me, and Istood absolutely powerless to make a sound or movement, gazing in asort of dumb fascination at that silent, crouching figure. 

Suddenly it crouched lower still against the black background of theboulder. 

"Another second and he will be at my throat, " I thought--but I stoodstill, unable to move. 

But the figure did not spring. Instead, it suddenly straightened up toalmost twice the height of an Inca, and I caught a glimpse of a whiteface 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 momenthe had reached my side. 

A hurried word or two--there was no time for more--and I pointed to theIncas 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 canhandle two of them. "

As I spoke there came a sound from the lake--a sudden loud splashfollowed by a commotion in the water. I looked around the corner ofthe 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 soonfound ourselves close to the shore of the lake, with a smooth stretchof rock between us and the fisherman's landing-place. The urns, whoselight was quite sufficient here, were about fifty feet to the right andrear. 

The Incas had made their kill and were paddling for the shore. As theycame near, Harry and I sank back against the boulder, which extended tothe boundary of the ledge. Soon the raft was beached and pulled wellaway 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 haddone formerly; and, laying hold on the immense fish, still flounderingponderously about, began to drag it toward the mouth of the passage. 

"Now, " whispered Harry, and as he stood close at my side I could feelhis 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 tillthey return. "

In a few minutes they reappeared in the light of the flaming urns. Iwaited till they had advanced half-way to the water's edge, some thirtyfeet away. Then I whispered to Harry: "You for the left, me for theright, " and released my hold on his arm, and the next instant we werebounding furiously across the ledge. 

Taken by surprise, the Incas offered no resistance whatever. Themomentum of our assault carried them to the ground; their heads struckthe 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 wehad returned to life. We laid hold of the unconscious bodies, draggedthem to the edge of the lake, and pushed them in. The shock of thecold water brought one of them to life, and he started to swim, andwe--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 ofthe same material. But when I tried it against a stone and saw itshardness I found that it was much less soft, and consequently moreeffective, than copper would have been. That those underground savageshad succeeded in combining metals was incredible, but there was theevidence; 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 theshaft 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 tothe left of the ledge with considerable difficulty. The two latter notbecause we expected them to be of any service, but in order not toleave any trace of our presence, for if any searchers came and foundnothing they could know nothing. 

We expected them to arrive at any moment, and we waited for hours. Wehad about given up watching from our vantage point behind the boulderwhen two Incas appeared at the mouth of the passage. But they broughtonly oil to fill the urns, and after performing this duty departed, without a glance at the lake or any exhibition of surprise at theabsence of their fellows. 

Every now and then there was a commotion in some part of the lake, andwe could occasionally see a black, glistening body leap into the airand fall again into the water. 

"I'm hungry, " Harry announced suddenly. "I wonder if we couldn't turnthe trick on that raft ourselves?"

The same thought had occurred to me, but Harry's impulsiveness had mademe 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 findDesiree--"

"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 wherecould we take her and what could we do--in short, what's the use? Whythe deuce should we prolong the thing any further?

"In the world I refused to struggle because nothing tempted me; in thisinfernal hole I have fought when there was nothing to fight for. Ifcivilization held no prize worth an effort, why should I exert myselfto preserve the life of a rat? Faugh! It's sickening! I wondered whyI wanted those spears. Now I know. I have an idea I'm going to becoward 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 neverbeen overly keen about it. To end it in a hole like this--well, thatisn't exactly what I expected; but it is all one--after. Understandme, Hal; I don't want to desert you; haven't I stuck? And I wouldstill 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'tquarrel about it, but the world would call you a quitter. Whichever itis, it's not for me. I stay in the game. I'm going to find Desiree ifI can, and, by the Lord, some day I'm going to cock my feet up on thefender at the Midlothian and make 'em open their mouths and call me aliar!"

"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 thespears 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 gofifty-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 wildchance we should pull out in the end I'll admit you were right. But Ieat under compulsion, and I fight for you. You're the leader unlessyou ask my advice. "

"And I begin right now, " said Harry with a grin. "First, to getDesiree. What about it?"

We discussed plans all the way from the impossible to the miraculousand arrived nowhere. One thing only we decided--that before we triedto find our way back to the great cavern and the royal apartments wewould lay in a supply of food and cache it among the boulders andledges where we then were. For if ever a place were designed for asuccessful defense by two men against thousands it was that one. Andwe had the spears. 

Still no one had appeared in the cavern, and we decided to wait nolonger. We carried the raft back to the ledge. It was fairly light, being made of hide stretched tightly across stringers of bone, but wasexceedingly clumsy. Once Harry fell, and the thing nearly toppled overinto 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. Welaunched the raft awkwardly, nearly shipping it beneath; but finallygot it afloat with ourselves aboard. We had fastened the loose ends ofthe spear-thongs about our waists. 

I think that raft was the craziest thing that ever touched water. Itwas a most excellent diver, but was in profound ignorance of the firstprinciple of the art of floating. 

After a quarter of an hour of experimentation we found that by standingexactly in a certain position, one on each side and paddling with onehand, it was possible to keep fairly level. If either of us shiftedhis 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 barelyperceptible ripple, caused no doubt by the undercurrent which was fedby the stream at the opposite side. The urns were so far away that thelight was very dim; no better than half darkness. The silence wasbroken by the sound of the rushing stream. 

Suddenly the raft swayed gently; there was a parting of the water not afoot away toward the front, and then--well, the ensuing events happenedso quickly that their order is uncertain. 

A black form arose from the water with a leap like lightning and landedsquarely on the raft, which proceeded to perform its favorite dive. Itwould have done so with much less persuasion, for the fish was amonster--it appeared to me at that moment to be twenty feet long. 

On the instant, as the raft capsized, Harry and I lunged with ourspears, tumbling forward and landing on each other and on top of thefish. I felt my spear sinking into the soft fish almost withoutresistance. 

The raft slipped from under, and we found ourselves floundering in thewater. 

I have said the spear-thongs were fastened about our waists. Otherwise, we would have let the fish go; but we could hardly allow himto take us along. That is, we didn't want to allow it; but we soonfound that we had nothing to say in the matter. Before we had time toset ourselves to stroke we were being towed as though we had been corkstoward the opposite shore. 

But it was soon over, handicapped as he was by four feet of spears inhis body. We felt the pull lessen and twisted ourselves about, and inanother minute had caught the water with a steady dog-stroke and wereholding 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 thelake, passed it, and approached the ledge. We were well-nigh exhaustedwhen 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 wasfully seven feet long. One of the spears ran through the gills; theother was in his middle, just below the backbone. We got them out withsome difficulty and rolled him up high and dry. 

We straightened to return for the spears which we had left at the edgeof the water. 

"He's got a hide like an elephant, " said Harry. "What can we skin himwith?"

But I did not answer. 

I was gazing straight ahead at the mouth of the passage where stood twoIncas, 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 runfor our spears, and was halted by a cry of warning from Harry, who hadwheeled like a flash at my quick movement. I turned barely in time tosee the Incas draw back their powerful arms, then lunge forward, thespears shooting from their hands. 

I leaped aside; something struck my leg; I stooped swiftly and graspedthe spear-thong before there was time for the Inca to recover and jerkit out of my reach. The other end was fastened about his waist; I hadhim, and giving an instant for a glance at Harry, saw that he hadadopted 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 acharging bull; I sidestepped easily and floored him with a single blow. He scrambled to his feet, but by that time I had recovered the spearand had it ready for him. 

I waited until he was quite close, then let him have it full in thechest. The fool literally ran himself through, hurling himself on thesharp point in a brutal frenzy. He lay on his back, quite still, withthe spear-head buried in his chest and the shaft sticking straight upin the air. 

I turned to Harry, and in spite of myself smiled at what I saw. Hestood with his right arm upraised, holding his spear ready. His leftfoot was placed well and gracefully forward, and his body bent to oneside like the classic javelin-thrower. And ten feet in front of himthe other Inca had fallen flat on his face on the ground with armsextended 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'tlet him go. "

It was really a question. Mercy and murder were alike impossible. Wefinally compromised by binding his wrists and ankles and trussing himup behind, using a portion of one of the spear-thongs for the purpose, and gagging him. Then we carried him behind a large boulder somedistance 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, " saidHarry. 

"In that case I wouldn't give much for his chances of a happyexistence, " 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 Ihad buried in the body of the Inca, but the thing had become wedgedbetween two ribs and refused to come out. Finally we gave it up andthrew the corpse in the lake. 

We then removed the oars and spears and raft--which had floated so nearto the ledge that we had no difficulty in recovering it--to ourhiding-place, and last we tackled our fish. 

It was a task for half a dozen men, but we dared not remain on theledge to skin him and cut him up. After an hour of exertion and toilthat left us completely exhausted, we managed to get him behind a largeboulder to the left of the ledge, but it was impossible to carry him tothe place we had selected, which could be reached only by passingthrough a narrow crevice. 

The only knives we had were the points of the spears, but they servedafter a fashion, and in another hour we had him skinned and pretty wellseparated. He was meaty and sweet. We discovered that with the firstopportunity, for we were hungry as wolves. Nor did we waste much timebewailing our lack of a fire, for we had lived so long on dried stuffthat the opposite extreme was rather pleasant than otherwise. 

We tore him into strips as neatly as possible, stowing them awaybeneath 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 wherethat 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 fishwhich we had laid aside we now strapped together with one of the extraspear-thongs and slung them on our backs. We secreted the oars andraft and the extra spear as snugly as possible. 

Then, having filled ourselves with raw fish and a last hearty drinkfrom the lake, we each took a spear and started on a search wilder thanany ever undertaken by Amadis of Gaul or Don Quixote himself. Even theBachelor of Salamanca, in his saddest plight, did not present sooutrageous an appearance to the eye as we. We wore more clothing thanthe Incas, which is the most that can be said for us. 

We were unable to even guess at the direction we should take; but thatwas settled for us when we found that there were but two exits from thecavern. One led through the boulders and crevices to a passage full oftwists and turns and strewn with rocks, almost impassable; the otherwas that through which the Incas had entered. We chose the latter. 

Fifty feet from the cavern we found ourselves in darkness. I stoppedshort. 

"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 withyou. "

"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 nostomach for it. In a fight I can avoid disgracing myself, because itis necessary; but why seek it when there is nothing to be gained? ThusI 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 takenagain by the Incas unseen in the darkness. But that fear was soonremoved when I found that we could see easily some thirty or forty feetahead--enough for a warning in case of attack. 

Our flannel shirts and woolen undergarments hung from us in rags andtatters. Our feet were bare and bruised and swollen. Our faces werecovered with a thick, matted growth of hair. Placed side by side withthe Incas it is a question which of us would have been judged the mostterrifying spectacles by an impartial observer. 

I don't think either of us realized the extreme foolhardiness of thatexpedition. The passage was open and unobstructed, and since itappeared to be the only way to their fishing-ground, was certain to bewell traveled. The alarm once given, there was no possible chance forus. 

We sought the royal apartments. Those we knew to be on a level someforty or fifty feet below the surface of the great cavern, at the footof the flight of steps which led to the tunnel to the base of thecolumn. I had counted ninety-six of those steps, and allowing anaverage height of six inches, they represented a distance offorty-eight feet. 

How far the whirlpool and the stream which it fed had carried usdownward we did not know, but we estimated it at one hundred feet. That calculation left us still fifty feet below the level of the royalapartments. 

But we soon found that in this we were mistaken. We had advanced forperhaps a quarter of an hour without incident when the passage came toan abrupt end. To the right was an irregular, twisting lane thatdisappeared around a corner almost before it started; to the left awide and straight passage, sloping gently upward. We took the latter. 

We had followed this for about a hundred yards when we saw a lightahead. Caution was useless; the passage was straight and unbroken andonly luck could save us from discovery. We pushed on, and soon stooddirectly within the light which came from an apartment adjoining thepassage. It was not that which we sought, however, and we gave itbarely 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 doorwayleading into an apartment some twenty feet square. It was empty, andwe 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 werestudded 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 kingand where we ourselves had been imprisoned with Desiree. 

"She said her room was to the right of this, " whispered Harryexcitedly. "What luck! If only--"

He left the sentence unfinished, but I understood his fear. And withme there was even no doubt; I had little hope of finding Desiree, andwas sorry, for Harry's sake, that we had been so far successful. 

Again we sought the passage. A little farther on it was crossed byanother, running at right angles in both directions. But to the rightthere was nothing but darkness, and we turned to the left, where, somedistance ahead, we could see a light evidently proceeding from adoorway similar to the one we had just left. 

We went rapidly, but our feet made scarcely any sound on the granitefloor. Still we were incautious, and it was purely by luck that Iglanced ahead and discovered that which made me jerk Harry violentlyback and flatten myself against the wall. 

"What is it?" he whispered. 

In silence I pointed with my finger to where two Incas stood in thepassage ahead of us, just without the patch of light from the doorway, which they were facing. They made no movement; we were as yetundiscovered. 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 toglance in our direction they were certain to see us. I whisperedhastily and briefly to Harry. He nodded. 

The next instant we were advancing slowly and noiselessly, hugging thewall. 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, whensuddenly one of the Incas turned, facing us squarely, and gave a startof surprise. We leaped forward. 

Half a dozen bounds and we were upon them, before they had had time torealize their danger or move to escape it. With a ferocity taught usby the Incas themselves we gripped their throats and bore them to thefloor. 

No time then for the decencies; we had work to do, and we crushed andpounded their lives out against the stone floor. There had not been asound. They quivered and lay still; and then, looking up at someslight sound in the doorway, we saw Desiree. 

She stood in the doorway, regarding us with an expression of terrorthat I did not at first understand; then suddenly I realized that, having seen us disappear beneath the surface of the take after our divefrom the column, she had thought us dead. 

"Bon Dieu!" she exclaimed in a hollow voice of horror. "This, too! Doyou come, messieurs?"

"For you, " I answered. "We are flesh and bone, Desiree, though in illrepair. We have come for you. "

"Paul! Harry, is it really you?"

Belief crept into her eyes, but nothing more, and she stood gazing atus curiously. Harry had sprung to her side; she did not move as heembraced 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 depositedthem in a corner. Then I ran and brought the spears, which we haddropped when we attacked the Incas. Desiree stood just within thedoorway, 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 yougoing to take me?"

"Desiree, " Harry burst out, "for Heaven's sake, come! Must we carryyou?"

He grasped her arm. 

Then she moved and appeared to acquiesce. I started ahead; Harrybrought up the rear, with an arm round Desiree's shoulders. Shestarted once more to speak, but I wheeled sharply with a command forsilence, and she obeyed. 

We reached the turn in the corridor and passed to the right, moving asswiftly and noiselessly as possible. Ahead of us was the light fromthe 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 greatmany of them. 

I turned, with a swift gesture to Harry and Desiree to follow, anddashed forward to the light and through the doorway into the room. Discovery was inevitable, I thought, in any event, but it was better tomeet them at the door to the room than in the open passage. And we hadour spears. 

But by a rare stroke of luck we had not been seen. As we stood withinthe room on either side of the doorway, out of the line of view fromthe corridor, we heard the patter of many footsteps approaching. 

They neared the doorway, and I glanced at Harry, pointing to his spearsignificantly. He gave me a nod of understanding. Let them come; wewould not again fall into their hands alive. 

The footsteps sounded just without the doorway; I stood tense andalert, with spear ready, expecting a rush momentarily. Then theypassed, passed altogether, and receded down the corridor in thedirection 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 myroom. 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 thecorridor to the left, each holding an arm of Desiree. But she neededlittle of our assistance; the presence of the Inca king seemed to haveinspired 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--thefirst one we had seen on our way in. I had our route marked on mymemory with complete distinctness. Soon we found ourselves in thewide, sloping passage that carried us to the level below, and inanother five seconds had reached its end and the beginning of the laststretch. 

At the turn Harry stumbled and fell flat, dragging Desiree to herknees. I lifted her, and he sprang to his feet unhurt. 

She was panting heavily. Harry had dropped his spear in the fall, andwe wasted a precious minute searching for it in the darkness, finallyfinding it where it had slid, some twenty feet ahead. Again we dashedforward. 

A light appeared ahead in the distance, dim but unmistakable--the lightof the urns in the cavern for which we were headed. Suddenly Desireefaltered 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 gono farther. Leave me!"

Harry and I with one impulse stooped over to pick her up, and as we didso she fainted away in our arms. We were then but a few hundred feetfrom our goal; the light from the urns could be plainly seen gleamingon the broad ledge by the lake. 

Suddenly the sound of many footsteps came from behind. I turnedquickly, but the passage was too dark. I could see nothing. The soundcame closer and closer; there seemed to be many of them, advancingswiftly. 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 thrownDesiree's unconscious body over his shoulder and was staggering forwardtoward the cavern. I followed, while the sound of the footsteps behindgrew 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 itdifficult to keep up with him. The strength of a god was in him, whichwas but just, since he had his goddess in his arms. 

