THE REMARKABLE CAVE EXPLORATIONS
But the time was now at hand, when it became necessary for the exploring
expedition to the north. The rescued prisoners stated that their people,
while not so numerous, were very warlike, and by degrees, John learned
that they were the cannibals of whom they had heard.
The tribe was known as the Umbolos, and the Chief was a frightful man,
unlike any other in the tribe, or, at any rate, from the description, he
was not formed like them. He was known as Rumisses, which in their
tongue meant _thunder_.
It was remarkable that Uraso and Muro understood most of the words of
the language used by the natives here and also on Venture Island. On
Wonder Island, there were only two tongues, or dialects, and the people
on this island, as well as on Venture Island, spoke the dialect
belonging to the Illyas, Kurabus and the Tuolos, the tribes that were
the fiercest and the most difficult to subdue.
It was hoped that the escape of the two Umbolos, and the return to their
people would be sufficient to give them the entree to that part of the
country, but after the questionings of John on this point, it was very
doubtful whether this would impress itself on their minds.
The natives had been accustomed for so long a period to regard every
other people as an enemy, and consequently absolutely removed from any
possibility of friendship, that it was questionable whether the
messengers could persuade the Chief to receive them.
Arrangements for the departure were decided upon, and they planned to
start early in the morning. John visited the Chief, and suggested that
he should consider it a favor if the Chief would permit him to take the
Korinos with him.
The Chief opened his eyes in astonishment. "Why do you wish to be
burdened with men who will live by deceiving?" he inquired.
"But they have lived to the best of their knowledge. They do not know
any better. They believe what they have been taught, and think it is a
duty to carry out and practice their rites. They do not wish to deceive
you."
The Chief pondered for a long time, and then replied: "What will you do
with them?"
"I want to teach them the white man's ways, and tell them to come back
and teach your children the things which we believe are right and for
the good of the people."
The lessons which John imparted were sources of wonder and amazement to
the ruler, who, five days before, thought he was the only one appointed
to make and to execute laws.
When he finally gave his consent, he said: "You must take it upon
yourself to get the Korinos, because they will not come out of their
caves."
"But how can they find food there? If you prevent them from getting
food they will be compelled to come out or starve."
"They will starve before they will permit themselves to be taken."
"Then," answered John, "why do you not order your warriors to enter the
cave and take them by force?"
"But who dares to go in?"
"I dare to go in, but you must order me to do so," answered John.
The Chief jumped up in an instant. "And will you go?" he asked in the
greatest delight.
"By all means. You must go with me to the cave, and there command me to
enter and bring them forth."
The Chief's eyes danced with delight, and he could hardly await the hour
for starting on the mission.
The boys and the two companion chiefs, were in their glory upon hearing
of the decision to get the Korinos. Before leaving the Chief John
questioned him very closely on the location of the cave, and whether
there were not other caves on the island to the north.
"I have heard that there is another one to the north, that was used in
olden times by the Korinos who lived when my father was Chief. I also
know that far to the north where the false and treacherous Umbolos live,
are great caves which no man may enter."
"Do they have Korinos in the Umbolo tribe?"
"No; they do not believe in a Great Spirit."
"Then, if they have no Korinos, why do they not dare to enter the
caverns?"
"Because they have been told that it is death to go into the dark."
"Do you know why they think so?"
"Because, a long time ago, the only man who ever returned from the dark
caves, brought out the bones of men who had died there."
"But it did not kill that man who brought them out?"
"Yes; he died. And now no one dares enter those places."
It may be imagined how this intelligence stirred up the boys. It was
impossible to keep them from talking about it. To John it was like a
magic wand; it seemed to wave before his eyes and to talk to him. What
if they had really found the great cave on which John's heart was so
keenly bent?
But the Korinos must be freed. That afternoon, just before starting, the
boys were surprised to see the band coming up the street. How they
laughed, as they scented John's little ruse. It would, indeed, be a
treat to bring the Korinos out of their dark resorts to some good old
marching tune.
The band struck up a familiar air, and to its lively tones the
procession, with the three Chiefs and John at the head, marched across
the open, and up the hill past the grove, on its way to the cave on the
eastern slope of the high hill which rose from the shore of the ocean.
