Chris's lips parted for a cry to escape, but his teeth remained fast
set, and there was not a sound for the moment. He was conscious of
dropping rapidly down without the slightest change in his position, and
then there was a dull heavy shock, when the apparently solid piece of
ledge, after being exposed to the atmosphere for ages, crumbled into
dust and went on downward with a curious whispering rush along a steep
slope instead of over a perpendicular wall. Choking with the dust which
arose, rolled over and over and half blinded, Chris was stunned by the
confusion of the rush, for how long he could not tell, and then there
was a sudden stoppage, and he lay half buried in the _debris_ of the
little earthen avalanche.
For a few moments the lad was too much stunned to attempt to move, and
lay motionless, trying to pierce the thick dust which closed him in.
Then the horror and dread of his position came upon him with terrible
force, and he began to struggle violently, increasing the dust, but
getting first one arm and then the other free. Then matters grew more
easy; he dragged himself sidewise, and shovelfuls of the _debris_
dropped from his hips, while he could feel that his legs were looser.
Then another desperate struggle, and he was on the outside of the
sloping heap, but only to set the surface in motion again and roll and
glide down and down and over and over once more, till he was brought up
short in the narrowest part of a wedge-shaped mountain cleft, to begin
struggling again, trampling as if rapidly ascending stairs, to avoid
being buried by the gliding rubbish still in motion and filling up the
bottom of the rift.
The dust was still forming a cloud, but it was floating away, leaving
the bare sides of the cleft clear enough for him to see far above him
where the ledge ran horizontally along the side of the huge wall; and
the change in colour showed him where what seemed to be quite a small
portion had dropped away.
Chris's next effort was to feel himself over and move his limbs, which
felt sore, and ached; but he soon found that he was not hurt, and began
to try and realise his position.
As far as he could make out he was in a rift of the valley; walls almost
completely shut him in on three sides and nearly so on the fourth, but
here there was light--bright light--coming through a lightning-shaped,
enormous crack which zigzagged downward from a great height, and whose
depth below he could not trace.
The position would have been enough to confuse a man at any time, but
now after the fall it was tenfold more puzzling than it would have been
to one trying to ascend the rock-face. But Chris soon came to the
determination that the open valley must be out beyond the zigzag rift,
and shaking himself clear of the rubbish which adhered to his garments,
he felt that his weapons were all right, and then began to make his way
over the fallen stones and earth to the great crack.
"I must be a long way down the cliff," thought the lad; "but it's
wonderful that I'm not hurt--more," he added after a pause, for a
feeling of stiffness and pain began to trouble him.
With the pain the remembrance of the Indians began to come back from
where it had been driven, and instinctively drawing round his rifle, he
looked upward; but the edge of the cliff was not visible from where he
stood, and there was no fierce-looking warrior upon any ledge drawing
his bow to send an arrow whizzing through the air. But all the same
Chris instinctively hastened his steps over the yielding _debris_,
seeing as he did that once inside the zigzag rift he would be sheltered
from any such danger as that.
The next minute he had left the heaped-up earth and shale, to begin
climbing over blocks of hard stone which filled up the bottom of the
rift, finding the way difficult, even painful, with the light a very
short distance in front, but with jagged masses hanging threateningly
overhead and looking as if a touch would bring them thundering down.
It was only fancy though, for they would be immovable until the water
that the boy now heard trickling softly amongst the stones far beneath
his feet had gone on doing its insidious mining perhaps for ages, for
the zigzag rift was composed of massive stone.
"Oh, if I could only get some of that water!" thought Chris, as he now
heard the soft musical trickle which roused within him a parching
feeling of thirst.
But it was far out of reach save to some burrowing animal which might
have felt no compunction about making its way down through the crevices
of the fallen blocks over which Chris continued to stumble, till all at
once he dragged himself through a narrow opening between the two sides
of the rift, to find that he could look diagonally across the valley at
the openings and terraces far away, but evidently those which would be
the unexplored portions of the rock city, opposite the places they had
examined.
