A CLOSE SHAVE.
The Greek's extreme terror sprang from no insignificant cause. Over the
crest of a ridge some thirty yards distant came a large body of men. It
was very evident that they would pass close to the rock, and the three
fugitives, crouching on its flat surface in the gloom, may well be
pardoned for believing that the enemy were on their track.
As the advance guard drew still closer, Canaris thrust his face against
the stone. Melton did the same; but Guy, whose curiosity fairly mastered
his fear, ventured to raise his head slightly, and a single glance
showed him that the strange foe had no intention of halting.
They passed within ten yards of the rock, it is true, but not a man
looked to right or left, and they moved at a rapid and steady pace.
Guy's amazement grew deeper as the long procession went by in constantly
increasing numbers, for even to his unskilled eyes it was plain that
these men were neither Arabs nor Somalis.
The dim light revealed their powerful stature, the dark faces crowned
with turbans, the linen cloaks that were flung carelessly on their
shoulders, and the various arms, comprising shields, swords, spears, and
even guns.
At intervals the stalwart figure of a man towered above the rest,
mounted high on a camel or an elephant.
Melton and Canaris ventured to raise their heads in response to a nudge
from Guy, and all three witnessed the passing of this strange
procession, which comprised nearly a hundred men.
As the rear guard vanished over a ridge to the south, Canaris, without a
word, swung himself nimbly to the ground and picked up some glittering
object that lay in the path.
"Look," he exclaimed in a tone of wonder, as Guy and Melton followed him
down, "do you recognize this workmanship? But no, how could you?" he
resumed, without waiting for an answer. "This weapon is of Abyssinian
make, and those men were Abyssinians."
"But what are they doing here, so far from their own country?" demanded
Guy.
"It is a war party," said Canaris, "and we are not so far from the
borders of Abyssinia, after all. It is no uncommon thing for them to
raid on the Gallas."
The dagger passed from hand to hand, and was inspected with much
curiosity, until Canaris pointed toward the east and said: "Morning has
come, and the sun will soon be up. Let us climb the rock and make a
survey of the country."
Daylight came on with marvelous rapidity, and as the range of vision
gradually became clear for a distance of several miles, the Greek rose
to his feet and scanned the surroundings with a sweeping gaze.
His countenance expressed first perplexity, then delighted surprise, and
turning to his companions he cried:
"We have reached our destination. See! There is the stone kraal, those
scattered columns of rock to the south that rise from the jungle. Yes,
the old Englishman was right, for yonder lies the Elephant Peak and the
Lion's Head."
It was indeed as the Greek said. The broad valley was dotted with a
curious rock formation that bore a strong likeness to a native village
of huts, and on either side of the valley, from the rugged chains of
mountains, rose two lofty peaks, one fashioned like a recumbent
elephant, the other a perfect semblance of a lion's shaggy head.
A murmur of surprise burst from the trio as they gazed along on this
strange verification of their hopes.
The mountain peaks were at least four miles distant, for the breadth of
the valley was about eight.
For the moment the recent passage of the warlike Abyssinians was
forgotten. Then a very significant occurrence recalled it forcibly to
their minds.
From the base of the Lion's Head suddenly rose a column of yellow
smoke, and two or three gun shots echoed distinctly across the valley.
"The Abyssinians have attacked the town of the Gallas," cried Canaris.
"It lies at the foot of that peak, and is the same kraal at which the
Englishman was kept in slavery when he discovered the underground
river."
"I hope they'll eat each other up like the Kilkenny cats," observed Guy
coolly.
"But you don't understand," cried the Greek in strange excitement. "They
will scatter over the valley, they will flee to those rocks yonder for
protection, and unless we find the entrance to that river at once we are
lost."
"Canaris is right," spoke up Melton. "We must make immediate search for
the rock with the cross. It is our only hope."
"Yes, our only hope," echoed the Greek. "Come quickly, there is no time
to lose."
He slipped to the ground and led his companions rapidly down the valley
toward the stone village.
They hastened on among the scattered rocks for a quarter of a mile or
more, until the extreme southern edge was reached, and then Canaris
stopped.
"This is the south side," he said; "we must search the rocks for one
with a cross."
They scattered, Guy toward the west, Melton to the east. It was a time
of peril, for the yellow smoke was curling up over the Lion's Head in
heavier columns, and the firing was more distinct, as though the
conflict were spreading toward them across the valley.
"The rock with the cross, on the south side of the stone kraal." A
simple enough direction on the face of it, and yet the eager searchers,
as they hurried from stone to stone, scrutinizing every side and angle,
failed to discover the faintest trace of anything resembling a cross.
Canaris wrung his hands in dismay when they came together after the
fruitless search.
"We are lost, we are lost!" he groaned. "What will become of us? Go,
make another search; inspect the base of every stone; the hidden
entrance must exist."
Guy shook his head.
"That cross was made twenty years ago," he said. "In that time the
storms could have destroyed all trace of it unless the Englishman carved
it very deep, and in that event we should have discovered it already."
"It must be found," persisted Canaris in his terror. "Hark! The firing
is coming nearer. In half an hour the valley will swarm with savage
foes. Go! Go! Go!"
He fairly shrieked out the last words, and threw himself in despair down
amid the jungle grass.
The Greek did not exaggerate the danger. A startling confirmation of his
fears was at hand.
Warned in time by a commotion in the bushes, Guy and Melton dropped
flat, as a savage, spear in hand, and bleeding from a wound in the head,
burst out of the jungle twenty yards distant and made full speed for a
rock a few yards to the north of that by which the Englishmen lay
concealed.
All unconscious of the three pairs of eyes watching his movements, he
stooped, flung the tangled grass madly aside, and, rolling a loose stone
from the base of the rock, revealed a dark cavity in the smooth side.
He threw a frightened glance in the direction he had come, and, dropping
his spear and diving into the hole, pulled the stone back in place from
within.
All this happened in less time than it takes to tell.
"Saved!" burst thankfully from Guy's lips as he sprang to his feet.
"Saved!" echoed Melton and Canaris.
Snatching up their baggage, they dashed across the narrow space that
divided the two great boulders. Guy tore the rock from the entrance,
and, as the imprisoned savage within uttered a hoarse cry, he pointed
his rifle at the opening.
"Go ahead," called out Melton; "he's unarmed; he can't harm you."
Guy hesitated for an instant, and then crawled into the forbidding
cavern on hands and knees.
A distant sound of scuffling and rattling of stones told that the savage
was retreating into the bowels of the earth.
Melton handed in the rifles and the baggage, and crawled in after them.
Canaris was the last to enter, and with Melton's aid the stone, which
was round in shape, was pulled back against the entrance, and all was
darkness, save for one crevice an inch or two wide.
The Greek peered sharply through this, and then exclaimed in a low
whisper: "We are just in time. A party of Abyssinians are approaching
through the jungle in pursuit of the Galla fugitive.
"Hush!" he added; "don't make a sound; they are coming directly toward
the rock."