Searching for the Ancient
"Not a lake," said Fekmah, shaking his head. "Only another mirage.
They are rather common all through this region, and we may see much
more short time."
"Well, if there was a real lake there beside that mirage, I wouldn't
know which to pick," confessed Joe. "And look! Even waves are there.
And foam caps!"
"Wonderful facsimile, all right," remarked Dr. Kirshner. "Old Nature
is capable of playing mighty big jokes on us sometimes."
For over a half-hour the illusion was visible to the explorers; then,
when they rounded a large pile of rocks, it could no longer be seen.
"And I'm glad," said Bob. "Now maybe I can get my mind away from
thinking only of water. It wasn't very pleasant to see what looked
like it and not be able to have it."
"When do we come to another oasis?" inquired Joe of Fekmah.
"Tishmak say within next fifty miles," was the response. "It be very
small, but there be much water to drink."
Late that evening they came to the foothills of the Ahaggars. Majestic
Mount Oudane was directly before them, and the whole Ahaggar range
appeared to be only a few miles away in the clear desert air.
They at last reached the small oasis among the many red boulders.
After filling their containers, they continued toward the mountains,
greatly refreshed and ready for action. But darkness was rapidly
falling, and it would be necessary to stop before long for the night.
Tishmak, however, thought it best to travel in the moonlight. The
others were more than willing to do this, for now that they were so
near their goal they hesitated to lose any precious time.
"We can go on for a while," said Mr. Lewis, as daylight rapidly faded.
"Then we'll turn in and get a few hours of sleep."
Soon it became dark, making it necessary to stop. But before long the
moon came out in full splendor, flooding the rocky vastness with
enchanting light. The distant needle-like peaks took on a strange
appearance, like mysterious towers of a fairyland.
The scene was unusual and slightly weird, resembling the rough surface
of the moon. For some time the Americans were silent, absorbed in
thought. Finally Bob roused himself.
"Those mountains seem rather intangible, or ghost-like," he remarked,
as he and Joe rode at the rear of the caravan.
Joe nodded.
"It's like we're the characters of an Arabian Nights story," he
muttered. "No vegetation, no life of any kind around anywhere. Gets
under my skin a little."
Through the early part of the night they rode ever on, on toward the
mysterious Ahaggars. One question stood out in the minds of all. What
did the future hold in store?
Finally Tishmak brought his dromedary to a halt beside a huge boulder.
He motioned for the others to follow suit.
"We'll stop here for the night," announced Fekmah, after conversing
with the guide. "But we must be up very early in morning and get on
way to mountains."
That night everyone slept soundly, anxious to refresh themselves
thoroughly for the tiresome march through the Ahaggars.
"Let's go," urged Joe, as he dressed the next morning at dawn. "We
can't get to those hidden riches any too soon for me."
Mr. Holton laughed unwillingly.
"Who ever heard of fast traveling in the mountains?" he asked. "If we
make ten or fifteen miles in a day we'll be lucky."
"There are stretches of smooth country, though," Dr. Kirshner put in.
"And when we get to the central plateau of the Ahaggars, it won't be
so hard to cover territory."
A breakfast of limited food but a bountiful supply of water was
prepared by Mr. Lewis, and then camp was broken.
In the early-morning light the peaks ahead looked pale purple, but,
said Fekmah, this color would gradually change to mauve and blue as
the sunlight became more radiant.
As they rounded a tall, red boulder, Tishmak suddenly halted his camel
and pointed to a little crevice between the rocks.
"Well, as I live!" murmured the archæologist in surprise.
"Camels--dead, mummified camels."
The beasts had evidently been dead a long time, for their skins were
extremely dry and cracked. The fierce desert sun had preserved their
bodies for an indefinite period.
"And look, they've got their mouths down to the ground, as if they
were searching for water," observed Joe.
"They were," affirmed Fekmah. "There once a well here, but it dried up
just before camels got to it."
"Perhaps they wandered for days searching for it, and then finally
found it--dry." Bob shuddered.
It was a pitiable sight, particularly to the Americans. They half
expected to come across the mummified body of some unfortunate
explorer who had died a tragic death from thirst.
"We must be doubly careful to have the containers filled with water,"
warned Mr. Holton. "This is a dangerous region, and disaster could
easily come upon our little expedition."
They trudged on in the rapidly rising temperature of the terrible sun,
keeping their eyes off the ground as much as possible to escape the
glare. They could easily have worn sun glasses, but hesitated to do so
because of the rather obstructed vision.
"What's this!" cried Dr. Kirshner, as they came to a huge rock that
was directly in their path.
"Some kind of an inscription, isn't it?" inquired Bob.
"It is that!" came the excited reply. "An ancient Libyan record,
perhaps of a noteworthy event that took place in this vicinity. If you
will give me a few minutes I'll copy this down. It may prove of great
interest in my future study of early Sahara peoples."
The others waited for the archæologist to transcribe the writing. It
proved very difficult to read offhand, but that a full translation
would eventually come to light was not in the least doubted by the
other Americans. In fact they had come to regard Dr. Kirshner as a
wonder among men of his profession.
