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"Nor is it clear even in my mind," she admitted, evidently relieved by
the change of topic, "because I do not know the ending of a certain
passage underground. Yet I have a plan. Behind the curtain, yonder, a
concealed opening leads downward into an underground gallery. I have
ventured to explore it for only a brief distance, but trust it may end
under the open sky. At least our only hope is that you may discover
some such ending. If not, you can only return to me, and we wilt seek
other means for escape, if, indeed, there are any."

"I am to understand you do not flee with me?"

She shook her head gravely, her cheeks flushed, her dark eyes lowered.

"No; I deem such move not best after those words the Queen spoke to you
last night," she answered simply. "Besides, our best efforts at escape
would be futile should she suspect you have not perished where she
entombed you. I am safe here, for the present at least, while you can
accomplish much more for all of us if she believes you dead and takes
no precautions to guard against you."

I could scarcely bear the thought of her remaining in the power of that
half-savage creature, who wielded such despotic power over her wild
tribesmen. Inspired by fear of the result I begged reconsideration,
urging her to accompany me in flight; but she was firm in refusal.

"No; urge it no longer, good friend. I know you speak from the heart,
yet it is not best. You cannot know to what depths of peril, or
disappointment, this passage may lead, while, by remaining behind, I
can help to hide your trail, and possibly open to you some way of
retreat. But hush!" She held up her hand. "It is the Queen
returning; neither of us must be discovered here."

I took a step forward, gaining undisputed possession of the uplifted
palm.

"I depart at your wish, Madame," I said brokenly; "but may the merciful
God bring us to each other again."

For a breathless instant, even while the sounds without drew nearer,
her eyes looked confidingly into mine.

"All must be as God wills," she replied gravely. "Here or hereafter,
Geoffrey Benteen, I believe it shall be. Until then, continue to prove
the same true man you have ever been, doubting not the trust of her who
now bids you speed."

There were voices lightly conversing at the entrance, and I
distinguished clearly the senseless laughter of De Noyan. Lower I bent
above the white hand reposing in my rough grasp, until my lips pressed
the soft flesh; nor was it withdrawn from the caress.

"Good-bye, Eloise," I whispered, and, sweeping aside the heavy folds of
curtain, vanished from her sight.




CHAPTER XXX

UNDERGROUND

A slight radiance found passage through the coarsely woven curtain,
proving sufficient, as my eyes became more accustomed to the gloom, to
reveal, rude steps excavated from the earth, leading down into lower
darkness. Pausing merely to assure myself that the meeting between
Naladi and Madame was outwardly courteous, while De Noyan seemed shamed
into silence by the presence of his wife, I began the descent, quickly
finding myself in an apartment, rounded in outline, not greatly
dissimilar to that other from which I had been so lately rescued.
This, however, was smaller, the floor littered with various articles,
the nature of which I found it difficult to determine in such dim
light. Nor did I pause for close inspection, but, so soon as search
revealed an opening into a narrow passageway beyond, I pressed forward
amid dense gloom, feeling my way, fearful lest I meet some pitfall. It
was a low, contracted gallery, so extremely irregular in excavation
that I sometimes stood erect, unable to reach the roof with extended
fingers, yet a moment later was compelled to creep on hands and knees
in order to progress at all. Had it led through solid rock I should
have accepted this as evidence of natural origin, but sides, floor, and
roof were of earth, while every few feet, rendering progress uncertain
and perilous, were huge posts of wood, usually roughly hewn tree
trunks, each topped by a flat piece of stone, supporting the sagging
roof.

Altogether it was a surprising excavation, exhibiting some degree of
engineering skill on the part of these savages. I wondered whether the
conception originated within the brain of their alien Queen, or was
another of the unique inheritances of their race. Perhaps I may be
permitted to add here some information which reached me later, that
abundant evidences of the existence of similar passages have been noted
elsewhere in the old homes of this people beside the Mississippi.
While at Petite Rocher River, I met lately a Jesuit, who had travelled
widely and read many books, and he gravely assured me that in the vast
cities of the Aztecs, far to the south in Mexico, their temples and
palaces were connected by means of such long, secret, covered ways.
Hence I incline to the belief that this excavation was largely the
labor of slaves; for these Nahuacs had many such, some of negro, others
of Indian blood, and that the earth thus removed had been utilized in
constructing those mounds above, the entire method of building merely a
tradition from the past.

