and, wrapping himself in his heavy overcoat, threw himself down on the
ground, determined to get to sleep early that he might feel fresh and
fit for the next morning, when they might reasonably expect to get into
touch with the enemy. But try as he might, and tired as he was, sleep
refused to visit him, and the harder he tried the wider awake did he
become. He also found that he was rapidly becoming obsessed by a
horrible feeling that all was not right, that there was some unknown but
terrible danger hovering over the sleeping camp. He strove to
dispossess his mind of such fancies by assuring himself that sentries
were posted everywhere, and that therefore the camp would be early
alarmed in the event of an attack being made; but it was all to no
purpose; the presentiment only held him the more firmly in its embrace.
He had just looked at his watch and discovered that it was midnight, and
that he had been tossing and tumbling for three hours, when his ears
caught a very faint sound, coming apparently from some distance away.
Douglas sprang to his feet in a moment, and striding to the flap of his
tent, bent all his energies to the task of listening intently. Yes,
there it was again! It was coming from the direction of a wooden
suspension bridge which spanned a broad ravine, and which the force had
crossed about a quarter of an hour before camping down; and it took the
form of heavy, muffled blows of iron against wood.
"Hallo!" exclaimed Douglas, "there is something wrong here! but what are
the sentries doing?"
In a second he had belted on his sword and revolver, and plunged out of
the tent in the direction from which the sound was coming, and a few
minutes later arrived at the place where the sentry should have been
standing; but there was no sign of the man--he was nowhere to be seen.
"_Caramba_!" exclaimed Jim, "I believe there has been foul play here!"
and he began to hunt about among the undergrowth for some sign of the
missing man. The next moment he stumbled over something soft, and fell
upon his knees, putting out his hands to save himself. They came in
contact with a rough overcoat, and in an instant Jim knew it for that of
the sentry. Somewhat incautiously Jim struck a match, and saw at once
what had happened to the poor fellow; he had been murdered by having a
dagger driven between his shoulders!
"By Jove!" gasped the Englishman, "there has been foul treachery here.
Aha!" he continued, starting to his feet, "what is _that_?"
His exclamation was occasioned by a sudden booming crash coming from the
direction of the suspension bridge over which his force had passed
before camping, and, with a sense of imminent disaster clutching at his
heart, he dashed forward in the direction of the chasm, leaving the
sentry to the tender mercies of the vultures. Jim came in sight of the
bridge--or, rather, its remains--a few seconds later, and saw at once
what had happened. The dull, chopping noise which had first attracted
his attention had been caused by axe-strokes, and the bridge had been
cut through from the farther side, allowing it to fall into the ravine.
In a moment the significance of the occurrence flashed into Douglas's
mind. What if the place whereon they were camped should prove to be a
sort of island between the ravines? And suppose the farther bridge,
their only way of escape, should also have been destroyed?
Like a hare Jim doubled on his tracks and fled back to the camp, which
he found already alarmed by the noise of the falling bridge, and a few
seconds sufficed to warn the men of what had occurred, and to arouse in
them a sense of imminent peril. Horses were saddled, bugles rang out,
tents were struck, the guns limbered up, and in ten minutes the force
was dashing along at top speed toward the next bridge, which they now
realised could not be very far away.
As they galloped, Jim suddenly caught the sound of chopping in the
distance ahead, and he urged his men to greater speed, the column
sweeping along over the rough ground like a whirlwind. And they were
only just in time! Round a bend in the road Douglas caught sight of a
score of flickering lights, and saw another ravine looming dim and black
in the semi-darkness. Were they in time? Was the bridge still intact?
wondered the Englishman.
"_Halt_! Halt!" he yelled; "halt, for your lives!"
With a clatter and scraping of hoofs, a chorus of hoarse shouts, and a
terrific whirl of dust, the troopers pulled up, and Jim saw on the
opposite edge of the cleft a party of Bolivian guerillas hacking
furiously away with axes at the bridge.
