On gaining the raft, Topsie at once quitted it for the watery entrance
to the cave, and groping her way along the dark passage, made for the
place wherein all those she loved so dearly were confined. The blue
light showed very dimly ahead, and on reaching it she found that large
masses of rock had fallen, blocking up the way on both sides. She pushed
on as far as possible, and then stopped and shouted to Harry. He heard
her, and his voice came back in quick reply.
“Safe so far, Harry, by God’s mercy!” she cried. “I am going to climb up
the face again. The creepers are strong, but I shall have to be very
wary, and it will take me some time. Keep up heart, darling, and pray
for me.”
“That I will!” she heard him answer, and then she turned and groped her
way back to the raft.
With great care she inspected the lassos, and selected four of the
strongest and most supple she could find. Then she tied them all
together, and as they were very heavy, she knotted several more of them
together, and attaching one end to the ones which she had selected, she
fastened the other end round her waist, and without further ado
recommenced her arduous climb.
Arduous indeed, but nothing when compared with the perilous ascent which
she had so lately attempted and accomplished.
The creepers hung thick and matted, and it required but a firm grip, a
clear head, and physical strength to negotiate them, all of which, as we
know, Topsie Vane possessed in the highest degree. But the heat was now
her greatest enemy, the sultriness which had reigned before the
earthquake having in no way abated, a fact which strongly impressed
itself upon the girl, and made her fear for a recurrence of the
upheaval, before she could come to the rescue of her imprisoned friends.
The idea haunted her, and filled her with the most acute anxiety.
It was therefore with heartfelt thankfulness, that after about an hour’s
hard work the gallant girl gained the summit, and proceeded to draw up
the face she had just scaled the four lassos which she had left tied
together on the raft. Slinging them over her shoulder, she hurried
across the rough way of fallen trees which she had lately traversed, and
in a short time reached the yawning, crater-like mouth of the great gold
mine of Or.
It was a happy, triumphant moment, that in which she looked down on the
anxious faces far below, and told the imprisoned party of her success.
Then she undid the coiled lassos, and knotting them firmly together,
made them fast to the stems of two giant trees, and let the other ends
down to her friends.
Meanwhile Sir Francis, and Piñone, and Aniwee had been marshalling the
Indians into order, and strict instructions were issued that they were
not to attempt to avail themselves of the lassos, until called upon to
take their turn. The first sent forward were Lady Vane and Mary, and as
both were active and athletic, and neither were novices in the climbing
art, the ascent was accomplished happily and safely. Then the baby
Cacique, amidst loud protestations on its part, was tied up securely in
a poncho, to which the end of the lasso was affixed, and this precious
burden was drawn up by those above, guided and guarded from sharp points
and jagged rocks by Graviel, who ascended by means of the other lasso.
After this, four of the strongest Indians were sent up in succession,
and then Willie and Freddy.
Thus those on the top were able to help their friends below, by drawing
them up the difficult and most precipitous places, and in less than an
hour all were safely hauled up, except Piñone, Aniwee, Sir Francis,
Harry, _and_ Shag.
“Now, my boy, we must send poor Shag aloft,” exclaimed the baronet, as
the lassos came tumbling down the sides of the precipice once more.
“Look here, Harry, you must go with him, and do your best to keep him
off the sharp rocks, in the same way as Graviel did by the baby Cacique.
Aniwee will follow, and finally Piñone and myself. Then, thanks be to
God and our brave, dear Topsie, we shall have been all delivered from
our terrible position.”
“All right, uncle,” answered Mr. Midshipman Harry briskly; “will you tie
old Shag, or shall I?”
“I will, Harry,” replied Sir Francis, and he then proceeded to make the
lasso safe under the shoulders and loins of the Labrador.
Shag stood very still. He knew perfectly well what was going to happen,
being far too wise not to understand the turn affairs had taken. No one
had watched Topsie’s ascent more closely and keenly than the big, shaggy
Newfoundland, whose heart beat so lovingly for his young mistress. With
cocked ears and gently wagging tail, therefore, he awaited his turn.
Poor Shag! He looked very helpless when he was being hauled up, and in
spite of all Harry could do, he was cruelly bumped against the rocks and
jagged points. But he uttered no sound of murmuring or complaint, and
submitted bravely to the unpleasant ordeal.
