Under the Andes

unded by an impenetrable wall of flame. There was no sensation of heat, owing, no doubt, to the immense heigh

ails began t

sly beheld. Round the walls of the immense circular caver

ve where the reflections from the blazing urns pierced its depths. And directly fac

-not the diminutive, misshap

ficent waves; a stiffly flowing garment of some unknown texture covered her limbs and the lower pa

tful distance, were ranged attendants and guards-a hundred or more, for the alcove was of an impressive size. The light

a single flash, an

e! This is Desiree's gam

deuce is she

ed my sh

another king. You know

or Heave

introduction to court. This is what they call 'the dizzy heights of

of reeds and leather, light and flexible, from the top bar of which hung suspended several rope-like ribbons, of various l

ity of our captors and their king. For these bundles of knot

able mnemonic system of communication and historical record. A

had latterly confined my studies exclusively to Eastern archeology, and what I had known of the two great autochthonous civilizati

ed, narrative, et cetera. Then the particulars came to me, and immediately I recognized the formula

ipos! I turned to him, but there was not time for t

aces. It was then that I noticed, for the first time, an oval or elliptical plate of

he "unknown god" in the Inca religion. Well, I would as

and the Incas remained motionless on their faces. Then h

bothered his kingship not at all; it was probably a most agreeable sensation to feel her soft, white flesh under his black, hairy hand, and he kept it there, while

o time to be lost; I stepped to the edge of the column and spoke in a voice loud e

d; black, death. The lengths of the cords and the number of knots indicate the degree of punishment or reward. Att

king himself, appeared to pay the slightest attention t

fe which she found there suspended by a cord. There she hesitated, with

sed a cold shudder to flutter through my body. Not of fear; it was the utter surprise of the thing-its

stale old world was to have another justification. I repeat that I was astounded, take

eath. She saw that I understood and she smiled-what a smile! It was triu

hough uncertainly, then closed f

nd with the speed of lightning.

sir

eld the knife fell to her side

d. "Take two-the white f

gain raised the knife; a

" I weighted my voice with contempt. "Le Mi

t she

onsieur!" she cried, a

ornfully. "The advantage is yours,

od motionless. Not a sound came from the audience. I felt Harry pulling at

ly she

. I take no advantage. Leave i

er than nothing. I took a silver peseta from my pocket-by lu

" cried

he top of the column and stopped at the very edg

of horror. He, too, had seen the verdict; but he was moved not by that, but b

and reproach. I could not avoid the reflection that but for Desiree we would never hav

in, ma

and I laughed scornfully aloud, and held my head high; and I think a

h death, Le Mire. The coin fell he

was raising the knife. Suddenly she sto

purple for

n; the yellow, and again passed on. Then there was a flash of the knife-

ward us, she resumed her

mpletely theatrical. It was merely a tribute from one of nature's gamblers to the man who "playe

st impression on the rows of silent Incas. Not a movement was seen;

k the light from the flaming torches as though even t

le cord from the ground, and, after passing his hand over

d about and began to disappear. As before, the cavern was emptied in an incredi

re some three feet square. Evidently it had been closed behind us when we had ascended; we had had no time to notice it then.

. His back was toward me and I could not see his face; his eyes must have

ill se

, and we began th

s known to neither the Aztecs nor the Incas, in America; nor to any of the primitive European or Asiatic civilizations. But t

hat. It was not exactly circular; there were many angles, evidently following the

e twelve or fourteen. You may know we descended slowly and with care, especially when we had reached th

But when we reached the steps which led up to the passage above and to the cave wher

Harry. "Shall we

guests instead of captives, and far be it from us to outrage the laws of

nother proof, for dwarfs do not build for the accommodation of giants. But I had some faint idea of the pitiful inadequacy of their tools, and I found myself reflect

or more turns, first to the right, then to the left. I had been marking our w

w him. When we signified by gestures our desire to go slower he seemed

that it came through an opening in the wall to our left, which we were

urselves in an apartme

here were tables and rude seats, fashioned from the same prismatic stones which covered t

, dry, thick, and soft. The walls themselves were of the hardest granite, st

curiously about him. I turned to the door and looked down th

nds of the family," s

to Desir

at could she mean? Was it one of her jokes

who knows? Yes, it may have b

e of Desiree's desire for revenge on me, and i

examining our apartment meanwhi

from Huanuco four hundred years ago, or

t could make nothing of them. They resembled a carbon formation sometimes found in quartzite,

h were also unknown to me; they were of

pt to pry one of the bits of gold from

d and sa

table. She was clothed as she had been on the throne; a rope girdle held her single garment, and her hair fell across her sh

ound her; she barely submitted to the embrace, but she gave him her lips, then dr

I took the hands in my own and bent over t

I said with a smile. "This

y friend, I want to congratulate you on your sav

by pretending to play the black? I tell you, that was

f what had passed between us that evening in the camp on the mountain. Wherein she was

w you, Paul," she said

m her to me and back again. "For Heaven's sa

side on the granite couch; I stood in front of them, and there flitted across my memory a picture of that m

periences since her reckless dash into the "cave of the devil," and she was most obliging, even eager, fo

our own. She, too, had fallen down the

een violently thrown upon a ledge of rock. It was evident that this must have been long before the stream re

y hours. I remembered the sensations of Harry and myself, who were men, and together, and gave a

their burden. They had carried her as gently as possible, but had absolutely refused to allo

h?" I aske

t expressive grimace, and

how the whiteness of her skin and the beauty of her form and face had awakened the keenest admiration in the breast of that black and hairy monarch. He had sh

she refused details. She declared that nothing had happened; she had been f

with a smile. "I was, then, mist

dly witty. For a time I was amused,

el

e the question in your eye, friend Paul-I am content. If the world is behind me forever, s

astonishment; and I was

return. With all your cleverness, M. Paul, can you find the sunlight? To remai

You are nothing of the sort. I'll tell you one thing-Paul and I

y own mind, and obey no other." It is one of the most familiar card

ith an expression which one man should never show to another man. It

r and took her hands in his own. She attempted t

esiree?" he cried, and

siree ceased

rd a sound-the faint

urn

within the doorway, surveying the l