THE GHOSTS OF BLOODY DAM
There were no further interruptions during the unfoldment of the crowded
hours of the Flying Buddies until the final flight for the British
barracks. There was a general sigh of relief and a smile when the men
listened to that part in which the lads had discovered that they had
made a circle in their wanderings and had returned to their starting
point. Numerous pipes had been lighted and permitted to go out during
the recital, and when Jim finished, Captain Seaman struck his tenth
match and puffed vigorously. Only the doctor and his adopted son did not
soothe tensed nerves with the narcotic. The room was as still as if it
were empty when the boy's voice ceased, but finally Bradshaw broke the
silence.
"There would have been a howl which could have been heard from Chili to
Quebec if some of the pilots had discovered you lost within a few yards
of the plane," he grinned.
"Surely would," Jim admitted.
"Will you send to search for Mills?" Bob asked their host, but before
the captain could answer, Donald spoke.
"It will be as well, if I may be allowed to express an opinion, to let
him remain as he is for the present."
"Until the last butterfly passes?" asked the doctor.
"Yes sir, until the last butterfly passes," the lad replied.
"He might injure himself or starve," Seaman objected, but he made no
move to start the search.
"He will not starve, for the forest is full of berries, larger fruits
and roots upon which he will learn to sustain himself. He found a fire
lighted and will probably have sense enough to keep it going. Even if he
doesn't, he need not suffer. The ruin has many nooks in which he can
protect himself from cold or storms if it is necessary--"
"But snakes, or wild animals--" Bob protested.
"They will not molest him," Donald insisted.
"If we send air men in after him are they likely to be in danger?"
Seaman asked quietly.
"They are." He turned to the Flying Buddies. "I believe that you are the
first white men who have been through the Black Range Woods, seen what
you have seen, and lived to tell your story," he told them quietly.
"I've heard that no white man who entered them during the time of the
Butterfly Flight ever came out. As a matter of fact, I understand they
have never been heard from again," the doctor added soberly.
"We were lucky," Jim answered.
"I say," Bob turned to the young Indian. "Tell us about this thing, will
you?" He glanced about the room. "I'm sure we should all be glad to hear
something and none of us will speak of it outside this room."
"You can depend upon us," Ruhel spoke up.
"Well--" Donald glanced at his father.
"Donald doesn't often discuss the--er things which are very close to his
people," Manwell answered for the boy. "Not even with us."
"There are some things I may tell you," he replied, "but they must not
be repeated before the womenfolk. I shall be glad to have this
opportunity to talk of them now if we will not be interrupted." He
glanced at the captain. Immediately that gentleman went to the door, and
signaled to an orderly who stood at attention further down the hall.
"I shall be occupied here for a time. Is anyone in the house?"
"No sir. Madam has gone to the garden party, and the servants are in
their own quarters, sir."
"Excellent. Have a couple of the boys keep watch outside so that no one
comes near."
"Yes sir."
"Thank you."
He closed the door and a moment later they heard the click of heels as
the guard hurried to see that the command was carried out explicitly. In
the meantime the men puffed, the doctor glanced a bit anxiously at his
patients, while the young Indian sat as still as if he had been carved
out of some fine dark marble. Jim's eyes traveled over the well-shaped
head, and thought of Ynilea, their special friend in the great
Laboratory, and he wondered if this young fellow might not be receiving
some of his training in one of the marvelous underground schools. He
recalled that Don Haurea had told him that the world was ready for some
of the information those scientific men had proved and it was possible
that this lad, because of his advantages as a doctor's son might have
been chosen to bring out for humanity medical or surgical truths still
unknown to modern life. He remembered too, that the doctor had said that
Donald had "been an education" to himself and his wife. Perhaps the
story the lad would tell them would answer the questions Austin dared
not ask at this time. He rather hoped they would get an opportunity to
be alone with Donald before the "Lark" was ready to take them north
again.
"It seems to me you boys are making a rather long day of it," said
Bradshaw with a scowl.
"Why remind us of that? This looks like the best time in the world, and
if we know a little of the truth of the Black Woods and the Dam, we can
go to sleep in peace and not spend hours tossing around while our feeble
brains try to find a solution--"
"Feeble is good," said Bradshaw with a grin. Just then they heard the
two guards pacing back and forth and the orderly returned to his station
in the hall.
"Guess it's all set," the captain told them.
"You know," Donald looked at their host, "that Doctor Manwell adopted me
when my mother died. I was a baby and he and his wife have been most--"
"Why not skip that part?" the doctor put in quickly.
