not be afraid that I shall disclose the secret of our journey. You had
better take a rifle with you, senor, and let me take one, too; for it is
just possible that we might be obliged to defend the treasure after we
have secured it."
Jose then went away to make his preparations, while Jim remained in his
tent thinking over the very curious train of incidents which had led up
to that of this morning. Later in the day he sent for Munoz and handed
the command over to the lieutenant during his absence, giving him
instructions how to act in any eventuality which was in the least likely
to arise; and the next morning, just before daybreak, he set off in
company with the Indian for the spot where the Inca's treasure was
asserted to be concealed. Two mules had been loaded with provisions, a
tent, cooking utensils, blankets, etcetera, and in the middle of the
blankets had been concealed a couple of picks and the same number of
shovels. Jim and the Indian each carried an ordinary army rifle slung
over his shoulder, and had a bandolier of cartridges strapped round his
waist, so that they were well prepared for whatever might befall.
The treasure was buried, said Jose, in a cave in the side of a ravine,
at a spot about twenty miles north-eastward of Coroico, and the road
thither was a difficult and dangerous one to travel, consisting as it
did, for the most part, of a narrow path just wide enough for one man--
or a mule--to pass, and skirting the edge of tremendous abysses whose
bottoms could not be seen because of the mists which veiled them. Many
a time they came to portions of the cliff-path which were so narrow that
Jim thought it would be impossible to get any farther, but they managed
it somehow; the mules stepping along as though they had been used to
that kind of road all their lives, as, indeed, they very probably had.
For some hours the two treasure-seekers continued to ascend, the scenery
growing more and more gloomy, and the country more and more barren,
until, at mid-day, they reached the summit of the pass and began to
descend. Then the character of the scenery rapidly changed; they left
the region of bare rock and entered upon that of the forests, leaving
that in turn for the lower lands and the region of tropical foliage,
with deep ravines crossed by frail bridges made of rattan and light
branches.
It was just becoming dusk when Jose threw up his hand as a sign for the
little cavalcade to halt. He then took a careful look round him,
observing the formation and appearance of the surrounding country; then
he made a long and close scrutiny of the document, which they had, of
course, brought with them, and a frown of perplexity made its appearance
between Jose's eyes.
"What's the matter, _mi amigo_?" demanded Jim, noticing the look.
"Well, senor," replied Jose, "this paper says that from here one should
be able to see, close at hand, a large pinnacle of rock in the shape of
a pyramid. It is from that pinnacle that the bearings of the treasure-
cave are to be taken and--and I can see no such rock anywhere about
here."
"That is awkward," said Douglas. "Does the paper say whether it was a
big or small column of rock?"
"It says that it is about the height of two men, Excellency," replied
the Indian.
"Oh, then, we may very easily find it hidden away somewhere among this
thick brushwood," replied Jim. And sure enough, they found the rock,
after an hour's search, during which it had become almost dark,
completely covered with a thick growth of tropical foliage. They were
able to do nothing further that night, the light having completely gone
by the time that the rock was finally identified; so they camped out
where they were, and began the search again the next morning.
From the rock Jose now carefully paced off certain distances; and, by
ten o'clock in the forenoon he announced that he had discovered the spot
where the treasure lay. At their feet ran a stream, the approach to
which had been made by way of a gentle grassy slope. But the opposite
side of the torrent was nothing more than a sheer wall of rock some
hundreds of feet in height, and it seemed to Jim as though they had
reached the uttermost confines of the world. They had come so far, but
it was manifestly impossible to go any farther. However, it was not
necessary to do so; for, on the opposite side of the stream Jim saw,
when Jose pointed it out to him, a black, round opening which, said the
Indian, was the mouth of the treasure-cavern.
Douglas thought that it would have been impossible to secure a better
hiding-place; for the approach to the spot was difficult, and beset with
many dangers. And had any one arrived at the bank of the stream whereon
the two men then stood they would never have guessed that the little
inconspicuous hole on the opposite side was the entrance to a chamber
wherein was contained the ransom of, not of one, but many kings.
The stream, though swift-flowing, was shallow, and the adventurers had
little difficulty in getting across; whereupon they found themselves
standing on a narrow ledge of black rock, while, four feet above their
heads, was the lower edge of the hole, which proved to be much larger
than it had appeared from the other side. It was the work of a few
seconds only for Jim to mount on the Indian's shoulders and secure a
foothold in the mouth of the cave, after which he assisted Jose to climb
up.
As soon as they were inside, Jose seemed to be overcome with awe at the
idea of standing on such sacred ground; but Jim had no such feelings,
and kindling a torch, he bade the Indian lead the way. The latter soon
recovered his equanimity, and, after they had hauled up the picks and
shovels, led the way into the interior of the cave, which widened out as
they receded from the entrance, until it assumed enormous dimensions,
the light of the torch being quite insufficient to disclose the
boundaries of the cavern. And now they began to meet with traces of a
former civilisation. Along the rock walls were ranged stone images of
the Incas and their wives, and at the feet of each figure was to be seen
a large package wrapped in raw-hide, and secured with strips of the same
material. These packages, Jose said, contained gold bricks; and Jim
quickly proved the truth of the statement by slitting open one or two
with his hunting-knife.
It was, however, toward a row of huge chests, ten in number, that the
Indian led Jim, telling him that the real treasure was contained in
them. Although strong, they were quickly broken open by well-directed
blows of the pickaxes; and upon the lids being raised there burst upon
Jim's eyes such a vision of wealth that he was positively dazed by the
immensity of it. The particular chest which he opened was full, from
bottom to top, of solid gold ingots, black with age on the surface, but
showing the dull red metallic lustre of gold when scraped with a knife.