There was jest and laughter, the Chief enjoying the treat that would be
the greatest pleasure of his life, namely, the bringing of the Korinos
out of the cave.
After ascending the great hill, so that they overlooked the ocean, the
Chief informed John that the entrance was a third of the way down the
hill, and the narrow path was followed which led around to the north,
shutting out the sight of the sea.
After a few hundred feet, the path led to a cleft portion of the rocks,
where the light of the sun was completely hidden. The walls of the
rocks, at the entrance of the cleft portion, were fully fifty feet high,
and were at least twenty feet apart, but as they went on the walls drew
nearer together and the path ascended a slight incline.
A sharp turn was reached, and they found themselves in a little cove, to
the left of which was a dark entrance, toward which the Chief nodded, as
he shrank back.
John motioned to the Chief, and the latter sternly commanded John to
bring forth the Korinos. John said a few words to Uraso and Muro, and
also invited the boys to accompany them.
"I suppose you are all armed?" said John.
The boys and the chiefs had come well prepared, so this point was taken
care of.
"But where are the lights?" asked George.
"I have them," said John, "but we shall not use them now, for reasons
which will be explained later." Together they entered the cave, the
darkness of which was appalling. After going in fully a hundred and
fifty feet, John stopped and said: "It would have been a sign of
weakness to go in with a light. When we have gone far enough to be free
from the mouth of the cave, we can use our flash lights. For the present
we shall move on to ascertain whether the Korinos are provided with
lights, which will show where they are, and we may thus be guided to
them."
The distance traveled must have been fully a thousand feet, when John
again spoke: "I shall now throw the light directly ahead, and you must
keep your eyes open to detect anything moving."
The light flashed, and was then moved slowly to the left, until it
reached a cove at the extreme eastern side, where there was an evident
assemblage of articles, not a hundred feet in advance of them, but there
was not a sign of living beings within the scope of the light beams.
The company moved over to the spot indicated. A moment's examination
satisfied them that it was really the abode of the Korinos, but they had
disappeared.
The debris, the half eaten portions of food, some still warm, were
sufficient to indicate that they had fled, but where? Uraso, Muro and
John, all three, flashed their lights, and, after examining the walls
critically, Muro was the first to find the opening from the chamber in
which they were standing.
The outlet from the chamber was to the north, and toward it the
explorers ran hurriedly, and passed along the contracted path, which
soon turned to the left. After following its many windings, and
scrambling over the broken and rocky floor, they saw ahead a streak of
daylight, which gladdened the hearts of the boys.
"Ah! they have gone," exclaimed John, as he emerged, and glanced across
the ravine, and along the walls which extended up from the shore of a
little stream below. "They have gone to the north, and have, probably,
tried to seek safety in the other cave."
"How are we going to get back?" asked George.
"Do you think there will be any trouble in that?" asked John.
"We shall have to go clear over the mountain for that, I'm afraid."
[Illustration: _Fig. 9. The Cave on Rescue Island._]
"We are not far from the entrance," said John, "and if we intend to
catch up with the Korinos, we must not delay for a moment."
The party made a hurried trip around the hill, and the Chief was
surprised to learn that there was another entrance, or an outlet to the
cave on the northern side. None of his warriors was aware of this,
however.
John was now in a quandary. He was exceedingly anxious to secure the
Korinos, but at the same time there was some things in the appearance of
the cave that he wished to investigate. This was confided to Uraso and
Muro, and the latter suggested that he and Uraso would undertake to
follow the fleeing men, and return to the village, while John and the
boys made the desired investigation.
This was readily assented to, and they at once made their way across the
hill, while John informed the Chief of the action which they had decided
to take. One of the principal men of the village, in whom the Chief had
confidence, and who knew the location of the upper caves, accompanied
Uraso and Muro.
The Chief, and those with him returned to the village, while John
remained behind under the pretense that he wished to stay at the cave
entrance until they returned from the pursuit after the Korinos.
The boys first secured the flash lights which the two chiefs had
brought, and when all had departed the boys and John entered the cave
and marched directly to the location of their interior home.
Every part of the habitation was well investigated. Almost every kind of
tool and implement was found here in profusion, but singularly, none of
them appeared to be used. Several flint lock guns, all rusted, and with
decayed stocks, were among the articles discovered, but the Korinos had
not used them.
