Light--more light, but still not enough to tell of what our treasure was
composed. If we had been at the mouth of the cave it would have been,
possible, but where we were the darkness was still thick darkness.
Twice I had impatiently gazed at the metal I had been fingering with all
a miser's avidity, when my attention was taken by an object upon a rock
close by where we had worked during the night--a toil that I had been
ready to declare a dream, time after time, but for the solid reality
beneath my hands.
Tom caught sight of the object at the same moment as myself; and
together, moved by the same impulse, we raced down, secured it, and then
ran panting back with a gloriously-worked but battered _golden_ cup,
that we had placed upon the rock above us, and which had thus escaped
our search.
The next minute we were gazing tremblingly back to see whether we had
been observed, for to lose now the wondrous treasure in our grasp seemed
unbearable.
But no--all was still; and, for my part, I could do nothing but pant
with excitement as the truth dawned more upon me with the coming day,
that I was by this one stroke immensely rich. The treasure was gold--
rich, ruddy gold, all save one of the great round shields, and that was
of massive silver, black almost as ink with tarnish; while its
fellow-shield--a sun, as I now saw, as I afterwards made out the other
to be a representation of the moon--was of the richer metal.
I was right, then--Garcia could be set at defiance, my uncle freed. But
it was all too good to be true; and that little If thrust itself into my
thoughts--that little If that has so much to do with our lives.
_If_ I could get the gold safely away!
My brow knit as I thought of this, and my hand closed involuntarily upon
the gun; but directly after I felt that we must bestir ourselves to pack
our treasure safely.
"Let us have something by way of breakfast, Tom," I said hastily, after
throwing my coat over the part of the treasure visible.
We ate as people eat whose thoughts are upon other things, till we were
roused by a whinnying from the interior of the cave, when Tom hastily
carried some maize to the mules so as to ensure their silence in case of
the Indians again approaching the place.
As far as I could make out from the obscurity where I was there was not
a trace of the sand having been disturbed--the water had removed it all;
but I trembled as I thought of the consequences of some Indian eye
having seen the golden vessel, for I knew that we should never have been
allowed to return alive.
My plans now were to spend a portion of the day in carefully packing our
treasure as compactly as possible, and then, when night had well fallen,
loading the mules and making the best of our way to the hacienda--easy
practicable plans apparently; but Fate declared that I had not yet
earned the wealth.
I said that Tom had gone to see about the mules, and for a few minutes I
was hesitating about the nearest bag to me--one which, from the feel,
contained a mixture of bars, plates, and cups, that I knew might be
packed in a quarter the space.
I looked to the mouth of the cave; all was sunshine there; but it was
dark where I stood, and feeling that if the task of packing was to be
done, the sooner it was set about the better, I seized the bag, drew out
a large and massive vessel, two or three plates that must have formed a
part of the covering of some barbaric altar, and was about to draw forth
more, when I heard a faint noise, and, turning, Tom sprang upon me with
a fierce look in his countenance, bore me down amongst the treasure, and
laid his hand upon my mouth. His whole weight was upon me, and he had
me in such a position that all struggling seemed vain; but with the
thought strong upon me that the temptation of the gold had been too much
for him, and that as some victim had evidently been sacrificed at its
burial I was to fall at its disinterring, I bowed myself up, and the
next moment should have endeavoured to throw him off, had not his lips
been applied to my ear and a few words been whispered which sent the
blood flowing, frightened, back to my heart, as the full extent of their
meaning came home.
"Mas'r Harry, don't move: you're watched!"
It was no time for speaking, and I was in such a position that I could
not see, while for quite a quarter of an hour we lay there motionless,
when, gliding aside, Tom made room for me to rise, pointing the while
towards the mouth of the cave, through which I could see, some distance
down the ravine, a couple of Indians curiously peering about, and more
than once stooping cautiously over the little stream which there ran,
half-hidden by rocks and undergrowth.
"They're looking to see if the water's muddy, Mas'r Harry," whispered
Tom. And then, directly after, "Creep back a little more behind the
rock here; they're coming this way again."
What! step back and leave the treasure? No, I felt that I could not do
that, but that I would sooner fight for it to the last gasp.
Tom was right, though. The Indians were coming nearer, disappearing at
length behind the rocks at the mouth as they came cautiously on; and I
lay down flat upon my face to watch for their appearance above the
barrier when they began to climb it, Tom retiring the while farther into
the cavern.
Two men, not such odds as need give us fear if we were compelled to
fight; for after the pains to attain the treasure, it seemed impossible
to resign it. My conscience would not teach me any wrong-doing in its
appropriation.
