The White Waterfall

it was Leith's voice that roused us in the morning. He showed no signs of resentment over the difference with

slept well?"

dreams of that place, and they

h," he replied, "and this sunshin

ch more composure than on the previous afternoon. Soma had the rope in readiness when we approached the edge, and together with another c

es first?"

d the rope with Kaipi and the other four carriers. We had decided that I should go down to the ledge to assist the two gir

l crevices in the rock I slipped over, feeling at the same time that peculiar sensation in the pit of the stomach that one gets when an elevator drops about six floors at a fast gait. I was pe

nch of skin seemed to be yelling out the information to my brain, but I kept my chin up, and tried to ignore the

g off spot with the evident intention of remaining there to assist the two girls when they were lowered down. The post was one that Holman had assigned to me as we talked the matter over on t

my movement, and he waved his ha

coming,"

at

at moment I forgot the pit in my anxiety to reac

d Leith. "I will see to

his angry glare. "I'm going to do that," I cried

nal centre was immediately beneath the flabby cheeks, and he cursed in an undertone as Edith Herndon

across the short but dangerous ledge of rock that led to the opening in the wall. I felt strong enough to fight a dozen devils like Leith at that moment. The trusting manner in which the

islanders, who scrambled over the ledge with that utter disregard for safety noticeable in the actions of the unimaginative savage. Holman's face seemed to have altered during the preceding thirty minutes. The ready smile, which I had fir

had discovered that the Professor placed a monetary value upon his information regarding the long-dead p

his party," he cried.

cil. He had a scent for copy that a

t, Soma?" h

inned the Kanaka. "Wiza

id the wiza

good men either. Big hole just for bad people. That what witc

aper, and Holman looked back at the black depth

are exceptions to every rule, and I suppose an occasional bad egg es

upon him. Barbara Herndon gave a little hysterical laugh, and the Professor stopped writing an

he inquired. "

word of the wizard men might not be infallible, and lest we have some one who ran the gau

hat appeared to be a deep, wide valley in the centre of the island. The basalt cliffs surrounded the place on every side, and although we had great doubts regarding Leith's veracity, we felt inclined to accept his word that the path by which we had come was the only one by which we could

s back as we climbed the slope to the Vermilion Pit. Like green serpents they covered the treetops, and as we struck forward in the same order as we had marched on the first day the solemnity of the pla

rbara Herndon to laugh with all the spontaneity that was noticeable upon The Waif. The effect of that ripple of laughter was startling. The sound rebounded from the rocky cliffs, cannoned against the barriers opposite, and then bounced b

d Leith. "The cliffs throw back t

s spot," murmured Barbara Herndon

le the constant popping of the green pods of the nupu, the sounds resembling nothing so much as the groans of a person in extreme pain, did not have a cheering effect upon the party. The Professor was the only one who seemed to be actually enjoying h

ian lore and the relics which he would collect. With Spartan fortitude he would not allow the expedition to halt for one moment w

e midday, and, with one eye upon Soma and t

friend of

u know?" I

t," he murmured. "Me make believe sleep

revenge for Toni's death. You watch Soma and the others, and when the time comes you c

esire to get revenge for his "all same brother's death" was something that might be to o

ce again there was the look of pathetic helplessness upon the faces of the two girls. During the luncheon Holman and I endeavoured to make conversation, but the thoughts of both were upon their surr

ring the early afternoon. Leith suggested that Edith Herndon should walk beside him so that he might assist her over the rough parts of the way, and in the conversation that ensued the youngster asserted that the girl was in better company when she was wa

way back to the outer world, was continually in my mind. The knowledge that the velvety polish upon the block of porphyry was brought there by the hands of thousands who had once peopled the island or visited it from the

n the Tongan and Cook groups, and which have puzzled explorers who have sought in vain to find a reason for their c

those who raised the wonders in the land of the Nile. The four supporting piers of stone were about four feet square and fully fifteen feet in height, while the immense flat rock that was laid upon them was more than twelve feet in length and breadth, with a six-foot thicknes

in a whisper that Soma could probably outpoint the Professor if it came to an array of facts concerning the probable uses of the gigantic table, and when I glanced at the Kanaka, as he stopped to listen to the