MONELLA.
Two days later Dr. Lorien and his son arrived in Georgetown and,
after taking rooms at the Kaieteur Hotel, went at once to call upon
the Kingsfords. This haste was, in reality, prompted by Harry, whose
thoughts were bent upon his hopes of once more seeing the pretty
Stella; but the ostensible reason that he urged upon his father was
somewhat different, and had to do with the message of which they were
the bearers from the white stranger they had met in their travels.
At the evening dinner the matter was discussed, Mr. Kingsford and his
son Robert and the others being present.
The two travellers had much to tell of their adventures, which had
been full of both interest and danger, apart from the matter of the
stranger's message.
"And yet, I think," observed the doctor, thoughtfully, "our meeting
with this stranger, and his behaviour, impressed me more than almost
all else that happened to us."
"How so? What is he like?" asked Mr. Kingsford.
"In figure he is very tall; of a most commanding stature and
appearance. _I_ am not short."
"Why, you are over six feet!" put in Harry.
"And yet I almost think, if he had held his arm straight out, I could
have walked under it with my hat on, and without stooping."
"I'm sure you could, dad," Harry corroborated.
"As to age--there I confess myself at sea. As a doctor I am accustomed
to judge of age; yet he thoroughly puzzled me. If I could believe in
the possibility of a man's being a hundred and fifty years old and yet
remaining strong and hale and vigorous, I should not be surprised if
he had claimed that age. On the other hand, if one could believe in a
young, stalwart, muscular man of thirty with the face and white hair
of an old-looking, but not _very_ old man, then I could have believed
it if I had been told he was no more than thirty. In fact, he was a
complete puzzle to me; a mystery. But the most remarkable thing about
him was the expression of his eyes; they were the most extraordinary I
have ever seen in my life."
"Wild--mad-looking?" Templemore asked.
"Oh no, by no means; quite the reverse. Very steady and piercing; but
wonderfully fascinating. Mild and kind-looking to a fault; and yet
changing to a look of quiet, almost stern resolution that had in it
nothing hard, or cruel, or disagreeable. In fact, I hardly know how to
describe that look, or convey an idea of it, except by saying that it
was something between the gaze of a lion and that of a Newfoundland
dog. It had all the majesty, the magnanimity, the conscious power of
the one, with the benevolence and wistful kindness and affection of the
other. Never have I seen such an expression. I really did not know the
human countenance could express the mingled characteristics one seemed
to read so plainly in his--all kindly, all noble, all suggestive of
sincerity and integrity."
"You _are_ enthusiastic!" said Robert, laughing.
The old doctor coloured up a little; then took out his handkerchief and
wiped his face.
"I know it sounds strange to hear an old man of the world like me
speak so forcibly about a man's appearance," he returned; "but, if it
is true, I do not see why I should not say it. Ask Harry here."
"I couldn't take my eyes off his face," Harry declared. "He fairly
fascinated me. I felt I should have to do anything he told me; even to
taking my pistol and killing the first person I met. I do believe I
should have done it--or any other out-of-the way thing. And he made you
feel, too, as though you liked him so, that you longed to do any mortal
thing you could to please him."
"What's his name?" asked Templemore.
"Monella."
"Monella? Is that all? No other name?"
"None that I heard. And as to his nationality, I cannot even so much
as guess. I have been in Central Africa, in Siam, in India, in China,
in Russia, and have picked up a smattering of the languages of those
countries; but this man jabbered away in all; additionally, he spoke
French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, besides English. So much I
know. How many more he speaks I can't say."
"Injun," said Harry.
"Oh yes, I forgot that. We had some of three different tribes with us,
and he spoke to each in his own tongue."
"And what is his object in going in for this Roraima exploration?"
asked Mr. Kingsford.
"He has a curious theory. He declares that the ancient island-city of
El Dorado--or Manoa--was not at the lower end or part of the Pacaraima
mountains, as some have surmised, but at the further and highest point
of the range, which is Roraima itself. He holds that the great lake
or inland sea of Parima once washed around the bases of all those
mountains, making islands of what are now their summits; and that the
highest and most inaccessible of all, Roraima, was selected by the
Manoans for their fastness, and for the site of their wonderful 'Golden
City.'"