As the lassos were being let down again, there was a slight shock of
earthquake, which filled the Indians with fear, for they began shouting
and running about, and behaving in a disordered manner. At once this
information was shouted to those in the cave below, and Lady Vane
suggested that Aniwee or Piñone should be hauled up next. But when Sir
Francis invited the young Queen to take her turn she hung back.
“No!” she said, at once, and decidedly. “Aniwee will leave the cave the
last. Did not the white girl Cacique risk her life for us, and shall
Aniwee show fear because she is an Indian girl? Not so. Will Piñone and
the white Cacique go now? Aniwee will follow. Aniwee has spoken.”
The girl’s eyes flashed as she spoke, and there was an imperious ring in
her voice, which spoke clearly her determination to be the last to leave
their dangerous position. She was a girl—yes. But what of that? She was
as brave as any man, and would brook no semblance of inequality between
herself and the other sex.
Sir Francis at once saw her determination and respected it, and Piñone
knew Aniwee too well not to be aware, that when she made up her mind to
anything, nothing would move her from it. The two men, therefore,
grasped the lassos, and began to swing themselves aloft.
When halfway up, another shock shook the cave, and sent Aniwee on to her
knees, while a lump of rock, not twenty paces from Sir Francis, detached
itself, and thundered into the lake beneath. For a moment Piñone
hesitated, and glanced at the yawning gulf below, where the girl Queen
was standing alone amidst the falling rocks.
“Oh, Aniwee!” he groaned, “love of Piñone’s heart! How can I leave
thee?” and he began letting himself down again.
“Piñone!” shouted Sir Francis sternly, “are you mad? Do you not know
Aniwee well enough to be certain that what she has said, she has said?
Ah! if you would save her, make haste to reach the top, and then we can
drag her up.”
The Indian still hesitated, when Aniwee’s voice reached him in clear,
ringing notes. “Mount, Piñone, mount. Aniwee will be the last to leave
the cave. Has not Aniwee spoken?”
Then he knew that Sir Francis was right, and with desperate exertion
made haste to reach the top. He was at that time fully forty feet from
the summit, and could see the eager faces looking down upon him from
above. But the forty feet appeared to him like miles, and it seemed as
though he would never reach the end of his dreary ascent.
Far off there was a distant rumbling, a sound which none mistook; for
since they had entered the mountains it had been frequently heard, and
its causes witnessed by the party on each occasion.
“Hurry, Francis, hurry!” cried Lady Vane, as she seized the lasso to
which her husband clung, and assisted by some of the others, pulled him
clean up the remaining face, Chorlo, Coquet, and El Toro acting likewise
by Piñone. As they grasped the summit, willing hands seized them and
drew them into safety. But as they did so, the booming noise grew
louder. It was a great rushing sound.
“Follow me, for your lives!” shouted Topsie, as she darted back, and
hurried across the fallen trees and wreck created by the late avalanche.
And the others were quick to obey, save Piñone, Blancha, and Graviel.
“Aniwee,” groaned the former, as he peered into the crater mouth, at the
base of which the young Queen stood alone, “sweet prairie flower, Piñone
will not leave thee.”
But El Toro and Sir Francis had hurried back, and this latter, seizing
the Indian from behind, swung him over his shoulders, and in spite of
his struggles bore him from the spot, El Toro doing likewise by Blancha.
Then Graviel, turning, beheld the measure of his danger in the great
avalanche rushing towards him. He did not fly, however, but seized the
lassos and swung himself into the yawning mouth once more, letting
himself down hand over hand with wonderful rapidity. The brave lad
expected death. At least, thought he, “I will die by my Queen.”
The roar and turmoil increased above his head, a fierce rush dinned his
ears, he heard a splash below him, then another and another, as he hung
in mid-air against the smooth face of the rock which he was descending.
The crashing of trees resounded, and a mass of hard snow struck him on
the head. But it did not stun him immediately, though sparks flew in his
eyes, and his head reeled round like a spinning wheel. He had sufficient
sense left to double-notch the lasso around his wrist, and grasp it
tightly with the other. Then consciousness left him, and he remembered
no more.
When he came to, the hot air of a tropical day was blowing in his face.
But he hung no longer suspended over the dark lake, with the hissing
avalanche above him and destruction at hand.
He was lying on soft, mossy ground, with shady trees above his head, and
by him knelt Blancha pouring cold water upon his forehead. The scene had
assuredly changed. Back across his mind rushed the lately occurring
events, and he groaned with horror. “The Queen!” he cried, starting up
and staring at Blancha; “where is the Queen?”