On the ledge, near the edge of the water, stood two Incas. They turnedat our approach and rushed at us. Unlucky for them, for Harry'sexample 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 myfists or my head. I know only that I leaped at them in irresistiblefury and left them stretched on the ground before they had reachedHarry or halted him. 

We crossed the ledge and made for the boulders to the left. Thecrevice which led to our hiding-place was too narrow for Harry and hisburden. I sprang forward and grasped Desiree's shoulders; he held herankles, and we got her through to the ledge beyond. 

Then I leaped back through the crevice, and barely in time. As Ilooked out a black, rushing horde emerged from the passage and dashedacross the ledge toward us. I stood at the entrance to the narrowcrevice, spear in hand. 

They appeared to have no sense of the fact that my position wasimpregnable, but dashed blindly at me. The crevice in which I stoodand which was the only way through to the ledge where Harry had takenDesiree, was not more than two feet wide. With unarmed savages forfoes, one man could have held it against a million. 

But they came and I met them. I stood within the crevice, some threeor four feet from its end, and when one appeared in the opening I lethim 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 fiveminutes the mouth of the crevice was completely choked with bodies, some, who were merely wounded, struggling and squirming to extricatethemselves 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 eatdeath as though it were candy. We're safe; they can never breakthrough 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 iteven two steps is beyond me. "

"A sprain? Are you sure?"

"I think so; it's badly swollen. Maybe only a twist; a few hours willtell. "

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 tofear in that direction. The boulders which formed the sides of thecrevice 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 thinkof that; for the present we had our fish, which was sufficient for thethree of us for a month, if we could keep it fresh that long. And thewater 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 removingtheir dead. I could see the black forms swaying and pulling not fivefeet away. But I stood motionless, saving my spear and my strength forany who might try to force an entrance. 

Soon the crevice was clear, and from where I stood I commanded a viewof something like three-quarters of the ledge. It was one mass ofblack forms, packed tightly together, gazing at our retreat. 

They looked particularly silly and helpless to me then, renderedpowerless as they were by a little bit of rock. Brute force was allthey had; and nature, being the biggest brute of all, laughed at them. 

But I soon found that they were not devoid of resource. For perhapsfifteen minutes the scene remained unchanged; not one ventured toapproach the crevice. Then there was a sudden movement and shifting inthe mass; it split suddenly in the middle; they pressed off to eitherside, leaving an open lane between them leading directly toward me. 

Down this lane suddenly dashed a dozen or more of the savages, withspears aloft in their brawny arms. I was taken by surprise and barelyhad time to cut and run for the ledge within. 

As it was I did not entirely escape; the spears came whistling throughthe 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 nowclear of the crevice, standing on the ledge inside, near Harry andDesiree. I called to them to go to one side, out of the range of thespears that might come through. Harry took Desiree in his arms andcarried her to safety. 

As I expected, the Incas came rushing through the crevice--that narrowlane where a man could barely push through without squeezing. Thefirst got my spear full in the face--a blow rather than a thrust, for Ihad once or twice had difficulty in retrieving it when I had buried itdeep. 

As he fell I struck at the one behind. He grasped the spear with hishand, but I jerked it free and brought it down on his head, crushinghim to the ground. It was mere butchery; they hadn't a chance in theworld to get at me. Another fell, and the rest retreated. The crevicewas 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 ofthe ledge. Her body rested against his; her head lay on his shoulder. 

As I looked at them, smiling, her eyes suddenly opened wide and shesprang 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 raisedher in my arms and held her before me. 

"That, " I said, "is nothing. Believe me, it isn't even painful. Ishall bandage it myself; Harry will take my place here. But your foot?"

"That, too, is nothing, " she answered with a half-smile. "I merelytwisted it; it is nearly well already. See!"

She placed her weight on the injured foot, but could not suppress afaint grimace of pain. 

Calling to Harry to watch the crevice, I took Desiree in my arms andcarried her back to her seat. 

"Now sit still, " I commanded. "Soon we'll have dinner; in the meantime allow me to say that you are the bravest woman in the world, andthe best sport. And some day we'll drink to that--from a bottle. "

But facts have no respect for sentiment and fine speeches. The lastwords 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 uswas a confused mass of boulders and chasms, across which I had comewhen I first encircled the cavern and found Harry. 

In front was the crevice, guarded by the two massive boulders. On theright the ledge met the solid wall of the cavern, and on the left wasthe 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 peeredround the side of the boulder. He was right; but what I saw was notvery alarming. 

Two rafts had been launched from the enemy's camp. Each raft heldthree Incas--more would have sunk them. Two were paddling, while thethird balanced himself in the center, brandishing a spear aloft. 

Turning to Desiree, I called to her to move behind a projecting bit ofrock. Then, leaving Harry to guard the crevice in case of a doubleattack, I took three of our four spears--one of which had made thewound in my leg--and stood at the water's edge awaiting the approach ofthe rafts. 

They came slowly, and their appearance was certainly anything butterrifying. 

"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 anotherminute it had approached within fifty feet of the ledge. The Inca inthe center stood with legs spread apart and his spear poised above hishead; I made no movement, thinking that on such precarious footing hewould have difficulty to hurl the thing at all. Wherein I underratedhis 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 myear with the speed of a bullet, so close that the butt of the shaftstruck 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 Incastoop over, pick up another spear from the raft, and draw it back abovehis head. At the same moment the second raft drew up alongside, and asI fell to the ground flat on my face I heard the two spears whistleshrewdly over me. 

At that game they were my masters; it would have been folly to havetried conclusions with them with their own weapons. As the spearsclattered on the ground thirty feet away I sprang to my feet and ran tothe farther side of the ledge, where I had before noticed some loosestones 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 theair, one of which tore the skin from my left shoulder. 

A quick glance at the crevice as I passed showed me Harry fighting atits entrance; they were at us there, too. I heard Desiree shoutsomething at me, but didn't catch the words. 

My first stone found its goal. The two rafts, side by side not fortyfeet away, were a fair mark. The stone was nearly the size of a man'shead 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 aflash, precipitating its occupants onto the other raft. The addedweight carried that, too, under the surface, and the six Incas werefloundering 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 todistinguish their black heads against the black water; still, I couldsee their approach. Two of them held spears in their hands; I saw thecopper 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 theforemost stretched out his hand to grasp the slippery ledge; my spearcame down crushingly on his head and he fell back into the water. 

By that time another had crawled half onto the ledge, and another; ablow and a quick thrust, and they, too, slipped back beneath thesurface, pawing in agony, not to rise again. 

Just in time I saw that one of the remaining three had lifted himselfin 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 andwent down with a gurgle. At that the remaining two, seeming to acquirea glimmering of intelligence, turned and swam hastily away. I let themgo. 

Turning to Harry, I saw that the crevice also was clear. He had lefthis 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 neverstop?"

I looked at him and said merely: "Yes. "

No need to ask when; he understood me; he sent me the glance of a manwho 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 towhere 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 nearthe water and took some of it both to her and Harry. We ate, but withlittle relish. The stuff did not seem very fresh. 

I remained on guard at the mouth of the crevice while Harry went to thelake for a drink, having first helped Desiree to the water and back toher seat. Her foot gave her a great deal of pain, but instead of asprain it appeared that there had been merely a straining of theligaments. After bathing it in the cold water she was considerablyrelieved. 

I remained on watch at the mouth of the crevice, from where I couldalso obtain a pretty fair view of the lake, and commanded Harry torest. He demurred, but I insisted. Within two minutes he was sleepinglike a log, completely exhausted. 

Several hundred of the Incas remained huddled together on the ledgewithout, but they made no effort to attack us. I had been watchingperhaps three hours when they began to melt away into the passage. Soon but a scant dozen or so remained. These squatted along the walljust under the lighted urns, evidently in the capacity of sentinels. 

Soon I became drowsy--intolerably so; I was scarcely able to stand. Idozed off once or twice on my feet; and, realizing the danger, I calledHarry to take my place. 

Desiree also had been asleep, lying on the raft which Harry and I hadconcealed along with our fish. At sound of my voice she awoke and satup, rubbing her eyes; then, as I assured her that all was quiet, shefell 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 hisadvice difficult to understand. At the time I thought they had givenup the attack and intended to starve us out, but they were incapable ofa decision so sensible. 

Many hours had passed, and we had alternated on four watches. We hadplenty of rest and were really quite fit. The gash on my leg hadproven 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 withease, and had insisted on taking a turn at watch, making such a pointof it that we had humored her. 

Something had to happen, and I suppose it was as well that the Incasshould start it. For we had met with a misfortune that made us see thebeginning of the end. Our fish was no longer fit to eat, and we hadbeen forced to throw the remainder of it in the lake. 

Then we held a council of war. The words we uttered, standing togetherat the mouth of the crevice, come to me now as in a dream; if my memoryof them were not so vivid I should doubt their reality. We discusseddeath 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--asop to Harry. And there was one other circumstance that moved me todelay--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 ourdive from the column and our rescue of her; but she had said enough tocause me to guess at its nature. There was a suppressed but everpresent horror in her eyes that made me long to stand once more beforethe Child of the Sun; then to go, but not alone. 

Harry advised retreat. I have mentioned that when he and I had startedon our search for Desiree we had found two exits from the cavern--theone which we had taken and another which led through the maze ofboulders and chasms back of us to a passage full of twists and turnsand choked with massive rocks, almost impassable. 

Through this he advised making our way to whatever might await usbeyond. 

The question was still undecided when our argument was brought to ahalt and the decision was taken away from us. Through the crevice Isaw a band of Incas emerge from the passage opposite and advance to thewater's edge. At their head was the Inca king. 

Soon the landing was completely covered with them--probably threehundred or more--and others could be seen in the mouth of the passage. Each one carried a spear; their heads of copper, upraised in averitable forest, shone dully in the light of the urns on the wallabove. 

Harry and Desiree stood close behind me, looking through at thefantastic 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 ofit. If we had only left an hour ago!"

"For my part, " I retorted, "I'm glad we didn't. Desiree, I'm going toput you in my debt, if fortune will only show me one last kindness andlet me get within reach of him. "

I pointed to where the Inca king stood in the forefront, at the veryedge 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 suddensharp movement in the ranks of the Incas. Those in front leaped in thewater, and others after them, until, almost before we had time torealize their purpose, hundreds of the hairy brutes were swimming withlong, 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 thewater. Desiree stood just behind me. I called to her to go back, butshe did not move. I grasped her by the arm and led her forcibly to abreak in the rock at our rear, and pointed out a narrow ascending lanein the direction of the other exit. 

When I returned to the ledge of the water the foremost of the Incaswere but a few feet away. But I looked in vain for the one face Iwanted to see and could recognize; the king was not among them. Ahasty glance across the landing opposite discovered him standingmotionless with folded arms. 

The entire surface of the lake before me was one mass of heads and armsand spears as far as I could see. There were hundreds of them. I sawat once that the thing was hopeless, but I grasped my spear firmly andstood ready. 

The first two or three reached the ledge. At the same instant I heardHarry 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 myhead like a circle of flame. Black, dusky forms swam to the ledge andgrasped its slippery surface, but they got no farther. The shaft ofthe 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 thosestruggling, writhing, slipping forms. I swung the spear in viciousfury. Not one had found footing on the ledge. 

Something suddenly struck me in the left arm and stuck there; I shookit 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 mecloser and closer; but I knew that they had begun to hurl their spearsat me from the water, and that the game was up. Another struck me onthe leg; soon they were falling thick about me. 

Calling to Harry to follow, I turned and ran for the opening in therock 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 ontothe ledge and started toward us, and as many more came rushing throughthe crevice, finding their way no longer contested. 

Harry carried three spears. I had four. We sprang up a laneencircling the rock to the rear and at its top found Desiree. 

A projecting bit of rock gave us some protection from the spears thatwere 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 hisarms, sprang from the rock to another ledge some ten feet below. 

I followed. At the bottom he stumbled and fell, but I helped him tohis feet and then turned barely in time to beat back three or four ofthe Incas who had tumbled down almost on our very heads. 

Immediately in front of us was a chasm several feet across. Harrycried to Desiree, "Can you make it?" and she shook her head, pointingto her injured foot. 

"To me!" I shouted desperately; they were coming down from abovedespite my efforts to hold them back. 

Then, in answer to a call from Harry, I turned and leaped across thechasm, throwing the spears ahead of me. Harry took Desiree in his armsand swung her far out; I braced myself for the shock and caught her onmy feet. 

I set her down unhurt, and a minute later Harry had joined us and wewere scrambling up the face of a boulder nearly perpendicular, whilethe spears fell thick around us. 

Desiree lost her footing and fell against Harry, who rolled to thebottom, pawing for a hold. I turned, but he shouted: "Go on; I'll makeit!" Soon he was again at my side, and in another minute we had gainedthe top of the boulder, quite flat and some twenty feet square. Wecommanded Desiree to lie flat on the ground to avoid the spears frombelow, 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 incomparative darkness, though we could see with a fair amount ofclearness. Nothing could be made of the mass of boulders, but we knewthat somewhere beyond them was the passage from the cavern which wesought. 

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 wepushed 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 totake Desiree down the other side of the rock while I stayed behind tohold them off. He left me, and in a moment later I heard his voicecrying to me to follow. I did so, sliding down the face of the rockfeet first. 

Then began a wild and desperate scramble for safety, with the Incasever at our heels. Without Desiree we would have made our goal withlittle 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 Harryassisted Desiree up the steep face of a boulder or across a narrowledge. There was less danger now from their spears, protected as wewere by the maze of rocks, but I was already bleeding in a dozen placeson 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. Ipointed it out to Harry. 

"The exit!" he cried out, and made for it with Desiree. But they werebrought to a halt by a cliff at their very feet, no less than twentyfeet high. 

I started to join them, but hearing a clatter behind, turned just intime to see a score of Incas rush at us from the left, through a narrowlane that led to the edge of the cliff. 

I sprang toward them, calling to Harry for assistance. He was at myside 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 wemade them sick of their job. I saw that Harry could hold it alonethen, 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, thendropped 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. Shewas already hanging to the edge of the cliff, many feet above me. Butthere 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. Iwas one mass of bruises and wounds. But again I struggled to my feetand shouted at the top of my voice:

"Harry! Come!"

He did not come alone. I suppose the instant he left the laneunguarded the Incas poured in after him. They followed him over theedge of the cliff, tumbling on top of each other in anindistinguishable 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 afew feet away. As I have said, the thing was choked up till it wasalmost impassable. We squeezed in between two rocks, with Desireebetween 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 turnedand halted, gazing back at the Incas tumbling over the cliff andrushing toward the mouth of the exit. 

But I did not heed him, for, standing on the top of the cliff, wavinghis 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 feetas firmly as possible on the uneven rock and poised my spear above myhead. The Incas saw my purpose and stopped short. 

The king must also have seen me, but he stood absolutely motionless. Ilunged 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 sprangforward and hurled himself in the path of the spear just as its pointwas ready to take our revenge. The Inca fell to the foot of the cliffwith the spear buried deep in his side. The king stood as he hadbefore, without moving. 

Then there was a wild rush into the mouth of the exit, and I turned tofollow Harry and Desiree. With extreme difficulty we scrambled forwardover the rocks and around them. 

Desiree's breath was coming in painful gasps, and we had to support heron either side. The Incas approached closer at our rear; I felt one ofthem grasp me from behind, and in an excess of fury I shook him off anddashed him backward against the rocks. We were able to make littleheadway, or none; by taking to the exit we appeared to have set our owndeath-trap. 

Harry went on with Desiree, and I stayed behind in the attempt to checkthe attack. They came at me from both sides. I was faint andbleeding, and barely able to wield my spear--my last one. I gave wayby inches, retreating backward step by step, fighting with the very endof my strength. 

Suddenly Harry's voice came, shouting that they had reached the end ofthe passage. I turned then and sprang desperately from rock to rockafter 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 ontoflat, 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 oneside. I was half fainting from exhaustion and loss of blood, andscarcely knew what they did. They laid me on the ground and bent overme. 

"The Incas!" I gasped. 

"They are gone, " Harry answered. 

At that I struggled to rise and rested my body on my elbows, gazing atthe 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 hadnot long to wait. 

Harry and Desiree were bending over me, attempting to stop the flow ofblood from a cut on my shoulder. 

"We must have water, " said Desiree. Harry straightened up to lookabout the cavern, which was so dark that we could barely see oneanother'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 thewall 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 itwas there and that it was moving. It was of an immense size; so largethat it appeared as though the very side of the cavern itself had movednoiselessly 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 asound. The strength of the odor increased until it was almostsuffocating. 

Still we did not move. I could not, and Harry and Desiree seemedrooted to the spot with wonder. The thing came closer, and we couldsee the outlines of its huge form looming up indistinctly against theblack background of the cavern. 

I saw, or thought I saw, a grotesque and monstrous slimy head stretchedtoward us from about the middle of its bulk. 

