 CHAPTER XVII The thing was at a considerable distance. We could barely see that it was there, and that it was moving. It was of an immense size, so large that it appeared as though the very side of the cavern itself had moved noiselessly from its bed in the mountain. At the same moment I became aware of a penetrating, disagreeable odor, nauseating and horrible. I had risen to my knees and remained so, while Harry and Desiree stood on either side of me. The thing continued to move toward us, very slowly. There was not a sound. The strength of the odor increased until it was almost suffocating. Still we did not move. I could not, and Harry and Desiree seemed rooted to the spot with wonder. The thing came closer, and we could see the outlines of its huge form looming up indistinctly against the black background of the cavern. I saw, or thought I saw, a grotesque and monstrous slimy head stretched toward us from about the middle of its bulk. That doubt became a certainty when suddenly, as though they had been lit by a fire from within, two luminous glowing spots appeared about three feet apart. The creature's eyes, if eyes they were, were turned full on us, growing more brilliant as the thing came closer. It was now less than fifty feet away. The massive form blocked our view of the entire cavern. I pinched my nostrils to exclude the horrible odor which, like the fumes of some deadly poison, choked and smothered me. It came now in puffs, like a draft of a fetid wind. And I realized that it was the creature's breath. I could feel it against my body, my neck and face, and I knew that if I breathed it full into my lungs I should be overcome. But still more terrifying were the eyes. There was something compelling, supernaturally compelling, about their steadfast and brilliant gaze. A mysterious power seemed to emanate from them, a power that hypnotized the mind and deadened the senses. I closed my eyes to avoid it, but was unable to keep them closed. They opened, despite my extreme effort, and again I met that gaze of fire. There was a movement at my side. I turned and saw that it came from Desiree. Her hands were raised to her face. She was holding them before her, as though in a futile attempt to cover her eyes. The thing came closer and closer. It was but a few feet away, and still we did not move, as though rooted to the spot by some power beyond our control. Suddenly there came a cry from Desiree's lips, a scream of terror and wild fear. Her entire form trembled violently. She extended her arms toward the thing, now almost upon us, and took a step forward. Her feet dragged unwilling along the ground, as though she were being drawn forward by some irresistible force. I tried to put out my hand to pull her back, but was absolutely unable to move. Harry stood like a man of rock, immovable. She took another step forward, with arms outstretched in front of her. A low moan of terror and piteous appeal came from between her slightly parted lips. Suddenly the eyes disappeared. The huge form ceased to advance and stood perfectly still. Then it began to recede, so slowly that I was barely conscious of the movement. I was gasping and choking for air. My chest seemed swelling with a poisonous breath. Still slowly the thing receded into the dimness of the cavern. The eyes were no longer to be seen, merely the huge formless bulk. Desiree had stopped short with one foot advanced, as though hesitating and struggling with the desire to go forward. The thing now could barely be seen at a distance. It would have been impossible if we had not known it was there. Finally it disappeared, melting away into the semi-darkness. No slightest movement was discernable. I breathed more freely and stepped forward. As I did so Desiree threw her hands gropingly above her head and fell fainting to the ground. Harry sprang forward in time to keep her head from striking on the rock and knelt with his arms round her shoulders. We had nothing, not even water with which to revive her. She called her name aloud, appealingly. Soon her eyes opened. She raised her hand and passed it across her brow, wonderingly. God, help me! She murmured in a low voice, eloquent of distress and pain. Then she pushed Harry aside and rose slowly to her feet, refusing his assistance. In the name of heaven, what is it? Harry demanded, turning to me. We have found the devil at last! I answered with an attempt to laugh, which sounded hollow in my own ears. Desiree could tell us nothing except that she had felt herself drawn forward by some strange power that had seemed to come from the baneful glittering eyes. She was bewildered and stunned and unable to talk coherently. She assisted her to the wall, and she sat there with her back propped against it, breathing heavily from the exhaustion of terror. We must find water, I said. And Harry nodded, hesitating. I understood him. Danger could not have stayed him, nor fear, but the horror of the thing which roamed about the cavern, dark as darkness itself, and possessed of some strange power that could not be withstood, was enough to make him pause. For myself it was impossible. I was barely able to stand. So Harry went off alone in search of water, and I stayed with Desiree. It was perhaps half an hour before he returned, and we were shaken with fear for him long before he appeared. When he did so it was with a white face and trembling limbs, in spite of his evident effort at steadiness. "'There is water over there,' said he, pointing across the cavern. A stream runs across the corner and disappears beneath the wall. There is nothing to carry it in. You must come with me.' "'What has happened?' I asked, for even his voice was unsteady. "'I saw it,' he replied simply, but expressing enough in those three words to cause a shudder to run through me. Then speaking in a low tone that Desiree might not hear, he told me that the thing had confronted him suddenly as he was following the opposite wall, and that he too had been drawn forward, as it were, by a spell impossible to shake off. He had tried to cry aloud, but had been unable to utter a sound. And suddenly, as before, the eyes had disappeared, leaving him barely able to stand. "'No wonder the Incas wouldn't follow us in here,' he finished. "'We must get out of this.' "'I'm not a coward, but I wouldn't go through that again for my life.' "'You take Desiree,' said I. "'I want that water.' He led us around the wall several hundred feet. The ground was level and clear of obstruction, but we went slowly, for I could scarcely move. Harry kept his eyes strained intently on all sides. His experience had left him more profoundly impressed, even than he had been willing to admit to me. Soon we heard the low music of running water, and a minute later we reached the stream Harry had found. The fact that there was something to be done seemed to infuse a new spirit into Desiree, and soon her deft fingers were bathing my wounds and bandaging them as well as her poor material would allow. The cold water took the heat from my pumping veins and left me almost comfortable. Harry had come off much easier than I, since I had so often sent him ahead with Desiree, and myself brought up the rear and withstood the brunt of the attack. As Harry had said, the stream cut across a corner of the cavern, disappearing beneath the opposite wall, forming a triangle bound by two sides of the cavern and the stream itself. I saw plainly that it would be impossible for me to move any distance, for at least a few days, and that triangle appeared to offer the safest and most comfortable retreat. I spoke to Harry, and he waited across the stream to try its depth. From the other side he called that the water was at no point more than waist high, and Desiree and I started to cross, but about the middle I felt the current about to sweep me off my feet. Harry waited in and helped me ashore. On that hard rock we lay for many weary hours. We had no food, but for that I would soon have been myself again, for though my wounds were numerous they were little more than scratches, with the exception of the gas on my shoulder. Weakened as I was by loss of blood and lacking nourishment, I improved but slowly, and only the cold water kept the fever from me. Twice Harry went out in search of food and of an exit from the cavern. The first time he was away for several hours, and returned exhausted and empty-handed, and without having found any exit other than the one by which we had entered. He had ventured through that far enough to see a group of anchors on watch at the other end. They had seen him and sprung after him, but he had returned without injury, and at the entrance into the cavern where we lay they had halted abruptly. The second time he was gone out more than half an hour, and the instant I saw his face when he returned I knew what had happened. But I was not in the best of humor. His terror appeared to me to be ridiculously childish, and I said so in no uncertain terms. But he was too profoundly agitated to show any anger. You don't know, you don't know, was all he said in answer to me. Then he added, I can't stand this any longer. I tell you, we've got to get out of here. You don't know how awful. Yes, said Desiree, looking at me. But I can scarcely walk, I objected. True, said Harry, I know, but we can help you. There must be another exit, and we'll start now. Very well, I said quite calmly, and I picked up one of the spears which we had carried with us, and, rising to my knees, placed the butt of the shaft against the wall near which I lay. But Harry saw my purpose and was too quick for me. He sprang across and snatched the spear from my hand and threw it on the ground a dozen feet away. Are you crazy?" he shouted angrily. No, I answered. But I am little better, and I doubt if I shall be. Come, why not? I hinder you and become bored with myself. You blame me, he said bitterly, but I tell you, you don't know. Very well, we stay. You must give me your promise not to act the fool. In any event you must go soon, I answered, or starve to death. Perhaps in another twenty-four hours I shall be stronger. Come, Desiree, will that satisfy you?" She did not answer. Her back was turned to us as she stood gazing across the stream into the depths of the cavern. There was a curious tenseness in her attitude that made me follow her gaze, and what I saw left me with no wonder at it, a huge, black, indistinct form that moved slowly toward us through the darkness. Harry caught sight of it at the same moment as myself, and on the instant he turned about, covering his face with his hands, and called to Desiree and me to do likewise. Desiree obeyed. I had risen to my knees and remained so, gazing straight ahead, ready for a combat if it were not a physical one. I will not say that a certain feeling of dread did not rise in my heart, but I intended to show Desiree and Harry the childishness of their terror. Nothing could be seen but the uncertain outline of the immense bulk, but the same penetrating, sickening odor that had before all but suffocated me came faintly across the surface of the stream, growing stronger