_The Spider Snaps_
Stooping, Stubbs ran his hand down the length of Wilson's arm and felt
for his pulse. He caught a weak but steady beat. Prying open his
mouth, he poured a large mouthful of water down the dry throat. Wilson
quickly revived and begged for more.
"No, m' son, this'll do fer now. You'll need it worse later on. An'
I'm darned glad to see yer again."
"How--how long have I been here, Stubbs?" panted Wilson.
"Nigh twenty-four hours."
"A day--a whole day wasted!"
"An' another cross agin yer fren' the Priest."
"Was it he?"
"Th' same."
He gave Wilson a little food and a wisp of the coca leaves to chew and
briefly told him what he had just been through. He concluded with a
wave of his hand about him.
"So here we are at last, an' a crew of savages waitin' fer us at the
top, which makes a fine and fittin' end fer any v'yage upon which I
embarks."
"Water--give me more water."
Stubbs rested the bottle to the man's lips a moment and then had to
fight with him to get it away.
"Now," said Stubbs, "if ye've gut th' breath, tell me, has ye explored
at all?"
Wilson shook his head. He answered vaguely, his thoughts still upon
the one thing.
"A day wasted and the Priest on his way! He said within a day, didn't
he, Stubbs? Lord! we've got to get out of here; we've got to get to
her. He'll kill them both----"
Wilson struggled to his feet and plunged towards the exit to the cave.
Stubbs was upon him in a second and bore him down.
"Gawd, man, h'ain't yer any sense left at all?"
A second later he repented his sharp speech, and added,
"There, lay still a moment, lad. I knows how yer feel, but we might's
well look aroun' an' find out how much bigger damned fools we are.
Ye've gotter git yer strength before ye can move back over that
course."
"The treasure is there," whispered Wilson; "but, Stubbs, I want more
water--buckets of it."
"What's there?"
"Diamonds--diamonds, and not a drop of water."
Stubbs did not believe it. He took it to be the hallucination of a man
weak with thirst. But one thing was settled in his mind: if the cave
were empty, he wouldn't waste any more time here. Danger was
increasing with every minute. He pawed his way into the rear of the
cave and had not gone ten feet before he stumbled over the same pile
Wilson had found. He seized a handful of the stones and made his way
back to the light.
The jewels sparkled in his rough palm like chips from the stars
themselves. They were of all sizes from a beechnut to a pecan. Even
roughly cut and polished as they were, they still flashed back their
rainbow hues with pointed brilliancy. He picked out a large yellow
diamond which even in this dim light glowed like molten gold in a fog;
another which imprisoned the purple of the night sky; and another
tinged with the faint crimson of an afterglow. Jumbled together in his
hand, they were a scintillating pile of tiny, living stars, their rays
fencing in a dazzling play of light. Even to Stubbs, who knew nothing
of the stones, they were so fascinating that he turned them over and
over with his finger to watch their twinkling iridescence.
Just those he held there now were such as a lapidary would spend his
life willingly in the getting. If not another stone were found in the
cave, these alone represented a fortune worthy of the expedition. Each
stone as it stood was worth probably from three to eight hundred
dollars, and some of the larger would run into the thousands. It was
difficult to realize their full value here where they counted for so
little,--no more than the rays of the stars themselves,--here where so
many others lay in a heap like broken glass. Vaguely Stubbs grasped
the fact that he had in his possession the worth of many good ships
and freedom for the rest of his life. Yet he thrilled less with this
thought than he did with the sheer joy of discovery. A man will
cherish a dime he picks up on the street more than he does a
five-dollar bill in his pocket. It was this spirit of treasure-trove
that got into his blood, sending a tingle of new life through his
veins. He tried to rouse Wilson to it.
"Come here, man," he shouted. "Come here and see what we've got. God!
there's millions in this cave!"
But Wilson lifted his head indifferently.
"I don't give a damn," he answered.
"You haven't seen 'em sparkle--you haven't gut it inter yer head!
Ye're rich--richer than Danbury!"
He hurried back to where Wilson sat and thrust the jewels before his
eyes.
"D' ye see 'em?" he cried excitedly. "Bigger 'n yer thumb?"
For a second his old-time suspicion and doubt returned.
"But maybe," he added sorrowfully, "maybe they're jus' glass. Jus' my
luck."
Nevertheless he believed sufficiently in them to return to the quest.
He struck match after match, wandering farther and farther into the
darkness, hoping to find something with which he could make light
enough to see around him. He gave a little cry of joy as he came upon
an old-time altar light--a platter of oil containing a crude wick. He
lighted this. The flame sputtered feebly, died down, then revived to
a big, steady flame. With his arms at his side, his mouth wide open,
he gaped at what the light revealed.