"I shall try not to embarrass you, sir, but I may as well mention the
fact so everyone will understand," he said, then went on, "They have
brought me up as carefully as if I were their own son, taught me
themselves, hired tutors, and sent me to good schools--"
"That you ran away from, you young rascal," the doctor chuckled.
"You had already taught me all they could and I wanted to be with you,
work with you," he replied. "As long as I can remember some of my own
race have been near me. It has always been my privilege to visit them
and they too have instructed me. I am especially interested in my
father's profession and with his help hope to carry it on--I hope I can
become as honored as he is--"
"My boy, my boy--"
"Please don't interrupt. That's not cricket," said Bob.
"Pardon me."
"Because of this desire in me, my own people have taught me the numerous
herbs which grow hereabouts, the chemicals that can be extracted from
them, the trees, soil, and even insects. I have not learned a great deal
as yet--"
"I may as well throw in a bouquet myself. Everything he has shown to me
is new to medical science, and has proved of great value in curing
illnesses considered incurable," the doctor told them.
"Thank you, sir. As well as these matters, I have learned much about my
own race, its traditions, history before the conquest and the
destruction of the Empire. All of these things are fairly well known to
you, so I shall go to the story of the temple ruin the boys visited
earlier this morning. It was an ancient city long before the Spaniards
visited these shores, had a large population, while many of its leading
men knew of the Ynca Empire to the south. The tribes frequently traded
with each other, and it was the ambition of our race to extend the
northern section of the development to meet that of the Yncas which
ended, at the time of the conquest, at Quito, which was the last great
station on the Royal Road," he paused, and Jim nodded.
"We've seen some of the ruins," Jim said.
"No doubt, the land is full of them. In the temple were men and women,
the best of the tribes, who recorded the traditions and history in
sculpturing, carving, weaving and the knotted twines which are still
found in certain localities. The range of the Andes mountains which
separated us from the southern empires was, and still is, a great
barrier. There were no horses, wagons or other means of building, but
construction was going on constantly. Then our ancient prophets who
foretold many things with great accuracy, and read the signs in the
skies, the rocks, and the mountains, grew very sober. They foretold that
the Empire to the south would be annihilated almost entirely and a new
race would take complete possession of the whole country."
"Those prophets surely knew their onions," Bob remarked, and Donald
nodded.
"They met with the great men of the land, and for the next hundred years
they ceased to build in the sections of the Black Woods. They devoted
themselves to planting great forests, to cutting ways through the
mountains which are still undiscovered by the white men, and quietly
started a community far from the coast, and so distant from other tribes
that their existence in the new community was unknown. Each new
generation studied the signs, and although many of the people were
discontented because of the activities carried on, which were in
opposition to their own desires, the younger prophets continued to
verify the findings of the old men, so that no change was made in the
plan. The people who did not believe that it was possible for a strange
race to come here and survive, separated themselves from the others and
resolved to remain where they were. However, they did assist in the
construction of hiding-houses and passages to which they could flee if
the threatened danger ever came. The southern empire was growing both
north and south and our people, some of them, were sure the others
lacked what you now call a progressive spirit." He smiled at the Flying
Buddies.
"Great old spirit," Bob remarked.
"Over a hundred years from the time of the first prophecy, tribes coming
from the northern islands began to tell strange tales of a race which
came out of the sea in winged boats, spit fire from sticks, and threw
red hot stones which caused everything they struck to crumble and fall.
They dressed in a shiny metal and mounted themselves on strange animals
they called horses, whose hoofs trampled men, women and children. They
spoke of their king, made amazing promises to the natives, stole gold
and jewels by the boat-load, and forced the tribes to work for them and
pay them tribute."
"Generous little habit those middle-agers had," said Jim.
"The people of our land heard these stories and most of them withdrew to
the fastness they had prepared for themselves, but the others refused to
credit the strange stories and could not conceive of any race making
slaves of them. They built themselves more hiding places, buried their
treasures, made circuitous passages through the thick forests and filled
them with spiked traps, deadly snakes, vipers, and treacherous bridges
which would fall as soon as any weight was put upon them. They deserted
their city and temple, and stripped it of its wealth. In the course of a
few years the white men appeared in their boats, threw their hot stones,
or bullets, fired their guns, and marched into the land. They found,
here in the north, a few wild tribes besides all that was left of our
people who had remained behind."
"Reckon they wished they had gone when the going was good," said Jim.
"One day they learned that a new army of white men was coming, so a band
carrying the treasures of the temple with them started by a roundabout
route to join the distant community. They marched through their passage
to a deep meadow where they expected to find an opening by which they
could continue their journey, but they discovered that a solid wall rose
in front of them and that behind it a stream had formed a good-sized
lake. Some of the men went to locate a route around this. While the
others waited, the white men appeared with their guns, armor, horses and
blood thirsty dogs. They destroyed the band, took the treasure, and
being unfamiliar with the country, started their horses up the cliffs,
which were rugged and appeared possible to ascend. In the struggle and
the scrambling, stones were loosened, a stream burst through and the
entire wall gave way, killing them all."