Let that be as it may, here the tunnel extended stretching its
snake-like course before me. Along it I carefully felt a passage,
nervously gripping the knife hilt, and vainly seeking to distinguish
definite outlines amid the darkness. My groping feet encountered
numerous obstructions along the path--here a pile of loosened earth
over which I plunged headlong, or a flat stone dropped by the rotting
away of its supporting prop, or some sharp declivity, as though softer
earth had yielded to rude implements; yet it became evident from the
start that the tunnel level rapidly descended, boring deeper and deeper
into the bosom of the earth. Finally, my fingers came into contact
with small fragments of rock strewing the side walls, and I
comprehended I must already be beneath the base of that rounded mound
upon the summit of which the house of Naladi stood. What worried me
most was to what end this tunnel was made. Such vast labor had surely
never been performed without adequate purpose. Besides, completed, the
passage was well cared for. I met frequently in my blind groping with
evidences of comparatively recent labor. Yet for what purpose was it
designed? Where did it lead? To my bewildered judgment the general
trend appeared northward; but that would carry it directly across the
broadest portion of the upper basin. To have an unconcealed entrance
in the centre of that unprotected, open plain would be foreign to
savage nature; while to imagine that such a tunnel as this, from which
a vast amount of earth had been borne upon the backs of workmen, could
extend below the full extent of that valley, was beyond conception.
Besides, the air was light and pure, as sweet to inhale as if it blew
directly upon me from the open sky; itself proof positive that some
opening could not be far distant.

Thus questioning, I groped slowly forward. To one accustomed to living
in the open there is something peculiarly oppressive in being cooped
within the confines of such narrow entries, and being compelled to
reflect upon the immense mass of rock and earth resting above, and
prevented from crushing him down into everlasting silence only by
insignificant props of wood, whose melancholy groaning in the darkness
bore evidence of the vast weight they upheld. There was nothing for me
but to struggle onward, although I do not claim that it was without
quaking heart, or many a start at odd noises echoing and re-echoing
along that grim gallery. It is comparatively easy to be courageous
where the peril is of a nature to which we have long accustomed
ourselves, but many a trained nerve gives way before little ventures
amid the unknown. I am told that soldiers coming to these
colonies--veterans who had faced unflinchingly the flames of
battle--will tremble and shrink like frightened girls at the slightest
sign of a storm at sea; and there was once a famous war-chief of the
Shawnees, who had fought fiercely with tomahawk and knife, yet who fell
dead at the first crash of a field gun, although the piece was
uncharged with ball. So I conceive that physical courage is not so
high a virtue after all, and am not greatly ashamed to acknowledge I
went timidly forward down that black slope, and with a wild inclination
to fly backward at every sound. Nor do I boast of keeping on, for it
was largely because I knew well what reception would await me; the look
of scorn with which Madame would discover that a faint heart had made
me afraid of the dark. So it was love, or pride, I scarce know which,
that kept my reluctant feet moving; and, possibly, both of these are
the true sponsors for most of the courage in the world, except that
engendered by excitement.

Finally, when, with many a quaking of the heart I thought there must be
above me a full hundred feet of earth, I perceived a flickering ray of
light stealing along the floor. It grew more pronounced with each
advancing step and soon crimsoned the upper walls. I dropped
cautiously upon hands and knees, and crept slowly forward, beside the
dancing shadows, taking concealment behind every irregularity. Thus
approaching, I discovered the flaring beacon to be a huge pine knot
stuck into the earth wall, blazing right merrily. Lying at full
length, with head outstretched from behind the tree trunk that
concealed my body, I gazed forward into a small room, possibly a dozen
feet in width, the walls concealed by grotesquely pictured bark, its
floor covered with a rude matting, dyed in fanciful colors. Somewhat
to the left of where I lay uprose a huge, grim figure, roughly shapen
from wood, having two uplifted wings pressing the roof, while directly
in front reposed numerous dishes of untasted food. This idol, for such
I conceived it to be, was a most hideous, repulsive object, colored
lavishly with strange pigments, the face and head decorated in crimson,
while the huge right hand, grasping a club, was uplifted as if about to
strike down an approaching enemy. The flaring light of the pine knot
glittered on great staring eyes which appeared to sparkle as if
composed of precious stones; while about neck, zone, and ankles shone
the duller gleam of gold, with the shimmer of some brighter metal.