"Forward with the guns!" was now the word, and a few seconds later the
two field-pieces were dragged to the front and fire opened on the
outlaws, to which they replied with a furious fusillade of rifle-
bullets, several of the Chilian cavalry falling under that murderous
fire. But Jim now ordered the guns to be loaded with canister shot
instead of solid, and the guerillas were unable to face that storm of
missiles. The men with the axes dropped their tools and took to their
heels into the forest--those of them who were unwounded, that is to
say--while the greater part fell dead and dying into the ravine. Then
gradually the riflemen themselves retreated, keeping up a galling fire
the whole time; and, from their evident reluctance to retire, Douglas
guessed that they must have a strong reinforcement somewhere close at
hand.
There was therefore no time to be lost if they were to get across
unmolested, and Jim was himself the first to go over to the other side
and examine the bridge, to see whether it was still in a condition to
bear the passage of the horses and guns. Luckily, the guerillas had
only just begun operations upon the structure, and it was hardly
weakened at all; he therefore gave the signal to his men on the opposite
side, and in half an hour the whole force was safely across. But it was
quite evident that they were in a very perilous situation and completely
surrounded by Bolivians. Jim therefore called a council of war,
composed of his officers, the result of which was a unanimous decision
to press forward at all hazards and strike a paralysing blow at the
guerillas before they were fully prepared for it, if possible. Jim's
force could not be very far away now from the Bolivian stronghold;
indeed, they might come upon it at any moment, for the gigantic peak of
Sorata was well in sight, and Jim took his bearings from that.
Forward they pressed, therefore, going as fast as their horses could
carry them over the rough, rock-encumbered ground, and taking care to
keep scouts thrown out all round the main body. But, strangely enough,
they saw no further signs of the outlaws, and Jim was beginning to
wonder where the force that was trying to destroy the bridge could have
hidden itself, when, away in the distance ahead, he heard a piercing
shriek of intense agony. There was then a pause of a few seconds, but
immediately afterwards scream after scream went wailing up into the air!
Jim clenched his teeth and drove the spurs into his horse, crying, as
he did so: "Follow me, half a dozen of you; there is some more foul work
going on ahead of us!"
Six men immediately spurred their horses out of the press and followed
Jim at full speed, the little squad of men experiencing no difficulty in
finding the direction in which to go, for the piercing shrieks were now
becoming incessant. After five minutes or so of hard riding, Jim came
within sight of a ruddy glare of light shining ahead among the trees,
and he at once guessed what was going forward. Almost directly
afterwards the seven horsemen burst into an open glade, at the far end
of which was gathered a group of men, who immediately fled into the
thick brushwood at the approach of the cavalry; not, however, before Jim
had caught sight of their uniforms, which were those worn by the
Bolivian guerillas. At the end of the clearing a large fire had been
built in the form of a circle, in the centre of which stood a stout
wooden stake driven into the earth, and to this stake was lashed an
Indian who, poor creature, was being slowly roasted to death.
Jim and his men threw themselves from their horses, and, drawing their
swords, promptly began to clear away the burning wood with their blades;
and the moment that the circle was broken, Jim dashed through the
opening, cut the ropes which bound the wretched Indian to the stake, and
carried him out into the open, where the poor creature was laid down on
the ground and given a canteen of water, which he drained eagerly,
immediately begging for more. This was given him, and Douglas proceeded
to examine his injuries just as the Chilian main body rode up. To his
satisfaction, Jim found that the man was suffering from nothing more
serious than a severe scorching, and he guessed that it must have been
the anticipation of torture which had made the Indian send up those
heartrending screams. As soon as the poor wretch had recovered from the
shock which he had sustained, Jim questioned him as to how he came to be
in such a situation, and was told that the man, whose name, by the way,
was Jose, had been a guide in the guerilla service. The Bolivians
believed that it was impossible for anybody to find the way to their
stronghold unassisted, and therefore, as soon as the Chilian cavalry
appeared, they had suspected treachery on the part of somebody, their
suspicion focussing itself in this case upon the unfortunate Jose. They
had therefore put him to the torture, partly as punishment, and partly
to make him disclose the strength of the attacking force, which the
guerillas averred he must certainly know, since there was no doubt that
he had been in communication with it. It was useless, said the Indian,
for him to assert his innocence and his inability to supply the
information required; he was simply not believed, or perhaps it was that
the Bolivians were glad of an excuse for exercising their cruel
instincts. The latter, thought Jim, was the more likely cause. Jose,
having finished the recital of his adventure, now flung himself at
Douglas's feet, praying that _el senor capitan_ would not abandon him in
this place, where he would certainly be again captured, but that "His
Excellency" would take him into his service. If he would but do that,
Jose averred he would be a faithful and true servant to his rescuer for
the remainder of his life: he would ask no reward for his services; he
would only ask to be allowed to be near Jim--to be his own private
bodyguard, and, in short, to do everything that he possibly could to
show his gratitude for his timely deliverance.
