 HART OF THE WORLD by H. RYDER HAGGARD CHAPTER X. HOW MOLAS DIED For some minutes we rested to recover our breath. Then we started forward again. In front went the girl, Maya, our guide, whom the senior led by the hand, while behind followed Zibalbe, supported by Molas and myself. At first these two had run as quickly as the rest of us, but now all the fatigues and terrors that they had undergone took hold of them so that from time to time they were forced to stop to rest. This was little to be wondered at indeed, seeing that during five days that had eaten no solid food, for it had been Don Pedro's purpose to starve their secret out of them. Doubtless he would have succeeded in this designer in doing them to death, had it not been for a quantity of certain preparation of the kukalif mixed with pounded meat and other ingredients which they carried with them. Zibalbe had the secret of this Indian food and by the help of it, he and his daughter had journeyed far across unpeopled wastes. For so wonderful are its properties that a piece no larger than a bullet will serve to stay a man's stomach for twenty-four hours, even when his power is taxed by work or travel. On this nutriment they had sustained themselves to the amazement of their captor, who could not discover once they drew their strength. Still it is a stimulant rather than a food, and so great was their craving to fill themselves that as they ran they plucked cobs of the Indian corn and devoured them. Our path lay through a tropical forest so dense that even when the sun shone the gloom was that of twilight. Many sorts of huge and uncouth trees grew in it, whereof the boughs were starred with orchids and hung with trailing ferns or in places with long festoons of grey Spanish moss that gave them a very strange and unnatural appearance. Up these trees climbed creepers, some of them thicker than a man's thigh, and beneath them the ground was clothed with soft wooded bush or with vast breaks of a plant that in Mexico attains a height of from ten to twelve feet, which the Señor told me is cultivated in English gardens under the name of Indian shot. Slowly and with much toil we forced a path through this mass of vegetation. Now we were creeping over the rotten trunks of fallen and fern encumbered trees. Now foot by foot we must make our way between the stout stems of the Indian shot and now our clothes were caught and our flesh was torn by the hooked-like thorns and brambles or our feet tripped in the roots of climbing plants. No breath of air penetrated that measureless thicket whereof the stagnant atmosphere, laden with the decay of ages, choked and almost overpowered us, causing the sweat to start from every pore. Above us hiding the sky hung masses of deep green foliage beneath which we struggled on in the solemn gloom and the silence that was broken only from time to time by the grunting of an ape or by a distant crash as some great tree after centuries of life fell with a noise-like thunder to the earth from once its sprang. This forest that seemed so destitute of life was peopled by millions of insects, all of them venomous. Garapatos, tiny gray flies, wood wasps and ants black and red tormented us with their bites and stings till we groaned aloud in misery, then remembering our danger pushed on again. Thus two hours and more passed until, reaching a little stream that ran through a ravine in the forest, we paused to drink and to cool our fevered feet and hands. Zibalbe sank exhausted on the bank where I brought him water in my sombrero while his daughter sat herself down on a stone in the stream, suffering it to flow over her feet and ankles that by now were swollen with ant bites and bleeding from the cuts and thorns and grasses. Presently she looked up and seeing the senor who stood upon the bank talking to me, she invited him with a motion of her hand to seat himself beside her. What is your name, white man? she asked. James Strickland, lady. James Strickland, she repeated with some difficulty. I thank you, James Strickland, for rescuing my father from torment and me from insult. And because of that deed I, Maya of the heart, who many have served, am your servant forever. Oh, you should thank my friend Don Ignatio, he said, pointing to me. For a few moments she looked at me, searchingly, then replied, I thank him also, but you I thank the most. For your hand rid me of that hateful man and saved us. Ah, it is early to return thanks, lady, he said. We are not out of danger yet. I have little fear now that we have escaped from that dreadful house, she answered almost indifferently, since our hiding place is at hand. Also how can they find us in this forest? Hark, what was that? As she spoke a faint and distant sound fell upon our ears. Such a sound as might have been made by a bell struck far away at night. That is how they will find us, he said, springing to his feet. Do you hear Ignatio? The dogs have hit our trail. Which way does our road run now, lady? Along the banks of the stream. Then we must go forward in the waters, said the Signor. It is our only chance, for the hounds cannot track us there. Now we begin to scramble down the bed of the stream as fast as the boulders and the weariness of Zimbabwe would allow. Fortunately it was not a broad river, nor very deep. Still sometimes we could scarcely stand in the rapids, and twice not daring to sit foot upon the bank, we were forced to swim the length of the pools, which we did in terror, fearing less they should be haunted by alligators. For something over an hour we followed the stream thus, suddenly Maya halted, saying that if we would gain the building where they had dwelt, we must leave the water and plunge into the forest. By now we were exhausted. Indeed, unless he were carried the old Indian, Zimbabwe could not have gone another mile. So, notwithstanding the danger of setting foot upon the land, on learning that the place was near and that food was to be found in it, we hesitated no longer, but once more began to thread the brush. Not more than three hundred paces from the banks of the river, we came upon a high mound densely overgrown with trees, between the bowls of which appeared masses of cut stone. This is the place, gasped Zimbabwe. Look yonder above us are the walls of the temple, and here is the stairway that led to it. And he pointed to a long flight of crumbling stone steps, almost hidden in ferns and bushes, which stretched from the base of the pyramid to the ancient Indian fane on its crest. Up these steps we went with caution, for the climb was dangerous. Moloss carrying Zimbabwe upon his back, since so weary was he that the old Indian could mount them in no other fashion. The staircase was built in three flights. The top flight, now almost entirely broken away, emerging on what once had been a broad and splendid terrace, but today was a chaos of stonework, in the crevices of which grew bushes and even large trees. Over the head of the stairway still stood a colossal arch, sculptured with the figures of gods and beasts. Not a true arch, however, for these were unknown to the old Indian builders, but fashioned of stones which projected further and further, till the top most of them overlapped each other. This arch, if so I may call it, was in the last stage of decay. Indeed the crown of it a mass of masonry that must have weighed between one and two hundred tons, had been nearly separated from its supports by the action of time and rain, aided perhaps by a shock of earthquake and hung threateningly over the top steps of the stair. In truth so slight were the attachments which remained between it and its supporting side columns and buttresses that at first sight it seemed as though it must fall at once. A closer examination showed, however, that it was held in place by three or four great roots, which, springing from trees that grew upon the crown of the arch in the course of years, had thrust themselves deep into the crevices of the masonry, of the massive pillars, and threw their foundations into the soil beneath. Beyond the arch on the farther side of the terrace rose the ruined temple, a long single storied building with a flat roof whereon grew many shrubs and palms. Passing through the central doorway of this temple, Maya led us into a chamber decorated everywhere with serpents carved in stone, which had been occupied and recently, for it was clean and upon the floor were ashes and bits of burnt wood. In the corner also lay a little pile of articles covered with a serapi that Maya hastened to remove, revealing, amongst other things, an earthen cooking pot, a copper axe of similar workmanship to the machete with which the senior had killed Don Jose, two curiously fashioned blowpipes with a supply of poison darts and lastly bags containing dried flesh, beans and coca paste. All is safe, she said. Now let us eat that we may be strong to meet danger. While we were filling ourselves, thankfully, with the dried meat, the senior spoke to me, saying he hoped that our pursuit had been abandoned. You can know little of these men to speak, thus I answered. They must hunt us down for their own sakes. Also, Don Pedro