The inevitable copper vessels, entirely unlike those of modern
manufacture, were the first things to claim the attention of the boys,
as they recalled similar articles found in the caves thitherto
investigated by them.
"This begins to look as though we are to have the same experience we had
at the cave at the Cataract," said George. "These vessels, no doubt,
were brought here by the buccaneers, and I'll be surprised if we don't
find a few more of their belongings somewhere in this place."
After all the recesses in this vicinity had been investigated they
scanned the side walls to the right, carefully going into the little
recesses which were found all along the jagged sides.
A hundred feet south of the living part of the cave they came,
unexpectedly upon a large extension, not noticed before in their pursuit
of the Korinos. The chamber extended in a southerly direction, and
narrowed at the extreme opposite end.
"This has the appearance of leading to another outlet, which would take
us to the southern side of the hill. It would be remarkable, indeed, if
such should be the case," said John, as he eagerly pressed forward,
until they had passed four chambers.
The walls were coming closer and closer, until there was now barely room
for them to pass through, but they went in unhesitatingly, John in the
lead. The passage was not straight, so that the light did not aid much
in looking ahead, but suddenly the flash threw a beam ahead, which
showed that they were at the entrance of a chamber.
John stopped and directed the search light to all parts of the cavern.
It appeared to be nearly round, with a perfectly smooth floor. It was
unoccupied, but in the exact center of the chamber was a raised object,
like a mound.
Throughout the entire cave could be found the calcareous deposit so
common in caves formed in limestone rocks, and the stalactite hangings
on the ceilings and walls, and the stalagmites on the floors made the
scene a weird one.
John glanced upwardly to view the ceiling, above the mound, and said:
"That does not seem to be a natural formation. Let us examine it first."
With the small pick which John always carried, and by means of which he
was always careful to examine rocks and geological formations, while on
these tours, the top parts of the stalagmites were chipped off. This was
an exceedingly simple matter, since they are generally soft.
After the top layer was removed, the part beneath readily yielded, but
before they had an opportunity to dig into it very deeply the pick
struck something which gave forth a metallic sound. John stopped as
though paralyzed.
The pick was again driven in. Again the plain contact with some hard
substance. The digging was now feverish, and when the broken parts were
cleared away, a small metallic box, about twelve inches square across
the top, and about ten inches deep, was exposed to view.
The dent made by the pick was clearly visible, and the fresh mark showed
that the metal was red.
"It is copper!" said John.
Every part of the material around the box was removed, and this enabled
them to remove it from its resting place. John grasped it and securing a
good hold, finally raised it.
"No, it is not any heavier than I thought it would he," he remarked as
he lay it down.
"Did you expect to find this?" asked George in amazement.
"No; this is a surprise to me as it is to you."
"Then why did you make that remark?"
"Because I believe that this box contains treasure of untold value. I
should have been surprised if it weighed very much."
"Could it not have contained treasure if it had been heavy?" asked
Harry.
John laughed, a peculiar exultant chuckle, as he responded: "Not the
kind of treasure I have had in contemplation."
The box was turned over and over. There was not the sign of any lid, or
crack which showed the cover or means of opening it. "We must take this
out and open it at our leisure," remarked John, "but before doing so it
would be well to examine the other outlets to this chamber, if it has
any."
The chamber was found, on measurement, to be thirty feet in diameter,
and the vaulted ceiling fully thirty feet high, singularly uniform in
the domed formation, and not rough or jagged like the ceiling of the
other chamber which they had just left.
The walls were absolutely solid on all sides, the only entrance being by
way of the narrow little passageway through which they had come. Harry
picked up the box, and swung it up to his shoulder, and, John leading
the way, they filed out and passed through the chamber, quickly making
their way to the opening through which they first entered the cave.
Within an hour they were back in the village, and found Muro there
awaiting their arrival. "We have found their trail, and they have not
gone to the upper cave. They are heading straight for the tribe in the
northern end of the island."
"I am surprised at that," said John. "We must consult the Chief about
this," and without another word, he hurriedly went over to the Chief,
who was as much astounded as John could be at the peculiar significance
of their actions.