The cave was not large; this lamp disclosed its boundaries. It also
disclosed other things, chief of which was a leering idol some three
feet tall which squatted, cross-legged, with one hand extended. This
hand held a polished diamond larger than a walnut. The eyes were of
ruby which, catching the light, burned with ghoul-like ferocity, while
the mouth grinned,--grinned with a smile which strangely resembled
that of the Priest. The image was of gold. To the right and left,
piled up as though they had been hastily thrown together, was a jumble
of vases, bowls, plates, shields, all of beaten gold. They made a heap
some four feet high, and from six to eight feet broad at the base.
Strewn about the foot of this were many little leather bags tied at
the top with dried sinews.
Minute after minute Stubbs stared at this sight in silence. There was
more gold here than he thought existed in the world,--so much that it
lost its value. Here was enough almost to load down a ship. If he
could crowd a few hundred dollars into a bag small enough to stuff
into his pocket, this must run up into the millions. He had always
spoken of a man worth a million with a certain amount of awe and
doubt; and here lay ten, perhaps fifty, times that amount. At the end
of forty years of sailing the seas he had saved a little over three
thousand dollars against the days he should be old and feeble. Three
thousand dollars! Two or three of those stones he had slipped into his
pocket,--four or five of these plates of which there were hundreds!
[Illustration: _Minute after minute, Stubbs stared at this sight in
silence._]
He moved forward and tried to lift one of the big vases of crudely
beaten gold. With his full weight against it, he could scarcely move
it. Farther on there was a bar of gold heavier than three men could
carry. To the left of this there was a pile of golden shields studded
with jewels, strange ornaments, and heavy plates. Back of this he
caught a glimpse of still other ingots of gold in the shadows.
And always the big image held extended towards him with a cynical leer
the big, polished diamond which seemed rather to give out light from
within itself than to reflect the altar flames. It blazed with a
brilliancy that he had never seen equalled save by the stars on
faultless winter nights.
He was too dumbfounded at first to take it all in. He turned about in
a circle, resting his eyes again upon one thing after another, and
then raised his hand and looked at that to make sure that he was
seeing correctly--was not the victim of some strange illusion. Yes,
his eyes were all right; he saw his calloused, big-jointed hand--the
hand which had labored so long for a millionth part of what he now saw
here. The gold and the jewels were within arms' reach of him--there
was no longer any doubt about that. His luck must have turned.
He moved back to where Wilson still lay sprawled out upon his back
only half conscious of his surroundings. He tried to speak calmly,
but he blurted out,
"Gawd, man, there's tons of it!"
Wilson did not move or speak.
"Shiploads of it. Man! Man! wake up an' see what's afore yer eyes!"
"What is it, Stubbs?"
"Gold! Gold! Gold! The stuff thet outside here yer haster fight ter
git a pinch of,--the stuff I've sailed aroun' the worl' ter git a
handful of; the stuff ye've come so far on the bare chance of
seein'."
"It's here, then? The treasure is here?"
"More than ever ye dreamed of. Small wonder that Sorez was willin' ter
take chances agin the Priest if he knew of this."
Wilson brushed his hand over his eyes. The name roused him. This meant
getting back to Sorez--getting back to him with proof of the treasure
and so releasing the girl. He made his feet and stood a moment with
his hand upon Stubbs' shoulder.
"I'm glad, Stubbs," he answered. "Now--now let's get back to her."
"Aye, we'll get back, but first we've got ter figger out some way for
gittin' of this stuff out."
As a matter of fact, they learned that they were really facing
something of a problem. It was a marvel how ever these things were got
down here, but it would be a still greater task to get them out again.
Twenty fanatical worshipers of the Sun God gave their lives to bearing
these priceless offerings from the lake to this cave with the
incentive of winning everlasting happiness. It was a different problem
for two tired and nerve-exhausted men to retrace their steps.
Even if it were possible to get the treasure to the surface, it would
need a small army of men and burros to carry it over the mountains to
civilization, and another small army to defend it while on the
journey. It would be almost equally impossible, probably, for them
ever again to reach this cave. If they were successful in getting out
of this country alive now that the Priest was roused and the natives
incensed over the death of their fellows, it certainly would be sure
death ever to return. As for organizing a company either at Bogova or
in America for the purpose of removing the treasure, Stubbs had the
usual independent man's distrust of such means. It became clearer to
him every minute that the only share of this hoard of which they ever
could be sure was what they might now take out with them. This
practically eliminated the vast store of golden implements, for it was
impossible to carry even the smallest of them on their shoulders over
so rough and dangerous a trail as this. It began to look as though
they had reached this treasure at length merely to be tantalized by
it. The very thought was like a nightmare.
