CHAPTER XI THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGE
The scratching sound continued to come as the professor listened, and hegot up and bent his head close to the wall. It sounded to him as thoughsomeone was scraping the rock wall on the other side of his cell, and hewas puzzled over the circumstance. There was a measure of hope in thesound, perhaps the boys had arrived and were trying to break through tohim. But as he continued to think it over he realized that it could notbe so. The dungeon was deep in the earth and it would be impossible forthem to get down on a level with his cell. The only other thing he couldthink of was that there was a prisoner in a cell next to his.
It might easily be possible that Sackett, in some of his other dishonestgames, had taken someone else prisoner and the man was trying to breakthrough to him. In that case it behooved the professor to try and helpwhoever was coming through the wall of his dungeon. He took the cigarlighter from his pocket, made it flash and then looked at his watch byits brief blue flame. It was now one o'clock in the morning.
Continuing to make flashes the teacher watched the wall and after a timefound the rock upon which the unknown man was working. It was a largeblock in the very center of the south wall, and under the soft blows ofthe man on the other side it was already slightly loose. The professorcould see it move. He took out a knife which he had and began to pick atthe edges on his side, chipping carefully and as noiselessly aspossible. It was evident that the person on the other side knew that hewas helping for the scraping stopped abruptly but after a moment it wasresumed.
They worked on in silence, the professor listening for sounds fromupstairs, but none came. The men were evidently asleep or they had leftthe place altogether, for he heard no movement and he was notinterrupted in his labors. He found that the soft and rotted materialbetween the stones was easy to dislodge, and his mysterious helper waspushing as he worked, so that the huge stone was beginning to movetoward the cell of the professor. Only a fraction of an inch at a time,but it was enough to give the teacher hope, and finally it was farenough out to allow him to get the tips of his fingers under the roughedge of the stone.
By working it back and forth the professor at length got it loose. Itcame out with a rush, nearly bending him double with the unexpectedweight. At the same time a light flared in his eyes and he hastilydeposited the stone on the floor of his dungeon. When this was completedhe straightened up and confronted his companion.
It was Yappi, the mestizo. He held a torch of pitch wood in his one handand a keen knife in the other. He had evidently worked hard at thestone, for his hands were dirty and so was his mouth and forehead,showing that he had stopped more than once to wipe them with his dirtyhands. The professor was glad to see the man but more than astonished atwhat he saw back of him. The ranchman was standing in a vaultedunderground passage, which ran back a distance that the professor couldnot make out.
"Yappi!" cried the professor, in a low voice. "How did you get here?"
"I followed you, senor," said the old man, simply. "It was somewhat hardwork, for my feet are not so swift to run as they once were. But when Iknew that they had carried you off to this castle I laughed inside, forI knew this castle very well."
In one sense Yappi was a mystery. He was an ordinary mixture of Spanishand Indian, and yet not ordinary in other ways. He possessed a dignityand his English was perfect. Ned Scott could never learn where he gotit. Except for rare periods when he became sulky or falsely sensitive hewas always steady and reliable. The professor had greatly misjudged himwhen he had thought him a coward, and later on apologized, an apologywhich was very graciously accepted.
"What is this underground passage?" whispered the professor eagerly,forgetting his situation in his interest.
"It is as old as the castle, senor, and I have known of it since I was achild. Many times I have played around these ruins. But come, we wastetime and must be going."
The opening that the removal of the stone had made was not a big one andthe professor had a hard struggle to get out, in fact Yappi wascompelled to haul him through bodily. Of a necessity the professorsquirmed out and landed on his face, grumbling at the man who had madehim resort to so clumsy a method of action. Once in the passage helooked around, finding that it was made of stone and arched overhead,the entire height being about seven feet. Consequently they were notcompelled to bend over, and they hurried through the passage in comfort,the ranchman in the lead.
"What was this passage ever made for?" the professor asked.
"I do not know, senor. It may be that once that room was not a dungeon,or it may be--but who knows? Only I happened to know of the passage andknew that they would put you in that cell, so I have been at work forsome hours on the stone."
