Dead Man's Land Part 68

"Enough to make me. I must have twisted my ankle a bit, and it gave me such a stab just then. All right--better. Up I come. What was I talking about? Oh, I know. But I say, Mark, don't you feel like a gallant young Briton, ready to face any danger?"

"No, I don't," cried Mark angrily. "I feel like a miserable coward;"

and he uttered a hysterical sob as he pa.s.sed his wet hand over his dripping brow.

"Do you?" said Dean coolly. "Well, that's about what's the matter with me; only this is rather hard work, and I am too busy to squirm. Brave British boys! Ha, ha! Well, I suppose every chap feels a bit soft sometimes. I say, say something."

"Oh, take care, old chap!"

"Well, I am doing that. Say something else."

"I can't!" groaned Mark.

"That's enough," cried Dean excitedly. "I can't see, but I can hear that my head must be a bit out of this hole, and--Quick! Hand!"

The last two words were e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed wildly, and Mark responded by making a s.n.a.t.c.h in the direction he felt that his cousin must be, and caught him fast, throwing himself backward. There was a rush and the fall of a heavy stone with a tremendous splash; then no sound but a hoa.r.s.e breathing from two chests.

"Hah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Dean. "That last stone must have grown mouldy, and gave way; but it's all right. Now for a rest. Shouldn't like to do that again."

Then there was profound silence for the s.p.a.ce of a few minutes as the two lads knelt there clinging to each other in the profound darkness, thinking of many things; and the thoughts of both had the same trend, the grips of their hands involuntarily growing tighter the while.

How long they knelt there, communing, giving their better feelings full sway, neither knew, but at last the silence was broken by Mark whispering, "Dean, old fellow; what an escape!"

"Don't, don't!" was whispered back. "Don't speak to me, or I shall break down."

"Ah!" sighed Mark, and there was silence again, broken this time by Dean.

"I can't help it, Mark, old fellow. I have been trying so hard; but I must be a terrible coward. Tell me, oh, do tell me! Am I safe?"

The answer came faintly from apparently some distance away, in the shape of a sailor's, "Ahoy-y-y-y!"

"Yes," cried Mark excitedly. "That's old Dan's voice. They are looking for us. Ahoy-y-y-y!" he shouted, with his voice sounding strangely cracked and wild.

Quite a minute elapsed before they heard another hail, and by this time the two boys had pulled themselves together a bit, enough to respond with double the vigour of before, while ere many minutes had pa.s.sed a steady interchange of calls made the task of the searchers so easy that the gleam of a lantern appeared, to be followed by the report of a gun, and this time there was a perfect volley of the strange echoes.

"Hear that?" cried Dean, in his natural voice.

"Hear it? Yes?"

Dean uttered a gasp as if he were swallowing something that was hard, and then with a laugh he said, "Mark, old chap, isn't it queer! That seems to be the jolliest sound I ever heard in my life."

"Yes," said Mark coolly; "but we have got a long walk before us, and no end of stones to climb, and I expect we shall get into a precious row."

"Never mind the row, old fellow. I wonder what they've got for supper!"

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

THE PIGMY'S DIVE.

The party were seated in their shelter close under the highest wall of the ancient ruins, well screened from the ardent rays of the tropic sun, which had not yet risen sufficiently high to interfere with their comfort, and for about the third time the boys were giving their account of the previous evening's adventure, with nothing more visible to show than a few scratches from the stones and the traces of p.r.i.c.ks from the many thorns, when the doctor said, as if he were delivering a lecture, and frowning severely the while, "Care, care, care. If ever our eyes should be called upon to carefully discriminate where we are going, there never can be such need for discrimination as here."

"You are right, doctor," said Sir James. "You must be careful, boys; eh, doctor?"

"Yes," said the latter. "You see, we have done nothing yet to clear away the tangle of growth that covers the stones and the remains of old buildings. I fully believe that this place is honey-combed with pa.s.sages and cell-like remains, and that there may be dozens of old wells and other reservoirs of water. There is the little river yonder, of course, but if, as I fully believe, this place for miles round was all roughly and strongly fortified, it seems quite probable that the inhabitants, who were gold-seekers, were in the course of generations besieged by the many enemies who coveted their wealth and resented the coming of strangers to settle in their land. If this were the case, in this heated district water would have been most valuable, and the approaches to the river were doubtless guarded by the enemy. Thinking of all this, one sees good reason for the existence of such a well-like place as you encountered yesterday."

"Yes," said Sir James, "and I quite agree with you, doctor, that if we could find them where they are buried by the old buildings that have crumbled in, and overgrown by bushes and creepers, there are scores of such places."

"Well," said the doctor, "one would be sufficient for our supply of water, but we must, if possible, find out as many as we can for our own safety."

"So as not to fall down any of them?" said Mark. "Dean and I don't want another such adventure as we had last night."

"No," said his father; "it might be very serious. Let it be a lesson to you, boys."

"It was, father," said Mark, and he gave his cousin a meaning look, which was returned, the latter saying to himself, "It takes some of the conceit out of you, old fellow."

The conversation then turned upon the disappearance of the two blacks, and Dunn's ominous words as to the possibility of their non-return.

"I hope he is not right," said the doctor, shaking his head, "but I am afraid he is. From your description, boys, it is quite evident that the one made the other fully understand about the missing rifle."

"Oh, but I don't want to think, sir, that those two poor fellows are going to get themselves killed in trying to bring it back."

"Neither do I, my boy," said Sir James, "and pretty well surrounded as we are by these people, it is rather a lesson to us, for the doctor and I have been talking about it that we can't afford to lose two such useful guides and friends."

"Oh, we shan't lose them, uncle," said Dean cheerily. "They will come trotting in some day--I mean Pig will, so as to keep up with Mak's long strides."

"Well, I hope so," said Sir James, "and I hope too that the little feud between us and our visitors will come to an end. What do you think, doctor?"

"I cannot commit myself, sir, to giving any judgment upon the matter, but I hope that our display of firmness, and the possession of weapons that we know how to use, may keep them at a distance."

"I hope so," said Sir James, "but there will be no relaxing of our watchfulness, and it will be very hard upon us after a hard day's work over our researches, this taking it in turns to guard against visitors in search of what they can annex."

"Nocturnal burglars," said Dean.

"Oh, we shall get used to it, father. But what are we going to do to-day?"

"Ask the doctor," said Sir James. "I give myself up entirely to his guidance. Someone will have to stay in camp, of course, on guard, and ready to fire or whistle and give notice of the approach of any of the blacks. What do you propose, doctor?"

"Taking two men with us to cut and slash away the growth at the first place that we think worthy of investigation; and the sooner we are off the better, before the sun gets too much power."

"There's plenty of shade," said Mark.

"Yes, my boy, but the trees and these towering walls cut off what breeze there is, and I am afraid that we shall find the heat sometimes too great to bear."

But in the excitement and labour of the next few days the heat was forgotten, and the interest of the discovery amongst the old ruins was quite sufficient to keep all on the _qui vive_ for any fresh object upon which they might stumble.

They had talked about the two blacks, of whom they had seen nothing since they had plunged in amongst the ruins of what seemed to have been the huge fortified temple, and in spite of the two lads devoting a good deal of time to discovering some opening through the old walls by which they might have reached the open country, their efforts were quite without success. It was certainly possible that they might have helped one another to reach the top of the lowest stretch of wall, and lowered one another down the other side, but Mark argued that they would not have done this. There must be some secret opening or slit through which they could have squeezed, one well known to them.