IN THE CRATER.
They jumped back in affright, as the great rock rushed through the air
and half buried itself in the soft earth before them. They looked from
one to the other, as if seeking an explanation of this new surprise, but
none could answer. They could not suppose for a moment that the rock had
been broken from the great cliff, for the surface of these was so
smooth, nothing could come from this source. They looked above them, but
the air was so full of the ashes and dust, they could not penetrate it
over a hundred feet. They hurriedly moved away from such a dangerous
position, taking the bear and deer with them.
“Where could this rock have come from?” asked Harry.
It puzzled them to answer this question, and they kept their gaze
fastened on the cliff above, hoping to see the wind change for a moment,
and the cloud of smoke blown from them long enough to see the top. After
waiting for some time, the cloudy atmosphere did break for a moment, and
far up, so high that they looked like pigmies on top of the cliff, they
saw a number of negroes, their bodies half hanging over the edge.
“Ah! the mystery is solved,” exclaimed Mr. Bruce. “They are probably the
same band which we drove from here last night.”
“Yes, and now we can feel assured that there is a way to reach the
summit. Look out!” said Harry, as he saw the negroes start another large
stone from the summit.
Down it came dangerously near to the party, and they decided to go back
to the old position of the morning, for there they would be out of the
way of these falling stones, and they could also drive back any of the
negroes if they again tried to return. Back they trudged, taking a part
of the deer and bear meat with them, and upon reaching the old stand,
and while looking around, they saw, not far away from them, a monstrous
tree, which had probably been blown from the summit of the cliffs by the
storm. A fire was soon built and the meat roasted and eaten, after which
they laid down for a night’s sleep, their day having profited them
little but experiences which might do them some good in the near future.
They had learned that there was a way to the summit of the cliff, and
the finding of this way was to be the work of the morrow. The night was
passed as comfortably as could be, on the fearfully hard bed of stone
and earth, and early in the morning they were astir again, and after a
meal of the roasted venison, they all started for the small pathway in
the crevice.
They soon reached this, and falling into single file, with Mr. Bruce in
the lead, they kept up the march for a couple of hours, when they were
well into the heart of the cliff. No other footpath had yet been reached
by which they could gain the summit.
“I think,” said Mr. Bruce to Mr. Graham, who was following him, “that we
will have to walk right through this mountain, and on to the end of the
crevice, when we can turn and climb the cliff from the back, which I
expect to find of easy ascent.”
“I quite agree with you,” said Mr. Graham. “It is quite certain that
there could be no way of reaching the summit from this crevice; at
least, not at this point.”
“It has taken a powerful stirring up of the internal fires to cause this
fearful crack,” said Mr. Bruce.
“Yes,” said Mr. Graham, “and that volcano looks as if it might throw out
something more than dust and ashes very soon.”
“That it will, and sooner than we will want it to,” replied Mr. Bruce.
“We are treading dangerous ground, and we cannot tell what moment we may
be overtaken by a flow of molten lava, or a greater shower of ashes,
such as buried Pompeii.”
“But,” said Mr. Graham, “if we stop to think of such things, we will not
do a great deal of exploring.”
“No,” said Mr. Bruce, “but it is always best to bear these things in
mind, and be ready at any moment to meet them as well as we can under
the circumstances. But I can scarcely see my way here. Were any torches
brought along?”
“Yes, the attendants have torches,” said Mr. Graham.
It was true; at this point the crevice was so deep one might think it
was night, so dark had it grown. The torch was lighted, and Mr. Bruce,
taking it, they all again took up the march. But from this point the
path began to widen and ascend, until they were not only again in the
sunlight but two could walk abreast, and a little further, and the path
had widened until four and five men could walk abreast. The path
ascended gradually, so gradually that it was not difficult to climb, and
in a short while it ran out even with the surface.
This was a great and pleasant surprise to the explorers, for they had
expected to have to tramp much farther before getting out of the hole.
They looked about them and saw that they were on the side of a lofty
mountain, the cliff opposite being but a precipitous side of the same
mountain. This side was very fertile and wooded with great trees almost
to its summit.
