THE BREACH IN THE MOUNTAIN IS CLOSED
“I hope the two dead tigers down there are not the only ones that
remained in the crater. It would be a pity to exterminate such a
wonderful species,” Stanley said toward morning. They had watched
throughout the long hours of the night without seeing more of the
beasts. So long as the moon shone observation had been comparatively
easy, but when the bright disk dipped behind the crater walls the
darkness was intense. They strained their eyes and ears but saw or
heard nothing.
“It does seem a pity to destroy all of them, but what else can we do?
If they are not killed they will eventually wipe out the people,” Ted
returned.
“Quizquiz!” Stanley called to the crouching form that had not stirred
from its place on the ledge. “You spent last night in the crater. Were
there many of the creatures you call demons, but which are in reality
tigers? Did you see more than two?”
“There were more than two. There were more than four. I saw five from
my crevice in the rocks after I had regained my senses and looked out.”
“I wonder why we saw only two to-night?”
“I saw a third and a fourth near the lake just before the moonlight
faded; but the smell of the blood of their dead kindred kept them from
coming nearer.”
“What? You saw others to-night?” from Stanley severely. “Why did you
not tell us about it?”
“A prisoner may not speak to his captors unless he is spoken to first,”
Quizquiz replied meekly.
“You are right. See that you keep your proper place at all times.”
When daylight was fairly advanced, Soncco and the soldiers appeared
in the distance. They approached the spot cautiously until Stanley,
from his lofty station, bade them halt. Soncco alone was commanded
to advance to the foot of the precipice, but in deference to his age
Stanley came down the ladder instead of asking the elderly man to climb
up. Ted remained above to keep his eye on the captive, and also to
watch for signs of life in the crater. He could not hear what was being
said by the two below, but after half an hour Stanley rejoined him,
while Soncco remained on the ground.
“We have been discussing a number of things,” he said in answer to his
companion’s inquiring looks. “I suggested some of them, Soncco thought
of others, and still others just grew out of our conversation. First,
before anything is decided definitely, I want to lay the plans before
you so you can express your opinion. Whatever we do concerns both of
us. Your future, as well as mine, depends on the outcome of things.”
“All right,” Ted returned, “but I should be perfectly willing to
intrust the whole matter to you; you have done pretty well, so far.”
“Thanks! But I will let you help. Now, first, here is the crater. From
all we can see of it it does not possess much value as an agricultural
proposition. There are scores of queer animals in there that probably
do not exist anywhere else on the face of the earth. If we let the
people go in there the animals will be exterminated in short order. We
do not want that. They are a last remnant of a prehistoric age, just
as the people in the valley are the last pitiful reminder of a once
powerful nation, possessing a wonderful civilization. Both survived
because they were isolated from the outer world--and would still be so
but for us.”
“How can we save them?” Ted asked. “I am in favor of it if it can be
done.”
“That great wall between Uti and the main valley was built to keep the
tigers from destroying the people years ago,” Stanley said, pointing
to the massive structure, the end of which had been undermined and
destroyed by the explosion. “If that was not too much work for them, it
will not be too much to fill up this little gap.”
“That’s a bully idea. We can watch up here while the men place the
stones in position, and protect them if need be. Then life can go on in
the crater just the same as if we had never found it.”
“Exactly. I am glad you are in favor of that, too. Now for the two dead
tigers. We must take them out, of course, and carry them back home with
us. I am glad we have them, and we have a clear conscience also. We did
not destroy them wantonly. And we did not exterminate the species.”
“I should say we do want to take them home with us. They will be the
biggest treasure we shall get.”
“Then we must have them dragged out and skinned. The skins and
skeletons will weigh a lot. Remember, the same weight in gold would be
worth a fortune.”
“I would rather have the animals. Some museum will be glad to have
them, and they will create no end of discussions. Now we ought to make
a solemn pledge--never to tell any one of this place, or how to get to
it. We shall have the proof that we were in some prehistoric spot, and
that will have to be enough.”