There must have been half a million pounds' worth of it, Jim guessed, in
that one chest alone--and there were nine others! The two men then
opened a second box, at random, and this chest contained all manner of
gold and silver ornaments, of the most exquisitely delicate and
intricate workmanship. Cups, necklaces, finger-rings, clasps, sword-
hilts, and breast-plates, the latter studded with rough, uncut jewels of
enormous size, filled the chest to the very brim, and took away Jim's
breath with the magnificence and lavish abundance of it all. The other
cases were each opened in turn, disclosing to their astounded eyes the
veritable treasure of the Incas; and Jim immediately saw that the
removal of such a vast accumulation of wealth must necessarily occupy a
considerable time, and that the treasure would have to be conveyed away
piecemeal on mule-back. He therefore selected from the hoard of uncut
jewels as many of the finest as he believed that he and Jose could
conveniently carry, wrapped them up in two parcels, and, giving one to
Jose to carry, took charge of the other himself. This done, the two men
closed up the chests and left the cavern, returning to the spot where
they had camped on the previous nigh. During the long silent hours
while Jose was asleep, Jim kept guard over the spoil which he had
already secured, and made plans for removing the rest of the treasure.
He decided to dispose of the whole of the jewels--or, rather, as many of
them as he might find necessary--and with the money thus obtained fit
out an expedition to the cavern, to bring away the remainder of the
spoil; but while he was wondering how he could elude the watchfulness of
the Bolivian authorities--who would pounce upon the whole if they should
get to hear of its existence--he fell asleep, and it was nearly eleven
o'clock when he awoke the next morning.
The two men then secured the gems to their persons, and started off on
their toilsome journey back to the fort, which they safely reached two
days later, utterly worn-out with the fatigues which they had undergone.
Jim was so completely exhausted that he spent the whole of the day
after their return upon his narrow camp-bed; but by the following
morning he was quite rested, and burning with impatience for his
messenger to return, so that he might the sooner get back to
civilisation and prepare for the expedition to the treasure-cavern.
It was some days, however, before the soldier returned, having ridden
hard night and day to deliver Jim's report and to return with orders to
the young commander. They were to the effect that Douglas was to leave
half his force in the fort--which the Chilians had decided to hold for
the present--and to return with the remaining half to Arica as soon as
possible. He therefore set off with his reduced company upon the
following morning, Jose insisting upon accompanying him, and reached
Arica a week later, reporting his arrival at the military headquarters
there, where he was complimented upon the success with which he had
carried out his little campaign against the guerillas, and where he
received his promotion to the rank of major, as had been promised him by
Admiral Riveros in the event of his bringing the expedition to a
satisfactory conclusion.
There is very little more to tell, for by the time that Douglas returned
to Arica the war was practically over, and as peace negotiations were
already in progress hostilities had ceased almost everywhere. A
fortnight later the treaty was signed whereby Bolivia ceded the whole of
her sea-coast to Chili, and Peru was forced to give up 250 miles of hers
to the conquering Republic. The Peruvian navy had been utterly
destroyed, with the exception of one or two worthless ships; the
Bolivian armies had been cut to pieces, and the allies had been obliged
to bow the knee to Chili, which had everywhere been victorious.
As the fighting was now all over Jim resigned his position in the
Chilian army and went to Valparaiso, where he eventually disposed of his
jewels for the very handsome sum of one hundred and fifty thousand
pounds, which was very much more than he had any idea they would fetch,
yet considerably less than they were actually worth. He then made a
journey into the mountains, accompanied only by Jose and a small escort,
in order properly to survey the place where the treasure-cave was
situated before he led the expedition there for the purpose of
recovering the remainder of the gold and jewels. But to his utter
consternation he found, when he reached the locality, that an earthquake
had recently occurred which had changed the whole character of the
surroundings!
He was, however, at length able to locate the spot where the cavern had
been, and he took such elaborate and complete bearings of it that he
felt sure he would one day, when things had quieted down a little, be
able to get at the chests again and despoil them of their contents. But
for the moment he had as much money as he actually needed; so, returning
from Coroico, he bought an estate in a lovely spot near Quinteros Bay,
and settled down comfortably there, with Jose as his faithful henchman.
Jim has never married, although he is now getting somewhat on in years.
He says he is quite contented and happy with his horses, his dogs, and
Jose, who has never left his master's side for a whole day since that
eventful night when Jim rescued him from the guerillas.
For ten long years Jim lived in that house near Quinteros, which he
named "Casa Coroico"; and then the Chilian revolutionary war broke out,
and he again took up his commission as major, and fought in the ranks of
the Congressionalists. How he fared in that campaign is, however,
another story; as also is that of his subsequent adventures in quest of
the Inca's treasure which was lost during the earthquake. Douglas is
now a man of nearly fifty years of age; but he declares that he is in
the very prime of life; and, if you care to visit him in his magnificent
house overlooking the sea, there is nothing that will give him greater
pleasure, you will find, than to talk to you about the wild days of
'79-'81, when he fought against the Peruvians. Every particular of this
campaign he remembers as precisely as though it had occurred but
yesterday; and he will yarn for hours together about Prat, Condell,
Lynch, Simpson, Williams, and all the rest of them; men of English
descent for the most part, who had adopted Chili as their home and
country, and who helped to make the Republic what she now is, a credit
to herself and to them, and a worthy protege of that greater country
across the sea from which sprang the noble and gallant gentlemen who
raised Chili to the position of first of the South American Republics.
End of Project Gutenberg's Under the Chilian Flag, by Harry Collingwood