IN SIGHT OF EL DORADO.
The next morning Templemore, after leading Monella and Elwood to the
hidden cave he had discovered, set out early with the Indians for
'Monella Lodge' to bring in the remainder of the stores; and, while
there, in the evening, he wrote long letters to his friends, to be
entrusted to Matava to take to Georgetown. Amongst them, we may be
sure, was one to the fair Maud, who, amidst all the excitement of his
adventures, was never long absent from his thoughts. His letter to her
was grave, almost sad in its tone. He knew he was about to set out upon
a critical venture, the end of which none could see, and he warned her
not to be surprised if nothing were heard of them for a long time.
When, the following afternoon, he and his party once more made their
way back through the forest to where they had left Monella and Elwood,
and had halted just out of sight, those two soon came to meet him in
response to the usual signal-shots. The first glance at Elwood's face
told Jack that he had some important news to impart. While Monella
was greeting the Indians and giving directions for the unloading and
camping, Leonard whispered to Jack,
"We've been up to the top and have seen all you saw. It was no dream,
old man, but simple reality. But don't let the Indians hear anything
about it, or they would stampede straight away."
Jack stared in mute surprise, scarce knowing what to think, whether to
be most pleased to have it established that he was not 'a dreamer of
dreams,' or astonished at the almost incredible fact it conveyed--that
the top of the mountain was, in very truth, inhabited.
"And the puma?" he asked.
"Is still with us. You had better go in and have a rest and take charge
of her, while we see to the unloading."
This Jack was glad to do, and, on entering the cavern, he was welcomed
by the animal with every demonstration of gladness at his return.
"Ah! you have not forgotten me then, old girl," he said, and he patted
and stroked the creature. "You're not so very fickle, then, after all.
Now come along with me for a while--I'm going to have a wash."
When all the fresh stores had been placed inside, and the Indians were
engaged upon their evening meal, and Monella and the two young men were
seated at theirs, Jack asked for further details of the wonderful news
Leonard had briefly spoken of.
"It is substantially a repetition of what you told us," said Elwood,
"save that we managed a little better in the morning than you did. That
is to say, we did not go the wrong way into the wood, as I suppose you
did; and thus, at sunrise, sure enough, we saw the wonderful city,
which Monella avers can be no other than Manoa--or, as the Spaniards
called it, El Dorado! We saw its palaces, and towers, and spires,
glistening and glittering in the sun--a marvellous sight! So, Jack, old
boy, you can be at ease; you are not yet 'a dreamer of dreams.'"
"But your intelligence, all the same, makes me feel quite dazed,"
answered Jack. "Are you _really_ sure about it? Are you certain--do you
feel confident that--er--well, that it won't all have melted into thin
air by the time we get up there?"
"Scarcely. It is too substantial for that."
"Then it means this--that the mountain _is_ inhabited after all," said
the puzzled Jack. "If so, what sort of a reception are they likely to
give us?"
"Well, that of course remains to be seen. But, meantime, it is certain
that all your clever theories about the place 'not having been peopled
for hundreds of years' are fallacious."
Jack presently asked Monella what he purposed doing next.
"We must put away our stores," was the reply, "and then arrange our
plans for making our presence known to the inhabitants, whoever they
may be, of the mountain."
"Yes, and then, if they speak the same language that you have been
teaching me," Leonard put in, "Jack will have reason to be sorry he has
not stuck to it a little more, I fancy."
Of late, Jack had practically dropped all efforts in this direction,
particularly during the last fortnight; while Elwood had neglected no
opportunity for using it in his converse with Monella. Elwood had, in
consequence, got so far as to be able to speak it fairly well; but Jack
was much behind him.
"By Jupiter! But I begin to think there is wisdom in what you say," was
Jack's response. "I must do my best to make up for lost time."
The night passed without incident. The Indians stayed on through the
following day, and Matava even yielded so far as to enter the dreaded
cavern, and take a look into the canyon. Elwood managed to persuade
him to do thus much, that he might take back to his friends at
Georgetown a description of the scene. Matava was rather afraid of the
puma, but the animal was quite friendly. The Indian evidently believed
that Elwood and his friends were going to their destruction, and would
never again be seen by mortal eyes. However, at Monella's suggestion,
he made for them during the day a more substantial ladder, which the
nails and tools brought with the stores enabled him easily to do. He
also made some poles or struts to form bars to close the stone from
within, and, with much perseverance, cut slots in the rock and in the
stone to receive them. When completed, and the struts put in their
places, the stone was firmly fixed and could not be moved from the
outside.
Then Monella made another suggestion. He arranged with Matava a few
simple signals that might be made from the mountain-top by flashing
small quantities of powder at night, and that Matava could, in turn,
answer from the plain beyond the forest, or, indeed, from 'Monella
Lodge'. These signals were simply--"All well," "Coming down," "_Not_
coming down." It was deemed best not to risk more than these, Matava's
intelligence in such directions being limited; and, since he could not
read, to write them down would have been useless.
When, on the last morning, the leave-taking came, the scene was an
affecting one. The Indians were well pleased with the rewards given
them for their services; but they were, one and all, in genuine
distress at the thought of leaving the three adventurers to what they
thoroughly believed would be a terrible fate. They even besought them
to alter their minds and "come away from the accursed place"; needless
to say in vain.
Matava, almost in tears, was loaded with messages to those in
Georgetown, should he go back before seeing the travellers again;
the understanding being that, if he found they did not return within
a short time, he was to conclude they would remain for an indefinite
period, in which case he would shut up 'Monella Lodge' and return to
Georgetown, and only expect to hear of them when he came that way again
in the usual course.
