Under the Andes

's hysterical rashness: confusion, pandemoni

he lake, where he had halted. Desiree Le Mire stopped sh

edge. Her form straightened and was stretched to its fullest height; her white, superb body was distinctly outlined

sink within the column itself and in

long I know not. Then I turned and

ats of granite and advanced to the edge of the lake. Not a sound was heard-no co

nds. And weak and starving as we were, a single pa

lready upon him. His body swayed slightly from side to side, and he would h

s. Suddenly they dropped to their knees and extended their arms-I thought-toward us; but someth

s a deep alcove. At each side of the entrance was an urn resting on a ledge, si

of fire, so brilliant was the glow of the metal of which it was constructed. It cou

gh; and in the profound silence my voice rang from

thus, without a sound or movement; then suddenly he stretched forth his hand in a gesture of dismissal. They rose as one man and with silent swiftness disappeared, seemingly melting aw

front of us, which evidently led to the alcove above, came forth a crowd of rushing forms

ed in their long, hairy arms and were carried swiftly from the cave

vern, then a turn to the right, and again one to the left. There they dr

d them-and I knew what I wanted. As the brute that had been carrying me turned to go I ca

and gnawing at them energetically. This I alternated with the action of one drinking from a basin. I hadn't the

y and ascertain that he was at least alive, when the patter of returning footsteps

heaped, and a vessel, full!

Harry l

ish into fragments and fed it to him he devoured it ravenous

r many days, for the stuff had a sharp, concentrated taste that reco

oncho for a pillow. I had enough, assuredly, to keep me awake, but there are bounds beyond which nature cann

ours, for I felt considerably refreshed and very hungry. And thirsty; assuredly the provender o

he ground. As I had expected, I found another full platter and basin. I had ju

au

e, l

about Desiree. She was doing some crazy dance on top of a mountain

come, we'll talk later. Here's

I remember! And s

ver or delirium, and I

? Talk straight or shut up, and don't whine l

it, and it worked. There was a silenc

-if it were not for Desiree-but I'll swal

e and apologize. But that would have been

ow. And now you must eat and drink. Not much

over to him, and sat down by h

but he pressed my hand hopefully and gratefully when I expressed my belief that

find he

es

on

re I ob

ly helpless from our long fast. They would handle us li

and knees, then san

And of course they are watching us at

er was a groa

r the weary h

voice than to get an answer. We heard or saw nothing of our captors, for all our senses told us

sly reflecting on the character

by Hernando Pizarro and his horsemen nearly four hundred years before? Even then I wa

f the Andes for their vats of fire? And how did sufficient air for ten thousand pairs of lungs find its way m

ge more profound than my own. Easy enough to guess that the hidden deposits of the mountain had yielded oil which needed only a spark from

ntinual occurrence; underground streams are known which rise in the eastern Cordillera and emer

s. I have spoken before of the innumerable echoes and reverberations that followed every sound of the

age of speech, leading possibly to a complete loss of the faculty. I am satisfied that they we

discussion. His mind was anything but scientific, anyway; and he was completely obsessed by fear for the safety

for the descendants of Incas could scarcely be cannibals; but there are other fates equally final, if less distaste

eplenished and we kept the platter empty, storing what

essive taste. I tried to convey to one of our captors the idea that a change of

for two things besides the return of strength; first, to lay in a supply of food that would be sufficient f

food and water when they were fifteen or twenty feet away. But the cavern in which we were confined must have been a large one, f

on seemed useless; if the darkness had eyes that beheld us, doubly so. We strapped our

t was folly, of course, in the darkness-like trying to beat a gam

arm, and he nodded. We approached the wall, then turned to the right and proc

feet and seemingly melting away into the ground. At first I took it for a separate strata of rock, darker th

step or two toward the wall, gazed intently. Then I saw that the dark line was not a part of the

, silent, motionless; even when my laugh rang out through the cavern they gave not the slighte

e might have fought our way through; but we were unarme

finished my laugh. We sought our former resting-place, recognizing it by the plat

Harry

ogs. Nothing but frogs. Did you see 'em? The l

wered, "is th

t. I don't care what makes 'em smell. I only know they do-as Kipling says o

ld only se

ht? No. They'd smother us in a minute. Say, w

ne. An ugly little dev

's got the job. Di

y stuck out his ar

euce don't

, with many and various scientific d

eve you. Anyway, it's all a stupendous joke. In the first place, we sh

he king. And don't bother

to eat us, because there isn't enough to go around. And there is Desiree. What the deu

first, how are we goi

when we

t to show me that he had resolved not to "whine." Yet his cheerfulness was but partly a

ish and basin of water beside us. I estimated that some seventy-two hours had then p

fit; but I still felt some discomfort, caused partly by the knife-wound on my knee, which had not entirely

doned hope, and that the basis of our listlessness was despair; and surely not without reason. For what chance had we t

me I don't think I stated the case, even to myself, with such brutal frankness, but facts make their impression whether you invite them or not. But,

to the water-basin with touching sentiment; I gave him

as at the Midlothian. Bunk Stafford was there, and Billy Du Mont, and Fr

it in their sleep. And-what's this? Paul! Something's u

feet and stood by Har

utter silence. Dimly we could see their forms huddled together round us

y want?" I muttered. "Can't

Wasn't I right? '

that we were joking

o us, and one made gestures with a hairy arm, pointing to our rear. We turned and saw a narrow lane lined

us to march,

odd

last one. If we only had our kniv

comes to

with you

darted from behind and led the way. Not a hand had touched us, a

observed. "The approved method is to knock us dow

d, sonorous and ear-destroying, from the farther end. We had heard it once before; it was the same that

following our guide. Once I looked back and saw behind us the crowd

o hundred yards along the second passage when

led directly from the passage. It was steep, and the darkness allowed a glimpse only of black walls and

o the right. Just as we turned

a dozen followin

succeeded in breaking through, we could never have made our way back u

for us to stoop and proceed in single file. Our progress was slow; the

thered close in the rear, the guide made a curious upward movement

Harry with so genuine a tone of sar

ss, and then I saw a spiral stair ascending perpendicularly, apparently carved from the solid

thank you. The beggar m

the dusky forms that were ever pressing closer upon us

"It's no good pulling, Harry. Come on

n the first step o

r, but slowly. The stair was fearfully steep and n

rom above. With every step upward it became brighter, unt

ber that I counted a hundred and sixty steps-and then, as a glimmerin

most at a run. Then the end, and we stumbled out into a blaze of li

had seen it before, but

center of the lake; on the spot where De