Dick at once made his way to the side of Leo, who was just coming from
the house, followed by Haypole and the professor.
“Great Scott!” exclaimed Dick. “Owens seems to be very savage against
that ragged stranger. What shall we do--help him catch him?”
“No,” returned his cousin. “It is no affair of ours; let them settle
their own difficulty.”
“That’s right,” nodded Prof. Easy. “We do not understand their case,
and should, therefore, let them alone.”
“Ter tell ther truth, I don’t like either one of them fellers,”
observed the Yankee. “They be too blamed mysterious for me.”
But if our friends did not attempt to assist Philander Owens in
catching Reginald Lacy, the men of Hez were not going to allow him to
roam about their haunts without first taking the oath of allegiance to
the tribe.
Roderique de Amilo quickly called a score of men together and started
in pursuit after Owens, who was doing his best to overtake his enemy.
All soon disappeared, and then our friends set about to fix up their
home to suit their tastes.
They arose soon after daylight, and after they had eaten a light
breakfast, prepared to look around a bit.
Then it struck Leo that it was about time he saw something of Azurma,
the girl who had conducted them from the magic cave. From the strain
in which she had conversed to him, he thought she would again seek his
presence long before this.
Prof. Easy was bent on seeing what kind of place Hez was, and, at his
request, a party was formed to make a tour of the place.
The party was formed of but seven--Leo, Dick, Prof. Easy, Martin
Haypole, Lucky, the darky, and the American known as Andrew Jones, and
Roderique de Amilo.
They set out in the direction taken by Reginald Lacy and his persistent
pursuer.
“A wonderful land is this,” remarked De Amilo, as they walked along.
“I have never fully explored it myself in all the years I have lived
here. Nearly everything you will meet and see that interests you will
be found to be mysterious. In fact, this whole country is a land of
mystery.”
“It was a dod-rotted mystery how we ever come ter git in here, anyhow,”
said the Yankee.
“That reminds me,” put in Andrew Jones, suddenly. “How did you get the
door in the obelisk open, anyway?”
The professor quickly explained how they had found the stone cube, and
the use they had put it to.
“By Jove!” exclaimed Jones. “The very identical way that I got in
myself. How can it be that the cube was missing from the hole in which
it fitted, and found so many yards from the obelisk?”
“That’s where the mystery comes in,” said Leo.
“Yes, that’s so. I forgot what kind of place I was in. Talking to my
own countrymen made me think I was back in civilization again.”
They had by this time entered one of the many passages, and torches
were put in use.
At the suggestion of Dick, Roderique de Amilo led them to the fountain
and pool, and Leo and the professor were surprised beyond measure at
what they saw.
The Spaniard pointed to what was inscribed upon the stone tablet, and
said:
“I did that; and I am the living proof that what it means is true.”
Then he again went over the legend of Hez, and wound up by pointing
to the identical spot in the pool where the beautiful woman, whom he
afterward made his wife, arose so mysteriously.
De Amilo told his story in such a solemn way that his hearers were more
or less impressed with it.
“I believe that in some manner that man has become satisfied that yarn
is true himself,” said Leo, in a whisper to his cousin.
“Yes,” assented Dick; “either that or else the legend is true, after
all.”
Leo smiled.
“Why, you don’t believe it, do you, old fellow? Has the beautiful queen
told you the same thing?”
“She did tell me the same story, and I am not prepared to say whether I
believe it or not.”
At this juncture their conductors signified that they were going to
leave the pool in the strangely lighted cavern, and the conversation
ended for the time.
“We will now show you the devil’s kingdom, which is one of the most
wonderful sights to be seen in this land,” observed Jones, as they
entered the passage again.
It was here that De Amilo came to a halt. Turning to those who were
following him, he said:
“Is there anybody among you who desires to live forever? If so, bathe
in the pool beneath the spray of the fountain.”
But all hands, even to Jones, shook their heads, and they went on their
way, the Spaniard leading them in silence.
When they arrived at the point where the four passages met, they again
came to a halt.
A moment later they started through the mouth of one of these, and
presently found themselves going down a sort of winding stairs.
Down, down they went for many feet, and then they came to a vast,
shell-like cavern of what appeared to be almost unlimited size.
It was illumined by a strange, flickering, red light, and a purple mist
pervaded the atmosphere.
Full of curiosity, our friends followed their conductors until they
came to a broad roadway, that certainly looked as though it had been
built with human hands.
Along this, for perhaps a quarter of a mile, they went, and then they
saw that it suddenly shot downward at an angle of forty-five degrees.
As they rounded a cleft of rock, Andrew Jones came to a halt, and,
pointing downward, exclaimed:
“Look there! Did you ever see anything to beat that?”
The swamp explorers followed the direction his finger pointed, and
beheld a truly marvelous sight.
Beneath them was a rift of many feet in length, and in the sides, at
irregular intervals, were small apertures resembling the portholes of a
war ship, through which, ever and anon, came puffs of flame and smoke.
To look at the scene in a certain way, one could almost imagine that a
pair of immense ironclads were engaged in battle.
But no noise, beyond a fizzing sound, could be heard when the puffs
came.
Through the center of the rift, or ravine, as it might properly be
called, a stream of water flowed, and this glittered and flashed in all
the colors of the rainbow as the lurid streaks of flame belched over it.
On either side the walls sloped down in the form of a very steep hill,
passing directly over the portholes from which the puffs of flame came.
“So that’s what you call the Devil’s Kingdom, is it?” remarked the
professor, addressing Jones.
“Yes; that is the name Señor de Amilo gave it,” was the reply.
“Well, I’ll be ding-wizzened, if it ain’t a good name for it!”
exclaimed Haypole, shrugging his shoulders. “Now, if ther old boy was
ter come out of one of them streams of fire, an’ walk up an’ down ther
middle of that stream, with a pitchfork over his shoulder, ther scene
would be complete.”
“Great Scott!” cried Dick and Leo in a breath; “there he is, now!”
Ejaculations of surprise went up from all hands, as with distended eyes
they saw a log go shooting down the stream with a figure clinging to it.
“That’s Philander Owens, or I’m a sinner!” exclaimed the Yankee.
“That’s so,” said Leo, taking a step forward to get a better view of
the startling scene.
As he did so he stepped upon a small stone, which, rolling under his
foot, caused him to slip and lose his balance.
The next instant he went shooting down the smooth decline with the
velocity of the wind!