It was a grewsome sight to approach in such a place, especially as the
peculiar eyes appeared to follow my slightest movement. Yet only for a
breathless moment did I experience doubt as to its nature, then laughed
grimly at myself for a superstitious fool. The remaining portion of
this dimly revealed underground apartment appeared bare, except for a
gayly decorated skin or two, and the figure of a man, garbed in the
gloomy attire of a priest, lying fast asleep at the very feet of the
statue. Beyond showed a dark opening where the tunnel continued onward
into the earth.

It required brief observation to note these outlines, nor did they
greatly serve to delay my advance. I paused merely long enough to
become thoroughly convinced of the reality of the priest's slumber, and
then crept silently past, keeping close as possible within the shadow
of the eastern wall, until once again safely swallowed within the
blackness of the passage. Oddly enough the mere sight of that fellow
lying there unconscious served to yield me new courage, robbing the
cave of its loneliness, and I plunged directly ahead.

The passage I now followed rose with a sharp pitch, evidently inclining
toward the surface, the opening not far distant. It was like mounting
a hill, so marked was the incline, yet I covered a distance fully
equalling that of my previous descent before becoming aware of a
steadily increasing gray tingeing the side walls. Halting in this
faint illumination I was suddenly startled by the sound of vigorous
English speech. I advanced cautiously. The words were so confused by
the echoes that little could be made of them until I reached a coarsely
matted curtain, through which dimly sifted the welcome daylight. Here
I paused, listening intently, striving to discover what mystery lay
hidden beyond.

For some moments nothing reached me, excepting a low, dull murmur, as
if voices chanted in muffled monotone, the sound commingling with a
sharp crackling of flames, and an occasional doleful beating upon some
surface resembling the taut parchment of a drum. Suddenly a deep voice
close at hand roared out hoarsely, and my heart leaped in excitement,
although I at once recognized it.

"You black-faced son of Belial," came a savage snort, "do you give all
that food unto a dumb idol, when a Christian man, a ministering servant
of the Most High, lies groaning with a stomach which has n't tasted
food for four and twenty hours? Possess you no bowels of compassion
for the long sufferings of a fellow-man? Come now, give me just a bite
of the white meat, and yonder grinning wooden image will never miss it.
You won't, you spawn of Baal, yet I marked plain enough how you filled
your own lean belly with the best there was."

The straining of cords, together with sound of struggle, bore evidence
that the Reverend Mr. Cairnes was making heroic effort to attain unto
that food offered before idols. That such strenuous effort was vain
was soon proven by the bursting forth of his voice once more.

"Oh, gracious Lord," he cried, in a tone evidencing more anger than
spiritual exaltation, "surely thy ancient servant Job never bowed
before greater affliction than this now visited upon me. Verily 't is
even as the experiences of the Apostle Paul, yet without his reward in
the flesh. I beseech Thee from the depth of humiliation--even as did
Daniel from the lions' den--loosen my arms that I may smite as with Thy
wrath this profaner of Thy most holy name, thus bringing peace unto the
smitten heart of Thy faithful servant. O Lord, what have I done to be
deserted in this hour of extremity? As Elijah called down fire from
Heaven, so I call upon Thee to smite with the terror of Thy might the
ranks of these foul idolaters. He who hath boldly proclaimed Thy truth
in the wilderness, who hath proven a faithful witness unto these
savages, through many years of trial and tribulation, doth now call
upon Thee in dire distress. Shall it be in vain, that he thus uplifts
his voice supplicating in the wilderness?"

His deep rumbling died away until I could distinguish little except
those moans with which he punctuated the conclusion of each sentence.
Finally, hearing no other sound to restrain me, I ventured to slightly
uplift one corner of the heavy curtain, and peer into the room. The
entrance opened upon the back of the rude platform, my position being
within less than three paces from the famine-stricken Puritan, who,
with low-bowed head and hidden face, was still wrestling in fervent
prayer. I was unable, from where I hid, to distinguish the form of the
crouching priest, yet knew he could not be far distant, and therefore I
durst not speak above a whisper lest the sound awaken his suspicion.

"Cairnes," I said softly, "hush that unseemly racket, man, and give
heed to my words."

