AMAZING DISCOVERIES
A dozen leaps and I reached the wall of rock beyond which all retreat
was cut off. Close at hand was an outjutting buttress, and thinking
that back of this I might hide and thus prolong my life, I raced for
it.
Panting, unseeing, I reached the projection, ducked behind it, and to
my amazement and unspeakable delight, found myself in a narrow canyon
or defile, like a huge cleft in the face of the precipice.
Here was safety for a time. The terrible man-eating trees could not
enter, and striving only to put a greater distance between myself and
the vegetable demons I never slackened my pace as I turned and sped up
the canyon.
Narrower and narrower it became. Far above my head the rocky walls
leaned inward, shutting out the light until soon it was so dim and
shadowy that, through sheer necessity, I was forced to stop running
and to pick my way carefully over the masses of rock that strewed the
canyon’s floor. Presently only a narrow ribbon of sky was visible
between the towering walls of the pass. Then this was blotted out and
I found myself in the inky blackness of a tunnel—an ancient
watercourse—leading into the very bowels of the mountain.
But there was no use in hesitating. Anything was preferable to the
cannibal trees, and groping my way I pressed on. Winding and twisting,
turning sharply, the passageway led, ever ascending steeply and taxing
my exhausted muscles and overwrought system to the utmost. Then, far
ahead, I heard the faint sound of dripping, falling water and with joy
at thought of burying my aching head in the cold liquid, and of easing
my parched, dry throat, I hurried, stumbling, through the tunnel.
At last, I saw a glimmer of light in the distance and in it the
sparkle of the water. Before me was the end of the tunnel and sunlight
and with a final spurt of speed I rushed towards it. Then, just as I
gained the opening, and so suddenly and unexpectedly that he seemed to
materialize from thin air, a man rose before me.
Unable to check my speed, too thunderstruck at the apparition to halt,
I dashed full into him and together we rolled head over heels upon the
ground.
I have said he was a man. But even in that brief second that I
glimpsed him, before I bowled him over, I realized that he was unlike
any man I or anyone else had ever seen. Barely three feet in height,
squat, with enormous head and shoulders, he stood shakily upon the
tiniest of bandy legs and half supported his weight by his enormously
long muscular arms. Had it not been that he was partly clothed and
that his face was hairless, I should have thought him an ape. And now,
as I picked myself up and stared at him, my jaws gaped in utter
amazement. The fellow was running from me at top speed upon his hands,
his feet waving and swaying in the air!
So utterly dumbfounded was I at the sight that I stood there silently
gazing after the strange being until he vanished behind a clump of
bushes. Then as it dawned upon me that no doubt there were others
near, and, that as he had shown no sign of hostility, they were likely
peaceable, I hurried after him.
A narrow trail led through the brush and running along this I burst
from the shrubbery and came to an abrupt halt, utterly astounded at
the sight which met my eyes. I was standing at the verge of a little
rise beyond which stretched an almost circular, level plain several
miles in diameter. Massed upon this in long rows, compact groups and
huge squares, were hundreds of low, flat-roofed, stone buildings,
while upon a smooth green plot at a little distance, stood a massive
truncated pyramid.
Unwittingly I had reached my goal. Before me was the lost city of
Darien. Hazen had been right!
But it was not this thought nor the strange city and its buildings
that held my fascinated gaze, but the people. Everywhere they swarmed.
Upon the streets, the housetops, even on the open land of the plain,
they crowded and each and every one an exact counterpart of the one
with whom I had collided at the mouth of the tunnel. And, like him
too, all were walking or running upon their hands with their feet in
air!
All this I saw in the space of a few seconds. Then, to add to my
astonishment, I saw that many of the impossible beings actually were
carrying burdens in their upraised feet! Some bore baskets, others
jars or pots, others bundles, while one group that was approaching in
my direction, held bows and arrows in their toes, and held them most
menacingly at that!
It was evident that I had been seen. The excitement of the beings,
their gestures and the manner in which they peered towards me from
between their arms, left no doubt of it, while the threatening
defensive attitude of the bowmen proved that they were ready to attack
or defend at a moment’s notice.
No doubt, to them, my appearance was as remarkable, as inexplicable
and as amazing as they were to me. The greater portion were evidently
filled with terror and scurried into their houses, yet many still
stood their ground, while a few were so overcome with curiosity and
surprise that they dropped feet to earth and rested right side up in
order to stare at me more intently.
I realized that it behooved me to do something. To stand there
motionless and speechless, gazing at the strange folk while they
stared back, would accomplish nothing. But what to do, what move to
make? That was a serious question. If I attempted to approach them a
shower of arrows might well end my career and my investigations of the
place then and there. It was equally useless to retrace my steps, even
had I been so minded, for only certain death lay back of me. By some
means I must win the confidence or friendship of these outlandish
beings if only temporarily. A thousand ideas flashed through my mind.
If only Hazen would appear the creatures of the city might think I had
dropped from the sky and so look upon me as a supernatural being. But
it was hopeless to expect such a coincidence or to look for him. I had
told him to fly over on the tenth day and this was only the seventh.
