A STRANGE DISCOVERY.
Guy's explanation of his intentions was received without comment.
Presently the colonel said, "You forget that we no longer have a canoe,
Chutney. We are prisoners on this island."
"But we have a raft," replied Guy, "and a good one, too. It would be
much more convenient and comfortable to travel on."
"Suppose we try it," said Forbes. "Anything to get away from this
place."
"We can't get into a worse hole, that's true," added the colonel. "I
believe you are right about the current, Chutney, though it can only
land us on the edge of some whirlpool."
Sir Arthur was as eager as the rest to get away. He had passed through
so many horrors, he said, that he had become accustomed to them, and it
mattered little what the future held in store for him. The raft was dug
out from the sand and found to be in perfect condition. It was fastened
together with twisted withes of some flexible wood. It was no easy task
to get it into the water, but by all working together, and using the
guns and paddles as levers, it was finally pushed into the lake and
floated lightly on the surface.
The rugs, provisions, and what torches remained were carried on board,
and with a final look round the island to see that nothing of importance
had been forgotten, they quietly embarked, and Guy, with a shove of the
paddle, sent the raft out on the lake. The object of the journey they
hardly knew themselves. They were leaving behind them a spot associated
with dreaded memories, and that was all they cared to know.
"Don't do that," said Guy, as Canaris picked up a paddle and began to
use it vigorously. "We must drift entirely with the current."
The torch was placed securely in a crevice of the logs, and in a very
short time it was proved beyond a doubt that some current did exist. The
island faded slowly from view.
Still reluctant to face their situation they grouped together and
discussed various things. The Greek gave a long account of his curious
wanderings and adventures. Guy and Melton spoke of their thrilling
experiences in Burma only the previous year, and Colonel Carrington
entertained them with the tale of his participation in the bombardment
of Alexandria in '82.
So the hours passed on, and still they chatted of the outside world,
forgetting for the moment the hopelessness of their present situation,
the living tomb that had cut them off forever from the light of day.
"This reminds me of something I read a few months ago," said Sir Arthur,
who was facing the situation with surprising calmness. "Some person
mailed me from London _Blackwood's Monthly_ containing an installment of
a story by the fellow who wrote that deucedly clever book, 'King
Solomon's Wives.' Ah! what was the name now--aw, yes, Haggard--Rider
Haggard----"
"Beg pardon, Sir Arthur," interrupted the colonel, "but the title was
'King Solomon's Mines,' not his wives."
"Aw, that so, Carrington? Very well; doesn't make much difference.
However, the hero of the story was traveling, as we are, on a lake, only
it was in the open air, and the outlet was slightly beneath the surface.
The water ran under a high wall of rock, and sucked the poor fellows and
the canoe under. It would be funny if this lake had the same sort of an
arrangement."
"Well, it hasn't," replied the colonel. "We went all around the walls in
a canoe, and if any such place as that had been in existence we would
not be here now, that's all."
"No, I suppose not," said Sir Arthur. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me
if anything turns up, will you?" And making a pillow of one of the
rugs, he was soon snoring.
"It will be a mercy if he never wakes," said Chutney in a husky voice.
"Not much danger of that, however. We have food enough to last us a
couple of weeks yet, and unless we take your suggestion, colonel, and
toss it into the lake, we are good for that length of time, I suppose."
"Yes," rejoined the colonel, "unless we get sucked into a whirlpool or
the serpents attack the raft in force."
After that nothing was said for an hour or more. Their fate stared them
in the face with all its awful realism.
But even under these circumstances they grew drowsy, and dropped off one
by one among the rugs, except Guy, who declared his intention to stay
awake and be on the lookout for any danger that might threaten.
His was a solemn and lonely vigil. He envied his companions their power
to sleep, as the canoe drifted on through the gloom. The torch burned
slowly out, and he replaced it with a fresh one. His loaded rifle lay
within reach, but nothing happened to arouse his fear.
Sad and bitter were the reflections that surged into his mind. As the
events of his life rose up before him with wonderful clearness time
passed unheeded, and at last his brain grew weary, and rolling over on
the rugs he fell instantly into a deep slumber.
Strangely enough he was the first to awake. He had slept a long while,
he saw at a glance, for the torch was burnt almost to a cinder. The rest
were still sleeping.
"We must have been drifting for at least twelve hours," he said half
aloud. "We should be across the lake by this time."
He picked up a fresh torch and lit it from the expiring flame of the
other. As he stuck it in the crevice the glare suddenly revealed a wall
of rock a few yards distant, and in a very short time the raft struck
the shore with a harsh rattle that proved the impulse of the current
beyond a doubt.
The concussion failed to rouse the sleepers, and Guy was hesitating
whether he ought to do so or not when a faint sound came indistinctly to
his ear.
At first he could scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses. He
fancied it must be a delusion, a buzzing in his ears. The strangest part
of it was that the sound actually resembled running water.
He listened a while longer, and then quietly woke the Greek, who sat up,
rubbing his eyes.
"Canaris," he whispered, "do you hear anything?"
An interval of silence followed, inexpressibly painful to Guy, and then
the Greek cried excitedly, "Yes, I hear running water. It comes from the
other side of the cliff."
"Then I am not mistaken," was Guy's joyful exclamation. "We both hear
it. It can be no delusion."
Then his heart sank as he thought of the wall of rock before them.
"It is the outlet of the river," he said bitterly, "only a few yards
distant, and it might as well be a thousand miles."
Remembering what Sir Arthur had told them, he looked anxiously at the
surface of the lake, but the water was calm and quiet, and the raft hung
motionless.
"The outlet is far beneath the surface," said Canaris. "You can tell
that by the sound. If it were near the top we would be instantly sucked
under."
Impelled by an irresistible impulse Guy seized the torch and held it
above his head.
"Look! Look!" he cried, in a voice that trembled with excitement. "The
cliff slants at an angle. There are crevices to hold one's hands and
feet. Make no noise, Canaris; don't wake the rest, but help me to reach
that ledge yonder and I will see where this leads."
The cliff slanted indeed, but at an almost imperceptible angle. The raft
tilted slightly as Canaris pushed Guy up the face of the rock, but the
latter succeeded in reaching a small ledge six feet above the water.
"All right," he whispered. "I can see plenty of places to catch hold of
beyond me. Now fasten a torch to one of the paddles, Canaris, and hold
it as high as you can."
This was a clever suggestion. The Greek fortunately had a bit of cord
about him, and in a moment the torch was throwing a dull light far up
the rugged slope of the rock.
Guy continued to climb higher and higher, keeping a cool head in spite
of his excitement, and testing well each crevice or projecting ledge
before trusting his weight to it, and at last, with a throb of joy that
nearly took his strength away, he pulled himself out upon the flat
summit of the rock.
Seventy feet below him was the raft and its occupants, glowing in the
torchlight. Guy crawled forward on his hands and knees, and soon reached
the verge of the rock on the other side. The running water was below
him, much farther, indeed, than the level of the lake, but the roar of
the torrent was loud and distinct to the ear.
He turned and crawled back.
"Canaris," he whispered down, "I have reached the top of the cliff.
There is running water on the other side. Waken the rest as quickly as
possible, and send some one up with a torch. I forgot to bring one with
me."