Three times I was compelled to repeat this warning before I noticed him
lift his head, in evidence that the faint sound had finally reached his
ears. Unable to turn, he rolled his eyes inquiringly upward.

"What is it, O Lord?" he questioned, with such unbounded faith in a
celestial visitant I found it hard to restrain a laugh.

"Don't be a fool," I whispered back hastily. "The Almighty may have
guided me here, but 'tis a man in the flesh who speaks."

The sectary made hard efforts to glance behind, but the cords held too
firmly, so I merely gained a glimpse of the side of his face.

"Merciful Jehovah! 'tis the voice of Master Benteen," he exclaimed
joyfully. "I know not how you could come there unless you descended
from the sky."

"From the opposite quarter, my friend," I replied, awake to the humor.
"Pray speak with less noise, and pay heed to what I say. Tell me where
the priest stands; you are so confounded broad of shoulder I can see
nothing beyond."

"He kneels to the right of the altar, the crawling spawn of hell, where
he has good chance to fill his lean body with food he makes pretence to
feed unto that foul figure of wood. He is a full imp of Satan, the
black-faced idolater."

"I care little as to that. Are there others present?"

"None, save the guard, a naked savage. He leans in the doorway,
looking without."

"Then be quiet while I cut your bonds; afterwards move back toward me.
But mark well you tread lightly along the floor, with no sound to
attract attention."

He chuckled grimly.

"Fathers of Israel! it will astound those fellows to discover this
place empty--'t is likely they will imagine me gone back to the Sun."

Making no response to this natural conceit, I stretched myself forward
the full length of my body, quickly drew the keen knife edge across his
bonds, severing them with one stroke, thus setting free his arms. As
the sundered cords dropped noiselessly to the floor I drew back into
hiding, leaving him to rid himself of whatever might remain. A moment
later he joined me, silently as a great shadow, and I cordially
extended my hand to him.




CHAPTER XXXI

WE MOUNT THE CLIFF

"May the gracious blessing of the Lord rest upon you, Geoffrey
Benteen," exclaimed the old Puritan fervently, as we faced each other
in that gloomy passage, and it somehow heartened me to note tears in
his gray eyes. There was heart, then, under all his crabbedness. "I
have suffered much of late both in spirit and flesh, and the very sight
of you is as a gift of mercy unto me. No angel with healing in his
wings could prove more welcome, yet I dislike leaving yonder food for
the sustenance of that foul idolater."

"You hunger then?" I questioned, amused at the regret with which he
glanced backward.

"Is it hungered you call a man who has had but two dry bones to pick
since yester-noon?" he groaned, pressing both hands upon his stomach.
"I am lean as the Egyptian kine, and fain would welcome even locusts
and wild honey."

"Well, friend," I insisted firmly, "if you follow, within fifteen
minutes you shall partake of a meal equalling that left behind. I
myself know well what a long fast means."

"'T is truly a grievous affliction, difficult to sustain in meekness of
spirit," he admitted, yet ever keeping me close company through the
increasing darkness of descent; "yet more am I distressed by the loss
of all spiritual nurture amid these wild heathen. Perchance, Master
Benteen, you might be led to unite with me in a moment's fervent
supplication before the throne of grace?"

"Ay; when the right time comes I will gladly join, yet I warn you now
not to send your bull voice roaring through these passages, or you will
have small opportunity for another meal."

"A time to work and a time to pray has ever been my motto, most worthy
youth, but my soul is so filled with gratitude at my providential
deliverance from pagan bondage--even as was Daniel from the lions'
den--I long to pour forth my joy in songs of praise. Patience, but
were I out of here, verily would I venture to uplift a psalm of Zion."

He spoke in such ecstasy I feared lest his zeal might conquer his
prudence, although in truth this latter virtue was one never apparent
in his composition, and I determined once for all to nip in the bud all
such inclination. So I halted in the darkness, and, as he lumbered
past, laid a restraining hand upon his shoulder.

"Now hark you, Ezekiel Cairnes," I muttered sternly, "I admire your
piety, but this is no conventicle of the elect we are in; rather a
place where your life, and those of others, depend on our caution. The
echoing of that bull voice along these galleries might cause the
blocking of our passage, caging us in here like rats in a hole. So
hold quiet, Master Preacher, and let me hear no more about either
prayers or psalms."

The grave determination in my voice served to sober him.