That doubt became a certainty when suddenly, as though they had beenlit by a fire from within, two luminous, glowing spots appeared aboutthree feet apart. The creature's eyes--if eyes they were--were turnedfull on us, growing more brilliant as the thing came closer. It wasnow less than fifty feet away. The massive form blocked our view ofthe entire cavern. 

I pinched my nostrils to exclude the horrible odor which, like thefumes of some deadly poison, choked and smothered me. It came now inpuffs, like a draft of a fetid wind, and I realized that it was thecreature'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 somethingcompelling, supernaturally compelling, about their steadfast andbrilliant gaze. A mysterious power seemed to emanate from them; apower that hypnotized the mind and deadened the senses. I closed myeyes to avoid it, but was unable to keep them closed. They openeddespite 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 fromDesiree. Her hands were raised to her face; she was holding thembefore 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 stillwe did not move, as though rooted to the spot by some power beyond ourcontrol. 

Suddenly there came a cry from Desiree's lips--a scream of terror andwild fear. Her entire form trembled violently. 

She extended her arms toward the thing, now almost upon us, and took astep forward. Her feet dragged unwilling along the ground, as thoughshe were being drawn forward by some irresistible force. 

I tried to put out my hand to pull her back, but was absolutely unableto 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 slightlyparted lips. 

Suddenly the eyes disappeared. The huge form ceased to advance andstood perfectly still. Then it began to recede, so slowly that I wasbarely conscious of the movement. 

I was gasping and choking for air; my chest seemed swelling with thepoisonous breath. Still slowly the thing receded into the dimness ofthe cavern; the eyes were no longer to be seen--merely the huge, formless bulk. Desiree had stopped short with one foot advanced, asthough hesitating and struggling with the desire to go forward. 

The thing now could barely be seen at a distance; it would have beenimpossible if we had not known it was there. Finally it disappeared, melting away into the semi-darkness; no slightest movement wasdiscernible. I breathed more freely and stepped forward. 

As I did so Desiree threw her hands gropingly above her head and fellfainting to the ground. 

Harry sprang forward in time to keep her head from striking on the rockand knelt with his arms round her shoulders. We had nothing, not evenwater, with which to revive her; he called her name aloud appealingly. Soon her eyes opened; she raised her hand and passed it across her browwonderingly. 

"God help me!" she murmured in a low voice, eloquent of distress andpain. 

Then she pushed Harry aside and rose slowly to her feet, refusing hisassistance. 

"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 tolaugh, which sounded hollow in my own ears. 

Desiree could tell us nothing, except that she had felt herself drawnforward by some strange power that had seemed to come from the baneful, glittering eyes. She was bewildered and stunned and unable to talkcoherently. We assisted her to the wall, and she sat there with herback propped against it, breathing heavily from the exhaustion ofterror. 

"We must find water, " I said, and Harry nodded, hesitating. 

I understood him. Danger could not have stayed him nor fear, but thehorror of the thing which roamed about the cavern, dark as darknessitself and possessed of some strange power that could not be withstood, was enough to make him pause. For myself it was impossible; I wasbarely able to stand. So Harry went off alone in search of water and Istayed with Desiree. 

It was perhaps half an hour before he returned, and we were shaken withfear for him long before he appeared. When he did so it was with awhite face and trembling limbs, in spite of his evident effort atsteadiness. 

"There is water over there, " said he, pointing across the cavern. "Astream runs across the corner and disappears beneath the wall. Thereis 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 threewords to cause a shudder to run through me. 

Then, speaking in a low tone that Desiree might not hear, he told methat the thing had confronted him suddenly as he was following theopposite wall, and that he, too, had been drawn forward, as it were, bya spell impossible to shake off. He had tried to cry aloud, but hadbeen unable to utter a sound. And suddenly, as before, the eyes haddisappeared, leaving him barely able to stand. 

"No wonder the Incas wouldn't follow us in here, " he finished. "Wemust get out of this. I'm not a coward, but I wouldn't go through thatagain for my life. "

"You take Desiree, " said I. "I want that water. "

He led us around the wall several hundred feet. The ground was leveland clear of obstruction; but we went slowly, for I could scarcelymove. Harry kept his eyes strained intently on all sides; hisexperience had left him more profoundly impressed even than he had beenwilling to admit to me. 

Soon we heard the low music of running water, and a minute later wereached the stream Harry had found. 

The fact that there was something to be done seemed to infuse a newspirit into Desiree, and soon her deft fingers were bathing my woundsand bandaging them as well as her poor material would allow. 

The cold water took the heat from my pumping veins and left me almostcomfortable. Harry had come off much easier than I, since I had sooften sent him ahead with Desiree, and myself brought up the rear andwithstood 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 twosides of the cavern and the stream itself. I saw plainly that it wouldbe impossible for me to move any distance for at least a few days, andthat 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 thanwaist-high, and Desiree and I started to cross; but about the middle Ifelt the current about to sweep me off my feet. Harry waded in andhelped me ashore. 

On that hard rock we lay for many weary hours. We had no food; but forthat I would soon have been myself again, for, though my wounds werenumerous, they were little more than scratches, with the exception ofthe gash on my shoulder. Weakened as I was by loss of blood, andlacking nourishment, I improved but slowly, and only the cold waterkept 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 exhaustedand empty-handed and without having found any exit other than the oneby which we had entered. 

He had ventured through that far enough to see a group of Incas onwatch at the other end. They had seen him and sprung after him, but hehad returned without injury, and at the entrance into the cavern wherewe lay they had halted abruptly. 

The second time he was gone out more than half an hour, and the instantI 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 beridiculously 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; thenhe added; "I can't stand this any longer. I tell you we've got to getout 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 beanother exit, and we'll start now. "

"Very well, " I said quite calmly; and I picked up one of the spearswhich we had carried with us, and, rising to my knees, placed the buttof the shaft against the wall near which I lay. 

But Harry saw my purpose, and was too quick for me. He sprang acrossand snatched the spear from my hand and threw it on the ground a dozenfeet 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. Verywell--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 gazingacross the stream into the depths of the cavern. There was a curioustenseness in her attitude that made me follow her gaze, and what I sawleft me with no wonder at it--a huge, black, indistinct form that movedslowly toward us through the darkness. 

Harry caught sight of it at the same moment as myself, and on theinstant he turned about, covering his face with his hands, and calledto Desiree and me to do likewise. 

Desiree obeyed; I had risen to my knees and remained so, gazingstraight ahead, ready for a combat if it were not a physical one. Iwill 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 theirterror. 

Nothing could be seen but the uncertain outline of the immense bulk;but the same penetrating, sickening odor that had before all butsuffocated me came faintly across the surface of the stream, growingstronger with each second that passed. Suddenly the eyes appeared--twoglowing 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 assteadfast. I was telling myself: "Let us see this trick and play onestronger. " My nerves centered throbbingly back of my eyes, and I gavethem 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 myhands and knees and gripping the ground for strength. 

"This is nothing, this is nothing, " I kept saying to myselfaloud--until I realized suddenly that my voice had risen almost to ascream, 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 bodycontracted with a pain almost unbearable. Still the thing came closerand closer, and it seemed to me, half dazed as I was, that it advancedmuch faster than before. 

Then suddenly I felt a sensation of cold and moisture on my arms andlegs 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 havingeven been conscious that I had moved. 

That brought despair and a last supreme struggle to resist whatevermysterious power it was that dragged me forward. 

Cold beads of sweat rolled from my forehead. Beneath the surface ofthe water my hands gripped the rocks as in a vise. My teeth had sunkdeep into my lower lip and covered my chin with blood, though I did notknow that till afterward. 

But I was pulled loose from my hold, and forward. I bent the wholeforce of my will to the effort not to move, but my hand left the rockand crept forward. I was fully conscious of what I was doing. I knewthat if I could once draw my eyes away from that compelling gaze thespell 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 movedforward. The water now lapped against my chest; soon it was about myshoulders. 

I was fully conscious of the fact that in another ten feet the surfacewould close over my head, and that I had not the strength to swim orfight the current; but still I went forward. I tried to cry out, butcould force no sound through my lips. 

Then suddenly the eyes began to disappear. But that at least wascomprehensible, for I could distinctly see the black and heavy lidsclosing 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 physicalexertion. 

The eyes were gone. 

A mad impulse rushed into my brain to dash forward and touch themonster, to see if that dim, black form were really a thing of fleshand blood or some contrivance of the devil. I smile at that phrase asI write it now in my study, but I did not smile then. I was standingabove my knees in the water, trembling from head to foot, dividedbetween 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 amountof distinctness and forced my brain to take the record of my eyes. ButI could make nothing of it. 

I guessed at rather than saw a hideous head rolling from side to sideat the end of a long and sinuous neck, and writhing, reptilian coilslashing the rock at the edge of the water, like the tentacles of anoctopus, only many times larger. The body itself was larger than thatof any animal I had ever seen, and blacker even than the darkness. 

Suddenly the huge mass began to move slowly backward. The sharpness ofthe odor had ceased with the opening of the eyes, which did notreappear. I could dimly see its huge legs slowly rise and recede andagain meet the ground. Soon the thing was barely discernible. 

I took a step forward as though to follow; but the strength of thecurrent warned me of the danger of proceeding farther, and, besides, Ifeared every moment to see the lids again raised from the terribleeyes. The thought attacked my brain with horror, and I turned and fledin 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 theyread 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 yethow can we go? I can hardly stand. "

But Harry was now the one who argued for delay, saying that our retreatwas the safest place we could find, and that we should wait at leastuntil 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 themrather than a help, I consented. Besides, if the thing reappeared Icould 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 anabrupt 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 Aristotleconcerning which we had a discussion one day? Its subject was thehypnotic power possessed by the eyes of certain reptiles. I laughedthe idea to scorn; you maintained that it was possible. Well, I agreewith you; and I'd like to have about a dozen of our modern skepticalscientists in this cave with me for about five minutes. "

"But what is it? A reptile!" Harry exclaimed. "The thing is as big asa house!"

"Well, and why not? I should guess that it is about thirty feet inheight and forty or fifty in length. There have been species, nowextinct, 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 ofone another's voices. 

We passed many hours in that manner. Utterly blank and wearisome, andall but hopeless. I have often wondered at the strange tenacity withwhich we clung to life in conditions that made of it a burden almostinsupportable; and with what chance of relief?

The instinct of self-preservation, it is called by the learned, but itneeds a stronger name. It is more than an instinct. It is the veryessence of life itself. 

But soon we were impelled to action by something besides the desire toescape from the cavern: the pangs of hunger. It had been many hourssince we had eaten; I think we had fasted not less than three or fourdays. 

Desiree began to complain of a dizziness in her temples, and to weakenwith every hour that passed. My own strength did not increase, and Isaw that it would not unless I could obtain nourishment. Harry did notcomplain, but only because he would not. 

"It is useless to wait longer, " I declared finally. "I grow weakerinstead of stronger. "

We had little enough with which to burden ourselves. There were threespears, two of which Harry had brought, and myself the other. Harryand I wore only our woolen undergarments, so ragged and torn that theywere but sorry covering. 

Desiree's single garment, made from some soft hide, was held about herwaist by a girdle of the same material. The upper half of her body wasbare. Her hair hung in a tangled mass over her shoulders and down herback. None of us had any covering for our feet. 

We crossed the stream, using the spears as staffs; but instead ofadvancing across the middle of the cavern we turned to the left, hugging the wall. Harry urged us on, saying that he had alreadysearched carefully for an exit on that side, but we went slowly, feeling for a break in the wall. It was absolutely smooth, which ledme 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 tofollow it. 

"This is senseless, " said Harry impatiently. "I tell you I haveexamined 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 ifyou 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 useit. Myself, I know. 

Another half-hour and we reached the end of the lane by which we hadfirst 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 atthe farther end. We knew then, of course, and only too well, why theIncas 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 anddisappeared on the other side. In fifteen minutes he returned, and Isaw by the expression on his face that there was no chance of escape inthat direction. 

"They're at the other end, " he said gloomily; "a dozen of 'em. Ilooked from behind a rock; they didn't see me. But we could never getthrough. "

We turned then, and proceeded to the third wall and followed it. Butwe really had no hope of finding an exit since Harry had said that hehad previously explored it. We were possessed, I know, by the samethought: should we venture to follow the fourth wall? Alone, none ofus would have dared; but the presence of the others lessened the fearof each. 

Finally we reached it. The corner was a sharp right angle, and therewere rifts and crevices in the rock. 

"This is limestone, " I said, "and if we find an exit anywhere it willbe here. "

I turned to the right and proceeded slowly along the wall, feeling itssurface with my hand. 

We had advanced in this manner several hundred yards when Desireesuddenly 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 asharp break in the wall. 

It was some fifty feet away. We reached it in another moment, and Ithink none of us would have been able to express the immeasurablerelief we felt when we saw before us a broad and clear passage leadingdirectly away from the cavern. It was very dark, but we entered italmost at a run. 

I think we had not known the extent of our fear of that thing in thecavern 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 waitfor him. 

Then we made the turn, side by side--and then we came to a sudden andabrupt stop, and a simultaneous gasp of terror burst from our lips. 

Not three feet in front of us, blocking the passage completely, stoodthe thing we thought we had escaped!

The terrible, fiery eyes rolled from side to side as they staredstraight 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, suddenlyraised her spear high above her head and hurled it straight at theglowing, flashing eyes. 

The point struck squarely between them with such force that it musthave sunk clear to the shaft. The head of the monster rolled for aninstant from side to side, and then, before I was aware of what hadhappened, so rapid was the movement, a long, snakelike coil had reachedout through the air and twisted itself about Desiree's body. 

As she felt the thing tighten about her waist and legs she gave ascream of terror and twisted her face round toward me. The nextinstant the snaky tentacle had dragged her along the ground and liftedher to the head of the monster, where her white body could be seen insharp 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 backwardwith incredible swiftness, lashing about on the ground before us withother tentacles similar to the one that had captured Desiree. 

I cried out to Harry to avoid them. He did not answer, but rushedblindly forward. 

Desiree's agonized shrieks rose to the pitch of madness. 

The eyes were closed, leaving but a vague mark for our spears, andbesides, there was the danger of striking Desiree. We were barely ableto keep pace with the thing as it receded swiftly down the broadpassage. Desiree had twisted her body half round, and her face wasturned toward us, shadowy as a ghost. Then her head fell forward andhung loosely and her lips were silent. She had fainted. 

The thing moved swifter than ever; we were barely able to keep up withit. Harry made a desperate leap forward. 

I cried out a warning, but one of the writhing tentacles swept againsthim and knocked him to the ground. He was up again on the instant andcame 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 watersomewhere ahead of us. The pace of the reptile had not slackened foran instant. 

Harry had again caught up with us, and as he ran at my side I saw himraise 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 tothe right and sprang forward in an attempt to get past the reptile'shead. 

But in our eagerness we forgot caution and went too close. I felt oneof the snaky tentacles wrap itself round my legs and body, and raisedmy 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 andswung through the air to the side of Desiree. She was stillunconscious. 

I writhed and twisted desperately, but that muscular coil held mefirmly 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. Icould see his muscles strain and pull in his violent efforts to tearhimself free. I had given it up. 

But suddenly, quite near my shoulder, I saw the lid suddenly begin toraise itself from one of the terrible eyes. I was almost on top of thething and a little above it. I turned my head aside and called toHarry. 

"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--asfar as I could get--and raised my spear the full extent of my arm, andbrought it down with every ounce of my strength into the very center ofthe glowing eye beneath me. 

At the same moment I saw Harry's arm descend and the flash of hisspear. The point of my own had sunk until the copper head wascompletely buried. 

I grasped the shaft and pulled and twisted it about until it finallywas jerked forth. From the opening it had made there issued a blackstream. 

Suddenly the body of the reptile quivered convulsively. The headrolled from side to side. There was a quick tightening of the tentacleround my body until my bones felt as though they were being crushedinto shapelessness; and as suddenly it loosened. 

Other tentacles lashed and beat on the ground furiously. The reptile'sswift backward movement halted jerkily. I made a desperate effort totear myself free. The tentacle quivered and throbbed violently, andsuddenly 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 ourspears, slashing at the tentacle which still held Desiree in its grasp. Others writhed on the ground about our feet, but feebly. There came asudden cry from Harry, and his spear clattered on the ground as heopened his arms to receive Desiree's unconscious body, which cametumbling down with the severed coil still wrapped about it. 

But there was life in the reptile's immense body. It staggered andswayed from side to side in drunken agony. Its monstrous head rolledabout, sweeping the air in a prodigious circle. The poison of itsbreath came to us in great puffs. There was something supremelyhorrible about the thing in its very helplessness, and I was shudderingviolently as I stooped to help Harry lift Desiree from the ground andcarry her away. 

We did not go far, for we were barely able to carry her. We laid heron the hard rock with her head in Harry's lap. Her body was limp as arag. 

For many minutes we worked over her, rubbing her temples and wrists, and pressing the nerve centers at the back of the neck, but withouteffect. 