Below them lay a verdant valley stretching on and on as far as the eye
could reach. Onrai looked on in wonderment at this unexpected sight. He
had, and so had his people, been led to believe that the world ended at
the cliffs, that beyond these was naught but space. He could not have
told, had he been asked, how this land ended or how it must look to see
no land or water beyond, nothing but that infinite space. It had never
occurred to him to think of this himself, but if it had, he would have
immediately banished the thought as being perfectly absurd. He had been
told that the end was there, and that was enough; it couldn’t be
different, and as to how the end might look, that didn’t matter at all.
So this was a wonderful sight to him, all this land as far as he could
see, covered with verdure and with occasional streams of water running
through it. So much like his own fertile country, that he might have
supposed that he had turned in some magical way on his tramp through the
mountains, and was now looking upon that Land of On. If this picture,
which stretched out before him, was real and not a dream, as he was
almost led to believe, then what of those teachings which declared that
their land was the only land, and that their people were the only
people. The very foundation of this teaching was shaken when this idea
was exploded. He turned and looked at his companions, and then at the
great landscape which opened out before him. The attendants were no less
surprised at the strange scene, but none of them made any comments.
Turning and looking far up the mountain or volcano, they could now see a
round cap at the summit, and out of this poured the fearful smoke. The
wind was favorable for the ascent, for it was blowing the smoke over the
Land of On, and they could climb without being hampered by the falling
ashes.
“We are extremely lucky so far,” said Mr. Graham.
“Yes, and the ascent looks easy enough,” rejoined Mr. Bruce.
“It may prove otherwise before we reach the summit, though,” said Mr.
Graham.
“Well,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must get at it, for we should get back to On
to-day, if possible.”
“How different are the mountains on this side,” said Mr. Graham.
“They are different, yes,” said Mr. Bruce. “One would hardly suppose
that beyond they are so precipitous. The whole Land of On must have been
the immense crater of some mighty volcano, at some prehistoric period.”
“It is hard to tell,” said Mr. Graham. “In my estimation it has been at
some remote age a vast inland sea.”
“Either explanation might fit,” said Mr. Bruce. “But let us start. We
are losing valuable time.”
Turning toward Onrai they saw him still standing wrapped in deep
thought, with the attendants standing near, also looking at that great
expanse of field, forest, river and lake before them, with wondering
faces.
“Come,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must start. From the summit you can get a
better view both of this and your own country. And now we must hasten to
reach that summit.”
“You do not seem surprised at the great expanse of land beyond the
cliffs,” said Onrai to Mr. Bruce.
“No, I am not surprised,” replied Mr. Bruce, “because I knew that it
existed before we ever came to you.”
“And you did not tell me?” inquired Onrai.
“And why should I tell you, Onrai,” asked Mr. Bruce. “Have you not a
beautiful country with everything that heart could wish for? Were you
not happy there in your belief, and could the knowledge of the fallacy
of the teachings which has helped to make you happy make you any
happier? You would not have thanked me for such information and I would
advise you now, as I have before, to try and forget that you have seen
these things.”
“That I can never do,” said Onrai. “But they may never have any great
impression on me, further than in making me disbelieve that part of the
teachings which relates to the end of our world. I cannot believe that
any longer, of course.”
“No,” said Mr. Bruce, “but you can refrain from speaking of it, and you
can make it a punishable offense for any of these attendants, who have
also witnessed these scenes, to ever speak of it; and in this way it
will soon be forgotten, and the next generation will go on in blissful
ignorance of the existence of the land beyond the cliff. It will be
better, will it not?”
“I think so,” answered Onrai.
They were now ascending the mountain, the ascent for a way being very
gradual, but as they proceeded further the ascent became steeper and
more rugged. No trace of negroes were seen, but our friends knew that
the negroes seen the day before on the summit, must be somewhere near.
They had probably ascended the mountain in order to get a sight, if
possible, of that land from which they had been driven, and in thus
doing they had spied those who had driven them from it, and had
immediately conceived the idea of hurling the great stones in their
midst, and may be, by so doing, kill all, thus giving them an open
sesame into the coveted country. They had villages near this point,
according to Sedai, and if our friends should fall in with any of these
tribes, there would very evidently be more bloodshed, for they were the
intruders now and the African negro considers this a sacrilege. Nothing
is so sacred to him as his country, and they will fight for this quicker
than they will for their wives.