If only I had retained my revolver the discharge of the weapon might
frighten them into thinking me a god. But my firearms lay somewhere in
the demon forest. I had heard no sounds of voices, no shouting, and I
wondered if the beings were dumb. Maybe, I thought, if I should
speak—should yell—I might impress them. But, on the other hand, the
sound of my voice might break the spell and cause them to attack me. A
single mistake, the slightest false move, might seal my doom. I was in
a terrible quandary. All my former experiences with savage unknown
tribes passed through my mind, and I strove to think of some incident,
some little event, which had saved the day in the past and might be
put to good use now.
And as I thus pondered I unconsciously reached in my pocket for my
pipe, filled it with tobacco and placing it between my lips, struck a
match and puffed forth a cloud of smoke. Instantly, from the weird
creatures, a low, wailing, sibilant sound arose. The archers dropped
their bows and arrows and, with one accord, the people threw
themselves grovelling on the ground. Unintentionally I had solved the
problem. To these beings I was a fire-breathing, awful god!
Realizing this, knowing that when dealing with primitive races full of
superstitions one must instantly follow up an advantage, I hesitated
no longer. Puffing lustily at my pipe I strode forward and approached
the nearest prostrate group. Motionless they buried their faces in the
dust, bodies pressed to earth, not daring to look up or even steal a
surreptitious glance at the terrible, smoke-belching being who towered
over them. Never had I seen such a demonstration of abject fear, such
utter debasement. It really was pitiful to see them, to view their
trembling, panting bodies quivering with nameless terror; terror so
great they dared not flee, even though they knew by my footsteps that
I was among them, and feared that at any moment an awful doom might
descend upon them.
But their very fright defeated my purpose. I had won safety and even
adoration perhaps, but there could be no amity, no intercourse, no
means of mingling with them, of securing food, of learning anything if
they were to remain cowering on the ground. By some means I must win a
measure of their confidence, I must prove that I was a friendly
beneficent deity and yet I must still be able to impress them with my
powers and control them through fear.
It was a delicate matter to accomplish, but it had to be done. Almost
at my feet lay one of the archers—a leader or chieftain I thought from
the feather ornaments he wore—and stooping, I lifted him gently. At my
touch he fairly palpitated with terror, but no frightened scream, no
sound save an indrawn snake-like hiss, escaped his lips, and he
offered no resistance as I lifted him to a kneeling position.
Hitherto I had had no opportunity to obtain a good view of these
people, but now I saw this fellow close at hand I was amazed at his
repulsive ugliness. I have seen some rather ugly races, but all of
them combined and multiplied a hundredfold would be beauties compared
to these dwarfed, topsy-turvy, denizens of the lost city. Almost
black, low browed, with tiny, shifty eyes like those of a reptile,
with enormous, thick lipped mouths, sharp, fang-like teeth and matted
hair, the bowman seemed far more like an ape than like a human being.
And then I noticed a most curious thing. He had no ears! Where they
should have been were merely round, bare spots covered with light
colored thin membrane like the ears of a frog. For an instant I
thought it a malformation or an injury. But as I glanced at the others
I saw that all were the same. Not one possessed a human ear! All this
I took in as I lifted the fellow up. Then as he tremblingly raised his
head and eyed me I spoke to him, trying to make my tones gentle and
reassuring. But there was no response, no sign of intelligence or
understanding in his dull, frightened eyes. There was nothing to do
but to fall back on sign language and rapidly I gestured, striving to
convey to him that I would do no injury or harm, that I was friendly
and that I wished the people to rise.
Slowly a look of comprehension dawned upon his ugly face and then, to
prove my friendship, I fished in my pocket, found a tiny mirror and
placed it in his hand. At the expression of utter astonishment that
overspread his ugly features as he looked in the glass I roared with
laughter. But the mirror won the day. Uttering sharp, strange, hissing
sounds, the fellow conveyed the news to his companions and slowly,
hesitatingly and with lingering fear still on their faces, the people
rose and gazed upon me with strangely mingled awe and curiosity.
Mainly they were men, but scattered among them were many who evidently
were women, although all were so uniformly repulsive in features that
it was difficult to distinguish the sexes. All too, were clad much
alike in single garments of bark-cloth resembling gunnysacks with
holes cut at the four corners for legs and arms and an opening for the
head.
But while there was no variation in the form or material of the
clothing yet some wore ornaments and others did not. Leg and arm bands
of woven fibre were common. Many of the men had decorations of bright
hued feathers attached to arms or legs or fastened about their waists
and many were elaborately tattooed. That such primitive dwarfed, ugly,
degenerate creatures could have built the city of stone houses, could
have laid out the broad paved streets and could have developed so much
of civilization, seemed incredible.
But I had little time to devote to such thoughts. The fellow I had
presented with the mirror was hissing at me like a serpent and by
signs was trying to indicate that I was to follow him. So, with the
crowd trailing behind us, we started up the road towards the centre of
the city.