"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'tinjured; it is her weakened condition from the lack of food that keepsher so. Wait for me. "

I started out across the cavern in the direction from which the soundof 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 theground with a force that seemed to shake the very walls of the cavern. 

I found the stream with little difficulty, not far away, and returnedto Harry. Together we carried Desiree to its edge. The blood wasstubborn, and for a long time refused to move, but the cold water atlength revived her; her eyes slowly opened, and she raised her hand toher head with a faltering gesture. 

But she was extremely weak, and we saw that the end was near unlessnourishment could be found for her. 

I stayed by her side, with my arms round her shoulders, and Harry setout with one of the spears. He bore off to the left, toward the spotwhere the body of the immense reptile lay; I was too far away to see itin the darkness. 

"It isn't possible that the thing is fit to eat, " I had objected, andhe 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 darknessfrom 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 soundcontinued 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 heappeared in the semidarkness. He was coming slowly, and was draggingalong the ground what appeared to be the form of some animal. Anotherminute and he stood at my side as I sat holding Desiree. 

"A peccary!" I cried, bending over the body of the four-footed creaturethat 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 'emover there making a gorgeous banquet off our late lamented friend. Andnow, let's see. "

He knelt down by the still warm body and with the point of his spearripped 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 atit with his spear. A minute later he came running over to us with hishands full of something. 

That was not exactly a pretty meal. How Desiree, in her frightfullyweakened condition, ever managed to get the stuff down and keep itthere is beyond me. But she did, and I was not behind her. And, afterall, 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, andsoon after she passed into a seemingly healthy sleep. There was aboutten pounds of meat left. Harry washed it in the stream and stowed itaway on a rock beneath the surface of the water. Then he announced hisintention 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 thingsover there? Anyway, there are hundreds. If they should happen toscatter 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. Mysensations were not unpleasant. I could actually feel the bloodquicken in my veins. 

Civilization places the temple of life in the soul or the heart, as shespeaks through the mouth of the preacher or the poet; but letcivilization go for four or five days without anything to eat and seewhat happens. The organ is vulgar, but its voice is loud. I need notname it. 

In five minutes Harry returned, dragging two more of the creatures athis heels. In half an hour there were a dozen of them lying in a heapat the edge of the water. 

"That's all, " he announced, panting heavily from his exertions. "Therest have taken to the woods, which, I imagine, is quite a journey fromhere. You ought to see our friend--the one who couldn't make his eyesbehave. They've eaten him full of holes. He's the most awfulmess--sickening beast. He didn't have a bone in him--all crumpled uplike an accordion. Utterly spineless. "

"And who, in the name of goodness, do you think is going to eat allthat?" 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 thatI didn't know when to stop. I'd give five fingers for a fire and somesalt. Just a nickel's worth of salt. Now, you lie down and sleepwhile 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 gentlyas possible that I might not awaken Desiree. Her head and shouldersrested 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. Keepa lookout. "

Desiree stirred uneasily, but seemed to be still asleep. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The heap of bodies had disappeared; no wonder Harrywas tired! I reproached myself for having slept so long. 

Harry had arranged himself a bed that was really comfortable with theskins 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 ofdisturbing Desiree. 

Presently she stirred again, and, bending over her, I saw her eyesslowly open. They met my own with a curious, steadfast gaze--she wasstill 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 melike 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 hashappened?"

I told her of everything that had occurred since she had swooned; sheshuddered as memory returned, but forgot herself in my attempt at ahumorous description of Harry's valor as a hunter of food. 

"You don't need to turn up your nose, " I retorted to her expressivegrimace; "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 thosesurroundings, she was still Desiree Le Mire. 

"Don't laugh at me, " she said. "I want to know. I have never spokenof what I did that time in the cavern--you know what I mean. I amsorry now. I suppose you despise me. "

"But you did nothing, " I objected. "And you wouldn't. You were merelyamusing 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 yetgiven me a serious word. "

"Nor any one else, " I answered. "My dear Desiree, do you not know thatI am incapable of seriousness? Nothing in the world is worth it. "

"At least, you need not pretend, " she retorted. "I meant once for youto die. You know it. And since you pretend not to understand me, Iask 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 bea 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 madea--shall we call it a confession? If you were, I offended you in myown conceit, but let us be frank. I thought you were acting, and Iplayed my role. I do not yet believe that you were; I am not conceitedenough to think it possible. "

"I do not say, " Desiree began; then she stopped and added hastily: "Butthat is past. I shall not tell you that again. Perhaps I forgotmyself. Perhaps it was a pretty play. You have not answered me. "

I looked at her. Strange and terrible as her experiences andsufferings had been, she had lost little of her beauty. Her face wasrendered only the more delicate by its pallor. Her white and perfectbody, only half seen in the half-darkness, conveyed a sense of thepurest beauty with no hint of immodesty. 

But I was moved not by what I saw, but by what I knew. I had admiredher always as Le Mire; but her bravery, her hardihood, her sympathy forothers under circumstances when any other woman would have beenthinking only of herself--had these awakened in my breast a feelingstronger than admiration?

I did not know. But my voice trembled a little as I said: "I need notanswer you, Desiree. I repeat that there is nothing to forgive. Yousought revenge, then sacrificed it; but still revenge is yours. "

She looked at me for a moment in silence, then said slowly: "I do notunderstand 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 ofthe slender white fingers. Then I held the hand tight between both ofmine 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 themountain?"

"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. Shebent toward me with parted lips and looked straight into my eyes. There was passion in the gaze; but when she spoke her voice was quiteeven and so low I scarcely heard. 

"Paul, " she said, "I shall not again say I love you. Such words shouldnot be wasted. Not now, perhaps; but that is because we are where weare. And if we should return?

"You have said that nothing is worth a serious word to you; and you areright. You are too cynical; things are bitter in your mouth, anddoubly so when they leave it. Just now you are amusing yourself bypretending 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. Ihated myself then; and I turned away, unable to meet her eyes, as Isaid:

"Bon Dieu!" she cried. "That is an ugly speech, monsieur!" And shelaughed 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 ofHarry, 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 itscontents to Desiree. Then I returned to the edge of the water and atemy portion alone. That meal was one scarcely calculated for thepleasures of companionship or conviviality. 

It was several hours after that before Harry awoke, the greater part ofwhich Desiree and I were silent. 

I would have given something to have known her thoughts; my own werenot very pleasant. It is always a disagreeable thing to discover thatsome one else knows you better than you know yourself. And Desiree hadcut deep. At the time I thought her unjust; time alone could have toldwhich 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 andcomparatively well, and demonstrated the fact with a degree of effusionthat prompted me to leave them alone together. But I did not go far; ahundred paces made me sit down to rest before returning, so weak was Ifrom wounds and fasting. 

Harry's spirits were high, for no apparent reason other than that wewere still alive, for that was the best that could be said for us. SoI told him; he retorted with a hearty clap on the back that sent mesprawling to the ground. 

"What the deuce!" he exclaimed, stooping to help me up. "Are you asweak as that? Gad, I'm sorry!"

"That is the second fall he has had, " said Desiree, with a meaningsmile. 

Indeed, she was having her revenge!

But my strength was not long in returning. Over a long stretch ourdiet would hardly have been conducive to health, but it was exactlywhat 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 beganwithin two hours to insist on exploring the cave, and would hardly takea refusal. 

"I won't stir a foot until I am able to knock you down, " I declaredfinally and flatly. "Never again will I attempt to perform the featsof a Hercules when I am fit only for an invalid's chair. " And he wasforced to wait. 

As I say, however, my strength was not long in returning, and when itstarted it came with a rush. My wounds were healing perfectly; onlyone remained open. Harry, with his usual phenomenal luck, had gotnothing but the merest scratches. 

Desiree improved very slowly. The strain of those four days in thecavern had been severe, and her nerves required more pleasantsurroundings than a dark and damp cavern and more agreeable diet thanraw meat, to adjust themselves. 

Thus it was that when Harry and I found ourselves ready to start out toexplore the cavern and, if possible, find an exit on the opposite sidefrom the one where we had entered, we left Desiree behind, seated on apile 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 thephrase, which might have come from the lips of a worthy Harlem husbandleaving for a little sojourn with friends on the corner, brought asmile to my face. 

We went first toward the spot where lay the remains of "our friend withthe eyes, " as Harry called him, and we were guided straight by ournoses, for the odor of the thing was beginning to be--to use anotherphrase of Harry's--"most awful vile. "

There was little to see except a massive pile of crumpled hide andsinking flesh. As we approached, several hundred of the animals withwhich Harry had filled our larder scampered away toward the water. 

"They're not fighters, " I observed, turning to watch them disappear inthe darkness. 

"No, " Harry agreed. "See here, " he added suddenly, holding up a pieceof the hide of the reptile; "this stuff is an inch thick and tough asrats. It ought to be good for something. "

But by that time I was pinching my nostrils with my fingers, and Ipulled him away. 

Several hundred yards farther on we came to the wall of the cavern. Wefollowed it, turning to the right; but though it was uneven and markedby projecting boulders and deep crevices, we found no exit. We hadgone at least half a mile, I think, when we came to the end. There itturned in a wide circle to the right, and we took the new direction, which was toward the spot where we had left Desiree, only considerablyto the left. 

Another five minutes found us at the edge of the stream, which at thatpoint was much swifter than it was farther up. We waded in anddiscovered that the cause was its extreme narrowness. 

"But where does the thing go to?" asked Harry, taking the words from mymouth. 

We soon found out. Proceeding along the bank to the left, within fiftyfeet we came to the wall. There the stream entered and disappeared. But, unlike the others we had seen, above this there was a wide andhigh arch, which made it appear as though the stream were passing undera massive bridge. The current was swift but not turbulent, and therewas something about the surface of that stream flowing straight throughthe 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 thecavern--Desiree's voice, raised in a shrill cry of terror. 

It was repeated twice before our startled senses found themselves; thenwe 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 criescontinued, filling the cavern with racing echoes. They could notquicken our step; we were already straining every muscle as we boundedover the rock. Luckily, the way was clear, for in the darkness wecould see but a few feet ahead. Desiree's voice was sufficient guidefor us. 

Finally we reached her. I don't know what I expected to see, butcertainly not that which met our eyes. 

"Your spear!" cried Harry, dashing off to the right, away from thestream. 

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 theanimals we had frightened away from the carcass of the reptile. Therewere hundreds of them packed tightly together, crowding toward her, some leaping on the backs of others, some trampled to the groundbeneath the feet of their fellows. They did not appear to be actuallyattacking her, but we could not see distinctly. 

This we saw in a flash and an instant later had dashed forward into themass with whirling spears. It was a farce, rather than a fight. 

We brought our spears down on the swarm of heads and backs without eventroubling to take aim. They pressed against our legs; we waded throughas 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 seemedabsolutely unable to realize that their presence was not desired tillthey actually felt the spear--utterly devoid even of instinct. 

"So this is what you captured for us at the risk of your life!" Ishouted to Harry in disgust. "They haven't even sense enough tosqueal. "

We finally reached Desiree's side and cleared a space round her. Butit took us another fifteen minutes of pushing and thrusting andindiscriminate massacre before we routed the brutes. When they diddecide to go they lost no time, but scampered away toward the waterwith a sliding, tumbling rush. 

"Gad!" exclaimed Harry, resting on his spear. "And here's a prettyjob. Look at that! I wish they'd carry off the dead ones. "

"Ugh! The nasty brutes! I was never so frightened in my life, " saidDesiree. 

"You frightened us, all right, " Harry retorted. "Utterly fungoed. Inever ran so fast in my life. And all you had to do was shake yourspear at 'em and say boo! I thought it was the roommate of our friendwith 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'mthe cook. Come on, Paul; it's a day's work. "

We dragged the bodies down to the edge of the stream and tossed theminto the current, saving three or four for the replenishment of thelarder. 

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 andmyself. Harry had become hardened to it; he whistled over the job asthough he had been born in a butcher's shop. 

"I'd rather go hungry, " I declared, washing my hands and arms in thecool water. 

"Oh, sure, " said Harry; "my efforts are never appreciated. I've fedyou up till you've finally graduated from the skeleton class, and youimmediately begin to criticize the table. I know now what it means torun a boarding-house. Why don't you change your hotel?"

By the time we had finished we were pretty well tired out, but Harrywouldn't hear of rest. I was eager myself for another look at the exitof that stream. So, again taking up our spears, we set out across thecavern, this time with Desiree between us. She swallowed Harry'sridicule of her fear and refused to stay behind. 

Again we stood at the point where the stream left the cavern throughthe 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, andprobably deep. "

I waded out some twenty feet and was nearly swept beneath the surfaceas the water circled about my shoulders. 

"We couldn't follow that on our feet, " I declared, returning to theshore. "But it does look promising. At ten miles an hour we'd reachthe western slope in four hours. Four hours to sunshine--but it mightas well be four hundred. It's impossible. "

We turned then and retraced our steps to our camp, if I may give it sodignified a title. I hated to give up the idea of following the bed ofthe stream, for it was certain that somewhere it found the surface ofthe 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 wouldcarry us to the Pacific and across it. The hide of that thing overyonder would be just the stuff, and we could get a piece as big as wewanted. "

I shook my head. 

"I thought of that. But we have absolutely nothing to hold it. Therewasn't a bone in his body; you know that. "

But the idea was peculiarly tempting, and we spent an hour discussingit. Desiree was asleep on her pile of skins. We sat side by side onthe ground some distance away, talking in low tones. 

Suddenly there was a loud splash in the stream, which was quite closeto 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 thewater-pigs. I've heard 'em a thousand times in the last few days. Andthe Lord knows we have enough of them. "

But Harry protested that the splash was much too loud to have beencaused by any water-pig and waded into the stream to investigate. Irose to my feet and followed him leisurely, for no reason inparticular, 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 disappointmentand the information that the "whale" had disappeared. He was greatlyexcited. 

"I tell you he was twenty feet long! A big black devil, with a headlike 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 afish, and some fish. "

"Well, there's probably more like him, " I observed. "But they canwait. Come on and get some sleep, and then--we'll see. "

Some hours afterward, having filled ourselves with sleep and food (Ihad decided, after mature deliberation, not to change my hotel), westarted out, armed with our spears. Desiree accompanied us. Harrytold her bluntly that she would be in the way, but she refused to staybehind. 

We turned upstream, thinking our chances better in that direction thantoward the swifter current, and were surprised to find that the cavernwas much larger than any we had before seen. In something over a milewe had not yet reached the farther wall, for we walked at a brisk pacefor a quarter of an hour or more. 

At this point the stream was considerably wider than it was below, andthere was very little current. Desiree stood on the bank while Harryand I waded out above our waists. 

There was a long and weary wait before anything occurred. The waterwas cold, and my limbs became stiff and numb; I called to Harry that itwas useless to wait longer, and was turning toward the shore when therewas 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 thespot there was nothing to be seen but flying water thrashed into foamand fury. 

I caught a glimpse of Harry being jerked through the air; he washolding 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 strengthI had. 

"I've got him--through the belly, " Harry gasped as I fought my waythrough the spray to his side. "His head! Find his head!"

I finally succeeded in getting my hand on Harry's spear-shaft nearwhere it entered the body of the fish; but the next instant it wasjerked from me, dragging me beneath the surface. I came up puffing andmade 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 eitherhead 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 felthis slippery, smooth body glide over me, and the tail struck me a heavyblow in the face as it passed. Blinded and half choked, I fought myway back to the surface and saw that they had got fifty feet away. 

I swam to them, breathing hard and nearly exhausted. The water foamedless furiously about them now. As I came near the fish leaped half outof the water and came down flat on his side; I saw his ugly black headpointed 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 partedviolently not ten feet in front of me, and again the head appeared; hewas coming straight for me. I could see the dull beady eyes on eitherside, and I let him have the spear right between them. 

There was little force to the blow, but the fish himself furnishedthat; he was coming like lightning. I hurled my body aside with agreat effort and felt him sweep past me. 

I turned to swim after them and heard Harry's great shout: "You gothim!"

By the time I reached him the fish had turned over on his back and wasfloating on the surface, motionless. 

We had still to get him ashore, and, exhausted as we were, it was noeasy task. But there was very little current, and after half an hourof pulling and shoving we got him into shallow water, where we couldfind the bottom with our feet. Then it was easier. Desiree waded outto us and lent a hand, and in another ten minutes we had him high anddry on the rock. 

He was even larger than I had thought. No wonder Harry had calledhim--or one like him--a whale. It was all of fifteen feet from hissnout to the tip of his tail. The skin was dead black on top andmottled irregularly on the belly. 

As we sat sharpening the points of our spears on the rock, preparatoryto skinning him, Desiree stood regarding the fish with unqualifiedapproval. 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 fingeragainst 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 themost excited of the lot as we ripped down the body of the fish fromtail to snout and began to peel off the tough skin. 

"If you succeed you may choose the new hangings for my boudoir, " shesaid, with an attempt at lightness not altogether successful. 

