THE FIRE-CHASM.
The fearful situation in which she now found herself was enough to
appal a stouter hear than that of Mary Manton.
Poor girl! after all the hardships she had undergone, to find herself
about to meet such a frightful doom, was, indeed, a trying ordeal for
her delicate nerves.
Shriek after shriek passing her lips, mingled with the hoarsest cries
of Captain Brand, and the triumphant screams of the savages, who,
their forms and faces lighted by the volcanic fire, might well have
been compared to the demons of the infernal regions!
Twenty times at least, as if to torture them by the fearful suspense,
the natives swung their victims before they made the final one to
throw them into the yawning chasm!
Meanwhile, Turk and his friend had started afresh, and were fast
scaling the sides of the cliff.
The mountain was now fairly reeling with the inner convulsions. The
lava had swollen on one side to a broad stream, rushing, hissing and
streaming down the side of the steep cliff.
In fact the two men as they mounted, were constantly obliged to dodge
to one side, to escape contact with some of the diverging rivulets.
On they went, now tottering on the verge of some deep gorge, and now
scaling a narrow passage between enormous rocks, which reeled as if
about to fall upon and crush them.
Meanwhile the air was full of strange noises.
Hissing, roaring and booming, the report of bursting deluges of fire
came out from the bosom of the mountain.
The fire spread fast--the sky itself seemed aflame with the warning of
impending destruction.
"This is sartinly the most excitin' moment in my life," said Turk, who
now gasped at every step. "I'm afraid that even when we git up to the
summit where that poor gal is, there won't be any strength left in my
bones to help the poor creature!"
"Come on!" answered Harry, in ringing tones. "On! on!"
And on they went, scaling the burning mountain with almost incredible
speed.
At one time the view of the forms upon the summit was hidden by an
intruding rock.
"Do you see her, now?" Harry anxiously inquired.
"No!" answered Turk, as he vainly endeavored to catch a glimpse of the
fire-lighted forms.
"Alas! It was a bad day for poor Mary, when she set out in search of
her lost father," exclaimed Harry; "poor girl! brave girl!"
"Ay, and a wild-goose chase, it has proved so far, and will prove a
wild-gooser before its over."
Continuing on, the two men finally came to a point, where two paths,
diverging between high rocks, met their gaze.
They were undecided which of these to take.
"My God! the girl will meet her fate, before we can get to her!"
exclaimed Harry, as he dashed into the path on the right. "Come on,
Turk! This path ascends and must be the right one, as the other seems
to incline!"
Turk shook his head.
"P'raps you're right, and p'raps not!" he said. "If it hadn't been for
them lava-streams, we might have kept straight ahead, and been at the
end of our cruise in more senses than one, before the present moment."
The two kept on, but the further they went, the more puzzled they
became, as the path they pursued soon led them among a perfect
labyrinth of rocks, some of them overarched so that, with the
exception of a lurid gleam of light, here and there, they were left in
total darkness.
The labyrinth became more difficult.
Tangled bushes, vines, shrubs, and the roots of decayed trees impeded
their way every moment.
Meanwhile the agony of the young man, searching hither and thither for
some way out of his difficulty, was terrible. The sweat came out upon
his brow, his veins seemed on fire with feverish excitement.
He knew all the time he was thus searching that Mary's doom must soon
be sealed, if already she had not been hurled into the whirlpool of
fire!
Turk also vainly exerted himself; but the more the two endeavored
to find a way out of the labyrinth, the more hopelessly they became
entangled.
At length they found themselves at the mouth of a cavern. The floor
of this cave seemed to extend downward, while far ahead of them, they
beheld the fiery gleam of the volcano.
"This is our way," shouted Turk. "Come, lad, come!"
He dove into the cavern, followed by his friend, both believing that
when they should arrive at the terminus of this sloping tunnel, they
would find a way to the top of the cliff!
Encouraged by this hope, Harry sped on with a swiftness, which soon
carried him far beyond his friend.
In a few minutes he had gained the further end of the cavern, when
Turk heard his wild despairing cry ringing out like that of a wounded
wolf.
In a moment he was by the young man, who pointed upward.
When Turk also perceived that they had made their way to this point,
only to be aggravated by another sight of the tatooed forms of the
savages and their intended victims, so far above them that they could
not hope to reach the spot.
In fact they now found themselves in one of those deep gorges, whose
sides were too steep to be ascended, but which commanded a view of the
raging fire.
Yes, there was the girl and Brand, still being swung hither and
thither that their torments might yet be prolonged.
The sight almost drove Harry mad. He clenched his fists, and
compressed his lips, as if, by the exertion of a strong will alone, he
hoped to prevent the accomplishment of the fearful deed.
As to Turk, he danced about in his excitement performing a sort of
fantastic hornpipe, while all the time the tears streamed down his
wrinkled cheeks.
"Ay, ay," he moaned, "it is too bad. If I could lay down my life a
thousand times for that poor gal, God knows I would willingly do it."
The scream of the imperiled one now rang down the cliff penetrating
the hearts of the two men like a knife.
"Good God!" cried Harry; "oh, Turk! Turk! let us see if we cannot yet
get to her, before the demons do their foul work."
The increased thunder of the volcano seemed to mock his voice. The air
and sky reddened by the lurid gleam, seemed filled with a crimson mist
rolling in clouds round the swaying forms, and shrouding them from
sight.
As Harry spoke, Turk pressed his forehead against the rocky side of
the gorge, while he pointed upward at the girl, whose hair, catching
the red gleam, seemed another shower of fire.
"No use, Harry. See, they are giving the last swing! I know by the
voice of that native who has jist howled out the order."
In fact so shrill and piercing and savage was the islander's cry that
its import could not well be mistaken.
Like the croaking shriek of a ravenous sea-bird, it came grating down
the sides of the rock.
"My God! there she goes!" screamed Harry; "Mary! Mary!"