"Hurrah!" he cried, as the light seemed to flash into his spirit and
give him strength, for a shot rang out from somewhere to his right. He
knew it must come from there, for the echo came from beyond the opening
on his left.
Then there was another, and another, to awaken the echoes, followed by
silence, during which he waited for a fresh signal.
It came at last, but very faint and distant, and though he shouted
several times over, there was no reply.
"It's of no use to wait," muttered Chris; "they can't hear, and if they
did they couldn't help me. I must help myself."
Feeling this strongly he climbed a little farther, to find that he was
at the edge of the zigzag rift, which, as far as he could make out,
clove the face of the cliff from a great height up to far below him; and
to damp his spirits the fact was clearly before him that he could go no
farther outward, for there was no fancy here--he was at the edge of a
genuine precipice, and if there was any escape it must be by descending.
He stepped back a little way and reached where the stones were piled-up
roughly, partially filling up the rift, and by using care he was able to
descend from block to block, with the water keeping up its musical
tinkle far below.
"Why, it must be making its way out into the valley," he thought, "and
if I can follow it I may be able to get out where it falls.
"But we saw no falls," he said, after a few minutes' thought; "but then
we never came quite to this end of the place, and only saw it from a
distance. Let's see; water keeps going down and down, and if I can keep
on close by it it's sure to lead one right into the valley, which looked
as if it was completely closed at the upper end.
"So it is," Chris added, with a pitiful little laugh, "The Indians
couldn't get down--those who were shot did. And so did I; but only
after two awful tumbles. Why, it must be a wonder that I am alive. But
it killed my poor nag."
Chris did not talk to himself, but his brain was very active, and he
wondered a good deal why it was, as he kept on threading his way over
and under stones, with the water acting as guide--why it was that he
heard no more calls.
"It must be," he thought, "that they are quite behind me, while I'm
making my way across the end of the valley, so that I shall come out
somewhere near the opposite side--if I ever do get out, for the place
gets narrower and darker the farther I go."
Chris had good cause to complain, for from climbing over blocks of stone
he had to begin creeping under and between pieces so closely set that
there were times when he was ready to give up in despair, and at last
the end of his journey seemed to have arrived. For he was brought up
short at the mouth of a cavern-like place where the sound of trickling
water grew louder and was accompanied by a peculiar whispering echo
sounding horribly strange and mysterious, coming as it did out of black
darkness.
It took a strong effort to enter the place, but the lad had grown
desperate. He was conscious that whatever difficulty there was to
encounter he must face it, so bending down and feeling his way by the
rough rocky wall, he stepped on very slowly and cautiously, for the
flooring of the cavern-like place was of loose stones, beneath which he
could hear the water running faster as if nearing its exit, and he knew
that if he could not find the opening where the spring ran into the
valley, he could come back, for the hidden stream would still be his
guide.
He had just comforted himself with this thought--a most welcome one
where all was black--when it seemed to him that there was a dull
suggestion of light not far ahead, and he took a few more cautious steps
with his hands telling him startling news, for he found that the roof
was rapidly getting lower, and a few yards farther he had to stoop.
But it was lighter, and hence it was that a little farther on he did not
hesitate to crawl, while before he had progressed many feet farther he
had to drag himself over the rough stones, which vibrated now from the
water flowing about their bases, and then as he dragged himself out into
the full light of day it was into the rocky channel of a stream where
the water, that must at some time have rushed out as a heavy fall,
smoothing the stones on either side, was now invisible, descending as it
did for about fifty feet into the valley amongst the rocks, and
plunging, mole-like, deep down beneath the surface, as if shunning the
light of day.
"Hah!" sighed the lad, as he stood upright and breathed deeply of the
soft pure air, for his difficulties seemed to be at an end, nothing
remaining for him to do but lower himself down amongst the rocks from
the rough ledge upon which he was perched, when his heart leaped at the
sound of a familiar voice hailing him with a cheery "Ahoy!"