will certainly seek to avenge the blood of his son, our only hope is that the water will baffle the hounds or, if they strike the place where we left it, that the heat of the day may have killed our scent. But I fear this will not be so, since the ground is damp beneath the trees. Then what do you propose to do, he asked? Start on again or stop here. Senor, we must stop here, because we cannot travel further unless we would abandon the old man and his daughter. Moreover, in the forest it would be easy to overwhelm us, but this place is hard to climb, and here at least we may die fighting. Let us make ready for the worst, Senor. How are we to make ready, he asked, when we have nothing to fight with except machetes and Indian blowpipes? The powder in the pistol flasks is damp and the caps will misfire so that if we are attacked our death is certain. It seems so, I answered, yet if it pleases God we may live. Yonder lie stones and plenty. Let us pile them up beneath the archway. Perhaps we can kill some of our foals by rolling them down the steps. This we did then, while Maya watched us. At length the task was finished, and as we turned to leave the heaps of stone, of a sudden we heard a dog bang down the river, followed by the sound of men and horses forcing a path through the bush. For a while we stared at each other in silence, then Molas said, They are coming. If so, I wish they would come quickly, answered the Senor. Why, white man, are you afraid? asked Maya. Yes, very much, he answered with a little laugh, for the odds are heavy and probably we shall soon be killed. That is, all the men among us will be killed. Does not the prospect frighten you? Why shouldn't she answer with a shrug and a smile, seeing that if it comes to the worst I shall be killed too and spared a long journey home? How can you be sure of that, lady? So she answered holding a tiny blowpipe dart before his eyes. If I pricked myself at this here, and she touched a large vein in her neck, in one minute I shall be asleep, and in two I shall be dead. I understand, but you talk of death very easily for one so young and beautiful. If so, Senor, it is because I have not found life too soft, nor she had it with a sigh. So I know what destiny awaits me in the future, but I do know that when we sleep upon the heart of heaven, we shall find peace if nothing more. I hope so, said the Senor. Look, here they come. And as he spoke a party of seven or eight men, three of them riding on mules appeared at the foot of the mound, and dismounting, picketed their animals to trees. Now, for it, said the Senor, rising and shaking himself like a dog that leaves the water, I wonder how many of us will be left alive when the sun sets. As he spoke, one of the men reached the foot of the stairway, holding a great hound at leash. For a moment the dog sniffed the stones and, lifting his head, he bade aloud, where at the band shouted, for they knew that they had trapped us. Still for a while they did not advance, and, carrying themselves in a knot, they consulted together earnestly. We looked at each other in despair, for truly our case was desperate. Fly, we could not, and we had no arms wherewith to fight. Therefore it seems certain that within some few minutes we must lose our lives at the hands of these murderers if indeed they chose to kill us outright in mercy. The Senor hid his face in his hands for a while, then he looked up and said, Can we bargain with them, Ignacio? Impossible, I answered. What have we to give that they cannot take? Then there is nothing for it except to die as bravely as we may, he answered. This is the end of our search for the Golden City. The quest has not been a lucky one, Ignacio. Now the old Indian, Zibalbe, who was crouched upon the ground beside us, spoke for the first time, saying, Friends, why do you not fly? Doubtless you can find a path down the further side of the pyramid, and in the forest you may hide from these men. How can we fly, answered the Senor, when you have no strength to walk a step? I am old and ready to die, he answered. Leave me here and be sure that when the time comes, I shall know how to slip through the grasp of these villains. My daughter, you go, go with them. You have the holy symbol, and should you escape and prove this stranger to be the man whom we seek, lead him to our home that things may befall as they are fated. Please, my father said Maya, throwing her arms about his neck. Together we will live or perish. These Senors may go if it pleases them, but here I stay with you. And so do I, said Molas. For I am weary of flying from the death that dogs me. Also it is too late to talk of flight. For look, they are coming up the stair, the eight of them with Don Pedro and the Americano at their head. I looked, it was true. Already they had climbed half the steps of the first flight. Oh, for some rifles, grown the Senor. It is useless to cry for what we have not, I answered. God can help us if he wishes, and if he does not, we must bow to his will. Then there was silence broken only by the voice of Sebalbe, who standing behind us lifted his hands to heaven and prayed aloud to his gods to bring a vengeance upon our foes. Now we could see through the trees and bushes that the men were beginning to climb the second flight. Come, let us do something, said the Senor, and running to the piles of stones, which we had prepared, he called to us to help him roll the heaviest of them upon the enemy. This we did for a while, but without effect, for the tree trunks turned our missiles. Moreover, those against whom they were directed, taking cover at the sides of the stairway, opened so sharp a fire on us with their rifles that in a few minutes we were driven from the stone heaps and forced to retreat behind the shelter of the arch. Now they came on again, till presently they reached the foot of the third flight and paused to take breath. Then it was that Moloss, seizing one of the Indian blowpipes, ran out on the terrace, followed by the Senor, though why the latter went, I do not know, for he could not use the weapon. Before the men beneath were aware of their presence, Moloss had set the blowpipe to his lips and discharged the poisoned dart among them. As it chanced, it struck the Texan smith, full in the throat. Watching him round the corner of the arch, I saw him lift his hand to pull out the dart, then of a sudden he fell to the ground. At that instant, a storm of bullets swept through the archway, aimed at Moloss and the Senor as they fled back for refuge. I saw Moloss fall and the Senor stopped to lift him to his feet and, as he was in the very act, a patch of red appeared upon his face, another moment and they were under cover. Are you hurt? I asked the Senor. No, no, he answered. My cheek was grazed by a bullet, that's all. Look at Moloss. He is shot on the side. Leave me, said Moloss. It is nothing. Then we were silenced, only Maya sobbed a little as she strove to staunch the blood that flowed from the Senor's wound with cobwebs which he gathered from among the stones. Do not trouble, lady, he said with a sad smile, for soon there will be other wounds that cannot be dressed. What shall you do? By way of answer, she showed him the poisoned dart which she held in the hull over her hand. I cannot advise you otherwise, he said. Farewell, I am glad to have met you and I hope that we may meet again yonder and he glanced toward the sky. Now you had best say goodbye to your father for our time is short. She nodded, went to the old man, Zibalbe, who stood silent stroking his grey beard and putting her arms about his neck. She kissed him tenderly. Looking out carefully, we saw that the men had dragged Don Smith to the side of the stairway where some of them supported him while he died of the poison and others watched for a chance to shoot us should we show ourselves upon the terrace. Presently he was dead and cursing us allowed his companions commenced to mount the third flight with a great caution for they feared a snare. Is there nothing to be done to save our lives as the senior in a heavy voice? There was no answer, but of a sudden Molos, who was standing with one hand pressed upon the wound in his side and the other before his eyes turned and ran into the chamber behind us once he reappeared carrying the copper axe then without speaking he climbed the masonry of the arch with great swiftness till he stood with his feet in the crack beneath the crown of the false arch which you will remember was held in place only by the tough tree roots that grew from it into the stonework of the buttresses supporting himself by a creeper with his left hand with his right he struck blow after blow at the biggest of these roots severing them one by one now we saw his purpose to send 200 tons of stonework thundering down the stairway upon the heads of the murderers by heavens that is an answer to my questions of the senior and he paused and added come down Molos if the arch falls you will fall with it and be crushed it matters little he answered this is my doom day that bullet has cut me inside and I bleed to death and on this spot as I have long feared it is fated