His eyes fell upon the small leather bags. Stooping, he picked up one
of them, untied it and poured its contents upon the cave floor; a
flashing stream of rubies rippled out and glowed at his feet in a
tiny, blood-red heap. And there were a dozen more of these bags in
sight!
"Lord, man!" he exclaimed below his breath, "it's 'nuff to make yer
b'lieve ye're dreamin'."
The jewels gave him fresh courage. Here, at any rate, was a fortune
which was within their present reach. They could carry these things
back with them even though they were forced to leave the bulk of the
treasure in its heavier form. A single one of these little leather
bags was sufficient to repay them for their trouble if they didn't get
anything else. But one thing was sure--their single chance of escaping
with even these was to start at once. The Priest would undoubtedly
have the whole region up in arms before dark, and, if he didn't find
them before, would have a force at the mountain pass. It went against
his grain to abandon such riches as these, but life and a few million
was better than death with all the gold in the world piled about your
tomb.
To Wilson, who in the last few minutes had become more himself, the
treasure still meant just one thing--the opportunity of freeing Jo.
With this evidence he could return to Sorez and persuade him of the
futility of his search in the lake itself and induce him to join his
party and escape while there was time. If he didn't succeed in this,
he would take the girl even if he had to do so by force.
"It's a case of grab and jump," said Stubbs. "You gather up the loose
stones on the floor and I'll collect the bags. The sooner we gets to
the top, th' better."
Stubbs took the altar light and made a careful search of the bottom of
the cave for jewels. These were the things which embodied in the
smallest weight the most value. It made him groan every time he passed
an ingot of gold or some massive vase which he knew must run into the
thousands, but at the end of ten minutes he felt better; the stones
alone were sufficient to satisfy even the most avaricious. About the
base of the grinning idol they found fourteen leather bags, each
filled with gems. The loose diamonds which had been roughly thrown
into a small pile would fill four bags more. Even Wilson became roused
at sight of these. He began to realize their value and the power such
wealth would give him. If the girl was still alive, he now had the
means of moving an army to her aid. If she was still alive--but the
day was waning and the Priest, now thoroughly aroused, doubtless
moving towards her intent upon wiping out every stranger, man or
woman, in the hills.
Stubbs was for going farther back into the cave and exploring some of
the recesses into which they had not yet looked at all. But Wilson,
with returning strength, became impatient again. The coca leaves which
he had chewed constantly brought him new life.
"Lord! would you sell the girl for a few more bags of jewels, Stubbs?"
he burst out.
The latter straightened instantly and came nearer. But before he had
time to speak, Wilson apologized.
"No, I know better, comrade, but I can't wait any longer to get to
her. I'm five years older than I was a day ago."
The while they were gathering the little bags full of jewels, the big
image in the corner smiled his smile and offered them the big diamond
in his hand; the while they buckled the bags about their waists--as
precious belts as ever men wore--the image smiled and offered; as they
moved towards the mouth of the cave it still insisted. Yet for some
reason neither man had felt like taking the stone. Stubbs felt a bit
superstitious about it, while Wilson felt enough reverence, even for
heathen gods, to refrain. But still it smiled and offered. In the
flickering flare of the altar light the stone burned with increasing
brilliancy. It was as though it absorbed the flames and, adding new
fuel, flashed them forth again.
Wilson led the way out. Before they left the cave Stubbs turned. He
saw the image once again, and once again the stone. The temptation
was too great, especially now that they were on the point of
leaving--perhaps forever. He started back and Wilson tried to check
him.
"I wouldn't, Stubbs. Those eyes look too ugly. It is only the mouth
that smiles and----"
"Ye haven't turned heathen yerself, have ye?" he called back.
He stepped forward and clutched it. But the jewel was fastened in some
way although it seemed a bit loose. He pulled strongly upon it and the
next second leaped back, warned in time by a suspicious rumbling above
his head. He looked down to see a slab of granite weighing half a ton
on the spot where he had stood a moment before. It was an ingenious
bit of mechanism arranged to protect the treasure; the jewel had been
attached by a stout cord which, when pulled, loosed the weight above.
Not only this, but it became evident in a few seconds that it loosed
also other forces--whether by design or chance, the two men never
determined. They had pressed back to the path outside the cave, when
they heard a rumble like distant thunder, followed instantly by a
grinding and crashing. Before their eyes a large section of the cliff
crashed down over the cave itself and into the chasm below. They
didn't wait to see what followed, but made their way along the path as
fast as they dared.
Neither man spoke again until a half hour later after a journey that
was like a passage through Hell, they lay exhausted in the sunlight
above the chasm. The thunder of tumbling rock still pounded at their
ears.