"As for me, " I declared, "I shall eat fish every day of my life out ofpure gratitude. "

"You'll do it out of pure necessity, " Harry put in, "if you don't getbusy. "

It took us three hours of whacking and slashing and tearing to pull thefish to pieces, but we worked with a purpose and a will. When we hadfinished, this is what we had to show: A long strip of bone, fourinches thick and twelve feet long, and tough as hickory, from eitherside of which the smaller bones projected at right angles. They wereabout an inch in thickness and two inches apart. The lower end of thebackbone, 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 thisand we'll sail down the coast to Callao. "

"If we can get 'em, " I observed. "But two would do. We could make ita triangle. "

Harry looked at me. 

"Paul, you're an absolute genius. But would it be big enough to holdus?"

We discussed that question on our way back to camp, whither we carriedthe backbone of our fish, together with some of the meat. Then, aftera hearty meal, we slept. After seven hours of the hardest kind of workwe were ready for it. 

That was our program for the time that followed--time that stretchedinto many weary hours, for, once started, we worked feverishly, soimpatient had we become by dint of that faint glimmer of hope. We weregoing to try to build a raft, on which we were going to try to embarkon the stream, by which we were going to try to find our way out of themountain. The prospect made us positively hilarious, so slender is thethread by which hope jerks us about. 

The first part of our task was the most strenuous. We waited and wadedround many hours before another fish appeared, and then he got awayfrom 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 themfor another purpose. Then, after another long search, lasting manyhours, we ran into half a dozen of them at once. 

By that time we were fairly expert with our spears, besides havingdiscovered their vulnerable spot--the throat, just forward from thegills. 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 neverclosed on us. 

Thus we had four of the large backbones and two smaller ones. Next wewanted a covering, and for that purpose we visited the remains of thereptile 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 wasso decayed and sunken that it literally fell off. That job was theworst of all. 

Time and again, after cutting away with the points of our spears--ouronly tools--until we could stand it no longer, we staggered off to thestream like drunken men, sick and faint with the sight and smell of themess. 

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 ofthe hide about thirty feet long and half as wide. It was not as heavyas 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 ourraft, exactly the same length by filing off the ends of the longer oneswith rough bits of granite. I have said it was tedious. Then we filedoff each of the smaller bones projecting from the neural arch untilthey were of equal length. 

They extended on either side about ten inches, which, allowing fourinches 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 tothe one in direct juxtaposition on either side firmly with strips ofhide, several hundred feet of which we had prepared. 

This gave us four beams held straight and true, without any play ineither direction, with only a slight flexibility resulting from thecartilages 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 togetherfirmly with strips of hide. It was both firm and flexible after we hadlashed the corners over and over with the strips, that there might beno play under the strain of the current. 

Over this framework we stretched the large piece of hide so that theends met on top, near the middle. The bottom was thus absolutelywatertight. We folded the corners in and caught them up with stripsover 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, wepassed broader strips around both top and bottom, lashing them togetherin 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 morethan a hundred pounds. It has taken me two minutes to tell it; it tookus two weeks to do it. 

But we discovered immediately that the four beams on the sides and endswere not enough, for Desiree's weight alone caused the skin to sagclear through in the center, though we had stretched it as tightly aspossible. We were forced to unlash all the strips running from side toside and insert supports, made of smaller bones, across the middle eachway. These we reinforced on their ends with the thickest hide we couldfind, that they might not puncture the bottom. After that it wasfairly firm; though its sea-worthiness was not improved, it was mucheasier to navigate than it would have been before. 

For oars we took the lower ends of the backbones of the two smallerfish and covered them with hide. They were about five feet long andquite heavy; but we intended to use them more for the purpose ofsteering than for propulsion. The current of the stream would attendto that for us. 

Near the center of the raft we arranged a pile of the skins of thewater-pigs for Desiree; a seat by no means uncomfortable. The stripswhich ran back and forth across the top afforded a hold as securityagainst the tossing of the craft; but for her feet we arranged twoother strips to pass over her ankles what time she rested. This was anextreme 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 ofthe fish and water-pigs, wrapping it securely in two or three of theskins 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 Clartedu Soleil. "

"Which means?" asked Harry, whose French came only in spots. 

"Sunshine, " I told him. "Presumably after the glorious King of theIncas, 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 whichhe had made not less than fifty times in the preceding fifty minutes. He received no support and grumbled to himself something about thehorrible waste of leaving so much behind. 

Why it was I don't know, but we were fully persuaded that we were aboutto say good-by forever to this underground world and its dangers. Somehow, we had coaxed ourselves into the belief that success wascertain; it was as though we had seen the sunlight streaming in fromthe farther end of the arched tunnel into which the stream disappeared. There was an assurance about the words of each that strengthened thisfeeling in the others, and hope had shut out all thought of failure aswe prepared to launch our craft. 

It took us some time to get it to the edge of the water, though it wasclose by, for we handled it with extreme care, that it might not betorn on the rocks. Altogether, with the provisions, it weighed closeto one hundred and fifty pounds. 

We were by no means sure that the thing would carry us, and when oncewe had reached the water we forgot caution in our haste to try it. Weheld it at the edge while Desiree arranged herself on the pile ofskins. 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 waterwas 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. "Shetakes 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 getinto the current things are going to begin to happen. If it weren'tfor the beastly darkness 'twould be easy enough. As it is, one littlerock the size of your head could send us to the bottom. "

We were still near the bank, working our way out slowly. Harry and Ihad to maintain positions equidistant from the center in order to keepthe 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. Atthat point there was but little current and we drifted slowly. Harrywent to the bow, while I took up a position on the stern--if I may usesuch terms for such a craft--directly behind Desiree. We figured thatwe were then about a mile from the Point where the stream left thecavern. 

Gradually, as the stream narrowed, the strength of the currentincreased. Still it was smooth, and the raft sailed along without atremor. Once or twice, caught by some trick of the current, she turnedhalf round, poking her nose ahead, but she soon righted herself. 

The water began to curl up on the sides as we were carried more andmore swiftly onward, with a low murmur that was music to us. Thestream 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!" andhe 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 bendin the stream. The strength of the current carried us toward the offbank, but we plied our oars desperately and well, and managed to keepfairly well in to the end of the curve. 

We missed the wall of the tunnel--black, grim rock that would havedashed out our brains--by about ten feet, and were swept forward underthe 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 ofhuman 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 ascant ten feet, and we kept on missing it. Once under the arch, ourraft developed a most stubborn inclination to bump up against the rockybanks instead of staying properly in the middle of the current, as itshould. 

First to one side, then to the other, it swung, while Harry and I keptit off with our oars, often missing a collision by inches. But atleast the banks were smooth and level, and as long as the stream itselfremained clear of obstruction there was but little real danger. 

The current was not nearly so swift as I had expected it would be. Inthe semidarkness it was difficult to calculate our rate of speed, but Ijudged 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 thestream, to the left, almost at a right angle. Harry, at the bow, wassupposed to be on the lookout, but he failed to see it until we werealready caught in its whirl. 

Then he gave a cry of alarm, and together we swung the raft to theleft, avoiding the right bank of the curve by less than a foot. Oncesafely past, I sent Harry to the stern and took the bow myself, whichbrought 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 hundredyards ahead, and but dimly. All was silence, save the gentle swish ofthe water against the sides of the raft and the patter of Harry's oardipping 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 intomelody:

 "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 tobe of another world. My ear quivered with the vibrations, and longafter 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 eardeceived me, or that some distant echo was returning Desiree's songdown the dark tunnel. 

Gradually, very gradually, it became louder and clearer, until atlength I recognized it. It was the rush of water, unbroken, still lowand at a great distance. I turned to remark on it to Harry, butDesiree took the words from my mouth. 

"I seem to hear something--like the surf, " she said. "That isn'tpossible, 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 isprobably some shallows. We must look sharp. "

Another fifteen minutes, and I began to notice that the speed of thecurrent was increasing. The sound of the rushing water, too, was quitedistinct. Still the raft moved more and more swiftly, till I began tofeel alarmed. I turned to Harry:

"That begins to sound like rapids. See that the spears are fastenedsecurely, and stand ready with your oar. Sit tight, Desiree. "

One thing was certain: there was nothing to do but go ahead. On bothsides the walls of the tunnel rose straight up from the surface of thewater; there was nowhere room for a landing-place--not even a foot fora purchase to stay our flight. To go back was impossible; at the ratethe current was now carrying us we could not have held the raft evenfor a moment without oars. 

Soon we were gliding forward so swiftly that the raft trembled underus; from the darkness ahead came the sound of the rapids, now increasedto a roar that filled the tunnel and deafened us. I heard Harryshouting something, but could not make out the words; we were shootingforward with the speed of an express train and the air about us wasfull of flying water. 

The roar of the rapids became louder and louder. I turned for aninstant, shouting at the top of my voice: "Flat on your faces, and holdon for dear life!" Then I dropped down with my oar under me, passing myfeet under two of the straps and clinging to two others with my hands. 

Another few seconds passed that seemed an hour. The raft was swayingand lurching with the mad force of the current. I called out again toHarry and Desiree, but my words were completely drowned by thedeafening, stunning roar of the water. All was darkness and confusion. I kept asking myself: "Why doesn't it come?" It seemed an age since Ihad thrown myself on my face. 

Suddenly the raft leaped up under me and away. It seemed as thoughsome giant hand had grasped it from beneath and jerked it down withtremendous force. The air was filled with water, lashing my face andbody furiously. The raft whirled about like a cork. I gripped thestraps with all the strength that was in me. Down, down we went intothe darkness; my breath was gone and my brain whirled dizzily. 

There was a sudden sharp lurch, a jerk upward, and I felt the surfaceof the water close over me. Blinded and dazed, I clung to my holddesperately, struggling with the instinct to free myself. For severalseconds the roar of the cataract sounded in my ears with a furiousfaintness, as though it were at a great distance; then I felt the airagain and a sudden cessation of motion. 

I opened my eyes, choking and sputtering. For a time I could seenothing; then I made out Desiree's form, and Harry's, stretched behindme 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 oneach side with a grip as of death; we had to pry off each of herfingers separately to loosen them. Then we bent her over Harry's kneeand worked her arms up and down, and soon her chest heaved convulsivelyand her lungs freed themselves of the water they had taken. Presentlyshe 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 doyou 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. Therewas absolutely none; we were as intact as when we started. Theprovisions and spears remained under their straps; my oar lay where Ihad 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 beencarried so far from the cataract that it was lost behind us in thedarkness; only its roar reached our ears. To this day I haven't thefaintest 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 alake, still carried forward by the force of the falls behind us. Formy part, I found its roar bewildering and confusing, and I picked up myoar 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 Iwouldn't have missed that for anything. It was glorious! I'd like todo 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 asting, "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 alake--for I could see no bank on either side--there was still acurrent. 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 againnarrowed down as it entered the tunnel, much lower than the one abovethe cataract. The current became swifter as we were carried toward itsmouth, and I called to Harry to get his spear to keep us off from thewalls if it should prove necessary. But we entered exactly in thecenter and were swept forward with a rush. 

The ceiling of the tunnel was so low that we could not stand upright onthe raft, and the stream was not more than forty feet wide. That wasanything but promising; if the stream really ran through to the westernslope, its volume of water should have been increasing instead ofdiminishing. 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 raftrebounded with a force that all but threw us into the water. Coming toa 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. Ihad my oar against the wall instantly, shoving off, and we swung roundand caught the current again round the curve. 

But that bend was to the left, as the other had been, which meant thatwe were now going in exactly the opposite direction of that in which wehad started! Which, in turn, meant the death of hope; we were merelywinding in and out in a circle and getting nowhere. Harry and Desireehad apparently not noticed the fact, and I said nothing of it. Timeenough when they should find out for themselves; and besides, there wasstill 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 headsas we sat or crouched on the raft. It was necessary to keep a sharplookout ahead; a rock projecting from above would have swept us intothe water. 

The air, too, was close and foul; our breath became labored anddifficult; and Desiree, half stifled and drowsy, passed into a fitfuland broken sleep, stirring restlessly and panting for air. Harry hadtaken 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 beseen; we had evidently entered a cavern similar to the one in which wehad 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 wewere in shallow water, and Harry and I jumped off and shoved her to thebank. 

Desiree sat up, rubbing her eyes. 

"Where are we?" she asked. 

Harry explained while we beached the raft. Then we broke out ourprovisions and partook of them. 

"But why do we stop?" asked Desiree. 

The words "Because we are not getting anywhere" rose to my lips, but Ikept 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 andprepared to shove off. By that time I think Harry, too, had realizedthe hopelessness of our expedition, for he had lost all his enthusiasm;but he said nothing, nor did I. We secured Desiree on her pile ofskins and again pushed out into the current. 

The cavern was not large, for we had been under way but a few minuteswhen its wall loomed up ahead and the stream again entered a tunnel, solow and narrow that I hesitated about entering at all. I consultedHarry. 

"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 wasnot long before we were offering up thanks that our speed had been soslight. 

To be exact, about an hour, as well as I could measure time, whichpassed slowly; for not only were the minutes tedious, but the foulnessof the air made them also extremely uncomfortable. Desiree was againlying down, half-unconscious but not asleep, for now and then she spokedrowsily. Harry complained of a dizziness in the head, and my ownseemed ready to burst through my temples. The soroche of the mountainswas agreeable compared to that. 

Suddenly the swiftness of the current increased appreciably on theinstant; there was a swift jerk as we were carried forward. I rose tomy knees--the tunnel was too low to permit of standing--and gazedintently ahead. I could see nothing save that the stream had narrowedto half its former width, and was still becoming narrower. 

We went faster and faster, and the stream narrowed until the bank wasbut 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 bendin the stream, and I strained my eyes intently in the effort todiscover its direction, but I could see nothing save the black wall. We approached closer; I shouted to Harry and Desiree to bracethemselves for a shock, praying that the raft would meet the rocksquarely and not on a corner. 

I had barely had time to set myself and grasp the straps behind when westruck with terrific force. The raft rebounded several feet, tremblingand shaking violently. The water was rushing past us with noisyimpetuosity. 

There was a cry from Desiree, and from Harry, "All right!" I crawled tothe bow. Along the top the hide covering had been split open forseveral feet, but the water did not quite reach the opening. 

And we had reached the end of our ambitious journey. For that blackwall marked the finish of the tunnel; the stream entered it through anarrow hole, which accounted for the sudden, swift rush of the current. Above the upper rim of the hole the surface of the water whirled aboutin a widening circle; to this had we been led by the stream that was tohave carried us to the land of sunshine. 

When I told Desiree she stared at me in silence! I had not realizedbefore the strength of her hope. Speechless with disappointment, shemerely 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 yourealize that we've got to pull this raft back against the current?"

First it was necessary to repair the rent in the hide covering. Thiswe did with strips of hide; and barely in time, for it was becomingwider every minute, and the water was beginning to creep in over theedge. But we soon had the ends sewed firmly together and turned ourhands to the main task. 

It appeared to be not only difficult, but actually impossible to forcethe raft back up-stream against the swift current. We were jammedagainst the rock with all the force of many tons of water. The oar wasuseless. 

Getting a purchase on the wall with our hands, we shoved the raft toone side; but as soon as we got to the wall on the left the whirlingstream turned us around again, and we found ourselves back in ouroriginal position, only with a different side of the raft against therock. That happened three times. 

Then we tried working to the right instead of the left, but with nobetter success. The force of the current, coming with all its speedagainst the unwieldy raft, was irresistible. Time and again we shovedround and started upstream, after incredible labor, only to be dashedback again against the rock. 

We tried our spears, but their shafts were so slender that they wereuseless. We took the oar and, placing its end against the wall, shovedwith all our strength. The oar snapped in two and we fell forwardagainst the wall. We tore off some of the strips of hide from the raftand tried to fasten them to the wall on either side, but there was noprotuberance that would hold them. Nothing remained to be done. 

Harry and I held a consultation then and agreed on the only possiblemeans of escape. I turned to Desiree:

"Can you swim?"

"Parfaitement, " she replied. "But against that"--pointing to thewhirling water--"I do not know. I can try. "

I, who remember the black fury of that stream as it swept past us, canappreciate the courage of her. 

We lost no time, for the foulness of the air was weakening us withevery breath we took. Our preparations were few. 

The two spears and about half of the provisions we strapped to ourbacks--an inconsiderable load which would hamper us but little. Wediscarded all our clothing, which was very little. I took the heavyskin which Desiree had worn and began to strap it also on top of mybundle, 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 anddived off together. 

Driven as we were by necessity, we would have hesitated longer if wehad known the full force of the undercurrent that seized us frombeneath. Desiree would have disappeared without a struggle if it hadnot 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 byinches. The black walls frowning at us from either side appeared to meto remain exactly the same, stationary, after a long and desperatestruggle; but when I gave a quick glance behind I saw that we hadpulled so far away from the raft that it was no longer in sight. Thatgave me renewed strength, and, shouting assurance to Harry and Desiree, I redoubled my efforts. Desiree was by now almost able to hold herown, but we still supported her. 