that I should die pray for my soul and farewell farewell you gallant man said the senior I have no axe or I would come with you farewell Molos my brother true servant of the heart I echoed of this I am sure that you shall not lose your reward now three of the roots were severed but the fourth and largest which was thicker than a man's leg remained and at this Molos began to hew despairingly are they near he gasped as the white chips flew we peeped around the corner of the arch and saw that some 70 feet below us the band had halted on the slippery face of the pyramid fearing they knew not what for they heard the dull sound of the axe blows but could not guess what it pretended one of their number was talking to Don Pedro apparently urging something upon him to which he did not agree and in this way they wasted two minutes before at last the order was given to rush up the remaining steps and take the temple by storm two minutes it was but a short time yet it meant much for only a third of the root remained unsevered and the bark cracking and peeling showed how great the strain upon it quick whispered the senior they come and as he spoke the handle of the axe broke and its head fell to the ground now if the root holds we are lost I said but it was not to be for Molos still had this heavy hunting knife and with this he hewed frantically at the wood at the third cut it began to part torn slowly asunder as though by the strength of a giant and while it gave the vast super incumbent mass of masonry which it had helped to support for so many years shifted a little with a grinding sound then hung again come down Molos come down he tried the senior but Molos would not he struck one more blow severing the root and then with a shout of farewell either through faintness or by design he cast himself forward without stretched arms against the face of the wall his weight was little indeed yet it seemed that it sufficed to turn the balance as dust turns a scale for again the trembling mass moved perceptibly all trees upon the top of it began to nod as though beneath the sudden pressure of wind now it slid forward faster and faster with sharp sounds like pistol shots came from the heart of it and the trees above bent like a rod beneath the rush of a fish now also for the first time the villains on the slope below perceived the doom that threatened them and uttered such a yell as I have never heard some stood still and some flung themselves down the stair one only Don Pedro himself rushed forward it was too late the mass of stonework sixty feet by twenty and breadth was falling it was falling it fell taking Molos with it with a roar like that of thunder it struck upon the stairway and bursting into fragments swept it from end to end no discharge of great shot could have been so terrible in its effects as this hurricane of stones that nothing could withstand even the big trees which stood in its path were snapped like sticks and born away upon its crest as the carved masonry that had been carried up the pyramid by the long labor of the Indians of a bygone age rushed downward to its foot in less than a minute it was done the sounds had died away and nothing was left to tell of what had happened except a little dust and some remains that had been men of all those who stood upon the stairway only one survived Don Pedro who had run forward in the hope of escaping the fall of the arch as it chanced he was too late for though the mass had missed him a single stone struck him across the middle breaking his bones and sweeping him to the foot of the first flight but leaving him alive when all was finished and the dust had fallen to the earth again the senior spoke saying let us go and search for the body of our deliverer so we went to the three of us living Zimbabwe in the temple but we could not find it doubtless to this day Molas lies buried beneath some of the larger blocks of masonry there were other bodies indeed from which we did not scruple to take the rifles and whatever else was likely to be of value to us better still tied among some trees near to the foot of the pyramid we found four good mules one of them laden with ammunition and provisions for Don Pedro had come out determined to hunt us down even if he must follow us for days having picketed the mules where they could graze we returned to the temple bearing with us food and drink of which we stood in sore need on our way up the steps Don Pedro called to us from where he lay broken and bleeding against an uprooted tree water he cried give me water the senior gave him some mixed with brandy that we had found upon the sumpter mule your heart is merciful said Maya gravely I am not cruel yet I think I should suffer that dog to die untended all of us have sins to pay for lady and the thought of them should teach us charity especially now when it has please God to spare us answered the senior I am dying moan the wretch my presentiment has come true and death finds me amongst the ruins how dare I die who have been a murderer and a thief from my boyhood the senior shrugged his shoulders for he could not answer this question give me absolution he went on for the love of Christ give me absolution I cannot said the senior I have no authority pray to heaven to shrive you for your time is short then he turned and went but for a long time we were troubled by the last cries and blasphemies of this most evil man indeed they did not cease till sunset when as I suppose the devil came to claim his own End of chapter 10 Heart of the World by H. Reider Haggard This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter 11 Zibalbe tells his mission When we reached the ruins of the temple we ate and drank then knowing that we could travel no further that night I spoke saying some two months since Zibalbe you sent a message by Moloss my foster brother that man who died to save us this day to him who among the Indians is known as Lord of the Heart your messenger traveled fast and far by sea and by land till he found him and delivered the message to whom did he deliver it asks Zibalbe to me for I am the man you seek and with my companion I have journeyed here to find you suffering many dangers and evils on the path prove that you are the man and he asked me certain questions to all of which I returned answers you are instructed he said at length yet something is lacking if indeed you are the Lord of the Heart reveal its mystery to my eyes to me I answered it is you who seek me not I you to Moloss your messenger you showed a certain symbol let me see that symbol for then and not till then while I revealed the mystery now he looked round him doubtfully and said you I have proved and this woman is my daughter and knows all but what of the white man is it lawful that I should unveil the heart before him it is lawful I answered for this white man is my brother and we are one till death also he is sworn of our brotherhood and himself for a while was Lord and holder of the heart for I passed it on to him when I thought that I lay dying and to him cling its virtues and prerogatives so it comes about that we have no secrets from each other that his ears are my ears and his mouth is my mouth speak to us then as though we were one man or be silent to both for I vouch for him and he for me are these things so white man asks Ibalde making the sign of the brotherhood they are so replied the senior giving the counter sign then I speak said Zabal Bay I speak in the name of the heart and woe be to him who betrays the secrets that he learns under cover of this name come hither daughter and give me that which is hidden about you now Maya put her hands to her head and drawing forth something from the dense masses of her hair she pass it to her father is this what you would see he asked holding the talisman in the light of the setting sun I looked and lo there before me was the very counterpart of that which had descended to me from my forefathers and which I wore about my neck it would seem so unless my sight deceives me I answered is this what you have come so far to seek Zabal Bay and I drew forth the ancient symbol of the broken heart now he leaned forward and examined first the one half then the other searching them with his eyes then he clasped his hands and looking to the heaven said I thank thee, O nameless one God of my fathers that thou hast led my feet aright and given it to mine eyes to see thy desires as thou hast prospered the beginning so prosper thou the end I beseech thee then he turned to me and continued as in an estacy now have day and night come together and soon shall the new sun rise the sun of our glory for already the dawn is breaking take that which is in your keeping and I will take that which is in mine for not here must they be joined but far away listen brethren to my tale which shall be brief seeing that if it be the will of heaven your eyes shall prove my words where all things can be made clear to you and if not that of which little is told is the more easily forgotten perchance my brethren you have heard legends of the ancient undiscovered city the last home of our race which is undefiled by the foot of the white