Jim listened in silence to this outburst, and then somewhat
inconsequently inquired: "Do you know whereabout this guerilla fort is
situated, Jose?"
"Yes, senor, I do," replied the man; "it is not more than a mile away
from here, and I can lead you to the place by way of a road which the
Bolivians would never suspect you of knowing."
"Then," said Jim, "I will take you into the Chilian service as a guide,
and you can be my own personal servant as well, if you choose. Only be
careful that you play no tricks with me, or I will hang you from the
nearest tree. Now, I think you are well enough to walk, are you not?
Yes; very well, then; lead the way, Jose, to this road of which you
speak; the sooner we root out this nest of rebels and outlaws the
better!"
Jose did not, as Jim had expected, burst into a torrent of protestations
of fidelity; he simply bowed his head and placed the young Englishman's
hand upon it, in token of submission, and then said quietly:
"If, Excellency, you will follow me, and also give orders for your men
to ride as silently as possible, I will lead you, undiscovered, to the
fort in less than half an hour. The road is not very good, it is true;
but everything has been prepared for your reception at the other
approach, and I can tell you that you would never have stormed the
stronghold had you gone by that route."
All being now in readiness, the men again mounted, and, with the Indian
walking in front, swung away to the right, finding themselves in a few
minutes upon a rough but wide road traversing the edge of a ravine, the
inner side of the path being bounded by a high cliff which leaned
outward until its top edge actually overhung the chasm, so that it was
impossible for any one at the top to molest a force passing along the
road by hurling rocks down upon it. As the Indian had remarked, the
road was undoubtedly rough; they could not therefore get along very
rapidly; but the half-hour had not quite expired when Jose laid his
finger on his lips and held up his hand as a sign for the troop to halt.
"Now, _mi libertador_," said the man, "we have managed to make the
journey undetected. The fort is round the bend which you see in the
road, and lies among the brushwood a little to the left of it. There is
a broad slope leading up from the road to a gate in the fort which is
small and very seldom used. The guerillas will not expect an attack
from that quarter, for they are looking for you to approach from the
opposite direction. Horses will be of little or no use for the attack;
but if you can run up your guns, you will be able to blow in the small
gate and rush into the fort over its ruins before the Bolivianos can
offer any resistance."
Jim accordingly dismounted his men, telling them, however, to take their
carbines with them; and the horses were hobbled. The guns were then
unlimbered and loaded, when the pieces were dragged quietly along the
road by the men; and presently the whole force drew up, just out of
sight of the fort, ready to make their rush as soon as Douglas gave the
signal. This he did by waving his sword, so as to obviate the necessity
for shouting a command, and then swiftly the men swept out beyond the
concealment of the cliff into the open space fronting the fort, dragging
the field-pieces with them, which were immediately levelled at the gate
and fired.
When the Chilians dashed into view, there was a sentry on the roof of
the fort, and he immediately squibbed off his rifle; but the alarm was
given too late; the report of his rifle was drowned in the roar of the
guns, and the splintering and rending of the fort gate was the first
intimation afforded the guerillas that the enemy was upon them--from a
different quarter from that whence he was expected. Over the ruined
gates dashed the Chilians, discharging their carbines as they went, and
as they entered the fort they threw down their rifles and drew their
sabres.
Then began a fight most grim and terrible. The Bolivians outnumbered
their assailants by about four to one, but the latter had the advantage
of a complete surprise, and they mowed down the savage guerillas by the
score. There was a passage leading from the gate to the interior of the
fort, but this was soon very nearly choked with dead and wounded. Jim
therefore rallied his men for another charge before the way should be
quite closed, and, with a cheer, his brave fellows forced a passage
through for themselves, cutting down all who opposed them. So
completely were the outlaws taken by surprise that many of them had not
found time to arm themselves, and were therefore slaughtered like so
many sheep. The promise of success, on the other hand, spurred the
Chilians on to still further effort, and in another ten minutes they had
struck such terror into the hearts of the defenders of the stronghold
that the guerillas flung down their arms and cried for quarter; and thus
at last the tide of death was stopped.