Every stroke made the next one easier, carrying us away from thewhirlpool, and soon we swam smoothly. Less and less strong became theresistance of the current, until finally it was possible to floateasily 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 deuceshould 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 longerfresh, and began to doubt seriously if we should reach our goal. 

But we reached it. No need to recount our struggles, which toward theend were inspired by suffering amounting to agony as we choked andgasped for sufficient air to keep us up. 

Another hundred yards would have been too much for us; but it is enoughthat finally we staggered onto the bank at the entrance to the cavernin which we had previously rested, panting, dizzy, and completelyexhausted. 

But an hour in the cavern, with its supply of air, revived us; and thenwe sat up and asked ourselves: "What for?"

"And all that brings us--to this, " said Harry, with a sweeping gestureround 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 myshoulders and dropping my bundle to the ground. "Wait a minute; I'mgoing 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 fromthe hard rock. 

"Rest your weary bones, " said Harry, stooping to kiss her. "There'smeat here if you want it. We'll be back soon. "

So we left her, with her white body stretched out at its full length onthe rude mat. 

Bearing off to the left, we soon discovered that we would have nodifficulty to leave the cavern; we had only to choose our way. Therewas scarcely any wall at all, so broken was it by lanes and passagesleading in all directions. 

We followed some of them for a distance, but found none that gave anyparticular promise. Most of them were choked with rocks and bouldersthrough which it was difficult to force a passage. We spent an hour ormore in these futile explorations, then followed the wall some distanceto the right. 

Gradually the exits became less numerous. High on a boulder near theentrance of one we saw the head of some animal peering down at us. Wehurled our spears at it, but missed; then were forced to climb up thesteep side of the boulder to recover our weapons. 

"We'd better go back to Desiree, " said Harry when we reached the groundagain. "She'll wonder what's become of us. We've been gone nearly twohours. "

After fifteen minutes' search we found the stream, and followed it tothe left. We had gone farther than we thought, and we were looking forthe end, where we had left Desiree, long before we reached it. Severaltimes we called her name, but there was no answer. 

"She's probably asleep, " said Harry. And a minute later: "There's thewall at last! But where is she?"

My foot struck something on the ground, and I stooped over to examineit. 

It was the pile of skins on which Desiree had lain!

I called to Harry, and at the same instant heard his shout ofconsternation as he came running toward me, holding something in hishand. 

"They've got her! Look! Look at this! I found it on the ground overthere. "

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 ofthe cavern. 

"But it isn't possible, " I objected finally to my own thoughts. "Shewould have cried out and we would have heard her. The spear may havebeen there before. "

Then I raised my voice, calling her name many times at the top of mylungs. There was no answer. 

"They've got her, " said Harry, "and that's all there is to it. Thecursed brutes crept up on her in the dark--much chance she had ofcrying out when they got their hands on her. I know it. Why did weleave 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 werevery similar to one another, except that the one in the middle slopedupward at a gentle incline, while the others were level. 

"One is as good as another, " I observed, and entered the one on theleft. 

Once started, we advanced with a rush. The passage was straight andnarrow, 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'mafraid we're on the wrong trail. "

Still as I had said, one chance was as good as another, and we did notslacken our pace. The passage went straight forward, without a bend. The roof was low, just allowing us to pass without stooping, and thewalls 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 updirectly in our path. 

"At last, a turn!" panted Harry. 

But it was not a turn. It was the end of the passage. We had beenfollowing a blind alley. 

Harry let out a string of oaths, and I seconded him. Twenty minuteswasted, and another twenty to return!

There was nothing else for it. We shouldered our spears and started toretrace our steps. 

"No use running now, " I declared. "We can't keep it up forever, and wemay as well save our strength. We'll never catch up with 'em, but wemay 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 itin the first place. On the raft we probably descended altogethersomething like five hundred feet from the level where westarted--possibly twice that distance. And this passage which slopesupward 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 ourpath. 

In spots the passage was so narrow that two men could hardly havewalked abreast through it, and its walls were rough and irregular, withsharp 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, hesuddenly disappeared from sight as though swallowed by the mountain. 

Rushing forward, I saw him scrambling to his feet at the bottom of achasm some ten feet below. Luckily he had escaped serious injury, andclimbed up on the other side, while I leaped across--a distance ofabout six feet. 

"They could never have brought her through this, " he declared, rubbinga bruised knee. 

"Do you want to go back?" I asked. 

But he said that would be useless, and I agreed with him. So westruggled onward, painfully and laboriously. The sharp corners of therocks cut our feet and hands, and I had an ugly bruise on my leftshoulder, besides many lesser ones. Harry's injured knee caused him tolimp and thus further retarded our progress. 

At times the passage broadened out until the wall on either side wasbarely visible, only to narrow down again till it was scarcely morethan a crevice between the giant boulders. The variation of theincline was no less, being at times very nearly level, and at othersmounting 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 atthe foot of a towering rock Harry gave a cry of joy and ran forward. Ihad not known until then how badly his knee was hurt, and when I cameup to where he was bathing it in the stream and saw how black andswollen it was, I insisted that he give it a rest. But he absolutelyrefused, and after we had quenched our thirst and gotten an easy breathor two we struggled to our feet and on. 

After another hour of scrambling and failing and hanging on by ourfinger nails, the way began to be easier. We came to level, clearstretches with only an occasional boulder or ravine, and the rockbecame less cruel to our bleeding feet. The relief came almost toolate, for by that time every movement was painful, and we made but slowprogress. 

Soon we faced another difficulty when we came to a point where a splitin the passage showed a lane on either side. One led straight ahead;the other branched off to the right. They were very similar, butsomehow the one on the right looked more promising to us, and we tookit. 

We had followed this but a short distance when it broadened out to suchan extent that the walls on either side could be seen but dimly. Itstill sloped upward, but at a very slight angle, and we had littledifficulty in making our way. Another half-hour and it narrowed downagain to a mere lane. 

We were proceeding at a fairly rapid gait, keeping our eyes strainedahead, when there appeared an opening in the right wall at a distanceof a hundred feet or so. Not having seen or heard anything torecommend caution, we advanced without slackening our pace until we hadreached it. 

I said aloud to Harry, "Probably a cross-passage, " and then jerked himback quickly against the opposite wall as I saw the real nature of theopening. 

It led to a small room, with a low ceiling and rough walls, dark as thepassage in which we stood, for it contained no light. 

We could see its interior dimly, but well enough to discover the formof an Inca standing just within the doorway. His back was toward us, and he appeared to be fastening something to the ceiling with strips ofhide. 

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 thatthe wall leading away in front of us--that is, the one on theright--was marked as far as the eye could reach with a succession ofsimilar openings. 

They were quite close together; from where we stood I could see thirtyor forty of them. I guessed that they, too, led to rooms similar tothe one in front of us, probably likewise occupied; but it wasnecessary to go on in spite of the danger, and I pulled again atHarry's arm. 

Then, seeing by his face that something had happened, I turned my eyesagain on the Inca in the room. He had turned about, squarely facingus. As we stood motionless he took a hasty step forward; we had beendiscovered. 

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 singlebound, and bore the Inca to the floor under us. 

My fingers were round his throat, Harry sat on him. In a trice we hadhim securely bound and gagged, using some strips of hide which we foundsuspended 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, andblacker than night. Her body was innocent of any attempt at covering. 

Altogether, not a very pleasant sight; and we bundled her into a cornerand proceeded to look round the room, being careful to remain out ofthe 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 onecorner 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 theroom. From the ceiling were suspended other hides and some strips ofdried fish. 

Some of the latter we cut down with the points of our spears andretired 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 wefound some water in a basin in the corner and drank--not withoutmisgivings. But we were too thirsty to be particular. 

Then Harry became impatient to go on, and though I had no liking forthe appearance of that long row of open doorways, I did not demur. Taking up our spears, we stepped out into the corridor and turned tothe right. 

We found ourselves running a gantlet wherein discovery seemed certain. The right wall was one unbroken series of open doorways, and in each ofthe rooms, whose interiors we could plainly see, were one or more ofthe 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 gazingstraight at us, and I gathered myself together for a spring; but hemade no movement of any kind and we passed swiftly by. 

Once a little black ball of flesh--a boy it was, perhaps five or sixyears old--tumbled out into the corridor under our very feet. Westrode over him and went swiftly on. 

We had passed about a hundred of the open doorways, and were beginningto entertain the hope that we might, after all, get through withoutbeing discovered, when Harry suddenly stopped short, pulling at my arm. At the same instant I saw, far down the corridor, a crowd of blackforms moving toward us. 

Even at that distance something about their appearance and gait told usthat they were not women. Their number was so great that as theyadvanced they filled the passage from wall to wall. 

There was but one way to escape certain discovery; and distasteful asit was, we did not hesitate to employ it. In a glance I saw that wewere directly opposite an open doorway; with a whispered word to HarryI 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 heldback, but there was nothing else for it; and in another minute we hadoverpowered and bound and gagged them and carried them to a corner. 

The children were ugly little devils and the woman very little above abrute; still we handled them as tenderly as possible. Then we crouchedagainst the wall where we could not be seen from the corridor, andwaited. 

Soon the patter of many footsteps reached our ears. They passed;others came, and still others. For many minutes the sound continuedsteadily, unbroken, while we sat huddled up against the wall, scarcelydaring 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 abjectterror. Still the patter of footsteps sounded from without, with nowand then an interval of quiet. 

Struck by a sudden thought, I signaled to Harry; and when he had movedfurther back into his corner I sprang across the room in one bound tohis side. A word or two of whispering, and he nodded to show that heunderstood. We crouched together flat against the wall. 

My thought had come just in time, for scarcely another minute hadpassed 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. Ihad not counted on two of them! In the arms of each was a great coppervessel, evidently very heavy, for their effort was apparent as theystooped 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 camefrom the woman in the corner; the two men glanced at them with a startof wonder; and as I had foreseen, they ran across and bent over theprostrate forms. 

The next instant they, too, were prone on the floor, with Harry and meon top of them. They did not succumb without a struggle, and the one Ihad chosen proved nearly too much for me. 

The great muscles of his chest and legs strained under me with a powerthat made me doubtful for a moment of the outcome; but the Incasthemselves had taught us how to conquer a man when you attack him frombehind, and I grasped his throat with all the strength there was in myfingers. 

With a desperate effort he got to his knees and grasped my wrists inhis powerful black hands and tore my own grip loose. He was half-wayto his feet, and far more powerful than I; I changed my tactics. Wrenching myself loose, I fell back a step; then, as he twisted roundto get at me, I lunged forward and let him have my fist squarelybetween the eyes. 

The blow nearly broke my hand, but he dropped to the floor. The nextinstant I was joined by Harry, who had overcome the other Inca withlittle difficulty, and in a trice we had them both bound and gaggedalong with the remainder of the family in the corner. 

Owing to my strategy in withholding our attack until the Incas had gotwell within the room and to one side, we had not been seen by thoseconstantly passing up and down in the corridor without; at least, noneof them had entered. We seemed by this stroke to have assured oursafety so long as we remained in the room. 

But it was still necessary to remain against the wall, for the softpatter 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, afterseeing the women, it is little wonder if they spend most of their timeaway from them. He is welcome to his repose in the bosom of hisfamily. "

There passed an uneventful hour. Long before it ended the sound offootsteps had entirely ceased; but we thought it best to take nochances, and waited for the last minute our impatience would allow us. Then, uncomfortable and stiff from the long period of immobility andsilence, we rose to our feet and made ready to start. 

Harry was for appropriating some of the strips of dried fish we sawsuspended from the ceiling, but I objected that our danger lay in anydirection other than that of hunger, and we set out with only ourspears. 

The corridor was deserted. One quick glance in either directionassured us of that; then we turned to the right and set out at a rapidpace, down the long passage past a succession of rooms exactly similarto the one we had just left--scores, hundreds of them. 

Each one was occupied by from one to ten of the Incas lying on thecouch which each contained, or stretched on hides on the floor. No onewas 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 traversedupward 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 noisesounded behind us. We glanced over our shoulders as we ran, and at thesame instant an Inca spear flew by not two inches from my head andstruck the ground in front. 

Not a hundred feet to the rear we saw a group of Incas rushing alongthe passage toward us. Harry wheeled about, raising his spear, but Igrasped him by the arm, crying, "Run; it's our only chance!" The nextmoment we were leaping forward side by side down the passage. 

It would have fared ill with any who appeared to block our way in thatmad dash; but it remained clear. The corridor led straight ahead, withnever a turn. We were running as we had never run before; the blackwalls flashed past us an indistinguishable blur, and the open doorwayswere blended into one. 

Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that the small group of Incas wasno longer small. Away to the rear the corridor was filled with rushingblack forms. But I saw plainly that we were gaining on them; thedistance that separated us was twice as great as when we had firststarted to run. 

"How about it?" I panted. "Can you hold out?"

"If it weren't for this knee, " Harry returned between breaths andthrough 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 himthe keenest agony; his face was white as death. 

Then I uttered a cry of joy as I saw a bend in the passage ahead. Wereached it, and wheeled to the right. There was solid wall on eitherside; 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 tothe left. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that our pursuers had notyet reached the first turn. Harry kept in the lead, and was giving meall 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 lengthI grasped Harry by the arm and stopped him. We stood for two fullminutes listening intently. There was absolutely no sound of any kind. 

"Thank Heaven!" Harry breathed, and would have fallen to the ground ifI 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, stillbreathing heavily and all but exhausted. 

In that darkness and silence the minutes passed into hours. We talkedbut little, and then only in whispers. Finally Harry fell into arestless sleep, if it may be called that, and several times I dozed offand was awakened by my head nodding against the stone wall. 

At length, finding Harry awake, I urged him to his feet. His kneebarely supported his weight, but he gritted his teeth and told me tolead 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 morechance!"

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 forone was about to give up the disheartening task when suddenly a soundsmote our ears that caused us first to start violently, then stop andgaze 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 cavernswith 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 wasso sure of myself that we started off to the right. The echoes of thebell 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 weintended to do after we found it. 

A short distance ahead we came to another passage, crossing at rightangles, broad and straight, and somehow familiar. As with one impulsewe took it, turning to the left, and then flattened ourselves backagainst 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 aftergroup of the savages passed in the corridor ahead. Their numberswelled to a continuous stream, which in turn gradually became thinnerand 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 forwardand soon had reached the corridor down which they had passed. Wefollowed in the direction they had taken, turning to the right. 

We had no sooner turned than we saw that which caused us to glancequickly at each other and hasten our step, while I smothered theejaculation that rose to my lips. The corridor in which we now foundourselves stretched straight ahead for a distance, then turned to oneside; and the corner thus formed was flooded with a brilliant blaze oflight!

There was no longer any doubt of it: we were on our way to the greatcavern. For a moment I hesitated, asking myself for what purpose wehastened on thus into the very arms of our enemies; then, propelled byinstinct or premonition--I know not what--I took a firmer grasp on myspear and followed Harry without word, throwing caution to the winds. 

Yet we avoided foolhardiness, for as we approached the last turn weproceeded slowly, keeping an eye on the rear. But all the Incasappeared to have assembled within, for the corridor remained deserted. 

We crept silently to the corner, avoiding the circle of light as far aspossible, and, crouching side by side on the rock, looked out togetheron 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 thanbefore; the alcove which held the golden throne was far off to ourleft, nearly half-way round the vast circumference. On the throne wasseated the king, surrounded by guards and attendants. 

As before, the stone seats which surrounded the amphitheater on everyside were filled with the Incas, crouching motionless and silent. Theflames in the massive urns mounted in steady tongues, casting theirblinding glare in every direction. 

All this I saw in a flash, when suddenly Harry's fingers sank into theflesh of my arm with such force that I all but cried out in actualpain. And then, glancing at him and following the direction of hisgaze, I saw Desiree. 

She was standing on the top of the lofty column in the center of thelake. 

Her white body, uncovered, was outlined sharply against the blackbackground of the cavern above. 

Chapter XXII. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 

Neither Harry nor I spoke; our eyes were concentrated on the scenebefore us, trying to comprehend its meaning. 

It was something indefinable in Desiree's attitude that told me thetruth--what, I cannot tell. Her profile was toward us; it could nothave been her eyes or any expression of her face; but there was atenseness about her pose, a stiffening of the muscles of her body, anair of lofty scorn and supreme triumph coming somehow from every lineof 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 myknowledge in my eyes, for he obeyed without a word. Back down thepassage 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 spearready; not a sound, if you love her. "

I saw that he understood, and saw too, by the expression that shot intohis 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 theentrance to the tunnel that led to the foot of the column. A prayerwas on my lips that we might not be too late; Harry's lips werecompressed together tightly as a vise. Death we did not fear, even forDesiree; but we remembered the horror of our own experience on the topof that column, and shuddered as we ran. 

As I have said, we had entered the great cavern at a point almostdirectly opposite the alcove, and therefore at a distance from theentrance we sought. It was necessary to half encircle the cavern, andthe passages were so often crossed by other passages that many times wehad to guess at the proper road. 