At last he put the paper back in its place and made a sign to Tishmak
that he was ready to continue the journey.
"Now let's make time," said Bob anxiously. "We ought to get over a
good many more miles before time for the noon rest."
And they did. The country had not yet become rough enough to hinder
the progress of the dromedaries, even though huge boulders were strewn
about. By ten o'clock they had reached the base of the Plateau of the
Mouydir, a thousand-foot-high wall of solid stone.
"Tuaregs have many superstitious legends about this rock," said
Fekmah, after talking several minutes with Tishmak. "They believe evil
spirits up in great caves come down and kill travelers. They too think
sandstorms and whirlwinds are caused by spirits hiding up in large
cracks there."
"How interesting," said Dr. Kirshner, getting out his small portable
typewriter.
Bob and Joe had taken motion pictures along the journey, and now they
saw another opportunity to film a scenic wonder.
"I'd like for you to do a little acting," said Bob to Fekmah, as the
youth turned his camera in the direction of the mammoth wall of rock.
The Arab looked up in some surprise.
"I want you to point to the Plateau of Mouydir and talk to Dr.
Kirshner," the young man explained. "Tell him about the legend of the
Tuaregs. Meanwhile I'll be photographing you. Too bad this can't be a
talking picture. All right. Let's go."
Fekmah understood and smiled. Dr. Kirshner was also willing to assist
the young photographers in their work.
The Arab and the American engaged in conversation, while Bob took
movies of them pointing to the high rock. When it was finished, Bob
and Joe smiled in satisfaction.
"That's the kind of scenes we ought to have more of," Joe said.
"They're different from the usual monotony of 'shooting' the country
alone."
"Gives a sort of individuality, huh?" laughed Mr. Holton. "Well, any
time we can be of use to you, let us know."
Camp was made at the very base of the huge rock. Then the usual meal
was prepared.
"Use water sparingly," cautioned Mr. Lewis, as they sat down on the
cool sand in the shade of the tent. "Tishmak says we will not come to
another well till tomorrow afternoon."
"That's a long time to wait," said Dr. Kirshner gravely. "Can we make
what we have hold out?"
"We've got to," Joe's father returned. "We'll have to restrain from
taking any undue exercise in the heat of the sun."
"Hum-m!" Dr. Kirshner looked disappointed. "That seems to want to
spoil my plans for this afternoon."
"How's that?"
"I had intended to do a little exploring up on top of that wall of
stone."
There were exclamations of surprise and anxiety.
"What!" cried Mr. Lewis. "Why, you couldn't scale that steep cliff
with ladders and ropes!"
"Maybe not in some places," the archæologist smiled. "But I have
noticed that there are large fissures that would offer footholds with
comparative ease, and I'm going to chance it. There's no telling what
I may bring to light from up on that lofty rock."
There was a period of silence, finally broken by Bob.
"May Joe and I go with you?" he asked.
There were loud protests from the youths' fathers, who thought it
almost madness to attempt to climb the steep slope. But Dr. Kirshner
held up a hand for silence.
"Wait till we finish this meal and I'll show you a place where it
will be more or less easy to get to the top," he said.
"If it's there, I'd like to see it," came from Mr. Holton.
When the noon meal was over, the archæologist led them to a point
perhaps a quarter of a mile from the camp. He pointed up and smiled.
"Doesn't that look like an easy climb?" he asked. "Plenty of safe
footholds and cracks to grasp. I'm going up."
Bob and Joe put in a request to their fathers to accompany the
scientist and were finally given permission.
"But be careful," warned Mr. Lewis. "And don't wander too far away."
Dr. Kirshner led the way up the side of the cliff, followed by Joe and
Bob. The climb was in some places difficult and a little dangerous,
but they plodded surely up.
At last, panting and perspiring, they came to the last foothold and
pulled themselves up to the top. Then they turned to take in the view
below.
Cries of astonishment came from all at the wonderful panorama that
stretched out before them. Hundreds of feet down and to their right
was the camp, and a short distance away were Mr. Holton and Mr. Lewis.
The dromedaries were tethered beside a large rock near the cliff.
"I suppose Fekmah and Tishmak are in the tent," remarked the
scientist, scanning the landscape.
With the aid of his powerful binoculars the camp was made to appear
quite near, and the features of the naturalists were easily made out.
At last Dr. Kirshner turned about.
"A fine view," he said. "But let us not spend too much time here. I
want to explore the roof of this cliff."
The rocky surface was in most places flat, but there were a few huge
fissures that apparently extended far into the rock.
They had come to one unusually deep crack when Dr. Kirshner stopped
and slid down the steep side, desirous of seeing the unusual.
He reached the bottom some fifteen feet below, sending a score of
small rocks down the side of the crevice.
"What's there?" Joe called down, bending over the side.
"Nothing, I guess. There is---- Wait a minute!"
The next moment he was all excitement, having evidently come across
something on the side of the rock.
"Drawings!" he cried animatedly, pointing to the wall about him.
"Prehistoric drawings of--of elephants!"