"But that theory won't help him to get up there, will it?" Jack asked.
"Ah, but there is something else. He states that he was brought up by
some people, the last members of what had once been a nation, but has
now died out. They lived in a secluded valley high up on the slopes of
the Andes. He has travelled all over the world, and went back to these
friends of his, only to find that they were all dead, save one, and
that he was fast dying. This survivor gave him an ancient parchment
with plans and diagrams, by means of which, it was declared, the top of
the mountain can be reached, where will be found whatever traces may
be left of the famous city of Manoa or El Dorado. This man, Monella,
has other old parchments which he can read, but I could not--he showed
me some--and from these he declared his belief that there is almost
unlimited wealth to be gained by those who find the site of this
wonderful city."
All this time Leonard had been listening with sparkling eyes and
flushed cheeks, though in silence. Here he glanced with a satisfied
smile at Templemore, and said,
"There's method in all that; at all events he is not undertaking the
thing in a haphazard way and without something to go upon, that's
certain."
Jack did not look hopeful.
"It is probably just as wild and hopeless an adventure all the same,"
was his reply. "What 'directions' or 'plans' or 'diagrams' can help
a man to-day after the lapse of hundreds and hundreds of years--even
if they were reliable, and the old party who handed them over was not
mad--as he probably was?"
"As to Monella," observed the doctor, "I could see no sign of madness
in him. He is one of the most intelligent, best-informed men I ever
met. I cannot say anything, of course, of his informant."
"Has he any money, do you suppose--this man?" Robert asked.
"I don't know. But he pays the Indians well, and has got together a
lot of stores, it seems; which must have been a costly thing to do.
They have been brought over the mountains from Brazil. And he specially
said you need not trouble to load yourself up with much in the way
of stores--only sufficient to get to him. After that you will be all
right. And he said nothing about money being wanted. But," and here
the doctor hesitated, "he is very particular as to the character and
disposition of those he purposes to work with. In fact, he subjected
me to a long sort of cross-examination respecting our friend Leonard
here. He had already gained a lot of information about him from the
old Indian nurse, it seemed, and I was surprised at the details he
had picked up and remembered. In fact, Master Leonard," continued the
doctor, addressing the young man, "he seemed to know you almost as well
as if he had lived with you for years. And your friend Mr. Templemore,
too, he seemed to know about him, and to expect that he would join you."
"How could that be?" Jack demanded.
"Oh, from the old nurse and Matava, I suppose."
"To tell you the honest truth," Harry interposed, "I believe there's
some hocus-pocus business about those two. She is reputed to be a
witch, you know; not a bad witch, but a good sort. And I quite believe
Monella to be a wizard; also of a good sort. And when those two laid
their heads together, they could know a lot between them, I suspect. I
should not at all wonder if he were not magician enough to lead you to
the 'golden castle,' or 'city,' or whatever it is, and find its hidden
stores of gold. I wish I had a chance to join him. But dad's wanting me
somewhere else. So I am out of it."
"Yes," observed his father. "We have to go on to Rio, where I have some
law business on. But we shall not be away a great while, and then we
are going back to that district."
"Going back?" said Templemore in surprise.
"Yes, there is a lot to be done there. It is a wonderful place for my
sort of work, and we really saw but very little of it after all. So we
are going again when we return from Rio; but I cannot at all tell when
that may be."
The doctor was a fine-looking specimen of a hardy, bronzed traveller.
He was, as has been said, over six feet in height; his hair and beard
were iron-grey, his complexion was a little florid beneath its tan,
and his expression good-humoured and often jovial. His son, Harry, was
somewhat slight in build, but wiry, and had been used to knocking about
with his father. He was a young fellow with boundless animal spirits
and plenty of pluck and courage. His ready kindness to every one made
him a general favourite; and the lively, captivating Stella and he were
special friends.
Mr. Kingsford asked the doctor whether any time had been estimated for
the length of the expedition.
"That would be difficult," Dr. Lorien answered. "Apart from the long
and tedious journey there, there is the girdle of forest that surrounds
Roraima to be cut through. That may take months, I am told."
"Months!" The exclamation came from Maud who, with Stella, had been a
silent but appreciative listener.