The guerillas were then disarmed and imprisoned in batches in the prison
cells which they had so carefully prepared for others, while their arms
were collected and destroyed, and the fort was in the hands of the
Chilians. The terror of the surrounding country had been brought to
nothing at last, and there would be no more savage raids and midnight
massacres.
A messenger was at once dispatched to La Paz to acquaint the Government
with the fact of the capture and downfall of the guerilla band, with a
request that a body of Bolivian troops might be dispatched to take
charge of the prisoners. Jim determined, however, not to hand over the
fort, although it was situated in Bolivian territory, until he should
receive definite instructions so to do from headquarters; for he did not
know what new boundaries Chili proposed to arrange as the limits to the
country which she had acquired by conquest from the two republics; and
he thought it more than probable that his Government would decide to
retain the fort, since it occupied such a very commanding position.
He therefore in due time handed over the eight hundred prisoners--the
rest of the band having been killed--to the Bolivian troops; who
immediately returned with them to La Paz. Meanwhile Jim repaired the
fort sufficiently to provide accommodation for his own troops, with whom
he temporarily garrisoned the place. Then he sent a messenger on
horseback to Arica to report the success which had been obtained, and to
ask for instructions as to what he was to do with the fort.
Meanwhile the young Englishman made up his mind that he was in for at
least a fortnight's sojourn in the fort, or until such time as his
messenger should return from Arica; and he began to cast about for some
means by which to while the time away.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROPHECY.
"Well, Jose, what do you make of it, eh? Why, surely, man, there is
nothing in it to frighten you, is there?"
So spoke Jim Douglas to his Indian guide one morning, three or four days
after the messenger had been dispatched to Arica. The Englishman had
found the time hanging somewhat heavily on his hands up there in that
lonely mountain fortress; and therefore, having nothing better to do, he
had brought out the roll of parchment which he had found in the tunnel
at Sorata, and had set himself to the task of deciphering its meaning.
Failing entirely, however, to make any sense out of it, yet somehow
convinced that the document was of some importance, he had called Jose
into the tent and asked him whether his knowledge of the various native
dialects was sufficient to enable him to translate it.
The effect of the sight of the document upon Jose had been peculiar, to
say the least of it. The moment that his eyes had fallen upon the
parchment, his face had turned that peculiar greyish tint which a dark
skin takes on in lieu of pallor; his hands had trembled with excitement
or some other emotion, and his whole demeanour had been so strange as to
call forth the exclamation from Jim above recorded.
The Indian made no reply for several seconds, but sat gazing at the
document with eyes that seemed to threaten every moment to start out of
his head. Then he turned the parchment over and over in his hands,
holding it tenderly, even reverently, as though it were some extremely
precious or sacred thing. Finally he pulled himself together, and, in a
voice trembling with emotion, replied: "No-o, senor; there is nothing in
this document to frighten me, but--but--. You have no idea at all,
senor," he continued, after a lengthy pause, "what this writing refers
to?"
"No, of course I have not," answered Douglas, somewhat impatiently. "If
I knew the contents I should not be under the necessity to ask you to
translate them, should I?"
"Pardon me, senor; I spoke foolishly," replied Jose.