conqueror and the sacred sanctuary of the pure faith given to our forefathers by the Divine Kokomats who is some named Ketzel we have heard of it and greatly desired to see it I answered if this be so went Hans Ibalbe in us you have found those who can guide you to that city of which I am the Kachike and hereditary high priest and my only child here is the heiress and lady you wonder how it comes then that we being of this conditioner found unguarded and alone wandering like beggars in the land of the white man listen the city of the heart as it is called is of all cities the most beautiful and ancient and once in the far past she ruled these lands from sea to sea for her walls were built by one of those brethren whom the holy Kokomats the white God left to share his throne after there had been war between the brethren and they separated each becoming the father of a nation so great was her power in the early days of all the cities whose ruins may be found buried in these forests were her tributaries but as the years went by hordes of barbarians rolled down upon her frontier towns so that they were lost to her still no enemies came near her gates and she remained the richest and most powerful of the cities of the world now the city of the heart is built upon an island in the center of a lake but many thousands of her children lived upon the mainland where they cultivated fields and dug on the earth for gold and gems so she flourished and her children with her till twelve generations since when there came tidings to the king of that day that a nation of white men had conquered the empires near the sea putting their inhabitants to the sword and possessing themselves of their wealth tidings came also that these white men having learned the tale of the city of the heart and of the majorless treasures of gold with which it was adorned proposed to seek it out and sack it when the ruling Kachike was sure that these things were true he took counsel with his wise men and with the oracle of the god which is in the sanctuary and issued a decree that all those who lived upon the mainland should be brought within the walls of the city so that the white men might find none to guide them hither this was done then and the spoilers sought in vain for many years till it was reported among them that this legend of a town filled with gold was but a fable now however great sickness took hold of those who lived in the city of the heart because it was over full of men so great a sickness indeed that soon there was space and despair for all who remained within its walls the sickness went away but as the generations passed a new and worse trouble fell upon our forefathers the blood of the people grew old but few children were born to them there were none left upon the mainland to replenish the race and this is our law a law which cannot be broken under pain of death that no man or woman may leave our territories to seek a husband or wife of different blood thus then it has come about that the people have grown less and less wasting away like snow on the mountain top in summer till at length they are dwindled to a few thousands who in bygone days could count their number by tens and twenties of thousands now I, Zybalbe, have ruled the city since I was young and bitterly has it grieved me to know that before another hundred years have been added to the past the city, heart of the world must become nothing but waste and a home for the dead though that of those who live therein today wreck but little for the people have no thought for the morrow and the hearts of its nobles have become gross and their eyes blind but an ancient prophecy has come down to us in our forefathers and it is that when once more the two halves of the symbol of the heart are laid side by side in their place upon the altar in the sanctuary of the holy city then from that hour she shall grow great again over this saying I brooded long and long and often did I pray that God whom I worship and whose high priest I am the nameless God, heart of heaven and Lord of all the earth that it would please him to give me light and wisdom whereby I might find that which was lost and save the people from perishing as in a season of drought flowers perish for lack of rain bringing forth no seed at length upon a certain night it came about that a voice spoke to me in a dream answering my prayer bidding me to wander forth from the country of the heart and follow the ancient road towards the sea for there near to the eastern shore I should find that which was lost then I summoned the council of the heart and opened my mind to them telling them of my dream and that I purposed to obey it but they made amok of me for they thought me mad and said that I might go if I wished for being their ruler they had no power to stay me but that no man of the people should accompany me across the mountains for that was against the ancient law I answered that it was well and I would go alone since I since go I must where on my daughter rose in her place and said that she would journey with me as she had her right to do and to this they must consent the one of their numbers spoke bitterly against it for he was my nephew and a fiance to my daughter was it not so Maya it was so she answered with a smile to be short went on Zabalbe since my heart was set upon this mission and my daughter Yander who was willful would not be gained said of her desire to accompany me Tikal my nephew was placed over the city to rule as Kachike and my stead until I should return again then I left the city with this my daughter many of the nobles and of the common people accompanying us across the lake and today's journey beyond it to the mountain pass where they made us farewell with tears for they were certain that we were mad and went to our deaths alone we crossed the mountains and alone following the traces of the ancient road we traveled through the desert and the forest that lies beyond it till at length we reached this secret place and stayed here for though we were unharmed danger, toil and hunger had worn us out moreover we were afraid to venture among the white people brethren there is no need to tell the rest of the tale for it is known to you that power which sent me on my mission has guided me through all its troubles and after much hardship and suffering has caused me to triumph seeing that tonight we are still alive having found that which we came forth to seek such is my story brother now if it pleases you let us hear yours and learn what purpose led you and your companion here in time to save us from the grip of that white devil who lies dead upon the stairway then I spoke telling Zibalbe and his daughter the story of my life I have written already and of my great scheme to build up again that empire which fell in the day of Montezuma now you speak words that are after my own heart said the old chief could tell me how is it to be done by your help I answered men are here in plenty but to use them I must have gold whereas yonder it seems you have gold and no men therefore I ask of you some portion of your useless wealth that by its help I may lift up your people and my own follow me to the city and if I can bring it about you shall have all that you desire he answered brother our ends are one and fate has brought us together from far away in order that they may be accomplished the prophecy is true and truly have I dreamed soon shall the severed symbol be brought together in the sanctuary and the will of heaven be made clear oh not in vain have I lived and prayed and during the mockery of men for day and night have met and already the light of the new dawn is shining in the sky place your hand in mine and let us swear an oath upon the heart that we its guardians will be true to each other and to our purpose until death chooses us so it is sworn now daughter lead me to my rest for I am overwhelmed not with toil and suffering but with too much joy oh heart of heaven I thank thee and lifting his hands above his head as though in adoration he turned and followed by the girl maya he tottered rather than walked into the chamber when he was gone the senior spoke to me oh this is very well Ignatio he said and most interesting but just now as I may remind you there are things more pressing than the regeneration of the Indian race for instance our own safety tomorrow at the latest men will come to seek these villains who lie yonder and if we are found here it seems likely that we should be shot down as murderers say then what do you propose to do I propose senior that at the first light of dawn we should take the mules and ride away the forest is dense and it will be difficult to find us in it moreover two days journey will place us beyond the reach of the white man tell me lady I added to maya who had returned from the chamber do you know the road I know the road she answered but sir as before you take it it is right that I should tell you something seeing that not to do so would be to make an ill return for all the nobleness which you have shown towards my father and myself saving us from death and shame you have heard my father's words and they are