“It’s a go. Shake! Now that is settled. Soncco wants to have the
coronation at once. I want him to hold off a while. We must have
time to learn more of our respective jobs before undertaking the
responsibility of them. How does that strike you?”
“Very sensible, I should say. Let’s call together all the amautas in
the valley and ask them questions. They can tell us all we ought to
know.”
“We’ll do that. Last of all is the proposition of having Quizquiz on
our hands. But we can come to no decision about him just now. Time may
make a difference in the attitude we should assume toward him. We must
be perfectly fair and see that no injustice is done any one.”
“That seems to answer the question for the time being. He is our
prisoner and we can take our time in deciding what his fate shall be.”
Stanley went back down the ladder and, after a short conversation with
Soncco, the latter commanded the soldiers to advance. He then placed
himself at the head of the column and led it through the passage into
the crater. There, under his direction, they fastened thongs to the
legs of the great animals, and after an infinite amount of tugging and
panting succeeded in dragging the heavy carcasses out into the valley.
Then they built a fire in the far end of the gap, after which Ted and
Quizquiz, the latter with a cloth covering his face, came down from the
ledge, and while messengers returned to the city for laborers the two
Americans examined their prizes, measured them, and made numerous notes
upon their appearance. The monsters were terrible even in death. They
were the size of a grizzly bear and of a uniformly tawny color. The
head and shoulders were massive and showed that the brutes possessed
unrivalled strength. A short but thick mane of coarse hair grew on
the neck, although it was not so abundant as the mane of a lion. From
each side of the mouth protruded a long, curved tooth, sharp and
dagger-like. It was these terrible weapons, a foot long, coupled with
the powerful claws, that made the tigers so formidable, and enabled
them to kill without danger to themselves every denizen of the crater
world excepting only the buffaloes, whose safety lay in concerted
action. The tail was short and thick.
One of the animals, the one that had fallen from the high ledge, had
been so badly mauled that its skin was torn to shreds in numerous
places. The other was in perfect condition; it had been struck by five
of the twenty shots fired from the machine-gun.
Ted and Stanley lost no time in beginning the preparation of their
prizes, after having recorded the necessary observations. At their
request Soncco detailed a dozen soldiers to do the work under their
direction. The natives were wide-eyed with wonder at sight of the
strange creatures, and marvelled over the fact that the Americans
had been able to slay them, for, according to their traditions, they
were demons that had best be pacified with offerings of victims, and
not attacked and vanquished. But so accustomed were they to the rigid
discipline of army life that they dared not question the orders that
had been given them, and fell to work in a mechanical manner.
While some worked at removing the skins, others began to scrape the
bones. When the skins were finally free from the flesh they were
stretched on frames of poles and raised to a vertical position. Soon
a black speck appeared in the sky, then another, and another, until a
score of vultures were circling overhead, drawing constantly nearer and
moving their bare heads from side to side as they scanned the ground
for the food they had sensed from a distance.
At a word from Soncco the men stepped back a few yards and stood
motionless. Then the repulsive birds swooped down and hovering in front
of the hides pecked and tore at the particles of flesh that clung to
them until they were clean, so that they could dry without spoiling.
The skins themselves were not in the least injured by the birds; only
the superfluous tissue had been removed, and the men were saved the
trouble of scraping and dressing them down.
After that, the bones of both tigers were taken to an ant-hill and
buried in the loose mound. In a few days they too would be perfectly
clean, and could be taken out and packed for transportation.
“If we had rifles we could make a complete collection of all the
species in the crater,” Ted exclaimed. “There is not another one like
it in the world.”
“The temptation to do that would be strong, so I am glad we have no
rifles.”
“Yes, it is best to let them stay where they are and to live their
lives as was intended rather than preserve them in a glass case.”
By this time a detachment of the laborers arrived. This group had been
recruited from the nearest village and brought camping equipment and
supplies. Soncco immediately put them to work erecting tents for the
Americans, and when this had been accomplished the two retired for a
much-needed rest. The aged amauta had urged them again to return to
the city, but they steadfastly refused, saying that the safety of the
populace was their first consideration. Their own comfort could wait.