But not for an instant did we hesitate; we flew rather than ran. Ifelt within me the strength and resolve of ten men, and I knew thenthat there was something I must do and would do before I died, though athousand devils stood in my way. 

I do not know what led us; whether a remorseful Providence, whosuddenly decided that we had been played with long enough, or the mereanimal instinct of direction, or blind luck. But so fast did we gothat it seemed to me we had left the great cavern scarcely a minutebehind us when I suddenly saw the steps of a steep stairway leadingdown 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 afall by I know not what miracle. And there before us was the entranceto 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 atrap. Defend that entrance--with your life!"

I saw him hesitate, and, knowing that he would obey, I dashed forwardinto the tunnel. When nearly to its end I made a misstep on the unevenground and precipitated myself against the wall. A sharp pain shotthrough my left shoulder, but at the time I was scarcely conscious ofit 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 formdescending from it. That Inca never knew what hit him. I did not usemy spear; time was too precious. He disappeared in the whirlpoolbeneath the base of the column through which Harry and I had oncemiraculously escaped. 

But despair filled my heart as, with my feet on the first step of thespiral stairway, I cast a quick glance upward. The upper half of theinside of the column was a raging furnace of fire. How or from what itcame I did not stop to inquire; I bounded up the stairway in desperatefury. 

I did not know then that the stone steps were baking and blistering myfeet; I did not know, as I came level with the base of the flames, thatevery hair was being singed from my head and body--I only knew that Imust reach the top of the column. 

Then I saw the source of the flames as I reached them. Huge vats ofoil--six, a dozen, twenty--I know not how many--were ranged in a circleon a ledge of stone encircling the column, and from their tops the fireleaped upward to a great height. I saw what must be done; how I did itGod 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, Isent it tumbling down the length of the column into the whirlpool, manyfeet below. Then another, and another, and another, until the ledgewas empty. 

Some of the burning oil, flying from the overturned vats, alighted onthe stairway, casting weird patches of light up and down the wholelength 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 beingburned from their sockets with red-hot irons. I bounded upward. 

A few more steps--I could not see, I could hardly feel--and my headbumped 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 contactwith the slide that moved the stone stab. I pushed, hardly knowingwhat I did, and the stone flew to one side. I stuck my head throughthe opening and saw Desiree. 

Her back was toward me. As I emerged from the opening the Incas seatedround the vast amphitheater and the king, seated on the golden thronein the alcove, rose involuntarily from their seats in astonished wonder. 

Desiree saw the movement and, turning, caught sight of me. A suddencry of amazement burst from her lips; she made a hasty step forward andfell fainting into my arms. 

I shook her violently, but she remained unconscious, and this addedcatastrophe all but unnerved me. For a moment I stood on the upperstep with the upper half of my body, swaying from side to side, extending beyond the top of the column; then I turned and began todescend with Desiree in my arms. 

Every step of that descent was unspeakable agony. Feeling was hardlyin me; my whole body was an engine of pain. Somehow, I staggered andstumbled downward; at every step I expected to fall headlong to thebottom with my burden. Desiree's form remained limp and lifeless in myarms. 

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. Everystep now made the next one easier. I began to think that I might, after all, reach the bottom in safety. Another twenty steps and Icould see the beginning of the tunnel below. 

Desiree's form stirred slightly in my arms. A glance showed me hereyes 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 notime for answer; my lips were locked tightly together as I sought thestep below with a foot that had no feeling even for the stone. We werenearly 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 witha 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 supportedher, I grasped her arm and started down the tunnel just as Harry'svoice, raised in a great shout, came to us from its farther end. 

"No!" cried Desiree, shrinking back in terror. "Paul--" I dragged herforward. 

Then, as Harry's cry was repeated, she seemed to understand and sprangforward beside me. 

Another second wasted and we would have been too late. Just as wereached Harry's side, at the end of the tunnel, the Incas, warned by myappearance at the top of the column, appeared above on the stairway, atthe foot of which Harry had made his stand. 

At the sight of Desiree Harry uttered a cry of joy, then gazed inastonishment as I appeared behind her. 

"Run for your lives!" he shouted, pointing down the passage leading tothe apartments beyond. As he spoke a shower of spears descended fromabove, rattling on the steps and on the ground beside us. I stooped topick up two of them, and as Desiree and I darted forward into thepassage, with Harry bringing up the rear, the Incas dashed down thestairway after us. 

We found ourselves at once in the maze of lanes and passages leading tothe royal apartments. That, I thought, was as good a goal as any; and, besides, the way led to the cavern where we had once beforesuccessfully withstood our enemies. But the way was not so easy tofind. 

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 strengththat 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 andslackened her pace. 

I soon realized that we were no longer in the passage or group ofpassages that led to the royal apartments and the cavern beyond. Butthere was no time to seek our way; well enough if we went forward. Wefound ourselves in a narrow lane, strewn with rocks, crooked andwinding. 

Desiree stumbled and would have fallen but for my outstretched arm. Aspear 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. Thelane became narrower still; we brushed the wall on either side, and Ipushed Desiree ahead of me and followed behind. Suddenly she stoppedshort, 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 shesank to the ground. 

At the same moment there came a cry from Harry in the rear--a cry thatheld joy and wonder--and I turned to see him standing some distanceaway, 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 herside. "Desiree!" he cried, lifting her in his arms. She opened hereyes and smiled at him, and he kissed her many times--her hair, herlips, her eyes. Then he placed her gently on her feet, and, supportingher with his arm, moved forward slowly. I led the way. 

The lane ahead of us was scarcely more than a crevice between therocks; I squeezed my way through with difficulty. Then the walls endedabruptly, just when I had begun to think we could go no farther, and wefound ourselves at the entrance to a cavern so large that no wall wasto be seen on any side save the one behind us. 

On the instant I guessed at the reason why the Incas had ceased theirpursuit so abruptly, and I turned to Harry:

"I'm afraid we've jumped from the frying-pan into the fire. If thiscavern 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 thecavern, halting every few steps to listen for a sound, either of theIncas, which we feared, or of running water, which we desired. Weheard neither. All was blackness and the most complete silence. 

Then I became aware, for the first time, of intolerable pains shootingup through my legs into my body. The danger past, reason returned andfeeling. I could not suppress a low cry, wrung inexorably from mychest, and I halted, leaning my whole weight on Desiree's shoulder. 

"What is it?" she cried, and for answer--though I strained every atomof 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 whollyunconscious. I was aware that Harry and Desiree were bending over me;then I felt my head and shoulders being lifted from the ground, and asoft, warm arm supporting me. 

A minute passed, or an hour--I did not know--and I felt hot drops ofmoisture fall on my cheek. I struggled to open my eyes, and sawDesiree's face quite near my own; my head was resting on her shoulder. She was weeping silently, and great tears rolled down her cheeksunrestrained. 

To have seen the sun or stars shining down upon me would not haveastonished me more. I gazed at her a long moment in silence; she sawthat 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, hervoice 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 willget 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 contradicther--and then I said simply, "Why are you crying, Desiree?"

She looked at me as though she had not heard; then, after anothersilence, 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 herhand gently over my forehead and touched the tips of her fingers to myburning eyes--"you must have cared for me in that other world. I willnot doubt it; unless you speak, and you must not. Nothing would havebeen too high for us. We could have opened any door--even the door tohappiness. "

"But you said once--forgive me if I remind you of it now--you said thatyou 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 movementcaused me to halt, closing my eyes, while a great wave of pain sweptover me from head to foot. Then I went on: "Could you expect toconfine your heart? You say we could have opened any door--well, tellme, what could we have done, you and I?"

"But that is what I do not think of!" cried Desiree impatiently. "Iwould perhaps have placed my hand on your heart, as I do now; you wouldperhaps have fought for me, as you have done. I might even--" Shehesitated, while the ghost of a smile that had died before it reachedthe light appeared on her lips, as her head was lowered close, quiteclose, 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 caughtand held there. 

"Desiree--I want it, " I said half fiercely, and I forgot my pain andour danger--forgot everything but her white face in dim outline aboveme, and her eyes, glowing and tender against her wish, and her handthat nestled in my hand. "Be merciful to me--I want it as I have neverwanted anything in my life. Desiree, I love you. "

At that I felt her hand move quickly, as for freedom, but I held itfast. And then slowly her head was lowered. I waited breathlessly. Ifelt her quick breath on my face, and the next moment her lips hadfound 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 inthe darkness:

"Desiree! Where are you?"

I waited for her to answer, but she was silent, and I called out to himour direction. A moment later his form appeared at a distance, andsoon 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 sidesof the cavern, one at a distance of half a mile or more, and wascrossing to find the third when he had called to us. 

"But there is little use, " he finished gloomily. "The place is silentas the grave. If there were water we would hear it. I can't even findan 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 nothear of it, and set out again alone in the opposite direction to thatwhich 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. Therewas no sign anywhere of water; but to the left there were severalnarrow lanes leading at angles whose sides were nearly parallel to eachother, and some distance to the right there was a broad and clearpassage sloping downward directly away from the cavern. 

"Is the passage straight?" I asked, struck with a sudden idea. "Couldyou 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 orquit the game. But that isn't why I asked. Perhaps it explains thesudden disappearance of the Incas. They knew they couldn't follow usthrough 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 ableto stand it was only by a tremendous effort and exertion of the will. 

"Not yet, " I murmured between clenched teeth, and again Desiree sat onthe hard rock and supported my head and shoulders in her arms, despitemy earnest remonstrances. Harry stood before us, leaning on his spear. 

Soon he left us again, departing in the direction of the crevice bywhich we had entered; I detected his uneasiness in the tone with whichhe 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 Itried to rise, insisting that she must be exhausted with the longstrain she had undergone, but she denied it vehemently, and refused toallow 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 wascertain 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 asthough we had at length recognized the hand of fate and seen thefutility of further struggle. For, weak and injured as I was, I stillhad strength in me; it was a listlessness of the brain and hopelessnessof the heart that made me content to lie and wait for whatever mightcome. 

The state of my feelings toward Desiree were even then elusive; theyare more so now. I had told her I loved her; well, I had told manywomen that. But Desiree had moved me; with her it was not thesame--that I felt. I had never so admired a woman, and the thrill ofthat kiss is in me yet; I can recall it and tremble under its power bymerely closing my eyes. 

Her warm hand, pressed tightly in my own, seemed to send an electriccommunication to every nerve in my body and eased my suffering andstilled my pain. That, I know, is not love; and perhaps I was mistakenwhen I imagined that it was there. 

"Are you asleep?" she asked presently, after I had lain perfectly quietfor many minutes. Her voice was so low that it entered my ear as thefaintest breath. 

"Hardly, " I answered. "To tell the truth, I expect never to sleepagain--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 addedquickly: "Oh, I didn't mean that--other thing. I said this mountainwould be my grave, do you remember? You see, I knew. "

I started to reply, but was interrupted by Harry, calling to ask wherewe were. I answered, and soon he had joined us and seated himselfbeside Desiree on the ground. 

"I found nothing, " was all he said, wearily, and he lay back and closedhis eyes, resting his head on his hands. 

The minutes passed slowly. Desiree and I talked in low tones; Harrymoved about uneasily on his hard bed, saying nothing. Finally, despiteDesiree's energetic protests, I rose to my knees and insisted that sherest herself. We seemed none of us to be scarcely aware of what wewere doing; our movements had a curious purposelessness about them thatgave the thing an appearance of unreality--I know not what; it comes tomy memory as some indistinct and haunting nightmare. 

Suddenly, as I sat gazing dully into the semidarkness of the cavern, Isaw that which drove the apathy from my brain with a sudden shock, atthe same time paralyzing my senses. I strained my eyes ahead; therecould be no doubt of it; that black, slowly moving line was a band ofIncas creeping toward us silently, on their knees, through thedarkness. Glancing to either side I saw that the line extendedcompletely around us, to the right and left. 

The sight seemed to paralyze me. I tried to call to Harry--no soundcame from my eager lips. I tried to put out my hand to rouse him andto 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 ifshe, too, saw, but kept my eyes, as though fascinated, on that silentblack line approaching through the darkness. 

"Will they leap now--now--now?" I asked myself with every beat of mypulse. 

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 theshock 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 andhalf unconsciously I saw in that black line, silently creeping upon us, the final and inexorable approach of the remorseless fate that hadpursued us ever since we had dashed after Desiree into the cave of thedevil, rendering our every effort futile, our most desperate strugglesthe 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 knewwhat had happened. There was a cry from Desiree. Harry sprang to hisfeet. The Incas leaped forward. 

I felt myself jerked violently from the ground, and a spear was thrustinto 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 linethat was now upon us. Through it we plunged. The Incas turned andcame at us from behind; one whose hands were upon Desiree got my spearin his throat and sank to the ground. 

"Cross to the left!" Harry yelled. He was fighting them off from everydirection 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 calledto Harry, but could not see him for the black forms on every side, andI was starting to his rescue when I saw him plunge toward us, cuttinghis way through the solid mass of Incas as though they had been stalksof 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 shortdistance 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 coverour retreat. 

Once within the narrow lane his task was easier. Boulders andprojecting rocks obstructed our progress, but they were even greaterobstacles to those who pursued us. Still they rushed forward, only tobe hurled back by the point of Harry's spear. Once, turning, I saw himpick one of them up bodily and toss him whirling through the air intothe very faces of his comrades. 

I had all I could do with Desiree and myself. Many times I scrambledup the steep face of some boulder and, after pulling her up safelyafter me, let her down again on the other side. Then I returned to seethat 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 myexperience on the spiral stairway in the column. The soles of my feetand the palms of my hands were baked black as the Incas themselves. Blisters covered my body from head to foot, swelling, indescribablypainful. 

Every step I took made me clench my teeth to keep from sinking in afaint to the ground; I expected always that the next would be mylast--but somehow I struggled onward. It was the thought of Desiree, Ithink, that held me up, and Harry. 

Suddenly a shout came from Harry that the Incas had abandoned thepursuit. It struck me almost as a matter of indifference; nor was Iaffected when almost immediately afterward he called that he had beenmistaken and that they had rushed forward with renewed fury and ingreater 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 thecavern, without a turn. Its walls were the roughest I had seen, andoften a boulder which lay across our path presented a serrated facethat looked as though it had but just been broken from the wall above. Still the stone was comparatively soft--time had not yet worked itsleveling finger on the surfaces that surrounded us. 

We were standing on one of these boulders when Harry came runningtoward us. 

"They're stopped, " he cried gleefully, "at least for a little. A pieceof rock as big as a house gently slid from above onto their preciousheads. It may have blocked them off completely. "

We hurried forward then; Harry helped Desiree, while I painfullybrought up the rear. At every few steps they were forced to halt andwait for me, though I did my utmost to keep up with them. Harry hadtaken my spear that I might have both hands to help me over the rocks. 

Climbing, sliding, jumping, we left the Incas behind; no sound camefrom the rear. I began to think that they had really been completelyshut off, and several times opened my mouth to call to Harry to ask himif 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 goon and I followed. 

This lasted I know not how long; I was staggering and reeling forwardlike a drunken man, so little aware of what I was doing that when Harryand Desiree finally stopped at the beginning of a level, unbrokenstretch in the lane, I stumbled directly against them before I knewthey 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 againstthe 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 wallopposite--a movement as of the wall itself. At first I thought it adelusion produced by my disordered brain, but when I saw Desiree'sastonished gaze following mine, and heard Harry's cry of wonder as heturned and saw it also, I knew the thing was real. 

A great portion of the wall, the entire side of the passage for alength of a hundred feet or more, was sliding slowly downward. Glancing above I saw a space of several feet where the rock haddeparted from its bed. The only noise audible was a low, grating soundlike the slow grinding of a gigantic millstone. 

None of us moved--if there were danger we would seem to have welcomedit. Suddenly the great mass of rock appeared to halt in its downwardmovement and hang as though suspended; then with a sudden jerk itseemed to free itself, swaying ponderously toward us; and the nextmoment 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 anearthquake, and it seemed as though the wall against which we stood wasabout to fall in upon us. Dust and fragments of rock filled the air onevery side, and one huge boulder, detached from the roof above, cametumbling at our feet, missing us by inches. 

We were completely stunned by the cataclysm, but in a moment Harry hadrecovered and run to the edge of the chasm opposite thus suddenlyformed. Desiree and I followed. 

There was nothing to be seen save the blackness of space. Immediatelybefore us was an apparently bottomless abyss, black and terrifying; theside descended straight down from our feet. Looking across we couldsee 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 phenomenonbefore me I half forgot my pain. 

I moved to the edge of one of the walls extending at right angles tothe passage, but there was little to be made of it. It was of softlimestone, and most probably the portion that had disappeared wasgranite, 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 apparentlightness 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 camefrom another source. The rock that had fallen, obstructing the path ofthe Incas, must have left an opening that Harry had missed; or they hadremoved it--what matter?