"Yes. It is a curious thing, but this forest belt is never approached
even by any of the Indian tribes. They look upon it with superstitious
awe and will not even go near it. Indeed, they all regard Roraima with
a sort of horror. They declare there is a lake on the top guarded by
demons and large white eagles, and that it will never be gazed on
by mortal eyes; that in the forest that surrounds it are monstrous
serpents--'camoodis' they call them--larger far than any to be found
elsewhere in the land; besides these, there are 'didis', gigantic
man-apes, bigger and more ferocious and formidable than the African
gorilla. Altogether, this wood has a very bad reputation, and no
Indian will venture near it. Indeed, the mountain of Roraima and all
its surroundings are looked upon as weird and uncanny. As a former
traveller has expressed it, 'its very name has come to be surrounded by
a halo of dread and indefinable fear.'"
"How, then, is the necessary road to be made through this promising bit
of woodland?" asked Templemore.
"_There_ has been Monella's difficulty," returned the doctor. "But
for that, doubtless, he would not have troubled about any one else's
joining him. But, though he is very popular amongst the Indians, they
cannot get over their fear of the 'demons'' wood, as they call it.
They are, in fact, quite devoted to him, for he has done much that has
made him both loved and feared--as one must always be to gain the real
devotion of these people. He has effected many wonderful cures amongst
them, I was told; but, more than that, he has saved the lives of two
or three by acts of great personal courage. So that, at last, he even
prevailed upon them to enter the 'haunted wood' with him. But they are
making very little progress, it appears; he cannot keep them together,
and they give way to panic at the slightest thing and make a bolt of
it; then he has to go hunting over the country for them, and it takes
days to get them together again--and so on. He is in hopes that the
presence and example of other white men will inspire them with greater
confidence and courage."
"A promising and inviting outlook, I must say," said Jack, eyeing
Leonard gravely.
"Never mind," Leonard exclaimed with enthusiasm. "If he can face it, so
can we; and if it is good enough for him to brave such difficulties,
it is good enough for us. It only shows what sterling stuff he must be
made of!"
At this Jack gave a sort of grunt that was clearly far from implying
assent to Leonard's view of the matter.
There was further talk, but it added little to the information given
above; and, inasmuch as Leonard had already made up his mind, almost
in advance, and had to ask no one's permission but his own, he
determined at once to set about the necessary preparations; and Jack
Templemore--though with evident reluctance--agreed to accompany him.
"I have a list of all the things I took with me," remarked Dr. Lorien,
"and notes of a few that I afterwards found would have been useful
and that I consequently regretted I had not taken; and also some
specially suggested by the stranger Monella. You had better copy them
all out carefully, for you will find it will save you a lot of time and
trouble."
Thus it came about that in less than a week their preparations were all
made, and the two, with Matava as guide, were ready to set out. Matava
had with him fourteen or fifteen Indians, who had formed the doctor's
party, and these, and the canoes with the stores on board, were soon
after waiting at the Settlement, ready to make a start.
Then, one sunny day at the beginning of the dry season, the Kingsfords,
with Mrs. Templemore, and the doctor and his son, all took the steamer
to the "Penal Settlement" (a place a few miles inside the mouth of
the Essequibo river, the starting place of all such parties), to see
the young men off and wish them God speed. When it came to this point
the struggle was a hard one for Maud and for Templemore's mother; but
they bore themselves bravely--outwardly at least. The three canoes put
off amidst much fluttering of handkerchiefs, and soon all that could
be seen of the adventurers were three small specks, gradually growing
less and less, as the boats made their way up the bosom of the great
Essequibo river--here some eight miles in width. Their intended journey
had been kept more or less a secret; such had been the wish of him they
were going to join. Hence no outside friends had accompanied the party
to see them off. Those who knew of their going away thought they were
only bent upon a hunting trip of a little longer duration than usual.
For two loving hearts left behind the separation was a trying one.
For a few days Mrs. Templemore stayed on at 'Meldona' with Maud, and
the presence of Dr. Lorien and the vivacious Harry helped to cheer
them somewhat; but, when the doctor and his son started for Rio, the
others returned sadly to the routine of their everyday life, with many
anxious speculations and forebodings concerning the fortunes of the two
explorers.