"Let the senor, however, listen to me while I recount a few facts to
him. He will then see, perhaps, why I have been so utterly astonished
at the sight of this document. Long ages ago--ay, long before the
_conquistadores_ appeared in Peru--we Indians worked the silver and gold
mines, which, as you know, abound in this country; and we also gathered
enormous quantities of precious stones from the river-beds for the
purpose of adorning the person of the Inca, our lord, and those of his
nobles whom he deigned to favour, as well as for the adornment of the
temple and of the royal palace. By the time, then, that Pizarro and his
horde of robbers overran the land, there were millions upon millions of
dollars-worth of precious metals and precious stones in the possession
of the Inca and his nobles. You have heard of the ransom which Pizarro
exacted from Atahualpa; how a large room was twice filled with gold, to
the value of fifteen millions of your pounds? Well, the Spaniards
themselves knew that that ransom was but a small fraction of the
enormous wealth which we Peruvians possessed; but they did _not_ know,
as we did, how very small a fraction it was. We had not time enough to
secrete all our treasure, for the arrival of the Spaniards was
unexpected; but we hid away an enormous quantity of gold, silver, and
jewels. Some of it has been lost; irretrievably, I fear, through the
sudden death of the men to whom the secret of its hiding-place had been
entrusted. But we Peruvians still know the whereabout of a good deal of
that vast hoard which is being kept for the time when a new Inca shall
arise who shall set himself at the head of our armies and sweep the
invaders of our land into the sea. All our preparations are made; we
only await the arrival of the man. And this document, into possession
of which you have so strangely come, relates to the burial of one of
these hoards, and tells the secret of its hiding-place, as also the
means whereby that hiding-place may be found.
"That is why I was so greatly overcome with amazement when you showed me
the paper, senor. _I_ am one of the descendants of the ancient Peruvian
race; and, since this document is written in the secret character used
by the Incas, I can read it, and I can say, now, where this treasure is
located!"
"Phew!" whistled Jim, "that's a strange story, and no mistake. I did
not think when I brought that document away that it would prove of quite
so much importance and value; although, to be sure, there were several
small gold and silver images buried with it."
"Images!" ejaculated Jose excitedly; "where are they, where are they,
oh, my preserver? If you really have the signs in your possession, then
I-- Show me them, senor, show me them, I pray you."
Thus exhorted, Jim dived into the chest which he had brought with him to
accommodate his belongings, and produced the little images which he had
found in the tunnel at Sorata. Jose fell upon his knees before them in
a perfect ecstasy of mingled reverence and delight, turning them over
and over in his hands, and speaking to them as though they were, in very
truth, alive. Then presently he recovered himself and, placing Jim's
hand upon his head in token of submission, he said in a trembling voice:
"Oh, my deliverer, it was prophesied of old that the man who possessed
those figures should also possess the treasure; for that man would be
destined to do great things for the benefit of our race. But in
addition to this, you have found the document; there can be no doubt,
therefore, that you, my master, are the man who is destined to receive
this great treasure, for all the signs point that way. I am willing,
therefore, to translate this writing to you, senor, and to show you the
way to the place where the treasure is hidden, so that you may obtain
possession of it."
"By Jove!" exclaimed Douglas, leaning back in his chair and wiping his
forehead, "this is the most extraordinary affair that I have ever come
across; and--let me think! what was it that old Inca witch-woman told me
about treasure being in store for me? Ah yes! I remember. She said
that one day I should come into possession of great wealth; that it was
still hidden in the ground, but that the secret of its hiding-place
should one day be revealed to me. _Caramba_! It really seems as though
the Inca's prophecy is about to come true. Now, Jose," he went on,
aloud; "this is a very curious tale indeed. I hope you are not playing
any tricks with me.
"Senor, you saved my life, only a few days ago," replied the Indian; "is
it likely that I should deceive the man who rescued me from a horrible
death? Besides, the treasure is situated only a very short distance
from here--about a day's journey--so your Excellency can easily prove
whether I am telling the truth or not by accompanying me to the place,
and seeing the treasure with your own eyes."
"H'm!" said Jim, "yes; that is of course the most satisfactory way of
proving the matter. My messenger cannot possibly return for eight or
ten days yet, so I should have plenty of time to make the journey. I
can leave the fort in charge of Lieutenant Munoz, as there is really
nothing in the way of duty to keep me here. Yes, I think that will be
best. Very well, Jose," continued the Englishman, "we will start early
to-morrow morning; and you shall show me the way to this wonderful
treasure-house of which you speak. You had better not talk too much,
however, about the matter whereon we shall be engaged; for there is no
need to excite an undue amount of curiosity about our movements. Make
all the necessary preparations to-day,--you will of course know what we
ought to take with us for the expedition,--and I will let it be
understood that I am setting out for a hunt of two or three days'
duration. We can make an early start, travel during the day, encamp on
the spot for the night, and start work on the second day, returning here
on the third. That ought to give us enough time to do what we have to
do, ought it not?"