"But that was hundreds of years ago," protested Jim.
"Yes, over four hundred," Donald replied. "The men of the band who went
in search of a passage met a party of hunters from the new community.
Their prophets had foreseen the disaster and these men were on their way
to help their people if they could. When they reached the spot they saw
the destruction which had been wrought and grieved deeply, for among the
dead were many of their own relatives."
"Pretty tough," said Bob.
"One of the old prophets from the temple was with the party. They spent
three days at the lake, fasting and praying to the sun, then they cursed
the site, the Black Woods, all that was in it, and all that came into
it. As they prayed the heavens grew dark, although it was day; a great
comet shot across the sky, leaving a long pathway of green light which
did not fade for many hours. By this sign the men knew that their
prayers were answered. They cursed the place again, willed that the
spirits of their slaughtered companions should return every year through
all time as long as the white butterflies passed over the land to the
sea; that the white men who had destroyed the band should repeat their
crime and again take their punishment as meted out to them by the
stored-up waters of the lake."
"Whew," exploded Bradshaw and he mopped his forehead.
"They further willed that any man who deliberately forced himself into
the woods and under the butterflies should find destruction before the
moon changed," the boy went on solemnly. "That while the spirits of
those men of the temple walked the earth, if one of them gazed on a
white man, met his eyes, that man should go mad, should live the life of
an animal, so that no animal should injure him, but he should burrow in
the ground for shelter as long as he lived, and that he should thus pass
a span of years equal to the life time of three men--"
"Good God," whispered Ruhel.
"They surely made a good job of it while they were at it," Jim said
softly.
"The last we saw of Mills, he was digging in," added Bob, and there was
no mirth in his tone.
"And he's got three life-times to serve," said the doctor sadly, then
added, "I have seen two men in the forests who seemed to be doing the
same thing--they are so old no one knows how many years they have
lived."
"That is why I said we must leave Mills. He would fight you like a
demon, probably injure your men who tried to help him--"
"He picked up that chap who was with the dwarf and tossed him about as
if he were a rubber ball," Bob reminded them.
"The strength of a man who is insane," said Ruhel. "We've had some
dealings with them in Canada, powerful woodsmen, and it takes almost the
whole force to overcome one."
"Guess we've all had such experiences," said Seaman. He smoked
thoughtfully and stared at Donald.
"Now you know the story of the Bloody Dam. There are few of the natives
who really know the tale, but every year someone brings out evidence
that the Black Woods must be avoided; many legends have grown up about
it, and neither the natives nor the negroes will go into it at this time
of the year. You are in charge of this section of the country, Captain
Seaman, my father and mother have made their home here, so I received
permission to tell you the story that you might understand," he finished
impressively.
"Thanks no end. It will probably save us many difficulties," the captain
answered, and he gave no sign of doubting the strange tale. "I've been
in these parts many years and I've seen queer things--"
"Jinks, isn't there any end to the curse?" Bob demanded. "Surely those
old fellows ought to be satisfied with four hundred years of
punishment."
"And their own people have to be a part of it," Jim added.
"As long as the butterflies make their flight to the sea," Donald
replied. "The Black Woods and range are really a small area of land,
probably about fifty miles square, and all white men will do well to
keep out of it."
"It's a small space to avoid, considering the extent of the land where
one can travel with safety," said Seaman. "It happened to be on the edge
of my province and I'm willing to give it a wide berth, but it does seem
as if there must be some way of cleaning it up."
"Better concentrate on cleaning up things nearer at hand," the doctor
advised, then he turned to the Buddies. "In spite of my son's story I
can see that your lids are heavy. You must not make your bodies pay too
dearly because of your adventure. Get into a couple of bunks and forget
the world for the next few hours."
"Reckon you are right," Jim replied, and he did have difficulty
suppressing a yawn.
"We shall not need rocking," Bob added, then he held out his hand to
Donald. "Thanks a lot for telling us what it was all about. We have to
hang around here for a few days until our plane is in ship shape again.
She bumped her nose on an iceberg, or something like that, and has to
have her face lifted. Hope we see you again before we leave."
"My hope is the same. Rest as my father advises and when you have waked
perhaps the Captain will send up an American flag to let us know that
all is well with you--"
"Nothing of the kind," the captain declared. "But I'll have the boys run
our own flag up and down so you'll get the word quickly."