"I certainly appreciate your hard work, Yappi," said the professor.
The mestizo made no reply. The professor noted that the passage wassloping upward somewhat, and before long he felt cool fresh air on hischeek. Near the entrance Yappi extinguished the torch by grinding itunder his heel and they proceeded in the darkness, until the mestizostopped and grasped his arm, pointing silently ahead.
The end of the passage was before them, and lounging there, a rifle inhis hands, was the mate Abel. They could make out the lines of his bodyplainly as he stood near a mound, totally unconscious that he was withinfive feet of a secret tunnel. The professor could see that the mouth ofthe secret passage was screened in some dense bushes and that it curvedright up from the ground. But in spite of all their brilliant work Abelsuspected something, and for the time being at least they were halted.
They held a council of war right there, speaking in whispers. It wasevident that the mate had heard something or had the feeling that allwas not well, for he stood on his guard, the rifle held slightlyforward. Yappi was for rushing him and fighting it out, but theprofessor opposed it firmly. The man was armed and Yappi was not, andthe ranchman was old and none too strong. Beside all that, the professorhad another thought.
He asked the old man if he had heard the bell tolling and the mestizoreplied that he had. Professor Scott then went on to tell him how it wasdone, and to propose that he steal back and ring the bell, thus puzzlingthe men and taking Abel away from his most inconvenient post. Themestizo gravely approved of his plan and together they retraced theirsteps until they came to the hole in the wall.
Knowing where the bell rope was even in the darkness the professorinsisted upon being the one to go back into the dungeon, so with Yappi'shelp he once more pushed and puffed his way through the hole. He landedon the other side pretty well mussed up.
"Confound these fellows," he growled inwardly. "I've lost several poundssquirming in and out of these holes!"
He had regained his feet and was tiptoeing toward the bell rope when awarning hiss from Yappi reached him. He turned toward the hole.
"What is it, Yappi?" he whispered.
"Come back! Light coming!"
Surely enough, at that moment a light flashed on the winding steps andbegan to descend. The professor made a wild dive for the hole and thenstopped with a groan. It would take him several moments to worm his wayback into the passage, and already it was too late for that. Sackett wascoming down the stairs with the lantern, and he was now in plain sightaround the last turn.
For an instant the professor remained rooted to the spot as thoughparalyzed. The leader of the gang was approaching the door, holding thelantern before him, his eyes squinted more than usual as he tried to seeinto the cell. Yappi had disappeared somewhere, and the professor feltsuddenly alone and miserable.
Sackett looked in the dungeon and his eyes fell on the block which hadbeen removed. With a snarling oath he saw the hole in the wall andturned red and angry eyes on the professor. But the old teacher haddecided on his course of action.
Without fully realizing why he did it the professor stepped to the bellrope and pulled it with all his strength. The bell in the tower pealedout with a terrific clash, sending the tocsin booming
out over themountain side. Sackett saw the move and a great light swept over him.
"So!" he shouted, above the clanging of the bell. "You're the one who isringing that bell!"
Swinging the handle of the lantern over his arm he dived viciously intohis pocket for the key to the padlock. As he did so there was the soundof running footsteps over his head and Abel's voice reached them.
"That bell is ringing again, Sackett!" the mate cried, his voice showinghis alarm.
"Yes, and here is the bird that is ringing it!" roared the leader. "Getdown here right away, Abel! Where is Manuel?"
"He ran away, scared to death," replied the mate.
"Get down here and help me choke this old one," commanded Sackett,thrusting the key into the padlock.
But Abel called down once more, and there was a new note in his voice."Never mind him, Squint! Get up here as fast as you can! Here come awhole rescue party, with all them blasted kids in it!"
The professor gave the bell one last pull of triumph and then let therope go. Sackett hesitated for a moment, muttering savagely to himselfand holding onto the padlock and key. Then he turned and ran up thesteps, dashing the lantern against the wall in his hurry, causing theglass to break and go tinkling down the stone steps.