In some way they had forced a passage, for as Desiree spoke a dozenspears whistled through the air past our heads and we looked up to seea swarm of Incas climbing and tumbling down the face of a boulder overwhich we had passed to reach our resting-place. 

I have said that we had halted in a level, unbroken stretch that stillled some distance ahead of us. At its farther end could be seen agroup of rocks and boulders completely choking the lane, Beyond, otherrocks arose to a still greater height--the way appeared to beimpassable. 

But there was no time for deliberation or the weighing of chances, andwe turned and made for the pile of rocks, with the Incas rushing afterus. 

There Desiree and I halted in despair, but with a great oath Harrybrushed us aside and leaped upon a rock higher than his head withincredible agility. Then, lying flat on his face and extending hisarms downward over the edge, he pulled first Desiree, then myself, upafter him. The whole performance had occupied a scant two seconds, and, waiting only to pick up the three spears he had thrown up thesloping surface of the rock to another yet higher and steeper. 

"Why don't we hold them here?" I demanded. "They could never come upthat rock with us on top. "

Harry looked at me. 

"Spears, " he said briefly; and, of course, he was right. They wouldhave picked us off like birds on a limb. 

We scaled the second rock with extreme difficulty, Harry assisting bothDesiree and me; and as we stood upright on its top I saw the Incasscrambling over the edge of the one below. Two or three of them hadalready started to cross; many more were coming up from behind; andone, as he made the top and arose to his feet, braced himself on thesloping 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'sface as she, too, recognized the black form below. At the same instantthe spear darted forward from the hand of the Child of the Sun, but itlanded 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 spearsto waste, and Harry was dragging Desiree forward and shouting to me tofollow. I turned and ran after them, and just as we let ourselves downinto a narrow crevice below the Incas appeared over the edge of therock behind. 

Somehow we scrambled forward, with the Incas at our heels. Sharpcorners of projecting rocks bruised our faces and bodies; once my legbent double under me as I fell from a ledge onto a boulder below, and Ithought it was broken; but Harry jerked me to my feet and I struggledon. 

Harry seemed possessed of the strength of ten men and the heart of athousand. He pulled Desiree and me up and over boulders and rocks asthough 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 excitementof our retreat I found time to marvel at it. 

We did not gain an inch; our pursuers kept close behind us; but we heldour own. Now and then a stray spear came hurtling through the air orstruck 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 graspedthe shaft to pull it out, but abandoned my effort when I heard Harryshouting to me from the front to come to his aid. 

He and Desiree were standing on the rim of a ledge that stood highabove the ground of the passage. At its foot began a level stretchleading 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. "Allright!" he called from below; and I lay flat on the rock while Desireescrambled over the edge, holding to my hands. For a moment I held hersuspended in my outstretched arms; then, at a word from Harry, I lether drop. Another moment and I was over myself, knocking Harry to theground 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 weturned and raced down the long stretch ahead. I was in front; Harrycame behind with Desiree. 

Suddenly, as I ran, I felt a curious trembling of the ground beneath myfeet, similar to the vibrations of a bridge at the passing of a heavyload. 

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 asI thought we were gone, my foot touched firm rock as I passed a yawningcrevice a foot wide under me. 

One more leap to safety, and we turned just in time to see the floor ofthe passage which we had traversed disappear into some abyss beneathwith a shattering roar. 

We stood at the very edge of the chasm thus suddenly formed, gazing ateach other in silent wonder and awe. 

"The beggars are stopped now, " said Harry finally. "That break in thegame is ours. "

Looking back across the chasm, we saw the Incas tumbling by twos andthrees over the boulder on the other side. As they saw the yawningabyss that separated them from their prey they stopped short and gazedacross in profound astonishment. 

Others came to join them, until there were several hundred of theblack, ugly forms huddled together on the opposite rim of the chasm, ahundred feet away. 

I ran over the group with a keen eye, seeking the figure of the Incaking, and soon my search was successful. He stood a step in front ofthe others, a little to the right. I pointed him out to Harry andDesiree. 

"It's up to him to walk right out again, " said Harry. 

Desiree shivered, and proceeded to send her last invitation to thedevil. 

Turning suddenly, she grasped Harry's spear and tore it from his hand. Before we realized her purpose, she stepped forward until her footrested on the very edge of the chasm, and had hurled the spear acrossstraight at the Inca king. 

It missed him, but struck another Inca standing near full in thebreast. Quick as lightning the king turned, grasped the shaft of thespear, and pulled it forth, and with his white teeth gleaming in asnarl of furious hate, sent it whistling through the air straight atDesiree. 

Harry and I sprang forward with a shout of warning; Desiree stoodmotionless as a statue. We grasped her frantically and pulled herback, but too late. 

She came, but only to fall lifeless into our arms with the spear burieddeep in her white throat. 

We laid her on the ground and knelt beside her for a moment, then Harryarose to his feet with a face white as death; and I uttered a silentand vengeful prayer as I saw him level a spear at the Inca king acrossthe chasm. But it went wide of its mark, striking the ground at hisfeet. 

"There was another!" cried Harry, and soon he had found it where it layon the ground and sent it, too, hurtling across. 

This time he missed by inches. The spear flew just past the shoulderof the king and caught one who stood behind him full in the face. Thestricken savage threw his arms spasmodically above his head, reelingforward against the king. 

There was a startled movement along the black line; hands wereoutstretched in a vain effort at rescue; a savage cry burst fromHarry's lips, and the next instant the king had toppled over the edgeof 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 besidethe body of Desiree and took her in his arms. 

But her fate spoke eloquently of our own danger, and I roused him toaction. Together we picked up the form of our dead comrade and carriedit to the rear. I hesitated to pull forth the barbed head of thespear, and instead broke off the shaft, leaving the point buried in thesoft throat, from which a crimson line extended over the white shoulder. 

A short distance ahead we came to a projecting boulder, and behind thatwe 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 inmute sympathy and sorrow. 

For a long minute there was silence--a most intense silence throughoutthe cavern, during which the painful throbbing of my heart was plainlyaudible; then Harry murmured, in a voice of the utmost tenderness:"Desiree!" And again, "Desiree! Desiree!" until I half expected thevery strength and sweetness of his emotion to bring our comrade back tolife. 

Suddenly, with a quick, impulsive movement, he raised his head toglance at me. 

"She loved you, " he said; and though there was neither jealousy noranger 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 himof the truth. "All her beauty, all her loveliness, all her charm, tobe buried--Ah! God help us--"

My voice broke, and I knelt on the ground beside Harry and pressed mylips 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 ofthe still form stretched as in repose before us. Her body, still warm, seemed quivering with the instinct of life; but the eyes were not theeyes of Desiree. I closed them, and arranged the tangled mass of hairas well as possible over her shoulders. As I did so the air, set inmotion by my hand, caused some of the golden strands to tremble gentlyacross 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 theylooked 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! forone--did not leave us long with our dead. Even now I do not know whathappened; at the time I knew even less. Harry told me afterward thatthe first shock came at the instant he had taken Desiree in his armsand pressed his lips to hers. 

I had crossed to the other side of the passage and was gazing backtoward the chasm at the Incas on the other side, when again I felt theground, absolutely without warning, tremble violently under my feet. At the same moment there was a low, curious rumble as of the thunderingof distant cannon. 

I sprang toward Harry with a cry of alarm, and had crossed about to themiddle of the passage, when a deafening roar smote my ear, and theentire wall of the cavern appeared to be failing in upon us. At thesame time the ground seemed to sink directly away beneath my feet withan easy, rocking motion as of a wave of the ocean. Then I felt myselfplunging downward with a velocity that stunned my senses and took awaymy 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 myside. I opened my eyes, and felt that it would be impossible to make agreater 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, butthat appeared to be all that he knew. How far we had fallen, or how hehad found me, or how he himself had escaped being crushed to pieces bythe 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 andbewildered by the shock. 

Well! We were alive--that was all. 

For we were weak and faint from hunger and fatigue, and one mass ofbruises and blisters from head to foot. And we had had no water forsomething like twenty-four hours. Heaven only knows where we found theenergy to rise and go in search of it; it is incredible that anycreatures in such a pitiable and miserable condition as we were couldhave 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 bouldersand broken rock, but we soon discovered a passage, level and straightas any tunnel built by man. 

Down this we made our way. Every few feet we stopped to rest. Neitherof us spoke a word. I really had no sense of any purpose in ourprogress; I crept on exactly as some animals, wounded to death, move onand on until there is no longer strength for another step, when theylie down for the final breath. 

We saw no water nor promise of any; nothing save the long stretch ofdim vista ahead and the grim, black walls on either side. That, Ithink, for hours; it seemed to me then for years. 

I dragged one leg after the other with infinite effort and pain; Harrywas ahead, and sometimes, glancing back over his shoulder to find me atsome distance behind, he would turn over and lie on his back till Iapproached. Then again to his knees and again forward. Neither of usspoke. 

Suddenly, at a great distance down the passage, much further than I hadbeen able to see before, I saw what appeared to be a white wallextending directly across our path. 

I called to Harry and pointed it out to him. He nodded vaguely, asthough in wonder that I should have troubled him about so slight anobject of interest, and crawled on. 

But the white wall became whiter still, and soon I saw that it was nota wall. A wild hope surged through me; I felt the blood mount dizzilyto my head, and I stilled the clamor that beat at my temples by anextreme 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 thebody 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; Ireeled and fell, then picked myself up again and followed Harry, whohad not even halted as I had fallen. The mouth of the passage was nowbut a few feet away; I reached Harry's side, blinking and stunned withamazement and the incredible wonder of it. 

I tried to shout, to cry aloud to the heavens, but a great lump in mythroat choked me and my head was singing dizzily. 

Harry, at my side, was crying like a child, with great tears streamingdown his face, as together we staggered forth from the mouth of thepassage into the bright and dazzling sunshine of the Andes. 

Chapter XXIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

Never, I believe, were misery and joy so curiously mingled in the humanbreast as when Harry and I stood--barely able to stand--gazingspeechlessly at the world that had so long been hidden from us. 

We had found the light, but had lost Desiree. We were alive, but sonear to death that our first breath of the mountain air was like to beour last. 

The details of our painful journey down the mountain, over the rocksand crags, and through rushing torrents that more than once swept usfrom 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 aprotecting mantle at the death of Desiree stayed with us; and afterendless hours of incredible toil and labor, we came to a narrow passleading at right angles to our course. 

Night was ready to fall over the bleak and barren mountain as weentered it. Darkness had long since overtaken us, when we saw at adistance a large clearing, in the middle of which lights shone from thewindows of a large house whose dim and shadowy outline appeared to ussurrounded by a halo of peace. 

But we were nearly forced to fight for it. The proprietor of thehacienda himself answered our none too gentle knock at the door, and hehad no sooner caught sight of us than he let out a yell as though hehad seen the devil in person, and slammed the door violently in ourfaces. Indeed, we were hardly recognizable as men. 

Naked, black, bruised, and bleeding, covered with hair on our faces andparts of our bodies--mine, of recent growth, stubby and stiff--ourappearance would have justified almost any suspicion. 

But we hammered again on the door, and I set forth our pedigree andplight in as few words as possible. Reassured, perhaps, by myexcellent Spanish--which could not, of course, be the tongue of thedevil--and convinced by our pitiable condition of our inability to dohim any harm, he at length reopened the door and gave us admittance. 

When we had succeeded in allaying his suspicions concerning ouridentity--though I was careful not to alarm his superstitions bymentioning the cave of the devil, which, I thought, was probably wellknown to him--he lost no time in displaying his humanity. 

Calling in some hombres from the rear of the hacienda, he gave themample instructions, with medicine and food, and an hour later Harry andI were lying side by side in his own bed--a rude affair, but infinitelybetter than granite--refreshed, bandaged, and as comfortable as theirkindly ministrations could make us. 

The old Spaniard was a direct descendant of the good Samaritan--despitethe slight difference in nationality. For many weeks he nursed us andfed us and coaxed back the spark of life in our exhausted and woundedbodies. 

Our last ounce of strength seemed to have been used up in our desperatestruggle down the side of the mountain; for many days we lay on ourbacks absolutely unable to move a muscle and barely conscious of life. 

But the spark revived and fluttered. The day came when we couldhobble, with his assistance, to the door of the hacienda and sit forhours in the invigorating sunshine; and thenceforward our convalescenceproceeded rapidly. Color came to our cheeks and light to our eyes; andone sunny afternoon it was decided that we should set out for Cerro dePasco on the following day. 

Harry proposed a postponement of our departure for two days, sayingthat he wished to make an excursion up the mountain. I understood himat once. 

"It would be useless, " I declared. "You would find nothing. "

"But she was with us when we fell, " he persisted, not bothering topretend that he did not understand me. "She came--it must be nearwhere we landed. "

"That isn't it, " I explained. "Have you forgotten that we have beenhere for over a month? You would find nothing. " As he grasped mythought his face went white and he was silent. So on the followingmorning we departed. 

Our host furnished us with food, clothing, mules, and an arriero, notto mention a sorrowful farewell and a hearty blessing. From the doorof the hacienda he waved his sombrero as we disappeared around a bendin the mountain-pass; we had, perhaps, been a welcome interruption inthe monotony of his lonely existence. 

We were led upward for many miles until we found ourselves again in theregion of perpetual snow. There we set our faces to the south. Fromthe arriero we tried to learn how far we then were from the cave of thedevil, but to our surprise were informed that he had never heard of thething. 

We could see that the question made him more than a little suspiciousof us; often, when he thought himself unobserved, I caught him eyeingus askance with something nearly approaching terror. 

We journeyed southward for eleven days; on the morning of the twelfthwe saw below us our goal. Six hours later we had entered the samestreet of Cerro de Pasco through which we had passed formerly withlight hearts; and the heart which had been gayest of all we had leftbehind us, stilled forever, somewhere beneath the mountain of stonewhich 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 herose 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 hehad let out an ear-splitting yell of terror and bounded down the stepsand past us, with arms flying in every direction, running like onepossessed. Nor did he return during the few hours that we remained atthe hotel. 

Two days later found us boarding the yacht at Callao. When I haddiscovered, to my profound astonishment, at the hacienda, that anotheryear had taken us as far as the tenth day of March, I had greatlydoubted if we should find Captain Harris still waiting for us. Butthere he was; and he had not even put himself to the trouble ofbecoming 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 fora mantel ornament, and was engaged in the little matter oftransportation. "

But when I informed him that "the senora" was no more, his face grewsober with genuine regret and sorrow. He had many good things to sayof her then; it appeared that she had really touched his salty oldheart. 

"She was a gentle lady, " said the worthy captain; and I smiled to thinkhow Desiree herself would have smiled at such a characterization of thegreat Le Mire. 

We at once made for San Francisco. There, at a loss, I disposed of theremainder of the term of the lease on the yacht, and we took the firsttrain for the East. 

Four days later we were in New York, after a journey saddened bythoughts of the one who had left us to return alone. 

It was, in fact, many months before the shadow of Desiree ceased tohover about the dark old mansion on lower Fifth Avenue, incongruousenough among the ancient halls and portraits of Lamars dead and gone ina day when La Marana herself had darted like a meteor into the heartsof their contemporaries. 

That is, I suppose, properly the end of the story; but I cannot refrainfrom the opportunity to record a curious incident that has justbefallen me. Some twenty minutes ago, as I was writing the lastparagraph--I am seated in the library before a massive mahogany table, close to a window through which the September sun sends its goldenrays--twenty minutes ago, as I say, Harry sauntered into the room andthrew himself lazily into a large armchair on the other side of thetable. 

I looked up with a nod of greeting, while he sat and eyed meimpatiently 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 somepolo. "

I considered a moment. "Why, I guess I'll run down with you. I'mabout through here. "

"Good enough!" Harry arose to his feet and began idly fingering some ofthe 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 whenI 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 hismanner. "It surely will be sufficiently exciting to read of how wewere buried with Desiree Le Mire under the Andes, and our encounterswith the Incas, and our final escape, and--"

"Desiree what?" Harry interrupted. 

"Desiree Le Mire, " I replied very distinctly. "The great Frenchdancer. "

"Never heard of her, " said Harry, looking at me as if he doubted mysanity. 

"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, " Iobserved with infinite sarcasm, "that you will tell me next that youhave 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 hundredfeet high?"

"Not I. I retain a smattering of common sense. "

"And that you did not avenge the death of Desiree by causing that ofthe Inca king?"

"So far as that Desiree woman is concerned, " said Harry, and his tonebegan to show impatience, "I can only repeat that I have never heard ofthe creature. And"--he continued--"if you're trying to bamboozle agullible world by concocting a tale as silly as your remarks to mewould seem to indicate, I will say that as a cheap author you aretaking undue liberties with your family, meaning myself. And what ismore, if you dare to print the stuff I'll let the world know it's arank 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 whitethat most remarkable conversation, that the reader may judge forhimself between us. 

For my part, I do swear that the story is true, on my word of honor asa 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