Ten minutes elapsed, and the Indians did not appear; but it was plain
enough that they knew of the treasure's existence, and watched over its
safety. But had they seen us come?
I thought not, as at last they came slowly up, looking from side to
side, as if in search of intruders; and my heart beat with a heavy
excited throb as I thought of the discovery, and the inevitable struggle
to follow. Who would be slain I wondered. Should I escape? And then I
shuddered as I pictured the bloodshed that might ensue.
And all this time nearer came the Indians, until they stood amongst the
blocks of stone, peering eagerly in, and shading their eyes to pierce
the darkness.
For a few minutes it seemed to me that they must see that the soil had
been disturbed, or else make out my crouching form; but it soon became
evident that they saw nothing--that the cavern presented no unusual
aspect. As far, too, as I could make out, there was an evident
unwillingness to enter, as if the place possessed some sanctity or dread
which kept them from passing its portals.
They seemed to be content with watching and listening; but would they
keep to that?
I thought not; for suddenly my breath came thickly, as I saw one of the
men make a sign or two to his companion, and then begin cautiously to
descend into the cavern; when, nerving myself for the struggle, I
stretched out my hand for my knife and pistols, determined to fight to
the death for that which I had won.
Cautiously, and in a peculiarly shrinking fashion, the Indian climbed
down, while his companion leaned anxiously forward. Then followed
moments of suspense that seemed hours, as the man who now stood beneath
the arch stretched forth both hands, as if invoking some power, uttered
a few words, and then stopped short, for his companion gave a loud
peculiar cry, and I saw that he was anxiously gazing down the ravine,
when the first Indian hurriedly joined him, and, together, they glided
silently away.
"That was a close shave, Mas'r Harry," said Tom, creeping softly
forward, gun in hand. "That poor chap didn't know what a risk he run of
being dead and buried. I had him covered with my gun the whole time;
and if he'd made at you with his knife, down he must have gone."
"I want the gold, Tom," I said hoarsely, "but no bloodshed."
"More don't I, Mas'r Harry," he replied; "so all they've got to do is to
leave us alone, and alone we'll leave them. Now, what's to be done
next?"
That was plain enough, and needed no answering. The treasure had to be
carefully packed; and together we worked hard, fitting the plates, bars,
and tile-shaped pieces together in the bags, so that they should occupy
as little space as possible, binding together and covering the two great
discs, and then packing the vases and cups, the most awkward part of our
discovery; but at last we had all in the ample supply of coffee-bags Tom
had brought, and bound round and round with the cotton ropes which we
unravelled for the purpose.
I breathed more freely as one by one we carried our heavy,
awkward-looking packages into the part of the cave where the mules were,
and then laid them behind a rock in the dark vault, ready for the
night's journey.
"And now," said Tom, "we'd better take it in turns to have a good sleep,
the other keeping watch--for we shall be up all night again."
I turned round to Tom, to stare with astonishment at the man who could
talk so coolly about sleep with such a treasure beneath his charge. As
for me, my veins throbbed with the fever that coursed through them, and
I could not have closed my eyes for an instant till I had my treasure in
safety.
"Will you take first turn, Mas'r Harry?" said Tom, yawning.
"No," I said peevishly; "you can sleep if you wish to."
"Well, Mas'r Harry, I do wish to," said Tom; "and that ain't nowise
wonderful, when I was hard at work all lars night."
Tom made no more ado, but stretched himself out in the sandiest spot he
could find; and the next minute there could not be a doubt as to the
state he was in, for he snored loudly.
Judging from appearances, when I once more walked, gun in hand, towards
the mouth of the cave, it was about four o'clock, so that there were at
least five or six hours to pass before we could attempt our homeward
journey.
I did not dare to go far towards the mouth, lest there should be
watchers there; but picking out the best spot for observation, I stood
and gazed eagerly around, scanning every crag, tree, and bush within
range, in the search I made for enemies.
If I could only get the treasure safely to the hacienda, we could melt
it down there, and turn it into ingots handy for packing; when, with the
offer of ample for the purchase of a good farm, I could, perhaps,
persuade my uncle to return to England, or, if he preferred, he might
stay here.
Then I thought again whether it would be wisdom to attempt to carry off
the treasure by night, we two alone to guard it. I stood, hesitating,
thinking of how easy it it would be for the Indians to take us at a
disadvantage; of what an insecure place the plantation would be should
they discover that the treasure was gone; and at last I made up my mind
as to my course, and walked sharply back to where Tom was snoring.
Then, stooping down, I unfastened the package which contained the little
bars, took out fifty, and secured the package again; when I shook and
roused up Tom.