with each second the past. Suddenly the eyes appeared, two glowing orbs of fire that caught my gaze and held it as with a chain. I did not attempt to avoid it, but returned the gaze with another as steadfast. I was telling myself, let us see this trick and play one stronger. My nerves centered throbbingly back of my eyes, and I gave them the whole force of my will. The thing came closer, and the eyes seemed to burn into my very brain. With a great effort I brought myself back to control, dropping to my hands and knees and gripping the ground for strength. This is nothing, this is nothing, I kept saying to myself aloud, until I realized suddenly that my voice had risen almost to a scream and I locked my teeth tight on my lip. I no longer returned the gaze from my own power. It held me of itself. I felt my brain grow curiously numb, and every muscle in my body contracted with a pain almost unbearable. Still the thing came closer and closer, and it seemed to me, half-dazed as I was, that it advanced much faster than before. Then suddenly I felt a sensation of cold and moisture on my arms and legs and a pressure against my body, and I realized, as in a dream, that I had entered the stream of water. I was crawling toward the thing on my hands and knees without having even been conscious that I had moved. That brought despair and a last supreme struggle to resist whatever mysterious power it was that dragged me forward. Cold beads of sweat rolled from my forehead. Beneath the surface of the water my hands gripped the rocks as in a vice. My teeth had sunk deep into my lower lip and covered my chin with blood, though I did not know that till afterward. But I was pulled loose from my hold and forward. I bent the whole force of my will to the effort not to move, but my hand left the rock and crept forward. I was fully conscious of what I was doing. I knew that if I could once draw my eyes away from that compelling gaze the spell would be broken, but the power to do so was not in me. The thing had halted on the farther bank of the stream. Still I moved forward. The water now lapped against my chest. Soon it was about my shoulders. I was fully conscious of the fact that in another ten feet the surface would close over my head and that I had not the strength to swim or fight the current. But still I went forward. I tried to cry out but could force no sound through my lips. Then suddenly the eyes began to disappear. But that at least was comprehensible, for I could distinctly see the black and heavy lids closing over them, like the curtain on a stage. They fell slowly. The eyes became half-moons, then narrowed to a thin slit. I rose, panting like a man exhausted with extreme and prolonged physical exertion. The eyes were gone. A mad impulse rushed into my brain to dash forward and touch the monster to see if that dim black form were really a thing of flesh and blood or some contrivance of the devil. I smile at that phrase as I write it now in my study, but I did not smile then. I was standing above my knees in the water, trembling from head to foot, divided between the impulse to go forward and the inclination to flee in terror. I did neither. I stood still. I could see the thing with a fair amount of distinctness and forced my brain to take the record of my eyes, but I could make nothing of it. I guessed at rather than saw a hideous head rolling from side to side at the end of a long and sinuous neck and writhing reptilian coils lashing the rock at the edge of the water, like the tentacles of an octopus only many times larger. The body itself was larger than that of any animal I had ever seen, and blacker even than the darkness. Suddenly the huge mass began to move slowly backward. The sharpness of the odor had ceased with the opening of the eyes which did not reappear. I could dimly see its huge legs slowly rise and recede and again meet the ground. Soon the thing was barely discernible. I took a step forward as though to follow, but the strength of the current warned me of the danger of proceeding farther and, besides, I feared every moment to see the lids again raised from the terrible eyes. The thought attacked my brain with horror, and I turned and fled in a sudden panic to the rear, calling to Harry and Desiree. They met me at the edge of the stream, and their eyes told me that they read in my face what had happened, though they had seen nothing. You saw it, Harry stammered. I nodded, scarcely able to speak. Then, perhaps now, yes, I interposed, let's get out of here. It's horrible. And yet how can we go? I can hardly stand. But Harry was now the one who argued for delay, saying that our retreat was the safest place we could find, and that we should wait at least until I had had time to recover from the strain of the last half hour. Realizing that in my weakened condition I would be a hindrance to them rather than a help, I consented. Besides, if the thing reappeared, I could avoid it as Harry and Desiree had done. What is it, Harry asked presently? We were sitting side by side, well up against the wall. It was an abrupt question, with no apparent pertinence, but I understood. Heaven knows, I answered shortly. I was none too pleased with myself. But it must be something. Is it an animal? Do you remember, I asked, by way of answer, a treatise of Aristotle concerning which we had a discussion one day? Its subject was the hypnotic power possessed by the eyes of certain reptiles. I laughed the idea to scorn. You maintained that it was possible. Well, I agree with you, and I'd like to have about a dozen of our modern skeptical scientists in this cave with me for about five minutes. But what is it? A reptile? Harry exclaimed. The thing is as big as a house. Well, and why not? I should guess that it is about 30 feet in height and 40 or 50 in length. There have been species now extinct several times as large. Then you think it is just an animal, put in Desiree? What did you think it was, I nearly smiled. An infernal machine? I don't know. Only I have never before known what it was to fear. A discussion which led us nowhere, but at least gave us the sound of one another's voices. We passed many hours in that manner, utterly blank and wearisome and all but hopeless. I have often wondered at the strange tenacity with which we clung to life in conditions that made of it a burden almost insupportable, and with what chance of relief? The instinct of self-preservation it is called by the learned, but it needs a stronger name. It is more than an instinct. It is the very essence of life itself. But soon we were impelled to action by something besides the desire to escape from the cavern, the pangs of hunger. It had been many hours since we had eaten. I think we had fasted not less than three or four days. Desiree began to complain of a dizziness in her temples and to weaken with every hour that passed. My own strength did not increase, and I saw that it would not unless I could obtain nourishment. Harry did not complain, but only because he would not. It is useless to wait longer, I declared finally. I grow weaker instead of stronger. We had little enough with which to burden ourselves. There were three spears, two of which Harry had brought, and myself the other. Harry and I wore only our woollen undergarments, so ragged and torn that they were but sorry covering. Desiree's single garment, made from some soft hide, was held about her waist by a girdle of the same material. The upper half of her body was bare. Her hair hung in a tangled mass over her shoulders and down her back. None of us had any covering for our feet. We crossed the stream using the spears as staffs, but instead of advancing across the middle of the cavern, we turned to the left, hugging the wall. Harry urged us on, saying that he had already searched carefully for an exit on that side, but we went slowly, feeling for a break in the wall. It was absolutely smooth, which led me to believe that the cavern had at one time been filled with water. We reached the farther wall, and, turning to the right, were about to follow it. "'This is senseless,' said Harry, impatiently. "'I tell you, I have examined this side, too, every inch of it. "'And the one ahead of us, at right angles to this?' I asked. "'That, too,' he answered. "'And the other, the one to the right of the stream?' "'No, I didn't go there.' "'Why didn't you say so?' I demanded. "'Because I didn't want to,' he returned sullenly. "'You can go there if you care to. I don't. It was from there that it came.' I did not answer, but pushed forward, not, however, leaving the wall. Perhaps it was cowardly. You are welcome to the word if you care to use it. Myself, I know.' Another half hour, and we reached the end of the lane by which we had first entered the cavern. We stood gazing at it with eyes of desire, but we knew how little chance there was of the thing being unguarded at the farther end. We knew then, of course, and only too well why the Incas had not followed us into the cavern. "'Perhaps they are gone,' said Harry. "'They can't stay there forever. I'm going to find out.' He sprang to the edge of a boulder at the mouth of the passage and disappeared on the other side. In fifteen minutes he returned, and I saw by the expression on his face that there was no chance of escape in that direction. "'They're at the other end,' he said gloomily. A dozen of them. I looked from behind a rock. They didn't see me, but we could never get through. We turned then and proceeded to the third wall and followed it. But we really had no hope of finding an exit since Harry had said that he had previously explored it. We were possessed, I know, by the same thought. Should we venture to follow the fourth wall?' Alone none of us would have dared, but the presence of the others lessened the fear of each. Finally we reached it. The corner was a sharp right angle, and there were rifts and crevices in the rock. "'This is limestone,' I said, and if we find an exit anywhere it'll be here.' I turned to the right and proceeded slowly along the wall, feeling at surface with my hand. We had advanced in this manner several hundred yards when Desiree suddenly sprang forward to my side. "'See?' she cried, pointing ahead with her spear. I followed the direction with my eye and saw what appeared to be a sharp break in the wall. It was some fifty feet away. We reached it in another moment, and I think none of us would have been able to express the immeasurable relief we felt when we saw before us a broad and clear passage leading directly away from the cavern. It was very dark, but we entered it almost at a run. I think we had not known the extent of our fear of that thing in the cavern until we found the means of escape from it. We had gone about a hundred feet when we came to a turn to the left. Harry stumbled against the corner and we halted for an instant to wait for him. Then we made the turn, side by side, and then we came to a sudden and abrupt stop, and a simultaneous gasp of terror burst from our lips. Not three feet in front of us, blocking the passage completely, stood the thing we thought we had