INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH.
"Farvel!" exclaimed one and another of the boys, and Dick felt for his
pistol.
"What shall we do—let the feller see us?" demanded old Jacob.
"Would that be wise?" queried the Englishman.
"I should calkerlate not."
"Then let us get out of sight with all possible speed," put in Don.
Not far away was a gloomy looking recess and into this they made their
way. The torches were extinguished, leaving them in absolute darkness.
"Don't walk about," cautioned Dick. "If you do you may take a nasty
tumble."
The caution was unnecessary, for the intense darkness made everybody
stand as still as a statue. Listening, they heard Joseph Farvel moving
along slowly. Then by the aid of the advancing lights, they saw he was
accompanied by both of his former negro companions.
"Ha! what is that?" muttered the man suddenly, and they saw him pick up
something. "A crust of fresh bread! Somebody has been down here. I'll
wager it was Menden's party."
He continued to mutter to himself, but they caught no more of his words.
"Too bad I didn't eat that crust up," murmured Don. "But I've got some
canker sores in my mouth and it was rather dry."
Joseph Farvel halted his party and peered around anxiously. But our
friends kept out of sight and he discovered nothing of them. In a minute
more he went on; and that was the last they saw or heard of him for the
time being.
"He won't discover anything in that direction—at least, not if he covers
the ground we covered," grinned Leander. "We were wide-awake and I don't
believe anything escaped us."
They now turned off into another branch of the great cave—a long, narrow
opening twenty to thirty feet in height. Here the rocky formation was
soft and crumbling, and they had to pick their way with care.
"A slight shock would send down tons and tons of that stuff," said
Robert Menden, as he pointed to the loose masses hanging as by threads
over their heads. "Ugh! it gives a fellow the shivers to look at it."
Remora did not wish to enter. "No, no, come back!" he cried. "Him no
safe!" But they lit their own torches and went on, feeling every foot of
the way, while the Porto Rican remained at the entrance to await their
return.
The flooring sloped downward, and presently they found themselves
traversing a circuitous way, which seemed to lead, so Don declared, to
the very bowels of the earth.
"Don't slip," came from old Jacob. "If ye do——"
"You'll have a worse roll than I had on the mountainside," finished
Dick. "No, thank you; once was enough for me."
But at last they reached a level again. Here the lower cave was not over
five to six feet wide, but of such a height that the torches failed to
light up the ceiling. The opening seemed to be a winding one and without
end.
"If we don't look out, we'll get lost," said Bob. "We must be an awful
way from the entrance."
As they advanced, Robert Menden threw down a little crushed rice, with
which he had filled several of his pockets. "We can follow that trail
back, if the worst comes to the worst," he declared. "But it will be a
long and tedious work."
They had now another stream to cross. The water was clear and cold, and
all stopped for a drink.
Danny was the last to bend down to get his fill. He had not yet finished
when he started back and gave a yell.
"Wot's dat t'ing?"
"What thing?" they asked in chorus.
"Don't yer see it—agin de wall. It's comin' dis way!" and the Irish boy
started to retreat.
All looked in the direction he pointed out and saw something like an
enormous crab coming toward them. It was hissing viciously and was as
repulsive a creature as they had yet beheld.
Bang! it was the report of Don's pistol, and the thing was pierced
through the body and killed instantly.
"A good shot—" began Leander, when Dick and old Jacob both gave a cry of
alarm.
"Look out, the roof is coming down! Run for your lives!"
Crash! Boom! Down came some of the loose rock behind them, and by
instinct more than reason, they leaped across the underground
watercourse, Don falling in, but quickly picking himself out again. They
had scarcely advanced to a safe distance when there came another
cracking and a dull rumble, and the entire passageway at the spot where
they had stood but a minute before was choked up!
For the time being, all were too dazed and bewildered to do more than
gaze in open-mouthed wonder at the destruction before them. The air was
filled with dust and dirt which blinded and choked them, and then came a
sickening odor of released gases.
"Gracious, I didn't suppose a pistol shot would do so much!" murmured
Don, when he could find his voice. "A quarry blast would bring the whole
thing down, I suppose."
"We were lucky to escape with our lives," said Robert Menden. "No, it
doesn't do to make too much noise in a cave like this. The sound waves
are almost certain to loosen something overhead."
"I think this has placed us in a putty bad pickle," said old Jacob,
seriously.
"What do you mean?" asked Bob. Then his face blanched. "Are we—we—hemmed
in?"
"Thet's about the size on it—to my way o' reckonin'."
"Have the fallen rocks really closed up the passageway?" queried Robert
Menden.
"O' course we can't say till we investigate, Mr. Menden. But it looks
thet way from here," came from the old tar.
They wished to investigate at once; but old Jacob held them back. "More
rocks might be a-comin' down. Take yer time—it will pay in the end." And
they waited quarter of an hour longer.
At last they crossed the watercourse again and began to climb over the
fallen mass, with their torches held aloof, watching for an opening. The
climbing was dangerous, and more than once one or another came near to
twisting his ankle or having his hand crushed, as the rocks began to
settle one over another.
"Here we are!" cried Robert Menden at last, and pointed to an opening
some distance away. It was small, and they had to pass through in single
file; yet all breathed long sighs of relief when they were on the
opposite side.
"I think we have investigated that branch as far as necessary—at least
for the present," said Robert Menden. He looked at his watch. "Five
o'clock!"
"Reckon we had better make fer the open air," was old Jacob's comment.
"We have been down here long enough fer this day;" and the others agreed
with him. Hunting for the treasure was not such an agreeable task as
they had anticipated.
It was a long and tedious journey to where they had left Carlos Remora,
and when they reached the spot the Porto Rican was nowhere to be seen.
"I'll wager he heard the downfall of rocks and made up his mind that we
were all killed," said Leander; and he hit the nail exactly on the head,
as was later proven.
There was now nothing left to do but to find the mouth of the great cave
alone. They proceeded with caution, not wishing to make any false turn.
"I see the opening!" cried Dick, at last. He was right; and ten minutes
later they were scrambling out into the open air.
"Oh, how good it feels once more!" remarked Don, as he inflated his
lungs. "It's all well enough to go down there and hunt for money, but I
prefer the open air every time."
The sun was beginning to set in the west. To the southward, dark clouds
were beginning to loom up. Old Jacob watched the clouds with care.
"What do you think of them?" asked Dick.
"What do you think, Dick?"
"I should say there was a good bit of wind coming and, maybe, some
rain."
"And I should say you were right, lad; and both won't be long a-comin',"
concluded the Yankee tar.