true every one of them but they are not all the truth the rule he rules that city of which he has spoken to you but the nobles there are weary of his rule which at times is somewhat harsh also they deem him mad it was for this reason that they suffered him to wander forth seeking the fulfillment of a prophecy in which none of them have faith for they were certain that he would perish in the wilderness and return no more to trouble them then why did they follow you who are his heiress to accompany him lady because I would have it so I love my father and if he was doomed to die because of his folly I wish to die with him moreover if you would know the truth I hate that city where I was born and the man in it to whom I am destined to be married and desired to escape from it if only for a while and does that man hate you lady no she answered turning her head aside but if he loves me I believe that he loves power more had I stayed although I am a woman my father must have appointed me to rule in his place and Tikal my cousin would have been next to throw not on it therefore it was that he consented to my going or the least I think so sirs I learn now that you are to accompany us to the city of the heart should we live and reach it and for my part I rejoice at this though I should be glad if our faces were set towards some other land but I learn also that you have entered into a compact with my father under which he is to give you the gold you need and many great things are to happen having for their end the setting up of the Indian people above the white man and the raising of the city of the heart to the place and power that she has lost which according to the prophecy shall come about after the two halves of the broken symbol are set once more in the place that is prepared for them do you not believe then in the prophecy as the senior quickly I did not say so she answered certainly it is strange that by following a dream my father should have found that which he sought so eagerly the trinket that your companion bears upon his breast in it I will say this that I have no great faith in priests and visions and gods for of these it seems there have been many and she glanced at the walls of the temple that were sculpted over with the demons which our forefathers worship then added indeed if I understand or write you sirs follow the path that is unknown to us we follow the truth the true faith I answered all the rest are false it may be so she said but I know not how this saying will sound in the ears of the servants of the heart of heaven come if you will but be warned my people are jealous people and the name of a stranger is hateful to them few such have ever reached the city of the heart for many generations and of those save for one or two none of escape from it alive they do not desire new things they have little knowledge of the world beyond their walls and seek for none they wish to live as their forefathers lived careless of a future which they will never see and I think that it must go very ill with any who come among them bringing new faiths and doctrines seeking to take power from their hands and to awaken them from their narrow sloth now sirs choose whether you will accompany us or search towards the city of waters or whether you will set your face to the sea again and forget that you chance to hear a certain story from a wandering doctor whose misfortunes had made him mad and an Indian girl who tended him now I listen to these words which the lady maya spoke very earnestly and with power and understood that they meant much they meant that in going to the city of the heart we were as she believed going to our doom lady I said it may well chance that death waits me yonder but I have looked too often in his eyes of late to shun them now death is everywhere lady and did men stop to let him pass little work would be done in the world I have my task to do or to attempt and it seems that it lies yonder in the secret city therefore thither I shall go if my strength does not fail me and fate will suffer it come what may I travel with your father toward the city of the heart for the senior here it is it is different weeks ago I told him that no good would come to him this journey and what I said then I say now he has heard your words and if he will hearken to them and to mine he will bid us farewell tomorrow and go his ways leaving us to go ours she listened and turning towards him said you hear what say you white man and it seemed to me who was watching her that she awaited his answer anxiously yes lady I hear he replied with a laugh and doubtless it is all true enough and I shall have my bones yonder among your countrymen well so be it I have determined to go not in order to regenerate the race of Indians or any other race but that I may see this city and go I will since other things apart I am too idle to change my mind also it seems to me that after this day's business there is more danger in staying here than in pushing forward I am glad that you are going since you go of your own free will she said smiling may our fears be confounded and your journey and ours prove prosperous and now let us rest for you must be very weary as I am and we should be stirring before the dawn next morning at the first break of light we started upon our journey riding on three of the mules that we had captured and leading the fourth laden with our goods and water skins very glad were all of us to see the last of the ruined temple and yet it was sad to me to leave it for there hidden beneath some of the masses of the fallen masonry lay all that was left of my friend and foster brother Molas he whose bravery and wit had saved our lives at the cost of his own our plan was to avoid villages where we might be seen by men and to keep ourselves hidden in the forest for we feared lest we should be followed and brought to judgment because of the death of Don Pedro and his companions this is a chance we were able to do since having guns and ammunition in plenty we shot birds and deer for our daily food traveling thus on muleback soon our strength returned to us even to the old man's Zibalbe who had suffered from ill treatment at the hands of the Mexicans in something less than a week we had passed through the inhabited districts of Yucatan and far out of reach of the white man and now we're journeying through the forest towards the great Sierra that lies beyond it to find a way in this thick and almost endless forest appeared impossible indeed it would have been so the message of Zibalbe and his daughter had gathered on their path seaward and for the ancient map which they brought with them on this map were traced the lines of the roads that in the days of the Indians civilization pierced the country in every direction one of these roads the largest ran from the mountain range which surrounds the lake of the city of the heart across the sierras and through the woodlands to the ruined town of Palenque and thence to the coast this road or rather causeway was in many places utterly overgrown by trees and others sunk in swamps or hidden by the dust and sand of the sierras sometimes for two or three days journey there was nothing to show us that had ever existed by following the lines traced upon the map and from time to time taking our position by the ruins of cities marked thereon we never failed to find it again the number of these old cities and temples was wonderful and astonished the senior beyond measure which is not strange seeing that he was the first white man who had ever looked upon them often as we rode he would talk to me about them and strive to paint in words a picture of this country now but for desert plains or tangled bush as it must have been 500 years or more before our day when cities and villages palaces and temples crowded with tens of thousands of inhabitants were to be seen everywhere and the fertile face of the earth was hidden in the green of crops what histories lay buried in these jungles and what scenes must have been enacted on the crumbling pyramids which confronted us day by day before the sword of the conqueror the breath of pestilence or both made the land desolate then it would have been a sight worth seeing and our hearts beat at the thought that if things went well with us it might be our fortune to witness that sight that our eyes might behold the greatest of these cities sought for many generations but as yet unfound the very navel of this ancient and mysterious civilization dying indeed but still existent I had other hopes to draw me onward but as I believe it was this desire that sustained the senior and many a difficulty in danger of our march it was with him while he was hacking a mule path through the scrub with his machete when we toiled along hour after hour beneath the burning sun and even at night as he lay overtired and sleepless tormented by insects and aching with fever filled with this thought he was never weary of questioning the silence of all bay as to the history or rather the legend of the land through which we journeyed or of listening to the lady Maya's description of the city of the heart till even she grew tired