THE LAND OF THE NO RETURN.

With strained eyes and failing heart, I gazed around the gloomy,

sepulchral cavern. High above, a faint grey light glimmered far beyond

my reach, while before me was only an impenetrable darkness, wherein I

feared to venture, lest I should fall into some abyss. The curious

wall-picture looked weird in the faint rays, and the long row of

warriors, bearing the figures of their strange gods, presented a

fantastic, but dismal, appearance. Once again I stood gazing at the

strange sculpture, fascinated by the device of the asps, the strange

symbol that had linked Azala's destiny with mine, and the meaning of

which it was my sole object to discover.

Beyond, in the undiscovered Land of the No Return, an explanation might

await me, if only I could reach that mysterious region; but, as again I

gazed about me, I could not rid myself of a horrible presage that the

rushing, poisonous waters had drawn me to my doom. I had taken in every

detail of that scene sculptured in the black rock with such minuteness

that, if called upon, I could have made a drawing of it with accuracy,

for therein lay the first clue to the mystery. This remarkable record

of Semiramis, besides putting an end to the doubts which for ages had

existed regarding her deposition as Queen of Babylon, also announced the

establishment of a new colony, of which the world, up to that moment,

had gained no knowledge. Historians, antiquarians, professors, imams

and wise men of Al-Islam had for centuries been puzzled by the strange

legends, but had never penetrated the veil of mystery. It had remained

for me to unearth a record of the highest interest, which for ages had

lain hidden within its natural tomb. Deciphering those chipped lines of

curious arrowheads, I felt myself on the threshold of a world unknown,

and trembled lest I should encounter any uncanny or undreamed-of object

in that wonderful chamber below the earth.

As I stepped across the sulphur-stained rocks, in order to examine the

opposite wall of the cavern, my foot caught some object, and stooping, I

picked it up. It was a short, straight sword of very ancient pattern,

still in its scabbard, with a wonderfully wrought crosshilt of gold

thickly encrusted with dirt. I endeavoured to draw the weapon, but

failed, for the blade was firmly rusted in its sheath, therefore,

finding it useless and only an encumbrance, I was compelled to cast it

aside.

From where I stood I gazed upon the curious monument of a momentous but

forgotten period, and the sight of the strange symbol brought vividly to

my mind my faithful promise to Azala, and my dead mother's injunction to

prosecute the search after truth. I remembered that upon the result of

my mission Azala's happiness, perhaps even her life, depended;

therefore, with sudden resolve, I saw that to escape by the way I had

entered was impossible; to penetrate the rayless darkness beyond was the

only chance remaining to me.

At first I shuddered at the suggestion, not because I entertained any

foolish superstition, but the place was altogether so weird and

extraordinary that I deemed it more than probable I should witness some

terrible sight, or encounter some strange being unknown to our world.

Unarmed, clothed only in a wet and ragged gandoura, but with my little

string of charms I had worn since childhood still around my neck, I

stood breathless in hesitation.

For Azala's sake I had plunged into the Unknown, and I decided that to

secure our mutual happiness I must face the consequences, which meant

the exploration of that dark, sepulchral pit. Already Tiamo was on his

way to her to impart news which I knew would cause her despair. Dire

consequences might follow. Therefore I knew it was imperative that I

should, in order that her grief might not be unduly prolonged, lose no

time in seeking the truth and returning to her. Thus, at last, after

considerable trepidation and hesitation, I strove to overcome my fears,

and decided to proceed with my investigations, and search in the

darkness for some exit.

Many were the perils I had faced fearlessly during my adventurous career

as one of the Ansar of the Khalifa, and through the tedious journey in

search of the Land of the No Return, but never in the darkest hours had

I experienced such abject, indescribable fear as now froze my heart and

held me inanimate and powerless. I clenched my hand, and, turning my

eager ear towards the invisible portion of the great natural chamber,

listened. But I could detect no sound beyond the roaring of the

torrent; then, with a sudden determination to penetrate and explore the

place, I strode forward into the very bowels of the earth, entering a

darkness that could almost be felt, as impenetrable, indeed, as that to

which our holy Koran tells us the tormented dwellers in Al-Hotama are

doomed.

On, with both hands outstretched, I groped, now tripping in the fissures

cut deeply in the rock by the tiny rivulets which seemed to traverse the

floor of the cavern in every direction, now floundering through a

quagmire of slush which emitted an unpleasant, sulphurous odour, often

cutting my feet upon the sharp, jagged rocks, and frequently grazing my

knees and elbows. But I was too excited to notice pain. Of the size or

extent of the place I had no idea, but, having ventured therein, I was

compelled to proceed, and continued my explorations, penetrating deeper

and deeper into the tunnel-like cave. At first I had proceeded very

slowly and with great caution, but soon, anxious to ascertain whether

exit were possible, my feet hurried, and I stumbled quickly onward,

eager to discover the extent and nature of the honeycombed labyrinth,

fearing lest, after all, it might be merely a _cul-de-sac_.