But nothing was seen of these, and no trace was found of a beaten path
which might indicate that they lived as high as this on the mountain, or
that they visited this altitude very frequently. The verdure grew
thinner as they ascended, and great hunks of lava were now cropping
through the surface soil. The cloud of smoke grew more ominous as they
neared it, and looked like a huge umbrella spread, and with the handle
resting on the summit of the mountain. The party were getting very close
to the summit now, and low rumblings could be heard far beneath the
surface; hissing noises were also heard, like that made by water
striking hot coals.
At last, after considerable tortuous climbing, they stood at the base of
a rugged cliff, which was not more than a hundred feet in height; this
was seamed and rough as if it had been thrown up hundreds and may be
thousands of years before by an overflow of lava, which, upon cooling,
had left this wall about the crater. Following about the base of this
for some distance, a place was at last discerned where an ascent might
be made, and after hard work and much slipping backward, and three or
four narrow escapes from instant death by falling into one of the
crevices, the summit was reached. The sight which here met their gaze
was forboding, to say the least. They were standing on the top of a wall
not more than ten feet thick at this point, and as near as they could
guess about one and a half miles long, running about a deep hole or
crater, one hundred feet deep. Looking down into this they could see the
black smoke issuing from great crevices in the flooring. As it came from
these crevices, it was lurid with the glow of the hot fires which was
its cause. These crevices were numerous and in places our friends could
almost look into them, and into the bright fires burning far beneath.
After much discussion on the matter, it was determined to try and get
down to the floor of this fiery hole which might so soon be filled with
molten lava. A place was found where the descent could be made easily
and the party started. As they descended, the foul smoke would be blown
about them occasionally, almost choking them with its density, but the
bottom was reached and they started to cross it in order to get to the
opposite side, from which they could look into the Land of On. The
flooring was found to be warm and really hot in places, and so crumbling
beneath their feet that it was almost impossible to walk. Several of the
great crevices were approached, but the smoke would drive them back
before they could reach the edge and look into the depths. Most of these
crevices were narrow and ran from east to west, but when the centre of
the crater was reached a great hole was found, probably the true mouth
of the crater. The rumbling here was very distinct and the hissing very
plain. The party tried to reach the edge of this wall but was again
fought off by the dense smoke. They had passed this and were nearer to
the opposite side of the crater, when an unusual loud rumbling was heard
and a great crack suddenly opened before them, the shock throwing them
off their feet, prostrating them on the ground. Mr. Bruce fell so near
this new crevice that his head leaned far over the side, and for a
moment it looked as if he would roll into the fearful hole. But he soon
recovered himself, and rolling over and over he put a safe distance
between himself and the crevice before he ventured to rise to his feet.
When they had all recovered from this surprise and fear and had again
regained their feet, they approached the crevice and peered into its
black depths. Down, down, down it seemed to open, into the very bowels
of the earth, and at the bottom they could see a molten mass, boiling,
and seething, and hissing, but just for a moment and then the scene was
hidden by the black smoke which came pouring up from it.
“Come,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must get out of this.”
The party then hurried as fast as they could to the opposite side of the
crater to where the wall was several hundred feet thick, ending on the
opposite side in the cliff. A long look was taken at the beautiful Land
of On and then the retreat was ordered. They now followed the top of the
wall of the crater until they had come to the place where they had
ascended this, and then, with but very little difficulty, reached the
sloping side and hurriedly descended. It was growing late and already
the sun was throwing long shadows over the mountain side.
They had several miles of the strange footpath to cover yet through the
dark crevice. They began to feel anxious and hurried still faster as
they neared the bottom. The sun sank into the distant valley as they
reached the crevice. They were hurriedly following the side of this,
looking for a beginning of the footpath, when they heard a loud yell as
if from a hundred throats, and looking down they saw a great crowd of
black demons holding the end of the footpath.