“Safe, Graviel,” answered the Indian girl, smiling. “She is saved, and
moreover, she saved you at the risk of her own fair life. Did she not
brave the falling avalanche and mount the rocks to your rescue as you
hung suspended by the wrist? She reached you just in time, for the coil
was rapidly loosing itself, and in a few moments you would have fallen
below. There she supported you until the avalanche had passed, and we
were able to come to your assistance. Then she made the lasso fast under
your shoulders, and we drew you up, next her, the brave young Queen. Did
she not say she would be the last to leave the cave, and did she not
speak well and keep her word? Blancha has spoken.”
The girl’s eyes filled with tears as she spoke. If Graviel had died, the
light of life would have left her heart, and darkness would have crept
in to take its place. She loved Graviel, and knew it. Therefore her
heart beat with a profound gratitude to Aniwee for saving the handsome
youth from the jaws of death.
“But where are they?” inquired the young Indian. “How is it that you and
I are alone, Blancha?”
“The white Caciques, Piñone, and the Queen are busy drawing up the
rifles and fire powder from the raft. They wish to hasten from this
spot, and they left me to watch beside you, Graviel,” answered the girl.
“I am well, I am well,” he muttered hastily, with a troubled and
half-ashamed look; “saved by the Queen, you say, Blancha, and at the
risk of her life?”
“Did not Blancha say so?” she replied in a low voice, with just a shade
of envy therein. It would have made her happy indeed to have acted as
Aniwee had done.
Graviel hardly heeded her, however, for he had caught the distant sound
of voices lower down, and started at once to gain the spot whence they
came. But he had miscalculated his strength, for dizziness gathered
across his eyes as he did so, and he tottered forward. He would
assuredly have fallen with force to the ground, had not Blancha sprung
forward and supported him.
“Lean on Blancha,” she said gently, “and we will walk slowly to where
the Queen is. Graviel, you were hard hit, and the mists have not yet
passed from your brain. Lean on Blancha.”
She put her arm round his waist, and he laid his right hand heavily on
her shoulder, and in this wise they descended a steep slope, until they
came upon the whole party standing on the edge of the cliffs which
overlooked the river, just at the mouth of the great gold mine of Or.
Then Graviel started forward and threw himself at Aniwee’s feet.
“Didst not thou, great Queen, risk thy life for Graviel?” he cried
gratefully; “and shall Graviel ever forget it?”
“It was nothing,” answered Aniwee quietly, as she motioned him to rise.
“I dared to save you; simply what you dared, in order to die beside your
Queen. But the Great Gualichu was merciful, and we are both safe.”
At this moment the head and shoulders of Harry appeared on the ledge of
the cliff. He had been let down its face to the raft, in order to send
aloft the things packed thereon, and was now on the point of being
safely drawn up himself. The heat was stifling, and his face was very
red.
“I am hot, and no mistake!” he exclaimed, as he regained his feet.
As he spoke the earth began to tremble once more under the feet of every
one, who, instinctively rushing back from the edge of the precipice,
threw themselves upon the ground. Almost immediately afterwards a heavy
fall of rock resounded, followed by a tremendous crash, a rush, and a
dull thud. The ground rippled yet a while, and then grew still.
Sir Francis and Topsie were the first to rise, and they beheld a strange
sight indeed. A great landslip had taken place, and that which had but a
moment before been a wide-stretching cave full of gold, was now a
confused heap of rocks, and earth, and uprooted trees, lying pell-mell
on the top of each other, and completely filling up the crater mouth of
the wonderful mine. The raft had disappeared, and in its place a heap of
earth, some twenty feet high by forty long, rose from out the river,
entirely hiding the entrance. Wreck and ruin had indeed fallen above the
vast store of gold.
“Merciful Providence!” exclaimed Sir Francis, as he gazed on the scene
with deep awe. “Had it not been for Thy Almighty mercy, the great gold
mine of Or would have been our grave and sepulchre. My children,” he
continued, in a voice which trembled with feeling, “let us thank God
from the bottom of our hearts for this almost miraculous deliverance.”
So this was the end of the mine of wealth which had lured James Outram
to destruction, in which Miriam Vane and her child had met their death,
and in which, nearly seventy years later, Sir Harry Vane had died?
There, beneath those rocks, piled high above each other, slept the
Trauco queen, and as Harry and Topsie looked on the old familiar scene,
now so distorted, and thanked God for their strange deliverance, they
could not help shuddering as they thought how near to hers had been
their fate likewise.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]