How different was their conduct from that of the deposed Inca! Although
they had been raised to the highest ranks by popular acclamation,
their request that the people refrain from showing signs of homage were
wonderingly respected; and their orders were instantly obeyed. That
was sufficient for the present. It would inspire that confidence and
admiration that would be the greatest asset in the long run.
Quizquiz, unrecognized, shared their quarters with them. No one dared
question them upon any matter whatever, so their secret was safe.
It was not until the following morning that the laborers arrived in
numbers. A roaring fire had been kept burning in the passage throughout
the night, and there had been no attempt on the part of the tigers to
force this barrier. That more of the ferocious creatures did exist in
the crater, however, was proven by the occasional roar that issued from
the dark regions beyond the fire.
Being unacquainted with the working methods of the Indians, Stanley
turned the proposition of building the wall over to Soncco, who in
turn immediately placed one of the chief masons in complete charge of
the undertaking. The latter proceeded in a most businesslike manner.
He divided his workmen into squads and assigned to each its respective
duty.
There being need of great haste, the master mason had decided to erect
a temporary obstruction first. Some of the workers brought baskets
of earth and pebbles from the river-bank, carrying their burdens on
their shoulders, and dumped them into the opening. Others picked out
the smaller fragments of stone from the débris of the tumbled-down
section of the great wall, and of the avalanche that had slid down the
mountainside, and threw them into the breach. It was surprising to see
how rapidly the heap of material grew in height as the unbroken line of
toilers filed past and deposited the contents of their baskets.
Nor did they pause in their labors for food or drink. At frequent
intervals they crammed handfuls of coca-leaves into their mouths, which
they chewed or held in their cheeks so that they bulged out like a
gopher’s. The effect of the drug derived from the dried leaves was to
deaden all feelings of thirst, hunger, and fatigue. At night they ate
a large quantity of thick porridge, made by boiling ground maize in
water; after eating, each man took off his _poncho_, or cape, wrapped
it tightly about himself, and lay down on the bare ground to sleep.
By the end of the second day the ridge of earth and pebbles had reached
a height of fifteen yards, and preparations were made to begin work on
the wall proper on the following morning. The skilled masons had been
engaged during this time in hewing the blocks of stone intended for the
permanent structure. They used mallets of stone and chisels of tempered
copper.
The stones for the first layer, or foundation, were of large size and
very heavy. They were rolled and pried into place by a swarm of workmen
who used long, stout poles as levers. This accomplished, the horde
again took up its baskets and brought pebbles and earth as heretofore.
But this time the material was thrown on the ground in front of the
wall-base and tamped into place, forming an inclined plane, the higher
end of which was level with the top of the row of stones already in
place. Other blocks of granite were now pried and rolled on the first
tier; then the sloping plane was immediately filled in to reach the top
of this layer.
Thus the work continued for thirty days. And when the wall had reached
the height of fifty feet it was considered finished. The tigers were
again shut off from the valley, isolated in their own little world,
to live their lives free from the destructive influences of man, and
the inhabitants of the Inca’s domain were safe from the attacks of the
ferocious creatures. Ted and Stanley felt sure that the Indians would
never reopen the passage; they held the great beasts in superstitious
awe and were afraid of them, and were only too glad to keep them
prisoner where they belonged.
The workers now removed the material forming the inclined plane,
leaving the wall straight and true, rising from the foot of the
escarpment, with each stone exposed to view. As this task was one not
requiring their supervision, and would take a long time, for the earth
and pebbles were scooped into baskets and returned to the places from
which they had been taken, the two Americans did not stay to see its
completion.
They had spent the days in serious discussions with Soncco, and others
of the amautas were sent for at times. The policy of the new government
was considered minutely; reforms were considered; and, after numerous
secret sessions to which Ted and Stanley admitted only Soncco, the
fate of Quizquiz was definitely decided. Their power and authority was
supreme; they would use them as they saw fit, and the example they had
determined to set was one the people would never forget.