and begged him to speak instead of the country he was born of its ceaseless life and the wonders of its civilization strange as it may seem I who watched them both from day to day know it to be true that she was in mind the more modern of the two so much so indeed that in listening to their talk I might have fancied that Maya was the child of the new world filled with the spirit of today and he the heir of the proud and secret race dying beneath its weight of years I cannot understand you she would say to him why do you so love histories and ruins and stories of people that have long been dead I hate them once they lived in doubtless were well enough in their place and time but now they are past and done with and it is we who live, live live and she stretched out her arms as though she would clasp the sunshine to her breast I tell you she went on that this home of mine of which you are so fond of talking is nothing but a great burying place and those who dwell in it are like ghosts who wander to and fro the things that they did or did not do a thousand years before it was their ancestors who did things not they for they do nothing except plot against each other eat, sleep, drink and mumble prayers to a God in whom they do not believe did my father but not know it he wastes time and trouble and making plans of the heart who think him mad for his pains they cannot be redeemed where it otherwise do you suppose that they would have been content to sit still all these hundreds of years knowing nothing of the great world outside of them and day by day watching their numbers dwindle till life but flickers in their race as in a dying lamp so it is also if a less degree with those Indians who Don Ignatio here seeks to lift out of the mire into which the Spaniards trod them sirs, I believe that our blood has had its day there is no more growth in us we are torn ripe for the sickle of death that is, most of us are therefore if I could have my will while I am still young I would turn my back upon this city which you so desire to see taking with me the wealth that is useless there but which it seems would bring me many good things in other lands and live out my time among people who have a present and future then the senior would laugh and argue that the past is more than the present and that it is better to be dead than alive and many other such follies and I would grow angry and reprove Maya for her words which shocked me where at she would yawn and talk of something else for I in my discourses wearied her no heed for his mind was set upon other things even if he heard us which I doubt but all this while not withstanding her light talk or careless manner the lady Maya was learning yes, even from me when the senor was not at hand for she would inquire into everything and forget nothing that she heard the history of the countries of the world their modes of government the manners, customs and appearance of their inhabitants he told her of them from day to day nor did she worry of listening till at length the senor met with an adventure that went near to separating him from her forever and showed me although I had no great love for her or any of her sex that whatever might be her faults this woman's heart was true and bold end of chapter 11 heart of the world by H. Reiter Haggard this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org chapter 12 Maya descends the Cueva one evening it was after we left the forest country and with much toil climbed the Sierra till we reached the desert beyond a desert that seemed to be boundless we set our camp amongst the clump of great aloes that grew at the foot of the Stony Hill this hill was marked on Sibal Bay's map as being the site of an underground reservoir known as a Cueva whence in the old days when this place was inhabited the Indians drew their supply of water in the dry season from deep down in the bowels of the earth that this particular Cueva existed was proved by the fact that the ancient road which here was plainly visible ran through the ruins of a large town whereof the population must once have been supplied by it but when Sibal Bay was slept at the spot on their downward journey they were spared the necessity of looking for it by the discovery of a rain pool in the hollow of a rock now however no rain having fallen for weeks after we had eaten and drunk such water as remained in our water skins we determined to seek for the Cueva in order to refill the skins and give drink to the thirsty animals and to examine the rocky hill and presently found a stone archway now nearly filled up with soil and half hidden by thorn bushes which from its appearance and position we judged to be the entrance to the Cueva having provided ourselves with a armful of torches made from the dead stems of a variety of aloe that grew around in plenty before them and I led the way through the hole to find myself in a cave where a great and mysterious wind blew inside and sudden gusts that almost extinguished our lights following this cave we came to a pit or shaft at the end of it which evidently led to the springs of water this shaft of unknown depth was almost if not quite as smooth and rectangular as though it had been hollowed by the hand of man but the strangest thing about it was the terrible stairway that the ancients had used to approach the water consisting as it did of a double row of notches 8 or 10 inches deep cut in the face of the shaft up and down these notches the water carriers must have passed for generations and a groove made by the feet of the men ran to the top of this awful ladder the senior finding a fragment of rock let it fall over the edge of the pit and several seconds passed before a faint sound told us that it had touched the bottom what a dreadful place he said I think that I had rather die of thirst than attempt its descent still people have done so in the past answered Maya for look this is where they stepped off the edge perhaps they had a rope to hold by lady I suggested when I was a young man I have descended mines almost as steep with no other ladder than one made of tree trunks monkey poles they are called notched with this fashion and set from side to side of the shaft now would be my death to try for such heights make me dizzy come away said Zimbabwe none of us here could take that road and live the mules must go thirsty five hours journey away there is a pool where they can drink tomorrow then we turned and left this cave of the winds we were glad to be outside of it for the place had an unholy look and all the drought notwithstanding was hot to suffocation Zimbabwe walked to the camp but we stayed to pluck some forage for the mules soon the others grew weary of this task and felt a talking as they watched the sun set which was very beautiful on these lonely planes presently I heard the lady Maya say pick me that flower friend to wear upon my breast and she pointed to a snow white cactus bloom that grew amongst some rocks the senior climbed to the place and stretched out his hand to cut the flower when of a sudden I heard him utter an exclamation and saw him start what is it I said have you pricked yourself or cut your hand he made no answer but his eyes grew wide with horror and he pointed at something gray that was gliding away among the stones as he pointed I saw a spot of blood appear upon his wrist Maya saw it also a snake has bitten you she cried in a voice of agony then springing to him before I guessed what she was about to do she came with both hands and set her lips to the wound he tried to wrench it free but she clung to him fiercely calling to me to bring a stick and she tore a strip off her robe and made it fast around his wrist above the puncture by now I was there with the stick and setting it in a loop of linen I twisted it till the hand turned blue from the pressure what snake was it I asked the deadly gray sort he answered adding there looks a fright in Maya I know the cure I come to the camp quick in two minutes we reached at the senior had snatched a sharp knife and a powder flask now friend he said handing me the knife cut deep since it is life or death for me and there are no arteries in the top of the wrist seeing what had come about Zabalbe held the seniors hand and I cut twice he never winced but at each slash Maya grown then having let blood fall till it would run no more we poured powder into the wound as much as we'll lie of on a 20 cent piece and fired it it went off like a puff of white smoke leaving the flesh beneath it black and charred now as we have no brandy there is nothing more to be done except to wait said the senior with an attempt at a smile Zabalbe going to a bag produced from it some calca paste eat this he said it is better than any fire water the senior took the stuff and began to swallow it till I saw that he could force no more down a paralysis seemed to be creeping over him his throat contracted and his eyelids fell as though waited upon by irresistible sleep now not withstanding our remedies seeing that the poison had got hold of him we seized him by the arms and began to walk him to and fro encouraging him at the same time to keep a