escaped. The terrible, fiery eyes rolled from side to side as they stared straight into our own. End of Chapter 17 CHAPTER XVIII A VICTORY AND A CONVERSATION We stood for a long moment, rooted to the spot, unable to move. Then calling to Harry and grasping Desiree by the arm, I started to turn. But too late. For Desiree, inspired by a boundless terror, suddenly raised her spear high above her head and hurled it straight at the glowing, flashing eyes. The point struck squarely between them and with such force that it must have sunk clear to the shaft. The head of the monster rolled for an instant from side to side, and then, before I was aware of what had happened, so rapid was the movement, a long snake-like coil had reached out through the air and twisted itself about Desiree's body. As she felt the thing tighten about her waist and legs, she gave a scream of terror and twisted her face round toward me. The next instant the snaky tentacle had dragged her along the ground and lifted her to the head of the monster, where her white body could be seen in sharp outline sprawling over its black form between the terrible eyes. Harry and I sprang forward. As we did so, the eyes closed and the reptile began to move backward with incredible swiftness, lashing about on the ground before us with other tentacles similar to the one that had captured Desiree. I cried out to Harry to avoid them. He did not answer, but rushed blindly forward. Desiree's agonized shrieks rose to the pitch of madness. The eyes were closed, leaving but a vague mark for our spears, and besides, there was the danger of striking Desiree. We were barely able to keep pace with the thing as it receded swiftly down the broad passage. Desiree had twisted her body half round, and her face was turned toward us, shadowy as a ghost. Then her head fell forward and hung loosely, and her lips were silent. She had fainted. The thing moved swifter than ever. We were barely able to keep up with it. Harry made a desperate leap forward. I cried out a warning, but one of the writhing tentacles swept against him and knocked him to the ground. He was up again on the instant and came rushing up from behind. Suddenly the passage broadened until the walls were no longer visible. We had entered another cavern. I heard the sound of running water somewhere ahead of us. The pace of the reptile had not slackened for an instant. Harry had again caught up with us, and as he ran at my side I saw him raise his spear aloft, but I caught his arm and held it. Desiree! I panted. Her body covered the only part of the thing that presented a fair mark. Harry swore, but his arm fell. To the side, he gasped. We can't get at it here. I saw his meaning and followed at his heels as he swerved suddenly to the right and sprang forward in an attempt to get past the reptile's head. But in our eagerness we forgot caution and went too close. I felt one of the sneaky tentacles wrap itself round my legs and body and raise my voice in a warning to Harry, but too late. He too was ensnared, and a moment later we had both been lifted bodily from the ground and swung through the air to the side of Desiree. She was still unconscious. I writhed and twisted desperately, but that muscular coil held me firmly as a band of steel, tight against the huge and hideous head. Harry was on the other side of Desiree, not three feet from me. I could see his muscle strain and pull in his violent efforts to tear himself free. I had given it up. But suddenly, quite near my shoulder, I saw the lid suddenly begin to raise itself from one of the terrible eyes. I was almost on top of the thing and a little above it. I turned my head aside and called to Harry. The eye, I gasped. To your right, the spear! Are your arms free? Then as I saw he understood, I turned a quarter of the way around, as far as I could get, and raised my spear to the full extent of my arm and brought it down with every ounce of my strength into the very center of the glowing eye beneath me. At the same moment I saw Harry's arm descend and the flash of his spear. The point of my own had sunk until the copper head was completely buried. I grasped the shaft and pulled and twisted it about until it finally was jerked forth. From the opening it had made there issued a black stream. Suddenly the body of the reptile quivered convulsively. The head rolled from side to side. It was a quick tightening of the tentacle round my body until my bones felt as though they were being crushed into shapelessness, and as suddenly it loosened. Other tentacles lashed and beat on the ground furiously. The reptile's swift backward movement halted jerkily. I made a desperate effort to tear myself free. The tentacle quivered and throbbed violently and suddenly flew apart like a released spring, and I fell to the ground. In an instant Harry was at my side, and we both leaped forward with our spears, slashing at the tentacle which still held Desiree in its grasp. Others writhed on the ground about our feet, but feebly. There came a sudden cry from Harry, and his spear clattered on the ground as he opened his arms to receive Desiree's unconscious body, which came tumbling down with the severed coil still wrapped about it. But there was life in the reptile's immense body. It staggered and swayed from side to side and drunk in agony. Its monstrous head rolled about, sweeping the air in a prodigious circle. The poison of its breath came to us in great puffs. There was something supremely horrible about the thing in its very helplessness, and I was shuddering violently as I stooped to help Harry lift Desiree from the ground and carry her away. We did not go far, for we were barely able to carry her. We laid her on the hard rock with her head in Harry's lap. Her body was limp as a rag. For many minutes we worked over her, rubbing her temples and wrists, and pressing the nerve centers at the back of the neck, but without effect. "'She is dead,' said Harry, with a curious calm. I shook my head. "'She has a pulse, see? But we must find that water. I think she isn't injured. It is her weakened condition from the lack of food that keeps her so. Wait for me.' I started out across the cavern in the direction from which the sound of the water appeared to come, bearing off to the right from the huge, quivering form of the monster whose gigantic body rose and fell on the ground, with a force that seemed to shake the very walls of the cavern. I found the stream with little difficulty, not far away, and returned to Harry. Together we carried Desiree to its edge. The blood was stubborn, and for a long time refused to move. But the cold water at length revived her. Her eyes slowly opened, and she raised her hand to her head with the faltering gesture. But she was extremely weak, and we saw that the end was near unless nourishment could be found for her. I stayed by her side with my arms round her shoulders, and Harry set out with one of the spears. He bore off to the left, toward the spot where the body of the immense reptile lay. I was too far away to see it in the darkness. It isn't possible that the thing is fit to eat, I had objected, and he had answered me with a look which I understood, and was silenced. Soon a sound as of a scuffle on the rocks came through the darkness from the direction he had taken. I called out to ask if he needed me, but there was no answer. Ten minutes longer I waited while the sound continued unabated. Once I heard the clatter of his spear on the rock. I was just rising to my feet to run to the scene when suddenly he appeared in the semi-darkness. He was coming slowly and was dragging along the ground what appeared to be the form of some animal. Another minute and he stood at my side as I sat holding Desiree. "'A peccary!' I cried, bending over the body of the four-footed creature that lay at his feet. How the deuce did it ever get down here?' "'Peccary, my aunt!' observed Harry, bending down to look at Desiree. "'Do peccaries live in the water? Do they have snouts like catfish? This animal is my own invention. There's about ten million more of them over there making a gorgeous banquet off our late lamented friend. And now let's see.' He knelt down by the still warm body and with the point of his spear ripped it open from neck to rump. Desiree stirred about in my arms. "'Yeah, that smells good!' cried Harry. I shuddered. He dragged the thing a few feet away and I heard him slashing away at it with his spear. A minute later he came running over to us with his hands full of something. That was not exactly a pretty meal. How Desiree, in her frightfully weakened condition, ever managed to get the stuff down and keep it there is beyond me. But she did, and I was not behind her. And after all, it was fresh. Harry said it was sweet. Well, perhaps it was. We bathed Desiree's hands and face and gave her water to drink, and soon after she passed into a seemingly healthy sleep. There was about ten pounds of meat left. Harry washed it in the stream and stowed it away on a rock beneath the surface of the water. Then he announced his intention of going back for more. "'I'm going with you,' I declared. "'Here, help me fix Desiree.' "'Hardly,' said Harry. "'Didn't I say there are millions of those things over there?' "'Anyway, there are hundreds. "'If they should happen to scatter in this direction and find her, "'she wouldn't stand a chance. "'You take the other spear and stay here.' So I sat still with Desiree's body in my arms and waited for him. My sensations were not unpleasant. "'I could actually feel the blood quicken in my veins.' Civilization places the temple of life in the soul or the heart, as she speaks through the mouth of the preacher or the poet, but let civilization go for four or five days without anything to eat and see what happens. The organ is vulgar, but its voice is loud. I need not name it.' In five minutes Harry returned, dragging two more of the creatures at his heels. In half an hour there were a dozen of them lying in a heap at the edge of the water. "'That's all,' he announced, panting heavily from his exertions. "'The rest have taken to the woods, which I imagine is quite a journey from here. "'You ought to see our friend, the one who couldn't make his eyes behave. They've eaten him full of holes. He's the most awful mess, sickening beast. He didn't have a bone in him, all crumpled up like an accordion, utterly spineless. "'And who, in the name of goodness, do you think is going to eat all that?' I demanded, pointing to the heap of bodies. Harry grinned. "'I don't know. I was so excited at the very idea of a square meal that I didn't know when to stop. I'd give five fingers for a fire and some salt. Just a nickel's worth of salt. Now, you lie down and sleep while I cut these things up, and then I'll take a turn at it myself.' He brought me one of the hides for a pillow, and I lay back as gently as possible that I might not awaken Desiree. Her head and shoulders rested against my body as she lay peacefully sleeping. I was awakened by Harry's hand tugging at my arm. Rising on my elbows, I demanded to know how long I had slept. "'Six or seven hours,' said Harry, I waited as long as I could. Keep a look out.' Harry stirred uneasily, but seemed to be still asleep. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The heap of bodies had disappeared. No wonder Harry was tired. I reproached myself for having slept so long. Harry had arranged himself a bed that was really comfortable with the skins of his kill. "'This is great stuff,' I heard him murmur wearily. Then all was still. I sat motionless, stiff and numb, but afraid to move for fear of disturbing Desiree. Presently she stirred again, and bending over her I saw her eyes slowly open. They met my own with a curious, steadfast gaze. She was still half asleep. "'Is that you, Paul?' she murmured. "'Yes.' "'I am glad. I seem to feel—' "'What is it?' "'I don't know, Desiree. What do you mean?' "'Nothing. Nothing. "'Oh, it feels so good. "'Good to have you hold me like this.' "'Yes?' I smiled. "'But yes. "'Where is Harry?' "'Asleep. "'Are you hungry?' "'Yes. No. Not now. I don't know why. I want to talk. What has happened?' I told her of everything that had occurred since she had swooned. She shuddered as memory returned, but forgot herself in my attempt at a humorous description of Harry's valor as a hunter of food. "'You don't need to turn up your nose,' I retorted to her expressive grimace. "'You ate some of the stuff yourself.' There was a silence. Then suddenly Desiree's voice came. "'Paul?' She hesitated and stopped. "'Yes. What do you think of me?' "'Do you want a lengthy review?' I smiled. "'What a woman she was. Under those circumstances, and amid those surroundings, she was still Desiree LeMire. "'Don't laugh at me,' she said. "'I want to know. I have never spoken of what I did that time in the cavern. You know what I mean. I am sorry now. I suppose you despise me.' "'But you did nothing,' I objected. "'And you wouldn't. You were merely amusing yourself.' She turned on me quickly, with a flash of her old fire. "'Don't play with me,' she burst out. "'My friend, you have never yet given me a serious word.' "'Nor anyone else,' I answered. "'My dear Desiree, do you not know that I am incapable of seriousness? Nothing in the world is worth it.' "'At least you need not pretend,' she retorted. "'I meant once for you to die. You know it. And since you pretend not to understand me, I ask you. These are strange words from my lips. "'Will you forgive me?' "'There is nothing to forgive.' "'My friend, you are becoming dull. An evasive answer should always be a witty one. Must I ask you again?' "'That depends,' I answered, hardly knowing what to say. "'On whether or not you were serious, once upon a time, when you made a, shall we call it, a confession? If you were, I offended you in my own conceit. But let us be frank. I thought you were acting, and I played my role. I do not yet believe that you were. I am not conceited enough to think it possible. "'I do not say,' Desiree began, then she stopped and added hastily, "'but that is past. I shall not tell you that again. Perhaps I forgot myself. Perhaps it was a pretty play. You have not answered me.' I looked at her. Strange and terrible as her experiences and sufferings had been, she had lost little of her beauty. Her face was rendered only the more delicate by its pallor. Her white and perfect body, only half-seen in the half-darkness, conveyed a sense of the purest beauty with no hint of immodesty. But I was moved not by what I saw, but by what I knew. I had admired her always as lamere. But her bravery, her hardy-hood, her sympathy for others under circumstances when any other woman would have been thinking only of herself, had these awakened in my breast a feeling stronger than admiration? I did not know. But my voice trembled a little as I said, "'I need not answer you, Desiree. I repeat that there is nothing to forgive. You sought revenge, then sacrificed it, but still revenge is yours.' She looked at me for a moment in silence, then said slowly, "'I do not understand you.' For reply I took her hand in my own from where it lay idly on my knee, and carrying it to my lips, pressed a long kiss on the top of each of the slender white fingers. Then I held the hand tight between both of mine as I asked simply, looking into her eyes, "'Do you understand me now?' I said in another silence. "'My revenge,' she breathed. I nodded and again pressed her hand to my lips. "'Yes, Desiree. We are not children. I think we know what we mean. But you have not told me. Did you mean what you said that day on the mountain?' "'Ah, I thought that was a play,' she murmured. "'Tell me, did you mean it?' I never confessed the same sin twice, my friend. Desiree, did you mean it?' Then suddenly, with the rapidity of lightning, her manner changed. She bent toward me with parted lips and looked straight into my eyes. There was passion in the gaze, but when she spoke her voice was quite even, and so low I scarcely heard. "'Paul,' she said, "'I shall not again say I love you. Such words should not be wasted. Not now, perhaps, but that is because we are where we are. And if we should return?' "'You have said that nothing is worth a serious word to you, and you are right. You are too cynical. Things are bitter in your mouth and doubly so when they leave it. Just now you are amusing yourself by pretending to care for me. Perhaps you do not know it, but you are. Search your heart, my friend, and tell me. Do you want my love?' Well, there was no need to search my heart. She had laid it open. I hated myself then, and I turned away, unable to meet her eyes as I said, "'Bon Dieu,' she cried. "'That is an ugly speech, monsieur,' and she laughed aloud. "'But we must not awaken Harry,' she continued with sudden softness. "'What a boy he is, and what a man! Ah, he knows what it is to love! That topic suited me little better, but I followed her. We talked of Harry, lamir with an amount of enthusiasm that surprised me. Suddenly she stopped abruptly and announced that she was hungry. I found Harry's pantry after a few minutes' search and took some of its contents to Desiree. Then I returned to the edge of the water and ate my portion alone. That meal was one scarcely calculated for the pleasures of companionship or conviviality. It was several hours after that before Harry awoke, the greater part of which Desiree and I were silent. I would have given something to have known her thoughts. My own were not very pleasant. It is always a disagreeable thing to discover that someone else knows you better than you know yourself. And Desiree had cut deep. At the time I thought her unjust. I am alone could have told which of us was right. If she were here with me now, but she is not. Finally Harry awoke. He was delighted to find Desiree awake and comparatively well and demonstrated the fact with the degree of effusion that prompted me to leave them alone together. But I did not go far. A hundred paces made me sit down to rest before returning, so weak was I from wounds and fasting. Harry's spirits were high, for no apparent reason, other than that we were still alive, for that was the best that could be said for us. So I told him. He retorted with a hearty clap on the back that sent me sprawling to the ground. What the deuce! he exclaimed, stooping to help me up. And you as weak as that? God, I'm sorry! That is the second fall he has had, said Desiree with a meaning smile. Indeed, she was having her revenge. But my strength was not long in returning. Over a long stretch our diet would hardly have been conducive to health, but it was exactly what I needed to put blood and strengthen me. And Harry and Desiree, too, for that matter. Again I had to withstand Harry's eager demands for action. He began within two hours to insist on exploring the cave, and would hardly take a refusal. I won't stir a foot until I am able to knock you down, I declared, finally, and flatly. Never again will I attempt to perform the feats of a Hercules when I am fit only for an invalid's chair. And he was forced to wait. As I say, however, my strength was not long in returning, and when it started it came with a rush. My wounds were healing perfectly, only one remained open. Harry, with his usual phenomenal luck, had got nothing but the merest scratches. Desiree improved very slowly. The strain of those four days in the cavern had been severe, and her nerves required more pleasant surroundings than a dark and damp cavern, and more agreeable diet than raw meat to adjust themselves. Thus it was that when Harry and I found ourselves ready to start out to explore the cavern, and, if possible, find an exit on the opposite side from the one where we had entered, we left Desiree behind, seated on a pile of skins, with a spear on the ground at her side. "'We'll be back in an hour,' said Harry, stooping to kiss her. And the phrase, which might have come from the lips of a worthy Harlem husband, leaving for a little sojourn with friends in the corner, brought a smile to my face. We went first toward the spot where lay the remains of our friend with the eyes, as Harry called him, and we were guided straight by our noses, for the odor of the thing was beginning to be, to use another phrase of Harry's, most awful vile. There was little to see except a massive pile of crumpled hide and sinking flesh. As we approached, several hundred of the animals with which Harry had filled our larder, scampered away toward the water. "'They're not fighters,' I observed, turning to watch them disappear in the darkness. "'No,' Harry agreed. "'See here?' he added, suddenly, holding up a piece of the hide of the reptile. "'This stuff is an inch thick and tough as rats. It ought to be good for something. But by that time I was pinching my nostrils with my fingers, and I pulled him away. Several hundred yards farther on we came to the wall of the cavern. We followed it, turning to the right. But though it was uneven and marked by projecting boulders and deep crevices, we found no exit. We had gone at least half a mile, I think, when we came to the end. There it turned in a wide circle to the right, and we took the new direction, which was toward the spot where we had left as a ray, only considerably to the left. Another five minutes found us at the edge of the stream, which at that point was much swifter than it was farther up. We waited in and discovered that the cause was its extreme narrowness. "'But where does the thing go to?' asked Harry, taking the words from my mouth. We soon found out. Proceeding along the bank to the left, within fifty feet we came to the wall. There the stream entered and disappeared. But unlike the others we had seen, above this there was a wide and high arch, which made it appear as though the stream were passing under a massive bridge. The current was swift, but not turbulent, and there was something about the surface of that stream flowing straight through the mountain ahead of us. Harry and I glanced at each other quickly, moved by the same thought. There was an electric thrill in that glance, but we did not speak then. For suddenly, startlingly, a voice sounded throughout the cavern, Desiree's voice raised in a shrill cry of terror. It was repeated twice before our startled senses found themselves. Then we turned with one impulse and raced into the darkness toward her. End of CHAPTER XIII. CHAPTER XIX OF UNDER THE ANDES. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Roger Maline. UNDER THE ANDES by Rex Stout. CHAPTER XIX. A FLOWT. As we ran swiftly, following the edge of the stream, the cries continued, filling the cavern with racing echoes. They could not quicken our step, we were already straining every muscle as we bounded over the rock. Luckily the way was clear, for in the darkness we could see but a few feet ahead. Desiree's voice was sufficient guide for us. Finally we reached her. I don't know what I expected to see, but certainly not that which met our eyes. Your spear!" cried Harry, dashing off to the right, away from the stream. My spear was ready. I followed. Desiree was standing exactly in the spot where we had left her, screaming at the top of her voice. Around her, on every side, was a struggling, pushing mass of the animals we had frightened away from the carcass of the reptile. There were hundreds of them, packed tightly together, crowding toward her, some leaping on the backs of others, some trampled to the ground beneath the feet of their fellows. They did not appear to be actually attacking her, but we could not see distinctly. This we saw in a flash, and an instant later had dashed forward into the mass with whirling spears. It was a farce rather than a fight. We brought our spears down on the swarm of heads and backs without even troubling to take aim. They pressed against our legs. We waited through as though it were a current of water. Those we hit either fell or ran. They waited for no second blow. Desiree had ceased her cries. "'They won't hurt you!' Harry had shouted. "'Where's your spear?' "'Gone. They came on me before I had time to get it. Then kick them, push them, anything. They're nothing but pigs.' They had the senseless stubbornness of pigs, at least. They seemed absolutely unable to realize that their presence was not desired till they actually felt the spear, utterly devoid even of instinct. "'So this is what you captured for us at the risk of your life,' I shouted to Harry in disgust. "'They haven't even sensed enough to squeal!' We finally reached Desiree's side and cleared a space round her. But it took us another fifteen minutes of pushing and thrusting and indiscriminate massacre before we routed the brutes. When they did decide to go, they lost no time, but scampered away toward the water with a sliding, tumbling rush. "'Gad!' exclaimed Harry, resting on his spear. "'And here's a pretty job. Look at that. I wish they'd carry off the dead ones.' "'Ugh, the nasty brutes. I was never so frightened in my life,' said Desiree. "'You frightened us all right,' Harry retorted. Utterly fungoed. I never ran so fast in my life. And all you had to do was shake your spear at them and say, "'Boo!' I thought I was the roommate of our friend with the eyes. "'Have I been eating those things?' Desiree demanded. Harry grinned. "'Yes, and that isn't all. You'll continue to eat them as long as I'm the cook. Come on, Paul. It's a day's work.' We dragged the bodies down to the edge of the stream and tossed them into the current, saving three or four for the replenishment of the larder. I then first tried my hand at the task of skinning and cleaning them, and by the time I had finished, was thoroughly disgusted with it and myself. Harry had become hardened to it. He whistled over the job as though he had been born in a butcher's shop. "'I'd rather go hungry,' I declared, washing my hands and arms in the cool water. "'Oh, sure,' said Harry. My efforts are never appreciated. I fed you up till you finally graduated from the skeleton class, and you immediately began to criticize the table. I know now what it means to run a boarding-house. Why don't you change your hotel?' By the time we had finished, we were pretty well tired out, but Harry wouldn't hear of rest. I was eager myself for another look at the exit of that stream. So, again, taking up our spears, we set out across the cavern, this time with desiré between us. She swallowed Harry's ridicule of her fear and refused to stay behind. Again we stood at the point where the stream left the cavern through the broad arch of a tunnel. "'There's a chance there,' said Harry, turning to me. "'It looks good.' "'Yes, if we had a boat,' I agreed. But that's a ten-mile current and probably deep.' I waited out some twenty feet and was nearly swept beneath the surface as the water circled about my shoulders. "'We couldn't follow that on our feet,' I declared, returning to the shore. But it does look promising. At ten miles an hour we'd reach the western slope in four hours, four hours to sunshine, but it might as well be four hundred. It's impossible.' We turned then and retraced our steps to our camp, if I may give it so dignified a title. I hated to give up the idea of following the bed of the stream, for it was certain that somewhere it found the surface of the earth, and I revolved in my brain every conceivable means to do so. The same thought was in Harry's mind, for he turned to me suddenly. If we only had something for stringers, I could make a raft that would carry us to the Pacific and across it. The height of that thing over yonder would be just the stuff, and we could get a piece as big as we wanted. I shook my head. I thought of that, but we have absolutely nothing to hold it. There wasn't a bone in his body, you know that. But the idea was peculiarly tempting, and we spent an hour discussing it. Desiree was asleep on her pile of skins. We sat side by side on the ground some distance away, talking in low tones. Suddenly there was a loud splash in the stream which was quite close to us. By God! exclaimed Harry, springing to his feet. Did you hear that? It sounded like, remember the fish we pulled in from the ink as raft? Which has nothing to do with this, I answered. It's nothing but the water-pigs. I've heard them a thousand times in the last few days, and the Lord knows we have enough of them. But Harry protested that the splash was much too loud to have been caused by any water-pig and waded into the stream to investigate. I rose to my feet and followed him leisurely, for no reason in particular, but was suddenly startled by an excited cry from his lips. Paul! The spear! Quick! It's a whale! I ran as swiftly as I could to the shore and returned with our spears. But when I reached Harry he greeted me with an oath of disappointment and the information that the whale had disappeared. He was greatly excited. I tell you, he was twenty feet long, a big black devil with a head like a cow. You're sure it wasn't like a pig? I asked skeptically. Harry looked at me. I have drunk nothing but water for a month, he said dryly. It was a fish, and some fish. Well, there's probably more like him, I observed, but they can wait. Come on and get some sleep, and then we'll see. Some hours afterward, having filled ourselves with sleep and food, I had decided after matured deliberation not to change my hotel, we started out armed with our spears. Desiree accompanied us. Harry told her bluntly that she would be in the way, but she refused to stay behind. We turned upstream, thinking our chance is better in that direction than toward the swifter current, and were surprised to find that the cavern was much larger than any we had before seen. In something over a mile we had not yet reached the farther wall, for we walked at a brisk pace for a quarter of an hour or more. At this point the stream was considerably wider than it was below, and there was very little current. Desiree stood in the bank while Harry and I waited out above our wastes. There was a long and weary wait before anything occurred. The water was cold, and my limbs became stiff and numb. I called to Harry that it was useless to wait longer, and was turning toward the shore when there was a sudden commotion in the water, not far from where he stood. I turned and saw Harry plunge forward with his spear. I've got him! he yelled. Come on! I went, but I soon saw that Harry didn't have him. He had Harry. They were all of ten yards away from me, and by the time I reached the spot there was nothing to be seen but flying water, thrashed into foam and fury. I caught a glimpse of Harry being jerked by the water, and a glimpse of Harry being jerked through the air. He was holding on for dear life with both hands to the shaft of his spear. The water was over my head there. I was swimming with all the strength I had. I've got him! through the belly! Harry gasped as I fought my way through the spray to his side. His head! find his head! I finally succeeded in getting my hand on Harry's spear left near where it entered the body of the fish, but the next instant it was jerked from me, dragging me beneath the surface. I came up puffing and made another try, but missed it by several feet. Harry kept shouting, His head! get him in the head! For that I was saving my spear, but I could make nothing of either head or tail as the immense fish leaped furiously about in the water, first this way, then that. Once he came down exactly on top of me and carried me far under. I felt his slippery, smooth body glide over me, and the tail struck me a heavy blow in the face as it passed. Blinded and half choked, I fought my way back to the surface and saw that they had got fifty feet away. I swam to them, breathing hard and nearly exhausted. The water foamed less furiously about them now. As I came near, the fish leaped half out of the water and came down flat on his side. I saw his ugly black head pointed directly toward me. He's about gone! Harry gasped. He was still clinging to the spear. I set myself firmly against the water and waited. Soon it parted violently, not ten feet in front of me, and again the head appeared. He was coming straight for me. I could see the dull, beady eyes on either side, and I let him have the spear right between them. There was little force to the blow, but the fish himself furnished that. He was coming like lightning. I hurled my body aside with a great effort and felt him sweet past me. I turned to swim after them and heard Harry's great shout, You got him! By the time I reached him the fish had turned over on his back and was floating on the surface, motionless. We had still to get him ashore and, exhausted as we were, it was no easy task. But there was very little current and after half an hour of pulling and shoving we got him into shallow water where we could find the bottom with our feet. Then it was easier. Desiree waited out to us and lent a hand, and in another ten minutes we had him high and dry on the rock. He was even larger than I had thought. No wonder Harry had called him, or one like him, a whale. It was all of fifteen feet from his snout to the tip of his tail. The skin was dead black on top and modelled irregularly on the belly. As we sat sharpening the points of our spears on the rock preparatory to skinning him Desiree stood regarding