"'T is in my blood," he admitted doggedly, "to fight and work better to
the holy songs of Israel. It would bring renewed peace to my soul
merely to uplift a paean of victory over the discomfiture of my
enemies. But I seek no quarrel here, and hence bide in silence until a
proper moment to unseal my lips."

"'Twill be well you do. Now follow close at my heels, and I 'll
promise a swift diversion to your thoughts."

Thus cautiously we crept toward the distant flickering of the torch,
the unsteady light from which already began to yellow the packed earth
about us, until we finally emerged into its full glare. I had crawled
forth, perhaps half my length beyond the concealment of the wooden
pillar, and, knife in hand, was stealthily drawing in toward the
motionless form of the still slumbering priest, when the roving eyes of
Cairnes encountered the idol, with its flashing gems and widely
outspread wings, towering above like an avenging demon. I doubt not
the sight was startling to the fellow, terrorized by the underground
gloom, and he gave utterance to one gruff cry:

"'T is Beelzebub!"

The sleeping priest leaped to his feet, glaring about in bewilderment.
Where I lay outstretched it required an instant to gather myself for
action, and, before I could place restraining grip upon him, the fellow
saw us both, and, with echoing scream of terror, fled frantically up
the dark entry to the right. I made desperate effort to halt him, but
my swift-flung knife found bloodless sheath within the soft earth of
the wall.

"Zounds! are you a screeching woman with no control over your tongue?"
I exclaimed angrily, panting for breath. "'T is likely that priest
will rouse the tribe, and we shall have a run for it. What caused you
to make such an uproar?"

"Saints of Israel!" he said, repentantly enough, his glinting eyes
still roving over the silent, leering image, "never before did I behold
such monster as that. For the moment, I believed it Satan himself.
But, for the love of the prophets, what is this?" He began eagerly
sniffing the air with his great nose like a pointer dog. "'T is food I
scent; that which will stay a famished stomach. I beg you, friend,
pause shortly while I satisfy in some measure the yearnings of the
body. Then shall I be better fitted to withstand the temptations of
the world."

"Odds, man, I hope so," I responded gloomily, watching his eager attack
upon the supply outspread before the idol. "So far you have acted like
a lunkhead, and I begin to regret making you comrade in this adventure.
If a full stomach inspires to a man's duty, it would be policy always
to bear food about with you."

"Ay, 'tis strange, indeed," he mumbled, his mouth too full for clear
speech, "that one who ever strives to live in spiritual exercise should
be so completely the bound slave of mere bodily indulgence. Yet I did
inherit all such ungodly tendency from my mother who was of Dutch
blood, as round of form as a Holland churn, while my father was spare
of build, and throve marvellously upon the water of life."

Leaving the engrossed sectary to refresh himself to the full of his
capacity, I anxiously set to work searching after some species of
cross-tunnel, shrewdly guessing this underground altar masked a
junction point, from whence some such branch passageway would lead
toward the open air. With diligent care I passed along the walls,
testing each separate section, yet discovering nothing to reward my
efforts, until, finally creeping between the spreading feet of the
effigy, which appeared to sway unsteadily, I lifted the crimson drapery
hanging down its back, thus disclosing an opening, barely sufficient to
permit the easy passage of a small man while lying flat.

"Most noble scavenger," I said, feeling in better humor from this
chance discovery of the means of escape, "are the wants of nature
finally satisfied? For if so, I have found a path which will lead us
from this hole of iniquity."

"Nay, call it not so while it offers such excellent bodily nurture," he
replied with fervor, cocking one eye up at me, yet keeping both hands
busily employed in crowding his pockets full of eatables. "Say rather
the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, or a well of water in
desert places. I shall be ready to accompany you upon a journey after
I lay in these few necessaries. The Lord hath given me manna in the
wilderness--even as the ravens fed Elijah so hath He succored me--and
'twould be sin to make mock of His mercy."

"Very well; only hurry and follow my lead."

"Will you not carry the torch to help guide?" he questioned, peering
doubtfully into the yawning black opening.

"No; the light would serve to betray us to any spying eyes. Perhaps
that frightened priest may deem us spirits, and muster courage to come
creeping back. If so, it will be best for him to find things here
unchanged, although in faith he will scarcely doubt we possess earthly
appetites when he notes your onslaught on the sacred food. Come, man,
enough of stuffing; your pockets can hold no more, so press on with me."

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