brave heart and fight against death I am doing my best he answered feebly then his mind began to wander and at length he fell down in his eyes shut a great fear and horror seized me for I thought that he was about to die and with them a kind of rage because I was impotent to save him already to tell the truth I was jealous of the lady Maya and now my jealousy out and bitter and unjust words this is your fault I said you are cruel she answered and you speak thus because you hate me perhaps I am cruel lady would not you be cruel if you saw the friend you love perishing through a woman's folly are you the only one that can love she whispered unless we can rouse him the white man will die said Zimbabwe oh awake cried Maya despairing placing her lips close to the senior's ear they say that I have killed you awake awake he seemed to hear her though his eyes did not open he smiled faintly and murmured I will try then with our help he struggled from the ground and began to walk once more but like a man who was drunk thrice he staggered backwards and forwards along the path our feet had worn presently he fell again and putting our hands upon his breast we could feel the contractions of his heart growing weaker every moment till at last they seemed to die away but of a sudden when we had already abandoned hope it pulsed violently and from every pore of his skin which till now had been parched and dry there was no more fuse of perspiration that in the light of the rising moon we could see it running down his face I think that the white man will live now he has conquered the poison said Zimbabwe quietly and hearing his words I returned thanks to God in my heart then we laid him in a hammock piling blankets and sarapis over him as the perspiration ceased all the fluid in his body having evaporated taking the venom with it for an hour or more he slept then awoke and asked for water in a faint voice we who were watching looked at each other in dismay for we had not a single drop to give and this we were obliged to tell him he groaned and was silent for a while then said kinder to let me die of the poison for this torment of thirst is more that I can bear can we try the quavus? faltered Maya it is impossible answered her father we should all be killed yes yes replied the senior it is impossible better that one should die than four father said Maya you must take the best mule and ride forward to the pool where we should camp tomorrow the moon shines and with good fortune you may be back in eight or nine hours it is useless remembered the senior I can never live so long without drink my throat is like a hot coal Zabalbe shrugged his shoulders he also thought that it was useless but his daughter turned upon him fiercely and said are you going or shall I ride myself then he went muttering in his beard and in a few minutes we heard the footsteps of the mule as it shambled forward into the desert fear not I said the senior it is the poison that has dried you up but thirst will not kill you so soon and presently you will feel it less oh that we had medicine here to make you sleep he lay quiet for a space giving no answer but from the workings of his hands and face we could see that he suffered much Maya he said at length can you find me a cool stone to put in my mouth she searched and found a pebble which he sucked but after time it fell from his lips and we saw that it was as dry as when it had entered them then of a sudden his brain gave way and he began to rave huskily in many languages are you devils he asked that you suffer me to die in torment for this want of a drink of water why do you stand there and mock me oh have pity and give me water for while we bore it though perhaps our agonies were greater than his own then Maya rose and looked at his face it was sunken as with a heavy illness thick black rings that appeared beneath his blue eyes and his lips were flecked with blood I can endure this no more she said in a dry voice watch your friend on Ignatio you are right I answered this is no place for a woman go and sleep yonder I can wake you if there is need she looked at me reproachily but went without answering and sat down behind a bush about 30 yards away here it seems for all this story she told me afterwards and for the most part I do but repeat her words she began to think she was sure that without water the senior could not live through the night and it was impossible that her father should return before dawn at the earliest he was dying and she felt as though her life were ebbing with his own for now she knew that she loved him unless something could be done he must soon be dead and her heart would be broken only one thing could save him and her water in the depths of yonder hill within a few cases of her doubtless it lay in plenty but who would venture to seek it there yet the descent of the quave a must be possible since the ancient used it daily and why could she not do what they had done she was young and active and from childhood had been a delight to her to climb in dangerous places above the walls and pyramids of the city of the heart nor had her had failed her however lofty they might chance to be why then should it fail her now when the life of the man she loved was at stake also what would it matter if it did fail her seeing that if he died she wished to die also yes she would try when once she had made up her mind maya said about the task swiftly I was standing by the hammock praying to heaven to spare the life of my friend who lay there beating his hands to and fro and moaning in misery when I saw her creep up and look at him you think you love him she said to me suddenly but I tell you that you do not know what love is if I live I whom you despise will teach you tonic nation I took no heed of her words for I thought them foolish unseen by me maya glided away to where the mules were picketed and provided herself with flint, steel, tinder, a rope and a small water skin of untanned hide which she strapped upon her shoulders in another minute she was running across the desert like a deer at the entrance to the quave as she paused to gather up the aloe torches thrown down there and also to look for one moment at the familiar face of the night the night she might never see again then she lit a torch and crept through the narrow opening the place had been awful in the evening when she visited it and the company of the rest of us now alone and at night it appalled her great winds roared round its vast recesses thither from the hollows of the earth and in them could be heard the sounds like those of human voices sobbing and making moan maya shivered for she thought that these were the ghosts of dead antiguos bewailing their eternal grief in this unearthly place still she passed forward boldly notwithstanding her fears till she stood on the brink of it here she halted to strip herself so that there might be as little as possible to impede her movements in climbing the stair and twisted her hair into a knot next she tied the cord about her middle and the water skin to which she fastened the flint and steel upon her shoulders lighting two of the largest torches she fixed them slanting wise on the rock so that their flame shone over the mouth of the shaft down which she threw first a bundle of unlit torches and lastly one on fire this torch did not go out as she had expected that it would for presently looking down the pit she saw a spark of light shining 150 feet or more beneath her now all her preparations were complete nothing to be done except to descend and search for the water for a moment Maya hesitated looking at the spark of fire that gleamed so far below and at the narrow niches cut in the smooth surface of the rock then feeling that if she stood longer thus her terrors would master her she knelt down and holding to the rock with her hands she thrust her leg over the edge of the pit feeling at its side with her feet till she found the first niche resting her weight on this foot she dropped the other till she reached the second niche which was about 18 inches lower and 10 inches to the left of the first for these niches were cut in a zigzag fashion number one being cut above number three of number four and so on now she must face one of the most terrible risks of the descent for it was impossible for her to reach number three niche without leaving go of the edge of the pit nor could she get hold of number one with her hand until the foot was in number four so that there was no alternative except to balance herself on one leg and placing her palms against a smooth rock slide them down till her foot rested on number four and her fingers in number one clinging thus like a fly to the rock she stepped into number three and not daring to pause began at once to feel for number four in her anxiety she dropped her leg too low and while drawing it back almost over balanced herself a thrill of horrible fear struck her causing her spine to creep but resting her face against the rock by the desperate effort she retained her presence of mind and in another second was standing in number four and holding to number one thence forward the descent was easier