the fish with unqualified approval. She turned to us, Well, I'd rather eat that than those other nasty things. Oh, that isn't what we want him for, said Harry, rubbing his finger against the edge of his spear point. He's probably not fit to eat. Then why all this trouble? asked Desiree. Dear lady, we expect to ride him home, said Harry, rising to his feet. Then he explained our purpose, and you may believe that Desiree was the most excited of the lot as we ripped down the body of the fish from tail to snout and began to peel off the tough skin. If you succeed, you may choose the new hangings for my boudoir, she said, with an attempt at lightness not altogether successful. As for me, I declared, I shall eat fish every day of my life out of pure gratitude. You'll do it out of pure necessity, Harry put in, if you don't get busy. It took us three hours of whacking and slashing and tearing to pull the fish to pieces, but we worked with a purpose and a will. When we had finished, this is what we had to show. A long strip of bone, four inches thick and 12 feet long, and tough as hickory, from either side of which the smaller bones projected at right angles. They were about an inch in thickness and two inches apart. The lower end of the backbone, near the tail, we had broken off. We examined it and lifted it and bent it half double. Absolutely perfect, Harry cried in jubilation. Three more like this and we'll sail down the coast to Kaleo. If we can get them, I observed, but two would do, we could make it a triangle. Harry looked at me. Paul, you're an absolute genius. But would it be big enough to hold us? We discussed that question on our way back to camp, whether we carried the backbone of our fish together with some of the meat. Then, after a hearty meal, we slept. After seven hours of the hardest kind of work, we were ready for it. That was our program for the time that followed, time that stretched into many weary hours, for once started, we worked feverishly, so impatient had we become by dint of that faint glimmer of hope. We were going to try to build a raft, on which we were going to try to embark on the stream, by which we were going to try to find our way out of the mountain. The prospect made us positively hilarious, so slender is the thread by which hope jerks us about. The first part of our task was the most strenuous. We waited, and waited round many hours before another fish appeared, and then he got away from us. Another attempt was crowned with success after a hard fight. The second one was even larger than the first. The next two were too small to be of use in the raft, but we saved them for another purpose. Then after another long search, lasting many hours, we ran into half a dozen of them at once. By that time we were fairly expert with our spears, besides having discovered their vulnerable spot, the throat just forward from the gills. To this day I don't know whether or not they were man-eaters. Their jaws were roomy and strong as those of any shark, but they never closed on us. Thus we had four of the large backbones and two smaller ones. Next we wanted a covering, and for that purpose we visited the remains of the reptile which had first led us into the cavern. Its hide was half an inch thick and tough as the toughest leather. There was no difficulty in loosening it, for by that time the flesh was so decayed and sunken that it literally fell off. That job was the worst of all. Time and again, after cutting away with the points of our spears, our only tools, until we could stand it no longer, we staggered off to the stream like drunken men, sick and faint with the sight and smell of the mess. But that too came to an end, and finally we marched off to the camp which we had removed a half-mile upstream, dragging after us a piece of the hide about thirty feet long and half as wide. It was not as heavy as we had thought which made it all the better for our purpose. The remainder of our task, though tedious, was not unpleasant. We first made the larger bones, which were to serve as the beams of our craft, exactly the same length by filing off the ends of the longer ones with rough bits of granite. I have said it was tedious. Then we filed off each of the smaller bones projecting from the neural arch until they were of equal length. They extended on either side about ten inches, which allowing four inches for the width of the bone and one inch for the covering would make our raft slightly over a foot in depth. To make the cylindrical column rigid, we bound each of the vertebrae to the one in direct juxtaposition on either side firmly with strips of hide, several hundred feet of which we had prepared. This gave us four beams held straight and true without any play in either direction, with only a slight flexibility resulting from the cartilages within the center cord. With these four beams we formed a square, placing them on their edges end to end. At each corner of the square we lashed the ends together firmly with strips of hide. It was both firm and flexible after we had lashed the corners over and over with the strips that there might be no play under the strain of the current. Over this framework we stretched the large piece of hide so that the ends met on top near the middle. The bottom was thus absolutely watertight. We folded the corners in and caught them up with strips over the top. Then with longer strips we fastened up the sides, passing the strips back and forth across the top from side to side, having first similarly secured the two ends. As a final precaution we passed broader strips around both top and bottom, lashing them together in the center of the top. And there was our raft, twelve feet square, over a foot deep, watertight as a town drunkard and weighing not more than a hundred pounds. It has taken me two minutes to tell it. It took us two weeks to do it. But we discovered immediately that the four beams on the sides and ends were not enough for Desiree's weight alone caused the skin to sag clear through in the center, though we had stretched it as tightly as possible. We were forced to unlash all the strips running from side to side and insert supports made of smaller bones across the middle each way. These we reinforced on their ends with the thickest hide we could find that they might not puncture the bottom. After that it was fairly firm, though its sea-worthiness was not improved, it was much easier to navigate than it would have been before. For oars we took the lower ends of the backbones of the two smaller fish and covered them with hide. They were about five feet long and quite heavy, but we intended to use them more for the purpose of steering than for propulsion. The current of the stream would attend to that for us. Near the center of the raft we arranged a pile of the skins of the water-pigs for Desiree, a seat by no means uncomfortable. The strips which ran back and forth across the top afforded a hold as security against the tossing of the craft. But for her feet we arranged two other strips to pass over her ankles, but time she rested. This was an extreme precaution, but we did not expect the journey to be a long one. Finally we loaded on our provisions, about thirty pounds of the meat of the fish and water-pigs, wrapping it securely in two or three of the skins and strapping them firmly to the top. And now, said I, testing the strips in the corners for the last time, all we need is a name for her and a bottle of wine. And a homeward-bound pennant, put in Harry. The name is easy enough, said Desiree. I hear by christen her Clark du Soleil. Which means, asked Harry whose French came only in spots, sunshine, I told him, presumably after the glorious of the Incas who calls himself the child of the sun. But it's a good name, may heaven grant that it takes us there. I think we ought to take more grub, said Harry, an observation which he had made not less than fifty times in the preceding fifty minutes. He received no support and grumbled to himself something about the horrible waste of leaving so much behind. But we were fully persuaded that we were about to say good-bye forever to this underground world and its dangers. Somehow we had coaxed ourselves into the belief that success was certain. It was as though we had seen the sunlight streaming in from the farther end of the arched tunnel into which the stream disappeared. There was an assurance about the words of each that strengthened this feeling in the others, a lot of failure as we prepared to launch our craft. It took us some time to get it to the edge of the water, though it was close by, for we handled it with extreme care that it might not be torn on the rocks. Altogether with the provisions it weighed close to one hundred and fifty pounds. We were by no means sure that the thing would carry us and when once we had reached the bottom in our haste to try it. We held it at the edge while Desiree arranged herself on the pile of skins. The spears lay across at her feet, strapped down for security. Harry stepped across to the farther edge of the raft. Ready, he called, and I shoved off, waiting behind. When the water was up to my knees I climbed aboard and picked up it. By all the nine gods, look at her! cried Harry in huge delight. She takes about three inches. Man, she'd carry an army. Allo! cried Desiree with gay laughter. Say perfection! Couldn't be better, I agreed. But watch yourself, Hal. When we get into the current things are going to begin to happen. If it weren't for the beastly darkness it would be easy enough. As it is, one little rock the size of your head could send us to the bottom. We were still near the bank, working our way out slowly. Harry and I had to maintain positions equidistant from the center in order to keep the raft balanced. Hence I had to push her out alone. Considering her bulk she answered to the oar very well. Another five minutes and we were near the middle of the stream. At that point there was but little current and we drifted slowly. Harry went to the bow while I took up a position on the stern if I may use such terms for such a craft directly behind Desiree. We figured that we were then about a mile from the point where the stream left the cavern. Gradually as the stream narrowed the strength of the current increased. Still it was smooth and the raft sailed along without a tremor. Once or twice caught by some trick of the current she turned half round poking her nose ahead but she soon righted herself. The water began to curl up on the sides as we were carried more and more swiftly onward with a low murmur that was music to us. The stream became so narrow that we could see the bank on either side, though dimly and I knew we were approaching the exit. I called to Harry Keep her off to the right as we make the turn and he answered Aye aye sir with a wave of the hand. This at least was action with a purpose. Another minute and we saw the arch directly ahead of us and a bend in the stream. The strength of the current carried us toward the off bank but we plied our oars desperately and well and managed to keep fairly well into the end of the curve. We