CHAPTER XV "Our Eyes have seen Great Wonders"

yreasontomeanuswell,shouldhavedrawnourattentiontoit.Butifitdoesgothroughandcomesoutatthecorrespondingpointontheotherside,weshouldnothavemorethanahundredfeettodescend." "Ahundredfeet!"grumbledSummerlee. "Well,ourropeisstillmorethanahundredfeetlong,"Icried."Surelywecouldgetdown." "HowabouttheIndiansinthecave?"Summerleeobjected. "TherearenoIndiansinanyofthecavesaboveourheads,"saidI."Theyareallusedasbarnsandstore-houses.Whyshouldwenotgoupnowatonceandspyouttheland?" Thereisadrybituminouswoodupontheplateau—aspeciesofaraucaria,accordingtoourbotanist—whichisalwaysusedbytheIndiansfortorches.Eachofuspickedupafaggotofthis,andwemadeourwayupweed-coveredstepstotheparticularcavewhichwasmarkedinthedrawing.Itwas,asIhadsaid,empty,saveforagreatnumberofenormousbats,whichflappedroundourheadsasweadvancedintoit.AswehadnodesiretodrawtheattentionoftheIndianstoourproceedings,westumbledalonginthedarkuntilwehadgoneroundseveralcurvesandpenetratedaconsiderabledistanceintothecavern.Then,atlast,welitourtorches.Itwasabeautifuldrytunnelwithsmoothgraywallscoveredwithnativesymbols,acurvedroofwhicharchedoverourheads,andwhiteglisteningsandbeneathourfeet.Wehurriedeagerlyalongituntil,withadeepgroanofbitterdisappointment,wewerebroughttoahalt.Asheerwallofrockhadappearedbeforeus,withnochinkthroughwhichamousecouldhaveslipped.Therewasnoescapeforusthere. Westoodwithbitterheartsstaringatthisunexpectedobstacle.Itwasnottheresultofanyconvulsion,asinthecaseoftheascendingtunnel.Theendwallwasexactlylikethesideones.Itwas,andhadalwaysbeen,acul-de-sac. "Nevermind,myfriends,"saidtheindomitableChallenger."Youhavestillmyfirmpromiseofaballoon." Summerleegroaned. "Canwebeinthewrongcave?"Isuggested. "Nouse,youngfellah,"saidLordJohn,withhisfingeronthechart."Seventeenfromtherightandsecondfromtheleft.Thisisthecavesureenough." Ilookedatthemarktowhichhisfingerpointed,andIgaveasuddencryofjoy. "IbelieveIhaveit!Followme!Followme!" Ihurriedbackalongthewaywehadcome,mytorchinmyhand."Here,"saidI,pointingtosomematchesupontheground,"iswherewelitup." "Exactly." "Well,itismarkedasaforkedcave,andinthedarknesswepassedtheforkbeforethetorcheswerelit.Ontherightsideaswegooutweshouldfindthelongerarm." ItwasasIhadsaid.Wehadnotgonethirtyyardsbeforeagreatblackopeningloomedinthewall.Weturnedintoittofindthatwewereinamuchlargerpassagethanbefore.Alongitwehurriedinbreathlessimpatienceformanyhundredsofyards.Then,suddenly,intheblackdarknessofthearchinfrontofuswesawagleamofdarkredlight.Westaredinamazement.Asheetofsteadyflameseemedtocrossthepassageandtobarourway.Wehastenedtowardsit.Nosound,noheat,nomovementcamefromit,butstillthegreatluminouscurtainglowedbeforeus,silveringallthecaveandturningthesandtopowderedjewels,untilaswedrewcloseritdiscoveredacircularedge. "Themoon,byGeorge!"criedLordJohn."Wearethrough,boys!Wearethrough!" Itwasindeedthefullmoonwhichshonestraightdowntheaperturewhichopeneduponthecliffs.Itwasasmallrift,notlargerthanawindow,butitwasenoughforallourpurposes.Aswecranedournecksthroughitwecouldseethatthedescentwasnotaverydifficultone,andthatthelevelgroundwasnoverygreatwaybelowus.Itwasnowonderthatfrombelowwehadnotobservedtheplace,asthecliffscurvedoverheadandanascentatthespotwouldhaveseemedsoimpossibleastodiscouragecloseinspection.Wesatisfiedourselvesthatwiththehelpofourropewecouldfindourwaydown,andthenreturned,rejoicing,toourcamptomakeourpreparationsforthenextevening. Whatwedidwehadtodoquicklyandsecretly,sinceevenatthislasthourtheIndiansmightholdusback.Ourstoreswewouldleavebehindus,saveonlyourgunsandcartridges.ButChallengerhadsomeunwieldystuffwhichheardentlydesiredtotakewithhim,andoneparticularpackage,ofwhichImaynotspeak,whichgaveusmorelaborthanany.Slowlythedaypassed,butwhenthedarknessfellwewerereadyforourdeparture.Withmuchlaborwegotourthingsupthesteps,andthen,lookingback,tookonelastlongsurveyofthatstrangeland,soonIfeartobevulgarized,thepreyofhunterandprospector,buttoeachofusadreamlandofglamourandromance,alandwherewehaddaredmuch,sufferedmuch,andlearnedmuch—OURland,asweshalleverfondlycallit.Alonguponourlefttheneighboringcaveseachthrewoutitsruddycheeryfirelightintothegloom.FromtheslopebelowusrosethevoicesoftheIndiansastheylaughedandsang.Beyondwasthelongsweepofthewoods,andinthecenter,shimmeringvaguelythroughthegloom,wasthegreatlake,themotherofstrangemonsters.Evenaswelookedahighwhickeringcry,thecallofsomeweirdanimal,rangclearoutofthedarkness.ItwastheveryvoiceofMapleWhiteLandbiddingusgood-bye.Weturnedandplungedintothecavewhichledtohome. Twohourslater,we,ourpackages,andallweowned,wereatthefootofthecliff.SaveforChallenger'sluggagewehadneveradifficulty.Leavingitallwherewedescended,westartedatonceforZambo'scamp.Intheearlymorningweapproachedit,butonlytofind,toouramazement,notonefirebutadozenupontheplain.Therescuepartyhadarrived.ThereweretwentyIndiansfromtheriver,withstakes,ropes,andallthatcouldbeusefulforbridgingthechasm.Atleastweshallhavenodifficultynowincarryingourpackages,whento-morrowwebegintomakeourwaybacktotheAmazon. Andso,inhumbleandthankfulmood,Iclosethisaccount.Oureyeshaveseengreatwondersandoursoulsarechastenedbywhatwehaveendured.Eachisinhisownwayabetteranddeeperman.ItmaybethatwhenwereachParaweshallstoptorefit.Ifwedo,thisletterwillbeamailahead.Ifnot,itwillreachLondonontheverydaythatIdo.Ineithercase,mydearMr.McArdle,Ihopeverysoontoshakeyoubythehand.