I was actually in the very heart of the giant base of the Rock of the

Great Sin, the wonderful black, towering crag which had only existed in

the morning mirage of the desert and in the legends of the story-tellers

throughout the Soudan. Over ground that foot of man had not trodden for

ages I stumbled, seeking the unknown alone, unarmed, and in darkness

appalling and complete. Reflection brought with it a sense of impending

danger, an evil presage that, strive how I would, I could not get rid of

its depressing influence. Yet the calm face of Azala, with her dark,

serious, trusting eyes rose before me, and the thought continued to

recur to me that for her sake I had striven, and, so far, been

successful. Once again the knowledge of her passionate love held me to

my purpose; once again I pressed forward blindly to seek the knowledge

that for all time had been withheld from man.

On I went through the everlasting gloom, clambering over the rough,

uneven rocks, then sinking knee-deep in the slimy deposits left by the

rivulets. In the impenetrable darkness of the noisome place, strange

noises startled me as blind, unseen reptiles escaped from my path,

plunging into the water with a splash, and great lizards scuttled to

their holes beneath the stones.

Between giant boulders, which had apparently fallen from the roof, I

squeezed myself, climbing over high barriers of stone and creeping on

all-fours through crevices that were all but impassable, I had proceeded

for more than one hour. I shouted, but the distant echoes above and

around showed that the extent of the gloomy place was bewildering, and

so complete was the darkness that the terrible dread oppressing me

became intensified. Nevertheless, one important fact gave me heart,

causing me to persevere, namely, the atmosphere was not poisonous,

showing that somewhere in that wonderful grotto air was admitted. Where

there was air there must be light, I argued, and where light, then means

of exit. Therefore I proceeded, with eyes strained in the blackness

before me, hoping each moment to discern some welcome glimmer of the

blessed light of day. But, alas! although my wandering footsteps took

me deeper and deeper, no welcome ray was I enabled to detect. Had I but

a torch, my progress would have been more rapid, for I could have

avoided sinking into those sloughs of icy-cold slush, and could have

stepped across the water-courses instead of stumbling clumsily into

them. Half the horrors surrounding me would have been dispelled if my

path had been lighted; but when I had stood before the graven picture I

had sought carefully, but in vain, for wood that I might ignite by

rubbing, and so construct a flambeau. Compelled to plunge into the

impenetrable gloom, without light or means to defend myself, I was truly

in unenviable predicament.

With dogged pertinacity of purpose, engendered, perhaps, by the

knowledge that to escape from that subterranean chamber was imperative

if I did not seek starvation and death, I kept on until my legs grew

weary and almost gave way beneath me. My feet were so pained by the

sharp stones that I at last tore strips from my gandoura and tied them

up, obtaining considerable relief thereby. Then, starting forward

again, faint and hungry, I plodded still onward towards the dreaded

unknown. Some knowledge of the enormous extent of the place may be

gathered from the fact that for fully three hours I had proceeded, when

suddenly an incident occurred which caused me to pull up quickly and

stand motionless, not daring to move.

Beads of perspiration broke upon my forehead as I realised an imminent

peril. In walking I had accidentally sent some pebbles flying before

me, and my quick ears had discerned that they had struck and bounded

down into some abyss in the immediate vicinity. Instantly I halted, and

it proved a stroke of good fortune that I did so, for on going upon my

knees and carefully stretching forth my hands, I was horrified to

discover myself on the very edge of a yawning chasm, the depth or extent

of which it was impossible to determine.

Here, then, was an impassable barrier to my further progress! For three

long hours I had struggled to penetrate the horrible place, but now, in

despair, I told myself that all had been in vain.

My eager fingers felt the jagged edge of the abyss before me. Then,

lying full length upon the damp, slimy rock, with head over the great

pit, I shouted in order to ascertain its depth. My voice, though

echoing above, sounded hollow and became lost in the depths below.

Groping about, I discovered a stone the size of my fist, and hurling it

over, listened, with bated breath. The minutes passed, but no sound

rose. Again I threw down another piece of rock, but, as before, I could

detect no noise of it striking the bottom. The chasm was unfathomable.

Again, taking some small pebbles worn smooth by the action of the water,

I flung them a considerable distance into the darkness. Apparently they

struck the rocks on the opposite side of the terrible pit, for I could

hear them bounding down from crag to crag until the noise became so

faint that they were lost entirely. Once more I shouted, but my voice

echoed not in that vast, immeasurable abyss that had evidently been

caused by the same great upheaval which had, ages before, closed the

entrance to the cavern, and formed the dreaded Lake of the Accursed.

Might not the exit have been sealed in the same manner as the entrance?

The suggestion crossed my mind and held me appalled.