At last, the Indians sorrowfully set out and disappeared in the forest,
and Monella and his two companions set to work to distribute their
stores and spare arms and ammunition. It was decided, after some
discussion, to place the larger portion in the secret cave; leaving
only a comparatively small part hidden in the cavern they were in, it
being obvious that the latter was the one most likely to be searched,
if any should be.
In the carrying out of the plan settled by Monella, the whole of the
stores were divided roughly into two parts; two-thirds, and all the
spare arms, ammunition and powder, being hidden in the secret cave;
the other third, including most of their camping equipage, lanterns,
store of oil, etc., but no arms, being stowed away in various remote
parts of the cavern by which they had entered from the outer forest.
This was in accordance with certain anticipations and eventualities
that he had carefully thought out. Thus, if the people of the place
should prove unfriendly, and they were forced to retreat at once to
the entrance cavern, they had there, ready to hand, in addition to the
arms, etc., they took with them, all that was really necessary either
for a temporary stay or for the journey back to 'Monella Lodge.' On the
other hand, if the inhabitants should turn out to be hospitable, and
invite the travellers to stay with them, it might be a little while
before they returned to the cavern at the entrance; in the meanwhile it
might be entered and searched by others, who might carry off what had
been left there. But in that case the loss would not be a serious one
to the explorers, nor would the thieves find any arms or powder.
Early the next morning Elwood went out a little way into the forest
to cut some short poles he was in want of, when the puma--apparently
finding the new ladder more to her taste than the old one had
been--scrambled down after him and disappeared into the wood.
"We had better leave the ladder and go on with our work," observed
Monella, when told she had gone off and not returned. "No doubt she
will find her way back presently."
But they saw nothing of her till the afternoon, when she came in,
bearing in her mouth a good-sized wild pig, which she laid down quietly
at the feet of her astonished friends.
"Why, Puss," exclaimed Jack--he had of late insisted upon giving her
that name--"that _is_ an accomplishment, and no mistake! You can go out
hunting and get your own dinner, can you, and ours too? Well, after
this we need not want for fresh meat, apparently, while we stay here."
The meat was not only a welcome addition to their larder, so far as
they themselves were concerned, but solved the difficulty that had
begun to puzzle them, viz., how to find food for so large an animal.
Up to now there had been enough left over from what the Indians had
captured and brought in; but, since they had gone away, fresh meat had
been growing scarce, and to feed 'Puss' out of their limited stores of
tinned meats was, of course, out of the question.
"You'll have to leave us and go back to your friends, whoever they
are, Puss," Jack had said only that very morning. "We appreciate your
society and all that sort of thing, and shall be sorry to turn you out
of doors; but, unless you can crunch up meat-tins and imagine they are
marrow-bones, I really do not see where another meal for you is to come
from." Whether 'Puss' understood this speech or not, she had certainly
settled the question in her own way, and very quickly.
"You shall go out again, to-morrow, on this sort of expedition, Puss,"
observed Jack. And she did; and next time brought back a small antelope.
This led to a discussion and a good deal of speculation as to whom
'Puss' might actually belong to.
"I wonder who owns her, and whether they have missed her?" said Jack.
"And I wonder too whether there are many more like her on the mountain?
If so, why haven't we seen anything of any of the others?" Since,
however, no answer could be given to these questions, the speculation
remained a barren one.
After the stores had all been disposed of to his satisfaction, Monella
decided to stay on another day before making the venture of showing
themselves to the inhabitants; this was partly by way of a rest and
partly to give them an opportunity of studying the plants and rocks
in the canyon. Most of this day he spent in hunting for strange herbs
and leaves; while Jack and Elwood were more interested, after the
first feeling of surprise and pleasure in examining the flowers had
passed off, in searching for signs of gold among the rocks. They found
undoubted traces of both gold and silver, but in what quantity they
might exist it was not possible at the time to form any opinion.
Every night the canyon was lighted up in the fairy-like manner of
the first evening; and, during the day, two harp-birds had visited
the valley and enlivened it with their dreamy music. The travellers
also caught sight of two or three small animals; but did not obtain
a sufficiently good view to make them out, and Monella particularly
desired that they should not shoot at anything.
Of fish there was plenty; and bathing in the cool, limpid pools of 'The
Blue River,' as Jack had named the stream, was a welcome luxury.
Finally, having completed all their preparations, the three, on the
morning of the third day after the departure of the Indians, set out on
their enterprise of visiting the mysterious inhabitants of "The Golden
City."
They started at daylight, with just sufficient camping things for
passing the one night, heavily laden with spare ammunition, and
taking their Winchester rifles and revolvers, and one extra gun--a
double-barrelled fowling-piece. After a midday rest in the cave that
lay about half way up, they reached the summit, as before, at nightfall.
They assured themselves that the strange town was still in the same
place--had not vanished into thin air as an illusive creation of the
demons of the mountain. Then they settled down to sleep and were
undisturbed during the night.
When they woke at dawn on the day that was to prove so eventful, they
found that the puma had disappeared.
"Puss has deserted us," said Jack. "She knew she was close at home and
preferred the kitchen fireside, I suspect, like a respectable tabby,
to passing the night out here; and small blame to her. I shouldn't be
surprised, if we happen to come across her when she is in the company
of her own friends, to see her pass us by with her nose in the air with
a 'don't-know-you' sort of look. You'll see, she won't know us! she
would lose caste, I expect, if it were known that she had been away for
a week hob-nobbing with a party of houseless vagabonds like ourselves."