missed the wall of the tunnel black grim rock that would have dashed out our brains by about ten feet and were swept forward under the arch on our way so we thought to the land of sunshine End of Chapter 19 Recording by Roger Moline Chapter 20 Of Under the Andes This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Roger Moline Under the Andes by Rex Stout Chapter 20 An Inka Spear Here I might most appropriately insert a paragraph on the vanity of human wishes and endeavor. But events, they say, speak for themselves and still, for my own part I prefer the philosopher to the historian. Mental digestion is a worrisome task, you are welcome to it. To the story As I have said we missed the wall of the tunnel by a scant ten feet and we kept on missing it. Once under the arch our raft developed a most stubborn inclination to bump up against the rocky banks instead of staying properly in the middle of the current as it should. First to one side then to the other it swung while Harry and I kept it off with our oars, often missing a collision by inches. But at least the banks were smooth and level and as long as the stream itself remained clear of obstruction there was but little real danger. The current was not nearly so swift as I had expected it would be. In the semi-darkness it was difficult to calculate our rate of speed but I judged that we were moving at about six or seven miles an hour. We had gone perhaps three miles when we came to a sharp bend in the stream to the left almost at a right angle. Harry, at the bow was supposed to be on the lookout but he failed to see it until we were already caught in its whirl. Then he gave a cry of alarm and together we swung the raft to the left avoiding the right bank of the curve by less than a foot. Once safely past I sent Harry to the stern and took the bow myself which brought down upon him a deal of keen banter from Desiree. There the tunnel widened and the raft began to glide easily onward without any of its sudden dashes to right or left. I rested on my oar gazing intently ahead. At the best I could make out the walls a hundred yards ahead and but dimly. All was silence save the gentle swish of the water against the sides of the raft and the patter of Harry's oar dipping idly on one side or the other. Suddenly Desiree's voice came through the silence soft and very low. Pendant une année toute entière le résumon n'a pas repéré aux ministères de la guerre on le reporte comme perdu. On se renonquait à trouver sa trace quand du matin subitement on le vit repérer sur la place le canal toujours en avant. I waited until the last note had died away in the darkness. Are those your thoughts? I asked them, half turning. No, said Desiree, but I want to kill my thoughts as for them. She hesitated and after a short pause her voice again broke into melody. Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail that brings our friends up from the underworld sad as the last which reddens over me that sinks with all we love below the verge so sad, so fresh the days that are no more. Her voice, subdued and low, breathed the sweetness that seemed almost to be of another world. My ear quivered with the vibrations and long after she was silent the last mellow note floated through my brain. Suddenly I became conscious of another sound scarcely less musical. It too was low, so low and faint that at first I thought my ear deceived me or that some distant echo was returning Desiree's song down the dark tunnel. Gradually, very gradually it became louder and clearer until at length I recognized it. It was the rush of water unbroken, still low and at a great distance. I turned to remark on it to Harry, but Desiree took the words from my mouth. I seemed to hear something like the surf, she said. That isn't possible, is it? I could have smiled but for the deep note of hope in her voice. Hardly, I answered, I have heard it for several minutes. It is probably some shallows. We must look sharp. Another fifteen minutes and I began to notice that the speed of the current was increasing. The sound of the rushing water too was quite distinct. Still the raft moved more swiftly till I began to feel alarmed. I turned to Harry. That begins to sound like rapids. See that the spears are fastened securely and stand ready with your oar. Sit tight, Desiree. One thing was certain. There was nothing to do but go ahead. On both sides the walls of the tunnel rose straight up from the surface of the water. There was nowhere room for a landing not even a foot for a purchase to stay our flight. To go back was impossible. At the rate the current was now carrying us we could not have held the raft even for a moment without oars. Soon we were gliding forward so swiftly that the raft trembled under us. From the darkness ahead came the sound of the rapids, now increased to a roar that filled the tunnel and deafened us. I heard Harry shouting something but could not make out the words. We were shooting forward with the speed of an express train and the air about us was full of flying water. The roar of the rapids became louder and louder. I turned for an instant shouting at the top of my voice, flat on your face and hold on for dear life. Then I dropped down with my oar under me, passing my feet under two of the straps and clinging hands. Another few seconds passed that seemed an hour. The raft was swaying and lurching with the mad force of the current. I called out again to Harry and Desiree but my words were completely drowned by the deafening stunning roar of the water. All was darkness and confusion. I kept asking myself why doesn't it come? It seemed an age since I had thrown myself away. Suddenly the raft leaped up under me and away. It seemed as though some giant hand had grasped it from beneath and jerked it down with tremendous force. The air was filled with water lashing my face and body furiously. The raft whirled about like a cork. I gripped the straps with all the strength that was in me. I was drawn into my brain world dizzily. There was a sudden sharp lurch, a jerk upward and I felt the surface of the water close over me. Blinded and dazed I clung to my hold desperately struggling with the instinct to free myself. For several seconds the roar of the cataract sounded in my ears with a furious faintness as though it were at a great distance. There was a sudden cessation of motion. I opened my eyes, choking and sputtering. For a time I could see nothing. Then I made out Desiree's form and Harry's stretched behind me on the raft. At the same instant Harry's voice came, BALL! Oh! Desiree! In another moment we were at her side. We had to pry off each of her fingers separately to loosen them. Then we bent her over Harry's knee and worked her arms up and down and soon her chest heaved convulsively and her lungs freed themselves of the water they had taken. Presently she turned about. Her eyes opened and she pressed her hands to her head. Don't say where am I? said Harry, because we don't see a feel. I don't know, she answered, still gasping for breath. What was it? What did we do? I left them then, turning to survey the extent of our damage. There was absolutely none. We were as intact as when we started. The provisions and spears remained under their straps. My ore lay where I had fallen on it. The raft appeared to be floating easily as before without a scratch. The water about us was churned into foam, though we had already been carried so far from the cataract that it was lost behind us in the darkness. Only its roar reached our ears. To this day I haven't the faintest idea of its height. It may have been ten feet or two hundred. Harry says a thousand. We were moving slowly along the surface of what appeared to be a lake still carried forward by the force of the falls behind us. For my part I found its roar bewildering and confusing, and I picked up my ore and commenced to paddle away from it, at least so I judged. Harry's voice came from behind. In the name of goodness, where did you get that ore? I turned. Young man, a good sailor, an ore. How do you feel, Desiree? Like a drowned rat, she answered, but with a laugh in her voice. I'm faint and sick and wet, and my throat is ready to burst, but I wouldn't have missed that for anything. It was glorious. I'd like to do it again. Yes, you would, said Harry skeptically. You're welcome, thank you, but what I want to know is where did that ore come from? I explained that I had taken the precaution to fall on it. Do you never lose your head? asked Desiree. No, merely my heart. Oh, as for that she retorted with a lightness that still had a sting. My good friend, you never had any. Whereupon I returned to my paddling in haste. Soon I discovered that, though as I have said we appeared to be in a lake, for I could see no bank on either side, there was still a current. We drifted slowly, but our movement was plainly perceptible, and I rested on my ore. Presently a wall loomed up ahead of us, and I saw that the stream again narrowed down as it entered the tunnel, much lower than above the cataract. The current became swifter as we were carried toward its mouth, and I called to Harry to get his spear to keep us off from the walls, if it should prove necessary. But we entered exactly in the center and were swept forward with a rush. The ceiling of the tunnel was so low that we could not stand upright on the raft, and the stream was not more than forty feet wide. There was nothing but promising. If the stream really ran through to the western slope, its volume of water should have been increasing instead of diminishing. I said nothing of that to Harry or Desiree. We had sailed along thus without incident for upward of half an hour, when my carelessness or the darkness nearly brought us to grief. Suddenly without warning there was a violent jar, and the raft rebounded with a force that all but threw us into the water. Coming to a bend in the stream the current had dashed us against the other bank. But owing to the flexibility of its sides, the raft escaped damage. I had my oar against the wall instantly, shoving off, and we swung round and caught the current again round the curve. But that bend was to the left as the other had been, and that we were now going in exactly the opposite direction of that in which we had started, which in turn meant the death of hope. We were merely winding in and out in a circle and getting nowhere. Harry and Desiree had apparently not noticed the fact, and I said nothing of it. Time enough when they should find out for themselves, and besides there was still a chance, though a slim one. Soon the bed of the stream became nearly level, for we barely moved. The roof of the tunnel was very low but a scant foot above our heads as we sat or crouched on the raft. It was necessary to keep a sharp lookout ahead. A rock projecting from above would have swept us into the water. The air, too, was close and foul. Our breath became labored and difficult, and Desiree, half stifled and drowsy, passed into a fitful and broken sleep, stirring restlessly and panting for air. Harry had taken the bow and eye-lay across the stern. Suddenly