since all she had to do was to shift the grip of her hands from hole to hole and remember in which line she must search with her foot for the succeeding niche so far from hindering her the darkness proved a boon since it prevented her from beholding the horror of the place by the time that she was a third of the way down the shaft her courage returned to her and the only fear she felt was less one of the niches should be broken fortunately this was not the case although one of them was so much worn that her toes slipped out of it and for a second or two she hung by her hands recovering herself she went on from step to step till at length she stood at the bottom of the shaft after a minutes pause to get her breath Maya found one of the dry aloe stems and lit it at the embers of the torch which she had thrown down the pit then she looked round her to find herself in a large natural cavern of no great height which sloped gently downward further than she could see turning her eyes to the floor she searched for and discovered the path that had been hollowed out by the feet of the ancients but now was half hidden in sand and dust it ran straight down the cave and she followed it 50 paces or more holding the light in one hand and some spare torches under her arm here in this cave the atmosphere was so hot and still that she was scarcely able to breathe though even at a distance she could hear a strange editing of wind roaring in the shaft down which she had come presently the cavern began to decrease in size till it narrowed into a small passage my aside allowed fearingness she should be coming to the mouth of a second shaft for she had heard me say that the water in these quavers was something else for depth of five or six hundred feet whereas she had not descended more than two hundred when she had walked another ten or fifteen paces however the passage took a sudden turn and her doubts were set to rest there in the center of a wonderful place such as she had never seen before gleamed the water which she had risked her life to reach how large the place where she found herself might be maya never knew since the feeble light of her torch did not pierce far into the gloom all that she could see was a number of white columns without doubt stalactites though she imagined them to have been fashioned by man rising from the floor of the cavern to its roof and in the midst of them a circular pit thirty feet or more across in which lay the water this water though clear as crystal was not still for once in every few seconds a great bubble three or four feet in diameter rose in the center of the pool and burst on its surface and sent a ring of ripples to the rocky sides so beautiful was this bubble and so regular in its appearance that for some minutes maya watched it then remembering that she had no time to spare she set herself to get the water only to learn that she was confronted with new difficulty and one which, but for her foresight might have proved insupperable the rock bank of the pool was so smooth and sloped so steeply to the water that it was quite impossible for anyone to keep a footing on it the ancients had overcome the trouble by means of a wooden staircase as was evident by the places hollowed in the rock to receive the uprights but that structure had long since rotted away at the head where the staircase had stood a hole was bored in the rock, doubtless to receive a rope by which the water bearers supported themselves while they filled their jars and the sight of this hole gave maya a thought untying the cord which she had brought with her she made it fast through the hole and having fixed this torch into one of the spaces hollowed to hold the timbers of the stairway she slid down the bank till she stood a breast high in the water for a minute or more she remained thus drinking her fill and enjoying the coolness of her bath which was pleasant after the stuptifying heat of the caves then first having taken care to remove the tinder that was tied to it she slipped the water's skin from her shoulder washed it out filled it and replaced it next she dragged herself up the bank and by the light of a new torch started for the foot of the shaft here maya rested a while gathering up her energies until feeling that once more she began to grow afraid she commenced the ascent there were a hundred and one of the notches for she had countered them as she came down now again she began to count so that she might know her exact position in the shaft of which she could see nothing because of the intense darkness before she had ascended 50 steps she was dismayed to find a feeling of weariness taking possession of her which forced her to pause a while hanging at the face of the pit then she went on again with great efforts reached the 75th step which upon more she was obliged to hang gaining breath till a pain in her right leg upon which most of her weight rested warned her that she must stay no longer for the third time she struggled upwards desperately and despairingly dragging her feet from niche to niche her breath came in gasps of the heavy water skin cut into her tender flesh and her brain began to reel now there were but ten more steps it came into her mind that she might save herself by losing the burden of the water from her shoulders to fall to the bottom of the pit but this she would not do now only three niches remained and the goal would be one although also her brain was giving darker and more bewildered it grew yet by a desperate effort she kept some fragments of her sense her foot was in the top most hole her body was balanced upon the edge of the pit and pulled down by the choking weight of the water she was like to fall backwards then it seemed that a voice called her and for the last time writhing forward as does a wounded snake till darkness closed in upon her mind when Maya recovered a while later she found that she was lying on the edge of the shaft over which her feet still hung instantly she remembered all and with a little scream of terror drew herself along the floor with difficulty for she was still breathless and her muscles seemed to have no strength she rose to her feet and having felt for and picked up her linen robe she crept toward the spot of light which marked the entrance to the cave presently she was through it and uttering a sigh of thankfulness sank to the earth and put on her garment then rising she walked slowly towards the camp bearing the precious water with her meanwhile knowing nothing of all this Aignatio also had been thinking I remembered how when I lay crushed beneath a rock the Senor had ventured his life to save me should I not then venture mine to save his it seemed so without water he would certainly die and greatly as I dreaded to attempt the descent of the quava yet it must be done leaving the hammock I searched for the Lady Maya but could not find her so I called her out Senora Maya Senora where are you Senora here she answered what is it is he dead no I said but I am sure that unless he has water he will die within little more than an hour therefore I have made up my mind to try to descend the quava will you be so good as to watch the Senor till I return if I return no more as is probable to tell your father what has happened he will find the talisman of the broken heart lying with my clothes at the mouth of the pit I pray that he will take it and I pray also that he should travel back to Mexico bearing with him some of the wealth of his city there to continue the great work that I have begun of which I have spoken to him farewell Senora stop Don Ignacio said Maya in a hoarse voice there is no need for you to descend the quava why not Lady I should be glad to escape the task but this is a question of life or death yes she answered and because it is a question of life or death Don Ignacio I have already climbed that hideous place and here is the water so saying she fell forward and swooned upon the ground I answered nothing I was too much amazed and indeed too much ashamed to speak lifting Maya's senseless form I placed her in a hammock that was slung close by I took the water's skin and a leather cup and ran with it to my friend's side by now the Senora was lost in a coma and lay still only moaning from time to time undoing the mouth of the skin I poured out a cup full of water with which I began to sprinkle his brow and to moisten his cracked lips at the touch and smell of the fluid a change came over the face of the dying man the empty look left it and the eyes opened that was water he muttered I can taste it now he saw the cup and the sight seemed to give him a sudden strength he stretched out his arms and snatching it from my hand he drained it in three gulps more he guessed more but as yet I would give him no more though he prayed piteously for it and when I did allow him to drink again it was in sips only for an hour he sipped thus till at length even his thirst was partially satisfied and the shrunken cheeks began to fill out and the dull eyes to brighten the water has saved my life he whispered where did it come from I will tell you tomorrow I answered sleep now if you can end of chapter 12