Finding myself unable to proceed further, I crept, still upon my hands

and knees, along near the edge of the chasm for a considerable distance,

until at last I found, to my delight, that it extended no further, and

by the exercise of constant caution I crawled onward, length by length,

until I discovered, by casting pebbles about, that I had passed it.

Then gladly, with a feeling of apprehension lifted from my heart, I rose

again, and with renewed energy continued my way.

After this incident I took every precaution, consequently my progress

was slow and painful. The thought of how narrowly I had escaped a

horrible death caused me to shudder, nevertheless my eyes were eager to

discover some welcome gleam of light and hope. During yet another hour

I struggled forward over ground that rose gradually, then descended

again so steeply, until I began to fear that another chasm lay before.

My fears, however, in this direction proved groundless. Yet, as I

proceeded, the little stream seemed to increase in volume, and there was

a damp, noxious smell about the noisome place which gave rise to a

belief that, after all, there was no exit, and that the cavern, like the

forbidden land, was a place whence, if once entered, there was no

return. Just as that conviction was forced strongly upon me, I also

discovered another more startling fact, which rendered my despair

complete, and told me plainly that in that dwelling of the Great

Devourer I should find my grave.

My progress had been arrested; my hands had come into contact with a

wall of rock which stretched before me on either side. I shouted, and

the unseen rock gave back my voice, proving that I had gained the

extreme end of the cavern.

Determined to thoroughly investigate this abrupt termination of the

place before seeking an exit in another direction, I crept forward,

feeling the rough, rocky wall with eager, trembling hands. Having

proceeded for some distance, my heart suddenly bounded with excitement

as I discovered another outlet beyond, and eagerly stumbled forward,

still in impenetrable gloom. All the strange legends and tales of the

storytellers I had heard related regarding this weird place surged

through my mind, and, as I pressed forward, I admit that I was in

constant fear and trepidation lest I should meet, face to face, the

legendary tenant of this limitless subterranean labyrinth, the terrible

being referred to on the tablet of Semiramis as the Great Devourer, or

Guardian of the Gate of the Land of the No Return.

But the entrance to the forbidden land, if thus it proved to be, was

difficult enough, and guarded by horrors and pitfalls sufficient without

the necessity of a janitor such as that described so luridly by tellers

of strange romances in the desert-camps. Stumbling on up a steep

incline I was at length compelled to halt to regain breath. Weakened by

the desperate fight I had had for life amid the roaring torrent which

had sucked me down, fatigued by the struggle to penetrate the deep

recesses of the cavern, I rested for a few moments, my head reeling and

my legs trembling as if unable to support my body. Suddenly a loud,

shrill cry caused me to start, and next second a gust of air was swept

into my face by the flapping of enormous wings. For an instant I felt

the presence of some uncanny object near me, but in a moment it had

gone, and when I recovered from my sudden alarm, I knew that it was some

great bird which probably had its nest in some deep and secret crevice.

Its shrill, plaintive cry echoed among the vast recesses, but grew

fainter as it flew on before me. My sudden terror was quickly succeeded

by feelings of satisfaction, for the presence of the bird was sufficient

proof that there was an exit in the vicinity.

With heart quickened by excitement I once again moved forward, gained

the summit of the incline, clambered quickly over some gigantic masses

of fallen rock, and at last, when I had mounted to the top of what at

first seemed an impassable barrier, my eyes were gladdened by a sight

which caused me to cry aloud with joy.

Far below me, so distant as to appear like a mere speck of grey, the

light of day was shining.

Its approach was by a rough and exceedingly steep descent, but I hurried

on with foolish disregard of the perils which beset my path, on account

of the slippery deposits on the stones. Once or twice I nearly came to

grief. In places the descent was so abrupt that I had to turn and crawl

down, steadying myself with my hands and knees; but I heeded nothing in

my frantic eagerness to escape and gain the dreaded Land of the Myriad

Mysteries.

As I neared the opening, I discovered it was not large, and half choked

by masses of rock that had either fallen or been placed there to bar the

entrance, while about them were tangled masses of profuse vegetation,

which no doubt hid the existence of the cavern to any who should chance

to pass it outside. In the high roof near the exit, hundreds of birds

of brilliant plumage had their nests, and were flying in and out,

singing and uttering shrill cries, while in the light and air, moss,

plants and giant ferns grew in wild profusion. Great green snakes, too,

lay curled beneath the stones, and I was compelled to be wary, lest I

should be bitten. Even on arrival here my escape was barred by a huge

mass of stone three times higher than myself, and so wide that it

entirely filled up the exit. Nevertheless, I managed, after

considerable difficulty, to scale the rocky obstacle, and pausing on its

summit for a moment, I ascertained that a dense forest lay beyond. Then

I descended through the tangled bushes and creepers to the ground

outside, and once more stood free in the fresh air, with a brilliant,

cloudless sky above.