his voice came announcing that we had left the tunnel. I sat up quickly and looked around. The walls were no longer to be seen. We had evidently entered a cavern similar to the one in which we had embarked. Shall we lay off? I asked, stepping across to Harry's side. He assented, and I took the ore and worked the raft over to the left. There was but little current, and she went well in. In a few minutes we were in shallow water, and Harry and I jumped off and shoved her to the bank. Desiree sat up, rubbing her eyes. Where are we? she asked. Harry explained while we beached the raft. Then we broke out our provisions and partook of them. But why do we stop? asked Desiree. The words, because we are not getting anywhere, rose to my lips, but I kept them back. For a rest and some air, I answered. Desiree exclaimed, but I want to go on. So as soon as we had eaten our fill we loaded the stuff again and prepared to shove off. By that time I think Harry too had realized the hopelessness of our expedition, for he had lost all his enthusiasm, but he said nothing, nor did I. We secured Desiree on her pile of skins and again pushed out into the current. The cavern was not large, for we had been under way but a few minutes when its wall loomed up ahead and the stream again entered a tunnel so low and narrow that I hesitated about entering at all. I consulted Harry. Take a chance, he advised. Why not? As well that as anything. We slipped through the entrance. The current was extremely sluggish and we barely seemed to move. Still we went forward. If we only had a little speed we could stand it, Harry grumbled, which shows that a man does not always appreciate a blessing. It was not long before we were offering up thanks that our speed had been so slight. To be exact about an hour as well as I could measure time which passed slowly, for not only were the minutes tedious but the foulness of the air made them also extremely uncomfortable. Desiree was again lying down, half unconscious but not asleep. For now and then she spoke drowsily. Harry complained of a dizziness in the head and my own seemed ready to burst through my temples. The starash of the mountains was agreeable compared to that. Suddenly the swiftness of the current increased appreciably in the instant. There was a swift jerk as we were carried forward. I rose to my knees. The tunnel was too low to permit of standing and gazed intently ahead. I could see nothing save that the stream had narrowed to half its former width and was still becoming narrower. We went faster and faster and the stream narrowed until the bank was but a few feet away on either side. Watch the stern! I called to Harry. I looked off with your spear. Then a wall loomed up directly ahead. I thought it meant another bend in the stream and I strained my eyes intently in the effort to discover its direction but I could see nothing save the black wall. We approached closer. I shouted to Harry and Desiree to brace themselves for a shock, praying that the raft would meet the rock squarely and not on a corner. I had barely had time to set myself and grasp the straps behind when we struck with terrific force. The raft rebounded several feet, trembling and shaking violently. The water was rushing past us with noisy impetuosity. There was a cry from Desiree and from Harry. All right! I crawled to the bow. Along the top the hide-covering had been split open for several feet but the water did not quite reach the opening. And we had reached the end of our ambitious journey for that black wall marked the finish of the tunnel. The stream entered it through a narrow hole which accounted for the sudden swift rush of the current. Above the upper rim of the hole the surface of the water whirled about in a widening circle. To this had we been led by the stream that was to have carried us to the land of sunshine. When I told Desiree she stared at me in silence. I had not realized before the strength of her hope. Speechless with disappointment she merely sat and stared straight ahead at the black, unyielding rock. Harry knelt beside her with his arm across her shoulders. I roused him with a jerk of the arm. Get busy, a few hours in this hole and we'd suffocate. Do you realize that we've got to pull this raft back against the current? First it was necessary to repair the rent in the hide covering. This we did with strips of hide and barely in time for it was becoming wider every minute and the water was beginning to creep in over the edge. But we soon had the ends sewed firmly together with our hands to the main task. It appeared to be not only difficult but actually impossible to force the raft back upstream against the swift current. We were jammed against the rock with all the force of many tons of water. The ore was useless. Getting a purchase on the wall with our hands we shoved the raft to one side. But as soon as we got to the wall on the left the whirling stream turned us around again and we found ourselves back in our original position only with a different side of the raft against the rock. That happened three times. Then we tried working to the right instead of the left but with no better success. The force of the current coming with all its speed against the unwieldy raft was irresistible. Time and again we shoved round after incredible labor only to be dashed back again against the rock. We tried our spears but their shafts were so slender that they were useless. We took the ore and placing its end against the wall shoved with all our strength. The ore snapped in two and we fell forward against the wall. We tore off some of the strips of hide from the raft against the wall on either side but there was no protuberance that would hold them. Nothing remained to be done. Harry and I held a consultation then and agreed on the only possible means of escape. I turned to Desiree. Can you swim? Parfait moi," she replied. But against that pointing to the whirling water I do not know. I can try. I who remember the black fury of that stream as it swept past us can appreciate the courage of her. We lost no time for the foulness of the air was weakening us with every breath we took. Our preparations were few. The two spears and about half of the provisions we strapped to our backs an inconsiderable load which would hamper us but little. We discarded all our clothing which was very little. I took the heavy skin which Desiree had worn and began to strap it also on top of my bundle but she refused to allow it. I will not permit you to be handicapped with my modesty," she observed. Then with Desiree between us we stepped to the edge of the raft and dived off together. Driven as we were by necessity we would have hesitated longer if we had known the full force of the undercurrent that seized us from beneath. Desiree would have disappeared without a struggle if it had not been for the support which Harry and I rendered her on either side but we kept on top most of the time and fought our way forward by inches. The black walls frowning at us from either side appeared to me to remain exactly the same, stationary after a long and desperate struggle but when I gave a quick glance behind I saw that we had pulled so far away from the raft that it was no longer in sight. That gave me renewed strength and shouting assurance to Harry and Desiree I redoubled my efforts. Desiree was by now almost able to hold her own but we still supported her. Every stroke made the next one easier carrying us away from the whirlpool and soon we swam smoothly. Less and less strong became the resistance of the current until finally it was possible to float easily on our backs and rest. How far is it to the cavern? Harry panted. Somewhere between one and ten miles was my answer. How the dew should I know? But we'll make it now, I think. Can you hold out Desiree? Easily she answered if only I could get some air just one good long breath. There was the danger and on that account no time was to be lost. Again we struck out into the blackness ahead. I felt myself no longer fresh and began to doubt seriously if we should reach our goal. But we reached it. No need to recount our struggles which toward the end were inspired by suffering amounting to agony as we choked and gassed for sufficient air to keep us up. Another hundred yards would have been too much for us but it is enough that finally we staggered on to the bank at the entrance to the cavern in which we had previously rested panting, dizzy, and completely exhausted. But an hour in the cavern with its supply of air revived us and then we sat up and asked ourselves what for? And all that brings us to this, said Harry with a sweeping gesture round the cavern. At least it is a better tomb, I retorted, and it was a good fight. We still have something in us. Desiree, a good man was lost in you. Harry rose to his feet. I'm going to look around, he announced. We've got to do something. Get it, and it took us a month to build that raft. The vanity of human endeavour said I, loosening the strap round my shoulders and dropping my bundle to the ground. Wait a minute. I'm going with you. Are you coming Desiree? But she was too tired to rise to her feet arranging what few skins we had as well as possible to protect her from the hard rock. Rest your weary bones! said Harry, stooping to kiss her. There's meat here if you want it. We'll be back soon. So we left her with her white body stretched out at its full length on the rude mat. Bearing off to the left we soon discovered that we would have no difficulty we had only to choose our way. There was scarcely any wall at all, so broken was it by lanes and passages leading in all directions. We followed some of them for a distance, but found none that gave any particular promise. Most of them were choked with rocks and boulders through which it was difficult to force a passage. We spent an hour or more in these futile explorations on the wall some distance to the right. Gradually the exits became less numerous. High on a boulder near the entrance of one we saw the head of some animal peering down at us. We hurled our spears at it, but missed. Then we're forced to climb up the steep side of the boulder to recover our weapons. We'd better go back to Desiree, said Harry when we reached and he'll wonder what's become of us. We've been gone nearly two hours. After fifteen minutes' search we found the stream and followed it to the left. We had gone farther than we thought and we were looking for the end where we had left Desiree long before we reached it. Several times we called her name but there was no answer. She's probably asleep, said Harry. And a minute later there's the wall at last. But where is she? My foot struck something on the ground and I stooped over to examine it. It was the pile of skins on which Desiree had lain. I called to Harry and at the same instant heard his shout of consternation as he came running toward me holding something in his hand. They've got her! Look! Look at this! I found it on the ground over there. He held the thing in his hand out before me. It was an Inka spear. End of Chapter 20 Recording by Roger Maline